#it's Twin Engines that gives me this vibe

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Out of all three of the Fat Controllers we see in the Railway Series, who would you say is the coldest/most cruel in terms of personality and actions?

Only one of them ever blocked off his entire main line and threw a dependent into solitary isolation for months in order to teach a lesson to a literal Toddler Engine.

So I think Fat Controller #1, Original Flavor Sir Topham Himself, wins this one pretty handily.

[caesium-55]

—seven days. [ vi.i ]

pairing: max verstappen x manager! reader.

summary: as the third time world champion, max verstappen's manager, you function on the belief that whatever max verstappen wanted, max verstappen shall get. but this time, after four years of working as his manager, you can't give him what he wants anymore and that was to stay.

tags: @whatamidoingwithmylife-ramdom @eugene-emt-roe @bellezaycafe @barnestatic @theseerbetweenus @wcnorris @notyouraveragemochii @lpab @vildetry06 @a-beaverhausen @formula1mount @loloekie @alucardsdaddyissues @juky-ps @cassianswh0reeee @devotedlycrookeddonut @amberpanda99 @supermaxv1 @evie-119 @spideylovin @harianaswhore

author's note: i dunno if this is good cuz i have to delete a lot of scenes to make everything fit djsjjj. AND pls listen to two weeks notice by leanna firestone. 🐝 anon shared it to me and AAAAAAAHHH it captures the main vibe of the fic

masterlist.

"New shoes?”

The shoes come in black and it features a sleek silhouette with a pointed toe and a golden heel that is shaped as the letters Y, S, and L. Max is no expert in shoes but he knows how to recognize a luxury shoe if he sees one.

“Pretty lil things, aren't they?” you bring your foot forward to flaunt it.

Max doesn't know if it’s the heels that makes your feet look pretty or if the heels look pretty because you have pretty feet. Contrary to popular belief, Max does not have a feet kink. He just knows how to appreciate the aesthetics of a body part.

“Three years of savin’ and I finally got ‘em.”

“Good for you?” Is that an appropriate thing to say to a woman who just bought nice-looking shoes?

Max sees Daniel hug you after the Azerbaijan GP. You have twinning smiles on your face. Max's curiosity grows. You pull away from the hug and wave goodbye, returning to the garage, to where Max is standing and waiting for you.

“What did you and Daniel talk about?” he asks and if he sounds like he’s demanding, he doesn't mean it.

You stop walking, finally noticing Max's presence. The smile on your face fades a little but it doesn't completely disappear. “Oh, hi? Congrats on the podium today, big guy.”

“What were you and Daniel talking about?” Max asks again.

“‘s not important.”

“I want to know.”

You give Max an odd look, probably questioning why he wants to know so badly. He doesn't know why either. He just wants to know.

“Renault has an open spot in their engineering team,” you finally say, smile growing wide. You’re literally vibrating in excitement as you say it.

Max feels like someone just poured a bucket of iced water over his body.

“Engineer? Why would you even apply in Renault’s engineering team?” he sees your face shift and he wonders if his question is offensive. It does not seem like it is. For Max anyway.

“I’m an engineer, Max,” you're gritting your teeth, Max notices.

Oh, Max realizes. This was why Christian mentioned moving her to the engineering team. He thought you’re going to be their manager or something. Do engineers get managers, too? Max doesn't know.

Max’s world shifts off its axis when he realizes the bigger meaning carried by your words. You want to leave.

“No.”

You make a weird face, “No?”

“No, stay.”

He is perfectly aware that he is in no position to ask this of you. If you want to be an engineer and chase your dreams, you can. No one has the right to stop you. That's your dream. That's your life.

But do you really need to leave?

Suddenly, this becomes like the Daniel situation all over again.

Max isn't sure the exact time you begin holding this much importance over his life that he’s suddenly afraid of your absence. Max still won't consider the two of you friends per se, but he does not want you in Renault. He wants you here, behind him, following him at all times. You don't have to follow Daniel to fucking Renault.

Renault just keeps taking everything from him. First, it’s Daniel, his best friend and teammate. Max will not allow himself to lose you over to Renault and their sucky cars.

“Funny how you think you got a say in this,” you do the thing where you shift your feet lightly so you’re facing Max fully, one hand on your waist while the other rests limp on your side, your head slightly tilts to the right. There's a bulge on your cheek, where your tongue is pressing inside it, and one of your brows is cocked.

“You don't have to go to Renault. You can stay here,” he adds and it almost sounds like he’s pleading.

“And what Max? Let all the money I spent in engineering school go to waste?”

“Do you not want to be my manager anymore?”

“No offense, buddy, but I’ll choose being an engineer.”

Fair point but Max is still hurt anyway. Why are people always leaving him? Is it that hard to choose him and love him? Is he not a good enough reason to stay? Maybe it's because he's not a world champion yet. Maybe it's because he's not someone praiseworthy yet.

“I will win next year. When I become a world champion, I’ll ask Horner to move you to the engineering team.”

Max hopes you believe him.

The 2019 season ends with Lewis Hamilton at the top. Valtteri Bottas is close behind him. After Bottas stands Max Verstappen.

He’ll understand if you're making your application letter to Renault at this very moment. And yet, you come knocking on his hotel door.

“You’re trashin’ the room again,” you say, not ask but say, when Max opens the door and this is like 2018 again when he trashed his entire hotel room for coming in fourth. You even wear the same clothes as last year—a Red Bull polo shirt and a black pencil skirt with the same cream tote bag with peach prints but the shoes are different. “Sour loser much?”

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you, too,” you reply in a nonchalant tone, not even taking offense that Max has cursed you out. “Lemme see your hands. I have a cold canned beer.”

“I didn't punch the wall.”

Not yet at least. He’s definitely planning to, before you have decided to knock on his door.

“Well then,” you thrust the beer towards him. “Good thing’s beer has multiple purposes. Bruised knuckles? Beer. Bruised ego? Beer.”

Angrily, Max takes the beer in your hands. He really can't deal with you right now.

“Don't worry, man. You’ll be world champion one day. You have the makings of one,” you assure him and your words are too unexpected that Max stiffens. “Not this year but one day.”

“Why can't it be this year?” he asks after a few seconds' pause.

You shrug your shoulders, “Not your time yet, I suppose.”

Then, you turn around and walk away, the loud clicks of your black and gold heels echoing in the hotel hallway until it fades into silence, while Max stands there at the open door, a cold canned beer in his hand.

He’s trying (emphasis on the word trying) to prepare himself snacks so he can eat while sim-racing. It's the off-season right now and his mother and his sister have decided to visit his place in Monaco and stay for a few days before they fly together to Belgium and spend the holidays there. Daniel’s name appears on the notification bar of Max’s phone.

daniel: is [name] in monaco rn or did she go home for the off season

max: why would she be in monaco right now

daniel: she lives there

max: [name] lives in monaco?

daniel: you didn't know??

daniel: she’s been living there since last year

daniel: ever wondered why she comes by our building a lot?

max: how am i supposed to know

daniel: she's your manager

max: well we don't exactly talk about where we live

daniel: i cant believe you

daniel: shes been living there since she was my manager

max: that long???

daniel: i cant with you sometimes

daniel: neways do u have her number?

daniel: i think she got it changed a month ago and i forgot to ask her

daniel: she's not answering my messages in ig

max: yeah yeah i do

daniel: great

daniel: can u call her and ask if she’s in the country?

max: ok

daniel: cool cool

daniel: appreciate it,, man

You answer the phone on the second ring.

“Need anythin’, man?”

When will he hear you call him Max rather than man, dude, bro, big guy, big boy, darlin’ (teasingly), or loser?

“Hi [Name]. I’m calling because, uh, Daniel messaged me,” he begins. “He said you’re not replying to his messages on Instagram.”

“Oh, my bad, my bad. I’ll check it out later, still out playin’ ball right now.”

“He’s asking if you're in Monaco right now.”

“Yeah, yeah, I am. Flight’s still next week. Why’s he askin’?”

“Okay,” he doesn't know what else is there to say. “I didn't even know you live in Monaco.”

“Well, I do,” he hears someone yelling your name. “Aight, anythin’ else you wanna know?”

“Nothing. Nothing else.”

“Okay. Stay safe out there, my guy.”

“You, too.”

The call ends and suddenly, the world feels too silent.

max: yeah she's here

max: she said her flight is scheduled next week

daniel: perfect

daniel: i have her christmas gift with me rn she better be there when i land

daniel: i have to wrap this up on the plane

daniel: do you know how hard it is to gift wrap smth during a flight

Max’s brows furrow. Perhaps he has underestimated the depth of their friendship. They're close enough that they give each other gifts. Or at least, she’s close with Daniel enough that he buys her gifts.

max: safe travels daniel

Daniel arrives a day later, which coincidentally is the same day Sophie, Max’s mother, and Victoria, his sister, landed in Monaco as well. Max’s mother adores Daniel, which is not surprising because everyone adores Daniel.

“Join us for lunch, Daniel,” Sophie invites him. Max and Victoria stand behind her. The three of them are heading out for lunch when they come across Daniel, who is also heading out, at the lobby of the apartment building.

“Sorry, Sophie, but I have an appointment today with [Name],” Daniel scratches his nape and smiles apologetically. Sophie perks up at the mention of [Name].

“Max’s manager?”

“Yes, Max’s manager,” Daniel nods enthusiastically.

“Invite her, too! I’ve always wanted to meet her. She sounds like an amazing girl from what Max has told me.”

Max groans, “Mom, please.”

He may or may not have talked about [Name] during his calls with his mother. Mostly, it's complaints. His mother has laughed at him, used to hee son's constant complaining. Despite that, she still thinks [Name] is good for her son. It's good that someone is able to rein you in when needed, she said.

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll love it. How about I call her and we’ll meet you at the restaurant in a few?” Daniel says.

