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#but then as she gets older she becomes the tech genius of the group
disabilityshowdown · 1 year
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[IDs: Taimi is a light skinned asura (a dwarf-like species with large bat ears) with short brown hair and gold eyes. She is dressed in a black and green cybernetic suit. Eli Vance is a black man with a grey beard, wearing a yellow coat, green suit, and black beanie.]
Disabilities: Taimi has a degenerative disease causing chronic pain and limited mobility, Eli is an amputee with a leg prosthetic
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phoebepheebsphibs · 4 months
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Ok so I'd posted some art of my OCs earlier but completely disregarded the fact that y'all on Tumblr have no idea who they are or what their story is...
So I'm fixing that now.
These are the characters from my series "The Future and a Robot"
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The story is basically this...
In the year 2485, teenage genius Julia Gonzales builds an android servant to help her "earn" enough money to post bail for her recently detained father. She names the android Lloyd, an acronym for "life-like optimistic youth droid". However, after the two discovered a small time-traveling device (and Lloyd activated it by accident), the two become stuck in the year 1995, in Westfield, New York.
After being discovered by Harris Smith, Julia and Lloyd are taken in by the Smith family until they can repair the device and return to the future. Harris, a computer nerd and video game enthusiast, becomes infatuated with Julia and curious about Lloyd, befriending him almost immediately... while Julia takes some time to get comfortable and be not quite so prickly.
The group decide to keep the truth about Julia and Lloyd a secret, having them pose as foster kids staying with the Smith family and disguising Lloyd as a human and enrolling the two in the school Harris attends. While there, Lloyd meets Imogen Love Davies, and falls head over heels in love with her, though he can't tell her what he really is.
There's more to the story, and a bunch more characters -- Harris' childhood friend Tyler Bailey (who becomes interested in Julia), Jessica Miller (a flirtatious girl at the school), Montgomery "Gummer" Wickem (the school bully), Ms. Delilah Emelyn (a businesswoman who plans to create massive factories for her tech business once she discovers that something advanced is happening in Westfield) and her assistant Dr. Alger J (her closest colleague and an absolute genius with programming).
I'd share every juicy detail if I could, but I plan to make this whole thing an animated series one day. So in the meantime, tiny stories and non-canonical goofball comics will have to do.
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I also have a lil animation of Lloyd trying to get his rocket feet to work
He's just my lil silly billy... oh I also have some traditional art of them (with an older design of Julia) --
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catlunisciawrites · 9 months
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EARTHBOUND/MOTHER 2 AU IDEA
Oh brain came up with a interesting eartbound/mother 2 au situation, aka what would of happened 10 years later if Ness and the team didn't do the thing in year 19XX (if I remember the year right), like what if they went to take Gigas on when they are older 20 somethings not young teens. More under the cut because damn I had ideas
Giygas would take over the world and it would be post apocalypses most likely a weird tech heavy apocalypse if I think right but lets talk about the kids. They are the more main focus of this pile of blathering of a mad woman.
From what I have thought so far is Paula is well. So she was kidnaped by the Happy Happism cult during the events of the game to make into a priestess of said cult, Now, while there could be a dark turn for her, I disagree, there are lines in the game where she admits she will try to get the hell out...She has Psi powers, she is strong, a glass canon but thats still a canon so she could of taken them down, Now it wouldn't be instant but maybe a couple years of her secretly honing her powers to become stronger, maybe going with the bit till she takes them down from the inside all we know is she escaped and got out. She is very...angry, I think due to not only getting kidnapped by Happy Happism but also other times, She gets kidnapped at least twice in game so I would get very annoyed after a while so her on edge of getting taken would be there. I also like to think if someone does get kidnap she is the first to get up and go save them, not wanting another to deal with what she dealt with. Still with her trusty frying pan to take out those if her psi energy is depleted, her prayers never answered...till Giygas is being taken down similar to end of game.
Poo would be a Prince of a fallen Kingdom. His Kingdom Dalaam did fight against Giygas, fought his armies well but got overwhelmed and taken down, Poo being taken out of kingdom for safety he did fight, but he was then told to leave because someone has to lead Dalaam when Giygas is finally taken down, him knowing of this prophecy due to part of his training, he when better journeys off to not only train and gather the Kings items (which he does get the complete set due to training and battle) He is off to find the others not Ness, He knows this group needs to be made and formed to take Giygas down, its shown in game he was aware of it before Ness even met Buzz Buzz so he is now on this quest.
Jeff Andonuts is interesting my mind, So in this universe I like to think Giygas as a way to make sure he is not taken down has rounded up anyone who uses Psi Powers and has either had them join is side (aka the cowards, the pokeys etc of the world join him) or imprisoned in some horrible way maybe using them for some form of evil may it be a power source or something details not full on that. Which would explain why Dalaam was gone after first they have people who use Psi Powers via Muu Training they are powerful. But what does this have to do with little Jeff here? Well he is never detected, not seen as a threat, even though with his genius skill he defiantly is, heck his very distant father even decided to talk to him when shit went down because he knew both of them together could help others. His lab being used as a shelter almost in Winters. They have been working on weapontry to take down the monsters around them, and even possibly a item that can hide psi users let them use their powers with out being detected. Little finikey on that one right now but I do know he has made a lot of weapons, and really loves using those bottle rockets.
Now you maybe wondering, What about Ness? The main protag of the Earthbound story what did he do since he isn't the one traveling finding the others what will he do? Well when the attacks happened, He was at home with his mom and sister, he used his trusty baseball bat and well SMASH! he has a talent for it, he also has psi abilities and used them to heal his family when they got hurt, That is what he did a lot of when the world became what it is, when not in hiding he was healing, or protecting.
Now Other characters in the story in this au while details not fully fleshed out I have ideas.
Porky/Pokey is a high ranking member of the Giygas army. Shocking no one he bent over to him to keep himself safe and loved by his parents. So you know similar to game. Not much changed with his dysfunctional family. Picky is a good kid still though.
The Runaway 5 is interesting in this AU. So Attack happens building they were forced to work at gets majorly damage, contract more or less null and void now. So they are now free and they travel through out the land in their the van, Giygas doesn't deem them a threat they are a washed up band what will they do? But here is the thing, they are doing something. They do keep bumping into Poo and later on the others when they finally group up. They learn what they have been doing. Poo first talked about the Prophecy of the 3 boys and one girl meant to stop the great evil which is a great story lets be honest. The group use it as inspiration for new songs, using the stories these 4 young 20 somethings and their adventures to try and stop Giygas. The Runaway 5 are the ones bringing hope to the common people, they are the ones relaying what is happening. The families use their concerts as a covert way to learn what is happening to them. The underground resilience against Giygas sing these songs using them as inspiration and hope.
That one day, these 4 young 20 somethings, from different parts of the world, will collect what is needed, and take down Giyas
This is my idea of an au I wrote it down maybe I could possibly work on it some more later on, I have an idea for art of it at least which will take a bit to draw. If anyone is actually interested in this please tell me, I have ideas but I am not the best at like writing the ideas into actual scenes...hence why so much of my fanfic takes a long time to write. It takes me a bit. Would love an opinion.
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Remnants of a Family - "High School/Normal lives" AU
The Hamato Family.
Leo, Mikey, Raph, Donnie, sons of the notorious olympic champion and renowed martial artist Hamato Yoshi.
Mikey is into music, art, and everything colors and emotions involved. Aspires to become an actor and a teacher. He is a social butterfly and is widely popular because he never seems to judge anyone for anything.
Donnie is the math-science-tech genius, straight A's, but allergic to sports and crowds - even though he is good at martial arts because of his father. Aspires to create his own tech empire and leave his mark with his revolutionary ideas. Is driven by passion and spite.
Raph likes fighting. Box, street fighting, roughousing. Doesn't care about school as much, but keeps his grades afloat to avoid Yoshi's nagging. Doesn't always work. Secretly very much into gardening. Wants to open his own flowershop.
Leo is a martial arts prodigy, perfectionist, focused on following Yoshi's footsteps. Popularly reffered to as Yoshi Jr.
Yoshi strives for perfection and expects nothing less from his sons. He became bitter after the divorce (but was he even that different before it happened?) and distanced himself from his younger sons after a fight between him and Raphael when he became 16.
They live in New York. Their mother, Tang Shen, divorced Yoshi and went back to Japan. She didn't keep contact with the boys. Yoshi is the owner of a multinational dojo, with branches in many places, which he wishes to pass on to one of his children. Donnie doesn't care because he doesn't even like fighting that much and has plans of his own, Mikey kinda feels hurt because it's not really fair to expect so much of them, but Raph is very vocal about his opinions on Yoshi pushing that bs on them to justify his favoritism towards Leo, which earns them both some very crazy training sessions. Until he stops training him alltogether.
Yoshi hired an old friend to mentor/babysit his sons when he was busy (which is most of the time), a pilot veteran who learned martial arts with Yoshi after leaving the military. He leaves the boys' training on his hands after that, but tests them from time to time. Leo is still required at the official dojo for one on ones with Yoshi, though. Raph scoffs every time their training is as much as mentioned. The veteran allows them to call him by his old nickname in the forces, Splinter. 'Cause he was small but a pain to get rid of.
Fun facts:
Raph's best friend, Casey, let's him grow plants on his yard. To keep them safe from Yoshi and his brothers (Raph doesn't need anymore teasing, thank you very much). Casey does complain about his little sister's crush on Raph though. They usually play videogames, complain about life, roughouse/fight and garden when Raph comes around, and Lisa is often around when they do so.
Donnie has his whole life planned and tunes out most of the things he doesn't care to keep around for the future. He loves animals but couldn't have any because Yoshi hates furr - especially from cats. His best friend is Timothy, who is a few years older but shares his interest for machinery. They are in the same university, which Donnie got in ahead of his time.
Mikey is in almost every club possible in his school, but his favorites are the theatre and cooking clubs. Sometimes after his actvities he hangs out with his best friends: Armando Guillermo, known as Mondo, and a school dropout called James Peterson, who they call Leatherhead because of his pointy teeth and taste for tight clothing. He soon introduces René Tabitha to the group. (He'd had been calling her Renet for 6 months when she explained that René T. was just her signature. Everyone mocked him but the nickname sticked).
Leo has a pet turtle called Spiky, and is gifted an unnamed mouse later on, he just calls it little bud or baby friend. His closest friend is his rival Oroku Karai from the martial arts competitions. He likes to make up stories and doodle but doesn't do it much (not Yoshi approved).
The boys are close, but some relationships are a bit more closed off than one would expect. Raph doesn't talk to Leo in private except arguments (which usually become non private after the first few yells); Donnie isn't close to Mikey because he envies how almost scot-free his brother's childhood was when compared to his own, but they aren't bitter towards each other; Mikey holds a grudge towards Raph for all the jabs he takes on Leo, but still has a nice relationship with him - even though he takes Leo's side almost every time. Donnie is mostly indifderent and thinks their fights are a waste of time since father would agree with whatever Leo said and Raph would always disagree with whatever was decided.
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nifwatch · 1 year
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Glass Onion
Sigh. Watched the movie. It was... fine? Not great, not bad. Good actors, with one exception.
Lemme start by saying I loved Knives Out. Compared to that, Glass Onion read like a Kim Possible script. And I also liked Kim Possible, but eh, the dumb villain in his tower preparing to destroy the world with Phlebotinum doesn’t have the same punch when you are older.
Yes, my main gripe was the villain. Either he’s a dumb rich conman, or his a social-climbing-genius able to build scientists, politicians and a miracle tech company from scratch. Can’t be both at the same time.
(Side note - Andy was a way more interesting villain. We know she’s a megalomaniac from age 6, we know she’s a con-woman using her Rich Bitch voice to give Ted Talks, she assembles a group of losers with unseen potential and manipulates them into becoming a politician, an influencer, a model, a scientist and a tech-bro, and uses all of them together in order to build her multi-tier empire. And then they realize she’s breaking the world and turn against her - but she fakes her own death by killing her twin sister and goes after them, manipulating a famous detective into helping her along the way. But I digress.)
And I  did get the subtle criticism of real world politics, mostly because the movie was making sure they were unmissable. Which is fine, but again, Kim Possible, by which I mean cartoony.
But eh. Pleasant way to spend an evening, it had both cocktails by the pool AND explosions, and it was set during the pandemic, which was refreshing.
Don’t regret watching it, would not re-watch.
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angelsandarsenic · 2 years
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Dream SMP Top Gun AU
The Kingdom of Essmpi and The Antarctic Empire are at war. A year in, the Antarctic Empire created an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and ensure that the handful of students who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world.
They succeeded.
Today, the AE military calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it Top Gun
The Original Legends
Wilbur and Tommy moved to the Antarctic Empire a couple years ago, when Tommy was just a baby. Of course, by moved, Wilbur tells Tommy, that means they were sent into the AE by their parents when L’Manburg was being taken over by Essempi. It’s all but a crater now, but Wilbur still keeps that flag in his room. He's in the AE navy now, and Tommy tells him he wants to be just like him when he's older--even better. Wilbur tells him not to.
Phil and Techno have been friends and copilots since the very beginning, quickly rising through the ranks to become the two most notorious fliers in the entire air force. Techno is the calm and stoic counter to Phil’s expressive and hyperactive youth, despite him being actually slightly younger. They work together without even having to speak, unfortunately making the top gun instructors split them up as much as possible. Both are fearless and overly eager to improve as much as they can (and show off, of course). They have matching aviator jackets.
Another former citizen of Essempi, Eret doesn’t talk much about their past, where she came from or where they learned to fly. People stopped asking after a while, never getting an answer. only Techno realized Eret was deflecting. He was suspicious at first but they soon became good friends; Eret even became Techno’s default partner when he couldn’t be with Phil.
Having been sailing since she was just a toddler, Puffy was all set to follow her family's military legacy and become the best captain in the navy and probably a multi-starred general. However, as soon as she saw the navy planes coming in to land on her ship and shooting each other down in their fancy dances over her water, she knew she had to be one. She was a natural. Her family was disappointed, but once she got into Top Gun, they couldn’t be more proud.
Phil-call sign: Angel
Eret-call sign: Royal
Techno-call sign: The Blade
Puffy-call sign: The Captain
Wilbur-call sign: Orpheus
When they first got to Top Gun, no one expected how it would end. Least of all Phil. But now isn't the time for that. Now, in the beginning, Phil is the most genius flyer the Antarctic Empire military has ever seen, though they loathe to admit it, because as incredible as Phil is, he's equally as reckless, especially when he flies on his own. He knows he's good and he wants to be the undisputed best, but even more than that he's just loves what he does. Phil wants to reach the very limits, see just how far he can go—one with his plane as he reaches a hand out to caress the skyline.
His classmates at Top Gun are easy to get along with (especially the smart as a whip instructor, Kristen) and Phil quickly becomes a sort of mother hen of the group, most of all to Wilbur. Being split from Techno so often usually puts him (or Tech) with Wilbur and they become even closer than the rest of the group. Wilbur is just as reckless and daring as Phil, if not even more so. Soon, Wilbur and Tommy are spending the holidays at the Craft house with Kristen, practically becoming family. “Tommy looks just like you,” Wilbur tells Phil wistfully. “He acts like you too.” There’s an unspoken end to that sentence hanging in the air. Phil laughs, eyes crinkling in a fond smile. He ruffles both Soot boys’ hair and pulls them into a hug.
