#I took a park at her chart and it checks out!

[sexy-and-kind]

That interview where Olivia talked about her grandfather who looked up her birth chart when she was born and said that she’ll be emotional and a performer🫣

[sunraies]

Hi! I was wondering if you could write a one shot where rafe and y/n are a couple and y/n gets hurt or something and rafe becomes super protective over her?

Sure thing! I tried, I hope this is ok x

Freak Accident

Rafe Cameron x Kook!Reader

Warnings - Fluff, angst. Hospital, mentions of injuries. No use of Y/N

When Rafe gets the call that you are in the hospital, his heart drops to his stomach

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Rafe's heart dropped to his stomach when he received the call from Sarah that you were in the hospital.

At first, he thought it was a joke, some sick prank to get him annoyed. But when the reality of her voice sunk in, he had never driven a golf cart faster in his life, and he was pretty sure he broke the speed limit the whole way in Topper's Jeep.

He had been golfing at the club with Topper while you spent the day with Sarah. You wanted to learn to surf, and as much as he hated the idea, he knew he couldn't stop you. Once your mind was set on something, there was no stopping you.

Sarah had promised you would be safe. Kie and the other pogues would be there, all experienced surfers.

Once, he made sure you were ok. He was certain he was going to kill them all.

"Rafe!" Topper called out as he fumbled to catch the keys after Rafe dumped the jeep outside the hospital, leaving the engine running as he hurried inside. It was a miracle he was thinking straight enough to put the car in park.

He quickly found the front desk and asked where you were after cutting in front of a elderly woman. He ran for the elevators, mashing the botton, and when they took too long, he cursed before running up the stairs.

Sarah stood in the hall outside your room, wrapped in John B's arms when he finally made it.

"What the fuck, happened?" He breathed out, cheeks red.

"She's fine, dude," JJ spoke up after they all looked at each other. He sat with Kie, relaxing in the hard plastic chair and arm over her shoulders.

"I wasn't fucking talking to you" Rafe spat, pointing at him while still staring at Sarah.

"There was a huge wave, and she hit the rocks," Sarah said quietly. "But she's ok"

"How the fuck is she ok? She's in the hospital and it's your fault!" He snapped, running a hand through his hair.

"Whoa, it's no one's fault," John B stepped in front of Sarah. "It was a freak accident, man,"

Rafe nodded a little too frantically before scoffing and lunging for John B. "I'll show you a freak accident, man."

"Hey, Rafe. Not here." Topper held him back, having stepped out the elevator and found the scene before him.

They struggled for a moment before Topper snapped him out of it. "Go see your girl," He said softly, holding his shoulders as Rafe nodded slowly.

"He can't. The nurse is in with her, " Kie said quietly. "They said family only."

Rafe shook his head and closed his eyes. "Nah, fuck that"  He broke away from Topper's hold before barging into your hospital room.

You jumped a little as the door flew open while the nurse was taking your blood pressure. You were sure it suddenly spiked as your very flustered boyfriend stood in the doorway.

His ocean eyes scanning over you, focusing on the bruise on your cheek, to the cast on your left arm and down to the cut on your right leg.

"Hi, gorgeous." You smiled gently at him, hoping he would calm down at the sound of your voice.

The nurse looked between the pair of you as Rafe breathed out a small 'Hi'. His eyes were still checking your injuries.

"Your boyfriend?" She asked. "You know it's really only meant to be family allowed"

"Husband," Rafe blurted out. "I'm her, husband. No way am I leaving now. "

Your eyes went wide as the nurse shook her head before smiling knowingly, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. It wasn't on the charts."

She obviously knew Rafe was lying but humoured it. She was very sweet. "Take a seat, I'm just finishing obs, and our girl here should be good to go."

Rafe didn't need to be told twice as he took a seat beside the bed, desperately wanting to hold you, but let the nurse finish.

"I'm a little worried about the concussion, but other than that. You should be fine for discharge." She smiled. "I'm sure with this guy around, I don't have to worry about someone to look after you once you go home"

"Damn right, she's not leaving my sight." He was deathly serious even though the nurse laughed at the charm to his tone.

"Alrighty then. I'll go get the papers." She left, leaving you and Rafe in silence while you could hear Sarah and the others asking about you.

"Come here, baby." You held out your uninjured hand to him, which he took quickly but carefully. He seemed nervous to touch you, like you would break.

"You scared the shit out of me," He sighed, placing a gentle kiss on your knuckles.

"I know. I'm sorry." You sighed, hating the idea of him being so worried as you knew you'd be the same if the roles were reversed.

He sat down beside you, and you pulled him into your arms, ignoring the pain into your side as he held his weight off you. You ran your hand through his hair. "I'm ok, I'm just a little bruised"

He scoffed and pulled away, "and broken. You broke your arm, baby"

You hummed. "Oh yeah, would you look at that?" You were sarcastic as you looked down at your cast arm. "I wondered why it was heavy"

He rolled his eyes and smiled, aleast you were well enough to still be yourself. He chose that moment to gently cup your cheek. He was careful of the bruise as he kissed you.

You melted into him, thankful Sarah had called him. He was the best pain relief.

"I meant it, I'm not letting you out of my sight," He whispered against your lips.

"Husband, huh?" You whispered back, teasing as your foreheads rested together.

He blushed and smiled. "I would love to be"

"I like the sound of that. Wife sounds like a good word, too. "

"I would love you to be,"  He breathed, making you pull back in shock.

"Rafe Cameron, if that was a proposal, you can -"

He cut you off with the kiss. "Baby, the day I propose it will be a day you never forget. That was not a proposal." He chuckled.

Honestly, if he was asking there and then, you would have said yes. But knowing Rafe, it would be something involving fireworks and champagne.

[idwt-money]

Feverish

continuation of this blurb 🫶🏼

MDNI 18+

1.6k words, Noah sebastian x fem!reader

CW: unprotected sex, slight choking, dirty talk

you were on the way to your doctor. you had been feeling sick and unwell when you called and made the appointment last week but now you felt fine. 

your doctor still wanted you to come in so he could run standard tests and to make sure it was nothing to be concerned about.

you sighed as you parked your car in an empty spot. you hated coming to the doctors, the hospital just freaked out. but you didn't mind your doctor. doctor Noah, he was so fucking fine. he had tattoos seemingly everywhere and he was so tall he towered over you every time he spoke to you. his hair somehow fell perfectly around his face and those glasses he wore, you could rip them off his face and have him fuck you silly.

did you have a minor crush on him? yes. did you fantasize about him every time you visited? also yes. 

it was just a hopeless little crush. he was strictly professional every time you've seen him, but you wished so desperately that he would break this nerdy character he seemed to have and dominate you in ways that appeared impossible. 

you stepped into the building, speaking to the front desk.

“i have an appointment with dr. Noah at 1:30.” you spoke softly, no one else was in the waiting room but it felt punishable to break the silence.

the lady took your information and checked the time.

“okay, take a seat and he will be with you momentarily.” she seemed bored speaking to you. 

you muttered a small ‘thank you’ before taking a seat and playing a game on your phone to pass the time. 

“y/n?” you popped your head up when you heard your full name being called by a nurse.

you followed her back, into the first room available.

she took your blood pressure, weight and such before telling you the doctor would be in, in just a couple of minutes.

you bounced your leg as you sat on the paper covered bed, although you knew nothing was wrong, every time you got a check up you were worried they'd find something harmful. 

also mixed in with the anxiety of seeing one of the finest doctors you've ever had the pleasure of laying your eyes on. that for sure didn't help. 

the silence of the room dissipated with the crack of the door opening. 

“hello, y/n.” dr. Noah said, giving a soft smile before squirting hand sanitizer into his palm.

“so, how are you feeling? you had some irritation in your chest?” his face looked at you with a puzzled expression painted on it. 

“uh- um yes. but i'm feeling much better now. simply taking your advice to get it checked out. just in case.” you were cursing at yourself for blushing at his appearance alone. under the fluorescent lights, you were sure you had no way to hid it. 

“well, everything here on your chart looks good, but your blood pressure does look a little high.” he pushed his glasses up, reading your chart thoroughly. 

“well…this place does freak me out a little..” you openly admitted. 

he gave a small chuckle.

“no need to be anxious. i don't bite.” he shot you a small wink before grabbing a stethoscope. 

“i'll listen to your chest now.” 

he stood up off his chair and put the cold metal against your shirt.

“breathe in, nice and deep.” 

“god, please don't hear my heart going fucking wild” you pleaded with yourself in your head as you followed his instructions.

“aaaand out. one more time."

once done listening to your lungs, he put the stethoscope away. as he walked back to his chair, you caught a sniff of his cologne. you swore to god you could have tackled him then and there. you pressed your thighs together in desperate attempts to ease the slow burning that was now pooling between your legs. 

“well, your lungs sound just fine, nothing you should be worried about.” he scribbled something down on the paper he had clipped to his clipboard. 

he looked up from the paper and got noticeably awkward. that was the exact moment you noticed your cleavage wanting to spill out of your shirt. your mind started racing the longer he looked at you.

“uh..is there something wrong, doctor?” you tried to put on a confident facade. 

“....no! just-” he cleared his throat “just uh-” 

for the first time, you had seen your doctor lose his “cool calm and collected” personality. he readjusted his tie and tried to come up with words as his mind drew a blank. 

“doctor, i feel like we know each other enough to talk outside of this professional setting. don't you think?” you cocked your head to the side as you asked your question. you stood up, approaching him. he, as per usual, was towering over you. 

you watched his eyes as something snapped in his brain. his facial expression turned from flustered to something you couldn't quite put your finger on. 

“you don't think i haven't noticed you trying to hide how bad you want to fuck me?” his voice was more of a growl in your ears, his words struggling to flow through his gritted teeth. 

the sudden switch up had you in a mix of emotions. 

he slowly pushed his body against yours, causing you to hit your backside against the counter.

“do you know how. many. fucking. times. i've had to run to the bathroom after your visits and jerk off?” 

you were simply at a loss of words. you looked like a deer in front of headlights.

“i-i didn't-” you stuttered.

“you didn't what? didn't mean to? i call bullshit. wearing skirts short enough i can practically see your entire fucking ass.” 

he had quite the grip on your hips now, digging his fingers into your skin. 

you lost track of any thought that was previously roaming around your mind and brought him into a kiss, it wasn't pretty. your teeth almost clashing together. 

you were quick to unbutton his white doctors coat, as he threw it onto the paper covered bed, you noticed he had many more tattoos than you expected. they were up and down his arms. as he undid his tie and undid a couple buttons of his shirt, you realized he was completely covered in tattoos. if you weren't wet enough you sure were now. 

before you could think he turned you around and your skirt was being lifted. you heard his belt and zipper come undone before he pushed your panties to the side and pushed himself into you. 

your eyes rolled back your mouth hung open. he was fucking massive. you'd figured he be big but you currently had no clue how the fuck he was fitting inside of you. 

as he slowly started to fuck into you, you couldn't help but let a long string of moans out. 

your moans led him to covering your mouth with his tattooed covered hand. you took no time at letting two of his fingers fall into your mouth. 

as he picked up his pace, his free hand traveled down to work at your clit. 

“be fucking quiet. it's dead silent in here. one noise and im leaving you a fucking mess.” 

you tried your best to stifle your moans and cries, but his fingers being shoved down your throat sure did help you a shit load. 

“fuck you feel better than i imagined.” his words were quiet and breathy, only loud enough for the two of you to hear. 

you both knew you had to be quick, there was only so much time until his next appointment and you weren't going to be left mid fuck.

you had fixed your position, your back now against Noah's chest. it only allowed him to reach deeper within your pussy, you didn't know what heaven on earth felt like until you had this mans cock 7 inches deep in your stomach. 

Noah's hand that was covering your mouth was now wrapped tightly around your neck. 

“fuck, doctor, youre going to fucking break me. you’re so fucking big- oh my god!” your words were extremely hushed, only wanting Noah to hear the dirty words you were mindlessly mumbling out. 

“mhm, fuck baby, i know. your pussy feels so good, so fucking perfect around my cock.” 

you were teetering on the edge of your orgasm and you weren't sure you'd be able to support yourself. 

“oh god- i dunno- i can't-” your words were rushed and worrisome until Noah took you in his arms.

“it's okay, i got you, let me have it. i wanna feel you so fucking bad.” 

his thrusts were getting sloppier but it only made it feel that much better. 

with Noah's reassurance you let yourself fall into a blissful orgasm, your body shaking against his. your cunt squeezed Noah's cock, causing him to lose himself in his own orgasm. you heard him grunt words out, but you were too fucked out to even take them in. 

you slowly came back down to earth, as did Noah. when you heard a knock on the door, you looked at each other panicked.

“your next appointment is here, dr. Noah.” his assistant spoke through the door.

“i will be there shortly.” was all he was able to say in his current situation. when he heard her walk away, you both rushed to put your clothes back on.

as you walked out of the building, you heard him mumble something to what you could guess was the janitor. 

“sanitize this room thoroughly, thank you.” 

you giggled to yourself before making your way back home. 

tag list ♡ : @th4t-em0-k1d

[dfortrafalgar]

I'm Losing You... (But We're Filling the Cracks)

Having a family isn't always as easy as fairy tales make it seem. But sometimes, you just need a little bit of love... and a little bit of science.

Warnings: read chapter 1 for warnings.

Taglist: @phsycochan | @mirillua | @augustanna | @chaixsherlock | @whore-of-many-hot-men | @nerdisthenewcool | @lilypadmomentum | @1dkneo

Chapter 27

[Prev] [Next]

“How was the drive over?”  Nico Robin had one of her long legs crossed over the other, her laptop on the short counter in front of her as she typed notes into your patient portal.

You tossed her a smile.  “Not bad, the seatbelt in my car feels really strange the bigger I get, but I’m just happy I can still drive for the time being.”

The blue-eyed woman nodded before turning to face you.  “Based on your 18 week ultrasound, your babies have a heart rate of about 120 beats per minute, which is in the perfectly normal range during this gestational period.  Their amniotic fluid levels are also normal.  Overall, I’m really pleased with how healthy they are.  You’re a few weeks into your second trimester now, have you noticed any significant changes?  Any symptoms we should be concerned about?”

It took you a few moments to think.  “Well, my skin is really itchy and my back really hurts.  My breasts have days where they’re really tender and days when they’re not.  My feet hurt sometimes,” you rattled.

Dr. Robin nodded understandingly across from you.  “As strange as it is for me to say, hearing that you have normal symptoms of pregnancy makes me incredibly happy.  Along with your bloodwork that has been consistently normal and your ultrasound from last week, I am incredibly pleased with your progress and the growth of your babies.”  She pulled on a pair of rubber medical gloves and wheeled her stool over to your bed where you placed your feet on the stirrups for your wellness check.

“I am too,” you replied with a broad grin, your hand going to rest over your swollen belly as you reclined on the table, staring at the ceiling as Robin poked around and examined your condition.  “I’d much rather have symptoms and know that everything is alright rather than nothing at all.”

“Of course, of course,” your doctor agreed, nodding her head affirmatively.  She flashed you a cheeky smile from in between your legs.  “Are you positive you don’t want to know the genders?”

Your hands braced themselves against the side of the bed you sat on as your shoulders bounced with the force of your laugh.  “Don’t tempt me!  I’ve been doing so well wanting to keep it a surprise!”

Your reaction made Robin laugh as she removed her gloves and marked a few final notes in her patient chart for you.  “Well, if everything seems to be going normal then I’ll be seeing you again in another few weeks!  But you know the drill, call me back immediately if you notice any changes or concerns.”

She helped you down from the table and you slipped into your clothes and shoes, following her to the front desk to receive your patient summary for the visit, along with scheduling your next check-up and ultrasound.

The weather had gotten absolutely stifling in the late summer days, and partnered with your ever-expanding womb, you were finding yourself more and more sweaty hauling around an extra few pounds during the horrendous heat.  With your air conditioner blasting, you drove back home to spend the remainder of your day in the cool comfort of your apartment.  You couldn’t even imagine how Bepo must have been feeling, all of that thick, fluffy white fur must have been suffocating for him during the summer months.  You could barely get him to go outside during the daylight hours, but in the winter months, you needed to go through hell and back to get him inside.  The thought of your pup at home made you smile as you pulled out of the parking lot and hit the road back home.  He had become so much more attentive toward you recently, almost serving as your guard dog.  Even when Shachi and Penguin came over, despite knowing who the two men were, Bepo would stand guard in front of you and refused to let anyone pass.  His keen doggie instincts definitely knew there was something different about you.

It didn’t take long for you to get home, the traffic was incredibly minimal.  What you wouldn’t give to be at the beach on a day like this, soak up some sun… with your pregnant belly on full display.  The thought made you smile, blood rushing to your face.  Law probably would take a minor issue with that.  ‘I don’t want any other man tossing looks at you,’ he’d probably gripe.  You chuckled to yourself as you turned down the road your apartment was on.  Like Bepo, Law had also become much, much more protective of you.  When he could help it, he refused to miss any update or appointment, staying by your side constantly.  You thought maybe you’d get tired of it, but if anything, it made you feel even better about your relationship.

Knowing that Law had no plans on leaving you after you gave birth, loving you in and out of pregnancy, made your heart flutter.

You grabbed your bag and exited your car, locking it behind you as you walked through the stifling humidity into your building, up the elevator, and onto your floor.  You slipped your key into the lock and pushed open your door, calling out to Bepo who snorted from the other room.  You kicked off your shoes, hung your bag on a hook by the door, and proceeded to the living room where you could finally put your feet up on the couch.  You grabbed your journal off of the counter on the way.  You’d been so good keeping up with it, almost obsessively so.  A few weeks ago, Ikkaku had told you about a similar journal that her mother had kept, and how nice it would be to have your kids eventually read it when they grew up.

That sentiment made you fill out entire paragraphs on some of the pages, a permanent smile plastered on your lips as you wrote.

Bepo stood from his bed when you sat on the couch and immediately laid down directly beside you, ears perked up and constantly on alert should anyone come through the door.  You reached down and carded your fingers through the thick fur between his ears, watching with a giggle as his eyes slowly drifted closed and his pink tongue slipped through his muzzle.

“Are you blepping?” you asked.

The dog snorted.

You were periodically checking your phone throughout the afternoon.  Law had another fairly large procedure today, a Transmyocardial Revascularization, which involved some technology that he didn’t frequently use in the operating room.  When he left your apartment that morning, he was already laser focused, reading through his notes and charts while he scarfed down his breakfast.  He only broke composure enough to give you a kiss in the doorway, his hand ghosting over the side of your belly before he left.  You were hoping he would text you when the procedure was done, but at the same time were completely understanding if you didn’t hear from him until he got home.  Sometimes, he got so swallowed up by his work that he forgot he even existed.

A sudden fluttering sensation from your abdomen almost made you drop your phone.  You sat up, startled, your hands flying to your belly, pressing against your skin.  The suddenness of your movements made Bepo stand up as well, staring at the door expecting someone to walk in.

Your heart was pounding in your chest, your mind immediately assuming the worst.  You weren’t in pain, you hadn’t been spotting, everything had been completely normal.

You felt it again, this time against your hands.  A quick flutter within your gut immediately followed by a shallow, quick rippling sensation against the muscles of your abdomen.  You felt it in the palm of your hand.  Near the other side, the same thing happened.

They were moving.  Your twins were moving.

You stood up, startling Bepo who stared at you confused and alert.  You gazed down at your dog dumbly.  “They’re moving.”

He tilted his head as you spoke to him.

“I don’t know why I stood up,” you blurted, sitting back down with your hands flush against the couch cushions.  A giddy, childlike grin crawled to your lips.  They were moving.  They were moving.

