#April can't come soon enough huh

[mayexiled]

"Longing for a wish or a cure, a failsafe."

[golden-cherry]

deal - cl16 (36/?)

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Reader

Series Summary: Your whole life has gone to shit. Your boyfriend broke up with you, you just lost your job and the Monegasque, who suddenly stands in your doorway, claims that it’s his apartment.

Chapter Summary: Lets get drunk part two - with new opportunities.

Warnings: fluff, alcohol consumption

Word Count: 3.2k

series masterlist

previous part

A/N: hah. you thought you'd seen the last of me. feedback is appreciated!

"Okay," says Charles and sits back down next to you on the sun bed. He sets the basket down between you, with the necks of various bottles sticking out of it. "Are you more of a vodka girl or a tequila girl?" He pulls out two bottles and holds them out to you. 

You examine the bottles before raising your hands. "Neither, to be honest." You carefully pull the basket towards you and take a look inside. Your hands turn the containers slowly so you can read the labels better, and when a bottle catches your eye, you grin at your roommate. "Here."

Charles takes the bottle you hold out to him. "Peach?" He looks at you and raises an eyebrow. "Quite summery."

You shrug your shoulders. "You promised to take me with you next summer so I could go swimming in the sea. I just want to prepare myself properly."

A smile spreads across his face. "Touché. All right." He reaches into the basket and fishes out two small shot glasses. He places them at the head of the sun bed to fill them with the peach liqueur. "You'll love it here during the summer. The sun is blazing, the sea is cold and the days are long." He carefully slides a glass over to you so that the contents don't spill over the rim. "It's like paradise."

You nod gratefully at him. "So now you definitely don't have a choice."

He looks at you, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," you sit up straight and pick up the shot glass. "You talked me up about the boat and summer at sea so much that you definitely have to bring me here next year." You grin at him. "So you have no choice but to take me with you."

"Oh no." He rolls his eyes in mock annoyance and reaches for his glass as well. "So I guess I can't get rid of you at all, huh?"

You shake your head excessively. "No fucking way. You definitely won't get me off this boat in the summer. And the deal about us sharing the apartment is on anyway." You tilt your head. "Even if you really tried, you wouldn't get rid of me that easily." You hold out your arm so he can clink glasses with you. 

He looks you in the eye. There's a sparkle in his green ones as he knocks his glass against yours. "Thank God."

The peach liqueur tastes indescribably good and the longer you lie on the sun bed looking at the glowing Monaco in front of you, the more you drink of it. The stars above you twinkle and although it's getting colder, you're nice and warm. Whether it's the alcohol or Charles' laughter, you don't know. 

"You've met Arthur yourself," he says as you have to press your face into the pillow to stop your laughter echoing across the ocean. "I swear, his April Fool's jokes are the worst! And you never see them coming!"

You giggle into your pillow. "Tell me you didn't fall for it." Hesitantly, you peek over the hem of the pillow to see Charles' blushing face. You quickly push it back into your face and laugh. "Oh, Charles!"

Your roommate grabs his own pillow and hits yours with it. "Don't laugh at me! You'll be affected soon enough! And then I'm not going to be the one to rescue you."

As you slowly calm down and wipe the tears from the corners of your eyes, you put the pillow back behind your head and look at him. "Trust me - by then Arthur will like me enough that we'll form an alliance. Then he certainly won't play any tricks on me."

Charles looks at you, dumbfounded. "Excuse me? I thought you and I were friends! You're supposed to stand on my side!" With a shake of his head, he reaches for the peach liqueur and refills your glasses.

You grin at him. "I don't form alliances with people who fall for stupid pranks like that."

He pushes your glass over to you. "All traitors." He shakes his head again. "I thought at least I had you on my side."

You raise your glass to your lips. "I'm always on your side, Charles. You're my best friend," you assure him, although the sentence leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. You wash it down with the liqueur. "But I'm not going to let Arthur take the piss just to make you feel better."

"You're a great best friend," he says and pours the liqueur into his mouth. "Just you wait and see. I won't save you if my brother does decide to play an April Fool's joke on you."

"You wouldn't dare," you reply with a grin. "Your mom would give you hell if she knew you were abandoning me." You grab the liqueur and fill your glasses again. "After all, she likes me better than you."

Charles watches you fill his glass to the brim. He presses his tongue into your cheek before licking his teeth. "I wish you were wrong." He holds out his arm for you to clink glasses with him. "Here's to my family liking you better than me."

You try to suppress your grin. "Don't worry, Charlie. I like you all the more for it," the alcohol speaks out of you and when you hear what you're saying, the blood rushes to your face. You quickly clink your glass against his and drink the liqueur so you don't have to look at the Monegasque in front of you. 

As he puts his empty glass down, he grins at you. "'Charlie'? You're really going to give me a nickname?"

You roll your eyes and run your fingers through your hair so he doesn't notice your nervousness. "Don't worry," you try to play it down. Thank goodness he can't hear your rapid heartbeat. "I only use it when it's just us."

When you look at Charles again, he smiles at you softly. "I like the name," he assures you. "And if it stays your little secret and mine, I like it even more. It belongs only to you. Only you can call me that."

You smile at him before leaning back into your pillow and looking up at the stars. The night is clear, there isn't a single cloud in the night sky and the sea breeze on your face cools your alcohol-warmed skin pleasantly. You feel Charles lie down as well. 

"Do you want to spend the night at my mother's tomorrow?" he asks quietly. When you turn your head in his direction, he's already looking at you. "I usually spend the night there. Maman always gets delicious wine and when we all get together, the evening gets pretty long." When you raise an eyebrow with a smile, he continues. "And there are plenty of rooms in the house. You're welcome to choose one of them. I'd hate to go back home for Christmas," he adds. "Especially because my mom would be alone and -"

"Charlie," you interrupt him. "We can spend the night at your mom's. There's nothing wrong with that." You wink at him. "Besides, I want to have a drink with Arthur and then I definitely can't go home."

He exhales with relief. "Very good." He turns his head forward and looks up at the stars too. "It's going to be a nice evening. My maman cooks delicious food and then we always play something. It's usually Uno or charades. You've heard how Monopoly turns out for us."

You have to giggle. "I would really like to play Monopoly with you," you admit quietly. "And I would never steal money from the bank either."

Charles exhales. "I'll take your word for that. But Arthur is more cunning than you think. He would steal money from the bank and make it look like it was you. You definitely don't want to play Monopoly with him."

You shrug your shoulders. "Then again, maybe I'm smarter than you give me credit for." You look up at the night sky again. "Maybe I can outsmart Arthur and win."

Your roommate laughs out loud. "Then you'd have to get past me first. And I'm certainly not going to let you win just like that. Not after you said you'd team up with my brother and not stand by me when he pulls his April Fool's pranks."

Offended, you reach behind your head for your pillow to smash it into his face, but Charles is quicker and snatches the pillow out of your hand before you can hit him with it. "You suck, Charlie."

"You love me. Just admit it," he grins and hesitantly gives you your pillow back, risking being exposed to your attack again. 

But you merely wrap your arms around the pillow and hug it to your chest. Even through the feathers inside, you can feel how fast your heart is beating. 

"Of course," you try to play down the swirling feelings inside you and hope that he doesn't notice the trembling in your voice. Or the truth in your words. "I'll still try to beat you at Monopoly. Or Uno. Or charades." Offended, you lie back on your pillow and cross your arms in front of your chest. 

Charles sits up again and refills your shot glasses. He pushes it towards you like a peace offering. "Maybe I'll let you win," he smiles as you look at him. "After all, Christmas is the festival of love and I -" he continues, but is interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. 

You look at him in confusion. You'd love to know how he would have finished the sentence. "You have reception out here?" you ask him as he pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. 

The Monegasque shakes his head and shows you his phone screen. "I had set an alarm clock."

You raise an eyebrow. "For what?" 

He points to the time with his finger. It's midnight and therefore officially Christmas. He looks at you with a grin. "I have a Christmas present for you." 

As he gets up from the sun bed and staggers onto the wood of the deck, you look at him indignantly. "No way," you reply, annoyed. "If I can't give you a present, then you can't give me one either." 

"Calm down, mon ami," he says, swaying slightly from left to right as he circles you. The alcohol seems to have hit him hard too. "I'll be right back." Without another word, he disappears into the interior of the yacht, leaving you on the sun bed. 

Annoyed, you sit up. 

The fact that you're not allowed to give him a present has almost ruined your friendship. Just the memory of his words that he wants nothing from you but your friendship sends a cold shiver down your spine. You would love to tell him that you want more from him than friendship, that you desire him, that you want him for yourself - that you love him - but no amount of money in the world would make you reveal your feelings to him. If he actually knew how you felt about him, you would certainly lose the only good thing in your life. And you wouldn't risk that under any circumstances. 

You run your fingers nervously through your hair. What could he possibly give you? You've never mentioned anything to him that he could possibly buy. And there's no way he'd change his mind in a day and confess his love for you. You'd have to be incredibly naive to believe that. 

It's not his fault that he doesn't feel the same way about you as you do about him. It's not his fault that his words have torn your heart apart. And it's not his fault that he can't take your feelings into consideration if you don't tell him about them. 

You take a deep breath and smile at him as he rejoins you. In his hand, he holds a brown envelope, which he hands to you as he drops back onto the sun bed next to you. When you look at him uncertainly, he nods at you. "Merry Christmas, mon ami."

Hesitantly, you open the envelope and pull out several pages of paper, held together at the top left corner by a paper clip. You immediately recognize your name on the first page, with Charles written underneath. The rest is written in French, which is why you look at your roommate even more confused than before. "What's this?"

Irritated, he takes the pages from your hand and lets his eyes wander over the letters for a moment before he hits his forehead a little too hard with the palm of his hand. "Shit. I thought they'd printed it out in English," he says, handing the papers back to you. I'm really sorry."

You raise an eyebrow. "And what's this?" Your eyes wander over the paper, trying to identify any of the words, until you unsuccessfully put the papers down in front of you. 

"This, mon ami, is an employment contract," he explains with a smile and leans back a little. 

"An employment contract?"

" Mh-hmm." He licks his lips once. "Remember when Joris mentioned that he had a new job?"

You nod. Of course you remember. 

After you'd been to the place where Charles had been with his father in the past, you both went to Joris' and had lunch there. Joris had told you that he was starting a new job and when you had been there to burn Annika's things, he had talked about it too. 

"Well," Charles says hesitantly. "Joris was my personal photographer. And now that he can no longer work for me and accompany me around the world because of his new job, I thought - well - maybe you'd like to be my new photographer. You - um - you don't have a job at the moment and - well - I thought it would be cool if you and I worked together," he babbles in one breath, blood rushing to his cheeks. "You'd travel with me to the Formula 1 races and take photos there, but of course you'd also spend a lot of time with me in private. Which would be a good fit, as you and I live together anyway and the fans loved the photo you took of me at the lookout point. And the one you just took of me turned out great too."

Your breath is stuck in your lungs. 

Charles wants you to work for him? That you photograph him so he can post the pictures on Instagram? That you fly around the world with him? 

You'd love to throw your arms around his neck with joy, but you just grin at him. "Are you serious?" When he nods, you squeal with excitement. "You're really serious, Charlie? You really want me to work for you?"

"Of course," he admits openly and smiles at you. "You and I are best friends. Why would I want to work with someone else when I have the perfect and best photographer literally sitting right in front of me? I'd be pretty stupid to ask anyone else."

Carefully and with shaky hands, you put the documents back in the envelope. "I - thank you. I don't even know what to say."

"Just say yes." He leans a little to the side so that he can push your full shot glass over to you. "You'll travel around the world with me, get paid incredibly well and spend a lot of time with me. I'll cover the travel expenses, of course. All you have to do is take good photos of me."

You look at him in amazement. "I'm getting paid and you're still covering the travel costs?"

Your flatmate laughs out loud. "Of course! What do you think? Whether I give you more salary so you can pay for your flights and everything yourself, or whether I pay you everything, it's the same in the end."

Heat shoots into your face. "Then at least let me give you money for the rent. Now that I have a job again."

He shakes his head vehemently. "Absolutely not. The money is yours, you can do anything you want with it."

"Except pay the rent," you reply and get his pillow thrown in your face. 

"Exactly. Everything except pay the rent," he assures you. "So, what do you say, mon ami? Do you fancy exploring the world with me?"

You nod with a grin. "Definitely." You raise your shot glass. "Thank you, Charlie. That's the best Christmas present I've ever been given."

A blush creeps into his cheeks as he scratches the back of his neck nervously. "Really?"

You nod with a smile. "Definitely. I can't thank you enough for that." 

The thought of being permanently close to Charles scares you as much as it makes you happy. As his best friend, you're looking forward to spending every minute with him, traveling the world and discovering the most beautiful places. And getting paid for it too. 

As the woman who loves him, you're a little worried about what will happen if he meets someone he falls in love with while you're traveling. You don't want to imagine the pain if he gets into a committed relationship with someone and all you can do is stand on the sidelines and watch him be happy. There's no question that he deserves to be happy - but the thought that the person he's falling in love with isn't you makes you feel sick. 

You try to suppress the thought and smile bravely at him. "It's absolutely the best present. Thank you so much, Charlie. No one's ever done anything like this for me before."

There is a loving sparkle in his eyes. "I'd do anything for you." Before he picks up his glass as well, he pulls out his cell phone again and taps on it. "Can I post it like this?" he asks you and holds his phone out to you. His screen shows the picture you just took, with a simple caption. 

You shrug your shoulders. "I think so. But do you think it's a good idea to post something when you've had so much alcohol?" you ask him with a grin. 

"Oh nonsense," he grins at you and taps his phone one last time before activating the keypad lock and putting it back in his pocket. "I only have good ideas when I'm drunk." He reaches for his shot glass and holds it out to you so you can clink glasses. "I'm glad you said yes. I can hardly wait." 

"Me neither," you reply with a smile. 

He takes a deep breath before his eyes search yours. He would love to put the glasses aside, pull you onto his lap and kiss you until you can't breathe, until the sun rises, until the world ends. But that's just the alcohol whispering to him, he thinks. 

He knocks his glass against yours. "Here's to us."

-

liked by pierregasly, carlossainz55 and others tagged: yourusername charles_leclerc: ma mère approuve

[dandylovesturtles]

The separated AU poll (@tmntseparatedaucompetition) featuring my AU "100 Feet and a World Away" along with "New Phone Who Dis" by @callmehere-iwillappear is TOMORROW. We're up against Life Mission: Empyrean Bloodbath so I fully expect us to lose lol BUT I did say last time if we tied with NPWD I'd give us the next part of the "April takes the boys' pictures" saga AND SO! here! is April taking Leo and Mikey's pictures!

Vote for us tomorrow (if you want to)! All of these AUs are absolutely incredible so whoever wins is fully deserving~ Regardless, I will try to finish the saga with Raph's picture + Splinter getting to see them as soon as I have time (though it may take a bit because I have... bitten off a bit more than I can chew lol, and I need to get some other things accomplished).

