#when you hyperfixate for two vehicles

[everydayarsonist]

I’m completely normal about the Yiga Zonai Vehicles I swear

(Hoverdoom MK.3 my beloved)

[loops-n-boops]

Seed Dump!!

after a little unexpected turn to a DC hyperfixation that lasted roughly two weeks I'm back to my farcry shit (the usual) so imma give y'all a three for one, John doodles, Seed playlists and hcs in one post,, take your juice

Jacob Seed:

listens to cheesy love songs and some rock and metal

Most think John swears the most but that's a lie, it's him. Whenever Joseph isn't around he'll throw a "fuck this" every now and then

likes adult coloring books and crossword puzzles

if Joseph asks a favor that doesn't involve strength he always goes "I volunteer Johnny"

He opens doors for John and goes "ladies first"

can and will tackle John to the ground and yell "say uncle". He does all the annoying older brother shit idc

Tends to fight with Joseph. They always fought back and forth. As kids it was about how Joseph wouldn't 'man up'. Now it's about how he treats John, not knowing Joseph's been manipulating him to stay this whole time too

So in the past I hc that he's gay, I feel he struggles to come to terms with that. To this day he still is under the impression that it's wrong and makes him look soft, so he still tries to act like he doesn't

Rants to the judges. He is waits until he knows he's alone with the alpha of the pack and just dumps everything he has in his mind. That dog knows things no one else knows

His friendship with Eli in the past was a good one. It reminded him too much of his friendship with Miller (minus the possible secret romance part). They had similar inside jokes, Eli playfully punched him the same way Miller did. He hated it. He still hates it

Jacob is much more of a listener than a talker but prefers surrounding himself with people who talk a lot

Joseph Seed

Joseph doesn't hate John. He's hard on John so he learns. Johns become their father in Joseph's eyes and is making sure to shape him up. However he doesn't realize how terrible he's being to him as he does so.

His biggest fear is being alone. To combat that he almost subconsciously manipulates people to stay with him. He doesn't want to hurt them, but if he doesn't they'll leave. He'll be alone again

As a child Joseph wanted to be an author. He had notebooks filled with vibrant stories he made up in his head. Once a teenager though he found an interest in baking. Him and his wife's date nights consisted of them playing music as they tried a random recipe they found. It was a piece of happiness he never had as a child. They wanted to save money and open a bakery together. Still, to this day, Joseph gathers ingredients on Friday nights and bakes.

Has a heavy preference for Jacob. The man was with him the longest, helped him the most. It isn't that he doesn't love John, but he's detached. John wasn't there as long as Jacob was. John was raised by different people.

He hates winter. Winter was when Faith taken from him. He won't enter any vehicle. He won't go outside much. He hates it.

Puts everyone before himself. He could have not eaten at all that day but he will still be sure to make sure everyone else has. He will forget to eat unless someone else tells him to

His favorite song is Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac and whenever he hears it he gets a boost of happiness. He knows every word.

I don't care what anyone says, I think he's shockingly the worst with kids. He can't handle the tantrums, they stress him out. He doesn't yell or hit but he completely shuts down and won't really react

Doesn't put his hair down often. He sleeps with it down but beyond that? It's always up. Usually in a bun, but sometimes he'll go ponytail.

When angry he tends to quietly glare. He tells from time to time yeah, but he more often will glare at whoever upset him. A look that basically says 'you know what you did'

Hes actually much more of an introvert than people may think. He doesn't like being alone but that doesn't make him an extrovert. His idea on a relaxing day is sitting in a room with his brothers where they all do their own thing but they don't speak much. Comfortable silence. The idea that they're there makes him happy, and the fact that they can indulge in their own hobbies without judgment makes him even happier

John Seed

Much more of a talker than a listener. This makes him and Jacob a good pairing since he would talk a lot and Jacob would smile and listen.

He despises fast food. He tried it once and declared it as the grossest thing to every touch his mouth. He's also definitely the pickiest eater in general. He hates most seafood, broccoli, brussel sprouts, fast food, pizza if it's too greasy, chicken if there's too much tendon, the flavor of mashed potatoes and steak together but he'll eat it on separate occasions. He was picky as a kid and he's still picky as an adult

Actually needs glasses but will not wear them. Luckily he has contacts. However one time he lost one and had to wear his glasses and his chosen were staring at him confused. He needed them since he was little but he never got the appointment when he was with his brothers. Jacob did notice him squinting a lot. Joseph only had glasses because he got his prescription years ago (but they should've been renewed)

He went to religious schools from second grade onward. I'm talking the ones with uniforms and all your teachers are nuns. There's so many pictures of little John with one of those school uniforms and dorky glasses and a big smile.

Speaking of which I believe he was the cutest kid out of all of them. He had big ol doe eyes and got excited over everything. Joseph and Jacob used to call him sunshine when he was young because no matter how miserable and dark the world was around him he always was a happy little boy. He was bright, loving, innocent. An absolute sweetheart in his youth. He was the kid that waved to strangers on the street, his go to form of affection was hugs, and he comforted his brothers when they were upset despite not understanding why they were even upset.

The Duncan's viewed Johns innocent nature as why he was a tainted soul. He didn't understand accountability and the idea that not everyone was good confused him. They had to teach him. Besides, the Duncan's weren't too good themselves.

His adoptive parents were Henry and Amelia Duncan. They adopted John due to Amelia's infertility. John was the youngest there and was promising so they chose him not knowing they were taking a broken boy and breaking him beyond recognition. Johns obvious mental illness also made them feel he needed to be shaped. They were the type of people that thought praying could solve everything. John barely saw doctors, he never got therapy, and when they found out their son was bisexual they threatened to send him away.

However, Henry's mother: Evelyn loved John for who he is was. Accepted her little grandson. Henry's family was large, the man having four brothers and a sister. John was the baby, all of his newly adopted cousins being older than him. Not a lot of them were good, John wasn't even that good, but Evelyn had a clear preference for John, always calling him her angel. (I have too many Duncan hcs I'll stop there)

Johns behavior first began to plumiit near his sophomore year of high-school. He got a stick and poke tattoo when he was too young to have one from a friend. It did get infected but that was fine for him. It was a taste of freedom. A taste of freedom he never had in the past. He wanted a taste of the freedom of adulthood and was willing to rush his adolescence to get that. By the time he was a senior the little angel people knew and loved died, and in his place was a cold hearted snake that lacked any form of remorse for what he did. All he cared for was his own amusement.

