#Sorry we've been awol

[dtccompendium]

Episode 236: The Nanki-Shirahama Mystery Tour (Part 1)

Mouri, Ran, and Conan take a vacation to Nanki-Shirahama. It’s a really nice place, and a great majority of this episode is taken up with 'Travel to Japan' promotional videos of them walking around, seeing the sites, enjoying refreshments, and educating themselves at museums. Their relaxed vacation comes to an abrupt stop while they’re walking on the white sand beaches, and they meet 'medicine-art' students. There's Maki-san, who spends a thousand dollars on make-up a month. She has long red hair, purple lips and sunglasses, a mole, and a hat. Then there’s Madoka, the 'Madonna' of the group. She wants to collect some sand to bring home. There’s also Long Hair Snoot Face, who hates souvenirs, especially the one that Ran liked. Lastly there’s Computer Geek and Kanako, a woman with spiky brown hair who isn’t going to do favors for Maki anymore, even though she helped her through university math classes. They have this enormous argument right in front of Mouri within seconds of meeting him. Needless to say, Conan and his group vacate the premises as quickly as possible. However, Maki-san tracks them down later, as they’re watching the sunset, to encourage Mouri to go to a fish and drinking market in the morning, before he goes to Adventure Land. She takes the liberty to even provide precise instructions as to how to get there. Then she jumps in her car and zooms away. The next morning, they’re enjoying their day in the bright sunshine, when all of the sudden Conan goes into shock because he senses Anokata’s large blue eyes glaring at him from across the station. They continue on and go to a shop where Ran has to buy a smiley tomato, but Conan senses the eyes there too. Then they briefly see Maki-san, who bows to them before zooming off in her car again. Meanwhile, Conan chases Anokata who’s getting on a bus to Sandanbeki. They meet Computer Geek at Adventure Land after watching a walrus and orca show, where he gets a phone call from the Madonna, who tells him that Maki-san is dead with a knife in her chest. They tell her they’ll be there soon. Apparently she found the body because Maki’s cellphone was going off playing Beethoven, but she didn’t hear the murder taking place only moments before, because the waves were too loud. She also didn’t think to call the police or an ambulance after finding Maki-san because when they get there, she’s just sitting there, painting, a few meters from the body. When the police finally arrive, you meet two really nice detectives, who are thoroughly the most normal people in all of Detective Conan, and that includes the fact that one of them never opens his eyes. 

[dianesdiaries]

first day, nervous? | Homelander x Y/n

-Homelander is introduced to his newest assistant after Ashley went AWOL, and Y/n's expectations were more then she knew

-Soft foreplay/tension

NOTE: this is a draft so I might finish it later!!

"Hey, you're finally here! Took long enough".

His teeth creaked into a wide smile, almost as forced as the wide floor-to ceiling doors that ringed in my ears. I shuffled quietly towards the curved slim table, as the slender man ran his fingers along the rims. Blonde silky streaks ran through his hair, his eyes squinted as he pushed his strands back. Homelander was a peculiar choice for a leader. As I sat down and watched him glide around the table, he leaned daringly close into my presence. "So what made you decide Vought? I checked your resume you know, you seem pretty-under qualified. Sorry", Homelander chuckled away the awkwardness of his sentence. It was pretty clear he thought I didn't have the brains for it. "Well", I pushed my glasses back into my face, avoiding the gaze of the daring supe. "I've been in association with many government institutions and have worked for-"

"Blahhh Blahhhh"

It took a minute for me to take in his approach. So far, in the past six minutes we've gotten to know each other I can already see how 'bright' my future will be at Vought. "I want the real truth. Everybody comes here looking for fucking power- whether they have it or not. So, again. Why are you here?" he asked, his voice became stern as he ran his fingers across my shoulders. My body bolted at the feeling, his gloves curving along my collar. The one thing I could be sure on was his need for praise. He wanted me to tell him how great he was. He needed to hear exactly what I thought of him so he knew how to approach me. And he found exactly how. By fear.

I chuckled nervously, "Well, I-uh.. Was looking for a new job because I guess I got tired of the same... form after form stuff, you know?", sweat leaked like a tap from my temples, streaking through the bright curtains that swayed back and forth. Homelander dove into the next chair, quickly spinning mine to face him. My legs became entrapped between his, his arms leaning between my seat. "I think.. You'll find just what you're looking for here. Besides.. you work for me. Right?", his eyes asserted a cold shiver through my body. "That's right, sir". "And you'll do whatever I say?", the air became still with his words. my breaths encased into my cavity, the struggle to find wiggle room became worse. Of course he's my boss but.. God, he was so close. I bit my lip at the careless thought of us, I'd already had fallen for what he had planned before I walked into that room.

"Yes sir".

"Anything?", curiosity sparked in his words as he leaned closer, his hands barely caressing between my legs.

"Yes, sir", the yearning in my voice grew louder, my back arching to the sharp feeling of his fingers climbing inside my shirt. His lips pressed into mine, his passive hand making its way through my pencil-tight skirt. The soft hum of his grunts buzzed against my lips, it drove me crazy. He knew exactly what I wanted. He knew the words to say. He felt my heart pace before I had the chance to sit down. An unpredictable supe is never good news, so why do I want it so bad?

[fiveht]

Proof of life (Adore pt 3)

Hello my sweet angel babies ♥️

I'm not going to be able to adequately express my gratitude for the steady stream of love (and concern, sorry) I've been receiving over the past couple of months. I'm so sorry I've been AWOL, it will definitely happen again. Because see, for me, I usually have to make a choice between social and creative fandom participation. My battery is small, and takes a long time to charge.

Thank you to everyone who's left comments and asks and DMs since I've been gone. I don't think I can respond to all of it, but rest assured those messages ping my cold, dead heart every time I see them.

So I'm gonna go out on a limb here. I did this same thing months and months ago, when I was working on Head Over Feet, and let me be clear: posting even a single word of a WIP goes against my every instinct and principle as an author. I am someone who likes to finish an entire story before I post any of it, and on top of that, I am NOT a fast writer, so the expectations that I'm setting up here might not be advisable. But I did it before and managed to finish the thing, and I want to give you guys something in exchange for being so unbelievably awesome, so here I am again.

This will probably be the only time I mention this story in public until it's finished and posted, and inquiries about my progress are unlikely to help with the writing process, I'm just saying. I reserve the right to change every last word of this before the final draft, and I also reserve the right to fall off the face of the planet and simply never finish it, as much as I will strive to prevent that from happening. Please be patient with me.

Anyway, here is my paltry offering to say thanks for the love: the (VERY rough) first ~1300 words of the third instalment of The Adventures of Soft Daddy and Danger Twink.

Sirius secures his handheld shower head to its holder at the edge of his clawfoot tub, and steps out carefully onto the bathmat. He shivers in the cool air outside the shower curtain; it's about twenty degrees below zero outside, so even if he could afford to run his ancient radiator at full blast, it probably wouldn't help much.

He dries himself off and checks his reflection in the mirror, turning his face this way and that as he tugs his hair out of the bun he'd piled it into to keep it dry during his shower. There's no need for makeup tonight, not when he's not even planning to put on clothes.

It's incrementally warmer when he steps out into the main room of his apartment. He gathers an array of splayed text books and notes from his bed and dumps them carelessly onto the couch, then closes his new laptop and places it delicately on the coffee table. It's the most expensive thing he owns, save for the Gucci backpack currently sitting in his wardrobe with a three-inch berth around it like his shoes and other bags might somehow contaminate it. It's weird owning rich-people stuff when you are still, objectively, broke as fuck.

He perches on the edge of his bed and sets his phone to charge, because his battery doesn't even last a day anymore, and he's going to need it this evening. He tucks it in next to his pillow and picks up his new toy.

The plug isn't much larger than the one he already has. A little longer, which is appealing, but no wider, so it shouldn't be a challenge to get it in comfortably. He disconnects it from its charger and hefts it in his hand, feeling the added weight from the electronics inside.

