#heck maybe even since ten across??

[revelboo]

Are you okay writing for tfp Knockout or Breakdown? Maybe they are either another (human) racer or heck even someone who works at the car wash who gives some of the best cars waxes, Knockout befriended. That or maybe they’re a mech experiment (mostly) human survivor that helped Breakdown escape MECH. Or literally whatever you see happening these where just some of my suggestions. The floor is yours if you’re okay writing for them? Thanks either way 😄

My Favorite Accident

Knockout x reader-race

• Huh. Of all the ways you might have imagined you’d die, death by a furious, alien pimp car wouldn’t have made the top ten. Or hundred. Fingers going white knuckled on the helmet in your hands, you feel curiously numb. Drag racing was dangerous and sooner or later, you’d push your luck past the point of no return. But this?

• When you’d managed to pass that stupidly gorgeous, red sports car for the third night in a row, you’d wanted to laugh your head off. Maybe dance a victory jig because your old, rusty Trans Am looked like an ad for tetanus and it’d still beaten all those other pretty, expensive cars. So yeah, when the candy apple red car had followed you and stayed right on your bumper after the race, you’d sucked it up and pulled over. Letting the guy follow you to your house wasn’t happening. If you were going to get screamed at, it was going to be on your terms.

• You grab your switchblade out of the center console and slide it into your back pocket in case wealthy sports car guy decided he could try and bully you out of your winnings. Hip cocked and arms folded across your chest, you wait for the guy to get out and yell- probably accuse you of cheating.

• That sound was something you’d never forget, almost a musical thing as metal shifted and rearranged. And grew to tower over you in the form of a sleek robot.

• An infuriated robot as it takes a thunderous step your way and your helmet hits the asphalt. More than anything, you want to run. The problem is your body isn’t on board. You can’t move at all as it crouches down. “Mind telling me how you beat me in that scrap heap?”

• Cold fury sparking through him, Knockout glares down at the human staring up at him. “Well?” He demands. “You cheated didn’t you?” Because there’s no way a human beat him in that… abomination. It’s not even a car, more a mobile scrap heap. And that just makes it so much worse.

• Huh. Indignation wins out over common sense. “I’m a better driver,” you say. Those strange black and red eyes narrow and you have the thought that you can duck, grab the helmet and sling it at the robot. Maybe buy yourself a whole thirty seconds before it stomps you to death.

• What you don’t expect is for it to throw up an arm in all too human exasperation. “Hardly. I’ve been driving long before you were even alive,” it says, walking past you to stalk around your car. “Do you have any idea how mortifying it is to lose to… this? What it does to my reputation?”

• You can breathe now that it’s not glaring down at you, because it’s popping the hood on your car and shaking its head in disgust. “That’s gotta hurt, huh?” You snark, wincing as it glowers at you over its shoulder with murderous intent.

• “We’re going again. Now.” Because he can’t stand it. And it’s been a long time since anyone’s given him a real challenge. A thrill of electric anticipation makes him smile when your uneasy expression smooths into a cocky sureness, because he knows you won’t just let him win- you’ll fight him tooth and nail for it. A kindred spirit.

Next

[katnisspeetaprim]

Wardrobe Malfunction

Stray Kids!9thmember au, Chan/Reader, Jeon Jungkook/Sister!Reader

Summary: The stylists for the new comeback decide it's time for you to start showing off your figure more on stage. Warnings: fem!reader, established relationship, idol!au

Word Count: 1712 M.list

‘Do I really have to wear this unnie? Why can’t I dress like the boys?’ You glanced at yourself in the mirror, distaste on your face.

‘Of course not honey! You’re a woman now, time to show off your figure!’ You scrunched up your eyebrows and closed your mouth, looking back to the mirror.

One stylist was arranging the clothes on your body and the other working on your hair.

The outfit you’d been forced into was for a show promoting the new LALALA comeback. The hair, you had no problem with. Blonde with pink streaks littered throughout in it’s usual long length, styled in a sort of half up half down look with pigtails.

The clothes themselves was where the issues lay.

The stylists had picked out the shortest skirt you were sure they could find, with an off the shoulder long sleeved crop top. The shoes weren’t all that bad, chunky heeled boots. You silently cheered when you saw you’d at least have something comfortable to dance in.

You tugged down the back of the skirt, extremely conscious about how much was actually on show. Obviously you were wearing safety shorts, but those too were incredibly short, leaving little left to the imagination with only a slither of fabric sticking out beneath the skirt.

Your eyes were then drawn to your shirt. Since it was off the shoulder, you had to wear a strapless bra that definitely didn’t fit you correctly. You’d had to pull it up at least three times in the past ten minutes, and you were standing still!  

‘Unnie please! I can’t dance in this!’ You pleaded one last time, spinning round to face the head stylist, trying to gain any amount of sympathy.

The older woman just waved you off with a roll of her eyes.

‘Oh please, you’ll be fine. Plus maybe it’ll help attract more male fans.’ She said nonchalantly as she walked from the room, leaving you gobsmacked after what she said.

Once you were ready for the show, you were guided to the boys dressing room.

As soon as they saw you, their conversations dried up and just stared at you.

‘Don’t even bother saying anything. I know I look ridiculous.’ You threw yourself down next to Hyunjin and crossed your arms under your chest, unintentionally pushing up your bra and giving Hyunjin a much better look than he’s sure you intended.

‘What?’ You shot him a confused look when he turned away, blush coating his cheeks.

‘Umm... That’s a short outfit, noona.’ Jeongin spoke up, trying to save Hyunjin from the embarrassment.

It was then that you looked down at yourself and blushed harshly when you realised what you’d done. You quickly sat up straight and fixed your shirt, avoiding eye contact.

You trusted your band mates whole heartedly, but at the end of the day they were still men with eyes. At least you knew the stylists plan was working...

Felix cleared his throat across from you, cutting through the awkwardness.

‘Why have they dressed you like that noona?’ You shook your head with a sigh as you answered.

‘Stylists said ‘I’m a woman now’ and ‘This would help to gain male fans.’ You rolled your eyes as you mimicked the older woman.

‘What the heck!? They said that to you?’ Chan shot up and came to stand next to your seat.

You nodded in confirmation. He stared at you for a moment, before scoffing and placing his hands on his hips.

‘If you aren’t comfortable, surly they can’t make you wear it?’ Jisung spoke, not entirely believing his own words. Most of the time, they had no say in what they wore.

‘I’m gonna talk to them.’ Chan was already  halfway to the door when you shot up to stop him.

‘Chan I already tried, plus we have to be on stage soon. I can deal with it for one show.’ He looked down at your hand on his arm, contemplating your words before sighing.

‘As long as you’re  sure, but I’m speaking to them right after the show.’ You sighed in relief. The last thing you wanted to do was cause issues for the boys, just because you didn’t want to wear an outfit.

The first part of the performance went fin, no hiccups.

It was during the second half that you felt your bra beginning to slip out of place. You quickly grabbed the material and held it in place. Your heart was beating loudly in your chest, as you nearly exposed yourself on TV.

There was no way you’d be able to fix your clothing, but running off stage wasn’t an option either.

You just put on a brave face, trying to hold back tears and wrapped your arms round your torso, still dancing as best you could.

All the boys had noticed your predicament, but all they could do was shoot you sympathetic looks.

Luckily, Changbin was wearing a jacket as part of his outfit and smoothly made his way over to you, dropping his coat over your shoulders.

You quickly gave him a thankful look, before turning round and zipping the coat up.

Thankfully Changbin did what he did in that moment. As you stood in your ending pose, you could feel your shirt and bra had completely slipped, leaving you bare beneath the jacket.

This was the most humiliating moment of your career.

You wasted no time bolting off stage, ignoring he calls coming from your members.

Bursting into the dressing room, the stylists all adverted their gaze, too ashamed to own their screw up. Gathering up your comfortable clothes, you locked yourself in the bathroom to change.

‘How could you let that happen?’ Chan yelled raging, ad he also burst into the dressing room.

All the stylists looked up at him like deer in headlights. ‘You’re supposed to keep us safe and comfortable on stage!’ Chan continued on. By now the woman had all bowed their heads, knowing they couldn’t get away from this.

As Chan was scolding the staff, Felix knocked on the bathroom door.

‘Y/N? You in there?’  he got no reply so pressed his ear to the door. He could hear faint sniffles on the other side.

Felix pulled back, distressed at what he heard and knocked again, this time more rapidly.

‘Y/N? Can I come in?’ Felix almost fell into the bathroom when you suddenly pulled open the door, now changed out of the offending outfit.

‘Can we please leave now?’ You whispered meekly.

‘Yeah of course!’ Felix answered without hesitation. He guided your from the bathroom, quickly telling Minho that he was taking you home.

Chan was still too angry to be interrupted right now.

You were quiet in the car ride home. Felix could tell you didn’t want to talk, so he just sat there in silence, knowing his presence was enough to comfort you.

Suddenly his phone vibrated in his pocket.

‘Apparently the stylists responsible are being bought into a meeting tomorrow.’ Felix summarised the group chat, causing you to look away from the window for the first time.

‘Chan is still livid though.’ He snorted with a shake of his head. It was only then that you noticed Felix was still wearing his stage outfit.

‘Oh jeez. I didn’t even let you get changed...’ Your brows furrowed. All you had wanted to do was get out of there. You hadn’t even given a thought to your band mates.

Felix leaned forwards and placed a comforting hand on your knee with a smile.

‘Seriously noona, don’t sweat it! I just care about getting you home right now.’ You leaned back in your seat and nodded. He must be uncomfortable being in those clothes for so long...

‘You should shower when we get back. Get al that makeup and hairspray out.’ He pulled back and gave you another comforting smile.

A hot shower did sound good right now.

The hot shower really had done wonders in helping you relax and unwind.

You were now sat on your bed in cosy pyjamas as you braided your wet hair.

‘Hey’ Chan knocked on your open door, before inviting himself inside. You smiled warmly and scooted forwards, allowing him to position himself behind you.

Chan reached up and rested his hands on your shoulders, rubbing soothingly. Your eyes fluttered shut and you moaned out softly in relief.

'how you feeling?’

‘Better, still embarrassed.’ You breathed out.

‘Don’t be. The stylists should have listened to you.’ His hands ran down your arms and over your stomach, pulling you into a hug from behind. You leaned back and allowed him to take your weight.

‘They’re in trouble by the way. JYP wasn’t happy. He found out right away.’ He chuckled next to your ear.

You were conflicted upon hearing this. On one hand, you were glad they were getting pulled up on their actions but on the other hand, you didn’t want anyone to loose their job because of you.

‘I know what you’re thinking and stop it. They bought it on themselves.’ Chan hugged you tighter and placed a feather light kiss on your neck. You sighed contently and the contact.

‘People are on your side by the way’ You turned your head to look at him in confusion. He smiled down at you. ‘Online. Nobody had anything bad to say. All think you handled it really well.’

You pulled out of his arms and sat up right with a relieved laugh.

‘I’ve been too scared to look. Thanks for putting my mind at ease.’

‘Anytime!’ Chan beamed at you and pushed your braid over your shoulder. He suddenly got up and reached his hand out for you to take.

‘We picked up takeout on the way back. I’m sure you’re starving.’

‘Hell yes I am!’ You eagerly took his hand and followed him from the room.

3 messages from Big Bro Jungkook

Hey sis! Tried to call you but couldn’t get through. I know the guys are probably looking after you, but I just wanted to make sure you’re ok?

I’ve had wardrobe malfunctions myself, but it’s obviously worse for you lol

Anyway, I’m here if you wanna talk!

