#also funny that i was working on this last night while also debating in discord about how seb shouldnt have used imperio on that one goblin | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lovely-necromancy · 3 years

Text

A Cure for Insomnia CH 11

“Did I meet your friends last night?” Kirby asked as he unwrapped his crunchwrap in the driver's seat.

“uuh...kinda? Like Toby was with me when I gave you the Surge but you sorta just ran off with it.” you pause as you sip a bit of your Baja Blast. “Like a fucking gremlin.”

Kirby lets out a snort and lettuce drops from his mouth. He tries to hide his messy eating behind his hand. Failing miserably, you can't help but laugh at your friend.

“Wha' bout the other two? Kieth said you ditched 'em.” For a man who was trying to cover up his mouth he sure had the audacity to try and talk with his mouth full.

“They're Toby's roommates, I haven't talked to them too much.” he nods as you speak.

“Well I promise I'll be more...together,” he makes a sort of questioning sound as he debates if that was the word he was looking for. He can't really think of anything else so he settles for 'together'. “next weekend. They are coming right?”

After a brief pause he gets his mind back in place, “This weekend, picnic's this weekend.” You chuckle.

“Toby said they'd stop by. Don't think any are really people people.”

“People people?”

“Yup” not going to let Kirby rile you up as he often tries. Not that he could with his current brain power. Sleep haze still has him in it's hold despite being “up” for about an hour now.

Out of everyone in your friend group Kirby is probably the one you're closest to. Along with being a fellow Ace he's an ambivert and you two just instantly clicked over dumb D grade monster movies. He jokes you guys must be long lost siblings. Well he only started the sibling thing because multiple Hornets or other members of the committee kept thinking you guys were dating. Since then Kirby takes to purposefully calling you some variation of sibling when he shows any type of affection. It seems even just being referenced to being in a relationship squicks him out. You don't mind though you'd always wanted an older brother and Kirby is the exact type you would've wished for. The funny dork who was super easy to get along with.

Even when he steals your nachos...like he is now.

“I'm starting to understand the Cain Instinct.” you say looking him dead in the eyes. He lets out a roar of laughter and reminds you he bought “breakfast”.

“Dad tax and all that.”

“You're not my dad! Ugly ass doodoo head.”

“Is that what that kid said? I don't think that's right.” another thing you share is constantly referencing vines or tiktok sounds.

This of course led to an argument of what the kid actually said in the vine. Both of you were determined to get home and look it up to prove the other wrong.

After your breakfast Kirby started the truck as you put all the trash into the Taco Bell bag. You switch on his stereo much to his chagrin. Kirby got a CD stuck in the radio and now the only thing he can listen to is a meme mix tape he made back in high school. It was funny the first two months for him and now he prays that the novelty will ware off on you soon.

Though it has been a few weeks since he last drove you anywhere, and what can he say Discord is always a bop.

Kirby drops you off without much fanfare, you both agree to seeing each other next week at the picnic. Is it ironic that you want to call out for him to get some more sleep? Like you are the one who's been up since five AM and it's now eleven. But you have a medical condition, Kirby is just over worked and stressed beyond Hell and back.

Getting inside you have nothing really planned for today and while you could start heading out to thrifts to find something formal for Jo's recital you really don't feel like it. Productivity wise you've already had a pretty busy weekend so no one can really judge you for taking it easy and just merging with the couch for the rest of it. Even you, you can be so tough on yourself sometimes.

British Bake Off is just the thing you need to enjoy the rest of your weekend. A calming low stress but funny baking show. Just turn your brain off and lose yourself in the soothing monotone of the judges. It's nearly six in the evening when you finally shake off your lazy day haze.

Getting up, bakers still baking, you start making a simple dinner. Fried egg on toast sounds good. Also a good balance to your supreme nacho breakfast from this morning. Dressing one slice of toast in butter and the other with butter, a little mayo, and a dash of Tabasco before placing the egg on it. You head back to eat and continue watching the competition. Your meal fills you and gives the energy you need to continue “leisureing”.

After an hour you get up and wash the dishes from earlier. And while you have no energy to actually play any of your video games right now you do want to log in for your dailies.

A quick trip to your bedroom has you grabbing your laptop before returning back to the comfort of your living room. Couch calling you to it's cozy embrace. You half pay attention to what you're doing as you set up your laptop, muscles running on muscle memory more than any conscious effort on your part. You hadn't even noticed your hands flickering across the board and logging into your email.

By the time you do realize you aren't on your game's site you see you have a new email. It's from Barclay.

'Coming to ask for my help?' you think a little too smug that you'd been right about the cooking being too much for the man.

However, that wasn't what he was messaging you about. It seems he and Leo had been talking and the old man mentioned what your plans for cooking were.

Shortie,

Leo says you're making forager's pie for the picnic. Seasons ripe for ramps and mushrooms. You in for a little adventure through new unexplored territory?

...I'm hunting some lobster mushrooms, could use a hand or two Will share the bounty. ~Barclay sent 12:04 PM

An olive branch in hopes you weren't too sore about his rejection from earlier this week. The message and sentiment is lost on you since you got over that Thursday.

The idea of new terrain makes you a bit uneasy, however lobster mushrooms were pretty good and forage finds were really rare. Barclay grew up in these woods he probably knew what he was doing, not to mention he could easily know where to find ramps. Their flavor would really up your pie game. It's settled you're in for a forage date with big foot as your guide.

Am in Big Feet. When are we going? Sent 7:20 PM

Like with most things a waiting game began, down sides to living in a radio quiet community people weren't as attached to electronics because of the limited capabilities. But now that you know Barclay is emailing you, you can check your phone more often. Shutting down your laptop you close it before sliding it under your coffee table as you slide down the couch getting comfy.

It was two hours before Barclay got back to you.

Fantastic! Does Tuesday work? ~Barclay sent 9:42 PM

Barclay must be in a rush to get those mushrooms. You'd been thinking Thursday or Friday at the latest for the freshest mushrooms. Maybe he didn't need them for the picnic but a personal project. From what Jake has told you Barclay often falls into spells of testing out new ideas with the strangest of ingredients. With varying results but mainly positive ones.

Yea sure. Meet at the lodge after my shift? Sent 9:50 PM

Perfect see you then. ~Barclay sent 9:52 PM

Oki Sent 9:52 PM

Now that that has been settled you are free to continue your chill Sunday. Losing yourself to the lulling voices of the judges you hardly notice as you drift off. Warm in your throw blanket cocoon and cozy on the plush of your couch.

You jolt up right panting after being woken up by a loud bang. Or at least you thought you'd heard a bang, Sometimes auditory hallucinations came to you in your sleep no matter how well rested you were. The room around you is dark as the light from your TV is dimmed with Netflix's 'Are you still watching?' pop up mocking you for your marathon.

Without thinking you hit 'yes' and the bake off resumes. With the brightness restored you can see your living room and hallway are completely undisturbed. An auditory hallucination must have pulled you out of sleep. Nothing more, after all your stalker wouldn't get sloppy now, it's only been three weeks.

'That you know of.' seems to whisper and embed itself in your mind.

Shaking off the worrying thought you look at your phone to see it's now quarter till one. You are hungry and don't feel like cooking. Thankfully you have emergency white castles and fries in your freezer for this exact need. Getting up you go to the kitchen to microwave your food. Popping the fries in first you decide to head to the bathroom before that becomes a problem for you.

Before you go down the hallway you do end up grabbing the bat next to the bookshelf. The whisper from earlier clearly hasn't done much to settle your nerves after your rude awakening. Protection in hand you have a little less anxiety about walking down the dark hallway. You'd have to look into installing one of those cheap wall lamps from Home Depot to help you out in situations like this. Either that or a night light in your bathroom, you can probably get the night light done quicker. Maybe Leo sells them, you'll have to check next week.

You made it back to the kitchen after your bathroom break without any surprises, real or imaginary, jumping out at you. Replacing the fries inside your microwave with sliders, you snack on a few while you wait for the rest of your meal.

It's probably paranoia but you can't blame yourself for it as you continue to keep an ear out for any sound of abnormal movement within your home, as you eat and have the bake show low enough to catch the sounds of another person. None come, and you finish your food without incident. You're willing to chalk the noise up to a hallucination and your paranoia as valid but not necessary in this moment. Without much more thought you place your empty plate on the coffee table and curl back up in your throw blanket. Just like before you don't catch yourself as you fall asleep. This time you don't wake up until your phone alarm goes off for you to start your week and head to work.

The week has been much less dramatic than last week had been. But then again it is only Tuesday and you literally have gay brunch this Sunday. There will definitely be some sort of theatrics this week. Whether they come from homosexuals or your stalker is up to God.

Then later today you'll be going foraging with Barclay. And while that isn't anything dramatic it will be an adventure and, you hope, really fun! Your excitement has been tangible all day and you couldn't hold yourself back from focusing only on the clock in the shop all day. Even giddier than normal for the strike of five. With the energy rushing through you it amped up your tics but thankfully you hadn't hurt yourself in your excitement.

Even Nate is beginning to playfully tease you about your “date” with Barclay.

Great he must've been talking to Little Jo. What is it with this family and wanting you to date the lodge owner? Do you just look like the lead in a Hallmark Christmas movie that moved to a small town in order to feel the joy of the holidays? You could definitely get into the role but you don't think Barclay would be the main love interest for you.

Honestly he'd probably be the one all the viewers cheered for but you'd personally go for the puppy dog partner that has a scarred past. You have a type and your type is emotionally wounded and needing of love. That thought had made you chuckle as you and Nate closed up the store for the day.

Nate kept looking over at you throughout the day, and when he heard you giggle to yourself at closing he couldn't help the fond smile that came over his features. He could feel how his brows lifted themselves from their normally furrowed or downward tilt. He'd have let you leave early had it not been for the new procedures Big Jo had set. It's not often that your excitement shows so visibly. It's not often that the Cowell family has seen you happy like this.

But Nate understands it's not the crush that Little Jo seems to think it is, it's something more bittersweet. It's the excitement that comes from finally waning off of being isolated for so long. And boy does Nate understand that feeling. If he had to guess Nate would say you've been alone for most of your life even if you don't act like it. You need these little hangouts with your friends. So he does his fastest close yet. You both are out the door by five after and he bids you goodnight as you head to your respective cars.

With the close tonight being so quick you made it to the lodge and parked in the half full lot just before five thirty. Getting out of your car you noticed a familiar duo sitting on the stoop of the lodge.

'Something's wrong.' is the only thought you have as you walk towards the lodge.

“Hey stranger.” the brunette looks up to you at your greeting.

In this light you can just catch the slight movement of his pupils in his dark eyes as they widen in surprise.

“oh...hey?” he seems confused to see you here. Must not be used to living in a small town yet. He'll learn soon enough that you run into everyone all the time here. Sometimes multiple times a week as it would seem.

“You good?” motioning towards the hand on the back of his neck.

“Yea, fucking Bri-an Mrrow thought I needed this.” Toby moves his hand to show an ice pack that you assume he's been holding to the back of his neck.

“Heat sickness?”

“Nah, the RV's AC busted. I can probably fix it by the end of the week.” you nod.

That makes sense, after all CIPA affects thermal regulation, at least from a basic skim. You really need to get on that deep dive to make sure you're prepared for irregular injury prevention with Toby. Speaking of, the boy in front of you is just sitting here with Connor, why? Even if he's here to get a room at the lodge why didn't he just go in? Connor is a service dog after all not like anyone could turn him away. So why was Toby just sitting out here, especially if Brian thought he needed an ice pack to the neck to keep cool?

As if the universe heard your question and decided to give you an answer, Aubrey opened the door and poked her head out.

“Thanks for letting me put up Dr. Harris Bonkers. I'll keep him in my room during your stay.” Oh that makes sense Aubrey's rabbit normally has the run of the lodge. Even if Connor's a service dog and well trained Dr. Bonkers is still a prey animal with a weak heart. Seeing Connor may have stressed the poor rabbit out, if not nearly given him a heart attack.

Her russet eyes land on you when she opens the door wider to, you assume, let Toby and Connor in. They widen and Aubrey rushes in to hug you before stopping short as if remembering you don't appreciate physical contact.

“Hey YN! I didn't know you were coming over.” She says a little awkwardly mid pose for a hug.

You won't be saving her from the situation. With a smile, that she can't see, you nod.

“Barclay's taking me foraging today.”

Aubrey nods while lowering her arms and takes a few steps back so you and Toby can enter the lodge. The large foyer of the wooden chalet always looks bigger thanks to the deep red tones in it's color palette. From the dark cherry stained wood to the red rugs and table liners. Always feels a lot warmer too, but in a homey sense not the overbearing swelter of heat sense. You can't wait to see what it's like in the winter. Probably so cozy and welcoming with a fire roaring and the murmur of residents and tourist mingling over the winter festivities. There's a swell in your chest at the thought...it seems nice, you hope you're right.

'Hope you see it.' is the dark whisper that taints your thoughts.

You notice Brian and Tim are over at the counter talking to Barclay who is nodding along sympathetically to the trio's plight. He catches your eye and motions for you to wait. You'd been planning to, after all he's currently working.

Turning to Toby you see he looks a bit paler than normal, which should be a difficult feat. Aubrey had left you both, though you aren't sure if she'll be coming back with her girlfriend Dani in a moment or not. You decide to lead Toby over to the obnoxiously plush couch in the den.

It's not like the lodge is off limits to those who aren't guests, and seeing as most of it's workers live here their friends frequently come around thus using the amenities. After sitting on the couch Toby grabs at Connor's ears and starts shaking them. He isn't being rough with them despite the jerky movements and Connor seems to lean into the pet.

Just from what you can gather it seems like Toby has some pretty bad social anxiety. You really aren't sure of what you could do to help. He calmed down at the movie night with a distraction...oh that reminds you, you fell asleep on him. Figuratively and literally.

“I'm sorry for falling asleep on you.” probably not the most tactful or elegant way of bringing this up.

Toby takes a minute to register you words. Not taking his eyes off Connor or ceasing his movements he says, “Eh.” as he gives a muted shrug and continues, “Your friend...Kirby...gave you a ride right?” He said Kirby's name like a question. You'd have to formally introduce the two at some point. Probably this weekend.

“Yea, he's sorry about being a weirdo Saturday, said he'd be more “present” this weekend.”

Toby doesn't say anything more and you let a silence fall over you two. It isn't awkward, at least to you, and you're content to just sit and wait for a while. However, it doesn't take long before Tim, Brian, and Barclay are all entering the den.

“Knew they'd be here,” Barclay says to the other two, “Sorry 'bout the wait YN, Jake's comin' down to give these guys a tour an' set them up. We'll leave when he gets down.” you nod and give the other two a muted wave 'hello'.

It isn't long before Jake is sliding down the banister and leading the group out of the room before Barclay can get on to him about his juvenile behavior. Sighing at the twenty-three year old's antics Barclay turns to you and looks at what you're wearing. Hiking boots and jeans, perfect but one thing is missing.

“C'mon let's go get duct taped.”

“Duct taped?”

“Yup, keeps ticks from climbing up you.”

So you make your way to his office where he sticks duct tape, sticky side up, around each ankle and just above and below your knees. All while explaining how if a tick started to try and climb up you the tape would make them stick and stay there. You'd end up with less ticks on your torso and hopefully none at all.

In no time the two of your were in the forest two baskets in hand and hunting for your immobile prey. The ramps were super easy to find and the first you knocked off the hunt list. Barlcay said they grow in the same area every year, knowing this you may have to come and grab some the next time they're in season. You can already taste how good your forager's pie tastes with the new earthy tones. Actual mushrooms were much harder to find, aside from the lobster mushrooms you were really only looking for some hedgehog mushrooms. They aren't rare or extremely difficult to find but you two aren't having any luck.

Barclay suggested a spot just past a little pond, and while you didn't find mushrooms you did find some Black Raspberry bushes. Not one to let ingredients go to waste Barclay starts picking some, and you grab some too. Maybe baking an easy Black Raspberry cobbler will be your consolation prize. Though Barclay isn't as placated as you are with the unexpected find. The man is still on the hunt for his lobster mushrooms. So you continue scouring the path and a little bit off it in search.

“We should head back, it's dark.” you state plainly after a few hours of searching and remaining mushroom less.

Barclay agrees, but makes the comment that he'll probably come out again in a day or two.

“If I find any I'll still give you some or helping out today.”

“It's fine I've got my treasures right here.” You shrug it off, because while you are a bit disappointed, you still have ramps and the opportunity to make cobbler. It's not all bad. Barclay on the other hand, you know, will not be letting this go so you expect he'll hand you a container of mushrooms sometime in the coming month if not this weekend.

Getting back to the lodge Barclay helps you cut off the duct tape and disposes of it and the hitch hikers you picked up. He sends you off to shower and check for stragglers before he would allow you to go home. Thankfully you had the foresight to bring a change of clothes and after retrieving them from your trunk you do as you're told.

Barclay was right you hadn't had a single tick on you and you feel much better after a shower. Getting out you already smell the alluring aroma of Barclay's kitchen. You must have taken a bit longer than you intended if he was already done with his own shower and already cooking for the lodge. Heading downstairs with your duffle bag in tow, you are stopped by Dani at the door.

You haven't seen her in a bit so the two of you catch up and have a chat. After a bit Aubrey comes in with a Tupperware container of grilled salmon and veggies over rice.

“Oh I see, you were a diversion.” you said looking at Dani as you take the container. Dani gives a sheepish smile before running off to the dinning room, and after sending you a coy smile of her own Aubrey follows after.

You know you're more than welcome to join them, but you really don't have the battery for that and just want to decompress at home.

“Thank you!” you call out into the lodge, only leaving after hearing the distant chuckles drifting through the hall.

Opening the door you run right into someone. Looking up you see Toby, but he isn't wearing a mask. Instead he's wearing a large bandage on his face to cover the hole. In his hands is a box of similar bandages. Guess if they're staying for a bit he'll need them around the others.

