#everyone’s timeline is different but not giving an answer and stringing you along is not healthy

[cerysdelaney]

Ever meet someone whose life would be so much better if they just let go of the gender roles holding them back?

I just had lunch with a friend who, for the last five years, has been in the same place: boyfriend she loves. He hasn’t asked her to marry him. She wants marriage, kids, the whole thing - can’t ask cause she’s the woman 🤨

So she’s now 8 years with this guy. And living in what I’m seeing as a self-imposed stagnation because he won’t ask…

How much of your life are you willing to put on hold for someone else to maybe do something?

If he’s known for the last 5 years of this relationship that marriage is wanted and he’s not giving it - maybe he can’t. Why won’t he? She won’t ask. 5 years of not asking? This lack of communication is a red flag, and I *know* having a conversation that could potentially end something you’ve been a part of for 8 years isn’t easy… but she’s not getting happier… what do you get in the end of this that isn’t regret?

Why would you let one person decide your happiness? Write your story? As a woman will you just wait until a man takes the lead? Your wants and desires on the back burner until he decides? If he decides.

I find that hard to accept. 3 years in a relationship with my boyfriend, I asked him to marry me and he said yes. 6 months later we were married. 12 years together now.

And you know, I was shaking asking him. We’d been living together for two years at this point, but let’s be real - there’s a difference from living together and formally making a commitment together (however that commitment is done. Marriage is just one way. I wanted -and had the option available - a legal commitment with tax breaks and what not.) But that’s what I wanted and if he didn’t want that too after 3 years together, then we weren’t compatible enough for a commitment. Because, honestly, I knew after 2 years - but it took me a year to get the courage to ask because I knew he was fine where we were at. He was comfortable just being with me, but I… I wanted more. And since I’m the one who wanted to take us to another level of commitment, I asked.

And he said yes. Because it was important to me, and it still meant he could be by my side, which is what he wanted. Match.

(What if he’d said no?!? Then we weren’t a match. My courage to ask was my declaration to move forward on a path I wanted to go. If he had said no without a timeline of his own to present as an alternative, how long would I wait at that intersection? If he didn’t want to be tied to me in marriage, why would I tie my path to him and sit where I didn’t want to be?)

I’ve had more than one woman in my life say they could never ask. Or some men would feel emasculated by the woman asking… I am so glad my husband doesn’t gauge his masculinity on how dependent his wife is of his decisions. In fact, I don’t think he ever measures his masculinity at all. What does that even really mean? He cooks. He cleans. He’s a stay at home dad. He’s 6’2”, extremely hirsute (a word he taught me - fucking love a human with a vocabulary). He has a dick so large he can readjust my insides any time he wants to - which isn’t often since he’s ace, but that’s okay 😊

We’re partners. We want to grow together and support each other. What does it matter who proposes? The point is the conversation is started and we moved forward. Gender roles be damned. We set our own roles in our house.

[maybeimamuppet]

for the au ask game… had to think really hard for this one but—

how do you think things would be different if regina didn’t get hit by that bus??

<3, sunny

send me an au and i’ll tell you about it!!! it was supposed to be five facts about it but i like to yap

ALRIGHT i’ve been thinking about this one for like three days i am not in a space to answer this well but this sitting in my inbox is haunting me so i’m gonna go for it lol

i think the easiest way is to sort of go through and say how i think things would be different for each characterrrrr??? we’ll see lol

to start with, overall, regina getting bussed is sort of the catalyst for everything coming back together. it both is and is not the climax depending on which characters journey you’re focusing on.

for example, regina getting hit is what makes her soften. it gives her a chance to step back and realize she doesn’t want to die being the kind of person she was. it’s what kickstarts her (at least supposed) redemption arc. we never actually see that happen but it is strongly implied at spring fling. without the bus, i like to think she still would’ve come to her senses eventually. but it’s entirely possible that she wouldn’t. or maybe she wouldn’t until they’re all in their thirties or forties or fifties or god knows when.

for janis, that means she’s left with this leftover, hardened, jaded middle school trauma to eat away at her forever. she’s already cynical and, again, jaded. she’s already affected by it. already needed significant therapy. already is made mean and manipulative and vengeful by it.

for janis i see her track going one of two ways. she either manages to heal on her own, realizing regina will never give her the closure she needs and so desperately wants. she gets more therapy, works on herself. develops strategies and learns how to identify the damaging thoughts rooted in this trauma and cope with them and turn them into something healthy. she really falls into her art and educates herself and makes herself into something wonderful with all the broken pieces.

OR she continues down the path of manipulation and anger and spirals. she tries but can never commit to anything serious, be it jobs or relationships or whatever. she has a long string of failed experiences with both. damian is the only thing keeping her away from living under a bridge and dying of some sort of overdose.

for cady, regina getting hit is the beginning of the end for her. it’s the moment the ivory pedestal everyone has had her on shatters and she falls back to their level. she’s hit hard, but again, it leads her to important self reflections and realizations. we get to see more of her redemption, like taking the fall for the burn book and getting to apologize to ms. norbury and janis and damian, along with her speech during stars.

without that, again, i see her going one of two ways. she continues as she is. nobody dares to bring up that she’s just a clone put in regina’s place. she’s queen of the school and she loves it. she has power but no depth. she and janis and damian never speak again. gretchen and karen follow her exclusively out of fear. aaron still wants next to nothing to do with her. she has no deep, genuine connections with anyone for however long it lasts, whether she keeps it going through college and into the rest of her life or whether it ends at graduation. either way, the effects linger with her and she struggles to form genuine relationships and she lives a very isolated, lonely life.

OR she comes to the realization on her own at some point, whether internally or someone dares to call her out. whether before they graduate or well into her adulthood (similar timeline to regina) and she devotes herself to making amends. similar to janis, she leans hard into academia and channels the drive and the desire to control into becoming very successful. she still worries that she hasn’t actually been forgiven and works extra hard to keep her friends and other loved ones close.

for gretchen, the potential of losing her “boss” is what sparks her realizing she has much more power and worth and value than she thinks. with just how anxious and sheeplike her character is in canon i find it hard to believe she would ever truly come to this realization on her own. i think she’d come close with a lot of therapy and self-esteem work, but i think having one, concrete, solid moment to shock her into it is vital for who she becomes as an adult. it’s what prompts her and karen to drop cady and learn how to do their own thing.

if regina had never been hit i see her basically just continuing as she is. following cady or eventually returning to regina and doing her bidding. maybe someday she’d get fed up and realize she deserves more and better, or maybe not.

for karen i think a lot of the same things as gretchen. she and gretchen are sort of a tag team, so i think they go through and would go through a lot of the same things. i think karen has a little more oomph but doesn’t quite know how to use it or know whether she should. i think she’s much more likely to eventually leave cady or regina’s side on her own and realize how poorly she’s been treated for however long. and who knows, maybe that would be enough for gretchen to go too. i think she does know in canon that she deserves better but she stays because it’s safer. so maybe at some point she decides it’s not worth it.

for regina i think it’s. pretty obvious lol. she has her whole downfall which i think had the opposite effect to the bus. i think that on its own would make her FUUUUURIOUS. i think she would become vengeful and vindictive and bitter and sullen and try and try again to snatch the crown back from cady. no matter what it takes, and i have no idea whether she’d ever succeed. again, i like to think that at some point, eventually, she’d work on herself and make amends and become a better person, but i think dying scared her more than they can show in a movie/musical that isn’t about her. i think, again, it’s a catalyst for changing and becoming a better person. and i think it takes time, and that’s why i’m glad the bus happened when it did because it GIVES her that time to do whatever she can and what she needs to do to apologize and improve while she still is surrounded by the same people she hurt the most.

she either is One Of Those Rich People (really angry but good at their job lawyer or corporate bitch everyone beneath her hates or some shit) or she does make an improvement and makes some genuine friends and maybe has some relationships that benefit all parties. or maybe both!!

in conclusion, as horrible as it is, i think the bus needs to happen when it does and i think the strife and the weird healing it brings is BEYOND necessary holy shit. i think it almost single handedly shapes who they all become as adults and the way they connect with each other and other people around them, and i’m very glad we got the canon we did :)

but make them lesbians

[mandyzoe]

waitttt youre so real for being a bully fan + orbit… if u associate that yeojin pic w lola which of the moon girls would u assign to the other girlies… :3c

HI SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO ANSWER i kinda fell off tumblr for a while i can’t lieee… but i love this question and i love you for asking it and it made my autism fire off on all cylinders so hope you don’t mind a response that is way longer than it has any right to be HEHE

im actually gonna take this ask in a different direction than you maybe originally meant it in so i apologize for that however i think my interpretations work best if i specifically use the loonaverse versions of the members because for 1 it just fits together a little better in my head if i connect these fictional characters to the fictionalized versions of these irl people, if that makes sense. and 2 im also just very autistic about the loonaverse. sorry

ok so despite the fact that i associate lola w that specific pic of yj, i find her more in line with yves, narratively speaking. because, well. yves is a fucking player. sneaking out to go on dates with vivi, stringing along chuu to make her partake of the fruit, recruiting her to convince gowon to do the same, fucking hyeju over, and THEN after hyeju had her little angry moment, yves just flashed her a smile and a wave to make her forgive her???? she has everyone wrapped around her finger. it’s crazy. two little baddie rulebreakers who WILL get what they want through love and/or war. love them

as for pinky, i debated on this one a bit. on one had there’s the undeniable rich girl swag of haseul. on the other, the princess-like charms of gowon were tempting. but ultimately? she’s a yeojin girl. her debut concept was so cute and quirky, but still with a distinct attitude to it that very much gives spoiled youngest and/or only child. she also has that same princess vibe, but a little more bright and youthful compared to gowon’s darker/more somber side of it. beyond debut, yeojin’s persona develops to lean more into that sassier vibe with the cuter aspects becoming more of an undertone which is very pinky to me

mandy… this one is flexible for me as well, between heejin or jinsoul. ppl usually say this about hyeju, but i actually think heej and soul have more “two sides of the same coin” qualities which kinda makes me wanna use them as a pair? like a duality if that makes sense. they’re both kinda morally ambiguous, heejin leaning more towards good and jinsoul more neutral/possibly evil, and also seem to have a lot more like. knowledge about the universe they’re in. like they’re very Aware of things and both attempt to exercise control over their surroundings a lot. jinsoul’s methods (allegedly!) are more Morally Questionable which is kinda where mandy leans, but i think the conflict between the two (as seen in not friends) can represent her change in how she views people and approaches relationships after… everything. they’re also both super gay

for beatrice i think maybe vivi? it’s mostly vibes based here. but vivi being an android is shown to be something that alienates her from her peers and makes her insecure in herself, despite the fact that she’s probably smarter and more talented than most if not all of them because of it. she still just wants to fit in and be a normal girl with friends who like her. later on, vivi’s android powers are shown to be more of an asset that can help her and her friends when they need it. i mean she literally piloted a space ship by herself for presumably several years to help them jump timelines or something. i think beatrice would appreciate that. plus, i think the edily concept can represent her more girly and romantic side. real yearner girl hours

now for zoe. hyeju. she’s hyeju. no debate really. they’re both initially characterized by their anger, having been hurt and betrayed and feeling really alone and isolated. hyeju is kinda viewed as a villain or a bad person because of her anger and craving for revenge, and while she can be volatile, at the end of the day she’s kinda just. a kid who was hurt. and yeah maybe she isn’t the “perfect victim”, she’s rude and angry and lashes out at people whether they deserve it or not. but she still didn’t deserve to be hurt the way she was. and she very much IS capable of love and forgiveness and she can eventually mend what was broken if she accepts the help offered to her. it just might take her a little extra time and some people willing to give her a chance. and also forgive some possible alleged murders but that’s not important

ok im gonna stop with just the clique girls cause this would get way too long HAHAHA but thank u for this ask and i hope u found my interpretations of these characters and this silly kpop lore at least somewhat interesting or accurate :P also hope ur enjoying the comeback hype as much as i am YIPPEEEE

[b-splendens]

Khanh/Xuan-posting

i logged off instagram and now i am here!!!! noooo!!!!!!!!

redid parts of Khanh's backstory

and character logic. Essentially, she tries to bury her past and make up for her anguish by asking questions/solving the mysteries of other people, thereby trying to fit into Bellian society and giving others the catharsis she has never had. but it gnaws at her, and she never feels "at home." This is because 1) she puts a self-protective, personal distance between her and everyone else and 2) the perpetual foreigner + third culture phenomena. Furthermore, underlying her drive to ask questions and find answers is both 1) a desire to make sure she won't hurt other people, or vice versa and 2) a desire to find out why she feels so adrift all the time/why people always see her as "different"

i guess what she "wants" is catharsis over the mystery of her dad, but what she really "needs" is unclear to me right now. Systematic justice? To stop feeling alienated/not care? To find the right community? Revenge???? To see herself in terms of what she can do for herself, and not others? To heal/process HER life story and HER feelings, instead of seeking for external things like finding out about her dad or solving mysteries????? Yeah, it might be the last one.

timeline:

She ruins the pre-arranged marriage her parents set with a regionally influential family by running off with darcy, her family sues darcy's family for messing it up

her parent (i think i'm sticking with father) later disappears and so her mom takes the family out of the country, but their homeland won't accept them. so they go to bellia.

everyone changes their names; their surname is their mother's now. everyone settles down. khanh/xuan tries to find work and odd jobs to support the family with her mom, as she tries to gear up and open a business again.

khanh's siblings mostly go through school while she ends up snagging a role as a reporter at a small paper, after helping someone else get to the bottom of some curious thefts by bringing the story to said local paper; her insistence on tracking down leads convinces them to give her a job

she sinks herself into her work and helps grow the paper

when she learns about doryeong coming over, and his connection to her father, she writes for a meeting with him to discuss that topic. HOWEVER, she does not mention what the topic is.

he is mainly intrigued by her background as a nosy reporter. so he strings her along precisely to cause drama in his tense, ritzy social group, where unbeknownst to them, a murder will take place. khanh is annoyed because the topic is rather private/sensitive and she doesn't want anyone to know about it, so she can't discuss it with him in the open

the murder takes place, but not before khanh tells him why she needs to talk to him. he thus pressures her to ensure he's proven innocent, or else he won't give her answers.

she finds him innocent while tracking down the real murderer. she gets sort of famous for this and the paper is boosted in popularity.

doryeong tells her his information, but it's not much. he says she can come over with him to yul-terre though, to figure things out. she declines. he goes back, promising to get back to her with more info. they're friends?

khanh continues doing what she's doing. she gives up on it and instead invests herself in the mysteries of other people.

the gil siblings' parent dies. yukyang wants BLOOD. they and yeonseok adopt new identities and start planning. they collect intel and go to khanh with questions, because she personally knows doryeong.

she's NOSY because WHY do they need the information. + they're sus. eventually things get to the point that either khanh realizes who they are or yukyang flat out declares it in frustration. but with the truth out, yukyang decides to kill her, as well as threatens her family.

khanh's like NO WAIT i'll help you don't hurt anyone. and yukyang's like: "even go all the way to Yulguk?" and khanh's like: "I GUESS."

and so khanh finally musters up the courage to return to Yulguk, albeit coerced. as a result the gil don't know who she really is. they just need her for her rapport with doryeong and his family + investigative skills. khanh makes the most out of the situation and reasons that she might as well find out what happened to her dad once and for all.

she thus has multiple "cover stories." 1) to the general public, she's there to cover festivities in Yulguk 2) to Doryeong, she's just there for the information about her dad (he thinks she's pissed because he hasn't sent her any updates in a while). 3) to the Gil, she's only there to help them because they threatened her.

[earthfire-75]

Kashmir

Chapter One, Part Two: Kashmir (The Trick is to Keep Breathing)

Author’s notes: co-written with @nature-and-music , beta-ed by @lady-jane-revisited

A lopsided smile tugged at his lips, “I’ll get them for you.”

“No thank you Robert, Grant gave me the money and I’ll pay for it.”

“Oh please, just one of them then?”

I shook my head, “No it’s fine. Besides, we need to head back.”

He pursed his lips and huffed, “Alright, if you say so.”

The purchase was completed and it was time to head out, however Robert was speaking to the woman behind the counter; or flirting no less. She nodded her head and wrote something down on a note by the dresses that he brought to her.

“Thank you darlin’, have a pleasant rest of your day.”

I chuckled, “Giving her the number to your hotel room?”

“Not exactly, Anjelika. Come on we better hurry, the party’s going to start soon and you still need to do your hair and makeup,” he informed.

Somewhere along the line, we lost the other three band members. Robert took me to the hotel they were staying at, figuring they would all meet up there anyway. He let me borrow his bathroom to change and do my hair and makeup.

“What kind of party is it? Formal or informal?”

“Well, I’m wearing a suit, if that helps?”

I rolled my eyes. “Ok.” I picked out the longer dress and started getting ready. I could hear Robert rummaging around in the other room and assumed he was doing the same. I just finished when Robert knocked on the door.

“I need the mirror, love. Gotta comb out my hair and beard.”

I flung the door open, grabbing the comb from the counter. “Don’t you dare take a comb to those curls! Tell me you have a pick.”

He swallowed. “Technically? I left it at home?”

I didn’t say anything else, but grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the common room and to the couch. I then sat, pulling him down next to me. It was then I noticed what suit he was wearing, and still with his beard. Fuck! He wasn’t yet wearing the jacket, but he had the vest on and the top two or three bottoms of his shirt were left undone. Now it was my turn to swallow hard as I leaned in with the comb to fix his beard. Then I started to run my fingers through his hair carefully.

“If you forget your pick again, use your fingers, not a comb or brush. You could ruin your curls otherwise.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“Good. Now, we should probably get going.”

We both stood and, as Robert grabbed his jacket from the arm of the couch, we left the hotel room and headed downstairs. “The party is being held in the hotel restaurant,” Robert informed me.

At first, the party seemed more like a meet and greet with the other roadies and their tour manager, who seemed unimpressed that I was “some bird” Jimmy picked up off the street. But none of the boys were having it. Robert happily reassured the crew that I was indeed more than “some bird,” that in fact I was assigned to be a part of the touring as well. To be equipped with the behind the scene matters and the roadies would simply need to learn to live with this sudden change. Being the new kid in town was never easy, and I was feeling beyond self conscious about this, however I had to keep my intrusive thoughts at bay. New learning opportunities would be coming up and it was all a matter of learning the ropes. Even if a fair amount of the crew thought of me as another to be shared among the members of the band, especially with Robert since he had locked arms with me.

The party started off fairly quiet at first as we all sat down at our tables to listen to a congratulatory speech from Grant. He had nothing but high expectations for everyone involved and that this tour would be bigger and heavier than the previous one. I felt a hand touch my lap and I followed the arm to see Robert’s concerned expression. I gave him a little smile to reassure him that I was alright. The last thing that I needed to do was interrupt Peter in the middle of his talk, and right before my first day no less.

A line was formed as everyone made their way to be serviced by the chefs. All manner of succulent cuts of meat, freshly cooked fish, bubbling champagne, and assorted hors d'oeuvres were ready to be served. Everything looked so delicious and oh so appetizing, I just simply couldn’t believe my eyes. As we stood in line, I overheard Jonesy and Jimmy mention something, although it was hard to hear amongst the chatter of Robert talking to Bonzo.

“How do you suppose they’ll feel about touring?” Jimmy asked.

Jonesy shrugged, “Well, hopefully their antics won’t take away from the show. And your guitars won’t get demolished as well.”

Jimmy scowled, “If he even thinks about touching any of my guitars, I’ll bash his head in!”

“If you do, she’ll end up giving you a black eye. You know that she has a bit of a ‘short’ temper,” the bassist chuckled. “Besides, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Well you're the bass guitar player, none of your things will be obliterated,” Jimmy whined.

Bonzo joined in, “Not unless a certain someone decides to shove a cherry bomb in the strings.”

Jonesy smiled and rolled his eyes, “Well I suppose I’ll just need to stand close to Thunderfingers won’t I?”

Guitars being destroyed? Cherry bombs? My curiosity peaked, however I didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. At least not until I knew a little more of what or who they were referring to. We made our way to the table and enjoyed our delicious food and sparkling drinks. The champagne flowed like rain down our throats as the appetizing meals made our mouths water. A few questions were directed to me regarding how I was feeling about the new job and I answered honestly.

I smiled meekly, “Well I’m very excited about this. This is going to be something different for me for sure, but I’ll do my best.”

“You will darlin’, you will,” Robert smirked as he patted my hand. “So how long have you been playing and singing?”

“Well, for a while actually. I just picked up a few lessons from my dad and just… learned a bit on my own.”

Jimmy noted, “I did a bit of session work when I was a lad. Learned a few things myself along the way.”

Robert butted in, “Well I hope we can hear more of your singing and playing while on tour. I think you’ll sound wonderful, and the audience will love it.”

I felt myself clam up a bit at the prospect of playing before a live audience, even though it was a touching notion on Robert’s part. I didn’t think it was necessary to get myself even more involved than necessary, especially since a fair amount of the road crew weren't exactly pleased with me being here. I gave Robert a little smile and a shrug and let him know that we could put that idea on the back burner.

“I’m curious though…who were the three of you talking about earlier? You mentioned something about guitars being destroyed?” I asked. I had hoped they would have said more by now, but since they hadn’t and my curiosity was getting the better of me…I had to ask.

Jonesy laughed a little. “Interesting wording. We were talking about another band who will be touring with us. Interestingly enough, they are called The Who. They’ve got a habit of destroying their equipment. Jimmy was concerned it might spill over to ours as well.”

I know of them, of course and of that particular habit, though I had thought they had stepped doing so by this time. Then again, it's a different universe, likely also a different timeline. “I see,” I said instead. Looking at Bonzo, I got his attention. It was as good a time as any to talk to him, but I didn’t know what the other boys knew.

