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a-edgar-allan-hoe · 4 years ago

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The Last Chthonian

Bucky x Reader, Sam x Reader, Zemo x Reader

Part 10

A/N: I can’t believe I’m already on part 10 for this series and to be honest it’s fun to write. And in all seriousness, the tumblr mobile app needs to allow you to put a read more link. But anyways love you all and let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list! Mwah! 🖤🖤🖤

Summary: Imagine being Hekate, the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft, the night and the moon, doorways and crossroads, creatures of the night, and ghosts and necromancy. You stumbled upon Earth many centuries ago and since then have resided on the foreign planet. During the recent years you created an alias for yourself to hide your true identity, and after the war against Thanos you chose to live out your days in the Scottish countryside, until a certain trio appear at your doorstep one day.

Warnings: language, some violence, and blood

“Im sorry, did you just say Madripoor?” You blinked at Zemo, dreading the destination ahead of you.

“What’s up with Madripoor? You talk about it like it’s Skull Island.” Sam questioned, looking between you and Zemo.

“Imagine Mos Eisley from Tatooine but without the aliens and blasters.” You tried to make an analogy. “In other words, a shithole. And to be honest, I’d rather be in Mos Eisley.”

“It’s an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago. It was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1800s.” Bucky explained to Sam.

“It’s kept its lawless ways.” Zemo added before turning to James. “But we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves. James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone.”

You had a feeling Zemo would suggest all of you going in with different identities, and being the only woman in the group, you already had a wild guess you weren’t going to be ecstatic about yours. You looked to Bucky with a frown on your lips. You knew what Zemo had meant towards him, and you didn’t know how it would affect him to transition back into the person he tried so hard to deviate from. Bucky saw the sympathetic smile you gave him, and he returned it with a look that reassured you that he would be fine.

“Y/n.” Zemo now spoke to you, tilting his head to meet your eyes. “I’m sure you are aware of the conditions.”

“Zemo if you...” Bucky trailed off as he glared at him, silently warning him to watch what he says next.

Sam and Bucky kept their eyes on Zemo, waiting to hear what his suggested persona for you was and ready to beat his ass if he dared to suggest something that would be demeaning to you.

“No way in the pits of Tartarus. I am not going in as an escort.” You voiced with a clenched jaw. “And if it’s eye candy you need, you have Sam.”

Sam gave you a surprised look from your comment, flattered to have you recommend him to be the designated eye candy before going back to the topic at hand. “Hell no Zemo. You’re not having y/n pretend to be an escort.”

“I’m afraid Sam is already going as someone.” Zemo sat back with his hands folded in his lap. “And don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on having you go as an escort, it isn’t befitting of a baron like me. Plus, I figured it would be uncomfortable for you, so I was going to suggest you act as my fiancé, if you are willing of course.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, pondering on the subject. You were a bit relieved in all honesty. But to pretend to be Zemo’s fiancé and be in close and almost physical proximities with him?

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to y/n.” Sam uttered to you.

“I’ll do it.” You confirmed.

“Are you sure?” Zemo asked you again, making sure you were comfortable with acting the part.

“I thought Zemo might step out of line with this one, but we don’t want you to do something that will make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m sure. I’ve had to do things I wasn’t comfortable with plenty of times in the past.”

Once you had all landed, Zemo decided to stop by a place so that you all may get dressed. You had already packed a dress and a pair of heels with you just in case for situations like these, since this wasn’t the first time you had to dress up for a mission. The dress you wore was a black, burned velvet silk slip-like dress with the velvet print being dark red roses. The dress wasn’t too tight to be constricting of movement and fit perfectly around around your curves. If the situation should arise that you needed to defend yourself, you needed the freedom to be able to move. Going down, the fabric flared slightly at your hips, brushing barely against the floor with your heels on. The skirt was slightly sheer from the bottom of your thighs and down with the floral velvet print, and had a slit going up your right thigh, perfect for kicking and concealing your dagger. The top torso portion of the front of your dress was a spaghetti strap cowl neckline that stopped just above the curve of your breasts, allowing for just a bit of cleavage. Your back was left bare, stopping at your mid back with thin straps that came across in a pattern. Your dress almost had a Grecian/witchy look from the way it draped over your chest and hips. It wasn’t too formal or too scandalous, it was elegant and classy, and showed just the right amount of skin where it wouldn’t be too revealing.

Even though you completely loathed and detested heels of any kinds, your heels were fairly simple, made of black velvet with straps that came across your ankles and toes. You dreaded heaving to wear them but at the same time you’d stick out like a sore thumb if you wore your docs with these. Perhaps you should’ve brought your nicer sandals, but it was too late now. You kept on your mother’s necklace and wore a set of amethyst drop earrings, throwing on a silver cuff bracelet on each wrist. Your hair was let loose to conceal your short sword that you hid on your back underneath your dress, the hilt resting right between your shoulder blades. You prayed that having your hair down would cover the scars and the sword you had on your back. But you were mostly focused about the scars, you failed to mention them to the guys about it since it was something that was hard for you to share. The only makeup you had on was some eyeshadow and mascara to darken your eyes, very little blush, and a lip tint.

The last thing to do was to put on some perfume, so you spritzed on your favorite oil based one that you had from Olympus on your pulse points. The scent was filled with incense-like scents like dragon’s blood, sage, crushed red roses, sandalwood, ghostly white musk, absinthe, almonds, and heady gardenia. It wasn’t as harsh as the common alcohol based ones, this one was more earthy and ancient, and every time you wore it, the scent lingered and heads turned. You gave yourself a once over when you were done, taking in a deep breath before heading out to join the others.

You became nervous as you saw them gathered together, talking amongst themselves as they haven’t noticed you yet. You rarely ever wore dresses these days, especially of the kind you were wearing now which left you feeling bare and exposed even though the dress wasn’t at all much revealing. So as you approached them, you couldn’t help picking at your fingers in anxiety.

The men turned at the sound of your heels clicking against the ground, and when they laid their eyes on you, they couldn’t help but gawk with their mouths parted open, as if they had seen the most beautiful creature to ever walk the earth. You chewed on the inside of your cheeks as you saw how they stared at you.

“Wow.” Sam was the first to say something. “You look like a million bucks.”

“What? Never seen a woman in a dress before?”

“No, I’ve just never seen you in a dress before.” Sam answered. “You’re always dressed like some hippie/librarian, with your bands shirts, sweaters, plaid pants and jackets.”

“Haha vary funny.”

“Also since when did you have muscles?” Sam noticed as he poked your bare arm. “And since when did you have a tattoo?” He observed the mark you had on your upper right arm, right below your shoulder. It was the mark that was given to you to signify your Olympian status and what you represented. It was about the color that henna left behind after you wiped the paste off your skin, the color of ginger and bronze. The center of your mark was a lightning bolt, which represented a child of Zeus. Below that was your symbol, the torch and the triple moons.

“Since when did you start asking so many questions? But yeah, I’ve always had muscles Sam, I was trained in combat since I was, you could say 9 years old in human years. Also, technically everyone has them, it’s what allows us to move and lift things. And that.” You pointed to your tattoo. “Is my goddess mark, not a tattoo. Every Olympian god has one and they each have their personal symbol that represents them.”

“Wait, so you’ve been trained since you were a kid?” Bucky looked at you to clarify what he heard as they all started to head out.

“Technically, everyone on Olympus starts training that young. Then, when they become of age, a tournament is held to display their skills, following a ceremony after, to celebrate their victory.” You explained as you walked beside them.

The four of you were currently walking on the bridge that led to Madripoor. You could see the city’s skyline out in the distance, the cyberpunk like buildings lighting up the night sky.

“Do you need my coat?” You heard Zemo say beside you, making you look at him.

“Sorry?”

“Do you need my coat?” He repeated himself, referring to how your arms were bare against the cool night. “I wouldn’t want you to get cold.”

You stared at him, stunned from the kind gesture as you tried to form words to say. “Oh uh.....I appreciate the gesture, but I’m fine actually. I’m not that cold.” Though you didn’t want to admit it, you actually would’ve liked to try on his coat, because in all honesty it was a damn nice coat.

“We have to fix this.” You heard Sam say with irritation visible in his voice. “I’m the only one who looks like a pimp.”

“Only an American would assume a fashion-forward black man looks like a pimp. You look exactly like the man you’re supposed to be playing.” Zemo mentioned as he pulled out his phone to show Sam. “The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger.”

“He even has a bad nickname. Hell, he does look like me, though.” Sam observed the photo.

“You smell this?”

“Yeah, what is that? Acid?” Sam sniffed the air as you did the same.

“Smells rancid.” You scrunched your nose at the smell.

“Madripoor. No matter what happens, we have to stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There’s no margin for error.” Zemo instructed as a black car pulled up in front of you. “High Town’s that way. Not a bad place if you wanna visit, but Low Town’s the other way.”

“Let me guess. We don’t have any friends in High Town.” Sam remarked as he opened the door for the back seat.

“Y/n. A moment please, if you will.” Zemo uttered to you.

You stopped in your tracks, seeing Bucky and Sam stand on either side of the car doors, looking between the two of you and especially Zemo, with caution. You nodded your head at them, signaling you were fine and that they can get seated. And though they sat themselves inside the car, that didn’t stop them from keeping their eyes glued to Zemo to make sure he didn’t pull anything stupid.

“What’s the issue?” You turned to Zemo, giving him your attention.

“Since you will be portraying my fiancé, there’s a certain key element you will be needing to complete the image.” You watched as he pulled out a ring from his coat pocket, displaying it in front of you. “If I may?”

You stared at Zemo blankly before nodding your head and holding out your left hand for him. You knew this was only for a show, but you couldn’t help but stiffen as he delicately held your hand with his gloved one before slipping the ring onto your ring finger.

“There.” Hi smiled softly at you, his hand still holding yours. “Now you look the part.”

The two of you stood there for a moment, his thumb brushing against your knuckles, leaving behind a trail of warmth as he gazed down at you. Zemo swore he could have gotten lost in the violet swirls and gold flecks of your eyes forever, which now sparkled against Madripoor’s lit up skyline, the neon city and the places he’s visited not even coming close to the beauty he held before him.

You tried not to blush under his gaze as you gave him a polite smile before slipping your hand out of his. “I should probably change my eyes huh.” You remembered, changing your eyes to a normal color known to earth. “Should I hide the scar?” You asked him, referring to the one on your face.

“I think you should leave it. It suits you, and besides, you never know who might recognize you without it.”

Nodding your head at him, you headed to the car and settling in beside Bucky as Zemo followed, getting in the passenger seat in front of you. In the car ride there, you glanced down at the ring Zemo slipped on your finger, it was definitely a beautiful elegant ring, with a rose gold band and a pear cut garnet in the center that had diamonds that accented the bottom. Once you arrived in the city, you walked through the neon lit streets beside Zemo while Sam and Bucky followed behind. You loosened up your body as you went, swaying your hips slightly as you tried your best not to walk like a bodyguard and look threatening as everyone’s eyes followed the four of you strolling through the streets.

“Here we are.” Zemo announced, stopping in front of a bar before speaking to Bucky in Russian. “Ready to comply… Winter Soldier?”

As you went in, Zemo leaned in to whisper in your ear, his warm breath tickling your neck and startling you as he spoke in a hushed tone. “I want to apologize in advance, forgive me.”

You looked at him with furrowed brows to question what he meant until you felt his gloved hand slide across your back before resting on your waist, pulling you closer to his side. You noticed how his hand fumbled after brushing across your sword as he gave you a questioning look. What was that on your back? Did you really conceal a full on sword on your back underneath your dress? On your way to the bar table you saw people stare as you went through, some of them gawking in surprise at Bucky, or the winter soldier as he was now portraying, while the slimy men in the area roamed their eyes over your body hungrily. Zemo noticed your uneasiness from the way your muscles tensed, though your face didn’t show a sign of it, and glared at the men who dared to lay their eyes on you, only pulling you closer to him to prove that you were with him while Bucky and Sam noticed this as well and positioned themselves where you were blocked from the view of your peers, allowing you to breathe a little better as you approached the bar.

“Hello, gentlemen.” The bartender greeted you all. “Wasn’t expecting you, Smiling Tiger.”

“His plans changed.” Zemo answered for him. “We have business to do with Selby.”

“The usual?”

Sam nodded his head.

“And for the lady?”

“Um Something fruity.” You answered with a flirtatious smile, silently hoping they had something like that on the menu and that you hadn’t blown their cover by ordering the wrong drink.

The bartender handed you what looked to be a pineapple martini and you internally thanked the gods for your sheer bit of luck, taking the drink and thanking the bartender with another smile. You watched as he went to work on Sam’s drink, pulling out of a jar what definitely was a snake. You gulped, your stomach feeling nauseous as you saw the bartender cut open the dead snake, taking out its guts and throwing it in the shot glass. You were mortified to say the least, snakes were one of your symbols and you had owned plenty of the gentle little creatures. You shot Sam a sympathetic look once you saw his expression.

“Cheers.” Zemo held up his glass while Sam stared at his before gathering the courage to drink it all in one go. If Sam wasn’t going to throw up, you were going to do it for him.

While your eyes were trained on Sam’s expression, you felt someone breathe over your neck before feeling a clammy hand graze across your ass.

“Hey baby-“

Your eyes widened before you grabbed the wrist of the man behind you in one quick motion, twisting his arm to an unnatural position as you yanked it away from your body, causing the sleazy looking individual let out a yelp of pain. You would’ve crushed his wrist like crumpled paper if Zemo hadn’t put a cautionary hand on your arm as he whispered to you. “Careful now.”

You let go of the man’s wrist before shoving him aside like a pile of garbage. If their identity wasn’t at risk of being revealed, Zemo, Sam, and Bucky would have gone over there and beat the guy up after you were done with him.

“I got word from high. You ain’t welcome here.” You watched from behind Zemo as a bearded man approached him.

“I have no business with the Power Broker, but if he insists, he can either come and talk to me…” Zemo gestured towards Bucky.

“New haircut?”

“Or bring Selby for a chat.”

The man glanced between Zemo and Bucky before leaving.

“A power broker? Really?” Sam turned to Zemo.

“Every kingdom needs its king. Let’s just pray we stay under his radar.”

“Do you know him?” You asked.

“Only by reputation. In Madripoor he is judge, jury, and executioner.”

Another man was approaching in your direction, most likely to kick you all out or worse, and after following your gaze, Zemo turned to Bucky, speaking to him in Russian just as the man laid a hand on his shoulder. “Winter Soldier. Attack.”

You stood back, watching as Bucky grabbed the dude’s arm and twisted it back. You refrained yourself from intervening as Bucky took down the men that fought against him.

“Didn’t take much for him to fall back into form.” Zemo commented to you and Sam.

Bucky slammed one of the men down on the counter. And as you heard the clicking of guns being loaded, your defensive mode nearly kicked in as you almost reached for your sword before Zemo stopped you.

“Stay in character or the whole bar turns on us.” Zemo whispered to you both before turning to Bucky and speaking in Russian again. “Well done soldier.”

You let your arm drop back down to your side, not a single change in your expression as you eyed everyone around you.

“Selby will see you now.” The bartender spoke up after getting off the phone.

Zemo gave him a thanks, nodding you over and holding out his hand for you to take as you went to his side again, Bucky and Sam following after you. You went through a back door, going down a dark corridor with Zemo’s hand on your back as he guided you through.

“You should know, Baron. People don’t just come into my bar and make demands.” You heard a woman’s voice speak, turning your head to see an older woman in a suit with short white hair lounging back on the coach with her security around her.

“Not a demand. An offer.” Zemo sat down on the couch before waving you over when he saw you standing near Sam. “Come sit schatzi.”

You straightened up, plastering a smile on your face as you went over to him. Selby’s eyes followed you curiously as you placed your hand in his, your eyes rapidly moving in nervousness for what area would be the most appropriate area to sit. Were you......were you supposed to sit on his lap? Is that how couples work? No, that would be inappropriate. Before things got awkward, you quickly plopped down on the empty spot next to him, crossing over your leg in a way so that it draped over his, leaving your thigh completely exposed from the slit in your dress, save for the dagger that still remained hidden. Sam and Bucky widened their eyes at what you just did, while Zemo stiffened at this sudden movement from you as you also draped one arm around his shoulders, bringing yourself closer to him. Were you even doing this right?

“A lot has changed since you were here last.” Selby observed the two of you before her eyes landed on your ring. “Who’s this pretty little thing?”

“This.” Zemo looked at you with a loving look, throwing an arm around your waist to draw circles on your bare back, while his other hand rested on your thigh, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps on your skin as you felt shivers go down your spine. “Is my fiancé. Gorgeous isn’t she?”

How long has it been since you were this close and personal to someone? The last you could remember, women still wore corsets and people still rode carriages. You felt your body heat up from being this close to him, and from the way he stroked your back. How was a mortal man able to leave you feeling like this? If he was able to send shivers down your spine with the mere touch on your back with his gloved hand, you wondered how it would feel to have his bare hands on you, just skin to skin. And if you were being honest, you never really were a fan of cologne but his smelled of a deeper earthy tones with hints of musk, and you were surprised and almost ashamed to say you liked how he smelled. You returned the same loving look to Zemo, trying to make it as believable as possible as you ran your fingers through the hair on the back of his head before placing a kiss on his jaw close to his ear. Sam and Bucky couldn’t believe their eyes at the scene before them, the same you who preferred to be a hermit and didn’t go on dates because it involved human interaction, was cuddling up to none other than Helmut Zemo himself. Zemo’s breath faltered a bit from from your touch as he swallowed the lump in his throat, struggling not to break character. Being this close to you, he was able to get a whiff of your perfume and my goodness, Zemo felt as if he could drown in your scent, you smelled like the heavens, not overbearingly sweet, but dark and luxurious and even seductive. Is this what vampires and sirens smelled like when they lured people to their deaths? You raised a brow at Zemo, your heightened senses were picking up on his breathing patterns and heartbeat. Was he getting nervous?

“Extremely.” Selby commented, smirking at the two of you before roaming her eyes over your body. You could feel her taking you in but you kept your eyes trained on the side of Zemo’s face. “Where did you pick this one up? She looks like a fighter.”

“As they say, why not get a woman who can do both. She was part of the Sokovian armed forces, I met her through there.”

“By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison. How did you escape?” Selby added after finally taking her eyes off you.

“People like us always find a way, don’t we? I’m sure you’ve already figured out what I’m here for.”

“You’re taller than I’d heard, Smiling Tiger.” Selby turned to Sam with a flirtatious grin, using her hand in a claw like manner as she let out a purr. “What’s the offer?”

“Tell us what you know about the super-soldier serum.” Zemo got up off the couch, going over to Bucky and holding his chin between his fingers. “And I give you him, along with the code words to control him, of course. He will do anything you want.”

“Now that’s the Zemo I remember. I’m glad I decided not to kill you immediately. Yeah, you were right to come to me. Arrogant, but right. The super-soldier serum is here in Madripoor. Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you wanna thank. Or… condemn, depending on what side of this you’re on. The Power Broker had him working on the serum, but… things didn’t go as planned.”

“Is Nagel still in Madripoor?”

“Oh. The bread crumbs you can have for free, but the bakery is gonna cost you, Baron. And before you get all cute, don’t think you can find Nagel without me. But.....” She turned you with a sly smile which made your insides turn. “Throw her in with the package and you have yourself a deal.”

Zemo, Sam, and Bucky turned to look at you with dread upon hearing her words. This wasn’t at all part of the plan.

“No, no no. That wasn’t the deal.” Zemo stepped over to where you sat, blocking you from her. “She’s not for sale.”

“Why not?” Selby raised her brow at Zemo. “I’m pretty sure a man like you could pick up someone else to be your plaything or fiancé or whatever. I like this one in particular.” She turned to you again.

“That’s not-“ Zemo started before he was cut off by Sam’s cellphone vibrating.