It took about another three hours for Law to get home, and while you waited you had been so overcoming with energy thanks to the excitement of feeling your babies fluttering that you vacuumed your entire apartment, cooked a pavlova with the leftover berries in your fridge, and deep-cleaned the inside of the oven.  When your husband finally walked into the entryway and called your name, you almost sprinted to meet him, skidding across the floor in your socks.

“Hey, babe–” 

You cut him off swiftly, grabbing his hand and holding it against your belly.  You stared down at his inked fingers as they relaxed over your bump, his lips sealed.

“Come on…” you uttered.  “Do it again…”  It was a longshot, but you hoped that somehow they could hear you.

The fluttering sensation bounced around your abdomen once more, followed by the ripple against your muscle.  Law jerked his hand away from your skin, almost like he was forced to touch manure without gloves.  His golden eyes were boggling out of his head, his jaw slack and cheeks flushed.

“Was that…?” he stuttered out, words escaping him.

“They started moving!” you cheered, throwing yourself into him, bubbly laughter escaping your throat.  

Law was quick to wrap his arms around you once his shock subsided, clutching you to his chest.  His own broad smile was on his face as his chest bounced with your giddy laughter.  “So I take it your appointment today went well?”

You pulled away from his embrace, excitement coursing through your veins so rapidly that the only thing your body told you to do was grip your husband’s cheeks and press a tender kiss against his lips.  He muffled a surprise grunt against your mouth before his hands found purchase on your hips, slightly dipping you backward and ghosting his teeth against your puffy lower lip.

“Sorry,” you all but whispered, barely pulling away from him.  “I think I got the zoomies.”

He quickly turned his head away to snort at your words.  “The baby-kicking zoomies?”

“I made pavlova,” you sighed.  “That’s how excited I got.”

Your husband pressed another hot kiss against your lips before kicking off his shoes and taking your hand to bring him to the kitchen.  “Looks like our dinner is pavlova.  Not that I’m complaining.”

As soon as you stepped back into the main living area, Bepo was at your feet, nuzzling your legs and sticking his nose into your butt.  No matter how many times you shooed him away, he came right back, tongue peeking through his muzzle and beady black eyes melting your heart into oblivion.  And now, Law was following the dog’s example.  You served slices of your light desert onto two plates for the both of you, following Law to the couch where he proceeded to rest a hand against your belly throughout eating the sweet treat.  And while watching the television… and while you washed the dishes… and while you showered… and while you curled up next to him under the covers to sleep.

“Am I going to have to follow you to work now?  So you don’t miss a kick?” you asked over your shoulder, adjusting your body so you could press further into your husband’s chest with your back.

His hand lazily stroked up and down your side as he pressed light kisses to the back of your head.  “Maybe.  … Probably.”

“I won’t be very good in the operating room,” you laughed quietly into the darkness.

“Oh, that reminds me.  I forgot to tell you something with all the excitement.”  You felt Law push away from you slightly, giving you enough room to roll over and face him.

“What’s up?” you asked, curiously.  Your eyes couldn’t quite see his face, but his hand on your waist kept you glued to him nonetheless.  

“The biggest surgery of my life got scheduled today,” he said.  “A heart-lung transplant.”

You bolted upright in bed, reaching over for the lamp next to your pillow and pulling down on the power chord, illuminating your small corner of the room.  Your eyes were wide.  “Are you serious?”

With disheveled hair, Law sat up as well, hunching his back to rest his elbows on his knees.  “Yup.  Early May.”

“Holy shit,” you uttered.  “I… didn’t even know that was possible.”

Law nodded.  “The man has been in the ICU for almost an entire year now.  Every treatment option has been exhausted for both his heart and lungs.  Stents, catheters, bypass surgeries, blood-thinners, every available diagnostic test for pulmonary failure has been tried and done.  He’s approaching end-stage heart and lung failure and has been intubated for quite some time, and he recently got approved for transplant from the donor board.”

You absorbed his words with awe.  “That’s a lot… poor guy.”

Your husband hummed.  “It’s tough, but we all think this surgery will be the ultimate best thing for him.  He’s got AB+ blood which is incredibly lucky for him, and a donor has been selected based on cardiopulmonary quality.”  He glanced at you and could tell based on the slightly grim look on your face that you were curious where they even got the heart and lungs from.  “Organs are usually harvested from people who have suffered from brain injuries.  If they established prior to illness or injury that they would like to be a living tissue donor, then if they suffer brain death, they can be eligible for organ donation.  I’m not familiar with the donor right now, but I assume that’s the case for them.”

Your heart clenched at the thought.  “Wow…”

Law scooted closer to you and rubbed your back.  “It’s tough medicine, but someone’s sacrifice might be able to save the life of another.”

A smile pulled to your lips before you realized something.  “Wait…”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

“May 22nd is my due date,” you stated.  “Not that I’m telling you to not do the surgery, obviously, but… what if…”

“You go into labor while I’m in the operating room?” he asked, finishing your sentence for you.  “The entire procedure, if it still happens when scheduled, might be anywhere from 12 to 16 hours.  So I guess we’ll just have to hope that you don’t go into labor on that day.”

“That’s a long time… are you going to be alright?” you asked, leaning into his touch, your voice filled with worry.

Law smiled.  “Don’t worry about me.  You remember my sleep schedule in college, I’ll be fine.”

You grinned.  “Just don’t start drinking energy drinks again, I don’t want your kidneys to give out in the OR.”

Your statement made Law laugh as he reached over you and pulled the cord on the lamp once more, plunging the room back into darkness.  “I promise I won’t, that shit’s nasty anyway.  We can talk about it more in the morning and when it gets closer, though.”

The comfortable darkness filled the room as you snuggled into your husband’s arms.  “Sounds good, baby.”

A kiss to the skin of your forehead was the last sensation you felt before drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

—

“Okay, I know you guys said you didn’t want us to go crazy, but we went a little crazy.”

You and Law were seated on your loveseat across from Ikkaku, Shachi, and Penguin, who sat behind a plethora (read: a metric ton compared to the total volume of your apartment) of bags and boxes.  Ikkaku began rifling through some of the bags at her feet, grumbling about a list she had written down of your coworkers and what they had chipped in with.

Law was dumbfounded, his eyes wide and incredibly confused.  You felt a small kick in your belly, prompting you to sooth your bump with your hand.  You were about 24 weeks now, and your home wardrobe had largely consisted of Law’s oversized sweatshirts to account for your very pronounced abdomen.

Penguin clapped his hands.  “So, we didn’t want the lovely couple to get themselves worried about getting all their baby gear, so in these two boxes,” he interrupted his words to violently slap the unlabeled cardboard next to the armrest on his side of the couch, “are the cribs.  Two of them.  You know, for two babies.”

“And in these boxes,” Shachi kicked two more unlabeled boxes with his foot, “are bedspread sets for the crib mattresses.”

“Oh, shit, we still need the mattresses,” Penguin gasped, slapping Shachi’s shoulder making the red-head wince.

“Don’t they come with the mattresses already?” Shachi replied, rubbing his arm.

“I found it!” Ikkaku hollered, pulling out a double-sided sheet of loose-leaf paper.  “Okay, everyone from the office went behind your back and got a bunch of stuff for you.”  She cleared her throat and passed you a large holiday-themed gift bag, which you leaned forward to grab by the string handles and pull to rest in your lap.  “That one is from Nami.  She went kind of crazy with getting clothes, I told her to keep them gender neutral since you guys don’t know the sexes yet, but a lot of them are feminine anyway, so… let’s hope for girls.”

Law leaned over to peer into the large bag as you picked through it.  ‘Crazy’ was an understatement.  Nami had seemingly given you an entire wardrobe for the first year of your babies’ lives.  Onesies, shirts, pants, a bunch of bundles of newborn socks, little hats, headbands, swaddles with different patterns, mittens, and two winter coats that would fit them up to six months.  There was more beneath the initial assortment you sifted through.

“This entire bag is from only Nami?” you asked, completely bewildered.

“Well, Nami and Nojiko,” Ikkaku responded, skimming her list.  “Oh, there should be a small bottle of newborn laundry detergent in there, too.  Just F-Y-I.”

“Okay, so the cribs do in fact come with mattresses.  You just have to let them rise like bread for 24 hours before putting them in the cribs.  They should be firm,” Penguin explained, scrolling through his phone.

You cringed at the mention of bread.  You still hadn’t gotten your tolerance for the texture back.

“This next one is from Sanji and Zoro, but mostly Sanji.  He got you a set of baby monitors, two mobiles for each crib, and a diaper changing table.”  Ikkaku slid another box towards your feet.  The top of it was labeled with elegant handwriting that read, ‘TO THE LOVELY COUPLE~’.

Shachi dragged over another box.  “This is a double stroller.  All assembly required.”

“This bag is from Usopp, I think it’s a bunch of baby hygiene products.  Baby powder, light wipes, a few bags of diapers to get you started, some diaper station pads, little washcloths and towels, diaper cream, the works.”  Following her words, yet another bag was slid over to you, this time snatched by Law.

“Diapers are expensive,” he mumbled.  “How did everyone pull all of this together?”

Ikkaku shrugged.  “Sanji and Nami are well-off.  Usopp?  No idea.”  She dismissively looked back at her list.  “Oh, this next one’s from Ms. Boa.  I can’t remember what she put in it, though.”

Another box was kicked over your way, already open slightly for you to rifle through.  It was completely filled to the brim with everything you would need for breastfeeding.  Two breast pumps, a large volume of milk storage bags, nursing pads, and a few tubes of nipple cream.  At the bottom of the box, there was a variety of decorative bibs, a few baby bottles, a bottle warmer, and a specialized bottle sterilizer.  Your head was whirling.

“Guys, you’re making me dizzy,” you practically wheezed, leaning back against the couch.  Law rubbed your shoulder reassuringly.

“We’re almost done,” Shachi stated.  He picked up a bag next to Ikkaku’s shoe.  “Oh, I forgot.  This one’s from Rebecca.”

Law picked his head up.  “My head nurse?”

“Is that who that is?” Shachi asked, sliding over the bag.

“How did you get her number?” the surgeon asked, picking up the package and opening it.

“The hospital has a database with contact info.  You should tell them to update your picture, by the way.  You look dead in your current headshot.”  Penguin’s backhanded comment made you snort.

The gift from Rebecca was exactly what you would expect from a cardiology nurse.  A thermometer, a pair of baby nail clippers, petroleum jelly, a few rolls of sterile gauze, a first aid kit, an assortment of pacifiers, and a few baby toothbrushes.  He felt himself smile.  She had always been a caring, generous person.  While he was still a bit perturbed by the whole hospital database thing, it came as no surprise to him that Rebecca would be so generous as to provide gifts for her superior and his expectant wife.

“This is the last one I think,” Ikkaku mumbled, dragging over another box with her foot.  “Oh, this one’s from Luffy and his brothers!”

This time, both you and Law perked up.

“Luffy?” you asked.  “I haven’t seen him in, like, three years.”

“Where’d he even go, anyway?” Law asked.  “I lost track of him after a while.”

Ikkaku laughed, pushing the box toward you.  “Sanji told me something about his grandfather trying to force the three of them to join the military.  I think they moved somewhere just to get away from the hustle and bustle for a bit, but also to get away from that marine grandpa of theirs.”

“What was his name again?” Shachi asked.

“Garp, I think.  Isn’t there a picture of his face on that marine recruitment poster they keep hanging at the local community college?” Penguin queried.

“That’s right.”  Shachi snapped his fingers.  “I never liked that guy.”

You leaned over as far as you could manage with your belly to open the box from Luffy and his two older brothers.  On top of the packing, which was surprisingly well-done (probably not by Luffy), was a hand-written letter.

To the happy couple, Congratulations on your pregnancy!  It’s been so long since we’ve all gotten together, but I’m so glad to hear you’re both doing well.  At some point we’ll all reconnect, I’m sure Ace and Luffy would love to get to romp around with some toddlers, but at the same time, I would completely understand if you wanted anything but that.  Regardless, I hope this box of goodies finds you well.  Best of luck during the rest of your pregnancy!

From, Sabo (who wrote all of this, by the way), Ace, and Luffy

Beneath the newsprint used as packing material, a large collection of toys was compiled for the two of you to pick through.  A rolled up playmat, some teething toys, an assortment of cardboard baby books, some of which were medical themed, a portable pack-and-play, a generous bunch of baby toys for both the home and a stroller, and a few toy organizers.  It was assumed by everyone in the room that Sabo was the one responsible for picking everything out.  The other two most likely trailed behind and poked each other with toys from the children’s section of the local supermarket.  Regardless, the sentiment was appreciated.  A fond smile crawled onto your lips as you scooped up one of the toys from the box.  It was a sturdy stuffed white dog with floppy ears and a pink tongue.

“Bepo,” you called, beckoning your fur baby over.  “It’s you!”

Law grinned at the display, but quickly hid his face at the mischievous cooing noises his best friends were making from across the room.  Bepo was excitedly sniffing the nose of the dog toy before you plopped it back into the box to save for later.

“What’s the plan for you guys in terms of crib placement?” Ikkaku asked, cleaning up the space around her.

You and your husband glanced at each other.  You hadn’t actually thought about it much until then.  While your apartment was technically a two bed-one bath, the second bedroom was substantially smaller and filled with storage that the two of you always insisted you would one day tackle, but never did.  It became a closet forbidden for life, until now, that is.

“I think we’re going to clean out the second bedroom and use that,” Law answered for the two of you.  “That won’t be for a few more months, though.”

“Better get on it soon,” Shachi chided.  “Those little munchkins will be here before you know it!”

You grinned, tossing a glance at Law as he pinched the bridge of his nose in between his fingers.  You turned back to your friends across from you.  “Thank you guys for bringing everything over, though, I really appreciate it!  We both do.”

“Of course!” Ikkaku piped up before the other two could speak.  “I didn’t know when your maternity leave was going to start, so I wanted to make sure you got everything now.”

“A few more weeks,” you confirmed.  “But I’m glad to have all of this stuff so early, then we won’t have to stress when it gets closer to the due date.”

“Do you plan on breastfeeding?” Shachi asked suddenly.

“Shut it, Shachi,” Law barked.  “You just spoiled us.  Don’t test it now.”

The exchange made you laugh, Law seeming to smolder in the direction of his rowdy friends.  Your laughing seemed to trigger something in your babies, too, as you felt two simultaneous flutters in your belly.

You liked making them laugh.

[ohplagg]

I Love Yoo Timeline Part 4/4

The Timeline

This is part 4 of 4 of my I Love Yoo Timeline as of Episode 241.

Part 1 and 2 consists of laying out all the detailed evidence with descriptions, screenshots and episode number.

Part 3 consists of explaining the evidence, connecting the dates and some math because the I Love Yoo universe (the Yooniverse, if you will) uses letters instead of numbers to represent official years.

Part 4 is the I Love Yoo Timeline.

---------

If you havent read the previous 3 parts of this mega post I highly encourage you to go check them out before continuing since up ahead I will be writing and explaining under the assumption that you have read the previous 3 parts.

All the events are placed where they are according to the evidence. I will not be providing much explanation in this post as to why things are placed where they are in the timeline so if you need explanation go back to the previous parts.

I also won't be adding most of Shin-Ae focused events otherwise the timeline becomes unnecessarily messy.

And lastly, I won't be mentioning every single event that has happened in current year of the story (20XX), only major events. If you want a more detailed timeline for present year this old reddit post that goes up to episode 146 has more details.

While I was finishing writing this timeline AugmentedElle from reddit published her own version of the timeline (Elle, if you see this, big fan. I don't have reddit but big fan) which has some parts I disagree with based on my interpretation of the evidence but her timeline is so well written and easy to follow + it's more detailed than mine that I honestly do recommend checking it out as well because Elle did a way better job than me in that regard.

Without further ado..

Cheat sheet

Because the Yooniverse uses the alphabet instead of numbers to keep track of years, it's hard to really grasp how much time has really passed. This is why I created this little chart where it lays down the year with the number equivalent and the age each character had in each specific year.

Dieter, Soushi, Maya and Rika were born the same year as Shin-Ae.

Sang-Chul and Alyssa were born the same year.

Meg was born the same year as Kousuke.

Yui's age is not exact. We only know she is in her 40s meaning she can be either 40 or 49. Meaning she was pregnant with Kousuke between 16-25. I chose 20 for no other reason than it's right in the middle.

I have no idea of anyone else's age (Rand, Hansuke, YuJing, etc) so I didn't even add my guesses to not confuse the timeline. If you know any clue about someone's age I would love to know!

The Timeline

I'll start with the earliest date and move forward from there.

Italic means that it's not known when exactly in the year that specific event took place. I still placed the event where it makes most sense.

January 20WA === 50 years ago

Young-Chul Kim become Chairman of Hirahara Corp.

Prestigious Prep School starts mishandling reports of SA

+ 25 Year

October 31st, 20WY === 25 years ago

Young-Chul Kim steps down as Chairman after SA accusations

Hirahara Corp CFO of several years, Randulph Hannesson is a witness against Young-Chul Kim

Next year

January 20WZ === 24 years ago

Yui and Rand get married without the public's knowledge

Yui and Rand have their honeymoon in February

Kousuke is conceived in February

Rand gets announced as temporary chairman of Hirahara Corp on March 27th

As of March 27th, the press and public only know that Yui and Rand relationship goes as far as "seeing each other in public"

Kousuke is born November 8th

+ 5 Years

January 20XE ==== 19 years ago

Nol is conceived around March

Kousuke has his 5th birthday

Nol is born December 21st

+ 6 Years

January 20XJ ==== 13 Years ago

Nol and Nessa move to USAsia

Nol and Kousuke meet for the first time

Kousuke has his 11th birthday

Nol has his 6th birthday

+ 4 Years

January 20XO ==== 9 years ago

Kousuke Graduates High School (Nessa is at the park the same day)

Yui and Rand's public marriage reconciliation

Kousuke starts college

Kousuke gets a college friend group

Kousuke has his 15th birthday

Nol has his 10th birthday

Next Year

January 20XP ==== 8 years ago

Kousuke has his 16th birthday

Nol has his 11th birthday

Nessa is found dead December 21st

The brother incident happens

Nol is taken to the Mental Facility

+ 2 Years

January 20XR ==== 6 years ago

Nol gets out of the Mental Facility

Nol get's officially introduced as Rand's bastard son

Kousuke has his 18th birthday

Nol has his 13th birthday

Next Year

January 20XS ==== 5 years ago

Nana moves to US Asia*

Nol moves in with Nana*

Shin-Aer starts going to Min-Hyuk's middle school

Shin-Ae has her 12th birthday

Alyssa has her 13th birthday

Shin-Ae and Alyssa meet

Kousuke has his 19th birthday

Alyssa pushes Shin-Ae

Shin-Ae gets out of the hospital

Nol has his 14th birthday

*This could have happened in late 20XR. It all depends on how exact "5 years" ago was.