When Wilbur betrays them, it’s right over the former country of L’manberg. He isn’t answering his comms, isn’t responding to orders and isn’t flying the plan. Phil had thought he had been acting strangely lately, but he had refused to talk about it. Now, with Wilbur suddenly pulling a risky aerial maneuver that almost runs into Puffy and putting himself directly behind the rest of the Top Gun students, Phil has a sudden moment of realization just before he starts shooting. Miraculously, no one dies, but Puffy gets shot out of the air and has to eject. The rest of them scatter, Eret and Techno going off in one direction and Phil and Wilbur ending up in a death defying dog fight that almost kills them both. Phil tries desperately to get through to Wilbur and make him see sense, but all he gets in reply is static and cut out words, the only distinguishable bit being something about “my L’manberg”. Spiraling way below the hard deck, close enough to the ground to see Puffy’s struggling form under her parachute, he decides he has to kill Wilbur, for the sake of all their lives.
When they return, Eret is nowhere to be seen and Techno is all silent fury, only mumbling “she said ‘it was never meant to be’”.
The Next Generation
Tommy got his nickname, Wildfire, from his unpredictable and dangerous stunts, as well as his need for speed. You can hear him whooping in the sky when he flies and both in and out of the planes, his enthusiasm spreads like Wildfire. He thanks Wilbur for becoming a pilot, otherwise he would never have found his favorite activity. However, he kept being held back from advancing in the Antarctic Empire military because officials would see the last name Soot and hold it against him. He would have been dishonorably discharged for some silly antic by now had Philza not been avidly vouching for him behind the scenes the whole time.
Tubbo and Ranboo have been flying together for the last two years. Each got their nicknames for what they do best—Tubbo, being the youngest pilot to ever fly bombs, even being so good as to be qualified to send a nuke and Ranboo as the air force’s resident sharpshooter, both with handheld guns of all kinds and on planes. He’s competed against the other divisions and always comes out on top, not that they’re happy to admit it, but if you ever need accurate aim, he’s easily the most reliable. They’d both seen Tommy around, but became friends with him in Top Gun and clicked fast, despite Tommy’s constant beef with Phil causing some problems.
Aimsey has always wanted to be a pilot, but thanks to getting her pilots license young, she realized that she couldn’t get the excitement she needed from doing commercial jobs. Their willingness to fight for the country isn’t particularly strong, but their daring and accept all challenges attitude helped them advance quickly. They got their nickname because despite looking like an 11 year old and won’t stop painting daisies on everything, they can and will kick your ass and are most likely to commit arson.
Fundy is a bit of an outcast in the class. Not because of any dislike from anyone, he’s just quiet. The others became friends quite quickly and are all still friendly to him, but he thinks he’s better than the rest of them while simultaneously being insecure that he doesn’t belong there. He knows he’s only top of the class because Tommy gets into so much trouble. He used to be reliable, but after years of doing his best just not quite being good enough, he stopped caring (and actually became the critical one). Ironically, that’s when he really improved. People still call Fundy Furry despite his constant protests. He has on and off great and shitty moments with everyone.
Tommy-call sign: Wildfire
Tubbo-call sign: Nuke
Ranboo-call sign: Sniper
Aimsey-call sign: Trick
Fundy-call sign: Foxy
Tommy was elated to be invited to Top Gun and be instructed by a “national hero”. When he found out that that “hero” was Philza, he wished he could leave. He hated the way Phil looked at him, as if it wasn’t his fault that his brother was dead. (He doesn’t know the truth. He knows that one day a military officer showed up to his house, handed him a folded Antarctic Empire flag and told him his brother had been killed “in a tragic friendly fire accident”. He knew that he went to his brother’s funeral and didn’t get to say goodbye because there was no one to say goodbye to.) Since he couldn’t leave, he made it his mission to be as much of a menace to Philza as he could (much like Rooster to Maverick). It maybe hurt a little bit not letting himself be on good terms with the man who had practically become a father to him and Wil, but blood was thicker than water and Tommy’s heart simultaneously wouldn’t allow it.
It was after being unfairly spared in one too many training exercises that Tommy blew up at Phil and finally learned the truth—how the man had pleaded with the higher ups not to tell the already devastated 14 year old that his brother was a traitor, how he hadn’t wanted to do it—gods he wished he didn’t—but Wilbur was a danger to everyone, how he can’t stand to pretend to shoot at Tommy both because he’s like a son and because he misses Wilbur almost as much as Tommy does. Of course, it’s hard to accept that after holding such a powerful grudge for so long, but his other instructor, Technoblade—a real hero in Tommy’s opinion, having eliminated the known traitor Eret even at the cost of their friendship—helps bring the two back together.  They truly bond once again during a mission, when enemy planes shoot down Tommy and Phil refuses to leave him behind. He “crashes” his plane and joins Tommy behind enemy lines. Knowing that there’s an air base nearby, they plan to steal an enemy aircraft and escape in it. During the trek, Tommy confessed that Wilbur always talked about Phil as family. When they get home, after a very high risk escape, Phil officially adopts Tommy, though he refuses to get rid of the name Soot. Phil doesn’t mind.
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bukojuiice · 3 years
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the way of the househusband — levi ackerman
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ೃ pairing: (husband! levi ackerman x  ceo wifey! reader)
ೃ  There is the “ideal” nuclear family. The one composed of a working husband with a well-paying 9 to 5 job, loving housewife who cooks and cleans, and adoring children who do well in school. However, that idealization is looong gone. What about you and your family? You are the CEO of a Tech Start-up Company who ain’t no trophy wife, Your husband hails from the last line of Ackermans and who temporarily resigns from being a vice executive of your company (just because he doesn’t want to work with young, feeling philanthropist, and genius GenZers) to become a hands-on househusband, and then there’s your little daughter who has the most inquisitive mind and adventurous heart who idolizes her doting father in every shape, way, and form. A month’s absence in your home (due to a business trip) could lead to many many things. But, your husband randomly publishing a self-help book on parenting and being a househusband is not one of those things. 
ೃ genre and warnings: modern au, domestic fluff, baby au, husband au, 
ೃ  my nav  →  my aot masterlist
ೃ 4k words
ೃ Will be referring to hanji as “aunkling” (a cute nickname that some kiddos use to refer to their non-binary relatives <3) because there are no official non-binary terms for aunt and uncle! + your daughter with levi is named amelia and she is just the most precious cinnamon roll
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It’s done. 
The Business Trip is finally over.
A long and painful month of no hugs and playdates with your little princess, Amelia and no time to be pampered with love and affection from your husband, Levi was finally over!
Sometimes, you wonder how you were even able to survive these long-ass trips and conferences. Sure, these month-long trips only happened once a year, but the thought of Amelia getting older and having to miss a day of seeing her grow up and discover the world, really hurt you as all mothers would. Video Calls were enough to satisfy you and give you happy hormones even for just a short while, but still- the longer you’re not with them, the more the yearning lengthens until you’re just riddled with endless thoughts of wanting to get home as soon as possible.
First, let’s set things straight: You are the CEO of a Tech Start-up company who was born into a middle-class family and rose her way up to success. It’s as cliche as it gets but hey! Living a life as if you were in a romantic comedy was the best compliment you’ve ever gotten. 
Along with that, as far as rich families in rom-coms and coming of age movies go, are they all dysfunctional in reality? Not really. Or at least you and Levi promised each other not to end up like that. The Rich Girl meets Poor Boy (with a tragic backstory) cliche however? Yea, that’s a pretty accurate way to describe your love story. Meeting the love of your life in a Coffee Shop is actually pretty common and happens to a lot of people apparently. When Erwin Smith, Levi’s best friend (who is too smart and self-aware to fit the role of a rom-com sidekick by the way) approaches your table to ask if he and Levi could sit with you. (Because of all the days the cafe would be packed, it would be that day.) You said yes of course, and Erwin began oversharing details about the raven-haired man and you were all too invested in learning more about him anyway. Levi grew up in the orphanage after his mother had died and his father was the biggest asshole on the planet for never showing his face, he had to fend for himself after he outgrew the foster system. Starting out as an espionage in an illegal underground gambling empire to a bookkeeper at the Smiths’ bookshop. (Although this is a story for another day)  
Internally swooning over his pretty eyes and resting bitch face...it didn’t take long until the two of you fell in love and... the rest was history!
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You come home to your lavish yet homey apartment in 21 West End Avenue Manhattan to be surprised by your father-daughter duo absolutely knocked out on the couch. Amelia was snuggled up to her father, her feet on his lap and a sleeping position you could not possibly comprehend, a Disney movie playing in the background, and both of them were wearing matching Minion onesies whilst yours was folded neatly on the coffee table just waiting to be worn by you when you got home. 
It was a rare sight to see and you can’t help but just stare lovingly at the wonderful scene before you. Not only was it rare to see Amelia asleep before seeing you (or in the case of your business trips, during your daily video calls with them) but it was also rare to see your husband sleeping so soundly and his insomnia not kicking in. 
Amelia hears your footsteps, her eyes are still shut as she tries to predict what you will do next. She finally assesses when she will make her move and surprise you when you place another fleece blanket on top of them and plant a kiss on both of their temples. your daughter’s eyes suddenly flutter open. Her eyes beaming and glowing off the same light that twinkled in her father’s as she jumps off the couch, making sure not to wake up Levi.
“MOMMY!” She screams in the most quiet volume her cute voice could muster. She runs up to you and envelops you in a tight hug, jumping up and down as she does so. “I missed you Mommy! I missed you soooo much! How was sandbox in K-korea!? Was there a lot of sand!? Did you have a lot of pwaymates there!?”
You giggle at your daughter’s enthusiasm, combing your fingers through her hair. “Lili, Sandbox is like the Silicon Valley of Korea. It isn’t necessarily a sandbox like in a playground, baby.”
“OOOH! JUST LIKE SIWICON VAWWEY!” She chirps, tightening her hug and reaching for your hand and squeezing it. “AH WAIT!” She gently pushes you away and makes a beeline to her room. “ME AND DADDY HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU! BUT CLOSE YOUR EYES FIRST OWKAAY?!” She calls out from her room and you shout back a “yes!” to her in between your giggles, unable to contain the sudden rush of serotonin your daughter had given you from her simple yet adorable antics.
Another trope that you can debunk is that rich moms can be a hands-on parent too! After your maternity leave ended and when Amelia had finally reached her toddler years, you absolutely made sure that you were going to take care of her every second, minute, hour and day of your life. As soon as she turned two, she became the inquisitive, smart and ever so curious little girl you and Levi had always hoped for. She had your (h/c) hair and Levi’s icy yet warm and loving milky grey eyes. If the color of Levi’s reminded you of dark and stormy clouds, Amelia’s was gleaming. Like that of the clouds after a terrible storm. She was an absolute blessing and although you weren’t a perfect mother, (spoiling her more than you should) Levi was an amazing father. Growing up without parents was tough for him and he was going to make sure that Amelia is going to have an amazing childhood and be surrounded by the love of two parents that he never had and never got to experience. 
You always and will forever have trust in Levi. There has never been a day where you doubted him. Despite the impressions and assumptions that people have of him. How he was cold, scary, and even calculating. But, you are always quick to shut down those rumors. They don’t know the Levi Ackerman behind the cold and mighty front he shows. He is a man who has gone through so much and yet has so much love and care to give. How he notices and remembers the littlest details, how he never takes anything for granted and how he loves and cherishes everything so wholeheartedly.
When Amelia turned six, you sadly had to go back to work formally. Right timing too because your genius (with very himbo tendencies) younger cousin, Eren, was about to be part of your start-up company and he had a lot of amazing plans that had to come into fruition. Even bringing in a group of his own friends (who all graduated in MIT by the way!) who are willing to contribute so many amazing ideas and hackathons that were just waiting to happen.
The entrance of these youthful and hopeful genius entrepreneurs also brought about the temporary exit of your very own husband from your very own company. Apparently, working with newly graduated Gen Zers (as a millennial) was too much for him. They were nice and they were going to be a very integral part of the company. But, the boomer inside Levi can’t just can’t keep up with this sudden surge of energy and youthfulness within the higher-ups. It was also a great opportunity for him to take care of Amelia even more. So, you didn’t stop him from doing so! 
It’s been a year since he temporarily resigned and became an official-unofficial househusband. Or as your best friend Hanji likes to put it, You are the Girl Boss and he is the Male Wife. Amelia is now 7 years old and she’s currently taking Ballet classes (Levi picks her up during the weekdays, and the both of you pick her up on the weekends) and has developed a hyperfixation over Sanrio Characters and the Disney movie, Frozen. She was growing up to be a wonderful girl and you just can’t wait to hear what she and Levi had done during your absence.
She skips her way back to you, a book tightly clutched in her hands. “SURPRISE!” Amelia gingerly places a book on your hand. You open your eyes and tilt your head in question at the piece of literature she had just given you as you read the title aloud.  “The Way of the House Husband… written by Levi Ackerman.” Your eyes shift to a little circle on the lower side of the cover,  “The husband of (Y/N) Ackerman, the CEO of Survey Corp Tech…!?” 
“Daddy and I made a book while you were away!” She claps her hands together and grabs the book back from you, turning it to the first page. “See there’s even a dedication! To (Y/N) and Amelia! The two brightest stars in my galaxy!”
“Oh that’s too cheesy. No way would your dad write something like this out of the blue, Lili.” You scoff, shaking your head in disbelief. Your daughter looks at you with downcast eyes while you were still trying to process that your husband literally just wrote a whole-ass book while you were away. “Who helped publish this so quickly, Amelia?”
“Uncle Erwin of course!” She’s frowning for one second and now she’s beaming at you again. “Please please read it mommy! Me and daddy worked really really hard on it!” She taps the hardbound cover of the book in rhythms. “This is the Amelia Edition! Daddy said he cut out some stuff so that it would be okay for me to read and for me to give to you once you get home! It’s my come back home gift for you mommy!” She moves the book to your lap and hops up next to you on the loveseat that you were sitting on. Before you know it, Amelia is resting her head on your shoulder and coaxing you to start reading to her like it was a bedtime story. 
You clear your throat and hold her by the waist so that she can feel more secure in her seat. “Okay… okay… let’s begin shall we? In a kingdom far far away…”
“That’s not how the book is like mommy! Read it properly like the way daddy did!”
“I was just joking, honey. Let’s get started. Rule #1 of the House Husband is…”
Rule #1: Fathers, be good to your children. You are the weight of their world.
“One thing I learned as soon as I was at home practically 24/7 is that your child will be more cautious and weary of you. They will observe you because they look up to you. They will watch your every move, follow you around, and will imitate whatever you say and whatever they hear from you. Talk to them, teach them things they need to know, support them in their hobbies, interests, and even if you have to be the extra princess in her tea party, do it.  The thing is, you will leave an eternal mark on the hearts of your children.”
Amelia got even more closer to Levi when he was finally stationed at home. Always grinning from ear to ear and boasting to her classmates how cool her dad was whenever he would pick her up from school. She was proud to tell them Levi’s heritage even if Amelia never got to meet her Grandma Ackerman and Grandpa Ackerman. When Levi would take her out for errands, may they be groceries, cleaning the house, baking, cooking, laundry, or just going on his morning jog, Amelia would be there to accompany him. In fact, she’s gone shopping with Levi so many times that she has memorized the brand names of cleaning detergent and bleach before she could even memorize the multiplication table.
 She’s even caught up with her father’s cynical sense of humor. And because of that, Levi had to tone down on his sardonic jokes around the little girl. Levi wasn’t necessarily physically affectionate but he does soften around Amelia as the little girl never fails to supply him with endless hugs and kisses on the cheek. She may be both a Mommy’s and Daddy’s girl, but the way she looks up to Levi is the kind of father-daughter bond that you hardly see in real life. She aspires to be like him. Even if there were times where she would be scolded by you both, (most especially Levi) she never took that against you.  She sees all the good and positive sides of your husband that others outside of your circle fail to see.
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Rule #2: Let your children know that they have other “guardian angels” who they can rely on aside from their parents.
“My daughter has both my wife and I’s best friends to learn from or to look up to. Her kooky aunkling and her blunt uncle have become one of the most precious people in her life. Even the young ins working at Survey Corp Tech have become older siblings to her and get along with her so well. Remember that there will always be close relatives or friends who can and will help them when they lose their way. Let them spread sunshine and love to others.”
