#prev: team pizza!!

[bluesidez]

GymRat!Miguel Part 3

content warning: small food mentions, a little suggestive at parts so MINORS BEWARE, sexual tension?? 😗, insecure thoughts about a plus size body (may or may not be triggering for some), a few mean girls, college party, alcohol, drugs, mentions of throw up like once, a bad look for sororities (sorry, y'all are probably very wonderful people)

word count: 3.2k (NOT A DRABBLE WTF 😭) not proofread, if you see a mistake lmk

GymRat!Miguel's workout playlist is here! I had to stop myself from adding more songs because it’s already so long lol. I didn't even include any cool down songs.

Prev | Next ✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮ Masterlist

GymRat!Miguel who wakes up without having to hobble to the bathroom for once. No morning wood because his dream of you was soft this time. You two were cuddled up on a couch with the world’s most fluffy blanket. He smiles to himself as he drags his feet to the bathroom. It was if dancing clouds and bubbles were floating around his head.

GymRat!Miguel who’s able to sit and chat with Ms. Beatrice longer today because his class doesn’t start until that after noon. He compliments her on the egg sandwich from the other day and she squeezes his cheeks when she thanks him as if he were a baby.

GymRat!Miguel who tinkers in the engineering building as he waits for lunch. He joined the small but mighty robotics team as soon as he found out there was one. There was a fighting robot division, and he needed to figure out the problems with his team’s robot sooner rather than later.

GymRat!Miguel who spots you at the student center having your lunch. He wastes no time to grab his food and book it to your table. He calls your name before he gets there, not wanting to startle you. You smile when you look up surprised to see him there.

"Can I join you?" he says, trying not to seem out of breath with how fast his heart is beating.

"Yeah," you say, arranging your things around. You push your computer to the side as he places his burito bowl on the table. "I'm finally getting to see you outside of lab."

In his mind, he takes a note of you being in the student center at this time. He wants to make eating with you a routine thing.

"What were you watching?" he asks, trying to curb the rush that your presence has on him. He opened up his bowl and started to mix his food, waiting patiently for your answer.

"This is a little embarrassing but," you pause to dump one of your nuggets in sauce. "I was watching someone explain the downfall of Chuck E. Cheese." Your voice gets softer as you finish your sentence, eyes avoiding his gaze.

You were so cute. And it's almost as if you've never met him, the ultimate nerd.

"Nothing wrong with wanting to know why more and more locations went from five animatronics to one. Or how they started to sell their pizzas under ghost kitchens," he says, taking a bite from his bowl.

You looked at him and your smile grew. Miguel could only think 'there she is. there's my girl.'

The two of you chatted about everything from malfunctioning Chuck E's to your classes to your food. Miguel was through the roof.

GymRat!Miguel who offers to carry your art portfolio case for you to the art building. Anything to extend your time together. Plus, why should you have to hold it when he's here? He holds the doors for you and presses the elevator buttons before you can even think to.

GymRat!Miguel who really loves when the elevator door closes and he can look down at as you talk away. Just for those few seconds, the outside world is quiet and it's just you two. In another world, he'd kiss you before the doors open. In another world, he'd tilt your head up and have you look at him when you speak, he wanted to read your eyes too.

You're staring at him expectantly, eyes reminding him of baby deers. He tilts his head at you, wondering why you're staring at him.

"Miguel the door is open. We have to leave before it closes," you say.

He's instantly broke back to reality.

"Right! Sorry," he says, heat rising on the back of his neck. He steps out and holds his hand in front of the opening so that the door doesn't close you.

"Thank you," you say, a giggle under your breath.

Miguel has done some pretty embarrassing things when it comes to you, but he didn't think it would bleed into when he was actually in front of you.

In this world, he needed to not give you the creeps. Get it together.

GymRat!Miguel who is ecstatic that you still want to come work out with him. You all plan to meet that Friday. You don't know what you want to work out, but you say you're excited. Miguel has tonight, Wednesday, and Thursday to plan the perfect workout for you.

Should he go buy a bottle so he can make you a smoothie? Or should he offer to buy you a smoothie afterwards? Do you even like smoothies? Maybe he should invite you to breakfast. Would you want to eat right after you worked out? You needed to eat to make sure you can speed up the healing process though....

GymRat!Miguel who waves you goodbye when it's almost time for your studio class to start, mind filled with so many questions.

Your friend turns to you immediately when Miguel is gone.

"And who was that?" she says, eyes shocked.

"He's a guy from my lab. His name is Miguel," you say, grinning in your hands. You felt like kicking your feet in the air, but alas, no time.

"He's super hot. Like, seriously," your friend says, moving her taboret next to her workspace. "I would hit it. Constantly."

"Please stop talking," you say, laughing along. "I'm not even sure if he goes for girls like me. I'd rather not get my hopes up." You wanted to keep yourself in reality and falling for Miguel might put you too close to the land of delusion. You figured that Miguel was just super nice, especially after you two worked so hard for that lab project.

Your friend stops and looks at you, she slams the liquin tin on the table and puts her hand on her hip.

"First of all, those "types of guys" love big girls, so don't give me that. Second of all, are you not seeing how he looks at you. He's giving you the biggest puppy dog eyes, like, ever." She picks the liquin tin back up and starts scooping aggressively at the sides. "You gotta be more confident! You're gorgeous, anyone with a functioning brain can see that."

You stand there stunned, shocked at your friend's outburst. "I am confident!" Partially true. "I just...don't want to be hurt."

"I understand that, but have you even asked if he likes you or not?"

You shake your head no.

"Exactly. The night is still young," your friend says, pointing her palette knife at you. "And if you don't go for it, I will."

"Oh my god, shut up," you say, throwing a crumbled shop towel at her. You still kept her words in the back of your mind, storing it for later.

GymRat!Miguel who paces in front of the campus gym, waiting for your arrival. He got up extra early and gave himself a pep talk in the mirror. It wasn't a date, per se, but he felt that it could lead to one if he played his cards right. He decided to just invite you out to eat, figuring you would bring your stickered-water bottle.

GymRat!Miguel who spots you before you even call his name. He waves, smile taking over his features. You wave back, and it isn't until you're ten steps away that he finally takes in your full outfit. Another two-piece that was going to be the death of him, the only thing was that this was in the flesh. He cursed under his breath before you got closer, brain short-circuiting at the fabric hugging your skin.

"Ready to go?" he asks, forcing himself to not look at your body and to look at your face.

"Yeah! I'm a little nervous but I'm ready to work," you say, following him to the door.

He opens the doors for you, "Nothing to be nervous about. You're in good hands."

He brings you to his locker so you can put your bag in there, not wanting anyone to snag your belongings.

You guys start at the track, walking a lap as a warm up. Usually Miguel would do a lap or two of jogging, and as much as he wanted to watch you bounce, especially on him, this was a beginner workout. He didn't want to scare you with how intense he can get. While walking, you guys chatted about little things. Miguel tells you how wasn't nearly this big four years ago, ensuring you that the path to get here can be hard. You tell him that you just want be healthy, not caring if you lost weight or gained muscle. Miguel was secretly happy to hear this because he liked your body the way it was, but he would roll with whatever you were feeling.

GymRat!Miguel who helps you stretch. You both sit on the floor and face each other with your feet touching. Miguel saw how much smaller your feet were compared to his and his heart fluttered. His mind was filled with a million voices rambling off new things about you.

"She's focusing so hard"

"How can a gym outfit be so hot"

"She's so close to me when we do this stretch"

"Her hands are so warm"

"Maybe I should have stretched her from behind too"

That last thought gets Miguel to move you guys to the next part of the routine. How is his head always in the gutter?

GymRat!Miguel who starts you off with dumbbells, giving you the 5 lb weights to start. He starts you off with a few shoulder and arm exercises, giving you tips and praise along the way. His touches linger on your arms as he corrects your form, watching your body intensely. His constant "good"s, "one more''s, and "uh huh"s hit you right in your core. You're thankful that you're out of breath and heated from the workout, otherwise you would have melted before him.

GymRat!Miguel who pulls out all of the stops, using the heavier weights for his sets. He screams on the inside when you cheer him on. You clap at the end of one of his harder sets, happy that he pushed himself. He bows in silly way, sweat dripping down his face and laughing at your actions.

GymRat!Miguel who spots you while you use a heavier weight to do squats. You wanted to go for the 15 lb weight even though it was your first time doing weighted squats. He didn't want you to fall over, so he stood behind you and held his hands in the air by your waist as you went down. He knew that he was supposed to be focused, but he couldn't help but to glance at your ass a few times. God.

GymRat!Miguel who ends off your workout with the bikes, you guys making it a small competition. He stands and cycles, watching as your jaw dropped. You started to stand but got a little scared and gave up quick. Miguel couldn't have that. He stopped moving and got up to be by your side.

"You got it! Don't be scared," he says, watching you work.

"I literally can't do that," you say, cycling a little faster.

"Sure you can! Try it, I'm right here," he says, encouraging you.

You fight your fear and stand up and cycle. "Oh my god," you say, breaths coming out hard.

"That's it, that's it," Miguel says, voice warm as he praises you. "You're doing so good. Keep going."

You push until you can't anymore, Miguel cheering at your side.

GymRat!Miguel who guides you to the showers after your workout. It sucks that he can't be in there with you. His imagination can only get him so far.

GymRat!Miguel who waits for you to come out of the bathroom, ready to ask you to go for smoothies and breakfast. He hopes you say yes.

GymRat!Miguel who is in awe again at how you look. How many two-piece sets did you have? How does he survive them every single time? He mutters up the courage to ask you if you wanted to go get smoothies, adding on that he would pay. You glow and say yes, stating that you love smoothies. He's soaring.

GymRat!Miguel who brings your food to the table, two wraps and two smoothies. A protein shake for him and a fruit smoothie for you.

"That was a really good workout today. You definitely put me to work," you say, unwrapping the straw to stab it through the top. You hum at the flavor as you take a sip.

"Good?" Miguel asks, and you nod your head with your thumb up. "I'm glad you liked the workout. I was excited to have a partner."

"A partner? Why didn't you invite us to join?"

You both look up to see a few girls standing by the checkout counter. Miguel notices them as the sorority girls from his literature class. They walk over to your table, eyes twinkling as they take in Miguel.

Miguel chuckles awkwardly, not knowing what to say. He didn't think he had to deal with them outside of class too.

One of the girls look at you and goes, "Oo are you a personal trainer?"

You're taken aback, eyes scanning between the girls. You're about to open your mouth to respond but Miguel gets to them first.

"No, we're workout partners," he says, snapping at the girl. "And we're kind of having a conversation right now so is there anything else that you guys want to say?"

The girl cowers a bit at Miguel's words, laughing as if he told a joke and twirling her hair. The leader of the pack turns to Miguel, "Sorry about that. We wanted to see if you could come to our party tomorrow night. It'll be super fun and we would love to see you there."

A party? Miguel hadn't gone to one since he moved on campus. He always wanted to experience a college one. He turned to you and saw that you just tapped at your phone, not looking to the girls.

"I'll go if I can bring her," Miguel says, tapping his foot against yours. You look up, shock in your eyes,

Some of the girls slump, and the leader tightens her smile, "Fine! That's cool. I'll send you the details later."

The girls walk off and you stare at them, eyes squinting.

"They're an interesting bunch aren't they?" you say, continuing to eat your wrap.

"Right?" Miguel says, turning back to you.

GymRat!Miguel who comes to your dorm, ready to walk you to the party. He knocks on your door, a little nervous. He had on a nice top, the top open a little bit and a thin chain around his neck. After a while, you opened the door and gobsmacked him again with your outfit.

"Wow," he says, standing in the door like an idiot.

"Is it bad?" you ask, body glowing.

"No, you look amazing," Miguel says. "Ready to go?" He holds his arm out, softly smiling at you.

You nod and intertwine your arm through his.

GymRat!Miguel who takes in the atmosphere, frat guys yelling by a pool table, a few girls dancing with red solo cups, some people making out on the couch.

For Miguel, it was a lot.

He turned to you, yelling to ask if you wanted a drink. You say yes and you both make your way to the kitchen.

There, you both are met with the sorority girls crowding the kitchen. Some of them are passing some pills around and others are chatting by the island. One of them looks up and sees you guys lingering by the entrance.

"Miguel! You made it! Come on have a drink," she pulls him closer in the room. "Want a xannie?"

"I'm good," he says, handing you a cup of Pink Whitney. You take a sip and turn your nose a little bit. You might have to suck it up to get through the night.

"I'm so glad you made it. I have something that I've been meaning to show you," she says, batting her eyes. She convinces him to follow her up the stairs.

Miguel yells over his shoulder that he'll be right back.

You stand in the kitchen, fingers tapping against your cup. You felt a little silly and out of place. You didn't know anyone else here and the people were cliquey.

You joined a few games of beer pong, trying to enjoy yourself, but you couldn't help but to think about Miguel.

You dance a little, joining some random girls in the middle of the room. The music is ok, but you were just trying to have a good time. After an hour or so, you get nervous. Miguel hasn't been back in a while.

You head back to the kitchen, thinking maybe he could be in there.

"If you're looking for Miguel, he's probably deep in a bed right now," one girl giggles as she comes up beside you, grabbing another drink.

"What?" you say, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah girl, why else would he be gone so long? I tried to go up there and the doors were locked. Just text him tomorrow."

Your hand grips your cup tighter, watching as the girl goes back into the thick of the crowd.

You decide to wait a little longer, scrolling on the same three apps back to back for another hour. You look at the time again and the 3 am stares back at you mockingly.

You figure that he's really not coming back down and open your Instagram to give him a text.

“Hey Miguel! I’m gonna go ahead and go back to my dorm. It's getting pretty late."

You walk back to your dorm, arms wrapped around yourself to brace from the cold.

GymRat!Miguel who finally makes it to a bathroom that's not occupied with some one hovering over the toilet. He feels out of it. Throwing back a few too many shots. He was trying to get back downstairs but there was always someone there to pull him back, offering something.

A shot? Sure.

A pill? No.

A game? Maybe.

The girl who brought him up there tried her best to get in his pants, but if he was being honest, he didn't even remember her name. Or any of the names of the girls that came in afterwards. He declined every one of them, just wanting to get some air.

He was able to check his phone.

3:35 am.

He sees your message and feels sick. He runs downstairs and out the door, the cool air sobering him up a bit.

"Fuck," he says hands to his head. He squats and texts you back.

"I am so sorry. I got caught up. Did you make it back safely?"

It was so late, there was no way you would respond. He fucked up.

He texted Gabriel, maybe his drunk mind pushing him to seek help from his little brother.

"So if I invite a girl to a party and leave her what are the chances that she will text me back? :((("

"Dude. It's almost 4am. And where is this so-called game that you have? Ik you're not asking me about anything"

"Gabri :(((("

"I'll be honest, she's probably blocking your number. IF she even has it lol"

Yeah. He fucked up.

dividers by: @yeribbon 🩵

a/n: Miguel's gym playlist is such a jarring difference from my own gym playlist. 😭 I left you guys with an extra long addition today because I have soooo much hw that's piling up and it's tearing me apart.

