#i have flown 10 different times just This Year

[gomapda]

i just received my flight details for my move to south korea; officially going to be landing on january 10th.

there’s always something kind of daunting about one-way tickets. i felt the same way when i first moved to hawai‘i for my master’s

but yeah, in 4 weeks, i’ll be living in a foreign country for a year. last time i lived abroad was only for 7 weeks in japan so this will definitely be a new experience

it’s not writer’s block that i’m having, it’s a lack of motivation because real life is So Real right now (getting all my documents and seeing as many loved ones as i can) and it’s demanding my attention away from my lil fantasy world, but hopefully i can release the second part in january (unless the intensive korean courses kick my ass)

[anders-hawke]

i got a "cooling pad" for christmas that has six fans in it and you put your computer on it. finally searched how to turn the intensity up bc the dials on the thing sure as hell aren't working. "six quiet fans" man my computers internal fans do more work than these fans. and you can't turn it up bc it you use it through a usb port lol so it can't really handle it running the fans faster.

[bibleofficial]

i love having hong kongers & mainlanders in close contact like literally i’ve these 2 hongkongers in my group project for a class & then i live w 2 mainlanders so ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) i’m learning so much

[grogumaximus]

The pair, who collided while fighting for the lead in June’s Austrian Grand Prix, are still good friends off the track and even travelled to this weekend’s race in Azerbaijan together.

Norris believes they are able to separate their on-track battles from their personal life but when asked if he would sacrifice that relationship in favour of beating three-time champion Verstappen to the drivers’ title, the 24-year-old was very clear.

“Of course I would always choose beating him,” McLaren’s Norris said.

“But as I’ve said many times, the fact that I get along with him has nothing to do with how I treat him on track. “I respect Max a lot, we are friends but it is clear he wants to beat me and I want to beat him. We are competitors, I am fighting for a world championship against him.

“It has nothing to do with how we get along off the track, it is two completely different worlds. “When you are on track you are not friends, you are enemies and I think that will always stay the same.”

It is hard to believe many sporting rivals would share a plane together – along with Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg – in the midst of such an intense battle but Norris says they are able to talk about things other than the title scrap.

“It’s still relaxed between us,” Norris added. “We talk about different things, we talk about racing, sim racing, padel, lots of different things. “He is just a good guy to talk to and get along with so we always have a good laugh. “This is the first time I have flown with Max in a long time. It is just normal. I would not say anything has changed.

“He’s an honest guy, that no b******t mentality I like with the people I work with.

“I prefer people who are honest. If they hate it they say they hate it and if they love it they say they love it. “Just people who are themselves and there are too many people in the world who are not that and just say what you want to hear. “I don’t have time for those kinds of people. Max is the opposite of that, he is himself and says what he thinks.”

He revealed that he keeps his friendship group largely separate from the F1 world and believes that helps him to switch off.

“I have always been very closed off with my friends. All of my friends are people that I have grown up with the last 10 years,” Norris said.

“There are very few that are new friends since coming into Formula One.

[thetraumaking]

The Accursed Crown

Other Chapters

Chapter 20

While Azula was away for her first mission, you were tasked to continue on with Zuko’s training. 

It has been well over fourteen years since your life within the palace. And within that fourteen years, there weren’t many occurrences where you were left with the young prince one on one. Even when he was a baby, there were only a handful of times where Princess Ursa would leave him alone with you. 

Twice where you had to put him to sleep when his mother was in the process of… conceiving the princess. Once when he was around the age of 8 when he asked for morning training( and that only lasted for a day when Azula demanded to join.) 

Despite being siblings, the two had more differences than similarities. You thought it was due to their separate upbringing. While he was raised primarily by his mother, his sister was cared for by you.

You don’t want to question his majesty or his highness but maybe… they may have made a misguided decision on making you the princess’s main caretaker. 

Granted, the circumstances were not ideal for such decisions. With how princess Ursa’s refusal to let the child feed from her, the sudden fire bending which burned her during the delivery, the heated discussion between the parents, and the young prince’s wails, there just wasn’t much room to mull over decisions. Of course they would levitate to the first solution that presented itself. 

Granted, you did try your best. 

But that hasn’t been enough these past couple years. 

You did everything you could to make her as strong if not better than you. You were present in every training session, combat and bending, academic and strategic lessons. Till she was ten, you were right beside her. 

Ten was the age where the camp and the Fire Lord had concluded to be the proper age to start being independent. Similar to how your training ended at 10, you had let her loose. Normally, instructors give their trainees up to two years to either train on their own and fight them or to accomplish a noteworthy achievement.  

She’s already 12. Time seemed to have flown by. 

‘I hope she took my words to heart…’ you felt the wound on your shoulder throb. 

The siege she shadowed you on didn’t end as well as you hoped. If it went the way you wanted, you would have preferred to stay out of the number of casualties. 

“Morning, Zero!” You spot prince Zuko running towards you, dressed in his training attire.  

“Good Morning, Prince Zuko.” . 

He grimaced at your greeting, you wondered if you had somehow offended him. “Um, you can just call me by name, you know.” He cleared his throat.  

“Is that what you want?” You ask, watching him rub his wrist before sending a smile your way. 

“Yes!… sorry.” He apologised for his sudden outburst, “It’s-you’ve been with us for as long as I could remember so… I just didn’t see a reason to be so formal, you’re practically family.” 

You watch him fidget with his cuffs, looking anywhere but your eyes as his lips pressed a firm line. If it was Azula in his stead, she would have stood straight, holding your gaze in an almost challenging manner. 

Just like how you have taught her. 

When you nodded at his request, you see him smile at you. 

Your prince was a strange one. 

Though there were countless differences between him and the one you serve, you couldn’t will yourself to bring them into words. With no further adieu, you started his training. 

Durring your duel, you assessed him. Compared to his sister, he is more suited for the defensive side, not quite at her level but not bad seeing that he had a later start. You brought your hand up for an attack when he parried it with a slight shift of his leg. His feet dragging back on the dirt at the force of your attack. 

He needs more strength training. 

Though it is commendable. 

How could he, the little child that resembled so much of a maggot, grow so big? He was nothing but a bag of flesh that would wiggle around and pull at your hair. And now, he’s sending blasts of fire one after the other, parrying your attacks and even landing one or two of his own. 

You tilt your head just in time to dodge his elbow. 

… she would have gone for a kick instead.

As you dodged and weaved around his attacks, you couldn’t seem to keep her off your mind. 

Every kick, every step, and even their breaths, you couldn’t help but compare the two. And how could you not?

You were too used to her near perfect forms, her almost obsessive attachment to victory, and the way she’s so willing to soak up anything that involves bending and power. 

While, yes, anyone with eyes can see the prince’s eagerness to learn and improve. It’s just not the same. He doesn’t get frustrated to the point of tears or violent outbursts. He doesn’t train behind your back to master a technique just to impress you. He doesn’t make snide remarks whenever your training is cut short. He doesn’t distract you from looking at the princess when she lingers for too long. Nor does he mock her whenever she requests your audience. 

This is pointless.

Zuko isn’t Azula. 

Nor is he like her. 

Between the two, it is clear who will succeed the throne. 

No matter how much he trained, it was too late. He lost his birthright the moment Azula was born. 

[acesofspadess]

Home Grown

a/n: heheheeh

summary: back home can mean one thing...

Landing at 9 in morning in Dublin gave you enough time to get through the airport with minimal fan encounters.  Because you were only staying for the day you hadn’t booked a hotel, only having a carry on shared for both of you and a personal item. Atticus, who had flown in a few days earlier and was very excited to see his best friend, offered to pick you both up and take you where you needed to go. “Bestie?!” he shouted when you walked out of the airport. You ran up to him and hugged him tumbling to the ground. Niall was filming the whole thing and laughed when you both got up still hugging each other. “Are you ready?” 

“Fuck no.”

maiaquinn

maiaquinn See you soon Slane 🇮🇪

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naiastan SLANE!!!!!!!!

niallleerrrrrr is Niall with you???

missquinn_maia I KNEW IT

As you arrived to Slane Castle you froze. “What the fuck am I doing?” you whispered from the back seat of Atticus’ car. You let Niall sit in the front as his legs were longer. “About to perform for one of the biggest crowds in the world.” Atticus shrugged off and you hit his shoulder. “Okay lets not got hurt right now. We’re driving.” Niall grabbed your hand before you could throw another punch at Atticus, who was ducking from you while finding the closest parking spot.

You stepped out of the car for the first time since the airport (only 30 min) and groaned, stretching before you were jumping up and down and skipping all over the parking lot. “I'm home!” you sang and Niall looked at you with so much love. He was surprised he hadn’t slipped up and told you yet. 

“Are you gonna tell her?” Atticus asked not taking his eyes off you who had just laid in the middle of the road. He looked at him questioningly. “Tell her you love her.”  Atticus further described turning to him. Niall turned back to you only to see you with a puzzled expression looking at your phone.

“Hey what happened.” he pushed off the car atticus on his tail. “She finally twisted the story, right after my post. That-” but Niall kissed you before you could say anything you might regret. You melted into his arms as he carefully massaged your scalp through your mane of curly hair. “Post it.” he whispered and you immediately looked at him. “YOU want me to post it.” he nodded and Atticus hummed his agreement, “If you won’t I will.” you nodded at him giving the approval to do so while you got your guitar out of the car. “Don’t let it ruin your day love.” Niall whispered. You looked up at him and sighed. “I know.” he kissed you lips effectively taking the pout off them.

The band pulled up around 10 minutes later as it took them longer in the airport with their instruments. “Hey guys! You ready for this?” they all cheered as they gave you hugs. “Thank you guys so much for letting me steal you. I really appreciate it.” they all shrugged you off with different forms of ‘of course!’. You all walked the short distance to the backstage area where they were waiting.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” he smirked as you and Niall walked up to him ahead of everyone. “You know I prefer dogs H.” he laughed and you hugged him. “Hey mate.” Niall and Harry hugged and both boys hands caught you as you pretended to faint. “My 9 year old self is screaming, actually no- thats just me.” you joked making the two boys laugh. “Funny one you got there Nialler.” Harry pointed out and Nial scoffed, “so she would like to think.” you pouted and he laughed, “you know its just banter.” he kissed you, “i know, i just wanted a kiss.” you shrugged pushing past Harry to go say hi to the rest of the band like you weren’t just freaking about meeting everyone.

During soundcheck you and the band went over some of your own songs as well as some you sang on The Voice just in case you wanted to switch it up. “You guys are amazing. I love you” you cried to the band as they nailed everything. You would be the last opener and because of that Harry and the Love band were sitting around the stage watching your half-arsed performance.

