#short vs long hair trunks

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Future Trunks' Appearances

Future Trunks to me is one of the hottest male characters in DBZ! Also he has been shown to have long and short hair. So I wanted to do my own personal ranking of Trunks' outfits (excluding his looks in the History of Trunks special).

Number 5: Short hair, battle armor

This has to be Trunks' worst look. It's not ugly but it just looks a bit ridiculous to me. He looks a bit dorky, to be honest like he's playing dress up. Especially since he looks so boyish.

Number 4: Long hair, battle armor

I think Trunks looks way better in his armour when he has longer hair. All those shots in the Cell games where Trunks' hair is waving in the wind are so gorgeous. Made him look pretty. Maybe the longer hair complements his muscles better by not making his head seem so small. I love this look but I hate how Trunks is so freakishly huge for a good part of his time wearing it. The armour does not really feel like Trunks either. I think his Earthling clothes fit him better.

Number 3: Long hair, casual clothes (Pre cell games)

I had to add this because Trunks just looks so cute in this simple outfit. His face is these shots is super soft, making him look a bit innocent. Love it!

Number 2: Long jacket sleeves (Cell saga, Broly movie)

I can't decide between long hair and short hair Trunks for this look. Sometimes the animation makes short hair Trunks look a bit dorky though. But this is Future Trunks' iconic look. No one else can pull off this fashion disaster (coming from someone who knows squat about clothes lol).

Number 1: Long hair, short jacket sleeves (Bojack movie)

Just look at him!!! Talk about leaving the franchise in style! The dude's muscles are so huge at this point that Trunks ditches sleeves altogether. Gosh he's hot :''). From what I have seen, many people agree this is Trunks' best look.

[gods-favorite-autistic]

We deserve a rotpl beach episode actually so here are some headcanons:

Jane has a hot pink one piece that Nancy sewed the Pink Ladies logo

Olivia wears one of those fancy little transparent robe things and it’s pink (obviously)

Nancy made her own swimsuit

Cynthia wears swim trunks she stole from Gil (that are from when he was 13) and a swim top with the Pink Ladies logo on it that Nancy made for her

Hazels swimsuit has constellations on it

They have a Pink Ladies vs. T-Birds volleyball battle and Nancy is surprisingly good at it

Richie falls asleep so Olivia and Cynthia bury him in sand

Potato pours water on Nancys head (only after he makes sure she won’t kill him for messing up her hair)

Hazel invites Wally

Jane invites Buddy and he spends half the day trying not to get splashed by Cynthia and Olivia

Gil brought sandwiches and hot dogs

Wally shows Hazel how to surf

Jane loves volleyball even though she keeps getting hit in the face

Edward makes sand castles the whole day

Cynthia enlists Nancy and Potato’s help to dig a giant hole

Cynthia is Short so she keeps getting bodied by waves

Hazel and Olivia both brought books so whenever they get tired of swimming they just sit together and read

Buddy can hold his breath for a long time so sometimes he’ll just disappear for about 4 or 5 minutes before resurfacing with like a shell or something

Wally makes Cynthia jealous because she wants to know how to surf so bad but would rather die than ask him to teach her

When the Pinks showed up Richie and Gil were just staring at Jane and Olivia absolutely starstruck

Richie insists he can surf

He can not

Gil loves competing when it comes to water stuff (who can hold their breath longer, who can swim faster)

So does Buddy so the two of them just end up betting each other over and over again

Cynthia and Edward play chicken against Richie and Gil

[thecreaturecodex]

Sartan

Still from Return of Ultraman accessed at the Ultraman Wiki here

[I am coming to the Ultra franchise pretty much cold, and am watching it in isolation from its fandom except for my girlfriend @abominationimperatrix. One of the things that I gather from her is that the monsters that stand out to me from these series are rarely fandom favorites. Like, I'm not planning on statting up Black King or Gudon or Twintail from Return of Ultraman... but this ratty anthro Snuffleupagus was immediately on my list. Part of that is how grody and gross he looks. Part of it is he has an interesting power set, one that led to my conception of the flavor text. It seems that Tsubaraya Studios thought the idea of a ninja elephant was worth exploring long before it was a joke on RPG.net about D&D 3.0's skill system]

Sartan CR 17 CE Monstrous Humanoid This creature is as tall as a building. Its features are lumpy and misshapen, with bulging eyes and sparse, bristly hair growing from its head. It has a long, elephant-like trunk, clawed hands, and a short tail.

A sartan is an interplanetary thrill killer. They travel from world to world, using their powers of invisibility to spy on people and learn who their heroes are. They then seek these heroes out and kill them for no reason other than to challenge their abilities and to cause other people emotional suffering. Sartans are cruel and enjoy collateral damage in these assassination attempts. Some powerful entities attempt to hire sartans to work for them as assassins, but sartans care little for money. Only if a target interests them, or if the employer resorts to charm spells, will they take on one of these jobs.

A sartan usually only enters combat if it suits them, whether because they have found their target, they want to lure that target into the open, or if they just feel like committing some cruelty for fun. Their supernatural abilities are mostly defensive—a sartan is invisible unless it chooses to appear, or is actively locked in combat. They can become incorporeal, which they often do in order to have mundane weapons pass right through them. When it comes to actual violence, however, sartans do it the old-fashioned way, by getting their claws bloody or grabbing a foe with their trunks and squeezing it to death. Sartans value their own hides too strongly to fight to the death. They will usually attempt to flee a losing battle, but may come back for a rematch on their own terms. 

Sartan  CR 17 XP 102,400 CE Colossal monstrous humanoid Init +13; Senses darkvision 120 ft., Perception +24, scent, see invisibility

Defense AC 32, touch 12, flat-footed 32 (-8 size, +9 Dex, +1 dodge, +20 natural) hp 261 (18d10+162) Fort +15, Ref +20, Will +14 DR 15/magic; Resist electricity 20, fire 20 Defensive Abilities evasion, ghost form, natural invisibility, uncanny dodge

Offense Speed 60 ft. Melee 2 claws +23 (2d8+13/19-20), slam +23 (4d6+13 plus grab) Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft. Special Attacks constrict (4d6+19), leap attack, strangle, studied target (+4, swift action, up to 4 targets) Spell-like Abilities CL 18th, concentration +22 Constant—comprehend languages, see invisibility 1/day—find the path

Statistics Str 36, Dex 28, Con 29, Int 11, Wis 17, Cha 18 Base Atk +18; CMB +39 (+43 grapple and sunder); CMD 59 (61 vs. sunder) Feats Dodge, Greater Sunder, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Mobility, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Stealth), Spring Attack Skills Acrobatics +27 (+39 when jumping), Perception +24, Stealth +28, Survival +24; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth Languages Aklo SQ meteoric starflight

Ecology Environment any land Organization solitary Treasure standard

Special Abilities Ghost Form (Su) A sartan can become incorporeal as a swift action. In this form, it loses its natural armor but gains a deflection bonus to Armor Class and CMD equal to its Charisma modifier. It cannot make attacks in this form, but does gain a fly speed equal to twice its land speed with perfect maneuverability. It can resume corporeality as a free action. A sartan can remain incorporeal for a number of minutes up to its Hit Dice in a day. Leap Attack (Su) As a full round action, a sartan can launch itself an impossible distance, traveling up to 1000 feet in a single bound. This movement can be vertical or horizontal, and the sartan lands on its feet unharmed regardless of the height it travels. It can make a single melee attack against an opponent in its reach during any part of this movement. A sartan can use this ability once every 1d4 rounds. Meteoric Starflight (Su) Over the course of 1 minute, a sartan can turn itself into a Medium sized hovering rock-like object, then blast itself into space. In this meteoric form, it has hardness 8, can make no attacks, and requires no food, water or air. In this form, it can fly at a speed of 300 ft. with perfect maneuverability, and can survive in the void of outer space and fly with incredible speed. Although exact travel times vary, a trip within a single solar system should take 3d20 hours, while a trip beyond should take 3d20 days (or more, at the GM’s discretion)—provided the sartan knows the way to its destination. Natural Invisibility (Su) A sartan can become invisible or visible as a move action. Its invisibility is broken when it attacks. Strangle (Ex) Due to its enormous size, a sartan can only strangle when it is grappling an opponent of Huge or larger size. Studied Target (Ex) A sartan gains the studied target ability of a slayer with a level equal to its Hit Dice. It does not gain other slayer class abilities, such as sneak attack or slayer talents, unless it takes levels in the slayer class.

[dozudoggy]

Me in art👗✨🥰 vs me IRL👕🩳😑

Sense of fashion? never heard of her uwu

I live my life in solid color shirts, my swimming trunks (or other shorts WITH POCKETS), my cute socks and my flowery black chanclas. My hair is also 3 ft long and I swear like a sailor every day *dab*

[alphynix]

Retro vs Modern #16: Uintatherium anceps

Discovered in the Western United States during the early 1870s, Uintatherium anceps was part of one of the earlier major conflicts in the the Bone Wars. Nearly 30 different scientific names were applied to various fossil specimens of this mammal in under two decades, and the taxonomic tangle wasn't properly sorted out until nearly a century later in the 1960s when they were recognized as actually all being the same species.

1870s

Paleontologist Edward Cope considered Uintatherium (under the name "Loxolophodon") and its close relatives to be proboscideans – part of the elephant lineage – due to some of the similarities in their anatomy. The first reconstruction of these animals showed this version, depicting elephant-like animals with downward-pointing tusks, short tapir-like trunks, and the multiple bony projections on their skulls speculatively shown as attachment points for large antler-like horns.

Cope's rival Othniel Marsh heavily criticised that interpretation of Uintatherium, arguing that these huge mammals were instead a separate group within the ungulates named dinoceratans – although this wasn't really as huge of a classification difference as it seems today, since at the time proboscideans were also considered to be ungulates!

The dinoceratan ungulate interpretation quickly won out, and for a while in the 20th century Uintatherium actually became a fairly popular and well-known prehistoric mega-mammal, commonly included in collections of cheap plastic "dinosaurs" and usually depicted as more of a knobbly-headed sabertoothed rhino.

2020s

In recent years the dinoceratans seem to have fallen into obscurity and some degree of paleontological neglect, with little modern work on the group and no major studies for the last couple of decades – although this might be starting to change.

Despite the early ideas about them being ungulates, the evolutionary relationships of dinoceratans have become much more murky over the last century or so. Due to different elements of their anatomy being highly convergent with various other mammals it's easy to find "false positives" in morphological comparisons, and they've been proposed as being connected to a wide variety of groups including "condylarths", "insectivores", rodents, and cimolestans. But some mid-2010s research suggests they were in fact ungulates after all, closely related to early South American forms like Carodnia – a lineage whose own evolutionary relationships are murky, but may have close affinities with modern horses, rhinos, and tapirs.

We now know Uintatherium anceps lived across the Western and South Central USA during the mid-Eocene, about 46-40 million years ago, at a time when warm wet climates extended up into the Arctic and lush tropical-style rainforests covered much of the continent.

It was similar in size and build to a modern white rhino, about 4m long (13') and stood around 1.7m tall at the shoulder (5'7"). It had three distinctive pairs of "horns" on its forehead, snout, and nose, that were similar in structure to the ossicones of giraffids, probably covered in skin and hair rather than keratin. Its elongated canine teeth were protected by bony flanges on its lower jaw, and seem to have been a sexually dimorphic feature that was much more prominent in males.

It also had an oddly concave skull, with its forehead dipping inwards, and an unusually tiny braincase for its size. It probably wasn't a particularly intelligent animal, but it didn't really need to be – as one of the first types of herbivorous mammal to get truly huge in the early Cenozoic, a fully-grown Uintatherium probably had no natural predators at all.

———

Nix Illustration | Tumblr | Twitter | Patreon

[eddiemunsonssoulmate]

Let's make this moment worth the while

Pairing: JJ x Reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Summary: You and JJ never liked each other. Kook vs Pogue. He annoys the shit out of you and yet you're trapped with him in the basement of the Cameron mansion.

Warnings: Smut, lowkey hate fuck

Available on: AO3

Part of: Passion lies in screams of ecstasytic dreams

This wasn’t something you had planned or expected.

Not at all.

He was standing in front of you, fuming with anger. His face had a hint of red, his jaw was locked tight and a strangled growl left his throat.

For a moment he looked almost feral there.

“Calm down, Maybank,” you said with an annoyed huffed, looking at the locked basement door above you. He acted like this was your fault when it was clearly his.

You could hear the music and voices from above.

A normal party at the Cameron mansion. Music, alcohol, drugs, Kooks and Pogues mingled together.

Just like in this small basement where Ward stored his wine. You had been here with Sarah a couple of times. You should have known she had planned something. The second you had entered the door to the mansion earlier, there had been this smug smile on her lips but she wouldn’t tell you why.

And now here you were with the boy you hated with a burning passion. You knew the Pogues and got along with them okay-ish. Pope was the best one to deal with, you knew Kiara for quite some time, John B was okay, he was Sarah’s boyfriend after all but JJ? No fucking way. He was crazy, reckless, infuriating and for some reason, really hot when he did stupid things.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he growled back at you after a long moment and turned around, going up the stairs to knock against the door once more.

You could swear the music just turned up just a little bit louder.

“Fuck!” he yelled, slamming against the door with his fist one more time before going back downstairs.

“No reason to get so angry, Pogue. They’ll need new wine eventually.” You leaned back against an almost empty shelf with a sigh, shaking your head. This was stupid and had been planned.

‘Oh y/n, can you get some more wine? The bottle is already empty. There’s the Romanee Conti 1945 somewhere in the right corner, that would be amazing.’

You could still hear Sarah’s voice in your head, it had sounded strange earlier, way too sweet, way too nice and now you knew why.

“Why did they send you down anyway?” You tilted your head a little to the side and looked at the boy who had sat down on the steps of the stairs, glowering at you.

“Red cups but I don’t see them anywhere here,” he grumbled from where he was sitting. His comment made you laugh, which only made him glare more at you.

If he would have been here before, he would know there wouldn’t be a single red cup around. Probably John B’s idea to make up this ridiculous excuse.

You kept your words to yourself and sat down, leaning your head back against the shelf.

Silence wrapped itself around you two and you held his stare for a moment before looking to the ground.

You didn’t even know why you hated him so much or why he hated you the same way. Nothing bad had happened between you two when you met for the first time, Sarah introducing you to the Pogues. She was your best friend and wanted you to get along with her new friend group, which you did...except JJ.

His vibes just didn’t fit with yours, you guessed. Two different people from completely different lives. It should have been a normal dislike, a normal ‘We don’t get along’ but for some reason you just needed to see him and you got angry. His stupid smirk, the way his hair fell into his hair after the rain had poured down, the way his jaw clenched when someone made him angry, the way his throat bobbed briefly when someone mentioned his father.

“Fuck,” you mumbled under your breath, hating yourself for even noticing these little things about him. You didn’t even spend that much time together, barely knew anything about him and yet it felt like you already knew more than you wanted to know.

When you looked up you saw that he was still looking at you, leaning back on the stairs, his jaw still tight.

“What?” you snapped at him, not feeling comfortable with him staring at you the way he did.

“I’m just wondering,” he started and there was an edge in his voice that made you stand up the moment he did.

He walked toward you, coming to stop right in front of you, putting his hand on the shelf behind you, caging you in.

Your body tensed, you didn’t like this one bit. Men trying to get power over you was always a bad sign but you’d handle him. It was just Maybank after all.

“Wondering if this wasn’t your plan all along,” he finished his sentence, his face way too close to yours. You felt your cheeks redden a little bit, feeling the heat from his body.

You’d be a liar if you’d say he wasn’t attractive in his own, stupid way.

“Why would it be,” you hissed and put your hands on his chest, pushing him back a little, your jaw tightening when he stumbled back a little. “Do you think I enjoy being here with you in this small ass basement? Tourist girls might swoon over you and you think you’re the greatest around these parts but I’m not one of them.”

A smirk appeared on his lips and he took a step forward again, once again invading your personal space.

“At least they have a good time,” he said with a chuckle and you rolled your eyes, turning your head so you wouldn’t have to look at him.

You knew the stories about him. Picking up tourist girls, sometimes two at a time, spending the night together and then never seeing them again.

“Yeah that’s what they think because they’ve got nothing to compare,” you huffed out, arms folding over your chest. From the corner of your eye you saw his body going a little tense, knowing you’ve hit his ego with what you’ve just said.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about anyway,” he suddenly replied with a shrug. “Not like you know what’s down there.”

You couldn’t help yourself but look back at him, looking right at his stupid grin. Your look turned into a glare which only made him grin more.

“God, you’re really getting off at making me angry.” You threw your hands up in the air, wanting to go around him to slam your fist against the door yourself but he blocked your way.

“Let me through, Maybank,” you hissed in anger but he once again put his hands up on the shelf behind you, caging you with his full body.

“Maybe I do.” His voice wasn’t low and had something in it that you couldn’t quite place. “But I know you do too.”

He would not win this, not with this smug grin on his lips.

His body was pressing more against yours, his leg between yours, his face only inches away.

You couldn’t stop the heat that was starting to pool between your legs. Fuck. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction but the way he stood here, so close with no one else around, his heat radiating off his body, his face so close.

“You might be right,” you suddenly blurted out without thinking and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him into an aggressive kiss.

JJ gasped in surprise as if he didn’t expect to get this reaction out of you but answered to the kiss with the same aggression.

The kiss involved a lot of biting and nibbling, two people trying to dominate the other only to pull back for a breath at the same time.

His eyes had darkened, his lips were swollen but it only took him a moment to recover.

He put his hands under you, lifting you up against the shelf behind you, pressing your back into the old wood while you wrapped your legs around him.

What a fucking bastard.

Now this felt more like this was his plan after all but who were you to deny getting the sexual tension and hatred out for once.

You started to fumble between the two of you, trying to rid the both of you of your pants. His slipped down easily, just swim trunks and boxer shorts but you had at least tried to look good here.

He noticed your struggle and put you down for a moment so you could push your pants down, kicking them off. You were about to pull your knickers down too but he already hoisted you back up.

“What the fuck,” you whispered in surprise but your legs wrapped around him already.

“Might need to dress quickly if they decide to check on us. Wouldn’t want them to find us like this,” he growled against your lips and you huffed. He initiated this and now he didn’t want to be found like this? Bastard.

“Yeah, probably for the better,” you agreed and kissed him again, your lips almost hurting already from the vicious way you two attacked each other.

The blonde boy shifted a little, moved his hips while holding you tight and with a swift movement, he had moved your knickers aside and slipped inside of you.

You moaned into the kiss which he only took as an invite to push his tongue inside once again while he filled you to the brink.

The tourist gossip was no lie. He was indeed quite packing, you felt the sweet stretch, the balance between pain and pleasure. He wasn’t ripping you apart but you were also feeling quite a bit of filling.

You moved your arms up to hold up on the shelf behind you, the wood digging into your back when he started to thrust into you. It was as if he wanted you to feel how much he despised you, every push on his hips forceful and almost bruising but you didn’t mind. You wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

You could feel your tits swinging quite a bit, only dressed with a bikini and a small top above while he kept up his merciless pace.

For some reason you hadn’t thought about him having that much strength to hold you up and push inside of you with that much force.

Not that you had thought about him doing this to you before. Not at all.

A groan left your throat in frustration when you realized that you were too good at lying to yourself when it came to him. Another groan followed when he hoisted you up a little bit more, almost letting you fall back on his dick, hitting the sweet spot that made you see stars.

“Fuck, you feel better than expected,” he growled and leaned forward to kiss your neck, leaving small bites. Not biting hard enough to bruise but so that you would feel them for the time you were in here.

“You expected this?” you asked with a smug tone in your voice but your only answer was another deep, painful thrust inside of you that made your back arch forward.

He had anticipated this, thought about it like you did but he was very angry about it. Seems like you two were not so different when it came to that. Two sides of a coin, maybe.

His bruised lips kissed and nibbled across the soft skin on your neck and shoulder, his hardness tickling your insides the right way.

Your moans filled the small room, the air getting more heated and sticky but thankfully the music above was way louder than the two of you.

This would be your secret. No one needed to know this. You would go out of here later as if nothing had happened.

Your breath got short and irregular, it was feeling as if he was thrusting the air right out of your lungs with the pace he had picked. He clearly had experience doing this. You hated thinking about it.

One of your hands sneaked between the two of you, rubbing against the bundle of nerves, only driving you higher up, your mind fogging.

A growl left his throat when he noticed what you were doing and you could swear he was only forcing himself in harder, deeper and even faster. It was brutal and you were sure he would leave bruises over your body.

The way his hand gripped your hips hurt, the shelf pressing into you, his hips snapping against yours.

Your body started to twitch when you came closer and you were almost falling when you heard his voice. “Don’t you dare to finish before me.” It was almost a feral growl that spoke, not really sounding him like. He was out of breath, sweaty and almost desperate to spill his seed inside of you.

Normally you would have done it anyway, who was he to tell you what you had to do? But this time, you stopped listening to him. Something about his attitude towards you in this moment made you listen to him.

You hated it.

Then you moved your hand up to his face, the two fingers you had used to rub yourself running along his cheek before tapping it against his lips.

He glowered at you before opening his mouth, taking your fingers inside and swirling his tongue around them, licking your wetness off them without stopping to look at you.

You moaned at the obscenery in front of you and a low moan left your mouth. His body was twitching around you and you could start to feel yourself apart.

“Now come,” he whispered around your fingers, still licking them more tenderly than expected.

He pulled almost out completely, leaving you empty and whimpering for a moment before pushing back inside of you in one long, brutal movement, making you see stars as you fell apart around him.

You didn’t hear how a few bottles fell from the shelf, shatting beside you, all you could hear was a loud moan filling the room and you could feel yourself blushing when you realized it was yours.

He gasped and growled when he felt how your walls were clenching around him and soon enough you felt the hot cum spilling inside of you. It was warm and comfortable and you hated that you felt this way.

JJ leaned forward briefly, putting his forehead against yours before letting you back to the ground.

You almost fell forward, not able to stand, your legs shaking from the brutal abuse your body just had to deal with.

You’d be a liar if you didn’t say you loved every second of it.

“We made a mess,” you mumbled when you finally saw the broken bottles on the ground. Ward had stored so much expensive wine here, this would at least be 500 bucks or above. Not that you cared, you didn’t like this man. “We did, especially you,” he chuckled and you turned your head to glare at him but he was just pointing at his dick that was dripping with your wetness, following the drops of cum, sweat and your own juice down to the ground where you could also see a wet spot.

Your face turned crimson red from embarrassment and you looked away, trying to straighten your knickers only to realize that his cum would drip right into them when you kept them on now.

You shot him a glare and he seemed to know exactly what you meant because that smug grin was back on his lips, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I fucking hate you,” you groaned and picked up your pants, already feeling how his seed was dripping out of you and into the fabric of your panties.

“I know you do. Felt good though but then again, it never happened, right?” he asked with a shrug before putting his pants back on too.

Right when you two were dressed again and you were about to reply to him, the door opened and you saw Sarah and John B standing there.

“Oh there you are! I was looking for you!” Sarah said and walked down to you, wrapping you into a hug only to pull back and look at you with a knowing grin.

It was hard not to know. The small room smelled of sex, sweat and wine, your hair was a mess, your lips bruised. It took one look of someone with three brain cells to know what had happened here.

You glared at her. “I didn’t find the wine,” you said and she laughed, walking up the stairs with you.

“That’s fine, it seems like you’ve found something else,” your friend replied with a snicker and you groaned at her, shaking your head but couldn’t help but laugh.

[wiypt-writes]

Rock ‘n’ Roll People In A Disco World

Part 1- Disco Down

Intro: It's range day. SWAT vs LAPD Special Crimes branch. You and your finance decide to have a bit of fun with the interdepartmental competition.

Pairing: Paul Diskant x Reader

Warnings: Bad language, Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar the reader and any other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

A/N: So yeah, I started another series. Bad WIYBUPT. But there aint enough Disco out there so I thought I’d rectify that situation. This is also another entry for @imanuglywombat​ ‘s  “Is That Even A Sex Position” weekly challenge. This position is called “Juicy Ass”. See here for more information.

Rock ‘n’ Roll People Masterlist // Main Masterlist

It was early in the morning, the first warm rays of the LA sunshine had barely begun warming the pavement when the two of you had started your day. Paul was already pouring you both coffee to go as you met him in the kitchen, dressed in your Swat training tee, utility pants and standard issue uniform boots, hair French braided back. You smirked at the dapper young detective before you, slacks, dress shoes, button down and tie. 

It'd been a gruelling last few weeks for you both. You were working a SWAT case with your unit and Paul was busy working an LAPD Vice officer's homicide. He would trudge in late at night, either from the precinct or more recently from a night out with Vice following some leads. You were always already asleep and he didn't want to wake you. He'd kiss you softly, shower, kiss you again and crawl into bed, hugging you close.

Now, you were both getting ready to head out, finally having slept in the same bed together for the first time in weeks. Given your nature, the two of you were playfully squabbling over the upcoming late afternoon's task, a joint fire arms training session between your unit, LAPD SWAT and Paul's unit. The joint time spent at the range always turned into pool of who'd win and, usually, was too close to call rounding off with each team going head to head in a final duel. 