[glitcheslikeslego]

Show Me Your Moves! (Chapter 9)

AO3 STORY

tw: reader uses a knife at the end

Chapter 9 : Sketch

Sketch is a non-damaging move that allows the user to copy the opponent's move permanently, replacing Sketch. 

You internally cursed Tang out in your head as you spotted an energetic MK painting along with Sandy. 

For a second, you were glad that MK appeared to be back to normal, but then you remembered the madness that was his Artist Clone. You remember that it only took 15 hours for Porty to go on his power trip, and you were pretty sure Artist was earlier than Porty, and that’s why you felt that off feeling as you watched MK take two paint brushes and begin painting even more.

“How long has he been at this?” You whisper-asked Sandy, who whispered back that he’s been painting for about Five hours now. You shuddered. Five hours already? Ten hours or less left to go…

Two hours.

The clone lasted for two hours.

“It needs to be better. It needs to be better.” The Artist Clone muttered to himself as he painted an intricate mural of MK dancing, surrounded by clones playing different instruments.

Despite its beauty, Artist didn’t seem pleased with it.

“I think it’s pretty good, MK.” Sandy said, and you felt fear strike into your very soul when Artist MK turned to the two of you with an insane look on his face.

“Pretty good? Pretty good!? That’s not good enough.” You and Sandy cowered and hugged each other as Artist MK yelled at you two. “You asked me to help paint your boat and that’s what I’m gonna do. I won’t stop until it’s perfect!” 

“I think it’s already perfect, MK.” You decided to stay, and he glared at you, making you even more nervous.

There was a small beat of silence, Artist MK’s eye twitched, then he attacked.

Sandy stood in front of you, hoping his natural strength could hold Artist MK back, but Artist MK’s funky mystic monkey powers easily kicked Sandy’s butt. Startled, you were powered up again, much like how you were back at the Weather Station, instead this time, the waves of the water became harsh, rocking the boat.

This didn’t intimidate the Artist Clone, and he ended up tying you and Sandy up before returning to his painting.

“Hey.” Sandy whispered to you, tied up suspended in the air. “Since when could you do that? The water thing?”

Ah, you forgot he was technically a water demon…

“The water thing? Just now, but apparently I’ve been unlocking these wacky abilities since Red Son took over the Weather Station. Remember when I punched that Bull Clone?” Your boss nodded. “Well, I also was covered in electricity, which totally short circuited the clone.”

Sandy nodded in understanding, and for the next few hours, you sat on the ground uncomfortable as Artist MK constantly painted over the murals he made over and over again, complaining about imperfections all the while.

“Yes, yes, the art is seeping into my pores!” Artist MK dragged a pink coated paintbrush across his face with an insane grin. “Just needs… One. More. Coat.” He turned to you and Sandy slowly, scaring the heck out of the two of you. 

“You missed a spot!”

“Where!?” Artist Clone then disappeared in a puff of dust and hair, and the real MK appeared. 

“Hey, MK. Mystic Monkey business?” Sandy asks knowingly, and MK nods. 

“How many of those clones did you make?” You ask curiously, maybe he’d give you an actual answer as to how many he actually made and not just the main three clones from this episode. 

Instead, he yelled out about Mei and rushed off, and you remembered that he’s better off saving her before she probably gets actually obliterated by that claw machine if he didn’t make it like last time. 

“So… now what?” Sandy wiggled a bit, making him swing side to side. 

“I think I can do something…” You replied. You wiggled around some too before one of your LEGO claw hands popped out of the ropes. You grabbed a knife from your pocket. 

“Since when did you have that!?” Sandy helps out in alarm, and you chuckle. 

“Since you hired me? You have quite a few of these just laying around in the store. I actually feel kind of comfortable walking around if I have an unreasonably sharp object to protect me.” You replied, easily cutting the ropes that Artist MK tied you in before freeing Sandy. 

“I don't think that’s a good thing.” Sandy said as you freed him, easily landing on his feet. 

You shrug. “Eh, what else do I have?”

He grabbed the knife from you with an unimpressed look on his face. “Those super strong powers you just admitted to having?”