He picks up his phone, and hesitates when he sees the notification waiting for him.

Rieka: let's go out tomorrow

Rieka: the fact that we haven't been drunk since the term started is criminal

Rieka: we've had two chem labs and zero drinks

Sirius purses his lips, thumbs hovering over the keyboard. There's a fine line here, and he hasn't quite found it yet.

Me: got plans

Me: raincheck?

So complete avoidance is the best strategy, right?

Rieka: booooo 👎

He sighs, but at least she's not asking for an explanation. He opens a different conversation then, pushing all thoughts of Rieka Lupin into a tidy, sealed compartment, not to be opened during certain activities with a certain relative of hers.

Me: i'm ready

Me: are you in your office?

Daddy: Yup, I've got a few minutes

Daddy: Want me to call?

Instead of answering, Sirius hits the call button himself.

"Hey baby," Remus answers. His voice is already smooth and honey-sweet, and just from that, Sirius knows he's planning to lay it on thick tonight.

"Hi daddy," Sirius says with a smile. "Should I put it in now?"

There's a low chuckle over the line. "Are we feeling eager?"

"Always," Sirius says, laying back on his bed.

"Use the good lube I got you, it's gonna be in there a while."

He switches the call to speaker, and snags the bottle from his nightstand. "I threw out the old stuff, you've got me ruined for cheap lube."

"Only the best for that ass," Remus says, and Sirius can hear his smirk.

He gives the plug a liberal coating, running his fingers along its shape, his dick twitching just at the feel of the silky-smooth silicone, at the anticipation of what's about to happen. He spreads his legs wide, drawing one knee up to give himself easier access.

"Take it slow," Remus says, succinctly heading off Sirius' impulse to just shove the thing inside himself in one go. "Rub the tip against yourself, so you're nice and wet."

Sirius shuts his eyes as he obeys, sliding the slick end of the toy over his entrance. "Okay."

"Are you going to be a good boy for daddy tonight?"

"Uh-huh," Sirius says, teasing the very tip of the plug in and out of his hole.

"Tell me how."

"I'm not gonna touch."

"You're not gonna touch, and you're not gonna come."

"Yeah," Sirius says. His cock is starting to harden as his body tries to draw the plug inside. "Can I put it in, daddy?"

"Slow," Remus reminds him, "Slide it in nice and slow for me, baby."

Sirius catches his lip between his teeth and tries to push the plug in slowly, the way he knows Remus would do if he was here. 

The shower has left him relaxed and more than ready, and it's hard not to take advantage, just press the toy in to its limit because he can. But he's working on his patience -- under Remus' careful tutelage -- so he shuts his eyes and tries to savour it, the tease of the plug's rubber tip at his entrance, the slow stretch as he eases it past the slight resistance before he sighs, and his body eagerly accepts the intrusion.

"Mmmm," Sirius sighs as he settles the base of the plug flush against his entrance, shifting his hips and feeling the constant, dull pressure against his prostate.

"How's it feel?" 

"Good," Sirius says, splaying his legs out and just enjoying the pleasant fullness. It's been almost a week since Remus last fucked him, and that's just way too long. Christmas really spoiled him. He tugs the blankets up around him, because it's going to take some time before his body temperature is high enough to fight against the chill in his apartment.

"Have you tried out the settings at all?" Remus asks him, and Sirius picks up the phone, switching off speaker and holding it to his ear.

"No," he says, grinding his ass down against the bed to test the plug's reach inside him. "I thought you'd rather do the honours."

Remus hums, and Sirius hears the phone shifting in his grip. "I'm gonna turn it on, okay? Lowest setting."

"O--" Sirius stutters as the plug buzzes to life inside him, nestled snug against his prostate and sending little zings of pleasure down his legs. "Fuck that feels good. That's the lowest setting?"

"It is," Remus confirms. "Want to run through them all, see how high it goes? Or would you rather be surprised?"

"Mmmm, surprise me."

"Surprise it is," Remus says, and Sirius hears shuffling papers in the background as he prepares for his night class. Psychology 1001, Thursdays, 7-9:30PM. Two and a half hours of a lecture that Remus swears he's given so many times he could recite it in his sleep, so why not give himself something fun to focus on while he goes through the motions? 

Being privy to all of this brilliant, upstanding man's secret perversions is a privilege Sirius does not take lightly.

"You can turn it off from the app if you need to," Remus is saying, "Or you can call me and I'll switch it off. My phone's on vibrate, so I'll see it right away."

Sirius smiles to himself. "Got it," he says, though this is a rehashing of the rules that Remus had laid out when he'd brought the plug over last weekend. He'd called it a "late Christmas gift", as if he hadn't already given Sirius several thousand dollars worth of presents on Christmas morning.

There's more rustling over the line, the squeak of a chair. 

"Tell me again how you're going to be good tonight."

"I'm not gonna touch myself, and I'm not gonna come." The toy is still buzzing away inside him, making everything a little fuzzy at the edges. 

"Tell me why."

"'Cause daddy's in charge, even when he's not here."

"Good boy."

Sirius squirms with pleasure, his cock smearing a little drop of fluid on his belly as the toy hums insistently at his prostate.

"I have to head out," Remus says. "How do you feel?"

"Good," Sirius says, his abs tensing as he shifts his legs and the angle of the toy changes. "Excited."

"Me too," Remus says softly. "I'll talk to you soon, beautiful. Send me some pictures." With a low beep, the call disconnects.

[camvrin]

gang as streamers

maz would be the most problematic alongside me (given sometimes we say things on impulse and then backtrack by smacking a hand over our mouth with "I am so sorry. omg.")... but not "problematic" like Melanie Martinez no like. "oh hell nah y'all are WILDDDD for this 😭" "guys I can't keep defending u."

Devon is an actual Cory like they'll post something they'll stream but then go AWOL for six months and come back like "what's good chat 😈.."

Devon is the least interactive with their fan base outside of streaming unless they're tagged in shit or see something that makes them go "wait wait wait hold on a minute."

Jake has the LEAST problematic fanbase and he's easily more popular because. have you seen his rants he'd be like a Charlie but in a. Jake way

we're all the most problematic people ever whenever we're doing a stream together people have clips of things they shouldn't

ykw I'm talking about Devon being a Cory, I act like I hate my fanbase and proceed to disappear too "OLIVER stop posting on everything BUT yt/twitch. DO A STREAM ITS BEEN MONTHS"

we're like Inquisitormaster we have a plethora of ships left and right and one day we do a reaction and someone comes out and says "guys what if they're just poly?" and we make the mistake of entertaining without clarifying it was a joke and all fanbases go insane

drinking streams... 🤤 except I'm (me and probably Maz.) are raging alcoholics so there's a shit ton of clips which include Jake and Devon being tired of my (our) bullshit

irl streams once we're all comfortable like we do house tourssss, bakingggg, vlogsss,,,

"we've known each other since 2020... we were all still in late elementary or smth HAHA" and we earn the title of #onlinefriendshipgoals

ship clips

we have so many out of context compilations it could be damaging to our careers 😭🙏🏽

we all have roles too like "Jake being that tired older sibling for 13 minutes and 04 seconds" / "Solar being the baby for twenty minutes straight" / "Devon being a D1 Instigator™ during the Among Us stream" / "Cameron giving peak theatre kid for 10 minutes"

erm wait guys add more I'm pooping rn 🤓🤞🏽

@barneysbigstompers @anonoob @mazzywazzy69

[agendabymooner]

if not for you ! daniel r. x ofc (måneskin member! ofc) // toto w.

