#i wasn't able to finish these sets by the end of june so i guess i will continue throughout the year!!

[kingslionheart]

tlk never beating the queer show allegations 🌈 part 5/? | the bi himbo who perfectly knows he's a bi himbo

[acourtofthought]

regarding your previous anon I just wanted to say that in a fairly recent livestream/interview deal she did in the last few years she said 'not much has changed since my initial drunken ramblings in the beginning' I'm paraphrasing there, but I don't think she's gonna make any big ship changes when she's close to wrapping up the series (also it was so funny to see e/riel's being all over that like it was ever planned from the beginning lololol)

YESSSS!!!!

If you ever find out exactly which one that was, I would love to know because I remember hearing that but have since forgotten where so I was never able to include a screenshot or link in my posts. She said "not much has changed from that initial pitch but the world has now expanded".

If we think back to that drunken rambling and when she pitched her ideas to her then editor, we were told a few things.

She said she knew who the first two spin-off books would be about but she was keeping the third open. For the third, she was debating between 5 possible ships and was considering a book set Pre ACOTAR.

That particular drunk lunch took place in 2016 (I'm guessing) as she was still drafting ACOWAR.

If, in 2016, she knew who the first two spin-off books would be about then logically, who did that mean?

Nesta and Elain. Especially when she says in multiple interviews she would love to tell the sisters stories one day and we know she had already done research for Elain's book while pregnant with her first child who was born in June of 2018.

Who also had the most buildup as a possible love interest for the sisters in ACOMAF / ACOWAR? (around the same time she said she knew who she wanted the first two books to be about?).

Cassian and Lucien hands down. Lucien's ENTIRE story in ACOWAR was based around worrying for Elain's safety, fighting his way to be by her side, helping her through her depression, going after an army based on her vision, giving her time to deal with her engagement to Graysen, running all the way from the shore to find her after battle, his having met her father, her inviting him back to Velaris, him standing beside her during the meeting at the end of the book.

Az and Elain might have had a few "moments" in ACOWAR that E/riels use for their proof of endgame but Az was still 100% in love with Mor when you consider that he still looked at her with hunger in ACOFAS while Elain was sitting in the room with him. The question at the end of ACOWAR was not "will Elain and Az get together" but "what will Elain and Lucien do about her mating bond now that she invited him back to Velaris". When the author wasn't sure who was getting the third book and everything suggests Elain was getting the second, all signs pointed to Elain and Lucien as the main POV especially when you consider that as an individual Lucien also had way more buildup than Az in ACOWAR. He was SA by Ianthe, chased out of his home in Spring, was feeling sadness over not having a home when Feyre slipped into his head, guilt over Jesminda, the pull to Elain, the reader (but not Lucien himself) finding out Helion is his actual father, and he fought in his first war. SJM left us with too many unresolved plots for Lucien to not give him a book.

It wasn't until after the release of SF and she was discussing it that she made the comment above "my plan for the intial spin-offs didn't change but the world expanded."

And you know what expanded?

Az suddenly got a bit more of a mysterious background, he got a bonus with hints of a possible mating bond, and SJM introduced the possibility of time-travel what with Merrill's research and the Trove's ability to open doors between worlds. Az ended up connected to the crossover.

THEN it was later announced that she was contracted for additional books (and maybe a new series).

If her intial plan didn't change then Nessian and Elucien were always going to be resolved first and now Az's romantic arc / journey is the direction she decided to take things after finishing the main story of the Archern sisters.

Yes, Az and Elain nearly kissed and had a harmless flirtation going on but it never got off the ground did it?

Ever since the Elucien bond snapped into place, the real question has not been "will Elain and Az end up together" but "will Elain and Lucien end up accepting their mating bond?" And just as SJM had Nesta share experiences with others before ending up with Cassian, she had Elain attempt to have an experience with Az but I don't think he was ever meant to be more than a slight detour in the Elucien journey so as to make their path to one another a bit more tension filled. And I think the reason SJM introduced Az's possible mate in his bonus is that she didn't want readers to feel bad for him for too long because even though she's on track for an Elucien endgame, we know that Az isn't going to be sad for very long as he's got his own mate waiting in the wings.

[animehouse-moe]

Soloist In A Cage Volume 1: The Elder Sister

What an odd predicament for this mangaka. This is/was their first series as an author, and in many cases it outdoes a lot of the work of long term creators in the medium. It has its stumblings and pitfalls within, of course, and its road to completion was far from smooth. Regardless of that though, the work is now completed, and we're finally getting it in English. So, is it worth it?

(spoiler: it definitely is)

So we'll start with a history of this story. Shiro Moriya started Soloist In A Cage all the way back in 2018 on Shonen Jump+, but shortly after starting the series, it entered an indefinite hiatus due to Moriya's health in March of 2019. From there, the work sat incomplete until 2 years later, in April of 2021. From there, the series rushed to its finish line, ending with 3 volumes in mid June of the same year. It's safe to say that Moriya wasn't quite able to deliver the story exactly how they wished, but with your first series I'm not sure everything will go to plan.

In spite of the long hiatus, and the short volume count though, Shounen Jump had a PV produced for the series nearly a full year after it ended.

It's a really incredible PV that puts it on the level of others such as Heavenly Delusion's Manga PV, and certainly speaks to the fondness and popularity of the short-lived title in the SJ catalogue.

Anyways, Soloist In A Cage is a rather refreshing title in the shounen catalogue. Partially because it's a good series with a low volume count, but also because it's a female lead, and because it's managed to discover a very unique concept for its story.

Prison City, a jail (if it can even be considered that) that houses roughly 500,000 people. Once you're in, you'll never leave. Because of that, it's turned into a city of crime and depravity, with no rules or laws governing it. Prisoners create families, religions, business, all manner of mimicry of daily life within the dangerous prison. Chloe and Locke are one such example of that, both born into Prison City, both abandoned (though they're most likely dead) by their parents. They survive on the kindness of another family as they've never left the room they inhabit.

However, one thing leads to another and Chloe, with Locke in tow, attempts to escape the prison during another group's attempt. Chloe succeeds, but loses Locke in the process. And this is where we find our title and story. Years pass by and Chloe re-enters the prison in hopes of finding her long lost brother.

So I guess now's the time to start into why this manga is good, and worth reading. I'll start with a comparison. Have you ever watched Dredd? The 2014 (comic book) movie featuring Karl Urban as Judge Dredd? I think you'll find a lot of similarities in setting between the two. A locked down violent facility that the lead character must fight their way through to reach their goal.

It's a very comparable piece, but that's about where the similarities end. From there, Soloist In A Cage is a story of tragedy and grief, of the sacrifices and choices that Chloe makes in search of her brother, of the pieces of herself that she loses and leaves behind on her mission. It's badass and violent, of course, but it's also very tragic and heavy.

The two nearly go hand in hand, the aggression and bloodshed peeling back layers of flesh to expose the hearts of the characters. They're inseparable aspects that comprise the whole that is this story. The action would feel hollow without the sorrow, and the emotions of the story would feel incomplete without the outlet that the destructiveness of Chloe provides.

It creates a cycle of self-destruction and violence that's really well captured, that even though Chloe can and will rain justice on these terrible people, she chooses to carry those decisions and feelings with her, to bear the weight of her actions in full even when people try to help her. All for the sake of her goal, she sheds family after family in search of her true one, continuing to hollow herself out with each experience. Taking in the trauma, the pain and sadness of those around her, and then leaving like a breeze in the wind.

Phew, pretty heavy little bit there, but we're out the other side. I don't want to to give too many specifics to the story, because once you get in there it's really easy to give things away, so I'll be moving onto art now.