And things were getting competitive in the Diskant home. 

"If I can make it," Paul grumbled, "we should sweeten the deal."

"You'll make it.” You popped a shoulder. “Paul Diskant doesn't miss a day at the range, nor friendly competition. So, name your terms?" You smirked mischievously over the rim of your mug, watching him adjust his tie. 

"Winner gets a favor." Paul devilishly replied. 

"What kind of favor?" You played along and the look on his face already made your insides squirm as he raised a brow and curled his lips further in his smirk. "Paul!"

"Y/N!" Paul mimicked, cutting the distance between you, big hands on your hips, thumbs rubbing along your shirt. "Baby, it's been days. This Vice case has me pulled away longer than I have been since I was a beat cop."

You rolled your eyes and wrapped your arm around his shoulder, fingers grazing the point where the short hairs of his buzz-cut met his neck. 

“Fine." You kissed him deeply, the taste of coffee on both your tongues but something that was just him too. "We'll call it a bonus." “Bonus...” he nodded. “I can run with that.”

“You couldn’t run a fucking bath, Disco.” "Oh Sweetheart, you're on." The challenge in his voice and mischief in his eyes lit a fire under you. You kissed him again and moved away, a swift smack from his hand to your ass made you yip but you kept walking. 

****

The drive into the station was quiet, you reading over your training schedule for the day and Paul driving. The only sound that filled the vehicle was the sound of him humming along to the radio, thumb tapping along to the beat of the song on his steering wheel, before you heard him let out a loud sigh.  

"I have some stuff to chase down this morning but if nothing pans out, I should be at the range with the rest of my unit."

"Well, then I'll hope it doesn't pan out, just so I can kick your ass with my Glock," you chuckled as he let out a groan.

"Baby, you know, watching you handle that Glock and riffle makes me horny as fuck right? Nothing like a woman that can shoot," Paul admitted. He took your left hand away from the file and pressed his lips to the top of it. He knew why you did it, but he still hated not seeing your diamond flashing on your finger all day. 

"Oh yeah?" You turned your standard issued sunglass covered eyes to him, "is that why you wanted to marry me?" 

Paul chortled, “one reason among the many."

He pulled into the carport and parked in his designated spot. You exited the vehicle and gathered your bag from the popped trunk. 

"See you at the range, don't be late, or I'll have to listen to Rodriguez bitch as she drives me home." You gave him a teasing kiss and slung your bag over your shoulder, walking away. 

"Hey, Y/N?" He called after you. You stopped and turned around to look at him, lifting your sunglasses to the top of your head. "Don’t waste too much energy today, huh? You’re gonna need all the strength you have tonight, Baby."

You chuckled to yourself, "Just show up, we'll talk energy later," you rolled your eyes and walked off, flipping him the bird over your shoulder. 

The scorching sun boiled across the training facility tucked between the hills of the valley, away from the hustle of the city and just far enough out of reach for civilians. Abandoned buildings and, green fields and a simulated neighborhood made up the grand, multi-million dollar facility. You and your team had been at it all morning, moving through the buildings in full tactical gear and safety equipment. Together you cleared buildings, fired upon fake assailants and suspects. You and your partner, Alma Rodriguez, even hit the weights and boxing bags to keep loose after a hand to hand session against Everett and Evans. To keep your trigger fingers hot and ready, you played a round of long range sniper poker, you of course beating the team with a straight flush, bullets hitting their targets dead center. 

It was the last hours of daylight by the time Special Branch showed up and you couldn't help but smirk as you watched Paul set up his gear from across the field. Long gone were his slacks and tie, and now, he was dressed in a tight black tee with the edges of his two bicep tattoos peeking out from the hem, and uniform issue pants and boots, his wrap arounds shielding those beautiful blues you loved getting lost in. 

You smirked as the two of you locked glances, his smile forming across plump lips. A cocky flick of his head was sent in your direction and you laughed, pulling a hundred dollar bill from your pocket and slapping it flat against the table. 

The competition started, pairing SWAT members against Specials, two by two until both your captains were the final two. 

"Shooters on the line," the facility command officer called. Each shooter stepped up, readying their rifles. Your team lined up behind your boss, Paul and his desk buddies watching from their side. "Stand by... Ready..." The whistle sounded and the first shots at their prospective targets were fired. 

Firing judges followed behind each shooter, judging accuracy, safety and protocol. Three rifle shots fired down range and the shooters tossed their weapons to the side, tucking and rolling one roll with their hand on their pistol all while watchful eyes looked on. Your boss didn't roll, but Paul's did and the snickering started from Special Branch. It didn't deter your focus as you watched your boss, Captain Rogers, finish the round. Three shots fired at metal targets, each one going down in accuracy, then a clip reload and three more shots fired at a close range target before the commanding judge asked both men to put their weapons on safe and holster them. He approached each target for accuracy and declared Paul's boss, Captain Wilson, the winner of the round. That brought the two teams to a tie. 

The Detectives cheered and razzed SWAT but both captains settled their groups down. The field judge confirmed the tie in the competition and groans sounded from both teams. 

"I'll tell you what, I'll toss in an extra two hundred bucks to pit Y/L/N against your pick," Rogers held two one hundred dollar bills up, handing them over to the field judge for safe keeping. 

"Alright, I see your two and raise two," Captain Wilson held out his bills, "for Diskant to take that challenge."

"Oooooooh", both teams razzed the real life couple. 

You couldn’t help the smirk on your face as one of Paul’s colleagues piped up that this could back fire spectacularly as would Paul really want to risk pissing off the woman who controlled his sex life.

“That’s exactly why he wants to win,” you jibed back, causing him to roll his eyes and scoff, “because his sex life is on the line if he doesn’t.”

More laughter rang out across the area as Paul merely shrugged, a smile flickering across his face as you heard Rogers speak loudly to Wilson from behind you.

“Between us, two hundred on my girl to blow your man outta the water."

Paul leaned down, to whisper into your ear, a smirk plying on his lips, "something's gonna get blown."

"What was that?" You coyly played. 

“Sure you wanna do this?” He asked, turning to look at you, his brow arched. “I mean you could just forfeit now and save yourself the embarrassment.”

You held his gaze for a moment before you made a show of dragging your eyes down his body, your gaze lingering on his crotch as if you were contemplating his offer, before you raised your head, your tongue poking out from between your lips a little.

“Did you forget to zip up?" You asked. Paul gave a start, his head jerking down to look at his ‘piece’ so to speak, and at that moment the whistle was blown to start.

The first shots were fired, Paul's just seconds behind yours. Tucking behind the mailboxes for your next shot, you nailed your target and moved forward to fire your final rifle round, using a metal barrel as your cover. You laid your riffle to rest, took a few steps, tucked your chin and rolled, planting your feet and rising up to draw your personal firearm. Poised for your next quick shot behind a mock window frame, you fired at the target and moved on, Paul's form in your peripheral, matching you shot for shot. Coming around the frame you fired a walking shot at your next target and then took your place at the final marker, firing away before the expected reload and emptying your clip into the standing paper target with his hostage. 

"Safety on... Holsters." The range judge called after he blew his whistle. You and Paul followed his commands and waited as he examined your individual targets. It was close, you knew it. Paul was an excellent shot. 

You watched as the judge looked over Paul's target first, poking his finger through two holes in the face before moving on to yours. You nailed your target, all three shots hitting the suspect. One dead shot to the center of his head, the other in the chest and the last in the torso. 

"Here's your winner," the judge declared, pointing at your target. 

Cheers began to ring out and you heard Paul groan loudly, turning to you. "You cheated.”

"I guess the favor's on you," You quipped as behind him you saw Captain Rogers holding his hand out, ready to receive the cash prize from Wilson.  

“You still cheated.”

“I did no such thing!” You scoffed.

“You distracted me.” He folded his arms across his chest, a sullen pout on his handsome face.

“Well, you should know better than to take your eye off the target, Disco,” you smirked and he narrowed his eyes playfully. “On second thought, I think I will let Rodriguez take me home. Burgers and beer on you. Don't forget the extra pickles."

He smirked, his lips brushing yours as he spoke, "come on, ride back with me, I'll make it worth your while."

"Erm, unless I'm mistaken you just lost so..." You popped a shoulder, your eyes not leaving his as you began walking backwards away from him. "I'm in charge."

“I want a divorce.” He shot back and you laughed, shaking your head.

“We’re not married yet, hot shot.” You winked.

“Details.” He waved his hand and you snorted, before you turned and jogged to catch up with your colleagues.

*****

As per your instructions, Paul didn’t forget the extra pickles and later that evening the pair of you were sat on the sofa in your comfy clothes, food and beer in hand as you lounged back watching a film on the Television. You stole a glance at your fiancé for a moment, his sharp profile illuminated in the soft light of the lamp to his right. He really was incredibly handsome, and you often wondered daily how the hell you’d gotten so lucky, as he could have had his pick of women, they tended to fall at his feet wherever you went. But he’d chosen you. Not only that, he’d pursued you. It had taken him a good few weeks after you’d both met on a case when he was in Uniform to finally accept his offer of a date. The dates had continued, and six months later you’d moved in together, and a year or so after that, he’d gotten down on one knee in the middle of your apartment and asked you to be his wife.

Which, reminded you of something you’d heard before.

With a smirk you turned your attention back to the film, took another bite of your burger before you spoke, your tone light and airy.

"So... strippers huh?"

Paul hastily swallowed his food and turned to look at you. "What?"

"Nothing, just typical."

"No, what?" He chuckled.

"I just heard one of the guys before commenting about how the wedding is getting closer so the stag do needs planning. The words Vegas and strippers were mentioned. Several times"

"Fucking Adler, man," he shook his head, dropping his empty burger container into the paper bag on the table in front of you.

“So you are going to Vegas, then?” You shoved another fry in your mouth to stop the smirk from spreading at the teasing.

"Uh, yeah," his reply was nonchalant, but he rubbed at his neck in that way he always did when he was a little nervous or uncomfortable. His big tell.

"Right. And there will be strippers?”

“Yes, there PROBABLY will be strippers." He side eyed you a little as he reached for his beer, the faint flush of red visible on the back of his neck as you took the final bite of your food.

“How probably?”

"There MAYBE be a night at the club." He leaned back, bottle in hand.

"Dicks." You gave a dramatic sigh, dropping your now empty food container into the bag with his. You made a show of scrunching down the top of the bag, dropping it to the floor by the side of the sofa, ready to be taken to the trash, before you leaned back, shaking your head.

"What?" he turned to you, beer paused halfway to his mouth.

"Oh, no, I was just saying, at my hen do there will be dicks. Lots of dicks."

“What the fuck?” He spluttered and you shrugged, not looking at him, feigning concentration on the television.

“I can't have strippers too? Tut, tut Disco, that's very old fashioned."

There was a pause, and you waited for his reaction, knowing it could go one of two ways. Out and out petulant protesting, or some sort of childish, half witty come back.

"You know, my dick is by far the most important." He chose the latter.

"You mean you are the most important dick?"

“Yeah.” He conceded. “Hey, least I’m important in some way.”

At that you laughed and moved a little closer to him. He shifted, allowing you to snuggle under his arm, pressing a kiss to your head.

“You know what else is important?” You asked, your hand gently tracing shapes on his white tee.

“What?”

“That you don’t forget that you owe me a favor, Detective Diskant." “That I do.” He agreed, and you felt him nod.

“So, there’s a pile of ironing that needs doing and the bed sheets need changing tomorrow. Can you manage?”

At that he let out a loud guffaw, his chest rumbling against your cheek. "Seriously, Baby?" He glanced down at you as you tipped your head up to look at him. "Absolutely," you winked

“I am at your complete mercy to satisfy you in any way you want... and you ask me to do chores?” He rolled his eyes. “You’re losing your sense of adventure, Sweetheart.” "Oh I have a sense of adventure, but a bet is a bet and we've pulled three doubles between the two of us so shits gotta get done, and you lost, therefore, you... are... my... bitch.” Your words were punctuated by soft jabs to his chest with your index finger and Paul groaned, throwing his head back against the sofa as he scrunched his eyes closed.

“Fuck my life.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” You looked at him and he opened his eyes. “Fuck my wife?”

“We’re not married yet.” He smirked, arching an eyebrow at you as he played back your words from earlier.

“Details,” you played along and he laughed as you shifted a little more so your face was level with his. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

With a cheeky grin he leaned over, pressing his lips to yours, his hand sliding to the back of your neck as the kiss grew deeper, his tongue slowly sliding against yours. You let out a soft moan, shifting a little, your hand cupping his face and then he pulled back. You pouted at the loss of contact and opened your eyes to shoot him a glare, to find him smirking a little.

"Double or nothing, I bet I can make you cum in less than two minutes.”

“Two minutes?” You arched a brow, biting your lip a little as you squirmed at the frankly filthy look in his eyes. “Now?”

“Yup.”

“Bring it on.” You threw down the gauntlet. “But that doesn’t include the time it takes me to get you naked.” He grinned, shifting a little so he was side on, facing you.

“Fine.” You rolled your eyes. “Or the foreplay.”

“Jesus Christ, Paul, just get on with it. You said two minutes. Clock starts the second you start, your challenge not mine. He grabbed your beer bottle and placed it along with his on the table with a bang. “You saying you don’t want me to love on you a little bit before I bang you into next week?” His voice was low as he hovered over you a little, his face inches from yours. "I'm saying I'm fucking desperate, that's what I'm saying."

"Then I won't need two minutes.” He grinned, pressing further into you, causing you to lay back on the sofa.

“God, you’re so full of it.” You narrowed your eyes.

“You’re gonna be full of it soon.” He smirked, his lips pressing to yours. "Stop... Talking... And... Do... It," you demanded between his dizzying, little pecks. His lips curled into a smile against yours as his hands gently trailed up the outside of your smooth thighs, thumbs grazing under the hem of your cut offs. The assault from his lips already soaking you.

It wouldn't take much, you both were fully aware of it. Nearly a week apart or just missing each other had you two desperately seeking release. The question was, who would cave first. He said two minutes and you knew he could hold off until you were good and worked over. His fingers slipped between your denim shorts and he gave a low groan as he felt your damp panties. His kiss grew hungrier and he was quickly on your flies, your shorts were down your leg in a matter of seconds, tossed over the back of the sofa, panties with them. 

He moved to a kneel, one hand gently hooking your right leg up to rest against the back of the couch, knocking the other to the side, your foot falling automatically to the floor, toes pressing onto the soft carpet, leg bent at the knee. You don't even register how fast he moved downwards, and part of you wondered if he lost on purpose. A flat long swipe tasted at your folds.

"Jesus," it felt glorious and your back arched off the sofa in delight. There was a wee bit of scruff causing a tease of friction against your inner thighs and although you weren't timing him, you knew it couldn't have been more than sixty seconds when his tongue dipped into your hole causing you to cry out. 

"Fuck, Paul..."

He gave a little chuckle, mouth vibrating against your nub which he grazed with his teeth. You bit your lip as your insides began to tremble, you were so desperately trying to hold off just to get that last win over him, but it was useless. That rumble had you in the throes of it and you were gone, your legs shaking as you came, your walls clamping around nothing as you gasped, your body shuddering with pleasure.

The smirk and glisten that was evident on his lips as he sat up and caged you in, had you clawing at his shorts. "I win."

"Yeah, okay, you smug little shit,” your voice was breathy as you recovered from your high, your hands pulling at the drawstring in the middle of his abs. “Dare I ask how you want me?”

His baby blues, already dark with desire, flashed and he pressed his lips to yours, his mouth dominating and you could taste yourself on him. You groaned as his hands slid up, cupping your face and he pulled back.

“Hands on the floor, feet on the coffee table, knees bent.”

You blinked, “what?”

“Hands on the floor, feet on the coffee table, knees bent.” He repeated.

Okay, so this was new…

With a final, suspicious look at him as he moved back, you stood, jumping and emitting a little squeak as he slapped your ass as you went. Taking a deep breath you turned, placed your hands on the floor and rested the tops of your feet on the coffee table, your knees bent.

“So you can do as you’re told.” Paul smirked, standing up off the sofa.

“When I want to.” You peeked up at him as best you could to see him sliding his shorts down his legs, stepping out of them before he moved round and threw his leg over your shins. His hands slid up the outside of your thighs, coming to rest on your waist as he pulled you back a little, his erection pressing into your behind as he ground against you, giving a little hiss.

“Fuck, baby you look so good from back here.” He moaned, bending over slightly to press a kiss to your spin and you shivered, your arms wobbling a little and you began to worry just how much of this you could take.

“Paul, seriously, just…”

“Patience.” He cut you off as he gave your ass a soft slap making you emit a noise that was half way between a squeal and a laugh as he positioned himself behind you, and you immediately missed the warmth of his chest where it had been pressed to your back moments ago.

You felt the tip of his dick as it poked at your entrance, and he had no problem slipping inside your already soaked folds. But the angle and the pressure of your body closed off as he slipped inside you set your nerves on fire. You both moaned out together as he slid home, his balls to your clit.

You felt how thick he was against your walls. A little twitch and flutter from his shaft as you both remained still, you silently begging and waiting for him to move. His fingertips gently dug into your hips as he slowly pulled back and moved forward again.

"Fuck, baby, so fucking tight, like this," Paul ground out as he pumped slowly in and out of you. He was taking his time, slow thrusts and long pulls back. In truth, it was agony, but a beautiful torture. And a torture that he continued again, and again, and again. Over and over, in no rush whatsoever, a sharp contrast to where he’d brought you off before on the couch as fast as he could.

Your arms were shaking from baring the position but you wanted more. And as the bubbles of pleasure slowly simmered through your core and deep into your belly, you moaned out your demand. "Harder."

"Oh, fuck," Paul quivered inside you but picked up his pace, his hips slamming into yours, your insides squeezing him tightly as his hands gripped at your hips, blunt nails biting against your skin. With every thrust forward you were jolted, your palms sliding on the rough surface of the rug underneath you, and you curled your fingertips into the deep, cream coloured shag in an attempt to prevent yourself from face planting straight onto the floor.

"Yeah, just like that," you panted, your elbows locking as you pushed yourself up slightly, "oh fuck, Paul!" You could tell by his breathing and how he felt inside you that he was ready to cum but he could always hold off until you had yours. "So close," you managed to pant out, letting him know you weren’t far.

He slowed his pace, bending his body down your spine again, and pressed his lips to the back of your neck, "just," he thrusted, "let", again, "go". 

His words flipped the switch inside your body and you felt yourself going, the blood already rushing to your head from the position you were in, and the pressure was pounding in your ears as you came, hard. "Oh my God!" You cried out as your walls clamped down around him, milking his hot seed to explode inside you. 

"That’s my girl, fuck!" He roared at the feel of you around him, and his hips grew sloppy as he came, grunting, pulling you back onto him as he let go of his thick payload. 

With your chests heaving, bodies stilled, his fingers still around your hips, his thumbs drew lazy circles on your back. You felt his blue gaze on you and you couldn't see it, but you knew he was smirking. 

“Paul.” You managed to swallow, “baby, my arms.”

“Oh, shit, yeah.” He moved gently to pull out of you, curling his arm around your waist in the nick of time as your elbows gave way and the pair of you tumbled rather ungracefully to the rug by the table in a tangle of limbs, your giggles ringing around the room, drowning out the sound of the television.

“You okay?” He asked gently, as you moved so you were lay on your back looking up at him as he lay on his side, propped on his left elbow. He tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear with his right hand as you nodded, leaning up to kiss him deeply.

“I’m not even gonna ask where you saw or read about that.” You chuckled and he grinned, glancing around the room cheekily before he looked down at you.

“Boys talk, sweetheart.” He shrugged. “But admit it, that was better than making me fold sheets.”

You chuckled as he pressed his lips to yours again, your fingers gently twisting his silver chain between them as you looked at him and arched your eyebrow. “If I admit it will you do it again? Only not tonight, don’t think my arms could take another round.”

Paul let out a laugh which rumbled in his chest and he pressed his lips to yours again. “Maybe we can make a game out of it, see how many other surfaces I can use to I prop your feet on and fuck you from behind.”

You scoffed, slapping at his arm as he grinned down at you cheekily, and you bit your lip.

“I can run with that.” Your hands moved so they slipped round his back, gently tracing shapes over the muscles, making them twitch a little and he sighed as your nails reached that spot on his neck that always turned him to putty in your hands.

“Stop, you know what that does to me.” He looked down at you.

“I do.” You agreed, continuing nonetheless.

“Seriously, you want more?”

“Well, like you said.” Your fingers curled round the nape of his neck, pulling his face down so it was inches from yours. “It’s been a while since we got time together, best make the most of it.”

“Oooh, you’re a bad, bad woman future Mrs Disco…” he smirked, kissing you deeply. “And I’m so down for that.”

****

It was late in the evening, the two of you having carried your sex-capades from the lounge to the bedroom, both of you spent and spooning in the aftermath of bliss when Paul's cell rang out. 

He grumbled and shifted slightly, turning to grab the offending item form the night stand before he answered, "Diskant."

You strained your ears to listen to who was on the other end but it wasn't audible.

"Yeah, okay, got it. I'll call you back," he replied and hung up. Then he quickly made an outgoing call. "Hey, so I just talked to Scribble. Freemont and Coates, or whoever they are, want to meet us." There was a brief pause, "tonight." Another pause and he closed his phone. 

He sighed, turning to you, "I got to go."

"Okay," you sat up, an uneasiness filling your veins. 

"I'll be back," he slipped out of bed, dressing quickly in black jeans, a black button down and hat. He clipped his badge from the nightstand to his belt after slipping into his uniform boots. Then leaned over and gave you a long, deep kiss. "I love you."

"I love you. Come home to me," you kissed him and pulled back, your fingers pressing the medallion of safe keeping against his chest. Paul touched his forehead to yours before he pressed his lips to your own in a soft kiss and headed out. You heard the door click as he left your apartment, and you gave a sigh, settling down into the bed, pulling his pillow to your naked chest as you closed your eyes. Whilst you knew that this was the job, hell, you’d done it yourself for long enough, it still never made it easier and for some inexplicable reason, tonight it made you even more twitchy than normal. But, that was more than likely down to the fact you’d managed to enjoy some quality time together tonight, and it had been so good.

Before long you drifted off to sleep, and you had no idea what time it was when the cordless rang, shrilling through the apartment, raising you from your slumber, but as you blinked yourself awake, it was still pitch black outside. 

"Hello," you croaked. 

"Y/N," you recognized the voice immediately, given your own happenings with IA. 

"Captain Biggs," you replied, suddenly fully awake as you sat up in bed, the covers clutched to your chest.

"It's Paul,” his voice was low and serious and instantly you felt a cold, icy dread floor your system from your head to your toes as he passed, taking a breath, “a unit is on its way for you."

***** Part 2

[morganaspendragonss]

just know that i will be with you

@911lonestarangstweek day 1 - c is for...crutches, cry, care

title from moon by jonah kagen

follow on to the meetings for those in my wake

ao3 | 1.5k | recovery, hurt tk, supportive carlos, brain damage

Carlos chews on his lip as he parks the Camaro outside the 126, glancing nervously over at TK. It’s been six months since the attack that almost took him away from them, three since TK was discharged from the hospital, and the first time either of them have been here during that time. Carlos had wanted to wait even longer, but TK had insisted, and it’s always been hard to refuse him anything.

It’s even harder now; coming within a hair’s breadth of losing him has only made Carlos more willing to give TK anything he needs. Even if that includes bringing him to the place his life had, metaphorically and almost literally, ended.

“I called ahead to tell your dad that we were coming,” he says softly, keeping his tone low so as not to startle TK. “He says the team are looking forward to seeing you.”

TK smiles at that, a little lopsided, breaking his gaze from the window to look at Carlos. It’s clear how excited he is; though the team have been visiting frequently both while TK was still in hospital and since he was discharged, Carlos knows TK has missed being at work and hanging with them at the station. It’s been an adjustment for sure, and it was hard for TK to accept that he’d never be able to return to his old job again. They’d had many a conversation about it, most of them ending with TK getting angry, then breaking down in tears in Carlos’s arms, his emotions harder to control since the incident.

Hopefully, when TK’s more independent, he’ll be able to find something to do, but for now he’s mostly stuck at home, and it’s been wearing on them both. Carlos is glad to get out, even if this is the last place he wants to bring TK.

“You ready?” he asks, smiling as TK nods enthusiastically. He quickly jogs out of the car and runs to the other side before TK gets any ideas about trying to get out himself—yet another ‘conversation’ they’ve had too many times—and grabs TK’s crutches from the back seat. If Carlos had his way, TK would still be using the wheelchair regularly, but on some things, it’s better to admit defeat than to push.

That doesn’t stop him from packing it in the trunk at all times, just in case.

TK scowls at the crutches but accepts them without complaint, slowly levering himself upright with Carlos’s help. He’s getting better at walking now, and Carlos can’t help but smile with pride as he remembers how hard TK has worked to get where they are.

It’s been a long, long road, and sometimes it’s felt never-ending. But seeing TK’s progress these past months, how much better he is compared to those first few days when there was still the fear that his body could give out at any moment… Well, Carlos considers it nothing short of a miracle.