SPIN OFF for COLOUR ME YOUR COLOUR and RUSH

"there'll be no spring if not for this love of mine"

summary: posts and tweets exchanged between lester and others during the baku race weekend as she babysat toto and tilly wolff's children. OR chaos ensues in the paddock and the hospitalities as the wolff kids and an asshole ex-lover (is he really?) made their presence known to almost anyone

content warning: character-centric, mentions of questionable man, appearance of characters not yet shown in the series colour me your colour, toto wolff being canonically fashionable, use of explicit language, faceclaims used for the kids, danny is full on babygirl in the instagram comment section. f1 drivers being messy.

note: sorry for the awol guys, i was walking my fish. tomorrow is the start of the canadian gp 2023 and i am sad that i am not there. maybe next year when i have the money? or maybe when i work for pr. who knows. since i'm not there, i'm just celebrating and writing this.

ALSO!! should i do a blurb or something relating to lester babysitting the paddock kids- like the wolff kids? i've started on it but...

enjoy xx

masterlist

[first image dialogue: i don't normally look at the time because i dress faster than this. i even dress ren and tia for less than seven minutes and they're always dressed nicely for their music classes]

[second image: if they're dressed ten minutes after, that's not my doing; toto dresses them and he struggles a lot. he mostly gets them ready if he's taking them to work or if i'm off to a meeting in milton keynes]

[third image: we've made a lot of trips to ralph lauren and tommy hilfiger because he thinks that he can just mix and match the clothes that we got there for the bunch. said it's a "capsule wardrobe." that's what happens when you're married to a fashion expert, i suppose.]

[fourth image: you'll be able to know if he dresses them once you see the jumper/dress shorts/trousers combo or the dress/jumper combo. you'll know he did the preparing if tia's hair is put in place with a hair clip. she loves it when her papa puts in barrettes in her thin hair.]

tagged tillywolff, mercedesamgf1, redbullracing

view 32142 more comments

carlossainzjr ay, i didn't know they were running a barber shop! i need a haircut

tillywolff i don't recall buying that toy set for them 🧐

charles_leclerc maman said to get it for them so it can remind them of their mamé pascale

tillywolff thank you so much for taking care of ren and tia! i've been told they enjoyed being with their zia lori. maybe you can take care for adelmo next time? liked by loressandro

loressandro i will definitely set up a playroom for the next time!

landonorris thank you so much tillywolff for the best hairstylist ever 😇 i got the best trim in the grid right now and no one can outdo it

mercedesamgf1 boss is asking who's responsible for allowing one of the wolff puppies drink red bull? just asking for research purposes 😊

charles_leclerc maxverstappen1

lewishamilton maxverstappen1

user1 LMFAOOOO not lewis and charles snitching on their in-law 😭

charles_leclerc user1 i need to be in toto's good graces again.

maxverstappen1 it's a red bull water bottle 💀 stop trying to push me back at the starting level mf charles_leclerc

user2 those kids are so toto coded 🥰

user3 if you can survive lando, you can survive the wolff kids 🙌 liked by loressandro

danielricciardo if you can survive the wolff kids, you can survive our kids 😘 liked by loressandro

thomasraggi_ yeah but try surviving her kids 💀

ykaaar you're about to have the BEST years of your life, danny

ethaneskin alessandro-ricciardo kids bout to treat the tracks like mario kart deluxe 🤡

loressandro guys please... this is the only man who's willing to put up with me. stop scaring him away

danielricciardo i'm not scared, i am challenged 😎

landonorris danielricciardo mental health wise? bc same.

danielricciardo when are we having our little ricciardo??

loressandro depends if your swimmers are still working in few months or years. also if you stop laughing at your own nephews and nieces, dickhead

danielricciardo got it ma'am. anything just to have your kids <3

[ellynightray]

Okay. So.

Since we're heading into the finale I decided to just put it out there. I haven't exactly been that much into the whole CX-2 discussion and I honestly don't know if they're going to address that or not but since everyone has been making predictions and we have so many theories... I really wish (if he's addressed at all in the finale) that CX-2 turns out to be Cody.

It simply just makes sense from a narrative standpoint and I had a whole discussion about it with my bestie and it just would make sense and bring just the right amount of drama and angst to the finale of The Bad Batch + it could be an amazing plot point of a future clone series if they decide to go with that.

Cody is not only a person known by the members of the bad batch but he also has a connection to Rampart (who's with them on Tantiss for the finale. I just can't imagine him being there for no reason, that would just be so random??) and Rex (if he somehow appears in the finale). There's a storyline there, spanning from the previous season with Crosshair asking about Cody and Rampart telling him that Cody's gone awol, there's Echo who would probably be deeply hurt and confused if it was Cody who was on the other side, actively targeting them and there's even the fact that Cody is pretty freaking tough to beat and so is CX-2 from what we've seen. If Rex somehow gets to Tantiss, then there's of course that as well, but even if he doesn't there's enough reasons. Cody knows them personally and they know him, some of them have a history with him (Crosshair, Echo) and I just can't get it out of my head that Rampart is there and he was the last one to know sth or say sth about Cody, like I'm sorry but it would simply make sense. Plus knowing what CX-2 did on Teth, it just adds more pain to this.

And him being CX-2 doesn't take away from any of the future projects because this here, now, this is the beginning of the fight with the empire. If they can save him (in a future series focused on Rex, Gregor, Wolffe and co. for example) then that leaves the door open for any of our aus and for the producers to do whatever they want with him in future projects (including the scrapped tatooine husbands). Him being CX-2 not only doesn't take away from anything but it also adds some beautiful drama, angst, pain, suffering, whatever you want to call it and it could make the reveal so much more interesting and compelling!!

Of course I know people want it to be Tech but... As much as I miss him and love him and I would want nothing more but for him to be there with them, I don't want him to be CX-2. It would be, for the lack of a better word, too obvious and too boring. Plus I don't want that for him. I also think it's just too late for him to be revealed as CX-2, that kind of thing should have been done earlier, not in the finale, especially when we have so many other loose ends we need to tie in. I just think, as much as I hate it, that his death was meaningful and brining him back to life would take away from the finale of the 2nd season and from the journey the others are on, ever since his sacrifice.

So yeah. Whatever happens in the finale, I enjoyed the ride and our little game of 'guess who' with CX-2~~

—————————————————————

Edit:

Well shit.

[the-bar-sinister]

Fire in the Belly, Spirits on the Tongue (35605 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth Chapters: 8/?

Summary: Sabo promised that he wouldn't leave the Revolutionary army, but what will become of the three of them now that Ace is awake and alive in his heart, and more importantly, his body?

catch up here

-

Sabo came back from his discussion with Dragon solemn, but resolute.

Koala had been waiting patiently in her quarters, packing up whether they got permission or not. Sabo needed this time away from the Revolutionary Army to get his head straight. They had to investigate, explore his memories with Ace, and understand the nature of this strange connection, and if she had to go awol for a while, then damn the consequences.

They'd make it up to the Army later.

She looked up as Sabo walked in, her smile warm despite the nerves hammering in her chest. "How'd it go?" she asked as she tossed one of her shirts into a bag. 

He smiled softly at her as he closed the door behind him, and he relaxed his shoulder blades against it. "We got our leave."

"We did? Good! We won't have to sneak out in the dead of night then!" She shut her bag. "....was he upset?" 

"I think 'concerned' is probably the right word to use." Sabo frowned. "But he said that he understood my need to take time and grieve."

Honestly, that sounded like Dragon. But the last thing they needed right now was for people to swamp Sabo and Ace with their concern when they had to figure out exactly what was going on between Sabo and the possible spirit of his dead friend.

"I understand that too," Koala smiled up at him. "Even if things are a little more complicated than that, huh?" 

"Things are a lot more complicated than that," he sighed. "Which I would be happy to keep to ourselves for now. We do have a lead on Deuce, by the way."

Koala snuck over, he looked like he needed some physical affection, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders with a quiet hum. "Really? You do? That's great news!" 

He wrapped his arms around her in return and nuzzled her shoulder. "It's what took me so long. I was talking with the intel division. A blue haired pirate in a mask was seen leaving Marineford."

She rested back against him with a little smile. "Well that's really specific, that's got to be him, right? Did they say what direction?"