Should you mention the others wouldn't say anything? That this whole place was like Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, but for the misfits or the weird and disowned? You aren't really sure it's your place. And you aren't really sure you're comfortable with how comfortable you've gotten with Toby. You're probably crossing some boundary by over analyzing him so much. And he doesn't even know you're doing it.

Toby knocks you out of your head when he backs away and gives you space to exit the lodge.

“Get home safe.” it falls out of his mouth so easily.

You've noticed he has a habit of saying that...why? There you go over analyzing him, you need to stop. Shaking yourself from your thoughts this time you look at Toby with a smile.

“I will...I think you'll like it here.” when you're in your car you want to slam your head on the steering wheel but Toby is still watching. Why did you say that, you're so weird.

#ticci tobyx reader #ticci toby #ticcitoby #creepypasta fanfic #timothy wright x reader #timothy wright #timothy wright x brian thomas #brian thomas x reader #brian thomas #masky x you #masky

7 notes · View notes

historyman101 · 3 years

Text

Fena: Pirate Princess First Impressions

I watched the 1-hour premiere on Toonami with my friends on Discord. After sleeping and having a chance to collect my thoughts, I have a few things to say about it, both positive and negative.

Toonami has fallen by the wayside for me in recent years as they did not have any anime that grabbed my interest. This is actually the first time I’ve watched Toonami in many months. Fena: Pirate Princess and Uzumaki, first announced back in 2020, caught my attention as potential shows to latch onto.

It’s obvious to me that Adult Swim is investing heavily in this anime’s success and I thought that was one reason why we had a 2-episode premiere on Saturday night. However, after watching, I realize that it was also strategic: the two episodes don’t really do much other than set up the main conflict going forward and introduce the core cast of characters. Episode 3 seems to be where the action kicks off.

I’ve noticed a lot of people compare Fena to One Piece, and while I can see why given the importance of pirates and the vaguely 18th-century world, but beyond that initial aesthetic, that’s where the similarities end. If I can compare this to anything, it reminds me more of Scrapped Princess or Yona of the Dawn, especially the pirate arc of that story. In fact, the anime hits a lot of the same beats from shows of the late ‘90s and early 2000s from the animation, character designs, and overall plot.

Fena: Pirate Princess follows the titular Fena Houtman, who escapes an arranged marriage to uncover the secret of her deceased father’s final mission and become an independent woman. She’s accompanied by a troupe of ninjas who are all sworn to protect her family. I will say that it’s a fun, clever way to put an end to the eternal ninjas vs. pirates debate and I can’t help but think the folks at Adult Swim had a hand in that.

Starting off with the positives, I’ll begin with the center of the story: Fena.

We’re only two episodes in and I already love Fena. She’s cute, funny, upbeat, and clearly has a wild, independent streak to her. That being said, some people may be a little chafed to see her largely being a distressed damsel for the majority of the first episode. However, that was never really a problem for me, as it’s obvious the anime is about her personal growth to being a take-charge woman. Her positive personality is also a good contrast for the world around her, since she starts off initially treated as an object to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. Fena’s introduction also serves as another positive for me in the series: the comedy.

I’ll be honest: I was rather taken aback to see the use of comedic slapstick in this anime when it looked to be billed as an action/adventure anime, but I never found it so overused that I started rolling my eyes. The comedic lighthearted moments weren’t too obtrusive for me to stop watching it, but it did catch me off-guard to see so much comedy in what I thought would be a serious show.

Speaking of disparate elements, there is some romance in this anime. The reason for this might be because of who’s directing the anime: Kazuto Nakazawa. In the runup to this anime’s premiere, Nakazawa cited one of his influences for Fena as shojo manga and it’s obvious that those elements are very present here, from the very first episode. And that wouldn’t necessarily bother me if Fena’s love interest wasn’t so cold and distant.

That brings me to my first criticism: Yukimaru.

I’m sorry, I just don’t like this guy. At one point I even called him “bargain bin Sasuke” in the stream and people immediately agreed with me. I get that he’s supposed to be this cool and aloof tsundere type who undergoes growth, but for someone who is supposed to be Fena’s oldest childhood friend, he treats her more as a nuisance than as someone to protect. For god’s sake, the first thing he does when they reunite is knock her out when she gets too chatty (a potential running gag that may turn off some viewers). I’m willing to give him a chance since we’re only two episodes in, but he still has a long way to go before he gets into my good graces.

Speaking of Yukimaru, the other problem I have is the other ninjas don’t really stand out to me in any meaningful way. Karin is the only one who I could potentially like as she’s portrayed as not only a gun afficionado and a gearhead (channeling some Winry Rockbell here) but I could also see her as a good friend and foil to Fena. The twins Kaede and Enju I see as either the funniest characters of the crew or the most annoying, depending on who you ask. Shitan is another cool hot guy that could provide grounds for a love triangle. Again, we’re only two episodes in, but if this starts going into shojo romance territory, I may be turned off. I can’t even really say anything about the others as they lack any kind of presence for me.

Let me circle around to another positive: the art direction. This anime looks visually striking and has some interested and varied locales so far. The island Fena escapes from reminds me a lot of sets from Pirates of the Caribbean. The entire island is covered in this purple light which gives it a foreboding air, especially in the red light districts. Fena’s room was packed with a lot of intricate details that tell me a lot of work went into the backgrounds and sets.

The animation is no slouch, either. All the action sequences are eye-catching, the opening and endings are gorgeous to look at, and even the comedic asides looks visually appealing. If nothing else, this anime is pretty to look at, which is to be expected from a studio of such high caliber as Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass, Haikyu!!).

My last criticism I have is the pacing of the show, which is rather breakneck and could cause some problems later if it continues at the current rate. Even the dialogue moves at a fast clip. I never felt like I got a chance to know all of the characters in this anime (except Fena) or understand the world. It might be because Jason DeMarco (VP of Toonami) has said this will only get more seasons if the first one does well in ratings, so they might just be going at the pace of a 1-cour anime to play it safe. However, I think that might work against the anime since there is only so much you can hope to accomplish in 13 episodes.

Overall, Fena Pirate Princess doesn’t get off to a perfect start, but it’s sure a fun ride along the way. Fena is a cute and endearing protagonist who has the potential to be more, the world is a visually beautiful and interesting blend of 18th century steampunk, and there are even some moments that will make you laugh out loud. The potential love story might turn out to be lacking and the pacing may be too fast for some, but I’ve learned to never say never and always give everything a fair chance.

Can’t wait to see Episode 3.

#fena: pirate princess #toonami #Adult Swim #anime #production i.g.#fena houtman #fena #yukimaru #japanese animation #anime review #first impressions #kaizoku oujo

8 notes · View notes

ma12s · 4 years

Text

Phases/Interests the Arcana characters would have had if they were Gen Z

Asra:

Naturally, when he was young he’d have a phase for Harry Potter, only the books though, and as he got older he’d re-read them and laugh at the magical inconsistencies.

TAZ. He probably simped at some point for Taako. Perhaps just dnd in general, and he either played a Magick user of some kind or a bard depending on his level of intoxication.

*inhales* PERCY JACKSON. that's it that's the point. He even got the unfulfilling Best Years Of Your Life Depression(tm) from reading exciting, romanticised accounts of teenagehood, only for it to not live up because how could it? its chill though, he finds his own little ways to be adventurous like making pasta in the late dead of night/early void hours of the morning, and eating on the floor. Faust helps him.

Listens to sleeping at last just to feel again and Saturn is his favourite and he will dance sensually and soulfully to it, somehow.

He watches Midnight gospel because he just loves the concept of podcasts but can sometimes struggle listening when its just audio bc he will vibe himself into a mediative state and have no idea what half the episode was about, so the visuals ironically keep him pretty grounded while he watches it. (He does meditate afterwards, though)

Julian:

This man DID have a fnaf phase and he IS the MAN behind THE SLAUGHTER. (He also gets a kick outta die in a fire (obviously) but it sends him absolutely, irrevocably feral)

He 100% had an emo phase too, but in a gay way that slowly transitioned into a weird taste for aspects of cottage core but like a Seaside cottage, and jams it to bear ghost now.

I bet he also got into true crime and has many pieces of paraphernalia with the slogan “Be GAY Do CRIME”. He also knows waaaay too much about how to dispose of bodies from that one reddit thread and worries everyone by bringing it up just a little bit too often. Also! out of morbid curiosity, he's the kinda bitch that would watch autopsy videos at 3:27am and is subscribed to ask a mortician and definitely participates in vulture culture.

Ngl he probably also got roped into a SuperWhoLock phase by Asra and it just added to his trust issues and permanently damaged his Gaydar.

Probably haunted by April 13...

He can't tell whether he wants to BE hozier or if he wants to FUCK him but tbh he's not fussy. He sings his heart out to From Eden, and bops hard to cheer wine (his favourite is the live version) and you better bet he listens to the 8d audios of Hozier but its.... and his YT history is full of them.

Nadia:

She's a bad bitch, but probably didn't get into anything too obscure. She probably has liked something and tried desperately to hide it from her elder sisters, only for them to get into it too. she’d be alright about it at first, but when Nasmira starts getting way more likes on her fandom content, Nadia starts feeling a bit put down and quits the fandom.

She’s is or has been at some point been knee deep in showtunes. She liked Hamilton but isn't quite trash for it, but will wipe the floor with your ass if Dead Girl Walking comes on.

Probably had a ‘not like other girls phase’ but instead of giving her a weird, kinda toxic relationship with womanhood, she got over it and accepts her femininity and will defend within an inch of her life women's rights and choices.

She's a proud Barb and would absolutely let Doja cat step on her. She hypes up girls on their OnlyFans and will actively murder people who tries to disrespect sex workers, as she too, respects the grind.

Also likes Greek and Egytian mythology, and stans Medusa as a victim of Men aint being shit. She also can't decide whether she stans Persephone or Aphrodite more and it is a constant ongoing debate in her head. She probably supports Lore Olympus on patreon.

Lucio:

MLP but he wouldn't ever admit it, and protects Fluttershy from creeps with his liFE. he also actually felt pretty bad for Discord, and kinda related to him. (Legend has it that on cursed, cursed nights of solitude, you can hear the sounds of DiSCOrddd iM hOWLin’ aT ThE MooN~~ drift in the air, accompanied by an actually really good rendition of the lyrics).

Lucio also liked heathers and he and Nadia bond over belting it out together, but his favourite is candy store (but will occasionally bop it to Big Fun).

His experience of Gay Culture was just binge watching drag race while he was still trying to accept his mlm-ness, and gatekeeped it until he learnt eventually how its supposed to be a place of tolerance and support and will now actively encourage All drag monarchs to work it. (He realises belatedly why it felt kinda wrong when RuPaul/the show did the queens dirty and the lack of diverse identites etc). He’s a little off with some things but with a little guidance from a very hesitant Asra, he's slowly getting Woke. (Neither will admit that they bond over these little lessons by the end of it, but everyone knows it and wish they’d just chill abt it)

Liked Voltron, stanned Lotor and his redemption arc and just... does Not want to talk about it.

Felt *weird*~~ when he watched that [one] scene with Levi from attack one titan and it took him a while but Now He Knows...

Muriel:

Got into Buzzfeed Unsolved and is mildly ashamed of himself but he finds Shane and Ryans dynamic really funny so he keeps watching it anyways. For some ~~mysterious~~ reason, he has had mad respect for Shane after the Goatman’s bridge episode, and immediately went to send it to everyone else, but got scared.

He likes to watch documentaries on cryptids (sometimes with Asra, or with Julian depending on how creepy the cryptid is)

His life was changed on the fateful day of 11/11/11. He has the highest logged hours on steam out of everyone ever and ProtectOrcs2020 could basically be his tagline at this point. He always adopts the kids and makes them the Best House with the hearthfire DLC. He always goes with the stormcloaks and probably simps for at least 5 of the companions.

He got into the Witcher through the Netflix series and started out being a Geralt stan, but jaskier slowly snook his way into his heart and he highkey ships them and Siri IS their child. (he would convince Nadia to cosplay as Yennefer, if he had more confidence).

Portia:

She liked dan and Phil but wasn't creepy abt it. She swore she could never pick a side but she secretly enjoyed Phil’s content more bc existentialism gives her anxiety. She did ship them but has since learnt quick that irl people ships aren't cute. She probably stays Thomas Sanders too

IF you're looking for a bitch with the nicest island on animal crossing, portia is 100% your bitch. She has Lillies of the valley for days and absolutely died when the special edition AC switch sold out before she could buy one, and compensates by copious amounts of Isabelle and the able sister stickers. Her favourite villagers are Fauna, Goldie, and Nate.

Portia is also a queen of Stardew and often passes out before she can get to bed because she just wants to get ON with her beautiful FarM dammit! She can never make her mind up what villager she wants to romance and switches faves like every week.

Listens to girl in red to drown her sorrows after 🎨🎻👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏻🔥.

112 notes · View notes

crasherfly · 4 years

Text

What I’m Up To

Taking a brief pause from my fantasy screenplay to talk a bit about what I’m playing/reading/listening to these days.

VIDYA GAMES

Cities: Skylines- Still working on my shithole city in all its glory. San Cruz has expanded to over 100k residents and in the past week I’ve built a level 3 park, extensive monorail system, and even extensive helicopter pickup lines. It’s still a terrible place to live, but it’s also fun to grapple with the challenges of a desert map.

Yakuza 0- I’m gonna post this take here, since we’re not on twitter and I’m safe from the mobs- Yakuza 0 is the experience everyone promised me Witcher 3 would be. Thrilling combat, a fascinating game world, and lovely, meaningful side quests. If this sounds like I’m digging at Witcher 3, I promise I’m not. I personally didn’t enjoy that game. But obviously, many, many people did and would disagree with my critiques. That’s totally fine! I’m just saying I’m enjoying Yakuza 0 for merits similar to what I’ve heard in connection with the Witcher franchise- and I could also see people having similar gripes, too! I’ve been on a well documented single player drought over the past couple months. Yakuza 0 finally broke me out of that, and it’s been a thrill. Getting out of the COD grind cycle has been a joy. This is a lovely experience that rewards curiosity by sparking yet more curiosity. I can’t wait to see how it continues to open up. Expect my Twitter account to go on about this for a while.

Mario 64- I have 8 stars! I’m told I have like, 113 more to go, a number which makes me groan. So far, Mario 64 has felt like an obligation that is occasionally fun. It’s very dated, but it has the DNA that would go on to make later games like Odyssey an absolute joy. Games like these feel more like an exercise in filling in my gamer history gaps than they do labors of love. Like most retro games, I have a hard time getting into Mario 64 for longer than 20 minutes at a time. So this will likely be a long-running project.

Star Wars: Squadrons- I probably should have known better, but I picked this game up ‘cuz the reviews were decent and the price felt right. Good news is that in the couple of hours I’ve spent with it, the gameplay is mostly solid and the graphics are beautifully rendered. It feels like both Rogue Squadron AND X-Wing, which is a hell of an accomplishment. Bad news is several of the missions appear to be badly broken, requiring numerous restarts. The game is generous with checkpoints, so it’s not a huge deal, but it is annoying. Hopefully they patch that stuff. I also haven’t tried multiplayer yet. None of my friends have bit on picking this up, so I’m not sure when or if it will happen. Assuming I can power through the hammy story, I’ll at least finish the campaign sometime down the line, even if I can’t be bothered to care how any of this fits into the larger world of Star Wars.

Warzone- Still doing that Season 6 thing! Subways have been mostly a disappointment for me so far, and the new marksman rifle has made the current meta a veritable hell for anyone with underdeveloped quick scoping skills, but I still get a couple matches in every day.

ANIME

God of High School- To say God of High School moves fast is an understatement. True to form, it sprinted its way through the finale. It’s got some lovely sequences, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the OST, but beyond a couple of choice battles, it didn’t leave a strong impression on me. I’m glad I saw it, but I’m not thirsting for a new season.

Dragon Ball- I switched over to the English dub of this show. I don’t usually do that, but I was struggling to keep my attention. I think in a way it helped? The English dub actors are far more cartoonish and silly, which really plays to the absurd animation and story turns. I’m on S1E13, and the first summoning of the dragon just happened. I won’t spoil except to say...this show has a deeply specific sense of humor, and I’m starting to dig it?

Fire Force- Season 2 is finally taking off for me. I’m on ep 14, and the focus has shifted over to the mysterious Joker. The battles have been compelling, as have been the mysteries placed by his storyline. I was struggling with feeling invested in S2 thus far, but the past few ep’s have reminded me of why I found this show special in the first place- when it gets serious and stays focused, it’s one of the tightest active shonen stories.

Manga

I’ve been on a bit of a manga break lately. Today I did take time with another chapter of Fruits Basket, which continues to be a lovely delight. I also recently received Master Edition copies of both Fairy Tail and Berserk. This week, my goal is to finish both Fruits Basket and my latest volumes of One Piece so I can dive into my new Master Editions.

Music

I haven’t had much change in my music tastes lately. I’ve been listening to a lot of Kompany and other dubstep artists, mostly ‘cuz I find the deep bass and variety of sounds soothing to me while I’m writing and zoning out during sessions of Cities: Skylines. I also enjoy its tempo while I’m running. Anything that helps the time pass, really.

Tabletop Games

I played 6 hours of DND this weekend. It was mostly a free-form improv session where I let the players do basically anything they wanted to within the gameworld we established during The Lost Mines of Phandelver. It was very heavy on roleplay, without a single instance of combat. While I was personally exhausted after the session, the players expressed that they had a very good time. We’ll be looking to finish up what they started in a bonus session for October!

Wrastlin!

My WWF Discord group just finished 1999 King of the Ring. Mr. Ass won! One of our folks actually got her bracket right. I had predicted Kane winning, so I was obviously out of luck on that. In the last RAW, Stone Cold Steve Austin just won the Heavy Weight Title from the Undertaker in an unlikely win! We’ll see how long that stint lasts...