Both the ambulance and the firetruck are parked in the bay when they enter the station and it doesn’t take too long for them to locate the team, all gathered around the kitchen counter. The new paramedic, Lukas, is there too—and this is one of the parts that Carlos had been worried about.

In truth, Lukas has been with the 126 for months, ever since it became clear that TK wouldn’t be able to come back even if he did pull through. He’s a good guy and fits in well, but he’s also TK’s replacement, so this meeting could go either way.

The team call out greetings as they approach and Lukas stands up, a wide grin on his lips. “TK, right?” he says, holding a hand out. “I’ve heard loads about you—man, I’m so sorry for what happened, really. It sucks.”

Carlos winces at the mention of the incident and watches TK carefully for his reaction. He stares in confusion at Lukas’s hand for a long moment before his brain seems to work out what he’s supposed to do. He takes his left hand out of the crutch, Carlos taking it and steadying him as he does so, and slowly shakes Lukas’s, eyeing him warily.

“H-Hi,” TK says eventually, Lukas’s good mood apparently infectious as he starts to smile. Carlos sighs in relief, then helps TK over to the counter and into a chair, fussing more than is probably necessary to make sure he’s comfortable. “Carlos, I’m fff-fine,” TK protests, though he’s grown more than used to Carlos’s protective behaviour by now.

Carlos just leans up to kiss TK’s forehead. “I know,” he whispers, stroking his cheek before sliding into the chair next to him. “I know you are.”

He’s pleasantly surprised by how smoothly things go from there. After all this time, the team are more than used to TK’s condition and Lukas learns quickly, adjusting his tone and mannerisms when he notices TK flinching at the louder noises and sudden movements. Seeing TK’s smile and his obvious happiness at being around the crew allows Carlos to relax too, and he finds himself pulled into a conversation with Paul and Marjan on the merits of chunky vs. smooth peanut butter.

Of course, things can never be simple for them. Carlos is about to suggest they get going—he’s noticed TK starting to flag, though he’s been making a valiant effort for the team’s sake—when the alarm starts blaring through the station and the crew jump into action.

It’s a scene TK has known his entire life, but the blows to the head he’d taken during the attack left him more sensitive to certain things, unable to process them as quickly as he used to. Judging by the panic that floods his face and the way he claps his hands to his ears, this is clearly one of them.

TK’s shock has him scrambling to get off his chair and out of the firehouse, but his diminished coordination and the fact that his hands are otherwise occupied send him pitching forward instead. Carlos is off his own seat in an instant, catching TK and holding him close to his chest, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

Lukas catches his eyes as he runs past and he pauses for a moment, eyeing TK. “He okay?” he asks worriedly, and Carlos nods.

“It’ll pass.”

And it does; five minutes later, after the engines have pulled out and the noise has died down, TK starts pressing on Carlos’s chest, a sure sign that he needs space. Carlos steps back willingly, though not before making sure TK is steady on his feet. A bright flush colours his cheeks and he won’t meet Carlos’s eyes, and Carlos knows what he’s going to say before he even opens his mouth.

“I’m s-s—” TK frowns and breathes slowly, concentrating hard. Carlos stays silent, knowing that this is something TK needs to figure out himself. “I—”

He growls in frustration, his eyes welling with tears. For all the progress TK has made, his recovery hasn’t been linear, and after a scare like the alarm just now, it’s harder for him to connect his brain and his mouth. They’ve been trying to take this one step at a time, but it’s been hard for them both, and TK always feels like he’s failing whenever he struggles to get a word out or when his fingers fumble over an everyday task.

Carlos has tried to tell him that it’s okay, but his husband is so stubborn that sometimes it feels like a lost cause.

TK’s hands are clenched into fists so tight that his nails must be cutting into his palms, so Carlos steps forward and takes them in his own, telegraphing his movements clearly.

“Hey, hey,” he says softly, worming his fingers in between TK’s. “Don’t do that. You’ll get there, it’s okay.”

TK sniffs, still refusing to look at Carlos, and snatches one of his hands back to wipe roughly at his eyes. Too rough, but Carlos isn’t able to stop him before a bright red scratch appears under his left eye—whether it was deliberate or not, he can’t tell, but it doesn’t make much of a difference. Carlos catches his hand again and holds them tight, pulling TK into his side.

“Let’s go home, huh?” he says, knowing that more reassurances will likely lead to more resistance from TK.

Thankfully, TK nods, and he allows Carlos to support him as they walk out the station. He stares despondently out the window once he’s situated, but he looks over when Carlos gets in too, which feels like a win in itself.

“I’m sorry,” he says, voice clear, and Carlos can tell that the feat even makes TK a little happier.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Carlos says, leaning over to kiss him. “I’m proud of you.”

And, if TK’s bright grin is any indication, Carlos knows that he’s proud of himself too.

[ikonct95]

expectations vs reality

Summary: Your sister returns to Chicago during Christmas break after studying a year abroad in South Korea. To you and your family’s surprise, she brings along her boyfriend who is also visiting family. Imagine your surprise when you find out who his older brother is. 

“Where are they?” Your mother huffs anxiously as she peeks through the curtains, looking for your father’s white Tayota car. Your father went to the airport earlier this afternoon to pick up your younger sister from the airport who had been studying in South Korea for the past year and is back for break.

“I’m sure they’re on their way.” You said patiently. You were certain that years ago, when you were visiting your family after studying abroad in Korea as well, your mother had been reacting the same way while your sister tried to calm her down. Your mother tend to get anxious when impatient and would often call your father and nag him, which in result would make him irritated and no one wanted for the Christmas spirit to be ruined. 

“They’re here!” Your mother gushes, seeming to have unheard your earlier statement. She pushes away from the window and rushes to the front door to greet your sister. Her usual cry of delight dies down and your eyebrow raises in curiosity at the sudden change of atmosphere. Briefly, you entertained the thought of your sister returning home with her hair dyed an ugly shade of neon green. Chuckling, you got up from the couch and went to the door to see what had your mother awkwardly gapping outdoor. 

You are greeted by the sight of three people; your father who is getting the luggage from the trunk of his car, your sister who has a bright grin on full display and a young gentleman whom you’ve never seen before, standing awkwardly next to your sister with an unsure smile on his lips.

“Y/N!” Your sister calls your name once she spots you, “This is Mark, my boyfriend!” She announces and wraps her arm extra tight around Mark’s, making him look slightly out of place, uncomfortable.

“Hey.” You greet with a slight wave.

As if being snapped out of a trance, your mother’s smile returns and she greets the young boy warmly, “Mark, welcome!” And walks the short steps to them and hugs the two. She then holds onto Mark and pulls him inside, unaware of the looks of uncertainty he keeps throwing at your sister. 

Your father shortly passes through with your sister’s luggages and follows your mother. 

The two of you stand outside in the middle of the snow covered front lawn, “Boyfriend, huh?” You raise your eyebrow at your sister. 

“Yep.” She replies, popping the ‘p’.

“That’s pretty daring of you. You know, bringing him over for Christmas.”

Your sister shrugs, uncaring for your words, “It’s just for tonight. His parents and brother are out of town and won’t be back till tomorrow. I told him he could have dinner with us and then we’ll drop him off.”

❄️

“So, Mark.” Your mother begins once dinner is set on the table, “Y/S/N, says that your family are out of town?”

Mark, with his mouth full, nods his head. “Yeah, they went upstate to visit my great aunt who just got out of the hospital after breaking her leg. She’s fine though.” He replies after swallowing the food in his mouth.

Your mother gives him a sympathetic look but your father then asks, “What do you study, Mark?” 

Caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, he answers, “I double major in English and Korea Literature.” Both your parents look impressed while your sister looks at him as if he holds the moon, the stars and the sun.

You muffle your chuckle at the display. They were cute, sure, but you’ve never seen your sister like this. It was nice seeing her happy, though. However, as her older sister, You had to play the role of overprotective sibling. 

During desert, your sister looks at you as if she remembered something, “Hey, Y/N/N, Mark and I are going sightseeing downtown with his older brother, wanna come?”

Before you could turn her down on her offer - Not wanting to be stuck with a complete stranger while your sister goes gaga over her boyfriend and ignore you the whole time - your mother interjects and answers on your behalf, “I think that’s a wonderful idea!” She then turns to face you and you can see her speaking to you through her eyes. They said, you better not turn them down.  “You’ve been so busy and stressed out because of work, going downtown would be great for you!” She adds while your father silently nods in agreement, too engrossed with his dessert.

Well, guess you’ll be sightseeing through the city with your sister, her boyfriend and some stranger. 

❄️

The next day, you wake up to a message from your sister which read, we’ll meet Mark and his brother downtown at noon, don’t be late!

Checking the clock, you groan at the numbers. It’s ten o’clock and you barely have enough time to shower, get dressed and drive all the way downtown. Pushing your body with incomprehensible grumbling, you make your way to the bathroom and took a quick warm shower. You then spend the next twenty minutes curling your hair and get dress. You’re clad in a black high neck, a mini red leather jacket and woolly pair of black leggings. Your make-up is simple and minimal and just as you finish applying your lipstick, loud banging sounds coming from your door, “Hurry up, we’re gonna be late!” Sighing, you pick up your cross bag and shove your feet into your faux fur black boots and exit your room.

Your sister is standing by the door, typing away on her phone to Mark no doubt. 

“Be nice.” Your mother reminds you as you pass by her, “And would it kill you to smile?”

You smile at her sarcastically and she rolls her eyes at you.

The drive downtown was oddly smooth and fast. The streets weren’t very crowded but there were enough cars that made the drive longer than normal. Though it was all good as you made it ten minutes before noon. 

“We’ll be meeting at P.F Chang’s.” You sister informs you, still texting at her phone. You let out a grunt and drive to the Chinese restaurant. 

❄️

They’re late. 

Normally, you don’t mind when people are late but they’re fifteen minutes late and you aren’t really looking forward for this whole outing in the first place. You’re slightly irritated but your sister didn’t seem to mind as she places everyone’s orders because Mark said she should so that the food will get ready by the time they arrive. 

“You’re gonna love Johnny!” You sister gushes, well aware of the irritation you’re feeling.

“Johnny?” You say and take a sip from your coke. 

“Oh,” Your sister gapes, “Didn’t I tell you Markie’s brother’s name? It’s Johnny and he’s around your age.”

Markie.

Okay, you never guessed that your sister was that kind of girl but whatever as long as she’s happy.

Finally, two minutes later and in walks Mark towards your table and behind him is...No, no way. It can’t be. 

“Hiiii!” Your sister squeals as she hugs Mark and pecks his lips in greeting. After parting, she waves to the man behind her boyfriend and then looks at you.

“Y/N, meet Mark’s brother-”

“Johnny.” You addressed the man she’s gesturing at.

“Y/N.”

The couple stared between you in surprise, “You two know each other?” Mark asks as he hesitantly steals glances your way, as if scared that his older brother might have done something bad to you and he should grab the taller man and bolt.

“We dated.” You answer before Johnny could have the chance to do so.

There’s a slight air of awkwardness surrounding you that’s quickly interrupted by your sister, “Oh, look! There’s our waiter!”

Wether it’s luck or your sister’s quick thinking on her feet, She sits down next to you and across from Mark. While Johnny sits across from you and you wonder if this is a good thing or not.

Maybe fate wanted to have a laugh today. First, you had to join your sister and her boyfriend and now you find out that his older brother was your ex-boyfriend. Out of the billion of men around the world, you sister just had to date your ex-boyfriend’s younger brother. You hope fate is having a good laugh at your misery.

“Soo,” Mark breaks the awkward silence once the waiter places your food and walks away but you wish he hadn’t, “How did you two meet?”

You open your mouth to respond to his question but Johnny beats you to it, “We dated while we were studying in Korea.”

You resist the urge to roll your eyes at him. Typical, Johnny just had to be the centre of attention. You can feel your sister hit your leg under the table and guess that you were making a face that if a person had passed by would have labeled as rude. 

You could see Mark’s expression pale at the revelation. Wether he was thinking that he and your sister are similar and might break up in the future like the two of you had or not will forever be a mystery.

“Mark’s told me so much about you!” Your sister states in an attempt to change the topic, “You’re a radio host and a DJ?”

Radio host and a DJ? You’re well aware of Johnny’s love for the EDM scene and his involvement in the genre but you never imagined he would pursue a career in it. He had seemed so certain to follow his father’s footsteps in being a meteorologist and be a weatherman reporter at the local tv station just like his dad.

“Yeah.” Johnny confirms after taking a bite of shrimp dumplings, “I host Kpop Tuesday and the late night chill session.”

That was Johnny?

You don’t really listen to the radio often, preferring to listen to Spotify but when your plan runs out, you’d tune in to the radio from time to time but not long enough to catch the name of the host nor listen to their voice.

Johnny looks at you smugly and you wonder if he could read your mind by the looks he’s giving you.

“You’re a middle school English teacher, right?” Marks asks, gaze directed at you.

“Yeah.” You answer after breaking eye contact with Johnny, “The kids are great.” You smile at him.

A sparkle of interest appears in his eyes and he begins questioning you about the job. You learn that Mark wants to be an author but knows that he needs a job with a stable income. He dabbles in freestyle rap to earn a few extra cash because he knows that the teacher salary in the U.S is crap in comparison to Korea.  

“Why don’t you teach in Korea then?” You ask him and take a spoonful of the Mongolian beef, “It’s one of the options but I don’t know if I can handle the crazy work culture over there.”

True. You’ve worked a part time job for a bit and it was a miracle how you hadn’t lost your mind. Though, it was thanks to Johnny that you didn’t. He would always visit you during the day and when he didn’t have any classes, he’d walk you home after your shift. 

Attacked by the memories of the past, you look up from your place to engage in a conversation with Mark about the benefits of teaching in South Korea but are stopped from doing so by Johnny’s intense stare. Once again, it seemed as if though Johnny had read your mind and is remembering the same thing you had just remembered. 

You don’t hold the contact for long and tune into whatever your sister and Mark are talking about.

 ❄️

Your next destination is the arcades and you’re seriously dreading it. Not that you hate arcades or anything but your first date with Johnny was at the arcades as well.

As you watch your sister and Mark play around with loud laughters of joy, you’re teleported to the day you and Johnny were at the arcades, similar laughs could be heard. The two of you were very competitive and stubborn and didn’t leave till ten minutes until closing time. He even managed to win you a giant stuffed Toni Toni Chopper plushie for you. 

It wasn’t a fancy first date but it was the perfect one. You had lots of fun and had shared your first kiss later when Johnny dropped you off at your apartment. You could vividly remember how you called your mom and told her what had happened and how happy you were and can’t wait to go on more dates with Johnny.

You’re snapped out from your trip down memory lane at the sound of an electronic music playing to your left. Following the sound, you see Johnny dancing away and scoffed at the people gushing over his skills.

Hating the smug look on his face, you march to the dance board, “Oh, oh, oh! Someone has declared a challenge!” He loudly announces in a bad British accent and you roll your eyes at the women giggling a few feet away and whispering to each other while staring at Johnny. 

“You’re going down, Suh.”

Johnny’s honey colored eyes ignites with the fiery determination to win, “You’re going down!”

The two of you dance for nearly an hour and only mange to stop when Mark and your sister pull you away, the crowd that had gathered at the beginning nowhere in sight. 

“Maybe you should call it a tie.” Your sister suggested and you and Johnny glare at her.

“Come on guys, this is so lame!” Mark adds and tugs at Johnny’s arm with a look telling him to knock it off. 

Once the two finally stop, you all went your separate ways. You catch a glimpse of Mark and your sister heading to the claw machines so you make it towards the shooting games. Johnny nowhere in sight. 

When it was around four in the afternoon, you all regrouped by the exit. Mark and you sister had the generic teddy bears with red hearts in their hands while Johnny had a Pikachu plushie. You, however, had a Kakashi funkopop in your hand. Ignoring the scoff from Johnny, because you’re sure he remembers how much you obsessed over the silver haired fictional character, you follow your sister and her boyfriend to the next destination. 

❄️

It’s around sunset when you make it to the bean. There are a few street performers despite the cold weather so you decide to stand back and watch them while your sister and Mark head to the bean to take some pictures. Johnny, and his love for photography, takes several pictures of the setting sun and the buildings nearby. 

He returns to stand next to you when he’s done and watches the performance. A man is strumming his guitar and is singing an unknown song. It isn’t until he starts strumming his guitar to the song Girls Like You did you involuntarily tense. This is yours and Johnny’s song, the song that you’ve danced and sang to a thousand times.  

You could feel Johnny have a similar reaction to the song being played and you avoid his eyes. The man’s voice was slightly husky and his version of the song is slow. You can see a few couples embracing each other and sway along to the music and your instincts to run away kicks in.

Thankfully, you’re saved from doing so as your sister waves at you and beckons you towards her and Mark. You make your way towards them and don’t look back to see if Johnny is following or not.

Apparently, he is as your sister leans in and whispers in your ear, “I know this is uncomfortable for you, what with Johnny being your ex and all, but can we please take a group photo?” 

Not wanting to turn down your sister and upset the fun night she’s having, you agree. 

Mark has probably said the same thing to Johnny, if his body language is anything to go by. He doesn’t want to take a group photo but he also doesn’t want to upset his younger brother. 

Your sister walks off to ask one of the strangers nearby to take a picture. You make sure to stay as far away from Johnny as you can. Him doing the same thing with Mark and your sister standing in between.

❄️

It’s when the sun has finally set and day turned to night did you finally decide to leave. 

Mark and your sister are in front, holding hands, while you and Johnny remain at the back as far away from each other as possible. The taller is busy texting away at his phone and you have the small urge to curiously take a peek. 

Could it be that he’s texting his girlfriend? I mean, it has been three years since you and Johnny had broken up and two years since you’ve returned home from Korea. A lot can happen.

If Johnny has a girlfriend, however, then he wouldn’t have stayed and would’ve returned home out of respect for his girlfriend. Unless he’s cheating on her? You quickly shook your head, Johnny was many things but a cheater isn’t one of them.

Noticing your thought process, you look away and stare straight ahead. 

“I kind of feel cold.” You hear you sister whisper as she rubs her arms. Of course she’d feel cold. She’s only wearing a sweater and a pair of jeans.

Mark, being the perfect gentleman, takes off his coat and drapes it across your sister’s shoulders, “This should keep you warm.” and wraps his arm around her waits. 

Your sister smiles up at him and presses herself closer to him. 

Seeing their display of affection and how warm they must be feeling, you feel a chill run through you, “Damn I’m cold too.” You mutter. 

“And, what do you want me to do about it?” 

You startle in surprise and snap your head to where Johnny is walking just a few feet away from you. He’s still tapping at his phone and you wonder if you had imagined what he had said, when he continues, “I’m not giving you my coat I’ll freeze to death.”

Before you could say or do anything, like smack him and call him an ass for being a jerk, you’re interrupted by Mark’s voice, “Y’all want coffee?”

  A gush of warm air embraces you when you enter Starbucks. You make it straight to the couches placed in front of the fireplace and sit down, stretching your hands to the red and orange flames dancing before you.

As you sit in front of the fire, you begin to feel yourself doze off in the arms of the source of heat. And you would’ve fallen asleep had it not been for the mug of coffee placed on the table in front of you, jolting you awake. 

Looking up, you see Johnny walk around and sit on the armchair next to you. “Decaf vanilla latte with caramel drizzle, right?” He asks.

You pretend not to notice the way your heart skips a beat at him remembering your coffee order. You’ve dated for two years and drank coffee all the time since Johnny is a coffee addict basically. Of course he’d remember it. 

You said nothing though and took hold of the mug to take a sip, almost moaning at the heat the liquid provided. 

Just as you’re about to take another sip and burn your tongue, you notice that your sister and Mark are nowhere in sight.

“Those dorks had tickets to some movie they booked without inviting us.” Johnny snorts, “Guess the babysitting job is over.”

Fuck. You, alone with Johnny? Not good. 

Unsure of what to do, you contemplate abandoning your drink in favor of bolting out of here and make it back home. Though, you know your mother is going to kill you if she finds out that you let your sister alone downtown in the middle of the night even though she’s with her boyfriend. It’s your job as her older sister! Your mother would say. Even though your sister literally left without telling you. 

“So you never told your sister about us?”

Blinking away from your thoughts, you look up from the mug in your hands and into Johnny’s questioning gaze. 

“I did but not much. I don’t think she even remembers I dated in college. You were-” You blush at what you’re about to say, “The only one I’ve dated.” And look away.

“I told Mark.” You hear Johnny say, “I just don’t think he expected you’re his girlfriend’s older sister.” Sure, but your name is pretty ethnic, and a rare one at that, so you doubt Mark hadn’t put the pieces together. 

A peaceful silence falls among you as you both sip your coffees, lost in your own world. 

“You know I-” Johnny starts before stopping himself from continuing, as if changing his mind. Biting his lip, he stares into your eyes with such intensity that it was difficult to look away from him. It’s as if you’re trapped by his iron grip, “I don’t really remember why we broke up.”

Okay, that wasn’t what you thought he’s going to say. Of all the topics, why did he decide to talk about the one thing you didn’t want to talk about.

“We got along well and we talked about our future together. I was even contemplating converting religions for you.”

Your eyes widen in surprise. This is news to you. 

You’ve discussed matters of religion with Johnny a few times throughout your relationship. Sometimes they even ended up in huge fights where neither of you would talk to the other for days. Neither of you wanted to force the other to convert religions but also wondered why couldn’t you just convert. He to a Muslim or you to a Christian. Though, Johnny never once mentioned that he was contemplating it. 

“I guess we grew out of love.” You confess after a short stretch of silence, “We’ve both found new hobbies or interests to invest in; you with your photography and me with my creative writing work shop. We didn’t get to spend time together like we did before.”

It’s true. 

Both of your interests were demanding and your majors in school were stressful and required even more time and energy. By the time you did have time for each other, you’d be too tired to do anything. Not even talk. Things turned sour when you’d get irritated when you returned home to see dirty dishes in the sink. Johnny would get annoyed when You’d forget to buy groceries. Soon, the things you loved about each other irritated you to no end. Gradually, the two of you fell out of love and practically became strangers and call it quits right after spring semester finals.

“I remember.” Is all that Johnny could say. 

“Do you think the same will happen to them?” You decide to ask, “Mark and my sister.”

Johnny shrugs, “Maybe. Maybe not.”

Nothing is said after that. You stare off into the distance while Johnny text at his phone. Shortly, he lifts his head and asks, “I know this is, like, weird but can you give me a ride home? Mark took my car.” 

Your eyebrows go upwards, “Are you sure your girlfriend is okay with this?”

Johnny’s eyebrows furrows and his nose scrunches up, “What girlfriend?”

Flushing, you look away as you explain, “Whoever you’ve been texting.”

Realization dawns on Johnny, “I was texting my friend Jaehyun. You remember him, right? Yeah, he’s visiting family too and I asked if he could give me a ride home but he’s too busy babysitting his cousins.”

Of course you remember Jaehyun. He was your classmate in your econ 101 class and is Johnny’s best friend. That was how the two of you were introduced.

“If you can’t take me home I’ll just call uber-”

“I’ll drop you off.”

❄️

The ride to Johnny’s house is spent silently save for the music playing through the speakers. There’s no air of awkwardness or tension between you. 

“This is me.” Johnny spoke once you’ve parked in front of a modest sized home.

Instead of opening the door and exiting your car, Johnny turns to face you with a serious look on his handsome features, “Y/N, I know I have no right asking this- I can’t even believe I’m even saying this - but can we give us another chance?”

You blink at him.

“Nothing serious, just us being...acquaintances .” He settles with for a lack of better term, “Then we’ll see where things go from there.”

You didn’t think his offer through and readily agreed, “Okay.” you say, “As long as we take things slow.”

He smiles at you, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” And exists your car. 

You watch him as he walks the few steps leading to his house, unsure of what the future might bring you. But as Johnny turns around to wave at you, you feel optimistic to the road ahead of you.

[1337wtfomgbbq]

First Year: 1969

Had anybody told him that he would be getting a letter in early 1969, being delivered by a man in strange robes telling him that he was a wizard and he would be going to a school called 'Hogwarts' and learn how to use magic, Sean would have asked if they were dropped on their head as an infant too much.

But it all became horrible reality as the man, Professor Ivan Dreyfuß, who taught Ancient Runes and Alchemy at Hogwarts as he explained, told him he would be taking him to London to a place called Diagon Alley, where he would be able to buy the stuff he needed for school.

What followed was a lengthy discussion between Sean, his older brother Andrew, his mother and Professor Dreyfuß about the following proceedings.

As it turned out Sean's best friends, Liam and Odhran, who lived in the same street as himself, had both also received the same letter as he himself.

That was why Professor Dreyfuß took all three of them, plus a parental guardian, to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies.

//《••》\\

Sean still wasn't sure if the whole thing wasn't an elaborate joke, up until he stepped foot into Diagon Alley.

Unless they were all having the same dream, they were all getting books filled with spells and instructions on how to brew potions.

„Alright, this is real after all,“ Sean mumbled once he saw the wand that chose Liam, as Ollivander had put it, spray a plume of water.

