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wacky-nameless-inventor-24 · 11 months

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Main Negaverse AU. Refresh my memory. World, characters, dynamics, everything. Go! (I only remember the basics). :D

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

You asked for this ;)

SO! Dunno much about the actual Negaverse from the dwd series so things may change if I ever decide to actually watch an episode about it but for now we have this (gonna focus more on the team science aspect of this because that's what most of the stories are about ssldfjdlkj). Oh gosh I've gotta go digging into ye old docs from 2020 help meeee-

So far we've got Scrooge as the evil crime boss overlord over Duckburg. He does whatever the heck he wants and essentially just regularly pillages the city for whatever he wants. He doesn't actually rule anything, he just wreaks havoc and hardly any force is organized against him because everyone's too busy trying to put their lives back together. Gizmoduck acts as his enforcer and is the one who does most of the pillaging, along with being the one who's sent out to squash whatever kind of rebellions come up against that. Gyro is his evil scientist, he makes things that to his vast frustration regularly turn out good and try to rebel against Gyro and Scrooge. He's the most two-faced person ever, he acts like the sweetest person you'll ever meet but then will absolutely stab someone in the back. Said it before but I'm really just going off of this because I absolutely love this idea. Boyd (here called 2-BO still) is so far one of the only inventions that he's managed to keep 'evil', he acts as Gyro's bodyguard and if Gyro ever needs any shady things done and Gizmoduck isn't available, he'll have 2-BO do it. Despite relationships being different in this universe he does still have some genuine affection for 2-BO in there somewhere. Gyro and Fenton just kind of tolerate each other, Fenton's been around long enough to know all about Gyro's nice outward appearance, while also being wholly familiar with the darker side of him. So Gyro doesn't usually bother with being nice to him anymore, and Fenton is just his usual mean and pessimistic self right back at him. I wouldn't call them friends, at least, not on a surface level, but they've known each other long enough that they know each other well and can work well together.

I think I said it in their post but Blue again was one of the Moonvasion clones of course, brought down by one of the Moonlanders (Lunaris was just trying to free Duckburg and the rest of the world from Scrooge's evil-ness). Something about what happened to them acted as a wake-up call, they were able to see how terrible Scrooge (and therefore everyone else who worked with/for him) really was from the outside. When they found out that the rest of the clones had been killed for being excess weight, that finally drove them to do something about all of this. But because the clones were killed, they're terrified of being discovered as one so they do whatever they can not to meet face-to-face with pretty much anyone in their universe. They're afraid of confrontation anyway too, so they do most of their opposing as just quietly sneaking around. They're terrified of Fenton, and he gets a special kind of delight out of messing with them. They've never actually fainted around him (yet), but it isn't for a lack of him trying. They can't stand how fake Gyro comes off most of the time, but they know firsthand how ruthless he can be so they stay well away from him whenever possible. And tbh it's really fun to think about my stories switched over to the Negaverse, because like any wholesome moment or happy ending is the opposite. Mads and Fenton bleeding out in the snow and having a nice heart-to-heart before being saved? Could that be changed to Fenton trying to kill Blue before they managed to get back at him in self-defense, and when Gyro went to get Fenton he left Blue there to die? Gyro being kidnapped by F.O.W.L. and Mads and Fenton going to rescue him? Or Fenton forcing Blue to tell him where Gyro is and making them be his hostage?? And angst would be the opposite here too- switching Here's My Day so Far so it's Blue staying with F.O.W.L. for a few months before Fenton comes and kidnaps them and holds them hostage at his house, before making them come along to rescue Gyro from F.O.W.L. (and possibly hurt their F.O.W.L. agent friends- wait maybe in this universe Bradford's death was on accident??? 👀) too. Anyway. It's fun.

Story starts when Scrooge tells Gyro and Fenton to go ask the Negaverse people (who they know about somehow... haven't worked that out yet) for help defeating F.O.W.L.. NScrooge says he'll help, but only if they pick someone for a fight against his champion. His only condition is that whoever they pick, their weapons have to be homemade. Because the armor was largely made by Gyro, they go ask Mads, who made the weapons in his hand himself. When they head back to the Negaverse with him they discover that NScrooge's champion is NGizmoduck, and the two have a very intense and also very sexually charged fight, where Mads wins (but it's implied that NFenton let him win 'cause someonessssssss catching feelings already ;)). And I was originally thinking from there that they just kind of immediately fall for each other, but lately I’ve been thinking it would be really fun if they had some sort of enemies-to-lovers things going on where they take turns kidnapping each other, and it's left unspoken but they both know that for the most part this is just a game. Eventually they do confess and after that their relationship is mostly just little dates in each of their universes, telling each other how different things went down and how their respective universe even works (never resolved the 'negaverse people are now fighting F.O.W.L. too' thing here because LISTEN this was just an elaborate scheme to get these two together slsdjflsdjflsj). I haven't worked out how Mads met Blue yet, don't know if he went looking for them on purpose or somehow they just ran into each other. Blue is scared of Mads and his universe at first- because everyone there knows that Mads (and therefore Blue) is a clone of Gyro, and they're afraid that someone is going to tell someone in their universe about that too. Blue does eventually warm up to Mads (and Mads really tries to be their friend), though they are very distrusting of Gyro and Fenton because no matter how nice they are to them they'll always have that first impression of NGyro and NFenton.

I’m thinking that the relationship between NFenton and Blue does get better while Mads is there, he’s close with both of them and isn’t gonna tolerate NFenton harassing them at all. That being said!!! (This is where it gets tricky because I don’t know all about how it worked in dwd but this is how I’ve chosen to interpret the basic stuff ik sldlflfm) Their universes do run parallel to each other so if something happens in one, then some kind of version of that happens in another. Now if Mads and Fenton do ever have a major interaction in their universe then some kind of likely negative version happens between NFenton and Blue (and that was actually something really fun I messed around with in one of my stories, someone dies in the Negaverse and now they’ve got to figure out if they can prevent their death in the normal universe, if that’s even possible).

So yeah I think that’s most of what I’ve figured out so far lmk if there’s more you wanna know about 👀

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crystalelemental · 11 months

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Unit Teambuilding - Summer Tate

I still can’t get over this. Summer May was practically guaranteed. We all knew Jirachi was coming with the festival thing, but not a soul would’ve guessed Tate. It’s better this way. This should be the kind of thing we actually get on the regular.

General Overview Summer Tate and Jirachi come in as a Steel-type Tech unit, and is the next evolution of Palentine’s Dawn. You know how Dawn’s thing was Charm/Fake Tears for Atk/Sp Def debuffing, with Ripple Effect 4? And then we got Lucian with his Growl shenanigans that hit AoE at half the cost? Tate comes in, saying “I’ll hit both in one action, but it won’t spread.” Immediately, this solidifies Tate as a “better in Gauntlet than CS” kind of sync pair. He can do a lot of damage to a single target, but very little to spread. Moreover, his passive skill, Doom Desire, activates every two Pokemon moves (hence P-Moves, wonderfully awful naming convention we have going). This includes status, so even while you’re spamming Charm and Thunder Wave, you’ll be dishing out some serious damage, as Doom Desire is triple the damage of his Flash Cannon. Don’t get too excited, because Flash Cannon DPS is atrocious. It’s literally worse than base Jasmine’s Iron Tail. Which...we’ll get to that. His last passive increase a random stat among the seven for the entire team by 2 when Doom Desire activates, and he has a ton of grid passives that randomly boost his own stats too, which means there’s Gauntlet solo potential in here.

Now, about Doom Desire. On its own, Flash Cannon is atrocious, literally the worst DPS Steel can aim to provide as a damage source (things like Thorton Gyro Ball do not count, let’s be honest). However, Doom Desire would make it stronger than SS Giovanni’s Iron Tail. The problem is it’s every other action, which means you get around Raihan’s Steel Beam DPS per turn. But that’s an average. And the problem with averages is you lose the story in the variance. It’s every second hit, and anyone familiar with CS strats, particularly the art of Denial, will know why that’s a problem.

Turn 1, you buff. His trainer move gives almost everything he could need, so that’s free. After this, center acts. You then queue a move, probably Charm or T-Wave, depending on team comp. That’s attack 1, going while the right side acts. Attack 2 is likely another of those choices, followed by center. To perform a denial, Tate must now KO the left side. Doom Desire will not activate in any possible rotation, barring completely abandoning his trainer move. Meaning he has to use sync. And as a Tech unit with fairly awkward DPS, this can throw thing off a bit. The short is, Tate cannot make use of an EX support. He has to take first sync. The good news is, doing so puts him on track to easily perform a denial on the right as well, as the next two attacks will be center, then right. And his sync is his strongest point, so there’s legitimate value in just ignoring the EX support. But it’s a notable quantity: you cannot count on his DPS always being there. It has to be used strategically.

On the whole though, I really like this kit. I am always in favor of more debuffs, special defense in particular feels very rare. I love that he has so much buff support too. Gauntlet’s gonna be wild with how often he can get something buffed up. And he’s the new sync king for his type! That’s always exciting. Also despite my misgivings regarding P!Marnie being physical, her Growl support actually is very ideal for him in CS, so Marnie once again being surprisingly future-proofed as a Zone setter.

EX and Move Level? Given the rotation issue described above, EX feels almost mandatory. To perform a proper denial in CS, Tate must use his sync, he cannot rely on DPS, and the stronger the sync the more reliable this is. However, this depends on your utility for him. As a damage dealer, 3/5 EX is pretty required. But as a support with paralysis and a fast-acting single-target debuff, 1/5 will do just fine, and gets some nice DPS support every other action for free.

Team 1: Summer Tate, Roxanne/Lodge Dawn, Erika Let’s start cheap. Summer Tate works very well with Roxanne and Lodge Dawn, two sync pairs that boost his special attack to cap, and provide a wide array of relevant buffs for Rising Tide. Erika is chosen as the third partner, due to her ability to paralyze and potentially debuff special defense for him in CS. In Gauntlet, apply your relevant gimmick here.

Team 2: Summer Tate, SS Brendan/BP Janine, P!Marnie/C!Elesa On the more expensive end, SS Brendan is a good partner to Tate, thanks to the debuffing and the potential paralysis off Dragonbreath. Free Moves Next applications allow him to work well with the slower option of P!Marnie, who otherwise works well with Tate thanks to Zone and Growl. Note that Tate does have a stronger sync nuke than Marnie, so he’s not overshadowed. As an alternative, BP Janine offers better speed control at the cost of being frail and not providing paralysis, but does combo well with Classic Elesa, who has spread paralysis and spectrum debuffs that cover a lot of what Tate needs. BP Janine offering evasion and speed boosts is also very nice for Rising Tide.

Team 3: Summer Tate, Kali, Lucian Another potential option is Lucian. Lucian offers the same debuffs as Tate, but AoE, allowing for a much easier time setting up Tate’s multipliers in a CS context. The support partner is harder to determine. I opted for Kali as a suggestion, based on having another stack to randomly debuff a target, but in truth I don’t think she’s all that good. I thought about BP Surge for a paralysis bot, but he doesn’t do anything else for Tate. I couldn’t think of a good support that gives paralysis and +2 special attack that wasn’t just SS Brendan again, so...oops, I guess.

Team 4: Summer Tate, Melony/Lodge Morty, Ghetsis/Fantina Now for the 1/5 discussion of Tate’s supportive effects. Ghetsis. Ghetsis needs attack debuffs for his multipliers, and operates off special attack, making him a prime choice for Tate to support. I’ll also mention Fantina, who has her own need for rapid-fire debuffing of special defense, partnered with Lodge Morty, who appreciates the attack debuffs for a bit more safety.

Final Thoughts Tate seems really good. I love me a good debuffer, and in particular, I love a good special defense debuffer, I feel like those are a hot commodity. It’s tough when your only options are like...Lucian and P!Dawn. And SS Hilbert, but guess who skipped him like an idiot. Tate offers another good alternative, and I’m very pleased with his overall kit. And personally? I just love that it’s him and Liza. Like I’m sorry Wallace fans, I know your pain since I wanted Roxanne more than this, I hope you get your due soon, but good god this is the exact level of “emphasize the less popular with actual events” that I want to see.

#unit teambuilding #summer tate

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cuntstable · 11 months

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Gyro :>

YAY my other favourite italian guy…. TY :D

first impressions:

wow cool cowboy

impression now:

my freak. my manslut. my bestie. my foul beast. the tool with which i have terrorized others by posting horrid ugly pictures of him. but ok genuinely i like him so much. hes just so entertaining to me. hes simultaneously a mentour character and a fail fuck up mentee himself. hes a huge asshole and a cunt and an insufferable dork who still does almost always do the right thing at the end of the day and stands out as ultimately the one character in sbr who isnt selfishly motivated (he chases the corpse for johnny, wants to win the race for the little boy). and of course he is sexy in a rat like way to me.

favourite moment:

when he asked johnny to steel his balls so he could run or whatever happens in the story idk (his death 😞)

idea for a story:

idk man his backstorys so thorough as is…… i will say that i think sbr is the one jojo part that i think would work and be entertaining as a Normal Au fic or whatever btw LOL. like i usually Dont Like Those but i do love the idea of gyro and johnny and diego and hp just being weirdo collage students in a horse girl club. its fun to me. gyros a med student and him and johnny meet up through that. whatever.

unpopular opinion:

i have absolutely no idea about what an unpopular or popular gyro opinion would be. oh my god. ok well i think dont think the pizza mozzarella song is his funniest moment !!

favourite relationship:

absolutely unsuprising johnny. their friendship feels so real to me like. gyro starts off as the mentour to johnny but ultimately they both end up learning from each other and growing through their relationship to one another. theyre both assholes to everyone around them except to one another, because when is just the two of them they let their guards down and turn into complete dorks. but they still have his competetiveness about them because they are just similar personalities in that regard but also because they both want to constantly push each other to greater hights. and ofc the fact that they sacrifice so much for one another. well. goes and cries in the corner now thingking about ”lets go home”

favourite headcanon:

i think he got his gold grills way before the sbr race maybe because of some tooth problems he had (possibly due to. poor hygiene LOL). and he just had the Go Go Zeppeli carved into them right before the race :)

#jojo

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antiquarianandunusual · 1 year

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When Worlds Collide (A DuckTales 2017/Darkwing Duck/DuckTales 1987 Fic) Chapter 4: A Little Help From Their Friends

Previous Chapter

First Chapter

Also Available to Read on AO3!

Scrooge McDuck intimidated Drake far more than he cared to admit.

He wished he could pinpoint exactly why the infamous adventure capitalist sent him reeling back to his days of cowering before even the nicest directors, of wild-eyed "Yes, ma'ams" and "No, sirs" even as casting agents ripped on his best auditions apart because the only thing that mattered was that people liked him. Maybe it was because McDuck was the authority figure to end all authority figures; if you were going to get on the bad side of any public figure, you certainly didn't want it to be him. Or maybe it was because Scrooge could read a person for filth, regardless of false bravado and fancy costumes, which was all the more terrifying when you were about to present yourself to him as a real person- without the flimsy shield of a crimefighting identity. It could even have just been that Launchpad considered him family. Launchpad's family, blood-related or not, not liking Drake was a terrifying prospect. Even dropping Gosalyn off at the manor to hang out with Scrooge's lot left his heart pounding.

Going through the infinite possibilities in his head as the four of them passed McDuck Industries employees on the stairs of the money bin didn't make him feel much better. He had already been gripped by anxiety's grubby claws since the night before, driven mainly by its adrenaline since he certainly hadn't slept for more than one or two twenty-minute bouts. Not for a lack of trying, of course; he made it to bed, at least, but the excitement of the evening combined with the paranoia of the intruders-turned-guests in his secret hideout rendered him helpless to nauseating tossing and turning. He hadn't felt this overwhelmed this quickly since, well, the exact event that got them here.

Sensing this, Launchpad placed a firm hand on his back and ushered him- along with the other Drake and Launchpad- through one of the many front doors. "Fenton said Mr. McD wants to meet us in Gyro's lab."

"I can't believe Mr. McDuck actually shelled out the money for Gyro to have a proper lab," Launchpad Two remarked with a snicker. He glanced around the cavernous room with wonder-filled eyes, occasionally peeking down at his Darkwing to gauge how he was feeling. The seemingly unsuspecting suburban father wore a scowl and had his arms tightly crossed, but this didn't dampen his sidekick's spirits. "The Scrooge back home would never. Says it's because Gyro's freelance."

"'Freelance'?"

"Yeah. He doesn't officially work for Mr. McDuck- he's just a repeat customer. It was the same way for me until I closed up shop."

"Oh."

"Something wrong?"

Drake glanced sideways at Launchpad and could immediately tell something was wrong. Although he didn't mean to, he wore his emotions on his sleeve, even more so when he tried to pretend that he didn't. It was clear he hadn't meant to sound so disappointed, yet the sudden stiffness in his movements betrayed his nervous energy as he stumbled to perform damage control. "Oh, uh... I just didn't realize you didn't work for him, anymore."

Launchpad Two shrugged. "It was time for something different, I guess. Why, do you still work for Mr. McD?"

Drake watched as Launchpad once again fumbled for an answer. As time wore on, he'd witnessed the truth become more and more complicated; it began as Launchpad trying to balance both, but he soon realized the plan was doomed from the start. As energetic as the pilot was, the occasional power nap between worldwide adventures with the McDucks, busting criminals with Darkwing Duck, and driving to and from Duckburg and St. Canard and wherever else his endeavors dragged him was not enough to keep him functional. He had tried to incorporate his strained sleep schedule into his late-night-early-morning drives, an idea Drake had been quick to veto.

Nowadays, with McDuck's niece back and fully reassimilated into the family, the calls to action from Scrooge were becoming rarer and rarer, which Drake knew hurt Launchpad as much as he tried to hide it. It wasn't that they didn't want him around; the family was more than happy to see him on the odd occasion when they needed him to cover for Della, but their ragtag team had reached a point where they had more people than they knew what to do with. As such, Launchpad's time was spent more in St. Canard than back home. His house sat empty as Darkwing Tower became more like a home than ever, and his mechanical pet projects went neglected as he switched his focus to improving the Ratcatcher and drafting blueprints (doodling pictures of) a Darkwing-themed jet exclusive to the movie that had only ever been seen in leaked production photos (pictures Drake had taken on his phone without Boorswan's knowledge).

Drake had even caught him a few times scouring the Internet for real estate agents, absently writing out two-week notices that would eventually find their way to the trash, skimming articles about coping with living away from family. It was clear that a part of him wanted to take the plunge, but he was trying to keep those feelings on the down-low. For as close as the two of them had gotten, this remained the one thing Launchpad actively avoided discussing.

