#Chapter 28 has been posted and it's available

[canonicallyobserving911]

“I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

Season 7 FANON Speculation: Buddie Multi-Chapter Fanfic - Hiatus Reading: “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Chapter 28 is now available on AO3.

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

“I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Currently 28 chapters completed: 1.177M Words; Rated: Mature

One chapter will be posted at a time.

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Here's a snippet from Chapter 28 of an emotional Eddie and Buck having a heated conversation about sex.

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Buck pulls back, meets Eddie’s eyes and whispers, “Mi manchi e ti voglio!” [“I miss you and I want you!”]

“Mi manchi anche tu! Ma… ma non dovremmo… voglio dire, dovremmo fermarci.” [“I miss you too!” But… but we shouldn’t… I mean we should stop.”]

While searching Eddie’s beautiful brown eyes for an answer to his hesitancy, he asks, “Allora qual è il problema?” [Then what’s the problem?”]

Eddie’s not sure how to respond because he wants him and he’s ready to make love but how does he tell his husband he’s afraid he might die during the middle of them having sex? Before January 2nd he never considered it but now, he can’t get the images of Buck’s limp body hanging from the aerial and him lying on the floor of their living room out of his mind.

He asks, “Non mi vuoi?” [“Don’t you want me?”]

Eddie’s eyes widen because he asked the same question two weeks ago.

When he doesn’t verbally respond, his silence says everything Buck needs to hear. He frowns, then he exasperatedly sighs. “Is it me? Did I do something?”

“No! No… no…”

“Then... what are you afraid of Eddie?! Please tell me because I—I don’t understand.”

How will Eddie respond to Buck's question?

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This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

Fic Summary: Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it.  But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be cataclysmic.

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Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1 - Eddie makes a new friend while Buck receives devastating news regarding the sperm donation he made for Connor and Kameron.

Chapter 2 - Buck does a lot of research to learn more about the abnormalities found in his red blood cells and Eddie starts a new therapy journey that’s all about him and not the traumas he’s experienced.

Chapter 3 - After more than a month, Buck and Eddie finally spend time together outside of work but it doesn’t end well and they part with a lot of uncertainty regarding their places in each other’s lives.

Chapter 4 - Eddie has a few realizations about his life which causes him to consider moving back to El Paso, TX while Buck continues to be reminded of his past which causes him to take an impromptu road trip across America.

Chapter 5 - Both Buck and Eddie have difficult conversations with their parents and Buck finally learns the truth behind the reason why his mother despised him while Eddie finally tells his mother about the way she tries to control him.

Chapter 6 - More than two weeks after Buck pushed Eddie away after suggesting they needed a break; Eddie decides to try again. Eddie’s there for Buck when he’s at his worst just like Buck was there for him when he was at his worst and he won’t let Buck give up.

Chapter 7 - After Buck’s mental breakdown, Eddie has his back the same way Buck had his when he had his own breakdown more than a year ago.  They share several vulnerable and emotionally intimate moments with one another and they begin to realize their small, sweet and caring gestures matter just as much if not more than any grand gesture ever could because these are the foundations of a long-lasting love relationship.

Chapter 8 - Buck, Eddie and Chris all have their own therapists and during their sessions, they reflect on their pasts while they’re in the present so they can prepare for their future together as a family.

Chapter 9 - Buck and Eddie are there for each other when Buck has to testify as a witness during the trial.  But by the end of it, they’ll both realize their individual and shared traumas are going to keep resurfacing until they talk about them, deal with the fact that they’re in love with one another and face the fact that they can’t live without each other.

Chapter 10 - As Buck and Eddie finally begin to confront their past traumas, they realize how much they need each other to fill in the gaps of their memories.  Additionally, the universe screams at them for what appears to be the one hundredth time so Buck can realize he doesn’t have to ‘find it’ because he already ‘made it’ and Eddie’s reminded tomorrow isn’t promised and he doesn’t have to die alone if he doesn’t want to.

Chapter 11 - A “virga” or dry thunderstorm is in the forecast but once the rain starts, the thunderstorm happening outside won’t be able to match the storm brewing inside between Buck and Eddie.  It’s the universe’s final scream and when the tumultuous winds begin to blow, they’ll have one last chance to hold onto everything they’ve built over the last six years or they’ll lose it all forever.

Chapter 12 - Buck and Eddie have always shared a deep physical attraction and an emotional intimacy that’s unmatched but now that they’re in a relationship, they’re learning how to navigate the romantic intimacy they’ve been waiting for six years to explore. The love they have for each other is a once in a lifetime, soulmate, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.

Chapter 13 - While navigating the newness of their romantic relationship, Buck and Eddie take advantage of every moment they spend together. As their individual lives, people from their pasts, time constraints and the possibility of losing each other again make attempts to interrupt and interfere with their journey to forever, they love, care for, support and hold onto each other even tighter to withstand it all.

Chapter 14 - Buck and Eddie can see the lights at the end of the tunnels regarding the results of Buck’s Cancer Screening along with everything else they’re dealing with. But are the lights they see exits to the tunnels or are they headlights on different runaway trains that are speeding towards them in an effort to interrupt their forever?

Chapter 15 - Buck and Eddie have known they were exactly who the other one wanted in a partner since they met six years ago when they agreed to have each other’s backs. They’re in a romantic relationship, they’re both preparing to ask the other one to spend forever with them and by the end of the seventh week into their relationship, together they will plan their most important and greatest adventure for their future.

Chapter 16 - As Buck and Eddie begin to prepare for their marriage ceremony that will take place in Rome, Italy in December 2023, they start planning their first international adventure as a romantic couple. Even though Chris is still the only person they’ve told about their relationship, several people who know them have already witnessed the love they share and as the days continue, others will witness it too.

Chapter 17 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to departing Los Angeles for their international adventure, a moment in time will remind them; life is fragile, tomorrow isn’t promised and every second of everyday should be cherished because everything can change in an instant. The result of that realization will cause them to hold onto each other even more.

Chapter 18 - As Buck, Eddie and Chris prepare for family gatherings before and during the Thanksgiving holiday, the “Santa Ana Winds” start to blow and all sorts of expected and unexpected familial drama ensues.

Chapter 19 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to their wedding day, the universe begins to align everything so that some of their parent and children's relationships are strengthened while others come to an abrupt end.

Chapter 20 - With only 14 days remaining until Buck, Eddie and Chris depart Los Angeles, CA traveling to Rome, Italy, for their first family adventure, an early morning conversation about “tying up loose ends” helps Buck and Eddie realize there are still several things left unfinished on their ‘To Do’ lists. The question is will there be enough time to complete all of them?

Chapter 21 - Buck, Eddie and Chris are finalizing their ‘To Do’ Lists, double checking their itineraries and packing their suitcases in preparation for their trip to Europe so they can board their flight that departs Los Angeles, CA on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 3:25PM.

Chapter 22 - While Buck, Eddie and Chris spend the first 8 days of their European family adventure in Italy, their primary reason for going will be fulfilled as well as several others they hadn’t considered or anticipated.

Chapter 23 - As the Diaz Family continues their Italian family adventure, they’ll say, “Ciao” or hello and goodbye to a lot of things almost immediately after they become an official and legal family.

Chapter 24 - After Buck, Eddie and Chris arrive in London, England on December 24th; the Diazes immediately start preparing to spend their first family Christmas together. During their stay, each of them will hear a few choice words that will be the life raft to get them home to complete their searches to be seen and to be found.

Chapter 25 - After spending more than two weeks in Europe, Eddie, Buck and Chris are back in Los Angeles and they’re getting ready to attend Maddie and Chimney’s New Year’s Eve party. During the event, they have plans to make two surprise announcements but the question is, who’s really going to be surprised, the Diaz family or their found family at the 118?

Chapter 26 - Buck and Eddie are once again faced with their greatest fear of losing each other but this time it could be permanent and if it is, then they won’t be able to spend the rest of their lives together.

Chapter 27 - After Buck resumes therapy, he’ll continue to face the fact that he “DIED” in March 2023 and during those sessions, he’ll learn about the 7 stages of grief. As he continues his healing journey, Eddie will be right by his side just like he promised and the Diaz family will start to deal with their three minutes and seventeen seconds loss as a family.

Chapter 28 - Two years ago, Eddie was asked, “What are you afraid of?”; twice, once by Frank and once by Buck but he only answered one of them without deflecting. Since that time, he’s been to therapy and him and Buck got married but the question resurfaces when Frank asks Buck the same question and Buck asks it of Eddie for the second time. However, when Buck asks, his reasoning will be about something else entirely.

Chapter 29 - Will be posted soon.

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Read chapters 1-28 are available on AO3.

Continue reading on AO3

[viviennevermillion]

Mortals and Fools — First Look #1 (Coming Soon)

Want to read a SFW coming-of-age fantasy novel with evil gods, two adult aspec protagonists and magic? Consider supporting this project!

Author's Note: After a total of 8 years of posting fanfiction on this account, I am excited to announce that I am finally starting my first long-term original work as an author! Goal is to get this series published as an actual novel but until then, I will be uploading chapters online as I write them, hopefully building an audience in the process! Mortals and Fools will be available on Wattpad and potentially other platforms. The first 4 chapters will be uploaded to Tumblr as well. Over the next few weeks I will keep uploading promo posts with new characters and more info! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me as a writer over the years and welcome to everyone who's new here!

Summary: In the land of Elsthess, brilliant but arrogant Dr. Immanuel Faust is doing his best to follow the teachings of the Goddess of Wisdom, live up to his late grandmother's expectations and hide the fact that he has been seeing strange, mystical apparitions all his life. When his pupil becomes afflicted with an ancient curse and the things he has seen turn out to be more than just hallucinations, Immanuel must forge a contract with Morgan, a being from another realm who's ready to humble him at every turn, and learn his religion's most despised art: magic. As he steps outside of the simple world he has grown up in, he slowly comes to realize that there is much more to learn for him still.

Themes:

The Meaning of Wisdom & Growth

Unlearning harmful narratives and prejudices

Religious Trauma

Healing from Abuse

Rebuilding trust in others

Learning to understand others

Navigating radical changes during adulthood

Elitism and class inequality

The problems with the ideal of meritocracy

Queerplatonic & Alterous Attraction

Addiction

Gender Dysphoria

What this story contains:

A variety of fun magical powers!

Evil Gods & Forces from other Realms!

Queer rep! (demisexual & aroace protagonists, a trans man and a wlw couple)

Mysteries to unravel

The coming-of-age fantasy adventures you're used to from YA novels but with characters in their 20s and struggles of adulthood

Humor

My blood, sweat and tears as an author

The Cast: Introducing 3 Characters

Here's some info on the three characters in the header, from left to right!

#1 — Dr. Immanuel Icarus Faust

❝ It wasn't supposed to be like this... I've failed... as both a doctor and a man of faith. I wanted to follow your teachings, dear Goddess, and guide those who seek wisdom and knowledge, as grandmother did... but I couldn't even save one innocent girl. Have I become godless? ❝

Raised by his grandmother, the High Priestess of Solbrynn's temple, Immanuel was taught from an early age on to aspire to be the best in everything he attempted to do and dedicate his life to wisdom, in order to make the Goddess Adira proud. Having become a renowned physician at the age of 28, Immanuel understands himself as his kingdom's ideal of a self-made man: a scholar who can achieve everything he puts his mind to, no matter the circumstances. As a result, he has put himself on a pedestal, believing that those who achieved less than him had all the chances and merely didn't use them. Fearing nothing more than failure and becoming anything like his absent, alcoholic father; Immanuel is bound for a rude awakening.

#2 — Morgan Miralaith

❝ While you were having your existential crisis in the mad scientist laboratory you call your bedroom, I took the liberty to read your grandmother's diary. The good news is, I finally understand where all the hubris comes from. ❝

Morgan, belonging to a long-lived species from the realm of Calliah, is the second-in-command for the Elsthess Resistance against the Plague Avatars. While the Resistance on Mhorunn regards her as a capable leader and a skilled fighter; using fire magic to blaze her way to victory; it is clear to most that she has many secrets and ulterior motives. She cares about others in her own way, yet hardly lets anyone close to her. With her mischievous demeanor and cynical nature, Morgan has made it her new mission to recruit Immanuel for the Resistance and, while at it, shatter his very distorted self-image and worldview. Upon forging a contract with her, Immanuel believes that he has sold his soul to a demon. It is only upon meeting others of her kind that he realizes that really is just her personality.

#3 — Mortis Grimm

❞ People reject that which is foreign to them. You of all people should know this. Still, my personal aspirations and origins are of no concern to you. Remember that. ❝

While there are several people from the Realm of Calliah in Elsthess, the realm that Mortis Grimm originated from is unknown. He seems to be the only one of his kind and there is something sinister about him. Wielding powerful magic that matches no other in recorded nature, Mortis, despite being the leader of the Resistance, is a big mystery to all of its members. Usually donning a Plague Doctor mask, Morgan is among the few to have seen his face. He is Mhorunn's greatest ally, but hardly a trusted one. Most understand that he could just as well become its greatest enemy one day.

Interested in reading more and receiving updates as they're posted? Comment on this post and tell me if you'd like to be added to the taglist! Reblogs are appreciated to spread the word! 💞

Taglist — @gwaaaaar @silveryloneliness @noxochicoztliv @justletmeon12 @averytirednerd @letsallsleepoverwork @styrofauxm @non-pressurizeddiamond @mangoinacan13 @amateurmasksmith @kenobiblue @soru-dee @pictures-of-the-stars @elf-osamu @animusicnerd @jaytherat-hometothereblog @watcherofeternalflame

[myemuisemo]

Watson, discouraged by the impersonal replies Holmes sends to his letters, is instead journaling in chapter X of The Hound of the Baskervilles in Letters from Watson.

Two items caught my attention: the dog cart and the typewriter lady.

Dogs and dog carts

I'd been imagining the English countryside full of little carts pulled by very large dogs, like Nana from Peter Pan. This can be done, as we see in this still from a 2011 Lancashire Online video:

But no! It is a dog cart because it was used for hauling hunting dogs. The dogs are carried in that hat-shaped space under the seats.

As we raise a glass for Mortimer's lost spaniel, the question arises: how big a dog can be transported in a dog cart?

Can we fit an English Mastiff? (English working dog, 30 inches tall at the withers, which is the highest point of the back, near the neck.)

Can it fit a Great Dane? (Hunting dog, minimum 28 inches to the withers.) This dog would also have been called a "mastiff" in 1889.

The massive Great Dane is Scooby-Doo, by the way. So Scooby-Doo of the Moors, if you exist, where are you?

But where could such a hound lie concealed, where did it get its food, where did it come from, how was it that no one saw it by day?

Given that an actual convict, sought by half the countryside, successfully hid in a Neolithic hut and ate meals from the kitchen of the very house where you are staying, Watson, hiding a dog cannot be that hard. The countryside is full of servants nobody bothers to mention and large houses with stables nobody has yet visited. "Oi, ye can't be thinkin' of Minnie, what goes with John at the Pub, can ye? She's a right friendly hound, always up for a pet and a treat."

The typewriter lady

Frankland. has. a daughter. And he disowned her, because of course he did. He's really turning out to not be the jolly old curmudgeon that Watson wants to paint him as.

Many hints are dropped that Laura Frankland Lyons was difficult in some way beyond an impulsive choice of husband -- I'm leaning toward her having a mind of her own and being willing to speak it, rather than to sexual improprieties. Why?

Because although she settles down in a little village (generally agreed to be an expy of Bovey Tracey), the business she starts to support herself is not sewing, laundering, or other respectable-but-ill-paid pursuits typical for single women. It's "a typewriting business."

By 1889, typewriters have existed for about 15 years but been in common business use for more like 5 years. So culturally, Laura Lyons' typewriting business is very modern: more like "learn to code and build apps" in today's world. She's being coded as efficient and independent.

Here's a Fitch 1 typewriter, which might have been a little new for Laura Lyons' business.

Women did start typewriting businesses as soon as typewriters were available! Mark Adams dedicates an entire blog to the history of typewriters, including this gem of a post that documents the early women in this field in the U.S.

So what is Laura Lyons typing, in a little village in Devon? There is surely less business than she could find in a larger settlement. Business and legal documents that require multiple copies might be one line of business. Another is typing someone's book manuscript. Is anyone on the moor writing a memoir? A book on legends? A scientific treatise on butterflies or perhaps skulls?

The mystery man

My bet is 70% on Holmes, 30% on Rodger Baskerville or his heirs.

Watson almost regains his cinnamon roll status with me for this line:

I am certainly developing the wisdom of the serpent, for when Mortimer pressed his questions to an inconvenient extent I asked him casually to what type Frankland's skull belonged, and so heard nothing but craniology for the rest of our drive.

[sarahowritesostucky]

📖"Body Heat" : a Snowpiercer-Marvel Mashup Story

Part 1 - "The Man"

Rated: Mature (non-explicit chapter, marked mature for dark themes)

Pairing: Curtis Everett x ofc

Tags: dystopia, food insecurity, post apocalypse, age difference (18/34), dark!fic, implied/referenced suicide, background character death (offscreen), poverty, arranged marriage, implied/referenced past cannibalism, hurt/comfort

Summary: She’s too young for him to be eyeing her up the way he has been, but this is the Tail section, and Curtis has caught other men looking more than once. Everything is a commodity in the Tail. Everything. It won't be too long before he has to step in and claim her.