As a boy he drew a lot, he quickly discovered art was something he enjoyed. He drew pictures of him and his brothers, but when he lived in Atlanta their faces started to become blurry. Were Joseph's eyes blue or were they green? Who was taller, Joseph or Jacob? What didn't help was the Duncan's wanted every aspect of Johns life before them to not exist. They tried convincing him that they weren't his family and that they hated him. They made him go into speech therapy to force his rural accent to go away. They didn't adopt a son, they adopted a pet.

I'll do a little softer one for the end: Johns secretly a bit of a hopeless romantic. He's always been fond of the idea of romance. He loves cheesy rom-coms, he reads romance books. All of it. Hes well aware that a romantic relationship is something he'll never have, but it doesn't hurt to wish for one. He falls too quickly, but then gets scared when he has to be vulnerable. He has issues, he's not a good person. His issues will scare everyone away. He has no chance. A part of him envies his brothers: Joseph for having a marriage and Jacob for clearly not being interested in romance at all. But some nights, he doesn't care. He'll grab a DVD player and watch his silly little romantic comedy movies (or say yes to the dress if he's feeling something dramatic) and will eat half a bag of gummy bears

[basket-of-cats-and-witches]

Homecoming

Back with another Lancer story, feat. My OCs Booker and Mac. This one's a hurt/comfort, and I hyperfixated on it so hard I wrote it during work. I fell asleep thinking of this idea and remembered it this morning, that's how bad the writing brainrot was.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy. And if you do, please like and reblog! It gets my work out there and encourages me to keep writing.

(TW: Blood)

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

“Well? How's it lookin’?”

Mac nearly banged his head against the open chest piece as he stood up, swerving out of the way just in time.

“Phil, I gotta ask you something.” He wiped his forehead, leaving a smear of black as he accepted a jar of tea. It sweated nearly as much as he did, the ice quickly melting in the summer heat.

The old man tilted his head. The toothpick sticking out of his mouth was nearly tar-black, his face more wrinkles than features, his white tuft of hair reminiscent of a piece of cotton fluff. “Yeah?”

Mac took a swallow. The tea made his teeth ache, barely cooling him at all. “Where you spit your chewing tobacco?”

Thick brows came down into a furrow. “What’d’ya mean? Straight in, o’course. The core on Miss Maisy here cooks it straight up so the missus don't go gettin’ mad at me for spittin’ in the fields.”

“Ah,” Mac said in response. “Well, start carrying a cup, old timer. Maisy’s getting on in years, and any more of your spitting and she'll be more tobacco than mech.”

Phil squinted at him. “Y’sure?”

Setting the jar by his equipment, Mac sighed. It was a futile effort to wipe his hands clean, yet he tried all the same. “Phil, she ain't no fancy Lancer mech. Maisy's got some good years on her, and if you treat her right, she'll run for longer than you or I will be kicking. Treat her like your wife, don't spit on her, listen to her when she grumbles, bring her to me when she's sick, and she'll be right as rain.”

There was a wicked glint in the old man’s eye. “Well, about that spittin'-”

“Hey. I don't need to know what you and your wife get up to. Just stop putting your tobacco leavings in Maisy. I'll be by with Rosie in a bit to haul her back to mine. She's gonna need a bit of loving before I can send her home to you.”

“Y’ gonna finish yer tea?” Phil asked.

Mac looked at him sidelong, picking up the jar. “Yeah. Why?”

“Need the jar.”

With a smirk, Mac raised it. “Attaboy.” He downed the contents, handing it back.

As the truly disgusting sound of Phil clearing his chewing tobacco filled the air, Mac sighed, staring across the rolling fields.

His mind was still on the news reels off the Omninet, blaring headlines screaming “Death to the Mercenary Queen”.

It had been days.

No response from Booker. From any of his old CORSAIR buddies.

A slap on the back set him stumbling.

“Aw, don't y’ worry that head o’ yers, Ricky. I'm sure yer husband's dandy.”

A rumbling sound cut off his reply.

Phil squinted. “Ain't that one of them fancy vehicles from the military landin’ port nearby?”

Instantly, Mac felt his heart squeeze. Flying down the road, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop, backing up until it was stopped in front of the two men.

“Mac!” Dupont yelled. “Get in!”

Mac looked at Phil, who shrugged. “Seems important. The ol’ girl and I can wait.”

Slapping the old man on the back in thanks, Mac grabbed his tools and ran for the vehicle. The open top allowed him to jump in, slinging his legs over the doors as it immediately took off.

Floyd grinned at him lazily, aviators glinting in the sunlight. “Heya boss,” he drawled. “Fancy seein’ you in these parts.”

“Fuck you, Floyd,” Mac said breathlessly. “What the fuck are you two doing on my planet?”

“Merde. Your fucking planet. You've gotten worse since we've seen you last.” Dupont took a drag of his cigarette, the red tip barely hanging on in the whipping wind. He pressed on the gas, steering one handed as the countryside flew by.

“Just answer the question.” He grabbed Floyd’s ear, twisting it just enough to make the man squirm. “Talk, Presley.”

“Agh! Fuck, fine! Booker and Mira are set to land soon.” Floyd frantically tried to escape Mac’s seeking fingers. “Karson and a few other mechanics are seeking refuge too. Commodore’s dead, half the staff were killed or arrested, and the Requiem’s a shitshow.”

Mac’s hand fell as he stared in shock. “S-send them to my place,” he said faintly. “Who started this?”

“She's not to blame, Macguyver,” Dupont called out over his shoulder. “Morse did her best. She's the reason so many of us lived. You weren't there, you didn't see how Commodore was. She was…” he shook his head. “It was worse than we could have imagined.”

“Morse?” Mac asked.

Floyd waved him off. “Past your time. I hear she's one of the handlers that genuinely cares. Bleeding heart and all that.”

The wind whipped around Mac’s ears, the military base quickly coming into view. “And my husband? Mira? They injured?”

“A little worse for wear, but they'll live,” Dupont replied. “Identification out, gentlemen. We're coming up on the security post.”

-

As soon as Mac’s feet hit the asphalt, he was back in Corsair. Memories rushed all around him as he sprinted to the mech hangar, the shouts of his friends drowned out by the blood roaring in his ears.

People moved out of the way. They saw the toolbox before the man, and assumed he belonged.

Rightly so. He hadn't run a team of mechanics for nothing.

Oil and grease filled his nose, the smell of chemicals sharp in the air. A humming sensation rippled throughout the hangar, setting his teeth on edge and buzzing in his nose.

Absentmindedly, Mac noted that it was a touch too low, meaning the Empress would need to be recalibrated.

The mech landed, and for a second, it was not red, but blue.

Robin’s egg blue.

Scratched up with silver shining through, the cockpit gutted and hanging empty, with more blood than any one human could live through soaking the gears.

He blinked away the memory. His father was long gone, but the fear remained.