“I promise I will sound a lot better later.” you joked into the mic and they all laughed. “You might put Harry out of job tonight.” Ariza joked and you laughed before running around the stage as Harry tried to chase you. “You can’t take my job.” he dropped in the middle of the stage and you laughed running back to him. “There, there, Mr. just Harry.” you patted his fluffy hair, before he was grabbing your legs making you laugh before you hopped on his back “We all know the person these people look up to is Niall.” and as if on cue his famous laughter rang through the stage. “Speak of the leprechaun and he shall appear.” Harry giggled. “I see she’s got you wrapped around her finger.” Niall joked, shaking his head at you. “I mean it Niall. If you hurt her…'' he trailed off, and that was the only time you had ever even thought of Harry looking scary. “Scouts honour.” He took a pic of you and Harry and in the time you two were goofing around the instruments had been changed and everyone was in their respective spots. 

“Can I stay and watch.” They all agreed without hesitation and it was a very fun soundcheck. You switched back and forth from mimicking piano, to guitar, to the drums. You even did the cinema horns. “Do you know how to play all these?” Pauli asked from his set up and you nodded with a big smile. “Play the drums!” he asked and you looked to Sarah who nodded with a shrug. “Alright then, H can we do ‘Daylight’?” and they looked at you. “What? Is tonights song Stockholm?” you asked innocently still wondering why they were all looking at you like that.

“That song is all drums.” You heard Elin say shocked. You shrugged, “I guess?” Harry shrugged and when he gave you all a thumbs up you started playing. You played through the whole song with everyone staring at you. You sang Sarah's lines as well, and everyone was amazed, not that you knew as your eyes were closed.

“Fucking hell, Maia.” Harry cursed into the mic as gently paced Sarah’s sticks on her stool and walked off the stand. “That was fun.”

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

You were shitting yourself as the band went on to set themselves up. “Hey, you know what your doing. You have no reason to be nervous.” Niall whispered into your ear as he hugged you. His hugs were grounding and you wished you could perform like this. “This is 80 thousand people Niall. 80!” you wanted to throw up at the thought. “You sang on my live infront of 50.” he pointed out. “No it was one, you.” You shot back and he grimaced knowing you were technically right… you had only seen him.

“It doesn't matter, just be yourself. Harry wouldn’t have put you on if he thought you weren’t ready. Everyone believes in you. Do you believe in yourself?”

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

You walked on stage while messing with your in ears. The band had walked on with you again and that calmed you down. “Hello Slane!” you shouted into the mic and you heard the audience cheer. “Im Maia Quinn.” again more cheers. “Okay so some of you do know me.” you chuckled nervously, “I’ve never done anything of this magnitude before, and im shitting myself because of that.” you heard the roar of laughter and we’re glad this wasn’t a complete fail. “Before I sing some songs for you guys I want to thank the ‘Lemons’ as I stole them.” They laughed at you as you blew them a kiss, “And I want to thank Harry for giving me this opportunity.” Everyone screamed as you saw Harry in his tracksuit wave at you from side stage. He was closer as he wanted to watch your performance and have enough time to get changed. “Im gonna play some of my own songs, and some you may know. So if you know the words sing ‘em with me.”

You sang two of your ballads, and when you sang your more up beat one they sang it with you and smiled as they took over the chorus

I can feel it coming miles away

Feel the rhythm and how it’s calling your name

And you know it, every note that you read

I can feel it on every inch of my skin

In my blood, running , I’d like it facing the wind

And you know it, every note that you read

“Wow i wasn’t sure you guys would know that one.” you laughed, you saw someone hold a sign up and you read it, “Hi whats your name? Ezra? Nice to meet you Ezra. You want me to sing ‘Wicked Game’?” you clarified and some people screamed in agreement. You were glad you soundcheck some songs, “Give me two seconds.” you told him and you jogged to the band and they all agreed. 

You then turned to Harry and held a thumbs up. He wanted to hear this live more than anyone. You held a thumbs up and they started playing and those who knew cheered.

The audience clapped along with the music and you could only imagine what they looked like behind your closed eye

What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way

Niall wished your eyes were open so you could see how he looked at you

What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you

The audience cheered as you added a bit of rasp and edge

And I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)

No, I don't wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)

With you

No, I 

As you held onto your note you used all you could to power through all 10 seconds of the song for the note that blew everyone away

Nobody 

Your eyes softly as you looked at the crowd before your eyes closed again as you finished the song

loves no one

Everyone cheered and you saw Harry jumping up and down as you looked at him and he whistled before clapping again. “It's been donkey’s years since I last sang that.” you laughed and took a sip of water while walking to pick up your acoustic. “Now every single one of you should know this next song, if you don’t,” you paused, “someone will be very sad.”

It was just you and your guitar for this one. You started to finger pick the strings and they cheered as they heard the familiar tune.

Waking up to kiss you and nobody’s there

The smell of your perfume still stuck in the air

It’s hard

Yesterday I thought I saw your shadow running round

It’s funny how things never change in this old town

So far from the stars

You barely sang as the crowd of 80 thousand sounded like a speaker.  “The next song I'm gonna play I've seen circulating around twitter with some videos of you guys coming up with your own verses. Its crazy how its been so many years since I released this.” Those who knew what you were on about started screaming and you laughed. “This is ‘Nonsense’.”

This song catchier than chicken pox is

As you heard them shout it to you you held the mic towards them

I bet your house is where my other sock is

Woke up this morning thought I'd write a pop hit

How quickly can you take your clothes off? Pop quiz

There's 80 thousand people at this concert

You the twist the story now I've got the last word

Please don't test me your just gonna get hurt

Thank you Slane, I hope I did you justice

One more song, then Harry’ll be out on stage I promise 

You laughed as they booed. “Harry’s not gonna like that.” you looked in his direction and he shook his head with a laugh. “He said i can take over!” they all cheered and you quickly brought them back down, “no sorry, only joking.” you held your hand up apologetically. 

“Alright loves, this is the last song and then you guys will see who you paid for. But if you know anything about me it’s probably my cover of this song.” they all cheered as you sat down on the stage floor, bringing the guitar mic with you so you had something to sing into. “This is Still.” you took out one of your in-ears to hear the sound of the guitar better.

My mind is complicated

Find it hard to rearrange it

But I'll have to find a way somehow

Overreacting lately

Find it hard to say I'm sorry

But I'll make it up to you somehow

I just don't know why

Stars won't shine at night

You around seeing some people with tears already falling

Tell me you want it

A thousand miles away from the day that we started

But I'm standing here with you, just trying to be honest

If honesty means telling you the truth

Well, I'm still in love with you

Did I miscalculate this?

Let's just go back to basics

Forget about what's come and gone

'Cause I hate to see us like this

Breaking up on nights just like this

We should be shooting for them stars of gold

It crazy playing this song again

So tell me you want it

A thousand miles away from the day that we started

But I'm standing here with you, just trying to be honest

If honesty means telling you the truth

Then I guess we lost our focus

And it's killing me that we could go to war like this

But I'm standing here with you, just trying to be honest

If honesty means telling you the truth

Well, I'm still in love with you

Oh, we'll be alright

Oh, it'll be alright

Oh, we'll be alright

Oh, it'll be alright

“Sing it!”

So tell me you want it

A thousand miles away from the day that we started

But I'm standing here with you, just trying to be honest

If honesty means telling you the truth

I guess we lost our focus

And it's killing me that we could go to war like this

But I'm standing here with you, just trying to be honest

If honesty means telling you the truth

Well, I'm still in love with you

They all screamed as you stood up and bowed. You moved the mic stand back to its respectful place, guitar swung around to your back as you blew kisses to them while saying thank you. You waved until you were in the dark and ran off to go find Niall. 

“Ni?!” you yelled around all the trailers. When you opened the door to your trailer you saw him in the middle of the room on one knee. “Niall Horan what the fuck are you doing?” you whisper-shouted. He laughed and shook his head. “Telling you, I love you.” you dropped to the floor next to him and placed the guitar down. “Then why are you on your knees?” you questioned putting his face in your hands. “Because I do have a ring for you.” he said, pulling out two blue boxes. 

“Niall Horan.” you repeated in shock again. “I liked both, and knew you would too, so I bought both.” He giggled still through tears. “This one is a knot, because im tied to you, always will be.” He said placing it on your right pointer finger, “and this one- its the Tiffany T but it looked like an H so of course I bought it.” You laughed as he placed it on your left middle finger, right next to his gold and green one. “Now I have three promises to you, to love you,” he kissed his ring, “to be yours forever,” he kissed the ‘H’ ring, “and to forever be with you, through thick and thickest.” He finished off by kissing the knot ring. 

When he released your hands you ran your hands over his cheeks. “God, I love you so much. I feel like a shithole because you gave me all of this and- when even did you get these?” you laughed knowing he’d been with you all day. “In New York. when you went to take a nap I left.” he laughed as you shoved his shoulder.

“I love you so much Niall Horan.”

“I love you Maia Quinn, always.”

[unfortunatetheorist]

The Complete Works of Contradictory Logic in ASOUE: Volume I (Quote Debunk 10)

Part 7 - The Miserable Mill S1 E7

Quick Intro: Surprise! I'm back after what I know has been quite a long while - life's been keeping me busy! As Voltaire once said: "Life is thickly sown with thorns and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them."

Time to carry on where we left off...

And of course we're jumping straight in with Mr Poe-ntless:

01:49 - "We must act now! We must act without delay! We... (sniffs)... need... (sniffs again)... We need... (sniffs some chowder because why not?) Oh! Oh, my! Oh, my, this is excellent chowder. Mmm, mmm, good. Oh, God... [chugs the entire thing - again, why not?]"

How did we ever believe this guy cared about the Baudelaires?

05:06 - "Pink Floyd's "The Wall"... Although Mother wouldn't let me watch that one."

Not contradictory per se, but a beautifully subtle reference to the lyrics of the song 'Another Brick in The Wall, Pt 2.' particularly the chorus:

We don't need no education

We don't need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teacher, leave them kids alone!

So I guess it's contradictory, in a way, to the underlying principles of V.F.D.

07:06 - "They have to do what I say, even my partner here." ~ Sir

Luckily Klaus responds quickly and correctly to this one.

10:06 - "...who joined you for years on a sequence of heists and schemes until the two of you were forced apart by circumstance, and also because you ran off in the middle of the night with a bunch of her valuables?" ~ Olaf. to Evander the Truck Driver

What a way to lose a lady. Something tells me only Olaf would do something like this!

