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gilmores-glorious-blog · 4 years

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Coder Boyfriends Quarantine Fic

I wrote this months ago and never finished it... so yeah take this somewhat complete work. Maybe if enough of y’all like it I’ll write more. Also I’m too lazy to come up with a real title :)

They were two weeks into quarantine, and Tobin was officially stuck with a ferret. And it wasn’t even his ferret.

“What are we going to do about this, dude?” He asked Leif one morning, flopping down at their kitchen table and staring at the stupid little creature in his cage across from them.

“There’s nothing we can do. Colin is stuck with his family in New York, and we promised we would take care of him.”

“Yeah, for a week! Not for six freaking months!”

“Tobes, you have a commitment to this thing. You have to watch out for it. So for now, you are officially a ferret daddy,” Leif said while holding back a smirk.

Tobin just glared at his friend.

“I don’t think ferrets are supposed to live in bird cages for months on end.” Leif commented from his spot on the couch. Tobin was busy rearranging the ferret’s living space to accommodate for him being a long term resident.

“Yeah, well, I don’t just have ferret cages laying around.” Tobin snapped.

“Why do you have a bird cage laying around?!”

“I-” Tobin started.

“Hold on.” Leif pulled out his phone. “I think I’m going to want this on tape.”

“For your vlog?” Tobin asked mockingly.

“The viewers need to know.” Leif cleared his throat and put on a dramatic announcer voice. “So tell us, Tobin, why do you have a bird cage laying around?”

Tobin rolled his eyes. “A few years ago, I got a pet bird. After two weeks of having said bird, I decided I wasn’t cut out for bird ownership so I… I gave the bird away.” Tobin hoped his hesitation wasn’t visible on camera. He hadn’t actually given the bird away. He let it free, but moments after realized it was definitely not a native species. It’s haunted him ever since.

Tobin snaps out of his bird-guilt to see Leif cackling on the couch. “I had forgotten about that! Dude, you were so bad at taking care of that stupid thing, I’m suprised it didn’t just die.” Leif glances over to where Greyskull the ferret was sitting. “Let’s hope the same thing won’t happen with the ferret.”

“It won’t.” He’s determined to make certain of that.

“Good.” Leif turns off the camera and puts his phone away before leaning back and watching Tobin continue to move ferret equipment around. Tobin could feel his eyes tracking him, and he had to fight back a blush. He glanced over at his best friend, who was watching with a smile smile that Leif reserved only for Tobin.

Tobin quickly turned around as he felt his cheeks warming. The beginning of months of quarantine probably wasn’t the greatest time for your best friend to find you’ve been in love with him for years.

“Tobes hurry up!” Leif called. “The work call starts in five minutes!”

“I still don’t see why we can’t do this from two different computers.” Tobin replied from his bedroom, rushing to make himself look presentable.

“Because it’s stupid, bro. Everyone knows we live together, and it’s going to get annoying if we’re just talking over each other from different rooms.”

“Okay, fair.” Tobin slides down the hallway and collapses on the couch. He very nearly crashes into Leif, but he manages to stop himself, luckily.

They log on to the zoom meeting, and Tobin has to stop himself from thinking about how couple-y they look on the camera. Jesus christ dude, you need to stop pining, he tells himself.

Joan lets them onto the call, and there’s an awkward minute where it’s just her and the two of them. Leif is staring at the ground and Joan staring at her wall. Against all better judgement, Tobin makes a sarcastic comments.

“Lover’s quarrel, huh?” He regrets it as soon as Leif turns to look at him with hurt in his eyes. He’s about to apologize when Zoey and Max join the call.

“Hey guys!” Zoey says, and suddenly Joan and Leif perk up.

“Hi Red, ‘sup Max!” Tobin says, ignoring Leif’s stiff body beside him.

“So Tobin, I hear you’re stuck with a ferret.” Max comments, holding back a laugh.

Tobin whips around, staring at Leif. “Max watches your vlog?!”

Leif just shrugs. “I gave him the password a while back, figured it couldn’t hurt.”

“Now the whole office gets a glimpse into my private life!” Tobin didn’t know why he was upset about this. He was a pretty open person, he barely shut up about his private life at work anyway.

“Hey, it’s my private life. You just happen to live with me. Why are mad about this?” Leif’s eyes flicked briefly to the computer screen, where it was still just Max, Zoey, and Joan, staring awkwardly at the interaction.

Just as the boys were staring daggers at each other, ready to keep fighting, Joan spoke up.

“Lover’s quarrel, huh?” The sarcasm and pride in her voice was obvious.

“Wh- I- no!” Tobin stammered, not daring to look at Leif. He stared at the screen, where he saw Max mouth lovers? to Zoey, who promptly elbowed him in the ribs.

Luckily, right then, a bunch of the other SPRQ point employees joined the call, and the five who were previously there ignored the argument from before as they talked about work things.

Tobin payed no attention to what was happening, he was too busy staring at Leif from the corner of his eye. Leif didn’t seem mad anymore, just his normal awkward and nerdy self as he talked about the coding projects they were planning to start from home. He laughs at something Max says, and Tobin fights back a smile. Nothing makes him happier than hearing Leif laugh. He notices that his friend’s hair is already getting longer after three weeks stuck at home. It’s curlier, more floppy in the front. He also hasn’t shaved in a few days, and his mini-beard is adorable. Tobin briefly thinks about how much he wants to run his hands through that hair, but then remembers they’re on a work call and he should probably stop that train of thought right there.

Before he knows it, the call is over. Hopefully he didn’t miss too much, but if he did, he can always ask Leif.

Leif, however, gets up silently and moves toward the kitchen. Suddenly Tobin remembers the argument they were having. He shoots up from the couch and rushes towards the kitchen.

“I’m sorry, bro.”

“Sorry for what?” Leif asks, clearly playing dumb.

“For saying that thing about you and Joan. For getting upset about the vlog thing. For…” Tobin pauses before finishing, “... for what Joan said about us.”

“Ah,” Leif says, holding tight to the glass he’s grabbed from the counter. Neither of them say anything for a moment, and the silence is deafening to Tobin.

“Look dude, I’m really sorry. I know I shouldn’t have brought up the thing with Joan, I know you’re still pining over her or whatever-”

“I’m not,” Leif interrupts.

You’re not? There’s a flutter of hope in Tobin’s stomach, but he pushes it down. “Well, regardless, I shouldn’t have said that. And I don’t know why I got so upset about Max watching your vlog. I guess I’m just self-conscious sometimes, no matter how much I act the opposite. And I like having moments that are just between the two of us sometimes.” Tobin really hopes Leif didn’t read into that last part the way he just did as he said it.

“That makes sense.” Leif bites his lower lip before adding, “what about the last part?”

“What?”

“The last part of your apology. About what Joan said.”

“Uh, I guess she just said it because she was mad at me for saying it about you guys? She saw an opportunity and she took it. She probably only said it because we were arguing like an old married couple. Not that we act like an old married couple. We don’t. It’s just, y’know, we live together, and we were arguing, so we’ve got those two key ‘old married couple’ traits down. But not any of the other ones, not like being in love or married or a couple-”

“Jesus, Tobes, take a breath.” Leif chuckled. “It’s totally fine that she said that, I just was wondering what you thought about it.”

“Oh?” Tobin fights the urge to melt into the floor as a way to forget everything he just said.

“Yeah. Like you said, we live together, plus we’re both bi, so there’s not really any offense in the joke.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah, totally.” Tobin still feels like melting into the floor. He’s saved from doing that, however, when his phone buzzes in his pocket.

“It’s from Zoey.” He says, mostly to himself. He’s a bit confused. Zoey doesn’t text him much, and when she does it definitely not to say We need to talk. “I think I should answer this.” Tobin walks into his room and locks the door, leaving a confused Leif behind him.

“Hey?” Tobin had barely begun to dial the phone when Zoey answered.

“Hi Tobin.”

“Hi?” Tobin’s even more confused than he was before.

“How are you doing?” Zoey’s voice is strained.

“I’m fine?” Tobin can deal with a few more polite greetings before he snaps and asks Zoey what the heck is up.

“How are things with Leif?” Zoey asks, sounding nervous, which makes Tobin nervous. What is she thinking about me and Leif?

“Good, good. Just chillin’ in quarantine, y’know.” Tobin’s started to pace around his room now.

“Cool.” There’s a long silence from Zoey’s end.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, you know, sometimes when people, uh, spend a lot of time together…” Zoey trails off and Tobin can almost picture her gesturing vaguely.

“Yeah?” Tobin prompts.

“When people spend a lot of time together… sometimes feelings can develop.” Zoey finishes.

Tobin ignores the pit in his stomach and decides to play dumb. “I’m not going to murder Leif, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“What?! No! I mean…” He can hear Zoey take a deep breath. “Tobin are you in love with Leif?”

Tobin hangs up.

She calls again.

He declines.

She calls again.

He declines.

She texts him.

He blocks her number.

Tobin collapses on his bed. How the hell did she know? It’s not like he and Zoey are best buds. There was that one time she helped him out with the Spelliversary drama, but that’s the extent of their close conversations. And now she hasn’t seen him in weeks, and it only takes one zoom call for her to figure out he’s been in love with Leif for fifteen years?! He screams into his pillow before flopping over and staring at his ceiling. His eyes trace the stars stuck to the wall, flitting over the sharpied-in constellations, and trying desperately not to think about Leif or Zoey.

There’s a knock on his door. “Tobes?”

Tobin just groans.

The knocking intensifies. “Tobin, please open the door.” Tobin really doesn’t want to, but there’s a desperation in Leif’s voice that he can’t say no to.

He flops off the bed and unlocks the door. “What is it, bro?”

Leif hands his phone to Tobin. “Zoey ne-”

Tobin slams the door in his face.

Before he has time to lock it, however, Leif tries to open it again. Tobin makes a worthy fight against his weight and the door, but eventually his taller friend manages into the room. Leif closes and locks the door and hands the phone to Tobin.

“Talk.” He says.

Tobin sighs. “Fine.” He gestures to the door. “Leave.”

“What? No! Dude, you think I trust you to be alone with my phone? I don’t want you seeing everything that’s on there. Plus, you’ll just hang up again, and I for one don’t want my manager’s number blocked on my phone.”

Tobin tries desperately to think of something to say, any reason for Leif to leave other than the truth. But he can’t. And the longer he waits, the more suspicious he seems. So he puts the phone to his ear.

“Oh hey Zoey, what’s up?”

“Ok I really want to take the time to be mad at you for blocking my number, but I don’t have the time and Max is mouthing at me to get to the point.”

“Uh huh, okay.” Tobin is trying to act nonchalant.

“So… are you in love with Leif?” She asks and Tobin prays to any and every existing deity that Leif can’t hear through the phone.

Tobin isn’t sure what to do. He’s strangely scared of Zoey, in all of her five foot tall, quarantined miles away from him, glory. Something about her is making him want to tell the truth. Time for Tobin to pull out those rusty acting skills from when Leif convinced him to do the high school play.

“Uh, yeah, I love watermelon. Why do you ask?” Tobin tries not to cringe as Leif looks at him confused. Watermelon?!

“Tobin, what the-”

He interrupts her. “Leif’s here too, do you wanna ask what he thinks?”

He hears Zoey gasp through the other line. “Ohhh. Um, so, you love Leif. Watermelon. Whatever. How long have you liked him? Are you gay? I didn’t know you were gay. I’m asking too many questions. Sorry. This is hard to do over the phone.”

Tobin sighs. “I’ve been a fan of watermelon since high school.”

“High school?! That’s a long time.”

“It sure is.” Tobin tries not to stare at Leif, now distractedly fiddling with trinkets on Tobin’s cluttered desk. “Oh and since you asked, I don’t just… love watermelon. I’m also a fan of… grapes.” Tobin hopes this isn’t too confusing of a metaphor for bisexuality for Zoey to grasp.

“So you’re bi?” Zoey asks, catching on. Guess she’s smarter than Tobin thought, although considering she manages their company, he probably should have figured that out.

“Yeah.” Tobin can’t believe he’s coming out to Zoey Clarke, of all people. And in the worst possible way, too.

“Cool, cool. So are you planning on telling Leif?”

“No. Too much work, dude. Don’t want to fuck things up, y’know?”

“I know it’s not my place to say so-” Tobin scoffs. It wasn’t her place to ask about this in the first place. “- but I really think you should tell him. It might make things easier, you wouldn’t have to hide your feelings. Then you can… you can love him with no strings attached.”

Tobin freezes for a moment. That sounds familiar. But he can’t remember how right now, and he’s too concerned with other more pressing issues to think of it.

“I’ll think about it.” He says, lying. He won’t even consider telling Leif. He’s gone on pining for fifteen years, where’s the fun in stopping now?

“Good. That’s good, Tobin. I’m glad you told me.”

“Didn’t have much of a choice, did I?” He mumbles. Zoey chooses to ignore this.

“Hey, how about you unblock my number and we can talk some more when Leif’s not there. Only if you want to, of course.” She adds the last part on as an afterthought, seeming to remember that forcing people to talk about their secret gay crushes probably isn’t the smartest idea.

“Sure. Thanks, Zoey. Bye.” He hangs up. Scared, he looks up at Leif, now sitting on Tobin’s desk (that gay disaster).

“What the hell was that about, bro?” Leif asks.

“Oh, just… y’know… girl things.” And with that, Tobin leaves his room.

Leif doesn’t bring up the phone call again until after dinner, when Tobin is preparing popcorn for their movie night.

“So dude,” Leif calls from the couch. “What was that call with Zoey about?”

“I told you already.”

“No you did not! ‘Girl things’ is not a valid answer.”

Tobin brings himself and the popcorn to the couch, sitting down. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Please…” Leif turns to Tobin and rests his head on his shoulder, giving him puppy dog eyes.

Tobin shoves Leif off of him. “That’s not fair, man, you know I can’t resist you when you give me that face.”

Leif smiles. “Exactly. Come on, man, it can’t be that bad. And no matter how good of an actor you think you are, I know that it wasn’t about watermelon. There’s no way you blocked our boss’ number over watermelon.”

Tobin tries desperately to think of something believable that’s not the truth. “She wanted help with relationship advice.”

Leif looks concerned. “Is everything ok with her and Max?”

“Oh yeah, they’re fine it was about… her brother.”

“I thought her brother was married?”

Damn Leif for knowing so much about Zoey’s personal life. “He is! Her older brother, that is. Her younger brother is unmarried and struggling with dating.”

“And she asked you about this?”

“Don’t look so surprised, bro. There’s just something about me that makes people want to open up to me about romance.” Tobin waggles his eyebrows at his friend.

“I’ve known you since third grade and I’ve never once wanted to open up to you about romance.”

“That’s bullshit, man. I was the one who helped you realize you were bi. That’s helping you with romance if I ever saw it.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to. You were just my only friend, and therefore my only option. If I had a choice I would have chosen someone way cooler than you to open up to.”

Tobin glares at him. “Just shut up and watch this movie with me.”

***

Leif knew Tobin was lying. He knew Tobin, and he knew Zoey, and he knew that there was no way the two of them would join forces for relationship advice. But he also knew when Tobin was getting anxious, and he could tell his friend was not ready to tell Leif the truth. So he doesn’t press it.

Leif has an interesting relationship with movie night. On one hand, he loves it. Curling up on the couch with popcorn and his best friend to watch a cheesy movie? That’s basically heaven to Leif. Although heaven might have a few more sketchbooks, and Bob Ross videos, and cardigans, and pretty people complimenting his genius.

One the other hand, movie night was hell for Leif. Tobin always made obnoxious commentary, and threw popcorn at the screen, and laughed way too hard at funny scenes, and cried at emotional scenes.

And it was simple things like this that made Leif fall more in love with Tobin. So movie night was basically a weekly reminder for Leif that he was absolutely whipped for his best friend and had done nothing about that fact for over ten years.

Halfway through the movie, Leif starts feeling tired. In all honesty, he’s only a little bit tired. But he always plays it up so that every movie night he’s overcome with exhaustion and has no choice but to fall asleep on Tobin’s lap or shoulder.

Okay, so maybe he has a bit of a problem. But hell, this is the only opportunity Leif has to cuddle with Tobin and he will exploit it to the best of his ability, damn it!

So Leif lays his head on his friend’s shoulder, smiling as he doses off, lost in the smell of Tobin’s hoodie.

“Tobes, I’m going fucking insane.” Leif announces, collapsing on their kitchen table.

“Ok. What else is new?” Tobin asks him from where he’s sitting eating cereal.

Leif lifts his head a bit. “I’m not kidding. It’s been six weeks of this shit and it’s still only the beginning. I’m way ahead in work so I have nothing to do, I’ve been drawing more than I ever have and my hand is cramping from filling two sketchbooks already, my hair is longer than I’ve ever wanted it to be, and this damn ferret is driving me crazy!”

Tobin nods. “I see. Well, this will take care of the hair problem for you.” He hands Leif what appears to be a hot pink sparkly scrunchie.

Leif takes it tentatively. “What on earth is this?”

“What does it look like? It’s a scrunchie. I’m already rocking one, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

Only then does Leif look up fully and realize that Tobin is, in fact, ‘rocking’ a scrunchie. His long brown hair is half-tied up in a weird Sokka-from-Avatar-the-Last-Airbender type look.

“You look absolutely ridiculous.” Leif says. And cute, he thinks, but would never admit out loud. Because it’s weirdly true- the neon green hair tie look somehow makes Tobin even cuter.

“And you can too! Just wear it, at least your hair will stop falling in your eyes.”

“I’m not wearing it. Why do you even have these?” Leif hands the scrunchie back to Tobin, who puts it around his wrist.

“Believe me, bro. You do not want to know.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Leif stands to get himself a bagel.

“Oh and by the way, don’t you dare disrespect my son, Sir Greyskull the Brave.” Tobin stares lovingly at the ferret.

Leif rolls his eyes. “I miss start of quarantine Tobin, who wouldn’t shut up about how much he hated the ferret.”

“Leif, don’t be rude. He’s grown on me, and he should grow on you too.”

“I’m never going to let a ferret grow on me.” Leif remarks as he returns to the table with his bagel. “But seriously, dude, I need things to do.”

“Okay…” Tobin looks contemplative. “How about after we both finish work for the day, we play some old-fashioned, kids-sleepover party games, just the two of us. You know, truth or dare, two truths and a lie, never have I ever, stuff like that. But since we’re not kids, we can play it the fun way: with booze.”

Leif realizes the endless ways this could go wrong- getting drunk with your crush and playing truth or dare? That’s a high-school level bad decision right there. But he’s too bored to say no.

“Sounds good to me.”

Leif, of course, finishes work around four in the afternoon. Tobin, on the other hand, has been procrastinating his work for weeks and still isn’t done by seven. So Leif decides to fix dinner. Might as well have a nice meal together before they get absolutely wasted and Leif admits things he doesn’t want to admit.

Tobin finally comes out of his room a little before eight, just as Leif is setting the stirfry he made on the table.

“Oh, sweet, food!” Tobin sits down and starts eating.

“Yes, I figured I might at least do something with the hours I’ve spent waiting for you to finish.”

“Hey!” Tobin says with a mouth full of food. “At least I did the work!”

“That’s true, but if you had done any of the work throughout the week, you wouldn’t have to spend so long on it.”

“Yeah, well, where’s the fun in that?”

Leif sits down and takes a bite. “Oh, of course, how could I forget. Nothing screams fun like putting work off until the last possible minute.”

“See, this is why you went to some fancy college while I went to jail!”

Leif stares at him. “One of those things is considerably better than the other, and I’ll tell you right now, it’s not jail.”

“Doesn’t matter now, does it? We both have the same job, and you’re only a little bit higher ranking than me. But let’s be real, that’s probably only because you fucked the boss.”

“Shut up.” Leif says, and he means it. He hates when Tobin brings up his whole fling with Joan. It’s been over a year, and Leif has made it abundantly clear that he’s over it and doesn’t want to talk about it, but Tobin doesn’t listen. Nothing’s worse than the guy you love constantly bringing up your bad past relationships.

“I’m not wrong though-”

“Tobes.” Leif looks up from his plate. “Please just drop it.”

“Okay! I’m sorry I brought it up, I was just trying to make a joke.”

“Whatever. Just… don’t do it again.”

They eat in silence for a while, and Leif’s worried that he’s crushed the vibe of the evening.

“So, Tobes, how much are you planning to drink tonight?”

“All of it.” Tobin replies.

“All of our alcohol?” It’s not that it’s that much- they don’t keep a lot of drinks at home, since they usually just go out to bars. But they can’t do that anymore.

“Yep. It’s been too long since I’ve been drunk.”

“Okay, you make a fair point, but I raise you this point: if you drink all we have right now, you have to suffer however many more months we’re stuck in here sober.”

Tobin pauses for a minute- he clearly hadn’t thought of that. “Ah, fuck that. We can buy more online or something. Live in the moment, bro.”

Right. Live in the moment. Leif gulps. This isn’t going to end well.

Well, Leif was definitely living in the moment. At least, that would explain why he’s opening his mouth and asking Tobin, “ok, ok. What’s… what’s a secret you’ve never told anyone before?”

Leif lifts his head from where it’s laying on the couch so he can judge Tobin’s reaction. It’s three hours after dinner and they’re both plastered.

“Uh…” Tobin takes a while to respond, and Leif can’t tell if he’s nervous about the question or just too drunk to think.

When Tobin still doesn’t respond, Leif starts to panic. He may be drunk but he can still remember how stupid a question that is to ask your crush.

“Oh! I’ve got it!” Tobin finally answers. “So… y’know the bird I had? For two weeks?” His words are slurred.

“Yeah?” Leif is both relieved and disappointed that the answer is about a bird.

“I didn’t give it away.”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t give it away like I said I did. I set it free.”

Leif pauses for a moment, then bursts into laughter. “You set it free?! Dude, that’s an exotic bird!”

“Well I realize that now!”

“Tobes, what if you accidentally created a mutant species of a tropical bird and a-whatever birds live in San Francisco! You could be famous but for, like, a really bad reason.” Leif can’t stop laughing.

“I know that! I’ve been haunted by my actions for years! That’s why I’ve never told anyone!”

“Bro, how are you sober enough to say haunted by my actions? That’s fancier than you usually talk, let alone after however many drinks you’ve had.”

“Maybe the alcohol powers me. I should have it more often.”

“Yes, do, maybe you’ll admit more bird-related crimes.” Leif says, still through fits of giggles. He slowly sits up and flops on the other side of the couch, his head almost touching Tobin’s legs.

“I really hope you don’t remember this tomorrow morning.”

“Oh I will. Trust me, I will.”

“It’s my turn to ask a question, right?” Tobin asks.

“Yeah, though I doubt you can get me to admit something that will top your bird confession.”

“Well, what about you?” Tobin asks suddenly.

“What about me?”

“What’s a secret you’ve never told anyone?”

And maybe it’s just for Leif, maybe the drink is going to his brain, but it seems to him that the whole mood shifts dramatically as Tobin says that.

He has an answer, of course. And the part of his brain that’s still sober knows he can’t say it out loud.

But a much larger part of his brain is drunk, and drunk Leif tends to speak impulsively. Drunk Leif tends to do things like sing an Air Supply song to his ex.

Drunk Leif is opening his mouth.

Drunk Leif is saying, “I’m in love with you.”

There’s a long pause, and the realization of what he just did is setting in. Leif sits up and turns so he’s face to face with Tobin, who has a blank expression.

Finally, he speaks. “... well that tops my bird confession.”

“Tobin, I-”

Leif doesn’t have time to finish before his friend is kissing him.

Sober Leif would pull away. Sober Leif would talk through his feelings, and ask Tobin how he felt, and take things slow.

But Sober Leif isn’t here.

Which possibly explains how the next thing he knows, it’s morning, and he’s still on the couch. And Tobin is sleeping on top of him. And neither of them are wearing a shirt.

Well, shit.

Leif tries to move out from under Tobin without waking him, because he’s currently far more concerned with his throbbing headache than the fact that he made out with his best friend last night.

Of course, Tobin wakes up anyway. He stares sleepy-eyed at Leif, who’s putting on his crumpled up shirt.

“Where- what-” Tobin looks around before running his hand through his bedhead. “Fuck, did we-”

“I’m going to get some food and water.” Leif says, not looking at Tobin. He goes to the kitchen and pours himself a glass of water, but Tobin is still talking despite Leif’s obvious signs that he doesn’t want to talk.

“Dude, come back here, we should tal-”

“I’m going to check my email.” Leif says, rushing into his room and locking the door behind him.

Leif falls on the bed and screams into a pillow.

Fuck!

He’s tempted to just close his eyes and fall back asleep, ignoring the pain and the consequences of his actions.

And he may have done just that, had it not been for the incessant knocking at his door.

“Go away!” Leif shouts, still muffled by the pillow.

“Dude, just open the door. You’re acting immature.” Had Leif not been so hungover, he would have laughed at that. He’s the immature one?!

He continues to ignore Tobin, and once again almost dozes off but then he hears the door swing open.

He sits up very slowly and turns around. “How did you get in here? I locked the door!”

Tobin holds up a paper clip and grins. “I hacked into the CIA, do you really think I wouldn’t know how to pick a lock?”

“Well, you’ve never done it before, how was I to know?”

“That’s because,” Tobin sits on the corner of Leif’s bed. “I usually try to give you your privacy. But I thought that this situation was more important than your privacy.”

“Gee, thanks.” Leif sits up a bit more, clutching to the bedsheets to avoid getting dizzy. “You seem surprisingly sober.” Leif remarks.

“Yeah well, I handle my alcohol better than you. Plus I’ve been hungover way more than you, so I’m more used to it. Plus-” Tobin stops talking abruptly and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Plus what?” Leif asks, suddenly also feeling a lot more sober. Tobin doesn’t respond, and the longer the silence between them grows, the more Leif remembers last night’s events. “Tobes, plus what?” He asks again, more desperate this time.

Tobin takes a deep breath. “Plus having the love of your life say he likes you too and kiss you back tends to clear your mind.”

“The… I… what?” Leif can’t process anything that Tobin just said to him.

Tobin looks up at Leif with fear in his eyes. “Okay, well maybe love of my life is a bit dramatic, but it has been fifteen years, so it’s not that far off.”

Leif still doesn’t respond.

“...Oh.” Tobin says in a small voice. “Well, if you don’t actually- if you- if that was just a drunk Leif thing, if you… didn’t mean it… that’s fine.” The way his voice cracks shows that it’s clearly not fine.

Leif thinks his brain is broken.

Tobin stands from the bed and shakily moves towards the door, but luckily Leif’s mind and ability to move kick back in right then.

“Wait!” He tries to stand up but falls on the floor. So much for that ‘ability to move’ thing.

Tobin turns around and despite the hurt expression he’s still wearing, he laughs a bit. “Bro, are you ok?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Just hungover. And in shock.” Leif stands up again and rubs his head. “But please, wait. Sit back down.”

Tobin does so, even though he still looks like he desperately wants to leave.

“Tobes…” Leif starts. This would be a lot easier to do if he wasn’t in immense amounts of pain. “It wasn’t just a drunk Leif thing. I mean, sober Leif wouldn’t have done it, but that’s just because he’s a coward. It doesn’t mean I didn’t mean it.”

Tobin looks up, a small smile on his face. “Yeah?”

Leif smiles too. “Yeah.”

They both look down, smiles still on their faces, blushing.

“So…” Leif says after a while. “Fifteen years, huh?”

“I… uh, yep.” Tobin says. “Ever since eighth grade, when you showed up to that stupid school dance in that stupid baby blue suit, and tiny Tobin just went ‘shit, do I like guys?’ and then tiny Tobin grew into slightly larger Tobin and went ‘yep, I definitely like guys, specifically the guy who’s been my best friend since third grade’ and then slightly larger Tobin grew into an even bigger Tobin who decided that fact was very embarrassing and he should never tell it to anyone and then even bigger Tobin grew-”

Leif cut him off with a small kiss. “I think I get the point, Even Bigger Tobin.” He says, laughing.

“Oh no, I’m not even bigger Tobin, I’m biggest Tobin. Even bigger Tobin was sometime around college.”

“Of course, my bad.” Leif laughs. He nudges Tobin with his knees. “You’re smitten, you loser.”

“Well you don’t seem very… whatever the opposite of smitten is yourself.”

Leif smiles at him. “I’m not. It’s been a bit over ten years on my end.”

Tobin does a double take. “Over ten years?!”

“Yes?” Leif answers, confused.

“You’re telling me I could have been gettin’ some of this for over ten years?!” Tobin gestures to Leif’s whole body, and Leif tucks into himself, self-conscious.

“I’m not quite sure I would word it like that, but… yeah? I guess?”

“Jesus.” Tobin shakes his head, looking disappointed. “I should have just said something.”

“I should have too.” Leif says quietly. “But hey, it only took me ten years, quarantine, and copious amounts of alcohol.”

“I should get you drunk more often.”

“You don’t need to get me drunk anymore. You have me.”

Tobin smiles. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Tobes?”

“What?”

Leif leans in and kisses him. “Let’s make up for lost time.”

***

“Hey,” Leif starts, sitting down at the table where Tobin is already eating. It’s the day after The Big Confession™, as Tobin has decided to call it.

“Hey?”

“Don’t think that just because we’re dating now it means I’ve forgotten about your secret life as a bird criminal.” Leif smirks at him.

“Oh, geez.” Tobin forgot that he admitted that.

“And I will turn you into the authorities if need be.” Leif adds with a faux-serious face.

“Really? And betray your own boyfriend like that?!” Tobin doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to using that word.

“Sorry, babe. I care more about the good of bird-kind.” Leif stands to get food and stops to kiss Tobin’s forehead. It takes all of Tobin’s self control not to melt.

“Hey, you know we have a work call in an hour, right?” Tobin asks, leaning his head back over his chair so he can see Leif.

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Well, I was just wondering how we act. Y’know, now that… yeah.”