Next Year

January 20XT ==== 4 years ago

Shin-Ae has her 13th birthday

Alyssa has her 14th birthday

Min-Hyuk graduates middle school and starts high schools

Meg has her 20th birthday

Kousuke has his 20th birthday

Nol has his 15th birthday

For the past 2 years Nol has had no friends (ever since he got out of the mental facility) and Kousuke has been acting like his "guardian" (during which Kousuke has been constantly badmouthing Nol to everyone)

Next Year

January 20XU ==== 3 years ago

Shinae graduates Middle School

Shinae, Dieter and Soushi have their 14th birthday

Alyssa has her 15th birthday

Nol and Dieter meet while running during "summer before year 1 of high school"

Dieter, Shinae, Soushi and Nol (and the rest) start high school

Nol starts trying to befriend Soushi*

During a very rainy period Nol tries to meet his mom after 5 years of not seeing her*

Kousuke talks to Soushi*

Nol becomes friends with Dieter and Soushi*

Nol hangs out with Dieter and shortly after Soushi joins the group.*

Kousuke takes a break from babysitting Nol*

Nol, Dieter and Soushi meet Alyssa*

Nol and Alyssa start dating*

Alyssa starts the path of becoming a Kpop idol*

Kousuke and his college friends have the fallout**

Meg meets Kousuke*

Meg has her 21st birthday

Kousuke has his 21st birthday

Nol has his 16th birthday

(*All these events need to happen in that order, the placement on the timeline in relation with the other events depend on when Nessa's birthday was or when exactly Nol tried to "see" his mom)

(**I've decided to assume Hansuke doesn't really remember the exact facts of how, what and when Kousuke lost his college friends since he was in a different college, he would only occationally tag along and he was very busy with his doctor exams at the time)

Note: Whatever happened with Kousuke's friends, the fallout could perfectly have dragged throughout a couple of weeks/months. It doesn't necesarily need to have happened in a one day event.

Pretty eventful year

Next Year

January 20XV ==== 2 years ago

Kousuke graduates from his master's degree at 21 years old*

Dieter and Soushi have their 15th birthday

Alyssa has her 16th birthday

Kousuke has his 22nd birthday

Nol has his 17th birthday

(*I've decided to take Meg's flashback gossip about Kousuke with a grain of salt. This could have happened at the end of year 20XU instead of the beginning of this year.)

Next Year

January 20XW ==== Last year

In March a SA investigation in prestigious prep school (the one where Kim Sang-Chul is the Student Council President) gets launch

Min-Hyuk graduates high school

Kousuke has his 23rd birthday

Nol has his 18th birthday

Next Year

January 20XX ==== this year

Min-Hyuk goes to USA for college

Dieter, Soushi, Shin-Ae have their 17th birthday

Alyssa has her 18th birthday

In July the SA investigation in the prestigious preschool ends with nothing found and nothing done.

Dieter confesses to Shin-Ae

Saturday September 17th is the party where Shin-Ae meets the brothers

Thursday November 8th: Kousuke has his 24th birthday

Between Friday 9th and Saturday November 10th Shin-Ae's dad goes into a coma

Wednesday November 14th is the Gala. (That same night Shin-Ae was supposed to get evicted)

December 1st Min-Hyuk returns

Monday December 16th Nol has his trial (and he's sentenced for 120 days starting December 22nd)

Tuesday December 17th: Shin-Ae and Nol meet in the rain, Nol blocks everyone.

Saturday December 21st: Hirahara's Chirstmas party, Min-Hyuk's welcome home party, Nol turns 19 year's old

Sunday December 22nd: Nol is at the hospital (his sentence is pushed to start December 25th)

Personal Thoughts

This timeline broke my brain more times than I can remember. Whenever I thought I was close to being done with it I would remember something new or come across new information that would force me to rethink almost everything.

When I first started writing this timeline it was only going to be 2 parts, the evidence with the explanation and the timeline layout, but it kept getting bigger and bigger. It was supposed to be released the first week of October. We are in November. I've been writing this for 2 months.

I almost wrote this timeline in a manner that I would drag you all along through the same path of insanity that I went through but I decided against it not because I felt compassion for you all but because I plan to come back to these posts in the future for when I want to refresh my memory and I didn't want future me to go through that confusion again. I've suffered enough.

Shout out to my friend who lend me her DMs whenever I was going crazy and let me rant myself into sanity every time.

Conclusion

The timeline is not perfect, specially the events that happen between 20XS (5 years ago) and 20XV (2 years ago), but I'm satisfied with how it turned out considering the information we have so far.

Please don't take this timeline as the one that rules them all. If you have a suggestion on the order of events or theories on what could have happened I would more than love to read about them, so please do share your thoughts!

--------

This is part 4 of 4. In case you missed it, go read the previous parts:

Part 1: The Evidence Part 1

Part 2: The Evidence Part 2

Part 3: Math and connecting the dots

[tinyinvadr]

This next chapter comes with a song! I made the instrumental in Auxy and provided the vocals. You can find it attached below!

Psychoborrower 2

Chapter 16

Truman’s mental world was a dressing room of some sort. There were several mannequin heads with beards of varying lengths, chalkboards with “I AM TRUMAN” frantically written across them, and in the center, a huge bust of Truman’s head. Lili took a moment to take it all in, looking deeply concerned.

“This is weird…”

“Even if it is, we shouldn’t be in here! This is the Grand Head of the Psychonauts!”

Oh great. Norma.

Lili marched right up to her, fury in her eyes. This could get messy, but I also kind of wanted to see what would happen.

“He’s also my Dad, and I have every right to check up on him if something’s wrong! And something clearly is!”

Norma folded her arms, scoffing.

“I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about those two. I can’t speak much for Flint, but I know Raz doesn’t have a good track record with other peoples’ minds. I’m just trying to prevent another Hollis incident.”

“Hey! I only did that ‘cause you and the other interns talked me into it! And I’ve more than made up for it. Just ask Lizzie, or any of them. I’ve been helping the Psychic Six overcome their twenty year long trauma all day, I think I know what I’m doing.”

“Fine then. But if you pull anything, I’ll tell Hollis, Sasha, Milla, everyone.”

“Not if I burn your mouth off, you won’t.”

Raz had to pull Lili away from her before things could escalate, and we shifted our focus back to Truman.

After checking around the back of the bust, Raz noticed some cracks in it, with a golden glow shining from underneath. He smashed it open, revealing a golden bust of Nick Johnsmith hidden inside.

“Nick from the mailroom? But my Dad hates him!”

“He does?”

“Yeah! He told me he thinks he’s an obsequious little lickspittle!”

Enraged, Lili kicked the bust, shattering it.

“This must be HIS mind! When I find out what he did with my Dad, I’ll-”

She was cut off when a giant vacuum appeared from above, sucking all of us into it and depositing us somewhere else. We landed on a red carpet, and a man in a theme park uniform pushed us aside as he escorted Nick down the hall.

“Make way for Gzesarevich Gristol Malik, future Gzar of Grulovia!”

The whole time, “Nick Johnsmith” was actually Gristol Malik. The same little brat that kept my family in a cage. The one who left Grandma to die. There was a countless number of horrible things I wanted to do to him.

“What’s going on? Isn’t that Nick?”

I glared at Norma. “There is no Nick. Try and keep up.”

An extravagant crown and robe descended from above, and Gristol changed into his royal attire before climbing into a seat that was being propelled along a track.

Lili was the first to run ahead after him.

“C’mon, guys! He’s getting away!”

By the time we made it to the front of the ride queue, his car was already long gone. Still, getting on the ride was our only hope of finding him.

The ride operator was being a real pain in the ass, though. First he tried to throw a height restriction at us. Even after shifting to my human form, I still wasn’t tall enough. Luckily, Raz found us a solution by punching the Gristol cutout so he would point to a lower spot on the height chart.

Even then, only Raz and I were allowed on the ride. The operator explained that it was only open to people of Grulovian blood. Norma was deeply offended, but Lili didn’t seem too upset. Judging by the way she looked at the ride operator, I could tell she had a backup plan. Almost felt sorry for what the guy was about to go through.

Once Raz and I were in the car, Lili started the ride. Our car traveled through a set of doors, and we found ourselves in a decorative recreation of Grulovia. Cardboard cutouts of children danced and sang.

Right away, I noticed something familiar about the melody. I’d heard this song before.

“This… This is the lullaby my Mom used to sing to me.”

“Your mom sang to you about the glory of Grulovia?”

“No, the lyrics were different. It’s supposed to go like this.”

I waited for the chorus to start up again, and I sang over it.

“By lantern light, by lantern light, forever burning bright. By lantern light, by lantern light, you’re safe tonight.”

“Huh. Her version’s better.”

“You’ve got that right. Gristol must’ve overheard it at some point during the time he had my family trapped. Mom told me that Grandma wrote that song for her when she was a baby, and this jerk went and stole it for his stupid mental dark ride!”

The singing stopped as we entered the first scene of the ride. A narrator explained that Grulovia was once a prosperous nation, ruled by the beloved Gzar Theodore Malik and his family. The land was protected by General Maligula, until the day the Psychonauts came and killed her. Led by Ford Cruller, they destroyed Grulovia with a flood, forcing the Maliks to flee.

It was clear that Gristol had some sort of attachment to Maligula. He saw her as a hero, and not what she actually was: the murderous result of mental manipulation.

He also seemed to resent his father, and blamed him for Maligula’s supposed death. And, of course, he hated Ford.

By that point, I also wasn’t too fond of him, but for different reasons.

We were sent down a sudden drop, then continued on through the ride. That is, until the car stopped at a door that wouldn’t open.

A loudspeaker suddenly turned on.

“Hey, Norma and I are in the control room. Why did you guys stop?”

“I’m not sure. Where’s the ride operator?”

Lili went quiet. Yep, knew that ride operator was in for it.

Norma groaned in frustration. “See? This is why I told you NOT to knock him out! How are we supposed to get the ride moving again?”

We found the source of the problem in a shorted out electrical panel above the track, so Lili drained the water, allowing Raz to get out of the car and fix it. Lili then attempted to open the door for us, but she kept accidentally unleashing Censors.

Once we finally fought all of them off, Lili got the door open, and the ride continued. We saw a display of the Maliks roaming the earth in search of a new home. They traveled through arctic tundras, scorching deserts, even the ocean.

The family lived in exile for many years with no hope of regaining all they had lost, until Theodore revealed to Gristol that Maligula was still alive, only moments before he died.

Believing that the Psychonauts were holding her prisoner, Gristol vowed to rescue her and return to power, restoring the glory of Grulovia.

Then the ride stopped again.

This time, we had to deal with another member of the staff. The man identified himself as a “Propagandaneer”, and he explained that the next portion of the ride would be closed until he could finish the display he was working on. The only thing he needed was a big decorative egg to go in the giant egg cup, so we agreed to get one for him in exchange for him letting us pass. Before we left, he tipped us off that the best eggs are found in the ocean.

We figured he had to be talking about the set piece that displayed the Maliks in the ocean, so we backtracked to check there. Unfortunately, the display had reset to the tundra.

Lili found the control panel for it, and we instructed her to set the scene in the ocean and rearrange the props so we could climb up into the door of the submarine.

On the other side, we found ourselves on a balcony at the Lady Luctopus Casino. Specifically, the one on the North Tower penthouse, where we went to investigate the reported Deluginist activity. Of course. This was the hotel room that “Nick” had the key to.

Gristol himself was in the room, a forlorn expression on his face as he stood by the bar counter. The urge to kick him while he was down was strong in me, but I knew Raz wouldn’t wanna go for that. I simply stood by, glaring endlessly at him while Raz did the talking.

“Hey… Are you okay?”

“My father died today.”

“I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be. It’s his fault I’m homeless. We lost everything because of his cowardice. I could’ve been the Gzar of Grulovia, but instead, I’m stuck in this miserable hotel room.”

I rolled my eyes. “At least you’re not locked in here. You can leave whenever you want.”

Gristol turned his attention to me, studying me for a minute.

“Strange… There’s something familiar about you. Do I know your family?”

I shrugged. “Maybe. If you do, I’d be surprised if you remember them. You don’t strike me as the kind of person who would.”

He glared at me for a second, then brushed it aside.

“In any case, if you’re here, you must be of Grulovian blood! Come, let us toast to the Fatherland with some caviar!”

Caviar. Eggs in the ocean. Just what we needed.

He offered us a spoonful, and Raz shrank down to retrieve one. I was about to follow him, but Gristol quickly stuck the spoon back in the can.

“No no, not you. You’re not a part of this.”

“Yes I am.”

“And what makes you think you are?”

“You kept my Mom in a cage!”

He chuckled, and I clenched my fists. I was ready to hit him with everything I had. The fact that he could even laugh about that was enough to set me over the edge.

“I had a feeling. I wasn’t sure, especially since you look a little big to be her son right now. But you’re definitely as feisty as she was. You know, she bit me once. That was maybe about a week before she and her mother escaped and we never saw them again. Mean as she was, it’s sad to lose a pet.”

At that, I couldn’t hold myself back anymore, and I PSI-Blasted him.

“Don’t call her that!”

He took a second to recover from the initial pain and shock, but then he just started laughing again.

“God, it’s like she’s back! You two really are alike in a lot of ways. Things really are starting to turn around for me, aren’t they? Maligula’s alive, my reign as Gzar is about to begin, and I get my childhood pet back.”

He turned around, picking up a brand new bird cage, fully intact and with an orange-yellow glow to it.

Psilirium.

As he held it up in front of my face, I instantly felt dizzy. I was unable to hold my human form any longer, and I zipped down to borrower size.

“And this time, you won’t be able to get away.”

By that point, I was too disoriented to fight back, and he grabbed me and stuck me in the cage, fastening the door in place behind me. As I looked up at him, his face morphed into his child self, though I couldn’t see much of a difference between the two of them. Even as an adult, he was as immature as ever.

“Try and zap me now, you little rat!”

Gristol took the cage and walked out onto the balcony. We went down a hallway that confusingly led into the Maliks’ palace. It looked just like it did in Mom’s memory.

He placed the cage on a table and threw a towel over it, covering me in darkness.

“Now, get some sleep! We’ve got a big day tomorrow!”

I couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to. The cold, hard metal of the cage floor was anything but comfortable. I simply sat there for a while, feeling too nauseous to move. Then, I heard it.

It started out as a subtle dripping sound. Not something to be concerned about. Maybe someone just left a sink running. But it quickly escalated. The sound of flowing water increased in intensity, to the point where I felt the table start to bob up and down underneath the cage.

Then, the water level rose to where it started to pour into the bottom of the cage. This thing wouldn’t float. It would sink with me in it.

Fighting against how weak I felt, I pushed myself up and grabbed at the bars, but I had to let go as I felt them burning my hands.

I was running out of options. I knew it was a long shot, but I was desperate. I called out for help.

“Help! Anyone, please! I don’t wanna die!”

The towel over the cage was suddenly torn off, and I saw Raz.

“It’s okay, Flint, you’re… Whoa… Psilirium…”

He backed up a bit, trying to regain focus.

“Wait, where are you going?! The flood! We’re gonna drown!”

The water was already up above my shoulders, and I struggled to keep myself afloat. All the while, Raz just floated in front of me without saying a word. Until…

“By lantern light, by lantern light, forever burning bright. By lantern light, by lantern light, you’re safe tonight.”

That song brought me back to my senses. Admittedly, hearing it in his raspy, squeaky voice was a bit odd, but the sincerity of it made it just as calming as when I heard it from Mom.

The palace turned into a gift shop, and instead of being flooded, it was up in flames. Norma was in the process of burning the place down while Lili smacked Gristol in the face with a plush doll of Truman.

Raz used Telekinesis to get the door open and pulled me out, wrapping me in a hug as soon as he did. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. It was one thing to see what happened to Mom, but it was another to essentially live through it.

“We’re almost done here. You gonna be okay?”

I didn’t respond, and maneuvered myself into his coat pocket. I just needed a minute to calm down, and I didn’t really want that on full display for Lili and Norma.

Raz gently placed his hand over me, running his thumb along the back of my head. The memory I saw of Augustus comforting Mom flashed back in my mind, and I felt at ease knowing that we were together. No matter what, we’d be okay.

“Just lemme know when you’re ready. I found something I need to show you and Lili. And Norma, I guess.”

“Heh. Think she’ll keep trying to snitch on you after this?”

“She can try. But she’s gonna look pretty stupid.”

“Hey, are you talking about me?!”

Whoops.

That awkward interaction aside, we all left the gift shop so Raz could show us what he found. It was a photo strip featuring several pictures of the ride. One of them showed a scene depicting Dr. Loboto performing the brain swapping procedure, and behind them, we saw the strange metal briefcase that Truman was holding when we rescued him. That had to be where his brain was being stored.

“Okay, let’s get out of this creepy place. And Raz… I’m sorry I accused you of being the mole. I know it was stupid.”

I had a lot of things I wanted to say to her, but ultimately, it was up to Raz if he wanted to accept her apology or not, so I kept quiet. There were more important things to worry about, anyway. If we didn’t hurry, Gristol would unleash Maligula and destroy everything.

If there was one thing I knew for sure, I was NOT gonna let history repeat itself.

[laceyjane44]

GaaSaku 2023 FanFest Day5

Prompt: Inverse Trope (Opposites Attract)

Splitting headache, throw up barely washed out of his crocs, and in the heart of a double shift; Gaara was ready to regret every second of schooling that allowed him to practice medicine.

His rounds had been chaos ever since night fell over the Emergency Room of Nara Medical Hospital. During the evening, it was manageable; a couple kids with a break here and a sprain there, a few middle-aged guys that got a little too cocky with the power tools, an unknown allergic reaction had been the highlight of the shift before. After his return from lunch, however, it had all started to go downhill.

He'd always heard stories of ER’s being overrun with abnormal admissions during nights of a full moon, or even patient wards being unusually active, though he was typically one to dismiss them. Gaara wasn’t a man of superstition, he favored practicality and reason, but this night was testing him. He’d even heard of a commotion in the parking lot near the ambulance bay but hadn’t made it anywhere close enough to the doors to check. As the night progressed, they received a few minor car accident patients, the leftover fray of a barfight brought in by police, the last college girl to drink too much made it known all over his feet, and he still had five hours left.

Beyond ready for the end of his shift, he was tempted to say so when the on-staff doctor called him over to the triage desk. Shikamaru was fresh out of a four-year residency and had been hired on by his family’s hospital as a general practitioner. He was on duty in the ER this evening and, when Gaara responded to his call, he was looking over various charts and discussing something with the triage nurse while talking on the phone. Glancing over, Shikamaru nodded to Gaara and tried to finish up his phone call as quickly as possible.

Resting an elbow on the desk, Gaara looked outside the ER doors for the first time in hours; there looked to be some people gathered to the side, maybe there had been a commotion in the parking lot earlier, and a few distinct flashes illuminated toward the ambulance bay. He craned his neck trying to get a better view, was someone using a camera?

“Thanks for responding,” Shikamaru said breathlessly, pulling his attention. “I have to get scrubbed and assist in the last trauma to come in, I need you to take this patient.” He handed off a clipboard and pointed over to the occupied beds. The phone at the triage desk rang again and the nurse answered as Shikamaru continued. “Sounds like another fight, they might need stitches.” The nurse tapped the phone on his arm, intending to hand it to him. He took the phone and held it to his chest with an apologetic glance back at his RN. “You got that, right?”

Gaara nodded and Shikamaru turned to address the latest call to come in, expressing his haste just as much over the phone as well. It was going to be a long night.

Setting off across the unit, he weaved through fellow nurses pacing about, dodged a gurney that busted through a set of double doors, all the while glancing down at the notes on the clipboard. The patient; a recent admission with a blank name slot – odd, was in bed 22 and given how hectic his night had been, Gaara figured the injuries were serious if they were waiting for Shikamaru. Stopping by the wash station, he scrubbed his hands and threw on a fresh pair of gloves before heading over to the patient’s bed.

The curtains were drawn and, as he approached, he could hear a woman’s voice muffled behind the thin linin. “You could have gotten this taken care of already, but you didn’t want to. So, here we are.” She sounded disgruntled and he was sure he had another pissed off girlfriend after a street fight turned out poorly for her man.

Taking a deep breath, he readied his bedside manner, before pulling back the curtain.