You breath was caught in your throat and it felt as if the room had dropped in temperature. You could feel the tension floating around the air as everyone’s eyes were trained on Sam now, making you sit up straight and uncross your legs so that they were planted firmly on the ground. Your hand rested on your thigh just above where the hilt of your dagger was as your eyes darted around the room, watching each and every person like a hawk about to swoop down on its prey. You had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

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transsergio · 4 years ago

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Emily's Top Surgery (Read on AO3)

Penemily / Gen / 4038 words

Emily has top surgery and their loving, perfect, beautiful girlfriend Penelope is their caretaker.

Notes: I refer to Emily as Penelope's girlfriend intentionally; Emily is a non-binary lesbian and in this particular story, is comfortable with the gendered term "girlfriend". However, if you see Emily referred to as she/her at any point, that's an editing mistake on my part and I mixed up their pronouns with Penelope's. I went through this a couple times to make sure I gendered them correctly, but one might have slipped through the cracks!

Also feels important to say that Dr. Dolan is a totally fictional doctor and not a reference to any real life surgeon

Surgery Day

Penelope has seen her team through too much already. Kidnappings, stab wounds, bullets – their jobs aren’t exactly arts and crafts. Yet, she thinks this might be the most nervous she has ever been. She’s been rapid-fire tapping her heel for the last hour and forty-five minutes, and trying to distract herself with her cell phone. Morgan texted a couple times to check in (once on behalf of Reid), but otherwise, radio silence. The few messages mean more than she can say; she is intimately familiar with how busy they are on a case. But she really wishes any of them were there to squeeze her hand right about now. She’d even take Strauss.

In the middle of Penelope’s billionth Candy Crush level, a doctor materializes in front of her. She startles and fumbles her phone trying to click it off. “Is it over? Can I see them now? How’d it go?”

As the doctor peels his surgical mask off, she sees he’s laughing at her. That’s good, right?

He says, “Everything went just fine, Ms. Garcia. Emily’s in the recovery room now, and we’ll let you back there about twenty minutes after they wake up. They’re going to be a little groggy and maybe nauseous. It all depends on how their body reacts to the anesthesia. They’ll most likely sleep for the rest of the day, but make sure to keep up with their medications, alright?”

Penelope nods fervently. “Absolutely, Dr. Dolan. Can do. Will do! And I’m sorry to ask this again but I really have to make sure, the whole operation was totally fine? Nothing went wrong? Everything…chopped off okay?”

The doctor stifles a chuckle. “Yes, Ms. Garcia. Everything went exactly as planned, no complications as of yet. We’ll see you tomorrow for Emily’s one day post-op appointment to check the surgery site and switch out the bandages for a binder, and then for their first week post-op. Okay?”

Penelope smiles back, still nodding along like Emily’s health depends on it.

The doctor shakes her hand and ducks back into the surgical ward, leaving Penelope to update the group chat.

“Emily’s out!!!!!! Doc says all good!!!!!! Will be with them soon 😍💖🥳”

She types almost as quickly as her heart is beating.

Penelope makes it through another few rounds of mobile games and desperately refreshing her Twitter feed before she risks checking the clock. It’s been half an hour. Shouldn’t Emily be awake by now? What if they never wake up? Could someone be permanently anesthetized? Reid would know. Maybe Penelope should call Reid. No, she can’t do that. They’re all off in Texas trying to catch a serial killer and she doesn’t need to distract them, not when they’re already down two team members. Kevin Lynch is pretty good, she hopes. She’s seen his work and it’s adequate. Nothing like the multi-tasking Penelope pulls off, but in the same ballpark. His boyfriend, Grant Anderson, vouched for him. It was unnecessary, and maybe Kevin shouldn’t have sent the person who got Elle shot to sing his praises, but at least they knew Grant. Kevin was a stranger from another department. A back-up.

“Penelope Garcia?” A nurse calls as she emerges from swinging double doors.

“Yes, right here!” Penelope chirps. She leaps to her feet and scurries over as quickly as her heels will allow.

The nurse walks her through the recovery ward and the steps to Emily’s post-op instructions. Emily has four different prescriptions already filled and two cannot be taken at the exact same time while one is an antibiotic and the other is just for nausea which they might not need and –

“This is all written down, right? Sorry, my head’s just like, woo, swimming right now,” Penelope says. Her eyes are wide and darting frantically between the curtained beds. She hates the fluorescent lights. Her skin is buzzing with all the sour electricity. The nurse assures her they’ll send them home with physical copies along with phone numbers in case of emergency.

They round the nurse’s station and finally, come to Emily. They’re shifting slightly in their bed, leaning forward and sipping at a dixie cup of water. They're groggy and slow, with the IV still in their arm. Penelope’s glad they don’t have a mirror – their bangs are scattered over their forehead in three wispy chunks, a way Penelope knows Emily hates.

“Hey sweetheart,” Penelope coos. She leans over the bed's plastic siding to kiss the top of Emily’s head, and run her fingers through their dark hair. Emily leans into the touch.

They croak, “Hey,” and cough to clear their throat, wincing all the while.

“That’d be because you were intubated,” the nurse says. “Take plenty of cough drops and you should feel much better.”

Penelope assures the nurse they will while Emily drifts in and out of focus.

“Did it work?” they ask.

“Did what, Em?”

“M’surgery.”

“Oh! Yeah, totally. You’ll see in a little bit. You’re just sleepy.”

“M’kay,” Emily says. Their head lolls back into their pillows as the muscles in their face tighten.

“Emily, what would you rate your pain out of ten?” the nurse asks, coming closer with her clipboard at the ready.

“Uh, five? Maybe six.”

Penelope looks to the nurse. “Is that bad? That sounds bad. I thought it wasn’t supposed to hurt right now.”

The nurse jots down a few notes before she answers. “It’s not unusual. We’ll up their pain killers before we remove the IV.”

Penelope plants herself firmly at Emily’s side in the meantime. They’ve redressed Emily in their own clothes, an oversized button-down and sweats. Well, Penelope assumes they put Emily’s bottoms back on. The blanket is still tucked tightly around their body like they’re some kind of soft, hot mummy. They stay like that for another fifteen minutes, Penelope working her nails through Emily’s scalp as they try to relax.

When Emily rates their pain at a four, then a three, Penelope helps the nurse settle them in a wheelchair. They roll a few feet into the hall before Emily claws for Penelope’s arm.

“Where’s the barf bag?” Penelope asks. She has her hand out and ready for the nurse to pass it over, and swings it into Emily’s face.

Emily, thankfully, does not puke. Their slow, steady breath crinkles the blue plastic bag, but all they fill it with is air. They keep a tight grip on the thing for safekeeping, even as they’re helped into the passenger’s seat of Penelope’s car.

“You ready to go home, lovebug?” Penelope keeps her voice low and sweet, like dark honey. Emily nods and Penelope grants her wish, starting the engine and turning out of the parking lot.

-❤-

One Day Post-Op

Penelope holds her breath as the nurse unwraps the medical bandages. She wonders if Em is doing the same. While she’s watching them, Emily’s eyes flit between her and the floor-length mirror fastened to the exam room wall.

The nurse is talking, and they’re both supposed to be listening, but who could expect them to? Emily has spent a couple grand (after insurance) and something like four years waiting for these next seconds. Penelope is just as invested, if not more, in Emily’s happiness. She’s not going to get the camera out, but wonders if she should just in case Emily cries.

Their eyes follow the final bandage as it unravels from Emily’s form.

And Emily’s mind goes quiet. They have two, deep red swoops where their chest used to bulge. Above and below, their body is nothing but smooth skin. They thought this would feel like shock. Like disbelief that they were finally here. Instead, it just feels right, as if this is the way it’s always been and some crappy daydream is over at last. They giggle, and Penelope glows like the sun has risen.

“Wow,” Penelope says, soft. She’s wrenched with admiration.

The nurse is smiling in the corner. She takes out a roll of Steri-Strips and measures them against Emily’s new scars. Scars! Emily finally has scars!

“Now the bruising should lessen in the next three to four weeks,” the nurse says. Oh, bruising. Emily almost hadn’t noticed. Their body is splotched with patches of yellow, green, and purple as if it’s trying to camouflage itself, but Emily’s not hiding from anything anymore.

They’re given more practical information, like how often Emily should be walking to avoid blood clots, how high they should lift their arms, how much they should be carrying – most of which tells them to stay reclined, arms down, to sleep as much as possible, but get in ten minutes of walking every few hours. Penelope hears more of this than Emily does, and again, they’re given written instructions just in case.

Emily takes one last look before the compression vest goes on. This will be the most uncomfortable part of the process, thank god. Emily chose a surgeon who used a tighter suture method rather than the typical drains intentionally. Still, the fit of the binder is exciting. Emily’s never had something lie flat on them before. Their body now falls in one fluid line without anything, even nipples, to interrupt.

“Em?”

Emily snaps to Penelope, who is standing and holding the door for them.

“Oh, right,” Emily says with half a laugh and a daze in their eyes. They thank the nurse, and the receptionist, and a passing surgeon that isn’t even Emily’s on the way out. This is the most gratitude Emily’s ever contained in their life, and they need to flush it through their system.

“And especially you,” Emily gushes as Penelope helps buckle their seatbelt. “You’re amazing. I can’t believe you’re taking time off for me, or that you’re not stir crazy already. Thank you.”

Penelope grins like she might burst, and can’t answer just yet. She gets them safely onto the highway for home first. “Of course I’m here for you, dumb-dumb! Not only because you literally can’t do anything for yourself right now, or because the hospital said you couldn’t have the surgery without having a caretaker, but, well – okay, maybe half for those reasons too. But because I love you. I’m so happy for you, and how happy you’re going to be, and that this is so good for you. I love you so much.” Penelope sniffles.

“Maybe you should have said all that before we left?” Emily asks. “You’re gonna cry the whole drive back, babe.”

Penelope swats at them. “I know, I know! But you’re on a strict schedule, my lovely angel, and you need your meds in like, thirty minutes.”

Emily laughs and catches Penelope’s hand in their own. They squeeze it tightly and press their lips to Penelope’s fingers. Emily only releases when Penelope tugs their grip toward the steering wheel.

“Next stop, Recoveryville,” Pen jokes.

-❤-

Five Days Post-Op

Emily is more or less comfortably laid on their couch. They have an arsenal of pillows stationed behind them, under their arms, and at the bend of their knees, and Penelope’s militant care routine keeping them afloat. For the last four days, they’ve done nothing but watch French art films together, eat ice cream, and order takeout. It’s been a nice break, Emily realizes. One they didn’t know they needed.

Penelope emerges from the kitchen with a bag of Doritos and a bright blue DVD in her hands.

“This looks like a bribe,” Emily says with a wry smile.

“That’s because it is. I am in no place to object to your choice of movies, especially after I promised I wouldn’t make fun of the accents anymore. But I was sorta hoping this would be a good opportunity to manhandle you into watching a real classic.” Penelope blocks the television in her pink pajama pants and Emily’s Yale hoodie. Penelope is well aware that Emily loves when she wears their clothes; she has to be doing this on purpose. And it’s working.

Emily bobs their head from side to side, considering the offer. “Alright, shoot. I’m willing to cut you a deal.”

Penelope slaps the movie cover over her face. Mamma Mia! (2008) Dir. Phyllida Lloyd.

“Oh, god.”

And Penelope reemerges, scowling. “Hey! I didn’t complain when you made me watch that sad movie about the woman with the dead family. This time, no one’s dead! And they’re in Greece! Okay, admittedly no one wants to hear Pierce Brosnan sing, but if you ignore him and focus on Meryl Streep the movie gets a lot better!”

This is not the first time Emily has heard argument on behalf of Mamma Mia! and it likely isn’t the last, either. Movie night in the Garcia-Prentiss household is in a state of constant debate and usually decided by a fair and unbiased coin toss. Emily considers it a miracle that Penelope’s lasted this long without putting up a fight, and considers it part of her generosity as their caretaker.

Emily scooches themself into a more upright position. “Trois coleurs: Bleu is a beautiful movie and you said you liked it, first of all. And I thought we were watching my movies because I’m the one healing.”

Penelope hesitates. “…Yes, but I may have also been doing a little eensy weensy bit of work at the same time because they’re also like, really slow and boring and Kevin needed the tiniest, tiniest bit of help on the Texas case.”

“Traitor!” Emily is aghast. “What about the deal?”

The deal, of course, was the promise they made each other after their third movie night. Emily was texting throughout The Muppets Take Manhattan and not entirely invested in Kermit and Miss Piggy’s wedding. Penelope was hurt, Emily was confused, and didn’t fully get it until Penelope fell asleep twenty minutes into Deux ou trois choses que je sais d'elle. From that point on, they agreed to compromise more on movie selection and to pay undivided attention to the films they did pick.

“You passed out! I thought the deal was void if you weren’t awake during your own movie!” Penelope said.

“Why didn't you wake me up?” Emily argued.

“Oh, yeah, I’m going to wake up the person who just had surgery so they can pay attention to the third sad foreign movie of the day. You need your rest, and Kevin has maybe half of my inimitable skills!” Penelope’s words were jumbling together as she went up an octave. “I know I’m on vacation but the team needed help and I didn’t want to abandon them with some computer monkey who doesn’t know the first thing about my system, much less the way the team works, and isn’t even a regular assist on cases like me and—”

Penelope is cut off by three short raps at their front door. A welcome escape.

“Pen!” Emily calls after her. “We’re not done here!”

“I think we are!” Penelope shouts back. She passes down the hall and peers through the peep hole, though, she really doesn’t need to. She recognizes the voices on the other side.

“We’re not too early, are we?”

“It’s two in the afternoon, genius.”

“I mean in days since Emily’s operation. They might not be up to company.”

“Then we’ll say hi to baby girl and head out, no big deal.”

Penelope swings the door wide open. “Definitely say hi to me, definitely do that!”

Morgan and Reid stand in their building’s hallway, Derek carrying bags of Chinese food, and Spencer juggling some sort of gift basket. Their eyes are tired and Derek’s stubble is looking rougher than usual, but they perk up in the light of their friend.

“Hey, there she is,” Morgan says. He comes in for a tight hug as he and Reid crowd themselves inside. “How’s everyone holdin’ up?”

“Peachy keen,” Penelope says. She squeezes Derek’s shoulder and leads them back to Emily by Reid’s hand. “Look who missed their favorite co-workers!”

“Hey, guys,” Emily says. Their heart warms at the sight of them. “What’re you doing here?”

“Now how’s that any way to greet a friend?” Morgan laughs. He lowers their takeout food to the coffee table and dives onto the couch beside Emily. “You been good to Garcia so far, or do we have to put the hurt on you?” He playfully punches Emily in their arm, and they cower in mock pain.

“Hey, no roughhousing!” Penelope scolds. “If anyone pulls any sort of muscle in the next twenty minutes, you’re all in timeout.”

Emily and Derek snicker in their seats and launch into the most recent case details. It’s a lot of the gory, icky stuff that Penelope doesn’t want to know unless she’s in her bat cave, so she takes Spencer and his basket into the kitchen.

“Doritos, huh?” he notices the bag Penelope drops on the counter. “You were trying to get something from them?”

Penelope answers with her head stuck in the fridge as she paws to the back for Spencer’s La Croix. “I may have wanted to watch one of my movies today, and I may have offered chips in payment.” She fishes a couple cans of LimonCello out, and huffs. “So what’s all this?”

“It’s from JJ. She wanted to come herself but didn’t think bringing Henry over was the best idea,” Spencer explains. He holds his drink gingerly with both hands and peers into the basket. It looks a lot like the one Penelope used for JJ’s baby shower, and is also definitely the same basket. Inside are a few bags of beef jerky, chocolate, a backscratcher with a little pink hand at its end, and an airline neck pillow with the Texas flag patterned over it.

“Awe. I’m definitely baking her cookies,” Penelope says. She leans back against the counter and eyes Spencer up and down. “Tough case?”

Spencer shifts from side to side and looks into the dark pit of his La Croix can. “Not much worse than usual. It was just… long. And Emily would’ve been a big help. None of us speak Spanish.”

“But you didn’t want to call right now,” Penelope guesses. “It’s all over though, right? All good? Everything wrapped up with a bow for good luck?”

Spencer nods and purses his lips. He looks over his shoulder to the living room, where Derek is describing something with his hands and Emily watches, wide-eyed and entertained. Spencer says, more to himself than Penelope, “It’s always good to be home.”

-❤-

Two Weeks Post-Op

“Emily Elizabeth Prentiss!”

Emily freezes with one arm reaching desperately above doctor-recommended height, and another gripping the cabinet door like their life depends on it. They press their forehead into the shelf, groaning, “That’s not my middle name.”

“I can make up whatever name I want! You know what Dr. Dolan said, and this is so far out of bounds!” Penelope stands in the kitchen threshold with her hands on her hips. She sighs and tugs Emily away from the cereal cabinet by their waist. When their arms are safely lowered to their sides, Penelope puts on her serious face, with her seriously furrowed eyebrows, and her serious frown on her lips. She asks, “Do you, like, want to injure yourself? Is this your new favorite hobby?”

Emily is petulant. “No, I want breakfast, and it’s on the third shelf. Let’s just pretend you got it for me, okay?”

Penelope grumbles her frustrations under her breath as she pulls down the family size box of Lucky Charms. She flurries around the space until she’s collected a bowl and spoon and settled them on the other side of the kitchen counter, where a bar stool and carton of milk wait for Emily.

“Sit,” Penelope orders. Emily complies with a glint in their eyes.

“Thank you,” they say, saturating their words with genuine love.

“Oh, stuff it.” Penelope pecks a kiss to their cheek regardless. She tries not to think about how cute Emily is when they’re smug, but it’s a losing battle. The way their nose scrunches, the smirk; not helping. Instead, Penelope picks a smidgeon of a fight.

“Your hair is greasy.”

And Emily’s face falls flat and exasperated. They let their spoon rest in the pool of marshmallows. “Can we do this after I eat?”

“Oh, lovebug. Absolutely not,” Penelope smiles knowingly. “You haven’t washed it in like, four days, which tells me that it’s not as easy as you said it was. Y’know, I was wondering who said washing your own hair was too much work immediately after having an operation? It would have to be someone super smart and beautiful and funny and—”

“It was you, Penelope. We all know it was you.”

“Funny; it was, wasn’t it?”

But Penelope lets them finish their cereal. She was about to eat her own Eggo waffles, after all. Once the dishes are rinsed and in the washer, she marches Emily straight into their bathroom. The tub thankfully doesn’t share a wall with the toilet, making it easier for Emily to scoot in next to the faucet. Penelope folds Emily’s towel (the towel that is dark purple, and not spring green, which Penelope keeps carefully out of the splash zone) (unlike Emily, who does not mind if their towel is damp long after it should be dry, and probably growing some type of mold) (okay, it’s not growing mold, but Penelope insists that it will eventually become mold-ridden if Emily doesn’t start hanging it up more consistently) along the side of the tub. Emily fits the towel under their neck, and Penelope guides them into position.

“Your hair is so thick,” Penelope comments.

Emily says, “You tell me that once a week.”

“Because it is. Now close your eyes.”

Penelope detaches the removable showerhead and lets the water warm her hand. When it’s a comfortable temperature, she douses Emily’s head. She maneuvers carefully around Emily’s forehead to avoid hitting their face, though Emily’s eyelids flutter when they worry the stream is near. Penelope thinks with their long eyelashes, they look like butterflies about to take flight.

She works the shampoo in with a gentle, but thorough touch. It’s when she rubs the lather into Emily’s scalp that Emily lets a soft moan break, and Penelope smiles. She takes pride in her work, whether she’s at her desk or in her soapy bathroom.

The shampoo swirls down the drain as Penelope rinses Emily free. Emily opens their eyes and tries to sit up, but Penelope pins their shoulders to the tub.