Whether it’s a regular trip to Coney Island or your monthly trips to Disneyland, Hanji or Erwin would totally tag along. Amelia absolutely loves and vibes with Hanji’s quirkiness so well. They would wear matching Mickey Mouse ears, ride the kiddie roller coaster that Amelia wanted to ride on a million times per visit, buy her all the ice cream and treats she wants (despite Levi’s warnings and the reprimanding that Hanji has to suffer from the both of you right after.) They just want Amelia to experience all the fun, the joy, and innocence of living in the moment. As a kid, it’s better if she sees how precious life is, how she should cherish it and that she doesn’t have to grow up so fast just yet. 
Erwin on the other hand, brought out Amelia’s intellectual side more. As soon as a new and critically acclaimed children’s book hit the shelves, you bet Amelia has a copy right away. Whenever Levi would take her to Erwin’s bookstore, she wanders around like it’s this huge mysterious archive that can only be accessed by her. The Adults section is forbidden, so were the cheap romance novels in the back, and the books written by youtubers. God forbid she read those. When her Uncle Erwin got her into reading Roald Dahl’s children’s books, you had to watch Amelia run around the penthouse with a little red ribbon tied on top of her hair, wanting to be referred to as Matilda, along with you and Levi having to pretend that she had telekinetic powers for 6 months straight. It was her cutest phase yet and you just know there were many more to come. 
There were also Eren and his friends who loved Amelia dearly whenever she came over to visit. Your little cousin refused to be called Uncle Eren and instead wanted to be called big bro, and in which Amelia happily complied. Whenever it was Amelia’s weekly “Visit Mommy at Work” day, she had her own room in your office where Eren and your other young associates would babysit her. In fact, they would actually take turns in babysitting at your condo whenever you and Levi went out for date night. Amelia was introduced to playing video games like Animal Crossing and Pokemon solely because of them (more specifically because of big bro Jean, big sis Sasha, and big bro connie.) They even ended up influencing her to watch anime when her big brother “Minmin” and big sis “Mimi” accidentally left the TV on and Amelia literally binge-watched half of the existing Studio Ghibli movies to this date. 
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Rule #3: Your children will think that you are Superman or Iron Man. Make sure to act like them and never let them down by ruining their innocence and imagination.”
(A little note was attached to this page: Please don’t let Amelia read this. Read her a fairy tale instead while skimming through this.)
“It all started when my daughter found an entire encyclopedia on ancient and legendary family clans around the world. The Ackerman clan was on the very first page after the intro and she read through all 50 pages of it. The look of awe on her face when she read that her dad’s ancestors exhibit physical abilities much higher than the average human. In a 7 year old’s mind and vocabulary, that automatically translates to a superhero akin to that of Superman. 
Ever since then, My daughter has forced me to become more creative with doing very mundane tasks and chores. I pretend to have superpowers. Such as teleporting around the house whilst cleaning. I tell her to close her eyes or else my teleportation powers won’t work. Then when I cook in the kitchen and she watches me intently, I tell her that the salt and pepper have magical properties that only I can touch and hold because to her, at that moment, I was “Doctor Stwange.”
and one time, when I picked her up from school, she was babbling on about how she told her friends and playmates that she had two superhero parents she was very proud of. Then one of the other kids asked if I was a strong soldier who killed huge humanoid monsters using sharp blades. To which I replied that could have possibly happened in a different universe. Her hearty laughs and giggles whenever she sees me using my superpowers makes me anxious over the fact I have to tell her someday that my powers never existed.”
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Whilst you were on your monthly trip, you and Levi would have private video calls whenever Amelia was finally put to bed. There, he told you about what happened in Amelia’s ballet classes that week and how the single mothers were more persistent than usual.
They could clearly see that Levi was not interested but apparently the fact that your husband waving his ring finger every single time someone approached him wasn’t obvious enough, apparently the fact that he was married made the risk even more worth it to these prying moms who had nothing better to do. It wasn’t until Amelia had enough and respectfully called them out by saying that his dad was married and he was never going to be interested in Karens (a slang word that she learned from Eren and friends) Since then, the invasion of parent to parent boundaries had finally stopped. Levi was very relieved and at ease whilst telling you the story yet you were laughing your heart out at the ingenious remarks of your very own daughter on top of the irresistible charm and looks of your own husband that made single mothers be damned. 
Rule #4: The most important rule of all: Love your spouse as you want your children to be loved in the future.
“Since my wife is on a business trip right now as I type this and she may or may not know that I had written this book for her to read when she comes home, my daughter came up to me a few days ago and told me how she missed her mom so much. The video calls we had every night were not enough to satisfy her for the remaining days her mother would be gone. She then proceeds to tell me that she loves the way I love (Y/N). My daughter loved how patient I was and how I supported her through every endeavor that her mother had ever thought up with that brilliant mind of hers. She mentioned how I was there for her through every success and failure, through hardships, difficulties and misunderstandings. My daughter was happy because I stuck with her mother through everything. All the pain, suffering, conflicts that we both experienced individually and as husband and wife. Little ears and little eyes are watching and observing the actions and sweet gestures of their parents. Make sure to remember that.”
“What is gravy (grief) if not love persevewing?” (persevering) My daughter had even recounted a quote from the Disney Marvel show, WandaVision just to prove a point to me. That was when I realized something and decided to list down a few things: 
1. The best lovers are the best of friends.
Levi’s relationship with you was rocky at first simply because the two of you didn’t have a lot in common. Your personalities clashed and the two of you could barely make things work in the beginning. He was always well-dressed, on time, and was very prim and proper. However, Levi was cold, strict, and unapproachable. You on the other-hand were quite the opposite. You used to arrive late, didn’t care too much about your style as long as you wore the appropriate outfit, but you were carefree, laidback and friendly. Having to set aside your differences was a process that required sacrifice, time, and effort. It took long and a lot of petty arguments before the two of you fully understood each other, accepted each other's faults and quirks, and became even closer. Both as friends and lovers. You and Levi treat each other not as just the “person I love and I’m married to for the rest of my life”, but also as a best friend for life. Soulmates
2. Their dreams are just as important as yours.
Levi’s dream was to open up a tea shop and start a family with you. That was all he ever wanted. The blissful simplicity of his in comparison to your techy and out of this world ambitions, goes to show how much they weigh as aspirations and wants in life. You have to value your significant other’s dreams and ambitions just as much as you highly value yours. No matter how hard or how simple they are, the both of you can achieve it with the help of each other. The only thing left in your agenda was to open up his long-awaited Tea Shop. You were about to surprise him with the plans of opening one up on the day of his birthday, and you just can’t wait for that day to finally come.
3. You have to let them be free.
Levi absolutely knew what he was getting into when he met you. It was love at first sight when he met you, He drunkenly admitted that one time when he’s had too much champagne on your friday date night. He knew that you were an adventurer. A wandering soul who had a goal and a purpose set in stone. He always knew you were going to reach greater heights and he knew that you would never leave him behind and would always have him go on a ride. He’s always known about your capabilities and your potential and he didn’t want you to stray away from that. And, if the time were to come that you had to leave him behind to soar greater heights, he’d understand that. He’d always let you be free and make sure you don’t fly too close to the sun. That was just how selfless Levi is. The thing is, he knows you would do the same for him. It was a perfect balance. 
4. It is an honor to love and to be loved by them.
To be wrapped in the arms of someone who feels like home or has become the definition of home, To be stargazing with on a chilly summer night in where you talk about your future and your plans, To be sharing a cup of coffee or tea with in the morning and begrudgingly dancing with you against his will, To be watching your child playing in her room and do nothing but look adoringly at the most precious soul to have ever been produced by your encompassing love, and to be spending the rest of your life with someone who has done nothing but be with you through every pivotal moment in your life was such an honor. 
It is an honor to be loved by Levi, as he is honored to be loved by you. 
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“...The end.” You close the book with a deep but contented sigh. Tears were welling up in your eyes and you’re trying your best not to break down in front of Amelia. 
“Mommy… are you crying?” She tilts her head in inquiry. “Is it because you’re tired from work?”
“No. baby. These are happy tears, Lili. Don’t worry.”
Before you could speak up once more, you notice Levi had slowly sprung up from the couch, and began to stretch his arms. His eyes widen when he sees you from the opposite couch. “(Y/N)... you were supposed to arrive at 6 AM right? Amelia and I were supposed to pick you-”
Amelia opens her mouth to speak as she jumps down from the couch and crawls up to sit next to Levi. “Daddy! I showed Mommy the book you wrote! She loved it! Right, Mommy?”
“You did?” Your husband perks up from his seat, clearing his throat. “T-that’s not the entire book yet by the way. We had to give back the original copies to Erwin for reprinting. The self-help book is currently rising up the charts to be a New York Times Best Seller.” 
Before Levi could properly react, you move to the free space on the couch next to him. Holding his hand and gazing into his forlorn yet loving eyes, you muttered. “Love, that’s amazing. I’m really really proud of you. Next time though, please do tell me that you’ve written a self-help book and dethroned all those mommy authors from the bestselling charts.” 
Levi stifles a laugh, stroking your thumb and bringing you and Amelia closer to him for warmth. “I will. I will.” 
Amelia looks up at the two of you, squeezing out of the sandwich, so that you and Levi can have your quality time with each other. “Goodnight Mom! Goodnight Dad!” She approaches the two of you so that she can be given her nightly kiss on the cheek as she retreats to her room. 
“What if I write a novel too?” You joke, snuggling up to Levi, your husband wrapping his arm around you. “The title could be… The way of the Wife boss?” 
“That could be a good sequel. A shared book universe. Then, Amelia could continue the collection when we’re old and sour as hell.” Levi mused.
“Pfft. I guess only time will tell. I love you Levi.”
“I love you too (Y/N).”
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speckostardust · 2 years
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@heropartnerweek day 7! All five of my teams join up for a group photo. More info for each of them under the split!
Rescue Team Magenta:
Sam the Raichu
Female Human, woke 13 years ago
Master Strategist
Remembers little about her human life
Memer
"You seen a Taco Bell 'round here? I'm kinda hungry." *Rubs stomach and drools*
Extras: Loves her life as a Pokémon, misses some human things.
Charles the Charmeleon
Male Partner
Brute Force
Average heroic personality
"We have to save them! It's our duty to do the right thing!" *Punches chest*
Extras: Charizard from team ACT is his brother.
Exploration Team Sky:
N #014 the Riolu
Male Human, woke 9 years ago
Item Master
Remembers the hours before he became a Pokemon
Speaks pessimistic, actions completely contradict that
"I'll die if I try to save them." *Goes to try and save them*
Extras: Not from a different world like the others. He was an experiment thousands of years ago titled "N #014" for a sickness/cancer treatment by changing cells or some shit into Pokémon cells. Married to Jax.
Jax the Grovyle
Male Partner
Critical Hit
Nervous, easily scared, tries to act bravely despite that
"I-I'm not too sure about this. B-But I have to!" *Runs in after N*
Extras: Married to N. Was the Grovyle from the future, but when N came back in time he was still a Treecko.
Paradise Team Oasis:
Toki the Tepig
Female Human, woke 5 years ago
Remembers some of her human life
Kind, sympathetic, all that jazz
"I just want to make a place where any and all Pokemon can live in peace."
Extras: Much too big to be a regular Tepig. Her eyes glow red sometimes.
Nara the Oshawott
Female Partner
Airheaded
"A paradise for everyone... that's my dream." *Daydreaming*
Extras: Only fights if she has to.
Expedition Team Super:
Champ the Chespin
Male Human, woke 1 year ago
Tech Genius,
Remembers some of his human life
Extremely intelligent, barely speaks.
"..." *Determined look*
Extras: Older sister was Champion Diana
Fin the Fennekin
Female Partner
Extremely hyperactive and excitable
"Come on, let's go! We'll save the world and have some fun!" *Cheering with fist in the air*
Extras: Neurodivergent on some level. Has a hard time grasping knowledge, needs physical examples.
Paladin Guild's Team Sunshine
Z #026 the Buizel
Male Human, woke 300 years ago
Paladin Headmaster
Remembers hours before getting isekai'd
"A ton of other people would do bad stuff with the power I have. But I think I can make the world a whole lot better!"
Extras: In the same experimentation boat as N. Married to Alai the Zangoose. Has eight children with Alai (about 20 years ago), all adopted: Ashford the Alakazam, Ethan the Typhlosion, May the Toxicroak, Pearl the Staraptor, Warren the Sneasler, Serena the Pangoro, Elio the Hakamo-o, and Gloria the Dubwool. Ashford the Alakazam is the Alakazam from team ACT. Ethan and Elio are named after past humans.
Alai the Zangoose
Male Partner
Paladin Headmaster
Unusually optimistic
"I'll be an adventurer until I die, become a Gengar, then die again!"
Extras: Shiny, married to Z.
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Tricked Into It (Greg Gerwitz x Reader)
Word Count: 1,957
Pairing: Greg Gerwitz aka Mouse x Reader
Summary: Ever since your last breakup with someone who cheated and abused the love you had for them, you have been wary of dating. And it doesn’t help when your friend Kim Burgess won’t stop pestering you about some cute techie guy at the 21st District.
Warnings: talk of bad relationship (cheating, emotional abuse, PTSD from the relationship), descriptions of what might be an anxiety attack (I described feeling anxious but it ended up bordering on what could have almost been an attack.)
A/N: So I am working on a Kelly Severide Imagine, but I’m a but stuck on it so I came up with the idea that I take the last imagine I wrote, the other Mouse Imagine and make it into a little series of one shots, mainly cause I wanted to explore the relationship of Mouse and this librarian!reader. So this is a sort of prequel to the first Mouse imagine, how they first met which is talked about in the other imagine.
HERE is the first Librarian!Reader fic if you want to check it out!!
If you want to be added to my tags, just ASK!!
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“Kim, I swear to god!”
You slammed your book shut with a snap and looked up at the Chicago police officer, aka Kim Burgess aka your best friend, in front of you. She looked almost as annoyed as you felt, rolling her eyes and sitting down on your couch across you in your reading chair. Kim had come over after her shift at the 21st District ended, and only after a couple of minutes of peace, Kim started up on her latest crusade; your love life.
“Y/N...”
“No! I get that you care, believe me, but I don’t need you trying to set me up with someone.” You said with a heavy sigh. 
Kim scooted closer to you and leaned forward, trying to catch your eye which was avoiding hers, “Hey,” She paused and waited for you to look her in the eye, “I just want you to be happy. And I think this guy is a good match for you. Much better than -”
“Don’t say their name.”
“...Fine. But Mouse is so your type!”
You were about to start arguing again when her words actually registered into your head, “His name is Mouse? There is no way that this cop’s name is Mouse.”
“Okay one, he isn’t a cop. He is a tech expert that works with Intelligence, a civilian hired by the unit and the department. And two, Mouse is just what everyone calls him, its a nickname from when he was younger.” Kim explained.
“Tech guy?” 
“Yeah, crazy smart when it comes to hacking and stuff like that. He got the job after hacking into Voight’s cell phone in like a couple of seconds. And he was in the Rangers with Jay, plus he is pretty funny and cute.”
You looked away from Kim as you thought it through. Clearly Kim was just looking out for you, but there was no way this guy, this super-smart-tech-genius-ex-ranger, could ever be interested in someone like you. You were just a simple librarian at Chicago Public Library, living alone aside from your cat companion, Geraldine. You hadn’t done anything extraordinary with your life, and as your thought process started to spiral in an anxious tizzy, you started to shake your head.
