#since she has an electrician outfit

[stellacaerulea]

Life as a mayor is bound to be hard when you have frogs as constituents

[hannibals-favourite-meal]

Hi, I was wondering if ypu could do a bucky barnes x fem reader fic, where reader is insecure because she has a bigger chest and because past relationships have complained about her chest, so when her and bucky start to see each other she tells him this and that's the reason why she wears bigger shirts/hoodie all the time, and so bucky boosts up her confidence and it allows her to wear tighter shirts and tops she always wanted to wear, and bucky could be joking about beating up her ex, but more than likely it's true

.⋆｡Absolutely Perfect｡⋆.

Bucky Barnes x busty!plus size reader

You find an old shirt in your closet and Bucky discovers why you refuse to wear it

Warnings: self-deprecation, past bad relationships, past verbal abuse, fluff, implied smut, insecurity, reader has large boobs, mention of stretch marks

WC: 1.7k

Minors DNI

Library- @hannibals-favourite-meal-library

Since the moment Bucky met you, he knew you had a particular style that you never strayed from. You liked big shirts- big shirts with shorts or skirts in the summer, big shirts and sweaters with jeans in winter, you even slept in a rotating collection of his shirts that you continuously stole from him.

Now Bucky didn’t mind this, he loved that you were comfortable and knew what you liked to wear. But he had seen the way you longingly looked at the more form-fitting outfits when you went shopping with him. He had even caught you perusing clothes in a style more similar to Natasha’s. He thought you would look great in those clothes (he thought you would look great in no clothes either but you two hadn’t gotten to the sex part yet) so he was left wondering why you didn’t.

The apartment was a mess- clothes and trinkets strewn everywhere, boxes scattered around on every available flat surface, and tape, so much fucking tape. Sam warned him that helping someone move was a shit ton of work, but Bucky figured they could get it done in 12 hours, tops. Obviously he was very very wrong.

You were two days into it and you had only just reached the point where you could go through your seemingly endless stash of clothes. Bucky had ducked out for just a second to call back the electrician that was currently working on your new house but when he came back, the mood in your small apartment had shifted considerably.

He found you lost in thought, sitting in the middle of several piles of clothes, holding a shirt. “I’ve never seen you wear that one, it’s cute.” You jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly shoved the shirt into your ‘donate’ pile.

“It’s not my style.” You brushed off but he caught the way you hesitated as you pulled your hand away.

“What if I wanted to see you in it?” With two strides, he had crossed the room and was now in front of you. Before you could stop him, Bucky had ducked down and fished the shirt out. It was about 3 times smaller than all your other shirts and looked like it would fit the contours of your body like a second skin. The cut-out that sliced through the members of AC-DC would allow for a huge amount of cleavage to be shown while the cut along the bottom of the shirt gave it that cropped look that was so popular now.

“Cause I think you’d look drop dead gorgeous in this, doll.” He purred, holding the shirt up to the sunlight as if he could already see you wearing it in his mind. Your face burned with embarrassment.

“Well I don’t so can you please put it back?” You dismissed it like your stomach wasn’t in your throat and tears weren’t building behind your eyes. You reached for the offending piece of clothing but he tucked it to his chest like a toddler would do with a toy.

His gaze seared into you, making you squirm from your place on the floor. “Just once, please!” He begged.

“No.” 

“I’ll do laundry for a month.” He shot back, inching closer to you with the shirt still held against his chest.

“You’re already doing laundry for the next 3 months because of the Jam Incident.” You raised an eyebrow at him. Bucky actually had the decency to blush at this, recalling the event that occurred a month ago which landed him doing extra chores.

“But you would look so pretty.” He actually whined, giving you his best puppy dog eyes. “Pleeeeeeease.” It was getting pathetic now but your own determination was beginning to waver as his only ramped up in intensity. With a trembling hand, you snatched the shirt away from him as you stood.

“I’ll try it on once but when it doesn’t look good- you aren’t allowed to say anything.” As you stomped off to the bathroom, you missed the way his face fell, obviously regretting teasing you.

You kept your back to the mirror as you changed, even squeezing your eyes shut so you didn’t have to see the curve of your body from your peripheral. You hear his voice in your mind, reminding you exactly why you wanted to burn most of your clothes to ash.

The cotton was soft but it still felt like it was slicing into your skin. You held onto your large shirt like it was a lifeline and with a deep breath, you walked back into the bedroom.

Bucky sat on the bed, elbows on his knees as he waited for you. As soon as you crossed the threshold, his head snapped up and his eyes went wide. 

A breath caught in his throat and he slowly stood. “See I told you. Now can you let me throw it away like I wanted in the first place.” Self-consciously, you crossed your arms over your chest, pressing your heavy breasts down. He reached out for you, his chill metal hand grabbing your wide hip as his other gently pulled your arms away from your chest, making you drop the other shirt.

“Buck, let me go change.” He just shook his head. Your heart pounded loudly in your ears.

“Doll you look-“

“Disgusting, I know.” You snapped, trying to pull away from him. He held you tighter.

“No. You look beautiful. Why would you ever think otherwise?” His voice was strained but firm, leaving you no opportunity to backtrack. You looked away from your boyfriend, unable to meet his eyes.

“My boobs.” You murmured. The lump in your throat got bigger by the second as you waited for him to agree with you, to reinforce that voice in your head that told you how ugly you are, how your chest was unnatural and wrong.

But he didn’t. Instead, your wonderful, caring boyfriend let go of your hip and your arm in order to cup your face, guiding you back to him. The look in his eyes was devastating, only making you feel even worse. “Doll, you are perfect.” 

And you broke. 

Hot tears rolled down your full cheeks as you broke down in his arms. “But they’re too big and they’re covered in stretch marks and my nipples are a weird shape.” The words flowed from your lips just like your tears, a never-ending stream that had built up behind the dam of your mind since the first time your ex had told you exactly what he thought off your body. Bucky listened to each and every syllable, taking in everything you were saying.

You didn’t notice the way his blue eyes darkened with rage until he finally interrupted you. “Who the fuck told you that?” His snarl finally broke you from your spiralling thoughts and then it was your turn to lose your breath.

A darkness had grown over his face, the same one he got when he came home from particularly rough missions. Rage rolled off of him in waves, drowning you in it. “M-my ex.” A growl rumbled through his strong chest.

“Well he’s wrong. You’re fucking beautiful, you’re perfect. And I mean all of you, including these.” You gasped as he suddenly let go of your face to cup the massive heft of your tits. Heat shamefully exploded through your body as he held up their weight. “These are just as sexy, just as fucking stunning as you. And would you look at that, they fit perfectly in my hands, like they were made for your tits.” 

“Bucky.” You tried to stop him but he had enough apparently. He squeezed your tits gently as he groaned.

“Fuck doll, you don’t know what you do to me do you? Even when you’re wearing a big shirt and your baggiest jeans you get me so hard it hurts. But now-“ He stepped closer to you, pushing his hips into your soft stomach. A moan slipped from your lips as you felt the hard bulge of his cock against you for the first time. “-Now, when you’re wearing this tiny fucking shirt, letting me see these gorgeous tits and your perfect stomach, I feel like I’m losing my mind, doll.” 

He groaned as he ground his hips into you. “Really?” You timidly asked, hooking your fingers into his belt loops to keep your hands from trembling. Bucky raised a dark eyebrow at you.

“Doll, if it were up to me, I would be inside you 24/7 from the moment we met.” Heat crawled up your cheeks and you giggled.

“That’s a long time Bucky.” He finally smiled, quickly pecking your nose. The sadness was draining from your expression, though the flakes of insecurity still remained. He forced down his own fury, tamping it down as far as he could. He wasn’t mad at you, he could never be mad at you for this. You were beaten down by a pathetic excuse for a man and you believed him. 

Bucky would help you, he would worship you, and then he would hunt the fucker down for ever making you think that you were anything less than divine. “Exactly 5 months, 2 weeks and 1 day.” 

You beamed at him. “Maybe I’ll keep the shirt, if you like it so much.” You looked away bashfully, making your boyfriend groan and his cock twitch within his stiff jeans.

“Oh doll you are spoiling me.” He dipped down to nip at your neck, forcing a whimper from your lips. Your nipples stiffened against his palms as wetness pooled in your already ruined panties. “And now I think I need to spoil you in return.”

You yelped as you were suddenly thrown onto your bed, Bucky quickly joining you as he crawled between your plush thighs. He hovered over you with a smile. “Absolutely perfect.” He murmured before kissing you tenderly, pressing as much of his body against yours as he could. You melted into him, tangling your fingers in his short hair.

Bucky would make sure you knew how beautiful you are and maybe, once all the bad thoughts were gone from your mind, he would leave the apartment under the premise of picking up some dinner. And if he came home with bruised knuckles and a self-satisfied smile on his face, you wouldn’t ask any questions.

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[echonk3]

Pregame V3 headcanons

this is basically me infodumping my V3 pregames in a fic i sporadically work on whenever i feel like it

Rantaro Amami: -confirmed to be the Ultimate Adventurer in season 52 -first joined when he was 12 due to curiosity and riches without knowing the full risk (worst mistake of his life) -loaded due to winning so many games -he's been in four other games and 52 was promised to be his last one with his contract expiring but they continued it due to the ending -he knew Tsumugi from before -lonely -fell out of contact with other survivors, especially with some leaving him behind due to the trauma (he doesn't blame them) -def has PTSD from all the games -lives alone (his parents died during the second game) -has a shitton of guilt :( -couldn't give too much info in the survivor video so he was forced to say he wanted to join -misses his parents -hangs out in trees a lot (less likely to be spotted) -tries to hide it but he's scared of like so many things -doesn't want to lose any more friends -will occasionally go out in an outfit similar to the local school uniform to aid blending in plus he just likes it -pretty similar to his ingame counterpart -quieter tho -great investigation and planning skills -will commonly wear a hood and sunglasses in public to hide his face -tad bit awkward -good cook -has a garden -likes nice peaceful video games -protag of S52 -the team kept wanting him back because he kept surviving and due to the contract they were allowed to do so -okay so first game (Age: 12): Ultimate Lucky Student later revealed to be the mastermind. He goes through the usual mastermind punishment but manages to survive. none of the other survivors want anything to do with him. one of the people in that games is Ultimate Electrician (Ishii Ai she/her) who was executed. second game (just turned 13): Ultimate Despair/Ultimate Lucky Student brought back by popular demand. helps take down that game's mastermind but interfered with some of the game for despair. third game (age 14): amnesiac with the Ultimate ??? and later learns about his past two games and who he really is. fourth game (age 15): brought back as the Ultimate Short Story Writer. killed somebody in chapter 4 and got away with it, killing the others in the process. the only reason he was in this game is because they needed to help hype up this season so may as well cause some speculation with him, plus they needed another person. cue the 52nd game and shit Kaede Akamatsu: -Negative about life -Kinda terrible when it comes to playing the piano -has no faith in humanity -smart af -will not take any shit from anybody -brutally honest -joined due to her love of the series and having no faith in humanity ("we're just gonna die anyways") Ryoma Hoshi: -has a sister named Kyo who was extremely sick -pretty chill and laidback -isn't competitive -works a load to get the money for his sister -would go to the ends of the Earth for his family -wants a cat but can't afford it :( -sister has a genetic disease called Peaceful Parasite, causing some amnesia, sleepiness, blurred vision, and cough which can lead to coughing up blood in later stages and is fatal if left untreated. it can be treated in it's early stages but due to its rareness and specific ingredients, the medicine is expensive. the stages progress slowly, causing a slow but mainly peaceful death (made this illness up) -joined Danganronpa for the money to help his sister -he didn't care what Ultimate he got Kirumi Tojo: -a tad bit messy -neglectful household -tea -kinda a gossiper -bored with life -pretty much lives alone -sees her parents like two times a year since they travel the world and make really good money -good cook -the go-to person for gossip -taught herself to sew to fix things -joined Danganronpa due to boredness of the routine Angie Yonaga: -likes to draw -asked for an art talent -prefers the older seasons of the show -shy -quiet -has few friends -tad bit clumsy and has a few band-aids on -joined due to love of the series Tenko Chabashira: -easily manipulated, especially by guys -energetic -a tad bit athletic -def friends with people on sports teams -pretty motivational (like Kaede but much more

energetic) -coffee -from a family that believes you should have both a physical and creative hobby (so like somebody having art and soccer) -Tenko's is working out and martial arts (not a specific type tho) and abstract

art with bright colours to show her emotions -joined Danganronpa to meet cute boys Korekiyo Shinguji: -teacher's pet -fucking smart -best subject is math -also a tad bit lonely due to his sister isolating him so much and moving -joined Danganronpa as a way to become a better person and have enough money for his future -asked for an Ultimate pertaining to a school subject Miu Iruma: -not good grades -still has an interest in machinery -Kaz is her fav character -easily frightened -cool person when befriended -coffee is her lifeblood -easily excited when talking about things she enjoys -joined Danganronpa for her future and love of the series -asked for an Ultimate related to machinery Gonta Gokuhara: -will crush people like bugs -pretty intimidating -will use that to get what he wants -kinda a terrible person -pretty cold towards others -zero social skills -joined to get rich while doing what he does best, crush people like bugs Kokichi Ouma: -is way too honest -good at hiding -shitty parents -has multiple bandages on due to injuries -kinda has a lot of internal rage -not a big fan of Danganronpa -joined Danganronpa to escape Kaito Momota: -an asshole -is good at talking his way out of stuff tho -never had an interest in space -does the shit to feel good about himself -does not deal well with compliments -joined Danganronpa to be rich and famous Tsumugi Shirogane: -was in Danganronpa 51 and 52 -loved killing games and wanted to join 52 and they let her -she turned into what she was from before the killing games, loving them even more despite everything -her punishment was to return and she managed to convince them to let her be the mastermind this time -due to her being the mastermind she's one of the writers for S53 -runs a podcast about the series -head writer for S53 and the one with the biggest influence on choosing who joins Danganronpa K1-B0/Keebo: -created by Team Danganronpa as an audience surrogate -there were a few surveys put out to test him -stereotypical serious robot cause he didn't have his personality yet -feel like Chihiro and Makoto would be his favs -was in the works before S52 was finished Himiko Yumeno: -her parents overwork her -quite monotone -commonly avoids making friends -pretty serious -almost constantly tired to some degree due to the overworking -a bit similar to her ingame counterpart -joined Danganronpa to escape and have enough for her future Maki Harukuwa: -social butterfly of her school -easily trusting -shit when it comes to weapons and fighting -kinda clumsy -pretty friendly and outgoing -joined Danganronpa because she thought it was cool and kinda wanted to be rich Shuichi Saihara: -kinda obsessed with the show but not like,,, you know that obsessive -loved how creative the executions are -always loved the Ultimate Detectives -a tad bit loud but easily flustered -parents play piano but only his mother continued -wears black shoelaces on one foot and white on the other (taken from a tumblr post) -parents are gone a lot due to work, part of the time overseas and other part just at the building -true crime fan def -will criticize others if they make a bad cup of tea -tea -joined Danganronpa due to love of the show

[horsesarecreatures]

I feel bad because I haven’t seen Amba since Tuesday and I don’t think I’m going to be able to get to the barn until Friday. I had two days wasted where I drove back to NJ to meet the electrician who was supposed to check the hardwiring of the fire alarm system and certify that it works, and the jerk canceled once and was 2 hours late the 2nd time. After that I had to rush back home to the dogs and was too tired to go out again. Then the day after that I went clothes shopping to buy some business casual outfits for law school. Since I’ve worked on a farm the past five years I have very little professional clothing. I went to TJ Max and Marshall’s and it was a complete bust. They had tons of cute blouses and dresses, but very little in xs sizes, and those I did try on were still baggy around the arms. While I understand the importance of clothes stores including bigger sizes, to me that means they should add some more sizes, not increase the size of the existing ones. Between the two stores I tried on 20 items and they were all loose. :/

So today I went to Kohl’s and finally found three things which in addition to the two outfits I already have is probably good enough to start with. I think everyone is going to get dressed up the first week then go back to normal informal attire (hopefully - otherwise I have more shopping to do and I hate shopping).

