#she occasionally does remote contract work

[hoperays-song]

Sing Characters as Human: PT. Young Rosita

You know her as the New Moon Theatre Troupe’s honorary mom, but have you seen her as a Mechanical Engineering Major and Varsity Volleyball Player? It’s Rosita Pérez!

*** This how I think she would look if she was the same age Ash was in Sing 2.

[soiwj]

Tasty Treat

Arlecchino x fem!baker!reader

Link to part 2

Very ooc arlecchino

(i dont know her character wel but she's hot, so i thought I'd give it a shot)

Planning on doing research on her though!!

Fuckk i love women omg

Second mini-fic ever how exciting!!

Please request stuff here!! It's hard to come up with prompts ;-;

I wrote this at 3 am so excuse the lack of structure

You start your usual routine of setting everything up for the day, although today is a bit special. Your bakery doesn't have many customers, considering the place it's in is quite remote. A peaceful forrest that's still in fontaine borders yet far away from any other buildings or people.

You chose this place because you appreciate the beauty and peace that nature brings you. The birds whisteling in the morning, the foxes chittering, the sound of tree leaves rustling. Yet that peace comes with quite a heft price. Loneliness. Besides the old lady that lives in a small village near the forrest, you don't get much human interaction. Even though your bakery is quite big and fits lots of people, you don't really have a lot of customers to share it with.

A week ago, you received a business offer from the house of the hearth. Since the bakery near the orphanage closed down, they don't have any establishments providing them things like breakfast treats and pastries. That's why they're employing you. The contract has you preparing and delivering the food to the hearth.

Even though this seemed like quite a lot of work, you accepted. I mean, how could you not? You get to make pasteries for adorable kids, making them smile, AND you get paid? This is a dream come true. After years of sulking alone in the damp forest serving a customer here and there, you get the privilege of a constant source of profit.

After hours of baking, your tired eyes look at the required amount of food stated in the order, and you realize that this is only enough for the kids. How strange that the boss herself did not order anything. Does she eat breakfast somewhere else? Nevertheless, you decide to make something anyway.

After packing up the orders, you start walking towards the orphanage, barely holding on to the several boxes stacked on top of eachother.

As you arrive, you set the boxes down and ring the orphanage's doorbell. An earie ring echoes from inside.

A tall woman opens the door. Her snow white hair with the occasional black streak looks down at you from the doorframe. Her brows furrow slightly at the sight of you, and the boxes.

"Are you alone?" She asks, you're confused, to say the least. "...yes?" You mutter. "How come you've managed to carry all those boxes on your lonesome?" Her sultry voice sounds out as she crosses her arms in amusement, holding back a grin. Before you can answer, you hear who you assume are the kids, walking slowly towards the persumed dining room.

"I'll help you with these," Arlecchino says curtly as she picks up a few boxes to bring to the kitchen. You pick up the last remaining boxes as you tail behind her.

As you and Arlecchino start unpacking and putting the treats on plates, you can't help but think of how different you expected Arlecchino to be. Clearly, her reputation precedes her. All the while your mind is drifting off to several different subjects, you don't notice the red-crossed eyes staring your way.

After the children finish eating, you stay a while, wanting to hear their opinion on the treats. As you basically survey them, you take the time to get to know some of them. Playing games with them and answering their unending questions.

As you realise you've overstayed your welcome, you say goodbye to the kids and quickly leave the orphanage. On your way back, you reach your hand into your purse, trying to take out your cherry flavored gum. You eventually find it but with it a little pink box brushes your hand. The cookie, you forgot to give it to Arlecchino.

Sat in her office, Arlecchino can't stop thinking about the kind-hearted baker she employed. Just looking at her interacting with the kids made something burn up inside of her. A little warmth that warms her cold, unfeeling heart. She looks out the window, hoping to have some reprieve from this strange feeling. Yet it seems the archons are against her wishes as she sees a certain baker running towards the orphanage. Almost tripping on her way. Even though it is foolish to entertain feelings for such a seemingly simple creature, Arlecchino can't help but grin at another interaction with her. Usually, she doesn't like to play with her food. But this time, she might make you an exception.

You stumble into the building as one of the kids, whom you now know is called Tealus, opens the door for you. With the pink box in hand, you stride through the halls looking for Arlecchino's office. As you ask one of the children, they point to the dark, long hallway without windows. How fitting. Your heels clicking softly as you walk over to her black office double doors. This place seems more like a villain's lair than an orphanage to you now, but you digress.

You knock 5 times in a specific pattern you were used to as a child when you hear a stern "Come in." You pull the golden doorhandle as the office window light starts flooding the hallway. You quickly close the door behind you as you step closer to her desk.

She does not look up from the paperwork on her desk as she multitasks without problem. "Why are you still here, baker." Just because she approves of your bond with the kids does not mean she will treat you differently from other people. "I saw there was nothing for you on the order list, so I made you something." You say proudly. You start rambling as you explain how you forgot to give it to her during breakfast.

She interrupts you as she reaches out her hand. "Can I see it?" You're flustered as you quickly hand her the box. She places it down gently on her desk as she lifts the packaging. Facing Arlecchino is a cookie with a white base, decorated with a black and red spider on top. "How adorable," Arlecchino mutters softly. Your soft 'huh' drives her back to reality as she responds. "I'm not very fond of sweet treats. I prefer savory things." She almost chuckles at the sight of your worried eyes locking with hers. "I can make you something else if you'd like? Hmm, although I can't think of many savory pasteries..." As you start naming some options, you reach for the cookie, trying to throw it away, but Arlecchino's quick reflexes hold your wrist before you can get close. "I thought you didn't like it?" Your confusion radiating off of you. "I never said such a thing. I merely said I prefer savory treats." She softly lets your wrist go as she stores the cookie on a desk extension behind her.

From then on, this has become routine, although some things have changed throughout the weeks. Instead of delivering the food alone, Arlecchino stops by early in the morning to help you carry them. Sometimes, it results in small talk when you haven't finished packing the orders yet.

Usually, she doesn't speak much and lets you do all the talking. You fear she's getting annoyed from your constant ramblings, but unbeknownst to you, she loves it when you talk about your interests and things you love.

This was a bit short, but if you wanna see a specific trope with this situation, you can req anything you wantt!!

Might do a part 2 of this idk yet

[akariamai]

Home

Part 2

Pairing: Joel Miller x reader

Word Count: 1401

You were luckier than most. A wealthy family contracted you to fix up the bus they bought and convert it into their dream home. You managed to construct every aspect the family wanted inside the double-decker bus then the apocalypse hit. The members of your small town, including the family who paid you, left without a single thought. They left with nothing but the clothes on their backs while heading out with military soldiers. You stayed behind, taking the bus with you, and becoming self-sufficient from then on.

You scavenged through the abandoned stores searching for anything remotely useful to survival. Stocking up the pantry to its fullest and filling the closet with ammunition, guns, medicine and general supplies. You began to work.

The perishable meats and vegetables were going to go bad soon. Without constant refrigeration, they’ll rot swiftly. You thanked the heavens, the freezer the family wanted was large enough to stalk up. Shrimp, crayfish, lean fish, chicken and steaks were concealed in an airtight zip lock bag and left in the freezer. On the outside of the bags contained notes of the dates they’ll last within the freezer. All should last months and hopefully you’ll manage to stretch every bit of it.

Once the freezer was filled, it displeased you to see it all go to waste. Trimming off the fat of the meat, you made a marinade of spices that couldn’t fit in your pantry. You might as well not reduce your supplies before taking off. Your dehydrator was a god sent. You dehydrated jerky, salmon, fruit, and vegetables. They were your meals in the beginning of the apocalypse.

You were self-sufficient for a long time. Escaping from the dangers that lurked outside of your bus. You didn’t drive around often but it was necessary at times. While the infected were dangerous, it was arguable people were more of a danger to your well-being.

It was years before you found your way to Jackson, where the community welcomed you with open arms and bright smiles, your presence became well-known throughout the community. Your job was to dehydrate meat before winter hits. It was an easy job as you had the equipment and were given the meat from hunters. You never had to leave the safety of the community.

You were offered one of the available houses, but you declined. You were satisfied living on the bus. Instead, they gave you a plot of land to do as you wished. You proceeded to grow a garden and build a shed to hold gardening tools.

You were clearing the snow off the solar panels when you heard your name. Maria, a dear friend of yours, Tommy, her husband, and two strangers you had yet to meet slowly walked towards your small plot of land.

“Maria, Tommy.” You nodded as the couple and the strangers watched you work. Watching you collecting the snow into a canteen.  

“[Reader] this is Joel and Ellie. They’re new.” Maria introduced them.

“Welcome to Jackson.”

“[Reader] is one of the hardest workers here.” Tommy boasted, “They’ve helped build several houses and know how to make delicious jerky. Occasionally, you’ll see them helping around with the community garden. That is if they’re not working on their own garden.”

“You must be very bored.” She replied with a bit of snark.

“Ellie.” Joel scolded.

You laughed, “True.” You looked down on their figures. “The apocalypse does leave one bored out of their minds.” You could attest to that. Before Jackson, you had gardened your herbs, prepared and cooked meals, occasionally listened to music, and reread the books you’ve found along the way.

She agreed with your statement, having gone through her own mind-numbing activities while surviving, “You’re telling me. I’ve been stuck in a car with this asshole, reading directions and shit.” Joel maintained a pained look on his face, muttering something under his breath, before quieting down.

“[Reader],” Maria drew your attention to her, “We wanted to ask if you could watch Ellie for a bit.” She didn’t specify after that.

“Sure.” You nodded, “You can come right in Ellie, I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Thank you.” It was not Maria who thanked you but Joel. It was evident he didn’t particularly like being around crowds, probably an aftereffect of the world just beyond the walls of Jackson, it reminded you of yourself when you first walked into the community. Unsure if it was safe or not. A brief paradise before corrupt men or the infected came barreling through the gates.

You didn’t reply as Tommy and Maria began to leave. Joel slowly followed behind them, almost hesitant to leave Ellie in your care, but persisted forward. You climbed down the ladder and proceeded to gather a few items Ellie might need: clothing and hygiene products.

“Do you want to shower?” You asked, “I have hot water.”

“Hot water?” It must’ve been a long time since she enjoyed the luxury of hot water. You never had to know a life without it. The bus kept you sheltered from the horrors left in the wake of the outbreak.

“Plenty of it.” You handed her clean clothing. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Once you heard the water was on, you began to search for spare hygiene products the girl might need. A question lingered in the air as the decision to stay or leave was left uncertain.

“Ellie,” You called out, “Are you hungry? I can warm something up for you.”

“I’m starving.”

“Are you allergic to anything?”

“No.”

You left her alone to enjoy her shower and walked towards your kitchen. You were defrosting a portion of the vegetable soup for yourself, but Ellie needed it more. You proceeded to warm up the soup and searched for a bag of beef jerky you’ve made.

Ellie came down soon after and you motioned for her to have a seat. You pulled out the table and placed the warm soup in front of her. You offered her a smile, “Hope you like it.”

Ellie scarfed down the food as if it was going to disappear. You munched on bits and pieces of beef jerky, enjoying the sweet and spice, before Ellie called for your attention.

“So, you live here?” She looked over the bottom floor of your home. It was extremely organized and untouched.

“Yes.”

“Did they not give you a house?” Curiosity amplified as she awaited your response.

“They did.” You answered curtly, “But I refused.” You offered nothing else.

“Why not?”

“This is my home.” You didn’t want to mention you were waiting for the day the community would fall. It was a terrible thought, but you were a realist. Something or someone would come knocking and destroy everything that was built. It might not be today or tomorrow but someday it will happen. “It’s been my home since the beginning, and I won’t abandon it now.”

You gave Ellie the hygiene products you were willing to part with: a toothbrush, two bottles of toothpaste tablets, and a period cup with instructions. You know Maria would trade for other products she might need.

Ellie looked at the toothpaste tablets bizarrely. “This is toothpaste?”

You nodded, “Crush the tablet with your teeth. The tablet will mix with your saliva to create toothpaste.”

