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deadforprettyboys · 5 months ago

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2nd time EVER writing something, wish me luck!

'I Bumped Into My Nemesis In A Hallway And All I Got Was An Australian Himbo Boyfriend' by Fall Out Boy - G.Waller x Reader

warnings: banter, arguing kinda, lil itty bitty bit of angst! kinda hints towards smut?? minors dni!!

(not proofread lmao)

Grayson walked down the halls of this week's Smackdown arena, championship belt on his shoulder, confidence (or arrogance) as prominent as ever. He had no plans for a match or even an appearance this evening, so he found himself aimlessly wandering the hallways, when all of a sudden he bumps into his so-called arch nemesis, because it wouldn't be a fanfiction if he just paced the arena for an hour.

"Well, if it isn't Y/N," Grayson sneers. "I should have figured you'd be in my way somehow. Do us both a favor and stay out of my path in the future, yeah?"

Y/N meets him with a "Love you too, Waller." before even a beat can pass. "Watch where you're going, dickhead. We both know this isn't my fault. How about instead you stay out of my way so that I don't have to kick your ass!" Y/N sneers right back at him.

Grayson rolls his eyes, clearly unamused by Y/N's response. "Oh, please, spare me the empty threats. You're not gonna do anything, you know that. You're lucky I even acknowledge your presence."

"Oh please, as if I give half a damn whether you 'acknowledge' me or not. 'Oh, Grayson, you're so important, please pay attention to me, I'm begging you!' God, grow up, asshat." Y/N mocks, hoping to get a rise out of him.

Grayson scoffs at Y/N's mockery, his expression hardening with annoyance. "You really know how to push my buttons, don't you? But let me tell you something, sweetheart. When you're the Aussie Icon, people begging for your attention is the norm. And trust me, you're not the only one who's grown up, I'm just on a whole different level." He smirks with an annoying amount of confidence.

"You act like a 30-something year old frat boy who peaked in high school but still wants to seem cool to the 'youngins'. And that haircut isn't helping, babe." Y/N knows she's lying through her teeth just to make him mad, but all's fair in love and war, right?

Grayson's nostrils flare as he grows more irritated by the minute. "First of all, I'm not some old codger stuck in the past. And as for my haircut, I'll have you know that it's a classic style. I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, with your boring, uninspired look."

"Haha, very original insult. Calling my style boring, really? You don't have anything better up there in that ol' noggin of yours? Come on, now." Y/N feels a pang of guilt being this mean to Grayson, sure, they squabble often but it's all in good fun. But this almost feels a bit too far, like she needs to lighten the mood a little. But she doesn't, only continues to egg him on.

Grayson's annoyance turns into anger as he clenches his fists, trying to maintain his composure. "Oh, you want originality, huh? How about this, I've seen more personality from a brick wall than from you. You're plain and forgettable, just like your insults."

That stung a bit. Hearing the guy you've been hopelessly crushing on for 2 years say you're forgettable? Ouch. She'd almost believe it, too, if this didn't happen every week.

"Yeah, yeah, don't forget, I'm gross, annoying, always in your way, etcetera etcetera. Admit it, Waller, you're obsessed with me. How else are you literally ALWAYS bumping into me, huh? care to explain?" She prodded.

"Obsessed? Me? Please. I have much better things to do than pay attention to you. You're just... unfortunately always there. And if I do bump into you, it's only because you're constantly standing in my way. You're like a thorn in my side, a mosquito buzzing in my ear." Grayson tried to convince both Y/N and himself, though they both knew it was a lie.

"And I'll continue being that thorn in your side as long as I live. I get such a kick out of watching you lose your temper, it's absolutely hilarious!" Finally, something to lighten the banter a little. Y/N giggles after her sentence just to rub in the point a bit more.

"Oh, I bet you do. You get some sort of sick satisfaction out of getting under my skin, yeah? Well, guess what? I'm not going to give you the satisfaction. I'll stay calm and above it all, no matter how much you try to annoy me."

"Way too late, babe. You've already lost it once." Y/N grins. "Let's see how long you can keep up the act, huh?" Y/N smirks up at him, knowing he can't keep his cool forever.

"Don't call me babe," Grayson says through gritted teeth. "And I haven't lost anything. I'm in full control of my emotions. I may have gotten irritated at your childish behavior, but that doesn't mean anything. I can keep this up all night, so don't test me."

Y/N smiles wide, "oookay, babe, let's give it a try, then!" She begins lightly tapping him on his arms and chest, trying to get on his nerves as much as possible. Grayson's jaw tightens as he struggles to keep his temper in check. He takes a deep breath, attempting to stay calm. "Do you really think your little taps are going to bother me? I'm not some fragile flower that's going to snap just because you touch me."

Y/N frowns. "Aw, bummer. I was really hoping you'd just shatter in front of me so I didn't have to look at that face any more. What a shame."

Grayson's temper flare even more, his patience wearing thin. "Shatter? You wish. I'm tougher than you could ever imagine. And my face, you know you're secretly jealous of my good looks. Admit it. You can't keep your eyes off me."

"Very funny, Waller. You'd be one to talk, huh? I've seen you staring at me from across the room more times than I can count. What's the deal with that, anyway? Am I so pretty you can't stand it? Do you like me so much you have to steal a glance whenever I'm around?"

Grayson glares at Y/N, his cheeks slightly flushed. "What? Me staring? That's ridiculous. I don't... I mean, yeah, you're attractive, but that doesn't mean anything. It's not like I'm... it doesn't matter. Shut up." He looks away, embarrassed. Y/N can't help but find it endearing.

"Woooow, I finally got the cocky, arrogant boy all flustered, huh? Lucky me. How cute." Y/N smiles, a genuine one for once, rather than a smirk.

"Shut up," Grayson growls, trying to regain his composure. "You didn't get me flustered. Don't think so highly of yourself, princess. I just wasn't expecting you to bring up me... noticing your appearance. That's all."

"You brought it up first, did you not? And hey, I couldn't have noticed you staring if I didn't look over at you now and then, right? I never denied it when you accused me of staring, did I?" She's playing with fire now, but it feels so good. This could go one of two ways, horribly wrong, or horribly right.

Grayson swallows hard, feeling embarrassed at being called out. "Fine, so maybe I've looked once or twice. It doesn't mean anything. I'm not some lovesick puppy drooling over you. I just... I happened to notice you, that's all."

"Right, right, and the sky is gray. You're obsessed with me, Grayson. Admit it."

Grayson huffs, clearly annoyed at Y/N's insistence. "I'm not obsessed with you! I'm the Aussie Icon. I have admirers and fans lined up at my feet. I could have anyone I want. I don't need to be obsessed with you."

"You certainly don't need to be obsessed with me. But you sure do seem to be. Hell, you're right. You could have anyone you want. So then, why don't you?"

Grayson opens his mouth to respond, but closes it again, clearly flustered by the question. He crosses his arms in a defensive gesture. "It's... complicated, alright? I don't have the time or patience for relationships, okay? I'm focused on my career and becoming the best. I don't need the distraction."

For all she knew, it could've been the way he phrased it, or the fact that she was finally letting herself be a little bit vulnerable, who knows. But that hurt. And she chose to believe him this time. "Right, of course." Y/N frowns slightly, trying once again to hide her true feelings. "Good luck becoming the best, Gray." She began walking away, not wanting to deal with her slowly breaking heart in front of the one who's breaking it.

Grayson watched as Y/N walked away, a pang of guilt tugging at his chest. He hesitated for a moment, his mind and heart both racing.

Then, he suddenly called out.

"Wait!"

She turned around slowly, scared to hear what he may say next. "What's the problem now?" She manages to stutter out.

Grayson rubs the back of his neck, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "I... Look, I didn't mean to be such a dick, okay? And I don't just see you as some thorn in my side. You're more than that, whether I want to admit it or not." He starts walking towards Y/N slowly, trying to make up the distance from her leaving before.

"Grayson, are you running a fever or something? Is this a prank? Is there a hidden camera?" She had never seen him be so honest, so vulnerable. She didn't know what else to do other than make dumb jokes to lighten the mood.

Grayson laughs softly, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. "No, I'm not running a fever and there's no camera. I'm serious. I've just... I've never been good at expressing my feelings, okay? I always act like a jackass because it's easier that way. It's a defense mechanism or something."

"I could say the same about acting like a jackass, honestly. It's so much easier."

Grayson smirks, a hint of humor returning to his usually cocky demeanor. He takes another step closer to Y/N, his gaze still intense. "Yeah, you definitely have a knack for being a pain in my ass. But it's... endearing, in a way." Y/N takes a step back, still very nervous, but finds herself against a wall instead.

"Endearing... how?"

Grayson takes another step towards her, closing the distance between them even more. He leans against the wall, his face only a few inches away from hers. "Endearing because it gets under my skin, but in a good way, if that makes sense. You don't listen to me, you're not afraid to push back, and you never let me get away with anything. It's frustrating, but also... kind of refreshing."

"Oh yeah? I could say the same about you." She smiles up at him, feeling a small jolt of confidence rush through her. Grayson can't help but crack a small smile at her witty remark.

"Well, look at us, finally agreeing on something."

He studies her face for a moment, his gaze lingering on her lips for a beat longer than necessary. She notices and follows suit, looking at his lips for a moment too long before snapping out of her trance and turning away to look at the floor.

Grayson notices her eyes dart away and the blush on her cheeks, a wave of confidence washing over him.

"Hey," he says softly, gently lifting her chin so that she's looking at him again. "Don't look away. Look at me." He smiles at her, a genuine one, and she's sure it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.

She looks into his eyes for a moment or two before whispering "if I look at you much longer, I won't be able to keep myself in check any more, Grayson." His heart races as he hears her words, her soft voice sending a shiver down his spine. He leans closer, his face so close to hers that he can feel her breath on his skin.

"Who says you have to keep yourself in check?" He muses.

With this, she finally stops holding herself back and quickly leans in, closing the distance between them and kissing him with such force that he nearly stumbled backward. He stood shocked for a moment before kissing her back with a passion to match hers, grabbing onto her waist and pulling their bodies flush against each other as he deepened the kiss.

After a few minutes of practically grasping onto each other for dear life, they finally have to pull away for air, but still hold onto each other and remain as close as possible. After a moment of gazing into each other's eyes, Y/N speaks up. "Finally. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." She pants.

Grayson is equally out of breath, his heart thudding in his chest. He can't help but smile, his hands still on her hips. "Oh, really?" he teases. "I had no idea you were so desperate for me, princess." At this, she slightly pushes Waller on the arm. "Shut up, I know I'm not the only one who wanted that to happen."

Grayson laughs, not at all offended by her playful shove. "Okay, okay, you got me. I'll admit, I've thought about it, too." his smile turns into a mischievous grin, "But hey, you were the one who initiated it first. Couldn't get enough of me, could you?"

She chuckles and blushes, looking away slightly. "Maybe, maybe not, who's to say?" Grayson raises an eyebrow at this. "Oh, now you're playing coy, huh? You can't just kiss me like that and then act all nonchalant about it. I know you just couldn't resist me any longer."

She leaned up to his ear, "and maybe I still can't."

Grayson's smirk widened as she closed the distance between them again. His hands gripped her hips, pulling her body against his again before he pulled away from the kiss.

"Careful, Y/N. You're playing with fire."

"Fire was meant to be played with, baby."

He laughs, looking down at her and smirking.

"Well then, princess, let's play."

#grayson waller x reader #grayson waller smut #grayson waller #a town down under #wwe smut #wwe x reader #writing #fanfic #i can't tag for shit lol #x reader fic #crush x reader

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marvelous-llama · 1 year ago

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EXO recs

<<original book

most of the mentioned works is 18+ NSFW, MINORS DNI

pls don´t hesitate to hmu, if any of mentioned links doesn´t work or you have suggestions for more fics... thank you so much for all the love and comments

one shots

Be Mine by @bvidzsoo

Baekhyun x f.reader (wc - 18.5k) sugar daddy AU - smut Sometimes you meet the most weirdest people at the most unexpected places. Kang Y/N, you, is just a simple, broke, university student who goes out clubbing to try and relieve some stress where she meets Byun Baekhyun, young CEO, who miraculously proposes to be your Sugar Daddy...but you are stubborn, will you accept?

goodnight n go by @its-not-sof

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 3k) friends to lovers - fluff, smut

How To Kiss A Boy by @gyudior

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 1.3k) - fluff how to kiss a boy: 1.) grab his waist, 2.) slip your hand in his pocket, 3.) steal his wallet, 4.) don't even kiss him, just run

What If I Kissed You? by @kwanisms

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 2.5k) roommates to lovers - fluff, bit of angst Moving in with your best friends ex boyfriend sounds like nothing but trouble, even if he has a girlfriend. But what happens when they break up?

Better Than Revenge by @byunified

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 20.1k) - fluff, angst, smut, romance All those years you are convinced that you only like the same gender. However, after ending a long-term unhealthy relationship, you decided to start anew. Not expecting to meet new people, and him.

Don´t Go by @anyamaris

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 2.7k) best friends to lovers - fluff, angst, smut Your longtime friend is thrown off by you mentioning going to dinner with a mutual friend and the misunderstanding causes events that you'd only played out in your dreams.

Enchanted by @byunified

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 21.1k) time travel AU - romance, angst, fluff Tired of constant fights of your parents, you found herself in the attic where an old wardrobe stood at the corner years before your family moved in the house. What could an antique furniture do to change your life? Meet someone from the past? Because you totally did.

Guys My Age by @bvidzsoo

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 6.7k) best friend´s brother - fluff, angst(ish), smut Baekhyun was your best friends brother. You grew up knowing him and his sister. Having feelings was a thing,,,but him liking you back, not so expected. You had enough of stupid high school guys, but did Baekhyun want you?

home by @baekhyunsbestie

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 4.4k) established relationship - fluff, smut

sweet by @kaleidohscopic

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 4.4k) friends to lovers, mutual pining - fluff, suggestive it's one thing to run into the guy you maybe, used to have a little bit of a thing for at your mutual friends' birthday party. it's another thing to find out he maybe, used to have a little bit of a thing for you too.

series

For Me by @spacequokka

Baekhun x fem!reader (wc - 6.5k + 7.3k) best friends to lovers - fluff, smut When your best friend Baekhyun asks you over to his place for dinner, you see this as your chance to make your feelings known. But what to wear? You drag him with you to pick out a dress sure to drive him up the wall. part 1, part 2

Siren by @cyberexo

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 7.1k) supernatural, strangers to lovers - fluff, smut part 1, part 2

Lost and Found & Stay the Night by @icequeenbae

Baekhyun x fem!reader (wc - 3.3k + 3.2k) exes to lovers, second chance - fluff, angst, smut (only 2nd part) Baekhyun bumps into you while dropping his friend’s niece off in daycare. It’s been almost three years since you’d disappeared, so you definitely have a lot to catch up on. Especially because your carefully maintained secret is now out…

City Lights by @suhoerections

a collection of stories

#exo #exo x reader #exo recs #baekhyun #byun baekhyun #baekhyun x reader

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gghostwriter · 7 months ago

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Entangled Strings of Fate

Chapter 3. My torch stays burning

Spencer Reid x FOC

Summary: Caltech, Pasadena - Cleo considers herself a woman of logic. With an IQ of 158 and an eidetic memory, how could she not. But meeting Spencer, the boy genius to hers, had her believing in intangible theories like the invisible string and the fates. Now, if only he would notice the depth of her feelings. Set in Caltech, pre-season 1 and will progress from there.

previous chapter || series masterlist || next chapter

"Growing apart doesn't change the fact that we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I'm glad for that" - Allie Condie

Cleo considered each invite from Spencer an oath—a vow meant to be delivered through each time. Never mind that she had past cases to study or how she initially promised her sister that she’ll attend the family dinner—skipping that was a plus, honestly, she’d rather spend her time in his precious company. She thought about the multiverse all of a sudden and wondered if in those different shards of her, is she still enjoying his presence or is this they only universe where they crossed paths and stayed together? She hoped not. She’d like to believe they were meant to find each other’s company no matter the circumstance.