Anyway enough rambling HERE'S THE FIC:

~~~

"April!" calls Mikey the moment she walks in. He scurries across the plywood bridge from his rock to the edge of the pool and hops off the concrete separating wall, and hurries over, buzzing around her excitedly. "I'm so glad you're back!"

"Well I said I would be, didn't I?" April grins, fishing in her bag for the strawberries she's brought them. She gives two of them to Mikey, and watches as he shoves one in his mouth, smiling as he chews.

There's a splash and when she looks back, Leo is sitting on the containing wall, watching her like a hawk. She wishes she could hug Mikey, but she knows if she tried to so much as touch him, Leo would be on her in a second.

Something to work on, but not today.

"Let's get this over with," he says. "I got the info Donnie wanted."

"That's great! Good job, Leo!" she says. All she gets is a scowl in return, but she tries not to let it get to her. "But before we talk about that, there's something else I want to do." She pulls out her phone and waves it. "I'm gonna take your picture!"

"Whoa, really!?" asks Mikey, clearly excited, but before she can reply, Leo is inserting himself between them.

"No."

April has to take a breath to steady herself; she knows he doesn't want to hurt her, and she knows he's just a kid. But when he moves like that, stands over her and tenses his muscles and looks down over the top of his snout at her, she can sense how easy it would be for him to kill her, and her instincts tell her to run.

But April O'Neil doesn't run.

She exhales and speaks, voice steady. "Leo. I understand why you're concerned-"

"Do you?"

"-but I promise you, I'm not going to do anything bad with them. I just want to show them to your dad."

"Still saying you know our dad, huh?" he says, the suspicion clear.

"I do know your dad, Leo." She takes another deep breath and lets it out slowly. He has every right to be cautious, she reminds herself, even if this is eating into their time tonight. "Look, Donnie already let me take his picture. He trusts me not to do anything with it."

"Yeah, well Donnie-" Leo starts, but then he seems to remember Mikey is there, and drops it mid-sentence. Which is good, because April can handle Leo being a jerk to her, but if he started badmouthing his brother they would be having words. "I just... worry he hasn't thought it through," he fixes it to.

"But Dee's a genius, right?" says Mikey. "I bet he has. He probably has some way to make sure she can't do anything bad with the pictures!"

That's not true, or at least, April is pretty sure that's not true (she did give him the phone, though, so maybe...) but if believing that will help them be comfortable with this she won't correct them.

Leo hesitates again, and she can tell he's struggling with his doubt over Donnie's intentions and his self-held rule of trying to keep Mikey's opinion of his brothers positive. Apparently, the latter wins, because he sighs and folds his arms and says, "Fine. But you're only taking a picture of me."

"Awww, Leo, come on," whines Mikey, but Leo ignores him, staring April down.

April wants to argue, too, but she knows if she pushes, Leo will just refuse to have his own picture taken too, and they won't get anywhere. Furthermore, he has info Donnie needs - if he becomes completely uncooperative then she won't get that either.

Deciding to cut her losses, April sighs and nods. "Deal."

Mikey looks thoroughly unhappy, but Leo seems to untense just slightly at the agreement. "Okay. Let's get it over with, then."

He walks over to the wall where their scale and measuring devices are stationed and raises both of his arms the same way Donnie had. April bites back her second round of nausea tonight and shakes her head.

"Nope, not like that. We're gonna do something more natural."

It's easier in here without the fence to deal with. She considers for a moment, then nods at the pool and says, "Sit on the steps. I'll take your picture there."

"Ugh, fine." He moves to do what she says, flopping on the steps with an annoyed grunt. It's such a teenager thing of him to do that she almost laughs, but she quickly swallows it before he gets more annoyed with her.

"Great! Now... sit however you want to... yeah, that's fine," she says after he pulls up one knee and leans back on his arms. She pulls her phone up with the camera on, adjusts the framing, then says, "Fair warning, it's going to flash." He shrugs. "Now... do you want to smile?"

He thinks a second, and then he smiles - closed lips, no teeth, more of a wry smirk than a full smile. But the way he tilts his head as he does it is so natural.

She takes the photo. Then she gets in closer and takes another. Then she pulls them up to look them over.

Like with Donnie the lighting is dim, but Leo is still plenty visible, and April can't help but smile.

"Dang, Leo... I have to say, the camera loves you."

"Ooo, lemme see!" says Mikey, and April turns the phone so he can look. Immediately his eyes are sparkling as he leans in to see more clearly. "She's right. You look great, Leo!"

Leo is trying to look uninterested, but she sees through him in the way he approaches. She doesn't make him ask, just flips the phone screen his way so he can look, too.

He leans in, and she something appears in Leo's face that she hasn't seen since she's come to visit him. Something soft and vulnerable and wondering - something she's sure he'd never intentionally show her, but something in the photo has brought it out of him anyway.

"That's... me?" he says finally, like he doesn't believe it.

"That's you!" she says cheerfully, even as she's trying not to think about how sad that question is. Come to think of it, there are no mirrors in here, and any reflective surfaces would likely show them a distorted image - this might be the clearest way Leo's had to see himself in years. "Pretty handsome, right?"

Leo's eyes flicker up at her just a moment, then they go back to the picture. "Handsome..." he repeats, reaching up and running his finger over the markings on his face. Mikey is watching him, with an understanding in his eyes that seems way, way too old for a thirteen-year-old, and, not for the first time, April realizes he isn't as naïve as he acts.

Even though her time for the night is dwindling, April doesn't pull the phone back until Leo finally looks away. Almost immediately his expression is back to being as annoyed as ever, but she knows that's just a mask. One day she hopes he can take it off, but for now she lets him keep it.

"You said you took Donnie's picture, too," said Mikey. "Can we see?"

"Of course!" she says, and pulls up Donnie's selfies, picking her favorite to show them. "Here we go; I had to let him take these himself 'cause of the fence."

Mikey looks, his eyes going wide, and Leo comes to join him, something less open and more complicated in his expression.

"Look, Leo, he has the same color eyes as you!" says Mikey, pointing. "And a matching scar!"

Leo's fingertips brush over the scar on his face, but he doesn't comment on it. "We all have the same color eyes, Mikey."

"We do? Oh, oh, and look," he continues, barreling on without waiting for an answer, "he has purple markings on his arms! I think his snout's longer than ours, too."

"Yeah, guess so."

"And what's up with his shell? Why's it look like that?"

"He's a soft shell." Leo frowns. "You didn't remember that?"

Mikey blinks once, twice. "Uh, I think I did, actually. Uh, maybe." He's still staring at the photo, but April can see his eyes starting to get glassy. "I... maybe I knew that, but I never really thought about what it meant? I... I forgot what he looks like."

He sniffs, harsh, and then the tears start rolling. "Oh, baby," says April softly, while Leo just tucks Mikey under his arm.

"I forgot what my own brothers look like," Mikey says, his voice thick and wet. "I forgot... and if I forgot... I'm sorry."

"Nothin' to be sorry for," says April. She reaches out and puts a hand on his arm, glancing at Leo, but he doesn't do anything to stop her this time. Mikey hiccups at the touch but doesn't pull away. "What is it?"

"I just... did they forget what we look like, too?" He glances up at Leo, then sniffs again. "Will they even recognize us?"

April decides this isn't the time to bring up how it'd be hard to confuse them for anyone else, because, while true, it's not really the point. What she goes for instead is a different but still practical answer: she waves the phone at him.

"I'll show them the pictures, okay? So now they'll remember, too." She looks up at Leo again. "That okay with you, Leo?"

He jerks his head as he looks away from Mikey, and she can practically see the gears working while he comes to a decision. Much as April hates making Mikey cry, it seems it's worked in her favor.

Because Leo sighs, and says, "I guess if you're doing that you need to take a picture of Mikey, too."

Mikey's eyes go wide in surprise, before he sniffles loudly and then turns and jumps onto his brother, who holds onto him with a good-natured chuckle. "Thanks, Leo!" he says, his tears still trickling down his face, and Leo just sighs and pats his shell until he eventually stops.

April takes Mikey's picture, and he and Leo ooh and aah over it just as much as they had Leo's. She gets the information she needs, and gives a promise that she'll show the pictures to Donnie and Raph as soon as she can.

Raph... well, she's pretty sure he won't actually know what he's looking at. Honestly, April still isn't even sure if he can see.

But she knows Donnie is going to be ecstatic. She can't wait to show him.

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond!: The Game!

Hey, all! As part of an effort to further potential with my Tumblr project, I have a huge announcement to make for you all. Introducing...

An official game adaptation of Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond!, and boy, will it be a treat to behold, huh?

The game has started development today, and you'll be able to look forward to:

Each of the stories in gameplay form

Over 20 playable characters

Plenty of cutscenes to enjoy

Interactive environments to explore

Epic boss encounters with many rogues from the Sonic multiverse

And so much more!

I really hope you're all looking forward to-!

OMT!Tails: Woah woah woah! Hang on a moment.

Huh?

OMT!Tails walks into frame.

OMT!Tails: The story's barely 6 months old yet, and you're seriously pitching a game for it?

Ah, right. I forgot.

CR!Sonic and CR!Sally show up.

CR!Sonic: You okay, Tails?

OMT!Tails: You guys might want to look at this.

CR!Sally: A video game of all our endeavours? Seriously?

CR!Sonic: Looks like it. How would it even work out, though?

OMT!Tails: I doubt it'd ever see completion, though. I mean, over 6 quests to fill out into gameplay form? That'd take AGES, and it's likely going to risk cancellation partway through the process.

CR!Sonic: Yeah, you got a good point there, kid. I mean, can't people just enjoy the stories as they are? They're not meant to be "played".

OMT!Tails: Yeah, exactly. Especially after what I've been through...

CR!Sally: I get you, Tails...

CR!Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond! is meant to be a story project for free and for fun! Pico doesn't have the time or energy to dedicate part of his life to making a game. I bet those children and hate band-wagoners on Twitter would just jump at any opportunity to hate on it for petty reasons. And that's why they have so much-!

D-Sides Mighty enters.

D-Sides Mighty: What's going on here?

OMT!Tails: Oh! Hey, Mighty.

D-Sides Mighty: A game, huh? Don't people have enough Sonic fan-games to play?

CR!Sonic: That's what I've been trying to get at, bud. I mean, the story here on Tumblr's satisfactory enough.

OMT!Tails: Wait, "Tumblr"?

CR!Sonic: Hmm?

OMT!Tails: I thought it was called "Tumblelogs".

CR!Sonic: It was! Well, used to, anyway. I'm guessing it's still called that in your dimension?

OMT!Tails: Mhm.

D-Sides Mighty: Yeah, we don't need to go for a game of this, considering the Spider-Verse IP is copyrighted.

OMT!Tails: Hmm... Give me just a moment!

OMT!Tails spins around the lower text, tweaking it a bit.

OMT!Tails: There! Better?

CR!Sally: Much better! Well done, Tails!

D-Sides Mighty: Well, that's one situation we can finally close the book on, wouldn't you say?

CR!Sonic: Yep. Come on, Sal. Let's head back now.

CR!Sally: Good idea, Sonic.

The couple headed off.

D-Sides Mighty: Wanna go grab a bite at Burger Monarchy, Tails?

OMT!Tails: Sure thing!

They left too.

Well, that's that, then. You're NOT getting that game. In the end, it was a cleverly-veiled April Fools' gag!

Happy April Fools' Day, folks! You've got all there is so far of the story to enjoy here from the comfort of Tumblr. Plus, I've been generous enough with each post to compile links to every post for this project on a Master Post that you're more than welcome to view on my profile. Well, see you around in the next post!

...

...

...

...

???: It's all the same for your heroic delusions. That is, until you finally meet ME. I already won because I was two steps ahead and found a way to tap into what I desire most. You think a hero of Mobius, let alone a type of Sonic, always has a chance against Dr. Eggman? HA! Don't make me laugh. I ripped that hope to pieces for my Sonic long ago. And soon, with the power of MY Chaos Emeralds, all other universes will follow... Now, you'll all see how big a man I can be. It's time to say goodbye to humanity, heroes...

???: And hello... to the NEW NORM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The reveal of the final main antagonist... coming soon.

[hickorywind]

can we hear the gram parson ghost story? 👀

For sure! I've been lucky enough to stay in Gram's room at the Joshua Tree Inn twice & the first stay was one of the most overwhelming emotional experiences I've had.

As soon as my mom and I got into the room, we felt this very intense warm static rushing up on us that did not go away for at least an hour. I was skeptical of it being anything technically (I personally didn't know if I believed Gram or anything at all was there after having been once before in Emmylou's room); & I took it as more of a "huh. that's interesting" sort of thing. A bit later on, after we'd left to get some water, I was in the room alone stocking the mini fridge & felt the weight of someone's hand pressed on my upper arm, which my mom said she'd also felt upon entering the room. At one point I woke up in the middle of the night to the sensation of someone sitting at the end of the bed & a gentle tapping on my foot. On the last night, as I was sitting on the edge of the bed facing the front door, I felt as if someone had their hand placed on mine in a reassuring gesture, accompanied by the same warm static lingering in front of me. I may have cried, lol.

My mom has told me that I seemed highly affected by something the entire time, which I can't disagree with. The energy of the inn is intoxicating & sedating, time seems utterly slowed there & outside of everything. The best way I can describe (what I believed to be) Gram's presence is that it's a bit like a weighted blanket, a comforting heaviness- with a touch of melancholy.

The morning we were leaving, my mom left her phone recording in the room while we walked around the inn's courtyard taking some pictures. To preface: nobody was in the rooms on either side of us, no one was outside, the windows were closed, no TV was on, the window unit was also off, & we weren't talking. on the recording, you hear us leave & the click of my boots on the pathway fade & then return as I had forgotten some film. As I leave once more, just moments after closing the door, it sounds like someone very faintly says, "Scuse me........ I'm here". The rest of the recording is full of miscellaneous cracks and odd sounds, as if someone were walking around & moving things, in addition to what sounds like intermittent sighing.

If you believe in this sort of thing, I feel it relevant to note that we stayed only a week after the 48th anniversary of his passing. The energy was still there during our second stay (April of 2022) but not nearly as strong. The conclusion I've come to is that whether or not you do think it's Gram, someone is there. Though I did find it reassuring to read entries from his daughter Polly in a guest book, where she writes about feeling him there. If I can get her to find a way to send it to me, I'll be sure to upload the audio here!

[transk0vsky]

Some writing just figure out how I want hypotonic insanity caleon to be :P also Casey is nonbinary and uses any pronouns so I switch between the way I refer to their pronouns in this lol

Leon sat next to Casey on the concrete and sighed softly “….i feel like I just got a Pap smear done” he remarked before wiping some blood from his nose that stupid purple dragon punk almost bashed his nose in. Casey giggles loudly leaning against his golf bag “That good, or bad?” The vigilante teased, Leon shot a glare over at Casey “you ever had a good feelings after a Pap smear?” Casey laughed before pausing “Oh okay. Just makin' sure, I wouldn't know, never been to a gynecologist.” The blacked hair vigilante mumbled softly

“EVERYONE WITH A UTERUS NEEDS TO GET A PAP SMEAR CASEY!” Leon shouted “you need to see a doctor! You…..have you heard of cervix cancer?” Casey snickered waving off Leon’s worries completely “ohhhh Whatevah, I'm fine. I don't need a doctor to tell me that. I think I'd know if there was somethin' wrong down there cause it's my body right?” Leon rubbed his temples in frustration “One of these days you’re gonna get a uti I swear to Christ! Jones your supposed to go to the gyno every year?” “I drink a lot of pineapple juice, so I don't think I'm gonna have a uti anytime soon. That helps right? Or is it oranges? I dunno.” Casey shrugged rubbed the back of their head

Leon blinked in disbelief “I think pineapple juice is something else……” Casey chuckled in response “oh What is it for then wise guy? Enlighten me.” “Fuck if I know” Leon replied back snappily he groaned as his shell cell went off “oh great” Casey raises an eyebrow getting slightly annoyed by Leon’s dismissal of their questions “So what is it? Pineapple helps with something. What is it huh?”

Leon covered Casey’s mouth with his hand “hush! April’s calling” Casey takes a deep breath and tries to hold in her laughter but can't, as she bursts out laughing uncontrollably and begins kicking her feet in the air. Leon rolled his eyes to the high heavens “Jones quit it before I punt you all the way over to Jersey!” Leon hissed in an annoyed tone before April on the other line immediately decided to hang up.

Casey giggles and sticks her tongue out “What what if I doooooon't stop? What are ya gonna' do then?” Casey taunted keeping her tongue stuck out to annoy Leon on purpose though it sorta hurt her tongue piercing at the same time, Leon huffed in frustration “Oh shut the fuck up jones” Leon replied with another roll of his eyes his noses scrunching up in annoyance. Casey grinned at at him in amusement before making finger guns and shooting the finger guns at him. “Oh whatever nicoleeeeeee.” Leon scoffed softly as he leaned in close enough to kiss maybe the kiss would finally happen “ey cool it jones don’t need the whole block hearing you spewing out my middle name!” Casey's heart started to race at the thought of kissing him, as he leaned forward a little bit his lips slightly apart, waiting for Leon to respond and give him that kiss they've been dreaming of for months.

Leon pulled away and got off the ground “see ya around jones I gotta go help don with a science thing” Casey sits there, a bit stunned by his sudden move to get up and leave, her heart beating rapidly and her lips still slightly apart in confusion and disappointment. “...See ya.” Leon looked back and gave a huge smile to Casey “come over to my place for dinner sometime jones I have some killer recipes I know more than just paranormal stuff!” Casey blushes as the words hit her, her heart beating even faster and her heart skipping a beat, giving a nervous smile “..Sure, that'd be... nice.”

