#this focuses more on the combat and vision stuff but i wanna do something with exploring sumeru!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

iatasbcl · 5 years

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Head In The Clouds

Request by @ infinitew-olf : You👏know👏I'm👏always👏thirsty👏for👏some👏RKs👏 (I hope I'm not spamming you tho) how about RK900 X Reader where she's just an airhead who's completely clueless to his pining after her (he is getting frustrated and possessive 👀)

Pairing: R900, Nines x reader.

Warnings: Pining, badly written fluff I’m sorry.

word count:1407

A/N: The RKs thirst never ends, thanks for requesting this and you’re not spamming me at all! enjoy reading it, love :)

Nines was rather cold compared to his predecessor, RK800. He lacked the humanity Connor had, even after his deviancy. He wasn’t created to be social or friendly, after all. He is a combat android or was a combat android.

He worked in the D.P.D and served as detective Gavin Reed’s partner. The man was difficult, constantly acting like a toddler and lashing out every other minute. It did nothing but annoy him. Hank was their superior and a man with his fair share of personal issues, but he was a good lieutenant none the less.

Connor, on the other hand was his counterpart. He was full of all kinds of emotions; he was more human than most humans. He wasn’t, a part of Nines felt as if he was stuck being a soulless machine, he didn’t feel human enough. And for the longest time, it hadn’t bothered him, not at all.

Then she came along, she just had to ruin it all.

She was a new member of the D.P.D, a bright young officer. She didn’t mean anything to him first, just a new face around the office, nothing more. That changed when she was assigned to help him and Reed on a case.

She wasn’t the best asset, but he could see she was trying her best despite her inexperience. It didn’t change the fact that she caused unnecessary inconvenience. Gavin was much more outspoken with his criticism, to which she responded with a simple ‘Okay.’

Her company became constant after that, with her occasionally dropping by his desk to say hi. It became an everyday thing after that, and they eventually began having actual small conversations. It was nothing deep or personal, just two D.P.D workers discussing their jobs.

But before he knew it, it had changed into something more for him. It became a routine; he grew used to her soft greeting and short talks. Their conversations gradually transferred to more personal ones.

She would ask him about his day, what he liked and disliked, how the hell he put up with Reed. It was an entertaining conversation.

She told him about herself, shared details of so many things; her home life, her hobbies, her pets. It was quite endearing, seeing her excitedly ramble about those things that shouldn’t matter to him.

He felt something; this strange sense of attachment filled him. He wanted her to talk more, he loathed seeing her go back to work away from him. He felt.

It was new, it was strange, it was scary. He didn’t know how to best deal with the million thoughts that swamped his artificial brain. He continued to stare at his terminal, his thoughts somewhere else entirely.

“Nines?” she called, and he looked up. “I’m gonna go get lunch, you wanna tag along?” he stared for a moment then nodded, getting up and walking by her side.

Nines could feel himself heat up as he gazed at her, his vision focused on her and only her. She was giggling with Connor. His pining had only gotten worse, now deeming it impossible to see her with anyone else. His attraction to her wasn’t logical, he thought, he still did not understand how things ended up like this.

Him, hopelessly smitten by this ordinary woman who was nothing an aloof mess, her not noticing anything and enjoying her time with others. It made his chest ache.

He did not own her; she wasn’t something for him to control or claim. He knew that and fully realized it. Then why did he feel this sudden urge to take her away from this crowd, to make her see what he felt, to make her his?

It wasn’t logical, then again nothing he did was. He approached her unconsciously, “Officer ____” She turned and flashed that same pleasing smile, “Nines, I told you to drop that ‘officer’! we aren’t at work.” She scolded.

“I apologize.” He said, looking the RK800 who looked between them suspiciously. “Oh, that’s Miller and Jess, I’m gonna go say hi.” She said and left the two. Nines gaze lingered on her until she disappeared into the crowd.

“You like her.” It was more of a statement, “I beg your pardon?”

“You like ____.” Connor was grinning, Nines did not think he would be that easy to read. “I do not, that would be unprofessional.”, Connor laughed, “You were watching us talk, you could’ve killed me with that look alone.”

He didn’t respond, only glaring at him through a side glance. “You should talk to her about it.” Nines scoffed, right. “I’m serious, you can’t keep scaring away her potential lovers like that.”

He was right. He was scaring them away with his expression alone, he couldn’t help this burn in his chest whenever someone got too close. He felt terrible, this was wrong, he didn’t have the right to do it.

He didn’t what else to do, he wanted to be the one to hold her close, to laugh with her but something was stopping him from even trying to reach that. He was afraid, afraid she would not feel the same.

She was also rather oblivious to how she affected him.

“Wow, your hand is really warm.” She said as she wrapped her hand around his, not realizing the cause of his heat was her.

“Hey, I brought Connor along, hope you don’t mind.” She said as she brought him to what he thought would be a private reading session.

“There is only one bed left, but it’s big enough for the two of us.” She said, they ended up sharing a room on a stakeout before, she didn’t look bothered by it at all. He opted to stay up all night instead.

God, how could someone be so... unaware?

“Nines, Nines!” She held his hand, Connor smiled and excused himself, leaving them alone. “Listen, I found this amazing spot, come I will show you!” She said and pulled him, leading him through the crowd and into a small door; it was a small balcony.

The view was breathtaking, there was a soft breeze and the music from the inside was now muffled. She stood next to him; his eyes went from the view below to her. She was staring at him, “It’s beautiful, right?”

“Yes, it certainly is.” He muttered. She somehow looked even prettier now. “I’m glad to be sharing this with you.”

“Me too.” It went quiet after that. he tried to keep a straight face.

He felt a little bit of reassurance. “Can I tell you something?” she looked at him in wonder but nodded nonetheless, “I…” He paused, gulping the invisible lump in his throat, “I like you.”

“I like you too.” Was their immediate answer, but their expression hadn’t changed. “No, I like you, ___.” He emphasized the ‘like’, wanting her to understand his confession.

“Aw, I like you too.” They said and patted his shoulder; Nines closed his eyes. “Nines?”

“I love you; I absolutely adore you, with all my heart. Not in a platonic sense.” He knew he would lose it if she somehow did not get it now. “Oh.” Was her low response.

“Oh,” she said, louder this time. The look of surprise on her face made him want to forget this ever happened. “I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, I will go back inside.” He said and he turned to leave but she caught his arm, pulling him toward her.

“Wait, I feel the same!” Her heart was racing, he could hear it. “What?”

“I’m not good at this stuff, shit.” She cursed and paused to collect herself, “This explains the whole glaring at everyone like an angry puppy thing.” she said to herself and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Nines just looked at her fumbling to get her words out.

“I like being around you, Nines, you’re special to me.” she finally said and looked at him, embarrassment was written all over her face. “I won’t mind being more than just friends, I would love to, actually.”

Nines blinked, once, twice, thrice. These were the words this troublesome human made him crave for a while now but now that it was finally real, he didn’t know what to do. So, she moved in, wrapping her arms around him gently and resting her head on his chest.

He wanted to feel this way forever.

#rk900 x reader #dbh nines #dbh imagine #lmao i tried idk what nines personality is like rip #Rk900 imagine #i need sleep

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uncomposed-witing · 5 years

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Oh Brother Pt 2

With just enough time, (y/n) ran into her favorite coffee shop. She could never make it in time before school since she usually slept in but would frequent it on the weekends and do homework there. Seeing her favorite Barista clocking out (y/n) waved him down.

“Hey Shindou” she greeted the black haired boy. He turned around a smile immediately overtaking his face.

“(y/n)! I never see you on the weekdays.”

“Ya I usually sleep in and then head straight to school,” she said indicating her uniform. “Do you really go to work before school?” she asked in astonishment indicating his own school uniform.

“Not every day, but ya sometimes when I need the extra money,” he said scratching the back of his neck.

“Remind me to leave you a bigger tip next time, just for being able to get up early” she joked making him laugh.

With her steaming cup in hand, they walked out the door together. “Will you be coming back on Saturday?” he asked.

“Hmm, I don’t know yet. My brother’s supposed to be in town soon but I have no idea what his schedule looks like. Otherwise, you’ll find me in my favorite chair studying for my upcoming midterms”

Suddenly a familiar shock of red hair was in (y/n)’s line of vision. “Hey Kirishima!” she called out.

Shindou turned his attention from (y/n)’s face to look at the red-haired boy wearing a matching uniform. When he greeted Kirishima his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Well, I gotta go (y/n). Let me know about this weekend, ok?”

“Oh, ya of course! Glad I got to see you today even if you did have to wake up at an ungodly hour” she waved at his retreating form.

“Is that your boyfriend or something?” Kirishima joked causing (y/n) to punch him in the shoulder. “What?” he asked while trying to hold in his laughter at her flushed face and her puffed up wings.

“Shut up. It's too early for that,” she said her blush fading and bringing up her drink to hide the slight smile on her lips.

“You’re starting to sound like Aizawa,” he stated causing (y/n) to fully laugh.

“I’m not THAT bad.” she pouted. Walking into class they found their seats just before Aizawa walked in.

“I won’t be teaching your class today” he stated. “ but we have a special guest so please be on your best behavior.” As he said this he made eye contact with everyone before sighing and walking back out of the classroom.

“I wonder what that’s about,” Uraraka murmured.

Suddenly the class was filled with conversations as everyone tried to figure out who would be teaching them that day.

“It probably isn’t a UA teacher otherwise Mr. Aizawa wouldn’t have made a special announcement like that,” Momo suggested.

“It will probably be another pro hero outside of the school then” Midoriya claimed excitement clear in his voice as he began muttering to himself about all the possible heroes.

Iida then piped up “Whoever it is, everyone needs to make sure they show the utmost respect to them and be on good behavior as we represent UA.”

The class door slid open and everyone immediately leaned forward in anticipation.

(Y/N)’s eyes widened as the familiar frame of Hawks strutted into class his red wings behind him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she yelled.

The class whipped their heads to look at your outburst. Midoriya was slightly shaking as he muttered out facts about Hawks’ quirk while Iida began to scold (y/n) for her “indecent outburst”.

A devilish smirk flashed across Hawks’ face “ I’ve missed you too!” he said then, turning his attention to Todoroki he asked, “How’s dad doing?” Causing him to slightly flinch but Hawks didn’t notice this as he looked over the rest of class 1A. While the class was staring at (y/n) for her reaction to Hawks, she sent Todoroki a concerned look before getting up and walking to the front of the class.

Iida was yelling something at her but she wasn’t paying attention as Hawks opened his arms to her. The class gaped at their interaction before (y/n) shot her hand out delivering a quick jab to his unprotected stomach. With a satisfying “oof” (y/n) quickly pulled him into a hug.

“What are you doing?!” Midoriya practically shrieked at her from the back of the classroom.

“They don’t know?” Hawks looked at her accusingly causing a slight blush to cover her face.

Turning back to the class, “I guess my secret is out huh?” she said sheepishly while scratching the back of her neck. “Everyone, meet my brother Hawks,” she introduced as he put his arm over her shoulder and resting his hand on top of her head.

The class just stared blankly between the two of them before Todoroki’s voice broke the ever-thickening silence “Good to see you back in town Hawks. Am I to assume you’ll be visiting my father soon?”