As always, leave a like and reblog. Leave comments please. 🥺 I want to see your reactions! Let me know how you feel. 🩵

taglist: @ghost-lantern @miguelhugger2099 @slushycoookie @emelie-s-h @lake-lili @obsessed-with-miguels-ass @scaleniusrm @superiorspiderass @lexluvswriting @flordelalunas @froggygal @vmpz8sauceee @famouscattale @nixinluv02 @jada-of-arcadia @spideykid22 @what-the-jams @julia4today @tojishugetiddies @samjinxx @sleeklyalisha @the-pan-liquid @prongs-lover @kikaaauu @urlocallocachica @wanderlustingcastaway @peachey-pie @ch3rry-bl1ss @girl-of-multi-fandoms @love-kha1 @manlikemilesmyguy @sillysillygoofygoose @monticellohoe

[fackeraccount]

Streaming Now!

Genre: Felix x F!reader, Streamer Au, Enemies? To lovers, smau, 18+, fluff, slight angst

Status: ongoing

Summary: Y/N is a streamer who seems to hate Felix but in reality, she's putting up a facade to hide a secret crush and fanpage. Having a mutual friend makes it harder to hide her feelings but she'll try until she can't

《Prev》 ☆3☆ *written part*《Next》

Sighing, she put her phone down. Even though her friends hadn't mentioned it, today was obligatory movie night and this week she was the host.

Y/n just hoped that there would be no scary movies involved. She didn't wanna be jumpy all night.

Y/n began to set up the living room with a mandatory pillow fort which was held up by a few dining chairs that she had dragged over. She put snacks inside the fort and some drinks. Movie nights meant getting drunk no matter what.

Putting the final touches, she moved away from the pillow fort and made sure there was enough ice cream for all of them. She also ordered pizza in advance cause what was a movie night without pizza and wine?

Once everything was set, she texted them to start coming over with their matching pj's that they chose in duos and one trio.

The ringing doorbell caught your attention after taking pics with Ryujin who had arrived moments earlier.

Opening it, Han stepped in with Minho in tow, clearly coming together. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang again, this time, with Jeongin, Jake and Seungmin coming together.

As soon as everyone was accounted for, they all moved towards the pillow fort and started situating themselves in the pillow fort.

"Y/nnie!!" Han yelled from his spot in the pillow fort. "Come sit down or we're started without you!"

"Yah! Let me grabbed the pizza then I'll sit down," She yelled back.

"Make it quick!" Jake yelled as well.

She sighed but grabbed the pizza box anyway. She squished herself in between Ryujin and Jake with Jeongin sitting on the his left side of Jake with Seungmin on his other side and Minho on Ryujin's right with Han beside him.

According to movie night rules, it was Jeongin's turn to pick a movie and he chose a cheesy romance movie.

"No! You should've turned on a horror movie so we could see Y/n's face!" Jake cried out.

"No way! Horror is not my cup of tea." Han spoke.

"Yea, no matter how funny Y/nnie's face is, I'm also afraid of horror." Ryujin added.

"You're all pussies. It's just a movie." Minho said.

Y/n scoffed, and spoke up, "Yea maybe to you they are."

"Okay, enough. Just watch the movie, it's starting." Jeongin interrupted.

Other than the initial dispute, the movie night went pretty smoothly after that. They switch between multiple movies ranging from comedy to thriller, action and many more.

Soon, they were drunk out of their minds and somehow decided to play 'Never have I ever'.

"Okay, never have I ever, tripped in front of the whole class." Ryujin said.

Jake, Y/n, and Han each put a finger down before Han spoke up.

"Never have I ever, been a goodie two shoe-know it all,"

Y/n put a finger down along with Seungmin.

"Never have I ever, had a clumsy moment in public" Y/n spoke.

Han and Jeongin both put their fingers down before it was Jeongin's turn.

"Never have I ever, tried to flirt with a Noona."

Han scoffed and yelled, "Yah!! That was targeted wasn't it?!"

"Of course it was."

Han glared at Jeongin after he put a finger down before it finally reached Minho.

"Never have I ever, kissed someone I hated while drunk."

Jeongin, Jake and Ryujin all put a finger down.

Jake spoke after a little while, "Never have I ever, insulted a teacher to his face."

Seungmin, Minho, and Y/n put their fingers down.

"Wait, wait, Y/n? I expected Seungmin and Minho but when did you?" Jake asked.

"Well, that day I was finally taken off the volleyball team, my Literature professor came up to me and said, 'At least now you can focus on your English instead of tossing around a flimsy ball all day long'. Then I kinda, spoke my mind." She replied sheepishly.

"I didn't know you had it in you." Seungmin spoke honestly.

"Yea," Minho agreed.

"Just move on. Seungmin, it's your turn right? Go i wanna sleep. All that wine is making me tired." She said.

"Never have I ever, been in a school club."

At this, everyone put their fingers down. Y/n yawned and stood up.

"That's enough for me. Goodnight."

"Yea me too,"

"And me,"

Soon after, Ryujin went to Y/n's room and Minho and Han went to a get bedroom together. Jeongin and Jake shared another room while Seungmin got his own and they all fell asleep. Hangovers to be dealt with in the morning.

[jtl-fics]

Happy Wednesday Ash 🙂

I haven't requested TBD in a while but I'm really curious to read some more 🤍

8/14/24 WIP Wednesday (Open) | TBD AU (2/15)

“Blue is nice too!” Aaron argues pointing at a dark blue color on the wall. “It’ll pull out the warm colors of the wood too.”

Andrew eats a slice of his Hawaiian pizza as the ‘perfect couple’ both pull out their ‘on the debate team in high school’ chops. He knows that the two of them love to debate with one another and was told, drunkenly by Aaron, that it was the way that the two of them had initially fallen for one another.

He almost wants to tell them to stop having their foreplay in his living room but they’re making some decent points so as long as everyone’s clothes stay on he’s fine with listening.

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[imtheiliad]

YOU WERE LIGHTING FLARES CHAPTER TWO: 'CAUSE I DON'T SEE YOU LIKE I USED TO [1.4k | angst | emotional hurt comfort] {ao3} prev.

a/n: fair warning that this chapter deals with the sadder/darker parts of working with the tiny babies, nothing is directly said but it is strongly eluded to that Eddie and team lost one of their patients. titles from waking up slow by gabrielle aplin.

Buck starts bringing three servings of whatever meal he picks up to the hospital. 

Then he starts going when Maddie isn’t even there. The texting is non- stop. But they have only always spent time together at the hospital either in the breakroom or the little cafe in the lobby. It was never particularly romantic per se, but there was a deep understanding, trust, and connection between them that they both felt–but never spoke of. 

He visits the nursery and watches the babies as they grow, as they graduate, and the new ones that come along. Sometimes it isn’t always the happy ending they wanted. Those days when there is a soft somber blanket wrapped around the room, Buck brings extra coffee and pastries. Puts a dash of sugar in Eddie's and makes sure he gets his favorite. They don’t talk about it, just like they don’t talk about when Buck is extra quiet on his visits. 

Eddie's calling Buck. Which isn’t something that was terribly unusual. It’s just that Buck knows that Eddie’s supposed to be in the last few hours of a shift, and Eddie only texts during his break. 

He picks up and there’s a brief second of silence- he’s not entirely sure what to say. 

“Please tell me you saved a cute cat from a tree today or something,” Eddie sounds on the verge of tears. It’s a tone of voice Buck recognizes instantly. The nearly hysterical edge is sharper than an arrow. He’s heard it before from Maddie and even himself. And it makes something ache in his chest, he wants to fix everything that made Eddie feel that way. 

“Eddie-“ 

“Please Buck, I can't talk about it yet.” Buck had never heard Eddie like this before. And it sounded strange coming from him. He was usually just quiet. 

“That's okay. You don’t have to. I- I’m just worried about you. You’re not alone are you?” 

“I am,” he sounds almost scared to admit it.  

“Okay I’m coming over.” 

Buck takes a breath as he finds his keys and slips on his shoes, “So today, Chimney, who is like completely head over heels for Maddie by the way even if he can’t see it, please do tease her about it, tried to make Cap’s famous mac and cheese. We ended up having to order pizza. And we did actually rescue a cat from a tree today, and he was indeed cute. Orange tabby, named Teddy. All that was missing from my day was a dalmatian.” 

Buck hears a watery laugh through the tinny speakers that suddenly dissolves into tears. 

“I hate it when we don’t win.” Eddie sobs, air desperately trying to find its way in. 

“I know. You’re always gonna have me though. To catch you.” Because there were always going to be lost battles. “For as long as I am breathing or as long as you’ll let me, I'll catch you.” It feels heavy and like too much of a promise for a new blossoming friendship. But it was the truth. It felt like something was tying itself around his heart at that moment. 

Buck bites his lip and adjusts his grip on the steering wheel as he turns onto Eddie's street. 

“The doors unlocked.” Eddie says after a moment. 

He finds Eddie slumped against the wall near the bathroom. Still in his scrubs. Knees bent in front of him. 

“I've been doing this for years. They told us in the classes. This isn’t the first time. But,” 

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter. You’re human Eddie. It's okay. Now, let’s get you out of these scrubs you’ve been wearing for what I'm guessing is entirely too long.” Eddie nods as he offers his hands, “okay, up!” 

Eddie takes them and is willingly hauled up to standing. 

“Thank you,” he says quietly and he turns and walks toward what Buck assumes to be his bedroom. 

Buck leans in the doorway as Eddie digs through drawers finding a clean shirt and sweatpants. 

“Do you want me to stay?” he asks gently. Eddie freezes and looks up at him biting his lip. 

“…do you want to?” 

“I was thinking about ordering Thai, Chim and Maddie are doing their “not date” thing tonight so-“ 

“You don’t want to be alone either huh?” Eddie smiles weakly. 

“Guess not. You want some Pad Thai?” 

“Sure” Eddie nods, “that sounds… good.” 

“Good. I’ll just, um, go order in the living room while you-“ 

Eddie nods again and Buck backs away from the door. 

He orders the food pretty quickly and then takes stock of the photos that line the mantle. His eyes lock on one of Eddie and a young boy, they have the same smile spread across their faces, the boy has glasses. Then Buck notices that he’s in almost every photo. And then there’s the one of a young brunette woman, she’s smiling at the beach, the sun making her hair glow just a little. There's a candle underneath the picture and a pair of rings next to it. And Buck can’t breathe. 

“That's Shannon.” Eddie says from behind him. 

Buck jumps as he turns looking wide eyed. 

“Sorry I didn’t mean to-“ 

“Nah, it’s okay,” he replies as Eddie takes a few steps to come up closer to the mantle.

“She is Christopher's mother.” 

Buck's eyes drift to a photo of Shannon and the young boy, “and um Christopher, he’s my son.” Every word is weighted with an unspoken understanding.

“Oh” 

“Does that-“

“Oh, God no! I love kids- he is adorable!” 

“She uh, she died a little less than a year ago. When I said I wasn't ready- it’s because of her. I loved her in all the ways I could but we- she wanted a divorce just before she died. Screwed me up for a while. Then I figured out the whole, um gay thing. And that screwed with me in a whole new way. Honestly still working through all that. But I really like you. And that’s why I'm telling you all this. Cause it’s important and if you can’t deal with all th-“ 

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence Eddie Diaz. I said I'll catch you, and I meant it. Baggage and all. And I'll get ya back one of these days. I have some kinda batshit baggage too.” 

Eddie smiles a little. And Buck feels like he won an award. 

They naturally end up on the couch and Eddie turns on the tv. 

The food is delivered and they eat in silence, a chenille blanket pooled around their waists. 

Eddie twirls his noodles with the chopsticks, “I’ll catch you too you know, anytime you need it.” 

Buck nods, one side of his mouth quirked up.

Yeah, he won the lottery. 

He's standing outside the nursery, mirroring the first time he visited. He's drinking coffee, this time another cup in his hand that he dutifully hands to Eddie before either of them say a word. 

“Thank god for you,” Eddie sighs around the first gulp, and Buck smirks. 

“I know you don’t have long, but I just wanted to swing by. Check in.” After last shift. 

Eddie bites the corner of his bottom lip, “We’re doing okay. I- I’m, I wanted to ask you about something?” 

Buck sips his coffee with an expectant look. 

“So, I totally get it if your schedule is too busy or you just-“ 

“What is it Eddie?” 

“We have this program, where people come in and hold the babies that are either wards of the state or their parents aren’t able to for whatever reason. It helps them. It’s mostly older ladies and people who’ve lost theirs or even almost did. Nicest people I know to be honest. And I guess I was wondering if you wanted to- I just think you would be really good at it.” He takes a sip of coffee turning to the window. 

“Oh. you think I-“ there’s a disbelief in his voice he doesn’t remember conjuring. 

“Yeah I do.” 

“I didn't know it was an option. I- I think I would really like that. I’ve read some stuff about skin to skin contact and stuff and how important that can be for development.” 

“You wouldn't have to- that’s not why I-“ 

“I know,” Buck smiles shyly, “I'll think about it.” 

Later that evening he taps out a text; 

To: eddie 🩺 how do i sign up? is there a link somewhere? 

He immediately receives a text in return

From: eddie🩺 Yeah! Here :) (Oh nice you learned about question marks!)

[jowrites]

When the Dahlia sings Her Song - 6. How to lose a voice.

TW: Mentions of death, physical abuse, mental illness, depression, anxiety, parental death, verbal abuse, mute disorder, mentions of sex, some smut(in future), cursing

Strangers to Lovers. Lee Heeseung x F!OC(I like giving names).

Masterlist Here. Prev. Next. Jo's Masterlist Here.

taglist: @enhabooks

Jake and Kai were inseparable. The two liked to joke around because they were born as Irish twins and always loved to say they were just twins. Jake was older and always loved to tease Kai about it, always pulling the ‘Hyung card’ and getting what he wanted from his sister, but in the end she always got what she wanted. Kai was extremely protective over Jake, extremely attacked and in a way some would say obsessed. She was a clingy person to those she loved and cared for, but it was really because she was scared to lose any of them.

Kai and Jake remember everything about their parents. Every Friday was game night for them, they always either had chinese or pizza, nothing else. The family would stay up playing games and just laughing and being in each other's presence.  Every Sunday they would have a family dinner and then watch dramas until it was bedtime. Her mother always loved flowers and taught her how to garden from a young age, it was a wonderful hobby they shared together. “Remember, Kai, even the dead flowers deserve to be loved! So don’t forget to love them!” This was their tradition and it went on for years. 

They were 10 years older than their brother. When they were told their parents were expecting, Jake and Kai were ecstatic. Just more to the family and more during family game night. Jake made sure he was the best big brother anyone could ask for. He always went outside and played soccer with Kian, their younger brother. Kai would join them, pretending to be a cheerleader cheering for the Kian team. They always had such fun together and it was the perfect family dynamic.

The night of the accident lives free in Kai’s mind. It was very late, the sun was long gone but it’s not like it was out to begin with as the day was filled with clouds in the sky. The rain was pounding their car and their father was struggling to see the road. Kian was sitting between Jake and her, sound asleep with Jake, her two brothers leaned into one another. Her mother was worried about the rain and encouraged their father to pull over and wait it out, which he dismissed and said they needed to get home to get Kian to sleep. Then it happened.

Kai doesn’t necessarily know what happened, but there were lights and suddenly her father lost control of the car. Before she knew it the car was sinking and being filled with water. 

“Okay, honey don’t panic! Get the kids!”

“The window won’t break!”