Streams

I tried streaming from my personal Twitch using a schedule last week!

It...had mixed results.

My Warzone streams were my most popular, which is funny, ‘cuz I’m not that good at Warzone. My least popular were my Dungeon of the Endless and Yakuza 0 streams, which is not a big surprise. Those games aren’t that fun to watch.

I wanted to do the schedule as a an attempt to see if I could get a small audience or find some new meaning in games I was working through by presenting them as content.

I found the answer to both was more or less “not really”.

And that’s okay!

I also learned streaming, even just for an hour a night, is hard work. We should all be kinder to our content creators and in awe of the friends we have who do it even when on one is watching. Content creation is so unforgiving. Maybe if I stuck with it longer I’d have found my niche, but honestly, I just enjoy games for the games, and turning them into content just isn’t my speed.

I’ve been doing the whole SpriteClub thing per usual. I’m a paid subscriber now! And I even am on a greeting basis with some folks. That’s been really cool. We had debuts this weekend too, where creators submit new fighters. The system matches them with other fighters to determine ratings. It’s a lot of fun, and the event always has this festival atmosphere to it.

I’ve also been watching a lot of streams from the gals over at hololive-EN. Specifically, I’ve been watching Gawr Gura, Amelia Watson and Mori Calliope. It’s become nightly viewing in my household. I’ll save the debate on V-Tubers for a different place, suffice to say I have enjoyed the games they’ve presented and the personalities they’ve developed, and I think the success they’ve found is well earned. There are some talented folks behind these projects, and I find the streams to be relaxing, enjoyable, and at hours I can actually tune in for.

Personal News

Lately, I’ve been feeling pretty down. This can be easily correlated with the shift in temperature, for sure. I know a lot of people really dig fall, and I used to be a SPOOKY SEASON guy myself, but as I get older, fall has shifted into this period of mourning as I recognize the shortening days and the coming winter, which has always played hell with my body.

I’ve been struggling with a number of phantom symptoms that seem to pop up this time of year- bad digestion, terrible sleep (likely resulting from mild apnea), fatigue and heart palpitations. In turn, my mental health has been seriously flagging.

At the suggestion of my therapist, I’ve started up a new vitamin regimen including a multivitamin and magnesium. I’ve also focused on finding potassium enriched foods and have cut back significantly on my drinking and caffeine. So far, this has actually resulted in me gaining weight ‘cuz I’ve been indulging in a lot of sugar as a coping mechanism, but I’m working through getting back to a healthy place where I can both track my intake but also be content with where I’m at. Right now I’m doing my best to try and fight the urge to become a Nap Guy.

Last week I took several naps, even on my off days, and I’ve had a hard time sustaining my energy throughout the day, so I’m doing a better job of getting the sleep my body asks for while also structuring my day with more purpose so I’m left with less time just lying around wondering what to do.

Last week I broke my personal best for a 5K, breaking 24 minutes. For today’s run, I plan to try and break my 7:30 time on my mile run to the gym.

For weights, I’ve gotten into a rhythm of 3 times a week, with Mondays and Fridays focusing on my core exercises- presses and curls, with Wednesdays focusing on pulls that are centered on working out my back, as well as bodyweight exercises such as dips and pull ups. This variation has given my limbs more time to heal up, which is welcome. Now if only I could be kinder to my body AFTER the gym, I might see some actual progress!

Work continues to be what it is. I’m at 30 hours now, which continues to be a huge positive. I don’t think I could keep at it with 40 hours. Change is a constant, and they seem to find new ways to make our jobs more convoluted every day. I have a quarterly review coming up with my new supervisor, but I have a feeling it won’t be nearly so traumatic as the last one, as I’ve done a good job of straightening up and flying right.

As I get more distance from August, I’m starting to recognize it- the events of my workplace disasters, my unplanned vacation, my off the rails spending and drinking- for what it was- it was a breakdown. And I’m still recovering from it. I was deeply unwell, and I took on some trauma- some of it wasn’t stuff I was looking for, some of it was stuff I brought on myself. I’m working through it. I wish I could say things like therapy have made a huge difference, but frankly, most of the work comes from stuff like this, where I’m just writing and being transparent with myself. That’s where I find the most healing work happens.

I still have a lot of my social media muted. When I need news, it typically filters through into my Discord, or Yahoo dings my phone or I see it on my Facebook feed. It’s fair to say that lately it’s felt like everything just Happens So Much.

I feel for my friends who are directly impacted- by the election, by the supreme court, by...just, everything. It all makes my own personal journey and endeavors feel...deeply small. At the same time, I just don’t have the emotional capacity required to house this perpetual crowd of events or constantly process everything in real time. I’m not sure when, if ever, I will have that again. I struggle to read ANYTHING- even friendly sites like Defector or The Discourse, without feeling an immense downswing.

I don’t know what the answer is. I wish I could just gut up and stay constantly plugged in for the sake of pals who might need to openly hash this out or draw attention to their causes or needs, but based on the past few months, I’m not sure I can take care of myself, let alone others. As I often tell close friends, my priorities these days are this small and in this order- Stay Healthy, Stay Kind, Stay Employed, Stay Productive- anything that goes right beyond that feels like a bonus in 2020.

At any rate, thanks for reading the update, y’all!

I’ll try and post these more regularly. I just wanted to check in with everyone and let y’all know how everything is going these days. Stuff like this helps me keep honest, as lately I’ve had a hard time sussing out what my direction is these days. Stay safe and well, and hit me up with what you’re up to, when you find a moment!

2 notes · View notes

detectivegabor · 4 years

Text

Buzz Buzz Bitch || Discord Para

FEATURING: Bianca and Bernard (( @detectivenewhart ))

RATING: EC ( Emotionally Compromising )

RATING: G

BRIEF SUMMARY: This takes place after Bianca’s drinks with Anita (and Bianca’s subsequent drunk texts to Bernard). In spite of the title, it gets sappy as shit. Warning that there’s a lot of mental hoop jumping and general stupidity.

BIANCA: By the time that Bianca heard a car pulling up to the curb, she had forgone sitting on the bench in favour of lying on her back while scrolling through old pictures on her phone. Turning her head, she saw a familiar figure and immediately sat up and swung her legs off the bench before instinctively reaching out to grip the edge of it. Woah. Okay. Apparently moving too quickly after many gin and tonics equalled a lot of dizziness. She would try to remember that.

After gathering her bearings, she pocketed her phone and offered up a bright, excited smile as she bounced to her feet. "Knighthart!" she exclaimed happily, practically leaping forward and jumping up to wrap herself around him without even remotely considering whether or not he would even be able to catch her.

BERNARD: Did he understand that she lived 15 minutes from Mount Olympus? Yes of course he did. Did that mean he wouldn't worry the whole time at home? Hell no. He knew she could take care of herself, of course he knew that. He meant what he said, this drive was for his peace of mind. To know she got home safe and that she was actually going to rest properly. A hungover Bianca did not make for a fun work environment.

He'd pulled up near where she'd asked him to. Pulling out his phone he rolled his eyes at the barrage of messages he'd received while driving over. Hopping out he was debating calling her when he heard a familiar voice shout out. Barely able to put his phone up he grunted at the impact managing to catch her and still keep his footing. " Jesus Christ Gabor warn a guy. Also really buzz buzz bitch?" he questioned adjusting his grip to settle her back down. Knowing her he already knew she was gonna be a handful for him tonight.

BIANCA: "Please, you know you love it," Bianca replied with a happy grin, bopping his nose affectionately with her index finger and pinching his cheek before settling back down onto the ground, albeit with some difficulty. She teetered slightly in her heels, keeping her hands pressed against his chest as she tried to regain her balance, eventually finding her footing. Bianca could easily walk around in heels for a 12 hour shift and not struggle whatsoever. Keeping her balance in them while drunk was a different story.

Looking at him, she blinked a couple of times as her brain tried and mostly failed to process how close he was, before she suddenly pulled away and reached for the door on the passenger side of the car. "I still maintain that this was totally unnecessary, by the way," she quipped as she pulled the door open and clambered into the car. "But I'm not complaining. I could totally get used to having this level of service."

BERNARD: Bernard made a noncommittal noise, his face scrunching up when she bopped and pinched him. He kept his hands firmly on her waist as she found her balance. "Careful there, I'm not carrying you if you end up breaking an ankle," he said an amused grin on his face. Most of the time Bianca was at 100 percent and completely put together. So when she was like this, more open and a little goofy, he couldn't help but smile. It was hard to be annoyed with her when she looked this cute.

"You can maintain it all you want from the passenger side," he shot back getting back into the driver's side. Rolling his eyes he started up on the short drive to her place, "I better be getting 5 stars and a nice tip from you," he quipped back. Glancing at her during a red light he raised a brow curiously, "Were you drinking solo tonight?"

BIANCA: "You're not going to carry me?" Bianca asked, furrowing her eyebrows dramatically as she fastened her seatbelt and settled against the seat, closing her eyes and mumbling her next words in a manner that made it difficult to tell if she was drunk or just petulant. She just barely managed to stop herself from pouting outrageously like an actual child. "You're not a very good knight. Maybe I should take back your new nickname."

Prying one eye open, she turned her head to look at him with a tired but amused, and somewhat loopy smile on her face. "I'll give you five stars if you carry me," she teased, before shaking her head. "And no, 's not alone. 'S with Anita. Oooooh, speaking of, here's a funny story." Bianca snapped her fingers and pointed in his direction. "Guess who Anita has a tiny crush on? Here's a hint: we recently deleted footage of him in the pool from the festival. Small world, huh?"

BERNARD: "Would you like some cheese with your wine, your majesty," he replied the smile never slipping off his face. It wasn't often that she was so obvious when annoyed or riled up. Usually it would take a few back and forth remarks before he could get a proper reaction. So was he planning on milking this as much as he could? Most definitely. Glancing at her, he chuckled and said, "New nickname? Here I thought I was just being assigned a new job title as your personal servant. Be at your call for all your late night needs."

He was grateful the streets were clear so late at night. It made for an easier and quicker drive for them both. Pretending to mull over her request he shook his own head back at her, "Fine, but only because I love you." Listening to her next response his eyes widened in surprise before dramatically shaking his head again. "I know this is a small town but this is just getting ridiculous." Pausing he glanced at her brow furrowed in concern, "And how do you feel about it? I know you said you didn't want to date him but...no regrets now?"

BIANCA: Bianca rolled her eyes, her expression even more dramatic than it had been a couple of seconds earlier (if that was even possible), but even if she did her best to seem annoyed, there was an unmistakeable fond smile on her face. She couldn't help it. Just being around Bernard had that effect on her. There was no logical explanation for it, really, it just simply... Made her happy. "Isn't that what you already are?" she asked with a grin, keeping her eyes on him even when he had to turn back to look at the road. Although, all things considered, it was probably a good thing that he couldn't see the look in her eyes.

"And I love you too," she continued, the teasing tone in her voice slipping somewhat in favour of something that sounded almost painfully earnest. For a moment, Bianca found herself forgetting what they had even been talking about, lost in how comfortingly quiet it was save for the sound of them driving home, before she managed to pull herself out of her reverie. "Nah, no regrets," she confirmed, lifting her shoulder in a small shrug. "I mean, I had a lot of rational, practical reasons for not wanting to date him, but at the end of the day none of that would have mattered if he was the one. But he's not. I already know that."

BERNARD: "Depends on who you ask I suppose. The title seems to always change, I'm either your servant or your work husband. Or your Bernard," the last one was usually after meeting one of her friends like Roger. He didn't mind, after all these years he was hers and she was his.

At the tone change he glanced at her to make sure everything was alright. He barely caught the look on her face before his eyes went back on the road. That familiar warmth spread from his chest outwards. As much as they teased and bickered, if never went too far. He could count on one hand the number of times they had actually fought, but they always worked through it. He never doubted she loved him even if they got heated and he knew she felt the same, it was the trust they built over the years that always kept them together. Slowly pulling next to her apartment building he found a spot near enough to park at. "Always the rational one, you know considering your history I'm starting to think nothing short of a demigod is gonna be the one for you," he said as he started to get out and go over to her side. Moving to her side he opened the door, " If I'm carrying you, you better at least be able to open the door," he teased while moving forward to pick her up once she was ready.

BIANCA: Your Bernard. Bianca smiled slightly to herself, repeating the words in her head as they slowly pulled up next to her apartment building, as if trying to savour the warmth that she felt in her chest from just hearing it phrased that way. She just barely managed to stop herself from blurting out how much she liked the sound of that. That it didn't really matter what they were to each other, because at the end of the day, he was her Bernard. And she was his Bianca.

She rolled her eyes again at his comment, mostly because they'd had this particular conversation about her standards being way too high so many times that almost knew it off by heart, but also partially because she was drunk enough to wonder briefly how on Earth he couldn't see that her standards were high because her standards started and ended with him. "There's nothing wrong with having high standards," she quipped back, pulling her heels off her feet and holding them in one hand while pulling her keys out of her pocket with the other, holding them up so that he could see that she had them before reaching out for him to pick her up. "Who's to say I don't deserve a demigod?"

BERNARD: High standards? Well that was one way to put it he mused. Over the years he'd learned more on her tastes, though giving up the Harvard grad still through him every now and then when he thought about it. On paper the match made sense, but then again no one ever accused Bianca about being conventional. If she was they probably wouldn't be partners, or she'd have gone on to become a diplomat of some form. He was grateful it was dark as he flinched at that line of thought. His stomach churned uncomfortably, the idea of a life without her always left him feeling hollow.

He forced those thoughts away focusing instead on her. "No there's not, especially when you're you. Getting 10s across the board all the time," he said. He wasn't blind, he knew his partner was attractive and how much attention she received. While occasionally he felt something over it , he assumed it was his own high standards when it came to her. She was his best friend, while she was free to choose whoever she wanted he still reserved the right to want someone truly amazing for her. Pulling her out of the car he used the side of his body to push the door shut adjusting her so she was pressed close to him. "Better hope this demigod actually picks up in the middle of the night," he shot back as he began to carry her towards the front door of her building, "So do I lose my knighthood when this demigod comes in to the picture?"

BIANCA: An amused and somewhat pleased smirk played on her lips at his description of her. Bianca was a confident person, and she knew exactly what she looked like; she even took advantage of it occasionally, both personally and professionally, although when it came to the latter it was usually only as a last resort. And yes, Bernard made comments sometimes about the people who flirted with her, and yes, sometimes those comments weren't flattering (they weren't mean, he was too diplomatic for that, but they weren't flattering). And yes, there was a part of her that wanted to read into that, badly, but she always managed to convince herself not to. It was just him being a good friend. A best friend. Like it should be.

She followed his movements instinctively when he adjusted his grip on her, pulling herself as close to him as possible and briefly resting her head against him, feeling so effortlessly comfortable in this position that a part of her thought that if she didn't have to pay attention to opening the door, she could've easily fallen asleep like that. "Hey, who says I'll stop texting you in the middle of the night even if I have my demigod?" she asked as they made their way up the stairs and to her front door. Pulling back slightly, she reached out to unlock the door before continuing, looking at him as she did. "You'll always be my favourite, Knighthart. No matter who else is in the picture."

BERNARD: Walking into her building he took the elevator up to the 2nd floor. Over the years they'd jumped between both their apartments. Hell he even had a small dresser in his guest room full of her stuff. Also it wasn't the first time he'd carried her back home after drinks, nor would it be the last he mused.

Getting to the door was easy enough as they talked, "Oh great, and here I was worried I was going to be out of a job when you met the one." Again that feeling nagged at him but he shrugged it off. While her meeting someone would mean less time with him, he'd be happy as long as she was. Walking in he smiled glancing down at her for a moment, "You're lucky you're mine too, or else I'd have let you walk," he teased. Giving her a moment to lock the door he kept a careful hold of her not wanting to let her fall. While he could have set her down it felt nice to be able to hold her. He enjoyed having her close to him, one of the few people he let into his bubble. Taking her into her room he set her down on her bed before sitting down near her, "Gonna be close to almost 3:30 by the time I get home," he grumbled letting out a yawn towards the end.

BIANCA: "Would you though?" Bianca retorted, tossing her keys onto the small table by the door before once more draping her arms over his shoulders and pulling herself closer to him, her forearms crossing behind his neck. To be honest, she expected him to put her down as soon as they reached her apartment, but she wasn't about to complain about it when he didn't. She liked being this close to him. She liked it a lot. In fact, it was probably the most comfortable and at ease that she'd felt for days, as if she hadn't realised quite how much tension she was carrying in her body until she felt it all dissipating.

She was half-tempted to just lay down and go to sleep after he put her down, but then years of experience of getting home drunk and somehow still managing to get ready for bed kicked in, and she swung her legs off the side of the bed. Unbuttoning her blouse, she pulled it off and tossed it on the floor next to the bed, quickly followed by her undoing her pants and doing the same thing. Reaching for a t-shirt (which was also on the floor), she put it on before removing her bra and dropping it into the pile of clothes that she'd created, before sinking back onto the bed with a contented sigh. "By the time you get home?" she asked, reaching out to pull him down onto the bed with her. "Nuh-uh. You're not going anywhere."

BERNARD: "Only if you weren't being a brat," he replied though he knew it was a lie. He'd carry her whininess and all, even if he'd complain during it. It was rare for him to really deny her anything or go against her wishes. Not because she was overbearing, but because he simply didn't feel the need to. He enjoyed making her happy, and not only that but their relationship was also one built on mutual respect. If he really had a problem with something he knew she'd listen to him and respect his own wishes. It was one of many things he truly loved about her.

His neck felt like it almost broke with how quickly he glanced away from her. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her undress in the locker room or from the occasional vacation, but in her room it felt oddly intimate. His face heated up a bit as he waited patiently for her to finish up so he could tuck her in. He turned slowly when she spoke to avoid peeking, eyes focused on her face. Because of this he hadn't expected to be grabbed. Barely catching himself, he had both hands on either side of her waist to hold himself up to avoid landing his full weight on her. "Little warning next time B. So what am I on couch duty then?" He asked face a few inches above hers.

