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artpunk-intl · 1 year

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“OFF BOOK WITH BRENDAN WELLS”

ArtpunkINTL interviews BRENDAN WELLS (Uranium Club, Brendan Wells Plant Music, NERV) about Art, inspiration, chess, and the joy of not having the answer.

Interview by Lucas Rose for ArtpunkINTL, 2022

[FULL INTERVIEW TEXT BELOW]

As a unique mode of Art performance and creation, what does The Uranium Club mean to you? How does it allow you to express yourself in ways that other projects don’t? Please be as abstract as you can.

BW: For my involvement with it, the goal is as much communication as possible. I want an album to encourage someone to spend time with it, the type of thing you take into the bathroom to read and look over. I want to approach things with an intent to express ideas everywhere we can: in lyrics, on the center label, the clothes we wear, the things said on stage in between songs, on the album spine, anywhere we can find. I'd like our choices to be conscientious over automatic (are we doing something a certain way because that's how it's done or do we choose it because it will serve us?), and while other times we can be spontaneous then hopefully that spontaneity can be another weapon or resource for ideas, maybe something to reverse engineer into a reference or plot point to inform what we do next.

The way I view art, everything you do as an artist says something, whether it's process, medium, message, product etc. I don't know that everyone sees that, that when you make an unthoughtful choice it can communicate that you aren't paying attention to what you're doing. Are you invested in me as an audience member? I think in ways I'd also equate unthoughtfulness with insincerity, which is maybe a big jump, but maybe at least a lack of sincerity, and when sincerity isn't present that's just as obvious (and it is obvious!) as insincerity. You can be sincere and make something terrible but at least it won't be boring, I think. There is a lot of filler in products. And I get that, it's easier that way.

In that sense I think Uranium Club chooses to be difficult, and sometimes it's a difficult or slow or frustrating process for us, to be honest. But the filler concept reminds me of a promo video for Steve Martin's master class on stand up comedy where he says a big mistake people make is to walk out on stage and say something to an audience like "Hi, how is everyone doing tonight?" It's a mistake because you have missed an opportunity to make a joke. Everything is an opportunity to make a joke. Take out the filler and you might only be left with a little bit after that but now maybe you've stumbled into the power of minimalism.

There’s something about the Uranium Club that feels medical. Songs often come across as stories from the medical or psychiatric fields, telling tales of altered personalities, hidden selves, sickness, sudden traumatic change, proximity to death, and morbid comedy. What motivates the band’s songwriting? What sort of thing could cause a member of the Club to stop and think “I should make a song out of that?”

BW: Speaking for myself as one of three writers in the band, I'm a curious person, lots of Wikipedia and using the interlibrary loan service to spontaneously request books on subjects and artists that pop up on my radar. I jump around between a lot of different interests and thoughts so if something sticks in my brain and keeps my attention then I'll start to ask myself if it could become a song. It has to be something that keeps inviting questions and thoughts beyond what sparked interest in the first place. Even better, I like when even after making a song about something I feel like I could keep writing on the subject because every new angle I view it from invites more investigation. Subjects that involve a moral grey area do that for me, partially because something that makes me laugh is to hear a strong, one-sided opinion on a subject.

One of the funniest characters is one who is confident and wrong. I think subjects around medicine, psychiatry, etc are meaty because of the complicated relationship between science/fact and the personal experience behind/around it. Science has connotations of being right about things, of perfection and rules and infallibility, but what about when things get complicated, when you invite in questions of morality and suffering and the times it turns out you've been wrong for years about something? That's confusing, and I think a lot of my expression comes out of exploring confusion.

Digging around, it’s not hard to find references to an unreleased Uranium Club short film. From my own understanding, the cover art for The Cosmo Cleaners is a relic of this film. What can you recall about that film? Was it ever finished? Was it ever real? If so, are there any future plans for it?

BW: The band members do love Film, and sometimes we try to watch the same movies to be on something of the same page. But one of my favorite ways of taking in Art is through photos of Performance Art. Do you ever hear something about a book or a movie that gets you excited but then the real thing doesn't quite capture what you wanted? That's how I feel about most B-movies; I don't watch them, I get bored. There's a performance piece I love by a Chinese artist Song Dong called Stamping the Water where he is standing in a lake with a large printing block with the symbol for water on it and he slaps it against the water. I feel like I also saw a video of the performance and the video took the magic out of the action for me. The most compelling version of the piece I think is just one photo accompanied by the title.

Titles are really important, I think. It's like a secret lyric that changes the way you hear the song. It expands the narrative, like this weekend when I saw the house of some kids I went to school with who I thought were rich but now the house is abandoned and boarded up. I asked my mom and she told me it's because the parents got divorced and their dad accidentally killed someone while driving a speedboat drunk.