Author's Note:

On Tumblr, forbidden ToS content categories are: "terrorism, hate speech, harm to minors, self harm, sexually explicit material, violence, threats, gore, and mutilation."

And while you ARE apparently allowed to write a fictional story about incestual, torturing, anorexic racists who rape, murder, kidnap, hate, cannibalize, terrorize, and self-injure in the plotline of said story,

you ARE NOT allowed to write an underage character who engages is any sort of sexualized conduct in a story.

For this one category and this one category alone, Tumblr staff (or at least one particular individual 😏on staff) makes no distinction between fictional stories and C.S.A.M. They can and will delete your blog without any notice.

So, in the face of this VERY SPECIFIC criteria for Tumblr's censorship choices, I have changed the age of a character in this story to 18. That's not how the story was originally written, and the story can still be read on Ao3, which does not arbitrarily censor their content. But my m/f stories seem to be most popular on Tumblr, so I wanted to include the altered version in my library here.

(To be spiteful, however, I have changed the ofc from 16 to 18 and Curtis from 28 to 34, thus WIDENING the original age gap from 12 yrs to 16 yrs😆)

🖤With that said, this is a dark story regardless, so if you're looking for fluff, I suggest you look elsewhere.🖤

Part 1 - "The Man"

The Man’s been dead for almost a day, the body already stiffened in rigor mortis and then relaxed again by the time anyone comes to take it.

They’d found him in his bunk just after breakfast yesterday, which means they’ve been keeping his wake for nearly twenty-four hours now, up at the front of the lead assembly car; his daughter and a few others who were closest to him sitting vigil with the body until the time comes. Mourning while they still can.

Jackboots visit the tail section only once per day—in the morning, with the food. That’s how Tailies tell time. So when one of their own dies, the funeral and the family’s goodbyes last only as long as the next arrival of the next pushcart with the next batch of gelatinous bars.

Bringing in food and taking out bodies—a callous reminder to Snowpiercer’s lowest inhabitants that their deaths are little different from their lives: cold, unadorned, hopeless.

Curtis keeps his distance once he’s paid his respects, and it’s quiet now as they all wait. A few people had given some nice speeches earlier, a decent eulogy capped off by the beautiful singing voice of the daughter that The Man has left behind: Rose.

Curtis watches her adjust the sheet over The Man’s body. He’s already been washed and stripped in preparation, wrapped in the old grey sheet that will be returned to them within a matter of hours. Nothing is wasted on Snowpiercer. The few pieces of clothing that The Man had owned now sit folded on the floor, ready to be given to their next occupants. The sight of his trademark checked shirt, unworn and available, is a point of mourning all in itself, Curtis finds.

New clothing always means death.

The Man had been a good person, a leader in his own right. Back when they’d first boarded, he’d been one of the first to volunteer his own flesh—though only once his wife had been killed and the mob was coming for his young daughter, too.

Curtis looks back up towards the front of the car when the heavy groans of unlatching metal come from the next section up. Rose’s face, covered in tears, also shoots up at the sound. Her eyes widen and her lip begins to quiver again. Her fingerless-gloved hand reaches for the body, clutching The Man’s shoulder one last time as the door slides open.

The jackboots bark for everyone to move back, since the funeral group isn’t sitting behind the usual yellow line of demarcation that’s taped to the floor, but then they look down and see the body. The lead guard sighs. “Oh, great,” he mutters. “Just what I wanted to do today.”

Curtis’ eyes narrow and his muscles tense, anticipating disrespect to the body—that he can handle, is used to, but if they lay a hand on her as the scene plays out, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to restrain himself. Rose is a sweet girl despite her circumstances, with an innocence and a naivety that usually only the train babies have, and Curtis has always done what he can to look out for her.

“Right,” the one guard says to the other. “Okay. Protein blocks first, then you can load ‘im on the cart.”

Rose stays sitting by the body as everyone lines up to receive their daily portions. Curtis makes eye contact as he steps up to the lead guard and takes his portion. “Be nice,” he says. “It’s her dad.”

Luckily, the jackboots don’t seem to be in any kind of foul mood today. They let Rose sniffle over the body for a few extra seconds before hefting the corpse onto the empty protein block cart. And then they’re gone. No muss, no fuss, no fanfare. Just like it always happens when a Tailie dies.

“What do you think they do with them?” Curtis overhears Ned and Peter saying, talking with each other as they nibble off their protein blocks not too far from Rose. “Throw ‘em out?”

“How?” Peter says doubtfully. “S’not exactly an escape hatch in this thing.”

“Course there is,” Ned argues. “Where d’you think your shit goes when you flush the—”

“Hey,” Curtis hisses, glaring at them and tipping his head discreetly in Rose’s direction. “Show a little respect.”

Ned and Peter mumble an apology and move off, and when Curtis looks back to Rose, she’s blinking up at him with red rimmed eyes. “You didn’t have to do that,” she says, her voice deeper than usual as it emanates from a throat scraped raw by grief.

“I did.” Curtis walks over and slides down the wall to sit next to her. “He was a good man, your dad.”

“Thanks,” she says quietly.

Her nose sounds all stuffed up, so Curtis fishes in his pocket for his handkerchief. “Haven’t spoken to you in a hot minute,” he says, handing it over for her to blow her nose.

“Yeah well I hear you’re always planning the next revolution, so …”

Curtis scoffs. “Yeah, maybe.” He looks her over, taking in the worn knit of her sweater, the colorless felt of her coat that’d once been blue and belonged to her mother. So many of the Tailies are worn down to nothing but dull, grey husks now, just like the clothes they’ve recycled for over a decade. But Rose is different.

For whatever reason, her skin is still clear, her hair still thick. The malnutrition hasn’t affected her the way it has most others. Her soul still comes through her eyes. That inner luminance makes her pretty, maybe even the prettiest girl in the tail section. Even though she’s still very young. Probably too young for Curtis to be eyeing her up the way he has been, these past few months.

But she’s about that age now, even though it feels like only yesterday he was scrounging up materials to make her a little doll she could play with. People grow up fast in the tail whether they want to or not, and Curtis has been on high alert for a while now because he’s caught other men looking more than once. He’s even heard some bits of hushed conversation, whispered from nearby bunks where the occupants didn’t realize he was there to listen. Everything is a commodity in the tail. Everything. And there’s no one else who looks like Rose. She’s only made it this far because of her father.

And now her father’s dead.

Curtis realizes he’s been staring a little too long when Rose’s eyes slide over to him in curiosity. He coughs and looks away, shaking his head when she tries to hand him back the handkerchief. “Naw. You hold onto it for me, Hon.” She tucks it shyly away in her coat, and Curtis is pleased. “So …” he hedges, not knowing what to say to her. There’s nothing he can say. All they have in the tail is each other, their people, and she’s just lost hers. “So … you still going by ‘Rosebud’?”

That gets a tiny smile from her, which warms Curtis’ chest in the same way that he can remember whiskey doing, a lifetime ago. “Nobody calls me that anymore,” she says. “Nobody but him. And you.”

“Yeah?” Curtis thinks on it some. “Well maybe you should retire it. It’s a girl’s name anyway.”

“Aren’t I a girl?”

He raises an eyebrow without looking at her. “You still have that doll I made for you?” He hears her scoff and knows the answer. Rosie helps look after the young children in the tail. Curtis has seen that shabby little doll floating around in various tiny hands for years now. “You’re a good person,” he says quietly. “Like your dad. He was good. I’ll miss him." He’s looking straight ahead across the assembly car when he says it, but he still catches her slight movement out of the corner of his eye.

“He didn’t act any different,” she says, voice tiny. “I didn’t know. He didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything that made it seem like he was going to …” She cuts herself off, swallows thickly and shakes her head. “I just didn’t know.”

Curtis holds out his hand in offer for her to hold, and she takes it. Even with the fingerless glove on, her hand still feels tiny in his. “How about Petal?” he suggests.

“Petal?”

“Yeah,” he decides. “Yeah that’s what I’ll call you. Petal. My rose petal.”

“Oh, god.” She groans. “No. Curtis.”

“No?” He turns his head to look at her, and this time he waits until she looks at him too. Her expression sobers as their eyes meet. Curtis reaches to gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s a beautiful word,” he murmurs. “Couldn’t I call you that?” His eyes skip over her face, soaking up the way her breath stutters, how a slow blush starts to fill the apples of her cheeks. “I promise I won’t tell anybody else,” he whispers.

She ducks her chin with a bashful smile. “Well, I guess so.”

In her lap, her other arm curls protectively around the small pile of belongings she’s been holding onto, drawing Curtis’ attention. Her father had been a large man, imposing, and yet the pile is so tiny. A whole entire life, compressed into less than one square foot in the end.

(Curtis does wonder, sometimes, what they do with the bodies.)

“He was one of our best,” he tells her. “Even in the Desperation. I remember how he was, how he volunteered. He was a leader. Brave.” His eyes slide over to the excuse for an artificial limb that's been cobbled together from an umbrella and a few old wire coat hangers, of all things. Now it sits, sad and unused, on the floor next to Rose’s leg. “You know who you’re gonna give it to?”

“What?”

He nods at the limb. “His arm. It’s the best one in the tail.”

“Oh.” She glances away from it, looking pained. “No,” she says. “I figured I’d just give it to you.”

“Me?” Curtis isn’t one of the few who’d volunteered in the Desperation—obviously, as he’s still got all four limbs intact. He wasn’t the same person back then that he is now. Back then he’d been a taker, not a giver. He looks away with a frown. “Give it to Phil,” he suggests. “He needs one, since his broke.”

Rose agrees that the arm should go to Coulson. She carefully sets the pile of clothing aside on the floor and returns to place her hand back in Curtis’ waiting one, this time pulling their joined hands into her lap. They sit there together like that for a long while, not speaking, just existing side by side. Some things have so much more value now than they did Before, including silent company and a comforting hand.

“Do you remember it much?” Curtis eventually says.

“Before?”

“No.” He never talks about Before, since it only breeds despair. “Boarding,” he says. “Do you remember?”

“Of course.”

He winces. “Oh. I didn’t know if you did. You were so young. I thought maybe … maybe you’d forgotten. A lot of the kids did, even some of the older ones.”

“Yeah. MJ was eight and she says she can’t remember at all.”

Curtis nods. “Sometimes it feels like a dream even to me, it was so long ago.” He’d been twenty-two when the world froze and people were reduced to animals all around him. Twelve years couldn’t erase that pain, but it could muddle it a lot. “I’m sorry you didn’t. Block it out.”

“I remember ... shouting,” Rose says, her voice teasing the memory out. “It was dark. And I remember getting shoved around, hiding against my mom's legs, being hungry ... how cold it was.” It’s been cold ever since, but never as cold as that night—the last night before the wind and snow and ice got shut out forever. She heaves a sigh. “It’s all a jumble in my mind, anyway. I couldn’t see past anyone’s coat.”

“You were little,” Curtis mumbles. “Short.”

“Well I was six."

He smirks and bumps her shoulder with his. “You’re still short,” he teases, while privately he thinks that it’s better that she was so young when it happened. It means her earliest memories are of cold and chaos, and that’s better than the alternative of having had more time in the World. It means less things to mourn. “What are you going to do now?” he asks, shaking his head like he can knock the past out of it. "Plans for today?"

Rose shrugs. “Same old, same old. Kids, stories. It’s my night to shower.”

Curtis turns his head towards her, brow furrowed. “You … but you’re not going back to you guys' spot, right?”

"'Course. Where else would I go?"

He doesn’t know what he was expecting, what he thought the alternative was supposed to be. Every square centimeter of the tail section is already portioned and claimed. New space doesn’t just appear. Nothing new ever appears, except babies, bodies, and the rats that Wanda breeds to supplement their diet.

“Rosie,” Curtis scolds. “No. You can’t go back there. Not where he—”

“It’s not a big deal,” she says stubbornly, pretending it doesn’t bother her. But she’s a horrible liar and that’s just another thing that's always made her so endearing ... and so vulnerable.

“Hon,” Curtis mourns,

“It’s just a bunk," she insists. "He slept there, he died there. I’ll probably die there too, one day.”

Curtis growls unhappily. “Don’t say that. Don’t you ever say that. Hey, things won’t always be like this.” He catches her throwing him side eye and he glares at her. “They won’t.”

“Right,” she says, mouth quirking sadly at one corner before her gloved hand gives his a final squeeze and then lets him go. “Well. Not everybody has the big plans that you do, Curtis. Sometimes it's better to know what the future holds, even if it's this.”

“Don’t lose hope, Petal,” he pleads, but he can see that she’s dismissive of it. People lose hope all the time in the Tail. That’s what’d killed her father.

He sighs and looks back to the opposite side of the car. Now that the jackboots are gone it’s thinned out some, with some people gone back to their bunks and others remaining behind to munch on their protein blocks in the fresher air of the assembly car. Curtis spots a man several yards away who’s been openly staring at Rose. When the man sees Curtis looking, however, he hurriedly turns away.

Curtis scowls. “Hey,” he says, intending to take Rose's hand again and offer to have her spend the night with him. But her hand isn't there when he reaches over. She’s getting up, gathering her dead father’s pile of folded clothing items in her arms. Curtis frowns and gets up with her. He hurries to pick up the artificial limb. “Wait. Where’re you going?”

“Gonna give these to Gilliam,” she says, already on the move. “I want him to have first dibs." As if her father’s clothing would even come close to fitting Gilliam's shrunken and weathered old frame.

But Curtis gets up anyway and follows after her, not wanting to let her go just yet. He hurries along as she walks surprisingly fast for having such short legs. “Hey,” he says, talking to her back as they navigate through the communal living cars and the showers, and then into the cramped passageways of the market. “Hey, you know … you could come over tonight, if you wanted. My spot’s a pretty good size.”

“So is ours—” she says, faltering when she realizes her mistake. “I mean, so is mine.”

Curtis sighs and grabs her shoulder, pulling her to a stop. “Don’t go back there,” he pleads, cornering her into a cramped spot to face him. “Hey. I mean it, Hon. Don’t. You shouldn’t go back there tonight. Not alone, not where he …” She squares her jaw and looks up at him, expression stubborn as ever, and Curtis is struck by the sudden, overwhelming urge to kiss her. “It’s too soon,” he insists, because she’d been the one to find The Man sitting up in the bed: straight backed and purple faced and all out of hope, a cord wrapped thrice around his neck. “Too soon,” Curtis repeats sadly.

“I’ll be okay,” she insists, nodding when he makes a face to show how much he doesn’t agree with that. “It’s fine, Curtis. Really. I appreciate the offer. And I get it, I do. But that's our spot, ya know? I’ve lived there for twelve years, and I—” her eyes cut away, glossy with the threat of fresh tears. She swallows thickly and won’t look at him again. “I’m not ready to leave it,” she whispers. “I’d rather stay where it still smells like him.”

Curtis isn’t sure what love feels like, but he thinks maybe it’s partly made up of the horrible feeling he gets in his guts when he sees Rose in pain like this. “... Okay,” he says quietly, taking a small step back so that she can continue on down the passage. The tail is made up of twenty cars, and they’re only several down from the forwardmost car at this point. “Gilliam’s probably at the back,” he tells her. He can see that she wants to be alone in her grief, though he hates the idea of letting her go. “Hey,” he says softly, cupping her face. “I’m right here if you need me, Hon. You know that, right?”

She smiles and nods with watery eyes, worsening the tug in Curtis’ guts. He thinks seriously about leaning in and kissing her, but winds up holding himself back like he’s done so many times already. Instead he just strokes his thumb over her cheek, finger ruddy against the clear skin of her face. “Okay,” he says again. He gently places the artificial limb on top of the stack of clothing she holds, then takes another step back. “I’ll see you at dinner?” he asks, not bothering to hide the hope in his voice. He wants to see her again, as much as possible. The more he can keep her in his sights, the better.

“Yeah,” she agrees, leaning up to plant a quick peck to his cheek. “Thanks, Curtis. For looking out for me. He'd feel better, knowing that."

He watches her go with a sense of trepidation, uttering a quiet, "Not doin' it for him," once she’s halfway down the car.

Masterlist

If you liked what you read and feel so inclined, please consider dropping a tip in the Kofi🍵 cup!

[exquisite-tomarrymort-telephone]

The exquisite tomarrymort telephone will proceed thusly!

All participants who are comfortable going first will be added to a randomiser. Once selected, they will be contacted to check the date range works for them.

Most people have voted for a one-week writing/drawing period, so that's what we'll go with! At the moment, the telephone's start date is set for April 8.

How it goes

Once the first person has been confirmed, the rest of the participants will be randomised and assigned a date range that doesn't conflict with any dates they'll be unavailable. Everyone will be contacted to confirm the date range works for them.

Once all the participants have been confirmed, the timeline will be posted. The first person will be given the secret prompt on the Sunday before the telephone starts at 8 PM ET. Once the first person has completed their prompt fill, please submit it as a Google Doc for ease and to preserve formatting (G Drive link will be shared with participants) and share your summary sentence with me or jenny, Master of the Broken Telephone, by DMing this blog. If you're submitting an image, please include a link to your art in the Google Doc for ease of posting on Ao3.