“Now that you mention it, I should. Thanks, Shouto!” he said cheerily while Todoroki frowned. Turning his attention back to (y/n) he pouted, “Chicken Wing, you didn’t tell your classmates about me?”

Shoving his arm off of her she turned to him to respond but was cut off by the sound of Bakugo’s snickering turning into laughter.

“You got a problem Bakugou?” she asked glaring at him for interrupting.

“Chicken Wing?” he asked looking her over “It's somehow fitting”

“You wanna eat those words?” She asked taking a step forward only to be stopped by Hawks grabbing her, that stupid grin still on his face. Her attention back on Hawks she fully turned to face him “And you… ‘soon’!? I thought you meant a few days, not a few hours. What are you even doing here?”

“Oh yeah! Facing the class Hawks announced “I’m your teacher for today while Aizawa has some meetings to attend to.

“Please tell me your kidding” (y/n) groaned. “Who had the bright idea to put you in charge of teaching, Birdbrain?” she asked using her name for him.

“(Y/N)! You can’t call our teacher for today any names!” Iida shouted

Hawks replied “Its fine! She’s been calling me that since she was 12.”

Returning to her seat, Hawks addressed the class. “I’m going to work on combat training with all of you. I know you all just dealt with those villains at USJ and you had a strong showing at the Sports Tournament, so the school thought it was time to work on one on one fighting some more, but also focusing on defense. Go get changed into your hero clothes and meet me on the training field.”

While in the changing rooms, the girls began to gush over Hawks and him being their instructor that day. A few of them even asked (y/n) if she could introduce them to him. Feeling uncomfortable she gave vague answers as she put on her bodysuit, leaving the back unzipped. Walking out the door carrying the rest of her costume she hopped into her skirt and walked out to the field barefoot. Seeing Todoroki was the only other person there she put her stuff down and walked over to him.

“Help me?” she asked turning around motioning to the undone zipper. He walked over to her and zipped her up, the zipper stopping just below her wings. His right hand brushed between her wings sending a shiver throughout her body and causing her wings to puff up.

“Sorry about that” he apologized. “Why did you run out here half dressed though? Couldn’t the girls help?”

“You know how it can be. They only wanted to talk about Hawks. That’s partly why I didn’t really tell anyone he’s my brother.” she shrugged. She started strapping her twin knives to her thighs and then laced up her boots. “Anyways… thank you,” she said meeting his heterochromatic eyes. “It helps having someone else who understands.” Warmth engulfed her right hand and she looked down to see Hawks holding her hand and rubbing soothing circles into her skin.

“Aw look at the lovebirds” Hawks cooed. Todoroki dropped her hand and as the rest of the class joined them again Hawks addressed him.” Shouto, I meant to ask you, could (y/n) stay with you, for tonight at least?” Before Todoroki had a chance to respond (y/n) cut in.

“You’re kicking me out tonight?”

His gold eyes met her (e/c) ones with a mischievous glint in them. “Well you complained about the noise last time, and I can’t promise my new friend will be any quieter”.

Throwing a disgusted look at your brother Shouto responded, “I don’t think Endeavor will like it, but of course.” She could barely keep the small smile off her face knowing that Todoroki would love to do anything Endeavor wouldn’t like.

“Only for tonight Hawks! Then she’s gone, got it?”

“Sure, sure,” he said waving her off.

“Oh, also I didn’t get a chance to clean up on such short notice so you might want to do that if you’re trying to impress her” (y/n) admitted.

“Oh I know,” he said a bit of irritation showing through his laid back demeanor.

#my hero academia #bnha #bnha x reader #katsuki bakugou #hawks x reader #iida tenya #todoroki shouto #kirishima eijirou #shindou #oh brother

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madscientistjournal · 4 years

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Fiction: Disinhibited

An excerpt from the journals of Combat Search & Rescue Consultant Lana McGee, as provided by Myna Chang Art by Luke Spooner

Don’t call me a mercenary. Those guys are pricks. Kidnappers and murderers, the lot of them. I’m not like that. Sure, I get paid for my work, and yeah, I love a good explosion. Who doesn’t? But my job is to save people. Pull them out of bad situations. Bring them home safe.

I’m not an asshole.

“I didn’t think you were, Ma’am.”

Oh shit, did I say all that out loud?

“Yes, Ma’am, you did.”

Wow, this pilot doesn’t look old enough to shave, let alone fly a chopper.

“I shave, Ma’am.”

“You heard that, too?”

“Yes, Ma’am. My CO warned me this might happen.”

“Name’s Lana, not Ma’am. So, they told you about my disability?” Their word, not mine.

“They said you got a piece of shrapnel in your head. War souvenir. Said you blurt out whatever crosses your mind.”

“Yep,” I nod. “Frontal Lobe Disinhibition. Basically, if I think it, I say it. That’s why I’m freelancing now.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Not a merc. Got it.”

Pilot’s quick. And he does shave. Sexy stubble. Yum. Like to run my tongue up that jawline and–

“Due respect, Ma’am, I’m authorized to tell you to shut up.”

I bite my rogue tongue hard enough to draw blood. Damn it, Lana. Stop scaring the cute flyboy.

He flicks his eyes toward me and grins. “Truth is, Ma’am, I don’t scare easy.”

Oh. Well, then. I smile and shift in the seat. “Just to be clear … You wouldn’t mind–”

“Approaching the drop zone, Ma’am.”

I chuckle. His smile turns to a blush. Tease. “Fine, kick me out of your helicopter. Come on, Diamond, we’ve got people to rescue.”

My German Shepherd sits while I attach a jump harness to her K-9 armor. Takes about three seconds. We’ve done hundreds of these short jumps, and it never gets old. She woofs, ready to go.

“Godspeed.”

“You talking to me or the dog?”

“Both of you, Ma’am.”

He maneuvers the chopper over the moonlit compound and flashes a cheeky grin at me again. I try to keep my mouth shut, but as usual, the words tumble out.

“I’m probably gonna lick your stubbly jaw when this mission’s over, Pilot. Diamond might, too.”

“Countin’ on it, Ma’am.”

I laugh and step into the air.

The research facility sits on a swath of blacktop, devoid of plant life, a big wart on a bald head. The gate hangs open. I toss a handful of debris at the razor-wire fence, but it doesn’t spark. Looks like the power’s out. Not a good sign.

I was hoping this job would be a quickie: rescue the dashing scientist, secure his peculiar research, get home in time for dinner. Guess I should’ve known better. Anything involving Chase Mathews isn’t going to be easy.

“At least the compound hasn’t been bombed yet, huh girl?”

Diamond doesn’t respond. She’s good like that.

A Jeep sits abandoned near the fence. Wet-looking handprints smear the windshield, and a case of medical supplies has toppled onto the asphalt.

We skirt it, watching for movement, hoping for some sign of life as we approach the entrance. Nothing stirs. I tighten my grip on the MTAR submachine gun strapped across my chest, and we enter the facility.

Lobby’s dark, except for orange warning lights at the guard’s terminal. My NVGs flare in time with the flashes, so I pull them off. Diamond’s night vision is more reliable than the goggles, anyway. She’s the most capable combat partner I’ve worked with; I trust her with my life.

She nudges me. I nod, and she ghosts away, into the darkness. Nothing will get past her. A low growl, five yards to the right, alerts me to an enemy combatant. I bring my MTAR to bear, just in time. Two quick bursts, and the bad guy goes down.

I love this fucking gun. Compact and efficient, with a little kick. Kind of like me.

Diamond circles the lobby, vigilant, then returns to my side. I prod the body splayed in front of me. Scrawny dude, white lab coat. Blisters all over his face.

Or are those pustules? Jesus, that’s nasty looking. Diamond keens and backs away. I follow her lead. A blister-thing quavers and ruptures, spurting out thick goo. Hard to tell in the darkness, but I think it’s green.

I’ll never eat lime Jell-O again. Diamond rubs her head on my thigh; she won’t either.

“Come on, girl. Our dashing scientist isn’t going to rescue himself.”

She snorts her disapproval. Diamond had never liked Chase. She’d peed on his shoes every chance she got. My dog’s smart. I should have listened.

We creep down the hallway behind the guard station. Emergency lights flicker, strobing the corridor in snapshots of weirdness.

Flash. Body on the floor.

Flash. Smear of blood.

Flash. Heap of clothing, soaked with green sludge.

I wish the freakin’ light would either stay on or go dark. Vertigo pulses with every disco blink.

Diamond lets out a cautionary rumble, and I pull up my gun, ready to fire. A woman covered in angry boils slumps on the floor, back against the wall. She reaches out blindly, hands grasping air.

My first-aid kit’s in my pack, but I’m not ready to take my finger off the trigger guard; Diamond’s hackles are still up. The woman’s mouth opens and tainted saliva gushes out. Looks like pond scum.

I don’t think my emergency band-aids will do you much good, lady.

She jerks toward my voice, moaning. Spit froths on her lips. Several of her boils burst, popping like firecrackers, loud enough I can hear them over my thundering heartbeat. Syrupy goop, smelling of burnt licorice, oozes from the sores. Her body cants sideways and her shoulder hits the floor.

Nothing I can do will help her now. Maybe we’ll find a miracle cure in the lab. Diamond and I hug the far side of the hallway, avoiding her still-seeking arms. The thick fluids pooling around her body seem to throb in time with the emergency lights, and the cloying odor intensifies as we pass.

I’m not sure what we’ve gotten ourselves into, but I sure hope this bug isn’t airborne. Our combat armor should protect us from physical contaminants, but it doesn’t do anything to block out the stink.

We come to a junction. I remember the blueprints and hang a left. The bulb in this hallway’s dim, but at least it’s not blinking. Unfortunately, the path is blocked by a mass of writhing bodies.

All naked–explains the abandoned clothes back there–dotted with throbbing cysts. Many have already ruptured, leaving curdled trails of emerald slime. I stare, fascinated. The people are fusing together; everywhere the goo touches, their skin melds. Limbs, feet, heads, all merging into one giant blob.

Diamond paws the floor. One of the faces snaps up, focusing its attention on her. We back away. A distorted jaw juts out, leering. It trembles, and a body begins to emerge from the fused clump of flesh, first a shoulder, then a torso. Straining to reach us, it makes a squelching slurp and tears free–an arm, two legs.

The legs don’t match.

My stomach turns. The newly assembled monster stumbles and lurches at Diamond.

I shoot it in the head. It stops, but doesn’t fall, so I pop it again, center mass, where a heart and lungs should be. It totters for a split second before collapsing.

Diamond whines; the rest of the entangled mound of creatures squirms toward us. Maybe the gunfire got its–their?–attention. They stretch and heave, inching closer. Unnatural liquids gurgle and flesh splits as they rip themselves apart, rubbery appendages groping relentlessly in Diamond’s direction.

I flip the toggle on my MTAR to full auto and spray the clusterfuck. No way in hell those abominations are gonna get sticky with my pup. I let up on the trigger and watch for movement, then give them another blast, just to be sure.

I guess a full magazine was enough to do the job, which is good because, damn, that’s a scary pile of monsters. But now the hallway’s coated in weird-colored gore. Not gonna risk going through that mess. Doesn’t matter, though. According to the map, all hallways lead to the inner lab, where the research stuff should be stored.