His own wand, blackthorn with dragonheart string if he remembered correctly, spurted some small fireworks once Sean swung it as Ollivander instructed.

Odhran's parents stared in pure amazement at the cloud of green clovers his wand produced.

Their way to platform 9 ¾ on September 1st that year was just as surreal as their visit to Diagon Alley. This time however, Andrew and Henry could tag along.

Andrew wasn't really that impressed, promising him that he would be holding the line at home, while Henry was utterly fascinated by the hogwarts express and wouldn't stop asking their mother if he couldn't go to hogwarts as well.

„But I want to go too. Please, please, please,“ Henry begged, and their mother smiled and layed a hand on his shoulder.

„Maybe you'll get a letter too when you turn eleven,“ she said. Six year old Henry looked as if he couldn't wait to grow older.

A family shuffled past them, an older bloke and a boy that looked to be their age.

The boy had dark brown hair that was all curly and brown eyes that made Sean's stomach do a backflip as they locked eyes.

The boy smiled at him before being herded off by his mother, another family walked past them having Sean loose sight of the boy.

Liam and Odhran showed up a moment later and made him forget about the boy.

They hurried to board the train. An older girl had told them they would be leaving the station soon.

Sean promised his mother he would be writing, since Professor Dreyfuß had told them Hogwarts had a whole fleet of owls the students could use to stay in contact with home.

Henry hugged him and made him promise to write about the school, while Andrew patted his shoulder.

Once on the train he, Liam and Odhran got into a compartment, only for Odhran to promptly offer a fellow first year a seat.

He turned out to be from Derry as well; his name was Shain.

But they didn't stay in their compartment for long, as a plan had formed in Sean's mind.

They were already four first years that were from Derry, and, as it turned out, all of their families were also involved with the IRA. Who knew, maybe there were more.

And Sean turned out to be right, as they found Ryan and Thomas, who were also from Derry. Thomas had even went to the same primary school as them, they just hadn't been in the same class, but Odhran remembered him being pretty good at football.

Sean also remembered Andrew mentioning a boy he hab been in a brawl with british soldiers with, his name had been Doxey.

The world was a pretty small place indeed.

//《••》\\

„What is that? IRA?“ a voice said just as they were in conversation about the current state of affairs in the Bogside.

Sean turned his head towards the source of it. It was a rather short girl with dark blond hair that stood in the open doors of their compartment.

She wore those robes the wizards had been wearing in Diagon Alley, so she was probably not from the muggle world as they were.

„I wouldn't know what it concerns you,“ Odhran snorted, prefering to ignore the girl. But she was oddly persistant.

„But you're talking about it so heatedly,“ she said, leaning more into their compartment, „It must be something important.“

If Sean didn't knew better he would have said her mouth was salivating at the prospect of gaining some gossip.

He got up. „You should leave,“ he said.

Standing so close to her he realized that he was towering over her, she had to tilt her head back to be able to look him in the eyes.

„But-“ she started as Sean pushed her out of the doorframe.

„Now,“ he hissed. She looked quite surprised and about to open her mouth again as Sean bodily turned her and pushed her down the hallway. „Goodbye,“ he said, quickly adding, „Go follow them,“ as he saw a boy with hair as bright as a beakon and a boy that looked like military school further down the hallway, „maybe you can annoy them.“

The girl stumbled off as Sean gave her a shove and immediately as he turned back he was faced with another new face.

„You know, you don't have to squeeze all of you into one compartment,“ a boy with golden blond hair said. He had a pretty thick scottish accent.

Sean had been about to groan in annoyance, thinking the boy would be as nosy as the girl, but sighed in relieve instead.

The boy had to be a first year as well, as he looked to be around their age.

He also wore one of those robes the girl had worn. But unlike hers the boys robes weren't black, his were of a dark maroon color. The remainder of his clothes also looked strangely old, like something from photos of people from the 19th century.

That reminded him, he had risked a look into his 'history of magic' book, and spend an entire evening reading about the goblin riots.

„What do you care?“ Odhran snorted, at the same time as Thomas said, „It's alright. We don't mind.“ They stared at each other.

And Sean remembered how this awkward timing had sometimes ended with Odhran and Thomas in a scuffle that needed to be broken up by one of their teachers; and them getting detention for it.

Sean chuckled as he remembered that, and so did the boy in the doorway.

„Well, alright,“ he said, „just thought I'd offer some of you a seat. Lewis said those compartments only hold four people.“

„No complaints here,“ Shain said and he and the other boys shrugged their shoulders in agreement. It was a bit crammed but they could manage.

„Well, Lew always liked to tell bullshit,“ the boy snorted, which made Sean perk up.

„Your brother's already going to hogwarts?“ he asked, his interest spiked.

The boy nodded, raising a brow as Sean leaned against the wall next to him, crossing his arms. „Do tell.“

„I don't know how much is there to tell,“ the boy said, „Everybody knows about hogwarts, right?“

Sean shrugged and the rest of the boys also looked rather lost.

The boy's eyes widened. „You're all... muggle borns?“ he asked.

„If that means we had no idea we were wizards, then yes,“ Ryan said and the rest of the boys nodded as well.

//《••》\\

The boy, who turned out to be named Aaron, got extremely excited and soon they were seven boys in a compartment for four.

Aaron spend the remainder of the train ride telling them all sorts of things about the wizarding world, hogwarts and quidditch.

„So it's kinda like basketball but on brooms,“ Liam mumbled through a mouth full of pumpkin pasties they had gotten from the sweets trolley.

Aaron, trying to contain a chocolate frog, looked at him confused and the frog managed to jump out of his hands and onto the ground. „What's basketball?“

„Doesn't matter,“ Sean said, waving his hand dismissively, „Football is the only important thing.“

„What is football?“ Aaron asked, and now it was the boys that groaned.

„There is so much we can still show you,“ Odhran grinned, laying an arm around Aaron's shoulders, who looked at Sean with a confused expression that only grew once he saw Sean patting his trunk with a broad grin.

„I hope you got no cat in there,“ he said warily and Sean laughed.

„Of course not, just a football. My mom wouldn't have a cat in the house, she hates them.“

Aaron nodded. „Any of you got an owl?“ he asked once Odhran let go of him.

All of them shook their heads. Thomas' father wasn't too sure about having an owl at home, while Sean and Liam couldn't affort one.

„I have one,“ Aaron said proudly. „An eagle-owl.“

„Wow,“ Odhran said, sounding unimpressed. Ryan and Thomas on the other hand asked to see the owl later on.

//《••》\\

They continued talking about quidditch and football and what was happening in the wizarding world vs in the muggle world.

It was strange for the boys to think that Aaron had no idea what was going on in Northern Ireland, just as Aaron couldn't believe they didn't knew a thing about the blood purity movement around he who called himself 'the dark lord'.

„It's so stupid,“ Aaron said. They had all changed into their school robes once Aaron's brother Lewis had showed up and told them they would be arriving at hogwarts shortly. „If we hadn't mixed with muggles we would've gone extinct long ago.“

„At least we would've gone extinct with grace,“ a voice said.

The voice belonged to a girl. With her dark hair put into a tight bun and her nose held high she shoved Ryan out of her way. „I wouldn't want your dirty blood.“

„They surely don't want your blood either,“ Aaron hissed at her, but the girl didn't seem phased.

She snorted her disdain and strutted off and out of the train.

„I swear this whole blood status thing is totally bonkers,“ Liam said as they made their way out of the train and onto the platform. Aaron nodded avidly.

They watched as the rest of the new students pooled out of their compartment. They were about to follow the older students as there was a loud, booming voice calling over the platform that made many of them flinch.

„Firs' years to me!“

It was a giant man in a furry coat who was holding a lantern and waving them towards him.

„Come on,“ he yelled, „we don't have all evening. Let's get to the boats.“

„Boats?“ Thomas asked, sounding frightened. He apparently didn't like riding boats.

The whole ride over the lake that he spend in a boat with Sean, Liam and Aaron he wouldn't stop shaking,

Thankfully the ride over the lake didn't take long and Aaron assured Thomas over and over again that this was the only time they would have to cross the lake like that.

Thomas still breathed a sigh of relieve as he was finally on firm ground again.

The whole lot of them followed the giant man, up an awefull lot of stairs towards the castle. It seemed to go on forever until they finally managed to reach the top of the stairs and an entrance to the castle.

[springday-aus]

Lifeguard!AU with Kuanlin

moodboard link

Group: solo / [formally] Wanna One

Member: Lai Kuanlin

Genre: fluff, romance

part of the Odd Summer Jobs!AU ⤗ introduction to the Summer Boys! 

check out the others on the au masterlist!

Type: Bulletpoint AU

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: check out the other odd summer jobs!au on the au masterlist!

Kuanlin is the next Summer Boy! 

so, he works as a lifeguard

picture this: a lanky and gangly boy with too long of legs in some bright red board shorts with lil fire emojis on them and a lil waterproof lifeguard bag with a first aid emergency kit 

he’s CPR certified

(luckily he hasn’t had to use it yet)

anyways 

this kind of works a bit more differently than others would think

like he isn’t an official lifeguard of a pool or beach or something

but rather, he’s basically hired to supervise pool parties 

which are most typically children birthday parties

he’s mainly hired by the moms that throw the parties and the adults are too busy getting drunk or something

either way, he’s there to make sure no one drowns 

it’s not a hard job tbh

he actually really likes it 

bc all he does is get invited to pool parties, eat cake and chill with the other kids 

at first, when the other boys proposed the idea

he was hesitant 

like who needs someone to watch their kids swim like some type of creep

turns out lots of parents do 

well, at least in their neighborhood

Chenle, at some point: “the Karens just needed someone to make sure they could get loose” 

it all turned out better than he originally thought 

which is a good thing, but it was just... unexpected 

anyways 

he gets along with all ages so 

whoever is at the party, he easily gets along with 

ofc he’s keeping an eye on the people swimming and stuff 

(luckily nothing drastic has happened, it is children pool parties)

but he’s also chatting with other people and just vibing with them

so his friends list is kind of insane 

one time he was out with Jihoon and Hwiyoung 

and some fourteen year old from a birthday party had went up and started a conversation with him, catching up and all that

it was super funny 

especially due to the look on their faces like 

they were so confused 

honestly, they haven’t even seem him, like, work?

like they clearly know what he does, but they’re also confused as to how it looks 

Sanha: “so like. you just chill on the side? is there a lifeguard chair?” 

Kuanlin: “not exactly” 

Jihoon: “have you ever even had to save anyone?” 

Mingi: “isn’t it a good thing if he hasn’t?” 

speaking of which 

while most of the boys are working to save up some money 

he’s kind of just doing it for fun 

you know what that means? 

low rates lmao

you know what rich people like more than money?

being cheap

(which is how Kuanlin gets clients but like whatever) 

so, while there are some downsides to the job 

(primarily the parents that give him shit)

he does actually really like his job

there’s interesting people and interesting events that unfold at all these pool parties

(apparently Becky next door is trying to homewreck the Andersons and… some shit unfolded during her son’s birthday pool party… tea)

okay, so I can’t talk about Kuanlin and NOT mention his looks

tbh, most of the moms ask him to work for the parties, right?

but, like then see his face… and then ask him if he does pool cleanings too

it’s just to look at him, let’s be real—have you seen him?

because of the sudden demand for pool cleaning, Kaunlin also does pool cleanings

(for a higher price, obviously)

so this has become every bored, suburban mother’s wet dream in the neighborhood

you come into the picture when your family threw your cousin’s birthday party who’s turning like

five? six?

(in your defense, it’s hard to keep track of those things)

anyways, it also happened to be a pool party

so Kuanlin’s doing his thing and you’re just chilling on the side

but then a kid falls into the pool

it’s not a big deal because the kid’s got like floaties and stuff

and like Kuanlin calmly goes into the water and swoops the kid up

the kid is out of the water and the mother is scolding them, saying how they needed to be more careful and all that other parenting stuff

but doesn’t get you isn’t that he just came in and helped the kid

(because that’s… his job)

(but also bc you lowkey don’t remember that kid lmao)

what does get you (and nearly everyone else in close proximity) is how good he looks coming out of the pool

the water droplets run from his fingers to his hair and down his face, dripping down his chin and….

hmm, yup

he’s got your attention now

after he gets out, he heads towards your direction….

plopping down on the empty spot next to yours and wiping down the water with his towel

and you wanna say you were subtle with your staring

but you were absolutely not

like dude

have you seen him?

anyways

he’s just chilling so you try to make conversation

You: “nice whistle”

you point to the little pink whistle that’s on a little necklace chain

Kuanlin: “thanks, it was a gift”

You: “pink?”

Kuanlin: “yeah, I picked out the color”

You: “you know, if you looked hard enough you could probably find someone to customize it”

from that, you two hit it off

and when the party was over… you and him may or may not have left with a new number on your phones

you both kept in contact

and you’re both having a good time talking to one another and having good conversations

Kuanlin… he enjoys your company, even without you physically present

it was just like a super slow burn for anything to even really happen

bc most of the time, it was texting

like you’ll see each other sometimes in the neighborhood

he was doing his thing and you were doing yours

what changes is when you and him meet…. with a third party

that third party being…. no other than the Summer Boys!

you ran into Kuanlin as you were leaving the convenience store

y’all do the little greetings and play catch up and stuff

and some of the boys are just like

Kuanlin, honey—who is this

meanwhile the others (like Jaemin and Chenle) are like

HELLO, ANY PARTNER OF KUANLIN’S IS A PARTNER OF—wait that isn’t how that works

at some point in the introductions and chaos, Jisung and Taehyun are apologizing for the chaotic atmosphere

it’s fine tho bc you got the message

but like you didn’t see the flush on Kuanlin’s cheeks when you didn’t deny it

but like also…….. he didn’t say anything either

like neither of y’all did…. even as y’all went the entire day together

window shopping

movies

ice cream

all that fun stuff you in the summer—hanging out together was different from phone communication and y’all were definitely feeling it

even with the boys present

but like they just kind of fueled it bc

they thought y’all were already dating

like they spend a good chunk of time with Kuanlin and he looks so content as he chats with you

it’s like he’s able to talk about a lot of things with you

so when you were like, hello it’s me c:

they were like

so YOU’RE the one on the other side of the phone

and let y’all have more moments together throughout the day

with the occasional interruption

at the end of it all, he walks you home

Kuanlin: “I’m sorry if our presence kind of overwhelmed you”

You: “no! not at all! it’s been nothing but fun”

You: “you guys are very entertaining though”

Kuanlin: “it’s all fun and games until you’re banned from a movie theater”

You: “have you been banned from a movie theater???”

Kuanlin: “......that is a story for another time”

it’s kind of a short walk from where you were, but you and Kuanlin have deliberately walking slower……

eventually you get to your door and he kind of just lingers

and so do you

Kuanlin: “I guess I’ll just see you around?”

You: “yeah, and we can plan for next time?”

Kuanlin: “yeah”

he smiles, his teeth shining and his cheeks with a light blush

You: “hopefully….. it’s just the two of us next time?”

his cheeks flush to an even darker shade and silently nods

after that, you two did make some plans to hang out……………………. alone

movies

dinner

a walk in the park

all that good stuff

but it feels different from last time……… a good different

and after that…….. these dates just continue

Kuanlin is an interesting boyfriend

bc he’s kind of shy… but also not really?

he’s got a weird balance

and it works

bc he’s friendly but also not

it’s just weird to explain

this also means you have to take the initiative

sometimes he will but half of the time he’ll also back out of it

(unless you encourage him ofc)

anyways

dating lifeguard!Kuanlin means you being a horrible flirt and asking if he can do cpr on you

You: “help, you took my breath away” ;)

Kuanlin: “why are you like this”

kidding

but not really—he loves it, but he’s also super embarrassed whenever you use those cheesy lines

he still kisses you tho

also he likes to act super cool

we all know he’s a cutie

(he does aegyo for you when you ask, but he’s not anyone else exploit that)

(but we know he’s got that natural aegyo)

anyways

after the pool parties and such, you basically come to pick him and help him dry off before y’all go off on one of y’all’s dates or something

or sometimes you tag along with him

it’s interesting to really observe him and he’s really just chilling with a bunch of other kids younger than him

you also manage to make a couple of new friends at these parties too lmao

just a side note tho, for one date you two DID go out to get his lil pink whistle customized

(it’s got fire emojis to match his swimming trunks)

honestly tho, just the image of Kuanlin with the little sunscreen on his nose and bag is just so adorable

you have many candid photos of him on your phone and took two hours deciding which one would be the wallpaper vs the lockscreen

(there’s one where he’s in this matching floatie with this little girl, he’s trying to help her swim in the pool………………. super cute)

anyways

your dates are almost always interrupted by one or some of the Summer Boys

completely unintentional and intentional at the same time

it’s not a bad thing that you get along with them, but…..

when Kuanlin told them you two were officially dating……..

Lucas: “CALLED IT”

Jihoon: “you couldn’t hold it off a couple more days? I had a bet going with Jaemin—sTOP HITTING ME YOU TREE”

it’s okay, you don’t mind it because it’s all fun to observe the chaos that your boyfriend finds himself in

[marlynnofmany]

The crossover that no one asked for!

I just reached 1,000 followers!  Time to celebrate.  Congratulations, @iliveinacomputerscreen, I just wrote a short story about three of the fandoms you’ve reblogged lately.  They are:

The Witcher

Untitled Goose Game

and Pokemon.

Thank you for the excuse to write this.  It’s 1528 words of fun.

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

The Witcher vs Three Pokemon and One Goose  

“So is that supposed to summon the monsters, or repel them?” Jaskier asked, pointing at the thing Geralt carried.

“Don’t know yet,” Geralt said.  He pushed through the underbrush, holding the red and white ball in front of him.

“I mean, it’s probably not an egg.  Right?”

“Probably.”

“They would have said if it attracted monsters,” Jaskier reasoned.  “I mean, they would have noticed.  On account of all the monsters.”

Geralt held up a hand, and Jaskier stumbled to a halt.

“What?”

“Shh.”

Sounds filtered through the trees: crackles and animal cries.  Also some rustling in the bushes.

“What is it?” Jaskier whispered, looking around.  Something crossed the path behind him, and he yelped.

“Quiet,” Geralt grumbled, drawing his sword.  He pushed forward.  Jaskier nervously followed, watching their backs.

Past a screen of dense trees, they discovered a battle between three small monsters.  A stripy yellow one shot lightning, a frog-like one shot vines, and an orange lizardy one breathed fire like a tiny dragon.  They hadn’t noticed the intruders yet, busy as they were in wrecking the scenery and each other.

“What are those?” Jaskier whispered over Geralt’s shoulder.

Geralt grunted.  “The monsters, I assume.”  

A loud HONK from behind them made both men whirl, only to see a flash of white disappear behind a bush.  

Then a vine attacked Geralt’s sword arm, and a zap of lightning made Jaskier’s hair stand on end.

The monsters had turned their attention away from each other.  

Geralt fought off the vines.  Jaskier danced around in pain.  Both of them dodged the blast of fire that miraculously missed the undergrowth.

“My lute!” Jaskier exclaimed suddenly.  “It’s gone!”

“Find it later,” Geralt said, dodging behind a tree as more lightning targeted him.

“But something took it!”

“Now’s not the time to—” Geralt realized he was missing the red and white ball that the villagers had given him.  He looked around quickly, scanning the ground and dodging behind another tree. Before he came to any conclusions, he felt his sword yanked from his hand.

Geralt whipped around to catch a glimpse of a white bird waddling off with his sword.  He lunged after it, only to lose it in the undergrowth as another bolt of lightning nearly missed him.

"Was that a goose?" Jaskier asked from the next tree over.

"Not for long," Geralt growled. "Come on."

The small monsters didn't follow as Geralt and Jaskier chased off after the goose. It led them on a merry chase, despite its waddling gait and the heavy sword. More than once they lost sight of it, only to hear a taunting honk from an unexpected direction.

More often than not, that direction led through briar patches and deep mud puddles.

When they finally caught up to it, both the witcher and the bard were ready for a bath, a nap, and roast goose served with extreme prejudice.

They both stood panting, gazing up at the pile of stolen things hidden by a fallen tree. The goose perched on top, far out of reach, fanning its wings and honking in triumph.

Geralt picked up a rock and threw it, but the goose disappeared over the tree trunk with yet another victory honk.

"My lute!" Jaskier exclaimed, dashing forward.

Geralt watched the bard free it from the pile, and spotted his own sword. He grumbled over and reclaimed it, checking the blade for goose-inflicted damage and finding none.

While Jaskier made anxious noises over the state of his lute, sitting down on a wooden stool that the goose definitely didn’t own, Geralt took stock of the pile.

These could only be the items that the villagers had reported stolen.  Boots, gardening equipment, a dart board, toys, figurines…  One thing made him pause.

It looked like a hat, just in a very strange style.  There was only a brim in the front.  And it was bright red, with a white pattern that looked much like the pattern on the mysterious ball.  

Speaking of which, where was that?  Geralt dug around for it, finally discovering it underneath a gourd much bigger than the goose itself.  He spent a moment wondering how the goose had moved that all the way out here.  

“Oh, you found it!” Jaskier said, looking up from tuning his lute.  “Did it attract the monsters?”

“Maybe,” Geralt said.  “But I don’t think it so.  I think the villagers aren’t telling us everything.”  He scooped up the strange hat.  “Recognize this style?”

The bard shook his head.

“Me neither.  I think there’s an outsider involved.  Come on, back to town.” He tucked it into his belt and started walking.

“Without dealing with the monsters?”  Jaskier stumbled to his feet.  “I mean, yes, by all means, let’s get cleaned up first.  The monsters can wait.”

Thankfully for both of them, the town wasn’t far.  Not that either would have been any more surprised that the malicious goose had wrangled its hoard of items far into the woods.  

Soon enough the bedraggled witcher and bard were confronting the townsfolk who had told them that the monsters were unattended.

They had also said, as an aside that Geralt wasn’t meant to overhear, that there was an untrustworthy juvenile currently locked up.  And this hat was designed to fit a small head.  

Geralt held the hat in the village head man’s face.  “Where is he?” he asked.  

It only took a few halfhearted lies from the man, and quiet threats from the witcher, before they were on their way to where the mysterious child was locked away.  On the way, the man babbled about how the orb had summoned the monsters under control of the child, and that the villagers had done the responsible thing by locking him away and calling Geralt.

“And not telling me?” Geralt rasped, irritation clear.  The man prevaricated and unlocked the door, warning Geralt not to let the demon-summoner have his item back.

Geralt entered the room to find a boy staring at him with wide eyes.  “Found your hat,” he said, tossing it to him.  

“Thank you!  Did you see—”

“And we found your monsters.”  Geralt held up the ball.  Behind the door, the head man gasped quietly.  “Care to tell me what you’re doing here?”

The boy was only happy to explain.  The villagers really should have asked more questions.  By the time he was halfway through his explanation, Geralt was ushering him out of the room, past the head man, and back towards the woods where the monsters were undoubtedly still squabbling.  

Jaskier followed behind, strumming quietly on the lute in that working-on-a-new-song-that-will-surely-be-annoying way.  

As Geralt had expected, the strange boy with the strange clothes and the strange magic ball had no trouble bringing the monsters to heel, though Geralt was surprised to see them disappear into the ball.  He’d been ready to fight them if need be, one hand on his sword, but they went peacefully.  Then the boy was beaming at them and hooking the ball onto his belt, opening his mouth to say something.

Behind him, in the space between two trees whose branches touched, fiery magic swirled into a portal.  Unlike the other portals that Geralt had seen, this one showed its destination: a sunny, foreign-looking place with bizarre animals running around.  

Jaskier gasped dramatically.  “Where did that come from?”

The boy pointed at it.  “Hey, that’s my home!”

Geralt grunted.  “Of course it is.  Just what we need; random teleportation in the middle of the woods.”

“I think it was a glitch in the warp panel,” the boy said, looking from the witcher to the portal.  “I should go before it disappears again.  I’ll make sure somebody fixes it.”

Geralt nodded.  “You do that.”

“Bye!  Thank you!”  With a wave, the boy dashed through the hole in the air, which closed behind him without a trace.  

Jaskier waved.  “Goodbye!”

Geralt walked over to the trees, drew his sword, and lopped off the connecting branches.  

Jaskier made noises of mild disapproval.  

Geralt ignored him, sheathing the sword and starting the walk back to town.  

Jaskier fell in beside him.  “Do you think we should look into this portal business more?”  He tapped the side of his head.  “Who else do we know who’s knowledgeable about teleportation?”

Geralt grunted.  “Better question: who do we know who will pay us for all this?”

“Yes, that is a better question.”

They returned to the head man with explanations, a demand for money, and, while that was being counted out, the beginnings of a new song.

“What rhymes with ‘left the villagers to deal with the goose’?” Jaskier asked as they left.

“It’s just a goose, not a monster,” Geralt said, tying the bag of coins to his belt.  “That’s their problem.”

Jaskier craned his neck to look around the witcher.  “Oh, I’d say it’s still your problem.”

“What?  Hey!”  Geralt grabbed for the goose that had just swiped his coin purse, and missed.  It waddled away with surprising speed.  Geralt swore and ran after it.