"It does seem like it must be him," he muttered– his tone had changed slightly, and Koala picked up on the tell-tale signs that Ace was present now, either with Sabo, or instead of him. "It also means that he's real—"

"Ah—" he paused as if interrupting himself. "Yes, he was on the same ship as Crocodile apparently, and we know where they came ashore. "

"Hey Ace," Koala murmured, still looped around their shoulders. "sounds like he is real—and it sounds like we should head right to that island as soon as we can. Before the trail gets cold." 

They nuzzled against her. "Hey, Koala. Sorry to intrude. Just, really curious about how this will work out. You're right— we've gotta get our asses in gear."

"Lucky for you I'm smart," she gestured with one hand over her shoulder at the pre-packed bags. "We can head out as soon as you're able, alright? I'm… I'm pretty curious too." 

They glanced over at the bags, and Sabo's voice and smile snuck back in. "I had a guess you'd already be getting us ready. And I appreciate it."

Koala wiggled excitedly with a nod. It was actually kind of exciting. Yeah, the situation was weird, and it threw a bit of a wrench in her comfortable and practiced back and forth with Sabo. But Ace was a fun presence, and there was nothing quite like a mystery to solve to inject a little excitement right?

"Maybe I'm a little eager to get going too." 

"Want to have us all to yourself?" The voice was unclear but the sharp, teasing look seemed to belong to Ace. "We're pretty eager to get moving too. It's… weird to be here right now."

"Well, .what can I say? A girl has to have her fun, right? And maybe I want you all to myself for a moment." She chuckled softly under her breath. "...I bet. It's not exactly somewhere you can be open. So—let's go." 

-

They traveled as members of the Revolutionary Army often did, incognito, taking passage on a merchant ship bound for the island where Crocodile's stolen ship had landed.

The two of them made themselves scarce but unobtrusive. Helping out, as passengers often did here and there, while keeping their personal lives quiet from the bustling merchants who never asked questions. As far as anyone was concerned they were a traveling couple on their way to sightsee through the Grand Line.

Koala had been getting more comfortable around Ace, finding a teasing sort of rapport growing between them. It was easy to see why Sabo liked him so much.

Sabo and Ace, in return, seemed to be getting more comfortable switching back and forth between themselves, and it was getting clearer and clearer to Koala how to notice the differences between them. Ace seemed hesitant to fully take over, however, worried, he said about getting stuck like before, and usually only interjected in a conversation. Though sometimes Koala would catch him on his own, noticing an unusual posture for Sabo.

She didn't exactly call him out on it whenever she saw it, though once she couldn't help but teasingly greet him a little bit. Whatever the truth of the matter was, Ace certainly seemed like a separate force from Sabo. Their body language, their speech styles, everything was too different to be taken as one single man.

The more she got to know Ace, through the snippets of stories and chatter they shared, the more she enjoyed seeing him around too. Now that she knew she wasn't going to lose Sabo, the anxiety over the whole thing had lowered to a bare simmer. 

Ace, on the other hand, seemed a little anxious around her. Or maybe skittish was the right word. Embarrassed. A few times he'd interjected something into the conversation right as Koala had been putting her hands on Sabo, or going for a kiss, and that seemed to fluster him despite his cavalier and joking attitude about it.

The perils, she supposed, of sharing a body. Those moments tended to send her off balance too, unused to the surprise of going to kiss your boyfriend and his childhood best friend and honorary brother is there gawking nervously at you instead.

But she embraced them with good humor, laughing it off, or giving him a hug and a pat on the back before swiftly changing topics to try and ease his nerves. This was just as awkward for him as it was for her—she had to remember that. 

In the last hours of their voyage, Koala found herself standing beside them, looking over the rail at the island as they approached it. A moment ago she'd been with Sabo, but she'd watched the subtle changes in the muscles of their face, the shift in shoulders, and the change to his smile that meant Ace was there with her as the cool breeze tugged at both their hair.

"Enjoying the ocean breeze, Ace?" She asked cheerfully as she let her shoulder playfully bump his. She kept her eyes out on the ocean, the beautiful and rippling ocean far beyond them framed the rising landmass of the island ahead. 

His smile grew bashful and he gave her an amused aside look. "Caught me again. Yeah, I am. I missed it."

Koala giggled under her breath. "I'm starting to get a real sense of you guys, you know. Your faces, everything like that."

She hummed softly and leaned on the banister. "I can't blame you though. The ocean's beautiful. When I was a girl my favorite thing was to stand on the deck with the…" she murmured low and out of the ear-shot of the other merchants. "The sun pirates, and watch the ocean fly by." 

Ace smiled and leaned close to her– though not too close— and he nodded. "Sounds like a nice memory. When I was little, we used to sit on the beach sometimes, and look out at the sea together. Talk about sailing away."

"It is. I miss them a lot sometimes," she smiled warmly over at him. "You used to dream about sailing off together, huh? I heard a little about how things went—but do you ever wonder what it'd have been like if you had earlier?" 

His expression turned sad, and hard— like he was fighting back tears. "All the time."

She reached out and squeezed his shoulder. 

"Hey. I'm sorry. But at least you're out here together now, right? Sailing the seas in the ocean breeze." With a laugh she hoped wasn't tense she squeezed again. "and this time you've got a cute girl along for the ride! Lucky lucky!" 

He smiled, though something sad remained in his eyes. He slung his arm companionably around her shoulders. "Hey, I'm not going to complain about that. Sorry to get all tense there, it's just. Yeah, thought about it a lot. But we're together now."

"You are, Ace. And you're going to make the best of it, I absolutely insist!" She poked him lightly in the side before she leaned into his arm with a soft huff of breath.

It was difficult, wasn't it? Difficult to navigate with the limited context she had. She didn't want to make either of them sad, but there was so much history there that even the stories Sabo told her didn't hold. 

He chuckled, bashful again as she poked him. "Alright, alright, I promise. Hey— speaking of enjoying…"

He gave her an appraising look with Sabo's dark eyes, most of the sadness having vanished for the moment.

Koala tilted her head to the side with a curious smile. 

"Hmmm? What is it?" She wondered what exactly he was going to ask, was it something about the island they were coming up on?

"We've been on the ship a few days. Ship food, all that," he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "Maybe if we don't have an urgent lead, we could go out for dinner?"

Koala blinked, her eyes going wide as a smile lit up her face. Dinner—anywhere other than a ship's galley—sounded absolutely delightful. And he was asking her, in a way that seemed almost a little bashful—she felt a very slight heat against her cheeks as she chuckled. 

"That sounds like a blast, Ace! Could we?" 

Ace's smile brightened even further and he gave her a thumbs up, his other arm still around her shoulders. "Hell yeah we can! Assuming we don't have to run for the shore chasing our lead, we'll get dinner in town and have a good time."

Koala nudged him playfully. "Then I'm hoping your first mate isn't going to make this whole thing a big rush for us, Ace. I could use a good time after that last job got a little hectic." 

He laughed softly and reached up and adjusted the hat on his head– a gesture of his she'd picked up on already— "well, Deuce was never one for moving all that fast."

"Oh yeah?" Koala asked with a playful grin. "Kind of a slow guy, then? Or just living at his own pace?" 

"He's a perfectionist," Ace chuckled teasingly. "So he spends a lot of time spinning his wheels before he gets going."

"Well, if we're extra lucky maybe he'll still be in the pub somewhere spinning his wheels waiting for us to corner him~. All the way through and till after our date of course."

She couldn't help but tease a little, her smile creeping a little wider. 

He went bright red and adjusted his hat, grinning wider. "After our date, huh? Yeah. After our date."

Yeah, it was worth teasing the guy a little. She laughed into her hand as she watched him go scarlet with Sabo's face. She hadn't quite forgotten that 'equal share of the treasure' joke of his the other day, and turnabout was fair play for how it had flustered her.

She nudged him playfully. "So take me somewhere good, Ace. I'm really sick of galley food." 