“You have such a way with words.” Leif says sarcastically, returning to the table. “But since you asked, I wasn’t planning on saying anything. They’re our coworkers, they don’t need to know about our dating lives.”

“I just thought I should tell Zoey.”

Leif raises an eyebrow. “Zoey? Out of all the people we work with, Zoey would be the last one I would think to tell.”

“It’s just, she…” Tobin pauses. “Remember the watermelon call?”

“Of course.”

“It wasn’t about watermelon. And it wasn’t about her brother’s dating life, or whatever bullshit excuse I came up with. It was about us.”

“Us?”

“Yeah. Zoey asked if I liked you. I still have no idea how she knew, or why she thought it important enough to call me about, but she did. So I feel like I should tell her.”

Leif sighs. “If you want to tell her, go ahead. But I’m never sharing anything with Zoey Clarke unless I’m forced to.”

“Dude, she’s not really that bad, you know. When you and I were in that weird fight, she was actually pretty nice to me, in her own awkward way.”

Leif sighs again. “Yeah, but it’s been fun to have a workplace rivalry for as long as I have. I don’t want to give it up now.”

“Geez, babe, you’re petty.”

“And you’re pretty.” Leif says, staring at him with fondness in his bright blue eyes. Tobin blushes.

“That was barely an opening.”

“And yet…” Leif grabs Tobin’s arm and pulls him in for a kiss. “I took it.”

Tobin doesn’t know why he’s nervous for the call. There’s nothing obviously different about the way he and Leif are sitting or how they look in the camera. It’s the same as last time, squished together awkwardly in front of the camera. Maybe that’s the difference. They don’t look awkward anymore. They look happy to be this close. Is it obvious to others or is Tobin just overanalyzing the situation?

“Tobes, chill out, I’m about to join the call.”

“I’m chill!”

Leif gives him a look. “No you’re not. You do realize it’s going to be way more obvious that something’s up with us if you’re visibly panicking.”

“Fine.” Tobin gestures at the computer. “Start the call.”

Leif does, and this time the only people on are Zoey and Max, since Joan’s not involved with this particular meeting.

“Hi you two!” Zoey says, stopping whatever secret romantic conversation she was having with Max and paying attention to the new members of her call.

“Hi Zoey.” Tobin says tensely, and Leif nudges him subtly, another message for Tobin to chill.

“Hey.” Leif nods at them.

“Anything new with you guys?” Max asks, and Tobin mentally smacks his head, remembering that Max heard him and Zoey’s call, too.

“Uhh…” Leif turns to Tobin and cocks his head.

Tobin knows he said he wanted to tell Zoey about them, but he’s currently regretting saying that.

He decides to go for a subtle approach.

“Not much.” Tobin says, winking, and taking Leif’s hand. He plops his head on Leif’s shoulder and feels his boyfriend relax.

Zoey’s smile is wide. “Not much on our end either.” She says, although she presumably means it.

The rest of the call goes fine, Tobin lifts his head from Leif as soon as someone else joins, and although they keep holding hands under the view of the camera, no one seems to suspect anything.

“Hey,” Tobin says, once again putting his head on Leif’s shoulder as soon as the call is over.

“Hey what?” Leif asks.

“I just thought of a new way we can pass the time.” Tobin says with a smirk.

“Oh? What’s that?”

“This.” Tobin says, moving so he’s sitting on Leif’s lap.

“Oh?” Leif says again, blushing.

Tobin kisses him passionately. Like Leif said, they have a lot of time to make up for. And maybe, just maybe, they can make up fifteen years worth of missed kisses, and soft glances, and tender touches, and exploring each other’s bodies in the dark over the course of months stuck at home together.

***

“Two and a half months. Two and a half months!” Leif shouted to no one in particular. Tobin sticks his head out of their room- yes, their room. A week or so ago they decided it was pointless to have two rooms so Tobin’s room is more of a guest room/office now- and hollers to Leif.

“I swear to god, if I come out there and you’re making more baked goods, I will throttle you!”

Leif smiles to himself. “Is that a threat or a promise?!” He calls back.

He can hear Tobin say. “There’s a time and place, dude.”

“Not in quarantine, there isn’t!”

“You are quite purposefully avoiding my baked goods accusation and I’m coming to the kitchen, so you better be hiding all evidence of cookies!”

Leif doesn’t bother trying to clean up the mess of a kitchen in front of him.

“I knew it!” Tobin shouts, startling Leif.

“I’m sorry, ok! It’s just, baking is fun, and very few things are fun anymore and I need something to do otherwise I’ll go crazy!”

Tobin puts his hands over his ears. “I’m not listening! If I have to clean up flour from this kitchen one more time I’m going to lose it.”

Leif just crosses his arms. “What about that promised throttling?”

Tobin faux-lunges at him, and Leifs arms flash out and pull him in for a kiss.

Tobin pulls away after a moment. “You taste like cookie dough.” He kisses Leif again. “Could be worse, I guess.”

#TAKE IT!!#I AM SO GLAD TO FINALLY BE POSTING THIS #i'm actually pretty proud of it overall #obviously there are a.. lot. of flaws. but considering i wrote it so long ago and still like it?? not bad #coder boyfriends fic #coder boyfriends #coder bfs #tobin batra #leif donnelly #leif x tobin #tobin x leif #zoey's extraordinary playlist #zep #eli.writes #usermickey #this one's for you mickey

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itsthe-neo-zone · 4 years

Text

Wands and Potions - NCTdream & WayV

Please read the Masterlist before continuing ahead with the chapter.

Warnings: read the warnings in the masterlist linked above, song recommendations can be found there too.

A/N: Thank you to those who appreciate and support this piece of work! You know who you are, and thank you to my wonderful followers and taglist! you make this possible.

Chapter 16:

“I wanted to ask you about something.” Selene whispered; she didn’t have to be loud; she was sitting on the edge of a log in the clearing near the edge of a small island on the black lake.

“Fire away,” Yangyang was behind her, plaiting her soft locks, the feeling of the gold-like shimmer beneath his hands calmed him slightly. He was about to reveal his thoughts and deepest desires to her.

“Is it true, the whole dark arts thing.” She breathed out Yangyang could feel how she visibly tensed beneath his gaze. He looked down at her shoulders, the way they curved in slightly. She felt vulnerable around him. “You’re taught the dark arts?”

The exasperated sigh she heard from him was worrying her and his silence increased the level of anxiety in her tenfold. She felt his slender fingers let go of the strands of hair she let cascade down.

She had ever gone this far away from castle alone. “Yes,” he murmured; he took his steps to come stand before her. “I’ve done things… that are regrettable, but I’d never try to harm anyone.” Crouching to be at eye level he looked into her eyes with full sincerity.

“It’s alright.” she crooked her head to the side breathing out, the stray strands of her hair fell down past her eyes “You’re not scared?” he asked puzzled, his eyes wavered slightly looking anywhere but her.

“No,” pulling up all her courage she smiled at him, assuring the slender figure before her. “I’m not.”

“Even if I tell you I know of the unforgiveable curses.” He was a little sceptical in mentioning them.

“Even if you tell me about those.” Selene didn’t hesitate she answered immediately letting him know she trusted him, it scared her a little, but she believed he was good inside. He never judged her for being a half-blood and although it was difficult for him, he maintained their friendship.

“So, why did you bring me here?” Selene looks around. She knew of her whereabouts, but she was confused, why specifically here?

The two continued walking along the path into the woodland sitting on the island, the neighbouring patch of land had the grave of the preceding headmaster of Hogwarts. They began talking, Yangyang explaining what he believed and where his affiliations lied.

“Gellert Grindelwald was right. He had a plan to keep us away from hiding. All wizard kind. Durmstrang students look up to him, we recognised him as our leader.” Yangyang glanced around, they wandered off into the main coppice, letting themselves get caught in the magnificence of the nature.

“Do you think like him, do you believe that wizard kind deserve to rule, that it’s your birthright?” Selene was wondering, she wanted to understand what he believed to be his right. She wanted to get her thoughts around his ideals and beliefs.

“I do.” He walked up to a certain tree gathering from its leaking sap. “Tree sap must be quite rare where you come from.” she comically pondered, Yangyang grinned turning to face her “Just a hobby.”

“So, you think there are powerful wizarding families that would be willing to continue Grindelwald’s noble work?”

“Definitely, I’m surprised your family isn’t in on it too.” Selene chuckle; she thought of her obsessive blood supremacist mother and her family.

“Don’t be, I’m sure they’re a part of it, my family is intense when it comes to this kind of ordeals.”

[01:36PM]

Selene had been spending the rest of the free afternoon she had in the empty potions room. Professor Giverlein left the empty room letting her know there were no more potions classes that day leaving her with everything she could ever need.

“There’s no way I’m going to get this?” Selene whined thrusting her digits past the sides of her head rubbing her sore scalp. She was beyond stressed.

Sleepless nights, Chenle and his problems on one side. Rose and Albus with their family stress on the other; her own family ordeals tugging at her, the prophecy the portrait spoke about, the lestrange manor invitation, Yangyang and his affiliations to the return of the Ancient Sacred 28 and then Scorpius and his solemn depression. Selene was trying to solve too many problems at once.

She felt as if it was all coming back, as if the matters were taking her physical body and heath as tribute she was going to regurgitate. Holding it in, she lifted the elixir the potion she had been working on secretly aside her schoolwork.

The bitter after taste was awful but she withstood it for the benefits the potion would give her. This was old magic; you’d give something up for the taking of another. In this case it was her blood.

Selene hid the bubbling liquid in the cauldron, she lifted the rusty metal towards her shelf setting a lid on top and pushing it inwards quickly to sheath the brewing of the elixir. She took her seat back at the edge of the table.

Selene was reminded of the tournament happening from the exaggerated shouts and yells from the harbouring window. The voices came from students a year or two older, closer to Yangyang’s age. Selene sat there dazed for a moment. It was getting closer to the winter break, meaning the deadline for the potion project was creeping nearer.

Playing with the leaves of the daisy root; Selene remembered what she had gone through to get the foliage. She recalled what Chenle did for her. He saved her from the hell she was going through, twice. That should prove that he cares.

But why do I still hate him for his harsh words and cold demeanour?

[06:17PM]

[Selene Pov]

“I got your message. What is it?” I rushed to the library. Moving past tables I saw a crouched lyra she was shaking, and I mean shaking. Almost vibrating.

“What on earth happened. And why did you send that idiot Irene to tell-” I stopped my whining because I realised this was real, she was in tears and it looked like anymore and she’d lose it all. I lifted her up swinging the robes she had on the floor over her shoulder blades.

Olivia comes rushing into the library, I could hear the frantic panic in her voice as she desperately wanders about the immense hall of the library.

“Oh thank heavens you’re here!” I speak agitatedly my voice breaking, “Olivia what’s happening to her.”

“He found out!” Olivia crouched she grabbed the girls palm, “Hopefully this works.” She pulled an elixir out of the robes pocket taking a couple drops and setting them on the girls wrist.

“Who found out?” I was panicking, I should be keeping my calm but the view before my own two eyes was scaring me.

“Se-Selene, he saw, it- I didn’t. he saw E-everything.” I hushed her, “It’s alright, I understand. We’ll solve this.”

It looked like Olivia understood what lyra was blabbering about, the rush in her hands and movements forced me to lift the dropped unknown potion and take care of the small container and its excess drops.

“I’ll explain later but you have to get Scorpius right now. Do whatever you need to do he must come here right now.” I nod already running off I pushed past the main library doors not caring or even asking questions on my Scorpius had to be there.

I was running even faster than I had when I heard Scorpius’ voice in my head, using every force I had in the rest of my body I managed to clear the thoughts for a couple more seconds sending a energy fuelled message to the blond slytherin boy.

“Where are you going?” Jade yelled after my speeding self, she watched me turn towards the dungeons of the castle, following she tried to catch up but as a speeding bolt, the only thing she caught was my maroon hair trailing off behind me.

I reached the entrance of the Slytherin common room. It was guarded by two gargoyle statures and a password. Never being down here before; I panicked. Lyra didn’t look like she had much time before she was out.

Catching sight of the one person I didn’t want to be around, I groaned. Why him, why Chenle of all freaking people? It just had to work that way, turning around to face him I forcibly pushed down any form of resentment and dignity I had.

“Where is Scorpius?”

“Look what the snake swallowed? It’s Selene Adams, have you come to apologise?” Jisung who was next to the blond spat smirking, the smug grin on his face annoying me more than it should.

“I’m not here to apologise to anyone.” I glared back at him; his words made me feel like shit. “Where’s Scorpius, Chenle?” I repeated my question my body language visibly showing I was under a time limit.

“Tell me?”

“Selene they’re not going to help.” The familiar echo from behind me voiced down the damp and dreary corridor. “Jade please help me, lyra has fallen and Olivia sent me to get Scorpius, its urgent.”

She nodded pushing past the two; specifically Jisung. “Ill get him now, wait out here.”

“Be fast. Please!”

I paced up and down the width of the small corridor, Jisung’s face immediately changed realisation dawned over his sharp features and he quickly followed the dark raven female; leaving the blond boy standing a meter away from me.

It felt awkward. I didn’t want to talk to him or even be around him. Though I could feel his penetrating gaze it pervaded my head trying to understand my thoughts, defiling me.

“Stop that.”

“What? Stop what?” he sneered his voice was back to the usual the voice he always had; the softness that was once there when we were at the mansion was nowhere to be found. I guess snakes venom spreads fast, especially of that snake is Rosier.

“Your staring.” I snapped back.

“So now I can’t use my eyes, and who said I take orders from you? Filthy half breed.” His words took me back to the times I’d let myself be lectured and broken down by him.

I wasn’t going to answer but the look of pure aggravation on my face said enough. Watching the now appeared Scorpius drag me off was enough to let it slide, lyra was more important anyways.

“You can tell me what happened later and why I’m desperately needed when Lyra’s the one in trouble but now we need to get to her as fast as possible.”

After pulling Scorpius on a wild goose chase to the library then noticing Olivia took Lyra to the lunch table on the outside of the castle gates and into the gardens past the wooden bridge. I had finally made it completely emphysematous.

“What is it, what is going on?” the blond boy was extremely confused and shocked. His movements were extremely erratic.

“You’re going to have to sit through this one, Scorpius.” Olivia spoke she was hesitant. Weary to all his reactions.

“Do I go? Or what do I…” after catching enough breath I ask the unanswered question. It seemed like this was a private ordeal, I was unsure of whether it seemed ok for me to be here.

“You’re related to him; he may need some ‘moral support’ through this.” Olivia hissed she was put in an uncomfortable position; I could see it myself. She lifted the lifeless right arm that belonged to lyra.

The cold wind brushing past our stiff bodies allowed me to lean into Scorpius for warmth and comfort. Though I think he was the one who needed comfort now, he looked extremely anxious.

“Do you know what’s happening?” I look into his eyes leaning over his shoulder. Scorpius gleams smiling lightly at my pouted facial expression.

“You look cute.” He mumbles, pulling me down to sit next to him. He sighed, it seemed like he had a rough day today. “To be completely honest, I don’t know what this is about, but I have a bad feeling about this if my predictions are correct.”

The unease was evident in the way he stations himself waiting for Lyra to wake from her deep slumber.

“Why did you ask me to bring him here?” My question was directed to Olivia, but I couldn’t take my eyes of Lyra her tired and overworked emotional toll showing through her face. I was stupid not to notice, the glimmer once in her soft eyes no longer there.

“I should have been there for her like she did for me.” I muttered voice breaking, it sounded weaker than it should have. Watching the ravenclaw witch wake her up from the antidote of the elixir she looked shaken and dissipated.

“Selene, Scorpius?” her voice was barely above a whisper, lyra woke up but she was still in a haze. “I’ll let Lyra explain, just give her time to awaken.” Olivia added letting lyra sit up, I moved to help the brunette witch. My friend, a sister to me.

After giving her a few moments to calm I spoke up nudging her to speak gently. She had energized just enough to talk. But as soon as she looked up and into Scorpius’ eyes the tears started. He was shocked, his lips trembling wanting to say something but unable to speak.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” I was truly disordered, completely flummoxed. The two were reacting lie they had shared some sort information. Everyone was reacting strangely. Even Jade was understanding her eyes flashed when she heard of Lyra being hurt.

“I think I know, but I’m unsure…” Scorpius was as still as a stone sculpture at this moment. “And it’s scaring me.” He breathed looking at her weak shivering fingers before him, they laid on the table as she sobbed, “Is it a possibility that I’m- I mean, that you’re…

Her voice was incredibly shaky, she yearned to hug him but it was difficult... Everything was telling her not to push his limits.

“I wanted to, -really- I wanted to tell you for so long. But fath-father didn’t let me. He kept me away too. I’m so sorry.”

@ajuniceuajuniceu @kkuljungwoo @sensiblebutch @kangkinoa @nctzen2020 @mystic-jungkook @merryandhappylele @bcbymingi @mochischeeks @rilakunma @jaehyunspaghetti @commentgirl @99jjh @johnnys-wifeu @misaraem @apricottulips @h2ogamergirl @angelsnowflake

#nctdream series #wayv senarios #kpop fanfic #nct hogwarts au #nct chenle #wayv yangyang #NCT 127 #nct fanfic #nct wayv #wayv x reader

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rainbowgazes-archive · 4 years

Note

I've followed you for a while and you're one of 3 people I've ever seen mention actually caring about (not just reblogging) your internet security, i am just wondering what (other than a vpn) do you use to do so (i use hidemyass and ublock origin, and usually duckduckgo) ublock does have a Facebook container built-in but i want recommendations

I’m glad you asked this! I’m still learning so if any of this is wrong it’s not me talking out my ass but rather me not knowing better. Also I’m not the most secure that I can be and I’m fully aware, but some steps are better than none. Some of these can also dramatically increase your browsers performance.

First, I use a vpn mostly because I acquire things on the internet though 100% legal means and also it’s handy for getting around news site paywalls. Having a vpn does enough to mask that traffic from my isp. And this part is just related and not really answering the question, but if you’ve seen vpn adverts saying shit like “it masks all your internet usage and keeps companies from tracking you” that is barely true. Vpns are not enough to anonymize yourself or even really keep you from being tracked. Using a vpn and then logging onto an email you’ve used on your regular connection is enough for pretty much every company to connect the dots on you. They’re certainly nice to have, but they’re a small piece of a massive puzzle. I won’t say which one I use but I will say mullvad is probably the best for the cost and the security it provides.

The rest I’m gonna put under a read more because the post is a little lengthy (hopefully it actually works bc last night it didn’t)

For browsing, I use a fork of chromium called ungoogled chromium. It has kind of a steep learning curve if you want to build it for yourself, but there exist downloads for windows. The author states he cant guarantee they havent been tampered with but I haven’t had any issues. If you’re okay with that, the other annoying part to get around is that addons will not work directly from the chrome webstore and require you to unpack addons and add them/update them manually. I wrote up a tutorial on how to do that here. If you can manage to get past all that, it’s easily the fastest browser I’ve ever used. If any of that seems like too much, then it’s a safer bet to go with firefox.

For addons (like I said, I’m using chromium but these should all either be on firefox as well or have equivalents), I use ublock origin and ghostery for adblocking and tracker blocking. These can be kinda redundant but they don’t really impact my performance so I just run them both because why not. I also use umatrix (admittedly I have it off a lot of the time bc it can interfere with certain pages and I’m too lazy to fix it) as a scriptblocker. If you’ve ever used noscript it has pretty much the same function. Last one is Random User-Agent which randomizes information about your computer/OS/browser every 10 minutes so when websites try to identify you by these things, it’s fed false information.

As far as search engines go, I usually try to use duckduckgo when I can but unfortunately there are some aspects of searching that google is just infinitely better at. Still, duckduckgo is pretty good for what it’s worth.

Something else I want to mention is I highly recommend keepass as an offline password database. You can use things like dashlane or lastpass and from what I understand they don’t store anything on their servers and it’s all locally encrypted but I don’t trust that if I need an account for it.

Aside from that, I have my browser clean out all cookies and cache upon exit and ccleaner checks behind it to delete anything it might have missed (this is absolutely redundant but I do it just because I can lol). This is good practice since cookies are used to track you everywhere. This can be kind of a pain in the ass though, because it means you’ll have to log in to everything every time you quit your browser. Eventually I just got used to it though keepass helps that too.

Again, this isn’t going to completely anonymize you, but it’ll make it harder. If you really wanna hide yourself, you’d probably want to use something like Tails which is a linux based operating system that runs off a disc/flash drive that starts with a clean slate and immediately deletes everything except things you tell it not to and configuration when it shuts down. If that’s too much, Tor browser is also an option, though I cannot say how secure it is because I have heard and continue to hear conflicting things about its efficacy for years lol. And it bears repeating: if you truly want to remain anonymous, you’d have to do this and a whole lot more and also never log in to any of your current accounts. But hopefully this answers a lot of questions!

#bowserisgay

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dkronpa · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4: The Sky is Just a Skip Away ~Daily Life Part 2~

//Sorry this took so long yall but it’s here! I’ll get started on the investigation as soon as, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

-Chapter 4 Daily Life, Secrets in the History (Oxygen Levels – 19%)-

“Huh…? Amaterasu-san?” I watched her walk out of the dorms as I was heading to the dining hall in the morning. She always comes to breakfast in the morning though? …maybe I should follow her. I got a weird feeling about her behaviour the past two days.

We wound up in the history building for some reason. In the library, but not I can’t seem to find her. Stupid library is too big to keep track on people. I began pacing up and down the rows upon rows of books without being able to spot Amaterasu-san at all. Just where did she disappear to?

“Amaterasu-san?” I called out but voice only echoed out, “maybe she went somewhere else…? But I’m sure she came here…” I felt my foot kick against something and looked down to find some kind of hairpin. Doesn’t Amaterasu-san wear a hairpin like this? So, she definitely came in here…

I looked around the area that it was dropped, but nothing looked suspicious. “She couldn’t have just disappeared into thin air…” My eyes fell on the wall of the library. The walls themselves had no bookshelves covering them up, just old wallpaper. On closer inspection, it looked like a section of the wallpaper had been either torn or cut.

“I wonder…” I murmured, feeling around the wall for a bit. As I approached where the tear was, my hand managed to push a switch that was hidden underneath the wallpaper. The wall shuddered and slid open towards me.

“A hidden passageway…? What the hell?” I pulled the door open further and entered the hidden area. It was a dimly lit room covered wall-to-wall in old dusty bookshelves. Is it really just more books in here? I walked further into the room and took in the surroundings.

“What is this place…?”

“It’s the archives.”

“Uwah!” I jumped, turning to find Amaterasu-san hiding in between two of the bookshelves. “A-Amaterasu-san?! Y-you scared me…”

“I noticed.” She said.

“What are you doing here…? You said it was, what? An archive? An archive for what?”

“A lot of different things. There is a lot of top-secret government files and police records and stuff. It’s all unmarked so I dunno what else is in here. Kinda just reading through everything to get a full scope of things…”

“How did you even find this place…?”

“Found it yesterday. In my lab I noticed this empty space on a map of the History Building that was connected to the library, so I decided to investigate. Found it pretty quickly. Monokuma even said if I search enough there could be a clue or something in here.” She explained.

“Huh?! A clue?! Then we should tell the others, the more people we have-“

“No, we can’t.” Amaterasu-san said forcefully. “Monokuma also said that I can’t tell anybody about this, but if they discover it on their own, it’s fine. He never said I wasn’t allowed leave clues for people so when I saw you following me, I dropped that hairclip. Speaking of which, can I get it back?”

“O-oh…yeah.” I handed back the hairclip. “That looks new, where did you get it?”

“Mami-chan gave it to me. She said it was a token of friendship or something like that. Kinda felt bad ‘coz I didn’t have anything to give her in return. Oh well.”

At least try to sound bad about it. “I see…it’s a shame we can’t ask people to help out, but I hope you don’t mind if I help out? Maybe we can even lure other people here to help out. Though Monokuma might not be so forgiving if you do that again. The important thing is trying to find a way out before…”

“I hear you. I’ll do what I can. Help me out.” It didn’t sound like a request, but I agreed anyway. Somewhere in these walls could be a clue to getting out of here…I need to find it.

“I’m happy to be assisting you, Amaterasu-san. What kind of things have you found so far?”

“Like I said, not much. Just top-secret stuff and police records. Nothing relating to Hope’s Peak or anything about weird projects that could be the killing game.”

“But it sounds like government files are in here. Maybe we just need to search the right shelf. If you continue from wherever you were, I can search the other side of the room. I’m a fast reader as well, so let’s do our best.”

“Right.” Amaterasu-san nodded. I was hoping to get her to crack a smile, but no luck. I suppose she’s still not ready to open up completely, but I’m happy to be working with her.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

“Alright, bastards! It is now 10pm and therefore night-time! The cafeteria will be locked, and certain places are now prohibited!” Monokuma’s announcement ended and I rubbed my eyes. The dust was making it hard to read for this long, it feels like I’ve barely made a dent in this first shelf.

“If you want, you can head to bed. This place isn’t prohibited at night-time, so I don’t mind staying behind and reading a little more.”

“No, I wouldn’t want to leave more work to you…”

“I work better at night. Go.” She said. For some reason, it was hard to argue with Amaterasu-san when her voice got stern.

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to come by after breakfast.” I said. Amaterasu-san didn’t react, not even a nod. But we had a silent agreement to meet again.

As I was walking past the central fountain, I saw the silhouette of somebody just off the path towards the Talent Building. Getting closer I could make out the frame of Yokozawa-san, struggling to fit a large number of chips in his arms.

“Y…Yokozawa-san? What are you-“

“Nagata-kun, help me out instead of just standing there.” Yokozawa-san barked the order as he stood up, bags of chips falling from his arms. “I’m trying to take these to my lab so can you just…pile the rest of them on top? It would be a big help.”

“Huh?! Are you…planning to eat all of these?!”

“Of course, I’m pulling an all-nighter. I already brought a bunch of soda to my lab earlier, now I just need good snack food.” As he spoked, I picked up a few packets and noticed they were all the same.

“Cheese puffs?”

“They’re my favourite.” He said.

“I…see…what are you pulling an all-nighter for?”

“I’m still trying to figure out the wi-fi password on that computer set-up. I’m telling you, once I can get logged onto the wi-fi, it’s gonna be big. We’ll be able to get out of here in no time!” That’s right, I had forgotten about the computer…

“Do you think you can figure it out?”

“I’m not sure. But doing nothing won’t help anybody, y’know? So, I’ll keep up my work and try to get us out of here. I promise.”

“You’ve become really determined, huh? Before it kinda seemed like you couldn’t be bothered with most of us.”

“Is that really how I came across…?” Yokozawa-san frowned. “Honestly, I think the problem came from the fact that nobody ever notices me…but it seems like that’s not as much of a problem for you. Most people wouldn’t have seen me just now.”

Probably shouldn’t say it was the bags of chips that stood out before I noticed him, ”Right. I hear you. I hope everything goes well with finding the password. Good luck, Yokozawa-san.” I said, piling the last few bags into his arms, “are you sure you’ll be alright carrying that?”

“Yeah. I only dropped it because I tripped over my foot, so I should be fine getting to my lab. Thanks again, Nagata-kun.” He smiled a little before walking off, doing a little balancing act with all the bags in his arms. Amaterasu-san and Yokozawa-san are both doing their best to find ways out of here, I have to do my part as well…

-Chapter 4 Daily Life, Fear (Oxygen Levels 18%)-

“Nagata! The hell happened to you yesterday?” Okanaya-kun asked me when I was making my way for the door after breakfast. “I was lookin’ around for you, but I couldn’t find you. Me and Kirishima were gonna meet up and try to plan somethin’ to deal with Monokuma, but we wanted your head there too.”

“Dealing with Monokuma?”

“It’s this motive…we gotta look for ways to stop the killing game before things get bad, so Kirishima thought we should get together and figure out a plan. I’m not good at thinkin’ so it would probably just be Kirishima shootin’ down whatever I came up with.”

This is bad, I promised I would help Amaterasu-san. What should I say? “Actually, I can’t help out. I’d really like to, but…I have prior commitments.”

“Prior…huh? The hell could be more important than ending the killing game?!” Okanaya-kun questioned, clearly annoyed.

“Wh-what I mean is, I’m already doing something, but I can’t really talk much about it…”

“You got a plan already? Then show me! Me and Kirishima can totally help out!”

“N-no!” I yelled suddenly; Okanaya-kun’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ah…this is something I have to do on my own, so…I can’t. I’m really sorry, Okanaya-kun. I wish I could tell you, but I just can’t do that.”

“Nagata…you don’t sound like yourself. If you keep saying shit like that, I’ll think the worst…”

“The worst…?” It clicked. What he meant by that. “Okanaya-kun, you don’t seriously think I would do something drastic like that, do you?”

“I dunno, this isn’t like the other motives! Hell, I wouldn’t rule out Asano killing someone at this point!” Thank god the cafeteria is empty, not sure Asano-san would like that accusation.

“You know I would never even consider that!”

“So, what the hell are you considering?!”

“I can’t tell you!”

“Dammit, Nagata!” I hadn’t realise it, but I had ended up with my back against the wall, with Okanaya-kun looming over me. It was like a flashback to that first day and how much he scared me. Okanaya-kun must have realised too because he jumped away, a fear in his eyes. A fear of himself. He looked down at his hands before leaving the cafeteria.

“Okanaya-kun!” I chased after him, he was almost half-way down the hall when I composed myself enough to follow, “Okanaya-kun, wait!”

“Don’t!” He turned and put his hand out, telling me to stop. I did. “Please…just…don’t.” With his gaze glued to the floor, he turned and hastily walked away. Dammit…I really messed up…

-Chapter 4 Daily Life, remember who your friends are (Oxygen Levels 18%)-

“Kurohiko-san…? What are you doing here?” I passed him as I was making my way to the history building.