He was anticipating the smell of alcohol, maybe a man sitting on the bed with a few dirty cuts or clutching an icepack to a swollen eye socket. He wasn’t expecting a woman hunched over the side of the bed with a messy head of pink hair pulled back in a high ponytail, a headband keeping the strays out of her face. Her skin was flushed and she looked a little dirty, maybe sweaty, and she wore just a plain sports bra and a pair of grey sweatpants. Instantly upon taking in her appearance he had noticed the toned ribbons of muscle that stretched down her arms, how defined her shoulders were against the curve of her neck. When she looked over to him as the curtain swished aside, her green eyes bright under the fluorescents, his throat went dry and his greeting died on his tongue.

She stared at him for a moment and he froze as she did. Her face was red and blotchy, she had an icepack held to her right cheek – her hands wrapped with craps of dirty athletic tape, and he could see now that she wasn’t covered in dirt; she was covered in bruises.

“Um, hello?” she asked quizzically, lowering her icepack and letting the bloody gash along her cheek finally come into view.

“Who the hell are you?” asked the woman standing to the side of the bed.

Gaara looked over and saw an older blonde woman staring him down as well, she had a phone in one hand and the other was on her hip, looking impatient and perplexed. “Oh, um, my apologies,” he stammered as he stepped closer to the woman on the bed. “My name is Gaara, can you tell me about what brings you in tonight?”

“Well, he’s bright,” the blonde woman sneered to herself, displeasure ringing clearly in her voice, before asking, “Where’s Doctor Nara?”

Gaara glanced back to her as his patient turned her cheek and presented her injury to him, well…the worst of them at least. “Doctor Nara is on an important call,” he explained.

The woman scoffed, already dialing some number into her phone. “What’s the point of even bringing her here when we can’t see him?” She held the phone up to her ear, grabbed her purse and placed a hand on his patient’s shoulder. “I’ll sort this out and find you something to drink, be right back.”

She left the bedside and the linen curtains swished closed behind her, leaving Gaara cut off from the rest of the ER and alone with his patient. The atmosphere suddenly felt heavy. He’d seen people come in as beat up as she was before, worse even, but she sat with such a languid posture, so aloof to the chaos around her, it was like she was completely unbothered.

“What’s your name?” he asked, taking a cotton swab from the small utilities cart and soaking it in alcohol.

She squinted at him as she glanced over, but didn’t turn her head as not to interrupt him. He began dabbing the dried blood from under her eye and where it had dripped down her cheek. “You don’t know?”

“Somehow, your mom filled out your paperwork without a name.” He pulled back the alcohol swab when she cracked a smile and laughed.

Such a pretty smile for such a bloody face, his heart started to thump in his chest. He supposed his other patients hadn’t been quite like her though; she was calm, alert, she wasn’t even flinching when he dabbed the dried blood away from a tender bruise forming around her right browbone.

“Figures,” she sighed, that faint smile still present, and introduced herself. “Sakura Haruno, and she’s not my mom; she’s my agent.”

Throwing out the used cotton, Gaara grabbed another and continued cleaning the area around her wound. “Your agent?”

“Yeah, she knows the Nara’s and took me here to keep a low profile from the media. I’m a professional MMA fighter,” she explained casually, smirking a little when Gaara’s eyes widened.

“So, all this…” he said, alluding to her current disheveled state.

Sakura nodded, grinning. “Just another day on the job,” she bolstered with a click of her tongue. “I just finished my regionals tour with another victory, too. You should have seen my opponent tonight.”

“This isn’t an assault, then?” he asked just to clarify.

She shook her head and dismissed the notion entirely.

Using all of his professionalism to keep it hidden, Gaara felt a heavy wave of relief; he always appreciated knowing he didn’t have to make a good-will phone call to the police. “I think she’ll be disappointed to see you may have drawn a crowd either way.” Sakura snickered; he wondered if she was used to the attention. “Did your agent say something about letting this go untreated?” Gaara continued.

Sakura nodded, scooting back on the bed a little. She dangled her legs off the side, bouncing her heels against the frame, and waited for him to follow the step toward her; watching him all the while. He paused, looking down when he repositioned his feet, and he became very conscious of the defined silhouette of her thigh when she nonchalantly knocked her knee against him, playing it off as an accident. He swallowed as he proceeded with cleaning the wound and the surrounding area of her Zygomatic region, suddenly remembering that he hadn’t showered in two days and he was 8 hours in to his third double shift that week. Hadn’t someone thrown up on him earlier?

“I didn’t want to wait around for the other girls to get treated,” she explained. “First come, first served, and when you’re the winner; everyone wants to take your picture and get a post-fight interview. Plus,” she said, absentmindedly wetting her lips. She looked him up and down and he was sure he was sweating now. “I love my job for the sport, not the press, so I don’t like to stick around for picture time after fights.”

He cleared his throat and stepped back to welcome some air between them. “How’d you get the laceration?”

Her eyes bore into his and he pondered if he’d ever found a woman in such a state as beautiful as she was frightening before today. “You don’t get to my level by fighting pussies; I got kicked in face.”

God, Gaara thought as he looked down to the trash bin and threw away the used cotton swab. She could eat me alive. “You’ll need a suture,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t notice the slight waver in his voice as he returned to the medical cart and began opening drawers, looking for something that wouldn’t mar her face any further.

From behind him, Sakura lounged back on the stiff emergency room bed and drank him in; tall and lean, broad shoulders and dark red hair. She liked his voice catching a little, and he was cute when he was nervous, too, probably didn’t even notice that he’d been starting to blush. She grinned to herself, her tongue probing somewhere on the inside of mouth, the dull taste of iron, and her next words were smooth and quiet between them. “You gonna stitch me up, Doc?”

Gaara nearly dropped the packet of butterfly sutures when he heard her voice drop. Steadying his hands, he was thankful he didn’t need any needlework for this one, and returned a sheepish, “Sorry,” as he turned around. “I’m just your nurse.”

He froze in place once he fully faced her, jaw locked shut, sure that his eyes had gone wide.

Leaned back as she was, he could see the toned plane of her stomach give way to the soft curve of her breast, see the fabric of her sweatpants pull against the shapely muscles of her thighs as her knees swayed back and forth. Sakura popped her tongue and the sound punctuated an anxious sweat precipitating at the back of his neck.

Like she didn’t even feel the cut on her cheek, Sakura let a sly smirk pull at her features and, with that same low and raspy voice, said, “Even better.”

Thanks for reading!

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaceyJane

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2120361/WiccadBaltane0501

[praebitorem-glaciei]

Yayyy slutty Grimshaw fic, gn reader

It wasn't that Achlys needed the money, he didn't. He was well respected and paid well at his job. Though his parents felt he was wasting two doctorates working in a lab, he liked the work.

No it wasn't about that. It was about the attention. Achlys loved the attention, craved being wanted by all sorts of people. It boosted his self esteem after the divorce, he and Vera had just drifted apart, but that didn't change his view of himself.

But this did. This attention did. And he got money for it too. It was a good deal for him. Feel good, feel wanted, get paid. Sure there were strange men, strange women. Some questionable people who wanted what he had to offer. But every single one was an experience he managed to handle.

On his hands and knees, face in the pillows, curly hair being tugged.

Sitting on a couch watching someone bravely ride him despite his size.

Using his much larger form to lean over somebody, hand on their abdomen as he took them from behind.

Achlys had experienced countless positions, countless bodies. He was safe, of course. But his hunger for being needed was rarely fully satisfied, even with these escapades. Still, he continued them, followed them wherever they brought him.

“Is this you?”

He looked up to stare at the phone shoved in his face, one of his many dating apps displayed on the screen. The short term fun for money part very visible. “Yes, why?” He questioned, lifting his head to eye his coworker with mild confusion.

“I'm just surprised!” She pulled the phone back, pocketing it into her lab coat. “Do you have a lot of time for dating with your custody agreement?” Achlys wasn't sure if he was being shamed or if the woman was genuinely just curious.

“Not very much, no.” He turned back to his lab work, putting a vial in the centrifuge. “But Vera has her every other weekend and for most holidays. So I find time. Don't you have two boys yourself?” Achlys smiled up at her and she returned the expression.

“I do yea! Dating is pretty hard with kids.”

But he wasn't dating, so he couldn't really relate. He went to strangers’ apartments and had sex and then he went home. Sometimes he met them at a hotel room, sometimes in a parking lot. But he wasn't dating, so he had more free time.

“Can you get this chart to Doctor Roberts for me?” He held up a clipboard and she took it, taking his obvious sign to end the conversation.

Once he was alone again he took his phone out of his pocket, he hadn't checked his messages all day. Achlys leaned on his arm, sighing as he swiped through some of his messages. None really caught his attention until.. Well, a bold offer was a bold offer. Things that didn't mean anything and paid. That was what he liked.

The compliments helped though. They really fed to his ego, commenting on his body, his eye, his face. Achlys responded quickly, awaiting a time and a place text. He got back to work, he only had a few hours left in his shift anyway. The doctor sighed softly, maybe his desires were a bit unconventional, but they were harmless.

Long hair cascaded down his shoulders and back, he brought his hand up to push his bangs out of his face, free hand on the mattress to keep himself pushed up. “How does that feel then?” He whispered in their ear, lowering his hand from his hair to trail his fingers up their abdomen.

“Good.. Good.” They gasped, lowering their face to the pillow in an attempt to catch their breath. Their legs shook with effort and exertion, but they couldn't just lay flat on the bed, held up by the man's body against theirs.

Achlys lowered his face to their shoulder, resting his forehead against their skin as he caught his breath. His hand trailed lower, fingers toying with their still sensitive flesh. “Ah.. Ah- Achlys..” Their voice muffled by the pillow as his sharp teeth grazed over their sensitive skin.

“Does it feel too good, dove?” His voice was teasing, light and airy. He hadn't even moved in a few minutes, his body only tightly pressed against theirs. No, just his hand, his voice, his fangs. It was all he needed to make them feel good. “I can stop if it's too much.” The doctor emphasized his words by beginning to separate his body from theirs, sizeable cock dragging along their inner walls.

They let out a choked sound, tensing and relaxing, their fingers dug into the sheets. “No! No.. It's fine. It's still good.” They clarified through soft gasps of air. Achlys got off on this, on being needed by strangers. Achlys exhaled softly, he didn't pull fully out, but he did pull further out before pressing all the way back in.

He couldn't contain his smile at the way their body shuddered beneath his. “There we go.. That's good..” He brought his hand back up to their abdomen, a good place to press when he slowly resumed his earlier pace. He had a solid amount of stamina, another bonus in this industry. And Achlys realised long ago he loved overstimulating all the precious people who came to him for pleasure.

Achlys waited for the tap out before he pulled out, gently stroking their back as they lay limp against the mattress. “Very good job, dove.” He praised in a soft voice as he got off of their bed. He looked around the room, disposing of the condom in the trash can before cleaning himself up with the wipes he brought.

The doctor carefully cleaned them up too, actions gentle, almost affectionate. If it weren't for the absolute lack of emotions involved. “There we go.. Do you want me to get you anything? Water?” Achlys asked in a soft tone as he got up to find his boxers.

“Sure, thanks.. Money's uh- it's in the kitchen on the table.”

“Thanks, I'll be back.” Aftercare was a given part of his work. He took the money, counting it quietly under his breath. Two hundred dollars wasn't too bad. He kept the money as he filled a glass of water. Achlys returned to the bedroom, tossing the money on top of his bag.

“Sit up, dove.” He sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for them to sit up. Once they did, he carefully helped them drink the water. “Anything else I can do? I can cook.” Achlys laughed quietly, amused by their smile and head shake as they swallowed the water.

They flopped back against the mattress, sighing with content. “I think I'm good, thank you, Achlys.” He placed the glass of water on the bedside table, running his fingers through their hair.

“Of course.” Achlys stood up and finished getting dressed, stuffing the money and wipes into the bag he brought with him. “Well, you have my number if you ever want to do this again.” He pulled his jacket on, watching them finish the glass of water with a soft huff.

They waved behind them at him and he slipped out of the bedroom to the entrance. Good sex and now he had spare change to spend on gelato.

[thesinglesjukebox]

CALVIN HARRIS FT. ELLIE GOULDING, "MIRACLE"

Some of us believe in miracles, some of us don't...

[5.84]

Taylor Alatorre: This song made me check if my computer was Y2K compliant. This song made me surf the alt.politics newsgroup to find out the date of the next WTO conference. This song made me "borrow" my weird friend's Prima strategy guide for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. This song made me call up my local PBS station to see if it had any plans to air episodes of Serial Experiments Lain. This song made me print out and annotate the lyrics to my illegally downloaded copy of NOFX's The Decline EP. This song made me contemplate making an "Acceptable in the 90's" pun. This song re-taught me HTML.</br> [9]

Leah Isobel: I need Kingdom Hearts AMVs set to this song and I need them immediately. [8]

Jonathan Bradley: It's vintage trance rather than blockbuster eurodance, but Calvin Harris's '90s pastiche is more dead-on than anything found on the Planet of the Bass. Precisely, it's a dead-on recreation of "Children" by Robert Miles, though perhaps Ellie Goulding has been recruited to provide a point of differentiation. It took one-and-a-half listens to remind my that the odd warpings of her cellophane voice go from novel to vertiginous very quickly; they might be more welcome here if they were either less glassily pristine or more. The breakbeat at the end is its own work of miniature history: the years going on and club trends shifting to drum and bass. [6]

Edward Okulicz: When I first heard this song I was sure it must be a sped-up remix thing a la Robin Schulz/Oliver Tree's "Miss You". How could it not have been? It's just so much. I would suggest that if they want to squeeze any more virality out of this song, they might get some mileage by slowing it down. But then it might lose that tasty early 00s UK mainstream chart dance-pop energy it's channelling so well. [6]

Hannah Jocelyn: This gets a [6] because the way Ellie Goulding sings "Oh No" makes me think of Webcomic Name. But also because Goulding sounds the most like herself she has in years, after eras upon eras of producers wasting her fascinating vocal timbre. How many vocalists have a soprano voice that husky? How many have that weird vibrato? Goulding's voice already sounds sped-up before Harris even touches it, and if it is sped up, I need to hear the version of "oh no" that sounds like "MacArthur Park." [6]

Crystal Leww: Calvin Harris is like the cat with nine lives of EDM, having gotten his start during the days of freaking bloghouse, blowing up during peak girly-ass EDM, continuing to thrive through the UK pop-house era, and sliding and funk waving bouncing through the late-aughts. I thought that finally he would retire to hitting the play button on prerecorded headlining sets in Vegas and Ibiza, but alas, he's hopped on trance during a time when it's back, baby. Trance's grand return is something that's been building with a very specific set of underground dance nerds for a while, in a bunch of different formats (see: the hypertrance crew, the hard trance pop song edits, and the latest point of arrival for PC Music/-adjacent gang), and Calvin Harris takes it all the way to UK #1. "Miracle" joins him back up with Ellie Goulding, who was one of his best collaborators during the peak girly-ass EDM era (twice). Goulding's vocals have always felt like an intimate whisper - they're there and they emote, but they never overwhelm - perfect for a track that needs to speed and glide on the clouds. This may be a sanded down, corners smoothed out version of whatever is happening in the underground but damn if Calvin hasn't always been good at making a hook. [6]

Nortey Dowuona: Fuck Calvin Harris and anyone who wants him to make EDM. [3]

Scott Mildenhall: In lesser hands, this would be a facsimile, losing all joy in a vain search for an excuse to exist. In the hands of experts, it is joy afresh. "Miracle" is at one with its euphoric essence, granting it the space to diffuse and reveal itself not as pastiche, but as a reminder of the power of piano presets. Ellie Goulding in trance alien mode is the perfect fit: human, but not distractingly so. [8]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: I listened to this song twice this year, both times in the passenger seat of my middle aged uncle after not having seem him for years, stuck in traffic in Shanghai, singing along with broken English and appropriately and awkwardly bumping our heads. He thought it bumped. [6]

Ian Mathers: I can't remember if I've ever felt dismay when the beat comes in before, but on first listen that's exactly what happened. I'm not even sure why! It's not like I was much enjoying the song before that; maybe it just suddenly seemed clear this was going to be exactly what I'd expect from the combination of these two artists, neither of whom I love. It felt like I could have predicted the rest of the song from that point, and that's kind of how it played out. [3]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I love dumb dance pop -- My favorite Madonna song is "4 Minutes"! This is too dumb even for me. How do you even do that? [3]

Katherine St Asaph: This kind of pop-trance was already a massively guilty pleasure for me because of the accumulated secondhand disgust of trance purists. "Miracle" has an additional source of guilt in being a pop-trance track by Calvin Harris, who has been around long enough that his releasing a Robert Miles rip this hacky has to be either condescension or a bit. Clearly I have no standards. [9]

Alfred Soto: Give me more anonymous dance tracks like "Miracle," which it isn't but it will do. Jessie Ware would do well to cast off her pearls before the swine who helped perpetuate her approximation of failed euphoria. [7]

Aaron Bergstrom: We have DJ Sammy at home. [3]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: What the hell... this literally ends right as I'm starting to believe how good it is? [4]

Brad Shoup: Feels like I should be rating the progressive-trance remix in my head, one that's 12 minutes long, shamelessly milks the piano decay and pushes Goulding to match the urgency of the BPM. She's as centered as ever, despite Harris's breakneck rave tempo: nearing the end, he tosses out some breakbeat like an anchor. But in my head, it's still going. [6]

Thomas Inskeep: I know I should be accustomed to it in 2023, but when I come across someone such as Harris who clearly has zero musical integrity, who'll do anything for hits -- well, it still catches me off-guard. And no one hops from one dance/pop trend to another faster than Harris. (Allow me to remind you that his 2007 album I Created Disco was pretty good!) Which is all to say that I shouldn't be surprised to hear "Miracle" hopping on the '90s trance revival bandwagon. He's got the ability to make it sound right, but by no means does that make this good. I disliked '90s trance at the time, and find it even more loathsome now as a big-budget no-ideas Hollywood sequel. Goulding could literally be any other female singer, as generic and over-processed as her vocals are here - and she's never been the most (ahem) distinctive singer to begin with. Truly, almost impressively awful. [1]

Will Adams: In our 2022 Amnesty post-mortem, I wrote about Romy's "Strong" and how trance music had been bubbling up in the pop landscape. Fast forward a year, and now we have mainstream acts -- Tove Lo, Icona Pop, David fucking Guetta -- all dialing up the tempos and the sawtooth synths. I should've known Calvin Harris -- who has contorted himself to align with the electronic genre du jour for over fifteen years -- would hop on the train, but "Miracle" still came as a welcome surprise. I spent better part of my tenure at the Jukebox yelling about how much I love trance, and this is no different. In the tradition of euro-trance classics, there are, at most, two key elements at play: the Robert Miles piano; the lyric "are you too cynical to believe in a miracle?" The rest is routine: the accelerated heartbeat BPM, a feather-light vocal from Goulding, reverb galore, all in service of creating that dream-like state on the dancefloor, when you close your eyes but still feel the strobe lights on you. [7]

Jackie Powell: I'll preface this by saying "Miracle" was my top song this year. When Spotify wrapped told me what I predicted was true, I wasn't surprised. "Miracle" was a song that stuck with me throughout the good and the bad in 2023. It was with me when I couldn't get out of bed, when I was driving or walking to my destination, when I was exercising, when I was transcribing an interview, and even when I was writing. I'm not the only one who proclaimed that the third Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding collaboration was an addictive listen. It's an earworm. It's meant to be looped. Calvin Harris knows how and when to introduce new sounds, something that happens from the first verse right into the second chorus. Those introductions stimulate the brain and since I've listened to the track so many times, I can anticipate each dynamic shift and new sound that arrives. I feel like a conductor when I know exactly when the "boots and cats" percussion finally hits. The lyrics aren't really groundbreaking on this track and they aren't supposed to be. To enjoy "Miracle" at its fullest, the appreciation comes in the diverse sounds, and its velocity. Hat tip to Chromatica producer BURNS who provides the listener with a similar type of movement and constant tempo changes following the drop in "Rain on Me." But that is to say, the most stunning part of the "Miracle" experience isn't what makes it the most addicting. It's Goulding's vocals. Not only does the melody written in give her the freedom to use her voice at its most natural, but this is a song that not many other pop artists could pull off convincingly. You want to know what her voice is going to do next because it's so unpredictable. This is a track that is exemplary of the fact that Goulding is a generational talent, her unique timbres and range aren't contained but rather are given a space to play. And if you can't hear that alongside techno and Eurodance beats, have no fear: Harris and Goulding put out a "Church version" of Miracle, stripping back until this version is truly all about Goulding. There's a euphoric sound when she's harmonizing with herself during the second verse. It's so satisfying and soothing. It's so stupefying and even a bit moving. [10]

[toxic-potions-productions]

Can't say no to his wifey (KNY swap au) (Source: South park)

(He's swapped with Zakiko, BTW, & Yoriichi & Haruhime are the same)

So, Michikatsu in the swap au is swapped with Zakiko so that means she was the moon breathing creator & he took it up in her honor

He is in fact still married to Haruhime & have their two kids, & he didn't leave them like in the original story. He was actually a half-demon before he even met her since in this au, Haruhime wasn't even born until the early Meiji era. They got married a few months before the events start in this au. However, something happened to them just before the hashira training arc which causes him to in fact meet them up in heaven when he dies during the fight with Astaroth & Blackstone (Swap au Gyomei)

Considering Michi is still a half-demon, that means he's immune to the mark's curse like Yorii & that caused him to have the red highlights in his hair. His excuse is that he was born with it & the mark like Yoriichi

Speaking of Yoriichi, Michikatsu wasn't jealous of him in this au. In fact, he was actually really protective of him & tried his best to make time for both him & Zakiko before she "disappeared". He did in fact still gave him that flute when they were younger, BTW, cuz that was too cute to leave out. Whenever people realize he's his twin brother, he tends to get a little embarrassed because of him being related to such an amazing samurai. But, he thinks it's amazing how his baby brother is so well known

& just like OG Zakiko, Michi is a hopeless romantic who gets flustered at everything, especially his wife

Yoriichi sometimes has to keep his aniue in check during the time he was around, bless him

I have no idea how often I'll use this specific swap au, but just know that it exists. I'm gonna have to make a chart of who's swapped with who (Especially Kawa & Akari since they're in this au, too!)