Jaskier laughed.  “I’m adding in an extra verse about that!”

“Don’t you dare!”

[remedyhunger]

Capture the flag...Greek style 2.0

Jaune panted as he raced across the forest. One minute he was at the Grand Canyon, the next he discovered he was immune to fire, and now he was playing a crazy version of capture the flag.

Gods he only just got to this camp and his cabin. Luckily Ruby who he met earlier, gave him a crash course of how this game goes.

She explained to him that the cabins are split into teams. The teams today were, Hephaestus, Demeter, Hades, Ares, Zeus and Aphrodite vs Athena, Dionysus, Apollo, Hermes, Poseidon, Nike, Aeolas and Hecate.

Thankfully he was on the same team as Nora and Ren, so at least his friends were his allies. Unfortunately he heard rumors about the leader of the blue team, Yang.

Now he only met her at the Grand Canyon when she was, threatening Nora while ranting about someone named Blake that he later learned was Yang’s girlfriend who had gone missing.

His half-sister Ruby only told him that much, but warned him that Yang despite her cheerful nature was incredibly upset about Blake, and when she’s mad she tends to play capture the flag brutally.

Jaune barely missed the arrow that was aimed at him. He looked up to see a sandy blonde haired fifteen year old crouching down on a tree branch. His bright blue eyes were narrowed and serious as he reapplied another arrow to his bow.

Jaune covered his face with the sword Ruby forged for him back in their cabin, only for a jagged spear to swish right past him and toward the younger boy.

“Dammit!” He heard the boy shout.

“Sun Wukong, you really should of payed attention to stealth class, I warned you about hiding amongst the trees.” A feminine voice came from the bushes.

Jaune looked up to see the boy named Sun apparently pinned to the tree trunk sideways by his shorts. He had his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

“You’re lucky newbie that Pyrrha was on your team, the other child of Zeus must of informed her about my whereabouts.”

Jaune who was confused by that statement watched as the young woman Pyrrha finally emerged from the bushes with her hips swaying. He realized he was staring so he averted his eyes to look up at Sun. Who at that angle with his gold staff sticking out from upon his back resembled a monkey.

“Sorry about him, he’s not always this rude.” Her voice rang with a slight giggle.

Jaune who turned to face her tilted his head and was taken aback by her beauty. She was tall, really tall, almost his height.

She had long lush red hair high up in a ponytail with an undercut. Piercings on both sides of her ears with a second on her left cartilage. She was wearing the same bronze armor chest plate he had with her camp shirt underneath. Her pants were ripped and black with red boots.

He blushed once his eyes met hers. Bright green with a tinge of blue in the middle, the blue reminding him of the stormy sky.

“Hey! Tree-trunk, Wonder Woman! Are ya gonna bring me to the stupid jail or what?” Sun’s irritated voice slashed through the silence.

Pyrrha looked up and narrowed her eyes. She walked past Jaune to climb up the large tree to retrieve her prisoner, but once she secured Sun over her shoulder she looked down and started to shake slightly.

Jaune got worried at her expression. He wanted to help her, but didn’t know how. Thankfully Sun’s body started to glow and Pyrrha started to relax. She then made her way back down to Jaune and smiled at him.

“We better get him to jail! Who knows what Yang has instore for u—-“

Just as Pyrrha was finishing her sentence Jaune noticed Sun blinking twice at his direction. He turned his head immediately only to see blonde hair behind the tree he was in front of.

Oh no that’s...mores code. He just...

Jaune heard a swish from behind and suddenly the ground moved, with a wired net springing up underneath. Pyrrha just watched in awe as Jaune was suspended into the air. The wire net puntcuing his skin slightly and capturing him for the opposing team.

“What the—“ Jaune tried to activate his fire power but the wire was made of metal and it was ice cold.

Yang stepped out from behind the tree, she had a brown cowboy hat with a violet sash on it hanging around her neck. She rolled her eyes at his attempt to burn the net down.

“It’s not gonna work Pyro Legolas.” She insisted before letting her unusual stormy grey eyes move to Pyrrha. “As for you, you’re not going anywhere.”

“Ah Ruby informed me you’re going to be brutal today. Still haven’t found Blake?” Pyrrha said with a sincere voice before her eyes widen at her slip up.

“I’m sorry, that I shouldn’t hav—“

Yang cut Pyrrha off with a growl and a flick to her mechanical arm.

“Enough, now come at me!”

Jaune gasped at the bronze knife that slid out of the wrist compartment of Yang’s mechanical arm. It was amazing, his ADHD going into hyper-focus as he tried to understand the mechanics of the creation. It had to be forged by his dad, by Hephaestus himself.

Pyrrha took a step back and placed Sun against a tree, tying his body against it with the rope she had on her. She then looked up suddenly and whistled. Jaune watched Yang sigh when another demigod suddenly landed right between her and Pyrrha. Relief hit him as he smiled at Nora who was armed and holding her warhammer tightly in front of her.

“What’s going on sis! Who’s legs do I have to break.”

“N-No ones! Nora I only wanted you to retrieve Sun. He’s now one of red team’s prisoners. You remember where the jail is...right.”

Nora frowned and sheath her hammer on her back. She looked up and then rolled her eyes at Jaune.

“Your first day and you got captured already?!”

Jaune groaned and leaned back on the wired net. “It’s not my fault, Yang is really good at stealth.”

He watched Pyrrha laugh loudly with Yang groaning in the background.

“Yang? Good at stealth?! That girl is a walking traffic light. The only reason she can sneak around is because of her magic cowboy hat. Even her mother thought stealth was her weakest ability.”

“Pyrrha shut up, and fight me!” Yang repeated, her patience running thin. She was angry.

Jaune frowned as he once again noticed Yang’s eyes being purely grey. He remembered seeing them have a purplish hue when he first met her.

“Cool it birdy, remember the rules.” Sun said against the tree he got tied to. “Yang I know you’re upset, but remember this is a damn game.”

Jaune felt bad for the daughter of Athena. She must really miss Blake. He could see it in her eyes as they shift slightly back to having that purple hue. She lowered her arm down and Pyrrha was now walking forward.

Yang let out a sob before she fell to her knees. Pyrrha caught her halfway and they both wrapped their arms around each other. Yang sobbing uncontrollably against Pyrrha’s chest.

“I don’t understand why it hurts, it hurts so much that she isn’t here with me...” Yang cried.

Jaune felt his own tears welding up, he may not have a lover, but he did lose someone dear to him. He knew the pain and emtpyiness Yang felt.

Nora flew up to him and freed him from Yang’s trap, she looked upset. Her eyes conflicted and filled with confusion. She pulled Jaune close to her side and brought him down to the solid ground, all in complete silence.

Jaune knew Nora had amnesia. She admitted it to both him and Ren. She was struggling with her identity and being one of the sources that had cause Yang this pain. Afterall she was the one Yang found at the Grand Caynon.

“I’m calling a surrender...” Sun said seriously after he mysteriously was freed from his binds. “Yang can’t lead us to victory with her mind jumbled up. Damn when I get my hands on that Tuna-brain for making her such a mess...”

Pyrrha shot him a glare and picked up the exahusted blonde who Jaune noticed was now asleep. “You know if she was awake she’d kill you for calling Blake that.”

“Don’t care, the damn Catfish not being here is hurting her, she’s my sibling Pyrrha.”

“I know that Sun, but being angry at Blake is not going to help.”

Jaune watched the two demigods glare at one another before Sun finally backed off. He turned around sharply and walked off into the shadows, a concern girl with faded black hair in a side ponytail and a scar on her right eye that glowed ice blue watched him closely.

Jaune pieced it together and realized she was the one who untied Sun from the tree. He noticed she had a red bandanna around her neck as opposed to the blue one around Sun’s. She was incredibly short and was wearing the same bronze chest plate everyone else had with her helmet now being held.

“Is he going to be ok.” Jaune asked with uncertainty before moving his eyes to Pyrrha’s back.

Pyrrha nodded as she turned to him, her eyes now softening. “Weiss will take care of him, they’re best friends, now help me get Yang back to Poseidon cabin.”

Jaune pointed to himself. “Me, why me?! And why Poseidon cabin?”

Pyrrha sighed softly and rolled her eyes. “Because that cabin is comforting to her Jaune, and I would like the company.”

Jaune looked at Nora who shrugged back with no help. He sighed loudly and walked toward the older daughter of Zeus.

“Fine, but only if we get Ruby first.”

Pyrrha smirked at him, and his heart skipped a beat.

“Deal!”

[gumnut-logic]

okay okay 34 and 39!! 😁

Well, this proves little other than I know how to ramble and not really answer a question :D But I did try :D

34.  What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

Ooooh, you’re reaching into long term WIP territory, basically because they are long term WIP sometimes for this reason.

‘The Price’ this fic is incomplete even though I know how it ends and how to get there. I really should just sit down and write it as Sotto Voce is a special universe for me. I think the problem is that at heart I am not a violent or severe hurt-loving person. I got Virgil into a position that just hurt. I broke him both physically and mentally and it was actually affecting me and I had to step away from the fic (which is kinda sad and pathetic, but writing is such an involving experience for me, it is really full on and immersive and my mood can be fragile (and annoying)).

I’ve also found the ends of fics to often be a challenge. I often throw out one liners in the middle of stories that sound great at the time, but when the fic comes to an end I have to tie it all together. It can go from fun to actual hard work to tie everything up and find an end. A good example of this is A Little Chaos. That one is caught up on a resolution issue. I had one thing planned, but tried something else and I’m not happy with it – there are over 2000 words of it (I think) unpublished sitting on my ipad. I need to go back and re-orchestrate it.

I used to have a sign up in my studio – TO START IS FUN, BUT TO FINISH IS ECSTACY. Endings are hard.

But for scenes I have actually written…ack, there are so many and my memory is so poor. I have stress feelings from the second half of Gentle Rain – the brothers were hurting a lot and relationships strained. Fischler vs Tracy was a technical challenge – I had to research NZ law and procedure for that one and ended up fluffing most of it because I don’t have the brain for it. Still crossing my fingers a lawyer or court person doesn’t read it and cringe badly. Control & Understanding also sucked because there was so much yelling between Scott and Virgil ::wails:: So much hurt.

Let’s just say I’m rather too emotionally connected to my characters when writing. Nutty can hurt herself if she is not careful :D

That and if it gets too hard, Nutty doesn’t write it :D

 39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

::grins:: The first one to come to mind is rainbow farting Virgil in Prank War, but that was really Veggie’s fault :D

::fights forgetful brain:: All sorts of weird things pass through my distracted brain, but only a few actually land on the page.

The whole Marks & Wings AU is pretty out there for me. I haven’t traditionally been an AU writer, well not beyond picking a point in canon and branching off. The embryonic scene that was the first inkling of Marks & Wings is special to me, despite the fact I rewrote it in the fic that eventually joined the series.

He held his breath as long as he possibly could, but eventually he had to shoot for the surface, strong arms climbing up the water column, shoulders aching and lungs straining. Busting into the air, Virgil gulped in enough oxygen to stabilise his system, the chill of the surface breeze goosepimpling his arms.

He dipped and rose with the slight swell for a moment, bare legs kicking, the bright sunlight driving him to squint. There was water in his ears.

A few strong breaths and he dove once more. He was naked with the exception of his tight swim trunks, IR emblazoned on his hip, and he could feel it as he dove deeper, the cold of the ocean seeping into his bones.

He returned to Gordon, floating in the flickering turquoise sunlight. His brother lay drifting, all ten tentacles lax, his chromatophores flickering in the remains of distress, ink still drifting lazily in the distance.

Virgil reached out and gently touched his soft mantle. Under his fingers his brother’s skin activated, colour and pattern dancing in reaction to their connection. Cells flashed deep contrasts, spots merging to plains of saturation only to retreat to match the shape of Virgil’s hand.

As his hand moved, his print was left behind.

Gordon’s fine stabilising fins rippled in the sequence to move him just slightly, bringing his great eye to gaze upon the second Thunderbird. The glassy iris flickered with familiar amber.

Virgil hung there as long as he possibly could, but eventually he, again, had to climb to the surface leaving his brother behind.

Another desperate gasp of oxygen, his hair in his eyes.

The sun glared at him and he dove again.

And would keep doing so as long as he had to.

-o-o-o-

The first time I actually picked up a bunch of characters and completely removed them from their universe and slapped them in another was as recent as last month with The Prince Who Would Not Be King.

The great silver form of Eos sat on his arm preening her feathers. Every so often, the hawk would pause and survey the room, just like her bearer, her startling red eyes catching everything. Sal would never understand that relationship, but it had saved her family more than once and she was grateful, if still wary.

I do have a single scene floating around in the back of my brain where Virgil is working in a garage as a mechanic and he has lost his memory. Just that single scene (but that’s how some of my biggest fics have evolved, though this one would require a lot of work on a trope that has been pretty well used in fandom before…though it could be fun anyway).

So, uh, the short answer to that question is…my characters aren’t as weird as they could be?

Umm, yeah, so I obviously forget most things ::headdesk::

Thank you for asking ::hugs you lots:: Apologies for the rambling.

[thdorkmagnet]

Under the Sea (Star is Ariel AU)

Sorry I for the long absence everyone!! I was sick last week and just didn’t feel like posting anything and I’m really only now feeling 100% my old self!! I’ll try and get the rest of these posted as regularly as I can again. Thanks for the patience!!

Summary: A series of one-shots and multi-chapters proving why Star Butterfly should be considered a Disney Princess, as Star and company take over the roles of all your favorite Disney Princess characters! (Starco inevitable)

Check out my other stuff on Fanfiction! 

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. The Little Mermaid belongs to Disney. All rights go to their respective owners.

The sound of crashing waves and seagull's calls filled the air as the large fishing boat cut it's way through the foamy sea. Dolphins, eager and happy, followed after the ship, practically gliding across the blue waves, easily keeping pace with the fast-sailing ship. They chittered and squeaked up at the boat as a group of sailors hauled a large net onto the deck, which was filled to the brim with dripping, flopping fish, all of the chattering creatures hoping for a handout. The sailors all but ignored the clear beggings of the sealife below as they went about their work.

One lone soul though was watching the dolphins playful behavior with a smile, the teenage boy getting quite a bit of entertainment out of the friendly sealife. A fish somehow wiggled free of the net, landing at the boy's feet, still flopping wildly and he took a quick look around at the other sailors, who were all too preoccupied with their work to notice him. The boy carefully picked up the dying fish and held it up where the dolphins could see and pointed at it with a wide smile. The reaction was instant, the aquatic mammals chittering excitedly. He quickly tossed the fish overboard and the dolphins went into a mad dash for the handout, trying to shove each other out of the way, until eventually it ended up in one of their mouths, the particular dolphin swallowing greedily while the others watched him in jealousy.

The boy laughed until he felt a hand on his shoulder and he cringed turning to see Manfred staring at him, with a raised eyebrow. “Sire, you know if you keep giving them handouts, they will just keep coming back,” he said with disgust, leering down at the creatures below.

“Yeah, but I want them to come back,” the boy explained, looking back over to them with a smile.

Manfred rolled his eyes, saying, “Oh, Your Highness, you still have so much to learn before you take the throne.”

With that the man thankfully left and the boy sat down on the boat's edge with a tired sigh, looking down at the ocean again. The dolphins had left and he was already missing their presence, one of the few tolerable things on this trip. He stared at the waves for another minute before turning and heading back to his cabin, his brain wandering as he tried to imagine what it would be like to a dolphin, living life free of responsibility and without a care in the world, able to explore the vast ocean with no one telling you what to do or how to live. It must be nice.

...

Meanwhile far below the fast-moving ship, deep deep below,  beneath the blue waves and lapping tides, father down than any human could go, lay an underwater world full of mysteries yet unsolved, creatures and places that no mere land dweller had ever laid eyes on, a treasure trove of wonders that went unappreciated and unnoticed to the world above. And in a particularly dark corner of this oceanic world, lay a far less pleasant and calming part of the sea.

A graveyard. Where sunken ships had met their demise at the hands of the oftentimes harsh ocean surf and storm. Here, in the dark, dreary waters, where little sunlight was able to touch, lay the sight where an unmeasurable number of souls had come to their end before being put to rest in Davy Jones' locker, a bloody collection of broken masts, tattered sails and shattered remains of what were once fine, sailing ships.

But this cruel fact did little to dissuade the two young mermaids who braved the underwater cemetery, swimming swiftly through the dark waters. One was blond with long flowing hair, bright blue eyes that sparkled with curiosity and innocence and hearts on her cheeks. She had a couple of pink shells braided into the top of her hair, acting as a headband of sorts, as well as around her chest. Her tail was long and slender, the thousands of green scales catching the low light making it shine, the end of her tail pink, matching her shells and cheeks.

The other mermaid, who was in the lead, had short white hair with a streak of green. Her face was freckled beneath a pair of shimmering sea-green eyes that sparkled with confidence and a pair of yellow seashells on her cheeks. She also wore a necklace that matched her cheeks perfectly and a light blue cloth around her mid-section. Her tail was light blue at the top but slowly grew a darker shade all the way down its length.

“What do you think we'll find this time, Jackie?” the blond one asked her friend, trying not to show how out of breath she was from trying to keep up with her fast-moving bestie. Jackie had the reputation for being the fastest swimmer in the ocean, oftentimes proving this title by racing against other sea creatures who were dumb enough to challenge her. So far she had yet to lose.

“Don't know,” Jackie responded nonchalantly, making sure to slow her pace a little to make it easier on her friend. “Maybe a snarfblat or another thingamabob?” she supplied.

“Ooooh,” Star said in wonder. “Either of those would be good, but y'know I kinda hope it's something new.”

The two swam for a few seconds in silence, before Star suddenly squealed with delight, not realizing just how close to Jackie's ear she was, spotting the unchecked ship they had scouted out a few days ago up ahead. The blond yelled loudly, “Look there it is, Jackie!”

“Yeah I can see it, Star,” Jackie responded with a chuckle, not caring about the slight ring to her ears, she was used to it by now having the overly excited Star as her friend, and she couldn't help but smile at the blond's infectious joy. No matter how many times the two came here to scour for human items, Star was always beside herself with exhilaration, acting like it was her first time.

Star adored the humans, loving anything and everything to do with them, collecting any trinkets she could find from their world and even studying them from afar. Jackie was fine with her friend's hobby, despite the rules against it, and often tagged along with her, but honestly wasn't that interested in the similar race from above. She mostly joined in because Star insisted she come, even making the argument that it was no fun without her bestie by her side.

Still she couldn't pretend it didn't put a smile on her face whenever Star spoke about the humans, her bubbly excitement intoxicating and impossible to resist.

“Well what are we waiting for? Let's go check it out!” Star said impatiently as she swam forward nearly matching Jackie's own quick speed. Jackie grinned before slowing her pace enough so that they were now side by side each other, feeling her own heart start to race in anticipation.

Once the two reached the destroyed wreckage of what was once a beautiful sailing vessel, the two easily slipped inside the small window of the ship and into the broken, decaying interior. The water was musty within, green algae covering the fractured and fading wood. Despite this, the ship was mostly intact, in comparison to most of the shipwrecks the two mermaids had explored in the past. It was as if the ocean waves had captured the ship in a moment of time and refused to let it go.

“Wowww!” Star squealed, instantly swimming deeper into the dark and cramped space, her eyes exploring every inch of the ship's lower decks, until she was no longer in Jackie's line of sight. A second later, Star screamed in joy, “Jackie, get over here, I think I just found a skeleton!”

The speedy mermaid, just shook her head and followed after, not saying a word as she looked around with mild interest.

But neither of the two noticed the large, dark shadow that passed by the port hole the two had entered into a moment earlier, before following along the length of the ships exterior, looking for a way in.

…

The two explored the ship for a while, navigating the maze of rooms below, searching for anything that caught their eye or intrigue. The two eventually came across a large chest, highlighted by the large unbroken window in that area, light somehow creeping into the murky interior. Star eagerly threw open the trunk without a second thought. The room lit up golden as thousands of dazzling coins reflected in the water around the two.

The blond looked inside for a few seconds before slamming the lid back down with an unamused expression. She let out an annoyed sigh as she leaned against the chest. “Uhh, another one,” she complained, with a roll of her eyes. “That's like the fifth one of these we've found.”

But Star quickly spotted something else that caught her instant interest, abandoning the chest for the greater treasure. It was a small piece of metal with three little points on it, reminding her of her mom's Triton.

“Wow, what is it?” Star said in a sing-song voice, her shimmering eyes almost reflecting the shape of the object perfectly, as she slowly approached the small, metal object.

“Beats me,” Jackie said as she watched Star pick up the piece of metal, running her hand along the smooth frame.

Star turned back to her friend as she stuffed her find into her purse. “Buuuuttt, we know someone who will,” Star pointed out, excitedly.

Jackie nodded and was about to respond when a shadow fell across them and she frowned in confusion. “Is it just me or did it just get darker in here?”

The two mermaids slowly turned in the direction of the light source, the light from the window being blocked by a large shape which Star and Jackie instantly recognized by its top dorsal fin and rows of sharp, dangerous teeth, which were opening wide as the overgrown fish prepared to strike.

“Shark!” Star screamed, before the glass shattered and the deadly predator barreled into the sunken ship with his prey. Star and Jackie dodged around the sharks gaping jaws, heading back the way they had come in a hurry.

The shark followed after, wiggling its large body through the tight spaces, chomping and destroying any weak, algae-covered wood that blocked its path like it was nothing. The two mermaids swam like their life depended on it (which it did) Jackie easily taking the lead and leaving Star to follow after her trail of bubbles. The blond pumped her tail up and down as fast as she could, panting heavily, as she heard the shattering of wood and low growl of the approaching predator ever behind her.

Suddenly though, Star felt something getting ripped off her shoulder and she looked back to see her purse hanging off a lone nail, the dangerous shark's snapping jaw fast approaching her treasured items. Star panicked, screaming out, “My purse!” before doing the unthinkable and actually began swimming back toward it and the predator.

Jackie, hearing her friend's scream, looked over her shoulder only to feel her heart drop as she watched the blond's suicidal dive. Jackie instantly reversed course, swimming back over to her friend as fast as her body and adrenaline would allow. Just as Star recovered her purse, Jackie grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way, causing Star to cry out, but allowing them to just barely miss being eaten alive as the shark's jagged teeth made contact with the spot they were just in a second later, destroying everything there with a mighty snap.

The two quickly swam the short (if not claustrophobic) distance to the port window, both easily squeezing through the tight space, leaving the shark trapped below. Still, Jackie refused to release her hold on Star for a single second, dragging her behind her while trying to put as much distance between her and the deadly predator.

The blond looked back just in time to see the shark break through the wall of the ship, not even slightly dissuaded from his pursuit of his future meal. “Jackie!” Star started to cry in panic, but her friend quickly interrupted her.

“I see him.” she replied shortly, her eyes busy scanning the dark ocean around her for something to help them escape. Normally she could outrun a shark no problem, but with Star weighing her down she wasn't sure if they could escape or not. Which meant they needed another way out and fast!

That was when she spotted a giant anchor half buried in the sand and a plan began to form in her mind. “I've got an idea!” Jackie exclaimed. “Split up and lead him over there,” the white-haired girl continued, pointing out the place in mind. Star followed her finger and then gave a short, determined nod.

Jackie released her hold on her friend's arm and the two quickly took off in opposite directions, confusing the shark who looked between the two for a couple of seconds trying to decide which of the two would be an easier meal. Once he realized that the blond one was slower than the other, he quickly charged after her, his slick body cutting through the water like a knife.

A tingling feel in the back of her neck informed Star she was being followed and she looked behind her to see the shark gaining. She let out a small cry of panic, before picking up her pace with every ounce of energy she had left, overworking her tired tail in the hopes it would be enough to escape. She swam toward a sunken ship, maneuvering though the wreckage in an attempt to confuse the shark. But as she did, the shark crashed into the ship's side making the whole thing creak and groan as it fell to its side, nearly crushing the blond mermaid under its weight.

It did, however, kick up a cloud of sand that filled the ocean water for a moment, blinding the predator completely, who began snapping his jaws wildly in hopes of catching something. Star managed to swim out of the foggy area and made her way toward Jackie who was waving to her wildly. But as the dust resettled and the water became clear once more, the shark was finally able to see the mermaid and it shot toward her like a missile.

“Star, look out!” Jackie cried in warning and Star turned just in time to see the shark about to swallow her whole. She screamed and bolted to the side, the jaw's missing her by mere inches, but also managing to snatch her purse, ripping it off her shoulder. The blond watched in horror as her possession hung from the shark's sharp, deadly teeth and without even thinking she let out a yell, charging toward the deadly predator.

The shark actually stopped short in shock, as the foolish mermaid swam right up to him and grabbed onto the purse, pulling and tugging against it in an attempt to free it from his jaws. “Let go of it!” she hissed, her voice strained. “It's mine!”

Jackie just face-palmed, giving her friend a disbelieving look, unable to tell if she was either really brave or really stupid... or both. The shark, recovering from his initial shock, growled and began to actually pull back against her, getting into an odd tug-of-war with the stubborn mermaid, who refused to let go, keeping a firm grip on her prize.