It always remained.

Mechanics rushed to and fro, yelling as they secured the Crimson Empress in place.

She'd seen better days. Mac wanted to kill the person who scratched her paint, lovingly polished by his husband every chance he got.

The hatch clicked and hissed as it opened.

His heart stuttered.

A head appeared, then another, a broad frame filling out his hardsuit as he took the helmet off.

A flash of golden blonde hair.

At this distance, it was too far to make out Booker’s trademark grimace. The man permanently scowled, something Mac liked to tease him about in their private moments together.

He remembered the moment he'd been a goner.

Dozing off at the side of a hospital bed, heart twisted up as he tried to figure out why he cared so much. Booker and Mac had fallen in bed together again and again, never talking about it, until then.

Until a hand sunk into his hair, the sound of the heart monitor picking up, and Booker’s whispered, “Fuck. Why did it have to be you?”

And his mental response had instantly been -

Because I love you.

Here, in the present, Booker hopped out of the cockpit. He bickered with the other figure as they descended, Mira’s helmet coming off to reveal a tired face, covered in little bandages.

Behind him, Mac felt Floyd and Dupont stop.

Booker hit the ground level, making eye contact with Mac.

In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not Corsair, not Daisy or the Empress, not even their friends.

The world narrowed down to the two of them, two tiny specks in a vast, cold universe, forever orbiting around each other.

Booker made the first move.

He strode forward with purpose, tucking his helmet under one arm as he reached for his husband.

Mac was helpless to comply. He fell into Booker’s tight embrace, inhaling the sweat and medicinal salve with a shuddering breath.

Booker pulled away just enough to stare at Mac, huffing. Whether it was in frustration or relief wasn't clear.

“Sorry. Some stragglers bitched about needing a ride.”

Mac laughed wetly, a sob breaking the sound. “Fuck you, Adrian.” He yanked his husband down into a kiss.

Around them, their friends whooped in delight, cheering all sorts of awful obscenities.

Mac didn't care.

His husband was home.

[tenojan-in-tevinter]

25, 26, 27 and 28 from the fifty shep questions if you’re taking em!

Tysm for the ask!!!! My Shepard's name is Raien, he's colonist/sole survivor for added context. Here's a pic of him with his two besties doing the Noveria Smirk(tm):

25. How emotionally articulate is your Shepard? Do they emote well?

This varies. In the first game, he starts out trying to be aloof, keep distance between him and the crew, but quickly gets very attached to the Normandy crew. Especially after Anderson hands command over to him. He's very comfortable with them and generally is just himself when not in the field. In the second game, he never fully warms up to the SR-2 and the new crew, mainly because of Cerberus. He gets pretty sleep deprived and pissed off and spends most of the mission guarded and recedes into himself. In the third game, he spends a lot of his time stressed out and still sleep deprived, but overall much more comfortable once back with the alliance. So in short, when he's not too freaked out or stressed, he tends to be fairly easy to read emotionally, though after dying and coming back he becomes a lot harder to read unless you know him very well.

26. Does your Shepard have a romance? Who are they, and what drew Shepard to them?

Kaidan!! He loves Kaidan. They've always had a pretty good rapport, and worked well together in the field. Kaidan's the one he started this whole mess with, and he becomes determined to come out of it with him, too. He feels safe with Kaidan, which is a rare feeling for a soldier like Shepard. It takes him... a long time to understand his feelings though. Or at least longer than it does for Kaidan. He really only realizes right before the suicide mission in me2 (like minutes before going through the alpha relay from which he doesn't expect to return), days after an enlightening conversation with Liara. Then, after returning to the alliance, he resigns himself to believing they'll probably never work together again. And then the reapers and mars happens. They are bffs to it's really complicated to lovers.

27. Do they have any pet peeves?

He doesn't like people touching his Mako. Unless it's Garrus. It takes a little while before he trusts Garrus with it though. Also doesn't like other people messing with his gear. He is very particular about the specs on his sniper rifle and omnitool, and is convinced other people would fuck them up just by touching them. Ashley learns this the hard way. Raien also generally dislikes people reading over his shoulder, for many reasons- it stresses him out.

28. What about hyperfixations? What's the topic that will get Shepard rolling no matter the person or place?

He loves ships. Growing up on Mindoir, he spent a lot of time at the small space port there, helping the engineers with repairs and such. It's where he learned most of what he knows about engineering. He always wants to talk about the latest models (the kind that fly and the mini kind he can build, both) and what he likes or hates about them. But he really prefers going hands-on and working on them, tuning them and making small adjustments. He also just generally enjoys vehicles, too. Hence his protective nature when it comes to the Mako. He also really likes asking other engineers about ships, too, sometimes pretending he has no idea what they're talking about just to fuck with them. (That's how I explain the in-game dialogue choices you get at least lol.) He talks with Tali and Adams for hours upon hours. In me2, he spends a lot of time in the uncharted depths of the SR-2; in maintenance shafts, in-between floor and wall paneling, etc. Which isn't very safe while they're flying in space and he knows it, but it's the only place he can be fairly certain Cerberus isn't watching and listening. In fact, he spends so much time there, that half the Cerberus crew are convinced he knows how to teleport, since he often cannot be found anywhere on the ship, and will appear/disappear seemingly out of thin air.

Thanks again for the ask! I love Raien so much :') Have another pic of him smiling, he doesn't smile often enough:

[kirasworldofwords]

I don't think I ever really introduced myself here so here goes!

First of all, hi! My name is Kira, but you may call me Kiki if you'd like. On AO3, I'm known as "chiquita_chequito", I'm often there just lingering and reading or writing, lol. I'm 22 years old, German with Polish roots and live in a small German town where nothing ever really happens, lol. I have many interests, like certain anime and F1 (especially that as of late) and consider myself a decent writer at least. You're free to quote and/or correct me on that though, lol.

A few random facts about me:

✨️ I'm neurodivergent! I have OCD, ADD and Autism paired with hyperesthesia and ARFID (I know, I know... I should pick a struggle, but alas).

✨️ I also happen to be queer - bisexual as well as somewhere on the aro-ace gradient plus bigender, to be exact. My pronouns are they/she, meaning I prefer "they/them" but am also okay with "she/her". Anything but "he/him" and "it/its".

✨️ My hyperfixation has been cars (as in the vehicles, not the movie) ever since I was a baby. After my first two words, "Mama" and "No", my third word was "Car" in German - the fourth was "Skodda", as per my mom's telling. Surprise surprise, I still love Škodas. 😂

✨️ I play in a sort of marching band that we call Schalmeienzug, there's no direct translation though. It's really fun! Been there for five years now and still love it. 🫶🏻

✨️ Don't ask me how or why but for whatever reason, I can get any song I want stuck in someone else's brain. It works every damn time with just about anyone and yes, I am quite shameless about it. If I have to suffer through having Spongebob music stuck in my brain, then so do you. I have spoken.