You stared blankly for a second before pointing finger guns at him. “Touché.” 

~~~

<PREV ~ NEXT>

[lively-potter]

— moon struck ; jjk ; one

— genre ; strangers to friends to lovers/kinda grumpy x sunshine/smut/fluff/angstwithahappyending 🥹

— warnings ; body insecurities ( mentioned ), eating disorder ( in the past but mentioned ), oc deals with a severe amount of anxiety and panic attacks, violence, smut ( later ), FLUFF, love struck jungkookie 🥹

— find me on Wattpad ; @/LivelyPotter

— word count ; 2.4k

— part two

— 2024 © @LivelyPotter

river’s pov ; six am

My brother Brandon always used to tell me to make sure the walls that I built to protect myself didn't become a prison — a prison that I couldn't escape.

Ten years later, I could shamefully say that I did not listen to his advice, and now I was paying for it in the worst way possible.

Knees tucked to my chest, I panted and eyed the area around me nervously, as if I expected the man that I had been avoiding as the plague had come upon me.

Tucked inside the teeny tiny cleaning closet across from the kitchen, with the door locked and closed – it wasn't possible, but in my mind, there was still a chance.

But maybe that was just me being paranoid.

Okay, I was paranoid. Very paranoid.

Listening closely to the parents dropping their children off, I prayed to whoever was listening to me at this moment that I wouldn't be found by anyone until it was only Sang, the children, and I in the building.

I gulped past the ball that seemed to be lodged in my throat constantly whenever he came to my mind.

He nearly always was on my mind, so I was growing quite used to the clogging of my throat and the constant upbeat of my heart thrumming inside my chest.

He was here, and he crept up on me ( not really, I'm just being dramatic ) without my notice with little Moon in his big strong arms.

Once I caught sight of him – smiling kindly and brightly as he always did, a breathless whisper of my name leaving his red-bitten lips – I squeaked and ran away like a coward, ghostly pale face stained crimson.

It had been this way for seven, grueling, nerve-racking, months.

Ever since Jeon Jungkook moved to Charleston with his two-year-old daughter to live closer to his aunt, Mi Cha, my life had turned on its axis. I was living in fear every morning when the twenty-six-year-old man would drop off his daughter at the daycare center Sang and I ran.

A whimper of disparity left my lips.

My other best friends Brett and Atlas would never let me live this down. On the other hand, Sang and Wil wouldn't give me a hard time about running away from the man when he hadn't even spoken ten words to me.

Not for lack of trying, he had tried speaking to me — every day in fact, but I was the problem. I was the one who chickened out the moment I saw his intimidating, tattoo-laden figure — looking totally out of place in the yellow and lavender mellow aura surrounding the daycare center.

I didn't want to admit to the rest of my friends and family that I was scared of him. Terrified is a better word for it.

I gnawed on my bottom lip, enough to taste the nasty metallic taste of blood coating my tongue.

I cringed and rubbed over the small gash on my lower lip.

I know. I know it's unrealistic and okay, childish to be afraid of a man that I didn't know...but I just couldn't help it! I just couldn't!

Not when he stares at me, with those pretty boba-like eyes and that sweet smile on his handsome face, which for some odd reason, I find him doing a lot before my slow brain finally clicks that he's near.

When I catch sight of him, my fight-or-fly instinct kicks in and I'm gone.

It leads me to some very embarrassing moments that I'm not proud of.

Heck, even last week at the supermarket, I found him and Moon shopping and before he could find me, I hightailed it to the freezer section, and thankfully old man Joe — the resident frozen food stocker, let me hide in the freezing ice room containing huge pieces of pork, beef, and chicken hanging from metal hooks.

I could imagine Brett and Atlas laughing at my misfortune. Those two were a lot more courageous than I was, and I was still fighting past my insecurities about how in the world those two amazing people would want to be friends with me.

A girl who had way too many issues and experienced large bouts of cowardice.

Oh for dingleberries sake!

A shiver tumbled down my spine as I once again remembered that freezer room.

It freaked me out since it reminded me of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I held strong. Being forced to be scared of ole Joe plunging one of those metal hooks through my neck and suspending my dead body from the ceiling was better than being around Jungkook and those feelings I got whenever I was around him.

Yes, I was running away from my feelings, and I didn't care.

As long as it wasn't hurting anyone, I could carry on in life with a guiltless conscience.

I wasn't hurting anyone, right?

A tremble parted my lips as a quick knock sounded on the door.

"River, he's gone now." A resounding sigh of relief left my lips at hearing Sang's voice. "Moon's been crying for you for the past ten minutes."

I licked at my chapped lips and got up off the floor, and dusted off my light denim baggy pants, and tugged at the oversized Nike sweatshirt I wore as I opened the door and skittered out.

Sang, with her arms crossed across her pink dress-covered figure, watched me sympathetically and carefully wrapped her taller self around my pixie-like frame and led me down the hall and into the children's room.

"You know you'll eventually have to stop avoiding him, right?" She chuckled and pinched my rosy cheek between her manicured fingers.

I avoided her eyes and fiddled with the hem of my shirt, "You don't see his face every time you run, Rivvy." She sighed, "I feel bad for the poor man, Mi Cha speaks about it sometimes. You ought to give Jungkook a break."

Why did it matter to him whether I avoided him or not?

Wouldn't a lot of people be put off by the sheer dominance that man gave off?

Wasn't he used to it?

I cringed, "...I'm sorry. I just can't help it." I mumbled and tucked my pale hair behind my ears as a high-pitched scream entered my ears.

Wincing at the familiar sound, a smile quirked up my lips at the tiny baby, with her gleaming, tear-filled boba eyes and wobbly lips, and cute little curled pigtails swinging back and forth as she marched towards me.

Her little white Air Force ones thumped on the ground as the tiny little girl marched towards me clumsily.

I mustered a giggle and knelt to receive the adorable two-year-old in my arms.

This, ladies and gentlemen, was Jeon Moon.

"Riv!" She cried out a new version of my name, the only part she could pronounce, and fat tears dribbled down her face as she placed her head on my chest.

"Shhh," I hushed the little child, who had begun to get the other kids' attention and before the others swarmed me, demanding attention, I had to quiet her. "It's okay, Moon." I smoothed back her silky dark hair as she calmed down and sniffled against my sweatshirt.

Sang smirked and pushed her chameleon-colored hair off her shoulders, "I don't know why she always comes to you, River." She snickered, now holding little Sarah in her arms.

"But seeing as you both prefer to keep to yourselves and avoid other people like the plague, I kinda see it." She joked.

"Haha." I deadpan at her, blinking down at Moon. My heart swelled at the adorable child and I hugged her closer to my body.

She was just too darn cute!

I wouldn't admit it out loud, but she looked like a baby female version of her dad.

Over the next few minutes, Sang and I sat on the floor as we watched over the kids who had already raided the toy box.

Being the youngest and the most interesting yet introverted child I had ever met, Moon decided to stay seated on my lap while digging into the soft strawberry puff snacks her dad packed for her.

"Oh!" Sang spoke up suddenly, causing Moon and I to look at her, lips forming an O at being startled.

My best friend stifled a giggle, "Your brothers will be here soon — they decided to bring lunch for us since you forgot to bring your own." She sent me a knowing look, more than likely knowing that I had forgotten on purpose.

I once again avoided her eyes and turned my focus to Moon who cooed, those rosy sun-kissed cheeks chubbily pooched out as she ate.

I released a laugh of my own and wiped along her lips with a baby wipe, cleaning the crumbs from her little delicate face.

"Sounds good." I exclaimed, meeting her emerald eyes, "Brett messaged me this morning and said she and Atlas may come down soon to hang out."

Sang only nodded and looked behind my shoulder, biting her lol nervously.

I felt my stomach drop and dread fill my gut. "What is it?" I gulped, fearing the worst.

Sang chewed on her top lip thoughtfully, "I was wondering whether or not you could take over pickup later today, Brandon and Corey need me back at this apartment."

The nervous tinge in her voice caused suspicion to curl along inside my chest, but knowing I would have to face my biggest nightmare, I nodded.

"Sure," I replied, my normally soft-spoken voice shaking in trepidation. I would find a way out of having to face him. I risked a look down at Moon who began to toy with my earring.

Sang had a proud glint in her eye, "Thank you, Rivvy!"

"No problem." I forced a smile and played with Moon's little pigtails.

Sang walked off to help stop a dispute between a couple of ten-year-olds while I gazed down at Moon.

"Oh, Moon." A loud sigh left my lips, displaying the fear inside my heart. "Why does your daddy have to be so darn scary?"

***

third pov ; jeon jungkook

The twenty-six-year-old man stared glumly at the table before him in silence. Using a spoon, Jungkook stirred the warmed ginseng tea within the mug.

"Did that sweet River flee from you again, joka?" Jeon Mi Cha guessed, studying the expression on her nephew's face.

Jungkook fiddled with the silver bar through his brow and sighed heavily, his expression and bodily actions speaking for themselves.

He sipped slowly at the warm drink and licked the droplets from his pierced bottom lip.

"Of course." He exhaled, gritting his teeth. "It's been like this for months, gomo. Why should I expect anything else? I...I try to speak to her every day, and it just stings when she doesn't even give me a chance to speak to her."

Jungkook felt his heart squeeze within the confines of his rib cage and resisted the urge to rub the skin above his heart.

Mi Cha frowned, "I've known that girl since she was five years old and clinging onto her brother's pant leg." She chuckled, seeing a smile erupt on Jungkook's face as he imagined a tiny five-year-old River.

Fuck, he imagined she was as adorable as his Moon!

"She hasn't got out much, Jungkookie." Mi Cha smiled comfortingly, "From what Sang has told me, the girl was homeschooled by her brothers and never really left her home. The only people that are close enough to her are family and those friends of hers that she's known her entire life."

"I know," Jungkook rubbed across his sharp jawline and tongued his cheek thoughtfully, "Since Min Jee and I divorced...I hadn't ever really tried to get back into the dating scene — honestly, I never really felt the urge to, until I saw her." He rumbled, eyes crinkled at the corners as his cheeks flushed the slightest bit.

He'd never blush because of a girl before, but since he had met River Henshaw, blushing in her presence was all he could do.

He wished he could play it cool.

Mi Cha hid her knowing smile behind her hand and continued to listen to Jungkook ramble.

"It's unbelievable to explain this out loud...but I want to get to know her so badly...it's like...she's like..." he struggled to find the right words so his aunt came to understand him. "I just know that she's something special. I just know it. We've never had a conversation, but I know I'll fall for her the second she looks into my eyes and smiles at me."

She was perfect in his eyes.

Attracted to her from first sight, and later falling in deeper the more he learned about her from Sang, Mi Cha, and hell, even his little Moon, who worshiped the ground River Henshaw walked on just proved time and time again that he shouldn't give up.

He didn't think he could.

No matter how insecure he got...when all she did was blatantly avoid him and tremble when he got near.

It was a searing blow to his self-confidence.

When she looked at him for the first time, it was like bells rang in his ears and everything around them blurred and all he could see was her.

"You'll get your chance, joka. It will take time. She's a skittish one."

Jungkook nodded, but other thoughts overwhelmed him.

"It just makes me upset when I hear her mutter 'run, River, run!' to herself." Jungkook's face fell in sadness.

What if the reason she wanted nothing to do with him was because he was older than her? Not too much — only seven years — or was it the fact that he was a dad?

The woman his mother had tried and failed to set him up with a year ago was always put off by the fact that he had a daughter. A baby.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his brain, Jungkook looked back to Mi Cha and rose that pierced brow of his.

"Because you're here at seven am on a Monday morning and not at your shop." She snorted, "Plus you have that puppy love look in your eyes. Again."

Jungkook only grunted in return, resuming his task of avoiding her knowing eyes to count to specks on the marble counter.

author's note ;  ✨

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you loved the introduction to River's story!

Don't hesitate to let me know what you think!



[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s5 ep6: Timeless

A big episode for Harry, with a clever timey-wimey plot. Starting with two snow-suited people trekking across a snowy planet, only to find the USS Voyager buried in the ice, was a heck of an opening, and then finding out the episode is set 15 years in the future, with the events that led up to it on Voyager told in parallel, is a cool story device. Garrett Wang got to stretch as an actor, playing an older, embittered Harry Kim, who's wracked with guilt for accidentally killing the entire crew of Voyager, except himself and Chakotay. (Though I think they made him look too old- he was only in his 20s during Voyager, he wouldn't already be grey haired at like, under 45. But I guess accidentally killing your entire crew ages a person!)