Please also include your summary sentence at the beginning of your submission. That way we can include them in the final fic when posting.

Edit: Please submit your summary/prompt sentence and/or prompt fill by 11:59 PM ET on the Sunday of your week to the G Drive folder. Prompts will be passed on to the next author/artist ASAP. If you need a couple extra hours to finish your story/art, that's okay -- as long as we get the sentence for the next person by the 11:59 deadline.

The finished product will be posted on Ao3 as one fic, with each submission counting as a chapter. If you have an Ao3 username and would like to be listed as an author/artist when the fic goes up, please also include that in your Google Doc submission.

Submission guidelines

Authors will write a roughly 1,000-word one-shot (more or less is fine) based on the prompt they are given.

Artists will draw a single fanart scene with a small amount of dialogue/up to three scenes with no dialogue (or whatever you would like to draw) based on the prompt given.

You are welcome to decide whether you draw or write in the moment. You can write a bullet-point list instead of prose or doodle some stickmen -- as long as you're having fun!

The main rule is that the prompt/sentence/artwork you pass to the next person cannot use the same words as the prompt/sentence you were given, aside from things like names, articles (the, a, an, etc.), and conjunctions (but, and, or, so, etc.). It can be very similar, but describe it in a different way or from another perspective. If all else fails, bust out the thesaurus and go to town. (Edited and changed on March 28.)

NB: You can write or draw NSFW stuff/smut if you're so inclined, but we ask that the prompt/sentence/section of art you submit for the following person be SFW.

Having trouble?

If at any point your availability changes or you're having difficulties with your part of the telephone, please reach out to jenny or I through this blog! We want this to be fun and low-stress, so let us help you if that's not the experience you're having.

Any questions, comments, thoughts? Drop us a message!

[oftenwantedafton]

Vent - Steve Raglan/William Afton/Springtrap x Female Reader

Chapters 28-30

Rating - Explicit

Warnings - sexual content

Also available on AO3 Chapter 28 | 29 | 30

Chapter 28 ~ petrichor ~

You’re standing in the field near Freddy’s.

The flowers are the wrong color; fading and dying around you. It’s late summer or early autumn. A definite overlap, trapped and stagnating somewhere in between. The soil beneath your feet bears the fragrance of petrichor.

You can’t remember how you got here.

The posts that mark the border of the property have all fallen, finally succumbing to the rage of the elements, to the passage of time. Surrendering, like you have to every one of William Afton’s whims and wishes, the penultimate object of his deepest desire made breath and skin.

This wasn’t how it was. Not quite as you remember. Can you remember?

The parking lot is full of deep grooves, as if some giant beast has raked its nails across the blacktop. You stumble and nearly go down. The destruction is so much worse this time. This time? Are you in the future or present or past?

The front doors of the pizzeria are propped wide open. Inside, it is dark. The emergency lighting from the backup generator casts a dull red glow on the flooring, illuminating a grim path for you to follow.

You feel as if you are being watched as you enter the restaurant. You hear the soft click of the employee door closing. Someone else is here.

You hurry after, working from memory. You know the layout of the place intimately now. You just catch sight of someone—something? tall rounding the corner ahead, heading towards the service room, now illuminated by a lamp on the desk, the power restored.

William turns to face you.

There’s something different in his features. Hair no longer threaded with gray. Clean shaven. No glasses. The image flickers as if it’s a projection and the yellow rabbit faces you. Folds his arms across his chest. Back to William. The same pose. The two overlayed over each other. Tap, tap, tap of one index finger over the creased arm. Fingers forever restless. Talking with them. You’ve seen William and the yellow rabbit both do this gesture before. You don’t know whom it belongs to; who is the borrower and who is the creator.

A young girl overlaid on your own self. She’s you, nine years ago. You both hear the drag of the knife along the desk. She runs. You do not.

William and the yellow rabbit step forward. The image shimmers unsteadily, as if each of them is struggling for dominance. They reach you and stop, resting a hand and steel against your arm.

“It’s okay,” one of them reassures you. “You won’t remember this.” The knife sinks into your stomach.

You gasp and the intake of air sucks you into a different vision. You’re still in the service room but it’s been restored again, like it is in the present, bright and clean and new. You hear something dragging through the vents.

You hesitate, staring into the narrow confines slotted between the steel shelves before you climb inside.

It’s stifling in the passage. The metal bows and warps under your weight combined with whatever is just ahead of you. The rabbit. It must be. It’s difficult going. There’s so much of the ductwork. You’re sweating profusely. It’s difficult to breathe.

You can see a faint light ahead, signaling the end of your journey. You hear something pushing against the vent, just missing a sighting of the figure that eases through. You peer through the opening and recognize the staff bathroom near William’s office. It’s a short drop to the tile flooring.

The yellow rabbit stands before the sink, head tipped to one side, contemplating the image it sees. He reaches for the headpiece of the costume, wrenching it free.

William is inside.

You inhale sharply but he doesn’t seem to hear you. His hair is matted with perspiration, plastered to his forehead, his teeth gritted. He snarls at the reflection.

“You won’t take her away from me. You won’t win,” he growls. He drags the pieces of the mascot suit off bit by bit. First the gloves, then the lower and upper arms and shoulders. The chest piece is the trickiest part, large and cumbersome, heavy, but he manages. The lower portions are much easier to remove.

The man finally extricates himself from the last component and leans heavily against the sink, knuckles blanching with the tension he’s applying. His breath comes in ragged gasps. The back of his long sleeve shirt is soaked with sweat. A thin trail of saliva leaks from his panting mouth and he releases his death grip on the porcelain basin and drags the back of his hand across his lips, his eyes lifting slowly to stare at the reflection in the mirror.

“William…” You reach for him and your hands close on vapor. He’s gone. Your mind is closing again. “Please, no, wait, I need to remember this!”

Your eyes open to darkness. You remember nothing.

Chapter 29 ~ phantom ~

The school year has finally ended.

You savor the taste of that freedom. The place that had imprisoned you in unhappiness for so long is finally behind you.

There’s a car parked behind the restaurant that you don’t recognize. Not new, but not that old either. A compact four door sedan. Arctic white. You look a question at William.

“You like it? It’s yours. Congratulations on graduating.” He tosses you the keys and you manage to catch them.

“You bought me a car? You didn’t have to. I was saving up…”

“You’ve got better things to spend it on. College gets expensive.” The older man closes the distance between you. “I do hope this doesn’t mean you aren’t going to let me chauffeur you around town now and again. I’ve come to really enjoy that…” He grins around the saltwater taffy dissolving on his tongue.

“Of course. I don’t…I don’t know what to say except thank you. For everything.”

“You want to christen it?” His eyes flash and you blush. “It’ll be a tight squeeze but I’m sure we can manage. Or I could just bend you right over the hood.”

You body throbs. “Both.”

The grin widens. “Both it is.”

***

There are good work days and there are bad work days.

Today is one of the bad.

Maybe it’s the increasing heat outdoors, rising temperatures matching rising tempers. Kids now home from school for the summer vacation and bored already, nagging their parents. The air conditioning is on the fritz again, a fickle system that operates when it feels like it.

Today it clearly does not.

Foxy is being particularly fussy today. You’ve been working inside the torso for what feels like hours. You straighten and your spine snaps, the synovial fluid pushing through the vertebrae. The replacement lithium components simply won’t fit. You don’t understand it. They’re an exact match for the previous ones.

You’re interrupted soon after by William hurriedly entering, saying he’s bringing one of the kitchen staff to the hospital for a bad burn. Something about the deep fryer. You can see the young man standing outside the doorway, his arm wrapped in a towel.

“It’ll be faster than waiting for the ambulance to get out here. Just keep an eye on things.” His hurried kiss slides sloppily off the corner of your mouth.

You set down the pliers with a sigh, hoping the teenager would be alright. The pirate animatronic was going to have to be out of commission for awhile longer.

***

Even the longest of days finally ends, bowing to evening.

You’re pressed against the wall of William Afton’s shower, one leg hiked up to rest on the shallow shelf intended for toiletries. The flat of one hand sits on your abdomen as he enters you from behind. The other cups your chin, encircling your face and cradling you against him, his mouth against yours. You taste the shower water and whatever raspberry candy he’d snuck in before entering the stall. You can tell he’s tired. You feel the same way. It’s a quiet, lazy kind of fuck. A slow piston grind until his cock angles just right and the familiar sensation builds inside you. His mouth becomes a little more frantic, his hips snapping a little faster. The hand on your stomach slides down so he can access your clit. Your moans echo differently inside the shower, the wet, hollow space relaying the sounds in a different timbre. There. He’s got you. A hot huff of breath and he’s found his. You feel his smile.

You’re standing in front of the bathroom sink minutes later. The drying process was hasty. Water droplets still slide down your skin. You turn and the older man’s arms come around you, stroking over your damp body. Gentle kisses turn more needy.

“Again?” You laugh against his chest.

“I know I’m a lot older and very tired but there is nothing that will ever keep me from wanting more of you,” he murmurs against your hair.

You plant a kiss on the curve of one pectoral muscle, your mouth wandering. The mark is fading but it’s still there, undeniable beneath his collar bone. You trace it with your tongue.

***

William hisses when your mouth makes contact with the scar. It’s become so sensitive. A phantom ache that echoes on the one you’ve left on his hip. He’s going to need a fresh one soon.

He kisses your hair and his eyes lift to the mirror.

The yellow rabbit is watching him.

He instantly tenses, the fingers caressing you pressing more deeply. The cur has never been so bold as to make an appearance with you beside him. The bars of the cage were loosening.

It’s just because I’m tired. That’s all. I’m still in control.

“William?”

He notices you’ve stop peppering him with kisses, drawing back to look at his features. He can imagine how it must look to you. As if he’s seen a ghost.

And he has, hasn’t he?

The past forever coming back to haunt him.

He pushes back inside of you and thinks of dragging a handful of remnant from a broken body and he’s much more aggressive this time. Almost angry. Defiant. He nips at your throat and pulls your hair and sucks a new bruise along your shoulder.

The rabbit’s image fades into nothingness.

Chapter 30 ~ confession ~

It’s well past the time for viewing Hurricane’s Independence Day fireworks, though you can still hear the occasional hiss and pop from some amateur celebrating on their own.

William’s car is parked in the field adjacent to the pizzeria, the blanket beneath you cushioning your drape across the windshield with your lover beside you. The sky’s display of stars is absolutely brilliant tonight, the temperature more pleasant now that the sun has set.

“This was a nice idea,” you murmur, kissing his cheek. “It’s really beautiful out here. We should set up a projector or something on the side of the building. Do an improv drive in. Either just for us or for the customers. Or both.”

“Did you ever get to go to one?”

“A couple of times when I was really little. It sucks there are none even remotely close to us anymore.”

“It’s a good idea. Smart. Thinking like a business woman already.” He pats your hip, grinning. “Did you mention something about cupcakes earlier?”

“I knew you’d get around to that eventually. Yes, I brought them. I hope they’re still chilled from the walk in.” You’d baked a set of yellow cupcakes and decorated them for July 4th. Blue frosting and cherries and white stars. A domestic gesture. You think you’ll be ready to move in with him soon, once you get settled at college. You’d opted for a local one, something that wouldn’t pull you away from him or Freddy’s. You still want to be here, with him.

You scoot and slide down off the hood and open the rear passenger door, plucking one from the box at random. It wasn’t too warm yet. Good.

You rejoin the older man and he props himself up on his elbows, accepting the bite of the baked dessert you offer and the copious amount of blue frosting stains his mouth, visible under the bright starlit canopy above. He swipes at it and tries to smear it on your own face as you giggle and protest, mock struggling to get away. The blanket rumples beneath the pair of you. Your sneaker squeaks against the now partially uncovered windscreen. The laughter softens as you look at him, your fingers trailing gently over his features. You have never been happier. You think he feels the same. The words you’ve wanted to say finally spill out of you. “I love you.”

His face burrows into your neck. You feel his body shudder. “I love you,” he whispers.

***

You’re seated in the car. You sense William’s hesitation to leave. As if he doesn’t want the moment to end, the spell to break.

Your head lolls on the headrest and you smile. You feel incredible. You’ve finally confessed your feelings and found his were mutual. Everything in your life feels so perfect, so right. The missing piece of the puzzle beside you. It was worth the years of misery and solitude, with this as your reward. You’d endure it all again if you had to, just to have this. “It’s amazing I was afraid of this place once. Now I never want to leave.”

You think you see him frown. “Afraid? Why?”

You shrug. “I can never remember all the details. I dream about it sometimes, but it’s always gone again when I wake up. I just have a sensation that I know I was almost reliving it. I was at a birthday party for one of my classmates. We weren’t friends, of course. A pity invite. That’s all I can really recall.” You pause, humming thoughtfully. “Well, a little more than that. I’d been in that employee restricted area before. And Parts and Service. It looked different back then.” You shrug again, shaking off your musings. “It doesn’t matter. I love being here now. With you.” You reach for his hand and find William’s fingers stiff and unresponsive beneath yours.

“How long ago was this?” The older man’s voice is clipped.

“I don’t know. Like, almost nine years ago. The party was in the summer.” You attempt to lace your fingers through his but find them still rigid, unwelcoming. “William? Are you alright? It wasn’t the cupcake was it?” Your attempt to be playful falls flat. You can hear his breathing, feel his eyes on you, his features bathed in shadows now that you’re shielded from the sky.

“I remember you,” he says quietly.

[taruchisguide]

ACT 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE Instablam Missions

[ACT 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE INSTABLAM MISSIONS]

A simple guide for the Instablam missions with color coded words and names so you can glance at it quickly. Don't be afraid to tell me if something is incorrect!

[NOTES]

"Instablam" has been used over "Inste" to match Taruchi's Guide's preference to use A3! EN terminology.

The Instablam posts have been separated into "Autumn Troupe" and "Mixed Troupe" for the sake of clearer guides only.

All reading missions apply to Act 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE chapters (also known as "episodes") only.

Some episodes may not be available until 8/22 after maintenance and 8/27 16:00~ JST.

All 6 PICARESQUE RETURNS gacha SSRs will be available to pull from 8/23 to 8/30 JST.

Completing ANY practice (not just PICARESQUE RETURNS') with the PICARESQUE RETURNS gacha SSRs will count towards their respective SP post missions.

A PR event will begin 8/22 at 17:00~ JST that will also count PICARESQUE RETURNS SSRs used in completed PR sessions towards their respective SP post missions.

The alt text/text only version of the Summer Troupe missions can only be found on Tumblr due to character limits.

Twitter Version Here

↓↓↓ Text version below!  ↓↓↓

Act 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE Autumn Troupe Instablam Missions

Banri: Read up to Episode 1, Complete Banri Settsu's PICARESQUE RETURNS practice 3 times

Banri SP: Read up to Episode 28, Complete 3 practices/PR sessions using Banri Settsu's PICARESQUE RETURNS gacha SSR

Juza: Read up to Episode 8, Complete Juza Hyodo's PICARESQUE RETURNS practice 3 times

Juza SP: Read up to Episode 14, Complete 3 practices/PR sessions using Juza Hyodo's PICARESQUE RETURNS gacha SSR

Taichi: Read up to Episode 19, Complete Taichi Nanao's PICARESQUE RETURNS practice 3 times

Taichi SP: Read up to Episode 10, Complete 3 practices/PR sessions using Taichi Nanao's PICARESQUE RETURNS gacha SSR

Omi: Read up to Episode 3, Complete Omi Fushimi's PICARESQUE RETURNS practice 3 times

Omi SP: Read up to Episode 32, Complete 3 practices/PR sessions using Omi Fushimi's PICARESQUE RETURNS gacha SSR

Sakyo: Read up to Episode 25, Complete Sakyo Furuichi's PICARESQUE RETURNS practice 3 times

Sakyo SP: Read up to Episode 12, Complete 3 practices/PR sessions using Sakyo Furuichi's PICARESQUE RETURNS gacha SSR

Azami: Read up to Episode 29, Complete Azami Izumida's PICARESQUE RETURNS practice 3 times

Azami SP: Read up to Episode 16, Complete 3 practices/PR sessions using Azami Izumida's PICARESQUE RETURNS gacha SSR

△△△△△△△

Act 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE Mixed Troupe Instablam Missions

Guy: Unlocked 8/18 Itaru: Unlocked 8/19 Kumon: Unlocked 8/23 Tenma: Unlocked 8/24 Tsumugi: Unlocked 8/28 Masumi: Unlocked 8/29

All dates are in JST. All mixed troupe posts can be unlocked past their initial release dates using magic bookmarks.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Lucien Mind Quest: Slow Motion Fireworks translation

do⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

This post contains a detailed spoiler for a date that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

I staggered and stumbled into Lucien's chest, my hands haphazardly pulling his already loose tie, causing his slightly open shirt to spread open completely.

I couldn't help but be captured by the charming bareness in front of me. His muscle tightened and then relaxed following our rhythm.

Like a vague provocative tease.

As if falling into his silent trap, my fingers were drawn to caress his bare skin, feeling the hard, clear lines beneath it.

My fingertips were tinged by the burning heat, and I slowly traced from the hard abdomen to his chest.

Translation under the cut!