Tomorrow I have nothing to do, but unfortunately Westchester County is under the state of emergency for the hurricane and travel is not recommended. It could potentially last until Monday, and then Tuesday - Thursday I have orientation from 8-5 every day and it’s mandatory. I don’t even know what I’m going to do with the dogs; I never leave them alone that long. Tomorrow I’m going to try and find a dog walker.

Poor Amba I hope she doesn’t get lonely. She can see other horses but she has no buddy with her in the paddock. I really wish the barn owner would get over whatever she has against leasing.

[tellywoodtrash]

immj2 26.12.20 lb

lmao there’s regretting having sex with someone stupid and then there’s THIS guy; poore bed aur bandiii ko hi aag lagaane ki koshish karr raha hai.

I HATE THE WAY VANSH TALKS. I HAAAAAAAAAATE IT. IT’S FUCKING RIDICULOUS AND I HATE IT AND THEY NEED TO STOP MAKING RRAHUL TALK LIKE THISSSSSSSSSSS.

anyway long story short, bhai ne tandoor chaalu kar diya.

she’s so fucking stupid, she just stood there waiting for the fire to surround her instead of escaping out the side that wasn’t on fire yet.

this bitch and her stupid fucking dreams. i’m sick of them, i tell you, i’m fucking sick of them. you know what, half the time vansh isn’t even doing anything wrong (other than being a fucking antisocial weirdo, and also really bad at communication) and this stupid show just makes us root against him because of this dumbass chick’s forever paranoid thought process. sis you need to fucking go to therapy already. you’re just ruining your own life and relationship and this poor dude’s sanity as well.

the real villain of this show.

ghar mein ek aur surprise. man.............. enough with the surprises. don’t y’all have a surprising life on a daily basis, tum extra kyun add karte rehte ho???????????/

requisite shady call to angre, which i’m not even gonna pay attn to anymore. for all we know, he’s just asking him to make sure the audits for the year are done on time.

where they get so many fucking outfit changes from for this one “surprise” day???? like, he didn’t leave the hospital/her side since she got shot, and they’ve had 3 outfit changes already. and here i haven’t changed outta the same pair of jammies for 3 days now.

Bitch-oo Babe (ahana) is calling again. and vansh is making faces again.

riddhima’s like WHAT YOU WANNA TELL ME WHAT YOU WANNA TELL ME WHAT YOU WANNA TELL ME WHY WON’T YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU WANNA TELL ME. behen tum ek minute chup rahogi toh woh kuch bolein???????

network issues. LORD. WHO EVEN CARES. ITNA BADHAAA CHADHAAAA KE THEY’RE GONNA MAKE THIS CHARACTER INTRO AND I’M TELLING YOU IT’S GONNA BE ANOTHER PHUSKI BOMB.

shady ruse where he takes her phone on the pretext of not being able to find his and mutes the call from ahana. dude, it’s shit like this that makes it hard to root for you.

she’s like thank goddddddddddd vansh read my letter and accepted me with my truth blah blah. idiot. this is why you send it by whatsapp. at least you get blue tick confirmation ki usne padha. even then you should have a conversation about it. not just have assumed the letter is the end of the whole fucking issue.

of course. literally who is surprised?

ouff this family is so fucking extra. ek din hospital mein rehkar aayi hai, SARHAD SE NAHI LAUTI WOH!?!??!!!!!

LMAO WHEN I SAY THESE THREE SIBS ARE FOREVER THE BIGGEST MOOD..........................

this dude so tall ki what flowers dadi is throwing on R’s head is just reaching his chest level.

blah blah blah party tonight, coz we apparently live in a universe with no ongoing pandemic.

Chehra Appreciation Break.

this dumbass’s need to be a SANSAAAR KA BIG BROTHER isko le doobega. when you threw out anupriya and your relation with her, then kaahe ka half brother??????? kuch bhi. you just wanna collect max number of people to call you bhai.

riddhima also acting too fucking smart and jhaado-fying rob of being vansh’s wife. stupid.

can’t blame kabir for wanting to murder these smug assholes. we’re #teamKabir again, girls!

uhhhhhhhhhhhhh i’ve seen this outfit before. 

yup.

some more being a bloody weirdo. man he’s like those emo kids who never grew outta their ~~~edgy~~~ phase.

also i would fucking crotch-kick a man if he destroyed a perfectly good hairtie like this. BITCH YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT’S TO FIND GOOD QUALITY ONES???????? JUST COZ YOU’RE RICH DOESN’T MEAN YOU DO SUCH NONSENSE. A GOOD HAIRTIE IS SOMETHING YOU KEEP FOREVER AND ONLY HAND OVER TO A TREASURED SISTER WHO IS IN DIRE NEED OF ONE.

small cute moment. i love when riddhima mimics him!

oh boy, a internal monologue about teaching her a sabak at the party tho. oh vansh. why you gotta be like this???????/ 

vansh taking angre aside at the party and saying whoever’s trying to talk to riddhima is sure to show up here, so.......... taiyyaar rehna.

angre like “don’t worry, riddhima bhaabi ke paas koi anjaan nahi pohunch paayega.” ok but she’s always at threat of being murdered from the people she knows tho. so....................... idk how useful your security is gonna be.

as usual he’s saying nice but creepy shit. idk why she pays attn to his nonsense anymore.

Y’ALL NEED A RESIDENT ELECTRICIAN TO HANDLE ALL THESE RANDOM LIVEWIRES AROUND HERE, THAN ANY OTHER KINDA SUPPORT STAFF. THE FUCK IS THIS NONSENSE???????? (also, clearly vansh and kabir visit the same Torture&KillRiddhima reddit forum, since their plans are soooooooo similar.)

i’m so sick of him being like...............

pick a side and stick to it, you fucking coward.

anyway ahana’s making her way into the house. and security as usual, useless.

idhar useless tashan. why do you two even bother to talk to each other???? be like other exes, pretend the other one died and ignore everything about their presence.

riddhima being real overconfident and saying vansh ke hote hue not even deathhhhhh can touch me. yeah, i wouldn’t be so sure.

this sis really likes her stinging animal friends.

akjlakjfldskjfldskjflsdkjfl this dresssssss itselfffff they gave herrrrrrrrrrrrrr. haaaye bechaari mansiiiiiii. (i mean, i don’t feel TOO bad, coz this was the best dress of them all in that ep. of IB, but still yaaar. ek naya dress banwaa dete!)

dude. i ship it????? if riddhima HAS to be with some murderous psychopath, then i definitely pick a girl one over a boy one. girl psychos are just soooooooooo much fucking hotter. #teamRiHana

[glitterblazercalum]

OKAY this one made me laugh so “I’m too sober for this.” “You don’t even drink.” “Maybe I should start.” whoever u want xoxo bella ps i did steal that sign off from you thanks love

well, it’s been a Long Time since you sent this. I started off writing something completely different that somehow took an angsty turn so here’s a piece of princess diaries!sos instead: 

On his way up to the 42nd floor of the Waldorf-Astoria, Michael reminisces about how much he used to love Thursday afternoons. He’d had the apartment to himself until at least seven in the evening, so he’d been free to play video games, completely undisturbed, right from the minute he got home from school.

Today, after school, he’d hurried into a town car, fumbled his way through changing into a more ‘princely’ outfit, whatever the fuck that was supposed to mean, rushed through as much homework as he could get done on the drive over to Grandmère’s hotel, and hadn’t even had time to grab a snack in between. The last one could probably be remedied fairly easily, if he was willing to subject himself to the ridiculous canapés room service always sent up when he called to request “snacks.” 

The royalty lessons, or whatever Grandmère had taken to calling them, were, without a doubt, the bane of Michael’s existence. Today’s was supposedly being handled by Pytor, Duke of Some Tiny Piece of Land, and Michael couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do less than get off of the elevator. 

At least with Grandmère, there was a sense of ease throughout the lesson, the ability to laugh at themselves. Grandmère had grown up like a normal person, so she understood where Michael was coming from. 

Pytor, on the other hand, was the most ridiculous person Michael had ever met and he’d clearly been raised as a royal; there was a sense of superiority and entitlement that lingered in the air around him almost as much as his god-awful cologne did. 

That same cologne is the first thing to greet him as soon as he finally musters the strength to step into the lavish suite that Grandmère is currently calling home. Calum immediately wanders off, apparently deciding that his role as a bodyguard need not apply any longer. He’s not wrong, considering how much security is milling around outside the suite and hotel, but Michael resents the lack of solidarity anyways. 

“Ah, Miguel! Wonderful of you to finally join us!” Pytor trills, sweeping into the room in a billow of floral-patterned silk. 

“It’s Michael. Genovians speak French, so it’d be Michael there, too.” 

Pytor waves a hand around and replies, “You say potato, I say potato.” 

“You just said it the same way both times. You’re literally proving my point.”

Pytor narrows his eyes at him and asks, “Weren’t you told to stop wearing those glasses?”

“I don’t remember anyone saying anything along those lines, actually. Maybe the cologne fumes are making you hallucinate?”

As Pytor indignantly draws himself up to respond, Grandmère’s voice echoes from down the hall, “Boys, get on with the lesson!”

With no shortage of barely concealed glee, Pytor says, “Today, we’ll be covering the art of charm. Charisma, as it’s often referred to, in association with my name. Flirtation. And perhaps… even seduction.”

He decides to ignore Calum’s cackling from the next room over and says, “Oh, hell no. If this gets anywhere near seduction, I’m abdicating and calling the authorities on you. I’m sure someone’ll find some fraud charges somewhere in your past. ” 

Pytor clicks his tongue in disapproval. “You Americans are overly concerned with the law.”

“Just get on with the lesson.”

Calum strolls back into the living room and smirks, “You know, I think I’ll stay and watch this one.” Michael contemplates smashing himself over the head with the physics textbook in his backpack. 

“So, Miguel —” 

“Not my name.”

“Putain, fine, have it your way. Michael, I’m going to use a — how you say… pick-up line on you.”

“No.”

“That wasn’t a question. I will use the pick-up line, and you will respond as charmingly as you can, not that I expect much before I teach you my ways.”

“Calum, aren’t you supposed to protect me from danger? This is seriously endangering my emotional wellbeing,” Michael pleads. 

“My contract only covers physical danger. Emotional threats are beyond my paygrade.” 

“Fuck you.”

“You sure about that? Thought you liked that guy As—”

Michael slaps his hands over Calum’s mouth and yells, “Pytor, just get on with it already!”

Pytor’s expression somehow shifts to be even more sleazy than usual and, in a perfect American accent, he drawls, “Hey, baby, are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten I see.” 

Internally, Michael is screaming loud enough to wake the dead, but he refuses to let Pytor know that he’s already gotten to him. “No, I’m from New York. Looks like we have nothing in common, bye!” 

Pytor is utterly unfazed and immediately fires off another one, “Hey, baby, are you from outer space? Because you’re out of this world.” 

“We literally just established that I’m from New York. Are you not even paying attention to what I’m saying? This is a terrible way to get someone to go on a date with you.” 

This time, there’s a tiny bit of irritation in Pytor’s voice when he says, “I thought ‘happiness’ started with ‘h’ but it looks like mine starts with ‘u’.” 

“Have you ever been tested for dyslexia? Many people go their whole lives without knowing they have it.” 

“For fuck’s sake, Michael, just flirt back. I’d like to get out of here before the sun rises tomorrow,” Calum interjects. 

Michael just flips him off in response. Grandmère conveniently happens to be walking by at that moment and gives him a disapproving shake of her head. 

Pytor continues with, “I’m not an electrician, but I can light up your life.” Where is he even getting all of these from? There’s no way real people have ever said these with the intention of flirting and succeeded in getting a date. 

Michael groans and flops fully onto the sofa, posture be damned. “I’m way too sober for this.” 

“You don’t even drink.” 

Michael whirls back around to Pytor and demands, “How would you— oh. Shut up, Cal. You don’t know about everything that I do or don’t do.”

“Knowing that is quite literally my job, so. Wrong, again,” Calum replies, looking infuriatingly calm.

“Well, even if I didn’t drink before, the last hour’ll be what drives me to start.” 

Pytor claps his hands together and says, “What a wonderful idea! I’ll go get some cocktails from the bar downstairs.” 

Before Michael can ask why he needs to go all the way downstairs when there’s a Costco-sized selection within the various rooms of the suite, Pytor has already left. 

Michael turns back to Calum and incredulously asks, “D’you think… I actually made him mad? Is that why he’s left?” 

Grandmère sticks her head back into the room to say, “You’ll have to teach me that trick, mon chéri. God knows how many times I’ve wished for him to leave but suffered through his presence in the name of decorum.” 

Michael shoots her a conspiratorial smile and says, “I bet he’d be even angrier if you let me leave before he comes back.”

Grandmère heaves a long-suffering sigh and decides, “I suppose that’s alright. Though, only for today. And I expect you to arrive exactly on time for Sunday afternoon’s high tea. We’ll be meeting with a baron.” 

“Yep, yep, I’ll be here!” he says, dashing around to gather all of his stuff together before she changes her mind. “Bye, Grandmère!

                                                                                                         -=-=-=-=-

When he gets home, he still has an hour and a half to play Resident Evil 2 and he feels the joy of Thursday afternoons once more. 

[grahamcarmen]

What's your ideal s3?

ideally? i have some vague beats  i want the story to touch on but I more or less trust the writing team for any specific path. (kind of a boring answer i know but genuinely i’m happy that i can say that i trust...the writers of all people)

but some things i’d like to see!