Sneaking a peek at him, she knew she had digressed from her present. A present where she found herself with a warm glass of tea on hand and on his rooftop apartment, admiring the night sky. Earlier, he explained he was on an extended leave from the FBI, not that he needed to take a leave really but in his own words, he didn’t feel right about being on the field while his mentor, Gideon, was pulled from the field after Boston, and had called her up to fill his nights with conversations and company.

“Did you know that comets smell like rotten eggs?” He mentioned one night while admiring the night sky. “To be exact, they smell like rotten eggs, urine, burning matches, and almonds. Traces of hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, sulphur dioxide, and hydrogen cyanide were all found in the makeup of the comet 67P—better known as Churyumove-Gerasimenko.”

Cleo laughed. “Usually comets and meteors are often romanticized but finding out that they smell like rotten eggs definitely ruins the poetry behind it.”

“Actually the idea behind wishing upon a shooting star started thousands of years ago. During the 2nd century, astronomer Ptolemy believed that stars were gods or, at least, signs from the gods,” he rambled on. “Another version comes from the Mi’kmaw nation living in Nova Scotia. They believe that two stars took two sister to heaven. One of the stars represented an Eagle while the other a Hawk. Soon the sisters found themselves bored and strived to return to their people. Hoping to return to Earth, they requested the first human named Kluskap for their return. Kluskap agreed but with the condition that both sisters won’t ever look back. Later on, when they were both sent back to Earth, the younger sister broke the promise and was turned into a shooting star.”

“That kind of reminds me of the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice,” she commented on, going off tangent.

He nodded, having understood the connection her mind was going for. “Most people considered Orpheus’s actions a noble, romantic deed in the name of love but Plato viewed it as cowardice for not dying to meet Eurydice right away.”

“But isn’t it because Plato had a negative stance on art? In a woman’s perspective, the whole notion of the man doing everything to get back the woman he ardently adored is the ultimate act of love,” she defended with a slight scrunch of nose from the cold biting air.

A ring interrupted their comfortable silence.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, looking at the caller ID and letting it go to voicemail.

His interest was piqued. “Who is it?”

“Remember that guy who I met in the bookstore—Robbie—and went out with for a maximum of three dates? That’s him,” she took a sip of her tea before continuing on. “The dates were fine, just fine, and I even met some of his friends on accident—”

“But?”

“—but, it felt wrong. Like he was showing me off as this genius that he bagged rather than as a woman he’s interested in.”

She sighed and looked at the city night lights. She knew she was a genius, graduating from Caltech with a degree in Political Science at the age of 16 and entering law school right after can attest to that. But that accomplishment was sometimes a detriment in making genuine social connections.

“I’d love to find someone who can appreciate me for who I am and not with what I can offer. God knows I have enough of that from my parents.”

He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “And you deserve that. If there’s anyone who deserves that, it’s you.”

“You also deserve someone like that, Spence.” She softly smiled. “Someone who sees how much of a great guy you really are.”

“Morgan says I can’t get a date since I come off as awkward and tend to spew random facts when nervous,” Spencer said.

Knowing Derek, she knew he stated that in a jest but she couldn’t help but hear the slight hurt in Spencer’s voice. “Well, I for one think you’re amazing. The right girl would think the same way too, Spence. She’ll find your ramblings interesting and cute, just like I do.”

She glanced down at her watch. Time always seemed to move too fast when their orbits circled around each other. “I should go.”

“Garcia, Morgan, and I are meeting up for coffee and pastries at the usual corner coffee shop tomorrow. Would you like to come?” He asked as he was guiding her to a cab. “Garcia’s been hounding me to bring you around and I quote ‘I miss my ma chou.’”

“Count me in,” she laughs as she gets into the cab. “See you tomorrow, Dr. Spencer Reid!”

———

Based on scientific studies, consuming sugar increases serotonin levels—the happiness chemical. The brain then keeps craving this “happy” chemical again and again. Maybe that was why Cleo knew she made the right decision in accepting his invitation for breakfast. There was nothing like a cup of good coffee and a freshly baked pastry on a Saturday morning. Add a mix of Penelope’s bubbly self and Derek’s fun persona, the weekend was already starting on a bright note.

“Oh my goodness, I think you got much more beautiful since the last time I saw you, ma chou,” Penelope greeted as she went in for a hug.

“And you’ve gotten more radiant since then, Pen,” she gushed back.

“How are the two of you this lively early in the morning,” Derek quips. “Hey pretty girl, how’s law school treating you?”

She sat down beside Penelope and subtly looked around for any sign of Spencer. “Good, can’t really complain specially with the bar exam coming up.”

“If you’re looking for pretty boy, he’s over there buying your coffee and pastry,” Derek took notice of her searching eyes. There was no hiding from a profiler, after all. “ So tell me, did he make a move yet?”

Her jaw slightly dropped while Penelope squealed in her set, no doubt also wanting to know. “Derek, you know its not like that,” she rushed out to clarify. “We’re friends, best of friends!”

Derek and Penelope shared a look. A look that she has been very familiar with ever since their first meeting . It was a look of disbelief and teasing. She knew the whole BAU team had a vested interest in the progress of their platonic relationship. It wouldn’t even surprise her if there was a wager going on who would crack first.

“Oh doll, you know it’s more than that right? I mean look at you both together, a match made in heaven, Penelope stated as she took a sip of her drink. “What could be more perfect that an prosecutor and an FBI agent together? The power couple if you ask me.”

“I’m not a prosecutor yet,” she huffed out.

“You didn’t deny it though?” Penelope teased back. “So you agree, you both are a match made in heaven?”

“More like a match made in genius,” Morgan added. “C’mon Murphy, Reid may be as dense as those law books you read but I’m not, you can’t fool my profiler eyes. You’re in love with him, ever since I’ve met you.”

“I swear its really not like that. Now, can we change the subject please before he comes?” She pleadingly asked as Spencer was approaching with her coffee and pastry in hand.

“Here you go,” he handed the goodies to her. “I got you a freshly baked slice of banana bread, a hot cappuccino, and a Palmier for when you get hungry later.”

She smiled, cheeks turning vibrant red, and thanked him. With his care and her reaction, no doubt Derek and Penelope were staring at them in disbelief.

“Unbelievable,” Derek muttered as Spencer took his seat beside him.

“What was that?” He asked, having not heard his mumble.

Derek appraised Spencer with an eyebrow arched up. “Nothing pretty boy, nothing at all.”

#criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x fem!oc #criminal minds fic #spencer reid fic #criminal minds fanfiction #Spencer Reid fanfiction #gw fics #esof fanfic

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foster-the-world · 6 months ago

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Onward and Upward

Last day of school. Onward to 3rd grade, 2nd grade and 4K. Can't believe she's going to be a "big kid" in the 3rd grade. They grow up so fast, its goes too fast, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah.

They were happy this morning. Certainly no learning will take place today. Bee's teachers is bringing her 9 and 13yo. Bee loves, loves, loves the 13yo. Our flight to my parents house is 8pm tonight. Got an email that we could change for free due to bad weather. It looks like maybe the storm is coming in later. Fingers crossed.

The girls had their awards ceremony last week. Disappointingly 2nd grade only did "you completed 2nd grade" awards for everyone. Lame. 1st grade had individual awards but they were generic - leadership, academic excellence. Rebel won both big awards because she's a teachers pet type. I had to miss because I don't have vacation hours at work. My husband said all of the kids were really excited for each other. I loved, loved Bee's teachers awards last year. Every kid got two very specific awards. They were very, very sweet and captured each kid beautifully. The kids tried to guess who she was talking about and they were 100% correct because the teacher really understood each kid so well. I had tears in my eyes. One of my favorite things is to see my kids being known and loved by other people. I wondered if it would be less so with a kid who has much more challenging behaviors. But nope. Baby boy was very well loved and known this year also. His teacher sent me a long text message about how much she is going to "miss her boy." She also sent a ton of pictures that capture him really well. Bee wrote "You are a great teacher. You treated me like family" in her teacher's card. So sweet. Teachers gifts sent off (flowers + gift cards). Feeling relieved to have all of the end of school year stuff over with.

I'm enjoying Clair Lombardo's books. I got a bunch of new books for baby boy on hold at the library. Found some about personal space. He's more of a crasher into other people so I'm not sure it will translate but let's see. His social skills class finished yesterday. If insurance paid we would keep sending him but I don't think its worth the steep price for what he got out of it. He understands social rules he just doesn't always follow them. They have a summer camp - nice to know for future reference.

The ADHD parent coach has given us some good suggestions we are trying out. We mentioned taking him to stores is difficult. He wants to run around and touch everything. I think it would work better in the suburbs where they have carts. In NYC we try to hold his hand while holding all of our purchases. Stores are smaller so less space for him. Anyway, he suggested we try it when we don't actually need to buy anything. That way we have time to set rules for him (stay near us, don't touch everything) and can leave if he's not following through. We are also going to put him in charge of finding one item. He can then buy/keep the item if he follows all of the rules. He gets three warnings. Normally we only take him when we have to buy something so we can't follow through with the threat of leaving if he doesn't listen. Not sure why we didn't think of this before. Fingers crossed some practice will help him/us out.

His sitter said he is interested in reading the pamphlets/how to's from the ADHD parent coach. Which is appreciated. Once again thankful to have so many people who want my kid to succeed.

His sitter owns a backpack company. Such a cool idea. They are really high quality: https://shiftbackpacks.com/ I'm really hoping they go viral at some point. I suggested he try to get in the NYC private school circuit. Those rich people have money and are all about letting their kids express their emotions.

Bought my husband (and I) tickets to Sturgill Simpson in October for his Birthday. Birthday present done and I get to see a concert = yes, please.

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nsuri20 · 9 days ago

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Ranking Taylor Swift's Surprise Song Combos (US Edition)

Now that The Eras Tour has concluded, I am back with my final rankings! This will be part 1 of 3. This is ranking US surprise song combos. Please keep in mind that this is ranking the COMBINATION of all songs played on both guitar and piano together for the night. So each night of tour only gets 1 spot. I will be posting International surprise song combos soon and then a cumulative list later on. We'll see which city comes out on top! This is the list I came up with. The winning city is: Nashville, TN! The Speak Now announcement + the surprise songs (Sparks Fly & Teardrops on my Guitar) were just too much to overcome. Congrats to 2nd place Cincinnati, OH (I'm Only Me When I'm With You & evermore) and 3rd place Las Vegas, NV (cowboy like me & White Horse) for some fantastic choices. See the full ranking below!

Sparks Fly & Teardrops on my Guitar

I'm Only Me When I'm With You & evermore

cowboy like me & White Horse

Begin Again & Cold As You

Holy Ground x The Albatross & Cold as You x exile

A Place In This World & Today Was A Fairytale

Our Song & You Are In Love

Forever & Always & This Love

Should’ve Said No x I Did Something Bad & loml x White Horse

Sad Beautiful Tragic & Ours

The Prophecy x This Love & Maroon x cowboy like me

Starlight & Back to December

Speak Now & Treacherous

Should've Said No & Better Man

Holy Ground & False God

Dear John & Daylight

New Romantics & New Years Day

Our Song x Call It What You Want & The Black Dog x Haunted

I Don't Wanna Live Forever x Mine & evermore x Peter

Message In A Bottle & Tied Together With A Smile

this is me trying & State of Grace

Jump Then Fall & The Lucky One

Hey Stephen & The Best Day

mad woman & Mean

Paper Rings & If This Was A Movie

Haunted & I Almost Do

Tim McGraw x Timeless & this is me trying x Daylight

I Wish You Would & the lakes

All You Had To Do Was Stay & Breathe

You All Over Me & I Don't Wanna Live Forever

Mr. Perfectly Fine & The Last Time

The Other Side of the Door & coney island

Out of the Woods & Fifteen

seven & Fifteen

Dress & exile

Stay Stay Stay & All of The Girls You've Loved Before

Welcome to New York & Clean

Our Song & Snow on the Beach

mirrorball & Tim McGraw

Wonderland & You're Not Sorry

Death By A Thousand Cuts & Clean

Last Kiss & dorothea

Afterglow x Dress & Clean x How You Get The Girl

I Bet You Think About Me & How You Get the Girl

Picture to Burn & Timeless

Death By A Thousand Cuts & You're on Your Own, Kid

Would've Could've Should've & Mine

Question…? & Invisible

Cornelia Street x The Bolter & Death by a Thousand Cuts x The Great War

I Think He Knows & Red

Getaway Car & Maroon

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things & Everything Has Changed

All You Had to do Was Stay x Out of the Woods & Guilty as Sin? x mirrorball

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys x This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things & False God x 'tis the damn season

ivy & I miss you, I'm sorry & Call It What You Want

I Know Places & King of my Heart

gold rush & Come Back...Be Here

Espresso x Is It Over Now x Please Please Please & Hits Different x Welcome to New York

Hits Different & The Moment I Knew

The Great War & You're on Your Own, Kid

right where you left me & Castles Crumbling

High Infidelity & Gorgeous

I Can See You & Maroon

Never Grow Up & When Emma Falls In Love

That's it for the US! Tell me what you think in the comments (but remember this is MY list). What songs did your city/night get? International combos coming soon!

xx n

#music #taylor swift #taylor nation #eras tour #taylor #taylors version #the eras tour #taylurking #ts the eras tour #ts theories #surprise songs #surprise song mashup #mashup #sing #nashville #cincinnati ohio

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clover-midori · 1 year ago

Text

THE OCTONAUTS MERMAID AU

PACK YOUR BAGS

“Natquik?”

The critter spoke to him, with his voice… of such familiarity. It was… something Natquik would have heard before, but it didn’t hit him.

There's just no way, the fox thought, as he kept looking in front of him. Was this REALLY Barnacles, having come ashore like this? This POLAR BEAR with the tail of a BELUGA WHALE under his waist? Was THIS the one who fell into that ice cave in 2004? Was it? Who WAS this? WAS it REALLY the REAL Captain Barnacles Bear than so many adored across the Meomiverse, by critter AND creature?

Yes, it was.

“Oh, oh my GOODNESS!” Natquik cheered, running over to give the polar bear a hug. “It’s you! It’s REALLY you! BARNACLES! My BOY!”

Barnacles laughed, just as delighted to see his old friend once again. “Well, even if I’m confined to the sea, a good captain never leaves their walking crew behind!”