(T/N:!! uploaded the full SP MQ on youtube with subtitle because I simply love how the bgm and voice add to the tension)

[Chapter 1]

MC: Hmm… A little more to the left, up a bit…Yes, yes, that's it! Now it's symmetrical!

MC: Lucien, what do you think?

While talking, I pulled Lucien back to the corridor, "appreciating" the New Year's arrangement that we had worked hard on all afternoon with satisfaction.

There are still a few days until New Year's Eve. We plan to keep everything simple and celebrate the New Year at home. So these days, the time after work has been reserved for our tacit project.

I took Lucien's arm and approached him.

MC: Do you think the new look is perfect~?

Lucien: I think it's hard not to be perfect with the Great Producer herself being in charge.

MC: Hmph, sooner or later, I will steal "The Art of Speaking: The Encyclopedia of Praising People" written by the Great Professor Lucien and study it carefully.

Lucien: Then, the next time I say something from my heart, I'll remember to write it down before I say it. So this curious student won't be disappointed.

He smiled with curved eyebrows and a serious tone as if he was simply stating a matter of fact.

MC: I-I can't beat you! Quick, put the stool away and go inside.

While Lucien put the footstool into the storage room, I put the holly into the vase in the entrance and hung a few small red lanterns on the fortune tree.

Just as I was happily taking out my phone to take pictures and record them, an alert popped up on the screen at an untimely moment-

"Unable to Save, Insufficient Storage Available"

MC: ...

Lucien: Looks like another big project will take place tonight.

Lucien: I wonder which unfortunate photos will be deleted by MC this time.

MC: There may also be unlucky app that will turn into dust.

Hearing Lucien's joking words, I couldn't help sticking out my tongue. I dragged him to sit on the sofa and nestled my whole body into his arms.

His familiar warmth gave me a sense of relief, and I couldn't resist nuzzling into the nook of his neck.

Then I skillfully opened the album, emptied the "recently deleted", and slid my finger to enter the thumbnail mode. A colorful mosaic instantly came into view.

I clicked on the last deleted section and went through the photos from that time one by one.

MC: Hahaha, this sticker pack is too funny. How did I save so much?

Lucien: Judging from the saving time at 02:28, this question should be easily answered.

MC: Hehe, Professor Lucien's eyes shouldn't be so sharp~

MC: Check out this barbecue… Is it the one near the institute?

Lucien: I think so. And if I remember correctly, we wanted to eat hot pot on that day, but we accidentally walked into this barbecue restaurant and got a delicious surprise.

MC: So, should we go and relive this delicacy tomorrow after work?

We had a little chat. Lucien raised his hand to stroke my bangs and suddenly changed the subject.

Lucien: Actually, I found something interesting.

MC: Hmm?

Lucien: Each time you clear your phone's memory, you seem to enjoy the process of flipping through your albums more than cleaning it.

MC: ...Yes, that's true. Perhaps "recalling" is the most important thing for me when it comes to organizing albums.

MC: You can save your photos in the cloud to solve the trouble of deleting them whenever you don't have enough memory.

MC: But I'd rather have the hassle and see these memories whenever I click on the album.

MC: After all, since I don't have a super brain like Professor Lucien, I can only use some stupid methods~

As I was talking, my fingertips passed over a beautiful landscape photo. I thought about it for a second and then prepared to press delete.

Lucien: Hold on a second.

I looked at Lucien with some confusion.

Lucien: I remember that this photo is lucky enough to have "survived" last week's session.

Lucien: At that time, the Great Producer said that the composition and light of this landscape were worth studying, so she wanted to keep it as a template for us to follow in our travels.

MC: It seems to be the case…

MC: But surprisingly, I could still feel the same feeling it used to give me when I saw it last week... Is it the visual impact?

MC: But today, I don't seem to feel it at all. It's just a simple and beautiful landscape picture.

Lucien: Is that so?

Lucien paused and faintly lowered his eyes.

Lucien: I think it may be because human emotions are very sensitive.

Lucien: It brings you pleasure for a fixed moment, and the emotion associated with it only stays in that moment.

Lucien: So when it is not "stimulating" enough for you to respond in the present, the brain receives a signal that allows you to conclude that it is "not important".

MC: It sounds like a somewhat cruel process...

MC: But both the phone memory and the brain are limited. I just want my limited memory to record what I want to remember.

Lucien softly laughed, his eyes twinkling as he looked at me.

Lucien: It seems that things that are not "exciting" enough can't have a place to MC.

Lucien: Even if they only existed for a short time, it is difficult to escape the possibility of being forgotten or abandoned.

Seeing that he was talking about it in a serious way, I couldn't refrain from reaching out and hooking my arm around his neck, slightly narrowing the distance between us.

MC: Isn't it because Professor Lucien is by my side?

MC: I wouldn't worry about losing the "excitement" in my life. Because I have someone who can always keep my life fresh.

Lucien: Then, in order to live up to this expectation...

He lowered his head and dropped a gentle, light kiss on my lips as he said that.

Lucien: (whisper) I have to work harder than I imagined.

[Interlude- Lucien's Exclusive Radio: On a Whim]

Pete: Professor, the results of today's experiment are expected to be available tomorrow afternoon.

Pete: Do I need to call you after the results are out?

Lucien: No need. I won't be in Loveland City tomorrow.

Pete: Are you going on a business trip tomorrow?

Lucien: Pete, do I seem like a workaholic to you?

Pete: …You misunderstood, Professor. I had just never heard about your vacation before.

Pete: Then I will compile the experiment's results into a report and send it to your email address.

Lucien: Thanks for the hard work.

Pete: Professor, since I am curious, I would like to ask you a question… Are you going to travel on vacation?

Lucien: Well, not really. Just an unplanned decision to sail on a cruise.

Pete: So sudden? Oh, I see, it must be the idea of your family member.

Lucien: It is my idea.

Lucien: With New Year's Eve just a few days away, it's the perfect time to take a short cruise.

Pete: I see~ So, Professor, which route are you going to choose? It's almost New Year's Eve. I want to take my family out to have fun too.

Lucien: It's still undecided.

Lucien: Because I was just about to book a ticket.

Pete: Oh, oh! I will not bother you.

(Lucien calling someone)

Customer Service: Hello, this is the special line for the cruise ticket purchase. How can I help you?

Lucien: Hello, I saw on the internet that tomorrow there is a trip to the neighboring sea. Are there any tickets left?

Customer Service: Please wait for a moment.

Customer Service: Are you talking about the two-day, two-night trip that leaves tomorrow in the early evening?

Lucien: Yes.

Customer Service: Yes, there are some. What should I call you?

Lucien: Doctor X.

Customer Service: Doctor X, let me confirm with you that we have a special feature on our cruise-

Customer Service: In order to provide a more pure enjoyable experience, the signal is completely blocked once the ship is sailing.

Customer Service: WiFi service is still provided, but it is an additional purchase. Is this acceptable to you?

Lucien: Of course, I chose this cruise because of this feature.

Customer Service: Okay, how many tickets do you need?

Lucien: Two.

Customer Service: Do you share a room?

Lucien: Book me two rooms that are next to each other.

Lucien: If possible, please try to arrange a quiet floor for us.

Customer Service: Okay. I will send the ticket information to your phone later.

Lucien: Just send me my ticket information.

Lucien: The other ticket information can be sent directly to this lady. I will read out her number.

[Chapter 2]

The receding scenery outside the car window passed me by, and I was still in a trance when I looked at the cruise ticket information on my phone screen.

MC: ...Lucien.

MC: Are you sure we're not going shopping for New Year's Eve but going to the pier for a cruise?

Lucien: I think I already answered this question when you received your ticket information.

Lucien's voice came from the end of the receiver.

Lucien: It's not a scam, nor is it a prank.

Lucien: We indeed have a two-day, two-night cruise waiting for us.

MC: But you didn't mention this trip at all until now, and… Why don't we go together?

Lucien: If I were to say that I was trying to copy a certain Miss Kidnapper, would you accept that as a reason?

(a reference to Devotion Date :")

His soft voice is wrapped in a smile, and when I listen closely, I can hear the sound of the waves lapping against the rocks.

MC: Then I now seriously suspect that this "kidnapping" was premeditated!

Lucien: You wronged me. It's really just a "whim".

MC: Are you going to say, "No matter how rigorous a scientist is, there are times when he doesn't plan"?

Lucien: (chuckle) Here's the thing. Just allow this guy to get hotheaded and self-indulgent for once.

Lucien chuckled very shallowly, which led me to raise my eyebrows. He slowly opened his mouth as if guessing what else I wanted to say.

Lucien: I chose this cruise because it will return to Loveland City before New Year's Eve.

Lucien: I don’t think it’ll affect our planned New Year’s Eve dinner.

Lucien: So, for the rest of the trip, Miss MC just needs to enjoy this unexpected trip. I'll see you on the cruise.

After successfully checking in, the staff led me to my room.

The warm sunlight poured in from the terrace, and the sea breeze carrying the water vapor gave a light gold coating to the scenery in front of us.

The large room is neat and bright, but there is no trace of luggage, let alone a person.

Strange, where is Lucien? He should have boarded the ship before me.

MC: Excuse me, is there another gentleman in this room who hasn't checked in yet?

Staff: The only guest information shown here is that of Miss MC.

MC: ...?

I was stunned for a moment. After thinking about it, I took out my mobile phone but found that there was no signal. I hurriedly walked outside with my mobile phone in hand, but the signal was only restored to one bar.

Staff: Miss MC, I'd like to introduce you again. Our cruise's special feature is blocking the signal after we go to sea.

Staff: The goal is to provide cruise guests with the ultimate experience and to enjoy a cruise that is not dominated by the information age but rather to focus on themselves.

Staff: If you have special circumstances, you can contact the service desk for a WiFi purchase.

MC: …Okay, thank you.

After sending off the enthusiastic staff, I couldn't help but sigh. How do I get in touch with Lucien?

I circled the room. Perhaps because of my sixth sense, I vaguely feel that I can find something

Finally, I found a crumpled post-it note on the floor of the entrance door, which appeared to have slipped through the door.

I leaned down to pick it up and saw familiar handwriting.

MC: "Looking forward to meeting you by chance."

For a moment, I felt as if I could see the expression on his face as he wrote this line.

The corners of his lips are drawn up, and he probably curved his eyes.

Although I couldn't guess what this Great Professor was thinking, I couldn't let him down if he was waiting for me to find him.

Without hesitation, I picked up the cruise brochure on the table and left the room.

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

20 minutes later.

The red sunset has been swallowed by the ocean, and the sea breeze is gently blowing, but it does not dispel the anxiety in my heart.

I looked in almost every place I thought Lucien would go, from the library to the screening room and coffee shop, but I still couldn't find him.

MC: Where on earth did this guy run off to….

I pursed my lips and wondered if I was going in the wrong direction.

If Lucien is not where he might be, then maybe he's where I don't think he'll be?

With this in mind, I went to the nearest bar to try my luck.

As my vision becomes dim, the sound of loud music rushes into my ears. The air is filled with the scent of alcohol, and the ambiguous atmosphere corrupts the senses.

Within the mottled light and shadow, the whole world seems to be tinted with a hazy sense of unreality.

I saw the figure my heart longed for almost at a glance.

Lucien wore slim-fitting strappy pants, and his collar was wide open. He combed up almost all of his bangs. The light refracted beneath his eyes, making those eyes appear even brighter.

He slightly narrowed his eyes at the countless expectant eyes and raised his hand to throw the dart in his hand.

In the next second, the dart landed squarely in the bullseye.

Crowd: Whoa-

Bartender: Congratulations to the gentleman who scored another 50 points and succeeded in securing the victory!

Lucien: Thanks, I appreciate it. It's just good luck.

Amidst the cheers surrounded by the crowd, Lucien nodded in appreciation. The smile on his face was always mild.

I seemed to be completely nailed to the spot, unable to take my eyes off the person in front of me.

He moved in a way that I am familiar with, yet it was as though everything was different.

For a moment, I couldn't even tell what the cause of this restlessness was.

Lucien cast his gaze over and bumped into me.

My heart inexplicably beat a bit faster. I was about to walk towards him, but Lucien naturally averted his eyes and turned his head to joke with the people beside him.

MC: Eh?

Didn't he see me? I vaguely felt that this person must have done it on purpose, so I pretended to walk back and forth naturally in his peripheral vision, secretly observing.

But Lucien remained calm as if he didn't care about my existence at all.

It was as if I was isolated in a small world, separated from all the noise around me, filled with only one person in my heart and eyes.

Bartender: Anyone else wants to challenge our Mr. Challenger?

MC: I... I want to challenge him!

I didn't expect my voice to be so loud that the atmosphere seemed to be silent for half a second.

When I came to my senses, all eyes fell on me, along with the person I had been looking at.

[Interlude- Lucien's Memory Silhouette: Special Game]

People are coming and going in the corridor of the cruise ship, and the tourists are confirming their room numbers one by one.

Lucien stood in front of the door of one of the rooms, bent down a little, and slipped a sticky note through the door's crack.

The passing tourists just looked at him and smiled politely when they saw his elegant manner without asking further questions.

Lucien stood up, lifted his hand to confirm the time, then turned around and left the corridor.

He wanted to play a little word game with her to kick off the cruise trip with some special "excitement".

As smart as she is, she will not fail to discover this little hidden secret.

But he still hoped she would find the clues he left behind as soon as possible and then find him.

Lucien aimlessly came to the front of the deck, watching people enter one after another from the boarding gate, and his gaze unconsciously lingered for a while longer.

He has to admit that he was looking forward to her familiar figure.

But now is not the right time.

There is still a lot to do before they "reunite".

Lucien looked away, walked to the cruise ship's bar, and ordered a non-alcoholic mojito from the bar.

This was probably the last place she would have thought of, at least not so early.

But it's enough to show that meeting here will bring them something different.

Waiter: Your Mojito.

Lucien: Thank you.

Lucien lowered his head and took a sip, the refreshing and stimulating taste smeared between his lips and teeth. He couldn't wait to recommend this drink to the girl.

With that in mind, he turned on his phone and habitually tried to check if a call had come in, but the space in the upper right corner reminded him that there was no signal there.

So he scrolled the screen twice and unconsciously opened his photo album.

The photos on the screen were so well organized that he couldn't resist recalling the thumbnails of her albums.

Not only are the colors rich, but sometimes there are even several remarkably similar photos in a row.

When compared to her photo album, his own album seems to be quite monotonous.

But all of them are related to her.

It is like when you plant a flower, you record it from when it is still a seed until the moment it blooms.

Lucien recalled the girl's slightly distressed expression due to the lack of memory on her phone and unconsciously smiled softly.

He always planned and arranged everything, so he never encountered the problem she was struggling with.

But her look as if she is facing the world's problems is very cute, which makes him feel much happier when he thinks about it these days.

In this happy mood, Lucien quickly finished drinking the mojito in his hand.

The bar gradually becomes more and more lively, with people's desire for the festival and the wonder of exploring the cruise ship showing in their expression.

What will her expression look like when she sees him here?

Will her eyes widen slightly, or will she purse her lips in puzzlement?

Lucien again admitted that he had added a few more expectations for her appearance.

To be precise, he was looking forward to seeing her with each passing second.

He glanced down at the time again. It would take some time to get from home to the pier. She should still be on her way.

Even he who had been able to spend several years waiting for an experimental result peacefully, now began to feel a little impatient because of this expectation.

He even opened 3 match game by accident, and after absent-mindedly playing a few levels, he suddenly heard a round of applause from behind him.

Lucien followed the sound and found a group of tourists playing darts, seemingly playing in some kind of competition.

He observed for a moment as if realizing something and looked in the direction of the bar entrance.

From the entrance, the darts game is right in the middle of the bar, the most visible part of the entire bar.

Lucien slowly stood up and walked towards the lively crowd.

He wanted her to see him at a glance.

[Chapter 3]

The crowd tacitly dispersed to two sides, and suddenly a narrow road leading to Lucien was spread out in front of me.

I belatedly took a deep breath and walked towards him. Faced with my probing eyes, Lucien calmly looked back.

Lucien: I accept this lady's challenge.

.....Still pretending not to know me? All right, then I will play along with you.

I suppressed the complex emotions in my heart, turned my gaze to the bartender, cleared my throat, and slightly lifted my chin.

MC: What are the rules of the challenge? Or…

I deliberately stretched out the end of my sentence and turned my gaze to Lucien, putting on a polite smile.

MC: Are the rules set by this Mr. Challenger?

Lucien leisurely looked at me and raised his eyebrows as if he didn't expect me to say that.

Lucien: Is it true that no matter what my rules are, this lady will definitely obey them?

MC: Absolutely. Since I'm challenging you, of course I will respect your requirements.

Lucien: [chuckle] Okay.

He didn't hesitate to speak and even curved his lips in a good mood. I suddenly felt diffident and quickly spoke up before he could propose any unreasonable rules

MC: …But I have one small request.

MC: Actually, I was a little nervous because Mr. Challenger seemed to be very good at this kind of game.

MC: I'm also sincere about the challenge, so please don't make it difficult for me. I hope your rules are simple and easy to understand.

Lucien: I've always admired girls with a lot of courage, so naturally, I won't intentionally make things difficult.

Humph, you better be.