“Hold on! I haven’t conditioned yet.”

“Isn’t shampoo enough? We’re going to be here again in three days. It’s a hassle.”

Penelope does not think so. For the low price of two-thousand dollars and the risk of post-op complications, Penelope’s seen her girlfriend relax for the first time in, maybe ever. She’s going to drag it out as long as she can. Which, for right now, means dumping a handful of conditioner into her palm and rubbing it through the tips of Emily’s hair.

The final rinse is cleansing, like the weight falls from Emily’s shoulders. Penelope swipes the towel from Emily’s neck and cocoons their hair inside. She manages to keep their shirt dry, for the most part. Emily sits up with a pain in their shoulders, and does their best to hide it.

“What’s wrong?” Penelope prompts. Their best is not nearly good enough, not when Penelope has the analytical eye of someone who loves them. Penelope plants Emily on their shared bed for the first time since their surgery, already grateful to have a little of Emily’s smell in the room again. She sits behind them and overlaps their legs with hers. Penelope digs into the knots wound through their back as if she's torturing for information.

“It’s almost like you have a stressful job or something,” Penelope says.

Emily snorts. “Yeah, something like that.”

Penelope massages her way down until Emily feels looser under her fingers. She leans her head into the crook of Emily’s shoulder and presses a kiss to their skin. “We could ask for more time off,” she offers.

Emily slouches against Penelope’s body. “We could. But we have to go back at some point.”

“Let’s pretend we don’t.”

Emily exhales. “Sounds good to me.”

#penemily #penelope garcia #emily prentiss #criminal minds #penemily fic #text #mine #cm

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teacupfulofstarshine · 5 years ago

Text

LOVELY, DARK, AND DEEP: CHAPTER 7

cw: cursing, panic attack, anger, nonsexual nudity, extremely dubious/lacking morals, nonspecific mentions of unethical experimentation/vivisection, threats of violence towards loved ones, past child abandonment, nonspecific death threat mention, non-specific mention of human experimentation

chapter 1 // chapter 2 // chapter 3 // chapter 4 // chapter 5 // chapter 6 // read it on ao3!

word count: 7821

Logan cannot stop staring at his legs.

They’re so strange.

He pokes them with his finger, and then he pokes them again. And then he pokes them again, just for good measure, because what the fuck. They’re long and strange and the same color as his arms, which is weird, and instead of fins they end in weird, flat hands with small, flat, useless fingers, which is weirder. He can wiggle them if he really tries, but he doesn’t have anywhere near the same range of motion as he does with his hands.

He hates it.

Virgil quickly dumps his brother into the tank and hurries off, presumably to get his father and the other human, and Roman quickly pushes up above the edge of the tank. “Logan?! Are you okay?!”

Logan is shaking. “Roman, what’s happening to me?! Why am I like this?! I look like a human , I don’t understand - what’s happening?!”

“Sharkbait, hey, hey, breathe, it’s okay!” Roman reaches out and grips his hands tightly. “Sharkbait, you’re gonna be okay. I’m here, I’m right here and so’s Dad. The humans are bringing Dad right now, he’ll know what’s happening, he’ll sort all this out and you’ll be fine. You’ll be fine , okay?”

“What if this is permanent?! What if I never get my tail back?! What if I have to stay on land forever?!” Roman’s eyes blow wide with horror, and Logan feels his chest begin to tighten and seize up.

“That - no, that’s not going to happen, Lo,” Roman says. “We’re going to save you. We’re going to bring you back to us. We’re not losing you. We’re not, do you hear me?”

He sounds completely convinced. Logan isn’t convinced at all, but seeing his brother’s conviction still reassures him. He grabs at his brother’s hands, trying desperately to hold on to this little piece of his family. “I . . . I -!”

“Hey, shhhhhh, don’t worry. I’m here, I’m here. Dad’s coming, and I’m here. It’s gonna be okay.” Roman leans up to press his soaking forehead against Logan’s newly dry one, and Logan leans into the soft touch. “I’m here. You’re our pod, Sharkbait. Even if the human legs are permanent, we’re not gonna just ditch you. You’re my brother. You and Dad are the only family that I have left anymore.”

“You and Dad are the only family I have ever had,” Logan says. He can feel a strange type of water on his cheeks, and when he touches his face he realizes that he’s leaking too, just like Virgil had been earlier.

“We’re not abandoning you.”

Something clatters in the hallway, and he whirls around. Roman’s spines stiffen and flare out defensively, and Logan tries to prepare himself to flood the room with electricity before realizing with a sudden sinking feeling that he no longer has his electricity. He’s completely defenseless if he gets attacked right now.

He thanks the Seven Mother Goddesses when he realizes that it’s just Virgil and the other human, coming with his dad in one of those little mobile oceans. They slide the mobile ocean to a halt next to Roman’s tank, and Patton launches himself in with a splash before reaching up to touch Logan’s hand.

“Dad . . .” Logan says. He hates the way his voice trembles. “Dad, I . . . wh . . . what’s happening to me?”

Oh, guppy, his dad says. I never wanted you to find out this way.

“Wh - what? What do you mean, find out this way, Dad? What am I supposed to find out?”

“Um, would someone care to fill us in, please?” Virgil asks. Roman starts to translate for them, but everything that isn’t his dad’s voice fades away to static buzz in Logan’s ears.

You weren’t born a mer. Not like Roman was, guppy. Haven’t you ever wondered why you only have one set of these? His dad’s gills flare out as he breathes, and Logan’s vision begins to blur.

“Wh . . . what?”

You were born as a human. You had a normal human life with normal human parents and a normal human family. But you were killed at sea, and your body was thrown into the ocean. It must have been a full moon, and the Seven Mother Goddesses must have taken pity on you and transformed you into a mer. It is rare, but I have heard of it happening. I had thought that you would spend your whole life in the ocean, and never know of your true origin, but it did not turn out that way.

“I . . . I used to be . . . a what?”

Roman’s eyes are wide, jaw slack. “You . . . Sharkbait, Dad says . . . he says . . . you were a . . . a human . . .”

“What?” Virgil whispers, eyes wide. “That . . . what?”

Logan stares at his father. The water rippling above his face creates a distortion, but Logan swears that his father looks sad. Regretful.

I am so sorry, guppy. When we found you, you were miserable. I knew that telling you what you had lost would only make you more so. I did not want that for you. I have never wanted that for you. For either of you .

Logan runs his free hand down his leg again. It’s one of the weirdest physical sensations he’s ever encountered. “I . . . I used to be . . . human?”

Not for centuries, guppy. You have been mer for far longer than you were ever human.

Roman stares at him with an unreadable expression in his eyes. Logan reaches for his brother, and Roman hesitates for just a moment before reaching back to take his hand.

That moment is enough to break Logan’s heart.

“Are - will you kick me out of your pod now?” he says, not even daring to refer to it as his pod. “Since I am not a real -”

A loud, furious screech rises up from the tank where his father is, and Logan gasps when he sees all of the little lights on the edges of his fins begin to flare so brightly he can’t bear to look. Roman shields his eyes, and Logan notices the two humans ducking down. Thomas throws his body over Virgil’s protectively, and the water in the tank begins to churn.

DO NOT EVER PRESUME TO UTTER SUCH BLASPHEMIES AGAINST ME AGAIN, his father thunders, water surging up around him in a column as he rises up. YOU ARE MY SON, AND ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE WILL FACE AN UNTIMELY END AT MY HANDS. The captured stars that illuminate the room begin to flicker, and Logan hears the humans whimper.

“Dad! Dad, you have to calm down!” Logan shouts. “Please!”

The figure in the column turns its glowing eyes on him, and Logan reaches a hand up. He doesn’t know if he can still speak his native tongue in this fragile human body, but he’s sure as hell going to try.

“Dad! Please!” His voice is harsh and grating, and when he tries to speak his words all come out mangled and broken. “No fight! Stop! Please!”

The water hovers in the air for only a moment more before abruptly falling back into the tank. His father coils around the bottom of the tank, regretful. I am sorry, guppy. I did not mean to get so . . . out of sorts.

“It’s alright, Dad,” Logan says.

You and your brother are my pod. You are my guppies. I have known you since you were no bigger than my fin. I will not allow anything to threaten or harm you. You will always be a part of my pod, no matter what happens.

“Are you alright?” Thomas asks, still crouched protectively over Virgil. “Logan, is your dad okay?”

“Yes, Thomas, he is.”

Apologize to him for me?

“He apologizes for terrifying you. It was not his intention. He simply gets . . . protective.”

“Understandable,” Thomas shrugs. “I get the same way around my protege here.”

“Doc!” Virgil hisses, face rapidly turning that strange red color humans sometimes turn. Logan notices that Virgil refuses to look at him, and he frowns. It feels as though his heart has been replaced with a sea urchin.

“Are you upset with me, Virgil?” he says.

Virgil blinks. “What? Why would you think that?”

“You are not looking at me. You have not looked at me since I gained these human appendages. Have I angered you in some way? I do not understand, but I apologize for whatever I have done to -”

“No!” Virgil yelps. “God - no, Lo, I’m not mad at you,” he says. “I’m not mad, I promise. I’m sorry, I’m not mad, I just - you - you’re not wearing any clothes.”

“What is ‘clothes’?” Roman asks. Virgil tugs at the coverings he wears. “Logan hasn’t worn those since he’s been here! None of us have!”

“Yeah, but you guys aren’t - your lower halves - I -”

Logan blinks. “You are referring to my exposed genitalia?”

Virgil turns even redder and makes a very strange squeaking noise, burying his face in his hands. “Yes! You need to put some clothes on, Jesus Christ, where were you even hiding that?!”

“We have an area in our -”

“It was a rhetorical question and I very much do not want to know the answer!” Virgil shrieks.

“I’ll get you some clothes,” Thomas says. “Virgil, can you -”

“I will go get the clothing!” Virgil says immediately, standing up and staring very fixedly at the floor. “I will get the clothing. I will go now.”

“Get him a pair of my sweatpants and a t-shirt, okay?” Virgil nods, hurrying out of the lab as fast as Logan has ever seen him move. Logan squints after him as he goes. “Are you okay, Logan?”

“I find that my vision is somewhat impaired,” Logan says. “I do not like this.” Thomas makes one of those strange human thinking noises and peers at Logan closely. Logan does his best not to flinch away from Thomas, peering back at him. Roman growls at Thomas’s proximity to Logan, but Logan doesn’t protest.

“You had electroreception to help you see, right?”

“That is correct.”

“You don’t have it anymore, do you?”

“I do not currently have access to my electricity.” Thomas makes another thinking noise and pulls a small white object from his pocket. It looks like the thing that Virgil makes his draws on, but when Thomas produces his stick he doesn’t make draws. He makes interesting-looking squiggles on the white thing.

“I wonder if glasses would help you,” Thomas says. “We’ll have to explore that later, depending on how long you’re human like this.” Logan looks at his dad as a sudden burst of terror spikes through his chest. He hadn’t considered that this might last.

“How - how long will I be like this, Dad?” he asks. Roman is staring at their father with a terrified anger painted openly across his face. “Will this be permanent? Will I have to stay here without you?”

“Never,” Roman snarls, spines ruffling and standing on end. “I don’t care if you have legs forever, there’s no way I’m leaving you here with these humans! You’re not a human, you’re my brother!” Logan looks at his Dad, refusing to look anywhere else. He wants to hear the answer more than anything. He never wants to hear the answer.

It has been a long time since I encountered a human-mer that changed frequently, his father says wearily. My memory of those times is fading now. Logan forgets, sometimes, how old their father is. But if my memories are correct, you will retain this form irreversibly for a full day and night. After that, you will regrow your tail and gills when you touch the water of the sea. Once you fully dry, your legs will return.

“What did he say?” Thomas asks gently. Logan feels something wet on his face, and lifts his hand up to feel it. “Are you okay? You’re crying.”

“Is that what this is?” Logan asks. His voice sounds thick and far away, distant to his own ears. “I . . . I am leaking?”

“You’re crying,” Thomas says. “It’s what humans do when we have so much emotion we don’t know how to express it properly. You’ll be alright.” He gently touches Logan’s shoulder, and such a simple gesture should send sparks shooting through Logan as though he’s accidentally shocked himself, but it does. “What did your dad say?”

“I - I will have these legs for a full day and night. After that, touching seawater will allow me to regrow my tail, and drying completely will allow me to grow legs again.” Thomas smiles, broad and happy, flashing his teeth as he squeezes his shoulder.

“That’s amazing! So you’ll be able to rejoin your family and go home once your injuries heal, that’s good!”

“What’s good?” Virgil calls, hurrying down the stairs with a bundle of strange objects in his arms. Thomas takes them from him, shaking them out and laying them over one of the nearby tables.

“Logan’s gonna have his legs for a day, and then he’ll get his tail when he touches salt water. Once he completely dries off, he’ll get his legs back.” Virgil smiles at that, cheeks still pink, and Logan has to stop himself from reaching out to touch him.

“That’s good. I’m glad he’ll get his tail back. But for now, we should get him into some clothes.”

“Agreed. Logan, can you stand up?” Logan blinks at Thomas.

“Can I . . . what?”

Thomas gestures to the way he and Virgil are currently positioned. “Stand up, like this. Can you do that?” Logan tilts his head, frowning at the humans. They both move so easily through the air, the way that he and Roman and their dad move through the water. Logan’s never tried to do anything like that before - he’s never had legs before, no reason to think he would ever have them. But now that he has them, now that he’s stuck with them for at least the foreseeable future, doesn’t he owe it to himself to at least try?

Something presses close in the back of his mind, sliding into the front and winding its way around his train of thought like an eel, like a tangled piece of seaweed, like the tentacles of an enormous squid: if he grows legs again and learns to use them properly, there is potential to come and visit these humans again, to visit Virgil again, and he cannot shake the way his entire body lights up with electric fire at the thought of regular visits and Virgil teaching him to make more draws and Virgil’s smile and Virgil’s quiet, stifled laughter and Virgil’s everything -

Logan’s not used to having two appendages below the waist. He’s used to just his tail, which moves all at once in a smooth, fluid motion. When he tries to turn, he’s shocked to see that the leg on the right moves, but the one on the left does not. There’s a painful tugging sensation between them when he spreads them too far apart, so he carefully moves his other leg. They swing over the edge of the table, dangling the way his tail sometimes does, and experimentally leans forward.

The weird hands at the end of his legs touch the ground, and Logan frowns at the sensation. It’s cold, smooth stone - no, not stone, something else, something hard and smooth but decidedly not stone, something human-made - and he shivers a little. He’s unsure how to proceed until Thomas sits down next to him.

“You’ve never stood up before, have you?”

“I have never had legs before, to my knowledge. I mean . . . I must have had them when I was a human, but . . . but I do not remember that time.”

“Not at all?” Virgil asks. He’s looking in Logan’s direction now, although his eyes appear to be fixated somewhere above Logan’s head. “Nothing of your human life?”

“No,” Logan says softly. “I have no memories of my human life. I did not even know I had a human life, before recently.” Virgil makes a noise that might be sad, might be angry, might be confused, might be a million different things. Before Logan can even blink, Virgil is standing in front of him, holding his hands out, eyes staring straight into Logan’s.

“Here,” he says softly.

“Here what?”

“Here, take my hands. I’ll help you.”

Logan hesitates for only a moment before reaching up and placing his hands into Virgil’s. His hands are broad and warm, and there are rough patches around his fingers and the parts of his hand where they connect, but they’re also soft and comforting. He squeezes Logan’s hands and smiles gently at him. “You’re gonna be alright,” he says softly. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall and get hurt. Well, more than you already are, anyway.” Virgil huffs out a soft laugh and takes a step backward, pulling Logan along.

Logan manages to stand for a few precious, wobbly seconds, holding Virgil’s hands tightly all the while, before wobbling and pitching forward. Virgil surges toward him, and Logan closes his eyes to brace himself for an imminent collision with the floor.

Instead, his face presses into something soft and warm and still strong, and arms wrap around him, and he hears Virgil make a soft, almost wounded noise. “Gotcha!” Logan opens his eyes to find himself slumped against Virgil, having all but collapsed into him, and Virgil’s arms are wound around him tightly. Logan looks up, and Virgil’s face is close, closer than it’s ever been. His eyes are bright and wide, and his little brown face scales (what had Virgil called them? Freckles?) are prominent against the pink of his cheeks, and his mouth is open in a soft little pink round shape that Logan wants more than anything to touch.

They stare at each other for a time that could be forever or fantastically short. Suddenly, Virgil’s face jumps from pretty pink to burning red, and he begins to sputter. Logan blinks at him, and then he realizes what Virgil has noticed. Virgil’s position is changed now that he’s caught Logan, now that he’s holding Logan, and his hands are dangerously close to Logan’s exposed genitalia.

Virgil pushes forward, shifting Logan’s body along with his own, and Logan lets him without resistance. He lets himself be maneuvered into a standing position, and even though Virgil has returned to not looking at him, he keeps Logan’s hands tightly in his own. “Let’s get some clothes on you before we try walking, okay?”

Logan nods, letting Virgil change and adjust his positioning to keep him steady. Thomas hands something to Virgil, who reaches out and carefully pushes it over Logan’s head. “Here we go . . . let me help you, let me move your arms. This way, through this hole . . . careful, I don’t wanna get your head stuck . . .”

Before Logan knows what’s happening, the clothes has been securely pulled around the upper half of his body. Thomas holds the other clothes, crumpling them up strangely and wrapping a hand around Logan’s leg. “Lift . . . here, through here . . . good, now put that one down, you’re gonna lift the other one . . . whoa, don’t lose your balance now, Virgil, catch him -! There we go, you’re all suited up! Just gotta pull these up, aaaaaand . . . done!”

Logan pulls at the clothes around him. The one over his chest is loose and baggy, and the ones around his new legs pool around the strange flat hands. “What are these?” Logan asks. Virgil touches the clothes over his chest.

“This is a shirt.” His hand travels down to point to the one around his legs. “These are called pants.”

“Oh - thank you, but I - I meant, what are these?” Logan lifts his leg and carefully wiggles the flat hand on the end of it. Virgil tilts his head, leaning down to poke it.

“Your feet?”

“A feet?”

Virgil laughs, and Logan wants to hear that sound forever. “Feet is plural. You have two feet, one foot on each leg.”

“They look like flat hands,” Logan says honestly. “And the fingers are more terrible than my other ones.” Virgil laughs more, one hand coming up to cover his eyes.

“Those are called toes, Logan, they don’t have the dexterity of your fingers. They’re mostly there to help you balance while you walk.”

“I do not know how to do that.”

“What, balance?”

“No. Walk.” Virgil smiles at him, soft as sunshine filtering through the warm spring water.

“I can teach you, if you’re interested. I know you won’t have legs for very long, but -”

“I am,” Logan blurts out. “Interested. Very much so. I dislike being immobile in any context. Would you be so kind as to teach me?”

Virgil smiles, and Logan wants to see that sight forever. “Of course, Logan.”

*~*~*~*~*

“You can see here, ma’am, that our section D nets have been overwhelmingly productive this month. We have acquired many fine specimens and -”

“What of your progress in locating net 17-C?”

“We . . . have not yet located it, ma’am.”

“And are you still trying to locate net 17-C?”

“I . . .”

The scientist quails under the icy weight of her stare. “You do understand that when I specifically request something done, it is because I consider it to be of the highest priority, do you not?”

“I do, ma’am.”

“And you do understand that I am in control, not only of your gainful employment, your livelihood, but also your very life at this present moment.”

“I - I do, ma’am.”

“You have a husband and a young daughter at home, do you not?” She stares at him, and he does his very best not to flinch. He swallows, hard.

“That - that I do.”

“Such a shame, wouldn’t it be, if they were to receive a call that you were never again to come home?”

“It - it certainly would, m - ma’am.”