But then holding back some information is compelling too, like how my mom said the dad is dead now too, but didn't say why, so I'm left with questions. I do think movies are great, though, and watching a movie can be more inspiring for me than any other way of taking in Art, even though I have trouble sometimes allowing myself to watch a movie because I worry it's not time well spent if I'm not sick or tired.

Has anybody followed the instructions on the Two Things At Once 7”?

BW: Maybe once, I think. One of the most flattering things I can experience is when somebody lets me know they were listening and they remember what I said. It might be too much to say that I make art or music because I never felt listened to when I was a kid, but if I want to believe what I've learned in the years of therapy I've had then maybe I can admit that. It's vulnerable to express yourself but on the part of the audience I think it also takes vulnerability to participate—to choose to answer someone's question instead of letting it hang as rhetorical. It's a transformative choice, kind of like a magic spell you help complete. It makes the outcome less certain, more charged, more in the moment.

There's this great concept called going "off book" in chess that fits for that. At some point in the world of chess they started keeping a record of every move ever made in tournament play. During a game of chess, every move made makes it a little less like every game played before it, but you can still play an entire game of chess and know that the same choices in the same order have been made before. It is increasingly rare as more games are played and more data is created through that, but if you make a choice that has never been recorded before, the game is now "off book." It's not safe to do that, but it can mean the difference in whether or not there ends up being a Wikipedia article about that chess match. Despite the connotations you might make for words like creativity and Art, a lot of experiences with Art and Music are "on book." If somebody asks you to do something for the sake of Art—clap, answer a question, whatever—I think you should do it because that is a step in the direction of making the experience a little bit less like every experience that came before it.

NERV was explosive, abrasive, and aggressive, a wonderful combination of Powerviolence and original flavor Hardcore Punk. What did you learn with NERV that stuck with you?

BW: I learned to err on the side of spontaneity when it comes to performance. So many times I came up with an idea beforehand, like jumping at a certain moment (or especially with anything I thought would be funny to do or say) and it would turn out so lifeless. It's like giving birth and a wet potato coming out instead of a baby. I'd expect laughter and there would be none and I would feel so stupid, or I would do something and realize I was forcing it into the wrong moment. There are comedians who will work so hard to make their thoughts seem spontaneous when they've actually been delivering the same lines for years, and that can make for a good joke and speak to the mastery of their performance, but that joke can be matched or exceeded if it turns out you have to fart at the exact moment it would be funny to fart. For me to feel right about it I need to be in the moment and respond to it. If you respond, you create communication; if you force it, you might poop your pants.

Bands like NERV almost always end up with one or two good stories from the road. Any come to mind?

BW: The one that I usually tell is about NERV playing a show on tour in Pittsburgh in 2011. It was a grind show we got added to along with Wild Child, a band from Minneapolis we were friends with that included Harry from Uranium Club. Wild Child was incredibly late to the show because that morning they got stranded on the road with a flat tire and then after it got replaced they were in standstill traffic for hours because of a giant traffic accident. They finally showed up after all the other bands had played and were super stressed out and tired and had to play immediately to a pretty small and apathetic audience. They asked if we were down to just relax and watch a movie because they had bought Bruno on DVD at a gas station a few days before and hadn't gotten a chance to watch it. The guy who booked the show invited us to stay at his place and it sounded good—a spare room with beds because bands stayed there all the time, he said he'd make us spaghetti and salad, and the only thing to really deal with was his fiancé was moving in so there would be her cat and his two dogs who were loud but harmless.

We get back to the guy's place and it's gnarly—his dogs are these two giant rottweilers who are barking and lunging and making us uncomfortable. He shows us where we can sleep and it's this room with horror movie posters and flyers for grind shows and a pile of very stained mattresses. It's gross but there's a big TV and an Xbox so we can start up Bruno and he goes to the kitchen to cook stuff and we make the best of it. There's eight of us so I'm sitting on the floor next to the couch and Bruno was really funny. The dogs come thundering into the room whipping around a toy or stuffed animal and run over me and get slobber all over my arm and drop the toy next to Antoine from Wild Child and they chase each other around and run out again. We decompress from that but Antoine jumps up and yells "Holy shit!" and "It's a fucking cat, dude!" I turn around and realize it wasn't a stuffed animal the dogs were playing with, they'd killed the guy's fiancé's cat. I check my arm and see it isn't dog slobber, my arms covered in blood.

We all start standing up and freaking out and the guy walks into the room from the kitchen, sees the dead cat, and loses it. "Holy shit, that's my fiancé's fucking cat. She's gonna fucking leave me, man. They're gonna put my dogs to sleep. FUCK. I'm so FUCKED." Then for some reason he turns on us and starts yelling at us. "Why didn't you guys do anything? That's my fiancé's fucking cat!"