The chocolate bar scene at 10:26 is funny, but not really the kind of contradiction we're looking for.

14:45 - "I'm just an old friend" *sniffs flowers and writhes in disgust* ~Olaf to Georgina

"Um, Dr Orwell's not here right now." ~ Dr Orwell (Georgina) to Olaf.

Sheer genius. Neatly covered with the hilarity of Olaf's facial expression after smelling the flowers.

15:06 - "So he isn't just knocking on Dr Orwell's door because he needs something - for himself?" ~ Georgina

Olaf: *chuckles*, *pulls angry face*, *chuckles*

It's brilliantly timed and brilliantly filmed. Also better/easier to understand when viewed.

15:27 - "...who shares one's brilliance, one's charm, one's dubious moral code in a world gone gloriously wrong." ~ Olaf

Olaf was just trying to find alphabetical words; 'brilliance' and 'charm' have quite different meaning and connotation to 'dubious'.

Also, a world gone 'gloriously wrong', eh, Olaf? I wonder how it got that way...

15:48 - This gem:

Georgina: "I took a solemn oath that my office would be closed to you forever even during regular business hours."

Also Georgina: "How big a fortune are we talking?"

22:22 - "I took a chance on treating you like grown-ups, don't make me regret it." ~ Sir to the Baudelaires

A classic phrase often said to children to enforce good behaviour now twisted to benefit Sir's bank balance. Respect, Handler! This kind of thing goes unnoticed very easily.

25:25 - "You, me, an evil scheme, a little death." ~ Olaf

"La petit mort" ~ Georgina

"You know I love it when you speak Spanish." ~ Olaf

Ok. First off, 'la petit mort' is, in fact, French not Spanish. Secondly, 'la petit mort' literally means 'the little death' but in French slang, it means something else entirely... [Hint: not child-friendly...]

26:10 - "It represents the eyes of God staring down and judging society as a moral wasteland." ~ Klaus

"Oh, that sounds like a fun book." ~ Phil

Not really sure how fun this is... but the same could be said about ASOUE to be fair. Each to his own, I suppose.

37:24 - "We've fought a host of unsavoury characters, including a most unfriendly refrigerator repair person. We've flown a plane into a hurricane. We've been to Peru and back to get home to our children. And today, finally, we'll all be together. What could be wrong?"

Gotta love the sarcasm when it's there.

There's also the piece related to the final scene about Sir mentioning the 'probable' (yeah right) conditions of the Baudelaires, which are actually his own... this isn't as contradictory as it perhaps could've been so not worth writing in full.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

[onboardsorasora]

@blacklaces my darling, this one and the next (that I'll write soon I promise lmao) are for you!

Part 1 | Part 8 | Part 10

Tennis AU - Part 9 (1.5k words holy hell)

Max shuffled uncomfortably on the sofa, shifting his half hard dick to rest more comfort in his sweats. 

He'd flown into Paris this morning and was waiting on Daniel to finish his media duties for the day. He was playing tomorrow in the semi finals against Novak Djokovic, someone who even Max knew about in his limited tennis knowledge. He knew Daniel was…nervous about the match up, knew that Daniel had a losing streak against the almost robotic champion. 

They had matched up a handful of times over the last few years at different majors tournaments. And Daniel had lost all but once. In 2018.

In 2016, they had played each other in Center Court in the Wimbledon Men's Finals and Daniel had lost in spectacular fashion after a tie break. It was apparent even to Max that he hadn't had the right conditioning at the time and his game had broken down. Novak had smelt blood in the water and had the match won in no time.

Max had watched the highlights in the plane, his heart ached at seeing Daniel's pissed off face while he stood there with his consolation prize, listening to Novak thank him for being a good opponent. Max knew the feeling, and knew that his lover had internalized it deeply and made himself a better player because of it.

They'd met again in 2018, an almost mirror of their circumstances two years prior. Max had put on the full match on the big screen the moment he settled into the Parisian apartment he was renting. He’d had a few hours to kill before Daniel was available and already knew that he had won it, it was the lone Wimbledon win in his stat list. Pundits and journos alike lauded it as an amazing comeback story. A redemption London.

He found himself in a daze, he wasn't sure which set they were in anymore. All he could focus on was the grunts and groans of exertion (not completely dissimilar to his moans of pleasure) and the tight clench of Daniel's ass as he ran, heaved and lunged along the grass. His little white shorts showing to all and sundry the perfect shape of it. The tattoos on his thighs– the collection not yet complete, were stark against the soft white of his shorts and the tanned olive of his skin.

The roar of the crowd broke him from his daze, and from his unconscious palming of himself. Daniel on the TV had fallen on his back in the grass, his hands cupping his face and hiding his overjoyed reaction from the camera and crowd. He eventually sat up with his legs bent, shorts riding up sinfully, looking around the packed stadium with glassy honey eyes as everyone stood to their feet cheering for him. The camera zoomed in on his wet smile and the commentators waxed poetic about how his grin was one of the brightest and most recognizable on the circuit. They spoke about how much he deserved it and how much better a player he was since 2016. 

An official motioned to his family and Daniel jumped to his feet and waved to the still cheering crowd before picking his way to the family box. He crumpled into his mother's arms, sobbing into her hair while she rubbed his back. His father and sister crowded around them, knowing it was best to go to him than wait for him to come to them. By the time he collected himself, an official was leading him back to his bench to prepare for the awards ceremony. 

Max paused the feed and grabbed his ringing phone;

"Hey Daniel."

"Hey Maxy, I'm just about done here. Are we still on for lunch?"

"Yeah, I was thinking we could order in at my apartment?"

"I thought we were going to like a beestroh." 

Max snorted at his exaggeration. "I've thought about it, and cafe bathrooms are too tiny and I want to do more than just give you a quick handjob."

"Maxy-" Daniel sounded scandalized, then he muttered; "thank God I didn't have you on speaker. I'm sure that would have been the story of the Open."

"You know better than that." Max said coolly, pressing his palm again against his now half chub. He could hear Daniel's smile and pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"Send me your address." 

They hung up shortly after and Max texted over the apartment's address as requested and then ordered food from a nearby café.

Daniel arrived before their lunch and Max kissed him hello at the door, pressing him into the heavy wood. Daniel moaned, fisting his hands into Max's soft cotton shirt.

There was a sudden knock and they detangled themselves bemusedly so Max could accept the food delivery. Daniel walked further into the space, blushing at the paused video still on the screen. Max joined him in the living area, wrapping his arms around Daniel's rounded shoulders. 

"Watching my greatest hits?" Daniel bit his lip.

"Do you still have those white shorts?" Max asked instead, pressing Daniel's back into his chest, hooking his head over his shoulder. Daniel barked out a shocked laugh,

"I'm not sure, probably. Liked what you saw?" He turned into the circle of Max's arms so they were face to face.

"I, of course, prefer you with nothing on. But those white shorts are a close second." Max watched as Daniel's smile widened. He leaned in for a kiss and Max met him halfway, pressing their lips together and licking into each other's mouths.

"Did Blake send any instructions?" Max pulled back as Daniel snorted. 

"I can't even be mad at you because of course he did." Daniel giggled, dropping his forehead on Max's shoulder. "Pretty much the usual, curfews at eight and 'nothing too rigorous'."

Max laughed, "we shall save the 'rigorous activities' then for when you win, of course."

"Are you trying to incentivize me to win?" Daniel’s eyes crinkled in his mirth, his body shaking Max’s with the force of his giggles. Max smiled widely.

"I was going to rim you, but that might be too rigorous so you'll have to wait until tomorrow. After you win." Max smirked as Daniel's smile fell into a slack O.

"You can't just say that! Now I'm gonna have a hard on the whole time." He whined, pressing his hips flush against Max's, their cocks meeting.

"I'll help with your pre match prep—"

"Don't you dare fucking— fuck what's the word— pavlov me. Is that the word? Don't you fuckin make it so that I think of you while I'm prepping for a match. That's the most evil thing—" Daniel accused with a laugh, he watched as Max's eyes turned into crescents while he laughed. 

"That is the meanest thing, I'm gonna fuckin make sure you get hard before every race now." Daniel continued to tease.

"I of course am ok with this, it means I get to keep you, always." Max stilled as he realized belatedly what escaped his lips in his happiness. He watched Daniel's reaction as honey eyes widened briefly then softened. Daniel opened his mouth to say something and closed it once, then twice before settling on a small, tender smile. A blush high on his cheeks.

"I'm ok with that too." Daniel whispered eventually, licking his lips nervously and looking into Max's waiting, blue eyes.

Max surged forward, contracting the small space between them and molded Daniel's kiss swollen lips with his own. Daniel moaned into his mouth, relaxing into Max's lead and eagerly massaging their tongues together.

Max eased them into the sofa, crowding on top of Daniel's pliant form. They made out languidly as if they had all the time in the world. Reacquainting themselves with each other’s bodies, almost reverently now with this new turn of their relationship. 

Soon, Daniel's sweatshirt and Max's Tshirt were discarded to the floor. They groped and stroked each other, careful to not leave any marks or bruises. Contrary to what Blake, Michael and Lando thought, Max had self control around Daniel. He may not exercise it, but he at the very least was aware of its existence. 

He, as much as everyone else, wanted Daniel to win tomorrow. He wanted Daniel to be 100% ready for the battle ahead. Daniel didn't need to be worried about a bruise pulling at an inopportune moment, or a muscle cramping from being held in a position (more than likely over Max's shoulder) for too long. He could hold back. He'd show them. 

Shucking down both their sweatpants inelegantly, Max pulled back from Daniel’s sinful mouth and spat into his palm. He cradled their dicks together in his large hand and swallowed Daniel's moan as he stroked them off slowly, rocking his hips a little to help provide some friction.

Daniel panted, clenching his fingers into Max's blonde strands to almost center himself. He whispered curses and praise into Max's lips, the other man feeding off of his pleasure. He always enjoyed taking Daniel apart. 

With a shudder and a long moan, Daniel came first, shooting his hot load over Max's hand and against their bellies. Max hummed in satisfaction, using Daniel's cum to further lubricate his grip before he too came with a groan, mixing with Daniel's mess.

They breathed shakily into each other's mouths, feeling their lips brush lightly with the movements. As if their mouths couldn't help but touch.

"So are we gonna do this before every match day or…?" Daniel broke the silence, smiling at Max's snort. 

"If that is what you want."

"As long as I get you, I'm good."

"I'm glad."

[real-total-drama-takes]

Can u rate different Duncan ships?

Honestly, I’m not sure what duncan ships are popular right now! But I’ll rank the ones I know of.