“Bonzo? Can we talk? Alone?”

“Uh, sure. Looks like there’s a spot at the bar surprisingly clear of people.”

We got up from the table and walked over to the bar, ordering ourselves a drink before I started the conversation, but Bonzo beat me to it.

“So…yer a Nightbane too?” He asked with such nonchalance.

“Yeah, I am. So are you. Do they know?”

“Yeah, they do. Rob found out first. He was there during my Becoming. Scared the daylights out of ‘im, but it was like he still knew it was me. Jimmy found it ‘fascinating’. Jonesy took it the worst, almost left the band when he first found out. But he came around.”

I nodded in acknowledgment and downed my drink. How did the fact that they all knew Bonzo was a Nightbane make it both a relief and up my anxiety about them finding out I was one too? Would they be able to accept the creature beneath as easily as they had with Bonzo? Granted my other form wasn’t monstrous in the traditional sense, yet, I still worried it would scare them off at best.

Bonzo smiles a little. “Don’t worry, Jonesy might freak out a little, but I really don’t think you need to worry about Rob and Jimmy at all.”

“Thanks, Bonzo.”

Someone cleared their throat behind us and we turned to see Robert. “Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but the other bands just showed up. I thought you might like to meet them, Anjelika.”

He stepped to the side and I found the members of The Who standing there, looking at me. I knew each of them by name and face, even as they introduced themselves, though I did a double take as my eyes landed on the shortest member. There, with the same blue eyes I had seen so many times before, was a very feminine looking Roger Daltrey. Now I know I’m not in my own universe…

“Rogina Daltrey,” she introduced herself to me, her blue eyes never leaving mine.

“Anjelika,” I responded back with a smile and she in return gave me a smirk.

“Bonzo!” Keith uttered, a drink in one hand as he hugged his fellow drummer, “You gained a few stones since last I saw you.”

Bonzo rolled his eyes as he chortled, holding his head in a strong arm grip. Keith complained that his champagne would fall out, but that didn’t stop Bonzo from treating him like a sibling. “Moonie, why don’t you and the lads say hello to our new friend here, yeah?”

John and Pete made their acquaintances, Keith was able to give her a little wave of his hand until Bonzo finally let him go and gave him a good slap on the back.

“You’ll have to excuse Keith, he’s a bit loonie as you can see,” Pete explained. “So what brings you here?”

“Well I’ll be going on tour with the band, and it looks like I’ll be seeing you four as well.”

Rogina interjected, “Is that right? What will you be doing?”

“A roadie, so I’ll be around helping with getting everything ready,” I mentioned.

“She might even do a bit of performing as well,” Robert mentioned proudly.

I was silent as The Who stared at me, my throat becoming dry. I tried to play off his comment as a joke, “Good one Robert. He’s just kidding-”

Rogina tilted her head as she looked at me, “Are you sure? Because if you can sing, we’d love to hear you.”

My heart was pounding, all I could give her was an unsure shrug, “Um, another time… maybe. Say why do you all go get something to eat, the food is very delicious here.”

Keith was already off to find himself a plate, with John closing in behind him. Pete kept himself occupied with discussing business matters with Jimmy and Grant. Rogina on the other hand decided to stay and talk a bit more. Everything about this Roger was pretty much the same: The height, the golden corkscrew curls, ocean blue eyes, toothy grin, muscular arms, and stylish clothing. Still it was odd speaking with her, considering the obvious factors such as a slightly higher register in her voice and the presence of breasts that protruded from her suit.

“So how did you manage to work with Zeppelin?” Rogina asked.

I tried to answer as best as I could, “Oh well… you see Jimmy let me know that a spot was available actually.” I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t tell her that Jimmy had found me like an abandoned cat in an alleyway that he felt sorry for. A little of me to say, but still I couldn’t seem to add that in.

“Is it true what Robert said about you performing? I mean you seemed awfully quiet when he brought it up.”

I sighed at the question, barely keeping myself from pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m quickly learning that Robert's a little like a puppy…very excitable. I played a little bit for them to prove that I know what I’m doing with the guitars. Something came over me and I sang a little bit too. I never agreed to playing in front of anyone else. Let alone in front of a huge audience.”

Rogina’s smile softened at that. “He really is, though I’m sorry to hear you won’t be playing. The offer is always open and I meant what I said, I'd love to hear from you. if you change your mind.”

I returned her smile and I knew I was going to love this version of Roger too. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

G made his way over with a couple other people, one looked vaguely familiar, the other I didn’t recognize. “Anjelika! I want to introduce you to Ahmet Ertegun, owner of Atlantic Records. He’s here to support the boys. And this is Alice Cooper, joining us on the American leg of the tour.”

Both men stuck a hand out for me to shake. I took Ahmet’s first who placed his other hand over mine gently. “I must thank you for joining the road crew, dear. Though, I must admit, I was shocked to hear you were a woman. Forgive me, I mean no offense, it’s just never been done before.”

I smiled at Ahmet, trying not to take offense. It may be a different universe, but apparently the ‘70’s were still the ‘70’s. Turning to Alice, I shook his hand next, barely recognizing him without the makeup.

“I don’t know if shocked is the word I would have used, but I guess I am a little surprised. Didn’t figure I’d see a female roadie for another decade at least. Don’t get me wrong, I love that women are getting more and more involved in rock. And if anyone gives you any shit, just say the word.”

My smile grew wider at Alice’s genuine words. “Thank you, I appreciate that. Though, I assure you, I can handle myself.”

“I’m certain you can, but the offer is still on the table. I would like to stay and get to know you a little more, but I need to get back to my girlfriend. It was nice meeting you, Anjelika.”

“I’m sure there will be time to get to know each other more on the road and it was nice to meet you too.”

“Fair enough. See you tomorrow, then.” And with that he was off. G and Ahmet soon excused themselves to go talk to the boys and I was left at the bar once more with Rogina next to me.

Rogina sighed, “I know this must be all new to you. Believe me that being a woman involved in rock and roll seems to weird people out, especially guys.”

I gave her a reassuring grin, “Yeah, I’m sure you probably have gone through a lot.”

Rogina took a sip of her flute, “I may have a few stories. One of them involves Keith actually.”

I leaned in, “What happened?”

“Well let’s just say he thought that he could get away with copping a feel. He lost a couple of teeth that night,” Rogina chuckled. “The bastard will never live that moment down.”

I wasn’t sure if I could share a laugh with Rogina, even though she was able to find humor in such a terrible situation. All I could muster was a nervous smile and a nod.

Rogina took another sip of her champagne, rested her head on her palm, and pondered, “So is this your first time working with Zeppelin?”

“Yes actually. And I hope that I’ll do alright while on tour,” I admitted.

“I think you will,” Rogina claimed with a warm smile. “So what would you like to drink? The champagne is alright, but I think I’ll get a whiskey instead.”

I was taken aback, “Oh well… a beer sounds good.”

Truthfully, a Nightbane could easily drink any of these mortals under the table. As to how I would do against Bonzo, a fellow Nightbane, well that would be a matter for another day. Still I was grateful knowing that Bonzo could understand, and hopefully the remainder of Zeppelin, Who, and Cooper would as well. However it was too early to let the rest of them know. In time I would say something, only when the moment felt right.

As we waited for our drinks, I felt a strange looming presence behind me. My throat went dry the moment I turned around to see John Entiwistle, the Ox himself, towering over the two of us. Rogina on the other hand casually remarked, “I thought you were supposed to be babysitting our dear boy.”

“Well quite frankly I need a break from him,” John mentioned with a deep chortle. “I think as long as nothing blows up tonight, he’ll tire himself out eventually.” He gestured to the bartender and asked for a glass of cognac.

Rogina nodded and asked him, “Where did Pete go?”

“Probably talking some poor bastard’s ear off about Lifehouse,” he laughed.

“Oh come on John, the man just wants to share his work to the world,” Rogina noted.

John leaned in towards me, “She says that, but even she gets tired of his songs about teenage angst.”

Rogina scowled at him, “I do not.”

John raised his eyebrows, “Keep telling yourself that Rog. It was Anjelika right?”

I nodded, “Yes John.”

He responded with a handshake, “Pleasure to meet you.”

“And you as well”, I responded with a return of his handshake. “I take Keith's handful?”

Rogina and John laughed. “That’s putting it mildly some days.” John admitted.

“I swear the man can’t not cause trouble in some fashion or another for even a few hours.” Rogina adds.

“I think there’s some unspoken rule that drummers are all crazy,” I chuckled.

“That explains everything, actually.” John said with a chuckle of his own. Rogina just shook her head.

I looked up to see the time on a clock on the wall. Midnight. Where had the time gone? “I should head up to get some sleep, I want to be up early to grab a few things I forgot earlier today from the drug store across the way. Besides, I’m assuming the roadies will be up earlier than the bands to pack up the buses.” Downing the last of my beer, I shook John’s hand again. “It was nice meeting you.” I set the empty bottle on the bar and left a few bills before turning to Rogina. “Thank you for the beer.”

She surprised me by pulling me into a hug instead of giving me a handshake. “Any time. And I’ll add to what Alice said earlier. Anyone gives you any trouble, let me know, I’ll kick their ass.”

“Thank you. But I really need to go.” With that I went to find G to figure out where I would sleep tonight. I found him still with the boys, though it appeared that Ahmet had left. I explained to G that I wanted to get to bed and why, but it was Robert who interjected.

“You can stay in my room for tonight,” Robert offered. “The rest of your things are still there from earlier.”

I had forgotten about that. Hesitantly I nodded in agreement, even if I was worried about what the other roadies, especially Cole, might say. “Alright, as long as this doesn’t become a habit. Just for tonight.”

I could see the disappointment behind Robert’s eyes, but he agreed. “Here, take my key, just leave the door unlocked so I can get in later.”

Nodding, I took the key and thanked him before heading upstairs to the room, getting as comfortable on the couch as I could.

@brownskinsugarplum76 @m-faithfull @jimmys-zeppelin @lady-jane-revisited @firethatgrewsolow @salixfragilis @timetraveller4 @callmethehunter @tremble-and-shake @tophats-n-lespauls @princesspagey @tangerine-page

[anextraordinarymuse]

Waiting for your thoughts on last night's WCTH. Still not over that opening scene.

NONNIE. THAT OPENING SCENE. 

I feel like I was blessed and assassinated all at once. Like ... *le sigh* Do I even have any thoughts after that? I’ll try to string some together. This is so long ... are they ever not at this point?

Everything about that opening scene is absolutely fantastic. Playful, silly Nathan? Please me with more of this for the rest of forever. This is what we’ve been missing this season: the fun, the levity, the cute little moments of flirting and happiness. This moment was so fun and lighthearted. It was entertaining to see Elizabeth kind of put her foot in her mouth and be awkward for once although who can blame her for telling Nathan to undress because, same, girl. We’re so used to seeing Nathan like this that it’s fun to see the tables turned for a minute. More than that, though, this moment feels like a return to the Elizabeth we’ve known for so many years. She notes that Nathan is cold and instead of ignoring it, she immediately offers relief. There’s also a naturalness to Elizabeth, and Nathan, and their interaction in this scene. Elizabeth doesn’t seem nervous about offering Nathan something hot to drink, or a pair of Jack’s gloves if she has them, or even offering to warm up his serge. She’s nervous about her little Freudian slip of telling him to take off his serge, but only after it occurs to her how it sounds because Nathan’s reaction is so taken aback. Then, when she asks Nathan about the bouquet and he tells her he forgot to give it to her - this moment is so reminiscent of a husband telling his wife he forgot to do something. Even the way Elizabeth looks at him and then chuckles when he sheepishly answers her question is so ... intimate. It’s just the cutest damn thing.

Now, I’ve seen a lot of different reactions to this scene. One that caught me off guard is that some people are upset that Elizabeth mentions Jack here. “I used to do this for Jack on chilly mornings.” People seem to be upset that Elizabeth mentions Jack in this moment, and saying that this is an indicator that Elizabeth will always equate Nathan to Jack, or that the two men occupy the same place in her mind and heart ... and I have no idea where they’re getting that. I don’t feel that way at all. I had the opposite reaction. When Elizabeth made that remark, I thought to myself: this is what she’s missing with Lucas. She never mentions Jack to Lucas, or talks about her past, or anything like that. Elizabeth is comfortable with Nathan; she’s secure in their bond and their relationship, even though both of those things have taken a hell of a beating this season. And Nathan isn’t upset by the comment at all: he looks peaceful, and touched by the thought of it. Watch the little snort/chuckle he gives as he watches her. Elizabeth is sharing something of herself in that moment. It’s not huge, it’s not a crazy admission or even an overtly emotional moment. Just something quiet and honest. Also, expecting Elizabeth to just never mention Jack again is neither realistic or healthy. 

Her mention of Jack doesn’t disrupt the moment or their comfort/peace with another at all. You know what does? A rather subtle mention of Lucas. When Nathan says “I guess she thought that you were the next to be married” there’s a hidden gravity to it because Nathan is making a veiled reference to her relationship with Lucas. At this point, Elizabeth and Lucas have been courting for a few months, so if Florence thinks that Elizabeth is the next one to get married the natural assumption is that things with Elizabeth and Lucas are further along than we (or Nathan) think they are. It's this reference to the (uncertain) future that breaks the moment, not Elizabeth's mention of Jack.

Everything in this scene comes naturally to Elizabeth. She's acting by instinct. The way she helps Nathan into his serge isn't remotely forced, and neither is the way she runs her hands over his back to smooth it down, or grabs his lapels and begins to help him put the serge back on. This is part of what makes this moment feel so intimate: this is a glimpse into the future. It feels like we're looking in on a moment between a wife helping her husband prepare for his day. You know what else I found striking about this moment though? Elizabeth and Lucas have been dating all season, yet Elizabeth isn't comfortable with and doesn't really allow/invite much physical contact. We have repeatedly been shown that she struggles with that. Lucas wants to touch her; he wants her to be comfortable touching him. But that never happens. The few times Elizabeth does allow that physical contact it feels ... maybe not forced, but deliberate. Like she's making a conscious effort to let it happen and be okay with it. It's not natural, it's not a compulsion. In fact, when it comes to Lucas Elizabeth's instinct is not to let him touch her - to withdraw. We have a great example of that in this episode, when Lucas is at the schoolhouse and goes to help her hang the banner and Elizabeth immediately withdraws from him. They hardly touch at all in that moment; Elizabeth immediately pulls away the arm of hers that is closest to him and then walks away without even so much as a brush against him as she passes.

This is the first scene that Elizabeth and Lucas share in this episode. Timeline wise, we can also reasonably assume that this moment comes not long after the moment she shares with Nathan in her house. It's an interesting juxtaposition: Elizabeth can't seem to keep herself from touching Nathan. She does it without thought or hesitation - in fact, it takes conscious thought to stop herself. But the opposite is true with Lucas: her natural inclination is to keep her distance with him, and it takes conscious thought to allow or initiate contact with him. Elizabeth's actions and instincts give her away. Her heart belongs to someone else, and she's instinctively trying to preserve the sanctity of that bond and that relationship (as in, you don't let someone else hold your hand or be in your physical space when you're in a relationship with someone else). The roles should be flipped - Elizabeth should be withdrawing from Nathan and any opportunity for closeness with him, physical or emotional, and seeking them out with Lucas - but she isn't. She says she's in a relationship with Lucas, but she behaves like she's in a relationship with Nathan. And this has been the crux of her struggle this season: this misalignment between word and deed, between heart and head. Nathan and Elizabeth haven't went on a single date this season, shared a single meal, etc. but we have undoubtedly been watching their relationship grow and progress and struggle all season.

And Lucas has finally allowed himself to acknowledge that. He goes to Elizabeth's house in the morning only to find Nathan already there (and inside the house); he goes to the schoolhouse later (and he says he decided to stop by on a whim, but we know that's not true - he stopped by because Nathan was at her house that morning) and catches Elizabeth staring at Nathan as he rides by in a moment where Nathan is oblivious to her regard. When Carson is talking to Lucas about his struggles with Faith, Lucas removes the veil he's put over his eyes. Elizabeth has never been in this with him - not really. He's in the middle of what's basically a lovers' quarrel. I think he's always known it on some level, which is why he's never accepted any of Elizabeth's invitations to enter her home. Lucas doesn't feel comfortable in such a private, intimate space because that space isn't his to occupy. When he finally breaks up with Elizabeth, he uses very deliberate wording: what he says tells both the audience and Elizabeth that Lucas understands and accepts that he's stepped into a place that he shouldn't be in. Let's break that breakup scene down:

Lucas: "Elizabeth, you've always maintained that love is worth fighting for. And that includes when it needs defending."

Emphasis is mine. Now, Lucas leads with this which sets the tone right out the gate, because we know that Lucas doesn't share Elizabeth's sentiments here. He hasn't fought for her at all this season; when Nathan confronted him and told him that he hadn't given up on Elizabeth, Lucas tells him to do whatever he wants and walks away. Lucas has been on offense all season.

Nathan, however, has been on defense. Nathan and Elizabeth actually, though they've been defending from different angles and against different things. Nathan has outright been defending himself as well as his love for and relationship with Elizabeth against everyone; but, in a more subtle way, Elizabeth has also been defending herself, and Nathan, and their relationship. We see some of this onscreen: Elizabeth declines Lucas's offer to confront Nathan about the Jack situation, rebuffs Lucas's attempts to show her physical affection, keeps her and Nathan's issues/conversations/interactions mostly private ... but this next bit of conversation makes me wonder about something else.

Lucas: "... And while I'm not resentful, from what I've seen, and from what you've told me, I believe that you and Nathan still ... Love is not just an emotion. It's also an act of will. It can't be demanded. It can't be forced. I want you to find your true love. And in order to do that, I want ... I need to set you free."

This was such a strong moment for Lucas. He is telling Elizabeth in a direct but compassionate way that he understands that she's not really in this with him - and that it's okay. He's bowing out with grace. But, this also makes me wonder how those conversations between Elizabeth and Lucas went that we didn't get to see onscreen. We know from things we've seen on screen that at least two of Elizabeth and Lucas's conversations were pushed off from the moment so that they could be discussed later. One of those conversations was about Allie after the stunt she pulled at the adoption ceremony. While it's subtle, Elizabeth does defend Allie when she's talking to Lucas by saying something about how she doesn't think that it's just a matter of explaining to Allie why Elizabeth and Nathan weren't together. How did that conversation go later? Has Elizabeth been quietly defending Nathan, and Allie, and her relationship with both in private moments with Lucas? Because it has been made clear this season that Elizabeth's relationship with Nathan, and Allie, is private and she doesn't really allow anyone else to get involved with that. Not really. Elizabeth and Nathan deal with their own relationship and issues, and they co-parent Allie and discuss her behavior and relationships, but no one else is really welcome in those conversations. We don't see Nathan even attempt to have those conversations with anyone else, and any time Lucas tries to talk about it with Elizabeth she shuts him down or deflects. And I do say that Elizabeth and Nathan are still co-parenting Allie, though we've mostly seen Nathan doing it alone this season. Still, it was no accident that when Elizabeth and Nathan were arguing at the parade she says "WE have to find a way to make things alright for her." That wasn't the royal we. Elizabeth means we as in her and Nathan.

And there's the rub, my friends. Elizabeth tells everyone that she and Nathan are not in a relationship but she never stops acting like they are. She chooses Nathan (and Allie) over and over again, without fail. Because love isn't just an emotion, it's a choice (or an act of will, as Lucas says). Elizabeth keeps choosing Nathan. Whether she means to or not, whether she's even consciously aware she is doing it, even in moments where she tries to do the opposite, the result is always the same.

And Lucas has finally accepted that. More importantly, Elizabeth has finally accepted that. She's finally made it to the place where choosing Nathan is no longer frightening. It's no coincidence that Elizabeth isn't ready to remove her wedding rings until Lucas breaks up with her - until after she's offered to give a pair of her late husband's gloves to Nathan. She is finally ready to let Jack go, and to stop hiding behind Lucas. It has been a long, rough season for those of us who have wanted Nathan and Elizabeth together, but we've made it! There is nothing in their way now; we, and they, have made it through all of the obstacles. The only thing left now is one last declaration of love: Elizabeth's.

And I just can't wait!

[imkylotrash]

A Little More Of You

Pairing: Ron Weasley x reader

Request: Reader is best friends with Harry/Neville/your pick and people think that they would make a good couple but reader obviously likes Ron. Anonymous

A/N I can’t remember how well this follows the timeline for the movie but just go along with it. 

You grab your bag and hurry out as soon as potions finish. You heard a rumour that McLaggen will be asking you to the Yule Ball and you have no interest in finding out if the rumour is true. He’s proven time and time again that he is the most pompous ass-hat to ever walk the planet and you refuse to get tricked into going to the Ball with him. You’ve got your eyes set on someone else but sadly, he’s made no attempt to ask you and you’re running out of time. You head straight for the Great Hall to find the others for lunch. 

“Where’s Ron?” you ask noticing that everyone is here except him. 

“He’s hiding in the common room,” Seamus say stifling a laugh and Harry elbows him despite him laughing as well. Clearly, you’ve missed something. 

“Please tell me what I heard was true!” Fred says plopping down next to you. 

“Did our brother really think he had a chance?” George adds grabbing the seat next to Fred. You’re getting really tired of being left out when it seems that everyone else knows what Ron has done. 

“What happened?” you ask looking over at Fred for an explanation. 

“Ronnie dearest decided it would be a good idea to ask Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball.” They all scream with laughter and you try to chime in but all you can focus on is how you’ve been waiting and hoping he might ask you only to find out that he wanted someone else entirely. 

“At least he asked someone. All of you have dates?” you ask and you’re not even sure why you’re defending him but you can’t seem to stop yourself. When they all nod, you realise that you’ve been pining over Ron while everyone else found themselves a partner. 