“Cool.” She stuffed everything in her backpack. “Thank you.”

~~~

Tommy knocked on your door early in the morning. He wanted to trade, for Joel and Ellie, for several bags of beef jerky to last a few weeks. Joel and Ellie stood right beside him, as they watched the transaction inquisitively.

You noticed they carried their bags, presumably the ones they arrived with, and knew they were leaving. You sighed, “Without refrigeration, the beef jerky is going to last about a week. I have a few bags of roasted nuts that can last within up to three months.”

“What do you want for them?” Tommy questioned. It was a matter of substance or labor.

“Nothing.” You didn’t have the need for anything, and they were leaving to a place where food was scarce. But nothing was unacceptable to Tommy. You walked back inside and brought back several bags for the two. “Take care of each other. Stay safe.”

You hoped to see them again. Alive and healthy. You wished for them to live long and happy lives wherever life spurred them too.

“Goodbye.”

Masterlist

[doctor-fancy-pants]

That Researchin' Maritime Life

We've got a bit of downtime - there's a trawl going down to 5000m right now.

I've rotated and freshened up the sea cucumbers, packed away the echinoderms (starfish, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, brittle stars, feather stars and sea lilies), thrown a few buckets of seawater in the cold room (including the smaller pails seen below, I'm refining my holothurian rescue plans), and had a snack because This Machine, She Runs On Heavy Fuel.

This is actually a very comfortable ship to live on. Each cabin has a private ensuite, so you're not clambering down the bunk ladder and teetering out into the hall in search of the head in the middle of the night (I have been very spoilt and have only had one voyage like that). The mess has plenty of room at mealtimes. There are two lounges ("quiet" and "you're allowed to make noise and have informal meetings" respectively), and my favourite beanbags in the world.

There are, however, some drawbacks to marine research as a specialty (apart from the lack of job security, she says, as a short term contract taxonomist), and using a laboratory on a boat.

What drawbacks, you may ask.

Well, after my shift ends, I've been known to totter wearily into an online chat with mates and just drop random observations (you may note a somewhat laissez-faire attitude to punctuation).

For example:

you know it's amazing, you can be totally fine working in the dirty wet lab and you'll leave for five minutes and it's like your olfactory filters completely reset and then you get back down there and the nose is shouting at the brain "BOY HOWDY IT SURE DO SMELL LIKE FISHY PRAWNS IN HERE HUH JUST GOTTA SOAK IN THAT BRINY AMBIENCE"

summation: the science smells bad.

related outcome: the scientist also smells bad.

Yuuup, the smell is a whole freaking vibe. We can't dump too much seawater down the sinks that go into the grey water holding tank, we can't open the chute in the lab if there's an operation in progress (i.e. a trawl, a tow video, a Baited Remote Underwater Video, a fish trap) (which has been the case more often than not), and the same restriction is in place for simply tipping buckets over the side

That means that buckets of filthy seawater, sea cucumber guts, discarded excess critters, banged-up prawns and so on... just have to sit in the lab for a bit.

I've got a very sensitive nose. I have never been good at filtering out unpleasant smells, and yet somehow I kind of adapt to the lab odours... until I head up to the mess, and back down again.

(side note: we do actually clean the lab very thoroughly between trawls, and it does not smell all the time! It's more when you have to take a break in the middle of processing and then come back to it.)

What I do not adapt to is how bad I smell. By the end of the day, if I've been racing around in my coveralls, especially if I've been carrying heavy things, I will stink to high heaven.

(I will be quite self-conscious standing next to anyone.)

That shower is... so good.

But showering every day raises an issue. It's not what I normally do. Now, I realise there are some people who will find that horrifying (and most of them are from the US for some reason), but every second day, or when I need to wash my hair, or after a workout or, on a hot day? Yeah, that shower is good.

Every day? My poor skin is dryer than shoe leather, and I use a very gentle shower gel.

Shower Discord thoughts:

have been speculating on how one transitions from "I own body moisturiser but only occasionally remember to use it" as a terrestrial organism, to "I am pretty sure I could start a black market trade by subdividing this half-tube of Body Shop Hemp Hand Cream into small aliquots" as a person who is

1) at sea (the briny sea! The salty [drying] air!)

2) when not outdoors in the salty air, indoors in the drying A/C

3) regularly shoving one's hands into 100% ethanol and... usually... nearly always... wearing gloves while doing so

I mean this cream is the good shit

like basically liquid gold

which... could also be distributed in aliquots

okay. have decided: will not trade Body Shop Hemp Hand Cream for less than the equivalent volume of liquid gold

On later reflection, while I continue to believe that this asking price is fair, I may be pricing myself out of the market, if for no other reason than the simple lack of gold on board the vessel, regardless of phase.

I have decided that it doesn't have to be liquid. Melting gold on a moving vessel far off the continental shelf is an untenable safety risk. It just means that we will have to try to match the quantities by weight.

And that means using the scales in the clean wet lab, because the balances in our lab are not up to that sort of task.

And that means that I have definitely thought about this far too much, and I should go do something else (mainly clean my teeth and get ready for bed - need to get the energy for tomorrow's science-ing!).

We're still doing a fair bit of transiting and deeper sites, so I plan to try and knock out some taxonomic work on the few crinoids that have made it into the lab, and maybe set aside some time for the Sea Cucumber Salon.

Cukes gotta get their glamour shots, dammit.

[silurisanguine]

Adam Jensen's timeline (so far)

I've worked out dates and his respective age. Though some month dates are fuzzy I've assumed, unless specified, that an event happened at the beginning of the determined year and carried through the year. All the known dates are confirmed on the Wiki.

(conjecture is in blue, unknown specific dates suggested in green)

Might be useful for anyone writing! (just please credit me if you use this)

(Also note, if i find anything new i'll edit this list, so always check back occasionally to see if its been updated.)

1993 March 9th: Adam is born.

1998 5yrs old: Possible birth parents die in arson of lab

1998 - adopted by Jensen couple

2007? 14yrs old : high school captain of debate team.

2012 19yrs old : Possibly gains Associates degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Phoenix, Detroit at this time or within the next few years.

2014 21yrs old: joined the Detroit Police Department. Possible Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from Phoenix University and Ferris College at this time or within next few years through remote study or part-time.

2017 23yrs Old: Meets Megan Reed for first time.

2018, 24yrs old : joined the Department's SWAT unit, ends up leading second unit, thanks to his skills.

2019 25yrs old : starts relationship with Megan Reed.

2023 30yrs old : breaks up with Megan but stays friend and co-owns their dog Kubrick.

2025 32yrd Old - Megan starts taking genetic samples from Adam. (How does she do this? Most likely scenario is she gets hair off a hairbrush of his. I doubt from the way they interact that they are 'friends with benefits'.)

2026 33yrs old : After 13 years, quits DPD and SWAT after Mexicotown massacre. It's painted as if he is fired.

2026 (6 months after quitting DPD) : Joins Sarif industries on behest of Megan, who, unknown to Adam, needs access to his DNA to continue her research.

2027 34yrs old (May) : Attack on Sarif headquarters the day Megan was to go to Washington to present her research on rejection free augmentation. Adam is nearly killed and saved with augmentations thanks to Sarif and a contract stating he could do this to Adam in such event.

2027 6 months later (October): Adam returns to work, 6 months early yet fully adapted to his augments already. (normally takes longer for that many.)

2027 (Just before flying to Hengsha he is diverted to another mission) : romantic fling with Lady Katrina Sutherland, who is almost as augmented as Adam is, after a horse riding accident. She dies saving his life.

2027: Events of Missing link, where he discovers the organisation The Juggernaut Collective and a figure known as Janus.

2027 (near end of year?): He finds Megan and her team after investigations lead him all over the world.

2027 (end of year, little ice in Arctic due to global warming, not summer time) : the Aug incident happens. He stops Darrow and destroys Panchaea, seemingly drowning in the aftermath.

2027 : A week after the Incident and collapse of Panchaea, the rescue effort is changed to recovery and two days later a secret military team combs over the wreckage, finding Jensen.

2028 - 35yrs old: Adam wakes from coma in facility 451 in Alaska. 'Told his Sentinel kept him alive'. Gaps in his memory plague him, and he escapes with the help of Francis and Stacks, another patient. Jenna Thorne is an illuminati agent posing as a gov agent.

2028/ 2029 35/36yrs old- (December into Jan possibly description) : Detroit - Adam works with Francis to help stop old Sarif tech being stolen by thieves working for the Illuminati. Involves TF29 and Juggernaut involvement. Stacks dies after having a flashback to the Incident.

2029 36yrs old - (January maybe) : Because of events, Adam agrees to join TF29 US branch. Also joins Juggernaut Collective secretly.

2029 -End of Febuary - Criminal Past mission reportedly happens in Arizona, where Jensen goes undercover in a top max prison to find Hector.

2029 March/April? - Jensen moves to Czechia - Prague (Praha), transfers to Prague branch of TF29 under Miller.

2029 April?- First mission for Prague TF29 in Dresden, prevents an augmented terrorist using children as soldiers.

2029 Late October? : - Jensen does the Dubai mission and then events happen in Prague.

2029 November? : (takes 2 days from Prague to the safe harbour convention in London) London apex centre, foils plot. Returns to Prague a week later.

[coffeeheartaddict2]

Precious

Book: Open Heart (post series)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Casey Ramsey

Category: Angsty fluff

Warnings: mentions of a character death, traumatic birth, language.

Summary: The arrival of Hudson Jonah Ramsey.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Pixelberry.

👶👶👶👶👶👶👶👶👶

June 4th 2025.

Today was Casey’s last day of work before embarking on five months maternity leave. She had received clearance to remain working as far along as she did and she was hopeful to have been able to work remotely for another week but Ethan had put his foot down. He wanted Casey to rest and enjoy some time for herself before Hudson came along. In all honesty Casey was looking forward to the pregnancy to end, even though they had no significant issues, she was done. The lack of sleep due to Hudson kicking or just general discomfort was really getting to her. The nursery was set and all that was needed was Hudson. Casey had started researching ways to bring on labour naturally much to Ethan’s dismay.

“I am anxious to meet him too but surely wouldn’t it be better to let nature take its course?”

“Yes Ethan, you do not have to carry him, get your insides kicked to high heaven, bladder used as a trampoline…”

Ethan cuts her off with a searing kiss. “Hudson will come when he is good and ready.” He whispers in her ear before kissing her.

The next week flies by. Casey starts to get the occasional bout of braxton hick contractions which she finds frustrating more than anything.

The second week drags. Casey’s discomfort level rises. She is more and more anxious for the pregnancy to end. On the evening of the 27th June Casey starts getting contractions. Ethan surprises himself by how calm he is. At 11pm they arrive at the hospital, Casey’s contractions are still seven minutes apart but she is starting to feel nauseous so they are advised to come in. The observations that are done show nothing amiss and Casey is then offered some pain relief. The pain relief works for a time and the labour steadily progresses. At about three am though, the nausea comes back and it is worse. So much so that even Ethan is concerned. Dr Watson comes in and does some more observations. Casey’s blood pressure is starting to spike and the baby is showing early signs of distress. Ethan starts to spiral. The memories of Delores and how she went into full eclampsia surfacing. Try as she might, she was not able to get Ethan to calm down. Casey was stressed also.

“Ethan, I get why you are spiraling but you are no good to me like this.”

This makes Ethan stop and pay attention for which Dr Watson is relieved. Ethan’s medical brain kicks in. Dr Watson advises that they have two options, continue under more stricter observations or have an emergency c-section now. After going through briefly the pros and cons Casey emphatically states that she wants a c-section now. Ethan is quietly relieved that Casey chose this option. Casey is prepped for surgery and Ethan accompanies her.

The c-section goes without a hitch and not long after Hudson Jonah is delivered, Casey’s blood pressure stabilises. While Casey is being stitched up, Hudson is taken away to be weighed and measured and Ethan cut his cord. He is placed on Casey’s chest for some skin to skin time and he starts suckling at Casey’s breast.

Ethan thought the most joyous moment in his life was when Casey said I do but nothing prepared him for the wave of emotion that he was going through. The high and low of their missed miscarriage in 2023, the joy when they found out that this pregnancy stuck and and the sheer relief and joy that they had welcome baby Hudson Jonah to the world. Try as he might, he could not hold back his tears of joy. Casey was exhausted both physically and emotionally but she too was overjoyed. They were eventually taken back to Casey’s room. Ethan stayed with Casey and Hudson. Casey had a well earned rest. Hudson looked so peaceful in his cot. After about an hour, Hudson started to fuss so Ethan picked him up and held him. Hudson calmed down and Ethan spoke to him.

“Welcome to the world Hudson, I am your dad. Both your mother and I are really happy to meet you despite the fright you gave us. We have loved you from when we first found out about you. We both look forward to getting to know you and the man you will become.”

Meanwhile Casey stirred and got even more emotional seeing Ethan holding and talking to baby Hudson.

“Hey Ethan.” She finally says. Ethan is shook from his reverie.

“Did I wake you sweetheart?”

“No, I woke up by myself.” Ethan gives Hudson to her.

“Hey Hudson, I am your mum. Welcome buddy. We already love you so much.” She holds him, looking at him. Ethan sitting beside Casey on the bed and looking longingly at his son. Unbeknownst to both of them Tobias had happened to walk by. He snapped a picture of the moment and sent it to Ethan.

“I never thought I would have seen either of you more in love than in this moment.” Is what he said.

When Ethan finally saw the message he couldn't agree more.

The next five days were a blur of visitors from their friends and Alan as well as Naveen. Casey’s parents were coming a week later which she was thankful for as she wanted some time with Ethan to get into a semblance of a routine. It was exhausting for both of them but neither could be happier that baby Hudson was now, finally in their lives.

Authors note: Hudson is now born. I have no idea what going into natural labour is like so if anyone has read this and said that does not seem right I apologise. I have had preeclampsia myself with my first child from a much earlier relationship and I was in for a c-section the next day. If you made it his far thank you.

Tagging: @jerzwriter @jamespotterthefirst @potionsprefect @liaromancewriter @genevievemd @crazy-loca-blog @a-crepusculo @bex-la-get @ofmischiefandmedicine @tessa-liam @schnitzelbutterfingers @binny1985

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[slow-button-off]

Once again i wanna say just how much i love your blog and your posts. I wanna cram every info inside my brain ngl so that I am able to understand the races in a different light. Can i ask for some recs for extra reading or youtube vlogs to understand the races better? I saw some resources on your page (such as the f1 tech reddit page and some youtube pages too) and i m checking those out too so that i can understand the tech side better and their choices for strategies and all that. Thank you ♥️