The guy stops and puts his face in his hands and starts crying. We're all just standing there looking at each other and not knowing what is going on and half watching Bruno, which is still playing, while the guy cries. After a while he tries to straighten up and bring things back to a level of normalcy.

"Well," he says, "the spaghetti's done."

With Brendan Wells Plant Music, Ernest Hood’s Neighborhoods and Mort Garson’s Plantasia seem like the obvious points of inspiration (based off nothing more than assumption), but it’s got a lot more going on too. What points of influence do you take for your quieter explorations of sound (other than plants)?

BW: The start of the project came out of a very anxious time in my life—I had tried moving to San Francisco to help run the magazine Maximum Rocknroll and it fucked my life up and was even making it hard to listen to punk for awhile. I was trying to search out classical music I could connect with but was gravitating more towards things that felt simplistic or minimal and natural. I was wanting to make music like Steve Reich, Terry Reilly, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, but like most things it's been filtered through my limitations. I don't know how to "play piano" necessarily but I can run a keyboard through guitar pedals and hold down some of the keys and try different things until I discover something I find compelling. Or I might not have the patience to systematically compose something like Steve Reich that explores overlapping themes and frequencies but I will record two separate tracks that ignore structure and meter and play them both at the same time to see what comes out of it. I also find something incredibly transcendent can come out of music without percussion or drums, or something that doesn't use those devices but still creates rhythm and forward motion. It's more tied with a spiritual pursuit than other things I might make.

In your opinion, how’s the Twin Cities scene doing these days? Anybody that’s been catching your eye that you feel hasn’t gotten their praise? Does the scene feel alive?

BW: I would say that it's healthy, it's fine, it's existing. I would not say that my experience today is a heyday, but as long as things are happening then that means things in the future can be nurtured and artists have a place to grow instead of having to start from nothing. I think though that there are things going on that I'm not in touch with that are happening, just not exactly in the scene I've been attached to.

Things have changed a lot since I first visited Minneapolis in 2008. Punks aren't as smelly. Fewer dreadlocks. Those things weren't my niche necessarily but it had an exciting identity. But in Minneapolis I think there is always an audience. When a new warehouse venue opens up people will be there and excited. The people here are very supportive and want to see music. The music I'm most excited about in town is pretty new and hasn't been recorded yet so there are things to look forward to but not a lot I can easily share right now except for a few live videos.

[Brendan provides the following links:]

Pig in the City : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE3ji81yq4Y

Psychic Sports : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtcKe1mMC4Q

Egg Girl Girl : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiGXUMOnuHY

Which release(s) do you find yourself most proud of for each of your projects? Do you have a favorite song or songs from your own body of work?

BW: I think the first vinyl release for any of the projects I've been a part of is a big deal to me. Growing up and loving bands and music and never thinking that would be something I'd ever participate in myself, having something on vinyl feels like tangible validation for me of participation in a part of culture that I have looked up to so much. Making a tape with Plant Music was also a big deal. It was the first time i'd recorded and released music without playing in a band and again isn't something I thought I could do. In a lot of ways I have low self esteem so these things have been life changing.

One of the things I'm most proud of is a short-lived band from 2017 I was in called Ozone 120's. I played guitar, which I hadn't done in a band since 9th grade, and that helped change the way I talk about playing music because I would say "Well, technically I CAN play guitar, but I don't know how to 'play the guitar'" because I only knew how to play power chords and that didn't seem good enough to me. Now in my mind if you're able to make sounds you like with an instrument then I don't see that as illegitimate or something that should keep you from thinking you're not a musician or something.

What do you see when you look at the current world of Art? What is plentiful? What is lacking?

BW: Working in the limitations of your means is what is going to lead to authentic / unique / individual expression and I think that is increasingly rare. That's why musicians from different cities and different experiences with different resources will sound different and to me that's what makes Art exciting: that there's more of it out there to experience. There's something sterile about doing things the "right" way. That can end up meaning a focus on recreation rather than something I'd call a creation and I don't often find much credibility in that. I know there's an easy argument to that, that there's nothing unique or creative about bands who play guitars or even all art period but to say something like "Nothing is original so why should it matter?" is going to lead to a lot of product that I find lifeless. I don't think there's any excuse for boring Art.

I also think pun names have to go (Joanna Gruesome, Ringo Deathstarr, Olivia Neutron-John). That's an excuse for an idea. It's like having the opposite of an identity unless you're a Grind band or something because they're the only ones who do it right and with a worthwhile sense of humor.

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ameliawarnerr · 2 years

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Evanescent

(She was the evanescent of his life– there and gone.)

Part 3

(Part 2: here.)

“He’s doing what?” Three of you shout together— well, you and Dan shout, Jake maintains his calmness even now.