PLEASE GET CARMEN SOMEONE WITH MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE OR LIKE A SIDE DOCTOR THE TEAM TRUSTS BECAUSE SEASON 1 ENDED WITH RIB CRUSHING HUG AND S2 HAD HER NEARLY FREEZE TO DEATH AND I NEED MY DAUGHTER TO BE OK!!!

focusing on her mama finding mission is just something that’s been curious to me because?? are they going to make her alive? or are we going to lean into her found family? idk but i’m glad that the show gives carmen a lot of bonds to strengthen and make. i’m just hoping that its neither underplayed to focus on her family when they left us on an empty coffin or overplayed when team carmen is finally coming to some new depths of found family

BUT A RED CRACKLE EPISODE OF COURSE!!!

and more specifically for all the links being thrown at graham to finally come to some sort of fruition and for him to get his memory back. i am just so (SCREAM) about what he’ll decide when he remembers that “OH YEAH I WAS A THIEF FOR A VILLAIN ORGANIZATION WHO MIND MANIPULATED ME AFTER I FAILED TO “TAKE CARE OF” MY FRIEND WHO I AM KINDA THINKING MIGHT MEAN MORE TO ME”

IF IT’S ACME: graham and Julia to meet literally as Julia is about to bounce (side note: Julia should bounce) and ACME is trying to take advantage of graham + interact in general. i’d be so happy for Carmen to get two new allies, allies who by the way she actually pretty fond of, and even more so if they happen to get along. i know i’m kinda vague on it but i think that graham is just a really good character in the way he’s able to show support: how he listens. how he trusts, how he’s accepts when someone is just stronger than him in whatever area, and how he can be verbally uplifting. Julia’s current connections has been just...so lacking in these areas. not just the chief and chase but her new acme partner zari too ( i was so disappointed because i wanted to love her u don’t even know). i’d really like it if her interactions with graham were...refreshing for a change. i’d like it they were friends. (and also if they try to stab me in the heart with graham is bad ending Julia is strong enough to keep him in check)

IF IT’S VILE: GIMME THE ANGST! there was a hint in the opera caper  that there might be mind control going into the graham plot if its VILE who decides to use him and i’m just spazzing out at the idea of graham choosing carmen and then being sleeper agent-ed into being VILE anyway like wth. but  that wacky fan-fic IMJUSTKIDDING idea aside i think that if VILE is the one to activates his memories again its a good time to reconcile with the things that graham has done while on VILE’s dime (because there is the fact that he was ...of the correct aptitude to be considered a VILE candidate in earnest) while seeing where he’s going to go from there (hopefully away with Carmen to do good deeds instead) and on that note

JULIA AND GRAHAM BACKSTORY! we get hints of Julia being into art and we have graham’s current electrician job but aside from that maybe some more details about their lives outside carmen and VILE drama to flesh them out a bit more. (p.s also maybe player focus??)

;_; i want red crackle to go the beach guys

i want a masquerade episode guuuuuuuuuuuuys

but more importantly i want carmen and graham to keep their bond. they’ve been torn apart, walked apart, drifted apart, and yet they keep coming back like they were meant to be together. i have no illusions of canon romance in this show but i want their bond to end up positive because they are a good team when they get a chance to work together and they genuinely want to be that good team. and me...please...do it for my sanity showrunners

I’m also excited for what the development with Ivy is going to be considering she’s worn the red outfit so much, she’s been shown to be the one to make the tools, and in general to be able to step up as almost a substitute femme rouge should the occasion arise. 

development for chase....s2 had some crumbs but ooof he was just cut outta the middle of the season . I know i called him out on how he treats Julia but I don’t want him to stay like that. I want him to grow because i actually do like that man. he just needs to find a healthier way to deal with his insecurities (and for the narrative not to overlook his accomplishments and special skills he brings to the investigation). he’s honestly a fun character and it’d be a shame if the narrative didn’t take advantage layering growth on top of that. honestly when i started the show i thought they were going to have such a solid friendship akin to Juliet and Lassiter from Psych and it was pretty disappointing that their relationship didn’t get a chance to become more than Julia feeling undermined while downplaying Chase’s actual big breaks in the case. instead it kept escalating until in ep 9 we had a really honest conversation which i thought would lead to more honesty and growth in s2 and then adfnsalkn. NOPE!  i think they still could be a strong duo since Chase DOES have skills he can teach Julia (like when he let mime bomb go so they could follow him) and Julia’s intelligence does help give Chase’s determination more direction. when its not negative they have strong buddy cop vibes. we just need ...DEVELOPMENT.

i’d also like some zack bonding? of all her friends i feel like zack is the least secure in their friendship. its shown in the {need for speed caper} where she gets mad that he doesn’t understand her as well as ivy does when he mistakes her anger as a genuine hatred for them and he’s the one to immediately consider the offer to leave. we had the whole zack is the duke episode but it was more of a gimmick than actually developing that bond and it makes me really sad. so yeah. let zack be closer friends with carmen.

THE SHADOW-SAN BOND IS AMAZING AND I WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO STAY AMAZING. WITH CARMEN AND EVERYONE ELSE ON TEAM RED

It sounds like a weird point to end with since I started with “please get ma girl a doctor” but i want VILE to have a genuine win. no ifs, ands, or buts. carmen as a show works with her always winning mostly because of the principle of {if its not important if we win or lose then the stakes come from somewhere else} and that somewhere else is her PERSONAL bonds with shadow san, zack and ivy, Julia, ACME, her past, and Graham. and all of those were fantastic and ended great  or at least with some potential to end good with the exception of ACME...but i don’t want ACME to win anything. i’m honestly horrendously biased towards VILE faculty showing they’re competent. season 2 was a great season for testing her bonds with team carmen but to keep the testing of the bonds the conflict in s3 wouldn’t work so well /for me anyway/ because it would feel like re-treading ground when instead of “testing” they should instead be deepening. shadow, player, zack, and ivy now have a home with carmen. no need to make their new bond status reset to tenuous. i mean this mostly for her inner team since Julia has that little “carmen thinks i betrayed her” and Graham is a ticking time bomb of potential. looking at s2 tho a huge chunk of it was concentrated on her inner circle members being tested over us actually ever worrying if carmen was going to lose. in fact we got a longer list of VILE members who fail to deal with her which left behind some of our familiar faces like tigress, el topo, and mime bomb. the new faces were nice but they were also less impact in  terms of actual menace because...carmen wins. always.  so yeah...i want a win for VILE to throw in a new problem to the narrative mix. 

...so...yeah XD

[subbyboymax]

I want to ask you all of them 🙈🙈

So why won’t you ask all of them? Huh anon?

Jk I love you whoever you are. As requested:

1. Zodiac sign 

Taurus. I don’t really pay much attention to zodiac stuff but I’ve heard from friends that I fit the stereotypes somewhat.

2. Sexual orientation 

This is hard because I’m kinda questioning atm, but I would say I like women and identify as NB using male pronouns which I personally feel is accurate to me, but I still am unsure myself what that actually means. I am still figuring myself out.

3. Relationship status 

Single and honestly looking. I’ve had one girlfriend in high school and I’ve had romantic interests since but I have such low self confidence that I end up being too nervous to really pursue a relationship.

4. Someone you miss 

My friend Rebekah. I miss her a lot. She’s like a sister to me.

5. Person who’s arms you’d like to be in 

Hmmmmmmmmm... anyone really...

6. What you find attractive in Men/Women? 

Typically I find personality attractive and looks don’t really matter, but usually someone’s smile and eyes draw my attention the most.

7. How tall are you? 

5’7 or ~170cm but I wish I was more smol.

8. What you love about yourself? 

Already answered

9. What you’re doing tomorrow? 

I’m probably going to exercise and play games with my gaming clan.

10. What are your future plans? 

My goal is to become an electrician, but I also want to go to various Asian countries and try to improve my Asian cooking by studying the food culture all over east asia.

11. Your last night out in detail?

Oh god I don’t even remember the last time I was out at night... I guess it was last year when I had my heart broken and I went to a really nice bar and spent $200 on alcohol and was GONE. Never again. Ended up being hung over for the first time in my life.

12. Your favorite book? 

Hmm... favorite book(s) would have to be the Ranger’s Apprentice series of books. Good story, good characters.

13. All of pets you’ve ever had?

I’ve had so many pets I could make a whole post about them and may do that later.

14. Something that changed your life? 

Unfortunately too many things have happened to change my life more than I would like. I still can’t really answer this question fully.

15. Do you remember your last dream?

I was basically playing a game that turned out to be an isekai and I basically had a SMG and had to fight off a dragon. Shit was weird but very vivid. It’s weird because I don’t particularly like guns or dangerous stuff in general. 

16. What your last text message says? 

“Keep me posted! We should meet up and have a toast to it!” was sent to my friend Renè, who has been my best friend since birth pretty much. Our parents were close while they were pregnant with us and we are practically brothers. He’s getting a house near where I live and we will live in the same state for the first time since we were 8 years old. Obviously we will social distance but we still had to celebrate and see each other to mark the occasion.

17. Do you respect your government and the way your country is run? 

Absolutely not. Please vote biden if you live in the US. Even if you hate the idea of voting for biden, he’s better than trump. If hillary had won, she would have been putting her third justice on the supreme court. Biden is the only chance for our freedom and for the freedom of many people. I am terrified of 4 more years of trump.

18. Where you would like to live? 

South Florida, where I was born.

19. Your  favorite flavor of ice cream?

Depends on my mood, but typically strawberry.

20. Last thing you ate?

Pizza that was left over from last night. 

21. Which swear word do you use the most? 

Fuck. Like I use it so much it’s stupid.

22. Your plans for summer?

Heh... plans...

23. Any upcoming concerts?

Bruh if only. Like I work as an usher and as a stagehand, so if any concerts were happening at all I would JUMP for joy. And I am CHONK so jumping is not exactly the most comfortable thing to do. 

24. Something that you’re proud of?

That I am finally committing to getting therapy for my long list of traumas. 

25. Do you still talk to your first crush?

I wish I could, but she’s not part of my life anymore, sadly. She was a good friend. 

26. What language do you want to learn? 

Japanese, because I really have a strong interest in their history and culture and want to go sightseeing there someday.

27. Where have you lived before?

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and St. Louis, Missouri.  

28. Eye color?

I think it’s green or something but it changes depending on the light because it’s sometimes more silvery idk.

29. Favorite style of clothing?

Traditional Japanese formal wear. It’s always been an interest of mine. 

30. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

All of one minute to throw on an outfit and get socks on. I wish I had an eye for fashion but hopefully if I ever have a partner, they will help me with my style choices a bit lol. 

31. Where did you go today?

Nowhere, because pandemic lmao. 

32. Where are you right now?

In my room wishing I could have cuddles. 

33. How many countries have you visited?

None because money is not exactly a thing we have an abundance of.

34. Something old?

What does this mean? I guess I have my great grandfather’s old stamp collection. 

35. Something new?

Hell if I know, I’ve had nothing new in months.

36. Something inherited?

My laptop.

37. Is death more scary than life? 

Hell no. Death is easy. Life is scary and overwhelming but it’s worth living the life you have. You only lose out on life by dying before your time. You gain nothing in death, despite it being less scary and uncertain than living is. Keep living to experience everything you can and have no regrets once you do pass on.

38. Experience you’ll never forget?

The time my high school crush complimented my hair in physics class. I get very few compliments and I never feel that attractive so I hardly focus on my appearance but I had brushed my hair that day and the fact she commented on it made me smile very wide.

39. What’s your favorite part about today so far?

Honestly today has sucked and I have been dealing with depression but I am trying to stay positive. Hopefully the answer to this question changes later today! 

40. Who is your hero?

My Great-Grandmother. She was part of my life until I was 17 and she taught me that kindness and compassion is the most important trait for a human to have. She was the most amazing woman I have ever met in my life. 

41. Are you happy with where you live?

I love this house, but it’s definitely not perfect and I would love to have my own place someday. 

42. Do you like your handwriting? 

Ew no it looks like alien language. It’s so bad. I can barely read my own writing.

43. What do you wear to bed?

Typically just underwear, or in the winter I will wear a T-shirt and fleecy pants.

44. Tea or coffee?

Tea

45. Chocolate or Vanilla? 

Chocolate hands down. It’s such a varied flavor imo. 

46. Are you excited for anything?

Being okay someday. 

47. How late did you stay up last night and why? 

Midnight because sleep is hard.

48. What’s your ringtone?

I’m boring and keep my phone on vibrate so no ringtone.

49. Did you have a dream last night?

Yes, I said it earlier. 

50. What keeps you going each day?

Honestly no fucking idea lmao.

51. Picture of yourself?

You’ll have to DM me for that one, friendo. Anons get no face pics!

Also for the other people who sent in asks, I saw them, but I figured I could just use this ask to consolidate and not spam posts. Thank all of you for sending in asks, you are the best <3

[elizabeth-lin]

[ brianne tju, twenty-two, female, she/her ] ━  did y'all see [ elizabeth lin ] walkin’ into [ the cuttery ]? they’ve lived in frostford for [ twenty two years ] and you can catch ‘em around town working as an [ electrician ]. I reckon they’re pretty [ creative & adventurous ] but I hear they can also be kinda [ impulsive & moody ] if ya see ‘em around, be sure to say hi. ━ [ ooc: ama, 25, est, she/her ] 

Hello! Here is my new baby- my moody but well meaning girl. I’m down for all connections. lets plot!