Everything is settled. Max has reserved a private room for the whole lunch meeting so he can enjoy the privacy of lunch with his family. Less than an hour later, you arrive with Daniel.

Max almost drops the fork when he sees you walking towards them, just a few steps behind the grinning Daniel.

You look different than usual. Max is yet to decide if it's a good type of different or not, because when his eyes land on you, he feels like a thousand elephants have begun a violent rampage in his chest.

You’re not wearing the usual Red Bull polo shirt—perhaps that's why Max feels odd because he’s so used to seeing you wearing it—and instead, you were in a bustier jumpsuit with a white long-sleeved button-up shirt under it.

It looks a little too tight in Max’s opinion, hugging your body in a way that Max thinks you cannot breathe. He can't even breathe when he looks at you right now.

Daniel and you stop in front of the table and Max’s mother stands to kiss you both on the cheek. Max then notices that you’re carrying two bouquets in your hand. Funny how they're so huge and colorful but for some reason, he hasn't noticed them since you walked into the room.

“For you, Ma’am,” you smile as you hand the bouquet to Max’s mother, who gasps in delight. “Welcome to Monaco.”

Then, you turn to Victoria and hand her the other bouquet, “For you, too, Miss Victoria. Welcome to Monaco.”

“Please, have a seat, you two. We’ve already ordered for you," Max's mother says. You and Daniel sit down.

You and Daniel quickly engage in conversation with Max’s mother. Victoria elbows Max, leaning over his ear to whisper, “You have a good manager, Max.”

“You just like her because she got you flowers," Max whispers back.

Victoria chuckles and the Verstappen siblings join in the conversation.

Lunch is a pleasant event. Everyone loves the food. Everyone laughs. Everyone is having a good time. However, good things always come to an end. Daniel has to leave early because he has an appointment. Max is supposed to drive Victoria and his mother to the department store because they planned on shopping together as a family and buy gifts for their relatives in Belgium. But since Daniel left and he was your ride going to the restaurant, that means you have no ride going home.

You insist that you can hail a cab or even walk to your apartment since it’s “just three streets away” but Max notices that your smile looks too forced and Max calls bullshit. Max may not know where you live but he knows you're lying. Thankfully, his mother seems to share the same sentiments and push you towards Max.

“Don't worry, honey. He’s a good driver. You're in safe hands.”

“I’m really fine, Ma’am,” you try again.

“Call me Sophie,” she says, her hand comes up to your shoulder and you flinch a little. “You take good care of Max. It's the least he can do for you. Also, I’m a woman, honey. I know the pain of walking a good distance in heels. Don't subject yourself to that pain.”

You don't protest any further and the four of you hop into Max’s car. Max drives Sophie and Victoria to a department store and drops them off. He kisses his mother’s cheek as they bid a temporary goodbye. Afterwards, he instructs you to type down your address on the GPS so he can drive you to where you live.

When he reads the address you input, he snorts. You whip your head around to give him a dirty look.

“Three streets down,” he says, amused. “Really?”

“Shut up, ‘s just on the other side of the city.”

“It's still far.”

The first few minutes of the drive is silent. You sit on the passenger seat with your earbuds in and legs crossed, leaning most of your weight against the car door so your back posture sort of resembles a person with mild scoliosis. Max hears you hum along the song you’re listening to, your fingers tapping along the rhythm.

Max taps your shoulder. You turn to him, pulling off one of your earbuds.

“Somethin’ wrong?” you ask.

Why do you always assume something's wrong when he calls your attention? Does he really only talk to you when he has a problem?

Max gestures to the AUX, “You can connect your phone to my car.”

You gasp dramatically, a hand pressing on your chest, “You’re givin’ me AUX privilege? Truly honored.”

Max rolls his eyes.

“But I don't think you’ll like what I listen to,” you add.

“Try me.”

El Alfa songs have electrifying and infectious rhythms and Max may not understand the lyrics but not understanding the song lyrics can't stop a person from enjoying a song. El Alfa songs are the type of songs that you’ll hear in parties and in the streets.

“By the way,” Max begins. The song changes into something else—Sofia, the title reads, sung by Alvaro Soler. It's a whole different vibe from the previous song. “Thank you for giving my mum and sister flowers today. That was very thoughtful of you.”

“Just trynna be nice,” you say nonchalantly. “Glad they liked it.”

“Also, you look nice today.”

You slowly turn to him. You have this weird expression on your face like you have an aneurysm but also indigestion and mild stroke.

“Did you eat somethin’ weird at the restaurant?”

“No, I didn't.”

“Then why are you playin’ nice?”

Max rolls his eyes, “I can punch you if you want.”

“Yeah, right, as if you can. Your mother raised you too well to throw hands to the ladies.”

Max closes his mouth.

“See? I’m right,” you continue. “You’ll fight any man on the grid but you won't fight me even though I annoy you every day. You're not like your father, Max.”

Max clears his throat awkwardly. He does not know how to respond to you. You're too… too… honest.

“But thank you,” you say. “Borrowed this from my roomie ‘cuz I don't own any nice clothes.”

You wear branded clothing way too well for someone to think otherwise.

The song switches. Danza Kuduro starts playing. Max knows this one. He watched Fast Five.

Max stops the car outside the apartment building, but instead of hopping off, you rummage through your tote bag—still the cream-colored one with peach prints, it looks so worn down now—and pull out a….it looks like a beaded bracelet but it's not closed on the ends.

“What's this?” he asks when you hand it to him. Red and navy blue beads—the color of Red Bull.

“Consider this as my gift for the holidays. I made Daniel one so it makes sense that I give you one as well.”

Oh. Max blinks at you then glances down at the little thing in his palm. Something warm blooms in Max’s heart.

“That's very thoughtful of you.”

Panic follows. His head snaps up.

“But I haven't bought you anything.”

“That's okay, man,” you smile and open the door. “Thanks a lot for today.”

You step outside and close the door after you before Max can even utter another word. Max watches as you jog inside the building. He shakes his head when you disappear from his vision, hangs the beaded keychain with his keys, and drives back to where he drops his mother and sister off earlier.

Sophie notices the keychain and compliments it. She asks his son if he got into the hobby of creating things out of beads. Max shakes his head and tells her that the keychain is a gift from you.

His mother visibly lights up, “You should get her a gift!”

Max gets into thinking. Yeah, he should.

He meets you a day before your flight to Texas in the lobby of the building where you live. You gave him a keychain. It's only appropriate that he gives you keys. (You don't seem very happy with the gift though for God knows what reason but Max is adamant on giving it to you and will not stop at a no.

“I want you close,” he says, surprised by the sincerity that exited his mouth.

“Well, I don't.” Your words sting a little. Max ignores it.

He ends up giving you a different key. You say the other key is too expensive. Max is not thrilled but it's still a key and this certain key, you accept. So Max is happy.)

Max flies to Belgium a few days after you and celebrates the holidays with his mother's side of the family. He calls your cell in the middle of the night, Belgium is six hours ahead of Texas so Max is sure it's around four in the afternoon from where you are. He does not expect you to answer as quickly as you did.

“Somethin’ wrong?” your voice sounds rough like you’ve been asleep.

“Hi, uhm,” Max clears his throat. He’s a little tipsy right now and his words are flying around in his brain. “Happy holidays.”

There's a pause.

“You called me for that?”

“Can you stop being mean? It's the holidays.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Kinda?”

“Well then,” Max hears a ruffle of sheets and suddenly, he feels bad for waking you up. “Happy holidays to you, too, bud. Appreciate the effort and the money you spent on making this call. International calls are expensive as fuck.”

They're not. At least, Max thinks they're not.

“Can I get your Instagram? The one you use to talk to Daniel?”

“My priv? Why?”

“Because I just want it.”

“Brat. You can’t follow that account usin’ your public account. PR has access to your account and they’ll see my shit. I don't want them to see my shit.”

“Then, I’ll make a private account and we’ll follow each other.”

He hears you sigh.

“You promise not to give PR access to that account?”

“Hm. I promise.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever. Send me the details and I’ll follow you when I wake up, aight?”

Max giggles, “Okay.”

“Anythin’ else?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“Aight, I’ll continue my nap. You enjoy yourself there.”

“Okay.”

Then, COVID happens.

[mojomcm-fandom]

Edit: Now that it's not late at night and I have my laptop out, I'm editing this so it sounds less like the ramblings of a madwoman (tho there's a limited amount I can do seeing as it is, in fact, the ramblings of a madwoman lol). Also formatting and clarity and any additional theories/headcanons/whatever I think of while editing this.

Partly crack, partly copium, but I've got some theories/crossover/au thing going on that I wanted to write down so here goes:

Crack/Copium/Theories:

All 3 of the trailblazer kids are actually "dead" aeons.

Stelle/Caelus: Akivili (Herta makes us LARP as Akivili in Hertian Realm and we're known as the Trailblazer while Akivili is known as the Trailblaze so idk I know the player character looks like Nanook but they ain't dead soooo...)

Dan Heng: Long (maybe the High Elder Vidyadhara is actually Long's own reincarnation but they have no idea bc memory wipe. TBH makes no sense for the Permanence to be dead)

March 7th: Idrila (this one's a bit of a stretch so bear with me. The Aeon of Beauty could be HoHe Elysia expy and March is also kinda Elysia expy so ??? And March was froze in ice without memory so it's totally possible that's Idrila's mysterious disappearance)

Also:

Sampo is Aha. He gives strong vibes of being a Masked Fool in canon, but I think it'd be funny if he's actually the Elation.

Pom-pom was created by Akivili to protect the Express after Aha blew it up. Pom-pom is also a proficient marksman. This is bc of some canon evidence alluding to Pom-pom actually being really powerful (Yanqing and Welt both make mention of it iirc) and the engine of the train looking like a revolver. (Also headcanon that the Astral Express itself was made from one of Akivili's twin revolver pistols. Perhaps the other has the ability to summon the train?)