“Kian’s stuck!”

“Kai! Jake!”

When she woke up, she watched her brother go back down below the dark abyss and she was fully awake. She quickly gathered herself and ran after him, throwing herself into the water. She didn’t know where she was or where they were but she was just swimming, swimming deep and then she saw the red lights deep in the water. She felt an arm around her torso, dragging her up as she was trying to reach down. Their bodies floated to the top, her coughing noticeable and she noticed Jake was holding her and Kian. The rain was hard and the only light that gave away was the lightning in the sky. Why was this happening?

Jake was performing CPR on their brother for 10 minutes before the paramedic arrived. Nothing seemed to be working and their parents seemed nowhere in sight. Jake moved aside as the EMT’s did their job, trying to revive their brother, who laid there as if she was just asleep. Jake took Kai into his arms, trying to hide her away from the sight, but she couldn’t stop  looking. Before they knew it, the sun was up and she watched as her parents' bodies were being taken from the water. Both of them are dead and cold. They already pronounced Kian dead an hour prior, a small white sheet covering his frame. Her heart shattered in her chest as the shock wore off and she was left with nothing but dread and grief. 

Since that moment, Jake has done his best to take care of them. Caring and making sure she is okay. Kai stopped talking almost right away. She didn’t even start talking to Jake until 5 years after, and he cried when he first heard her voice again. She still rarely speaks to him, but occasionally she will just to him. She remembers that silence she heard when she entered the water, that’s all she can hear. And till this very day she can still hear the cries of her parents, their cries for their children. And the last “I love you!” Before everything went dark. The sound she longs for.

[okimnerdy]

Summary: Months after escaping a battle with Lord Garmadon, the team must navigate what it means to be chosen by Wu while balancing the growing bonds between each other. They all have their parts to play, but what if there's someone who needs more guidance?

Enter Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon. Can the team help him or will he be another to forced to follow a legacy?

Project Masterlist

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Chapter 1: Prophecies

It had been four months since the ninja returned topside after Garmadon disappeared; and the siblings had officially moved into the monastery, leaving under the guise of leaving for school. The first few weeks found them still sleeping in the same room or found Nya tucked away in Kai’s bed. It took a week or three before they felt comfortable at the monastery and slept separately.

Wu knew this was happening and he felt an ache in his old heart every time he watched the siblings interact. He longed for the early days of him and his brother - his best friend - to return but that was no longer possible. Sadly, those days were lost to time.

The memories echoed through the halls as he wandered through the monastery; looking for his students as he could hear them but not see them.

Passing Nya in the kitchen, he found her tuning an old police scanner from a secondhand shop in the nearby city - Chimera's Cove. It was a half day trip from the monastery by train, but Nya never minded as the boys would be busy with training. Of course, Kai worried but after her first few solo trips he let up. 

She had been tuning it to only pick up chatter from all over Ninjago pertaining to any Garmadon sighting but it only picked up stuff about petty thefts and missing people. 

He gave her a pat on shoulder as he passed, returning her smile as she looked over, continuing on his way and ended up in the courtyard. The voices of the boys were louder here and were accompanied by a few sound effects. Turning to the living room, he shook his head and opened the door. 

The boys were relaxing instead of adhering to their normal training schedule. Pizza boxes and soda cans littered the floor as Jay and Cole played a video game, yelling at the screen. Zane was reading on the couch with Kai sketching away in a journal. They had obviously been training earlier in the day, given their state of dress and the weapons resting on the floor.

Wu walked over to the outlet, yanking the chord out with his bo-staff. The two boys cried out in upset as the others looked up from their tasks. Kai and Zane sat at attention while their teammates sunk down in defeat.

“Just because Lord Garmadon escaped and has been missing all these months, it does not mean he will not return one day for the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu,” he said with tiredness laced in his voice.

“But there have been no reports of Garmadon lately,” Zane replied. “If anything, this is the most peaceful time we find ourselves in.”

“Yeah. What’s the point of training if there’s nothing to train for?” Jay sighed.

“Never put off until tomorrow what could be done today.” Kai looked confused with a raise of his brow as Cole rolled his eyes at the advice. “You four are only at the start of your abilities. The Tornado of Creation can only be done when the four of you are on the same wavelength and working in harmony.” He looked over them. “This lack of training has broken down the bonds you created on that first mission.”

Cole let out a sigh and reached for a slice of pizza, but was denied by a swipe of Wu’s bo staff.

“There are many secrets to unlock within your elemental gifts. In order to reach your full potential, you must continue your training.  The Golden Weapons are merely a key that none of you have learned to wield properly.”

“Do not worry, Master Wu,” Zane assured. “We will be ready when Lord Garmadon returns.”

Nya flung open the door as he finished his sentence. They looked at her with shock as she caught her breath.

“Lord Garmadon sighting. In Jamanakai Village,” she gasped as the boys scrambled for their weapons. “Okay. We need walkie talkies or something because I always forget how big this place is.”

“Perhaps that could be something you create,” Zane suggested as he moved to pass her. “You are quite talented at creating such devices, probably better than Jay. His devices usually explode after a few minutes.” He heard said boy call out in offense as she laughed. “We shall be back.”

The ninja rushed out of the room and down to the stables. Nya shook her head as they disappeared down the mountain steps. Wu placed himself next to her, listening to her deep sigh.

“I know you wish that you could help them, but sometimes a mission requires a ninja and not a tinkerer,” he said.

“So what mission would require someone like me?” She made herself seem small, hugging herself as they spotted the dragons taking off. 

“I do not know, but we shall find out in due time.”

Kai sat silent on his dragon as Jay flew in circles around them.

“I sense that something is troubling you, my friend,” Zane said as he pulled up next to him. “May I ask about what it could be?”

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Kai sighed as he leaned back on Flame. “Wu said something about us reaching our full potential, something about the weapons only being a key to it. Is he right?”

“I think he’s onto something,” Jay’s voice said from above. The boy was flying upside down, and worrying Zane. “I mean, we haven’t really used the weapons since getting them. He’ll barely let us use them during training. How are we supposed to know if we can’t even wield them?”

“Perhaps that is something for us to discover,” Zane replied. “Now, please place your dragon upright. Kai has yet to make better saddles for tricks such as those.”

Jay made a face at Zane and flew in front of them as Cole yelled from below. 

“Is anyone else a bit excited to battle Lord Garmadon? We didn’t get to fight him last time, and I want to show him what four years of training can do.” His dragon, Rocky, gave a small roar to emphasize his rider's excitement.

“Four years and you couldn’t even beat me on night one?” Kai laughed.

“Hey! Before you, I was the last one to show up. Jay and Zane were here before me.”

“By like a few months!” Jay interjected. “Zane was here for, like, two years before us.”

“To be fair, Kai did hold his own against us for merely a day of training.” Zane said as he studied Kai for a moment before scanning the other two. “Especially since he is the smallest of our group.”

“Coming after my height now, huh?” The group chuckled as the dragons began their descent. “Besides, it wasn’t only one day of training. Ignacia has a stop for traveling security and a military camp nearby. They taught basic fighting for self defense. Nya and I took classes when we were younger.”

“Your village sounds quite fascinating,” Zane hummed as their dragons landed just outside Jamanakai Village. "Perhaps we should spend more time the next we visit."

"And have my old babysitters tell embarrassing stories? Pass."

The boys dismount and adjust their face guards as they head in. There’s a distinct lack of screaming and panicking as they walk through. Zane approaches a market stall to ask about the situation. She points to the town square.

With their weapons in hand, they entered the square to find a young boy being cornered by people in the town. The boy was probably no older than nine or ten, given his height. He wore a black hoodie with a ribcage printed on the front and a dark gray blazer. To Kai, he almost looked scared as the adults continued yelling at him. His nearly purple eyes were filled with panic and fear, but his face was steady.

“Alright people, back it up!” Cole yelled. “We got this handled. Please continue your day.”

The crowd dispersed as Zane and Jay went to pick the boy up. They carried him to the edge of town and tied his hands together. Cole and Kai stayed behind to figure out why this kid caused such a scene.

“That’s Lloyd Garmadon,” the village chief informed them. “Everytime he arrives, people worry that Garmadon is bound to follow.”

“I wasn’t even aware that Garmadon had kids,” Cole admitted. “Why is he here?”

“Probably escaped from Darkley’s again. We usually get a few of those kids a week, but he’s the only one who’s stuck around for longer. The people have grown paranoid, so we called for help to send him back.”

“Thank you for your time. We’ll handle it from here.” Cole turned to Kai. “I’m going to go see if there’s a place they can stash the kid until someone from Darkley’s can get here.”

The two thanked the village chief for their time as Kai went to see where the other’s took the kid.

“But I didn’t do anything wrong!” The boy shouted as he approached. 

“Well, you did enough to make them grow paranoid,” Kai said. “Our friend is going to see if someone can stash you until someone from your school can come pick you up.”

“You know who he is?” Jay asked.

“That’s Garmadon’s kid.” The blue and white ninjas looked taken aback. “Right?”

"I just want to go home!" The kid tried to escape the bindings, thrashing around to loosen the ropes and failing.

"Right now, your home is your boarding school," Cole said as he arrived. "Someone should be here by the end of the day, but the kid will need to be locked up until they get here. The book shop owner volunteered to house him until Darkely’s staff gets here.”

“Sounds like a plan, but should we be here until they arrive?” Zane asks.

“He’s one kid. I’m sure the librarian can handle one kid for an hour.”

With a shrug and a look exchanged, the ninja led Lloyd to the book shop. The owner had him sit behind the counter, his bindings tied to a curtain rod as the ninja left.

Kai lingered for a moment. He looked at the kid as he sighed in defeat as the kid sunk in on himself before catching up with the others.

The group paused to feed their dragons before moving to return to the monastery. Kai went to pull a snack from his satchel when a scroll fell out.

“Whatcha got there?” Cole asked as Kai stared at the scroll.

“I don’t know, but I know it’s not mine.” Kai lifted the bag off the saddle and found Wu’s symbol on the flap.

“You must have grabbed Master Wu’s bag in the rush when we left,” Zane guessed as his teammate unrolled the scroll. “What does it say?”

“I don’t know. This isn’t a language I can recognize.”

Zane walked over with Jay to study the scroll’s writing.

“I believe this symbol means ‘prophecy,’” He said, pointing to a word in the top corner. “I believe this is old Ninjargon. Luckily, I can understand a bit of it.” The boys looked at each other confused before Cole shrugged. “‘One day, the Green Ninja will rise from the shadows and take up their destiny to defeat the Dark Lord.’ Fascinating.”

“Defeat the Dark Lord?” Jay repeated. “Like defeat Lord Garmadon?” Zane merely nodded. “Do you think this Green Ninja could be one of us?”

“If it is to be any of us, it is unclear at the current moment. Though if it is to be any one of us, maybe it is me?” Zane hummed in thought. “Or perhaps Kai?”

“Me?” Kai questioned.

“I do not see why not. The three of us have trained together for several years with no hint of becoming something more, and then you arrived out of nowhere and fought a form of Garmadon to save your sister.”

Kai sat in silence to think before Cole took the scroll from him and placed it back in the bag.

“Let’s remember that the four of us are meant to be a team, not some guy and his backup dancers,” Cole said as he mounted his dragon. “We were probably never meant to see that thing.” He shook his head before considering the thought. “You know, we’re already falling behind in training. What do you say to a little competition to see who’s worthy of that ‘Green Ninja’ title?”

He took off into the sky with Jay and Zane following after, but Kai took another moment. He wondered if it was truly possible that he was the ninja of prophecy before taking off after them.

The boys returned to the monastery, finding Nya training in the courtyard. Kai watched as his sister maneuvered through the obstacle course before getting distracted by their arrival. It wasn’t too hard of a fall, but enough for him to turn on “big-brother” mode.

“You good?” He asked as he helped her up. She nodded. “Beat your record?”

“No, but I’m close to beating yours.” She playfully punched his shoulder. “So, how’d it go at Jamanakai Village? False alarm?”

“Yeah, but not the kind we expected.”

“Did you know that Garmadon has a kid?” Jay yelled from across the way. The others were getting into their kendo suits as the siblings spoke.

“Wasn’t he in the Underworld for, like, a long time? How old’s the kid?”

“No older than nine or ten, I think. He’s pretty young.” The siblings thought for a moment before shuddering at the thought. “Anyway, we’re gonna need the course for a bit. Mind sitting out?”

“No problem, I got some things I need to get sorted. Gimme a holler if you guys need anything.” They all nodded. “Great. I’ll see you boys in about an hour.”

“Thanks sis! Oh wait!” She turned back to him and was given a satchel. “Could you give this to Master Wu? He left it at the stables again.” She nodded and went inside as Kai turned to the others as the door closed behind her. “So, two out of three?”

-

“Okay!” Kai stood at the ready as Jay dropped his mask. Cole walked between them, mimicking a referee. “Let’s have a good and clean training session. No timeouts. No forfeits. No escaping over the wall.” He gave Jay the eye, receiving a shrug from the other. “Fighters at the ready?” Kai held the sword across his arm as Jay spun his nunchucks around. Cole stepped back and took a seat next to Zane. “Begin!”

The two fighters begin to circle each other, waiting for the first move.

Jay struck first, launching himself towards Kai, but was easily dodged. He’s knocked to his feet as the sword passed overhead. He tried to wrap the nunchucks around Kai’s leg, but was thwarted as he flipped away. Channeling his energy through his weapon, Jay attempted to shoot lightning but only managed to shock himself and give Kai a momentary advantage.

“Who do you think will win this?” Cole asked.

“Both of our teammates are evenly matched in terms of drive and strength, but their training levels are far apart,” Zane admitted as they backed away from a slice of fire. “Kai seems more calculated while Jay is more of a strike first fighter.” The two flinched as Jay was knocked down again. “Though, I guess it could be anyone’s fight.” Jay took another hit. “Like I said, I guess.”

Another loud thud sounded through the courtyard as Jay fell again, losing grip on his weapon. Kai cheered in his victory before helping Jay up.

“Good try, bud,” Kai assured. Zane provided an ice block from his weapon for his teammate as they took their places. Cole stood with his scythe as a guard while Zane dropped into a defensive stance. “Rules remain the same, just try not to break the ground this time.” Kai smirked at this teammate’s glare as he sat next to Jay. “Begin!”

Zane struck first, using his shuriken to freeze Cole in place before launching another attack. It was easily deflected by the scythe before Cole was freed. In an essentially weapon versus no weapon battle, Zane was not making this easy. His thin form allowed him to move with grace and ease as Cole tried to strike at him.

“How’s your head?” Kai asked as Jay nursed the several bumps on his head.

“Better than I thought they’d be,” he admitted. “No blood at least.” He looked at the fight. “I think Zane might take this one.”

“I don’t know. I think Cole’s just buying time.” Kai studied the scythe-wielder as he blocked another ice attack. “Zane’s weapon takes so much from him, but the scythe is an extension of Cole. Zane’s gotta get tired eventually.”

“If I know Zane, we’ll be here a while.” A loud thud brought their attention to the fight. Zane was pinned to the ground with the blade of the scythe. “Or maybe we won’t? How did that happen? What’d we miss?”

“Just Zane wiping out on his own ice,” Cole chuckled as he helped up his friend. “Oh, how I wish I had a camera.”