“Don’t worry. We all know Cedric is going to ask you,” Seamus says wiggling his eyebrows. You’re not sure just how many times you’ve told them that you and Cedric are just friends but it doesn’t seem to sink in. They’re all convinced that the two of you belong together and have made several inappropriate comments on it when you and Cedric just wanted to hangout. 

“Maybe I don’t want to go with him,” you respond well-knowing that he hasn’t got a date for the Ball yet. There’s nothing but friendly feelings between you and Cedric but apparently, it’s impossible to be just friends. 

“Y/N, we’re all just waiting for the day that you guys admit you’re dating. We all know it anyway.” Harry snickers with the rest of the boys all of them unaware that the boy who’s won your affections is in fact not Cedric but Ron. 

“I have Muggle studies,” you excuse yourself leaving behind the group of boys acting like children. You meet up with Cedric outside the classroom prepared to tell him all about what just happened but you stop when you notice his face. 

“What’s wrong?” A million thoughts go through your mind before he even opens his mouth. Did he figure out the next challenge? 

“I heard that Harry got him and Ron dates for the Yule Ball.” Oh. It makes sense that Harry would get them dates but you just didn’t think they’d work so fast. You’d just seen him in the Great Hall laughing at Ron’s behalf. You look at Cedric and see the pity in his eyes. He’s the only one you’ve told about your feelings for Ron. 

“I know I’m second best, but it would be my honour to take you to the Yule Ball.” He gets on one knee and grabs hold of your hand. 

“What are you doing?” you whisper-yell desperate to get away from the crowd of people staring at the scene unfolding. 

“I’m asking you if you want to go to the Yule Ball with me.” You know he wanted to ask Cho but the fact that he’s unwilling to let you go alone just confirms why he is your best friend. You nod and gets up to hug you. Everyone claps making you blush. You’ve never been good at being at the centre of attention and now is no different. Though you’ll probably have to get used to it now that you’re going with the famous Cedric Diggory. The rest of the week passes in a blur and suddenly it’s the night of the Ball. Your mother was kind enough to send a beautiful dress perfect for the occasion. It matches your eyes really bringing out the colour in them. You notice the time and quickly grab your clutch. You’re running late which is really stupid when you’re a part of the students opening the ball. It’s almost like a movie as you descend the stairs being the last one to arrive. Cedric is waiting by the end of the stairs and a little behind him you spot Ron with his date. He’s staring open-mouthed at you clearly not thinking about his date but you’re mad at him for even going with someone else so you focus on Cedric. 

“You look stunning,” he says kissing your hand when you reach him. He gives you a little wink letting you know that it’s all for show. It feels really good as you walk past Ron arm in arm with Cedric. 

“Remember what we practiced?” he asks when you reach the dance floor. You don’t really, but he leads you all the way through keeping you from making any mistakes. Ron avoids you for the entire night but you don’t feel like he has a leg to stand on considering how he asked not one but two people to the Ball rather than just ask you. 

“I’ll get us something to drink,” Cedric says after several hours on the dance floor. Despite everything you’ve managed to have a really good time with Cedric and you can’t thank him enough for ditching his plan to ask Cho and take you instead. The night is almost over when Ron finally works up the courage to come talk to you. 

“You’re okay?” Cedric asks not leaving until you’ve given him the green light. 

“You went with Cedric?” He poses it like a question as if it wasn’t what really happened. 

“You took Padma.” He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly looking anywhere but directly at you. 

“Not really sure where she went if I’m being honest.” 

“Why didn’t you ask me?” You can’t dance around the question anymore. If he doesn’t like you, you have to know. You’re done moping around and hoping he might show an interest in you. 

“I didn’t think you’d want me to ask you.” You have to take a deep breath to keep yourself from screaming. Why are boys so dumb? 

“Ron, I’ve been dropping hints for the last five weeks. I wanted to go to the Ball with you.” 

“Hints aren’t fair. You know I never notice them!” he says exasperated. And of course, he’s right. You do know that but you shouldn’t have had to drop hints in the first place. 

“But why didn’t you just ask me? You could ask Fleur, Padma, but not me?” He picks at a loose string avoiding the question for so long you’re worried he’s not going to answer at all. 

“I’ve heard how everyone wants you and Cedric together. I didn’t think I could compete with him.” He’s mumbling but you’re hanging on to every word. 

“There’s no competition, Ron. If I wanted Cedric, we’d be together right now. But I want someone else.” This is it. It’s make it or break it at this point because there’s no going back now.

“I want you. I’m never going to stop wanting you.” He looks shocked to say the least but he hasn’t run away yet which you consider a positive sign. 

“If you want me, why did I just spend the night with Padma?” he asks pulling you in for a hug. You laugh thinking of that poor girl. 

“Kiss me before I change my mind,” you laugh and he does just that. He’s nervous and unsure but it’s the perfect kiss. 

“The night is still young,” you say looking at the dance floor. He holds out his hand and you take it with a smile. You may not have started out together, but you’re really glad you’re ending the night together. 

[ressyfaerie]

Dark Tyson fic; during G-Rev, Tyson snaps from stress and feelings of abandonment and joins Team BEGA. (Bonus points for Brooklyn getting close to Tyson to make Kai jealous. Black Dragoon optional, or maybe Boris gives him Black Dranzer...?!)

I saved the best for last. 

I am a big fan of dark Tyson- love it. I’ve been thinking of this prompt for DAYS. I’m very excited to write this- as you know I am the angst queen. For the sake of this fic, g-rev timelines are going to be confusingly switched around, just because it makes more sense for the fic, and also- I’ve forgotten some important plot points and dont have the time to rewatch g-rev LMAO. Anything in * can be Tyson’s or Kai’s private thoughts! 

So I finished writing this, and it's LONG. so I’ve actually uploaded it to archive first, because reading it on tumblr seems like a chore and a half, so here’s the archive link: 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30739397/chapters/75866906

It came out to 50 pages, and it’s 5 chapters on archive. 

And here’s the first ‘chapter’ of the fic: 

So here we go:

It was odd to see Kenny angry. 

He tossed his laptop to the side, picking up spare bey parts in his hand. 

“Kenny! I’m just saying- What are our chances? Without everyone else, we’re useless as a team-”

“I’ve been working so hard Tyson…” Kenny shook in anger, beside him. Hilary tried to place her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he shook her off. 

“How could you say we’re useless?! When we’ve been trying so hard!?” 

“It’s not enough! You know me and Diachi can’t work together-” 

From the corner of the room, Diachi screeched, “Hey loser! I’m right here!” 

“I know, you shitty little cherry tomato!” 

Hilary tried to be the mediator, “Tyson, are you sure that’s how you really feel?” 

Tyson nodded, “Our team has no hope. Now with BEGA taking over everything we can’t even get any parts, it’s useless-” 

“How could you say that Tyson!” Kenny yelled louder than he ever had in his life, “You’re the one who’s supposed to be uplifting us! You’re the leader-” 

“I don’t want to be a leader! We had a leader remember? And a coach?” 

“You can’t give up!” Kenny begged and shook with anger, Tyson felt horrible, he knew Kenny had been working so hard, but they had lost too much, he felt there was no hope of recovery. 

“Throw out your research Kenny, we’re done.” Tyson stared at the wooden floorboards of the dojo, completely defeated. 

“AaaaH!” Kenny had launched himself forward- landing a strong right hook on Tyson’s cheek. 

Tyson fell backwards, landing on his side and quickly sitting up to rub his cheek, “What the hell Kenny!?” 

Kenny was furious, “you can throw away everything we’ve worked for if you want! Telling me to throw away *my* research?! You need to get yourself together Tyson!” 

Tyson was left speechless, Hilary nodded, agreeing with Kenny, “if we’re going to defeat BEGA we need a Tyson who can hold himself together.” 

“You’re heads messed up dude,” Diachi remarked, “We can’t work with you until you fix yourself.” 

Tyson could feel the anger radiate through his body, “if you guys think I’m so messed up then maybe I should just leave!?” 

“Then go.” Kenny hissed through clenched teeth. 

“Fine! Good luck with hopper-” Tyson slammed his hands on the floor throwing himself to his feet, “Your beyblade that fucking hops- Beyblades aren’t supposed to hop Kenny!” 

He slid open the shoji doors fast, and threw them closed, rattling the old dojo like an earthquake. Outside in the gardens, he cursed. 

“Tyson?” 

Hearing his grandpa’s voice behind him, he aggressively swung his body in his direction, “What is it Gramps? I’m not in the mood-” 

“What’s going on with you and your friends?” 

“Friends!?” Tyson spat. 

“Oh no... Tyson-” Ryu shook his head. 

“What? What is it? Is it something wrong with me?” Tyson’s whole body was stationary, emanating white anger.

“Your friends didn’t leave you to hurt you.” 

“Not my friends- Friends don’t betray each other to go to different teams.” 

“You *know* they didn’t betray you.” 

“Then tell me why Kai went to BEGA.” 

Grandpa stayed silent, he didn’t have a good reason why Kai went to BEGA, and no one knew why. 

“I’m sure like Max and Ray, he just wanted to fight you again.” 

“And Hiro?” 

“He wanted to train stronger opponents for you-” 

Tyson suddenly laughed, “he could have trained *me*.” 

Ryu placed his hands in front of him, trying to calm his grandson down from a distance. 

His Grandpa was more serious than he had been in years. 

“He could have- I know it wasn’t the best thing for Hiro to do, but- he did it because he loves you.” 

“Okay Grandpa, you have an answer for everything huh? Then answer me this- where’s my dad?” 

The garden turned ice cold. 

“I’m sure he’s around Tyson-”

“Does he not have a TV? Or a post office? How can he sit in some country, and not see what is happening to his own son!?” Tyson’s voice bellowed through the courtyard. 

“I don’t know Tyson- he loves you.” 

“No he doesn’t- It seems no one does-” Tyson was holding back angry sobs. 

Ryu took a step forward, “Tyson I-” 

“No!” Tyson screamed and threw his hand in front of him to keep him back, “stay away from me!” 

The doors to the dojo opened, no doubt his make-shift team coming to see the commotion. 

“You guys stay away from me too!” Tyson grasped his head and scratched his nails into his scalp, “Everyone just- stay away from me.” 

No one could say anything, Tyson glanced around at the quiet group, “what? Are you guys afraid of me now or something?” 

“Tyson, you need to calm down-” Ryu tried. 

“No? Don’t tell me to calm down!-” Tyson took a step backwards, trying desperately to flee the situation, then it occurred to him- he could. 

Tyson stared down the gravel beneath his feet, the world felt blurry, and in that moment his vision flashed red, he turned away running at full pace through the yard, and out the gates, flying down the street as he heard his only paternal figure and teammates calling for him. 

Down the road, over a bridge, along the ocean, towards the river. 

The sun was setting now, twilight was blanketing the world. 

At the top of the riverbank he began to head towards the river, not knowing why. He slipped on the smooth grass landing on his back and groaning in pain. 

He placed his hands over his face and cried. 

He sobbed for everything- everything he lost, his friend’s, his reputation, his spirit. 

He pulled himself off the grass and shoved his head in between his knees, still crying. Anger, sadness, regret, he felt it all at once. It was eating him from the inside out.

He let out a frustrated scream while jabbing his fingertips into his biceps, trying desperately to turn to dust, to become one with the earth. 

He didn’t hear the footsteps approach him. 

“I would ask if you’re okay- but I know the answer.” 

“Whoever you are- Just leave me alone- please.” Tyson buried his head further into his knees. 

He felt someone sit beside him, the grass crunched under their weight.

“Everyone’s left you.” 

“I know that-” Tyson could barely make out the words. 

“They left you for better teams, brighter pastures… You must think you’re not good enough for them.”

Tyson shook his head. 

“You are. You’re better than all of them, probably better than all of them combined.” 

 Those words made Tyson perk his head up, wondering who his savior tonight could possibly be. 

The purple hair stood out first, he wore a compassionate smile. 

Tyson locked eyes with his arch-enemy but made no effort to change his expression.

 “You’re allowed to be sad- and angry.” 

Tyson became more frustrated, *why is it out of everyone I know, the evilest person tells me what I need to hear?*

Boris had an interesting voice. Tyson tried to dissect the tone, but he could only detect… Affection. 

“What are you going to do now… World champion?”

Tyson felt his body go numb at the comment, so much was expected of him, but he had no way of accomplishing any of it. 

Tyson tried to inhale before answering, a cough got stuck in his throat, and he answered in a hoarse voice, “I’m not sure.” 

Boris continued smiling, he stared at the orange sun, just about to disappear under the horizon, “Do you want to show your friends how capable you are?” 

Tyon managed to hold his head up for a moment, he slowly nodded. 

“Good for you.” 

His words seemed to calm him down against his will. 

Tyson mumbled, “I won’t join BEGA.”  

“I’m not asking you to. But I do have everything you need to arm yourself. Parts, training rooms, places to sleep, all the food you could ask for” 

Tyson shook his head. 

“No strings attached. Come see my training facilities tonight, if you don’t want to be there, you can leave.”  

Tyson felt cold, the shadow of the setting sun crept over them, an ominous darkness crawled over his face, then Boris’. 

“Or would you rather go back to your home tonight?” 

Boris made a point. Tyson had no intention of going home tonight, but he had nowhere to stay. 

His eyes darted back and forth, deep in thought. 

Boris pushed himself off the ground and stepped to the top of the hill. 

On the road next to them, a fancy car.  

The purple-haired man opened the passenger door and gestured with his hand. Tyson gave him a blank stare. 

“Come on, world champ.” He emphasized the last words just right- reminding Tyson how much was on his back, “what’ll it be?” 

Tyson’s brain wasn’t working, logical thought was too much to process. What he did know was- he didn’t want to sit on this riverbank crying the rest of the night. 

Boris waited, for minutes, holding the door open. 

Tyson sniffed, he rubbed his nose with his forearm, crawled to his knees, and pushed himself off the ground. 

“Good job, champion.” Boris grinned, giving him the unnecessary compliment. 

Tyon was beside him now, he rested his fingertips on the top of the car door, feeling the cold black metal under his nails. 

“It’ll be warmer inside when I turn on the heat,” Boris reassured Tyson, inspecting his skin, covered in goosebumps from the cold.

“O...kay…” 

Tyson crawled into the passenger seat weakly.

He did turn on the heat. The heated seats warmed Tyson’s whole body. He watched the street lamps roll past as he hunched into the leather. 

Boris drove like an old man- but also a maniac. Driving the speed limit, but taking turns at the same speed. 

The BEGA building towered over the whole city. They pulled into a parking garage, the gates rose with Boris’ presence. 

After parking in a special stall, Boris turned off the car and climbed out, he walked to Tyson’s side opening the door for him. Tyson didn’t have the energy to complain that he could have done it himself, and instead, followed the older man to a specific elevator. 

They rode the elevator in silence.

When the door opened, Boris walked ahead, Tyson followed cautiously. 

Inside another heavy metal door was darkness, Boris flicked a switch and the lights invaded the room. 

The room was filled with dirt and boulders, in the center, a beydish carved into the earth. 

 “This room was made to be destroyed,” Boris explained. 

Tyson pushed his hands into his pocket, caressing Dragoon with his hand. 

“You’re welcome to destroy it- if you’d like.” 

Tyson still felt emotion linger in his chest, the frustration was killing him, it was a tempting offer, but he knew if he wrecked his blade in the process, he had no way of fixing it. 

“I’m not recording, I’m not analyzing you, I’ll just step back. You do what you need to do.” 

Tyson pulled out his launcher and loaded Dragoon, he directed his launch to a rock.

“AAAUUGH!” Tyson roared as he put all his anger into letting go. 

Dragoon split the rock clean through with ease, the two halves crashing to the ground. 

Tyson continued to scream and throw his hands giving Dragoons orders at a lighting pace. The room was soon covered in dust from the obliterated rocks, while sand rolled over the floor. 

Tyson was holding his chest, trying to get air into his lungs with fast painful breaths, he realized the amount of air he needed wasn’t arriving, so he continued to destroy the room. 

After all the rocks were annihilated, he fell to his knees. He was out of tears, his eyes were wide open. As he witnessed the destroyed room under his body, Boris began to clap. 

“Bravo! Amazing, spectacular! A performance only one person in the whole world could accomplish!” 

Dragoon obediently arrived at Tyson’s knees, he picked him up and inspected him. 

*Trashed. I’m sorry Dragoon.*

He shoved him safely back into his pocket. 

“Fantastic job, Tyson.” Boris was in front of him now, holding out his hand to help him up. 

Tyson wanted to refuse, but his legs were like jelly, he grasped his hand using it as his crutch. 

“You must be thirsty after a performance like that! Come- I have a room prepared.” 

Tyson found himself in an extremely fancy penthouse. Extravagant food was laid out on a table with every kind of drink next to it. 

Boris had gestured to a couch telling him to sit down, when he did, the soft plush absorbed him. The comfort felt amazing on his aching muscles. 

“What do you want to drink, champion?” Boris popped open a wine bottle and poured himself a glass. 

Tyson watched him cautiously, he had never seen an adult drink alcohol so casually in front of him- he was underage after all. 

“Do you want some of this?” Boris gestured to his crystal glass and grinned. 

“No- Just water, thanks.” 

“Any food?” Boris asked as he handed him a glass of cold water from the table. 

Tyson accepted it and began to drink, he stopped for a moment, “not hungry.” 

“You’ve been through a lot tonight, that’s understandable.”

Tyson took another worried sip, “Yeah.” Tyson’s eyes darted side to side.

“You must be wondering about the room?” 

“Is this your place?” Tyson took a good look at the penthouse this time. 

“Actually, it was supposed to be yours, when I finally convinced you to join BEGA, but-” Boris took a sip of his wine, “it seems like that just isn’t going to happen.” 

Tyson felt a wave of exhaustion fall over him. He felt like he had been hit by a truck. 

“Let me show you around,” Boris suggested. 

Tyson decided to follow, he needed to get off the couch before he fell asleep. 

He showed him the kitchen, balcony, hot tub, fireplace, and finally the bedroom. 

“King Size bed, very comfortable, you can lay down if you want.” 

Tyson could sense his eyes closing, it had been a long day, he had never felt this tired, even after training all night. 

Boris sat on the edge of the bed, patting the spot beside him. Without questioning, Tyson was sitting beside him too. 

“It’s okay to rest sometimes. Have you ever seen a champion win on fumes?” 

“I have.” Tyson tried to grin, but failed. 

“Go to sleep Tyson.” 

“No- not here.” 

Boris took his empty water glass out of his hand- he gently pushed his shoulder, Tyson collapsed backwards into the bed. 

“Sleep.”

[seanfalco]

A Red Carpet Event | Misfits Timeline Anomaly’verse

an oc x oc collaboration between @seanfalco & @super-unpredictable98

Word Count: 3.1k Warnings: Language, Smut (fingering, voyeurism, semi-public sex) a/n: And the smut continues.  I love that even when we say we wanna work on something fluffy, it almost always turns smutty. 

[ masterlist ]

——

"Is everyone set for tonight?" Lydia asked as she came into the room, having just arrived from the hairdresser.  "Outfits, hair, makeup..." she mused, ticking off each on her finger.

When Lyddie had told the quad she was taking them all as her date to her first award show, the reactions had varied from excitement, to fear, to complete insanity.  The truth was, she was scared to admit publicly that she was in a quad, but she couldn't keep that hidden forever and it shouldn’t be hidden, there was nothing wrong with it.  Not to mention cheating rumors had been spreading online after some fans snapped pictures of Lydia and Win, which was complete bullshit.

“Are y’sure this dress is alright?” Win asked, looking at her reflection again.  “Or these shoes?  Maybe I should change...” she murmured, second guessing herself.  She thought she looked nice, but this was definitely not her scene.  She was used to band practices in garages and shows in sleazy dive bars, not award shows and red carpets.

"You look gorgeous, Winnie."  Lydia held Win's hands.  "You'll be the most beautiful girl there, guaranteed."  Lyddie's dress was hanging by the wardrobe, it was purple with a wide skirt, a black leather corset around the waist and lacy sleeves.  "Can one of you please make our lipsticks smear-proof so I can kiss my girlfriend?" she asked.

“Comin’ right up!” Win’s Nathan exclaimed, snapping his fingers with a flourish.  “There, snog away m’loves,” he said, pressing a kiss to Lyddie’s temple and then one to the top of Win’s head.  “She’s right, you look fuckin’ stunning,” he whispered in her ear before straightening, leaving her smiling softly.

"I love dating reality warpers..." Lydia sighed before pulling Win by the waist and kissing her hungrily.  "I can't wait to show you off to everyone."  Turning to look at the two very observing Nathans, Lydia cocked an eyebrow.  "Seriously?  Neither of you have even showered yet, do you even wanna come, or should I just bring Win?" 

"It takes literally two seconds for me t'be ready, Lollipop, calm down..." her Nathan laughed at how nervous she was.

“Same,” Win’s Nathan said with a shrug.  “Besides, it’s not everyday we get t’see th’pair of you all dolled up like this.  Gotta savour th’moment,” he pointed out.

"Well, enjoy the show, I guess..." Lydia laughed as she undressed to put on her dress.  "I imagine none of you wanna help me get dressed with magic, do you?" 

"Why would we?" Lyddie's Nathan asked.  "Cut down on your naked time?  No way!"  The other Nathan laughed, wholeheartedly agreeing with him. 

“Do you need some help Lyddie?” Win asked reaching for the dress on the hanger.

"Please, baby.  I need you to pull those corset strings as if I was hanging from a cliff, the camera adds ten pounds and I can't afford that on my first award show," Lyddie laughed.

“You got it, love,” Win murmured, helping her lace up the corset while the boys watched, lounging on the bed.  “Is that tight enough?” she asked, tugging the ribbons as tight as she could, though not wanting to hurt her girlfriend either.