Lan has not and will not kill Yaoshi bc yin-yang/life and death balance and also bc what is a hunter without prey. The Hunt had no issue killing the Propagation, so this seems like the most reasonable reason why the Hunt has been after the Abundance so long without killing them.

On aeons and the relations between paths (I might end up making a relationship chart?):

Death Aeons: Nanook is unnatural death (think murder, natural disaster, etc.), while IX is natural entropic death (like degradation from aging), Lan is controlled, balanced death (think like hunters/predators keeping ecosystem in balance), and Oroboros is the death caused by one's own greed (think pollution, overconsumption). Terminus is the end of time and final death of the universe.

Life Aeons: Tayzzyronth is overabundant life (think how invasive species population boom bc outcompeting native species for resources), Yaoshi is overabundant continuation of life (think unnaturally prolonged life), and Long is eternity (without change or growth, entropy comes for all).

Mythus and Nous are polar opposites in path direction. Akivili is midway between the two (to trailblaze is to turn the unknown into the known).

Some paths are directly at odds with each other (opposite directions), some paths have overlap (too much overlap leads to one path consuming the other like with Ena and Xipe), and some paths are neutral (running perpendicular to the others). Mostly this matters in relation to pathstriders who walk multiple paths, as it is extremely unlikely to find, for example, someone simultaneously walking both the path of the Hunt and the Abundance.

Hooh's is the ultimate neutral path. Akivili's is also a fairly neutral path, though slight odds with Mythus's (to seek to make the unknown known doesn't really work with the idea nothing can be known) and maybe Aha (just bc Aha is a jerk and like Herta said, surely Akivili would've taken offense to Aha blowing up the Express). Idrila, Xipe, Fuli, Aha, and Qlipoth also have relatively neutral paths, though Qlipoth and Fuli are at odds with Nanook and Mythus. Xipe sometimes does not get along with Aha, if Aha is being particularly antagonistic.

Crossover/AU (Genshin):

Traveler and twin are Akivili (one soul two bodies, don't think too hard about it). Akivili is presumed dead by HSR universe bc Sustainer of Heavenly Principles imprisoned Akivili on Teyvat (a world at the fringes of the known universe/Yggdrasil/Irmunsul/Imaginary Tree). Claiming that they are siblings is far easier to explain than that they are two halves of the same god.

Zhongli/Morax is a high elder (do non-high elders have the ability to turn fully into dragons? are there any high elders who are not Dan Heng? idk) vidyadhara who arrived on Teyvat shortly before rebirth. Idk weird Teyvat magic or something made his rebirth cycle this time 10x longer than normal (should only be 600-700 years between rebirth and he's canonically 6000 years old). He is unaware of anything HSR related bc memory wipe from rebirth and nobody around to explain things.

The Imaginary Tree in HI3 and HSR and Irminsul in Genshin are the same tree (Yggdrasil), but some may only be branches of the other

So yeah, stay tuned to see HoYo prove my theories and headcanons wrong in the upcoming years.

[bijouxcarys]

Ties That Bind - PROLOGUE TEASER

Okay, this story is in no way, shape or form ready for release yet. But I'm interested in what you all think about what I have as the working prologue at the moment. Will eventually go through some editing, but I need to know it's worth it to keep going!

(This is a mafia AU)

It wasn’t hard to miss the trail of black SUVs cruising down the rain-slicked streets of New York City. While passersby made their way home from work, they could only envy the lucky bastards who owned such a vehicle. Not that they could see inside it, of course. Its passengers were completely cloaked in shadows.

“Man, you always got the best tunes, Uce,” Jimmy said as he fiddled with the radio, a grin playing on his lips. He settled on an old-school hip-hop station.

Roman smirked. “Gotta keep the vibe right, y’know? Can’t go into business all tense and shit.”

In the backseat, Jey was stretched out, his eyes closed and his head nodding to the beat. “You think this deal’s gonna go smooth?” he asked without opening his eyes.

“Better,” Roman replied. “We ain’t got time for no drama tonight.”

Jimmy glanced at his cousin. “You hear anything about Dimitri? Anything we should know?”

Roman shook his head. “Just the usual. Volkov’s always lookin’ to expand his empire. This deal’s big for him too. So, let’s just handle our business and get out.”

They drove in comfortable silence, the city’s neon lights reflecting off the wet pavement, creating a kaleidoscope of colours that danced across the sleek surface of the car. Roman felt a sense of calm with his family close, a rare moment of peace before the storm of their criminal world.

It wasn’t much longer before they pulled into the decrepit warehouse, its once imposing structure now a crumbling relic of the past. Roman killed the engine, and they stepped out, their breaths instantly visible in the cold night air.

Wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm, Jey took in the sight in front of him. “Damn, this place down real bad… There even a point of goin’ inside? Shit looks icy in there, Uce.”

“We’re going inside,” Roman responded through a chuckle, signalling to do just that. “Can you handle a little cold for ten minutes?”

“Ten minutes?!” Jey groaned, trailing behind Roman and Jimmy.

“He just mad ‘cause the chill makes Little Jey all shrivelled and shit,” Jimmy teased with a cackle that bounced off the vacant walls of the warehouse.

Roman just shook his head in amusement. Never a dull moment with the Usos around, that’s for sure. It would make the wait more bearable.

That’s the part of these deals Roman hated the most: the waiting. And the twins’ constant back and forth only relieved the restless stretch of time to a degree before he became impatient.

Roman stood in the shadows, his keen eyes scanning the darkened surroundings for the tenth time tonight. This was supposed to be a simple handoff, a straightforward deal. But something about the stillness in the air, the silence that seemed too deep, set his nerves on edge.

“This place gives me the creeps, Uce. What’s takin’ ‘em so long?” Jimmy muttered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Patience,” Roman replied steadily. “They’ll be here.”

The sound of approaching vehicles broke the silence. Headlights pierced through the darkness, and a convoy of black SUVs—not too indifferent from their own—pulled up, their engines purring ominously. Roman straightened, signalling his men to stay alert. The doors of the leading car opened, revealing the brooding figure they had been expecting, illuminated briefly by the interior light.

“Dimitri,” Roman greeted, extending a hand. The Russian took it, his grip firm and cold.

“Roman,” Dimitri responded, his Slavic accent thick and voice as rough as gravel. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

“Not at all,” Roman lied smoothly. “Let’s get this over with.”

Dimitri motioned to his men, who began unloading crates from the vehicles. Roman watched them carefully, his senses on high alert. The deal was for a shipment of weapons—high-grade, military-issue. It was a big score for both sides, provided everything went according to plan.

“So, where’s the money?” Dimitri asked, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinised Roman.

“Right here,” Roman nodded to Jey, who stepped forward with a heavy duffel bag. He unzipped it, revealing stacks of cash, neatly bundled and undeniably real.

Dimitri’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “Excellent.”

As the exchange began, Roman felt the buzzing of his phone from within his pocket. He pulled it out, glancing down at the screen, half-expecting it to be another message from Maria, telling him more of what he did wrong this week.

Boy, was he wrong.

Unknown Number at 22:47 IT’S A TRAP GET OUT NOW

His blood ran cold. Roman looked up, meeting Jey’s eyes and giving a barely perceptible nod. They had been set up.

“Is there a problem?” Dimitri asked, noticing the change in Roman’s demeanour.

“No problem,” he replied coolly. “Just a little change in plans.”

“Oh?” Dimitri tilted his chin up, an attempt to face up to the hulking 6ft 3 stature of the Samoan in front of him.

“Yeah,” Roman smiled with a nonchalant shrug. “Ya know how it is, man…” His facial expression dropped from jovial to flat-out frigid. “Plans… change. Nei, tama.”

Before Dimitri could react, the air erupted with the sound of gunfire. Roman’s men sprang into action, drawing their weapons and taking cover. The Volkovs were equally prepared, and the warehouse transformed into a battlefield.

“Move it!” Roman barked, pushing Jey and Jimmy towards cover. He ducked behind a stack of crates, firing at the Volkovs as he went. The sound was deafening, the flashes of gunfire illuminating the chaos.

“Dammit, Roman, what’s goin’ on?!” Jimmy yelled over the noise, returning fire.

“Someone tipped us off. We need to get outta here!” Roman shouted back, taking down a Volkov soldier who got far too close for his liking.

Through the haze of smoke and chaos, Roman saw Dimitri retreating, barking orders at his men. It was clear the Russian had no intention of staying to see how the fight played out. Roman’s jaw tightened. This was supposed to be a simple deal, but now it was an all-out war.

“Fall back!” Roman ordered. “Get to the cars!”

His men began to retreat, covering each other as they moved. The Volkovs pressed the attack, but Roman’s team was disciplined, their movements coordinated. They reached the cars, engines roaring to life as they sped away from the warehouse.

Roman’s heart pounded as he glanced in the rearview mirror, watching the warehouse fade into the distance.

/

“This is bad, atali’i,” Sika said, turning to face Roman. “Real bad.”

Back at the Reigns family compound, the atmosphere was tense. Roman’s father, stood by the window, had just endured Jimmy’s entire recount of the night’s events with a grim expression.

“I know, Pops,” Roman replied, his voice steady but his eyes burning with anger. “But we’ll find out who did this and why. And we’ll make ‘em pay.”

Sika nodded. “We need to be careful. Whoever set this up knew exactly how to hit us. We can’t afford to let our guard down.”

Roman glanced around the room at his family, his blood, his soldiers. They were all looking to him for direction, for a plan. And he had one. But first, they needed more information.

“Jimmy, Jey,” he said, turning to his cousins. “We need to tighten security. No one gets in or out without us knowing about it. And I want you to start asking questions. Discreetly. Find out who knew about the deal and who could have tipped off the Volkovs.”