Jay gave the boy a pat on the back as Kai suited up again. The two readied themselves again. Kai balanced his blade on his arm as Cole swung the scythe across his shoulders. Each of them stared down at their opponent as Jay reiterated the rules and gave them the green.

Kai made the first strike, unleashing a swipe of fire from the sword that Cole broke with his own swing. They circled each other for a moment before Kai made another strike and was blocked by the blade of the scythe. Cole pushed him back, gaining the upper hand and spinning his weapon in an attempt to intimidate.

He watched as Kai’s eyes stayed trained on the blade as he drew up and struck down, shaking the courtyard. The action cracked a few of the cobblestone tiles and violently shook the monastery. Kai fell to the ground after losing his balance, effectively taking him out of the game.

The others cheered for Cole’s victory as Kai stood up with anger building in his veins. In order to disperse this emotion, he swung out his arm. Forgetting he held the Sword of Fire, the blade released another swipe of fire that engulfed the deck of the monastery in flames. The sword itself began to glow brighter as Kai’s anger grew. It only dissipated when it became too hot to hold. As it fell to the ground, more flames were released and lit the monastery even further.

Wu ran out at his students’ exclaims, finding the flames growing higher. He grabbed the Shurikens of Ice from Zane and activated them, putting out the flames. The extinguished flames left a layer of snow in the courtyard, four ashamed students, and one angry master. Nya came running out as soon as the flames died down, almost slipping on the snow.

“What were you thinking?” Wu exclaimed, anger growing with each word. “You all know that the Elemental Weapons respond to your emotions.” He turned and helped Nya steady herself before she went to check on her brother. “Kai, your sister was inside. What could have possessed you to lash out so drastically?”

“We were trying to see who the Green Ninja is,” Jay said without thinking, earning a gut punch from Cole. “What was that for?”

“Where did you hear about that?”

“I grabbed your satchel by accident when we left earlier,” Kai admitted, refusing to pick up the sword, “and I found the scroll when I was looking for Flame’s snack."

“None of you should have seen that.” Wu gripped his staff and looked to the ground.

“Master Wu,” Kai started, “is it true that it’s possibly one of us?”

Wu glanced over the kids in his care. The five of them looked at him with confusion and curiosity.

“It will be none of you if you don’t unlock your full potential.”

“Was that not what happened with Kai’s sword?” Zane asked. “It shone brighter than any other time it was used. Is this what you mean by unlocking the Golden Weapons?"

“As I have said before, you are all at the beginning of your journey. Unlocking your weapons is merely a moment at the start. If this possibility of a prophecy is what it takes for you to train, then so be it. However, none of you are anywhere near the level to be the ninja of legend.” He called over his shoulder as he left. “Clean up the snow and come eat, but no elemental abilities!”

Nya rolled her eyes with a sign, shrugging and turning to follow Wu inside. The boys let out a groan as they disappeared from sight. 

Kai approached Nya’s room after dinner. He found her sitting in the center of the bed, bits and bobs of wires scattered around her as she worked away at an old phone. He wasn’t a huge fan of technology, but she convinced him that a phone would help them down the road.

"Any success?” He asked, walking in without permission.

“Any chance of you ever knocking before walking in?” She threw a pillow at him and shook her head when he caught it.

“Never had to before.” He sat on the edge. “You figure out how they work yet?”

“Not yet, but from what I understand, they need some kind of network or chip to function. That costs money we currently don’t have enough of, so I’ll work with Jay on these and see if we can whip up a network of sorts.” Nya started to clean up the pieces and put them in a shoebox. “Now. Did you come here to talk or just to bug me?” He looked down to the floor, trying to find something to say. “Is it about what happened in the village?”

“Something just doesn’t feel right. I mean, Lloyd’s just a kid. He shouldn’t have escaped his school so easily.” He sighed and fell back on her bed. “Did we make the right call leaving him there?”

“I’m sure he’s already back at his school, all safe and sound.”

-

After escaping the bookshop, Lloyd needed to get as far away from Darkley’s vicinity if he wanted to find his dad. It took a bit of sneaking and hiding, but he managed to board a train heading to the coast. 

He must have fallen asleep because he was shocked awake when the train hit the last stop. Looking out of the window, Lloyd didn’t expect to see snow. He wrapped his hoodie tighter around himself as he hopped  out of the car and into the snow.

If he could remember correctly, he was at the Glacier Barrens - somewhere on the coast of Ninjago. Not the ideal place he wanted, but it was an okay distance. Wandering into the snow, he looked for a place to take shelter for the night.

His foot hit something made of metal at the base of a mountain. Wiping away from the snow, he found a door cracked open and entered inside. The place was dark and cold, but not as cold as the Barrens. Ice covered the walls and floor and made up the columns as well.

“You are out of your mind to venture so far from home, little one.” A voice echoed through the cave, scaring the boy. “Though you must be so desperate to seek out the Hypnobrai’s Prison.”

Two red eyes stared out from the darkness before a large shape emerged. The shape was a creature Lloyd only he read about in history books - a Serpentine. The figure was half man, half-snake as where his legs would be, trailed a long snake tail. The human half had dark skin and deep teal hair bedazzled with gold jewels and cuffs. They towered over Lloyd as they leaned over the child. His eyes were pure red.

“How is it a prison? The door was open.” Lloyd asked.

“Eh–what?” The creature looked at the ajar door in shock and confusion. “I’m not going to entertain the possibilities that statement brings.” He cleared his throat and returned his gaze to Lloyd. “Now, look into my eyes and I can give you whatever your heart desires. I just need to borrow you in exchange.”

Lloyd quickly shut his eyes and turned his head away. The creature looked into the ice behind him and went slack upon meeting his own line of sight. The boy turned back and waved a hand in front of him. It took a second for him to realize what had happened.

“I think you’ll find that I control you from now on,” Lloyd began to chuckle, channeling his inner dark lord.

He may be far from where he should be, but with his own snake army, he can go anywhere.

The next day, as the boys continued their training, Nya took a train to Chimera’s Cove, the next town over, to visit the scrap shop again. After talking to Jay, the phone system they were creating needed a few more bits before they could take it for a test run. Honestly, she was excited to work on it and kill more time while the others trained.

Screaming came from outside the shop and caught her attention, making her put down what she had already collected to see what was wrong. She felt her heart jump as a vehicle sped past her and the voice of a young boy laughing with glee rang in her ears.

“Excuse me!” Nya caught the attention of someone running by. “What’s going on?”

“The Serpentine are back!” The person pointed in the direction the vehicle went. “They’re being led by someone claiming to be the son of Lord Garmadon.” They looked around. “You should get inside and hide. I don’t know what else they’re going to do.”

Nya stood back in thought as the person ran away.

-

Back at the monastery, Wu was meditating in his room as the ninja trained outside. He sat and studied the smoke as it rose and fell from the incense. His eyes widened as the white smoke turned black, whirling around in distress. Wu quickly stood and grabbed his staff to run out to his students.

“The Serpentine are back! Quickly, you must leave for Chimera’s Cove,” he yelled as his student’s turned to him confused.

“The Serpentine?” Jay asked. “Like the serpentine of Ninjago history? I thought they were a myth.”

“They are as real as you and me, and they are wreaking havoc on Chimera’s Cove. Who knows where they’ll be next?”

“How do you know that they’re really back, Master Wu?” Zane asked, setting down his training sword.

“The spirit smoke does not lie! Something has released this ancient evil!”

“Chimera’s Cove?” Kai said, finally realizing what Wu said as he began to shake as he removed his kendo helmet and grabbed his Sword. “Nya went down there this morning. She might still be down there.” He ran out of the front gate and down to the dragons. 

Jay was the first to follow Kai down to the dragons, throwing his own training gear to the ground with the promise to clean later. The remaining members followed soon after and met up at the dragon stables, suited up and ready to go.

“Be careful! The Serpentine are a particularly angry species, especially after their imprisonment,” Wu called out as they launched out of the gates.

The group landed just outside of Chimera’s Cove, hearing the screaming from the town. They pass some of the screaming people and step into the small town square. Nya runs out of her hiding spot and to the group. Kai pulls her into a hug as the others look over the square.

“Fill us in,” Kai said as he released her. “What’s going on?”

“Okay. Number one, the Serpentine real and real big. Taller than the average guy but with a snake tail about the same length. They’ve been hypnotizing anyone they come across,” she said, not really believing what she was saying. “Number two, they’re being led by a kid.”

“Kid? Black sweater, nasally voice?” She nods. “That's Lloyd.”

“How’d he get out?” Cole asks, pulling down his mask in frustration. “Who tied him up at the bookshop?” Zane raised his hand. “How tight did you tie the knot?”

“Not too tight as he kept complaining that it hurt.” Cole slapped himself on the forehead. “Was that not an appropriate accommodation?”

“Let’s worry about that later,” Jay interrupted as people and Serpentine began surrounding them. The humans’ eyes were enlarged as red swirls moved around in their pupils. “We have another small issue to deal with.”

Kai pushed Nya back to the shops as they pulled up their face guards again. Jay began swinging his weapon and readied an attack before Zane stopped him.

“Careful. You may harm the people.” Jay tucked his weapon away. “Instead of fighting, I suggest we retreat and come up with a plan.” Nya waved at them from a shop. "I believe Nya has the perfect place.”

The boys ran into the tech shop before Nya turned the lock and led them to the back of the shop. From their position, Cole could see a back exit and it seemed to be locked. They were okay for now.

“Anything else you want to tell us?” Cole asked, adjusting his Scythe back into its harness.

“Those snakes have tails like a rattlesnake,” she said. “Everytime they rattle, don’t look them in the eyes. It’s how they get you.”

“Well, what are we supposed to do then?” Jay sighed. “We can’t use our weapons because we may hurt the people, and now we can’t fight with our eyes open. I don’t think there was a training course for this.”

“From what I’ve observed, all you need to do is target the one with the staff. He’s in charge. Get the staff, get the anti-venom that’s in it. After that, we need to find a way to disperse it and save everyone.”

“What do you say guys, truce?” Kai stuck out his hand. “Take a moment to work as a team and make Master Wu proud?”

“Now you’re talking,” Cole said as everyone placed their hand on top.

“And Nya, you can be an honorary Ninja.” She couldn’t see it, but she knew Kai was smirking under that cloth.

“Gee, thanks. On that note, you can have an honorary brain cell when we get back to the monastery.” She looked at the front door, face scrunched with worry as the crowd began to disperse. “Back door’s your best bet to get ahead of the crowd.”

“Thanks.” Kai patted down her hair as the rest of the group went to the door. “Try to get outside the limits. I’ll give you a ride back, okay?” She swatted his hand away but nodded. “Be safe.”

Outside, the scene wasn’t any better.

The vehicle holding Lloyd and his accomplice sped by again. Cole turned to his team, nodding as he lifted the Scythe before striking the ground. A small mound of earth sprouted in front, abruptly stopping the vehicle with a loud crash.

“Was that the right thing to do? I mean, there is a kid in the car,” Kai asked.

“To be fair, I was hoping to just make a speed bump,” Cole admitted as they ran to the crash.

A tall man, dressed in plain clothes, stumbled out of the cab with the kid under one arm and a long, golden staff in the other. The man stared at the four boys approaching him as he set Lloyd down.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The man smiled. “Ninjas? In this day and age? Fascinating. I guess that old man from my childhood is still around.”

“I take it that you’re the leader of this whole plot?” Cole raised a brow in question. “A Serpentine? Aren't they supposed to be snake-like?” The man smirked as his figure began to shift. His legs melted into one as his pants shredded as a long, teal snake tail replaced the bottom half. 

“You just had to ask,” Jay sighed as they dropped into a fight position.

“Slithraa, we need to retreat!” Lloyd called out, placing a hand on his head. The man turned around and nodded, calling for his army to fall back.

“Oh no you don’t!” Cole launched after him, swinging his Scythe before it was blocked by the golden staff. Other snakes launched into the fray and attacked the remaining ninjas as Cole and Slithraa exchanged blows. “Remember, listen for the rattle!”

The ninja nodded and continued their fight. Kai used the fire from the Sword to push back some of the Serpentine while Zane froze many in place. Jay fought against those who tried to interfere with Cole’s battle.

Kai was nearly tackled by a snake before it was knocked in the head. Looking behind him, he spotted Nya with her trusty rope dart attacking her own hoard of snakes.

“How many times do we have to go through this Nya?” Kai exclaimed. “I said get out of the city!”

“Please, you guys would be so lost without me.” She knocked down another snake. “Cole needs cover, and I have a plan to get the anti-venom over the whole town.”

“Care to–” He knocked down another. “Care to share!”

“The fountain in town square! Use the Sword to make steam after the anti-venom gets put in, it’ll travel fast.”

“I may have not finished school," he kicked a snake away from her "but I don't think that's how steam works."

“I don't think so either, but Jay’s been introducing me to different movies, so if it works in that, it doesn’t hurt to try.”

“Those are movies, Nya! Stuff like that doesn’t work in real life!”

“Yeah, well, neither do snake people rising from mythology. So, I guess we both stand corrected.” She took the break in the wave to catch her breath.  “Just try it. I don’t see you coming up with other solutions.”

The boy had to bite his tongue and refrain from speaking, knowing that she had a point. Instead, he shoved her away and blocked another attack. Pushing her towards the fountain, he turned to help the others.

Cole managed to land a hard blow against Slithraa’s head, making him drop the staff in response. Beginning to make off with the staff, he was stopped by another Serpentine - one smaller than the one he had been fighting. It gripped tight to his arms and forced him to lock eyes. He began to feel his mind go foggy as his grip loosened on the staff.

The Serpentine lurched out of sight and down to the ground. Cole blinked his eyes back into focus, finding Kai pinning the snake down with his foot.

“You good?” Cole nodded. “Good. Get the staff to Nya at the fountain, she has an idea.”

Running off, Cole passed by Jay and Zane fending off their own wave of snakes. Arriving at the fountain, he spotted Nya working on the water pump. The fountain was off and waiting for activation.

“I believe you have something for me.” Cole chuckled and threw the staff next to her. She popped off the top of the staff and revealed a container of blue liquid as the other three arrived. Dumping in a bit of the liquid, they waited for it to start. “Kai, now!”

Her brother lit the blade and plunged it into the fountain. The water quickly heated and began to create steam on the surface.

“It’s not dispersing! What now?” Jay’s voice was slightly panicking.

“Don’t look at me. I’m not someone who can become a living windstorm.” Nya rolled her eyes as Jay gave her a sheepish smile. “Kai, keep the heat coming.”

Jay and Zane stepped back and used Spinjitzu to lead the steam around the town square as Cole took post to protect the siblings. Nya capped the bottle and put the staff back together as Kai removed his sword to lead them out of town and to the dragons. 

“I tried to find Lloyd or any snake, but I’m afraid they have escaped,” Zane explained as he spun into view. Jay appeared soon after.

“That’s the least of our worries right now.” Cole shook his head as he spoke, spotting a few more hypnotized people. “We still have a few people the steam didn’t reach, is there any anti-venom left?” 

“Yeah, if anyone would stay behind so that I can get a ride back, I can take care of the people,” Nya explained. Jay quickly volunteered, much to Kai’s annoyance. “Thanks Jay. It shouldn’t take too long.” She took the container out again and gave the staff to Kai. “We should be back before sunset. Relax.”