Duncan/courtney - 10/10! Easily my favorite duncan ship. I was a total drama fan ever since it aired on tv in the United States. I was 9 years old. Duncney had a huge impact on me back in the day. I loved them. I still do! And before you say TDA and onwards ruined Duncney, I wouldn’t argue, but you really had to be there back in the day. I’m a Duncney truther forever but I’m also a courtney kinnie so idk what that says about me

Duncan/gwen - 0/10 for the same reason I rate Duncney so high. I was in 6th grade by the time TDWT came out and the betrayal I felt was REAL. Honestly I have come around to platonic gwuncan, and if it hadn’t come about through cheating, I think my opinion would be different. I will say, I love gwuncan for the development it gave gwen in all stars. She felt really flushed out during and after her breakup with Duncan. (Sorry egg I am burdened by my correct opinions and being right all the time)

Duncan/Alejandro - 5/10 ? Honestly that’s a ship that’s flown pretty under my radar. I’m not opposed but I’m got yet to be swayed. I do think alejandro and Duncan have chemistry, it’s just not something I’ve extensively thought about

Duncan/Harold - 2/10 I really can’t see this one honestly. Duncan’s bullying towards harold feels so vitriolic and not good-natured in the slightest. There are a couple TD ships where one person bullies the other that (like Jock) that I enjoy, but duncan is just too… mean? I dunno. Again, maybe I could be swayed, but I doubt it.

Duncan/heather - 7/10 surprisingly a sleeper hit with me. I actually love the duncan & heather dynamic. There’s something about them that I really enjoy. They’re mean, and very unapologetically themselves. I can see the vision. There’s not a lot of duncan/heather fan content out there, but every time I see it, I’m like, oh, nice! Also it’s wild that they kissed in tda. I think people forget about that.

Are there any other popular ones? Let me know the duncan ships you’d like me to rank :)

[amandamgsblog]

Chapter 5 - It's not so easy to say - Part 1

Stormie's POV

I was with Mark watching TV, waiting for Ross to arrive. Classes finish at 6:50 p.m., but depending on the traffic, he arrives almost half an hour later.

— How was class, love? - I ask him as soon as I realize he's arrived.

— I don't even know! I'm feeling… Feelings! And I'm not ok!

The poor guy pulls his hair up. He's reliving the stress of thinking he's in love and that he'll hurt someone later, in a possible break-up.

— It was only a matter of time, but I didn't think it would be the next day!

— Mark, don't make it worse! Here, darling…

I run to get a glass of water, which my son accepts with trembling hands. He's only fallen in love twice in his life: at fifteen, with Aubrey, and at sixteen, with Laura. Dating Aubrey was the most bizarre relationship he could have had.

Flashback…

It was our annual vacation in Colorado. We had flown out a week ago to spend two months at my mother's house.

Ross had gone with the boys to a new diner and there he met Aubrey, who was a waitress. He fell in love with her, they became friends and during those months, they started dating.

As well as being possessive and jealous, she was completely clueless. Aubrey was lovely to us at first, but then he would throw fits of jealousy if he wanted to spend time with us or with other friends. If it was with Raini or Laura, she almost hit the girls. Apart from the many times we saw her trying to climb into Ross's room during the night, when he was in the shower, changing or asleep.

We would have to go back to Brazil again and the situation was already unbearable. Ross didn't like her anymore and wanted to end things. He was very polite, not wanting to break her heart, and she ended up freaking out in the cafeteria and getting fired. She said it was his fault and, even though it wasn't, he felt very guilty.

With Laura, my mother's neighbor's daughter, the following year, it was like this: they were very close childhood friends and were very happy in their relationship, even at a distance. But that same distance made her fall in love with Riker and him with her. So she and Ross were sad, of course, but they ended well and are still best friends, as they have been since they were in diapers.

End of flashback…

My son and my husband summed up their conversation yesterday and I couldn't help but agree with Mark. He has to get rid of this fear of love, but we can't do that for him. The way Ross protects this girl, even without realizing it, says a lot.

— (…) Then the four of us chatted until we each went off to do something different in our free time. She went to the gym and seems to have met some guy there, and I'm jealous. I shouldn't be!

— Calm down, son. These are normal feelings. You don't fall in love or love just once in a lifetime. Everything will be fine. Of course you're friends and you feel affection for each other, but think that you can be in love with a month of friendship… That's how it was with your father.

Go after her, son. Maybe she likes you too?

I hug him.

— If I ever had a chance, I missed it. She's very sweet, but she closes herself off too much… I don't know if she has feelings for me. Maybe she'll start dating this guy? I'll be happy for Amanda, really.

— Why don't you invite your friends over one day, and then invite just her to see a movie? She'll realize you're interested. - His father says.

— I don't know, dad… I'll think about it…

He goes to his room rather upset.

— Our poor son, Mark… - I turn to him.

— Calm down, Stormie, he's just confused. - He kisses me. - It's going to be all right. I'm rooting for them.

Amanda's POV

I'm woken up by yet another argument… Seriously, 7:10 in the morning and they're almost killing each other!

— I LOST MY JOB BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU NEVER SUPPORTED ME, LISTENED TO ME! YOU SAID I WAS TORTURING YOU! NOW, WITH YOUR DARLING LITTLE DAUGHTER, WHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN LOVED, IT'S A DIFFERENT STORY!

— OF COURSE IT'S TORTURE, THALITA! DO YOU THINK IT'S NORMAL FOR SOMEONE ALMOST THIRTY YEARS OLD TO BE CRYING IN YOUR HEAD ALL DAY AND NIGHT, GETTING IN THE WAY OF YOUR SISTER AND ME, AND THEN GO DOPED UP TO WORK IN A HOSPITAL PHARMACY?! OF COURSE THEY'D NOTICE! YOU ALREADY HAD THE JOB IN YOUR HANDS AND YOU WERE FIRED NOT BECAUSE OF ME, BUT BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT YOUR BOSS WAS STALKING YOU!

You need to go to therapy, as I've always insisted, and tell your psychiatrist that you're not balanced. Because this is not the behavior of balanced people!

— YOU'RE A DEMON! WHAT A FUCKING MOTHER AND FAMILY I HAVE! I HAVE NO ONE!

I arrive in the dining room just as my sister, who is almost six feet tall, raises her hand to my mother.

— Don't touch her! - I say, putting myself in front of my mother to protect her. Thalita pushes me aside and I fall. I manage to protect my head.

They give up arguing and my sister goes to her room, but not without slamming the door and screaming, crying with rage.

— Calm down, mom, I'm fine. I haven't been hurt. - I felt a little pain, but it was bearable. I always take pain medication to college in a little box.

I spent time with the cockatiels, who managed to make me feel better, then I had lunch and went to college. It's an hour and twenty minutes before class starts, so I sit at one of the tables in the restaurant near the entrance. I look around and wave to the English teacher, who is a sweetheart. Haha, Ross is crazy about her and was on cloud nine when she said she was going to bring a Shakespeare sonnet for us to read.

I pull up my pants to my knees and look at my legs, which were sore and had purple spots that hurt, unlike the bruises from stress and sadness, which don't hurt, they just appear. I hate it so much!

I dig my head out of my hands and look at the entrance to the cafeteria. The guy from yesterday! My God, how do I talk to him?

Like a normal person?

We both know, dear conscience, that we're going to stop at “hi”.

Maybe not, come on.

What's gotten into you?

The adrenaline from the fight gave me a false sense of confidence, so I went over to his table.

— Hi. - I say, trying to regulate my voice to a higher pitch, but failing. I'm glad he didn't notice that I was standing up.

I wave and he smiles back. I can say hello now. I hope he doesn't hate my voice…

— Hi, how are you?

— Hi. Fine, and you? - I say.

— Me too, sit down, please.

We sat in silence for a minute, until I plucked up the courage to do exactly what I did in high school.

— So… I saw you yesterday, but I don't know your name… - My classic line. Simple, but not overdone.

—Oh, it's Matt. Matthew, actually, and yours?

(A/N: the guy I fell in love with in 2019 had a very different name, so I decided to put Matt anyway to make sense, since it's not a common name here).

— It's Amanda. Wow, your name is different, but it's pretty.

— Haha, thanks. My mother is obsessed with Matthew McConaughey, the 80s movie star, and she named me after him. I kind of like it.

— Wow, my mom loves him too, haha. And your father, he didn't mind?

— At first, yes, but then he liked the idea. What course are you doing?

— Languages and Literature. But for God's sake, it's the other major of the course. Don't put me near rude children, because I might throw one out of the window! - I partially joke and we laugh. — What are you studying?

— Accounting. I start at 7pm, but I work out in the afternoon, after working as an assistant on the college's virtual channel.

— Wow, you still work here? That's nice. Wait a minute. Did you say Accounting? Do you know Camila? Have brunette skin, dark curly hair, short, wears glasses?

— Yes, she's my best friend in here. She's very badass.

— Yes, she is. She's been my best friend since I was eleven, I'm eighteen now. We did elementary and high school together.

— Wow, so there are going to be fights sometimes. - He jokes and we laugh. — I have to have lunch, bye, Amanda.

— Bye, it was a great time.

MY CONVERSATION WORKED! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

Even if I'm happy for a moment, I quickly become sad and worried. Today my furniture arrives and how am I going to explain to my friends and my teachers that the desk is considerably bigger and has a sticker on it saying: “Support for People with Special Needs”?

Now the bullying will start.

I soon start to remember what my psychologist said, that I should be honest with my friends who didn't know me very well, because if they're really my friends, they'll understand my need and my depression, and they'll respect me. And that's what I'm going to do now.

[ladyfurbton]

Happy New Year

Image Descriptions:

1: Big Angus is a 1998 furby who is rotund. He has an orange tuft of hair on his head and an orange puff tail on his bottom. His ears are orange on the inside and red on the outside. His fur is red with a square patch of orange on his belly. His face plate and eyelids are both orange and his beak is an orangish yellow. He has brown eyes and orange feet. Ee-day is a 1998 furby with a yellow mane and hot pink ears with light blue insides. His fur is hot pink except for on his belly where it is light blue. His face plate and eyelids are light blue with a yellowish tinge on the eye lids. His eyes are a light blue colour and his beak is a orangish yellow colour. His feet are both white. The two furbys are together under a purple knitted blanket with a white border. Big Angus says "Happy new year my cupcake." Ee-day says "Happy New year baby."