Thank you so much!

If anyone else has other resources that they think are great then please feel free to add them because I 100% forgot someone!

This is just a list of imo relevant content it's not all just about races and strategy some are about the technical side but I figured I'd include them anyway.

Tumblr

@race-week Makes brilliant posts like track previews and explains a lot of things. Also you get the occasionally free cat picture so for sure worth a follow.

Their pinned post has links to some really good overview posts for other resources and all sorts of other good things.

Video Content

Formula 1 Tech Talks It's official F1 content with different people. They always talk about something relevant to specific races and it's often very informative and interesting.

There is this playlist from the Tech Talk Demos that talk about about a lot of different F1 car parts and demonstrate how they work.

There are more Tech Talks but not all are in that playlist so you just have to search the youtube channel for it.

Chainbear on YouTube He makes a lot of content about like everything! He has a video about Hungary strategy. He pretty much has a video about how and why things went down the way that they did about most races, lovely illustrations/ animation and explains things really well.

Or this video about the basics of race strategy as a whole.

He also has some videos about technical things like tyres, and engines and these sort of things. He is one of the best entry points into learning about how things work and why they happen the way they do.

Driver61 on YouTube He talks more about driver specific things and used to be a racing driver. So he has videos on things like how Checo is so good at saving his tyres.

brrake on YouTube and twitch He used to be a performance engineer for multiple F1 teams and was working for RB recently (he brings it up any chance he has). His personality is not for everyone but his videos are still informative and interesting and he does know what he is talking about. He also does race and quali watchalongs if that's your thing. Ahead of qualifying he ususally looks at some data from FP3 and analyses it on stream, but you can watch them back. He also now has a podcast but I haven't listened to a single episode no clue how good that one is.

His video about the Dutch GP is really interesting.

f1toni is on TikTok and twitch (I've only seen her TikToks) she talks a lot about F1 things in general like all aspects of F1, history, the regs, contracts and so on. And often highlights Women in Motorsport. Really worth a follow if you have TikTok.

Molly @ abunchofredf1ags on TikTok She's an engineer and makes a whole bunch of videos about again all sorts of things. Not all videos are super serious but she also explains a lot of tech things.

Twitter accounts

Sara @ _allthatglitz on twitter For Ferrari related things, has calm takes most of the time and does like a bit of analysis. Fights anyone that is remotely rude to Charles. But knows what she is talking about.

@ F1Techy Does some analysis and talks about other tech related F1 things too. For example has a post about the RB vs Ferrari strategy in Monza.

@ GuilyDuchessa He is a journalist for Formula Uno and great for general Ferrari infos and news but also writes articles where he analyses things. They are always in Italian so you if you translate it somethings are gonna sound weird but the rest makes sense. Also talks about car upgrades and their impact amongst other things.

@ ProjectF1 Does analysis on twitter and has some lovely plots.

@ ScarbsTech Tweets a lot about the technical aspects and upgrades and all sorts of technical things. He is one of the guys that does the F1 Tech Talk that is featured on F1TV.

So these are my first immediate recommendations. I'm sure I missed someone.

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

Go Go Karasuno: An Old Rival (Pt 1)

THIS FIC IS 18+ 

Warnings: swearing, light teasing 

Word Counts: 7,000+

Flasback

"Keishin you asshole" you shout for the end of the court. God how you despised Ukai Keishin! The man was the bane of your existence at Karasuno High. He was always one upping you. Always one step ahead. He always got the praise while you remained in his shadow.

"Calm down Y/N! I'm just teasing you. I promise I'll be quiet during your serve this time" Keishin says as he smirks at you through the net.

"You say that every time asshole, yet we continue to have this discussion" you say with a huff.

 You are annoyed and honestly just fed with with him. You didn't even want this practice match but of course, a lot of the girls had crushes on the boys team so you felt like you had to join. Even thought you couldn't stand Keishin’s big ego clogging up your breathing room.

"Just serve Y/N. Ignore him" one of your teammates shout.

 You take a deep breath, tossing the ball up to serve.

Serving required the utmost concentration for you. You didn't know how people could effortlessly serve with background noise and people cheering. You hated that. You're teammates knew it and so did your coaches. Most of the time you didn't have to worry about noise, but when you were playing the boys team, you knew you always had to worry about something.

"Just do it already" you hear a voice shout as your hand smacks the ball in front of you causing it to barrel towards the net.

"Aye net ball" Keishin yelled from the other side of the court as he snickered at you.

"I'm seriously gonna kick your-" you start to say as your teammates gather ground to stop you from commit a felony.

"Alright that's enough" Coach yells from the sidelines "lets wrap it up."

You sigh as the boys high five each other, celebrating their victory. You line up with your team as you prepare to thank the boys team and shake hands.

You approach the net, extending your hand to Keishin while looking down.

 "Better luck next time Y/N. But hey I can see the improvement. Just try getting it over the net next time" he smiles shaking you hand as you continue to stare at the floor.

Anger. You are so mad that he beat you again.

You sulk to the sidelines as you begin to dry off with a towel and drink your water.

"Will I ever be as good as him?"

Flashback ends

8 years. 

8 whole years have passed since you last seen Keishin or any of the Karasuno Alumni. Now you find yourself standing at the gates wondering how fate brought you here.

It wasn't like your memories of High School were awful. You got good grades, played volleyball. You were even the captain of the girls team your 3rd year. For all intensive purposes, you loved High school. 

 You just hated Ukai Keishin with a passion. Sure you realized your teenage hatred of the man was petty. Of course it was. It was almost 10 years ago but yet you couldn't forget the man. There was just something that irked you to no end about him and you were glad your past 8 years had been Keishin-free.

After high school, you traveled to Toyko for school. After graduating you worked in Tokyo in a corporate office. You loved the job a lot. The city life was right up your alley. The people, the shopping, the nightlife. Everything. Not that you necessarily partook in those activities but you enjoyed the options. You had friends, your whole life was in Tokyo.

It's not like you wanted to be back in Miyagi. It wasn't by choice you were here.

 You're parents had left after you graduated high school, following you to the cities. Unfortunately, when your grandfather got sick, you were the only one who could help. 

Your parents both had prior commitments with work and you didn't have family in the area. You're job allowed you to work remotely. It was both a blessing and a curse. You were only going to be in town for a few weeks. Just to get your grandfather and grandmother settled in a senior living center. 

 Your parents had offered them to move in with them in Toyko but your grandfather would have none of it. He was as stubborn as they come. He hated the idea of "the big city". Your grandmother didn't really mind anyway but she wasn't going to leave your grandfather as long as he was living so you just gave up.

So how does that bring you back to Karasuno you ask? 

Well a few of your fellow alumni had found out you were back in town. I'm talking Takinoue Yūsuke and Shimada Makoto, both former classmates as well as former volleyball players. You knew they were friends with Keishin but you never minded them. They were always nice to you and treated you kindly. Sure they joked around with you but they never pressed you like Keishin did. So imagine your surprise when you showed up to Shimada Mart with your grandma in toe only to find Makoto stocking shelves.

To say you were shocked wouldn't be entirely accurate, I mean his name is on the store. You just figured he had moved on. When he invited you for drinks with Yusuke, you accepted. 

 Not once did the conversation turn to Keishin which you appreciated. The men knew of your rivalry well. It almost seemed like neither of you had moved on from one another.

They had talked about the boys team and how amazing they were. You still enjoyed volleyball talk and even played on a small team in Toyko on the occasional weekends. They told you about their neighborhood association and how they were playing a match with the boys of Karasuno. They mentioned needing a setter to which you immediately perked up. You didn't ask questions, not even thinking about why they needed a setter.

You figured since the conversation avoided Keishin that he was no longer in the area. You knew of his families store but also knew that he probably didn't live around here. You offered your services as a setter for a practice game. The men looked at one another, nodding in agreement. You figured what could be the harm. You got to play volleyball and kick some kids asses.

It would be a lot of fun.

Keishin finished up his shift at his family store leaving it to his mother to tend while he attended practice. He hadn't thought much high-school since he graduated honestly. He was happy in his life.

He had good friends, a solid family support system and of course, he was the head coach of the Karasuno boys volleyball team. He walked to practice as he's thoughts drifted. They often did. He'd light a cigarette, think about things and by the time he finished, he was at the gates to Karasuno. He had scheduled a practice match tonight. He knew the neighborhood association lacked members but the Karasuno boys were always willing to fill in. 

For some ungodly reason, his thoughts drifted to you. He hadn't thought about you in years.

That was a lie. A complete lie.

He actually thought about you often and how he was a complete and utter jerk in high school. He would never admit he had a crush on you back then but he did enjoy your little rivalry the two of you had. He always thought you were a great setter but he always strived to be better. It was just how he was. He knew his little crush would never amount to anything. You were way smarter and way more attractive. You had life goals and he strived to stay on the volleyball team. He hadn't dreamt of leaving Miyagi. He knew he wasn't college bound. He knew he'd always be here but you, you always dreamed of more and he admired that.

He thought you were probably some rich lady by now with a husband and a family. He laughed because he imagined your husband staying home while you worked because that's just how you were. You were strong and independent. You never settled.

Keishin entered the gym where the Karasuno boys were practicing.

"The neighborhood association will be here in 10 minutes" he yelled.

"Yes coach" the boys yelled in return as they continued to warm up for their practice game.

"Suga I'm going to need you to set for the association again tonight" he said. Sugawara Koushi nodded as he went back to warming up with the spikers. Takada Ittetsu, Karasuno’s faculty advisor and other coach, soon came bounding into the gym as he often did. He was always racing around it seemed like. 

 He had meetings, papers to grade and other things teachers worried about. Keishin laughed at how different him and Takeda were yet they made a great coaching team.

"Alright guys the show is here" a voice shouted from the doors as they were thrown open.

Keishin sighed, placing his head in his hand. 

"Takinoue you talk to much" Shimada rolled his eyes as he smacked Takinoue on the shoulder walking over to Keishin.

"I've got Suga warming up for you guys" Keishin said to Makoto.

"Ahh no need tonight man, we've got a setter" Shimada said as he rested his hand on Keishin’s shoulder.

"Huh?" Keishin questions and the doors flew open. His eyes and the eyes of the rest of the teams eyes flew to the door.

Keishin froze

"Damn I see they still haven't fixed these God forsaken doors. It's been like 10 years damn" you said as you switched from your street shoes.

Everyone was staring at you.

"Hello everyone" you smile as you wave, still not noticing the long blonde hair coach on the sidelines staring holes in your head.

The boys bowed to you as you smiled.

 You turned your body to walk to Shimada as you begin to speak "you should have told me-" you stop making direct eye contract with Keishin, your mouth dropping open.

"Keishin?" You say shockingly

"Y/N?" Keishin said equally as shocked.

"Oh whoops" Takinoue looks at you laughing awkwardly "I guess we forgot to mention the little detail that Keishin is the Karasuno teams coach ha ha"

Shimada's eyes went wide as he waited for you to speak.

"Yes you forgot to mention that LITTLE detail" you speak sharply as you whip your head to both Shimada and Takinoue.

Keishin is still frozen.

You're here? Why? How? And your setting for the Neighborhood association? Oh dear God!

"Long time no see Keishin" you speak directly as you look at him.

He thought you were beautiful then but now you looked spectacular! His brain and heart were thinking and beating at 1000 miles per hour yet no words were formed from his mouth.

Gosh this was awkward.

Shimada and Tokinoue watched in wonder.

 Everyone did.

 The Karasuno team could sense the tension between you two.

"What's with coach I've never seen him this quiet" Tanaka Ryunosuke whispers to Nishinoya Yu.

"No clue but it's making me nervous" Noya said in response.

You wanted for Keishin to speak only to be met with silence

"Well ok then" you clap your hands together "I'm here to set so let's get this show on the road."

You walk towards the practice jerseys as you slip one on. Everyone seems stunned but nobody says anything. You look back at everyone as they awkwardly go back to their tasks.

Takinoue walks up to you as you start stretching. You glare at him.

"This is all your fault" you say sharply as he puts on a practice jersey.

"Don’t expect any sets today" you growl as you walk to the sidelines talking with your new team for the evening.

The boys welcome you with open arms. Ennoshita Chikara, one of Karasuno's wing spikers greats you with a bow.

"Umm miss would you mind if we practice a few sets before the game starts?" He asks pleasantly.

"Oh please call me Y/N! And of course! I'm a new setter to you so I totally understand wanting to get comfortable" you smile as you walk towards the net.

Keishin is still staring. You're sure his eyes dried out by now from not blinking.

Ennoshita describes his ideal setup to you as you are mental notes. You remember a teammate who had a similar style so you try to adjust what you can.

 Ennoshita throws a ball to you as you set perfectly for a kill.

"Nice kill" you say with a smile. Ennoshita blushes.

"That was a great set Y/N! I don’t think I've hit a ball that confidently in a long time" he says with a smile as he rubs the back of his head.

"Well thank you but I'm a bit rusty. The ball drifted a bit too much towards the net for my liking. I'll adjust" you say with a smile as the next teammate tosses to you.

“She hasn't changed a bit” Keishin thinks to himself.

He always thought you were too hard on yourself in high school. He admired you but you were always trying to do more. He knew you didn't really like him but he didn't actually know the reason. He just thought you found him to be annoying.

Keishin snaps out of his thoughts as he blows the whistle. Everyone lines up, thanking each other for the game as they proceed to their spots.

The game goes on for a while. You see Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shoyo’s quick and your eyes sparkle. You knew that move had to be a shocker to almost anyone playing against them. You learned to never underestimate a player. You knew the smallest players were out the most dangerous. But you had to admit that even the quickness and trust the duo displayed was phenomenal.

During a break, Kageyama asked if you'd observe his technique. You felt honored as you knew the boy was a prodigy. He was a quick thinker on the court and adapted well. You could also tell he was a lot like you were. He was hard on himself and always strived to do better. You observed the infamous "falling toss" that just stopped mid air. It was amazing to see. You'd never even dream of being able to pull something off like that.