“I could ask you the same thing. You got business at the History Building today?” He asked me in his usual cheerful manner, though something in his eyes felt a little off.

“I wanted to do some reading in the library, hopefully take my mind off things. There’s so much happening right now, and I think I just need to distract myself for a while.” Which is what I wish I were doing, to be honest.

“Don’t blame you for feeling like that. Though you make it sound like something else is bothering you.” He put his hand to his chin and stared at me for a few moments, “ah. Did you and Okanaya-kun have a fight?”

“Huh?! Y-you could tell?!”

“I know it doesn’t come up much but being a romance expert means I know a little on psychology. You looked like something recent really upset you, but since you were clearly already referencing the motive and something else, I figured it had to be a fight with someone you were close with. More likely candidate was Okanaya-kun.” He explained.

“Kurohiko-san…you’re actually pretty amazing, huh?”

“The ‘actually’ wasn’t necessary.” He deadpanned, “I digress though; what happened?”

“We got into an argument about what to do about the motive, and he got really upset with me. I wanna apologise, but…I think he really needs some space right now.”

“Most likely. Okanaya-kun is that kind of guy, y’know? The type whose feelings need to simmer and settle before he can talk about them. Do you mind asking why you actually argued about something like that? I’m not seeing how that topic could get so heated.”

“Okanaya-kun asked me to help him and Kirishima-san come up with a plan to stop Monokuma or end the killing game or something along those lines, and I declined to help…I have my reasons but I just can’t disclose them. It’s a complicated situation.” I explained. Kurohiko-san gave a thoughtful nod before letting himself smile softly.

“I’m sure it’ll all work out when Okanaya-kun calms down. Just…promise me something, will you? When this motive is over, you’ll really talk to Okanaya-kun about your feelings and his feelings? I think it’ll be really therapeutic for both of you.”

“I understand. We really need to clear the air on that argument as soon as possible.”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant…” Kurohiko-san laughed hollowly. “I suppose I can’t force you to realise. Just…promise me you’ll learn to rely on others a little more? I think that might be your main problem. How many things are you keeping bottled up?”

“That’s…”

“You don’t need to tell me; I know we aren’t close enough for you to tell me your most personal secrets or anything. But…consider telling the two that really wanna see you as a reliable guy.” Kurohiko-san gave me a pat on the shoulder before walking off. Every now and again, he says something pretty helpful. He’s almost like a clumsy big brother.

-Chapter 4 Daily Life, The Sirens Play (Oxygen Levels 18%)-

“Oh. Good, you’re here.” Amaterasu-san waved when I entered the archive. She was already deep in some of the text from her shelf, “I didn’t manage to find anything last night. Still feels like I couldn’t make much progress overall.”

“Even after all that time, huh? Amaterasu-san, I’m worried about all this. Soon it’ll be hard to even read what’s written. What are we gonna do when that time comes?”

Amaterasu-san sat silently for a few moments, “there’s not point thinking about that. We can only do our best in the present. What we do now decides our future.”

“Yeah…you’re right. I’ll get to it then.” I sat in my spot from yesterday and continued where I had marked at and our silent readings began for the day.

I couldn’t tell how many hours had passed since I had started but I had gone through numerous files before stumbling upon one I thought was interesting to look into further. “Amaterasu-san, come check this out.” She got up from her seat and stood peering over my shoulder. The folder I had found was branded with the Hope’s Peak symbol and a tab sticking out on the top simply said ‘Class 79’.

“Hmm…from what I remember, the last class to go into Hope’s Peak was class 78. Which means…”

“Is this about us?” I questioned, opening up the folder. It started with 79-A, containing a list of names that looked unfamiliar. “Are these only first names…? That’s odd, right?”

“A little. Check if there are any other classes.” I flipped through the pages rapidly until I landed on 79-B, again it contained a list of first names though unlike with 79-A, their family names were also given. Hiroaki Yamahata, Ultimate Daredevil. Chieko Arishima, Ultimate Shrine Maiden. Kotone Okuda, Ultimate Bounty Hunter-

“That guy has your family name.” Amaterasu-san suddenly pointed at one of the names on the page. Sora Nagata, Ultimate Riddle Solver.

“Wh…that’s…” I felt a lump in my throat as I tried to speak. His name was listed here…? Why?

“You know him then.” Amaterasu-san concluded.

“S…Sora…he’s my brother. He’s an Ultimate as well. We got accepted together, I never even thought about it until now, but…what happened to him? He’s not here with us. I-is he safe? D-did he get caught in a game like this as well?!”

“Ryuu-chan. Relax. Deep breaths. Sora-chan’s probably fine. If he’s anything like you, then he’ll be alive and well.”

“He’s nothing like me…but, I suppose that’s a good reason for me to think he is alive…but what’s with this document? The A-class is first-name only, but the B-class is full names. Ah…it looks like there’s still more.” I flicked further through until I landed on the page titled ’79-C’. There I found the names I had expected to find. Our group.

“Yeah…we’re all listed there. So, we really were supposed to be a class?” Amaterasu-san said. My mind went back to the photo I found when we first explored the History Building. The one of Kibe-san, Hachi-san, and Irunami-san. I turned the page of the file and found a large collage of photos. Photos of our group- or class -in various situations. One was of Kurohiko-san, Asano-san, and Amaterasu-san baking in a home economics class. Another was of Sly-san who was weilding a knife and chasing a terrified Kurosaki-san down a hallway of a brightly lit school with Kibe-san in the foreground holding up a peace sign.

The whole page was covered in these photos that it felt almost nostalgic to look at. But that nostalgic feeling could have also been nausea. When had these been taken? I had no memory of these and from her actions, Amaterasu-san didn’t seem to either.

“It’s weird…isn’t something missing from these photos?” Amaterasu-san looked closer, her finger tracing along the page, I could hear her counting under her breath. “Fifteen. There are only fifteen different people in these photos…who’s missing?”

I stared at the page. Intensely, I stared. And I stared. Searching, searching, searching. But I couldn’t. “I can’t see me…” I said. My throat felt dry for some reason, my heartbeat was picking up, because why wasn’t I there? I flipped back and saw my name was listed, so why wasn’t I in any photos? Kirishima-san and Okanaya-kun were in a photo together but I wasn’t.

“Ryuu-chan!”

*WHACK*

“Ow!” I dropped the file and held my head where Amaterasu-san smacked it.

“You were panicking. Look, these photos were probably photoshopped or something to make you paranoid or something. You shouldn’t get so worked up over a stupid thing Monokuma probably made himself.” It was hard to know if Amaterasu-san believed those words herself, but I tried to find some comfort in her statement.

“M…maybe you’re right. Maybe he thought doing this would make me a suspect of whoever discovered the archive…?”

“Possibly. Can’t say for sure.”

“Yeah…sorry, I feel a little uneasy. Do you mind if I go get some air?”

“Go ahead. Take a lap of the courtyard or something.” Amaterasu-san suggested. Yeah, that was probably a good idea. I shakily got to my feet and left the archive, the file still playing on my mind.

-2 Months Before Entering Hope’s Peak-

“Haaaaaah…” Sora sighed, slumping onto the couch. “This is exhausting…all I ever hear about is stupid Hope’s Peak at school now. ‘New Hope’ this and ‘Our future’ that. Boring…”

“It’s not too weird. There’s barely ever any Ultimates from this region and all of a sudden there’s three accepted into the same class? Of course, people will talk about it.” I reasoned. Sora just rolled himself up in a blanket and let out an annoyed groan.

“Don’t remind me. Mamoru’s probably been ready for a while. He was so pissed cause I got my letter a week early.”

“That’s just the kind of person he is, I guess.” I didn’t blame Fukao-san. Sora’s not exactly known for, uh…actively practicing his talent. “It’s exciting though. I wasn’t sure if I would’ve made it into the same high school as you, but this means we get to stick together.”

“What’s with that attitude? So annoying…you’re just as smart as me.”

“Considering our talents, I really doubt that.” I half-laughed.

“Yeah, true.”

He gave up so easily. Then again, if he’s not in the mood for a conversation he’s likely to just end it like that. “We have to do our best though. It’s another chance for our family…”

“Yeah.” Was all Sora said, but I could feel the weight his voice carried. It was more than a title for us, so we had to make this work for our whole family.

-Present Day-

That scene suddenly flooded back into my memory almost as if forcibly injected into my mind. I hadn’t even thought about Sora this whole time, but now that file was making me worry. We promised we would do well together at Hope’s Peak for our family. That’s right…because…

Before my mind could wander, I realised I had almost completed a lap of the courtyard and had ended up in front of the Talent Building. I suppose it would take longer to get back if I went to the fountain first, I hope Amaterasu-san doesn’t mind me using up so much time.

I could a few people in the distance, nearby the fountain. Sly-san, Kurosaki-san, Graves-san, and Okanaya-kun. An air of tension was surrounding them all, so thick that you could choke on it. “Wh…what’s going on here?” I asked, the four all snapped their heads to look at me.

“Nagata, unless you’re looking to get involved, walk away.” Sly-san said.

“What does that mean? What are you up to?” I asked again, more worried now. The four of them fell silent. I didn’t like where this was going. Graves-san looked at me and smirked.

“We’re having a battle royal.”

“Battle…royal…?”

“This motive is unavoidable. We can’t save everybody, so we’re looking at our best options…so, we all decided to have a four-way free-for-all until one of us gets killed. Then we have three witnesses for the trial, so that way we can just breeze through it.” Okanaya-kun explained, not even looking at me, “This…this is the solution we all came up with in order to prevent everyone dying.”

“W…wait, hold on! You guys don’t have to do that!”

“Nagata-kyun, as much as the sentiment is appreciated, I’d really rather prefer you didn’t interfere. We’ve all already made our peace with whatever outcome this brings. Please don’t make this more complicated than it already is.” Kurosaki-san said.

“B…but…”

“Stand back, Nagata.” Sly-san reached into his hoodie and pulled out a survival knife. “There’s no reason for someone like you to see whatever happens next…”

“Hmph.” Kurosaki-san reading his bullwhip, “as long as I can help prevent the deaths of everyone else, it’ll be fine…”

“Yeah.” Okanaya-kun slid of a pair of brass knuckles, “I’m not usually the one to rely on weapons and shit, but I ain’t got a choice this time around…”

“Okanaya-kun, stop! You don’t have to do this!” No matter how I look at it, he’s at the biggest disadvantage. Graves-san and Sly-san are professional killers, and Kurosaki-san just radiates a dangerous aura.

“Of course, I have to do this! Don’t you get it?! There’s no other way to move forward!” Okanaya-kun yelled, “I need to do this otherwise I can’t say I did my part to try and end the killing game!” End…the killing game…?

“What? You’re worried about someone killing somebody you care about? Wonder what that’s like.” Graves-san spoke with malice as she pulled out a revolver, “we already agreed to this, so do us a favour and don’t get in our way. Alright?”

“Then everyone get ready. The sooner we do this the better.” Sly-san readied himself. No…I have…I have to do something. I can’t watch them kill each other like this. But…what can I-

*BANG!*

Everyone stopped, as if reality brought their minds back into heir heads. Their expressions all dropped, Graves-san and Kurosaki-san paled a little. And then-

*BANG!*

It sounded again and we all turned to the source of the sound. The Talent Building. “Wh…what was that? Gunshots?” Okanaya-kun asked.

“It can’t be…” Kurosaki-san clenched his jaw and took off towards the Talent Building.

“Kurosaki-san!” I yelled, sprinting after him. The other three running behind us. This can’t be happening. No way. I refuse to believe this is happening. It’s way too early to be worrying about something like this. The oxygen levels are at 18% so we would be fine for another few days!

When I burst through the doors of the entrance, Kurosaki-san has just slammed the door to Asano-san’s lab. “Nothing on this floor! Quick, up the stairs!” We didn’t much more prompting than that and followed Kurosaki-san upstairs. On the second floor, Kurosaki-san checked his own research lab, whilst Okanaya-kun quickly ran to check his.

“Still nothing?” Sly-san said tentatively. “The third floor…? That’s where my lab is…” Everyone grew pensive. “Let’s brace ourselves.” We all took off and up the stairs, noticeably a little slower. Why did we end up going slower? We didn’t even know what that noise could’ve been. Maybe we all imagined it.

Is what I wish I could’ve said.

When we reached the third floor Sly-san took off down one way to his lab and the rest of us took off the other way. Not that we got far. At the end of the hallway we could see a door to one of the labs left wide open. Whose lab was that again? For some reason, the memory wouldn’t come to me. I think I heard someone in the group call out to me, but I wasn’t sure. I just kept walking towards the lab. Strangely calm. Calm? Why was I calm?

Calm shouldn’t exist in a place like this…

As I walked into the room I was hit by the realisation that this was Ultimate Romance Expert’s lab, and on the floor of the right side of the room, was it’s owner, Doi Kurohiko, blood staining his shirt and a gun held in his hand.

“Wh-what the…fuck…?” Okanaya-kun’s voice came from behind me.

*~Ding dong, dong ding!~*

“A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of investigation time, the class trial will begin! Everyone, please make your way to the Ultimate Romance Expert Talent Lab!” Monokuma’s body discovery announcement stopped.

“Herr Kurohiko…? And what’s with this setup…?” Kurosaki-san walked into the room. A divider had been set up in the middle of the room, Kurohiko-san’s body was on the right side of the room, but a curtain covered up the left side. “What’s…behind here, I wonder?” Kurosaki-san pulled back the curtain…

And the calm feeling vanished…

Behind the curtain, laying almost peacefully on the ground was the body of the Ultimate Living Doll, Mami Asano. Similarly, a gun was also within her grasp.

*~Ding dong, dong ding!~*

“A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of investigation time, the class trial will begin! Everybody, please assemble at the Ultimate Romance Expert’s Talent Lab.”

…huh? A second body discovery announcement? Why a second one? We’ve never had a second one before…”N-no fuckin’ way…Asano…and Kurohiko…were both killed…?” Okanaya-kun’s words hit me with a realisation.

“Two people? Two people are dead…?”

#DKronpa #chapters #fanganronpa #fangan ronpa #danganronpa #danganronpa fangan #dangan ronpa

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petty-revenge-stories · 5 years

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College Roommate Petty War

When I was in college, living in Florida, I had a roommate that I barely saw for one whole semester. I would occasionally see her come pick of clothes to bring to her boyfriends, but was mostly living on my own.

When I returned to the apartment after winter break, I was surprised to see that my roommate had returned and there were signs that she and her boyfriend had been in the kitchen and living room. I soon found out that she was back for good. Everything was fine for 3 months and we minded our own business.

Once it started getting warm again, she started confronting me about the electric bill. Neither of us could agree on what to set the A/C to. She barely wanted to run it, but I wanted to use it because I get hot easily and I’m miserable when I’m hot. I wanted to compromise and set it in the middle of where we wanted it, however, she refused to meet me halfway and would become verbally aggressive when we talked about it. To the point that I would just say “I don’t want to fight,” and walk away. I didn’t know how to deal with someone so confrontational.

The more confrontational she became, the more I started to resent her and the fact that she had moved back in. She was now always in the kitchen or living room and usually had her boyfriend in tow. I started to feel uncomfortable going into the shared living space because it felt like they were always there. I especially started to resent the fact that her boyfriend had basically turned into a 3rd roommate, and they were always watching MY Netflix on MY tv.

After a while of putting up with her yelling at me, I chose to attempt my first act of petty revenge by putting a child lock password on the tv. Despite, my clear (passive aggressive) message, they were able to somehow still get into Netflix (which I had since logged out of, so they were now using their own account). Once I realized that failed, I finagled the child lock settings and figured out how to deactivate the buttons on the tv so you could only use a remote to work it, and then kept the remote in my room. This successfully stopped her from using my tv, but did not stop her from putting a smaller monitor in front of my tv to watch Netflix and hogging the shared living space.

On top of everything previously mentioned, I also was becoming frustrated because she and her boyfriend would cook everyday and fill up MY trash can without ever taking it out. I was always making the trip down 2 flights of stairs to deal with the trash. So in my second act of petty revenge, I chose to put the trash can and trash bags that I had purchased in my bedroom. She easily resolved this by hanging up a plastic bag, but at least she got the message and now I didn’t have to take care of her garbage.

Early one morning, I lowered the air a little bit, thinking she was asleep, planning on turning it back up before heading to class. As soon as the air cut on, my roommate stomped out of her room, as loud as could be! She was fuming, banging on my door and screaming. I stayed in my room, a little frightened, and only left it to had to class. While I was at school, my roommate texted me an angry message about the A/C, peppered with some insults about my appearance and how I decorated the apartment. When I got home, everything I owned (decorations and all) that had been in the shared living area had been shoved into closets and cabinets. I immediately reported the incident to the apartment management and emailed them a copy of the texts she sent me.

With the evidence of her hostility, the apartment agreed to let me switch apartments. I moved out the following week, and as a final act of petty revenge, I took the extension pull string (that I installed) off of the extremely high living room ceiling fan after setting the fan on high, meaning she would have to deal with the loud and obnoxious fan running on high if she wanted to use the overhead light.

TLDR; I kept my hostile roommate from using my trash can, tv, and Netflix, and made it extremely hard for her to change the setting on the living room fan because I didn’t know how to compromise with her and was annoyed that her boyfriend was basically living with us.

(source) (story by smileykylie237)

#pettyrevenge #by smileykylie237 #petty revenge #revenge stories #petty revenge stories #petty #revenge #revenge story #last10

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verdigrisprowl · 5 years

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Mar 25 Dancitron Movie Night - Christopher Robin

While Winnie the Pooh played sweetly in the background, Soundwave and Swoop did their level best to beat the ever-loving shit out of each other.

It was a hell of a movie night.

Specs Yesterday at 7:40 PM ((FUCK but I hate rabbit rn)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:40 PM (( oh worm Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:40 PM ((Believe me, me too.)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:41 PM ((HEY JUST SO YALL KNOW:)) Specs Yesterday at 7:42 PM ((me: enters correct password rabbit: your password is incorrect! me: rechecks and re-enters password rabbit: your password is incorrect! me: resets password and then enters new password rabbit: your password is incorrect!)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:42 PM ((when you use asterisks * or underscores _ around a word, it auto-converts into formatting, like this or this. and if you copy/paste text from discord to somewhere else, it doesn't save the formatting OR the original symbols)) ((as your friendly neighborhood chat log keeper, it'd make my job a lot easier if y'all used something other than asterisks to indicate actions while we're in discord, so i don't have to manually go back and insert asterisks every where y'all used them.)) Specs Yesterday at 7:43 PM (( :thumbsup: )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) pinned a message to this channel. See all the pins. Yesterday at 7:43 PM Soundwave (Slenderwave) pinned a message to this channel. See all the pins. Yesterday at 7:43 PM Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:43 PM ((thanks!)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:43 PM (( how about we all use prose and "dialogue" ??? Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:44 PM ((agreed)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) pinned a message to this channel. See all the pins. Yesterday at 7:44 PM Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:44 PM Soundwave's ready to go tonight. He's got the sweetest movie he could possibly find, and he knows that that's the case because Zori's the one who recommended it. Anything from Zori has to be the softest, most adorable thing to watch ever. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:44 PM ((........................ jesus fuck)) ((i just tried to copy/paste the text that you dropped in rabbit, just to see)) ((and it copy/pasted the name & time just fine)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:45 PM ((WHAT)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:45 PM ((YEAH)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:45 PM ((it doesn't for me!!!!)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:45 PM ((in that case it's the modifications i made to the extension last time apparently)) ((which means it'll probably still do the OTHER thing that made it annoying, only allowing copy/paste of a small handful of messages at a time. so it's probably still better to be in here.)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:46 PM ((yep)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 7:46 PM ((might be yeah)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:46 PM ((we can experiment with it another time though)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 7:47 PM ((Trying to think of what to do to denote action. Might just do lazy prose and quotes idk Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:47 PM ((also we're gonna start around 8:10)) Specs Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((what was the maximum amount of messages that it would copy, or was it a word-length thing?)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((one screen's worth)) Specs Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((gotcha o7)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((little enough to make it annoying)) Chaoit Yesterday at 7:48 PM ((oh joy)) Windchill Yesterday at 7:48 PM (( I thought prose and quotes was a lot easier to write in anyway, might just be me being a weirdo though. )) (( ...actually that's probably because it forces everyone to slow down and makes it easier for chronic multitaskers like me to keep up with chat, so that's probably it. NEVER MIND. )) Specs Yesterday at 7:50 PM (( /me pats chill )) Windchill Yesterday at 7:51 PM (( Today we learned that I am actively creating my own problems as usual lol. )) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:51 PM Prowl shows up for the first time in a few weeks; but almost immediately sits and focuses on the screen. And its... not very enthralling nature scenery. Fascinating. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:52 PM (( OOPS i took the remote Windchill Yesterday at 7:52 PM (( You're FIRED. )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:52 PM (( :fire: :fire: :fire: Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 7:52 PM ((I, Tarantulas, am now leader of dancitron)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:53 PM Soundwave immediately twists to greet and ping Prowl. Usually they don't get much time before everyone rolls in. [[Good evening.]] Bee Yesterday at 7:53 PM (( quick, dance off with BOTH Soundwave and Blaster )) Chaoit Yesterday at 7:53 PM ((NEVER)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:53 PM He nods vaguely. "Evening." Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:54 PM (( oh man wow i forgot i have hair dye in my hair, GOTTA GO RINSE. tarantulas will be l8 Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:54 PM ((when tarantulas shows up, he's orange)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 7:54 PM (( i mean my hair is like orange pink i think so........ Chaoit Yesterday at 7:54 PM ((that'd be a sight Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:54 PM ((lucky guess! Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:55 PM [[You seem rather... intent, tonight.]] ((i see a new person! hello new person!)) MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 7:56 PM Scoots in. Windchill Yesterday at 7:56 PM (( OH SHIT. )) Chaoit Yesterday at 7:56 PM ((annnd gimme a sec Windchill Yesterday at 7:56 PM (( Tormentor. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:57 PM Ah, and there's the other company, right on schedule. One day he really must have a Prowl-only showing just for them. Then they won't need to worry about packing everything in before the others arrive. [[Perceptor, is it?]] He nods toward the thing on the mech's shoulder. Not many of that going around. Lieu Yesterday at 7:57 PM (( Figured I'd bring the sociable one for once)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 7:57 PM "Hm? No, just—preoccupied. For the last couple of weeks." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 7:57 PM Swoop flies a few laps around Dancitron before eventually living up to his name by swooping down. He transforms at the last possible moment so he can sliiiiiiide through the door. This Dinobot is all grins. Lieu Yesterday at 7:57 PM (( Promise not to punch Windchill! )) Chaoit Yesterday at 7:58 PM ((KIWI 20%wurmple Yesterday at 7:58 PM Swerve wanders in and drops into the closest seat. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 7:58 PM //sorry my WiFi is crapping out and won’t send the reply to slendey :sob: 20%wurmple Yesterday at 7:58 PM Slowly. And carefully, with his arms out feeling things so he doesn't walk into them. Windchill Yesterday at 7:58 PM (( Hmmm it's neutral ground so he'll settle for glaring across the room at all times. Might as well go post-fight on this. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 7:58 PM ((that's all right, just repost it and if it shows up twice nbd)) Lieu Yesterday at 7:59 PM (( Si si)) Specs Yesterday at 7:59 PM The dragon comes in with her cartful of treats- and something else! It's a very, very sizable box. Looks like you could fit a xenomorph queen in there without too much trouble, in fact. A very large label says "FOR BUZZSAW" on it. The glut of pterodactyl-shaped gummis in the treat cart are perhaps a way to assure the other sibling that she was not forgotten either. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 7:59 PM Perceptor has no idea who this mech is. “It is! I’m a little new to the multiverse so I thought I’d just... jump right into it.” Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 7:59 PM "Bird?" Swoop scampers around, head going this way and that. "Bird!" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:00 PM [[Understandable.]] Curious head tilt. [[Is there - anything he can help you with?]] And Soundwave will bob his helm at Swerve, Swoop - nice job there - and the dragon. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:00 PM //ugh, come ON chrome just load rabbit already u useless lump Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:00 PM Has arrived and--makes a beeline toward Swerve instead of going to the usual spot. "Are you all right?" 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:00 PM "Nnnno. My visor's on the fritz. Should be fixed soon." MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:00 PM "Ah, no for now I think I'm gathering some good data on it by observation. However, I will definitely ask if there's anything I'd like more information on." Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:01 PM "Do you require assistance?" Specs Yesterday at 8:01 PM The dragon bobs her head and churrs right back at Soundwave. She's honestly not sure where to put Buzzsaw's box, so she's just kind of scooted it towards the stairs for now. That's good enough, right? Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:01 PM "Perceptor. Hello." A nod in his direction. "You've worked out multiversal travel?" Bee Yesterday at 8:01 PM Bee saunters in with a few packs of rust sticks. He places them on the bar, then makes his way to an empty spot. He doesn't know too many bots this time around, so he gives a little awkward wave. "Hi everyone." 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:01 PM "I might, not sure." MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:01 PM "Somewhat! Mostly catching rides from other people until we can manage a safe way to travel through other verses." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:01 PM Swoop hops on top of the bar. "Bird?" Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:02 PM Will offer an arm out for him to latch onto then. There's a joke here about the blind leading the blind, but Prowl's not funny enough to make it. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:02 PM }}Is it here? Is it here!?{{ Buzzsaw's going to circle the dragon like a vulture.

Soundwave had actually meant that question for Prowl, but it serves rather well for Perceptor too; he offers Perceptor a polite nod of agreement. He'll answer what he can without putting too many things at risk. [[There's no Bird tonight, Swoop.]] [[Welcome, Bumblebee. Thank you for the contribution.]] 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:02 PM He appreciates thr gesture enough to pat Prowl. "Thanks." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:03 PM "Why?" He shuffles onto the very edge of the bar, holding on with his toes. "Me Swoop want to show her something! Video! Kehehhehehh! It good." Lieu Yesterday at 8:03 PM Tormentor hasn't been to any of these Multiverse gatherings before, and they're quite a sight. He only knows the fly-guy who spit on him and everyone else he recognizes are Autobots. He'll try to avoid them so as not to spur any multi-dimensional arguing. Windchill Yesterday at 8:03 PM Rebel trots in, nearly dragging Windchill by his giant hand in her excitement. The latter looks worse for wear, and is definitely too lazy to walk any faster despite Rebel's attempts at dragging him in. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:03 PM Nods and they can both make their way to a nearby table together then. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:04 PM And he's made his way in. Still perpetually tired, but looks a bit more relived this time. "Hey, not late, am I?" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:04 PM Prowl thought Soundwave's question was for him until Perceptor answered it; so he ends up answering with a vague shrug, so he can play it off like he's shrugging at nothing in particular in case it really wasn't for him. Windchill Yesterday at 8:04 PM Rebel points at the screen, practically bouncing in place once she's got her lazy bum of a dad through the door. "Earth!" Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:05 PM Rebel's shout drew his attention. Swoop's head snapped from Soundwave to her in an instant. "REBEL!" Specs Yesterday at 8:05 PM "It's here!" Oh thank the Goddess, Buzzsaw isn't off doing something, she can just drop this off with him. "Some assembly required, I'm afraid- I don't doubt you can figure that part out on your own, but there's a manual packed in there in case you have to ask other people to help you with the assembly part."

Sorry, Buzzsaw, but while the box has wheels for her to shove it around, she's only the size of a fox. She will not be helping you take it upstairs. It's heavy enough just to push around! 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:06 PM Swerve jerks in surprise when his fiddling finally fixes his stupid visor, blinking. "Huh. Okay, that fixed it. Thanks Prowl." Windchill Yesterday at 8:06 PM "Swoop!" She drops Windchill's hand to scamper over, but Swoop is up to high for a hug so she bounces in place some more. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:07 PM Pulls her arm away as quickly and politely as she can. "You're welcome." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:07 PM Swoop launches himself off the bar and onto Rebel without hesitation. "H!" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:07 PM [[Because she is busy. Leave a copy of the video for her and she will see it later.]] Soundwave's busy watching everyone come in - oh, there's another one he doesn't recognize; expanding crowd tonight - and recording where they're all going so he knows who is seated where in the event something terrible happens. A fire, or what have you.

}}I shall take it upstairs at once! Here, move.{{ Buzzsaw will get his feelers around that and hoist it up like it's nothing. It doesn't weigh as much as a helicopter, after all. ((WE START IN TWO MINUTES and honestly i can't think of too many warnings if any off the top of my head because it's Christopher Robin. a nod to WWII happening, some insensitivity on the part of some board members near the end.)) Lieu Yesterday at 8:08 PM Tormentor can try to promise no fires. Windchill Yesterday at 8:09 PM This causes Rebel to windmill her arms in a futile attempt at staying upright, and for Windchill to squawk. Here he was going to sit down quietly, and already you two are causing a ruckus! 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:09 PM //oooh i watched this in theaters it's good Lieu Yesterday at 8:09 PM Tormentor, however, will not promise there won't be any smoking Windchill Yesterday at 8:09 PM (( I watched the first half last night but got pulled away so that works out pretty well lololol. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:10 PM [[You there - over to the right.]] He's thinking to Tormentor. [[Name and faction for the record, please.]]

As for that shrug... he doesn't know what to make of it, so he'll send Prowl an acknowledgment ping. All things in time, he supposes. Specs Yesterday at 8:10 PM The dragon watches in awe and admiration- after moving her furry butt out of Buzzsaw's way, of course. She's the luckiest dragon alive. She gets to watch all these amazing minicons and Soundwave do the coolest things she could think of. And the price of admission is making snacks.