"Yeah, that's good," Lydia said, nearly losing balance for a second, but soon she was able to breathe again; fainting on the red carpet was also not a very good idea.  "Thank you, Winnie."  Lydia turned to the mirror, looking for anything to fix before bending over to lace up her combat boots. She thought about wearing heels, but she didn't wanna be the tallest one in the group.  "So, how do I look?"

“Like an angel, a punk rock angel,” Win supplied with a grin while her Nathan nodded enthusiastically.

"A sexy punk rock angel."  Lyddie's Nathan waggled his brows at her while biting his lip.  

"Thank you, guys," she murmured, looking down, slightly flustered. "We should probably get going, the car should be arriving any second." 

"Oooh, a car?  Right posh, Lollipop, you'll end up spoiling me."  Lyddie's Nathan got up as his usual shirt and jeans became a dark blue suit.

Win's Nathan snapped his fingers, deciding on a black suit to match Win's little black dress.  "There, we look like a right pair now," he said, admiring himself in the full length mirror with a wink before turning back to the others.  "Right, I think we're ready then," he said excitedly.  "I wanna see this car you've got us.  D'you think they'll have champagne in there?"

"Jesus, I hope not..." Lyddie muttered under her breath, partially because she knew the only thing worse than two Nathans were two drunk Nathans.  

When the quad stepped outside, the car was already waiting.  When Lyddie's manager had said he’d send a driver, she didn't expect it to be a limo driver, but hey, she wasn't complaining. 

"Oh my God," she shrieked excitedly.  The lights inside the car made it seem like a nightclub on wheels.  

"I know!"  Lyddie's Nathan grabbed a handful of candy from one of the tiny jars and shoved it in his mouth.  "Brilliant!"

"Damn, this is nice," Win murmured, running her hands over the leather seats as her Nathan plopped down next to her, throwing his arm around her shoulder.  "I bet you could shag back here," she mused, looking around while Nathan searched for the booze. 

"Ohh shit, good idea babe," he exclaimed, his eyes latching onto the champagne flutes on the opposite side of the car.  "Thereeee we are," he cried, rubbing his hands excitedly as he grabbed one, handing it to Win as he reached for the chilling bottle.  "Nathan, Lollipop, some bubbly for you?"

"Hell yeah," Lyddie's Nathan nodded excitedly, shoving more food into his mouth.  

"When in Rome... Sure, why not?" Lydia agreed.  Maybe the alcohol would help with her nerves.  Looking around, she wished she could be as carefree and wild as her girlfriend.  Win was the life of the party, Lyddie was more like... the mum that holds everyone's hair back when they get sick.

“You okay?” Win asked, noticing Lyddie’s anxious expression as she took a sip of her drink.

"Um... yeah, just a tad anxious," Lydia suddenly felt very much like that little girl in the bowling alley again.  Performing was one thing, she was confident in her skills, but this was different.  People would be looking at her, not listening to her music.

“Wanna talk about it?” Win asked, frowning slightly, resting her hand on Lyddie’s thigh.

"You know, it's just... everyone's having fun, thinking about shagging in the backseat, while I'm freaking out.  For once I wanna be able to enjoy the moment."

Win looked thoughtful before quickly tipping back the rest of her champagne. “Would you like me to help you take your mind off it?” she asked, moving closer.  “Because I seem to remember your make-up is rather smudge proof.”

"That actually sounds amazing," Lydia drawled, taking another sip of her drink before handing it to her Nathan, who seemed happy to finish it for her.  "What do you have in mind, baby?"

Win’s only answer was to smirk as she leaned in to capture Lydia’s painted lips, reaching up to brush her fingers along her jaw as she kissed her, moaning softly.

"Oh, okay..." Lyddie's Nathan finally noticed them and watched hypnotized.  Lydia let herself go, the champagne plus Win's cold lips made all her doubt immediately fade away.  "That's better," Lyddie murmured, pulling Win onto her lap.

“I’m full of good ideas,” Win murmured, wrapping her arms around Lydia’s shoulders as she settled in her lap.  “You really do look fucking hot tonight babe.”

"You too," Lyddie murmured against Win's lips, both of her hands sliding down to her girlfriend's ass.  "So hot, I can't believe you're mine."  Lyddie's Nathan stared at them agape, mirroring his clone's reaction.

Win grinned into the kiss, wanting to thread her hands into Lyddie’s hair, but refraining, not wanting to mess it up.  Opening her mouth, she teasingly licked at her girlfriend’s parted lips.

“I would say I’m all yours, but I know how much you like sharing,” she murmured. 

“Oh shiiiit,” Win’s Nathan hissed, whistling low between his teeth.  “If y’keep that up I’m gunna hafta either do something about this hard on I’m gettin’ or it’s gunna be an awkward night.”

"Way ahead of you, man," Lyddie's Nathan was already stroking his cock at a steady pace. 

"Right now you're all mine," Lydia whispered in between kisses, one of her hands resting on Win's thigh, the other kneading her breast.  "I need to blow off some steam."

“Jesus,” Win’s Nathan exclaimed, quickly averting his eyes from his clone’s cock and hastily fumbling at his belt.  “I guess that works,” he muttered, sighing as he took himself in hand. 

“Oh good,” Win murmured, grinding gently against Lydia.  “I can definitely help with that baby.”

Lydia's arousal soaked her knickers, but she didn't worry about that, she just wanted to feel Win, all of her.  "I want you to mark me up," Lydia begged.  "I don't care who sees it, I want them to know I'm being taken care of."

Win pulled back, her brows shooting up. “Really?  Right before your event?” she asked, the thought arousing her further.  It was her guilty pleasure after all to leave her mark on her partners.  She just didn’t want Lyddie to feel self conscious when they got there.

"Yeah, give those bloody gossip magazines something to talk about."  Lyddie bit her lip, her hand slipping between Win's legs, fingers gently teasing her inner thighs.  "Don't you want them to know how good you make me feel?"

“Oh God, Lollipop, you’re such a rebel,” Win teased, but she didn’t have to convince her further and she latched onto Lydia’s neck, her teeth grazing her sensitive skin before she began to suck, drawing a breathy moan to her girlfriend’s lips.  Lifting her face she lapped gently at the spot before moving slightly lower to repeat the processes, kissing her with fervor.

"Just like that, Winnie, it feels so good..." Lydia gasped, the thought of people knowing what she did just made her even hotter.  "I wanna make you feel good."  Lyddie's fingers quickly found Win's clit, circling it gently at a torturous pace.  "Did you get this wet just from snogging me?"

Win gasped as Lyddie touched her.  “Yes, you definitely have that effect on me babe,” she whispered, the soft grunts of pleasure from the boys only serving to turn her on more.  She’d found right away since joining this relationship how much she like being watched.  “Lyddie, please?” Win whined, pausing her exploration of the other woman’s neck.

"Oh, please?" Lydia smirked, finding herself in one of her 'taking charge' moments, which have been more frequent ever since Win came into her life.  "Please what, baby?  Tell me what you need.” 

Lyddie's Nathan was always surprised to see her act this way, but he was starting to realize he liked it... maybe he should ask her to do the same to him sometime.

“More,” Win sighed, grinding against Lyddie’s hand.  “Faster?” she asked with a pout.  Win’s Nathan’s bit his lip.  Hearing Win beg like that did things to him.  She wasn’t usually the submissive type, and as much as he loved when she took charge, he loved seeing her like this, vulnerable and begging for it.

"Aww, you do look cute when you beg..."  Lyddie moved slightly faster, pressing her forehead to Win's with an amused grin.  "Such a good girl.  Nate," Lydia turned to Win's Nathan, narrowing her eyes playfully at him.  "Do you think I should finger her?  Do you think Winnie deserves it?"

For a moment his hand froze as he gaped at Lydia.  “Y-yeah, give it to her Lollipop,” he exclaimed, groaning softly.  “Fuck that’s so hot.”

"Okay then," Lydia smiled at Win, as much as she loved being a submissive, seeing her girlfriend helpless like that was really sexy.  "I guess you deserve it..."  She teased Win's entrance for a second, gathering her arousal before pumping two fingers inside of her, the heel of Lyddie's hand still rubbing against the other woman's clit.

“Oh fuck, Lyddie,” Win moaned.  “I’m supposed to be the one distracting you,” she murmured, dragging her lips along Lydia’s neck.

"You are," Lydia sighed, her fingers curling to find Win's sweet spot.  "I love to see you like this... Just don't come before I say so, alright?"

“Yes, Lyddie,” Win answered obediently, her voice coming out breathy.  “I love you, you’re so good to me,” she murmured, burying her face in Lydia’s neck, biting down hard.

"I love you too, baby," Lyddie purred, clenching her eyes shut, she was really turned on, but she liked the idea of having to wait until they all got home.  "I wanna hear you moan for me."

Win moaned louder, clutching at Lydia as she felt her climax nearing, pleasure coursing through her.  “Oh Lyddie, I’m close!” she exclaimed, writhing in her lap, grinding against her hand as it pumped into her.

"You wanna come, Winnie?" Lydia studied her face carefully, adding a third finger inside of her. "Ask me nicely, tell me how bad you want it..."

“Please Lyddie,” Win gasped, “please, I’m so close, I wanna— I want— oh please baby,” she begged.

"Such a needy little thing," Lydia mused for a second, enjoying what she was able to do.  "Okay, baby, come for me."  Lyddie's words seemed to have an effect on her Nathan as well and he squirmed as he came, making a huge mess on his suit, but he didn't care.

Win’s mouth fell open, her eyes falling shut as she came around Lyddie’s fingers with a whine, her whole body tensing. “Holy shit,” Win’s Nathan gasped, biting his lip as he came over his hand.

"That's better," Lydia held Win against her chest, kissing her temple.  "I feel a lot more confident now, we're gonna crush this thing." 

"Jesus... you crushed me," Lyddie's Nathan exclaimed, zipping up his trousers, leaning back in his seat.

“Ahh, so that was your plan all along,” Win mused, brushing a weak kiss to Lydia’s jawline.  “I’m glad I could help.  Fuck, but I love you like this,” she murmured, straightening to glance back at the Nathan’s.  “Oops, looks like you made a bit of a mess there, Natty,” she purred with a laugh.

"If I can make you beg like that, I can do anything..." Lydia chuckled.  "Maybe I should take charge more often, you look so hot." 

"Oh, yeah," Lyddie's Nathan looked down at his ruined suit, but with a swift hand motion, it was clean and perfect again.  "There, problem solved."

“I’m hot?  You’re sexy as hell,” Win laughed.  “I like dominant Lydia,” she admitted.  “Though I like you every way,” she added, tracing the dark hickies she’d left.  “I left you some gifts,” she whispered before slipping off her lap to sit between Lyddie and her Nathan.  “Nathan, babe, you have a little something too,” she pointed out, glancing down at his trousers and the white stain there.

“Yeah, well, you look a little disheveled yourself sweetheart,” he teased, snapping his fingers to fix their appearances.

Lydia grabbed a mirror in her purse to look at the state of her neck.  "That's definitely gonna leave an impression... I love it." 

"At least we don't gotta worry about fans hittin' on ya," her Nathan muttered, moving to kiss over the marks.  

"You know... even if I don't win tonight, I'm already happy with the outcome."

“And when we get home, we’ll celebrate either way,” Win’s Nathan exclaimed as the car rolled to a stop.

"I can't wait..." Lydia looked over her shoulder to wink at him as someone opened the door, and she hopped out of the car.

The others followed, with different degrees of nervousness, Win slipping her hand in Nathan’s.  Outwardly she held her head high, a slight smirk on her face, but the way her fingers trembled in his, he knew she was anxious.

Lydia was somewhat used to the public by now, but the Press still scared the shit out of her.  She took her Nathan's hand on one side and Win's on the other as they walked down the red carpet. "

Lyddie, Lyddie!  Who are you wearing?" a voice rang in her ear. 

"I have no idea, this is thrifted," she laughed, posing in different angles. 

"Lyddie!  Are you still engaged?" 

"Yes, she is!" her Nathan pulled her hand up to flash the ring.

“Lyddie!  Who else is with you?” one of the photographers shouted before snapping several photos of Win and the other Nathan.  “Is your fiancé a twin?”

“You could say that,” Win’s Nathan grumbled under his breath, while Win flashed a smile at the camera, giving Lydia’s hand a squeeze.

"These are my partners," Lydia nearly shouted, way too excited to say that.  "My boyfriend, and my girlfriend." 

"Are you expecting a win tonight?" A reporter asked, recorder in hand. 

"Oh yeah," Lydia leaned in to speak into the mic.  "But even if I don't get album of the year, I feel that this win already came for me... I mean to me."

At Lydia’s words Win felt her face flare hotly, and a loud cackle burst from her Nathan’s lips.  “Oh you could definitely say that!” he exclaimed, giving her a cheeky pinch.

Lydia smiled for a few more pictures before moving on to sign a few autographs and take pictures with her fans waiting by the barricade.  Her Nathan nudged Win's arm, smiling while he watched Lydia laughing, having fun and being herself without worrying about anyone's opinion.

“Hmm?” she murmured, looking up at him. “What’s up?”

"Look what you did... she's so happy."  He didn't wanna be sappy, but it was too adorable.

Win flushed at his praise, a soft smile lingering on her lips as she watched Lydia.

“Ahh, it was nothin’,” she murmured, leaning into his side.  “She did all the work,” she murmured under her breath.

——

 Delilah glanced at the screen as she took a sip of her drink, only half paying attention to the award show as several musicians walked along the red carpet, until a flash of green hair caught her eye and she nearly choked, leaning forward to snatch the remote and turning up the volume. “And who do you have with you tonight?” 

“These are my partners—“ Delilah’s mouth fell open as she recognized her step sister’s face come across the screen, hanging on the arm of the gangly curly haired bloke she’d moved out with, as well as a woman with cotton candy coloured hair. 

“MOM!”

[bookwyrminspiration]

WAIT. I'm late to the party but I just remembered all those anons were sending in "why I send you asks" and their reasons and I actually really want to participate, so I hope you will accept late applications?

The reason I send you so many asks is because you've just...built such a nice feeling that anything can be discussed, and it's never too niche or cringy or boring, and that's really relieving and amazing.

I'm sure you (along with many others) have realized by now, but I suffer from....really bad anxiety, both social anxiety and just in general, and it very often gets in the way of my life. Because of this and past experiences, I'm always very scared and hesitant to talk about my interests and my thoughts on anything.

But every time I've sent you an ask, even if it was, in retrospect, probably really annoying to read through the one hundred "sorry"s and "my bad"s, you've always been nothing but kind and interested in my ideas, and that was just...so surprising. Because I never really knew anyone who was willing to talk about anything, and it was just...really amazing to meet someone who was! Especially because I love and am interested in so many different things and kind of need someone to bounce ideas at. And it was really cool to see someone that was unashamed of their own interests and thoughts, but didn't make others feel bad for having different ideas.

Every time I send you an ask, you always have something interesting to say back. Something I hadn't thought of or considered, or a query that would make me rethink my own theories, or just a very well-thought-out answer to a question. I remember sending in tons of asks about the wings AU before it was released, and writing those was probably the highlight of my day, because I knew you'd take them and run with the ideas, and do your best to match my energy, and I was really grateful for that. And you were always willing to dig deeper, to think "but what if there was more?" and that's just...incredible! I don't have any other word for it!

I love sending you asks because you don't dismiss an idea or deem it as stupid, and you're just...such a kind and wonderful person that can make even the most obscure subject infinitely more interesting than before, and you never fail to make me consider things again, to expand my thoughts and views, and I'm really grateful for that.

So, because it should definitely be said by now, thank you!

And, well, that's why I love sending you asks :]

- pyro

there is no timeline so there's no way to be late! and I'm answering this a few days after you sent this, so if you believe yourself to be late then we can both be late together :D. you are fully welcome to participate if you want to (which you said you did)! it was mostly just a random question I had because i'm just as analytical with myself as I am with keeper, and knowing how other perceive and think of me is helpful for that--and I was curious about how i'd aquired so many asks so quickly, and then you all just turned it into complimenting quil hours for some reason !! (but on to your ask before I get even more distracted)

(note from a quil who has answered all of this: got very long so that's why there's a readmore! i love you /p)

this means so much to me--specifically your use of "built" because I do try pretty hard to maintain a positive atmosphere and welcome everyone in and treat everyone with the same attention. it didn't just fall into place, i try to be encouraging to everyone and support all the amazing work--art, writing, ideas, etc--I see from people. (note: i've been wanting to do a thing where I ask for fic/art/other recommendations from others (can be friends or their own) so i can go through and reblog a bunch of them with comments and the like, I just want to get through more of my asks before I start something like that). But you're right--nothing is too niche! there's so many details in the story it's impossible for one person to notice anything, so people bringing up the obscure and their own thoughts makes the story richer and more fleshed out for everyone else! and i think it's really cool to just see what other people focus on (like I said, my analysis isn't limited to characters, but I'm not like dissecting you all to understand each of you in a creepy way or anything. I just like to get a better sense of someone so I can respond in a way more tailored to them when we interact)

anxiety can really suck, so as someone who also has anxiety i am giving you a comforting hug if you'd like one. it genuinely impacts everything you do and think about, rewriting how you experience life. a single, inconsequential experience to someone else can literally change major aspects of how we think, which makes interactions so scary sometimes. i remember things people said years ago and still base my actions around them, but those people have absolutely no recollection of ever saying it, but just the fear of having done something wrong once permanently altered my thinking. (this is not to make this about me, I'm just trying to show I understand by sharing an experience of my own).

reading through all your "i'm sorry"s and "my bad"s wasn't annoying and never will be. you have never had anything to apologize for, and I know that sometimes you feel you need to enter a conversation and first apologize for being there, but I'm thrilled to have you here and always love seeing you in my inbox. I don't know how to articulate this properly, but I'm going to try. i saw your apologies and your apprehension as...a puzzle? that's absolutely not the right word but I can't think of the right one so please let me explain (I don't mean to imply you're like something to be solved or a problem in any way. words can be difficult and I'm trying to describe something very intangible rn, so I hope this doesn't sound bad). I didn't see it as annoying (you're never annoying), I saw it like it was something to work through, and while it's not my job or anything to help other's with their personal problems, it was like if I could just provide one space where I could encourage you (not just you, but anyone) as a friend to try shifting your language and start thinking of yourself more positively, then I wanted to give that.

because I am interested in your ideas! and I want to be kind and welcoming to you! but I also want you to be kind to yourself, so any impact I've had to give anyone a safer, less scary space is really cool. I don't know if that made sense, but I'm not trying to talk down to you or anything or be like I'm this high and mighty figure harboring lost souls or something, just that connection is important and I like being there for people. kinda worried that sounded bad because it feels worded strange but I'm trying to reciprocate and say i appreciate you and am happy to talk about anything!

i love bouncing ideas back and forth and you are more than welcome to say anything and everything you're thinking about. talking to you is always an absolutely joy and I get so excited when you send me an ask and when you're reading my response, because it often feels like this like...buzz? like we're just vibing on this frequency and it makes it so much fun to throw ideas back and forth and just listen to each other talk. i am very glad to have surprised you and met you! I don't know a lot of people like myself either, so having someone like you interact with me and just go all out on these little things and what we personally like about different parts of the so much fun. a lot of the other people I know irl feel like they just scratch the surface, they say things just to get credit for it and to appear like they know what they're talking about while ignoring all these other things that have such an impact, so it's amazing to have found someone else who looks at everything and anything like I do. my brain really is "a little bit of everything all of the time" so knowing you have so many different interests too is really cool. i am giving you an internet high five and pretending you aren't so far away.

I spent so much of my life being quiet when I had so many thoughts, so now that I have this kind of outlet I just! want to say everything I can! i want to look at everything from every perspective possible! the world is a huge collection of things tied together and I love following the strings to find the connected pieces! but I think that's a way of approaching the world not a lot of people share (I could be wrong), so it's really cool to hear you think my thought process is interesting!! my brain is practically composed entirely of questions. any subject at any time of the day and nearly all of my thoughts are just wanting to know more and trying to understand things, so having that opportunity to ask further questions and just learn things (about what other's thing, how things work, etc) is so much fun. you might've seen me ask some questions of other's in a few of the asks I answer, but those barely scratch the surface of just how many I have. my handle is in_quil_sitive (inquisitve) on nearly every social media platform (except for this one) for a reason.

I remember some of your asks from before the wings au was published, too. those were absolutely incredible, and I got a rush of excitement every time I saw you sent another. those were the the highlight of my week, too!! your enthusiasm and excitement for something I hadn't even posted yet gave me so much motivation to continue and you helped me think through so many future ideas and consider things from new perspectives. i know i specifically wrote that you inspired one chapter in the notes, but you've had an impact on every single chapter of this story/ it wouldn't be what it is without you, and I mean that with complete sincerity. you were the one who made me think "what if there was more" so I could make this au even better and work towards something bigger. I just have so many thoughts about everything all of the time, I can't go more than a few minutes without being distracted by a different train of thought, but knowing there was someone who would want to hear all the weird, disjointed ideas i'd strung together and composed into a more cohesive format was so cool. there's just so much to think about!!

I probably sound repetitive at this point but I love answering your asks because you're so receptive to the way i say things and it's like you're actually listening and want to hear what I specifically have to say, not just the general ideas. you want to know my unique, personalized opinions and perspectives and don't just dismiss them when they're not what you expect to hear or aren't generic. you're incredibly kind, too, I hope you know. I love the description of how I can "make even the most obscure subject infinitely more interesting than before." that is such a meaningful compliment to me. I just keep thinking about this line over and over again and it just...it really means a lot. because you're saying it's me that interests you and not just what I talk about. I could talk about anything and you'd still want to interact with me and that's so fucking nice. I hope you know the same goes for you. we can challenge each other's thinking together and make things even deeper and more complex before together <33.

thank you for being here and being my friend, pyro. talking to you is always one of the highlights of my day and gives me a very positive feeling that I carry around for a while. I do this thing sometimes where I film myself to later observe my behaviors in the middle of intense emotions to understand myself better (back to that whole analysis thing again), but it's not just negative things, it's also when I'm really excited or pleased with something and jumping around and stimming and all that, and some of those are from when I interact with you. that might sound a little weird but I mean it positively, as in talking with you makes me ecstatic.