And Chase. Can’t forget him, the handsome, charming scientist. My ex.

Don’t call me a mercenary. Those guys are pricks.

The electronic lock is toast and the lab door won’t open. Something’s wedged it shut. I kick it, hard, but that only hurts my foot.

“Chase? Are you in there?” Hope he’s not glued to the mishmash back in the hallway.

Diamond watches my back while I pound on the reinforced steel.

“Lana? Is that you?”

“Yeah, and I wanna see if you still turn me on.” Damn it.

“Are you infected?”

“I can still talk, can’t I?” Of course I can. It’s my biggest problem.

The door cracks open. He squints at me.

“Why’d they send you?”

“No one else’d take the job.” True story.

Diamond and I squeeze through the door and shove it closed again.

“Did you bring a platoon of Marines to save me?” Chase demands.

I spread my arms. “Just us.”

He groans.

Not as charming as I remember.

“If you’re all they sent,” he says, “they’re going to nuke the whole island, aren’t they?”

“Probably. I figure we’ve got another hour before the bombing starts.”

“No, no, no, it’s too valuable,” he mutters, already ignoring me.

Feels like old times.

His motions are jerky. He grabs a backpack and shoves miniature computer drives and scraps of paper into it.

Definitely not a turn-on anymore. Looks like hell, all bug-eyed and twitchy. Kinda soft around the edges.

He stops and glares at me.

Stinks, too.

“Still the motor-mouthed bitch.”

Oops. “I didn’t mean–”

“Yeah, you did. You’ve always been an asshole. The piece of shrapnel just makes it more obvious.”

That hurts. Gotta admit it. A muffled thud from the hallway preempts my snarky response. Diamond snarls, low and intense. The warning tone sends goosebumps up my spine.

“Chase, what happened to those people?”

He shrugs. “Sample got out. Spread a lot faster than I expected.”

“Sample? The research I’m supposed to retrieve?”

“Thought you were here to rescue me.”

“Yeah, but boss-man said you’re low priority. ‘Get the research,’ he said. ‘Grab the scientist, too, if you can.’ That’s what he said.”

“God, I hate the military,” Chase spits.

I have to agree, at least a little. CO didn’t mention the rest of the research staff. Guess the woman in the hall is zero-priority in his book. I call bullshit on that–I’ll save whoever I can.

“Is there a cure, or an antidote?”

“Why?” he asks, backing away from me. “Did you get any of the transfer medium on you?”

“You mean the green goo? No. But maybe some of the others are still alive.”

He goes back to rifling through the science junk on his desk. “I only make the contagions. Cures are someone else’s department.”

Seriously? “So you’re a full-on mad scientist now?”

“I prefer bioweapon engineer.”

I stare at him. Has he always been this cold-hearted?

Diamond barks, two short yips. That’s a yes.

Chase rolls his eyes and I realize I’ve spoken out loud again. He glares at Diamond.

“Bitch.”

“You talking to me or the dog?”

“What do you think?” He shoulders past me, opening a biohazard safe. Polished steel containers crowd the shelf. They look like those expensive vacuum insulated tumbler thingies. He yanks one out.

“You keep your weaponized slime in a fancy coffee cup?”

He sneers and shoves the container into the backpack. “I can’t believe they sent a brain damaged mercenary to rescue me.”

That’s ‘value-priced consultant’ to you, jerkface. Diamond snarls, exposing her fangs.

“Can you both shut up?” His hands shake.

Wait. Faster than he expected? How did the sample get out?

“A test,” he answers. “Proof of concept for the buyer.”

“You infected those people on purpose? So you can sell that stuff?”

He laughs. “You weren’t very smart, even before the shrapnel.” He zips his pack and turns.

Something’s wrong with his face.

Diamond’s growl modulates into a high-pitched howl–her extreme danger signal. Almost too late, I realize why: Chase is infected. I didn’t see it before. Hard to miss now.

I raise my MTAR. A smudge of emerald gel shimmers on the edge of the safe behind him. “Don’t move.”

He gapes at me, incredulous. “Put the gun down, Lana.”

I shake my head. “You must’ve gotten sloppy with your death jelly.”

“How dare you?” He frowns and scratches at a freshly blossoming pustule on his right cheek. His fingers drip green. “No!”

Diamond moves into a defensive position, guarding me. Chase stares dumbly at his stained hand. He raises frightened eyes to mine.

“Lana, help me.”

My gun barrel wavers. Diamond barks, short and sharp, warning him to stay back, reminding me to follow protocol. Chase reaches out to me.

“Please–” His voice devolves into a mewl. Sanity, whatever’s left of it, drains from his eyes. His face morphs, cheeks melting in a slurry of jade-colored paste. Pus drips from his scalp. He screams and launches himself at me, and for the first time in my professional career, I freeze.

But Diamond doesn’t.

She meets him mid-air, bashing into him with her shoulder. She ricochets off his body, crashing to the floor a few feet from where he lands. Teeth bared, she’s up in an instant, but he’s already charging toward her, crablike, faster than I’ve ever seen him move.

Diamond! Don’t bite him!

I don’t know if I’ve screamed or if she’s read my mind, but she keeps her mouth off him. We slide into a familiar rhythm of charge and retreat, strike and evade. She dodges, giving me a clear shot. I squeeze the trigger. Chase’s head explodes.

Clabbered wet tissue splatters across his desk. Ears ringing, I inch closer and nudge the slack body, but it doesn’t move. His entire head is gone. I doubt anything could survive that, but I give him a double tap, two to the chest, to be safe. Then I drop the gun and rush to Diamond.

You stupid dog. Did the goo splash you? I run my hands over her armor, up and down her legs, check her mouth and her teeth. After examining her doggie armpits for the second time, my panic dissipates. She’s okay; the K-9 gear did its job. She nuzzles my face, and I realize she’s cleaning up my tears. I wrap my arms around her, trembling. Good girl.

I call for evac and wait for the thump of chopper blades to split the air.

On a normal mission, I’d feel rotten about failing to bring my target home alive. This time, not so much. I drag a clean duffel behind me. It’s filled with Chase’s notes and computer drives, but not the bio sample. I left that crap behind for the bombs to take care of.

The chopper circles. I flash my light, three quick blinks, and it lands.

“Look, Diamond, it’s the yummy pilot.”

She woofs and thumps her tail.

“Oh, you approve of this one?”

She barks twice; that’s a yes.

“Okay then, let’s go give him a lick.”

Combat Search & Rescue Consultant Lana McGee specializes in the retrieval of personnel and property from high-risk environments. McGee is assisted by a Hero-Class German Shepherd named Diamond. McGee has recently raised her consultation fees, and now charges a premium for any “mad scientist bullshit.”

Myna Chang writes flash and short stories. Her work has been featured in Daily Science Fiction, The Copperfield Review, Defenestration, and Dead Housekeeping, among others. Find her @MynaChang or read more at mynachang.com.

Luke Spooner, a.k.a. ‘Carrion House,’ currently lives and works in the South of England. Having recently graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a first class degree, he is now a full time illustrator for just about any project that piques his interest. Despite regular forays into children’s books and fairy tales, his true love lies in anything macabre, melancholy, or dark in nature and essence. He believes that the job of putting someone else’s words into a visual form, to accompany and support their text, is a massive responsibility, as well as being something he truly treasures. You can visit his web site at www.carrionhouse.com.

Fiction: Disinhibited was originally published on Mad Scientist Journal

#Genetic Engineering #Lana McGee #Luke Spooner #Myna Chang #Virology

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table-top-romulan-playing-games · 5 years

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Movies I have seen so far in 2018

A few of these arent new movies, just ones ive watched for the first time in 2018. I felt like doing this cuz I really love watching movies and felt that it might be a good version of those "good things" jars, but instead it's movies I saw. Some reviews are short, mostly cuz I didnt really have much in the way of opinions, but I did have something to say.

Just incase you havent seen them. I have tried to keep them spoiler free, but if you dont want even vague non spoiler spoilers, the list of movies is as follows;

The Grand Budapest; The greatest showman; Jumanji: out of the jungle, King Arthur: legend of the sword, The Black Panther, Shape of water, Thor Ragnarok, the Emoji Movie, the Good Dinosaur, Jurassic world, Incredibles 2, Hotel Transylvania 3, Ant-man, A Wrinkle in Time, Lara croft: tomb raider, Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2, Spider-man homecoming, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers age of ultron (semi live blogged), Captain America civil war, Avengers Infinty War, Deadpool 2016, King Arthur the one with kiera knightly, Deadpool 2, The Nutcracker, four realms, Venom, Love, Simon, Ready player one, Aquaman, Solo, a star wars story, Ghost stories (2018), Wreck it Ralph, Ralph breaks the internet, Goosebumps 2, Hidden figures, The meg, Pacific Rim, Pacific rim uprising, Wrath of the Titans, Mission impossible: fallout,Oceans 8, The Breadwinner, Mune, Operation Finale, The House With A Clock In Its Walls, Bad times at the El Royale, Outlaw king, Gnome alone, Journey to the center of the earth, Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, Vvitch, Ex machina, To all the boys ive loved before, Extraordinary Tales, The Golden Compass, Erramentari, the blacksmith and the devil, Dragon heart, The black klansman, Robin Hood 2018, The Princess of Thieves, First Man, Bohemian Rhapsody, What we do in the Shadows, Overlord, For the Love of Spock, Next Gen, Small Foot, The Spy who Dumped Me, The Nun, Kin, Crazy Rich Asians, Spider-Man, Into the Spiderverse, A simple favor, Predator 2018, Rampage, 47 meters down, 2036 Origin Unknown, 2001 A Space Oddessey, The Martian

The grand Budapest hotel - good, great visuals. I enjoyed it.

The greatest showman - wonderful music, actual circus parts were good, the rest was boring. Its really short, and I felt it focused to much on the drama in pt barnums life, too much focus on a silly fuax love triangle, not enough on the acts themselves. I went in hoping to see the acts interact and actually be presented as the forefront. The beginning showed this magnificent scene with the acts, with this wonderful musical number that made me tear up. But then, it was just about Barnum and his kids being boring most of the time. The songs and musical scenes though? Absolutely wonderful, magnificent, stunning, and entertaining. Zendayas and Zac efrons characters duets? Beautiful, I loved the song and choreography. I just feel like the emphasis should have been on the circus itself. Hugh jackman. Needs. To. Do. More. Musicals.

Jumanji: out of the jungle - hilarious omg I laughed my ass off!

King Arthur: legend of the sword: wtf was this movie bro? I mean. I have a new song in my cars playlist, but wtf.

The Black Panther - IT WAS SO COOL! I loved the visuals and the storyline. Shuri is my favorite genius and I can’t wait for more Black Panther

Shape of water: absolutely beautiful omg

Thor Ragnarok: you mean that was the actual movie, that tumblr wasn’t just fuckin with me, like, those were real ass scenes that were filmed?

the Emoji Movie: bad, forgettable, literally did not remember watching it till a friend asked me.

the Good Dinosaur: literally a children's movie, idek why I watched it tbh

Jurassic world: THE HUBRIS OF MAN! THE INDO RAPTOR! BLUE! They made... An indoraptor. Not just any raptor, oh no, that's not enough for the hubris of man, its an indoraptor. What's an indoraptor you may ask? Well it's when you mix a raptor, with the indominous rex DNA. But Cotie, didn't the indominous rex already have raptor DNA? Wasnt that the whole thing that it was a t-rex with raptor DNA? Yes, yes it was. But this one is different, it's smaller, it's smarter, it made to obey commands like a war machine, it's the I N D O R A P T O R! So it's just a super powered velociraptor? Yes, yes it is. So what makes it special? THE HUBRIS BEHIND IT!