[drgnrder82]

TMNT Fanfic Project Alpha Chapter 14

The first refusal was supposed to be a warning, but Stockman never handled his temper well. Carina gritted her teeth and bared the punishment, if only for the sake of glimpsing the open folders on Stockman's make-shift desk. She instantly recognized Chris' identification number associated with his Alpha program medical records. And Tama's, Ryu's, Kyo's, Alice's…

Stockman bit at her when his anger was depleted, "Activation requires a key component that we don't have yet! Figure it out…" Stockman threw a sealed glass container at her. Its gray contents moved… unnaturally, to say the least. When they should dip, it climbed. 

He tossed a file folder, too, but Carina's brain was hazy from pain. 

Aggravated already, Stockman snapped in her face, clucking at her. "You'll never last if you can't even do the simplest tasks." 

Activation. Compound.

Carina's world spun, and she grabbed the table for stability, knocking a few folders to the ground. Another number, another group.

Another group?

The groups in the Alpha Program… each had been forced through different trials. 

"They put too much gas in your room. Imbeciles! How am I supposed to work…" 

The haze made more sense now. Carina had returned to the closet after seeing Saki. A dead man alive and well... at least, more well than a dead man should be. But she didn't quite remember coming to Stockman's lab again. 

She leaned into the feeling. Shoving more papers down. Stockman threw shouts and slurs and more out the doorway. “Take her away! Don’t put so much in next time!” 

Car had enough time to see one more file header, blink a few times and try to commit it to memory before hands grabbed her. 

"Wake her up a bit. Huh?" 

Just grin and bear it…

***

"Anything?" Chris rushed to the door of the sewer 'lair' as soon as he heard the mechanism shift to open. He knew the answer just from watching Don glued to his wall of computers. 

All three pairs of green shoulders slumped. Casey dropped his hockey stick and kicked it across the room into Mike’s skate ramps as April avoided all eye contact. 

“You’d think we’d have found some clue by now,” April sighed. 

"We didn't even know the Foot was still operating until Winter's…" Leo bit his lip. "If they are not actively out scouting materials for whatever their plan is, we may never find them." 

"We're making grandiose assumptions. Like that they are still in New York." Don wandered into the kitchen, straight for the coffee pot. "Checking all outbound air traffic though, no flights seem suspicious, and no unknown occupants headed to Tokyo." 

Chris squeezed his cell phone. He’d certainly had Kyo check all outbound flights for the past two days and already knew that! What he didn’t know was where the hell his sister was!

“I think,” Chris tried to keep a civil tone, “we all are assuming they are still in the city.” 

Read the entire chapter here on AO3.

[writinggremlin]

Shit. Found this only 4 minutes after it was posted. The fortune telling from last week hasn't worn off yet apparently lmfao.

This is likely not going to have much reaction from me this time. Sorry in advance! Joined a couple new discord servers and the sudden influx of socialisation has left me a lil spoonless lmao

(Update: I lied, there's a lot lmfao)

YEAH!!! MORE LILY HYPNOSIS LETS FUCKIN GO!!

Awwww platonic intimacy we love to see it.

Lex asked Oliver's permission before picking him up-- my fucking heart-- I love that!!!

Fair enough, Oliver, there's bound to be some betrayal. That makes sense, it's understandable.

"I will do it this time, or perish trying. I swear it." For realsies this time? You mean it? You're sure it'll work? I see we are far from seeing the last of wet cat Lex lmao

Oliver gets treats!! :D!! He gets a lil treat for his troubles! (And then Lex can also have a lil treat for his struggles too! :D! Yippee!!!)

FITZ!!!! FITZ MENTION!!! OH BOY IVE BEEN PATIENTLY WAITING FOR THAT!!!! WHEN YOU SAID SOON I DIDN'T THINK YOU MEANT THAT SOON!!! WE GET A LIL TREAT FOR OUR SUFFERING TOO YIPPEEEEE!!!!!!! :D!!!

"With everything that had happened lately, Oliver had nearly forgotten about his master's friend, [...]" same Oliver, ngl. I remembered that part of the plot back in April, and have been excitedly awaiting the moment of his arrival ever since. His grand entrance shall be entirely worth the wait, I'm sure djsbsjbsjsba

SCREAMING AT THE THOUGHT OF FITZ DRINKING FROM OLIVER-- THIS POOR GUY JUST MELTING-- HIS MIND BECOMING A MUSHY PUTTY IN FITZ'S HANDS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I NEED IT I CANT FUCKING WAIT FOR THIS!!!!!!

✨Lovers✨ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sorry, I had to. They're cute.

Awwww I can see Fitz occasionally using the connection with Lex, complaining and ranting about how dreadful this voyage is, and how much he hates being on the ocean and how he can't wait to finally be on land again. Maybe even being like "Can we please just kill your sire already so that I never have to put myself through these horrors again?"

Lex and social skills? You're saying that about Mr. "Excruciating horrors of mingling" over here?? lmaoooo

Their banter is cute tho. I love it.

OH DAMN OK WE'RE STRAIGHT INTO THIS-- ALSO DELICIOUS SOUP CONFIRMED LETS GO!!!!

WOAH WOAH WOAH WAIT WHAT-- wait-- is this a guided meditation thing? Is this her helping him undo it?? Is he not actually there and this is just in Oliver's mind? I have a sneaking suspicion.

Yep. It's just in his head. Good. I wonder what's actually happening in reality though. Did Lily hypothesize him to make him believe that she was the Maestro? If so then oof to her for having to relive some of that. Couldn't have felt nice roleplaying as someone who's deeply traumatized you.

YEP THERE WE GO ITS CONFIRMED THAT IT WAS JUST IN HIS HEAD! PHEW!!!

The way my stomach dropped at first tho lmfao

Also I was correct she did make him think that she was the Maestro lookit me go! But yeah that probably sucked for both of them.

AWWWW SHE COMFORT HIM YESSSSS AAAAAA

CAT!!!! CAT!!!! CAT ALERT!!!! AND HER NAME IS LUNA!!! YES OLIVER SCRITCH THE ADORABLE FLOOF YESSSSSS!!!!! NEW FAVORITE CHARACTER UNLOCKED!!! MOVE ASIDE FITZ THERES A NEW STAR OF THIS SHOW!!!!! (/j I love you Fitz you will always be the true star)

"She was done up in the latest fashions," Jessica? "and had a scrawny looking man on a leash" Yep. Jessica.

JSBSJDBSJS LEX IS JUST LIKE "I am in hell :D! Please help me :D!" ...mood.

Oh damn now Oliver gets to witness what he looked like at the start of all of this. Damn. He's come a long way.

OUGH-- HE'S FULLY ON THE VAMPIRE'S SIDE NOW HOLY DAMN-- OUGH-- THATS A REALITY CHECK MOMENT RIGHT THERE-- DAMN!!!!

It gives the vibes of Quinn at the end of Corporate Retreat. I love that.

"[...] the sky filled with a thousand brilliant stars." Ugh. Lucky. Why'd I have to be born in the era of light pollution, huh? That's not fair.

AWWWW THEY GET A WALK!!!

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! THEY'RE SO ADORABLE FUCK--

OH I AM SO EXCITED FOR NEXT WEEK THAT SOUNDS SPECTACULAR!!! Sounds like there might be some ✨shenanigans✨

FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FOTZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FIZT FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FUTZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FIGZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FUTZ FITZ FIGZ FITZ ZFIT ZFITZ FITZ FUTZ FITZ FITZ FITZ FITZ F--

The Rare Bookseller Part 55: Lily's Illusion

Previous > Masterlist

tw: blindness, conditioning, hypnosis, body control, abuse, aftermath of hand whump

October 1925

Oliver's sleep was troubled, filled with nightmares where he couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't do anything to make his body obey him. Alexander's sire was shoving him below the waves, drowning him while he was helpless. Alexander was being tied up and tortured, and there was nothing Oliver could do for his master but watch, and --

He woke up in a cold sweat, heart pounding too fast. It was pitch black, and despite being wide awake and terrified, he couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't see where he was, couldn't remember, and cold hands came out of nowhere to grip him tight. In a panic, he screamed, kicking his assailant and struggling out of his grasp, thick blankets impeding his escape.

"Oliver!" said a familiar voice. "Oliver, it's only me. You're safe."

His master. That's where he was -- in his master's bedchambers, in his master's arms. He took a deep breath, trying to expel the fear from his body. He was safe, even though he still couldn't open his eyes.

Alexander gently pulled him in closer, and Oliver accepted it, relaxing back onto the bed. "Sorry, sir."

"No need to apologize. I understand completely. My sleep has also been uneasy, although much improved by your presence," he said. "Are you still blinded?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then we should head to Lily's as soon as you're ready," he said. "Although I suppose I'll have to help you dress and wash."

Oliver's face flushed. "Ah, I'm sure I can manage, sir…"

"Manage with your eyes closed? I won't have you falling down the stairs and harming yourself," he said with a tone that brooked no argument. "I'm going to pick you up now, all right?"

And Oliver felt himself being lifted by unnaturally strong arms, floating through the air with only his master as his tether to the world. Alexander seemed to sense his distress, as he hummed a tune under his breath as they walked, one that made Oliver's tense muscles relax. Despite that, the sensation of going down the stairs was still disconcerting.

"If you drop me off at the door to the bathroom, sir, I can take care of my business," said Oliver, hoping to retain some dignity.

"Very well, but I'm going to tend to your wounds afterwards. I need to make sure they're clean."

Oliver thankfully knew the layout of the bathroom well enough to find the toilet and sink, embarrassed at needing so much aid from his master and already quite tired of groping around in the dark. When he was finished, Alexander entered, removing his shirt to look at his back.

"It's terribly bruised, but the few cuts are shallow," Alexander murmured, applying some cool salve. "…You must think I'm a terrible coward for accepting my sire's command to strike you, rather than standing up to him."

"I don't, sir," he said, and it was almost true. "If you had tried, I don't doubt it would have been worse for both of us." He did know that, but in his heart, he wished that his master had protected him.

"There's only one way I can truly protect you," said Alexander, as though he had read Oliver's mind. "I need to kill him. It's easier said than done, of course, but… I will do it this time, or perish trying. I swear it."

Oliver didn't have to wonder what would happen to him in the entirely possible event that his master did perish trying. He'd no doubt end up in the hands of Alexander's sire, perhaps permanently, and the thought almost made him want to plead with Alexander not to try.

Instead, he shoved that unpleasant thought from his mind as best he could. "Will Miss Lily really be able to undo my punishment, sir?"

"I'm sure she will. Her mastery when it comes to controlling the human mind is unparalleled," he said. "And for enduring these latest hardships, I'll also make sure the pantry and icebox are well-stocked with whatever foods you favor. Anything you need."

"I appreciate it, sir."

"And the night after next, my dear friend Fitz arrives from overseas."

With everything that had happened lately, Oliver had nearly forgotten about his master's friend, and he was gripped by a wave of dread at the thought of another visiting vampire. "Is there anything I should know, sir, to better serve your friend?" he said, trying to feel out the situation.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. Just be your usual self, and I'm sure he'll just adore you. He's been after me to get a decent thrall for ages, you know," said Alexander. "Just be patient with him, give us space when we ask for it, and -- oh, I'm sure he'll want to drink from you."

The place where the Maestro had dug his fangs into Oliver's neck throbbed with pain. "He will, sir?" said Oliver reluctantly.

"It won't be painful!" his master reassured him quickly. "Fitz is nothing like my sire. His feeding will be as gentle as mine. He won't harm you, I swear it."

"I'm glad of that, sir," said Oliver, who still couldn't quite calm his anxiety.

"It probably won't surprise you to learn that my sire is the reason Fitz fled this city and resides overseas," said Alexander. "When my sire is finally dusted, he'll return to me. He'll come live in the manor with his thrall, and we'll be together at last."

Oliver had never heard his master sound so wistful. "He must be very important to you, sir."

"I suppose you would figure out sooner or later that we're old lovers. Fitz certainly won't make a secret of it."

"Lovers?" He was sure he was unable to hide the surprise on his face. "I didn't realize you had any lovers, sir."

"I confess that it's often a painful subject for me. Less so when I know he's on a boat heading over the Atlantic at this very moment. We share a bond, you see, and I can tell by how miserable he is -- he's always been especially prone to seasickness," said Alexander fondly. "But as much as I'd like to spend the evening pining fruitlessly, we really should get to Lily's as early as we can, lest she head out for the night before we can consult her. I'll guide you to the bedroom and help you put on the clothes I've chosen for you."

Oliver let himself be guided without a fuss, still loathing the fact that he was so helpless that he wasn't even able to choose his own clothes. If Miss Lily couldn't help him, if he had to resign himself to weeks of blindness and lose even more of his remaining autonomy to his master, unable to even indulge in the simple joy of reading, he wasn't sure he could endure it.

Soon enough, they were stepping out into the chill fall evening, Alexander keeping a firm arm around Oliver to guide him through the streets. It was distressing to be able to hear other pedestrians on the sidewalk, to feel the uneven stones under his feet, without being able to open his eyes and see anything. He was entirely reliant on his master to navigate the familiar city, and if Alexander let go, Oliver would be immediately lost and helpless. Thankfully, he clung to Oliver tightly.

"We're here," said Alexander. "There are four steps in front of you - let me help you up them."

Oliver heard a loud knocking, then footsteps and a door creaking open.

"Oh, Lex!" said a familiar voice. "I thought you were my 9pm appointment arriving early. And what on earth happened to your hand?"

"Our sire's handiwork, of course. Are you taking customers today?" asked Alexander. "I hope you have some time to help us. It's a bit of an emergency."

"Come in, come in," said Lily, and Oliver felt himself being gently nudged forward into a very warm room. "You know very well I'll make the time, but I'd rather get started right away. I assume our sire has done something to Oliver?"

Alexander's hands rested on Oliver's shoulders. "He commanded Oliver to keep his eyes closed and now he can't open them. My poor thrall is quite blind."

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "That's a surprisingly mild punishment from him, though. He must have approved of Oliver."

"Oliver comported himself magnificently. The very picture of an ideal thrall," said Alexander, and Oliver's heart felt warm from the praise. "Another reason why he deserves to have his sight restored as soon as possible."

"Let me see." Oliver felt soft hands touch his face. "Oliver, dear, what did he tell you as he was forcing your eyes to close? The exact phrasing, if you can."

Oliver's memories felt muddled and hazy from fear and enthrallment, but he could remember that. "He told me he was placing lead weights on my eyes, sir, that they're too heavy for me to lift, and that he is the only one who can move them."

"All right. I believe I can work with that. Come with me. Lex, you stay out here, and if my 9pm arrives, try to keep her occupied with your sparkling wit and impeccable social skills."

"You can't be serious about that."

"Leaving your manor and socializing sometimes is good for you," she said, as she touched a hand to Oliver's back and pushed him along.

Oliver heard a door close behind him.

"Can you sit down, dear?"

She took his hand and placed it on the seat of a chair, and Oliver sat, sinking into the soft leather. He realized that the chair was awfully familiar -- the twin of the chair in Miss Lily's room at the auction house. The association caused his mind to fog and he couldn't keep from letting out a yawn, already three quarters of the way to trance.

"You remember, don't you?" said Lily, as she ran fingers through his hair and down his cheek. "So obedient, so docile. So sleepy. And so very, very quiet."

Oliver was utterly helpless against the tide of hypnosis gripping his mind. His head lolled backwards as he let out a soft groan. With his eyes already closed tight, it felt natural for sleep to wash over him.

"Quiet, Oliver, you're so quiet. You're sinking back down under my power now. You're completely safe with me. Safe for you to fall asleep, fall deep asleep. You're so drowsy, aren't you? A quiet, docile boy like you just wants to sleep and listen…"

She kept murmuring to him, but Oliver was already out like a light, quiet and sleepy and dreaming. After the terror of the previous night, it was so good to sleep so soundly, comfortable and content. Oliver felt like he could float in this pleasant dream forever.

That is, until he heard footsteps. Footsteps which did not belong to Lily or his master. Footsteps that were oddly light and perfectly in rhythm.

No, it couldn't be. That was impossible. There was no way that he was here --

But he could feel it already, the hold over his body, the feeling that his flesh and bones no longer belonged to him. He wasn't being manipulated, not yet, but he could sense it all around. He was here and in control, and Oliver could barely think through the numbing terror that gripped him.

"Wake up," said the musical voice of Alexander's sire, followed by a crisp snap. "I don't recall allowing you to sleep."

"I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean to fall asleep." Oliver felt himself forced out of the chair and into a kneel, his back ramrod straight and his sweating hands clasped behind him. He couldn't budge an inch, and although he still couldn't open his eyes, he could feel that icy gaze boring into him.

"I don't understand why you think that disobedience out of poor self control is better than disobedience on purpose. Disobedience is disobedience."

"Yes, sir," said Oliver, trembling, waiting for a slap across his still tender cheek.

"I suppose, though, if you're to have any use as a servant, you'll need to have your eyes open, lest I have to puppet your wretched form everywhere," he said. "I will remove the weights on your eyes, and you will be appropriately grateful, and then you will serve me however I please."

Oliver swallowed nervously, dreading what the Maestro had in store for him. "Thank you very much for allowing me to serve you, sir."

"I will lift the heavy weight off each of your eyelids," he said, and Oliver felt something brush over his eyes, "and then you will graciously be allowed to open them on your own."

Despite being so eager to be cured earlier, Oliver was reluctant to open his eyes now, not wanting to face Alexander's sire once again, not understanding how he came to be here. But he had no choice. He opened his eyes…

…and there was Miss Lily standing before him.

He looked around in a panic. The Maestro was nowhere to be found, a phantom conjured by his own imagination and Miss Lily's mesmerism. "You…"