“No, no I can’t see this guy. He wouldn’t want to get stuck with some boring librarian.” You said, your body shrinking in on itself as your self confidence crumbled. All the comments your ex significant other made to you while you were still dating came popping up into your mind one after the other after the other. Comments on your weight, your looks, how you were boring and that was why they stepped out and cheated on you any chance they could. Tears were misting in your eyes and you tried blinking them away, not wanting to cry in front of Kim.
“Y/N-”
“I mean it Kim. Drop it.”
Kim looked you over and saw how you had retreated into yourself, clearly looking uncomfortable with the topic. That’s when she sighed and nodded, forcing a small smile on her face, “Okay.”
                                                        ---
A week has passed since the confrontation with Kim about that techie guy, and you were slowly trying to purge the whole instance from your head and get back to your quiet life. Every once in a while, the conversation would slide to the forefront of your mind, along with your anxiety-fueled spiral about your ex, and you would try and shake away the ordeal. It had made you feel small and disgusting thinking about your ex and how your self worth was diminished because of them, and you never wanted to go back to that place again. Even if that meant never being in another relationship again.
On Friday, you had gotten a text from Kim around midday about having a girl’s night and heading out to have a drink at Molly’s, this pub which had become pretty popular with the cops of the Intelligence Unit. You had been once before, and one of the owners, Gabbie Dawson, was really nice to you when Kim introduced her. So you agreed, excited to go out and hang out with Kim. 
Once you got out of work around 6, you got back to your small one bedroom apartment and fed Geraldine before retreating to your room to figure out what to wear. You settled on a pair of slender black pants and a long sleeved dark green blouse matched with a pair of green heels. Once you showered, dried and got your hair the exact way you like it, added a little makeup and got dressed, it was time to head out and meet Kim at Molly’s. You drove to the neighborhood where the pub was, some cars already lining the streets letting you know that Molly’s would probably be busy.
You parked, and hurried to get inside, pulling your winter coat around you a litter tighter as a gust of wind tried to chill you to the bone. The November night air was lung chilling and while you weren’t dressed like those young twenty-somethings with short dresses and no coats, you still did not want to waste another second with the wind chill. Once you got in, you saw that your assumption about the pub being busy was right, many people scattered around the bar, others in groups were seated or standing next to tables against the other wall. You looked around, trying to catch Kim’s face in the crowd but having trouble with how crowded. You pealed off your coat and made your way to the bar where you saw an older man behind the counter, cleaning off a glass. 
“Excuse me?” You said, slipping into the space in front of the bar, and accidentally grazing your arm against the guy sitting down to your right, “Oh sorry.” You said quickly to the guy, not really looking in his direction so you didn’t notice when he started staring at you in awe.
“What can I get ya?” The older man said as he put the glass down and gave you his full attention.
“I know this is probably a long shot, but my friend comes to this bar a lot and I was just wondering if you’ve seen her tonight? Kim Burgess?”
“Ah! I know Burgess. From the 21st District?”
“Yeah! Yes, that’s her.”
The man smiled before turning around and grabbing something from behind the bar and then turned back to you, “I haven’t seen her, but she called about 5 minutes ago saying that her friend would be stopping by tonight. She also said to get her a vodka cranberry on her and to give her this.”
He handed you a napkin and then turned away, most likely to get your drink ready. You looked down at the napkin with a rough note written on it, reading out loud the note, “Hey, something came up super last minute, have a drink on me and enjoy the night. Sorry, --Kim.”
“Sorry about that, kid.” The man said as he returned with your drink, giving you a warm smile that also had a hint of pity in it. 
“No problem. It’s not your fault.”
With one more smile he headed towards the other end of the bar, leaving you with your drink. You let out a sigh and brought the drink to your lips, trying to figure out what you were going to do next when a voice from next to you started speaking.
“You’re friends with Burgess?”
Looking over, it was the guy you had apologized to earlier. Now that you weren’t in a rush to find Kim, you got a good look at him. He had brown hair, you could almost consider it floppy-like if it didn’t also have a clean-cut feel to it. The man’s eyes were bright blue, and they looked at you with a mix of intrigue and surprise. He was wearing a blue button-up which matched his eyes, the first few buttons undone.
“Yeah, do you know her?” You asked. He nodded and looked down to his beer bottle, his fingers anxiously playing with the paper label.
“I-I work with her at the district.” He explained. “Are you one of her flight attendant friends?”
“No, god no. I’m a librarian at the Chicago Public Library.”
“Oh, that’s cool.”
“You don’t have to lie. I know it’s boring..”
“No! I genuinely think it’s cool. I-I mean I’m not a huge book guy myself but-but I did read a lot of Shakespeare in school and that was really cool, especially the-the one about the guy who dressed as a woman to hide from a mob or something and everyone thought he was a witch?” The guy rambled, his face flushing as he tried to save himself. You smirked at the clumsiness of his words and took a drink of your cocktail.
“The Merry Wives of Windsor?” You offered, and the guy snapped at the name.
“Yeah, yeah. The whole play now that I think about it went over my head at 16. But I was too interested in the Blackhawks and code. Like-Like the game that happened the other night, I was invested until that left winger from the Rangers totally checked Hartman and they put-”
“Hartman in the penalty box! Yes!! With only 3 minutes left on the clock and the take out the best right winger on the ice.” You jumped in, a smile growing on your face as the topic of hockey came up. “If he was still playing the Blackhawks would have got at least 2 more points and would have won instead of losing to the worst team in the league.”
The guy sputtered his drink and starts laughing, and immediately think its cause you had embarrassed yourself and he was laughing at you, not what you said. That was until he smiled at you and nodded his head. 
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
You felt a small fluttering in you chest when he smiled, something about him not making you nervous or anxious which was a change. With a smile on your own face, you put your hand out to him, “I’m Y/N by the way. Y/N L/N.”
“Greg Gerwitz.” Greg took your hand and shook it, lingering for a couple extra seconds before pulling away. “Or you can call me Mouse.”
You froze as he said that, your eyes widening in shock. He seemed to see your reaction and frowned, “Or not?”
“No, sorry.” You said quickly, trying to recover. “It-Its just that Burgess has been trying to set me up with you for the last few weeks.”
“Wait...oh! You’re that librarian! Burgess has been telling me about you too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, says how you are the best person ever and that I would like you the minute we met.” He chuckled. Greg smirked and turned more towards you, “And she wasn’t wrong.”
You flushed, feeling the heat of your blush against your cheeks as his smirk widened. It was quiet between the two of you as the pub continued with it’s noise like it wasn’t watching the start of something amazing. Greg then spoke up, getting your attention again, “Hey, I know this might seem fast but I really like talking to you.”
“I really like talking to you too.”
“Really?” He asked, his face getting red again as his smirk melted away into a nervous smile, “Well, what would you say about a date? Maybe the Blackhawks game tomorrow?”
It took quicker than you thought, but all your anxiety from the week before seemed like a long lost bad dream and you just wanted to spend some time with Greg Gerwitz.
“I would love to.”
ONE CHICAGO TAGS: @carnationworld​ 
NORMAL TAGS:  @l4life​ @ithoughtiwasflying
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keykeylocke · 3 years
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Start-Up Review
Warning: Spoilers
Rating: 1 / 3 
This drama made me angry. I didn’t even watch the last three episodes. I rebuke everything that happened after the 3 year time jump. Han Ji-Pyeong deserved better.
Summary
Seo Dal-Mi is twelve years old. Her parents have recently divorced. She chooses to stay with her father in Korea, while her older sister In-Jae moves to America with their mother and stepfather. 
Dal-Mi’s grandmother, Won-Deuk is the owner of a hot dog shop. With her mother leaving, Grandma becomes concerned about Dal-Mi. 
One day Grandma meets an orphan named Han Ji-Pyeong. Ji-Pyeong has aged out of the orphanage, but cannot find an apartment to rent, because he is only 17. He won’t go to college for a few months and needs a place to stay in the meantime. Grandma offers him a place to sleep in the back of the hot dog shop, unbeknownst to her family. 
In exchange for her kindness Ji-Pyeong agrees to write letters to Dal-Mi posing as a student her age, named Nam Do-San. A name they chose from an article in the newspaper. Grandma thinks these letters will cheer up Dal-Mi who is dealing with feeling abandoned by her mother and sister. It works. Dal-Mi feels comforted by Ji-Pyeong’s letters. However, when Ji-Pyeong goes to college the letters suddenly stop. 
Fifteen years later, Dal-Mi is feeling unfulfilled in her life. She longs for the comfort she felt from her pen pal and first love Nam Do-San. She goes on a search to find him, but who will she find, Han Ji-pyeong who wrote the letters or Nam Do-San the young math genius whose name Grandma and Ji-Pyeong randomly found in the paper?
Song Suggestion: Lie by BTS Jimin
Grandma and Ji-Pyeong were caught in a lie.
Also did anyone think the male hacker twin looked like Jimin. His hairstyle and his colorful sweaters and earrings were giving me Park Jimin vibes.
Likes
-Kim Seon Ho’s acting. I was already a fan of his, because I watched him in 100 Days My Prince. He is actually the only reason why I considered watching this drama. I saw him in the trailer and decided to watch it. 
-Good visuals. All the shots filmed near the Han River looked so beautiful. It made me want to visit Seoul one day.
-The secret of the letter made the story interesting. As a viewer you wanted to know when and how Dal-Mi would find out. (Although the letters were a good plot device. I sometimes felt like I was watching the most elaborate episode of MTV’s Catfish.)
-I liked that this drama took on social topics like suicide, how techological advancements can negatively effect older workers, and how companies can take advantage of young workers with passion pay.
Dislikes
-3 year time jump. It didn’t seem like any character grew over the three years. 
-Ji-Pyeong being blamed for Yong-San’s brother’s death.
-The letters were not discussed by Dal-Mi and Ji-Pyeong or Dal-Mi and Grandma. They became insignificant for several episodes. Then, at the end of the series Do-San uses it as some sort of power grab between him and Ji-Pyeong.
-Do-San fighting Ji-Pyeong. It was not Ji-Pyeong’s fault that the deal with 2STO fell through. Do-San never actually told the rest of Samsan Tech that Alex met with him privately and tried to recruit him to 2STO by himself.
-Samsan Tech constantly complained about Ji-Pyeong when he only told them the truth about their company. Ji-Pyeong told them they didn’t know how to market Do-San’s technology and make it profitable. He was right. They literally used his idea to form a nonprofit type of service. They were helping the visually impaired, but they were not making money. Ji-Pyeong also said they would never find an investor for the company. He was right about that too. They only got Morning Group to invest, because they blackmailed them and 2STO did not invest in Samsan Tech, they dissolved the company.
-I hated Dal-Mi’s relationship with her mom and her sister. The abandonment she went through as a child was never really addressed (from what I watched).
-Dal-Mi and Do-San were relatable, because they were both sort of underdogs trying to make it. However, they never seemed to grow throughout the show. They showed a lot of immature behavior throughout the entire series.
-The love triangle was overused. If Dal-Mi wasn’t going to end up with Ji-Pyeong why string him and the audience along until basically the last episode. Also why do we get In-Jae showing interest in Ji-Pyeong for two seconds. This drama had 16 episodes. Was there really no time to explore that potential connection?
Favorites
Favorite Characters
-Ji-Pyeong: He had such a compelling story as an orphan who overcame adversity and became successful. He loved grandma. Although he did yell at her a couple of times. He was so conflicted, but just like BTS V he is a Good Boy. He fell in love with Dal-Mi because she is so much like Grandma. She is very kind and giving. He really is a sweet guy who seems really confident, but is actually very lonely.
-Grandma: I wanted to contact the Pope and suggest that Grandma become a saint. She took Ji-Pyeong in when he was homeless. She fed him, gave him new shoes, and started a bank account for him. She became Dal-Mi’s sole guardian and never complained. Then, she took in her daughter-in-law and gave her a job so she could escape her abusive husband. She had to suffer through the devastating loss of her son, but put on a brave face for Dal-Mi. (It was nice that she sort of gained a son through her relationship with Ji-Pyeong.)
-Do-San’s Dad: He showed how tech can negatively affect older people. Although he seemed like he was putting a lot of pressure on Do-San, he just really wanted his son to be successful and live a good life.
Favorite Scenes
-When Do-San’s dad shows up at Sandbox and says his little speech about how older people like the slow pace and younger people like fast paced technology, but both are needed in society not just one. I think this is true.
-When Do-San tells his dad that they don't have to be each other’s pride and joy. They can just be father and son. This is the way a lot of people feel about their parents, but they may never say it. It is a beautiful scene.
-Any scene where Grandma calls Ji-Pyeong Good Boy or holds his face.
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hendrickfw · 3 years
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A ray of hope/LU AU
The end was near. An enormous asteroid, a hundred kilometers wide, was about to impact Earth. The last time it happened was about seven hundred years ago, during the golden years of heroism. A young white duck astronomer wearing a red jacket watched through his telescope, noting the object getting closer to Earth.
-Jet? Please turn off the light and get to sleep.
Jet´s brother, Turbo, was sleeping in a blue pajama. He stood up and walked to his brother.
-I can´t. I´m a witness of a cosmological event never seen before!
-Wait. Space, you mean?
Turbo loved space. He pushed his brother apart and started watching through the telescope. His eyes opened wide at the incredible sight of the rock.
-Guys, someone is trying to sleep here- said Rebel, putting his pillow over his head.
Jet, Turbo, and Rebel were triplets, all brothers of the large Duck family. They lived in Acmetropolis in their uncle´s Nash Duck house. Their mother traveled through all the galaxy, so she rarely was with them. The trio also passed their time with their uncle Ebenezer McDuck.
Rebel went with them after his complaints were unheard. He used some green pajamas. He wasn´t so happy about being out of bed.
-Wow, that´s so cool! You never told me a pink lady was flying over there!- exclaimed Turbo, making Jet curious.
-Pink lady? What are you talking about?
Jet pushed his brother and started watching through the telescope, impressed by the phenomenon before his eyes. A strange pink-dressed woman flying near the asteroid fired some kind of ray to it. The meteor was destroyed, although some debris continued its trajectory to Acmetropolis.
-That´s impossible! That is some abnormal event! How is a woman able to fly? What did she fire? Why...?
-Kids. What are you doing?
Another white duck opened the door. He was Nash, the uncle of the ducklings. He seemed mad after seeing his nephews out of bed late at night.
-Nothing, Uncle Nash- responded the three, hiding the telescope behind them.
-You should be sleeping. Remember that tomorrow we´ll visit your uncle Ebenezer.
-Ok, Uncle Nash- the trio responded again in unison.
The ducklings returned to bed, ready for the next day. Although, the strange event they have just seen got them intrigued.
While they were sleeping, some meteor debris fell to the city with some cosmic energy. Fortunately, it wouldn´t affect any individual. Right?
Acmetropolis University
It was a summer day in the city. The people could feel the heat of the day. There was, at least, one person, or animal, without that kind of problem. He was Tech E. Coyote, a Ph.D. student of the Technology Department of the biggest and most important university in the city.
Tech, as his ancient name suggests, was a coyote with brown fur. His green eyes, concentrated on his latest invention, still showed a wild persona, but also wisdom. He was wearing a lab coat. Despite someone's sound entering into the lab, his concentration didn't leave the device in front of him. Smith Pierce, Tech's professor, entered the lab. The coyote did not hear his presence until he felt someone touch the chair where he was sitting.
“You should rest. We're going to have a meal with the rest of the class at Pizza Fest. You coming?”
“I don't think so, sir. If I want to investigate the astrological phenomenon of the time, I must finish the intercosmic suit.”
Of course, the genius knew about the asteroid in the direction of the planet and wanted to investigate it closely. Very close. Smith, as much as he wanted to convince Tech to get out, knew he wouldn't make it. The professor sighed and walked out.
“If you change your mind, we will be waiting for you. Warner Street corner with Mouse.”