So, Drake stayed unsurprised when Launchpad pressed the call button on the elevator and nonchalantly settled on a falsely cheerful, "Oh, yeah! They're my family. I don't think I could ever quit."

Launchpad Two refocused his gaze to try to meet his counterpart's slightly dodgy eyes. He shrugged playfully. "Wasn't an easy choice. I'd been flying Mr. McDuck all over the world for just over fifteen years when I figured it was time to pack up and," he slammed his chest with his fist with a good-humored chuckle, "be my own man. Spent a year or so fixing up abandoned planes before this guy crash-landed in my hangar!" Swiftly, he reached over and caught his Drake in a sideways embrace. For a moment, said Drake grumbled in discontent but softened soon thereafter. His frustration returned when Launchpad Two suddenly backed away and stepped into the newly arrived elevator, leaving him with little time to rebalance himself. "Anyhow, I dunno how you do it."

"Yeah. Me, neither."

And so, the rest of them clambered into the elevator and as the doors quietly slid shut, fell into another uncomfortable silence.

_______________________________________________________

The budding evening was delightfully gloomy on the doorstep of Macawber Manor, a ring of bleak, gray storm clouds hovering ominously overhead over the tattered roof. Bolts of lightning rippled fiercely across the ever-darkening sky as thunder announced its arrival with a mighty roar and heavy sheets of freezing rain came crashing down, the sound of the drops hitting the sidewalk echoing across the yard. As the storm raged, the foundation of the house creaked and moaned as if to threaten to topple over at any moment. The shutters- locks having long since rusted over- opened and closed, slamming and banging in a haunting cacophony.

Morgana leaned on the sill of one of the higher windows and let the wind whip through her hair. While such an intense storm would send anyone else battening down the hatches, she found it simply electrifying; the musty scent of the rain hanging in the air was as rejuvenating as a calm sea was to others, and the noisy structure of the house brought back to her father's decrepit castle more than twittering songbirds ever would. The rest of the city enjoyed an evening that was their own idea of perfect, while she got one that was hers. It was just one of the many perks of having supernatural abilities- at least, when they worked when they were supposed to.

She observed the occasional passerby on the sidewalk below; Morgana was less protective of her manor now that Macawber Industries had disbanded (not that she had to worry much about Normal intruders, anyway), but it was old habit to make who was coming and going her business. She also may have had a meager hope that Darkwing would stop by before he and Launchpad went on patrol. That Reginald Bushroot had him so caught up combatting a recent and particularly nasty crime spree that she hadn't seen or spoken to him in days. She was beginning to worry that she wouldn't hear from him again.

There was a spark of hope when she recognized one of the dots on the sidewalk, Darkwing's daughter storming up the gate and visibly arguing with someone alongside her. She gestured wildly and although Morgana couldn't make out every word, Gosalyn's voice was loud enough to be identifiable over the thundering rain.

Before the duo could step into the stormy yard, Morgana dispelled the clouds with a wave of her hand, the steely grays of the manor giving way to soft blues. "Gosalyn!" Gosalyn stopped mid-sentence, looked up, and waved to Morgana, who reciprocated. "Hang on, I'll be down in a moment!"

Anyone else would have found themselves utterly lost in the winding, intersecting staircases and stretched hallways lined with towering windows despite being on interior walls. The manor and its sole occupant (on the lease, at least; creepy crawlies never made good homeowners) were connected in ways a mortal would never understand, not even one as unique as her beloved Darkwing. In a literal blink of an eye, there she was in the doorway, waving for her visitors to approach.

Honker had met Morgana on the odd occasion but still hesitated. Gosalyn, however, considered her a third parent, and the coolest of the trio to boot. Don't be mistaken, she loved her dad and Launchpad dearly, but her interest in the macabre was something they would never really understand; Morgana, however, literally lived the kind of life she had only seen in the movies. So Gosalyn, long since desensitized to Morgana's personal horror show, hesitated not a second to leave the timid Muddlefoot in the dust in favor of her honorary, if unconventional, mother figure.

The towering Morgana knelt down to Gosalyn's level and opened her mouth to speak before her hand was suddenly taken and yanked back towards the door. "Gosalyn, wh-"

"Wait until we're inside!" Gosalyn chastised. "You never know who's listening!" She continued to tug on Morgana's arm, although it did little to move the perplexed sorceress from where she stood.

Finally, Honker gathered the courage to approach from behind; he very lightly pulled on her other sleeve before recoiling the second her attention turned to him. "Ms. Macawber? I-It's an emergency," was all he managed to squeak out before Gosalyn took the lead once more.

"'Emergency's' an understatement! Come on, Morgana, we need your help!"

"Alright, alright!" Morgana turned, ushered Honker ahead of her, and herded the two of them into the manor, closing and locking the door behind them. Gosalyn clambered up onto the couch and stood on the cushions, much like her father would have had he been there; it seemed to be an inherent Mallard instinct, to find the highest vantage point in a room to make yourself seem as tall as possible. "Now, can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Dad and Launchpad are missing!"

Morgana reeled back. "I- What?!"

"They never came home from patrol last night." Sighing, Gosalyn wrung her hands, her gusto quickly giving way to an almost uncharacteristic trepidation. She spoke quickly as per usual, but it was fueled by anxiety rather than her typical excitable confidence. "They come home late all the time, but at least Dad calls to tell me what they're doing. They've got to have gotten themselves into some real trouble this time."

Morgana would have been lying if she said she was anything more than just mildly alarmed. When she and Darkwing first made their relationship official, of course she worried about him and his penchant for hurling himself into peril, but she had long learned how not to agonize so much over his safety. After all, his catchphrase was quite literally "Let's get dangerous", so she knew she would quite literally never stop worrying about him if she began fretting each time he might have been in danger. Regardless, she chose to humor what little concern presented itself.

"Gosalyn, slow down," she gently chided. "Start from the beginning."

_______________________________________________________

There was a collective gasp of awe when the elevator opened to reveal the laboratory in all its glory. It was only then that Drake realized that as much as he had heard of the company's inner workings, he had never actually seen most of it. He had long ago accepted his outsider status when it came to anything McDuck Enterprises-related; the closest he had gotten of his own effort was backstage at McDuck's movie studio, which said little due to just how small Scrooge's role actually was for the production process right until the end. Even so, he'd be lying if he said he didn't get some semblance of satisfaction from getting premium access to one of the most delicate facets of Duckburg's greatest scheme- and at Scrooge's invitation, no less.

Beaming with pride, Launchpad blurted, "Pretty cool, right?"

"You're telling me!" Launchpad Two shouldered his way to the front of the group. "This is way different than Gyro's shack back home!"

"'Shack'...?" a familiar, incredulous voice echoed, all subtlety being flung out the window as it bounded off the cavernous walls. Gyro was on the next floor up, at the apex of a large structure with several doors on it, leading to seemingly nowhere. Fenton sat at a nearby workspace and thumbed through printouts and blueprints; a compact wall of monitors next to him flooded his face with green and black light. The ladder never seemed to get a proper night's sleep on a good day, yet he looked particularly miserable as he ruffled his free hand through his hair and muttered unintelligibly to himself.

Instinctively, Drake tensed and fixed his already decent posture. He was grateful for the distance because he was sure his expression was one of a deer caught in the headlights of a monstrous semi-truck as soon as he laid eyes on the third member of the group.

Scrooge was the living embodiment of "small but mighty". He was almost puny next to a lanky fellow like Gyro and especially the towering Launchpad, but he carried himself with such power that you'd think he'd had it all his life. No wonder no one believed the stories about him being a poor lad in Glasgow; for all his temper and penchant for raising his voice when things go the slightest bit wrong, he still managed to carry himself with such foreboding grace that he must have been hatched with it. But this man had seen more than Drake could ever have dreamt to begin to imagine, and that was much of what was terrifying.

Drake snuck a quick glance over at his companions. His Launchpad was already halfway up the stairs; although Scrooge would never admit it, they had long passed the need for formalities. Launchpad Two, however, seemed to hesitate. He knew his place, but there was still a twinkle in his eyes that advertised just how thrilled he was to be present. As such, he strode forward shortly behind. The other Drake, however, miraculously also looked completely petrified. The look on his face wasn't nearly as readable as everyone else's and was more akin to a lifelong house cat seeing another member of its own kind through the window for the first time. His eyes were wild with unabashed terror, his neck was craned with wild curiosity, and the rest of his body was rigid with a need to defend his territory.

"What are you looking at me for?!" Scrooge snapped back, swinging his arms out defensively and dragging Drake back down to reality. "I fought tooth and nail to get you the funding you needed, you-"

"Mr. McD!"

Launchpad stumbled to the head of the stairs. Scrooge didn't thaw out entirely, but there was suddenly a dent in his ornery armor that stopped him from going for Gyro. "There you are, lad! And... lad." He shifted to where he could see around Launchpad, meeting eyes with Launchpad Two, who nervously twirled his scarf around his index finger. The elder approached and tipped his top hat nonchalantly but not without an exasperated sigh. "You must be one of the interdimensional travelers I've heard so much about."

Launchpad Two straightened himself up and snickered sheepishly.

Craning his neck further, Scrooge raised a brow. He pointed his cane at Drake, whose breath caught. "Drake Mallard, is it not?"

Drake didn't think before spitting out, "You remember me?"

Scrooge remained businesslike, lowering his head to peer at Drake over his spectacles. "I don't often forget the people that save my tail feathers. But I haven't the foggiest who this is," he amended as he switched his steely gaze to the next duck.

The other Drake was still staring with his beak just slightly agape, and his eyes expressed poorly masked jealousy; this state, he had to quickly snap himself out of once he was properly addressed. "Also Drake Mallard," he squeaked.

"Yes, yes, that's nice," Gyro interrupted. "Definitely not like the universe is at stake or anything. Take your time."

"Dr. Gearloose-!"

"No, lad, he's right. Come now, you four, no time for pleasantries!"

As the Drakes speed-walked to catch up to the rest of the group, Fenton did his best to fix the mess of papers and signaled for everyone to huddle around. He reached over for a set of blueprints that were still rolled up and unfurled it on top of all but a few sheets of data, which he was careful to place in a way that didn't cover anything else important. The blueprints were labeled "REALITY ALTERING MECHANISM" and sure enough, a chill traveled down Drake's spine; the machine that was sketched out in front of him would haunt his nightmares for years to come.

"This," Fenton began, "is the Ramrod." He pointed at an image of the Solego Circuit, which was isolated at the bottom of the page. "And this is what powered it. It's a circuit that, when used right, can open doorways to alternate dimensions like yours. Unfortunately, like we talked about last night, it can have catastrophic effects if used too much. That's why we can't in good conscience use it to get you home." He pulled the other papers back over. The one he picked out of the pile had times marked off on the same two October days. "It's a very basic version of the data, but this is a spreadsheet of all the times the Ramrod was used in a 24-hour period. If it had been used even once more, well..."

"We wouldn't be here talking about it right now," morbidly interjected Gyro.

"Right. We're worried that the fabric of reality still won't be able to handle a portal that's been intentionally opened, even now."

Drake Two huffed. "All I'm hearing are more problems. Aren't we here for solutions?"

"I'm getting to that, it just... needs some context."

"Hm."

"Anyway, I stayed up all night trying to figure out why and how exactly that gateway brought you here completely safely. I mean, surely there would have been some negative effects we would have noticed, both as a result of that portal and from everything that happened before."

"Meaning?" Launchpad Two urged.

"We, uh... We think the doorway came from your universe. Not ours."

A beat.

Drake blinked. "What?"

With a grimace, Fenton turned to him. "It's not impossible. Just like there are multiple versions of you, there could have been multiple versions of Solego and multiple versions of the circuit. There's no telling."

"But you said last night it was a direct result of the Ramrod."

"That was what we originally thought, but nothing adds up with that theory. It doesn't explain why the trip was so clean or-or why we haven't seen any problems before now."

"You don't even think it could be someone from F.O.W.L.?"

Fenton shook his head. "Gandra says Heron and Bradford were the only ones with access to the schematics, and they're both... accounted for."

"Wait, wait, wait!" came Drake Two's voice once again. "Let's not discount this F.O.W.L. theory so quickly. If anyone from our universe who's got it out for me knows about this circuit thingy, it's F.O.W.L. High Command."

"Which doesn't exactly help you," pointed out Gyro, "because you have no way of verifying or fixing it."

The firm tap of a cane on the table jolted everyone's attention to Scrooge. "Our first point of focus should be getting these two home. Then we can worry about whatever F.O.W.L. or whoever else might be planning. Fenton, what have you got?"

"Well, right now, Mr. McDuck? It's, uh... nothing."

A raised brow was the response. It was more exasperated than meanspirited, but it still left Fenton sinking in his seat.

"We're working as hard and as fast as we can to find a solution. We've decided not to completely rule out using the Ramrod plans, but we're considering it the nuclear option. Otherwise, we still need more time."

Scrooge sighed. He massaged his temple with his free hand and was visibly stressed, yet still handled it better than they had any right to expect. Even so, everyone listened with bated breath as he spoke. "Then for now, they're our guests. You two," he directed at Gyro and Fenton, "get home and get some rest. Starting first thing tomorrow, this Ramrod business is our top priority. Launchpad and Mallard, the two of you can go back to your work in St. Canard, but if you see anything suspicious at all, you're to report first and foremost to Gyro. As for the rest of ye..." He sighed again. "I'd like to extend an invitation for you to- temporarily- stay in one of my manor's guest rooms until we have this situation all figured out."

"That's... strangely kind of you, Mr. McDuck," mumbled Gyro, almost bitterly.

"Don't be mistaken, lad, it's out of necessity. If we end up running on borrowed time, I want these two close by so we can act fast. Plus, it's cheaper than shelling out the money for a hotel."

"Don't you own a chain of-"

Drake Two waved his hand dismissively. "No, no, let the man speak."

"Launchpad, I trust you'll get them there safely?"

"Of course, Mr. McD!"

"Then best be getting to it." Scrooge tipped his hat to the other Drake and Launchpad. "Just tell the housekeeper Scrooge McDuck sent you, eh?"

_______________________________________________________

By the time Morgana had gotten the kids calmed down enough to think semi-rationally, the moon was high in the sky. They were now gathered around the coffee table with a map of the city splayed out, the paper only slightly singed from an unfortunate first try at the summoning spell. Seemingly unsuspecting locations around St. Canard were marked with sharp red Xs; the Mallard and Macawber households were circled and labeled "HOME BASE".

Gosalyn pointed at the different markers as she spoke. "So, we've got Megavolt's lighthouse, Bushroot's greenhouse, the warehouse district, the entire St. Canard sewer system... Oh, man, this is hopeless." She pushed the map across the table towards Morgana and buried her face in her hands.

"Let's not give up so quickly!" Morgana picked the marker up herself and circled two of the locations- Bushroot and Megavolt's hideouts. "What if we explore the places we know for certain first and then move on to where we're less sure about?"

"Um... Pardon me, Ms. Macawber, but we have to be more strategic than that. If one of them finds out we're looking for Darkwing Duck-"

"All chaos breaks loose!" lamented Gosalyn. "If one of them's got Dad, they could take him somewhere else, and even if they don't, without him here to guard the city, they're gonna do whatever they wanna do. We'd be lucky if there was even a St. Canard left for him to come back to."

There was a long beat of silence as Honker and Gosalyn sat in quiet misery, and Morgana eyed the map in deep thought. Admittedly, as the anxiety of the situation had settled in, the pressure of fully embracing the role of the hero was beginning to loom over her. It was late and had fast approached a day since anyone had heard from her closest companions, rendering her wondering if they had finally gotten too dangerous. She wondered if she was even sure if they were even close to being on the right path to finding them; Darkwing had so many enemies with so many valid reasons to get rid of him that the Fearsome Four were small fish in a massive pond of bloodthirsty criminals.

At least they were a start. That was better than nothing.

What was even more assuring was that this team in particular didn't have much interest in anyone but her beloved. Sure, she had history with them, but she also had the upper hand at being a former rival of Darkwing's- and a formidable one at that. The vestiges of a plan were slowly beginning to form. But first and foremost- keeping Gosalyn and Honker safe; it's exactly what Drake Mallard would do.

"Alright," Morgana finally said. "I've got an idea."

"Really?" Gosalyn chirped, finally perking up just slightly. "What?"

"I'm going to go to their lairs undercover as a villain-turned hero-turned back to villain. That way, I can gather whatever intel they might have without raising suspicion. Or as little suspicion as I can manage."

"And what about us?" Gosalyn's excitement was starting to return.

"You two are going back to the Muddlefoots' for the night."

"What?!"

"It's exactly what your father would do if he were here. He'd never forgive me if I let anything happen to you two. Besides, it won't be convincing if I show up with two of Darkwing Duck's sidekicks with me."

"We can be your backup instead! We stay outside until you say the word and then BAM! There we are, by your side to fight some real bad guys!" Gosalyn rose to her feet again on the couch and swung at the air triumphantly.

"Absolutely not," Morgana countered. It came out more forceful than she had intended, and Gosalyn visibly wilted. Feeling guilty but ever insistent, she stooped just slightly to meet her level. "Let me do this on my own- just for tonight- and I'll find a way for you to help tomorrow if he's still gone. Alright?"

Silence. Gosalyn refused to meet her eyes.

"Gosalyn."

She sighed. "I guess."

"Thank you. You may not like it, but your father at least will be thrilled to know you're safe."

"Yeah, yeah."

With a lopsided smile, a flourish, and a blinding flash of light, Morgana worked her literal magic and was once again alone in the room.

Now uncharacteristically uncertain in the typically peaceful quiet of the manor, she took a moment to put on a brave face before taking another deep breath and raising her arms over her head, leaving the house empty- and officially setting her mission in motion.

#fanfiction #fan works #when worlds collide #darkwing duck #ducktales #ducktales 2017 #ducktales 1987 #drake mallard #launchpad mcquack #scrooge mcduck #morgana macawber #gosalyn mallard #gosalyn waddlemeyer #honker muddlefoot #gyro gearloose #fenton crackshell cabrera #fenton crackshell-cabrera

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fishing-croagunk · 1 year

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Game Clearing 2022: A Retrospective

It's that time of the year again, so let's look at all the games I beat.

As you can see, I played a lot more than last year, so I'm going to talk about them after the cut.

Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge: Jan 16 - Jan 16

If you've read my 2021 list, you know how much I loathed Frogger. Well, the sequel is thankfully a lot easier. Of course, without it being as frustrating, it's a lot shorter, but I'd say it's a more enjoyable experience.

Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition: Feb 4 - Feb 4

I said I would cover Murfy's Touch and Back to Origins here, so I will. Murfy's Touch was a neat set of levels with a surprisingly decent AI you have to guide through the levels. The only real drag was having no way to go back other than restarting the level. Back to Origins was pretty fun, though. A bit challenging and the Mosquito levels were a good change of pace. This convinced me to get Origins, which you'll see later.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Mar 27 - Apr 13

Kirby makes his transition to true 3D (not counting spin-offs), and I think he did it really well. The controls feel good, and the Mouthful Mode felt like a natural extension of the gameplay. I really hope they make another game like this!

Yoshi Touch & Go: Apr 27 - Apr 27

After all the tilting of Topsy-Turvy that got me tilted, I was a bit worried about this one. Thankfully, the touch and drawing controls are miles better than turning the system. One thing I dislike about this game is that it's a highscore challenge instead of a series of levels in worlds. If they had done that, I probably would have liked it a bit more.

Rayman Revolution: May 1 - May 8

There are plentiful ways to play Rayman 2, so I went with the PlayStation 2 version. I quite liked the platforming, and enjoyed some of the exploration. I didn't feel compelled to collect all the Lums, though. Maybe I should check out Hoodlum Havoc next year.

Star Fox 64 3D: May 13 - May 14

I must say, I really liked Star Fox 64 3D. I did play on 3DS mode, and with Gyro Controls off. I also decided it would make sense to complete both paths and every mision at least once. Flying the Arwing felt really nice, and I even managed to get a few medals and the warp in Sector X. Maybe I should try to get the rest of the medals sometime…

Bomberman Generation: May 14 - May 18

I really like the Super Bomberman series, but I've never played 64 or The Second Attack, so I was looking forward to it. I thought the unique bombs and the Charabombs were a unique idea, giving the bombing a puzzle-platformer aspect. I really didn't like the fact that some bosses where part of levels and others weren't. Near the end of the game, I got through what was basically a maze and then I died the boss, having to do it all over again. The Crush Bombers were fine to fight though.

Rayman Origins: May 19 - May 24

Oh boy, here's a game I really enjoyed! The platforming felt a bit tighter than Legends, and it had a pretty good amount of challenge to it, including the Tricky Treasure stages and The Land of the Livid Dead. I'm unsure which is better, this or Legends, but I'd say Origins is better for a single-player experience.

BAD END THEATER: May 30 - May 31

Here's something unique for this list, a visual novel! Like most VNs, I'm not going to talk too much about it, because I'd think you should go into this as blind as possible. All I'll say is, it was excellent from beginning to end, and I really want to check out more games made by this person, and more virtual novels in general.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge: Jun 16 - Jun 17

I love the TMNT Beat 'Em Ups, so I was hyped when this was announced. I even got a friend to join me. We did play on the hardest difficulty, which lead to us getting our shells kicked in the early game, but it evened out quickly. Part me wished I could have played with more people, but I had fun whacking Foot Soilders.

Viewitiful Joe: Jul 2 - Jul 4

This game is stunning to look at. I'd say the graphics still look great today. I enjoyed the combat, and it was fun learning how to properly use the Slow-Mo and Speed-Up. The story was also fun, and it truly felt like a cheesy superhero movie. I will definitely try to get the sequel.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (NSO): Jul 4 - Jul 5

I remember playing this game on Wii Virtual Console, but I don't remember finishing it. So I played through it again! It was fun figuring out all the unique combinations. My favorites would be Fire-Bomb, Ice-Stone, and Spark-Stone. Outside the shards that require abilites from a different level, it was pretty enjoyable getting them. It's also funny the re-release got a Teen rating.

Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series: Jul 20 - Aug 8

I have not played any of the games in the Klonoa series, until now. And man, this was a great entrypoint for the series! I liked the platforming, the story, the characters, the music..! I realize this is essentially two games in one, but both of them are amazing. I am definitely going to play more games in the series!

Cult of the Lamb: Sep 3 - Sep 12

I really like this game. The Roguelike part was pretty fun, and the management part was great as well. I ended up doing the four areas out of order, but it wasn't a serious problem. The final boss was pretty awesome. Perhaps I should play more Rougelikes, as I really enjoyed my time playing this.

Splatoon 3: Sep 16 - Sept 17

New Splatoon game means a new campaign. While the campaign is usually a good way to re-familiarize yourself with the controls, I liked the gimmick in the hub worlds as well. Makes me wish I could use Little Buddy in the Turf Wars.

Pokemon: Fool's Gold: Sep 25 - Sept 27

There are a ton of Pokemon ROMhacks out there. But this one takes everything you know about the Johto games and turns it on its head by changing the types of every Pokemon! It even adds some new areas to explore! Also, the Sevii islands are included, but that's when the game starts using mon at the level cap, so I stopped playing there.

Slap City: Oct 1 - Oct 2

I've played Slap City basically since release, but now Ludosity has added Story Mode for almost all of their characters. It was pretty decent to run through, although like Melee's Adventure Mode, every character plays the same series of levels. At least you can unlock cool new colors to use in the online play! I'm a Jenny main.

Luigi's Mansion 3: Oct 21 - Oct 24

I feel like this game really combines the good aspects of both of the games before it. It's all one big location, but you also have the collectibles. Gooigi also provided some new elements to the puzzle aspects. Part of me wishes I got my brother to play through the story with me.

Earthworm Jim (NSO): Oct 22 - Oct 22

I've played both EWJ 1 and 2 before, on ZNES (remember that?), but I genuinely don't remember if I've beaten either of them. I did use Save States (or restore points as NSO calls them), but I used them at checkpoints and after every level. I liked the game overall, but screw Tube Race. This was also the first time I played the Genesis-only level, Intestinal Distress, which was neat.

Earthworm Jim 2 (NSO): Oct 22 - Oct 22

Now this was a tricky one. I'd like to say that I think I like EWJ2 more than 1, but I wouldn't say by a lot. The graphics and platforming gameplay is better here, however the levels that don't use the platforming are kinda hit and miss. I did not like The Frying King, and Puppy Love is vastly inferior to Andy Asteroids. The actual platforming levels are great though. And before you ask, I am not going to play 3D nor Menace 2 the Galaxy.

Pokemon Snap (NSO): Oct 29 - Oct 29

I've heard a lot of good things about Snap, and it's not that bad of a game. Seeing Pokemon coexist like real animals is still neat. My only real gripe is that it's very short. I did snap a photo of all 63 mon though! Perhaps I should check out New Pokemon Snap sometime in the future.

Pokemon Blue: Oct 29 - Oct 30

I'm going to be real, I have never properly beaten a Gen 1 game before. I have played FireRed and LeafGreen many of times, but never the original games. And I have technically beaten it before, but that was through the glitch that warps you to the Hall of Fame. Playing through it, I did have a lot of moments where I realize how the later gens have spoiled me with a much larger bag and the physical/special split. Still it was kinda fun, but I'd rather play FireRed and LeafGreen.

Pokemon Stadium: Oct 30 - Oct 31

When Pokemon Stadium 1 and 2 were annouced for NSO, I was reminded of the fact that the Transfer Pack wouldn't be possible. So, with the power of emulation, I simulated the add-on, and brought the team I used in Blue into the N64 game. I did use PKHex to edit my team, but all I did was remove HMs (something you can't do in Gen 1), evolve my Haunter, and set all my mon to same level. And I can safely say that even with a proper team, Gym Leader Castle is unfair. It really felt like when the enemy needed a move to crit or status, it did. Combined with trapping moves with Wrap and Fire Spin, it's just not a good time. And you know what got for beating Lance? An Omanyte, which I already had in my Blue save.

Pokemon: Emerald Rouge: Nov 8 - Nov 13

Another ROMhack, and this one's quite good. It takes the Gen 3 games and turns it into a Rougelike. It's such a neat concept, and it preforms it really well. I also played on the EX version, which adds things from the later games. The thing is that I am not truly done, as after you beat it for the first time, a lot of cool things are unlocked, which I won't spoil for you. I totally recommend checking this one out!

Pokemon Stadium 2: Nov 18 - Nov 19

After conquering the first Pokemon Stadium, I knew I would have to do Pokemon Stadium 2. So applied the same strategy. I played through Crystal (which I've done numerous times) and assembled a team. Then I had to play a bit of Gold, because the Mareep line isn't in Crystal. Traded it over, added it to my team, and began the Gym Leader Castle. It's already a bit easier since you don't need to worry about things like Wrap. The AI still cheats though, and they'll use strategies like Toxic Stall on you. The Kanto side much easier than the Johto side, since you just have to fight the Gym Leaders themselves. And Red, whom is normally a formidable foe, I beat him first try! It's probably because he didn't try to status me, but it was an actual fight. Now, you might be wondering, am I going to play the Colosseum games? Probably not!

Also, a new thing I'm doing this year is a ranking. I feel like it'll better explain my experiences with each of them.

I made one for 2021, as well.

#game clearing

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icetrolabe · 7 months

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I'm absolutely obsessed with Jodio and Dragona and them possibly having parallels with Pucci and Weather Report

Listen we're only a couple chapters in so I'm probably not correct about any of this but the lack of a chapter this month has driven me to madness.

So. We know that parts 7, 8, and 9 aren't one to one recreations of previous parts from the series, they're more like remixes (like how SBR has a lot of elements in common with Phantom Blood but the relationship between Johnny and Gyro is closer to Joseph and Caesar's relationship from Battle Tendency and it follows a long road trip like Stardust Crusaders).

We also know that Rohan tells Jodio not to trust his team or to be wary of an eventual betrayal (I can't read japanese so I'm going off fan translations here)

The JOJOlands has pretty obvious parallels to Golden Wind, with Jodio and his group seeming pretty similar to Giorno and Bucciarati's gang. It's common knowledge that one of the possible plans for part 5 was to have Fugo become a traitor to the team, but that plotline was never included. Rohan warning Jodio of a possible betrayal could be calling back to that.

However, I don't think part 5 is the only part that will be referenced in the plot of part 9. I feel like the criminal aspect and the setting can also point to parallels between The JOJOlands and Stone Ocean.

In Stone Ocean Pucci ends up gaining the Joestar birthmark and a link to the Joestar lineage through the green baby and Dio's bone. As his brother, Weather Report also gains that link and a birthmark. This furthers the theme of family ties present in Stone Ocean.

Despite having different skin tones and features Pucci and Weather Report are twin brothers separated at birth- Enrico and Domenico Pucci. Pucci also ends up ruining Weather Report's life, taking his memories and leaving him in Green Dolphin Street Prison.

Jodio and Dragona are also siblings with different skin tones and features, but they were born into the Joestar bloodline and got to grow up together with a positive relationship.

Weather Report and Jodio have a couple of design similarities, but both characters having white hair and blue jumpsuits isn't much to go off of. However, both characters have weather themed stands- Weather Report can control the weather, while November Rain can emit deadly rain from underneath it.

Pucci and Dragona have even fewer similarities- I could probably see a connection with Smooth Operator being able to take and rearrange objects and White Snake being able to take memories and stands as disks, but that feels like kind of a jump.

But when I think about Rohan's warning to Jodio, and the person who would end up betraying him, the most interesting answer is Dragona. Usagi is basically a stranger, and while Paco and Jodio have known each other longer they're not really friends. Dragona is his only sibling, they grew up together and care about each other. What would it take for Dragona to turn on their brother?

Both Dragona and Jodio are kind of morally gray, living a life of crime in order to support their mother. Maybe Jodio will live up to the Dio part of his name and go too far, causing a rift between him and Dragona? Maybe it has something to do with the Mechanism, which feels similar to concepts like Gravity or Fate that have been relevant in other parts.

#long post

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gbagamess · 3 years

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The 30 Best GBA Games (Game Boy Advance) of All Time 2021

1. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

The Icon of Zelda: The Minish Cover shirts our checklist for a variety of motives: Never-ending allure, fantastic overworld and dungeon layout, clever puzzles as well as wiser challenge aspects. The Minish Cap told the backstory of Vaati, the leading antagonist and important shape in A number of Swords. Right after Vaati petrified Princess Zelda, Hyperlink rescued a wonder sentient head wear using a bird go that, when donned, lets him get smaller into a minute dimensions just like the{Buzrush.com} Minish, the small beings who have did the trick tirelessly to aid take out darkness coming from the planet. The head wear, the game’s central quirk, was designed exploring Hyrule a lot differently than before. It opened up new locations and available new viewpoints, illuminating just how stunning the field of Hyrule actually is. The Minish Limit obtained all the prominent features of a successful Zelda online game, from excellent dungeons to whimsical townspeople for the absolute satisfaction given when launching a jewel chest. And were you aware The Minish Cap was designed by Capcom, not Nintendo? It remains to be one of the better Zelda video games of all time.

2. Golden Sunshine

Camelot Application Organizing, known for Glowing Power and Mario athletics titles, shocked every person with 2001’s Wonderful Direct sunlight, a valiant attempt at providing a unique Final Fantasy-style encounter to your hand-held foundation. And the child performed Camelot at any time to be successful. Wonderful Sunlight starred Isaac and a few other adventurers inside their quest to save the concept {Buzrush.com}of Weyard. It possessed most of the trappings of an Ultimate Fantasy online game - a help save-the-world storyline, random convert-structured battles, and summons - but it also had a good variety of overworld puzzles and much more intense tale owing to a great deal of exposition and dialogue. Its sequel, Wonderful Sunshine: The Shed Grow older, shared the tale with the perspective of the antagonists. The original is not only the best GBA RPG ever; it’s one of the best turn-based RPGs released to this day, even though both games are excellent in their own right. If you missed out on Golden Sun, find a way to play it, such as through the Wii U. A sequel called Gold Direct sunlight: If you want even more Golden Sun in your life, Dark Dawn also came to DS, as well.

3. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

The final and third GBA Castlevania video game, Aria of Sorrow, revealed that it had been possible for the collection to attain the level of effectiveness displayed in Symphony in the Nights. That is ideal. First, we said Metroid Fusion was better than Super Metroid, and now we’re putting Aria of Sorrow on the same pedestal{Buzrush.com} as Symphony of the Night. In contrast to its predecessors, Aria of Sorrow got the vampiric sequence into the long term, setting customers within the boots of Soma Cruz, a teen with occult energy who could produce the reincarnation of Dracula. Aria of Sorrow has got the low-linear research of SotN, meaningful RPG mechanics, a handful of great weapons, and a series of daunting but incredible boss struggles. Throw in the Strategic Souls technician, which adjusts gameplay and data by beating foes, and Aria of Sorrow was the richest entrance in the collection currently. It holds right now as one of the greatest Castlevania games, and for a flavor of a related design activity, try Bloodstained: Routine of your Nighttime on Change.

4. Metroid Fusion

It’s no great surprise Metroid Fusion was developed via the similar team that manufactured Extremely Metroid. Fusion almost looked like an not related sequel if this started in 2002. Combination showcased in a similar fashion extended {Buzrush.com}open-society to learn, allowing gamers to review and reveal ways and secrets ahead at their own speed. The team at Nintendo R&D1 highly processed the fight from Awesome Metroid and released several new power-mechanics and ups at the same time. Metroid Fusion is not just one of the best games on GBA; it’s the best 2D Metroid ever made, even though it may be blasphemous to say.

5. The Story of Zelda: A Web Link to the Earlier and A number of Swords

Not much has to be stated regarding a Url to the Past, the common top notch-lower Zelda trip for the SNES. The GBA dock helped bring the mesmerizing Dark and Light Worlds of Hyrule to hand-held correctly. The port also introduced a new element, however, named A number of Swords. This supportive mode allows a 2 to 4{Buzrush.com} player workforce to approximately get rid of puzzles and defeat baddies in dungeons. However the primary strategy is exactly what eventually earns The Link to the Earlier an increased identity within this collection, adding A number of Swords created the GBA version the definitive solution to enjoy one of the greatest games ever, even when compared to Nintendo Change On the internet type available by using a subscription.

6. Upfront Wars

Smart Techniques, the recording studio behind Fire Emblem, have also been powering the greatest transform-based method video game on GBA: Advance Wars. The idea was simple: A glowing blue army face looked out against a reddish army, every single one composed of tanks, infantrymen, and artillery. Boasting difficult proper gameplay, a deep promotion, as well as a chart creator, Progress Competitions got all the things a technique enthusiast could want. Like Fireplace Logo, Advance Conflicts originated from{Buzrush.com} a Japanese exceptional collection named Famicom Conflicts, so we are rather lucky to get it in Canada And America. The GBA also got a sequel in Advance Competitions 2: Black colored Pit Escalating. Whilst great, it observed more like add more-on information due to the actually powerful forerunner, as well as the DS sequels weren’t as vintage since the initial. For your similar practical experience, look at Wargroove on Nintendo Swap.

7. Metroid: Zero Goal

Exactly what do you get if you mix the atmosphere and nostalgia in the authentic Metroid with current mechanics? Properly, a darn great sport. Metroid: No Vision, a reimagining of your 1986 classic, retold the storyline of Samus Aran’s initial venture together with the enhanced fight evident in Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. {Buzrush.com}Beautiful to view and even far better to engage in, Zero Objective manufactured going back to World Zebes feels fully unique again.

8. WarioWare: Twisted!

Established from the frantic “microgame” formula of WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! , WarioWare: Twisted! included drive comments - certainly one of only two GBA game titles to possess the feature - and also a gyro sensing unit. The outcome? An event unlike another for the hand held. Microgames are necessary competitors to complete speedy-flame activities within minutes. None of the games were particularly complex, but all of them were entertaining. Also the plan, which associated Wario getting{Buzrush.com}mad with a game on GBA and flinging the handheld at the wall structure, fell completely in line with the game’s irreverent development. If you played it in public, ferociously twisting and turning your GBA like a madman, on a scale of sheer “fun value,” you’d be hard-pressed to find a more satisfying GBA game, especially. Some of the games can also be found in the 3DS generate WarioWare Yellow gold, in conjunction with microgames from the other collection.

9. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga kicked off of one among Nintendo’s best Mario games and spin off selection. Despite the fact that starting off within the familiarized Mushroom Empire, the video game speedily transitions to Beanbean Kingdom, a substantial world how the bros should traverse to recover Princess Peach’s speech. Split{Buzrush.com} up to the core concept, Superstar Saga had been a flip-dependent part-playing activity. But Nintendo and today-defunct programmer AlphaDream layered the combat by adding timing-structured maneuvers that nodded to Mario’s platforming origins. Controlling Mario and Luigi all at once also contributed to the game’s many fun spot puzzles. Superstar Saga stands apart today as the GBA’s ideal RPGs.