"He was the only one who could remove the command. I had to make your mind believe that I was him," she said. "I'm sorry for giving you such a fright, but it was the easiest way to undo what was done."

Oliver's heart was still pounding, unable to calm. "Yes, sir… thank you…"

"Poor dear, you're trembling like a leaf. Let me soothe you before sending you back to your master," she said. "Quiet now, Oliver. Quiet your frightened mind. You're safe here. It's only me."

"It's only you, sir…" said Oliver, sinking back into a merciful daze.

"That's right, and I take such good care of you, don't I?" she said with a smile. "You can relax now. Deep breaths, Oliver dear, deep breaths. Let all that tension out. Let that fear fade away. Let your mind be so, so quiet."

Oliver followed her instructions, taking deep breaths, and soon he did feel calmer, the terror of the hypnotic illusion fading. It was only a dream, one which could fade away into the obedient quiet of his enthralled mind.

"Lex is always singing your praises when he talks to me, you know," said Lily. "You're an absolute natural at serving a vampire, just as I knew you would be. Doesn't it make you feel good to serve Lex?"

It was both question and command, reinforcing his conditioning, and Oliver fell into it easily. "I very much enjoy serving Lex, sir."

"Of course you do, sweet boy. You've been so brave, and you deserve to feel good." She patted Oliver on the head one last time. "Now, if you're feeling better, why don't I return you to your master?"

"Yes, sir," said Oliver, feeling like a weight had been lifted from more than his eyes.

They left the stark conditioning room and stepped out into Miss Lily's home, which was done up very differently from Alexander's, filled with bright colors, fussy details, and homespun knick-knacks. A fat black cat ran up to Miss Lily and began winding around her ankles, and she scooped it up and gave it a kiss on the head. "This is Luna," she said. "Her brother Sunny is probably off on Miriam's lap."

"Hello, Luna," said Oliver, giving her a scritch.

As they walked down the hallway, Oliver could hear a steady stream of excited patter. "…and then I told him, is that really an appropriate place to take a lady on a date? And you know what he said? He said, well, they hardly ever hold horse racing at night, so I thought you'd like to see it. And I said, I can't see a blessed thing even with a vampire's eyesight. And then --"

They entered the parlor, where Alexander was sitting on a frilly gingham couch and nodding politely to everything a young woman was saying. She was done up in the latest fashions, and had a scrawny-looking man on a leash, kneeling at her feet. He looked at Oliver with fear in his eyes, pleading, as though there were anything Oliver could do.

"Ah, you had an appointment for 9pm, I believe?" said Miss Lily to the woman. "I appreciate your patience. I had an emergency job, but I'm free to take your thrall to the conditioning room now."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all!" she chirped. "I've been having a lovely time with Lord Alexander here." She stood up and handed the man's leash over to Miss Lily. "Just a thorough reconditioning for obedience and contentment, please. The place I bought him from did such an awful job -- you can see how distressed he is, and you should see the faces he pulls when it's time to feed. He's already escaped twice and I had to waste so much time tracking him."

"Of course, it's my pleasure," she said.

"No…" The thrall was backing away from Miss Lily, practically choking himself with his own leash. "No, please…"

Miss Lily knelt down and pet his head like one would a dog. "It's all right, dear, you'll see. Why don't you just relax? Just relax. Calm and peaceful, okay? I'm not gong to hurt you. Everything's going to be okay."

Oliver watched in fascination as the fear bled away from the thrall's expression, his eyes fixed on Miss Lily's and becoming glassy and dazed. He couldn't help but wonder if he wore a similar expression when he was under Miss Lily's spell.

"That's a good dear. So relaxed and at ease," she cooed. "You're going to feel so much better after you've had a session with me, I promise."

The thrall glanced up at Oliver, as if looking for some kind of confirmation. Oliver remembered how terrified he was the first time he had gone in for conditioning. "She's right," he said with a smile. "It's not scary at all, it's just like having a really good sleep, and you'll feel great afterwards."

"See?" said Miss Lily. "There's nothing to be scared of." She turned to Lex. "Sorry I can't stay around and chat, but I should get started on this session."

"Of course. We'll take our leave, and call on you another night," he said. "Oh, and Lily, before I go -- are you free on Friday night? Fitz will be in town, and I was hoping we could all go to the Tiger's Eye."

"Ooh, I wouldn't miss it," she said. She stood and ruffled Oliver's hair. "You'll be a good boy for our dear friend Fitz, won't you?"

"Yes, Miss Lily."

"Then I'll see you two soon enough, I'm sure. Have a good evening!"

"Are you feeling better?" Alexander asked as they stepped back out into the cool night air. "You're certainly looking much better."

"Yes, much better, sir. Thank you very much for taking me to Miss Lily," Oliver said. Now that he could see once again, he could see that the night was clear, the sky filled with a thousand brilliant stars. "Do you think we could go for a walk before returning home, sir? I could use the fresh air."

"I think that's a splendid idea," said Alexander, wrapping his arm around Oliver's once more.

Oliver saw the thick wad of bandages wrapped around his master's hand, and quite against his will he remembered the sickening smell of burnt flesh in the air. "Sir, your hand…"

"I've told you before that it will heal, but I appreciate your concern for me," said his master with a warm smile. "Your health and company is all the balm I need to soothe my pains tonight."

Thanks to Miss Lily, he was so obedient, so eager to please. "I'm glad that I can be helpful to you, sir."

"Always, Oliver. Don't doubt it for a minute."

Previous > Masterlist

I always enjoy writing Lily! Next week, the beginning of a three-parter involving a masquerade ball and Fitz's very impulsive decisions.

@d-cs @latenightcupsofcoffee @thecyrulik @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @wanderinggoblin

@whumpyourdamnpears @only-shadows-dwell-where-we-are @pressedpenn @pigeonwhumps @amusedmuralist

@xx-adam-xx @ivycloak @irregular-book @whumpsoda @mj-or-say10 @pokemaniacgemini

@sowhumpshaped @whumpsday @morning-star-whump @silly-scroimblo-skrunkl

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs @pirefyrelight @theauthorintraining @whump-me-all-night-long @anonfromcanada

@typewrittenfangs @tessellated-sunl1ght @cleverinsidejoke @abirbable @ichorousambrosia

@a-formless-entity @gobbo-king @writinggremlin @the-agency-archives @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi

@enigmawriteswhump @foresttheblep @bottlecapreader @whump-on-a-string @whumpinthepot

@cinnamoncandycanes @avvail-whumps @tauntedoctopuses @secret-vampkissers-soiree @whatamidoingherehelpme

@strawbearydreams @ghost-whump @tippytappytyping @natthebatt @fire-bugg14

@fuckcapitalismasshole

[just-an-anon-reader]

Hugs, Gifts and PIZZA

Summary: Donnie hasn’t seen you for two weeks. He needs your hugs. Bad. But little does he know about the surprise in store for him 

P.S. Hello again! Thank you all for the love on my first story! They really inspired me to continue writing! So here’s another Rise!Donnie x GN!Reader. I hope you enjoy. (≧∇≦）

He held his phone with trembling fingers as excitement coursed through his veins. It was the weekend, finally. And he was gonna ask you out, again. It’s been almost two weeks since you’ve done something remotely romantic. Especially with you running off with your best friend, April O’Neil, every chance you got recently. And after two weeks of no hangouts or hugs from you, Donatello had a date plan. And it was going to be perfect, his calculations said so. All that was left was for you to say yes. So, with a shaky finger, he dialed up your number.

Ring...ring...ring...

“Hey, Dee!”

The sweet sound of your voice was enough to warm his cold-blooded body. He really did miss you. But of course, he’d have to die first before admitting that to anyone, especially Leo.

“Salutations my darling dearest, as it is soon to be the weekend, would you happen to be free tomorrow?”

“Oh Dee, I’m so sorry. I already got plans with April this weekend.”

To say that Donnie wasn’t disappointed would be a lie. But he couldn’t just tell you that! He can't just say that he was in desperate need of your hugs! He had a bad boy image to maintain.

“Oh! I...I see. Some other time then.” “Definitely! Oh, April’s here. I gotta go. Love ya Dee!”

With that, the call ended. He slumped down and sighed in defeat. Were you avoiding him? Or was April just much more fun to be with? Sure he was known to go on a tangent when it came to his tech, but you didn’t seem to mind. You even said it was part of his charm once.

“Oof what’s with the long face? I’m guessing it was a no, huh?”

Donnie could only nod his head in reply as Mikey squatted down next to him. Sensing his older brother’s distress, Mikey switched to Doctor Feelings.

“Awh Donnie it’s alright. I’m sure they’re just busy. Trust me, the moment they’re free they’ll come rushing into your arms.”

The purple-clad turtle gave his brother a look.  The “really?” look. Mikey could only manage an awkward chortle to Donnie’s reaction to his failed attempt at comforting him. There was only one thing, other than you, that could stop his brother from moping.

“Come on Donnie, let's go watch Leo fail at a 14/40.”

“That does sound tempting."

With a sigh and a grunt, Donnie and Mikey made their way toward the living room to challenge Leo to do a 14/40. Just to watch him land on his face with a bowl of popcorn at their side.

Somewhere in New York...

“April! It's done!!”

The pigtailed brunette came bounding towards you and skidded to a halt as her eyes landed on the glimmering item in front of you. She grinned. Almost maniacally.

“You’ve done it! It’s beautiful...It’s time to put the plan in action.”

“Agreed...”

A few days later...

Donnie, after a thirty-eight-hour tech binge and a three-hour nap, stepped into the lair’s living room to find it void of his dummy-dumb brothers. Suspicious. Even more so when he found his father’s glutei maximi not parked on its usual spot in front of the projector. This is most suspect indeed.

“I haven’t had my morning dose of caffeine. So whatever prank this may be better be AFTER I get my cup in.”

His voice echoed through the empty lair as it bounced against its walls. With a huff, he groggily made his way to the kitchen. Which, definitely was not suspicious, was caked in pitch blackness. Donnie groaned. Was a peaceful caffeinated morning too hard to ask for? Feeling around the darkness with hands outstretched, he felt the switch and flicked it on.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONNIE!”

That girlish scream you heard? It wasn’t from Donnie, no of course not. Must’ve been Leo.

“Hey, Dee! Happy birthday!”

Your present wrapped in purple paper with a cute violet ribbon in hand, you smiled and lifted your arms towards him. Silently asking for a hug. You’re lucky he loves you. And that he DESPERATELY needed your hugs.  

“Come on, bring it in.”

Giddily, you wrap your arms around him. Cheek against his plastron as you give him a gentle squeeze which he reciprocates.

“Ugh come on! Don’t get mushy-wushy in front of the pizza!”

Leo grumbled, making choking sounds as if to make a point.

“Don’t mind the lovebirds fellas cuz it’s gift-giving time!”

Mikey was the first to give his. From somewhere behind him, he pulls a well-made wooden bust sculpture of Donnie. The likeness to its life model was uncanny. Second was Raph, with his Jupiter Jim plush toy. The newest bunk buddy. Next was April, with a new library card from her school. The premium kind. Then Splinter. Though he didn’t exactly have a gift. He just patted Donnie on the head. But man was this purple-clad turtle ECSTATIC. Last but not the least, was you.

“So...mine might not be as great as theirs, but I hope you like it.”

Pulling out the purple box from behind you, you gently place it in his hands. Carefully untying the bow, the box opens to reveal a beautiful, handmade purple satin jacket. On the back, embroidered in cursive were the words “Othello Von Ryan” along with his trademark.

“Did you make this?”

“I’m sorry for missing out on date nights. I had to ask April with the sewing.”

Only then did he notice the band-aids that littered your hands. There were too many for his liking. With a frown, Donnie slips on his new jacket and takes both your hands. Softly, he pressed a kiss on each palm. You giggled. A blush rising from the base of your neck to the tips of your ears.

“Ugh! Stop being a simp already!!”

“Scoff! I am NOT a simp. Also...why are you suspiciously nice today?”

“Hey! I’m always nice. And besides, call it, my birthday gift. From one twin to another.”

How suspect. Noticing you fidgeting from the corner of his eye, he gave you the look. The “I know you know something” look.

“So...you know how since you’re twins you both have to share birthdays? And how you get pranked every year? So I sorta...” “You didn’t” “I did” “What did it cost?” ... “Hegetstoeatasliceoutofyourshareofthepizzaforayear” ... “HE GETS WHAT?!!!! YOU SAID YES TO THAT??” “I love you?”

[yanderes-galore]

May I request a TMNT 2012!Raph with the reader's actual boyfriend (still dating before Raph took her) helping her make an escape attempt? Like they surprisingly get far enough to go up to the surface and hot wire a car but completely forgot about the Shellraiser so it kinda turns into a high speed chase in the middle of the night. When the chase is over, they're in deep shit. Especially the boyfriend. But if you can't do it because of the other requests before mine, it's alright ^^ Please take care, sweetheart! <3

He's the most aggressive of the turtles too 😰 Aged up, as usual!

Highway To Hell

Yandere! 2012! Raphael Short

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Kidnapping, Forced relationship, Breaking and entering, Implied murder, Jealousy, Possessive behavior.

"Go faster!" You cry to your boyfriend, looking out the back window. The large vehicle barrels towards you both at an insane speed. You needed to be careful.

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

How you got into this mess was a long story. A story showing how jealousy can ruin lives. How your life was stolen away by just one mutant.

Before you and your boyfriend got together, you were friends with a mutant turtle named Raphael. You had been saved by him and his brothers and managed to stay in contact. From what you knew of, you were close friends.

You visited often, heading into the lair to hang out with the mutants and their other two human friends, April and Casey.

Over time you then heard rumors amongst the brothers that Raphael had feelings for you. You could not reciprocate due to your own feelings but you found it cute. You never expected someone like him to be head over heels for someone.

You never fully accepted Raphael's advances. You just... weren't into him. Especially when your now boyfriend confessed to you.

Dating your boyfriend felt like heaven to you. While for Raphael, it felt like hell. He was heartbroken and enraged.

You thought Raphael could take the rejection well with help from his brothers and master. Sure, he'd be moody but you knew his heart and mind would be in the right place.

You were quickly proven wrong late at night with your window shattering.

"Just who does he think he is, huh!? Taking you away from me when clearly we'd be the better pair!"

His rage scared you. The mutant was strong and had lost it. You couldn't even talk him out of it when he pushed you against a wall so hard you blacked out.

When you woke up you were in a dark room. Restraints held you still, you only felt one presence in the room...

"Good to know you're awake. Now, let's talk about last night, alright?"

Your life was hell after that.

Silently, every night, you pleaded your boyfriend would help you. Raphael was delusional to the point of forcing you to love him. No one was happy in this situation....

You could only endure the forced affection and belittling for so long. He loved you yet hated you. You both had betrayed each other, that's why you were in the situation you were in.

Soon, you managed to find a beacon of hope. Just before your mind left you, you saw him.

Your savior... your angel... your boyfriend.

The one you truly loved.

"I've been looking everywhere for you... come on."

It didn't matter what you two had to do to escape. You were up for anything. Theft, violence, it didn't matter as you felt you endured worse.

Now here you were, in a stolen and hotwired car, fleeing for your life. Your boyfriend drove quickly through the dimly lit roads of New York. Trying his best to outrun the Shellraiser....

There was no doubt Raphael was in there.

"If we slow down even a little bit we may be crushed-"

A hook from the hulking vehicle behind you then shoots into the car. You scream as the shellraiser stops, pulling in your car slowly. Both you and your boyfriend panic before opening the doors and exiting.

"Let's go-"

"I knew I'd find you...."

You turn, fear on your face when you saw a furious Raph glaring at both of you. This was it, he could easily outrun you if you ran. You were caught... again.

"Now, (Y/N), get in the Shellraiser while I take care of HIM."

He gestures to your boyfriend.

"No...!"

"Then you'd like to watch?"

Raphael grins, eyes unhinged when he pulls out his sais. You know he was taught never to kill people... but with that look in his eyes-

You already knew what would happen next.

"Stay still and maybe I'll go easy on you...."

[cartoonist-ks]

Upcoming TMNT Series Trailer

Ratings: Mature 17+

Warnings: Swearing, Violence, Death

-------------------------------------------------------

It was a calm night in New York City. But that didn't mean the turtles were off the job yet. They were called into the police station by Chief Vincent on a very important mission.

Chief Vincent: "Turtles. Glad you guys can make it."

Leo: "How's it going, Chief? We came as soon as we could. So, what's the mission?"

Chief Vincent: "First, I would like for you guys to meet someone."

A man with tan skin, dark brown hair, and wore the usual police outfit. The turtles stared at the man all skeptical. The guy stared at the back with an annoyed look.

Chief Vincent: "Gabe Sanders. He's new to the NYPD."

...

Chief Vincent: "We've recently gotten some new information on a case that took place 15 years ago. An explosion that happened in a laboratory. It was called, Mutation Detection."

Donnie: "I've read about that place. It was the most extraordinary laboratory discovering all types of mutation within living things."

Chief Vincent: "There is one person who fits the description. Lucas Miller."

...

In the middle of the night, a young teenage girl with black skin, her hair in a ponytail, wearing a loose-neck gray sweater, navy-colored jeans, and black and white shoes was on her way home from school with her bag on her back.

Thug: "Hey there, missy. Where ya headed?"

Teenage Girl: "Look, sir. I want nothing to do with you. I'll just be on my way."

Thug: "Huh, and what's a young girl like you gonna do about it?"

Teenage Girl: "I'm not, but she will."

The thug stopped and turned around to see a person with a peach-colored hood, navy-colored shorts folded at the ends, black stockings, and black sneakers with peach-colored lacings, and peach-colored ankle braces with buckles around them. He couldn't see her face because of the hood's shadowing it out. He didn't even have enough time to do anything as he was punched straight in the face by the hooded person.