In short, it's pretty dam amazing, if that wasn't already clear.

Moriya's level of detail is incredible, and I love how unique their hatching and shading is. They've got all sorts of techniques and lines that run through through their already packed line art, and it really makes for some incredible stuff.

Though I think even more impressive is their eye for action. When creating a manga, mangaka typically fall into two categories for action. They're either the type to focus on the big movements and blocking of their combat, or to go for a more fluid and animated style. Moriya is undoubtedly the former, and with their approach to it, it's hard to argue that it could be done any better.

It creates a very layered approach, certainly, but at the same time preserves a lot of the perceived motion, and especially the animosity of the action in this first volume. It presents that aggression, and the sheer level of violence incredibly well, and with the very fluid approach using hatching alone to create the shapes, it allows for distortion and some really powerful scenes that draw you into the center of attention.

And throughout this entire volume, all 240-ish pages of it, the art is consistently like this. The level of detail is incredible, and the fact that it's basically all hand-drawn (that is, it doesn't seem like it uses any assets for background art), makes Soloist In A Cage a very unique and awe-inspiring experience.

Admittedly though, there are still pieces that speak to the inexperience of Moriya as a mangaka. Paneling being arguably the weakest link. During action it's very well suited, with sharp angles and overlapping imagery, but it very quickly finds lulls in presentation outside of that. It's very easy to tell where Moriya wants to go and what they really enjoy doing in regards to this title in that sense, so I hope that if they create another series in the future, they're able to recognize that weak point and improve upon it.

Even if the paneling outside of action is plain however, the characters and story does remain engaging. So while it's a fair complaint, it's a very easy thing to overlook and/or ignore while experiencing the story for the first time.

And I'd say that's a pretty apt explanation for how reading this first volume goes. Knowing that it's a first timer behind the pages, and that they faced health issues during the creation of this story, it's hard to really find any reason to dislike or properly gripe about anything within. The action is incredible, the art is out of this world, and the story is gripping if not a little predictable and clichéd. And with only a three volume commitment? What reason is there to say no?

[something-tofightfor]

Can't believe Tlou it's over, it feels like yesterday when the first episode premiered, time has flown since January 16! I will never forget the time we first saw Joel in episode 1. I will miss him so much :(

My only downside with this show is that sometimes the episodes felt rushed, I'd have liked to spend more time with Joel and Ellie. I just saw that this last episode will be the shortest in duration and on top of that we will have to wait at least two years for the second season and knowing what will happen... I'm not mentally prepared 😪

I'm also kind of in disbelief that we're already at the end - I remember the days Pedro and Bella were announced, the beginning of filming, our first real glance at Pixel Pascal, recognizing all of the sets from the game ... it seems like so recently, but also such a long damn time ago because it's been TWO FRIGGIN YEARS.

I think that there were certain things that felt rushed - like the delivery of some of the game's dialogue (specifically the scene in the car with the magazine which I'm still kind of upset they included because it wasn't necessary). But for the most part, I'm happy with the pacing. I feel like maybe the university section could have been a little longer, but aside from the very end of that episode (which was supposed to be chaotic) it was otherwise fine.

I think they're going to start filming late this year - September or October would be my best guess. That way they can get some of the flashback stuff done before winter break (because I think they'll have one director do all of those scenes) and then film the beginning of the game (winter) before moving on to the rest of it.

I also think that because they're going to split it into 2 seasons, they might do a "2 shorter seasons" type thing - filmed almost back to back with maybe a 6/7 month break in between. So they'd film the first 7-8 episodes, break, begin airing those, and then go back to filming the second half.

With that being said, I still don't think we see season 2 any earlier than spring 2025. If they start filming late 2023, they'd likely be able to finish around the same time they finished season 1 - June/July, it would be ready to go in January again - and then as soon as the actors are done with the press for it, they can go back to film the second part, which would then more than likely air winter 2026 or very early 2027.

This also gives Neil and ND time to get the 3rd game out - which would THEN give them a chance to start adapting that, if they choose to.

This is all speculation, but IMO it's a pretty logical series of events and timeline, and while it sucks that we have to wait so long ... it gives us all time to prepare.

[keefwho]

June 03 - 2024 Monday

10:19pm

4/10

I'm losing focus of the point of this journal, to express myself and rehash my day as if explaining it to someone else. I'm still iffy with having it public, or more like I'm iffy having my identity tied to it. I'd be okay with it if it was anonymous but it's already known. And I don't want to just make a new blog because I want it to be cohesive.

This morning my mom called me at 6am to wake me up so I could get my little sister up. She is 17 and I said she should be able to get herself up for school and it's not helping that this behavior is enabled. It is NOT my job to be doing this.

When I woke up for real it was raining so I couldn't mow. Instead I shaved my body smooth. For breakfast I took one of my frozen breakfast sandwiches and chopped it up to mix it into some rice. Also with onions. I thought it was going to turn out weird/bad but it was actually pretty good so I might do it again sometime.

Before work my mood plummeted and I just couldn't do it anymore. I laid in bed and had a good cry for about an hour before I felt good enough to get back up and start working. I knew I couldn't afford to take the first work day of the month off.

For work I warmed up with human gestures since that would help with the commission today. Then I cranked out this $55 commission which meet my quota almost perfectly. I went about 10 minutes over which wasn't too bad. Since I had started late, it was nearly lunch time when I ended. Before lunch I decided to take some much needed personal time which ate into my lunch hour. As a result, I just made a can of spaghettios and was still a little late to my afternoon period.

I did today's request confidently and opened the file I was working on for idea requests next. I realized I really hate this idea system and it doesn't seem to be very popular so I decided to scrap the idea and I'll figure something else out for the time block. Instead of drawing anything, I removed links to the request form and updated all my profile pics since I forgot to do that. Then I worked on my pony avatar for an hour and got the armature set up.

My therapy appointment originally got set back an hour but the other guy cancelled so I was back on for my normal time. I read my therapy journal to him like usual and we talked about this depressive episode I've been in and a bit about triggers and socializing. At the end I had to quickly squeeze in reading him my homework which was to compile all the relationships I think have contributed to my trust difficulties. My homework for the next couple weeks is to try and identify triggers and practice awareness of how I'm feeling without overthinking it.

After therapy I sat around trying to figure out what to do. DS's friends seemed like they wanted to do an art jam but I correctly guessed that nothing was actually going to come of it. Other than that I waited for DS to get back to me. While she worked on her fursuit, we watched 600lb life. She couldn't actually stream it so I only got the audio. I worked on BD's avatar re-texture just getting it set up for the real work to get done later. Then I booted up the Roblox car game and made the brave move to open up about my feelings for a bit since I haven't done that in awhile. It was a good idea and I learned I need to start speaking up again for my own sake AND for others. In bed we did our puzzles and I finished my car run. For the last 30ish minutes of my day, I watched funny videos.

[dontwritemeoff]

(i know you havent gotten around to ryona and ayame i just use LI as an umbrella term)

ELI!!! headcanon's on the LI's thoughts during the scene where they come to your cabin while everyone else is on chronos?

OMG ok i'm sorry i let this rot in my ask box, school started and i became a husk of myself for a minute there

I also wanted to replay those scenes to remind me of the headspace that they and traveler would be in <3 I'm going to post just June's for now and reblog this as I finish the other's parts!

JUNE

In all honesty, as he stood at your door with Lizzie on his shoulder, he felt ridiculous. The amount of care he'd put into setting aside all of his duties for the day just hoping to spend time with you, he'd never done that before for anyone and he wasn't sure who he'd become in the recent weeks. To be so head over heals for you, so stereotypically smitten. Despite that, he didn't hate it, being allowed to have the soft parts of himself bared to the world, knowing that they rested safely in your careful hands.