Incredibles 2: awesome! I loved it! Those flashing scenes really were no joke though. I don't have epilepsy, but damn those scenes were hard to look at. But I absolutely love the fact that edna babysat jack jack for a night, and gave him a super babysuit. I hope we get to see more of the other superheroes helping out the incredibles!

Hotel Transylvania 3: it was a good movie. Its the only Adam Sandler movie series I can stand, but it was a decent movie. I like the introduction of the van helsing family, and the whole premise. Plus I love the message that its possible to fall in love again.

Ant-man: "in like the Flynn" niiiiiiiiice Tangled ref! "ANT-THONY!!!!" Ok that was a fun and hilarious movie. I fucking love the three wombats, especially Luis omg. Also I love Scott lang relationship with his daughter and that he was the driving force behind his motivation. Also not gonna lie, I kinda watched this one so I could go see Ant-man and the Wasp, but I liked this one too.

A Wrinkle in Time: FUCK ITUNES NOT WANTING TO WORK DURING THIS MOVIE! ok but Chris Pine as a Dad? Awesome. "Happy anniversary, if only you'd dissapear too" wow, these high school preps are viscous. Also I love the little kid calling out grown ups for being pieces of shits. Also this movie was adorable and heart felt and I loved the mix of fantasy and science that made it a science fantasy movie omg.

Lara croft: tomb raider: ok but the girl who kicked Lara crofts butt in the beginning has me gay as Fuck man. "OPEN IT! OPEN IT! OPEN IT!" OK calm down Nicolas cage.

Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2: omg that was indeed another real marvel movie I had just seen. I can't believe the stooges are a space family that just, does stupid things. I love them all.

We gonna start some parralels; a wrinkle in time - a movie about two siblings trying to find their dad who has been lost for 4 years. They get him back through the power of love; Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - a daughter finds some adverturing stuff to lead her to her father who had been missing for 7 years. Tries to get him back by killing men. Doesn't, and then kills more men; Gaurdians of the Galaxy volume 2: a boy finds his father after 34 years, but turns out he is a huge fucking jerk, also finds that Mary poppins was his dad after all, but then both Mary poppins and jerk dad died, with varying degrees of mourning from Boy.

Spider-man homecoming: omg so many second hand embarrassment scenes but it was so good! I laughed my ass off at the ending omg tony no. But also, that awkward moment when ur dates dad threatens your life and he actually meant it...

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Dude. Duuuuuuude that end credit scene. Duuuuuuuuuuuuuude. That movie was just as hilarious as the first ant-man movie omg! It was fun and incredibal and I'm so happy the 3 combats were there. I was losing my shit over the baba yaga stuff!

Avengers age of ultron (semi live blogged): god, I'm 9 minutes in and I hate this movie... 13 minutes in an ur telling me this could've been avoided if marvel hadnt turned two Romani (from what I remember of mutant canon) characters into, not only human expirements instead of mutants, but voluntary hydra agents. -sighhhh-... 20 minutes in and why, why Tony, just... Tell the team, why do we gotta have lazy 'i dont wanna communicate' writing bullshit...Jarrrrrviiiiissssss my boy T.T... Did they really just try to make dissimising female characters and using their achievements as a sort of 'my horse is bigger than yours' as quality character writing? God this Bruce/Nat romance is so forced... Oh no, Ultron fucking appeared, why does he sound like a bad Tony stark impression? Ultron is fucking annoying... Fuck man, the plot with the twins have arrived, and I hate it... -mentions Wakanda- thanks for reminding of a better movie I could be watching... God, the acting is either way too dry, or way too ham... Wow... Clint is... The most mature person in the movie... Wow, the scene where Nat reveals she is infertile, is worse than I thought it would be, and I knew it would be awful... Hour and a half in, still bad... Though ultron is now acting like a c h i l d... Oh no, now we creating Ultron 2.0 this time its Jarvis... Please discuss it with the team, pleeeease... Annnnnnnd U didn't... Fuck... I'm so tired, 1 hour and 31 minutes and the team is fighting... Thor coming in for the jarvis Saaaave! Yassss vision with the worthy of the hammer! Okay the battle scene with ultron was pretty cool. Still dont like the movie over all.

Captain America civil war: not as much fighting as advertised. Too much 'we arent going to sit down and communicate' trope. Honestly I was too bored and tired to really actually pay attention to closely... All I got from it is the russos need to learn what a get along shirt is and be better film makers.

Avengers Infinty War: wtf, what the fuck, was that. That was some fuck right there. You are telling me thanos was really able to get the soul stone like That? And the mind stone like That? And all that other bull shit? Y'all Russo better be ready to have thanos ass kick in the next avengers movie. But damn that was some shit that happened.

Deadpool 2016: I loved every bit of the movie omg, it was everything I hoped for out of a deadpool movie.

King Arthur the one with kiera knightly: That uh, sure was a King Arthur movie? Way less weird than King Arthur Legend of the sword. Merlin didnt cast magic, and arthur was a Roman, but guinevere is a kick ass archer, soooo acceptable...

Deadpool 2: THAT WAS FUCKIN HILARIOUS I LOVE DEADPOOL SO MUCH! god I love this movie, I would die for dominoe.

The Nutcracker, four realms: such a cute af movie omggggggggggggg. I loved Captain Phillip the nutcracker soldier and the gold highlight they put on his lips 💓

Venom: listen. I did no t see this film for quality. I saw it for the symbi ote ok. Ok. I lov it. But blease for the love of god.... Y.... Did...... The......... Symbiote........ Take the shape of a sexy comic book lady..... When........ The same sexyness could have been achieved by letting the symbiote be big beefy orc like lady....

Love, Simon: I'm not one for these films... I dont like these films... They are teary eyed wholesome cake frosting that make my cold gay heart sick... That being said... I relate, I relate so much... Also... If I was in simons shoes and the blackmailing weasle Martin outed me? They would still be scraping him off the pavement... That is all.

Ready player one: it wasn’t as bad as some of the things i heard about it on tumblr, but its not one I will watch again.

Aquaman: "show off, heh, I could've just pee'd on it" is the exact quality line I want out of my films. Also that was soooooooo awesome! I loved it! More Aquaman!

Solo, a star wars story: Not bad, but not great, it kept on plot really well, not memorable but I won’t knock it. I still say the actor playing Han Solo looks photoshopped and not real.

Ghost stories (2018): awful... It was slow and boring, and I didnt like it... I rented it through itunes and it glitched part of the way through and I stopped being able to see the picture. Even after I got it working again I still didnt like it... Though I did like the message of "dont be a bystander", but the whole this was boriiiiiinnnnnnnggggggggggg.

Wreck it Ralph: okay, technically I caught the beginning like 4 or 5 years ago, but I finally actually watched it and it wasnt bad. Will go see the sequel.

Ralph breaks the internet: WAYYYYYY better than the emoji movie, also, I really loved the princesses scene, the bright colors, and following Venelope through the internet... Also.... Ralph........ WTF..................... Also............................. that Stan Lee cameo.................................... Heartbreaking............

Goosebumps 2: Mr. Chu and his Halloween obsession is me... Stones appearence had me dying omg... Also where tf r ppl getting these awesome super cool Halloween stuffs!

Hidden figures: IM NOT CRYING UR CRYING! omg such a great movie i fucking loved it. Couldnt understand a WORD of math that went on, but damn girls, calculate that shit.

The meg: listen... Listen... The trailer looked stupid... And ridiculous... I just... Wanted to know how bad... And it was bad... But it was incredibally enjoyable omg... I loved it... In all seriousness, it was actually a pretty beautiful movie when it came to marine life and the wonder behind it, and it was anti shark culling for fins, and it was very clearly "not all sharks are bad, they do as they do, but megalodon is about to fuck our shit up."... It was also fucking hilarious... My favorite character was meiying, the little 8 year old in the movie... The love plot wasnt forced and they way they did it the two leads were not having it and had actual chemistry... Just... Also the dog... The dog does not die... Pippin lives... The wedding is not ruined... Also the shark ate a billionaire soooooooo... We good meg... We good...

Pacific Rim: yes I know, I took a long ass time to watch this movie... But Listen... Explody robots and monsters... Hannibal chau... Look... I just... Sometimes take a long time to watch movies... You wanna know how long it took me to watch Merlin BBC? I watched every episode as it came out and then put off the last episode for 5 years... Listen...

Pacific rim uprising: ok I watched the first one so I could watch the one with my boi John Boyega in it.

Wrath of the Titans: wtf kind of movie... Like really what the f... Since when is zues ever responsible and wise.

Mission impossible, fallout: I liked it. It's an action movie. Saw it for my birthday, kinda interested in the other mission impossible movies now. I appreciate the advance tech and the obviously stupid impossible shit.

Oceans 8: Listen, i have never been interested in the Oceans franchise, i dont want to see crusty men steal things, but lads, im gay. Extremely gay, just, shamelessly gay.

The Breadwinner: holy shit that was a good movie.

Secret of the Kells: eh, it was a good movie. Not my favorite, but it was good. I mostly just like the animation.

Mune: Guardian of the Moon: dat was a cute movie, and also i loved Munes Design, he is a little fawn

Operation Finale: Wow, that was an amazing film, absolutely superb. Not at all like the trailers. Seriously, what is it and trailers where everything has to either be an high stakes action movie or a romantic comedy? but this film, spectacular.

The House With A Clock In Its Walls: A Neat little movie. Corny, but i liked it. like, its a kids movie in the same way A Wrinkle In Time is, but this one was little less disney-fied in the way that they needed to have this overarching lesson of empowerment, and more “this is a kids movie to enjoy, like Halloweentown”

Bad times at the El Royale: neat movie, somewhat engaging, kept losing focus at the slow parts... Liked the Chapter title cards... Can't remember who that "important person" was supposed to be.... I think I may have missed it...

Outlaw king: I liked it! Way better than Braveheart! Also.... Cpine was not that naked.... Butt....

Gnome alone: weird, didn't like it, like a bad combo of Mean Girls and Coraline?

Journey to the center of the earth: I said old movies were gonna be on this list now didnt I? Also this movie was awesome and I wish the book was real too.

Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy: Nice!!! I had been meaning to read the book before I watched the movie, but I've packed my book away soooo, MOVIE. Also out of all thw sci fi movies that have destroyed planets, this is by far the only good one.

Vvitch: it was okay... By the middle I was kinda wishing it would go faster. But it was okay.

Ex machina: I'm not done with the movie yet but it's so fucking creepy holy shit... Also "its kinda non-autistic" in relation to "aware of her own mind and mine"???? Wtffffffff.uggggghhhhhhhhhh ewwwweeweeewewweeeewwwwwww the talk about giving the robot a sexuality is so grooooooooooooosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss he gave her a working vag and hearing him talk about fucking the robot was baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. Mmmmmmmm no, did not like.