Honestly it seemed like a “Keishin” move to you. You laughed as you thought about all the times you rolled your eyes at his ridiculous sets. He was always trying to outrun the blockers. Always trying to open the paths for his spikers.

"That tosses was phenomenal boys" you smile as you applaud their efforts. They both bow as they disperse and continue their training. 

Your eyes met Keishins again.

Honestly we're you really going to ignore him this whole time?

“It's been almost 10 years Y/N he's probably matured” you think to yourself as you gather the courage to approach the coach. Then again this was Ukai Keishin we were talking about. The asshole who constantly made it a mission to get under your nerves in high school.

When the second practice match started, you were you to serve. Keishin smiled to himself thinking about the cute look you got on your face as you prepared to serve. It made his hard warm. You didn't fail to notice his smile but you're thoughts automatically drifted back to high school. You hated that smile so much.

You prepared to serve as suddenly you heard someone clear their throat. You missed the serve completely, hitting a net ball. Keishin snickered to himself.

“Man you really hadn't changed all that much” he thought as he was thinking about how much you hated missing serves.

Your neck snaps to him as you glare "I know you did that on purpose" you spit at him.

Keishin just smiles "Y/N you really think I'm out here to mess your serves up?"

You definitely hadn't changed.

You huffed as you glared at Keishin as he smirked.

Shimada and Takinoue looked at each other. Part of them was hoping they would see you chuck a ball at Keishin while a part of them wondered how you two had managed to ignore your feelings for each other for so long.

The game ended as the boys cleaned the gym and thanked you for the game.

Keishin watched as you took off the practice jersey. Your shirt lifting, exposing your tummy bit to reveal your smooth skin. It was now or never .

"Umm hey Y/N, thanks for helping out" he says as he approaches you

You continue to wipe the sweat from your forehead as you take a drink of water. "No problem. It's a great team you have here" you say while avoiding eye contact.

Keishin wished you'd just look at him. You really didn't still hate him did you?

"Well I’m off" you say as you wave and smile to the team and the association. You quickly move to the gym doors, replacing your shoes and walking away.

"You sure blew that one" Shimada snickers behind Keishin.

"She really had no clue I was the coach?" Keishin looks at Shimada.

"Not one clue" he says in return "besides this provided so much entertainment." He throws his head back laughing as he walking towards the gym doors.

“Wyou blew this one Keishin” he thinks to himself as he sighs taking a seat in a folding chair.

He really did blow this one.

taglist: @axoxtxhxh​

[gotham-rat]

pandemic headcanon time!

dick

by the sixth day, dick was starting to lose his mind in his apartment, and thought, “fuck it, I’m quarantining at the manor” so he showed up, in the same ratty t shirt and board shorts he’d been wearing for a week. alfred just sighed and opened the door for him to come in. he managed to dig up his robin themed fidget spinner he’d bought years ago, and constantly flicks it around. he’ll do anything to avoid the slightest boredom: walks on his hands, flips over anything he can, the smaller the space the better. he hasn’t had a vacation or break in years. he’s not used to do doing nothing. he hates it. every fiber of his being wants to punch someone in the face just to feel something. he decides the best way to quell the boredom is to pester his siblings. it’s gotten so bad that now, if he enters a room full of them, they’ll all scatter faster than he can blink.

damian

he’s an animal crossing quarantiner. you can fight me on this. and he has a weird obsession with red’s fake art. in fact, he’s picked up painting as something to fill time and will replicate the fake famous paintings. bruce thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world, and when damian throws his paintings away after finishing (he doesn’t care about them that much) bruce always swipes them and hangs them up and tweets about it. damian also is a little bit on the germ-freak side. not a lot, but the situation makes him uncomfortable. if anyone has to go outside he insists on masks and bringing hand sanitizer and staying at least seven feet apart. otherwise he’s been pretty chill.

bruce

bruce, like dick, doesn’t like being cooped up but can at least function. his kids have noticed that he spends just a little too much time on twitter nowadays though. he likes playing games at dinner like “would you rather”, but always takes it so seriously that no one else can really enjoy them. he’s slowly falling out of his work out routine. he ate cheese puffs for the first time because of jason. he hasn’t had time to read a book for fun in years, and now he’s going through stacks of them. he takes them out of tim’s room or orders them online. he’ll sit outside or in his office and read for hours. the cutest thing is when tim and bruce have both read the same one and they talk about. they’ll have full discourse about characters and plot points and arcs and sometimes even get into arguments. it’s pretty entertaining to watch.

tim

tim is, well, he’s definitely found a way to spend his time. if you walk into his room you’ll find three different boards tacked up on the walls. newpaper cutouts and prints and pictures pinned with red string on each of them. he hacked into the gcpd database and is pulling out a whole bunch of cold cases. he’s literally already solved one and called the victim’s family about it. out of all of them he’s probably broken the lockdown rules the most because his cases have required him to sometimes go out and look for people, places, etc. but he does most of it remotely. he stays in his room when he’s not working on a case, only emerging for coffee or a seriously needed melatonin. he’s trying to fix up his sleep schedule a little bit, but it’s not really working. he’s resolved to having at least one randomly placed nap in the day, which is better than constantly staying up.

steph

steph got the fuck out of gotham. as soon as word was spreading about a possible lockdown, she hugged them all goodbye and booked a cheap flight to california. she knows some people there and is currently quarantining with them. they have a beach house and everyday she’s outside: swimming, tanning, surfing, snorkeling. she’s embraced it fully as a well deserved break. and lord knows she needed it. she’s constantly facetiming the others, and making fun of them for being stuck in bleary gotham.

cassie

no one sees her, except when she comes out to swipe some snacks. at this point bruce isn’t really sure if she’s actually staying at manor. in reality, she is, she just sleeps a lot, or climbs out the window and onto the roof to chill. she sketches and sketches, having already filled up three notebooks since quarantine started. alfred is the only one who knows she sneaks out onto the roof. he doesn’t say anything. sometimes she’ll sleep up there and take pictures of the moon and stars and sunrise cause she likes something pretty to look at when she’s sad. her current thing is binge watching shows. she’s pretty obsessed with a few ones on netflix. she tends to hyperfixate on a few characters for a while before moving to others.

barbara

barbara is not at the manor. she’s staying in her own apartment but is rarely there. she volunteers anywhere she can. she sets up signs at the gotham hospital to thank workers, she lends a hand to the gcpd a lot when they’re short on staff and need help. she shuts lockdown protests tf down on social media. because of how big her platform is on twitter, she uses it to post updates and information and just keep everyone well informed. she’s the only batfam member who contracted corona with serious symptoms, but that was in march and she’s tested negative for it now. recently she ordered specific masks for everyone in the family, including alfred ofc, and sent it to them as gifts. when she’s not out volunteering or helping, she stress bakes. a lot. it’s all recipes she actually learned from bruce and she safely hands out her sweets to essential workers.

alfred

he has abandoned all responsibilities. the waynes can clean up their own damn messes. he literally just chills, checks on cassie, plays the occasional board game with dick. sometimes he does leave just to drive around fairly empty gotham. he doesn’t get out of the car and still wears a mask so it’s all safe but it’s just to relax for a bit. he’s also invested pretty heavily into some podcasts.

jason

jason is having a breakdown. he keeps spray sunscreen by his bedside, so when he’s sad he can spray it into the air and get a whiff of it for seratonin, softly whispering “beach” to himself when he does. he has stubble climbing over his face, mismatched socks, and is in the most need of a haircut. he’s always falling asleep on the couch, the kitchen floor, by the pool. he keeps trying to make food (and he sucks at cooking) and has almost cut off his fingers everytime. now he has three bandaids on his right hand and two on his left. one’s normal, another is pokémon, there’s a lightning mcqueen one, a bright pink one, and another is batman themed. now he just tosses something, anything into the microwave and consumes it mindlessly. he doesn’t know the time, or what day it is. he likes to float face down in the pool until someone comes out and says “jason, it’s time to get out before you die” and he grudgingly does so, only to go and lie face down in the living room for a while.

[theodora3022]

Goddess(Yandere Mirio)

Posting again because weird internet connection last night ate it...

Pairing: (yandere?) Pro hero! Mirio x Villain? F!reader

Summary: You were once a powerful young hero with a wind quirk. After refusing Endeavor’s proposal, you were blacklisted from the hero community. Having no choice, you begun to work as an assassin. Slitting throats without hesitation as long as it is lucrative. That is when you run into Mirio, your former classmate again. You two were not close friends, although mirio is always friendly. He was ordered to take you down, so you expected a fierce fight. What you did not anticipate is how he invited you to come with him.

Notes: Yeah this is a Mirio take on the “Fairy” concept. I recently recieved a request for this, and I just want to say I am so happy you guys love this stupid little concept. Mirio still have his quirk in this fic, and Sir Night Eye is still alive. Reblogs are comments are greatly appreciated!!

You can also see this contains an pathetic attempt to write Endeavor, but I’m not cut out for that LMAO

Warnings: slight nsfw for hcs, abuse of power(not Mirio), stalking, non-con touching, suicide attempt, drugging

They say the loveliest angels make the cruelest demons, and my darling

You were so beautiful

Before they dragged you into hell.

“You’re going to regret this decision.” That was what Endeavor said when you hand him the resignation with a straight face. However, You do not feel any regret whatsoever. You stayed silent as you began to walk out of that damned office, that courrpted agency. Paying no mind the flame man’s burning gaze on your back.

When you first started at Endeavor’s agency, you were excited. As a fresh UA Graduate, it is unusual for a top hero like Endeavor himself to offer you a position as a sidekick. It almost feels too good to be true. Well, turns out it is.

Used to loose clothing, you were shocked when your boss requested you to change your hero costume to a tight bodysuit. Being the good employee you were, you obeyed without questions. Then there are those little things, how Endeavor seems to favor you over his other subordinates, how he finds excuses to keep you near him at all times, most alarmingly, how he looks at your breasts and hips when he thought you did not notice.

You had doubts, but your boss is the No.1 hero! How can he possibly have sexual desires for a little girl like you? So you choose to ignore those red flags and carried on. Until he cornered you against the office door one day, when you came to report a minor robber you took care of earlier.

That is when you realize how you naïve you were. “Fire and winds, they go well together don’t they? I’m sure a child with those two quirks would be a powerful hero.” “Don’t touch me!” You said, almost screaming. He was pressed to a corner of his office by sudden strong currents, banging on the bookshelf that occupies it. Several books fell off, but he did not seem to bother. Even with his strength Endeavor cannot move forward a step. That pissed off look scares you, but you did allow yourself to flinch despite your trembling hands.

“You have no idea how many woman would die for an oppertunity like this.” 

“Then go find them, Sir. Sorry but I will never accept this offer.”

And that is how you ended up as a sellsword, instead of a hero. You work to get paid.

Your friends use to muse about how your impeccable speed would be perfect for an assassin, and that is what you are now. Slithering in the shadows, taking life for gold. Heroes and villains alike commissioned you due to your stealthy quirk and your incredible speed.You would not exactly count yourself as a villain, although the LoV had made offers to you in the past. You walk in that grey area of society, neither good nor bad. After Endeavor blacklisted you, no agency dared to hire you. None of them are willing to evoke his wrath. This is all his plan to make you submit, to accept the position of his compliant trophy wife, his personal baby factory. But you did not give in, even that means rejections and pity from those other heroes.  At last when your saving run out, you took up the LoV’s commission offer. The pay is generous, and you were in need. It is a win-win deal. Ever since you have been taking up jobs from both sides as long as the pay is good.

Your fifteen-year-old UA freshman self would never imagine becoming an assassin, but here you are, shaking hands with Kurogiri as you take the rest of the payment. They wanted you to join them, but you politely declined. You liked Toga and Spinner well enough, but some heroic part of you still cannot stand the idea of becoming a villain.

Regardless of being a mercenary, you still have your principles and morals. Aside from those contracts, you never took a life. You would still give up your seat to pregnant and elderly on the train, still picking up trash in parks. After finishing a job, you would hum little melodies as you pull the hood of your sweater over your blood-stained hair, fly home, maybe getting groceries on the way. You are merciful at what you do, always strike one lethal blow so the target would have minimal pain. Life is not easy, but you are certain this is so much better then being trapped in a manor as a housewife. Occasionally, some sketchy bounty hunter would manage to get to you, although you can always outrun them.

Mirio has a problem. It was...about a mission, concerning you.

What lies on his desk, is a detailed file of you. You in the picture were still a hero back then, smiling at the camera. How can Mirio ever forget that sweet smile?

“If I’m not mistaken, (y/n) is your old schoolmate, correct?” “Yes, Sir.” “She has been lending strength to the League of Villains as a mercenary. That makes her a criminal, even though she takes up jobs from the commission as well. We need to get her back to our side, as her winds are strong, we cannot let the villains have that. Endeavor seem to be particularly enthusiastic about this idea, oddly. I think you should be the one to do it. You can pass through anything, even her winds. Find her, bring her back, use force if possible.”

Mirio always wondered what made you leave hero life, now he got the perfect opportunity to ask you! He has not seen you in forever, this could be a little cute reunion! To be perfectly honest to himself, Mirio had a minor crush on you back w in UA. But as students you both just focused on your studies, and he never confessed.

It took him a while to track down your whearabouts, but for Mirio it was not a hard task, as the Commission has your address of the bar you frequented to take up offers.

It was a cold night, you just finished a job in the rural area of Mustafu, cleansing your daggers in a little stream in the woods when he appeared before you. Damn, how did he approach you without the winds noticing?

To Mirio, how you crouch down by the stream, how your black clothes hugs every curve of your body and especially how you focused on washing the bloodstains off your knives were absolutely stunning. You were like the huntress goddess Artemis from the Greek legends, with how the moonlight gently pooling over your frame. It might sound weird, getting turned on by a girl washing her daggers, but Mirio somehow accepts the fact that his juvenile crush has not gone away. On the contrary, it has become stronger, strong enough to be classified as love or obsession.