His thoughts are interrupted when you open your door, obviously not expecting him to be just standing outside of it.

"Oh! June! I was hoping I'd see you today," you smiled, his heart doing somersaults in his chest.

"That's good," he smiled back, "you're not busy, are you?"

"Not at all! I was actually, um, going to see if you were free right now. I'm glad you are! And Lizzie too!"

You tentatively reached your hand up to where Lizzie's perched on his shoulder, letting him take the lead when it comes to petting. Lizzie sniffed your hand before rubbing a scaled head against your palm.

As June watches you interact so carefully with his pet, he felt a sense of rightness settle in his chest. He'd made the right decision, letting you into his heart, despite all of the fear that accompanied that opening up.

"Would you two like to come in? I know it's not really anything special in here, but it's home," real appreciation seeping into your voice with the last statement.

"I'd love to," he says, stepping inside and deferring to where you indicate to put Lizzie.

"Well, now that you're here, what would you like to do? I unfortunately don't have much in terms of entertainment but Damon lent me some books. Not...that you'd want to just sit reading in silence together. Unless you do! That's fine!"

The look over tenderness that settles on June's face at your rambling goes unnoticed by you, but nonetheless you pause to let him get a word in, knowing he'd never dream of interrupting you.

"Well, I was thinking earlier that I don't really know much about you, so if it's ok, I'd like you to tell me about yourself."

You sit on your bed and raise your eyebrows, not thinking that beyond the whole "Peg'asi thing" that there was much to say.

"I guess then, what would you like to know?"

June sits next to you, hands just brushing each other on top of your blanket.

"What did you like to do...before this? Did you have any hobbies?"

You laugh at that for a moment, then regain your composure to show that he did nothing wrong.

"You want me to talk about my hobbies?"

"I want to know everything about you," he says, earnestly, before realizing it even slipped past his lips. You flush at that, not expecting such an honest answer.

"Oh...alight," you let a flustered smile grace your lips, "Well, after finishing my studies...."

The two of you spoke for hours, not even noticing time pass. You'd ended up both laying down, facing each other with your hands and legs intertwined, his thumb rubbing circles into the back of your hand as you exchanged pieces of each of your souls, worry of judgement left far behind.

Never in June's life had he imagined he'd get such a precious moment, with someone he cared so deeply about, let alone many of those moments to look forward to in the future. The longer he stared into your eyes, the more he felt himself promise to himself, the universe, and anyone who may ask, that he would make sure you would always be able to smile the way you did then.

I hope this was good! I feel a little bit rusty since the only things I'm writing now are assignments lol, however if someone wants to know more about insect's impact on the environment i can write tf out of that

be back with the other LI reactions soon!! :)

[camdentown-library]

The flames in your eyes || ENG ver. Ethan Torchio x reader

❝ 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬. 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚. 

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠. ❞

Genre: Fluff ;; romantic ;; slowburn

Pairing: Ethan Torchio x fem!reader

Warning: English is not my native language, I may have made grammatical errors. do not hesitate to correct me

N / A: The facts told are purely the fruit of my imagination, it is not my intention to do any wrong to any person mentioned, and above all the character of Ethan could (surely) not reflect the person in reality.

Happy reading to you all!

CHAPTER 1

The first rays of July had cast on the roofs of the houses in Rome, giving the off-white plaster and rosy tiles a golden sheen that tasted like honey. The wisteria were in bloom, as was the medlar tree under Marlena's house; the scent of life in the full act of her cycle, always knocked on her dining room window, filling it with sweet fragrances.

The girl used to take her place at the table during the late morning hours, surrounded by books and tomes quite old and gnawed by the dust, with the good resolution that even that day she would read and study those very boring pages of that equally boring examination. of Egyptology. The university summer session had already begun, she had just taken a couple of exams last June and was now preparing two more that she would take in the first weeks of September.

That time could seem apparently short, Marlena didn't care that much, what could ever distract her from her work? She had no friends, and by now, even though she had crossed the threshold of 21 years in the autumn, the girl was now completely extinct her naive youth, as well as her desire to laze.

The out of tune and unexpected sound of the intercom triggered her head bent over the books of the young woman, who after having heaved a sigh perhaps a little annoyed, she decided to get up from her chair, leave the dining room and cross the wide and not too long corridor in the shape of an "L" of his apartment, finally arriving at a brisk pace towards the device it had croaked in order to answer.

"Yes?" she asked quite firmly but not too cordially.

"I'm the postman, will you open me?" answered a stranger, as she pushed the button to open the gate.

Marlena therefore opened the heavy old door of her house, remaining patient to wait for the man to arrive at the door. Although she had lived in that condominium with her father for as long as she remembered it, she had not yet found a rational explanation for its lack of mailboxes. Was it because it was a palace built in the 1920s? Well that would explain the absence of an elevator as well, but a damn mailbox wouldn't be hard to add.

The man's gasping breath brought her back to reality as her eyes saw him peeking from the flight of stairs. Was he already that tired after not even crossing the second floor? The young woman wondered a little disappointed.

"Are you Madam Levavi?" the postman then asked, catching his breath and rummaging through her purse. Marlena wrinkled her nose instinctively.

"Ahm ... not madam, I'm her daughter" she replied shaking her head, what could that postman ever care if she was "miss" or "madam"? The girl lightly bit the inside of her cheek as a reproach.

"Here you are. How many floors are there still?" She asked the man wiping her sweaty forehead with a handkerchief after giving her the mail.

"Two more ..." Marlena replied disinterestedly as she closed the door, observing her letters.

Bills for electricity, water, the tax to be paid for the next university year and ... a letter?

Well, it certainly wasn't sent by her father...

The girl looked at the text of that letter once more, rereading it and rereading it several times, wrapped in a silence that was probably inherent in memories that clouded her common sense, while slowly after taking a few steps back, she gently placed her back to the wall.

"Dear Marlena,

I know perfectly well that it might have been easier to call you, but you know I've always enjoyed writing you letters.

Unfortunately I noticed that in the last few I sent you you didn't answer, I guess it's because the university keeps you very busy ...

However, I learned that your father is out of Italy on a business trip and he will be away until the end of August; It seemed only right to invite you to spend these last months of summer in our house outside the city.

I know that since your mom left, you haven't had the desire to visit us anymore, but I think it would do you good to change the air for a while. The place is quiet, there is the sea and also a large and extensive countryside with a pine forest and the locals are really friendly and helpful.

You can also bring Lapo if you want, I know you are very close.

Either way, let me know your verdict.

A strong hug.

Grandmother Agata.”

She had distant memories of that house, distant but still happy. He remembered when he woke up early in the morning with grandmother Agata and grandfather Laertes to be able to go to the sea and his little hands while looking for hermit crabs and shells on the shore, as he remembered the music in the square and the laughter echoing in the same way as the bells of the church on Sunday, everyone was happy ... and life seemed to be less unfair to those who deserved it less, it tasted like jam and fruit jellies, salt on the lips and bees flying.

Marlena's chest swelled with air, as if she had been holding her breath until then...perhaps because diving into one's childhood was like floundering in a stormy sea pretending to stay afloat.

The cheerful barking of her dog Lapo brought the young woman back to the present, who decided to place the letters on a window sill not far from the front door and set off together with the playful animal towards the kitchen. Lapo was a nice Bernese Mountain Dog, with a black, brown and white coat. It had been given to her five years ago, perhaps because her father had sensed that even his absence had created in the heart of his only daughter, a sense of distressing loneliness, which had consumed her to the bone making her totally apathetic for certain verses.