The twins nodded, their faces as serious as ever; they knew the stakes as well as he did.

“Solo,” Roman continued, addressing the twins’ younger brother. “I need you to keep an eye on Ava. From a distance, I can’t give that… strega another thing to hold over my head.”

Solo nodded, his demeanour always as cold as the North. “I got this.”

As his family dispersed to carry out their orders, Roman turned back to Sika. “We need to get answers. Fast. Someone’s playing both sides.”

Sika’s eyes hardened. “And when we find them?”

Roman’s expression was frozen with vengeance. “We make the motherfucker regret they ever stepped foot on my turf.”

This was more than a betrayal; it was a declaration of war.

[dysfunctional-doodle]

where did the 2003 raph and don twins headcanon come from? i’m partway through season 2 and i don’t actually think they’ve talked that much separately

I’m not sure? I just have had it for a while - the scene I pick the most often is when they are playing video games all night and somehow when Mikey and Leo return they have the couch stood vertically with Donnie perched at the top with no explanation.

I think I hc it so hard because of their personalities and how they interact. Raph is very gruff, and likes tweaking with motorbikes and engineering. Donny is much softer, gentler, also loves engineering but more on a scientific/academic side, but compliments Raph so well because of this. Two halves of one personality.

Raph doesn’t bug Donny with the older brother privilege like he does with Mikey, or pull any middle child shenanigans like he does with Leo. Kinda gives the vibes to me that he sees him as someone in his level maturity and age wise.

Who am I kidding, I just love the brains and brawn idea and so fuelled my own head cannons for years lol

[thunderxleafart]

"When Bill and Ben met the Scottish engine Douglas for the first time, they thought it'd be most fun to tease him."

"...until they discovered they weren't the only twin engines on the Island of Sodor."

Hey y'all! :D I have a two-parter for you today!

Since I'm still on that Thomas Brainrot(tm), I've been writing sort of "fan" episode concepts just for funsies. And since we never got to see the two sets of twin engines interact, you bet I had to write something based on just that! xD

Then, of course, I decided to draw something based on the concept as well, aaand... here we are! xD

One day, Douglas goes to Brendam Docks, where he meets a pair of cheeky little Saddletank engines. They're quickly up to their usual antics, teasing and pulling tricks on the poor Scottish engine. He's most annoyed with the two little troublemakers, and quickly begins thinking of a way to get back at them. 

And so, with a little help from his twin Donald, they turn the tables on those cheeky little tank engines and give them a little taste of their own medicine! ;D

Once it's all over, though, they all have a good laugh about it! :D Though Bill and Ben would be shocked at first, they'd be good sports about it. At the very least they'd know never to mess with the Scottish twins again, that's for sure! xD

Honestly, I'm still shocked that these guys never interacted in the canon material. Pairing the two sets of twin engines together just seems like such a fun concept! I'd have loved to see the little gremlin tank engines get their comeuppance from the more level-headed, albeit still cheeky in their own right, Scottish twins. xD

Ah well! I can have fun imagining the chaos at least. ;D

Overall, I'm super happy with how this turned out!! I kind of went for a storybook-esque vibe with this and the other piece, and I'm really happy with the result. I also just had a lot of fun playing around with all the different textures and effects.

So I hope y'all enjoy it too! <3 And, with the FNAF movie (I still can't believe it LOL) just around the corner, I do have plans to draw something for that in the near future. ;3

So stay tuned!~

And as always, thanks for looking everybody!~ ^w^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Donald, Douglas, Bill & Ben (c) Thomas & Friends Art (c) Me! <3

[descendantofthesparrow]

Brutally honest thoughts on each character?

...*Each* character???? bruh thats so many, okay ill keep this short cuz im waiting for a haircut rn

well start with the vks cuz thats easy

Mal-started off strong and then just became...THE WORST, love hate relationship for her. shes my art block fix but also i hate her

Jay-i dont have strong opinions on him, he actually never stuck out to me other than 'obligatory jock dude of the friend group.' i wish i liked him more but im more attached to his fandom self over canon Jay

Evie-got boring after D1, i wish they let her keep her chemistry stuff, love her vibe but shes kinda boring to me. SHOULD'VE BEEN THE MC OVER MAL!!

Carlos- lots of lost potential with his tech stuff from the first book and movie. easily could've been an engineer or inventor but they just made him an animal lover and i got bored of that real quick.

Uma-my queen, my idol, can do no wrong i love her so much i WILL kill for her.

Harry-i love his dumbass so much YALL DONY EVEN KNOW I WANNA BITE HIM SO BAD

Gil-one of the few characters i felt actually...grew up? idk but hes one of the few characters were it actually feels like time passed for.

Dizzy-oooooooh honey, honey honey, sunshine baby, please, put the glue gun down.

Celia- they should've gone with her trailer persona. Her outfits are so bad and i wish she got better writing and designs, so much lost potential, also she should've been Jays pick.

Smee twins- why the fuck are they even here they had one line and no significance. also they should've had a Harry scene.

Aks

Ben-puppy boy, deserved to have doberman energy. got turned into a doormat by the writers and is unfairly hated.

Audrey-bitch queen, shes not a nice person and thats okay~ girlboss.

Chad- should've been the D3 villan they had that all set up in D2 with his weird ass attitude over Ben getting kidnapped on the isle.

Doug -....honestly gives me the ick, especially in D3, i HATE the long hair his actor had/has. gold is NOT his color and neither is pastel purple or green. he looked good in D1 but ICK for 2 and 3.

Jane- bby gurl, blue bird sweetheart. yeah she did some fucked up shit in D1 but she was an insecure 14 year old girl who got manipulated by Mal and other aks!!!

Lonnie- deserved so much better, shes Chinese why is she getting Japanese style stuff?!?! her plot in D2 didnt even do anything it just happened and no one cared and Jay just shoved his problems of girls playing roar onto her.

Beast- *inhale* i wanna kick his ass, and i could, lemme at him. how dare he force an entire kingdom on Ben at 16 when he didnt become king when he was 28(when he married Belle)

Belle- they took away her backbone, shes not Disney princess book worm and independent Belle. she just, lost the spark

FG- they turned her into a preschool teacher, GIVE ME MY OL COOKY FAIRY LADY BACK

Leah- *seething rage*

vk parents

Maleficent- fuckin love her, shes such a manipulative bitch and feels like a gone crazy version of a Maleficent made for kids. def not the mistress of all Evil but i love her nonetheless

EQ- shouldve been the head villain, SHE WAS THE FIRST DISNEY VILLAIN CMON! def not the same character from the animated movie but shes dramatic and sassy and i adore her.

Jafar- haha funny characature~ i wish he was more menacing like he had been. Jafar is not one of my fav villains so descendants jafar didnt exactly translate for me well.

Cruella- yeah they nailed her, no complaints about her. good design, good dialogue, good acting.

Hades- LEMME KICK HIS DEAD BEAT ASS, fucking 'daddy issues made you stronger' my butt. i hate his hair and honestly he doesnt fit the washed up punk design, he didnt deserve the speech at the end and didnt deserve to be forgiven by Mal.

Ursula- we only saw her tentacle and one line but she seemed spot on so yeah

Lady Tremaine- why the fuck was she nice in D3??? bitch is the EVIL stepmother.

Smee- spot on, i have words for his sons designs becuaee hes old not naturally white haired but hes chill, makes sense hed be a good parent, he never felt evil to me, just compliant

Facilier- such a vibe, his actor got him spot on, would've changed up his suit design but hes chill and i can see him being a family man(ignoring wicked world).

[astralisbelle]

Dead Man's Hand 1 - Peli's Apprentice

Dead Man's Hand Masterlist tags: tags: engineer!reader, gambler!reader, loose canon timeline, eventual smut, fluff, action, casino aesthetics, touch starved reader, touch starved din, reader and din get on each other’s nerves, also they’re idiots, defrosting ice king din, cinderella vibes, everybody loves grogu

chapter summary: Mando meets Peli's new apprentice

The Razor Crest lands with a lurch and a drop far too close for comfort, but at least he made it.

He spots the mechanic marching up to his ship, ready for a lecture that he knows is coming. With a sigh, he pulls the levers to park the ship. “Well,” he says to his little green companion. “Let’s get this over with.”

The Mandalorian steps out, holding Grogu against his hip with one arm. Peli stands with her arms crossed as the small droids scatter in the presence of the man. “What did you do to it?!” she scolds.

“Bounty hunting isn’t exactly a safe profession,” he says. Grogu coos as if he agrees. Peli can be as cross as she likes with the Mandalorian, but she softens immediately at the sight of Grogu’s black, beady eyes. Her tight frown loosens to a smile.

“Alright. Thankfully, you’re in luck. I’ve got just the person to help me out with this one.” Peli sticks two fingers in her mouth and gives a loud whistle. “Hey, Rookie, you’re up!”

“Coming!” a distant, feminine voice calls out. Emerging from the office, lugging a large box of tools in her arms is a young woman in a similar mechanic’s uniform. Dust and grime peppers her face and clothes, giving her a plain appearance. She sets down the tool box and as she straightens her back, her eyes meet his visor. “Whoa… don't tell me. You must be the Mandalorian.” She seems star-struck for a moment.

Peli pats her shoulder. “That's right! This is my best customer. And this little womp rat is Grogu!”

The girl makes eye contact with the child who raises a clawed hand in an attempt to wave. She laughs and waves back before extending her hand to Din, telling him her name. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He does not take her hand.

Peli gently pulls her back. “Don’t mind him. It’s not a personal thing. Why don’t you round up the droids and get started on the ship?”

“A-Ah. Sure.” She clears her throat and drops her hand to the side.

“I wanted you to look at the ship,” he tells Peli. “Not some kid.”