O R I G I N S & F A M I L Y ↓

♦ Name: Elizabeth Amelia Lin ♦ Nickname: Lizzie ♦ Reason for name: Parents ♦ Birthday: March 15th, 1997 ♦ Age: 22 ♦ Gender: Female ♦ Place of birth: Frostford ♦ Places lived since: Only Frostford ♦ Parents’ names, occupations: Addison Chang - heart surgeon, Steven Lin - music teacher ♦ Number of siblings: Two; Older Sister - Penelope. Older Brother - Harrison   ♦ Relationship with family: Close-ish. They have group chat and talk, but she is more of a lone wolf ♦ Happiest memory: Roller Skating for the first time ♦ Childhood trauma: n/a ♦ Children of his/her own?: n/a ♦ If so, relationship with his/her child?: n/a ♦ Age he/she gave birth/became a parent: n/a

P H Y S I C A L ↓

♦ Height: 5’1” ♦ Weight: 125 lbs. ♦ Build: Average ♦ Nationality: American ♦ Disabilities: n/a ♦ Hair color: Black ♦ Usual hair style: Elizabeth obsessively straightens her hair ♦ Eye color: Brown ♦ Glasses? Contacts?: Glasses ♦ Style of dress/typical outfit(s): Mostly dresses comfy, so sweats, sweatshirts ♦ Typical style of shoes: Sneakers ♦ Health: Pretty healthy ♦ Jewelry? Tattoos? Piercings?: Earrings, wears a locket she got on her 18th bday, has few tats, only on the ears ♦ Unique mannerisms/physical habits: Tugs on ears when feeling nervous ♦ Athletic?: She loves to skate

I N T E L L E C T ↓

♦ Level of education: College graduate ♦ Level of self esteem: Low, always feeling like shit ♦ Gifts/talents: Empathetic ♦ Shortcomings: Has a habit of going ghost when going through a mood ♦ Style of speech: Talks a little slow unless she’s excited than she is spewing out words so fast people can barely catch on. ♦ “Left brain” or “right brain” thinker?: Right brain ♦ Artistic?: She likes to draw ♦ Mathematical?: No ♦ Makes decisions based mostly on emotions or on logic?: Emotions ♦ Life philosophy: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.“ ♦ Religious stance: Buddhist ♦ Cautious or daring?: Daring ♦ Most sensitive about/vulnerable to: Isolation ♦ Optimist or pessimist?: Pessimist ♦ Extrovert or introvert?: Extrovert ♦ Level of comfort with technology: Comfortable

R E L A T I O N S H I P S ↓

♦ Current marital/relationship status: Single ♦ Sexual orientation: Homosexual ♦ Past relationships: Two ♦ Primary reason for being broken up with: She gets distant and doesn’t speak up ♦ Level of sexual experience: High ♦ A social person? (popular, loner, some close friends, makes friends and then quickly drops them): loner ♦ Most comfortable around (person): Pancakes, her rabbit. ♦ Oldest friend: (open to connections!!) ♦ How does he/she think others perceive him/her?: dependable in a crisis, but other wise impulsive and a bit blunt

V O C A T I O N ↓

♦ Profession: Electrician  ♦ Past occupations: Drive-in ♦ Passions: Skating, Swimming, Dancing ♦ Attitude towards current job: She loves it! It keeps her sane ♦ Attitude towards current coworkers, bosses, employees: She gets along with them

S E C R E T S ↓

♦ Phobias: Fear of Spiders ♦ Life goals: To never really have a routine ♦ Dreams: Being Happy ♦ Greatest fears: Being a disappoint.

D E T A I L S / Q U I R K S ↓

♦ Night owl or early bird?: Night Owl. ♦ Light or heavy sleeper?: heavy sleeper ♦ Favorite food: PIzza; pineapple, jalapeno, and chicken ♦ Least favorite food: Liver ♦ Favorite book: Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D Jackson ♦ Least favorite book: n/a ♦ Favorite movie: The Lookout ♦ Least favorite movie: Lord of the Rings ♦ Favorite song: Champagne Supernova by Oasis ♦ Least favorite song: Anything by Miley Cyrus currently. ♦ Coffee or tea?: Tea ♦ Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?: Crunchy  ♦ Lefty or righty?: Lefty ♦ Favorite color: Purple ♦ Cusser?: Yes ♦ Smoker? Drinker? Drug user?: Weed, Yes, No.

[firehedgehog]

Fragments of Yesterday

An Undertale/Katekyou Hitman Reborn fanfic

I only own the fanfic and anything original

Also On fanfiction.net and A03

Frisk went missing, one moment there. then next they were gone. Skull, Skull has always been mute with a nifty device to give them a voice. Was Once 'If Skull was Frisk'

Chapter 1: A Moment...

Skull winced as a spark hit his finger, due to limited space he couldn’t wear his gloved. But right now, this one tiny bit of damage had knocked out phone, net and Tv from the house. Really; he was better working on a bike, but the others wanted them back now and didn’t want to hire and electrician.

The reason they wanted it as soon as possible, was probably due to the latest special for human-monster corporation.

Now Skull himself hadn’t met a monster before, even thought they had been about for over thirty years ago. From what he learned when he woke in the hospital, monsters had been freed years before by some kid.

The stuntman had seen pictures, and he wouldn’t mind meeting them. The skeleton bros looked awesome.

“Aha,” he said, finally mending the spot. He heard the others talk as the TV came on.

Yawning he adjusted the thin strip mostly invisible choker, years ago before the curse he’d come across a scientist almost as smart as Verde.

They’d... helped with his issue, you know the small issue of being totally mute.

He didn’t know exactly how it worked, but he knew it did and could build himself another in his sleep. The only problem that it seemed to be stuck on a male voice, and didn’t really work as well with his baby form so he’d sounded annoying as hell.

Skull only chose being male because at least the voice made sense, even though he was more gender neutral and his body had both sets of genders.. just not active.

So male.... until Verde figures out how to make the choker make a gender neutral voice.

Skull wasn’t holding his breath.

He quickly washed his hands and pulled on his gloved, slipping into the living room and his bean bag chair. On the Tv was the royal monster Asgore and Toriel, and he swore there was some type of pun about her name.

“There talking about there missing adoptive kid again, kid probably has there own kids by now if there still alive,” Lal said from the love chair.

“Not knowing what happens is probably worse,” Skull said, after all he had no idea what his past was and it hurt not knowing.

Soon enough the event ended, and they scattered off. Some to bed, Skull to the garage to work on his base.

“I must be more tired then i thought,” Skull said, for he swore there a glowing yellow star floating in the corner of the room. Leaning down he reached out and touched it, then pulled back as he became extremely dizzy.

“Right sleep,” Skull said, as the star was gone.

  Garage-Saved

Miles away in New Snowdin, Sans blinked as he felt something shift just out of time.

He hadn’t felt it since the kid.

“Kid?” he said.

Chapter 2: Twice Met

Toriel sighed in relief as she stepped off the plain, her nose wrinkled as the smell of sweaty humans stale airport air and other such scents. She adjusted her handbag and Sans grinned at her, well more then usual.

“Welp here we are, the land of Japan,” Sans said adjusting his backpack as they headed to the luggage claim.

“So many places to visit, I never got a chance to visit before we were sealed so it will be interesting,” she replied, unsaid was the thought of running across sweet Frisk.

Frisk...

Her dear child.

Someone they still had no clue what happened.

“I see our bags,” Sans said slipping through a group of humans, who yelped in surprise. No one expected a skeleton, especially a living one monster or not.

OoOoO

Today Skull had gone out without his usual leather outfit, a simple blue-purple long sleeve shirt, brown shorts and hiking boots with socks with little red octopus on them and he was ready for the day. If not for the purple hair and eyes, which his flames has dyed years ago (probably whatever event stole his memory too) people wouldn’t have recognized him.

He did pout as he looked younger without his suit, Verde guessed him to be around sixteen or seventeen and his growth had gone to normal aging. His age was a bit annoying, as before the curse he guessed he’d been around twenty.

Maybe?

He sighed and pushed those thoughts away, today was a day to relax, a day without Mafia or Flames.

He hoped so anyway, because Murphy’s law seemed to like to curb stomp him some day's. Like the fact his choker broke and he ran out of some things eh needed for it... somehow, so he was stuck using sign language or writing or typing on a cell to talk.

And... once again he was seeing glowy yellow stars.

Shopping Centre – Saved

How was this his life.

Ten minutes later he crashed into someone.

And hello Mr Murphy, he met his first monster.

OoOoO

Sans had been exploring after leaving Toriel at the hotel at a local shopping area when he felt it, the tint shift of time-space magic that signalled a save star. Chara, the weed and Frisk.

Since Frisk was the only one who still had the ability when they went missing, of course he quickly started in the direction he felt it.

He had no clue how he’d run into the humans, after all humans seemed to move out of his way still nervous about his rare type of monster. Really, there was only himself and Paps left.

Well and Gas—r... stupid void erasure.

“You alright there kid?” He asked easily getting up, spotting the human that had walked into him.

Purple hair and eyes, make up on face and slightly dusty clothing from bouncing to the floor.

The time-space... was coming from this kid.

The kid held up a cellphone and typed on it.

Thanks. Sorry didn’t know if you knew sign language was on the screen.

“Nah I’m good, learned it years ago,” Sans replied.

Sorry for running into you, got sidetracked the purple haired teen said.

“Happens kid. Anyway I’m Sans the Skeleton,” Sans said.

Call me Skull the kid signed.

This was getting more and more interesting, and he couldn’t wait to find out how the kid has Frisks power.

Maybe Frisks kid?

Chapter 3: I can see it       

Somehow Skull ended up showing Sans around the Shopping centre and the area, which ended up them stopping at a local eatery called the Big Dunk of all things. Sans seemed to think it was funny, making puns about it.

Mind you, he said a lot of puns all the time.

He probably drove a lot of people nuts with them.

Meh... Skull didn’t mind, he used third person speaking to drive Reborn and the others crazy.

He might not like Violence, but he would get some bits of revenge on them.

“Hotdogs,” Sans said happily.

And then drank the ketchup.

That drew some stares.

Skull hummed and bit into one of his two bagels, one toasty with garlic butter and the other a strawberry jam. He definitely had to come back here before he left Japan again, he had a few things on his blimp to adjust for his older body now that he was no longer cursed.

“Not many monsters locally, think i felt two other then Toriel and myself,” Sans said, Skull idly wondered here the food went as he had no internal organs. Must be a magical thing.

Haven’t met or seen them yet, most of you guys seem to stick together. Your my first monster to meet Skull signed cheerfully.

“True, we haven’t really travelled much since we got free. Most are just nervous of humanity,” Sans relied.

There loss Skull sighed.

‘Not another one’ Skull thought, giving a small glare to a glowing star ten feet away he’d just noticed.

Those things were weird.

“So you can see them,” Sans said, blinking Skull looked at Sans to see him also looking at the Star thing also.

I thought I was seeing things Skull said frowning.

“Lets... go somewhere a bit more private kid,” Sans said, they finished there food the slipped away.

OoOoO

In the end they ended in a small park that wasn’t as well trimmed as it should, it looked like it was left for nature to take over. Perfect for a private conversation.

Skull the strangely purple haired eyed and haired teen, was sitting on the stump of a cut down tree.

“So... those things are called save stars,” Sans said.

Sounds like video game save spots Skull signed.

“Pretty much work like one too,” he said, Skull froze and stared at him for a few minutes.

The universe doesn’t work like that Skull protested.

“It does if you can see them, especially if you can touch them. I can see but not touch,” Sans said wiggling his bone hand, Skulls skin was going rather pale.

I’m.. I’m not...I can’t do this right now Skull said jumping to his feet, and sped off into the trees.

“Wait Kid!” Sans called, but Skull was to far to reply.

“Damn it... he’s my only clue on Frisk too,” he moaned to himself, better not tel Toriel till he had a lead he could count on.

OoOoO

Skull was relived when he got on his motorbike still at the mall, and then quickly sped off away from Sans.

Sans... and the save star.

He had to stop several miles down the road due to blurring eyesight.

Why was he crying?

[a2zworkwear]

Hi-VIs Clothing: Get Your Workers Safe With Latest Workwear.

Hi-Vis stands for High Visibility. It is clothing that is fluorescent Green and is a type of protective clothing or PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). It has very high reflective qualities, along with a very bright color; it will have reflective strips around the garment. A Long Sleeve Hi-Vis Vest for example usually has 2 reflective strips around the waist of the jacket, these shine bright when light hits them (a car headlight for example). They are a very good way of helping motorists and other people, in general, see you coming. The proper name for the strips is (retroreflective stripes), the clothing can come in a range of colors like yellow, green, and orange however the most common are fluorescent green and yellow.

 Moreover, this is not an everyday item of clothing; they are not designed for fashion but function and safety. The type of people you will see wearing these are people that need to be seen in poor weather or lighting conditions, also people working around machinery will often wear these garments.

 Saying these are not for fashion, is true but only in some respects... The theme of fluorescent colors has caught on in the clothing world, these colors have been adopted by 'ravers'. Bright clothes with fluorescent colors are often worn at music festivals, they are often accompanied by glow sticks and under UV lights the outfits stand out. It is not just the tops that glow bright, Orange Hi-Vis Trousers, cargo shorts, work shorts, and socks can all be found in Hi-Vis colors.

 Workwear Trousers Men’s:

 Work trousers are available with knee pad pockets so that the user can perform manual work on their knees without any pain or damage. Professionals such as Mechanics, Plumbers, Electricians, Tilers, Floor Fitters, Upholsterers, and many more are more likely to suffer from osteoarthritis, ( a condition that influences the joints in the body). Therefore, workers should carry on these special trousers with knee pads, a hard hat to protect their head, and steel toe caps to protect their feet.

   Features:

 Storage:

 Cargo work trousers are designed with lots of large pockets on each leg. These pockets benefit a worker significantly as he/she can easily store essential items like pencils, tape measures, and tools in them. Since it comprises multiple pockets, you will be able to keep everything separately, one that you are currently using and the others safely in the pockets.  This will reduce the risk of dropping anything. You can browse such types of trousers online and choose the suitable ones. 

   High-Quality Blended Material:

 Workwear pants are different from formal trousers as they are produced using high quality, heavy-duty blend of materials.  The materials used in these trousers make them highly strong and durable along with more powerful protection on the working sites.

Moreover, these reliable pants are made from a blend of polyester, cotton, denim, or any other heavy-duty materials. They consist of strong, reliable pockets as well as double stitching to guarantee they don’t rip as easily

 Furthermore, workwear pants have to go through a kind of exploitation process when worn on the construction site or any other type of working site. Therefore, it becomes incredibly important to wear these specially designed pants while you are on duty. 