But Lapo, Lapo had saved her from her, with Lapo she spoke and shared gestures of affection, such as caresses and little licks between her fingers and hair. Sometimes Marlena fell asleep in her bed, with the bulky dog ​​on her, because feeling her warm and humid breath on her blankets reminded her in her sleep that she was not alone in the dark of the night. As long as Lapo's heart had beaten the young girl she was not afraid of having to wake up or sleep.

Although she tried to convince herself that staying in her comfort zone would be easier than answering "yes" to her grandmother's request, a part of her was again attracting her to that letter; her gaze was captured by the horizon of her mind, while in the distance she could almost hear the sounds and flavors of a place almost too fairytale to be part of the material world.

"I know I should answer..." she murmured as she was intent on washing the peel of a red apple in the kitchen sink. Meanwhile the dog sat up looking at her intensely while she wagged his tail waiting for her.

"...It's just that, that place...and then I should finish studying, I have an exam to take at the end of the summer, Lapo" but the dog tilted his head in disappointment and then got up and trotted out of the room, looking for of who knows what amusement, leaving Marlena to her thoughts, as she bit into the freshly dried fruit with the kitchen towel.

All of this would only be for a little over a month and a half, just a month and a half and then she would leave it all behind her again, as she did a long time ago.

“Hello grandma. I'm Marlena..."

Marlena after putting the letter back next to her bedside table, she grabbed the cell phone not far away and typed some numbers on the screen, not too convincingly, and then brought the object to her ear.

There were those ten seconds of waiting that seemed the stroke of half a century, until a voice said "Hello?".

Marlena had brought two large bags with her. One for clothes and the other full of junk such as: books, objects for the dog, tricks and everything that for her mind, not so familiar with travel, she considered indispensable. She was not so convinced that both of them would enter the trunk, but the exemplary ability to know how to adapt and make do with her grandfather always left her with amazement on the edge of her lips.

It took two days before grandfather Laerte's small and overly backward FIAT Punto made its peerless entrance next to the bottle-green gate of the small cloister of the Marlena palace.

The man had taken more or less ten minutes just to park, the niece had wondered how long it would take him to get there and start again.

The young woman was sitting in the back seats, together with Lapo. She held in her hands a small bunch of tulips that Laertes had brought her, made by herself. He said to her:

"I went for a walk in the countryside and tried to capture the most beautiful of all, like my granddaughter!" followed by a proud, croaking laugh. Laertes had always been a proud and incurable romantic, without ever giving up some of her drama, grandmother Agata did nothing but remind her of it in her letters.

Like when Marlena pointed out to him, that the steering wheel of the car was too damaged for the latter to be considered in accordance with the law, but he had always replied that a good soldier and partisan would appeal to his driving experience and a little 'of elbow grease, in order to be sure that the itinerary of the journey would be peaceful and without unpleasant hitches.

Lapo let out an enthusiastic bark when the croaking car left the endless concrete of the highway behind, and then took a narrow, winding, uphill road that would have led them to the small town.

Her gaze stared blankly at what was running, like tape in a movie camera, out the window; She saw the buildings of the city become less present, as well as the stench of smog, then there was a long stretch of highway, immersed in the wheat fields and every now and then some small farm or spare parts industry or other jobs would emerge.

In the car there would have been complete silence, had it not been for the old radio which played an entire disc of all of Lucio Dalla's masterpieces; Marlena's grandfather liked that singer, but not in the same way chatting while driving, because according to him it would have increased the chances of road accidents by 50%, and frankly, the granddaughter didn't mind at all this acknowledgment ... she didn't even know where she should have started and however much her relatives tried to make her feel at ease, she imagined herself as a stranger, a stranger, who had knocked on their door and was now just trying to learn and remember their common manners.

"If you look to the right you will see the sea, Marlena" Laertes informed her, while he struggled with the steering wheel at every bend, but he did not dare to make even a moan under stress. The girl decided to accept those words, and looking out (after rolling down the window) a crisp air of salt pervaded her nostrils like the balm of a mint. Her eyes tried to show as little as possible the defeat of an amazement that had overwhelmed her like a raging wave, making her heart pound.

The sea. Marlena loved the sea. And for a few moments she was wondering what she had forced her to shut up in the house all that time, but then her mind went back to static and clear. She knew why, and there was no other reason to get her back together, even if it was difficult.

Yet there seemed to be few people around the streets, perhaps because at that time anyone with a minimum of wit would have holed up in the cool four walls of their home, just to escape the scorching heat that did not yield until the stroke of five in the afternoon .

By now it was almost two in the afternoon when Laertes' car passed the threshold of the square of the small town, while the attentive (even if apparently lost) gaze of his granddaughter observed everything in detail.

Nothing seems to have changed in that place since the last one who went there. The street was always covered with the usual, old and coarse slabs of white stone and eroded by the weather, as well as the various shops that surrounded the square and the small houses side by side, glazed with a fresh off-white plaster and dark brown roofs, the fountain in the center, and the small restaurant with its balcony overlooking the long pine forest that extended at the foot of the modest hill that supported the town.

A jolt suddenly shook Marlena, when her grandfather decided to pull over and pull up the handbrake of his FIAT, thus causing a slight recoil unexpectedly enough to suddenly wake the girl from her thoughts. She cleared her throat, while she opened her door, so that Lapo could finally trot and wag his tail excitedly around, on the other hand she didn't blame him, it must have been hard for a dog to stay good in the car for so many hours.

"Here we are!" proclaimed the elderly man putting the car keys in his pocket and then ring the bell of the small house next to FIAT "Your grandmother will be so happy to see you, I bet she will have prepared ciambelle with red wine to celebrate your reunion" he added while he waited for the woman he mentioned to open to him, already anticipating on his lips the pungent and sweet taste of those sweets he loved so much.

"So I suppose you made at least thirty" commented the young woman ironically, as she dragged out the two bags with extreme difficulty, attracting the attention of Laertes who, hastily adjusting his frizzy white hair, hastened to reach his niece to give her your support.

“Ah don't worry, kid. I'll take care of it, maybe you can ring the door, your grandmother has now gone deaf as a bell...” he said as he gave a slight snort and then muttered something.

"C’mon, grandpa" Marlena replied then raising her eyes to the sky trying not to smile, how melodramatic could that man be?

After pressing her finger on the bell again, the girl waited for someone to answer and hearing the approach of some quick steps together with the rubbing of flip-flops on the floor, made her realize that Agata had finally heard their arrival. Marlena did not even have time to greet the elderly lady, who took her in her arms, wrapping her in an embrace that caught her unprepared and to which she did not respond immediately.

“Oh my love! I’m so happy to see you again! But look how you have grown! It seems only yesterday when you reached mid-thigh and now...” the hands a little gnarled, but from the soft fingertips of the woman, gently took the face of her niece like a cup, as if to feel if her presence was only fantasy or reality "...You are a woman to all intents and purposes" she whispered and then fussed with kisses all over her face, while Marlena whining pretending to be somehow annoyed.

After climbing a short flight of stairs that led to the house located on the upper floor, the girl's nostrils and consciousness were flooded with memories and sensations already savored. She observed the now old floor of the house, granite tiles that alternated with one hand painted and another not; Marlena rejoiced with a touch of amusement when she as a child she spent boring afternoons playing on them, jumping only on the decorated ones because according to her imagination those remains were made of incandescent lava.

The walls were always the same, covered with a light blue paint and slightly lumpy at times, she could feel it, when the index and middle fingers of her right hand absently brushed the surface.

