#anyway i finally meet her one time when i'm at the main location

[seven-saffodils]

.

[justanotherblogger]

Small Tang Ramble

Right now, I have started rewatching the entire Lego Monkie Kid series from the start while I wait to see the recent season 5 episodes (that I was suckerpunched with when scrolling through Tumblr and having some stuff spoiled whene I didnt even think a new season would come for at least a few more months).

Then, when I finally got to season 4, I noticed something interesting with how they handle Tang's powers.

At the start of the season, it's revealed that Tang's cheat sheet, given to him by Azure Lion, was something that supposedly should've been helpful to someone "mysticly powerful, comparable to the Great Monk, Tang Sanzang", then the sheet should be a piece of cake so to speak.

Then we see how Tang struggles and has a hard time finding where his friends are located, but then a Golden Cicada helps him to find Pigsy, which was the same one that flew around the Samadhi Fire ritual site when Mei had it reunited within her.

That's not my topic right now, though, so I'll just skip the "random destiny bugs" (name given to me by a friend), and keep going towards my main point.

Anyways, skipping a few episode to when the meet the Great Master (I forgot the guys name), we see how Tang got berated for his lack of courage and work ethic. Then Tang and the rest of the gang are put to train, and I'm not exactly sure on how long they were in training for, but I'm going to assume a few hours at the sky visibly got darker near the end of the montage.

(I'm pretty sure that something akin to a stop in time for them to train would have been stated in the show itself if that was an explanation for how long they have been training for, so I'm gonna rule out any sort of "checkpoint" or "rest stop" rules here, like when you can stay in a safe space for whatever amount of time and come out with little time passed afterwards.)

The reason why I'm talking about how long they've trained for, is because after (what I assume) is a few hours, Tang is able to teleport a WHOLE AIR BALLOON, RIGHT ON TOP OF WHERE THEY NEEDED TO BE, WITHOUT HIS STAFF NO LESS.

*ahem* We know Tang had struggled with the teleportation magic from the beginning, even with his staff along with only transporting 3 people, and the magic level required to do so is comparable to the Monk, who is very powerful considering what we've seen in how his training was revered by the great master for being extensive plus how the Monk focussed only on his studies, and in-show examples. (Ex. Releasing the heavenly seal put on monkey king singehandedly, sealing the Samadhi Fire along with three others, then also Sealing the Lady Bone Demon to where she can only escape through her self reflecting or a rare, mystical key, etc)

I'm just saying how it's very impressive how Tang could go from barely being able to teleport accurately with 3 people, the staff in hand, to figuring out how to teleport accurately, how to teleport something as big as an airship, and then gaining enough focus/mystic power to do the teleport without his staff for this first time shown in the show. And remember this: all of this growth was in, at most, half a day.

And we know how long the Great Monk had to study to get to where he was, "learning everything there was to learn" with him blocking out anything else to focus purely on his studies to get where he was, and yes, he probably studied more than just the teleportation magic in his time, but Azure said it himself, that someone "mysticly powerful, comparable to the Great Monk, Tang Sanzang" should be able to figure out the cheet sheet, or at least versed in the mystical topic.

I already showcased how much work is really needed through that comment, but then Azure showed it again in his comment of "if hes learned it in the mystical arts.." describing how this would have needed to be taught like how they gang were forced to with the Great Master. We already know how hard the training from the Great Master was to get even a fraction of Mk's power, and considering how heavily it's put on how the Monk only studied and studied when it was talked about, with the students in the flashback looking like the ones under the Great Master, I would assume learning the mystic arts takes a similar amount of time and effort.

And now that my points have been laid out, you guys get it when I was gobsmacked at how quickly Tang grew in the time with the Great Master, reiterating my point of how Tang was able to figure out HOW TO DO TELEPORT AND AIRSHIP WITHOUT THE CHEAT SHEET, WITH HIS BARE HANDS, IN A MATTER OF HOURS when it was heavily implied (from what interpreted) that doing something like this would take a considerable amount of time and training, even for the Monk as he was said to only focus on his studies to optimize his mystic abilities and to block any distractions.

And then to add to this, it was only ever shown in the show that Tang only read throughout the entire training session. Whenever we see him in the montage, it's him reading scrolls no matter what. We never see him practice, or even mimic any of the moves or exercise that I would assume would be on those scrolls for him to learn. Then, the first time he ever put those ideas he read about into practice after using the staff the entire time before and messing it up, he was able to make the transportation of the airship fast, accurate, and without the help of the staff entirely.

TLDR: Tang is either so good at cramming that he was able to shorten a good year of learning into a couple hours, or he's severely gifted in the mystic arts with the right training or examples. Either way, if you gave this man a week in the scroll library with some noodles and motivation from the Great Master, then I would assume he might actually become one of the most powerful characters LMK, given the time to do so. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[hey-its-roseaurum]

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Part II

A/N: Hello again everyone, it's been a minute. I couldn't post this part until @lainiespicewrites finished her part. This part was fun and extremely difficult to write, so if it ends up being a dumpster fire, then I'm sorry. Hopefully not. Anyway hope you enjoy it and let me know your thoughts.

Synopsis: After the agreement to work with Sherlock, Olivia was given an address to meet and discuss the plan. Once she arrives, she discovers something about Sherlock that not a lot of people get to see.

“221 Baker’s Street.  You didn’t mention that it would be on the second floor Sherlock”  I huffed to myself as I made my way up the stairs.  The night before Sherlock had briefly explained that I had to meet him at a specific location tomorrow.  He said he would give me all the information I needed.  When asked why he couldn’t mention it here, he mentioned he wanted to be safe before revealing crucial details about a case. 

So here I am, trudging up the stairs.  

And I hate every second of it.

But I push through my heavy breathing until I make it to the final step.  It wasn’t until I could breathe evenly that I knocked on the door.

A heavy pause lingered in the air before the door creaked open.

“You’re late.”  A gruff voice sliced the air.  Sherlock stood right in front of me, one hand on the door, the other holding a pipe.  

“Sorry.  I had a hard time finding this place.”  He stepped aside, leaving a glimpse of inside his flat.  A silent invitation.  “You never mentioned that this place was on the second floor.  Those stairs were brutal.”

“One should always have steps, to avoid people stepping on you.”  Sherlock merely stated, his eyes tracking my movements as I passed the threshold into his place.

“Umm…I’m not sure I entirely follow.  But I’m pretty sure-”  I stopped suddenly as my brain caught up with what was happening around me.  The hairs on my neck stood up as I felt my breath catch in my throat.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Everything, even parts of the floor was consumed by documents of varying sizes.  Some were folded, some were ripped.  There were even some with tea stains.  Not one seat, save for one in the middle of the flat, wasn’t covered by some degree.

How can someone live, let alone work, in a place like this?

One of my main pet peeves is cleanliness.  It’s been instilled in me ever since I was able to move.  My mother always said that a clean house is a clear mind.  I tried my best to make my home as clean and decluttered as I could; even when I was at the small cottage.

But to see someone as put together on the outside live in such a state, especially someone like Sherlock Holmes,   says something about their mind…

I bit my bottom lip and drew my attention away from the mess and towards the smoke trailing behind Sherlock.  It took everything in my power to distract myself

“So…what is it that you need me to do exactly?”

Sherlock had traveled to the other side of the flat, completely avoiding the papers.  He puffed on his pipe, his face strained in thought. 

“There is a performance at The Reform tonight.  It appears to be a central location that the suspect likes to visit.  His latest victim had been a showgirl.  I need you to go in and see if you can retrieve any belongings of the two victims.”  My eyebrows creased together in question.

“Pardon?  Two questions.  You mentioned ‘latest victim’.  There’s more than one victim.  Why has it not been mentioned in the newspapers?  Two, if I go in, how do we know that their belongings are still there?  They could be gone by now.”  

“Due to the budget of the showroom and the amount of performers it takes to run a show, the items won’t be touched.  The show requires six performers to perform without any hindrance.  So far the show has five currently.  It will not run unless they have the right number of people to perform all of the acts.  The police haven’t connected the string of murders to one suspect yet.  They believe that there is no connection and no motive between the two.”  So there has been another murder, but it hasn’t been revealed to the public.  Why?  

It doesn’t make sense.  There was only one mention of a death that had claimed to be murder, at least from what I can recall.  The only other thing that has been repeatedly mentioned is about a new entertainment business coming to London.  It had been on the front page three consecutive times.  But the murders and the entertainment show can’t be connected, can they? 

“Olivia, have I lost you?”  Sherlock’s voice grew in my ears like thunder in a growing storm, shocking me out of my thoughts.

“NO!….no.”  I jerked my gaze to meet his.  My eyes trailed back to the ground and focused on each paper.  It took most of my attention to avoid stepping on any of the documents on the ground.  “Please continue.”  Sherlock stared at me momentarily, taking a puff of his pipe before continuing.

“I’ll need you to pose as one of the new dancers hired for the show.  You will be given access to their belongings.  Look for any personal belongings related to the victim, acquire them, and exit before the show begins.  Do you have any questions?”

“One question actually, um…if there are five performers and I’m posing as the sixth one, what is stopping the showrunner from putting me in the actual performance?”  I felt a slight quiver in my voice when the question left my lips.  My nerves felt like they were beginning to light on fire, and my breathing quickened with each passing thought of having to go on a stage.  

“Because there is a sixth performer.  You are to get in and leave before they arrive. Try not to run into them before you get what you need.”

“Oh…ok, great.”  I swallowed hard, feeling my anxiety growing.  How am I supposed to know what I’m supposed to grab?  I don’t know anything about the victim.  What if I take the wrong item?  What if I can’t even make it inside?  Even if I make it inside, there’s no guarantee that I won’t get caught.  If I did then everything would be for naught.  I’d end up in jail with no money to get bailed out.  I would let the victims’ families down, and let the murderer have another chance to strike.  Worst of all, I’d have the greatest detective in the world disappointed in me and regret ever allowing me to work with him.  

Keep it together Olivia.

“You look troubled.  What is it?”  His words sounded far away with the ringing in my ears.  I swallowed hard, trying to keep my composure.

“It’s nothing.  It’s not pertaining to the case.”  My voice felt out of place like it wasn’t me talking.  I felt like I wasn’t in my own body. I didn’t want Sherlock to know my doubts about this task.  We weren’t as close as I would like to be.  And the last thing I want is to show Sherlock how much of a mess I am inside.  He’d label me as just another person possessed by their own emotions.

I mean I sort of am but I didn’t want to divulge that with him.  It would just add to the list of things he’d be disappointed in.

Stop it

“I don’t want this to affect you when you are out there.  So please get it off your chest.”  There was a slight tilt to his head, his gaze analyzing me.  I could feel him already concluding that I was not cut out for something like this.

“It’s just…”  I trailed off.  How could I tell him that what I was about to do was crazy?  Everything I said when I was back at Edith’s place was completely spur of the moment.  At the time I genuinely thought that I would be able to pull something like this off.  Having it mere hours away from happening felt like I had been dowsed in ice water.

“Olivia.”  Just one word, my name, stilled my thoughts and pulled my attention to Sherlock.  His face had less of an edge to it like his demeanor had shifted and began to morph into something else.  I don’t know what it was but he almost appeared gentle and patient.  It was a complete contrast to what I saw several moments ago.  This was not the same Sherlock that had asked for help a fortnight ago.

This made it almost harder to speak.

“Okay, okay It’s just….” I bit my bottom lip, “why is your place so messy?”  I blurted out, completely changing the topic.  Maybe if I talk about something else I won’t have to show my doubts.

“It’s not messy.  Everything is where it needs to be.”  Sherlock appeared slightly taken aback by my sudden question.

“Right…that’s not what I’m seeing here.  It looks like you’ve just thrown around-”

“You’re changing the topic, Olivia.”  Shit…he knew what I was doing.  I guess I don’t have a choice…

“Okay fine.  I’m just worried about tonight, that’s all.”  A long sigh escaped my lips, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t look like showgirl material.  I mean LOOK at me.”  I stretched out my arms showcasing all the bumps, dips, and curves of my body.  “There’s no way I would pass as one, let alone be able to get through the door.  People like me are the ones who listen to the music and the cheering outside the building.  I don’t want to let the victim's family down, or especially you.”  A heavy presence filled the air, choking the silence.  Sherlock just stared at me.  I don’t know if it was out of shock or if he was reconsidering his decision to bring me into this.  

I don’t care anymore.  I let my insecurity out and hung it up to dry for him to see.  

All he has to do is say the words and I’ll be on my way back to my little damp cottage.

“You know Olivia…”  Sherlock cleared his throat, saying, “It’s normal to feel anxious about an uncertain situation.”  He paused, taking a moment to place his pipe on a nearby table.  “I’m going to give you a piece of advice.  Out there, feelings and being emotional poses a risk.  It is understandable for you, given the danger you may face.  However if you feel like this is too difficult for you, then I won’t force you to do this.  I can find other routes to get what I acquire.  All you have to do is say the word.”

He’s giving me a choice. 

He knows that the situation can be dangerous.  He knows that I’m feeling overwhelmed, but isn’t forcing me to commit.  There’s still a chance to back out, and yet he’s still giving me the option, however much that hurts him.  And if I don’t do this, it’s another chance to be another victim.

I can’t let myself back out.  