[expatimes]

Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop: A brief history Written by Jacqui Palumbo, CNNOn the last day of each year, it has become a ritual for large crowds to gather in the brightly lit chaos of New York's Times Square to ring in new beginnings. At 11:59 p.m. a dazzling ball descends down a pole, while attendees -- and millions of people tuning in from home -- count down from 60. At the stroke of midnight, the crowd erupts into a cacophony of sound, often pulling their loved one in for a ceremonial kiss. New Year's Eve has its own set of rituals: the ball drop, resolutions and sealing the new year with a kiss. Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesThis year, however, the Times Square ball will drop to empty streets. Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, no one will be allowed to gather in person, but there will be a virtual event for those wanting to watch it from home.The Times Square Ball has had seven different designs. Credit: RW/MediaPunch/IPx/APThis will mark the first year since 1904 that crowds will be prohibited from flocking to Times Square. Though the ball drop was canceled for two years during World War II, people still came to observe the tradition and hold a minute of silence. Over the past century, the symbol of the New Year -- the luminous ball -- has evolved from a iron and wood cage adorned with light bulbs to a dazzling technicolor crystal object. But how did this New Year's Eve celebration start, and why do we commemorate the occasion by watching a ball descend down a pole?Nautical inspirationThe Times Square ball began thanks to a Ukranian immigrant and metalworker, named Jacob Starr, and the former New York Times publisher, Adolph Ochs. The latter had successfully drawn crowds to the newspaper's new skyscraper home in Times Square through pyrotechnics and fireworks to celebrate the forthcoming year, but city officials banned explosives from being used after just a few years. In 1907, Ochs commissioned Starr, who worked for sign-making firm Strauss Signs (later known as Artkraft Strauss, which Starr served as president), to create a new visual display.Crowds gather in Times Square to on December 31, 1938. The intersection has hosted New Year's Eve celebrations since 1904. Credit: -/AFP/Getty ImagesThe new concept was based on time balls, nautical devices that had gained popularity in the 19th century. As time-telling became more precise, ship navigators needed a standardized way to set their chronometers. Each day, harbors and observatories would raise and lower a metal ball at the same time to allow sailors to synchronize their instruments. Both Ochs and the New York Times' chief electrician, Walter Palmer, have been credited with the idea, allegedly inspired by the downtown Western Union Building, which dropped a time ball each day at noon. But Starr's granddaughter Tama, who joined Artkraft Strauss in 1982 and now owns the business, said in a phone interview that she believes it was her grandfather who came up with the concept of the ball being lowered and lit up with the new year numerals at midnight.One design of the New Year's Ball was an aluminum cage outfitted with lightbulbs. Credit: David Handschuh/AP"The idea was to ... have it illuminated with the brand-new electricity that had just come up to the neighborhood," said Tama, who for many years served as foreperson at the Times Square ball drop. "And it was lowered by hand ... starting at one minute to midnight, and that was the way it was done for many years.""It was an adaptation of an old, useful thing," she added. "It was instantly popular. People just loved it."Though Manhattan had been partially illuminated by electricity since the early 1880s, the US National Park Service (NPS) notes that half of American homes were still lit by gas lights and candles until the 1920s. The sight of a glimmering ball lowering down from the dark skies would have seemed otherworldly. When the ball reached the parapet with a sign displaying the numbers of the year, "the electrician would throw the switch, turning off the ball and turning on the numbers at the same time," Tama said. "So it looked like the ball coming down transformed into the set of numbers."Artkraft Strauss, a sign company founded by Jacob Starr, was responsible for the ball design and its drop for nearly a century. Credit: Marty Lederhandler/APAll of Times Square got in on the theatrics. In the first year, waiters in nearby restaurants and hotels wore battery-powered "1908" top hats that they illuminated at the stroke of midnight."It looked like magic to people," said Tama.'A minute outside of time'There have been seven different Times Square balls since its first descent, from a 700-pound iron structure fitted with 25-watt light bulbs, to a lighter aluminum frame after World War II, to a "Big Apple" during the administration of the city's former mayor Ed Koch.During Mayor Ed Koch's administration, the ball changed to an apple as part of the "I Love New York" campaign. Credit: Lederhandler/APIn 1995, when the ball got a glitzy update with rhinestones, strobe lights and computer controls, traditional signmakers were no longer needed -- which meant that Artkraft Strauss, the company that had brought the ball to Times Square, was no longer needed either. Today's ball is a collaboration between Waterford Crystal and Philips Lighting, using 32,256 LEDs that can be programed to display millions of colors and patterns on its surface.Nonetheless, Tama remembers her years on the roof of One Times Square fondly. She took turns with her brother supervising and playing timekeeper. When the last minute of the year arrived, the workers lowered the ball down using a complex pulley system. Using a series of tape markers on the pole, Tama was responsible for telling them to speed up or slow down. With every ounce of their attention focused on the task, even the team's breathing would sync up during the 60 seconds, she said.For the millenium, the Times Square ball got a new look, with a crystal design from Waterford Crystal and lighting from Philips. Credit: Kathy Willens/APIn performing this ritual year after year, Tama sees an intrinsic link between the countdown, which she calls "a minute outside of time," and the making of New Year's resolutions."When you're concentrating really hard, time seems to slow down," she said. "It felt like the longest minute in the world. It felt like you had time to wash your hair, call your mother, change your life. You really can change your life in one minute -- you can decide to be different. You can decide to be kinder and better." #lifestyle Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=16215&feed_id=25902 #design #timessquarenewyearx27seveballdropabriefhistory-cnn

[rejectedusername-trashfics]

Haywoodstown: Chapter 2- Come Home With Me

Summary: It’s a sad story. It’s a sad tale, it’s a tragedy. It’s a sad story, but I’ll tell it anyway.

It had been almost a century since the apocalypse, Geoff and his boyfriend, Jack, were struggling to make ends meet. But somehow, Haywoodstown mines was a thriving business, despite the fact that no one was ever seen leaving the mines. Geoff heard the legends of the mines and was curious to see how much was true. He takes Jack with him one night to go searching for answers. On their search, they run into a young man in a well-tailored suit. The man offers to tell them a different story from mines.

It’s a love story, it’s a tale of a love that never dies. It’s a love story, about someone who tried. And there was a railroad line on the road to Hell. There was a young man down on bended knee. And brothers, thus begins the tale of Michael and Lindsay!

Chapter: 2/10

Word Count: 1,470

Pairings: Michael/Lindsay, Ryan/Gavin, Geoff/Jack

Songs: Come Home With Me I, Wedding Song

Previous / Next / AO3

“Well brothers, let us sit down so we can begin the sad story of Michal and Lindsay,” Jeremy announced as he took a seat on the ground.

“Wait, I thought you said this was a love story,” Jack said, confused. 

“This is a love story. But it’s also a sad tale, it’s a tragedy. It’s a sad story, but I’ll tell it anyway.”

“Jack, wasn’t ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was a love story and a tragedy?” Geoff asked.

Jack sighed. “Right.”

“But I can promise you this story has a happier ending,” Jeremy explained.

“Oh, alright,” Jack agreed as he sat down. Geoff rolled his eyes and sat down beside Jack.

“So brothers, thus begins the tale of Michael and Lindsay.”

The year was 1935. People struggled to make ends meet in the settlement called Achieve. Michael Jones was a young man who was a hard-working electrician. Working as an electrician kept him very busy, but he until found time to do things on the side. He liked to build little machines that would help him do his job. He also liked to dabble in songwriting on the side.

Everything was going fine for him until he became distracted. The seamstress of the settlement’s assistant had caught his eye. He would sit outside the seamstress’s shop, trying to find the right words to say to her.

One June afternoon, he heard a voice calling out his name. “Michael? Michael!”

Michael looked up from his seat and saw a young Gavin Free running towards him. He quickly stood up and Gavin jumped into his arms. “Michael, my boi,” Gavin cooed.

Michael gave Gavin a hug before gently setting him down. “How you doing, Gavy?” he asked.

“Top! But I’m always doing top in spring and summer!” Gavin replied as he bounced up and down.

Michael smirked. “Well, you’re certainly dressed for the season.”

Gavin looked down at his outfit. He wore a green dress with floral print that went down to his calves. He had brightly colored flowers in his hair and light brown ankle boots on with a satchel to match. He looked back up and smiled. “Yah, boi. I love this time of year and I wanted to dress to celebrate it!”

“Well, I’m glad you have something to celebrate.”

“So, what are you doing outside the seamstress’s shop, boi?”

Michael’s eye widened in sudden realization that someone caught on to his crush. “Nothing. I don’t know why I’m here.”

“Oh, come off it! You’ve been hanging outside the shop for the past few weeks! Do you have a crush on the seamstress or something?”

“I do not have a crush on the seamstress.”

Gavin pursed his lips and rubbed his chin. “The assistant seamstress, then?” he asked. Michael blushed and looked away. Gavin gave a really big smile and pulled him into a big hug. “D’aw Michael! That’s bloody adorable!”

“Yeah, I just don’t know what to say to her.”

“Well, it probably doesn’t help that you’ve been stalking her outside of where she works for a bit,” Gavin teased.

“Right…” Michael replied as he sadly glanced away.

“Michael, don’t be sad. I was just teasing. Look you build machines and write songs, try telling me what you want to tell her.”

“I… I want her to come home with me.”

“Who are you to her?”

“The man who’s gonna marry her. I’m Michael. She should come home with me!”

“And who is she to you?”

“Lindsay. the girl who makes me wanna sing. The woman who I’m marrying.”

“So, is a singer what you are then?”

“I build machines, too.”

“Oh, a mechanic! And a musician too?”  Gavin asked in an attempt to prompt Michael to go into a deeper explanation.  “I’ve met too many men like you.”

“I’m not like any man you’ve met.”

“Oh yeah? What makes you different?”

“You see the world?”

“Of course, I do.”

“I’ll make it beautiful for you. For you I’ll change the way it is.”

“With what?”

“Well…”

“HEY!!!!” a loud feminine voice interrupted. A young woman with long red hair, a long orange skirt, and a white shirt exposing her shoulders stepped out of the shop. “Is there any reason you two are dwelling outside the shop? And you,” she started as she turned towards Michael and jammed her finger into his chest. “You’ve been stalking around outside the shop for weeks! If you have business, just come inside. We can patch up any holes you might have in your jeans.”

“No, no, no,” Michael stuttered out as he shook his head. “Lindsay, I actually have something I want to confess.”

Lindsay raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’d be kinda weird if you’ve been standing outside for no reason, Michael. But the shop’s about the close. If you can wait ‘til tomorrow, I’ll hear what you have to say then.”

“Deal.”

She shook her head, sighed, and smiled. “You are so lucky you’re cute,” she said as she walked back inside the shop. “See you tomorrow,” she finished as she closed the door.

Gavin grabbed Michael’s shoulders and began jumping up and down. “Ooh Michael, she thinks you’re cute!”

Michael smiled. “That’s amazing. But, I still don’t know how I should confess my love.”

“You could try giving her something.”

“I mean, I could tinker around and make her a ring or something.”

“Ooh, if you’re going to make her a ring, I have the perfect thing to add to it!”

“Uh huh?”

Gavin reached into his satchel and dug around. After a moment he pulled out a small, perfectly cut, red gem. “It’s a ruby!”

Michael stepped back in shock. “Woah, where did you get that!?”

“My husband’s mines.”

“Almost forgot you’re married. Well, you’re lucky to have a husband like that, and he’s lucky to have you.”

“Ha-ha, yeah,” Gavin awkwardly replied.

“Come on, let’s go back to my cottage and make this ring,” Michael said as he urged Gavin to follow him.

Gavin helped Michael put together the ring, setting the ruby in the perfect setting for an engagement ring. The next morning. Michael and Gavin walked back to the seamstress’s shop before it opened.

“Why’d you come with me?” Michael asked Gavin.

“I want to see the start of this beautiful romance,” Gavin said cheerfully.

“Or watch it fail before it begins.”

“I see you came early to confess yourself, Michael,” Lindsay said as she snuck up behind Michael and Gavin.

Michael jumped. “Oh, you know my name?”

Lindsay rolled her eyes. “Of course, I know your name, we’ve been friends for years.”

Michael blushed. “Right… sorry…” he replied bashfully.

“It’s okay, but clearly, you’re nervous about something. What did you need to say to me?” she asked.

Michael took a deep breath and grabbed Lindsay’s hands.  “I, Michael Jones, want you, Lindsay Tuggey, to marry me.”

“Why should I become your wife?”

Michael released Lindsay’s hands and got down on one knee. He pulled out the ruby ring that he and Gavin made the night before. “Because, I’ll make you feel alive.”

Lindsay took a step back in awe. “Well, I see that you could make our wedding bands.  But Michael, tell me if you’re able, who’s gonna lay the wedding table? Times being what they are; dark and getting darker all the time.”

Michael stood back up and looked Lindsay in the eye. “Lindsay, I could sing my song and all the trees are gonna sing along. They’d bend their branches down to me to lay their fruit around my feet, the almond and the apple and the sugar from the maple. The trees gonna lay the wedding table.”

“Lover, tell me, when we’ll wed, who’s gonna make the wedding bed? Times being what they are, hard and getting harder all the time.”

“Lover, when I sing my song, all the birds gonna sing along. They’ll come flying round to me to lay their feathers at my feet. And we’ll lie down in eiderdown, a pillow ’neath our heads. The birds are gonna make the wedding bed.”

“And the trees are gonna lay the wedding table.”

“And I can get us the wedding bands. So, come home with me.” Michael finished. Lindsay nodded her head up and down and Michael slid the ruby ring on her finger. As soon as the ring was on her finger, she pulled Michael into a deep kiss. Michael began kissing her back, sweetly and softly.

“Ooh, this is so exciting!” Gavin cheered as he clapped.

Michael leaned away from Lindsay and turned to Gavin. “Gav, you’re ruining the moment.”

Gavin blushed. “Oh, sorry luv.”

Michael rolled his eyes and leaned back in to go back to kissing Lindsay. The two of them finished their kiss and gazed into each other’s eyes; they hoped that moment could last forever.

[setepenre-set]

Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue (chapter 9)

Megamind/Roxanne

T for language, rating increase in later chapters

Roxanne desperately needs a date to her step-sister’s wedding. Since her fake boyfriend has decided to ditch her, she ends up seeking Megamind’s help.

AO3  |  FFN | chapter 8

Megamind is late the next day, which gives Roxanne more than enough time to dither over whether or not she’s chosen the best outfit for this shopping excursion.

Which is ridiculous.

It’s just Megamind! This isn’t a real date! It doesn’t matter what she wears!

“You look nice,” Megamind says, as soon as Roxanne lets him in, and Roxanne’s heart gives a stupid triumphant flip, but then he adds, “I’m supposed to say that, right?”

She forces a laugh.

Supposed to say that.

She knew she shouldn’t have bothered wearing her most flattering jeans and her cute black flats and the sky blue shirt that she’s always felt brings out her eyes.

Supposed to say that. He would have said it no matter what she was wearing; it’s not like he means it.

(god, she really needs to get back to dating if she’s letting this weird attraction to Megamind mess with her head this much.)

“Yeah, that’s—feel free to say that any time,” she says. “And you look—”

She takes a closer look at Megamind’s clothes. He’s wearing the Michael Niebieski face again, and he’s dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark blue electrician’s shirt with the collar popped up.

(Roxanne pointedly ignores the rush of affection she feels at seeing that popped collar.)

The name Michael is embroidered on the front pocket of the shirt in white.

“—you look like an electrician,” she finishes.

“Hm? Oh! Yes,” Megamind says, “that’s why I’m late, actually; sorry about that. Your, ah, doorman has been having some difficulties with the lobby wiring. Apparently he’s been calling the management about it for weeks; when I walked in, he assumed that the building owner had finally called someone to deal with it.”

Roxanne raises her eyebrows even.

“And you didn’t correct this assumption?” she says.

Megamind shifts uncomfortably.

“I mean—he seemed—really relieved to see me,” he says.

“Oh my god,” Roxanne says, realization dawning—so that’s why he agreed to this fake-dating plan so easily!— “Oh my god, Megamind, you’re a fucking soft touch!”

“Wh—no! I’m—no I’m not!” Megamind looks hunted.

“Did you even charge him?”

“Of course I couldn’t charge him!” Megamind says, gesturing, “The management didn’t actually call me; he could get into trouble if he gave me any—”

Megamind winces and then rubs a hand over his face, then hides his face in his palm with a groan.