“…uhh, I do want to apologize for not showing up any earlier. It’s been hard maintaining the wreck site of the Octopod, so bear that in mind…”

Everyone could just TELL that the captain didn’t go even an INCH above the sea. These last few days, his fur went into contact with the water, and only the water, yet it was still nice and soft, even if the skin below was scarred. They weren’t bleeding, though, so they weren’t going to be a nuisance of any sort. Barnacles didn’t like thinking about his scars, even if they taught him lessons of all sorts.

“So THAT’s where you’ve been!” Marsh facepalmed in realization. “I guess it’s reasonable to stay there anyways… though when I came down there, it was an absolute mess-“

“Yes, yes,” Natquik joined back into the conversation. “Ranger and I took the GUP-A and drove down there to help Tunip and whoever else, but… well, there were… Hey, what happened?”

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Barnacles, having been shook by hearing that, snapped back to respond, a little confused by… them being down there. “I… had no idea you two were nearby earlier. When… was this?”

This went from awkward to straight up embarrassing. Did he make them impatient? He hoped not. He was getting hesitant. Not a whole lot but just enough to start losing words. Which took only a little bit of this concern. No wonder he wasn’t feeling absolutely abysmal through the week; for how much contact he had with the Octo-Agents, apart from that, he was entirely disconnected. Right now, if anything, the Octo-Alert would be going off for the 2nd or 3rd mission this week. How many things have happened this month? Just 1, on October 2nd. 2 days before the crash. Sure, it was just 5 to 6 days now, and usually that wouldn’t make so much of a difference, but he was CAPTAIN BARNACLES. The one who always stayed alert for any situation. And what was he doing? Not that. The moment he realized all of this, he could’ve sworn that his heart skipped TWO beats.

His mind was all over the place for one second, and then he put his paws in his face, ashamed that he failed to do his job he’d have been doing right for 13 years now. A streak of 13 WHOLE YEARS, and he finally broke it. Being the CAPTAIN, the LEADER of the Octonauts, you know that’s most certainly unacceptable.

But was it his fault? No, it couldn’t have been. Hurricane Selma was something beyond his control, and even if he and his crew nearly died, and even if it resulted in the almost complete destruction of the base he called home away from home for years, he DID try to make the most of their predicament.

Heck, why did he chew out Kwazii and Shellington in the past for all their mishaps with the GUPs, when he knew he was near NO better? Don’t even get him started on the fact that he called everyone to the HQ, no one came, the crash happened, and he ended up getting hurt pretty badly because the windows shattered. Everyone else was mostly fine because they didn’t follow his advice. They were thinking right in this situation, EVEN Peso and Dashi.

He was getting too used to being so perfect and overwhelmed all the time. Now that it finally hit him after more than a decade, it hit him SUPER HARD on the head, right between his eyes.

“Barnacles, I’m talking to you. We were there TODAY.” Natquik, worried, raised his voice, trying to get his attention by grabbing his pectoral fins.

“Oh dear… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I…” The polar bear hyperventilated a bit, shaking his head in regret. He couldn’t stop going into deep thinking. “I’m just reflecting on what happened, and I think I was too hard on everyone, including myself…” he sighed, curving his tail around in the sand. “Just be honest, from the times you’ve seen me with my crew… have I been TOO critical?”

Natquik had to admit, for how long he spent working (mostly) alone with only Tracker sometimes, he still knew THIS bear very well… and yeah, Barnacles WAS kinda like what he asked. Not that he was absolutely terrible for it—he was a CAPTAIN, and probably the nicest one ever—but it WAS something he could work on. Shellington HAD told the arctic fox long ago about everyone’s shenanigans, and Barnacles was something he documented for days.

End of the day, though, Barnacles was just trying his best to take care of his friends and family as much as he could… even if it didn’t work out THAT well in the end.

It was a good thing everyone was alive and well.

Maybe Barnacles needed to think of something else. Enough with the existential crises. Fuck those. He knew there was a smaller, more closer issue. Somehow that helped more than something in the past… no, that actually made sense when he thought about it.

It started to click with him that while he’d have seen his sister, he hadn’t seen his cousins. That was ironic. Usually it was the other way around. He usually saw Orson and Ursa all by themselves, but Bianca was nowhere to be seen. Of course, during those times, Tracker was just looking after Bianca back at her den in the Northwest Territories, and that Orson and Ursa were… Well, Tracker didn’t know what they were up to, Bianca just let them go. It wasn’t awful parenting for a polar bear; matter of fact this was probably normal as these cubs were slowly growing up and would have to get used to it eventually…

However, this is MEXICO, not Canada. Bianca’s home was FAR away. And if Tracker was up here, and Bianca down in the Pacific, and if both were mermaids—Tracker had probably transformed TODAY while Bianca got turned about a few days ago—then that was probably a sign that maybe, just MAYBE, those two cubs came with either their mother or something like that…

"Uncle Barnacles! You’re here!"

Oh, just perfect timing, the captain thought. They’d have been hiding in the GUP-A the whole time. What a coincidence, wasn’t it…

“So is THAT why I heard breathing coming from the back of this thing?” Marsh laughed. “Oh me, oh my, I LOVE this job…”

Funnily enough, Orson and Ursa FULLY believed what Koshi said a while back, and they were INSANELY delighted to see their UNCLE like this. That was a GOOD sign, matter of fact. Mom was nearby, no denying that!

Periwinkle was a little shook as well, but not as much because he already saw that other polar bear not too long ago. Compared to Tracker, however, he could totally respect Barnacles. That man KNEW what he was doing most of the time. He was just trying to keep knots tight, trying to keep everyone safe after that disaster.

The older the otter pup got, the more he understood that. Sure, he got the basics at first, but now he could really express his gratitude. Maybe one of these days… as he went back to looking at this Samsung Galaxy S5 he got his hands on from a week ago.

Mum must be proud as well.

Everyone then overheard Yeshi’s flip phone going off. Barnacles didn’t even know he was here, but he enjoyed some company most of the time, so no sweat.

“Yeh, it’s Yeshi. Is that you, Shellington?” The dachshund spoke, having each of the crew, and Paani’s thighs, both on speed dial. “What’s up?”

“What? No way! These guys have to see this! Give us 5 seconds, alright?”

Uh oh? Maybe. Whatever that was, it was a good excuse to see what Marsh meant by "an absolute mess", which in and out of itself already sounded pretty freaky. And this was MARSH saying this. And that bunny had SEEN "an absolute mess" before, ESPECIALLY after Hurricane Elsa’s horrendous landfall in Florida 2 years ago, so you KNEW he KNEW what he was talking about. And you’d think Barnacles WAS aware of just HOW MUCH of a mess was left… even AFTER the crash. He wasn’t. Hopefully this quick trip back would help.

He just couldn’t handle the fact that his… DAD, if anything… was waiting here for nearly a whole week. Having left him behind after one call that didn’t explain much… that felt more than cruel, that felt TORTURING. It was a good thing he could see him at SOME point, even if it WAS over the… due date. Was there even a due date? No idea. Did he ever mention that? Nah, surely not. Definitely a good idea to STILL see Natquik before the end of the week, (well, THIS week, the crash was last week) that was for sure.

The dachshund hung up, and approached everyone with a look that conveyed “this is gonna be so good yet it’s gonna be absolutely awful”.

“Oh, hey Captain Barnacles,” he gave a smile and a wave to the main mermaid, not really caring about him also being like this since he’d have witnessed Paani and Tracker earlier. “Uh, what’s the maximum speed of the GUP-A?” he then asked, making sure he’d be able to catch up.

“Are we really headed back there? Already?” Barnacles looked over at him and at the water in concern. It had only been about 25 minutes, so what was going on now?

“…it’s not you, it’s the Octopod,” Yeshi explained. “It’s not being destroyed. Matter of fact, it’s… completely fine. All I can say is, well…"

"Pack your bags."

Pack your bags.

PACK YOUR BAGS.

Eh, he probably just meant to get ready, the captain thought. No biggie. He could crawl his way back into the water. Paani and Tracker definitely, ESPECIALLY the former, needed some of that blue as well.

“Ah, just look at all of this,” Natquik chuckled. “Seems like we’re having a nice time, aren’t we?”

Captain Barnacles… had to admit it. He was NOT going to be sad in a time like this. Not during this… reunion. Sounded fun to be going on this little trip with them… And besides, Orson and Ursa could just see how graceful he was, now that he was a mermaid! It was wonderful! He wasn’t letting his past get in the way anymore. Nearly drowned? So what? That wasn’t a problem anymore. He was a MERMAID! A REAL MERMAID! And everyone was seeing this! Tracker and Paani were one thing, but the CAPTAIN himself?! That was EVERYTHING!

“C’moooon, Barnacles…” The macaque waved over to him, now half in the water. “We’re all a big pod here… aren’t we~?”

He was right. Everyone who'd been turned since day one really had to be in some kinda pod. Barnacles HAD seen H2O before, so he knew where this was going.

Heh. Octopod, more like Octo-POD…

“Paani, you bet I’m coming!” Barnacles shouted at him, as he prepared to swim as fast as he could, prideful of his form like he should be. Whatever this was all about…

HOW PERFECT, indeed.

The fact that, in retrospect, this was an endless loop of going back and forth between land and sea, the latter being where the captain slept in. Gosh, Midori, you’re a horrible writer…

You need to improve on this. Your grammar is good, your punctuation is good… but your storytelling falls short. Have these last few chapters been nothing but fillers? Maybe. Gosh, I’m pathetic…

That’s it. I need to let go. I need to go full throttle here. Or at least speed up a little more. I can’t just sit around and fall back into the flaws of my old fanfics. I have to do something.