I have said. so many things. so I will stop (for now). but I really appreciate having you in my life <33

[myhockeyworld87]

Bubble Wrapped - Part 1

Word Count: 2,683

POV: Reader

Warnings: Language

Notes: Ok so here is basically our introduction to the Bubble Wrapped story. I have no timeline for this thing or even if it will continue, you guys let me know. As a background, this story will be about life inside Hotel X. In case you don’t know the teams inside Hotel X are the Bruins, Capitals, Flyers, Penguins and Lightning. So here we go, Happy Reading!

You'd been shocked when Hotel X had been picked as one of the hotels for the NHL to stay at when they resumed play in Toronto. Even more so when you were asked if you would take over the management of the place over the next several weeks. "Listen (Y/N) we know we are asking a lot. You'll have to live at the hotel with all the players as the NHL is really trying to keep everyone in this little bubble."

 "I understand. I've already talked to Carly about putting different measures in place when the Maple Leafs came to us before submitting their proposal." Carly was another member of the hotel staff, that served as one of their concierges. She knew the ins and outs of the city and could get tickets or dinner reservations on the drop of a dime. That was all before COVID though. Now, some restaurants were still closed and shows hadn't resumed yet. What once was a bustling city, had come to a dead stop over the last several months, though things were starting to get back to normal; well the new normal that is.

 "So we heard." You hoped the blush that crept up your cheeks couldn't be seen on the zoom call as that had become their new form of communication with you. "You've dealt with the players before, we know you can handle it. Though this time it'll be completely different with five or six teams staying there." Most of the players had always been super nice to the staff, though there were a few that could be demanding at times. You prayed they'd all push their egos aside, at least while in the hotel, though somehow you doubted that. "I think you're familiar with the NHL's protocol on their reopening, but we'll email you everything once we get it. Start putting together the staff that you want. Just some core people that you'll need."

 "I've got the right people in mind, don't worry."

 The call went for a bit longer going over specifics. The only benefit out of the whole thing was that they were giving you the Presidential Suite to stay in. Honestly, it was the least they could do; you thought. Of course, the called ending with them saying, "Don't let us down."

 As soon as it ended you called Carly making sure she was on board. "I'm just saying Car that many hockey players in the hotel; the testosterone is going to be flying around."

 "So what you're telling me is you've already packed an extra-large box of condoms."

 "Carly!" You shouted at your friend. "That's not what I was saying at all."

 "Come on (Y/N), I know you're one of Seguin's regulars when he's in Toronto."

 "I'm one of them because I can keep my mouth shut." It was true that when Tyler was in town during the summer or on a road trip the two of you always hooked up. Sort of a no strings attached relationship, though you did talk from time to time. "Besides he's not even going to be in Toronto. He's in the Edmonton bubble."

 "Oh, I didn't realize." Carly despite being from Canada was not a hockey lover, though she did appreciate the men who played the sport. "Well, maybe you should call him and get the scoop. You know find out who we need to be aware of."

 It wasn't a bad idea, not that you were going to ask him who to sleep with, but maybe it would help get a handle on who was going to be problematic, as there was no way you wanted to let the owners of the hotel down. You had a lot riding on this and after all, you couldn't put bitter rivals in one hotel and not expect some drama. "You're right. I am going to call him."

 "Ooo good, let me know what he says and if we should get more than one box of those condoms."

 You shook your head at your friend before hanging up and dialing Tyler's number. "Hey beautiful, long time no talk," Tyler said and you could almost hear the smile in his voice.

 "Hey Ty, how's quarantine life going?"

 "Ugh, don't get me started. I was not meant to be locked in my house without hockey for this long." Tyler wasn't meant to stay put anywhere too long, including relationships.

 "Well, hockey's almost back so there's that."

 "Yeah, I'm pumped about it, though I wish I was staying in Toronto instead. I know some fun that we could get up to since I have to stay in the bubble." He paused and you could clearly tell he was running different sex scenarios in his head. "I'm assuming your working at the hotel."

 "Yeah, it's kind of why I called. I'm one of the ones trapped in the bubble with you guys."

 Tyler groaned. "So, you called to ask me who you should hook up with? Cause babe, I'm not sure I'm willing to share you like that."

 "Shut up Ty, you know we're not like that. You couldn't stay faithful to one woman if you tried." Part of the reason the two of you got along so good, was the fact that you called him out on his bullshit.

 "I might if I could drag you with me everywhere." You giggled at the insinuation of being taken everywhere just so you could keep him satisfied. "You're definitely gifted with many talents (Y/N)."

 "You're not so bad yourself, but we're getting away from why I called."

 "You mean you didn't call to have phone sex with me," and you could hear his pout.

 "No, I didn't call for that. I was just curious if you had any idea who was going to give me problems while we're in this so-called bubble. I'm trying to be preemptive here."

 "Ok, but if I give you some information you at least have to promise to send me a pic of your tits." You mentally rolled your eyes at him; the boy was a horndog.

 "Fine, now spill some tea."

 "Spill some tea, what is this a gossip blog or something."

 "You're avoiding the question Ty, and I'm putting on a sweatshirt." He groaned.

 "Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch…or maybe do." It never ended with him. "I don't know a lot about some of the younger guys that are newer in the league, but my guess is they're all horny little bastards. Hell, I was when I first got in the league."

 "You still are."

 "Touché." He answered before continuing on. "So, like I probably don't have to mention the rivalries to you, but like Caps and Pens hate each other, the Flyers and Pens hate each other. Doesn't everyone just hate the Pens?"

 "I think you either love them or hate them."

 "That's true," he agreed with your statement. "The Flyers and the Caps hate each other as well and don't get me started with who hates the Bruins. Wow, who really put them all in your hotel?"

 "I'd like to know that as well." It seemed like whoever did, had a warped sense of humor and you were now going to be stuck handling the mess that they'd made. "So, basically what you're saying is that it'll be an all-out brawl at times that I'll have to clean up after."

 "Sorry babe, but I think it could be. On the bright side, we're supposed to stay on our own floors."

 "Like that's going to happen." Maybe you should designate elevators or something because you could just see Alex Ovechkin and Claude Giroux getting in one at the same time and by the time, they got to your lobby they'd both be bloody and beaten. "Anything else I should know?"

 "You seriously want me to go there?"

 "I mean...if you want to." You certainly weren't going to ask but if he offered the information you'd tuck it away for later that's for sure.

 He sighed heavily, "You know I hate this, but like Tom Wilson gets around that's for sure and I've heard that Travis Konecny does as well. If I'm being honest there's maybe been a girl or two that's compared us."

 "Really?"

 "That doesn't mean you have to be one of them, though if you are…you better tell them I'm better."

 "Don't worry Ty, I'll sing your praises. I promise." Obviously, you wouldn't be doing that but it didn't hurt to stroke his ego a bit. "Anyone, to avoid?"

 "Marchy!"

 "Dude, he was like one of your best friends. Why would you say that?"

 "Because I know him. Stay away he's trouble." The fact that you could almost see the look on his face as he was telling you was comical.

 "Fine."

 "Oh and stay away from Carter Hart." The name sounded familiar.

 "The goalie from Philly? Why?"

 "Because you'll corrupt him." You burst out laughing and Ty joined you. "He's too innocent for you."

 "Dually noted, as I do not want to be known as the corruptor of innocents." You searched your mind thinking of anything else you could ask since you had him on the phone. "What about Crosby?"

 "Sid?" and he just couldn't stop laughing; you could even hear him try to catch his breath.

 "Why is that so funny? The man is hot Tyler, whether you want to admit it or not."

 He got serious as he asked, "Who's hotter him or me?"

 Thank god you weren't on FaceTime, so you could answer him without your features giving you away. "You are Ty, of course."

 "I thought so, but like the guy is hockey twenty-four seven. There's no way he's going to be thinking about getting laid."

 "That's disappointing."

 "He's about the only one that I'd give you permission to fuck, only because I know it would be impossible for you to accomplish, even given all your talents." You could hear the mischievous tone in his voice.

 "Hmmm, are you willing to bet on that?"

 "What? Like bet, you'll fuck Crosby in the bubble?"

 "Yeah." Did it really sound like such an unattainable accomplishment?

 "What's the wager?"

 "Winner flies out when this whole COVID shit is done and is the other's sex slave for twenty-four hours."

 "Oh, you are on, baby. I can already see you handcuffed to my bed in some skimpy lingerie." He cackled at the thought and it fueled your resolve to win this bet.

 "Don't be so sure about that."

 "And how am I to know that you actually slept with him?"

 Well, this would be tricky. "Well, it's not like I'm videoing it."

 "No, but that gives me ideas for when I win." Maybe you should be rethinking this gamble.

 "What do you want his underwear?"

 "Nah, you could get that in the laundry. But I'm sure you could sneak a pic of him sleeping." God that sounded creepy but if it meant you had Ty as your slave for a day, it'd be worth it and you'd never show it to anyone else but him and even then you weren't going to send it to him, though he didn't need to know that now.

 "Ok, it's a bet then."

 "Too bad we can't kiss on it."

 "Oh, you'll be doing more than kissing when I win, Seguin." Mentally you started packing sexy outfits to take into the bubble with you while thinking of all the things you'd have Tyler do the next time you saw him. "On that note, I better get my ass to work and make this hotel ready for these guys."

 "Fine, I'll let you go as long as you promise to FaceTime me at some point during this bubble thing."

 "I'm sure I'll have a night open for you at some point." You teased.

 "Woman, you better."

 "No worries Ty, you're still my main man; when you're in town."

 "That's right baby, good luck."

 "Thanks for all the info, Ty. We'll catch up soon and good luck in the playoffs."

 You were just about to hang up when you heard him yell. "Don't forget my titty picture."

 All you could do was shake your head and click end call, though you being a woman of your word, you snapped a quick pic and sent it off to him; to which he responded with a drool face emoji.

 The next couple of weeks were a literal whirlwind as you moved into the hotel's presidential suite and got things ready. Beds were moved out so that some rooms that had two queens now had one king in them. The hotel was disinfected from top to bottom. If felt like you were wearing a hazmat suit all the time during this process. A week before the players arrived the NHL staff did, making sure everything was in order and making sure you had things set up for daily COVID testing. Of course, you had everything well in hand and organized per their instructions, though with a few tweaks that made the process more efficient. Overall, they seemed impressed with everything that you had done.

 All that preparation lead up to the big day, July 26th, when the teams moved in. The league had them spread out so that no two teams were checking in at that same time. Tampa Bay was the first in as they traveled the furthest. "You look nervous. Why are you nervous?" Carly's voice came up from behind you as you saw the bus pulling in through the gates.

 "There's a lot riding on this Car, and if anything goes wrong; you know it's going to be my head that rolls."

 "You're going to do great; this whole thing is going to be smooth like a bubble." She started to giggle. "See what I did there…bubble." You rolled your eyes at your friend but did let out a little snort of laughter at her pun. "Well, here they come."

 You straightened your jacket and smoothed down your skirt, before throwing your mask up to go meet your first arrivals. "Gentlemen, welcome to Hotel X." You tried to speak a little louder than normal hoping the mask didn't muffle your words. "We're excited to have you all here. I'm (Y/N) manager here during your stay, anything you need, feel free to call me any time of day." More of the guys filtered in while you spoke to Coach Cooper and a few of the players.

 "Anytime huh?" you heard someone mumble in the background and a couple of the guys snickered. It was hard not to roll your eyes as you knew they were focusing on them with your face partially covered. Someone else said, "She can manage me anytime." That was until someone cleared their throat, effectively silencing them.

 "Now if you'll follow me, let's get you all checked in." Tables lined with a welcome packet and lanyard with their ID on it, were off to the side and you were able to shuffle them through with pretty good speed, then sent them off to their rooms before they had to head to testing. Your information was inside every packet, in case you were needed at any point during their stay. It seemed like you no sooner got them in and the area disinfected then the next team, the Capitals, were pulling in, and so the day went on until all five teams were safely ensconced in the hotel. Thankfully you made it through that process without any problems, even though the Bruins flight was late and the Flyers were pulling in right as you got the last players through.

 It wasn't until dinner, that you encountered your first dilemma, getting a text message from Alexis, who was coordinating the meals. It was a simple message, Get to conference room 3. NOW! As fast as your heels could take you, you headed down to where the Capitals were supposed to be having dinner if you remembered the schedule correctly. You never expected to see what you did though when you entered.

[hopeshoodie]

What do you want there to be in S3?

I’m assuming this means S4, like the new season. Lol I let this sit in my inbox for a really long time, but I don’t think THAT long.

But the short answer is I want so many things, lmao. I finally have something to look forward to over the summer other than my brain scan, so I’m trying to temper my excitement a bit. I don’t want to be disappointed- and honestly I was pleased with Boat Party up until day 7, so I don’t think I’ll be disappointed with S4 unless it’s similar to S3.

I’ve talked a lot about specific things I think would be cool- a non-MC wlw couple, a single parent LI, a sober character- but I want to answer this more generally about the top three things I hope FB does in S4.

More characterization of non-LIs: I’m always more invested in the friendships, relationships, and conflicts between the NPCs than MC and her LI. I hope they don’t do what S3 did and give everyone generic personalities and no relationship to the other islanders. I want characters to be friends and to dislike other islanders and to have complex relationships with their LIs. Maybe I’m just toxic, but I find dysfunctional relationships WAY more interesting than people who are amicably coupled with no struggles. Nope was my favorite element of S2, versus Elladine/Nicky or Iona/Camilo were my least favorite. It would be so great in S4 if we got to see more people struggling (and that would help create distinct relationship paths for different LIs instead of just having them all available all the time). If one of the LIs is coupled with someone they’re infatuated with, but their partner is obviously stringing them along. If a couple are really happy together but just disagree on literally everything and are very visibly incompatible. If one islander is super possessive and their partner doesn’t really recognize it until others point out the problematic behavior. I just think you learn a lot more about people through their conflicts, and also think it’s more interesting to read than everyone being either super infatuated with or ambivalent towards their partners. I still want a Tai/Ciaran, Lottie/Hannah, or Seb/Genvieve couple who are healthy and that I can root for. But give me more conflict like Marisol switching constantly and being unsure, Rahim simping for Priya but her not reciprocating, and Nope blowing up. I just want the characters to exist outside of their relationship to MC.

 Distinct LI paths: I’m hoping they learned from S3 and everyone’s criticism of the CA boys in S2. There’s no point in having the same character be available but with 10 different avatars to pick from, replaying isn’t fun, and it doesn’t develop a deeper attachment to any one character in particular. It’s okay to have unavailable, slow burn, and easy routes, because it’s telling an actual story. Obviously branching is hard, but that’s literally the point of this medium. I would prefer fewer LIs if it meant they had very unique romance routes. A good compromise could be having 3-5 more generic Lis, but then structuring out a few distinct character arcs for certain LIs. I loved that there were hurdles to being with your LI in S1, S2, and Boat Party, and that each route varied slightly both in the timeline of when you could be with them and when your relationship progressed. I loved how the LIs have backup stories if you don’t pick them- Gary defaulting to Lottie and Rahim with Jo. Please just give me interesting routes based on different LIs.

Consequences for MC’s actions: No season really got this right, least of all S3. But if FB is going to give us the choice to cheat on our partners or switch every single week or steal the money, I want there to be social repercussions. I want people to call her out, for relationships to go down. It would be really cool if you didn’t unlock certain scenes if your relationship with people were low enough- all the girls hang out without you or you’re not invited to join the gym crew. Also I think your partner should be able to leave you, either if you cheat or steal the money. S2 kind of did this- people are mean to you if you’re mean to them and you can lose the season if you’re mean to your partner- and I’d love that again. Beanie Quinn might not be taken to court for the numerous crimes she committed, but S4 MC should be held to account for her choices.

[ggukcangetit]

Dreamcatchers 5

Pairing: jungkook x oc

Summary: DI Jeon didn’t need a new partner. Unfortunately, his superiors felt otherwise; especially considering the extremely high-profile murder that had just taken place in the port city. Recent transfer, DI Choi Yuri finds herself confronted with a new cityscape, unfamiliar people, a hostile partner, and a homicide that is certain to bring back unpleasant memories.  

Genre/AU: fluff/action/mystery | detective! au | police!jungkook, police!oc

Word Count: 3.7k

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: mentions of violence, alcohol, blood, drugs, death. basically stuff you’d associate with a murder mystery/crime drama.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | A/N:  found a lovely group of people at bsh and their enthusiasm is infectious enough to get me to write a lot more than i had originally planned. reminding everyone that this story features a named oc because i’m still very unfamiliar with writing second person reader inserts. i’m not aiming for strict accuracy in this story, and all criminal investigation/forensics knowledge i have has been gathered by watching crime drama/procedural dramas! my knowledge of geography is also not totally accurate so apologies for that. once again, one thing right by @hobios​ prompted me to write a police inspector! jungkook story. would highly recommend reading that because it’s probably one of my most favorite pieces of writing! additional note: the timeline at the end of the post is what i imagine yuri and jeongguk were constructing on the station’s white board in the last scene.

20th December

Seokjin was inside his bakery, getting ready to open in a little bit, when frantic knocking interrupted him. Checking his watch, he saw that it was 6.52 am, which meant that he had 8 minutes until opening. While people in this town were known to wake up at the crack of dawn, he had never had anyone knocking at his door before opening time. A second set of knocks - much louder this time - made him rush over to the front door.

"They've arrested Jimin on suspicion of murder."

Taehyung stood there looking more lost than he had ever seen him. Even more than when he had found Seokjin months after the latter had left home. Even more than when he had been given the responsibility of taking over the company. Taehyung, who struggled to wake up in time for 10 am meetings, was wide awake before the clock struck 7 and looked like he hadn't slept a wink the previous night.

"Did you run all the way here?" Seokjin asked. Taehyung's hair looked windswept and beads of perspiration lined his forehead despite it being the middle of winter.

"Why've they arrested him? He would never do something like that!"

"Come inside first. You'll catch a cold if you stay outside like this."

Once inside, Taehyung didn't look any less perturbed - his expressive eyes glistening with many different emotions. Seokjin brought out a cup of hot chocolate and a red bean bun, sitting down opposite his younger brother.

"Now, tell me what's going on."

"Jimin was arrested last night on suspicion of murder."

"Murder? You mean Eunwoo? They think Jimin had something to do with Eunwoo's death?"

Taehyung nodded his head, the initial rush of adrenaline having worn off, leaving him looking significantly more worn out.

"Do you know why? How did you even find out? Did Jimin tell you?"

"No. Ahreum did." Taehyung rubbed his face with his hands, trying to rid himself of the terrifying thoughts rushing through his mind. "She was there when Yuri - that's her friend who's also Jeongguk's new partner - made the call. There must be some mistake!"

Seokjin bit his lip worriedly. While Jimin had been Taehyung's best friend since they were little, there was no doubt that the former led a very wild life involving many questionable escapades. He didn't know much about Yuri, but there was no doubt in his mind that Jeongguk was a very competent detective who knew what he was doing.

"I don't know what I should do." Taehyung's voice, jolted him out of his thoughts. "I should go down to the station, shouldn't I? Jimin probably needs someone there with him. What about getting a lawyer? Should we ask Namjoon? I-"

"Slow down, Taehyung," Seokjin said, patting his brother's shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure Jimin's gotten a lawyer himself. His family has a lot of resources. But if you want, you can drop by the station in case he needs something."

"Y-yeah, I should do that. I'll go right now. I- Shit!" Taehyung patted his coat pockets frantically. "I can't find my car keys!"

"You didn't drive here," reminded Seokjin, gently. "Do you want me to drive you there?"

The bell hanging above the front door jingled softly at that moment, signalling Seokjin's first customer of the day.

"No, you shouldn’t leave your bakery. It would be bad for business." Taehyung shook his head, the helpless look in his eyes not leaving him despite his conviction to leave his brother out of this.

"Why don't you ask Ahreum if she can give you a lift? Isn't she usually up by this time?"

"You're right! I'll do that!"

Seokjin busied himself with the customer who had just come in, his eyes wandering towards his brother ever so often. Ahreum picked him up 15 minutes later, but Seokjin couldn't shake off the worried feeling he had gotten after seeing Taehyung so frantic and helpless.

...

Yuri had reached the station at 6 that morning. She hadn't slept last night, going through every inch of evidence and every statement they had taken related to Kang Eunwoo's murder. Her stomach had dropped when she had read the email from Seulgi last night. It wasn't that she was convinced that Jimin was a saint who had nothing to do with this, but the fact that he had finally decided to give a blood sample suggested either that he was innocent, or that he was guilty but somehow knew that he would be able to escape the charges. Both options did not bode well with her.

Jeon arrived around half past 6, the bags under his eyes suggesting that he had also had a sleepless night. He didn't say anything, just heading straight for his desk and pouring over a set of files like he had a final exam he was cramming for.

Chief Inspector Goh had spoken to both of them on a conference call last night once news of Jimin's arrest had been confirmed.

"Are we completely sure about this?" His voice hoarse, indicating that the call had disturbed his slumber.

"Yes, sir," Yuri replied, not waiting for her partner to chip in. She was the one who had received the email from Seulgi, she had been the one to convince Jimin for a blood sample - this was her line of inquiry. Which made her all the more nervous.

"I'm sure I don't need to remind either of you that the Parks are difficult customers. Young Mr. Park does not have a criminal record despite his many infractions over the years."