Chakotay seems a lot more chill about the whole thing, (despite a creepy scene where he walks through the frozen bridge, and sees the whole bridge crew dead under the frost) and he even acquires a new girlfriend in the future timeline, who helps them out in their mission to save Voyager. (Chakotay is turning into an intergalactic ladies man at this point lol- poor J/C shippers!) Harry and Chakotay are conspiring to go back in time and change history, so that Voyager doesn't crash while using their experimental quantum slipstream drive. They're wanted by Starfleet for stealing the Delta Flyer and some Borg time-travel technology, and we even get a little cameo from LeVar Burton as Geordi LaForge, since LeVar directed the episode. They retrieve Seven of Nine's body so they can use some of her Borg tech (why is there a morgue drawer on board the Delta Flyer?! there is no way that was there before!) and they retrieve the mobile emitter so the Doctor can help them. (Specifically, they need him to dissect Seven's body to remove said Borg tech- which is more than a little creepy! They literally show him holding part of her Borg cranial implant with her prosthetic eyeball attached to it! And yet nobody bats an eyelash?! He just dissected their dead friend!! How is that not traumatic for them all?! Especially the Doctor who actually had to do it! Yikes!! They just conveniently glossed over that nightmare fuel!)

Meanwhile, back in the past, Tom realizes that there's a phase variance that will cause the slipstream to fail (Tom doing science! And at a party, no less! There's my good dutiful boy again!), but Harry figures out a plan to make the slipstream drive work, and volunteers to pilot the Delta Flyer ahead of Voyager to calculate the course corrections himself, which of course will lead to the disaster that his future self is trying to prevent. Twists and turns ensue, but future Harry finds a way to save Voyager in the end, while still getting them ten years closer to home. (I think that brings it down to 50 years from the Alpha Quadrant at this point? I know Kes knocked ten years off, did Q knock some time off too? I don't remember, but they're chipping away at that total pretty steadily.)

The episode is a big visual effects showcase, with the big crash scene on the ice planet, but mostly it's a character study for Harry, but also for Janeway. There are a lot of interesting parallels between Harry and the Captain in this ep, as the two people who are most determined to get home, and, with the alternate future, the most wracked with guilt over not doing enough to get the ship home safe. He's almost like a younger version of her- brilliant, eager to advance, totally devoted to the ideals of Starfleet- you can see why Janeway took a shine to Harry and became so protective of him- she saw so much of herself in him. (It makes you wonder if maybe Janeway became so parental toward him because she had an eye to him becoming her successor for the captain's chair in the event that Voyager did actually take 70 years to get home- it would have been an interesting concept to explore!) And the parallels between them are also strong in that both characters always choose to destroy whole timelines just to get back to and/or save Voyager. Above all else, both of them love that ship and her crew. It was certainly nice to have an episode that highlighted that love after some episodes that seemed to forget it. (Even the Doctor was helpful and encouraging here- a welcome change!)

Tl;dr: A cool time travel/alternate timeline episode with high stakes, that gave Harry some juicy dramatic writing, and reaffirmed the Voyager crew's devotion to each other as an important plot point, which I'm always here for.

[mongoose-bite]

Faye's side-eye has levelled up, and so has she. She is having a great time in the Underdark. I think she's about to throw someone off a boat here, but before we get to that she found the most charming thing in the hag's hut.

Toad teapot. She took one look at it and was completely delighted. She picked one up and has kept it in her inventory ever since, although she will never, ever use it. Sometimes, you just have to treat yourself to an incredibly ugly curio, and the girl's earned it.

When she spoke to Gale it was as if nothing had happened, so she was relieved, still feels a bit bad. She doesn't have anything to report to Halsin so is studiously Not Bothering Him. I nearly accidentally left act one again, and then we went to the Underdark.

As someone whose played through the first half of Out of the Abyss, it is so good to actually see it. And I got to meet some celebrities! Delighted to encounter the Society of Brilliance. Faye's having a great time too; she loves healing people, cleansing rot; it's like the Underdark was just waiting for an Oath of the Ancients to swing by. She's bringing the revolution to deep rothes and spiders everywhere, and it feels good taking names and kicking arse. Even got to Turn the Faithless on a demon, and this time Asterion did tear its throat out. Faye approves.

Shadowheart and Laz'ael had a fight, and I had Mass Effect Two flashbacks. Shadowheart at least listens to me, but jfc, you're living dangerously if you don't play a character without any persuasion skills, aren't you?

And to us a ship is born. No, Laz'ael, I'd have you fuck nasty. As far as I can tell, holding a knife to someone's throat is gith foreplay so I expect they'll be keeping us all awake soon (maybe.) Kinda tempted to see if it's possible to romance Shadowheart as Laz'ael origin, cause that there is enemies to lovers for the ages.

Faye gave Shadowheart a statue as part of her plan to introduce her to nice things, but is now having second thoughts about having the idol in camp. Too late I guess. She probably wouldn't like a toad teapot instead. Faye also collected some bones for Scratch, but he simply brought them back to her. Should try sausages maybe? Let me feed my dog!

Faye is still wearing default at-home clothes and it wouldn't really occur to her to change (the stuff we peeled off the drow in the goblin camp was not her style.) But she did find a pair of sandals with trees on them in a crate. Slightly more comfortable.

Fuck this fight; this thing was level ten and it was entirely a clusterfuck. Faye actually died going 'come at me bro' on the anvil, but luckily we'd whittled that thing down to about 70 hp and it died too. Dropping out of initiative was probably why I struggled to get someone over there to help her up before she bled out.

First death of the game. Second death was coming back the second day with more ore to make Shadowheart some armour and not noticing Gale was standing in lava until his programmed illusion was telling me how to resurrect him. I found the whole thing so amusing I didn't reload.

The Temple of Shar has Faye starting to hope Shadowheart's been tricked and her memories will reveal she's not a monster, cause the alternative might involve smiting, and she doesn't want to do that.

Killed the drow, freed the slaves-fuck you Asterion. Approval rescinded. Went back to the mushroom sovereign. They wanted the drow's head. sigh. Back across the lake to retrieve it, and then back again.

Faye truly loved whatever the heck this is.

Underdark? Five stars. I was kind of dreading it, getting Deep Roads flashbacks, but the place is lovely.

[drabblemesilly]

Jason Robertson #1

Requested by Anon: can you please write one about jason robertson seeing his ex and maybe inviting her to a game? something like that? thank you!!!! i am glad you are back!

*Hiiii!! Something quick and all smiles. Hope you enjoy and thank you for welcoming me back! :) For some reason, I think I saw somewhere that he doesn't drink coffee so if he really doesn't, I took some liberties here. Hooray for my favorite half Filo baby.*

Word count: 942

The coffee’s getting cold. Okay fine, it doesn’t really matter because coffee is coffee but you’ve been staring at it for almost ten minutes now. Not that you’re counting or whatever. Because you’re not. Really, you’re not.

And you ordering your ex’s favorite coffee the moment you stepped inside his favorite mom and pop shop was just muscle memory. You don’t miss him. Sometimes yes, you fantasize about him but that’s just because he has a nice butt. And abs, oh the abs, and okay maybe he also has a pretty face. But there’s a reason Jason Robertson is lodged well into the past.

Chapter closed.

Right.

You don’t miss him. He’s just in your mind a lot lately. The season has started back up and he’s on the news, is all. You hate the Dallas Stars. Forget that you’ve been a fan since Jason Spezza got traded to the team, you hate the Stars. Maybe if you repeat it a million times, you’ll finally believe it.

Distantly, you hear the bell above the door ring, signaling the entrance of another person. Another person who would need a table. A table you’re occupying while you’re staring at the coffee you neither like nor hate but already spent almost four dollars for.

Maybe if you paid less attention to the coffee and more to your surroundings, you’d notice the silence that fell over the shop when the person entered. Or how the kid to your left almost leaped from his chair to loudly whisper to his mom. But you were still busy staring at the coffee.

Not until an identical mug was put on your table.

“Oh,” you started, “I’m still occupying this –” you looked up and almost keeled over.

Ladies and gentlemen, SoCal baby and American superstar, Jason Roberston.

“How do you look like a fifteen year old playing dress up?” you groaned, gesturing to his suit-clad body as he sat across from you.

A corner of his lip lifted, “I miss you too.”

“I don’t,” you lied. Or not lie. You don’t miss him, whatever, “you know what?” you pushed your coffee towards him, “I’m actually glad you’re here, I ordered your coffee mistakenly.”

“Milk with a dash of coffee,” he corrected, tapping a finger on the mug, “that’s what you always said. Basically a hot milkshake.”

You scoffed, “don’t you have a game to get to?” you eyed his tie, a navy one with rainbow-colored ducks. Jesus F. this guy will be the death of you. 

“I have time,” he shrugged, “I also have one extra pass if you want to go?” He looked hopeful.

If you faked annoyance enough, maybe he’ll leave. If you’re being honest, you and Jason ended in good terms. Heck, you’d even go as far as call yourselves friends. It’s been four months since you broke up and you haven’t seen him since. People speculated, he’s famous enough now that puck bunnies talk about him, but it really just came down to your busy schedules. It didn’t mean you loved him any less.

“I’m good,” you finally gave him a small smile, the familiarity of game day last minute coffees making you a little uncomfortable, “haven’t seen you in months.”

He nodded, “yeah, what with summer camp and all.”

“Hmm,” you nodded, eyeing his too-long hair, “your stats are looking good.”

He leaned back on his chair, a stupid grin plastered on his face, “thank you very much, stalker.”

You scoffed, “you’re all over hockey news,” you said semi-defensively. Maybe you’ve been stalking him but you’re not gonna tell him that, “get over yourself.”

Hands crossed now and with a playful glint in his eye, he added, “hey, I’m not the one ordering my ex’s coffee,” his eyebrows raised, “but seriously, it’s early in the season so who’s to say.”

“I heard you’re breaking team records left and right.”

“Records schmecords,” he laughed, taking a sip from his mug before setting it back down, “you look good.”

That’s surprising. Judging that you had sweats and, to be frank, old underwear and an unwashed bra underneath the ratty shirt, you’d say you didn’t look anywhere near good.

“Lies,” you laughed, you pointed at his tie, “at least one of us looks like they showered today.”

An eyebrow raised, “can I tell you a secret?”

“What?”

“I didn’t,” Jason whispered, leaning over the table.

“Didn’t?”

“Didn’t shower,” he chuckled, “even after morning skate.”

“Gross,” you laughed, flicking a balled up napkin his way, “you’re gross.”

He laughed at that, settling back on his chair, looking at you. You probably looked like a pair of teenagers on their first date, smiling at each other, and looking like fools: just staring and smiling. It depends on the day, you know. Sometimes you wake up and all is well in the world – clothes are dry, the weather’s warm, everything perfect and then there are some days, days like today, where you just want to order his coffee and remind yourself that he’s real. That he happened to you.

Of all the women in the world, and there definitely are better women out there, once upon a time, Jason Roberston chose you. That’s nice.

He still had the ghost of a smile on his face when he asked again, “game?”

Breaking your thoughts, you can only answer him with a dumb, “huh?”

He repeated, “come watch the game?”

“Looking like this?” 

“You have time,” he smirked, “so what do you say?” he gave your mug another tap, “for old times’ sake?”

How could you say no to that?”

“Okay,” you nodded, feeling another smile coming through, “for old times’ sake.”

[nancypullen]

Lovely Day

For the last week I’ve been fighting off a cold.  Nothing serious, just a garden variety cold - sore throat and sniffles. I’m sure that the more time I spend with the grandgirl I’ll build up my old immune system from my days working for the school district.  I was Teflon back then, nothing stuck.  I’ll bet if we could actually see viruses kids would be covered in them. Just a fact of life, and I’ll be happy to toughen up again. That said, after a week of blowing my nose while sitting under blankets on the sofa I needed a day out.  The mister already had one planned.  He asked if I’d like to take a guided walk through the Adkins Arboretum - a little over an hour long and maybe two and a half miles.  Heck,yes!  It’s a gorgeous day, just chilly enough for a jacket (that means no snakes, right?) and the arboretum is a beautiful, natural, and interesting place.  It’s not one of those sculpted gardens, more like a 400 acre nature preserve.  We ended up in a group of about ten with a cheerful docent named Nancy.  I can now identify eight different species of oak trees and can answer any Jeopardy question on Skunk Cabbage.  There was lots of good information and I also learned about the many, many intriguing classes offered at the arboretum.  I’ll definitely sign up for some. As we roamed paths and crossed bridges,  comparing red oak leaves to white oak leaves, I thought about how lovely it would be to wander these paths in every season.  I could get some exercise as well as fill my soul with some of nature’s peace.  That’s been missing from my life since May - no more sunset gazing, no deer in the yard, no communing with the birdies.  I’ve really missed that. Then I started thinking about how deep in the woods we were and asked the docent (using a cheerful voice, as if my question was a positive one, hoping she’d be truthful), “If I were to walk these paths in the summer what are the chances I’d see a snake?” Her response was quick and equally cheerful - “Oh, definitely!” Then she went on and on about how she’d see them sunning up on tree branches. Then another woman chimed in and said that she always sees them right on the path. So in other words, everywhere.  So long arboretum, it was nice knowing you.  When she saw the look on my face she added the whole “they’re just part of the food chain” speech.  Yeah, Nancy, so am I.  Though I’d rather come nose to nose with a hungry bear than to stumble across a snake sleeping in the sun.  They’re all king cobras to me. My brain knows differently but every other cell in my body says FLEE!   In the end, we had a wonderful walk in the woods, met some lovely people, and learned a lot.  That’s a successful morning.  I even picked up a hat in the gift shop. I hope my contribution goes toward snake fences.