10. Closing Imagination VI

Closing Fantasy VI did not arrive at Game Child Upfront in America till 2007, greater than two year period after the Nintendo DS started. Often, it is introduced like a “thank you” to Activity Boy followers for his or her lengthy-standing help and support. Final Fantasy VI was a pitch-perfect port that brought the epic story, strategic {Buzrush.com}gameplay, and wondrous soundtrack to a handheld device for the first time, as one of the best entries in the long-running role-playing series. Final Fantasy VI rightfully earns a spot on our list, even though the GBA also received great ports of Final Fantasy I & II, Final Fantasy IV, and Final Fantasy V. It is merely the most effective RPGs ever produced and one of many top Closing Imagination game titles in recent history.

More Info-

https://www.buzrush.com/the-30-best-gba-games-game-boy-advance-of-all-time-2021/

https://sites.google.com/view/best-gba-games/home

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wri0thesley · 3 years

Note

Can I request kisses for Gyro Zeppeli? Just... short but utter fluff with kisses all over his face, possibly to distract him from something. That man deserves it

You don’t often see Gyro close in on himself. As a whole, your boyfriend is an open book – he’s laughing, smiling, singing you silly little songs and making the bear that sits on his bedside table tell you that he loves you in a squeaky voice. But around this time of year, a certain kind of melancholy hits him – September 25th. The same day that the Steel Ball Run started.

It brought you together, of course, but it was also some of the most difficult times in your whole lives. It’s not surprising that it makes Gyro’s mouth turn into a frown, shadows his eyes – makes him cling tighter to you when you come near him. There were a lot of times where you didn’t think either of you would make it through.

But you did.

And you’re determined to remind him of that. To distract him from the gnawing sense of painful nostalgia. To make him forget all of his worries.

And you start off by doing it by wrapping your arms around his neck. One of his big hands comes up to hold onto you, to touch you and remind himself that you’re there and you’re real. When you bring your face up to press against his face, he sighs.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, bella?” He asks you, the low Italian pet name sending a shiver of adoration through you. “Couldn’t keep your hands off me?”

“You know I never can,” you tell him, and you press a kiss onto his cheek. The squares of his beard scratch at the delicate skin of your own face. He chuckles under his breath, some of the tension from his shoulders draining under your familiar touch.

“Nyohoho,” he says, and you’re smiling despite yourself – if he’s using that particular way of laughing, some of the melancholy is definitely lifting. “Gyro Zeppeli, absolutely irresistible--”

“And so modest,” you continue, giving him another little kiss between one of the squares. He presses his face against yours, as if demanding more kisses. “So unaware of his own charms!”

“That’s why I wear the belt buckle,” he says, smugness radiating off him as your kisses trail up his cheekbones, to the skin under his eyes. His pretty green eyes close, the fan of his lashes against his cheeks unfairly handsome. “I’m not bragging, or anythin’--”

“Yep,” you continue, kissing across his nose now, moving your arms so you can come around to the front of him. Two big hands settle on your waist, feeling comfortably as though they are supposed to be there. “So . . . easygoing! Not needy or demanding, at all—”

“Kiss me more,” he says, pouting at you as you move across to his other cheek. “I have a whole mouth, you know!”

“How could anyone miss it?” You tease him, but you take pity on the pout on his lips and reach in for a peck. His green lipstick feels slick against your own mouth, but it doesn’t stop you dropping a series of pecks along the line of his smile. His hands tighten on you, pulling you further in – and in retaliation, you drop a quick flurry of smooches along his face, so fast that he can’t capture your lips with his own as he tries to. Instead, his mouth just smacks against your chin. You giggle as you pull back.

“You’re being mean to me,” he says, pretending to be upset – but the sparkle in his eyes and the dimple in his cheek are too noticeable for you to be fooled by his ‘pity me’ act. “On today, of all days--”

“No,” you tell him – this kiss is on the tip of his nose. “I’m not being mean to you. I’m distracting you! So let me kiss your face instead--”

You squish his cheeks with your two hands, keeping his face anchored near yours – though you do not think you need to help, really. Gyro’s staring at you with a tilt to his mouth and a look in his eyes as if you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

“There’s nothing I’d rather be distracted by,” he says to you, like a romantic hero in a book – and you roll your eyes and drop a big kiss on his forehead in return, the smacking sound echoing about the room. “Ow, that one almost hurt--!”

#jjba #jjba x reader #writing #sfw #gyro zeppeli #gyro x reader #gyro zeppeli x reader #Anonymous

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waveypedia · 3 years

Text

A Day in the Life of Gyro Gearloose

Ao3

Gyro arrives at the lab at six A.M. on the dot, two hours before call time. The lab is empty, for once. He slips through the elevator doors and darts around the lab, putting on coffee (even though he’s already had two cups at home), and arranging his papers.

At last, he settles down at his desk, fully prepared to get a good amount of work done before Fenton and Manny bustle in with their noise and cheer that used to bother Gyro oh so much.

He’s excited to have the lab to himself, for once. Even Lil’ Bulb is still charging, as it’s too early for him too.

Gyro lifts his pencil, ready to write… and lowers it, unable to think of a concrete idea.

He struggles to put words and calculations on paper, and only gets a couple steps in before he inevitably loses focus again.

“This is ridiculous,” Gyro spits at the empty air, startling a sleepy Lil’ Bulb out of his slumber. “I am Doctor Gyro Gearloose. I do not lose focus.”

Missing the rest of your team? Lil’ Bulb flashed at him in Morse code.

It’s a testament to how far Gyro’s come since Fenton’s original hiring that he only crosses his arms indignantly and mutters a quiet “Maybe.”

It’s not physically possible, but Gyro knows Lil’ Bulb is smirking, somehow.

He busies himself by bustling around the lab, taking inventory of mundane machines and ordinary tools. The lab is still uncharacteristically silent, but at least with Gyro’s manually manufactured noise it’s somewhat bearable.

Fenton, bless him and his errant punctuality, arrives a blissful seven minutes early.

“Good morning, Dr. Gearloose!” he chirps, dropping his bag on the floor with a thud that would’ve made the Gyro of a year ago scoff, but today’s Gyro just sighs in relief. “How are you today?”

“Unproductive,” Gyro grumbles. He’s reluctant to admit the supposed cause of his unproductivity, but knowing Fenton it’ll come out sooner or later.

Fenton hums in response. “Sorry about that. Hopefully you’ll escape your funk! In my experience, a refreshing walk always clears my head!”

Gyro snorts. “I’m not going outside, Doctor Intern.”

“I’ll get you out there someday,” Fenton replies, not swayed in the slightest.

“Whatever you say,” Gyro says, waving him off and turning back to his workstation. Fenton’s presence in the lab is noisy, which used to bother Gyro to no avail. Now, it seems, he can’t focus without it.

“Huey’s coming later today,” Fenton calls over as he makes coffee. “He has a promising project he’s presenting.”

Gyro snorts goodnaturedly. “You make it sound like a school assignment.”

Fenton shrugs. “Huey’s words, not mine. Besides, I think that format works well for him. It does for me, too.”

Gyro snorts in lieu of a reply. He actively chooses not to tell Fenton it works for him as well.

As their conversation fades out, Gyro settles down at his desk. With his coworkers’ chatter floating around him, he slides easily into a focused headspace. In fifteen minutes, he’s made more progress than he had in the hour before his coworkers arrived.

While Gyro tinkers with a gadget, he’s vaguely aware of Fenton getting up and crossing to Manny’s desk. Usually he’d pay more attention, but he’s busy cursing ridiculously small screws.

“Dr. Gearloose,” Fenton calls. It only half registers, and Gyro hums in response, waving a hand dismissively.

“Dr. Gearloose,” Fenton says, a little more insistently this time.

Gyro starts. He blinks down at his project, which is nearly completed. “What do you want, Doctor Intern?”

Fenton quirks a brow. “Can you look this over?”

“We’re having trouble with it,” Manny clops via Morse Code. “Could use an extra eye. Or four.”

Gyro rolls his eyes behind his aforementioned glasses. “What are you, six? I’ve never heard that used outside the elementary school playground.” But he acquiesces, crossing the lab and settling his hands on his hips as he eyes the gizmo Manny’s been working with.

“It’s the double-sided shrink ray,” Manny says, pushing it towards Gyro with his hooves.

“We were able to activate the shrinking command upon request, but it’s unstable,” Fenton says, carding a hand through his swoopy hair. “The beta waves are successfully translating into gamma rays, but some of the neutrons are glitching.”

Gyro pushes closer to the table. “Let me see.”

“That’s why we called you over,” Manny clops, but steps back. Fenton chuckles softly, making Gyro roll his eyes.

He picks up the device and squints at it, examining it from all angles. After a little while of tinkering, he drags a nearby chair over. Fenton drops a cup of coffee next to him, but he barely notices it.

The lab falls back into its quiet - but not silent - rhythm while Gyro works. It’s comforting.

During the second dissection attempt, Gyro lets out a small “Aha!” and tweaks a few wires. Triumphantly, he leaps out of his chair and holds the device out to Manny, puffing out his chest. “That should do it!”

Manny twists the device sideways and fires. Simultaneously, an apple and a pile of paperwork shrink into almost-nothingness.

“You did it!” Fenton’s grin splits his face in two. “Thank you, Dr. Gearloose!”

Gyro still finds it difficult to meet Fenton’s gaze when he’s so openly enthusiastic and supportive, even now. He settles for glaring at the coffee maker behind him, pointedly not looking at Manny either, even though he’s laughing. “Of course. It was nothing.”

Fenton’s smile softens, but it’s no less genuine. “Well, we still appreciate it.”

Gyro crosses back to his desk. “Well. It was nice to actually get some work done.”

Fenton frowns, dropping his pencil to focus on Gyro. “What do you mean?”

Gyro drops his gaze, gritting his teeth. “Well… maybe… I’ve unfortunately gotten used to your incessant, needless background noise,” he finishes in a rush, scowling. “It was too quiet this morning.”

Fenton beams back at him. “Aww, Dr. Gearloose! That’s so sweet!”

“It is merely an observation,” Gyro grits out.

“Admit it, “ Manny says. “You love us.”

Gyro only huffs in response.

“Well, it’s nice to work with you too,” Fenton says, still smiling widely. Gyro would say his grin is too wide, but for some reason it doesn’t quite bother him like it used to.

He’s grown fond of it. He’s grown fond of them all.

ii.

There are three constants in life. Change. Death. Gyro Gearloose’s inability to leave the underground lab for long periods of time.

Della texts him just often enough to be a nuisance, but not often enough for him to justify blocking her (it would result with a very angry Della in his lab, a volatile variable he’d rather not contend with, especially when Fenton, Launchpad, and Scrooge fulfill that dangerous category as well. He knows this from experience.). The familiar buzz of Gyro’s phone, once startling from disuse, is now a surprisingly comforting constant of the background noise in the lab. Gyro’s a scientist working under Scrooge McDuck, with Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera and Manny the Headless Manhorse in his lab - he has to be able to tune out the white noise.

You. Me. Coffee. Della texts. She leaves no room for argument, which frustrates Gyro to no end even though he’s the exact same way. He sighs, tucks his phone under a towering pile of papers, and resolves to ignore her until the time she’s set for their gathering has passed.

But Della cannot be swayed that easily. Nothing can stop Della Duck.

At five minutes to their set meeting time, the elevator doors open with a ding. All of the lab’s primary occupants are present, but Gyro is too buried in his work to notice.

He does, however, notice the next noise. It’s impossible to ignore.

“Heeeeyyy, G-Man!!!” Della chortles, all exuberance and energy. She’s next to Gyro’s desk before he can say “Blathering Blatherskite!” (Hey, it was his catchphrase before it was Fenton’s!). She slams her hands on his desk, sending papers flying. Gyro squawks in protest, but Della ignores him.

Della shoves her face in his personal space, grinning like a maniac. Gyro maintains his death glare for a moment longer before slumping into his chair, dropping his head into his arms.

“I’m not going for coffee with you,” Gyro groans. “I have enough on my plate right now,”

“Enough of that,” Della nags, smacking his shoulder lightly. Gyro just groans in response. “You prooomiiised!”

Gyro’s head snaps up. “I did nothing of that sort,” he hisses, low and dangerous. “I didn’t even reply!”

Della smirks triumphantly. “But you did see it,” she says, tugging on Gyro’s perfectly pressed shirt. “So you were ignoring me! Now you have to go.”

“Of course I was ignoring you,” Gyro replies matter-of-factly. “I hate you.”

Della grins at him. “C’mooooon, you looooove me. Now let’s get going!”

Gyro turns pleading eyes back towards his crew. “Tell her! Tell her we have work to do!”

Fenton smiles at him apologetically. “Dr. Gearloose, you worked really hard today and got a lot done. You deserve a break!”

“Yeah,” Manny clops. “Also, I’m kind of tired of hearing your inhuman screeches whenever something goes mildly wrong. No offense.”

At that, Gyro treats his coworkers to one of said inhuman screeches. None of them enjoyed it very much, it seems.

Which is how Fenton, Manny, and Lil’ Bulb (betrayal!) ended up bodily shoving Gyro into the elevator with Della dragging him by the shirt and pressing the buttons for him, Gyro glowering furiously all the way.

“You’ll regret this!” he vowed, shaking his fist. “You will rue the day! The great Dr. Gyro Gearloose will never forget this act of betrayal!”

“Aw, you care!” Della says flatly as she opens the elevator door. “Now c’mon, let’s get some coffee in you that’s not from your lab machine. You look like you need it.”

—

By the time they’ve arrived at Della’s fancy coffee shop across town, ordered, and gotten their drinks, Gyro has calmed down considerably. Nursing two coffees that will be sure to give Gyro a heart attack someday, he settles in across from Della on the patio. Outside the thin fence separating the restaurant from the sidewalk, passerby flit along on their way through the city. Downtown Duckburg is usually far too crowded and populated for Gyro’s taste, but today, separated from the hustle and bustle of the crowd and sated by the infuriatingly good (if ridiculously expensive) coffee, it is… palatable. Almost enjoyable, although there’s no way he’s telling Della that.

Della grins at him like she can read his mind. (Did Mr. McDuck mention anything about a mind-reading artifact last time he stopped by the lab? Or did the Narration 3000 reach her hands? He could’ve sworn he sold it for scrap metal…)

“So.” Della sets down her coffee on the table and leans forward with her head resting on her hands. “Gy-man. Nerd. Mr. Mad Scientist. Bearer of Bad Taste.”

Gyro frowns. “Excuse me? Bad taste? I’ll have you know that black licorice is objectively the finest taste in existence. You have bad taste.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, buddy,” Della says, lazy and lethargic, smirking like she just won a presidential debate.

Gyro huffs and crosses his arms, turning sideways in his seat to face away from Della as much as he can. She cackles.

“You’re a dummy,” Della says, smiling fondly.

“I’m a world-renowned scientific genius,” Gyro replies, rolling his eyes.

Della snorts. “I know. You’re still a dummy.”

“Impossible.” Gyro wants to say more, but Della laughs and laughs. They dance easily between insults and compliments, toeing the line between teasing and hurt. Their arguments continue, sometimes flitting dangerously towards genuine. They both revel in the fact that an average eavesdropper wouldn’t be able to tell if they’re friends or not.

Sometimes Gyro himself can’t tell if they’re friendly or not. But he knows for certain they’re friends, at least.

Before he knows it, his coffee cup is empty.

iii.

After Della returns to the mansion for Dewey’s flight lesson (a phrase that made Gyro want to flee into an underground bunker for a year) Gyro heads back to the lab and vows to actually get something done for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, in his life, things rarely go the way he wants them to.

Even with Huey in the lab (why did Fenton agree to work with him once a week anyway? Why did Gyro agree?) and Manny, a surprising force of calm, out for lunch, they make it an entire hour without incident. Before things inevitably go wrong.

The first sign of trouble is the explosion that rocks the Money Bin.

It takes all of them by surprise. Gyro and Huey scramble to save their projects while Fenton calls for the Gizmosuit. With the Gizmosuit’s enhanced strength, Gizmoduck shoves aside debris and forces open the elevator doors only to find a supervillain already there.

To their credit, the supervillain, a broad-shouldered orange lizard with medieval-style armor, seems just as surprised as Fenton.

They narrow their eyes at Gizmoduck behind their mask and drop into a fighting stance, their fists raised and their weight centered beneath them. “I don’t know how you predicted that I, the Liliputan Lizard, would raid Scrooge McDuck’s coveted lab. But now that you’re here, we will have a battle for the ages!”

While the villain monologues, Gizmoduck’s head snaps around to stare at Gyro and Huey. He can feel Fenton’s piercing gaze through the impenetrable visor.

“Get to safety!” Fenton hisses through his teeth, flapping a frantic, dismissive hand.

“But-” Huey steps forward, raising something he’s holding, but Gizmoduck just shakes his head and turns back around, readying for the villain’s attack.

The force of their gadget knocks Gizmoduck into one of the side tables. Taking advantage of the chaos, Gyro snags Huey’s arm and hightails it into an all-too-familiar closet.

“Dr. Gearloose!” Huey yelps, stumbling along at his heels. “Wait!”

“Blathering blatherskite,” Gyro scowls, peering frustratedly through the tiny gap in the closet door. “I’ll never get anything done at this rate. They’re going to ruin all my projects!”

“Dr. Gearloose,” Huey snaps, tugging at Gyro’s sleeve insistently.

Gyro spins around. “What, kid.”

Huey clutches whatever he grabbed close to his chest and peers up at Gyro with wide eyes. “We have to go out there and help! I have-”

“No way,” Gyro says, cutting him off. “That would mean too many variables. I’m not about to see another project crushed to bits because you want to get in the way.” He glares out into the fray, fists clenched. “Although I have half a mind to go out there and punch that guy for messing with my work.”

Huey presses up onto his tiptoes to peer around him. “But I can make a difference,” he insists, impassioned. “Look.”

Huey holds up his object, and Gyro reluctantly turns away from the fight to examine it. He pushes his glasses up on his beak to get a better look.

A short, stiff antenna pokes out from a small rectangular box with a big red button in the middle. As far as gadgets go, it doesn’t look very impressive - but looks can be deceiving.

Gyro adjusts his glasses. “Did you make this?”