“Then I suggest you divert all available resources to locating net 17-C. I will not let whatever it captured escape me a second time. I want that net found and I want whatever it captured in my labs as soon as possible, or I will have to make a very unpleasant phone call - well, unpleasant for you, at the very least.”

The scientist nods, swallowing, and watches her walk away, shoes clicking against the floor. He downs what’s left of his morning coffee and pulls up his screen again, combing through drone footage by hand.

She makes her way back to her office, where her secretary waits with a tablet in her hand. “I tire of constantly reminding them their priorities,” she sighs, slumping onto the couch. The secretary smiles sympathetically, pulling up a screen with a string of ominous red text.

“Would you like me to terminate him, ma’am?”

“No, not yet. For all his incompetence, he is a decent scientist, and I do not feel like searching for a replacement. Besides, now that he has been reminded of his proper task, I have hopes that he will perform as expected.”

“Would you like me to update you on the progress of our experiments in the labs, or would you prefer that I continue to monitor the search for net 17-C?”

“There will likely not be news of net 17-C for a while, since I had to kickstart the research myself. Inform me of the progress on my experiments.”

“Of course, ma’am. Let me pull up the data. Which experiment would you prefer to receive an update for first?”

“Oh . . . how is the toxicity of that jelly-pufferfish hybrid coming along? Any promising results?”

“Efficacy appears to have increased by twenty percent since implementing the use of CRISPR technology you recommended, ma’am. You were correct, as always. The final round of animal testing is scheduled for later this week. Is this acceptable, or should we push it forward?”

“Hmmm . . . that timeline is acceptable, for now. Am I correct in assuming that plans are already underway for human trials?”

“I have reached out to the usual suppliers with our demands, ma’am. Still waiting for response.”

“How long?”

“Approximately twelve hours. I anticipate a response before twenty-four.”

“Satisfactory. If you do not receive one within that time frame, you may begin to initiate appropriate measures. On to the next.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The secretary dutifully runs through four or five more experiments in progress, most of which are still in the midst of animal testing, and a few experiments revolving around live specimens in captivity. “That just brings us to the results of the weather analysis you requested.”

“Ah, yes.” She sits up, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “The weather patterns from the night that net 17-C was disrupted. Have you tracked the tidal movement?”

“I have, ma’am.”

“Accounting for wind and wave conditions?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“What have you found?” Her eyes burn with the intensity of a supernova, and it is only through experience and practice that the secretary does not flinch under such a sight. She only swipes across the tablet to pull up a map of the shoreline and turns it around.

“With the greatest possible degree of scientific certainty, we believe that this area is the most likely place for net 17-C to have washed up.” Red slashes denote a stretch of beach around three miles long. She hums, poking at the tablet in the secretary’s hand.

“I trust you have done the cursory research? Who owns the property?”

“I encountered a brief legal snafu, but it was nothing I could not overcome. If I am not mistaken, the results should be coming in riiiiiiiight . . . now.” The tablet dings, and the secretary turns it around to inspect the property report she has received. She is unable to control her disgusted expression.

“What? You seem distressed.”

“It appears, ma’am, that the property in question, as well as all surrounding areas, is under the direct ownership of one Doctor Thomas Sanders.” She scowls, reaching to the bun in her hair and pulling out a hairpin. With precision efficiency, she whirls around and throws it towards the far wall. It impales itself neatly in the center of a cluster of small holes.

“That man has been a thorn in my side for far too long,” she snarls. “What with his insistence on preservation and rehabilitation and other such nonsense. The earth is at our disposal! Do we not have the right - nay, the responsibility - as scientists to advance human progress? If other creatures must suffer, they lack the cognizance to understand that they are sacrificed for the greater good. Humanity above all must progress.”

“Do you think he found net 17-C?” the secretary asks carefully.

And whatever it caught, she doesn’t say.

“It is possible. I know that he beachcombs with that brainwashed doctoral student he keeps on a leash after storms. It’s pathetic. The larger your heart, the smaller your brain. How that man acquired a doctorate will forever remain a mystery to me.”

“Would you like me to increase drone patrols near that section of ocean?”

“It can’t hurt. He doesn’t do enough deep-water research to notice them, as long as we are clever about it. Increase the frequency, and set up remote surveillance on his property. It’s fairly secluded, but we should be able to glean enough data if we’re careful.”

“And what sort of data are we looking for, ma’am?”

“I want the schedule of comings and goings from his house. If we can isolate times when the house is empty, it will allow us access to his laboratory. I am certain that if net 17-C truly did wash ashore on his property, Sanders will be attempting to rehabilitate whatever specimen we acquired. He is too soft for science.”

“Very good, ma’am.”

“I want you to set up the lab to receive new specimens.”

“Which lab, ma’am?”

“My personal lab. Whatever net 17-C managed to catch, it is clearly troublesome. It will require a firm hand to manage.”

The secretary is stunned, but doesn’t show it. “As you wish, ma’am. What type of specimen shall I prepare your lab for?”

“Anything in the sunfish to great white range. And prepare it for human containment as well.”

“Moving straight to human testing, ma’am?”

She grins, teeth flashing in the harsh afternoon sunlight. “Sanders stole something precious from me when he took net 17-C and whatever it contains. Let us see how well his soft heart reacts when he loses something precious to him, hmm?”

The secretary makes a note. “Shall I prepare the room for vivisection, ma’am?”

“Hmm . . . not yet. We shall hold off until we discover what exactly net 17-C caught. You are dismissed.”

“As you wish, ma’am.”

*~*~*~*~*

Virgil definitely feels much more comfortable now that Logan has clothing on. He also feels much more uncomfortable, because Logan and Roman are now fighting loudly. Patton is swimming around in his tank, fins swishing irritably, and the occasional grating melody floats up from the water, but neither merman seems to be listening.

“You seem to be doing just fine!” Roman snarls. All of his spines are standing straight up on end, and he looks like a sea urchin or a particularly enraged porcupine. Virgil would be laughing if he wasn’t completely terrified. “Not a care in the world about your precious fucking legs, is there?”

“I am just as upset over this as you are!” Logan snaps. He’s returned to sitting on the lab table, legs neatly folded underneath him (not without a significant amount of effort), and his hands are shaking as he balls them into fists. He’s staring in Roman’s direction, but his eyes are unfocused, probably due to his poor eyesight.

“Really? Because you certainly seem to be perfectly fine with the situation! You like the humans well enough to abandon your own pod for them?! Were you ever even part of this pod to begin with?!”

Logan’s spine stiffens, ramrod straight. Patton stops moving in his little tank. Virgil holds his breath and stands silent, making eye contact with an equally silent Thomas. “What?” Logan’s voice is so quiet that they can barely hear it, barely more than an exhale, but it echoes like a gunshot in the silence.

“You heard me,” Roman bites out viciously. “What would you know about pod? What do you know about family? Dad gave you everything and you’re willing to throw it away for - for these humans?! I guess it takes a human to know one, doesn’t it? You have a pod already, one that loves you more than anything , one that would have given up their own lives to get you back and then you abandon us for strangers?! How dare you?! How dare you give up on a pod that actually fucking wanted you?!”

There are tears streaming down Roman’s face; he grips the edge of the tank so hard that Virgil is legitimately concerned he’ll crack the glass. Water roars up from Patton’s tank in a coiled stream and smacks Roman’s head. The music picks up in tempo and volume, almost drowned by the harsh rasping undertones, and Virgil fights not to cover his ears.

Roman whirls around to stare at his father. “Dad, what the hell, what are you -”

A tail appears from Patton’s tank, light blue that shimmers rainbow beneath the fluorescent lights, and it slaps down against Roman. Virgil can’t stop himself from whimpering nervously when Roman’s agitated spines prick Patton. One spine even remains stuck in Patton’s tail when he pulls back, but he doesn’t seem bothered.

“How,” Logan says, “could you possibly interpret my curiosity and gratitude towards the humans who saved my life and my interest in a culture I know nothing about as abandonment? You have no idea how distraught I was when I realized where I had woken up! Just because these humans turned out to be relatively harmless does not mean that I do not still need my pod!” His voice is getting louder and higher and angrier, and he swallows hard before speaking again with a distinct tremor.

“I still need my big brother and my father, Roman. I was so happy when you and Dad came for me, I was so happy to know that my pod was going to protect me and bring me home. Are - are you telling me that . . . that I will not be able to return home with you after all? Are you kicking me out of -”

“NO!” The noise tears its way out of Roman’s throat, strangled and unnatural, and he grips his own hair so tightly he’s practically tearing it out. Logan reaches down hesitantly, gently touching Roman’s hands, and when his brother doesn’t react negatively he carefully disentangles Roman’s fingers from his hair.

“Roman,” Logan says softly. “I am right here. I will not leave you, Roman. I promise. I am sorry I scared you, but I will not abandon you. Not like they did.”

“Who?” Virgil asks softly. Roman’s spines ruffle again, but they soften enough for Logan to lean in and hug his brother. Roman pushes his face into the curve of Logan’s neck and shoulder, and a keening wail escapes the tight embrace. “Is he alright?”

“He will be,” Logan says softly, stroking his hand through Roman’s soaking wet hair. “And to answer your question, Roman has a . . . somewhat complicated past.”

“You don’t have to tell us anything that you don’t want to,” Thomas says. “You know that, right?” Logan nods, gently touching Roman’s shoulder.

“Roman? Thomas and Virgil are asking questions about the manner in which you found Patton when you were young. May I disclose this information?” Roman makes another sad noise, but he nods into Logan’s shoulder.

“Roman was born to a pod of mer with similar physiology to his own as far as coloring, build, size, detachable spines, and the like. Unlike them, however, Roman’s spines are poisonous. This is a rare trait, thought by his birth pod to be a curse from the Seven Mother Goddesses for some failing on the part of the guppy or the parents. Roman managed to successfully conceal his toxins for a while, but . . .”

“But not forever,” Virgil says softly. He rubs his left wrist, where a small rainbow-patterned bracelet is tightly tied. “Eventually, they found out. They always find out.” Thomas shoots him a concerned look out of the corner of his eye; Virgil steadfastly ignores it.

Logan nods quietly. “When Roman’s so-called ‘curse’ was discovered, his pod cast him out. They believed that getting rid of him would lift the curse the Seven Mother Goddesses had placed on them. All things considered, he was relatively lucky that his mother was the daughter of their pod leader.”

“She was? Does that make him some kind of prince or something?”

“No, but it did accord him a status and prestige that most mer do not have. The standard penalty for poisonous spines on a mer is death in Roman’s part of the ocean.”

“Death?”

“Indeed. Roman’s mother pleaded for leniency for her son, and Roman’s lucky to have received it. They abandoned him to fend for himself as a guppy. He was barely old enough to fend for himself, barely old enough to hunt and catch his own food, he - he was a guppy. He was just a guppy.” Logan’s voice shakes with anger as he speaks.

“How did he find Patton?”

“Dad was injured,” Roman rasps, face still hidden in Logan’s neck. “Humans on a boat. They - they fired a harpoon at him. It went through his chest, he - he couldn’t move to hunt. He was injured, he was dying, he . . .”

Patton rears up out of his tank, water surrounding his head and neck, and reaches out to touch Roman’s shoulder. Virgil can’t tear his eyes away from the pale starburst scar covering Patton’s chest. He’s littered with scars, some bigger than others, but the starburst on his chest is the most prominent, raised and ropey.

“I helped him,” Roman says. “I brought him food, I bandaged him up, I scared away as many predators as I could . . .”

Patton responds, squeezing his shoulder, before he sinks back into the tank. “When Dad recovered, he . . . he told me that he wanted me. I told him I was cursed, and he told me that . . . that I was special. That he wanted me. And he . . .”

Roman touches the band of light blue scales on his left bicep, the band that matches Logan’s arm and Patton’s tail. “He told me I belonged to him. That I was part of his pod now. Dad and Lo, they’re the only family I’ve known for centuries now. I love them. I . . . I can’t lose them. I can’t.”

“You will not lose me,” Logan says firmly. “I swear that I will not abandon you or Dad. I have never had a family before the two of you, and I never will again. You are so indescribably important to me that I cannot possibly begin to put into words how devastated I would be if I were to wake up and find out that you had abandoned me. I love you, Roman, and Dad.”

“I know that,” Roman rasps quietly. “I’m sorry I implied that you didn’t. I - I just - I was so -”

“I know,” Logan says. “I am not mad, Roman. Not anymore.”

“That’s why this whole thing happened,” Roman says. Virgil watches his hand curl into a fist on Logan’s back. “We were fighting, and I . . . made you mad at me, and that’s why you swam off. I . . . I can’t . . . I can’t wrap my head around losing you again, and having it be all my fault, again .”

“It was not your fault the first time,” Logan admonishes. “We were fighting because we can both be stubborn and hard-headed and unable to recognize the truth in the words of another. We are both to blame for the argument, but neither of us is to blame for what the humans did to me.”

Virgil’s gaze lingers on the freshly re-wrapped bandages covering what’s visible of Logan’s arms and legs and torso. When he’d grown legs, the wounds on his tail had transferred, and some of them had been reopened. Virgil had very deliberately not looked at Logan’s face when he cleaned the wounds.

“This is not your fault,” Logan says firmly, holding Roman tightly. “You are not to blame for what happened to me. I did not die, and I was not captured by humans who seek to exploit me. Thomas and Virgil rescued me.”

Roman turns his head from where it’s hidden in Logan’s shoulder to look at Virgil. “Thank you,” he says quietly. “For saving my brother’s life. For bringing him off the beach and wrapping his wounds and cleaning the poison from his body. He would have died if you hadn’t saved him. I - I know that I’ve been . . . less than happy to see you, to be in your little fake oceans. I’ve had . . . bad experiences with humans in the past, so many, with so many different humans. But I . . . you . . . thank you. You and Thomas both, but . . . but I understand that you were the one who found him first. That you’ve been talking him through all of this. Thank you.”

Virgil reaches a hand forward. Roman flinches a little, but he slowly takes Virgil’s hand. His hand is wet and scaled, but when Virgil squeezes he squeezes back.

“You’re welcome,” Virgil says.

“You’re welcome,” Thomas says. “And all three of you are more than welcome to stay here in our lab until we catch whoever it is that set the net. You’re welcome to go and hunt in the waters off our property, and you can bring it back here for Logan to eat or we can bring in fish to feed him.”

Patton’s voice floats through the air again. “We . . . we think we would like that,” Roman says softly. “Very much.”

“Roman,” Logan says. Roman turns to look up at his younger brother, and Logan quietly says, “I intend to return here, once I am fully healed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Virgil is different to any other human I’ve ever encountered. Thomas as well. They are . . . strange. Tolerable. I would like to learn more about human customs, and I think that they can teach me. I would like to practice using my legs, so that I can interact more efficiently with humans. They can teach me to blend in more efficiently.”

“You would willingly come back here?” Roman says. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Sharkbait, what if something happens to you?”

“I would never let that happen,” Virgil says. Thomas raises an eyebrow, and Virgil quickly amends his statement. “ We would never let that happen. Doc and I, we won’t let anything happen to your brother.”

Roman frowns. “I still don’t like this. I don’t like the idea of you coming back to the human world, especially after what happened to you. Dad, what do you think?” Patton is quiet for a moment, swishing around in his tank, but when his voice is audible again it sounds firm, determined.

“What?!”

“What?” Virgil asks. “What did he say?”

“He . . . agrees with me,” Logan says, eyes wide and stunned. “He thinks it is a good idea that I learn to stay here and blend in with the humans. It would be a good idea in case we need to know what is happening in the human world. And he . . . he thinks I am capable of making my own decisions.” Roman looks extremely upset, but Patton is still speaking. He sounds a little softer now.

“Dad says that if you are agreeable with it, he and Roman might also return to visit,” Logan says. “He wants to know more about humans as well, and he trusts the two of you since you took care of me and helped him find me again.”

“I’m not opposed to it,” Thomas says. “We can learn from each other - we teach you about humans, you teach us about mer. Roman, we could start with you.” Roman tenses up immediately.

“Me? What do you mean, me?”

“The poison in your spines,” Thomas says, He turns to Virgil, a familiar didactic twinkle in his eye. “Any speculations, Virgil?”

Virgil hums, stepping over to the whiteboard and pulling a marker from his pocket. “It could be Mendelian inheritance. Poison could be a recessive gene, something that only occurs under a very specific set of genetic circumstances.”

“What does that mean?” Roman says, sounding a little less suspicious than before.

“There’s something inside you called DNA,” Virgil says, drawing a very basic helix on the whiteboard. “It makes up your blood and your cells and stuff, and it’s basically the pattern that your body uses to make itself. Your parents had the potential for poisonous spines, and the majority of your birth pod probably had it, too.”

“But only I have poison,” Roman says. “Why is that?”

“Look at it this way,” Virgil says. “You need at least two copies of a certain sequence or pattern in order to have poison in your spines. Your parents each had one copy, and most of the other mer in your pod either had one copy or no copies. You were born with two copies, so you have poison.”

“So . . . I’m not cursed?” Roman sounds like a small child, painfully hopeful, eyes wide and flickering between doubt and happiness.

“No, you are not,” Virgil says firmly. “You are not cursed in the slightest.”

“I never believed that you were cursed,” Logan says firmly. “Your poison is a gift, just like my electricity. It makes you a more efficient predator and offers you more protection.” Roman rolls his eyes and scoffs, but he still hugs Logan more tightly.

“Would you permit us to study your spines?” Thomas asks Roman. “I want to analyze your poison.”

“Will it hurt?” Roman asks.

“No. Your spines are detachable, right? You can fire them at will?”

“I can.”

“All you would have to do is fire a spine or two, and we could analyze it. It doesn’t have to be right now, you can think about it, but I promise you that it wouldn’t hurt you anymore than firing your spines normally would.” Roman nods at him, and Patton speaks again.

“Dad says you are more than welcome to study him, if you wish, so long as you tell him what you are doing beforehand and ask his permission.”

“Same goes for me,” Roman says quickly.

“Of course,” Thomas says. “We would never perform any sort of science without your explicit consent. That’s not how we operate. We’re ethical scientists. I’d have you sign consent forms if, y’know, you knew how to write.”

Virgil laughs a little, but Roman and Logan seem genuinely reassures. Roman presses close to Logan with a soft noise before slithering back into the water and submerging both of his sets of gills again.

Logan shifts his attention to Virgil. “I have a question.”

“Yeah?”

“I would like to see what my face looks like. Is there a way in which that could be made possible? I have seen my face when I still had my tail, in reflections on the surface of the water, but I can no longer feel the scales on my face. I suspect that my appearance has changed in more ways than just my legs.”

“I can get a mirror,” Virgil says. “Wait here, okay?” He hurries to his bedroom and grabs the small mirror he uses to put on his eyeshadow before running back down to the laboratory. “This should work.”

Logan takes the mirror and holds it close to his face, squinting. “He’s definitely nearsighted,” Thomas mutters, poking at his phone screen. “I wonder if there’s anything we can do about that . . .”

Virgil is distracted by the soft happy noise that Logan makes, nose pressed so close to the mirror it’s almost touching. “Virgil! Look at my face! We match now!”

“What?” Logan looks up, eyes gleaming, and touches his cheek and nose. Where he’d previously had a mask-like band of dark blue scales (which Virgil suspects might double as electroreceptors), there is now a band of dense freckles. They thin on his forehead, clustering thickest under his eyes and splashed across the bridge of his nose.

“I have brown face scales just like you!” Logan’s joy is almost palpable, and his eyes are wide and sparkling. He is full of a pure, childlike wonder, and Virgil can’t stop the laughter bubbling up in his chest from flying through his throat and spilling into the air.

“They’re called freckles,” Virgil says happily, “and you’re right. We do match.”

“I am very happy that I match the first nice human I have ever met,” Logan says, grinning widely. Virgil can’t stop himself from smiling back, even with Thomas’s mocking facial expressions in the corner of his eye.