Now he knows why Endeavor has been so enthusiastic about the idea of capturing you. Mirio can hardly take his eyes off you himself! You were even more breathtaking in your pitch-black assassin attire compare to your hero costume. As he always loves a good mythology story, seeing you like this awaken something in him. A beautiful goddess, through and through.

You are his goddess! How can you taint your hands with blood while you can be worshipped in the temples? Being a mercenary does not suit you. 

“Togata, what a surprise.” Seeing your old classmate again, you are more concerned then happy. This is a remote location, far away from any population, and he just sneaked up on you without notice. He laughs as he sees how you work up a defensive wind barrier, knowing it has no effect on permeation. Back in your schooldays he has always been a pain to defeat, since Mirio can even pass through air, your usual push away methods fail on him alone. Thankfully, he cannot fly. “Long time no see. Well, what brings you to this part of town?” Putting away your daggers back into your leather pouch, you managed to put up a polite smile even you dreaded his answer. If he is one of those bounty hunters-

“I came to see you, of course! You are so beautiful in these clothes.” Without warning, Mirio stepped close, the wind barrier does nothing to him. If this has been a normal reunion party, his words might just make you flush a bit. But this is a secluded forest.

Before you can think of a counter strategy, two big strong arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you close towards the grinning blonde. You let out a scream as you try to wiggle out of his grasp, but it was futile. As a ranged combatant with high speed, strength was never your forte, neither is close up combat.

Why are you screaming? Don’t you see how he just want you to be treated well? This life is not for you! You deserve a loving family life, and Mirio is determined to provide that.

“Love, please do not scream. I don’t want to use a gag on you.” When you were distracted by his loving nickname, Mirio quickly slid a pair of quirk cancelling handcuffs on you.

“Let me go! Togata why are you doing this?” You are sure he has taken up the role of a bounty hunter. To your surprise, he released you from his clutches. But you were horrified to find your quirk has been restricted by those damned cuffs.

“Did Endeavor send you? I always know he is a piece of garbage, but you? Who can make my quirk useless?” Slowly backing away, trembling, you knew there is no change you can outrun Lemillion without your winds. Guess that is the end of free life. You rather be dead then be in Endeavor’s home. A quick slit can get the job done.

However, Mirio would never allow you to die. Before you can reach for your blades, he snatched the pouch out of your hands. “Endeavor? No, no. I’m not taking you to him. Don’t hurt yourself, angel.”

A wave of relief wash over you, then you hear Mirio’s words: “I’m taking you home, the commission has ordered me to make sure you don’t make any more deals with villains, and I agree. You deserve a peaceful life.”

Those are the last words you hear before blacking out from a strange, sweet scent. “Sorry to do this, my sweet, but you need to calm down and come home with me.”

As he held your unconscious body in his arms, Mirio promised himself that he will treasure you and give you the treatment you deserve. He finally found his goddess, he is not going to let go, never.

Bonus head canons:

You would wake up in Mirio’s fancy apartment, quirk cancelling collar around your neck, with mirio hugging you from behind in bed. His breath tickles your neck in the most terrifying way.

“Love, you’re finally awake! I was worrying about you overdosing.” That big smile, used to be a sign or reassurance during school days, now is a sight worthy for nightmares.

You would start kicking and screaming, wanting to get away from him.

“Togata let me go!” Your squirms are less then useless without your winds, but you have to try.

“It’s Mirio, lovely. Now how about we get you changed? I got you some pretty lingerie~”

You would shake your head and bite him, which...would result in him getting mad.

“I know it’s not right to use drugs, but you got to understand I did this all for you! That life is too dirty for someone like you, you deserved to be cherished. Lucky for you I am here to tend to all your needs.”

“But I- “ “No buts, sweetness. Now how about you get into one of those pretty outfits and show me how grateful you are? I did spare you that awful mercenary life, after all.”

You were not given a choice. Well, at least he cannot be worse then Endeavor, right? You can only gulp and comply, terrified of the alternative.

“My precious goddess...” He pulls you close, buring his nose in your hair. “I’m going to worship you so well that you forget about everything else.”

[enkelimagnus]

Hardwood

Bucky Barnes Gen, 2393 words, rated T

Jewish Bucky Barnes, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Episode 5 Truth

Bucky decides to make his Brooklyn house a little more of a home for him, to his taste. A worried neighbor comes a-knocking.

TW: mention of murder of children (brief)

Read on AO3

Part 35 of Making a Home - the Jewish Bucky series

--------------

Three days after he comes home from Delacroix, Bucky grabs a frayed edge of carpet from his bedroom floor and pulls. It comes off with a loud tearing sound, but he just keeps pulling, effortlessly baring the hardwood underneath.

He doesn’t really know why he does it. He just sees the edge and pulls and he’s halfway down the room when he realizes the furniture is definitely on the way, and if he wants to do this, he’s going to have to plan it out. You don’t just redecorate this easily.

At least as far as he knows.

He’s never done this before. His parents’ home had stayed the same through his entire life, as far as he knew. Furniture was moved once a year before Passover, when they cleaned the place from top to bottom. And after that, he’d been through many safehouses, but his handlers had never had sudden desires to redecorate.

He doesn’t really know where to start. He knows he can’t remove the entire carpeting without taking out the furniture of the bedroom. He knows the color of the walls is horrible and he wants to change that. He knows that, by himself, it’s going to be an ordeal. But he doesn’t really know who to ask for help.

Miriam is way too old, he doesn’t have that good of a relationship with Charlie, and there is no way in hell he’s letting any of his coworkers remotely close to his personal life. So he’s going to do it by himself. One room by one room, probably.

Still, he uses his left arm to pull the bed off of the ground and the other one to pull the carpeting off from under it.

He guesses being a supersoldier has some advantages in this sort of situation.

It doesn’t take long for the entire hardwood floor of the bedroom to be bare, for the loud ripping noises that came with his hard, powerful pulls. The carpet won’t be usable anymore but he doesn’t care. He’ll throw it in the trash anyway.

Nothing Hydra touched should be given to someone else. It all deserves to burn.

He’s tired of this house feeling so much like a safehouse. He wants to change things, he wants it to be his house, not Hydra’s, on more levels than just legal. He wants to truly live here. It’s his, and he can do whatever he wants with it. He could have it bulldozed if he felt like it, but he doesn’t. He wants a home.

He’s halfway through ripping off the first guest room’s carpet when the doorbell rings.

It startles him. No one ever rings his doorbell. No one comes to see him. He’s lived there for a couple months now, and not once has that bell rang. He forgets for a brief instant that he’s holding the entire bed up with one hand.

Somehow, he manages to catch the heavy bed frame before it crashes into the floor and damages it.

Despite the surprise someone is ringing, Bucky takes the time to pull on his gloves. He’s already wearing a long-sleeved tshirt, and with the gloves on, no one can see the arm. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be fully comfortable in the open, in the daylight, with the arm out, even if it isn’t Hydra’s anymore.

He should probably get used to people knowing who he is. Anonymity isn’t something he’s allowed. Not after Berlin, not after the war with Thanos, not after Riga. Before all of that, no one would have recognized him. Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s right hand, was supposed to be long dead. The only Howling Commando to lose his life in the service of his country.

Now, if no one sees the arm, he can still pass for just another white man with a vague resemblance to someone that was one tv a couple of times. That’s all he can really have.

There’s no use in raging against it. The past couple of decades of the rise of social media has made it impossible for him to be erased. Zemo knew what he was doing in Vienna.

The person behind the door is breathing steadily. They don’t seem to be filled with adrenaline, not with that relatively calm heartbeat. There is no telltale sign of aggression or preparation for violence. Bucky swallows, takes a deep breath and opens the door.

Behind the wooden panel is his neighbor. They’re tall, relatively thin, with hair so short it’s more like a five o’clock shadow spreading over their skull. They smile at him. Bucky stares. He doesn’t mean to. He doesn’t know if he’s ever seen his neighbor in the daylight.

“Hi there, I’m your neighbor,” they say, pointing towards their door, as if Bucky hasn’t recognized the one person that knows when he goes running from his nightmares. “I heard some strange noise, everything’s okay?”

Bucky keeps staring for a moment. He didn’t think the ripping of the carpeting would be loud enough to attract attention. But he was wrong. He didn’t imagine it would sound stranger than his occasional nightly shouts of terror or pain.

He quickly gets back to reality as the neighbor in front of him stares back with a smile.

“Hi,” he ends up saying. “Hm, I was… I was pulling the carpeting off of my bedroom floor. Nothing to worry about.”

It’s strange, having neighbors that seem to care whether you’re dying a strange horribly, ripping death. Or maybe they’re worried he’s killing someone, or doing some other horrible thing he would have done as the Winter Soldier.

Either way, this person’s presence in front of him right now is peculiar. It makes him think of Mrs Naumescu, his parents’ left neighbor, who would come knocking whenever she heard something that worried her.

There had been a couple of nights where Bucky had snuck back in, sometimes with Steve, sometimes after dropping Steve off at his own place, where she had heard him come in and come knocking to warn his parents of an intruder, or scare away said intruder. She’d had a baseball bat in her hand - her son’s.

Hopefully this neighbor won’t be as worried for his safety.

“Do you need help?” they ask, and Bucky stares at them again, bewildered. He wasn’t expecting to be asked such a thing. He wasn’t expecting anyone to want to help.

“I’m pretty strong…” He starts, and then stops.

He can do it alone. But he could also take the offered help, for once. There’s an outstretched hand. What horrible thing can they do to him that hasn’t already been done? He knows better than to dismiss them as just a neighbor - after all, he knows plenty of very common and innocent-looking spies. But what harm can actually be done to him?

“You know anything about hardwood floors?”

For the rest of the morning, Bucky keeps the gloves on. There are only a couple of instances of him displaying strength that is just on the edge of unusual, but they don’t comment on it. They do exchange names and - to Bucky’s surprise - pronouns.

The neighbor’s name is Olly and they use they/them pronouns. To his own shame, he has to be given an explanation on what that means. He’s so deeply out of touch with that part of the world. A part of the world that he supposedly belongs in, according to today’s definitions. Because Steve was a man, and even if he’s the only man Bucky ever willingly wanted, it still counts.

It should have been a fluke, a one-off. It shouldn’t have counted if it was only Steve. But it does, supposedly. Bucky doesn’t know much about that.

They work fast, get the carpeting out of the two other guest rooms as well as the corridor. Turns out, Olly knows how to take care of hardwood floors. They know a lot of stuff about remodeling and house work. They end up establishing together a list of items needed to properly finish the job, and do what Bucky actually wants for his home.

Bucky makes them sandwiches for lunch, with pastrami, mustard and pickles. It’s a cliché perhaps, but it’s delicious. There are a couple of beers in his fridge.

“You’re good at all of this,” Bucky says, swallowing a mouthful of pastrami. It’s a little too dry. He misses the butcher he went to as a kid. His pastrami was amazing. He hasn’t been able to find one that compares with his memories yet. “Is it what you do for a living? House renovation?"

They chuckle, shaking their head. "Oh wow, no, not at all. I’m a social worker,” they explain. Social worker. Bucky remembers those people growing up. They were trying to fix problems, especially with the crash. “When my partner, our friends and I renovated the house,” they continue, pointing towards the wall between their two houses. “We learned a few things. What do you do?"

It takes a moment for Bucky to figure out actually how to phrase it. "Military contractor."

That’s the closest he can think. He’s contracted by the military, somewhat. They did make him sign a contract, to regulate what had already been outlined by his pardon agreement.

"Like an engineer?"

Of course they’re polite and curious. Bucky would be as well. He could just come out and say it. I’m the Winter Soldier and one of the reasons I walk free is that I work to clean up Hydra’s messes. He doesn’t know how public the conditions of his pardon are.

Once again, he struggles to explain what it is he does without saying it out right.

“I guess I provide intelligence? And experience."

Phrased that way, it sounds nice. That’s what he does though, it’s not a lie. It feels… almost pleasant to be able to say it that way. He provides information on how Hydra works, experience on how the safehouses are set up… A fist too. When they break into a safehouse, he’s always first. He’s hard to kill, after all.

And maybe… just maybe, some of his higher-ups wouldn’t mind if he died on a mission. They’d tell the place he went out trying to fix what he’d done.

Sometimes, that phrasing ‘fixing what he’d done’ chokes him up. It’s the way Lieutenant General Henricksen talks about the work he makes him do. Henricksen believes it was his fault. Of course he does.

It makes sense. People have no idea what it is like to be brainwashed. They have seen movies and video games and read books about it. They have no idea what it is actually like. They have no idea how it feels.

He remembers all of it, and he remembers pulling the trigger. Sometimes because he was directly ordered to by a handler - something that was impossible for him to resist doing. Sometimes because it was what was required to complete the mission - like with the son and daughter of the Algerian FLN commander that were sleeping in their beds.

He could have disobeyed all the orders in the second category. He never did. Not until Steve.

He must have zoned out thinking about the horrible things he’s done, because Olly clears their throat.

“And if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get this house? It’s been empty for years, we always wondered what was going on with it.”

That’s, again, a really hard question to answer without saying the truth. Bucky’s not even supposed to tell the truth about his work. That’s not his job. He doesn’t work on communication.

“Inheritance?” It comes out more like a question than anything else.

So much about his life is… unexplainable. It’s like all he has to share with the world is a heavily redacted file.

Most of it is of his own doing, he realizes. He’s the one who doesn’t want people to know exactly who he is, what he’s done. The only things he is actually forbidden to talk about are the specifics of his high-profile, governmental kills, as well as his ongoing missions with the army. The rest…

He could just say that this is an ex-Hydra safehouse and he got it through work. He could just say he’s working with the army to break into Hydra properties and recover what they took from the government while they were hiding behind the SHIELD insignia.

There would be questions, of course. What of the non-governmental resources they took? That goes to various archive buildings all over the U.S., to be tagged, processed and gather dust until their rightful owners pipe up. There are a lot of items waiting for people who don’t know they’re missing something.

Olly seems to accept Bucky’s cryptic and hesitant answer. Thank G-d. Bucky doesn’t know what he would have said if they kept prying. He guesses it’s selfish. He knows he can’t finish the job by himself, and telling Olly the truth would surely make them run out of the house.