2: Big Angus and Ee-day are still both under the blanket. Nester and Beaktrice are now on either side of them. Nester whom is an adopted child of Ee-day and Big Angus is a bird plushie. He has a red head with a red tuft on top of it. He has two big white eyes with black pupils looking forward. He has a yellow beak and a crest of green feathers on his chest. He has a light green body and two red wings one on each side. Nester  has two dark blue feet at the bottom of his green body. The birds tail consists of one small fat green feather, two skinny long purple feathers and two even longer red feathers. Nester is slightly bigger than a 1998 furby. Beaktrice is a bird plushie. She has a purple head with a purple tuft on top of it. She has two big white eyes with black pupils looking forward. She has a yellow beak and a crest of pink feathers on her chest. She has a light pink body and two purple wings one on each side. Beaktrice has two dark blue feet at the bottom of her green body. The birds tail consists of one small fat pink feather, two skinny long cyan feathers and two even longer purple feathers. The bird is slightly bigger than a 1998 furby. Beaktrice says "Daddies! Wake up! It's time for breakfast." Big Angus says "Oh boy! Time for my Waffles!"

3: There is a brown kitchen table. Big Angus and Beaktrice are sitting at one side of the table while Ee-day and Nester are sitting at the other side. There is a red toaster on the table. It is on its side with the toast slots facing Ee-day. Ee-day says "Hmmm the toaster doesn't appear to be working."

4: Same as image 3 except the characters are saying different things. The toaster says "I am sick and tired of cooking toast and waffles for you every day!!! You can make your own toast!!!" Big Angus says "Did the toaster just talk?"

5: Now some toast has flown out of the toaster and hit Ee-day in the eye. Ee-day says "ouch!!" Big Angus says "Oh no the toaster has gone rouge!!! How on earth am I going to have my waffles?"

6: The toast is on the floor near Ee-days foot. Ee-day says "Wait! It says here that the toaster was made in 1999! Maybe it has the Y2K bug because the year changed!" Big Angus says "Only one thing can fix it!"

7: Same as image 6. Ee-day says "A millienum furby."

8: Big Angus is on one side of the table beside Doo-moh. Doo-moh is a 1998 furby with a white mane and white ears with dark blue insides. His fur is light grey except for on his belly where it is dark blue. His face plate and eyelids are white. His eyes are a light blue colour and his beak is a orangish yellow colour. His feet are both white. He is wearing a silver sash with the words "millennium furby" in dark blue text. Ee-day is on the other side of the table. The toaster is now on the middle of the table right side up. Doo-moh says "I'm here now time for me to get that toaster and fix it!" The toaster says "you won't catch me!!"

9: Same as image 8. Doo-moh says "Oh yes I will! It's a busy time of year for us millienum furbys. Toasters are going rogue everywhere!

10: Doo-moh is now on the table behind the toaster. Doo-moh says "There caught you!! The toaster is now tame." Ee-day says "Thank you Doo-moh." Big Angus says "Now I shall eat waffles again!!" End Descriptions.

[captainjimothycarter]

94 & 10, Steggy

sorry for this being late, I've been sick af and trying to work on steggy secret Santa. I should be working on that but my focus does not exist in this state.

--

Read On AO3

He's flown many times in his life, flying should've just been as easy as breathing. Yet each time had to step on a damn plane felt like he was taking his life into his own hands.

Steve did not like flying, even as a kiddo. Most of the time he’d spent with his face buried into his mom’s side, until she taught him how to channel his anxiety into something productive, like braiding hair. Now as an adult, with a little one of his own, he was having to face the music that he just wasn't cut out for flying.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Sarah asked, feeling how tense her daddy got when the plane had taken off. It was promised to be smooth sailing and only a seven-hour flight. Plenty of time for her to get a nap in before they went out to explore. "You're not breathing, like when Uncle Clint saw a rabbit that one day at the park. Remember?"

He remembered how Clint tensed up at the sight of the white rabbit, jaw clenched and how he didn't even breathe until Bucky and Natasha had to get him away, and dragging a muscular 6'3 frame was not easy.

"Yeah," he muttered, finally remembering to breathe and trying not to let it be known he was gasping for air. He breathed deeply, calming until he felt his hands clenching the arms of the middle seat relax some. "Sorry, baby girl. Flying isn't exactly fun for me as it is for you."

Sarah made everything into an adventure, even something as simple as trotting down to the corner store was filled with fighting pirates and bad guys, using the shadows as a sort of puzzle. He'd written down most of what he could about her games, wanting to keep some dialogue of her innocent childhood, something to look back on, but her games, her imagination, were so complex that only she seemed to understand it.

"You get scared," it wasn't a question but a keen observation for a seven-year-old. She saw how tense her Daddy was when they took off, the way his fingers were now kneading the leather. "Can you braid my hair, Daddy? I want braids for when we land and braiding calms you down."

She was always so sweet, taking care of him when he should be taking care of her. Yet, here they were. Steve smiled at Sarah, leaning over to press his lips against her temple. "That's a wonderful idea, baby girl. Thank you for being so sweet to me."

"I should’ve done this earlier, but no time like the present," Steve noted, poking her nose lightly as she lifted the arm of the chair so there was more room between them. She turned around so her head was at his disposal, long dirty blonde curls cascading down her back.

It felt nice to fall into this rhythm of gathering her hair up between his fingers. He was a natural at braiding, learning the different techniques and how not to make it give Sarah a headache. He adored how adorable she looked after, showing the braid off to everyone.

One strand of hair over the other, secured with a bobby pin to be sure it didn’t escape. Listening to Sarah's humming seeing her reading the book she’d brought.

Steve continued to work, getting lost in the motion as the time slowly weaned on, listening to the slumbering snores of those around them, save for their seatmate who was well engrossed in her book. He caught her eye, her pretty brown eyes twinkling with delight as she tilted her head to look at the work that Steve had done. 

"You did an amazing job," she noted, earning a bashful smile for her compliment. "You have quite the skilled hands. When I was her age, any attempt to braid my heart resulted in a screaming match, one tantrum, and forced braids that made me look like Cindy Lou-Hoo.”

Steve laughed at that, a deep belly laugh that caused his head to throw back, his hand thrown over his chest. That sort of laugh, in anyone, always brought out a smile in Peggy - something about the manner he laughed told her that it was rare that he'd often do it.

"I'm very lucky when it comes to Sarah," he informed her, kissing his daughter’s temple. "Very lucky, indeed. She's been quite an easy, honest child and I don’t know what I did to get so lucky.”

“Unfortunately for my brother, my niece is known to take after me and that's caused some rift in the family," she chuckled, holding her hand out. "I'm Peggy, by the way."

"Steve and this lovely gal is my daughter, Sarah.”

Peggy smiled at the introduction to Sarah, even shaking her hand. She seemed almost nervous as she fidgeted with her book and set it aside. “If it’s not too much to ask, would you like to braid my hair? You’re just still tense and it seems to take your mind off things.”

Steve felt his face heating up, clearing his throat. Was he really that readable? "It would be my pleasure, ma’am. Let’s get you comfortable, here lean back into me.”

Steve settles himself behind Peggy, working her luscious, thick curls between his fingers. There was something familiar about the scent, the way that it wafted over him, reminded him of spending days with little Sarah in his arms, in the middle of a garden, just after it rained. The scent wafted off of her as he started to braid, weaving, plaiting, the curls were soft and he found himself falling enjoying the manner her curls felt, the scent coming off of her.

"Harley told me that in some cultures, someone braiding another’s hair means that you two are married," Sarah spoke up, breaking Steve's reminiscing. 

"Well, I didn’t know that! That’s an interesting thought," Peggy mused, glancing back to Steve and spotting the red flush on his skin. “Do you two follow that culture?”

"No!” Steve said this far too loud and too fast, wanting to pull away to cover his face. “I-I mean, no ma’am, we do not.”

“Miss Peggy," Sarah said, a bit too innocently for Steve’s liking. "We don’t but-but-but Daddy or you might. Where are you taking Daddy on a date, if you do?"

Steve had to admit he choked on his breath at his daughter's sudden question. Oh, no wonder she sounded far too innocent.

He couldn't even bring himself to look at Peggy now, honestly, a nervous laugh coming from the depths of his chest. He glanced over at her, Peggy's cheeks were stained a deep shade of pink, adorable and highlighting the freckles of her cheeks. He had half a thought of pressing his lips against her cheeks, of feeling as if they were just as warm as they looked.

"Darling," Steve says consciously, still finding his voice and looking over to Sarah. "Sweetheart, while that's sweet, I doubt Miss Peggy is even flying to Ireland and I'm sure she has her plans."

He's rewarded with a slight pout and Sarah looks dejected, but her shoulders slump in understanding that adults were busy and adults had their jobs and lives and couldn't drop everything on a child’s whimsical thoughts.

Thankfully, Peggy seems to understand and doesn’t get offended. She glances just over her shoulder at them, humming in response for a moment. "Unfortunately, you're right. I'm heading nowhere fun. I'm simply visiting family in London."

She didn't bother to hide the not-so-pleased tone in her voice over this fact either. He frowned slightly, tilting his head some. "Family is rough. God knows I try to avoid hanging with my extended family. I don't know how my mom got to be related to such a jackass too. It's why we're flying to Ireland for Sarah's birthday, trying to put as much distance between us and my Uncle as possible. Sarah asked if we could go to Ireland to see where I grew up."

Sarah had been interested in the conversation, leaning closer to rest her chin over her dad's shoulder. "Daddy is amazing with telling stories and telling about history! He makes really, really good bread too! Like the best soda bread and makes it better than Grandma Sarah."

He’s worried that they’ve somehow offended Peggy, given how quickly she falls quiet and how her brow pinches together.

Steve could see the gears turning in her head, the thoughts passing through. most likely thinking of what she had to do once she got to her home country. It surprises her, just as he's finished she turns to Sarah and smiles.

"Well, I've thought about it," she said, "And you're right, Miss Sarah, I think I would have more fun with the two of you. I'd like to join you two, as long as I'm not interfering with quality father-daughter time."

Steve tried not to hold his breath, hearing his daughter's sharp intake of breath. He didn't want to get his hopes up, Miss Peggy was pretty, she was interesting, and more importantly, Sarah seemed to love her. He shouldn't hold his breath in such a manner that she'd want to spend time with them.

This was just some Hallmark pipe dream, right?

"Daddy?" Sarah's voice squeaked, clinging to his arm. "Can she? Pretty please?"

Now how could he deny that and his little one saying please in such an adorable manner? Those puppy dog eyes didn't help either.

He smiled at Peggy, nodding his head. "You're more than welcome to join us, ma'am. I hate to ask but what about your family? Aren't they expecting you?"