-

Ace was getting more familiar with piloting Sabo's body around. He wasn't exactly comfortable with it-– he didn't know if he would ever be, or would ever want to be completely comfortable with it— but at least it was becoming less of a completely alien and unnerving experience.

He kept in control while they scouted for information at the docks about Deuce. It didn't take much to find news. He had to give Koala— the revolutionary army seemed fantastic in terms of finding and using contacts. It only took a few quiet words and greased palms before someone gave them information. A man matching Deuce's description had left a couple of days before, on the ship of Emperor Shanks.

Koala was good at this too. The way she interacted with information networks, the way she knew when to push and when to yield in a negotiation. She was every inch the master spy she claimed to be when they were on their way there.

She was dogged, too— determined to hunt down every last lead for his benefit, all the way until they'd gotten the word that Deuce was probably with Shanks—it was then that her expression got thoughtful and pensive. 

Ace could really see what Sabo saw in her. Ferocious, determined, sly, even calculating. She reminded him, just a little of Deuce, in a way. 

He caught her expression as it changed from stubborn to reflective, and as they lingered in a wet alley at the edge of the docks after their last contact departed, he caught her eye.

"Berry for your thoughts?"

Koala smiled at him. "Nothing bad, but complicated. Emperor Red Hair Shanks is—he's capricious. He's got a dangerous reputation, and I don't know how well he'll take to us trying to follow him." 

"You're not wrong," Ace said, thinking back to the last– and only– time he'd met the man in person. "He didn't like it when I chased him down last time either. Not until he heard why anyway. Then we had a few drinks."

"You—" Koala blinked at him,"you chased him down?" 

"Yeah, right after I became a pirate," Ace nodded. He rubbed his, well, Sabo's, chin. "I mean, if my memory can be trusted I did. I went to thank him for saving Luffy's life. It was because of him that Shanks lost his arm."

It was strange to think that it was possible these memories weren't his– that they weren't real. He believed them; he believed himself. Despite everything he felt real. But once they found Deuce, he'd know for sure.

Koala bit her lip thoughtfully, chewing it as she tilted her head to the side. "He saved Luffy's life, huh? And—I always assumed it was a battle injury, possibly from Hawk Eyes." 

"You'd think, but no." Ace shook his head, remembering Luffy telling him and Sabo about it in the woods all those years ago. That part, at least, he was sure was true. "It was saving Luffy's scrawny little seven year old ass from some pirate he pissed off– and then the fucking sea king that ate him."

Koala rubbed her neck with a furrow of her brow again. "Well…ah…I'm gonna be honest with you Ace. This is going to be REAL easy to verify because that is NOT in any of the intel I've ever seen." 

"That part Sabo could tell you, too," Ace grinned. "The part about him having saved Luffy. Sabo was there when Luffy told us. It was while we were all living rough together. But anyway, I think a meeting with Shanks should be fine. Well as close to fine as any kind of meeting with an emperor anyway."

Koala scoffed softly. 

"As close to fine as any meeting with an emperor." She leaned on a wall with a small smile "we'll make do. Worse comes to worse I can try calling in a few favors." 

"I bet you could," he nodded. He didn't ask what kind. The Revolutionary Army wasn't real cozy with pirates— he couldn't imagine it was different for the biggest pirates in the world. "Hey, on another note, we can't exactly follow up on this until morning, can we? So how about we get that dinner we were talking about?"

Koala snapped out of whatever mental pathway she was traveling down, likely thinking of favors to pull in, and flashed a broad smile at him. "Oh!! That's true isn't it? We won't get a ship till then anyhow. We've got some time to kill, so let's do it! I'm famished." 

"Hell yeah. Let's find some place." Ace looped his arm over her shoulder companionably. He was getting more comfortable with that kind of thing too. After all, he was a physical person, and he wasn't used to keeping his hands off people he was friendly with.

Koala didn't seem to mind it.

-

Ace's arm was warm around Koala's shoulders as the two of them set out to find a place to eat. He was touchy, physically affectionate. Admittedly she didn't mind that at all.

Even if he was using Sabo's body, there was a tangible difference there. In the way he held himself, in the way he held her—and so on. The two of them wound their way through the streets, checking every sign for the best possible stop for this…

Was it a date? Koala bit her lip again, glancing at him from under the fringe of her hair. Ace was funny, lighthearted, friendly. He had that casual air about him that Sabo kept more buttoned down, even when they were together.

He was clearly close with Sabo—and the two were sharing a body. There was some part of her that wondered things like 'is this just a casual dinner? Or is it something more?'

The word date had been used when they talked about going out. Koala had been the one to say it even, it had slipped out of her mouth. Ace had echoed it. Their 'date'. But what did that mean to either of them exactly?

Ace was whistling a pleasant tune as they made their way from the docks into the slightly less rough area of town, and smiling quite broadly. He seemed to be pleased. Whether by the dinner, the information, both, or something more. Sabo wasn't much of a whistler, and Koala had never heard the tune on their lips before.

Koala leaned over with a small smile, shifting under his arm to look up at him. "That's a pretty tune even out of unpracticed lips." she teased. "What is it?"

Was he pleased by the dinner—maybe? More likely he was pleased about his first mate being close at hand, she was sure.

Ace looked a little embarrassed and shook his head. "I don't know what it's supposed to be called, actually. It's from a tone dial my crew found in some treasure one time. Just piano and violin. We never heard anyone else play it and never found out what it was supposed to be."

"Huh." Koala tilted her head as she listened in. "I guess you can say that if it stuck with you this long, that song's a real treasure, hm?" 

"That's how we felt about it," Ace nodded with a nostalgic smile. "We used to joke around adding lyrics to it, but never came up with ones that stuck."

"Maybe when we find Deuce you can finally find the words for it, huh?" She squeezed his arm. "Maybe you just needed more time and experience." 

"Maybe," Ace chuckled. He walked close with her and the way he smiled, she almost felt like she could see his 'real' face peeking through Sabo's.

He gestured at an inviting looking tavern a little further up the road. "Oh hey— that place smells good, don't you think?"

Koala felt her face heating up. Her whole life, aside from Revolutionary Army dallianes that both she and Sabo sometimes enjoyed, she'd never been 'on a date' with anyone but him. She looked up again to meet that smile. It reminded her very much that she was about to head in on what she'd accidentally called a 'date' with a man who wasn't Sabo, whether he was 'real' or not.

It didn't help that the glimpses of his 'real face' in Sabo's expressions were admittedly pretty handsome.

She sniffed the air and quickly nodded. "Yeah it sounds f-fantastic!" 

Ace pulled her with enthusiasm into the restaurant, which turned out to be a rather cheerful and handsome little place with a roaring fire and a small band playing in one corner of the dining room. They sat at one of the rough tables near enough to hear the performance, but not near enough to drown out their conversation, and soon enough they were settled into a hearty supper comprised mainly of fried meat and fish skewers, roasted vegetables, and large mugs of ale.

"Woah—" Koala said as she held up one of the fish skewers with a broad smile. "You know for tavern fare, the cook here sure knows what they're doing! This is fantastic!"

She took a nibbling bite of it while listening to the band, her eyes locked on the man before her. 

Ace— who had finished his collection of skewers and had just waved for more— was leaning on his hand, grinning at her over the table. "Yeah we really lucked out, huh? The band's pretty good too."

"It's a heck of an atmosphere, huh?" she flushed. "The music's great. It reminds me a little of the first restaurant I'd ever gone to as, you know—"

As someone free. She took a big bite of her skewer to try and catch up to Ace.

"Yeah?" his grin softened. "That sounds like a special memory by itself. Any highlights?"

His foot brushed hers under the table— she wasn't sure whether it was an accident or not.

She flushed deeper, and carefully she tested the waters by bumping his foot with hers, her eyes averting to her plate as she fumbled for her mug of ale. 