& the more excuses I have to make a flustered Koku/Michi, the better

[db-gochifan]

Braten/Broten Week 2023 - Day 4: Sharing an Umbrella

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Title: Suddenly Model Pairing: Goten/Bulla Characters: Son Goten, Bulla Briefs and Marron Summary: Bulla was only meant to deliver some flowers for a photoshoot, but things took a different turn Cross-posted on AO3

Bulla handed a beautiful bouquet of purple orchids to the last client of the day with a bright smile on her lips. It had been another busy day in her flower shop, but the day was far from being over. She had been offered a huge job opportunity and immediately took it. So the last task of her working day was to deliver the flowers at a photo studio and then go home. She’d be lying on her couch before she knew it.

 She checked the door twice, to make sure it was properly closed before picking up her car keys from her small purse and unlocking its alarm. She got inside the light pink van she was able to afford with the profit she made and saved from the flower shop. A wide smile came into her lips as she realized how far she had gone. She had made it.

****

Son Goten was sitting on a chair in the dressing room having his makeup done for a photoshoot. He was wearing a thick white robe and chatting with another love affair he met on a dating app. As much as he loved being a model, he didn’t really like having to sit on a chair for a couple of hours to get ready for a photoshoot. Luckily for him, it didn’t take much longer for him to be free to get changed.

 He was about to put on the clothes chosen for him, one of the assistants came in writing frantically in a chart and barely paying attention to him.

“We’ll have to wait a few more minutes.”

“What?!” He turned to her with his eyebrows raised. “Why?”

“The woman who’s bringing the flowers for decoration hasn’t arrived yet.”

“You must be kidding me!” He complained shamelessly. “Where does she live? East city?”

“The city is a chaos today. They said Mr. Satan is having a fan meeting and the whole city wants to participate.”

“People actually want to participate in a fan meeting with him?”

“You can be sure of it.”

“Damn.” Goten shook his head and sighed with frustration. “I have no option but to wait.”

****

“All West City decided to go out today?” Bulla complained angrily as she slammed the wheel. “What is wrong with these people? I can’t be late!”

She decided to turn on the radio and found out that all the insane traffic was because of Mr. Satan. Everything quickly made sense to her, but she was still nervous because she had a delivery to do and was running out of time. She glanced at the back of her van and took a deep breath. So much for lying down on her couch soon.

****

Goten was thrown on the couch in the dressing room, bored to death. Another half an hour had gone by and no sign of the flower woman. He absolutely hated having to wait so long to work, though he knew it was part of his job. Things could be unpredictable sometimes. He didn’t blame the woman in the slightest, though.

****

“Finally!” Bulla exclaimed with relief when she parked her car in front of the studio, one hour after she meant to deliver the flowers. She could hope they weren’t too mad at her. She quickly grabbed the flowers in the back of her van and rushed inside the studio.

****

Goten walked out of the dressing room when the noise outside grew louder. He wanted to see what was going on and was taken by surprise when he saw the flower woman was actually Bulla. Before he knew it, he was walking towards her.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the cat lady.” He said in a charming tone and picked a couple of flowers from the box.

The blue haired woman felt her heart racing when she heard his voice and saw his hand grabbing a flower inside the box.

“What are you doing here?” She raised her eyebrows at him with surprise.

“What do mean what I’m doing here?” The brunette was shocked with her question. “I’m a model, remember?”

“Oh that’s right! I remember it now. You were standing outside a studio in West City.”

“That’s right.”

“Is this the replacement model?” The assistant girl came in, still keep her focus on her chart.

“What?” Bulla lifted her head, very confused, and pointed to herself. “Me?”

“That’s right.”

“That must be a mis…”

“Yes, she is.” Goten blatantly cut her out. “She even looks like one.”

“Great, your clothes are in the dressing room.”

“What are you doing?” She asked him when the woman walked away. “I’m not a model.”

“You should be. Look at you.” He checked her out intensely. “Besides, you’ll get to pose with me.”

The woman felt her cheeks burning bright red and began to head to the dressing room. “Fine, but you owe me big time for this.”

“I’ll buy you a coffee.”

“No, you can buy me a burger.” She said over her shoulder before walking into the room.

****

Bulla picked a hanger up and stared at the flowery white top and skirt. It was very different from what she was used to wear, but things had gotten unexpected anyway, so she thought why not?

  Goten felt a shiver down his spine when he glanced up after she walked out of the room, wearing her outfit for the photoshoot. His cheeks burned bright pink and his throat got weirdly dry. He quickly shook his head and stood up.

“Looking good, cat lady.”

“Please stop calling me that.” She shot him a death glare and quickly looked at the assistant, who came to talk to her.

  Despite her initial discomfort with the bright lights pointing at her, it didn’t take long for Bulla to feel comfortable with being in the spotlight. She was actually enjoying being a model for a few hours. But little did she know what was awaiting for her. At a certain moment, Goten joined her and none seemed to mind. Her eyes went wide when he stopped behind her and slid a hand over her waist.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m working?” He looked at her like it was obvious enough.

“I didn’t know part of your job means to touch someone else’s body.”

“It’s just for the photoshoot. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Oh.” Bulla looked down, visibly embarrassed for not realizing it sooner. “So I suppose it’s okay then.”

“Great. Then we shall continue.”

  Bulla had to admit she enjoyed being a model after all. It wasn’t as bad as she thought, and she even got to have a lot of proximity with Goten. It definitely wasn’t bad at all.

“You did a great job, cat lady.” He remarked with a cheeky grin.

“I told you to stop calling me that. My name is Bulla. Bulla Briefs.” She snapped and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Alright, Bulla. Bulla Briefs.” He teased and then put his hands in front of his chest with his palms turned to her, in a defensive way. “I’m just joking with you.”

“You better.”

“On a serious note, you really did a great job. You should really invest in being a model.”

“I’m more than happy being a florist, but thank you.” Bulla replied kindly. “But it was a good experience. I had a lot of fun.”

“I can tell.” The brunette glanced quickly at her and then back at the photos. “You have a natural talent for it.”

“Thank you.”

****

Bulla returned to her life before her fifteen minutes of fame in the following days. Playing a model for one day was nice and all, but it was time to wake up from her fairytale. Her day was so busy she only realized it was time to close her flower shop when she looked outside and noticed it was getting dark.

 As soon as she locked the front door, it start pouring. She lifted her palm to the chest level and it soon got filled with water drops. She mumbled with frustration and her eyes widened the next second. She looked through the glass and saw she was standing under an umbrella.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was passing by and saw you didn’t have an umbrella with you.” Goten looked around. “I don’t see your car nearby.”

“That’s because it isn’t. I couldn’t find a parking spot near, so it’s a couple of blocks away.”

“I’ll take you, come on.”

“You don’t have to, really.” Bulla assured him. “It’s not raining that much, I can run to my car.”

“Don’t be silly. Why would you want to get wet when you can have an umbrella?”

“Okay.” She gave in. “I’ll accept it.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

****

Bulla put her palm up again when they arrived at her car and noticed the rain wasn’t that strong anymore. She turned around to look at Goten and put a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Thanks for bringing me over. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” He checked to see if it was safe enough to close his umbrella, but it started pouring again as soon as he did. He tried to open it again, but it wasn’t working. “Damn it!”

“Do you live near here?”

“What?” He lifted his head and looked at her with wide eyes.

“I can give you a ride.”

The dark haired man barely seemed to register what she was saying. He could only pay attention to her soaked long blue hair glued to her face. Next thing he knew, his hand was resting on her cheek and he was leaning towards her. Bulla felt her heart start pounding and she knew she had to get away from there, but her body simply wasn’t answering to such commands. Instead, her hands wrapped around his neck and she parted her lips just seconds before he touched them with his own. The woman couldn’t help but remember how good they tasted and how good they felt on her. Without hesitation, she kissed him back and felt his arm tighten around her slim body. Only several minutes later they pull away from each other, both panting and gasping for air. Goten touched her forehead with his and stared into her big beautiful blue eyes.

“Wow…” He held her face in his hands. “Your lips taste so familiar. It’s almost like I’ve kissed you before. In fact, I feel like I’ve known you for a long time. Way longer than the cat incident not too long ago.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bulla swallowed hard and looked away. There was a lump on her throat. “I should go.”

“I’m sorry.” Goten slid his hands to hers. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.” She assured him, looking into his dark eyes. “I just really have to go.”

And yet her fingers intertwined with his. Once again, her brain was screaming for her not to do it, but her body decided to act on its own for the second time that day. It didn’t take long for their lips to touch again.

“So, are you free tonight?”

“What?!” She raised her eyebrows to him.

“I believe I owe you a burger.” He looked down at her and noticed she still looked confused. “You know, for being a model for some hours a few days ago.”

“Right.”

“So shall we go?”

“Okay. I’m in the mood for a burger right now.”

“Great.” Goten offered her his arm and she linked hers. Then they walked down the street.

****

“Wow, this burger is really delicious!” Goten’s eyes went wide as soon as he started chewing it. “I can say it’s probably the best one I’ve ever eaten.”

“I know! I feel the same way.”

“Thank you for bringing me here. Honestly, my choice wouldn’t be as good as yours.”

“Why do you say that? I’m sure you’d take me to a good place too.”

“I doubt it. I don’t know many places here. I don’t come to the city that often.”

“You don’t live here?”

“Nope. I actually live quite far from here.”

“Where do you live?”

“On Mount Paozu.”

“What?!” Bulla nearly screamed and quickly covered her mouth. “That’s very far from here.”

“I know. It really is.” He looked at his watch. “Speaking of that, I need to go now. I don’t want to get home late. Later than I already am, I mean.”

“Alright.” She stood up. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to hold you in.”

“You didn’t.” Goten assured her. “I’m just gonna pay the check.”

“Oh no, you can leave that to me. I totally don’t mind paying.”

“But I do. I invited you, so I’m paying.”

“Okay.” She said, thinking it would be better not to insist.”

“I’ll be right back.”

  “Thanks for bringing me here and keeping your promise.” Bulla looked at him after opening the door from the passenger seat and placing the bag with food she had bought to Marron.

“My pleasure.” Goten assured with a smile. “We should do it more often.”

“Y-Yeah.” She was caught by surprise, but smiled. “We definitely should.”

“Well, then I’ll see you around.” He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek and began to walk away.

“Hey.” She said and their eyes met when he looked over his shoulder. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Huh?” Goten was confused for a moment and then it hit him. “I don’t have to give you my phone number. I know exactly where to find you, flower lady. See you around.”

Bulla watched him leave slightly dumbfounded, but still couldn’t help but smile. He had a really good point.

“A kiss on the cheek, huh?” Marron revealed herself behind her and the blue haired woman turned around. “That’s certainly some progress.”

“You don’t know the slightest about it.”

“Ohhh gossip!” The blonde got closer to her. “I want to know all about it. So you better start spilling it right now.”

“There’s nothing to spill, Marron.” Bulla couldn’t hide her smile. “Except the fact we kissed.”

“No freaking way!” She lightly nudged the blue haired goddess in the forearm. “And you said there was nothing to spill!”

“Well…”

“Tell me, did he remember you?”

“He remembers the cat situation, so I guess he does.”

“Did you ask for his phone number?”

“Yes, but he didn’t give me.”

“What?!” Marron was shocked. “Why not?”

“He said he knew where to find me now.”

“Ohhh, I like that.” The blonde cheered. “So what are you gonna do now?”

“Nothing.” Bulla shrugged and looked at her. “I’m just gonna wait until we bump into each other again.”

“That can be a tiring game.”

“I know. But I want to see if it’s actually meant to be.”

“Didn’t you have enough proof of that already?”

“Maybe.” She confessed. “I just want to wait a little longer.”

“That’s okay. If you’re comfortable with it.”

“I am.” She nodded.

“So tell me.” Marron linked her arm with hers. “Is he a good kisser?”

“Okay, let’s just go home.” The blue haired woman laughed and then filled her in.

[justcallmefox89]

Irresistible Force Paradox: Chapter Four - An Open Heart Fic

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Rory and Ethan team up for a rescue mission, and Sienna offers some advice when Rory’s uncertainties threaten to overwhelm him.

September 18.  11:00 a.m.

“Have you heard anything else about Banerji retiring?” Jackie asks as we both collect some charts from the nurses’ station.

I shake my head.  “Nothing.”

“What you do thin-”  Her pager beeps, interrupting her, and she impatiently checks it.  “Duty calls.  See you later, Rory.”

“Later, skater!” I call after her.  I gather up my charts, preparing to follow Jackie’s example and get to work, when I hear Dr. Ramsey’s familiar shouting.  I wander over to a nearby room and park myself near the door, attempting to look engrossed in my charts.  The door is cracked open, allowing me to hear every word.

“This is preposterous, Harper!  They’re not ready.”

I risk peeking through the blinds and see Ramsey and Chief Emery standing close together, talking in hushed tones.

Standing very close together.  Interesting.

“Ethan…” Chief Emery murmurs, delicately placing her hand against Ramsey’s cheek.

My eyebrows creep up towards my hairline.

My, oh my.

Cursing my nosy nature, I creep a little closer to the door.

“I’m not asking you, Ethan.  I’m telling you,” she continues.

“What else is new?” Ramsey snaps.  “I know this is your hospital now.  Your call.  But I’m warning you… I’ll fight you every step of the way on this.”

“What else is new?”  Chief Emery laughs lightly as she asks the question, lingering just long enough to flash Ramsey a triumphant smile and brush a soft kiss against his cheek before she walks away.

I assume a casual pose against the wall and pretend to studiously examine one of my charts as their footsteps grow closer.  Chief Emery breezes by, not giving me a second glance, and I slowly breathe a sigh of relief –

“Were you eavesdropping?”

Goddamnit.

Dr. Ramsey towers over me, arms crossed, looking furious.

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

I lift my shoulders in a casual shrug.  “Can it really be considered eavesdropping if I could hear you shouting out here in the hall?”

He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out an irritated huff.  “I don’t have time for this.  Let’s just get on with our lives shall we?”

I stick my tongue out at his back as he impatiently stalks past me.

“Hey there, Doc!”

I turn around and see Bryce wheeling Kyra down the hall on a bed. “Hey gorgeous!  I haven’t seen you since the surgical interns stole you away.”

Bryce smirks at me.  “You say ‘stole’; I say, ‘rightfully took a surgical case’.”

“Hang on, two hot doctors fighting over me?  Did the cancer get me, because this feels like a ‘died and gone to heaven’…” Kyra pretends to swoon back onto her pillow.

“You have a very morbid sense of humor, Kyra.”  I grin.  “I like it. So… is your surgery soon?”

“It’s right now,” Bryce answers.  “A lobectomy, assisted by yours truly.”

“Your having a lobe of your lung removed today?”  A wave of unexplainable dread washes over me.  

Kyra shrugs.  “It happened kinda fast after the C.T. results came back.  But if the last thing I see before I die is your face, well… there are worse ways to go.”

I force myself to smile.  “Well, if on the off chance you do see a bright light, I’m going to need you to picture this face and turn the hell around.”

She playfully rolls her eyes.  “I guess it’ll be harder to die knowing I have a friend cheering me on.”

“Hey, what did we say about all the death talk?”  Bryce nudges her shoulder.

“Sorry, boss.  I’ll start planning for retirement.”

“Good.  Sorry, Dr. O’Shea, but I have to get Ms. Santana to the O.R.”

I grab Bryce, pulling him just out of Kyra’s earshot.  “Take care of her, Bryce.  Please.”

He smirks.  “She couldn’t be in better hands.  I know you haven’t had the full experience yet, but seriously, my hands are incredible.”

I try to look stern, despite the blush I can feel creeping over my cheeks.  “I mean it, Bryce.”

“Hey.”  He steps a little closer, laying his hand against the side of my neck.  He gently strokes his thumb against my pulse point, and smiles at me reassuringly.  “I’m only assisting, but Dr. Zimmerman is an amazing surgeon.  Kyra will be golden.  We’ll bring her back safe.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. “Thanks, Lahela.”

He gives me one last smile and returns to Kyra, wheeling her off to surgery. From the bed, Kyra waves goodbye.  I return to the wave, trying to ignore the fear that burrows itself into my heart like a shard of ice.  

“O’Shea!”  Zaid voice shocks me out of my stupor.  “What are you standing around for?  Get down to the E.R. and see if they need any new patients admitted!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”  I give him a little salute and scurry down to the emergency room.  Aurora’s already there when I arrive, surrounded by a group of senior doctors and looking annoyed, as usual.

“I have a patient with chromodoridids if you’d like to assist.  Blue sweat, it’s pretty cool -” one attending begins.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Aurora curtly interrupts her.

Another attending sidles up to her.  “Dr. Emery, hi!  I brought you a cappuccino -”

“I drink tea.”

I like cappuccino.

Aurora strides away from them, heading my way with a cold look on her face.

“Hey, Aurora!  What’s up your butt?” I greet her.

“Funny.  That’s what I had to ask my last patient.”  She gazes off into the distance, a horrified look on her face. “It was a model train.”

I can’t hold back my snicker.  

She glares at me.  “I’m glad one of us finds it amusing.”

The snickering is threatening to evolved into full blown laughter.  “Ok… but like… why?  And how?”