“No,”  I paused, collecting myself.    “No, I can do this.  I won’t let my emotions get in the way.”  A pleased look crossed his face, a small smirk threatening to reveal itself.

“Good.  I’ll see you tonight.”

A/N: Thank you to the following people who wanted to see this part happen. Stay tuned for part 3!!

Tag List:

@lainiespicewrites

@shellyshellshell

@xblueriddlex

@rosecentury

[readers101]

Tom Holland & Y/N L/N finally made their relationship instagram official

Actor Tom Holland and pop star Y/N L/N were long rumored to be a couple before they finally confirmed to the world that they were a couple. As fans have theorized that a number of songs on L/N’s albums and various singles could easily be about her relationship with the English actor.

Despite their high-profile status, Tom Holland (26) and Y/N L/N (28) seem to enjoy keeping their relationship very low-key, and while everything is being kept behind closed doors, it hasn't stopped the couple's relationship from making front page news from time to time.

The relentless quest to nail down all the relationship details surrounding the Y/N L/N and Tom Holland’s relationship leads to some pretty amazing (and borderline creepy) detective work.

Fans use an amazing mix of paparazzi photos, news, song lyrics and other sleuthing techniques to try to figure out when the couple started dating.

Two main theories exist regarding the location of L/N and Holland’s first meeting. The first is that the couple bumped into each other at a mutual friend’s house party in 2019.

The other theory is that the two actually met at a concert also in 2019. As Movement reports, eagle-eyed fans impressively used video footage and photos to place L/N and Holland at the same bar in London at the same time. Neither of the two have ever commented on these theories however, so you'll have to pick your favorite.

As part of her album “La La Land”, L/N released personal diary entries, as described by People. L/N writes in a March 2020 post that she and Holland had been together for three months at the time.

In 2021, around the couples one year anniversary, headlines suggested they were considering getting engaged to each other. However, an inside source told E! News that while some of this may be true, they weren't planning a wedding.

As of January 2023, Tom Holland and Y/N L/N have not yet revealed an engagement or plans of walking down the aisle. But they just made their instagram debut after three years of being together, and fans can't get enough.

Known to keep their relationship rather mysterious, it comes as no surprise that fans were hyped for their first instagram post together. "I want what Y/N L/N and Tom Holland have," one user wrote. "They look so good, I'm so happy for them," another person shared. "I've never wanted to be in relationship so bad before," a third fan remarked.

Never has a picture caused such a stir online, of course fans went crazy and considered this photo proof of a vacation together and a happy relationship.

—

A/N: ok, so I never put thoughts or explain my work BUT I’ve read this over & over and I think my brain is turning into mush (it’s currently 2am), anyway my point is that I hope the storyline & the timeline makes sense.

[toruro]

more isohel lore bc ummm why not (spoilers under the cut)

reader starts working on the courtyard, building it from east to west. she starts talking to joshua on the east end, the pond eridenus is located in the middle and it's where a big chunk of the main events happen, and when they finally meet again it's on the west end ... so idk if this makes sense but it's almost as if the story is progressing like the sun—from east to west!

i don't think this was too hard to catch bc it was mentioned when reader and he talked abt the poem, but joshua giving the reader the hyacinths was him asking for forgiveness and reader taking the hyacinths and giving one to him was not only her way of accepting his apology but also her way of asking for her own forgiveness for leaving him before she even did it bc i think she knew she was going to end up doing it

room 77 is kind of like reader's home in the castle ... people in that room are among the few to treat her normally. like despite mr. park's snappiness, he doesn't treat her differently or worse than the others bc that's just how he is ... anyways the point is room 77 is a great place for her and i chose the number 77 bc in ancient greece the lucky number was 7 and the room was like her place of luck and peace

the dream reader had abt joshua with wings was less of her seeing him as an angel and more of seeing him as icarus. reader mentioned how she thought the story of icarus and phaethon were similar, and she hinted at seeing joshua in the same light as phaethon and that's where i got the idea of having her have a dream about him as icarus, except she doesn't rly understand what the dream means which is why i'm not sure if it's easy to pick up on

story begins in the early summer time bc that's when the hyacynthia festival is supposed to take place

[maelysgriffonne]

So I created this AU a bit of months ago but I'm only posting it here now so yeah........

Anyway here you go the...

Peter Afton AU

Okay so background first then I will show some (a lot) of little fact about this au

------

William Afton and Mary Fitzpatrick married each other in there early 20. A year after there marriage Mary got pregnant with twins, Michael and Peter. But sadly William and Mary's marriage was failing and has the twins where just 5 month old William and Mary divorced. Mary manage to keep Peter but lost custody over Michael to William.

Sometime after Mary moved to New York where she will meet Richard Parker again and both married when Peter was just one years old. Mary and Richard both work in S.H.I.E.L.D and were the second best group of spy Nick Fury could have. But when Peter was 4 years old Mary and Richard where send into a mission and both died in a plain crash by the hand of H.Y.D.R.A. Peter was send to live with Richard older brother Ben Parker and his wife May, while William heard about Mary's death he tries to get Peter custody back but lost to Ben and May. William also remarried, to a woman name Clara Shmitd and with her he had another pare of twins Evan and Elizabeth. Michael was left to the side and neglected by both his farher and stepmother, he quickly grew jealous of his two stepsiblings and even start to be mean to them.

After that the event of Fnaf and Spider-Man plays out the same. For Mike, Elizabeth dies, then Evan dies by accident because of Mike, William still kills the kids and Charlie and still send Mike to die, Mike work has an night-guard under Fazbear's Entertainment witg different name. Henry open FFPS with the help of Mike. For Peter, he got bit by the spider, Ben still dies in Peter arms, he became Spider-Man and meet Tony who became is mentor and father figure. Infinity Wars and Endgame still happened with Tony surviving, Far From Home also still happen bur No Way Home never does because the spell was done correctly the first time and only the main people remember Peter is Spidey so May lives.

But has FFPS open Mike and Henry need a day guard because Henry is taking care of Fazbear's Entertainment and Mike is the manager and night guard of the pizzeria. The pizzeria is located in New York because Fazbear's Entertainment moved locations. So Peter saw the had and decide it would do him some help to have a job, especially to help May. Has he enter the pizzeria to get the job Henry saw him and mistook him for Mike with the illusion disk one, Peter tries to tell him it's not him but Mike enter at the moment making the three of the confused. Peter get to introduce himself and Henry apologized. Peter got the job and little by little both Mike and Peter discovered the blood relation.

------

And now facts:

Peter and Michael are identical twins but they're also sadly very similar to William.

William was a violent man, while he never hit Evan nor Elizabeth, he would physically and mentaly abused Clara and Michael.

After Evan death and Liz disappearance (death) Mike became extremely anxious and nervous till his own death.

Mike has autism while Peter has ADHD.

Both Mike and Peter are freakishly tall, standing at 6,8 feet tall. They also both taller than there parents, William is 6,6 feet tall while Mary is 5,6.

While Mike is very flexible because of the whole scooper thing Peter is still way more flexible because of the spider bite.

William is deathly afraid of spiders while Peter is fascinated by them.

Michael is the oldest by 12 minutes, Peter hate it.

Both has a similar birth mark at the same place (lower back, left side)

Mike and Peter eyes can glow in the dark, Mike because of Ennard and Peter because of his spidery side.

At first William wanted to name Peter Matthew but he finally let Mary choose the name since he already chooses for Michael.

William, Henry, Tony and Rhody all meet in M.I.T but William and Tomy absolutely loathed eachother.

The second year into M.I.T they meet Mary, Richard, Happy and Pepper. William immediately feel in love with Mary who when they first meet beat his british ass.

William was extremely jealous of Richard since he was very close to Mary.

Richard and Mery reunited at S.H.I.E.L.D since Mary decided to joined has an after beginning in the C.I.A, Richard joined but has a scientist. Both died by the Finisher in a plain crash orchestrated by H.Y.D.R.A.

Tony is Peter God father, Tony loves it and William hates it.

When William tried to get Peter's custody, he came back later the same day with a noticeable red shoes mark on his face, left by May right shoes.

Mike favorite Avengers is Hawkeye and Peter totally did not told him to embarrassed Mike.

Michael and Peter relationship is "I will annoyed you to hell and back but if anything happen to you I will burnt this world down".

Both are addiction coffee.

Even if Michael scars are bigger, Peter has way more scars than him because of his superhero/vigilanty work.

Peter help Mike with his self loves especially with how Mike saw his own scares.

Both are disaster bisexual but Peter is also polymorus. Mike and Jeremy are dating while Peter is with both MJ, Harry and Wade (Deadpool). MJ and Harry also loves eacheother but they loves Wade in a platonic way while Wade only loves Peter but also like MJ and Harry in a platonic way.

Both can do a very creepy ass smile that they got from William, they called it "William cursed smile".

Mike learn French and Korean while Peter learn Spanish, Italian and Russian.

Both Mike and Peter has heterochromia, one eye is Mary's brown while the other is William's blue. But Mike eyes became purple because of his death.

Peter can ramble for hours about anything while for Mike is need to be a specific subject he is hyperfocusing on at the moment.

Peter has three pet spiders, Nat, Drone and V and he also has a pet snake named Loki (after his favorite trickster of course). Mike has a cat nem Ombre (french for shadow).

Both has a bad habit to descalate stressful and terrifying moments with quips, wits and jocks.

Peter is allergic to peppermint and cinnamon while Mike is allergic to peanuts.

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Few that finish..... actually no because I have a little drawing on how Mike and Peter look like, here you go.

Now it's finish. (Ps I know the heterochromia doesn't show un the drawing, I made it before this change and couldn't change it)

If you want to tell me your thought about or just ask about this AU feel absolutely free to do it.

[silverorchideon]

Okay, Octoling! Apollo has been on my mind ever since I read this fic.

Imma ramble about this au, so...

Okay, my thoughts. Also, Splatoon 3 spoilers.

Starts out, murder trial, and Wright and Apollo are figuring it out. Anyways, one of the pieces of "evidence" (useless to the case, red herring.) Was given to Apollo and Wright as a thank you gift after the trial. It was just a small vial of ink, and Wright gave it to Apollo because why not. Apollo went home that day, placed his braclet on his drawer, changed into his red hoodie, and dropped the vial.

The vial took him into the future, and he found a little small fry buddy who helped him out. He wandered around until he found a train station, and got on. Eventually, he followed Cuttlefish towards the sewers, and became a new member of the New New Squidbeak Splatoon.

When he traveled dimensions, he just magically learned Inkling/Octoling language (because I just wanted to, this is self indulgent), but couldn't really speak or write it. He's still human, for now. He fights Octavio, and drops into Alterna, where he meets the Captain and the Squid Sisters.

They all know he's human, and say that they could probably make something to bring him back to his time, they just need the power of the Great Zapfish.

Anyways, he does the first stage in Alterna, but the end checkpoint turns him Octoling, for some reason (again, self indulgence, I'm not thinking too deeply into the plot points).

He goes through the entire main storyline of Splatoon 3, growing closer with the Squidbeak Splatoon. They learn of his life and the life of humans. Eventually, he beats Mr. Grizz, and the day is saved. However, the portals they make aren't really working, so he just stays put for now.

In the meantime, he gets a job at Ammo Knights (suggested by Callie and Marie), and Sheldon often leaves to go handpick materials and weapons for his shop, leaving Apollo to work and to help customers (think Harmony and Hotlantis).

Deep Cut and the Squid Sisters also coach him on singing and composing music, since they like his style. Cuttlefish introduces him to Off the Hook, and him and Pearl just become friends becayse Pearl likes him a lot.

I like to think Apollo got homesick eventually, and everyone sort of joined together to try and make a trial similar to Apollo's homelife based on his recordings on his phone (which he brought) and his own stories.

Pretty much, a lot of things happen and they bond.

Small Fry also sleeps a lot, but Apollo says he reminds him of his cat back in his time.

Back to his time, everyone who knew Apollo is freaking out because he just went missing. The WAA take care of Mikeko (who is sleeping a lot, but it's not really affecting his health, says his vet), but he's just gone, and nobody really knows where he went. (I'm assuming they didn't go public with this, so we avoid a plot hole later.)

Anyways, Imma say that time passes the same way in both time frames, and Apollo is gone for half a year. However, they finally make a working portal, and he goes back to his time, phone filled with photos, music, and memories. He's a human again, now through the portal. Also, Imma say it here, Mikeko asleep is in the body of Small Fry, and Small Fry asleep is in the body of Mikeko. Mikeko, on the day the portal is finished, herded the entire WAA into the main room of the office where the door is located, and made sure no one left the room for anything other than to use the restroom or food.

He makes his way back home, finally, and is embraced with the people he might as call his family. He's happy.

He keeps a lot of the clothes and some of the accersories he got from his time in the future, so yeah.

When I first read that fic, I thought about Pearl (AA), Apollo, and Klavier in long-term Splatoon, but then it went to just Apollo and Klavier, to just Apollo.

I need to stop rambling, so imma stop here, bye lol.

[spikeisawesome456]

what happened this weeek bro????

Well, funny you should ask that, my friend! Completely unprompted and everything! 😅

Ahhh. But BOY has this week been a chore. The last two days especially. I'll put this in a read more to prevent dash clutter, because this is a LOT. -.-

Anyway. For context, I am currently getting my master's degree in Educational Counseling, to hopefully become a school counselor. My college is completely online, which is helpful in some ways, unhelpful in others. I am also an after school teacher at an elementary school, a job I've had for almost 5 years now.