The girl puts her hands on her hips. “Now just wait a second.” She straightens her back, but even then, he eclipses her in height. “Who are you calling a kid? Do I look like I still go to school?”

“Alright, alright.” Peli pats her shoulder again. “Save your energy for the repairs. Get started.” The apprentice raises a brow, waiting for him to interject again. When he remains silent, she huffs and takes her tools.

“C’mon, guys!” she says to the droids. “Looks like we got our work cut out for us.” She storms off with the droids and once she is out of earshot, Peli gestures for him to follow her.

“I know, I know. Got more fire than the twin suns combined, but she’s brilliant.”

Din had figured with all the droids and her own intellect, Peli didn’t need the help. He sets Grogu down to give him a chance to stretch his little legs and leans against the wall, watching the apprentice as she scales the ship, connecting cables and directing the droids.

“Where’d you pick her up?”

“Wanna hear the story, Grogu?” He lifts his ears, giving a sound of affirmation. “Went to the cantina for a drink and this young woman is sitting in a corner booth with a deck of cards. She was playing with some others for spare parts and credits. But then, she gets caught cheating, is my guess. Gets about three blasters in her face, ready to fire before I step in.”

“And why’d you do that?”

“She knew her parts and components. I thought with a little refinement, she’d make a good assistant. So I sweet talked the players, offered her a job where she’s less likely to get shot at, and I have more free time! It’s a win-win.”

Din chuckles at Peli’s ever present ability to make opportunities for herself. He watches the girl act swiftly, as if she had worked on the Razor Crest a dozen times before. She is like him, he concludes, that each were scouted for their innate talent towards different abilities, taken in by people not of their blood.

“I’ll be the judge of her work.”

Peli beams, a sense of pride in her voice. “You won’t be disappointed.”

[aritsukemo]

My Abandoned WIP Works #1

Warnings: Spoilers to the Fontaine Archon Quest up ahead!!!

Summary: Just some works I'll ( most likely ) never finish because I lost motivation, didn't know how to end it, found the plot boring and didn't know how to spice it up, or similar problems like that.

Not what was expected | Mikey S. ( Problem: Lost motivation/Couldn't find a way to wrap everything up )

"So what do you think she looks like?" Chifuyu asked the captains and vice captains as he sat on one of the steps that led to the shrine; The place majority, if not all, of Toman meetings took place.

"Who?" Takemichi—better known in the gang as 'Takemitchy'—asked.

"Oh, you talkin' about her." Ken—more commonly known as 'Draken'—said as he finally connected the dots, "Well actually she's—"

"Bet she has a nice ass," Smiley interrupts, having no shame as he continues, "Or maybe a great set on her. 'Doubt boss would date some pancake."

"Huh?" Takemichi blurted out, feeling dumbfounded as he rapidly turned his head, hastily glancing at each one of them with a mixed look of astonishment and confusion which gets a small chuckle out of Mitsuya.

"They're talking about Mikey's partner. Y'know, the person we're supposed to be meeting today?" Mitsuya clarifies.

"Why else do you think only the captains were summoned?" Chifuyu added with an unnecessary roll of his eyes. Takemichi shoots him a him.

"Well if only the captains are supposed to be here, why are you here?" Takemichi retorts.

"I go wherever you go because you're too much of an idiot to be left alone," Chifuyu explained, earning a loud 'Hey!' from his best friend, "Plus, I got the okay from Mikey before I came. All of us did. Why else do you think only we're here and not everyone?"

Upon saying that, Takemichi looks around and finally takes notice of all the members who actually came. Besides the ones who spoke up, there was only Angry, who was standing off to the side next to his twin. No sight of anyone from the fifth division or any of the other vice captains to be seen.

"I hope she's not an asshole at least.." Angry mumbled after a while. His tone soft despite the scrunched, angry expression that gives off a completely different vibe.

"Actually—" Draken attempts to speak up only to be cut off again, this time by Takemichi.

"I've never heard of Mikey talk about any girls before," He said before murmuring in a lower tone, "I didn't think he'd be interested in dating at all.."

"Apparently they've been dating for a while," Chifuyu spoke up, "Or at least, that's what I assume. I don't think he'd put so much effort into us meeting them otherwise."

"They're pretty close," Draken confirms, "But I think you guys have the wrong idea. Mikey isn't—"

Before the words could leave his lips, the familiar engine of Mikey's CB250T steals everyone's attention. And as the sound grows louder, Mikey quickly comes into view with..

..a guy. Wait, what?

"Hey guys," Mikey greeted nonchalantly despite the multiple reactions of surprise he's met with. Behind him, his partner, a small—even shorter than Mikey—rather thin male cautiously steps off the bike and cautiously walks closer.

"Uhm.. Hi, I'm Y/n, Manjiro's..uh.. You probably already know.." The boy spoke softly, scratching the back of his head, "I- I've heard so much about you guys so I'm glad we finally have the chance to meet. Although I feel a little bad about Manjiro making you guys come all the way out here just for introductions sake.."

Silence.

Baking Disaster | Chifuyu M. and Kazutora H. ( Problem: Didn't think anyone would like the idea and eventually lost motivation all together )

"So, do either of you mind telling me why what just happened...happened?"

Silence. Chifuyu sighs, his eyes involuntarily drifting to the counter where an entire tray—of what he can only assume were cookies—sits atop a towel, the smell it's producing tingling his nose the more it invades it. He looks back over at the two people in front of him, his two partners, both of which covered in flour, batter, and bearing crestfallen expressions. He sighs again.

"It was my fault," Y/n is the one who ends up saying something first, speaking softly as they stare at their feet. And at the sound of their confession, the black and yellow-haired male beside them looks over at them.

"No it's not," He retorts before glancing back over at Chifuyu only to immediately look away as soon as their eyes lock, "It was all my fault. I wasn't paying attention like I should've and now the kitchen's a mess.."

"'Tora's lying," Y/n speaks up again, this time more firmly, "I was the one who set the temperature on the stove too high and burned the cookies. You should blame me."

"I was the one who pour too much butter into them which made them catch fire like that. I'm at fault here," Kazutora says, his guilt-filled eyes locking with his lover.

"We don't know if that's for sure what caused it. I accidentally spilled a bunch of flour into the bowl when you weren't looking and didn't tell you. Not only that, but I completely froze when I realized the fire. You don't have to take the blame for my sake."

"I'm only taking the blame because I'm the one who caused it, love."

"I was the one who caused the fire though, I should be blamed for this." Y/n retorts.

"You wouldn't have made any mistakes if it weren't for me dragging you to the kitchen instead of letting you rest. You've been swamped with assignments ever since your break ended and the moment you finally had a little free time to sleep, I came and bothered you."

"Now you know that isn't true. I offered to help you out since you said you were going to make Chifuyu something."

"Wait, wait, wait," Chifuyu interrupts, his words thrown out rather hastily as his hand waves on beat to his voice, "Those over there.. They're for me?" He questions.

"Well, they were for you, yeah.." Y/n says, voice growing quiet more towards the end of their sentence as they stare at the charred pastries from afar.

"You could say I- er..we wanted to show our appreciation by surprising you," Kazutora says, sounding more dejected as he adds, "But because of me, that didn't happen.."

"Why would you go through all of this trouble anyways?" Chifuyu asks, raising his eyebrow. Not expecting the look of bewilderment he got from the two of them.

"Are you seriously asking us that?" Y/n questions, "Yeah, are you serious?" Kazutora adds, "You do so much for us. You always try to help Y/n with her assignments even though you have no knowledge or experience on the material."

"You did everything you could to cheer up Kazutora when he lost his job at that convenience store a little while back. Hell, you even took on a second job to buy us those expensive ass gifts for Valentine's Day last week," Y/n adds, rolling their eyes as they ask, "The real question is, why didn't we do this sooner?"

Chifuyu chuckles, his hand coming up to scratch the back of his head, "Well all this meant so much to you two, I should thank you guys for your efforts.." Without any further hints, Chifuyu walks over to the counter, both Y/n and Kazutora's eyes widening behind him as he pries one of the black, cindered cookies off the damaged tray, "..It's only right that I give it a taste, right?"

"Chifuyu, wait/No, you shouldn't—" Before either of them could stop him, Chifuyu bites down. He struggles to chew the piece he bit off which cause Y/n to cringe, but it does little to stop him chomping through and swallowing it.

"Wow," He drawls, "This tastes as horrible as I thought it would, maybe even worse.."

"We tried to warn you.." Kazutora says, now feeling even more embarrassed and remorseful about the outcome. To his surprise, Chifuyu takes another bite.

"What are you doing?" He asks.

"What does it look like I'm doing, I'm enjoying my snack." Chifuyu replies, voice muffled as he gnaws at the cookie

"You just said it tasted awful," Y/n says.

An Utterly Devoted Familiar | Furina ( Problem: Didn't know how to wrap things up in the way I wanted to and eventually gave up )

Knocks vibrate throughout the apartment, soft and simple only to become loud and incessant after a while without being acknowledged. The owner of the apartment—who had been so rudely awoken by the noise—arose from her bed with a sour look on her face. Her heterochromic, ocean-like eyes burning with fire as she scans her room for her slippers.

"Coming, coming..! Gosh.." She shouts in a rather grumpy manner when the knocking continued. Understandably so. It was the middle of the night and someone, who clearly has no mind for other people's sleep, was banging on her door like some madman. Anyone in her shoes would've been pissed.

Honestly, do people have no respect these days? To just disrupt someone's sleep without a care in the world what could possibly be so important?

After finally finding her slippers, Furina practically stomped out of her room and up to her door. She was planning on giving whoever was on the other side a piece of her mind for waking her up and then go back to bed when she cooled down, but as the door swings open and Furina is met with the perpetrator, all her anger is washed away like a seashell against a water current.

There, standing before her with their fluffy ears twitching eagerly atop their head and pastries in hand, was the Hydro Archon's—Furina's former companion, you.