“Fenton helped,” Huey confirms bashfully. “It discharges electricity, in both large bursts and streamlined blasts. Theoretically, it can reprogram circuits and switches, although I haven’t had any chances to test it out yet.”

“Just my luck,” Gyro grumbles, dragging a hand down his face. So that’s what they’ve been working on. “Well, I’ll tell you a secret, kid. I test all my inventions to the nines, and they all seem to blow up in my face. It’s worth a shot. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, anyway.”

“Not all of them,” Huey says, smiling in a way that’s far too knowing for a twelve-year-old boy. He steps in front of the doors, readying the remote.

Gyro reaches for the unlock button he’d painstakingly installed after one too many times of getting stuck in this closet.

Huey steps around Gyro to peer through the gap. “If we cross behind these tables here and Manny’s desk, we’ll have a clear shot at the elevator. I can use my remote on it.”

He glances up at Gyro, eyes wide. “Is that good?”

Despite himself, Gyro’s beak quirks up. “Yeah. Let’s get these jokers out of my lab.”

Huey’s face lights up. Gyro snaps his head away, unwilling to let the sappy moment go on for any longer, and punches the unlock button with far more force than necessary.

They duck out of the closet (with an undignified sigh of relief from Gyro) and behind the worktables. Almost unconsciously, Gyro scampers just ahead to slip closer to the tables, keeping his body between Huey and the fight. (With the tables between him and the fight, of course.)

Within seconds, they clear the worktables and duck behind Manny’s desk. Huey steps out, angling his remote to the most precise degree. He’s got a clear shot - but he’s also out in the open.

Gyro’s fingertips hover just over the hem of Huey’s sleeve, not quite holding on. But if anything happens, he’ll pull Huey back to safety.

Hopefully.

At that moment, Fenton dives towards them to avoid an oncoming attack. Gyro can tell the moment he sets eyes on the pair - his jaw tenses and his shoulders flick back. In the back of his mind, Gyro wonders if it’s even noticeable to others. The supervillain certainly doesn’t seem to notice.

Does he really know Fenton so well he can read the nuances in his body language?

It feels nice.

The softness blossoming in Gyro’s chest is unfortunately overridden with adrenaline and fear, and he barely registers it. Gyro gives Fenton a tiny nod towards Huey, who waves his remote.

Gyro can see Fenton grapple with the situation internally, before eventually giving up and turning to distract the Liliputan Lizard. He grabs them by their shoulders and spins them, hauling the villain so his back is to Gyro and Huey.

Gyro nods begrudgingly. Smart.

With the window Fenton’s given them, Huey lunges forward and blasts a stream of electricity at the elevator. It dings, and the floor numbers at the top whir and whir. They don’t settle.

The Liliputan Lizard’s head snaps up. “Huh?”

Huey frowns, deep in thought. Gyro doesn’t mirror his cliché thinking pose, but they’re both pondering the same dilemma: What now?

A fresh surge of adrenaline pumps through Gyro’s veins, and, on impulse, he jumps out and does something twelve months ago he wouldn’t even have considered.

“My lab is filled with dangerous, votile inventions,” Gyro snaps, intentionally drawing out his words with more annoyance than he feels. He steps out from behind the desk, away from the elevator. “You just messed up my project! You’ve doomed us all!”

He points an accusing finger at the supervillain and wills it not to shake. “Don’t you see what you’ve done?!”

The Liliputan Lizard shoves Gizmoduck away (no easy feat) and strides towards Gyro, slow and confident. His tail lashes behind him, knocking a vial of bubbling fluid to the floor, but they don’t even flinch. Gyro drops his hands at his side and clenches them into fists.

“Ah, Gyro Gearloose,” the villain says, smirking. “I almost forgot the reason I came here in the first place. Thank you for reminding me.”

“It’s Doctor Gyro Gearloose, actually,” Gyro intones, holding up a finger. “And what is that oh-so-important reason? Surely it cannot be more important than my projects. Which, may I remind you, you’ve ruined!”

The Liliputan Lizard is close enough to touch now. They stop an arm’s length away from Gyro and settle into a wide second position with their weight centered. It’s a position of power.

“The double-sided shrink ray,” the villain drawls. “Hand it over.”

Gyro narrows his eyes. “And why should I do that?”

“Well, I’ll trash your precious lab, for one,” the Liliputan Lizard says, gesturing lazily to the already trashed-lab. Gyro growls. “More than I already have, of course.”

Gyro takes an unwilling step back, his feet moving of their own accord. Something hard brushes against his back. His hands hesitantly fall on the edge of Manny’s desk.

“So what’ll it be, Dr. Gearloose?” The Liliputan Lizard mocks, stepping forward into Gyro’s personal space again. He snarls.

Gyro chances a glance behind him. On Manny’s desk, glinting underneath the overhead lights, lies the famed double-sided shrink ray.

Oh, if only he hadn’t given it to Manny for the finishing touches today. Today, of all days!

Gyro chances a glance back at the scene before him. Fenton’s still on the ground, and Gyro staunchly refuses to acknowledge Huey in case the villain will see him.

Is it worth it?

Gyro’s fingers graze the corners of it.

“Hey!” A bolt of electricity, sparking blue, arcs into the villain’s side. They double over, revealing Huey behind them. “Leave Dr. Gearloose alone!”

Fenton rises to his feet just in time and cracks his knuckles. “All right. Playtime’s over.”

The Liliputan Lizard whirls around, snarling, as Gyro twists and steps sideways. “Like you can stop me! I’m getting this shrink ray, like it or nooooooooooooooooooooot!”

Tinny screeches pierce Gyro’s ears, but it’s the most damage he takes. The once-mighty Liliputan Lizard stands tiny on the lab floor, joined by Manny’s desk lamp.

Slowly, Gyro lowers the shrink ray. “Stay out of my lab,” he snaps, sharp and biting as always, but with a rather uncharacteristically dark undertone. “Stay away from us.”

Gizmoduck scoops the tiny figure up in his gloved hands, muffling any protests. “I’ll get him out of your feathers, Dr. Gearloose!” he says with the awkward, stiffly polite manner they use to protect Fenton’s identity.

Gyro nods once sharply as Gizmoduck leaves. All of his adrenaline leaves him in a rush, and he sinks heavily into the nearest chair (which happens to be Manny’s, but he’s out for lunch and Gyro can’t bring himself to care).

“Dr. Gearloose!” Huey scampers over to him, eyes wide. “Are you okay?” He bustles around to Gyro’s side, not waiting for a reply. “The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook advises to rest after stress.

Gyro takes a deep breath. “Yeah, well, I did have a quiet day planned. Mostly.”

“With your track record, that’s highly inaccurate,” Huey snorts, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve had enough excitement for one day,” Gyro grumbles. “All my excitement was planned for later, thank you very much. I’ll take a quiet rest of the day.”

iv.

Except things are never quiet in McDuck Industries’ Research and Development.

It’s a surprise when the elevator dings, signifying an arrival, but the figure that emerges is no surprise at all.

The elevator is still in pieces and sparking with remnants of Huey’s electrical blast, but that’s never stopped Scrooge McDuck. In fact, he probably finds the challenge appealing.

“Gyro, my boy!” Scrooge says, spreading his arms open wide. “

“Mr. McDuck,” Gyro acknowledges his boss with a nod. “What do you need? Progress checks?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” Scrooge saunters over to Gyro’s desk, glancing around the lab. He smiles to himself, the kind of smile only a secret brings, like a joke just before the punchline.

“I thought you could accompany me out, eh?” Scrooge says, light and lilting. “I’ll let you choose where we go~”

“I sense a conspiracy,” Gyro grumbles, dropping his chin. He levels a fierce glare at Fenton, who hides a triumphant giggle behind his hand.

Scrooge tugs on Gyro’s arm, gentle but forceful. “Come on. It’ll do you good, laddie!”

“I already had one spontaneous outing today,” Gyro grumbles. “With your niece.”

Scrooge only beams brighter. “Ah, good lass!”

With a little more poking and prodding, Gyro begrudgingly allows Scrooge to drag him out the door and into his car. True to his word, Scrooge lets Gyro choose where they go. For a while he drives around aimlessly, with the intent of wasting time until Scrooge gets bored and lets them go back. But before Gyro can see his plan to fruition, he spots somewhere he’d actually like to go.

“Ah, the library. Good choice, lad!” Scrooge praises as they step out of the car. “All the wee lads and lassies prefer that blasted telly to good, old-fashioned books.”

Gyro frowns at Scrooge. “I’m not one of your kids.”

Scrooge just snorts and brushes past him, leaving Gyro to run in his footsteps.

When Gyro catches up to Scrooge, he finds the older duck humming to himself in front of a displayed stack of books about Inducknesia. Planning for a new adventure, probably. Gyro laments the lack of science books in the front and starts to head to the back in his search.

“Excuse me,” a familiar voice pipes up. “This book will likely interest you, Dr. Gearloose.”

Curious. Of course everyone should know the name of Dr. Gyro Gearloose, acclaimed inventor and mad scientist, but unfortunately that just isn’t the case. Yet.

So just who is this mysterious stranger?

Gyro whirls around to find a familiar-looking child, holding a thick leather-bound book patiently out to him. He squints at her.

“Violet Sabrewing,” she supplies helpfully after a minute of dead silence.

“Ah.” Gyro nods awkwardly at her. Isn’t she one of Pink Niece’s friends?

Scrooge wanders over, likely to check that Gyro hasn’t somehow set the building on fire in the five minutes he’s been gone. His gaze lights up at the sight of Violet. God, all the Duck-McDucks are weak for children. “Ah, Violet! What brings you to the library today?”

“Hello, Mr. McDuck,” Violet says politely. “I’m looking for references on micronanite portal technology.”

“Ah, micronanite portal technology!” Scrooge says blusteringly, grinning wide to hide his confusion. Gyro snorts.

Violet’s smile flattens. “You have no idea what that means, do you?”

“I’m afraid not,” Scrooge confesses abashedly.

“It uses miniscule robotic parts to create wormholes in time and space,” Gyro jumps in flatly, earning him a nod of approval from Violet. Gyro tries not to sneer, since Mr. McDuck would likely chastise him for it. He doesn’t need approval from a child.

Even if it is a very, very smart child. Who’s working with micronanites, which Gyro didn’t get to study until he was working under Dr. Akita. Who’s also friends with the Niblings.

Scrooge chuckles softly. “Thank you, Gyro.”

Gyro nods sharply.

Scrooge turns his attention back to Violet. “That sounds… interesting! I look forward to seeing your adventure with this technology,” he says kindly. “

As they converse, Gyro wanders away to peruse the library. Every so often, he passes by Scrooge and Violet, deep in conversation.

Eventually, Violet leaves, and Scrooge finds Gyro flipping through a book of scientific theoreticals. “I’d say it’s about time we left, eh, laddie?”

“Finally,” Gyro mutters, but he makes them stop to check the book out. Scrooge smirks knowingly at him.

On the drive back, Scrooge prattles on about his latest adventure. The constant socialization is zapping Gyro’s energy exponentially by the minute, but Scrooge seems content to fill the silence himself.

It’s only when they’re walking into the Money Bin does Gyro finally initiate conversation.

“You have a weakness for children,” Gyro tells Scrooge flatly as he walks into the elevator. “You should spend more time humoring them instead of me.”

Scrooge smirks at him. “Really,” he says teasingly. Gyro feels like he’s somehow fighting a losing battle, although he has no recollection of entering any kind of argument. “Aren’t I, though?”

“I’m not a child,” Gyro tells him again.

“Neither are Donald and Della,” Scrooge responds immediately.

Oh. Oh.

Quick as a flash, Gyro spins away from Scrooge, pressing a fist to his beak. Behind him, Scrooge laughs heartily.

After he’s composed himself, Gyro steps away from the episode. Scrooge pats him on the back, harder than he usually does. Gyro stands there frozen for a moment, hesitant, before giving into his instincts and pulling Scrooge into a tight, impulsive hug.

Scrooge lets out a grunt and coughs dramatically, but he hugs Gyro back just as tightly.

Just then, the elevator doors open with a ding and out steps Gyro’s favorite person in the whole world.

“Hi, Dr. Gearloose!” Boyd chirps. “I went down to the lab to see Huey, but he just went home, and Dr. Fenton said you’d be up here!”

Gyro smiles fondly and turns away from Scrooge. “I was just about to head down there, but now I guess I don’t need to.”

Boyd takes Gyro’s hand as they leave. Gyro smiles down at it, soft and loving. Lil’ Bulb hops from Boyd’s shoulder to Gyro’s, and he keeps carefully still as Lil’ Bulb clambers across his head to perch on his favorite shoulder.

As they pass, Gyro turns to say goodbye to Scrooge, who looks like the cat that caught the canary. Gyro raises a questioning eyebrow.

Scrooge’s triumphant smirk turns into an all-out, unabashed grin. “Where do you think you got it from, lad?”

Gyro looks at Boyd blissfully clinging to his hand and Lil’ Bulb contentedly perched on his shoulder, and chokes.

Within minutes, Boyd and Lil’ Bulb are safely packed away into Gyro’s rickety car and on the road. Gyro slides in one of his cassette tapes Boyd likes, one of the eighties soft rock tracks his dad gave him. Lil’ Bulb perches on the dashboard, fiddling with the volume dials. They coast through the streets of Duckberg with Boyd’s bright chatter and electric guitar notes floating through the car.

Gyro relaxes at the wheel, slumping back in his chair and exhaling gently. He’s often the personification of road rage. It feels odd to not white-knuckle the steering wheel today. But when Boyd came back into his life, and subsequently into his car, he has made a conscious effort to not let frustration get the better of him. At least, not when he’s driving a two thousand pound death machine with a child inside (robotic child or no).

But to Gyro’s delighted surprise, he’s found that Boyd’s mere presence calms him more than any of Donald’s breathing exercises or Dickie’s yoga classes. When he’s with Boyd, he loses tension he didn’t even realize he had.

After a quick drive, Gyro pulls into an offshoot of the Duckburg Mall. Boyd’s out of the car before Gyro’s fully parked, making the chicken roll his eyes and grumble under his breath. When he’s ready, he steps out of the car with the full intention to admonish Boyd. But one look at his excited face and the way he bounces eagerly on his toes, and all feelings of frustration vanish.

On Gyro’s shoulder, Lil Bulb cackles via Morse code. Gyro pointedly does not look at his other son as he takes Boyd’s hand and lets him lead them to their destination.

“Huey and I come here all the time,” Boyd babbles as they cross the parking lot. “We always get the Sugar-Free Butter Pecan, because Huey doesn’t do well with sugar.”

Gyro ruffles where Boyd’s head feathers would be. It’s metal, but warm to the touch, just like Boyd. “You can have sugar, though.”

“Yeah,” Boyd replies, unperturbed. “But I like the routine.”

Gyro nods in understanding. They reach the ice cream shop and peer up at the menu. “Do you want to get that today?”

“Hmm.” Boyd puts a finger to his chin, contemplating. After a moment, he brightens like a lightbulb - somehow more than the actual lightbulb on Gyro’s shoulder. “I think I’ll try something new today! I’m not with Huey, after all.”

Gyro hums in agreement and examines the menu himself. They order and choose a small table outside the restaurant, overlooking the parking lot.

“Did you have a good day?” Boyd asks, digging in with his spoon.

Gyro thinks about how his day started crappy and unproductive, but immediately flipped when Fenton and Manny came into the lab. He thinks about how Della’s impromptu visit, for all of his frustration at the break in routine, provided a much needed excuse to see his friend. He thinks about his terror and fury when a supervillain entered the lab, and the rush of adrenalinic joy helping Gizmoduck gave him. He thinks about his quiet afternoon out with Mr. McDuck, and how he’d missed researching in libraries as well as hands-on in labs. He thinks about how the people he cares about shaped his day.

He turns his gaze towards Boyd and Lil’ Bulb, who fit perfectly into that category.

“Yeah,” he says, smiling softly. “I did.”

Behind Boyd, the sun is setting, with pinks and purples blossoming across the tangerine sky and seemingly setting the clouds ablaze. The grapefruit-orange light of the setting sun makes Boyd and Lil’ Bulb shine. Gyro’s heart clenches and aches, but it’s with love.

Boyd beams back at him. “I’m glad.”

“You’re my favorite person,” Boyd says, tilting his head back to gaze unflinchingly into Gyro’s eyes. Although the self-deprecating side of Gyro vehemently denies the sentiment, but somehow his words ring with a truth Gyro can’t deny. He may not believe in himself, but Boyd does wholeheartedly.

Gyro splutters and coughs, still unused to open affection after all this time. After a minute of struggling to cope, he settles on setting his ice cream down so he won’t squeeze the cone so hard it cracks. (It’s happened before, but it was fueled by anger, as many things are in Gyro’s life.)

Boyd reaches up to take Gyro’s free hand. “You don’t have to say anything. I know this is hard for you. But I want you to know how I feel.”

Gyro bites the inside of his beak and rubs his thumb over Boyd’s hand. “I… I wish it wasn’t,” he whispers, surprising even himself with the rare display of vulnerability.

Boyd scoots his chair over next to Gyro’s and leans against him. Gyro exhales, feeling a knot of tension leave his chest, and leans back.

Lil’ Bulb, already perched on Gyro’s shoulder, scampers over his head to settle on Boyd’s shoulder. He rests his head against Gyro’s shoulder, settling directly between them.

Gyro squeezes Boyd’s hand tighter. Boyd squeezes back.

“You are loved,” Boyd says.

Gyro smiles. “I know.”

“Thank you.”

this is my piece for the Gyro Gearloose zine run by @georgiarose and glo.draws! I had a wonderful time working on this zine, and there are so many amazing pieces in it! It’s free to download, and we’re asking for donations to the Crisis Text Line in lieu of payment. I highly recommend checking out the entire zine!

For this piece, I wanted to explore the variety of relationships Gyro has with the people around him. he’s such a fun character and i love writing for him so much!

both the micronanites and huey's gadget are references to existing tech in disney animation (which i probably spent too much time researching to represent accurately akfghak). cookies if you can guess them!

thank you to @mrpinniped for the beta and to the entire Gyro Zine server for the lovely encouragement and feedback!

#ducktales #ducktales 2017 #dt17 #gyro gearloose #fenton crackshell-cabrera #della duck #huey duck #scrooge mcduck #gyro gearloose zine #manny the headless man-horse #lil bulb #violet sabrewing #wavey writes #ducktales fanfiction

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buried-in-autumn-leaves · 3 years

Text

You know he loves you, right?