Tech nodded from afar, still adjusting the suit's protection systems. There wasn't much time, as the asteroid would arrive in a few days.
“You know? If you listened to me, I'd introduce you to my friend the roadrunner. Both could complement each other very well in the lab” asked a female voice. Tech had to start paying more attention to his surroundings while he was working.
“The delivery guy? You know I don't trust working with anyone since Casey, Lexi.”
After Smith's departure came Lexi Bunny, a tan fur bunny. She didn't study anything related to science. Instead, she was an athlete. She had been a cheerleader in high school and was now looking to pursue basketball. Despite this, she had taken some physics and engineering courses (specially to learn more about those subjects than his brother) under Tech's mentoring. Since then, they have become good friends, although Tech has had confidence issues.
And that's why Lexi wants to include him in ger close group of friends. In addition to the roadrunner whose name went through Rev, there was his older brother Ace. Rev also claimed to have two friends who would introduce them today. Just the ideal situation to take Tech.
“Today Rev will introduce me and my brother some friends. You should come, it'll be fun.”
“I can't. I have to finish this before I miss the opportunity.”
“Then do it as a favor. Remember the time you...?”
When Lexi pursued an objective, she usually made it. That's what he admired her. Well, he had to admit that, from the few times they'd come out, he'd had more fun than usual. Maybe he'd do the same this time, even though there'd be more people outside of her brother and herself.
“All right, all right. I 'm going. Just help me put some things in store” the most he tried to hide his smile, he just couldn't. He really enjoyed the company of the bunny.
As they both began to pack the objects Tech used, Tech recalled a recent comment from the bunny. That would serve to kill the silence in which they were involved.
“And... are you sure you want to do it?”
“I don't know. It's a big step and, so far, Ace hasn't taken it well.”
“We can postpone it so you can think about it better, discuss it with him and, well, with me. We haven't decided everything.”
“Doesn't it bother you? It's a decision that's yours too.”
“Not at all. I'd rather you be comfortable, specially.”
Lexi felt unsure of the action to take, but at least she was happy to have Tech's support. It was comforting to some extent.
Once they both finished storing everything, they left the University and walked to the city subway, from where they took transportation to downtown. Tech felt somewhat uncomfortable about being in such unhygienic, crowded environments, but at least having Lexi by his side giving him conversation took those thoughts out of his head. Soon they arrived and took to the streets of the metropolis. A short time passed, and they entered the Pizzarriba establishment.
Pizzarriba was a pizza restaurant created in the 21st century, miraculously afloat after losing almost all its establishments to Pizza Fest. Luckily, the original restaurant was still standing. It continued to maintain the same style as in its founding years, specially to attract customers.
Lexi, followed by Tech, walked through the door. It was Tech's first time on the establishment. Lexi quickly ran to one of the tables. Tech recognized her brother, Ace, whose grey fur was unmistakable for the coyote. He wore a jacket and jeans, his typical outfit after finishing his auditions. He was the only one on site, probably saving space for the group. The table was big. How many friends would the roadrunner bring?
- What's up, Doc? Ace asked Tech after hugging and greeting her sister.
-Hi, Ace.
Ace gave room for both of them to sit down. Lexi sat next to him and Tech was left next to her. Before they could start chatting, the three of them heard the door of the restaurant open with an unusual sound of someone talking.
“... a-robot-commissioned-by-my-dad-so-I-had-to-look-for-a-replacement-and-you-know-how-difficult-it-is-to-find-a-modulator-at-the-middle-of-desert-so-I-improvised-putting-together-several-remnants-of-old-inventions-with-something-of-cheese--which-reminds-me-have-you-proven-this-pizza-is-delicious-and-look-there-are-my-friends-hello-Ace-Lexi-and-you-should-be-Tech-is-a-pleasure-Lexi-told-me-a lot-about-you-and-your-inventions-sound-awesome...”
Tech started to feel dizzy. He didn't know what it could be, but it started a little after the roadrunner arrived. By focusing on his problem, he failed to hear the last words of him, at least until Lexi interrupted him.
“Hello Rev. Tech, he is the friend I have told you about.”
Tech tried to return to his posture and reached out to say hello. He didn't expect a loud, quick handshake from the roadrunner. He heard that he continued to speak with the same speed and joviality, which caused the coyote more dizziness. It was nothing to his liking. Rev was the typical roadrunner one could find in the desert, with blue plumage on the body and violet on the tail. He was wearing a sports suit because he probably was used to run a lot. After the introduction, Rev returned with his friends and introduced them.
“He-is-Slam-the-Tasmanian-demon-and-he-is-a-professional-fighter-and-very-good-at-it-I must-admit...”
Slam was a little bigger than the average Tasmanian demon. He was huge in Lexi's opinion, but behind his smile she saw the personality of someone friendly rather than intimidating. They hoped it would, even though Lexi didn't hesitate. Tech failed to understand Slam's growls, but by his raised hand he suspected it was a greeting.
“... and-he-is-Duck-and-between-him-my-brother-Rip-and-I-we-are-best-friends-practically-brothers-or-what-do-you-say?”
The black duck was crossing his arms, without saying a word. Everyone noticed that he looked coldly at Ace, who looked back at him the same way.
“Rev, I didn't know you knew the duck.”
“Umm-yes-why-do-you-know each other?”
"Unfortunately," Duck replied.
"And this got awkward," Tech said louder than he wanted. Slam made sounds agreeing.
The three newcomers sat in front of those who were already there. The large size Slam occupied in the chair explained the size of the reserved table. Lexi was the first to break the tension when she saw Duck's shirt.
“Where did you get that? I've been looking for that shirt for centuries!”
Duck watched his shirt. He changed his expression of discomfort to a smirk. He looked at the bunny pointing at his shirt.
“This shirt? Please, the biggest fans of Duck Dodgers are the only ones who can carry them.”
"I-didn't-know-that-you-were-fan-of-Duck-Dogers-too-Lexi-I-mean-it-is-fantastic-other-thing-that-we-have-in-common.”
“Well, lady, it is your lucky day. I´m the Duck Dodgers fan club leader so I may allow you to join us. Do you know where we are?”
“Please give me something easy. Here was Dodgers' first fight in 2021 during the concert of a famous band of the time.”
“2021? Wasn't he a hero in 2500?” Ace asked, intrigued or her sisters´ knowledge of the character. He knew of her love for the hero, but not how much she had dived into his history.
“Actually, no. It's a common mistake. Duck Dodgers debuted at this restaurant in the 21st century but is best known for his heroics in the 25th century. Besides, it wasn't at a concert by a famous band of the time. The Caballeros were not popular when they played in the incident" corrected Tech. Everyone looked at him and Tech felt uncomfortable. “What? You can't be the only ones interested in superheroes.”
“Told you” bragged Lexi to her brother with a big smirk.
"Sure, I already knew that." Duck bragged too, though everyone distrusted his sincerity.
“Wouldn’t-it-be-amazing-to-have-superpowers-or-what-do-you-think-guys?” Rev asked with his speaking speed. “I-mean-I-already-run-fast-but-I-wouldn´t-be-annoyed-if-I-was-faster-or-which-powers-would-you-guys-like-to-have?”
"Definitely jump higher, be able to reach places I couldn´t." Lexi replied, already knowing the answer.
“Besides the intellect, which I already possess, probably some form of technokinesis. It would be helpful to me when working.” Tech replied, showing off and being honest at the same time.
Slam made incomprehensible sounds to others again, but Rev interpreted them as the ability to eat more.
“I don't want superpowers. With my agility I could kick any thief” said Ace confidently.
“Finally, you share my opinion, Ace. I wouldn't need either. Duck Dodgers never needed. I just need my natural duck strength.” Duck added.
“Where was that strength when you needed my help moving a ladder in the supermarket, Duck?” The others couldn't help but laugh a little bit about the anecdote.
“The ones with wheels to move around, Ace?”
“Nice deduction, Tech.”
"You are despicable..."
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The afternoon passed quickly and was fun, even for Tech or Duck, who were the most apathic. After eating the pizza and getting to know each other a little better, everyone returned to their homes. Everyone had their own responsibilities to attend.
Rev was the first to get home thanks to his speed, despite being the one who lived the farther away. The roadrunner arrived at his parents' house. Ralph, his father, greeted him immediately, diverting the little attention paid to his son Rip. He asked his favorite son to help him build his new Robo-Amigo as Rip was too "inexperienced" in the robotics area. Without hesitation the roadrunner arrived to the garage, where he began to work.
Slam, after lunch, arrived at the arena where he had a contract to fight. At the moment his fights were against unexperienced players, as his sponsor, Pierre Le Pew, still kept him to fight the great cup champion for later. The demon didn't want to serve just cheap entertainment because he wanted to have fun with the fights, besides being able to have an extra income if it wasn't too much, because the economy wasn't going well lately for him.
Duck came to his apartment, which was extremely messy, with dirty laundry all over the place. It looked like a homeless man lived there. And, honestly, it was near the truth. Despite the ducks´ confident and arrogant behavior, Duck was nothing but a drag on society. Not even that house was his: it was an unpaid hotel room for four months. Duck's life was miserable, and he knew it very well. Only his job of picking up trash from a public pool said it all. Duck threw himself in his bed and looked at a photograph of his adoptive parents, dead at that point. Duck missed them and would do anything to bring them back. It was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Tech returned to college, to the same lab where he spent the rest of the week working. He was already late and had to continue with his armor. He had Lexi's insecurity in mind. The coyote hoped she could solve the problem. But the voice of the roadrunner didn't go out of his mind either. In truth, listening to him speak so much, with that force and speed caused him a terrible headache. He didn't dislike him, on the contrary, they were almost “birds of a feather”, but that voice detail was still there.
Lexi and Ace returned to their apartment. It was humble, the best they could get. With Lexi's scholarship and Ace's salary as a stunt, it was the best they could rent. It was cozy, but Lexi wanted to change. Between the two brothers several discussions had been emerging and Lexi thought the best was to take some time apart. Luckily, she had found support in a coyote, who was willing to share the same roof with her. It was a possible way out.
Ace, meanwhile, was saddened by the constant conflicts with his sister. He understood that she needed her space and was no longer a child, but he was the older brother and their parents had commissioned him to protect her. Was he wrong to want to do his job?
But, despite each other's problems, the same event brought them together. It wasn't their meeting at Pizzarriba. At about 6:30, they all fainted without any apparent explanation. It was only a matter of time before someone noticed and they were taken to the hospital.
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Some general stuff. This is my AU fanfiction of Loonatics Unleashed where the heroes have some solo adventures before they form the team. This is an awfully done introduction. I don´t really trust my English writing abilities, so please tell me if you find any grammatical mistake. If any hero wants to help me with that part I will not be able of thank you enough.
I finally decided to make it a shared universe with my other fanfiction: Los Tres Caballeros viajan de nuevo. I´m not sure if I´ll use any characters referencing that story because I want to focus on the show cast. For now I just want to put the important pieces on place before starting everything.
And feel free to comment. I´ll try to upload more but, I´m finishing this semester and the exams and essays will take my time. Anyway, for those shippers, I may have some Tech/Lexi at the start but I´ll transition it to Tech/Rev and Danger/Lexi.
I hope you like it and happy weekend to everyone.
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bigfan-fanfic · 3 years
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Neighborhood Spider-Peeps
Requested by anonymous for MCU Miles Morales, Peter Parker, and Ironheart ideas
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Okay, so the role of Spider-Man in the MCU needs an update, because I think we’re all pretty tired of Spidey being Iron Man Jr., right?
What better way to bring some fresh life into this by introducing a new few characters and building a fresh and youthful Spider-Team? And of course, the world needs a new Iron Man, right?
Enter Miles Morales. Science nerd, graffiti artist, certified genius. And enter Riri Williams. Technological sage, preteen college graduate, and social media activist.
Peter’s just been revealed as Spider Man, so he has to act quick. So he invents some wild story about him being trained by Tony Stark, and though he never wanted it, he is forced into Tony’s shoes. He starts off as the Iron Spider and Pepper and Happy support him of course, but know that he never wanted this.
JJJ is prosecuted with legal action for doxxing, Pepper putting the Stark legal team on the case.
And someone is bitten by a spider.
Miles Morales is just starting out in high school. Peter is only a year or two older than him. Miles is freaking out about his new powers, but quickly begins to learn to control them (mostly). He’s capable and eager, far more so than Peter was.
And Pepper has another objective.
Tony has one Riri Williams marked out in his files for what he deems Project Potential. RIri has a genius-level intellect, has also submitted ideas for improving the Iron Man suit. In fact, she was where he got the idea for nanites from and he resolved immediately to see about recruiting her to his own little think tank.
Then came the whole Snap thing.
It’s Pepper’s turn to elevate someone. She gives Riri access to the Iron Man Project so she can slowly improve upon the ideas. Riri excels at her work, but she wants to proactively shape the world for the better. She wants to rebuild the Avengers initiative
By now, Riri is just about eighteen, so Pepper is marginally more comfortable with letting her take on the Iron Man suit, helping her with the name Ironheart. Riri and Peter chafe a bit, considering Peter’s a shy highschooler who’s still trying to figure out if he even wants to be a hero and Riri is a headstrong college grad itching for a chance to improve the world.
Okay, so honestly, Miles is a better Spider-Man than Peter was, because he not only has more powers, like his cloaking ability and his Venom touch, but because he has a better understanding of where the crime is happening, and which things he can let go. Miles can conduct triage and focus on areas of greater crime. Peter just kinda haphazardly does whatever’s close by.
Anyway, Peter figures out pretty quickly there’s another Spider-Man and goes to find Miles. And learns from him, because for a guy just starting out, he’s got this whole thing down.
And New York’s a big enough city for a pair of Spider-Men.
Introducing Miles to Riri helps her understand Peter better, and they decide to work together, because everybody needs a team. A support system. 
So basically while Riri takes over the position of Iron Man for the Avengers, Miles and Peter work together on sticking to New York and keeping it safe. And when the Avengers require Spider-Man, they get both, who have begun to learn from each other. Peter drops sweet tech for Miles to use, and Peter learns from Miles’ techniques. 
They become good friends, too, helping each other with schoolwork and introducing their civilian friend groups who Know to each other. 
And Miles, Riri, and Peter become the vanguard of a wave of younger heroes, cautiously keeping the younger generation from getting into too much trouble, but still letting them find their place in a new world of technology and powers.
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cateyes315 · 3 years
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Mischief and Chaos
Main Characters: Loki and Shuri strictly a platonic best friend/younger sibling bond type relationship, which with these two is of course going to involve some mischief
Written for: @melodylnoelle Thanks for encouraging me to write this.
Chapter: Chapter 1/?
Summary: Tumblr has pondered if Loki and Shuri would become friends if they met, which prompted this story.
Ratings: Everyone
Loki was hoping for a quiet day of reading and relaxing in his quarters in the Avengers tower however, there was a knock on his door before Thor barged in. Loki sighed in frustration as he knew his plans had just been ruined.
"Brother, the Man of Iron has royalty coming to visit and wishes you on your best behavior." He booms his voice loud as thunder, "Although I must admit I'm slightly confused, he mentioned something about a big black cat when he referred to the King. Would he be bringing his pet or is it something else, I wonder." He started musing aloud as his thoughts went elsewhere.
Loki rolled his eyes and asked his brother if there was a point to him barging in with this announcement, as he planned on avoiding people, especially strangers.
"Of course brother, apparently he's bringing his younger sibling, Shuri I believe was her name. Anyway you're to accompany me to make proper introductions as they will be coming around fairly often. You may interact with the Princess but you must behave and Jarvis must always be able to find either of you." Thor stated, as if it was obvious.
"I'll come with you to make introductions but then I'll be returning to my reading, unless you require something else from me." Loki stated, as he was completely disinterested in anything more.