So, on Monday the 3rd, almost two weeks ago, my very last grad class started. My program has us doing one class a month, instead of five classes a semester or something, so this is my only class for this month (and the next, since this is a research class/my thesis class, and is logically a bit longer).

However, instead of hearing from my new professor on the 3rd, we had radio silence for a week. This was very frustrating, since I have quite a few questions about my research project that I came up with in my last class in December (yes, my last class ended in December, I guess they didn't have this class until April for some reason. I've been doing my internship the last 3 months though, so I was fine with it), but I decided to overlook it and do the assignments, which were just to submit the assignments from the last research class I took in December, which was easy.

Then, this Monday the 10th, I finally heard from my professor. She sent everyone a few emails at 3 am (??? Why 3 am I have no idea. I bet she finally checked her email, went "OH SHOOT I HAVE CLASS" and frantically send the emails), one of which said our first zoom class was that day at 5pm. Problem is, I work until 6:00 every week day, and I didn't have nearly enough time to ask for the hour off. Plus, I was a bit pissed at my prof for not giving enough warning. I sent an email asking if she would record the class, as well as asking her my main question I had. She replied back saying that she wanted to meet up with me privately, which I said that I was amenable to, telling her my availability. She then... emailed me back (calling me KAREN, when I had said my name is KATIE VERY CLEARLY IN MY CLOSER AND MY EMAIL IS LITERALLY MY FULL NAME) saying I didn't answer her????? When I very obviously did???

Well. Whatever, it was weird, but we eventually decided to meet Friday (today) at noon. I confirmed it, she didn't, but I just hoped she'd make the meeting.

Which... she did not. I sent her an email this morning at 7:00 asking for confirmation, and she never responded??? At all??? Like... dude??????? Finally, at noon, I decided to call it a wash and went to lunch with my parents. I had left my internship early for the meeting, too, and I was honestly super pissed.

But you want to know the kicker?? The real kick in the nuts????? When I finally got to lunch and sat down at 12:50... I opened my email for funsies and saw that she had finally emailed me... AT 12:15, SAYING THAT SHE WAS WAITING IN THE CLASS ZOOM LINK THAT SHE SENT THE CLASS. THAT SHE NEVER TOLD ME WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET IN. WHAT THE HELL.

I was SO DONE at this point I wanted to scream. I have since emailed the director of the whole program, her boss, and hopefully the director will get back to me... soon. But I have a feeling I will be stuck with this moron, for my most important class. And the worst thing is, I STILL DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO MY QUESTION, MEANING I DON'T KNOW IF I'M WASTING MY TIME DOING THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Ugh.

Anyway. If you thought THAT was bad, I also found out that I'm apparently not enrolled in my second internship class, despite the fact I'm at the exact same location, with the exact same counselor as my supervisor (I have a new internship class every 200 hours apparently, needing 600 hours total). No one told me I needed to apply for each class, either. But regardless, I now have to apply to the next class, even though I just finished my last 200 hours and am now starting my next 200, but I don't even know if they will count because my school is incompetent. And on top of that, the person who is reviewing my application has no idea how to insert my birth day and SSN into the credential website to see if I am clear to work at a school. I'm just... so freaking done with this school, I HATE THEM SO MUCH AHHHHH.

AND THEN, ON TOP OF ALL THAT... At work yesterday, there was legit a NAKED MAN IN THE WINDOW OF THE HOUSE OVERLOOKING THE AREA WE HAVE THE KIDS PLAY IN EVERY DAY. AND TWO STUDENTS SAW HIM, ONE A KINDERGARTEN GIRL. AND SHE SAID SHE SAW EVERYTHING. This poor little girl... I looked to confirm there was indeed a naked man, and while I was able to look away fast enough to not see anything untoward (and the window was slightly blurred at least), I was able to confirm that he was, at least, not wearing a shirt or pants. Whether he had underwear on, I don't know, but it was still very disturbing, especially because he's been watching us for a few months now... I thought it was just some guy looking over his fence curiously at the kids outside, but now, I don't know. He definitely knew we were out there, since I am fairly certain I saw his face. My supervisor is handling this one, but I still am very creeped out by this.

Anyway, there is more, but I'm tired just writing this. I want to sleep for days, but I don't even get to rest this weekend, since I have homework THAT I DON'T KNOW WILL EVEN MATTER SINCE I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN DO MY RESEARCH, but whatever. WHATEVER. At least the work isn't hard. It's just coming up with my questionnaire for the kids to answer. But still!!!

So, that's how my week has been going. How's yours?? :-) :-) :-)

[seabass17]

All that’s left | Pt. 2

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem! Reader

A/n: So, this is... a different reader in comparison from the one in the first part but I kinda like it? Anyway, Im considering making a third part and im thinking it'll contain some smut. I used google translator so please don't judge me. Tell me what you think. Happy reading.

All that's left pt. 1

Warnings: angst, mentions of scars, swearing, implied smut?

Word count: 3.263

Summary: After moving from her life in New York, away from the Avengers and him, she finds happiness and a life that she actually enjoys, but that seems to last little when she spots the familiar jet on the roof of the building she lives in. Is she ready to face them? To face him?

*Three months later*

The warm air surrounding my body made me take a deep breath and unconsciously smile. I was happy, I was free, I was whole. I was with my neighbor drinking coffee in our usual spot, which was a cafe near the main street of the place that I decided was going to become my new home.

“Продолжай рассказывать мне о своем боссе, который сводит тебя с ума” (Keep on telling me about your boss who drives you crazy) Andrei said making me laugh and shake my head.

“Не о чем говорить, он просто засранец, который дает мне слишком много работы и заставляет меня плакать” (Nothing to talk about, he's just an asshole who gives me too much work and makes me want to cry) I laughed. I had met Andrei a week after I moved in and there was an immediate connection. No, it wasn’t in a romantic one, god no, we were just really good friends that had a lot in common.

“Now now, that was not what i saw the other day when i went to pick you up from work” He said with a playful smirk plastered on his light brown face. I gasped, a fake indignant expression on my face while my hand went to my chest. He laughed loudly. “Don’t play that card, I saw you!” he added

“I don’t know what you are talking about” I said, trying to fight the smile that tried to come out but failing miserably, we both laughed.

He and I had become quite close in the little time that we had known each other. He was an American with a Russian name. He explained that his mother was from the states while his father was a russian spy, they fell in love against all odds and eventually, Andrei was brought to this world. When he was fifteen his father died and he and his mom went to America, where he finished high school and surprisingly, entered the military. He did two tours before he decided that he had enough and returned to Russia. Hence why he could speak both Russian and English fluently. As for me, I told him that I was in some sort of organization that worked for the government, and that’s why I knew russian. He believed me, thank God,  I didn’t want to talk about how I was part of the Avengers and why I left. Obviously I will tell him when the time is right and I know that he can be fully trusted.

“Oh, come on Ames, are you going to tell me that you don’t like him one bit? Not in the slightest?” he asked, smiling and I shook my head. He stayed silent for a second and stared at me, like he was considering whether he should ask me something or keep quiet. “Is it because of him?” he finally asked, watching me closely to see my reaction. I felt my stomach twist at the mention of him. Of course it was because of him, because of them, I couldn’t afford getting hurt and betrayed one more time. Andrei didn’t know his name, or theirs for that matter, so I smiled weakly and nodded.

“Yeah, I know it sounds stupid but… I just can’t afford getting hurt, not again, not anymore” I said looking at my hands.

“I understand, believe me I do” he said, his hand reaching out to hold mine. I looked up to find his brown eyes looking for mine, I saw nothing but genuine love -the friendly kind- in them. I smiled and squeezed his hand. He was going to say something but his phone rang; a notification. He withdrew his hand to look at his phone and the moment he did, people around us started getting up and running in the same direction. I looked at him confused to find him frowning at his phone.

“What is it?” i asked.

“The Avengers are here…” He said and my heart skipped a beat and my body went rigid. Andrei noticed. “What 's wrong?”. Well, there’s no use keeping him from the truth anymore.

“So, remember when I told you that I worked for an organization for the government? Okay don’t freak out and hate me but, here it goes” I took a deep breath. “That organization was called The Red Room were they trained me from a very young age to be a perfect cold-blooded killer, years later i escaped and was on the run until i got a new identification, name, address, new everything and then joined the avengers to amend the wrongs I made in the past. To my luck, it didn’t go great because it ended up breaking me the same way The Red Room did, so I left to find a fresh start and came here where I met you. Please don’t hate me” I concluded in one breath. Andrei was silent with a straight face, which was hard to read, and eventually after a few seconds that felt like an eternity and shrugged his shoulders. WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN.

“Believe it or not, I've heard worse” he simply said

“Worse than finding out that your best friend is a train killer and former avenger?” i asked incredulously and he tilted his head and smirked

“US Agent mother and Russian spy father” He said. I laughed and he followed right after. “So, I'm guessing we are running away?” he asked. Say what now?

“We?” I asked, almost in shock to which he simply nodded, “You don’t think im just gonna let you go like that, please, is not that easy to get rid of me” he snorted. “And I'm supposing Amelia is not your real name either, given the fact that you ran off,” he added. Damn, he is good.

“Y/n, y/n y/l/n” I said and he slowly smiled

“Well y/n, nice to meet you, my name is Andrei Petrova” he said, extending his hand, i repeated his action with the same smile. “I’ve got to say, I like the name y/n more than Amelia '' he added and laughed. We were brought back to the matter at hand when the screaming of the people were getting louder. I snapped my head up and saw the familiar jet on the roof of the building where I was living.

“Here’s what we are going to do, I’m going to my apartment and buy us some time while you go get a car and,” i handed him my card “you are going to get all the money from my bank account. I will meet you in front of the cafe that’s two blocks away from my place”

“Are you going to be okay?” He asked with clear worry in his eyes. I smiled and nodded

“Yes, I promised. Now go” I said before he got up and ran. I sighed and went to my apartment. Was I really going to do this? After months, was I ready to face them, already knowing the truth? Well, guess I'm going to find out.

Once in the building I decided to programmed the lights to go out in 50 minutes and then I went to the elevator, wanting to appear as normal as possible even though I felt like my heart was going to explode from how fast it was beating inside my rib cage. When the elevator stopped at my floor I walked until I was standing in front of my door. I didn’t need to wait and confirm, I knew they knew I was here, now there’s only one thing left to do. But before I did anything, the door creaked open.

*10 hours earlier*

Bucky paced from one side to the other, finding himself incapable of staying put. Natasha sat silently on her chair, Tony was in the front with his head in between his hands, Steve was resting on the side of the wall looking at the floor, Bruce was just standing there holding his chin analyzing everyone in the room. Sam sat on the couch looking through his phone, Vision was sitting next to Wanda on the other couch, while Clint and Thor were sitting on the other chairs. Peter had some school stuff to deal with like the teenager that he was. They’ve been looking for her for the past three months, and about a week ago, a picture was found of someone that looked exactly like her, all except her hair that was a bit shorter and the color was different, but other than that, it was practically her.

Not wanting to get their hopes -or rather enthusiasm- up, they decided to look deeper and found out that the picture was taken a month ago in the city of Magadan located in Russia. They found out that before three months, the name Amelia Agapov, didn’t exist. The more they looked into it, the more they were convinced that it was her.

“The mission report from Agent Carter arrived, should i put it on the screen?” the voice of the AI filled the room. The team had been waiting for that report for days, the nerves of the question that lingered in the air ‘was it her?’ being present for that time only grew stronger as Stark asked FRIDAY to project the report on the screen.

Pictures were shown, most of them were about this woman buying in the market, having coffee with a guy, but there was one, where her face was looking straight into the lens of the camera, and it was that picture that left the people in the room absolutely rigid. It was her.

“We found her…” Tony said in a whisper. Everybody kept their gaze on the picture on the big screen. After months looking for her, they finally had found her. To everyone, it was like someone just discovered something new, a kind of relief and anxiety all at the same time.

“Suit up, we’re going to get her” Steve said to the group, but see, it was the choice of words from Cap that Bucky found unsettling.

“Get her? Like she is some kind of criminal?” he said, looking at his best friend dead in the eye. Steve opened his mouth to say something but Tony beat him to it.

“She was trained by The Red Room to be an assassin, we can expect nothing more from her '' He said, trying to calm Bucky down, but instead it only caused him to get angrier, and not only him.

“So was I” Natasha said, her voice low that could scare anyone to the bone if they weren’t so used to her.

"It's different" Tony said

“How is it different?” Wanda said this time, “It wasn’t when you practically recluded me after I helped Ultron and tried to kill you all” she added.

Tony sighed and looked down, realizing that he might be overreacting.

“Let’s just get suit up and get on with it” Steve said, cutting the rather awkward silence that filled the room.

The avengers were suit up and on the quinjet in less that forty-five minutes, and they were in Madagan in nine hours, it took them an hour to find her building, and once they found it, Clint landed the jet on the roof and they all got out and looked for her apartment. Funny enough, it was the same number as the one she used to live in New York; 108. They waited for what seemed an eternity until they heard footsteps just outside the door. Suddenly, the air felt thick with anticipation, but Bucky couldn’t wait any longer so he crossed the living room in two steps and opened the door. She was standing there. Silence took over the entire apartment until she broke it.