"You finally answered, my lady!" You chirped, "I'm so glad! Heh, for a second there, I thought I had the wrong address.."

She was at a lost for words. Why were you here? And why did you seem so happy? After everything came to light and Fontaine found out she was a sham, she was sure she'd never see you again..

So why in the world are you standing at her doorstep?

"Y/n.." She mumbled out in disbelief, but you seemed rather pleased nonetheless. Your name always sounded so lovely whenever it came from her lips.

"May I come in, my lady?" You ask after a while of her staring at you as if she'd seen a ghost, "If not, I don't mind standing here."

"Oh! Uh- No! Come in!" What is she saying? She should be shooing you away, not welcoming you in! "Sit wherever you'd like!" She continues anyway, stepping aside.

Obviously pleased, a smile graces your face and you walked in without hesitation, marveling in awe at her home as if it was made of gold or something.

"This place is so cute! You've decorated well, my lady!" You praise and she has to resist visibly cringing in response to your praise. In all honesty, her place wasn't much to look at. In fact, the place was quite barren since she hadn't gotten around to decorating it yet..

"Thank you.." She forces out, avoiding your piercing gaze as it falls on her. She turns on her heel, showing her back to you as she slowly, hesitantly closes the door.

"So..uhm, what brings you here at this hour?" She finally asks after taking her time to lock her door and turn to you; silently gulping when she locks eyes with your slited ones. Your eyes were always so intimidating to her for some reason.

"I wanted to see you of course!" You gleefully say, "But I've been so busy with running errands for Monsieur Neuvillette lately so I hadn't had the time."

You look so happy. So excited to see her again and here she stands, surprised, looking almost petrified as guilt bubbles in her chest.

She can barely force a smile on her lips and when she does, Furina is almost positive of how crinkled it probably looks, but it'll have to do for now, "I see..so that's your reason.. Well, you've seen me now so you can go and—"

"I stopped by Café Lutece earlier today," You mindlessly rambled, "I cleared out my morning so that I could get your favorite cake.." A small sigh leaves your lips as you continue, "Unfortunately, by the time I got there all sixteen slices had already been sold out..but, I should've expected that. After all, my lady has great taste in dessert, it's no wonder they always sell so fast!"

You shake your head, your ears wiggling as a result of your attempt at physically clearing your head, "Anyways, I'm sorry I couldn't get your favorite cake, but I bought everything else you see here to make up for my blunder so I hope this can earn your forgiveness," While you spoke, Furina's eyes watched your every movement, narrowing in on the pile of small boxes of sweets as you stretched your hands out to dump the pile into her arms.

As she staggered to catch the boxes that threatened to slip through her grasp and splatter all over the floor, her eyes widened at the realization of the mere size of the pile. This variety of sweets isn't at all small. There were so many that even she would take at least a week or two to get through the majority of this. Just how much time and money did it take you to get all of this for her? Furina's heart sinks at the mere thought of you spending even a dime on her..

"H- Hey, how much was all of this exactly?" The question hesitantly, almost fearfully escapes her. Your ears perk up and your rambling comes to an abrupt stop. Nevertheless, your face easily gives away how you feel towards the question; genuine confusion.

"Why the sudden ask, my lady? Whenever I used to buy you sweets before, you'd never care to ask about the prices.."

"Well, you of all people know that..I'm not.." She couldn't even get the words out. To put it simply, the mere thought of the incidents occurred makes her shudder. Everything was so embarrassing it makes her want to lock herself in this home for five hundred years..

Hm, but with that curse lifted, thankfully she's not able to live that long anymore.

Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx

[unpopularvivian]

What would it be like if the four inspectors (Sir Topham Hatt, Mr Percival, Fergus Duncan, Sir Robert Norramby) go partying for a few weeks and return to the railway drunk

(By the way you give me vibes that you are Toby, I have no proof but I have no doubts either xd)

The engines are definitely going to get a nasty surprise lol 😂😂😂

Sir Topham Hatt would absolutely start dancing on the roof while Gordon and Toby are trying to get him down. His grandkids are probably recording the whole thing unfold into madness.

Mr. Percival would be 100x more emotional than ever and the Narrow Gauge engines are uncomfortable as fuck when he starts blubbering about how his bike was stolen.

Sir Robert Norramby..... Ummmmmm..... Accidentally sets the entire castle on fire and now Millie, Glynn and Stephen have nowhere to sleep.

Don't know about Fergus Duncan but I know that he's single so he tries to get a partner by using horrible pick-up lines.

(Also. Yes. I am indeed partially Toby. I'm basically Gordon, Toby, Mavis and the Scottish twins combined together, I can confirm that. 😌)

[dragons-and-magic]

What made you ship all of them, lol?

Especially Sonny x Rebecca?💙💛

HOOOOOO BOY. This is gonna be a long one! Lol! Honestly, most of the reasons is just liked them. I saw some fan work of them and they just clicked with me. I don't know. I'm not very complicated when it comes to shipping.😅 But I'm super excited to talk about my ships, so I'll try to give some more thoughts on them than that. Let's get into it!

Sonny x Rebecca: I will admit, I didn't ship these two at first. But, after I saw some fan content of them, I was hooked. I think they would have really good dynamic. We all know it's implied that Sonny has had a very rough and frankly traumatizing life. I feel like Rebecca could be good for him. Her joyful and sweet personality might just be what he needs to heal. Plus, they give me sun and moon vibes.🌚🌞 (P.S. I almost forgot. Watching Gordon take in the fact that his daughter figure/apprentice is now dating this "thieving rapscallion" would be absolutely hilarious.)

Thomas x Ashima: I've been shipping these two for years! I mean, look at the the way they look at each other and talked about each other in a few scenes! And how Thomas really wanted her to stay with him longer? Saving each other in the competition?? Or that one BWBA episode where he fantasized saving her like action hero??? That's so frickin cute!

Another thing! Thomas is used to having to prove he's worthy for all sorts of things. Ashima thinks he's already worthy. She literally looked at him and said, you don't need to change. You're perfect being yourself and I like it.😭💖 I personally feel like they're soulmates! And make a really good team! I really wish they had done more with them in show. I was hopeful when they announced they would be putting her in more episodes. But alas, nothing really happened.

Frankie x Hurricane: I love me a good villain couple, m'kay? Also, the tragedy??? Think about it, since they're working on the mainland, they don't know about steamies and diesels finally getting along. (We do know that things are the mainland didn't change as quickly.) So picture this. Back then, when the mainland engines found out that steamie and diesel had fallen in love, all hell broke loose! So, the poor ostracized couple left to escape the hostility, and went where they could never find them. A big steelworks, in the middle of nowhere... Anyways, they would totally be an awesome Disney level villain couple. I know it.

Emily x Connor: This one has what I call "I take a tiny moment and blow it up into a huge thing!" Lol. Basically, in one episode, Connor very subtly flirted with Emily and I found it interesting. It may or may not have been intentional, but either way I thought that it could be really cute. They give me knight and princess vibes. Also, I love Caitlin and Emily's relationship. (Healthy female friendships! My beloved!) Having her as a wingman (wingwoman???) for Emily and Connor sounds all too adorable. Although admittedly, this ship is definitely not my favorite on the list. I used to like it more when I was younger. Recently I got into Douglas x Emily, which has way more hints than this ship. And that one is slowly creeping up higher on the list. So we'll just have to see with one comes out on top.

Edward x Boco: SUCH A CUTE COUPLE! I didn't ship these two at all, until start reading fic's for them and saw the fanart. Then I realized these two might as well be married! Just two nice old guys, raising three rambunctious children together.🥰 Also, it seems nice that Edward finally has someone tough enough to help him wrangle in the twins when he's feeling worn out. And their personalities fit really nicely together too. Somebody put it better then me, right here. But yeah, these two are adorable! Easily one of my top favorite ttte ships!

Belle x Flynn: Honestly, I have no reason to ship these two, other than I just think it would be cute. No canon event inspired it. No fanart. Nothing. It just popped into my head one day and I decided to roll with it. Lol. I think it would be fun to see.

Daisy x Ryan: I'm not to sure what to say about these two either. Other than they give me vintage movie vibes. (Maybe it's Daisy. She reminds me of a few female movie stars from the old days of Hollywood.) And as a vintage movie fan, I really like that! Also, it's worth mentioning she literally flirted with him in one episode. That was a surprise! It was convince him to do some jobs for her, but whatever. Lol. Also Ryan was almost completely oblivious to it. My poor Gold Retriever Boy. It didn't fully compute. 🤣🤣🤣 Still, I think it could possibly work. Especially in the later seasons.

James x Nia: YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE RARE PAIR!🤩 I've talked about it so much now! But, here's a few more thoughts on them! They actually have a few traits in common. They're both playful, fiery, and outgoing characters. And they both seem to be very loyal as well. Oh, did I mention that their matching color scheme is perfect. And I feel like Nia would help James loosen up a bit and get even more adventurous. So while definitely a rare pair, I think they're neat and should be explored more!❤️🧡

Toby x Henrietta: If Thomas and Ashima are soulmates, Toby and Henrietta are champion soulmates! They're such a husband and wife duo. I loved every episode they had together. The way they talked to other and how much they disliked being separated? Adorable!!!😍🧡🧡 Sometimes they remind me of my own parents.😂 Whoever came up with the idea to finally give Henrietta a voice and an actual face? I salute you. You were a true genius. Now I can hear their realistic husband/wife banter in it's full glory. Lol.

Well, that's my thoughts. I'm not very good at romance anything, so I hope this will suffice.😅 Thanks for the ask!