Peggy shrugged her shoulders, fingers trailing over the delicate, elegant braid that Steve had weaved for her. "What about them? They're right prats who just want to sit there in a stuffy home and squabble over Nana's will and what is left over and whatnaught. They can sit there and squabble between themselves, I'm much better off with the two of you, After all, how else would I get such an amazing braid and even more amazing soda bread?"

--

Fanfic Mashup, I'll be doing these for today since I cannot concentrate.

[windor-truffle]

even MORE random graces playthrough nitpicky thoughts that i didn't get to last night!

whether people recognize who Richard is continues to be in flux, usually bending to whatever is plot convenient in the moment 😅 it's not bad writing though it's actually pretty realistic; some people would instantly recognize a celebrity walking around in a public place and others would not (*coughmecough*). This also is a nice touch of characterization, establishing things like Pascal's singlemindedness or which soldier NPCs are privy to what the royal family looks like

not terribly important stuff, just me musing on Richard's ties to Duke Dalen. He say's he's "distantly" related but I think duke's are supposed to be next in line for succession (though Cedric seems to surpass Dalen as an archduke). His backstory also sounds almost identical to how Aston became a lord too (tales of graces prequel where all of the lords of windor are party members who travel around with king ferdinand?? 👀), but unlike Dalen, Aston's family never married into the royal family (at least not canonically, but with fan fic we can change that 😤). Lastly I need more screenshots for evidence but unlike most characters, Richard tends to change whether he calls Duke Dalen by his full title or not, maybe because he's one of the few that outranks him.

I somehow managed to forget about the "mwa-mwa hanky-panky" skit 😂 to be fair this one is criminally easy to overlook since it triggers in the alley behind the inn. Pascal has been in the party for all of 30 minutes and she already ships it 😂

it's kinda hilarious how much extra stuff like this is hidden if you go around and explore instead of going to do the plot. like game-wise it makes sense to reward the player for exploring the world, story-wise Richard has already collapsed from exhaustion twice WHY are we making him walk all the way back to Lhant 😂 ah well he's getting his steps in

overthinking lore again but the game makes a point in saying how long it take cryas to recharge eleth naturally, and there doesn't seem to be a technology for people to do it themselves... makes me wonder how the valkines cryas end up being fully restored at the end of the game since they never explicitly show or explain it 🤔 but it does make sense story-wise for people to be freaking out when they're drained, that's a shit-ton of energy they're not expecting to get back any time soon (how long is "a really long time" game??? a human lifetime??? thousands of years??? graces explain!!!)

one of my favorite things to do in this time around is to check all the overworld checkable items with every party member- they each have different dialogue, and it can be really revealing or entertaining! for example, this world map in the Grayleside inn:

screenshots taken from my current point in the playthrough AND the L&L arc because I wanted to see if Richard's dialogue changed and not only did his change, everyone's did!!! to reflect their growth!!! wow!!! 🥰 i 💜 games with attention to detail :) it's cute to see what each person is focusing on: Asbel still cares about his hometown (but has now travelled and learned enough to find it on the map), Richard turns from his preoccupation of "how am I going to fix this mess my uncle made" to conviction of restoring peace like he'd always dreamed, and Pascal, having flown around the world in the shuttle and now can confirm it looks small from afar, is moving on to new and better ideas. 10/10 character writing, I'll have to come back here later to check out the other party member's changes between the main story and post game

[sovengardeswag]

The Pines Files

After the events of Weirdmaggeddon, Dipper and Mabel are contacted by the SCP foundation and join the ranks. The adventure never ended, it just took a different turn. And now, years later, they're back to Gravity Falls, aka SCP-████. And it is up to them to investigate the ever-growing mystery behind the town and protect the most dangerous and important SCPs there are and face their past.

Chapter Two: All Around Me Are Familiar Faces

The good thing about being conscripted as a child was that Dipper didn’t need to be debriefed about where Gravity Falls was. He could just pack his stuff up, talk to his landlord, and head out. And that’s exactly what he did, packing just about everything he owned into a Uhaul, his testosterone in a cooler on the front seat to be safe. The trip to Gravity Falls was gonna be a bit of a long haul, unfortunately, but what was more American than taking an overly long road trip for a new job?

And to be honest, with the exception of a mixup at one of the motels and a lackluster lunch in Portland, the trip itself had been largely uneventful. The thirty-five-hour drive from Site-19 to Gravity Falls had been broken down into 10-hour drives, with sleep and meals in between of course. All in all, it took about three and a half days to do it, more or less.

But with all the drive time, even with the radio on, it gave him time to think. He hadn’t been to Gravity Falls in over two years, and Site-19 wasn’t exactly close; if he wasn’t taking all his stuff with him, he would have flown. That wasn’t to say he didn’t keep in touch however, he absolutely did. But he hadn’t seen the place in so long. It was bound to be different, wasn’t it?

And then it was the fact that it wasn’t his supervisor or even Dr. Casper who reassigned him. It was Dr. Bright. Head of personnel himself. There had to be a bigger reason to send him home than just potential. He figured that it was his experience with the site both during and after Weirdmaggedon, but was that really all there was to it? Why not assign him to Gravity Falls in the first place? It was honestly setting off his paranoia. What if there was some important assignment he had somehow missed in the paperwork?

It wasn’t until he was almost there that he remembered what the forms said. He hadn’t seen anything about a secret or a vital mission in those papers he signed. He’d probably be doing standard experimentation. Maybe even stuff he’d been doing ever since he was a kid. It could even be considered a well-earned break after working those five years at site-19.

But had he really earned it? He worked for three years in the anomalous objects department before working in the department of spectral anomalies. Plenty of people got way less after dealing with way worse. All MTF operatives got was a trip to the duck pond.

All Mabel got was a trip to the duck pond.

Best to not think about it.

When he finally arrived at Gravity Falls though, he found that not much had changed, Greasy’s was still there, the used car lot was still there- though it was clear Bud had retired- and no one seemed to move away. If anything, the little town had grown ever so slightly in the time he was gone. He wondered how much of it was foundation personnel and their families, and how much was just regular growth.

The real surprise though was when he arrived at his new building. Sure, he’d told his family where the apartment was going to be and he knew they’d be there to help him move in. What he didn’t expect was to be tackled as soon as he got out of his car and to hear a yell, “OH MY GOD, DIPPER, YOU’RE HERE!” Strong arms squeezed around him, damn near cracking his spine.

“Mabel!” He wiggled out of her grip just a little bit, the smile never leaving his face as he looked at his twin. “I had no idea you were in town! How long have you been here? Did work give you vacation time?”

“Nope! I’m here full-time! For like a month now!” She finally let him go.

“Wait, really? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Cause you said you were coming like a week after I showed up! So I wanted to surprise you!” She ruffled his hair.

“ACK!” He got away from her again, not wanting his hair to look any messier. “Come on, let me just get inside.”

Just as he expected, it was more than just Mabel there. Soos, Wendy, Melody, and his Grunkles. They even had a few bags with them. Housewarming stuff no doubt.

“Sorry if there was a wait guys, I had some trouble at a motel a couple of states back.”

Wendy went to mess up his hair, just as Mabel had before, Dipper batting her off as well before she high-fived him, “It’s fine dude, we haven’t been waiting long. What chu been up to?”

“Just a lot of work, getting ready to come on over here, what about you?”

“Just kicking ass!”

“Hell yeah!”

Then came a sudden and tight hug from Soos, “Dude it’s been way too long!” Melody then put a hand on his shoulder, telling him, “Yeah, it was like you disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Dipper laughed, telling them, “Yeah, I’m sorry, I should have made the time. But hey! I live here now, we can see each other whenever.” He looked around and noted the distinct lack of a small child clinging to his leg. “Hey, where’s Ernesto?”

“Oh dude, he’s at camp, remember?”

“Already?”

“Yeah, school let out a couple of days ago, you just missed him yesterday,” Melody clarified.

“Augh, I should have packed up sooner.”

“It’s alright, dude, Ernesto gets that he’ll see you when he gets back. Plus, you’ll live here! You can just show up whenever!”

“Yeah yeah, that’s enough small talk! Get over here ya little goober!” Stan pulled Dipper in for a hug and a clap on the shoulder. “How’s Detroit been?”

“Site 19 isn’t in Detroit, Stanley.”

“It's in Michigan either way.”

“It’s been nice actually. Way too cold in winter though.”

“That sounds about right, the great lakes region is known for being quite punishing.”

“Yeah, you don’t need to tell me twice. How was this year's trip?”

“Oh, it was great! I punched a Kraken in the face! And Ford here met up with his ex again.” Stan elbowed Ford, who couldn’t help but smile.

“I do admit that it was surprising to see Armand again after all these years. Especially when Stanley nearly jumped into the water after hearing his song.”

“Come on, let’s take the yapping upstairs,” Mabel interjected. “We haven’t even seen Dipper’s apartment yet."

The apartment itself wasn’t huge, just a regular one-bedroom. But there was a lot of stuff to bring up. The camera setup, all of Dipper’s dishes, even an aquarium, though it was currently devoid of both fish and water.

“Oh, dude, I didn’t know you kept fish!” Soos said.

“Oh, I don’t. I bought it back in January but I got slammed with work right after, so I never filled it. That’s gonna change though, I wanna start keeping tetra maybe.”

Mabel almost jumped at the chance to tell him, “Oh! You’ll be heading to Grenda’s then! Tell her I said hi!”

“Woah, Grenda’s living ing Gravity falls again? I thought she moved to Austria after she got married, or did something happen?”

“Come on, man, don’t be a downer,” Wendy ruffled his hair, “she and Marius just split their time. You really gotta keep up around here.”

“Right, I shouldn’t have assumed.” And with that, they continued the setup. With the aquarium right across from the couch, so Dipper could look at his fish as he relaxed. Once everything was set up, Dipper ordered pizza.

“Okay, so, we’re getting pepperoni and cheese and chocolate syrup for Mabel.”

Stan shuddered, thinking aloud as he said, “I don’t understand how you can eat some of that stuff, kid.”

Ford shrugged, “Honestly it doesn’t sound too bad.”

Mabel laughed a bit, telling them, “I just have better tastebuds than you guys.”

“More like way weirder tastebuds,” Wendy cracked.

“Sometimes I just think you’re making up how much you like that stuff just to mess with us,” Melody commented lightheartedly. And she further remarked, “It’d be a pretty hardcore prank, to be honest.”

“Honestly, I used to be way worse when I lived on-site and had to eat in the cafeteria. I would just go to the different stations and just put whatever was there on my tray and see what happened. But, like, I don’t do it all the time, I can eat normally.”