It quickly becomes clear Aurora has no intention of sating my curiosity.

“You’re no fun,” I mutter.  I glance around the E.R.  “It’s pretty quiet down here today, that’s great!”

“What are you even talking about?  There are no good cases.”

I shrug, smiling.  “And that means fewer people are seriously sick.  That’s a win in my book.”

Aurora stares at me as if I’ve grown a second head.  

I sigh in defeat.  “If you’re so desperate for a cool case, why didn’t you go with that attending?”

For just a moment she look as if she might answer me, but in the end she just scowls.  “Super not interested in explaining myself to you.”

The wail of a siren interrupts my response.  Aurora and I exchange a look and sprint to the ambulance dock, reaching it just as the ambulance backs in.  The doors fly open, and a muscular, brunette paramedic climbs out, helping the nurses unload and unconscious woman in an oxygen mask.  

“Delores Hudson, office fire,” the paramedic reports.  “Her coworkers evacuated in time, but she’s pregnant and couldn’t move fast enough.”

“Did she suffer any burns?” I ask, already doing a visual examination.

“She didn’t encounter the flames, just the smoke.  She panicked and got stuck in an upstairs bathroom.”

“How are the vitals?” Aurora asks.

“Elevated B.P., but she and the baby both have strong heartbeats. Pretty serious smoke inhalation, though. Hopefully I got them out in time to avoid any permanent damage.”

For the second time that day my eyebrows race towards my hairline. “You got them out?  Where were the firefighters?”

The paramedic smiles sheepishly.  “We beat the fire department to the scene.  I heard her screaming, so I broke in and carried her out.”

“We’ll get her admitted and into a bed,” a nurse interjects. “Dr. O’Shea, Dr. Emery, which of you is taking this?”

“Smoke inhalation?  It’s all yours.”  Aurora waves a hand dismissively.  “I’ll wait for something interesting.”

“I’ll take it.  I’ll be right up,” I tell the nurse.

I linger behind with the paramedic while Aurora departs and the nurse wheel Delores to the elevator.

I covertly study him while trying to think of something interesting to say.  “So… you ran into a raging inferno to save a pregnant woman?”

Fantastic, Rory.  Pure brilliance.

He tilts his head to the side in confusion.  “Well, yeah.  Wouldn’t you?”

I laugh softly.  “Hate to break it to you Superman, but I’m more of a Lois Lane.”

He chuckles along with me.  “You’re a doctor.  I’m sure you wouldn’t hesitate.  I haven’t seen you around Edenbrook.  Are you new?”

“I’m Dr. O’Shea.  It’s my first week.”

He offers his hand and I shake it, allowing my hand to remain in his longer than is strictly professional.  

“Rafael Aveiro.  I guess I’ll be seeing you around then, Dr. O’Shea?”

“Oh, I certainly hope so,” I murmur.

“I hope so too.”  Rafael flashes me a gentle smile.  Suddenly the walkie-talkie clipped to his chest squawks.  “That’s my cue…”

“See you later, Superman.”

Rafael laughs, clear and bright, as he races back out to the ambulance. I wait until he’s out of sight before I turn and head towards the elevators.  When I step off the elevator onto the fourth floor the first thing I see is Mrs. Martinez, the patient who flashed me and Elijah on our first day, doing her daily laps of the floor.  I’m surprised to see her walking with the Ice King, holding onto his arm for support. I linger for a moment, watching the pair as Ethan gestures with his free hand, clearly telling a story.  Mrs. Martinez laughs in appreciation, and he laughs along with her, his carefree smile taking years away from his usually stern countenance.  

He looks good when he smiles.

I quickly shake off the thought as Mrs. Martinez lets go of Ramsey’s arm and he begins heading my way.  His smile fades the moment he sees me.

“Eavesdropping again, are we, O’Shea?” he snipes.

I roll my eyes.  “Once again, it can hardly be considered eavesdropping when you were being loud enough for the whole hospital to hear you.”

He lowers his voices to the irritated tone he seems to reserve especially for me.  “Why must you be so difficult?”

“I don’t have time for this.  Delores Hudson isn’t going to examine herself.”

Ramey’s stoic mask cracks momentarily.  “Did you just say Delores Hudson?”

“Yes?”

“I’m coming with you.”

Fuuuuuck.

Ramsey hurries me to Delores’s room and I’m relieved to find her conscious, her oxygen mask replaced with a nose tube.  

“Hi, Ms. Hudson, I’m -”

“Ethan!” she cries out, a huge grin on her face.

“Delores!  What have you gotten yourself into this time?” Ramsey gently scolds her.

“There was a fire at my office.  I was upstairs filing away some papers.  The elevator shut down, and I couldn’t get down the stairs.”

He frowns in concern; an emotion I didn’t realize he was capable of. “I’ll call your sisters so they can fly in from Minneapolis in the morning.  I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“I’m glad you have Superman in the payroll.  The E.M.T. who carried me out was a total hunk,” she replies playfully.

“Rafael?  Yeah, his biceps could qualify as the eighth world wonder.”  I sigh dreamily.

Dolores snickers and looks at Ethan.  “He gets it.”

“I don’t want to interrupt but I would like to listen to Delores’s chest,” I say.  

“Delores, this is Dr. O’Shea,” Ramsey says.  “Delores was my very first patient when I was an intern.”

I feel my lips curling up into an impish smirk and I slowly turn my head to stare at him.

Sensational.

Ramsey narrows his eyes, clearly not liking the look I’m giving him.

“Tell me, Delores, was he always so handsome?”

Ramey’s jaw drops.  “Excuse me?” he sputters.

“He was cute, but to be honest, I think he’s aged like a fine wine,” she answers, playing along.

“Dr. O’Shea, the examination if you don’t mind?” Ramsey barks, scowling at me.

I widen my eyes and pout.  “But I have so many more questions!”

A vein in his temple starts throbbing, so I decide not to push my luck.  I take out my stethoscope and warm the cold metal on my palm before I press it to Delores’s chest.  

“Deep breath for me please.  So what brought you in back then, if I can ask?”

“Burst appendix,” she answers.  “I was totally freaked out, but Ethan calmed me down.  Even kept in touch a bit over the years.”

I arch one eyebrow.  “Dr. Ramsey has friends?”

“Rookie,” he growls warningly.  

“Her breathing is short, as you’d expect.  I’d like to get a chest x-ray,” I say quickly.

Ramsey glances over her chart, frowning.

I move to his side, keeping my voice low.  “What is it?”

“Her elevated B.P.  It should be low after smoke inhalation.  Let’s get a urine sample too.”

“Excuse me, Dr. O’Shea?”  Delores calls.  “I remember having my purse on me when that hunk carried me out.  Did they bring it in?”

I find the bag on the floor beside her bed and watch in concern as she searches through it, frowning.

“It’s not here!  I must have dropped it outside the office,” she says mournfully.  “It sounds stupid, but I saw this adorable stuffed frog on my lunch break and had to buy it for my little tadpole.  Both of my parents are gone and the father’s not in the picture. I just want everything to be perfect for him.”

“That doesn’t sound stupid,” I assure her.  “It sounds like you’re going to be a great mom.”

“Thank you.”  She smiles weakly.  “I just… I really wish I hadn’t lost that little frog.”

“We’ll go find it!” I offer impulsively.

Delores instantly brightens.  “Really, Ethan?  You’d do that for me?”

“Er... um.  Well…” he flounders for a second.  “Of course. But let’s get that urine sample to the lab first.  I’ll give you ten minutes, then meet you in the lot.”

Soon enough I’m in the staff parking lot, easing myself into the passenger side of Ramsey’s luxury car.  He turns on the radio as we pull out of the lot and classical music drifts from the speakers.  I turn to look out the window so he doesn’t see me wrinkle my nose in distaste.

“Sooo…” I draw out the word.  “Are you and Dr. Emery doing the do, or what?”

He gives me a sharp look.

“I saw you two this morning,” I forge on.  “It looked… intimate.”

“I don’t like advertising my private life at work,” he says slowly.

I stare at him, patiently waiting him out.

He sighs.  “We were an item.  And then only on again, off again.”

A feeling I don’t care to identify, something dark and poisonous, curls in my gut.  “And now?” I ask, fighting to keep my tone even.

I don’t care.  I don’t.  I don’t even like him.  Why would I care?

“Off.  As of last year she’s my boss.  Not that my personal life is any of your business.”

“My lips are sealed.”

Ramsey smiles at me briefly.  “Good.”

“Did Dr. Banerji really quit?”

“I was wondering when you’d get around to asking that.”

I shrug.  “It’s all anybody at the hospital is talking about.  So did he?”

“Yes.”

I straighten up in my seat.  “What?  Why?”

“That’s between him and Chief Emery.”  A muscle in Ramey’s jaw twitches.

He’s hiding something.

************************************************************************************* 

O’Shea gazes at him from the passenger seat, those pale green eyes studying him with intense concentration.  Ethan focuses his gaze on the road, careful not to give anything away.   Rory eventually turns towards the window and he relaxes back into his seat.

“You’re in charge of the diagnostics team now.  That’s a lot of pressure,” Rory murmurs.

“More than you can imagine,” Ethan admits.  “Naveen built that team from his own blood, sweat, and tears. I can’t let him down now that he’s moved on.”

It feels good to confess that, like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders now that the words have been spoken.

“But is that what you want?” Rory presses.

“What I want is to confront the impossible mysteries of the human body, and understand.”

Rory blinks, eyes wide behind his glasses.  “Um, not exactly what I meant but okay.  Did you always want to lead the diagnostics team?”

“The team gives me the opportunity to face the questions no one has answered, so in that respect, I supposed the answer is yes.”

Rory sighs, reaching up to undo the elastic that’s holding his hair back.  He runs his hands through his loose hair, and Ethan risks glancing over, his breath catching in his throat as he admires Rory’s profile in the warm glow of the streetlights. His hair curls gently around his face, brushing against high cheekbones, the rich black of it a stark contrast to his pale skin.  He worries his lower lip between his teeth, and Ethan struggles to resist the urge to reach over graze his thumb over that sumptuous mouth.  Rory glances over at him and he snaps his gaze back to the road.

“I feel like you’re being deliberately obtuse, Dr. Ramsey,” he murmurs.

They drive a few more miles in silence before Rory speaks again.

“I’m actually surprised you were up for this little rescue mission.”

Ethan chuckles.  “You think I don’t want to spend my time searching for stuffed animals?”

“I suppose I thought you’d think it was beneath you.  You’re a busy man.”

“There’s no element of patient care ‘beneath’ any doctor, from interns up to, and including, attendings.”

“And Delores is a friend,” Rory says.

“She’s a patient first, while she’s in our care.  But yes, she’s also a friend.  If a stuffed frog will help her get though this, then I’ll find her the damn frog.”

Rory gifts Ethan with a gentle smile, the expression so different from the usual glares and disappointed looks he gives him.  Ethan tries, and fails, to ignore the feeling that smile gives him.  It’s something he wants to see, wants to be reason for, again.  Many times over.

“I think you might be a softie at heart, Dr. Ramsey,” Rory teases him.

“Far from it,” Ethan scoffs.  “I’m practical.  And that’s enough prying for now.  We’re here.”

Ethan hurriedly exits the car, eager to get some space from the intern, and the feelings Rory stirs within him.

************************************************************************************** 

The rancid smells of burning plastic and plaster make me sneeze as I get out of the car.  Across the street, firefighters are still battling the blaze that’s fully consumed the office building.

“We can search the perimeter, but if it fell from her purse in there…”  Ramsey looks disheartened.  

“Well let’s hope it didn’t,” I say, marching forwards.  

We search methodically, investigating the street where Rafael may have parked the ambulance.  I’m getting increasingly frustrated and starting to think we’re on a wild goose chase when Ethan cries out.

“Look, it’s there in the storm drain!”  He points down at the small, green stuffed animal.

I eye the storm drain warily.  “Oh, fuck off with that bullshit.  I am not going down there.  Haven’t you seen ‘IT’?”

“Seen what?” Ramsey asks, confused.

I groan loudly and clasp my hands behind my head.  “Fine.  We’ll lower me in.

“Worth a shot.”

I lay down on the ground and slide my top half into the storm drain, leaning into the darkness, Ramsey gripping my left hand to hold me steady. 

“I swear to Christ if I see a red balloon I’m going to shit my scrubs,” I mutter.

“What?”  

I don’t answer, stretching out my free hand towards the frog.

“Can you reach it?” Ramsey asks.

“Almost…” I stretch a little further and – “Got it!”

Ramsey hauls me back out, and I stumble a little as the blood rushes back to my head.  He quickly catches me, his hands on my hips holding me steady.  The warmth of his hands feels scorching, and I look up to see him staring down at me, his gorgeous blue eyes dark and intense.  I shuffle a little closer to him, and Ramsey tightens his grip; I can feel each of his fingertips pressing into my skin through the thin fabric of my scrubs.  The air around us seems almost electrified and I’m suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

I quickly step back, shattering the moment, and hold up the frog. “Mission accomplished.  You’re an excellent sidekick, Dr. Ramsey.”

He shakes his head, as if he’s trying to brush off the intensity of whatever it was we just shared, before flashing a brief smile.  “I’m Batman, you’re Robin, and don’t you forget it, Rookie. Now get in the car, we need to get back.”

8:47 p.m.

“Dr. O’Shea!”  Marlene stops me as I walk by the nurses’ station.  “Miss Hudson’s urinalysis results.”

My shoulders slump as I read the results.  

Shit.

I hurry to find Ramsey.  I find him in Delores’s room, the two of them laughing as they watch T.V.  I knock lightly on the doorjamb and nod towards the hallway, wordlessly urging him to join me.  I hand him the lab results as soon as he exits the room, and watch as he comes to the same realization I did.

“The baby’s in trouble, isn’t he?”

Ramsey meets my eyes, clearly worried for his friend.  “Let’s go tell her.”

I take a few deep breaths to steady myself for the news I’m about to deliver.  I’ve personally never been good at dealing with bad news, preferring to bury my problems so far down that the Earth’s core is the only thing deeper than my issues.

Ramsey turns back to look at me.  “This is the job, Rookie.  Come on.”

“I know!” I snap, surprising both of us with my vehemence, before softening my voice.  “I know it’s the job.”

Delores’s smile fades the instant we re-enter the room.  “What’s wrong?” she demands.

Ramsey nods at me to take the lead.

“I don’t want you to worry,” I begin.

Delores pales.  “That exactly what people say when you should be worried!”

“We found an abnormality in your labs,” I continue, giving her what I hope is a reassuring smile.  “You have pre-eclampsia.  This is a fairly common occurrence in pregnancy, and it’s usually manageable if monitored, but yours is quite serious.”

“How serious?” she asks quietly.

“The flow of blood to the placenta is greatly reduced.  Soon it will start to deprive your baby of oxygen and vital nutrients.”

“Your baby is at risk,” Ramsey says bluntly.

Tears well in Delores’s eyes.  “But everything feels fine!  I can still feel the baby kicking!”

Ramsey takes a small step towards her and softens his voice.  “This just means we’re going to have to deliver the baby early.”

“No!  It’s too soon!”

“Babies delivered at twenty-six weeks have a good chance of survival,” I say soothingly, raising my hands in a placating gesture.

“A chance?”  Delores’s shoulders slump.

“He’ll have to spend time in the N.I.C.U., and there’s risk of post birth complication -”

“And some babies don’t make it at all!  Is my baby in danger right now?”

Ramsey and I exchange an uneasy glance.

“Not immediately, no,” he answers.  “But -”

“Then my little tadpole is staying put,” Delores declares with a firm nod.

“Delores -”

“No, Ethan!  Just… give me a week.  Give me as long as you can.  Please.”

“I’ll give you tonight,” he concedes.  “To come to your senses.”

“I’ll keep checking on her,” I say quietly as we walk out into the hall.  “Maybe we can talk her around.”

Ramsey shakes his head.  “No.  Just go home. Your shift’s been over for hours already.”

I stare at him in confusion.  “She’s my patient.  As long as she needs me, I’m staying here.”

He sighs, rubbing his hand over his mouth.  “I’m taking over this case.”

“You can’t do that!”  I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him.

“Go home, Rookie!” Ramsey shouts.

“Don’t raise your fucking voice at me,” I retort, more out of shock than actual protest.

“You’re not ready for this.  Now go home.” He spares me one final, cold stare before he storms away.

“Fuck!” I grind out through gritted teeth.  I turn to look into Delores’s hospital room.  She lies in the bed, tightly holding the stuffed frog as tears streak down her cheeks.  “Fuck…”

10:23 p.m.

I flop down onto the sofa next to Sienna with a despondent sigh.  

“Are you still brooding about Ramsey?” she asks, setting aside the book she had been reading.

“I don’t brood!” I insist.

Sienna doesn’t bother to reply, merely arching an eyebrow at my protest.

“Much.  I don’t brood much,” I mutter.

“I’m sure Dr. Ramsey had his reasons for taking over,” she says soothingly.  “The patient is his friend after all.”

I snort and roll my eyes.  “His reason is he doesn’t think I can handle it.  He flat out told me I wasn’t ready for it.  If he’s worried why doesn’t he keep overseeing the case? What was the point of kicking me off completely other than to be a massive douche canoe?  I just… I don’t like leaving her there all by herself.  I could have helped, I could’ve walked her through the procedure, answered more of her questions, anything instead of just… leaving.”

“Do you not trust Dr. Ramsey to take care of her?”

“No!  No, it’s not about that.  In spite of being a total jackass, the man is a brilliant doctor.  She was my patient though.  I talked to her, got to know her a bit.  I guess I feel responsible for her now, in a way.  And I’m worried.”

Sienna gives me a kind smile.  “You might be the one person who worries more than I do.”

“You take that back,” I gasp, placing my hand on my chest in mock hurt.

She giggles and wraps her arm around my shoulders in a quick hug.  “You’re a good doctor, Rory.  But there is such a thing as caring too much.  Sometimes you need to take a step back and breathe.”

“Yeah, I guess.”  I lean my head against hers, close my eyes, and try to relax, thankful for the new friendship blossoming between the two of us.

“Hey Rory?” Sienna asks after a few minutes.

“Hm?”

“What’s going on with you and Dr. Ramsey?”

I open my eyes.  “What?”

“This… whatever it is between the two of you.”

“The only thing between us is mutual loathing.”  I turn my head to look at her.

“Are you sure about that?” she counters, smirking.

I throw my hands up in the air.  “Ok, I’ll admit he’s attractive.  I’d have to be dead to not notice how fine that man is.  But he’s just so… Ramsey.”

“Can you expand on that please?” Sienna prompts me.

“You’ve seen what he’s like.  He’s unnecessarily mean to the interns, to nearly everyone actually.  He’s so damn highhanded about everything, and god forbid you have a different opinion than him, because then in his eyes you’re just an idiot who’s wasting his time.  He’s jaded and he always looks for the absolute worst in people and treats everyone like they have an ulterior motive.  And he’s rude and he’s tall and -”

“What does him being tall have to do with anything?”

“I don’t like having to look up when I talk to him,” I mutter.  “It hurts my neck.”

Sienna sits quietly, waiting for me to continue.  

“I don’t know,” I sigh.  “He discombobulates me.  Every now and then it seems like maybe there’s something else beneath all that snark and cynicism and I think we’ve had some moments, but then he’s right back to being an asshole.  I don’t understand him.”

“And that bothers you because…?”

“Because I want to,” I quietly admit.  “But he’s never going to let me.  He dated Harper Emery; he’s never going to look twice at some intern he can barely stand.”

“Dr. Ramsey dated Chief Emery?” Sienna squeals.

“Oh shit.”  I clap my hands over my mouth.  “You cannot tell anyone.  Ramsey made me promise to keep my mouth shut about that.”