They finish lunch and Bucky makes a pot of coffee. It’s when he turns back to face Olly that his eyes catch the picture he framed on the wall when he got there.

The picture of Steve and him on the front lines, in Europe. The postcard from the Smithsonian. Both of their faces, smiling wide. As far as Bucky knows, there aren’t any images of Steve smiling that way, wide and open and carefree even in the middle of the war, from after he was unfrozen in 2012.

Perhaps because he just didn’t have time to smile like this anymore. Perhaps because this was his Bucky smile. The smile Bucky knew he only smiled for him, and because of him. The best, most beautiful smile in the world.

In any case, there is no way Olly didn’t see the picture. There is no way they don’t know who he is now, even without seeing the arm. They haven’t said anything.

Bucky reaches over and pulls his right glove off, revealing skin. It takes all the strength in his mind and body to take off the other one, revealing vibranium.

He usually never takes the gloves off in front of someone when he isn’t playing soldier. But he is in his home. He shouldn’t have to hide himself here.

[popculturebuffet]

Simpsons Review: Simpsons Comics #102 “Uncle Burn$” or Homercore Nudity!

Whelp out of all the commissions Kev has thrown me this one’s kind of a curveball. I mean it makes sense why cover it: It’s a pastiche of Donald Duck Comics done in the pages of the Simpsons long running comics. I cover duck stuff on here, and not only do I love the Simpsons but I tend to reference it for jokes a LOT. I just genuinely never thought of reviewing it till now, likely because earlier on in my new career of reviewing animated shows, I wasn’t really convinced I could do pure comedies. With my regular reviews of Darkwing Duck and as it comes out coverage of the Loud House (I still need to get around to Band Together), that’s no longer a real issue and I should consider doing the show in the future, especially since I have an unabashed love for the first 10 seasons and a few episodes beyond that. 

As you can tell, I love the Simpsons. While I do genuinely wish it would end and have no real intrest in the current seasons, though if you’d like me to take a look i’d be willing to. The show in it’s prime was funny, witty and each episode was crammed with jokes. And refreshingly for an adult cartoon show of it’s time,  the show genuinely wasn’t afraid to mix things up: Milhouse’s parents divorced and stayed that way for so long that them apparently getting back together decades later is itself a huge status quo shake up.  Lisa went Vegetarian which stuck thanks to sir paul mcartney, and then went Buddhist, both of which have never wavered since and both fit her well. Skinner and Krabbable started dating. Barney went sober for a few seasons. Apu got married. These are minor changes but the show does have things happen occasionally and doesn’t just snap everything back and it adds genuine tension to plots knowing they might stay the status quo They usually don’t but the occasional change gives things stakes. I could go on for days, but I couldn’t go on for 8 weeks, point is the Simpsons are awesome, and deserve the praise they get early on I just wish they’d stop as by this point people really have stopped carring and it’s time to pass the torch and Let Bob’s burgers be the wholesome family comedy that runs forever.. and even then that one should stop at 10 seasons. Or if not at least let the kids age dammit.  But that aside, while many of you simpsons fans looking at this probably have at least seen the comics, or a collection of them over the decades, many of you like me are wondering what the hell Bongo Comics is and how they managed to last so long. Bongo was founded by Simpsons Creator Matt Groening in 1993. Matt Groening had noticed that at the time there just weren’t any funny books on the shelves, funny books being comedy based comics primarily targeted for kids, with Archie and Disney being really the only ones left at the time. So he founded Bongo to rectify that, and given Fox naturally liked the sound of more merchandising dollars, the publisher was primarily used to produce simpsons comics, though looking at wikipedia there were one or two that weren’t including, of all things, a Coldplay comic tying into their album. Why did Coldplay publish a comic book at a primarily simpsons comic book company?

Though most series seem to be either short lived or one shots, there were a few exceptions: Naturally the company put out an annual Treehouse of Horror issue, there was a Bart Simpson ongoing focusing on him and the other kids of Springfield, I had a trade for that one once, and once Futurama premiered it too got a comic book that held through both cancelations. But standing above them all was Simpsons Comics, a 245 issue long runner that ran all the way up to the company’s closing, likely due to a combination of a lack of profits and the then upcoming Disney-Fox merger depriving them of the very heart and soul of the company. 

Naturally being a Simpsons fan I have a connection to these comics having gotten the trades out of the library multiple times as well as the collection of Bartman’s solo series, which was my favorite and I might cover some day. In addition to the Free Comic Book Day issues i also picked up scattered issues over my life since, much like Archie, Simpsons comics were a mainstay of bookstores and super markets and the decline of both comic markets is likely why the Simpsons comics started to peter out in the first place. The quality and memorability of the stories varied but they were a fun thing to have around and it’s sad to see them go, as well as see Disney not even make a remote attempt to bring them back or at the very least republish the vast library they now have access to. Also finally if your wondering yes, there indeed was a Simpsons/Futurama crossover. And no I have not read it.  So with that history, most of which I just learned some of which I already knew, in mind, it is very fitting the comic’s did a tribute to the Uncle Scrooge comics. Though it does feel very weird that I have yet to cover any Donald Duck or Scrooge comics.. yet i’ve already covered one of the Ducktales tie in comics and a Simpsons homage to it. I’m going to have to correct that but until then, join me under the cut as I dive into adventure with the Simpsons. 

This issue was written by Ian Boothby and drawn by John Delaney, I feel mentiong the writers and artists should be important in comic reviews and I kick myself for not having done that or gone into them as much before. Boothby was apparently the Ian Flynn of these comics, writing more simpsons comics than any other writer according to wikipedia and winning an Eisner for his work on the comic if sadly not this issue. He was nominated for an outstanding Canadian Writer award for it though so that’s good. Point is the guy is a decorated vetran of this series and it shows in how good this issue is and I felt he deserved some recognition as most Comic Book Readers, myself included up till now, likely weren’t aware he even existed nor took over the comic in the 2000′s. 

We open with Burns getting attacked by a mummy! Gotta say wasn’t expecting this as where we started out but the simpsons have started with wonkier premises to end up somewhere. I mean there was the time a bag boy strike ended up with them in Africa. Also i’d say Burns should call the police, being the kind of privileged white guy they actually care about protecting and all, but frankly the Springfield Cops don’t have the best track records with Mummies:

But no it’s just Smithers, who dove in heroically to save the company 15 dollars after Homer took a bet to see how many fire crackers he could jam in his computer’s disk drive. Lenny said 20 but he proved him wrong. And yes those are all actual jokes from the comic, this issue is very funny and feels very much like a Golden Age Simpsons episode. They also all gather to sign Smither’s cast.. which naturally is a legally binding contract.  Burns takes his loyal minion to get some quality medical care only to find an arcade because he traded the Medical Bay in for one during an outbreak of Pac Man Fever... again I really can’t top that and there may be a good reason why I haven’t covered the Simpsons till now. But yeah as Buns gives Smithers a roll of Pennies, he wonders who to have replace Smither’s on their annual summer treasure hunt.. which would come out of nowhere but we genuinely don’t know what they do most summers. I assumed Burns just road Smithers like a horse to play cricket while Smithers enjoyed it way too much. But a stray comment from Homer getting a Krusty Doll from a crane machine about being king of the treasure hunters leads to this. 

I mean it’s an easy joke but damn if it didn’t get a laugh out of me. So later at the old Simpsons place, because this comic is fantastic, Marge and Homer talk things over, but Homer insists Burns said he’d split the treasure, and Lisa wishes she could come along. And Marge says he should, especially for his own saftey.. and when Bart complains, says all the kids should go, she already packed their bags, she’s heading to Rancho Relaxo byyyyeeeeeee. Once again, this comic is amazing, and I would say this is out of character for Marge, but frankly that’s the whole point. Plus it really isn’t when she has to deal with 4 children on a regular basis, and her sisters, and a town gone mad.. yeah can’t blame her here. 

The next day at Burns Office, Homer is wearing his navy outfit.. or rather Donald’s Navy outfit. But given I did a quick google and found him having at least 4 different outfits during his time in the Naval Reserves, it’s not a stretch to assume the Simpsons Version of the Navy gave these out too. Seriously Ian Boothby has put more thought into continuity than most writers on the show proper. Also Simpsons Tide, season 9 episode, still very memorable and hilarious and not due to childhood nostalgia. Just looking up this bit had me laughing hard. 

I now  want to watch that episode sometime soon so thanks Kev. Anyway Homer seems to have misplaced his plants. Now I could spare you the image since I don’t do things panel by panel anymore and only use panels from a comic when relevant. Buttttt

This traumatizing of my audience brings me to a point about this issue and why it works. While there are tons of nods to the Donald Duck comics and what their homaging is very clear, the issue doesn’t REQUIRE you know them to enjoy it.  Knowing them I obviously enjoy it more, but most of the jokes aren’t reliant on you knowing anything about the barks comics and even someone with a passing knowledge of  the Original Ducktales can still get the reference if not why Donald is here. It helps this is less of a parody, with the exception of some jokes, and more of an homage, using stylistic elements of those comics while telling i’ts own story as a loving tribute to it’s predecessors. Speaking of one of those jokes poking fun at the source material, Burns is delighted Homer brought child labor, which kept me laughing for a good minute, and when the kids introduce themselves we get this bit. 

Not only am I 100% sure every version of Donald or Della did this to make sure they could tell them apart, very much including the reboot with Donald, but it’s a genuine hilarious bit. Donald’s response as they head off is “there’s somehting hooey Dewey and screwy about this. “ Also I will criticize the fact Bart isn’t the one wearing a blue outfit. For those wondering why, after all Maggie wears blue shouldn’t she get it, who haven’t seen this a LOT of merchandise early on had Bart in a blue shirt, due to early Merch being rushed out pre-show and since he wore one in some earlier concept art, he got to wear blue. He also wore it late into the 90′s. 

Sidebar: I just found this and while it isn’t a bad joke given his character it is  questionable to have a fourth grade boy tell you to buy him. Just saying. But the reason I bring it up is partly because the show itself referenced it at one point. 

As well as it’s sister show Futurama

And you remeber that Bart Simpson solo I mentioned? That one frequently, both in and out of story, had Blue Shirt bart show up for some variety. 

Also why yes each issue does have it’s own fun “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Oleson” Esque subtitle. And I love it so. Point is Blue Bart is part of the series legacy and this very comic company, so it’s VERY weird to not have that here. That being said there were  a few Green Shirt barts apparently as a printing error, so he could just as easily be 80 steps ahead of me. I just don’t know. 

Back at the plot Burns and the Simpsons show up at Frink’s lab, Frink rather obviously filling in for Gyro, with his own version of little bulb named F.L.O. who gladly shakes Lisa’s hand.. and releases a Pterodactyl but hey you can’t win em all. It’s a nice nod, though one only fans of the source matieral will really get, but the pterodactyl bit right after helps distract from it. Frink slotts into the roll well, as Frink has no reall affiliation with anyone and is basically, much like Gyro, there for various characters to go too when the story or joke needs him. Frink has two gadgets for them: Some Scuba suits that can go to any depth and a grappling claw that accidently gets him gripped to the pterodactyl. Also homer accidently switches suits with maggie, so we get an adorable shot of her serenely sleeping in a diving helmet while her daddy chokes to death. 

So the next day it’s out to the open seas where The Simpsons are doing all the work while Burns lounges.. which yeah this is a typical uncle scrooge adventure all right. While the man unlike Burns does work hard and do things for himself, he spent most voyages talking about the destination while putting all the hard work on Donald, in case you thought there was at least one universe where Donald isn’t miserable most of the time. Lisa wonders what he’s doing and we get this lovely bit. 

I just.. can’t stop finding that hilarious or a nice way to get the Uncle Scrooge bit in there while still fitting the Simpsons, and it at least explains what happened to Herb, whose been mentioned all of once in the 30 seasons since he last showed up. I checked. And yes for those unaware, which is fair, or who just now remembered Homer does indeed have a brother, one his dad had out of an affair who showed up twice, once with Homer unintentionally, and largely due to Herb’s own foolishness, ruining his life, the other time with Maggie helping him get back on top and him and Homer reconciling. He’s also voiced by comedic legend and your friend and mine, Danny Devito, whose still making us all laugh to this day and is a wonderful person from all accounts. Rock on Danny, here’s the only way I can think to honor you. 

But yeah it’s a good gag. Burns claims to be watching for a Giant Squid.. and turns out to be right. So it’s up to the simpsons to fight the giant squid, a sentence I genuinely didn’t expect.. I thought like the Griffins they’d just ignore it. 

I miss that show.. oh i’m aware Family Guy is still running but much like the Simpsons the show it USED to be is long gone. Anyways Bart tells a worried homer octopus suck out the innards and drink it first quipping “It’s not like you haven’t been drunk in the morning before homer. Homer chokes bart only for the squid to choke him which is easily the second best “Homer getting choked after Choking bart” gag i’ve seen.. the best being this one I found on youtube. 

Though personally my faviorite part of that whole bit is Bart’s proud “THAT’S BECAUSE I SOAKED HIM IN SLIME!” Anyways Lisa figures out a way to beat the squid, painting the likeness of each of them on it’s tentacles and letting the thing devour itself. Lisa lampshades it making no sense PHysics wise but with that she reluctantly accepts calling Mr. Burns, Uncle Burns and we’re off to our next location.  Next up is Mt. Donrosa, a very clear nod to Uncle Scrooge maestro Keno “Don” Rosa, an avid fan of Barks work who expanded on it and turned it into a solid continuity, most famously, and what got me into the ducks in the first place, with the epic “Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck” which I proudly own and.. well I did say watch this space didn’t I?  Enough hinting at the future as the Simpsons scale the mountain with Homer carrying burns up on a rickshaw. Burns however looses his lucky #1 penny, SUBTLE, and cuts Bart down to get it. We then get the best line of the issue:

Bart thankfully survives and we find out the Penny, much like Scrooge’s Dime is how Burns started his fortune.. for this issue and nowhere else but that’s standard for the Simpsons. Specifically loading it into a gun and threatning to kill Jasper’s grandfather with it during the gold rush, a nice twist. At the top of the mountain they find the fabled key of Strobl, which comes from the Taliaferro tribe.. more refrenes this time though I didn’t know them and had to google. Tony Strobl was an artist on the Duck Comics at one ponit  and Al Taliforino id forgotten about. He did the Donald Duck comic strip which I had heard of and weirdly hasn’t been collected yet despite Fantagraphics covering mickey, as well as reprinting barks and rosa’s respective works. 