Roxanne laughs and Megamind looks at her through his fingers, hand still on his face.

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you, Miss Ritchi?” he says.

She laughs again.

“Soft touch,” she says, giving him a teasing smile. She shakes her head in affectionate incredulity. ��Only you would think of being nice as something to live down, Megamind. And it’s Roxanne, remember?”

“Roxanne,” Megamind says, letting his hand fall and straightening his spine. “Yes. Roxanne.”

He still looks uncertain and uncomfortable, though, so Roxanne takes pity on him and changes the subject.

“Are those clothes real?” she asks, pointing.

“What? Oh—no,” Megamind says, looking down at his outfit. “That’s the disguise watch.”

“Really?” Roxanne reaches out and touches the embroidery on his chest. “That’s fascinating; I can feel the texture and everything.”

“Like I said,” Megamind says. “Hard light hologram. It mimics the physical sensation of the disguise. The Michael Niebieski disguise includes his electrician’s uniform.”

“When you showed me it yesterday, though, you were still in your normal clothes,” Roxanne says.

“Yes, the disguise watch has different layers!” Megamind says, reaching for the dial of the watch and twisting it. “See? Clothes—” suddenly he’s dressed in black leather again, although Roxanne notices that he left off the spikes and the cape and the gloves, “—body—” he turns the dial again and he’s himself again, blue and large-headed, “—there’s a voice-change layer, too, but I don’t use that with this disguise, usually, although I suppose that I could if you want me to—”

“No, I like your voice,” Roxanne says, before she can tell herself to choose her words more carefully.

Megamind blinks at her, as though he’s not sure how to process that statement.

“You can turn the layers off and on individually, in any order?” Roxanne asks.

“—um, yes! Yes, you can,” Megamind says, jumping slightly and twisting the dial of the watch again.

His body seems to flicker and blur for a second, and then he’s dressed in the electrician’s uniform again, although this time he’s still wearing his real face.

“God, that is so cool,” Roxanne murmurs, moving around him to look at the hologram from different angles.

Megamind looks sharply over his shoulder at her, an expression of shocked pleasure on his face.

The words Niebeski Electric are printed across the back of his shirt. Roxanne reaches out to trace over the letters with her fingertips, then frowns, a thought teasing at the back of her mind.

Niebeski…why does that sound vaguely familiar?

“Why Niebieski?” she asks, tapping the name.

“Metrocity has a sizeable Polish population,” Megamind says, “and niebieski is the Polish word for—”

“—blue,” Roxanne says. “It’s the Polish word for blue; I knew it sounded familiar!”

Megamind grins at her over his shoulder.

“It can also mean celestial,” he says, “which I thought was also enjoyable as a double meaning, although that particular connotation is mostly archaic, unless you’re using it in a religious sense, rather than an astronomy-sense.”

Roxanne laughs, coming around to face him again.

“Oh my god, you complete and utter nerd!” she says.

Megamind bites his lip, still grinning, his eyes sparkling.

“I like wordplay,” he says, “that’s how I pick out most of the names for my false identities, really, they’re almost always puns or plays on the different meanings of words that—”

He cuts himself off abruptly, and Roxanne remembers last night, and the way he’d said that he hadn’t meant to tell her his true reasons for fighting Metro Man. Of course—of course he didn’t mean to tell her about the logic behind his fake name choices, either.

“It’s okay,” Roxanne says, “I’m not going to tell anyone, Megamind.”

He looks at her warily and doesn’t answer.

“Really,” she says. “I’m—I want you to know that anything you tell me, anything that happens, with this, with what we’re doing together, I’m not going to use it against you, okay? I mean—that would be a really shitty thing to do, in the first place, since you’re doing this as a favor to me, and— And there wouldn’t be any reason for me to want to, Megamind; I told you, I know what you’ve done for the city, with managing all of the crime. Why would I want to make that harder for you?”

Megamind glances away, eyes avoiding hers.

“I told you, it’s not a favor,” he mutters.

“—yeah, okay, regardless,” Roxanne says. (why is he so insistent about the not-a-favor thing?) “I’m not going to use anything that happens with this to screw things up for you, all right?”

Megamind looks at her again, his expression uncertain.

“What about—what about Metro Man?” he asks.

Roxanne makes an involuntary face.

“What about him?”

“I—I mean, during evil plots,” Megamind says, gesturing, “you always—the things you find out, if they’re useful to him, if you can use them to—help defeat me, you tell him…”

“I’m not going to do that with any of this.”

Megamind frowns.

“I promise, Megamind,” Roxanne says, “I swear. This—the wedding thing is separate, completely separate from all of the—supervillain-and-damsel stuff. I’m not going to use any of this against you. Even during evil plots. I promise. Honestly—” Roxanne cuts herself off with a sigh and rubs a hand over her face.

“…what?” Megamind asks in a tentative voice.

“Honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to go back to the usual routine, anyway, with the snarky comments and helping Wayne win,” Roxanne says. “I mean now that I know why you’re doing it, I’m just going to feel—”

“We can go back to the usual routine!” Megamind says, looking panicked, “You can! We can! It won’t be—you—”

He flinches back, shoulders curving in slightly, looking as though something awful has just occurred to him.

“What?” Roxanne asks.

“I—I should, shouldn’t I?” he says, eyes fixed on the floor. “I should stop. Stop—I always thought—that being Metro Man’s girlfriend must be worth all of the kidnappings to you, so even though you hated them, you weren’t entirely miserable or anything, but if you haven’t even really been dating him, then there aren’t actually any perks for you and I should—”

“No!” Roxanne says, understanding where he’s going with this.

Megamind’s head jerks up, his eyes surprised.

“I don’t want you to stop kidnapping me,” she says quickly.

Megamind’s entire body twitches at that, and yeah, that’s not really a thing Roxanne ever expected to hear herself say, either, but—

“I mean—I get it, now, why you feel like you need to do the supervillain thing,” Roxanne says, feeling her face going hot but trying to explain because this is important. “And I would prefer that you didn’t feel like you have to. But—but if you’re going to do it, then I want to be there, Megamind.”

Megamind stares at her as though he thinks she may have lost her mind.

“But—why?” he asks.

“Because—you’re the most exciting thing that happens in Metro City,” Roxanne says.

“—oh,” Megamind says, “I—yes, I suppose a supervillain is—”

“No,” Roxanne says, “no, it’s not because you’re—you would be the most exciting thing no matter what you were doing, Megamind, I told you, you could do anything. The stuff you make is—if you were an engineer instead of a supervillain, I would still be reporting on your inventions. I just—wouldn’t be tied up while I was doing it.”

Megamind stares at her, eyes wide.

“But—but you think my inventions are stupid!” he says, “You think they’re ridiculous; you say so all the time!”

“I think what you choose to do with them is stupid!” Roxanne says, gesturing, and then grimaces, running a hand through her hair, “Or—I did, anyway, before I understood why you—” She makes a noise of frustration.

Megamind is still staring at her.

“May I kiss you?” he asks.

Roxanne blinks at him, caught off guard.

“Uh—wh—?”

“I was going to ask, before, but then we got off-topic,” Megamind says, his eyes fixed intently on her face. “After talking about the protocol for compliments. I—I thought—the kiss—it wasn’t very good last time, I know, but—I’m sure that practice—”

The kiss wasn’t very good last time.

That comment registers like a blow to Roxanne’s chest; it’s all she can do not to physically reel backwards from it.

The kiss wasn’t very good last time.

“Sure,” Roxanne says, smiling carelessly even though she wants to curl up into a ball of misery and mortification. “Practice is—yeah. Of course.”

The kiss wasn’t very good last time.

(oh god, she took it too far and disgusted him, didn’t she? or maybe he just finds her so completely unappealing that—)

“There are lots of different ways to kiss, though!” she says quickly, and hopes she doesn’t sound as desperate as she feels.

Megamind, who had taken half a step towards her, stops.

“Different ways?” he asks.

“Yeah, like, um—” Roxanne puts one hand on his chest and gives him a peck on the lips, “—quick casual kiss,” she says. “That’s—usually more what it’s like, if you’re—kissing in public, you know? Or there’s—” she kisses his cheekbone, “—a kiss on the cheek. Or a kiss—” she moves her hand to his shoulder and goes up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his temple, “—here.”

Megamind makes a startled noise when she kisses his temple, a sweet, half-smothered sort of gasp that Roxanne immediately decides she wants to hear over and over again.

She catches his face in her hands and tips his head down, going up on her toes a little more so that she can press a kiss to his forehead.

He gasps again, a little louder this time.

“Here,” Roxanne whispers. She rocks back onto her heels and kisses the tip of his nose. “Or here.”

She kisses his chin, then tips his head a little to the side so that she can press a kiss to the sharp corner of his jaw.

“—here,” Roxanne murmurs, and kisses the pink-tipped curve of his ear.

“—or here,” she whispers, lips pressed to his ear, then tilts his head a little more so that she can kiss his neck.

His pulse is racing; she can feel it beneath her lips, and Roxanne immediately lets go of him and steps back, her conscience scolding her.

Megamind isn’t used to being touched; he told her that, when they were sitting on her couch together, when she reached for his watch and he flinched away from her. She’s probably overwhelming him and making him feel panicked.

“Anyway, you get the idea, right?” she says, tone as brisk and businesslike as she can make it.

There is a beat of silence between them.

“—the—I—yes,” Megamind says, and then he swallows. Roxanne has to force herself to look away from the movement of his throat. “I—I understand the—um—general. concept. Do you—want me to—?”

He gestures vaguely at her face; Roxanne forces herself to keep her expression unchanged.

“Yeah, you can give it a try now if you want,” she says.

Megamind swallows again and steps forward. He kisses her on the cheek, fast and light, barely a kiss at all. He leans back and looks at her, an expression of nervous inquiry on his face.

“Good,” Roxanne says softly.

A look of relief crosses his face. He leans forward quickly and kisses the tip of her nose. When he glances at her face again this time, he’s still so close that the effect is somewhat comical. Roxanne smiles at him and tips her chin up, nudging his nose with hers.

The move seems to catch Megamind off guard; he gives a squeak of surprise and tries to look down at his own nose.

Roxanne laughs quietly.

“Good,” she says, grinning up at him.

He glances at her face again, and he must be able to read in her expression that she means it, because he smiles back at her and kisses her nose again, then bumps their noses together the way that she did.

Megamind leans back to look at her again, both of them smiling, and then his gaze flicks to her mouth and his smile melts away.

He catches his lower lip between his teeth—Roxanne is pretty sure the movement is unconscious and completely innocent, but it still makes her want to bite his lip herself.

His eyes flick up again, meeting hers, and he takes a sharp breath, lets it out shakily.

He reaches up to touch her face; Roxanne is expecting him to cup her cheek in his hand and then lean in to kiss her—

—but instead he brushes her hair over her forehead and tucks it behind her ear.

The movement is careful and gentle, and that, coupled with the way he gives her another uncertain look, as though he’s asking wordlessly if it was all right, does something strange to Roxanne’s heart, makes it beat faster, makes it almost hurt.

“Good,” she whispers.

He looks relieved, and then he bends forward and kisses her on the forehead.

When he pulls back this time to look at her face, Roxanne can’t seem to form words, but she nods at him slightly.

His hand is still on her face from when he brushed her hair back, his fingertips resting light against her cheekbone. He slides them down now, over the curve of her jaw. The touch is still light, but Roxanne’s entire being feels completely focused on the slow, whisper-glide of his fingertips over her skin.

Megamind’s thumb brushes over her lower lip and his eyes drop again to her mouth and that seems, somehow, more intimate than an actual kiss would be from anyone else.

He tips her face up, his thumb sliding lightly from her lip to touch her chin. Roxanne’s eyes flutter shut as he bends forward.

Her lips are parted already in anticipation of the kiss, but when it comes, he doesn’t touch his lips to hers as she expects. He kisses her skin just beneath the right side of her mouth—

—her beauty mark, Roxanne realizes; he’s kissing her beauty mark.

The touch of his lips there, like that—it goes through her in a rush of heat, dry paper touched by a match; suddenly she’s on fire.

She turns her head and catches his mouth with her own, too overwhelmed to do more than brush her lips against his and hope desperately that he understands what she wants.

Maybe he does understand, because he does kiss her at last.

It’s nowhere near as hard and fast and deep as Roxanne wants, though.

Instead, the kiss is slow and light and almost unbearably gentle, his lips moving over hers in something like a caress—her lower lip, her top lip, the corners of her mouth, as if he can’t bear to leave any part of her lips unkissed.

He grazes the tip of his tongue over the curve of her lower lip and Roxanne can’t help gasping, and gasping again when his tongue flicks against hers.

The fingertips of his right hand are still beneath her chin; he reaches up with his left hand and touches the corner of her jaw, then slides that hand down, his thumb brushing over her pulse point and his fingertips slipping just barely into her hair.

He deepens the kiss slightly, his tongue stroking over hers, slow and gentle and almost—almost reverent.

Roxanne’s never been kissed like this before, never felt like this before. She didn’t even know a kiss could feel like this. It’s like being worshipped.

When Megamind ends the kiss and gently pulls away, it takes her several seconds to remember to open her eyes.

She does, though, opening her eyes to see Megamind, still standing so close, one of his hands on her face and the other in her hair.

“Was that okay?” he asks in a low voice.

For a long moment, Roxanne’s thoughts are far too scattered to coalesce into anything like words. Megamind pulls his hands away from her and steps back, looking nervous again.

“I mean,” he says, with a quick, fluttering gesture of one hand, “I know I need more practice, and I’m sure I can do better—”

(holy hell if he gets any better, Roxanne might actually die the next time he kisses her)

“That was—” Roxanne’s voice comes out rougher than she’d like; she stops to clear her throat. “That—ah—are you—sure you’ve never kissed anyone before?”

Megamind’s eyebrows draw together slightly.

“No, just—just you, yesterday,” he says.

Roxanne swallows. Jesus. He barely even touched her, just his fingertips on her face and in her hair and his mouth against hers, and her entire body feels absolutely alight.

“You,” Roxanne says, “you are a very quick study.”

Megamind’s body relaxes visibly with relief.

“Really?” he says. “So that was okay?”

“That was—” Roxanne takes a shaky breath and runs a hand through her hair. “Yeah. Yeah, it was.”

Megamind’s face lights up and it is entirely unfair the way he looks even more attractive when he smiles.

Roxanne wants to yank out her own hair in frustration with herself. Why? Why did she have to decide to be attracted to Megamind at the worst possible moment?

“Well,” she says, and gestures at the door, “shall we?”

“Ah! Of course,” Megamind says, stepping aside to allow her to open the door.

Roxanne locks the door behind herself and the two of them start down the hall together towards the elevator.

“Miss—ah—Roxanne?” Megamind says.

Roxanne glances over at him.

“Yes?”

“Can—can we practice holding hands?” he asks.