[anxious-ace]

New Au (TF2: Respawn):

Disclaimer:

In this au, the respawn machines are up and running

Because the respawn machines are up and running, there's no need for clones, and thus the 2 teams are separate people

As the 2 teams are separate from each other in the AU, they have different names and stories (the mercs I'll be talking about are the red team unless specified) 

Not sure if them being separate from each other is true in canon but this AU rocks with it (it's less confusing that way, more work sure but less confusing)

Also, the time period has been shifted from the '60s-70s to 2024 so keep that in mind 

Let's get into the ideas:

Sniper is Māori (indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand), no one knows though (white passing with a tan from Australian outdoors)

He also has 4 cousins (2 sets of twins, one set is older than him and the other is younger)

Sniper is an only child so the cousin thing is to give him someone to spend time with (as he’d probably be kinda lonely)

Actually, he'd keep to himself either way (as he does)

He’s been dealing with some, sleep problems, thanks to the respawn going wacky (there’s “another red spy” walking around, and let's just say, it's not good)

(I mean it doesn't seem to be human)

No one knows why it seems to be only him that's dealing with this but hey, it hasn't killed him yet (seems friendly enough)

(he is kinda paranoid so that's probably part of it)

Pyro is albino (this is me trying to keep him as ambiguous as I can)

(Also it's my au so I can do what I want)

Medic’s name is Marius Ludwig (Mr. not Dr. as he lost his license)

Blue Medic is Fritz (gotta love Emesis blue) Schädler

Like Pyro, Spy’s name and place of origin are unknown (I say as if I didn't spend most of my free time in between classes trying to come up with names and places of origin)

Let's see: yeah I'm not posting that yet because I want to keep their main characteristic which is mystery (but I have stuff written down in a separate list for later)

Scout’s name is Jeremy (canon) Prince (my au, this is because I think it’d boost his ego, which could be why he thinks of himself as one now that I think about it)

The reason the respawn machines are up is because both Engineers got alerts that Gray Mann was planning on sending his robots (the teams got time to prepare so might as well build the things that’ll keep the war going by endlessly respawning)

Cheaper than constantly cloning them but still, Jesus Christ

Also, the respawn machine might be why Snipers a bit, off, so Medic and Engineer have to figure that out and deal with the robots

I think the idea I have for the creation of the Spy copy is that something was leaking from Spy’s machine while he was still in it, the leaking created an eldritch copy of him, the copy escaped before he could tell anyone, and now its somewhere in the base

(I really should do a comparison of the 2)

Also, the respawn machine showed Sniper some shit and now he can't sleep (he and Spy were respawning at the same time)

When he first saw the Spy copy, he thought he was just seeing things so he didn't say anything

(paranoia + sleep deprivation isn't a good combo)

The team has what they call "base pets" or “the (animal) crew” that just kinda hang out on base while the mercs are working

(Archimedes and Lieutenant Bites are prime examples)

But going off of this, Sniper has a hunting/service dog named Lana

(he got her back when he hunted with the Mundy's, before he went off to work for Mann Co.)

The team knows about her and she's even a part of the crew (he took her with him when he went to work)

The breed is either a labrador retriever, a bull arab, or a mix of both breeds

(I think the mix would be better at solving the indecisiveness so I'm going with it)

Engie and Sniper were weird about each other when they first got to Mann Co. (they knew each other from before and couldn't believe that the other person joined this kind of thing, they didn't get that vibe about each other when they met)

Sniper's parents are still alive because I've already given him enough problems as it is (phobias, general paranoia/anxiety, insomnia, all mercs have PTSD of some kind so that counts, and more) and he needs some happiness

(and also I love them too much to just kill them off like I can’t bring myself to do it)

I feel like whenever they don't have any direct orders from Mann Co., the mercs will just give themselves/each other things to do

like Medic or Engineer will need supplies but they’re also busy, so they’ll ask whoever’s available to get it for them

(it's usually Sniper as he has a van and I don't really think he has much to do except for being on the lookout so it makes sense)

They will sometimes ask Spy to go with him just so he isn't in his smoking room all-day

The only ships I've really thought about are Engie/Sniper and Medic/Heavy (mostly the former)

Engie and Sniper met in college (Engie was studying abroad for whatever reason), Sniper was eating alone (as he does) and Engie was like “fuck it, let's talk to the loner”, they got talking and exchanged names, numbers, and other info (and so a beautiful relationship was formed because someone gave a lonely kid a goddamn chance for once)

I want to say they’ve been dating for like 8 years (so they've been together for about 4 years when Mann Co. sought them out)

(this is probably why they were weird about each other when they first joined)

Spy, Sniper, Engineer, Medic, and Heavy were all sought out by Mann Co. for their skills and had no choice but to join because of it

On the other hand, Soldier, Pyro, and Scout all joined on their own accord (Demo did too kinda but he was mostly pushed by his mom)

Sniper is allergic to rabbits and certain kinds of alcohol

He's also selectively mute and easily overstimulated/overwhelmed so he has moments where he just spends the day with Pyro or Heavy (as they’re pretty quiet too)

The reason Sniper constantly wears sunglasses is because his eyes are photosensitive (bright lights give him really bad headaches)

This is because of migraines and an eye surgery he had when he was younger

I'll probably be making “identity sheets” in lieu of their files at some point but I need to gather the rest of the canon lore I want to use and find a good template to put the information in

Hold on, was anyone going to tell me that Sniper was canonically suffering from multiple organ failure, or was I just supposed to find that out through a Reddit post about Red Jarate?

Link 1: There's blood in my Jarate: r/tf2

Link 2: TF2 comic page about Jarate

Since Respawn takes place in 2024, I had to figure out when Soldier was barred from joining the army

I took his age (45) and subtracted 18 (when he would've been able to join the army) and got 27

Then I subtracted 27 from 2024 and got 1997 as the year he was barred

But I realized that I had to figure out what war he might have been barred from and to do that I looked up a list of wars from 1990 to 2002, I also had to make sure that the US was actively fighting or at least sending troops

The answer I got was the Afghan civil war (1996-2001) which was between the Islamic State of Afghanistan (supported by Iran and India) and the Taliban, the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda (supported by Pakistan)

America, the UK, Canada, and Australia joined after 9/11 on the side of the Islamic State of Afghanistan so it works

So yeah Soldier was barred from joining the army sometime around 2001

There's an original character called “the Contractor/Informant” that I'll probably be designing soon (I'm also working on her character sheet which will be posted after this goes up)

She works with Miss Pauling to make sure that the information on the contract is right, that the mercs actually get them and get them done

She also has burns on her left arm and near her right eye (references to Kate’s prosthesis) either from a work incident or one involving a Pyro (so still a work incident)

Either way, this injury is part of the reason why she's not a merc (she might’ve been at some point but I have to figure it out)

Sniper was in nature documentaries and he was also doing some kind of commentary-type deal before working for Mann Co.

Scout worked at both KFC and McDonald's before joining Mann Co., he also did some professional baseball games but he got pulled from them at some point

Sniper's parents are housing a kid named Javier who is about 6 years old

Now I still need to figure out the reason why they're housing him or what's going to happen next (like are they going to keep the kid or will Sniper and Engie adopt him?)

(the second is likely but they need to figure out how to balance it with their jobs, and if their bosses would let them in the first place)

Sniper can determine whos who just by their footsteps (something he learned in his childhood) and can mimic them convincingly

Pyro might be the only one who actually knows whos a Spy or not (good for spy checking)

I feel like since Sniper, who was a literal infant at the time, was in a fucking spaceship that landed in someone’s yard, he’d be a literal spaceship baby (termed coined by Scout during a discussion about this) and most likely would've made at least national news

(because come on, if I found a fucking baby in a goddamn spaceship and it landed in my yard, I wouldn't shut up about it)

Now I wonder if his birth parents would've reported him missing or not, probably not given how self centered they are but i have some hope that they would

Engineer made a program with the sole purpose of keeping pyro distracted while hes working

[the-nimbasa-trio]

*Echo smiled, blue eyes lighting up.*

"That's so sweet! I know how hard a language barrier can be, it was uh-hm." *She paused, before pushing forward.* "I'm an empath. It's meant to connect me with Titan and other pokemon. Part of the whole-" *She gestured to her hair.* "Shiny business. Doesn't allow me to do much other than know if a pokemon is happy or sad or whatever. But it made me a very weird kid, especially since I couldn't tell what other *people* were feeling."

*She shrugged, a lax expression on her face.*

"Like I said, kids would bully me, but their pokemon would protect me. Started up a rumor that I was mind controlling pokemon, and since I could only tell the...vibes of the pokemon, who *liked me*, it was exceptionally easy for me to be tricked into getting hurt. And then the pokemon would realize their trainer was hurting me in some way, and that'd cause infighting, and it just-"

*She sighs, looking over at the twins.*

"It was so hard, feeling like I was speaking a language nobody else could understand. I can only imagine how hard it is to *actually be in that situation.* I'm sure you guys were probably the one good thing happening to Elesa when everything else seemed like it was horrible."

*She smiled at their comment on trains, rocking back and forth slightly.*

"I'm no expert when it comes to trains, but I'm well aware you guys are. When we have some free time, you should *absolutely* infodump on me. The steam engine is a work of *art* and you guys could probably give me the entire history on the paints alone."

Ingo nodded in understanding, but towards the infodumping he perked up. He had to hold himself back, and Emmet, from infodumping right there and then. Now was not the time. "Well, don't worry, Mx. Echo! We'll keep you safe."

Emmet nodded in agreement and gave a respectful solute. "I know how it is to get bullied," they commented and shrugged a bit, brushing it off. "It isn't fun. I also have the curse of knowing if someone is lying, too. If someone lied to my face, I'd sense something is wrong. I'll try and get more information. As a result, it makes me kind of weird."

"It's useful," Ingo replied and patted his brother on the back. "But hey, we're just a group of weirdos that can stick together. That's why we befriended Elesa, too! He needed a friend that understood him. We happened to fit the criteria! Now we're inseparable, and no matter what happens, we'll stick together."