He ignored my stabbing glare and pretended to think seriously for a moment.

Lucien: My rules are simple.

Lucien: You have three chances to throw. If the cumulative points of those three chances are more than 50, you will win the challenge.

Lucien: What do you think, brave lady?

His words stirred up a lot of discussion among the crowd, as if everyone didn't expect Lucien's rules to be so simple, and there was even some suspicion that he was throwing the game.

MC: Since Mr. Challenger is so "generous", I can't disappoint this kindness.

Looking at the taunting look at the corner of Lucien's mouth, I gritted my teeth and picked up a dart, carefully gauging the angle. I can't let him underestimate me!

But the result of "careful calculation" is that one miss, one 25 points.

MC: ...

A thin layer of sweat seeped out of my palms as I looked at the dartboard in front of me. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.

I still have a chance, as long as I get double points on the last try…

Lucien: [chuckle]...

The familiar soft laugh came to my ears and instantly disturbed my thoughts. I looked at the perpetrator with some annoyance. He was facing the bar and slightly raised his fingertips.

Lucien: One non-alcoholic mojito please.

Lucien: For the lady.

After he finished speaking, he looked at me with a meaningful smile on the corner of his mouth.

Lucien: I think you might need a little more time. While I don't mind waiting, the outcome of this challenge now seems to have attracted too much attention.

Lucien: Maybe it's time to let the curtain fall.

Following Lucien's gaze, I realized that twice as many people had surrounded the surrounding area as earlier.

My cheeks felt a little hot, I lowered my head and rubbed the dart repeatedly, but I was still not ready to throw it.

At that moment, a brightly colored drink slowly appeared in my view. I raised my eyes, and my gaze collided with Lucien's.

Lucien: But if this lady would like to be friends with me...

Lucien: I'll voluntarily admit defeat in this challenge.

His low and deep voice was tainted with an inexplicable flirtation, and my heart suddenly missed half a beat.

The light cast an obscure shadow on Lucien's face, adding a bit of unpredictable danger to those smiling eyes.

He looked like he was expecting an answer or simply admiring the object's reaction in his hand.

I reached out and gently placed my fingers on the bottom of the glass to push it towards Lucien, my fingertips inadvertently brushing against his fingers.

In this challenge that I knew I didn't have much chance of winning, I chose to outsmart him.

MC: Thank you sir, for your kindness, but I still want to try again.

MC: Why don't you teach me by hand? Is that okay?

Lucien's eyes moved slightly as if he were a little surprised. Amidst the booing, he quietly walked behind me and slightly bowed his body.

My back instantly felt warm, and his breath fluttered against my ear, tickling it.

Lucien: Then I'd like to ask for your cooperation.

As he said that, he gently took my hand and led me to bend my arm as he did.

His broad palm wrapped tightly around the back of my hand, and his fingertips suddenly tickled my palm twice in a restless manner.

MC: (blush) You...

Lucien: Don't be distracted. Focus.

His righteous tone was as if he was not the one who did the little action.

Before I could react, he held my wrist with a slight force-

In a smooth parabola, the dart hit the one he had left on the target earlier, firmly striking into the bullseye.

My eyes widened in surprise, and I instantly thought of a perverse idea.

MC: This should be considered as my third chance.

MC: Does that mean I've won the challenge, Mr. Challenger?

I slightly distanced myself from him and winked slyly at Lucien. He sighed in feigned regret and extended his hand toward me in a friendly manner.

Lucien: Mm, you won.

Lucien: It's a pleasure to meet you, this brave, beautiful and clever lady.

Lucien: Now, can we sit down and have a drink?

MC: Of course we can. It would be my pleasure.

I cocked my head pretentiously, gently shook his finger, and withdrew my hand. I looked down and took a sip of my mojito.

The refreshing taste washed away the warmth that had been in my chest since earlier, making my whole body much more comfortable.

The misty light passing through the wine glasses cast colorful light spots on the wall. As the light dimmed, the joyful music changed into a lingering dance song.

(Cue his 5th birthday bgm 🥺)

Scattered people walk onto the dance floor, hugging and clinging to sway along to the melody.

I raised my head and found Lucien's eyes waiting for a long time.

MC: As a thank you for the mojito, may I ask you to dance, sir?

Lucien: It was my negligence to let the lady ask first. I don't think I have any reason to refuse you.

In the lazy melody, Lucien stepped on the beat and took a small step to the left, elegantly extending his hand as if in invitation.

But the moment I approached him, an irresistible force wrapped around my waist and guided me to spin around.

My mind went blank for a moment, and I instinctively clung to Lucien's shoulders, trying to clutch the only fulcrum among the imbalance.

MC: …Y-you, wait a minute!

He didn't give me time to catch my breath. His broad palm slowly moved up to my back, causing a tingling feeling, and then powerfully swept me into his arms.

The scorching breath swept over the tip of my nose, and there seemed to be some kind of emotion swirling in those deep eyes.

Lucien: (whisper) What if I say I don't want to wait anymore?

Lucien: (chuckle, then continuing his whisper) We have wasted some time, so we should hurry now.

MC: You… You are simply unreasonable! You're the one who left a message with no clue, so I had to spend a long time looking for you.

MC: It's hard to find you, but then you pretend to be a stranger, playing some kind of chance encounter game with me…

Looking at my feigned angry pout, Lucien raised his eyebrows with interest and took advantage of the change in the melodic beat to tug my wrist and embrace me from behind.

Lucien: But you played along very well, didn't you? I think you're having fun with it.

MC: And that's not because of you!

Lucien: Oh? What's wrong with me?

His earnest voice is wrapped in bright and bold confidence, so I can't resist lightly pinching the palm of his hand, breaking away from this somewhat flirtatious embrace.

Lucien smoothly hooked my little finger, and with a little force, he made me mess up my steps to go toward him again.

Lucien: Not going to answer?

He looked at me persistently, his deep eyes like a pool of water that would engulf me at any moment.

The strange emotion in my heart stirred and clamored quietly, making me raise my head unconsciously and look straight into his eyes.

MC: Do you want a straightforward answer or a tactful one?

Lucien: (chuckle) I want both.

MC: Aren't you being too cheeky?

Lucien: Mm, I'll admit that.

I couldn't stop my smile, and by some mysterious chance, I put my arms around his neck and let him lead me through the melody.

MC: Now that you are like this, you look like the Lucien I am familiar with.

Lucien: What kind of Lucien are you familiar with?

MC: He's just like you now, righteously rogue, openly wicked, a complete big bad villain.

Lucien: He sounds so bad.

I nod my head in agreement.

MC: But I like this kind of him very much.

The melodic rhythm suddenly became more passionate, and the intense tempo drowned out my pounding heart.

Lucien's eyes flickered. His dance steps suddenly accelerated, making me subconsciously catch up and tighten my arms around him,

Lucien: Do you only like this kind of him?

MC: Of course not… cough.

MC: You, why do you have so many questions! I have a bunch of questions that I haven't even asked yet.

I changed the subject awkwardly, secretly annoyed at my disobedient mouth. Fortunately, Lucien didn't chase the question. He raised his eyebrows, showing a look of listening attentively.

Only then did I realize that the distance between us had unknowingly become too close. I could clearly see his eyelashes fluttering as he breathed.

I don't know if it's because he slicked back his bangs, but today his subtle expressions seem to have become more vivid, or even more…

Alluring.

Lucien: Is your question in my face?

MC: …That is true as well.

MC: After all, I've hardly ever seen Professor Lucien put on hair wax. I don't know how good you are at bar games and…

MC: ..how good you are at dancing.

I said as I slipped my fingers through his straps, sliding them slowly down his collarbone to his chest, and with a wicked hook, I used the force to move away.

The music ends at this moment.

Lucien didn't let go of my hand; instead, he gently lifted my hand and bent down. A gentle kiss fell on the back of my hand, tickling the edge of my heart.

Lucien: When it comes to the first meeting, it is necessary to create a deep impression.

Lucien: It seems that my purpose has been achieved.

Lucien: I hope you'll have good dreams tonight. Beautiful lady, I'll see you tomorrow.

[Chapter 4]

I didn't sleep well all night.

I don't know how many times I rolled over, the thin sunlight squeezed through the cracks in the curtains, and it was finally dawn.

Last night, Lucien turned around and left after saying a few words without glancing back at me.

I returned to my room in a daze, and after a series of emotional struggles, I decided to wait and see what would happen.

But I didn't expect that the person who disturbed my thoughts all night would be staying in the room next to mine.

Perhaps while I was up all night thinking about him, he continued to plan things beyond my imagination wickedly.

And, of course it is also possible that he waited leisurely and calmly for my various reactions to appear.

I gritted my teeth and turned my gaze to the terrace next door.

Is he still up at this hour?

...Damn it, don't think about it anymore! I quickly shook my head, hoping my brain would recover, at least for a short time to enjoy the moment of relaxation.

??: Good morning, Miss Next Door. Did you sleep well last night?

MC: ....

A familiar voice sounded behind me, tinged with a lazy chuckle.

For a moment, I wondered if Lucien had some kind of superpower to listen to my inner voice.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to be quiet for ten seconds before turning back, and changed to an unperturbed expression the moment I turned around.

The light swayed on his body and slipped into his eyes, creating gentle ripples.

Like yesterday, he slicked back his bangs, making the eyes looking at me look even more bewitching.

My heart beat faster than it should. I blinked at him and looked around in mock confusion.

MC: Are you talking to me?

MC: Sorry, I don't think I know you.

Lucien: Really?

Lucien: We had a dance last night. It breaks my heart if the lady forgets it so soon.

MC: Really?

I imitated his voice and pretended to look up and down at him.

MC: Oh~ I have a little impression.

MC: I'm sorry, I have a poor memory. The lights were too dim last night, and the dance was too short, so it's hard to remember.

He nodded thoughtfully and then changed the conversation.

Lucien: The lady seems to travel alone?

MC: …Yes, just, alone.

Hearing the undisguised teasing in his words, I maliciously popped out a few words, showing a flattering smile.

MC: You also seem to be alone too, sir. You are interesting, traveling on a cruise by yourself~

Lucien: Maybe it's because I want to meet someone who coincides with me.

MC: And, have you met them?

Lucien: Mm. But she didn't seem impressed with me.

Lucien: I'm also a little hesitant now. Not sure if I should take the initiative again….

MC: Of course, you should!

I subconsciously blurted out. Lucien's lips raised an inch of smile.

Lucien: What if she refuses?

MC: ...You should try it first.

Lucien: Then...

Lucien: Would you like to give me the opportunity to deepen your impression of me, the lady with poor memory?

His voice was soft as if it was melting with all the sunlight of a warm winter.

Looking at the neatly folded bathrobe on the sofa, I felt my ears getting a little hot.

Staff: Doctor X, your reservation for the ice sauna room is at 3:30 pm. You can change your clothes in the lounge and sit for a while.

Doctor.X? I looked at Lucien questioningly but found him nodding a little.

Perhaps feeling my persistent puzzled gaze, Lucien solemnly stretched out his hand towards me.

Lucien: I was in too much of a hurry last night and didn't have time to introduce myself.

Lucien: What's your name, Miss?

MC: ....

MC: Producer.MC.

As if he didn't expect me to say that, Lucien was stunned for a moment and then couldn't help laughing.

He lowered his head and came close to me, his overflowing breath brushing against my ear.

Lucien: (chuckle then whisper) The Great Producer can always do something beyond my imagination.

Lucien: (whisper) It's surprising, delightful… and joyful.

Without waiting for my reply, he turned around and naturally took off his coat as if he was planning to change.

It's as if the whisper was just a secret no one knew about.

Seeing that I didn't move, Lucien turned his head back, but his hands kept moving.

Lucien: Aren't you going to change?

He spoke in a sincere and honest tone, which in turn gave me nowhere to hide my secret little thoughts.

I sheepishly turned my attention to the inner ice sauna room, just a curtain away, where the staff was preparing for the sauna.

MC: I was thinking that…

MC: We just met last night, and now you are asking me to "lay ourselves bare"*. Isn't it seem to be a bad idea?

(T/N: 坦诚相见 is an idiom that means that two people treat each other sincerely and tell each other what they think without reservation.)

I deliberately spoke measuredly, secretly observing Lucien's expression, trying to get back in this "role-playing" game.

Lucien squinted his eyes and raised a smile.

Lucien: So, things seem to be moving a little fast.

Lucien: How about we make up for the steps we skipped?

MC: What do you mean?

Lucien did not answer. Under the dense light, his fingertips slowly slid down to the front of his waist, seemingly rubbing a circle.

Lucien: Can you help me?

Lucien: I can't seem to do it alone.

He said it sincerely, and his tone had a hint of grievance. It seems to be a request, but it is irresistible.

As if compelled, I instinctively walked towards him.

MC: What do you need me to do?

Lucien: Give me your hand.

Instead of turning around, he took my hand and made me approach him from behind.

My view was blocked entirely, and I could only feel my fingertips being moved past the scorching heat and to the side.

Lucien's movements were unusually slow as if tracing. Our hands finally ended up on his strap, and he let go of my hand.

Lucien: Help me unbuckle this. It's hard to do it myself.

Compared to the soft and silky shirt, the slightly stiffer texture allowed my fingertips to find their place instantly, but this is not where the buckle is.

MC: I can't see you this way…

Lucien: This buckle is special. It is more convenient to unbuckle from the back.

He spoke with a great conviction that I had no choice but to close my eyes and grope down for the strap buckle.

I held the strap and slipped my fingers between it and his shirt.

His body heat is quietly burning through the shirt. I moved down, and my fingertips trembled when they touched the cold metal.

Lucien: (whisper) You've found the right location.

His voice was a little low, drifting in my ears, and seemed to burrow into my heart from the other side of my chest.

I fumbled with the buckle's position and moved it down vigorously the way I used to unbuckle the strap.

But the buckle seemed stuck, and I couldn't release the strap from the buckle even after going up and down for a while.

Lucien: (chuckle) ....

MC: I...can't seem to find the right place.

MC: Help me out… Wait, no. You're the one who wants me to help you from behind...

As I said that, I felt a little irritated and wanted to let it go, but in the next moment, I was firmly restrained in place.

Lucien: It is very elastic. You have to hold it tightly, don't let go easily.

Lucien: Last night, I was hurt for a long time because of a certain "unintentional act" by Miss MC.

MC: …What kind of nonsense are you talking about!

I want to reach out and cover Lucien's mouth, but I don't dare to let go of my grip on the strap buckle.

At a loss, I had no choice but to use my eyes to hint him that there were other people in the room.

But Lucien obviously ignored me, or rather, he did it on purpose.

Lucien: (whisper) Don't you remember what you did to me last night? Are you so irresponsible?

MC: ...!

I subconsciously pinched his waist, causing the person in front of me to utter a muffled grunt.

As if he was finally done playing, he tugged my fingertips and moved them up and down a bit.

"Click"

Lucien: It seems that I get caught in my own trap.

He let go of my burning hand and turned his face sideways to cast a somewhat deep glance at me, and with his other hand, he pulled down the other strap that had not been unbuckled.

Lucien: I'll take care of the rest myself.

MC: Hmph, you'll have to do it yourself this time.

I was a little dismayed by his mischief. So I stood on my tiptoes and tugged the strap down, intending to buckle it back up.

MC: Didn't you say that you can't do it alone?

MC: I'll buckle it back for you, and you can unbuckle it yourself.

Lucien turned around and grabbed my wrist, my center of gravity was unsteady, and I crashed straight into his arms.

In the next second, an unexpected kiss landed.

The tip of his tongue gently and overbearingly pried open my lips, and his hot breath fluttered on my face.

MC: Lu...

He completely swallowed my whispered words, and his breath was overwhelming.

Instinctively, I closed my eyes and felt his grip on my chin, forcing me to tilt my head up and completely surrender myself to him.

Our hot breaths rose and fell, and my brain became dizzy from the rising heat. I tightened my arms around him, responding to his eager demand.

Until a rustling sound came from the room separated by a curtain.

[Interlude- Memory Silhouette: Terrace Trap]

The lights in the bar gradually became darker, and the music confused my thoughts. I stood blankly by the bar counter, somewhat at a loss.

Lucien left the bar after kissing my hand, leaving me with a racing heart and chaotic thoughts.

Bartender: Miss, do you want to order?

MC: No, thank you.

No matter how lively the bar atmosphere is, without Lucien's presence, there is only dull noise left for me.

I walked out of the bar, through the ornate lobby, the crowded deck, and the long hallway, and returned to my room in one breath.

After closing the door, I realized that I was looking around intentionally or unintentionally all the way just now, looking for that familiar figure. My heart was inexplicably a little blocked.

This Lucien… Why didn't he come to see me?

I took out my phone and confirmed the signal. After thinking for a moment, I went to the bedside and picked up the phone in my room. I wanted to ask the reception desk about buying the WiFi.

But as soon as I put my fingertips on the button, I couldn't help but see those sly and determined eyes in front of me.

MC: ....

I rubbed my face with slight annoyance and put the phone down.

Well, then let's see what you really want to do.

I forced myself to stop dwelling on it and simply changed into a comfortable set of loungewear, pulled open the terrace door, and went outside the room to the terrace.

The sea at night is like wrinkled blue silk, spreading deeply in front of me.