Speaking of the snacks, she should probably get those unpacked before Swoop takes it into his head to sit in the cart like the world's stickiest nest. Hatchlings do that sort of thing. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:11 PM Swoop is in absolute stitches already. He's not afraid of the floor. Either she finds a way to support him or they both eat dirt. He's here either way. (Although his wings reflexively move to balance things.) Bee Yesterday at 8:11 PM Bee's apertures go as wide as he can. He knows exactly which movie this is. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:12 PM Soundwave motions for Ravage to lend the dragon a feeler while nobody's asking for snacks. There will be a spot open for her when she's ready to settle down and sit. Windchill Yesterday at 8:12 PM Nope. She lands on her butt, but (heh,) her cackling is enough to ease Windchill off of intervening. Close one. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:12 PM Hm. Looks like Bumblebee's interested in this one. Lieu Yesterday at 8:12 PM .... It's not everyday one hears the voice in your head so clearly. Tormentor was certain he had heard the last of it ages ago. "Ummm, sure, Decepticon Commander Tormentor of Tyrest." 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:12 PM Swerve pings Percy to come join him. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:12 PM Blinks! And comes over to sit next to Swerve. He knows this mech. They spoke once, he thinks. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:13 PM There's singing animals. Prowl watches them suspiciously. Are any of them... dogs. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:13 PM What a name. Soundwave wondered if they ever lived up to it. Not every mech did. Bloodrage flipped to pacifism early in the war. [[Tyrest. City or mech?]] 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:13 PM "Hey Percy!" He doesn't think any are dogs, but the Eeyore one has four legs and it's gray so maybe a wolf? Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:13 PM This Eeyore looks like a dog. Bee Yesterday at 8:14 PM He sends off a ping to Soundwave, only containing the :sob: emoji. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:14 PM With a minimal amount of twisting and wiggling, Swoop manages to end up sitting on Rebel's chest. He's light-weight but also scrawny enough to be pokey. How comfortable this is is debatable. But he's certainly looking pleased with himself. "Uncle?" MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:14 PM "Hi Swerve! I haven't seen you in awhile." Bee Yesterday at 8:14 PM "...So. The real question here is who is more of a Tigger: Swoop or Swerve?" 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:14 PM "What?" Lieu Yesterday at 8:15 PM "Heh, I get that a lot: city. Never met the mech in my life." And Tormentor indeed has lived up to his name. All too well in his corner of the universe. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:15 PM [[A what?]] And what is this emoji? He thought Bee was interested, not sad. A ping of a single question mark back. Windchill Yesterday at 8:15 PM "Huh?" Rebel blinks, looking confused as all hell. "I have two uncles!" Bee Yesterday at 8:15 PM "The one who bounces a lot. That's Tigger. Who acts more like him?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:15 PM Soundwave looks to Prowl. He's looking rather suspicious of an innocent gathering of fuzzy Earth beasts. Expecting them to go wild and eat the human, is he? 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:15 PM "Swoop." Bee Yesterday at 8:15 PM "I think Prowl might be Owl." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:16 PM "NO no, keheheh. Uncle means---" He looks towards his name. "What?" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:16 PM "Huh?" He heard his name. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:16 PM [[Understood, Tormenter. Thank you. Note that this is a neutral zone; if you can keep to that, you are welcome to enjoy your stay.]] 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:16 PM "Nothing Swoop." Bee Yesterday at 8:17 PM Make no mistake, he's very interested in this movie. There's something a little melancholy about it that gets to him. Probably because it reminds him of Raf. :: It's like watching a friend grow up. You'll see. :: Windchill Yesterday at 8:17 PM Windchill snorts and sits down, only just now noticing Tormentor. Fantastic. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:17 PM [[And he supposes Swoop is more like Tigger. Swerve has been nothing but composed and responsible.]] Chaoit Yesterday at 8:17 PM And he's going to sit down, somewhere. Not sure where, but a free seat. To watch whatever's on the screen. Specs Yesterday at 8:18 PM The dragon takes her spot now that snacks are unloaded, and bites her tongue on any comments noting that Swoop is also the only Swoop. It it unwise to tempt the universe, and the thought of Multi-Swoop Drifting is to horrifying to comprehend. Lieu Yesterday at 8:18 PM "Given the mecha here, I figured as much." Tormentor taps at his head, "Don't you worry, Sub-conscious, we're not going to fight tonight." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:18 PM Swoop remains firmly seated on Rebel's chest while this discussion goes on. "Wonderful thing about tiggers, kehehheh!" Okay, there might be a little bounce in his 'firm" seat. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:18 PM [[A sweet sentiment.]] And one he's suspicious of, after what Bee said. He'll nod to Blaster and keep himself glued to the screen. More or less. He's still very curious about this Owl creature just mentioned in comparison to Prowl. Is he a logical one? Soundwave huffs in amusement. Subconscious. He likes that. Windchill Yesterday at 8:20 PM Windchill squints as aggressively as a squint can be squinted, but offers no comment. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:20 PM Tarantulas isn't too l8! In he comes, then halts near the back, immediately wary of how terribly many people there are here tonight, several of which he hasn't met. Give him a moment to scope things out before sneaking to a seat. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:20 PM Swoop waves at Tarantulas from his seat on another poor soul's chest. Just a normal movie night. Windchill Yesterday at 8:20 PM "Swoop!" Rebel tries to push him off. "I can't see movie from down here!" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:21 PM Prowl quietly leans against Soundwave. Windchill Yesterday at 8:21 PM She kicks her legs, in case it helps. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:21 PM Oh? Oh, that's nice. He'll lean back. Unexpected and nice. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:21 PM He has not yet noticed... the spide. Lieu Yesterday at 8:21 PM Tormentor can't help but glance up. He feels a squint but he's pretty sure Lieutenant isn't here so who-- Oh, it's the Spittaker 9000 Chaoit Yesterday at 8:21 PM Oh. Uniforms. That's not a good sign. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:21 PM [[Oh. He knows where this human is going. He did research since the movie about the Wondrous Woman.]] Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:21 PM "Oh!" He giggles and rolls off her with more pizzazz than entirely necessary. The tigger comment might explain the need to handspring back into a standing position. Lieu Yesterday at 8:22 PM No round 2 tonight, but Tormentor just stares back at Windchill. He sees you there. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:22 PM NOPE Windchill Yesterday at 8:22 PM Squint intensifies. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:22 PM ((All these squinting comments go well with your icon lol)) 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:22 PM Why do they have a room for cloaks? Chaoit Yesterday at 8:22 PM He's not liking this part of the movie at all Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:22 PM Accepts the visual feed finally, a little surprised that Soundwave still offered it considering the state of things between them. Just in time for war flashback. Lieu Yesterday at 8:22 PM EVEN MORE SQUINTING

...but it's behind a visor so it's useless Windchill Yesterday at 8:23 PM He still can't get the smell of burning paint out of his seams, and it's all your fault Tormentor. (( Lol. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:23 PM He's angry, not a poor host. Hmph. [[...He takes it by the state of the growth over the door that the Christopher Robin human has not returned yet.]] Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:24 PM He could have left it up to her alternate to provide visuals. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:24 PM Now that Swoop is standing up, he's got a much better view of the room. In particular, a certain someone who isn't looking this way.... Unsuspecting prey, if you will. He grins. Lieu Yesterday at 8:24 PM And he nearly blew up his own arm because of you! That's YouR FAULT Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:24 PM [[For him to have grown that tall, he has been away... at least five years.]] He's confident of that much. Human age is wiggly, but he's sure he's got that. Windchill Yesterday at 8:24 PM Rebel gets up and shakes herself, then reaches for Swoop's dinosaur hand to drag him along, too. That was a direct consequence of pulling on his wings! Lieu Yesterday at 8:24 PM ((Oh damn it's Mycroft from Sherlock!)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:25 PM "That human has never worked a day of manual labor in his life." Lieu Yesterday at 8:25 PM ((Love him)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:25 PM [[That much is obvious.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:25 PM "They very effectively made him very quickly dislikable." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:26 PM Swoop squawks. Your ruined his bird of prey stare, Rebel! But he lets her drag him along towards the seats. After all, that means they walk right behind the sofa a certain communication's bot is lounging on. At the last possible second, Swoop pulls away from Rebel and throws himself at Soundwave, reaching around to try to touch his mouth. Or, more specifically, a tooth! Windchill Yesterday at 8:26 PM Rebel, in her great and newly forged wisdom, dives out of the way before she can get dragged into whatever hell is about to be unleashed. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:26 PM [[Yes. It's very clear that he knows nothing about the actual reality of the business he is hea--]] THERE ARE FINGERS COMING FROM AROUND HIS HEAD FOR HIS MOUTH. And now there are not. Because there are no fingers. Not until he spits them out on the floor, anyway. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:27 PM Prowl lurches upright at the sudden movement. "What the hell is—?!" Chaoit Yesterday at 8:27 PM "What a nasty human." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:27 PM Soundwave is already standing up and turning around. He knows whose those were. [[OUTSIDE.]] Chaoit Yesterday at 8:27 PM !!!! Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:28 PM What a LOVELY time for Tarantulas to try and actually sit down near Prowl and Soundwave! He's leaping back to the shadows again before he gets dragged into anything. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:28 PM His first instinct is to bridge out the person who lunged. He tries to open a bridge under Swoop. No bridge opens. What in the. Lieu Yesterday at 8:28 PM "And in typical Cybertronian fashion, Neutral Zone doesn't even last a night." Windchill Yesterday at 8:28 PM And Windchill's on his feet, scooping up his wiggly adopted spawn before she can be blamed for anything. If she gets bridged, at least he goes too. He's a little paranoid, okay? Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:29 PM Swoop's optics go wide and bright. It takes a moment for the pain to register in his birdy brain. The shrill noise he lets out isn't entirely upset. His wings are fanned out and his stance widens as he looks from his missing digits to Soundwave. "You Soundwave wanna GO? Kehehhehh!" 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:29 PM Swerve's sighing into his hands as he realizes what just happened. Swoop, no. Bee Yesterday at 8:29 PM Bee munches on some rust sticks, more attentive to the chaos in the room rather than the movie. He offers his snack to whoever's closest. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:30 PM Flinches at the sound of Soundwave chomping down on Swoop's fingers and the shrill noise that follows, hand going instinctively to a subspace pocket for a weapon--oh, it's Swoop. Will let Soundwave deal with that. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:30 PM "Sw— Sound—" Are those fingers. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:30 PM The bridge is off. The bridge is nonresponsive, because he was running something extra on it while everyone is upstairs and in no expected need of it. At least not THIS early.

[[YOU are going. OUT.]] He'll snatch at Swoop's front with intent to drag the big bird out by force if need be. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:30 PM First it was Smokescreen losing digits, now Swoop? Hmmph. At least Tarantulas won't have to fix Swoop's, he's got Ratchet and Wheeljack. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:30 PM Swoop. Swoop, no. Blaster's just going to sigh and bury his face in his hands. Specs Yesterday at 8:30 PM The dragon is going to curl up into a little puffball until the chaos dies down. The smaller she is, the less change of being squished, yes? MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:30 PM "What the--" Perceptor looked away for about two seconds and there's chaos. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:30 PM He's in spider form climbing up the wall away from the action. He outie. Bee Yesterday at 8:31 PM And Bee's downed the first box of rust sticks. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:31 PM Swoop stands his ground and bats Soundwave's arm away. "Make me!" Windchill Yesterday at 8:31 PM "Swoop—" Windchill is cut off by a boot to the face. That's what he gets for holding Rebel upside-down. Lieu Yesterday at 8:32 PM Tormentor can't help but chuckle at Swoop's loss of a digit and stubbornness. Now THIS is the kind of thing he's into watching. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:33 PM Okay, he's going to stand and move away from the two. This may get messy. Bee Yesterday at 8:34 PM "How the frag-- ?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:34 PM Yes, Prowl, those are fingers. Neatly clipped off near the palm. Bleeding all over his nice, clean floor.

And this. This is IT. He has had. Enough. Of this. Dinobot. Soundwave's going to grab and wrap his ankles with both feelers, completely ignoring the energon dripping down his chin or the scene this is causing. He is going to drag Swoop outside and teach him manners if it KILLS him.

They're marching to the door. He doesn't care what Swoop claws on the way. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:35 PM What a waste of good honey. Lieu Yesterday at 8:35 PM :popcorn: Chaoit Yesterday at 8:35 PM Oh dear. This isn't good. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:35 PM "Are y--" doesn't bothering asking the question as Soundwave marches by hauling Swoop along with him. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:35 PM Swoop squawks indigently. This isn't a sweet walk up to a fight. He's scrambling and scratching grooves in the floor as he goes. A chair might be coming out with him. Everyone else should watch their ankles as he goes by. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:35 PM See? This is why Tarantulas isn't interfering. He told Swoop people didn't always want to give him his way. The dinobot hopefully would listen to Soundwave more effectively than he had Tarantulas. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:35 PM @P: [[He will be back.]] Bee Yesterday at 8:36 PM ............. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:36 PM Prowl immediately follows after. "Soundwave—!" And there goes his ankle under Swoop's claw. He trips and falls. Bee Yesterday at 8:36 PM "Well. That escalated quickly." MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:36 PM "......well then." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:36 PM FLING out goes Swoop once he gets to the red glass doors. It's unceremonious and harsh and that's the way we're doing things tonight.

@P: [[Are you all right?]] 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:36 PM Swerve leans over to offer a hand up. Windchill Yesterday at 8:36 PM Windchill rights his wiggly giggly spawn, setting her in a chair. Swoop's on his own for this one. Maybe he'll learn something. Maybe not. Specs Yesterday at 8:36 PM Actually, you know what? Tarantulas had the right idea. She's flying as high up as she can and clinging to something up there. Goddess save her from the pterodactyl. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:36 PM Does definitely stand and move to help her alternate up from the floor. "Are you all right?" Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:37 PM OH NO. Ok, Tarantulas is coming back down to rescue his dear Prowl, basically the only thing to get him off the ceiling. Specs Yesterday at 8:37 PM Swapsies! Spide down, dragon up. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:37 PM "Prowl! Soundwave will be fine, let him - let him be." He's pulling Prowl back, away from the mess. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:38 PM "Yeah, f—" He's got TWO hands being offered. He looks between them indecisively. "... Fine." He takes his alternate's, gets up, and heads for the d— When did Tarantulas get here? Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:38 PM Joke's on Soundwave. Airborne is how Swoop likes things. He transforms so he can turn that fling into an arc, curving back Soundwave's way at increasing speeds. The pteranodon's battle cry can be heard for some distance as he transforms and rockets towards Soundwave. Windchill Yesterday at 8:38 PM That's when Rebel spots the blood and fingers, and gapes. She's never (knowingly,) seen detached body parts before! Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:38 PM Ravage, who is not concerned for his Boss in the least - why should he be, given Soundwave's former standing? - sits watching Christopher Robin, munching out of a bowl of tinsel fish. =Poor bear.= Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:38 PM ((u can keep those fingers rebel :wink: )) Windchill Yesterday at 8:39 PM (( Sure, just make it weird. )) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:39 PM ((when has this not been weird)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:39 PM (( if she doesn't take them, tara will (( what a nice snack Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:39 PM ((y'all fight for them)) Windchill Yesterday at 8:39 PM (( It's Windchill the cannibal you'll have to fight, not Rebel. )) (( ...They can share. )) Chaoit Yesterday at 8:40 PM "....should someone get a medic?" 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:40 PM //keep being distracted and swerve'll throw them away Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:40 PM Will follow the Captain outside if he's not been distracted by Tarantulas. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:40 PM He BETTER be distracted by Tarantulas. Lieu Yesterday at 8:40 PM Tormentor is a little disappointed how fast everything ended. Movie is still going but the real entertainment is all gone now. Windchill Yesterday at 8:40 PM Windchill's staring at the fingers too, though it was more the smell that alerted him than anything. Hmm. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:41 PM (( hi stressed, i'm pooh Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:41 PM "Someone can call Frenzy if they'd like, Blaster." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:41 PM He has, briefly, been distracted. But not for long. "... I can't." He hurries outside. Windchill Yesterday at 8:42 PM His head bobs low like that of the predatory bird that he is. Hmm. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:42 PM Aaaand Tarantulas scrambles after Prowl, perpetually positioning himself between Prowl and the action. Windchill can have those fingers. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:43 PM Follows at a slightly less hurried pace. Out we all go then, I guess. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:43 PM "Tarantulas, let me—!" Huff. He's stopping just outside the door anyway, to survey the fight. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:43 PM Pooh. Windchill Yesterday at 8:43 PM Bob, bob, bob, some very serious calculations are happening here. He always was terrible at math. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:43 PM "Ah, well, I meant for later, after the two were done outside." Specs Yesterday at 8:44 PM The dragon flies down and, bafflingly, acquires the fingers for herself. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:44 PM Soundwave is taken aback for a moment by the sight of Swoop rocketing back toward Dancitron - he wouldn't be THAT stupid, would he? - but he's a Dinobot. Yes. Yes, he would be.

He hurries the rest of the way and crouches. Swoop can come to tackle him if he wants. There's a surprise waiting should he do so. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:44 PM No one is staying to block the door, so anyone can easily come watch the action happening outside. Windchill Yesterday at 8:44 PM Well, that settles that. Bee Yesterday at 8:44 PM "I don't know about you guys, but I relate so much to that bear." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:44 PM =Unfortunate for you.= Windchill Yesterday at 8:45 PM Rebel swings her feet and watches the film. It doesn't even occur to her to be concerned for Swoop's health in general. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:45 PM BETTER GET THAT SURPRISE READY, because Swoop is going full speed ahead into Soundwave, talons first. Bee Yesterday at 8:45 PM Time to record the madness. Specs Yesterday at 8:45 PM Benefits of having her own bridge- the dragon has disappeared with the fingers. She'll be back, eventually. Windchill Yesterday at 8:45 PM "Ravage. You still got that mop behind the counter?" Windchill can either clean up the mess the proper way, or with his tongue. Your choice. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:45 PM Percy is just gonna... watch the movie. He thinks. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:46 PM Oh dear. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:46 PM I love this bear. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:46 PM Those talons are about to clutch a set of Soundwave's own. Namely, the ones already sparking with electricity.

Ravage doesn't even look at the fingers, surprisingly. He already ate today. He just chucks the mop toward Windchill with his feeler tail. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:47 PM ... Without bridges, there's nothing Prowl can do to de-escalate the situation. He shouldn't get involved. The best thing he can do now is crowd control. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:47 PM Should he help? He has his way of travel, but...exact coordinate and all. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:47 PM Electricity might hurt. (Does hurt. It does hurt.) But it doesn't stop Swoop's momentum. Soundwave is going into a shrieking heap with this Dinobot whether he likes it or not. Specs Yesterday at 8:47 PM There's no fingers left! The dragon has stolen them for her own purposes. Bee Yesterday at 8:47 PM Pings Prowl. :: Anything we can do to help? :: :: This is...getting a little ridiculous. :: Windchill Yesterday at 8:48 PM He does manage to snatch the mop out of the air, demonstrating a smidgen of hand-optic coordination for once, and gets to work. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:48 PM Nothing Prowl has on her would classify as de-escalation tools either, especially with the nearby bridge access down. The rockets on her shoulders most definitely would only make things worse. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:48 PM So he turns to the other people standing outside. "Nobody is getting any closer, nobody is getting involved! I don't want to see anybody more than five feet outside the door." Specs Yesterday at 8:49 PM ((actually, I'm gonna have to AFK for a bit- Naughty Girl will not stop biting me)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:49 PM A shrieking heap is fine. He's been in plenty of shrieking heaps before. Pull the back spines in, roll, and reach for the beak with one hand. Gotta try to keep it shut this close up. Specs Yesterday at 8:49 PM ((which means she needs something)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:49 PM ((naughty naughty girl! stop that)) Windchill Yesterday at 8:49 PM (( Precious baby needs attention! )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:50 PM Tarantulas has both hands on V-Prowl's shoulders, gripping a bit tighter than he needs to. He's hissing nervously. "Come back in. Come. Back. In. It's not your JOB to police mechs here, it's not your jurisdiction. Soundwave will be FINE." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:50 PM Prowl shakes Tarantulas's hands off. "I know he will. Anyone who tries to get involve WON'T be, I'm staying out here as long as all of them are." Bee Yesterday at 8:51 PM (( OH MY GOD that was the first time I heard "That was one of my briefer naps." AND I'M DYING XDDDD )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:51 PM ((heheheh)) ((pooh has such wonderful lines)) 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:51 PM "It's probably safer for them to come inside." Bee Yesterday at 8:51 PM And he immediately sits down. No need to face Prowl's wrath if he can avoid it. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:51 PM //he does i loe this movie Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:51 PM Soundwave might have the leverage to keep Swoop's beak closed, but he can't keep it air tight. Swoop makes a bit of a show of inhaling before exhaling fire. It might not be able to go out in front of him, but it's going to go somewhere. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:51 PM "It's Soundwave's jurisdiction. The best thing any of us can do is ensure they won't get too close to the building. Which I'm sure Soundwave is already going to do." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:52 PM "I know it's safer f—" He leans in the door, "Everyone's outside NOW, I'm not going to shove them back in." Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:53 PM ((i do love the briefer naps line so much Windchill Yesterday at 8:53 PM Well, it's not perfect (cleaning is far from Windchill's area of expertise, he's so much better at the opposite,) but the floor is better. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:54 PM Rrrgh. Well, the best Tarantulas can do right now is keep the blasters still hidden in his frame at the ready, regardless of anything else. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:54 PM Oh. Look. Fire. "Are you sure we shouldn't help?" Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:55 PM "Yes." Windchill Yesterday at 8:55 PM (( I'm so confused right now. Is EVERYONE outside because I missed that part if so lol. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:56 PM How lucky he is that he has next to no feeling in the shielding arm presently getting toasted. It leaves him free to focus his attention on other things. Like moving to one knee and, if he can manage it, slicing up one of those flapping wings with a flattened hand turned blade. Keep Swoop on the ground. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:56 PM "The more people get in there, the more people are going to be injured." 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:56 PM //swerve's inside //i think percy too MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:56 PM //ya Windchill Yesterday at 8:56 PM (( I assumed everyone that was not actively fighting or supporting had stayed in. )) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:56 PM ((it was a hyperbolic "everyone")) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:56 PM =Oh, good. He enters.= Chaoit Yesterday at 8:57 PM "Right...okay..." still inside, just watching. Windchill Yesterday at 8:57 PM (( Okay thank you. )) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:57 PM That said, he's resisting the urge to jump in in defense of Soundwave himself. Y'know. Protector instincts. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 8:58 PM If Soundwave had anything on his mind other than a) not dying, and b) keeping OTHER people from dying during a potential Dinobot rampage, he would appreciate it. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 8:58 PM He's wisely moving further from the door and pulling Percy along, just to be safe. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 8:58 PM He'll channel the urge into watching the fight and making sure nobody else tries to get in on it. MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 8:59 PM Yep. He will allow himself to be Lead Along. Bee Yesterday at 8:59 PM Oh no, he remembers this part. He hugs a pillow to his chassis and very intently watches the screen. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 8:59 PM Swoop's optics go wide and he lets out an actual enraged howl. We were having such a good time, Soundwave. Why did you turn a game into an actual fight? Wing slices are a party fowl at best. Swoop's playful edge just turns into animal fury. He might not have much weight, but he has lots of length with his wingspan to get leverage in an wild, frantic thrashing. Chaoit Yesterday at 8:59 PM ((OUCH)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 8:59 PM Monitors the fight with her visor and doors up as high as they'll go on her back. If nothing else, she'll know exactly when calling in a real medic is necessary. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 8:59 PM Tarantulas, for one, does not appreciate V-Prowl's selfless instincts. He's keeping eight VERY close eyes on him, and as much physical contact as he can get away with. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:00 PM Which might be about now. Welp. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:00 PM EXCUSE YOU. Tarantulas is a real medic. Kind of. Bee Yesterday at 9:00 PM (( I'm out after this scene, i'm falling asleep & lowkey dying. But I'm 100000% catching up on this Swoop v Soundwave omg )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:00 PM ((see you next time hopefully <3)) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:00 PM ((A battle like four years in the making)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:00 PM ((Night, bee-mun! Windchill Yesterday at 9:00 PM (( o7 )) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:00 PM ((night!)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:00 PM (( nini! 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:00 PM //nini Bee Yesterday at 9:01 PM (( g'night! Thanks for hosting Soundwave! )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:01 PM (( christopher robin is SO rude oh my god. you're hurting this poor childe bear's feelings 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:01 PM //let pooh live Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:02 PM Now Prowl is the one grabbing Tarantulas's shoulder. He's holding himself back. He and his alternate have apparently the same thought at the same time, because he turns to her and asks, "Can you contact local medical services?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:02 PM Soundwave can't quite see what he's doing with one wing smacking him about the head when it's not smacking against the ground; he hisses as a solid blow cracks his visor across the side and leaves a portion missing. It forces him to let go and wipe shards away from his optic, giving Swoop a free moment. =What a noise this Heffalump has.= Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:03 PM ((you ARE the heffalump, christopher. it's you.)) 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:03 PM //lmao Windchill Yesterday at 9:03 PM Hmm. How inappropriate would it be if he sucked the energon out of the mop? Would it taste of leftover floor cleaner? Best not. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:03 PM Swoop knows how to capitalize on a split second in a fight. He shoves Soundwave with all his dino-might to get enough wiggle room to transform. He comes into his robot mode all screams and claws. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:04 PM Nods. Makes that call to Praxus now. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:04 PM Good. Swoop's bipedal and angry. This just got simpler. He'll let himself be shoved a couple of paces to buy himself time to think, then... stand and wait. Come on, then, Swoop. Come tire yourself out. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:06 PM "Leave local medical services out of this! This is - both of them have medics on their side and Primus forbid either of them face any OTHER consequences for this." Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:07 PM "No one in Praxus can charge them with anything." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:07 PM Prowl's gaze is fixed on the battle, optics twitching minutely to follow the motions. "There's—this is outside any other jurisdiction, they're not going to have other consequences." Specs Yesterday at 9:07 PM (('m back! she was out of food)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:08 PM "Well then, PERSONAL consequences. Something like that. We don't need anyone else involved." He's still hissing nervously. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:09 PM And Prowl isn't calling the main Praxian medical services anyway. Just the one medic in Praxus she knows Soundwave won't turn away and Swoop might actually listen to if he's not booted back to his own universe before they arrive. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:11 PM Swoop is hardly going to pass up a still target to wail on. The Dinobot is wild eyed and pushing himself to hit as fast and hard as he can. Even if all he's doing is taking chips out of Soundwave's heated up arms, he'll take it. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:13 PM He mumbles something dismissive about the personal consequences. He squeezes Tarantulas's shoulder harder. Soundwave's a gladiator, it's okay, it's fine. Chaoit Yesterday at 9:15 PM "Are you sure we shouldn't intervene?" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:15 PM "I've done the math. Any one of us would make it worse." Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:15 PM "Agreed." Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:15 PM Quite frankly Tarantulas thinks it's silly that Prowl or anyone else would be worried about Soundwave of all mechs against Swoop the toddler, even if the toddler is a Dinobot - but he'll do his best to reassure Prowl anyhow. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:16 PM ((tara don't be a butt. swoop is a super cereal warrior ok)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:16 PM Soundwave's getting attacked and isn't attacking back, Prowl's going to be nervous even if all the calculations are in Soundwave's favor. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:16 PM Chips, dents, some sparking as wires get compressed or split. It's all good. It means just about nothing, though one thumb hurts a bit where the flame got to it. He'll take the first few hits he has to take while he learns Swoop's patterns and favored motions, and what signals in his mind equal which upcoming attacks.

Keep it coming, Dinobot. He's not done yet. He's had far, far worse than this. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:17 PM (( tara is the buttiest butt Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:18 PM The lack of noticeable pushback was somewhat enjoyable at first. But all this dancing around is getting annoying. None of these hits are really painful. Soundwave needs to do something if Swoop is going to get in there to get some real maiming going. "You. Soundwave." He snarls. "FIGHT!" Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:19 PM Suddenly Tarantulas chitters to himself, apparently amused. "Swoop got his wish though. He DID get to touch Soundwave's teeth, for the briefest second." Windchill Yesterday at 9:20 PM Windchill is going to finish dealing with the mop, put it back where it belongs, and consider making an escape before Rebel has to see something he'd rather she didn't. The problem is getting out the door. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:20 PM "Was—was THAT what he was doing?!" He hadn't even noticed how this started. Just a lunge and then missing fingers. He supposes that WOULD explain things. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:21 PM More chittering. "Yes, yes. Trivial, isn't it? I'm actually quite glad though." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:21 PM Swoop gets his wish, though not quite the way he wants. Soundwave continues to dance this way and that, a spin here and a sharp push using Swoop's own swings to redirect or unbalance him there as he slowly guides Swoop toward more uneven territory. This is HIS home. He knows the terrain above and below ground so well he could travel it blind. And he's willing to bet his life on Swoop, noted AERIAL battler, being too angry to notice much about the metal beneath his clawed feet. Three or four hits make it to his chest instead of his arms. Whether it's an accident, a lure, or Soundwave tiring out is up in the air. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:23 PM Prowl keeps her calculations of the fight's outcome to herself, pulling up what she knows of the surrounding area and trying to predict how this might end as quickly as she can. "That certainly explains why Swoop lost his fingers." Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:26 PM Raised in the dirt and built for the air, Swoop had very limited experiences fighting on a metal surface. The difference seemed negligible to the tiny part of his bird brain that was aware of anything other than the feeling of his claws on Soundwave and the burning energy in his own fuel lines. Swoop's optics narrow and grin widens when he manages to get at Soundwave's chest a few times. Adults get tired so easily. With a feral shriek, Swoop throws everything he's got at the communications mech. He's going to rip him to fucking shreds. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:26 PM =Tigger is disgraceful. Unworthy of cat status.= Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:27 PM ((ravage shhhh Windchill Yesterday at 9:29 PM Windchill sidles towards the door and peeks his owlish head out to check on his not-child. Has anyone died, yet? Chaoit Yesterday at 9:31 PM Blaster's about ready to call his medics at this rate. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:33 PM Not necessary. Prowl's fairly certain she knows how this is going to end and currently has Praxus on standby. No sense making the old medic come all the way down here for nothing, after all. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:33 PM (( r u on the lemonade m8 Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:36 PM The surface Swoop moves to has been worn mostly smooth by countless pedes belonging to countless mechs visiting the club over half a decade. There's nothing to grip when losing one's footing but a sliding, shining curve. Soundwave takes another short series of blows, positioning them with care as he makes one last turn...