“Well, are you going to move so that I can get inside my goddamn apartment Barnes?” she said expectantly. Bucky realized that he had been staring at her since he opened the door. Her hair was different, more wavy and a shade or two lighter. He moved to the side and she was able to see the rest of the team. This was going to be one hell of an evening.

Breathe. In… and out…

It was hard. Fuck. Okay i can do this.

“Well isn’t this nice. All the team back together again!” I said with sarcasm dripping from every letter.

“What the hell did we ever do to you?” Steve said firmly.

“Damn, getting straight into it. That’s okay” i shrugged as I went to my room but the sound of the blasters of Tony's suit stopped me.

“Stop, don’t take another step” He said, lifting his hands and I smiled.

“Really? Well unfortunately i have to change, so i’ll leave the door open if it makes you comfortable” i said as i continued to walk to my room, and like I said, i left the door open.

“Y-you don’t have to do that, you can…” Wanda said but trailed off. I had taken my shirt off; my scars were shown.

“So, Steve” I broke the silence as I put on a black shirt, “the thing that you did wasn’t as bad as tin man over there, but you still let Hydra take me the day we took out the helicaries” i added. His face got pale and started shaking his head.

“What? No, you made it out safe, you-” He started saying but i interrupted him

“You sure? Who do you think stopped Rumlow when he tried to interfere with the exchange of the chip when you were in the helicarrier with Bucky?” He started thinking for a moment until he realized what I said fell into place. “Yeah, I took one hell of a beating, and if that wasn’t enough, I fell to the water. I fell thirty floors down, and I alone got myself out, because I didn't have anyone to cover me or have my back” i concluded.

“Your scars…” Tony said this time and i turned to him

“Yeah, thanks to you Mr. Stark” i said and he looked at me. “Doctor said that 74% of my body is covered with scars, along with one or two burns”

“You were that girl in The Red Room” Natasha said, causing me to turn my head to look at her and I smiled cynically, “You are Eliza” she finished.

“Давно не виделись с Натальей” (Long time no see Natalia) i said and she looked at me in pure surprise in her faced. That’s something coming from the famous Black Widow.

“What about the rest of us y/n?”  Sam said this time, redirecting my attention from Natasha to the rest of the group. Thor was standing there holding his hammer, Bruce was next to the fridge, Clint was by the sink, Wanda was with Vision beside the kitchen table and Bucky was by the door. They were all looking at me. I took a look at the clock, I have to leave in less than thirty minutes.

“Long story short, Clint, Bruce, Sam, Wanda and Vision are the ones that didn’t do anything, so just chill out, you are still on my good side” I smiled and waved my hand.

“Hold on, but what did I do?” Thor asked and I looked at him.

“God it really is unfair how such a little thing can cause such a big problem. The first time you came down to earth, met Jane, bla bla bla… when her stuff was under custody of shield, and you took that notebook; they blamed me. I know it may seem weird because, how? Thing is, I was undercover at that time inside Shield, so when the notebook disappeared, guess who was the one that got beaten for it. I couldn’t move from the pain.”

Thor was standing completely still.

“Lady y/n…”

“How is it possible? I was there  and never saw you” Clint interrupted Thor.

“It was before the avengers, i was on the run and a girl's gotta eat. Don’t worry, I never gave them anything. Got the money and then killed them, they were nobodies” I shrugged off.

“So, that’s all you needed to know, so if you please leave my…” I said but then he interrupted me.

“No” I would be lying if I said it didn’t send shivers down my spine at his tone, and I hate even more that he noticed it. “You’re missing one doll” Well fuck me

I turned to see him and he was walking painfully slow towards me and I was praying for my legs to not give out.

“Barnes” I simply said, thanking God and all the saints that it didn’t come out as a whimper. I took a look at the clock once more. I have to leave. Now. “Such a shame, wish you had fought for us, I would have gone through hell and back for you, Buck” his eyes were looking straight to my own and I felt like he was staring at my bare soul. In a way, he was. I smiled and I saw behind my back that the team was looking at us, we’ve never been this close, not in public anyway. I standed on my tiptoes and reached for his right ear, he instinctively reached down so it was a bit easier for me.

“If you want to know, you’ll have to find me first дорогой” (Sweetheart) I whisper. Next thing, the light went out just like I programmed it to and I slid beside Bucky to reach out to the door and to the hall. I could hear the team screaming ‘what the hell just happened’. I ran to the emergency stairs, and once out I could still feel him behind me, getting close. I went into an alley, having to detour, knowing that he eventually was going to catch up to me and I couldn't have him follow where I was really going. A few seconds later, I felt him caging me to the wall on the alley, both of us breathing heavily. His flesh hand went to my throat and his metal one rested on the wall.

“Given a different occasion, I would have loved this, don’t get me wrong, I still love how you…”

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked huskily and I smiled.

“I told you, you’ll have to wait until you find me again. Alone.” i said

“Come on Barnes, do you really think that the charade of being your personal fuck toy would last forever?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It wasn’t like that, i…” he said but trailed off. The pain in my chest starting and clenching my heart.

“There it is…” i said lowly, the hurt in my voice evident, “listen, i’d love to keep talking about how you used me, but like i said,” i got close to his face, my nose touching his, “find me to found out” after that,  I raised my knee kicking him right in between his legs.

He let out a pained groan and fell to the floor, causing his grip in my neck to give out. I took advantage and ran. Two blocks away, I saw Andrei. When he saw me running to him, he immediately got in the car and turned the engine on, then I got in.

“Drive, fast” it was the first thing i said

“Where?” he asked while we took off. I smiled and looked at him

“You’ll see”

-

-

-

Taglist

@silentkiller2374 @vikingqueenlove @girlfriday007 @supraveng

[wanderingbards]

Saw your post about fics you'd like to see/write and honestly? Same.

Not a writer tho, which sucks, but I'm interested to see your interpretation of, well, pretty much all of them.

Especially curious about the Will sacrificing himself instead of Ashe (saw that fic too), Deadwood shenanigans, Dakota and Will meeting each other for the first time, and the drawback to superpowers.

Also, I never thought about Gill and Rumi meeting each other before, but that would definitely be something.

1, I'm not much of a writer either - I honestly find it's more of a mindset wherein you eventually just...do it. Idk how to explain, lol.

2. I'll go through the specific ones you req'd and give some base headcanons for each, and if I do end up writing them fully (I'm on vacation atm so it'll be a week or two before I do so) I'll tag you!

William Wisp's sacrifice

So this is kinda similar to the oneshot, but also different because it could completely change the plot of s2.

- William does the thing he did with the wisps on the train to that one dude, ends up dying. Ashe summons Duck, but Duck explains that William is simply gone.

- Meanwhile, William ends up in the spirit world again. This time, the wisps tell him his job above is complete - but he now has a place of power in the spirit world as a planeswalker, and he's kinda gotta work on getting rid of Mallard Conway and cleaning up the spirit world.

- This leaks into the real world, where rogue demons have slipped through the rift William opened in killing Overlord. Dakota still runs off, blaming himself for William's death (also comes with this loss of direction, which we saw hinted at in ep 19). Ashe moves in with Vyncent when his dad is taken to prison, and months pass.

- When Dakota returns, Ashe reveals he's been having some bad dreams lately - involving the spirit world. Le Frog calls, and s2 begins.

- Main twist could be that Ashe can't contact the spirit world maybe? Only through his dreams? Idk I haven't thought that far yet.

The Un-Witness Protection Program

- So I have the whole group named and hc'd out for some Shenanigans. This series of oneshots takes place before William moves to Rockfall, which is before the summer of William's junior year.

- Rose (she/they) and Xander (he/they) are fraternal twins. Both are black, with very curly hair - Rose keeps hers in pigtails, and Xander has a shorter afro thing goin on. They're 2 years older than William.

- Siobahn (any) is taller, long straight black hair, asian. They're the oldest of the group, being a few months older than the twins.

- And finally, Martyn (he/him) is the second youngest - second to William himself. Martyn is a couple months older than William.

- Yes, William is the baby of the group, and also he's trans.

- So anyways, these guys come together when Siobahn's younger brother, Zach, goes missing. They look into his case, and find this beautiful forest area with a cliff, and a scrap of Zach's clothing on a branch right next to the cliff.

- Over the next couple years, these 5 get into some serious chaos in trying to discern the mysteries of Deadwood - origins of spirits, dangerous places, etc.

- Throughout this time, William has an intuition that helps guide the group to the next location - he doesn't realize his 'intuition' is just seeing the wisps.

- Leads up to Spring Break of William's sophomore year. Siobahn and the twins are graduating, so they're all going camping to celebrate and do some farewells.

- The whole time, William is antsy. He keeps getting distracted by something moving in the woods, and the others poke just a bit of fun at him.

- That night, William follows the wisps to the cliff Zach died at. The others tag along, because they refuse to let William go alone, and they're attacked by a blink dog - that dives towards William and takes him right over the edge of the cliff.

- The others find William's body at the base of the cliff, and watch as his previously dead body comes back to life with a blue light.

- William doesn't remember what happened. The others don't know how to explain, so they tell him he fell chasing something.

- There's like, one more oneshot that's a 5+1 of 5 times William acted strange and the 1 time he did something about it. It ends with William leaving Deadwood for Rockfall.

Dakota and William's first meeting

- This'd just be a kinda oneshot where they meet beginning of summer break - they both got their powers over spring break (on the same day at the same time but they don't know that)

- Somethin quick and easy, probably involves Dakota overwhelming William and William ghosting through the floor

- Ends with Dakota saying something about them being a dynamic duo.

The Drawback to Superpowers

- In general, this is my favorite thing to think about. Like, I wrote a thing a while ago about what the Encanto gifts would have as drawbacks, and it's...it's so good.

- Dakota has a canonically heightened metabolism, but I also think he gets really bad muscle cramps/sore muscles. Like, really bad aches to a point where he can't walk. Because he shouldn't be able to. On these days, the others take care of him - they bring him water and food and watch movies in bed with him while he just rests.

- Vyncent gets bad headaches and real bad amnesia moments. I mean, come on, literal superpowered DID. I feel like the Greats would front casually, even if it's not as their full form, and the others learn how to tell the difference between them all and fill Vyncent in on things he missed.