Hooded Person: "And that's how you school a bad guy!"

...

The teenage girl finally arrived at her apartment safely. Once she enters through the door, she is met with an overwhelmed Lucas Miller, who wore a gray short sleeve shirt, black sweatpants, and white socks. He quickly got up from the couch and rushed over to his daughter hugging her.

Lucas: "Josephine! I was worried sick! Where have you been?! Where's Julia?"

The hooded person then comes into the living room through the window, shutting it behind her. The hooded person then removes her hood, revealing her to be a mutant turtle.

...

April was now dressed in a lab coat, glasses, and a red wig walked through the laboratory trying to find Lucas.

April: (whispers) "I see him. It's go time."

Donnie: (earpiece) "Follow him around. Gain whatever piece of information you can."

April: (whispers) "I'm on it."

...

Josephine: "You're only 15. When are you gonna start acting like one?"

Josephine sits on the bed facing Julia.

Josephine: "Well, you can't stay a kid forever, you know. Eventually, you're gonna have to grow up. Dad isn't always gonna be around to take care of you."

Julia: "That's not true. He's always been there for me and you. And he always will be. I know he will."

...

Julia runs across rooftops, jumping from one to the other in a hurry. She prayed that her father was alright. She started thinking of excuses that why he wasn't home or answering his phone. pulled out her phone to check the tracker. She looked at where the red dot was at. On top of a building icon that read 'Police Station'.

Julia: "What's he doing at the police station?"

Julia finally made her way on top of the police station roof. She then spots a vent on the ground. Due to her small nature as a mutant turtle, she was able to make her way into the vent shutting the lid above her. Julia turns another corner where the vent leads to a dead-end. And in that dead-end was an opening. She looked through the bars of the vent seal. And to her surprise, she could see her father tied to a chair.

Julia: (whispers) Dad!"

She jumps out of the vent, landing on the ground with a front flip. This action caused her hood to come off revealing to everyone in the room what she was. Before anyone could say anything else, Julia pulls out her weapon that was attached to her shell casing. It extends to its full form. A halberd, an ax with a long shaft, pasting her height just two feet. The blade was large and the bottom of it was shaped like a hook.

Gabe then pulls out his gun ready to fire. Julia immediately caught this and sticks her hand out.

Julia: "Wait!"

It went off.

Julia: "DAD! NO!"

...

Shredder: "Since my last plan of world domination didn't work, I came up with a new one. Something big. Something that can finally put an end to those turtles.

A man named Ryan, who had black hair, tanned skin, came into Julia's room now wearing a blue button-up shirt, tugged into black pants, and white shoes.

Ryan: "Lately, there have been some people going missing."

People that looked a little buff, light blue veins could be seen popping from their skins, they twitched. One of them spotted the turtles and began to roar at them alerting the others. They all then ran over towards the turtles with vicious hunger in their eyes.

Leo: "Something is going on and this might have something to do with Shredder."

...

Julia spun around and pointed her knife at the person, but grew surprised when she saw who it was. A young timid girl with auburn colored short curly hair just above the shoulders, a purple short-sleeved shirt with a white long-sleeved shirt under it. She wore light blue shorts and light brown boots with purple socks sticking out of them, wearing a blue duffle coat.

Julia: "Naomi?"

...

Collision DISCONTINUED!!!

(Leave your opinions in the comments on what you expect to happen!)

@turtle-babe83

[chosenkeepersworld]

The Curses We Inherit: Chapter 2

Original Work

Word count: 1,646 words

Date Posted: April 14, 2021 (Tumblr)

A/N: Unbeta-ed work but I hope whoever reads this will like it and let me know what you think. Critique is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

MASTERLIST / PART 1

When Danika was still a child, her grandmother had stayed with them. Every night Grandmother would tell the old family tale without fail, the story of a prince, a healer and a curse that was said to follow their family for decades.

And like any little girl, Danika became enamored with the story. She memorized each detail, could tell the tale in her sleep and it had become something that bonded the two.

And it got Danika through when her grandmother died.

It was the same story that brought Danika to where she was now.

“Nika? Hello?”

Where she was now happened to be Sean’s truck. The three of them were on their way to Sean’s mother’s place. Danika jerked out of her thoughts and saw Sean looking at her from the rearview mirror with an eyebrow raised.

Dazed, the girl only responded “Huh?”

Sean chuckled “I asked how Connor was”

“Oh! Busy with business as usual”

“Of course, nothing new there I suppose” he said “How about Foe? You and him must had have been together a lot”

The mention of their cousin’s name made her sit straighter. Foalan was her uncle’s only son, they spent much of their childhood together along with Connor. His family had moved to the states for his mother’s medical treatments but was made to live with his relatives again when his mother’s condition worsened. She hadn’t seen him since.

“I haven’t seen him since he came back to Ireland actually” Danika admitted

The older pair exchanged a look, it was obvious they didn’t know otherwise Sean wouldn’t have said anything about it.

“I’m sorry, Nika. I’ll try calling him-”

She cut him off “He’s an adult, Sean. He can do what he wants”

They drove on in silence and all Danika could do was stare out the window to the greenery, her fingernails digging into her palm.

The truck started to slow down some time late. Danika straightened as her aunt's home came into view (description of house). The door opened just as Sean eased into the driveway. Danika’s Aunt Aileen stood outside the threshold, grinning as the car parked. Danika would often see her aunt and often felt as if she were looking in a mirror.

They had similar strawberry blonde hair although the younger woman could see the grays starting at the other woman's temple, she and her aunt were close in height even though the younger blonde was just a few inches shorter and her aunt had a healthier, happier look on her.

The only noticeable difference was their eyes. Her aunt's reminded her of the lush greenery of the countryside, inviting and vibrant.

Sean was greeting his mother as Danika came closer, Aunt Aileen kissed her son's cheek with a loud smack.

"Mam!" He groused, rubbing the spot.

"Don't start with me boy, you'll not be winning it" she huffed at him then turned to the younger woman, smiling so brightly That Danika couldn't help but smile back.

Once Danika reached her, Aileen cupped the young woman's face, gently stroking her cheeks taking in her features.

There was something about the way those hands touched her, the gentleness of it and the look those bright green eyes gave that caused Danika' chest to tighten with some unfamiliar emotion that brought tears to Danika's gray ones.

Aunt Aileen's hand slid down to the young woman's shoulder and pulled her close before fully wrapping her arms around the girl's shoulders. Danika stiffened but slowly relaxed, lifting her arms to return the hug.

The older woman pulled back, intently going over her niece's features once again before wrapping one arm around the younger woman's shoulders and leading her into the house.

For the first time in what felt like forever Danika could say she was genuinely happy as she sat at the table eating lunch with her family. A small smile played on her lips as she listened to her cousin’s tirade about work. Aunt Aileen had bid the youngest to sit and relax while her aunt and cousin-in-law brought the food out, Danika swallowed thickly as they set down a number of Irish dishes, Sean had claimed that she needed to experience traditional cuisine since Danika had little experience about her heritage but that was something that her father had failed to teach his children about.

Her aunt’s face was passive when they talked about her brother but her aunt said nothing more on the subject and continued on. However Danika could see it in the older woman’s eyes, the sorrow and regret that darkened the brightness in it.

She continued to eat her lunch in silence.

The topic then shifted to another family member causing Danika to focus away from the food on her plate.

"The tool can't take the time to see his own family? What type of gobshite is that?”

Sean’s mother gave him a pointed look.

“Sorry, Mam” he responded sheepishly

“Faolan has his own reasons for doing things. I’m not saying that everything he does is ok but he’s a big boy and free to make his own choices.”

Sean insisted “But Mam-”

She silenced him with a look and he relented but not without one last retort that caused his cousin to stiffen “Just as much nonsense as the family curse”

Night fell much soon than Danika had realized, she half of her time sleeping and the other half roaming the house. It had surprised her that there weren’t as many rooms in the house despite the size. The house she grew up in always felt too big, and each room was always too far, too empty and silent to indicate a family lived there. Ever since her childhood she could remember the long walks down the hall to see her father before she went to bed but he never glanced at her when he had work to do, she would check up on Connor as well but she eventually stopped. In many ways the house assisted their separation.

However, under her aunt’s roof she could the doors that lead to the other rooms without difficulty and it settled her in a way she was unfamiliar with but was not unwelcome. Dinner had allowed Danika and Aunt Aileen to bond better, mostly discussing her aunt, who had been busy planting new flowers around the property but Danika had little motivation to talk about herself or her brother giving rather vague answers but not lies, she knew her brother well enough to know his routine.

But not beyond that.

She was settling in early, Aunt Aileen had invited her when her phone chimed, Danika blindly grabbed for the phone on the nightstand then squinted as she looked at the message.

“Come home, please”

Danika shot up, intently reading the message again with wide gray eyes. What was her brother up to now? The young woman sighed, she couldn’t, not when she’s made progress.

“No. I’m sorry”

His response was quick and made her stomach uneasy

@original-writing

“Have it your way”

********

Sources for my photos:

Rumman Anim (House shot)- Unsplash

Cristine Gottardi (Window shot) - Unsplash

Canva

********

[captainjimothycarter]

How about that AU where single parents Steggy meet because their kids meet each other in Pre-school and seem to recognize each other, and you get Steggy dismantling some horrible institution realizing their adopted from overseas toddlers were twins intentionally split up for 'reasons' and obviously you just gotta live together now man, twins can't be split again, guess we're together. Cause Maximoffs in New York, and Steve vs the hellion that is 4 year old Pietro.

 Something tells me that if I apologize for this being long, no one will complain, but anyway: I’m sorry for what I’m about to do and how I butcher this. OP, I love these prompts so much.

--

“You’re serious?”

Steve is fully aware that he doesn’t even know Peggy and he’s never seen her look more serious. She’s staring at him over the rim of her steaming coffee mug with an expression that says, you’re an idiot. Laid before them are a few folders, binders, and files, the contents spread out. This marked their life together.

The start of their life together.

It was late at night, Wanda was asleep with Pietro, curled up in his bed. The kid insisted she slept in the same bed and wouldn’t be told no and fuck, Steve couldn’t tell Wanda no. Not when she made that cute, little face that knew she’d get whatever she wanted. Besides, they couldn’t tear them apart again. They were toddlers who barely understood the situation. It’s not like the adults were doing much better.

Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, Steve let out a loud sigh and tensed. He waited to hear Wanda’s whimpers or Pietro’s groans, but none came. His eyes fell to the stranger before him, wondering how did they miss each other.

“You do understand that this isn’t our fault?” Peggy asks him in a soft tone as if she’s trying to convince herself. She lays her hand on his wrist, the pad of her thumb rubbing over the inside of Steve’s wrist. “We had no way of knowing. None. Even though background checks, I didn’t find anything that said this.”

“Doesn’t mean I feel any less guilty here.” He downed the rest of his coffee like it was a shot and made a face at the coffee grounds sliding down his throat. Ugh. That’s what he gets for a shitty coffee maker. “We didn’t do this but now we have the consequences. How do we repair…four years of that?!”

“Steven.” The way she said his name made him frown at her. He looked like one more surprise news away from a breakdown. Poor guy. He really has been working himself to the ground. “I adopted Pietro when he was three months old. You adopted Wanda when she was two. They were separated for whatever goddamn reason. We both took the kids to give them a better life. How the hell we wounded up meeting is-is fate, is all it is. It’s fate.”

“Reverse Parent Trap.” He muttered under his breath and Peggy snorted, looking utterly embarrassed that she snorted. He deserved that slap to his shoulder. It was odd, how close they felt and barely knew one another. All he knew that she was from England, she now lived in America, and she adopted the twin brother of his daughter. “So what do we do now? We can’t keep them away from one another, that’s fucking torture! We’re lucky they remembered each other. Or had some weird twin connection, hell if I know.”

The man was clearly frustrated and Peggy wanted to soothe him, but she had to keep her head on here. She looked back at the paperwork. The second they’d realized something was odd when she picked up Pietro from pre-K, Steve had rushed home to go get every document he ever had of Wanda and brought it back to her place.

The twins had to have some connection, didn’t they? They recognized one another, had some draw to it. When Steve saw them together, she gasped out loud because they looked so similar and not in the manner little kids do when they’re young. It took a DNA swab test designed by Stark Industries to work in under an hour to confirm their suspicions.

Explaining that the kids were not so much easier. There were endless questions and Wanda’s assumptions they split them up before Peggy had to prove that no they didn’t. It was the people in the hospital. Then Pietro’s declaration that all hospital people were bad and Steve tried to gently explain no they weren’t because sometimes bad, bad mistakes happen. So far, that’s all they could do was chuck this up to mistakes. They weren’t exactly sure. Besides, his ma was a nurse and she wasn’t bad.

“What do we do now?” Peggy mused, taking their coffee mugs and setting them in the sink. She started to clean the table with Steve’s help, carefully organizing everything together. She stared at the photo of Wanda on Steve’s shoulders in front of some museum, then of hers with Pietro on a goddamn child leash because he loved to try to run off. “I think you know. We can be civil about it.”

“Or…” Steve stood up and gently took the binder from her arms. There was a glint in his eyes as he took her hands and gently pressed a few kisses along her fingertips. It’s the boldest he’s been since he arrived at her apartment. “We don’t go about it civil. The first thing you did when you saw me was check out my ass.” Peggy’s ears turning pink told Steve he was right. “We can go about this the right way or…our way.”

If Peggy had anything to say, Steve didn’t hear it. Her lips were on his, his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

--

“So when is their birthday?” Howard asked, frowning as he watched the toddlers play with the water guns in the kid’s play area of Stark Industries.

Steve hated this. It felt like an interrogation room with the mirrored glass. They weren’t criminals. They were kids. Confused kids. “We don’t know,” he replied, turning to look at Peggy where she was bending over to study some flight plans charted on the table. That was Peggy, alright, newly appointed aviator of Stark Industries, Steve’s girlfriend [God that made him giddy], and an old-fashion soul. She loved computers but loved everything else handheld and on paper, so the charts were easier. “Pegs? Peggy.”

Peggy jumped and turned around, her cheeks flushed. “Sorry. I was double checking my courses. I swear, I didn’t lose that shipment,” she mumbled, still hung up on the situation. “Anyway, yes? What is it?”

“Birthday, Pegs,” Howard rolled his eyes and slid in the rolling chair to the table she was at. He rolled up the chart much to her pouting. “When are their birthdays? If you want me to get their paperwork right and set up properly, I need to know.”

Steve wasn’t sure if he liked Howard Stark. The man was eccentric, a ball of energy. He didn’t know when to sit still and bounced from one side of the room to the next. He was balls to the wall when hyped up about something. But he was Peggy’s friend and boss, so he set his opinions aside to focus on the matter at hand. They couldn’t trust many people with this information, Peggy had asked Howard to design the twins paperwork to reflect that they were twins and family and Steve and Peggy both were their parents.

“We’re unsure. Steve’s paperwork for Wanda says April 19th. Mine says September 12th.” She pursed her lips in thought, her eyes on Steve. A silent conversation passed through them, leaving Howard confused. Her head just ever so slightly nodded. “October 1st.”

If Howard had a complaint, he said nothing. Or at least Steve didn’t hear him because at that point Pietro had cornered Wanda with the water gun. Howard turned back to Peggy with a fond smile. “The guy must really like you. He’s quiet. Thoughtful.” She rolled her eyes at him, causing the genius to smirk. “And no, you didn’t lose the shipment. It was stolen. I got guys working on it.”

“Peggy!” Steve’s voice betrayed the emergency of the situation, causing Peggy to abandon Howard and run straight to the playroom.

She gasped at the sight of Steve held in the air, a screaming Wanda in his arms, surrounded by red energy. The second she got close, Steve fell to the floor on his backside but held a terrified Wanda tightly to him.

“We have a situation,” he groaned to her.

As if their already situation wasn’t tricky enough.

--

So that’s it.

Steve was married to the wonderful Peggy Carter, aviator for Stark Industries. He was a stay at home father with a pair of twins. Twins separated shortly after their birth and now reunited. Twins with powers. Confusing powers that not even they understood.

Their relationship had changed in a matter of weeks. With the secrecy of everything that happened, they agreed it was best to get married ASAP. Bucky wasn’t too happy about them skipping a wedding and getting to embarrass Steve with a speech but even he agreed.

So that was it then, huh?

Not quite.

Wanda’s powers were difficult to understand and anytime Steve thought he could understand how she manipulated things or levitated them, or controlled minds, he was reminded he barely had control of the situation.

Pietro was almost just as worse with his speed.

They were kids, toddlers at that. Confusing toddlers were bad enough, but toddlers with superpowers? Now that was just a daily headache. They couldn’t control them. Once Pietro sneezed and jolted back all the way through the house and into his bed. He just thought it was fun and showed his mama as soon as she got home.