The room I was in seemed to be quiet, with only the sea breeze blowing away some of the mixed emotions in my mind.

It wasn't until I took two steps forward that I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure on the terrace next door.

MC: Lucien?

Lucien: Good evening, Miss Next Door.

Lucien: I didn't expect to see you again so soon.

The man who greeted me was sitting calmly on a cushioned chair on the terrace, holding a foreign-language novel in his hands.

A bathrobe casually wrapped around his slim body, his hair falling in front of his forehead, swaying slightly with the sea breeze.

So much for a leisurely and relaxing vacation time!

When I thought I was distracted by this "culprit" five minutes ago, I felt a hot current rising in my chest.

I wish I could take a big stride and bite him right now, then ask him exactly what he wants to do.

But to deal with such "cunning" people, I must use a more clever way.

For example, treat others the same way they treat you.

Since you want to indulge in this encounter game, I will accompany you to the end!

So I grunted softly, resisted the urge to peek at him, forced myself to look out to sea, and then turned back to my room without a second glance.

Lucien couldn't help smiling when he saw the girl leave the terrace and pull the curtains.

He did show up here on purpose.

In the most direct and somewhat mischievous way, he told her he was in the closest place.

And from a selfish point of view, he also wanted to see her one more time. So he made a little bet with himself that she would show up.

It's like finding an outlet for his own anxious mood.

But looking at her back as she left in a huff, that strange feeling returned again.

Lucien put away the novel he hadn't read and stood up.

It turns out that a flower takes such a long time to bloom.

[Chapter 5]

My brain instantly regained its discarded sanity. I snapped open my eyes and saw the unhurried smile in the corner of Lucien's eyes.

He pressed his palm on the back of my head with a slight force, and his fingertips dug into my hair, cutting off my room to retreat.

Steady footsteps sounded in the inner room, and I quickly blinked at Lucien, but he remained indifferent.

He even pressed me step by step against the wall and closed my eyes, not giving me a chance to breathe.

MC: ...Uh!

My lips and tongue were repeatedly nibbled on, causing a slight twinge of pain, and soon only a tingling sensation remained.

Staff: The room is ready. Now we will give you a brief instructions on how to use the ice sauna room.

Staff: Before entering the room, please…

The sudden unfamiliar voice made me tremble subconsciously but was quickly eliminated by the scorching heat surrounding me.

Behind the thin curtain, I could see the vague silhouette of a person, and I felt as if my heart was about to pop out.

My hands were clutching Lucien's shirt and the unbuckled straps. My ears were buzzing, and I couldn't hear what the other side was saying.

Lucien: MC.

Lucien softly called my name, finally distancing ourselves a little. His breath landed on the corner of my lips, and the end of his voice was wrapped in an ambiguous tone.

Lucien: The ice sauna room has another exit reserved for the staff.

Lucien: (whisper) So, he won't come over.

I blinked and slowly understood what he meant.

MC: Did you already know that? Then why are you telling me just now…

Lucien: Maybe it's because... I'm what you call a big bad villain.

His fingers slowly brushed the side of my neck, the corners of my lips, the tip of my nose, and then he tenderly and lovingly cupped my face.

Lucien: Now that there are no more worries, can I continue?

The kiss that fell again was tender and lingering, like a gentle rain, making people fall deep into it.

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

After a very long time, Lucien finally let me go. His arm naturally slid to my lower back while still wrapping me in his embrace.

Then he just quietly looked at me without saying anything.

The air still seemed to be dense with vapor; I was a bit shy from his stare, so I poked him in the face.

MC: You, why do you keep looking at me.

Lucien: Because I want to look at you.

MC: That's an invalid answer.

Lucien: But that's my answer.

Lucien: Because I want to look at you, and I want to kiss you. So when my brain gives these signals, I follow the instructions.

He said it bluntly and frankly, but it made my heart ripple.

Lucien: In my calculation, an unexpected encounter takes a certain amount of time to develop.

Lucien: 48 hours is enough for a relationship to grow from unfamiliar to familiar, with different emotional stimuli.

Lucien: That was my original plan.

Lucien reached out and tucked the strands of loose hair into my ears. He spoke in riddles, but I seemed to understand something.

A sudden softness in my heart enticed me to ask the question I knew the answer to.

MC: So Professor Lucien's carefully planned chance encounter was disrupted by me, right?

Lucien: The subjective factor is you, but the objective factor…

Lucien paused for a moment.

Lucien: It's me who is greedy.

Lucien: I didn't want the things related to me to become boring and ordinary after a long period of time. So I impulsively carried out this somewhat wilful plan.

Lucien: After you appeared, every expression and every movement of yours was beyond my plan.

Lucien: I was left to follow my brain's instructions and impulsively disrupt my own rhythm.

His voice was very soft, but it landed heavily on my heart.

MC: Lucien, have you noticed that your frankness is becoming more and more frequent?

Lucien: Isn't that good?

I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a peck on the corner of his lips.

MC: In fact, I'm also very greedy.

MC: I like this frank and honest you, but I also like the wicked you. I like the occasionally distant you, but also like the rogue you.

MC: The way your bangs are scattered between your eyebrows, and the way your bangs are all slicked back. Familiar or unfamiliar.

MC: No matter what kind of you, I really like it all.

In a trance, I felt like I heard something blooming in my heart.

Lucien looked at me deeply, and after a moment of silence, he slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

Lucien: We might need to reschedule this ice sauna for another time.

MC: What a coincidence. I thought so too.

The afterglow of warm colors falls into the sea, creating a gentle luster on the pink-purple sky.

(from the afternoon at 3.30 pm until twilight…. can you guess how long were they stuck in that room-)

Lucien and I intertwined our fingers. We walked non-stop, started running as we walked, and ran all the way from the deck into the cabin.

The sea breeze blew our hair into a mess, and our clasped hands were seeping with warm heat, but we didn't care at all and still held hands.

It's like two people who have thrown away all shackles, just want to hold the hand of the person they like, and move freely to the same destination.

A huge crystal chandelier hangs above the lobby, refracting the light that looks like falling stardust.

There was a constant flow of tourists coming down the staircase and heading opposite us towards the deck.

I subconsciously looked back at the crowd going against us and felt my hand being squeezed.

Lucien: Do you want to check it out? I heard there's a celebration at sea tonight. There should be a fireworks show.

I shook my head.

MC: Fireworks are not as good as the person in front of me.

MC: I just need to look at you. As long as I look at you, there will be fireworks in my heart.

Lucien: Compared with MC's frankness, my performance can only be said to be unsatisfactory.

Lucien: I would like to ask my teacher to give me more advice, preferably by giving me a small lesson.

His eyes are bent, but he looks humble and sincerely asks for advice.

The sound of melodious music gradually plays and enveloped the whole hall.

The sentimental melody evokes my memory. It was the song that Lucien and I danced with in the bar yesterday.

I looked at Lucien and found that his gaze was already waiting for me.

His tie was loosely tied around his chest, and his collar was slightly open. His clear eyes were particularly bright between the hair that had scattered when we ran.

I couldn't help but laugh and raised my hand to ruffle his scattered bangs.

MC: Mr. Lucien is not as refined as Doctor.X now.

Lucien: Then can I ask you to dance?

MC: You should know very well that there is something else I want to do right now more than dance.

Lucien: And that's precisely why it is more necessary to "warm up" properly.

With that, he took my hand and led me through the dance steps

As the music flowed, we gave each other our warmth against the flow of people.

His familiar body heat seemed to bring me a new experience this time, and I felt Lucien guiding me closer in the gentle beat, stretching my body in a natural and lingering way.

Lucien: Do you know the name of the dance we did last night?

MC: Isn't it ballroom dancing? I don't really know much about dance.

Lucien: It is known as Rumba, the dance of love. It's one kind of Latin dance.

His fingertips entwined seductively around the ribbon of my skirt, gently pushing me away and pulling me back the moment the next note leaped out.

The melody gradually surged and accelerated. The air was filled with a scorching breath.

Lucien: Scientific studies have shown that the waist can be twisted up to 180 times per dance, and the highest heart rate can reach 200 beats per minute.

As he spoke, he led me to rotate and walk with his rhythm, pushing me out and pulling me back according to the inertia of the strength in his hand.

Slowly moving, swaying, spinning…

My heartbeat involuntarily accelerated, as if it had been incorporated into the rhythm of the tempo, rising and falling one after another.

Boom-

There was a sound of fireworks exploding in the distance, and the cruise ship seemed to shake for a moment amidst the crowd's cheers.

I staggered and stumbled into Lucien's chest, my hands haphazardly pulling his already loose tie, causing his slightly open shirt to spread open completely.

A reassuring hand was placed on the back of my neck, holding me steadily in place.

I couldn't help but be captured by the charming bareness in front of me. His muscle tightened and then relaxed following our rhythm.

Like a vague provocative tease.

As if falling into his silent trap, my fingers were drawn to caress his bare skin, feeling the hard, clear lines beneath it.

My fingertips were tinged by the burning heat, and I slowly traced from the hard abdomen to his chest.

A steady, strong heartbeat rose up, and even my heart trembled along with it.

Lucien: I think this dance should be impressive enough now.

MC: How can you still hold a grudge?

He didn't say a word. He just strongly swept me up and dropped a feathery kiss on my forehead.

My whole heart surged like a wave, and I felt inexplicably dizzy.

Everything was spinning. Only his close face was clear, effortlessly occupying all of my vision.

We danced our way from the hall to the room.

My vision was suddenly dimmed, but a brighter light broke through the sky and blossomed in the night with a warm color.

The pouring fireworks dragged a long trajectory, depicting a star curtain.

I eagerly kicked off the shoes on my feet and stepped on the ground with bare feet.

Suddenly, a warm sensation replaces the cold floor and settles beneath my foot.

Seeing myself stepping on Lucien's instep, I raised my head in a daze and met his smiling eyes.

Without words, we just looked at each other. I smiled knowingly and then stepped gently on the other foot.

MC: I always seem to fall into Professor Lucien's trap unconsciously.

Lucien: Rather than saying it was a trap, it was better to say it was a silent and open invitation.

He took a step to the right, and I took a step away with it.

Lucien: Besides constantly creating freshness in life, I always want more.

Lucien: I want our experiences to be exciting enough for them to be engraved into your memory.

Lucien: (whisper) And what I want, only you can give me.

MC: I'll give it all to you without reservation.

The night is long and lit up with fireworks.

In that moment, we seem to meld into one.

[T/N: Those fireworks in the end aren't actual fireworks if you get what I mean- But anyway, what a great MQ :" D. I genuinely enjoy it from start to finish. This one has made me cry, laugh, and h-word at the same time asksks. The game between these two is always enjoyable to read lol.

There's no big sad here, but if you think about it, the whole plan is caused by his insecurity,, the way he overthinks stuff that MC said to him, worrying if things related to him will feel boring to her, and ends up devising a whole plan to bring more 'excitement' to their life. The memory silhouette hits you with the fact that although this person seems calm and indifferent, he also suffers as much as her when they're separated. Guess it's a good thing that although his plan got wrecked, at least they did find excitement in this date huh-

I am currently translating Top Up SSR, which I think complements this SP MQ that covers the same 'theme'. So, I hope y'all will look forward to it? Thank you for reading!]

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buddie Fanfics: Multi-Chapter Mondays

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

Hiatus Reading

Buck and Eddie have an EPIC LOVE STORY that spans 6 years and it deserves to be told! Since they're the loves of each other's lives and soulmates who share a once in a lifetime love that transcends space and time, in order to give it the attention it deserves, sometimes fanfics have to include multiple chapters so everything that needs to be included can be. The five fanfics below have more than one chapter and they follow Buck and Eddie as they journey through life. There's angst, emotions, romantic fluff, travel and some of them include smut.

6B Speculation

“I gave you a son and a family!” - 60.6K words; Rated Mature:  Eddie tells Buck he already gave him a son and a family and Buck realizes he misunderstood but they stop talking after their argument and they won’t have time to fix it before they almost lose each other again.

After 6x12 Speculation

Come with me to Italy!  - 25.2K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences:  Buck and Eddie take a 10-day trip to Italy so they can heal together but Eddie doesn’t know Buck’s also thinking about relocating to Italy to become a firefighter.

After 6x15 Speculation

“From here on out, it’s all a gift!”- 22.4K words; Rated Teen and Up Audiences:  Buck feels like the person he just met “sees” him for who he is and what he’s been through while Eddie feels alone and admits he doesn’t want to be anymore. Everything they’ve been searching for has been right in front of them for years and the universe is tired of waiting. To help them realize “it’s all a gift”; it hurls another shared trauma in their direction but will it be too late for them to appreciate it?

Season 7 FANON Speculation

“I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!” - Currently 28 chapters are available - 1.177M Words; Rated: Mature: This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!  Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it. But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be spectacular. This fic will take Eddie and Buck places the show refuses to go. This is a multi-chapter fic that will be posted one chapter at a time.

7x10 Finale FANON Speculation

“Don’t walk away from something before you even know what it is!” - 4 total chapters 52.3K Words; Rated: Teens and Up Audiences: Eddie decides to walk away when he feels like he’s missed his last chance to be with Buck and after another failed date, Buck considers why none of the people he’s ever dated felt right and it causes him to consider walking away from whatever he’s doing with the person he’s with. When another twist of fate rips them apart and they’re faced with losing each other forever, will they walk away from everything they’ve built before they even know what it is?   This is a multi-chapter fic and two chapters will be posted at a time.

[matoroblogs]

STORY LURES KIDS TO NEW LEGO LINE\ THE TOYMAKER HOPES AN UNFOLDING STORY WILL LURE BOYS TO BIONICLE TOYS.

BY KRISSAH WILLIAMS The Washington Post Oct 28, 2001

Late last year, five Danish toy designers began to weave a tale of good and evil, creating the kind of heroes and bad guys that American boys love. They used the standard formula: exotic names, special powers, an unknown land.

They added easy-to-build action figures, trading cards, T-shirts, comic books and a soundtrack, as well as Internet, computer and video games. All to tell the story of Lego's Bionicle, which they hope will be the next cool toy line. Their plan is to create a popular story that reveals itself slowly, adding characters to keep the kids coming back for more, with toys cheap enough that parents keep buying.Bionicles also are the featured boys' toys in McDonalds Happy Meals through Sept. 27.

The toymaker is spending $15 million to get the word out about Bionicle, making it the biggest U.S. toy launch ever for the determinedly traditional 67-year-old company known for its classic plastic bricks.

Like much of the toy industry, Lego is financially ailing as more American boys ignore traditional toys in favor of video and computer games and television. Lego, the third-largest toy company in the United States behind Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc., lost money in 1998 and again last year, its only losses in decades. The company has watched revenue stall at about $1 billion.

To attract the been-there, done-that generation of American boys, Lego's designers and marketers are trying their darnedest to be cool, even aloof, almost teasing kids to get their attention.

In December, the first bit of information about Bionicle (from ``biological' and ``chronicle') was revealed on the company's Web site: ``Once a paradise, Mata Nui has become a place of darkness and fear, ruled by the deadly Makuta. Now six mighty heroes, the Toa, have come to gather the masks of power and challenge the Makuta. Explore the island ... learn the legends ... and begin to solve the mystery of Bionicle.'

It stopped there. But Lego's marketers hoped youngsters would be salivating for more.

About once a month, new chapters are added to the Web site, along with information about characters and the special masks. This summer, Lego mailed 1 million free comic books to Lego club members, giving details not available on the Web site.

In May and June, the Toa (hero) and Turaga (villager) building toys were released in the United States. The futuristic-looking figures stand about 7 inches tall and are assembled from plastic pieces that snap together Lego-style. The figures cost $2.99 to $6.99, although more-complex remote-control-operated figures will be priced as high as $69.99.

Now, information has been revealed about the bad guys, called Rahi, and other twists and turns are promised.

The Bionicle launch is based on the viral marketing strategy, which is the rage among manufacturers hoping to appeal to fad-prone American children and teens. Viral marketing works to create a buzz one customer at a time rather than relying on mass advertisements such as television commercials.

Lego's idea: Interest one kid in the Bionicle story, and that child will tell another and another. To find those kids, Lego sent out six sport-utility vehicles, each painted with one of the superheroes.

``In early June, 50 kids came up to the truck; just a few knew about Bionicle,' Gillespie said. ``Now, they are pulling up to places and kids are jumping in to tell the other kids about it.'

Seven-year-old Lucas McCoy, who has dropped Pokemon cards in favor of Bionicle, rambles on whimsically about the story line, the music and Mata Nui-Lego's online game, where players see from the perspective of Toa (the heroes) and try to save the island.

Taking a break from play with his Toa figures, Lucas, who lives in Bedford, Texas, talks nonstop for 20 minutes, pausing only to breathe. ``It was the time before time, when the world was new. There was this bad spirit that sent a spell on Mata Nui to sleep ... and I think their most greatest fear is sleep. It made these infected masks, and Makuta is the stone - well, I think Makuta is like a dinosaur.'

The characters' weapons (tools, in Lego's lingo), which include a pitchfork and a spear, don't seem to bother the parents.

Lucas's mom, Maria McCoy, said she and her husband play with their son and can ``see his little mind working.' His focus is on building, not violence, she said. ``It brings out his imaginative self.'