"Yup yup! So now you're part of the squad. Welcome!" Emmet cheered which, surprisingly, went along with the sudden cheers of the crowd around them.

The twins spun on their heels to look at the battle, and on the screen behind Elesa, it displayed how many Pokemon each trainer had. Elesa was down to Typhoon, who looked tired and weakened, while the opponent had only his Togekiss. Ingo and Emmet were caught off-guard by how quickly the battle was nearing its end, but when they checked their respective watches, it's been going on for far longer than expected.

When the opponent trainer flew his hand out in front of him, he didn't need to call a command. The Togekiss flew forward and a ball of pink energy formed in front of her mouth, and she torpedoed it forward. The Moonblast struck its target despite Typhoon's attempt at avoiding the fast strike, and smoke flung in every direction from the sheer power this Togekiss wielded.

Emmet shielded Echo and the Zorua from the smoke, while Ingo coughed and acted as an extra barrier. Once the smoke cleared, Elesa's dumbfounded expression and posture became visible, and Typhoon's fainted body laid on the runway. The opponent was the victor.

Elesa gave a small smile and recalled Typhoon into his pokeball. He sighed and walked up to the purple-haired trainer. He extended his hand and clasped the opponent's in a show of sportsmanship. "Congratulations, Dolor, for defeating the Nimbasa City gym. You fought well out there."

When he pulled away, the badge was in Dolor's hand. It shone brilliantly in the light of the stadium. "It was a pleasure, Elesa. You fought brilliantly, as well."

Elesa nodded in response and turned towards the crowd. "And here you have it! The winner of the battle! I'll sign autographs in ten minutes, so get ready for a personal meet and greet!"

The crowd began cheering again as Elesa left behind stage.

[anonymergremlin]

Lies of P characters MODERN AU: Their favorite League of Legends' characters + favorite skins.

Romeo: Oh Romeo, our protector… our king. Our good man who loves to play… Kayn and Mordekaiser!? Well, he likes to play Kayn because he is fast, he can go through walls AND he has a scythe. Sorry, but not sorry! Mordekaiser on the other hand… well… he's the big tanky 'Emperor' guy who can hit you hard… but Romeo plays him mostly for his Ult. He likes to take out the big mean enemy to protect his friends.

Carlo: My dear boy. His characters are Gwen, Shaco and Riven. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't mind that Gwen is a cute doll girl with huge curly twintails and a cute dress, but he still gets a bit embarrassed when people mention that he really likes playing her. Don't judge him! She has giant scissors! That is so cool! And… she is really cute. Shaco is a character he plays when he is feeling cheeky and a bit mischievous. He is not toxic, he just enjoys the chaos, muhahaha. Riven is another story. She is a strong woman who can go in and come out with most of her health intact. It makes him feel pretty good to be able to carry the game with her! Also the fact that her weapon is literally a broken blade? nods That is cool!

Eugénie: The best weapons girl you have ever seen loves to play two characters, Heimerdinger and Aphelios. Heimi is a bit of a cliché, but she thinks he looks cute (almost like a fluffy cat) and she just loves his kit. The power of science and engineering…. yeah, she loves the big canon. Anyway, Aphelios… she not just loves him for his many weapons… she also plays him really well. Eugénie loves a challenge, and the fact that he is a pretty boy is just an added bonus.

Sophia: Two characters, Sona and Morgana. Wait, listen. Sona… I know… blue-haired girl yeah~, BUT there is more to it. Sophia just loves to support. And Sona IS a full support. Poking, movement speed gain, healing and stunning while playing a sweet and gentle character? YES! Plus, she really loves her design. Morgana on the other hand is the character she likes to play when she wants to be more "aggressive". She wants to show that she can be more than just a "support". Ends you with the power of a real supportive sweetheart.

P: Finally our lovely, perfect and sweet Boi. P loves playing Gwen, Ekko and Hwei. Gwen, well. First of all, he often fights with Carlo over who gets to play her. But he usually backs down and lets his 'twin brother' play her. He is a very good Boi. But yes, same reasons as Carlo. He likes her kit and she is very cute. Ekko, well, since Ekko is a good guy himself and a funny character who goes straight into the fight and gets out easily… P really enjoys that. It matches his mostly casual style of play, while also being rather helpful. Hwei… do I really need to explain? Caster, ranged, colourful abilities, and somehow gives him a vibe that reminds him of himself. Hwei was just made for him.

[spenglercore]

My Tags And What They Mean

Here's a list of tags I use to attempt to keep shit straight on this blog. I like to call my AUs 'isotopes' because I think I'm clever. This list is subject to change at the whim of an AuDHD Millenial with nothing better to do than have Thoughts.

--

GHOSTBUSTERS:

When protons collide/WPC: Catchall for stuff pertaining to my main fic, including things that inspire me and writing snippets and WIPs.

Spenglerisims: Egon headcanons.

The square pair: Egon/OC trash.

Carbon dating isotope: College AU that takes place during the 70s, in which Egon and my OC meet while getting their nuclear engineering degrees.

Rocket Car Isotope: Any and everything pertaining to Egon's parents' story arc from how they met as kids to grandbaby shenanigans, and other things that remind me of them.

None braincells left beef: Stuff specific to Piotr Spengler, my OC and Egon's dad.

Alkali metals isotope: I accidentally five whole siblings for Egon. I may come up with some unique tags for each of them in the future though.

Covalent bonding isotope: World of Warcraft AU because I have no self control, in which Egon is a Worgen druid and my OC an Orc hunter. Sort of a take on the whole 'enemies to lovers' trope as he and my OC are members of opposing factions.

Oral phlebotomy isotope: Not quite a garden-variety vampire AU. Much neck biting and running about.

STRIPES:

Seeing Stars: Anything pertaining to Russell Ziskey and my story idea for him and my OC Ingrid, and their wildass sentient mop of a child, Zane.

Scrungly Loser Boy: Posts about Russell Ziskey, from headcanons to posts that give me Ziskey Vibes.

ORANGE COUNTY:

Never Too Late: Anything pertaining to Don Durkett and my story idea for him and my OC Katya, and their absolutely unexpected twin gremlins, Maksym and Sasha.

Posts About Don Durkett: What it says on the tin, from headcanons to posts that give me Don Vibes.

The Stanford Group/TSG: Modern mob au for Don and Katya. Don is a mob boss one step under THE boss. Katya gets hired to work for him due to her chemistry skills.

Cloak And Dagger: Rogue and mage au for Don and Katya.

STEALING HOME:

Sports (Illustrated): General tag for anything pertaining to Alan Appleby and my story idea for him and my OC Sophia, and their two kids Edward and Andrea.

The Gilded Loser: Posts about Alan Appleby, from headcanons to posts that give me Appleby Vibes.

In Between Leagues: Modern college AU for Stealing Home.

BABY BOOM:

Business Casual: General tag pertaining to Steven Buchner and my story idea for him and my OC Tracey, and their daughter Veronica.

SCTV:

Poetic Justice: General tag pertaining to Officer (Oscar) Friendly and my story idea for him and my oc, Penelope, and their six kids.

Friendly Felons: Tag specifically for Oscar and Penelope's six little criminals: Benjamin, Casey, Melanie, Crystal, Shaun and Josephine.

General Haroldry: What it says on the tin. Any and everything about Harold Ramis because I have no shame.

[scarlet--wiccan]

I’d like to see Luminous come back but I think she falls into a certain trap since she is “Wanda and pietro combined but better”. Her being redeemed (and surviving) would lead people to ask “why not get luminous” in places where magic users and/or speedsters would be useful. Nobody is that likely to write her but if they did it’d probably be a net loss for the twins (both sets) since there’s another character who can fill their role(s), and they’re not like the countless wolverines who will definitely be featured heroes regardless of new intro. I feel like a redemption story for her would probably be a swan song and that sounds like a bummer.

Regarding her chaos magic: did she grow up around mount wundagore? Maybe ambient chthon vibes gave her the power. Could she have learned it, since Agatha seems to be into it these days

I can see how it would feel like a disservice to give Luminous this resolution, only to put her on a metaphorical bus and send her packing, but it's not like she's getting a whole lot of page-time in the first place. I'd rather get the resolution than not, and, you know, the Marvel universe is a big place. You can find somewhere for her to go where she won't step on Wanda and Pietro's toes.

Just because a character has powers doesn't mean they have to stay on-call-- or even on Earth. She's technically a space character, so I kind of figure she'd stay in that cosmic world. And, hey, just because I want her to be liberated doesn't mean I think she should necessarily become a hero.

There's no concrete information on when Luminous was born, but she's characterized as being a fair deal younger than the twins. Given the condensed timeline, I assume she was created after Wyndham left Mount Wundagore. Giving her the same, or similar, connection to Chthon could get really messy, anyways, and I don't think that genetic engineering could explain how she, allegedly, mastered chaos magic ahead of Wanda.

Part of the problem here is that Remender treats Wanda's powers the same way Bendis did in Disassembled, which just doesn't work with the larger canon. I think the best approach would be to gently retcon Luminous's abilities to make better sense and, also, make her a little less overpowered.

I would say that Luminous simply possesses a refined, enhanced version of Wanda's hex ability, which is the only part of her power that comes from her genetic mutation. That could account for Luminous's adept manipulation of physics, matter, and energy. You could even argue that it would allow her to subvert or disrupt Wanda's magic, and with Pietro's speed, it's easy for her to get the upper hand. Wanda was kind of at a low point when she met Luminous, but now, she's at her most powerful and has greater mastery over her chaos powers than ever before. Next time they cross paths, I think Wanda should just say "I can see more what's going on with you more clearly now, (here's what it is, so the reader knows), and you're not gonna get the drop on me again." It's a pretty simple solution, and it'd be easy to execute smoothly.