He snatches Swoop's ankles out from beneath the weedy Dinobot with one feeler and jumps forward as Swoop falls. One foot lands square on the middle of Swoop's back. The other feeler wraps itself around Swoop's neck and squeezes, leaving him unable to flail well in any direction without hurting himself.

Each hand quickly seizes a wing. The tattered one, he pulls back sharply, counting on the stretch to aggravate its wounds. The other twists round almost to snapping clean off.

[[You. Will. YIELD.]] Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:37 PM "Ah." Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:37 PM He squeezes Tarantulas tighter again. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:39 PM ...Suddenly Tarantulas isn't feeling so great about the situation. Yes, he figured Soundwave would have everything under control soon enough, but... he's finding himself surprising concerned about Swoop. Is he feeling protective? What? Of course not. He's wrapping a few limbs around Prowl as well and squeezing, definitely for Prowl's benefit. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:40 PM //that's what happens when u start momming dinobots tara Windchill Yesterday at 9:40 PM Chill's ruined wings flick anxiously; better to keep Rebel inside for now, after all. Still, there's nothing keeping him inside, not really. Rebel can be left with the movie for a few minutes, so long as he keeps an ear out for Tormentor. Right? Right. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:42 PM Swoop's frame moves fast - faster than his mind sometimes - but the unfamiliar terrain and preexisting damage send him crashing down. Any one of these moves independently wouldn't be enough to fell a Dinobot.

But once he's down, Soundwave is on top of him and a tearing pain is shooting down his wing and along is spine. Swoop thrashes and damages himself further. It's instinct.

His body freezes stiff. Energon's dripping down his wing and he's clawing at the ground, optics darting around. Is there something he can do? Can he get away?

Yield? All that gets is a snarl. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:44 PM The feeler around Swoop's neck shocks him. Light - less than before - but a warning. He will go higher next time. He can. Swoop knows that from earlier. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:45 PM Swoop inhales sharply. Ouch.

What can he...

How does...

...

Swoop goes completely slack. His hand taps the hard ground twice. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:47 PM (( ey ey, DO y'all have a medic lined up btw? Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:47 PM ((No. Is Tara game? Lol.)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:47 PM (( omfg..... yes i'm sure he would be (( give him an outlet for his protectiveness Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:48 PM ((I was gonna volunteer Ratchet, but Tara's much closer. Windchill Yesterday at 9:48 PM (( Windchill has Arms if they're needed to contain/hold wild dinobots. )) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:48 PM ((Swoop would pick Ratchet if given the choice because Ratchet. But he's not in an arguing mood right now. He'll go with whoever.)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:49 PM Good. That is what he wanted.

[[Now. He expects you to abide by the rules you and your brothers have set up as far as how you behave toward those who have beaten you. He will not replace Grimlock, but he expects you to treat him with respect.]]

[[You may go home and think about your defeat. He will allow you to return, but you will listen to what he tells you, when he tells you, or he will not be afraid to shame you in front of a crowd again and ban you permanently - and he will see to it that many more witness the fight next time. Ask anyone you trust how far and wide a Soundwave can send video footage if you doubt his word.]]

Soundwave keeps the hold three seconds longer just to stick the point in, then lets go. And offers Swoop a hand up. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:50 PM Prowl doesn't relax until Soundwave lets go. And then only partially. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:51 PM Tarantulas is battling something, and it's starting to show in his frame. Prowl might be relaxing a smidge, but Tarantulas grips again.

@SW: ::Can I intervene and tend to Swoop?:: Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:52 PM @T: [[If he wants it.]] Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:52 PM Swoop listens quietly. He doesn't need to nod. Soundwave knows he agrees. This is how the Dinobots roll after all.

When Soundwave lets him go, Swoop stays in place on the ground until he's offered a hand. The littlest Dinobot takes it without a word, getting up and looking quite subdued. His optics glance from Soundwave to the ground and his shoulders have a hunch to them.

He's not sure what to do, so he stays put. Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:54 PM @SW: [[Do you require medical attention? I have Ratchet on hold.]] Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:54 PM @SW: ::Keep an optic on him, I'm coming.::

Outwardly he doesn't give a sign before he's off down toward the mess, transforming into spider mode to aid with speed. He'll slow once he's close and keep wary around Swoop. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:54 PM Prowl's still not entirely sure the fight isn't going to break out again. There's always that three percent chance that— "Tarantulas!" Oh, and after TARANTULAS was telling PROWL not to get involved— Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 9:55 PM "What does he think he's doing?" Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:55 PM "I don't kn— Tarantulas, what do you think you're doing!" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:56 PM [[Do what you need to do to care for yourself and go home, Swoop.]]

Soundwave slowly walks back toward both Prowls, Tarantulas, and the building full of guests it annoyed him he had not been able to spend time with tonight. He'll head inside, favoring the toasted arm, and bow to the lot.

[[His apologies - particularly to the newcomers. This has been an unusual night. We will not have such a disturbance next week; of that, you can be sure. Neutral zone rules are still in effect. No one needs fear a similar event unless they pose a serious threat to another during their visit.]] Chaoit Yesterday at 9:56 PM "Are you okay?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:56 PM [[And it should be noted that this is the first - preferably, the only.]] Windchill Yesterday at 9:57 PM Windchill moves away from the door so he's not blocking Soundwave, and flicks his wings again. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:57 PM He gives Tarantulas and Swoop an exasperated look, calls to Tarantulas, "Yell if he attacks," and stalks in with Soundwave. "How bad's your arm?" Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 9:57 PM Swoop's head bobbles in agreement. He looks down at his hand. The missing fingers were certainly not improved by repeatedly hitting against another person. Swoop licks some of the energon off. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:57 PM [[He will return to normal function in a few days. He hopes the film was entertaining in the meantime?]]

@SCP: [[No. Frenzy will tend to him. Ratchet has been.... tired, lately.]] Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:57 PM Ping ping to V-Prowl - ::I'm - no need to worry yourself, I'm simply snatching Swoop up. I'll - err, be in touch.:: Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:58 PM @T «Keep me updated. Let me know when you go home, please.» To make sure that Swoop didn't rip his head off in a burst of frustration. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 9:58 PM Turning to amica Prowl, now. [[He does not know. He cannot feel it very well.]] Pause. [[That is normal, by the way. Still: it moves. He doubts he will need to replace it.]] Repair it? Yes. Very yes. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 9:59 PM [snags an emoty cube off the bar and slides a cube of specialty energon hed been hoarding in subspace in Soundwave's general direction] You prooobably need a drink buddy. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 9:59 PM He nods stiffly. "... What about the rest of you?" The arm looked worst, but... Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 9:59 PM To Swoop: "Don't LICK yourself, you imbecile. Come here." And now there's a spider on him, ready to use web to restrain if need be. "You're coming with me, whether you like it or not." Windchill Yesterday at 10:00 PM Now that the movie's over Rebel bounds back out of her seat to grab her dad's hand, still bouncing around (maybe Tigger inspired, maybe not,) but raring to go to any place where there's not so much sitting. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:00 PM Swoop cocks his head at Tarantulas. But he doesn't argue. Just toddles over and gives the spider an expectant look that said what now? Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:01 PM A thin smile cuts across Soundwave's face. It looks particularly ghastly with the dried energon coming from it. He wiggles a feeler up beneath his chest armor, only struggling for room where Swoop dented it. [[He is not as wide as he lets himself look. Mostly armor damage.]]

And you know what? He's going to take that energon from Swerve and give it a solid look. [[...Yes. Tonight, he thinks he will have one. A small one.]] A victory celebration, like the old days. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:02 PM Prowl thought Soundwave doesn't like drinking. THAT kicks his concern back up. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:02 PM [[...Windchill, feel free to take something expensive from the bar tonight before you leave. He has not repaid your efforts to control Swoop as well as he should have.]] Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:02 PM What now? Getting carefully manhandled by a massive spider is what's happening now, Swoop. As soon as he has the pteranodon securely on his back, Tarantulas is bridging off to the Tor with him in tow. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:03 PM Swoop makes absolutely no attempt to stop this. Unless bleeding on Tarantulas counts as an attempt to deter him. But probably not. Off we go! Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:04 PM He doesn't. But he has not had a fight that ferocious in a while, and a quarter ration will not do much to him. That's what he meant by small. Windchill Yesterday at 10:04 PM Sorry, Chill was a little distracted with indecision and Rebel's bouncing around and jabbering about the movie. He looks up, confused, and frowns.

"That's okay. Floor's clean, dragon took the fingers." Sure, nobody did anything about the chair Swoop dragged out, but it was a start. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:04 PM Prowl's still worrying. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:04 PM ((one (1) whole shot)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:04 PM ((an shot)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:05 PM [[Oh, the dragon - where is she? Not harmed in the rush to get out, he hopes...]] He's not worried about the fingers. He figured SOMEONE would scavenge them. Windchill Yesterday at 10:05 PM (( God you're reminding me of my verbal typo today. )) (( I only drink weed and miskey. )) Chaoit Yesterday at 10:05 PM Well, everything looks like it has been settled. Blaster's just...going to leave now. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:05 PM ((also public stream wrappin up at 10:30 for the record - and lol miskey)) Specs Yesterday at 10:05 PM The dragon never came back after absconding with the fingers. Probably safest that way. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:05 PM Soundwave will ping Blaster as he leaves. A better time next time, mech. [[Ah. Yes, probably.]] Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:05 PM (( omg isnt that, uhh, a spoonerism? Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 10:06 PM @SW: [[Of course.]] Tired hardly describes it, but it's a polite fiction everyone seems content to believe, so Prowl lets it be. She's relieved, if only because she knew Ratchet would have insisted on coming out her if it had been more serious, regardless of what other medics might have been in the area. Swoop can be left in Tarantulas' care and Prowl can finally go back inside, lingering in the doorway trying to decide if she shouldn't just head back to Praxus anyway. Windchill Yesterday at 10:06 PM A wise move on any dragon's part, to be certain. Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:06 PM (( DINGERS Specs Yesterday at 10:06 PM ((OH SHIT DINGERS)) MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 10:06 PM Welllll this was certainly eventful. It's about time for Perceptor to uhhhh scoot on out. Specs Yesterday at 10:06 PM ((feexed)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:06 PM (( ive cemented the dingers in the chatlong even if you edit, muahah Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:06 PM ((i SWEAR it's not usually like this lmao)) 20%wurmple Yesterday at 10:06 PM Swerve slides off his chair. "I'll take Percy home. Don't want him getting lost." Specs Yesterday at 10:07 PM ((yes, you have, which is why I edited once I noticed)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:07 PM ((much more ridiculous and chatty)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:07 PM (( Yes it is. I only drink mead and whiskey but I don't need to in order to mess that up lol. )) MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 10:07 PM "Thank you Swerve!" Specs Yesterday at 10:07 PM ((otherwise I would have had to keep it :C )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:07 PM [[Goodnight, Perceptor. Do come back.]] MOTHMAN GF Yesterday at 10:07 PM He waves as he heads out. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 10:07 PM "Sure thing. Night everyone, night Soundwave. Hopefully that lesson sticks." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:07 PM [[Goodnight, Swerve. He hopes so as well.]] Windchill Yesterday at 10:07 PM Windchill shrugged. He's not picking up any dead organic smells, so she's probably fine. 20%wurmple Yesterday at 10:08 PM A wave and off he goes. Specs Yesterday at 10:09 PM ((I'm signing off for the night before I pass out)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:09 PM (( o7 good night! )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:09 PM ((goodnight and i hope next week is more enjoyable / broadly fun)) Specs Yesterday at 10:09 PM ((ilu all, sorry that dragon bailed due to IRL cat + hoarding instinct that demands she keeps fingers)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:10 PM (( She deserved them most out of anyone who might have snatched them. )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:10 PM (( seconded Specs Yesterday at 10:10 PM (( :black_heart: )) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:10 PM ((night night)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:10 PM (( 'Sides, it saved everyone from having to witness what happens when someone else does, so. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:10 PM ((lmao)) Caniko Yesterday at 10:11 PM ((totally missed movie night, sorry)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:11 PM Soundwave moves to accept a bunt from Ravage, who keeps papping the counter for his attention. Yes, yes, he's fine. You knew he'd be fine. Don't be silly.

And now he's going to plop into a seat and roll the tiny, tiny glass between two fingers of his better hand. ((oh nooooo. next time!!)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:12 PM Prowl is sitting with Soundwave and—sort of just radiating worry in his direction. "Where's Frenzy?" Windchill Yesterday at 10:13 PM "We're going to go, and check on Swoop later." The last bit was more for Rebel's benefit than anything, but it really was getting late and past Windchill's bedtime. This kind of stress just isn't good for him. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:13 PM [[All right. He hopes the mech's wing is not too damaged. Goodnight, Windchill, Rebel.]] He can feel the worry. It's... soothing. To be worried about after a fight, instead of paraded and then put back in a cell. Still, he'd like not to have to do this again.

[[Upstairs.]] And more privately: @P: [[He told Frenzy to wait until the others have gone.]] Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 10:14 PM @VProwl: [[Goodnight, Captain.]] Going to dodge out without bothering to come fully back inside the building. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:14 PM @P «Evening, alternate.» Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:14 PM Soundwave will send a ping to his own timeline's Prowl. He still is mad at her about That Reveal, but she was ready to call Praxus, and that is something worth being thankful for. Windchill Yesterday at 10:15 PM Rebel waves back at the room as they head out, then at a distant Swoop once they're outside. Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:16 PM ((is the plan everyone leaving the server again?)) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:16 PM ((ye for cleanup purposes)) Prowl (beautyandthebadge) Yesterday at 10:16 PM That gives Prowl a moment's paused before she drops down into vehicle mode. She pings back just before taking off toward Praxus. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:17 PM ((sometimes i do stuff during the week to tinker and i don't want people to be getting weird boops)) Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:17 PM ((Cool! I can't wait to get this up on tumblr.)) ((gg)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:17 PM (( Also means that people who don't attend a given night aren't getting hit with it either, so it makes sense. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:17 PM ((ye)) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:17 PM (( i thought that said EGG instead of gg (( smh@myself Swoop (medicalmurdersaurus) Yesterday at 10:17 PM ((lololol)) ((l8r)) Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:18 PM ((egg stands for extremely good game)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:18 PM (( o7 )) Tarantulas (aranea-mechanica) Yesterday at 10:19 PM (( l8r allig8or (( i'm off to bed too, tarantulas has swoop in his clutches now and will follow up accordingly! Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:19 PM ((gotcha! bye those goin!)) Windchill Yesterday at 10:20 PM (( Big fat mess to clean up lolololol good job Swoop. )) Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:20 PM Can Soundwave lean into Prowl? He'd like to lean into Prowl. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:20 PM He can, but in exchange Prowl is gently taking Soundwave's arm and examining the damage up close. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:23 PM Soundwave will let him, mostly because a) he figures it will soothe Prowl's worries a smidge if he at least gets to know for sure what's happened to it, and b) it's nice, being fretted over and checked on like that.

Oh so gently, in a way that notes appreciation but also reassurance: [[They were designed for the purpose of taking hits.]] Pause. [[He is surprised he didn't get more flame damage. Too angry, he supposes.]] And here comes Frenzy to park himself on the opposite side of the couch and get inspecting on that chest armor. He'll keep out of the way as much as possible. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:25 PM A jerky nod. "I suppose." He scoots away when Frenzy arrives, giving him more room to work. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:26 PM He's disappointed when Prowl moves away, but it makes some sense. [[You fell. Were you hurt, yourself...?]] Trying to lean over Frenzy to see Prowl's legs. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:26 PM I'm a hologram. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:29 PM Soundwave sits up and blinks the one optic that is peeking out of the broken visor. [[Oh. Yes, you are.]] Then he smiles, amused at himself. [[He tends to forget that, doesn't he.]]

[[He is glad for that. He did not want you hurt.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:32 PM "Hm." Soundwave used to be unable to see Prowl's light frame as anything BUT a hologram. In any other situation, he'd be delighted at the change. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:33 PM [[...Is something wrong?]]

\YEAH, YOU KEEP MOVIN'. HOLD STILL.\

[[Not that. To you.]] A nod to Prowl. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:35 PM "Wh—? Yes! Obviously?!" He gestures at Soundwave's nearest battle damage. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:44 PM Soundwave looks down at it like he's only just seeing it for the first time and tilts his head. What's all the fuss about? [[He's had worse; you've seen that yourself. Besides, he can hardly feel most of it, and it is nothing Frenzy cannot finish repairing by tomorrow night. Swoop merely hit dead surfaces designed to be shields and armor with plenty of denting space beneath it - and not as hard as his brothers. They would have required a different approach. ]]

[[He promises you do not need to worry so, though he appreciates that you are. Your protectiveness is one of many things he values about you.]] Closer lean? ...It abruptly occurs to him that he has not scrubbed the energon off his mouth. He'll just. Stretch a feeler toward the bar for a rag and some cleanser so he can do that. Yes. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:46 PM The lean isn't returned. "It wasn't a fight that you should have had in the first place. YOU'RE damaged and HE'S mangled, and ALL of it would have been avoidable if—" HUFF. No. He's cutting himself off there. Change direction. "Why was the bridge off." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:52 PM Oh. He's - there's an element of being in trouble to this, isn't there? That's another matter altogether. Oops.

Prowl rarely changes the subject of upset arguing like that, though. Soundwave quickly gets the idea it might be better not to mention that it'll be the only fight he'll have to have.

[[The bridge is off because he is finishing some final programming adjustments for a complex new modification and needed to be able to install them without interruptions. He had intended it to be finished before the usual time range in which it tends to be needed. Swoop changed those plans.]] [[He was not expecting a sneak attack on his mouth.]] As may be worked out by the fact that he severed Swoop's fingers and is presently scrubbing energon off his face while he thinks. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:55 PM Prowl's mouth tightens at the mention of Swoop, but he stays focused on the bridge. "What adjustments? Just an upgrade, or new functionality?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 10:56 PM Okay. Okay, don't mention Swoop at all. He can take that hint. He will take it and clutch it and not step on it again. He's in enough hot water tonight.

[[A little of both. He had been hoping to surprise you.]] Vent. So much for that. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 10:58 PM "Well. I was very surprised." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:02 PM [[Not quite the way he wanted it to go.]]

Leans against the couch and eyes the tiny ration of highgrade. He doesn't know what to do with it now. This feels less like a victory than it did earlier.

[[Though he thinks you would still be stunned out of your plating if you could see the work yourself. And useful, too. He is not as skilled a mathematician; much of his programming and physical upgrading has relied on trial and error. He is not even certain these WILL prove to be the final adjustments.]] And a small huff. [[He's already thought that about this project thrice before.]] Ravage rumbles something unintelligible but in the vicinity of deeply displeased. Yes, he can attest to that. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:08 PM "... So you could use help with it." Well, it was math. And if it would get the space bridge back on faster... "What calculations do you need?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:14 PM [[He could.]] Soundwave had felt his tanks twinge when he'd admitted to hacking at the idea with a machete instead of a laser scalpel; tugging on Prowl's arm and outright requesting assistance was out of the question. Roundabout all the way. [[Do you remember the time you used multiple bridges to pinpoint a mech's location in another timeline?]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:16 PM "Of course. You're trying to make a program that does the same thing?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:25 PM [[....Not exactly.]] How to explain it without giving the whole game away? [[He has managed to update it to the point of being able to do the necessary calculations without any extra bridges by using a highly specialized process he - by using something he knows how to do. But he is having trouble forcing it to combine that AND the order to move the actual bridge a specific number of meters to one side. As of earlier tonight, it was unable to reliably adjust the position to the right point, let alone a safe side. You have less trouble with tracking the movements of celestial bodies than he does. He was wondering if that might be what keeps interfering - and whether he has got it right this time.]] Prowl made an effort to determine Unicron's path, once. Soundwave's kind of convinced this would be child's play for him. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:29 PM "... Hm." Well, Soundwave's very obvious efforts to try NOT to give the whole game away weren't going to give Prowl much to work with by way of figuring out what the problem was. He's getting the distinct impression that Soundwave doesn't want his help, even now that the "surprise" is ruined.

"Well. If you decide you want help, you know where I am." Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:29 PM [[What? No, he - he already decided that.]] Oh, ouch. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:30 PM "Oh." Prowl grimaces. Good job there, Prowl. Well done. "You're not telling me what you're doing. You want me to help without knowing what end result I'm supposed to be aiming for?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:34 PM ...Well, it sounded silly when Prowl put it like THAT.

[[It is supposed to - to be capable of identifying and opening a bridge to any given location almost as soon as communications contact is established.]]

=NOT OVERHEAD.=

[[Yes. But not overhead. Which is what it has been doing, when it isn't sending him Primus-knows-where for reasons he can't fathom. It won't be good for rescue work if it decides twenty-five meters from Dancitron is on the planet Vulcan.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:36 PM Oh, now he's got Prowl's attention. "Communications contact. I assume you mean comms? Does it require the recipient to respond to pings, the way I did it? Or does it work through another mechanism? ... And can people who AREN'T telepathic use that method?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:42 PM [[Yes. Audio comms, at the moment. There is a bug of moderate size in the verbal comm protocols he has yet to fully remove.]] Hand wave. One step at a time. If he can work out one, he can use that to fix the other. Probably. [[The caller and the one creating the bridge must have sent and received one ping each - a hello and a response, let us say; the work is done after that. He is... REASONABLY certain non-telepaths will be able to use it. He is trying to design it that way.]] =For now, even telepaths cannot.= A rough chuckle.

[[Be helpful or be quiet.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:43 PM Prowl opens his mouth, shuts his mouth, and frowns. "... Aren't audio comms and verbal comms the same thing?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:43 PM [[Written communications. Excuse him.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:45 PM "Ah. Right. Okay." He nods, considering it. "... And you're having trouble making the endpoint show up where it should. You've tried anchoring it to a relative point from the comm unit being targeted rather than an absolute point in space?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:50 PM [[Not at first. It has gotten better since he made that adjustment, but not perfect.]] Something to do with how the comm unit itself is pinpointed, perhaps. He doesn't quite know. He'll have plenty of charts and diagrams on how it works if Prowl wants to take a look at them at some point.

[[We sent Laserbeak on three trips to Earth this weekend. The fourth did not go as planned.]] That may be why she isn't here tonight. Shh. [[She says that its moon is not a terrible place to be, though.]] Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:53 PM Prowl huffed. "If you're getting results that erratic, it sounds like some error in the calculations rather than a flaw in the methodology itself. It might just be a couple of misplaced digits. Can I see?" Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:56 PM [[Yes. But you cannot tell anyone what you see. Or where you will be. ... Except the Constructicons. He knows they will know everything. But if he finds them down there, they will not like what happens.]]

[[He hopes you are not claustrophobic. There is not much room to move in the basement.]]

He'll open a bridge for them to get into. A safe one, because it's the same coordinates he always uses, not calculated by comm. Prowl (verdigrisprowl) Yesterday at 11:59 PM "So, standard operating procedure."

Oh, NOW bridges are back on. "I can shrink if need be." He heads through the bridge down into the basement. Soundwave (Slenderwave) Yesterday at 11:59 PM Well, yes. He did say they were supposed to have finished by now. And off they go.

#chat

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mischiefandi · 6 years

Text

Chapter 5: The Body (Blue Moon Series)

A/N: I totally forgot to do an author’s note wth haha, oh well, enjoy!

Summary: Y/N McCall, Scott McCall’s younger sister, starts her first year at Beacon Hills High School when something unexpected happens to her brother. Her entire world is turned upside down and it is up to her to figure out how to juggle romance, schoolwork, friendship and the supernatural without risking her life (too much)

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of death, Stiles making terrible werewolf puns

Word Count: 7,4 K words

Chapter 4 & Chapter 6

6:41, McCall House

Derek rushed to Scott and gripped his shoulders before pushing him against the wall of the back of the room in one swift movement, Y/N shrieking as he pulled her with him. Holding the teenager by the neck and pressed against the wall, Derek leaned in close and shook Y/N’s arm slightly as she tried to get a way as best she could, knowing full well her strength would never compare to the werewolf’s.

“I saw you on the field,” hissed Derek and Scott, panicking, huffed heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

“What are you talking about?” wailed Scott.

Y/N’s heart thumped against her ribs as she kept trying to pry her wrist out of Derek’s tightly closed fist. The man suddenly yelled and it made her whole body freeze, tension running through it at his words.

“You shifted in front of them! If they find out what you are, they find out about me, about all of us-” he started but Y/N cut him off.

“-let us go! Stop!” she exclaimed, as she tried to kick him in the leg but he didn’t even wince at the contact of her foot against the crook of his knee, his only reaction being twisting her wrist. She groaned and whimpered, her mouth ridden of any words she was planning to say.

“And then it’s not just the hunters after us, it’s everyone.”

Scott tried his best to exhale but to no avail, Derek’s thumb pressing against his windpipe.

“They- didn’t see anything, I swear!” he tried to convince his aggressor.

“And they won’t. Because if you even try to play in that game on Saturday,” he turned to look at a terrified yet clearly angry Y/N, “I’ll kill her.”

After those terrorizing words slipped from his lips, Derek let go of both of the McCalls and jumped out of the window carelessly. Scott fell to the ground, wheezing. Y/N sat on the bed and tried to slow her rapid heartbeat, face flushed and eyes wide.

“Holy shit,” whispered Stiles and she sent him a glare through the webcam.

“Holy shit? Holy shit? Seriously? This is the guy that killed that girl in the woods? This is Derek Hale?” she exclaimed, furious with both her brother and the boy with his mouth left agape.

“In the flesh…”

“Oh my god. What in god’s name did you get yourselves into?” she whined, letting her back fall onto the bed with a quiet thump.

“I think you already know the answer to that Y/N, otherwise you wouldn’t be in this room right now.”

She immediately turned her head to the laptop and Stiles regretted his previous sentence. She got up and walked towards the computer, pointing slightly at the webcam.

“No. You do not get to be a smartass right now Stiles. I’m going to die because of you, dickheads!” She shot around to meet Scott’s eyes.

“And you. You are not playing on Saturday. I don’t care what Allison says, what mom says, I don’t give the slightest crap what Coach says. You are not even going to sit in the bleachers. Got it?” she said, seething.

“Got it,” answered a petrified Scott, still lying against the wall.

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a shower. Try not to set the house on fire or conjure up a ghost while I’m gone please.” And she walked out.

“I don’t know who’s more lethal, Derek or your sister.”

Friday, 12:34, Beacon Hills Indoor Cafeteria

A week had gone by since the incident in Scott’s bedroom. Classes were long and tiresome, homework was demanding and time-consuming. However, school was the least of her worries. Unfortunately, even a week hadn’t been long enough for Derek’s traumatizing words to erase themselves from Y/N’s memory, let alone for them to lose their importance in her mind. He was dangerous, that much was clear, and what was even more dangerous about the teenagers’ situation was the fact that they knew nothing about him. All she could think about as her teachers droned on about the concept of democracy and French irregular verbs was- well…literally everything.

Stiles had spent the whole week trying to listen in on the Sheriff department’s calls and he had even tried to log on his father’s computer. The password having unfortunately been changed, his plans had fallen through. He had also spent quite few hours bringing Y/N up to speed with everything that had happened since that fateful night when Scott got bitten. She thanked him, knowing however that the extra information hadn’t given her the feel of peace she thought she would get, instead, it just made her even more anxious.

First of all, because now she knew just how positively dead they were, secondly, because this meant she had more to keep from Carrie. She felt terrible about Carrie being left in the dark about all of this. Truth be told, she wanted more than anything to come clean about her latest “adventures”, hell, even just to ask for advice. How was she supposed to deal with this alone?

“But you’re not alone,” Stiles had told her after she had tried convincing him and her brother to give her permission to tell Carrie the truth. They didn’t get it though. Obviously, they were in on this too, they knew what was going on and they had assured that she was a part of “Wolfie Club” as Stiles had jokingly called it. But still, she felt alone. She needed her friend.

That kind of secret was a burden that her little shoulders just couldn’t carry on her own. One could argue that she didn’t have to listen to her brother and friend, but she was loyal and once promises had been spoken, they had to be kept. No point in discussing it any further.

So the fifteen year old girl sat in her seat at lunch that Friday ignoring Stiles and Scott’s banter, wondering to herself how on earth she was going to manage holding her tongue, helping them out and not imploding due to the giant ball of stress and fear growing in her abdomen, all at the same time.

“-right? Y/N?”

“What?” Y/N snapped out of her daze.

“You agree with me right? We have to find the body. Well- the top part,” said Stiles, tripping over his words.

“I’m sorry, can we rewind?” she asked, rubbing at her forehead.

“Stiles’ dad just installed a curfew. He’s looking for the murderer-” said Scott until Stiles interrupted him hurriedly.

“-meanwhile we know who the killer is!”

“Stiles, we can’t just tell your dad what we know,’ said Y/N.

“Which is exactly why we need to look for proof so that we can get Derek arrested for his crimes and so we don’t need to deal with his death threats anymore!”

Stiles leaned back in his seat and bit excessively at his apple, his anxiety obviously through the roof right then. Y/N felt bad for him. She had been so busy thinking about how this whole “thing” affected her, not even taking a minute to realize the fact that her best friend was probably about to overdose on Adderall.

“Well, yeah, okay I agree but how? I mean it’s not like you’re the best sleuth in the world Sti, you can’t even shut up for more than ten seconds, let alone sneak around in a house with a murderer slash werewolf hot on your trail.”

Stiles sniffed and bit his lip as he furiously tapped his knee against the edge of the cafeteria table. He turned to Scott who was picking at his pasta in silence.

“Hey did you talk to Coach about tomorrow?”