- And William is Literally Dead. Like, cold hands and pale face, sure, but how about random bouts of rigor mortis. His joints and muscles locking up, tic moments happening at stressful times. I also feel like he has really heavy dissociative episodes where everything gets tinted with blue and hours pass in a blink.

~~~~

I could elaborate a Ton on these concepts, but I'm on vacation and am limited to typing on a phone.

Also I feel like the Rumi and Gillion meeting deserves it's own post separate from the pd stuff. So I might write it out later!

Thanks for the ask!!!

[telfordelle]

Through The Valley - Part 2

Part 1

Characters: Filip “Chibs” Telford x OC

A/N: It's been 84 years. Finally managed to write a part two for this. Chibs and the main character meet and have to find a way out of the city.

Words: ~2.2k

"Aye, lass, ye almost got me," a rough voice with a thick accent said, chuckling.

With all her might she tried to escape from him. The stranger had pinned her arms to her sides and pressed her body against his chest. "If you calm down, I'll let ye go," he assured her. Why should she trust him? On the other hand, what other option did she have? After all, she could not escape his grasp. She took a deep breath and exhaled the air with a big sigh, nodding. The man reduced the strength of his grip. "Alright, I'll let go of ye now, just don' attack me." She nodded in affirmation. At this, the stranger let go of her, and she was finally able to take a step back and look at him.

She gave the stranger a quick once-over. Albeit oozing an aura of danger, the man appeared to be ruggedly handsome. His hair and beard were streaked with grey. Probably the most striking feature was the scars that ran across his cheeks. Snap out of it, she thought, chastising herself. Embarrassed, she coughed slightly. She had to be careful. Meeting a stranger in this world backfired 80 per cent of the time. Still, she decided that an apology would be appropriate. "Uhm, I'm sorry, I didn't want to attack you. I thought you were one of those infected fuckers," she apologized. He just shrugged. "I'm not dead, am I? So, no problem." “Nah, you don’t look dead to me,” she admitted with a soft chuckle.

"So now that that's settled, what's yer name, lass?" he asked. "Name's Brooke, but you can also call me Rook," she answered. "And yours?" "Just call me Chibs," he said. She raised her eyebrows but did not comment on the name, even though it was more than strange. Nicknames were fine in this world. For all she cared, people could also refer to themselves as President of whatever was left of the fungus-infested United States. She didn't care - as long as they didn't have a foul attitude about their self-given status. “Why are you out here alone?” Rook wanted to know. “Well, I could ask ye the same. My group heard about a safe place not that far from here, at least not by bike. We were separated when some smugglers attacked us. Assholes took my bike, been on foot since then.” He didn’t seem to be lying. Nevertheless, she couldn’t be sure if his group wasn’t hiding somewhere, ready for an ambush. She had nothing of value on her but in this world, it was enough to be a woman. Who was she kidding, even before the outbreak that had sometimes been enough.

“Sorry to hear that. What’s the name of that settlement you’re heading to?” she questioned him. “I just know that there is supposed to be a settlement near Lake Tahoe. We heard that the guys over there are welcoming, so we figured to just see and try it out, ye know?” Chibs said and shrugged. She pondered. Should she tell him that they were probably her people? So far, he didn't seem to have anything bad in mind, she could kill him later if necessary. And if what he said was true, then his group was already en route anyway. With a sigh, Rook answered: “Your group was most likely talking about our settlement in Tahoma. We managed to fortify parts of the place and so far, we haven’t had any breaches.” “So, that means yer heading there, too?” he asked. She just nodded. She was still wary, but she figured that having him tagging along was better than being completely alone. “You can come with me,” she said, then added, “if you want, that is.” To no surprise, he agreed.

“What’s yer plan?” – “I wanted to get to Waterloo first,” she explained. “It should take us about three hours if we tag along the highway.” She grabbed the map from her backpack and pointed at the small village that was located on the outskirts of Stockton. “Most of the time, highways aren’t such a good idea,” he remarked. Rook agreed. Still, it was the fastest way to get to Waterloo and she wasn’t keen on spending the night too close to Stockton. She figured that Chibs felt the same way and explained her motives. “Well, we can at least have a go at it, I guess. But as soon as it gets too bad out there, wilderness it is,” he reasoned. Rook nodded and they began to make their way out of Stockton.

They walked together in silence, neither of them really knowing what they should say. Rook was not yet sure if that made her uncomfortable or not. A little bit, maybe. Chibs was walking in front of her, which allowed her to observe him.  He was older than her, probably about fifteen years. The grey in his hair suited him. Why the hell was she thinking about that? This clearly wasn’t the place or the time. She quickened her pace so that she caught up with him. That way, she could at least no longer stare directly at him. After a while, as they made their way past an old Denny’s parking lot, she had to grin thinking of the meme. The good old times, God, how she missed them.

“What are ye thinking about?” he asked. “Nah, just some old meme. You remember those?” He just looked at her in confusion. “Sorry, lass. I don’t know what ye talkin’ about.” She thought about explaining it to him but then waved it off. “It was just some dumb internet culture thing,” she said. „I’ve never really bothered with that,” he admitted. Laughing, she noted that he probably wasn't part of the internet meme generation. “Hey!” he exclaimed, playfully indignant, “I’m not that old.” – “Yeah? How old are you then, old man?” Rook mocked him. “Forty-seven, thank you very much. And how old are ye? Thirteen?” Chibs teased her with a smug smile. “Yeah, more like thirteen going on thirty. Or almost thirty, twenty-nine to be exact,” she countered. So, they weren’t fifteen years apart but nineteen.

“So you were in your early thirties when the outbreak started, huh?” she concluded. Chibs nodded, “Yeah, that’s right.” – “I was fourteen. It really sucked to be thrown into some ‘survival horror game’-like shit. But hey, so far, I’ve made it.”  A sad smile crossed her face. There were so many people who she had lost. And in the early days of the outbreak… her family… no, she didn’t want to think about it. Also, she certainly didn't want to talk about it with a stranger. Chibs realised that the time of the outbreak was something she did not want to go into. “Kind of weird that we haven’t seen any infected,” he diverted from the previous topic. “Well, mostly I meet them in buildings, somehow they gather there,” she shared her experience. “Of course, I’ve also met them on the streets, but not as many as in buildings.” He agreed: “Yeah, some of the worst encounters that I’ve had with them took place in former grocery stores. And basements. Basements and tunnels in general are no-go areas.” She shuddered, remembering the hospital’s basement. “Guess we’ll finally come across some soon,” she said while gesturing towards the highway in front of them. “Are ye still sure you want to go that way?” he asked her. Rook only nodded. It was the fastest way. She didn’t want to spend the night in Stockton – but she also didn’t want to spend it under the open sky. They had to reach Waterloo, preferably before dark.

Even so, most of the time highways were absolute death traps. Especially when they were leading away from a large city. During the outbreak, most people had wanted to escape the big cities. Collisions occurred, sometimes resulting in total deadlock. Many early infections happened after people got stuck in traffic or had gotten into accidents. Runners caught up to them and those who weren’t able to escape either died or got infected themselves. Nowadays, it wasn’t uncommon to come across various infected on the highways, with the runners being the had been infected recently.If runners hadn’t encountered a non-infected person for a while, they went into a kind of passive state. Rook shuddered, thinking about those runners which stood in a hunched position when motionless or just walking around passively with sluggish moves. Chibs and she were likely to encounter some stragglers on the highway. Not only runners, but probably also some clickers.

The first part of the route on the highway was unproblematic. They only encountered a few infected people from time to time, but they were able to sneak past them effortlessly. Sometimes they used objects lying around to distract the clickers. Most of the runners were in their peculiar passive state; these were the easiest to avoid. And then came the bridge. There were several clickers and runners on the bridge, more than they had encountered on the whole of their previous journey on the highway. “Should we try to get down from here or do ye want to try going over the bridge?” Chibs asked her. She looked around. Below them was a road, from both sides of the highway there was a very steep descent to it. Because they were two, it was probably easier to deal with the runners and clickers than to get injured on the way down. They made it past a group of runners and Rook managed to silently shiv one of the clickers from behind.

Suddenly, there was a deep and loud roar. She would always recognise that sound. Fuck, now they had a serious problem. They would probably have managed to defend themselves against the remaining runners and clickers, but something much more terrible was waiting for them at the other end of the bridge. A bloater. Those things were nasty as fuck. So far, she had only encountered one. At that time, she barely escaped with her life. Others in her group hadn’t been that lucky. The images of that day were still haunting her. Bloaters were able to lift up a human by their neck and smash in their skull with just one blow. While clickers could at least be killed with a shiv or switchblade, bloaters were covered in thick fungus that effectively acted as armour. Their guns and her bow were not enough, not in the slightest. They had to get out of here, immediately.

Luckily, the fucker wasn’t able to see anything due to the thick fungus plates. Like the clickers, it located its prey through echolocation. She nodded in the direction of the bloater, indicating to Chibs that they had to get out of here. Her thoughts raced while they sneakily making their way further up the bridge. Would they be able to make it past the bloater unnoticed? Going back was not an option: They probably would have made it past the clickers again, but the bloater was moving towards them faster than they could have sneaked past. What should they do? If there had been a river under the bridge, they might have been able to jump, but… “Boot,” Chibs whispered and interrupted her panicked stream of thoughts. Confused, Rook managed to tear away her gaze from the bloater and looked at Chibs. “We have to look for an open car boot,” he explained. He seemed to mean a trunk. Fucking Brits and their strange words. But this wasn’t the time to get irritated about it.

She gave him a thumbs up and made her way to the next car and tried to open its trunk – but to no avail. Okay, next one then. While they looked for an open car trunk, they came closer and closer to the bloater. Shit, shit, shit, she thought. They had to hurry. Bloaters might have been blind, but they sure as hell were aggressive as fuck. They wouldn’t be able to sneak past it, not here. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead, she became increasingly nervous. Why did all those people lock their fucking cars during the outbreak? She just managed to stop herself from kicking one of the cars and making too much noise. Fortunately, Chibs was luckier than here. “Over here,” he said in a hushed tone and motioned to one of the cars beside him. Rook went over to him and looked at the trunk. It should be big enough for the two of them. She got in first, Chibs went after her. He tied a piece of cloth around the locking mechanism so that they could not be locked in. After that, he pulled the lid closed behind him, leaving only a tiny gap open. They were in almost complete darkness. The roaring sound of the bloater drew nearer. Trapped in a cage of their own choosing they now had to wait and hope that the thing would pass them by.

//

Tags: @evyiione

[scented-morker]

h o t e l k e y

1.6k words chenle x fem!reader fluff, humour, suggestive based off of the song “hotel key” by old dominion (ik ik a country song gross)

“it makes her think of me, and that night we left our hearts on our sleeves and our clothes all over the floor”

You find yourself releasing yet another deep sigh as your father beckons you from across the ballroom, but you still put in your brightest smile as you make your way through the heavy throng of people, preparing to be introduced to yet another business associate who's name you'll forget way before the end of the night.

"This is my daughter, Y/N"

He was already gesturing and introducing you by the time you made it to the place next to him, and you accepted the hand of the older man standing in front of you.

"Oh she's grown very well, such a pretty girl"

"You aren't the only one to think so, she was recently crowned Queen of the Seoul Pageant, you're looking at a future Miss Korea"

You tried to keep yourself from cringing as your father blatantly boasted about you, hoping the other man would pretend not to notice.

He didn't, instead he did something even worse.

"Oh that's great, my son is about the same age, he just performed his third concert at the Golden Hall of Vienna"

You could see your father controlling his face as to not appear impressed, but when the other man turned around to find his son, you got the pointed look you knew meant 'be better than whatever his child is'.

The man turns back around and you pretend to pay attention while he introduces his son who isn't there yet, the exact same thing your father did.

At the end of his sentence a boy your age approaches, and it might be the first time you've actually been interested in something going on all night.

Because my goodness, he is gorgeous.

"Chenle, this is Mr.Y/L/N"

He shakes your fathers hand and you can't spot a single thing he does that is less than perfect.

"I was just telling him about your concert a few weeks ago"

There's a flicker of something in his eyes and you think maybe he feels the same thing as you, though he quickly recovers into the golden boy he's expected to be.

"Oh I hope you weren't bragging, it wasn't anything that special"

"Now don't be so humble Mr.Chenle, that is very impressive"

You laid on the charm you knew your father wanted, and his short nod of confirmation validated your thoughts.

It seemed that Chenle hadn't noticed you until the words left your mouth, and his eyes seemed to shine when he did.

"You are very beautiful Miss.L/N"

"She's going to be Miss Korea"

You made sure only Chenle could see your small eye roll as your fathers launched into another round of 'my-child-is-better-than-yours".

"How about I get the lovely lady a drink?"

Both of your fathers seem thrilled by the idea, and you weren't going to pass on an opportunity to get away, so you politely nodded and let him lead you away.

"You are an angel, thank you for saving me from that conversation"

He laughed at your immediate character switch, "I hope you weren't there for too long before I got there to save you".

"Doesn't even matter, as long as we're safe now"

He laughed at your dramatic phrasing, walking straight past the bar and towards the front door.

"You wanna get out of here"

"I thought you'd never ask"

He pulled you along with him out the doors, getting his car from the valet and driving out onto the main road.

You inhaled the scent of lemon and new car while you fiddled with the radio, Chenle tapping his fingers on the arm rest while he spoke out loud about ideas of where you could go.

By the time you pull up to some random fancy hotel, you're both laughing to the point of stomach pain, and you don't know why but you had never felt so comfortable with someone so quickly.

"Hello I'd like an executive suite"

You zoned out while he spoke to the woman at the counter, and was only pulled back in when he wrapped his arms around you and yanked you towards his body.

You looked up with wide eyes, but a quick scan of the scene told you what was going on, and your eyes narrowed at where the female worker had her hand still hovering over Chenle's chest, obviously having just been removed from an attempt at flirting. The current contact you had with the boy and the two pairs of eyes on you told you that he had used you as a cover, and he had obviously said something, something they were both waiting for you to respond to.