"If that is truly what you wish then so be it brother, however the Man of Iron seems impressed with the princesses ability to invent things as he does, yet apparently better than his own. He also said she's very smart and knowledgeable in many things, more than just her gadgets. You may find her more interesting than you think and maybe even make a friend." Thor said the last part with a hint of hope as his brother hadn't made any friends at this point and it sounded like this young lady might at least challenge his knowledge.
Loki sensed his brother's hope and decided not to comment on it, instead choosing to get up from his couch and follow him down the hall. Simply stating, "We shall see." It's not that he didn't want to make friends but so far he hadn't met anyone whom he could hold an intelligent conversation with that didn't involve a bunch of boring monologue.
Meanwhile, Shuri and T’Challa have arrived and Shuri couldn’t completely understand why she was forced to come along, sure T’Challa had mentioned something about her checking out Tony’s labs and inventions but considering Stark and his technology were probably way behind compared to Shuri and Wakanda and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that. However, as the youngest sibling and therefore not in charge, she came along without complaint, trusting her brother brought her along for a reason.
Smiling, she greeted Tony and asked him where his outdated lab was. He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and asked if the only reason she came was to poke fun at his tech. T’Challa standing off to the side watching them and smiling when neither of them could see him, not wanting to be seen as encouraging her behavior.
Clearing his throat, he had just got their attention back on the matter at hand when he saw Thor followed by a man he believed was Loki (Thor’s adopted younger brother) headed in their direction. Shuri was the next to see them and soon had a smile on her face.
Most people would assume she was so happy to see Thor, (I mean hello she has eyes right) however those people would be wrong. Shuri had read Loki's file Tony sent over before they arrived to get them better acquainted with him and his "mischievous and troublesome behavior" and Shuri also has a mind of her own which means she didn't make the same automatic judgemental assumptions everyone else did about Loki. She also (unknown to her over protective older brother) had gotten her hands on the footage from New York and realized that what happened there was mind control and manipulation from Thanos and the scepter. Loki just lives for mischief, not to mention he is a genius in his own right. Two things Shuri couldn't wait to help show him could be explored in more healthy, less harmful ways.
As they approach the group Loki's guard is up as he reads the subtle body language and emotions of those he's about to meet. He already knows how Stark feels about him but the others he has yet had reason to interact with. He watches as Stark and the girl Shuri interact; they seem to be joking with each other and the one standing off to the side, Loki does not know his name, seems to be watching them, mostly Shuri, with a subtle proud smirk on his face.
As they draw nearer the group T'Challa clears his throat and Shuri looks over to him and then in Loki and Thor's direction, Loki waits for the fear, disgust or hate from her but instead she smiles as though she's happy, excited even to meet him. Honestly he thought she'd be happier to meet Thor, but that's what he gets for assuming things.
Still he's a bit hesitant as she happily extends her hand to him and introduces herself, however he is a Prince and she is a Princess and his mother raised him with manners. He takes her hand and cautiously, yet gracefully, raises her hand to his lips as he bows slightly in a proper royal greeting.
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teamdoubleoh · 4 years
Text
Boothroyd was Q’s Grandfather
vaguely (sorry) based on this post by @tamquamm and @spiritofcamelot s request. Also infused is @caffeinatedflummadiddlebutmerlin​ s gender fluid merlin, though I didn’t ask If I could use the concept, sorry.
pt. 1/2                                                                                                    wordcount: 3533                                                                                            unbeta:ed (And written by someone who can’t spell for shite in any language.)
Q has heard all about MI6 from his grandfather, Gregory, also known as Major Boothroyd. Bond’s predecessor as 007 used to annoy Boothroyd to no end so when Q meets Bond he finds himself unable to resist making one or three references to his grandfathers work at MI6. The older Minions are in on it, the younger ones think it’s hilarious and Bond thinks Q is very pretty when he smiles so he won’t ask what the hell is going on, as long as it makes Q happy.
TLTR: Q is a Holmes, the Minions treat quotes from Boothroyd like vines, Eve is a genius and Bond is in love. They get drunk, and Bond learns about Q and his family.
(This developed from a 500-word Drabble to a 3.6k monstrosity. Also Q is a Holmes and has a fourth sibling.)
When Bond had first met Q he’d still been unaccustomed to the name Q in reference to the Quartermaster. For as long as he’d been an agent the Quartermaster had been Major Gregory Boothroyd, who had been referred to by most agents as Major Boothroyd.
This had made calling the new Quartermaster Q very easy, and even though Bond liked to let of snarky remarks about Q’s age, he was well aware that Boothroyd would have never appointed anyone as R who wasn’t perfectly fit to take over as Quartermaster at any given time. And yet James had thought that this new Quartermaster would be someone who wasn’t used to the antics of agents or at least the double-oh’s and thus easier to irritate. He was wrong.
At First he had thought it coincidence.
Q had sat next to him in the national gallery, made a comment about the inevitability of time and handed him his equipment. Then, just as he was about to leave, he had reminded Bond to return the equipment in one piece.
There had been something in his eyes Bond couldn’t quite place - but it came close to a look he know from his missions - something in the eyes of someone who had just fooled everyone in a game of poker to go all in, only to reveal a royal flush.
James had dismissed it, had thought he’d interpreted too much into a single look. He should have known better, of course there had been something. Saying these words had meant more to Q than the pride of being the Quartermaster of MI6 could rectify. He had smiled his tight little smile and his eyes had shone with pure mirth.
It had happened again and again; pieces of dialogue between him and Q that seemed to light the Quartermaster up.
Once he had been going over the speed limit while on mission; not an irregular occurrence, sure, but for some reason Q had seemed delighted when he reminded Bond that he had a licence to kill, not to break the traffic laws. Bond had hesitated momentarily and answered that, yes he was aware. The pure satisfaction Q had radiated when he said »Good!« Had been clearly audible over com. So had been R’s snort in the background.
Another time they’d been standing in Q branch and Q had begrudgingly handed James a ›class four grenade‹, whatever that meant. James had been delighted to find that it looked very much like an ordinary pen and made a witty comment about how the pen was mightier than the sword. Q had smiled as he reminded Bond that that was now in fact the case and that James had to thank Q for that. James had smiled flirtily. »Did you just make joke Q?«
Q just shook his head in something that seemed to be a combination of genuine distress and mirth. »I never joke about my work 007.«
At least two senior minions had trouble to stifle their laughs while one of the new ones working nearby just grinned for the remainder of Bond’s stay in Q-Branch.
Since it was common knowledge that basically anything in Q-brach was deadly -  including any and all personnel - many of the A-list Agents and most of the double-oh’s were very careful when it came to touching things. The only double-oh who seemingly forgot this every time he appeared before and after missions was, of course, 007. He had the potentially fatal habit to pick up whatever was in his reach to twirl it around or trow it in the air.
One particular time he’d just put down a poisoned ring when he’d set eyes on a brown paper bag that looked innocent enough to him. When he went to pick it up Q turned around, lightning fast, and pulled the bag from his hands exclaiming loudly, »DON’T TOUCH THAT! That’s my lunch!« to the obvious amusement of everyone in the vicinity.
Whenever James said something remotely illogical, immature or not well thought out, Q immediately quipped »Oh, grow up 007«. After three weeks of this the phrase had become something of an inside joke between the minions and Bond, and even he could appreciate it, even though he didn’t quite understood why it was that funny.  
Bond only figured it out after Eve had invited him to one of her and Q’s monthly movie nights, though there was more drinking than movie watching.
***
They’d met at Q’s flat because it was located more or less exactly between Bond’s and Moneypenny’s. It was cozy and reasonably small, but not cluttered.  The living room was not very lived in, which made sense to James when he considered Q’s working habits, but well furnished.
There was a worn couch that could hold all three of them if they squeezed, as well as an armchair and a wooden coffee table. Next to two bookcases there was a drawer that was probably supposed to hold silverware and tablecloths but the bottom drawer was pulled open and filled to the brim with scraps and bits of old tech.
Much more interesting was what Q had placed on top of the drawer. There were photos. Photos of the Quartermaster, some of him alone with different diplomas, some together with others or groups of people.
To James’ amazement one showed Q standing next to Mycroft Holmes. Bond had been introduced once, by his M, who hadn’t actually mentioned what Holmes did - only that he was basically everyone’s superior and also on speaking terms with the Royal family.
Another picture displayed a black door adorned with golden letters, telling the passing crowd that this was number 221b. In front stood an old lady with two younger men behind her. One of them was Sherlock Holmes, Bonds realised, the genius detective who’d killed himself a few years back. The other, Bond recognised from his army days as one lieutenant John Watson. Next to the old lady there was the Quartermaster, bespectacled and wearing one of his cardigans.
One photo, at least twenty years old, displayed a younger version of M, Olivia Mansfield, next to a stern looking woman in a emerald green gown, that looked like it came straight from the late 19. hundreds, a woman that could only be described as ›motherly‹ and the woman from the picture with the detective.
The most recent picture was probably the one of the royal wedding. Bond remembered reading about it in a paper he’d nicked from a minions desk on his way to the airport. The crown prince Arthur Pendragon had caused a worldwide uproar when he’d announced he was not only bisexual but also planning to wed one Myrdinn Holmes.
The picture that stood in the very front showed a younger version of Q and Major Boothroyd. Q was standing behind Boothroyd’s motorised wheelchair in the old Q-Branch, the one that Silva had blow up, and both were smiling brightly at the camera.
Bond turned to Q who was setting down glasses on a small couch table.
»You and Boothroyd. You were close, weren’t you?« James asked softly.
Q hesitated before stepping next to Bond. He picked up the frame and showed Bond the backside where someone had written ›Q and Q - the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’
James turned to look at Q. He know how the Quartermaster looked, he had spent enough time staring at him when Q wasn’t looking but only now he noticed how similar Q and Boothroyd had been, both in complexion and behaviour.
»He was your grandfather. I’m... sorry for your loss« James stated.
»Who?« Moneypenny asked. She had appeared in the doorway to the small kitchen, holding a bottle of some alcoholic beverage in hand, which she had apparently opened already.
»Boothroyd.« James answered quietly.
Q smiled, the nostalgia in his voice barely concealed »He used to tell me stories about MI6, when I was little. About his work and the agents.«
»Did he tell you about what a great agent I was?« Bond smirked, trying to lighten the mood a little.
»By the time you were a double-oh I was already working for MI6, unofficially I mean. He told me about 007 - your predecessor that is. It was a joke between him and me, you know? The ›grow up 007‹. We would make wagers about how often he could get away with saying it to 007 before he got suspicious.«
Moneypenny snorted a little.
Q smiled his brilliant smile at her, melancholy all but forgotten now. »He told be about you, too. Said you were brilliant. He always wanted to make a bet about how you would be M some day. I never accepted because I knew he was right.«
Moneypenny put her head to one side. »I was still an agent back then…«
Q only shrugged. »He said you were too good to be an agent.«
Moneypenny blushed lightly and smiled happily. »Sounds like he was a good grandfather.«
Bond grinned. »Sounds like he was just like Q.«
Q turned to the coffee table to pour three glasses of what appeared to be Bombay sapphire and gave James and Eve one each. »You’re both right. Now, what movie shall we get drunk to?«
***
Three hours later they were sprawled on top of each other across the seating accommodations.
The only source of light was a small lamp, standing atop the drawer, which emitted a warm, candle like light.
Eve had called dibs on the armchair ages ago, eying Q and James with barely hidden mirth.
After two hours of drinking she’d picked up the framed photo of the royal wedding and waxed about the beauty of the crown princes sister, while Q and James smiled, already too intoxicated to mind the terrible puns and metaphors comparing the duchess’s hair to the night sky and her eyes to stars. In a final motion of grandeur she’d remarked that the lady looked like she could kill anyone, just by staring them down.
After half an hour she’d put the frame back and hadn’t said a thing for at least thirty minutes before exclaiming in a fit of something that Q could only call euphoria, »R is Q’s second in command because R comes after Q in the alphabet!«
Then she’d closed her eyes and started snoring softly.
Q, who had given up trying to keep his distance from James on the tiny couch and instead had now sprawled out on top of the other man like a drunk blanket, had only murmured »Bloody hell« before refraining from saying anything more and staring at the ceiling in silent contemplation instead.
Bond was silent. There was a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest that could have been caused by alcohol as much as by the adorable idiot that had chosen him as his mattress and was now studying the ceiling.
Bond turned his head, slowly, as not to disturb Q, to look at the picture of Q and Boothroyd - Q’s grandfather - on the drawer next to the couch.
»Did you know M? Olivia Mansfield?« He asked softly.
Q turned his face towards the drawer too. »Why else would I keep her picture?« His answer had been barely a murmur but the voice was right next to James’s ear.
James snorted softly. »You can’t tell me you know everyone in these Photos Q.«
»You’re adorable.«Q smiled lazily against Bonds chest.
Bonds heartbeat quickened the slightest bit. »Q. You do know there is a photo of Mycroft Holmes on your drawer.«
Q wiggled a bit so he could see the frames without rearranging his vertebrae and frowned slightly. »Why wouldn’t I know Mycroft?«
Bond wanted to shrug, but Q sounded like he was almost asleep. » M - my M - introduced me once. Told me he was her superior. Said he was friends with the Royal family.« He paused for a second, before continuing »She also told me to never, ever, piss him off.«
»She knew you well, huh?«
»S’pose so.«
»Granperé told Mycroft about you too.«
»Boothroyd told Mycroft Holmes about me?«
»’Told him about all agents.« Q corrected.
Bond smiled about the absurdity. »Your Grandfather spied at MI6 for Mycroft Holmes?«
» ’course. So do I« Q slurred, before snuggling closer to James’ chest.
»Why? He’s Mycroft Holmes. ’s not like he needs outside support now, does he?«
»Outside?«
»Y’know, not family.«
»Boothroyd was Mycroft’s family, Bond.«
James chocked on air. »You’re related to Holmes? What, s’ he your uncle?«
»Don’t be daft Bond, I’m not related to a Holmes- «
»Could you stop calling me Bond all the time?«
»If you stop interrupting me I will. I’m not related to a Holmes, I am a Holmes.«
» You’re a Holmes… Mycroft Holmes is your cousin.«
»Brother.«
»…Ah.«
Q found that he was almost asleep, which was a feat in itself, considering where he was currently located.
Then James spoke up again. »That’s how you now the royal family then? Through Mycroft?«
»Why the royal family?«
»You have a picture of the royal wedding framed Q. Although I s’pose keeping a picture of your brother and your former Boss is slightly different from keeping picture of the Pendragon family, even if you were introduced. Hadn’t taken you for a royalist, Dear Quartermaster.«
»My former Boss?«
»M, Q. Olivia Mansfield?«
»Oh yeah. I don’t keep her picture because she w’s my boss.«
» ’Thought you only kept pictures of people you knew.«
»Actually not true. ’only keep pictures of Fam’ly.«
»You’re related to M?« Bond had known M had had children, but not much else.
»My mothers sister. One of the four Ms.« Q giggled like he’d made a formidable joke.
»Your’ aunt’s and mother’s names all start with M?« James asked, a smile on his lips.
» ’course not, James. You know M’s name was Olivia. They all grew up to be M though.«
Q reached out to grab the picture displaying M and what apparently were her sisters but failed.
James picked it up and handed it to Q, who turned so he faced the ceiling again and pointed at M to explain.
»You know Olivia Mansfield, born Holmes, who was called M for her position in MI6.«
He pointed at the woman who James had dubbed ›motherly‹ upon first glance a few hours back. »This is my mother. Her name is Violet Holmes. She kept her last name when she married my father but no one calls her Violet of even Mrs. Holmes. Everyone just calls her Mummy. Mycroft started it when we were kids and it stuck. This is her older sister, Minerva,« Q pointed out the stern looking woman. »She’s Headmistress in a… private school up north… well. And this is Martha, the youngest. She got married too, but Mr. Hudson did some illegal stuff on the other side of the pond and got himself on death trail. Martha asked Sherlock for help, of course. Now she lives in London again. Thus the four Ms; Minerva, Mummy, M and Martha.« Q trailed off.