"Well, it was with the Sun Pirates," she lowered the tone of her voice. "Fisher Tiger had stopped in a town that was friendly enough, you know? For gathering supplies and such–and to celebrate freeing us all from the …you know… he took us out to the tavern. It was a little more tense than this, you know how people are…but Hatchan managed to liven it up when he got the band to strike up" 

His foot played against hers under the table, It wasn't an accident.

"Yeah? I bet. Music has a good way of loosening people up." He smiled at her widely again, and his voice dropped low. "Funny to think technically you were a pirate long before I was."

It wasn't an accident at all. He was flirting with her; or at least being intimate and cozy. She didn't pull her foot away, even as her fluster grew.

She laughed quietly and nodded, sipping her ale. "Since I was a little girl. It's true huh? I wasn't a Sun Pirate for long, and some of them would say I never was—but….I was part of that crew. I wear their flag. And Hatchin, he always knew how to loosen people up. One of the kindest men I'd ever known. Fisher Tiger too…" 

"It sounds like you remember it fondly," he said softly, watching her with Sabo's big dark eyes that seemed to shine with a light all Ace's own. "There's nothing quite like sailing with a rowdy crew of pirates."

"I do," Koala said with a lopsided and unsure smile as her foot bumped his again. "I remember eating my fill for the first real time since— geeze, even before I was sold… in that tavern, on meat like this. And the Sun Pirates were rowdy, and fun, and interesting! There's nothing at all like it. I know a lot of the Revolutionary Army doesn't like them but, but-– I dunno. Sometimes I miss it." 

"Well, you sure don't have to sell me on it," he teased. "There's nothing I ever loved better."

She watched his head jerk and the tousled hair fall in his face as he noticed the band strike up a new song, this one more lively than the last.

He reached across the table and caught her wrist in his hand. "Come on— let's dance!"

Koala blinked her big, bright eyes before she stumbled to her feat with a flustered laugh 

"Dance?? You wanna dance?" She stuck out her tongue as she wobbled to her feet "Sabo'll tell you—I'm a better dancer than I look like!" 

"You must be a hell of a dancer then," he teased, pulling her out to the empty space on the floor around the band. "Yeah, I wanna dance, why not? It'll be a few minutes until we get our next round of skewers."

He hadn't quite waited for her to say 'yes', already pulling her into the dance. Koala wasn't sure how to take it, or rather, she was, in a way but—

Her head was spinning a little as a butterfly-like feeling wibbled in her stomach along with the growing heat behind her flustered half smile. "Alright, well, because you're so eager I'll dance with you, ok?"

"Fantastic!"

She glanced out at the other patrons of the restaurant before she looked up to meet his eyes and catch his hand in hers. 

It wasn't underheard of, certainly, dancing in an establishment like this, but they were the only ones up at the moment, and it was definitely an exposed feeling.

Ace didn't seem to feel it though. He just smiled and danced thoughtlessly across the floor, pulling her with him, his movements brisk and sharp and excited.

Despite the eyes on her, just like that day way back when she was young, she did her best to ignore them and follow along in his dance. She clung tight to his hand as she swept across the floor with him, following his movements and the lively brass of the band.

"You're not half bad," she said as she took a dance-step closer. 

"You're even better than I expected!" The firelight flickered across his face— across Sabo's face— making it seem foreign and unfamiliar. Somehow making it seem more like Ace's face as they danced together to the passionate sound of the band.

Wasn't he the man made of flame? The infamous Fire-Fist cast in his own blazing inferno—as the light of the fire danced across his features, Koala almost believed it completely. Without the verification from Deuce, without the firm evidence.

She felt like she was looking into the eyes of Ace, Sabo's handsome yet deceased brother. A man who danced and smiled as brightly as the flame.

The song came to an end and Ace had his arm looped around her waist, breathless and face to face. Suddenly he moved in to kiss her.

She was halfway through a caught breath when their lips almost caught. Koala's eyes widened, and all that flustered attraction came rushing to the forefront as she squeaked out in surprise. 

Ace immediately stopped and pulled back, his grin taking on an awkward quality, looking just as flustered as she was.

"Whoops! Got a little over excited there. Sorry about that, Koala." 

He laughed it off, but the red of his face made it clear he was embarrassed. "Let's grab another drink and see if those skewers are back from the kitchen yet."

She'd wanted to kiss him, that was the thought that had fluttered in her mind when their lips nearly touched. The urge was there, the willingness to let herself be taken by the flow of the tide and finish their dance but at the last minute she'd frozen up.

She'd gotten too flustered, too worked up to make the move. She knew her face was red as his was and smiled nervously. "Sure, I mean—I could use another drink, yeah?"

Wasn't this a bit fast? What would Sabo think? What was she thinking?

Maybe after another drink or two her head would be clear enough, and her heart would still enough to figure it out. 

Back at their table there was fresh cold beer with a tall head of foam, and steaming fried skewers. Ace's feet didn't touch hers under the table, and he was flushed red behind Sabo's face, but he immediately launched into a story about, as he said 'a mutual friend' and the time he and Jinbei had apparently fought for more than a day straight.

She was pretty sure it was an effort to cover his nerves– and potentially to deflect any perceived embarrassment from her, too. It was almost gentlemanly, in its way.

It was charming. Almost-gentlemanly, from a rambunctious and free-spirited pirate. She flushed again, but listened with interest, interjecting with her own observations on the Whaleshark man— and how impressed she was that Ace held out that long against his fishman karate.

She thought, more than once, about brushing her foot on his or leaning across the table to give that kiss she'd abruptly ended— but each time she felt seized with that butterfly in the stomach feeling. An unfamiliar one.

She and Sabo had fallen together so naturally, so early and so completely; she'd skipped right over these sorts of nerves. 

The food was still good. The music was still good. The company was still good. They chatted their way pleasantly enough through the rest of the dinner but it was impossible to deny it was just a little more awkward than it had been before– Ace was a little more shy.

As they finally headed out into the crisp air of the dark evening street to go find a room for the night, Ace smiled at her, walking close, but not touching her.

"I had a lot of fun. Thanks for treating me to dinner."

The awkwardness became a wall. She'd struggled to get herself past it enough to cling to his arm like she had on the way there, or to make any further move. She instead walked with her hands folded behind her back as she glanced up at him under the rim of her cap. 

"I was happy to. I'd like to do it again, yeah? Even if you do eat your way through our finances like crazy." 

He laughed. "Sorry about that. As you saw, I just have too much energy. Burn off everything I eat, and then I want to sleep the rest off. Speaking of which–" he paused and gave her a shy smile. "I'm gonna grab Sabo for you. I'm beat and I'm sure he's pining for you."

"H-huh?" Koala blinked up at him before she rubbed her neck with a shy smile. "Oh ah, alright! That sounds like a good idea, Ace. I enjoyed my night with you, though! Very much!" 

"I'm glad. We'll do it again some time." She saw a shadow of his fire-light smile in the awkward edge of his mouth, and he squeezed her shoulder briefly. Companionably. 

Then Sabo sagged against her, almost as if dizzy.

"Fancy seeing you here, Koala." It was so jarring. The difference in tone of voice. The way the muscles in his face all rearranged. A moment ago it had been an awkward date with Ace, and now here was Sabo, her long time partner, who she hadn't seen all day.

Koala looped an arm around him. At least that awkward wall had dissipated, even if she still felt like she'd somehow fucked that whole thing up. 

She leaned against him with a thin smile. "Fancy seeing you too, Sabo. You'd been out some time." 

He chuckled, looping his arm around her and straightening out as they started to walk again,. "I promised Ace I'd let him have the day. He's been getting restless."

"I could tell, he got pretty animated during dinner! For ah, for a while at least."

She leaned against him, letting him lead as she closed her eyes. Until she froze and broke the mood they'd had going between them. 

[teadreamsims]

A quick phone called to Misael and he and Fern rushed to the hospital, Desiree dropping Fern off and only driving away after the latter swore that Misael was on his way and would be there shortly. Desiree wasn't convinced, but she trusted Fern and made her promise that if she needed anything at all then just give her a call and she would come back to the hospital with no hesitation.