Begrudgingly, Kai mounted his dragon and took off with Cole and Zane. Nya turned to Jay, shaking the small container. 

“Come on. The faster we work, the faster we get home,” she said.

“I don’t know. I might do a little sightseeing,” he replied as they began to walk, “I hear they have a pretty good scrap yard. I mean, not as good as the one back home.”

"Ninjago City has some good ones?"

"Sure,” he chuckled. “Ninjago City."

Zane couldn’t help but wonder if Kai’s mood was growing heavier by the second. The boy had yet to move from his perch on the monastery roof since Jay and Nya returned.

“Kai?” He called up, earning a grunt of acknowledgement. “Dinner is just about ready, please come down.” His friend didn’t move. “Kai?”

“What? Sorry,” Kai apologized. “Just lost in my thoughts.”

The young firemaster maneuvered down to the cobblestone, climbing down the tree branches and pillars.

“May I ask about what you are thinking? I think it would be better to communicate your feelings rather than bottle them up.” Kai looked up at him. “Well?”

“Something just doesn’t add up about this whole situation. Lloyd said he just wanted to go home yesterday when we had him on the edge of Jamanakai Village, so why does he look like he’s in charge of the Serpentine we encountered?”

“Perhaps he found his calling as the son of evil, and now he is trying to lead them as his father would.”

“Then why would he claim that he did nothing wrong? Lloyd doesn’t even seem like he has an evil bone in his body. He’s a kid, for crying out loud. With how he was acting, I doubt that the evil apple landed anywhere near the tree.”

“I’m afraid that you have lost me. When did we begin discussing fruit?” Kai merely shook his head with a laugh and led Zane inside with a pat on the back. “Was that another joke?”

[purrfectly]

none of you know how hyped I am. my first pull in 5 days. oh my god 💙💙💙💙

[chaoticspeedrun]

Brighter to my eyes 6

Summary: Leo is good at reading people, it's what makes him a good strategist, but those blue hues of hers elude his sharp intuition.

Perhaps if they didn't he'd realize he didn't have to change himself for her to see him like he wants her to.

A.N. I wrote this fanfic over an idea of Rise! Leo using a cloacking brooch to hide his true self but it evolved into something way bigger, this fic will takes place in ROTTMNT after "Newsworthy" but April is 18 starting college instead of in High School, while the MC and Raph are 17, the twins 16 and Mikey 15.

Pairing: Rise! Leo x OC, Leo x reader

Warnings: Angst, FLUFF, Sibling shenanigans, MC is a nerd, but a mean nerd in leather.

PREV • MASTERLIST • NEXT

It was a few days after team DMV (Name still up for debate) had acquired the buggy and she’d finally gotten a tour of the lair when Vic, sitting on her art history class and smiling politely at a couple of classmates that’d wanted to work with her for a project, thought back to the turtles, who’d been so excited to show her the place they lived in, which she thought was the teenage dream despite its location.

She barely listened to one of her new friends, Andrew?, While he said they should write about Picasso’s blue period for their project.

She hated Picasso.

Once the class was over and she’d said goodbye while agreeing to finalize details over text with her team, she debated in between messaging Donnie or Leo.

She chose Leo and shot him a short text asking if it’d be cool for her to pop up for a bit.

She got a text back saying she was always welcome and that they’d be at the arcade in the lair, Vic smiled subconsciously and started making her way to where April had one of her classes.

Once she found her Vic waved at April and they both made their way to the café they’d worked at during their first meeting while Vic asked April what the boys would like.

“Oh, you’re getting them drinks? Let me help!” April told her while sending her a list of the turtles’ usual orders but Vic waved her off walking through the door of the shop and being received with the heavenly aroma, she fiddled with her phone while they stood in line.

“Nah, I’m buying, also, what’s their favorite pizza?” Vic asked and April glanced up to see she was placing a pickup order through uber eats.

“Um, well, Donnie has this weird specific order of, wait, let me get my phone to check the message with it” April fumbled for a moment “Aha! So, large thick crust, sprinkled with, get ready for it: Pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, sausage, green peppers, black olives and NO anchovies” April made a face while reading the order while Vic just hummed and picked all the toppings, they advanced slightly in line.

“Raph is more a meat lovers kinda deal, both Leo and Mikey like Hawaiian” Vic made a face and April chuckled seeing it while Vic mumbled something about ‘thinking they had good taste’ while April continued “But Leo has a weird order too, onions, black olives, green peppers, and mushrooms, but really you can make them all happy with just a pepperoni or meat lovers.”

Vic hummed as they reached the end of the line before saying “No worries, I already ordered” Before April could say anything, Vic had turned to the barista.

They walked out of the shop with a full tray and made their way to the pizzeria to pick up, Vic’s phone suddenly buzzed with a message from Leo.

Neon Leon: Hey so…ur totally welcome anytime, except maybe rn

Neon Leon: dad’s really sick and it gets ugly real fast

Troya: Oh no, what does he have?

Neon Leon: a flu so bad we never make it ‘til the end of it

Troya: Wait, April is explaining

Troya: 7 stages?? She's explaining some of them and it sounds excessive, don’t you want me to pick you guys something from the pharmacy?

Neon Leon: dw! We totally got this and no way I’m getting infected before the end of the flu

April snorted besides Vic reading over her shoulder.

She wished Leo luck and took the pizzas before walking out of the restaurant, April following her.

“Sooo, what’s the plan? Since the lair is totes off bounds.” April asked making Vic hum again while she looked around, finding what she was looking for Vic changed routes, April noticed she was going towards a drugstore.

“We can just drop this off, and by your reaction I’m getting them stuff to deal with their flu when they inevitably get sick.”

April watched her pick the stuff and take out her credit card for the third time in what had been probably less than an hour.

“You know you don’t have to do all of that you know?” She asked while they both walked out and towards a manhole close to the boys “They’d be totally cool with anything you got them, no need for so many things”

Vic rolled her eyes “Ah don’t worry, I got it because I wanted to, can you open the manhole? I don’t know how we’ll get in without dropping anything…Oh I’ll text Leo!”

April didn’t get a chance to explain her point to Vic who already had her phone back in her hand while the other held onto the tray with coffee and pharmacy bag.

Troya: Knock knock, special delivery for the Neon Leon.

Neon Leon: What

Neon Leon: r u outside??

Troya: Yes, just dropping stuff off

Neon Leon: omw

The manhole opened and a pair of eyes looked back at her before Leo pulled out his whole body making the warm coat he was wearing visible.

“Well, hello ladies, what brings you to such a dangerous place?” Leo asked but his eyes widened throughout as he saw the various boxes of pizza, coffee, and bag in their hands.

“Well, we were already on our way and I’m sure you guys will really appreciate all of this when you’re bed-ridden” Vic smiled offering him the things, which he had a much easier time taking in his grasp, balancing the tray over the pizza’s and the bag over his shoulder before he knew what was happening.

“Me? Sick? No way, I’m already better prepared than the other guys, but really, Vee you didn’t have to” April nodded at Leo’s comment but was stopped by Vic waving her hand dismissively.

“It’s nothing, also, you should probably take some of these drops when you can to avoid the flu, your brothers too, and if you start feeling symptoms take one of these pills, only one every 6 hours by the way” Vic kept explaining some of the many things in the bag to Leo who was overwhelmed by how much she cared, once she finished he grinned a bit sheepishly.

“Ok, sure, got it, don’t even worry your pretty head about this, when this is over it’ll all be worth it, pops can’t say no to anything during what I call: The must say yes stage, we’re totally getting there this time”

April snorted “Sure you are, do you guys even know what you’ll ask for? You’ve only got one shot.”

“Well, I for one got the perfect idea, if I can convince Raph we’re totally getting unicorn onesies.”

Vic thought that was adorable “What do the others want?”

Leo rolled his eyes “Oh Donnie was totally raving about getting uranium, Mikey wants a pizza oven and Raph, our dear leader, has absolutely no idea what to ask for” he groaned.

Vic made a mental note and nodded “Well good luck Leon! Update me later Okay?”

Leo grinned and nodded stepping back to the manhole “I’ll totally update you when we beat this flu, and with all of these things there is no way I’m going down with the sickne—” His foot went directly through the uncovered manhole and Leo went down like Wile E. Coyote, April and Vic rushed to the manhole.

“Leon?!”

“I’m fine! It’s all good!” He yelled somehow managing to hold onto the things during his fall, Vic sighed in relief, impressed with how he managed that.

They finally said bye to Leo and once he disappeared down to the sewers they both started walking away with their own coffees and box of pizza in hand.

“We can go eat at the park” April said and Vic nodded already walking that way.

“Where do they sell those unicorn onesies?” Vic asked and April raised an eyebrow.

“Oh nuh-uh, you ain’t thinking of getting the guys all those things, are you?”

Vic shrugged sitting down at a park bench and setting the coffee down “Well, they can only choose one thing for their dad to get them, wouldn’t it be cool if I just got them the other stuff? It’s just material stuff anyway, I can do that.”

April frowned “Girl, not to be rude, I know your parents are loaded, but I mean it when I say that they don’t need all that stuff from you”

Vic tried to speak but April stopped her with a raised finger before continuing “Look, ever since you got tangled up in all of this the guys have been raving about you, they are all excited to have you as a friend, even Donnie who to be honest, wasn’t impressed with your online presence before, they all just want to hang around you, not what you have.”

It made sense that April wanted to clear that up, only a fool wouldn’t have noticed the kind of environment Vic had grown up in, it wasn’t that everyone was fake or only interested in the material for her, but the guys had already given her life more excitement than she’d ever had.

It was just, her love language, she wasn’t used to physical affection, and compliments had started feeling a little too superficial to her, but she also didn’t know the boys that well, and learning about those things they liked was nice to her.

Vic smiled at April “Yeah, you’re right” and that was it.

-

Neon Leon: im trapped against my will

Troya: Were you quarantined?

Neon Leon: it's not even that bad

Troya: Take some Tamiflu, it should help a bit

Neon Leon: already did also, how’d u know my fav pizza?

Troya: I asked April, you guys got some weird taste, I can’t believe you like pineapple on pizza

Neon Leon: no way are u one of those haters too?!

Neon Leon: ugh u got no taste

Neon Leon: I just saw don get quarantined too

Neon Leon: I bet raph still doesn’t know what he’ll ask for

Troya: what stage is your dad at?

Neon Leon: The fanfiction stage

Troya: No. way. That’s real? I thought April was messing with me.

Neon Leon: oh it’s very real, but tbh his lou jitsu meets jupiter jim story is pretty good

Troya: I’d love to hear that omigosh

Neon Leon: I’d share my little quarantine room with u bestie

Troya: Awe, bestie?

Neon Leon: totally, bestest of friends, I mean I was the first turtle you hung out with, I called dibs

Victoire laughed at the text, maybe it was the sickness talking and Leo was on the affectionate stage, but if he wanted both of them to be closer, why couldn’t she indulge him?

Troya: Get some rest bestie, get well soon.

Taglist: @saspas-corner @mysstical-siren

[blu-engineer]

I posted 4,846 times in 2022

848 posts created (17%)

3,998 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@bugsarecool

@ultragreedier

@taintedlazarus

@wayneradiotv

@transexualfaggot

I tagged 2,753 of my posts in 2022

Only 43% of my posts had no tags

#bluposting - 977 posts

#no id - 977 posts

#prev - 51 posts

#team answers - 42 posts

#long post - 22 posts

#qd - 21 posts

#id in alt - 20 posts

#literally - 19 posts

#ask to tag - 18 posts

#gold star - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#oh yeah one of my friends touched my hair to see if it was fried and i recoiled from the pain ln my scalp 😭😭 it was so bad for like 2 days

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

ok my turn, PLEASE INTERACT IF:

you always have captions on

you're a dog person (bonus point if you only have a cat while being one)

you're mspec or aspec (2 points if both)

you prefer this format over the comma one

you make jokes about christianity ("my brother in christ", etc) without being christian

you add others' image descriptions to your original post

you're a past theater/choir kid

you're a picky eater

you like roguelike games, but are TERRIBLE at them

you use steamunlocked

81 notes - Posted March 14, 2022

#4

HEY! ALL OF BIOSHOCK IS FREE ON THE EPIC GAMES STORE FROM NOW (5/26/22) TO JUNE 2ND! DOWNLOAD THE EPIC GAMES DESKTOP APP AND GOGOGO GET YOUR GAMES

84 notes - Posted May 26, 2022

#3

when i was in girl scouts they took my troop of 3 kids to john's incredible pizza and they were like "make a pizza" so the other kids made pizzas with slightly unorthodox combinations meanwhile i continually stacked layers of cheese and pepperoni and sausage and cheese and pepperoni and sausage and i distinctly remember it being very tall and all the little girls at the table being like "that's so tall that's not going to work" and i just kept making my tower of babel and waiting for god to finally strike me down and there was only one layer of sauce. and my father was desperately trying to stop me but he failed. and when they popped it in the oven it shrank down into a miserable little thing and i was convinced they had swapped out my incredible pizza with someone else's but then i cut it open and i saw my glorious layers of pepperoni and sausage and cheese. and i bit into it and it sucked ass.

[ID: A banner with the text "This post was made by a man" (in all caps) over the trans flag. End ID.]

178 notes - Posted June 28, 2022

#2

See the full post

349 notes - Posted July 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ok. big spoons or small spoons. [as in silverware]. and if youre autistic or not

8,315 notes - Posted August 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[aristocraticvision]

Chapter 244: Making the Team

Michael watched the upperclassmen play, noting the finesse with which they managed the ball. While he had given his best during his own try-out, he could only hope that his own skills were at least good enough to earn him a spot on the junior varsity team.

“Good!” the coach called. “That’s enough, boys. Give me five minutes and I’ll have my decision.”

“Well done, newbie!” a blonde boy said, smiling.

“Thanks,” he said. “Hopefully, it was good enough.”

“Oh, it was good enough,” the boy said as Michael stood. “I’ve never heard Coach Pattinson say anything to a player during try-outs before, so I think you impressed him. I’m Theodore Strickland – but you can call me Teddy.”

Michael smiled back. “You’re the co-captain of the junior varsity team, right?”

“Uh-huh,” Teddy replied. “Along with Ricky Kinkaid over there. You’re Michael, right? Or would you prefer your highness?”

“Ugh,” Michael said, making a face. “No, I wouldn’t prefer that at all.”

“Good,” Teddy said. “You’re pretty good. Have you played much?”

“Yeah,” Michael said. “I was forward for Brighton Hills Academy last year.”

“Not bad,” Teddy said. “Of course, that’s MY position on this team, so you may have to settle for midfielder.”

“I’d settle for benchwarmer if I could make the team,” Michael said, grinning.

“Oh, you’ll make it,” Teddy replied. “Here comes Coach Pattinson.”

The coach walked over and looked around at the gathered boys.

“You all did very well today, so you made it a difficult decision,” he said. “But, after careful consideration, I have decided on two new players for the junior varsity team. Unfortunately, that’s all we have room for this term.”

“Greg Albright – I’m putting you in as our back-up defender. And Michael Marchand, you’re our new midfielder. Congratulations to both of you.”

“Told ya,” Teddy said, nudging Michael good-naturedly.