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017) Relationship: Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/Gyro Gearloose (Mentioned) Characters: Gyro Gearloose, Louie Duck, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera (mentioned), Boyd Gearloose Words:1135

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It wasn’t often the lab was quiet anymore. After everything had happened, most of the kids had gotten somewhat anxious to go out in the city, so they commonly found themselves exploring the private buildings. The mansion had been searched for new and exciting things, the money bin cleared of all supernatural mysteries. The only place left they had to search was the lab, which hadn't been cleared out after the fight against FOWL. In fact, it had since gained a large sum of new scrap materials, rare chemicals, and half broken robots in need of repair. The kids loved it, constantly messing with old models of weapons and badly drawn treasure maps.

But now, just for a moment, it was silent. And despite how much growing Gyro had done over the past few months, learning to socialize with the others, it was nice. Even the most social people must appreciate a minute to themselves, just to think.

So, taking advantage of the silence, Gyro was found in the back of the lab, analyzing a chemical found in FOWL HQ. A low sound warned him that someone was in the elevator, and expecting it to be a child, he hid the bottles away under his desk. He didn’t need another incident like last time.

He called out to whoever was there as the door open, making sure they knew someone else was in the lab. It was purely a safety measure, those kids carry around the weirdest things and don’t often think before they attack.

“Just a minute, please don’t touch the robots today, I’ve been working on them and they’re a bit defective.”

“Um, Dr. Gearloose?”

That voice was off. It wasn’t the loud, energetic yell of a child that he was used to. There wasn’t a sudden crash as one of them used magic, even though it was explicitly banned from this area for good reason. It was quiet, and there was only one, instead of the chorus of responses that usually came when the group came down.

Upon taking off his gloves and turning towards the elevator door, he saw he was correct. It wasn’t all of them. Standing awkwardly near the door was Louie, one hand hidden in his hoodie while the other pressed buttons on a small cube in his hand.

“Ah, Green Nephew, where are the others? You guys don’t normally travel alone anymore.”

“They’re up in the mansion, but Fenton drove me over, said he was supposed to head here soon anyway.”

“Here? He was here until 3AM last night, I told him to stay home. I even hid his car keys. God why is he so stubborn?”

“Uh, Gyro? I don’t mean to interrupt, but I have to get back to the others soon before they get worried.” The triplet looked up from his phone.

“Of course, my apologies. Now, how can I help you? I’m afraid I can’t give you anymore chemicals until I’m sure how they’ll affect Lena and Violet’s magic fields. Stupid magic, I don’t understand what’s so special. Science is sure, uniform, certain. Magic is too risky.”

He trailed off, having walked over to Fenton’s desk to check on the progress he’s made on one of the robots.

“That’s fine, I actually just wanted to ask you a question.”

“No, I am not doing your homework. Della got mad enough last time, and I don’t want to hear it again-”

“Why do you think you’re a bad parent?” He hadn’t meant to ask that way, and when he did he froze, his hands fidgeting with the cube again.

“What did you just say?” What does that even mean? Where did he get that from?

“I see how you act around BOYD. You look like Mom after she got back. Like you’re scared or something.” He said simply, watching the chicken’s expression closely to see if he’d gone too far. Instead of anger, his expression was just blank, and he stayed quiet for a minute before answering.

“I do my best with BOYD. And yes, sometimes I feel as if I’m not doing enough. However, that is none of your concern. You’re a child, go have fun, please.” Gyro’s tone was short, as if trying not to get angry. His hands had stilled on the machinery he was holding.

Of course he was scared. Scared and confused as to why BOYD tolerated him, let alone trusted him enough to take care of him after what happened. Gyro had abandoned him. That was a fact. He left him in a desperate attempt to get away. Away from the city, away from Akita... away from BOYD. Some stupid plan to save his own reputation, willing to sacrifice someone he’d sworn to protect. And even after all that, BOYD forgave him? It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t logical, and it definitely wasn’t deserved.

“Listen, I’m not good with stuff like this. Honestly I think any of the others would’ve been better suited for this, but I’m here, so you’ll have to-” He stopped, shaking his head to regain his thoughts. “Sorry, rambling. What I’m trying to say if that you’re a good Dad, Dr. Gearloose, whether you like it or not.”

“And how could you possibly know that?” Gyro questioned, hands starting to shake. It was a serious question. He wanted to know. He needed to.

“The way he talks about you.” It was the truth, so he didn’t understand why the scientist looked so surprised.

“BOYD... talks about me?” He asked quietly, voice shaking. In return, the child laughed.

“Of course he does! He’s always telling us about how you teach him how to interact with others, even though you’re not the best at it yourself. I couldn’t tell you how many times he’s told us about his first flight test with you back in Tokyolk. All his favourite stories are with you. He really loves you.”

In the midst of his rant, Louie had made his way over to Gyro, who was now staring intently at the floor. At that distance it was visible that, for the first time since coming out to him, Gyro Gearloose was crying.

“Gyro... you okay?”

He cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice steady. “I’m alright, Louie. Thank you, really.”

“Of course. BOYD is your child, but not because you built him. He’s your child because he wants to be. He chose you. I think you just need to remember that sometimes.”

BOYD chose him...

“You’re right, Louie. And I can’t promise that I won’t forget that again, but I’m going to try. For him.”

“Hey, don’t even worry. If you do forget, I’ll remind you. But talks like actually make me super uncomfortable so maybe I’ll just hit you next time or something.”

“Yeah, that’d be preferable.”

#ducktales 2017 #ducktales #dt17 #gyro gearloose #dad gyro #louie duck #trans louie #fenro #fenton crackshell cabrera #boyd gearloose

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biffhofosho · 3 years

Text

Succumbing to Sybaris | Chapter Four

Chapter Word Count: 5.8k

A/N: I know y’all be wondering, “Bitch, where’s the smut?” It’s right around the bend, I promise, and from there we’re on the bullet train straight to sin after sin. Setting up a good backstory was the only way my conscience would let me do all the things I’m about to do. *is pathetic* In the meantime, let’s add a few more layers of tension because that shit’s delicious and it makes the payoff taste all the sweeter…

Cvr | Tr | Pr | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Ep

Amber's pen dropped from her lips to the desk as she sighed dramatically, but there was no one around to pity her. Day Four of her probation and, while her partner/chaperone was currently picking up her favorite gyro for her, she had nothing to do but fill out paperwork on their arrest in the Chevron case and sulk.

They had caught one bad guy, but she felt no triumph. Of course, it was hard to celebrate one arrest while she was also essentially on house arrest herself, but it was bigger than that, and she couldn’t deny it. Eight women were still missing, and she knew there would be more—and, no doubt, soon there would be bodies.

True to his word, the captain had transferred Chae Hyungwon’s file to Welling and Cavill, who had surprised Amber by actually following up with her. Of course, most of that was an excuse to lob barbs about trolling cyberspace for her “cut-and-paste kidnapper,” but she had managed to wedge in her leads in between their elbowing. It was something, but it wasn’t enough. She had to wait until she got home to feel any sense of control again.

Every evening, Amber anticipated the tender heart of night when she could slip into the stream of her modem’s whistles and wails and navigate to her usual chat room, the same one she had four nights ago.

He was always there in the sidebar, as present as if he were in her room with her. It was just six letters on the screen, but somehow it was more than a name—it was a whole person now, elegant limbs and perfect posture waiting in a darkened corner.

Like her new handle, chwSUX didn’t participate in the chat even when someone would try to engage him, even when teenage girls would join and flirt. It was eerier than if he’d continued to cast his lines into the open waters. Instead, it was like he could see through the digital window as clearly as a real one, right to the woman on the other side of her androgynous new ShwingShwing screen name.

Last night, he had shattered that window with a chipper notification ring.

He probably sent private IMs to everyone in the chat, but still, Amber had slammed the X with authority and logged off, possibly forever. When she finally forced herself into bed, she’d laid stiff on top of her mattress and stared at the ceiling, praying for the mercy of sleep.

At some point, she had drifted off, only to wake to Hyungwon sitting in the chair at the end of her bed with one leg crossed over the other and both hands in his lap. He didn’t say anything. He just watched her with a half-smile. She should have panicked, but there was no point. He belonged there.

Under his gaze, a warmth washed through Amber’s body, and against all sane judgment, she spread her legs for him under her sheet. Horror stampeded through what was left of her mind, but it couldn’t crush the lust searing its way through every nerve ending.

Hyungwon’s smile widened as her hand trailed beneath the covers down to the waist of her pants. It was wrong. It was wrong. But he was so pleased, and she wanted to please him more. Her breath stuttered and her thighs trembled and her core throbbed as he watched her patiently but expectantly. Amber pulled back the sheet.

Her fingers had just dipped below her waistband when she remembered who the man at the end of her bed truly was, not some charismatic businessman but a beautiful devil.

In the blink of an eye, she dove for her gun, but when she turned back, he was gone.

When she had woken, Amber was exhausted and disoriented. It had seemed so real, but when she looked at the same chair in the morning sun, she found her dirty laundry strewn across it, just as she had left it, and her gun still stashed under her mattress.

Now at work, she slumped over her paperwork looking as miserable as she felt.

“Hey, Amber?” The detective looked up to find Stefanie’s elvish face enhanced with widened eyes. Her voice was buoyed with a hint of eagerness. “There's some tall, handsome guy here to see you. Should I send him back?”

The admin glanced into the lobby and Amber’s eyes followed to where the ethereal apparition of Chae Hyungwon waited with one hand in his pocket. A thrill ran through her at the sight of his cold, steady gaze. His image was as clear as it had been last night in her room, only this time it wasn’t a dream.

“You sure he’s here to see me?” Amber asked skeptically.

“Asked for you specifically. So, send him back?”

Amber didn’t trust that tone. The two women had worked together long enough for Amber to consider Stefanie a friend, but that also meant they’d worked together long enough to know the admin was the office girly girl, with model good looks and a perpetual twinkle of a romantic scheme in her eye.

Amber scowled. “You know he’s a person of interest in the Runaways case, right?”

This dropped the smile from Stefanie’s lips and replaced it with a disappointed frown. “You really know how to pick ‘em.”

“This one picked me,” the detective muttered as she nodded for Hyungwon to come back.

His walk was so silent and swift that it was almost like he’d teleported to her desk. He loomed over her as he rested his fingertips on the stack of folders in her inbox.

“Mr. Chae, I’m surprised to see you. Are you stopping back on your way to see Detectives Welling and Cavill?”

“I'm surprised I haven’t seen you,” he replied. “You promised you’d stop by.”

Amber forced herself to glaze over the slight scolding in his voice.

“Actually, I was just lending a hand to my fellow detectives. They’re spearheading the investigation, so they’ll be your points of contact moving forward.”

“The two Neanderthals? They're so… square,” Hyungwon said with a furrowed brow. Amber almost didn't catch her laugh before it came out, and he noticed. With a smirk, he added, “Those stuffed suits they brought with them were even worse.”

“You mean Agents Suh and Song? They’re on loan from the FBI to assist on the missing persons cases. They’re good guys, maybe a little formal, but good.”

Hyungwon scowled. “They’re uptight. It’s off-putting.”

“Maybe that’s the idea—to put you off your game,” she offered. “I know from experience that’s pretty hard to do.”

Stop it, Amber, she hissed in her head. That’s coming dangerously close to flirting with the enemy.

“You’re easier to talk to,” he said, his voice an octave lower. “You’re real.”

“I—”

What was wrong with her? He was a suspect, the first person she truly believed knew something about the missing women, but it was like her hormones had overridden her every sensibility. Just the gravel in his voice ignited something inside her she knew should be smothered immediately, and yet she burned to follow him to his car so he could drive her home and do whatever he wanted to her.

And just like that, her fantasies came to a screeching halt. Maybe that’s what happened with the missing women, too. Right now, they could all be in a ditch at the base of Mt. Hood, and they needed Amber to snap the fuck out of it.

“Did you have some information you’d like to share with the Bureau, Mr. Chae?” she said as she scrounged around for a pen and paper.

With a light sigh, the travel agent shook his head. “Not with the Bureau, with you.”

All at once, the air seemed to crackle, and Hyungwon’s eyes shifted their diligent attention from her to the person behind her.

“Mr. Chae, let me show you back to Detective Welling’s desk. He’s waiting for you.”

Amber recognized that firm voice instantly, and her shoulders tightened.

With a slight grin, Hyungwon replied, “That won't be necessary, Captain Wong.”

Neither officer missed the weight of the captain's name uttered without so much as an introduction ever between them—no doubt a clever play suggested by Hyungwon’s puppet master lawyer brother.

“It’s just a short walk back this way,” Lucas said more firmly, but Hyungwon shook his head.

“As I told them, they can direct any further questions to my lawyer. I'm actually here to fulfill a promise to your Detective Spiros.”

Above her, Amber heard Lucas’s teeth set on edge.

“My appointment calendar as promised.” Hyungwon handed the leather-bound booklet to the detective as she squinted at him.

“I thought you said your assistant was going to fax this over?”

“She was, but since I was already on my way downtown for a meeting, I saved her the effort. And unfortunately, I have that appointment now, and I can’t be late. If you have any questions, Detective Spiros, please feel free to see me. You'll never need an appointment.”

Hyungwon’s insinuations were clear and heavy, and the whole precinct felt weighed down by them. Neither man had anything further to say to the other, and judging from Lucas’s heat assaulting her back, Amber knew she shouldn’t open her mouth either. She let the stare-down conclude with the handsome interloper giving her a polite smile and a knock on the appointment book. The captain waited beside her until the slender silhouette of their adversary vaporized in the blinding sunlight.

As soon as the man was gone, Lucas swiped the calendar out of her hands before she even had time to react and stormed back to his office.

His door slammed in time for Eric to drop Amber’s lunch on her desk. “What’d you do now?”

“Honestly,” she grumbled as she ripped into her gyro, “it wasn’t me this time.”

“You’re the only one I’ve ever seen make Lucas that angry.”

“Think I should be jealous?” Amber teased, but it did nothing to lighten the mood.

She sensed trouble on the horizon the way some people felt rain coming in their knees. It was inevitable and out of her control, and no amount of desk duty could push her out of its path.

Things only got weirder as the afternoon wore on. Lucas had been on the phone for what seemed like hours, and despite having closed the Chevron case, Eric and she hadn’t received a new assignment yet. Amber knew she was on probation, so maybe she was being hyper-sensitive, but since Hyungwon had shown up unannounced, it felt less like probation and more like a blacklist.

“Look at you, complaining about doing less work,” Eric joked. “You should be glad more people aren’t shooting each other.”

“I am, smartass,” she snapped.

“Rather than lament your entire existence, why don’t you call it a day? If you’re lucky, tomorrow there will be another juicy mystery for you to solve, Nancy Drew.”

“Shove it, Nam.”

“Do I need to escort you to your car?”

Amber narrowed her eyes. “You’re in rare form today. No, don’t bother. My other chaperone’s still boring holes into the back of my neck, isn’t he?”

Eric glanced toward the captain’s office and nodded. “Sure is. Okay, well, call me if you wanna shoot some pool or something, or if you want me to set you up with my buddy. He’s free tonight, you know.”

“Do you have a Rolodex of single friends on standby? You’re like an old-country matchmaker.”

“And I’m not even charging for my services. Later, Bro.” Eric waved as he tossed his bag over his shoulder and headed out.

The precinct emptied out quickly after her partner, leaving only a handful of officers waiting to start their beats. With nothing left to do, Amber shuffled her things into loose piles to tackle in the morning and stood up right as Stefanie rushed over.

“I’m so glad I caught you!” the admin said. “I know you’re on your way out, but I have a mother here who wants to report her daughter missing, and Detectives Welling and Cavill are gone along with just about everyone else. Do you think you could take her statement?”

Stefanie’s eyes flicked back to the captain’s office and then back to Amber. Translation: are you allowed to take her statement?

“Of course,” Amber assured. “Bring her back.”

Stefanie nodded and, a few moments later, she returned with a middle-aged woman sporting a very deflated Rachel haircut and yesterday's faded makeup. Her eyes were drawn and red from tears, and her shoulders were hunched under crushing terror.

“Thank you for meeting with me, Detective,” the woman managed as she sat in the chair beside Amber’s desk. Her eyes watched her hands as she wrung a tissue in her lap. “You must get moms in here like me all the time, especially these days, but I don't want you to think I'm overreacting or overbearing—I’m really not. My daughter, Daisy, hasn't called me in two days, and she calls me every day, and what with all the other missing girls—”

She sounded like she was choking on her own words, and Amber reached out a hand to the woman’s wrist.

“It's okay, Ms...”

“Jean Hartley. My daughter is Daisy.”

“Okay, and you haven’t heard from Daisy in two days?”

“N-no.” It came out more as a sob than a word.

“It’s all right,” Amber soothed. “You’re in the right place. So, Daisy calls you every day?”

“Every day,” Mrs. Hartley echoed.

“What about her father?”

The mother shook her head. “He lives in Baker City. They never see each other.”

“Sometimes—”

But the woman cut off the detective with an emphatic head shake. “I already called, but he hasn’t heard from her in months.”

“How old is Daisy?”

“She just turned 20.”

“She’s in college?”

“Yes,” the woman said. “She’ll be a sophomore at PSU.”

“Busy time. Maybe she went on a trip with her friends?”

“She is missing,” Mrs. Hartley asserted.

“I’m not saying she isn’t,” Amber replied with a gentle smile. “I just don’t want you to worry any longer than you already have.”

The woman let out a juddering sob and nodded, though she did not release her stranglehold on the tissue. After a few deep breaths, she said, “This morning, I went by Daisy’s apartment, and her roommate hadn’t seen or heard from her since Tuesday. Something’s wrong.”

Amber withdrew her hand from the mother’s wrist and rifled through her drawers for a tablet and pencil. “Okay, Mrs. Hartley, why don't you start off by telling me a little about your daughter and what’s happened.”

The woman instantly shrank into her seat. Her red-rimmed eyes scanned back and forth as they pared down her memory banks for the most important details about her daughter. “She's been living off-campus in Goose Hollow with her girlfriend Eve and working part-time at a diner in the Pearl.”

At the mention of the Pearl District, Amber straightened. It was a neighborhood filled with all kinds of shady characters and even more transients, a place where people went to or were taken to disappear. It would be easy enough for a predator to look in a diner window for his next target.

“Theta’s Hotcakes,” the mother clarified.