"I'm pregnant"

They both looked at you, the woman's eyes wide with horror, Chenle's wide with bewilderment, probably at why that was your panicked response.

You looked up to meet his eyes and you both immediately broke into loud laughs, Chenle swiping the key cards from the counter as you both ran towards the first hallway, his hand holding yours the entire way.

When you finally stepped out of the elevator and made it to your suite, there were tears dried on your face from laughing so hard, and Chenle was still teasing you.

"I'm pregnant," his words were once again cut off by his laughter and you smacked his chest as you inserted the card into the door and yanked it open, throwing yourself onto the bed while he came in still laughing.

He tossed himself next to you, turning onto his side and propping his chin on his hand to looks at your face.

"I told her that we had just gotten married and needed a room" he wiggled his eyebrows as you laughed, mirroring his actions as you turned to look at him in the same manner.

"Well I said I was pregnant, so at least she won't get the wrong idea about what we're doing up here"

"Oh yeah? What do you think she's thinking?"

His voice gets softer and he leans in towards your face, to the point where your lips are only centimeters away.

"You know"

"No I don't think I do?"

"The devils tango. The sideways salsa. The no pants dance. Hanky panky"

He had lost it by the first euphemism, but you kept going, although making him laugh that hard while being so close proved to be a bad idea, and you felt his head hit yours before you had the chance to move away.

"I was going to kiss you but after that I don't think I want to"

He barely got the words out between his laughs and you acted offended, although disappointment was the real emotion you were feeling.

"Why? Because I'm too funny?"

"Yeah, uh-huh that's totally it"

He had finished his laughing fit and was able to speak clearly, a smile on his face while he rolled his eyes, continuing his path back to your lips.

You were barely a millimeter apart when your phone started ringing, both of your groans echoing throughout the room while you blindly reached for the device.

"Where are you? I cant find you and Chenle's father seems to not be able to locate him either. You better be making smart decisions. I'll let you go this time but we've got another party next week and you will be there the entire time"

Your fathers voice was loud through the phone, and you were sure Chenle heard every word.

"Ugh" you let out an angry groan as the voicemail finished, throwing the device somewhere across the room.

"Why do they always do this?"

Chenle got a similar text from his father, and now both of you were mad, knees touching as you sat angrily on the hotel bed.

"What do you think they'd do if we just ran away?"

He looked at you in amusement, not a single ounce of surprise in his gaze.

"I've thought about it, leave the city"

"Maybe the country" you added, and chenle let out a melodic laugh, content to sit in some random hotel with you and talk about running away together.

But that wasn't what you wanted right now.

Right now the thought on both of your minds was to make you fathers mad.

“You better kiss me before we get interrupted again”

You don’t have to tell him twice, within a second his lips are crashing into yours, tongues clashing and hands grabbing at whatever they can reach, both of you trying to contain your smiles at the feeling of freedom.

When you woke up the next day the alarm on the side table read 3:00 and a laugh left you mouth as you woke up the boy next to you.

“Chenle we were supposed to check out three hours ago”

His eyes widen but he joins in your laughter anyway, both rushing around the room to locate your belongings.

The same check in lady at the desk from yesterday glares at you as you run through the halls, and since you paid yesterday you thankfully don’t have to speak to her, Chenle just throwing the key card down on the front desk and running with you in his arms towards his car.

He was too busy dismissing calls from his father and screaming along with the radio to notice the way you slipped the other key card into your small purse.

“we both know we can’t open the door no more, but she kept the hotel key”

[explosions-and-chill]

Lab visit

Zes turned on her Pak flashlight as they finally arrived at the place. As expected the entire place was covered with dust, but otherwise the place still had a bit of power to it. A part of her kept thinking she should have waited before trying this.

That or telling people this is more than a scavenging run. Probably just some fucked up things and that's it.

“Let’s get this pointless endeavor over with.”

Zes almost glared at Tak’s commentary. Though, if she had to have anyone tag along this was the better option. Before she would have just gone alone.

She sighed. "You know why if you read those same papers. Well, maybe we'll get lucky and find something to take back. Maybe make the trip worth it."

I would be surprised if she didn't read all that with how much time she was in the escape pod. Still have no idea how I'm gonna tell dad about this. Especially since things might be happening soon.

She pushed the thought of Dre's concerning message out of her head and pushed forward. The entire place smelled rotten. The sludge in some of the containers said enough about where it came from. Even the tools they came across had various shades of blood.

“The question remains as to how you discovered a place like this?" Tak looked at her for a moment before keeping her usual watch. She was taking much more seriously than Zes expected.

At least I don’t have to listen to the complaining. Though I probably would have left well enough alone if Miyuki didn’t have the reaction she did.

Zes shrugged. "I just followed the data lines from when I first found that old research data. This was just the closest location."

Some of the old equipment still had some decent crystals that could be used as conduits so she took those for her bag. Though, these were mostly used for laser equipment. Didn't take a genius to figure out how that was used here.

Still don't know how I should take that I was technically made by someone like this. Though I suppose that matters little. I already did the biggest fuck you to whoever this was by lasting this long.

“Get out of your thoughts, time to move on.” Tak was waiting patiently, almost like she could tell where her thoughts were going with all of this.

Zes glared. “The whole point of the exploration is to look things over. You were taking watch anyway.”

Tak looked almost shocked at what Zes implied but returned to her normal expression. After all the fights they have had, Zes did trust her to watch things as she looked over what she found in this old lab. Though she had a point about how long they were lingering.

"You are the one overly excited to not miss meeting that parental unit you were waiting on. I'm following your rules here."

Yet you still wanted me to buy you takeout. Yeah, I do want to meet dad, but this place doesn't feel right. Even without a schedule, I wouldn't stay here for long anyway.

00000

The next room had various pods lined up. The usual equipment was there, but the main focus was the center of the room. It looked like an operating table. This was one room she had no interest in taking anything that looked useful.

Though her interest peaked as she spotted a terminal by the desk. There should be enough power left in the area to at least extract any data she could find.

"Ok, after I get what's on here I say we're done. Just keep an eye out for any giant bugs." That was the joke she made when she was talking to knelt before. Though, it was true that normally there are just really big bugs in places she explores.

Just got to be a bit careful with this. No telling what crazy did to protect their things. Though, I’m better.

She put her clone flash drive in and started copying each file as she typed the countermeasures. She doubted the owner was still around, but there was no harm in covering her tracks. Meanwhile, Tak was taking to examining the pods.

While Zes was busy with the computer, Tak saw each individual that was in there. Some looked mummified. While others just looked horribly mutated. She tensed as she turned back to keep watch for anything else.

��Hurry it up, some of these pods have live occupants.”

Guess Dre might be right on the whole doing stupid things. Though, I am never gonna tell him that. Just a little bit longer and I’ll have what I need to leave.

Just as Zes finished the data extraction, one of the pods started to break. Something sprayed on Tak's face before she stepped back. Various forms of mutant creations were released and started going toward the two fresh faces.

Tak glared as Zes went over to join her. “I thought you said you were going to be careful.”

Right, of course, the terminal would have had a fail-safe against unauthorized users. Whoever this science lady was, she's that good. Fuck.

"Yeah, well I can't get it right all the time." She tossed one of her bombs at the head of the one that was approaching her. She had to quickly get another one out as it was still moving.

Tak quickly hopped over her shoulder and stabbed what was hidden on the mutant's back. Now that Zes saw it, she noticed it on all the escapees.

"They are just corpse puppets. You can take them out quicker." Tak looked like she was struggling with something but she put that out of her mind and focused on what was in front of her.

The only reason these things survived was they had Irken Paks strapped on them. She glared as she knew where to aim some of her bombs.

She better not think I don’t notice the smoking that is coming from her Pak. Well, been a bit since I had to take a fight seriously.

The teen ducked and bounced around with a speed that would keep the creatures just out of reach. All while keeping their attention on her. Tak was still holding her own with a few well-placed knife attacks to take out a few.

She glared at Zes as they were finally nearby. "Are you finished jumping around yet?" The irritation in her voice was apparent.

Yeah, that didn’t sound right. I thought she would notice. Well, close range never really was my style.

Zes pulled out a trigger. Normally, when she uses her bombs, she combines a button with timing so they go off right where she aims to throw them. Though that doesn't mean she never had a regular trigger handy.

While she was hopping around, she tucked a bomb near each one of the mutants Paks. The only reason she could do that without splitting her focus was that Tak was still doing good with her group of enemies.

With a push of the button, each explosion took out what was left of the room. Though that didn’t mean they could relax just yet. The entire time they were fighting, what was left of an alarm was going off. They had to go before discovering what else might be left alive in here.

“Come on, time to get going before we get locked in.”

Tak nodded as they both ran towards where Zes parked the ship. Though as they ran out of the room, an Irken with yellow eyes appeared on the screen for just that moment before vanishing.

She was right as the place was trying to go into lockdown. They got to the ship just in time before the final door closed. Tak looked exhausted but Zes put that out of her mind to start the take-off sequence. Lucky for them, the docking doors were broken a long time ago.

Nice try, but I’m still better. Though probably omit this part of the story if someone asks.

Zes sighed in relief as they finally entered deep space on the route back to Earth. There was one last thing she had to do before she could fully relax. She approached Tak before looking at her Pak. It was still smoking.

“Let me take a look.”

Tak glared as she backed away. “I said it was fine. I can handle it.”

Bullshit, you got sprayed by something right before it happened.

"If it spreads, then it can damage more than just what broke. I know basic Pak repair. Don't be dumb Tak." Zes's eyes narrowed as she waited. The last thing she wanted was to help with major repairs because the girl was being stubborn.

Tak sighed before turning around and opening her port. Zes wasn't oblivious as to how much trust that would take. It's handling your very being with someone. As much as Tak gets on her nerves, she wouldn't put down what she was trying to do.

As she looked careful, Zes spotted the offending part. It was the emotional inhibitor. With how much it fried, the removal was simple. Though that could explain a lot in those last few moments they were in there.

Well, it’s my fault it happened so I’ll point her in the right direction if she asks.

She just handed Tak her broken inhibitor before closing up her Pak. “Do I have to ask?”

Tak just glared before pushing Zes off the chair. "It was barely working, to begin with. An easy adjustment and it will change nothing going forward."

Is she trying to convince me or herself? Well, that might also explain something from the past week or so. Guess I'll just take her word on it.

Zes just got up and dusted her skirt. “Fine, have it your way. I’ll keep an eye on our course.”

At this point, the sooner they were back on Earth, the better. That was the only benefit of the location being close by.

Should be back by tomorrow night if we skip the food run.

[kaderp]

ALRIGHT FUCKERS THIS IS GONNA BE A HELLA LONG MEGAPOST AS I WAS GIVEN THE OK

BASICALLY this is gonna be a collection of bullshit me and @blackfliesinbluesugar have come up with and drawn

It starts with Goldie still living in Ireland at 17-19 and Scrooge from ages 18-20 staying in Scotland. And long story short they're dumbasses as teens. Cliche forbidden romance type stuff. Goldie's dad has shot people in the foot for trying to mess around with Goldie or just even talk to her for too long. So the only logical explanation they have is make Scrooge hide in the barn when he visits.

Basically Scrooge chills in the barn for a while cause Goldie's the only one that ever really goes in there because she's in charge of all the chores there. Which is where the context of this post is from

After the first time they fooled around Goldie was like 'oh crap what if I got pregnant D:' and told her mom she's going through a phase of flowey/big dresses when in reality she's trying to hide a potential baby bump. Now her mom doesn't care because she's too caught up in the fact that Goldie is finally 'acting like a lady.'

So eventually because they never put together that 'hey, if we keeping doing this we're gonna end up with a baby', Goldie does end up pregnant. And because her dad is a dick and a 'I catch you with my daughter then you die' type of shotgun dad, Goldie is freaking tf out.

About a month after she finds out she's pregnant, the O'Gilt's (well mostly just Goldie and her mom lol) get invited to a fancy dinner and Scrooge is really wanting to see Goldie again. So what better way to see her than to travel to Ireland, steal a uniform, and sneak into said dinner party as a busboy. Problem is he can't risk Goldie's dad seeing him again so he tries to slick back his whiskers

But while Scrooge is running around, he eventually spots Goldie across the room. Now he's never seen her in anything fancy, usually just the flannel and green work skirt. And he just about dies 😭

By now she has a bit of a baby bump she's had to hide so she normally goes for high waisted dresses that immediately flow out.

Anyways, as Scrooge is putting on the uniform he realizes he has absolutely no idea how to actually be a busboy. He doesn't know the first thing about dining and stuff so he's just like AAAAAAA

As they both see each other, Scrooge gives a dorky grin and Goldie smiles before realizing he snuck in. Right when Scrooge goes to see her he gets dumped with a bunch of dishes he has to set. Goldie sees him struggling to figure out how to set a table and he just gives her a nervous grin while she's like 'oh you beautiful dumbass -_-'

She's turning red cause she's trying so hard not to burst out in laughter as Scrooge slips and a bunch of silverware falls on him

He's getting yelled at by the director but he's just giving Goldie a goofy grin from across the room.

Her parents: remember to be calm and not make a scene no matter wh-

Goldie watching Scrooge trip on the tablecloth: BWAHAHA

But as the dinner progresses, Goldie remembers Scrooge doesn't even know she's pregnant. So she keeps trying to tell him but they both constantly get pulled away to do other things.

Towards the end of dinner Scrooge gets a free moment and realizes then that 'holy shit I actually like really love her!' So he darts to wherever she is and is struggling to get it out cause he doesn't know how much time he has left. He eventually spits it out and tells Goldie he loves her and is immediately called away. Scrooge takes her hands and quickly kisses her cheek before running to wherever the director is calling him from.