We pulled out and took a quick drive around the equestrian center in Tuckahoe State Park, just for kicks.  Always fun to see people out doing horsey stuff. Then my dear husband suggested we grab some lunch.  Any meal I don’t have to create and clean up is a treat, so that was a YES from me.  It just so happened that we were minutes from a little spot that sells the best chicken salad I’ve ever tasted (and I spent decades in the south!).  Ladies and gents, behold the Ridgely Pharmacy.

The bottom floor is a little general store and pharmacy along with a small lunch counter.

The top floor is the cutest gift shop.  We took a loop around the gift shop because all of the Christmas decor was 50% off.  I admired this little sign and the mister bought it.  At this point I was starting to wonder if he’d won MegaMillions last night.

Hold your horses, there’s more. After we finished our tasty lunch and turned the car toward home, he asked if I wanted to stop at the Denton Mercantile since it was on the way.  Um...of course I want to stop and poke around some dusty old stuff. The inside of the Mercantile is filled with pretty and fragile old stuff, mixed with cute new stuff - mostly home decor.  The outside looks like Sanford and Son tidied up a bit.  Piles of everything from old chairs and tables to mirrors and framed art. You never know what you’ll find.  Today I found treasure!  I picked up this fabulous old trunk for $40!

Isn’t she marvelous? Oh, how I wish she could talk!  Now it’s sitting right under the double windows in the master bedroom, I’ll fill her with quilts and let the kitties use her to birdwatch.

I love how old and chippy and worn it is.  Can a trunk be your spirit animal?  Anywho, that was my day and I loved every minute of it. Blue skies, a healthy dose of nature, a delicious lunch, and a little shopping.  How perfect is that? My tank is refilled! I don’t ask for much in life, but more days like today would be greatly appreciated.   On the way home I was still thinking about how great the walk felt and how I should do it more often, but also thinking about sleepy snakes falling on me from tree branches. That’s about the time that we passed the large and lovely local cemetery.  I spotted a handful of people gathered around a gravesite and a hearse unloading a casket.  Did I think, “Oh, how sad - they’ve lost a loved one” or even  “ I hope that’s a very old person who lived a full life”..?  NOPE.  I thought, now there’s a great place to walk.  Loads of paved paths that wind their way under shade trees and cover miles of pretty, manicured ground.  Bet there’s not a snake in sight.  I wonder if there’s a groundskeeper on duty all the time?  Would anyone notice the lady who walks around in the cemetery every day?  Could I say I’m just visiting the graves that no one visits anymore?  Would it be disrespectful?  I mean, I’d never harm so much as a blade of grass and I’d never go in if there was a burial in progress.  It just seems like such a safe, quiet, pretty place to walk.

Maybe if I carry a pad and pen I can say I’m doing research.  They don’t need to know I’m researching how many laps I can walk in the cemetery before someone questions me.

I’ve got some things to think about, obviously.  But the sun has set and that means it’s time for me to switch to flannel jammies and settle in for a night of bad tv.  Is there anything worth watching anymore?  I miss Schitt’s Creek.

Oh well, maybe there’s a new Dateline and I can learn more about how not to commit a murder.  Shows like that are probably why Mickey plans days like today.  What’s that old saying....happy wife, spare your life?  I don’t think that’s quite right.   Anywayyyy, it’s flannel time and I’m ready.  Hope you’re getting cozy wherever you are too. Take off that dang bra, get into some stretchy pants! Ahhh. Have a wonderful Saturday night.

Stay safe, stay well, stay comfy.

Nancy  

[hartshorn-and-isinglass]

This past weekend having been Bennington Day weekend, we decided to make the trip down to Bennington itself since they supposedly had events, including a reenactment encampment. Honestly tho, if you live more than two hours away from Bennington, it's probably not super worth it for a day trip. The events are too spread out across the long weekend and geographically across the town. Maybe if we were staycationing for the weekend and had time to hop into the art galleries and shops, it would be fine... but if we had the chance for a weekend getaway I think we'd be way more likely to go to upstate NY.

More blather plus pics under the cut.

I also love how basically no one we know who has moved here in the last ten years has the first goddamn clue what Bennington Day even is. TL;DR for all of its... dealings... during the AWI, the state that is now Vermont really has only one claim to an American War of Independence battle victory, the Battle of Bennington--and it's a pretty tenuous one since the armies actually clashed just over the state lines in New York. But Vermont is absolutely! not! going! to let New York have this one. Good to know that the beef between NY and the frontier farmers of the New Hampshire Grants is still alive and well...

Good thing we went to the Cheese Festival last year, because this year there was no cheese festival. I'm assuming the floods had something to do with that.

The Bennington Battle Monument. Jesus, everyone here is REALLY into obelisks. I guess when you have stone quarries right nearby, it's just too tempting. Once again, though... this is not at the actual battlefield. LOL In its favor, however, it is built at the top of a hill that contains other historic sites of Bennington, including the original site of the tavern where Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys planned the capture of Fort Ti. Which isn't there anymore because somebody's bougie mansion is sitting on its foundations instead. But there's a giant mountain lion statue right there to let you know where it would have been.

The Moodus Fife & Drum Corps. You can't quite make it out in the compressed-to-heck photo here, but one of the US flags they're carrying is circa 1850s or 1860s. Do they do ACW events as well?

The AWI encampment at the top of the hill was very small and really more of a "some dudes wanted to get dressed up and go camping" kinda deal, which is... fine? But like... it was hard to think of anything to ask them when it was just like, well, clearly you're just here to vibe. IDK.

[8lood8ath-8irthday]

Jerry’s story;

A familiar screech sounded through his dreams, and in an instant he was jerked into the real world, he quickly silenced the alarm, and heaved himself from the bed stumbling into the bathroom to freshen up. He gazed into the mirror to see nothing occupying the space he took up. He groaned “Ugh it’s the same thing everyday, maybe I want something different to happen just once…” he slipped on his socks and shoes and touched up his eyeshadow. Running down stairs he grabbed his backpack and sun hat then he sluggishly walked out the door, putting on his headphones smiling to himself.

Jerry spotted a familiar figure far ahead of him,  he sighed muttering “what a nuisance.” It was Jerry’s biggest “fan” a scrawny freshman nearly half the size of all his regular sized peers; with sleek black hair shaped to lazily copy his own haircut. He looked as if someone tried to draw him completely by memory, yet somehow ten times worse. As he caught up to him he painfully grinned “Hey how’s it going” he said in a cold tone, jack smiled with his entire face “Hi!, hey remember the time me and you-“ he continued to drone on with conversation until they reached the school doors “hey I have to use the restroom real quick” he walked a few steps then turned around and snapped  “Alone… please” as he went into the bathroom.  He emerged a few minutes later and slipped into the crowd of upcoming people. He scanned the hall and sighed with relief, hopefully if he was lucky he’d get to class without seeing jack again. He sat in his seat right as the bell rung lazily, face resting in his hands

Mr wretch scrawled upon the board some stupid crap idk man I wasn’t paying attention anyways 

The bell sounded indicating lunch for the upperclassman 

I anxiously twirled my pencil unfortunately I didn’t have much friends in this class, not that I wasn’t able to make some just that everyone in the class was extremely boring or surprisingly creepy this class was my scheduled “quiet time” and my grades reflected that to a certain extent.

It was also one of my throwaway classes 

A shrill beep sounded through the air signaling the long awaited end of the day most of it was uneventful and quite annoying 

I walked home peacefully since I ditched 

Jack by cutting through the woods to my house arriving same time as usual 

A sudden shiver dispersed through my body I continued walking towards the hatch as usual and ignored it thinking the cause was the stray strand of hair on my nape.

A dark fluorescent purple light cut through the air slightly singing my ear

Startled and quite honestly pissed I reared back and shouted a plethora of curses “what the heck” I rubbed my ear as it quickly started to heal

I jerked my head towards the source and what I saw can only be described as inane and alarming.. even for a vampire 

A man clothed in dark bleach washed  pants and an ill-fitting black leather jacket paired with worn boots,the cherry on top was the ominous black haired deer mask.

In a different scenario I may have been stoked but after a long day at school I was not moved 

“Who are you” I said shouting out to him 

He conjured another orb of purple light and rushed out to touch me, I swiftly blocked his attack and jumped creating distance between us

A muffled chuckle erupted from his mask and with one quick movement his face was exposed, my face frowned in utter confusion he smirked and something about his face irked me down to my soul 

“So you really don’t know who I am huh?” He asked and ran his fingers through his long jagged black hair.

Upon seeing my dumbfounded face he brushed his fingertips across a heavy set scar cutting through his left eye and along his lips “Still not a single reaction.. well I’d like to jog your memory.”

Just as soon as the words left his lips his fingers brushed my forehead injecting a sharp cold, a small guttural gasp left my throat and I descended into darkness 

I awoke with my feet submerged in stark black waters the mysterious man stood in front of me laughing as he sunk deep into the water I blinked and suddenly I was smack in the middle of a large sandy landscape.

[undertheopensky]

Finished a new game yesterday!!!

‘The Companion’ is a single-player narrative game with a cinematic experience by indie developers David Fazzio and Studio 46, released in 2021.

So, what is it?

…mostly, it’s a walking simulator. You go from place to place and watch short cutscenes that piece together the plot in two streams - Before and After. While exploring you can find wisps, which you can summon to lead you to the next objective - which you will need to do multiple times because the stages are not small and there’s no intuitive progression, so you may wind up running across half the map to find the next item. Later wisps can also be used to generate charges for your only attack. (Which is used, like, twice, so don’t get excited. This is a walking simulator, remember!)

Oh, the map? There is no map. So I hope you have a good memory! Or just rely on the wisps, since the built-in follow the objective marker system DOES work. It’s just… not interesting.

That mostly sums up my experience here: not interesting. That’s not to say it’s a BAD game, I just feel like maybe I wasn’t the intended audience??

More in depth thoughts below:

First, the music. Each level has its own different soundtrack and they’re all BEAUTIFUL. I want to track down the sheet music and see if I can play any of it on my ocarina. It also utilises sudden genre changes or silences to up the tension in certain cutscenes, which isn’t ineffective.

The controls are… awkward. The movement controls feel clunky - turning involves rotating in increments of 45°while continuing on your original trajectory for one confusing second, jumping over obstacles is inconsistent at best, and falling off a hill or mountain was usually met with the thought ‘fuck, now I have to figure out how to get back up there’. They’re mostly functional, except for the times I got genuinely stuck on obstacles and had to reload a save, but they’re a little annoying.

In general, the visuals are pretty, but the artsy lighting and lack of contrast often led to me getting stuck on rocks or running headlong into trees I couldn’t see, because it was DARK. The snow level in particular was pretty bad for this but I experienced it throughout the game. The rendering distance was also weird. As I was running in, trees would preload, then load, then sometimes half-unload, with the top half of its foliage disappearing. Grass and other cosmetics also only loaded by the time I was directly on top of them, if I was moving at a decent clip.

Using clouds of glowing lights to represent anything other than your avatar was certainly a choice. It cut down on unnecessary visual bloat for sure, and it was sort of interesting to follow their movements and try to figure out what the heck they were doing, but it was also distancing. It made it feel like I was just watching things that had happened a long time ago with no sense of agency.

Even once things shifted a little it brought about a whole new complaint: the more complex controls are very unintuitive. I failed a vision twice before the game told me a) how to move slowly and b) to look for ‘a sentimental item’, none of which was easy or obvious. It sure hadn’t told me before! And then it took me ten minutes to find the thing it wanted in a VERY limited space. There are several points where you have to perform a specific action to trigger progress, but it’s so inconsistent which action does what that the game has to flash up the action you’re meant to be doing, which is not at all immersive! One of those actions was unlocked and introduced literally at the point it was needed and then never used again. All in all it felt very arbitrary.