As Amber jotted notes, Mrs. Hartley began to rapid-fire everything she could think of about her daughter. “Daisy was a straight-A student in high school, graduated at the top of her class. Straight-A student in her first year in college, too. She has wonderful friends. She’s never been in trouble—she's never done anything to make me worry.”

“No reason you can think of she’d want to disappear? Sometimes balancing work and school can take a serious toll, especially when you feel pressured to keep up expectations. Maybe she needed a break and just stepped out for a few days?”

The mother’s brows furrowed with indignation. “Detective, I know you have to ask that, but you have to know that I know my daughter. If Daisy was stressed or scared, she would have told me. We don’t keep secrets because we don’t need to.”

Amber had heard that line countless times before but never with such force. Mrs. Hartley spoke with the confidence of a doctor who’d been practicing for thirty years.

“Daisy’s not just my daughter, she's my best friend. I can't get a hold of her, and she hasn’t come home. Daisy’s never not come home, Detective, and with all the other missing girls in this city, I’m freaking out.”

Amber nodded and offered a fresh tissue, hoping to calm the woman, who was now visibly shaking. “Boyfriend?”

Mrs. Hartley shook her head. “No. Daisy’s never been a big dater. Hasn’t even had a steady boyfriend. She was always too focused on her school and her friends, and even now, she keeps saying she doesn't have time. She's been working non-stop before the next semester starts up because she wants to go to Spain with her friends.”

“What about anybody she's seeing casually?”

The woman’s sad bob flared as she shook her head again.

“No run-ins with friends or exes? Nobody with a grudge that you know of?”

“Detective, I'm not trying to be that mom, but I'm telling you my daughter really is nothing but goodness. Her high school class voted her Most Loved by Parents. Look.” Mrs. Hartley dug through her purse and pulled out her daughter's senior picture.

With her shoulder-length blond waves, clear blue eyes, and a sincere smile, she had a classic hometown girl-next-door vibe. Round eyes, round cheeks, and a round face gave her a sweetness where her alabaster skin gave her an innocence. The thought of another girl like this joining the ranks of the Runaways case stoked a fire in Amber's chest.

“We’ll need to talk to her roommate,” Amber said as she handed back the picture.

“Of course. I’ll tell Eve to expect you.” Mrs. Hartley wrote down the other girl’s name and address, and as she slipped it back across the desk, she grabbed Amber’s hand. “Please, please, Detective, find my daughter. She’s all I have.”

“There is nothing we won’t do to bring her back to you, Mrs. Hartley. Count on it.”

Suddenly, the woman leapt forward and gathered Amber into a hug, and the detective felt a sharp pang in her chest for her own mother.

“Thank you,” the woman whispered before she let go and shuffled out of the precinct.

For a long moment, Amber sat at her desk numb. A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind with one repeatedly bobbing back to the surface.

I should have left with Eric.

If she hadn’t met Mrs. Hartley, if she hadn’t seen that girl’s picture, if she didn’t know Chae Hyungwon, maybe she would sleep tonight. Instead, nervous energy piped through her, prickling her fingertips and propelling her feet forward. Everything inside her demanded she slip that report into her jacket pocket and head straight for her study. Somehow, a single sheet of paper weighed more than the whole of the Earth.

Notes in hand, Amber rose with her bag and headed down the hallway where the lights were yellow with old cigarette smoke and the walls looked as sticky as they actually were. It was quiet at the end, and shadows trickled out of the shuttered offices, but she could make out the wall of headshots and thumbtacks webbed together with permanent marker. Even in the dimness, she recognized the missing, with their bright eyes piercing the veil.

As soon as her hand touched the knob, a voice behind her startled her. “What are you doing?”

Amber turned to Lucas and waved her incident report. “Jesus, you scared me. Got another missing girl. Just turning it over to your detectives.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I’m not always wildly irresponsible.”

“Just most times,” he said with a smile. Lucas was so pretty when he smiled, wild and bright like a flirtatious boy who would love you and leave you just as fast. It had been so long since she’d seen it, and in that time, its brightness had intensified. She wondered if his new girl made him smile like this.

Amber felt the walls constrict—she could practically feel their tackiness pressing against her skin. She glanced back down the hall but saw and heard no one else. The isolation was as dangerous as his smile.

“Well, I have to get going, Cap,” she blurted as her hand moved back to the door. “Eric’s waiting for me at the pool hall with his friend.”

Lies, Ambrosia! Lies! she hissed at herself. Why even bother with the pretense? She wasn’t doing anything wrong, and he was relieved for a change. There was no need for it, and yet the words had come out of her mouth with conviction.

His smile fell away, like a picture shattering against the floor. “You can leave the report with me, and I’ll review it with Welling and Cavill tomorrow.”

The color had left his voice, and now there was nothing—no annoyance or amusement or even anger—nothing but icy professionalism. The walls had moved away but a chill had settled in instead, and all Amber could do was nod and hand the captain the report before she hurried out into the evening air.

Another morning sagging into her coffee cup after another night of restlessness. Amber had managed to stay away from the chatrooms, convincing herself it couldn’t make a difference now that another girl was missing and her cover had been blown, but guilt over abandoning her instincts had plagued her into the deepest part of the night.

When she had finally coaxed her eyes closed, even her dreams tormented her, but instead of finding Hyungwon in her room, this time, it was Kihyun. He had leaned against her door frame with his arms crossed, as though he was both disappointed and daring her, and part of her thrilled at doing both. He didn’t look like the kind of man who would tolerate misbehavior, which is exactly why she wanted to misbehave. If it hadn’t been for her alarm, who knew where his challenge might have taken her.

“You look like shit, Bro,” Eric said as he nudged one of his sugary bribes toward her.

“Thanks for the support, partner,” she grumbled through a mouthful of fat-fried pastry.

“Eh, you technically paid for this support. So, I take it you’re still not sleeping?” he asked, though it was more of a scolding.

“It’s not for lack of trying, believe me.”

“You should have come to Pal’s last night. Jackson was really hoping you’d change your mind.”

A piece of doughnut tumbled out of Amber’s mouth. “Jackson? Oh god, I told you no set-ups.”

“Not a set-up,” Eric assured though the awkward back-of-the-head scratch said otherwise. “Just want my friends to get to know each other. Is that so much to ask?”

“Yes.”

“On the bright, we got a new assignment,” he continued, hoisting up a fresh folder from his inbox. “Looks like an armed robbery downtown, ooh, right next to that Chinese place with that shrimp lo mein you love.”

Amber’s head perked up. “Shining Star? At least something’s looking up.”

Eric perused the file. “Looks like Ellis was the reporting officer last night, and he’s still on duty. Let me grab him and we’ll get started.”

Her partner jogged to the front of the station where the serious-faced officer was already conversing with a few others, including the captain. Meanwhile, Amber stuffed her face with the last of her doughnut and flipped through the newspaper while she waited for Eric to return. Before she could pilfer another treat, Lucas buzzed by her desk.

“Follow me, Spiros,” he ordered without stopping.

After a dramatic head loll, Amber marched back with the indignation of a kid waiting on a reprimand. It was too early for a scolding, especially when she knew, for the first time in her life, she hadn’t stepped a toe out of line.

“I swear,” she blurted the second she entered the captain’s office, “this time I really didn't do it.”

“Have a seat, Detective.” Lucas laced his fingers together on his desk and hummed.

Amber sat down and studied her boss. His eyes were unusually sunken and his skin was drawn. On the counter behind him, she saw a rumpled pile of clothes and an open shaving kit, and on his desk were four mugs and a banana peel, all the hallmarks of a man who hadn’t gone home.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and she blinked. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d asked her that. Probably the day they split, but certainly not since the advent of their strictly professional relationship.

“Just haven’t been sleeping much these last couple of days, but I’m fine,” she replied. “Looks like you haven’t either.”

Lucas nodded. “It’s been a busy twelve hours.”

Silence hung in the air. Amber waited for an order or scolding, but when neither came, she made a move to get up, and the captain shook to life.

“How do you manage to do it?” he blurted.

She raised an eyebrow. “Do what?”

“Find every loophole.”

“Sir, I really don't know what you're talking about.”

“I'm temporarily reassigning you to a new case,” he said as he withdrew a folder and flipped it open. “I tried to give it to Welling and Cavill, but your Mrs. Hartley called late last night and specifically requested you work her daughter’s missing persons case.”

Amber knew what that meant. Civilians didn’t request detectives—they demanded them—but even then, no self-respecting police captain would reorganize his detectives to suit them without the pressure of follow-up calls to the right people up the chain of command.

“Mrs. Hartley requested me?” It was impossible to mute the pride in her voice as she took back her incident report from his desk.

“This reassignment comes with another,” the captain cautioned. He handed another file to the detective, this one with a dossier attached for a Detective Son.

Her eyes snapped immediately to the picture of the handsome, impassive face of the other detective in his dress blues. He looked fresh out of the academy in the shot. His face was round and smooth, his cheekbones high, and his brown hair had been combed back into a clean, professional part.

“Sir?” Amber said as she lowered the folder.

The captain nodded as though that was all the clarification she needed. Her heart accelerated.

Lucas stood up from his desk and stowed his shaving kit in his desk drawer as he said, “Detective Son will be on special loan from the North Precinct for your support and assistance.”

“What—”

“He’s already a top-flight detective under Commander Hedbrandh, and he was lead on the disappearance of Jessica Ho before everything went to shit.”

“The first disappearance?”

The captain nodded without breaking stride or looking back as he opened the door and headed into the heart of the station, all without breaking conversation. “He will have some insights that I’m sure even you can’t turn down as you partner up on your leads.”

Amber stumbled after him with an arm out, but as usual, Lucas was out of reach. “Wait, Cap—”

“In the interim, Detective Nam will be assigned in a mentorship role to Officer Ellis, and they can work the robbery investigation.”

“But I—”

Lucas stopped on his heel in the middle of the precinct and whirled around to funnel all of his intensity on the young detective behind him. “You won’t begrudge yourself a valuable resource on your case, nor will you begrudge your coworker the opportunity to get some much-needed experience to move up the ladder, will you, Spiros?”

“Sir, I already have a partner,” she said in a rush before his words even had a chance to make it to her brain. She flushed at the notion that she sounded ungrateful in spite of his consideration to leave her on her lead, but she was desperate to keep the man she trusted most by her side.

“You do,” the captain agreed, “and once this case is over, you'll be back with Nam, but for now, you and—”

“If Detective Son is so great, why isn’t he already working with the Five-O Boys?”

But Lucas was moving again as though he was trying to dodge a harping neighbor on the front lawn. When he was nearly to the lobby, Amber grabbed his arm, and his indifferent façade fractured. His gaze lingered on her hand before they traveled to her frantic eyes.

“Captain. Luke. If this is because of the way things ended—”

He huffed and shook her grip as though she were a mosquito. His voice was dark and sour. “It's really not.”

His steps were longer now, more urgent.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Amber shouted as she stumbled after him. “I know you would never do something like that. I’m just blind-sided, okay? I don’t know this guy, and he doesn’t know me or how I work.”

“Trust me, that’s a good thing. Nam indulges you,” the captain growled and, barely noticeable under the cacophony of keyboard clacks and file cabinets slamming, she made out, “we all do.”

They were nearly to the lobby and gathering more attention with every step until the captain stopped again and sighed.

“You have this nasty habit of getting swept up in these cases, and more than once, it could have cost you your life, Spiros. But thanks to Nam’s mother-henning, you’ve developed this irrational belief that you’re invincible. You trust in this invisible bulletproof armor, but it doesn’t exist. You’re careless and tunnel-visioned, and you need a reality check.”

His words were scalding, and in her head, she tossed the nearest chair across the room in rebuttal.

“I know, I’m lucky. I have an amazing partner and I have you—” She caught herself in time to add, “—as a boss, and I should be grateful—”

“Finally, we agree,” Lucas said as he whizzed through the counter doors at reception. Amber had never seen him walk so fast.

The couple garnered more than a few odd stares. Even for those who weren’t aware of their past, no one in Central could be oblivious to their contentious present. It made up for more than half of all slammed doors on a monthly basis.

“What if we just—”

“My decision is final, Spiros. Detective Son will be here in a couple hours. He can have Nam’s desk in the interim.” The captain’s tone was resolute and his eyes were more unfathomable than the Pacific at night.

“Eric’s— I won’t work with him. I can’t!” she protested.

“You can and you will, or you will be suspended, and you’ll have to call Mrs. Hartley and tell her why you don’t want to help find her daughter.”

Amber gaped at her captain, but there was nothing more to say. Lucas knew it, too, and in another heartbeat, he had disappeared through the precinct doors into a world that had fundamentally shifted.

Wide-eyed and breathless, she glanced around for something to anchor her. Eric was only a few desks over, sitting beside his new protégé, Ellis, watching the whole thing. With red staining her cheeks as though she’d just been slapped, she whispered, “Eric, do something.”

Amber took in his doleful puppy eyes and helpless brow, and she snarled. His words were clear, if unspoken.

He's your problem.

“He’s already talked to you about this, hasn’t he?” she said at last.

Eric nodded. “Right before you. What am I going to do? Say no?”

“I did!”

“How’d that work out for you?” he replied. “If you think about it, Bro, it’s kind of the best-case scenario for everybody.”

“You’re my best-case scenario,” she lamented.

“And I love you for saying that, but, hey, I’m still right here with two very big, very adorable ears for you to bend whenever you want. Plus, you still get to conduct your own investigation into Chae, which, let’s be honest, was probably the least likely thing with the way Welling has been bearing down on the captain since he found out.”

“You’re right.”

“I’m always right.”

“Let’s not get carried away,” she sniffed.

“Do me a favor, will ya?” Eric said, swiveling so he could meet her gaze with his most earnest expression, the one that always made her cow to his whims. “Don’t get carried away with this new partner, okay? You’re still my partner.”

“Duh,” Amber said with a jab of his shoulder. But she saw the tightness linger at the corner of his mouth, and she added, “You’re my only partner. Detective Son is a reluctant resource and that’s it.”

“Okay, so when you crack Case of the Year, don’t forget me in your acceptance speech.”

“Forget you? Eric, I’ve got our couples Glamour Shot on my nightstand. No one could forget a horror show like us.”

As final as everything sounded, for the rest of the day, Amber kept hoping that Lucas would storm back in just as abruptly and announce he’d changed his mind, but the next thing she knew, Eric was collecting his files and some of his items from his desk.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of the rest of those doughnuts you owe me,” he said as he tapped his folders into a pile.

“Wouldn’t dare,” she said, but it sounded as deflated as she felt. “Can’t promise the whole dozen will make it in the long walk to the front though.”

Eric bumped her seat with his hip as he passed and snapped, “They better!”

Amber watched him drop the better part of his career on his new desk, only three rows up from her, but, for all intents and purposes, he was gone. He was already smiling at the perennially stubbly Ellis. He was already making him laugh at his terrible, terrible puns. Jealousy surged over the rising tide of powerlessness, and she chucked a stack of paperwork onto what would be the lackluster replacement’s desk. Which was when she noticed it.

Eric had left one framed picture front and center—the two partners at the Policeman’s Ball a couple years ago. As a joke, they had dressed up like a prom couple, Eric in a tux and Amber in a flouncy lavender number replete with a corsage on her wrist. They posed with barely-contained sarcastic grins and an awkward cross-body handhold.

She didn’t know who the reminder was for—her or the new guy—but the message was clear: “I’m coming back.”

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wacky-nameless-inventor-24 · 9 months

Note

I know NFenton is a more stoic leader who governs purely on logic than emotion, and can come off cold and uncaring as a result (but really does want what's best for the kingdom), but that was just mean of him not to have any pity or compassion for Gyro's plight to save his son even tho he insulted him (plus, it was also for the good of the kingdom that Gyro and Fenton required the king's blood for the cure). And you'd think when Mads got sick later, that would better help the king sympathize with what Gyro's going through (I was going to say 'especially when he thought Mads died', but then I remembered that when a loved one dies it's obviously kinda hard to think about anything else at the moment... but idk, maybe it occurred to him sometime later, following his happy ending with Mads?)

True, though, at that point the plague had spread all over Duckburg and NFenton had heard about people's sick loved ones all day for probably the last month at least. He can't care about every individual case when everything's out of control like that or the weight of that is gonna crush him (judging by the way Mads reacted though- immediately trying to help them out and going on a whole quest with them- I'd say he did get caught up in each case and was exhausted and miserable because he couldn't really help). Of course that doesn't mean he isn't trying to help or that he doesn't care- but he did mention in the snippet that he had heard a lot of ideas from people for what they could use as a cure, and I'm sure half of them are genuine and wouldn't work and the other half were people just looking for money (and also wouldn't work). At that point he was fed up and discouraged and just automatically turning most of the ideas down, leaving the search for a cure to Blue and the other witches/wizards working at the castle. The only reason he fully heard Gyro out was because Blue stepped in and said it might work, and because Gyro said he didn't want any money (which mostly rules out the possibility of Gyro scamming him because he doesn't get anything out of this). So NFenton's 'stoic logical coming off as uncaring' thing really does play into why he's so desensitized to the details of each individual case. He's doing it to save his mental health.

#thanks for the ask!#shychick-52 #So yes I think once mads is better he could empathize with Gyro better?? but also he could empathize with half the kingdom better ssdlkfjsd #the plague is hella contagious and spreads through wizards the fastest #using your magic to dry your laundry out in your yard while your neighbor (who is sick) uses their magic to shut the front door behind them #congratulations you're dying now too #in Mads' case it was dramatic because he has so much magic #the more magic you have the faster it kills you #but like in Boyd's case it took a couple weeks and so I'm sure at first they didn't know it was the plague so #they weren't as careful as they should've been #so your neighbor using their magic to shut the front door while theyre sick isn't a good idea because they're going to kill other people bu #maybe they don't know they have it yet and just think it's a cough #witches usually just use magic to create spells and activate them so they can be more particular about when/where they do it #meanwhile wizards use magic all the time without thinking so. it gets them the fastest #Mads used his magic to fly them all back to the castle once Nfenton came to 'rescue' him from Gyro #I think that's what got him sick because if they'd flown over anyone who was sick then.... yeah.#blue is absolutey The Most Careful about magic because with their strength it would kill them in hours #fenton crackshell cabrera #nega fenton #nega fenton crackshell cabrera #negaverse fenton #negaverse fenton crackshell cabrera #madfen royalty au

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fullycakedup-brownie · 3 years

Text

Thank you, lemonheads

Disclaimer: non-pandemic AU; winter setting; fluff; a pinch of spice to make everything nice; swearing; Length: 3906 words; Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen AU; Characters: Yuuji/Sukuna x Black!Fem!Reader

The alarm did not go off at 7 am since it was Saturday, yet your eyes have been wide open for about one hour. The sun rays brought light on the ashy winter sky and you lazily shifted in your bed to check the time. How is it only 7:47 while I feel I’ve been laying here forever? You asked yourself in a deep sigh before you threw away the blanket and sat up on the edge of the bed. A life-saving decision you had taken the night before when you braided your hair, for not a single molecule in your body was able to deal with those shoulder-length thick curls after you wasted your night staring at the ceiling. Your body has developed a habit to wake up around 1 am for no particular reason and have you losing your mind over it. Usually, you managed to fall back asleep quickly, but that night between Friday and Saturday you just couldn’t. No one was online on any social media platform, you knew it would take you more time than available to pick one of the thirty million shows that you wanted to catch up on and you didn’t want to fuck up your night completely, so you forced yourself back into slumber. But now it was morning, your eyes tired and your body heavy.