To all the boys ive loved before: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... Also that sibling relationship was..... Relatable.

Extraordinary Tales: tales based on Edgar Allen Poe and holy sweet Jesus I loved it, it has multiple different art styles per story and I loved them soooooo much!

The Golden Compass: okay but how could you end on that cliffhanger and not at least put out another movie????

Erramentari, the blacksmith and the devil: based on Basque folklore which I know nothing of, but it looked neat. It's also originally in basque but netflix has the English dub over. AND HOLY SWEET JESUS I KNOW THIS MOVIE IS SUPPOSED TO BE SCARY BUT THE VOICE OVERS ARE SO FUCKING FUNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

Dragon heart: I didnt like it, there were better movies I could have seen, I'm not gonna reach for this one again...

The Black Klansman: Damn, I might very well be speechless. That was a Fantastic Movie, came at you like a bag of Bricks, and the ending when it went straight from a cross burning to the 2017 neo nazi rallies, to trumps “good people on both sides” speech, to everything that happened in 2017. The movie did NOT fuck around with anything. God Bless.

Robin Hood, 2018: Antifa film of the YEAR! Yeah Robin, Be a Class Traitor to the ruling class, Spread Wealth, Down with the 1%!

The Princess of Thieves: OMG Kiera Knightly as the daughter of robin and also a kick ass archer that causes trouble!!!! Loved it!

First Man: dude that movie was incredible, it read like you were seeing snapshots of his life, not completely invested, but as though you were a spirit looking at memories. I kinda liked it. I loved the silent scenes that filled the viewer with anxiety, like a realization of the gravity of what was happening. Omg. Good film A+

Bohemian Rhapsody: OMG I LOVED IT SO MUCH OMGOMGOMGOMG MY QUEER HEART IS RESTORED AND THEY SAID BISEXUAL!!!!!

What we do in the Shadows: that was an enjoyable movie. I didn't quite like the reality show format but it was funny!

Overlord: That was a great movie! it had decently fast pacing, which is good that it was only an hour and forty-eight minutes long... They Plot-Ex-Machina’d alot of the movie, like the wounded soldier feeling fine for the main firefight, then remembering he was supposed to be wounded all of a sudden. I watched it with a friend who saw one character, turned to me and said “He’s cute, i hope he doesnt die” one (1) second before a landmine went off. Also, Ghouls created by science rather by supernatural means.

For the Love of Spock: -cries like a big baby-

Next Gen: screams of anti-tech ideals... Also.... Damn...... They are channeling the "addiction to iPhones" angle man, like, villianous angle...

Small Foot: Not bad, At least it was a Short movie, or at least it didnt feel like it was dragging on. The Songs were great though, I actually liked them and at least they were written for the movie and not like, a song that already existed...

The Spy who Dumped Me: I rented it through iTunes and it gave some Ukrainian nuts swangin in my face...

The Nun: it was okay, but let maurice theirult be a lesson; u see some creepy haunted shit, you grab a cross and you walk away. You dont go back to play hero, cuz then you get possessed.

Kin: there is a line in the movie that says "you got a decade of bad decisions under your belt" and I feel like that sums of this movies plot points...

Crazy Rich Asians: that was so gooooood! I don't normally go for romcoms, but ppl had been praising the film, and I actually liked it. I'm glad I saw the majong scene explain before I actually watched the scene, because it felt a shit ton more powerful.

Spider-Man, Into the Spiderverse: AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! the animation was TOP NOTCH, like, omg!

A simple favor: I didnt like it... It tried to be both a thriller and what seemed like a parody of a thriller.

Predator, 2018: I kinda liked it, it was a mindless action movie, and the ending left it open for a badass sequal. I havent seen the other predator movies so I have no idea if this is in faith for the series, but im guessing yes.

The Martian: It was cool and chill, I liked it, also Mark Watney cussing out a government agency via a hundred thousand dollar communications outlet is.... Mood.

47 meters down: 2hrs of one woman having an absolute panic attack and being right to worry about sketchy diving boats.

2036 Origin Unknown: kinda what I feel like 2001 a space Oddessey wouldve been like if I had actually watched that movie... Oh shit the Borg!

2001 A Space Oddessey: Have I ever told y'all that I dont like Kubrick or his movies? His movies are the epitome of that pretentious art school boi style that just does too much and tries to pretend it's more than it is and sweet merciful god why is this one 2 and a half hours long! I'm 40 minutes in and I have a head ache from the over ise of classical music and boring slow pace of the movie. 2001 a space Oddessey is 2 and a half hours long and only has 1 hr of actual relevant film... The other 1 1/2 is just unending, weirdly colored space shots, two color inversion shots of planets and eyes, theremin and flute noises, and classical music set to nothingness

RAMPAGE: a 30ft alligator showed up about an hour and 10minutes into the movie and the first reaction was "well that sucks" and it killed me on sight. The movie is awesome! In am so glad I picked this as my last movie of 2018.

#Year of Movies #Movie List #Movie List 2018 #New Years

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artificialqueens · 6 years

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Can’t Breathe Without You (Shalaska) - Citrus

A/N: a while ago an anon requested recently-broken-up shalaska sharing a tent during a school camping trip and still having feelings for each other, and i wrote it almost immediately but haven’t yet posted it. extra special thanks to kacie (pureCAMP) for giving me the confidence to post this, and also for screaming about this au with me. <3 enjoy!

Alaska sighed as she dumped her duffel bag on the ground, grimacing at the thud it made when it hit. She’d been looking forward to this school trip for weeks, but now she’d really rather be anywhere else. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend a weekend in the woods, surrounded by nature and her friends and not a cell tower for miles; she didn’t mind that so much, except the part about no cell service. No, it wasn’t the lush green forest that made her want to stalk off to the nearest gas station and hitch a ride with a stranger. It was her.

The camping trip had been announced a month and a half ago as a mandatory field trip, and with Alaska’s current grade in her biology class, she really couldn’t risk skipping it. Not that she wanted to, anyway. She’d been super excited at first, and was one of the first people to write on the signup sheet that would determine which students slept in which tents. She’d scrawled her name down eagerly, and she’d written Sharon Needles right next to it. They’d been elated to spend a weekend away from their parents and most of their teachers, and Alaska remembered Sharon sneaking up behind her in class and whispering filthy things to her about just what they would get up to that weekend.

Now, however, Alaska cringed at the memory. Just a week before the trip, Alaska had found Sharon behind the bleachers with a pretty blonde leaning against her and wrapped in Sharon’s leather jacket. She’d watched in horror as Sharon kissed the top of the girl’s head and put an arm around her, and then tears blurred her vision and forbade her from seeing any more. She didn’t have to, though, and Alaska was satisfied to see that Sharon was still sporting a small cut under her left eye, a souvenir that one of Alaska’s long nails had left behind when she slapped Sharon across the face and told her that they were through.

Less satisfying was how Sharon looked beyond the small injury. Her makeup was immaculate, she was wearing her usual getup of fishnets, combat boots, and a band tee, but her usual ripped jeans were replaced by a tight black skirt that definitely went against the dress code. She was bright-eyed and grinning as she laughed at something one of her kind-of-friends said, and she looked better than ever. Alaska didn’t want to feel resentment, didn’t like the way her stomach twisted as she watched Sharon go on as if nothing had changed, but she was powerless to stop it. She knew she looked like a mess compared to Sharon, her dark circles showing through her concealer and her mascara a little smudged from the third time she’d teared up that day alone. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she wore sweatpants and a crop top, mixing comfort with the desire to look cute in the hope that it would make her feel better. It wasn’t really working so far.

Alaska’s two best friends appeared at her side, throwing their bags down to join hers on the ground. Courtney put an arm around her, and Willam just looked sad. Alaska wanted to scream at them that she didn’t need their pity, but she knew it wouldn’t do any of them any good. They were trying their best to help Alaska, even though nothing they could do would make her feel better.

“I grabbed your pillow from my car,” Courtney said, indicating the cushion tucked under the arm that wasn’t draped around Alaska’s waist. “You look super cute, by the way.”

Alaska snorted. “Please. I look like shit.”

“Yeah, hot shit,” Willam said, popping her gum. “It’s like you’re hiding fuck-me lingerie under your sweatpants or somethin’.” Alaska laughed at that, a genuine laugh that felt amazing as it bubbled out of her. She hadn’t laughed like that since… Well, since about a week before.

“Maybe I am,” she grinned, pulling away from Courtney and twirling in place. Her friends grinned, happy to see a spark of her old self again.

“You look even better when you’re smiling,” Courtney encouraged her. “Come on, help us set up? I know for a fact that Willam has no sense of direction, so she’ll be useless in trying to find our tent.”

“Do I look like I know how to read a map, Court?” Alaska snickered, ignoring Willam’s indignant huff. “Aren’t Australians supposed to be outdoorsy, anyway?” She picked up her bag and was about to follow her friends when she heard a cough behind her. Spinning around, she saw Ms. Visage, clipboard in hand.

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping Sharon, Alaska?”

“I was just trying to-” she stopped when she saw the look on her teacher’s face and sighed, defeated. “I’ll be right there.”

Shrugging her bag over her shoulder, she joined her ex by their tent and grimacing at the fact that it was orange. Really? Orange? Sharon seemed equally dissatisfied with the color, but barely even acknowledged Alaska as she approached. Alaska hated that Ms. Visage hadn’t been able to switch her with another student, even though she knew it was hardly the teacher’s fault. It was so last-minute that nothing could be done, but Alaska still wasn’t looking forward to spending a weekend in an ugly tent with the ex-girlfriend who had cheated on her.

“Need a hand with that, Thunderfuck?” Sharon drawled, gesturing to the duffel bag. Alaska rolled her eyes.

“I would, but I don’t know whose skirt it’s been up lately,” she retorted, watching in satisfaction as Sharon’s jaw slackened and her shoulders slumped.

“Lasky, I-”

“Don’t call me that,” Alaska interrupted, throwing her bag into the tent. “Nevercall me that.”

“Alaska,” Sharon tried again, “How many times do I have to try to explain before you’ll actually listen to me?”

“I’d answer, but I don’t think you can count that high,” the blonde snarked.

“So you don’t care that Katya had just-”

“You wouldn’t even let me wear that stupid fucking leather jacket, Needles, so what made her so special?” Alaska snapped, balling her fists at her sides as she finally broke. “Tell me, did you say the same stuff you used to say to me, while your hand was on her thigh, or did you even bother to come up with new lines? You’re so full of shit, Sharon Needles, and I don’t wanna hear it.” Sharon reached out to grab Alaska’s arm, but the blonde yanked it away. “No. You don’t get to fucking touch me. Fuck. You.”

Alaska stormed off, not even caring about unpacking anymore. She just needed get away from the brunette before she could see the tears in Alaska’s eyes. God, she’d never hear the end of it if Sharon found out she’d cried over her for even a second. She was Alaska Thunderfuck, who didn’t cry over stupid girls that cheated and then came crawling back with fake apologies. Away from the campsite, however, she was Alaska Thunderfuck, who cried until her throat was raw over the first and only girl she’d ever loved, the girl who had seen her as nothing more than a pretty face and had dropped her as soon as someone new came along.