Goldie is shocked and stays still for a moment but by the time the shock wears off she realizes Scrooge is already long gone and they don't see each other again. And now Goldie's like 'crap crap crap, he said he loves me and I didn't even tell him I'm pregnant.'

They aren't able to communicate for a while cause Goldie's so focused on trying to keep her family pleased while still hiding her baby bump, and Scrooge keeps getting sidetracked and forgetting to write. (You can't tell me that isn't something he'd do because he kept getting distracted in the life and times when coming back home). He has her address, and he has started a letter, and even his family knows about her. 3ish months pass of no communications until one night Goldie starts contractions.

She darts to the barn after the first contraction and realizes she has to do this alone. A letter takes a day to get to Scrooge and going to Scotland herself would take closer to 7 hours. At that point it would be safer to not move.

It's like 3am by the time she lays and the egg ends up being pretty small. The entire time Goldie was just getting sicker and sicker. She ends up too weak to even hide the egg and has a high fever. She seriously thinks she's not gonna make it for the first night she can barely stay conscious.

The next morning she has just enough strength to lazily hide the egg in the hay and sluggishly make her way back to the main house. Her parents are already up and she explains she started feeling iffy while doing chores and collapses.

Because her parents aren't completely heartless and she still is their daughter, her parents' main focus shifts to trying to nurse her back to health. They assume she fell with a bad flu and don't know she had spent all night laying an egg.

During this time she writes to Scrooge telling him to get over here asap, it's an emergency.

Goldie's parents take over her chores in the barn and the moment they said that Goldie went into panic mode again. During a lunch break she climbs through her window and runs to the barn to hide the egg better. She does, and she successfully makes it back to her room but collapses again and sleeps until the next day.

Scrooge arrives 3 days after she lays and now she's really panicking. She's still weak and sick, and her parents are coming closer and closer to finding the egg. Scrooge when he sees her is genuinely freaking out. Not only for the future and that he now has an egg, but because Goldie did it by herself in a dirty barn. She's still a little loopy even though it's been a few days and Scrooge just feels heart broken that he wasn't there to help. He starts going on a tangent about how she could have died but Goldie just kisses him to get him to stop blabbering.

Scrooge helps her clean up a bit cause even with her parents looking after her, she's still a mess. But as he's washing her and the egg up, they hear fighting from the main house. Her parents realized she wasn't in her bed. She starts crying and tells Scrooge he needs to run home asap because if her dad finds out he'll most definitely kill him and/or the baby.

(This was the first doodle for the au before deciding on an exact age/place/look so don't mind the sloppiness)

Scrooge escapes right as her dad comes in. She pulls the excuse of she thought she felt well enough to do chores.

Scrooge rn is running like a madman back to Scotland. He went from chilling with his family to being a father who's child needs to be kept secret within a day.

By the time Scrooge gets back home it's the middle of the night and is ngl feeling pretty overwhelmed. He tells Downy that he messed up and she's just like ??? So Scrooge holds up the egg and Downy just purses her lips like 'ah'

The next morning Scrooge explains to his family what happened and doesn't leave out any detail. Fergus and Downy obviously have mixed feelings. Scrooge is barely 19 yet he already has a kid??? But in the end they realize they can't change what's happened and focus on helping Scrooge protect this child.

Once the baby hatched, all mixed feelings from Downy erased and she just went into 'this is my grandbaby and no one will touch her' mood.

Scrooge and Goldie kept in contact from the moment Goldie gave away the egg. Because of the little incident of Goldie 'trying to do chores while sick,' she was put under close monitoring for the next few months and couldn't visit each other. After constant writing back and forth, they find a date to meet up half way between Scotland and Ireland so Goldie can meet her baby. They try to decide on baby names through the letter but they can't agree on anything. Goldie finds out that Scrooge moved out of his small Glasgow home and into McDuck Castle. He gives her the new location on the map as well.

The first time Scrooge tries to sneak out with the baby Fergus is just standing right outside with his brow arched and Scrooge starts freaking out.

Before Scrooge can apologize for trying to sneak out, Fergus just asks if Scrooge would like him to go with.

Scrooge is a little shocked but can't talk with the frog in his throat and just nods. Along the way Scrooge explains how he and Goldie have been trying to find the right time to sneak out for weeks because it was so hard for Goldie to get free time. She was sent to go across country to get supplies and uses that opportunity to go meet up with Scrooge and the baby again.

Fergus just nods and continues.

When they do see Goldie, she almost breaks down at the sight that the baby survived and is being raised in a good house hold and can't stop holding her. The baby is about 3 months old by now. They finally agreed on a name and she ended up being named Maryanne. (Yes Jelly and I chose that because it means Star of the Sea)

She has to give the baby back to Scrooge cause stupid teenage and still getting over pregnancy hormones are getting the better of her and she starts full on sobbing as she sits on the ground. Scrooge freezes cause he's like aaaaaa what do I dooooo while still holding the baby.

But Fergus crouches down to her and asks if she wants a hug. All Goldie can say is 'uh huh' and he just wraps himself around her. She hugs back and Fergus rocks back and forth until Goldie's calmed down.

'I'm sorry I pulled your son into the mess. I-I was just so scared that my papa w-would kill one of us that I didn't know what else to do.'

Fergus pulls her away so he can actually look at her. And part of him feels that tinge of fear and sadness that the two teens had experienced. He grabs onto her shoulders which causes Goldie to look up at him.

'While I dinnae agree what you two did was right. Ah'm proud of you. Because what you did, finding the will to give up a child for their own safety, took a lotta strength there, lass.' And before she can react, Fergus pulls her in again and let's it sink in.

Scrooge is still holding the baby but now he's sitting down and bouncing the cooing baby on his knee while watching the scene unfold.

Over the course of the next few months, Goldie visits as much as possible and she grows closer to the family and Scrooge every time. On the times she can't visit, Fergus accompanies Scrooge in order to protect them from Goldie's dad. She's had a few close calls with her dad, but nothing too serious

After those events, Goldie practically moves in with the McDucks and they work on raising Maryanne. However like in the Rosa series, they're still experiencing tax trouble and Scrooge says he's gonna have to go to South Africa. The baby is about 2 by now and Scrooge is almost 21, while Goldie is about 19 and a half.

(This next section was an accident but basically it started as jotting down ideas but turned into a fic after I said it would take 20 seconds to write but turned into 2 hours fjdbfndn)

Scrooge is torn between whether or not to go until Goldie says she'll go with him. And because she's stubborn, no one objects. So the three travel across the world together. Maryanne practically grows up on the sea and all of those adventures where Goldie is present in the DT17 Rewriting History book happen.

On adventures they trade off tying the baby to their backs until she's old enough to not need to anymore. Although for the more dangerous ones, one of them stays behind.

But because they weren't married and had a kid in their teens, they were generally looked down upon. It got to the point where they just started saying they were married in order to avoid conflict with others. And after a while they actually forgot they weren't in fact married

'Huh, I forgot we're not actually married.' 'WAIT WE'RE NOT???'

Or

'We're married' 'Oh ok, can i see your marriage records?' '... oh right'

But some old lady or old guy either way starts criticizing Goldie for being a young mother and they just deck the shit outta them and run. Or Goldie fighting someone with baby tied to her back.

Maryanne grows up to be an ocean cartographer and leads sailing expeditions and that's all we have for her. Also she has super blue eyes lol

That's basically almost all of the things we have for this au lol

[danceworshipper]

Giulio Moretti - HPMA Character Profile

template by me // images created using the zepeto app

NOTE: I am a cisgender female. As such, I have been hesitant to make a trans oc and will not be going into much detail about Giulio's experiences specifically related to his gender. If anything in here feels iffy to anyone not cisgender, please let me know and I'll correct it

Personal

Full Name: Giulio Antonio Moretti

Gender: Male (trans)

Sexuality: Demisexual, polyamorous

Birthday: June 1st

Age: 11

Birthstone: Alexandrite

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Blood Status: Full Veela

- I'm mostly using these headcanons written by @carmilla-the-bird, though over time I might end up changing a couple details

- I'm not certain if full Veelas would even use wands/go to magic school but these ones do because I say so

- What I'm specifically adding is that since HPMA takes place later than the full HP series, there has been a new method developed to allow full veelas to better coexist with wizards. This comes in the form of a clear gemstone that can be inserted into any piece of jewelry, usually necklaces. While the stone is worn, the charm [or allure, as I call it] that all veelas have while glamored is dampened by up to 80%. Another effect is that when angered, the veela won't be able to lash out with their fire magic, unless they've trained their magic well enough that's it's less of an instinct and more of a conscious choice. Minors are legally required to wear it at all times, except in their own home with only their family around. Once an adult the veela can choose whether they want to wear it or not. The stone has a similar trace to underaged magic, so when a Veela who's a minor takes it off, the Ministry is alerted and their location will be tracked

3 Positive Traits:

- Empathetic

- Resourceful

- Playful

3 Negative Traits:

- Irritable

- Addictive

- Pessimistic

Usual First Impression: When meeting Giulio, most people see him as a spoiled and stuck up little boy. This isn't true. He's just very wary of strangers, so he doesn't tend to leave a good first impression. Once he's more comfortable around someone, his positive traits outshine the more negative ones

Location

Birthplace: A Veela-specific clinic in southern Italy. His mother travelled there for all of her children's births, and the midwife there is the woman who delivered her

Current Home: His family home in England, a medium sized house under a strict Fidelius charm, which his aunt is the Secret Keeper for. His bedroom is on the second floor, looking out over the fish pond in the backyard

Future Home(s): Fresh out of Hogwarts he'll share an apartment with Lori with heavily warded Floo access. Later homes TBD once his love interests are planned out

Favorite Place: The little house the family rents for a month every summer in southern Italy. The town is full of good culture, and better yet, good food. It feels peaceful, even when there's a loud festival going on

Disliked Place: The woods a mile down the road from his home. The woods are the last place Giulio saw his grandmother before she went missing, and now they feel like they're haunted. He refuses to go on walks there anymore

Appearance

Face Shape: Round, slightly pointy chin

Eye Color: Deep teal

Hair Color: Whitish blond

Hair Style: Self cut (horrifies his mother), slightly uneven, medium length. Not brushed every day, fluffy

Skin Tone: Pale

Freckles/Spots: A few beauty marks on his face, two near his right eye and one on the left side of his chin

Scars: None yet

Piercings/Tattoos: None

Height: 5'7" [fully grown]

Weight: ~ 135 lbs [fully grown]

Physique: Thin. Luckily for him, Giulio's family has always had rather "boyish" bodies - wide shoulders, not very curvy - but he's still got too much woman in him to be fully happy with his form

Clothing Style: Baggy tops, loose pants, nothing fancy. Giulio tries to attract as little attention as possible, because while he's glamored people stare at him a lot anyway, even with the dampener. He does like colored pants, but his tops are usually grey and black. His dampening necklace is the most eye catching thing he wears (as it was a gift from his missing grandmother) and he wishes he could take it off, but he legally can't

Carried Items:

- The last picture of him, his sisters, and his grandmother ever taken

- A lighter. He likes having the fire near him since he can't access his own fire magic

- His hair scissors, for whenever he feels like it needs to be trimmed

- A container of Silly Putty he got from a Muggle convenience store

- His water bottle

Magic

Wand: 10" Veela hair wand in Fir wood. A very pale colored wand that's a bit rough around the edges. The hair is from his younger sister Martina, who yanked the strand right out and handed it to the wandmaker after no wands appeared to choose a very defeated looking Giulio. The wand was made while Giulio watched, and he checked it many times throughout the process to make sure it felt like it would have him, which it did.

Animagus: As a veela, Giulio can transform into pretty much any bird shape. He has no need to go through the animagus process

Boggart Form: Him, fully matured, very womanly, and in a wedding gown just like the ones his older sister Alessia fawns over

Riddikulus Form: Him in a ridiculously exaggerated Bloody Baron costume

Amortentia (to others): Someone smelling Giulio would smell new pillows, the faint burning metal scent that clings to him, and the dry shampoo he uses

Amortentia (to them): He doesn't smell any sort of romantic interest yet. What he smells now are safe, comforting smells, like the cigars his mother and aunt smoke, the perfume all his sisters use, and the smell of his favorite restaurant in southern Italy

Patronus: Bird of Paradise

Happiest Memory: Receiving his wand once it was completed, and finally feeling the connection and power he'd heard so much about but thought he'd never have

Mirror of Erised: Some might consider it sad, but all he sees is him, happy, the way he wishes he was - including not looking at all like a Veela. Someday this will change

Family Spells: It's not really a spell, but the Morettis have a particular bird call that, when paired with the right charm, will alert every living family member to the caller's location, should one desperately need help. It's only to be used in emergencies. Giulio isn't sure he wants to know why his grandmother never used it

Inherent Magic: Veela stuff - storm sense, fire, bird transformations, allure, slight levitation abilities

Family

Grandmother: Francesca is not an ideal parental figure. She grew up in a time when full Veelas were treated with nearly the same suspicion and prejudice as werewolves, so she's very anti-human. However, she was still one of Giulio's best defenders and most treasured family members. She places a huge importance on family and is the one who came up with the idea of the special danger call. Francesca went missing when Giulio was seven, and there have been no clues as to what happened.

Mother: Valentina is a kind, gentle woman who cares for her family before anyone else. She and her sister were taught all their lives to be nothing more than a pretty face, and while Bianca rejected this, Valentina embraced it. Even now, with her own mother nowhere to be found, she has trouble remembering to be herself. She wears her necklace at all times, terrified to be without it

Father: Giulio never knew him. He's not sure he even has one

Aunt: Bianca is, in many ways, the exact opposite of her sister. Bianca embraces all of her less than proper instincts, and even walks around in public completely unglamored, acting as a good deterrent to anyone who might want to come say hi, innocent intentions or not. Gets angry very easily, and has caused public property damage more often than Valentina would appreciate

Sisters: Two older sisters, one younger. All Slytherins while in school