“Yeah…”

“Scott…are you or are you not playing tomorrow night?” questioned Y/N, feeling her heart beat a little faster by the minute.

“I- I don’t know.” Stiles and Y/N scoffed and groaned but he threw his hands up in defense.

“You don’t understand! Allison’s coming to the game, so is Mom! And Lydia said I had to play or she’d introduce Allison to the other players.”

“Let her! Jesus, Scott! You’re seriously picking your one week long girlfriend over your sister’s life and safety?”

“And yours?” added Stiles, bewildered and annoyed.

“And the poor kid’s life?” hissed Y/N, noticing that people were starting to turn their heads in their direction.

“Who’s?”

“The kid who’s gonna find himself at the wrong place at the wrong time and who’s either going to die or bleed. A lot,” she said angrily.

“Okay, okay! There’s a lot on the line. I know that.”

Scott slumped back into his seat and closed his eyes. Stiles and Y/N shared a look and frowned.

“Look, we’re sorry about this. Okay? It’s not fair. But you don’t have a choice Scott.”

“She’s right Scott. I’m sorry.”

Scott looked down and sighed but nodded.

“Guess I should tell Allison then,” he said before pushing away his tray and sliding his arm in the strap of his backpack as he walked away.

Y/N sighed and mournfully looked at her club sandwich, still neatly placed in her paper plate. Stiles munched on a large piece of apple as he turned to her and stopped when he noticed her plate.

“Hey, you haven’t even touched that. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? Really?”

He chuckled and tilted his head in agreement.

“Okay, maybe we are experiencing our fair share of problems right now but is that all this is?”

Y/N paused and looked down at her lap.

“I’ve been a little distant from Carrie ever since this weekend.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t even look at her without wanting to spill everything about Scott. I mean, you guys are lucky. You’ve got each other, you’re a pair.” Stiles opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off before he could. “And- don’t say that’s not true because you know that it is. Sti, you’re my best friend and Scott’s my brother, but you guys are brothers as well.

“I can spend as much time with you two as I want, it’s never gonna change the fact that my relationship with you is different from your relationship with Scott. And it’s okay. I don’t mind, I realized that a long time ago. But it means that you’re a pair and I’m a single. I have Carrie, but I can’t bring her into all of this.”

“You can’t be a pair,” said Stiles, nodding his head slowly.

“I can’t be a pair.” Y/N bit her lip as he reached for her hand and cupped it with his own.

“I’m sorry that you can’t tell her all about this, Blue. I really am. I wish you could. Maybe one day, Scott’ll tell you he’s okay with it but for now, it does have to stay between us.”

“I know.”

“Okay.”

Y/N squeezed his hand and let go of it, reaching for her sandwich and digging in.

4:02, McCall House

After school, Y/N rode home on her bike and let it fall on the grass of the front lawn, too tired to prop it against the wall of the house. Walking up the stairs after having gotten a water bottle from the fridge, she took out her phone and tapped on the Messages app.

Y/N: hey Car i missed u this week. wanna hang this weekend? watch dumb romcoms and have pizza?

Y/N walked into her room and sat down on her bed, pulling off her little black boots from her sore feet as she yawned. This week had simply been exhausting. Suddenly, she heard her phone emit a ding and she turned it on in a flash hoping it would be Carrie.

Scott: I found something guys, both of you come to my room asap

Y/N didn’t hesitate and went straight into Scott’s room, shutting the door behind her, a pang of disappointment floating around her stomach. She turned around and saw what Scott was doing.

“What happened to your lacrosse stick?” she gasped, rushing towards him and snatching it away from him.

“I went to see Derek,” he answered, looking at his stick, more precisely, at the torn net.

“Why?”

“He’s messing with Allison. I think he’s going to hurt her if we don’t act fast.”

Y/N raised the stick and her eyebrow simultaneously at him.

“He doesn’t know you have replacement string, does he?”

“I think it was more so to prove a point.”

“Ah.”

She sat on the floor next to his bed, looking up at him as he shifted over his covers.

“So, what did-“

“-what did you find? How did you find it? Where did you find it? And, yes, I’ve had a lot of Adderall, so-,” Stiles said quickly and loudly as he entered running into Scott’s bedroom. He stopped, heaving and blinking his eyes a couple of times before trying to catch his breath.

“I found something at Derek Hale’s,” answered Scott.

“Are you kidding? What?” interrogated Stiles before turning to Y/N and taking a step back as though he hadn’t seen her, “Oh hey Y/N.”

“Hi?” she replied, the corners of her mouth quirking up a bit at his hyperactive behavior.

“There’s something buried there– I could smell blood,” Scott answered, screwing his nose up a bit.

“Wait what?”

“That’s awesome! I mean that’s terrible. Who’s blood?”

“I don’t know. But when we do, your dad nails Derek for the murder. And then, you guys help me figure out a way to play lacrosse without changing. Because there’s no way I’m not playing that game.” Scott got up as Y/N nodded.

“Sounds like a plan,” she said, pensively.

“We need gloves, a night vision camera, binoculars-“

“-Stiles, we’re not the FBI,” laughed Scott.

“And besides, we’re not going to Derek’s. At least not right now,” Y/N said with an all-knowing look on her face.

“Rrrright,” Stiles said, nodding, “where are we going then?”

“We’re going to the hospital,” she answered the confused boy and Scott and him shared a look as she started explaining her plan.

5:16, Beacon Hills Hospital

Y/N walked into the main hall of the Beacon Hills hospital clutching her wrist with her other hand. After a few minutes of taking the elevator and finding her way, she treaded lightly to her right and peeked at the front desk on the second floor. Sure enough, her mom was there. Sliding her phone out from her back pocket, Y/N quickly typed in a message, hit send and put it away before walking towards Melissa who was busy answering calls.

“Hey, mom,” she said, stepping right into her eyeshot. The nurse looked up and smiled.

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” she asked warmly before getting up and making her way around the front desk.

“I hurt my wrist wrestling with Stiles- long story, and I can’t move it much without it being really painful. Could you take a look at it?” she asked, praying she would say yes.

“Well, I’m not really supposed to do consultations for patients without an actual doctor present,” Melissa said, wincing a little and Y/N’s heart sank. “Let’s go.”

She beamed and kissed her mom on the cheek before following her into a patient room a few feet away, looking over her shoulder and winking.

“Okay, let’s do this,” said Stiles as he got her signal, motioning at Scott to go ahead. They both walked slowly in the direction of the front desk and Stiles turned to a certain door. He nodded.

“Good luck, I guess,” he said as Scott pushed the door open and slipped inside, the letters MORGUE written in bold white just a few centimeters away from an arrow pointing in the direction of where he had just gone.

Scott walked into an empty corridor and kept walking until he reached the morgue, a sign on the door signaling that this was where he needed to be. The teenager went inside and started opening the different metal doors, desperately trying to find what he was looking for and scared out of his mind. His heart thumped harshly against his ribcage and he couldn’t help but start hyperventilating when he slid a tray out. On it lay a body covered with a white cloth. Well, technically, half a body.

“Oh god, Y/N, why?” he asked under his breath as he grimaced and flipped the corners of the cloth off the cadaver. A strong scent of blood and slowly rotting flesh filled his nostrils as his eyes landed on the dirty and cold feet of the victim. He could barely stand the smell, it was just too strong and too foul, almost beastly. It was disgusting but Scott concentrated and his eyebrows raised when he recognized it.

Not even bothering to cover the bottom half of the body up again, he slid the tray back in, shut the metal door and ran out of the room, the terrifying image and the gruesome scent following him. When he got to the waiting room, his eyes fell on Stiles, seemingly busy reading what appeared to be a pamphlet on menstruation and he went to tell him he was done.

“Holy god!” exclaimed Stiles when Scott grabbed the pamphlet from his clampy hands.

“The scent was the same.”

“You sure?” asked Stiles as he got up.

“Yes.”

“So he did bury the other half of the body on his property.”

“Which means we have proof he killed the girl,” Scott said, nodding his head.

“Okay we have to text Y/N, let her know the coast is clear. Let’s go.”

Y/N’s phone emitted a ding and she suddenly shot up as her mom felt her arm and wrist.

“You know what, mom, it’s getting better. Besides you have a lot of work to do so I’m just gonna go.” Melissa looked at her and frowned, wondering why she was in such a sudden rush to leave.

“Okay, well, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. If you’re still feeling sore, put some ice on it and it should get better from there.”

“Great, thank you, I love you!” said Y/N hurriedly before pulling the door open and rushing out of the patient room, leaving her mom alone and puzzled.

“Huh.”

“So, was it the same?”

“Yeah, exactly that.”

“So, the body’s what you were smelling! That’s good news, great even. We can finally get rid of him and get that girl justice,” said Y/N, grinning widely.

“Okay so what do we now?” Scott asked.

“We’re going to Derek’s,” answered Stiles, determined. Y/N nodded.

“We’re gonna need shovels,” she added and Stiles clicked his tongue in agreement. It made her quite happy to know that they were on the same page practically all the time, they rarely disagreed over important things and that gave her a sense of partnership and teamwork she simple loved.

11:56, Hale House, Woods

Derek’s black car gleamed in the moonlight as it drove away from the clearing where the Hale house stood. After a few minutes, a baby blue jeep took its previous spot and the ignition was turned off. The three teenagers left the car, slamming the doors shut behind them and they started to walk towards the house.

“It was around here somewhere when I came earlier,” Scott said, gesturing at a spot a few feet away from the left side of the house.

“I low-key can’t believe we’re about to dig out a human body,” said Y/N as she grabbed a shovel from her brother’s hand and he nodded with a hum.

“It’s weird though, something feels different,” he said, contemplating the ground.

“Different how?” asked Stiles, stopping his first dig mid-movement.

“I don’t know.” Scott walked closer towards the spot he had pointed at minutes earlier and pushed his shovel in the humid ground. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Agreed. I am not spending one minute more than necessary here. Fucking creeps me out,” Y/N said, shuddering as she started digging on Scott’s right.

The three dug for a while, time slow and taunting as their arms felt heavier and their muscles ached. They didn’t speak during that time, the only sounds besides the incessant scraping of the shovels in the dirt were their grunts and groans as they kept going. No one talked until finally, Scott paused to wipe his brow and spoke.

“This is taking too long,” he said.

“Just keep going.”

“What if he comes back?” asked Y/N, stopping to properly look over at Stiles who was still going at it.

“Then we get the hell out of here,” Stiles answered.

“What if he catches us?” Scott questioned, his brows furrowed in confusion and anxiety.

Stiles shrugged and looked ahead but kept going, digging his shovel in the ground as deep as possible.

“I have a plan for that.”

“Which is?”

He grunted and waved his shovel in the air, almost banging Y/N on the forehead with the metal object.

“You run one way, I’ll run the other, so does Y/N. Whoever he catches first, too bad,” he said, shrugging before starting to dig again.

“I hate that plan,” whined Scott.

Y/N nodded with a neutral expression on her face after having given the so called “plan” a thought.

“Actually, I second it.”

“You seriously think you could outrun Derek?” inquired her brother with a smirk as Stiles scoffed.

“I don’t have to outrun Derek, I just have to outrun one of you.”

“Touché.”

The three of them chuckled before Y/N spoke again.

“This is really starting to bore the crap out o-”

“-alright stop, stop, stop!” exclaimed Stiles when he felt the edge of his shovel touch something a little harder than the humid soil beneath their feet. Y/N’s breath hitched as both the boys let go of their shovels and bent down to start digging with their hands.

Their dirty fingers unraveled some string and they both looked at each other, puzzled.

“Okay just get whatever that is above ground, guys, he’ll be back any minute now,” Y/N whispered, her heart beating faster and faster by the minute.

Sure, they had done some pretty cool and forbidden stuff before like when they hung out in the principal’s office when Scott and Stiles were in the 7thgrade at night or like that one time when they had hidden in the storage room of a comic book store downtown for hours before the manager had found them. Those times had definitely made their pulses raise, but they were nothing like what the teenagers were experiencing right then. This was some other level.

“I’m trying. Did he have to tie this thing in like, 900 knots?” said Stiles, hissing lightly as his long fingers desperately tried to untie the string.

“I’ll do it.” Scott knelt further down to help him and sure enough, together, they managed. Opening up the package by pulling off the dirty material, their eyes fell upon a dead black dog.

Scratch that, it was too big to be a dog.

“Oh my god!” yelled out Scott, jumping backwards and landing on his backside, groaning at the impact with the ground.

Y/N shrieked and looked away, covering her mouth and moving her legs in a squeamish fashion as though she were urgently in need of going to the bathroom. Stiles meanwhile gagged and fell back alongside his best friend all the while cursing.

“What the hell is that?” he exclaimed, gesturing towards the disgusting and morbid thingin the hole they had just dug up.

“It’s a wolf,” said Scott, staring at the dead animal with disgust yet curiosity.

“Yeah I can see that!”

“Cover it up, please, please cover it back up Scott!” Y/N whined, trying her best not to throw up due to the vile smell.

Scott shook his head just as he was about to tell her they had to inspect it but Stiles cut him off before he could even utter her name.

“I thought you said you smelled blood? As in human blood?” said Stiles, annoyed and confused all at once.

Y/N was completely bewildered by what they had just discovered. Why had Derek buried a wolf? Was it a werewolf? If so, had he been a member of the pack? Was it a she? Thousands of questions swam around her head and she almost felt woozy as she tried to focus on one.

“I told you something was different.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” said Stiles as he closed his eyes.

“We gotta get out of here.”

“No! We can’t!” Y/N exclaimed, ignoring the rotten stench coming from the hole.

“Why not?” asked Scott.

“Because! You’re not telling me you’re not even a little curious as to why this is here?”

“No, honestly Blue, we have to go, like, now.Scott, help me cover this up.”

Y/N groaned as she shook her head, rolling her eyes before turning and gasping a little. Her gaze had rested on a flower, partially hidden in the earth, the deep purple petals barely visible through the humid soil.

“What is it?” inquired Scott as she started to walk away from them and towards the curious flora, almost hypnotized by its beauty. “Y/N?”

Y/N ignored him and bringing two fingers down to the stem of the flower, she tugged lightly. Only the flower didn’t detach itself from its roots. Instead, they left their earthy cage with it.

A long line of string followed and Y/N, perplexed, looked over at the teenage boys who were staring at the plant in her hand.

“What the-?”

“-Y/N, don’t touch that!”

“Ugh, it’s fine. I haven’t turned to a big pool of green slime okay? Give the dad talk a rest.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow and she brushed it off, instead inspecting the flower. It really was mesmerizing. Tiny little light green leaves stuck out the side of it and it offered contrast with the purple color of the flower itself.

“What is so special about this flower?” Y/N asked herself. She felt drawn to it, but as to why? She had no clue.

“Not to interrupt your newfound passion for herbology but we really should go. If Derek finds us here, we’re dog food.”

Scott slapped Stiles’ chest with the back of his hand and glared at him.

“Well what? Dog food is more fitting than toast in this case.”

The glare didn’t cease and Y/N snorted, looking away from them only to start inspecting the string attached to the plant in her hands.

“Agree to disagree.”

“Hey guys?”

“What?”

Y/N slowly backed away from the place she had found the flower all the while staring at the tiny hole in the soil and treaded lightly. Their eyes widened as more and more string left the confines of the earth, leaving a concave trace on the ground but Y/N didn’t stop. Her heart thumped in her chest and she kept going, walking behind Scott and Stiles then making a whole turn around them. And another, and another, and another one after that. Finally, the string came to an end and Y/N looked up, confused. She squinted her eyes at the traces left beneath her feet when Scott spoke up.

“Look,” he said, simply, staring at the grave they had just dug up.

Both Stiles and Y/N rushed over and what their eyes landed on sent a chill down their spines in a matter of seconds, Y/N’s veins turning to ice.

The animal they had found was no longer a wolf, it was a woman. Her top half to be exact.

“Oh shit!” screamed Y/N. “Okay that’s it! We’re out of here.”

“We have to cover it up,” murmured Stiles, his stare not leaving the corpse’s void-filled eyes.

“Yeah, let’s do that, but we have to move fast. Y/N, pass me the shovel!”

She did as she was told and hurried as she grabbed her own, immediately getting to it.

“D’you know what this means?”

“We’ve got him by the tail,” answered Stiles.

“Dude!”

Saturday, 4 pm, McCall House

Soft music played through the small orange speaker on Y/N’s dresser as she absentmindedly tapped the end of her pencil on her desk, her tired eyes staring into an abyss while she tugged at her bottom lip with her fingers.

Her empty thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Stiles’ name flashed on the screen as the Star Wars bar theme played and she frowned, picking it up swiftly and bringing it up to her ear to answer the call. “Stiles?”

“I lost Scott.”

“You what?”she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat, her whole body tensing.

“It’s not a big deal! But yes, I- uh- lost him…”

“I can’t believe you Stiles. Remind me never to leave you alone with my future kids.”

“Hey, I will have you know that Mrs. Terry was very satisfied with my babysitting ski-“

“-yeah yeah, where are you right now?”

“Woods.”

“Okay, where did you lose him?”

“Woods.”

“Details, Stiles!”

“I had the string with the purple flowers in my bag when we left Derek’s after my dad arrested him and Scott said he couldn’t breathe so I ran out and threw the bag away and I turned around and he was gone! Poof!”explained Stiles, breathlessly.

“Poof?”she repeated, seething with anger.

“Poof?”

“I’m gonna kill you Stiles.”

“Look, I’m gonna call him right now, okay? Just try calling the Sheriff’s department, they don’t take me as seriously as they used to.”

“When did they ever?”she said before hanging up and dialing 911.

“Sheriff’s station, what’s your emergency?”

“Maggie! Hey! It’s Y/N, McCall?”

“Did you Stiles put you up to this?”

“No! What? Just- it’s Scott, we can’t find him-,”

“The Sheriff’s department’s got too much on its plate to worry about your game of hide and seek Y/N, have a good day.”

“No! Wai-“ Y/N shrieked but it was too late, the deputy had hung up.

“Good thing I wasn’t calling about a killer in my house,” she grumbled as she slipped into a dark blue pair of jeans and a grey tank top. She grabbed her maroon sweatshirt and her phone before hurrying out the door. She had to find her brother, before it was too late.

6:55 pm, Beacon Hills High School

Y/N’s muscles ached as she sped on her bike, riding as fast as possible in the direction of the high school, the last place Scott could be at. She had ridden all around the town, scraping her knees and burning thousands of calories as she called out her brother’s name, desperately trying to find him. She had been to Stiles’ house, she had gone to Deaton’s, Scott’s boss. She had called her mom to check if Scott was over at the hospital with her, she had been to the comic book store all the way across town. She had literally ridden every square inch of Beacon Hills but the school and she was sweaty, angry and exhausted.

Grumbling profanities and wiping at her brow, Y/N pulled into the parking lot of her school, shivering slightly due to the cool night air and she set down her bicycle, wasting no time to rush over to the lacrosse field.

“I swear you better be here, Scott,” she mumbled.

Sure enough, Stiles and Scott were there, standing next to their coach as he yelled out their strategy, making some of the players on the team groan and whine.

Y/N didn’t even stop to think but instead rushed over to them and pushed Stiles aside.

“What the hell Stiles?”

“Hey Y/N! Oh my god! I’m so sorry, we just completely forg-“

“-you sent me on a wild goose hunt and didn’t even bother to call me to tell me you had found him! What the hell is your problem?”

“I’m sorry, Blue.”

“You’re sorry? Not good enough. My legs are sore and I am this close to crying from pure exhaustion Stiles.”

“Y/N-“

“-I’m not done talking! I swear to God, if your team doesn’t win the game tonight, I will make it my personal mission to stuff your lacrosse jersey down your throat and do the same thing to Scott.”

“Are you done now?”

“Yes,” she huffed, crossing her arms and exhaling as her shoulders untensed.

“And that is how you motivate a bunch of horny imbecile teenagers! Give it up for- I’m sorry, what’s your name, sweetheart?”

Y/N whirled around only to realize the entire team was staring at her, each and every one of the players utterly shocked and confused as to why she was on the field in the first place.

“Y/N,” she answered, her cheeks reddening immediately. “Good talk,” she added before walking away with clenched fists, a bottomless pit forming in her stomach.

“Oh god,” she muttered under her breath as she walked over to the bleachers and walked a little further up, seating herself right next to a tall and very pretty brunette.

“Do you know him?” asked the gorgeous girl, turning to her.

“I’m sorry?”

“Do you know that guy? Over there? Number eleven?””

“Oh yeah, he’s my brother,” answered Y/N, coolly.

“You’re Y/N?” she asked, a beam painted across her face, making her rosy cheeks wrinkle a bit.

“Uh yeah, and you’re Allison?”

“Scott told you about me?”

“Something like that,” she said, smiling sheepishly. The fact was, ever since the truth had come out over Scott’s new powers, he hadn’t shut up about his new girlfriend, Allison. Both Stiles and Y/N had been shocked and intrigued by the news, wondering how in God’s name Scott had managed to score a date with her in the first place, much to his dismay.

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” said Allison, extending her hand, timidly.

“Nice to meet you, Allison,” said Y/N, smiling a little wider this time as she shook it.

Scott’s new girlfriend was extremely warm, her friendliness immensely agreeable. Y/N couldn’t help but want to strike up a conversation but she stopped herself from saying anything, too afraid of scaring her away.

Y/N searched for some familiar faces and found her mother who was waving at Scott with a huge smile on her face. Of course she had come, it was his first big game. She sat on the first bench and set down her handbag. Y/N exhaled slowly. It was at that moment that a certain strawberry blonde seated next to Allison turned her head to her.

“It’s good that your brother chose to step up and play. I hope he makes this game worth our while.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” Y/N muttered under her breath, looking over at the field. Jackson was talking to the coach and Stiles had just sat down in front of the field, obviously looking in the same direction as her. Scott was standing next to the other players on his team and staring back at her. She couldn’t really see his eyes but gripping the edge of the bench on which she was seated, she mouthed something to him.

‘You can do this’

Scott nodded and cracked his neck before placing himself in the right position. The ref blew the whistle. It was go-time.

The ball immediately filled the nets of the Beacon Hills players and for a while, everything seemed to be okay. But something was off. As the maroon players ran around the field, slowly approaching their opponents’ goal, Scott trailed up behind.

“What is he doing?” she asked herself.

Then suddenly, number 10 found himself surrounded by two whites and he cowered, the ball flying out of his net and onto the grass a few feet away due to the force of the opposing team’s defense. Scott whirled his head around, his wide eyes resting on the little white ball and he dove in, ready to catch it with his net. He ran but Jackson caught up with him and shoved him away, grabbing the ball and heading towards the ball.

“They’re keeping him from playing,” she muttered, her eyes fixated on the scene unfolding before the crowd.

Speaking of the crowd, an eruption of cheers echoed through the stands as Shitmore scored and a red digital 1 showed up on the scoreboard right under the letters HOME. Y/N shook her head and cursed under her breath.

“Asshole.”

Allison and Lydia both got up and held up a large banner with the words WE LUV U JACKSON as they whooped and Y/N rolled her eyes, focusing on the field. She tried to catch Scott’s eyes but he was staring at Jackson. Yep, he had probably seen the banner.

“This isn’t good…”

The team huddled up but the teenager stayed away, looking at them with anger seeping through his eyes. The whistle blew once, signaling the game was about to pick up again. Every player got into position, including Scott, and soon the ref blew his whistle again.

White and maroon jerseys ran towards the player with the ball in his net and he sprinted away aiming at his friend. Each person on the field was in motion, the cool breeze of the night blowing softly through their hair as they accelerated their swift movements, trying desperately to catch the ball with their long sticks. Groans and cheers, oohs and aahs and gasps escaped the mouths of the people in the stands and Y/N’s muscles tensed as she heard Allison talk to Lydia.

“I hope he’s okay,” the beautiful brunette said, looking over at Scott who was hunching his back.

“I hope we’re okay,” said Lydia and Y/N almost snapped.

Standing up yet again, Lydia held up another banner, Jackson’s name followed by a #1 drawn onto it with a sharpie. Y/N’s eyes widened and her head snapped in Scott’s direction. He was going to be furious.

Sure enough, the young werewolf had seen it and cracking his neck again, he straightened his back and stood in front of the white player, both at the ready to catch the ball. The shrill sound of the whistle blew and Scott blocked his opponent’s attempt at taking the ball, sending it flying into the night sky.

He moved in a matter of seconds and took a leap, jumping over another player and catching the ball in his net, taking a run for it. The crowd erupted in cheers and Allison gasped, clapping furiously and beaming.

Scott kept going, avoiding the visitors’ defense and pushing away his attackers, passing through a wall of players and shoving their shoulders with his own. Getting just close enough to score, he didn’t hesitate and motioned his net to the ground, throwing the ball right into the opponent’s goal.

The entire stands jumped up, screaming his jersey number, and applauding his swift moves on the field as the players on his team rushed to him to clap their hands on his back.

Y/N squealed and yelled out his name as her eyes widened in pleasant shock.

Maybe it was all going to be okay in the end.

Stiles was cheering as well along with the other benched players and the team’s coach started yelling out instructions to his players.

“Pass to McCall! Pass the ball to McCall! Hey, that rhymes.”

The game resumed and Scott was on fire. He passed more players and scored more points, running from one goal to the next, blowing everyone’s mind with his talent and athletic prowess. One opposing player even passed him the ball at one point, obviously terrified of him.

The end of the game was nearing, there were only a few seconds left on the clock. The stands were quiet for the first time in the whole duration of the game. Y/N exhaled, incredibly nervous. She glanced down at Stiles who was literally chewing on his gloves, his own eyes fixated on Scott.

The ball was sent to him and the teenager caught it with ease, making his way to the goal. But he stopped.

From afar, he seemed to be looking for a bee buzzing around him, his head turning and moving quickly and strangely. It was like he couldn’t situate himself.

“Scott,” murmured Y/N. “Scott, focus.”

His ears perked up and he looked over at the stands only to see his sister and Allison were both muttering words of encouragement in his favor. He breathed heavily and straightened his back before looking ahead. The goalie seemed terrified, gripping his stick with terror.

Scott raised his arms and sent the ball flying towards the net. Time stopped. Then, the whistle blew for the last time.

Everyone screamed and cheered, waving their maroon banners in the air and chanting “McCall!” over and over again.

“That’s my kid! That’s my son!” exclaimed Melissa, gasping for air as she raised her fists in the air and arched her back.

Stiles ran towards the field and jumped up and down, screaming his head off and everyone followed. The game had been won. Scott had scored for his team, they had won! All thanks to him.

Y/N could barely believe it as she ran down the steps of the bleachers and onto the field to join the cheerful crowd. She joined Stiles and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in a tight hug as they both laughed and whooped.

“Oh my god! Scott?” called out Y/N, searching for her brother through the crowd.

“Scott?”

Stiles and Y/N looked around but no trace of the young werewolf could be seen. Turning to each other, their faces turning white as sheets, they both ran off in the direction of the woods, calling out his name over and over again.

Y/N’s heart was beating so fast, she could practically feel a dent in her skin above her ribs as she ran and yelled for him. Stiles grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the school, running as fast possible.

Rushing through the corridors, Stiles yanked Y/N into the boys locker room but pulled her back immediately.

“What are y-,” Y/N was about to ask when he cupped his hand over her mouth and pulled her a little further into the shadows of the dark room. Bringing a finger up to his mouth, he looked straight into her eyes and she shivered. They were pressed against each other, her body squeezed between her friend and the lockers. The moment was interrupted however when his gaze left her own and he peeked at the scene behind said lockers.

He let her go and straightened her tank top. She looked at him, puzzled.

That was when Allison walked towards them and blushed, her lips a little redder than they had been at the game and her hair untidy.

“Hey, Stiles, Y/N,” she said, smiling timidly as she passed them and left the room, the sound of her boots resonating in the hall as she left the perimeter.

Both Stiles and Y/N made their way around the lockers only to find Scott. He looked proud and a goofy smile was plastered on his face as he waved at them, sheepishly.

“Hey.”

Y/N shook her head and laughed, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Oh thank God,” she said.

“I kissed her.”

“We saw.” Stiles smiled all-knowingly at his best friend.

“She kissed me.”

“Saw that too.”

“It’s pretty good huh?”

Scott couldn’t stop grinning as Stiles patted him on the back and Y/N’s lips curled into a smile.

Scott’s eyes suddenly widened and he smiled even wider.

“I-I don’t know how, but I controlled it. I pulled it back! Maybe I can do this, maybe it’s not that bad!” he exclaimed.

“Uh, yeah, about that.”

“What, what is it?” asked Scott, his eyes turning to his sister.

“The, uh, medical examiner looked at the other half of the body we found,” explained Stiles, his face turning a little dark.

“And?”

“He determined that the victim’s killer was an animal, not a human…”

“Which means, what?”

“Derek is not an animal.”

“Yes?”

“Let me keep it simple, Scott. Derek not animal. Derek thus, not killer. Derek let out of jail,” said Y/N, exasperated.

“Are you kidding?” exclaimed Scott, fear flashing through his eyes.

“No, and here’s the bigger kick in the ass.”

“The victim was ID’d. Her name is Laura Hale.”

“Derek’s sister…”

Scott gasped and shook his head.

“This can’t be happening!”

The three of them stared at the floor when Y/N spoke up.

“But you kissed Allison!”

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unseenthewriter · 5 years

Text

CHAPTER 5: VISIT

Chapter 5: 2548 Words

Total: 8615‬ Words

Thank fuck I'm back at work. Although the sling is annoying. I guess I'll just have to take ages to do anything on the computer.

Bill is pretty happy I'm back. I guess because I'm one of the few people here who understand computers. I should build a computer again it's been a while. Ash has been bugging me to game with him again too.

"You're back already Murray?" Miller asked me as I shoved an inhaler in the unlocked drawer of my desk.

"I got bored after catching up on all the TV shows I watch. Including the US ones." I replied.

"Is that a new suit? It looks nice." She complimented.