Pack your bags, Midori. This HAS to work.

~~~~

What a complete mess, everyone thought, dumbfounded as could be. Their once abandoned base clearly went through something… And this? This wasn’t bad, but… WHY?

"I just… I just don’t believe it,” Dashi shook her head. “One minute, I look away, and… the whole HQ is full of… I’m sorry, I’m just amazed.”

“You could say that again,” replied Tweak. “It’s like a… well, it’s a FUCKING mess, is my best description…”

Within minutes, maybe even seconds, most of the main area, excluding the launch bay, had just… gone up in flourishes of all kinds of little sea creatures, like someone had spilled 5 or 10 bags of licorice allsorts in the laboratory. Of course, Shellington did that once and while he had to clean it up, nothing really happened after that…

…But now, where the FUCK did all of these fish AND coral AND WHATEVER THE ACTUAL FUCK come from? It wasn’t here this morning, right?! No, it couldn’t have been! This was NOT normal, that was for sure. Coral reefs don’t form THAT fast outta nowhere, and not in the LITERAL OCTOPOD!

Almost everyone had been outside of the site when this situation occurred, most of them collecting the broken off fragments of metal and glass from the trail left by the crash. Inkling, for one, was a big help, as he and Min were using each other’s unique bodies to get every single bit out of the sand. It may have been mere Planck units of this trash, but to the two it was quite the difference maker to get it out.

It sounded familiar to most of the crew. Hadn’t something similar happened back in… maybe 2012? No one could really remember, but oh well. Maybe it’ll hit everyone eventually. For now, though, all they could do was just… look at this thing. It was perplexing, to say the least. Still expected, however; the whole thing was flooded to the last corner… well, except for Kwazii’s room. He wasn’t letting that stay here once he figured something out.

Speaking of, where was he?

Damn, the bunny thought. It WAS pretty colorful there. She wondered if, maybe, just maybe, she and Dashi could go in there, check out the environment that took over… It didn’t have to be so worrying, did it? No, not at all. Tweak knew better than that. She learned a lot from her mistakes. All for Dashi. All for her crew.

All for everyone.

“…you’re thinking deep, mate,” Ryla looked over at her, the same idea on her mind. “You don’t wanna go in there… Do you?”

Just hearing that made the bunny’s ears twist like a doughnut. “You mean, like… Oh me, oh my, oh for cloud’s sake,” she laughed it off, “you know me too well… uh, Dashi?”

“What’s up?” The dachshund turned her head to face her. “You and Ryla seem to be discussing something. I like that…”

Oh boy, both the bunny AND the wombat thought. This WAS gonna be awkward… Perhaps they’d just swim off and let her find out herself… that wouldn’t be right, would it? No, absolutely not. They best ask her. That was the RIGHT thing to do, as the former learned at this very point. Heck, what was she doing being careless like this when she almost died so many times, ESPECIALLY on 3/30… This wasn’t being careless, though. She just wanted intel on this kind of thing. Make sure everything was alright in there. Where was Shellington anyways? Inside? Probably.

“We… wanna investigate,” Tweak smiled, blushing a little, “and I think you’d wanna join. I mean, it’s not like we should be SUPER scared; the Octopod already crashed anyways… you in~?”

No way Dashi would pass up some time with her 2 besties. She nodded almost immediately, revealing her camera which she stashed on her right.

“Race you!” the dachshund mermaid giggled, which made Tweak shudder a bit. Not in a bad way, she just needed to figure this out. Dashi AND Ryla were FAST, being dolphin and needlefish tailed, and the bunny was just an electric eel. Not like she was far slower than either; she was sure she could go fast like them… Whatever, it was time to stop overthinking so much. Besides, eels are… cool.

So, that’s when the 3 took off, heading right into the holes made in the windows of the HQ. Good thing those were already there when they got turned… well, for Dashi and Tweak to a further extent as they’d have been here longer.

Roughly a few seconds in here and they were already mesmerized just seeing what had happened up close and personal. Sure enough, that was REAL FLORA, and REAL FAUNA flourishing through here. Like, if every little coral and fish were lined up end to end, it’d extend from San Diego to BEYOND LA. Maybe up to Santa Maria even. And it was all shoved into here… the former base of such a wonderful crew for so many years…

Dashi’s notice went not to what was covered, but rather to what WASN’T covered. Chairs that had been knocked over, including Inkling’s, and the COMPUTERS. Ah, the COMPUTERS… The screens definitely suffered a few cracks and whatnot, and more than likely inoperable, but just seeing this, in what was once her home away from home? Fascinating.

“It feels like it’s been forever,” the dachshund chuckled, as she picked up the instruction manual for the system. “I can’t believe how fast things change…”

Not minding soggy paper, Dashi just looked through the pages. This kind of thing she’d have been reading a week ago to recap on troubleshooting some small errors Shellington had. Now, the ink was slowly fading away, off the surface.

Normally, it wouldn’t be much, but to the IT officer, it just felt so… odd. When she first saw Hurricane Selma on the radar, she didn’t think a whole lot about it other than “oh, we should take caution of that,” but now the image of that was part of some the last memories before she… died. Died? No, she’d have survived that. She just lost her legs… well, they weren’t amputated, she got turned into a mermaid of course, but… there was definitely more to that than she could chew. A WHOLE lot more.

Last week, she was just making sure the latest version of Octo-OS had been installed.

Last week, she was just getting photos of that one cool betta fish she saw.

Last week, she was just calling Koshi and Yeshi to say goodnight, and that she missed them so much.

Last week was so close yet so far away.

And now?

Last week was the past.

Yes, her life truly did change a lot.

Dashi… didn’t know how to feel about that. There was no denying that the same went for so many others here.

“Uhhh, guys…?” She turned around, a single tear floating up from her eyes. “Do you ever think about… YOUR past?”

Much to her surprise, they did. Tweak herself had wondered quite a lot. And, unfortunately, unlike the dachshund, her past was a little more turbulent.

“Well, y’know, Dash,” the bunny spoke up, “I don’t think I’ve EVER told you this, or maybe I did, I can’t remember… I just turned 7, when I first met Cap. He was 14; it was 2009. Inkling invited us two to Victoria, to take a ride on the first iteration of the Octopod. Inkling had known about Nat and my Pa for quite some time and he thought this would be nice… and then, for reasons I don’t think I’ll ever know, we crashed and we almost died. I’m glad the glass stayed intact, but I’m sure neither of us thought of going back, yet, we did…”

“I don’t think I’m proud.“

To her, using one brain cell to remember it, then letting it die, the first days of being like this—before apologizing to Barnacles—might as well have also been the past anyways.

“Oi, listen up,” Ryla, in a matter of milliseconds, swam up to her side. “I’m glad I met you as much as I am that I met Dashi. If I never did get the chance, I’d have no idea what I was missing out on… Mate, I’d wanna go back and tell my past self to TRULY join the Octonauts… not stay back as a silly little Octo-Agent more than 10 years later…”

Dashi excitedly nodded in agreement. Like if she and Ryla never met, if she NEVER joined this crew of “explore, rescue, protect,” she’d be left in the sand. And while not every past could be good at all, all critters like Tweak deserved some level of love.

“Y-yeah…” The bunny giggled. The fact that she’d have even come this far was memorable. Even if last week WAS the past, being something, being here, even by a single bit of stardust WAS something to be proud of.

“Thank you… thank you…”

The “core”, despite the HQ being the most likely spot for it, slept all the way down in the laboratory, exactly where the transformations spread out from. There was TRUE abundance. Like the eye of a hurricane, like Selma, but instead of being calm, it was where ALL the commotion was. For the little creatures that swim around here, it was their home, their downtown, their big city, their Vancouver, their EVERYTHING. If it had REALLY been a few half hours since this happened, then it was safe to say that this REALLY was spontaneous. That, or these creatures were hiding here the WHOLE time after the crash.

In the middle of it was the sleeping body of a sea otter. It was Shellington, obviously. Waiting, waiting, and waiting for Barnacles to come back and see all of this. He wasn’t scared, he was actually delighted by the eruption of life here. To the creatures who built their homes in the walls and counters and whatnot, he, ironically, wasn’t much of a disruption, even with his huge shark tail. That’s what happens when you’re so well known across the seas, so now all the creatures are getting up close and personal with his tail. Piss off, he’s Kwazii’s AND Paani’s.

Shellington could… kinda hear the conversation between the mermaids upstairs. He could make out what they were saying, and with the honesty in his otter brain, he could understand why this bloom was a little terrifying for some. Poor Peso would shit himself if this kind of thing happened right in front of his very eyes. That’s what happened for the scientist. He was IN here, questioning if he or anyone was REALLY gonna get anything done, just as the first coral popped up. It overtook nearly everything in here, and whilst Shellington didn’t mind, it was pretty bizarre seeing how things like these happen.

Perhaps now was a good time to get up. Kwazii had to be here as well, right? He’s probably in the launch bay gnawing on his tail right now.

5 more minutes of rest would be on his mind, but Paani and Barnacles were coming back and he had to be ready to explain all of this… as if he KNEW why this happened either.

And he could already hear the GUP-A approaching. Oh, jumping jellyfish. Time to get his mind on the right lane and speak up.

“Good thing… I could replenish that energy from swimming so fast,” he yawned, swimming up through the main area and admiring all the colors. It was quite dreamy for him. He’d have seen vast colors, but not in such a compact spot like here. Somehow that made this even better.

Hopefully, this was the LAST time they had to do this kind of thing. Going back and forth between the Pacific Ocean and Guadalupe was the most headache-inducing thing in MONTHS, and that was GOING to stop for sure. Just round up everyone, get them to shore, and… well, Natquik’s idea was pretty low in terms of detail. It was understandable, yes yes, but he’d probably have to go deeper.

“For your assurance, the water is safe for legs,” Barnacles said to the crew inside the GUP-A, as it came to a stop just in front of the wreck. “It seems like the site’s been cleared as well; I didn't detect any scattered debris around here!”

The 4 occupants of the ship (Yeshi stayed behind to look after the Octoray and check for any damages from earlier) all donned their gear and swam out without issue, all following the captain. Bianca had taught her cubs the essentials quite a long time ago and they were putting those learned lessons to good use. Maybe one day, they’d be just like her.

“Oh, now what’s all this about~?” Almost immediately, Barnacles had noticed the changes around here, just to be greeted with Shellington and Dashi.

“Hey, Captain!” The dachshund waved over, making way for him. “You were gone for a little while, so we just tidied up a little…”

“Ah, I see. Good to be here as always,” Barnacles liked the sound of that, as he turned around, beckoning Paani and Tracker inside. “I hope you don’t mind a little extra company… and somehow this is the SECOND narwhal I’m friends with.”

“The second?” Dashi tilted her head in confusion. Of course, she KNEW about Boris… but was the captain being serious? There was barely any way he knew TWO of these-

“H-hi, Dashi!”

Oh, of course it was Tracker. That was worth a few chuckles. What was he doing here anyways? Nevermind that, she was still intrigued on this place becoming a reef in so little time, as was Barnacles who circled around the coral floored area, trying to make sure his eyes were working properly. Being out of sea for 20 minutes after 5 days down here probably wasn’t a good idea, but it shouldn’t have harmed him at all, right?

Right. He was a beluga anyways. The only reason he could breathe underwater was…

Wait.

Barnacles was actually pretty shocked at this realization more than he should’ve. Beluga whales can’t breathe underwater! They’re sea mammals! Polar bears can’t breathe underwater either!

Sure, some of his crew made sense. Paani did, as did Kwazii, Shellington and Pearl. Also, Tweak and Min… AND obviously Ryla.

But others like himself, his sister, Peso, and Dashi? They’d be dead by now. And sure, Inkling could go on land, but that wasn’t the point. This was the opposite. Dolphins don’t breathe underwater. Neither do dachshunds. Or polar bears.

This whole kind of thing was an absolute clusterfuck. Mermaids shouldn’t be real, but now they are, and somehow those who are tailed with those of mammals can survive down here, and now the Octopod is like THIS?!

A random solution that Shellington made months ago simply can’t do this kind of thing. No, this was no workplace accident. This was SUPERNATURAL.

“Barnacles… stop overthinking so much,” he started telling himself. “You know you’ve gone through so much, you’ve put yourself down so much for this… you promised you’d stop… stop overthinking… a good captain NEVER does that!”

He slammed his paws on the computer.

“NEVER!”

Everyone stopped talking and just looked at Barnacles. He was visibly shaking a LOT. His flukes kept swishing up and down, and he kept breathing loudly.

“I… I don’t get it!” He shouted. “I don’t understand ANY OF THIS! WHY DID WE EVER END UP IN THIS SITUATION?! WHY DID WE END UP HERE OF ALL PLACES?! WHY IS THIS ALL HAPPENING TO BEGIN WITH?!”

“Hey! What’s all of this about?” Natquik tried to get his attention. “Barnacles, what’s wrong?”

“THIS ISN’T LOGICAL AT ALL! THAT’S WHAT!” The polar bear replied in panic that slowly turned to sadness. “I… I CAN’T TAKE ANY OF THIS!”

At that, he slowly approached the window in front of him, preparing to BOOK it out of here. He WAS DONE. If he was going to be trapped in a sea of psychological torture, he had to get used to it some way or another. Until then, he was NOT showing his face.

“Barnacles, wait!” Bianca called out. “Please, just stop for a moment… just explain to us what’s wrong!”

There she was. His sister. Seeing all of this unfold. Now THIS was too far. He wanted to feel sorry, but he'd have hit his breaking point, and it was too late.

“…Life makes no sense. I need time to think.”

And so, he lifted his tail, and…

SMASH!

…broke the window, and made a swim for it.

No one had EVER seen Barnacles so upset before, so this was easily quite heartbreaking. The fact that he went from all happy to absolutely broken in minutes… Peso, in particular, was willing to be that he was holding in ALL of this for a REALLY long time.

As for Tweak, though… What she once considered the past came back to mind. The times she had, when she would fall into fits of rage, just like her captain did right now. The times she had, when she even attacked her best friends. The times she had, when she hid away from everyone…

She was horrible.

When she looked back at that, it made her ears droop. It made her feel pathetic. Absolutely abysmal. The fact that she was like this in the past made her choke a bit.

But now? She had LEARNED from that. She learned from her mistakes. She learned what was right and what was wrong. And that? That was worth it in the end. She felt so much better about herself now.

Tweak wanted Barnacles to do the same. She knew his struggles. And he was behaving like she used to. What a pile of trash, right?

No, not at all. Barnacles was critter. Like humans, it was normal for critters to struggle, to stress, to cry, to hit rock bottom. He just needed to recognize it for once and maybe even get HELP. Tweak knew he could rebound from today, and become better than before.

“Uh, guys?” She looked around, until facing the other mermaids… yet she still didn’t see her Pa. “I’m gonna go talk to Cap. I just wanna make sure he’s alright. In the meantime… I guess… wait here.”

And yet, Ranger Marsh STILL didn’t get to see her. The odds were NOT in either of their favors.

Tweak went through the same hole in the windows Barnacles created, twitching her nose as she tried to memorize what path he took. Obviously he wanted to get away from here, so that was worth noting. Where would a polar bear hide, anyways? Would he have made some sort of den?

Now, Tweak… was knowledgeable about this area. Very knowledgeable, in fact. She could circle around the wreck about 2 times and she’d get an idea of where everything was. Together, with what was left of the external pods, even the only non-flooded part of the Octopod (that being Kwazii’s room, that lucky bastard), they formed a compass, became her compass, and with the Octopod having fallen flat on its “face” and northwards…

“He went between the HQ and the rec room,” she told herself. “That’s northwest. And from what I’ve seen…”

She gasped, having gotten the perfect idea. That same cave she and Dashi were in earlier? There’s no way he wouldn’t be in there! She nodded, just thinking about it, before swimming down and not noticing that her tail was starting to change color from a sickly yellow to an alright green, like a mood ring.

Maybe that was the whole point. Or maybe just because she was cool.

~~~~

Barnacles couldn’t get himself out of it. Everywhere he went, he kept remembering that he was like this, that he was in this situation, and to him it was really uncomfortable. Not that he wanted his legs back—that was impossible anyways, so he didn’t mind living with it at first—but he just wished he knew what any of this was caused by.

He hid himself in this cave. His face was down in the sand, making sure he would NOT get a glimpse of the Octopod. He wanted to be ALONE with his OWN thoughts, in hopes that he could calm himself down. Not that it was any easy, though.

It was REALLY embarrassing. He’d have just fallen into a panic attack all because he hadn’t seen Natquik in so long and now the logic was getting to him. If he was alone during so, this wouldn’t be that bad, but this was in front of HIS CREW, HIS SISTER, HIS COUSINS, and HIS FATHER.

…even though, logically, natquik was his step… father? no, he wasn’t even his father, moreso his brother, as his mother never remarried, but barnacles saw him as just his father regardless.

Tweak laid flat on the top of the cave, ears pulled back, staying as quiet as she could to see if she could hear him. Was Barnacles aware of this place as well, or was it just her and Dashi? It WAS still of some close proximity to the base, so it definitely could just be his first resort.

She took a quick peek in, looking for his easily identifiable bright blue suit and his fantastic white fur. And while it was night time, Tweak’s eyesight was… certainly better than most other bunnies her age, and she was 21!

“Well, this is when my tail comes in handy,” she whispered, using it like a bungee cord and swooping down with her whole body. Now, electric eels definitely don’t do this, but oh well. She looked left and right, up and down, side to side. Nothing, up until she looked up once more and saw…

“P-Peso?!” Tweak was surprised. “What… What are you doing here? I said wait at the Octopod, not…”

“S-sorry,” the medic sighed. “I figured if anyone else were to help, it was going to be me.” He and Tweak both swam up, still looking down at the cave. “I just hope he’s okay.”

Alright, thought the engineer. That was valid. Peso was such a good friend to the captain anyways. So trustworthy, so brave, so peaceful… sometimes, she aimed to be like that. The more she thought about it…

“Well, of course we can do this together.”

Tweak went back down again, going more closer in to see if Barnacles really was in there. Surely enough, he was just an inch from the left wall, having gone polar bear fall flat. Dead? No, he couldn’t be. He seemed mostly solid, so definitely nothing attacked him. Perhaps he was just asleep, which was the most likely case.

“Yep, he’s in here,” Tweak gave a thumbs up to Peso, who promptly swam down. “Just stay quiet.” Neither the orca nor the eel wanted to wake up the beluga whale. They just wanted to wait for him. Stay close, just don’t scare him.

How Barnacles ended up reminded Peso of himself. He’d once have been this self aware of all of this. Back in the first days when he was resting on the sands of Isla Guadalupe, he kept questioning how everything in his life led him to this kind of thing. Despite how messed up his childhood was, though, it didn’t really harm him. However, Barnacles was 8 years older, Peso being 20, so it wasn’t a huge surprise the captain reacted differently.

But then, much to the surprise of the other two, the polar bear started to tilt his head upwards. As Peso and Tweak started to back up a little, he brushed away the sand on his face, full of tears.

“…T-Tweak?” He said in a raspy tone, just looking at the bunny in particular. “W-what are you doing here? I… I wanted to be alone right now.”

“…Sorry, Cap.. I…” the bunny started blushing in embarrassment, her tail slowly changing color back to yellow. “I just… wanna… help you.”

Bold words coming from someone who tried to leave him for dead, but Barnacles knew she meant it. Noticeably, throughout earlier today and yesterday, she HAD become a bit more sociable, which was definitely thanks to Dashi and Ryla.

“Well…” He sighed. “I… suppose you’ve changed for the better. I just… don’t get why I’m like this… why am I such a coward?”

Tweak sank to the seafloor, now sitting with her back against the cave wall next to Barnacles. She looked down at him, still laying down.

“It’s not you, Cap,” she calmly said. “You ain’t a coward. I don’t think ANY of us expected to become like this. It’s like how NO ONE crashed the Octopod… it just gave up. None of these changes are on us. It’s how we react to them, and, well… Ya know how I was on day one? AWFUL.” She wrapped an arm around him, making sure he was feeling even a tad better. “Needless to say? That was quite shameful of me, but it doesn’t DEFINE me… I’ve grown to learn that… Like my Pa did.”

“It doesn’t define me, Cap. It doesn’t define you either.”

Yeah, of course that was the case. Peso did. Dashi, too. Even Inkling. Tweak was NOT wrong at all. It didn’t help a lot, but he was understanding this, and that was helping a little already.

“I’d like to say something as well, Captain,” Another voice came from behind him, and almost immediately he looked around, and…

“Oh... oh dear,” Barnacles shook his head in surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t notice you earlier, Peso… right, what was that? Keep going.”