✨️ My sense of humor is... skewed at best, fucking dark at worst. That's it. I refuse to elaborate.

✨️ In my free time, I also study Finnish. Thanks, Käärijä, lmao.

✨️ And yes, I love Eurovision. As a queer European girlie, that's a must, lol.

✨️ Regarding F1, my favorite drivers of the current grid are Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo (noooo, I don't have a thing for Aussies, wdym [also RIP, I am not okay, even if he's not a driver anymore, I will always love him]), Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio "Checo" Pérez (Christian Horner, when I catch you). Of the old grid I still somewhat remember (I've been watching F1 since childhood days), my favorites used to be Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and the Nicobergs - aka Nico Rosberg and Nico Hülkenberg. My heart has a special place reserved for Michael Schumacher, though, and it's shaped specifically like his stature. ❤️

✨️ I swear a lot. Like, a lot. I'm not kidding. So... proceed with caution if you're sensitive to that.

✨️ My free time is mainly spent playing video games - I don't have many friends and those I do have don't always have time for me so this is what I revert back to if I don't have somewhere else to be like a performance, lol.

✨️ I drive a black Opel Corsa ecoflex from 2016 and it is my pride and joy. 🫶🏻 Already jokingly told my mom that, if she wants grandkids, she already has one. My car. 😭

✨️ Last but not least, my writing style is quite distinct in the way that I usually write melancholic, if not downright depressing stuff. I guess it's a reflection of my life thus far - again, I will not elaborate.

That should be it from my side for now. If anything else comes into my messy little pea-sized brain, I shall let you know through editing this post - or just completely rewriting it, lmao.

Which means, for now, have a nice one and don't let the bedbugs bite!

- 🍸

[berrypass-de-murdler]

11. The Case of the Coffee Shop Killer

Before that another design for previous character just dropped

Here's Deacon Verdigris! I just made her yesterday, she's a stoat that looks like an angry grandma! She's not actually that old lol she just looks like that. Idk why her icon changed halfway through the book??

And... rip the minimurdle AU T-T Naw I'm still gonna draw baby them I just wanted them to have a noncanon spinoff too ;w;

Baby Slate going 'maybe next time, mudderfucker >:('

Right right the episode. Every character has a design in this episode, yaaaay!! <3

COACH RASPBERRY - TIGER. He's a big, unruly idiot, unsurprisingly, and has the mental state of a 10-year-old boy. He is mortal enemies with Officer Copper, and odd friends with General Coffee. He's huge, but pretty pathetic. He loves playing with stereotypical boyish things like vehicles and weapons.

BOOKIE-WINNER GAINSBORO - Fletch's PERFECT Bookie <3 <3 A book-bound butterfly! He's always angy and a nervous wreck, the poor guy sobs uncontrollably every time he's stressed ;; The photos on his wings display important moments in his life! He is friends with Agent Ink and Chairman Chalk and frenemies with Logico.

DON'T READ THE EPISODES UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK!!

Bored of alcohol, Logico goes to Coffee’s shop instead, but there’s a dead barista.

COFFEE: Welcome to Coffee’s Shop! Have you seen the dead barista?

Two new folks are there too, Coach Raspberry and Bookie-Winner Gainsboro. Logi interrogates them.

COFFEE: It wasn’t me, I own the shop! GAINSBORO: I hate the outdoors, it makes me CRANKY. RASPBERRY: Hur hur, it’s COFFEE! Man alive, he was MY coach when I was a fumble! COFFEE: I was?

Logi gets a REALLY creepy phone call. ‘BOOKIE HAD A BRICK…’ 

LOGICO: I hate this person immensely.

Oh, do ya, Logico? Luckily the short man does it again, because he always does.

LOGICO: How the fuck do you kill someone with a straw?

Raspberry cackles as he’s dragged away. Logico sighs and gets a migraine.

The end!

It has come to may attention that my murdle obsession may be considered... problematic I haven't been this hyperfixated on something in a while and I don't think it's going away anytime soon-

I mean it's literally the ENTIRE blog lmao-

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See ya next time murdlers!

[salty-dracon]

It's crazy how I think up the most painful sidestories at work. Anyway I thought of a sad modification to Flynn's story that really GETS me with how painful it is.

Anyway, so, yeah, I've already spoiled the end of Lostgods for all of you, and that's important because Flynn's story is meant to be given to the reader after they finish Lostgods. It's a sort of epilogue about some of the characters that never got the spotlight.

So Flynn and Verona's story, they're part of a desert cult, they flee using a stolen vehicle to the US army base Moon Town, outside of Sancoline, Lyra told the army to expect them. Now, let's introduce a new character.

His codename for now is The Historian (kind of like Beardy, Blondy, Cue Ball, Spectacles, Labcoat, and Cool Bald Girl). I imagine him kind of like Neuras from Metaphor in terms of general demeanor. He'll have an actual name eventually.

Anyway, the 16 year old Flynn and Verona learn they can't run to Sancoline straight away, but they end up being greeted by this guy who's super curious about the desert cults and what they know about Sancoline. The Historian explains that he works for a government initiative called the Sheepskin Project which researches the city and relays information back to the people. The three exchange information, and the Historian realizes that the kids have been lied to about a lot of things. So he takes them back to his base and he shows them, using a giant telescope, the truth behind the city.

At this point it's implied that The Historian is hyperfixating on Sancoline really strongly- it's basically a "land of the living dead", "an alternate history, an alternate culture that ebbs and flows and dances right before our eyes!" He himself loves all sorts of histories, and Sancoline is a really unique one. He's already accurately noted down a ton about its culture and lore. And that's why he watches the people at the edge of the city with so much joy- because he loves learning what little he can about their culture. At one point he sees a street show and watches a girl wave a flag around, and grows despondent at not knowing what color the flag is.

When Flynn asks the Historian if he wants to go to Sancoline, there's a visible pause, as though he knows he shouldn't say it, before he says, "Yes, I've dedicated my whole life to this city."

Flynn and Verona love listening to him talk, and have a good time with the soldiers who treat the children well (some more out of fear than others). The Historian also grows very sad at the idea of two children willingly walking to their deaths, and wishes he could prevent it, but knows he can't.