So what were they supposed to do? The only thing they could.

Move to a bigger home in the countryside. Steve took up being a comic artist, but more focused on stay at homework. Peggy continued her job at Stark Industries because part of her didn’t trust Stark. He knew about the powers but they worried through every test and blood sample that he might betray them. Now that Howard seemed to be that guy but Peggy couldn’t take her chances.

Thankfully Howard’s contacts had come through and they found a teacher, someone named Xavier who could help with the twin's powers. The only problem was, the guy was somewhere overseas and it would be after the new year before he could come to assess the problems. For now, Steve would send him daily updates and Xavier had started to couch Steve through working the twins through some testing or obstacle or stuff.

Their improvement showed and the father couldn’t have been more proud.

All Steve could say was, yes this situation was certainly an odd one. He never thought he’d adopt a child, much less a better half of a twin, a powered twin at that. Never did he thought he’d be with someone the likes of Peggy. A beautiful woman that took no shit and had no problem dishing it back out or putting Steve in his place when he needed it.

He never thought he’d have a successful career as a comic artist or even be a stay at home dad, but here he was.

Here he was in a loving, beautiful home that was chaotic at the best times, with two loving kids who just always wanted a family to belong to. And really, Steve and Peggy had done their both to give it to them.

Life was chaotic but it was good.

It was their life.

One Peggy and Steve had decided they’d carve it out together.

[purplerose244]

Thinking journal for season 12 Prime Empire 😎😎😎 (2/2)

Here we go with the next part! I really hope we get some major big plot twist at some point, because it's all really cool but I need something to really change from good to GREAT

For now, let's focus on the next episodes!

It's the 17th of April and here we go!

GENERAL

I feel like there's little time to really pull up something, I don't know. Like, what plot twist could happen now that there just half season left with only Unagami/Dyer's identity and maybe Scott's past as mysteries? There's little space for more plotlines, that's what I think

Overall fighting scenes, character designs and game backgrounds are AWESOME!!

Let's see how it goes, maybe I'll be surprised. Wouldn't be weird for Ninjago to pull a bomb last episode 😅

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

ZANE AND PIXAL FINALLY!!! IT'S DETECTIVE TIME!!! 😎

Okay, so there is a photo, and there is a friend. As I thought, Dyer might not be Unagami at all, I feel like there's a lot of backstory coming along. I wonder if Scott has a part in this... WHERE IS SCOTT 💙

Ah, of course Kai would spend his credits on an avatar, I should've known, my flame babe can be such a dummie sometimes I mean why would you even do such a thing as buying an avat-

NEVER MIND I LOVE IT 😍😍🔥🔥 I thought him being blonde was going to bother me, I actually kinda like the change. Still prefer my baby brunette, but it's really cool as well. The best of this season are definitely the characters designs

Was that "let's fight an ogre mission" a hint for next season? I wouldn't be weird, but it's been a while since I've seen forshadowing for new season in this show

HECK YEAH THE DANCING EPISODE!!! I was waiting for this, Jaya is so cute while they are on the dancefloor 😍 They have chemistry 😘😘😘

I like the implication that Nya was really bad at dancing before Jay, like Kai covering his eyes because he cannot handle her sister not being perfect at something 😛

And Cole being the dance expert, that little tango moment with Kai I bet made many lavashippers super happy 🖤❤🖤❤

THE TRIPLE TIGER SASHAY ALL THE WAY FROM SEASON 1-2 ABSOLUTELY YES YES YES!!! AND HE DIDN'T ROAR, HE STRAIGHT UP SAID "NO ONE PUTS COLE IN A CORNER" I'M DYING!!! With this and Nya's 'catch me', I expect so many Dirty Dancing AUs from this 😂👌

JAYA BEING AWESOME HECK YEAH ❤💙❤💙

JUST LOOK AT THEM!!! Nya better say I love you back soon, like Kai and Skylor are a little behind, Zane and Pixal already said it, Jay can't stop doing it, come on girl it's your turn! 😎😎

RACER SEVEN

SCOTT IS BACK YES!!! 😍😍😍💙💙💙

Okay, I think my theory won't happen 😅 Feels like there are not enough episodes for a good reveal, and it doesn't seem like Scott is that influenced by Jay. My last idea is that perhaps he has spent so much time in the game like Jay said (POOR BABY 😭) that he doesn't remember. Maybe the moment he will come back, we will find out that it is Jay's brother/twin, I mean he still has those dragon and lightnings drawing on his back... yeah I like this theory a lot, gonna hold on to it!

So Scott is indeed a person trapped in a game, at least that's confirmed 👍

Also he's got some major issues, the poor thing, and I think there is some special reason behind him not wanting to race besides having just one life.

HERE IT COMES

OH MY GARMADON 😂😂😂 Okay, okay, it's actually better than I expected really. The scarf is cool, and so are the golden tattoos, the suit and the golden sleeve. It's just the mohawk that will take time to get used to, it's not even bad, just weird 🤷‍♀️

Racer Seven is so cool! Always nice seeing a new female character in this show that is not a love interest. I do love Nya, Pix and Sky to death, but I love variety too 💪

Really, really nice the piece of all Racer Seven's crashes! Impactful and sad, a never ending loop that she wants to break through from. That's the heavy stuff I like!

Okay, ready for the race! And I'm... scared? Like, a lot of they guys have one life?? KAI HAS ONE LIFE?? 😱😱 I hope for the best I guess 😅

THE SPEEDWAY FIVE-BILLION

Might be my favorite episode yet

Seven is SO COOL, it's another reason why I'm sad these episodes are so short! I really would had liked see her more, truly have her bond with the guys

Soooo... I guess since Scott's been in the game for 30 years it's safe to assume he's not Jay's brother/twin. To be fair it's really hard to tell a LEGO person's age😅 At this point I guess he could be either Dyer's friend, even if it sounds unlikely, or... idk, still think he could have a connection with Jay. Maybe he's like... an older brother? Libber had him a long while ago?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! WHY DID SCOTT HAVE TO DIEEEEEEEE??? 😭😭😭 Just when he was getting more involved, come on! He even said he wanted to try that hero stuff, I love him! WE WILL SAVE YOU MY TECH BABY!!!

Cole getting a ride from Kai, this season has some pretty good lava material ❤🖤❤🖤

I've got some major Ninjaball Run vibes from this, that brings me back 😂 Even the no rules thing is there, come on, there has to be a little bit of inspiration from it!

Still don't know what I think of the rats, kinda seems useless and annoying, gonna be honest. But it's a nice race, exciting with nothing big happenin-

Kai and Cole sacrifice for Jay

I KNOW I THOUGHT ABOUT IT BEFORE BUT I'M NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!! MY FLAME BABE AND MY ROCKY BABY!!! 😭😭😭😭 WHY PEOPLE KEEP DYING IN THIS EPISODE???

I so, so enjoyed how they did it. Like, one look between them to realize that yes, this is it, Jay is the expert and needs to go on. This is the end of our race... AAAHHH!! (Infinite shipping potential too)

Omg Nya screaming her brother's name and Jay his best friend's name, while Lloyd looks so devastated (those masks are actually kinda espressive, I really like them). Wow. This is the angst I needed, finally👌

YES SEVEN WON!!! HECK YEAH GIRL!!! SO HAPPY FOR HER!!! Also Okino in the background being happy, nice touch!

And now they are three... it's gonna end up with only Jay huh. I... I'm not ready actually, my heart 😢 They better all hug when this is all over!!!

STOP, DROP AND SIDE ROLL

I CAN SEE THEY ARE KEEPING THE FEELS FOR LAST APPARENTLY??? 😭

The music of the old school section was actually very nice, reminds me of the past, I kinda hoped The Fold were going to release some game themed songs. Been a while since I have one of those 😍

Lol, explaining the side scroll games was actually pretty cool

YES THEY ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE AIRJITSU!! Maybe they will remember they can used it, right Cole? The ladder scene? YOU CAN FLY???

OMG NYA ACTUALLY SAID CICLON-DO JUST HOW CUTE IS THAT!!! All the way from my favorite season Possession, Jay's definition of airjitzu that I actually still kept in one of my fanfictions 😂

Okay the design of the temple of madness is REALLY cool, you can immediately tell it's from an old videogame. Gives me the double vibe the googles for the first 3D movies used to give me 😂

Also look at this

THIS IS ADORABLE!! 💙💚💦 Really old style videogame 😂

And there we go!! Harumi!! Since I saw her in the set I was wondering what she was going to be, maybe an avatar or an NPC of some sort... THIS HURTS WAY MORE!!! And of course pure heart BABY boy Lloyd doesn't feel good fighting her, he had a crush on her! AND HE FREAKING SAW HER DIE!!! It's really sad that he still hopes for her to be good...

The fighting scenes are really, REALLY good! So fluid and active! This fight was really pleasant to watch, not gonna lie 💜

NOOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT MY GREEN BABY BOY!!!! I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN BUT STIIIIIIL!!! 😭😭😭

Okay, down to three members. Remaining Zaptrap and water godess... omg Nya will totally die first and at that point Jay will go completely nuts. I'm both scared and DYING TO HAPPEN!!! ANGST FINALLY!!! THIS IS THE STUFF!!

Got some major Skybound feeling, like when it was only Jay and Nya... will Nya finally say I love you back?? I HOPE SO ❤💙❤💙

With the three keytana now, what will happen? I'm actually curious now, this is the exciting stuff I need! And yes I do realize it's a little weird that for getting hype I need my faves to die 😅

NINJAGO CONFIDENTIAL

OMG THEY ACTUALLY DID A DETECTIVE THEMED EPISODE BLACK AND WHITE I'M DYING 😂😂😂

The Weekend Whip with sax, never thought I needed this in my life 😍

Bet Brent had a blast recording this

Okay this is the third Chima reference I see, they better throw some Nexo Knights hits as well next season! Come on, it's about freaking knights!!!

This is not what I expected when they said there was going to be an episode with only Zane and Pixal but I'm sure as HECK not complaining 👌

Oh, seeing Pixal joining in so normally is so beautiful, I really wish we could have her even more often

Dareth's karaoke bar! From Sons of Garmaron! Also him guessing first try because the ninja really do get post in other dimensions very often 😂 Gotta love them indeed

Pff Zane narrating and getting stopped every time because of it, how I missed this naive little nindroid

So the bartender Tony is the friend? That's it? A little easy really, hoped for more... still calling him Milty is cute 💕

Buddy's Pizza from season 2!!! This season is killing me with references and I LOVE IT SO MUCH 💜💜💜

So, the mechanic is free again (the Kryptarium dudes should really learn how to do their job right 😓), Zane is kidnapped, and Pixal has a fedora that makes her possibly even cuter. I have emotions

AH!! KNEW IT!! UNAGAMI IS NOT DYER!! FREAKING CALLED IT!!... kinda expected really, but still called it 😅

So Unagami was the first name of Prime Empire and is also an AI that got crazy and was shut down, but now is back after programming the game itself and wants to get to the real world?... I'm down with it

So I'm guessing we won't get much of a Scott backstory... Eh, let's see how it goes!

THE PRODIGAL FATHER

I was seriously confused by why those dudes wanted to kidnapped Wu, but it made sense later. Still come on sensei, you're a freaking half god or something, pull yourself together 🤦‍♀️

Very nice that Pixal is the one to bring up the argument about feelings and AI. So very nice to have her in this!!!

I THOUGHT ZANE WAS GOING TO TAKE A BREAK FROM LAST SEASON, WHY ARE THEY MAKING HIM SUFFER AGAIN??? 😭

Oh finally the backstory of Unagami I'm really curious about what happened in the past and what exactly brought the shut down of Prime Emp-

I LITERALLY CARE ABOUT NOTHING ELSE BUT THIS BEAUTIFUL GAMER BOY IN REAL LIFE!!! 😍😍😍😍😍

So Scott was the first beta tester, Milton asked Unagami to make the experience as exciting as possible, and that ended very badly so the game was shut down and THEY LEFT HIM INSIDE FULLY KNOWING HE WAS THERE??? I HATE DYER NOW!!!

Although it is really interesting knowing a tech genius like him, until now we got Dr. Julien and Cyrus Borg that were plenty open about the idea of AI with feelings as meaningful as humans'. While he doesn't get that, they are only machines for him and that's the reason why he doesn't understand how much Unagami is mad and filled with need for revenge.

This is why I want more than 11 minutes, the themes of this season are really, REALLY cool. I would have loved more introspection and development.

I guess Scott being Jay's brother is officially debunked 😅 Although I am curious about the life he left behind, since he was stuck in that game for 30 years. He still has those lightnings on the jacket I don't understand...

DON'T YOU DARE LET ZANE BE DESTROYED AGAIN PLEASE I STILL CRY WATCHING "THE TITANIUM NINJA"!!! 😢😢😢😢😢😢

The portal is open, Zane might get destroyed, Unagami wants revenge, Jay and Nya are the only one left and I'm pretty sure Nya will be killed as well leaving only Bluebell so there's THAT. So yeah, this is actually pretty cool!

Two episodes left. Okay Ninjago season 12 Prime Empire, wow me 😎

THE TEMPLE OF MADNESS

This felt a little simple if I'm gonna be honest. I felt like the last mission before facing Unagami was a little basic, with nothing really exciting. Still liked it, but this is probably my least favorite episode 🤷‍♀️

Of course, put Jay is a sushi restaurant-themed level and he will kill you with puns 😂 I love this prankster

Again, the fighting scenes are dope. Definitely one of my favorite things since they changed the animation. You lose something you win something 😙

Wooo, Jay saying that he had trained for years just for kick his butt was actually cool! Bluebell is unleashing!

"And that's how we roll!". You rock we roll, am I right 😂

AH!!! CALLED IT!!! TOTALLY CALLED IT!!! MY POOR BABY BLUEBELL 😭😭

I wish Nya said that she loves Jay back though! Freaking come on girl, he is your yang!!! ❤💙❤💙

Unagami is not Dyer, he wants to get to the real world, I'm actually kinda curious about the confrontation that is about to happen... ALSO THERE BETTER BE LOTS OF HUGS WHEN THIS IS OVER

I... genuinely forgot about the dragon medallion 😅 Eh, I love dragons so I'm fine with it. Well, let's see how it ends!!!

GAME OVER

Wow, I actually love this ending?? A LOT?? After last episode I didn't have much hope, but after seeing it I gotta say, it was really great 👌👌

Thanks for not dying on us again Zane, much appreciated

Jay taking charge is quite rare and when it happens you know things are about to get crazy 😂 It was really nice seeing how sensible he could be, telling that Unagami wasn't evil after all, that he needed closure and answers

I know I miss the animation peak we reached with SoG and Hunted, but I gotta say the atmosphere of the city with the lightnings and the gray sky was really awesome. Very cool.

Pff, that part with the elevator though, reminds me of the one in season 1 that made me start watch Ninjago ✌ Also it's always Borg's Tower indeed 😂

OKINO KICKING BUTTS HECK YEAH LOOK AT OUR RONIN GO!!!

And wow. WOW. I didn't expect Jay to drop the I'm adopted bomb on us, I think I never heard him talk about it since Skybound (that technically never happened so 😅). It was SO good seeing him sympathize with Unagami because he was also left with no explaination. His desire to know, along with the hope that the past is the past, but they had a good reason for. Also he freaking said he didn't have the chance to ask because Cliff is dead and I 😭😭😭😭

And here I melted, because we finally see the situation for what truly is, the way Jay also sees it: Unagami is a kid, a child that doesn't understand how the world works, that just wants to make his father proud but got rejected instead. The confrontation was actually touching, I really wish we had more time for that. Even a little resistance from Unagami, another fight, and a finally reconcilliation with Dyer.

MY NINJA BABIES ARE BACK I MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! ❤💚💙🖤💦💎

Could you seriously be cuter than this?? ❤💙❤💙 I wished for more hugs but I'll settle for this I guess 😍

Okay, very nice to see Seven and Okino out there and deciding to live their lives in Ninjago, nice to see some others like the rats going back to Prime Empire. As Unagami said, he gave them a choice, it's up to them at this point

But I'm sorry, WHY ARE WE NOT GOING TO TALK WITH SCOTT??? That guy's been trapped inside the game the longest, not even a "Hey bud, you're alive, cool cool"? I know I've been overbearing about how much I love Scott, especially since I had all those theories about him (still don't know why he has lightnings on his jacket and hat, is it just a style thing? Idk), but come on! Well I guess if he's happy I am 🤷‍♀️

Is that his girlfriend or something? After 30 years? Or maybe she got trapped with him a while later? Or maybe that's his... mom? Look, we all know determine the age of LEGO characters is hard, give me a break please 😅😅

Overall, very nice ending, it brought everything together quite nicely. I'm satisfied, yes!! 💜💜

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I said, the episodes' lenght I really think gets in the way of making this an excellent season. There is so much that could be explored more, the choice matter, all the amazing characters, and the AI feelings stuff from the latest episodes. There is room for more, I wished we got that

The characters though were really amazing. Between Scott, Okino, Seven and Unagami himself, there were very different personalities with very different dreams and thoughts, that made this ride much more interesting

Fighting animation was 👌👌👌

Comebacks from past seasons were 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

Maybe it didn't really focused on Jay as much until the end? Yeah it was about him, but we got to see his sensibility and his past only last episode. He loves Nya, he likes videogames, of course but there's more about him than meets the eye! Wished we saw that, but in general it was nice seeing him first line again 💙

I liked this season. It has flaws, but I enjoyed many parts and at the end I was left satisfied 👍

Just... wasn't Jillian supposed to be in this? Or is it next season? She said a mom was going to come back, I took for granted it was going to be Edna. I'm curious about next season now... FINALLY A COLE SEASON EVERYONE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

Thank you for leaving notes to my last rant, this helps me not jump excitedly every time a new episode comes out 😅 Well then, that's all from me!! Have a nice day everyone!! 💜💜💜

[fortheloveofkuroo]

Open sky [pt. 2]

A/n: i'm so happy that the first part of "Open sky"'s are getting a lot of good response! Thank you you all! Here's the second part, enjoy!

Bakugou Katsuki × F!Reader

!!WARNING!!: Swearing & Fighting

Part 1

---

A gentle ray of sunshine slowly fill your room. Making it cozy and warm.

You stretched your arms and sit yourself up. Trying to wake yourself up, you slap your cheek with both of your palms.

"Wake up (Y/N). Today's important day!" you said to yourself while you move away from your comfy lavender bed.

Even your eyes are still half closed but you force yourself to get up.

Making your way slowly to the bathroom.

Soon after the cold refreshing water hits your bare skin, your eyes are completely open.