The house of Marlena's grandparents was very simple and perhaps apparently a little cramped. Having opened the wooden entrance door, after having passed the landing and the stairs, she had in front of her a corridor that extended along to her right, thus marking the various doors of each room that the house gathered inside. Almost parallel to the entrance there was the kitchen door on the opposite wall, without doors, next to it the bathroom door, and then the door to the room of the two elderly spouses. At the end of the corridor there was a small balcony with the railing covered with hanging vases where, like a multicolored waterfall, a thick branching of coral red bucanville came out which, in addition to poetically letting itself fall from the small niche, climbed elegant and graceful on the handrail of the then hug the outside walls of the house.

Marlena took advantage of it, to be able to peep there, while she deeply breathed the fragrant and velvety scent of those petals, mixed with the sea breeze that came from beyond the pine forest that surrounded the town. She observed the small houses around her while if she winked she could distinguish the clear line of the flat and calm sea that merged in perfect alchemy with the clear sky on the horizon.

The young woman tried in every way to convince herself that that enchanted place, that little corner of paradise had never failed her...but she suddenly proclaimed herself foolish for having thought such a cynical thing in the least.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

[sanctus-ingenium]

Heya! Your last few pieces have been incredible as always! I wanted to ask: how long have you been working on this current project? I've been a fan for a long time but with varying times of activity and so I recognize oc names I'm just curious if they've always been a part of this current plot or if they've been inserted into different settings throughout the years. Feel free to answer this privately or not at all if its too personal!

hiiiiii (u caught me scrolling tumblr mid-lecture, don't tell my prof)

for the last few pieces.. the reason i'm able to do a bunch of big illustrations is because i'm already finished with the setting. i wrote the 3 inver books over the course of roughly a year and tbh all of the content in them was new for the books and didn't have any recycled content aside from some minor details. the main 3 characters were from a dnd oneshot in 2019 but i didn't do much with them until i decided to write about them in an original fantasy setting in may-june of 2020. last book was finished in june of 2021. unlike a lot of my previous stuff, this story had a distinct end. all the character arcs are done, the plot is finished. it was a big deal for me because i usually never wrap up stories lmao

however

in the last like 10 chapters of more than 100 total i introduced pascal, who is literally a clone who had to kill & replace god just to survive his original self (félix) turning human again. then the books ended. and i realised that because this guy was immortal, he was going to persist and have a much longer life, so his story wasn't all wrapped up neatly like everyone else's - he didn't want to become immortal, he just wanted to not disappear, and now he's stuck like This while the happy ending he wanted so much was handed to a different version of him who got to become human and get married and so on. he didn't get those choices - it was either stop existing or become the boss púca and be cut off from humanity forever. and while he did maintain a friendship with a lot of the human characters after the 1860s (post-canon), human lifespans are short. everyone he knew died and left him alone, and in his otherworld barrow he would have no one to interact with but himself.

i haven't written any structured prose about him BUT i do have the beginnings of a story set in the 21st century that picks up with him, mostly about a corruption arc/his descent into becoming the worst version of himself as a result of isolation making him massively self-centered... so i guess it's more like a bad end au for félix (the actual main character of the inver books), only because of the clone situation i get to write him both good and bad endings. so basically i've been working on that for about a month but as a character he's less than a year old

anyway. for "inserted into different settings over the years" well!!!!! yeah i do that. all the inver characters are new for their setting but the mez characters certainly aren't... i wanted to focus on worldbuilding and mechs and engine stuff and didn't have any characters to populate it all, so i just yoinked them from my very first writing project - a book series i started in 2008. that's why those characters are familiar. oddly enough it makes them harder to insert into a closed story because i have to go through every version of them to pick and choose wtf i'm keeping and what i'm discarding. but also one of the characters from that 2008-era setting is john who you may be familiar with (lol). john's twin brother, invented for dnd, is félix. and pascal is félix 2. so in answer to your question: yes but also no? but also yes and no.

ftr my favourite character of all time is also félix and pascal is just him again but minus the humanity so that's also why i have dedicated a lot of time to thinking about him. also he is easy to draw

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Traditional Values or Matrimony Before Children

Quick Tag List: @kuruumiya @spacelizardtrashboys @stupidbluegirl @enigmaticandunstable @nattinngrst

This Passage Contains Potentially: swearing, violence, blood, angst, whump, fluff and very smutty content.

Summary: Rod decides it's time to 'pop the question' because he can't risk losing Kirby after they have a massive argument following Kirby getting injured.

Kirby's POV:

"Maybe if ya were able to see things from my point of view, ya wouldn't be here right now!"

"Well, maybe if you weren't so pig-headed about the finish of the match, I wouldn't have ended up getting hurt!"

I had snapped by this point, we were in New Haven, Connecticut and Rod had rushed in at the end of my match against Orton.

The match ended due to outside interference as well as injury.

Piper had knocked me off the turnbuckle, right before I was going to hit a senton bomb on Orton, making me fall out of the ring, off of the turnbuckle and thus slamming my right elbow into the guardrail, leaving me in extreme pain and needing medical attention.

He had managed to make me sprain my elbow, putting it in a sling for three weeks and taking me off television for the next month.

Damien had told me to take the month off, not risking any sort of further injury.

From the sixth of May until the sixth of June I wouldn't be allowed to work and I pinned all of the blame onto Roddy.

I got Damien to drive the long way back to the house, luckily me and Roderick had separate keys.

I was so hot with rage that I decided to just go home, to Cardiff, forget all about America and Roddy.

I stewed in the anger for the full three weeks of healing, on the Twenty-ninth of May, I heard the front door open, fully ready to call everything quits I waited for him to get through the foyer and see me.

"Before ya leave me, let me know, did ya love me?"

"I, uh, I, God, Roddy," I couldn't hold back the tears and Rod came running up to me, I tried to push him away with my left arm but failed.

"My love, my love, shh, shh, it's okay, you're okay."

"Rod, I wanted to leave but then I got my citizenship finished up and everything was clear and I couldn't think of a life without you in it … And now is not the time to get horny."

"Oh God, I'm not, that isn't, I wanted to do this after I cheered you up, but I guess now is as good a time as any, uhm," he took a moment to collect himself and got in front of me next to the table and got down on one knee, "Kirby Trevor, I know I'm a mad Scottish bastard at times, and before you ask I did ask your parents for your hand," he got out a small black box from the pouch of his sporran and opened it, inside laying half set into the foam was a simple, slim, iron ring, "I know we're moving a little fast, but I can't imagine a life without you in it and, I'm not risking losing you for a third time, I would like to marry ya, if you would let me."

"Roderick, you're kidding."

"I'm not kidding, mo chridhe. It would make me the happiest man alive."

"Oh … my … God … Yes, Rod, Yes!"

He slipped the ring onto my left ring finger, pulling me closer and kissed my neck before hoisting me over his shoulder and taking me upstairs.

By the time I woke up the following day, Rod was putting an ice pack on my elbow.

"Roddy?"

"Morning, mo chridhe, are ya alright?"

"I'm fine, yesterday was real, right?"

Rod lent down to kiss me, running his fingers over the rings on my left hand, making me realise that instead of my usual three, there were now, in fact, four rings, all in a row. Yesterday was real, the almost argument, the breakdown, the proposal, it was all real.

Without much thought I got up and backed Rod against the wall, kissing his neck, his jawline, his lips, anywhere I could access, until he managed to back me towards the bed and throw me down onto it.

"I fucking love ya, mo chridhe."

"Rod, when are we getting married."

"When do you want us to get married?"

"As soon as possible. If it's possible"

Roddy made calls, several calls, to I don't know who but he managed to get us a civil ceremony on Friday the first of June.