Then, continuing the story, suddenly the leader of the cult shows up and threatens to kill everyone. The Historian isn't a fighter, he's a coward, and he runs to the farthest edge of the camp. Flynn and Verona outsmart the cult, at which point Lyra kills everyone within the cult. The Historian witnesses the object of his love basically kill a bunch of its worshippers, and is so despair-stricken by the amount of death that just resulted, that he is unresponsive until the kids show up and tell him that they're fine. The Historian tells them something that in his culture, is a strong blessing, and he comes very close to cursing Lyra. He and the other armymen send them off with lots of mixed feelings, and after that, the Historian outwardly curses Sancoline. He tells the base leader he resigns from his post, and she lets him go with full understanding.

[biffbulliedmetoo]

Cringe isn’t a thing I’m currently hyperfixating on bttf but also PAW patrol…

Marty and Doc in PAW patrol. I have three ideas.

1: Doc’s just…doc (obviously his character would be dumbed down a bit because I mean my nine year old sister can’t even understand bttf lol) and Marty’s his pup companion. Think Jake and Everest, Carlos and Tracker. They still do science stuff and are close companions to Ryder and the pups.

2: the same thing, but Einstein is the pup companion and this time Marty is a human alongside doc!!! I can’t think of a time when there’s been a pup with two owners in the show so this would be interesting!

3: Marty and Doc are both pups. Well, dogs. Doc’s a fully grown dog which again, we haven’t seen any adult dogs in the series so far so this would be cool!!!

In all versions, they’re involved with science and would help invent new things for the PAW patrol. Also Pup!Marty would defo skateboard and I’m thinking his vehicle would either be his truck or the delorean..perhaps time travel could come into the picture?

Please vote on the poll which version you like best, and feel free to help me with this au sort of thing!

[doubleddenden]

Decided to indulge myself with another trainer sprite and trainer card for myself- once again using this site to help with team organization and overall for clean assets and clean asset sizing

More info under the cut

Something different I wanted to do was try to make myself comfortable with easing up my usual shading style.

These two, for instance, are May and Tracey in my usual style (i forget if i uploaded these- these are from ny Ash AU basically). Personally, I think it can pop, but there's also a lot more work put into them and they come across as less authentic, not to mention I'd like to steer towards a simpler style that I can make pop with less shading.

For a standard splice edit, i think it's not too bad. The outfit is based on a combo of clothes I own I wish I felt confident wearing in public, lighter weight clothes I wear in the summer to cool off, and I even gave myself the headband I wear when I do outdoor work. Also, I wanted to indulge a little- I'm getting a bit more muscular and slightly leaner lately, and I wanted a sprite to kind of reflect this.

As for the card itself, it's a modified Academy Key I made previously for a bunch of OCs, and again, I kinda see this as a Keychain kinda deal. There's also sort of influence from a driver's license- grade indicating what type of trainer you are (and not grading percentage in school lol). Kinda like how real life licenses can show certification for normal cars are different vehicles.

I imagine you insert the pass key into a pc like a thumb drive to access your pc and your party that way, with your party being represented and changed digitally.

The team I chose is basically a mix and mash of Pokemon I've had on my mind lately and wanna use more often. It was actually kinda hard to narrow it down due to all the type clashes with my favs (for instance, having Hisuian Samurott, Scizor, Golisopod, Corviknight, Alolan Marowak, and Hisuian Typhlosion would have so much type overlap, and I'm way too picky about that).

They're all Pokemon I've owned and used and could see myself taking a vacation with em.

1. Doujikiri/Shiny Hisuian Samurott, the same shiny I shiny bred for in my Indigo Disk adventure. It was between this or my shiny Umbreon, but I ended up going with Hamurott because it's my favorite starter, and I can see myself walking with it like it's a big dog (which it does in SV) or swim with it.

2. Klamps/Scizor, my main ace in my last playthrough of Soul Silver. I've had a strange hyperfixation on it lately, and who could blame me? It's a cool design. I'd imagine this would probably be the "sakuga" Pokemon- or at least the designated close combat fight scene Pokemon.

3. Lightning/Jolteon, I own 3 but Lightning is the one I used in XD GoD in my first successful playthrough of it. Jolteon actually used to be my favorite eeveelution for a while, and I want a little spunky doggo to run around with

The next three were actually on my Teal Mask team

4. Yoginator/Blood Moon Ursaluna, who is easily one of my strongest mons. Idk, mine hates me lol, so maybe we'd bond.

Nah for real he hates me. This was from a selfie I took in game

5. Hollabax/Baxcalibur. I dunno, he's not particularly strong and tanks hits like a missile through tissue paper, but I kinda wanna vibe with it again. Could see us using its ice to keep cool

6. Shogun/Hisuian Typhlosion. Again, kinda missed mine. Johtonian Typhlosion was my first Pokemon, and I vibed with the Hisuian variant a bit. Could see it as a stand in for my old girl. It was between this and Alolan Marowak, and I just like Typhlosion a little more.

That's all for them.

The team is made using the team maker link, the trainer sprites are a mix of editing from official sprites and scratch work, and the card is a template I made myself.

[okidokidev]

First fictional crush/character hyperfixation? (if this is too personal or you got none then hit me with a joke answer)

Both of these, while different answers, I feel like are things that only developed recently as I started to actually like, digest and internalize media? First fictional crush is Nico Robin from One Piece, I am in a constant flux between "I want you/ I want to be you" with her.

First character hyperfixation, pretend to be surprised now, is Maya Fey from Ace Attorney. When I played the games growing up, I really didn't even think much of any of the characters in that way, honestly. It wasn't until being on Alfred's streams and getting to reacquaint myself with the games and voice her that two wires in my head got crossed, and I like, became obsessed with her overnight.

A big part of it was definitely using her as a vehicle to navigate my budding identity feelings, so when I saw her I would just get this absolute rush of what I can only describe as gender euphoria. To the point that before I had landed on any concrete design for a sona or even Didi, I just asked people go draw Maya in my place in fan art LOL

That aspect has definitely faded with time, but even so I do still genuinely love her as a character and seek out as much art of her as I can. She'll always have a place in my heart.

[xoxoemynn]

19 and 12 for the fic writer ask game!

HOORAY, THANK YOU!

12. a trope you’re really into right now Okay going specifically with OFMD here, but right now I'm very much feeling innkeeper era fics. I want all of their ridiculous shenanigans, I want them learning to live together as a couple, I love them trying to figure out what their lives are going to look like, I love them having all the happy honeymoon phase sex in the world. READY FOR HAPPINESS!!!!

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic Okay I've got two. First, obviously, for the clock boys. Obviously, a lot of research about clocks and how they work and don't work, as well as navigational history. But I think my proudest moment there was how I managed to infiltrate a private Facebook group just for people interested in clock repair. It was 95% grumpy old men talking shop... and then me, peeking in, reading all their posts so I could make sure my clock-based smut had an air of authenticity. "Oh yes, I just BET you used too much oil... so slippery... such a filthy clock."