“I mean, you are pretty hardcore,” Dipper commented. “One time on site-19, I tried to replicate Mabel Juice for old time’s sake and almost got sent to the hospital.

That got a bit of a laugh and they spent the rest of the afternoon like that. Talking, catching up. Dipper could have honestly spent his whole life like that. Away from the stresses of testing, watching Mabel commit crimes against food.

When it was time for everyone to head out, Dipper bid them all goodbye and found that he had gotten a text on his phone from Ernesto.

“Did you make it home ok Uncle Dipper?”

Dipper smiled and texted back, “Yeah, your mom and dad came by to help, wish I’d shown up earlier bud.”

“Yeah, I wanted to help! 😫

But you’re still gonna be here at the end of the summer right?”

“Don’t worry bud, I won’t be moving for a long time. When you get back, I’ll have something super cool to show you!”

“Really? What is it?”

“It’s a surprise 🤫”

“I’ll just ask grandpa Stan then lol.”

Well, that settled it, there was no time to wait. He would need to get fish for both himself and Ernesto in the morning

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

Mason didn’t have any dreams when he slept. There was no alarm in the morning either. He even made himself an omelette with cheese and mushrooms; thank god for Wendy bringing the groceries; and got his T-shot done quickly when normally he was a bit precious about it. He felt good about unhitching the U-Haul and driving through town.

It wasn’t hard to find Grenda’s shop. Past the used car lot/psychic’s shop, next to the laser tag place and replacing the dance studio. On the way, it let him see just how many people moved here. He wondered which were loggers and which were agents. He was pretty sure the super tall redhead in flannel who looked like a Cuordoroy was a lumberjack, and the lady picking up a coffee from Greasy’s who had sunglasses and an earpiece was without a doubt an agent, but with others, it was hard to tell. Though he was sure he would find out in time.

When he got to the shop, he found that it was, quite predictably, called Grenda’s Pet Emporium. The sign itself was even pink and the lettering was done in a cursive font, perhaps more appropriate for a hair salon or dog groomer than for a full pet store. But that wasn’t any of his business. As Dipper walked in, he found that the place made use of the dance studio space to create a huge floor, showing off both the supplies and pets. And then he heard it.

“Guten tag!”

Dipper looked to the cash register and saw Marius with a smile and his hair tied back. The young baron looked like he belonged there, oddly enough. Perfectly comfortable in a pink polo and khakis. “Marius? You work here?”

“Ja! When Grenda and I are here at least. It’s relaxing and the people are polite enough, though they ask many questions. And I get to spend time with mein lovely wife and all these little animals.”

“That does sound like a nice gig. Is Grenda here by the way?”

“She is! Just wait for a moment!” With that, he headed into the back, returning with Grenda.

“Dipper! You moved here already?” She gave him a hug that absolutely cracked his spine.

“Y-yeah! I just got in yesterday! Mabel says hi by the way.” It was good to see Grenda hadn’t changed since he last saw her. Still the affectionate woman who’d befriended his sister all those years ago.

She soon let go of him, asking, “So, what brings you here? Besides saying hi, I mean.”

“Oh, I actually came to buy some fish and supplies. I already have a filled tank so I just need some water conditioner, a heater, and some decorations.”

“What species were you thinking of,” asked Marius.

“I was thinking maybe tetras, but honestly, as long as it’s fresh water and won’t eat other fish, it works for me.”

“That’s great, 'cause we’ve got a bunch of tanks that I just stocked.” And so she led Dipper to the aquatics section. And she wasn’t kidding about the selections. She had tetras, suckers, goldfish, and more. All with meticulous care guides seemingly written by Grenda herself. Tellingly, she had no bettas in sad little cups. He was honestly pretty impressed and feeling almost serene watching so many fish.

That was immediately shattered when he heard, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Pine Tree home after all this time.”

Dipper nearly jumped at it, almost in disbelief. It couldn’t be, could it? He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tank with only one resident. A yellow axolotl that was missing an eye. And though axolotls couldn’t make faces, Dipper could have sworn this one looked smug. “No, it can’t be,” he muttered to himself. He must have been going crazy.

“But it is, Pine Tree. Did you miss me? It’s been what, 18 years? You’ve really grown up, huh? At this rate, you’ll be a corpse soon. Speaking of, how’s Fordsy?”

Dipper blinked. What the hell? Was this axolotl even real? Dipper turned to Grenda and asked, “Hey, what’s this guy’s story?”

Grenda looked in the tank and, much to Dipper’s relief, rolled her eyes at the water dog, “Ugh, this guy. He’s an absolute nightmare is what he is. We tried breeding axolotls and when the first clutch hatched, this guy ate all his siblings! Even lost an eye in the process! And now he just lives here, acting all creepy and junk.”

Marius shuddered, “I still remember all the little gills.”

“And they were absolutely delicious.”

So Dipper definitely wasn’t going insane, but why couldn’t they hear the dream demon’s voice coming from the tank? Either way, he needed answers. And if this, reincarnation? Puppet? Of Bill’s was around here and could talk, well, he couldn’t just leave him. Who knew what else he would do? Plus people thought he was crazy at the best of times, the last thing he needed was to have a conversation with a Mexican salamander in the middle of a pet store. “So, is he for sale then?”

“Yeah, he is. But for you, Dipper, he's on the house.”

“Come on, don’t be like that, I’m worth at least 100 bucks!”

“Ja, anything to get him out of here.”

“Are there any fish he won’t eat?”

“Yeah, there are some species axolotls get along with, guppies, minnows, snails, that sort of thing.”

“I’ll take him then.”

“WHAT?”

“I’ll take the supplies and some tankmates too. So he doesn’t get lonely.” So Dipper could have some fish he actually liked.

“Alright, just keep an eye on him for a little while when you get home. Just to be safe.”

Dipper looked at Bill again and could have sworn he had a look of despair on his face.

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

Dipper’s fish tank was a dream. Extra fine sand made up the substrate, the water was perfectly heated, and it had lots of hides and artificial plants. In the middle was the best and biggest hide. A replica of Teotihuacan, currently occupied by the tank’s axolotl. And that axolotl was pissed as he sat within that hide. Staring at Dipper as he sat on the couch across from him, drinking a Pitt Cola.

It was Dipper who broke the silence, the pit in the bottle rolling around like a shitty version of a Ramune marble as he put the soda down on the coffee table. “Ok, first things first. You should be dead. Why are you alive and possessing an axolotl.”

“Axolotl.”

“That’s what I said, axolotl.”

“No, it’s pronounced axolotl. And anyway, who said anything about possession? I was born like this, kid.”

“That doesn’t answer how the hell you’re even here!” Dipper stood up and began to pace. “I mean, you were erased from Grunkle Stan’s mind. That was supposed to, I don’t know, destroy your soul. You’re not supposed to be able to reincarnate or whatever this is!”

“Wow, you sure like making assumptions. Who said anything about my soul? How do you know I’ve ever even had one?”

Dipper glared at him and picked up his soda again, taking a swig from it like it was liquor and not a carbonated, fake-peach-flavored soft drink. “Ok then, why an axolotl? And how did you avoid getting destroyed?”

“That’s the fun part, I didn’t. I was dead. But before Stanley got to me, I called to a being more ancient than any of the universes. A being of creation, merciful but firm.”

“Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?”

“Shut up! Anyways, he heard me and told me I’ve got to be in another place, another time, another form. It just so happened that the form was in his image, the place was a nursery tank in Austria, and the time was last year.”

Dipper groaned, rubbing his face. “Ok, so, you got reincarnated by an axolotl god. What were you doing in Grenda’s store?”

“I lived there!”

“You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Then I’m done talking!”

“Look, it’s not like you can exactly enact your plans anymore now that you’re in an SCP-foundation scientist’s fish tank-”

The axolotl opened its mouth and Dipper heard that horrible, maniacal laughter. A laugh that made his hair stand on end and that brought back memories of being 12 and incorporeal.

“No wonder you look so dead! I just thought you weren’t sleeping again, but no, you’re a stooge! A goon for some nosy zombies! After all this time, after all those heroics, you’re still someone’s puppet!” His gills flapped at the word heroics

“I am not!” Dipper slammed his empty cola bottle down on the coffee table. “You’re lucky that I’m not logging you as an anomaly! I should be bringing you into the office!”

“And yet that chatty, girly monster and her old-money, wife guy husband couldn’t hear me. If you turn me in, we’re gonna end up as SCP 30629313-1 and 30629313-2. You’re stuck with me.”

Dipper sat back down, glaring at Bill as Bill stared back with his one blank eye. An eye that betrayed much more brain power than any amphibian should have. And Dipper knew he was right. He couldn’t tell anyone at work that Bill was alive. Both for his own safety and the safety of others.

“Ok, but at least tell me why you’re like, you know, this.” He gestured toward Bill. “Why do you remember that you were a dream demon? Reincarnation isn’t supposed to work that way.”

“You’re funny. You think reincarnation is something that can be cataloged like that? No, even your foundation has a couple of reincarnations that remember everything, some that don’t know anything at all, and some that are in between. Like, say, that poor kid that they keep in her very own site.”

“Don’t even joke about that, man. It’s not like anyone wants her there.”

“Yeah, yeah, cold not cruel. Either way, it looks like we’re at an impasse, two monsters killing time.”

“Yeah, two monsters…” He sat there for a bit, thinking, before he went for his keys and told Bill, “I’ve gotta go. If you eat my fish, I’ll flush you down the toilet.”

“And risk her ripping you apart with her bare hands?”

“Yes, now leave my fish alone!” And with that, he left, heading straight to Mabel’s place.

There was no way in hell that Dipper was telling the foundation about Bill. And he didn’t want to be alone in this either. So she was the only person he could tell.

When Dipper arrived at Mabel’s house, he knocked and she answered, “Dipper, hey! Come on in!”

As soon as he walked in, Dipper heard sniffing and felt something touching his leg. He looked down and asked, “You got another pig?”

“Yeah, that’s Baby! Isn’t she just the cutest little thing?”

“Yeah, she is! When did you get her?”

“This morning!”

Baby proceeded to chew on Dipper’s pant leg. She was a black and white pig whereas Waddles had been just pink, with marks on her sides and one black spot over her eye. He picked her up and she squealed, so he put her back down and she trotted off somewhere. Mabel then finally brought Dipper into her living room and he got a good look at the decor. It was very Mabel, with a lot of sparkles and cats, but not necessarily in an eye-burning way. The sparkles, plentiful as they were, were mostly accents, the pictures on her pillows tasteful. Not to mention the comfortable-looking knitted throw blankets. It was as if a kindly grandmother discovered blingee.