Seeing Rod in the pale blue suit as I stood there in my satin, peach toned slip dress I suddenly felt complete, in a weird way, like I had found my other half. I guess that's why people call their spouse their 'better half'.

The matching wedding bands we had Rod had bought without me felt right, two Celtic wedding bands, one gold (being Roddy's) and one silver (being mine).

We got back to the house, now a married couple and likely to spend a lot more time near each other, seeing as Damien had outed me on television the day before our civil ceremony as Rod's girlfriend, and soon-to-be wife.

Captain Lou and Cyndi Lauper had both made statements on me and Rod being 'man and wife' with both of them believing that it was 'disgusting to see two freaks marrying each other'.

However, the other D.O.D members as well as Schultz, Orndorff, and Orton showing support.

Roddy took 'wedding night bliss' seriously. No condoms, no alcohol, just him and me and a potentially breakable bed.

Things started off the moment we got in through the front door, Rod quickly locking the door behind us as I took my heels off, now in just my satin dress, I started walking out of the foyer, Rod pulled me back, hoisting me into a bridal carry and taking me upstairs, kicking open our bedroom door before letting me down.

I managed to sit myself on the edge of the bed while Rod was preoccupied with taking off his suit, I focused back on taking off my dress, the zip up the back actually pretty easy to unzip and remove, standing back up and letting the dress slide off, hearing a groan from Rod and knowing fully that he was watching me, he soon saw the black lace leg garter and started grinning like a mad man.

"Rod, what are you thinking about?"

"I think you know, honey."

In a matter of about a minute or two, Rod had ripped off the garter with his teeth and started kissing from my mid-thigh up to my groin and then making his way up to kissing my neck and then my mouth.

Feeling the heat from Rod's groin as well as his erect member poking at my clit through two layers of clothing (his briefs and my boxers) and hearing him groan in my ear, I started sliding my hand down the front of Rod's briefs.

when we woke up the next morning, both still fully nude, Rod was just starting to wake up as I started to get dressed.

"Oh, there you are, my beautiful wife."

"My dearest husband."

"We've gotta get back to work, Honey."

"I know, Roddy, I know."

By the seventh of June we were back at work fully, each night before Rod had asked for my permission to try and get me pregnant and I agreed, most of the time it was either in a hotel bed or on the front bench of the D200.

On screen I was usually by Roddy's side often being treated as softer or more emotionally vulnerable when compared to him, but just as quick-witted and tough as him. A marriage of equals instead of your typical opposites attract.

On the ninth of June I was in Roddy's corner during his fight against Rocky Johnson at the Capital centre in Landover, Maryland. He pinned Johnson, later on that same night he filmed a Piper's Pit segment with Captain Lou.

I was once again in Roddy's corner for another win against Rocky Johnson on the fifteenth in Detroit.

Then again, another Roddy win against Johnson on the sixteenth in Hollywood, Florida's Sportatorium before he filmed another segment of the Pit with Lauper.

I had noticed that either my period was late this month or something was wrong because I still had some cramping pains but they weren't as bad as they usually would be if I was 'on'. I decided to drop my worries for now and to focus on staying by Rod's side as I knew if anything bad happened to me, he'd be the first to react.

We went to the CYC in Scranton, Pennsylvania for another one of Roddy's matches against Rocky Johnson on the 18th.

I noticed on the twentieth that I had started feeling tired much easier than before, often needing to sit down a lot quicker than I was used to.

Backstage at the Civic Centre in Erie, Pennsylvania on the Twenty-first. Instead of going out with Roddy like what had been planned, Billie and Vickie had pulled me aside and into a bathroom, locking all three of us in a small private bathroom stall originally meant for disabled patrons or staff members, Vickie started questioning me.

"How long have you and him been married?"

"Around twenty days, why?"

"Have you two been, y'know," Billie wiggled her eyebrows, "Active?"

"Ya mean sexually, of course. I'm his wife, what are you two doing?"

"Well, little 'sister' time to take a test."

"What, Vic, like a newlywed game or something?"

Billie pushed me backwards, forcing me to sit on seat of the toilet, still with my slacks on.

"This test," Vic pulled out an 'ADVANCE' box from her purse, "You look confused, Kirbs. It's a pregnancy test, tall-ass."

"No, no, I can't be, just, no."

"Take it, we'll guard the door."

Vic unlocked the door and they exited, leaving me to take the pregnancy test, I did what the test required and told Vic, who went through the steps, and started giggling to herself after the result came through.

"I'm going to be an auntie."

"Oh no, no, you're kidding, right?"

Vic wasn't kidding, she explained the test and the result and lo and behold my future had changed, I was expecting a child. Rod didn't know yet, but I didn't know how to tell him. Truly I love Rod, but how was I gonna explain this to him.

The following day (22nd June 1984) it was announced that 'Due to unforeseen circumstances' I was not wrestling for the next ten months.

On that Saturday (23rd June 1984) Rod had brought me on to Piper's Pit to address some questions about my nearly a year long departure from wrestling.

"I've had a lot of questions about why my wife is off your screens, ladies and germs, so here she is, my beautiful wife, Kirby Piper."

"Hi Roddy."

"Hello, beautiful. First of all, congratulations on marrying the strongest and most intelligent man in the WWF. Secondly, why have you decided to take a ten month break from active competition?"

"Firstly, thank you for marrying a female giant. Secondly, Rod, look me in the eyes."

He did as I asked, and so I continued.

"I am being completely serious, okay."

"Okay."

"Roddy Piper, I, as your wife, and as your friend, must be completely honest and tell you that I am," I took a moment to compose myself and realised that both the audience, as well as both Orton and Piper were hanging on my every word, "I'm, I am," I took a deep breath in to help calm myself down, "I am pregnant."

Barely above a whisper, I had said it just loud enough for the microphone Piper had customarily shoved in my face, the same way he did to all his guests, could pick up.

"Re, uh, repeat that, Kirby," Rod stumbled over his words momentarily, "If you, if ya wouldn't mind, my, my love."

Slightly louder than before, now at my normal speaking volume, rather than a whisper, I repeated my statement, "The reason I'm out of the ring for the next ten months is because I, the human being you see here, I am with child. I am pregnant."

Rod erupted, dropping the mic, which still continued to work and actually caught him yelling, "I'm gonna be a dad?! I'm going to be a father?!"

He dropped to his knees in front of me, I leant down to kiss him and he got up, having to lean down into the kiss for a moment. The crowd cheered from behind him, before they started chanting his name. He helped me out of my seat and Orton gave Rod the mic before helping me stand from the other side.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, my wife, Kirby Piper, and the reason, oh my God, the reason she is out of active competition. I'm gonna be a father! Acey baby, I'm gonna be a dad, can ya believe it?!"

Rod leant up to kiss me, letting Orton let go of the other side of my back as Rod wrapped his arms around my waist and stayed in the moment until we both needed air, touching his forehead to mine as he huffed out an almost silent 'I love you, so much'.

END OF TRADITIONAL VALUES or MATRIMONY BEFORE CHILDREN

[fereality-indy]

Friends Don't

undefined

Had this bouncing around my head and figured getting it out may help knock out my Writer's block. Another Gravity Falls Wendip/Mabcifica not-a-song-fic.

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

June 8th 2018

"Yeah Tambs, I'm not gonna be able to make it tonight. Something came up. No, it's not just cause he came into town tonight." Wendy said into her phone as she rolled her eyes at Dipper's smirk.

June 9th, 2018 sometime during the day

"Hey Dipper, you there?" Mabel asked as she waved her hand in front of her brother's eyes.