So was it fun? Well… kind of. It was better than staring into space or being at work. It was just an overall unsatisfying experience. The core gameplay loop consisted of… basically fuck all. The plot was predictable, once I sorted out what the hell was going on. But even then there were SO MANY loose threads to it that were never followed up on.

Spoilers I guess?

Why were there animal spirits waiting around the spirit tree? This was… vaguely touched on in the final cutscene, but only implications. I’m still confused.

What are ‘the creatures’, ‘they’ and ‘them’? What do they do? How do they hurt people? Why do they hurt people? It’s implied that humans have some kind of system to ‘keep them out’ that needs maintenance - did the creatures used to have full reign and the humans are now pushing them out? Or did the creatures encroach and humans are just trying to keep themselves safe? While I understand the concept that ‘the more you explain it the less scary it is’, I still wasn’t scared, because I was too confused.

In the final level it’s mentioned the creatures have been attacking in multiple places and they’ve somehow gotten past the humans’ protections, but never how. There’s a crystal item that turns up multiple times and is implied to be important - “oh! It’s so cold” “I need to show Father… but maybe I shouldn’t touch it this time” but they’re never explained. And in one of the last cutscenes the characters express shock at - I’m assuming - the fact that LARGE CHUNKS OF EARTH have decided to float above ground. I’d seen these occasionally before and was ignoring them, so I was hopeful maybe we’d get an explanation - but nope, never mentioned again. Maybe they were just talking about the destroyed building we passed…? But they were LOOKING at the town and the floatiness.

The time period is also uncertain. Based on the technology seen it’s pre-industrial, but then the buildings in the last level look like apartment buildings from at least Victorian times. The town itself is blocked off so I couldn’t investigate more closely. :(

The final-final cutscene was also very strange. In the middle, you’re briefly given back control, and… well, the first time, I wandered off to see what the flash in the corner of the screen was, and then the cutscene continued… then whited out, and returned me to the same point. I tried going back the way I’d come - I still had one more summoning rock to find, I think - and got a different version of the final cutscene… which then whited out. And the third time I tried to head for the town and the ‘finish level’ beacon, and got a third version - and the game ended. It was interesting, I guess, but very confusing, and raised more questions than it answered.

Was it worth playing? I guess so. I don’t regret the time I spent on it - about 5 hours all up. But there’s no real replay value, so if you’re interested, I’d get it on sale.

[jamsofdeath0]

Danny's been given thirty-seven point six three percent of this random dick off's soul over the course of mine days. John Constantine, what a stupid name. What kinda fruitloop sells their own soul? What kind of fruit loop sells it multiple times! God Danny's annoyed. He doesn't even want any human souls. What the heck's he even supposed to do with less than half of a soul? If Danny knew sealing Pairah Dark was this much trouble he'd have just let him steal Amity Park.

By the twelfth day he's gotten to thirty-eight point four. He decides it's probably time he hunts down the weirdo in question. Thankfully it isn't a hassle. Danny wouldn't bother if it was. He'd just keep the dang soul fragment and let the jerkwad deal with the consequences. Lords know he deserves it. However it's not hard to find Constantine as long as Danny has a soul fragment. Danny feels for him in the real world.

Detroit, really? God that's gonna take hours to get too. Maybe he will just let douchebag deal with it. Who cares if he has part of this random fruitloop soul? But no, Danny knows better than to deal with whatever territory dispute owning dickheads soul will cause. He's got to get rid of it before some demon or whatever comes looking to fight him for his fragment instead of give him theirs. Heh, maybe he should just let them come and give it to the highest bidder. He's got to have the most of the soul by now. Making a sound of frustration Danny heads off to Detroit. He figures Constantine can't be worse than the jerks making him deal with this.

He makes it to Detroit midday; immediately he can tell some sort of massive magical entity is near Constantine. So that's what jerkface is doing here. He's messing with powerful magical beings. Go figure. He really should have just let Pariah take over the world or what ever. It could not have been worse than this. Nope. Danny is not getting involved. He'll give his chunk of the soul back after dude makes whatever deal or whatever he's doing is over.

Danny tours Detroit for five hours before he feels the power leave. Knowing it was gone he packs up his souvenirs and takes them to the motel he's staying at. He will not be flying back after dark and Constantine will be paying or so help him. After leaving his stuff at the motel to hopefully not get stolen he dashes through buildings toward the wingbat. Upon arrival Danny notices Constantine is doing just about as well as one would expect of someone who plays with dangerous creatures. He's drunk, bleeding, and muttering.

Danny knowing he needs to make first contact yells "What the heck is wrong with you? I had to fly aaalll the way to Detroit and wait FIVE hours just to see your sorry butt!"

To which John replies "uhg?" And promptly passes out.

Oh no Danny will not be playing nurse for this toe sucker. He will not! Danny floats down to John; slaps him across the face. When John fails to wake up Danny growls in frustration pulls him up and drops him off at the nearest hospital. Hope dirtwad has insurance because this is his problem now. Danny flies back to the hotel, calls his family to tell them it'll take tomorrow as well, and passes out on the far too itchy bed.

Danny wakes the next day around ten am. It's far earlier than he'd normally want to wake on a Sunday but he's never been one to rest well in strangers beds. Heading down to the front he pays for another day. He just knows this headache isn't going to be as nice as to resolve itself within the next two hours he has the room for. Feeling for the soul he owns he heads to the hospital. Seems butt muncher was wise enough to stay or to unconscious to leave. He arrives maybe thirty minutes later and floats up to the window belonging to the room fart face is in. "Uhhhh, this is gonna be soooo annoying"

Steeling his resolve he tries to phase through the window only to be stopped by a barrier. Seems thumbsuckers awakened since Danny left. Too bad for him however one doesn't bar a halfa. Grinning maliciously Danny transforms small parts of his body as he phases his ghost half through the window and his human through the barrier. Entering the room he sees Constantine's shocked face. (Part 1)

Some entity or entities 'gift' Danny Phantom John Constantine's soul/his soul contract/their set of rights to Constantine's soul. Perhaps someone who had a grudge against Pariah Dark or perhaps someone who liked him, or perhaps multiple entities had the same idea; either way on hearing of the new Ghost King they decided both to test them and get back at them. And Constantine's soul, such a troublesome human, is the perfect poisonous gift to do so.

The intention was to bring bring Constantine into conflict with Phantom, and maybe Phantom into conflict with some other entities with claims on Constantine, but instead the two get along.

No one was prepared for this. Most bets were on Constantine pulling something nasty on Phantom. A few though Phantom might be victorious over Constantine. Cooperation was never considered.

(Infinite Realms ghosts don't as a rule play nice with other supernatural entities nor are they inclined to share ghostly secrets. The whole Realm might know Phantom is part-human, gossip as interesting as that spreads fast, but they ain't telling no-one else.

He's their King. And sure no-one had bothered to tell him what he'd won by Challenging Pariah Dark but that was just when he was dealing with other ghosts. Being the Ghost King didn't grant you any authority within the Infinite Realms. But other supernatural beings? Trying to mess with their Ghost King? Oh, no that is not going to stand.)

Depending on which entity or entities gave Phantom their rights to Constantine's soul he might could have either full or partial ownership of Constantine's soul.

[ratralsis]

1. The First Meeting

Table of Contents

"You should go buy her a drink," Theo said, leaning back in his chair. He laced his fingers together over his stomach, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Kevin whipped his head around to look at his friend. He opened his mouth, about to deny that he had been looking at her, but closed it. Instead, he looked down at his glass and shook his head. "No way. Are you serious?"

Theo blinked and shrugged. "What's the worst that can happen?" he asked. "She brushes you off? You're no worse off than if you didn't try it, except for the cost of the drink."

Kevin's gaze involuntarily darted to the woman perched gracefully upon a stool at the bar. She was splitting her attention between a small pad of paper and her phone. There was no chance at all that she would have noticed Kevin from where she was sitting. From his vantage point, her profile was visible, framed by her long bangs. She was wearing a plain, form-fitting long-sleeved red sweater and jeans that highlighted the curves of her figure. Her shining black hair cascaded down her back in an ordinary ponytail. Despite the casual attire, Kevin found himself unable to keep his eyes off of her.

"What if she doesn't drink alcohol?" Kevin asked, still looking at her.

Theo sighed a weary sigh, his eyes shifting towards Kevin's glass, empty save for a handful of melting ice cubes. Kevin's fingers tapped lightly upon the chilled surface in an anxious rhythm. Theo leaned forward with a sly smile. "Neither do you," he said. "Offer her a soda, a cup of coffee, or even a cranberry juice."

Kevin wanted to take Theo's advice. Theo was four years older than Kevin, and they had known each other since early childhood, when Theo was the cool older kid Kevin wanted to be like. They were both adults now, but Kevin still looked up to Theo as a source of wisdom. When Theo spoke, he did so with the confidence of one who believed he knew what he was talking about. And in that aura of confidence, it was easy for Kevin to believe it, too.

Still. "Yeah, but then what do I say? I've never gone up to a woman at a bar out of nowhere before. And what if she already has a boyfriend, or she's not even into guys?"

Theo sighed again. "Most people start with their names," he said. "Go from there and see what happens. If she's not interested, she'll tell you so, and you turn around and come right back here. I've done it a hundred times. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. And the times it didn't work, I somehow managed to survive it, didn't I?"

"But--"

"You think you're the first man to ever get shot down at a bar? Heck, you think you're the first one she's shot down? You've been looking at her all night! Go! No more discussion!" Theo glared, then sat back and nodded, satisfied that his point had been made.

Kevin sighed and pushed himself to his feet, his palms clammy with nervous sweat and the condensation from his glass. With deliberate focus, he brushed off the front of his hoodie. He was lucky. Tonight he was wearing his favorite purple hoodie. He owned two others just like it, but this one, he felt, looked the best. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. He swept a few strands of sandy-brown hair off of his forehead and made his way across the room, the mingling smells of coffee and alcohol wafting into his nose. Faint acoustic music played from speakers on the ceiling, compensating for the lack of a live performer on the stage, and drowned out the sounds of clinking glasses and soft conversations.

"Hey," he said to the young woman at the bar, his voice catching in his throat and somehow stretching the word into three or four syllables. She looked up from her phone, her dark eyebrows raised. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Oh, hey," she said. She blinked at him. Kevin felt his knees go weak as they made eye contact for the first time. There was something about those brown eyes of hers. "Um, sorry, I don't drink while I'm working. I'm on stage again in ten minutes."

"Maybe a soda, then?" Kevin asked. "Or a coffee?" He put one hand on the stool next to her, unsure if he should sit. He felt his arm, unused to this kind of indecision, wobble. He hoped she hadn't noticed. Was it too late to suggest cranberry juice?

She laughed, then looked him up and down. "Okay, coffee, then. I can't drink something that'll make me burp while I'm singing."

Kevin's lips curled into a smile, a wave of relief flooding through him. He sat down. The cool leather of the stool sent a shiver up his spine. He wasn't sure whether to lean forward or lean back, caught between anticipation and nerves. "I'm Kevin," he said.

"Yeah, I remember," she said. "It was in the app when you came to pick me up. Kevin… 'S'-something, right?"

Oh. Right. "Stiles," he said. "Kevin Stiles. I, uh, figured that since you just loaded in your guitar and got into the back seat and didn't say a lot, you might have forgotten." He shook his head to clear it. He licked his lips, his mouth having gone dry. "Anyway, you're Marigold, right?"

Marigold glanced meaningfully at the little plastic table tent that listed all the live musicians scheduled to play at the bar over the next three months. The name "Marigold Spade" was next to the current date. "Yep, that's me."

Kevin felt his face start to heat up, but he pressed on. "Um, I wanted to say I really enjoyed your music." Very smooth. That would really flatter her.

"Thanks," she said. "If you want to hear more, I've got an Instagram where I share all my upcoming live show dates. And if you're curious about exploring beyond acoustic guitar songs, you can find me on Spotify, where I have pretty much all of my other music." She tapped her pen on her little notepad and looked down at it.

"I'll be sure to do that," Kevin said, getting the hint. "Alright, then, anyway, nice meeting you." He patted his legs and stood up, looking around for the table where he'd left Theo.