- Alessia, six years older, prefect. A headstrong young woman who takes advantage of her allure to get what she wants, and is skilled enough to fight off anyone who gets too "friendly". She likes to have a collection of boy toys she never lets get too close, but secretly only has eyes for the Hufflepuff prefect, Lina.

- Emilia, four years older, Quidditch captain. Hates her allure with a passion and refuses to even think about romance until she's out of school. Could kick anyone's ass, and will do so if she feels the need to. Very protective of Giulio, has gotten into at least eight shouting matches with those who misgender him

- Martina, one year younger. The baby of the family. A bit of a spoiled brat, and too young to fully understand exactly why her older siblings are all so wary of strangers, or letting her out of their sight. She dreams of being the Minister of Magic, and of being able to take her "stupid, ugly, and stupid" necklace off for good

Pets: The two family screech owls which trade off being at school/home, and an Abraxan Giulio found on Hogwarts grounds that likes him a lot

Family Values: The Morettis hold nothing higher than each other. The family's main priority is sticking together, and always doing whatever they can to help each other achieve whatever they wish. The family is also, as a whole, rather reclusive

Opinion of Family: Giulio loves his family. For all their faults, they hold true to their values and he couldn't imagine one of them ever betraying another. Even if they won't ever truly understand him, they've all tried and they do what they can, and it means more than he can say

Friendships

Introverted or Extroverted: Introverted

Best Friend: Oleander Loris. Her anger issues, her weird pink eyes, and her tendency to drag him along to social outings are all things that Giulio comes to appreciate over time. He originally became curious about her on the train ride to school, when she stumbled looking at his older sisters but didn't notice him at all, and they spoke for the first time in Flying class. Lori is definitely a force to be reckoned with, and the fact that she's not affected by his allure in the slightest makes him feel really happy

Worst Friend: TBD

Friend He Didn't Expect: Cassandra. They aren't the best of friends, and maybe they can't be considered friends at all, but she doesn't hold the contempt she seems to hold for most others for him

Who He Wishes Was His Friend: Kestra Fernera. She's got fire powers, and she doesn't have to be chained down by the Ministry. He thinks she's super cool, and is very jealous of her and how popular she is, but he's far too nervous to try and talk to her

List of Casual Friends:

- Brian Haywood-Reese @catohphm

- others TBD, but likely the main cast of the game. Mc friends welcome, if any are interested!

Romance

Current Crush: None

Current Partner: None

Past Partners: None

Future Partners: TBD

His Type: Pretty much anyone who's able to look past the allure that Giulio hates so much and also isn't afraid of him in his natural form, though most people haven't even seen it

Hogwarts

House: Slytherin

Prefect Status: No

Quidditch: Not on the team, but plays casually

Clubs: TBD

Organizations: None

Favorite Class: Flying. Duh

Least Favorite Class: Potions. It gives him a headache surrounded by all the fumes

Favorite Professor: TBD

Least Favorite Professor: TBD

Timeline

Young Childhood:

- Giulio realizes young that he hates the idea of being a girl, and insists that his mother change his name. His family thought it was a phase, but once they realized it wasn't, they became more serious and started to see what they could do to help him

- He's a sheltered child, learning early the importance of staying close to a trusted adult. He sees the horrors of what can happen to a Veela caught unaware at a young age when he almost loses his mother to someone who wanted to sell her, and never looks at strangers the same way again

- At five years old Giulio is given his dampener necklace. He refuses to wear it until his grandmother forcibly puts it on him. He decides it's not that bad, though it feels like it's choking him and he doesn't like the muted feeling in his hands that comes from the loss of his instinctual magic

- At seven years old, Giulio is on a walk with his grandmother in the woods when he hears a loud screech. She sends him back toward the house, saying she'll be right behind him. Hours pass, and she never follows. There's no evidence as to what that screech was, or what happened to his grandmother

- At eleven years old, Giulio spends a week traveling to different wandmakers around Europe trying to find a wand so he can go to school in the fall. For some reason, his magic is picky and not a single wand even comes close to working for him. When he's given up all hope, his little sister Martina asks if the wandmaker takes custom orders, and rips out her own hair to be used for Giulio's wand. It's the first time Giulio cries happy tears, hovering his hand over the uncompleted wand and feeling it call to him already

School Years: TBD once I'm able to play the game

Post Graduation: Giulio moves into an apartment with Lori soon after graduating. While she immediately starts work, Giulio takes time to find some higher education, and work on training his Veela magic now that he can take his necklace off whenever he wants

Career(s): TBD

Marriage and Children: TBD

Death: Giulio will be murdered by [redacted] in order to save [redacted]'s life, but he'll be very old (around 200) and will have outlived his lovers, so he doesn't see it as too much of a shame. He'll be buried in the family garden and have some lovely flower bushes planted over him

Notable Facts Not Previously Mentioned

- The Veela magic in Giulio recognizes him as a boy as soon as he does. When his allure kicks in, anyone attracted to men finds themself affected, while those strictly into women do not, even though male Veelas are practically unheard of

- His aunt Bianca paid a personal visit to Hogwarts before he was enrolled, ready to throw flames if he was going to be put into the female dorms. Luckily, she didn't need to worry, as once the situation was explained it was settled with a simple change in his paperwork

- Giulio hates being cooped up indoors for too long. Even in the coldest days of winter, he'll spend as much time as possible outside

- Starting in third year, Lori will figure out how to get the necklace off of him without alerting anyone [putting it on herself within a few seconds], and Giulio will occasionally spend a few hours free and in his natural form in the Forbidden Forest. Unbeknownst to him, wearing the necklace saps at Lori's magical core, and it takes her a day or so to regain her strength if she wears it for more than thirty minutes

- Giulio will likely have three partners in the future. He could never even imagine having one, so if his younger self was told he would have three he would probably have a difficult time believing it

- Cutting his hair so frequently doesn't affect his magic like his mother feared it would, though he does feel nauseous when he does it

- The dark teal eyes are something only he and his sisters have, which is how he knows they all have the same "father" or whatever they had. His mother, aunt, and grandmother all have the traditional black eyes. Not even Alessia ever saw any type of man around when her younger siblings were born, so there are no clues as to how the four of them exist

- As much as he hates the dampener, it does him a lot of good when he's younger. He gets angry easily and often feels very defensive, so without it he could have gotten into a lot of trouble

- Though he doesn't like his allure, Giulio will sometimes take advantage of it like Alessia does if he wants to get out of something. He won't fight it, he'll play nice, and let whoever he needs to back off get a little dazed

- He wanted to hide the fact that he was a Veela when he first came to Hogwarts, but with two older sisters and his allure he couldn't

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Main Story Chapter 3-3: 海水与火焰 Seawater & Flames Translation

“Secretly snapping shots of me again? What, was last time not enough?"

*Light and Night Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Main story tag will be #For Light and Night

The original plan for Lin Yao’s fitting session was postponed by her agency at the very last minute. After busying for a couple more days, the weekends were here in a blink of an eye.

Following Evan’s suggestion, I’d selected a new apartment that was small, but pretty good in every other aspect, and moved in without a hitch.

It was coincidentally sundown by the time I’d finished decorating my new home. The setting sun was lazily snuggled up high amongst the clouds that touched the building. Guangqi City was dyed in a beautiful pinkish-purple, assimilating into the very glow of the sunset itself.

I was nestled up comfortably on my sofa, admiring the beautiful scenery and enjoying the rare moment of peace.

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang.

Delivery Man: Hello. Fresh flowers for you.

MC: ?

An’an had sent me a huge bouquet of baby's breath. It had a card attached to it, wishing me a smooth move into my new apartment.

❖☆———————————★❖

An'an: Got the flowers yet?

MC: Yeah! They're especially pretty~

An'an: You're welcome! But, seeing as you've already received them… I have a teeny-tiny request~

MC: Why do I have a bad feeling about this already…?

An'an: Aw, come on, man. Didn't I tell you that I was going to be interviewing my idol's race team next week?

An'an: It’s their test run tomorrow and it’s also a Sunday, so I’m asking you to come and check them out with me!

An'an: Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? You know I love you best, baby!

MC: ...Fine.

An'an: I’ll send you the location later and see you at their training location at 10 AM tomorrow! Be there, or be square!

❖☆———————————★❖

Hence, I woke up early the next day due to the location being somewhere out in the outskirts of the city.

MC: Turn left at 998 Sunset Street and go straight till the end…

MC: Then you’ll see the Glitter Bullet race team's name… Oh, here it is.

A real race track was much more of a spectacular sight to behold compared to what I’d seen on television.

The long and winding race track was akin to that of a python’s body; so long that it seemed never-ending, surrounding a square plot of grass. The dark red tented fabric canopy bearing the team’s name stood right in the centre of the racetrack like an open umbrella.

❖☆———————————★❖

MC: What a spectacle…

Everything about the racetrack marvelled me, almost as if I’d accidentally stepped into a whole new world.

Training racecars raced past me, roaring as they went. The visceral heat and the deafening roars of the engines as they zipped past were so exciting that they made everyone's heart race.

I walked to the auditorium, finding a shaded area to sit.

Down at the tracks was what was probably a mock competition. The roaring of the racecars that zipped past was sometimes high-pitched, and sometimes low.

❖☆———————————★❖

The one at the head of them all was a red racecar that was both steady and equally speedy. After a couple of laps, it had firmly locked its place as No.1 on the racetrack.

I stared at the skull pattern on it. It looked really familiar…

I whipped out my phone and zoomed in on it using the camera and confirmed it. My eyes weren’t fooling me after all.

MC: The pattern on it looks exactly just like the pendant Osborn wears!

❖☆———————————★❖

Is that his racecar? As the thought flashed past my mind, I was compelled to raise my phone and press the button on the shutter.

Suddenly, a sharp sound rang out in the chaos of noise.

The yellow racecar that had been snapping at the red one’s heels the entire time had suddenly started accelerating, just like a lion that had just woken up, radiating an unstoppable and unrelenting aura as it went. It swerved with astonishing speed and a sharp screech of its tires, perfectly bypassing the bend in the road before swiftly overtaking the red racecar!

It was like a dash of gold light in the middle of a group, making everything in the surroundings lose out in comparison.

In a blink of an eye, that racecar put a huge distance between itself and the others.

MC: The red racecar got overtaken!

Only the last lap remained before this competition was over. I couldn't help gripping tightly to the railings as I silently rooted for the red racecar.

However, it was the yellow racecar that had been first to cross the finish line in the end.

MC: He still lost out…

I sighed, growing increasingly curious about just which godly being was behind the wheel of the yellow racecar.

MC: ...Osborn's so good at this; I wonder who won against him?

A tall and big figure came out of the yellow racecar, removing his helmet and reaching a hand up to somewhat fix his helmet-mussed hair.

MC: ...Osborn!? That red racecar isn't being driven by him!?

❖☆———————————★❖

It was at that moment that my phone vibrated to life.

An'an: I needa tell you something very important… Please don't smack me!

An'an: A last-minute issue cropped up with the latest issue of the magazine I'm on, so I've got to rush back to the publishing company right now...

MC: I'm… already here, though…

An'an: I'm so, so, sorry for making you go there for nothing…

MC: Don't worry about it. I don't have any plans for today anyway. Besides, I just saw their test run.

An'an: For real!? Did you snap any pics of my idol? Can you send them to me!?

MC: Sure thing. I snapped one aplenty…

Suddenly, I recalled the big, horrid, and terrible screw-up that had transpired earlier. My voice had never died that quickly right then and there. Not only did I fail to get a single shot of her idol, but I'd also taken pictures of EVERYTHING but him.

MC: ...Err, I'll snap a couple more and send them all to you later.

An'an: You're really the bestest bestie! Gotta go, the editor-in-chief's after my arse. Bye bye~

After hanging up, I immediately fell into a moment of depression as I stared at the stream of pictures of the red racecar in the gallery. Is there a second mock competition, by any chance? Otherwise, how am I going to explain this to her…?

??: And whose fangirl is this? What are you squatting here for?

MC: !

The sudden voice that came out of nowhere startled me. I shot up immediately only to meet a pair of eyes that had been half-narrowed into a smile.

I didn't know when he came here, but Osborn was now standing by my side. There he stood under the dazzling sunlight with both hands in his pockets, leaning lazily against the railings with his eyebrows raised.

I felt a little light-headed. Perhaps it was because I had my head down for too long and had gotten up way too quickly, but I abruptly stumbled two steps backwards.

He grabbed onto my arm with a small chuckle.

MC: ...Thanks.

Osborn: Secretly snapping shots of me again? What, was last time not enough?

He leaned down, his gaze landing on the camera interface that was still open on my phone, the smile playing at his lips never once falling.

MC: As if! I’m helping my friend take some pictures. She needs to use it for her interviews!

Osborn: Oh? So what did you take?

MC: Uh, well…

MC: I just casually snapped a couple of pictures of things like your racecar and… the red one… and all…

Osborn: Really? Then what do you think of my driving?

MC: Amazing! Never thought that you'd clinch first in the end like that!

MC: You drove fast and furious during the last lap, but you were also very steady at the wheel! And the part where you finally overtook your opponent at the very last moment was also way too brilliant!

Osborn: Then why'd you only take photos of one who came in 2nd?

I froze. That was when it finally hit me that he'd already seen the camera interface that had been on my phone display earlier.

Osborn causally folded his arms, awaiting my answer with a playful look on his face.

I could only look to the side ever so awkwardly, softly muttering in response.

MC: Because they were leading at the start, so I thought…

MC: Plus, the skull pattern that was on it was just like your pendant, so that's why I...

Osborn was stunned for a while before he let out a laugh.

Osborn: That was the pattern for the last season.

Osborn: I never knew that you'd done your research on me that well.

There was an obvious teasing lilt to his voice. I flushed red, immediately snapping in denial.

MC: I only take extra notice when it comes to patterns! I blame my work habits!

MC: Who told you to be so slow at the start…

Utterly amused, Osborn narrowed his eyes into a smile, leaning down towards me.

Osborn: Do you know that you should never say "slow" to a racer?

MC: ……

I subconsciously shook my head. Osborn nodded moments after he'd leaned in closer.

Osborn: Boy, you sure are easy to intimidate.

Moments after he backed away, he casually placed his hands into his pockets, his smile growing bigger.

Osborn: Come on.

MC:

...Where to?

Osborn: Don't you wanna snap some shots? I'll lead the way.

❖☆————— ⊹ For Light & Night⊹ —————★❖

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