The penguin happily nodded. “Well, I think it has to be said for the future, especially now that we’re here. If you ever, EVER feel any sort of discomfort, like if you’re feeling annoyed or upset, or, like right now… please, Captain… talk to me, and tell me what’s the matter.” He calmly explained to his captain, flippers wrapped around the bear’s shoulders. “I may not be perfect at this—I’m a medic—but I’m trying my best with everyone here in mind, especially YOU. I’m willing to bet you’ve been holding in these feelings of anger and sadness for so long, and I think it’s safe to say that you need to let them out sometimes.”

Surrounded by two of his best crew, both who had been in his fins and went through similar issues… just wanting to look after him and wish him the best. Barnacles was fully believing this. This was valid, all of this was valid. It was like his father. They were all just trying their best to keep each other going, above AND below the surface.

“Thank you, Peso… now that I realize it,” he inhaled deeply. “I have to stop bottling this up. I make mistakes, and that’s normal. I just need to get up from them. It’s what everyone wants for me… It’s what I want for myself… so that’s what I’m going to do.”

He exhaled, slowly hovering over the sand and clearing out his face, making sure his fur was white enough. He was truly aware of his mishaps and his reactions. He wasn’t gonna let them kill him. The two other mermaids were delighted, hearing his words of acceptance and his wishes to move on. If his crew could learn their lessons, so could he. So why doesn’t he get going, starting now?

“That’s my Cap.”

~~~~

Above the surface, Yuma was frustrated in their own ways.

Standing and looking at the dark coast as they used to all the time probably didn’t click with their new friendship. Perhaps they needed a taste of what Koshi liked. Did they even ask? Surely THAT would REALLY break the already thinning ice.

“H-hey, Koshi.” They looked back at the puppy. “I’m sure you’re aware of what I do in my spare time… uh, what are your interests anyways?”

Now this was a question Koshi enjoyed getting. Sure, no one really asked her about it, but this coyote, who she'd been staying with for a little while now? THEY asked.

“One word, mate: Mystery! All of it, I tell you,” she gave a bright smile. “Don’t mind what kind, whether it be the disappearance of a kelp cake or the entire Octopod, I’m all in for it. I’ve read more than… 79 novels about this kind of thing. Maybe more, no one knows. See? THAT’s a mystery. And right now I’m in the middle of one!”

“Heh, I see, I see,” Yuma nodded. “You really are enthusiastic about that whole thing. Makes me wish I had something to enjoy myself…”

“Well, you’ve already got yourself,” the dachshund started to suggest, “and I think that’s already good enough… THOUGH, it looks like you want a taste of something else…”

To that, the coyote gave a nod. They DID want a bite out of… anything else, really, than just living this low life of theirs. Any gateway out of that, and they’d be free. Free from the burden that they left everything behind over in California. Sure, they liked their parents, but… holy smokes, Koshi meant SO MUCH to them. Why turn back to hiding away all the time… when she was here? An associate of a bunch of the coolest folks on this PLANET!

That’s when Yuma had an idea. They went inside, looked for the nearest pencil and paper, ran back out, and after trying to remember for a few seconds, sketched

“So, the other night, this little guy just WADDLED over to me while I was listening to music as always, and I have NO IDEA what the HECK it is-“

“Wait a minute-“

Within TWO seconds of seeing the drawing, Koshi proceeded to slowly put a paw to her face, only for both her and Yuma to realize…

How can I just adore the Octonauts like that, if I have no idea what…

“BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!”

Just the realization made the two laugh uncontrollably like they were the only ones on this island.

“Mate, I don’t believe it!” Koshi wheezed. “You’ve been honored to the point where Tunip visited you PERSONALLY! What kind of thing needs to happen, for THAT?”

The coyote shrugged with a smile, figuring it wasn’t a big deal after all. After all, that little guy could rebuild his literal flesh. Surely he’d be fine. Not like they told Koshi they caught him by accident, because they DIDN’T.

“I assume you don’t have to return to duty anytime soon, Kosh? I’m sure there are many others here, seeing as the…” Yuma then asked, pausing for a moment to then clarify a little something else.

“Sorry, I just don’t really know what’s been going on for the last few years. This Octoray, these Octo-Agents…”

“I only knew the Octonauts.”

Well, it wasn’t like the Octonauts were ALWAYS popular. Sure, their voices and GUPs were HEARD throughout the 2010s but that later fell down to East Asia for seemingly no reason at all.

The resurgence was fading back in, and now was a good time to truly thank them AND their fellow friends for their efforts, even if these last few years were off the beaten path—going above the surface? Oh, the irony. Koshi, who'd been on one of these pre-Octoray missions with her sis, understood exactly what the enby coyote meant. And who else to blame but… No, enough with the blaming. Koshi wasn’t involved in the Tweak-Barnacles debate and even she knew there was no time for chewing out anyone.

“Well, at least this Octo-Watch comes in handy,” she then replied late. “And no, I don’t think I’ll be needed back any time soon… They’ll find me themselves, unless they’ve had one too many hot cocoas!”

“One too many hot cocoas?” Yeshi chimed in, having stood before them just eavesdropping. “Koshi, where have you been?”

“And speak of the inner core,” the other dachshund looked back with surprise. “My brother, Yeshi! Didn’t think you’d come back, now…”

Meanwhile, the coyote just stopped in their tracks and took a moment to FULLY compose themselves. One other critter was totally fine, but two’s a crowd. So, what did this ‘yotey do?

“H-hi, I’m Yuma, and welcome to Jackass.” said in the fastest and most awkward way possible, finished with a blush, but at least they stayed put. That was a record, wasn’t it?

“…it’s nice to meet you.”

That was something to be proud of, actually. Having warmed up so much thanks to Koshi… none of Yuma’s previous “introductions” could match up… no, they’d have FAINTED before.

“Nice to meet you as well. What’s all of this about?” Yeshi then replied, eyes going to his sister in particular, who did feel just as awkward as the coyote.

“…I made a friend. I’m more than sure of that.” Koshi would proudly announce. “It’s been boring just waiting here for nothing, so I used nights like these to meet up with…”

At that, she walked over to Yuma, and gave them a hug. And despite the height difference, hugs are hugs, and that was something everyone could use. ESPECIALLY someone like this coyote.

“…yeaaaaah. I’m still warming up to it,” they said with an expression of innocent embarrassment. “I had NO idea about you guys… I don’t tend to leave my home a lot, or at all.”

“…scary, I know.”

Unsurprisingly, that WAS to be agreed with. How could someone live like that for so long? Maybe that happened with someone among the other Octo-Agents, but with some typical citizen like Yuma? Ouch.

It was encouraging all three of them… to DO something.

Would they be able to pull this off?

Maybe, even with this unknown dude. Did they know?

Of course they did.

~~~~

“Alright, Cap… just take some nice, deep breaths,” Tweak would continue comforting the polar bear. “Y’know, I was actually gonna tidy up the launch bay and move the GUPs to their designated spaces. If you wanna stay with me, go for it.”

This kind of thing had happened a lot now. Barnacles would definitely have a break under the company of the engineer, like most of his crew had, but everyone was on standby waiting for him, and knowing how they trusted him, he would HATE to keep them waiting.

He thanked the bunny for the offer, but shook his head and swam up to the HQ. The 4 Octo-Agents who remained walking were back in the GUP-A, as was Bianca just comforting her cubs like a good mama bear does, even after they’ve become a mermaid… We already know this stuff, so let’s move on.

“Shiver me whiskers, ye returned!” Kwazii eagerly shook his paw, noticing the much softer expression he took on his face. “Why’d you lose it like that?”

It wasn't something he wanted to talk about, but Tunip was right next to him, and that little guy already proved illogical for the real world. Kwazii couldn’t read minds, even if he believed he could, but as he and Barnacles both looked at the Vegimal, then at their own tails, he somewhat figured out what had happened.

“…I was just worried for all of us. It got too weird for me, and I had to leave. I’m sure it’s all safe, though…” the captain told the kitten, the concern in his eyes having become minuscule. “Best not to worry anymore.”

“…well, Captain,” Dashi looked over at him, with a gentle smile. “If that’s what you’re going for, that’s okay… I just think we should get this whole thing done with.”

“Yes yes… MY thoughts exactly,” Natquik would slowly nod in agreement. “I’ve had these plans for all of us to leave this place… Although I’m not sure about the Octopod.”

“Oh, so that’s what it’s called!” Came a little voice from near the computers, which definitely belonged to one of the hundreds, THOUSANDS of little creatures. “We just came upon this wreck, and we figured we’d make the most out of it!”

Indeed, they’d have made a CITY out of this place. From the HQ to the library, they were everywhere. These creatures of all sorts just took full advantage, within HOURS, and no one knew until this hour.

In retrospect, this was actually quite heartwarming. Even without intention to, the mermaids had been fixing up this place for these little guys, all this time.

The Octopod was inoperable. Lost to the seas for good. And yet, it served as a landmark, a symbol, a reminder, a memoir, a TRIBUTE… to honor what nearly every creature adored.

When it really came to mind, it made tears flow among the crew. Not of sadness, though. These were tears of JOY. Knowing they have REALLY accomplished something, even after this whole ordeal.

In the end, all that time didn’t go to waste after all.

Marsh wanted to enjoy this moment. He really did. Yet, he still felt uneasy. Like, something else was happening behind their backs. He didn’t know what, but it didn’t feel right.

He looked below his feet, and off the edge of the HQ’s remaining glass was the ocean floor… and it was FRACTURED.

Now, the bunny didn’t know a whole lot about these kinds of things. Tweak would—she WAS an Octonaut so she KNEW the sea—but she wasn’t here, and whatever this was, it couldn’t be good.

It was probably an earthquake. An aftershock of March 30? Maybe, but there hadn’t been many, if any earthquakes here during then. Not to mention, others didn’t seem to mind, and the Octopod was still stable, so there was that.

What was it, the ranger thought. Was he hallucinating? Oh no, was he running out of oxygen? Probably, but after checking his Octo-Watch for a moment, it became obvious he was doing entirely fine.

And yet, the ground was still cracking.

Things were gonna get BAD.

“Hey, Ranger!” Natquik looked at him, smiling broadly. “Are you seeing this~? It’s… it’s stunning!” He’d beckon once or twice, before seeing the bunny’s big ears droop, as he just kept looking down and away from the Arctic fox.

Now THAT was unusual. Mermaids were one thing, yes, but seeing Marsh this… quiet? Emotionless? He was a pretty fun guy to be around, but right now he just… floated there.

“What… What's wrong?” The professor swam over to him. “W-why are you just… Why so quiet?”

It then clicked in the bunny’s mind. “Nat! Sorry I scared you, heh…” he HIMSELF blushed in embarrassment, before returning to a fearful expression. “I’m scared. I REALLY AM.”

“Easy now,” the fox would hold his paw. “What’s this about? What is it you’re looking at, that’s making you feel this way…?”

“THAT…” Marsh worryingly pointed right at the ground. Of course, there could be ANYTHING in there, so Natquik didn’t really understand what the bunny meant at first. Maybe there was a little creature that tried to bite him, or whatever.

As he looked left and right real quick, however, it became more clear as to what had triggered the ranger’s fears. And even worse, this kinda thing was reminiscent of something HE HIMSELF had gone through.

This was surrounding the entire Octopod. Was a sinkhole about to open up? Once more, the two didn’t know, but it spelled IMMINENT DANGER.

Not to mention… that blue-purple glow it emitted, AND the increasing temperature REALLY weren’t reassuring at all.

It was like… A LASER.

“Oh NO.” Natquik’s eyes got big. “Wait, I know who can help… PAANI! Over here!” He immediately called over for the macaque, whose attention was easily drawn. He eagerly waved at them, unaware of the situation., before putting himself between the bunny and the fox, his fins blanketing them both.

“Listen up, pancake!” Marsh would tell the manta ray. “You see that sand? There’s some kinda… thing going on, and it’s ABOUT TO GO BAD!”

“NOW, that’s a SIGHT!” Paani was astounded by the internal light show, before being given an awkward look by the two land dwellers.

“I mean, what makes you think it’s so bad anyways? It’s probably just a tunnel where those creatures came from-”

This was when the ground started to pulse, like a heart. Slowly, but it could be heard, and if it didn’t look bad, it CERTAINLY was now.

“OKAY, THAT’S IT!” Natquik shouted. “EVERYONE EVACUATE!”

The others had all heard him, at first a bit confused. Like he himself was, they didn’t understand it, before ANOTHER pulse came from below.

“Uh… did anyone feel that?” Kwazii would ask, only to let out a “YEOW!” after being pulled away by Barnacles, who, despite having no idea why he was instructed, believed Natquik more than greatly as he did for all his life.

It was best for others to follow, especially when the ground pulsed a THIRD time and glowed even more, resulting in the Octopod getting jostled around as a result. Everybody had to catch their bearings, before realizing their base had been turned UPRIGHT. And not at any other angle, no, this was a PERFECT 90 DEGREES. Normally, this would be a good thing, and it WAS, but… this wasn’t right.

“Wait, but what about…?!” Shellington tried calling out to the others, pointing at all the creatures inside. “We can’t just leave them here!”

“I’m sure it’s just a false alarm,” Peso would reply as he swam past the scientist. “It shouldn’t be too long!”

It wasn’t any use. You knew Barnacles and you trusted Barnacles. But THIS didn’t make any sense. Wasn’t the whole point of the Octonauts to EXPLORE? RESCUE?! PROTECT?!?!

Where were they going?

The otter was NOT going anywhere. He wanted to look after these guys, even in the midst of… whatever the ordeal was. He DID feel sorry for the other mermaids, seeing as he was ESSENTIALLY leaving everyone behind, INCLUDING KWAZII.

As he kept close to the HQ’s floor, he could hear the whispers of these little things. All of them, seemingly chanting something… some kinda name. What was this about? They didn’t seem bothered at all, did they? Surely they’d be aware of the danger themselves as well, but no, they just kept standing there like nothing was going on… continuing with their… ritual…? What was this?

Shellington tried to lend a hand, in hopes they’d climb on or something. He did have quite a long and sturdy tail too, so there was plenty of room for some of these smaller creatures. And yet they still didn’t budge… except for ONE little guy, who went up to his ear.

“We’ll be okay,” was all it said to him. As worried as the otter still was, he figured he’d have to let them go. If this was how things would be, then so be it. Besides, he couldn’t just leave Tunip—who looked over him—in the danger zone either.

Meanwhile, Pearl found it unbearable to watch her brother like this, before he IMMEDIATELY dashed out of there with the vegimal in his paws, faster… than an electronic rabbit. It was humiliating. It really was, and yet, Shellington—as well as the rest of the pod—loved the company of everyone in that reef and he didn’t want them getting hurt. No, never. And whilst he risked his OWN life, it was for others to save THEIRS. He’d apologize the moment he was in his sister’s proximity.

“FASTER, everyone!” Marsh would call out, “before it… IT… Uh…” He stopped. Perhaps everyone should calm down a little. Was it really as bad as he feared? Maybe it was entirely unrelated, to just be something entirely normal down here and not harmful at all.