Yeah, he’s pretty damn happy about it, too.

#starshinewrites #lovely dark and deep #ldad #romantic analogical #sanders sides #platonic TLAMP

484 notes · View notes

aloera · 3 years ago

Note

The ask prompt is too long to fit into an ask TT_TT but here's the doc for it docs(.)google(.)com/document/d/1yDI7iFRhOJ8ENv_IwZAo3rDSUqj80EiJROS10RzRbj4/edit

the lengths u are going for this,,, much appreciated you're very sweet!!!

prompts + answers under the cut!!

INTRODUCTION

Name: aloera

AO3 account: aloera

Fandoms you write for: bnha

How many stories have you written so far: 19

FANFICTION PROFILE

What's your favorite fandom to write for? hmm,,, used to do pjo and eah (ever after high) and eah was fun as fuck i will say!!! i think bnha is my fav mostly bc i made the most friends in this fandom :D

What's your favorite character/person to write for? bkg and kirishima!! cannot choose do not make me <3

Fic you'd want to improve? probably what we deserve? i rushed the beginning and the confession is a bit stilted imo

Hardest fic you've written? between lion and men -_- bc there is so much canon compliant stuff i've gotta write out before i get to the divergence and its HARD

Easiest fic you've written? come home to me!!! it happened so easily,,, no second guessing no writers block just vibes <33 was lovely i miss it

What would you say is the most "famous" fic you've ever written? also probably come home to me? its got the most interaction

first line of the first fic you've ever written and published. [not including my 2014 ffnet fics] "The bell rings, class starts, and Katsuki and Midoriya are inexplicably absent." from come home to me

Have you ever done a collab with another writer? yes!!!!! on two separate occasions and its so fucking fun i highly recommend trying it out its the best

Do you beta? if asked but honestly im a shit beta lmao

Do you like joining fic fests/exchanges? depends on what i have going on irl but in general yeah!!

FANFICTION PREFERENCES

Fluff or angst? definitely fluff

"OCs" or "Reader" inserts? reader inserts!! have been going ham on them recently

Blurbs or drabbles? blurbs!!

One thing you love about fanfiction i just. i really love slice of life romance?? and most media doesn't give you that bc its dedicated to plot and action and that's valid!! but fanfiction fills in the gap which is really nice

One thing you don't like about fanfiction most of the stuff i don't like is less about actual fanfiction and more about how people behave about it

What is/are your favorite fandom author/authors? IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!!! TURN IT UP!!!

bnha: hiuythn, rae_tnub, Moniix, Ata_Lanta, wrunic, chezka, PurplePersnickety, surveycorpsejean, mahadevi, arxaris, deviance, Oceanbreeze7, MikeWritesThings, bonnia, wonhaebunny, dinosuns

voltron: hiuythn, Oceanbreeze7, DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee, arahir, dinosuns,

and honorable mention to loveclouds im not even in the haikyuu fandom i just love their fics So Much

these are just the ones off the top of my head i have so many favourites idc if i'm only supposed 2 have one!! die mad about it!!!

What is your favorite trope? secret relationship + relationship reveal til the day i die babie <3 <3

Least favorite trope? hm,,, probably just like. angst lmao i cannot stand 90% of it

A fanfiction cliché that you can't help but love? coffeeshop aus,,,, so good

Do you have a type when it comes to pairings? the otp where its like. piece of shit + himbo = love. ex. krbk, catradora, jade/beck

Favorite setting/au? hm,,, truly i cannot pick one KGKSJNHKj but i really like college aus!! and modern aus!! and roommate aus!!

Explain the meaning of your favorite line of dialogue you've written as if someone hasn't read it in context. “He doesn’t know,” Katsuki says, softly. “My timer stopped and nothing happened. He’s not mine.”

the line is from what we deserve!! it's a soulmate au where your timer counts down to the moment that you meet your soulmate!! bakugou's timer ends at USJ when he and kirishima attack kurogiri at the same time (impulsive kings <33) but kirishima's timer doesn't end until kamino because that's when he accepts himself as bakugous soulmate!! unfortunately, when bakugous timer has reached 0, he turned to see that kirishima's was still ticking and therefore believes that kirishima isn't his soulmate.

this line just,, idk. it's really sad. bakugou is such an action-driven character? if something doesn't go his way he Makes it go his way. he's got this insanely volatile quirk and he's got impeccable control of it!! but his love for kirishima isn't something that he can change and he's not going to ruin kirishima's chance of finding his own soulmate because he loves him and wants him to be happy. i really wanted to focus on how resigned he is? and how unusual that is for a character like him.

Favorite trope/genre to write? again, secret relationship with relationship reveals <33 fluff in general is my wheelhouse!!!

A trope/genre you haven't written but think would be a fun challenge? idk if this counts?? have been working on some dead dove concepts!! its super different from what i normally write so its a cool challenge

The one trope/concept you'll never touch and why probably cheating/infidelity?? it just looks,,, super difficult to write well and i don't have enough of an interest in it to try it out

Which do you prefer to write: longer or shorter fics? shorter!! low attention span gang <3

Ideal length to read? 5-10k?

Ideal length to write? 4-8k!!

How long was the longest fic you've ever written? control fraek is around 28k i think?

Have you ever written an AU? yeah!! i've done restaurant au's, soulmate au's, pro hero aus, and fantasy aus (general, not the bnha fantasy ending)

What's your favorite AU trope? hm,, probably when two people in authority are in a secret relationship? ceo's/uni professors/etc etc

Have you ever written smut? yeah!! was. difficult tho

What's your comfort genre? (the one you fall on most in writing/reading) fluff,,, hurt/comfort,,, fix-it fics with happy endings <3

If you were to start writing in other fandoms, which would they be? maybe jjk?? the characters are really cool!!!! fr i might go back to my ever after high roots i love the characters and setting so Much its so fun!!! idec if no ones into it anymore!!!!!

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? i've had people say they saw the mention of buff hagakure and recognized it was me so. probably that skdjhnksjd

WRITING STYLE

How would you describe your style? i tend to use shorter sentences and pretty simple words i think? and i gravitate towards lighthearted concepts that allow for ensemble casts and humour!!

Describe your style in three words romcom but fanfic

Favorite words to use when writing? the word reverent!! fuckin love including it!!

Dialogue tags or no dialogue tags? (she said, he said, they said, etc) dialogue tags!!!

Favorite dialogue tag (other than said, if you use them) again idk if this counts but "they said softly" is unmatched

Long sentences vs short vs a mix short <33

What colors would you use to describe your writing? hm,,, depends on the fic i would say?? control fraek is dark green to me?? kinda like a forest at night yk?? scary but there's still life there. sugar cookies is yellow like early morning sunlight, when it rains is yellowy-orange like a caution sign. not gonna list all of them cause theres a lot its just. do u get it? the colours change based on the vibe of the fic.

What song or music genre would you use to describe your writing? think. i am constantly trying to emulate that moment at the end of wasteland baby when hozier goes "im in love/im in love with you."

What kind of metaphors do you rely on? religious metaphors my beloved <33 they're just so pretty!!! i also love comparing stuff to water for some reason?? like that ocean vuong quote thats like "what are you now?/water." it goes hard!!!

What's something you'd say is experimental in your writing at this time? definitely action!! i have,,, no idea how to write it so anything i do is really just me playing around and seeing what works and what doesn't

Do you prefer to write by hand or to type? i've tried both!! personally i prefer typing because it goes way faster but i will say that writing by hand lets me get words down when i'm going through writer's block

What is your preferred place to write (notebook, laptop, cellphone, etc.)? laptop!!

What app/apps do you use to write (word, notepad, etc.)? google docs skjdnkjh its fine on desktop but mobile is,,,,, disgusting

Do you keep a notebook or file/notes page in your phone/device for notes on your writing? ngl i just have everything organized in my drive?? one folder per fandom and then sub folders for ideas+hcs, unfinished wips, and finished fics. multichaps get sub sub folders so i can organize outlines and drafts

Do you listen to music to help you write? yeah!! playlists organized by fic vibe :D

Where do you usually go to write (bedroom, living room, etc.)? mostly in my bedroom??? but moving around to different stops helps too i think!!

How long does it usually take for you to write? again this depends on what i have going on irl, how attached i am to the idea, my mindset at the time, etc!! i am,, the least consistent person skjnhdkjh.

What's your favorite font to use when writing? times new roman my beloved

Other writing habits? sometimes i'll write in the dark?? bad for my eyes but for some reason it gets the words flowing

CONCEPTUALIZATION

How do you conceptualize your ideas? (See specific moments like they're a movie, writing specific lines in your head, don't know until you put the words on paper, etc.) i tend to get inspiration from movies, books, poems, or other fics!!! sometimes one line just makes me go oh,, i want to write something like that,,, and then it helps me create an idea that makes me feel the same way?? i did this with control fraek!!!! i wanted a scenario where bakugou was cold and calculating and i was like hm. to do that he’d have to be focusing on something important. and from there i was able to flesh out the rest of the idea.

Which comes first: the pairing or the plot? with krbk its always always the pairing,, i'll be sitting there like wow <33 i love them <33 what if one of them had amnesia <33 (which, yes, wip!!) otherwise it's usually the plot!! and i slot in characters that i feel make sense

Have you ever used a prompt? yeah!! used a prompt for wlw week 2020 and it was fun as hell

Do you write around the story around a specific scene you want to get to or do you start from a plot idea definitely the first!!!! i almost always write like,,, a super messy scene thats 90% dialogue, keep it in my head, and then write the entire fic around that one moment

Do you find that you include a projection of some part of yourself in the way you write a character? a lot of the time when i write love confessions or love in general i'll have one of the characters think or say that the other person makes their head quiet? and it's because that's what i feel whenever i'm in love?? a quiet mind. i project on characters yeah but i think most of the projection actually goes to the way that i write love

Do you research some of the things you write deeply, partially and kind of wing the rest, or play entirely by ear (in this case, go with whatever base knowledge of the subject you have)? most of the time if i do research it'll be about the setting (ex. the izakaya in to have and to hold) or if i'm having the characters interact with an object that they like. need to know how to use (me, in control fraek: google. hey google. does someone die if they get shot in the foot??? no???? awesome thank u <3)

Have you ever had an idea for a story and forgot about it? lmaoo yeah all the time i'll find like 500-2k words of concepts in my gdocs like i do. not remember this at all

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? probably krbk secret relationship lmao

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out better than expected? yeah!! i fully thought the action in control fraek would be awful but it turned out not bad??? which im happy with

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out worse than you expected? again, what we deserve, i personally think it would have worked out better if i'd paced it slower and drawn out the pining but i. do not feel like going back to fix it so its staying the way that it is. pining is so fucking hard to do AHHHH i get so tired with it!!! im like just date already!!!!

PROCESS

How do you come up with titles? in rare occasions (literally. all my multichaps for some reason) the title comes after writing like .5 words of the first chapter im like YES this is it!!!!! sometimes i write the whole thing and pick out one line that fits (what i did with come home to me) a lot of the time i just. steal from songs or poems that i like

What's your favorite emotion to cause on your readers? i like making people happy!!!! love when people comment saying they're cheered up

What's your favorite emotion to write? lovelovelovelovelovelove

Have you ever cried or felt any emotion while reading something you've written? never cried?? but sometimes i'll rereading my hurt/comfort fics 4. yk. comfort

Do you write in order or whatever comes to you? in order!! unless i have a scene that i Need to write and i'll quickly jot it down so that i don't forget

Usual way you procrastinate while writing? ...doing asks like this, making playlists, discord, watching netflix. what don't i do smh

Do you outline or free write? i am. so shit at outlines. i mostly free write and write lil notes for stuff that i wanna add later

Do you set word goals or scene goals (scenes you want to include)? yes!! like i said i'll write loose notes for scenes that i want to add later!! it gives me something to write towards :D

What do you consider when writing your scenes? what goes into making the atmosphere and mood you want? to set a scene i do two things? the first is like,, the five senses bc that always sets the scene really well and makes it feel Real. i'll visualize stuff in my head like its a movie and write out what i would want to tell the set designer?? if the lights are low, if the space is busy, if it's supposed to exude comfort or not.

for putting forward the character's mood one thing i've found that makes a difference is sentence length!! long sentences are good for making a character seem flustered and nervous or not really in control of their emotions? good for love confessions. short sentences are good for when the character is focused on something or short on time. good for fights!!

What's something you never considered to include in your writing that you can't leave out now? def buff hagakure,,,, once i thought of it i was like. if i don't include this at least once in every single fic how could i look at myself in the mirror!!!!!! how could i face anyone!!!!

How do you start a story? establishing a fact about the character or describing the setting! option a is one single thread of gold, option b is between lion and men

How do you end a story? either by tying it back to the beginning or doing like a funny kind of closing??? option a is sugar cookies, option b is a godless society

How do you get out of writer's block? change something!! move something!! i go from typing to handwriting, moving from my bedroom to my living room, switching wips to work on something else!! i do sprints as well?? give myself like fifteen minutes to write something and sometimes 200 words opens up the way for another 2k. sometimes i'll just delete like 500 words and start fresh

Do you edit? or do you toss your writing out there? i edit!!! i'll go over it myself then send it to one or two betas (bee my beloved <33)

How do you edit? do you use spellcheck, grammar checkers, etc? bee is my grammar checker bc he is So Good with grammar. i use grammarly as well for spellcheck stuff mostly?? sometimes my edit process is just like "am i tired of looking at this!! yes <3" and then i post it

PROGRESS

Do you usually like what you write? yeah!!! i post stuff that makes me happy and that i'm fine with rereading!!! i write stuff for self-indulgence reasons first and foremost and i think my writing reflects that sjhnksj

Have you ever written something you didn't like but posted anyways? nope!! even what we deserve i LIKED even if i see a lot of room 4 improvement!! if i don't like smth it's not getting posted

Do you find yourself rereading your writing often? yeah!! the reason i wrote so much krbk secret relationship is because i loved it but i'd read all that there was so i just,, wrote more,, ngl its kinda nice being in a place where i actually like my writing bc i can write stuff that i want to see and really enjoy it!!

Can you tell us anything about your current WIP? sure!! i'm currently working on when it rains which is a fic where bakugou gets hit by a crying quirk!! i'm gonna be using it to explore So Much of all might's character and his relationships with bakugou and aizawa (and i think some people from his past!!)

Can you give us a sneak peek on your current WIP? “You did something. What the hell did you do?” Kirishima sounds pissed off. It would amuse Katsuki if he wasn’t fighting just to stay standing.

“Nothing he didn’t ask for,” Shinsou replies.

“K’ri… shima,” Katsuki croaks out. “‘S fine. Not him.”

His chest collapses back into the familiar dry heaving after that but Kirishima shuts up. He doesn’t apologize to Shinsou.

Kirishima’s a good friend, stubborn and loyal. He stands by Katsuki’s side like an attack dog, blocking him from the view of anyone ogling at his tears.

The last line you've written Ochako knows more than she'd realized. She knows enough to keep her guard up.

It’s not enough.

Open a wip. what’s the first line?

Katsuki wakes up feeling like absolute fucking shit.

INSIGHT

What's your favorite thing about writing? touched on this before but it's mainly just being able to write the things that i want to see and actually enjoy them!!! actually reread them!!!! i thought "wouldn't it be cool if bkg and kirishima owned a restaurant together" and then i wrote it and i like it enough to reread it!!!! being able to create content for myself makes me. so happy

How do you keep yourself inspired? this is gonna sound narcissistic maybe but honestly i'm just really excited about my ideas and where i'm gonna take them and the idea of "i'm gonna get to That scene" keeps me going through the entire thing. also my friends!!!! i'll talk to them about fics and their reactions keep me hyped up enough to finish!!!!

What is your favorite thing to write? just,, slice of life romance,,, stuff thats silly and makes people laugh!!

What do you think your strengths are in writing? i'm good with dialogue!! i do lil voice acting sessions with myself to make sure everything sounds natural and like it's coming from that character skhjnskj

i'm comfortable with my portrayal of love as well??? i spend a lot of time thinking about what it is exactly that i'm trying to get across and i think it turns out well!!

What are things you wish you could practice more? on one hand i wanna get better at writing angst on the other hand i dislike writing angst. do you see my issue

One way you've improved your writing since you began? characterization!! i think i've gotten better at writing characters that are all Different and bring different things to the table!!! i used to project a lot more and it would compromise the characterization because the character was like 70% me and 30% them? not to say that projection is bad but if you do it too much it just,, doesn't read like the character and from a reader's standpoint the narrative can become less compelling

One aspect of writing you're still working on? writing action!!! i. literally hate writing it but i write for a fandom about superheroes so. Unfortunately i gotta learn.

A piece of writing advice you've learned while writing saw this on another tumblr post but they said sometimes if you're struggling with a scene, the problem is five lines back. i've found that to be true!!!! sometimes u gotta delete a chunk and start a little ways back!! i did this with too busy being yours because i was stuck for Weeks and i deleted like 25% of what i had but it helped me actually finish it :D

A bit of writing advice you can't stand when people shit on show don't tell for being overrated lmao bc when u read their writing you can Tell

Something you wish you knew when you first started writing? ,,,,honestly i kind of wish i could know some of the stuff that i used to when i first started writing?? technically i'm better now but creatively i was must better when i wasn't stressing about whether anyone would like what i was writing. so i guess i wish i knew that i should keep that confidence? i kinda wish that i wasn't as insecure about other people's writing styles because i never used to be!!

Something you've learned in life that you apply in writing there's no point in feeling inferior?? writing one genre isn't better than the other. being in one fandom isn't better than being in another. the kind of language you use or the length of your paragraphs- none of that stuff like. matters. what matters is that you're having fun and happy with what you're creating!!!! enjoy other peoples writing but don't let it make you feel worse about yours :D

#AHH ive wanted to answer these for so long...... bro fr i was so happy when u sent these!!! like wow!! finally got sent one!!!#sorry for how long the responses are idk how to be concise #asks #anon #a(lore)a

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spac3bar7end3r · 4 years ago

Text

Tell Me That I'll Be Alright

Modern Wizarding World, Draco Stays in Muggle Part, Pre-relationship, Short fic, potion master Draco, auror Harry

For the prompt: “Yes, I’m aware. Your point?”

2873 words

read on Ao3

‘For today's weather, the wind is calm. It will be sunny throughout the day. There is a chance of a little reunion happening. The person you don’t expect to see will walk through your door. It’s your choice to decide to close the door or open it once more.’

Luna’s message is cryptic. She is always cryptic, that’s for sure. But today’s message seems specific in a vague way (how can that be?) Normally it would be something like: your lucky person is the man who wears green, or something similar to that.

He loves it though, and it sells well both for muggles and in the wizarding world. It’s Luna’s own business, sending daily cryptic texts to subscribers. He once saw a muggle who has religiously studied her texts like verses in the bible.

If Luna said, he��s going to have a reunion today then so be it. Let’s hope it is not someone who wants to kill him. The weather is too good for a sparring today.

Draco Malfoy put his phone back in his pocket and locks his flat’s door before checking the time on his mobile phone. The young wizard smiles to himself. He has more spare time before work than usual.

He put his keys in his the other side of his pants’ pocket. The sound of the keys jingling echoes through the hallway. He looked up to nod at one of his old neighbour who is also going out of their resident. Draco smiles back when the other sends a smile his way like he always does.

He hums to himself while walking down the street. Maybe today is a great day to order coffee from the shop across the street. He deserves it. He has time to indulge himself in muggles’ fancy drinks (and he will!).

Draco orders a hot latte and a plain bagel. He smiles to the barista with a familiar face. Draco sees this bloke a lot when he becomes this shop’s regular (His first time here was a bit embarrassing because he cannot pronounce macchiato. What a dumb word.) The barista smiles flirtatiously, but Draco pretends like he doesn’t see it. He takes an effort to make small talk and puts the tips in a jar then goes out with his drinks and heavenly-smelled bagel in hands.