"Hold up," Marigold said, raising the hand with the pen in it. "You didn't buy me that coffee yet. And anyway, I said I had ten minutes, remember?"

"Of course," Kevin said, sitting once more. He waved to get the bartender's attention and ordered a cup of coffee. She went back to tapping the notepad with her pen. She had red nail polish on her short fingernails, almost the same shade of red as her sweater. It suited her.

"Did you just think I looked thirsty? Most guys don't offer to buy me drinks unless they want to spend some time with me, you know." She turned, putting an elbow onto the bar to face Kevin more directly. Her ponytail swayed with each movement of her head, and the soft glow of the bar lights reflected in her eyes. She flashed him a wide smile. "I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience hitting on your passengers."

"Uh, no, I mean, yes, I mean--" Kevin stammered. He'd thought he'd recovered from the earlier eye contact, but now, combined with that open, honest smile she had, the effect was dazzling. "I mean, yes, I wanted to talk with you, but I'm actually in this place because my friend Theo over there invited me. It's a coincidence, I swear. I wasn't trying to follow you around." He gestured to the small table where Theo sat. Theo was checking his phone, ignoring them both.

Marigold's eyebrows went up, and she continued to grin. "Oh, I see," she said. "But you know, it's still probably not professional for you to be talking to me at all. Wouldn't want you getting in trouble for trying to sweet-talk me into giving you five stars. And I already have a ride home, if that's what you're wondering. A friend in my building normally drives me to and from these things. She just couldn't make it here tonight until later."

"Oh, er, I wouldn't, that's…" Kevin straightened his shoulders self-consciously as the bartender arrived with Marigold's coffee, aware of his posture only when he remembered someone else might be looking at him. "That's the kind of thing that'd get me deactivated as a driver. But the odds of us meeting like this were really low, and I really did like your music, and thought you looked nice, that's all."

"Oh, my God," she laughed. "Calm down, calm down. I'm just having a little fun at your expense. I promise I won't report you for trying to bribe me with coffee. You're lucky I like your taste in music. You start driving recently?"

"Uh, yeah," Kevin said, smiling back and relaxing a little. "I turned twenty-one this year, and Theo suggested it as a way to help me make some money while I'm finishing college. This is my first time in a bar this nice, actually."

"Yeah? You liking it so far?" she asked. She sipped her coffee, still looking at him. He felt himself swallow at the same time she did. "Driving, that is, not the bar. The bar's fine. I'm a year older myself, but it feels like a lifetime of doing gigs in bars exactly like this."

"Sure, I like the job okay," Kevin said. "Having a van lets me pick up riders like you who need a bigger vehicle for luggage or instruments or whatever. There's more demand for that than you might think, so it's usually pretty easy to stay busy. Which is good. But still, I only plan on doing it until I graduate and find a full-time job."

Marigold tilted her head to one side, acknowledging his statement without offering an opinion. "There are some advantages to a full-time job," she said. "Though I've never had one myself." She looked at her phone, still sitting on the bar in front of her. "Listen, it's been good talking, but now I'm down to like five minutes before I have to start playing again. Let's talk some more later, okay?"

She downed the last of her coffee in a final gulp. Kevin wasn't sure what to say. "Yeah, sure," he finally managed, voice wavering, a mixture of excitement and uncertainty swirling within him. "I'll… um, get in touch. Can we exchange numbers?"

Marigold smirked. "I'm easy to find online," she said. "Gotta be, in my line of work. Catch you later, Kevin Stiles." She stood up, hopping down from her stool, and extended her right hand.

Kevin stood as well, suddenly embarrassingly aware that, at a hair under six feet, he was close to a foot taller than the woman in front of him. Recovering quickly, he took her small hand in his and shook it. Her hand was still warm from the coffee cup, and felt rough against his. "Nice meeting you, Marigold Spade."

[benefits1986]

Underdogs United

This is a draft aotm. Will get back to this after today. LOL.  When two alpha males unite, here’s what you get. :D I have very mixed feelings about Gary Vee ever since I saw his stuff some ten years back. Saw him first from a good number of sessions & pakak discussions with my OG start up tatay HAHAHAHAHAHA.  My first two cents: Digital is but another fucking mythical male-dominated world, after all. Women are muted but I am hanging on to the possibility that women will eventually come around. We always do. We ought to. And at present, the future is female. The future is now. OPAK. Kapit lungs. I-kegel mo ‘yan, mhie. Sagad mo.  Perhaps, this is where I get my mantra which will be put to extreme test. “May bayag kayo. Ulo n’yo dalawa pa. Partida. Ako wala. Kaya tumabi kayo. Ako na. Ako naman.” In love and light ito na now, though as opposed to my then-fucked up radical feminist days and nights.  Funny how someone told me that I really strike him as an “all-girls school” girl. And that I remind him of his daughter a lot. Tawang-tawa pa siya. Sabi ko, is that a compliment or a critique? Sabi niya, compliment. Sabi ko, handa ba siyang maging ganito buhay and vibe ng anak niya. Sabi niya, ready naman daw siya. HAHAHAHAHA. Shemay. Isa lang akong hamak na student assistant and 4 years lang po akong nakikipamuhay sa mga elitista. Pilit na pilit lang ako to be honest kasi alam ko sa kaibuturan ko, I bleed in maroon kaso mother dragon cancelled me out. Sabi niya, dream daw niya all-girls. So, sige. FUCK. Iyo na pangarap mo. Tangkehin ko na kahit ayoko talaga. I remember seeing her kinda teared up nung nakasuot na ako ng fucking uniform with pointed high heels. Very good daw. Looks good on me. Ako naman, bakit kasi ang panget ng uniform? Bakit may uniform to begin with? But, sige, ma. Galingan mong magpagaling para matapos na ‘tong shit na ‘to. Kahit na ang hirap talaga kasi I never felt I fit in sa 4 years ko doon. :D Lagi akong may what if beyond The White Walls. Ganyan ko kamahal nanay kong Taurus kahit sobrang UGHHHHHHH every fucking day.  Don’t get me wrong. My run has been a good one. Inisip ko na lang since all-girls, level ang playing field kaso nakakamiss makipagtunggali sa mga XY. In fairness naman, dahil nga I want to give back sa paraang alam ko, extra active tayo sa extra-curricular stuff basta walang masyadong gastos. Effort lang baon ko saka pangaral at mega push ng nanay kong weirdo.  Even my OG marketing dad asked me if I am all-girls through and through tapos when I answered NO, nagulat siya. Parang may loyalty award daw kasi ako sa tingin niya. Sabi ko, tigil siya. UGH. Weird talaga. I feel I am so kanal and masa kasi so, ayun.  If there’s one thing I like about Gary Vee, it’s his underdog mentality and his triple down approach to confidence. Iba. Tabi. Giba. Wala talaga siyang pake. Siguro, espiritu ng pinisat ng mga grapes. Very graphic pa. LOLOLLOL.  The first time I came across this session with Steven, tawang-tawa ako. As in. Let me get back to this after today. Very IYKYK x iyak pa e. This deserves a deep dive. Or maybe not. LOL.  Tawang-tawa ako sa tatay ko because he was tuned in pala when I was listening to the podcast very early in the morning. LOL. I thought he was still asleep. He noted why the heck Gary’s voice is like that and how he seems to know too much. :D Sabi ko, dad, kalma. Kalmahan mo lang. 

[sunspray-peak]

Ch. 5: Mines & Magic Pt. 2

After what seemed like an hour tearing chaotically around what seemed to be a never-ending tangle of trees and more greenery than he’d ever want to see again—was he even still in Stardew?—trying and only half-succeeding to use the soon-to-set sun as a compass, Achilles finally came across a dirt path and followed it out of the forest into, mercifully, Pelican Town. Yes, that was Sam’s blue house, Jodi’s flower beds… 

He could feel the last drops of adrenaline begin to drain from his body now that he was in familiar territory, so Achilles’ was forced to pause and take a breather on his way to Dr. Harvey’s. His ribs were aching, his joggers ripped and smeared with dirt. A thousand cuts and scrapes littered his forearms, and his face and neck were sticky with sweat (and, perhaps, blood). Thank goodness nobody was around to see him.

In fact, nobody was around at all. It was dead silent.

Strange. 

Whatever. 

He hadn’t any energy to wonder any further. With a deep, bone-breaking groan, he collapsed onto a bench and took a minute to roll up his windbreaker’s dusty sleeves and better examine the damage, when he heard his name called. 

“Achilles! Achilles, hey! Thank goodness, somebody…” 

Achilles stifled the second groan that had begun to emerge from his throat as looked up from his battered elbows. 

Backlit by the sun, Alex was sprinting over, the orange duffle bag (now mud-free) swinging wildly by his side. 

“Hey, any idea where anybody is?” Alex was glancing urgently around town as he neared Achilles. “Nobody is here, not even my grandpa, and the saloon is locked up—” 

The rain and shadows of the previous night could scarcely have done anyone justice, but even then it hadn’t been difficult for Achilles to discern the obvious attractiveness of Alex’s features. But now, glowing under the rays of golden hour, Alex was (at least, to Achilles), disarmingly, stupidly beautiful. 

Though not his usual type, he had to admit—Alex was handsome in a wholesome, boyish kind of way. Warm green eyes set above a strong, clean-shaven jaw, there was both mischief and grace in his face, a youthful charm and an ageless nobility. And while muscular, the figure standing in front of him was still rather lean—much like a young Greek demigod, as Elliott would probably say, Achilles thought wryly, although Alex, too, was a brunette rather than a blond. At the moment, said hair was somewhat gelled back, although half the strands must’ve fallen free in his harried search around town.   

“—so I only got back like ten minutes ago, right, but still, thought I was going crazy until I saw you, like it’s a ghost town. Thought maybe Gus had an emergency since the saloon was closed, so I figured I’d grab a lemonade from Pierre’s but no one was there either—”

“Hmm? Oh fuck—” Achilles broke from his reverie. Pierre! Fuck. 

Jolting from the bench, he sprinted down the cobblestone path toward the mountains before a sore ankle and reason both wrested back control from this second shot of adrenaline. He hobbled back to Alex. “Do you have a cell phone? Can you put Abigail on the line?” 

“No cell phone phone, but I guess we can use Gus’, he keeps one outside the saloon for public use—dang, I should’ve thought of that, stupid—oh sheesh! What happened to you?” Alex jumped back, only now just taking in Achilles’ sorry state. “Seriously, man, what the heck happened to this town while I was at work?” 

“I’ll explain in a minute,” Achilles mumbled, already tearing towards the saloon. “Do you have Abigail’s number?” 

“Sure—hey, you’re lucky she even has a cell phone, got it last Winter Star, wouldn’t stop talking about it—” 

The line rang only once before a shaky, nasally Abigail answered the phone. 

“Hello?” 

“Abigail?” 

“HELLO?” 

“Abigail, it’s me, it’s Ach—”

“WHO?” 

“It’s Achilles, I—”

“ACHILLES??” 

“Yes—”

“Oh Yoba, Achilles, is it you? It’s really you, is it really? Are you ok?” On the other end, it sounded like Abigail had dissolved into a fresh fit of sobbing. 

“I’m fine! Listen, I don’t know what happened, but I met some Wizard, M. Rasmodius—”

A chorus of speakerphone groans met him from the other side.

“Of course it was. It was the Wizard, everybody—”

“Fucking Wizard—”

“Leave it to that bastard.” 

Abigail rushed to speak again. 

“I swear, I’ve never seen that happen before in my life—I thought Marlon might know what was going on, but then I didn’t want to waste any time running to the Guild and I just didn’t know what to do—”

“Abigail, I’m fine, really. I’m with Alex.”

“—you know, I said, this is it. He’s dead, you’re an accomplice to murder, say goodbye to—”

“Abigail!”

It took a few more shaky exchanges (and a few more audible curses towards the Wizard), but after a few minutes or so, Achilles was finally able to persuade Abigail that all was fine. 

Her mood dramatically encouraged by the confirmation of his safe return, she had recounted the tale to him and Alex. After the fall, Abigail had raced back up the mines at record speed, hoping beyond hope that perhaps the freak elevator had sent Achilles up instead of down. But she was greeted only by a confused Sebastian. And thus, directly confronted with Achilles’ glaring absence, had froze, at a complete and total loss for what to do next. 

She had collapsed in the middle of Pelican Town utterly distraught, scarcely able to choke out more than a string of two words; it was Sebastian who had ultimately taken the lead to inform the villagers that Achilles had gone missing in the mines. Within scarcely an hour after the fall, the townsfolk had mobilized, racing to the mines to craft a rescue operation. 

“Got the whole town looking for you!” Alex said, after Abigail had hung up. He led Achilles off the saloon’s porch, back into the crisp air and sun of the town square (so unlike the mines). “You must be important.”

Achilles snorted to stop the smirk that had unconsciously snuck across his face. 

“Or, I don’t know, that’s just Pelican Town, I guess…” Alex gestured for Achilles to take a seat. “Call it a little intro for you to the type of folks that live here.”

Achilles nodded silently as he battled the sneeze tickling his nose. Fatigue was beginning to settle in again. Man, why couldn’t he run into Alex, say, at the beginning of an uneventful day? Fresh from a jog, showered, hair blow-dried. Wide awake. He had always been more of a morning person. 

“I mean, not that you’re not important,” Alex added quickly, perhaps mistaking Achilles’ scrunched waiting-for-a-sneeze face for indignation. “I mean, you know how I feel about you—wow, actually, I take that back, that sounded creepy. You know what I mean. Nice meeting you for the second time ever, Achilles! Um… wait, okay, so what happened with you and the Wizard?” 

To Achilles vindication, Alex (who interrupted his story only once) had nodded enthusiastically at his “two eggs in a bowl” explanation. 