He should’ve asked someone who KNEW about this thing. Someone who had past experience with these tremors. Someone who worked hard, day and night. Someone who meant so much to him…

Or, he could just ask Kwazii-

“TWEAK!” He gasped. With all his senses HOT, he immediately swam back towards the Octopod. “Stay back, y’all! I’ve gotta FIND HER!”

“Ranger, wait!” Natquik grabbed his arm. “If you go down there…”

“…Let me go down with YOU!”

To that, the bunny gave a bit of a smile, before the two, using their (inferior) legs, made a swim for the LAUNCH BAY. That’s where she’d always be, making sure the GUPs were in shipshape… most likely so since Kwazii couldn’t operate any.

Through the holes left days ago, Marsh squeezed his way in, trying to look for his daughter with great speed, only to conclude that, once again… she wasn’t there.

“C’mon… What is it?” He sighed. “Why can’t I just get a SINGLE MOMENT TO SEE HER AGAIN?! There’s gotta be something, SOMETHING going on…”

First it was the crash. Then it was getting here. And now everything was about to blow up. And yet, through all of this… No Tweak. Everyone was here, EXCEPT for Tweak.

She wasn’t dead, right? No, if she was, Barnacles would LET HIM KNOW. Which, he didn’t say anything explicitly about such, so that WAS a good sign.

“Please, Tweak…” he put his paws to his steam-covered helmet in despair. “Where ARE you?”

“Right behind ya, Pa.”

And THERE SHE WAS. Exactly how Marsh expected, maybe BETTER than before.

He was just at a loss of words. He swam towards her and gave her a big hug, relieved that she was doing well as always. Probably not even aware of the inbound eruption. Just enjoying herself, as hinted by her dark green eel tail.

“Sorry I didn’t speak up any earlier,” the engineer said with a hint of awkwardness. “I’ve been working a LOT since, and that’s taken up quiiite a lot of my schedule…”

That was totally logical. Though, for how proud Marsh was of Tweak for all that hard work, she DESERVED a BIG break, now that she was like this, as he thought with all honesty.

“Well, uh, do you have more things to do… in here?” He’d kindly ask, just trying to ignore his impending doom, but Natquik was silently panicking in the background, and THAT was concerning his daughter a little.

“Can’t say I do, but no worries, Pa.” Tweak replied with a hug and without hesitation. “You’ve been on my mind the WHOLE time. MY mind~!”

Now that was something the ranger was happy to hear. Of course he was on her mind, but getting that reaffirmation was always comforting. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, just like with his favorite Arctic fox.

But then, he remembered the whole thing going on around him. Natquik was outside, calling for him to “get out of there”, and the water wasn’t just warm—it was HOT, like a bowl of ramen!

“Hmm, my oxygen’s getting a little low now,” Marsh kept in a light mood, rubbing the fog off his helmet. “Why don’t head back to shore and talk all about it, alright?”

Tweak eagerly nodded, figuring it was all for the better anyways. To get to spend that long-awaited time was all she wanted at this very moment.

As the two would make their way out of the base, the ground below SLOWLY started to cave inwards, and the sand was getting everywhere. Tweak quickly covered her face until it settled, which was only a few seconds down, before rapidly looking back and seeing what had happened.

“Uh, is that supposed to happen?” Marsh also looked back with a chuckle, before catching sight of Natquik swimming towards him in panic. He was already following the bunnies, but he WAS caught off guard, despite being just as excellent in swimming as the ranger was.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be good!” The fox shouted out, as he tried doggy paddling his way to the coast. It wasn’t very effective, his arms and legs were getting tired, and he even feared he’d drown here. The panicking had drained his energy and in this kind of thing there was no time to replenish it.

Marsh was about to turn back to try and reach him, until another figure snatched Natquik by the paw and darted past the bunnies like nothing. Tweak, a little shocked, recognized who it was almost immediately.

“Oi! Ya think the coast is close~?” Ryla laughed joyously, giving the old fox a pat on the back. “C’mon, Tweak, let’s get these blokes some fresh air RIGHT NOW. Gotta take a breather, because I reckon we’ve all been flat out for SOME time now!”

Tweak was taken a little by surprise, but she eagerly accepted, grabbing Marsh by one hand and the wombat by the other. From there, they’d RAPIDLY breach the water, despite the heavy load from all 3 of the critters the former cave diver dealt with.

The 4 all floated on the surface, not sure what to do at this point. More than likely, the rest of the crew had already made it to Isla Guadalupe, or at least got MUCH closer than they were right now.

“So, uh, mates.” Ryla looked at the others, perplexed. “Is that it? Are we just stopping here?”

No answer. Just… just waiting here. Was anyone else aware? Definitely, but oh well.

“Well, uh, that’s what I wanna know,” Marsh shrugged. “Is it NOT happening, or are we, like, out of the blast radius?”

“…W-well,” Tweak stuttered a little. “I think we’re going to be completely okay, right guys?”

“Right, guys?”

BOOOOOOOM!

…And then, it all unfolded before their very eyes.

#mermaid au #mermaid #octonauts #alternate universe #octonauts au #octonauts mermaid au #reclaimed by nature #meomi

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jihoonmk · 1 year ago

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so, this is probably the latest i've ever been with an intro post (a week? i think....) anywho! it's just me, jiwoo's mun here with a 2nd (but not really a new muse, just bring life back to a muse who has actually lived a few times before and i have a special attachment to hehehe). meet kang jihoon, my sweet boy with quite a bit of trauma (which i won't get into here much + will make sure to use tw's as needed!).

he's my black bird manipulation baby who just wants to fit in and feel like he belongs somewhere. he can also do a bit of dream walking, but he's sort of afraid to use his minor ability due to the risks of it (listed on his profile).

anyway, i'll list below a few things to know about him for plotting purposes so if you'd like to plot with this boy here feel free to like this post and i'll slide into your dm's! (i will be getting to jiwoo's stuff tomorrow, i promise i haven't forgotten anyone. it's just been a really hectic week. ;;). of course i also have a discord but that's only available upon request if it's easier for you to plot there! ^^

things to know:

jihoon is from Melbourne, Australia where he previously lived with his mother and father (who was, and still is, completely unaware of this magical world that jihoon is a part of and he would very much like to keep it as a secret from the man for as long as he possibly can).

family death tw: his mother sadly passed away when he was 17 years old, leaving behind only jihoon and his father. her death took a major toll on not only jihoon, but his father as well (taking her death extremely hard to the point where he began to change after).

jihoon isn't exactly close to his father, even more so after everything that happened when it just became the two of them. it's part of the reason why he managed to 'train himself' to be 'invisible' in others' presences and learned to keep to himself when in rooms with other people.

abuse tw/alcohol tw/family death tw: after his mother's death, jihoon's father began drinking uncontrollably. it got so bad to the point that he began drunkenly taking his sorrow/anger out on jihoon, often beating him to make himself 'feel better' while dealing with the death of his wife. jihoon learned over time to just stay still and take the beatings that he received, knowing that if he tried to stop his father, run away, or even begged him to stop then the beatings would only get worse. eventually the man fled Australia and moved to busan in order to evade any of his wife's family, running out of excuses as to why they couldn't check up on jihoon and see how he was managing after his mother's passing.

the day that an elder visited jihoon, thankfully his father was too 'out of it' and passed out on the bedroom floor to even notice any visitors. this day was the one day that gave jihoon the slightest bit of hope of even having some sort of 'happiness' in his life. a life away from the not-so-perfect life that he has at home with his father.

it took quite a bit of convincing to finally get his father to agree and let him leave busan to go to 'seoul', telling the man that he would have a better 'job' opportunity there and that he'd be able to give the man even more money. thus giving jihoon the chance to get away from the man and more or less go into hiding where he could start a new life for himself in jeju.

it's only when jihoon arrives in jeju that he realizes he had never been on his own before, making him even more nervous and aware of his own surroundings. even after starting his studies, he mainly kept to himself and would be known as that one kid in the back of the class. the kid that was always so quiet and didn't have many friends, despite others actually trying to approach him to befriend him.

even now, in his junior year, jihoon has very few friends and mostly keeps to himself. he works in order to feed himself, is one of those students that always turns his work in on time, and can even be found gazing up at the starts most nights while lost in his own thoughts. no one really knows what's going on inside that head of his, and it seems that his only 'friend' is his companion (aside from the few that managed to break through those walls he had previously built up around himself).

#mk:intro #{ let's just pretend that this isn't 100 years late? c: }

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lowkeyclueless5137 · 1 year ago

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Some random AU idea:

A twst x HP au

Where Riddle's mother was Petuan and Lily's older sister, but then she one day went missing. No one in the magical world know of her existence, for even though she has magic, her magic is not of the magical world, but of otherworldly magic. You could say she was like an Alice.

Anyway, years went bay and neither of their new families know about it. Why should they? Went neither Madam Roseheart nor Petunia know about each other's wellbeing, and the less said about Lily's, the better.

But it all change when Trisizard Tournament happen. I like to imagine it happen a year after the whole twst cannon, so the 2nd years are all now 3rd years and all. Anyway, the shenanigans happen and along the way Riddle became friends with Harry, somehow. So the next year happen, Riddle now is a 4th year, and he want to study law. But he is interested with the other world, and since the twst world want to mingle and now more about their otherworld brethren, they let some of their fine young mages to get their internship there to study more about that world. Riddle is one of them.

Anyway, since Riddle is a boy and he is mostly close to Harry, he choose to stay with him. Harry, after so many begging and deals with the Dursley (promising them that Riddle is 100% normal (pfft, no), and he want to study law and is really smart), he manage to secure a place for Riddle in his house (re: prison).

Now, last year, there was some fiasco that happen. Considering of Riddle's so familiar look to them. Red hair as beautiful as roses, pretty face that can make any doll and flowers weep at his beauty. A brilliant mind unlike many other. So achingly similar to a now lost woman they used to know. Even Harry was surprised at first.

Now Riddle finally meet the Dursley. Petunia, upon first meeting him, feels the same familiarity like those in the magical world. But she brushed it aside, refuse to dwell on long forgotten scar. But when Riddle introduces himself and then told them of his Mother's name, all hell break loose for Petunia's perfect little life.

For here stood right in front of her, a boy so painfully similar to a long lost little sister. A son of a famous doctor, who bare the name of a long lost older sister, never to be known where she has gone or what may happen to her.

I was finishing V3's first chapter today when I remembered to turn on my wifi on the phone and got the notification :v

I put under the cut the whole thing bc it's big :v

So then, you can have for backstory Petunia and Lily kinda falling off the good terms with Mrs Rosehearts. I guess she could be older... Maybe around 5-7 years older, therefore have a big age gap which makes their relationship a bit stranded on the early stages, because it was clear that Mrs Rosehearts would start school and have responsibilities more earlier than the 2 younger sisters, which would leave less time for bonding.

So when she went missing, the worry was obviously more prominent on the parent's side. Not to say Petunia and Lily were worried as well, but while their parents were pursuing this relentlessly, in between the sisters it will evolve like some taboo subject due to the more distant relationship.

So that would influence Petunia and Lily as well. Like it would be clear that the oldest sibling will be a role model. Mrs Rosehearts was a perfectionist and gutsy woman. Maybe Lily took the guts while Petunia the perfectionism. Miraculously, they keep on touch. That would lessen everyone's worries about the missing part, but still, only through small letters, who never mentioned anything about where she was or what she was doing.

Fast forward and Lily hits the bucket. With the death being announced, Mrs Rosehearts broke contact as well, clearly not being able to come in touch again. For Petunia to be hit to take care of Harry was like a jab in the stomach. Not only she lost now 2 sisters, but the infant of Lilly was now put into her care.

And it was clear that all was due to magic. So when Harry was basically confirmed to be a wizard, it was obvious that Petunia would want even the less ties or closure with him, KNOWING full well that the magical world only will take Harry away too. It was just a matter of time.

Fast forward with her condoning Dudely and Veron's whole foul treatment of Harry. The Hogwarts letter arrive and off is Harry to get whisked away to the magical world, just how his mother was. Him making friends and going through all sorts of adventures. It was very resemblant of Lily's past there.

Cue book 4 happening and through the power of almighty narrative (that I won't elaborate more bc I don't know how exactly for now) We have the twst cast yeeted and the goblet of fire chooses again Idia. (ok, it's for shits and giggles this one, because crack)

Harry meets Riddle and both become friends. There were many differences in between the 2 magical worlds, so Riddle, a well knowledgeable person about that, whould be like a second Hermione, except apparently way more easy to piss off and way more violent. :v

To fall better in place, I would say that the goblet of fire still happened during Riddle's 2nd year, so we can expand on book 5 by making it Riddle's 3rd year.

That would flesh even better the bond the 2 would build. Adding to it that most likely Riddle would use his UM on the pink toad, discovering that, despite the magic differences, the collars can still block magic from being casted even to this other type of wizards. Which makes it a veritable weapon against Voldy. This also can be highlighted better if Riddle and let's say Deuce and Azul would join in the ministry busting. It would bring the news to the death eaters and realise 'oh shit, we can't get collared or we'll be done for'. :3

And realising the actual magnitude of the situation, it makes even the more reason for Riddle to stay the summer with Harry. They had a trump card.(also Malleus being salty af for his buddy, Cedric, hitting the bucket) so if voldy tries some funny shit, just collar him then beat the shit out of him! Problem solved! :3

Cue Harry making the begging to the Dursleys and getting a pass.

And at first, everything seems OK. Riddle was a polite lil boy. Now the fact that Dudely was a lil shit to him was a negligeectable thing.

But he brings an air of familiarity and some of his reaction and responses are hitting close to home for Petunia.

Cue her investigating and figuring out why Riddle has such a familiar resemblance. Being clueless about it, when asked about his parents, Riddle just says the usual. His mom was a doctor as well as his father and currently both were at his home country. Simple as that.

And that hits even harder for Petunia, which realises that her oldest sister, the only sister remaining alive, was in fact well on her own, having a separate life from her. She raised a son and managed to cut and erase any ties with her roots.

So Petunia might come to realise that maybe, the magical world wasn't really the one to blame entirely. And she sees that when he sees Riddle acting just like a normal magicless boy. He had that aura of possessing magical powers, but he didn't talk about it, show it or even perk in at the mention of it.

Maybe out of all the unresolved grief and loss, Petunia starts to realise her wrongs and consider that maybe, it is still time to mend things better :v.

#twisted wonderland #HP X twst #asks :3 #I don't really have much idea for this one :v

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morilucidstories · 1 year ago

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In your pinned post, I'm curious to know what's going on with the bat dragon person and who might be you holding your cat? Poking around the blog hasn't gotten me answers. Or maybe answers are there and I'm just hungry and tired.

I had this whole thing written with pics on my phone, and then the wifi flaked and the whole things became lost into tumblr's void when I hit post, so this is the 2nd version. ;-; But this version has more images so it's objectively better.

That's not me in the image. That's Lily Mills, the main character of one of my original comics I post on Tapas and Webtoons Canvas. Pine Barrens Super Natural is based on the legends I grew up hearing from my family about the New Jersey Pine Barrens/Pinelands, and shojo romance comics. Lily is a mix of me and my sibling from when we were young -that's why she looks like me (and Lyly if you know what they look like from MtW.)