“Does he not understand her condition right now?” Jake adds. And you feel the tension in him. The emotions that are trying to escape but don't manage to. His worry and concern regarding Hannah. You feel envious of how he doesn't hide his concern for Hannah.

“I know. You should talk to him, Jake. He's sort of scared of you ever since you shut him up for asking Amelia to go to the mine.” Lilly says hopefully.

Jake considers it for a second then: “Alright. I’ll do it. But I don't have his number saved.” He waves his phone, helplessly.

You take yours and unlock it. “Here. Take mine.”

Jake looks at you and nods. He types Thomas' name in the search bar with one hand and you find it so hot. His hands are as pretty as any other part of his body. Before hitting the call icon, Jake asks, “Is it fine if I go there?” He points towards an empty corner.

“Sure."

You still find it hard to communicate with him normally. Like you didn't just call everything between you two as a stupid crush a couple of hours ago.

You watch him as he takes slow steps while talking. His mouth is definitely moving but you don't hear a single word that leaves his mouth. Lilly goes to kitchen to keep the dishes. And Dan also excuses himself and starts watching TV in the loving room which is just to your left.

You remain sitting at the table because that's the only place from where you can stare at Jake. Since he's busy on the phone, you finally have time to take him in. And wow. If you hadn't fell for him over texts, you certainly would have by appearance. He's tall and despite all his problems, you believe he takes time out for work out. Currently, he’s wearing a black hoodie and grey sweatpants.

He suddenly sighs and looks above, resting his one hand in pocket. And you need to stop looking at him because these little things are making your heart skip. You got a long way to get over this man.

He pulls the phone back and looks at the screen, clearly annoyed by something. Maybe your notification. He goes back to talking and after a few minutes, he again pulls the phone away looking at the screen. When it happens the third time, he types something and goes back to talking. He might have answered someone's text in your place and you find it hard to believe that you don't mind at all.

When he’s finally done talking, he doesn't go to Lilly or Dan. He comes straight to you. He stands in front of you and offers your phone back. He says, “I talked to him. He won’t do it.” You nod and reach your hand out to take your phone back but the phone beeps and Jake pulls it back slightly, looking at the screen. You can't clearly see his face since he's looking down but he definitely made a face.

He offers your phone back to you. “Phil kept texting so I replied. And he certainly doesn't like my reply.” You take the one back and Jake sitting on Dan’s place. Beside you.

You open the texts.

Phil: Hey, I know we just ran into eachother, like what, two hours ago? But I couldn't help it.

Phil: So what brings you to Duskwood?

Phil: Are you ignoring me?

Me: Yes. So take a hint for once and leave her alone.

When Jake said he replied, you thought he meant he replied as you. But he replied as a third person. As him.

Phil: Who’s this?

You were certainly aware that Jake is looking at you or your phone at the moment, but when you turn towards him, he looks away, as if he is not interested. So you turn your attention back to your phone and so does Jake.

Me: Hey. I am sorry. Some asshole messed with my phone.

Phil: Just tell me the name. I know a lot of people here. I can help you get rid of him, Lia.

You heard Jake snort beside you. You can’t resist and look at him. “What is your problem?”

“Lia? Seriously? That's the best nickname he could come up with? I am disappointed.” No, you don't look disappointed. You look jealous. You wanted to say. But didn't.

“At least, he can give nicknames. Some people are just annoying when they use actual—”

“Amy.”

You suddenly can't form words. You look at him blankly but inside you are fighting a smile.

“That’s much better, isn't it?” He asks as leans back in the chair. He face is closer this way.

“No, yeah.” You say just for the sake of it.

He raises his eyebrow. He does it a lot. “Is that a yes or a no?” His voice becomes low and you feel it surrounding you from all directions.

“Yes.” Desperately, it leaves you. “I'll suggest this to Phil.”

Layers form on Jake's forehead. “No. You won't.”

“You want him to continue calling me Lia, then?” You ask.

Jake looks away. Then looks back at you. “I don't want him to call you anything. And if it is still not obvious to you then I'll say it. I don't even want him to call you or text you. And certainly not call you with a nickname I gave you.”

You can feel it when your heart skips a beat and then starts beating faster. You want to scream. He can't be with you and at the same time, he says things like this. You are not sure if you should confront him about this unfairness or just let your guard fall down and continue talking to him.

Your silence makes him realise it too as he sighs and looks away.

“I am sorry.” He says not looking at you. His hand on the table is turned into a tight fist. “I got distracted.” Then he sighs and looks at you again. “I don't mind if you move on. I’d prefer it but please, slowly.”

Your hand finds his on the table and you squeeze it. “Jake, we don't have to move on. If it's that hard to move on then let's not. Let's try. I know it will be hard too, maybe twice as hard but that's a price I can pay and I will. I just need you stop running.”