You walk out and grab some clothes that you already pick last night.

Your eyes move towards the hanging calender, today's date, April 23rd is circled with a red marker.

There's a little words scribbled there.

"Date with Bakugou!"

You flash a smile, your mind wander around from 3 days ago.

---

You rush towards 1-A class with a present in your hand.

Today is 20th April. It's a special day. Why?

"YOO HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROO!" before you knock on the door, you heard a shout followed with claps and whistle.

"Happy birthday kacchan! Here's a present for you!"

"Damnit shitty hair. No need to fuckin scream like that. Also you damn nerd, tch why the fuck do you even bother?"

A smile grew on your lips "Ah.. So his classmate remember, glad to hear that." you think inside your mind.

You pull your hand to yourself. You're not really good with new people and new environment, so you decided to wait or maybe you should leave and wait for the right time to give the present you prepared weeks ago.

"Wait! Let me get something! Bakugou and the rest wait here while we-" before you leave the doors suddenly open wide and two boys, one with blonde hair and the other with red spiky hair find you infront of the door with a present in your hand.

"Um.. Who are you?" the blonde boy tilt his head, his face filled with confusion while the spiky red boy smile widely.

"She must be Bakubro's friend! Look she got a present!" he point a box that wrapped with bright orange wrapping paper decorated with an army green ribbon.

"Ooh~ Hey! Bakugou! Someone's here for you!" shout the blonde boy.

Bakugou, who's now surrounded with his classmates can't hear a thing. But his sharp ruby eyes notices someone over the door.

"Anyway, we both need to get something. Just come in!" said the spiky red haired boy opening the door for you.

"A-Ah.. Thanks?" you answered, looking at those two silly boys who's running trough the corridor till they completely gone.

Looking at the class room, you hesitately look inside and.. Bakugou is gone.

"Wait what.." you scanned the entire class room once again, looking for a ash blonde guy with an angry face

"Looking for me, dumbass?" a voice behind you making you jump. You turn your head immediately and sigh.

"Don't surprise me like that stupid. And no i am not looking for you." he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms on his chest.

"So, why are you here then? And what's that box behind your back? Is it for me?" he asked while smirking.

You sighed then smile wryly. "Of course you fool. Happy birthday." you said with a wide grin. Handing over the present to him

"I prepared this for a week, kay? You better keep it." you warned before Bakugou hand accept it.

"Yeah yeah whatever, what did you get me anyways?" he take the present and shake it.

"Just open it!"

unexpectedly, instead of opening the present, he shoved the present back to your hand.

"I can't accept this." his voice is calm and collected. But it strikes your chest

"W-What? Why?" he got you confused and curious. Again.

"Why? I don't know. I just can't. Well i can accept your gift with one condition." Bakugou's shoulder shrug.

"What?! I prepared this for a week! You better accept it you stupid! Or-" your hand grab his collar, but before you can bring him close, his hand is already on your waist and it brings you closer to him.

"Or what? You gonna punch me again like last time? I don't think so dumbass." he smirked. His lips is right beside your ear.

"Meet me at the park infront of school's building at 12. Bring your present too." he whispered. Blowing hot air to your right ear.

"Whooo~ Look's who's finally get laid~" a voice surprises both of you. You pushed his body away and you can feel your cheeks heating up.

"Shut the fuck up dunce face. I'm gonna fucking kill you!" snap Bakugou.

You're too late to respond, your face is too red to react to the blonde boy's words

"Also don't be late or i'll kill you." he muttered while walking inside the class.

"Is this.. A date?"

---

You quickly put on your shoes and snatch your bag. Quickly running outside.

You check the time. 11:39. You still got time. Bakugou is the kind of guy who appreciate time and he's always come 15 minutes early on any occasion. So you have to be on time.

As expected, you saw Bakugou, already waiting on the park. It's rather strange finding him without his unform but with casual clothes this time. You never saw him with casual clothes.

He wear his usual black t-shirt combined with maroon varsity and ripped jeans. His eyes is attached to his phone.

"Nice outfit." you compliment. You walk a little closer to him and smiled.

"Took you long enough." he put away his phone and stands up.

"Bakugou, it's not even 12 yet." Bakugou only rolled his eyes and walks away.

"Hey wait up!" you chased after him, trying to walk beside him and keep your face steady. This boy sure walk fast.

"Come on, i don't have a whole damn day." he said while checking on his phone again.

"Where are we going anyway?" you asked. But Bakugou just keep walking, not answering.

"You'll see dumbass. So shut your fuckin mouth and walk faster." his legs quickly walk faster and you immediately left behind.

"H-Hey! Geez, why are we running now?!" you shout to him, trying to chase this ash blonde boy who's now already far away.

Eventually, you catch up with him. Bakugou stopped at a building with a lot of people around.

"...A restaurant?" you asked him.

He pointed a poster that shows some kind of event.

"Come and get free limited edition All Might Plushies by finishing the Deadly Spice Curry Challenge!

Just by eating 3 big portion of our famous special deadly spice curry in 30 minutes!

If you managed to finish in 30 minutes, you'll get 50% discount of the original price, dozens coupon of discount for eating here, and of course the limited edition All Might Plushie!

*events only available from 21st April - 23rd April 3 P.M"

"I want to try that." said Bakugou innocently.

And you couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Stop laughing dumbass! What's so fuckin funny, hah?!" he raged, a slight blush tinted his cheek.

"Oh my, Bakugou.. Sure sure, let's go!" you pull him inside and sits.

After ordering the meal, you're a little concern. The people who tried to finish the challenge ended up with burnt throat or even puking.

"Is this curry really that spicy..?" you asked.

"I don't know. But i want to try and we will win that All might plushie." Bakugou sips on his water.

Hold up. Did he just say We?

"How about we compete and see who eat their curry faster? First who won win the plushies!" you suggest.

Bakugou loves challenge and competition. His will is absolute. If he want to win, he will win.

He smirked and crack his knuckles.

"Sure dumbass, we'll see who win."

"3 big portion of Deadly Spice Curry coming up!" the waitress place 3 big plates of red curry, topped with chicken katsu. Under the curry there's a bed of warm white rice.

The smell is so spicy it makes your eyes teary.

"Ugh the smell is already so spicy i don't know if i can-" "What is that?" you look up at Bakugou who's now already finishing half of his portion.

He show no sign of sweating, or anything. He just eat it like a normal curry.

"So you can't eat spicy, huh? Too bad. I guess i win then." he scoop a big portion of curry and eat it like nothing.

"Oh come on, it won't be too bad right? You can handle spicy food. Remember that spicy mapo tofu with 100 chili you ate few years ago. This curry is nothing (Y/N)" you think.

You take a scoop of the curry and eat it. Once you gulp it down, your throat suddenly in fire. The burning sensation making you sweat constantly.

Bakugou's already making his way to the second portion when he notice that your face is as red as tomato.

"My fucking god, you alright?" he asked handing you a glass of cold milk that you gulp in one sip.

"I-I'm.. I'm t-totally.. Fine!" you pant, you can feel your throat is still burning, your nose is runny and your eyes are still teary.

"You don't have to finish that-"

"I can eat this! I won't lose to you stupid!" you yell as you scoop the curry and stuffed it in your mouth as many as you can. Trying to endure the burning sensation.

Bakugou, who's now finish with his curry watching you struggling to eat your portion. He couldn't help but giggle a bit.

Your face is already so red and your lips are swollen red.

Right at you 10th scoop, you put down your spoon. Your curry's not even half finish yet.

Without warning, Bakugou snatched your plate and finished it off. Leaving you gasping with air.

"Oi we're done over here." he calls for the waitress and damn right, he win the challenge.

You, who's now still suffering with your burning throat can't help but keep drinking the milk.

"Tch, thought you're supposed fucking to win. You challenge me after all." Bakugou mocked you. He held an All Might plushies between his arm.

"S-Sorry.. It's too.. Hot." you reply. Not even dare to look at his eyes.

"Don't fuckin apologized dumbass. Also don't push yourself. I don't want you to pass out and ended up carrying your ass all the way back to the dorm. So yeah." he said, helping you stand.

"Well.. Oof.. Atleast let me pay-" "Nope. I'm payin'."

"What?! No! I am paying! I can't help finish the curry at all!"

"Fuck no. I ate all the curry, so i'm the one who's gonna pay. You just calm your ass over there, kay?" Bakugou shoves the All might plushies to your face and leave with his wallet.

"BAKUGOU!" too bad he's already at the cashier, and not too long he's back with a receipt on his hand.

"It's not too expensive, after all we got a discount." he said with a shrug on his shoulder and then dragging you, leaving the restaurant.

"Um.. Thanks. Here's your plushy." you hand the plushy to him but he refuse.

"It's for you." he threw his hand behind his head and walk slowly.

"Eh? What? But i lose! The one who win got to keep the plushy, right?!" your words cutted off with a single stare of his ruby eyes.

"Yeah? And? I win, i got the plushy. And i decided to gave it to you." he explained.

You can feel your heart racing and your face heating up again. Is this the effect of that curry or what?

"Your face is fucking red like tomato. And your lips is kinda swollen. We need ice." Bakugou dragged you (again) to a minimarket and sits you down to one of the chairs.

"You wait here. And don't you fucking dare move. Got it?" Bakugou pierce your eyes again with his ruby eyes.

"Geez.. Fine.."

While Bakugou is inside, buying for stuff, you look up and stare at the orange sky.

The spring wind is nice, it's gentle and brush your hair gently.

It's a miracle that you kinda went on a 'date' with Bakugou. Bakugou Katsuki who always blast people away. You couldn't help but smile at yourself.

It's all started with the acidentall meeting you have afterall.

10 minutes passed, and Bakugou still hasn't come out from the minimarket yet.

So you decided to check if he's okay and turns out thing are not okay.

You find him, Bakugou is currently surrounded with a bunch of punks. 5 total. His face is already as angry as he can be.

"Look who's here. The great Bakugou from U.A, huh?" said one of the punks with a spiky hair.

"Your disgusting temper is not heroic. You shouldn't went to U.A you fucking firecracker." the one with red hair chirps.

"You should see yourself first before speaking y'know. Atleast i don't end up like you fuckin street rats." his palms are already making small explosion.

"Ohh~ Are you mad? Aah~ So scary, i'm scareddd~" one of them mocked him and of course Bakugou is ready to fight them. His fist is already clenching and he's panting.

But you decided to step in.

"What's wrong here?" you asked calmly. Pushing Bakugou slightly behind you.

"Oh look! The girlfriend is here, are you that scared that your girlfriend have to step in, Bakugou?"

"You fucking piece of shit. I will kill you." he growls.

"Say sweetie, why are you here with him? Come with us! We can make sure you'll have bunch of fun with us than with him." he places his hand on your shoulder.

"Don't fuckin touch her you-" you slapped his hand away. Making that punk sneered.

"Bakugou. Calm down. I got this." you smile sweetly to him.

"Don't interfere (Y/N). Get the fuck out." he grips your arm.

"Bakugou. Just calm down." you pat his cheek and let go of his hand.

"Aww, so sweet. The girlfriend tried to protect her boyfriend, hm? What a cute couple. But i pity you ms, you should choose a better boyfriend."

"And why is that? I think he's fine." you answered.

"Just because of his temper and harsh personality doesn't mean that he's not heroic. He's a good guy. Better than you all." you smile to those punks who's now triggered with your words.

"The fuck you say ms? Don't make me slap those pretty mouth of yours." said one of them.

"Oh, go ahead and try if you can." you said, cracking your neck and knuckles.

Right before the punk's hand lay on your body, you already hit his crotch. Causing him to yelp and fall.

Bakugou, who's now amazed with how brave you are stay quiet and still can't believe his eyes.

"Come on now! Stand up! You said you want to slap these mouth, huh?" you challenged the other punks.

3 of them helping the one who's got kicked on the crotch, while the other one is now facing you.

His face is covered with fear, but he force and braces himself.

He's quite fast so he grip your collar and try to hit you, but a hand stopped him. A dark aura surrounded a figure behind you.

His ruby like eyes are glowing with a scary aura that makes him 10000% more terrifying.

"Hands off my 'girlfriend'. Now." Bakugou stopped his arm and you kicked the punk's crotch again.

"Right boys. Now say sorry to my 'boyfriend' for insulting him or else," you say with a cold gaze while preparing your fist.

"We-We're very sorry ma'am!" they answered with a shaky voice.

"Come on, you can't hear me? I said to him not me." you smile coldly.

"W-WE'RE SORRY BAKUGOU! WE WILL NEVER INTERRUPT YOU AGAIN!" the three of them bow as the two of them are in pain. Bakugou's shocked. You really did make them apologize.

"Y-You'll pay for this, you damn woman!" said one of them who got kicked first.

You laughed as the three of them dragged the two away.

"Gosh that was fun!" you turn to Bakugou who's face is not.. So happy.

"Baku? What's wrong? Don't tell me they hurt you-" "It's not it damnit." he looks away. His fist is still clenching. He bit his lips.

You sighed, holding his hand, you bring him outside.

"Sit, sit." you said while sitting beside him.

"What now?" you asked while hugging your All might plushies.

"You.. Defend me. A girl defend me. They're targetting me. I'm the one who supposed to beat them but you.."

"Are you mad at me?" Bakugou looks up at your face.

"Are you mad at me becase i defend you from those street rats?" you asked him once again, looking straight at his ruby eyes.

"Say Bakugou, you always fight for yourself and might be the other. But did anybody ever fight for you?"

"Yes. That fucking nerd. And Shitty hair. But i hate it okay?! I don't need a saving! I can do that by myself! Just like that punk-"

"And why di they do that? Why do they fight for you? Do you have any idea Bakugou?" you asked. Bakugou immediately goes silence.

"Because they fucking love you, you stupid. They care about you and they don't want their friend got hurt. It goes the same as me. I save you from that people because i don't want you to get hurt and act carelessly. You can simply broke the rule to use the quirk on public you dumbass!" you explained.

Bakugou expression still stiff.

"Also it's rather fun.. They're just a bunch of punks. Don't take them seriously. Unless, they touch you."

You sunk your face to your All Might plushy.

"Hands off my 'girlfriend'. Now." "Right boys. Now say sorry to my 'boyfriend' for insulting him or else,"

That sentences wander around your head and you immediately mentally slap yourself for saying that.

"Uh.. Also for that boyfriend-girlfriend thing.."

"It's fine." Bakugou seems doesn't care that much.

"But i can't fucking stand it when his filthy hand touches you." he hit the table.

"Woah okay man.. Um.. Thanks for that.." you thank him with a smile.

"Oh, what did you buy anyway?" you finally asked, looking at the plastic that he hold.

"Ice pack. For you." he threw one to you and you catch it.

"For your swollen lips. Let's go. It's getting dark." he stands up and walk away.

You smiled while compressing your lips with the ice pack. He's kind off caring too. So much of Bakugou's other side that you found today. And it's all interesting to you.

You two walks in silence, crossing a river that shows a good view of sunset. The orange hue catches your eye.

You stopped for a while and begged Bakugou to look at the sunset.

"Pleaseee! It's beautiful you know! It's rare these day to find such a good place to watch sunset," you tugs his arm. Hoping him to agree which eventually he did.

"Tch fine fine! Only this once." you smiled while finding a place to sit.

And you both watch the suns's getting down slowly.

Bakugou quite enjoying himself, His eyes are focused on the sun.

You look at him. His side profile looks beautiful. Despite that stern face he always put on. His furrowed eyebrows, his long lashes, his sharp ruby eyes, his pointy nose and those soft skin and lips.

"Whatchu' looking at, dumbass?" his voice once again snaps you back to reality.

"N-No.. Nothing Ahaha!" you play dumb and look at the sunset.

"I had fun today." you smiles, looking at him waiting for his reply.

"Me too." he said, you brofist yourself inside your mind.

"I know that you can't fucking eat spicy though." he laughs, mocking at you.

"What?! Then why did you bring me to that place?!"

"I already said it. I want to try it." Bakugou insist.

"You can go with your friends or family though, and not wait untill the last moment like this. Today the challenge will end right? That's why you were in a rush." you lecture him.

"I juat want to go with you. That's all." he answered with such an honest look on his face.

And that got you flustered all over again.

"O-Oh right! Your present!" you open your bag, trying to find a box that you meant to give to Bakugou.

But, you find nothing. Crap, you seriously didn't forget to bring it, right?

"Well?" you look at Bakugou, looking so guilty.

"I'm really really sorry but.. I left your present in my room." you said sadly.

Bakugou scoffs, "It's fine dumbass, i don't need a present as long as i got you." he said quickly.

"W-What? What did you say?" You didn't hear that wrong right.

"Nothing dumbass! Now just shut the fuck up and look at the sunset!" he hit your head lightly and focuses on the sun.

You smiled, making your way closer to him.

You get closer, hands on his shoulder and you peck his cheek. Just a quick peck.

You quickly get away before Bakugou realizes what the hell happen.

His eyes widened. His cheeks are flushed with a pink tint.

"W-What the fuck are you doing, dumbass?!" his face is flustered but he managed to rage.

"I-I.. Well i felt guilty leaving your present, so i changed it! That-That's your other present.." you cover your face with both of your hands. Fully realizing what have you done.

"A-Anyway let's go home!" he stand up. Shoving both of his hands in his jeans pocket and walks away.

"Wait! Bakugou!" you yell, Bakugou stops and offer his hand.

"You're slow as fuck. What are you? A snail?"

You grin as you take his hand and hold it.

"Hey Bakugou,"

"What dumbass?"

"You could've asked nicely you know.."

"Ask what?"

"If you want to go on a date with me hehe."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I DIDN'T PLAN IT TO BE LIKE THIS!"

"GEEZ CHILL BAKUGOU I WAS JUST JOKING- wait you planned this?"

"Shut up. Walk faster now."

"Can we do this again?"

"What? the fucking kiss? I don't mind actually. But this time on the lips, what do you say about that?"

"THE DATE! THE. DATE. YOU STUPID BASTARD!"

[sunset-peril]

Ashes Remain - Chapter Four - When We Met