He unlocks the door when he reaches his office the muggle way, opening it and waves his hand, sending his scarf flying to the coat rack next to the door. The Closed sign hanging on the door flips itself and now showing Open instead. He turns on the light and the wireless before throwing his body on his chair. The smell of hot coffee and the gently sound of muggle’s music makes him feel lively for a second but then his mood shifts when Draco notices a letter on his desk, his brows furrowed at the pretentious, ugly wax seal and the department behind the symbol of the seal.

Comparing to the first time he received a letter from Hogwarts, this is like a 180 change. It is a letter from Gawain bloody Robards.

‘Dear Potion Master Draco Malfoy,’ written the letter, and Draco has to look up from the letter to sneer with himself for dramatic purpose.

And then he continues:

‘The Department of the Auror of the Ministry of Magic urgently needs your expertise on an important case since we believe your skills and knowledge will assist our works tremendously. We will send one of our officers to your office tomorrow. He will tell you all about the case.

We hope you will regard us in the same way that the Ministry has been regarding and assisting the Malfoy family. I believe it is quite a crucial time for us to support each other for the best of the wizarding world in this time and age.

Warm Regards,

Gawain Robards

Head Auror’

“Warm regards my arse.” Draco quickly looks through the content of the letter then throws the paper to the fire without care. He picks his coffee up and drinks, his mood now soiled. Since the letter was sent to him yesterday (Draco guesses it must be right after him getting out of his office. Robards is sly like that. That prat might have sent it knowing Draco wouldn’t be able to reject it in time.

Then that means ‘one of the officers’ is going to turn up here sooner or later. Draco takes a deep breath, not sure if he can school his expression well when seeing the people from the ministry. Those bastards always sneer at him because of the former Death Eater thing. Of course, Draco sneers back, but it doesn’t mean—

A sound of someone opening the door interrupts his thoughts. Draco lowers the volume of the music then looks at the visitor.

“Welcome—” Draco says to his potential customer but his voice cracks at the end. His gazes fixed on the person who just enters who looks as surprised as Draco (or maybe more).

It’s Potter.

‘The person you don’t expect to see will walk through your door.’ Luna’s message rings in his head. He stares openly at the figure standing at his door.

It’s Potter.

Of course, it’s Harry Potter. Why not?

“Malfoy, you’re wearing a beanie.” Potter blurts out with wide eyes. Draco raises his eyebrows, touching his beanie consciously then he looks at himself from head to toe: Graphic shirt with top buttons undone, muggle jeans and Doc Marten boots. Pansy called it ‘A typical, Hipster Muggle Look.’

Seven years since the war and this is what this blunt prat decided to say to his old classmate? Draco decides to also look at Potter thoroughly. Potter is not the only one who has eyes. He looks at The Gryffindor’s dirty boots, his old jeans that have more tears than to be a fashion statement, his dark blue t-shirt and a dark jacket in his hands… The outfit screams Potter the War Hero that he’s seen before on papers (except his body that well… fitter, more muscle on his body than when he was a gangly kid — but this is not what he should scrutinise at the moment, isn’t it?)

“Yes, I’m aware, Potter. Since it is on my head and all. Your point?”

“I thought the potion master has to be like—”

“Like what? Snape? Slughorn? Potter, need I remind you that this is 2019? Do you think that a potion master has to wear a robe, putting a cauldron in the centre of their workplace and still use owls to contact each other? Please, only people at the ministry do that. Tell them to email me next time.”

“But the ministry recommended you. I thought it would be an old bloke wearing a robe, acting like a ministry agent or something.” Potter explains, “Your manner is still kinda the same, though.”

“I’d bite my own tongue before I behave like those old bastards.”

“I think the current you is quite nice. I, er, I mean, I prefer you than those wizards and witches.”

Potter stammers and Draco tries not to overthink what the other said.

He tries to channel the old Draco Malfoy from his school years, chin up and all, “Actually I thought the ministry wouldn’t really want to ask me,” He twists his lips, directing a cocky smile at Potter, “But I guess they have no choice. I am an exceptional potion master, and they can’t get rid of my pretty face even if they want to.”

Potter has a small smile at the corner of his lips “I guess that’s true.”

Draco doesn’t know which part that Potter agreed with him. Potter is playing with the hem of his shirt awkwardly and just stands at the door. Draco coughs, waving the auror to his desk.

“Nice to reacquaint, Potter.” Draco looks directly into the green eyes. The ones that he’s never thought he would be able to have a chance to stare at again. “Put your jacket on the rack and come sit here.” He points to the chair at the other side of his desk before getting up and brewing tea for his old rival.

* * *

‘It’s your choice to decide to close the door or open it once more.’

Draco’s mind dwells on Luna’s words. What does that even mean? If her random prediction is accurate, then it means Draco needs to do something about…this? What is this anyway? And has he ever open the door to Potter, to begin with?

“You don’t look surprised to see me,” Potter says while he lightly puts the teacup on Draco’s desk.

“And what face do you want to see? I’ve lived around muggles for seven years, Potter. I guess I am great at feigning nonchalant to surprising shits now.” Draco thinks of all the weird muggle stuff he has encountered over the years.

“…”

“So are we going to talk about the ‘important case’ that Robards mentioned in the letter now?” Draco raises his eyebrow. Potter nods, swallowing before he grabs something from his pants pocket.

“We found this in the belongings of a squib in a muggle part of London. We have to work together with the muggle police. They think it was some kind of drug, but we also think it also has some kind of magic properties.” He puts the tiny bottle on Draco’s desk.

“Is there anybody at the ministry—”

“It seems like some chemical that the muggle seems to know of a lot. I heard you—"

“Doing research on muggle drugs and potion-making. Yes, I was. Did they drink this or inject themselves with it?” Draco opens the bottle and lightly smells the transparent liquid inside. They are not that different from the bottle of pure water.

“They drank it. The symptom is a daydreaming-like behaviour, but we also have one frozen wizard who looks like he was cast with the Full Body-Bind Curse. We still have not found a permanent cure for these symptoms.”

Draco nods, opening his top drawer and grabs the notepad. He jots down something quickly as if he’s afraid of forgetting it.

“I am well-acquainted with a muggle who’s in law enforcement. I could find some more details without unnecessary paperwork. Oh, but if you have any important details like the locations, other noticeable symptoms, forward it to me directly via email.” Draco grabs his phone and sends a text to said muggle before he forgets. He doesn’t want to contact this bloke without unnecessary because no matter how useful it is, this muggle is quite clingy, but he also wants to get rid of Potter as soon as possible.

He looks up to find Potter staring at his fingers. Draco stops, tilting his head as if asking a silent question when Potter notices him stopping.

“Uh, I, just, I’m not used to you using muggle stuff.” Potter coughs, blushing. “You even used emoji.” Potter nods towards Draco’s fingers, and with a small voice, he adds, “Is that an eggplant emoji? You used eggplant emoji? To that muggle?”

“Those were old texts.” Draco doesn’t know why he needs to quickly explain that to Potter (Lie. He actually knows why.) He puts down his phone and continues, “I might be able to find a cure. Maybe in two or three days. Do you want me sending the report or just—”

“I can come here for that.” Potter interrupts.

“Good. Because I hate having to getting in touch with the wizardry world.” Draco smiles darkly.

Potter slowly nods before looking around the office, looking for another topic to talk about.

“Nice office.”

“Thanks. I didn’t want the old-fashioned potion master vibe, so I tried to match it with the surrounding.” Draco nods towards the scenery outside the window.

“How is it here? I want to come here a few times but haven’t had a chance.”

“It’s alright. If you want some hipster muggle stuff, you’d like it here. You already have the look for it, I guess.” Draco raises his eyebrow at the auror.

Potter laughs, saying “Luna will absolutely love this place. I also notice a shop selling plants here. I’ll have to tell Neville about it.”

Draco smiles. “I contact Longbottom from time to time. I remembered he did research on some magical plants. He’s doing business now or…?”

“Yes, still about plants though.” Potter smiles. “I’m living in the same flat with him, and his plants.”

“You’re living with Longbottom? In Fulham? I thought you live in House Black’s house or with Weasley—”

“That was six years ago.” Potter interrupts.

Draco thought he became immune to surprising shits now that he’s getting older, but it seems like he still reacts the same way when it is concerning Potter. He raises one of his eyebrows, slowly taking a peek at Potter’s left hand—the part where he tries so hard not to stare since Potter has stepped inside.

However, there is no object that he’s scared to see. No ring. No wedding ring.

He thought Potter would have a happy ending after the war. Having a bunch of kids and living in a big house.

But it’s not like that. Potter’s eyes look sad. They seem like he saw something, even after the war. Something is hidden behind his green’s eyes that Draco doesn’t know what it is.

“So you’re single right now?”

“Yeah, I thought everyone knows that. The Daily Prophet and other editorials always write about my relationships like their lives depend on it. Witches Weekly also does that, putting me in a bachelor list every month or two.”

“Congrats on getting to be on the list, Scarhead. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see your mug on the papers since I don’t read wizard papers anymore because they are shit. Well, except the Quibbler. Luna is great at her job.”

“True.” Potter smiles lightly, “Do you subscribe to her daily prediction? I got an interesting text today.”

“I do, and yes, it was quite interesting.”

“Do we get the same text? How many people does she send it to? Is it randomised or something?”

“I don’t know. What’s yours say?”

“It says ‘don’t hesitate to go through the door.’ I don’t know what that means.”

“‘It’s your choice to close or open the door.’ is what I got.”

Potter raises his eyebrows. He swallows slowly and says, “And you, are you seeing anyone?” Potter asks, and Merlin, Draco hopes that it is a real hope glinting in Potter’s green eyes and it’s not just Draco’s hopeless desire projecting his old feeling from his unrequited crush during Hogwarts years. (Yes, at least Draco is brave to admit that now. Plus, He’s good at Occlumency. Even if Potter’s learned Legilimency, he still wouldn’t get a glimpse. Draco is that good.)

“No…” Draco answers slowly, processing his thought.

“What about that Eggplant Emoji muggle?”

“Merlin’s sake, Potter. That was a text from months ago.” Draco rolls his eyes.

“Good.” Potter nods. “Good.”

“What were we talking about before? Right, work. Case. Potion.” Draco gets gloomy a little when his mind returns to this annoying task (but it actually got less annoying the moment he realised who he gets to work with.)

“Right. I may need more pieces of evidence for the case, and if I find something new—”

“Like I said, email me or text me.”

“Do I need to include emoji in my message?” Potter grins jokingly.

“If you want,” Draco answers with a challenging smile. Potter’s dark skin flushed a little. He opens his mouth as if he’s going to say something, but then he closes it again.

“Well, if it’s not urgent then you can tell me when you come to get a better cure for the victims in three days.”

“Alright. Cheers.”

“We can do it over lunch. So I can introduce you to the street here. I’m sure you’ll like Dalston.”

“Fantastic. I’ve never refused when it comes to food.” Potter grins. “That settles it then. See you in three days. Cheers.”

“I’ll text you the restaurant’s name.”

“Brilliant. See you.”

Potter stands up from the chair. He walks to his coat hanging by the door and puts it on. The sound of the doorbell chiming rings around the office when the auror opens the door.

Apart from that messy dark hair, Draco notices Potter still has awkward habits he did in Hogwarts, like the way he walks, or the expression he made when he’s embarrassed.

Before the door closes, Draco shouts at the top of his lungs, “It’s a date, Potter!”

Potter splutters, face blushing. However, the auror nods enthusiastically, agreeing. He waves awkwardly like he doesn’t know what to do with his hand then quickly leaves.

Draco Malfoy smirks. He stands up and looks at the back of the auror who’s vanishing in thin air a second later.

‘It’s your choice to decide to close the door or open it once more.’

Draco made his choice. It’s depended on Potter now whether he will enter Draco’s open door or not.

Draco hopes he will.

Spoiler Alert: Yes, Harry will definitely enter the door. No hesitation.

And it doesn’t’ have anything to do with Luna’s prediction.

#sbdrarryfic #drarry #drarry fic #Draco Malfoy #Harry Potter #my fic #spacebartenderfic

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voltrontranscript · 4 years ago

Text

VLD S8E13: The End is the Beginning

Season 8 Episode 13: The End is the Beginning

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Summary: As the Paladins and Honerva battle, they find themselves at the source of all realities in the final showdown for the very existence of the universe.

[Google Doc]

Keith: We have to take the fight as far away from here as--

Allura: Now let’s finish this!

Lance: Incoming!

Shiro: We can’t let this happen. She can’t get away.

[Transition to the Atlas-Voltron mech floating in a black abyss lit by glowing white tendrils.]

Keith: Is everyone okay?

Lance: Yep.

Pidge: Here.

Allura: Yes.

Shiro: Does anyone have eyes on Honerva?

Lance: What is this place?

Allura: I--I’m not sure.

Honerva: This is the beginning. And the end.

Allura: Can--can you all feel that? These strands are…

Lance: The only remaining realities left in existence.

Pidge: This place is the source of time, of space, of…

Hunk: Everything.

Honerva: I will end this once and for all!

Allura: She’s destroying… all realities!

Keith: She’s destroyed everything. There’s only one reality left.

Allura: No, please. If Honerva destroys this final strand, all of existence will end with it!

[Scene change to a white abyss not unlike the rift, but it’s the source of all realities.]

Honerva: Where are we?

Allura: The connected consciousness of all existence.

Honerva: You think you’re safe here? Soon all will cease to exist.

Hunk: You have to stop this. All these worlds, all these realities, they deserve to live.

Honerva: Those realities are flawed and weak, living out the same pathetic cycle of war and pain.

Allura: There is beauty in their flaws. I lost my father, my mother, my planet to this war, but I’ve gained a new family and a purpose stronger than any I could have imagined.

Pidge: Humans began very flawed. There were wars, hate. But with each mistake, they learned and grew.

Shiro: And now we reach out to other worlds to pass on those same lessons and spread them across the entire universe. Like your people once did.

Hunk: And with every new world touched, the message grows.

Keith: Every world, every reality. We wouldn’t exist without the others.

Lance: Our differences are what make us stronger.

Honerva: You think your words mean anything to me? I’ve lived multiple lifetimes, and all of them filled with pain and loss. If I cannot experience the simple joys of life, why should anyone else?

Allura: There was a time when you loved more than just your family, a time when your fascination with how vast the universe is gave way to your desire to help and uplift others.

Lotor: The beginning of Altean alchemy.

Honerva: You tried to help him.

Lotor: ...the tales you grew up with…

Honerva: He was happy. He deserved better. Better than I could give.

Allura: Lotor may have been misguided, but ultimately he wanted to preserve life. Honor your son. Help me change this.

Honerva: I’m sorry, but the damage is done. There’s nothing left to save.

Allura: I can change the quintessence within your vessel. Your son helped me learn how to transform it from a destructive force into a life-giving force. But I cannot do it alone.

Honerva: But, that would require…

Allura: I know the risks. I’m afraid this is where we part ways.

Hunk: Wait, what?

Keith: Allura.

Lance: What?

Pidge: No.

Allura: This is our only chance to undo what has been done, to save all of existence. I have to take it. It is my purpose. Your paths go on. Mine ends here.

Hunk: But there is no Voltron without you.

Allura: Voltron isn’t needed anymore. The rest of the work is up to the people. And they’ll have you to guide them, Hunk. Goodbye, Pidge.

Pidge: I’m gonna miss you, Allura.

Allura: Remain curious and fearless.

Shiro: Most of them won’t know the sacrifice you made so they could live.

Allura: And they’ll never need to. Your selflessness taught me that. Thank you.

Shiro: You never have to thank me for anything.

Allura: Keith… I cannot thank you enough for all you’ve given me.

Keith: Allura, when you accepted me, it helped me to accept myself. Thank you.

Allura: There is greatness in your heart and in your actions.

Lance: No. Allura, there--there has to be another way.

Allura: There is no other way. This is all we have.

Lance: But you’re too important to the cause. You’re--you’re too important to me.

Allura: I’ll always be with you, Lance. And I’ll always love you.

[Transition to the two mechs once more as all realities explode from between the two of them and the paladins wake up.]

Keith: Is this…? Are we…?

Pidge: Yeah. It’s our reality.

Lance: She did it. She saved us all.

Hunk: I don’t remember that planet being there before.

Lance: It’s Altea.

[Timeskip transition, with the text reading “One Year Later…” as we open on the flame of Feyiv.]

Keith: With the return of Planet Daibazaal, the Galra Empire is at a crossroads. For too long, the people of this extraordinary civilization have been manipulated by a dictatorship that placed a misguided sense of self-preservation above all else. It was a tragic, unfortunate series of events that led us down this dark, never-ending path of power and greed. But now we, the citizens of the Galra Empire, have an opportunity to make right all of the injustices set into motion by our forefathers. Because of the sacrifice made by Princess Allura, we have been given a second chance to come together in rebuilding the Galra Empire by joining the Galactic Coalition and ushering in a new era of peace across the universe.

[Scene change to the IGF-Atlas flying through deep space.]

Male Chancellor: Your armies have attacked us at every turn.

Female Chancellor: If you had just agreed to our terms, the attacks would not be necessary.

Male Chancellor: You are occupying a peaceful settlement!

Female Chancellor: Our people were starving!

Hunk: Chancellors. Please, sit. Dinner is served. The filet of bandrillo, spiced with the seasoning from the plains of planet Mabo, alongside pilaf of long-grain forlongian brill from the vast fields of Antidoll. And it’s accompanied by a cider made from the petals of the Altean juniberry flower. Bon appetit.

Female Chancellor: Delicious.

Hunk: And it wouldn’t be possible without the cooperation of all three planets of the Xritoo system. Much like my cooking crew, comprised of aliens from all across the cosmos working together to bring you this delicious meal. Princess Allura, the very person we celebrate on this day, once said, “We are always stronger together.” If the people of your planets work together, so much more can be achieved.

Shiro: Honor her by following in her footsteps and walk in the path towards peace.

[Scene change to Pidge and Matt in a robotics lab as they build an android.]

Pidge: All done.

Matt: So, have you been thinking of any names?

Pidge: Yeah, I was thinking of Chip.

Matt: You and your puns.

Colleen: Katie, your father’s got the teludav all warmed up for you. Better get going. You don’t want to be late.

Matt: Don’t worry, Pidge, I’ll have Chip all ready to go by the time you get back.

Pidge: Just don’t initialize until I return. I want to witness Chip’s first moments of consciousness.

Sam: Have a good time, honey.

Pidge: I will, Dad.

[Scene change to New Altea, where a new Castle of Lions is being constructed.]

Merla: Construction is on course.

Coran: Ah, most excellent! How are the preparations for tonight’s feast coming? It has to be perfect. It will be the first Celebration of Allura. The first of many to come.

Merla: As soon as we can get access to the location, we can begin setup. But it’s currently occupied by your friend, sir.

Lance: And had Princess Allura not seen that there was still good left in Honerva, we most likely would not be sitting here today. She grew to understand that there is good in everyone.

Balmera Girl: Even Emperor Zarkon?

Lance: Yes, even Emperor Zarkon.

Balmera Girl: Do you miss her?

Lance: I do. Very much. But I’m reminded of her everywhere I look. So in that way, she’s still very much with me. With all of us, actually.

Altean Child: Now that you no longer pilot the Red Lion, what do you do?

Lance: Well, I help run a small farm back on my home planet with my family. It’s a simple life, just the way I like it.

Altean Instructor: Alright, everybody, I think Paladin Lance has somewhere to be in a few doboshes, and you all have class to get back to.

Kids: Aw!

[Scene change to the paladins and Coran all sitting at a table loaded with food in front of Allura’s memorial statue.]

Pidge: I mean, seriously, though, Earth has come a long way. It’s a hub for all alien activity now that my dad’s stabilized his teludav technology.