BIANCA: As it turned out, Bianca's drunk logic didn't take nearly as far as she wanted to think that it did, at least not when it came to anticipating the consequences of her own actions. For example, she had grabbed Bernard to pull him down with her solely because she didn't want him to leave, not even thinking about the fact that it would inevitably land them in this position; with him hovering a few inches above her, and her staring up at his face without being able to look away. And she didn't want to look away. She liked looking at him.

Blinking a few times, she waited for her brain to fill with some kind of reasonable thought or even instinct that would pull her back from the edge, like it had earlier that night. Like it had every time she'd found herself veering a little too closely to crossing a line that she couldn't come back from. But nothing happened, and all that she could think about was that she loved him and that she wanted to be close him. "No," she replied, shaking her head slightly before leaning up to press a soft, brief kiss to his lips. "Stay here."

BERNARD: This hadn't been the most comfortable position to land in. He kept adjusting his hands to keep at least some level of space between them. It really shouldn't have been as surprising to him as it was when she'd pulled him closer. What should have been actually surprising was when she brushed her lips against his. He remained still letting her have control over the moment. As he looked at her there was a brief moment where he thought about what had just occurred; before he licked his lips and the faint aftertaste of gin hit him. Right then. That was what this was. For a second he felt like he'd lost something with that realization before shrugging the feeling off. A soft smile formed on his lips as he leaned forward and lightly kissed her forehead.

Shifting he sat up and moved to lay down next to her. "Only cause you're my favorite," he said fondness creeping into his voice despite his best attempts to play casual. His lack of sleep was starting to affect his filter. He debated keeping his pajama pants on but he usually ran hot at night. With another person in the bed he'd be even warmer which wasn't particularly appealing. "Would you be terribly offended if I slept in my boxers?"

BIANCA: Clearly, Bianca wasn't thinking. If she had been thinking, then she wouldn't have leaned up to kiss him. Hell, she wouldn't have pulled him down into the bed with her in the first place. For a brief moment, as silence filled the room and the world stood still around them, she watched his reaction carefully and wondered if this was the tipping point that would inevitably change things between them. It was a thought that scared her, because she didn't want things to change between them, until he smiled softly and seemed to brush it off, and she felt a wave of relief wash over her. Relief, followed by just a hint of disappointment.

Pushing that feeling as far down as she could, Bianca returned his smile and turned around so that she was still facing him, her body curling up slightly as she settled against the pillow. "Oh, please, of course I wouldn't be offended," she mumbled teasingly, her lack of sleep finally starting to catch up with her again. "Nobody with eyes would be offended by that."

BERNARD: Physical contact wasn't something he excelled at. For so long it been him and his mom, and even then they had their own small ways of doing things. Even now he struggled with letting people touch him. The touches lingered like a sting on his skin reminding him of where it had happened. The amount of people he allowed into his personal space he could count on one hand. Then there was her, the exception to almost every rule he had. Without even trying a connection to her had formed that had left him reeling at first. For once he'd simply gone with his own feelings and now he had someone in his life he never wanted to lose. To let her in like that had terrified him, but he had never regretted his decision. Through their whole partnership and friendship, she had always been worth the risk to him.

Chuckling he stood up and took off his pajama pants. He neatly folded them and set them down on the ground by his shoes and socks. Laying back down he eyed her curiously, "what are you talking about now?" Bringing a hand up he ran his fingers through her hair gently stroking the top of her head. "That statement applies more to you than me."

BIANCA: Bianca hadn't lived a bad life before she moved to Andromeda. In fact, she had lived a very good life, the kind of life that had opened doors for her that wouldn't have been open to her otherwise, or that at the very least would have been infinitely more difficult for her to get to. But for as long as she could remember, she had been surrounded by people who on some level bored her, or held her back, and made her wonder if there wasn't something more to life than this. And she had felt that way until she met Bernard.

Bernard was different. He was so different, in fact, that when she had first met him, it made her wonder if she'd been hanging out with cardboard cutouts her entire life and he was the first real person that she had met. How she felt about him as a person was deep and profound, and there wasn't anything on the planet that she wouldn't do to protect what they had with each other. Including ignoring how she actually felt about him. "Are you saying that you think I'm attractive?" she asked teasingly, almost as if to spite the part of herself that could feel her heart about to leap out of her chest when he ran his fingers through her hair. Shifting closer, Bianca curled up against him and closed her eyes, readjusting her position a couple of times as she tried to get as comfortable as possible. "If anything, I'd say that statement applies to both of us."

BERNARD: It had been an average day when he'd realize how much he really wanted her around him. Well maybe not average, it had been an actually awful day. He'd walked under a ladder on accident and like a self fulfilling prophecy he'd focused on all the negatives that had come from his mistake. His pens had gone missing, he'd spilled coffee on his new shirt, and the printer had then spat ink onto his jeans. The straw that broke him was when he'd gone to grab his lunch only to find the refrigerator had broken down and everything had spoiled. He recalled storming out to sit outside on a bench willing himself to relax. He was still new to managing his OCD and anxiety, he felt damn near ready to call it a day. And then like always she was next to him, lunch in hand and good conversation to get him out of his head. It was when he was back at his desk that he had realized how quiet his head had been, that it was the first time he'd smiled and laughed all day. It was that day he noticed how much of an impact she had on him. The new pack of pens at his desk had damned near made him want to cry. It was the day he realized that she had his back and that they where more than partners. They were actually friends.

Glancing at her he felt that familiar warmth spread through him. The fondness and friendship he had with her had slowly formed to actual love. He knew he loved her, she was his best friend after all. Chuckling he continued to stroke her head, "I'm not blind you know. I wasn't kidding when I said you have 10s across the board. You're brilliant, charming, hard working, and you have a good heart. Being stunningly beautiful will just be a nice bonus for when you find the one." Was he being a bit too honest, maybe, but it was late and the warmth in his chest had yet to fade. Moving his hand he wrapped an arm around her waist letting her choose how close they were. For a moment he let himself feel a bit bittersweet knowing that when she did find the one these moment would become fewer. Still he could enjoy his time with her while he was granted it. "Hmm if you say so," he said softly. While he didn't see himself as ugly he also didn't consider himself in her league. Years of being in the background had left him feeling fairly average.

BIANCA: There had been a series of moments throughout their partnership when Bianca had realised exactly how much Bernard meant to her and how much better her life was for having him in it. She had realised that she needed him when she had been about to lose her temper on a suspect and just the feeling of his hand on her shoulder was enough to calm her down. She had realised that she loved him when he'd found her in the locker room, practically near tears after an exceptionally bad day at work, and she'd cried while he hugged her until she was able to pull herself together. But it was on a totally ordinary day, when she had looked over at him from her desk and smiled to herself at all the little isms in his expressions and how he carried himself that made Bernard so Bernard, that she had realised that she was in love with him. And since then, she had tried her best to ignore that fact in favour of all of the other important things that she felt about him.

She had done relatively well at that, all things considered. But it was getting increasingly difficult to pretend that she didn't have these feelings for him when he looked at her and spoke about her in the way that he did and she couldn’t stifle the traitorous part of her that hoped it meant something more than it did. Or when they talked about a hypothetical future romantic partner that she already knew she would never have because she knew who the one for her was and he was standing right in front of her. Or, in this case, lying right beside her. “Damn, Knighthart,” she murmured softly, shuffling closer until she was practically draped over him, having forgone her pillow in favour of holding him close to her and resting her head against his chest. “Did you practice that speech in your head? ‘S very good.” Smiling to herself, Bianca found her mind wandering to a memory from a couple of months ago, a conversation in which he had suddenly asked her if she thought that he would make a good boyfriend, and she had said yes, because of course he would be. Just not to her. “I love you,” she whispered, as she allowed herself to pretend, for just a moment, that maybe it could be her. “I mean it.”

BERNARD: Bernard settled into the bed keeping one arm around her, he brought his other arm to wrap around her waist alternating between drawing random shapes on her back and just running his fingers through her hair. Leaning his head closer to hers he gave a half hearted shrug. "Not much to practice, just stating the facts B," he murmured shifting closer to get comfortable. Maybe she would fine someone, and maybe that would mean less time for them. But he'd just have to appreciate what he had now more then. He was grateful enough just to be by her side, the same way he'd been grateful she'd chosen him as her partner.

At her words he smiled and kissed the top of her. "Trust me I'm well aware how much you love me. Doubt you'd put up with me if you didn't," he said chuckling softly. It was starting to get harder to stay awake his eyes getting heavier. He felt comfortable, the usual noise in his head full of anxiety and insecurities quieted downed for now. "I love you more than anyone, B."

BIANCA: The trouble with the situation that they were in was that it was too easy. It was too easy for her to get comfortable with him like this, too easy for her to feel him drawing random shapes on her back or running his fingers through her hair and imagine that this wasn't two best friends falling asleep beside each other, but something much more than that. It was easy to pretend, because deep down that was what she wanted. She wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything else. She just didn't want to admit that to herself.

"No, I'm being serious," she replied a little louder, opening her eyes and pulling away from him slightly so that she could look at his face when she continued. She suddenly felt wide awake, looking at him like she was trying to tell him something incredibly important, and imploring him to read between the lines. "I really love you. Do you understand what I mean? I love love you."

BERNARD: This was nice he thought vaguely, the warmth from her spreading through him. For a brief moment he wondered if sleeping with her was better for him in the long run. He already felt better in the few moments they'd been together than the days following that festival. His brain felt mellowed out and he was struggling to stay awake and choose his words.

When she pulled away he made a noise of discontent immediately trying to pull her back before she started speaking. Watching her he brought a hand up cupping her cheek. Stroking her cheek with his thumb he lightly brushed it against her lips. Leaning forward he pressed his forehead against hers, "I seriously love love you too, B, and I’ll seriously love love you in the morning. But you need sleep and I need sleep.”

BIANCA: Bianca was so focused on what she was saying and what she was trying to convey to him, albeit perhaps not as clearly as she thought that she was being, so much so that she almost flinched when he reached out to cup her cheek. Closing her eyes, she practically held her breath as she felt his thumb brush against her lips, that stubborn hope in her heart allowing her to consider for a moment that maybe, just maybe, he was about to lean in and kiss her. But then he didn't, and she felt herself plummeting back to reality.

Whatever door she had been about to walk through slammed shut when she opened her eyes and realised that he was simply leaning his forehead against hers. It was locked and bolted when he opened his mouth to speak and the main thing to come out was that they both needed sleep. "Yeah, you're probably right," Bianca replied, feeling the disappointment stinging in her eyes and trying her best not to let it show as she took a deep breath and settled back against him. She could do this. She could go back to pretending that this had never happened. She had been doing it for years. "G'night, Bernard."

#c: bernard #p: buzz buzz bitch

5 notes · View notes

smutfornerds · 5 years

Text

The Dating Game // Team Flash x Reader

A/N: ahhh babes this was so fun!! this idea came straight from our Wells discord groupchat! The lovely @itsprongs has a sister fic series that you should 20000% go read to get further immersed into the wonderful world of Wells boys fighting for your love. Hope you all enjoy!! ps it’s ‘team flash’ because literally everyone is in this and I didn’t wanna spoil who wins!!!

Also no smut here! Just fluff and funnies!

—

A loud and obnoxious squawking jolted you from a deep slumber. Creaking your eyes open you found that you’d apparently left your window cracked when you fell asleep, and now a less than friendly crow was perched on the telephone poll outside to help you start your day. “Thanks for that..” you muttered sleepily, reluctantly sitting up to slide the pane fully closed. You stretched, a yawn engulfing your face while you heard your phone buzz on your headboard. Reaching up for it you saw three missed calls. A humorless laugh spilled from you and you flopped back onto your bed reading the names of all three iterations of a Mr. Harrison Wells. An hour ago, HR. He left a simple but blabbery voicemail asking how you were doing and if you were coming in today and if you could bring coffee. Twenty minutes later, a call and text from Harry. A short but sweet ‘Rise and shine, we need our seamstress.’ The idea that Barry or Cisco had ripped yet another hole in their suits made your fingers ache. Finally one last missed call from Sherloque, the little eyeglass emoji he’d placed beside his name making you roll your eyes in frustration.

These men were relentless. Every minute of your day at least one of them was begging for your attention, most days being two of them biting each other’s heads off while the third distracted you. It never ended, each day bringing new things for them to bicker about or new ways to try to win your affection. The week before, HR and Sherloque had gotten lost in arguing over who was a better romancer, and while they debated Harry led you off to his lab to where he’d made a Big Belly Burger picnic on the floor. He won that argument. The following day, the detective made you a sample tray of tea while giving you a much needed shoulder rub. To top it off, Friday night had ended with HR twirling you around the training room to flirtatious swing music and half a bottle of rosé in your veins. You were in system overload by the weekend and had holed up in your apartment for the entirety of it, keeping your phone on silent and catching up on housework and reading. It was helpful in clearing your mind of the ongoing battle but of course the tauntingly bright and early Monday morning would thrust you right back into their games, unbeknownst to you quite literally.

Not bothering to respond to any of them, you opted for texting Cisco that you’d be there in an hour. Being a hermit indoors for three days meant you needed a shower and a fresh face of makeup to hide your eye bags. Waiting until you got a ‘good to go!’ in response you hopped into the steaming water to ease the growing tensions about facing the Wells boys again. Each one held a special place in your heart, and when you were alone with them it made it so hard to keep your feelings for the others in check. Rinsing the suds from your hair you finally shut the water off and wrapped yourself in a towel to start getting ready. You’d showered faster than anticipated so you took the time to perfect your hair and outfit. The green sundress you wore let your white bra peak out slightly but the lace was a nice touch to your outfit so you didn’t mind it. Slipping your black sneakers on you reluctantly headed for Star Labs. The last thing you expected was the Cortex to be empty. It was 11 AM on a Monday, usually the entire team was packed into the room discussing one thing or another about one meta or another. Today though it was silent. A notecard was perched curiously on the keyboard at the main desk and you lifted it to read what was written. ‘Let the games begin! Meet us in the lounge.’ It wasn’t signed but you’d seen enough of his love notes to Iris to know that was Barry’s speedy chicken-scratch handwriting. Your eyes narrowed at it trying to decode his words but you sighed defeatedly as you headed downstairs.

Once you exited the elevator you could hear a murmur of voices float down the hallway. As your footsteps approached though they were shushed, rather violently, until you walked in and your mouth fell open. The entire team was gathered on the couches, sans the three lookalike lover boys of yours. Cisco and Ralph stood - in disastrously bright blue and yellow colored suits - on a newly made platform, three cubicle looking squared off areas beside them. Behind the group was a softly buzzing scoreboard, and you read over the words ‘contestant 1, contestant 2, contestant 3’ in a column along the side of it. Your eyes scanned the entire room never faltering from your stunned expression. Quickly Iris fell into a fit if giggling and Barry followed soon after, shushing her softly. “This is not happening..” you muttered and began to turn on your heel to run, but before you could even about-face, the speedster whirred you into the chair on the make-shift stage. In front of you all your friends’ faces shown how amused they were and you glared at all of them equally. “So this was a group effort I take it?” You hollered over to them and they collectively let out laughs and hums of pride. Their smugness caused your shoulders to slump back into the chair.

Beside you Ralph cleared his throat and Cisco posed obnoxiously stoic with his face fixed in a classic gameshow-host grin. The shorter male began their little show. “Welcome, Team Flash to the first, and hopefully only,” he paused and Ralph joined him now. “Wells Dating Game!” Your friends all erupted in clapping and yelling, making your face burn even redder. Finally breaking from their charismatic personas, the boys turned to you with wide smiles. “We’re sorry for the ambush, we just can’t deal with them fighting over you all the time anymore.” Ralph mused. “None of them are getting any work done!” Cisco rattles out, and finally you let out a nervous giggle and nodded. “So this was your idea?” You pointed an accusing look to him and he held his hands up defensively. “Don’t look at me, look at the elongated hopeless romantic.” He side eyed Ralph and your focus went to him. He stammered for a second before giving you as much of an innocent smile as he could pull. With another heavy sigh you held your face in your hands for a moment before taking a deep breath and facing everyone again. “So.. how is this even gonna work?” You asked sheepishly. The vindicated smiles and high fives that lingered through the group made you wonder if this is what they’d been doing all weekend long. (It totally was.)

“Each of the three objects vying for your affection will occupy those lil buddies,” Ralph pointed to your left at the secluded little areas they’d built. “And you won’t be able to tell who’s who.” He beamed proudly but you narrowed your eyes at the pair of pastel dressed bozos before you. “Okay, but... one of them has an accent, and the other two speak in completely different octaves.” Expecting defeated faces you were taken back by Cisco’s excited gesture to his right hand, a small remote in it. “Not a problem! Vocal distortion mics boomed up to them will erase all traces of dialect, tone and any other giveaways of which is which.” He stood proudly with his hands on his hips and you couldn’t help but laugh. “So thorough, I should’ve known.” You quipped and he simply nodded. “You really should’ve. Alright, all we have to do now is choose a voice for them to sound like. It’s preprogrammed with almost everyone here and some celebrities, so I guess take your pick?”