The series blurb & summary of Ch 1&2: Lily Mills and her dad, Don Mills, have just moved into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. On their first night there, Lily is attacked by monsters that should only exist in legends. Luckily, another super natural monster also rescues her. There's definitely some connection to the super natural hidden in Lily's past, and it's going to a lot harder for it to stay hidden now that she finds herself surrounded by all sorts of Super Natural things.

Here is the full version of the cover with the logo:

This comic is actually a reboot of the original comic I started when I was 15-16 in my Sophomore year of Highschool. (It was made on notebook paper.) When I started it I didn't really have a plan for where it was going until around chapters 15-20, so this reboot is taking a lot of loose ends and either cutting them out or adapting them to work with the plot. It's taking me so long to make because I'm struggling with burnout, and I'm now past most of the mental issues I was using it to process so sometimes working on it puts be make into that worst head space. With Lyly's help as my editor we have rewritten and redesigned the parts that cause me problems so once I get back into it, I should be fine.

The little kitty thing is Mascot. He normally appears at the bottom chapters with the credits, in the cover images, and sometimes pops up in chapters with author's notes and comments.

((If anyone wants to head canon any of my characters as neurotypical just know that it is head canon and not supported by anything in the plot -or me))

Below this point are more character descriptions, but just know that most involve spoilers for things that happen after Ch2. I didn't spoil the biggest things just a few things that lead up to them.

The devil catboy is Damian Leeds the son of the Jersey Devil (TJ) and a human (Nancy). I grew up hearing many different stories about the Jersey Devil with many different depictions so this version is a polymorph, and so is his son. Damian is able to change between human, Neko Mimi, and full furry forms. Lily does not know that the Kitty Devil that saved her is Damian. Damian gets a massive crush on Lily. He's very emotionally secure which makes him a great support as a friend, but he also struggle with recognizing that others won't respond to stress the same way he does.

Nancy Leeds works at the local Super Natural Animal Wildlife Reserve. She is also Don's new boss. SN stuff is kept secret from the populace.

Even though Lily and Damian are the central 2 characters, the readers have pretty unanimously voted Erik as the fan favorite. They are a mix of many of the friends I had growing up. She is nonbinary and uses all pronouns. He is a huge nerd, lover of chaos and cringe. When not in the school building, Erik wears a beanie their brother made them that reads "I ♥️ Emo Boys." She's the heart of the group without question.

Alex is Erik's older brother. He is a huge anxiety gay, and introvert. He prefers letting others take center stage while he watches. This does mean he's prone to bottle things up. Luckily he's the type to go to his friends for help after isolating to process. He hasn't had many appearances yet, but what has been revealed is that he really likes fashion and sewing. He has also been weirdly touchy with Lily and even he doesn't know why. The most recent chapter and the next few will have him as a focus.

(Alex and Erik are half Italian, half Columbian American. This hasn't had an opportunity to be brought up in the story yet. I had a bunch friends that were Columbian. Their extended family and specifically their grandparents were very like my Italian grandparents. So I made these two a mix of those just like they are mixes of many friends I had growing up. Even though I've had these characters for half of my life, I have never been able to decide on a last name for them.)

The last of the friend group is Mike Sasha Keith Apple Gate. In the OG version I made in Highschool, I had 3 characters that all played the same role at different times throughout the story so I mixed them into 1 person and introduced him in the plot much sooner. He too hot to remain single and keeps ending up in unwanted romantic relationships. MSK has anger management problems while also completely failing at defending his own boundaries. He has a grudge against Damian and the why hasn't been revealed yet. He's author's favorite and you can tell because of how much effort I put into his outfits and hair. Lastly, it has been revealed that MSK can see Super Natural Energy. It is through his eyes that it's also revealed that Alex's behavior around Lily is cause by an energy around her.

((Since I've been making it slowly over many years you can easily see the evolution of my art through this comic))

#mori answered #pine barrens super natural #oc #original character #webcomic #pbsn spoilers

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sims4storiesbygracepensora · 1 year ago

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Story 5

Story 5: Industrial Penthouse, Arts Quarter, San Mushyno Same day (Sat 2nd September) 7.01 pm

Leo: Dinner's ready!

Leo: Oh, you set up the table nicely? Are we celebrating something?

Kylie: I guess there's no point in waiting further... I'm pregnant!

Leo: Oh my God! Oh my God! (Takes kylie into his arms)

Kylie: Now, we'll start our own little family... You will help me to raise the kid, right? 50-50?

Leo: Yes of course? Are you afraid?

Kylie: Yeah, I have to admit... yes

Leo: (softly) Don't worry, I'll be right here with you, I'll give you and our little one only the best things...

Leo: Let us dig in before it gets cold...

(Leo puts one taco in each plate)

Kylie: Hmmm... that's yummy! I'd better appreciate food while I still can. Soon these morning sickness will hit hard!

Leo: When did you know?

Kylie: I'm two weeks late, I just did a test this morning. I wanted to be sure before telling you.

Leo: Woah... I don't know if I'll be able to finish the taco... I'm so happy I can't eat.

Kylie: There's something I would like to know... We've been married for more than a year now. And I can see you're a bit annoyed at your uncle, Brenden and your cousin. Hmm... I just don't understand, what happened between these two? And why did you not want to spend the summer holidays with them?

Leo: Pfff that's a long story... Do you really want to talk about that unpleasant topic.

Kylie: Yeah! I want to know... No! I need to know! I'm going to the mother of your child. I need to know why you're avoiding them! Are they supposed to be part of our lives?

Leo: I'm just so tired of all the drama, that's why I don't want to talk to them... Ok let me explain...You know my grandfather had three children right? My aunt Gwen , then my mom, Wendy and my uncle Brenden whose birth came a bit late, right... My grandfather was already 70 so he passed away when Brenden was only 3 I think...

Kylie: Ok

Leo: Then, when his mother passed away, my mom took him to live with her but you know that...

Kylie: yeah...

Leo: I was just a boy but Brenden and Danielle were dating when they were teenagers.

Kylie: They were?

Leo: Yeah! Brenden was a bit older, he was handsome and a lot of girls were trying to get their hands on him... So he left Danielle and started dating Kayla, his now ex-wife!

Kylie: Oh! But now they're back together....

Leo: Yeah, Brenden left Brindleton Bay, where we were living at that time to get in the military. He always wanted to start a family early, he did so with Kayla...

Leo: Brenden and Kelly were two buddies at that time, always doing pranks around, playing football together...

(Kelly is the nephew of Wendy, the son of Gwen)

Leo: When Brenden left town, Kelly came to stay at our place in Brindleton Bay for some time. That's when he met Dianelle. And according to what he told me, Danielle had his heart broken by how Brenden left her and went to Kayla.

Kylie: So he comforted her...

Leo: Exactly! Eventually they fell in love. When Brenden learnt about that he flew into a rage. There's was a huge fight. It was the day before Brenden was getting married. Kelly was supposed to be his best man. From what I understood, Brenden still had feelings for her. Kelly knew that but still continued to date Danielle. That was the end of their friendship...

Kylie: That's sad!

Leo: Yeah... They would not see each other. My mom had to invite them separately for each holiday. And you know my mom! She was whining and whingeing about how much she wanted her whole family to be reunited...

Kylie: She's not getting that now.

Leo: I think she came to peace with what happened. She blamed Danielle for some time, Kelly as well, but she's ok now.

Kylie: How did they get back together? I mean Brenden and Danielle?

Leo: Well, Kelly acted like a prick. He had an affair for a year.

Kylie: No way!

Leo: Now you know the rest of the story...eventually Danielle divorced Kelly.

Kylie: There's something else I don't get... Why did Danielle get back with Brenden. Has she forgiven him?

Leo: According to Mom, the reasons Brenden broke up with Dianelle in the first place was due to Kayla's lies. She succeeded in convincing Brenden that Danielle had no intention of settling down and is just interested in becoming a violinist. Brenden can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, when he's angry.

Leo: The reason I stopped talking to both Brenden and Kelly was because they were always calling me to know how the other was doing. Like Brenden would call me to know if Kelly had a bigger appartment when I would visit him. Or Kelly would call to know if Brenden got that promotion he was expecting. There always was some kind of rivalry between these two and now I am so tired of that.

Leo: I'm tired of Kelly calling just to know if I knew that they got back together...

Kylie: I see now...

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werewolff · 2 years ago

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I wanna tell a secretttt✋🏻

(anyways I feel like i have mental issue back then but i already stopped doing this since last year so don’t judge me I’m trying to be a better person lmao)

So short story i have this one toxic trait,probably “being manipulative” i already have bf but evrytime a boy approached me, especially on here, i let them talk to me and i gave them attention, motivation and affection, honestly i do that because i just wanted a friend to talked to, I didn’t have any feelings, even though i said to them i have connections or feelings, i lied. plus i love attention they gave to me as well. but once I’m bored with them or if I don’t got what I wanted, i throw them away, i ghost them and cut the connection or if they begging me for not leaving i became so evil and hurt their feelings, that’s why last year i have stalkers because i think some of them still mad at me but won’t leave me alone, some of them threatened me via email or text messages, but I don’t really care fr. Cause they lived so so far away from me.

One time, this boy he dm me trough insta, he lived in another city but pretty close to mine, only took 3 hour driving. I did the same thing to him, we texting, giving each other motivation, it was fun until I realized this bitch has the same personality as me, like broo he sooo manipulative, even i fell for his trapped TWICEE!! in the beginning. I’ve should’ve stopped when I realized it but I felt challenged…LMAO. So I ended up fooled him too i think more than twice.

one time, he wants to visit me after my graduation, i acted up like im happy, but once he’s arrived i ghosted him, and blocked him from insta, I deleted his contact too, he ended up calling me with his other number and when I picked up i said “wait.. who tf is this” and then he’s cried, but he’s not even mad at that timw cause he wants to meet me so bad, afterr that he came to my house giving me a big bouquet of flowers. And I asked him to stay in the city for 1 week only just so I could get free dinner and free riding home and a person to entertain me after a long day at work. After meeting him in real life i know this guy has low self esteem, I’m not even do anything but he’s so nervous. i know how to acted up to make him feel crazy for me, and he fell for it. At the end of the week I felt really done and bored, he also tried to cross my boundaries even though he knows i have bf, this guy is delusional and kinda narcissistic but in real life he’s a coward, he even asked me to meet at the hotel but i never wanted to, lucky me im not that stupid. so short story i dump him I’m telling all the truth, he mad he doesn’t accept what i did, the moment he cursed me, so i said to him he make me feel disgusted and while he still typing I blocked his number. Until now he still trying to get contact to me, he ever msg me he’s sorry and still wanna be friends but nahh i know he prepared for the revenge cause i really fucked him up, he trying to call using different number to call me but i never picked up, trying to follow me using different accounts but i never get bored to blocked him, sometimes I’m scared because after almost 2 months talking with him, i know this guy is kinda vengeful and kinda creepy inside like a psycho, he knows where i lived as well but I swear to god, if he ever approached me ar threatened me, im gonna make him bleed, that’s why i always bring my fabric scissors in my bag cause i love going everywhere alone, it’s stainless steel scissors the tip is not that sharp but enough to hurt someone….but anywayyss ( lol i feel like a psycho sorry)

If u asked me, yea we both wrong. Im toxic too. And if you wondering is my bf know abt this? Yes he is, I confessed everything once I decided to change to be a good person this year, he forgives me and give me a 2nd chance. And no im never do something manipulative or jus using my bf, I really loved him, i think having my bf in my life is the best gift from god, he leads me to a good path and a better person, he’s very patient with me. Now if boys come through my dm with a sexual intention i just don’t reply for good.

But im sure you can picked a lesson from my story, if you notice a person being manipulative, narcissistic… RUN AND LEAVEE!!! Don’t ever beg someone to love you, find someone who loves you the fullest even though you’re not asked for it. And confidence and boundaries is the key so not everyone could use you for their goods

Anyways thank u so much for reading this :)

Wow

First Thing thank u for being honest and u really lucky because your bf forgive u ...if I was him I didn't do it at all but at least u changed and that very good..I wish u stay like that :)

#asks

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linggluu · 2 years ago

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他妈的真是自卑的要死。

i'm finally at a point in my life where everything's finally falling into place and i can look forward to the future now? I have a good career and bf and I are doing great and i can get over all the bs and injustices.

but every now and then something always hits me right in the gut and 马上就原形鄙陋，又变回自卑的那个人。

today on the street, my sister and i bumped into this kid that used to work in our restaurant. all while growing up, us three always got compared to BY EVERYONE. relatives , restaurant workers and family friends. and when it came to looks, the other two were always praised for being pretty, cute , beautiful. so yeah, growing up I was always bitter , had my lip out because they always got better treatment and the praise.

towards the begining of college -I'm like - fine, if they wanna call me ugly then i might as well be cheerful, work on my work ethic so they at least can't bitch at me for being ugly AND having a terrible personality.

we grew up in the kitchen so over the years we were always around the cooks.

when we were kids, 2nd sis always got brought with parents and uncle to weddings.

2013 - when we opened our last restaurant, the xiao di always offered to cook my two food but not me. fine. i can book food for me.

2013-2018 - numerous cooks would offer to buy foods for both my sisters as a doting gesture. also heard several remarks about "which one of these girls would you pick as a wife" and "the oldest one is too ugly, she's gonna need her mom to pick". cute cooks who came in would joke aorund with my youngest sis but not me and I KNOW it's based on looks.

I don't look 秀气as my 2nd younger sis and as cute as my 3rd younger sis. I never got the cute flirty treatment or people offering to cook me food and buy me food.

Moving on, My 2nd sister actually married one of the bum boy cooks (dropped out of middle school in china) who called me ugly. And we were only 2 years apart but all the guys we hung out with liked her. not me (as in dating material). we always hung out as friends but i was always one of the bros.

Anyways, this guy we bumped into, worked for our restaurant a few years back. He was especially friendly towards my younger sis , buying her food, playing games with her. He was really nice and not bad looking and I was jealous at the time because he always paid attention to her more. So today I noticed him right away riding down the street on the scooter. I saw him first, hadn't seen him in a few years so I waved and said hi. He straight up ignores me and talks right at my sis. All along they kept in touch and played games.

///

i remember the two distinct moments that i decided to fix up my attitude at the beginning of college - 1.) that time in 2008 when a driver's wife and and his son came from Tianjin to our place to apply for citizenship and a place in the states. The wife asked my mom why I looked mad all the time.

And that time right before college in 2010 when my mom's cousins and her aunt came to the USA and stayed with us until Winter, One of them asked why i looked mad .

In both of the cases, I got beat up and yelled at.

I wasn't mad. At the time I just hated when family/friends/strangers look over and be like "oh look, the ugly one".

It's not in my head and it's still happening.

Like I understand 不是你的就别再勉强。If your personalities don't match, then it can't be helped if you don't become friends.

I'm mad though, after so many years, these two still get looked at on the street and I stick out like a sore thumb. After so many years of trying to get over it, I do my best to be a good person , work on my own personal growth, career, hobbies and hang out with friends. and I'm still the one being ignored in a group setting.

anyways, tldr, pretty privilege is real and i'm tired of being the ugly one. It still bothers me and it always will. i've resigned to being lowkey bitter deep down.