Jackie, seeing this, reacted quickly she grabbed the end of the thick rope that once hung from the anchor beside her and swam over to the shark's swaying tail. She did a few loops around it, before yanking the rope tight around his tail and the shark let out a growl of surprise. The second his jaw opened Star was able to finally yank her purse free, flung back a few inches and sending her tumbling for a moment. But as she regained her bearings, she let out a shout of victory, “I got it!” She help up her purse triumphantly, but her elation was quickly overshadowed by the pure fear as the shark was now right in front of her, a deadly leering in his eyes, that told her she had made him angry.

“Uh oh,” Star squeaked, as the jaw opened its mouth to attack, but Jackie had just finished tying the final knot and in the spam of seconds, swam around the shark and pushed the mermaid out of the way of the deadly, snapping jaws. She and Star continued on, the predator making chase, that was until the rope around his tail went taunt, yanking him backward and holding him effectively in place.

The two paused, watching as the shark struggled to free himself, snapping angrily at the water, trashing around like there was no tomorrow, causing a cascade of bubbles to swirl around as he upset the flowing tide around him. Star and Jackie panted and let out deep sighs of relief at having avoided being eaten alive, the latter punching her friend hard in the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?” Star asked, rubbing at her sore limb in annoyance.

“That's for putting your life intentionally in danger... twice,” Jackie replied, surprisingly calm.

The two began swimming side by side to the surface, leaving the dark murky waters and forgotten graveyard behind them. Star let out a scoff and rolled her eyes, saying, “I was fine, I had it handled.”

“Oh really?” Jackie commented with a small smirk. “Cause if I hadn't done anything I'm pretty sure you'd be in that shark's digestive system by now.”

“Well, you did, so it's all good, right?” Star stated, her own naive logic as endearing as much as it was frustrating.

Jackie let out a small sigh, before saying, “Just maybe try to use your head next time or else that hobby of yours will end up getting us both killed.”

“Now your starting to sound like my mom,” Star said, grinning playfully. The two began to giggle, as they continued their ascent, unaware of the furious roars from the predator below them.

…

When the two surfaced, breathing in the salty sea air, they instantly began to look around for the large rock that housed their human expert. They found it quickly, but once they had swam over to it, they realized it was empty. “Where is she?” Star asked, her hands on her hips.

“Knowing her, it could be anywhere,” Jackie replied with a roll of her eyes. A form surfaced from the water suddenly and the two turned to stare at the black-haired mermaid, wiping her dripping bangs out of her face. She wore a fishnet woven into a beanie of sorts over thick black hair and a pair of skull and crossbones on either cheek. She had on some sort of soft yellow material over her top, her dark green tail slapping the waves carelessly. She had a net full of what looked like a bunch of kelp slung over her shoulder and she lugged it over to her home. She either didn't seem to notice the two there or was simply ignoring them, but Star decided to take the initiative and say hello.

“Hey Janna!” Star greeted cheerfully.

The girl's brown eyes landed uncaring on the two, as she threw the kelp onto the rock. “Oh it's you two,” she said emotionlessly.

“Yeah, ha, it's us!” Star agreed, ignoring the girl's careless behavior. “We brought you some more human stuff...” Star held up her purse for Janna to see. “And we were hoping you would... y'know, tell us what it is, like you do.”

“What's in it for me?” Janna asked, hauling herself onto the rock and leaning comfortably back against the bulky net.

Before Star could answer, Jackie quickly cut in, saying, “C'mon Janna, is that really necessary?”

The dark-haired mermaid shrugged, retorting,“Hey, if  you don't want to pay up, find someone else who knows about humans.”

“But you're the only one!” Star exclaimed in exasperation.

The girl smirked widely, before saying, “Exactly.”

“Look, we almost died to get this stuff-” Jackie tried, but the topside mermaid was having none of it.

“Not my problem,” she said. “I'm just trying to run a respectable business up here, which you two keep getting in the way of by constantly interrupting me.”

“What business? You're only up here because you got yourself banished trying to steal the Triton,” Jackie shot back.

Janna raised a finger in the air, correcting the white-haired mermaid, “No, being banished just meant I couldn't be in Atlantica anymore, ... I chose to come live topside because the ocean is dumb and boring.” She looked over to the blond. “Which I'm sure you already know, considering you keep coming up here.”

Star twitched nervously, her hands fiddling with the strap of her purse. She would be lying if she said she wasn't bored of the same old place, hence why she had taken such a strong fascination with the surface world. But she also knew that her mother would never allow her only daughter to leave Atlantica, especially to move to the surface, a place she despised with every fiber of her being. No matter how much she wanted to, she was stuck where she was at.

Still that didn't stop her curiosity any, making her venture outside of her mother's established boundaries, breaking the rules in the hopes of satisfying her overwhelming need to know more. She knew her mother would not approve of her coming to the surface, of her collecting human things, and most certainly would be opposed to her speaking to the banished mermaid traitor. But part of her wanted to be rebellious, to for once live outside her mother's suffocating rules and regulations to keep her safe and just... be herself.

“I just... want to know...” she said softly and Janna nodded in understanding.

“Hence, why you're here.” She held out a waiting hand, saying patiently, “Now, my payment?”

Star reached into her purse and pulled out a shiny, gleaming pearl handing it over to Janna, who eyed it meticulously, tapping a finger against it, before grinning widely. “Okay then, lay it on me, princess.”

Star handed over her bag to the other mermaid, the girl digging around inside it and pulling out the small fork. She examined it closely, while the two waited patiently for her explanation. Well, Jackie waited patiently, Star was jittery as she stared at her wide-eyed, fiddling with her wet and tangled hair.

Janna tapped a finger to her chin, trying to think of a good name for the object, before saying simply, “Dingelhoper.” She tossed it back to the blond, who caught it with ease, staring at it as if it were the most priceless treasure ever made.

“Dinglehoper,” Star muttered wistfully.

“What's it do?” Jackie asked, cocking her head to the side as she stared at the small, metal object.

“Straitens your hair out,” Janna replied instantly, digging around in the purse again, before pulling out another metal object twisted into a couple of loops. Another paperclip? she thought, raising an eyebrow. That had to be like the ninth one they had found this week. How the heck did they keep ending up out to sea? Star looked up, noticing the object in the her hands.

“Oh yeah, I found another thingamabob back on the ship too, want it?” Star asked, giving her an earnest smile. “I got like twenty at this point.”

“No thanks,” Janna said, before stuffing it back into the purse and handing it back to the blond royal. “Don't really need it.” She lifted the pearl back up, studying it closely. “This baby is all I need to get by.”

“What good does a pearl do you?” Jackie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Observe,” Janna replied, holding the shiny object up, as a dozen seagull flew in out of nowhere, dive-bombing the pearl, squawking loudly the same word over and over again, “Mine! Mine! Mine!”

“Turns out, seagulls are attracted to shiny things!” Janna shouted above the loud, obnoxious birds, while Star and Jackie covered their ears, cringing openly. “And with it I can get them to bring me all kinds of food.” She held out her other hand, keeping her eyes on the two mermaids. A second later, one of the birds dropped a hotdog onto her hand, her smirk never leaving the two. She lowered the pearl out of sight and just like that, the birds scattered, leaving her alone again. Her hair was now even messier and covered in feathers but she didn't seem to notice this as she took a bite of her food, giving the two a knowing look.

“Well that's... one way to get by,” Star said hesitantly, while Jackie just stared at the girl incredulously.

Janna shrugged, simply replying, “Hey don't knock it until you try it.”

…

Deep within the shiny gold city of Atlantic, where all mermaids dwelled and in the very heart of its esteemed castle, a certain member of the castle staff was swimming back and forth just outside the throne room, while another watched them in disinterest, the former muttering to themselves in worry. “I can't believe she just disappeared like that,” he continued his quiet rant. “Does she just not care about my job, about how much trouble she was gonna get in or get me in for that matter?!”

“Awww, relax Johnny,” Ponyhead, a blue seahorse and close personal friend of Star, said to the worrisome dolphin. “You worry too much. Must be from breathing in so much surface air.”

The dolphin ignored the comment, before complaining, “But Star has gone too far this time! She knew how important today was and after I spent weeks, with little to no sleep, preparing my most thrilling presentation of ocean safety yet, and she has the audacity to run away from home to go treasure hunting!”

Pony rolled her eyes, before scoffing, “Geez, your complaining is giving me a headache. Look you can still give your dumb presentation as soon as B-fly gets back.”

“But I don't have that long!” Johnny angrily exclaimed. “I'm expected to go out there any second and if she isn't here by then than my whole career as safety manager for the castle is over!”

“Uhh, I don't see what the big deal is?” Pony pointed out, with an uncaring roll of her eyes. “So the girl has a little freedom for herself, so what?”

“The big deal is if my new safety implications can't even keep Star here and out of trouble than how can I expect the Queen to take me seriously!”

“Your a porpoise in a suit, I think that ship has long since sailed.”

“This isn't a joke, Pony!”

“Hey, I'm only here cause I promised my girl that I would cover for her so she could go and live a little reckless for once, making fun of you is just added bonus!”

Johnny growled, before turning back to the entrance that led to the throne chamber and gulped loudly. He was so gonna end up fired. Or electrocuted by the Triton. Or banished from Atlantic forever. He could almost picture it now, him standing in front of a judge after a terrible and tragic accident had befallen the princess and him being sentenced to the Great Barrier Reef Prison or worse...

If Star didn't get back soon, he was gonna be in deep trouble.

“How much longer can your boyfriend stall?” he asked, worriedly.

“Ah don't worry about him, Seahorse can put a whole school of fish to sleep. He's even more boring than you.”

Johnny glared at her, saying suspiciously, “I'm starting to think you are the bad influence in Princess Star's life.”

“Hey, Pony!” a cheerful voice suddenly called and the two swerved to see Star and Jackie swimming up and Johnny let out a relieved sigh, muttering, “Oh thank kelp.”

“Hey B-fly!” Pony called enthusiastically. “Get any good finds from that shipwreck!”

“Pony, shhh,” Star reminded her, putting a finger to her lips, both her and Jackie quickly hushing her. “Top secret, remember?”

“Oh yeah, right,” the seahorse quickly said, giving her a sheepish look. “My bad.”

“Where have you been, young lady?” Johnny scolded and Star gave him a confused look, raising an eyebrow.

“Uhh, we're the same age,” she pointed out.

“Don't change the subject,” the dolphin continued. “You were supposed to be back here an hour ago!”

“We got held up,” Jackie said simply.

“And anyways, I'm here now so what's the big deal?” Star asked, unconcerned with Johnny's lecture, swimming forward and into the throne room, the dolphin following after her as he continued his rant.

“The big deal is if you hadn't gotten back in time, I could have been fireeee-” his voice trailed off as he caught sight of the Queen's regal and biting glare, so busy educating Star he hadn't even realized they had entered the throne room. He visibly froze and if they hadn't been underwater would have been noticeably sweating, chuckling nervously.

Moon's inquisitive eyes jumped between both her daughter and servant, before returning to Seahorse, who was droning on about a decreasing in pearl population or some other such nonsense, when the queen interrupted. “Thank you Seahorse for that... interesting lecture, but now I would like to speak with my daughter if you don't mind.”

“Of course, happy to be of service, You Highness,” Seahorse said in the same monotones drone that she had been listening to for the last hour an a half, nearly driving her mad and wonder more than once the implications of using the powerful weapon positioned in easy reach from her throne on one of her subjects. He bowed, before starting to swim out of the room when he caught up with Jackie and his girlfriend Pony, who were watching quietly from the entrance.

“Hello darling!” he greeted Pony Head, his tone and infliction never changing in the slightest.

“Sup, Seahorse,” she replied, almost uncaring, more focused on the drama between mamma and daughter that was about to take place, but Seahorse didn't seem to notice or mind.

“Did I do a good job?” the appropriately named Seahorse asked, his voice never losing its empty, business-like tone that was off-putting to nearly everyone. And if that didn't do it then his unblinking, blank stare and forced smile could make anyone uncomfortable.

“Yeah, I mean only because of my brilliant planning and stuff,” she got a cocky look at that statement. “You were just as boring as I was hoping you would be, maybe even better.”

“I aim to please,” he said simply, his fake smile widening almost creepily.

Meanwhile Star was staring into the reprimanding gaze of her mother. “Star,” her mother began and Star let out a mental sigh. Here we go.

“Where have you been?” she asked, her eyebrow raising in that condescending way she hated. “You were supposed to be back an hour ago.” Johnny sucked in a breath, looking like he was about to pass out. He couldn't believe she had noticed. Of course she had noticed, the queen saw everything. Oh man, he was so going to be fired.

Star stayed calm, though, as she merely shrugged and said, “I was just out hanging with Jackie and we lost track of time, no biggie.”

Moon's eyes narrowed. “There is a 'biggie' here, Star. A proper princess is punctual at all times. How can you be expected to run a whole kingdom if you can't even arrive on time?”

Star crossed her arms in front of her chest, giving her mom a stubborn look. “So I was a little late, it's not the end of the world, mom.”

Moon let out a long sigh. “It is when you are in charge,” she explained, sounding exasperated with her daughter. “You will be queen someday, you need to learn the right way to behave.”

“Oh what, like you. Dad told me all about how you used to be reckless and irresponsible when you were my age.”

“Don't change the subject, Star!” Moon shouted, quickly losing patience for her daughter. “And yes, I was that way and I had to learn the hard way what it takes to be a good leader. I just want to spare the same thing happening for you.”

“Gee, thanks,” Star muttered bitterly.

“Now then,” Moon continued, ignoring her daughter’s behavior. “Tell me, what exactly were you doing that made you so late?” Moon asked, her eyes searching and Star froze up for a second. This caused Johnny to pale immensely, his already uncomfortable look multiplying tenfold, as his eyes jumped frantically between mother and daughter.

“Just... doing stuff with Jackie,” the princess replied as calmly as she could.

“And that would be...” her mother pried. “I mean if it was interesting enough to make you break one of your duties as a princess, then it must have been very important.” The way Moon emphasized the last word, Star began to worry that she had already figured out the truth. She would have to be very careful with her answer.

“Oh you know, just-”

“Searching for seashells!” Pony quickly interrupted, positioning herself between her bestie and her scolding mother.

“Pony what are you doing?” Star whispered worriedly and Pony confidently answered, “I got you girlfriend. Just leave it to me.”

“Seashells?” Moon repeated skeptically.

“Yeah but not just any shells,” Jackie quickly cut in, joining in on the lie. “They were for a necklace Star was gonna make for your birthday.” She paused before quickly adding, “Uh, Your Highness.”

Moon's eyes widened in surprise at this, turning to her daughter. “Is this true?”

“Uhh-” Star said, until an elbow from Jackie, made her blurt out, “YES! Of course it is mom. That's, uh, that's why we had to keep it a secret from you, so we wouldn't spoil the surprise.”

They all gave the queen innocent grins, all hoping she bought the lie. For a few uncomfortable seconds, Moon said nothing and the three began to mentally panic, until she finally responded, her face and voice conveying how unsure she felt in this situation. “Well, I'm... sorry that I spoiled your surprise.”

Star chuckled awkwardly, waving an arm in the air. “Aww, it's fine, mom. I'll just find another gift for you. No big deal, it's all good.” She could tell she was starting to ramble and feeling increasingly awkward, she sought out an escape goat from the situation, quickly blurting out the first name that came to mind, “Right Johnny?” The blond turned to the dolphin, who had staying oddly quiet the whole time. His mouth was sealed shut, both flippers over it and his body was shaking as he seemed to be struggling to hold the truth in. Star saw her mother's suspicious glare and quickly tried to make light of the moment, “Uh, haha, yeah. Anyways, I should probably be heading back to-”

“Star went to the surface!” the dolphin finally blurted, startling everyone. “What?!” Moon cried in concern, while Star and the others all shot him a death glare. “Johnny!” they shouted.

“I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! My conscious got the better of me!” Johnny cried.

“Starrrr,” Moon began in a warning tone and the princess whimpered in fear.

“Uh, bye mom, we'll talk later, I got princess lessons to do!” Star quickly shouted, trying to quickly escape the room, but her mother's scolding shout, stopped her in her tracks. “Star!”

The girl slowly, guiltily, turned back around to face her mother, the look of pure anger and disappointment on her face, enough to make even the most evil of creatures cower in guilt. It was a look that Star dreaded and one she never seemed to be able to avoid, still that didn't mean it didn't sting every time she had to look at it.

“Come here,” her mother demanded and Star slowly obeyed, approaching her mom with a lowered gaze.

“You know that you can't go to the surface for any reason, it's forbidden!”  Moon began, her tone sharp and her gaze stony. “You could have been seen by a human, you could have compromised our entire world!”

“Yes, but I didn't,” Star argued. “I was really careful, no humans saw me, I swear! And anyways I was only up there for like a couple of minutes!”

“That doesn't matter, Star!” Moon shot back, her anger rising to new levels and Star visibly flinched at the tone. “You could have died! Murdered by those barbarians!”

Star had to bite her lip to keep from blurting that not all humans were barbarians and that she had no right to judge a bunch of people she had never even met before. “You think that is what I want to see happen to you, Star!” Moon added, her voice cracking with emotion, the fear in tone obvious now. “To see you dying at the hands of those vile humans!”

Star felt a tinge of sympathy and regret, but it was easily overshadowed by her anger and she quickly snapped back, “I'm not a little kid anymore, mom! I can make decisions for myself!”

“Not when you are purposely breaking rules made to keep you safe!”

“Well, it's a dumb rule anyway!” Star crossed her arms stubbornly in front of her chest. “Just because some humans are bad, doesn't mean all of them are.”

Moon let out a long sigh, burying her face in her hands. She didn't say a word for a moment and when she did finally speak again, Star could hear the exhaustion in her voice, “Star, those rules exist to protect us. Whether it is right or not, we can not take that risk. It is for the good of the kingdom that we remain separate. To protects our world and keep any one of us from ending up dead in some fishing net, do you understand?”

Star hesitated before sadly answering, “Yes, I understand.”

“Then I want you to promise me you will never go near the surface ever again, are we clear?”

Star opened her mouth to argue, but her mother's gaze narrowed and she harshly repeated, “Is that clear?”

Star rolled her eyes with a huff, before saying, “Yes, mom.”

“Good, then you may go,” Moon said dismissively. “Permitted that you stay safe and keep out of trouble.”

Star didn't even reply as she turned her back on her mom and angrily swam out of the room, her posse of friends following right after.

Moon leaned back in her throne once she was alone again, looking utterly exhausted and lost. “Ugh, what am I going to do with that girl?” she asked herself, worriedly.

But suddenly, her attention was drawn to the sweating Johnny, who was still watching her wide-eyed. There was an awkward pause between them, before the dolphin quickly chuckled nervously. “Um so about my suggestions for safety-”

“I'm afraid that your services are no longer required,” Moon curtly responded and Johnny looked panic-stricken. He quickly threw himself at the queen's fins, bowing low and begging wildly, “No, please, my queen! I swear I can make it up to you! Just give me another chance to prove my worth to you!”

Moon gave him an annoyed look, before the begging became too much and she finally said, “All right. I will give you one more change.”

Johnny's face brightened at that. “Oh thank you, Your-”

“If you can keep my daughter out of trouble and, most importantly, away from the surface,” Moon continued, and Johnny's mouth dropped open against his will.

He quickly shut it, though, saying, “Um, well, I was thinking maybe I could just... give a few lectures on how to-”

“Do you wish to remain as a member of this staff or not?” Moon asked in annoyance and Johnny quickly swallowed.

“Y-Y-Yes, Your Highness, I very much do,” he said softly.

“Then I suggest you hurry and catch up with my daughter. She did get quite the head start while you were busy ogling.” Moon looked away from the porpoise, staring off into space, signaling that the conversation was over. Johnny paused only for a second, before making the very smart move of bowing and leaving the queen to her thoughts.

Though he let out a very loud groan the second he was out of earshot. Great now his entire future career depended on one reckless, headstrong teenage. What else could possibly go wrong?

…

Star swam huffily through the streets of Atlantica ignoring all the friendly merfolk waving to her, too angry with her mom to notice anything else. “Ugh, who does she think she is?!” Star yelled, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration.

“The Queen of Altlantica and your mother,” Seahorse instantly replied and Star shot him a glare.

“Not now, boo, can't you see the girl is ranting,” Pony quickly reprimanded him.

“Oh, my apologies,” her boyfriend quickly replied blankly, before going silent.

“Look Star, I know her thinking is flawed but she is just trying to look out for you,” Jackie supplied, putting an hand on her friend's shoulder.

“Yeah, but I don't need her too!” Star exclaimed back. “I can take care of myself and besides, humans aren't the monsters she says they are.”

“What did you call me?!” an angry barracuda who had overheard part of the conversation quickly shouted, turning to glare at them.

“Nothing, mind your own business!” Pony snapped, which only managed to enrage the dangeous and deadly fish all the more.

Jackie put an arm up between her friend and the fish, giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, sir. We weren't talking about you, we swear.” The barracuda still looked skeptical so Jackie quickly added, “And may I just say that you have very fine and lovely scales.”

The fish glared for a few more seconds, before his face melted into a smile, which was still terrifying to look at, but at least they no longer had to worry about him attacking them now. “Oh, well, thank you. No one ever says that about me.” He looked genuinely happy and slightly embarrassed and he quickly cleared his throat saying in a gruff voice once more, “Ahem, carry on.” He then swam past the group and they watched him go, before Jackie sighed in relief. She gave Pony Head a glare, asking in annoyance, “What was that, Pony? Were you trying to get yourself eaten?”

“Ahh, whatever I could have taken him,” Pony replied with her usual Pony smugness that was one of her many annoying trademarks.

“Actually I think you would have been eaten alive, dearest,” Seahorse said and Pony shouted at him, “What did I say about interrupting the moment?!”

“Guys, can we please stay focused on my problem,” Star reminded them with slight annoyance and they all turned to her in surprise.

“Oh yeah, sorry, guess we got a little off track there, girl. That is my bad, B-Fly,” Pony quickly admitted.

“So what are we going to do now?” Jackie asked, giving her royal friend a long, questioning gaze. “I mean, you promised your mom you wouldn't go up there anymore. Are you going to do it anyways?”

Star let out a long sigh, swimming forward with an unsure and troubled look. She was about to respond to the mermaid when, another voice quickly cut in, “Oh look at that, if it isn't, Little Miss Perfect.”

Star groaned, dreading talking to the owner of that voice, who she recognized in an instant. Brittney Wong. Great, as if she didn't have enough problems to deal with. She slowly turned to glare at the mermaid before her, who stood there in the same cocky, holier-than-thou pose that she always had and Star held back rolling her eyes. It was no secret the two had been rivals for years and never got along in any regard whatsoever. It wasn't like Star hadn't tried, in the beginning she had been friendly and optimistic as she was with everyone, believing the two would become close almost instantaneously. But this hope was dashed as Brittney's stuck-up attitude caught Star by surprise and began to slowly push her away.

She didn't understand why the mermaid was so bitter and hateful toward her, but the more and more Brittney pushed the more angry Star became and she quickly began fighting back, using the rejection as fuel for the fire inside her as she bit back every comment with equal disgust and vexation as the snob. Since then, their confrontations had only gotten worse with time.

“Oh, Brittney, it's you,” Star began calmly, keeping a forced smile on her lips. “From your voice I was sure a seal or something was wailing at us for a handout.”

The black-haired mermaid glared at the grinning blond, scoffing as she said distastefully, “Well my voice can't be as bad as that outfit, what's the deal, princess? Did mommy not teach you how to stylize your shells?”

Star crossed her arms but it was Pony who quickly retorted, “Ha, like she'd taken fashion advice from someone who wears make-up underwater. Like seriously, what's that about?”

“Yeah, Brittney, what's that about?” Star repeated, equally mocking as her friend and she quickly gave Pony's extended fin a high-five.

“Not to mention, her choice in braiding her hair in shells that went out of style exactly 2.5 hours ago,” Seahorse added and Pony let out a loud gasp.

“Ooooh, good thing we are underwater, because that was a harsh burn,” the blue seahorse snapped, with a cocky grin.

Brittney seemed to be growing more and more angry by the second, her entire body shaking as she tried to fight back the intense hatred she felt. “Why don't you freaks stay out of this?!” she quickly shouted and Pony's eyes quickly narrowed, a furious snarl on her face.

“I better not have just heard those words come out of your bratty, snobby face,” Pony hissed, Jackie having to hold her back to keep a fight from breaking out.

Brittney just smirked arrogantly, flipping her hair as she swam over to Star, who looked the angriest she had ever been. If there was one weak point you didn't touch, it was Star's friends. “Honestly, Star, I don't know why you hang around these losers, are you that desperate for friends your willing to hang out with a bunch of bottom-feeders,” the snobby girl said, tutting sarcastically, feigning worry.

“I hang out with them because they're real friends, something you wouldn't know about considering you don't seem to be able to make any,” Star shot back.

“How sad,” Brittney continued, seemingly ignoring the royals last comment. “You know, everyone around here talks about you. Says that you've got a thing for humans.”