Jake’s hand turns and holds yours tighter. He’s not looking at you now but at your connected hands.

“This feels amazing.” He says, lifting your hand a bit. There's a small sad smile on his lips.

“I know.” You agree. “And I don't want to let go.”

He then looks at you. His gaze showing immense amount of emotions, almost impossible to take in. “Neither do I.” But then he's shaking his head. “But I need time, Amelia, a lot of it. To figure everything out. I certainly can't keep running with you around. I don't want you to go through that.”

Your other hand caresses his shoulder lightly. You nod, once, twice. Understanding. “You need time? I got a lot of it.”

He wears a painful expression. “You can't keep waiting for me.”

You laugh without humour. “Oh, try me."

His chest moves up then down. “If I develop a habit of you, I won't ever let you go.” He says it as if it's a bad thing. His thumb rubs against your skin.

“I am offended that you haven't already developed a habit of me.” The tension, the sadness was too much so you try to ease it. It works.

A full smile forms on Jake's lips. “I have. I can't go on with my day without thinking of you. And sometimes, you are all I think of. It's an illness, really."

A proud smile occurs on your face. “An illness? Then I want you to be forever sick of it.”

“I think I want to kiss you." He says. His eyes becoming a darker shade of green. His eyes on your lips then eyes. Just like he did earlier in the room before kissing you.

“Oh, I think you do.”

“But I can't." He points at Lilly who's guilty of staring at you two. She widens her eyes and looks away. You steal a glance at Dan and he's streching his arms awkwardly.

You look anywhere but Jake when you say it, “I mean. You got a room upstairs.”

“No way." Jake says and you look at him disappointed.

“Why not?” Your voice comes out tiny.

“You and me in a locked room? I'll get too much freedom.” He's so close to your face now. And you just know he's maintaining his distance for the sake of the audience.

Your eyes go to his lips. Too soft to not be kissed. “Maybe too much is just what I crave right now."

Part 4

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

Hey guys!! I got a question for you! So, the next chapter will most probably be smut, and I'm thinking of Jake's pov. But I have 2 options. Option 1: Jake's pov while doing it or Option 2: Jake’s pov of the aftercare. Let me know in the comments!!

And thanks for your support. Love you all✨✨🖤

#duskwood #jake_duskwood #dan duskwood #jessy_duskwood #phil duskwood #richy duskwood #writing #duskwood fandom #duskwood fanfic #duskwood fanfiction #fanfic writers #fanfiction #duskwood jake x mc #jake x mc #lilly duskwood #lilly donfort #duskwood jake #jake donfort

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reina-royale · 5 months

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Thoughts About "Clean Slate"

Obviously, I have thoughts.

And they're mostly about Kim/Ron.

More specifically, the fact that Kim doesn't remember the fact that she and Ron are dating.

Even more specifically, he reaction to being told they're dating.

Ron: No, not to worry. I’ll have KP back in time for dinner. After school I’ll give her a refresher around Middleton. It’ll be like a second first date.

Kim: Are you hitting on me?

Ron: Um, Kim, we are dating. I’m your boyfriend.

Kim: Boyfriend? Oh, wait, you’re serious?

So, here we have Kim finding the idea of her dating Ron amusing. She doesn't take it seriously, and doesn't seem interested in the idea.

I realize that Kim can't remember anything at the moment, and thus she's not really acting like herself.

But it's kind of unfair that Ron is the last thing Kim remembers.

Ron, who should be the most important person in Kim's life.

Ron, who is certainly the most integral person in Kim's life.

Ron, who is the biggest constant in Kim's life, the person she's spent the most time around, and she doesn't remember dating him until the end of the episode.

And it's annoying when we get scenes like this:

Ron: Hey, just take it slow, Kim. Nothing to worry about. You’re among friends.

Bonnie: Unh. Just learned to walk, K?

Ron: Except for Bonnie!

Kim: Bonnie? Oh, Bonnie! She and I are on the same cheer squad, right? So we’d be friends.

Monique: Ron, Wade told me. Lost memory. How’s she doing?

Ron: Eh, a little sketchy in some areas, particularly relationships. You know, she needs to remember things on her own, so don’t expect Kim to just--

Kim: Monique? Monique! I remember you! The first time I met you was at Club Banana. We’re, like, best friends.

Ron: Now, you can’t tell me that you don’t remember Bueno Nacho.

Kim: How could I forget? The center of the cheese and chip universe. Home of the naco and managed by Ned.

Ron: How is it you remember everything but the fact that we’re a couple?

Kim: Couple of what?

Ron: People who are dating.

Kim: Are you sure that we were dating? I mean sometimes people read a little more into things than they should, right?