Second is for the Afterlight Boys WIP I'm still working on and was just a really cool moment! So in the fic Stede and Mary have a relationship loosely inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (for those who did not have an old Hollywood hyperfixation at some point, 1930s actors/dancers famous for making a series of musicals together). I was writing a scene where Stede was going to talk to Mary in her dressing room, but I wasn't sure what film set dressing rooms were like in the 1930s. Were they trailers, were they bungalows, were they something else? So I did a lot of Googling, trying to find any information I could about where actors would get ready to film in the 1930s, and was striking out (mostly because Google kept thinking by trailer I meant advertising trailer, not the vehicle). Then by some small miracle I happened to stumble across a really grainy video with someone giving a tour of Lucille Ball's dressing room. I almost didn't click, because I figured it was the wrong era, but figured what the hell, I've found nothing better. The first thing I hear when I push play? "Before Lucille Ball, this dressing room was used by Ginger Rogers." Yep. Was striking out from finding dressing rooms from generally the same era as the actress I was basing Mary off of, ended up finding the exact dressing room of said actress. Sometimes the internet is really cool. (Also, there's a fun bit of trivia for you. Impress all your friends.)

Ask me fic writer questions!

[nateascendingskies]

A DISSERTATION ON ASTEROID CITY

Leaving a showing of Wes Anderson's latest film "Asteroid City" a few weeks ago, having pondered and puzzled over the anarchic, metatextual and science fiction vibes of the entire project, I was certain of one thing by the end.

I'm pretty sure that Wes Anderson is on the autism spectrum.

Like, there's really no other way to explain his quirky, offbeat, and matte painting filled style - the dude oozes hyperfixation and fascination with the strangest of details, and it's really proven by the way "Asteroid City" plays out.

Early on in the film, one of the three leads, junior astrologer and scientist Woodrow Steinbeck (played by Jake Ryan) is playing a name game of sorts with his fellow Junior Stargazer recipients, wherein one person mentions the name of a famous scientist or artist and the other person adds on to that, continuing in a Simon Says-like chain until it should, theoretically, be hard to follow.

After several names have been said and it's Woodrow's turn again, one of the other stargazers challenges him to name all of the people previously mentioned - in reverse order. He does it flawlessly. Since I know others on the spectrum that could do that with the entire alphabet at a young age, you can probably see where I'm getting at.

Later on in the film, following a military quarantine following the inexplicable arrival of an alien to the titular small town, we see the same stargazers - and what might they be doing now, you might ask? Continuing the same game with gleeful abandon and now throwing celebrities like Marilyn Monroe into the mix.

Of course, this isn't the only spectacularly bizarre detail that appears or re-appears throughout the course of the film. At three separate occasions, a slapstick worthy police chase and shootout involving no less than three vehicles passes through the main road of the town, with little acknowledgment from those who see it other than a shrug. It's not necessarily how the gag plays out in this case, though - rather, it's how it's set up and visually portrayed - almost with a sense of lucid unreality and focus on the particulars of what is happening. It's as if Anderson is relishing in the outright batshit insanity of it all - much like the entirety of the food critic hostage situation segment in The French Dispatch and the entirety of Fantastic Mr. Fox, two of his other works.

When you throw in various similarly odd running jokes involving a dancing roadrunner, someone burning their hand on a patterned griddle, a literal highway overpass to nowhere, real estate being sold from a vending machine, a Rod Serling style-guide who presents the play within a film setup in a loving tribute to the creation of such arts (and even intrudes on the "play's" narrative at one point by pure accidental happenstance), and nuclear bomb tests, it's easy to see why a case could be made for Wes' clear and uniquely neurodiverse position on the spectrum. Everything about "Asteroid City" might seem random at first glance, but there's a clear rhyme and reason to Wes Anderson's madness and how the entire narrative works and plays out.

Neurodivergent brains function in a state that is far from what might be considered societally normal or typical, tending to be drawn towards particular obsessive interests and playing with them in a style or voice that is uniquely their own. Over the course of a few decades, I have developed mine - with a love of films being among them. So, when I see a film like "Asteroid City" and admire its tonal consistency with such a wildly inconsistent set of characters and situations, having a clear love of well placed 50's and 60's musical needle drops and a song about the arrival of a benevolent alien told in an appropriately folksy style (Anderson even apologizes to the inspiration behind the song in the end credits for good comedic measure) in the same manner as my love of motorsports, Pixar films, and the scores of James Horner, I can only once again come to one conclusion.

I'm absolutely sure that Wes Anderson is on the autism spectrum.

[hankwizard]

STARTRIP: SOLAR TOUR

Devlog #1: the basics

A rules-lite resource-management tabletop about taking your band to the stars!

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with sci-fi! But my interest was definitely "silly space magicians throw lasers at each other's cool robots" way instead of, like, the hard stuff that actually tries to be scientific. I like green aliens, stars that twinkle, far-out words with no vowels, and copious amounts of goo in my futuristic works. I was also a massive fan of Scott Pilgrim... Well, the cool parts I hyperfixated on. To me, ideal young adult living consists of going to basement shows, crashing house parties, and smudging eyeliner on purpose. Of course, I'm now in my mid-twenties, so these are all parts of my life (though I'd never be caught dead at a basement show, they usually reek. free dive bar open mic nights are my ride now), and it's still a lifestyle I love writing about, grungy parts and all.

Startrip: Solar Tour! is the marriage of these two things. Set in a future where each planet in the Solar System is at least semi habitable (except for jupiter, fuck jupiter), the goal is to bounce from planet to planet, rockin' out and reaching the next stop in the competition to become the greatest band in the solar system.

I want to post about some of my progress with it :) So far, it's focused on resource management. Your resources are as follows for each individual band member:

(however i may get rid of scrounging... or maybe add an item system? but adding an item system just to justify a skill seems like how you introduce a superfluous system. would love input)

The band will, to put it super simply, combine the scores of their resources to perform certain actions, or may use their own resources individually. Their vans (well, spaceship-vans) will also have resources to manage.

(I'm making an ever-growing list of starter vehicles... Oh man, I should also add ways to switch out your van for a better one, huh? With extra abilities. That would fuck.)

There are some other mechanics too: "Groupies" essentially buff stats for a price, but you can only get so many. Fail states include starvation, getting your ass kicked in, and losing at one of the major band battles. I'm also planning to add a nemesis system for the game's rival bands (of which there shall be many), but that's on the back burner. I want to make a post going over the many different alien species, but i wanna at least have concept doodles to go alongside. Anyways, that's all for now!