"Mrs Robles! We've been expexting-"

"Connors."

The receptionist was taken a aback at being interrupted. "Sorry?"

"I'm divorced. It's Ms Connors." Fern wasn't in the mood to launch into a blow by blow account of everything that happened. She just wanted her babies to be born and for the agonising contractions to stop.

"Of course," the receptionist responded swiftly. "My apologies, Ms Connors. We'll get you onto the ward immediately."

Silently grateful that the receptionist seemed to have immediately understood that she wasn't going to discuss her private life, Fern sat in the waiting room for a few minutes until her obstetrician and midwife arrived to take her to the ward she'd be giving birth on. She couldn't help but notice that Misael hadn't arrived yet, but given the traffic that usually clogged up the roads from his workplace back to his home she didn't want to look too deeply into it.

"So you remember what we discussed in your appointments?" the midwife asked, pulling on a pair of blue, latex gloves while the obstetrician prepped the birthing machine.

"The machine will do the hard part?"

The midwife smiled. "Exactly. I'll be right here with you to support and help in whatever way I can. Whenever you're ready, give us the heads up and we'll get started."

Fern angled her head the best she could to look back at the door. Still no Misael. She was about to ask if they could wait a little longer for him but a other wave of contractions crashed down on her as she yelled out in pain. The babies were coming whether Misael was there or not. It broke her heart all over again knowing that he wasn't going to get there in time to see his babies being born. She wanted to believe that it was the traffic holding him up, but after all the lies he'd told and the way he'd treated her she wasn't sure what to believe.

Once the contraction had passed, Fern glanced at her midwife. "It's time."

With that, her obstetrician started up the machine. "Remember your breathing techniques and to only push when we tell you to. The machine will monitor everything and help the babies out if intervention is needed. You're doing great so far, Fern."

The baker nodded, the pain making forming proper responses feel too much like a chore. The moment her midwife gave her the go ahead, she began to push and after what felt like hours of pushing and Misael being awol, the twins arrived.

Side note that I'm still super mad at the bug where whoever you take to the hospital with you to give birth just leaves immediately unless they're a member of your household 🫤 I had Misael come to the hospital with Fern and he disappeared. Tried to invite him over and he never showed up. In the end I had to just roll with it and try and work it into the story.

I'm also really bad at writing birth scenes! I get v uncomfortable writing about that kind of thing bc I genuinely have a fear of being pregnant and giving birth but I wanted to show the twins being born so I did my best!

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

Heart Break High : Season 2

I think this season was a bit darker than season 1, even if the end showed growth and acknowledgment.

Amerie was doing her best to be a better person.

What I didn't like was the absence of parents (like in Euphoria).

I was heartbroken when I learned the truth about Rowan's brother.

Also, I would have been great to see a throuple between Amerie, Rowan and Malakai.

Is Timothy Voss supposed to be Spencer's father?

I think that the abortion was none necessary. They have plenty of condoms at this point.

But I think that the magic from season 1 was lost.

Btw is the new generation all queer?

What can we expect after the school burned down? It was definitively a night to remember.

Some quotes :

"- It's up to 68 comments. I'm a monster." (Amerie - Episode 2)

"- You're just an equal opportunity arsehole." (Episode 2)

"- How can you love me if you think I'm that kind of person?" (Amerie - Episode 2)

"- See, you do care. I knew it." (Amerie - Episode 2) - This is just so typical of you. You're making drama out of nothing." (Malakai - Episode 2)

"- Sir, no offense, but what exactly are we doing? (Spencer) - Other than breaking child labor laws. - Are we digging our own graves? I'm not really into that." (Ant - Episode 3)

"- There's like... There's like a code, right? Like, you don't out someone if they're queer? (Malakai) - Oh, you mean the being-a-decent-person code?" (Darren - Episode 3)

"- I don't wanna hurt her. (Malakai) - You can't hide who you are to protect other people." (Darren - Episode 3)

"- I mean, I'm not about to start protesting. (Missy) - Oh, my God. Yeah. Just keep him down there. They can't say anything stupid when their mouth is full." (Sasha - Episode 5)

"- Uh, I think sometimes we cling to a few nice moments with someone and make them bigger than they were. But actually, we've spent the majority of the time forcing something that doesn't fit." (Rowan)

"- I could just tell Malakai wasn't all in. And I deserve someone who is... I think everyone does." (Amerie - Episode 5)

"- Don't turn up at your ex-girlfriend's house asking for tips on how to win back the guy you left her for." (Amerie - Episode 5)

"- You're smart, but in a way that never makes other people feel dumb." (Episode 5)

"- Quinni, I love you. But the world can't always play by your rules." (Darren - Episode 5)

"- I like it 'cause it's a reminder that the most beautiful love stories can sometimes have painful beginnings." (Rowan - Episode 5)

"- But I don't buy any of that shit she was saying. You always have a choice about the kind of man you wanna be." (Missy - Episode 5)

"- Look, I know things have been really, really hard, but you should at least stay and try to sort your shit out. Otherwise, you'll never know if you left 'cause you wanted to, or 'cause you were running away like a little bitch." (Episode 6)

"- I'm looking for my friend Quinni. She's been AWOL for three days. Have you seen her? (Darren) - Sorry, I didn't feel like replying." (Quinni - Episode 6)

"- You've been avoiding me. (Rowan) - No. Just giving you a chance to miss me." (Amerie - Episode 6)

"- I wanna change. (Spencer) - All right, well, it's easy to say, but it actually requires some meaningful action." (Missy - Episode 7)

"- I just wanted to say make this a night to remember, not one to regret." (Zoe - Episode 8)

"- I feel like someone's always gonna be making a sacrifice if they'd be with me." (Harper - Episode 8)

"- There's all kinds of ways to love someone, to be with someone. You don't have to play by other people's rules." (Episode 8)

"- Well, at least I have a heart. Yours is just a piece of dog shit." (Amerie - Episode 8)

"- I wanted you to see how much I do under the surface that no one ever sees. I've been performing who I thought I should be for my entire life. I don't think I know who I am anymore. I'm gonna find out, but I don't wanna lose you in the process." (Quinni - Episode 8)

[viennacherries]

hey fellas sorry for being a lil awol this week!! my band has a gig at the weekend so we've been rehearsing and i'm interviewing for jobs atm so i'm hella busyyyy.

fics back next week <3

[blue-willow-tree]

hiiiiii! it’s 🦦 sooooooo I’ve obviously been AWOL and if you want to know why i’m absolutely comfortable sharing but there is a tw for that so i’m not putting it here but if you want to know i’ll send in another ask 💕 missed you all bunches!!!

🦦

Hello my lovely otter!! We've all missed you so much <33

Oh? A tw? You can share it lovey, I'll see if it's alright to post x

I'm so glad that you're back, I'm sorry if you were gone because of bad circumstances angel <3

[pegglefan69]

super exhausted from my roommate's dad visit so sorry if I've been a bit awol this week!! will be back soon with ocean & forest pix & like, anything that isn't a fundraiser or a queue. going to try to have my patron updated with art tomorrow (chapter is soon, but not ready yet, sorry) & in other news is we've started hunter x hunter & are having a blast!