She didn’t know how much time had passed since she’d left, probably only a few minutes, but she was still surprised when someone sat down on the ground next to her. When she saw the familiar head of messy blonde hair and the telltale scent of cigarette smoke, she looked away.

“Did Sharon send you?” she muttered bitterly, trying to wipe the black tear tracks from her cheeks.

“Нет,” Katya answered. “I came by myself. I was looking for firewood when I heard a bird crying, but it wasn’t a bird at all. Just a sad girl.” Alaska couldn’t help but laugh ruefully at the Russian’s description.

“I’m fine,” she insisted. Katya scoffed.

“You’re an exceptionally bad liar, Alaska. Tell me what’s wrong and I can try to help, да?”

Alaska shook her head. “You can’t help. Leave me alone and go suck face with Sharon..” Alaska watched Katya’s eyes widen, and the Russian scooted closer.

“Sharon’s just a friend,” she insisted earnestly. “She was the first person to be nice to me when I came to the US. She fights people who call me names, keeps my secrets. She’s a good friend, a good girlfriend.”

“Then tell me why I found you guys cuddled up behind the bleachers,” Alaska replied bitterly. “She’s not exactly the cuddly type.”

Katya sighed. “I got a call from my family in Russia. My мама was sick, and I was worried. Sharon helped me through it, talked to me about it. She… she’s the only one who knows how much I worry about something happening to my family. She’s probably my best friend.”

“She’d hate that,” Alaska laughed in spite of herself. “Sharon doesn’t want people to like her.”

“I know,” Katya said quietly. “We talk a lot, Alaska. She’s like my sister. I would never do anything to come between you. I guess you caught us in the wrong moment. She wasn’t trying anything with me, I swear. She’s… she’s been really torn up about it. She’s just as upset as you are, especially when she knows there’s nothing she can do to convince you that nothing happened with us. We both know how much she hates being powerless.”

“I had every right to be angry,” Alaska argued. “What I saw was pretty self-explanatory.”

“Or so you thought,” Katya finished for her. “Yeah, well, trust me when I tell you that I’ve never seen her like this.”

“I know you’re just trying to make me feel better, Kat,” Alaska sighed, standing up and turning to leave. “Thanks, though. She doesn’t really seem to care, but I appreciate it.”

Katya shrugged as Alaska looked back at her. “You might be a bad liar, but Sharon’s a really good one.”

When Alaska returned to the campsite, she ignored the stares from her classmates. She knew her mascara was running and she looked like a fucking mess, but she couldn’t really bring herself to care. She was too focused on her conversation with Katya, about how nothing had happened with her and Sharon. The realization brought a wave of guilt crashing down on Alaska as she thought about how their breakup was all her fault, a stupid misunderstanding that could’ve been easily solved if she’d just let Sharon explain.

She wanted to apologize, but at the same time, her pride stood in her way. Sharon was the proudest person she knew, and Alaska couldn’t just apologize and act like everything was fine; the brunette would never let her. She wouldn’t want her back, anyway, Alaska told herself. Why would she?

Still, Alaska couldn’t help but watch Sharon as the students sat around their self-made campfire, talking and laughing and swapping stories. Sharon stared into the flames in silence for most of the night, only breaking her focus to chuckle at something Katya or Trixie said from either side of her. Trixie brought out her guitar halfway through, plucking out quiet melodies until Katya convinced her to lead them all in a sing-along. Alaska couldn’t keep her eyes away from Sharon, however, who got up to make room for Trixie’s guitar and was leaning against a nearby tree, watching the rest of them. Either Alaska’s eyes were playing games with her, or Sharon’s little leather skirt had been hiked up a little shorter. She tried her best to ignore it.

When it came time to retreat to their tents, the other students chattered amongst themselves; Sharon and Alaska were mostly silent, entering their shared tent at almost the same time. Sharon took her sweet fucking time stripping down to change into pajamas, something Alaska both enjoyed and absolutely despised. Sure, they weren’t together anymore and were both too proud to apologize, but that didn’t mean that Alaska couldn’t sneak glances at Sharon as the brunette rolled her fishnets down her legs, or suck in a quiet breath when she yanked her stupid band tee over her head. Especially frustrating was the fact that Sharon had the nerve to ask Alaska for a makeup wipe and remove her makeup while wearing nothing but a black bra and panties. If Alaska didn’t know better, she’d almost think Sharon was doing this on purpose.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Sharon murmured as she wiped her makeup away. Maybe she was doing this on purpose, since she’d clearly noticed Alaska’s staring.

“I have enough, trust me,” Alaska replied, mentally kicking herself for saying something so stupid.

Sharon smirked. “Yeah, I bet you do. Haven’t deleted them all from your phone in a fit of rage, then, have you?”

“I only hated your guts, not the rest of your body,” Alaska responded breezily as she unclipped her bra under her tank top and yanked it through one of the arm holes. Going to bed in her sweatpants was easier than changing into something else, anyway. Sharon raised an eyebrow at that, crawling forward until she and Alaska were only a hair’s breadth away from touching.

“That’s funny, because I distinctly remember you feeling my guts and loving it,” she said coyly. Alaska snorted, but she couldn’t hide the rush of blood to her cheeks. “What, no snarky reply? Don’t make me worry that you’re losing your touch.”

“Aw, you worry about me?” Alaska mocked, trying to sound confident despite the heat pooling at her core. “Didn’t seem like you worried about me much when you were cuddled up with Katya.”

“We’re just close friends, Thunderfuck, it wasn’t like that. You must be blind to not notice how she looks at Trixie. And besides…” her hands skimmed Alaska’s hips, and suddenly the blonde forgot how to breathe. “It’s you and me, baby. No one else can make me feel what you make me feel.”

Alaska didn’t know how to respond, but luckily she didn’t have to, because Sharon swiftly closed the gap between them. The brunette kissed her like Alaska was her lifeline, and Alaska didn’t even hesitate for a moment before kissing back. Sharon’s hands slid under Alaska’s tank top, cupping her breasts and massaging them gently as the blonde deepened the kiss, letting a little whimper escape her.

“Shhh,” Sharon grinned as they broke apart. “We gotta be quiet, sweet pea.”

“I missed you,” Alaska mumbled, burying her face in Sharon’s shoulder for a moment. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.” Sharon chuckled.

“I missed you too, Lasky,” she responded simply, and Alaska kissed her again. Sharon pulled her hands away from underneath Alaska’s top and carefully helped lay her down on her sleeping bag, kissing her neck sweetly and relishing in the way that her breath caught in her throat. Sharon kissed down her stomach, pulling Alaska’s sweatpants down her legs and rubbing her over her panties. “You’re so wet already, baby,” she teased, “I guess that little striptease did its job, huh?”

“You did do it on purpose!” Alaska hissed. Sharon snickered, tugging Alaska’s underwear down and sliding it off. She wedged a thigh between Alaska’s legs and the blonde pulled her down for a kiss, grinding against her.

“Christ, you’re so fucking pretty,” Sharon mumbled as Alaska desperately sought more friction, not getting enough from just her leg. “Tell me what you want, baby. Mouth or fingers?”

“F-fingers,” Alaska whimpered, blushing. “God, please.” Sharon nodded and used the leg between Alaska’s thighs to nudge them apart, bringing two fingers to her mouth and sucking on them before trailing them down to Alaska’s core. The blonde bit her lip to keep from crying out as Sharon carefully entered her with one, soon joined by the second, pumping them slowly. Her thumb traced lazy circles over Alaska’s bud, making her hips stutter as she struggled not to make noise. There was something wildly exhilarating about fucking in a thin-walled tent, just meters away from their friends and teachers, and it only heightened Alaska’s flushed cheeks and racing heartbeat.

Sharon was gentle and slow, taking her time and watching Alaska’s expression as she made love to her, willing her to understand that she loved her, and that she was sorry, even if she couldn’t express it aloud. “It’s you, baby girl,” Sharon whispered as Alaska clenched around her fingers, her pleasure nearing its peak. “It’s only you. It’s only ever been you.” Alaska nodded silently, unable to hold in a soft moan as Sharon curled her fingers against the spot she knew would drive Alaska over the edge. She came with Sharon’s lips against hers, muffling her gentle cries.

“I love you,” Alaska whispered as soon as they broke apart. Sharon smiled, pulling away and wiping her fingers against her thigh, and Alaska made a face. “Even if you’re gross.”

“The human body is beautiful,” Sharon protested with a laugh. She kissed Alaska’s forehead, and the blonde grinned before sitting up and beckoning for Sharon to straddle her lap. Dipping her hand into Sharon’s panties, Alaska found that she was already dripping, and the brunette moaned as Alaska’s fingers circled her clit.

“Now who’s the one who has to shut up?” Alaska murmured. Sharon snorted, rolling her hips.

“Just fuck me, Christ,” she mumbled.

“I prefer ‘Alaska,’” the blonde snickered, slipping a finger inside Sharon as she continued to rub against her bud. Sharon was struggling to keep quiet, little whines escaping her as Alaska brought her to the edge, only to let her come down before building her back up again. It was a vicious cycle that Alaska would’ve kept up for longer if Sharon hadn’t been so fucking loud; she was much more vocal than Alaska had been, and the blonde briefly wondered if a gag would have been appropriate.

“Lasky, I’m gonna- shit, babe- I’m gonna c-come,” Sharon managed to whimper before Alaska felt her come with a shudder and a soft groan.

“That was quick, especially for you,” Alaska teased as she withdrew her hand from Sharon’s panties and sucked her fingers clean.

“Look who’s gross now,” Sharon retorted weakly. Alaska laughed, locating her underwear in the corner of the tent and sliding it on before helping Sharon push their sleeping bags side-by-side. They collapsed on top of them and Alaska curled around Sharon, entwining their fingers. “I guess we’re back on?” Sharon asked, only half-joking. Alaska chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess we are. It’s not like I could stay away for long, anyhow.”

“Me neither, baby,” Sharon murmured, allowing herself to snuggle closer to her girlfriend. “Get some sleep, okay?”

“If I wake up to you summoning the devil in the middle of the woods, I’m dumping you again,” Alaska giggled.

Sharon snorted. “Don’t even joke about that.” Alaska could hear the grin in her voice, telling her that Sharon was anything but serious, and pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Love you too, sweetheart. Now shut the fuck up and go to sleep.”

#sharon needles #alaska thunderfuck #shalaska #smut #lesbian au #cisgirl au #angst #citrus #rpdr fanfiction

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hellfire-damnation · 6 years

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[In which we see Sav’s eclectic af taste in music and also the sadness that is her priesty.]

Act One

Back Against the Wall by Cage the Elephant

Blanket of silence makes me want to sink my teeth in deep Burn all the evidence of fabricated disbelief Pull back the curtains, took a look into your eyes My tongue has now become a platform for your lies

Claude and Laurent have a very strained and vicious and abusive relationship. This song, for me, becomes the starting point of Laurent using Claude, trying to break him apart and make him feel worthless. A lot of Laurent’s awful, awful teachings were pushed onto Claude early on that was one of the reasons Arnaud cam to be so violent and awful.