Roxanne swallows and feels heat rise to her face. Wordlessly, she holds out her hand.

Megamind takes it, lacing their fingers together, and Roxanne feels the touch like an electric shock.

They hold hands as they walk down the hall and it’s not until they actually step into the elevator that Roxanne realizes they both forgot to turn Megamind’s disguise back on.

“Watch! Watch watch watch!” Roxanne hisses urgently, smacking his shoulder.

Megamind’s eyes fly wide and he scrambles to turn the dial of the disguise watch.

Michael Niebieski’s face flickers into visibility, brown skin over blue, and even in the midst of her relief at the potential disaster averted just in time, Roxanne still feels a pang of regret when Megamind’s real face disappears.

She half collapses back against the wall, more in dismay than in relief, and closes her eyes.

Immediately, the memory of that kiss hits her.

(god, if he kisses like that, imagine what he’s like in bed.)

(oh god)

(oh god stop imagining it! stop imagining it!)

She opens her eyes, cheeks burning, and forces herself to stare straight ahead, at the elevator buttons, but she feels all to aware of Megamind standing right next to her and—

A touch at her hand, light and uncertain, and Roxanne spreads her fingers automatically, without even thinking, so that Megamind can take her hand again.

Dear god what has she gotten herself into.

...to be continued.

Thank you all so much for continuing to be interested in this story!

I know it was a long time between updates; I got really blocked for some reason--blocked about writing in general, and then blocked with this story, specifically, for a while, too. (extremely not fun)

Finally being able to continue it was such a relief!

So! I hope you all enjoyed the long-awaited, much-belated, FINALLY UPDATED new chapter!

[tinfoil-jones]