“Thank you for coming out, everyone,” Coach Pattinson continued. “I’ll expect to see you all for try-outs in the fall. Until then, keep working hard.”

As the boys scattered, Teddy turned back to Michael.

“Some of us are going out for pizza in the village,” he said. “You wanna come along?”

“Uh, sure,” Michael said. “I’d like that a lot. Thanks, Teddy.”

“Hey, you’re part of the team now, right?” Teddy replied, nodding. “Now let’s get showered. I’m starved.”

BEGINNING | PREV | NEXT

Continent of Oceana | History of Weston | History of Corwyn | History of Torenth | History of Allycia

[mallowbees]

7, 8, 13, 18 for hermit asks?

7 - Favorite season?

This'll be my third season, i wasnt here for 6 but i have watched it, however! I don't think i could choose honestly! Each of them are so diffrent and all have fun vibes so just,, hermitcraft beloved you know

8 - Favorite moment from the current season?

once again oh boy we are in Season 8 now! Top moments probably consist of: Tango, Keralis, and Bdubs try and rob Joe, Mumbo and Grian cackling as they boat past Ren and,, someone? else? i dont remeber Who but Mumbo subsequently drops the diamond he just got in the water while gloating, Everyone thinking Mumbos just walking around ass out because of the color of his shorts, and now Wonderwall, the big murder party and specifically the delight of joe giving weapons to people that respawn from it, boatempole, Mumbo scaring the life out of Grian trying to reach his grubby little pizza hands into the chest of temptation, bdubs getting jumpscared by an axolotl, catching it, and subsequently naming it idiot

13 - If you’ve watched S6, which side were you on for the Civil War?

The G team! Because,, the only pov ive watched for that season is grian sgsfgfs, team star beloved they went off with hermitgang but,,, g team :D

And 18 has been answered in a prev ask!

[sincerelymarinette]

A Recorded Life Sequel (7/10) - Miraculous Ladybug

Words: 1533 Summary: Finally, a day off for Marinette and Adrien. To celebrate, they decide to capture it on video for their fans. Author's Note: domestic adrienette domestic adrienette domestic adrienette!!! my fave. Sorry for missing two weeks, been busy! Only 3 more chapters of the sequel (also there's a hint to the next chapter at the end of this one wink)

Prev / Next / Masterlist

Our Day Off

---

Nowadays, Marinette and Adrien rarely slept in. They were constantly going with work and life, but they decided to treat themselves today by getting extra sleep. The rebrand is almost complete, meaning both Adrien and Marinette will get to breathe for a few days. The main stuff was done, like the website, displays, tags, and business cards, among other smaller things.

He was getting a little nervous, but excited, as the final day got closer. They planned a fashion show to truly ring in the new era of Agreste Fashion, now called Emilie's, with Marinette and her team's line as the first official Emilie's line. They also reworked some fan-favorite clothing to make them fit the brand better while getting rid of Gabriel's name. It was going to be an exciting day, seeing the old and the new mix together. But there were still a few weeks until that day; there was still work to be done.

However, it was Saturday, and both Marinette and Adrien decided they could have a few extra hours of sleep. Adrien rolled out of bed earlier than Marinette and went to the kitchen to start breakfast. It was nothing crazy, just some eggs, because they agreed to stop by their favorite bakery to see her parents and enjoy a well-deserved macaron. Or two.

Marinette followed him into the kitchen when she smelled the eggs, her hair still unbrushed and in her pajamas. "Smells good, Adrien," She yawned.

"I'm glad. Time for a quick breakfast so we can go see your parents," He said as he slid the plate over to her seat.

Marinette nodded and took a bite. "You know, I was thinking," She said, carefully. "I wanted to put up a video like we used to do. Maybe we could vlog our day, or at least some of it? One of our first days in a long time that we haven't been so busy with work. Heck, I don't think either of us has had a day out of the office in at least two weeks."

A big smile formed on Adrien's face. "I think that's a great idea, Mari!" He hopped up and walked to the corner of the living room that had Marinette's desk. He grabbed her camera battery off the charger, then her camera bag, and brought it back over. Marinette would have gotten it herself, but sometimes, Adrien beats her to it.

She thanked him for the camera as she got her settings flipped to the right ones, then held it up. "Hi! I'm Marinette!" She waved at the camera, with Adrien waving behind her. "I know I look like a mess right now, but on our day off, we wanted to vlog! It's been so long since I've done a video like this, so I'm excited to give you guys some insight on how we've been recently."

"I made eggs," Adrien held his place up with a big grin when Marinette paused.

"And they're lovely, thank you, Adrien," Marinette admired. He set his plate back down, clearly proud of himself.

"Well, we're going to finish breakfast, then head over to our favorite bakery in the world! I'm sure we'll check back in then," Adrien said, Marinette nodding with him, and she shut the camera off.

Marinette and Adrien finished their eggs quickly and got their morning routines done. They were out the door by eleven o'clock, which to most people meant they barely slept in, but sleeping past eight was glorious for them.

Marinette got the camera back out when they were in the car. It wasn't too far of a drive to get to her parent's, but it was just long enough that the car was needed, and she had some time to talk to her camera. "We're in the car now, and let me just say, my stomach has been aching for some sweets recently. We've been so busy we haven't had time to go get anything other than what's in our fridge or the late-night store around the corner from Emilie's," Marinette rambled.

"Well, when we get to work at six or seven in the morning, and we stay past dinner time, we don't have the time to go there, and most other places are closed when we head out," Adrien said. "Don't get me wrong, I love what we're doing, but it sure is tiring."

"Once the rebrand is done, hopefully we'll have a more normal schedule," Marinette said. "Long days, but it'll be worth it."

Adrien agreed. They continued rambling about work all the way until they parked near the bakery. It had only been a few weeks since she last saw her parents, but it was always nice to see them and talk about life, no matter how long it had been. Her parents tried to stuff them full of all kinds of sweets while listening to Marinette talk about how excited and exhausted she was about her team's line, and Adrien talked about how pleased he is with changing the brand to remember his mom. They had front row seats to the fashion show, and couldn't wait to see it all come alive.

Marinette did record some of her parents and the bakery, but they just talked most of the time. They closed for lunch, so there was all the time they needed before Marinette and Adrien had to leave; well, they didn't want the bakery to be closed for the whole day.

They ran a few errands, like grabbing a few groceries, and Marinette can never resist picking up some swatches when they pass her favorite store. They checked out a few shops that should have received the new displays and were able to see them getting set up.

What was truly special, though, was their evening. They ordered a pizza for a movie night so they could fully relax. Plagg snacked on his cheese while Tikki sat in her little bed on the table so Marinette and Adrien could finish setting up. Marinette walked over to the hidden safe in the closet and opened it, pulling out the special box. She set it on the coffee table and opened it, letting all the Kwamis out to play.

Usually, she tries to let them out at least once a week. But with them being so busy lately, it has been a lot less. The Kwamis love her and Adrien and understand; they're just excited to come out to see them and Plagg and Tikki, and they were even more excited to hear about movie night. A strange idea to their magical creatures, but they all seemed to love it all the same. Though they did miss Trixx, Pollen, and Wayzz, the rest of them knew they were having a good time with their masters, and they were able to enjoy themselves.

Marinette scrolled through the streaming services to find the perfect movie while all the Kwamis got comfortable around the couch and little pet beds. As she waited for Adrien to come back from the kitchen with pizza boxes and their drinks, she pulled out her camera for one last update to their vlog.

"Well, here we are to end the night! Adrien and I are relaxing with a movie and pizza, and it's a great way to end our first full day off. It's a nice break, but I'm excited to get back to work. Can't wait for all of you to see what we've been working on!" She said. Marinette was extra thankful that Kwamis are not visible on camera, because it would have looked crazy with all the little animals sat around her.

"I can't either!" Adrien popped in, setting the food on the table, then kissing Marinette's cheek. "This was fun; we should make more videos when we have time."

"I would love it, and I'm sure they would, too," Marinette gestured to the camera. "But that's it for today. Make sure to follow us in the description and be ready for some more videos, hopefully soon!" Marinette said, and both of them waved as she ended the recording. She would have to find time to edit it, maybe tomorrow before work.

Marinette and Adrien began digging into the pizza as she pressed play on the movie; both she and Adrien cuddled up to one another, all the Kwamis filled in around them.

As always, she was ecstatic to see some of the replies on the video. It was one of the things she missed most about not uploading as often.

I've missed these type of videos so much! I would LOVE more when you guys aren't busy!!

Seeing them happy makes me so happy. I'm so glad their lives are turning out great after everything they dealt with as teenagers

did you guys see that those guys who forced them into lb and cn got charged? DESERVED! But I'm so glad you guys are alright after that, it looks like you had a fun day

PLEASE TELL ME YOURE GOING TO RECORD ALYA AND NINOS WEDDING I CANT WAIT FOR THEM TO GET MARRIED ITS GOING TO BE BEAUTIFUL

I can't wait to say I have clothes from Emilie's! Such a beautiful meaning behind the name change and I can't wait to own a Marinette design from Emilie's instead of Agreste Fashion. We knew this day would come! (I know she's been designing for them for a while, but this is different guys)

---

@lady-of-the-roses-and-lilies @bookishserendipity03 @avatheexceed @gkz10 @coccinellegirl @kat-thatoneweirdo @strawberryblondish @snow-swordswoman @lilgaga98 @evufries  @toodaloo-kangaroo 

[mxrcayong]

spite - the avatar series (02.01)

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chapter one

Ever since two members of the now internationally renowned pro-bending team praised the coffee from “Iroh and Me”, business has been booming. It didn’t help that these two members, namely “The Osaka Prince” and “The Mouse”, are among the top pro-benders and are heartthrobs everywhere they go.

What once was a quiet café in the isolated part of downtown Sooman was now a booming social space, with the owners even being pressured into expanding their small café into a chain restaurant.

Thursday afternoons were always the busiest. People wanted that extra boost of coffee or bubble tea to push them through the week, most likely trying to complete their work by the end of Friday so they could finally be free. Despite the fact that only an hour ago they had a line down their block, Tari glided around the café effortlessly with a rag in her apron pocket and her tray with dirty dishes in hand.

“Someone’s chirpier than normal today,” Hendery commented as Tari slid back behind the counter, where Hendery placed the last customer’s drink in the line on the counter. “You don’t normally hum.” His eyebrow raised inquisitively, “Does this mean it’s easier for me to convince you to let me go home early tonight?”  

The new manager of the café rolled her eyes, chuckling. “Quite the opposite actually. Do you think you can close tonight?” She unconsciously grinned as she thought of the reason she’d be going home early.

Hendery jokingly groaned, dramatically throwing his arms on the bar counter and slamming his head onto his arms. “I don’t know if I like you being corrupt with power.”

Her eyes widened before she playfully pushed him, just strong enough for him to fumble over his own feet. “You say that as if I haven’t let you go home early normally!”

As dramatically as he can, he let out a scoff and rested the back of his hand on his forehead. “It’s never enough for you!” Tari smiled, feeling grateful to have Hendery work with her. “What’s tonight then? You never go home early these days.” He practically sang, jumping onto the stool they have behind the bar counter as they waited for tables to bust.

“Do you remember Sonan and Kilari?” Tari inquired, although she is certain that over the four-year period of working together, Hendery met them. He nodded, also keeping in mind the fact Tari mentioned they moved out of Sooman. “Well, Kilari is finally a fully-pledged Fire Sage and Sonan is visiting to celebrate.” Not completely the truth, Tari thought, but it’ll do – it’s not lying.

It really isn’t a lie. For one, Kilari’s last six months in becoming a Fire Sage required her to ‘disconnect from her world’. She quite literally hasn’t spoken to anyone else but her fellow pledges for the last six months. Unfortunately, six months ago happened to be the anniversary of Amon’s incarceration. They all planned to meet up, but unfortunately – Yuta and Jisung had a qualifying competition and Kilari had to start her ‘disconnection’. Therefore, Sonan didn’t come to visit and it was just Doyoung, Johnny, and Tari.

Now, that Kilari is finally done with her disconnection and the boys have a break before the world cup – Sonan is coming back.  It was such a big occasion that Johnny even decided to leave his journalism retreat early. Therefore, tonight was a celebration of not only Kilari’s success but a delayed-one-year-reunion for saving the world. Not to mention, it was also Tari’s one year anniversary with her boyfriend.

Basically, tonight was going to be a big night.

“So big night, huh?” Hendery seemed to read her mind, making Tari chuckle and nod. A ding of the door signified someone has left their table. Tari, almost unconsciously, was quick to stride over and clean the table like clockwork. “And I wasn’t invited?” Hendery scoffed in fake offense, just loud enough for Tari to hear but not loud enough for people to complain.

Tari’s coworker, however, noticed how the one person in the corner seemed to be interested in Tari’s plans – their movement slowing down at the mention of Tari going out. Her co-worker, yes, is a part time model – but he isn’t just a pretty face. He has noticed the same person wearing the same get-up, taking the same seat in the back corner, and just barely getting enough food or drinks to avoid being considered a loiterer.

“Dude, I literally invite you to everything!” She exclaimed, laughing as she returned to the counter with her tray of a plate and coffee cup. “It’s like a reunion as Kilari had a goodbye party with us last year too.” She excused, telling a partial truth again.

Another two tables disrupted the conversation, the customers leaving the café with a distant ‘thank you’ being shouted at them. As if choregraphed, Tari maneuvered her way around the counter to start collecting the dirty dishes, Hendery hot on her tails.

Hendery, however, continued to notice how the person in the corner’s attention seemed to always snap back at Tari. He’d think it’s just another customer attracted to Tari, but it was too…common. Her co-worker made a mental note to ask the bosses for security footage of that side of the café to see how many days this customer has been watching Tari.

He furrowed his eyebrows, approaching Tari to whisper to her. “I think they have been here all day. Can we kick them out for loitering?” He wasn’t sure if Tari was aware of how often the same person shows up, or how attentive this customer was to her, but he didn’t want to cause alarm.

Tari sighed; her heart beat slowly increasing. Since she noticed them two months back, she’s been feeling like there’s been eyes burning holes in the back of her head. For this reason, she’s been asking Doyoung to pick her up from work – which wasn’t particularly out of his way. It’s actually the reason Tari stays behind for closing as Doyoung’s work ends later than usual. She only voiced her specific concerns to Doyoung (rather than her normal excuse of not wanting to be lonely), when he practically forced her to tell him during their movie night.

“Not allowed.” She sighed, remembering company policy. The person was a customer – they had a drink in front of them and Tari can attest to taking their order. “It’s fine. But yeah, is it okay if I leave in an hour?” She swapped the conversation back to something lighthearted.

“Of course.” He grinned, trying to suppress the bad feeling in his gut as he started trying to embrace Tari – a dirty rag in his hand. “Anything for my favorite manager.”

Tari pushed him away, trying to avoid getting dirtied from his rag as she squealed; “I’m your only manager.”

“Exactly!” Tari scoffed at Hendery’s response.

Tari’s concerns about her stalker didn’t subside even when Doyoung picked her up from the café. It didn’t subside as she gave him his usual coffee and the two left. Because in the corner of her eye, she could sense movement from the same person who has yet to leave their seat other to order.

But she felt safe. She was with Doyoung, who quite literally has been with her through the worst of times. “Do you think we can take a lot of turns?” Tari whispered, despite the impossibility of the person seemingly following them hearing them.