"I needed some new ones." I said trying to log in to my computer.

The phone on my desk rang. "DS Finnegan Murray." I said.

"Oh good, you're back in. There's this older gentleman who's been coming in every day for the past week asking for you." The receptionist said.

"What's his name?" I asked. Who would be trying to find me in Broadchurch of all places?

"Says you know who." They replied. I could hear the older Irish man's voice in the background.

I sighed. "On my way down."

I stared at my grandfather. "I thought you said you never wanted to see me again after Dad." I said to him leading him out the front door.

"God good lad what happened to your shoulder now." He asked ignoring my question.

"Nothing new. Got infected." I said.

"Is that why you've been skipping work? This isn't like you! You and your Father had to be forced to not work." He said.

"I had surgery. Hardy and Miller wouldn't let me come back until now." I complained.

"Who are they? Better not be like your old boyfriend Ashton." He said.

I hushed him "Pop, please! No one knows I'm gay here."

"Really? You used to never shut up about all that pride stuff." Pop commented.

"Pop come on you knew Mom and Dad were Bi. You know not to out me to people." I hissed. "Anyway, why are you here." I asked.

"Do I need a reason to visit my only grandchild?" He asked.

"Well Pop after you basically disowned me yes you do." I said.

"MI6 kept calling me saying they don't know your new address." He said.

"You could've called me about that." I said.

"No! I need to know you aren't getting mixed up with them. Quinn never should've joined up." Pop protested.

I sighed. "Me being a DS in Broadchurch should make it pretty clear that I'm not joining them."

"Your Father said the same thing when he was a DS back here." He said.

"Dad used to work here?" I asked.

"Why do you think he went on holiday here every chance he could. I never understood it. Only lived here for about a year. Can't believe he never mentioned that. Probably still owned that old shack when he died." Pop rambled.

"I never saw that in his will." I said.

"You definitely don't have the whole thing then. He would've died before selling that place." He said.

"We always stayed at a hotel when he brought me here as a kid. Do you know the address?" I asked.

"I'll give it to ya if you give me your new address. Don't want MI6 knocking down my door over in Cork." Pop said.

I frowned. "I'll get back to you with that." I'm still staying with Hardy. He won't let me leave still.

"You do have a place lad?" Pop asked looking concerned.

"Still working a few small things out." I lied.

~~~

I knocked on Hardy's office door. He opened it. "Murray come with me. Miller is meeting us."

"I thought you said you wanted me at my desk until the sling was off." I said. I'll tell him about Pop later then.

"I need everyone for this. Missing Kid." He said.

I was looking around the garage while Hardy and Miller were talking to the Father. Mostly a bunch of tools and boxes. At least the boxes are labeled.

"Andrew... that's the kid's name." I mumbled while taking the box down.

"Hm old school work mainly..." I paused. There was a brand new tablet at the bottom. Looks like someone was trying to hide it.

"Password locked of course." I muttered. I have just the thing to unlock it back at... "No Ashton has that." I said pulling out my phone. I texted him to email me the files on that USB Drive.

Hardy walked out. "Where'd you find that?" He asked pointing at the tablet.

I pointed at the box. "At the bottom. Looks like someone was trying to hide it. I have a way to unlock the tablet but my old friend has to email me it first."

"Forensics should take a look." He said.

I sighed. "Sure I'll make sure they get it."

~~~

I stared at all the information we had on the missing kid. "He's a single Father?" I asked out loud.

"Mother died when Andrew was 5 apparently." Miller said.

"How'd she die?" I asked.

"Fire." Hardy said.

I froze.

"You alright there Murray?" Miller asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just hate fires." I half lied.

"I don't think anyone likes them." Hardy said.

"Pyromaniacs do." I said to myself.

~~~

I ran down the burning hallway in my old house. "Mom!" I yelled trying to not breathe in the smoke.

"Finny just leave me." My Mom responded trapped behind a bunch of fallen wooden supports.

Even if I was strong enough to move them I would get burned. "I can't leave you, Mom." I said. Who cares about getting burned. I managed to get over but I saw that my Mom was pinned under a filing cabinet.

"Ah fuck." I hissed after trying to touch the hot metal.

"Finny take this." Mom said handing me the key. "Leave me."

I coughed. "No Mom I can't."

"Finnegan Ryan Murray you will leave me right now." She said sternly.

"Mom please-" I pleaded.

"Now! Your Father can't lose both of us." Mom yelled.

I got back out of the office and took one last look at my Mom before the floor collapsed.

~~~

"Mom!" I yelped while jerking awake.

I stumbled into the bathroom and sank to my knees.

"I could've saved you." I sobbed. "I could've saved you, Mom. I could've saved you I could've saved Dad-"

A few minutes later I looked up and saw Hardy standing in the door frame. "You need to talk?" He asked.

"No, it's fine. I just need some water. Yeah, I just need water." I said while standing back up.

Hardy followed me to the kitchen. My hands were still shaking and I accidentally dropped a glass. I cursed. Hardy pushed me away from the broken glass. "What is going on with you." He asked.

"I-I haven't had that dream in a long time." I said.

Hardy glared at me.

I gulped. "Hearing about Andrew's Mother dying in a fire must've caused it."

"Why?" He pushed.

"I was there when my Mom died. I could've done something anything to save her but I-" I started.

Hardy sighed. "So you blame yourself for both of your parents' deaths?"

"I could've saved them-" I said softly.

"I'm taking you off this case." Hardy said.

"What? No you can't I just got back and you said you needed everyone you could get." I protested.

"We'll be fine." He said.

~~~

I stared at my Dad's grave. Pop wanted to visit it before he went back to Ireland. Seeing as I'm off the Missing Kid case now I've had some more free time again. "Still don't understand why he liked it here so much." Grandpa mused out loud.

"He always said it was calming here." I said softly.

"Most places are probably more calming than all the places he went with MI6." He said.

"Hey Pop, how's Patty doing?" I asked.

"Ah, poor pup. Had to put her down a few months back." He frowned.

"Oh. I didn't know." I said.

"Yeah, I shouldn't have been so mean to ya after everything with Quinn. We're the only ones left now." Pop pointed out.

I sighed. "I wonder if the Murray family is cursed somehow."

He raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it. Anyway, you never told me where you are staying."

Great Pop knows that my boss is Hardy. I can't tell him that I'm staying with my boss. "Did Dad ever mention a friend named Alec Hardy."

"Possibly, you know that man could never keep his mouth shut. God knows how he was an Agent." He said.

"Well, it turns out that Alec Hardy is the same Alec Hardy who's my boss. I've been staying at his place for a few months now." I admitted.

Pop froze. "You're staying with your boss?"

"Yep." I popped.

"Times really have changed." He chuckled.

~~~

I was sitting on the couch on my laptop. Ash and I were voice chatting.

"You need to get a good PC again. I know how much you love video games how have you even survived." He said.

"Yeah well, I've been busy." I replied.

"How's that detective stuff been going anyway? I still can't believe you basically wasted your MIT degree." Ash asked.

"Hm, you're right meeting you was a waste of time." I joked.

"Hey man! Come on!" He protested.

"You know I'm joking. Besides I don't think I could handle your cushy Google job." I said.

"You are far more qualified for my job than I am." He said.

I sighed. "Did you send off those files."

"Oh! Right totally not just sending them right now." He lied.

"Of course. I would never suspect that." I said sarcastically. "Hey, I got a hypothetical for you."

"Is this a hypothetical or a hypothetical?" Ash asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know." I said.

"Fine shoot." He said.

"Let's say that I had a drive with all of my Mom and Dad's old case files. Let's say someone was after it and I was told to not destroy the drive under any circumstances. What should I do." I asked.

"This was not the kind of hypothetical I was expecting..." Ash paused. "Have you looked at the files? They could give you some insight."

"They are classified as hell though." I said.

"Dude, you have extremely classified files from MI6, Interpol, and the CIA and you haven't even looked at them?" He complained.

"Yeah, it would be all levels of illegal. In multiple countries!" I protested.

"That never stopped you before." He said.

"Yeah well, people change." I said.

"Nah you just became a pussy detective." Ash said.

"Alright, alright I'll look at them." I caved.

"Tell me if you find anything about aliens bro." He said.

"Ha, you wish." I said.

~~~

"These are not case files." I said after cracking the encryption on the drive.

"ForFinn.txt I'll read that then." I said to myself

Finn, if you are reading this I assume I'm dead if I'm not just let me know the gig is up. I lied about the files because I knew you would trust me until you couldn't anymore. Maxman is not your normal dark web hacker. He was a former fling of mine before I met your Mother. He cheated on me so broke it up with him and took a job with MI6. Maxman is not someone who you should mess with and I hope you never have to.

P.S. if you ever visit Broadchurch again the address for my old place is in some of the other files.

Most of the other files were old pictures and childhood videos of me growing up. After a lot of searching, I did find the address. It's been right under my nose the whole time.

~~~

Despite the fact that this place hasn't had any visitors for a few years it looks alright from the outside. I tried The Key in the front door and it worked. "So it was a house key the whole time."

I tried to turn on the lights but they didn't work. I pulled out my flashlight. "God it's dusty as hell." I coughed.

Pop wasn't lying about this place being a shack. It's tiny. No wonder Dad always rented us a hotel room when we visited. I started browsing the many boxes. There was nothing interesting. Mostly old files and pictures. "Huh, that looks like Dad and Hardy." I muttered and pocketed the photo.