"Oh. Uh. Yeah sis, I'm here. What do you want?" Dipper asked as he shook his head to clear the cobwebs.

"I told you I was thinking of doing a girls night tomorrow & asked if you knew what Wendy was doing, then you just blanked out on me. Like you just did again." Mabel said as she waved her hand in his face again. Shaking her head she turn & walked away saying "You know what I'll just go ask Wendy."

June 9th, 2018 around midnight

"Uh, yeah. Hi Mabel." Pacifica said into her cell as she laid out what she planned on wearing tomorrow, "No I don't. Oh, man, I didn't realize it was that late. Sorry. No, its nothing important. I just wanted to see how you are doing?"

She had set out a pair of pink capris & a white t-shirt but she needed something else to finish the look. She spotted the purple  sweater vest Mabel had made her last summer that would go great with them. She set them on her bag she was taking to tomorrow's sleepover and then went over to her bed.

"Yeah, I know I'll see you tomorrow. Well, I guess the sooner I get to sleep the sooner tomorrow will come. Alight sweet dreams to you too." She said as she laid back, still not completely sure why she had called but happy to have heard Mabel's voice.

June 11th, 2018 a little after noon

"Thanks again for the ride," Pacifica said as she and Mabel walked up to Greasey's, "I wish I could've stayed longer, but work is work."

"Oh, it was no problem. All the other girls had all left, well besides Wendy that is. Her and Dipdop were gonna go check on one of the gnome camps or something today. Anyways, I couldn't have you trying to walk to work when I have a perfectly good car." Mabel said as she stood there fidgeting with her keys. She really didn't want to leave, but Pacifica had to work.

"Well I best head on in, don't want Susan to think I'm slacking off today." Pacifica said as she turned to head into the diner before Mabel softly grabbed her arm.

"You know what, I think I'm gonna treat myself to a slice of pie." She said as she joined Pacifica heading into Greasey's.

June 13th, 2018 1:30 in the morning

"Thanks for coming to get me man," Wendy said as she through an arm around Dipper as he helped her to his car. "I didn't mean to drink as much as I did, but it was Thompson's birthday so everyone kept buying us rounds."

"No problem, I told you to call me anytime if you need me." He replied as he got her to the car. He opened her door and helped her in. "Besides I wouldn't want you to be driving if you think you've had to much. I'd miss you if anything happened. You mean alot to me."

Though she wasn't as inebriated as she let on, Wendy was still drunk enough that her inhibitions were relaxed. "Oh man, you mean a lot to me too. I lo.." She was saying as she was looking into his eyes, but before she finished something caught her attention, "ook it's Thompson's jacket on the flagpole."

"One of these days Nate & Lee are gonna have to grow up. They're not gonna be able to coast through life with out some kind of plan." She continued before she shivered as she accidentally set her hand down on Dipper's. "Even I've got one, I mean. Helping you and the Stan's continue to catalog all the weirdness."

"Yeah, I'm certainly gonna need your help after I take over. We know they won't be able to go forever." Dipper said as he recovered from the wave of pleasure he received when her hand brushed his. And what had she been about to say before she saw the flagpole. He'll have to ask later, she had fallen asleep. He took the scenic route to her apartment so she could rest a bit.

As he pulled up he gently shook her shoulder to wake her up, "We're here."

"Oh, cool. Thanks." Wendy said through half lidded eyes.

Dipper shut off the engine and got out of the van. He headed around to her side and helped her out. Putting an arm around her waist he walked her up to her apartment.

After she unlocked her door he said, "Well I better get going."

"What's the rush man, why don't you come in. I'm gonna need to get some aspirin and a can of Pitt. I certainly wouldn't mind the company." Wendy said as she playfully pulled the hand that had felt so good around her waist moments ago.

"I best not," Dipper responded as he reluctantly tried to free his hand.

"What? You got some hot piece waiting on you back at the Shack?" Wendy jokingly replied as she let his hand loose. Though she inside she was a little fearful of the answer. He may not have noticed, but she did. There have been a few of her old classmates sizing him up recently.

"Heh. Nah, nothing like that. I just told Soos I'd work tomorrow. I stay too long and I won't get any sleep." He went red in the face as soon as he that last line.

Wendy seemed to catch the unintended double entendre. With a waggle of her eyebrows she said, "Well sir, do you think that just because I've had a few drinks that..."

"No, nothing like that. I just figured we would end up watching a movie."he said as his face went redder than her hair.

"...cause you would be right." She finished, possibly without hearing him.

"Wait, w w what?" He stuttered.

"Dip, Mason, we've danced around this for awhile. I know you still have feelings for me and I..." she was saying until he placed a finger on her lips.

"Look, you don't know how much I've wanted to hear you say what you are about to but wait. Please wait until tomorrow when you are sober, I don't want to take advantage of you while you are drunk." He said before he tipped her head down and kissed her forehead.

"Dude, we could go outside right now and I could tell you the name of every piece of flora and fauna for two blocks. But damn it that you say something like that and it just comfirms my feelings for you. If it makes you feel better then tomorrow." She said with a smirk. Then she grabbed his arm and pulled him with her as she fell onto her sofa. "But your still not going anywhere. We can figure this out in the morning."

June 15th, 2018

"And then the two of them came into the giftshop holding hands." Mabel said as she and Pacifica sat at a booth in Los Hermanos.

Pacifica sat there for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. She didn't mean to but she was lost in the pools of chocolate that make up Mabel's eyes. The was something about them, a spark that she only sees when they are together.

"Well I'm glad that they finally figured out what we all have known for awhile." She finally replied. 

"Maybe we should follow suit?" Mabel said as she reached out and took Pacifica's hand.

[writebethany]

I really like this General Danvers ficlets series. Is there any way maybe Maggie could be brought in? Somehow Vega gets caught up with the police perhaps? It doesn't have to be anything sexual but I think it would be nice to see her. And if it doesn't become something sexual maybe it could be a "if I wasn't with Astra I could see myself trying a relationship with this woman" or something.

Previous Parts

The summer between her freshman and sophomore year of college, Vega gets political. Really political. Attends every protest she can, petition signing, door knocking, flyer passing out type of political. It’s for a rather personal cause. A few months before a new alien race that’s unknown to everyone, even the aliens in M’gann’s bar showed up on Earth’s doorstep with a white flag and a proposal for trade. Their people lived off pollution quite literally, and even being as wasteful as possible, their population had reached a critical level. Earth had enough pollution to sustain them for a good long time. The citizens of Earth got a clean planet and the aliens got to keep on living. It was a win-win.

Except that humans saw aliens that weren’t so shiny as Superman or Supergirl and lost their damn minds. The US government had made moves to shoot the so called invaders out of the sky. Vega, being an alien herself had taken offense to this, of course, and had joined the peace movement as soon as she could.

That’s how she meets Maggie Sawyer, detective of the NCPD called into service because the protest on a summer day in the middle of June were too massive for the patrol officers to handle alone. She drew the short straw and she’s manning the booking desk when Vega’s brought in, red faced and clearly angry, but she’s not struggling or mouthing off like a lot of the protestors are. Maggie, who’s got a headache the size of Nebraska, appreciates it.

“What are the charges,” she asks the officer escorting her, a little bored even with the chaos and the headache factored in. She’s rather be out actually doing something.

“Assaulting a police officer.”

Maggie raises an eyebrow at that. It wasn’t an uncommon charge for protests, but this girl definitely didn’t look like she’d haul off and punch an officer. And from the look that crosses the girl’s face, just a microexpression really, not something easily faked, Maggie guesses there’s something more there. She’s detective. She might as well detect.

“Peterson!” Maggie calls back.