Ron: OK, look, photo evidence, K.P.

Kim: Oh, wait a minute.

Ron: Prom, dancing, the kiss.

Kim: You called me in the middle of the night once to ask about us dating.

Ron: Yes!

Rufus: Yeah!

Kim: Then you said I melted.

Ron: No, ok, no, that was just a dream.

Kim: So we were dating in a dream you had?

Ron: Well, yes, in the dream, but also--

Kim: Why is my watch beeping?

Ron: Wade.

Kim: Hi, uh, Wade?

Ron: How did you remember his name?

Kim: You just said it.

Ron: Oh, right.

Wade: How are you doing, Kim?

Kim: Wade? Oh, Wade! Better. I’m starting to remember stuff.

Ron: Wait, wait, wait, wait! Shego, you tell her. Kim and I are dating, right?

Shego: What? For real? Oh, come on. That never made any sense to me. I mean--

Ron: See? That wasn’t a no. Unh.

Kim: Glowing hand. Glow…Go…Shego!

Wade: Ron? Ron fought Shego? Alone?

Kim: Well, I don’t know if fought is the right word.

Ron: Sure it is. I fought. Fought for my life.

Wade: Well, hopefully this will help Kim remember her fighting skills.

Kim: Cheer practice?

Wade: Well, so far all of your memories have been triggered by some event or meeting. Good luck.

Bonnie: Hello? Late for practice much?

Ron: OK, don’t let Bonnie get to you and whatever you do, don’t listen to anything she says. You’ll be fine.

Bonnie: I don’t know what your problem is, Kim. I knew this would happen when you started dating Naco Boy.

Ron: Aha, Kim, you see? Do you see? I’m Naco Boy.

Kim: Yeah, I shouldn’t listen to what Bonnie says.

It's not fair that Kim can't remember dating Ron, her best friend of 10+ years, someone who is extremely important to her, until he loses his pants again.

She remembers everything about Monique after just running into her in the halls.

She vaguely remembers Bonnie after running into her, and gets her full memory of Bonnie, including a complicated cheer routine, back after one try.

She remembers Bueno Nacho by just showing up.

She remembers Wade after a phone call.

She remembers Shego as soon as her hands start glowing.

And she remembers Drakken and how to fight before she even goes to confront him again.

But she can't remember Ron until the end of the episode?

This is unfair to everyone.

Especially since Kim is, for some reason, so resistant to the idea of them dating.

I mean, I guess I can understand not immediately believing you're dating some random guy, but Ron's not some random guy.

Kim still remembers their friendship, and trusts him on everything else.

But she doesn't accept that they're dating.

She won't even consider the idea.

And, if dating Ron was as important to her as cheerleading, fighting Shego, hanging out with Monique, or going to Bueno Nacho, shouldn't something have triggered her memory earlier?

Especially since Ron is involved in pretty much every aspect of Kim's life?

But, no, she doesn't remember until he loses his pants.

Not riding on the back of his scooter, which she did during the Li'l Diablos incident which, coincidentally, was the same day they started dating.

And did several other times before Kim got her own car.

Not going to Bueno Nacho, which they do all the time.

Not cheerleading, which Ron happens to be kind of involved in as the mascot.

Not even seeing Ron, which was enough for her to completely remember Monique and Wade (over video!) and kind of remember Bonnie.

No, the only thing that triggers Kim's memory of Ron is that he loses his pants.

And the fact that nothing but Ron losing his pants triggers her memory of them dating, implies that, on a subconscious level, that's how she views Ron.

Not as her boyfriend, but as her clumsy, bumbling, inept sidekick who's always losing his pants.

And everyone - Kim, Ron, us viewers - deserved better.

#kim possible #ron stoppable #drakken #shego #monique #bonnie rockwaller #wade #episode review #meta #episode analysis

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true-north-equestrian · 7 months

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TES Rescue & Rehabilitation Program

True North Equestrian

Week II (Pt. I) - Sweet

Max showed up bright and early the very next day as promised to take care of Chava’s overgrown hooves. “Doc sent me the radiographs,” The farrier said in lieu of a greeting, hefting her tools out of the bed of her truck with a soft grunt. “That horse is gonna need orthopedics.” Blunt as always. Pidge, who had gone out to meet her, gave her a fond look as she pulled the barn door open. “What happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?” “If you wanted that, you shouldn’t have taken in a charity case. Or spent the entire week living in a vet stall. You know Doc’s a gossip, especially when a bleeding heart like you goes and pulls a stunt like this.”