Doyoung smiled slightly, “Already one step ahead of you.”

Moments like these remind Tari of how much, despite teasing him all the time, she appreciates Doyoung. It was always like this, ever since she moved to Sooman and met Doyoung. The two of them against the city, not caring about the weird stares they get and protecting each other.

The way to the train station from the café involved some twist and turns anyway, but Doyoung made the way to the train station a maze. Tari wasn’t even sure if she could track the path the two of them took. Although she was insanely confused about where she was – especially as Doyoung distracted her with conversation, but she was filled with relief when she turned around and saw the unidentified figure was gone. Despite being completely unsure of where she was, she knew she was with Doyoung and that’s all that mattered.

Eventually, the train station came to sight. The statue of Fire Lord Zuko wearing his armor marking the transportation hub. It wasn’t among Tari’s favorite places – always too crowded and bustling with life, but she saw how gorgeous it was. Central City Station had humongous arches and intricate details inside. No matter how crowded it was, the high glass ceilings made the building felt spacious.

“I can’t believe we’ll all be in the same place again.” Tari breathed out, excited but noticeably anxious. In her eyes, this was the one family who she has never left behind and who (although are across the world) never left her. She was anxious about any potential awkwardness it may be to have everyone in the same room after so long, having to catch them up on life and hoping everyone still merged well together. Oh shit, she realized, I don’t think Sonan knows about me and –

Doyoung threw his arm over Tari’s shoulder, sensing her anxiety. “We can always host this on the weekend. Sonan will be leaving Tuesday anyways, after Yuta and Jisung’s finals.” Tari shook her head insistently, pushing herself to face her anxieties and not accept the tempting offer. “We can always just let you celebrate your anniversary properly toda-“

“No, it’s rude for us to cancel so last minute.” Tari insisted, although she had to force the words out. “Plus, I just really want to see everyone.”

The air bender then quickly abandoned his serious tone and started enthusing about the event himself. “You know, I can’t promise Johnny and Yuta won’t eat all the pizza.”

“I think Jisung will scarf it down before you even notice the pizza was there.” Doyoung raised his eyebrows, as if doubting Tari. “Don’t forget how tall he’s gotten!”

“Wait, whose taller?” Doyoung asked as the two stopped in front of the arrivals board, waiting for Johnny’s train. “Johnny or Jisung?”

A voice from the side startled them. “Definitely me.” Johnny’s cheeky grin hasn’t been seen by the two of them in a week, but for Tari – it felt like months. She stood frozen, grinning like she was a starstruck fan, as she stared at Johnny. He was wearing one of the outfits he knew Tari loved on him – something he normally would wear when he has to look formal but not too formal. He rolled his eyes and dropped his duffle on the ground, the plop seeming to echo in the station.

This felt like a movie. It felt like the whole world around Johnny was in slow motion as he widened his arms. Doyoung had to push Tari to make her move towards Johnny.

However, one she started moving, she had to hold herself back from leaping into his arms. But Johnny refused to not spin her around and lift her – it’s all hes been wanting to do for the last week. He pulled her into a suffocating hug before lifting her above the ground, spinning her around. Her arms automatically wrapped around his neck, keeping her safe as he spun and she laughed – until he eventually placed her on the ground. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Johnny smiled sweetly before pressing his lips against hers.

As disgustingly cute as they may be, Doyoung knew that this wouldn’t have been different a year ago today – just less kissing. Overall, he was just happy to see his two friends so ecstatic and glowing.

“I’ve been waiting for that for the last week.” Johnny murmured against the kiss, “Especially because someone didn’t kiss me goodbye.”

Tari’s eyes widened in offense. “I did!”

Johnny quirked a single eyebrow, “Excuse me? The last words you said to me before I left was ‘Get on the train, you dumbass’.”

“You were going to be late!” She excused, stepping back from his embrace and letting Doyoung come closer without feeling too much like a third-wheel. Johnny playfully rolled his eyes before giving Doyoung a quick hug.

As soon as the pleasanties got out the way, Johnny laced his fingers with Tari’s and the three left the station. “How was your week without me? Boring? Lonely? Sad?”

“Like you never left.” Doyoung groaned. “Straight up, because of you two visiting last week, all of the gym trainers are asking me how to work out my calves.” Johnny burst out laughing and Tari felt her heart leap, despite having heard him laugh a million times. If she could hear anything for the rest of her life, she’d want it to be Johnny’s laugh.

“Your turkey calves?” Tari clarified, leaning into Johnny’s shoulder as she looked over at Doyoung on the other side of Johnny.

Her best friend scoffed in fake anger, “Listen, I need to salvage as much dignity in that place as I can. You two completely ruined my reputation.” Tari laughed at the memory; she visited to give Doyoung coffee and Johnny had went with her. While Tari dropped off coffee at Doyoung’s personal office (yes, Doyoung is now one of the managers of the gym), Johnny decided to tell Doyoung’s fellow trainers about not only his obstacle course of a room, but his nickname of ‘Calf Monster’.

At this moment, Tari couldn’t care less about her stalker. All she cared about was having her two boys with her and seeing her chosen family in a few hours. “I mean,” Johnny started over exaggerating and grossly bit his lip as if he was checking out Doyoung, “look at those calves.”

“I liked it better when you weren’t dating.”

[igrublocal]

The Takeout’s fantasy food draft: Best pumpkin spice items

Takeout DraftTakeout DraftFood. Fantasy sports. Debating over Slack. Welcome to The Takeout Draft.

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Every week, we will select a topic of conversation from the food and drink world. Takeout writers will then field a team via the snake draft format. After five rounds, The Takeout commenteriat will vote on who they believe was victorious in that week’s draft. At the end of 2020, the staffer with the most weekly victories will select a charity of his/her choice that The Takeout will make a donation toward. (The 2019 victor, Kate Bernot, selected the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild National Charity Foundation.)

The previous  drew many passionate voters who were more than ready to reminisce about summers past. After a tight race throughout the first day of votes, Aimee Levitt pulled ahead and scored a well-earned victory with expert picks like garlic fries and lemon slushie (as well as an unexpected swerve toward lobster rolls in the final round). Congrats, Aimee!

This week’s draft is nothing if not seasonal, and it’s equally likely to delight and disgust you: Best pumpkin spice items. Is this a joke? Maybe. Are we about to take our Draft duties very, very seriously? Absolutely.

G/O Media may get a commission

Now let’s cozy up to fall’s coziest flavor.

Marnie: Okay, let’s kick it off with the acknowledgment that Aimee winning the Best Ballpark Food draft is appropriate, since she’s the biggest (only?) baseball fan of the three of us.

Allison: Everybody loves hot dogs.

Marnie: And garlic fries. This Draft will be tough to win people over with. But Allison’s got first crack at it.

Allison: Wait... I have the first pick? I can’t remember the last time this happened! I’m so overwhelmed!

Marnie: Use it wisely

Allison: Alright, so obviously my first pick has to be the iconic pumpkin spice latte. It’s the crossover item that made us a pumpkin-crazy nation.

Marnie: OF COURSE

Allison: Once upon a time, back in the Dark Ages, coffee and pie were two entirely separate things. No one had dreamed they could be together in one cup.

It changed the way we see everything. There would be no Cronut without pumpkin spice lattes. No sushi burritos. Why have one when you can have both?

Marnie: Do you think its popularity is deserved?

Allison: I am a devoted black coffee drinker, and I still get a PSL whenever the first crisp day of fall arrives, and one on Thanksgiving morning.

Allison: I don’t know how anyone could drink them regularly, but they’re a nice treat. And, nowadays, a good reason to get out of the house.

Going out to get a PSL is not an errand. It’s an event.

You need a special outfit that includes a soft sweater, and maybe a scarf. You need to inform everyone you know on social media before, during, and after.

Marnie: That would have been my first pick too. So now I’m in a lurch. But I’ll say Pumpkin Spice Tea. Because we always talk about how it’s really just spices like clove and nutmeg and cinnamon, and those are nice in a warm drink beyond coffee.

This photo of a cheese-stuffed pumpkin in Always Add Lemon is enough to make you kick yourself for…

Allison: You know, I don’t know if I’ve ever tried this. How does it differ from chai?

Marnie: It’s probably just like any number of other warm spiced teas, just with pumpkiny marketing. But Trader Joe’s “Pumpkin Spice Rooibos” tin is adorable, dammit!

Aimee: Of course it is.

Marnie: I fall for it every time. And it’s not as sweet as a PSL.

Aimee: Well, few things are. But maybe if you dumped in a few tablespoons of sugar?

Allison: Or actual pumpkin...

Aimee: That would spoil it! It’s about the SPICE!

Allison: What about blending pumpkin with maple syrup, and putting a spoonful of that in your tea?

Aimee: Huh. That could either be really good or amazingly terrible.

Marnie: TBD.... First pick, Aimee?

Aimee: Pumpkin bread!

Marnie: Oh damn, of course

Allison: There has never been a day where a pumpkin bread has been in front of me and I didn’t eat the whole thing.

Aimee: I especially love the recipe in Joy of Cooking. It’s sweet and spicy and perfect.

Marnie: The “spicy” makes all the difference. I think it should make your nose wrinkle a little.

Aimee: But I also love the pumpkin challah in . I made a couple last week and they make the best French toast.

Allison: I used to make a pumpkin brioche and use it to make bread pudding. It was pretty damn amazing.

Marnie: You were born for this draft

Aimee: I was actually torn between waffles and pancakes, but I love waffles more, so that’s what I’m going with.

Allison: I have not had these either, and am wondering how these particular waffles have been pumpkin spiced.

Is there pumpkin in the batter? Poured on top?

Aimee: In the batter, and mixed with the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

Marnie: Does it need cream cheese drizzle on top to really sing?

Aimee: Oooooh, yes, that’s genius!

Allison: I’m thinking of the recipe I did last year for butternut squash pavlova, but making the topping with pumpkin and putting it on a stack of Belgian waffles.

Marnie: Aimee’s double whammy of delicious pumpkin spice carbs has me reeling. How can my second pick compete?

Aimee: I believe in you!

Marnie: I will say pumpkin spice Cheerios. Getting to drink pumpkin spice cereal milk is a lovely way to start the day.

And it’s a nice contrast with all the hot pumpkin spice stuff we usually eat and drink

Allison: Oh GODDAMNIT that was my pick!

Marnie: HA!

Allison: I was apprehensive about buying that, but I had to because of the pumpkin spice bet I have with my husband. When we tried them, the Cheerios made the milk taste like pumpkin pie custard.

Allison: We bought like 20 boxes so we could enjoy them all winter. It was a fine decision.

Marnie: Allison, what’ll you choose now that I’ve swooped into the cereal space?

Allison: I’m going to take pumpkin spice ice cream, much for the reason you picked the Cheerios—it’s a nice cold option, in contrast to the PSL and so many other pumpkin spice’d foods.

Aimee: With caramel sauce and lots of whipped cream! Maybe pecans?

Marnie: Ooo, any particular brand?

Allison: Remember those Talenti layer things I love? They’ve got a pumpkin pie one now with pie crust and stuff.

Marnie: DAMN I want to try that

Allison: What’s also nice: we’re all so ready for fall the second Labor Day is over, but it’s still hot. And even though it’s hot, I’m STILL wearing a cute jacket outside, out of principle.

Marnie: True. We need pumpkiny items for the last legs of summer

Aimee: With the hot sun of summer but the cool breeze of fall...

Allison: I anticipate eating a LOT of ice cream over the next five weeks or so.

Next up: pumpkin pie toaster strudel. You can debate the need for pumpkin spice-anything all you want, but when you see pumpkin toaster strudel, it’s like “this makes perfect sense”

There’s nothing to quibble about. It’s a thing, and it should be a thing.

Aimee: This is true. It’s like a pie.

Allison: If anything, the pumpkin spice latte walked so that pumpkin spice toaster strudel could run.

Aimee: That’s beautiful. Brought a tear to my eye. (Pumpkin spiced tear, of course.)

Marnie: Only major downside of toaster strudel is that you absolutely have to warm it, whereas a Pop-Tart is flexible and can be eaten room temp. But a warm toaster strudel really is amazing

Allison: What I don’t like about pumpkin Pop Tarts is that they should be better. It’s like, if Pop Tarts respected us, it could be amazing. But they don’t. They phone it in.

Aimee: I feel that way about most Pop Tarts.

Marnie: Okay, my third pick might be....controversial. But hear me out: pumpkin pie

Aimee: Ha ha!

Marnie: The original pumpkin spice item

Aimee: It’s true! It’s so obvious, no one even thinks of it anymore. Someone should call it pumpkin spice pie.

Allison: Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite “bed pies.” Have I told you about that concept?

Marnie: Sounds self-explanatory

Allison: I wrote about it a few years ago. It’s essentially a family bonding experience where we all stay in bed and eat an entire pie together from the pan while watching old cartoons, like Garfield’s Halloween and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Pumpkin is ideal for this.

Allison: The filling isn’t going to plop out all over the sheets. And the crust isn’t ultra crumbly

Aimee: Ah, yeah, I guess you wouldn’t have bits of fruit falling all over the sheets.

Allison: If made well, you can pick up a slice of pumpkin pie and eat it with your hands. Just like pizza (non-folded, of course). I very much encourage both of you to try this.

Aimee: And you can squirt the whipped cream directly into your mouth. No mess!

Allison: You understand me, Levitt!

Marnie: AIMEE

Aimee: Rolled in lots of cinnamon sugar.

Marnie: STOP TAKING THE GOOD THINGS WHILE I FAIL TO THINK OF THEM

THAT’S....CHEATING, SOMEHOW

Allison: I have not had a good doughnut in a while, and now it’s all I can think about.

Marnie: So just to be clear, we’re not talking about a filled doughnut

More like a cider doughnut, but pumpkinified?

Aimee: Well, I suppose you could... but yes, I was thinking of the cakey doughnuts. I love cider doughnuts so much.

Marnie: Yes please

Aimee: Oh, yes. With a variation for the stove!

Allison: Here’s your variation for the stove: fry it in hot oil just like any other doughnut. There ya go.

Aimee: My next pick is pumpkin spice oatmeal. With lots of brown sugar.

Marnie: Interesting—does it come in that flavor or do you add the spices to make it that way?

Aimee: Quaker does make that flavor, but I’ll bet you could just add the pumpkin spice if you want to do homemade.

My philosophy is that anything that tastes good with cinnamon would also taste good with pumpkin spice.

Marnie: Yes, I can’t imagine anyone being all in on cinnamon but out on nutmeg. Cloves? Mayyyyybe divisive. But it all seems to speak to the same palate

Aimee: Warming spices!

Allison: And it’s coldest in the morning! This is science.

Marnie: How does the pumpkin factor in if you make it yourself? Pumpkin puree right in there with the oats?

Aimee: The beauty of pumpkin spice is that there doesn’t have to be pumpkin. Only spice: the blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.

Allison: Yup! You can just stir it right in, with a bit of spice, and maybe some maple syrup to sweeten.

Marnie: I’m going to try to court the CPG crowd with a busy, on-the-go pumpkin spice item: the Spiced Pumpkin Pie CLIF Bar

Allison: Never eaten this! I had a Clif bar once in the early 2000s, and that was the end of that.