“Except we were taught ‘two eggs in jello.’ I remember our teacher brought in, like, literal jello with hard boiled eggs floating inside to class once to show us. You’ve got our tiny Plane and then the tiny Spirit Plane and then the jello—or, I guess, bowl for you—was the big hecking Astral Plane that surrounds the other two, right? And the egg shells are the Walls that separate the Planes from each other? Yeah! Don’t worry, I know what you’re talking about… 

“You know, I was the only one brave enough to eat the eggs after. I mean, come on, they were still in the shell, and it’s not like I ate them with the jello…” 

Achilles had finished recounting his side of the tale to a wide-eyed Alex (it had been hard to stay focused with those eyes gazing at him so intensely) when the trapped sneeze finally decided to make a successful break for it—only to, to his extreme embarrassment, splatter his sleeve with blood. 

Well, that was it. Time to call it in. 

“I ought to head back now that they know I’m fine—thanks for showing me the phone,” Achilles declared in an overly enthusiastic tone. He stood and immediately unzipped his windbreaker, rapidly tying the gross, bloody evidence around his waist while attempting to surreptitiously burrow his blood-flecked chin into the collar of his button-down.

“Um, no. You ought to stay and wait for Dr. Harvey,” Alex grabbed Achilles’ shoulders and planting him firmly back down. “No offense, but you’re kind of a mess, man.” 

The impact of those words being delivered by someone with eyes as green as Stardew Valley grass was enough to cement him to the bench. They’d have to chip him away now, with a chisel and everything. He would never recover.

“Here, it might still be a bit, the mines are kind of a ways away.” Alex unzipped the orange duffel and kneeled on the ground in front of Achilles, between his legs. Oh, he would definitely never recover now.

“For your nose.” He handed Achilles a tissue before unscrewing a water bottle. “Hold out your hands for me?” 

Achilles obliged, grateful that the sudden barrage of sweat on his palms would be washed off with the blood and dirt. 

“Geeze, I still can’t believe you went up there. I never go… went once as a kid and hated it, never went back. Creepy stuff. Monsters, demons. Spirits… Although I guess it makes sense you’re not scared. I’m going to pour this over your head now, if that’s ok.” 

Achilles nodded, closing his eyes as he wiped his now-damp hands on a gym towel Alex had promised was clean. Goosebumps prickled his arms that couldn’t quite be explained by the lukewarm water now running down his forehead and nose.

He dried his face as Alex dug around for a tube of antibiotic and some band-aids. 

“Came well prepared,” Achilles said, avoiding that steady green gaze as Alex, still kneeling, applied some of the ointment to the cut on his forehead. 

“It’s still bleeding.” Alex bit his lip as he carefully placed a gauze on the wound, applying pressure. “But I don’t think it’s that bad.” 

“Thank you, Dr. Alex.” Achilles reached to hold the gauze himself, pressing it tightly to his head. At least his nose seemed to have stopped bleeding. Small mercies. “I’ve got it, don’t worry about me.” 

Alex laughed and took a seat next to him on the bench. “Hey, I’ll wait with you. Make sure the town knows you’re not some Achilles-shaped demon from the mines.” 

“All right, now how do you know for sure I’m not an Achilles-shaped demon from the mines?” 

“Oooh true, how about… hmm… what’d we talk about last night… okay—at what age did I read Apparition?” 

“You didn’t read Apparition you fake fan.” 

The shared laughter hurt Achilles’ ribs, but he welcomed any piece of positivity after the day’s mess. Alex shifted closer—just a hair’s breadth, not purposeful, knees bumping for just half a second—but it nevertheless sent Achilles’ heart racing even higher. This close, he could smell him; a blend of salt and citrus. And a million times better than however the hell Achilles must’ve smelled. 

“So, Alex, what do you—”

“ACHILLES! Oh thank goodness, thank Yoba—”

The villagers, led by a gasping, wheezing Abigail, were making their way down from the mountains. 

“Hey now, be careful there—”

But Abigail either didn’t hear or didn’t heed Alex’s warning and hurtled straight into Achilles, where she buried her head in his shoulder. 

“Is it really truly absolutely you? I’m so sorry, I swear that never happened before, I never would have—”

“Abigail, it’s fine.” Achilles awkwardly untangled himself from her embrace. “Everything’s fine.” 

“And don’t worry, it really truly absolutely is him,” Alex added, watching Abigail’s shaking shoulders, lips twitching as he caught Achilles’ side eye. 

But for even the most whorish of attention whores, being the center of a crowd due to an unfortunate, unplanned fall down a magical elevator shaft is nothing short of embarrassing. 

Achilles thought back to his grandpa’s letter… imagine making a name for yourself because you crashed your head on a rock. This was not the family honor ol’ Dan Robinson likely had in mind. 

Eager to get away from expectant eyes (especially those of the green variety), Achilles gracefully thanked the crowd for their concern while dodging any further hugs. And after a check up from Dr. Harvey declared him to be in decent enough condition—mostly bad bruises and scrapes, no severe sprains or breaks, “best just avoid intense physical labor for a bit”—Achilles found himself turning down dinner invitations and calls for him to recount his story, instead grabbing a to-go box from the saloon and calling it a night. 

It was all too much. They cared too much, it was almost disconcerting. Surely the whole town hadn’t needed to go to the mines… 

You must be important. 

Achilles pushed Alex’s words out of his head. He couldn’t let himself feel important. Not for a reason as stupid as this.  

Yet sitting against the iron frame of his bed, shoveling beans and rice into his mouth, he couldn’t help but think back to his conversation with the Wizard.

Magic… 

You were the first person to have passed the test…

No, he wouldn’t let himself feel important. He didn’t deserve that. Not yet. 

[whereonceiwasfire]

Hey, I hope you don't mind I wrote a little family cheese melt ficlet for this, because I have NOT stopped thinking about it since I read the post like a month ago! Just the pure shenanigan-ery (is that a word? It is now!) of it made my single braincell feral!

It is the best day of ever. First, Dani aced her science exam, then, at lunch, Chelsea traded her Dunkaroos for Dani’s Fruit Roll-Up (what a sucker), and after that, Dani crushed her after-school practice for the sixth grade concert—she got to crash the heck out of some cymbals. Ms. Ishyama said Dani was “sure something.” 

To make matters even better, she gets Nasty Burger for dinner. She never gets Nasty Burger for dinner. Dad always says it’s “inedible drivel,” but he looked too exhausted to protest when he picked her up in the Bentley after rehearsal, so she just kind of subtly slid it in there, and now, here they are! The lights are bright, and it smells like fry grease, and the machines in the back make this loud mechanical beeeerrrrrhhhhh every ten minutes, and the big, plastic display at the counter has a bunch of colorful toys.

It’s perfect.  

Her dad sits across the table from her, arm draped over the back of the hard plastic booth, nose crinkled in distaste, gaze off in the middle distance. Absently, he twists a fry back and forth between his fingers, though the rest of his meal remains untouched. 

“Are you going to eat that?” Dani asks through a mouthful of chicken nuggets, pointing at the burger and fries.   

The question startles him out of his reverie, and he drops the fry, rubbing his fingertips off on the stack of paper napkins at hand, scowl deepening.

“Hardly,” he says, pushing the plastic tray away where it shushes against the Formica. 

“How was work?” she asks, undeterred as she crosses her legs under her and bounces excitedly.

“Long. We’re in the middle of an audit.”

“What’s an audit?” she asks, folding two fries in half and dunking them in ketchup before she shoves them into her mouth. 

Vlad is quiet a beat as his gaze flickers to her, as if he’s just remembering who exactly he’s talking to. 

“Nevermind. It’s not important.”

“Are you going to ask me how school was?” 

He lets out a long-suffering sigh. “How was school?” 

“It was great! We’re learning about magnets in science class, and did you know that they have poles? And if you hold two north poles close to each other they like shoot apart! Like the force!”

“Yes, I’m aware.” 

“And we watched Bill Nye the science guy after we got our tests back, and the whole class was like Bill Bill Bill Bill!” 

Vlad’s brow furrows, lips pursing on a thin line. “Who?”

“The Science Guy,” Dani says, like he’s dumb, as she shovels two more chicken nuggets into her cheeks. Crumbs spray onto the table as she drops her voice an octave, gesturing wildly as she goes, “Biiiiiiill Nyyyyyyye, the Scieeeeeeence Guuuuuuy!” 

“I see.”

“And then I conned Chelsea out of her Dunkaroos, and when we were on the playground at recess, I got so high on the swingset that everyone was freaking out, they thought I was going to flip right around the bar and then fall off and die or something. And I was like, my dudes, I would be so fine, and they were like, just not buying it. And I can fly, so like, as if a swingset is going to be a problem, right? But whatever. I wasn’t going to tell them that. They can just be wrong.” She barely pauses for breath as she takes  a loud, slurpy sip from her pop. “And then we had gym, and we were doing a run around the school to train for track or something, or maybe we’re fundraising? I don’t know, I just walked with my friends, and we were talking about the new movie—that one I told you I want to see? The one where she has to solve that mystery to get a bunch of money? You remember? Dad? You remember the movie?” 

Vlad pinches the bridge of his nose before rubbing the pads of his fingers across closed eyelids. “Yes, I remember, Danielle.”  

“So we were talking about that movie and—” She stops herself mid-sentence, sucking in a huge excited gasp when she remembers that she hasn’t dug around in the bottom of her paper bag for the toy yet. 

Dropping the fries in her hand, she rips open the bag of napkins and paper straws, thrusting her arm in up to the elbow, plastic crinkling between her fingers as they close around something at the bottom. She’s barely hauled the toy free before she’s tearing into the cheap plastic Nasty Burger packaging—doesn’t even bother looking at what’s inside until it’s free.

“I can’t wait, I’ve been so excited to—oh,” her voice dips, smile slipping as she stares at the little purple car in her hand, the goofy scowling character sticking out of it.

“What’s the matter?” Vlad asks, in a tone that suggests he regrets bringing it up at all. 

“It’s. Nothing. It’s silly,” she says, forcing a nonchalant grin, though even she can tell it falls a mile short of her eyes as her hand drops. 

Setting the car on the table, she pushes it dismally back and forth on squeaky wheels with a finger.

“Danielle.” 

“It’s just not the character I wanted,” she blurts as she lifts her gaze to her dad. 

He arches a brow, and that’s all the prompting it takes for her to go on in one big breath, holding up the toy to him in demonstration. 

“This is Mojo Jo Jo, and he has a giant brain, and lives in a volcano, like a loser, and I wanted Buttercup, because she’s awesome, and she wears green, and she fights first and asks questions later, and she’s scared of spiders, and her little car toy has racing stripes, and I even would’ve taken Bubbles or Blossom even though they’re like, not as cool, but they’re still okay I guess, or Professor Utonium might’ve been alright too, but I just didn’t want the evil chimpanzee.”

Her voice is stupidly choked for the fact that it’s just a silly toy, and her dad is quiet for far too long. She jumps when he finally moves, reaching over to snatch the car from her hand and pushing to a stand all in one smooth motion. 

“What’re you doing?” she asks, hopping up onto her knees, palms pressed against the tabletop.

He doesn’t answer as he starts to walk away, so she jumps down from the booth and clambers after him, the soles of her shoes slapping against the sticky tile floor.

“Dad? What’re you doing?”

He shoulders past the person at the front of the order queue, coming to stand in front of the cashier, his expression all flat, straight lines—undeniably not happy.  

“My daughter needs a new toy,” he says, clipped. “The green one.” 

“I’m very sorry, sir, but we can’t take them back once they’ve been removed from the packaging,” the cashier answers, adjusting the brim of his Nasty Burger visor, and peering down at Dani with a reassuring smile. He talks to her like she’s four, his voice saccharine as he leans over the counter and says, “Maybe next time you come you’ll get the one you wanted.”

“I don’t think you’re understanding me,” Vlad says, tone flinty, and the employee’s eyes dart back over toward him, his smile faltering. “My daughter needs a new toy.” 

“I’m sorry. But we really can’t take them back once—” 

There’s the crunch of plastic, Vlad’s eyes not leaving the employee’s for a second as his fist curls around the kitschy cartoon race car toy. When his hand turns over, fingers uncurling, plastic pieces clatter against the countertop like rain. 

In a cold, flat tone, Vlad says, “This one’s broken.”   

The employee blanches, taking a step back as his eyes fall to the scattered purple plastic.  It takes a second before he shakes himself out of it, mumbles something about of course and that’s a different matter and right away as he pulls a gray tub out from beneath the counter. He sets it down with a thunk, gestures weakly for Dani to pick her toy, all while conspicuously avoiding Vlad’s eye. 

Dani’s entire expression lights up, excitement building in her like a balloon full to bursting as she pushes through the toys to find a bright green Buttercup race car. She pulls it free triumphantly, holds it to her chest and looks up at her dad, smile stretched straight across her face.  

“That’s the one you wanted?” he checks, and she nods so fast she almost gives herself whiplash. He harumphs as he twists on his heel, expensive loafers clacking against the grimy tile as he starts toward the door.

“Let’s go then,” he says when she doesn’t follow.

She startles to jog after him, calling a vague “thank you!” over her shoulder at the cashier, still clutching her Buttercup toy close, cheeks already hurting from her wide smile.

Best day ever.       

1997

Dani and Vlad out to eat at a fast food restaurant at 8 pm, Dani didn’t like her toy so Vlad had to go and ask for another of Dani’s choosing