~~~~

April 17, 2020

Nine Tails Vale

~~~~

"I. Already. Told. You!"

Huh? Who was that?

"I'm a lawyer assigned to this case!"

Wait. Lawyer? Could that be?

"I need to study the crime scene, so if you would please tell me where Kyubi Manor is...!"

"You can't fool me! You're just some delinquent high school student playing hooky!"

Apollo turned his head towards the flaming voices, just in time to see a woman, about his height, trembling with rage. "You stupid, pigheaded...! This attorney's badge isn't just for show, you know!"

Looks like we've just found Ms. Athena Cykes, Justice.

"Tsk! Why don't you believe me! Don't expect me to defend you in court if you ever get arrested!"

"Well," The other voice was sounding much calmer now. "I'm usually the one that does the arresting, so." He flashed a last resort smile. "Say, shouldn't you be getting back to school?"

"I already told you, I'm a lawyer, not a student!"

"That's it! Enough of your lies! You're coming with me!"

~~~~

Ungh... what happened?

His head hurt, and he was now face first down on Yokai Lane's dirt street. What just happened? The last thing he remembered was the police officer arresting Ms. Athena Cykes...

Wait, where was that officer now?

Oh, right. He remembered now. Ms. Cykes snapped as soon as that officer grabbed her, throwing his body into the air... and straight onto him.

"Urnngh... think you can watch out for the bystanders next time?"

"Ah, oh! Whoops! Are you okay?!"

"I think so..."

But that officer...

"I am so sorry! I do that when people suddenly grab me... it's like a reflex or something."

It's like a felony is what it is!

"You're Athena Cykes, I take it?"

"That would be me. And you are?"

~~~~

They were now inside the Fox Chamber, where the murder had occured. Him, and Ms. Athena Cykes. Or, rather, Dr. Athena Cykes.

Athena was a doctor. Mr. Wright did not tell him that. He learned the reason almost instantly: she preferred to be called Miss Cykes, which is who Mr. Wright said to look for. She said that 'someone else was Doctor Cykes.'

Could she be bipolar? Schizophrenic, maybe? She did seem more than an average amount of unstable...

"Apolloooooooo!" Her voice sounded rather whiny, like she was trying to achieve Chords of Steel but had the patience of a five-year-old.

He could see why the cop thought she was a delinquent instead of a double-degreed European doctor of psychology plus lawyer. Her education made her thirty, at least. Her behavior was more akin to a ten-year-old. He wondered if she ever tried the psycho-analyzing thing on herself. Perhaps she had, and was afraid of what she found.

"What, Athena?"

"Look! Look!" She pointed out a minimum of five different investigation spots.

He needed some coffee. She was running circles around him.

This is who Mr. Wright hired? The boss said he and Athena would get along pretty well, he was expecting someone down-to-earth and ready for the dark truths of death. Someone optimistic enough to dream, but real enough to know the world they lived in was dark and dangerous. Someone like Clay, Detective Skye, or Trucy even.

Definitely not this very tall five-year-old.

He was going to have to spend some serious hours repeating Athena's age and education tonight to remind himself that she was not five.

She flared up an unassuming tapestry, one he now saw was dripping in blood.

The smell became much stronger after being disturbed.

He had just barely waded through the scent himself when he heard a thud, and the tapestry fell to the floor. "Athena? Ms. Cykes?"

Athena had passed out and was now underneath the blood-soaked tapestry.

~~~~

April 17, 2020

Wright Anything Agency

~~~~

"Athena! Can you hear me, Athena?!" He continued to splash cold water on her, small amounts so she wouldn't drown, until her eyes fluttered open.

"...¿Quién eres tú?" Her eyes twitched weakly, and she didn't roll over or try to sit up. "¿Quién eres tú?"

"Él no habla español, Athena." Mr. Wright piped in from his desk. "Ingles."

"Ah, you speak English... Who are you?"

"I'm Apollo Justice. We've, uh, already met? At Nine-Tales Vale? You threw a cop at me?"

"Ah, I'm sorry... I'm having some trouble remembering. Did I pass out or something?"

"Uh, yeah. You did. You found a tapestry and passed out as soon as we both realized it smelled like blood."

Her eyes flashed cold, that little necklace she wore turned black. How odd...

"Ah, sorry... I tend to not be good... with sudden large amounts of blood. I guess it just shocked me."

"It's okay. Did you hit your head? Mind if I look and see if you have any bruises?"

"I'd prefer you not... actually."

"Okay, I won't look. Does it hurt though? You need any meds or anything?"

"Wowww, Polly. Look at you being so caring!"

Why did that statement make him blush? It was completely normal to obsess over someone who may have gotten a concussion!

"I have a bit of a headache. It's nothing severe. I think I'll try drinking some water before trying medicine. Thank you, though."

"Okay. Do you need to rest a little? We have an emergency air mattress in the back room if you need to stay down."

"That would be nice, thank you. Could you help me up?"

He took her hand and pulled her up slowly, gently supporting her in each stage. The glove she wore was very cold and smooth where her fingertips were.

Mr. Wright helped them set up the air mattress. Wright had figured it was only a matter of time until it was used, since Athena didn't have a place of residence here. Trucy brought her a cup of water, and she dozed on the mattress for a while in the back room while Apollo worked on processing evidence in the main space. He'd gone back for that tapestry after Athena settled, and carefully processed it as evidence while making a note for the record of Athena's little accident just in case someone tried to present any of her DNA as evidence.

While she may be a little off her rocker, none of her genetic material was on that fabric when the crime happened. She was just more than a little unlucky.

Plus, she seemed pretty nice. It didn't seem like she had a murderer in her, crazy or not.

Although Kristoph Gavin had taught him a cold lesson in assuming people's ability and willingness to kill. He would never forget that lesson as long as he lived. He was honestly shocked with himself for trusting Athena so easily.

The fact that she practically unzipped her heart and dumped it unceremoniously in front of him definitely helped. Kristoph was reserved, and wouldn't wear his heart on his sleeve to save his life, much less dump all its contents out in front of a stranger.

Athena was probably fine. Probably not a killer. Probably not a psycho.

Even if some of the things she mentioned to him, like the cop-tossing reasoning, were arguably concerning.

But if some random man grabbed Trucy like that, Apollo would also want him getting flipped. Where the lawyer in Apollo cried out 'Objection!' the brother in him replied with 'If the same thing were to happen to Trucy...'

Eventually, the brother and lawyer made peace and decided to place Athena in the "Probably fine" category. Enough to be trustworthy, but definitely questionable in more than one way. It would help if he could see her thought processes just as easily as her heart. He was glad he didn't get flipped while a) carrying Athena back or b) while she woke up. Perhaps she'd already decided he was an honest man, if cynical. Likely with psychology.

He did hope her default language changed to English though. He wasn't sure if he could tell her that he only spoke English, or that his name was Apollo Justice, he was her co-worker, and they'd likely be assigned as pairs for most of their cases every. Single. Day.

Her presence reminded him of Lamiroir though. Without having one good reason why, he felt safer around both women. Which was unnerving, considering she was five years younger than him. Lamiroir at least gave off a motherly vibe, and was old enough to actually be his mother. Athena just made him feel like a bucket of contradictions.

He wanted to talk with her. At the least, about the trial starting tomorrow. He needed to know much more about her before he invested too much. He needed Gavin-proofing.

But for now, he would continue to analyze the crime scene and any head problems she'd sustained in her fall.

After all, her name is Athena Cykes.

And she's probably fine.