Cisco stepped forward to where you and all the Wells’ could see him and him them. He pointed to one of them as he clicked the remote for the devices. “Say something.” Your head glanced over to the wall next to you and for the first time you desperately wished you had Kara’s X-ray vision. “Hey hi hello.” The voice came out in a low and rumbling tone, you recognized it as Joe’s voice. From the couches Iris scrunched her nose and shook her head. “I don’t need to hear them say what they wanna do to her in my dad’s voice!” She cupped her hands and hollered, causing a general consensus of nods and a shudder from Barry. You chuckled and shook your head at Cisco. “Next.” You stated and he clicked the remote again, now pointing to a different one of the Wells and he spoke up. “Who is it this time?” The smooth and cunning voice rang out and everyone groaned. It’d been a while since you’d heard Leonard Snart’s chilly voice but it wasn’t doing it for you and you shook your head. “Makes me uncomfortable. Try someone that won’t make me feel awkward or intimidated?” Your words hit Cisco’s brain and he nodded enthusiastically knowing just who to switch it to. Finally pointing to the final of the three men he spoke up. “Have we decided then?” The soft and adorable tone of Caitlin’s voice drifting through the room and you nodded once. “Perfect! Not weird, not creepy, just sweet lil’ ol’ Caity cat.” You smiled over at her and she playfully blew you a kiss. “Alrighty then, ladies and gents we have a game to play!” Ralph hollered and the group erupted in cheers again and finally you laughed along with them, letting your nerves shake off with each huff.

Cisco stayed in his place in front of all of you. Ralph took a seat near you with a small switchboard in his hands. With a wide grin, the raven haired meta cleared his throat and fell back into his overzealous persona as he began. “Question number one! Contestants, if you could take our blushing beauty on a date anywhere in the multiverse, where would it be and why?” He paused and waggled his eyebrows gaining laughter from the group. “Contestant number one?” He pointed to the cubicle closest to you and you waited, Caitlin’s voice echoing the words to the air. “Preferably somewhere close to home. Can’t be too far when things.. progress.” The words made you giggle solely because of the voice saying them, but you still felt a hint of pink hit your cheeks knowing one of the Wells’ had truly said it. Cisco playfully fanned himself before continuing. “Contestant number two?” The next male cleared their throat trying to sound deeper but the vocal distortion device made that impossible. “Somewhere tropical. Hawaii maybe, or Barbados. Seduce her on the beach, make love to her in a beach house.” Again the words made your face tint but you couldn’t help but laugh. Caitlin sat in the audience stifling her own giggles hearing her own voice say such raunchy things about you. “So glad that’s not my dad’s voice..” Iris mumbled and the group all chucked slightly. “Alrighty, finally contestant three, where would you take the lady?” For a moment it was silent like he was thinking and finally he spoke up letting the woman’s voice lend him his words. “Wouldn’t really matter I’d just want her with me.” From the couches, Iris and Caitlin both loudly let out an “Aww!” You giggled at their antics but the words stuck with you. Cisco finally strolled over to you and held his hand out as if a microphone were in it, though it was very much empty. “Alright, which Wells gets the point this round?” It didn’t take long for you to give an answer. “Three.” You stated flatly and the group grinned, each one of them knowing who you’d chosen but you none the wiser. Cisco nodded and motioned to Ralph, who hit a single button before him and a slash shown on the board next to ‘contestant 3’.

“Moving on to question 2,” he cleared his throat and sighed. “This one’s not entirely appropriate. But it’s what needs to be asked.. contestants, how would you woo the lady during a night of passion?” Your eyes went wide and you felt your face glow like a neon light. “Oh, my god..” you mumbled and rubbed your temples softly. In the mock-audience, Iris and Barry ‘oooh’-ed playfully. Sighing you looked back to Cisco and motioned for him to get on with it. “Contestant three, we’ll start at your end this time.” He pointed to the end little stall with a grin, and whichever man cleared his throat coming out like a delicate squeal and you couldn’t fight the small burst of laughter as he started. “Take her hands in mine and lead her to bed, kiss every inch of her and tell her how gorgeous she is before.. making love to her.” The last few words were rushed out, and you didn’t know if it was due to nerves or being unnerved by hearing it in your best friend’s voice. Despite the tone it still made a lump form in your throat at the thought. Beside you Ralph cleared his own throat to remind him the voice did not fit the body. With a sharp nod you let Cisco continue. “Oookay.. Contestant two?” There was another pause as the man seated in the middle thought over his words. “Light copious amounts of candles, have slow sensual music playing. Maybe give her a less than innocent massage to lead into the night.” It was still strange to hear Caitlin’s voice but it was getting easier to ignore when you just focused on the words. Your heart fluttered a bit at the scene this man had painted. Cisco turned ever so slightly to face the Wells closest to you. “Finally contestant one?” This round you noticed Cisco didn’t repeat the question and you knew it was because it made his face flush from secondhand embarrassment. “Why would it matter? The moments lends itself to letting things happen without a need for a plan. So I would just live in that moment.” You could see Iris pout at the sentiment and bring a hand to her chest. You laughed softly at the action and just shook your head. All the answers had been good ones, but you could only have one winner each round and the choice made you nibble at your lower lip. “Which Wells wins this round?” Cisco repeated the alliterative phrase and you draw in a slow breath before answering. “Two. I’m a sucker for mood music.” Again your face flushed pink and Cisco chuckled at your response as Ralph clicked a point for ‘contestant 2’.

“Okay folks for the next round, we’re going to let our leading lady ask her own question!” Again Cisco walked over to you with his invisible microphone and you stared up at him sheepishly, giving a small shrug. Your mind was drawing a total blank on anything to ask, being put on the spot definitely didn’t help. Piping up from behind you, Ralph made a suggestion. “Ask if they’re all the same size.” You whipped around to him with your mouth gaping, and he just gave an unbothered expression. “What? Doppelgängers or not we were all thinking it.” You shook your head quickly at Cisco. “No, no no, that is not the question.” You stammered and heard one of the men to your left huff a laugh that sounded like a schoolgirl giggle with their warped voice. “Uhm.. I guess, why do you think I should I choose you?” You spoke just loud enough for them to hear and Cisco stepped back again to point to contestant three first in the end cubicle. “I want to do right by you and for you. You inspire me every day to be better than I have been.” You nodded with a soft smile, before the next man spoke up without even being prompted. “I for one don’t have to change for you to love me fully because I already fully know how to love you.” His words came out in a sweet sing song tone and you giggled at the high pitch. Finally Cisco shot a pointed finger the the square closest to you. “Because in the multiverse, so far you’re the only person that actually truly makes me happy.” Each one’s words struck you differently and you grimaced at your own answer knowing what it meant. “I gotta go with one.” Team Flash all gave their own dramatic gasps as the scoreboard tied up. “Ooooh it’s neck and neck and neck! This tie breaking round will round up the game!” Cisco jumped with genuine excitement but you felt a trillion tiny spiky butterflies erupting inside your stomach.

The male flipped his hair over both shoulders before sighing, eyes floating over all three men and landing on you. While he spoke he kept his eyes in you, each word coming out slowly. “Do you love her?” The question hung in the air and you felt as if you were going to pass out. That was not a conversation you hadn’t planned to have with any of them any time soon let alone in front of all your closest friends. Cisco didn’t ask for a specific contestant however, he just let it linger for a few seconds more. “All of you are going to answer at the same time. On the count of three.” Feeling your stomach do a backflip you covered your face and whined into your hands softly. “One..” This must be what dying feels like. Hot face. Clammy hands. Racing heart. “Two..” Matched with heavy breathing, and your feet impatiently tapping on the floor you gave a deep sigh before Cisco delivered the final, “Three.”

“No.”

“Absolutely.”

The words all overlapped each other but the one outlier stuck out like a sore thumb. Your head snapped up and you saw the shocked expressions on everyone else’s as they simply stared at the corner box. Cisco was absolutely beaming. “WITH THAY WE HAVE OUR WINNER FOLKS.” Your heart raced but you stayed planted firmly in your seat, your legs wouldn’t move. “Please remove your voicebox and greet your Misses.” Watching as Cisco motioned the ‘winning’ Wells out of his hiding place you listened as the footsteps clicked toward you until those beautiful blue eyes met you - from behind his two toned glasses. A rare bright and goofy smile was spread across Harry’s face and he had his hands shoved awkwardly in his pockets as he finally stepped towards you and you saw Sherloque poke out from the box beside you, HR shuffling off the stage from the middle cubby. Admittedly you were relieved; he was undoubtedly the smartest of the men and had the best wit about him. And he was always the one to put the most effort into keeping you happy without being over the top. Something had told you he was contestant 3 when he gave the answer about simply wanting you. Harry was a very simple man. And now, your simple man. Without saying a single word you hopped down in front of him and planted a kiss on his triumphant lips. His strong arms glided around your waist like they were meant to be there. Behind you your friends clapped and cheered, Caitlin comforting a sullen looking HR and Sherloque wandering off to bury his feelings in his tea. Once the group had all filed out Harry took your hands in his gently, rubbing the backs of your knuckles with his tough fingertips. “Come on..” he mumbled, beginning to tug you along the hallways. The way he’d answered the second question replayed in your mind and you happily followed close behind him, giving his hands a squeeze as you hurried him to his room just a bit faster.

#yall these gameshow fics are gonna kill me omg #harrison wells #the flash #harry wells #sherloque wells #hr wells #not smut;

102 notes · View notes

undeademoprincess · 7 years

Text

82 Truths

rules: once you’ve been tagged you’re supposed to write a post with eighty-two truths and then tag twenty-five people.

tagged by @hoseokjinns bruh this has been sitting in my drafts for how many eons????

name: Dawn blood type: b nickname(s): Celeste (cousins mainly) and then anything else is adding an e or i sound to the end of my name (tho i have noticed dawners is a frequent name) r/s: dead inside zodiac sign: libruh pronouns: she\her favorite tv shows: dude, i havent seen any tv shows since i was 8, that was well over a decade ago. i collect the dvd/blurays of tv shows but not often. my mother and i are really into futurama but other than that its usually animes that i collect long or short hair: literally lopped my hair off myself like 3 days ago height: 5′5″ do you have a crush on someone: if fictional characters count then yes, the husband list keeps growing and i need another closet to shove them in but real life im fighting a “battle” what do you like about yourself: i have yet to be called annoying or that im an ass to those i love and i support them with all i can, so ive got that going for me right or left handed: right, tho i am ambidextrous over weird ass shit. like gymnastics im left dominate in??? idfk either man list of three favourite colors: literally any color associated with fall/autumn and ill be a happy camper

right now: eating: just ate a cracker that had peanut butter on it cause im munchin hard drinking: sweet h2o man i’m about to: probably go to bed or i might work on my drafts for my writing blog, havent decided yet listening to: a mix about cats, love, breakfast and being tired by in love with a ghost (on youtube) kids: hell no, unless i know i can support the damn thing with all i can while living comfortably along with someone i KNOW wont leave both me and the kid and help me then maybe, but its still a really strong no. pets are fam tho, so technically i have like 5 kids already get married: down for that, annoying someone all the time as a “job” sounds fun, especially if we get late night adventures and do weird ass cooking class shit for fun. ITS IN THE CONTRACT YA KNOW career: i really want to travel the world and get paid to do so, but at my own pace

most recent: drink: water????? idk what you want from me man im a thirsty hoe for livin phone call: been on discord all day today with 2 of my best friends and listening to music with my bot the other half on it song you listened to: lauv reforget (literally just came on)

have you ever: dated someone twice: no been cheated on: nope, and im not the type to let them get away with it if they ever did kissed someone and regretted it: no lost someone special: yes been depressed: yes, began at a very young age due to the death of my father. literally had a midlife crisis when i was 4 cause of his death been drunk and thrown up: hell no kissed a stranger: no had glasses or contacts: glasses had sex on the first date: no, not really my thing broken someone’s heart: i think so, never really ask how they felt about it afterwards turned someone down: yuuuup cried when someone died: yes fallen for a friend: mmmmm, not really??? i usually crush on an acquaintance and my friends drag them in and somehow become friends later???

in the last year have you: made a new friend: uuuuuh, maybe 3??? i dont like leaving my house nor do i like wasting my time on strangers, especially if theyre rude fallen out of love: yeah laughed until you cried: many times, MANY FUCKING TIMES met someone who changed you: uh, i think so??? idk, i kinda find my own flow in life and people either respect it and enjoy the ride with me or fight it, and i dont have the energy to deal with pointless shit found out who your true friends were: ooooh yeah found out someone was talking about you: humans talk, its natural. i dont really do anything but i can see why someone WOULD talk shit if thats what this is asking about kissed someone on your fb list: ew no

which is better: lips or eyes: eyes hugs or kisses: hugs, i like being warm shorter or taller: both have pros and cons romantic or spontaneous: both? both sensitive or loud: idk what the fuck this is asking about but if its about being around people who are loud or sensitive then neither, im sensitive to headaches so loud people irritate me and trigger the pain and ive had bad experiences in person with sensitive people where they dont leave me alone and wind up stalking me???? i love being alone so neither hookup or relationship: relationship troublemaker or hesitant: one can be kinda fun but also a pain in the ass if they get you into trouble a lot and the other might not be as constantly fun per say but at least you shouldnt be in trouble as often

first: best friend: Samantha surgery: thankfully nothing yet sport i joined: badminton vacation: everything my parents did was while i was literally an infant soooooo yeah, greaaaaat memories

do you believe in: yourself: not all the time, but i rely on myself more than anyone else. i dont trust anyone for shit when i know damn well i can do it myself and know that if something goes wrong i myself fucked it up and can probably fix my mistake miracles: yes and no, i believe theres a reason for things to happen the way they do, and there are times i see it as miracles love at first sight: i believe in attraction at first sight, not immediately seeing someone soul or some shit heaven: im more for reincarnation and spiritual aspects in life and death

extras: how many people from your fb list do you know irl: 90% of them do you have any pets: im not counting my outside pets because there are too many to even keep track of to count so my children are 5 cats, toto my conure, oz my dog, tubby my gecko, and a beta fish and a catfish do you want to change your name: if i ever did, which i dont want to do, it’d be either Celeste or Aurora (my mom actually debated on calling me aurora after like the disney princess if you will and funny enough shes always been my favorite princess) what did you do for your last birthday: 2 of my friends kidnapped me and took me to dinner and we drove around and looked at interesting things. this years its during ren faire and im so damn happy what time did you wake up today: 9 pm. im sick atm and its really fucking up my sleep schedule what were you doing last night at midnight: just got out of a call with one of my best friends and sat on my own server for a bit chillin with my music bot before my other best friend joined my after like SIX HOURS, DAMN YOU SIMON something you can’t wait for: ren faire, getting married cause then i get to sweater slap someone and get away with it, and being comfortably happy in life last time you saw your mom: a few hours ago? i went to the kitchen to get my cat to love on her and saw her then what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: i wish i had more determination to see things through and not be scared to take the leaps to see it through have you ever talked to a person named tom: i worked in retail, so probably what’s getting on your nerves: a lot of things, mainly petty things. kinda wanna cut a toxic person out of my life but we all know thats easier said than done especially seeing how he talks to literally all of the people i talk with on a daily basis save one soul and he treated her like shit when he talked to her sooo yeah, dunno wtf is his problem but im tired of being the object of his frustration and anger, idk how the rest of my friends deal with his shit but im just so damn DONE

man im not taggin 25 people. if youd like to tag me as a “i found it from so and so” then go for it man, let youre dreams run free friend. im just a lazy sack of shit and am tired and im amazed im still up and that its TAKEN ME A MILLION DAMN YEARS TO DO THIS IM SO SORRY LEANNE

#my post #tagging meme

1 note · View note

magpiewritingthing · 5 years

Text

we could’ve made worse mistakes ( you might imagine we did )

Series: leigh crain has powers au

Summary: Steven has ideas about the future. Children factor into it. They do. Truly.

He just didn't think it'd be this early on in his life.

Warnings: mental health issues, suicide, implied child abuse/neglect, death, one ( 1 ) use of the C slur, ableism, menstruation mention, mention of skipped meals & weight talk in the beginning

Other notes: for the discord chat (especially charlie bc ur ocs are Canon Now to me) and also myself because i have headcanons for Leigh; might rewrite the reveal-to-Shirley scene because she does seem wildly... not into it, idk

Two months have passed since they’d first slept together, two months since and she’s not seen blood. It might not mean anything, just stress over this semester’s workload, and cranky from skipping meals from time to time (not often! maybe she should snack more, at least, because she and Steve and Shirley have a little rota system of sorts so that could work out, right?), and... it doesn/t mean she’s pregnant, necessarily. They’d been careful -- birth control, protection, the works. Maybe it’s just her body being a little wonky even though she’s not underweight (not severely enough, or at all, not really), and she doesn’t feel stressed. Better than being at home. “Home”. An aunt and uncle and cousin do not make a home.

Leigh checks the test again. Checks the box to make sure she’s reading it correctly. Beside her, Steve looks them over as well, and her stomach clenches when he hisses through his teeth; she pulls her knees up to her chest when his brow wrinkles into a frown. A small noise (fear) climbs out of her mouth when Steve stays silent.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey.” No judgement in his voice; an arm wraps around her shoulders, pressing them both together even tighter than thigh-to-thigh on the bathroom floor of their shared apartment. “It’s not your fault. It’s not...” She hears the smack of his lips as he struggles to find something comforting to say, something that sounds natural and not just scrambling to keep Leigh as calm as possible. It doesn’t seem possible right now, or even in the future; still too young for children, still too Markey for this new life, still too tied to Victor and lightning and ghosts for a real life. “We’re both in this, together, no matter what happens. If we keep it, or if we do something about it, or if... we give it up.” Pressing a kiss against her temple, stroking her hair, he says, “I don’t think I’d want to give it up if... if we don’t do something about it.”

It, it, it. So sure “it” is not a “them”. Funny how one’s genetics can mess with stuff like that. Twins, nature control, ghosts. She’s surprised there isn’t a spot of necromancy in there, either.

She has to squash it all down and pray her children (more than one, she can feel it like the night when Victor left, the traitorous shitstain) will not be infected.

Leigh doesn’t dare ask Steve. She knows what he’s told her.

It’s been a month since the test proved positive. They haven’t made any more to do something about it (them); they’ve talked about it (them), and safety nets.

“So.”

“... Yeah.”