“So, what’s with the visit? You already done unpacking?”

“Haha, um, well, no. You see, I, uh, have something to show you. And you have to promise to not tell anyone on site.”

Mabel’s expression went from a smile to a suspicious frown. “Dipper, did you try to break your way into the gnome lodge again?”

“That was one time and no!” He sighed and took out his phone, bringing up a picture he’d taken of the one-eyed axolotl, “He look familiar to you?”

Mabel, knowing Dipper wouldn’t mess with her about work matters, looked at the axolotl carefully, but didn’t see much wrong with it. “Ok, what am I looking at?”

“Mabel, it’s yellow and has one eye! Axolotls should be able to grow those back!”

“Wait, it’s not pronounced axolotl?”

“Yeah, no, it’s pronounced axolotl. But here’s the thing, Mabel. What else do we know has one eye, is yellow, and,” he gave a shout as Mabel shoved a pillow in his face. It had a birthday cake scent pack from Build-A-Bear in it.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid, Dipper! I know where you’re headed with this and it’s messed up!” She took the pillow away from his face so he could breathe. “What’s making you think that anyways? Did a ghost haunt you from Site-19 or something?”

“No! I’m sorry! But it really is Bill. He talked to me in the shop and everything. So I bought him from Grenda and put him in my fish tank for containment.”

“And you’re sure he’s actually talking? It’s not just another ghost you picked up?”

“Yeah, I even have proof.”

Dipper swiped through his phone then, pulling up a video of the back seat of his car, focusing on the axolotl in one of the plastic transport bags. Dipper could hear Bill yelling as he pawed at the bag and thrashed, “THIS IS INHUMANE PINETREE! AN AFFRONT! RELEASE ME! JUST DROP ME OFF IN A LAKE OR SOMETHING! MASON!” And then the video stopped, not wanting to film too long for the sake of his fish.

He looked at Mabel and she blinked. “Dipper, I didn’t hear anything. Was I supposed to?”

“What?”

“Yeah. It’s weird but it’s not anything I would call headquarters over.”

Dipper sighed, running his hand through his hair. Had he just hallucinated that? He figured that if he could hear it, then maybe through being twins, Mabel could hear it. He had clearly been wrong. But then, if it had been a hallucination, he wouldn’t be hearing it on the video.

Mabel looked at him and, seeing her brother sad and despondent, got an idea. “How about we head to your place and you let me see him? Two eyes are better than one, after all. Besides, Baby needs to get to know her uncle.”

“You know what? Yeah, let’s go. Seeing him in person will probably be better.”

With that, they headed to Dipper’s car, Mabel putting Baby in the back seat and buckling her with a dog seatbelt. As they drove, Mabel got on her phone and started texting. She asked Dipper, “You already pick out an outfit for what you’re wearing to dinner tomorrow?”

“Ugh, I almost forgot about that. I haven’t even unpacked all my clothes yet.”

“You haven’t even been back a day and you’re forgetting about family stuff? Dipper I thought you agreed to move here to not have work on your brain all the time.”

“Can we not do this? I mean, Mabel, this isn’t some cursed app. Bill nearly killed us when we were just kids.”

“Uh, yeah! I was there Dipper!” She sighed and pinched her nose. “You know what? Forget I said anything. I’ll help you unpack when we get there.”

Baby snorted in the backseat.

When they got to Dipper’s building, Mabel flashed her badge at the front desk so fast that they thought it said CIA to let her bring a pig in.

“Mabel, what the hell?”

“Oh like you’ve never done it before Dipper, it was just to get Baby in,”

“Well, I haven’t,” Dipper lied.

Mabel just hummed and said, “If you say so.”

When they walked in, they found the tank right where they left it, with Baby going off to explore. Furthermore, Bill had, luckily, left his tankmates alive. But he was digging around the sand at the bottom of the tank much more energetically than an axolotl should be. When he detected that he was being watched, he stopped and started floating instead, looking as innocent as a newborn puppy.

“What are you doing?”

“None of your business.” He looked at Mabel and couldn’t help but comment, “Shooting Star didn’t believe you, huh?”

“No, she did, she just wanted to see you for herself.”

“What’d he say, Dipper?”

“He thinks you didn’t believe me.”

“And what was he doing?”

“It’s supposedly none of my business.”

“It IS none of your business.”

“It is my business because if you clog up the filter you’ll kill my other fish.”

Bill almost seemed to squint and Mabel definitely noticed it. She watched as he swam to his temple hide and saw how comfortable he looked in a pyramid structure. But she had to be sure, “Can he understand me, Dipper?”

“Loud and clear.”

So, Mabel went fully up to the tank and asked Bill, “What was the first thing I found in my prison bubble?”

Bill stared at Mabel with his one good eye, his front foot digging into the sand as if he was stimming while he thought. “The bubble was an automated spell that read your mind and gave you whatever you wanted. I didn’t enchant squat in there, kid. What I did do is grab your pig and drop him in. You humans just love your pets, after all. He would have been one of the first things you saw.”

“It was Waddles, the real Waddles. He didn’t personally give you anything else. You thought up that whole world.”

Mabel nodded, “Yeah, that’s right. I found Waddles and everything came later. But why is it that only you can hear him?”

“Who said only Pine Tree can hear me? I don’t remember piloting your meat suit around.”

“It seems like it’s cause he possessed me?”

“Do I wanna know his exact words?”

“Not really, no.”

Mabel sat on the couch, Dipper joining her, and Baby came by, wanting up too. Both humans stared at the tank as Bill stared back at them.

“So, what are you gonna do? It doesn’t exactly look like your setup’s temporary."

“I don’t know Mabel. He’s not exactly anomalous except for the whole talking to people he possessed. “

“Yeah, you and Ford would be part of his case file then.”

“So I have to stay here,” Bill interjected

“Yeah, I have to agree, looks like he’s staying,” Dipper said.

“We telling anyone?”

“See, that’s the part I’m not sure about, Mabel. Because who are we gonna tell? Ford? He’s just gonna get worried. Mayor Tyler? He’s just gonna taze us. Gideon?” Out of the question.

Baby snorted as she got comfy on the couch and Mabel sighed. “You’re right, it’s just, ugh, it’s another secret we have to keep.”

“I know, Mabel. But we have to. Until we figure out what’s up at least.”

Mabel cracked her neck and nodded. “Until we figure out what’s up.” She then got up. “Let me go help you unpack. We’ve got to get you dressed for tomorrow!” She then ran to Dipper’s bedroom. A threat that she was going to come up with something truly horrific to wear while she rifled through his clothes.

And Dipper couldn’t laugh as he told Mabel, “Don’t even think about He had to try and prevent her from seeing how many of the same shirts he owned. They didn’t see Bill go back to his digging.

Afa vlr qefkh vlr tbob pxcb

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If you liked this fic, please check out my writing tag (Sam writes and sam’s writing) here on tumblr. For author notes and the previous chapter, check the links in the reblogs. The hint for this chapter's code is 3 back

[aspiringtrashpanda]

Hello tumblr user aspiringtrashpanda, I know this is from a while ago (a little over 3 years now) so I'd undertand if it's impossible to answer now, and you have probably moved on, but I finished The Show Must Go On just a few days ago. I really enjoyed it, you have a really nice writing and nice pacing, and great music tastes.

I was wondering, after listening to Over Thinking, what your musical influences were for this song. After all you play it on the uke but it's played by a rock band in the fic, what sort of sound were you going for, if you have any references you would say get closer to it ?

I find it quite funny cause I got certain influences from reading the lyrics on their own but they don't really match with how you played it (except maybe Freedom Fry). Then again the ukulele has a very particular sonority that can only translate a certain part of a song, that's why I'm really interested in all that :D

Have you written more songs ? Dabbled into songwriting ?

Hi! Oh wow, this is such a nice message? Thank you so much for taking the time to read my fic and listen to my song <3 It seriously means so much to me. You made my week! I totally get that it's hard to imagine the rock version of the song when it's played on uke, but I'm heavily inspired by Motion City Soundtrack. I think they have the perfect pop meets rock/edge meets refined vocals vibe for the Straw Hats. If I had to put a couple songs to it, I'd probably look at these: "Time Turned Fragile" by Motion City Soundtrack

"Skeleton" by the Front Bottoms

"Robot Writes A Love Song" by PUP

Kinda that mix of quirky vocals and energetic music with a little tongue in cheek fun, you know?

WELL BIG REVEAL TIME (but I'm a nobody so I really don't care haha) I used to be in a band when I was in highschool, and you can hear that EP HERE (only the first 3 songs are worth listening to though LOL), and I also did a solo EP HERE. The solo stuff was a rush job, so I'm not thrilled with the vocal performance (should've chosen different keys for some songs) but hey, this was like...10 years ago?! MY GOODNESS TIME HAS FLOWN. So yeah - obviously no pressure to listen to this stuff! Thank you so much for reaching out <3 You brought a smile to my face.

[celestialmancer]

🌧️ // 8:30 am, tbd ;

… 10 years as of today since I terminated things between me & one ex irl that lasted longer than should have. Whole decade later & I’ve, I suppose, been… Further in my own healing from what went on between us.

…& more than 11, by now, since I pretty much pulled the plug on direct contact to M—well, Maddy, now & got away despite. Blackmail to keep me from severing ties for like a year. Ig I find that I can finally actually speak his name rather than just shutting down. & Even have named to friends what his accts were on twitter (defunct now, they’ve been inactive for 10 years so)

Its. Weird to think about how much time has passed since then. & this. Thought, I guess, of “what if I’d been able to get away before what happened with either…?”. Considering it /was/ Maddy who drove me to being on tumblr—in the sense that, following all. Of what happened. I had pulled the plug on all social media & went radio silent everywhere to hide from him, since he knew every account of mine

…except this site because I never had an acct there in the first place & I just. Joined ig as a way to not cut self off fully from friends who were here too. But before that I didnt really have much of an interest… It makes me wonder how differently things would’ve been ig if it weren’t for his presence or others too i was surrounded by online that were equally as fucked in the head as he was.

Regardless. I got away. I didn’t end up being flown out to meet him physically like he planned. & from the irl ex, I got away too. Even despite things escalating tryna cut that off. & just thinking today marks that cutting that line w said ex is just… weird ig. How much has changed since. From recently getting out of something that was bad & left me with no. Sense of identity outside of what happened, to… where I am now ig & actually processing stuff around those things in full. Ig.

Which. Guess writing over the years has helped with processing everything around that that happened.