Island by Young the Giant

Oh, what if the whole world finds you waiting Oh, as it can so long now have Oh, I thought you knew that I'd be coming The way you move, a foreign groove, at night

The one thing that kept Claude sane when he was older and under Laurent’s thumb, already incredibly exposed to abuse and emotional turmoil, was sneaking into the town close by (possibly near his university) and watching the women who danced in the streets. This was the one ray of hope he had, truly, at this time. Not because he loved them or was infatuated with them but because they were something he was not: free.

Sound of Silence by Disturbed

Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains

This song really speaks to the pain and damage that has been done to Claude. I haven’t had a chance to explicitly talk about it but some new plots are going to reveal more of it (eyyy Kiara). One of the things I want to focus on is how badly he was hurt and how that influenced the creation of his personalities and his reliance, if unknowingly, upon them.

Prisoner by James Arthur

Oh I, I tried so hard to change But the devil locked my door I'll wear these heavy chains Around my neck like a prisoner I just wanna love But he won't let me go Loosen up my chains Oh, I'm a condemned prisoner

Sooooo this is like....Claude Now, his headspace. He doesn’t show a lot and he is pretty reserved but that’s all from Laurent. Even the man’s death coughmurdercough has left a huge burden on him.

Addiction by Counterfeit

I hit rock bottom But that was last autumn Now I'm keeping myself in line I hit rock bottom But now I'm back at 'em Taking each day at a time This is holiness This my alibi This is addiction This is my last try

Hi Howl’s Not Band okay so this song is a bit...of a mix? It’s about Claude trying to be better once he leaves France, coming to terms with himself and working towards what he wants, as is a huge goal for me for him. He is slowly getting there and tbh I am gonna be super proud of him (and myself) when he does. But the top lyrics are more about him leaving France, picking somewhere and just going, and the bottom are him realizing he needs to be better, do better, and become someone to look to for guidance and support because he could at least be that for people bc he didn’t have that at all.

Act Two

Let It Go by James Bay

I used to recognize myself It's funny how reflections change When we're becoming something else I think it's time to walk away

So yes this song is a relationship song but, like the previous two, it focuses on Claude and him trying to get better. He’s speaking with Roscoe about his issues and he now has some other people in the works, too, and they’re helping him realize he needs to move on as much as they need help with whatever they’re dealing with.

Solitude by Jeremy Soule

So this song has no lyrics, but I think that’s because there is a space in Claude that...doesn’t need them? There is a section of him that is unwritten and it still needs to be given words, it just has music to it. And it’s soft and sad but there’s something there that speaks of hope, and I love that for him.

Below my Feet by Mumford and Sons

Keep the earth below my feet For all my sweat, my blood runs weak Let me learn from where I have been Keep my eyes to serve and my hands to learn

And I was still I was under your spell When I was told by Jesus all was well So all must be well

OH GOSh OKAY I have sooooooo many feelings about Mumford & Sons and Claude okay??? I had such a hard time choosing a song of theirs for him bc I wanted to use them all...but I think this song gets at it the most. Claude has always struggled with his faith because of who it was that “cared” for him and he has come to terms with a lot of stuff but he still struggles. So this song is idk perfect for that??

Demons by Imagine Dragons

They say it's what you make I say it's up to fate It's woven in my soul I need to let you go

Your eyes, they shine so bright I want to save their light I can't escape this now Unless you show me how

Okay so this song is totally influenced by Kiara and her adorable little bb Sally. The stuff we have planned for them and what I see hapening for Claude in the upcoming times of struggle and coming to terms with stuff is gonna be GREAT and I will be emotional about it always. So yeah this is that song for that period.

Mon Combat (*Tir Nam Beo) by Zaho & Florent Mothe

On ne choisit pas d’où l’on vient On choisit ce que l’on devient À qui la faute ? Faute à la vie C’est pas ma faute mais c’est ainsi Ici-bas, Tir Nam Beo Mon combat, Tir Nam Beo Nous voilà dévoilés Faut tout laisser aller Dam da di dam da di dam da di da dou dé

Basically from what I’ve seen these lyrics translate to something about fat being what life is and that’s how it influences stuff. It’s a tad pessimistic but there are still parts of Claude that are like that. So I think that song fits for those days.

10 Feet Down by NF (ft. Ruelle)

Yeah I know the person in the mirror's not a perfect one I look at him everyday and think he's not enough My life's a book that I don't really like to open up

Church is where I found God, but it's also where I learned to judge Yeah, I had to learn there's a difference between What you want, and what you really need I've always been motivated by comments from people tellin' me Things that I'll never be, and then I become it, this is my everything

The winddown of Claude’s little tale, it’s a bit sad but it talks about how he feels and that’s what’s important here, shows that he will improve and actually do this IRL with someone.

Hallelujah by Pentetonix

Well baby I've been here before I've seen this room and I've walked this floor I used to live alone before I knew ya And I've seen your flag on the marble arch (marble arch) And love is not a vict'ry march (a vict'ry march) It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah (broken Hallelujah) Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I needed this very sad and somewhat broken song on Claude’s playlist and I thought it would be a fitting ending, something to tie it all in. Whether it be because he relapses into some of his old bad thoughts or he has something happen that seriously impacts him, this song also ties in his faith, which is important because that will be evolving as he does and that’s a big part of him, as his recovery and overcoming his trauma and his DID is to his fundamental character.

#monsieur: claude #bdrptask #music #//links to be added

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kidolegend · 7 years

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Renewals - A Prompto Argentum Fic (Part 3)

Previous | AO3 Link

Hello all! I’ve returned--sooner than expected--with a new chapter of Renewals!! As always, any comments, reblogs, moral support, constructive criticism, or just some hellos are always appreciated~

Tagging those that have left such nice feedback or expressed interest! If you do NOT want to be tagged in my work, please feel free to let me know--I won’t be mad or anything, I just don’t wanna bother you will all this LOL... @blindbae @joioliviapolaroid @xnoctits @themissimmortal @poisonous-panda @insomniascure @thegoddesseos @crossedquills

The Start of a Plan

Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio split up the next morning--or what would have been morning, had the sun still been visible--to take on their objectives. It was a lonely chocobo ride back towards Insomnia, but Prompto was resolved to tackle the garrison on his own. He passed a few hordes of daemons, but thankfully wasn’t chased far--even the fastest daemons were no match for a chocobo.

“It’s only been a few weeks and everything’s already so bad…” Prompto mumbled, half to himself and half to his pale blue steed who--while not quite understanding--crooned softly in response.

He jumped as his cell phone vibrated, but switched the chocobo reins to one hand and continued racing across the dirt roads as he answered. “Yyee-hello?”

“Prompto.”

“Heya, Iggy!” Prompto’s cheery greeting seemed too loud in the dark desert area, so he lowered his voice. “What’s up?”

“We’ve just reached Old Lestallum. Gladio’s getting us something to eat and we will then be heading on to the garrison to conduct surveillance of the area.”

“Gotcha. I just passed Longwythe, so I’ll probably be in Hammerhead before noon.”

There was a brief pause. “Prompto, are you sure about this? You can still turn back or wait for us in Hammerhead…”

Prompto shook his head, even though he knew it was a pointless gesture over the phone. “I can handle this. A couple magitek armors and maybe an airship… No big deal. I’ve already got a vague idea of what I’m gonna do, so don’t worry about me.”

“...If you say so.” Ignis replied after another silence. Prompto heard a deeper voice in the background. “Ah, Gladio is back with the food… Hmm, cup noodles, how predictable.”

The gunner laughed, giving the reins in his hand a slight tug to keep his chocobo on the main road. “Well, it’s better than nothing.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Ignis sighed. “I’ll be going, then.”

“Right, and uh, hey, Ignis?”

“Yes?”

“I won’t let you guys down!”

He couldn’t have been sure, but he could almost hear the smile behind Ignis’ voice. “I know you won’t. Take care.”

“All right, buddy… I’ve left enough food for a few days here for you, but don’t go eating it all at once!” It hadn’t taken long for Prompto to set up and rest at Brackham Haven, the campsite east of the garrison. He was tethering his chocobo, making sure the poor bird couldn’t easily wander into daemon territory, but keeping the ties loose enough to pull free from in case he didn’t return. “I should be back within a day or so, but if not…”

He was patting the pastel bird absentmindedly and it nudged his face, trilling affectionately into his ear. Prompto laughed, ducking away. “All right, all right! I promise I’ll be back. Just… keep watch over my stuff, okay? I’m not gonna need all of it at the base.”

The chocobo cocked its pale blue head at him blinked. The gunner nodded, deciding the bird’s gesture was close enough to an affirmation. “Well, I guess I’ll be off…” He murmured, turning towards the the nearby garrison and hitching his daypack and water canteen higher on his shoulder.

It wasn’t a particularly large base, but the high walls and imposing structure still sent a chill up Prompto’s spine. He took a deep breath, steeling himself as he jumped off the haven’s runestone and headed for the watch tower just outside the base. “Here we go…”

Reaching the tower had been simple enough--Prompto had gotten there before any infantrymen could be assigned to the outside guard and had managed to avoid the daemons’ attention by keeping the light clipped to his lapel under strict control. He was nervous, but extremely glad to avoid any early conflict that could interfere with his surveillance.

“First off…” Prompto took out a thin spool of electrical wire and began looping it around the entrance to the stairs. It wouldn’t do him any good to get ambushed at the top of the watchtower--while he would survive the jump, he knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid injuring his legs and probably wouldn’t be able to run far if he did. He secured the wire so it criss-crossed along the railing, making sure it was pulled taut before knotting it and cutting the end with his pocket knife.

“I’d like to see an MT get around that,” He stepped back to admire his handiwork, imagining one of the troopers unwittingly tangle itself in the wire and short itself out. Prompto was confident that if--by some chance--an MT managed to sneak past his watch and attempt to ascend the watchtower, he would have plenty of warning. “All rightie, phase one, complete!”

He hopped over his trap and headed up the stairs, keeping a low profile and watching the entrance to the base warily. It wasn’t until he got to the top that he spotted the activity within the garrison--infantrymen circling the perimeter of a large, makeshift warehouse in the center of the facility. There were freight containers, giant spools of industrial cables, small shacks containing various control panels, and a couple of watchtowers identical to his own that dotted the fortress--all ideal hiding spots and vantage points--and inside the main warehouse he could just make out several large magitek armors and a couple of heavy-duty turrets.

“Perfect,” He grinned at his own luck, pulling a worn notebook out of his pack and getting to work.

It didn’t take long for Prompto to map out the visible MT’s patrol routes. He was only half-thankful that the Niflheim empire used technology over real soldiers--mechanized sets of armor were easy to control and even easier to predict.

‘Would I have been this empty if I had ended up like…’ Prompto gave his head a small shake to dispel the unpleasant--and admittedly, reoccurring--thought. “Just keep it together, Prompto…” He told himself, focusing again on marking his rough blueprint.

He glanced at his phone periodically, making sure he hadn’t missed any messages from Ignis or Gladio. He hoped that they were doing all right with their strategizing--without Ignis’ vision how could they possibly come up with a solid plan?

He sighed, trying to worry about his own strategy instead of his companions. They had both trained in combat their entire lives and they would do doubt watch each other’s back.

He was on his own.