“We’re keeping it?” He sounds excited about it. Barely, but the undercurrent is there in his voice, the shine in his eyes, the hopeful clasp of his hands around hers. The way his eyes keep flickering to her barely-there bump. He fucking should be, too -- she is.

“Yeah.” She laughs, exhaling long-held breath. “Yeah.”

Shirley is less than impressed when Leigh breaks the news over a later dinner. It starts off as a joke, “Oh I’m eating for two,” when Leigh really means three as she scarfs down a bigger helping of food. Shirley, looking between her now wide-eyed brother, looking as though he’d been caught out and wasn’t really trying to keep it a secret, and Leigh, looking like the cat with the canary and the cream.

“What the fuck?”

Leigh’s cheeky mood dips, sours. “Don’t be like that.”

“No, are you seriously--?”

Steve tries to placate his sister, reaching for her hand. “Shirl--”

“No!” Shirl whips away, hands to herself. It’s a miracle she doesn’t leave the table, calling them both careless idiots. “What’re you thinking? You can’t be having kids now!”

“Shirl.” He tries again, standing his ground; he knows where Shirl’s coming from, he does, because he’d react the same if she was in the same position. “Me and Leigh have talked about it, and we’ve decided to keep it.”

“Have you?” The question's a sharp wheeze. “Have you considered--”

“Yes, Shirl! We’ve talked about how we’re gonna be able to support our kid, with or without our family’s help.”

Leigh’s thankful there’s no mention of her own family, although she’s not sure if Shirl’s caught on yet. She hopes not.

“Oh Jesus, Stevie--” She's pressing the ball of her palms into her eyes, like the picture in front of her might change and this conversation will cease to be real, as though a the thing (the baby-to-be) in Leigh’s belly will simply disappear. “You’re actually serious about this?”

“Yes.” Joint answer. Shirley just shakes her head, but says no more about it.

When summer break rolls around, Leigh’s stomach is rounder (four months into it now) and she’s debating on whether to beg to go with Steve and Shirl (might as well meet her kids’ other aunts and uncle and great-aunt, right?), or whether to suffer under the eyes of her uncle and cousin and the fretting hands of her aunt. At least Cathleen means well. It’s not enough.

The night before leaving, before her ultimate decision, Victor slips into her dreams again. She’s tried so hard to keep him out while wishing he’d stayed and it’s only worked to make them both upset.

“This wouldn't have happened if you hadn’t killed yourself,” she says, more sulky than all the other times she’s told him this same thing. Her beloved brother, her idol, her hero, her sun-in-the-sky, her do-no-wrong posterboy, her motherfucking protector from all things wrong and evil in this world -- made her watch as he killed himself with that triangle of lightning.

Don’t look away, Leigh. Don’t look away. Don’t look away. Eyes on me. Eyes on me. Eyes on me, Leigh.

“I know,” he says, ever-regretful as all the times before. As much as she wants to hurt him (but God, no, not really, no no no), she knows how sorry he is, how much he regrets it. How he regretted it at the time, at the terrifying need to make something stop but having no other option he could see--

He lays beside her in the dewy nighttime grass as the eternal nighttime sky of their shared world rolls overhead, stars speeding past their eyes; the trees circle them widely, like nature’s earthly crown. Victor rolls over to his side, grasping her forearm in his hand. “You can’t go back there. You know that; if you want these kids to see the world, you won't go back to those assholes.” She shouldn’t be surprised that he knows about them since he’s never wholly left since that night, but it still makes her skin crawl. (Why didn’t he do something about it, as she knew he did with so many other things? With the playground bullies? With the teachers? Did he fear her falling into the foster system? What’s to fear now?)

Leigh's throat clogs; everything is thick with tears. “I know.”

“It’ll kill them. It’ll kill you.”

She’s not sure whether if it’ll merely hurt her, or if she’ll join him here. She doesn’t ask for clarification.

Steven, the oldest brother, the most responsible of the Crain siblings, returns home with Shirley and his pregnant girlfriend. His girlfriend of a year and a half, who came home for a couple of weekends over that time, who chimed in on calls home, who is known by name and middle name and surname and age and hobbies and prospective career. Theo doesn’t shake her hand, instead going in for a hug (and if Theo were to be asked, and if she were to answer honestly, she’d confess that she felt that beat of preternatural in Leigh's blood), and Leigh is relieved that she’s got at least three out of six on her side. The twins hug her, too, before they pay attention to their own siblings. Janet is much the same. A home run; six outta six. Not bad, kiddo, not bad.

Later, during a quiet game after dinner, Leigh offers to clean up with Janet, insisting on it despite everyone saying she should rest. C’mon, she's only four months along, give over.

“Have you told your parents you're not going home?” Janet asks. It’s an innocent presumption, but the weight of everything -- of her brother’s death, of her father’s death, of her mother’s unravelled mind, of her remaining family’s pewter-cold regard -- is suddenly crushing her shoulders. She takes a chair out from under the table and slumps down, leaning against the back of it. Her hands are clammy.

“Sweetheart?” Janet's hand curls around her shoulder, and this tenderness, this genuine care that’s freely given to her, shatters that last wall of preservation: she weeps. Collected into Janet’s arms, she weeps harder, howling into her shoulder, snot dribbling freely as she cries aloud how her father is dead and her mother let herself lose her mind because why stay sane for her only daughter and only surviving family? And it was all Victor’s fault that she was stuck with her stupid frail aunt and boar of an uncle and cunting bitch of a cousin and she hated them all and that's why she’s here instead because the babies would die and she would die and it’d be the end of her because all the love she’d had had been swept away when she was only eight years old.

Janet tells her she can stay. She’s home.

The twins, Diane and Michael, are born on a Monday. Twenty-third of October. Janet has promised to look after them along with Theo, Luke, and Nellie. It’s almost too good to be true, but it’s perhaps the one thing that’s worked out for Leigh and Steven so far.

When winter break swings around, Steven proposes to Leigh, down on one knee in their shitty green-carpeted living space, short fibres rough on his knee and shin. They’re both still sleepy from the late night and late rising, and they’ve only talked about this since August, but of course Leigh says yes.

It’s all too good to be a fairy tale.

Two years later, they’re on their honeymoon, and Leigh is positively pregnant again. Nine months later, Robin and Eleanor, “Nora”, are born, and it’s still too good.

Fifteen years later, Nellie’s dead. Steven sees her in his hotel room.

At home, his children see her too.

#mine #my writing #mw: the haunting of hill house #mw: rp related #wc: 1000 – 2000 #series: leigh crain has powers au #ch: leigh crain #ch: steve crain #sft #/ it's not a series yet but yeet lmao #/ also only tagging leigh & steve bc it's About Them

0 notes

qcatter · 7 years

Text

The Second Fourth of July

SO with the actual fourth of july and family making this take longer, (and the fact it’s exactly nine pages long in a small font) Shout out to @autumn-sweet-fae for just going thro all of the MIB AU, giving me a reason to just stick this up here on tumblr. Some notes for this, like most holiday specials it fits into the timeline the way DBZ movies do. Also T hasnt made his debut yet. (He’s a scientist that Reigen often goes to for under the counter help, and who’s relationship with Reigen is based on mutual blackmail and good natured ribbing.) IF you read very carefully you can find things mentioned here that Dinner and i havent posted yet either. Oh and pretend i actually know what the laws on fireworks are, i havnt been in this state for three years, or ever bought fireworks.

(once again, this was written for Discord, so the odd symbols are marks of formatting.)

Today was the Fourth of July, ~~Independence Day was never spoken aloud in the MIB faulty after that movie came out, it was bad luck of a sort.~~ It wasn’t one of Reigen’s favorite holidays. Aliens tended to find the Fourth as a wonderful cover up for gang fights since any weapons they might have could easily be overlooked as *fireworks* ment that the mib had to be on top of their game for normal business as well as the police call ins for disturbances. Almost as bad as Halloween, *almost*. *both* of them were set in the evening after dark when reigen’s soaps were on. Actually Reigen didn’t like any of the holidays. As a secret government worker he never got time off for them half the time, and the others he would volunteer since he didnt exactly have loved ones to spend the holidays with. This had changed recently. Unfortunately, Reigen had a pattern, a pattern that was still in the system seeing as he had actually asked for the fourth off and was still scheduled in tonight. He had just spent most of his dinner break going through every floor of the facility to find someone willing to stand in for him. To no avail. Which was why he was currently in the lower floors of the building holding an ear piercing peeping slimey thing that looked like the unholy offspring of emu and a velociraptor. “-and I had *told* them i was even willing to spend one of my vacation days to have today off, even if it was just the evening but they had written me in and no one will take this time slot!” The tiny bald birdthing in his hand shrieked as he half gestured with it and it dug its *not* so small talons into his palm. “Alright that looks like the first batch, hand that fellow over here Raygun. And im sure Sparky will be fine.” T set the kicking birdling next to it’s sibling in a heated box as he returned to egg watch. “He’s gone down to Thyme Square before right? I know he was saying he wanted to see the fireworks, but it’s not like you *have* to take him. Couldnt you spin it as an escort maybe?” Reigen slumped and waved that idea past with far less energy than normal. “Tried that, only works if he’s in danger or *is* a danger, and it’s not just Teru. Serizawa said that he would go with Teru since his classes are canceled and he’s only ever seen fireworks in passing. Apparently the higher ups in Claw never had time to stop and celebrate it, and Touchyrow wasnt even in the country half the time.” T glanced up at Reigen with a *knowing* and growing smug grin. “AH~” “*NO*, T it’s not that. If *teru* goes, and *seri* goes, then *SHOU* is going and you know him. What do you think ’Firecracker’ is going to do!? The kid tried to eat *lava* for petes sake!” “Oh. *oh*” “*exactly!*” Reigen threw his hands up in the air and then wiped the slime from them off on T’s labcoat. “*Thanks* Raygun, just what i needed, *more egg slime.* Seri might be able to keep Shou in check?” “If you said that last month i might have agreed with you, but it looks like Shou’s started to settle in. He *listens* but it seems that we’ve left the period of terrified obedience left over from his father’s influence. Shou’s actually pretty good with rules when they make sense to *him*. The problem is that he takes himself as close as he can to breaking them if he thinks of something interesting. ‘Dont burn the house down because we need it’ apparently translates to ‘ok keep the fires small’. ” with a groan many parents would sympathize with, reigen plopped his head in his hands. T looked thoughtful as he rotated an egg. “‘Dont try to catch the fireworks after they launch in the middle of Central Park because everyone can see you?” Reigen sighed and flopped down in the nearest chair. It tipped backwards and nearly sent him to the floor before he regained his balance in a flurry of limbs. “Cloaking, cant get caught if you cant be seen.” “Well shit then.” “That’s not even mentioning if Mob and Ritsu join them” “OH I’m sure the Kaygeyamas could h-” Reigen raised one finger sharply. “ One, fireworks give their mother a headache and, Two, their father’s lungs are bad enough they dont go. Mob said that this would be the first time since Ritsu was small enough to get piggyback rides that they had a chance to see them in person. And that was only because i said i was going to take Teru down and agree to watch them too.” “Mob might be able to help Seri. Sparky and Ritz listen to him and i know Shou pretends like he doesn't but he *does* defer to Mob” “Not with Ritsu around. Shou is always the wild card here and it’s going to be *crowded* if one of them slips up they’d pull the others with them. We *cant* afford having all of them to get caught like that. It’s why i was hoping you’d be off tonight.” They both looked over at the nest of 20 some eggs. One of them peeped while a few twitched. “I’m probably going to be here all night, we’re low staff as it is. Wish i could go Raygun, i’d love to see the S-Kids react to the fireworks.” “‘Pitty i’m not off, i’d love to see the *fireworks*’ you mean.” “Let’s go with that. And really, they’ll be *fine*. It’s just fireworks, if we have to, tell mob to tell ritsu to make shou *stay*. It’s a little underhanded, but if you just *hint* at the fact the Mib’s on high alert he’ll keep shou from doing anything too flashy.” “I’m still worried. Mob and Seri aren't good with crowds and they’re the ones that have the most sway.” One of the eggs cracked, T clicked his timer and then flipped the watch over for Reigen to see. “Shouldn’t they all be getting set up about now? You better give SherBear a call before your break ends.” Reigen stood up from his chair like a whale ungracefully breaching. Digging for his phone and trying to walk down the hall while kicking his leg to untangle the chair from his foot, he turned to shout back at T. “*RIGHT*, i didnt call him the last few hours, Sh- IT”S JUST SERI! Thanks for letting me rant at you, i hate it when i get stuck unable to *do* anything.” “You and me *both*!” As reigen left T toe-flipped the chair back up and sat down in it by the eggs. “Let’s keep it between us that i only let him talk so long because *you* guys need constant vocalizations and my voice was getting tired. Plus it kept him distracted long enough to stop him from calling Sher for the fifth time since he got in here.”

BY the time reigen got off duty and went home, the fireworks had been over for hours. Turning the key in the lock for the third try the door finally unlocked and he kicked off his shoes into the kitchen. While in the process of shedding his suit coat and wondering for the umtenth time how the MIB really expected you to wear the sunglasses at night, he tripped in the middle of the apartment. Reigen debated if it was worth the effort of getting off the floor in order to move to his bed when the rug seemed to be fairly comfortable. Before he could pass on on the floor the room brightened up greatly as reigen hissed and flung his arm over his glasses. “I’d say ‘morning’ but seeing as the sun hasn’t actually come up i suppose it still counts as night” “Nehh, dont you never wake up before the sun?” “Funny thing, it just so happened that someone stumbled into my house and passed out on the floor.” “Ha ha kid, im just, resting. I’ll be going to bed in a second, could you turn the lights back off though? They’re too bright right now even with the sunglasses on.” “I didnt turn the lights on Boss” Reigen blinked, looked up at Teru through the light glare, and then squinted over his glasses to see that yes, the lights *werent* on at all.“Huh weird, i can sorta see your energy field through the lenses. Very disco hippyish” Teru looked unsure of whether to be sheepish or smug about it, before blinking and then focusing on Reigen “It took us *three* weeks to explain the difference between the outer layers and the field and you could have seen them this whole time if you actually wore *your sunglasses?!*” “Looks like.” Shoving himself off the floor and leaving said glasses behind, reigen made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth while teru seemed to be screaming into his pillow with frustration. Or eating it. Could be both. Most of it seemed to be words at least, since reigen heard some phrases here and there. Such as “THREE WEEKS” and “SHOU”S COAT” with something about “COULDNT EVEN SEE THE DIFFERENCE” followed by “AND I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT HE WAS UP TO TONIGHT” It wasnt until reigen caught “NOT FIVE MINUTES IN HE JUST VANISHES WITH RITSU” that he realized that teru was complaining about more recent things. Pearing out of the bathroom at the array of shredded foam,~~*mauling* pillow in frustration, not eating alright then~~ Regien warmed up his job voice “Shou did *what* now, cause Seri said everything was fine over the phone.” Teru snapped his tail around pulling everything into one pile of foam. “Nothing!” “That didnt sound like nothing, what happened?” “...” “Teruki” “It started out fine! Serizawa picked me up early and we got a good spot out of the way with a good view, and then the Kaygeyama’s showed up and Shigeo brought this big heavy blanket and when we finished setting up he was just gone and so was ritsu. I didnt see them leave but Ritsu told Shigeo they were going to a different spot. Everything after was fine, Seri shifted but we just pulled some of the blanket over him and everyone thought he was a labrador. But when Shou came back he was *covered* in ash because he and Ritsu went up a tree and he was flying through the rockets like dodgeball and catching the remains” “Ok, but no one was seen then?” “What? No of course not! We know better than that!” “Then what are yo-, wait. Are you annoyed that Shou got to eat the fireworks and you didnt?” Teru huffed and picked through the remains of the pillow. “No. I had a nice evening with Shigeo and S- yes and i cant even *buy* them because im not ‘*old’* enough.” “Rockets arnt even allowed in the city teru, *I* cant even buy those.” “*i know*”

“I think the backyard fountains might be ok in some areas, at least, i should be able to find some if it makes you feel better.” “Shou said something about seeing better fireworks before. I think he’s going to be dragging Seri to the store in a few days for a sale. I gave him fifty bucks if he bought extra for me” “Smart, do you think he’d even give them to you?” “He better.”

Seri was helping Reigen pack the car. Even if it was just standing and holding over 80 pounds of meat and three bags of charcoal like they weighed no more than a pillow while reigen shoved stray hamburger wrappers out of the way and stacked the buns and condiments in a way that would still let all the kids sit inside. “There, all we have to do is stack those in the back and we should be able to get all four kids in, they’re still small enough.” “I could shift if you think it’s worth it.” “We have to hit the highway, so you would have to be down in the foot space so no one sees you” “That’s fine! Im used to busses and planes, it’s odd when i have all that room to myself” “I know and it makes *my* back hurt to see you fit in such small spaces” Teru and the brothers were sitting on the steps outside the building and one by one they turned and looked down the sidewalk. “Shou’s here.” “Are you sure Ritsu?” “It must be, who else would be coming this way with that many fireworks” Reigen twisted around to look. There was a stack of colourfull boxes on jeans walking down the sidwalk. *Many* boxes. Possibly more boxes than would even fit in the car. And most of them, from the labels that reigen could see, were very very much not legal in the city. Some of the boxes were *not* colourful and were completely *unmarked* and THOSE were the ones that really made reigen sweat. Because he could see fireworks poking out of them and they were very *large* rockets. Shou dropped the stack by the car with a grin. It went up to his chest which was puffed out proudly “I *told* you i knew some better ones.” Shou crowed, before going to tell the kids *all* about how *big* and *grand* the fireworks *he* got were. Somewhere in there was “bigger and better than the city ones” “On the sidethought, i think you might have to shift Seri, T’s bringing a second car but i dont think his little japoneze smart car has that much room in it.