Marnie: Yeah, you either love them or hate them. I love that they actually feel substantial, like you just had breakfast. Regular granola bars never make me feel that way. And the Pumpkin Pie CLIF Bar comes with a drizzle of icing that, in my opinion, could stand to be paired with a lot more pumpkin spice items.

Pairs great with coffee! People are going to hate me for this but it’s my truth!

Aimee: That’s fine. You have every right to it.

Marnie: Aimee, do you have a firm stance on CLIF bars?

Aimee: I do not because I’ve never had one.

Marnie: I somehow think you’d despise them.

Aimee: I think so, too, which is why I’ve never had one.

Marnie: Last two picks, Allison!

Allison: Alright — my fourth pick is pumpkin butter. What makes this so great is it has the power to make anything into pumpkin spice.

Marnie: Here’s my question with pumpkin butter: what does it work best on? I can never figure out what to apply it to

Allison: You can stir a spoonful into your oatmeal, or put it on ice cream, or into your coffee or tea. Literally anything.

Warm milk! Pancakes! Toast!

Serve it with pork chops, smear it on cookies or graham crackers.

Marnie: Has an application ever failed spectacularly??

Aimee: This is like the shrimp scene in Forrest Gump.

Allison: ^^^and shrimp is a bad place to use apple butter.

But if you don’t know how to restrain yourself when feeding yourself pumpkin butter you should just stop cooking. Let other people do it for you. You can’t be trusted.

Allison: Very! I shared my super-easy apple butter recipe here last fall. You can do that with cubed pumpkin, or canned. As always, just keep an eye on things, because it’s all visual cues on that one. The line between apples and pumpkins in fall desserts is very thin.

I don’t believe that apple butter needs to be a fussy, complicated thing to make. You shouldn’t…

Marnie: That’s a good utility pick and I feel like the voters will reward you for it.

Unless you mess it all up on the last pick.....

Allison: Don’t think I am, because I’m reaching into my personal back catalog again and going with . You know me and pudding.

Marnie: Picking your OWN RECIPE on the final round is A POWER MOVE

Allison: Damn straight it is.

Marnie: I begrudgingly respect this decision

Please tell us what makes it a worthy pick, for those of us who haven’t tasted its majesty yet

Allison: Pumpkin pudding is much creamier and luxurious than pie! And easier to make, in a way. You don’t need to fuss with the oven, and don’t need to worry about making a pie crust. I make a pie crust better than anyone, and honestly do enjoy the process, but it adds a good amount of time to the process.

Sometimes you’re okay with waiting a few hours for pie. And sometimes you’re like “I want pumpkin something within the hour,” and this is what can get you there.

Marnie: A shortcut to immediate pumpkin spice intake is key

Allison: Exactly. There’s a ton of variables I consider when coming up with recipes.

One of them being “how long do I have to wait before I eat this dessert”

Aimee: That’s always an important one.

Marnie: Sometimes you don’t need to consider cook time at all. Because sometimes the thing you want is not edible in the least. Folks, my last pick is a pumpkin spice candle. To make EVERY room in the house smell delicious, not just the kitchen!

Aimee: Ha ha!

Marnie: It is a far-reaching, long-lasting pumpkin spice item. Perhaps the most cost-effective, too.

Aimee: AND if you don’t like pumpkin, it’s still mostly a pleasurable experience.

Marnie: A signal of the changing seasons! Coziness incarnate. People of all palates can agree on smells, can’t they?

Allison: I believe I have at least ten of these in my house right now.

Even if it’s not fall outside, it can be fall inside, whenever you damn well please. You guys need to try lighting up one of those bad boys in April and see how that changes you.

Aimee: As long as they’re not those cinnamon brooms. I don’t know why, but they annoy the crap out of me.

Allison: What are these cinnamon brooms? Another midwest thing?

Aimee: They sell them at Trader Joe’s. They’re in the front where you first walk in, with the pumpkins and the plants, so you can’t avoid them.

Marnie: They look sort of sinister

Aimee: Exactly. They’d be good for witches, but they smell like cinnamon which is somehow not exactly witchy.

Anyway, last pick goes to Aimee! What’s it gonna be?

Aimee: My last pick is... pumpkin spice cotton candy. Mostly because I would really like to find out if you can taste the spices.

Marnie: Does.....does it exist outside of your mind?

This is the first time I’ve really thought about cotton candy having a flavor. Isn’t it usually just sugar, in technicolor?

Allison: I do not like cotton candy, and yet I want to try this.

Aimee: Once I tried a rosé cotton candy and it tasted like rosé if you did the taste equivalent of squinting.

These people are geniuses!

Marnie: I’m excited to let this Takeout Draft loose upon the world.

Aimee: Because no one is tired of pumpkin spice yet!

Who won this week’s Takeout Draft? Vote in the comments.

[choombata]

Part 6 - Dock Workers and Missing Sisters

Saturday, June 11, 2020: The morning after their meeting with Badger, the undercover cop, our crew decided to take his tipoff about easy money and plan a heist on the mob. They used an chipware encryption chip to secretly contact Badger. He divulged some tips on the money exchange: it happens at 2 AM every Sunday at a warehouse down by the docks. It takes about 3 hours because it’s accompanied with a few rounds of poker and an order from Tony’s Pizzeria, giving our crew ample time to make the grab.

So our crew came up with a fullproof plan: an hour before the handoff, they would place an order from Tony’s and steal the delivery driver’s car and assume their role as a disguise. With the pizza delivery facade, they would infiltrate the warehouse without the mob knowing who they are.

Since they still had ample time before the delivery, they hacked the cameras in the warehouse where the drop was to be made and surveilled the site. Then, they installed a program in the cameras to tamper with the feed right before the drop went down in order to prevent themselves from being captured on tape. They figured that despite Badger’s promise to keep the law off their tail for their extrajudicial work against the mob, they should still cover their tracks. The hack went off flawlessly, and so they killed time until the drop.

An hour before the drop, they made the call to Tony’s Pizzeria, drugged up the delivery driver, and stole the car. Then they arrived at the warehouse and awaited the drop. Ivy posted up in a construction site nearby to provide sniper cover and surveillance. Right on time, the mob goons pulled up to the warehouse and went in.

Without hesitating, our phony pizza delivery team (Heavy and V) went to the warehouse gate for the delivery. Tic Tac and Ackbar hid in the shadows across the street, ready to provide backup. 

But they had forgotten one crucial component of a pizza delivery: someone has to place an order first. Arriving at the warehouse unprompted, they didn’t have an excuse for why the order from Tony’s appeared by premonition, and guns were drawn. Thinking fast, the pizza duo retreated. Ackbar and Tic Tac lured out a few goons, and Ivy popped them with her silenced sniper rifle.

With the job now loud, the solos on the ground barged in first. They laid waste to the goons inside in a valiant display of gunmanship, but Heavy managed to enter melee range with a heavy hitter and lost his two front teeth. When the dust settled, they were left with one survivor cowering in fear, and a duffle bag full of 25,000 euros in cash. 

A brief moral debate about killing unarmed people vs leaving witnesses popped up, but it was quickly solved by Ackbar shooting the man in the head. After some brief looting, our crew fled the scene with the cash, and decided to keep the stolen delivery car. Which was, by the way, a beat up old station wagon from the 80s that sat 8 people.

--- 

The sun rose, and by that time the players counted and divvied up the cash. They all agreed that their newfound easy wealth thanks to Badger’s tipoff was evidence enough that he might be telling the truth. Heavy used some of the cash to call a mobile dentist to replace his two front teeth, and he was convinced by Bud to splurge for the diamond-encrusted, gold-plated pair.

For Sunday’s activity, they decided to focus on a hint that Ackbar and V had heard about their missing sister, Jenni. Someone matching her description was spotted hanging around a strip joint called the Tantra Show Club down in Yakuza territory. So they squeezed into their rusty new ride at 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday to go to a strip club.

The bouncer gave them a bit of trouble, but everyone made it in after a bribe or two. Ivy wasted no time getting a seduced by an actual, body-modded furry (she was a panther, and an excellent dancer, for the record), and a few other stereotypical strip-club-in-a-tabletop-game shenanigans unfolded as well. After the GM put a lid on it, they noticed Jenny in a VIP section, arm around a man’s shoulder, hanging out with a group of people.

V and Ackbar tried to go up to her, but were stopped by guards. Even though they managed to get Jenni’s attention, they couldn’t get any closer, and Jenni didn’t respond. After retreating, they were told by a man named Keiichi that they shouldn’t push their luck - they just tried to toe up to a bunch of Yakuza and their dates.

V divulged who Jenni was, and asked what she can do to help her. Keiichi saw an opportunity at hand. In fact, Keiichi was a Yakuza as well, and knew the man that Jenni was with. His name was Saka, once a close friend to Keiichi, until Keiichi noticed that all of Saka’s dates seemed really young. Saka would claim they were of age, but Keiichi found out that that wasn’t the case. 

Keichii confronted Saka, but was threatened to stay quiet or else. Jenni was in fact 16, and V and Ackbar were just as upset as Keiichi, so they worked out a plan: they would confront and kill Saka. However, they needed to be disguised, because Keiichi couldn’t murder another Yakuza without fear of retaliation, despite Saka’s disgusting habit.

Our crew came up with a plan: Keiichi would lure Saka out into the park, and the players would spring an ambush. They left the club in search of disguises, so they entered a nearby mall. They almost made it to a military surplus store full of ski maks and all-black getups, but they got distracted by a costume shop instead.

The players transformed into an ensemble of intellectual property still canonically viable in Cyberpunk 2020, and brought a costume for Keiichi as well. Despite the ridiculous getup, he had no choice but to cooperate.

Bud used his powers of performance to create a distraction: he started playing a solo show that drew a crowd, providing an alley of escape. Meanwhile, the players ready to do the dirty work set up an ambush point near a plaza in the park. Keiichi lured Saka out with Jenni to the ambush, and the confrontation commenced.

The players managed to roll an ungodly number of critical successes and it was all over before their opponents fired a shot, but nevertheless, they killed Saka and his crew, and bailed via the crowd. Jenni was free, and she ran off with her sisters Ackbar and V, to go join their gang of teenage girls.

< Prev || Next >

[emmasawyer]

DEVELOPMENT TASK 04 | CHARACTER PROFILE 

“where are all made of those who have built and broken us.”

BASICS

NAME: Emma Jane Sawyer ( born; Mirela Antonia Stoykovska )

NICKNAMES: Em, Ems, Sawyer

AGE: 26 (Physically 25)

BIRTHDAY: March 20, 1993

SPECIES: Werewolf (formerly Witch with the IPs of Premonition & Pyrokinesis)

GENDER: CIS Female

PRONOUNS: She/Her/Hers

FAMILY

MOTHER: Jane Sawyer & Sofia Stoykovska neé Stefanov

FATHER: David Sawyer & Aleksander Stoykovska

PARENTS: Jane and David Sawyer, Konstantin Stefanov

FAMILY: Sawyer & Stoykovska families

SIBLINGS: Daniel (30) and Zoe (25)

APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: Nina Dobrev

RACE/ETHNICITY: Caucasian / Bulgarian

HEIGHT:  5 ft 6 | 169cm

WEIGHT: 56kg | 120lbs

BUILD: Athletic

HAIR: Shoulder length, naturally wavy 

FACIAL HAIR: None (except during the full moon lol)

HAIR COLOR: Dark brown, natural highlights from the sun in summer

EYE COLOR: Dark brown

SKIN COLOR: Tanned 

DOMINANT HAND: Right

ANOMALIES: None

SCENT: Her perfume, a vanilla scent. 

ACCENT: Neutral , it’s hard to place where she’s from. 

PHYSICAL DISABILITIES: Lycanthropic curse

LEARNING DISABILITIES: None

ALLERGIES: None

DISEASES: Lycanthropic curse

DISORDERS:  None

BLOOD TYPE: O neg

FASHION: She’s fairly eclectic, she loves jeans and shirts, dresses, finding things in vintage shops etc. 

TATTOOS: Full moon cycle on her left forearm [IMAGE], pyrokinesis tattoo on right bicep [IMAGE], Crescent moon located on the centre of her back [IMAGE]

PIERCINGS: RIGHT EAR, LEFT EAR

JEWELRY: She wears a necklace made and given to her by Jonathan for Christmas last year, otherwise she keeps her jewelry to a minimum. [IMAGE]

NERVOUS TICS: She twirls the ends of her hair around her fingers. 

HOME LIFE

HOME ADDRESS: 234 Birch Avenue (true home tbh)

RESIDES: Hollow Grove Apartments, Hollow Grove MA

BORN: Sofia, Bulgaria

RAISED: Seattle, Washington

VEHICLE: Ducati Scrambler [IMAGE] bought in mid 2008 and a 2013 Ford Focus [IMAGE]

PHONE: iPhone 8

LAPTOP/COMPUTER: Macbook Air 2013

PETS: Ruby the best doggooooo in the world. 

EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZATIONS

HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION: Graduated 2011, Hollow Grove High School

COLLEGE EDUCATION: Bachelor of Nursing, Hollow Grove University 

MAJOR: Emergency Medicine

MINOR: Supernatural healing 

CAREER: EMT at Hollow Grove Fire Department; prev. Emergency Nurse, Hollow Grove Hospital. 

EXPERIENCE: 5 years.

EMPLOYER: Hollow Grove Fire Department. 

YEARLY SALARY: $40,000 p/a

BADGE NUMBER: 87563

WEAPONS: None

TRAINED IN: She’s proficient at fighting tbh.

LANGUAGES: English (first), Bulgarian (second)

OTHER: N/A

BELIEFS

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: Neutral

RELIGION: Agnostic

BELIEFS: None particularly spectacular

MISDEMEANORS: None

FELONIES: None

TICKETS AND/OR VIOLATIONS: None

DRUGS: Rarely

SMOKES: Never

ALCOHOL:  Frequently

DIET: She tries to eat fairly healthily, but werewolf metabolism makes it too tempting. 

RELATIONSHIPS

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Biromantic

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual

MARITAL STATUS: In a relationship

CHILDREN: None

AVAILABILITY: Taken

LOOKING FOR: Blanket forts with bae

PERSONALITY AND INTERACTION

PHOBIAS:  haphephobia - a fear of being touched (cured); growing up she didn’t like to be touched unless she was expecting it, due to her premonitions. Anyone who didn’t know her expected there to be abuse, given she would flinch if grabbed or anyone would make sudden movements. Whilst she is over it for the most part since she is now a wolf and doesn’t have premonitions, she does have moments of fear or worry if someone grabs her and she’s not expecting it. 

FAVORITES

LOCATION: Hollow Grove, MA

SPORTS TEAM: Seattle Supersonics

MUSIC: She loves pretty much anything it just depends on her mood.

SHOWS: Veronica Mars (yo it’s her kick)

MOVIES: The Breakfast Club (tbh, any brat pack movie is a fave)

BOOKS: Donut ask her favorite she can’t pick. But if she had to, Harry Potter. The last book was her favorite, or the fourth. 

FOOD: Pizza. 

BEVERAGE: Tequila.

COLOR: Purple

MISCELLANEOUS

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good

MBTI: ISTP

WESTERN ZODIAC: Pisces

CHINESE ZODIAC: Rooster

HOGWARTS HOUSE: Ravenclaw

ILVERYMORNY HOUSE: Wampus