Prompto shook his head again, a little more vigorously. No, he wasn’t going to chicken out now. Sure, it was reckless and stupid, but he had something he wanted to prove to himself. “I can do this. I will do this.” He reassured his pounding heart. “I’ve got everything set up, now all I have to do is…”

“...Take down a military stronghold.”

He exhaled loudly, plopping down and leaning against one of the old supply crates, shifting so he wasn’t immediately visible from the stairwell. He checked his phone again--he wouldn’t be getting the go-ahead from Ignis or Gladio for several more hours. He had told himself previously that he would get some sleep before launching his assault, but when he closed his eyes all he could feel was crushing self-doubt.

Looks like napping wouldn’t really be an option until he got his mind off things. “Hm. Might as well play King’s Knight in the meantime. Bet my Zell tree’s almost full...”

Prompto wasn’t sure when he managed to fall asleep, but he snapped awake at the sound of soft footsteps. His heart leapt into his throat but he kept perfectly still and silent, his presence concealed by the crates. He knew it couldn’t have been an MT--none of them moved quietly and--given his past traumas--he could hear them approaching even in the deepest of slumbers.

So… who?

He swallowed and inched forward, craning his neck slightly so he could peek around the side of the worn containers. The figure was crouched, facing away from him and peering down at the military fortress. Prompto straightened up as best he could, still in a sleepy daze but ready to run or fight if it came to it. The kneeling figure shifted backwards on its knees towards him, keeping its eyes on the garrison. Before the drowsy blonde could figure out what to do, the figure flipped back its hood, shaking out its short, dark hair.

Prompto’s throat went dry and he made an oddly strangled noise as he suppressed the urge to shout and alert everything in a hundred-yard radius of his presence.

“Wait, N-Noct?!”

#renewals ffxv #aylin noctua #prompto x oc #ffxv #ff15 #prompto #prompto argentum #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy xv #ffxv fanfiction #ff15 fanfiction #hey look a little cliffhanger #should be back sometime next week for the drop of ep prompto...#aaaa im so excited

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mckaylas-musings · 6 years

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Knights of Kifalme Part 8

“Lay her down, come on.” I hear, though it feels like it’s coming through thick cobwebs. My body shudders at the thought, and the hands holding me suddenly drop me onto a hard surface. I huff out a breath, and groan. “I said lay her down, not give her a concussion.” I roll my head to the side, and blink open my eyes, coming to, looking into some vaguely familiar grayish-silver eyes. I squint a little, and can’t quite pinpoint the memory.

“So? Is she alright?” I think I hear Rick’s voice come from behind me. I turn my head to look at him, but the man with the eyes turns me back to look at him.

He opens my eyes, and turns my head from side to side. He checks my heart rate and my pulse, and looks back at my friends. “Set her on the bed. And carefully this time.” And they do.

I’m propped up on the bed, and a bottle is pressed to my lips.

“Drink this.” I don’t move, and hear a sigh. “You’re a difficult patient, huh?” He pushes it past my lips and tilts my head back. I slowly swallow, and he tilts my head back down. “How long was she out?” The back of a hand presses against my forehead, and I whimper a little. It retracts immediately.

“I don’t know, a couple of hours maybe?” Rick says.

There’s a pause. “My God.” Is all that comes back, thick with quite a few emotions.

My vision clears. I blink as the haze disappears. I look around. Bottles are scattered around the room, on shelves, tables, drawers, you name it, it’s there. There’s posters on the walls with symbols and numbered directions. A couple of tall bookshelves line one wall. A cat lounges on a window sill. A few candles are placed around, and I can see a cauldron peeping through a doorway, with two girls staring through, one short with purple hair, and one, a little older and taller, with blonde hair.

They blink at me. I blink at them. They blink at me. I turn, and blink at my team.

Alex bursts into tears. “Luuuuuz!!!!” He rushes forwards and hugs me, knocking the figure sitting by my bed aside with an ‘umph!’

I look at the figure. A man my age, tired, with blond hair, like the girl in the doorway, but a few shades lighter. His gray eyes are ringed with bags, and he smiles, showing a gap in his front teeth.

“Glad to see you’re up, Ms. Luz.”

I swear to God, I know him.

He drops his smile to look at Val. “Your majesty, may I ask who these people intruding in my workshop are?”

“Are you really the Knights of Kifalme?” I turn to the doorway. The purple haired girl covers her mouth, and the blonde girl ducks back a little. The man sighs.

“Pio, Tia, come here.” They shuffle in, eyeing all of us. The blonde shuffles up to the man, but the purple haired girl stops next to Rex, eyes wide. “Pio, don’t even think about it.” She scurries up next to him. “So. Knights?”

“Yes.” Val says, shaking herself from the slight stupor the girls put her in.

“Who are the girls?” Rick asks, cocking his head to one side.

“My assistants.” He gestures to both of them. “This is my main apprentice, Pio.” The purple haired girl nods. “And our star exchange student, Tia.” The blonde smiles nervously and waves.

“Alex, sweetie, get off, I have a headache, and you shaking me with sobs isn’t helping.” I push him off a little.

“I thought you were dead, Lu!”

“Oh!” Pio squeaks, rushing into the other room. She comes back in, holding a small, diamond-shaped bottle filled with red liquid. “I made this earlier today. It helps with headaches.” She shoves it into my hands. I shrug, and down it. After a few moments, my head stops pounding.

“Oh hey, whattaya know? Thanks, kiddo.” She smiles at me, and the man squints.

“What are you names?” Alex stands back up, wiping his tears away, and extends his hand.

“Alexis Torres. Green Knight.” He sniffs. The man warily take his hand, and shakes it. Alex walks back to Rex, who just hugs him.

“Rakalexo Shankara. Yellow Knight.” Rex wiggles his fingers at them, grin stretching across his snout. The girls giggle, and wave back, causing him to grin even more.

“Rick O’Seanise. I’m the Red Knight.”

“And this is Luz Grainne Dunne. She’s the Blue Knight. Luz, this is Todd Elliot, he’s a great and famous apothecary on this world.”

“Wizard.” Tia pipes up, I think. I honestly couldn’t tell you, I was too busy focusing on Todd. I search his face, and find all the small details that were etched into my mind. The small scar on the bridge of his nose. The splattering of freckles, the most prominent one just below his left eye. The constant bruise on the right side of his neck because of his nervous habit of pressing his palm into it.

He’s staring back at me, searching and drinking in every detail of my face as well. He rushes forwards and pushes me back against the pillows propping me up with a crushing hug. Tears spring into my eyes instantly. I bury my head in his shoulder, feeling his tears on my shirt as well. I shake with sobs and I feel nauseous from crying. I feel like I could throw up. I- wait, no, nevermind-

I cough up onto the back of Todd’s back. I hear a groan.

“Thanks, Star-eyes.” I let out a shaky cry-laugh.

“No problem, Rich Kid.” I cough and hack up even more, but it feels….weird.

“Okay, that’s enough.” He pulls away, and I hack into my hand. It feels like there’s something light and silky coming out my mouth. I pull my hand away. Black rose petals lay in my hand. I cough, and more come out my mouth. Tia rushes out, and grabs a bucket. I keep coughing into it. Todd picks up a petal.

“Dude, you have guts if you wanna touch that stuff.” Rick says as Todd goes to a bookshelf and pulls out a book.

“Luz, how long have you had hanahaki disease?” He flips through some pages, not even looking up.

“Uh….If that’s this flower coughing thing, then just now.” He hums.

“Could it be that witch’s doing?” Rex growls, ears flattening.

“Hanahaki disease: When one has hanahaki disease, they will seem fine until they experience unrequited love. Once the love is acknowledged, the patient will hack and cough up flowers every so often, especially when thinking of the one they love. The type of flower will depend on the situation of the love, status of both involved, and can change over time.” Tia blurts out.

“Yes, thank you Tia.” Todd mutters.

“The only way to combat it is take an elixir to suppress it, or have surgery, removing the feelings along with it.” Pio pipes up.

“Yes, thank you Pio.”

“And if the love is not returned, the flowers will continue to grow inside the victim’s lungs, until they suffocate and die!” They both say at the same time.

“Yes, okay, thank you, girls!” He glares over his book at them.

I go pale. Well, paler than usual.

“I, uh, b-buh, what?!” I look over at him horrified. He slaps his hand down onto a page.

“Here we go, rose meanings. Let’s see, black petals means….” He whisper reads the meaning, and stops. He looks back up at me, eyes wide. “Oh….” His eyes hold worry, pity, and….disappointment. Ouch. “I didn’t realize you still….”

“So!” I say, clearing my throat, a few petals fluttering out, “Do you have any elixirs for it?” I turn away, looking at the ground.

“Oh, no!” Tia says. “We could make some though! How much do you think you need?”

“Um, rest of my life?” I laugh, and cough up a few more petals.

“Everyone out.” Todd pushes them out the door. He locks it, much to the protest of my teammates.

“Wow. You uh, ahah, you’re a lot stronger than you look.” He doesn’t turn around.

“I didn’t know you still had those feelings.” He mutters, barely audible.

I shrug. “Eh, ya know. It’s whatever.” I look down at the bucket, and cough up a few more.

“It’s not whatever, Luz!” He turns back at me, terror in his eyes. “You can’t live like this! You know that you’ll never have reciprocated feelings!”

“I know, I know, alright!” I shout back at him. “You think I don’t know that? You don’t think that every time I think about him I don’t realize that? That I’ve spent 18 years of my life pining after a boy I’ll never be able to tell I love him?!” I cough up some more, curling around the bucket. He rushes up to me, and grabs my face in his hands. They’re calloused and warm.

“Please. I’m begging you. Get the surgery.” I jerk my head out of his hands, curling away from him.

“Absolutely not.” He grunts.

“Luz, why the hell do you have to be so difficult?!” He pulls at his hair. “If I get the surgery, my feelings go away, right?! If my feelings are gone, what memories am I going to have of him?!” I cough into the bucket. “It’s not like I’ll be able to see him ever again.”

“Luz! He’s dead!” I squeeze my eyes tight.

“I’m aware of that, Todd! Thanks for the update!” I turn my head back towards him and glare, sneering. “So tell me, Elliot, how’s your love life going?!” He pauses, taking a step back, like I’ve slapped him. He’s silent for a second, then shakes his head.

“Don’t say that.”

I cough. “I’m sorry.” I mutter, then sigh. “Don’t make me get the surgery.”

“So….What? You’re just going to drink elixirs until you find someone else to love?” I laugh feebly, and choke out a few more petals, and a full rose.

“Like I’m gonna love someone else.” I stare back up at him. “It’s been ten years, and I’m still not over him. You really think I’m gonna start now?”

“Well. You do have an incentive.” He smiles weakly at me, and turns around. “I should let you rest. I’ll go make some weak suppressant real quick.” He opens the door, and Rick and Alex topple through, everyone else standing a little ways back. Todd drops his surprised look into a frustrated one almost immediately.

“Great friends you have here, Star-eyes. You sure know how to pick them.” I laugh.

“Hey, I picked you guys, didn’t I?” I cough up a petal, and I hear him sigh.

“You sure do know how to pick them.” I hear him mutter, ushering everyone out.

“Yeah.” I sigh. “Yeah, I do.”

#knights of kifalme #writing

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