“Are we there yet?” “...” “Are we there yet?” “I know i asked T about this before, but are we *sure* you guys breathe? *because im pretty sure shou sure doesnt.*” “We dont breath *air*, i spent three hours underwater once.” Mob looked thoughtful. “Didnt he say it was like plants? I think we just filter things.” “ARE WE THERE YET?” Ritsu sighed. “You know he’s just going to keep saying it until you answer” “*odd, that didnt stop him the last 16 times i told him no*” “:3c *ARE WE THERE YET*” “I dont think shou’s been on a road trip before.” “Nah, not since my mom took me out to see the stars” “I’ve never actually left the city at night, what’s that like?” “*more than you can count*” “Does the Milkyway look any different to you guys?” “*>:3c are we there yet?*” “Shishou i think im getting carsick” “ Do you need me to pull over? We’re almost there Mob it’ just arou- wait, how?” “It feels like i left my stomach back at the house.” “I think it’s probably because the car doesnt have a gravitational pull like the Earth does, I know I used to feel queasy on the planes until i figured out how to move with them.” “We’re on a ball of rock flinging itself around the sun at god knows what speed and the *traveling in vehicles* makes you feel sick” “Yeah Boss, *but you dont weight more than the car does*” “ARE WE THERE YET” “Oh for *Yes*. T’s got the grill, dont ask what he uses it for. Dont run off too far, this is a bit of a marshy area, watch out for ticks in the grass, Welcome to *nowhere* PA.”

“*Yesss*” “Shou, wh- DONT PHASE THRO THE CAR!”

While everyone else filed out in a normal fashion, shou was already ‘helping’ unpack the car. What he was actually doing was digging everything out and stacking them in haphazard piles that looked like a sneeze would topple them. Fireworks sorted in some strange system that made sense to shou and only shou, meat and other foodstuffs on top of the car, and what he was apparently after at the bottom, *the charcoal*. T watched in amusement as shou half disappeared into the trunk in order to grab the bag before approaching to snatch him by the pants and hauled him out bag and all. “Thanks for finding the charcoal for me firecracker, i know you werent trying to sneak off with one of the bags before we even got the grill set up.” Shou blinked at T upside down and grinned sheepishly. “Maybe” “That doesnt sound guilty at all, you do realize that if you wait about ten minutes we’ll have them all on fire and the food cooking and *then* you can start raiding the bags. I brought extra just because i know you rather eat the *supplies* than the food.” “THANKS T! Did i ever tell you youre the best? *’cause youre the best*” “I know i am, now go pull out the daytime fireworks and smoke bombs so we dont have bugs in our dinner while i go and stop reigen from confusing seri on the grill. Seri’s a master at this Ikei stuff and reigen still puts his shoes on the wrong feet sometimes.” “That explains *so* much”

Soon the air was filled with the smell of meat and veggie kabobs grilling and the sharp bite of chemicals as the kids set off sparkler wands and clouds of coloured smoke. Shou and ritsu seemed to be having a sword fight with their’s while teru and mob were writing their names in the air. Reigen returned from the piles of dubiously legal fireworks holding a handful of wands which he offered to seri in a flourish and passed a small bag to T. “I dont have a lighter in the car anymore and i think the kids have the matches right now, but i want to know how shou got *that*.” T looked in the bag and pulled out a smallish bottle with masking tape label saying ‘Na’. “Huh, shou’s got the same supplier as the mib” “Wait you know what that *is*? “It’s just pure sodium. There are less shady sources but this guy has a deal with us, we get half off and even print ads for other labs.” T rummaged farther into the bag. “Oh *neat* he’s got all kinds of homemade firework kits in here.” “T THAT IS *NOT* A ‘Neat’ THAT SHOU GETTING ILLEGAL THI-” “Oh none of these are illegal, i think, you just cant really buy them all too easily, it’s not like most stores carry them. Well, this one might be, but it’s just that since shou is underage that means he shouldnt have been able to get ahold of this. Actually on second thought, i’m pretty sure this is his *father’s* supplier. SO you might be more right than i am. I could make a ship with a warp drive and never get it out of atmosphere. I have a permit to buy everything but rocket fuel.”

“Youre not making me feel any better about this, T” T frowned down at the bag of elements and cardboard. “Well this might, Shou at least didnt bring the things that make starkids sick, so he either listens, or he ate them before this so we wouldnt know.” Reigen looked over where shou was gathering a handful of smokebombs and was trying to tie all the fuses together. “Hey! Make sure to save the leftover sticks, we can use those to light the fuses so we save the matches.” Ritsu looked up from where he was trying to light another sparkler, “*We have matches?*” Shou’s smile faltered for a minute.. “Oops?” “What have you been lighting them with then?” Teru shrugged, “phosphorous tastes good, and it’s not like we actually need them to set anything on fire. Sparks are easy enough to do.” Ritsu glared up at teru, “says you. Shou, how does this work again?” “You just pull a bunch of energy in one spot. Like picking things up, only instead of grabbing it, you jab it.” Turning the sparkler over in his hands, ritsu pinched the one end and pushed his thumb against the tip like he was popping the flower off a stem. The sparkler burst into life with a shower of sparks as ritsu jumped and pulled his hand away from the live end. “HA *told* you could do it! now light up my *masterpiece*” With a twist of light not unlike the heat waves on Phoenix roads, shou shifted into his starform. Curling in the air his brighter colours nearly blended into the sunset of the sky. Shou held his rainbow cherry stem collection for ritsu to light before swinging it into orbit around himself and flinging the smokebombs into the air with a mimicked shreeck of launching a rocket. They went up 60 feet before the smoke began leaking out and another 20 before they separated and fell apart leaving trails arcing to the ground like a radial rainbow and landed in the grass still hissing out smoke. Shou darted for the nearest one like a flaming arrow and dove into the blue column. “HEY RITSU LOOK!” Ritsu looked, and saw more blue smoke spreading out from where shou displaced it. “Shou i cant see you.” “Really? Not at all? What about you teru?” Teru glanced up from comparing the colours of the fading smoke to the stripes on his tail. He tilted his head, squinted at where shou’s voice was coming from, and rotated his eyes a degree like switching lenses in a microscope. “You are still in the smoke right? I’m not sure if im spotting your energy there or if it’s just the remains of the sunset reflecting off that cloud behind it. “YES!” Shou flickered into sight a few feet away from where teru was looking. “I’ve *never* managed to disappear into smoke before! Do we have anymore of those?” Mob looked at the empty wrappers shou had tossed in a box. “I think you used the last ones.” “Oh right, oh well, you know that this means?!” Shou floated over to the piles he had left and grabbed an armful of ground fountains. Ritsu handed the last remains of the sparkler to his brother and looked back at where reigen was attempting to fish out a dropped burger from the coals. “Actually i think it’s dinner time” Shou’s eyes got wide as he let the fountains drop limply from his arms. “Oooh right *food.* i forgot. RACE YA.” Zipping to the table only to u-turn on a dime and grab a firework from the bottom of the pile, he tossed it into his mouth before returning to sit next to teru place like the model of the hungry teenager he was. Shou grinned smugly at teru as ritsu and mob sat next to them. After all the only point of winning was to get the food first. “Pass the fruit salad *please~*” Teru looked shou in the eye, scooped some for himself, and passed it to mob. Shou pouted. Mob looked between teru and shou before passing it to ritsu. “Oh *come on* really?” “Oh sorry, it’s just that ritsu likes it and you tend to take what’s left.” “Yeah that’s fair, but i’d *share* with him.” Serizawa looked at the table nearly covered in food. “Um, reigen, what is this table doing out here anyway?” Reigen paused from eating his burger to wipe the sauce from his face and answer. “Donno, We’re not too far off the Poconos and the Appalachian Trail. You can head down almost any dirt road here and find a picnic table, it’s *weird*. Why does anyone wants to eat outside with all the bugs. Well, i guess the grilled hamburgers are worth it.” “Oh! Speaking of, here shou, i salvaged the victims of reigen’s cooking and shifted the ashes from the coals for you.” “Did i say T was the best? Scratch that, *youre the best seri*” “HEY, *You burned some of them too! Dont blame them all on me!” “Yeah Raygun, but seri’s doesnt flip them ten feet into the air for them to land land five feet away from the grill. Where did those go by the way?” “...”

shou had been the second to the table, he was also second last to leave it. The setting twilight and full stomachs had left teru half asleep and shou was stacking the left over plates to encase him. The rest of the group was slowly gravitating to the pile of fireworks placing blankets on the ground to sit on in anticipation. Mob stretched out on the back edge and propped himself up on his side with his tail curled around the right edge like a barrier. Ritsu immediately hauled his blanket over to his side to claim the area in front of him while T dumped a pile of pillows in the center and kicked them apart and dropped onto his back next to where Serizawa joined Mob in starform and was bunching a blanket and laid on top of it like a saint bernard sized sphinx. Reigen surveyed everyone before clapping his hands together. “Alright, everyone’s eaten, garbage has been gathered, or also eaten while i wasn't looking,” Reigen sat down on Seri’s other sit and twisted back to look at the last two remaining kids. ”Someone needs to wake up teru before we can start.”

“I GOT IT”

“I’m not alseep shou *dont you dare*” “K, and since we seem to have misplaced the matches in someone’s stomachs, who wants to do the weird trick to set these off? You can take turns, just be careful.” Shou stopped pulling up grass and sprinkling it on teru to dash over in a blur of orange light. “I DO, I’LL GO FIRST I GOT THEM AFTER ALL” Shou hovered over the pile and grabbed a small thing with a paper bee pattern, flicked the fuse over his wrist like a snap bracelet and threw it at teru. The firework let out a handful of large yellow sparks before giving out a sharp shriek. Teru echoed it as he lit up, tripped over backwards, and glared at shou from where he was tangled in the table as his stripes strobed as if he could give shou a seizure in retaliation. The nearby fireflies begin blinking their way towards him even after he stilled his colours. “SHOU WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING YOU COULD HAVE HURT TERU” “Nah he’s fine,” Shou had the audacity to look at Reigen like he was crazy. Flicking his tail at the firework which was cheerily spitting sparks at Teru and bouncing off the air eight inches from him Shou went on. “you would have to set one of the bigs ones off and hold it right against his side before he felt it. A little spark like those wouldnt have even gotten through my old coat.” Reigen sighed and rubbed at his face. “It’s not like you could have *known* tha-” Shou puffed out like an angry cat with the low building yowl behind it. “I *do*. The larger sparks are like being bitten by a bug, not that any of us would know what that’s like since we’re *living bug zappers.* “ Teru pulled himself out of the table with the grace of a snake and reached down to crush the now dead firework before somewhat agreeing with Shou. Drifting over to join the others with the cloud of fireflies merrily following him teru tucked himself next to Mob’s spot half curled into a knot and claimed the other two sides of the blanket. His tail perfectly mirrored the six inches from the corner as mob’s did, as if he was trying to hide the fact he was longer in length without letting anyone notice. The bugs continued to flash and attempted to land on him only to veer off at odd angles as they got close. The few that didnt flash managed to touchdown on the bright yellow/green patches and flashed in time as the stripes passed under them in waves. Teru sighed. “They're just as annoying though, at least *those* i can fry out of existence” Mob gave him a look. “*deflect* and strongly encourage to fly elsewhere. And not everyone holds as much energy in their field as you do shou. That’s how you *lose* it.” “If you makes you feel better Sparky,” T grinned, “im sure you're a very *pretty* firefly” Teru flicked his stripes blue for a moment causing the bugs to scatter and circle in confusion like dancing stars. Shou waved his tail into the swarm to show how the lit bugs also failed to make contact with him before giving reigen a challenging look. Reigen sighed as, once again, shou continued to prove normal rules didnt apply to him. “OK, fine. Starkids are mildly firework proof, *im* not. Neither is T, or the grass. Possibly Ritsu.” Ritsu shrugged “It hurts if i let them touch my skin for a few seconds but it builds up to the burn” “Right, so try not to throw any around please. Last thing we want is a fire and i *know* you guys aren't fireproof. Wait, Shou eats fire, T help?” T waved his hand in a iffy motion “It’s the energy transfer, um think sugar glass? If you get enough that makes it hard to break through but it still hurts. Huh, that would make fireworks like candy then.” “YUP.” Shou popped a handful of ground snappers into his mouth and spat out a bit of smoke. Hooking another fountain and tossing it *unlit* to teru as a peace offering, he spun thro the air. “Come on! Everything’s fine, no one’s hurt, you two can stand next to Mob if you’re worried about sparks, he’s got like, a three foot clearance. Seri’s got like, *five*. And i got a *stack* of these shitty fountains we can munch on while we use the *good* ones” Mob and Ritsu glanced at each other. “Wait we’re not setting these off first?” “We used to go in order of size when our dad got them.” “Nah, they arnt worth the gunpower” Shou grabbed a bundle of rockets wrapped around a single pole and stabbed it into the ground. “Now *these*, *these are worth it”* and planting his hands on the ground Shou cracked his tail like a whip across the fuse as it sparked and Blasted one rocket into the air. The head of every starkid snapped to follow it’s movement with all three eyes. The resulting ring of colours was surprisingly large for a three inch rocket. As the white faded from the air the next rocket caught and launched after it. The green jitterbugs spun and wiggled through the air as shou echoed the whistle and followed the movements like a bee dance. The third one shou chased up after as it shot off and he darted underneath it after a purplish ‘bug’ and snapped at it. Twisting around to avoid the next rocket he dove back down to the group and grinned. Then spat out the spark that flashed and fizzled in the middle of the air between them. With the “THLP” signaling the launch shou flipped in the air to go after it only for Seri to lift a paw from the blanket nest. Everyone but Teru missed the explosion in favor of watching Shou squirm in the air as he slowly drifted down and flattened against the ground. “Shou no. You dont want to catch that in the air before they go off, you cant eat them faster than they explode.” “Yeah Firecracker, dont play fetch with the fireworks, i think Raygun’s having a heart attack.” Shou dug his claws into the dirt and huffed. He twitched as another launched and glared at Seri until he put his paw down, letting Shou drift back into the air. Teru was glad that no one could see his second set of hands. While he looked to be sitting perfectly poised, he had his own claws dug into the blankets to stop himself from jerking after fireworks as well. “I wasn- yeah fine. *i still wanna catch it tho*.” “Why dont you just eat the other ones then?” “those dont *move*” Shou fluttered over to the boxes and emptied them out and stuck the rest in the ground before snapping a claw over the fuse of one. “What, do we need to toss them for you? If it makes you stop going after the rockets we can. Not going to light them though.” “Nah im good on food, it’s just that they dart off *fast-*” The next rocket went off and shou *lunged* only for Teru to make a sharp ‘Stri!ik’ sound at him and Shou flipped back like he *wasnt* just about to chase down the firework. T perked up at the sound teru made more than any of the fireworks as he pulled out his phone and clipped a bit of video. “Oooh Sparky that one’s ‘come here’ right?” Reigen stared at T in disbelief. “Have you been recording this whole evening?” Ritsu glanced over from where he was leaning against his brother side. “No that was ‘stay’, this one’s ‘come here’” and ritsu gave a whistle of a quarter note followed by a higher eighth. Shou flashed over to his side and wiggled himself between Mob’s inky darkness and Ritsu’s back with a placating warble. “It’s a bit longer, but i think it’s the same base of ‘here’. ‘There’ is a bit lower and longer than both of them” ritsu frowned. “Or shorter?” Shou settled like an oversized neck pillow and flipped upside down to look at both ritsu and T. “Depends on how *far* ‘there’ is. You say it first and hold it as long as you need to. Pops used to laugh when people asked where he was from and kept it up for ages underneath his words.” “Huh, do the fireworks say anything?” Mob blinked down at T. “Not really? It’s a bit flat, but some of them sound like you startled them and they want you to back off” “Yeah, they do kinda sound angry in a way, but the ones that *pop* are the BEST” Crackling along with the firework pack’s final five rockets, shou’s constant movement made him slip sideways off mob who caught him from tipping over completely in the curl of his tail. Shou peered over at Teru with a grin as Ritsu wrapped an arm over him to hold him still and take advantage of his warmth. “Hey *teru*, you wanna set off the next pack? Or is your tail too jagged to reach that far?” Responding with a “*easily~*” Teru snapped his tail like a lightening bolt and with a fizz the last set burned and started shooting off small white streams. Then shot off one that flew up high. It went off with a thunderous *bang*”that shou mimicked with a bark like a car backfiring. Followed by two more. “Shou this isn’t just flashbangs is it?” “Nah it’s got others in it, there’s just a few in the start first.” Watching the orange trail of the next one everyone was surprised when Teru joined Shou’s echoing with his own electrical short of a bang.“Does th-” Before T managed to ask them what it was about he was cut off by another flashbang as the two of them repeated the sound. Followed hesitantly by a chime of a struck wineglass from Mob. “Do you guys like these or what?” Ritsu looked just as baffled as Reigen did while the sky popped and shrieked with colours. “Niisan normally hates the loud ones.” “Oh, it’s just that Shou and Teruki already responded so i thought i might as well too.” T pounced on that phrasing as he did with any other tidbit about starkids’ natural behaviors. “SO that *means* something? *What?*” *BANG* Seri stopped twisting the blanket into knots as the others continued their chorus. Shou’s immediate smaller echo, teru, who had refined his sound into something more viola based, and mob’s short ringing ping. Tilting his head as he listened he attempted to find words for such a short sound. “I’m not sure if it’s actually asking for a response, it just seems expected, but it’s a bit of a ‘i’m here. Who’s there?” BANG, BaNG, thi!vvvz!, Thri!ing! “That doesn't sound anything like ‘here.’” “I know, it’s *flat* sounding, but you dont have to say* youre there, that’s just implied.” “Yup! ‘Im *me!’ works just fine. All ya have to do is just sorta say something that sounds like you,” Shou twisted out of ritsu’ grasp and swam in the air over Serizawa. Reigen looked over at shou who started poking and “pip”ing at Seri. “Wait so it’s basicly a great big hello?” “It’s not that friendly, the whole game is not getting caught unless you think you can win. I *so* wouldnt announce myself if i didnt know it wasnt’ actually anyone there. Or if you guys werent here. Pops was deeper than ‘feel it in your bones.’” Switching from poking with claws to digging them in and *pulling* Shou kept at his antics at bothering Seri into paying attention. “Come *on* youre the only one that hasn’t done it. And youre the *biggest*, come oooonnnn.” Shou flopped on top of Seri and flailed dramatically as he held the whine longer than humanly possible. “We dont live over here shou, and there isn’t actually anyone there to hear it.” “*That’s the point* it’s just us. It’s not like the *space* police are going to get you.” Shou glanced over at Reigen. “He’d have to eat more veggies than burgers if he ever wanted to pick you up.” “HEY, i resembl- *resent* that statement. So if’s it’s not ‘hello’ than what *does* it mean?” Shou grinned as the final rocket launched and *boomed*. “*POLO*” ~~almost could end it here~~