She nods vigorously.  “I swear I won’t tell a soul.”

“Thank you,” I sigh, relieved.

“You know,” Sienna says, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.  “There’s this thing called the irresistible force paradox.  Wayne told me about it once.”

I bite my tongue to hold back a snarky remark about her invisible boyfriend.  I haven’t met him yet, but I already hate him, purely for the way he treats Sienna.

“What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?  Nothing can stand up against an irresistible force.  And no force can budge the immoveable object.  I think in this situation you’re the immovable force and Dr. Ramsey is the immovable object.”

“So what does happen when the irresistible force meets the immoveable object?”

“Nothing.”  Sienna shrugs.  “They cancel each other out.”

I stare at her.  “That is… supremely unhelpful.”

“No, wait!”  She laughs and grabs my hand, pulling me back down onto the sofa as I move to stand up. “You and Dr. Ramsey have all these issues because you keep pushing against each other.  But fighting isn’t getting you anywhere, you just stay in this grey area where you’re angry with each other.  So maybe it’s time to stop pushing against the immovable object.”

I grimace.  “I don’t know…”

“I’m not saying roll over and agree with everything the man says.  But maybe try to be a little more patient and understanding if you want to have anything more than a ‘moment’ with him. He might be a more open if you are too. ”

“I hate it when you’re mature and make sense,” I groan.  

She laughs and gives me a playful shove.  “I call dibs on maid of honor.”

“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself there, Trinh,” I snicker. “We still need to manage to have a full conversation that doesn’t end in an argument.”

My pager suddenly goes off, interrupting the lighthearted moment.   My heart twists as I read the message.

“What happened?” Sienna asks, concerned.

“My preeclampsia patient just got rushed into surgery,” I whisper. “I have get back to the hospital.”

“Go.  Call if you need me.”  Sienna offers me one last reassuring smile before I rush out of the apartment.

[darkseraphscorner]

Atlas park. Longbow warehouse.

Theta sat in the waiting room, reading a magazine before she was called up, heading into the examination room, she was treated by the familiar red and white form of Tellos. "Greeting a unit Theta, how many we be of assistance today?" He asked, looking over her chart.

Theta pulled her shirt off. "This unit was recently in Cimoria... She was repetitively speared." She waves at several spear wounds on her torso. "She thinks some spear heads might be rattling around in her."

Tallos nodded. "Well remove your bra and we will take a look, again I ask you, would you rather be powered down?"

"This unit would like to be on line, she can disengage her pain receptors thought." She says as she unclips her bra and slides it off.

Tallos nods and gently touches her torso, feeling around the puncture marks in her synthetic flesh. "There is some foreign objects.... Can we remove your synth skin?"

Theta nods as she points to several points where screws held her torso together, Tallos getting a drill with screw but attachment, carefully detaching the fron of her torso, peeling it off and sitting it to one side, he robotic face frowning. "Interesting, I was in aware you had silicon bags for breasts."

"Oh." Theta blushed. "They are auxiliary fuel tanks for this units flame throwers... Steven Berry had to put them there along with fuel tanks in this units rear."

Tallos makes a note on her file. "Highly flammable boobs and ass, got it... But you are lucky, you did receive some wounds to the upper chest, but your tanks where not punctured, it seems the deepest damage was to your abdomen, we will have to replace the playing there." He picks up some long nosed tweezers, reaching into one of the wounds, pulling out a spear heads, the temporal difference between paragon and Cimoria had caused it to rust away.

He placed it in a tray and sighed. "The fact it was still logged in there is not good, the rust doubly so.... Give me a moment." He removes her abdominal plate, exposing wires, servos and hydraulics. Getting a small vacuum cleaner in one hand and his tweezers in the other, he started cleaning out her chaise. "This is quite the mess, you are lucky this did not imper your functions."

It took all Theta had not to giggle at the tickling sensation as she was cleaned out.

Finishing up, Tallos left the room for a bit before returning with a fresh abdominal plate. "Here we go, sadly we only have sealant for your epidermis injuries, we are running low on the alloy they use for your skin, we have had many break ins of late, some one stealing all sorts of units." He starts installing the replacement plate.

Theta waves a hand. "Oh it is okay, this unit can have scars, like a real person."

Tallos rubbed his chin. "I had not thought of it like that, but if you are okay with it."

She nods as he works, helping him reattach her front body plate, making sure her fuel tanks fit into her boobs properly, then waiting as he apples the solvent.

When done, she careful redressed and hopped off the table. "What is the bill?"

Tallos checks his tablet. "Hero corp will cover it, as you where damaged in the line of duty."

She bows to him. "Thank you again." She waves and leaves.

Kings Row. Theta's Apartment.

"This unit is home." She called as she stepped in the door, dusting snow off her self.

Brad waves from the couch. "How did it go?"

She walks up and gently sits on his lap, hugging him. "Minor repairs, this unit has scars now." She took his hand, sliding it under her shirt to feel.

"Aw, poor baby... Want me to kiss them better."

She laughed. "The solvent is still curing, so no kisses until tomorrow."

Brad sighs. "Awwww, but I want to kiss now."

She grins and kisses his cheek. "This units face is very kissable you know."

He laughs and starts peppering her in kisses as she laughs.

[spaceumbredoggos]

Ohoho Another chapter of Aces and Oh's

Chapter Twelve (Hello Hello? Are you lonely? I’m sorry, it’s just the chemicals.)

Holly’s POV:

I walked into Ford’s lab, having a throbbing headache. “Hey Atlas? You got anything for these nicotine with--” Atlas was loudly snoring and asleep on his back with his legs and arms in the air in a goofy position. I rubbed my temples as Kenz perked their cat head up from the cup of tea they were drinking. “Kenz, ya got a little tea dripping from your chin.”

Kenz purred and continued drinking the tea that atlas made for them, ignoring me. “Whatever, I’ll go and get some ibuprofen and a nicotine patch.” I gingerly walked over to the medicine cabinet and took a fistfull of ibuprofen and placed several nicotine patches on my neck. I sat down beside Kenz and stroked their ears. They leaned into my touch, and when I stopped, they pawed at me to continue scritching them. I rolled my eyes. “Kenz, you ever fell like you weren’t meant to be human?” 

Kenz nodded and enjoyed more scritches on their ears, purring loudly and finishing off their tea. Their breathing sounded way better from the combination of herbs and antibiotics that Atlas had been giving them. I grabbed Kenz’s phone to check in on Mom. Mom hadn’t been responding to the texts that Kenz had sent. Fuck. Who leaves their own child on read like that? I gritted my teeth and picked up Kenz. “Come on, Kenz. We’re going on a little field trip. You can bring your comfort items and I’ll give you some nice feeder mice while we’re out. You can pick whatever snack you want from the butcher down the street as well. I’m sure he has some nice organ meats for you to snack on.”

Kenz purred loudly as I gave them an apple to chew on. Kenz was practically vibrating at the sight of the near perfect apple that they kept crunching and biting, sucking out all the juices and eating the pulp. I put them in the front seat of Atlas and I’s truck and drove over to the hospital where Mom was getting her rehab done. “Kenz, can you do me a favor and transform into your human form for me? Pretty please?”

Kenz rolled their sighted eye and transformed into their human form. They continued eating their apple, unbothered by me parking into the hospital parking lot. They finished eating the apple and threw it away as we walked into the hospital waiting room. “We’re here to visit an Erin Thvedt?”

The charge nurse awkwardly glanced to the side, but cleared her throat and guided us to Mom’s room. Kenz bounded up to Mom happily as she gave her a big hug. She had a sickly look on her face, and the cancer smell seemed to get worse. Kenz started making worried cat noises, pawing at Mom. “I know, Wookie. I know you can smell it on me.” She seemed to be holding back a tear. “Where’s Atlas?”

“He wore himself out trying to treat Kenz’s wounds and pneumonia.” I noticed an IV in Mom’s arm. Her phone was charging on the side. “Mommy. Why haven’t you been responding to my texts?”

“Yeah. Why have you been leaving Kenz on read? That’s sorta a dick move.” I growled,but Mom gave a sorrowful heaving sigh. “I haven’t been feeling the greatest as of lately.” She began as Kenz gazed at her with a tearful look. My heart started to drop as I read over Mom’s charts. “Beginning palliative care for terminal liver cancer.” My jaw dropped as Kenz started frantically meowing. Mom rubbed Kenz’s shoulders to soothe them. “Mom!!! No!!! I Just got you back!!! I can’t lose you again!!!” Kenz’s squeals of fear and sorrow couldn’t be soothed by anything really. I was wrong about Mom. She really wanted to get better for us. And she battled her addictions. But the toll on her liver was too much in the end. 

I found myself biting back a tear as Kenz fought back sobs of their own. Their demeanor quickly changed. No one wants to hear bad news about a parent, and it seemed that Kenz was struggling to come to terms with the reality of it. They transformed into their cat form and laid on Mom’s stomach, staying there and refusing to leave. “Kenz. Honey. I know this is hard to hear. But you have to be strong for me just like you were when that monster attacked.” Mom held Kenz’s head in her hands as Kenz started to make whining purrs. “I didn’t know how to tell you, and I’m glad you and Holly came to visit.” Mom rubbed Kenz’s head as a nurse walked in. “Where did that cat come from?” 

I picked Kenz up as they made loud meowing noises and pawing for Mom. “It must’ve snuck in. I’ll take it with me back to the car.” I carried Kenz back to the truck as they loudly mewed the entire time. I helped them to the seat as they dejectedly stared out the window. I could sense the inklings of dissociation in their mind. Thoughts raced inside of it that they tried to block out by simply zoning out. I gave a heaving sigh as I drove out of the hospital parking lot. “It’s gonna be okay.” 

Kenz didn’t respond as I pulled into the butcher. “I’m sure the butcher has a tri tip that’s gone bad for you. Wouldn’t you like that?” I tried to nudge Kenz, who was completely shut down. I picked them up and took them into the butcher, picking up some tri tip, some marrow bones, a rack of pork ribs, and some chicken legs. I paid the butcher heavily and tried to offer Kenz a chicken leg, but they didn’t even bite it. Kenz never turns down food. I brought them inside the shack to our room, where Atlas had moved to sleep. I put the meat in the fridge as Kenz started to lick at the wounds on their back. They bit into them, gritting their teeth. “Kenz no!!!” I nudged their head away from their wounds as they moved on to compulsively groom their forelegs until they started to bleed. They started to cough, hacking up a massive black hairball. “Transform into your human form please.”

Kenz rolled their eyes and did so, only to pace back and forth agitatedly. “It’s just so unfair. Why did she do this to herself? Didn’t she know what she was doing? Didn’t she think of the consequences?” Kenz hissed loudly, grumbling and groaning with each step. 

It pained me to see them this way as they transformed back into their cat form. “Kenz, maybe don’t do that?”

Kenz didn’t seem to want to listen. Instead, they scampered off to the catmint mouse. I picked them up before they could catch a whiff and get themself plastered. “That’s not the solution.” I wrapped them in their comfort blanket and gave them some water to drink. They averted their gaze from the water. “Is it because it’s in a bowl and not flowing from the sink?” 

Kenz didn’t say anything and transformed back into their human form. They crawled to the furthest corner of the bed and started to stare blankly at the wall with their one sighted eye. They’ve completely shut down. I sat next to them and started to rub their head. They didn't even acknowledge the head rubs like they usually did. She’s not even gone yet and Kenz has already started to not take it well. 

Atlas woke up, crossing his arms. “I thought we agreed to keep the topic of Mom unheard from Kenz?”

“You knew and you didn’t tell me?” Kenz transformed into a snarling wolf and bristled their pelt. “Knew what?” Atlas shrank down as I clarified. “Mom has terminal liver cancer.” 

“Oh.”

“HOW ARE YOU NOT MORE CONCERNED???!!!!” Kenz snapped their jaws with a snarling bark. “I mean, I didn’t really know her? And she didn’t really raise us. Holly. Help me out here.”

“I mean…” The words struggled to come as I realized that Kenz needed a distraction. But what? When Kenz gets into one of their moods, especially with something this bad, it’s hard to distract them out of it. 

Atlas reached out to them as they bolted out of the room. “Kenz, stop running!!!” Atlas and I started to chase after them as they transformed into their cat form. They bolted outside, straight towards ThunderClan territory. I transformed into my cat form as Atlas did the same, intercepting them from going any further. “You can’t go here. It’s where the wildcats live. They’ll rip you to shreds.” 

Kenz hissed and swiped at our ears before leaping over us and rushing into ThunderClan territory. They climbed up a tall oak tree, refusing to get down. They had their sights set on a squirrel. They’re gonna steal prey. I intentionally made a lot of noise to scare off the squirrel before Kenz could catch it. Kenz hissed loud enough to summon a patrol of cats out of ThunderClan camp. I grabbed Kenz by the scruff and dragged them out of the wildcat territory before there was any real trouble, but not before taking a couple claw slashes to the face. 

“Put me down!!!” Kenz hissed, swiping at me with claws unsheathed. “Kenz. You could have been killed by those wildcats if they had found you stealing prey from them.”

“But that’s the only side of the forest without any birch trees.” Kenz hissed, gritting their teeth and sharpening their claws on a pine right outside the Mystery Shack parking lot. “Kenz. what’s going on with you?”

“Birch trees? What do you have against them?” Atlas tilted his head and transformed back into his human form. I did the same as Kenz scented a rabbit and dashed after it, thankfully away from wildcat territory. Kenz caught the rabbit in their jaws and started to angrily thrash their head, tearing at it as its screams echoed through the forest. Kenz pinned the dying rabbit down and slashed out its eyes with their claws before delivering the final blow to the rabbit’s throat. They jerked their head rapidly back and tore the head off the rabbit, crunching into the head with their teeth. Rabbit blood and brain matter sputtered everywhere as they ate the head off the rabbit before moving towards the rest of the body.

It was hard to watch as they ripped off the leg of the rabbit’s headless corpse, sucking the fluids out of the leg before crunching it to mash with their teeth and swallowing the mash whole. They shredded the torn off pelt of the rabbit to scraps with their claws before devouring the remaining corpse of the rabbit. Their inky black pelt was stained a dark scarlet with rabbit blood and bits of rabbit brain stuck to their pelt. 

Their tail thrashed as they hissed, their sighted eye blank with dissociative rage. They clawed ferociously at a birch tree, hissing loudly and chomping their teeth into the bark. They suckled at the sap aggressively, transforming into a giant aphid the size of a small dog. The tree was sucked dry as Kenz slashed at it with serrated claws. They transformed into a saltwater crocodile and started chomping the dried wood to mulch, leaving bark and heartwood everywhere. 

Atlas grabbed onto them to snap them out of their fit, trying to calm them down. With a hiss, they snapped at Atlas’s forearm, clamping their jaws onto it and breaking several bones. Atlas screamed in pain as Kenz stopped, panting and transforming back into their human form. “Kenz--” But before Kenz could get a word out, they took off running out of sight into the woods. 

I rushed Atlas inside, gazing at his mangled arm. Ford bolted out of the living room, grabbing Atlas by the shoulders. “Have any of you seen Kenz?” 

“They disappeared into the woods. Don’t try to follow them unless you want your arm broken.” Atlas breathed through gritted teeth, gingerly tending to his broken and cut up arm. I gave a heaving sigh as I tried to follow the scent of rabbit blood and birch sap mixed with Kenz’s lavender-esque scent, but to no avail. They must be feeling really guilty of what they did to Atlas. I panted as I heard hisses and snarls from the edge of the forest that belonged to Kenz. Kenz was transformed into their cat form and wrestling with a golden tabby tom with yellow eyes. They hissed and kept missing the tom’s pelt. They had squirrel fur on their pelt along with all the rabbit blood and birch sap. They strayed onto wildcat territory looking for a fight, didn’t they? I transformed into my cat form and dove into the fray, separating Kenz from the tom. “They were on our territory and stealing prey on purpose.”

“I’m so sorry on behalf of my littermate.” I held Kenz back from scrapping with the tom. “I’m reporting this to Squirrelstar. You kittypets need to be taught a lesson on trespassing.”

“Kenz, what did you do?” I stood between Kenz and the tom to give them a chance to explain themself, only for Kenz to leap onto the tom hissing and slashing at his pelt. Kenz chomped on the tom’s scruff, only to be pinned down and have their belly raked harshly by the tom’s hindclaws. Kenz sank their teeth into the tom’s foreleg and refused to let go, hissing loudly and unsheathing their claws. “Kenz!!! Stop it!!!” 

“They’re holding back valuable herbs!!!” Kenz pinned the tom down, slashing at his face with their claws. “Herbs wouldn’t help Mom.”

“Not even for her pain?” Kenz turned to me as the tom wriggled free from their grasp. “You were trying to steal herbs and prey?” The tom growled as Kenz hissed, tackling the tom. Kenz sank their teeth into the tom’s torn ear, thrashing their head. The tom yowled for the rest of the patrol as more cats sprang from the forest. I flattened my ears to the sides of my head as Kenz sprang at the strange cats. “Kenz. Back down!!! Herbs and prey aren’t worth getting killed over!!!” 

Kenz didn’t seem to want to listen as they slashed at a brown and white tabby she cat. A tortoiseshell she cat pinned Kenz down as they bit into her throat. They let go as the golden tom from before grabbed them by the scruff and threw them off into a car in the mystery shack parking lot. They collapsed with a big thud, panting and gingerly getting up. 

“Kenz!!!” I padded up to them as I heard the door open. Atlas walked out of the shack in his cat form, noticing the scraps of herbs on Kenz’s pelt. “Kenz. What are you doing?”

“Get out of my way!!!” They hissed, lunging at the tortoiseshell she cat. The patrol of cats were clearing out and taking the herbs that Kenz had stolen. “”Greedy fluff brains!!! Hoarding the entire forest to yourselves!!! I hope you all burn with your precious whiskers singed in a lightning struck fire!!!! Go choke on the bones of your prey that your jaws aren’t strong enough to chew to mush!!!”

“Kenz, enough.” I pinned them down in my human form as they slashed their claws at my arm. Atlas transformed into his human form as Kenz hissed, trying to run after the wildcats. “Let me at them!!!”

“Kenz, you’re outnumbered.” Atlas grabbed Kenz by the scruff as he exchanged a glance with me. They’re not taking the news of Mom’s illness very well. 

I gave Atlas a sympathetic nod. They’re really in denial right now. It’s part of the stages of grief. They’re taking out their anger on the wildcats. Atlas and I brought Kenz inside into the bathtub to wash the blood, herbs, tree sap, and ground up animal remains on them. They didn’t seem to fuss as they love baths. It took a lot of work to wash all the grime out of their fur, but it was worth it. 

Atlas approached Kenz with a blowdrier as they bolted towards the door to the outside world. They yowled various curses as Dipper suddenly pulled up in his car. He looked particularly sorrowful until he spotted Kenz. He immediately picked them up as they pawed at him to let them go. “Kitty!!!”

“Hey Dipper--” “I don’t want to talk about it, Mabel.” Dipper slumped over on the couch, Kenz in his arms. Kenz’s tail was thrashing in their displeasure, but they didn’t dare slash at Dipper with their claws. It was really amusing watching them try to plot their escape to get their revenge on the wildcats. 

“Dipper, can you bring me the kitty? They’ve had a particularly rough battle with the feral cat colony in the woods.” I gestured for Dipper to give me Kenz, but he refused to let them go. “I need my kitty cuddles and none of Mabel’s current fosters like me.” Dipper started to scratch that perfect spot between Kenz’s ears that they go crazy for. They started making that sound cats make when they are getting scritched in their favorite spot. Should I tell Dipper that’s actually a shapeshifter hiding from their problems in the form of a cat or should I let him have his fun? Maybe they need each other. 