[katielovably]

(I watched a story triggering this rant)

While I was learning to drive. My dad was with me and a fox run before me, and apparently, I got hyperfixated on it, and it wasn't until my dad was like "stop! What are you doing?!" Poor fox likely got traumatized.

I hit the ditch a couple of times even lasr (it was winter, by the way)

one time totaling my first car by rolling it because I lost control of my vehicle.

So I drove in to pick up my shop class project (because i live in the farthest point from town). My brothers (because a classmate who was on the same bus as us (who gets dropped off after us) wanted to get home faster convinced me to pick them up from school) and I was in the car. it was is a snow rain situation (because of course the day i want to drive in was the day it snow rain) so i decided to hopefully wait it out so I went to my grandparents place because maybe it'll slow down (it didn't) and my papa was like your better go but go slow. (I have no clue how fast I was going when this happened because it was a blurr)

I was driving along and a red truck was coming towards me. I got over, lost control tried to gain control (but i was 16 I didn't know how to do that that well) and rolled it. Don't worry we were fine but if you look at the car there's a dip where I was where my brothers were fine. We were lucky on our wheels and could get out and a truck and a show plow passing (I mean we weren't that far from my aunt's place so we could have walked. I was so scared after words, whenever I would see that spot i would go back to that point.

I hate driving, it gives me anxiety especially when you live in the middle of nowhere.

I had hit animals but sunks because it was dark and lights didn't see it till it was right there. One time a porcupine for the same reason and I was like well it's going to happen i better hit head on (boy. Did I get sh*t from my dad for that). I also hit am otter (that I didn't know we had) because I live by a lake.

Yeah, if I'm giving an opportunity I won't drive. Like I'm staying at someone's place and their within walking distance of my work. Score! I'll leave my car where I parked. It's nice actual. I mean you have to watch for cars or get barked at by dogs but eh I been doing it since I was a kid. Honestly the town is small and easy to walk yet people gasp when I say "oh, I walked from there" and it's on the other side of town. I once walked from the high school to my grandparent's place (two Opposite sides of town.) Honestly it wasn't hard.

[theghostpinesmusic]

Alright, so this is my last Euro tour write-up, from the last show of Euro tour! I've had a lot of fun doing these jam write-ups over the last few weeks, which kind of surprised me at first, to be honest. Once I share my thoughts on a few of the jams from December's Goosemas run, I'll probably keep doing these, but do less of them (at least until the band starts touring again). Maybe I'll pick some favorites from earlier in 2023? Maybe I'll pick some favorites from shows I've personally attended? If anyone has a request, send it! I can't guarantee I'll get to it, but it would be fun to have audience participation.

Some relevant history: way, way back in the day, I had a Phish show review blog where my stated mission was to listen to and review every show of "Phish 3.0" (basically every show they've played since 2009). I wrote reviews in the blog from 2013 until 2018, and covered most shows up through the band's 2017 summer tour. It was a lot of listening and writing about one band. Maybe obviously in retrospect, what ended up happening was that the constant hyperfocus on Phish and essentially listening specifically to rate each show relative to the others ruined the music for me. I'd been seeing as many Phish shows as I could afford from 2009 through 2016, but by 2017 the music all sounded same-y to me (hint: it wasn't), and so I only saw one run apiece in 2017 and 2018 and then didn't really listen to anything from the band again until 2021. Nowadays, I'm enjoying the band that was my lodestar musical obsession for fifteen years of my life in moderation, but for a long time there I'd sabotaged my own enjoyment through hyperfixation and an insistence on comparing every song and show to every other song and show.

Long story short, for a guy who was born way too late too the Grateful Dead in their prime and slightly too late to see Phish in their prime, over the last four years Goose has become the band I was actually born at the right time for (if that makes sense). As such, I've always been really careful to not "burn out" on them by listening too much, by writing too much about them, and/or by endlessly comparing songs, shows, jams, etc. I was a little worried when I started writing these posts that I was taking the first step down a counterproductive path, but so far, like I said above, it's been fun. I've been trying to approach particular jams instead of entire shows or tours, and to write focused not on the question of "Is this good or not?" but instead on the question "What do I like about this?".

I think that might be a good change to make in areas of my life outside of my Goose fandom, too, but I digress...

Anyway, today's jam/video is a two-parter because that's how the person who posted this video on YouTube chose to do it (in case you didn't figure this out yet, I don't post the videos to YouTube myself, I just find them and write about them). It's a bit like the "The Whales"/"Butter Rum" Thekla post I already did, except this time around the jam comes out of the first song ("Hungersite" while it's the second (and third?) songs that are almost entirely composed rather than improvised.

So, "Hungersite" first. This tune is probably the closest thing Goose has had so far to a radio "hit." They even made a live-action, Office Space-themed video for it, like it's the 90s! It is a catchy-ass song, but it's also chock full of the weird, abstract lyrics and (post)modernist imagery that Rick likes to write so much (and that I like to hear so much).

"Hungersite" has been a jam vehicle for the band basically since it was introduced (2/26/22 first time played), but I feel like it started getting really out there frequently in 2023. The version from the Capitol Theater run in March was an early introduction to the (in my opinion) new tier of improvisation the band discovered this past year, and pretty much every version for the rest of the year that wasn't played at a festival show (fourteen in all!) was incredible in its own way.

I'd say this London version is actually one of my least favorite "Hungersite"s from this year, actually, and that's saying something considering how good it is. Maybe I'll cover some of the others some other time...

Now that I've done such a good job of selling the London "Hungersite," let's get into it!

While I won't wax poetically at length about the song proper here, I particularly love Jeff and Trevor's contributions to the composed parts. All the parts are well thought-out and it really feels like a great indie rock song that stands just fine on its own without a jam.

At the 3:45 mark, the song has a neat, built-in, very Phish-y guitar peak that I (and most people in the crowd on any given night) always look forward to, though now it's hard for me to hear it without thinking of Trey playing it at Radio City.

We return to the chorus one last time after this (love Peter on the organ here!), and then we get a reprise of the song's main riff at 5:25 that leads into the jam proper 5:55.

I might be hearing things here, but in this version it sounds like Rick changes the key of the jam right away, rather than staying in the song's key for any length of time. Regardless, the rhythm section drives things here initially, while it feels like Rick and Peter are both kind of circling each other, feeling things out.

Rick asserts himself a bit more starting at 7:30, and if you listen enough to actually hear Trevor (obligatory mix complaint!) you can hear him and Rick playing off each other here.

Right as things are starting (to me) to sound a little rote, Ben shifts up the beat to something more driving, and that pushes everyone to reconfigure a bit. Some tasteful shredding from Rick ensues. I love the blues riffing at 10:15 in particular.