Epilogue --

Packing the cars was much simpler with only the bedding to toss in. The park may have had a ‘carry in, carry out’ policy, but trash had a habit of disappearing after reigen’s cluster of starkids had last doubled. Reigen did one last head count and coming up short on the shortest one, only for ritsu to tap the green jacket in his lap as shou sprawled over the laps of everyone in the back. “It’s a miracle, Shou actually *sleeps*.” Only for his head to pop back up and hazily face reigen’s voice, and then drop back into Ritsu’ lap. Teru was already passed out and was leaning on mob’s sholder. “Well it was *almost* a miracle.” Seri shook his head. “You can find him tucked into places all over, i think the real miracle would be if he actually slept in his own bed. Im just glad i’ve been finding him in the house more often.” Somewhere off in the woods near the highway another few fireworks lit up the horizon. “So we never did hear what your ‘polo’ was.” “OH, um sorry? I’m not really good with most Starsong-” Shou rolled over and gave a softer version of the sound he made from before, now more recognizable as the ‘pop’ of a fireplace. The sound of a water hitting a stone cliff at *just* the right angle followed it as Seri covered his reddening face with his hands. The silence that followed was only broken by the snickering from Shou attempting to repeat it with the *distinctive* sound of a soaked towel slapping against a wall. Reigen bit back his own laughter as he looked between Seri and the road. “*THAT* was the most *inelegant* sound i have ever heard you make. They’re normally so *serene*.” “It’s. They’re just white noise really. Theyre not that nice.” “Are you kidding? There’s a reason people have hours of recordings waves and noise. Theyre *peaceful*.” Half letting go of the wheel, Reigen started conducting the sounds. “That Shooosh *swisssh*, the bubbly purr you do when you do that thing where you twist your tail when your nervous. That rush of roaring water you make when you angry is terrifying but i like that one too.” “You *like* those sounds?” “Hey, i like them too. I wouldnt copy them if i didnt!” “Shou you made fart noises for the first hour of the car ride, i thought you just liked to copy the most annoying things you hear.”

“Well yeah, *i like them*. Your’s arn’t annoying, it’s your *sound*. Do you know how hard it is to change accents?” “Um, harder than learning a new language?” “Yep, and that’s your’s.” Shou broke off with a squeak of a yawn. “Reigen’s isnt as nice tho, can you keep it down?” “Sure it’s late anyway.” “Oh um Reigen? Could you not tell T? He can be a bit insistent about the alien stuff.” “No problem, he’s just like that with everything it’s his job and his life, 24/7. Tell him no and he backs off, he’s good with lines. Just dont tell him i was the one that ate those burgers i flipped off the grill.” “deal.”

---

#mib au #watch me post this and edit little errors fr the next three days before i try rewritting it #it started a a PLAY SCRIPT #nomrmally i do discprictions not DIALODGE

3 notes · View notes

bronyinabottle · 7 years

Text

CELESTIAL ADVICE THOUGHTS

Season 7 is here, and certainly off to at the very least a unique start. For the first time the season does not start with an adventurous two-parter. There's still two episodes but they don't exactly interconnect, the only detail you need to know before watching the 2nd episode from the first is that Starlight is no longer Twilight's student but she's still around Ponyville. A status quo change that is both big yet small at the same time. I'll talk a little more near the end of this thoughts but for now it's important to remember this for a few reasons.

If I may say one thing that kinda drags the episode down for me is the insistence that Starlight and Twilight's mentor-student relationship is comparable to Twilight's with Celestia when there are some big differences. Twilight became Celestia's student as a filly, she was under her wings for years and even when Celestia sent Twilight away that didn't mean Twilight was no longer her student. It turned out her going to Ponyville was the final steps toward her ascension to Princesshood. Meanwhile Starlight used to be a pretty evil character that almost destroyed the current timeline before somehow Twilight managed to talk her out of it and reform her. And since the student-teacher relationship ends in this episode, couldn't have been any longer then a year. Also at least IMO there is some emotional attachment we get to Twilight and Celestia's relationship while there wasn't enough in Season 6 to have the same kind of attachment. The only episodes where the teacher-student thing was all that relevant was No Second Prances and Every Little Thing She Does. And I didn't even like the former since Twilight didn't seem like a very good teacher in that episode, and while I liked the latter Twilight is only there for the opening scenes of the episode and the very end where she helps fix things. Just like how I felt lukewarm to Starlight's character in general, I felt just as lukewarm with her apprenticeship under Twilight and Season 6 didn't do much to change that. It's kinda similar to how I feel about Rainbow Dash caring so much about Tank in Tanks for the Memories when we barely saw Tank in other episodes aside from his debut. Twilight and Starlight's thing is still better then that was but in the same sense I didn't care about the relationship and it's being compared several times to one that most have come to like between Celestia and Twilight since even early on we could really get a lot of how much Twilight respects her mentor, and how proud Celestia is of Twilight.

I do want to say that I still kinda liked this episode and in fact is probably my favorite of the two that aired that day. But it's still unfortunately dragged down by things I just don't care for. Just my personal opinion on the matter, I'm sure there are those who are fans of Starlight and Twilight's relationship that probably loved this episode and I'm not going to tell them they're not wrong for doing so. I just don't feel very strongly about what this episode is hyping up the apprenticeship to be.

That said though perhaps the funniest part of the episode is certainly the fantasy sequences/imagine spots of what Twilight's thinking could happen when she sends Starlight somewhere. Heck, the line of Celestia saying "There is no wrong way to fantasize" has already gotten some giggles in the fandom, especially from the NSFW art community (That's not a bad thing though, many NSFW pony artists I've met are some of the nicest folks in the fandom). But even aside from that you have Twilight imagining funny scenarios like a Changeling pretending to be Starlight and purposefully doing bad things to other changelings to get her in trouble, Twilight imagining what Ember and Starlight would interact like. Though it does get serious for a moment when Twilight actually has a somewhat believable idea of sending Starlight to work on Magic together with Sun Burst and suddenly Twilight thinking they might get into magic that they can't control.

But perhaps the best scene of the episode is Celestia revealing she had some of the same concerns that Twilight has in the episode years back. While I did say I'm not sure comparing the two as if they're that 1:1 is a good idea, I do like the idea of Celestia caring for Twilight in that way and is a really heartwarming scene for Celestia. While it's a little debatable if this episode even counts as a Celestia episode, it's certainly the most character we've gotten out of Celestia in a really long time. It really feels like the last time we had anything with Celestia's character being revealed it was as far back as Season 1 in either the end of Best Night Ever or that episode with the Phoenix. It just makes us crave a real full 100% Celestia focused episode even more then before I'd say. But at least we got a good taste of it in this episode. Also a little funny thing that might of revealed why the letters were there in the beginning of the series in that that was also part of Celestia missing Twilight so much heh heh.

But now we get to the ending where Starlight is announced by Twilight that she'll no longer be Twilight's student though at the same time a part of the status quo still stays in that Starlight still lives in the castle. Just she's on her own now. You can look at this a few ways. For those who are even a little like me that kinda never felt too much attachment I think it's good enough to be glad the apprenticeship is over since it didn't feel like it was really going anywhere between the two. Though at the same time does who may dislike Starlight a lot more then I do may feel they don't do enough to end it since Starlight isn't actually going anywhere. Though for those who do like Twilight and Starlight they may have mixed feelings of them no longer being student and teacher because it may feel all too fast but relieved that Starlight will still stick around for the near future. So this a pretty weird status quo change where something has changed to a good degree but at the same time not a lot.

As for my opinion on the matter, I am glad that Starlight is no longer Twilight's apprentice as I feel Starlight could grow better on her own especially as she interacts with Trixie, Discord, and/or Thorax. And as for Starlight ever being sent away, I do feel like that could possibly be what the eventual finale of Season 7 could be about. Especially if Starlight isn't involved much with the movie coming up. Since as of right now there's no sign Starlight will have an important role in that. (Or at least she'll help protect the home front while the Mane 6 and Spike are traveling abroad?) Just saying since it's not like we've seen any merpony Starlight merchandise/artwork. So they could just be taking a slower route but will eventually go with somewhere of which to take Starlight on her own path. Cause with all of the Mane 6 that had goals already having reached them as well as the CMC with their Cutie Marks. Starlight's one of the few characters that there's gotta be some incoming goal for that needs to be shown and even if I don't care as much about her it's only fair she gets her chance to have something. Granted I have no idea what the plan is for Starlight yet, but we'll see what happens.

So to recap, while I'm still mixed as ever with just about anything Starlight. This episode had some solid moments from Celestia and Twilight that I enjoyed. And it's certainly an interesting start to the season. I'll get to talking about All Bottled Up next week. Since I want to give it the proper respect of it being a separate episode on it's own and also I have a feeling my episode response for episode 3 of the Season will be really short because I pretty much know how the episode would go in Genie Twi's universe and trust me it's not very long. Admittedly I'm not too looking forward to the 3rd episode but maybe it'll surprise me. Seeya then either way though.

2 notes · View notes

quinnorsmth · 4 years

Text

i’m... i’m gonna post my discord rant here. don’t mind me, i’m just a boy from a crumbling home. never mind the random trigger mentions too, that’s for the spoilers that didn’t copy over from discord, heh.

self harm

the fun part about relapsing is that it doesn't seem to happen intermittently, it's kinda all at once. i'm steady enough that i won't do anything tonight but there's still this kinda chant in the back of my head y'know. just this cut cut cut cut from an overload of stress

and part of me - and i won't, i'm fine - part of me wants to just do it to shut the urge up, but i know that'll just keep the waves coming. i shouldn't've let myself slip in the first place, is the issue. it just... hit. things have been bad at home, i'm not functioning at school, i'm emotionally volatile and everything is just... messy.

i wanna bleed it out. i won't, i won't, but the tide's still high.

suicide

and like... i didn't mean to live this long anyway. senior year of high school, i always thought i'd've thrown myself off a roof or overdosed when i got to college, y'know? no more supervision, no one knew me yet, it'd've been perfect.

problem was with the height, y'know. buildings around here are too short. overdoses are more likely to fail than not. cutting to kill is too much effort.

ironically, the same anxiety and depression that make me wanna die have kept me from doing anything too risky. fear of failure, chronic fatigue.

as above

i even meant to just... throw all've that in a melting pot the start of this semester. week before class, i made that decision. end of august, i'd overdose, bleed out as much as i could, find the tallest parking deck around town and jump, angle myself to break my head open or something.

didn't manage it, though. DID has its perks, if you'd consider having someone in your own head sabotage your suicide attempt.

and now we're both kinda regretting it. we have vague plans for something abroad if everything goes to shit.

as above

and i guess i regret having even come here - not because of anyone on the server, but i regret making connections. regret having a reason to stick around, more people to talk me outta it. it was more feasible when i was isolating, when the only consistent connection i had was emotionally toxic. we'd even been in counseling because we were going so far downhill, and part of it was her fault.

i wish she pushed me further, wish i was better at debates. could've talked system member into letting me give this a shot, maybe i would've won.

i dunno. suicide's been my endgame for a long time. i've been losing this game for too long, though.

...wonder how long it'd take for anyone to write home and tell them i was found dead somewhere. i'll be abroad in Denmark while most of the rest of my studio will be in Rome. hell, they may not even hear about it, might just get back to my parents. they might all come back for one last year of school and wonder where i went.

i dunno.

i appreciate when people reach out, y'know. i like knowing that i'm cared about, but it also feels like someone smashing a baseball bat over my head.

i'm losing - hell, i'm not even making progress. i'm not doing any better. i've just been skating and i'm sick of it.

i wanna win. i want out.

been at this for almost... what, 7 years? give or take.

self harm, suicide

been self-harming for longer than that. i just - i remember starting a log of days i felt like i wanted to die back in late 2012. that was the first time i thought maybe this isn't normal

y'know. after i got used to shallow cuts with safety pins and broken scissors. only after that did i decide something was off.

so it's almost the anniversary of... of that. christmas eve.

i always feel a little fuzzy on christmas eve.

as above, alcohol

sometimes i'm tempted to plan for an out then, it'd be conclusive, poetic, maybe. i don't have the heart to give my sis and my dad something to cry about on christmas though.

don't care if mom'd cry though. she's the reason we fell this hard. i'm not one to blame people for my own mind, honest, but honestly, if she'd reached out instead of drowning herself in alcohol, i feel like i'd be better.

as above

she'd get loud. she doesn't have much of an indoor voice anyway, whatever, whatever. it gets worse when she's too shit-faced to hear herself. lil 14 year old Nate didn't take kindly to that, y'know, always had some noise sensitivity, it got worse when she got worse. got worse when loud started meaning mom isn't lucid anymore.

as above, emotional abuse

it's hit a point where she's kinda... i hesitate to use the term emotionally abusive, but system member and sis both say otherwise. she asks you a question and nitpicks your answer until you tell her what she wants to hear. what do you want for dinner isn't caring anymore, it's a fucking nightmare. everything's a game of guess and check with her.

she gaslights too, god, it's awful, and we already have problems with reality and doubting ourselves. she'll just make shit up, try and turn us against each other. she screams at my sis for not starting dinner when sis was working all day, then goes to dad and tells him sis was in the wrong. we all know she's full of shit by now but it's exhausting.

above, eating disorder

she doesn't use her fucking words anymore, y'know? she'll say can someone help me with this when she means to say can dad come over here with a toolbox to fix the sink or whatever, but she doesn't just... say that. doesn't ask, likes playing these shitty mind games with us. i come over not knowing what she wants and she blames me for not being dad and not having the toolbox.

eating around her is even hell. we order chinese food, i have dumplings. i eat five, she says i'm not eating enough. eat six, i've had too many, why didn't you share with me, no no, i don't want any, i had a quarter of a sandwich at 11am so i'm stuffed.

she pulls this shit on her daughter with an eating disorder and her son who hardly feeds himself as it is. pulls this shit around her husband who's trying to keep his weight in check. it's probably 'cause she's overweight and unwilling to do anything about it. there's nothing wrong with being heavier, but i think she hates that she is overweight, and she wants to drag us down with her.

mentioned death

and... yeah, yeah. she just drags us down with her no matter what we do or what we say. talks about dead relatives, pets, rants about her old workplace she hasn't worked at in over 2 years, turns every good memory toward something sour, oh i miss our old dog, your grandpa was such a nice man, anything she can to try and make us miserable too.

i wonder if that's a bit of why i'm fucking depressed. so used to being around someone who seems to thrive off misery.(edited)

alcohol

just - i feel nauseous any time she's in the room. anything is a reason to fight, reason to be angry, miserable, reason to drink.

and hell, if she has the best day of her life, she still drinks. time to celebrate, eh? no moderation for an addict, i suppose.

alcohol

i've never been one for physical contact without consent, but it's worse with her. sometimes she gets too giddy when she drinks, squeals like a high school girl, clambers all over people like a lap dog. she grabs me by the shoulders and i panic because i don't want her touching me. it's not even mom when she's that wasted, it's some drunk fuck in my house pretending she loves me.

she doesn't. mom, maybe, but even sober mom is a shot in the dark. sometimes she's just fucking mean. talks about shit to make people uncomfortable, critiques us without ever looking at herself. drunk mom's worse.

it's... insufferable. and it's why we have DID to begin with. i can't cope with her. system members can. one of us has had to shove her off before. she went and cried about it to dad, i had to tell him she was actually hurting us - and not intentionally, i get that, but she's over twice my weight and i'm kinda frail, honestly.

i can't go downstairs after like, 6pm anymore. it's always a system member, or one of them is active with me and talking when she's around because i can't do it.

not even safe in my own fucking house. i have to wait for her to go upstairs before i can get water from the fridge. it doesn't feel safe.

emotional abuse, alcohol, suicide

and like - look, she'd never physically hurt us, never intentionally, but emotionally? she's fucking mean. she wants us to be just as miserable, she wants to pick fights, she wants to pretend she's the victim when she's screaming at sis and shoving dad around in a drunken haze. it's not safe being around her because she'll fight.

we have no other choice but to avoid her. she's a walking landmine.

y'know what stings worst about this? i remember a time when she was a wonderful woman. she was great. she was great.

that mom's gone though. 12 years of alcoholism have killed her. even when she's sober she isn't the woman who raised me. hell, she's been gone since i was 15, probably. i wonder if some part of me made that connection, if that's why 2012 was the first time i ever recorded suicidal urges.

i miss her, y'know. 10 year old Nate's mom.

death, suicide

come to think of it, grandpa died a month after christmas. my urges started around that anniversary. funny how shit works like that, huh.(edited)

wonder if it's because she got shitfaced that night. kinda a shame teen Nate didn't give much of a reason for wanting to die beyond feeling some general stress and unease.

...there's no solution here, either. her brain's too far gone.

i wanna feel safe in my own family. i've had to retreat into my own head to find any solace.

...sorry. i'm bitter.

i oughta delete this in the morning.

#unheard unspoken

0 notes