With your mind set on still having a wonderful free weekend, you rummaged through the cabinets in the lovely apartment you had been thrilled to finally afford, in a futile attempt to grab a bite. You breathed deeply while counting down from ten after finding exactly half of a package of Lemonheads and some leftover seafood on a plate in the fridge. The initial plan was abandoned with the calamari as you headed for the bathroom, knowing for a fact that a nice scrubbing session during a dangerously hot shower will whoosh away all the fatigue and annoyance.

Fresh smell, moisturized gleaming skin, proud dark-brown eyes staring at you from the mirror made you put on a cheeky smile and leave the bathroom barefoot. One step into your bedroom and your stomach almost shouted at you. Ah, I do gotta eat something. McDonald’s it is, then. You were quick to agree to yourself and also to get dressed and leave the house. It has been snowing for a few days so the pavements were covered in a dense layer of white wonder, which made you decide to walk to the breakfast provider, instead of driving there. It wasn’t that far and you also loved the city landscapes.

The neon-yellow combat boots contrasted considerably with the red coat and drew the attention of the entire crowd inside McDonald’s, including one specific young man that was sitting alone at a table in the back. He watched your silhouette walk by a group of boys that didn’t even try to mask their reaction to your looks as you headed to the line to place your order.

“Even I know that it’s not nice to stare,” Sukuna talked all of a sudden, startling poor Itadori and causing him to sink his head deeper in the hood.

“Shut up, someone could hear you,” the boy whispered, looking down on his tray to avoid being heard by other customers.

“Is that the girl you’ve been going on about lately?”

“What girl? There’s no girl. What girl?” Yuuji panicked a bit, the heart racing in his chest letting Sukuna know he was right. Again.

“It’s not that hard. Just go there, what the fuck are you so scared about?” The otherwise thoughtless demon cared to push his host up on his feet.

Swallowing his anxiety along with the gallon of saliva in his mouth, Yuuji left his table, threw the sandwich’s wrapping paper in the trash bin when he passed by and stalled in your proximity on his way out. He just wanted to see you better than he could do it on the high school corridors in the lunch break, but blame it on the coincidence theory, that was the exact moment some Lemonheads slipped from the pocket of your black cargo pants when you pulled out your phone. That was a chance he was not willing to sacrifice. He dropped in a squat, picked the wrapped candies and smiled at you.

“I think you dropped these.”

You turned your head in the direction of the familiar voice only to find the cheerfully grinning pink-haired boy that you could’ve sworn you would fight anyone for.

“Hi. Oh, yes, thanks,” you replied in a pretty much measured tone and grabbed the candies from his palm.

“I’m Yuuji, by the way.” The shot was fired and his blood started boiling under the tension of his mind analyzing all the possible ways you could’ve answered to him. You could’ve laughed, whooshed him away, cringed at his boldness, pulled away or even cut his words. But he did not expect you to shake his hand, with a big smile plastered on your face.

“Alex here. Hi. Do you wann-” the number of your order appeared on the big screen and you paused your question, “-be right back at ya,” you smiled at Yuuji and went to the lady waiting with your bag.

As soon as your eyes got away from his face, Itadori let out a brief silent sigh and filled his hoodie pocket with his fists. This is good. I can do this. What if I ask her out? He was deep in thoughts when a lady shook his shoulder. “Young man, are you ordering, or just blocking the line?” The “I’m tired of you teenagers’ attitude” look on her face disturbed Yuuji and he left the spot, joining you at the front desk.

“Wasn’t you supposed to tell me you were out of the pancake meal? Why did you take my money then?” You tried really hard to hold back some yelling, but a vein on your forehead was definitely popping out.

“What’s the matter?” The boy asked, stopping next to you.

Pure sarcasm on your face when you looked from the staff girl to Yuuji. “I shall be starving to death today.”

“Miss, we can give you something else for the same amount. My colleagues weren’t awa-“

“Just give her a refund. We’ll be fine,” Yuuji stepped in and had both you and the other girl confused.

She gave your money back a bit half-hearted, and truth be told, you were feeling like that too, not only because you were hungry, but man, you loved the pancakes and the bacon and the eggs.

“Where are we going?” You asked, following Itadori out the restaurant after he motioned you to do so.

“I always wanted to try this food, instead of the usual fast-food.”

You had no idea what he was talking about, nor where he was leading you, but your guts weren’t agitated. There was something about that boy that screamed “safety” in your ears. The trip to the unknown food place he was taking you was short and you didn’t really get the time to make any small talk. Yuuji turned his body to face you, suddenly spreading and lifting his arm high up, a cheeky grin on his face when he exclaimed, “I present you ‘Gyros’, my new obsession.”

The fact that no word came out of your mouth as you stood in front of him, with your eyes blinking quickly, wiped Yuuji’s smile away. His confidence took a hike when his hands dropped from the air, where they were pointing at the ‘Gyros’ sign. “Should we just go back to McDonald’s?” He asked, rubbing the back of his head and frowning bashfully, not only because your glare fixed him, but also because Sukuna was laughing powerfully inside his mind.

“You. You have no idea where you just brought me,” your voice sounded more serious than you intended, so you giggled on purpose to loosen the tension because Yuuji looked like he was about to pass out from embarrassment. “Boy, relax. I was kidding-“ you barely held back a laugh, “-this is not my first ride with Gyros,” you finished and rested your palm on his shoulder. The pressure in his chest got released once he realized your playful attitude and he redirected his attention to placing an order he was about to pay for entirely.

Food hits differently at the standing tables and so do conversations. There you were, eating one of your favourite foods, chatting with your newest pal and enjoying the view of the tall city buildings that surrounded you. Once he found comfort in your presence, Yuuji opened up and he appeared even cuter to you than he did before. His eyes would gleam when you found his stupid jokes funny and his loud laughter would join yours when you gossiped like two best friends. The cutest thing about Itadori that you found yourself adoring was that he closed his eyes every time he bit on the gyros. You allowed a discreet smile to form on your lips as you admired him and he wasn’t aware of it. No matter how big of a portion you would’ve bought, it couldn’t take you an eternity to finish up your plate. You actually finished yours sooner than the boy, to steal a few more seconds of watching him perform such an automatic and usual activity as eating because he looked so precious doing it.

“Here, help me up.” Yuuji’s voice pulled you out of your daydreaming just as swiftly as the fry that he pushed into your gaping mouth. You chomped on it instantly and caused Yuuji to laugh at your confused face. “Listen, are you busy today? I was wondering if we could wal-“

“Yes, let’s go,” you answered almost instantly, chugging the rest of the Sprite in the paper cup and grinning back at Yuuji who was once again flustered.

The boy’s face flushed red and he smiled at you right before wiping his lips with a napkin and gathering all the food wrapping. “Where do you want to go?” You asked, watching him have a brain glitch for having to wipe his hands on his pants because he has thrown away all the tissues.

“I was thinking of arcade games, but we don’t have to if you don’t want to, I mean…” Yuuji suggested in a low voice causing Sukuna to roll his eyes aggressively. You are even dumber than I thought, brat. The poor boy shook his head to get rid of the voice and by doing that he missed your reply.

“Hey, did you hear what I said?” You shouted, thinking that he didn’t hear you because of all those car horns on the street.

“Yeah, no, sure. Of course, we can do that instead.”

“Bruh, you’re damaged!” You shouted again and started laughing. “I said I will destroy you in the arcade,” you continued, still full-on laughing, the slight touch of your hand on his arm sending him your cheerful vibes.

“If you say so, let’s test it.” Yuuji caught some courage and sped up the pace. “Can you run in those?” He pointed at your boots and chuckled when you threw him a very offended look.

“Excuse you, I can beat you to it!” You accepted the challenge and sprinted away from Yuuji. His light-brown eyes widened in surprise and he started running.

No, you did not win the race. He was already inside RedLine VR when you managed to arrive at the doorstep, barely catching your breath. “I-… I need- … whoa… where did you get that stamina from?” The mock-neck long-sleeved top was practically suffocating you.

“I don’t know. Guess I’m gifted.” Again rubbing the back of his head bashfully, that boy could not be cuter. Or so you thought.

He led you inside the place and even helped you take your coat off as you cracked your knuckles in preparation for beating Yuuji’s ass up in video games. The coloured light from the video game’s display reflected in your gold hoop earrings as much as they reflected in your wide-open gleaming eyes. His eyes spent more time taking in the shape of your face and the colour of your skin more than they did on the actual screen. You unknowingly made him bite his bottom lip when you let out a different type of chuckle. You wanted it to sound devilish, but it didn’t come out quite like that.

Imagine her moaning with that voice, Sukuna busted in Yuuji’s mind, his own rather full of your image, and caused a deep blush on the kid’s face. It was annoying how much affect you had on Yuuji, and he tried to not look at you like that anymore.

Itadori was good at sports, not games, and you won countless rounds leisurely. Each time you shouted your victory, you clapped your hands in delight and made a funny face to Yuuji. He faked slight envy at first, his pathetic whines giving Sukuna a real headache, but eventually, your general happy state made the boy smile. If somebody observed him, they would’ve figured it out in one second that you completely entranced him. As funny as it was to see him struggling to fight you for the first place in the game, you grew bored of the arcade and suggested you went somewhere else.

“Do you want to go to a park?” Yuuji asked, his mind quickly mapping the area for the closest park.

Too many people around, huh? An evil chuckle hit the corners of the poor boy’s head and he tried to keep his secret hidden furthermore.

“A park sounds good, Yuuji. Can I call you Yuuji?” Only after you said it out loud, you remembered about the Japanese courtesy and, feeling a bit weird, you made yourself busy with putting your coat back on.

“Yeah, sure, you can call me Yu-,“ “Daddy,” his voice was cut off by Sukuna’s who whispered loudly enough for the teens around you two to hear.

“YUUJI!” He tried to mask the demon’s voice and covered the mouth on his cheek instantly. “You can call me Yuuji.” He swallowed hard and then smiled as if nothing happened.

“You’re weird, but cutely,” you said with a cheeky smile as you made your way out the room.

He followed soon after scolding his so-called co-inhabitant and walked by your side, between you and the busy road. You took your time walking to Winnemac Park since it would’ve been too much of a bother to take the bus for only one short station. Once inside the park, you felt like the world around you changed: there was undisturbed snow everywhere, Sun was slowly going down and it was silent. Your romantic side emerged and you hung your hand on Yuuji’s forearm. Your affection was electrifying, and even if he didn’t see it coming and hadn’t prepared for it, the boy accepted it gladly by sticking his hand in the hoodie big front pocket, to help your hand rest better on his arm. Fifteen minutes of walking through town have been filled with school gossip, laughing and “get-to-know-you-better” stuff, but as the cold settled down, you both became quieter.

“Hey, look.” You left Yuuji’s side by a couple of steps and you squatted down to grab something from the pavement.

“Wha-“ Boy didn’t stand a chance against your mischievous snowball attack. “Oh, you did not!” He laughed and leaned to the side to gather some snow for his part of the game.

The war was set into motion. Yuuji found it admirable that you managed to dodge many of his shots even while you almost choked on your own laughter. He loved to see you smiling and having a good time, especially because it was due to his actions. For a second, he got lost again in your smile and the snowball that you threw hit him right in the face. The hand he held a snowball in was frozen above his head, as he had prepared to throw it at you before falling in trance. He had no reaction whatsoever and it worried you a hell lot.

“I’m so sorry, Yuuji, are you ok?” You rushed closer to him and wiped the snow off his face with gentle and burning hands.

When his eyes opened, you hated yourself for falling into that old trap. His arms circled you abruptly and he intended to make you fall in the snow, but you proved more agile than he thought and you escaped. Your freedom didn’t last long, though, for he tackled you. Only, he didn’t see that you have reached the margin of the sidewalk and you would’ve fallen on your ass if it wasn’t for his strong grip. He looked astonishing towering like that over you, and not only the situation was somewhat hot, but you also hated to see him win the fight. One of your legs jerked fast and cut Yuuji’s balance, making him fall over you in the snow. Light-brown eyes met dark-brown ones and the imminent sparkle tied your insides in a tight knot. His face was so close to yours that it had you imagine what would happen if you kissed him right then and there. Yet, none of you two moved a muscle, except for the throat muscles who kept gulping timidly.

Alex and Yuuji are in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g! Sukuna’s words echoed in Itadori’s mind and they added to the closeness between your face and his, making him blush deeply. He stood up slowly and helped you on your feet too. Again silence as each of you cleaned the snow off of yourselves, avoiding the awkward moment.

“So, what now? I’m not cold anymore.” You snapped out of it and gave your best to look as normal as before in front of him, even if your stomach had a watermelon-sized hole inside.

“It’s getting late and I don’t really know the city that well at night. You want me to walk you to a bus station or something?” He asked, barely holding his composure in front of you while Sukuna yelled in his mind nonsense like You’re a chicken. A loser. Fucking lame-ass, stupid motherfucker. You could’ve kissed her. You should’ve kissed her! I should’ve taken over the control and kissed her right there!

“Sure. I don’t live far from here actually, you can walk me home if you want,” you suggested, hoping that he won’t interpret it the wrong way.

The weather became surprisingly harsh after sundown and your little coat didn’t do much in protecting you. Instinctively, you neared Itadori more, lured by the warmth his body radiated. As you balanced your gravity centre from one leg to the other, constantly moving your hands to try to keep them from freezing, your hand brushed against Itadori’s, which was hanging loosely by his body. He definitely felt it because you saw his jaw clenching, but he didn’t bring it up. So you did it again.

Oh, man, she’s got balls bigger than you, Sukuna mocked his host and then proceeded to laugh. You’re not gonna do anything about it?

Your ring and middle finger brushed the side of Yuuji’s hand softly as you two continued walking. When his pinkie interlocked with yours, you were no longer cold. The hole in your stomach filled with butterflies and you could feel your heart pounding against your chest. You hated yourself for being that flustered and weak, but from the way his other fingers circled your hand, you knew the feelings would only get more intense. The dark fell rather quickly and you found yourself squeezing Yuuji’s hand, to which he chuckled.

“Are you afraid of darkness?” He asked in a low tone, caressing the back of your hand with his thumb.

“L-lol, no,” you stuttered a bit but smiled as you looked up to Yuuji, who was just teasing you with a gentle look in his eyes.

The way back home is always shorter and you reached the front door of the building you lived in with a lump in your throat. It was time to let go of his hand and maybe, who knew, let go of that moment too. You didn’t know much about Yuuji other than he was a foreign exchange student, who came for who knows how much time in Chicago, he liked Gyros as much as you and he had a lot of running stamina.

“Well, this is where I live, so… see you at school?” You asked sheepishly, slowly growing aware of the blush on Itadori’s face that was now visible because of the street light close-by.

Do it, brat. Do it now. Don’t be a pussy.

“Listen, Alex… Today has been a very nice day and I’m glad you dropped your candies.”

You scoffed at his hilarious confession and attempted to pull your hand away from his, but just as before, in the park when he caught you, Yuuji’s grip remained firm. “No, let me hold it a bit more,” he whispered, taking a step closer to you.

JUST DO IT ALREADY! You’ll thank me later. Sukuna could hear all of Yuuji’s thoughts and feel the desperate hollow in the boy’s chest. He couldn’t take Yuuji’s reticence anymore. Black marks began appearing on Yuuji’s cheekbones and chin and as soon as he sensed his conscience being ripped from him, the boy shouted. “Ok, ok, I’ll do it!”

“Uhm, I didn’t ask you anything… What’s wrong?” You squeezed his hand once more as you tried to understand what was just about to happen to his face and why he screamed like that.

“Ignore that. It-it’s a long story and I’d rather not tell it now,” Itadori released your hand and stared at you dead in the eye. “How mad would you be if I kissed you right now?”

Your face caught fire. Your ears were burning and your stomach was doing front flips. You barely got to whisper anything before Yuuji’s palms grabbed your cheeks and he slammed his lips on yours. They were soft and warm and he kissed you so slowly that it had you melting in his arms. Your own lips parted to welcome him just as hungrily as your hands tugged at his hoodie to keep him close. He pulled back, eventually, and you smiled at each other in the surprise of what just happened. His forehead leaned on yours and the way you burst into laughter made Yuuji laugh too.

“I hope I didn’t ruin today…” he whispered, rubbing your cheeks with his thumbs, but not parting from your figure yet.

“I can’t wait to see you again, boy,” you cooed, stealing another peck from him before you turned to enter the building.

You barely walked up the stairs with a grin splattered on your face and increased heart rate and once you entered your apartment, you slid down your door and laughed alone for a couple of minutes. That just happened and you were there and he was there and what’s gonna happen now? In the same way, Yuuji called himself an Uber and got inside with palms sweating and a happy frown on his face.

“Finally taking my advice. She was too cute to waste, man. If you didn’t take the chance, I would’ve.”

“Sukuna shut the hell up. I kissed her first.”

I just want to thank @half-baked-biscuit for writing this fanfic for me that I sent in as a commission. I really do appreciate her writing a black fem reader and her taking the time to write this amazing fluff with yuuji/sukuna. I love you bitch T^T. Also credit to the artist for the picture above @hinamie. This was an amazing design so I just had to use it! Please like, reblog, and comment :3

Heres the link to the original post of the artist: https://hinamie.tumblr.com/post/635380113076355072/th-designs-in-this-show-r-god-tier-thank-u-jjk

Taglist: @half-baked-biscuit @siriusimie @mangobxbbletea @corduroyrose

#jjk x reader #yuuji x reader #yuuji fluff #black fem reader #x black reader #jjk fanfic #commission

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