Atlas grabbed my arm and started examining it where Kenz had scratched me. “It’s just a scratch. I can handle it.” I tugged my arm back as Atlas shook his head. “It could get infected really easily. You saw that Kenz was practically drenched in rabbit and cat blood.” Atlas started sterilizing the wound as I gritted my teeth. “It stings.”

“Where is Kenz, by the way?”

“Dipper is holding them hostage. He needs his cat cuddles and Kenz just happened to be the closest cat that would tolerate someone who refuses to shower and thinks that buckets of Axe body spray will hide the smell.” I let Atlas bandage my wound as we walked over to Dipper and Kenz. Dipper was squishing Kenz’s toe beans, which was one of his favorite things to do with cats. Kenz glared daggers at him, but somehow didn’t bite him. Okay. Dipper will get his just desserts when Kenz is done being touched. I sat down and supervised Kenz, making sure that Dipper didn’t leave with fewer fingers than he came home with.

Kenz noticed a squirrel at the bird feeder and started yowling loudly. “Kenz--”

“Mabel, did you name this cat Kenz?” Dipper asked, still oblivious that Kenz is actually a shapeshifter. Kenz seemed to be dancing around the idea themself, preferring to remain in cat form. Eventually, Dipper couldn’t handle Mabel’s constant pestering and ran off with Kenz into his room and locked the door. He turned on a Taylor Swift album and started badly singing along. Well Kenz is learning their lesson about bothering the wildcats. I sat down on the couch and decided to doze off. 

I awoke to Mabel banging on Dipper’s door. “Dipper!! What happened?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it!!!” Dipper groaned, listening to sad pop songs. Kenz must be begging to get out of his room by now. I walked over to the door as I knocked on it. “Dipper. Can I have the cat back?”

“I need it!!!” Dipper growled as I heard Kenz scratch at the door. “Not now.” Dipper was firm with his tone. He’s gonna have a huge case of fuck around and find out. I sat to the side and chuckled with amusement as Dipper screamed. “THE CAT IS CHANGING!!!!!”

“Okay. You’ve been pouting for long enough.” Kenz growled as they inched towards the door. “Oh, you’re a shapeshifter. Wait, are you Holly and Atlas’s sibling?”

“Yeah. Now I’m leaving. There’s a clan of cats outside that are withholding herbs and--” “Kenz!!! Take the fucking L!!!! They beat you!!!! You can’t go around stealing herbs from wildcats!!!” I screamed over Dipper’s music. “Well what do you want me to do?”

“Maybe stay on the other side of the forest when you gather herbs? Or take them from Atlas’s garden?” I leaned against the door as Kenz did the same. “What’s the point anyways?” “What do you mean?” I used my long nails to pick the lock on the door and picked Kenz up. I took them into our room as they looked on the verge of breaking down. “She’s not gonna get better isn’t she? Even with herbs.” Kenz stared at the wall with their sighted eye. I noticed that they had their bangs slumped over their blinded eye, likely to hide the scars from Dipper. They have those bangs in all their forms. I chuckled to myself as the bangs made their cat form look like those stereotypical 2009 warrior cats drawings. 

“What do we do? I can’t lose Mom.” Kenz paced back and forth as they drank some water from their water bottle. “Spend as much time with her as we can. Tell her stories. Spam her texts with your weird little memes. Take her out for walks if she feels like it.” 

Kenz let out a great big yawn. They must be exhausted. Maybe that’s why they’re kinda down. I guided them to their bed and tucked them into their blankets. “Will she still be there tomorrow?” 

“I dunno.” I gazed dejectedly to the side, hardly able to process what’s happening myself. Atlas is over there visiting her right now. He baked her a pie. I decided that enough was enough and I couldn’t let Kenz mope like this. “You’re coming with me.” I lifted them up off the bed and put them in Dipper’s car that I stole the keys to. I drove it to the hospital and took the sleeping Kenz to Mom’s room. Mom smiled at the sight of a curled up sleeping Kenz. “How’d you get them to sleep?” She chuckled as I placed them right next to her in the bed. 

“They wore themself out.” I chuckled. “And they’re on meds that’s supposed to help them sleep. If there’s one thing their scatterbrained AuDHD mind always remembers its their meds schedule.” 

“I should have listened to Ma all those times she told me that they were autistic.” Mom’s tone was weak as she started to look paler by the minute. “I should have done a lot of things. Been there for Kenz. What was it like for them being raised by Jacob? I hope he didn’t hurt them.” 

The subject of Jacob made me almost gag. “Well, lemme tell you something. The three of us can see and feel inside each others’ minds. We can experience each others’ memories, thoughts, and dreams. From what I can tell about Kenz’s memories of Jacob, a lot of them aren’t at all that pleasant.”

“I think Jacob did abuse them. They have a particularly strong memory of them being forced to sleep outside in the rain and their yellow lab keeping them warm. They also have memories of being slapped, being forced to do pushups even though their hypermobility didn’t let them, and they have a lot of memories of long arguments and screaming matches with dad.” Atlas sighed, pulling out a notebook. “This is one of their journals. You can tell by their handwriting that they were always so stressed. They had therapists that were a family friend of our Step Mom. It was ABA therapy. I didn’t read the notebook because I can’t decipher their swiftly scrawled penmanship. Holly’s a lot better at that stuff than I am.”

“From what I have read in their journals, they were always really angry. And afraid of that anger.” I began as I put another nicotine patch on my neck. “They went into these sorta fits after you left that were really violent. They wouldn’t remember how they began or how long they were in these episodes. But they would end up in the psych ward a few times.”

“Oh shit.” Atlas shifted uncomfortably at the subject. “Yeah. They have awful memories of that place. One of their roommates on one of their stays there scared them. The roommate attacked them, but they can’t remember anything from the attack. They have nightmares about it sometimes. A part of them is trying to remember something from the attack, but something inside them isn’t letting them.”

“From what I’ve also seen in their head… I mean, I don’t like to dig around in there. I feel like it’s a huge invasion of their privacy. But sometimes, a memory just floods their brain and suddenly, they’re back living with Dad under really strict rules. He kept parental controls on their phone even after they turned eighteen. He stole their graduation money. He left them home alone for two weeks with a dog in heat. Kenz didn’t handle any of this well and ended up in the psych ward from a suicide attempt. They moved out when they were released from residential. They moved in with Gran.” Atlas sighed. “But they still act like some of the rules of Dad’s house still apply to them. They still practice autistic masking in the mirror. They still try to appear normal. They’re still always listening out for footsteps and cars pulling up.” 

“They were sneaky with a lot of things, mostly electronic time. The electronic time rules were always super strict even when they were a teenager.” I read back on some of the rules. “If after one prompt, the inappropriate behavior continues, all electronics are removed for two days. McKenzie will show appropriate behavior at all times. McKenzie will do her tasks with one prompt. If McKenzie is non-compliant, she will lose everything in her room for a week, including her mattress.” 

“Their mattress was taken from them?” Mom looked shocked. “And what the hell is meant by ‘appropriate behavior?’”

“The wording is extremely vague. I think it was used as a method of control.” Atlas sighed as I put the journal away. “Anyways, what’s the use focusing on where Kenz’s therapists and our Dad went wrong? They’re out of that situation right now. What we need to focus on is what the hell is going on with them in their mind when they sleep that causes them to wake up all beat up. They say to drop the topic and that they just fell off the bed, but I see them sleep and even though they do rotate like a rotisserie chicken, they don’t fall off the bed.”

Mom’s gaze was frozen in shock as if she had the answer. She sighed and looked to the side, rubbing Kenz’s shoulders. “Well, since we’re all adults here, I think I should tell you my idea.” Mom opened her mouth to speak, only to keel over in pain. “Mom!!!”

Kenz perked their head up and gazed into Mom’s eyes. “Mom? Are you okay?”

Mom started spasming wildly in pain. Kenz stood up, placing their trembling hands on Mom’s stomach. They closed their eyes as their hands started to glow a bright pink. They’re trying to heal her. I held back a breath as Kenz’s entire body was glowing a bright pink. ‘Kenz, I’m so sorry.” Mom whispered weakly, holding Kenz’s hands as they tried to concentrate on their magic with all their might. “Kenz. Honey.” Mom tried to shake Kenz awake as they collapsed, no longer glowing a bright pink. Their breathing seemed to stop as Mom grew weaker. “Kenz? Are you awake?” I nudged them as they shifted slightly, a cruel smile on their face as Mom gasped in horror. “That’s not them.” Mom was fading faster by the minute as Kenz turned around cruelly, glaring at her with all the hatred in their sighted glowing yellow eye. Glowing yellow? Is it happening again? 

Kenz placed a hand on Mom’s throat as Mom shoved them off with every final ounce of her strength. Kenz was hit against a wall and blacked out again before their sighted eye returned to its normal green hue. “Mommy!! Help me!!! He’s com--” Kenz collapsed, coughing up a puddle of blood. You tell anyone a word about what I’m doing to you and I will turn your entire immune system onto your lungs. 

That voice is new. I gasped in shock as it appeared that someone was communicating with Kenz in their thoughts. Kenz feebly nodded as Mom gave a final breath. “T-trust no one.” With a final heave of her sides, she fell still as Kenz stood up. “MOMMY NO!!!”

[umichenginabroad]

Blog Post 4: Travel and Fun

Bonjour! This is Andrew, a rising sophomore here at the UofM. As you’ve probably already guessed, either from the start or because you read my other post (thank you if that’s the case), I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to come to Paris for a one-and-a-half-month study abroad experience, and I’m here to tell you all about the amazing trips and fun experiences I’ve had. In this post, I’ll be talking about my travels to Monaco, Luxembourg, the Loire Valley, and Amsterdam. I’ll also share some of the great things you can do in Paris. As a casual will-take-photos-of-anything photographer, I’ll be putting random photos I took that don’t seem to have any relationship with the content in random places in the post, so I hope you’ll enjoy it!

During my study abroad program in Paris, my friends and I decided to make the most of our time here by organizing trips to various incredible places. All these trips were planned during the program, not beforehand, which made them even more spontaneous and exciting!

Travel Stuff

First up, Monaco. We went on a three-day, two-night trip to see the Monaco Grand Prix, which, for the non-F1 watchers out there, is one of the most iconic races in one of the most iconic motorsport competitions ever. During the trip, we visited local bars and got our share of the vibrant nightlife. We also explored many local sights in both Nice, and Monaco. Walking through Monaco, we searched for the perfect spot to watch the race. What’s crazy is that, when I was ranting about the police being too strict on these places we could barely see the race, I got a free ticket from a random stranger that cost like 70 euros or something. Thanks to her, I got some crazy pics of the race. Whoever you are, I hope you live a wonderful rest of your life. The thrill of the race combined with the beauty of Monaco made for an unforgettable experience. The Grand Prix atmosphere was absolutely electric. The streets were packed with excited fans, and the sound of the cars zooming by was incredible. We even got to see some fancy cars and yachts—Monaco is all about that luxury life know wat I’m sayin. In Nice, we strolled along the Promenade des Anglais, soaked up the sun on the beach, and got some crazy gelato. The old town, with its colorful buildings and narrow streets, was perfect for some casual wandering and some photo sessions where we got a bunch of tough flicks. The nightlife in Nice, on the other hand, did not disappoint. We hit up a couple of trendy bars, and the energy was off the charts. We danced, laughed, and made some great memories with both locals and other travelers. The best part was definitely the unexpected free ticket to the qualifiers. Watching the cars race around the tight corners and narrow streets of Monaco was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The whole trip was a perfect mix of high-speed excitement, cultural exploration, and just plain fun. 

Photo 1: Tuff photo we got in Loire Valley

Next, we went on a day trip to Luxembourg. This small but charming country has so much to offer. We visited the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, which was breathtaking. We also walked along the Alzette, a picturesque river, and enjoyed an amazing view of central Luxembourg from a sky tower. What I think was the craziest part was when we went to this random park with a lot of kids and we were asked if we wanted to play soccer with them. At first I was like yeah sure we’ll take it easy and play around, but when my friend said “yep sure! We’re not that good though” and that lil bro said “I know.” I knew we had to obliterate them. Long story short, we did. 6:3 while playing 4 against 11 was hopefully enough to make them think twice about trash talking the next time they see tourists.

Our study abroad program, CEA CAPA, hooked us up with a two-day trip to the Loire Valley, one of the most beautiful spots in France. We checked out a bunch of castles, including the amazing Château de Chenonceau and the Château de Chambord. Each castle had its own unique vibe and history, and exploring them felt like stepping back in time. The gardens, the architecture, and the sheer awesomeness of these castles were mind-blowing. Day one started at Château de Chambord, the biggest castle in the Loire Valley. Seeing Chambord from a distance was breathtaking. Its unique French Renaissance architecture, with tons of turrets and chimneys, showed off King Francis I's grand vision. Inside, we wandered through massive halls and spiral staircases, each room giving us a peek into the luxurious life of French nobility. The double-helix staircase, supposedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci, was super cool and showed off the creative spirit of the Renaissance. Throughout the trip, we got soaked in the rich culture of the region. Our guides told us awesome stories and historical facts that made the past come alive. We learned about the political drama, artistic achievements, and architectural breakthroughs that shaped these famous landmarks. Next, we headed to the Château de Chenonceau, aka the "Ladies' Castle" because of all the famous women who lived there. The castle's arches spanned over the River Cher, making a crazy reflection on the water. There were quite a lot of  fancy tapestries, decorated rooms, and detailed artwork on the walls inside the castle, which was pretty cool. The gardens were just as amazing, with perfectly trimmed flower beds, sweet-smelling roses, and lush greenery that made the place feel like a fairy tale. In the evenings, we chowed down on delicious local food, including rillettes, goat cheese, and the famous wines of the Loire Valley.The trip was not just a visual treat but also an educational experience that made us appreciate French history and culture even more. Each castle visit left us in awe and gave us a deeper understanding of the historical stories that still influence modern France. The Loire Valley, with its stunning castles and beautiful landscapes, was the perfect setting for our study abroad adventure.

Photo 2: Another tuff photo I got of my friend in Loire Valley

Finally, my friends and I took a three-day, two-night trip to Amsterdam. The city’s vibrant culture and lively atmosphere were a joy to experience. We wandered through the charming streets, visited the Van Gogh Museum, and explored the Nemo Science Museum. The nightlife in Amsterdam is fantastic, with numerous bars and clubs that kept us entertained. Amsterdam’s blend of history, art, and nightlife made it a perfect destination. We also checked out the Anne Frank House, which was both sobering and incredibly moving. It’s one thing to read about history in textbooks, but standing in the actual rooms where Anne Frank and her family hid was a whole different experience. On a lighter note, we took a canal cruise that was super chill and gave us a cool perspective of the city. It was pretty awesome to just sit back, relax, and float through the picturesque canals while learning random fun facts about Amsterdam from the tour guide. We also rented bikes one afternoon and joined the locals in biking around the city. It felt a bit like we were part of a giant, two-wheeled parade, weaving through the narrow streets and parks. The food in Amsterdam was also a highlight. We indulged in stroopwafels, which are these amazing caramel-filled waffle cookies, and tried herring from street vendors (it was actually like lowkey crazy good). Overall, Amsterdam was a total blast, mixing deep history with artsy vibes and a killer nightlife. We left feeling like we’d truly experienced the best the city had to offer.

Photo 3: Just a chill street in Luxembourg

Fun in Paris

Paris itself has so many places and events that are incredibly fun. The tourist attractions, despite being well-known and possibly a bit boring to think about, are actually very interesting to visit. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Centre Pompidou are just a few examples of places that you must see. Each visit offers something new and exciting, whether it’s discovering a hidden piece of art or seeing the city from a new perspective. I got this crazy photo of the Eiffel Tower at night with the Olympic rings on it, as shown below, which made me think boy was that one hour long wait at that same bring spot worth it.

Photo 4: Probably my favorite photo I've taken of the Eiffel Tower ever

For those who love to stay active, Paris is an awesome place. The streets are perfect for running, with beautiful views and cool landmarks everywhere. There are also ping pong tables all around the parks, so you can always find a spot to play a quick game with friends or even strangers. Plus, there are basketball courts where you can hop in and join a game anytime. It's a great way to stay fit and meet new people while having a blast.

Photo 5: Bus

And let’s not forget the cool places around Paris. Disneyland Paris is a magical place for both kids and adults. The Loire Valley, as mentioned earlier, is a must-visit with its beautiful castles. The Castle of Chantilly is another gem worth exploring. Each of these places offers a unique experience that adds to the charm of being in Paris.

Photo 6: Is that a Supra?!?!

So, that about concludes this blog. Thanks to those of you who actually came and read this monstrosity of a post! Whether it’s traveling to new countries or exploring Paris itself, there’s always something exciting to do. And as always, I’ll be sharing random photos I took along the way. Enjoy!

Hsien-Cheng Chou (Andrew Chou)

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering in Paris

[dcpbybia2024]

DCP day 1-2

March 18-19

arrived yesterday morning, my check in was supposed to be 0815 but I was late and didn't end up getting to check in until like 0900 but that wasn't a big deal at all.

met a girl in line, she was nice and we exchanged instas so I hope i get to keep in touch. Check in was basically:

a form that I filled in off a QR code from the housing company

then they put us (~100ish of us?) in a room to watch the housing policies/intro video.

getting my picture taken for my account

received my welcome ticket for the parks

received my room keycard and parking pass (I registered/paid for the parking pass in advance when I registered for housing)

the next thing on my agenda was the background check, which was super quick they just scanned my ID and took my fingerprints.

then i began to move in, i was by myself so it took a few trips to get my stuff from my car to my apartment, but it wasn't too difficult. I brought a folding beach cart thing which was a lifesaver and I would recommend.

i got to my apt and there was nobody there, so i just moved my stuff into my space (I have a 2x2) and found my roomie had left me a sweet little note and some candy/snacks for me, which i really appreciated.

i was free to move in until 4, when i was scheduled to go to Making the Most of YOUR Program, which was pretty much what it says on the label, about 40 mins of tips and guidelines alongside some inspirational/curated videos on how to use the resources in the program.

afterwards I met my roommate, and she showed me around the apartment and gave me the low down on how things work with the program.

my mom arrived later in the evening and i grabbed dinner with her and we went for groceries and stuff at the target and tjmaxx nearby.

last night my roommate invited me to meet her friend group at the hot tub so i hung out with them for a while, then took a shower and went to bed to get up for my swim test the next morning.

DAY 2

this morning i got up around 0645, made some eggs and ham for brekky (yum) and went down to the buses to go to Mickey's Retreat for my lifeguard swim test. i met some people on the bus but didn't exchange info but i hope i can catch up with them :/

the test was pretty straightforward and consistent with other coaching/lifeguarding assessments i've done prior. the deep water test was as follows:

200yd continuous swim

10lb brick retrieval from 8ft depth

2min tread no hands

hearing test (they blew a whistle)

vision test (read from an eye chart)(you can keep your glasses/contacts on)

they said we will test again on location, and i got my training schedule for the next couple weeks which includes a 3 day lifeguard course back at Mickey's Retreat which i suspect will align with the standard guard classes i am familiar with. the schedule has some costuming info included, but i'm not sure if i should be wearing a guard suit underneath or what bc its a shirt/shorts combo. it includes shoes tho so that's cool.

after i got back i checked out the gym in the community center and it looks really nice! i went on the treadmill for a little before coming back to the apartment and putting up the rest of my decorations.

I meal prepped some greek salad/rice and then accidentally knocked out and napped for like the entire afternoon (oops)

after I woke up I came back to the community center to putz around on my computer and that brings us up to now and I'm about to go back to the hot tub with my roommate's friends and hang out :)