"We are aware, sir." Jeon answered this time, being more familiar with the social landscape than Yuri. "Everything will be carried out according to proper procedure."

"Good. Be prepared to deal with lawyers as well. I have a suspicion that that bastard Song will be representing the Park boy tomorrow. Jeongguk, I'm sure you're aware of his reputation and the kinds of clients he usually represents."

Yuri did not know about this particular lawyer, but made a note to look up his previous cases to get an understanding of what they were up against. She had no doubt that Jeon would be as unhelpful as he had been since she had first arrived.

"You can't start the interview before 8 am, but given that he was arrested just before midnight, we will have lost 8 precious hours out of the total 48 before we have to either charge him or release him on bail. Be clear, be smart, and do not allow anyone to string you along."

"Yes, sir." They both replied, before ending the call.

"Do you want to go over the interview strategy?"

Jeon's words took Yuri by surprise. She had been expecting a cold shoulder at best, and unfiltered hostility at worst.

"Y-yeah sure," she replied, turning her chair around to find that he had moved over to her side of the cubicle already.

"I think we should lead with the blood match," he continued, frowning at a sheet of paper. "What do you think?"

"While that is the most efficient way to approach it," said Yuri, pausing to organize her thoughts. "We could also press him to provide us with an alibi."

"Why'd you think that?"

Yuri tapped her fingers on the table, wondering how far she should try and explain her idea to Jeon. "I just... He was very uncooperative about providing an alibi last time. But then he came down and voluntarily gave a blood sample, which has put him in a much worse position than not providing an alibi. I don't know why he would refuse the low risk option in favor of the high risk one."

Jeon scoffed. "Well you clearly don't know Jimin then."

"Well obviously not like you lot do," she frowned, folding her arms across her chest.

"Don't get me wrong," he continued, leaning against the divider. "Your confusion is completely valid, but this behavior is very much in character for Jimin."

"How'd you mean?"

"He's a loose canon. He has no regard for authority - half of what he does is to piss off people in power or positions of authority. Jimin's always been like that as far as I can remember. But-" he paused and rubbed the back of his neck tiredly - "this is much more serious. This is murder."

Yuri pressed her lips together, wondering how difficult the interview was going to be.

8 am

"You are aware that you have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Kang Eunwoo on 16th December."

Park Jimin looked very different from the previous few times Yuri had met him. His silver hair was devoid of any gel, making him look drastically younger. He was not wearing expensive lounge wear like he had been during the previous interview. The only thing that remained unchanged was the emotionless look in his cold grey eyes.

His lawyer, on the other hand, looked quite cheerful - smug even. As if he knew in advance that his client would get off without any charges no matter how serious the offense.

"When you were here a couple of days ago, we asked you where you were on the night of December 15th. And you did not provide us with an answer." Yuri paused, trying in vain to discern something from Jimin's expression. "So let me ask you again - where were you on the night of December 15th?"

"No comment."

"I must impress upon you the importance of this matter. You are the prime suspect in the murder of a rival family's heir. If you do not provide an alibi, we will be forced to assume that you do not have one."

Silence.

"Your blood was found on the victim's clothes." Jeon took over, moving along to the main line of inquiry. "What can you tell us about that?"

"No comment."

"The victim's father says that you visited their house on the night that the victim was murdered. What do you have to say about that?"

"No comment."

This was not going any better than the previous interview. In fact, Yuri thought this one was much worse. Even though they should have had the upper hand, Jimin's unperturbed, stoic expression indicated otherwise. The blood on the sleeve was enough to charge him, but with the Park family's resources there was always a chance that Jimin would be able to get off in court. Which was why they needed to build a stronger case against him.

Jeon continued persisting with the questions, receiving an emotionless "no comment" every time. The lawyer looked rather relaxed, and Yuri tried her best to avoid looking at him. Instead, she focused on Jimin. Everything about him was unreadable - his eyes, his body language, his face, his tone of voice. Despite his more casual appearance this time around, his fingers were still adorned with multiple rings. Her eyes lingered briefly on his hands, absentmindedly counting the number of rings when something struck her.

Jeon had paused to look through his notes, and Yuri took this opportunity to dive in.

"Mr. Park," she began, placing a hand on Jeon's knee to stop him from interrupting her. "I noticed that you always wear a lot of rings on your fingers."

"As far as I can remember, DI Choi," said Jimin's lawyer. "Wearing a lot of rings is not a criminal offense."

"And I commend you on your immaculate memory," she replied, dryly. "Getting back to what I was saying, you wear a lot of rings. Are they supposed to be a fashion statement? Or do they have some greater significance?"

Jimin's expression flickered for the briefest of moments.

"For example," she continued, indicating the ring on the little finger of his left hand. "That's an unusual design - quite old-fashioned compared to the rest of your rings. Is there anything special about that ring?"

"I don't understand how this is relev-"

"Then why don't you let your client answer himself."

For the first time since the interview had begun, Jimin's posture changed slightly. "That ring belonged to my mother."

"I see... that must hold a lot of emotions for you." Yuri removed her hand from Jeon's thigh, indicating that he could continue. He didn't say anything to her, preferring to hold eye-contact for a few meaningful seconds

"I'm going to ask you one last time," he said, taking over once again. "Where were you on the night of December 15th?"

"No comment."

...

"What was that about?" asked Jeon, once they were out of the interview room.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," he sighed in exasperation. "The ring, Choi."

"Just wanted to bring down his guard a bit," she shrugged.

He looked unconvinced, but dropped it seeing as they had more pressing things to deal with at the moment. Shaking his head, he went into Goh's room to update him on the outcome of the interview.

Making sure that the door to the Chief Inspector's room had been shut completely, Yuri switched on her laptop and pulled up every bit of information she had on Jimin. Even though she had gone over it less than 2 days ago, there were some things she needed to confirm. If what she thought was even remotely possible, they had been looking at things wrong the entire time.

"Hello? Telecoms Division? This DI Choi Yuri, badge number XXXX. I wanted to check whether this phone number is currently being used in Korea. Yes, I'll hold."

She tapped her fingers on the desk nervously, hoping she could get the information before Jeon came back. While it was true that he hadn't been openly hostile with her over the past 24 hours or so, she didn't want to risk pissing him off without something concrete.

"Yes, I'm still here," she breathed a sigh of relief when the person on the other end of the line took her off hold. "Really? Okay. And can you tell me if the number was being used overseas at any point in the past 2 months? I see... Would it be possible to send this to my official email? Great! Thank you very much for your help."

A couple of minutes later, Yuri's laptop pinged, indicating a new email. She read through everything carefully- once, twice, making sure she had gotten everything down accurately.

Fuck...

"Going somewhere?" Chief Inspector Goh walked out of his office to see Yuri putting on her coat and packing her bag.

"I- uh- yes."

"There's a lot of paperwork that has to be done, I'm afraid," he continued, checking messages on his phone. "You and Jeongguk will probably need to be here well past usual hours."

"Of course, sir." Yuri shrugged off her coat and sat down with a sigh.

6 pm

Seven hours. It had been seven hours since Yuri and Jeon had begun working their way through the piles of paperwork Goh had instructed them to finish.

"I'm hungry." Jeon stretched his arms above his head, yawning with his entire being. "Do you wanna get some takeout?"

"What?" Yuri looked up from the page she had been trying to read for the past fifteen minutes. Her eyes were glazing over with exhaustion.

"Food. Dinner. Sustenance."

"Y-yeah," Yuri blinked her eyes rapidly. "Sorry what were you saying?"

"You know what? Never mind. I'm just ordering a bunch of things- " He unlocked his phone and began typing away furiously. "Eat whatever you like from there."

Yuri gazed at him for a few moments, trying to reorient herself with the three dimensional world. She noticed that he was sitting on the swivel chair with his feet tucked beneath him - something oddly endearing which didn't really fit her image of him.

"I like dumplings," she said, more to herself than anyone else.

Jeon smirked but didn't say anything.

Half an hour later, a dozen or so takeout containers lay open in front of them - occupying more of Yuri's desk than Jeon's, much to her annoyance. He had rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt, slurping the hot noodles rather noisily.

Yuri threw him a quick glare and reached over to pick up a couple of fried chicken pieces.

"So why'd you ask Jimin about the ring?"

"I see you haven't forgotten about that," Yuri rolled her eyes, biting into the juicy meat.

"It was too specific to be a random thought," he shrugged. "So, are you gonna tell me or...?"

"I don't know if I can trust you, Jeon," she replied, simply.

"W-what?" he spluttered on the noodles, gulping some water to stop choking. "I'm your partner! Why can't you trust me?"

"I don't know..." Yuri tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Is it because you only glared at me on my first day? Or is it because you haven't greeted me civilly even once since I joined? Ooh, I know! Maybe its all of these combined with the fact that you've been an uncooperative bastard since I got here."

Jeon stared at her guiltily, his eyes widening considerably - giving him an expression akin to a deer caught in the headlights. "You're right. I apologize for that."

"Against my better judgment, I'll accept your apology. But you have Yoongi to thank for that."

Jeon smiled into his noodles at the mention of Yoongi.

"You also have Yoongi to thank for what I did yesterday," she continued, setting down the empty container. "I nicked your 2nd Nov case file and went through it."

"You what? When?!"

Yuri waved her hand dismissively. "Details. Unimportant. Yoongi suggested I should and I did. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Anything else of mine you've nicked in the 5 days that you've been here?" grumbled Jeon, but there was no real bitterness in his tone.

Ignoring his comment, she pulled out her phone from the charging socket. "The reason I asked Jimin about his rings, is this -" she scrolled up to a particular picture and passed the phone over to him - "The ring found at the 2nd Nov crime scene is identical to the one Jimin wears on his left little finger."

"Are you sure...?" Jeon asked, raising an eyebrow uncertainly. "Even if it is, what's to say there aren't hundreds of other identical rings belonging to people across the country?"

"I did think that initially," Yuri took her phone back, and pulled up another image. "Which is why I asked Jimin about it during the interview. He said that it belonged to his mother. I'm sure you know this much better than I do but the late Mrs. Park came from a very old, distinguished family. That ring that Jimin was wearing is a family heirloom - from his mother's side. Here's an article that covered heirlooms of famous families in Korea, and it mentions the Park family."

Jeon took the phone from her, a frown forming on his face. The article was dated around 3 years ago.

"According to the article, there were three rings in total. One that belonged to Mrs. Park - which was buried with her after her death - and two others belonging to Jimin and his older brother Minhyuk. Not just that, there's a picture of Jimin and Minhyuk in the article, where they're both wearing the rings."

"Shit... You're right." Jeon pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "During the investigation, we just assumed that the ring belonged to the victim and had slipped off her finger during the struggle."

"Three rings," said Yuri. "One that has presumably been buried in a grave for over 10 years. One that was definitely on Jimin's finger today. And one that was found at the 2nd Nov crime scene."

"Minhyuk? You think he had something to do with it?" asked Jeon, sharply. "It was pretty clear that the drunk and homeless father of her child had stabbed her."

"Hear me out," she continued, opening her laptop this time. The food lay forgotten at this point. "I went through what we know about the victim - paints a pretty tragic picture. Although it wasn't always like that for her. She worked for a few years, saved up enough money before enrolling into a professional degree program at Busan National University."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Her time at Busan National University coincided with Park Minhyuk's Masters program."

"What?"

"Yeah, but," she continued, finding the university website. "She dropped out after less than a year because her father passed away, leaving behind a huge pile of debt. We know that her mother had passed away when she was about 10. Now if you look at her daughter's birth certificate, it would appear that she got pregnant while she was still enrolled at the university."

"Are you saying the baby was his?! There's a pretty big stretch from attended university at the same time to father of her child."

"Let me finish, would you?" she groaned, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Fine, go ahead."

"In order to see if they were acquainted with one another, I resorted to the most informative source available - social media. Our victim didn't have much of a social media presence, but I scrolled through anything and everything Park Minhyuk has been tagged in. And guess what I found?"

Jeon stopped eating, and moved closer to the screen to see a picture of a few university students having a picnic together. It was dated January 2016, and two of the people in the picture were recognizable immediately.

"Holy shit! They did know each other! And quite well apparently." Jeon wheeled his chair forward, bumping into her chair in the process. "Shit, sorry."

Yuri rolled her eyes and moved out of his way. She had no desire to get slammed into again.

"Since I'm not part of the original investigation, I thought of checking whether Park Minhyuk was in the country around the time of the stabbing with a different excuse. I called the company, asking if he was available to chat about Jimin. They said he's abroad at the moment. Has been since October, apparently. But- " she rummaged through the papers on her desk before finding the post-it she had hurriedly scribbled on a few hours ago - "Telecoms did an analysis and found that his cell phone has been operating in Korea for a while now. So...?"

"Either someone else has gotten a hold of Park Minhyuk's cell phone," said Jeon, frowning thoughtfully. "Or the Parks are knee-deep in murder and perjury."

XXX

a/n: sorry there was such a huge delay between chapters. i was writing out some of the chapters beforehand so that there wouldn’t be too many plot inconsistencies.

[deathsficbin]

Here I come sliding into home base on my ass as per usual. This one is different from my usual list of fics and not only because it's not even Star Wars. This one was written for the RvB Valentine's Exchange hosted by @rvbgiftexchange My exchange partner requested something with not only a less popular character but their OC too which is something I've never done before. I'm a stickler for getting everything "right" so having to ask questions and occasionally just go with my gut was hard. But it was a really nice challenge and I really enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone to get this one done. Hope it's what you were looking for @nyx-the-dreamer  

Fandom: Red vs. Blue

Rated: T

He sits quietly, dangling his legs off the side of roof. The sun is warm, he can feel it's heat even through the exposed bits of his bodyglove. He's on watch. What for he doesn't really know but it's loads better than being stuck in the basement listening to Sarge yell at Griff and Simmons. Or in the main room listening to Tucker walk Caboose through the rules for go fish again. Or in the control room listening to Donut spew worse entendres than Cronut ever had. Of the two, Donut is definitely the worst.

He still can't believe he's living under the same roof with these idiots. The time machine ordeal had been... messy. A few confusing months of distorted timelines, all spent in a dark prison cell somewhere on Chorus. Eventually things smoothed out and news that the Reds and Blues and saved the day once again trickled down to his personal hell. Then the bastards had showed up out of nowhere, Carson in tow demanding he be remanded to their care. He still doesn't know why. And frankly he still doesn't like any of them but Carson seems to get along with them and the food is a thousand times better so he followed along and puts up with his new "team".

"Hey."

Speaking of...

He turns to see the familiar form of his actual teammate crawling up onto the roof. Carson has always been a bit of an enigma too him. Kind, smart, and loyal to a fault. At first he had been just another teammate. Another means to the ultimate end of revenge against the freelancers and the UNSC. Now? Now he's a friend. The first he's had since... well, the first in a very long time.

"Hey." He answers. Carson sits next him, back propped against the wall and one knee cocked up while his other leg swings loose. He squints slightly, the afternoon sun shines directly against his face, casting shadows over his scarred eye. He's not sure what the scar is from. Carson doesn't talk much about his past, nor where he came from. He suspects it is the result of some childhood fight with an unfortunately armed opponent, or perhaps an animal attack. The eye itself works. Advanced cybernetics can be thanked for that but the scar is too old and too deep to be repaired. The skin would have to be dug out, replaced and grafted completely to get rid of the gouges and that simply takes too much time and money for the UNSC to afford. And at this point, the scar is a part of him. For better or for worse.

"Watcha doing?" He asks. Temple shrugs.

"Avoiding Sarge." He says. That much is the truth. He's not really keeping watch. Nothing to watch for anyway. Unless one wants to know where Tucker sneaks off too when he thinks no one is watching.

"Better stay out of the basement then. He's got Simmons and Caboose scrubbing the floor." Carson says. He snorts. Sometimes he wonders how these idiots have ever managed to survive much less actually save the whole of humanity.

"What're you up too?" He asks. He's trying. Griff and Tucker had, unfortunately made a good point months ago when they asked him what friends he actually had. At the time the answer had been none. Now, he's trying his best to be able to say he has at least one.

"Just got off Wash duty." Carson says, picking casually at his armor.

"How's he?" He asks. He doesn't really care. Agent Washington is still a freelancer. Still the enemy. He and Carolina both. But Washington is rather... different since they last met. Brain damage caused by cerebral hypoxia has made him almost childish in nature. Someone has to watch him at all times or else he'll get himself into rather avoidable situations. Temple is not allowed too watch him. Tucker and Carolina nearly shot him point blank when someone suggested it so he's been taken off the rotation. And while he's found he's no longer happy to see the freelancer's hurt, at the same time he doesn't particularly care. But everyone else does. And he's gotten good at pretending. Maybe someday he'll be able to trick himself into caring.

"He's managing to stay on one subject." Carson says. "Talks about cats. A lot. Like, fixates on cats. Which is good. That means he can string together thoughts but the fixation can be weird sometimes." 

Carson is rambling now. He didn't really want to know all of this but it matters to him so he's trying to listen. Trying to care. It's not going so well. He doesn't really know what to say so he tries for something in between caring and not interested.

"Yeah?" Apparently it's the right thing to say. Carson nods enthusiastically and waves his arms around wildly.

"Yeah. Yesterday it was bullets. He's more confused when when its things like that. I think they remind him too much of the injury." He says. Temple shrugs. Bullets. Brain damage. Washington. He's alive. He should be grateful he and Carolina managed to escape his decidedly genius trap months ago. But no. That's not right. He was in the wrong. Or at least he knows he should think that. He's not sure what he thinks anymore. Thoughts about the freelancers give him a headache and he can't make himself manage more than a shrug.

"But enough about Wash. Let's talk about something else." Carson says. Temple bites back a chuckle.

"Am I that obvious?" He asks. Carson grins. It's a nice smile. Not something he gets to see everyday and he really does enjoy the times he does get to see it.

"You're allowed to not like people. You're just not allowed to try and kill them." He warns. It was meant to be funny. He knows that much but he can't bring himself to do more than smile at it. Carson frowns.

"You ok?" He asks. Temple shrugs.

"I just- I don't know. We live on a base with our enemies. These guys tried to kill us and now we're all baking cookies together and babysitting their pet freelancer like one big happy family. How are you not fucking terrified right now?" He hadn't really meant to say all of that. Carson didn't need to know or deal with his insecurities but now that its out he's curious what his teammate thinks about their situation. Carson snorts and shifts. His forest green armor catches the sunlight.

"Well, compared to the twice a year family get-togethers I've been dodging, living with these guys is pretty damn tame." He says. He shifts again and scratches at his forearm. He does that sometimes, seemingly without thought. Possibly he has  an old injury that just aches sometimes. Or possibly tennis elbow from constantly pushing Donut away from the oven before he burns the entire base down.

"Besides. I'm here. So it's not all bad. Right?" He says. Temple shrugs. Yeah. He would still be in a jail cell if not for him, and at least with him around there is a familiar and kind face. At least he has a friend.

"Yeah. Not so bad I guess." He teases. Carson laughs.

"Oh is that all." He says. Temple turns to snap back but halts at the sight. Carson's face is red, an embarrassed flush standing out against his normally pale face. It not was He was expecting and suddenly he wonders if he's missed something. The smiles, undeserved loyalty, and never-ending kindness.

"Are you...? Are you making a pass at me?" He asks. The realization is sudden and jarring. How long has that been happening? Was this recent? Or had this always been the norm? Carson smiles. From below comes an annoyed snort. Temple looks down, unsurprised to see Tucker standing below them. He's leaning against the wall, either getting a breather from being inside with the others or deliberately eavesdropping. Likely both.

"Mind your buisness Tucker." He snaps. The cyan soldier looks up. His helmet is on but Temple can imagine the smirk.

"No way dude. I'm invested. He's only been doing it since for-freaking-ever ago." He snaps. Ok. Ok. So its been happening for a while than. A loose piece of debris flies across his field of vision, smacking against the Blue's head and bouncing to the ground.

"Shut up Tucker." Carson shouts. Tucker grumbles something, too quiet to hear but he turns and steps inside, the door shutting behind him. It's quiet again, the late afternoon sun shines brightly on its way down. Temple doesn't really know what to say at this point so he heaves a deep breath and peers at his companion.

"So...?" He asks. Technically Carson never replied. Never confirmed nor denied so technically he's the one that is supposed to speak next. Instead, his teammate stands, brushes himself off and shoots him a grin.

"Think about it. We'll get there." He says. He doesn't wait for a reply, turning and walking off to the doorway. It shuts behind him and Temple is left by himself.

He sits quietly, dangling his legs off the side of the roof. The sun is sinking low, it's warm touch fading, he can feel the cool air of evening even as his bodyglove's temperature regulation kicks in. He's on watch though he probably should have traded out long ago. What he's watching for he doesn't really know but it doesn't really matter either. It's loads better than being stuck in the main room listening to Tucker tease him about his years of blindness. Or in the basement listening to Griff and Simmons snigger at him. Or, worst of all, in the control room listening to Donut spew horrible entendres than he'll never be able to forget.

No. It's better out here. Out here he can think. He can watch. He can wait.

And out here, he can smile. 

[mymarvelbunch]

Different Roads... Same Destination: Part One

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader (established)

Summary: When the Avengers went back in time to get the Infinity Stones, new timelines were created. By not delivering them back to their exact same spots, you and Steve created major changes in those timelines. What happened? (Non-American!Reader)

This is a sequel to “Be Your Own Hero”. I highly recommend you read it first, since it features many major changes in canon that are addressed here.

Notes: Y/N = your (first) name; Y/Co = your home country; Y/Ci = your home city; Y/N/L = your native language (to be ignored in case you speak English).

Masterlist

Part One

New York, 2012

The Avengers were still trying to understand what happened when a loud ‘thud’ was heard. Tony turned to see the Scepter lying on the ground.