Pidge made a face at her. “Stunt? I’m not the only one who signed up to take in a rescue, you know. There’s a whole network and everything. We’re in a Discord server.” Max rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. That horse was practically dead on arrival. And then you went and got attached right off the bat, and sang it a lullaby, and then it came back to life? People are starting to think you’re a Disney princess or something.” The walk to Chava’s stall in the foaling hallway was short. While Max laid out her gear, Pidge stepped into the stall and coaxed Chava to her feet. “You’re gonna feel so much better in a little bit, baby,” She crooned, slipping a halter on the mare. “C’mon, let’s go meet Max, huh? She’s gonna take care of you.”

The skinny mare followed her without fuss, each teetering step slow and painful. Hopefully much of that pain would be relieved after today.

“God Damn,” Max whistled lowly as she took in the state of Chava’s hooves. Without preamble, she leaned down to take a closer look. “Poor thing. And she was taken from a truck bound for the kill pen?” “Yep.”

The farrier took hold of one of Chava’s feet. Pidge expected there to be some resistance, but Chava gamely let her lift it, wobbling slightly on her three remaining legs before finding her balance. “She’s used to having her feet touched,” Max observed, “And she’s got very good manners.” “That’s what I’ve noticed,” Pidge agreed, “She’s polite and laid back, and leads like a dream. She’s got training. At some point in her life, she was well taken care of, before… Well. Before.”

“Mmm,” Max hummed, before reaching for her tools. “Alright, sweetness, let’s see what we can do for you- hey! Excuse you! Ma’am!” She squawked - for Chava had leaned down to rest her big head across the farrier’s back. “-I take it back, you’ve got terrible manners!”

Pidge laughed. “Oh, by the way, Max - she’s a cuddler.”

“Jesus Christ, Pidge,” Max grumbled.

It took Max the entire morning and part of the afternoon before she’d trimmed poor Chava’s hooves back into a manageable state, taking off the overgrowth at the toe and trimming back the heel so the skinny mare could stand properly. Her relief was evident almost immediately. Of course, one trim wouldn’t be enough to re-align her hooves, but regular trimming would get the hoof wall and coffin bone back to being parallel.

“I meant it when I said she needed orthotics,” Max said as she strapped a shiny blue boot onto each of Chava’s hooves. “These will provide proper support while the soft tissues of her feet heal up.” “Thank you, Max,” Pidge said earnestly, eternally grateful to have such a good farrier and friend.

“Ugh, don’t get soppy,” Max grumbled, but her cheeks were flushed. “-Anyways, I’ll be back in a month to trim her again.”

Once Chava’s feet were taken care of, Pidge was finally able to get her bathed. Aisha, having just finished up working with Altair, joined them in the wash bay. Between the two of them, they managed to slough away the thick layers of sweat and muck on Chava’s body. Pidge also took the opportunity to bandage the gash on her knee.

Chava enjoyed the spa treatment so much that she dozed off right then and there, her head propped on Pidge’s shoulder. The show of trust made Pidge’s heart flutter.

“So there is a horse underneath all of this mud,” Aisha joked as she worked the skinny mare over with a body brush. Chava’s coat, dull from neglect and malnutrition and peppered with smaller scars that had been otherwise hidden by the filth, was a shade of brown that revealed she was actually bay in color. “It is amazing just how sweet she is, even after all she’s been through. All these nicks and scars- someone hurt her, and yet, here she is, giving us her faith unconditionally.”

Pidge gently stroked the mare’s muzzle, feeling blessed to have been given such a gift by a creature the world had so utterly failed. “I think we got very, very lucky,” she admitted, “-Just as she got very, very lucky. I’m so glad she’s here with us. I wish I knew what happened to her.”

“Well…” Aisha trailed off, looking to Chava’s left flank. “-You might get your wish. There’s a brand here.”

Pidge’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes- it says ‘ST’?” Pidge gently eased the dozing Chava’s head off her shoulder so she could circle around to look for herself - and sure enough, upon her haunch was a hauntingly familiar brand bearing the letters ‘S’ and ‘T’, above which hung a distinctive crown.

“... Oh, God,” Pidge breathed. “What? What is it?” “I-I know that brand,” Pidge whispered, horror twisting in her gut. “I need to make a phone call.”

#the equestrian sims #ts4 equestrian #ts4 horses #rescue & rehabilitation program #ts4 #ts4 simblr #true north equestrian

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skellebonez · 2 years

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Cotton Tails and Borrowed Time: Chapter 7

Edited (and planned) with the help of my friend Bucky! Couldn’t do this without you!

A couple notes: So.. It's been a heck of a week for me. There maaaay be a bit of a longer delay between this and chapter 8 because…

My car kinda broke and there was a whole thing about getting it to a shop (and me home). And then I hurt my hand while cooking… it's been a time. Typing on a computer is a bit hard at the moment, probably will be for a couple days, so I am now doing all actual fic writing on my phone because while it's slow it's not nearly as slow as hunt and pecking. Hopefully this author's note is completely unnecessary!