The key is suspended in the air by what Lisa suspects to be magnetics, and while Burns plan is naturally “Have Bart swim in it and see if he surivives”, Bart, still pissed from the penny and not wanting to die today, grabs the Penny and uses his slingshot to fire it at the Key. The bad luck from the penny casues an erruption, but Bart once again saves the day and has them surf down, with naturally tons more great jokes.  The family enjoys some steamed Seafood, except Lisa whose eating Seaweed, while Homer enjoys a sting ray “It tastes as good as it stings, Ow, Ow.” ON to Goddfrodson Trench, an odd choice given Floyd Goddfrodson was barks equivalent for the Mickey Mouse Comics and not really a duck writer, but he still deserves the honor regardless.  Under the Sea, no accusations just friendly crustaceans here.. our heroes are close to the treasure but loose the map to the Jailbird Boys, aka Snake and his cousins, who found out due to Lisa’s blog. She didn’t want to loose any more readers to Sheri and Teri’s Olson Twin’s Fan Page.. which.. it’s 2004.. weren’t they dead by this point? Nope still alive? Still are today in fact? Alrighty then. Also this bit, and some of the other references are a bit heavy handed, I will admit that, but the jokes are high quality enough otherwise that it just comes off as a bit of an adorable wink more than laziness. 

Snake and co cut their air with Starfish used as throwing stars. 

The gang tie their air suplies to avoid dying, and Maggie, in a clever bit, talks with the starfish, since they communicate via sucking, to attack the Jailbird Boys. Again.. 

I genuinely don’t know, but our heroes find the fabled vault of Barks Billion.. named after Bark Barks, that polar bear from the sonic games.. no of course it’s named after Disney Duck God Carl Barks, who created the Duck’s share of Donald and Scrooge’s supporting cast: Uncle Scrooge himself, Daisy Duck, a fact I just learned but given he created her first short “Mr Duck Steps Out, shouldn’t of surprised me, The Beagle Boys, Magica DeSpell, Goldie O Gilt, Flintheart Glomgold, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander, The Junior Woodchucks as a whole, Neighbor Jones, John D. Rockerduck, The Number One Dime, Gus Goose, April, May, June and Whitewater Duck. Just the sheer impact he’s had on the comics on all continents cannot be overstated. He is also the one who refined Huey Dewey and Louie from hellraising little shits to the good little boys they are today.. well okay they were, thankfully the reboot has created much better versions. Point is what a man, what a man what a mighty good man, he is truly missed.  We get two great homer gags in the same page, one where somehow he’s put the giant key on a key ring and still can’t find it.. with Bart helpfully taking it from him, and then we get this, which I missed on my first read through. 

Naturally Burns betrays them, using a Gold Magnet, kay, to suck up all the gold and naturally planning to leave the Simpsons for dead to no one’s surprise. But thanks to Bart teaching Maggie how to use the spittoons, Homer gets one stuck on his head.. and starts getting sucked up with the Simpsons using them to escape. Naturally Lisa’s first instinct is obvious. 

But Burns weasels his way out by promising them free gold after their free lunch. Naturally the next day this turns out ot be a trick as their lunch came from frinks and thus, for now, their weightless.. but Karma gets Burns when he tries swimming in his new gold vault... only for the natural result of what happens when am an who never exercises and who doctors once described as having so many diseases packed into his body at once they tripped each other off and that a strong wind could kill him, trying to do with a similarly aged but still physically fit and well trained at swimming in money man does on a daily basis. 

We then close on a quick gag of weightless homer getting caught on fire and we’re out. 

Final Thoughts:  This was a really excellent comic. It captured the tone of the Simpsons at their best and while stiff in a place here or there, it’s mostly just really funny, entertaining and a nice and warm tribute to Donald and Scrooge’s long comics history, not really mocking it but instead just homaging it, while still throughly feeling like the Simpsons. It honestly feels like the Treehouse of Horor Segement on the shining, a bit that parodies something, but for the most part the jokes still feel firmly rooted in the simpsons and their cast. This was a treat to review and i’m glad Kev comissoned it and I may take a look at more Simpsons in the future. If you guys like this review, you can follow me on patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet, or if  there’s a specific simpsons or ducktales episode or a specific comic you want me to review, you can comission your own review for just five bucks. Just send me a direct message on here through Tumblr, or take a look at my ask box or submit. However you want to do it. I take payments through paypal and until next time: Happy Days are Here Again. 

[toho-literature]

Perfect Memento in Strict Sense: Pages 121-124 - Heroic Legends: Sakuya Izayoi

Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion

Sakuya Izayoi

Occupation: Maid

Ability: Manipulation of time

Residence: Scarlet Devil Mansion

The live-in maid at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

The only human who lives in the house where devils dwell and leader of the maids.

A mysterious girl who works in a place that normal humans don't dare approach.

Nobody had ever seen her before she started working at the mansion.

Furthermore, she is ever an ally of youkai, and is cold-hearted towards human villagers who visit the mansion.

This suggests that she might not be a human from Gensokyo, but rather one from the outside or a completely different world.

As she has no close relations with anyone in the human village, she is still shrouded in mystery.

She does come to the village to shop though, carrying a refined atmosphere around herself. She is never seen showing hostility towards other humans on such occasions (*1).

Ability

She has the ability to manipulate time.

It is among the strongest of abilities for a human to possess, and is not something that can be learned through training.

Manipulating time allows one to stop the flow of time and let only oneself move, to slow the flow of time and let oneself move at incredible speeds, or increase the flow of time and change apple juice to apple cider.

However, it is generally rather difficult to revert things that have already happened.

Things that have been destroyed, burnt down, eaten, etc. can not be returned to normal even if time is reversed.

Reversing time only has an effect to the extent that things that have been moved return to their original position.

Effectively, you can say there is no reversing time.

In addition, her ability can be used to manipulate space, as well.

Slowing down time also means to contract space, and hastening means to expand it.

She uses this marvelous ability to perform a great many tasks such as cleaning, laundry and cooking.

Besides that ability, she is skilled in knife throwing and conjuration.

It's said that with one knife throw from a distance of 20 ken far above her, she could hit a fairy maid with an apple on her head right between the eyes.

With her tricks, she makes things appear in her hand which should have held nothing (*2).

The Maids of the Scarlet Devil Mansion

The Scarlet Devil Mansion's policy regarding maids is quantity over quality, and they are somehow able to accomodate all of the fairy maids in their employ.

She is the only human maid among them, and as the head maid she gives orders to the fairy maids.

The fairy maids are mostly useless.

They are sufficiently occupied in cleaning their own uniforms and making their own food (*3).

About the only thing worth saying about these maids is that they basically have no pay or vacation, but they receive food and tea, and can do whatever else they please.

They are free to leave and regain their posts, as well.

The fairy maids' lives are comparatively comfortable, and if they can come to enjoy their masters' occasional impossible requests, almost none choose to run away.

In contrast, the chief maid's job is severe.

As her duties include cleaning the labyrinthine interior of the mansion, taking care of its selfish master, managing the useless maids, going out to buy supplies in the human village and making pointlessly gorgeous meals, she has no time to rest.

It would be impossible to do all this work alone without being able to stop time.

Her True Face

Since the maids at the Scarlet Devil Mansion receive no time off, they have no private life. Thus, her character is not well known.

It is unknown why she works in the house where devils dwell, and why the vampires trust her.

It appears that she is not being forced to work by the vampires.

She even seems to possess a certain degree of power in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and can sometimes give orders to the vampires.

It's still unknown whether the vampires sought out the services of her extraordinary powers, or whether she herself asked for the position of head maid at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

In addition, it is said that the name she bears now was given to her by the vampires, and is not her true name.

According to one theory, she was a vampire hunter from the outside world or another world (*4), and followed the vampires into the Scarlet Devil Mansion to try to slay them, but was defeated instead.

The reasoning behind this theory is that the silver knives she wields are those used for slaying vampires, and also because of the abilities the vampires possess.

She had left for a remote location to train in slaying vampires.

While she was skilled in defeating smaller demons, she had never tried her hands on a vampire.

However, she had great confidence in her powers, and thought she would be able to defeat a weakened vampire easily herself, and, setting out on a journey to slay vampires.

Then once she reached the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she saw the vampire there who looked so young but was surprisingly strong, and was easily defeated instead.

The vampire, wanting Sakuya's power for herself, spared her and gave her a new name, which also gave her a completely opposite fate (*5).

From that point on she immediately became the vampires' servant, and since she had strong abilities, she was able to reach the position of head maid and even take a right-hand position alongside the vampires.

Later, the Scarlet Devil Mansion relocated to Gensokyo, but she felt it clashed with the odd environment here (*6), so at first she resisted against the vampires and the humans of Gensokyo.

However, upon seeing the vampire whom she could not defeat easily beaten by a human from Gensokyo, and that they both got along as if nothing had ever happened afterwards, she slowly began to open herself towards those around her.

Nowadays, it seems that something has broken through her facade, and while she still allies herself with the vampires, she has been more proactive in encountering humans.

However, it's possible that the vampire who manipulates fate planned for everything to be this way from the beginning.

What do you think of that theory?

Also there are many theories such as ones suggesting she is actually a Homunculus, a zombie or simply just an eccentric, but the most widely believed theory is the vampire hunter theory detailed above.

She claims to be in her late teens, but this is unlikely judging by her refined manner and the level of her abilities. Rather, she seems to be a human who has been living for hundreds of years (*7).

*1: Though she appears to act outright hostile while at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, this is likely because she is acting in her capacity as security for the mansion.

*2: Please refrain from making tasteless comments like, "That's because she can stop time."

*3: Their existence doesn't really matter. The reality is that the head maid does most of the jobs.

*4: For example, the netherworld, Higan, or the moon capital.

*5: From name analysis fortune telling.

*6: She already had made a strange contract with the vampires. Please see the section on vampires for more information.

*7: Since she is also able to manipulate time.

[winters7soul]

Fictober 7 (Original Work)

Fictober 7: "Yes I did, what about it?"

Original Work (This is How the World Ends)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: weapons, offscreen murder, discussed death of children

Les was laying back on the couch, listening to Darren and John get into more and more creative arguments, with Tom occasionally jumping in to provide a third particularly convoluted option. Of course, he couldn't help but add his own remarks to stir the pot a bit, every time the conversation seemed to be slowing down some, Daxton had come in a minute ago and had happily decided to join Les. 

Fallon walked through the door and Les had a moment to grin at his last teammate before he saw the look on her face. Les immediately sat up. 

"What's wrong?" Fallon didn't answer, she just grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV to a news channel. It was showing a plane crash, some rich man's private jet had apparently crashed with his family on board. 

"A plane crash?" Darren asked. 

"They aren't talking about it now, it looks like one of the crew was shot." Fallon said.

"And?" Daxton asked.

"You don't recognize the name?" Fallon looked around the room. "Of course not. I'm the only one here who pays attention to anything. Marcus had a job out for this guy. Case and Miki are both out today. Do I need to spell it out further?"

"Wait, what are you talking about, Fals?" Tom asked. 

“Miki and Case just shot down a plane with innocent children inside. They're out of control." 

"We don't know it was them, Fallon." Darren said. 

"Okay. But I bet it was. There were only 10 people on board, no one should have had any reason to shoot a crew member. And this feels like their level of destruction."

"That still seems like a big leap to make Fallon." Les said, but wilted under the force of her stare.

"Do you know what Case was doing today, Les?" 

"I don't know his target, but I do think he was going with Miki."

"Miki's always had more control than to shoot down a plane with children in it." Tom said. 

"But, she has been getting worse lately. He definitely brings out the worst in her." John said slowly, looking at the screen where they were showing another clip of the site. "I don't think she'd just decide to shoot down a plane though. Miki doesn't care about the target, but she likes to be accurate."

"Case likes bloodshed, but he likes to be up close and personal." Les added. "I don't know why he would choose to shoot down a plane rather than kill the target himself."

"I think it was a really difficult job." Fallon said. "That's why I remember hearing the name, because Marcus was complaining about it." 

Les looked up at the same time Fallon did. 

"He wouldn't have…"

"No, there are always easier ways…but..." Fallon and Less both spoke at the same time and trailed off together.

"Wanna fill us in lovebirds?" Tom asked, with a raised eyebrow. Les flushed. 

"If it isn't Case and Miki's style, maybe that's because they were told how to do it when they were assigned the job." Fallon explained.

"You mean, you think Marcus told them to do that?" Darren asked, gesturing to the screen. 

"Only one way to find out." Les said, standing up. "We go ask him."

...

"You ordered that?" Fallon asked. "Knowing what you were doing, you sent those two out there to make sure that plane came down and there were no survivors?" Marcus gritted his teeth but looked between the team standing in front of him, ending on Fallon as he answered.

"Yes I did, what about it?"

"Marcus, his family was on that plane." Les said quietly. "His wife and children."

"A necessary cost. Besides, his wife wasn't innocent, the contract was happy to have her head as well." Marcus turned around like a dismissal. None of them moved.

"And their kids?" Fallon asked. 

"You're mercenaries, why are children so much more valuable to you than anyone else?" Marcus asked rhetorically. "Get off your high horses. If you care about lives you're in the wrong profession. Now get out of my office." 

Marcus sat at his desk and looked down at the papers there, obviously ignoring them.

Fallon glanced to the others. Les met her eyes angrily, his reflection mirrored on the others' faces. Finally Les jerked his head to the door and with a couple more angry looks at Marcus, they filed out.  Les was the last one to leave.

"Marcus, remember Case and Miki aren't your only competent killers. You've lost our trust with this move."