Star rolled her eyes. “Whatever Brittney, you must be pretty gullible to believe a bunch of gossip,” Star scoffed, trying to dodge the question as best she could. “Did you also believe that crab that said we were going to be invaded by jellyfish last week?”

“Oh please, you can't seriously think I'm that stupid,” Brittney retorted.

“Coulda fooled me,” Pony suddenly snapped and the bratty mermaid ignored her, as she tried to swim around Star, who quickly turned her body with her, trying to hide her purse behind her back.

“So where you heading off to, princess?” Brittney asked, intrusively, still trying to get a good look at what was behind her fellow mermaid's back. “And what's that you got behind your back? Some secret your ashamed to let everyone see.”

“None of your business!” Star snapped. “Now if you'll excuse me, I've got better stuff to do than stay here and be picked apart by you!”

She quickly swam past her and Jackie followed, moving so she was blocking the purse from the others prying eyes. Pony and Seahorse followed swiftly after, the former shooting the first a mocking, superior grin which only further infuriated the black-haired girl. She crossed her arms, watching her rival swimming away as she muttered under her breath, “I will find out whatever weird thing your hiding, princess. Just you wait.”

…

Johnny panted wildly as he swam through the underwater streets of Atltantica, his eyes searching for any signs of the blond princess anywhere, but for some reason she was no where to be found. “Oh man, oh man,” Johnny muttered to himself as he continued his frantic hunt for the missing mermaid, his mind jumping to the worst possible scenario. “This is bad. Where is she? What if she already went back to the surface. If the queen finds out she'll have my head!” The dolphin groaned covering his face with his fins in frustration and worry. But as he removed them, he miraculously spotted Star and the others swimming out of the city and into deeper waters, a black-haired mermaid watching them go in disgust, before flipping her hair and swimming off in the other direction.

Johnny almost laughed out loud in relief as he quickly followed after the girl. He did his best to match their quick pace as they got further and further away from the safety of Altlantica, but he was finding it difficult to keep up with them his cushy job in the palace leaving him out of shape for most physical activities. He quickly began to fear he would lose sight of them altogether as they made odd twists and turns as if trying to lose someone tailing them, the four disappearing out of his sights for a couple seconds at a time before he found them again. And when they disappeared around an outcropping of rocks on the ocean floor, not emerging after several seconds (far longer than any of the previous times), he panicked and swam forward with frantic vigor.

He peeked around the edge of the rock, watching the princess and her friends and whatever scheme they were up to this time. Probably with the intention of getting me fired, he thought bitterly. The princess did a quick look around to make sure nobody was watching, before her and her white-haired friend tugged a large boulder up and out of the way, revealing a hidden entrance, Johnny gasping in surprise. Pony and Seahorse wordlessly swam inside, followed after by Jackie and then Star letting the rock fall back into place. Johnny propelled himself forward with all the energy left in his body, just barely managing to squeeze past the rock and into the large cave hideout of the princess. He let out a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead with his fin, before trying to swim forward. Only to be jerked back sporadically and he turned back to see the end of his tail caught in the large rock. He began pulling and tugging on his tail trying to free his trapped limb, grunting quietly so as to not alert Star to his presence.

But just as it grew an inch free and Johnny almost let out a squeal of delight, the rock moved, crushing the limb more and making the dolphin cry out in pain, his loud voice echoing around the room.

Jackie's head jerked back toward the way they had come, hearing the eery scream bouncing around the walls of the cave and she asked, “Did you hear that?”

“Eh, it was probably nothing,” Ponyhead replied nonchalantly.

Jackie shrugged before following after her friend. The four entered into the main part of the cave, a large open space, lit by a small hole above, letting the filtered light pour into the area, lighting it with an otherworldly glow. Every inch of the cave was covered in trinkets from the race above, human items of all shapes and sizes coated the walls and sandy floor, the princess's vast collection from years and years of exploring and scouring every sunken ship she could get her hands on scattered about the large open space, displayed in their full glory. Jackie gazed around in wonder for a moment, quite impressed with the vast treasure trove. No matter how many times she saw it, it never lost it's grandiosity.

Star didn't seem to feel the same, not even gazing at the items as she simply reached into her purse and pulled out the small dinglhoper she had received and setting it in place with two similar looking objects, one flat and the other rounded at the top. She let out a long sigh, as she gently pocked one of it sharp tips absentmindedly, thinking to herself, her face sent into a deep frown that was so unlike her.

“So, what are we gonna do now?” Jackie asked, sitting down next to her downtrodden friend.

“I don't know,” Star said sadly. But there was slight venom in her tone as she added, “Mom is just being dumb and overreacting like she always does.”

“Maybe it will blow over in a few days,” Jackie suggested, though it sounded weak coming from her. They both knew that wasn't true.

Still, Star allowed herself to cling onto the foolish hope for a moment, responding hesitantly, “Maybe.”

“Aw, who cares what your mom thinks,” Pony suddenly chimed in. “It's your life, B-Fly. I say you do what you want. So what if you break a few laws? It's not like you haven't done it before.” She gestured around the room with her snout, the thousands of illegal trinkets glimmering in the faded light.

“That's true,” Star said softly, clearly considering her friend's words. She let out a loud groan, falling back and onto the sandy floor. “Ugh, she just doesn't get it!” the blond exclaimed in annoyance. “She wants me to stay underwater and away from the humans but, I don't get how the surface can be so bad when they make all this cool stuff.”  

“Yeah, like this thing, whatever it is,” Pony said, moving closer to a small box with a handle in the side.

“Oh that's a surprise box,” Star explained.

“What's the surprise?” Pony asked, gently nudging the handle, which began turning on its own, provoking an off-key jingle.

“It would seem it produces some kind of music,” Seahorse said, matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, I can see th-” Pony was cut off, as the box suddenly sprang open, as a small puppet attached to a spring jumping out and startling the cocky Ponyhead, who released a loud scream.

“That's the surprise,” Star said as her and Jackie laughed at the panting Ponyhead.

“Yeah, okay. I knew that the whole time, that's why I played along, to y'know cheer you up and stuff,” Pony quickly said, clearly trying to cover up the embarrassing moment.

Star swam over to the box, closing it up once more. “See, humans make all kinds of cool things. Things that mermaids and fish can't make.”

Star picked up a nearby object, a gun with a hook in it. “Like this thing.”

“What's that do?” Pony asked.

“I have no idea,” Star admitted, setting it back down. “Or, or how about this?” the girl quickly grabbed another object, a small pocketwatch. “Look at this gizmo, see? We couldn't make something like this in Atlantica.”

“Or how about this?” Star said, gesturing to the painting in front of her, one with a woman warming her hands over a small flame. “Humans can make fire, for crying out loud! Why can't we make fire?!”

“Cause we live underwater?” Pony said, now decked out in as much jewelry as she could wear, stealing it off the shelves when Star wasn't looking.

“Or, or what about-”

“Star,” Jackie said, silencing her friend as she put a hand on her shoulder, knowing she could go on forever if she wasn't stopped. “We get it. We know you love human stuff.”

Star let out a loud sigh. “I just wish I could go up there, y'know? See all the wonders of the human world, instead of being stuck down here with the same old boring ocean.”

Jackie nodded. “I know,” she said, understanding clear in her tone.

“Well then do what you want B-Fly and don't tell your mom!” Pony shouted enthusiastically. “If she doesn't find out than what is there to worry about?”

“Yeah,” Star said softly, deep in thought. But her voice was stronger as she said again. “Yeah. Yeah!” she practically shouted. “It's my life I can do what I want!”

“You go girl!” Pony yelled in support.

“Who cares about the rules?! This rebel princess makes her own rules!” Star cheered, jabbing a finger at herself.

“Technically speaking, the princess does have slight authority for making decisions in certain circumstances,” Seahorse pointed out.

“Which I'm pretty sure doesn't count in this case, right?” Jackie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That would be correct,” Seahorse droned out.

“Well still, promise or no promise I'm not giving up going to the surface. It's just too important to me,” Star declared with a finality, crossing her arms determinedly in front of her chest. But it switched to a bright smile as she couldn't help but squeal over her decision, glad she didn't have to give up on the one thing that made her happy. “Oh man, if mom could hear me she would be so mad,” Star said with a small giggle.  

“That is correct!” Johnny shouted as he swam into view, making his presence known. The others all gasped in shock at seeing him floating there, Star exclaiming, “Johnny?! Wh-What are you doing here?”

“Your mom told me to keep an eye on you, so I followed you here,” the dolphin explained.

“Well it's not what it looks like,” Star quickly blurted out, trying to cover her tracks as best she could. “We were just... um, getting ready to throw all these human things away, since I won't be going to the surface anymore, right guys?” She turned to them for help, her eyes pleading for them to play along.

The others obeyed, quickly nodding in agreement, but Johnny just continued to glare at them, saying, “Save it. I heard what you were talking about.”

Star let out a short, awkward chuckle, before asking, “How much did you hear?” She was poking her fingertips together sheepishly as she waited for a response.

“All of it,” Johnny said with narrowing eyebrows.

“Oh,” Star muttered in defeat, visibly deflating.

“And you should be ashamed of yourself, going behind the queen's back like that,” Johnny scolded, waving a disapproving flipper at them.

“Only because mom is being stupid and making a bunch of dumb rules,” Star argued, crossing her arms childishly in front of her.

“She is trying to protect you, again if you had just followed my previous rules we wouldn't have this problem. All you had to do was listen to me and everything would be fine, but noooo, instead you had to be rebellious and do whatever you want so-”

Star, Jackie and Pony shared a look, knowing they had just lost him to the rant for who knows how long, as he swam back and forth around the cave, overemphasizing his speech with wild gestures from his fins. They all tuned him out as he droned on about every single security measure he had ever implemented in great and excruciating detail, only Seahorse actively listening, watching with interest, even nodding every so often.

“This is gonna take forever,” Pony groaned in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

“Hey at least he isn't busting us to Star's mom,” Jackie pointed out.

Suddenly, the entire cave went dark and the three girls looked up to see their only light source covered up by some large shape at the top of the waves. Star gasped. “A boat!” she exclaimed in joy. Ships almost never sailed this far out to sea, so seeing one intact was quite the rarity for her. “Oh man, we have to go see it!” The desperation and need shimmered in her eyes as she looked back over to the still-distracted Johnny, who hadn't noticed a thing as he carried on with his rant.

“Come on, at this rate the turd won't even notice we're gone,” Pony pointed out and Star nodded in agreement. Besides, who knows when her next chance to see a ship up close would be. It was worth the risk. Star and Jackie easily slipped past the dolphin, making for the exit, Pony stopping to rip her boyfriend away from his mindful observation before pulling him after the others, Seahorse never blinking or breaking gaze from the dolphin until he was out of sight.

Johnny after a moment, finally wound down, finishing up the speech he was currently giving to the treasure trove and trinkets, way off topic from where he had started from as his rambling came to a close. “And that's how to avoid being stung by an angry, vengeful jellyfish. Any questions, You Highness?” he looked over to where the four had been only to see empty water and he panicked, looking around the room frantically. “Your Highness? Star?” But when he received no answer and came to the quick realization that he was alone, he groaned in defeat. “They ditched me,” he whined in disgust before quickly swimming out of the cave after them.

Once back in open waters he spotted the four instantly, seeing them heading up to the surface where a large and familiar shape cut through the waves, as well as unfamiliar bright flashes of  multicolored lights, which colored the ocean in its hue with every few second bursts. “Oh no,” Johnny groaned in worry. “Princess, stop!” he tried to plead with her only to get an exited and unconcerned response, as the girl shouted joyfully, “Come on, Johnny! You won't want to miss this!”

Johnny just cringed knowing he had no way to stop the headstrong teenager. “This princess is gonna get me killed,” he observed. But, because it was now his duty to do so, he followed after the four, dreading what they would find topside and just hoping it didn't lead to any of them tapped in a net or on a hook.

…

The moment Star surfaced, she became enchanted by what she saw, her eyes glittering as she watched the bright explosions in the sky, her mouth gaped open in shock and awe. The others surfaced around her, also seemingly captivated by the fireworks, all except Johnny who was watching the whole thing nervously.

“Wow, they're beautiful,” Star murmured in whispered wonder.

“Yeah really pretty,” Johnny said, though his voice lacked any enthusiasm or emotion toward the sight. “Can we go now?”

“Wait a minute, we just got here,” Star insisted, swimming closer to the boat.

“Stop, princess! Come back!” the dolphin shouted after the mergirl, holding a fin out uselessly as if trying to will her back, though he was too frightened of the boat to move closer to it himself.

Star meanwhile, put a hand against the smooth wood and let out a small giggle. She couldn't believe this was really happening to her. After all this time, she was finally able to see a real boat up close, well one that was in one piece that is. Suddenly she could hear a janky tune above and her gaze and interest was immediately drawn upward, where she could almost hear the exited chatter of the human's over the loud popping of the fireworks.

Johnny just continued to groan and fidget with worry, his eyes darting around in paranoia, as he begged the girl, “Star, please, what if someone sees us? We should just go home already.”

“Aw relax, J. You worry too much,” Pony said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, Star is a big girl she can handle herself,” Jackie added, reassuringly.

But Johnny was having none of it, putting his flipper down as he commanded, “No way! I am not losing my job over this. I am taking the princess back to Atlantica and that's final! And once I tell the queen, she'll-”

“Fire you,” Pony finished for him and the dolphin visibly froze. He hadn't thought about that.

“I mean you did let the princess come to the surface, after all,” Jackie pointed out.

“Only because you guys ditched me!” Johnny loudly defended himself.

“Yeah, can't wait to hear you talk your way out of that one,” Pony said with a roll of her eyes.

Johnny was visibly unsettled by that. What was he thinking? He couldn't tell the queen about this. She had said that this was his last chance and if she found out he had already failed his task less than an hour since she assigned it... well, he didn't want to think about the consequences. “Oh my gosh you're right,” he admitted with horror. “I can't tell the queen about this, she'll kill me!”

“Yeah so just don't tell her and it can be our little secret,” Jackie suggested with a shrug.

Johnny quickly nodded. “Y-Yeah, okay. We'll just leave and pretend like none of this ever happened.”

“That's going to be pretty hard to do,” Seahorse suddenly spoke up.

“What, why?” Jackie asked in confusion.

“Cause Star is currently climbing the ship,” Seahorse explained.

“What?!” the others shouted, whirling around to see that the boring fish was right, Star was currently scaling the side of the boat, using her arms to pull her now useless tail up the length of the boat.

“Star, get down from there?!” Johnny screamed, but Star ignored him, only hearing the playful laughter and infectious music above, drawing her in closer and egging on her curiosity. When she finally reached the side, she hauled herself up enough that she could peer over without being seen, her tail resting on a convenient slab of wood beneath her. From there she could only watch in awe as the humans danced around the ship, laughing and partying it seemed, while others played some sort of collection of instruments, most of which Star didn't recognize at all. The blond also didn't recognize the tune, but after a moment, found herself humming along with it, its upbeat, janky notes catchy and impossible to resist.

She studied each human closely, watching their movements, particularly from their legs and feet, their weird motions they were making foreign and yet intriguing. But as her eyes roamed over the crowd of happy-go-lucky sailors she spotted one in the crowd who looked unhappy to be there, even in the midst of his fellow partying men. He was a young boy looking no older than 15. Right at Star's own age, she realized. He had brown hair and eyes along with tanned skin. He wore a fancy looking white suit, complete with cape and tight restrictive looking black boots. Star also noted with interest that he had a small little dot on his left cheek that was absolutely adorable.

Who was she kidding, all of him was adorable, he looked so handsome in his outfit and Star felt herself blushing at this train of thought. He was the first human boy she had ever seen before and she found there was something about him that seemed to draw her in. But at the same time, for as cute and interesting as he was, she also noticed just how sad and alone he looked standing all by himself, his eyes studying the crowded deck with disinterest. Star didn't understand why he didn't just join in on the fun, but for whatever reason, he simply rubbed at his arm absentmindedly, before quickly stopping himself and looking around as if afraid someone had seen him.

He kept his posture stiff after that, continuing to watch the celebration he seemed to be left out of and Star felt a twinge of sympathy for the boy. She wished she could go over and comfort him, but that simply wasn't a possibility, not unless she wanted to reveal her identity to the entire boat. So instead, she just followed him with her eyes as he made his way around the eager partygoers and over to the edge of the boat, leaning against the railing with a deep sigh, now directly over where Star was perched.

The mergirl sucked in a breath as the handsome boy unknowingly hovered over her, she felt her face beginning to break out into a sweat over how close he was to her, almost able to feel his presence through the thick wood. She looked down below where Johnny stood mouth agape at the sight and looking on the verge of passing out. Jackie had dunked beneath the surface to avoid being spotted, but Pony was winking at her and giving her encouraging, meaningful smiles to tell her that the boy was cute and she approved which only made Star's cheeks blush lobster red. She risked a look up and instantly caught sight of the boy, his eyes gazing sadly down at the ocean, but despite this the chocolate brown orbs were magnificent and engaging as Star found herself having trouble looking away from them.

The boy just stood there silently for a moment, before he rubbed his eyes tiredly with the palms of his hands, muttering under his breath, “What am I even doing?” He started to walk away and Star sat up so she was peering over the edge again, wanting to follow his every move, when she noticed with concern that he had turned around. His eyes lit up as he spotted her and the mergirl felt her heart stop, whether that was from being found out or being noticed by this boy of all people Star didn't know. “Whoa, be careful!” the boy cried, racing over to her, fear and concern on his face. The blond briefly contemplated ducking back out of sight but she was frozen to the spot so it wouldn't do her any good at the moment.

He continued to shout as he reached her, saying, “It's dangerous that close to the edge! You could fall!”

Star finally seemed to recover, ducking enough out of sight that only her head was in view to him. “Oh, um, thank you, but uhhh, I'm fine.”

“No, your not,” the boy insisted holding out a hand to her. “Here I'll pull you up.”

Star started to instinctively reach for his hand but stopped herself, shaking her head freeing of any distracting thoughts and saying, “No, really I'm good, just pretend I'm not here and you didn't see anything.” She chuckled nervously, hoping the boy bought it and just left her alone.

Instead, his eyebrows just pinched together in the cutest way and he looked over at the other sailors, who hadn't paid him any mind, before getting down on hands and knees and asking in a soft whisper, “Are you a stowaway?”

“A what?” Star asked in confusion.

“Did you sneak onboard this ship?” the boy asked, instead.

“Ohhhh,”the blond said in realization, before hesitantly replying, “Uhhh, sorta,” She looked down at her tail with a grimace.

“Well, don't worry your secrets safe with me,” the boy said softly, a small smile on his lips.

“Secret, what secret? I don't have any secrets,” the mergirl replied way too fast.

The boy gave her a confused look. “Uh, about you being a stowaway.”

“Oh rightttt. Yeah let's go with that.”

The boy gave her an incredulous look, but didn't press her on her odd behavior instead saying, “I'm Marco by the way.”

“Star,” the girl said softly, her cheeks growing red once more.

“Star,” Marco repeated, testing out the name on his tongue. “I like that. It's really pretty.”

Star giggled nervously, trying to hide her face from view. “Oh, psh, stop it!” she mumbled in embarrassment. She was about to say something more, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye a familiar form over by the buffet table. She felt her heart stop as she realized that Janna was stealing food out in plain sight and she made a tiny little eep noise.

“What, what is it?” Marco asked, starting to turn to see what she was looking at.

“No, no, nothing,” the girl nervously exclaimed, grabbing his face and keeping him from looking in that direction. “There's nothing to see.”

She watched as Janna caught her eye, shooting her a wink before diving overboard without being spotted. The mergirl let out a sigh of relief, glad that her friend hadn't been caught, that could have been a disaster.

“Uh, can you please let go of my face?” Marco spoke up and Star looked back over to see that she was squishing his face with her hands and she let go with a gasp.

“Oh, uh sorry,” the girl said, her cheeks flushing bright red. What was she thinking? She was acting like a total doofus in front of the first human she had ever met.

The boy didn't seem too upset though, just giving her a long look. “What was that all about?” he asked, an eyebrow slowly raising.

“I was just, uh, trying to keep you from being tempted by all that food over there, ha ha,” she chuckled nervously, hoping he bought the weak lie.

Marco didn't say anything for a moment, though, finally muttering, “You are a strange one, Star.”

“Good strange or bad strange?” she asked, looking at him hopefully.

He smiled. “Definitely good,” he replied, earning a smile from the blushing girl. He leaned against the railing of the ship with a far-off look. “In fact, your the first good thing about this trip so far.”

“Why? This place looks like so much fun,” Star blurted out, looking around at all the dancing humans with longing, wishing she could be one of them.

“Maybe for someone who actually belongs here,” Marco muttered sadly. “I'm only here because I'm expected to be. No one ever really asks me what I want.”

Star let out a long sigh, propping her elbows on the deck and leaning her head on her hands. “Yeah me too. My mom is always telling me to do this or do that, but she never really listens to what I want.”

“Sounds like we're in the same boat,” Marco said, before the two began giggling at the accidental pun.

“Yeah, guess we are,” Star whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

The two continued to talk for a while, just chatting about their life and all the responsibilities that were being constantly thrust upon them. Star quickly discovered that Marco was actually a prince and that this whole trip was to celebrate his birthday, despite the fact that he hated sailing and had been virtually ignored the whole time only to be scolded or reprimanded by someone named Manfred. Star found herself enjoying herself the longer they talked, the boy so easy to talk to and so opposite what her mother had told her that humans were supposed to be like. He was nice and very fun to be around and she found herself wishing this moment would never end and she could just stay by this human boy's side until the end of time.

“You know, if you don't mind me saying, when you put your hands on my face, they were really pruny,” Marco suddenly mentioned out of nowhere.

“Huh, that's strange,” Star quickly said, trying to cover her shock.

“Like really pruny,” the boy continued. “Almost like you live in the water,” he added with a laugh.

The girl's eyes went wide and she let out a quick, fake laugh, feeling sweat dripping down her face. “Yeah, that, that's crazy,” she said with a halfhearted scoff. “I mean, we humans don't live in the water, hahahaha.”

Marco gave her a suspicious look, able to tell she was hiding something. “Uh, right. We human's sure don't,” he said, forcing the weird phrase out of his mouth. He tried to shrug off her off behavior and instead commented, “You must really do a lot of swimming, though.”

“Me? Oh yeah, I swim all the time,” she said, still with an awkward edge to her tone.

“And you must love the ocean to wear seashells in your hair,” he added, pointing to them with a little smile, the girl quickly trying to cover them up with her hands.

“Yeah, I uhh-”

Before the girl could stutter out another answer, there was a roar of thunder behind them and they both turned to see the sky quickly growing dark, already nearly black, out of nowhere. “Wh-What's that?!” Marco asked in worry and Star just sucked in a breath.

“Oh no,” she muttered in terror.

Above their heads, the lookout yelled to the rest of the unsettled crew, confirming Star's fears. “Hurricane acomin'! All hands secure the riggin'!”

Rain began pattering the deck of the ship, as panicked sailors ran around trying to tie up the now uncooperative ropes down with little success. Marco stood up, a look of anxious determination on his face, as he turned back to the girl he had just been talking to, offering her a hand. “C'mon, we need to get somewhere safe, before the storm finishes blowing in.”

Star looked at his hand eagerly before reluctantly shaking her head. “I'm sorry, Marco,” she said, her sad eyes not meeting his. “I can't.”

“What, why not?” Marco asked.

“Your Highness!” a voice interrupted behind him and he turned to see Manfred, wobbling over to him on the unsteady deck. He grabbed the boy by the arm trying to forcefully pull him away. Marco fought the grip, trying to reason with the small man. “No wait! Hang on, there was someone who needed my-”

But as he looked back over to the spot Star had just been in, she was now gone. He felt fear and confusion pinch his chest, wondering how she had suddenly disappeared but hoping she was alright.  “Star?” he muttered softly.

“Oh dear, he's seeing stars,” Manfred said in worry, clicking his tongue and continuing to drag the boy behind him. “I really must get you below decks. Come now, Your Majesty, it will be safer there,” Manfred insisted and Marco followed numbly, his head still spinning with unanswered questions and fears.

…

Star dropped back into the water with a splash, ignoring the questioning gazes of her friends and the panicked rant from Johnny, keeping her eyes on the ship and hoping it would be okay, her thoughts and fears solely focused on Marco. The waves were quickly growing higher, slapping against the boat as if trying with all its might to knock it over and sink it. The sturdy vessel held strong though, fighting through the ocean and trying its best to keep coarse through the rough wind.

Star and the others were nearly being dragged away by both the waves and wind but Star fought tooth and nail to stay close by the boat, wanting to see what happened to the desperate crew. She kept her eyes on the ship as she forced her body through wave after wave, fighting the sinister current with every ounce of strength she had, ignoring every limb that was aching and begging her to stop and let her rest.

Meanwhile, the ship didn't seem to be doing much better as it was suddenly lifted up on a particularly large wave before being slammed back down into the water, making the whole ship shudder and groan, threatening to fall apart at any moment. Flashes of lightening and blinding rain filled the sky and the sound of thunder seemed to echo from every direction.