Peterson, a rookie who’s greener than grass shows up at her side.

“You’ve been shown how booking works?” Maggie asks. It’s simple work. Peterson isn’t the brightest, but he’s smart enough for this.

He nods.

“Good, you manage this, I’ve got something to look into.” She walks around the desk and takes the girl’s arm. “I’ve got this,” she says to the officer. 

He nods. “The officer report is already on file for you.” Then he walks back out into the fray.

Maggie leads the girl back to an interview room and unlocks the cuffs. “Sit. You need water? It’s hot out there?”

The girl nods and Maggie grabs a couple bottles before sitting down. “So, what happened?”

“I get a lawyer don’t I?” she asks.

“If you want one, but something tells me that the charges against you are bull.” She pulls up the report file and looks it over. It’s sparse, she figured since it was from the field, but something sticks out to her. There’s no video from a button cam, and all officers have one today of all days. The guy filing would have been asked to upload the relevant footage which would have taken a couple minutes at most even away from the precint. Maggie smells a rat stronger than she did before.

“They are, but I shouldn’t say anything until I have a lawyer, or at least my parents are here.”

Maggie nods. “Fair enough, better to be safe than sorry, I respect that. You still have your phone on you?”

The girl nods. 

“Go ahead then.”

She takes out her phone and dials. Someone picks up the other end almost immediately, but Maggie can’t hear what they’re saying. Whatever it is, the girl responds in a language that definitely isn’t from Earth. Well, she supposes that’s not surprising at a peace protest for aliens. She wonders if the Gythnaim knew they’d get into this much trouble approaching Earth. Maybe they did and they were truly that desperate. Maggie didn’t know.

The girl hangs up the phone and Maggie leans back in her chair. “So, what planet?” 

The girl blinks. “Excuse me?”

“Definitely not a terrestrial language. I’m with the science division normally so I deal with a lot of cases the public don’t particularly know about, crosses into aliens a fair bit. I’ve dated a few too. So. Planet?”

“I was born here,” the girl asserts adamantly. 

“But your parents?”

“My Mom was born here too.”

“But what about your Dad?”

The girl crosses her arms. “I don’t have one.”

“But you said parents so, another mom?” Maggie smiles softly at the thought. 

“Yes.”

“Huh, lesbian alien, with the LGBT community already so small it’s a miracle I don’t know them already, let alone an alien that hangs around. Thought I dated them all.”

The girl blinks again, this time more stunned than anything. “What?”

“Yeah, kid, lesbian police officer, who would have thought.” Maggie rolls her eyes. Stereotype got her everytime damn it.

“No, I was more talking about the dating all the LGBT aliens part of that.” The girl sat forward.

“Oh, yeah, what are your parents’ names I could tell you if I know them. Or dated them. Your name would also be nice. Caliing you kid doesn’t seem like the best.”

“Vega Danvers, my moms are Alex Danvers and Astra In-Ze,” Vega says.

Maggie whistles. She’s heard of the both of them, not from the community, but from her job working with science division. Alex and the DEO routinely steal cases away from them, though Maggie’s never had the pleasure. Astra is hard to miss too, considering she helps Supergirl more often than not. 

“Nope, never dated them, but I know of them.”

The girl perks up. “They’re both here.”

Well, that answers the question of whether Vega was an alien herself. The hearing couldn’t be anything but.

Maggie walks out of the room to find two women practically charging towards her. She knows angry mama bears when she sees them and just steps aside and lets them through, grabbing an extra chair from the empty desks and coming back into the room and shutting the door.

The woman with the white streak whips around to face her as the door shuts. “What are the charges.”

“Supposedly assaulting an officer, but.” Maggie shrugs.

“Supposedly?” The woman takes a step forward.

“That’s what I’m trying to get to the bottom of right now,” Maggie says calmly. “I’m Dectective Maggie Sawyer.” She steps out and offers a hand.

“General Astra In-Ze.” The handshake was a little tighter than comfortable, but Maggie didn’t let on.

The other woman steps forward. “Alex Danvers. I’ve heard your name before. Science division?”

Maggie nods. “I’ve heard of you too, but never had the pleasure of working with you.” She motions to the chairs. “But lets get this all sorted with your daughter before talking shop.”

Maggie takes her own seat and looks at Vega. “So, what happened?”

Vega looks at her mothers who nod before she starts to talk. “I was walking along the edge of the protest, handing out water bottles and checking to make sure everyone was ok. Everyone was starting to get restless and tired and the organizers were trying to keep everything under control. For the most part it was working, but some people were too fired up and did some dumb stuff and I saw a few guys getting arrested for disorderly conduct, nothing big though, but I went over to make sure everything was ok. There were a couple officers standing around the perimeter, just making sure no one interfered and I asked one what was happening. He told me the charges and I nodded and was about to move on when another officer came up behind me and said ‘But someone as sweet looking as you wouldn’t get arrested, would you honey.’” Vega’s eyes flared with contempt. “I turned and told him that I didn’t like being addressed like that and went to leave again but he grabbed my arm and told me I wasn’t allowed to leave until I was done talking to him. I turned to get help from the other officer but he had gotten involved with the arrests now and wasn’t watching, no one really was considering I wasn’t where the action was. I told him to let go of me and that if he wasn’t going to charge me with anything I was leaving.”

The table creaks under Astra’s fingers and Maggie wonders if they were going to have to get a new one after this interview. Wouldn’t be the first time.

“He let go and I turned around and then he grabbed my butt and I slapped his hand away. He called that assaulting an officer and then arrested me and here I am,” Vega finishes. Maggie swore there was a pink sheen over her iries. Well, that was definitely something to keep in mind, heat vision ran in the family. 

“Alright then, I’m going to go pull his camera uploads for the past few hours and I’ll set up your statement for you too. Do you want to press charges if the video comes back as useable?”

Vega nods. “He doesn’t need to be able to do this to anyone else.”

“Good, I’ll be back.”

Maggie gets everything in order. The idiot had caught everything that Vega had said had happened on his body cam. She damn well hoped that this idiot got fired. She knew of him and knew that he wasn’t good news. It would be a good thing for the force to get rid of him. 

A couple hours later Maggie shakes everyone’s hands again. “Sorry about all this, it shouldn’t happen, but.” She frowns.

“Not your fault,” Alex says as Astra and Vega nodded and walked out of the station. “There’s a few in every law enforcement operation. God knows we have our own. Thank you for not just booking her that would have not been a fun fight.”

“Something tells me, Danvers, you’re good in a fight.” Maggie smiles.

Alex shrugs. “Not as good as I used to be, but damn good still, Sawyer. You’ll find out if you’re ever on a case with me.”

“I think we’d make a good team. Very no nonsense.”

“Yup, sounds about right. I’ll buy you a few beers to thank you for all this, if you want.”

Maggie hasn’t been out with someone who understands just how crazy her job is in a while. She could use a friend like that honestly.

“Yeah, Danvers, you play pool?”

Alex smirks at that. “Oh, do I ever.”

“It’s on then. You have my number, whenever you’re free. Bring your wife if she can play pool and I’ll kick both of your asses.”

“Biting off more than you can chew, there aren’t you.”

“I know what I can handle.”

The next week Maggie gets assigned a case that Alex swoops in with her DEO tac gear and steals right out from under her. Maggie isn’t so pissed, especially when it means she gets to see a god awful amount of alien guns and gadgets that are straight out of a sci-fi movie. What must it be like to actually have resources? They close the case faster than she’s ever managed working for the force, and then come the beers and the pool. She kicks Alex’s ass, but doesn’t quite manage to beat Astra. Next case, though, she’ll beat Astra. Next case for sure.

Next part