Rick backs off at 11:05, and we quiet things down a bit. Peter jumping over to the clav over this driving beat is a perfect move, sending the whole jam into a much murkier space. I love how the lighting changes here to suit the sound, too.

The wall of sound that Peter is kicking up between his clav playing and his synths really starts to take center stage around 13:30. I feel like a lot of the jams I write about here feature Rick front and center (and, to a degree, that's because most of Goose's jams do feature him front and center), but I think this is a great example of how he can play rhythm and/or add effects to someone else taking the lead (Peter here, but Trevor too at other times). In fact, a lot of my favorite Goose jamming tends to have Rick in this "support" role, mostly because he's really good at it, but also because it usually means that they're heading somewhere weird and new.

Somewhere around 15:00, this jam turns into a full-band collaboration on a level that all of the best jams do, and then the shit that Rick starts playing at 16:00 just melts my brain and I die.

Okay, I'm being a little hyperbolic here, but this is what I often refer to in my setlist notes as "that baroque shit" and I am fully a sucker for it.

He returns to this riff a few more times (a la the Manchester "Thatch"), and the rest of the band rides the absolute groove they have going into the ground in the meantime. You know it's a good jam when the back-of-the-house camera is visibly shaking up and down.

Rick hits the riff one more time at 20:16 and then it's full steam ahead to an absolutely enormous peak. Unlike a lot of the other jams I've covered recently, "Hungersite" jams tend not to return to/reprise the song proper at the end, so we just crash to a triumphant halt at 21:10 and softly transition out of the noise and reverb into "Seekers On The Ridge Part One."

I don't want this post to get obnoxiously long, but I want to write a short thing about "Seekers." If you don't already know, Goose has a whole pile of songs that contribute to a larger mythology/legendarium (think Phish's Gamehenge, but less goofy). Of the ones I can think of off the top of my head, most of the songs that fit into this sub-oeuvre tend to be more prog-rock-style in their composition, and the lyrics vague, mysterious, and more than a little Joseph-Campbell-esque. I don't write about most of these tunes because, with the notable exception of "Elmeg The Wise" (which I'm sure I'll get to someday), they aren't typically songs that get jammed out. That said, "Seekers" is included in this video, and it's one of my favorite non-jammed things the band plays regularly, so I thought I'd share.

There are two "parts" to the song, and they have almost always been played back-to-back, though they've been separated on a few particularly memorable occasions. There's no long-form improvisation in either part, so everything you're hearing (except for the occasional, brief solo) is entirely composed. I don't have much else to say other than that if you've come this far in reading, you should give the rest of the video a listen!

I absolutely love the chorus to the first part. Peter's piano chords and Trevor's bassline just make it absolutely epic-sounding, especially in person. In fact, I'm tempted to say that Trevor is the MVP of the "Seekers" songs in general. I also never get sick of hearing the transition between the two parts (happens here at 27:30). Peter's Vibe tone at the beginning of the second part (similar to what he plays on "Red Bird") really makes it work.

Rick takes one solo during "Seekers," at in this version it's at 29:55. Sometimes this solo is kind of muted and sometimes he just rips it, presumably depending on his mood. This time, he chooses violence.

And that's all I'm writing about (for now, at least) from Euro tour. It feels like a nice, contemplative note to go out on. Next time, it's Goosemas: In Space!

[agent-yolk-writes]

Team Prime + Reader who works at Monarch (Part 1)

A/N: Don’t look at me. These are just two hyperfixations that were dormant suddenly waking up again after watching TFP and the Monsterverse movies again around the same time. Then I got around to looking at tfp x reader imagines/headcanons/scenarios and oops! An idea was born!

Anyways I hope you like this! If you want to see more of this, or TFP imagines in general, please let me know! I love hearing from people and I want to get back into writing imagines/headcanons again!

Important notes: This is vaguely right before/at the start of the events of the 2014 godzilla movie where monarch was still kinda hush hush to everyone.

Warnings: I might’ve gotten carried away lol

So after an incident at the moth temple, you were more or less placed on a ‘mandatory vacation’ to recover. It’s amazing you even had this kind of job security since Monarch is, technically, a secret organization that the government cannot publicly acknowledge.

Luckily, you just happen to have family in a remote town in Nevada that you haven’t seen in a while. Two birds one stone, right?

You haven’t seen your nephew Raf since he was in kindergarten and look at him! He got so big! Not to mention he’s smart with computers! But at the end of the day, he’s still the quiet, shy kid you’ve come to love since he was born. Don’t tell his siblings, but he’s the favorite.

But when you offered to pick him up after school or go get ice cream together, he would refuse most of the time. At first you were upset, thinking you were breaching on his personal space. However, that sadness turns into fear suspicion when you see Raf climbing into a yellow camaro one day. You know for sure no one in the family drives such a flashy sports car.

He had mentioned having friends that were slightly older than him, but he made no mention about their ability to drive. Since he’s the only one that boards the vehicle, the possibility that it’s a parent of one of the friend’s is ruled out. Is he...being bullied? Or blackmailed? They’re the only reasons you can gather since confronting your nephew only gets you vague answers.

Since you have all the free time in the world, you tried to track the car whenever you see it in town. The keyword here is try. You would think spotting a brightly colored car in a very tiny town would be easy, right? Wrong! Sometimes it’ll make turns that lead to dead ends only for it to disappear when you round the corner! You would expect this behavior from the creatures you study, not cars!

Other times you would see it parked near either a huge green muscle car or a blue motorcycle, sometimes both. You take camp at a nearby establishment and wait for whoever is driving them. Unfortunately, you always lose the waiting game. Maybe you’re getting in over your head. Maybe Serizawa was right about you taking the time off.

Literally the day you were planning to give up the chase, you noticed there’s this...cybernetic purple car that seems to be following you. No matter how fast you’re walking, it seems to be matching your speed. When you enter a store, it would always be waiting for you. You don’t know what their end goal is, but you’re sure as hell ain’t gonna find out. If you’re at risk, then Monarch is at risk. 

~~~

You managed to convince the employees to let you exit out the back door after explaining that someone’s after you, which isn’t too far off. The main shopping center has an alley system that you vaguely remember, so you can easily shake them off there. As soon as you went outside, however, you were immediately greeted by an identical looking car just a few feet away from the door. Not taking any chances to wait around, you ran in the opposite direction. You didn’t even have time to figure out what could you use to throw at this guy to buy you some time.

As soon as you made it out of the system, another car stopped in front of you. What made this one different, however, was the fact that it was that yellow sports car you’ve been following for the past few days. It opened it’s door to you and you can see Raf sitting in the passenger door.

“I’ll explain later, just get in!” He urged you.

[to be continued...]