I know bf and my friends like me for who i am and for the most part I appreciate it and I know so.

welp now i know i still have work to do but I still can be mad. It sucks getting the short end of the stick ALL the time.

just needed to get this off my chest.

#personal

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serenity-songbird · 2 years ago

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You were always there in the background.

Since you were little you wished you weren't alive.

No one had treated you right.

You were just a girl with parents who didn't care about you.

When you were 12, you escaped to Republic City. You wanted to get away.

Far, far away.

Start a new life where maybe, just maybe...you could be in the spotlight.

You were sick of being a wall flower.

You got a job at a bakery called, Cake My Day.

Cute name, isn't it?

The owner, Ms. Sherry, was so nice.

She taught you how to bake delicious treats. She had a spare room in her house. She said you could stay there. She was lonely and didn't mind having another person around.

How lucky could you get?

Maybe, finally, your life was turning around.

4 years passed by.

You and Ms. Sherry were the faces of the shop. With your help in advertising, the shop became more popular than before and you needed to hire 4 other people to help.

You grew older, more beautiful. You were now a manger in Sherry's bakery.

Despite you taking care of most of the work, she was still a busy boss, but you were there to help take the load off. (And force her to take time off so she'd stop over exerting herself).

She even let you start creating recipes of your own! (The first 12 were a bust though. But you learned plenty from the 12 failures! 13th times the charm!!!)

With more money coming in, she was able to reconstruct the shop to make it bigger and better. There was a To-Go Line, a large array of desserts behind the glass fridge, a coffee corner, and an outside patio complete with flowers and atmosphere. And that was just the 1st floor! The 2nd floor was mostly just a relaxing spot to study or just enjoy the comfort it offered with its couches, mini stage where someone would always play relaxing music, a little yoga spot, and the restrooms that were always clean and well-maintained.

This place felt like home. It was home.

And Ms. Sherry...Well, she become like a mother to you. A real mother. A kind mother.

You were happy.

You were walking through the neighborhood one night. You had to fetch some decorations for the shop. Ms. Sherry's birthday was in a week and you wanted to make it special. So you went out when she was asleep to get the supplies you ordered.

Suddenly, someone ran into you.

You fell to the ground.

"Aw man! I'm so sorry!"

When you looked up, you saw the most beautiful green eyes you've ever seen. You're heart began to race.

He stopped to help you up. He was huffing and puffing like he just ran a marathon. And you quickly found out he practically was when you spotted the men in green jumpsuits, red scarves, and weird looking masks come and attack him.

You swore something about their attire was hauntingly familiar. But everything was happening so fast you couldn't process it immediately.

He was earthbending to save him self and protect you from the crossfire, but the men were skilled and had these weird weapons.

You went into panic mode.

Should you help?

But then you saw one of the men pull out a scarier looking weapon than the other crimimals had and you reacted on instinct.

It could be dangerous.

You never told a lot of people this.

But when you were young, you had been born with air bending.

Both your parents were non benders so it didn't make sense.

You grew up learning to hate your air bending because it was the reason your parents hated you.

You only learned to control it so you wouldn't lose control and hurt somone by accident again.

But right now, someone needs your help. That was more important than your fear.

You twirled around and blew all of the men into the building.

The boy's mouth dropped.

"Y-you're an airbender?!"

"Ssshhh!!! Just run!!!" You grabbed his hand and just ran.

"Who are you?" He wheezed out. You can tell he had gotten hurt and this was probably hard on him. But this was the best you can do.

"Who am I? Who are you?! Why are those guys chasing after you?! Please. Please tell me you're not a criminal and I just got caught in the middle of a gang war!!!"

"Uh, weeell. I wooouldn't say gang war..."

"Then what would you call it?!?!?!" You wheezed out in frustration.

"Uuuhhhmmm...Weeell..." He trailed off.

"Nevermind! We'll take about it later!" You scoffed in frustration.

This was most likely a gang war and he didn't want to tell you...Great.

You cursed to yourself. Still, you keep running with him. You already got yourself involved, might as well keep going.

Plus...there was this feeling you couldn't quite shake. Something deep in your heart wanted you to help him.

Why would you want to help a possible gang member? Who knows?

Using your knowledge of the area you lead him to a place you'd be able to escape.

"It's a dead end!"

Turning around, you blasted a large gust of air to knock your oppressors down. While they were getting their bearings, you pushed the stranger into a dead end alleyway.

"No. It's not!" You pushed a trashcan to reveal an opening in the brick wall. "Come on! Hurry!" Without needing further instruction, he crawled through the space and you followed suit. You continued running, but not before moving the trash can back where it was.

When the gang of men looked into the alleyway there was no one in sight. So they continued further and further from you.

The only sound that could be heard were the harsh breathes you and the stranger were making. You both lay on the floor of Cake My Day's kitchen.

The noise of hurried footsteps, clattering of silverware, and the door shutting caused Ms. Sherry to come in aggressively and ready to whack the intruder with her trusty frying pan. When she saw you laying on the floor with some man, she was ready to pounce.

"(Y/N)! Dear, are you alright?! Did this man hurt you?! Quickly! Call the police! I'll hold him off..." She narrowed her eyes ready to strike.

You quickly waved her off.

"It's okay Ms. Sherry. He is with me."

"Y-yeah. I'd never hurt the pretty lady who just saved my life!" He helped you up shaking your hand similar to the excitement of a tiger seal. "(Y/N) was it!? You are awesome! Thank you so much for saving my rear back there! My name is Bolin!"

You blushed when he said "Pretty lady," but shook your head.

"Y-yeah. Sure. Speaking of that...Who were those people chasing you?! Are you really part of a gang?! Did I get myself into trouble?!" You were shaking his shoulders, terrifed.

"Ack! No no no! I'm not part of a gang...anymore that is..." He trailed off quietly.

"What was that last part?" You inquired.

"N-Nothing! Um, actually the guys that were chasing me where the Equalists. They infiltrated the Pro-Bending Tournament and attacked us! Luckily Korra, (she's the Avatar and my fellow team mate), Mako, (That's my older brother), the police force, and myself fought bravely!" He paused for a moment. "...Aaand we lost, aaand they took away the Wolfbat's bending...and the Stadium was completely destoryed... sooo yeah that didn't turn out great. But I spotted one the equalists escaping so I followed him!" He leaned against the counter trying to be cool. "I mean, not to brag, buuut I'm a pretty great Earth Bender. Anyway, I was going to help the police arrest him so we could get more info on what their planning. Yeah I know, it's a decent plan...Except when his friends came to assist him...I fought as best I could, but they are strong. When I couldn't fight anymore they began to chase me. I thought I was a goner. But then you came and saved me! And you used your awesome Air bending powers to knock them down! Are you related to Tenzin? You must be since their family are the only ones that can use Airbending. He didn't mention having another daughter though? Oh! Also-"

"I'm sorry. Let me stop you right there!" You had to stop him from getting off track. Both you and Ms. Sherry were still processing his explanation. Luckily, you and Ms. Sherry didn't have a problem keeping up with his speech. He was rambling quite fast. Honestly, did he even breath between sentences? Still, your coworker Derrick had a habit of rambling all the time so you both had practice understanding fast speech.

You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose.

"Let me get this straight. The people that were chasing you were not part of a gang. But some cult who wants to get rid of bending. And it's not just any run of the mill cult...It's the Equalists, correct?"

"Yup!"

"...What have I just gotten myself into..." You then started to freak out. "Oh my gosh!!! The freaking Equlaists!!! This-This is awful! what if they followed us home!?" You started hyperventilating. "What if they attack the bakery! What if-"

"Now now Dear. Let's not jump to what ifs. You know how you get. Let's just breath and calm down." Ms. Sherry knew you were an Airbender and why you hated it, so the thought of you being in trouble scared her. However, she had a feeling that this young man would protect you and teach you to love your bending. She just had a hunch and they were never wrong.

"Yeah! There is no need to worry! We lost them long before we got here! Thanks to your secret passageway, they didn't follow. Plus with your scarf covering your face and hair and your long jacket, they probably didn't see much to distinguish you!"

You had forgotten you were wearing this. It was a bit chilly out, but the main reason you wore these is so Ms. Sherry wouldn't recognize you and to hide the party supplies in your jacket. You were determined to suprise her.

"A-ah Yeah. That's true...Although, I should definitely trash these. That way they won't know who I am." You proceeded to do just that.

"Why are you wearing such clothes anyway darling? It is not that cold outside." Ms. Sherry questioned.

"A-ah!!! I-It's because I'm not feeling so well. Yeah! I went out to get some medicine. I didn't want to disturb your sleep." You hoped she'd buy it.

"Well why didn't you say so! I will get you some medicine to have you feeling better in no time. And Bolin why don't you try some sweets! I don't want you going back out tonight. It's dangerous if the Equalists are out there." Ms. Sherry was in her normal cheery mood. She was glad you both were safe.

"Oh, I don't want to impose! I can go back home and-"

"It's not a request. You ARE staying here. If you need to borrow the phone to call someone, it's right there." She pointed to the phone on the wall, staring Bolin dead in the eyes daring him to challenge her.

"Yes Ma'am." He scrambled to the phone to let his brother and Korra know he was fine.

You shook your head smiling. Honestly, once Ms. Sherry has her mind set on something there is no changing her mind.

While Ms. Sherry went to get medicine for your "illness," you went to heat up some leftover brownies you had made earlier that day.

"Wow that smells delicious! What is it!" Bolin peeked over your shoulder. He liked how friendly you and Ms. Sherry were. He'd feel really bad if something were to happen to either of you because of him. So he vowed to protect you.

"Thanks. It's my own recipe. I used to be such an awful Baker. But thanks to Ms. Sherry's skills, I'm better than ever!"

"Terrible baker and a terrible cook. I helped with that too." She winked at Bolin in a teasing manner after walking into the room.

"Unnecessary comment, Ms. Sherry." You pouted. She giggled. She gave you a small shot of disgusting medicine. You had to choke it down. You didn't want Ms. Sherry to know about your suprise. It'll all be worth it next week.

"By the way, were you able to contact someone to let then know you were okay?"

"Yup! My brother was relived to hear I'm okay. Thank you for taking me in for the night."

"Nonsense, Darling. I would never let such a sweetie like you get hurt or kidnapped or worse!" Everyone in the room knew how dangerous the Equalists were. They didn't want to find out what they would do to him.

The rest of the night passed by with no incidents. Bolin wanted to know more about you and you both stayed up late getting to know each other. The more you spoke, the more you realized how kind, brave, and funny Bolin was. You were glad you saved him.

Maybe he and his friends could bring down Amon...

"So since you're an Airbender, how are you related to Tenzin? I feel like if you were his daughter, we would've already met you. So you must be his niece, right?"

"Well...No. I'm not related to, er, Tenzin at all..." You looked away and fiddled with your hair.

"You're not? But I thought the only Airbenders were descendants of Avatar Aang?" Bolin tilted his head in confusion.

"Apparently not. Both my parents were non-benders...so I don't really know why I got my airbending...Not that it's really done anything for me. I wish I could get rid of it." You pulled your knees to your chest and hugged your legs, forlorn.

"What?! But you're an awesome airbender! Why wouldn't you want to use your bending?!"

You looked up at him and his concerned face. He is now the fourth person to know about your bending. Your parents rejected you because of it.

The only reason Ms. Sherry knew was because you had accidentally used your bending during a panic attack. She had to calm you down, but got hurt in the process. She had a permanent scar on her arm where you slashed her by accident. You had felt awful and cried while apologizing profusely. She cooed to you saying it was alright. When she held you, you ended up telling her everything.

Ms. Sherry hated your parents because of this. She began to raise you as her own after she found out you were living in a dumpster. She was the mom you never had.

Now here you were with a boy you just met. He knew about your bending. And he thought it was awesome. That's the first time anyone has told you that.

You couldn't stop the tears. You didn't want to cry and furiously began to wipe them. You tried to stop, but the more you held it in, the more you cried. This happens everytime you think about your bending or using it.

"H-hey! What's wrong?!" Bolin scrambled to you and rubbed your back. "Why...Why are you crying. Did I do something?"

"I don't understand...Why are you not running away? Why are you being so nice to me? I'm an airbender...Doesn't that freak you out?"

"Freak me out? Of course not! I happen to know 4 other Airbenders who are my friends. Why would that be freaky? I think its cool."

You stared at him with teary eyes and just began to bawl. You told him everything. You didn't know why, but something inside you just wanted to get it out.

You told him about your parents. You told them how they abused you and cursed you for your bending. They called you names and told you no one would ever be friends with you. You grew up to hate your bending. You had to teach yourself to control it, but even now you didn't have total control. You told him how you lived on the streets before Ms. Sherry took you in. How you ran away at such a young age and had to learn to fend for yourself.

You hated yourself.

You didn't realize that Bolin had wrapped his arms around you and held you tight. You were suprised when you felt tears on your back. When you pulled your hands from your face, you noticed that he was crying too.

"W-Why a-are y-you c-crying?" You could barely get the words out.

"B-Because you are! And because your parents treated you totally unfair! I-I think your bending is awesome and you shouldn't hate it! It makes you who you are! And you're, like, the coolest girl I've met!"

Mako had come to pick Bolin up the next morning. After last night, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from your shoulders. You were grateful for Bolin and he had become a quick friend.

That made both of you cry more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks again for letting me stay here Ms. Sherry. (Y/N)."

"Of course! You're welcome anytime, Dear."

"I hope he didn't cause you any trouble. Thanks for looking out for him. (Y/N), was it?" Mako shook your hand.

"Yes that's me. I'm glad I helped him. Thank you for keeping me company, Bolin. Oh! I packed some sweets for you and your friends." You gave him a pink box full of assorted sweets.

"Wow!!! Thanks!!! These look amazing!!!" He happily wolfed down a chocolate donut.

As Bolin was getting into his brother's car, he paused and ran up to you.

"You should come with us to Air Temple Island! There you can meet other Airbenders and they can teach you more about your heritage! What do you say!"

"M-Meet the other Airbenders. I-I don't want to impose. Besides what if they don't like me?!"

"They'll looove you. I'm sure they'd be stocked to meet another airbender!" He gave you puppy eyes and a wide smile.

"It wouldn't hurt, (Y/N). It might be good for you." Ms. Sherry put a hand on your shoulder. You opened your mouth to say something, but she didn't let you start. "And don't worry about the bakery. Derick and Lillian will be here to help. Go have a day off." She gently pushed you into Bolin's chest, making you blush 50 shades of red.

"I-I s-suppose I could go. I have wondered what the island looks like..."

"Great!!! Come on!!!" Bolin pulled you into the car in glee. You had to admit, you were both Nervous and a little bit excited.

You couldn't explain it, but you had a feeling that things would get better. You looked at yours and Bolin's intertwined hands and your heart drummed in your chest.

Unbeknownst to you, Bolina's heart was also thumbing as well.

You felt as if you didn't need to be afraid. So you put your trust in this, not so stranger anymore, and walked foward. You knew that everything would be okay if he was by your side.

Maybe airbending wasn't so bad after all.

#legend of korra x reader #legend of korra #bolin x reader #lok bolin #mako and bolin #korra #asami

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