On the other hand, the Bionicle tie-in with a broad range of products can increase the pester pressure from kids, parents say. For instance, to see the paradise island before the darkness descended upon it, kids need the Nintendo Game Boy's Bionicle game, which sells for $39.99. To access screen savers and pictures on the Bionicle Web site, kids need to buy the Bionicle characters and access the codes on the toy canisters.

McCoy said she has kept a lid on Lucas's desire to buy all the products by insisting he use his allowance. ``He gets an allowance, and he can buy what he wants with it. I tell him, 'If you save your money, you can get the more pricey things,' ' McCoy said.

Traffic on Web sites and at toys stores indicates boys, teenage guys and longtime Lego fans are the biggest buyers of Bionicle. Lego officials say sales have surpassed their expectations, but they decline to release figures.

The toy's official Web site had almost 2 million hits in July. Bionicle fans also have responded to the company's create-your-own-site contest. Yahoo lists thousands of sites mentioning the toy line.

But Lego's leap away from its classic plastic brick sets hasn't won everybody over.

Spencer Tibbs, 12, of Warrenton, Va., said he can be more creative with older Lego sets, which he uses to build his own creations, such as a replica of his mom's office. He doesn't like sets that require directions.

``I should be more into that stuff (Bionicle), but I like the older stuff,' he said.

For Lego, the big question is: Are more American boys like Lucas McCoy or Spencer Tibbs?

[witchertits]

AO3 sings "The Horror and the Wild" Witcher collection 2023

You know those "AO3 sings [insert Hozier song here]" lyric videos? We're making one exclusively with witcher fics for the 3rd anniversary of The Horror and the Wild on February 28. Technically, it's February 29, because of course they released an album on leap day. The thing is, there aren't witcher fics titled after some of the lyrics yet, and we need your help to write them and/or upload art to the archive!

Edit: all prompts have been claimed, meaning all lines in "The Horror and the Wild" are now available for bonus entries! No need to sign up, you can just add to the collection and I'll make sure all 10 versions of "give me back my heart you wingless thing" make it into the video 😘You can still register as a pinch hitter and we may call on you closer to the event.

Prompts (All Claimed!!):

deep beneath your bed

let them not hear

you're the daughter of silent watching stones

you watch the stars hurl all their fundaments

forever asking more

you are that space that's in between

every page, every chord and every screen

you are the driftwood and the rift

we're drunk but drinking, sunk but sinking

all the stones and kings of old will hear us screaming at the cold

you are the son of every dressing-up box

and called me child

by day, oh lord, three things I pray

that I might understand as best I can

how bold I was, could be, will be, still am, by god, still am

Rules:

1. Witcher-only content, using the title as the prompt you were assigned. 2. OCs, kink, dead dove, and all ratings are allowed. No minimum wordcount. Use archive warnings where they apply. 3. Only submit E-rated content if you are 18+

All prompts have been claimed! A few things to note:

Submissions are now open to ANY line in "The Horror and the Wild" (just the one song, if you want a lyric from another song on the album to be added to the collection I'm happy to approve it, but it won't be in the lyric video)

I'll check in with you in early February to ask how it's going. If you know you can't fulfill the prompt, let me know ASAP. If I check in and don't hear back from you within 3 days, I'll assume you can't finish the prompt in time and will look for someone else to fulfill it

We're still accepting pinch hitters in case someone has to back out

You don't have to FINISH the work by the deadline if it's multi-chapter. One chapter is enough, take your time and have fun!

Submission deadline is February 20, 2023. You can add items to the collection anytime before then

The tag I've been using on tumblr is "The Horror and the Wild 2023," not necessary to use it when posting but the option exists

Don't hesitate to reach out with questions, brainstorming help, and requests for betas. I'm here to help!

[shepherds-of-haven]

Nevermind FINALLY GOT IT!! Had to keep reloading my save until I got my victory 😵‍💫

I’m still curious about some of the factors being used “tip the scales”- if you can share though.

Okay, back to playing the game. I got Alpha build and I’m antsy to read all of it, so I can finally go to bed.

This literally me staring at the screen.

(The first message for context)

Hiiii Goodmorning!! (Or goodnight- not sure which it is for you lol) 😊 So, idk if you’ve answered this or not. I don’t think I saw it on the FAQ. But I wanted to inquire about the Briony fight scene. I know it isn’t completed and I think randomly generated, right? But it also says some factors are being looked at for potential outcomes. Well, I was wondering, what are the factors behind a higher chance of winning?? 😭😭😭I guess I’m a bit confused and…mayybbeee just a bit overwhelmed- I keep losing. Because my MC still holds 7 words of power and has been winning all the battles through strength(physique), magic, and nerves. All are in the 80s. Has 28% , 13% and 21% for the 3 magic types 47% for Swordsmanship 70s for Mind 80s for Wits Yet somehow can’t win a fight against Bri Bri- not only that, most of the powers are blocked off. I only had 3 available 🤔💭 But when I played just an hour prior, when most of my stats were low or untouched; not only were 5 of the magic options unlocked to use. But I won. Seems like Now that my stats are high, I can’t win for Kakin Hael. lol sorry for the long post, this fight just has me curious about how the generated outcome works and what exactly it’s using. If you can or want to answer, that is. If not, that’s okay. ❤️

Hi there, it looks like your magic types (Astral, Psionic, and Arcane) are quite low for this chapter! While the general magic stat is also very important, the different magical sub-schools are extremely important too: I'd recommend training in at least one of those on your days off, because a large part of the battles in the game check those for your chances of success! In addition, Briony is a fearsomehand-to-hand and sword fighter, so it would help a lot if you had a higher Swordsmanship stat (either through training or by purchasing a better sword earlier in the game). Also, having your real weapon in the arena, not killing Nathe (which makes Briony angrier and way likelier to go all-out against you), having a legendary version of your weapon, and how well you did in Nathe's fight and what your health is all factor into the odds of winning Briony's battle!

Hope that helps! 😁

[thecassadilla]

Hey, hi, hello! I am still alive (albeit, barely) and it feels it's been a lifetime since I was on here last (but really, it's only been 20 days, somehow). if you are interested in a mostly-pathetic life/writing update from me, then boy, this is the post for you lol.

So I've been trying to update Still Falling For You for the last...4-ish weeks? To no avail, clearly, though it's not because of writer's block this time around. It's because I, quite literally, have no time. Between my main hustles, my side hustle, and the fact that I'm a doctoral student (perhaps getting my PhD in Arendelle History? 😎) I just can't seem to swing it. Every week, I sit down, write a couple hundred words, realize I have to stop myself because more pressing life responsibilities must be attended to, and then the next thing I know, it's Monday again and I have 5 exams to study for, 3 papers due, and 28 new tasks between my multiple jobs to worry about (okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but that's what it feels like right now). This is a fairly accurate depiction of what my life has looked like/felt like for the past several weeks:

Anyway, the point of this post is not to cry "woe is me" - because really, what adult isn't super busy nearly 100% of the time? But rather to give a lil update for the handful of you that may be wondering "when the heck is she going to post a new chapter?"

The answer is both "I'm trying" and "soon, hopefully."

For those of you who have read this far, I thank you kindly for your patience. When I started writing fics again in *gasp* 2020, I certainly hadn't expected either my personal life or my writing/online life to take the routes they've taken. But I'm here, for better or worse, and I have no plans to go anywhere, even if it means I'll be updating at a snail's pace from this point forward.

So in the meantime, I will close out this post with a gif of this adorable waving snail, which represents both my writing/update pace and my overwhelming desire to make everyone happy (myself included).

[vveakfish]

Wish I Knew (You Wanted Me) Linear reading order (chronological) | [table of contents]

On ao3 the series is already ordered chronolocially, for the most part. But this one is a little more thorough.

I'm going to be throwing not only fic titles at you, but chapter numbers too. This reading order will take you through this narrative from beginning to end, as smoothly as possible.

or thats the goal, anyway.

I'll be updating this as we upload more chapters, meaning this post is a WIP. There are arc descriptions and more detailed chapter orders under the cut, but here's the Bare Bones if you don’t want spoilers:

Prologue:

Why Don't You (Say So) Trade My Tomorrows (For Our Yesterday)

Part One:

Dancing (With Another Man) [ch 1-7] Hold On (To Me) [ch 1-4] D(WAM) [ch 8-10] It Started (With A Whisper) D(WAM) [ch 11-12] HO(TM) [ch 5] D(WAM) [ch 13-22] D(WAM) [ch 23-25] | HO(TM) [ch 6+7] D(WAM) [ch 26-31] D(WAM) [ch 32-38] | HO(TM) [ch 8-12] HO(TM) [ch 13-18] D(WAM) [ch 39-41] D(WAM) [ch 42-44] | HO(TM) [ch 19-22] D(WAM) [ch 45-48] HO(TM) [ch 23-25]

Part Two:

Run Away (Take My Hand) [ch 1-11] RA(TMH) [ch 12] | HO(TM) [ch 26-30] HO(TM) [ch 31...] RA(TMH) [ch 13...]

welcome beneath the cut! get comfy, and let me be weird for a bit. This is going to be made up of blurbs about what these different mini ‘arcs’ of the story focus on — as well as trying to lay out chapter by chapter reading orders to the best of my abilities.

And hey! if you (dear reader) have any reading order thoughts of your own, shoot me a comment or a DM

now, lets get into it:

PROLOGUE: Why Don't You (Say So) Trade My Tomorrows (For Our Yesterday)

These two act as a sort of backstory. It gives you a base understanding of what Dick's relationships with Wally and Roy were like, which leads us into

PART ONE: Dancing (With Another Man) [ch 1-7]

this arc sets up the larger conflict of the story, focusing on Dick, Wally, and Roy's reactions to it.

Hold On (To Me) [ch 1-4]

sets up timkon side plot, and shows how the core four are dealing with the main conflict

D(WAM) [ch 8-10] It Started (With A Whisper) D(WAM) [ch 11+12] HO(TM) [ch 5] D(WAM) [ch 13-22]

this seventeen chapter block kicks off the courtship arc which makes up the bulk of the part one plot — tensions are running high, and Dick has big decisions to make.

D(WAM) [ch 23-25] | HO(TM) [ch 6+7]

these two sections show the same events. And there's two potential ways to read them depending on the kind of reading experience you're looking for. Dick's storyline: -> 23, 6, 24, 25, 7 Tim's storyline: -> 6, 24, 25, 7 (+ 23 (optional)) Technically, Dick's story line would be the truly chronological one. You have all the information as soon as it's available to you. Tim's story line, however, makes this chain of events more of a mystery. You still find everything out, there's just more suspense beforehand. chapter 23 (Roy pov) & 7 (Tim pov) cover a lot of the same ground, which is why it would be optional to read 23 after having already read 7. But personally I think there is still something to gained from experiencing the appeal first hand along with Tim's second hand pov. Whether you read both is entirely up to you. Is this convoluted and possibly unnecessary? Yeah, probably, but hey! Have you ever been reading a comic and then had to chase down a tie in issue from another run just to understand what the fuck was happening? Think of it like that. This is superhero comic fanfic, after all.

D(WAM) [ch 26-31]

we'll call this the aftermath. You could read this as is, and it will make sense — in rereading this story in its entirety for this post, however, I've realized there is another potential reading order. 27 (Steph pov) leads directly in from HO(TM) ch 7 so, you could read this arc like this: HO(TM) 7 -> D(WAM) 27, 26, 28-31. Doing this is not necessary to enjoy or understand the story. Technically, it is the more chronological way to read these chapters, but don't worry to hard about this one.

D(WAM) [ch 32-38] | HO(TM) [ch 8-12]

These also happen at the same time, but are completely different scenes. Reading the section from one fic, then reading the section from the next would work perfectly fine. But, lining things up with the stories timeline the 'correct' chronological order is this: -> 32, 8-10, 33-38, 11+12

HO(TM) [ch 13-18]

i call this arc 'the boys are pouting.' basically the whole time Tim and Kon are dealing with their shit(tm), Wally and Dick are being very gay off panel. Dont worry though! we'll get back to them shortly. You could read this arc exactly as it's posted (it alternates between Tim's pov & Kon's) but they are full side plots on their own, so you could read them like this: Tim -> 13, 15, 18 Kon -> 14, 16, 17 This is me being nit-picky at this point, but I'm just writing this all down for the sake of having it all written down.

D(WAM) [ch 39-41]

See! What'd i tell ya

D(WAM) [ch 42-44] | HO(TM) [ch 19-22]

timkon real, not clickbait (42 | 19), (43 | 20), (44 | 21), 22

D(WAM) [ch 45-48] HO(TM) [ch 23-25]

and that is the conclusion to Part One

PART TWO: Run Away (Take My Hand) [ch 1-4]

I think of this arc 'The Tower.' Like the tarot card. Disaster is looming just out of sight, and despite everyone's best efforts there doesn't seem to be a way to avoid it.

RA(TMH) [ch 5-11]

shit hits the fan

HO(TM) [ch 26-30]

the question is now, how do the Core Four feel about the events of the last week, and what do they do about it?

RA(TMH) [ch 12]

Welcome to the Wilderness. Dick and Wally get out of the city — They need a little time, a bit of space, and above all, they need to talk to each other.

HO(TM) [ch 31-35]

Welcome to Cadmus In their search for distraction the core four (and Roy) find themselves deep underground — in Cadmus' secret underbelly.

HO(TM) [ch 36...]

Post Cadmus. The immediate danger has passed, but the mystery is far from solved. The JL is involved, but can the Titans and the League work together to figure out what happened below ground?

RA(TMH) [ch 13-18]

"we need to talk" Dick and Wally might be away from the stress of Titans Tower, and Roy, but they still have their issues to work through.

RA(TMH) [ch 19-21]

Things are heating up (smut section <3)

RA(TMH) [ch 22...]

"we need to talk" Part two, electric boogaloo.

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — November 27-December 3

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

11-27 → Gong Jun’s studio posted a photo of him from the filming of Rising with the Wind. (1129 kadian) Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# time train has arrived at the 27th station, 「The train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon is running against the wind and going to Tengyue」, Passengers, please sit tight and hold on. The station ahead is _______.”

→ LockNLock posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ The Instagram posted a collection of photos from attending a grad performance at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Around the same time, a video and photo of “Zhang Zhehan” were spread claiming that his former professors had invited him to attend the performance as an alumni. Antis flocked to this, digging up an old rumor from 2021 (which has been thoroughly debunked) that Zhang Zhehan paid his way into the school rather than being admitted legitimately. Fan Observations:   -  Someone in the audience posted photos of the performance, one of which caught part of the body double’s real face.   -  [Here] is a translation of what is said in the video, disproving claims that the speaker is talking about Zhang Zhehan. There is nothing in the video to indicate the speaker even knows who the man standing behind him is.   -  In Zhang Zhehan’s own words, he did not have a close relationship with any of his teachers from the school and no longer has any contact with them.   -  Anyone who knows anyone at the school is able to get a free ticket to their grad shows, it is not a special invitation reserved only for people closely associated. The email that was going around claiming this originated from a Zhang Sanjian fan who works in the school’s international students office (and was therefore abusing her position.) The Weibo account of this fan was deleted less than an hour after QuelleVous revealed her, before anyone had shared it on Weibo, indicating that she (the fan) was tipped off by an international whaler.  -  The final line of the Instagram caption is a quote from Les Miserables. This is highly worrisome, as people affiliated with the account seem to be trying to take advantage of the current tense political situation in China.

→ BEAST posted another teaser video featuring Gong Jun. (23:29, 1129 kadian) Caption: “The road ahead is long, the night is vast  Poo-Poo is sleepy, home is near”

11-28 → The exclusive audio recording for Gong Jun’s supertopic that was announced the previous week was made available. Translation: “Hello everyone, I'm Gong Jun and also the ‘Gong Jun’s very wonderful November’ train conductor. Here I would like to thank everyone for travelling onboard. I'm overjoyed to be able to enjoy this journey with all of you. I sincerely hope that everyone can attentively admire and record the scenery along the way. No matter where your destination is, I will always be with you.”

→ #ZhangZhehan trended on Twitter.

→ Wonderland magazine posted a teaser photo for the photoshoot of Gong Jun they would release an hour later. Caption: “Among the neon lights, phantoms overlap, the avant-garde wave pervades, awakens the tide of futurism, crosses the boundary of inherent order, and reality and dreams are connected at this moment. Entering the initial source code, a new chapter is being written, are you ready to lead to the unknown world of freedom with @ Gong Jun Simon?” 

→ Gong Jun posted the full commercial for BEAST. Caption: “I once made a promise with Poo-Poo that we wanted to go home together. After more than a year, we are finally on our way home, and our story is still going on” This was reposted by BEAST with the added caption: “1129 See you there or be square” Fan Observation: The final line of Gong Jun’s caption (我们的故事还在继续) is similar to the line “Bravely let this story go on (勇敢让这个 这个故事继续)” from Zhang Zhehan’s song 不说.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a photo of him from the filming of Fox Spirit Matchmaker. (1129 kadian) Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# time train has arrived at the 28th station. 「The train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon went shopping in the market and bought the last two sticks of candied haw」, Passengers, please sit tight and hold on, the station ahead is _______.”