James picked up the photo of the woman he now knew as Martha Hudson in front of the door and showed it to Q, pointing out the short man standing behind her left shoulder. »John Watson, right? I know him. Used to know him, I mean, in the army.«
»Hasn’t been a Watson in some time though. Goes by John Watson-Holmes now. ’S my brother in law.«
»Mycroft is married?« James asked softly. ›Mycroft is gay?‹ went unsaid.
»He’s married, alright. Not to John mind you, but Lestrade. His first name is Greg, but everyone ’cept Mycroft calls him Lestrade. Gregory Lestrade-Holmes is quite a mouthful, so we collectively decided to go with the easier option.« Q grinned lazily.
James blinked a few times. Now Q had lost him. »’Thought you said John was you brother-in-law?«
»I have more than one sibling, James. John is married to Sherlock, my second brother.«
» Thought I lost you back there for a mo’. How are you related to the Pendragons then? You in line for the throne or s’mthing?« James joked.
Q laughed for a few glorious seconds before catching his breath. » Yes, very funny James.«
»You said you only kept photos of your family Q,« James answered with fake outrage. »And now I have to find out you’re not actually related to Royalty?«
»Don’t be silly James, I know what I said. And technically I am related to them, though only by marriage. Hand me the photo of the wedding and I'll show you.«
James complied happily. »I have to say Q. After the confusion with your brothers I am now genuinely interested how you could possibly complicate this further.«
Q let out a stifled groan. He pointed out the few familiar faces out of the crowd of nobility behind them. While the nobles kept in the back the King stood in the middle of the picture, right behind the happy couple. To Arthurs right there was his sister, smiling happily at her brother, who only had eyes for his husband. »It’s not that bad. Let me show you. This is the king, as I hope you realise. These are his children Morgana also known as Eve’s long-time crush and -.«
»I know you think me a fool Q, but I do recognise the King of the country I have sworn my life to.« James smiled while shaking his head in disbelief.
Q groaned. »Oh shush James. If you’re so knowledgable, why don’t you tell me who these people are and save me the effort, hm?«
James mentally shrugged. There were only four people in Britain who were actually royals at the moment and he knew their names. After all, he had legally died for one of them.
He pointed at each person as he went along. » This is, as you have so graciously explained dear Q, the King, Uther Pendragon, whom I coincidentally happen to have sworn my life too. Then there’s the crown prince, Arthur Pendragon, who I will pledge my life to should I mysteriously manage to outlive the King. This one is the lovely lady who Eve has the undeniable crush on. Huh.« He pulled the framer closer. »She really does look like she could kill me. Name’s Morgana Pendragon, illegitimate daughter to the king. I believe she a duchess but I couldn’t tell you her title if my life depended on it.«
»If it’s any consolation, I don’t know it either.« Q quipped.
James rolled his eyes fondly. »I thought you wanted to save your breath, Q.«
Q only let out a ›tsk‹ noise, so James returned to his explanation. »And that is the crown prince’s husband, of whom I only know because I nicked a newspaper from Q-Branch on my way to the airport. Should both Uther and Arthur die before me I would pledge my life to him too, I suppose.« James mused. »His name is Myrdinn Pendragon. I’m sorry to admit I don’t know his title though.«
»He goes by ›prince consort‹. Now, you see who that is standing in the far left corner, right behind the lady so-and-so?«
»Is that…Mummy?«
»Hm hm. That next to her is my father. If you squint you can even see me, right next to Mummy. I was wearing a suit, you know. Mummy confiscated all my cardigans. To my left there even are two of my siblings and their husbands.« Q seemed genuinely upset about the fact that he hadn’t been able to wear a cardigan to the royal wedding.
»Two of your siblings? You have a sister?«
»Occasionally. They’re gender fluid.« Q frowned up at James, scrunching his nose. »You do know what gender fluidity is?«
»I’m an agent, I know about people. You have another sibling then?«
»’s male that day. Name ’s Merlin. He’s right there.« Q murmured, eyes fallen shut from fatigue.
James brought the picture to his face, trying to make out another figure in the crowd he now recognised as the Holmes’.
As if sensing his confusion Q looked up. »In the middle, James.«
James’ eyes darted back to the middle where the royal family stood.
For a moment it was silent.
»Q« James asked gingerly.
»Hm?« Q’s eyes had fallen shut again.
»Are you telling me your brother is married to the crown prince?«
»Sibling. Yes.«
»…Alright.«
It was quiet for another few seconds.
»Who used to be your favourite?«
»Hm?«
»You said Boothroyd used to tell you about the agents. Who was your favourite?«
»Moneypenny.« Q answered deadpan.
»Awe, you hurt me dear Q.« James put the pile of picture frames on the floor next to the couch, then he wiggled to make himself more comfortable and slung his arms around Q. »Who’s your favourite now?«
»Oh, grow up 007.« Q murmured, face pressed against Bonds chest. For a few seconds he was silent. Then Q spoke up again. »James?«
»Q.«
»Would you mind putting out the light?«
»Not at all. If you could do us all the favour and introduce Eve to your sister-in-law.«
»I’ll invite you both for Christmas at the palace.«
»You are lovely, you know that.«
»So are you. Now shut it.«
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broken-clover · 4 years
Text
AU-gust Day 8- Superpowers/Superheroes
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
So apparently when I say ‘these are very long, maybe I should make them less long next time’ it apparently means ‘WRITE NEARLY 5000 WORDS AND SUFFER’ I’m having. A day. Not a bad one just. A Day. This more or less feels like a pilot episode for something honestly.
Please do not ask why I keep writing Sin because there is no answer.
Ky had left him in charge of the scanner. Again.
And Sin knew why he had done it, why he always left him sitting in the high-backed chair perched in front of an array of high-tech computers while he and his friends leapt into action. It wasn’t because Sin was any kind of tech genius. It was because it was the best way of keeping him out of the way.
They didn’t even pretend like it was a real task in need of doing. Sol had already rigged the scanner so that it would send notifications to the entire team as soon as it picked up anything suitably peculiar. Ky’s excuse was that they needed him to watch it and make sure the scanner didn’t malfunction, but it never did. It was just a good way to keep him from running around while Ky couldn’t keep an eye on him.
Well, he could have brought him along, but whenever he suggested, Ky just had to get all uppity about it, and say in so many words that he didn’t want his precious baby boy going on dangerous missions, except he’d say it in a way that made him sound completely reasonable and rational, even though he was a teenager now and he was tired of spending time in front of the monitors and doing nothing but sitting on his ass like a useless idiot.
He shifted to prop his chin up on his other arm. The scanner did another rotation around Illyria, but no notification popped up, just like the last thousand or so times. Ugh, he’d been here for hours, when were they going to come back? The distress call had come from the complete opposite side of town, but considering that half of them could fly, and Ky himself could turn into a goddamn lightning bolt, they were awfully slow. So much for ‘just a quick mission’ like he had promised.
Groaning, Sin abandoned the chair and left it to spin behind him. He left the completely empty computer room to head into the equally-empty kitchen, hoping to find something to munch on. In between Sol’s beer bottles, Testament’s vegan snacks and Chipp’s leftover Japanese takeout, there was a plastic-domed pastry box. His excited smile melted off as soon as he pulled it out and peered inside.
“Thank you for keeping our city safe!” Said the fancy frosting letters. Yeah, he knew where it was from. The local orphanage had sent it after Ky and his friends had stopped Judgement from blowing up half the city last week. Because they were a bunch of good-samaritan do-gooders so compassionate and helpful that they got fucking cake from orphans.
He still cut a big piece from it before shoving the thing back into the fridge. Hey, cake was cake. Plus, he could get a kick out of ruining the letters and part of the bright yellow smiley-face under it.
At least being stuck at the base meant nobody raised a stink over him sitting on the meeting table. Sin was careful not to leave any shoe tracks on it, though, after Ky had chewed him out for it the last time. Personally, he thought having a white table was stupid in the first place, but that was the design Ky liked. It was the same reason they had the big sweeping ceilings, elaborate carvings along the walls, and a special designated chair for each of their official members, individualized by their names and insignias (Because his dad really was that fucking cliche)
In between bites of cake, he toed at the fancy lightning bolt carved into Ky’s chair, with ’Thunderseal’ written out above it. Sin remembered when he used to chase his father around the house, pretending to be him with a construction-paper mask and towel cape. He had utterly idolized Thunderseal, and dreamed that someday he would be able to take up the mantle when he became a real hero. It wasn’t a dream he clung onto anymore. Just the shadow of being his son was big enough.
Sin tried to take his mind off things by pulling out his phone. Maybe May would be up for a chat.
‘Anything going on w/ u?’
May always had her phone on her, so it didn’t take long before his pinged with a message. ’Just finished a job! Hbu?’
‘Send pics?’ Just his luck he got her while she was out working. At least maybe he could get a few cool pictures out of it.
Just like last time, it barely took a minute before she responded back with a pile of photos. All of them had May smiling with her teammates in uniform, along with a very irritated-looking (and very wet) tied-up criminal. He’d hoped that the pictures would have cheered him up, but all it did was annoy him further. She was younger and smaller than him by a lot, but she was allowed to go out on dangerous jobs.
Mer-May, the absolute darling of the Jellyfish team of superheroes. Even though they weren’t from Illyria, he still saw stories and photos about them in the paper. They looked like a real team. They probably took all their team members out on missions, and when they didn’t, he bet they had a much better reason than needing someone to watch the scanners.
’Great job! :D’ he messaged back with stiff, trembling fingers, before an errant current made his screen crackle and explode in a burnt cloud.
“Oh for fuck’s sake…” Why did that always happen when he got frustrated, this was his twelfth phone in the last year! Like he needed one more thing to be annoyed about.
Sin was sick and tired of being inside. He abandoned his half-eaten cake at the table and headed for the entrance, swiping his jacket and a spare mask on the way out.
++++++
Nobody gave him much of a second look as he slid along the wires twenty feet off the ground. Anybody who even noticed the crackle of electricity in the first place regarded him with complete nonchalance. Superpowered individuals had become a lot more commonplace, especially with the formation of publicly-known groups like the Jellyfish and the Guardians of Illyria. It was practically a celebrity subculture. Just a fixture of daily life. People with powers no longer had much of a reason to hide anymore.
In his absentmindedness, he nearly fell off-balance and slipped from the wire he was on. He wondered if Ky ever did that on the job. He might’ve been the team’s shiny poster-boy, but he wasn’t as perfect as everyone always acted like he was. It didn’t stop the newspapers and nighttime TV reports from painting him as some flawless guardian angel. Even when he was little, they were always talking about Ky.’s exploits, how he made Illyria a safe place. For the longest time, all that praise had convinced him his father could do no wrong.
Sin remembered the times when he would hold his father’s hand as they skated across the powerlines, helping him keep his balance. Sin always kept his eyes peeled for trouble, and whenever they spotted a kitten stuck in a tree or someone struggling with groceries, Ky would let him take charge to ‘save’ the civilian in need. He used to love the slightly-exaggerated smiles from grateful people and congratulatory pats on the head from his father, but it all felt so infuriatingly patronizing now. He didn’t want to be stuck helping old ladies cross the street while his father and his friends fought the real villains and saved the day. It never felt like he was helping anyone in the long run, he was just doing errands for people and nothing more than that.
He skidded to a stop on an electronic billboard, slid down the maintenance ladder, and found a place to sit. From his jacket pocket, he pulled out a tiny battered book and pen.
‘Sin the Superhero!’ was scrawled across the front in faded, childlike handwriting. He skipped past the scribbled-over and torn pages in the front half, all practically carbon-copies of Ky, until he reached the more complicated doodles and neater handwriting.
‘Hero Name Ideas.’ The list had gotten longer recently, but still none of them seemed to fit him right. He scratched off a couple of older ideas and jot down ‘Livewire’ and ‘Sparx’ at the bottom. Mmm, no, when he wrote them down on paper, that didn’t seem right, either.
“Ughh, why is this so hard!?” Sin groaned to himself, closing the book and smacking himself in the face with it. He wasn’t going to be Thunderseal. No matter what, he was not going to be Thunderseal.
He’d thought of skipping town and joining the Jellyfish, but May’s manager Johnny said that they only accepted female members. There were a few others scattered across the country, like the ones down in Kagutsuchi, Remnant, and Inaba, but they seemed so different from what he was used to, Sin wasn’t sure he’d fit in even if they let him join.
He spotted a convenience store half a block down. Maybe he just needed a snack to help him think. He hadn’t gotten to finish his cake, after all.
Sin slid back up onto the powerline and followed the sidewalk until he found a wall generator to jump into near ground-level. The light burst that followed him when he landed startled an older woman as she headed back to her car, but otherwise nobody paid attention.
The convenience store was awfully quiet for the afternoon, but all it meant was that he could scour the aisles for something to eat. They didn’t have anything meaty, so he settled for red licorice. It almost looked like meat.
“Would you like a bag?” The cashier asked, with the usual feigned-cheer that minimum wage barely afforded.
“Nah, I’m just gonna eat it now.” He replied, digging for a few spare bills in his back pocket.
When he found the money and went to turn back around, he spotted an ominous smear of crimson in his peripheral vision. Out through the front windows, a peculiar-looking girl was stumbling across the parking lot barefoot, stained in what appeared to be blood.
“The hell…?” Sin murmured. He realized he still had money in his hand. “Oh. Shit, uh, keep the change!” All but throwing the money at the poor woman, he grabbed his licorice and bolted out the door, taking a moment to swing his head around to find that girl again before running after her. “Hey! Hold on a second!”
Maybe he was too loud, because she immediately flinched and threw up her arms to cover her head. “I-I’m sorry!”
“You’re...what?” He skidded to a stop right in front of her. Yeah, that was definitely blood. The girl didn’t seem to be in a good condition, if the stumbling hadn’t already given it away. All the bloodstains appeared to be coming from the numerous wounds on her body, mixed together with a handful of ugly violet bruises. “Man, you look in bad shape. Did you get attacked?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” With her arms still covering her, she crouched down and began trembling.
Sin’s features softened. “Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you.” He crouched down next to her, trying his best to sound harmless. “Okay? Not gonna hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Y-you aren’t?” A single diamond-blue eye peeked between trembling fingers.
“No, I’m not. Are you in danger? Do you need someone to keep you safe?”
She gave him a slow, jerky nod. “Ok! I can do that. My house is really safe, my dad’s a superhero so you don't have to worry about people getting in unless you want them to! Why don’t we go there, and then I can get you some bandaids?”
Another little nod. “Sounds like a plan, then!” He took her hand, helped her back up, and turned in the direction of where he’d come from. “It’s over this way, so we can-”
“No!! No, no, we can’t!” She suddenly shrieked, trying to pull herself from his grip.
“Woah, woah!” Sin let her go in his shock. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t go! I can’t go!” She cried, tugging at her pale pink hair with both hands. “I can’t leave without my sister!”
“Your sister? Where is she?”
Her expression grew haunted. “Oh...oh no...I left her behind...I promised we wouldn’t be separated…”
Sin tried to quell the growing feeling of excitement unfurling in him. Yes, this girl was clearly in need of help. He was finally doing his first real job as a hero, without Ky getting in the way! And he’d found it all by himself! But he needed to keep serious.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get your sister.” He gave the girl a confident grin. “Can you show me where she is?”
Another nod. “Uh-huh. I can show you.”
“Think you can show me from the rooftops? It’ll be faster that way.” She didn’t pull away again when he started leading her towards the generator he had jumped out of.