[angelsdean]

Wow i see you're having a Discourse Day, condolences :( Hats off about your level headed replies though! To the "Dean is controlling" crowd i'd suggest rewatching Scarecrow or like even the Pilot or, you know, the whole show as homework 🙄 I think the only times we've actually seen Dean being controlling were when he was desperately trying to keep Sam alive (eg. detoxing from demon blood, esp. after the angels' threat, or the whole Gadreel mess) but even then it's kind of a last resort..? And only when he doesn't see the point of what Sam's trying to do (eg. he agrees to the plan in Swan Song even if it tears him apart.) And yeah i mean it's debatable whether it's okay to make someone forcibly survive situations(?) but the sibling that chews you out for saving them is an alive sibling 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, if it matters at all, i think you're right, and your self-aware way of media analysis is a breath of fresh air <3 Cheers, Rea (subtextnatural)

sorry i didn't see this earlier but thanks Rea<3 and literally literally, pretty much every time we've seen dean be "controlling" it's been when he was trying to keep sam alive / safe or when sam was doing things that could be harmful and lead to bad consequences. dean's main thing is that he always wants his loved ones to be SAFE. we see that worry and fear manifest also when he gets "mad" when cas goes AWOL or does things behind their backs without telling them first or makes rash decisions that could have dire consequences (like when cas kills billie). the main motivating factor in dean getting "angry" (which is really just fear and worry) and trying to "control" situations is usually a deep desire and need to keep his loved ones safe and alive and disagreeing with their choices or actions that actively put them in danger!! anyways, dean cares about the whole world<3 and especially his family<3 he is so full of love<3

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Hi, little late on asks but my week has been a trash fire so I’m catching up… your hint at how Healthcare AU Sky ends up at the ranch still haunts my brain so… snippet?

@alasse-earfalas you'd like this too ;)

Legend was in the middle of charting when his phone buzzed. He glanced for a moment at his smart watch just to see what was going on, fully planning on ignoring it, when he saw that it was from one of the flight medics who he had only just recently gotten to know.

Hey, do you know where Sky is?

Legend stared at the text before pulling out his phone. What in the...? Why would this person be asking him?

No? he replied. Shouldn't he be with you? I thought he worked tonight.

That's the thing, he isn't here and we've tried calling him. We texted the others too, but you're the first one to answer.

"Hey," a tech called. "34 is hitting their call bell."

Legend paused, blinking a few times to reorient as worries started swirling in his gut. "What do they need?"

"Something about their lab results," the tech answered. "I told them I'd get you."

Not vitally important right now, then. Noted. "They can wait."

Grabbing the phone again, he typed, I don't know where he is. Sorry.

Closing out the messages, he immediately called Sky's phone as he rose to find Warriors. When he got no answer, he picked up his pace, growing even more anxious. By the time he got to the charge nurse station he was nearly sprinting.

Warriors stood inside the small area sectioned off for him, a phone to his ear and a hand immediately signaling for Legend to wait the instant he entered the space.

"Okay, we'll see you when you get here," Warriors acknowledged before hanging up the phone with a sigh. "Well, we got an alpha trauma alert coming in. What's up?"

"Sky isn't at work," Legend immediately said.

Warriors was distracted, sending out pages to multiple people to warn them of the incoming patient. "Okay?"

"He's supposed to be."

That made the charge nurse pause. Furrowing his brow, Warriors asked, "Is he okay?"

"I don't know," Legend answered. "I can't reach. His coworkers tried to call him too."

Warriors bit his lip, his eyes flickering back and forth as he processed everything. Worry was evident in his tight posture, but he was clearly trying to work through it. "It could be anything, Ledge. Sky does have a tendency to go AWOL sometimes. It isn't that unheard of. At least give him some time to get back to you, you only just called him right?"

"Something could be wrong." Legend protested.

"Or it could be nothing," Warriors reasoned, his face stony, brooking no argument. Legend was half convinced the man was trying to tell himself that rather than the travel nurse. "I have a trauma alert to handle, Ledge, and you have patients. Give it an hour. If he doesn't call back by then, we'll try again."

Legend sighed heavily, frustrated but willing to at least give the idea a chance. But only for an hour.

As the travel nurse returned to his own area, Warriors grabbed his own personal cell phone and saw the messages from Sky's coworkers. Feeling his world spin a little bit, he shoved the endless thoughts of what if he got in a wreck, what if he's ill, what if-- and took a breath. There could be a lot of reasons. He could have slept through his alarm.

This was Sky, after all. That wasn't unusual.

Opening the messages for Time, he typed, Alpha trauma alert, 31 YOM GSW to chest, ETA 8 min. Then he paused and began to type, Have you heard from Sky?

He stared at the second half of the message for a moment longer, and then deleted it. He sent the notification of the alert and put his phone away.

Sighing, he exited the station and started gathering supplies to set up for the incoming patient. While doing so, he caught sight of Wild, who was washing his hands outside of a patient's room.

"Hey, Wild, what are you up to?" he asked as he approached his friend.

Wild paused, glancing at him. "I'm getting ready to take someone upstairs."

"Okay," Warriors acknowledged, methodically running through his mind who else he could reach out to for Sky and what else he needed to prep for the trauma patient. "When you're done, if you have a moment, could you... try to reach Sky?"

"You want me to go up stairs and get him?"

"He's not here."

Wild blinked, confused. "I... I thought he worked tonight?"

"He's supposed to," Wars answered. "No one's seen him. Just... when you get a chance, give him a call."

Wild acknowledged him a little uneasily, making him glad that he hadn't asked Time. He had faith that the surgeon could keep it together more than most of the others, but still. They had to focus on this trauma patient.

That applies to you too, genius, he reminded himself.

Shaking his head, he made his way to the critical section of the ED, supplies in hand.

[moonlightshadowsrescue]

Nico lets out a sigh as he gives one more cursory look around his booth for his AWOL salandit, shaking his head when the little menace is no where to be found. He is going to be in SO much trouble when we find him… he thought as he went out to the stage for his next lecture.

He was happy to see some returning trainers from his previous lecture and nodded his greeting, "'Lola everyone, so sorry that I'm a little bit late today ran into a bit of a problem but one of my friends is looking out in my stead! I'm very glad to see you all again and I thank you all for coming!"

"Now then, today is focusing on dispelling some myths and rumors regarding dark type pokémon, which if you happened upon the Moonlight Shadows rotomblr page you've probably seen the ones I did regarding Houndoom and Darkrai. I'll still go over them very briefly here because they are victim to some of the more extreme rumors."

"Houndoom's pokédex entry states that if you are burned by its flames then the pain will linger forever." he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Not only can I disprove this because I do in fact own a houndoom but also any pain lasting forever is just such an exaggeration it borders on laughable."

He picked up a remote to pull up a diagram of a houndoom, "See here houndoom can combine their flames with the toxins in their stomachs to essentially burn and poison you. Houndoom can choose not to do so, so if you're looking to raise a houndoom and you treat them well then they'll have no reason to combine the two. Please keep in mind that a houndour that has just evolved into a houndoom won't have as much control over their toxins so an accident is more possible."

He changed the slide to darkrai next, "As for darkrai…" Nico continued by going over what the pokédex stated and how darkrai are depicted in media, typically as the villains with only one instance (in recent memory) of darkrai taking more of a hero role.

"With those two gone over, does anyone have any pokémon they'd like for me to go over?"

A hand shot up as soon as the question was asked, "How dangerous are tyranitar?"

Nico contemplated his answer and leaned back, "Tyranitar are about as dangerous as most other pseudo-legendaries, what sets them apart from others is that they are extremely fierce and protective parents. If you don't give a tyranitar a reason to attack you then you don't have anything to worry about, a rule of thumb is to stay out of tyranitar territory unless you're properly prepared. If you see a larvitar by itself, do not go near it and get away from the area immediately, the last thing you want to do is be between a tyranitar and its larvitar."

After going over a handful of other pokémon, Nico glanced at the clock, "Wow we've been here for much longer than I expected! I hope that I answered everything that you all had questions on but again if you think of anything else please come find my booth. Thank you again!"

As soon as he was off the stage, Nico dragged his hand down his face, "Alright time to look for Ban before my next lecture."

[r-virus-aesthetics]

We are aware that we've been AWOL the last couple of months, our life has not been kind to us, and our mental health suffered for it. But we're back now, super sorry for the wait, but we've emptied most of our inbox into our queue, the only ones we haven't done are the HABIT/Tribe Twelve stuff (don't worry, you haven't been forgotten), which our other Mod usually does, as we are unfamiliar with it. Those ones will be on their timeline, not ours.

-Mod King