Motorcity: Legacy, Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Motorcity, or the song. Motorcity belongs to Disney, and the song belongs to Five Finger Death Punch Title: Burners Legacy Rating: T-M depending on chapter Summary: He didn’t want to be his carbon copy, but he might have to be in order to rescue him from Deluxe. Pairings: MikexChuck, DutchxTennie, ClairexFoxy, DukexBabs, Juliex?, OCxOC Warnings: Don’t read if you don’t like or are triggered by violence, death or dystopian societies Author’s Note: Some characters you like died.

~~~

Chapter 3: Never Enough

\In the end we’re all just chalk lines on the concrete Drawn only to be washed away For the time that I’ve been given I am what I am\

“My bike!” Miles exclaimed as she surveyed the damage from this mornings patrol -  the energy blasts from the hound bots did it fact hit her a few times, and now most of the paint had been seared off and the metal making up the body was damaged. Being a motorbike, Prowler just couldn’t tank hits like the other vehicles could.

Dana, the lead mechanic stood by her with her gloved hands on her hips, surveying the damage. Dana didn’t look much like her father, Dutch, she instead looked more like her mother Tennie; the most obvious thing being that she was the shortest Burner. Her skin was a cocoa brown color and her eyes were a deeper shade, almost black. Her black hair was set it short boxbraids and parted at the center that didn’t quite brush her shoulders. She wore a violet shirt with a sky blue burners symbol in the center of the chest, and blue denim shorts, and sky blue high-tops, under her clothes she always wore black capri leggings and a black skin tight elbow sleeved shirt. The most notable thing, however, were her violet electricians gloves that were far too big for her hands, which were actually quite slender and small. How she had mobility of her hands and fingers with those on, Miles could only guess, but it was probably a Cablers thing.

“It’s not too bad girl,” Dana assured her “I’ll have it fixed up by tomorrow more, just leave it with me overnight.”

“No problem.” Miles said, although she didn’t really mean it; she didn’t want to hoof it home, unlike the other Burners she didn’t mainly live at Jacobs place. And it was really best that she wasn’t seen along the way.

“Are you going to stay over this time" Asked Kam as he was laying under his vehicle, Leviathan, fixing something in the undercarriage; probably his transmission again, which always leaked no matter what they did.

“I have to go home, I’ll just take the bus.” Miles replied, leaning over the counter of her work station.

The shorter Burner motioned to her car, Stinger “You don’t need to, I’ll just drop you off-” Dana began, but Miles quickly cut her off.

“That’s nice of you but it’s fine.” She insisted, and Dana didn’t push it. Miles wasn’t upfront about her life outside the Burners, and the other Burners (for the most part) respected her privacy.

“Oh come on Miles, it’s been a year, would it really hurt to have us know where you live?” Kam, exception to pretty much everything, inquired as he slid out from under Leviathan; Miles had neat, dark red hair, and dark brown eyes with fair skin and a prominent jawline. His clothing as a Burner was a color-swap of his Deluxe clothing; he wore a dark green letterman-style jacket with light green sleeves and a dark green Burners logo on his right arm, olive cargo pants and brown trainers. Mile’s might’ve found him cute if he wasn’t so... himself, and if she wasn’t already engaged.  “I mean, I’m beginning to think you don’t trust us.” Miles simply sneered at him and grabbed a sanding block and a blowtorch to smooth out the charred and serrated metal parts of Prowlers body.

Dana put her hands on her hips again and bent over Kam, who was still on the ground “Mind your own business, Kam, everyone has a right to their secrets.” This seemed to convince the red-head, oddly enough, and he got up again, cleaned the transmission fluid off of his hands with one of the many small grease cloths they had scattered around the garage.

Sighing in relief, Miles put on a pair of heat resistant gloves and a face shield to start working out torching off some of the dings and dents in her bike; she was just glad her bike was easy to work on compared to the behemoths her friends drove. Dana and Kam were taking a break from maintaining their cars and were watching TV in the kitchen area that was offset from the garage.

Kam changed the channels when he came to Duke of Detroit television, Dana stopped him from flipping again “Wait! I like this show.”

“Oh come on it’s just a rerun.” He complained, grabbing a room temperature cola from the other side of the counter.

“Well I haven’t seen it yet.” Dana told him and watched intently. The show was a five-minute segment on DD-TV called ‘Crimes against Fashion’, hosted by the Duke’s daughter the Duchess of Detroit. Duchess had the same tall, lanky build as her father the Duke, but her face was more like her late mother No.2. The most prominent trait she had was her hair; it was in two differently coloured layers just like the Duke, except the top layer was bright red instead of brown, and her hair was much longer and smoother. She had a large singular fringe covering her left eye, and a plat on the other side framing the right side of her face. She had the same sea-blue eyes as the Duke, and wore candy-red eyeshadow on the visible eye. The older teen, who had to be almost twenty by now, always wore a white sleeveless v-neck, red tights with a white stripe down the side of both legs, and white heeled boots with red stripes down the sides.

In the segment Duchess was sitting in an extravagant chair, with a sly Duke-like grin, and was talking about the outfits worn by various people caught in shots around Motorcity. And surprisingly, after the two minute mark a snapshot of Mitch came up, where he was sitting on the stoop of an apartment complex and was playing his stratocaster.

“And then there’s this guy!” Duchess said to the camera and audience “The leader of the new Burners himself. I don’t know if it’s a phase he’s going through but he wears too much black! We get it Chilton you’re an edgelord, it doesn’t mean you wear black all the way up to your chin!” Dana couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, Kam rose an eyebrow.

“Geeeze, she’s so hot it’s a shame she has to be such a bitch.” Kam said in regards to Duchess, Dana nudged him.

“Oh be nice Kam, she has a point you know; Mitch doesn’t exactly dress to impress.”

“Should he? And even if he doesn’t it isn’t nice to blast someone on television either when he was just minding his own business.”

“To be fair, I think it was the Duke’s orders, you know he doesn’t exactly like the Burners. Especially Mitch’s dad.”

“Doesn’t make it okay.” Kam muttered, taking a sip of cola “If you ask me, Duchess is just as bad as the Duke. Daddies girl or not, she’s just as much of an overdramatic brat as him.”

Dana nudged him again “Come on, that’s not fair; her mom died in Hellfire Rain, all she has is her dad.”

“And a ton of money, a ton of territory and a bunch of servants - she’s not the only one who lost a parent; Miles and Teddy lost their mom too. Hell, I don’t even have a dad and you don’t see me blasting people on television.”

They heard a yelp of pain and turned to see Miles was standing up and hopping about. “Are you okay?” Dana called from the kitchen.

“A cinder block fell on my foot!” She hissed painfully, and Dana began making her way over.

“Let’s go see Teddy.”

“I’m fine!”

“Come on, don’t try to be tough those cinder blocks weigh more than you do. I mean, it’s not hard to but-”

“Fiiine.”

—

“Your foot is fine, a little bruised but I don’t think you’ll get any sort of infection.” Teddy told her after looking Miles over.

“Thanks doc,” She sighed, Dana was seated at a different chair next to the doctors chair, and was reading an old magazine “What’s with the face mask?” She asked; Teddy had a surgical mask on since before they came in and hadn’t taken it off.

“There’s a flu going around - haven’t you wondered where Mitch is?” He asked with a quirked brow - his communicator, a usb-stick like device at the end of his layard started going off, a call from his mother, and like always he pressed decline.

“I figured he was brooding.”

“No, he, Texas, and Little T are all down with the flu - in fact, let me check you over.” Teddy went into his medical ramble and grabbed a thermometer and pulse oximeter.

“I feel fine- Teddy, really?” There was really no use getting through to the medic, as he already put the pulse ox on her finger . Sometimes he was really such a hypochondriac by proxy.

He got out his thermometer and put a probe cover on the stick “Open,” he ordered, and she listened, as it took a few seconds to take temperature he turned to Dana “I’m checking you right after.”

“Fine.” The mechanic deadpanned and turned the page of the magazine.

The thermometer beeped and he looked at the screen of it “You have a 103 degree fever.” She groaned a little bit, knowing Teddy was probably going to blow it way out of proportion “That’s a high grade fever Miles.”

“I’m- I’m okay.” She stopped herself from saying ‘fine’ for what must have been the millionth time that day. Teddy didn’t really listen to this and instead focused his attention on Dana, he took her vitals as well and she had a 102 degree fever.

“Everyone’s getting sick; that’s it, work day over, everyone’s going home.” Teddy sighed, adjusting the surgical mask and switching it for a a filter mask instead.

“But I live here,” Dana pointed out, Teddy gave her a stern look.

“I’ll take you back to your parents home at the Cablers settlement,” Teddy said, grabbing the keys to Sunback “I can’t nurse a flu for more than three people at a time. I’m going to check Kam quickly-.”

“I’m going home.” Miles announced and got up abruptly. “I’ll take my bike it works just fine just looks ugly.”

“Miles I’d highly advise-”

“I said I’m fine.” She said with more emphasis, irked at this pointed, and the medic didn’t push it this time. The brunet hobbled over to her bike, pulled her face mask up to her nose, and drove off.

“She really needs to start wearing a helmet,” Teddy said to Dana, and she nodded in agreement; really, at this point it was amazing the Prowler driver hadn’t cracked her head open.

—

The Cabler settlement was Dana’s actual home ever though she primarily stayed at the Burners headquarters. Her parents lived there, and as did her older brothers Cekis and Carlos.

“Get better, and have a nice day.”

“Thanks Teddy.” She smiled weakly as Sunback turned around, unlatching Stringer from the towline, and watched the vehicle as it drove off and disappeared from Cabler territory and her sight. Sighing heavily, Dana trudged her way to her childhood home.

She loved her family, she really did, but… she had her reasons for not coming home very often.

The short Burner knocked on the rounded door, and waited as she heard the electronic locks click, and finally the door opened. A much, much taller figure stepped out. “Baby girl!” Dutch exclaimed as he knelt down and swooped his daughter into an all-encompassing hug so tight she had some difficulty breathing. Being the patriarch of not just the Gordy family but also the Cablers themselves, Dutch wore electrician-style Cabler gear these days with a blue star on his shirt where his Burners symbol used to be. He still kept his hair up in a large afro, and also had a beard, but both of these had a few gray strands.

“H-Hey dad,” she coughed and smiled weakly, and she was dragged into the house. The cable house looked the same as it did every time she came back home, furniture arranged the same, picture frames where they’d always been. R.O.T.H, her fathers constant companion even to this day was charging on the kitchen counter.

“Tennie!” Dutch called his wife; he finally put his much smaller daughter down and had his arm wrapped around her instead.

“Dad I’m sick-” Dana protested and tried to pry out of his affectionate grasp, but this did little to deter him; her mother fast-walked from the hallway. Tennie Gordy was the Cablers leader and despite her unimposing stature looked the part; her hair was a lot longer and not kept in pigtails anymore, and instead flowed down to her back, but she had a blue bandana wrapped around her head to keep it all out of her face, and if it was off one would see that one of her ears was bright red and shriveled compared to the other one. A reminder of Hellfire Rain.

“Dana honey! It’s so good to see you!” Tennie said as she walked over and covered the teens face in kisses.

“Yuck, yuck- mommmmm.” Dana protested “Dooon’t, I’m sick.”

“You’re sick?” Her mother asked, concerned, Dana nodded and explained to them what Teddy had explained to her “Well, that’s no problem, we haven’t touched your room. Go lie down for a bit sweetie, I’ll bring you some food and medicine in a bit.”

Dana nodded obediently and Dutch escorted her to her room “Are… the twins home?” She asked, referring to her older brothers.

“No, they’re working on a centre right now.” Her father explained as he opened her door; her bedroom seemed to be a juxtopisional space, it looked lived-in but it felt lifeless. It had a hammock bed with a storage boxes under it, a dresser, a small desk and a few stuffed toys scattered her and there, along with clothes in the closet that she didn’t wear anymore but kept because it wasn’t like she’d grown any taller since she was twelve.

She lay down on  the hammock and looked as her father put a fleece blanket on top of her. “Just shout if you need anything,” he said and kissed her forehead.

“I’m too old for that, dad.” She reminded him, getting flustered at this point; he only laughed softly and left. Dana curled up into a ball under the blanket once she was left alone; and now that she was left alone to herself and her thoughts with the lights off she realized that her head and face did in fact feel really hot. Had she been this tired the whole time?

She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

—

Muttering to herself as she parked her bike in a lot, Miles went into a pharmacy - not more than ten minutes since her diagnosis and she was already feeling the full brunt of the fever. It was almost like the knowledge she was sick made her ever sicker. Weird how that worked. If she was going to make it back home, she’s have to have some kind of pick-me-up. Maybe she should have taken the bus.

She went inside and looked around for some cough medicine, but they were sold out as usual; living in a subterranean city, they were always low on stuff like medicine, especially cold pills which people frequently turned into crystal meth. Ever since Kya’s son Fallow of the Terra’s opened up a weed shop hard drug usage wasn’t as bad as it was say, ten years ago, but it was still there.

Giving up her search for cough syrup, and picking up some ibuprofen, she came back out with a brown paper bag in hand. However, a few steps out of the door and she was hit with a wave of vertigo; she almost dropped the paper bag as she reached her hands up to hold her head, and cast her spinning vision to the ground.

She was vaguely aware of someone hooking their arm with hers and escorting her to her bike, but she was too dizzy to really do anything other than be dragged. “Thanks…” She muttered as she gripped the handles of her bike.

“No problem.” A robot voice said, almost humorously. She froze and turned back around to see it was Red. On impulse she reached for her communicator.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Red warned and red energy sparked around his fists, reluctantly the brunet listened “good. Not that they’d help you, everyone but your medic is sick too.”

“What do you want?” Miles asked, irked. She’d be confused even if she wasn’t sick; why would Red help her to her bike instead of just attacking her when she was weak?

“I wasn’t ordered to attack a bunch of Burner babies.” Red told her, snatching the baggy from her “I was told to observe. And I have to say, I’m not impressed.” He looked into the bag and reached his hand inside of it.

“Give me that!” Miles snapped and snatched the bag back “I don’t know what angle you’re playing at, but leave me alone.”

“Whatever you say,” Red began, bringing his face in a little closer, so he could mockingly whisper “princess.”

Miles already pale face drained of colour “W-What-”

“Don’t think I don’t know your little secret,” The armoured man said, and turned away “frankly, I’m surprised your little friends haven’t caught on by now.”

And then he was gone, and Miles was dizzy, feverish, panicked and confused all at once.

—

“Here sweetheart.” was a statement coupled with a gentle shake that woke Dana up from her uncomfortable fever sleep, but being awake again was twice as uncomfortable, she opened her eyes a crack to see her mother standing by her hammock; she’d brought a small one-person fold out table and had on it a steaming bowl of soup and glass of orange juice.

“Thanks mom…” Dana said quietly, grabbing the orange juice; she wasn’t sure how long she’d been out but apparently it was long enough to dehydrate to near death. Tennie smiled down maternally at her daughter.

“It’s so nice to have you home again! Of course I’d prefer if you were well - but still nice nonetheless. Your brothers are home by the way.” Dana coughed as she swallowed the wrong way. “They’re not going to bother you, but they’re home if you want to see them.” Dana’s older brothers, Carlos and Cekis were older than her by four years, they were twenty-one, and identical in every way. They didn’t live at home because they were jobless or bums or anything like that, but because like their parents they were influential figures among the Cablers.

They were the golden children, and she’d always played second fiddle to them as long as she could remember.

They were both prodigies and grew to be much-needed pillars of the Cabler community; carpentry, hardware repair, and electrician were a must-have in the Cabler settlement and the twins were skilled in all. Now, Dana was a skilled electrician also; but she was better with vehicle technical skills, which aren’t as important in the Cabler community as it was to the rest of Motorcity. Not to mention she hated doing general repairs and was poor with carpentry.

The twins were artists also, just like their father, something that inspired the rest of their community. She didn’t have that same spark. She was good at other things; she knew basic first aid, she was good at fighting, good at cooking, but…

She wasn’t good enough at anything that was important to the Cablers, or her parents, she didn’t live at home anymore because that meant living in her brothers’ shadows.  Kameron had been her childhood friend, like the other Burners, and he was the first of the original Burners children who got his license. Dana always tagged along with him driving, and when Jacob and Texas proposed restarting the Burners she jumped on that bandwagon right away. She wasn’t anything special in the Cabler community, but among the Burners she actually meant something. She could fix cars better than the others, she could make them look new just with a discerning eye.

As a Burner, the Stinger driver was important. As a cabler, Dana Gordy was just nobody.

“Do you need anything else dear?”

“No thank you, mom.”

—

The Dukes territory was a formidable place to trespass even if it was a junkyard; the guard dogs, the henchmen on patrol, all of the cameras. It was like there were eyes everywhere.

At least, that’s what you would think if you didn’t understand the territory like Miles did.

There was a narrow blindspot; this was a run where a lot of the guard dogs congregated, but they never barked at her because they knew her. Still, the area was narrow; but it was narrow enough for a speeding Motorbike like Prowler to slip through undetected.

Miles came close to the Duke’s mansion, and when she was close enough she stopped her bike at an overpass of junk; it was easy to hide her motorbike with the abundance of junk, and usually a pane of sheet metal did the job as she leaned it against a mound of junk. It was actually this area that she’d found Prowler; back then it had just been an ancient, rusted, delivery Motorbike but she’d fixed it enough to make it at least work.

And then one fateful day, over a year ago she’d come across Mitch. Moonstrucks radiator took a shit because Mitch neglected to change the water. But Mitch had only just got his license so it was a forgivable mistake since it was a common mistake for new drivers especially if they had an old car. She helped him fix his radiator, jumped his battery and opted to be his spotter on the way back to Jacobs garage. Here she met the rest of the gang, and became the last of the new Burners to join. They helped her fix up Prowler to its current sleek, destructive glory.

Keeping herself as small as possible, Miles went through another narrow blind spot; there was a large, mostly dead, monstrosity of a mutated tree next to the mansion, which blocked the security cameras view for a small range, but enough range for Miles to squeeze through; once by the mansion she opened the window; she had jerry rigged it to make it looked locked from the inside when it wasn’t. Once inside, she sighed in relief.

The room was mostly red, with some white accents; it was an overall plush, velvety room; it had its own large master bathroom , and walk-in closet with full-length mirrors on the doors. The bed was king sized and had a soft, bright red duvet, and an abundance of plush white pillows. There was a large TV in one corner with a red leather couch and glass coffee table in front of it. Finally, there was a large dresser with a number of accessories on it, including a large jewelry box almost overflowing with it’s tasteful content, there was a mirror attached to the dresser also, and a small velvety vanity stool. On top of the jewelry box, there was a small Titanium ring, made a shimmering green via anodizing, which she resented too much to ever wear.

Placing the paper baggy down, the Burner sat on the stool and looked into the dressers mirror. Her reflection stared back; a fair-skinned girl, with fever-flushed cheeks, tied up brown hair, and brown eyes bespectacled with geeky round glasses. Her face.

Sighing heavily as she usually did at this part of the day, Mile’s took her leather jacket off first and hid under her dresser. She undid her ponytail, and her brown hair fell to the middle of her back. She looked at herself in the mirror again as she took off her glasses; her eyes went from boring brown to a brilliant sea blue. Finally, she took her red hair clip out, and her bangs fell to the left side; the brown color of her hair shifted as the pixelated disguise faded out; her hair became softer, fuller and two-toned, with the top layer becoming bright red and the bottom layer blonde.

She looked into the mirror again and this time the Duchess of Detroit was staring back at her.

—

“Dude, autoscope.” Mitch complained into his headset to his online companion, who was probably some smug seven-year-old judging by their online gaming shenanigans. The brunet Burner was sitting at a couch with a blanket over his lap and a wet cloth on his forehead that stopped being cool fifteen minutes ago but he was too lazy to remove. His baby sister was curled up under the same blanket, and was sleeping with her head resting on his thigh. Fever had sapped her usual abundance of energy, and Texas was the same as Mitch hadn’t heard a peep from the older Burner all day. Mitch, however, had a hard time sleeping fever off, and decided to instead spend the day playing video games.

“I didn’t think I’d see a day where everyone was greener under than gills than me.” An old, rusty voice croaked; Mitch put on a weak smile when he craned his head to the doorway to see Jacob. The old man was not in good shape these days; most people in Motorcity didn’t live past seventy because of respiratory issues, and Jacob was still kicking. Probably because of his diet being heavy in vegetables. Among other age-related issues, his worst ailments were rheumatoid arthritis, and lung cancer.

The only reason he wasn’t heavy on treatments was because he didn’t have a very aggressive form of lung cancer, he reasoned that old age would kill him first. Depressing thought, but he fought for the free thought of everyone, he had the right to have a say in how he’d die. He consumed a lot of cannabis edibles these days.

“It’s just a bug, they pass.” Mitch said, and the old man hobbled over. Little T hummed and gripped the blanket, burrowing deeper into the fluffy cocoon.

“I’m impressed, neither of you two are as insufferable as your father when he got sick.”

“Which one?”

“Mike,” Jacob said “he was just- just, awful when he was sick, especially when he was around your age. ‘But I have to do this’, ‘but I have to do that’, ‘but it’ll only take an hour to blast all of those hound bots’.” Jacob impersonated, which made Mitch snort a small laugh “We had to use a whole bottle of cough syrup to put him to sleep to keep him from doing anything. Your other father had a heck of a time dealing with that.”

Now that Mitch thought about it, anytime Mike was sick he was basically in a coma for the whole day. He used to think that was just how sick people recuperate, but in retrospect Chuck probably drugged him with a bunch of cough syrup or something, because it /was/ weird that Mike would be inactive for such a long stretch of time. Much like Little T, he had to always be moving, and couldn’t sit still for long. Mitch was restless too, but not because he felt the need to constantly be doing something, but because he just naturally functioned on small amounts of sleep. Chuck would always tell him it was hereditary, but he may have just been trying to excuse his own bad habits.

“By the way,” Mitch inquired as Jacob sat at the other side of the couch and grabbed a controller as well “was Kam sick too?”

“No,” Jacob told him and toggled on the two-player “Teddy sent him back to Deluxe for safety though, illness is so rare in Deluxe it’d be really strange if he suddenly came down with the flu.”

“So everybody but Kam and Teddy is down?”

“Mhmmm.”

“Well, I hope it doesn’t last too long; if Red reported this Kane would jump at the chance to attack us.” Jacob hummed thoughtfully at Mitch’s observation.

“I don’t know…” Jacob began “Red’s changed… he just, doesn’t seem very destructive. I don’t think he takes the Burners seriously anymore.”

“That’s fine with me,” Mitch shrugged “if he doesn’t think we’re a threat, that’s a benefit to us. Kane will underestimate us. And dad always told me there wasn’t a bigger blunder than underestimating a foe.”

—

“Oh princess! Are you home?” The knocking at her door almost made Duchess jump out of her skin, but it was just her father. She was glad that being a girl, the Duke never just barged in, she was especially thankful that he’d shown up right after she’d gotten into her pajamas.

“I’m here dad.” She said, sliding under her covers to make it look like she’d been there the whole time - just in time for Duke to throw her door open.

“What are you still doing in bed sleepy head! It’s three in the afternoon!” He bellowed, but jovially. He walked over, she looked up at her father and smiled weakly.

“I’m sick.” She told him, sitting up slightly. And he frowned, making the age lines in his face much more apparent; the brown layer of his hair, and his once well trimmed but now scruffy beard was streaked in gray while the blonde layer was streaked with white and he just seemed to add more and more colourless streaks each day. Even though he was older than a lot of people realized, he’d managed to retain a youthful appearance; that was, until her mother died.

“Oh sweetheart why didn’t you say so! I’d have gotten one of our servants-”

“It’s just a flu dad.” Duchess insisted.

“Still, only the best for my little girl. This isn’t from that fiance of yours is it?”

“Dad you know as well as I do that I’m never around him unless if I have to be.” She reminded him, and she looked up at him with narrowed eyes as she did. It was an arranged marriage, arranged by him when she was only eleven.

The Duke kissed her forehead, which might have been for affectionate purposes but was definitely mostly to check her temperature. “Darling you’re absolutely burning,” he concluded “no more Crimes against Fashion for you this week.”

“Okay,” Duchess said with a sigh, sinking back into her mountain of plush pillows.

“Don’t worry about business this week,” The Duke continued “you just focus on getting better princess.” She just nodded and turned onto her side with her back facing him. He turned out her lights and then left, and when he did she flopped back onto her back to stare at the ceiling.

Duchess felt like more of an asset of her father than an actual daughter sometimes. Okay, pretty much all the time she felt this way. And everyone else saw her as just an extension of the Duke as well, instead of as an individual person. When she was younger she loved it; everyone wanted her attention, wanted to be her friend. As she got older, she realized they just wanted a piece of the Duke’s money and power, and saw her as a meal ticket. Or people just assumed she was a spoiled heiress without a thought in her head, like Kam did.

Over time, she realized that in order to be herself she had to stop being… herself. She used some of her father’s connections to get pixelating technology; a hair clip that made her hair appear brown, and rounded glasses that changed not only the color of her eyes, but also made her eyes appear rounded instead of the natural almond shape.

Once she had those, all she needed was a ride, different clothes and a name. She’d scavenged her bike from the dump, she bought more casual, palette-swapped versions of her regular clothes and a leather jacket. The name Miles was typically a male name, but it had special meaning to her; when she was little she had the childish habit of talking a lot, and talking fast, to the point her mother frequently told her she ‘talked a mile a minute’.

When she was Miles, she wasn’t the Duchess of Detroit, she was just a nerdy biker chick. She’d gone to the same high school as Mitch, Dana, and Dana’s brothers and none of them knew that she was really Duchess. When she’d ‘met’ Mitch that fateful day at the side of the road, he saw her as a stranger.

And she was not just fine with that, she /relished/ in it.

As Miles she could ride Prowler instead of a limo with someone else driving. She could be taken seriously, she could get in as many fight club brawls as she wanted, she could be seen as a person and not just an extension of Duke. She could be a Burner.

She loved her father, she really did, but he coddled her, and almost kept her hidden from the world; she wasn’t allowed to have many friends as a kid, anytime she went anywhere she had to have an entourage of bodyguards with her, she was rarely allowed to even drive the limo unless if she was racing because ‘that’s what the help do’, she had to always wear red-and-white, she wasn’t even allowed to date because he arranged her a marriage for power and affluence.

His over-protectiveness and coddling wasn’t always so bad, but it got worse after her mother died, though not immediately. He pushed her away at first out of grief, for about a year, but then suddenly he was all over being her father again and she was smothered to near death after a year of being neglected.

Duchess pulled the blanket up over her face; sometimes she wished she could wake up and be Miles forever. Well, okay she didn’t really wish that. She was at a constant impasse with her identities because she loved being Duchess too, just not all the time.

First, she needed to sleep. She reached over to grab the bottle of ibuprofen from the paper bag, but it fell from her nightstand when she grabbed it wrong. When she looked to her floor, her blue eyes widened in shock.

There was a bottle of ibuprofen, but also a new bottle of cough syrup.

/I’d rather hate you for everything you are Than ever love you for something you are not I’d rather you hate me for everything I am Than have you love me for something that I can’t

It’s never enough, it’s never enough No matter what I say It’s never enough, no it’s never enough No matter who I try to be It’s never enough, no it’s never enough No matter how I try to change It’s never enough, never never enough I’ll never be what you want me to be/

Authors Note: Cars introduced are; Leviathan = squid motif, green. Stinger = wasp motif, purple.  Mile’s lives a double life.  Parallels can be drawn between Dana, who just wants to be noticed, and Miles who just wants to not be noticed so she can be herself, but both of them just want people to appreciate them for who they are. Also, who’s Miles engaged to? And why would Red go out of his way to intimidate Miles, just to also turn around and give her the cough syrup she needed? The song is ‘Never Enough’ by Five Finger Death Punch.

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