“Well, here is the thing Loki used to brainwash people”, he said. “But where is the Tesseract?”

“This isn’t the Mind Stone”, Loki said. “They placed the Tesseract in the Scepter.”

Everyone turned to him. He had already been right minutes prior, when he pointed out there were four Avengers from the future. Now the team was more inclined to believe him again, especially Thor.

“How do you know this, brother?”, he asked, frowning.

“The glow is different, for starters. And... I don’t know how to say this accurately, but I feel different when the Mind Stone is near me. Ever since those warriors came from the future and took it, I felt... lightweight, even if for brief moments. As if...”

Thor’s eyes widened. “As if the Mind Stone has some sort of power over you.” Loki nodded weakly. “Well, this is important information. Mother will certainly know to fix this. Stark, hand me the Scepter. It will be safer in Asgard.”

A SHIELD agent opened his mouth to protest, but there was little they could do as Tony gave Thor the Scepter. The Asgardian walked to the open balcony, his brother in his arm, and left, though not without asking his ‘brothers-in-arms’ to find the Mind Stone first.

“We’ll do surveillance around the Tower”, Runlow said, “with your permission, Mr. Stark.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure. I don’t want that thing near any of us.”

~~

“Wait”, Tony said. “Loki was under mind control back then?” 

You turned behind to face him, but a quick glance told you almost everyone was surprised. “You didn’t know? He told me back in 2014.”

Loki wasn’t there to defend himself, busy as he was being king, but Thor was. “Honestly, I didn’t know either, not until Asgard was destroyed. Loki told me on our way here that Mother chose to perform her purification spells out of everyone’s eye because... It would be better (or less worse) to have people believe Loki had turned evil than to have them know about Thanos. But yes, he was under Thanos’ influence through the Mind Stone. It wasn’t exactly like what he did to Barton and others, but close enough.”

That made an awful lot of sense. No one had a good answer for that, and they turned back to the ‘screen’.

~~

It took five years for the Mind Stone to be found. In the meantime, SHIELD was dismantled, the Winter Soldier was revealed to be a brainwashed Bucky Barnes and HYDRA was taken down piece by piece.

There was no Scarlet Witch, no Quicksilver, no Ultron, no Sokkovia Accords, no Zemo. Steve found Bucky in Bucarest in 2016 and, after weeks of talking and with Sam’s help, took him to New York. There, they faced another battle, as many people wanted him in jail for the crimes he committed as the Winter Soldier.

Surprisingly, their help came from Tony. “I know what he did to my parents, yeah. I read all those files Romanov leaked. But we all saw what brainwashing does to a person, huh?”

No, Tony and Bucky didn’t become friends. Despite his forgiveness, Tony was still wary of him; poor man had his own mental health issues to face already. But he was willing to pay the best lawyers to convince the public that Barnes had no control over himself for the past seven decades, and that the Winter Soldier was nothing but a weapon in HYDRA’s hands. It took time and money, but it was worth it, for Bucky was absolved and reclaimed his status as war hero.

Even so, he didn’t want to stay in US. “Too many memories”, he explained, and Steve understood. It all got worse when one of Tony’s employees found a glowing Stone in the elevator shaft. Thor wasn’t on Earth when it happened, so the Mind Stone stayed at the Tower for a while. Needless to say, Steve was worried, and Bucky was terrified.

“I found a place that might be good for you”, Maria Hill told him one day. “Y/Ci, in Y/Co. It’s a place untouched by HYDRA and with no evidence that the Winter Soldier ever stepped foot in there. No memories, no triggers.”

Bucky accepted the offer almost immediately, and Steve was happy to follow him. “I’ve had enough fights for a lifetime”, he said. “We should have retired from soldier duty decades ago, Bucky. We both deserve a normal life.”

It was early 2018 when they finally settled, and, upon Steve’s insistence, Bucky started looking for mental health care facilities.

~~

Your grip on Steve’s hand tightened when you recognized the mental health facility Bucky got inside. “I was an intern there at college”, you said. Steve’s eyes widened, and he grinned.

“Maybe Bucky will be the one to get you instead of me”, he teased.

Behind you, whispers could be heard.

“It’s weird to not see myself with you guys”, Wanda said. “I wish I could know if Pietro is alive.” Vision rested his hand on her shoulder, likely reflecting on how would his life be if he had stayed as a disembodied voice.

“Wakanda wasn’t even mentioned”, Shuri said. “I guess with father still alive, the borders remained closed.”

“Probably the reason why Bucky moved to Y/Co instead of Wakanda”, Sam added. “If people still think Wakanda is a poor country, no one would think of it as a mental health care reference.”

“I’m not mentioned either”, Scott said, “which is kind of weird, because I don’t see why I wouldn’t meet at least Sam.”

“Yeah, but there was no fight in Germany for you to take part of”, Hope replied. “They probably never contacted you again. Parker isn’t mentioned either.”

Someone shushed them.

~~

Even though he had scheduled it all by himself, Bucky didn’t want to go his first appointment alone. So, when Y/N called for Sebastian Stan (his new alias), he and Steve (who called himself Chris Evans) stood up together from their seats.

Inside, Bucky soon confessed his true identity. Your surprise was visible for five seconds, and then you smiled. “I’m glad you trusted me with such a delicate information, Mr. Barnes. But I wish you’d tell me your story with your own words, not just what was said about you on newspapers.”

Steve stayed inside the whole time, having also revealed who he was. Bucky didn’t tell his whole story at once, give there was a time limit for his appointment, but you asked him to come back in a week. “We can’t give you any concrete diagnosis for now, Mr. Barnes, though we have a few suspicions. But I assure you we’ll help you in every step of your recovery. You won’t be alone.”

After three more sessions, he was diagnosed primarily with PTSD, along with general anxiety disorder and memory problems (he had yet to remember key details of his past).

You were supposed to leave the facility at the end of the month, but your mentor offered you a prolonged stay. “You mentioned your next internship would be in surgery, and you don’t like it, right? I can pull some strings to keep you here. It’s not like you’ll need those skills to become a psychiatrist.”

You happily accepted his help. You’ve always been sure of what you wanted to do after finishing college; skipping surgery internship was honestly a dream come true, and you were eager to follow Barnes’ case. Your classmates didn’t know his true identity, but the case discussions made it clear you got one of the most complex cases at the facility, and some classmates envied you.

Your teacher was successful, and for the following three months you stayed, taking care not only of Barnes, but of other patients as well. It was a wonderful experience, and you were sure you had fallen into the staff’s good graces, which increased your chances at getting into residency program there after graduation.

As the weeks went by, though, you noticed something rather odd. Barnes had been getting inside the room alone since his fifth appointment, but Rogers still accompanied him, waiting for him outside. Eventually, you asked your patient why that was, assuming he’d say he still didn’t feel safe coming alone. Instead, he grinned.

“Oh, he pretends he comes for my sake, but he actually just wants to get a glimpse of you.”

You nearly choked on your own saliva.

~~

At your side, Steve laughed and hugged you tight.

“Guess I didn’t steal Y/N from you after all, punk”, Bucky said, grinning just like his alternate counterpart.

“Thank God”, you replied. “No offence, Bucky, but seeing us dating would have been way too awkward.”

“Couldn’t agree more.”

---x---

It wasn’t easy for Steve to convince you to go on a date with him. You were hesitant, given he was her patient’s best friend and roommate, but eventually you conceded.

“We won’t talk about Barnes at all”, you said firmly. “And if I sense this will affect my relationship with my patient, it’ll be over.”

“Yes, ma’am”, he replied instantly, willing to do anything to see you more.

You had charmed him from day one, and his interest on you only grew as weeks went by. When the day of your date arrived, he was a nervous wreck.

“Haven’t seen you like this since Peggy”, Bucky mentioned.

“Shut up, jerk”, he retorted. “And go hide, I don’t want Y/N to see you and cancel our date.”

“She’s got you wrapped around her finger and you haven’t even kissed yet”, he teased, but left to his room anyway.

A date led to another, and another, and another... Steve waited for you to leave the facility and stop seeing Bucky to ask you to be his girlfriend, and she promptly agreed.

A year later, when you met the Avengers for the first time, Thor told the story of how he, Loki and others fought Thanos when he invaded Asgard to take the Space and Mind Stones. Your eyes widened as he gleefully detailed the purple alien’s demise.

“Glad you defeated him still in Asgard”, Tony said. “We just found out about another of these Stones here on Earth. A wizard here in New York is its guardian.”

“Really? Give me his address, I figure we have much to discuss.”

You didn’t really understand all those talks, but Steve’s visible relief was enough information for you.

~~

On the current timeline, that same relief was visible among everyone. “A peaceful timeline”, you commented. “I hope there are more of these.”

After Strange showed what happened to the Avengers who were not featured, Wong took his place to show another timeline. You straightened your back as the ‘screen’ showed you briefly kissing Steve in Morag.

~~

Did you like it? I was looking forward to write about the consequences of those changes. Butterfly effect is strong here.

For those who don’t remember, in ‘Be Your Own Hero’ Loki tells the Reader he was under the influence of the Mind Stone in the events of the first Avengers movie. This is a popular theory that explains some differences between his behavior in that movie and his behavior on... well, any other movie he’s in.

In this, I try to touch on how things would be different if this information was made known right away, instead of being kept a secret. Being seen as a victim instead of a villain changes a lot for Loki’s story, and therefore Thor’s arc as well (The Dark World and Ragnarok’s. It also helps Tony understand Bucky’s story and actions better, since he saw the effects of mind control on Clint and Loki.

Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Ultron and Vision are all products of the Mind Stone, meaning that, in its absence, they don’t exist. The events of Age of Ultron are what make Civil War happen, meaning one doesn’t exist without the other. With no Civil War, nobody reaches out to Scott, T’Challa doesn’t become king to open the borders, and Peter Parker’s role in Tony’s life is probably less significant (though I do believe he mentors the teenager anyway).

If you want to follow my crazy ideas on time travel and its consequences, taglist is open!

[ask-the-phan-site]

Phan Cam: Thanks all around.

>November 26. Thanksgiving.

>The Virtual Track of Racer Academy. The Thanksgiving Day Race was now under way. The racers were ready.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! Happy Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving is different due to circumstances. However, we decided not to let that stop us from celebrating. Which is why we will still be having our annual Thanksgiving Day Race. Now, let us introduce the racers in our race. First up, my oldest nephew, X!

I hope you’re all ready for this! This is going to be unforgettable!

Headmaster Spritle: Next up, my younger nephew, Speed Jr.!

NOTE: I apologize, but this is the only image that could work.

Thanks, everyone! I hope this race will light up your day!

Headmaster Spritle: Next, Jared and Jesse Deucey.

Slice: We would like to dedicate this race to our dad, Ace Deucey. Sadly, we could only spend our Thanksgivings with plait glass between us and can only see our races on TV.

Dice: But if he could be here now, we know he’d be proud of his boys.

Slice and Dice: Pops, this is for you!

>Meanwhile, in a prison, someone was watching TV in the prisoner lounge.

(with a tear hidden being his glasses) My boys...

>Back at Racer Academy.

Headmaster Spritle: Next, from one of our overseas schools and has just made her transfer here despite the pandemic, Annalise Zazic!

I know most of you have your doubts about me, being the daughter of a mechanical menace. But I can assure you that while I’m here, you won’t have to worry... (now sounding threatening) I mean it. I’m nothing like him!

X: (whisper) It’s here, alright. Not a robot this time.

Headmaster Spritle: Next up, our student lesion from Alpha Academy, Alpha Leader!

This race will be a victory for both Racer Academy and Alpha Academy. And since the twins were honorable enough to dedicate this race to their father, I also like to dedicate this race a couple of close friends of mine... Wish me luck, Bobby and Cameron.

Thanks, Alpha. You’re a true pal.

You bet! Hey, we should go to Superboy’s bachelor party as soon as they give they okay!

Alpha Leader: We’ll see.

Nearby Race Fan: Question... Why is there a supervillain here?

Relax, that’s why me and the merman came along. To make sure he behaves himself.

Icicle Jr.: (trying to sound innocent) Can’t I help it that Sterling jerk hurt my fellow ice-guy?

We’re not going to take that chance. Miss Martian and Superboy would kill me if you did anything to hurt anyone. Especially in these times.

Icicle Jr.: Okay, okay.

Headmaster Spritle: Moving on. We have in the Mitch-mobile, Mitch Mitchson!

Aww, I’m just doing this for the people who can’t come here... That, and I’m hopin’ to get more subscriptions for Mitch-Per-View. And more subscribers means more money in the back.

Headmaster Spritle: And now, for our special guest racers! First up, the young genius inventor who will be driving the Mach 60, Ronald Multon!

(in an obviously fake accent) Roe-nald! It’s Roe-nald Muu-tan!

Oh no. Don’t tell me in this timeline, Ronald is still...

Ronald Multon: ... (laughs and speaks in the normal accent) I’m just kidding. Still, it is a pleasure for you all time see me here.

Conor: (a bit relieved) Well, at least he’s using his real voice.

Headmaster Spritle: Our next guest was once a student here, but he’ll be participating in this year’s race. Trey Sterling!

>Everyone was surprised to see... Trey’s spot on the starting lane was empty.

Headmaster Spritle: Mr. Sterling, you did say your son was coming, right?

Well, when I found his bed empty this morning, I assumed he already got up and got ready for the race.

Headmaster Sprtile: Are you sure about that?

Mr. Sterling: I’m sure he’ll be here any- Oh, here he is!

>Trey appears on the commentator’s balcony with an almost depressing air around him.

Mr. Sterling: Ah, Trey, you’ve come! The question is why are you up here when you should be down there with your car?

... I have... something... to say...

>Trey goes up to the podium and Headmaster Spritle moves aside for him.

Trey: I... I won’t be in this year’s race.

>Everyone gasped. Especially Mr. Sterling.

Trey: The reason is... Because me and my father had the race fixed.

Mr. Sterling: (shocked) What!?

Headmaster Spritle: (grinning a bit) I figured as much.

Trey: I had some of the racers attacked or paid them to either lose or drop out... I especially attacked those who disagreed with me... I became a race champion through a lie... I’m not a champion... I’m a cheater... In both sports and in love...

Icicle Jr.: (grinning widely) I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! JUST LIKE THE CALLING CARD SAID!

Kitty Pryde: (quickly) Yes, I know! Now shush!

Trey: I cheated on Bobby Drake and Annalise Zazic because I thought it would make me more popular... And I thought that because I was rich, I could get away with it... I treated them terribly... I even told everyone I would propose to Annalise at this race... But it was a lie just make more money...

Annalise Zazic: (shocked and enraged) WHAT!? You lying bastard! You never loved me, just my money!?

Bobby Drake: (smiling a bit) I know how you feel.

X: (thinking to himself) If Trey and Annalise are through, does this mean I have a chance at her? Wait, no, the race might still go on. I’ll think about this later.

Trey: But the one I need to apologize to most of all... is fellow Bostonian, Zack... Whose last name I never bothered learned... I treated him and his sister like like amatures when I myself was the real amature... (begins tearing up) They were a real professional team and I was just some spoiled brat living off his father’s money... I didn’t deserve that money... I’M THE REAL FAILIER! I’M SORRY! TO ALL OF YOU! (breaks down crying)

Mr. Sterling: (now sounding impatient, a first) Trey, my son, pull yourself together. You’re making a scene.

Trey: ...

Mr. Sterling: (now trying to pretend that this was all very normal) Come now, son, quit joking around, you have a race to win.

>Trey just sat silently without a response. Then, Mr. Sterling did something no one ever saw coming...

Mr. Sterling: (angry, real angry) Now you listen here, you piece of shit, I didn’t pull strings and bribed the board to let you back into this garbage school just to blow it! I swear... Sometimes I think I should have invested in Zack after all. At least he has real talent instead forcing me to fix races so I can bet on them to pay back Sharkhead Eddie for giving me the money start this wretched team!

Trey: (shocked) What?

Mr. Sterling: (realizing what he just said) !

Something tells me you have some explaining to do, Mr. Sterling.

Mr. Sterling: (trying to compose himself) You can prove nothing.

Are you sure about that? Because, we got this recording of you in our inbox this morning and we found the something very interesting about it.

>Mrs. Racer takes out a tablet wirelessly connects it to a holographic screen to show a scene of Mr. Sterling on the phone.

Holo Sterling: Relax, Eddie, I’ll get you your money. Me and my boy have this race in the bag. We fixed it. I paid some of the racers to go away for ‘certain reasons’.

Sharkhead Eddie’s Voice: Good. With this virus still going on, I think it would be best to gather up on old debts while I still can. So you better get me my money soon. Because if you don’t, then perhaps I should pay a visit to your mother at St. Terrence Retainment Home, unless she, like most of everyone else there may have COVID. Or maybe I should go see you sister, the beloved Dr. Sally Sterling, at her clinic in Chinatown, if she isn’t busy with the same virus. Or perhaps your brother, Samuel Sterling. I hear he could use more patrons at his restaurant. Or maybe your other brother, Professor Shelby Sterling, at Harvard University. Yes, I think we should visit him since his students switched to online learning. So, are we clear?

Holo Sterling: (scared) Y- Yes.

Sharkhead Eddie’s Voice: Good. Sharkhead out. (hangs up)

Holo Sterling: (nervous and enraged) That spoiled brat better now blow it.

>The recording ended and everyone stared at the nervous Sterling.

Mr. Sterling: Well, (nervous chuckle) I guess this is quite the predicament.

>Some security guards came and and cuffed Mr. Sterling.

Trey: (still sobbing a bit) I want to make up for what my father did. I will use the money I did earn and donate it. If that is alright.

Mr. Racer: Well, what you did was still a bit unforgivable, but I guess it’s a start. How about to us since the money your father donated to us is clearly not his?

Trey: I could. As long as I have enough for B.O.M.G.T.M. or W.E.B.

Mr. Sterling: (in disbelief) W.E.B.!? You want to give money to those idiots? Especially the fat homo who disappointed me by not rebuilding the school that I was actually hoping to invest in it this time, so instead, came up with that?

Trey: (getting upset) His name is Max Modell. And it was his old lab partner, Peter Parker, who came up with W.E.B.

Headmaster Spritle: He’s right. I think you should start there... But for now, all your attacks on the students and other racers could have gotten them hurt. Even killed. So you still have to answer to the police.

Trey: I... I understand.

>The guards came and cuffed Trey and lead both him and Mr. Sterling away.

>Down in the pits, we saw the whole thing unfold.

Yes! We got it.

We shouldn’t forget to thank Futaba for recording that conversation. We had a feeling something was up.

I just happened to be browsing the school security system and just happened upon this footage. I just thought that something like this needed to come out.

You did well, Futaba chan. I’ll see if you can get an extra helping of pumpkin pie.

X: Forget it. Grandmom says you only get one each. She said getting second helpings of anything wouldn’t be fair for the others.

Speed: It’s true. You should have seen her at the Easter Party. I’ve never seen anyone so mad just for asking for another chicken leg. But there might be some left-overs. We’ll see.

I call dibs on the left-over turkey and ham!

Oracle: Not before I get the turkey first.

Hands off the stuffing.

I would like try all of them. I remembered the last Thanksgiving Dinner we were invited to and liked it.

Yes. I miss that tofu turkey. And I should really ask Dogg what herbal spices he used in it.

If there are any left-overs, I wonder if Grandmom Racer will let me take some back to my father.

I doubt you can get any of it past customs. Especially during a pandemic.

Oh, we have our ways.

(on Carmen’s phone) I’m not sure what that means, but okay.

Oracle: Wish you could be here, Player. It’s way more better than having to see it from a “dark little cave”.

Player: Hey, I’m happy in my dark little cave. Besides, you know us Canadians have our Thanksgivings way earlier than Americans.

Hold on, I think they’re continuing.

>Back on the balcony.

Headmaster Spritle: With that out of the way, we should move on. Good thing we only have one left. And now coming all the way from Los Angeles...

>The sound of an engine can be heard coming. But sounded more like... the roars of flames.

Th- That car!?

That’s a 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner. And it appears to be in great condition.

I think they’re more concerned on who is driving it.

Joker: Fox?

Fox: It... It can’t be...

>The car opened... and the driver came out.

Here I am, Racer Academy. Happy Thanksgiving.

D- Dad...

REMINDER: This is a fanmade timeline. Fox and other Persona characters are not really related to characters from other franchises as according to ATLUS. These relations exist only in this fanmade timeline. Please do not hate or sue me for this. Thank you.

Everyone: (except Joker) WHAT!?

Shush! I don’t think he heard you guys!

>But he did. The man the Fox and I were going to see was right here. He turned to us. He seemed to have recognized Skull as an Idol, Panther as a model, and Crow as a famous detective. Then, his eyes fell upon Fox... He was slightly shocked.

Taro Kitano: ... Kitagawa Sensei?

Headmaster Spritle: It looks like the Leader of the Scorchers has seen a ghost. But let’s not cross into that thorny territory. Now, we shall-

If I may, Headmaster Racer, but now we have an empty space in the starting lane. This simply will not do.

Headmaster Spritle: But we’ve had races with one less racer before. I don’t see why that should be a problem.

Professor Aniskov: True. But this time, I must insist. We need someone to replace Trey Sterling.

>Back down with us.

*Chirp*

Conor: Chim-Chim’s right, Zack, this is your big chance to race again.

That’s great, Conor. You, too, Chim-Chim. It would be like a dream come true... But I’m gonna have to turn it down. My racin’ days are long behind me now. Me and Ivy got a new goal in life.

I’m sure we will race again someday. But right now, Carmen needs us and we need her. Until V.I.L.E. is down for good.

Carmen: And besides, Player says our little calling card got A.C.M.E.’s attention. They’re on their way here now, so we gotta leave.

Joker: I see. That’s a shame.

Carmen: Hey, we had a wonderful time with you guys. We should try this again some time.