At some point, a lightening bolt must have struck one of the masts, because the boat was slowly being engulfed in flames, even the drenching rain unable to put out the fire, as it eagerly ate away at the wooden vessel. The sailors promptly gave up on saving the boat after that, the men quickly abandoning ship as they loaded themselves into lifeboats and quickly dropping themselves into the crashing waves below, to avoid being licked by any stray patches of fire.

As Star neared the ship, panting heavily and nearly blind from the rain in her eyes, she searched for any signs of Marco, fear clenching her chest as she watched the once proud sailing ship being reduced to ash and fire, and she silently prayed that her friend had made it out okay. Which was why she nearly cried in relief as she finally spotted Marco being led over by someone to the last lifeboat, looking safe and unharmed.

But to her horror, just as Marco went to get into the boat after the man, a sudden shuddering from the ship knocked him off his feet and caused the lines holding the lifeboat up to snap, dropping it in unceremoniously into the ocean. The man screamed the prince's name but could do nothing as the ship was easily carried away from the boat.

Marco lay unmoving on the deck, knocked unconscious from the hit to his head, as the steady but growing flames came nearer and nearer to his oblivious form. Seeing this, Star began fight with vigor against the unforgiving tide in a desperate attempt to reach the boy before he was burned alive. But she never got a chance as the ship suddenly exploded, a bright and expansive burst of light as the remnants of whatever fireworks were left were found by the flames and simultaneously ignited, tearing the ship apart in a hot breath of beautiful destruction. Any previous feelings of curiosity or delight for Star were now replaced with empty horror as she watched what was left of the ship sink into the sea to join its other destroyed brethren.

Finally seeing up close and personal what caused the wreckage she had spent most of her life exploring made her sick and she knew after this her days of exploring the tragic sights were now over. But for right now she didn't care about that, as she dove underwater, swimming through the debris now floating to the bottom of the ocean, looking for any signs of Marco, her heart pounding in her ears as she continued her desperate search. She pushed past broken masts, damaged boxes of goods and other items, ignoring their content or worth as she panted wildly, looking for the first human she had ever met.

At last, she found him, his body caught in a rope as he was dragged down into the depths below. She quickly swam to him, nearly hugging him in her relief, but knew she had too little time for such things, he was in danger of drowning. So instead, she quickly untangled the rope from his frail body before wrapping her arms around his frame and lifted him back up to the surface.

The moment her head broke through the waves, she saw that the storm had begun to die down, leaving the ocean a dark blue as the sound of thunder rolled away from the pair. Star made sure Marco's head was above water but bit her lip not sure which way land would be. But to her relief, Janna suddenly appeared, shouting out to her, “This way!” and pointing off in what Star guessed was the direction of shore.

Janna began to swim toward that and Star began following along as best as she could, struggling with the human boy's heavy form weighing against her. She wasn't used to swimming with a partner, much less an unconscious one, making her movements klunky and awkward as she nearly dropped his head into the water several times, struggling to keep his head resting on her shoulder.

She felt her body fill with relief as Jackie appeared beside her, grabbing hold of one of the boy's arm and helping shift the weight so it was equally distributed between them. Even Pony and Seahorse pitched in, each lifting a leg above the ocean surf, balancing it on their heads as they helped carry the human to safety. Star smiled at each of her friends, touched by their kindness as she and the others much easier followed the dark-haired mermaid, who turned back every few seconds to make sure they were keeping up with her.

Johnny just nervously watched the whole thing a short distance away, his face full of worry as he kept pace with the young group of underwater rescuers and their determined mission to save the poor, unsuspecting human prince.

…

The sun began to rise on the horizon, bathing the world in light once more and casting a beautiful glow off of the water's surface. The gentle sound of the now peaceful waves hit Star's ears as she leaned over the dripping wet boy laying against the sand, his eyes still closed, as she admired his adorable face up close. She gently brushed the hair out of his eyes, as she hummed thoughtfully to herself, glad to see the boy was relatively unharmed despite the traumatic experience not too long ago. He looked so pale and fragile in that moment, nothing like the stories she had been told by other mermaids trying to scare her away from the concept of humans altogether and she felt a surge of pride as she realized she had been right all along about them. They weren't dangerous killers they were just people, capable of either good or evil. And in this moment, Star could easily see the good written all over the boy's face as she studied him closely.

“Star, is he dead?” Jackie asked, out of nowhere, interrupting her thoughts and she looked over to see her and the others watching her waist deep in the waves.

The girl looked back over to Marco, a sudden fear in her chest. How had she forgotten to check that? He was just in an explosion after all and had more than likely swallowed a lot of water. Her voice shook as she replied, “I-I'm not sure how to check.”

“Step aside,” Janna said, as she crawled over to the girl, pushing her out of the way, as she observed the boy. Star waited for her to check his heartbeat or something, but she instead gave him a little smack on the nose and Star let out a scream, grabbing onto the mergirl's arms to keep her from hurting him again. “Janna! Why did you do that?!” she demanded in anger, but a soft groan from below the two brought their attention back to Marco, who shifted a little in his sleep, his eyes scrunching up in the cutest way.

“He's alive,” Janna confirmed, smugly. “You're welcome.”

Star dropped her hold on the girl, letting out a huff as she retorted, “Was there no other way to check that?”

Janna just shrugged. “Thought that would be more effective,” she said with no ounce of remorse in her voice and Star sighed before her eyes returned to the boy's face. She was now able to easily pick up on his breathing, as he began to relax once more and she smiled, her cheeks turning red.

“Well at least he's okay,” she said softly, her hand unknowingly cupping his cheek and she felt him subconsciously move into her touch, letting out a smooth breath. The girl watched him with growing fascination and love as she felt his soft skin beneath her fingertips, making her shiver. She began to hum softly to herself some unknown song coming to her in that moment as the world faded away and all she knew or saw was the boy before her, the human prince who had captivated her from the moment she laid eyes on him and she once again wished this moment lasted forever.

The others didn't say a word or if they did she was unable to hear them as the sun peeked out from behind a cloud lighting up Marco's face as he gently opened his eyes, small and unfocused but still a beautiful shade of brown. He seemed to spot her in that moment, a hand reaching up to touch hers and she smiled at him again, as his eyes began to widen in realization. He opened his mouth to say something but there was a shout from farther down shore and Star whipped her head over to see the same man from before walking toward her, shouting out Marco's name every few seconds as he searched for him.

Star knew she had to go as she cast one last look at the boy, before forcing herself away and back to the water, where she ducked below a second later and now safely out of sight.

To Marco, it was as if she had suddenly disappeared, one second looking into her stunning blue orbs, the next just gone... leaving him blinking in the blinding sunlight. He sat up with a loud groan, his body feeling like it gone through a blender as he looked around for any signs of his rescuer. Had it been Star? he wondered to himself. It had to have been, it was the only thing that made sense. Somehow the stowaway had swam him to shore all on her own. Although it seemed illogical, there was no mistaking that sweet, infectious smile and those bright, startling blue eyes. It had been Star, he was sure of it.

But where was she. He cupped a hand over his eyes to shield them from the burning sun as he stared off toward the horizon, the light reflecting off the waves nearly blinding him again. “Star?” he whispered under his breath, barely hearing a voice calling out his name.

He felt a hand grip his arm, pulling him to his feet, and he let out a groan nearly falling back onto the sandy beach. Hand to his head, trying to alleviate the headache that was beginning to surface, he turned to see Manfred looking quite relieved to see him. “Prince Marco, thank goodness your alright,” the servant said, but Marco was barely paying any attention to him, still looking around for Star. “We've been searching all over for you, many of us feared that you had been lost to the storm.”

“D-Did you see that girl?” Marco asked suddenly, surprising Manfred.

“Girl?” he repeated with concern, his eyebrow raising slightly and Marco knew he must have thought he was crazy.

“Yeah the one who saved me,” the young prince continued. “She- She was just here a moment ago. Did you see where she went?”

“Your Majesty, there was no one with you,” Manfred said slowly.

Marco shook his head, refusing to believe it. “No, no, I know she was here. I saw her.”

“So a young girl just appeared in the middle of the ocean and carried you all the way back to shore, before vanishing into thin air again?”

Marco opened his mouth to retort, but quickly closed it knowing that he still couldn't tell him that he knew for a fact Star had been on the ship with him. So he instead shrugged and said softly, “Yeah, yeah, I must have just imagined her.” But he couldn't keep his eyes from returning to the sea as if hoping she would somehow be there.

Manfred clicked his tongue disapprovingly, before saying, “You probably just swallowed too much sea water.” Marco tried to ignore the man's belittling tone as he hoisted his arm over his shoulder, using his weight to help him walk as they headed back to the castle. “Now come along, Your Majesty, let's get you into some dry clothes.”

Marco said nothing, allowing himself to be led, but keeping his gaze on the water, his thoughts still bouncing around his mind out of control as he tried to make sense of the blond stowaway and her heroic rescue.

…

Star peeked out from the rock she was hiding behind, watching the whole display with a growing sadness and longing unlike anything she had ever felt before. She kept her gaze trained on Marco's form as he was led away, his eyes still clearly searching for her and it took every ounce of self-control she had not to go to him.

Johnny, at this point was hyperventilating, going on and on about how stupid and dangerous all this was, about how they had to keep it a secret, about how no one could know what had gone on, especially the queen, while the others tried futility to calm him down. Star just tried not to roll her eyes. Duh, or course they weren't gonna tell her mom she would have a heart attack if she knew what Star had done. But she didn't regret it though, considering it the right thing to do, despite every merman or mermaid disagreeing with her on that point. Saving Marco had been the right thing, she just couldn't allow him to drown. And as for talking to him beforehand, well...

Star felt her cheeks flush furiously as her eyes remained trained on his figure, being practically dragged by the small man. The burning longing insider her only seemed to be growing more and more intense as she began to crave to see Marco again. She began to hum to herself again, finally recognizing the song as the one that had been playing when she and Marco met.

And at that very moment, like the crashing of a wave, Star came to a decision. She wouldn't let this be the last time she saw Marco. She would find a way to see him again, no matter how long or what she had to give up, she would see the human world in all its glory, with Marco by her side. She didn't know when or how but still she knew she would succeed. She had to. And so from the deepest depths of her soul, she promised both herself and her first human friend she would find a way to become a part of his world, no matter what.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z Special: History of Trunks

The second DBZ special aired on February 24, 1993, right between Episodes 175 and 176.   I was always kind of curious about the timing on this special, because it was included with the Trunks Saga box set back in the day, which led me to believe that it meant to be viewed around that part of the story.   More likely, Funimation did it because the Trunks Saga was really short, and the “box set” would have been two VHS tapes without something else to throw in.    

The collected editions of the manga placed it right around the same order as the TV show, right after Mr. Satan insists on fighting first.   However, Kanzenshuu.com lists its original publication date as August 11, 1992,  as part of a double feature alongside Chapter 396, which features Trunks taking on Perfect Cell so Krillin could rescue Vegeta.   That might explain why episode 164 featured a lengthy flashback to Trunks’ boyhood.   Toei had the special to work from, and while they eventually adapted the special outright, they were able to do a filler scene with some confidence in what Trunks’ future word was really like.    That makes a lot of sense, because Trunks vs. Perfect Cell was probably the high water mark for the character, and after that he became much less important in the series.  

To be clear, the manga version came first, and the anime version adapted and expanded it.    So unlike the DBZ movies, this one is about as canon as it gets.    It also stands in stark contrast to the first special starring Bardock.    Toriyama had nothing to do with creating “Father of Goku”, but he liked the special so much that he briefly referenced the climactic scene in the manga.  

So yeah, this is basically an account of the future timeline Trunks is from, so it opens with Goku dying of the hear virus Trunks predicted in Episode 122.   

I know that feel, kid.   

Then we flash forward about six months to May 12, Age 767, when the androids attacked.    They kill all the Z-Fighters, and then we flash forward again about thirteen years.    Things look pretty much the same, but only because this just happens to be one of the towns the androids haven’t attacked yet.   Also, this one kid has a baloon with Goku on it, which seems really out of place when he’s been dead for so long. 

So the Androids attack... I think it’s Peppertown, and we then find Master Roshi’s house is abandoned.    Turns out he took cover in a submarine, along with Oolong, Puar, and Turtle.    Apparently, this is just what they do when they hear of an android attack on the radio.   I assume that means Peppertown is close enough to Kame House to warrant this sort of thing, but then again, they may just be really jumpy.  

In Peppertown, 18 helps herself to a clothing store, and that’s a pretty cool sequence.    The shopkeep is terrified, of course.  

Then 17 blows up the store as soon as she leaves.   18 chews him out for this, because she wanted to at least spare the clothes.    17 had agreed to this, but forgot.   

And that’s kind of the theme of the androids’ reign of terror.    A lot of the early material surrounding Trunks’ future world made it sound more like the post-apocalyptic world of the Terminator movies.    In Episode 139, Trunks even flashes back to a group of humans, many of whom are wearing outfits and swords like his, which imply that they’re all part of some human resistance movement.    That wasn’t hard to go along with, especially since we had just finished the Frieza Saga, where the main villain was more about oppressing people than killing them outright.   But once we finally met 17 and 18, it turns out that they’re not terribly motivated by anything.     They kill people indiscriminately, but they’re in no great hurry to get it done.   This explains how they can be strong enough to kill a Super Saiyan, and yet there’s still a world left thirteen years on.   

As a consequence, Trunks’ world doesn’t look like a hellish post-apocalyptic nightmare.     At least not all of it does.    Peppertown looked pretty much business-as-usual, until the androids finally got around to destroying it.   It’s not a quick, sudden thing that happened.   The world is slowly being torn down, city by city, person by person, and that’s actually scarier when you think about it. 

For example, Bulma and Trunks hear about the attack on Peppertown while they’re returning from a grocery run, but they have to drive a long way for groceries because so many cities have been ruined.   So there’s still food and cars and fuel for cars and such, but things are a lot harder to access.    I assume the world population has had to become more decentralized, since any major population center risks getting targeted by the androids. 

Anyway, Trunks has had it with the androids, so he asks his mom if she doesn’t mind heading home alone, and she knows what he’s up to, but she can’t really stop him from leaving either.   

But when Trunks reaches Peppertown, it’s too late.    The androids are gone, and so are all the people he wanted to save.   

But he does run into Gohan there, and so the two of them head back to the Capsule Corp. building, or what’s left of it.     There, Trunks pleads with Gohan to take him on as his student, and teach him how to kick some android ass.   Gohan agrees, since Trunks reminds him a lot of himself as a boy.   But they agree to keep his training a secret from Bulma so she won’t worry.  

This is one of the commerical bumpers they used in this special.    I’m putting it here because I want to point out that this is maybe the only time I’ve ever seen them actually color in that bit of purple hair sticking out of baby Trunks’ hat.   usually hey just leave it the same color as his face.   He looks a lot cuter this way.  

Gohan has dinner with Trunks and Bulma, and it’s weird to see Bulma cooking, but in this world, she probably had no choice.    It looks like her house took a pounding from an Android attack, but it’s mostly in tact.    My guess is that West City is mostly deserted, and Bulma stayed here because she needs the lab and other equipment, and she figured a deserted city would be safer than a full one.  

Later, Gohan starts training Trunks.   He’s strong and he has loads of potential, but he won’t really be in any shape to fight the androids until he can turn into a Super Saiyan like Gohan can.    Gohan keeps telling him that anger is the key, but Trunks just can’t quite pull it off.   

Ox King and Chi-Chi are still alive in this timeline, although they both look pretty haggard.   From what I can tell, they never see much of Gohan anymore, and so all Ox King has for her are stories he’s heard of Gohan fighting the androids in various places.    She longs for the days when Goku was still alive and Gohan had a chance of becoming a great scholar, but that future was taken away from Gohan when he was left as the only one strong enough to fight the androids.

Then we pick up at some later time, in another city.   Things look pretty peaceful here, and they even have an amusement park.   One of the people in this shot says it’s because this is one of the few cities that has any sort of military, so they think that’s kept the androids away all these years.

Only it wasn’t.   17 and 18 are here right now.   They just never got around to this city yet.   How is 18 doing that with her arm?   Well, she is a cyborg...

Someone calls the military for assistance, but we see that there’s no one to answer, because 17 and 18 already took them out before they got to the park.   

Soon, Gohan and Trunks show up, and we see Gohan turn Super Saiyan for the first time in the special.    Not sure why he does that jazz hands thing, but whatever.    A lot of what he’s been doing lately has probably been self-taught.  

Now, we first saw 17 and 18 fight in Episodes 135 and 136.  There, they took out Vegeta and Trunks--both as Super Saiyans--with tremendous ease.   Afterward, Trunks mentioned that they were far more powerful than the 17 and 18 in his own timeline.    He was at least able to fight them there, and the main problem was the numbers game, and the androids’ superior stamina.   They never get tired, while Super Saiyans burn through their energy pretty quickly.  

This fight pretty neatly illustrates the problem.   Gohan does pretty well while he’s fighting 17 alone, but then 18 jumps in and saves 17 before he can come close to finishing him off.   If Gohan could just get one of them isolated for a while, maybe he could divide and conquer, but that just never happens.    If he had a partner, then that guy could keep 18 busy while Gohan takes out 17, and then they could double team 18 and be done with it.  

And Trunks does pretty well in that respect, considering he’s only 14 and not even a Super Saiyan.   He’s no match for 18, but he does get in a few hits, which is more than he managed when he was older and more powerful and tried to fight 18 in the altered timeline.  

Ultimately, things go really badly for the boys, because Trunks gets overwhelmed and Gohan ends up having to fight both androids and save Trunks at the same time.   He tries to hide, much like we saw him do in the flashback from Episode 164, only this time it dosn’t do him any good.    The one advantage he has on the androids is that they can’t sense his ki, but that doesn’t matter here, because 18 just fires a big energy blast that happens to be right next to him.     There’s no escape.  

The only thing that saves them is that 17 and 18 can’t find them in the rubble, so they give up and go “home”.   I wonder what their home looks like.    Gohan digs himself out and one of his arms is gone.   He pulls out his bag of senzu beans and finds that he only has one left.    And this is truly the last senzu bean ever.   Apparently the plant that they grow from died off.   I don’t know if 17 and 18 attacked Korin’s tower or what.   

I’m also not sure if eating the bean would grow back Gohan’s missing arm.    I guess Yamcha’s injuries at the hands of Dr. Gero were at least as severe, but somehow growing back a limb seems much more extreme to me.    Regardless, he gives the bean to Trunks, because that’s the kind of guy Gohan is.    I like the dub version of this, because Gohan just stares at the bean and asks himself “What would your father do?”   and then he gives it to Trunks.   

Trunks eventually gets Gohan home and they have a doctor tend to his wounds, and before long Gohan’s back in action, minus an arm.    This is about where the manga verson starts, so everything you’ve seen up to now has been filler.  

I get the impression that this scene is right after Gohan recovered, and they haven’t fought the androids since he lost his arm.    Trunks still can’t turn Super Saiyan, and Gohan reminisces about how he did it when he thought about Piccolo and the others dying to the androids. 

I get the sense that Future Gohan has some serious flaws as a warrior.    No disrespect intended, I just mean that his game plan seems to be largely improvised.    Ox King mentioned hat he seems to be determined to “avenge” the Z-Fighters, which makes sense, except that he probably needs to be more focused on protecting humanity, or figuring out a way to defeat the androids.    From what I’ve seen of him, it looks like he’s more interested in just fighting them.  He shows up, they mix it up a little, he gets in over his head, and then he has to hide until they get bored and leave.   If that’s his standard operating procedure, then I doubt he’s ever actually driven off 17 and 18.   Why would they stop attacking a city after he’s out of sight?

I’m not saying that Gohan doesn’t care about the people, but it seems like his strategy is just “Hit the androids until they explode,” and that hasn’t gotten him anywhere.    If Vegeta were still alive, then they might have enough firepower to make that plan work.    If Piccolo were around, then he’d probably make Gohan understand that he needs to think outside the box on this.    But Gohan’s not a tactician or a fighting genius.   He’s very talented, but on his own, his shortcomings become very apparent.  

Anyway, while they talk, the androids start attacking West City.   Trunks wants to help, but Gohan insists that he stay behind.    Trunks hates that idea, especially since Gohan’s lost an arm already.   So Gohan agrees to let him come along.... only to knock him out cold while he’s not looking.   

And this leads us to Gohan’s Last Stand.    He actually does pretty well fighting both 17 and 18 at the same time, with only one arm at that.    But it doesn’t take them long to turn the tables on him.   My guess is that Gohan pushed himself too hard and wore himself out faster than usual.   Also, as I recall from the manga, 17 told him that he hadn’t been figthing at full strength until now, so he may have underestimated them.   

But Gohan warns them: Even if his body is destroyed, what he represents will live on, and someone else will rise up to carry out his last wish.    Z Stands for the end, but not yet.   

Later, Trunks wakes up, and find him in the city, lying face down in a puddle.   

And the pain and grief and rage well up inside him, and finally, Trunks realizes what it takes to be a Super Saiyan.    It wasn’t just anger, as Gohan told him.  It was a kind of anger that he couldn’t truly understand until now, because as bad as this future world is, it’s the only one Trunks knows, and as long as he had his mom and Gohan, he’d never really lost anything before now.    But Gohan was his best friend and martial arts master, and his hero.     He was the best, and the androids killed him and threw him away like so much trash.    

To be honest, I’m a little choked up on this screening, because I’ve been watching all of DBZ up to this point.   The audience has watched Gohan grow up.    We’ve seen him as a baby, we’ve seen him make friends and do very brave things, and this is how it ends.   A couple of shithead androids kill him like he doesn’t even matter.  Well he did matter, and Trunks has the yellow aura to prove it.   

And this is what’s so grim about Trunks’ world.   The Dragon Balls are long gone, senzu beans are extinct, and the last Z-Fighter just died a lonely death.   Yeah, Trunks has become the Legendary Super Saiyan, but so what?   By the time he’s pulled it off, it’s too late to do any good.    It won’t bring Gohan back, or save all the people who died.    This is a very bitter moment for Trunks.     Goku and Vegeta might have found their Super Saiyan awakenings to be cathartic, but not Trunks.   

Three years later, Trunks has been helping Bulma work on her latest invention, the time machine.   Her plan is to send Trunks back twenty years into the past to see if Goku could have stopped the androids if he had survived his illness.    But by this point, her lab has been destroyed, so it’s taken a long time for her to charge the time machine for a round trip.    As for Trunks, he thinks they won’t need the time machine, because he thinks he’s finally strong enough to beat the androids by himself.    Bulma hates that idea, since that’s exactly how Gohan got himself killed.   

But when Trunks hears of an android attack on the radio, there’s not much Bulma can do to stop him from going.    He straps on his sword and flies out to wreck their shit.  

At first he seems to do pretty well...

But his attacks don’t hurt them at all.   As Trunks eventually realizes, it’s not that his attacks aren’t strong enough, it’s that they’re just fast enough to dodge a split second before they connect.  

And then he realizes his mother was right.    He’s in over his head, and the androids won’t just let him walk away from this.    He’s gotten sucked into the same routine Gohan was in for over a decade.  

Also, look how much he resembles Vegeta from his battle with Frieza, right around the time he realized the same thing about Frieza.  

So the androids toy with him and chase him around for a while as he tries to escape.   Not sure why he turned off Super Saiyan during this...

But then they toss him out of a building and he’s back in Super mode again.    Are those flower petals supposed to be like cherry blossoms?   Did Trunks finally go through puberty? 

They keep picking on him, mainly because he’s too stubborn to lay down, and when he asks them why they do this, they say it’s because they hate humans, and so they’ve decided to kill everyone they find.    

Eventually, they blast him and leave without making sure he’s dead, and then Trunks wakes up a few days later to discover that his mom found him and got him medical attention.    At long last, Trunks is finally on board with using the time machine.  

And so Trunks recovers, and he prepares for his fateful journey.    Bulma assures him that Goku will be able to help, not just because he was strong, but because he had a way of making you feel like everything would turn out okay.    Oh, and Vegeta... certainly... uh, was alive back then.   Yeah.   

And that’s it.   The credits show clips of Trunks debut in Episodes 120-122, and now you know..... the rest.... of the story.   Paul Harvey...... good day?

In the past, I never had much use for this special, because most of what happens in it is stuff we already knew about from Trunks’ description of his past.    Also, for a few years I struggled to accept DBZ stories that went backwards on the power scale like this.   Future Trunks and Future Gohan and their android enemies are much weaker than Cell or the Saiyans in the Cell Games Saga, so what’s the point?  

Also, I went through a period where I didn’t have much use for Trunks as a character, maybe because he didn’t seem to matter much after he beat Mecha-Frieza and lost to Cell.    He just seemed to whine a lot and never had much to contribute, unlike Gohan and the others.    

But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate Trunks’ story more.    He has a mission, and things to prove, and loved ones to protect and avenge, and he just wants to get through this thing in one piece, you know?    He’s not big on foolish heroics because he’s seen bad things happen to people who do.    Sometimes his cautious, calculated approach to things doesn’t work either, but you can’t blame him for having that attitude.    In his world, you’re working without a net.