“Huh? There’s no ladder, how would you- aaaah!”
Sin scooped her up before taking off up the wires to the roof. “I’m a hero, too! I can follow electric currents! So if you can point me in the direction of- oh.”
The sudden movement had apparently freaked her out, and both of her trembling arms were tightly wrapped around him for stability.
“Oops. Um, sorry about that. I forget the vertigo is really bad the first few times.” He tried giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “But I promise I won’t drop you, okay? I just need you to show me what direction you came from.”
It took her a moment to unbury herself from her place in his jacket, but she reached out to point towards the heart of Illyria. “That way. It's by the big building with a cow on the roof.”
His grin came back as Sin felt the sparks fly off his feet. “Say no more!”
++++++
Sin had never been to this part of town before, on the ground or otherwise. It seemed like a perfectly nice neighborhood, but for some reason, there was just something that felt...off.
He tried not to worry about it. “Hey, so you didn’t tell me your name. I’m Sin! What should I call you?”
The girl in his arms seemed to have finally gotten used to the harsh movements, only wincing when the harsh wind blew the hair in her eyes. “E-Elphelt.” She said. “My name is Elphelt.”
Weird name, but he didn’t say anything. Even if he wanted to, he was interrupted by her pointing him left. “R-right there! The big white building!”
“This one?” He asked, sliding up onto the roof of what he could only guess was a large warehouse. A few trucks were parked out in front, but he didn’t see any people, nor were any lights on inside. “Are you sure this is it?”
“Mmhm!” She nodded vigorously, though the fear had come back into her eyes. “Please! I can’t leave her behind!”
We’re gonna save your sister, don’t worry.” Sin put her down on the roof next to him, and began searching for some kind of way in. “How did you get out?”
She walked towards one of the building’s edges and peered down. “Stairs! There’s emergency stairs by the windows!”
“Stairs?” He headed off after her. Sure enough, a set of metal stairs snaked down the building’s side. “We can get in through one of those windows!”
The two of them ran down a few flights, only stopping when Elphelt pointed one out. “This one! I think it’s this one!”
“This one?” Sin repeated back. He crouched down to get a good look at it. “I don’t think it’s latched; it should probably just slide open from the bottom.”
“Okay, then let’s-”
“Wait-” He grabbed her hand a half-second before she could slide the window open. “There’s an alarm. It’ll trigger if you pull it open.”
Elphelt recoiled immediately. “How can you tell?”
“I told you I can ride currents, right? I can sense them, too.” He put a hand on the wall next to the window. “Feels like there’s a whole security system set up and wired to the same main hub.” Elphelt was tearing up again in the corner of his eye, and he raised his free hand to assure her. “Don’t worry. Each window has its own sensor alarm. If I can just overload it…”
Sin pressed his eyes shut and willed a bolt of electricity into existence. He slid it between his hands a few times before feeding it into the sensor. After a moment, he felt the current split off between the window and the rest of the system as the wires melted and the plastic exploded.
“Okay, just hold your breath…” He put his hands on the sill. In one motion, he jerked it open and...no alarm.
“Phew…” Elphelt shook her head in momentary relief, before tensing up again. “We have to hurry! We have to hurry!”
She squeezed herself inside before he could even think of doing it himself. Once she had gotten inside, he wormed in after her. “Yeah, of course. But why do we have to hurry? I don’t think anyone’s here.”
The building was as dark inside as it had looked outside. The room they had been dumped into had a high ceiling and a concrete floor, but was nearly empty aside from some storage crates. At least, they looked like storage crates, he couldn’t really tell. From another pocket, he pulled out a rechargeable flashlight, funneled a bit of electricity into it, and switched it on. A narrow slice of light cut through the empty room.
It fell on Elphelt’s horrified face. “El? What’s wrong?”
“We have to hurry.” She spoke in a trembling whisper. “We have to hurry before mother comes home.”
He wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but it seemed important to her. “Okay. We’ll go quickly. What room is your sister in? Can you show me?”
The hallway was slightly lighter, but no less empty. Had everyone gone home already? Then again, he had no idea what this building was for in the first place, maybe there never were people at all. He couldn’t see any security cameras on the ceilings, but even if they were there, he doubted they would be able to see much.
He followed Elphelt down a couple sets of stairs. They both kept their backs pressed to the wall, their footsteps light, and their guard up. Sin glanced over his shoulder every few seconds to be absolutely sure they weren’t being followed.
At one point, Elphelt stopped and held a hand out to him. “I think this is it.”
Compared to the rest of the building, he could sense a veritable feast of electricity coursing back and forth beyond the door they were staring at. It seemed logical that if she was anywhere, it would be in there.
The new room was a stark difference in just how blindingly white it was. Sin had to blink and cover his eyes for a minute while he convinced himself that he was not actually going blind. Elphelt seemed unconcerned with the sudden change, and walked deeper in without him.
“Elphelt! Wait!” He hissed, blinking to clear his vision. The blurry edges eventually smoothed out and sharpened. “Woah…”
Just from a wild guess, it had to be some kind of laboratory. All the glass, fancy equipment, and desks looked like something from the sci-fi shows Sol liked to watch. What kind of science exactly, he had no idea. But it didn’t matter. He had to help Elphelt. Where had she gone to?
“El?” He called out, still trying to keep himself from being too loud. It was a bright white room and she had bright pink hair, how could he not find her in two seconds?
Sin felt his stomach growl as he began to search. Absentmindedly, he pulled out his abandoned licorice and peeled a strand off to eat it. “El?”
He thought he had spotted a flash of pink, but when he approached it, he found a strange pile of pink mush in a large clear dish. He didn’t have the slightest idea of what it was, but it unnerved him. Sin put down his licorice on the tabletop and reached for a glass rod that had been left near it.
What did he think would happen if he prodded it? That was another question he couldn’t answer. It made an odd, gooey noise as the tip sank into its surface. It had looked solid, but the more he pushed into it, the more the glass vanished, even when he thought it would have gone all the way through and come out the other end.
“Sin!”
“Elphelt?” He looked up from his impromptu experiment. Why had he let himself get distracted? Sin pulled the stick back out and set it on the table, and reached for his-
“Where’d I put my licorice…?”
“Sin! Please!”
“Coming, El!” That was more important. He ran off towards her voice. The tables gave way to what he could only describe as giant stove burners built into the ground. “Where are you?”
“Over here!” He saw a hand in the air and headed towards it. It was actually Elphelt that time, instead of some weird arm-monster, thankfully.
“There you are. Jeez, you’re fast-” His eyes went wide.
There was...a girl, suspended in some sort of glassy prison. It hovered over one of the weird floor-burner things, spinning around and around as the room’s lights glinted off it. The girl inside didn’t seem especially bothered by the spinning, or the fact that the ball was barely big enough for her to fit inside. If he didn’t know any better, she looked completely unconscious.
“What the hell?” He looked at his companion. “El, is this her? Is this your sister?”
“Ram…” She said, more to the other girl than to him. Her eyes had gone wet with tears again.
There was an electrical current running under the burner. Without thinking, Sin shoved his hand into it and discharged a bolt of electricity.
He was pretty sure he felt the fluid splattering on his face before he even heard the glass break. The overload of energy had not only shut off whatever the burner was doing, but forced the ball to shatter. He heard Elphelt dive to the ground behind him. Any of the glass that exploded onto him was melted by the heat of his lightning. The smell of ozone and the backlash from overusing his powers was making him dizzy, but Sin tried to focus on what was around him.
Once the chaos had died down, Elphelt crawled back out from the table she’d hidden behind. “Sin?”
“El.” He sent her a dopey, tired smile. “I got it.”
“Ram!!” The girl hurried back over to kneel down by the unconscious body. A few glass shards had nicked their skin, but there was nothing especially worrying. Elphelt seemed to be far more concerned with Ram than she was about her own injuries, anyway. She scooped up the other girl and held her close, placing a hand on her chest as she began murmuring something incomprehensible. Sin watched a faint pink glow envelop her hand and flow into the other’s body.
“Elphelt?” He asked in quiet awe. “You have powers?”
Whatever she was trying to do, it seemed to have worked. As soon as the glow faded, Ram began to rouse.
“Mhh...Elphelt?”
“Ram!” El hugged her sister tightly as her shoulder began trembling. “Oh, you’re awake, you’re awake. I promised I wouldn’t leave you.”
“Elphelt…” She put a hand on her sister’s back and smiled gently. “I’m okay.”
“Th-this is Sin!” When she regained some of her composure, Elphelt pointed at him. “He helped me save you!”
“Yeah. But El, you said we had to hurry, right? We should leave.”
“Oh! We need to leave fast, you’re right.” Elphelt stood back up, but she appeared remarkably calm. In fact, she was smiling. “But we can go even faster with Ram!”
The girl nodded in silent agreement. She looped a hand around her sister’s waist, before beckoning Sin over.
“Faster?” He was confused, but he complied, stepping closer so Ram could grab him by the middle. “I’m not sure what you me-EEEEEAN- !”
The question was answered for him very quickly. His feet were off the ground before he could blink. Ram was shooting off towards the nearest wall, and he had absolutely no way of stopping her.
“Are you insane?!” They were going to fly headfirst into a metal wall! Sin absolutely couldn’t handle hitting something that solid that fast, but he didn’t have any electricity left to try and shock her into dropping him. All he could do was watch.
There was a horrific crunch, and everything went black.
And then blue, as they passed through to the other side without a scratch.
Sin hadn’t realized he was screaming in terror until he stopped. He saw a massive gaping hole in the metal when he turned to look back, but he couldn’t see a single scratch on him, or his questionably-deranged pilot.
“It’s okay, Sin!” Elphelt called. “Ram’s really strong!”
‘Strong’ didn’t seem like a very good explanation on how they hadn’t just smashed their collective heads open, but really, after everything he had been through, it seemed stupid to ask questions.
++++++
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU RAN OFF??”
Sin winced, pulling the receiver away from his ear. “I know, I know, dad, I messed up-”
“MESSED UP??” Ky’s voice shouted back. “You ran off without telling anyone! I thought you had been kidnapped!”
“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” He said. “But I promise I can explain everything. I need a ride back, do you think you can come pick me up over by Bishop Bakery? The place over at the corner of Hansen and 15th?”
“All the way out there?! Sin, what are you doing in the north district in the first place?”
“Uh, that’s a bit of a long story…” He turned to look at his two new companions. Elphelt kicked her bare feet under the bench as she watched the cars go by, and Ramlethal was sitting cross-legged and bobbing her head back and forth to a song coming out of a nearby radio. “A really long story. Why don’t I tell you all about it over leftover cake?”
++++++
A dark shadow slid along sterile white walls, pacing back and forth and back. Immaculately manicured nails drummed against a pale sleeve, the only giveaway against a perfect porcelain mask of calmness.
“So they both ran away…” A melodic voice echoed off the high walls. “I never would have expected such ingenuity from her.”
The room went quiet for a moment. “Still, nothing I can’t handle. A few steps to shuffle around, but in the end, those girls saved me quite a lot of effort. Brought back to the Guardians on a silver platter! What a stroke of luck.”
She paused. “Oh? The boy? Just another pawn, easy enough to handle. His powers are little more than parlor tricks. I’ll have no trouble disposing of him as soon as he becomes a nuisance."
Another pause. Slowly, the porcelain mask began to crack. “Is that so?
In the blink of an eye, she lashed out to grab one of the trailing tubes. It was squeezed in a white-knuckled grip until the flow was dammed. “Now, you aren’t getting all high and mighty on me, are you?” She asked in a sickly-sweet voice, putting the smiling mask back on. “Don’t forget who gave you all of your shiny new toys. If it weren’t for me, you would still be rotting away in that hospital bed, where nobody could hear you.”
She took a moment longer to grab onto the clear plastic, then let it go. “I’m glad you’ve decided to cooperate. I helped you for a reason, you know. I saw the potential you had...Ah, I ramble so much.” She shook her head. “I’ll leave you to your work. And don’t forget to get plenty of rest. We have so much work to do, and so little time…”
The shadow moved away, melting into all the others with the sound of clicking heels. Once it was far, far away, the faint hum of magic sounded. From another pool of darkness, a half-eaten package of red licorice floated into the faint light. A single braid was pulled out of it, and invisible fingers peeled a stand off to carry it into an awaiting mouth. Artificial strawberry, what a peculiar flavor.
“So…” A silent voice echoed in the darkness. “...Sin?”
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bran-writes · 4 years
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AK Character Profile: Cal
So, we’ve covered the Outliers, the group of characters at the center of Apocalypse Kings. This week I’ll introduce Lori, my third and final POV character. I’ll also cover the supporting characters surrounding her at Bergeron Robotics. But first, I’ve got a bonus character profile this week! One of my favorites and I’ve been wanting to introduce y’all to him!
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California Robert Schuster-Bergeron
14 years old
Born April 15th, 2026
White
Cal Schuster-Bergeron is the 14 year-old tech prodigy and only cousin of Kwin Bergeron. Born to Monica Bergeron and Kenny Schuster, Cal is a scrawny kid but more than makes up for it in raw, near genius level intellect and sharp wit, taking after his maternal grandfather.
While he’s somewhat of a recluse, Cal has some social potential, and enjoys interaction with other kids, especially older ones who can understand him a bit better than kids his own age. However, Cal’s scientific and mechanical exploits thrive in solitude. He’ll tell just about anybody that he’d love to get out more but his personal projects keep him busy. Cal loves working with his hands and challenging himself to build and modify electronics, but he does get lonely at times. While he excels at school and takes part in the Young Innovators program to satisfy that social itch, he dives headfirst into his love of tech and tinkering with computers to shield himself from a troubled home life.
Enter The Cubby, Cal’s hideout turned home on the top floor of his apartment building. In exchange for helping the landlord service the building, Cal’s been allowed to convert the un-rentable loft into his own personal workspace- complete with the monitors, work stations, camera feeds of the premises and an alcove that houses his living space. Outside of school and Young Innovators meetings, Cal spends all his time in The Cubby- except for quick drop in visits to The Promenade for Supplies and his cousin’s house. In a near constant state of independence, Cal cooks his own meals and sleeps in the bed he carried up from his apartment downstairs. He rarely sees his mother, who is a notorious gambler and drug addict. Even when he goes down to tidy up the place, she’s usually off with another boyfriend or in the drunk tank at the Three Pines precinct.
In a way, Cal’s been forced into his own independence and self-care. He longs to have a better relationship with his other family members, particularly Kwin, but he hasn’t figured out a way of expressing that being emotionally close with people makes him anxious and in some ways, scares him. Receiving affection isn’t something Cal is used to, and he now avoids it when he can.
Cal does, however, spend time with his grandfather when he gets the opportunity. Not known for being very quite as affectionate as Aunt Dana or Kwin, Sam provides an exploratory respite from Cal’s work. He spends hours at the lab compound, learning what he can and seeing the innovative tech his grandfather is striving for. The man’s usually incredibly busy, but tries to make up for it by inviting Cal up to the lab or taking him out to lunch, where they discuss current topics in robotics and mechatronics. Cal connects with Sam the most, as they have strikingly similar interests.
Overall, Cal wants to find a purpose and help others, but he wants to do it his own way. With his tech savvy and and watchful eye on current events, Cal’s become somewhat of a doomsday prepper. Using money he gets from running a computer and software repair service (which he started illegally, using accounts under a false identity and shipping through P.O. Boxes), he buys supplies online and has hidden emergency caches all over Three Pines.
In The Cubby, one might also find questionably acquired electronics, specifically drones. A specialty of Cal’s, his drones could be flown to any point in city limits and back to the roof of his apartment reliably. He’s even coordinated with friends he met online to hijack Internet usage not reliant on the city’s connectivity. His access to all this proves Cal’s resourcefulness, intelligence and disregard for rules when it suits him.
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