My phone went off. My alarm to get to the station.

~~~

"Bill I know I was taken off the case but if you just happened to need some help getting into that tablet-" I asked.

"I've got it handled Murray!" Bill replied over the phone.

I groaned. "Look Bill I am going to die from boredom if I have to digitize one more case file."

"Not my problem. Shouldn't have gotten taken off the case." He said and hung up.

"If Hardy didn't treat me like I was a child..." I grumbled.

"You are pretty young." Miller commented.

"I'm just as much of a DS as you are." I sighed. I wasn't like I asked to be promoted so soon. "I'm taking a walk."

"You better grab something to eat while you're at it." She said.

I glanced at the boats. It's been a while since I've been boating. Pop used to take me out on lakes when he visited me back in Minnesota. Patty always loved going for a swim. I nibbled on my sandwich.

"You like boats?" Hardy asked.

I jumped slightly dropping my sandwich in the water. "You scared me, sir." I watched the sandwich soak up the water. "I pretty much grew up in the water. Well, it was mainly lake water. I've never really liked oceans that much."

"If you don't like oceans you moved to the wrong place." He said.

"I don't hate oceans. Just a bit too salty for me. That and the waves are a lot more intense." I said.

"Picky about food and water." Hardy commented.

I sighed.

"Where did that key go?" He asked.

"I found out what it went to. I left it in my car by mistake." Hardy had a look telling me to go on. "Did you know my Dad lived here for about a year? The key was for his old place. Nothing too interesting. Found this." I said and handed him the photo I found.

"Never liked this picture." He paused. "Quinn never mentioned living here."

I furrowed my brow. "He was a DS here apparently. Pop mentioned that."

"Who's Pop?" Hardy asked.

I sighed and pinched my nose. "My Grandfather from Cork recently stopped by for a visit. It was... Unexpected."

"I thought you didn't have any living family." He said.

"Ah well, he disowned me after my Dad died. I wasn't the only one blaming myself for his death." I explained.

"Your family is messed up." He said.

"That's an understatement." I replied.

AN: The mystery of "The Key" is finally solved! Hurrah! Did I have a bit of fun with this chapter's gif? Oh yes!

#familyflaws #writing

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robertsiciliano1 · 5 years

Text

How Criminals Prey on the Art World and Real Estate

Any industry involving wiring transfers of large sums of money is vulnerable to this new type of hack. Purchasing a car, home or piece of art are large transactions and are not usually done in cash. In well-established industries like real estate, there are some checks and balances, but while one would think it would be very tough to pull off this scam in real estate, it is just as easy. I do not know how many billionaire art collectors follow my blog (they should!), but most of you are regular people like my family and friends.

Although many of us will never experience buying a million-dollar art piece from Italy, we can relate to purchasing a home. How can we make the world Safr? As a Safr.Me community, we need to rely less on industry security parameters and learn how to manually spot email-engineered money-wiring scams; they are not necessarily a common hack.

When looking at the home buying process, a report by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center said email fraud involving real estate transactions rose 1,110 percent in the years 2015 to 2017 and fraud dollars lost rose almost 2,200 percent. That means scammers are getting more efficient.

Nearly 10,000 people reported being victims of this kind of fraud in 2017 with losses over $56 million, the FBI report said. Real estate is only now tightening its belt and fighting back.

One Victim’s Story

In my circles, I occasionally brush up against those whose lives are just perfect—or what most of us would consider perfect. They’ve made all the right choices, and with hard work everything lined up wonderfully. Anyway, I met a great husband and wife team, and this awesome guy is a money man. He handles investments not just for companies but for countries. That means big commissions. That means he’s a juicy target.

This level of income also allows one to develop and feed a taste for fine art. I’m not a museum or art aficionado by any stretch, but this persons art collection was amazing. Their art of choice is called Hyperrealism. Google it. It’s paintings that look like photographs, and to us common folk it’s called “Frikin’ Awesome.” When I attended a party at this person’s home with a bunch of others, we got a quick tour. After seeing this household collection, it must have been painfully obvious by all of our jaws dropping and our stupid (but appreciative comments) that we were all out of our league.

Anyway, money man purchased a $200,000 piece of art via email, which apparently isn’t unusual. Long story short, hackers intercepted his email communications via the hacked gallery and he wired $200,000 to a criminal. Remember, he’s in finance; finance guys are conditioned to recognize risk. When he looks back, there were slightly odd requests in the communications, but they made sense. Keep in mind, he was functioning in the security parameters in which this industry exists.

Lucky for him, his bank flagged the transaction because the account to which the wire was being sent was brand new, and a brand new account that’s being wired $200,000 is recognized by this bank’s anomaly detection software as potential fraud.

He called the gallery, and they concurred it was fraud. His heart sank, and he jumped into panic mode as one would when $200,000 is about to vanish. He then made every possible phone call to stop this transaction and got nowhere as 99% of the world’s population who is affected by something like this would suffer the same experience.

His ace in the proverbial hole was because of his role in his company and his professional connection to the particular bank. After losing 10 pounds from nerves, he was able to make a personal phone call to some muckety mucks at the bank and get the whole thing fixed. I’d pull the same strings if I had them. You would too.

How the Hack Works

Although it’s not entirely a new concept, this is the freshest approach hackers are taking; and it targets art galleries, collectors, real estate agents and your clients. You need to put this on your radar! This is a pretty simple hack. Basically, criminals are breaking into the email accounts of the art dealers who manage high-end galleries, and then they monitor the email correspondence. Breaking in, in other words, means “logging in” because millions of email addresses and their associated passwords are in the hands of criminals due to massive data breaches.

So, when the dealer or gallery sends an invoice to the innocent art collector via email, the hacker is triggered and will step in. The bad guy will now impersonate the dealer and warn that the invoice had a mistake on it or change up the instructions. The criminal does this to justify a wire transfer, maybe offering a slight discount, and then asks the buyer to send the money to a different account. Once the hackers have the money, the third-party hacker just disappears.

The Victims of This Scam

Both buyers and sellers are victims here, and in many cases, both are left in the dark because the hacker hijacks the conversation. In other words, they take control of the emails and play both parts. In the art world for example, when the gallery emails the customer, the hacker intercepts the email pretending to be that customer. The same thing happens when the customer emails the gallery. This gives the hacker plenty of time to cover their tracks and get away, and in the meantime, money and time is lost for all parties involved. There have even been some galleries that have had to close altogether due to the financial impact of account wiring and money transferring scams.

Why Art Galleries?

Good question. Interestingly enough, the reality is that hackers are only targeting the art industry because it’s really easy to do so. A wire fraud happening in the finance industry used to be a “thing,” but there are so many security protocols in place within finance making it difficult to pull off a transfer scam within the financial space.

Tips to Keep Email Fraud at Bay

These tips are for buyers, brokers, real estate agents and art galleries.

All email account passwords should include uppercase, lowercase, numbers and characters. Never use the same password twice—NEVER.

All email should have two-step authentication. This means after logging in, a one-time password is texted to the user’s mobile for account access.

Make sure to change all passwords for online accounts, including Wi-Fi, regularly and especially after a data breach.

Escrow services are your friend. There’s a ton of them. The gallery or broker will, or should, have a relationship with a trusted source.

Pick up the phone, and confirm every aspect of a transaction until you are blue in the face and annoying everyone involved to the point you are satisfied that the money is safe.

Update all of your anti-virus software.

When you send an invoice via email, call or text a trusted number of the recipient to double check that they got it and that they have the correct account number.

Urge all of your staff to remain vigilant when opening emails, and make sure that they do not click on any links or download attachments unless the correspondence has been verified by phone. If you have doubt, contact the sender by phone.

There is so much more to this, and, while I can’t solve all the world’s problems, I can at least make you cyber-security smarter and digitally literate. Take a look at our eLearning Courses and our S.A.F.E. Certification.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

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projectlabsco · 4 years

Text

How to Use a Work OS to Supercharge Your Project Management

Have you ever wanted a superpower? Maybe the power to look through meeting room walls? Or to teleport yourself between locations to support your virtual team? Personally, I’d settle for knowing what my team were doing without having to constantly chase – perhaps that’s some kind of mindreading superpower. You don’t need a superpower to supercharge your project. You don’t need to be a mind reader to know what your team members are working on. You just need decent, modern, systems that help you do your job more effectively. What is a Work OS? A work operating system (work OS) is an online work management tool that lets you work the way you want to. Today, teams need flexible solutions that allow you to manage project and non-project work in the same tool, at the same time, with fast workflows that take away the menial tasks. A work OS is the way to get your work done, whatever that work looks like. It is a hub that connects teams, managers, their work and the tools they normally use. If you want to know what’s going on with your project, you can just take a look and everything is there. Complex Projects Need Robust Tools One of my mentoring clients and I spent some time recently trying to work out what tech would be best for her business. She was leaning towards monday.com because the agile project leader in her company wanted to use it. But as someone who works on predictive projects, she was finding it hard to move away from the Gantt-driven tools she’d trained to use her whole career. The challenge I see regularly here – including from that individual – is that they like the tools they use, don’t want to learn another one and don’t want to give up some of the features they’ve come to rely on in Gantt charts. My love of Gantt charts is a little controversial. There’s a school of thought that says you manage people’s time, not ‘the project’. For me, that’s semantics. The project is only delivered through people’s time being spent on the right things. You can work in an environment where both these things are true: people are your most unpredictable resource and helping them manage their time is essential, and the work they need to do still has to be visualised on a grand scale so everyone has a view of the big picture. When you’re working on large-scale construction or multi-phase project, sometimes a Gantt chart helps you do that. Don’t get me wrong: I love my Kanban charts too, and some work OS tools provide a Kanban view for when you need it! I just use them for different types of work. There should be space in the workplace for us all, and for all types of work – in fact, that’s exactly the point that modern work OS systems are trying to make. Back to my client. In the end, we leaned towards a hybrid solution: the monday.com work OS, integrated where possible with the tools she already used. Monday.com integrates with Trello, Jira, Google Drive, Todoist and more. When she needed to use an enterprise-grade Gantt chart for projects that demanded it, she could do that outside of the Work OS, and integrate the results into monday.com. Making use of integrations and automations between tools means you can craft your own perfect suite of software, minimising the need to key data in twice. [embedded content] Making it Easy for Your Team As a project manager, one of my roles is to make it easy for my team to do their best work. I remove the roadblocks and shield them from the annoying office politics. I deal with stakeholder conflict, letting them get their heads down and crack on with finishing their tasks. The tools I choose to use have a direct impact on whether working on my projects is easy or not. For example, on one project I created mini-timelines for each workstream in a spreadsheet. Every workstream owner got their own spreadsheet of the work they needed to do, with dates by which the work had to be done (they had set their own dates; I just typed them up). They found that very easy. They knew exactly what they had to do and when I would be coming to them for updates. On the other hand, I found it very difficult. I had to maintain six different spreadsheets, each personalised to the individual. Then I had to update my master project management software with updates, changes to deadlines and so on. Talk about an admin overhead. On another project, I decided I’d make everyone use our fully-fledged project management tool. They could go in, update their actions, tasks, track their time, report on risks and so on, all by themselves. Suffice to say that approach didn’t work out so well. I think one person logged on once. It was too much for them. Of course it was. It was a tool I used every day that they had never seen before and didn’t have any inclination to use. It wasn’t easy for them. The great thing about modern work OS tools is that you don’t have to do either of those things. My colleagues could have managed their work in the work OS directly and clever integrations could have zapped their updates into my project management tool. The tech is there to do this today: you have the flexibility to be able to use your project management tools for the parts you want to, and use the collaborative features of the work OS when it’s appropriate, just like the rest of your colleagues. When everyone uses the same work OS for their project and routine work, there is no learning curve because you’re all in the tool every day anyway. Your project team members don’t have to do anything differently to access you project updates, tasks, documents or chat. It’s all there. And when you want to calculate the forward and backward pass and the critical path, you can hop over to your Gantt chart tool of choice to do that – because, let’s face it, you’re the only one who ever looks at it anyway. Managing the Team The strongest feature of a work OS is the way it makes it possible for teams to work together. It creates autonomy. People have the freedom to do their work in an aligned and informed way. It’s easy to adapt a process, create a new workflow or tweak what you’ve already got. When you can edit your systems without the need for coding, anyone can take the lead for continuous process improvement. But more than that, the work gets done. You’ve recruited bright people into the project team – now let them get on and solve problems and deal with challenges. When it’s easy for them to do their work, it’s easy for you, the project manager, to do yours too. No more chasing for status updates (yey!) because their progress is transparent to you. No more cutting and pasting to create management reports, because tailored dashboards surface the information your decision-makers need to know. You can focus on leading the team and managing the work to a successful conclusion. Now I’ve cracked the code to supercharging my projects without needing to be a mindreader, I can work on my other superpowers. I’m thinking telekinesis might be a good one, so I can update my work OS with only my thoughts! What would your project management superpower be? Pin for later reading: Let me into the Resource Library! Get access to over 30 project management templates, ebooks, checklists and more. The secret password is in your confirmation email! You can read my privacy policy here. from WordPress https://ift.tt/2UtbpMS via IFTTT

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pbpress · 4 years

Text

Blood Candy: Chapters 9 and 10

By Ruqayyah Pickel

Blood Candy Chapter 9:

I have to admit I was a bit worried about Dakota. Seb was...a bit of a weakling, but now that he was a vampire I feared that Dakota may be at a disadvantage.

I wasn’t really sure what Seb’s next plan was after he was finished with him--I assumed he would just follow Jasper’s orders--but something tells me I wasn’t entirely safe either. We were close, yes, but so were Seb and Dakota, yet here we were.

Oliver took me downstairs to a computer lab, turning on the light.

“Akira, look,” he said to me. “This is where all the files are kept.”

“How do you know all this?” I asked the younger Kermit sibling.

“I spy on Jasper. A lot.”

I shrugged.

“With a brother like that, I can’t blame you.”

Oli sat down at one of the computers and logged into Jasper’s account. I decided not to ask how he knew his password, as I already probably knew the answer. He spent the next few minutes rummaging through his computer, looking for anything on ‘candy.’

“So,” I said, “When did you find out your brother was a vampire?”

“Only recently, actually,” Oli said. “Like a month ago. He doesn’t know yet.”

“He doesn’t know that you know?”

Oli nodded.

Suddenly, I heard the door swing open, and a battle-scarred Kaveri entered the room. She had bruises on her arms, one around her eye, a few tears in her jacket and several scratches on her face and on her arms.

“Oh my God, are you alright?!” I asked her. “You look terrible.”

“Is Jasper dead?!” Oli cried.

“I’m surprised you care, Akira,” Kaveri snapped. “I thought I was dead to you.”

I froze. She thought she was dead to me…but that just wasn’t true. She wasn’t...okay, that was a lie. She was dead to me, but the fact that she was willing to go out of her way and risk her own life for us...

“I...I wouldn’t say that...” I told her.

“Well, you did a year ago,” she reminded me.

I stayed silent.

“And no, Oliver,” Kaveri continued, turning to our adversary’s younger brother. “He’s not dead, but I knocked him out briefly. I’ll be alright though.”

Oli’s expression was unreadable.

“How’s the search going, Oli?” I asked him.

“O-oh, right…” he said, perking up.

He entered ‘candy’ into the search bar, causing only one folder to pop up:

‘Project:Blood_Candy.pdf’.

He clicked on it.

About ten or so documents were in the folder, but we only had access to four: ‘Entry 1,’ ‘Failure,’ ‘Success’ and ‘Dakota.’

-------

file_Entry 1:

*We’ve lost far too many units to monster and vampire hunters across the country. Just recently, an X-Caliber hunter took down one of our best vampires yet—Morgan ‘Morgue’ Caligari. Without her guidance, many of the younger vamps have been unable to last a day without a hunter—or worse, nature—getting to them. Thorne says we gotta purge the city of these hunters, but we can’t afford to sacrifice more units.*

*I proposed a solution. What if we could somehow control humans to get all the blood for us, then we can drain them once their work is complete? This would not only exponentially increase our blood collection, but also keep our top vampires safe. Harriet, being a skeptic, as per usual, asked me how in the world I’d be able to come up with this. Fortunately, I did come up with a plan later that evening: if I could infuse some sort of substance into candy that would brainwash my patients after I gave it to them, then I could have an entire army in no time.*

*Project Blood Candy commences tomorrow night.*

-------

“So they used this ‘blood candy’ to get humans to do the dirty work for them…” Kaveri said. “How disgusting.”

“Wait,” Oliver said. “Let’s check the next one.”

file_Failure:

*I’m at a loss.*

*This project is going to be a failure.*

*I tried everything to make it work. But the results from every single one of my test subjects failed.*

*The first time, nothing happened, and my patient that day said that she could clearly taste blood, as she slowly pulled out something—a phone, maybe—from her pocket.*

*I had to get rid of her quickly.*

*The second time, after a modification to hide the taste of blood, the patient threw up. Unfortunately I had to get rid of him, too.*

*The third time, I had to modify the formula and substitute what I had used to hide the taste of blood. But the substitute was even worse. The next patient doubled over, clutching his stomach as he violently coughed. His eyes were bloodshot, and his tears were...red. It took a while, but I quickly—and painlessly—got rid of him, too.*

*Somehow, modification after modification, it kept getting worse and worse. Patients violently falling ill, their symptoms worse than the person before them, and several patients even dying before I could get rid of them myself.*

*The others were right. I am too ambitious for my own good.*

-----

Kaveri looked at the file in disgust.

“So many casualties…” Oliver said, equally as horrified. “So many casualties, just for a botched experiment…” Tears filled his eyes as he balled up his fists in anger. “My brother is a horrible person.”

“Well, clearly,” I said. “How did he even manage to complete this in the first place?”

——

file_Success:

*After countless days and countless appointments and countless modifications….I did it.*

*I finally created the Blood Candy.*

*Turns out, the first few ingredients I had substituted just needed to be combined. Though, now I’m kind of annoyed that we lost around forty potential meals because I didn’t think of that the first time. But that’s not my concern. Forty lost meals will be nothing in comparison to what this new invention will bring us. We’ll make all of it up and then some.*

*Now, to test it out.*

------

We were out of words at this point, staring at the computer in horror. I’m not sure what it was or how it happened or why I was only just now realizing what was happening, but then it dawned on me the situation I was truly in.

I was facing a real vampire, an actual person that literally consumes blood for a living. This man was nothing more than a demon that dared to wrap itself in human skin.

And now my best friend had just been turned into one.

My best friend, my conspiracy partner-in-crime willingly turned himself into a bloodsucking demon to feed an ambition he was forced into.

But it wasn’t fear I felt...if I just play my cards right, I could avoid any real danger. Hell, I took a reflex hammer to Jasper’s head. That alone gave me enough confidence to face whatever I had to in order to save my friends.

Whatever fear I felt was immediately overtaken by anger. This monster had made a monster out of my friend, and I was getting sick of seeing people get screwed over by Jasper.

We just skipped straight to Dakota’s file.

——

file_Dakota:

*A kid came into my office today. His name was Dakota Foster, and he goes to North Clueham High—the same school Kaveri goes to.*

*With Dakota under my control, I could easily have him find Kaveri and bring her to Thorne, who’s absolutely hellbent on seeing her dead. Every time I tried to ask him why, he shot me a bone-chilling glare...though I think it may have something to do with his younger brother, Wendigo--again.*

*Some days, I envy Thorne and the lengths he will go to defend his younger brother.*

*I wish that I could feel the same way about my own.*

*Unfortunately, when I offered Dakota the candy…he didn’t take it. At least, not at first. Apparently he ‘hates sweets’ or whatever, which sounds like total bull, but I guess that’s the case for some people. But who wouldn’t willingly take candy, and free candy at that? No matter…the kid said he’d give it to his friend Sebastian, who likes sweets more than he does.*

*Hopefully this ‘Sebastian’ character will be useful to us.*

*For the sake of Thorne not killing me on sight, he better be.*

----

“Funny,” I said, “at the end of the day, this is just about protecting their own kind.”

“That doesn’t make it right!” Kaveri cried. “They’re still hurting people!

“They’re hurting me!” Oli cried. “They’re hurting Seb! They’re hurting Dakota! They even hurt Kaveri! And they might hurt you, too!”

“I told you, kid, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“You clearly aren’t!” I cried. “Why are you putting yourself at risk for us? For me?”

Kaveri sighed.

“Because I have to,” she said. “You and Dakota wouldn’t be able to last without me, no matter how many conspiracies you and your now-bloodthirsty friend crank out.”

I turned away from her. Not that I didn’t appreciate her help, but I knew this was probably going to be the last time we ever talked. Like she said, she was going to go back to shutting herself out once this was all over. This was out of obligation, and that was it.

But then I realized...what made her more qualified than us to deal with Jasper and Seb?

“Kaveri,” I said. “Why did you leave? Tell me the truth.”

“Why does it matter?” she asked. “We need to stay focused on the task at hand.”

“If...if this doesn’t go as planned...I just wanna know. Why did you leave?”

Kaveri tried to ignore me, but I knew her better than that.

“Family emergency,” she lied. “I already told you.”

“But there’s more. What happened? Did someone die?!” I cried.

“Just can it already!” she finally shouted. “I can’t tell you...I can’t get you involved.”

“If it’s about...this,” I said, shaking with rage, “then I’m already involved.”

“Can’t we just talk later?!”

“There probably won’t be a later!”

“I told you, we’re gonna be fine! I can take him!”

“How do I even know I can trust you?! How do I know I can count on you to keep us safe?!”

“Because I spent a year learning to defend the human race!” she finally admitted.

I stood in stunned silence. I almost forgot Oli was with us, only remembering when I turned to find him equally as shocked, yet...hopeful.

“Kaveri--” I started, before she cut me off.

“Don’t.” She didn’t face me.

“Let’s be honest,” I said. “I was gonna find out anyways. Kaveri, you can’t keep hiding from me. I’m…or…I was…your friend. Whatever this is, I’m willing to go through it with you. Especially if it means saving my friends. So please. Stop pushing me away.”

I swear that I saw tears well up in her eyes, but she wiped them off.

“I shouldn’t have let you come with me,” she sighed. “I should’ve just did this myself. Arthur Thorne is...a very powerful person. My family’s been trying to hunt down him and his younger brother Wendigo for ages. And now I’m next in line to do what they failed to do for generations. That’s why I had to leave school, though it’s also because they found out I went to North Clueham. This entire project...I think they’ve been aiming to kill me, and take whoever they can in the school.”

Again, I found myself in stunned silence, tears forming in my eyes, too. All this time, I resented Kaveri for leaving me. Truth be told, she just wanted to protect me.

I owed her big-time.

“Kaveri, this is my friend--no--my friends we’re talking about. If they’re in danger, I’m getting myself involved, and I don’t care what anyone else has to say about it. I can help you! Seb and I can use our skills to blow the lid off this entire Blood Candy project!”

“I’ve been fighting these things for around a year,” she retorted, “I think I know what I’m talking about when I say you should’ve stayed back.”

“Well, sucks to be you...no pun intended...Because here I am.”

I turned to Oliver, ignoring whatever hateful look she shot at me.

“So, what now?” he asked me.

Suddenly, we heard a banging on the door.

“They’re in here!” an older woman said.

“There’s more?!” a male voice complained.

“Probably!” a younger male voice said, “unless Vigil is a really good voice actress.”

“Shut up and open the door!” the woman yelled.

“Hide!” Kaveri whispered, and slipped into a nearby closet with a much faster speed than normal.

Unfortunately, Oliver and I weren’t so lucky. In our panic, we spent far too much time searching for a hiding spot. Kaveri had taken the only good one in sight.

A trio of hooded vampires barged in and immediately caught sight of us. They had mysterious tattoos on their palm, and it looked like it was supposed to be the fangs of a beast. They went behind us and placed their marked palms on our necks, sending a sharp pain through me that soon subsided as the world around me turned black.

[Chapter 10]

I walked down the empty, dim hall, catching my breath as I silently thanked Kaveri for saving my life. Akira and Oliver should be okay, I figured, but then I remembered something...

“This hospital is one of the main headquarters of Clueham’s top vampire guild,” Kaveri explained earlier. How did she know all of this? If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve said she was a conspiracy theorist, too, and that’s the real reason Akira and Kaveri stopped talking. Rival conspiracy theorists were a thing, right?

Focus, Dakota! I thought to myself. You have a raging redhead vampire to find. But...where even was Seb?

The video Oli showed us had Seb in Jasper’s office...but I didn’t know where that was.

As I ran down the hall looking for Seb, I saw two “doctors” wearing surgical masks wheeling two patients on stretchers past me on both sides. Though the patients’ bodies were mostly covered, I still had enough information as to just how screwed I actually was.

In the precious few seconds I had to look at the two patients, I noticed only two things—the bite marks on their sickly pale necks, and the police caps resting over their faces. For a moment I was confused--then I drew my attention back to the police caps as the “patients” were wheeled away.

It can’t be...I thought. I wasn’t certain, but I did have a very bad feeling as to who those cops were.

“I called the police station for updates on the investigation,” my mom messaged me earlier. “They said that they’re gonna have to put it on hold for right now; they haven’t heard back from the officers that came by the house last night, so they’re trying to get in touch with them.”

Of course it was, I thought. It had to be. Like Jasper said, he couldn’t let anything happen to his new ‘colleague.’

This can’t go on like this. I have to snap Sebs out of this...trance...as soon as possible.

Against my better judgement, I aimed for the risky--yet probably more efficient--solution:

“SEBS!” I yelled, my voice bouncing off the walls. “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

I peered inside the glass windows of some of the rooms, thinking Seb must be hiding in there. Finally, I came to one of the rooms towards the end of the hall. The lights were shut off, but there appeared to be a figure sitting down--presumably dead or asleep--in one of the chairs. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see into the dark past my own reflection...when a blade was suddenly held to my throat.

I froze.

I turned around slowly, to find Seb with his black jacket, spiraling eyes, and the most malicious grin I have ever seen on his face.

“Look, buddy,” I said with feigned confidence, “you really don’t have to do this. I’m your friend. We know how this goes, we’ve both seen movies--you actually do try to kill me, then some rousing heartfelt speech or lovely memories of the time we spent together suddenly pops into your head and then you revert back to normal, then we can all go home and--”

Seb buried the knife into my shoulder. I cried out in pain, clutching my shoulder as I fell on my knees.

“...guess that’s out of the question…” I said. I watched in disgust as he went to lick the knife again, looking me square in the eyes as if to say, “this is who I am now.”

Then he stopped himself, shaking his head, and pocketing the knife into a sheath. The sheath had red, glowing markings when the knife was inserted in, and when he pulled it back out, the markings faded and the blades were completely clean.

What weird alien technology were these vampires using? I thought. If all of us manage to live through this experience somehow, then AkiSeb is gonna have one hell of a conspiracy.

I stood up, holding onto my bleeding shoulder.

“Why are you doing this, dude?” I asked. “You don’t have to listen to them. We’ve been friends for ages.”

Seb just gave me a blank stare, then smiled. He started to giggle, then gave me a chilling answer—or a question, rather:

“You believe me now...don’t you?”

And with that, he struck me with the blade again.

Or he would have, had I not grabbed the blade with my hand itself.

Counterproductive, yes, and my hand hurt like the devil, but it was either this or the blade goes into my neck.

“You know what?” I hissed, “fine. If you don’t want to listen, then I’ll make you listen.”

I punched Seb across the face. He let go of the knife and held on to his face. I took this opportunity to go for the knife--but Seb stomped on my hand without looking, bruising my ring and pinky fingers.

Fortunately, that wasn’t even my good hand.

As I recoiled away from the blow, Seb grabbed the knife. I rammed him into the opposite wall, but he kicked me backwards. My head banged into the glass, leaving cracks in it. He then threw the knife at me, but I managed to move out of the way in time, just as the knife landed right in the center of where I had banged my head on the glass. I stared at the knife in horror, thanking every god in the pantheon that I was even alive right now.

My prayers were interrupted when Seb grabbed my neck and threw me to the floor, pressing my head against the ground as he prepared to sink his small fangs in the exposed area of my neck. I kicked at Seb, punched him with my good arm, spat in his face, whatever I could do to get him off of me. But he was relentless. His bloodlust had consumed him completely. And with each time I tried to resist, his small grew closer and closer to my neck.

I almost wanted to give in. I almost wanted him to just get it over with already. I was human; he was a vampire. I was weaker than him.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps storming down the hall. I fought against Seb harder, but he seemed to gain a sudden boost in strength. He even risked a temporary glance in the direction of the storming footsteps--which I could only pray belonged to a potential savior.

Finally, he head-butted me, then took the opening I had left to sink his fangs into my neck. I screamed in pain, pushing Seb backwards—and into a sharp, wooden rod.

Kaveri had just come up behind him and staked him through the heart.

“SEBASTIAN!” I cried as he rolled off of me. “Kaveri, what the hell?!”

Kaveri looked up at me with furious eyes.

“He was trying to hurt you,” she said in a broken voice. “I had to.”

I had so many words I wanted to say to her…to Seb…but my words got caught in my throat. I collapsed to my knees near Seb, searching in his eyes for any signs of life. The peppermint swirl in his eyes slowed to a halt. His mouth gaped open slightly, just wide enough so I could see that his fangs had retracted.

His vampire side was gone.

But so was his human side.

I only came to this realization after spending who-knows-how-long screaming and crying and shaking my friend’s lifeless body, begging for him to wake up. Kaveri pulled me upwards, telling me to let go, he was gone, there’s nothing we can do, I had to, I’m sorry, please forgive me…

But I couldn’t. I had to, but I couldn’t. She saved me...and ruined my life. I turned around to face her, still on my knees.

Through my clouded vision, I could see nothing but the indigo mass of Kaveri’s sweater and the blood stained on her stake.

Seb’s blood.

I wiped my eyes, looking back at my fallen friend’s body. I stared into his lifeless eyes, the peppermint spiral fading. My breath quickened, my heart raced, as I realized…

“You lied to me,” I said, looking up at my best friend’s murderer.

“How?” she asked.

“You said you would help me.”

“I also said that if you didn’t want him to be a vampire, you’d have to kill him. Pretty sure the first thing you’d wish for in that kind of situation is for him not to be a vampire.”

“I don’t care if he’s a vampire,” I hissed, standing up. “I care if he’s my friend.”

“He tried to kill you!” Kaveri cried.

“You said you would save him!”

“I had no CHOICE, Dakota!”

“You did and you chose to KILL HIM.” I found myself storming towards her.

“Get a hold of yourself,” Kaveri said, pointing the bloody stake at me.

I knocked the stake out of her hand.

“I’m gonna need that, y’know,” she said. She picked it up and put it in her sheath. “Please...I know you hate me right now, but you unfortunately kind of need me to defeat Jasper.” She gestured to the bloody stake. “Unless you want it, of course.”

I shot a glare at her.

“Fine,” I said. “After this, I never want to see you again.”

Kaveri just shrugged.

“Deal,” she said. “Let’s just get this over with.”

#ruqayyah pickel #poetryfiction

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pauldeckerus · 6 years

Text

Hackers Stole My Instagram Username and Facebook Doesn’t Care

On July 20th, my username got stolen from me on Instagram. Since then, I exchanged a number of emails with Facebook Advertiser Support, talking to a real person, but that has lead nowhere so far.

Here’s the long story:

I’m one of the old users on Instagram. When I was creating an account in 2010 I managed to score a 3 character username, @mxl, to match my online nickname at that time, and I used that username ever since.

I received requests from random people from time to time over the years requesting my username — requests that I declined. Last year, I started to receive regular password reset emails, sometimes several of them in a single day. I enabled two-factor authentication and changed my password.

Two-factor didn’t work for me in the long run as it ended up being inconvenient when you have multiple devices and Instagram accounts for different businesses — especially when you travel and your main phone does not have reception in the country you are in. Also, you can only two-factor auth on one account per phone number.

Emails kept coming over 2017 and 2018. I kind of got used to receiving them. Sometimes Instagram would offer an option of only allowing password reset emails from devices I logged in from before, which I used a couple of times. But this limitation only lasts for about a month.

On July 20th, 2018, the hackers finally succeeded.

I found out about it about an hour later when I wanted to check something on my phone and found myself logged out from Instagram. My password didn’t work. I opened Instagram from my laptop to see what was going on and saw this:

I was scared that my whole account had just been wiped out.

It was as if the hackers just knew my password, logged in from a new location, changed my username few times, and took over my original username. There was no hack of my email, as Gmail usually notifies me every time there was a login from new locations or devices.

I managed to find a chain on emails in my spam folder notifying me about username change. There was about 4 of them, but this was the first one:

Clicking on the “revert this change” link didn’t work, it just reverted me back to the one above, since the @mxl username was taken by this time.

What was more annoying is that the hacker also went to tease me in comments under my photos and his account stories bragging about the hack. At least I knew who was responsible.

I was angry, but I thought no big deal — I’ll just get in touch with support and get my username back.

How naive…

The first problem is that, as most of you probably know, it is very hard to find any help or real human contact for services like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. All you’ll find are FAQs and automated replies, which don’t really work well for these cases.

There is a guide online on how to get help within Instagram. You request support and Instagram sends you an email with a code to confirm your identity. Then you wait… and then they tell you they are not dealing with this kind of issue at all.

A friend of mine who used to work for Facebook suggested that I try the company’s Advertiser Support, which is hidden away. If you’ve bought ads on Facebook at least once, then you’re eligible for this kind of support. This was the first time I managed to speak to a real human.

A lady named Teresa was very helpful, listened to my issue, confirmed my identity, business registration and proceeded to escalate the matter to the technical team. I sent her screenshots of password reset emails, username change emails, the hackers comments, and Instagram story bragging. I thought all that would contribute to my case being resolved — a real human was involved, after all.

The first thing Instagram’s internal team “found out” was that there was no hack. Of course it can’t be them at fault, only the user. But, I might agree with them on this. It might have been free Wi-Fi at the airport in Doha where I spent 8 hours prior to the hack on 13th July. This is the only explanation I’ve come up with regarding the hacker’s easy access to my account. However, the latest password reset emails are dated 18th July, so they still kept trying.

And then I get the final response that…

“The internal team reverted and advised that due to some recent policy updates, unfortunately we will no longer be able to assign username requests that are less than 3 characters.”

To which I tried to reason that I’m not asking them to give me some random username just because I’d like to have it. I was asking for help retrieving a username that I had used for 8 years and spent money with on their service. Plus it was not less than 3 characters.

I waited for another week before reopening chat via Advertiser Support on Facebook. This time I spoke to Chase. We found my support case number and he again recited the new policy to me:

“…since the new Policy on the Naming convention it can’t be returned and used anymore as the IG Team has suggested. Those users who have theirs set as less than 3 characters are still fine and can continue to use. However, any further request to claim or to change is not possible.”

I objected that it was still okay for hackers to grab my username and use it about 2 weeks ago — the “new policy” didn’t stop them from doing so. How come it stops me from getting it back via a legitimate channel of support?

I saw stories on YouTube of how people managed to get their 3 letter usernames with someone from Instagram coming to rescue and resolving the problem, but it seems like unless you are famous it takes a lot of effort to get the help you need.

So far I received excuse after excuse and mentions of a new policy, but no actual help. It would be fair to say that people I talk to were very helpful (thank you Teresa and Chase), but sadly they are not the one making decisions or capable of helping in any way to resolve this.

While initially talking to Teresa and everything seemed like it was going to be resolved, I also put in a simultaneous request regarding claiming a 9-character username to use with my business account, after we get the original 3 letter one back. The username matches my website and twitter account and is not used by anyone, but for some reason is not available for taking on Instagram. I was planning to switch my three letter one to a personal account and dedicate the second one to business.

Once it started to become clear that I wouldn’t get my 3 character username back, I asked if I could have that 9 character username instead… and thus began a new circle of hell. First it was denied for the reason that I wasn’t planning to use it for business and they only process business requests, even though I said that I was planning to use it for business. Then I got asked to send my business registration again and after a couple more emails, my request got rejected. Again.

And the follow-up…

I guess I hit a dead end. After a month of trying, I don’t even care about the old username as much — now I’m just pissed at how Instagram handled this situation. No solution, no other options, just plain rejection.

The final interaction happened today.

There you go people: Facebook officially doesn’t care if you get hacked. Not that it’s a surprise to anyone, but I honestly hoped it wouldn’t be this bad. But it what it is…

About the author: Max Lemesh is a commercial photographer based in Auckland, New Zealand. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Lemesh specializes in high-end event, party and live music photography, but also enjoy photographing portraits, fashion and food. You can find his work on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Image credits: Header illustration based on photo by B_A / 32 images

from Photography News http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PetaPixel/~3/s6WlpC_-2Ks/

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davidegbert · 7 years

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Why are we still using instant messaging apps at all?

A while back, you may have seen Adam Doud’s article “A weekend with Allo: When tech geeks unite!” where a bunch of us tech geeks used Google’s new instant messaging app Allo to keep in touch while wandering New York City. I didn’t use it though because my newest Android phones either won’t turn on (HTC One) or don’t have any non-WiFi active internet access (Moto Z), and they all have crappy cameras compared to my Nokia Lumia 1020. So if anything important was decided, someone else would email me or call me. Having to switch our tech geeks group from communicating over email (which was working great) to Allo instant messaging (which isn’t platform agnostic at all), reminded me of the old days when instant messaging was new and actually had a reason for being.

IM was necessary in the 90’s

Back in the 90’s we had the advent of “instant messaging” programs. This was necessary on the public internet since electronic mail was largely a “pull” experience meaning the software on your PC had to periodically go out and check for messages. The messages didn’t just appear right away (“push”) as they do now. With “instant messaging”, we could have a little program running on the PC at all times (or while connected to dial-up) and whenever someone sent a message, it would pop up right away. ICQ was one of the first and most popular instant messengers at the time. AOL had an instant messaging function but that was only for AOL subscribers. Eventually they opened that up to anyone for free with the AIM software and that competed a lot with ICQ. Then Microsoft made one too called MSN messenger, which actually allowed you to send messages to AOL users as well. This was awesome news since having all of these incompatible instant messaging programs was a real hassle.

Switching IM programs with every other message

I had one friend who would exasperate the annoyance of running multiple instant messaging programs by starting a conversation on AIM, then replying on MSN, then replying to my reply on ICQ. Many of my other friends dreamed of a world where you only needed one Instant Messaging program and anyone could contact you. The Internet Engineering Task Force actually tried to develop an open-source platform agnostic instant messaging protocol. They founded the Instant Messaging and Presence Protocol Working Group in 1998 which worked to create the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol. This would have been great! The protocol was actually implemented by MSN Messenger, Google Chat, Jabber, AIM and Facebook Messenger at one point or another, but EVERYBODY has dropped support for the protocol (except maybe Jabber), and still none of the instant messaging programs are cross-app-compatible.

An IM app infestation

Now that smartphones are popular in this decade, we’ve seen a resurgence in instant messaging apps with a gabillion new ones that come and go fairly frequently. You probably have a special folder set up on your phone that contains a huge variety of internet-based instant messaging apps like: WhatsApp, Line, Telegram, BBM, Google Chat, Allo, Hangouts, Skype, Viber, WeChat, Kik, LiveProfile, Facebook Messenger, Tencent QQ, AIM, iChat, iMessage, Yahoo, ICQ, GroupMe, Vkontakte, Mail.Ru Agent, Odnoklassniki, Yandex chat, Mamba.Ru, Mig33, SINA Weibo, Renren, Fetion, Gadu-Gadu, MeinVZ and Jabber. I know it sounds like I’m just rambling gibberish right now, but all of those are basically proprietary programs designed to transfer text-based electronic messages from one client to another with varying degrees of extraneous features. The hassle of running multiple instant messaging apps and switching between them has increased exponentially.

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Transferring text-based electronic messages from one person to another

Guess what, we already have a way of transferring text-based messages between electronic devices over the internet and it works with anything that has ever been able to connect to the internet. We call it Email and since about 2005 just about all email servers and email clients have supported “push” technologies for near-instant delivery just like the instant messengers of the 90’s. Those proprietary connections aren’t really necessary anymore. Exchange ActiveSync and the IMAP IDLE push technologies used by most email servers these days work really well.

But Instant Messengers are easier than Email

Are they really? Replying to an instant message usually happens like this:

Tap app icon

Tap thread to open conversation

Tap text input field

Type message

Tap send

Replying to an email usually happens like this:

Tap app icon

Tap email message

Tap reply

Type message

Tap send

Making email chat-like is only a matter of software design.

Both only take 5 steps. So, it’s just about exactly as easy to reply to an email as it is to reply to an instant message in that scenario. Where instant messaging improves the usability and efficiency of text-based communications is only when you already have the app open and are staring at the conversation. Ain’t nobody got time for that. That is one advantage though for streamlining rapid fire chat communications if both people do keep the app open at the same time and are watching the conversation in real time. You know, like Internet Relay Chat invented in 1988, but with proprietary lock-ins.

However, is there any reason why an email client couldn’t be made to sort emails as conversations and instantly load new messages into a conversation thread as you’re looking at it? No there isn’t, and Microsoft Send actually does (or did) that with Office 365 Business accounts. Getting that to work with other email accounts and servers should be pretty trivial. Tech support systems already do that kind of thing with tags in the subject line.

Instant Message programs become much less easy to use when they’re tied to specific devices. If I’m sitting in front of my computer and an instant message comes in on my phone, it can become really annoying to have to start using my phone to reply to those instead of being able to access the communications on the device I’m currently using. I can’t even get WhatsApp to run on a phone with no SIM card. Then when you’ve got a dozen instant messaging apps on your phone, switching between them becomes extremely annoying. With email, I need just one app and it’s probably already built into any new internet-connected device that I buy. I log in with my email address & password, and I’m done. No need to transfer accounts between phone numbers or whatever.

Email management is far more robust

Other than the huge advantage that Email already works on everything and everyone already has an email account (it’s practically a requirement to be on the internet), another advantage is that email software (and servers) often have far more robust management features compared to instant messengers. In Outlook on Windows desktop, I can set up conditional formatting rules that make particular emails show up in specific colors to make them stand out from the others in my folder lists. That’s extremely useful for visually separating the important stuff. I can also make custom auto-reply rules based on keywords, or send notifications via SMS. For emails that have actionable items, I can flag them with reminders and they’ll show up in my task list. On Windows Phone 8, I can make a live tile People Group that animates and flips over when new emails arrive from specific people. On Windows 10 Mobile, I can pin a subfolder of email as a live tile and set specific notification settings and sound effects for that. On the server side, I can automatically apply categories to emails based on keywords, automatically filter them into specific subfolders, ignore specific threads or subject lines, and even set specific spam confidence levels based on any number of criteria. Even searching is extremely robust. It’s easy to find conversations and references from decades ago. Long before something like WhatsApp even existed. WhatsApp only recently got the ability to save outgoing messages in an outbox while you have no internet access… something email programs have had since the past century.

If only we had such powerful email management software on a phone!

What about security?

Most instant messengers these days require your communications to pass through their proprietary servers. That means everything is in one place so that if there is some kind of security compromise, everybody is vulnerable. With email there are millions of individual servers communicating with each other, so intercepting messages needs to be more focused on a specific domain, but capturing and reading the contents of emails can be pretty easy if you have access to the servers they pass through. You can of course add encryption to emails that require digital ID certificates on both ends and communications within a single domain can be secured even more strongly by running your own internal server (or server farm).

How do you deal with spam?

This is an easy one. Don’t let spammers know about your email address. Some of the best advice I heard a couple decades ago was to make a separate email address that you use for internet stuff like shopping sites, message boards, non-humans, etc. and keep another one only for real people like friends and family. With that, I can set notification settings and a priority-placed live tile/widget for my important friends/family emails and give less priority to the email accounts that are going to get all the spam. Of course I have a few other email addresses for work stuff as well. Spam blockers and filters on most servers are highly configurable with the ability to add real-time-block-lists that keep publicly known spammer servers out. With email, it’s possible to design clients that prioritize emails based on certain criteria. I can filter all of my VIP emails into a sub folder and add specific notification sound effects to that folder in order to keep those messages up front while subduing the extraneous noise. I can even set an email account to be completely exclusive and only allow incoming emails from specific people (for example, the ones in my contact list). That kind of thing isn’t really possible with most instant messaging apps. Most instant messaging apps are just always obtrusive as long as they’re installed and it’s very difficult to sort out the unwanted messages.

Emoji and Stickers are fun!

Yeah, ok, but guess what… most of those are just regular animated GIF graphics that we’ve been able to embed in emails since email clients started supporting the HTML format decades ago. Sure, some email clients still don’t support playing animated GIFs, but there’s nothing keeping them from doing so and there’s nothing keeping me from inserting inline graphics into HTML emails. Some email clients actually automatically replace ASCII emoticons with graphical emoji. Some email clients in the past, Pocket PC 2000 for example, even had quick access buttons for adding voice recordings and handwritten digital ink to emails.

Message delivered and read notifications

Many instant message apps these days have little icons that indicate when the message was delivered as well as when it was read. That’s a pretty great feature for the stalkers out there who get annoyed when people don’t reply to their messages right away and are wondering where the other person is. Of course, this has been possible with email for a very long time. Exchange Server has supported read receipts and delivery receipts at least since the 90’s when I first started using it. Unfortunately, not all email servers treat read receipts the same way or at all. So that’s an aspect of email that’s hit or miss, but of course the feature is absolutely possible.

Do you really want your personal phone number out there?

Another thing that seems really naïve to do is putting your personal phone number into an app folder full of proprietary web-based instant messenger apps. A lot of the new ones these days associate your account with your phone number instead of a username/password log-in. This makes things easy on the user since they don’t need to remember a password, and the app developers can scan your contacts list, cross reference it with all the other users that have installed their app, and show you a list of who you know that is already using this particular instant messaging app. It makes contacting your friends (who have installed the app) really easy, but it’s also kind of a creepy invasion of privacy especially if the company who developed the app decides to change the privacy policy later on (like WhatsApp recently did).

Email will probably be around forever

Another huge disadvantage of all of these proprietary instant messenger apps that require you to peer-pressure your friends into downloading the app and signing up for an account is the fact that they change so frequently. Skype is going to completely stop working on Windows Phone 8, 8.1 and Windows RT next year (and never worked on Xbox 360). WhatsApp has changed their policies and will be sharing your info with Facebook. They’re also dropping support for a good number of platforms in 2017. MSN Messenger no longer exists. Facebook Messenger is going to require a ridiculous 2Gb of RAM on your phone soon and is becoming quite bloated. Instant messenger apps get bought up by other companies and support stagnates all the time. Other instant messengers have added tons of annoying ads once they started getting popular… and subsequently died off in popularity. Email has none of those problems, especially if you own your own domain so that you can switch email services whenever you want (or set up your own server). It’s just like old land-line telephones; you can get one from anywhere (build your own), plug it in and it’ll work.

You can’t get WhatsApp on the awesome old Nokia N8, but email still works.

What about SMS/MMS texting?

SMS and MMS (short message service and multimedia message service) were invented in the 1980’s as a means for sending text-based electronic messages between mobile phones over wireless networks (originally GSM networks). Multimedia message system obviously added the ability to include more than just text, such as pictures, videos, and audio attachments. SMS/MMS texting really started taking off when cross-network communications were enabled around the turn of the century. The reason we needed SMS was because mobile phones didn’t have internet access and therefore couldn’t send/receive regular email. Texting was an inexpensive work-around for that limitation and including the advantages of being “pushed” to the receiving device long before the wide variety of email servers became capable of push. I remember using some smartphones that actually used SMS to initiate an email “pull” when a particular email was seen on the server.

Today, there’s a heavy interest in being able to send and receive SMS/MMS messages on desktop PCs, tablets, and laptops. Apple has a feature called Continuity that lets you do that via iMessage apps on your Macs & other iOS devices logged in with the same Apple ID. Microsoft has SMS sync and relay built into their new Skype Preview app on Windows 10. Google has SMS capabilities in the Google Voice service that’s accessible from any browser. Back in 2005, we had PC apps for Windows Mobile that let us connect to the smartphone and send/receive SMS as well. All of these hacks to get SMS on more internet-connected devices seem a lot like how email has already been working the whole time. To this day, none of those SMS sync services work between platforms though. I can access my email conversations from practically anything that has internet access by (in many cases) simply typing my email address & password into the email program built in. And since I’ve set my Google Voice phone number to forward all text messages to an email account, I can reply to those from any internet-connected device too. It really makes SMS feel unnecessary and extremely obsolete… as long as I’ve got internet access. SMS still shines in those areas where GSM may have reception, but the data connection does not. Those no-internet situations are becoming far less frequent though, and SMS conversations have remained far less manageable and far less capable than email.

Just make better email apps!

The bottom line is, we don’t really need a gabillion different ways to send text-based electronic messages to each other. What we need is a single standard that everyone can communicate on and some more customizable/flexible ways to send and manage those messages. Maybe you want a messaging program that sorts your messages in a chat window with blue and green bubbles and a cute background image. Maybe I want a messaging program that puts all the incoming messages in an “Inbox” folder where I can color code everything with categories and hit the flag button to add them to my task lists or write macros that auto-respond to specific keywords. The interface I like and the interface you like shouldn’t interfere with our ability to send text-based electronic messages to each other!

Conclusion

There seem to be a lot of people and companies that want to replace your open electronic internet communications with their own proprietary systems that lock you in to a particular service. If you’re overwhelmed with email, it might be because you haven’t learned how to take advantage of some of the great management features out there. One of the best ways to get a handle on your email is to keep separate accounts for separate uses. My email account that only friends & family know about is completely noise free. That’s where my priority conversations are and it works on everything that has an internet connection.

These other instant messaging companies want to lock you in to their specific service so that once you start depending on it, they can start sending advertisements and make lots of money. We know this because it’s all happened before. They want you depending on their apps/services because you are the product.

A clever developer could probably collapse the whole instant messenger market by designing a platform agnostic email client that supports all the things email does already, but adds a more chat-like experience interface. Stickers, emoji, backgrounds, etc. could all be easily added as HTML embeds. Conversations could easily be organized with subject or header tags. Then some open-source standard-API server extensions could be added for things like read-receipts and presence sharing so that all email servers could be updated with IM-like capabilities while maintaining backwards compatibility with all existing email programs. We did it with the world wide web and HTML standards compliant browsers that can load any website. Why can’t we do it with electronic text-based communications?

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