→ Wonderland posted their photoshoot with Gong Jun, announcing the magazine’s release. (1129 kadian) Caption: “Seek breakthroughs in balance, outline in changes, walk freely between light and dark, and the illusory realm opens here. ... @ Gong Jun Simon breaks the boundary between virtual and real, and talks to a new self in the future world, looking for his own unique expression.” This was reposted by Gong Jun’s studio (11:32, 511 kadian) with the added caption: “The Realm of False Reality, Wonderful Phantom! Boss @ Gong Jun Simon 's journey to explore the unknown metaverse world is about to start!” It was also reposted by Hogan. [translated interview]

This was shortly followed by a video of footage from the shoot. The BGM is Orbit by Rezz. (flashing lights cw for both links) Caption: “When light and darkness collide, under the lens, his outline is both real and illusory; The angular frame is clear. This time, ‘New Vision Wonderland.’ joins hands with @ Gong Jun Simon to jointly explore the unknown dimensional universe, travel through time and space tunnels, welcome the arrival of hyper-real virtual avatars in the next multidimensional dimension, and open a new chapter of the metaverse world together. Stay tuned!”

→ Hogan posted five of the Wonderland photos, highlighting their shoes.

→ Gong Jun posted six of the Wonderland photos to his Weibo, caption: “Travel to the metaverse!”, six to his Instagram, caption: “Astro Boy 🤖”, and seven to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: “This..... Too cool!” His Weibo post was reposted by Colgate.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a video of behind the scenes footage from the photoshoot. The BGM is So Thankful by Dylan Sitts. Caption: “There are many illusions, and the virtual and the real jump. Boss @ Gong Jun Simon travels through dimensions and explores himself in the virtual and the real.”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a douyin of more behind the scenes footage. Caption: “Are you ready to be ‘killed’ by boss @ Gong Jun Simon‘s eyes?”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted nine more photos from the Wonderland photoshoot. Caption: “One-click access to the metaverse, freeze the working moment of boss @ Gong Jun Simon, and explore different definitions.”

→ (Unconfirmed) Someone reported the brand to the Shanghai Bureau of Supervision for unauthorized use of Zhang Zhehan’s name. Chen Liying and her sister Chen Qunying were required to submit documentation saying that Zhang Zhehan is not a shareholder, that they have never claimed a connection with him, and that this is purely a fan-led belief that they were not aware of. Bullshit.

→ Gong Jun posted a photo of a handwritten note in his supertopic: “Leave Application: Still on holiday, will be taking leave for tomorrow, hope you’ll approve it! Card has been sent out, please sign it personally~” Caption: “Requesting to take a leave of absence, please approve!” Fan Observations:  -  There appears to be a hexagon ring behind the glass. Quite a few people attempted to replicate it, with some pretty accurate results.  -  Him not doing a livestream means that his birthday outfit (at least in the minds of fans) is still his one from last year that matched Zhang Zhehan’s birthday outfit. 🥺

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a promotional video for Honor spoken by Gong Jun. This was also later posted by Honor. 

11-29 → Gong Jun’s 30th birthday! 🥳 Here’s a collection of fan events and creations from throughout the week, feel free to send me any more I’ve missed! Art: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22.1 22.2] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33]  Charity Drives: [1] [2] [3] Fanfiction: [1] [2] [3] [4] Offline Meetups: [1] [2] [3] [4] PFPs: [1] [2] [3] [4] Public Displays: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Videos: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Misc: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] @sssilkworms​ also did the amazing work this month of subbing Gong Jun’s 2018-2020 birthday livestreams!

→ At midnight, Gong Jun’s studio posted a letter to him for his birthday, and Gong Jun posted a gif to his own Weibo. Fans coordinated to line up matching pfps in the top comments under Gong Jun’s post.

→ Also at midnight, many of his endorsements posted photos and videos wishing him a happy birthday. Below are the captions from each.

361°: “We have met each other because of love, and have grown up with each other to this day. Happy birthday to @ Gong Jun Simon 🎂, may you continue to be brave and enthusiastic as always, and go to every journey calmly. Love track, to be continued.”

BEAST: BEAST and Panda Poo-Poo wish @ Gong Jun Simon a happy birthday.  All the roses are open for you, and they are cute and will not wait any longer”

Charlotte Tilbury: “Intensive research, the ultimate breakthrough! Let's explore the infinite possibilities of the future together with the power of bright magic~ I wish Charlotte Tilbury's global make-up spokesperson @ Gong Jun Simon a happy birthday!”

Colgate: “Day and night, it is all bright and white.  You focus on your original intention, work hard, and continue to transmit positive energy with a healing smile, making companionship more lucky and precious.  Happy birthday, Gong Jun!  New year, more beautiful, will come as promised!”

fresh: “When the years change, I see your bravery and responsibility, but also your tenacity and resound. May every transformation of yours be accompanied by fresh. Happy birthday to our handsome spokesperson @ Gong Jun Simon.”

(Hsu Fu Chi did post something but it was primarily advertising themselves and didn’t even include a photo of him, so fuck ‘em.)

LockNLock: “Across autumn and winter, across spring and summer 🎉 This is [LockNLock]'s second birthday with @ Gong Jun Simon! 🥳  We have heard insects chirping in midsummer outdoors together, and touched the falling snow in winter together. Every bit of fun is giving beauty to life! 👏  LockNLock wishes a happy birthday to the LockNLock global spokesperson @ Gong Jun Simon 1129 🎂  May we all continue to paint freely in the youthful world, and have fun with more beauty and comfort 🤗”

L’Oreal: “Greet the future with high fives, without changing the youthful background. Happy birthday to @ Gong Jun Simon!” 

Mengniu: “Growth meets unexpectedly, and the birthday comes as scheduled. Happy birthday to @ Gong Jun Simon 🎂  The two years that have passed side by side accompanying each other and growing up together for a new year. I hope you live up to your original intentions and don’t fear the future✨”

MUJOSH: “He is a young actor with changing roles, confident and shining, and also a gentle boy who maintains his original intention, humility and self-discipline. Happy birthday to MUJOSH brand spokesperson @ Gong Jun Simon 🎂 May the future days be full of non-stop progress and high spirits!”

→ #GongJun, Junjun, and #龚俊1129生日快乐 trended on Twitter.

→ Gong Jun posted a photo of a hotel table and window in his supertopic. Caption: “Good morning” Fan Observations:   -  People figured out (frighteningly quickly) where the photo was taken. The place has a suite option called Moon and Stars.  -  There’s a smudge on the window that is possibly a partial handprint. Fantasizing abounds.

→ The Legend of AnLe Weibo posted a photo of Gong Jun. Caption: “One eyebrow and one glance are handsome, and every move reflects calmness. I wish Han Ye @ Gong Jun Simon a happy birthday, every year now.”

→ The Rising with the Wind Weibo posted two photos of Gong Jun. Caption: “Leading the new national trend and helping the national brand rise. @ Gong Jun Simon Xu Si, happy birthday!”

→ The Fox Spirit Matchmaker Weibo posted four photos of Gong Jun. Caption: “Wishing the truly sincere boy Dongfang Yuechu @ Gong Jun Simon a happy birthday, and dreams coming true 🎂🎂” 

→ The producer of Rising with the Wind posted a short behind the scenes video of Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a childhood photo of him. (1129 kadian) Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# time train has arrived at the destination of this trip. 「The train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon opened the old photo album and met a seven-year-old self」. Thank you for your company all the way, and I hope that the future will be long, and I will accompany you at every stop.”

→ 361°, Colgate, Hogan, Hsu Fu Chi, LockNLock, MUJOSH, and Tangle Teezer posted more photos and videos at for Gong Jun’s birthday. (1129 kadian) LockNLock’s included “Bye bye trouble 👋 Hi hi happiness!”, paraphrasing the song Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan danced to on Happy Camp.

→ MARRSGREEN posted a silly video of Gong Jun. (1129 kadian) They posted a birthday photo for him shortly after, caption: “From the first acquaintance to companionship, we walked through every moment of the trend together.  One year one gift, I wish you happiness, not just on your birthday @ Gong Jun Simon  A new year, a tide to a farther future!” 

→ Jifeng, a virtual personality created in Gong Jun’s image, was revealed. (1129 kadian) Gong Jun’s studio reposted this with the added caption: “The edge of the universe is the infinite future. Friends come from afar to explore the answer with you.” 

This was also reposted by Wonderland with the added caption: “Happy birthday to @ Gong Jun Simon, new adventures are coming soon, let us embark on a journey together and explore a more exciting new world together!” A few minutes later they also posted an additional video of Jifeng with white hair, shortly followed by a teaser image for something to be revealed in December. (Thanks I hate it.)

→ Kangshifu posted a photo of Gong Jun wishing him a happy birthday. Caption: “The time train has arrived at the most important station! 「Today is the birthday of the train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon~」 Kangshifu Jasmine Tea wishes Junjunzi a happy birthday, let’s walk the road of flowers together in the future!”

→ Honor posted a douyin of Gong Jun being gifted a cake during the filming of his recent commercials with them. (For those trying to keep track: Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. were his only endorsements that didn’t post anything.)

→ Vogue posted nine previously released photos of “Hello, Hello”. Caption: “Today is @ Gong Jun Simon's 30th birthday. On the road of an actor, he is not slow, and left a deep impression on us with his bright and funny characters. In the shooting for #VOGUEfilm# this year, we once again saw his bold performance and expression. Let's wish him a happy birthday 🎂.”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a video of various behind the scenes footage from the last couple months. [subbed video] Caption: “From the train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon’s #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# Travel Notes 🎬 Let time flow, record every moment of the boss’s sincerity, enthusiasm, and joy.” BGM is Another Day of Sun from La La Land, Young Coconut by Mac De Marco, and Taking Off by LAKEY INSPIRED. Fan Observation: The video is 04:16 long, 1640 kadian.

→ The Jifeng account posted a photo of it and Gong Jun side by side.

→ Gong Jun posted a collection of travel photos. Caption: “Return home and look” He also posted them to his Xiao Hong Shu (13:18, 511 and 1129 kadian), caption: “Let’s just say~ today  In a good mood 📸😙”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted eight more photos from the same photoshoot. Caption: “Boss @ Gong Jun Simon standing in the bustling city streets, wandering the old alleys of Chengdu, feeling the unique fireworks of this city!” An hour later they studio posted another eight photos from the it. Caption: “Boss @ Gong Jun Simon breaks into the gorgeous corner of the old street, salvaging the brilliance of early winter.”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a video of him going to see pandas. [subbed video] Caption: “Boss @ Gong Jun Simon took the promise to go home, embarked on a journey home, and had a cordial ‘meet and greet’ with the giant panda. Let's go back to Chengdu together!” BGM is waking up on a picnic blanket by Lullatone, Prologue from I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, a piano cover of Snowdin Town from Undertale, and Stardust by Christoffer Frazen.

→ The producer of Rising with the Wind and Legend of AnLe posted a photo of a cake with little figures of Gong Jun’s roles from the two dramas. After Gong Jun’s studio later posted photos of the larger cake, he also left a comment on his own post with a photo of Gong Jun with this smaller cake.  Fan Observation: Gong Jun possibly has a hickey in the photo.

→ MUJOSH posted photos [here] and [here] and a video from a (presumably staff-)event they held for Gong Jun’s birthday. BGM is 热爱105°C的你 by A Si. 

→ Gong Jun held an impromptu AMA in his supertopic. [translation thread] Fan Observation: His replies seem to be in two distinctly different writing styles.

→ Colgate posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ BEAST posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun. (23:29, 1129 kadian) Caption: “20221129 is about to pass, BEAST and Panda Poo-Poo once again wish @ Gong Jun Simon a happy birthday. There are always some regrets, and it will become the next agreement”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted photos of him with a giant cake with little figures of most of his past roles (including Wen Kexing!!!) (23:29, 1129 kadian) Caption: “Happy birthday to boss @ Gong Jun Simon, keep on playing!”

11-30 → The cake maker posted additional photos of the cake, explaining how they flew it to Yunnan for him. [summary translation]

→ #龚俊Simon trended on Twitter.

→ 361° announced the end of the charity program they ran in partnership with Gong Jun during the previous weeks, with a total of 150k RMB raised for the China Small Animal Protection Association. 

→ Colgate posted a collection of photo ads featuring Gong Jun. (flashing images cw)

→ Jiang Zemin, the former leader of China, passed away, bringing a mourning period into effect.

12-01 → Nothing of note.

12-02 → Nothing of note.

12-03 → 不想匿名 changed their pfp to clouds and a sunset.

→ The Instagram posted two photos of “Zhang Zhehan” and some other aesthetic-y photos of plants and a book.

Additional Reading → The Zhang Zhehan wiki created by Flora et al. was made public last weekend! It’s a great resource for up to date information about his case, and is where Flora’s daily fan news thread has moved to. → Sheena’s charity drive for Gong Jun’s birthday ended with a total of 102,911 HKD (92,827.54 RMB / 13,216.67 USD) in donations! Thank you to everyone who participated, winners of the various giveaways can be found [here]!

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[theascent]

☼☾ ( douglas booth , 28 , he/him , cisgender man , schellenberg 4 ) - have you seen MATTEO SCHELLENBERG?  we’ve heard through the grapevine that they’re IMAGINATIVE but also DUPLICITOUS. when you think of them , you think of INK STAINED FINGERTIPS, WARMED FROM THE FLAME OF A NEARBY FIRE, DARK LASHES CONCEALING AN EVEN DARKER, MORE DISINGENUOUS GLINT, and FLOWERY PROMISES WHISPERED AGAINST THE COLUMN OF YOUR THROAT.

⊱⋅•⋅ full navigation

b a s i c s

name: matteo schellenberg title: lord; second youngest of the schellenbergs birthdate: july 9; currently 28 pronouns: he/him gender: cisgender man nation: liechtenstein orientation: bisexual/biromantic

more information, particularly regarding interests and personality, available through the navigation link above.

b a c k g r o u n d

1800s 07 August My Dearest Brother,

I have sent yet another bundle of masala chai, you would do well to savor the leaves as my monthly shipments will soon cease. I’ve never considered myself to be in possession of much luck, and I’m aware of the irony of such a statement given the current circumstances that have befallen our family, but ha! I knew a rainy day would soon arrive, and oh how gloomy this year has been. I have just enough saved to purchase a ticket back home. Seeing as Silas has all but ruined our reputation… I suppose it’s best I spare you the distress of bearing this situation alone and say that…well, I intend to be back in Liechtenstein before Silas has the chance to bleed us dry of every krone in his sight.

We are both aware of the trouble our brother’s desires have got him in, and if we desire to have the bastard outested by the end of the year, you will be in need of all the help you can get. And before you choose to scold me - I can nearly see your quill poised over your reply, even from my accommodations here in Mumbai - I evoke the term bastard with all the adoration in the world for my dearest elder brother.

Even if his penchant for parties and whores have all but rendered the last six years of my life abroad useless …

Once you’re instated as Duke Schellenberg, I expect proper compensation for my efforts. My generosity, as you well know, is not given for free. I understand funds will remain short, so perhaps I will accept an alternative form of payment. 

Ah, and do you still see the publisher’s nephew on occasion? It is…of supreme importance that you give him the letter I posted from Spain. For a man that claims to have his hands full, he is quite adamant about a mere chapter….do give him the letter, yes? He says it is not potential I have, but a ‘natural genius for capturing the very essence of life in mere words’ – his words, not mine. You know I’m not one to brag. Well, not often, at least. But can you believe it? Your brother, the author. Perhaps I will end up like Rousseau or Austen?

 I must return back to bed before the flame burns through the last of the wick. Give my best to Silas and the others, or do not. I don’t particularly care. Yours Truly, MS

p u r p o s e + h c s

matteo's purpose for being in france can be summarized into one simple word: autonomy. being fourth in line for the dukedom meant his ambitions were his alone, not forced upon him in the name of familial duty. matteo dreams of becoming of famous author; this is what led him to spend his early twenties traversing the world in hopes of drawing inspiration for his debut novel.

unfortunately his plans came to a staggering halt when the news of his family's sudden financial misfortune forced him to return home.

but it's not revenge that brought him to france, it's riches. titled misses and misters wander the hallways and frolic in the gardens and it's just so easy. matteo is a master of words, and he intends to use them to his advantage, bewitching his way into the upper echelon. into wealth. with fortune comes the funds to achieve his dream, and he's prepared to swindle and use anyone it takes - even if it means subjugating himself to a loveless marriage.

those with humble origins become pawns; the hands that caress supple skin prompt shaking, pointed fingers of blame. blackmail. the lips that offer declarations of fondness elicit the slightest whisper of a name. a victim. handmaids and stable boys become his closest confidantes, but the ball is forever in his court.

to those who don't know him (which, admittedly, is most considering he's been traveling for years), he appears to be just another rake. easygoing and unserious. he prefers this; it allows him to move through society unbothered. late night rendezvous lead to diamonds and watches sitting heavily in the bottom of his pockets.

matteo craves glory. if he can't secure enough funds to support his past lifestyle, he is sure that all his hard work will be for nothing. writing has always been his outlet, but liechtenstein doesn't offer the same inspiration that the high seas and spice markets do.

and i have some wanted connections in the navigation! message me on discord or tumblr if you'd like to plot something !