"I thought I told you to get out?" Marcus said. Les tilted his head in an approximation of a nod and closed the door behind himself. 

"Let's go."

"Where are we-" John trailed off as Les started down the hallway towards their dorms. 

"Meeting." Les said shortly. 

The team trailed behind Les and Fallon silently. Les wasn't sure what a meeting could do, but they had to do something. No one needed to snap at Marcus, but they definitely needed to talk about this. Les also didn't want to have time alone to think about how much Marcus' words were affecting him . 'Why are children so much more valuable to you than anyone else?' Damn Marcus for making him question his own morality when he was trying to call Marcus out on his lack of it.

Les unlocked the doors through instinct more than actual thought, and was only brought out of it when everyone was seated and looking at him. 

"You're looking at me like I know how to start this." Les said with a wry smile.

"Well I know." Fallon said, rolling her eyes at Les but pulling the focus off him. "I certainly agree with Les, in that I have lost my trust in Marcus to be reasonable about what he selects as jobs."

"Then where does that leave us?” Tom asked. “We are still his employees.”

“With a lot more responsibilities on our hands.” Les said with a grimace.

[moneyshvt]

☆ . · . simay barlas, twenty-two, female, she / her . · . ☆ AYLA CLEARWATER lives in that huge mansion over there! no, not that one. look for THE LARGE NATURAL STONE FOUNTAIN and that’ll be it. the SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER has offered occasional glimpses of LIGHT GREEN walls and an impressive collection of EMPTY PICTURE FRAMES in the background of social media posts, but all of that is nothing compared to seeing the opulence in person. they’ve remained CLEVER as ever since moving to tercet court one year ago, but it seems like they might’ve gotten a little more of NARCISSISTIC too. maybe that’s why they’re rumored to have such a FRIENDLY relationship with everyone else who lives on this street. ☆ . · . ooc info: ollie, they/them, 21, est . · . ☆

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

— she was adopted when she was just under two years old from turkey, so the clearwaters have always felt like her family to her. she knew the greater part of growing up that she was adopted, it just never was an issue for her. it was a fact, but it really wasn’t an important fact. she has no desire to try to find her birth parents or family, though she has visited turkey.

—  the clearwaters are a triple threat in sports : her grandfather retired mlb player and coach, her father a retired prominent defenseman in the nhl and current dartmouth men’s hockey coach, and her older brother ( 26 ) is making a splash in his third year in the nfl as a wide receiver.  however, her parents made sure she and her brother had a ( fairly ) average “middle class” bringing up, though they had their fair share of money in the bank. didn’t have to struggle, really, but didn’t get everything she wanted either. had a summer job scooping ice cream for two years in high school.

— grew up in norwich, vt, real big on nature and hiking and all that jazz and lowkey misses it in the heart of la.

— when she was ten she got one of those kid’s polaroid cameras ( u know the ones where the film is only a little bigger than a postage stamp ) and she was obsessed. she worked her way up through cameras over the years, having a natural eye for it.

— one of the first games she ever shot was one of her brother’s high school football games which sounds sweet but it was actually because she was so bored out of her mind and wanted something to do. needless to say, though, that was the start of it. some might say it was kind of inevitable she gravitated toward sports somehow — she was a clearwater at heart. since then she has gained a lot of knowledge and respect for all different kinds of sports.

— for college she was torn between dartmouth and nyu. she ultimately chose nyu because it was somewhere new.

— she went to nyu for advertising and photography, shooting various nyu sports teams while she was there and throughout her years, managed to shoot a few rangers, knicks, and yankees games as well. she held two summer internships with the yankees ( on her own merits or because of her family name, she may never truly know ) and ultimately graduated from nyu a year early.

— she then spent the better part of a year after graduation road tripping as you do and ended up in california. it’s all about who you know, and in picking up a favor for a friend in cali she stumbled into the perfect opportunity. from there she landed a role on the company that handles the photography for staples center and other notable teams, most notably the kings, lakers, and dodgers ( photography company based on this irl one ).

— she moved into tercet court not long after she knew she would be in la for much of the time being. it’s definitely not her house, considering she makes just enough to live on. it’s a family home, purchased initially by her father who’d wanted to sink some money into tangible assets instead of the stock market and to have a west-coast home available for the family. hey, worked out pretty well for her.

— she has predominately been tasked with shooting the kings the past year or so, though she started with shooting dodgers games last summer and is doing so this summer as well. she’s also shot a handful of lakers’ games when a friend needs someone to cover. three of her photos so far have been used in large ads and banners in the city ( including most recently her current MONEY SHOT of the game winning goal in a come back win ) --- very cool moment for her. several others have been used by local publications and websites.

— she does a little freelance work as well ; mostly for friends or friends of friends, though she’s been considering lately trying to make her skills and business available in a more professional manner. she does do a lot of photographing for herself --- a lot of candids ; she thinks they capture the true spirit of a person moreso than when they’re posing or prepared for a photo. but not in a creepy way --- she’s been the victim of the paps enough times by association with her family to know the correct boundaries and limits.

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂

— lowkey loves playing games with the paps, though she’s probably the only one that finds it funny. as a photographer herself she has a good eye for where they’re hiding and will also snap photos of them in turn just for her own amusement.

— she hopes someday to be the team photographer for a team, hopefully in one of the “big four” ( nfl, nhl, nba, mlb )

— she played field hockey and lacrosse through high school.

— ayla thinks she’s better at shooting people. part of what she loves about being a sports photographer is how active and unpredictable it is to shoot a game. she’s had to learn a lot to try to predict what she can.

— very much a morning person. has never had a problem waking up in the morning. who’s jealous bc i am. goes for a run at sunrise, and has showered, gotten ready for the day, and is at a local cafe shop editing photos / making graphics and drinking an iced mocha by 8. truly couldn’t be me...

— so desperately wants to be that girl with tons of cute aesthetic plants in her apartment but tragically plants always die in her care no matter what she does. probably has gotten one of those tiny tabletop sand zen gardens to make herself feel better tho she still keeps trying with plants. so far the only ones that have lived any length of time are the air plants.

— she really wants a greyhound but is afraid to make the commitment to actually adopting one.

— her personal insta ( the non-sports one ) has a modest following. a few thousand, probs.

— she has struggled a bit with people who think her opportunities have only arisen because of her family pedigree ( which some have gone so far to tell her they’re “not her family” --- which, don’t even go there, lads... ), and that has made ayla work all that much harder to prove that she’d gotten where she has on her own merits.

— she has a rule ( and in the case of the nhl there is a rule enforced by a signed contract ) about not getting involved with anyone she shoots ; it’s considered a conflict of interest. i imagine she has a really good relationship with the players though --- probably doesn’t hurt that she is pretty. at least one of them have hired her to shoot their wedding this summer even though she is wildly under qualified.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

alya is a chill and laidback person at heart. her approach to the fame attached to her due to her father and brother has been to laugh it off good-naturedly. she’s generally well liked, with a hint of sass and humor. she comes across as a bit of an air-head at times, but that’s part due to a persona she put on from a young age. she has an observant eye that drew to her photography in the first place and will often allow her to draw certain conclusions about people. she’s well versed in all the sports she shoots, something that tends to surprise a lot of people, but how is she supposed to be good at her job if she isn’t ? if she gets bothered during games she typically shuts people down with wide eyes and some obscure bit of knowledge in her cute, raspy lil voice. dareisay... elle woods, what like it’s hard ? energy ??

a few of her downfalls include her narcissism and need to be liked. she looks to look and feel pretty, by her own standards, and is a queen of the self-timer and remote self photography : has two instas because of it -- one for her sports photography and one that’s a “personal” and mostly just pictures of herself. her need to be liked is something she doesn’t even realize. she likes to be seen in a positive light.

𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

alya stands at 5′4″ with a slim but athletic build. her hair is naturally brown, but is dyed to have blonde highlights. she does not need glasses or contacts and has no tattoos.

she’s almost always wearing the same pair of beat up timberland’s she’s owned since freshman year of college. she likes to be able to move easily ( bc homegirl absolutely cannot walk in heels at all ). despite what the tabloids like to call her unfortunate choice in footwear, she likes to look cute, often pairing them with short, flowy sundresses or skirts + crop tops. when she shoots games, however, she’s dressed rather practically in skinny jeans, a crop top, and a cardigan. her hair is often kept down and loose, or in a messy bun.

𝐎𝐎𝐂

it me. ollie again. i also play fitz ( miguel bernardeau fc ). yes the overlap between fitz and ayla is not great but i truly only know one thing that that one thing is hockey asldfalsdjf sO. if y’all seeing me rping with myself on the dash bc i think it’d be fun to bounce fitz and ayla off each other mind ur own business...

[gryffindormischief]

requested by @celtics534

also available on FF and Ao3

____

Harry feels a bit dull that he’s not the one to think of it. Perhaps he’s too busy either moping or following Ginny around in his best impression of a lovestruck fool. Which isn’t that high quality of an impression since it generally involves either snogging each other senseless or extensive levels of trash talking, dares, and teasing. All of which usually leads back to snogging eventually.

Regardless, for someone raised a muggle and dying for a way to keep in touch easily across the miles between Holyhead and London, Harry feels pretty thick when Arthur solves his problem.

It’s late evening, the summer sun already well on the way to setting and Harry’s belly full of chicken Molly’d simultaneously crisped and kept gorgeously moist. He’s half reading a novel by some up and coming author in the magical community while Ginny dozes in his lap. She’s been working hard to make sure she’s up to snuff after the off season - early mornings, long runs, and a recent foray into the land of muggle calisthenics.

Arthur scratches at his scalp and lets the half-read paper drop to his lap. “You know I had the nicest chat with your cousin last week at the park.”

Dog-earing the page, Harry sets his book on a free bit of the cushion. “Yeah? Ted had the best time, by the way.”

“He loves a good long chat and I love muggles,” Arthur says lightly, “We’re a well matched pair.”

Though he’d never broached the subject, Harry knew Arthur had made it a point to spend time with Teddy whenever he could. Ginny confided that Arthur and Ted had been close, that she was fairly sure he felt like with Ted gone, he’d have to do as the next best thing. It was all just guesswork until they walked in on the tail end of a particularly humorous story involving Arthur, Ted, and an outing to the grocer in London.

“So Dudley?”

Arthur jolts out of his memory. “Oh, right! Well he had this delightful little pocket communicator. It made a cheery little chirp like an enchanted bird and then his mother was talking to him from all the way across the country. And we both know your aunt and uncle wouldn’t use anything remotely magical so - ” he sighs happily, “Muggles really are fascinating.”

Odd though the description may be, Harry does decipher Arthur’s clues. “His mobile?”

“Ah! Yes, that’s what he called it,” Arthur settles into his chair more comfortably while the fire crackles low in the grate, “You and Ginny should get a pair. Might help with the separation, eh?”

Separation was a fairly innocuous term for the event that generally made Harry’s chest feel like a gaping hole. Ginny stirs and Harry lets his fingers run through her wavy locks until she calms, settling against him so she’s nuzzled against his middle, exhales tickling his stomach.

“Maybe.”

It slips his mind, between the escalating raids in an attempt to snuff out the last best hopes of Riddle’s followers and Ginny’s occasionally overzealous workout routines. Generally, their evenings include more ice packs and pain potions than the sultry pursuits Ron seems sure they’re engaged in.

They manage to get an afternoon off together and spend it wandering through London huddled underneath a broad umbrella that looks like a frog’s head. Harry bought it for Ginny on a whim - a tribute to a certain pair of eyes green as fresh pickled toad. She shoved him and sniffed that it was in fact, not a pickled toad, but he hasn’t seen her use another umbrella since.

They splash through the streets, hearts light and bodies pressed close as they take in the sights of London at its grayest. Ginny’s face, lit with happiness, pulls him in so he nearly misses it, despite the bright pink neon sign blinking in the window - MOBILE PHONES. NO CONTRACT.

Harry comes to a halt, luckily keeping Ginny and the umbrella with him with his arm looped through hers as it is. Ginny pauses her discussion of Teddy and Victoire’s latest foray into the world of sand-based real estate development. Victoire had one of her first major bouts of accidental magic, splitting an oncoming wave around their castle with a shrill cry of distress. “What’s up? Weasley’s hungry.”

Harry chuckles. “Evidenced by your use of the third person.”

“Hermione?”

“Excuse me, I am an educated investigator with highly honed powers of observation.”

She lingers, blinking at him.

“And Hermione has been on a grammar kick.”

Ginny presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Sexy. Now what have we stopped for? I don’t want a picked over Chinese buffet.”

“What if we could talk while you’re off in Holyhead?”

A few fellow pedestrians give them grumpy looks so Harry pulls Ginny beneath the overhang. “We could get mobile phones - your dad said he could help me adapt them to stay useable in magical areas.”

Ginny laughs. “My dad - a high ranking ministry official - and my boyfriend a well respected Auror, plotting to flout the Statute of Secrecy. Does he know you want to use it to have dirty, dirty conversations with me?”

“Stuff it.”

The phones are clunky, odd little things. Ginny insists on the colorful choices - her’s green for the Harpies and Harry’s eyes, and his red because he’s a ‘brave little Gryffindor’ and her hair of course . It’s odd, adjusting to the immediate nature of their communication but it doesn’t take long. Then, somehow Harry finds his heart warming and his pulse thrumming like Ginny’s at his side when the phone rumbles on the countertop.

Despite her teasing, the large majority of their conversations comprise teasing and more often than not quiet companionship. He’s already bought more talk time by the bucket load. Though Ginny insists they do their best to avoid falling asleep and using up their connection time just to breathe together. They do a pretty good job of it for a while, until Ginny gets a cold and Harry returns from a week long assignment and he dozes to the tune of her stuffy snores.

She’s the spectrum of life, Ginny is - steady breaths, boisterous barks of laughter, playful teasing, no nonsense drawls that bring him back down to earth. Nobody’s ever known him like she does, even ages away, Ginny’s his silver lining.