Shiro: That’ll make travel on the Atlas much easier. We’ll be able to reach so many more sectors with the improved mobility. Not to mention the supplies we’ll save with the shorter journey.

Hunk: Yeah, yeah! We’ll have so much more room for the cooking ingredients. People are just so much easier to reason with when they’re full. Man, this diplomacy thing isn’t nearly as easy as Allura made it look.

Keith: Right? But then, she did make everything look easy.

Shiro: Speaking of which, how are things going on Daibazaal?

Keith: We’re calling for an election to select the Galran representative for the Galactic Coalition. So that’s a step in the right direction.

Lance: Let me guess, they asked you to be their leader and you said no?

Keith: Yeah, pretty much.

Lance: Classic Keith.

Coran: Allura would be proud of your decision, Keith. I think she knew that you would always be the key to the Galra’s future. Just around this table, I see so many lives touched by her actions. For some of us she was a diplomat, a teacher, a leader, and a friend. But to those of us around this table, she will always be family. To Allura!

Paladins: To Allura!

[Scene change to Lance’s quarters in the middle of the night.]

Lance: Huh?

[Scene change to the epilogues, which are without dialogue. The text narration follows in order.]

The Holt family established the next generation of Legendary Defenders.

Hunk created a culinary empire, bringing the universe together, one meal at a time.

Lance continued to spread Allura’s message while surrounding himself with the things he loved.

Kolivan and Krolia became the Galra representatives to the Galactic Coalition.

Keith helped transition the Blade of Marmora to a humanitarian relief organization.

Shiro found his happiness and finally left the battle behind.

End.

#vld #voltron #transcript #allura #keith #shiro #hunk #matt holt #sam holt #slav #lance #coran #lotor #honerva #merla #colleen holt

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lgbtanimes · 6 years ago

Photo

As someone who uses the ipad pro and iphone x max constantly for school, I tend to dab around looking for the perfect apps to suit my needs and hobbies. If anyone wonders what apps I use for school, here are some “fundamental apps” I pertain to.

schedules and lists:

Calendars 5 - Calendars 5 is complete re-imagining of what the best mobile calendar experience should be. Calendars 5 is smart, excels in both tasks and events and runs on any iOS device you might have. It’s the calendar app you have been looking for.

Taskade - A great organized app that helps you organize your tasks or write simple notes.

Minimalist - a minimalist themed app that lets you list tasks very simple with other functions such as music and scenery to help you focus on those tasks.

timing, relaxing, and focus:

Clock - This is the default app that comes along with your ios device. I would say the functionality in it is very helpful to maintain alarms and a steady sleep schedule with the sleep function!

Tide - The tide app is an amazing peaceful app that lets you choose a time setting for how long you will work with soothing sounds playing in the background. The sounds really do help me focus and I highly recommend this app.

Flat Tomato - This app helps you split your time and measures it. For example, you would work for 25 minutes and then you would have a 5 minute break. This app really helps me with splitting my time and my tasks accordingly.

Forest - The forest app is absolutely great if you need help with staying away and off from your phone. The app grows a tree for up to two hours of constant studying which you would grow your tree in the meantime. If you do go on your phone and switch the app, the tree dies.

Flora - This is an alternative if you cannot or do not want to buy the forest app. It sort of works just like Forest, but you have a small 2D garden rather than a square terrain you see your trees grow on.

Oak - Oak helps the monkey-minded decompress by transforming meditation practices from experiments into habits. We support you from your first session to your 500th, with mindful, loving-kindness, and sleep meditations as well as unguided sessions and breathing exercises. Individualize your meditations by duration, and customize with silence or calming background sounds. Oak tracks your progress and encourages you to continue building a healthy meditation practice.

drawing and art:

Procreate - My absolute favorite app that works so well with art. I draw most of my art work in there and occasionally make headers and calligraphy with it.

Ibis Paint X - This app is the pro version of another art app which has a few advantageous functions than procreate, but nonetheless helps a lot with making some really fine art.

titles and notetaking:

Over - The Over App is perfect to made headers and titles that are easily transferred to the goodnotes app.

Phonto - The Phonto app is another perfect app to make the titles with, but it isn’t easily transferred to the goodnotes app and you would need to save the image as a png to upload it to the page, but there are more fonts you could and you can add a lot of your own fonts as well.

Keynote - I use this app to make folders and planners and this works as a powerpoint but for apple of course. There are a lot of great tutorials that help with making cool planners and notebooks with this app.

Docs - Helps download videos and documents off online through mobile devices and organize files accordingly

Goodnotes - One of my favorite apps I use to take majority of my notes. It helps me organize my courses into different notebooks all in one app.

PDF Expert- I use this app in order to view my textbooks straight from the drives I use and occasionally edit and note take directly on my PDF books.

resources and flashcards:

Chegg - College resource with a flashcard app as well.

Course Hero - Upload documents to open documents related to the courses that you may be taking! Free when you upload your own documents, so try it! Great place to get accurate study guides.

The Khan Academy - App to take practice tests and get guidance on material related to your courses. Great app to get you on track and help you focus!

Quizlet - great app to organize flashcards and practice tests

DuoLingo- A wonderful language app that helps me keep a streak and maintain my language learning.

Periodic Table - This app is what it says it is. The periodic table. As someone who’s major focuses on Chemistry, I really do need this app and hopefully this app is useful for you all as well!

photos and editing:

VSCO - My favorite app that filters and edits images to make them look vintage or clean.

Snapseed - Another editing app with more controls and settings to help edit the images and color in areas to make them brighter or dimmer.

Afterlight 2 - A great editing app that helps add effects and details to images

PicPlayPost - an app that helps with organizing my images into collages or video cropping to make my images look neater. I also use it to edit my watermarks

Analog Seoul - Analog Seoul is the eighth app of Analog Film City Series. With the specially created Analog Seoul photo filters, you can edit your pictures as if they were taken in Seoul.

printing, scanning, and storage:

Printerpro - A great app that helps with printing wireless from your iPad.

Scanner Pro - Scanning documents high quality and upload them to cloud

Drive - The best and foremost easiest storage to use and because I go to school/ university I have unlimited space for my files!

iCloud Drive - I only use this for photos or back ups, but occasionally it works well when I need to transfer files through apps that only use this form of storage.

Dropbox - Another storage application, but I usually use this for items I don’’t really need unless there’s an emergency. I use it to store mostly audio files and heavy files for keynote

entertainment and reading:

Netflix - To watch all my favorite movies and shows

Crunchyroll - I watch all my animes that I can here on this app

Kissanime - of course an alternative to crunchyroll is kissanime if you want to find animes for free (there are ads though)

Youtube - I mainly use this app for tutorials and guides to homework and projects

The CW - I watch all of my favorite local shows like the Flash, DC Legends, and Riverdale on this app for free.

MangaRock - I read most of my mangas on this app

iBooks - the installed app by apple where I transport a lot of my books into for reading and entertainment

VLive - For all my kpop friends, you know what this is for.

To be updated…

7K notes · View notes

keyofjetwolf · 5 years ago

Text

THE GIFTENING 2019: Jet Wolf’s Nomination Run-down

Last year, people said they would have liked to know which of the nominations I’d seen, or knew about, or liked, or didn’t like, etc. etc. I HEAR YOU. Under the cut, you’ll find all the nominees in every relevant category (anime, non-anime animated, live action, movies, games), and a couple of brief notes on my familiarity (or lack thereof) and general feelings on the thing.

YOU NEED NOT CONSIDER ANY OF THIS BEFORE MAKING YOUR VOTES

I’m putting the info out there for those who’ve wanted to know, but that information is relevant precisely as much as you want it to be. I can and will liveblog something I hate, I can play a game I’ve played twenty times before. THE GIFTENING is for you, and while I won’t lie (I won’t pretend to like something I don’t, I won’t feign surprise at a twist on my 21st playthrough), I’ll happily provide whatever entertainment in whatever way I can.

Also please note that if I don’t like something, that feeling comes with no value judgement. My disliking a thing reflects only on myself. So if you see I’m not a fan of something, or don’t think I’ll like it based on what I’ve seen or heard, please keep in mind there’s nothing personal toward in you at all in that. AND HELL I COULD BE WRONG FEEL FREE TO TRY AND SHOW ME

Anyway, enough with the blah blah. Join me under the cut if you care to know!

Anything marked only with ** means I haven’t seen/played it nor have any particular thoughts or opinions to share.

Anime

.hack//Sign **

A Place Further Than The Universe - Haven’t seen it, but from Dashboard Osmosis, was more interested in it than I have been a non-Sailor Moon anime in a long time.

Aggretsuko **

Aikatsu! **

Alien Nine **

Angel Sanctuary **

Aria the Animation **

Assassination Classroom **

Azumanga Daioh **

Bodacious Space Pirates - Saw through the first couple of episodes (liveblog here!) Not sure where it’s going, but liked it pretty well!

Bubblegum Crisis - An old personal favourite

Clannad **

Death Note - I think it’s about killing people with a slam book I DUNNO

Death Parade **

Diebuster **

Erased (Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi) **

Excel Saga **

Fate/Grand Order: Babylonia **

Fate/Grand Order: First Order **

Fire Force **

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club - I’ve watched the first series. It’s okay, WOULD BE BETTER IF NOT SO MANY DUDES

Fresh Precure - I’ve not seen any Precure series, but if pressed, would say it appears overwhelmingly fluffy and saccharine

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - a GIFTENING favourite! Barely into it, but enjoying so far. (previous liveblog here)

Fushigi Yuugi - I watched the series (quit partway through the OAVs) when I finished Sailor Moon back in the day and desperately wanted to find it again. I failed.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun **

Given **

Glitter Force **

Grave of the Fireflies - NEVER SEEN IT HAVE BEEN INFORMED IT WILL DEVASTATE ME

Haibane Renmei - I know only what I’ve read via Holligay’s liveblogs! (find them here)

Hamtaro - uhm isn’t this about a hamster

Higurashi When They Cry **

Houseki no Kuni (Land of the Lustrous) **

Hugtto! Precure - See note on previous Precure

Hyouka **

Kaguya-sama: Love is War **

Kaleido Star **

Kemono Friends **

Kimetsu no Yaiba **

Little Witch Academia **

Log Horizon **

Love Hina **

Luck & Logic **

Madoka: Rebellion - I saw the Madoka series (fairly ambivalent to it), and heard the movie was terrible, but no clue why, specifically.

Magic Knight Rayearth - Watched this back in the day and haven’t watched a single second since. I REMEMBER LIKING THE BLUE ONE

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha - Someone sponsored this liveblog for a while! (liveblog here) It was doing some really interesting things with kids burdened with all this world-saving shit, I thought.

Magical Girl Pretty Sammy (TV not OAV) - I know this is a Tenchi Muyo! spin-off (watched some Tenchi back in the day), but I’ve never seen it. Magical Girl Raising Project - Seen the whole series, and really quite enjoyed it.

March Comes in Like a Lion (3-gatsu no Lion) **

Megalobox **

Mirai Nikki (The Future Diary) **

Mob Psycho 100 - Never seen it, but know a bit about it through Dashboard Osmosis.

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) - WOW WE’RE GOING BACK INTO THE OLDEN TIMES. I’ve seen bits and pieces of *A* Gundam, but no idea which.

Moribito **

My Bride is a Mermaid (Seto No Hanayome) **

My Roommate is a Cat - Never heard of it, love the title, want it to be a series mashed with the one above.

NANA

Natsume's Book of Friends - I’ve heard the title enough to have it ring a bell, but know nothing otherwise.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - I FUCKING HATE EVANGELION I SEE YOU HOLLIGAY

O Maidens in Your Savage Season - This is another banger title, never heard of it.

Ojamajo Doremi **

Pretear

Princess Principal

Princess Tutu - WE’RE OLD FRIENDS TUTU AND I. I’m currently liveblogging Princess Tutu on the regular thanks to Calantian! (liveblog here) I just got to the halfway point of episode 12, and have Tutu on the schedule for January as well. LOVING THIS SHOW.

Project A-Ko - Among my earliest of anime experiences. A classic. A weird, weird little classic.

Re:Creators **

Read or Die (OAV) **

Revolutionary Girl Utena - I’ve no doubt my time of fully diving into this anime is approaching, but thus far, I’ve only nibbled at the edges. I know there’s shit here, there are too many people into it. MOSTLY THOUGH I’M STILL CONFUSED ABOUT WHY THERE WAS A KANGAROO (previous liveblogs here)

Rose of Versailles - It’s a historical anime and I think there are lesbians?

Samurai Pizza Cats - I could have this wrong, but I think this is a dubbed anime that’s hilariously unconcerned about anything involving the actual translation and plot? And it’s about cats that deliver pizza? I think there’s a crow that’s the bad guy or something?

School-Live - I know the general premise and watched the first episode ahead of Doc’s Eight Days liveblog of it. What I know has intrigued me.

Serial Experiments Lain - I watched this waaaay back when. Bought it on DVD! Still have them! I cannot for the life of me remember how I felt about it.

Slayers - Another I watched a bit back when! Found it to be generally okay, but it was like twenty something years ago because I am an old.

Snow White with the Red Hair **

Suite Precure - See previous Precure notes

Sweetness and Lightning - I got this as a Wildcard a couple GIFTENINGs ago, and found it to be CHARMING AS FUCK. I’m still mildly concerned it’s going to go creepy and weird on me Because Anime, but otherwise, I had a great time. (previous liveblog)

The Promised Neverland **

Thunderbolt Fantasy **

Trigun - I think I saw this on commercials for Toonami? Vash the Demolished or something? I THINK IT’S ABOUT A DUDE WITH A GUN

Umineko When They Cry **

Violet Evergarden **

Yona of the Dawn - I did a tiny bit of this for a commission, but remember next to nothing about it. (previous liveblog)

Zombie Land Saga - I ASSUME IT INVOLVES ZOMBIES IN SOME FASHION

Non-Anime Animated

Adventure Time - Seen a lot of it pass my dash, I know there’s a yellow dog that can be things, and the vampire and the pink one are gay.

Anastasia - Just livestreamed the movie with Holligay for Eight Days! I’ve no particular feelings toward it otherwise.

Archer - I KNOW IT’S ADULT

Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse - This has been nominated every single GIFTENING, I think, and while I’m no closer to knowing what this is actually about, the persistence is inspiring.

Bob's Burgers - Great show! Seen many episodes! I think it’ll be hard to liveblog in a meaningful way.

Bojack Horseman - I’ve seen through season three. EXCELLENT SHOW

Captain N - What the fuck I think I used to watch this on Saturday mornings

Carmen Sandiego (2019) **

Castlevania (2017) - I’ve seen a couple gifsets, that’s it.

Chuggingtons - WHY DO YOU PEOPLE HATE ME

Courage the Cowardly Dog - I know the premise, never watched the show.

Cyber Six **

Daria - It was a Beavis & Butthead spin-off and that immediately killed all interest for me.

Donkey Kong Country (TV series) **

Ducktales (2017) - I know a lot of people love them, but I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of the Disney ducks, generally speaking.

Epithet Erased **

Ever After High **

Gargoyles - Saw the first multi-part episode in a livestream a year or so back. It was pretty standard 90s cartoon stuff to me just from that, but I know it’s well-loved.

Generator Rex **

Gravity Falls - Currently liveblogging for the Patreon! LOVE IT. I’m not sure we’re outside the exclusivity window for it, but if it makes it into the second heat, I’ll figure out how to go from there.

Green Eggs and Ham (series) - Wait, what the hell, this is a series? HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS INTO A SERIES

Green Lantern: The Animated Series **

Harley Quinn - Loved the clips I saw of the first episode! Did not love the antisemitic clips I saw of the second episode!

Hazbin Hotel **

Hilda **

Home Movies - The few clips I’ve seen were hilarious.

Infinity Train **

JEM - MY LOVE. It’s desperately 80s and objectively poorly done in places and I adore it with my entire being.

Jonny Quest **

Kidd Video - I feel like I SHOULD know this, but I can’t place it.

Kim Possible - I’ve heard of it!

Klaus **

Mao Mao Heroes of Pure Heart **

Moominvalley (2019) - I know Moomins are those little white hippo things. I am pure confusion beyond that.

My Life as a Teenage Robot **

Over the Garden Wall - I did a couple episodes for my Patreon a few years ago, and have since finished watching the whole series. I’m up for a rewatch!

Rugrats - I know of it, but have only watched the Hanukkah special.

RWBY - Heard of it! I had the impression it was pretty queerbaity? (don’t quote me on that)

Samurai Jack - I know the premise, but never watched the series

She-Ra (80s) - YES I KNOW YOU

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) - Love it, love it. I still haven’t seen the most recent “season” (it’s a half season don’t jerk me around Netflix)

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse - I am a long-time comic book nerd and quite familiar with the Spider-Mans. Saw the film shortly after last year’s GIFTENING and enjoyed it.

Star vs the Forces of Evil - Had a liveblog of this for THE GIFTENING a few years back and it was okay, but I wasn’t super impressed. (previous liveblog)

Super Friends - I FUCKING HATE THE SUPER FRIENDS I SEE YOU HUBBY

Tangled: Before Ever After - Saw the movie, never seen the series!

The Animals of Farthing Wood **

The Dragon Prince - I’ve heard Tumblr chatter in a general sense, but no details.

The Hollow **

The Loud House **

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show **

Thundercats - I fucking loved Thundercats as a kid, hahhaha, there is no way it holds up.

Totally Spies - I’ve had several Patreon livestreams with the show, so have a pretty good general sense of the show at this point. I’m not sure it’d make a good liveblog, though.

Venture Brothers - I think it features a blond buff dude in a black t-shirt?

Wakfu (French dub) - Oh hey, this was a free to play game at PAX one year! That’s it, that’s all I know.

Winx Club **

X-Men: The Animated Series (90s) - DID SOMEONE SAY X-MEN??? I love this show. Hubby and I still to this day quote this show. This show is not good.

X-Men Evolution - Evo, on the other hand, is EXCELLENT. One of the single best incarnations of the X-Men, in my opinion. Seen all eps multiple times, love it, can talk for a hideously long time about details you never in your life cared about, will probably not make it through an episode, please consider if that is a point for or against it before you vote. (previous liveblog)

Live Action

Agent Carter - Saw the Captain America movie, that’s it!

American Gods - Read the book

Atypical - I know the premise very loosely, and it sounds good, but I’d be a little concerned about accidentally stomping in all the wrong places with my giant clumsy neurotypical feet.

Babylon 5 - I know it’s a sci-fi classic, and I’ve been assured there are characters I would love, but haven’t seen it.

Batman (Adam West series) - A SERIOUS LIVEBLOG WILL RESULT I’M SURE

Black Mirror ("White Bear") - This episode still fucks with me to this day. It’s exceptional, and also very very complicated. This would be a heavy liveblog, be warned. (previous Black Mirror liveblogs)

Brooklyn 99 - I’ve only watched a bit of this and enjoyed it, but like most sitcoms, it’s incredibly difficult to liveblog. (previous liveblog)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - One of my live’s greatest televisual loves. Joss Whedon and time have mostly driven that out of me, but letting my ego out to play for a second, I have to say, I give some pretty good Buffy. (previous liveblogs)

Cagney & Lacey - A formative favourite for tiny baby Jet Wolf! It’s a cop procedural, with all the downsides that implies, but also it’s lady cop BFFs AND I LOVE IT AND THEM

Carmilla - A current staple of the blog, thanks to @cello-moon! I’ve just started Season 3, and if you’re a regular around here, you know how all this goes. (previous liveblogs)

Charmed (1998) - I know of it, very very loosely, but never watched it.

Charmed (2018) - Also loosely known, but even less so!

Cloak and Dagger - I’m burned out (and just burned) from Disney’s Marvel garbage, but I know Cloak & Dagger from the comics, am that only makes me more surprised this show exists.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - I never picked this back up after THE GIFTENING, but had a great time with what we watched! (previous liveblog)

Critical Role (The Night Before Critmas one-shot) - I haven’t seen this one shot, but I DO love me some Critical Role.

Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - We watched the whole series, and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. PODLINGS ARE VALID AND HUP IS THE MOST VALID OF ALL

Dear Friends **

Derry Girls - Watched the whole thing a couple times now, absolutely adore it. One of the best shows I’ve seen in a while. Once again though, comedies can be SO hard to liveblog.

Dinnerladies **

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - I’ve heard of the book series?

Doctor Who - I’ve tried SO HARD to like Doctor Who, and yet.

Doctor Who (City of Death serial) - See above, no thoughts on this serial specifically.

Elementary - I’ve seen the first three seasons, I think it is? They began to lose me with some season choices, but I love Sherlock and Joan SO MUCH.

Farscape - I watched the series when it was first on The Sci-Fi Channel, but they kept jerking the schedule around and it fell off my radar. Quite liked it though, as I recall.

Galavant - I SUPER BELIEVE IN YOU TAD COOPER (previous liveblogs)

Good Omens (miniseries) - Read the book and survived the miniseries consuming Tumblr, but didn’t watch it myself.

Hannibal - I remember when this was EVERYWHERE, but mostly I remember that it was very gay and had that guy from Rogue One in it.

Hellier **

His Dark Materials - Haven’t watched it, haven’t read the books, I know nothing!

Kamen Rider (1971, ep 1) **

Kamen Rider Fourze **

Kamen Rider W **

Kanpai Senshi After V **

Killing Eve - I’ve seen some photo and gif sets, but haven’t watched it. I think they’re trying to murder each other? But also fuck? IT’S VERY CONFUSING

Legends of Tomorrow - I know it’s a DC show, and I think it has something to do with time travelers?

Leverage - I just watched and streamed my first two episodes last night on Patreon! Quite enjoyed it, more than I expected to.

LOST - Until proven otherwise, I’ll assume this was a troll nomination. GOOD GOD I HATE LOST

Lost Girl **

Love Island (season 3) **

Maho Sentai Magiranger **

Midnight Dinner: Tokyo Stories **

Murder She Wrote - Actual lol, I have no idea why this was nominated, but I love it and also you. ANGELA LANSBURY ON TV WE ALL WIN

Murdoch Mysteries **

Once Upon a Time - The premise is fairytales all smooshed together I think?

One Day at a Time (2017) - I’ve watched all but the most recent season, I think. Good show, very enjoyable, but mostly “watch and forget” for me.

Orphan Black - Currently liveblogging, thanks to @skylineofspace! I’m currently on episode 4, and absolutely loving it. (previous liveblogs)

Parks and Recreation - I’ve seen all but the last season, I think. Great show, but once again, I’d expect a difficult time liveblogging it.

Pushing Daisies - Never seen it. I think it’s about someone whose touch kills?

Re:Mind **

Russian Doll - Never seen a single second, but I’ve heard nothing but good things through the grapevine.

Sapphire & Steel - HUBBY’S TROLLING ME AGAIN. This is an oooold old old English sci-fi/horror show that I used to watch when I was a tiny tiny Jet Wolf and it scared the shit out of me. I’M STILL MILDLY TRAUMATIZED BY IT TO THIS DAY

Schitt's Creek **

Sense8 **

Shanara **

Smash **

Star Trek: The Next Generation - I love me some Star Trek. I’ve seen all of TNG, but haven’t sat down to fully rewatch the series ever, so most I only saw when they first aired.

Stargate SG1 - I think this is based on a movie I also haven’t seen.

Tantei no Tantei **

Terrace House **

The Good Place - OKAY SO THE GOOD PLACE. I watched the first two seasons and LOVED THEM. Mostly. I DO NOT love the Eleanor/Chidi thing. I do not love it to the extent that it completely sucked out my desire to continue with the show. I haven’t seen anything of it past the S2 finale. (previous liveblog)

The Haunting of Hill House - Watched and enjoyed the whole miniseries. I confess to being uncertain about liveblogging this though, as I feel Doc is doing it so much better than I could hope to do.

The Magicians & The Crown **

The Mandalorian - I KNOW BABY YODA BECAUSE I AM A PERSON WHO EXISTS IN OUR MODERN WORLD (that is all I know)

The Middleman **

The Tick (2016) - I know and enjoyed the cartoon!

The Untamed **

Twilight Zone - Who doesn’t know the Twilight Zone, it’s a fucking classic for a reason.

Twin Peaks - Believe it or not, I have never seen a single second of Twin Peaks. I know it’s weird, I know Laura Palmer is dead, I know functionally nothing else.

Ultraman X **

Westworld - Haven’t seen it, though I believe it’s loosely based on the movie of the same name which I HAVE seen.

What We Do in the Shadows (series) - I’ve seen neither the series nor the movie, but know it’s Taika Waititi and is reportedly hilarious.

Worst Cooks in America - WAIT AM I IN A TV SHOW

Xena: Warrior Princess - My OTHER great love. Adore Xena, adore everything about it (well, mostly), have devoted a not insignificant amount of my heart and brainspace to Xena, if you have me talk about Xena I may never shut up. (previous liveblogs)

Movies

Arrival **

Atomic Blonde **

Barbie's The Princess and The Pauper **

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - Saw it a million years ago, remember functionally nothing.

Best in Show - Also seen a very long time ago, just the once.

Bohemian Rhapsody - I love Queen and Freddie Mercury, and I had exactly zero interest in watching this film.

Brave - A Disney/Pixar movie I actually liked!

Cabaret - I haven’t seen the film, though I did see the stage musical, and it fucked me up pretty hardcore for a while there. (Do not let that dissuade you from voting for it! I’ve been wanting to watch the movie. Trump had just been elected when I saw it performed AND WELL THERE WERE THINGS)

Captain Marvel - Haven’t seen it, but it’s one of the few later stage Disney/Marvel offerings I’ve had any interest in.

Captain Underpants **

Carrie (1976) - ANOTHER SUPER OLDIE I’M SO DELIGHTED. I’ve seen it as well as read the book (both a very long time ago)

Castaway on the Moon **

Cats (1998) - hahahah I SEE YOU YOU ASSHOLES

Chocolat **

Clue (1985) - One of my personal favourite movies, though I did stream it not too long ago for my Patreon.

Coco **

Crank **

Crimson Peak **

Dale and Tucker vs Evil - I’ve never seen this, but have wanted to.

Detective Pikachu - Saw this in the theater, and I’m still not sure if I actually enjoyed it or not.

Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks - THIS IS A MY LITTLE PONY THING ISN’T IT

EVA **

Fate/Grand Order: First Order **

Flash Gordon - Delicious, cheesy fun.

Frozen 2 - I won’t be able to stream this if it’s not been released when it’s GIFTENING time, so just keep that in mind. Also please note that I have not seen Frozen 1. I only just, a few months ago, heard “Let it Go” for the first time. TRUE STORY.

Godzilla: King of Monsters **

Happy New Year (Bollywood) - I legit love Bollywood films, this sounds delightful.

Here Alone **

Home **

Hoodwinked! **

Hot Fuzz - LOVE HOT FUZZ

How to Train Your Dragon **

Howl's Moving Castle - I haven’t seen it, but I’ve had a few other Miyazaki films voted in for GIFTENING and Patreon, and I haven’t really enjoyed any of them. I’M WILLING TO TRY AGAIN. Just keep in mind, they may not be for me.

Hustlers **

In Her Shoes **

Inside Out **

Interstellar **

It's Such a Beautiful Day **

Jennifer's Body **

Jojo Rabbit - I wasn’t able to see this when it was at our local indy theater, and I regret missing it. I’d love to see it, but I’m not sure with my goyische commentary would be the best delivery method.

Jupiter Ascending - Love this beautiful dumb film, omg. I’ve streamed this for previous GIFTENINGs though, if that’s a thing to care about.

Klaus **

Knives Out - Very keen to see this, but it may not be out on dvd/streaming before THE GIFTENING, so bear that in mind.

Last of the Blonde Bombshells **

Legally Blonde - I’VE ACTUALLY NEVER SEEN THIS. I feel like I have, from all the gifs and shit, but nope!

Love Never Dies - Oh my god is this the Phantom sequel, why do you all hate me.

Mad Max: Fury Road - LOVE IT. I’ve done it for THE GIFTENING before, though, just a note.

Madoka: Rebellion - (copied from Rebellion in Anime) I saw the Madoka series (fairly ambivalent to it), and heard the movie was terrible, but no clue why, specifically.

Man from UNCLE **

Masters of the Universe (He-Man, 1987) - This movie is so fucking bad hahaha

Midsommar **

Monster High: Fright On **

Muppet Christmas Carol - Just watched this during Holligay’s Eight Days! I’m not sure it’s really in my wheelhouse, being relatively lukewarm on both A Christmas Carol and the Muppets, but I’d do my best!

Murder on the Orient Express **

Newsies (1992) **

One Cut of the Dead **

Pacific Rim - I saw it in the theater and actually didn’t care for it over much. I’d be willing to give it another shot though, it might be better second time around.

Pan's Labyrinth - I’ve streamed this film a couple times now, I think, but it’s a good one, so I’m up for another go if you guys want!

Parasite (2019) **

Perfect Blue **

Pleasantville **

Promare **

Redline **

Resident Evil **

Return to Oz - I saw this as a kid and haven’t again since. TAKE THAT INFORMATION AS YOU WILL.

Rock-a-Doodle **

Searching (2018) **

Secret of Nimh - LITTLE JET WOLF LOVED THIS MOVIE. Adult Jet Wolf hasn’t sampled it.

Spaceballs - I’ve watched the shit out of Spaceballs. I love a parody, I’m shameless.

Speed Racer (2008) - I’ve only seen this once,but actually enjoyed it more than I expected to.

Spice World - I legitimately love this movie. I’m not sure it’s GOOD but it’s a thousand times better than it has any right to be.

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse - Good movie, lots of fun, I streamed it not too long ago on Patreon.

Star Wars - IT’S STAR WARS

Star Wars Holiday Special - I’ve never watched this, and I’m not sure how excited I am to change that fact.

Street Fighter (1994) - I HAVE ONLY HEARD THE LEGENDS

Summer Wars **

Super Mario Brothers - Oh .. this can’t be good ...

Tale of Tales **

Tangled - I’ve seen it, but didn’t have strong opinions one way or the other.

The Adventures of Tintin **

The Great Muppet Caper - I’m sure I’ve seen this, but fuck if I can remember anything.

The Last Jedi (hatewatch) - WELP

The Living Wake **

The Lost Boys - It’s not a good movie, and I love it.

The Mummy (1999) - Streamed recently on Patreon!

The Rezort **

The Road to El Dorado - I’ve seen it, I want a Sailor Moon AU of it.

The Room - I know it’s considered one of the worst films ever made, but I’ve never had the personal privilege of experience.

Tokyo Godfathers **

Us (2019) - Saw it in the theater, totally down for seeing it again with perspective on the whole movie.

Venom **

Wall-E - Probably my favourite Pixar film!

Wayne's World - Saw it back when! Does it hold up? WHO KNOWS

What We Do in the Shadows (movie) - As mentioned above, I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard it’s an amazing Taika Waititi joint.

When Marnie Was There **

Wolf Children Ame and Yuki **

X-Men 2 - GOD I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I’m not sure how well it would hold up, but when it came out? One of the few films I’ve paid to see multiple times in the theater.

Your Name **

Games

Ace Attorney (blog) - I’ve tried multiple times with the Ace Attorney games, and I must be honest and say I just don’t like them.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - I’ve watched a playthrough! The story’s not good. THE IDEA OF PLAYING IT STRESSES ME OUT SO HARD HAHAHAH YOU FUCKS

Among the Sleep (stream) **

Arkham Knight (main story run) (stream) - Very intrigued to play this. I’ve tinkered a bit, but get distracted by all the side stuff. The motivation to just streamline the story very much appeals.

Baba is You (stream) - I’ve heard great things about the game, but in a “It was great!” way, I still know fuck all about it.

Black Closet (blog) **

Borderlands (stream) - Love Borderlands, it’s fun as hell. I’d probably angle for Borderlands 2 over the first, but would have a good time however it went.

Catherine Classic **

Cho Aniki **

Control (stream) - I’ve seen a little bit on Steam, just enough to know I’m interested.

Cthulhu Save Christmas - Never heard of it, but great title.

Cuphead (stream) **

Danganronpa **

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (blog) **

Dead by Daylight (stream) **

Death Stranding **

Death Trips **

Detention (stream) **

Disco Elysium (blog) - I’ve heard great things, would be totally okay with a reason to play it.

Doki Doki Lit Club (stream) - I was so intrigued with this from THE GIFTENING a couple years ago that I wanted to work it into the main schedule, but it just didn’t happen. 100% on-board the chance to keep going!

Dragon Age: Origins (stream) - I KEEP STALLING WHENEVER I TRY TO REPLAY THIS GAME SO I CAN MOVE TO DA2 THIS IS MY PERSONAL HELL

Dragon Quest Builders 2 (stream) **

Dream Daddy - I know the premise, and the idea of blogging this is beautiful.

Final Fantasy X (blog) - Have I played X? (asks Hubby) YES I HAVE. It’s one of the few that I finished. Final Fantasy games usually entail so much grinding that I’m not sure it’d be a great liveblog, but I’d do my best!

Firewatch - I’ve been wanting reasons to play this SO MUCH.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (stream) - I’m preeetty sure everyone just wants to hear how many terrible accents we can do. And that’s legit! I’ve since figured out how to play mobile games on my PC so the video quality would be better than last time, but that is the only improvement I could promise. (previous stream)

Gris **

Half Dead 2 (stream) **

Hand of Fate 2 (blog) - I think this is a card game?

Hatoful Boyfriend/Pigeon Fucking (blog) - IS IT EVEN REALLY THE GIFTENING WITHOUT PIGEON FUCKING (previous liveblogs)

Hollow Knight **

House Flipper (blog) - I’ve tentatively had my eye on this on Steam for a while, so seeing this nominated tickled me.

Just Dance (stream) - Jesus wept, you all DO hate me. IF I HAVE TO DO THIS I WON’T DO IT ALONE

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (First Chapter) (blog) **

Legend of Zelda (stream) - I AM SO BAD AT THIS GAME WHY

Life is Strange (blog) - See below!

Life is Strange (stream) - I streamed all episodes of Life is Strange a couple years back. While I’m not sure I’d have much to offer on a replay, I’ll happily do it if you guys vote it in. MEANWHILE, here’s a playlist with all the Life is Strange streams.

Life is Strange 2 - My understanding is it’s a separate game from the first with new characters and new story.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm (stream) - And I believe this is a prequel to the first Life is Strange featuring Max and Chloe.

Little Inferno (stream) **

Long Live the Queen (blog) - YOU KNOW PINK PRINCESS (previous liveblogs)

Long Live the Queen (stream) (with walkthrough to not repeat) - I laughed so hard at the nomination specifically giving my ass a walkthrough.

Mass Effect 1 - I’ve played it multiple times! The Mass Effect series is one of my personal favourites.

Monster Prom (w/Hubby, Doc, & Jill) (stream) - AGAIN WITH VOICES I SEE YOU. It can be difficult to get everyone’s schedules all in alignment, so this may be subject to shuffling and delays, just to keep in mind.

Nancy Drew: Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (stream) **

Overwatch (stream) - I assume this is more group play? But we can talk details if it makes it into further heats.

Oxenfree (stream) - I’ve fully streamed Oxenfree on the Patreon. It’s well outside the exclusivity window at this point, and I’m happy to make those public if you guys were interested and would rather put your votes elsewhere. That said, I really enjoyed the game, and think a second playthrough could add a lot to the overall experience, so feel free.

Pathologic 2 (blog) **

Persona 3 Portable (blog) **

Pillars of Eternity (blog) - I’ve never finished Pillars of Eternity, but I do have a game with some significant progress I could continue. Alternately, I could roll a whole new character, and would play it however you guys chose. We have options if we go this route!

Pokemon Go (stream/videos) - Amazing. Here the link to last year’s Pokemon Go, if you’d like some idea of what the fuck this is about!

Portal (stream) - The Portal series is great, I think it does some really interesting and innovative ideas with gameplay. I’ve played and finished the first two, though remembering the solutions to any of those puzzles is, of course, another thing entirely.

Recettear: An Item Shop Tale (stream) - THIS WAS THE FIRST THING I EVER BOUGHT ON STEAM. I haven’t played it in forever, and I’m not sure how entertaining it would be, but I’m down for finding out!

Resident Evil 2 remake (blog) - IT’S ZOMBIES. That’s about all I know about Resident Evil.

Reventure **

Sara is Missing **

Shovel Knight (stream) **

Slime Rancher (blog) - I have and have played Slime Rancher! I’m a little unsure about blogging it, but would try!

Slime Rancher (stream) - I WASN’T EXPECTING SUCH A RUSH FROM THE SLIME RANCHER FANDOM THIS YEAR

Stanley Parable - I think Hubby’s played this? I seem to recall it has a narrator who comments on what you do, but I don’t know much else.

Stardew Valley (blog) - I’ve never gotten as far in Stardew Valley as I’ve felt I would. Lots to do for me, yet!

Stardew Valley (stream) - Same as above, just in stream form!

Subnautica (stream) - I’ve done several Subnautica streams for Patreon, and if this gets through, I’d release them so everyone (who wants to) can catch up. If I recall, my last play left off with me exploring a big ass ship that crashed.

Superluminal **

Tales from the Borderlands - It’s Borderlands, but Telltale, though!

Tales of Symphonia **

Team SASV (Pokemon X/Y) - TEAM SASSY AND SOMEWHAT VAIN. If this gets in, I’ll need all the intervening time to try and find my fucking DS. (previous liveblogs, via the backup)

The 7th Guest (blog) **

The Beginner's Guide (stream) **

The Long Dark **

The Outer Worlds - I haven’t played this yet but would be extremely delighted for an excuse to pick it up and start.

The Walking Dead game - I watched Hubby play the first two installments, haven’t seen beyond that. Felt the second was weak, LOVED the first. I’ve been hanging on Holligay’s playthrough, so I’m relatively familiar with the story again, save the last episode, which she’s not played yet. I’ve been wanting to before she did, to compare what I think she’ll do to what she actually does, so an excuse to get going on that would be welcome.

The Witcher 3 (stream) - I know @jewishsuperfam loves The Witcher, AND THAT IS ALL I KNOW.

Undertale (blog) - AREN’T I LIKE TWO MINUTES FROM FINISHING THIS. The fight where I left off was frustrating THE PISS out of me, but if this gets in, I’ll get Hubby to read up on what I need to do, and maybe get around that fight before the liveblog, so I don’t spend the whole time getting nowhere and then punching my monitor.

Untitled Goose Game (stream) - I just last month finished this on the Patreon! I need to double check that it would be out of the exclusivity window, but if so, I’d be happy to release it for you guys. I had a great time, but I don’t think there’s much to be regained from playing it again.

VA-11 Hall-A (blog) **

VooDoo Vance: Remastered **

Wattam **

We Happy Few (stream) - I know the basic storyline premise, but little else.

What Remains of Edith Finch (blog) - I watched Holligay’s stream of this and loved the story.

Wild Arms 3 **

Wild ARMs XF (blog) **

Yakuza 0 (stream) **

Zero Escape 999 (blog) **

AND THAT’S THAT. Sailor Moon Day and Miscellaneous don’t require much input from me ahead of time, I don’t feel, but if you have a question on anything there -- or something that’s unclear here, just shoot me an Ask. AND IF YOU FOUND THIS USEFUL PLEASE LET ME KNOW. It took me ... just SO much longer than I was expecting it to. Which I don’t mind, but if it’s not actually helpful to anyone, that’s time better spent elsewhere next year.

#THE GIFTENING 2019 #THE GIFTENING 2019 admin stuff

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