Sophie: Will we see each other again?

Carmen: (winking) Sooner than you think.

Joker: Carmen, before you go...

If you ever cross paths with my favorite cousin, tell him I said “Hi”... Even if they will happen soon.

Carmen: I’ll be sure to do that.

Player: Hey you guys, they just passed the gates.

Carmen: Happy Thanksgiving. And Happy Holidays.

>With that, Carmen, Zack, and Ivy run off and were gone... Who knows when we’ll see them again. Then, a black car drives up to us and two people in suits came out.

La Femme Rouge! We just saw her here! Where did she go!?

Joker: I’m afraid we have no idea who you’re talking about, Agent Devineaux.

Agent Devineaux: (a bit surprised) How did... Never mind, I know you saw her!

Calm yourself, Devineaux! If we just saw her, then we should follow her where she might have went.

Agent Devineaux: ... I knew that. I just wanted to see if you knew.

Oracle: (whispering sarcastically) I’m sure.

Agent Zari: Happy Thanksgiving.

>With that, the two A.C.M.E. Agents leave.

Conor: I wonder if I should have told them that I put cloaking technology in their getaway car?

As detectives, me and Wolf frown that you aided and abetted a criminal...

But as Phantom Thieves, we say “Right on”.

Conor: Thanks.

Headmaster Spritle’s voice on the speakers: Speed, X, can you send our Japanese guests up here, please? We wish to talk to them.

Speed: Alright! You guys better go. We’ll meet up after the race. If we’re still having it.

Joker: Right. See you all later.

>With that, we leave Conor and the others for now.

>Meanwhile, with Taro Kitano, he goes back inside his car... He is not alone.

Taro Kitano: So the rumors are true. Aren’t they?

I am truly sorry you had to find out this way.

Taro Kitano: So what now? You want me to talk to him? To get to know him?

Goemon: (shaking his head) Yusuke's in no hurry to meet you. Right now, he is content with how things are. He’s in college, he’s a talented artist, he has many good friends... And even someone he can share his heart with.

Taro Kitano: You mean that frizzy-haired guy with the glasses? I see. They look so happy together. It definitely reminds me of... me and her. When I look at Yusuke, I see his mother. And when I see his boyfriend, I can’t help but see myself. And I don’t even know the guy... Except in the ring.

Goemon: You’ll know soon enough... Speaking of comparing yourself with Ren, I have a favor to ask you.

Taro Kitano: (confused) Me?

Goemon: Or rather, someone on your team.

>Up on the balcony, we meet up with Headmaster Spritle, Speed Racer Sr., his wife Trixie, and Professor Aniskov.

Queen: You wanted to see us, Headmaster?

Headmaster Spritle: Professor Aniskov insists we can’t start the race without someone taking Trey’s place... And he suggests one of you do it.

Phantom Thieves: WHAT!?

Professor Aniskov: If it’s not too much trouble.

Mona: Well don’t look at me, Ryuji, Yusuke, Futaba, Haru, or Sumire. We’re still learning.

Wolf: Me and Akechi were asked to assist things with the Sterlings. They thought having a couple of detectives would make things a little more smoother. So we’re out.

Queen: I don’t think Sis would be too happy for me to spontaneously join in a big race like this.

Panther: And I promised the modeling agency I would take a few pics here as inspiration for their next session.

Fox: Then that would just leave...

Me?

?????: Pretty much.

>Then, my parents arrived with the wheelchair bound Defensive Driving teacher, Professor Winn, and Speed and X’s grandparents, Mom and Pops Racer..

Joker: Mom, Dad, so glad you guys decided to stay.

You didn’t think we’d actually miss this, did you?

Nor I. This is proud day for all of us.

Jonny: And who knew it would be on Thanksgiving.

Mrs. Racer: What do you mean?

As some of you may not know, but Mr. Amamiya here had just taken his driving examination with me as the supervisor.

Jonny: I’ve been helping him, too. Ever since last summer.

Professor Winn: Well, after much evaluation and seeing how well you managed your driving, whether it be regular, casual, cruising or even racing, I can honestly say... You passed.

For real!?

Queen: Congratulations, Ren.

Crow: Well done.

Mona: That’s our Joker.

I’m very proud of you, Ren.

Thank you all... Especially you, Yusuke.

>Me and Fox embrace each other lovingly.

Professor Winn: (taking a camera from her chair) Okay, smile!

>Everyone and Fox moves aside as Professor Winn takes my picture. Then, something prints out and she gives it to me.

Jonny: (smiling) You did good, kid.

Mom: Yes, well done. We’re so proud of you.

Thank you all.

Professor Aniskov: (clapping a bit) Now that that’s settled, I think we can get this race started.

Joker: I’m still not sure about this. I don’t even have a car. I mean, I do have one, but I don’t think it’s meant for racing.

Jonny: Professor Aniskov says he has that covered.

???? ??????: Hey, down here!

>We look down at the track. We saw that members of the Scorchers were hauling in a car.

Taro Kitano: Everest is letting you borrow his car for the race! So you better get down here, now!

Mom Racer: Well I’ll be.

Pops Racer: Yeah... (We finally have a speaking role here.)

Speed: (calling from down below) I have something for you, too! Chim-Chim!

Chim-Chim: *Chirp*

>Chim-Chim takes a package up to the balcony and give it to me. I open it up to find it had a white racing suit with some black and two patches on the chest. One a red circle with a white 5 on it that looks like it came from the logo our game. The other patch had a picture of a white coffee cup with some steam coming out with a fancy CL on the cup. There was also a white helmet with a large black stripe in the middle with a red line on each side of it.

Speed: (calling through Chim-Chim) It’s my old racing suit. I don’t use it anymore, so you can have it. But I did change the patches. Consider it an early Christmas present. And a thank you.

Joker: You’re welcome.

Mr. Racer: (a little confused) Thanks for what?

Speed: (awkward) I’ll tell you later, Dad. Right now, we have a race to get going.

Pops Racer: (looking stern) You better tell us later.

Mr. Race: (also looking stern) You bet.

>Chim-Chim climbs back down to Conor. Panther snaps her fingers and I magically change into the racing suit.

(this is the only picture that could be found that is similar) How do I look?

Headmaster Spritle: A bit like Speed when he first started here. Seems only yesterday he first started here... Wait, hasn’t he always? Never mind. It suits you well.

I think my heart just skipped a beat. If only I had my sketchpad, I would preserve this moment for life.

Joker: (smiling) You can do it later. I’ve got to head down.

Wolf: And me and Akechi have to deal with the Sterlings.

Crow: I just hope Trey will be cooperative.

Panther: And I have some pictures to take.

Queen: The rest of us will be at the stands if you want to join us. Text us when you’re ready to join us.

Mom: We will join you.

>We leave. Then, Professor Aniskov stops me for a bit and does something no one would ever think he would do... He gave me an encouraging smile... And a wide one at that... Wait a second.

Professor Aniskov?: (whisper in a very familiar voice) Good luck out there... Favorite cousin. (wink)

Joker: ...

(also whispering) Thank you, favorite cousin. (out loud) It’s showtime!

>We leave the balcony.

Headmaster Spritle: Ladies and gentlemen, filling in for Trey Sterling is one of our Japanese visitors, Ren Amamiya!

>I get in the Thunderbird. Then, I get a call from Speed, X, Slice, and Dice.

Dice: Good luck, Leader!

Slice: You’re gonna need it.

X: Hope you can keep up.

Joker: Can you?

Speed: Pretty bold. Let’s race!

>With that, we begin our engines. A holo-screen shows staring lights.

>Ready... Set... GO!

>We drive off. We go around the regular track once before the arch to the Virtual Track opens.

Automatic Voice: Virtual Track, activated!

>We drive into the Virtual Track. The track was made to look like we were on a giant table where a giant Thanksgiving Dinner was set up. The dishes, foods, and drinks were the obstacles, including a gravy boat spilling gravy around.

>In the stands, Fox, Mona, Skull, Queen, Noir, Oracle, Violet, and Sophie were watching the race when Bobby Drake, Kitty Pryde, Icicle Jr., and Lagoon Boy come to them.

Bobby Drake: Enjoying the race?

Queen: Well, Ren is still in 7th Place. But all in all, it’s going great.

Icicle Jr.: I don’t know about him, but I’m rooting for Alpha Leader. Look, he’s already in 4th.

SPLAT!

Oracle: (laughing) Until he drives into the mashed potatoes.

Commentator: Oh, right into the mashed potatoes.! Hope Alpha Leader can dig his way out. Now, Annalsie Zazic has passed him, narrowly missing the yams! But can she get by the slicing ham?

Kitty Pryde: (cheering) Don’t give up, Alpha Leader!

Yeah, you can do it, Alpha Leader! Keep going!

Skull: (surprised) Yoshizawa san, just who’s side are you on?

Violet: (a bit surprised herself) Sorry, senpai. I can’t just disagree with my favorite X-Man when she’s sheering for her favorite racer.

Kitty Pryde: (smiling a bit) I’m your favorite? I’m quite honored.

Violet: I’m so glad to hear that, Shadowcat san.

Kitty Pryde: Oh, you can just call me Kitty, Sumire Yoshizawa.

Violet: You know about me?

Kitty: I know a thing or two about the world of gymnastics. Plus, we know Spider-Man and the Future Avengers and they told us a lot about you guys.

Bobby: Yeah, we recognized you guys from what they told us, the past two Dream FESs, and those Dancing in Starlight videos.

Lagoon Boy: Yeah, Nightwing and the others told me about you as well. And a certain connection.

Queen: I see. So you have also been having dreams.

Lagoon Boy: How do you think we came to know Alpha Leader and each other?

Icicle Jr.: Yeah, we’ve been having dreams about him and each other for a long time. Ever since the last Dream FES... Along with that guy.

Skull: What guy?

Bobby: Well, maybe it would be better to show you. If you don’t mind.

Fox: Actually, I wish to stay and support Ren.

Sophie: I can record the race for you so you won’t miss much.

Mona: Thanks, Sophie. Okay, we’re coming.

>With that, Mona, Skull, Queen, Noir, Oracle, and Violet follow Bobby, Kitty, Icicle Jr., and Lagoon Boy.

>In a parking garage, they arrive at a black SUV with the X-Men logo on it. It was parked next to an old fashion roadster. Then, Lagoon Boy knock the back of the roaster with the “Shave and a Haircut” rhythm.

??????: Finally! I thought we were gonna die in here!

??????: Hurray! This lovely bear can become the prince he was meant to be! It was getting cramped in here.

??????: Only because you were wearing the suit when we got taken! You should have taken it off when we were leaving!

??????: But I lost my mask! I needed something to protect me from the virus!

??: I’m sure you were only doing what you needed to do.

??????: Thank you for that, Sensei.

??????: Kiss up.

??: Don’t worry, Yosuke, you’re still my best partner.

Yosuke?: (happily) Thanks, Partner.

Kitty: Okay, enough with the shouting, we’re getting you out now.

Bobby: Just try not to kill us when we let you out.

>Bobby opens the trunk. And out comes...

Ah, at last, fresh air! You guys know we can’t get to close like that, do you? We might get the virus.

I feel like an can survive anything with Sensei around. Even in enclosed spaces.

What!? You guys!?

Ryuji san? And the others? You’re here, too?

Queen: Yes, but how are you three here?

Yosuke: (unhappy) Ask him. (points to Icicle Jr.)

Icicle Jr.: (putting his fingers together) Well...

>Flashback.

>Junes Department Store, Electronics Department in Inaba. Yosuke had just finished work for the day. However, it was a slow day.

Teddie: Not many customers today, huh, Yosuke?

Yosuke: What did you expect? Because of the virus, only essential businesses are allowed to open. So the customers are only going to parts of the store that sells the essentials. And I doubt they include electronics unless they need replacing or if they want to do some early Christmas shopping.

Teddie: I see. (sighing sadly) I sure miss playing with the kids that come here. I haven’t even seen Nana chan in a long time. I miss her.

Yosuke: You just video chatted with her this morning.

Yu: (coming in with three take-out bags from Aiya) Talking to each other on the computer and talking in person are very different from each other.

Yosuke: Yu, you’re here?

Yu: I didn’t have time to make dinner tonight, so I picked up some take-outs. I would have ordered it, but due to the lockdown order, Aika’s really busy with other deliveries... There should be some left over to take to Nanako and Dojima san. So I guess we can visit them after all.

Teddie: (dramatically) Thank you so much, Sensei!

Yosuke: (unimpressed) Don’t get too excited, bear. We need to save some for Nanako and Dojima san.

NOTE: Before we go further, let me explain. By this point and time in this fanmade timeline, Yu, after graduating, moved back to Inaba. This time, for good. Yosuke had also moved out of his parents’ house. However, Mr. and Mrs. Hanamura didn’t want to be left alone with Teddie because of the messes he always leaves behind, so they convinced their son to take him with him. Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie all move in together in an apartment that was just a block away from the Dojima residence so they can visit each other whenever they want. Yu and Yosuke attended college in Okina City, though, Yosuke continued to work part-time at Junes and Yu started work as a gas station attendant at Moel. After they finished college, they still work their jobs because Yosuke is still trying to figure out what to do with his life. Though, after a long time of always listening to music on his headphone, dancing at the Love Meets Bonds Festival, and performing at the Dream Festival, he might consider something in music. As for Yu, he wishes to work in Psychology, but that requires him to study a little more into it, so he’s still works at Moel. And Teddie... Well, he does have an “exclusive contract” with Junes.

>Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie make their way through he parking lot to Yu’s car where Yosuke’s scooter was also parked. Then suddenly...

?????? ??: Hey, are you Yosuke Hanamura?

Yosuke: Yeah, who wants to-

>They turned and are surprised by who they saw.

Yosuke: Y- You’re...

Icicle Jr.: Sorry about this. Don’t worry, I’ve been training with Iceman.

>With a blast of ice, Icicle Jr. froze Yosuke and Yu. Luckily, they were both still alive.

Teddie: (boastful) Ha! Betcha didn’t know that ice doesn’t work on moi!

BANG!

>Teddie is suddenly knocked out by a wrench. He didn’t see who did it.

>End of flashback.

Teddie: So that explains the small bump on my head. Good thing I was wearing my bearskin or else it would have been serious.

Queen: So you kidnapped three people from Japan and smuggled them across the sea to America in the middle of a global pandemic?

Yosuke: I think the real question is... Why?

Icicle Jr.: I just wanted to confirm some stuff... Like that you guys are the Phantom Thieves. Besides, do you have any idea how hard it is to book a flight overseas in a global pandemic?

Noir: So you know who we are, huh?

Lagoon Boy: Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone. This is out of respect for your friends. And we warned Icicle Jr. that we would send him off to Belle Reve this holiday season.

Icicle Jr.: I’m really hoping to spend it with an old friend of mine... To help her get over that her boyfriend isn’t around to spend it with her.

Kitty: (unsure) I don’t think she’s ready to go back into the fray yet.

Lagoon Boy: It’s true.

Icicle Jr.: (shrugging a bit) I don’t know. If Superboy and Miss Martian can even get engaged, there maybe hope for me yet.

I think we got bigger issues here. Like how you brought these guys here without even testin’ ‘em first.

Kitty: Got you covered. (takes a scanner from the SUV) We bring some with us whenever we go looking for new mutants. We may have powers, but apparently, we’re not immune to COVID. (scans Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie) They’re good.

Yosuke: Well that’s a relief. (rubbing some sore spots) But even though I’m not sick, I’m hurting all over from being stuck in there. Why couldn’t you have just kept us in the nice roomy SUV instead of the tiny trunk of this antique? Who owns this thing anyway?

Bobby: Another good friend of ours... Including you, Yosuke.

Yosuke: (confused) Mine? Who would... Wait, now that you mentioned it, I have seen this car before... in a dream.

Yu: Same here. When I think about that dream, I have the oddest feeling that I should thank you. But for what? I know you helped me a lot, Yosuke, but what I should thank you for is something else.

Yosuke: Yeah. But I just can’t remember. Then again, that dream isn’t as clear as... No, we should think about that one.

Yu: I agree.

Teddie: (confused) I don’t get it.

Yosuke: If this car is what we think it is... Where’s the owner?

Lagoon Boy: Most likely outside watching the race.

Yu: Race? What are you talking about? And where are Joker and the rest of the Phantom Thieves?

Sophie: (on Oracle’s phone) You’ll meet Fox, Panther, Crow, and Wolf in the stands. As for Joker, you should see for yourself.

>Sophie was now showing me now neck and neck with Annalise on a bridge over a casserole.

Yu: Is that a casserole?

Violet: We’ll explain later. Right now, they’re waiting for us.

>With that, they all head back to the stands.

>Back on the stands, Fox, Panther, Crow, and Wolf were surprised to see Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie here. They explained what happened.

Wolf: (whining) Please, one crime at a time. We already just dealt with the Sterlings, and we’re celebrating here.

Icicle Jr.: I just said I was sorry.

Queen: By the way, where is this friend of yours?

Bobby: I guess he stepped away for now.

Yosuke: Can you blame him? It would be awkward for a French guy to be at an event for an American holiday.

Violet: Hey, Senpai’s catching up to Taro!

>In the Virtual Track, I was catching up to Taro Kitano with rows of glasses of sparkling cider surrounding us. Some of them kept falling to try and drown us.

Commentator: Ren is gaining up on Kitano. Can fresh college student pass a seasoned pro?

Just so you know, I’m not going easy on you just cause you and my son are dating, kid.

Joker: I don’t expect you to. I wanna beat you fair and square. We’re all equals here.

Taro Kitano: Good. Hope you’re ready for this.

Announcer: This is it, folks! Speed, X, Kitano, and Ren are at the final part of the race. The man course itself: THE TURKEY!

>Before us was a giant cooked turkey the was guarded by robot turkeys with titanium drills for beaks.

Speed: Time to carve this bird!

You bet! It’s showtime!

>We managed to tear are way through the robot turkeys. They drill hard, we be are harder. Then, some of them were now ganging up on Speed and X.

Joker: We can’t let them get drilled by robot turkeys, will we?

Taro Kitano: I guess. Fine, we’ll save them from the robot turkeys... Now that’s something I never thought I’d say.

>We managed to drive up and beat the robot turkeys with the cowcatcher on the Thunderbird and Taro Kitano with his car’s hook. Finally, they were gone and Speed and X drove up ahead.

X: Thanks for that.

Speed: Now let’s go!

>We make it to the end of the rack. The exit portal arch looked like an eaten-through pumpkin pie. We drive in and back into the real world. Once out, Speed was the first to cross the finish line, then X, then Taro Kitano, and I was the last one. The remaining racers followed.

Commentator: And that’s that! Speed Racer Jr. comes in a spectacular 1st Place! His older, brother, X, in 2nd! Taro Kitano in 3rd! And Ren Amamiya in 4th!

>The crowd was cheering loud. I could see my friends in the stands. Wait, why are Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie here? Actually, never mind, this is a great moment for me. Then, I look up to the commentator’s balcony. The Racers were smiling and waving that Speed and X came in 1st and 2nd. Then, I look to my parents who are waving to me. Then, I looked to “Professor Aniskov” who was also waving to me. Finally, I turn back to the stands and see Fox.

????????? ???????: WHERE IS HE!?

>Uh oh, the jig is up. I see the real Professor Aniskov wearing nothing but his boxers, a white tank-top, and a very angry look on his face. With him is my favorite cousin’s favorite every-vigilant inspector.

Excuse me, Racer Family, but I found this man tied up in a closet somewhere. You wouldn’t happen to know where to find a man who looks just like him, would you?

>The other Aniskov was already gone.

Jonny: (smiling) Not at all, Inspector.

Mr. Racer: ... Not me, either.

Headmaster Spritle: Nor me.

>The other Racers just shook their heads.

Professor Aniskov: (upset) Are you serious!? He was just here!

Inspector Zenigata: Don’t worry, Professor. I’ve been chasing Lupin for the longest time. Knowing him, he can’t be that far.

>You don’t know that half of it, Pops.

>In the same parking garage, the other Aniskov had just come in when a car shows up.

Cutting it rather close, aren’t we? I’m not sure Fujiko would want to spend Thanksgiving alone this year.

Professor Aniskov?: (laughing) Don’t forget, Jigen, I have family, too.

Jigen: Even though he’s not related to you by blood?

>Then, the other Aniskov removes his disguise.

True... But do you want to tell his Persona that?

Jigen: ... Good point.

>Suddenly, someone comes running in. It was Pops Zenigata.

Inspector Zenigata: LUPIN, YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!

Lupin III: Took you long enough, Pops. Probably because ACME came here looking for my rival and told you to stay back. But I’m afraid I have other plans to get to. Happy Thanksgiving!

>Lupin III gets in the car where Goeman was already seated and Jigen drives them off. Pops tries to chase after them... But the car they my friends were just at drives up and blocks him. Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon get away.

Inspector Zenigata: (angry) Hey, what’s the big idea!?

>Icicle Jr. walks in.

Icicle Jr.: Sorry, Inspector! My friend was just leaving.

Inspector Zenigata: I should have known crooks like you and him stick together.

Icicle Jr.: Hey, don’t blame me for that thief’s escape. I was just seeing my friend off before I go to the feast with my other friends.

Inspector Zenigata: Grr! Fine. But you better watch yourself. One of the heroes you face is here today.

Icicle Jr.: (smiling) Who do you think invited me?

>The inspector just stood silent with his teeth gritting. Then, he ran off after my favorite cousin. Then, Icicle Jr. goes over to the driver of the car.

Icicle Jr.: Hey, thanks for helping Lupin and his friends escape... And thanks for helping me bring Yosuke and his friends here. I really appreciate it.

Anytime, Cameron. Anytime.

>Another successful heist.

NOTE: I apologize that this post was a bit long, we tried to cram as much of this day in as possible.