And we have art shout outs again! First, to silverorchideon for this wonderful rendition of Bunny Tang! And next to the amazing SwagginMun! While this art was not drawn for this fic they did give me permission to share it here because… well, I just love it that much.

Please enjoy chapter 7! Check out the AO3 link.

It was odd, being in the noodle shop without MK around and knowing that he wasn’t going to be returning for a couple days.

He’d always left for short stints at a time outside of just his deliveries: training with Sun Wukong on Mount Huaguo for a day or so being the most recent examples. But knowing he wasn’t going to be coming through the front door to say hi or grab more deliveries for the day? It felt odd somehow. They’d gotten back into their old routine so much that to have it interrupted again at this point felt both disconcerting and familiar in a way that Tang had trouble putting into words.

Without MK being available for deliveries it had fallen on Pigsy to deliver everything himself. Given the difficulty of doing that AND cooking, Pigsy opted to make it so the shop was only open to dine in and take out for the next few days. While there were far more people coming by the shop to pick up their orders than usual, it seemed as if only the usual customers were coming by to dine in.

Such as...

“So I wasn’t seeing things the other day...” a familiar voice sounded from behind Tang, startling him from the book he had been taking notes on.

“Mr. Jiang!” Tang exclaimed. For a split second, he almost pulled his scarf up to hide his face.

Then he realized that it was far too late for that. There was no hiding the fur or his bunny ears, even from the farthest distance. “Good afternoon, it’s uh... It’s good to see you again. I’m sorry for the other day, I—”

“Were clearly stressed about something.” Mr. Jiang said understandingly with a wave of his hand. “And I can clearly see what it was now. I thought my old eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw you running by. Or that maybe you had been wearing some kind of costume. Clearly I had been wrong on both counts.”

The dock worker took a seat next to Tang, groaning as he stretched out his back.

“It’s... a lot to take in,” Tang said with a nod as he slid a bookmark into his book and set it down. He’d been having trouble staying in his work for the most part, no matter where he seemed to be. For... relatively clear reasons when he really thought about it. “It’s been rough... Uh...”

“Three days,” Pigsy filled in as he came his way over to the counter between his two regulars. “Four, if you count today.”

“It feels like more and less than that at the same time,” Tang said with a sigh as he felt his glasses slipping slowly down his new nose. He reached under his ear, re-clipping the hair clip that had come loose over the day. Tang set his glasses back to where they had been before he muttered to himself. “I need to find a better solution for these.”

Pigsy gave him a small, understanding smile, before turning to Mr. Jiang.

“The usual?”

“You know it!” the dock worker said with a hearty laugh. “And I’ll eat here before heading back to my boat.”

With a nod of acknowledgement, Pigsy headed back into the kitchen to get his order ready.

“So,” he said after a moment before turning more to Tang. “Not going to assume what’s going on, but you look quite a bit more... rabbity than even the last time I saw you. Did something happen or...?”

“I would say... or is an appropriate way to put it,” Tang answered with a bit of a chuckle. “It’s... It’s complicated, but long story short, I have a curse on me and even if we find a way to break it I might be stuck as a rabbit demon permanently.”

“And how are you feeling about that?”

“Honestly?” Tang said with a shrug. “Scared. Of all the changes, mostly. It’s a lot to get used to. But...”

“But?” Mr. Jiang gently pushed.

“I can get used to it,” Tang said with a nod. “It’ll just take time. Mostly it’s all the fur and the noise. I can’t shower the way I used to with these ears!”

For a moment, Mr. Jiang stared at him in stunned silence before he chuckled. He shook his head with a smile of his own.

“If that’s the biggest problem you have, then I think you’ll be just fine,” he said brightly. “If there’s one thing I am sure of, it’s knowing when people have things handled.”

The way he said that made Tang pause for a long moment before he picked up a cup of tea that Pigsy had been refilling for him periodically.

“That’s... That’s the thing,” Tang said quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he peeked at the kitchen to check that Pigsy was still inside. “I don’t.”

“What do you mean?” Mr. Jiang asked in concern, smile immediately gone. “Wait. You didn’t tell me everything, did you?”

Tang shook his head lightly, just enough to avoid swinging his ears. He was getting very good at that now. “There’s... If it was just what I told you, I would just accept it and move on,” he said firmly. “I know I would, now that I am starting to get the hang of all this. It’s just new and different. But I don’t know if...” the scholar lowered his voice as much as he could. “Mr. Jiang, I’ve told you things before, I know you can keep a secret. I... I don’t want anyone else to know that it might not stop at me being a demon just yet...”

The older man looked at Tang with confusion for a moment, eyes widening when he finally processed what he meant.

“I see...” Mr. Jiang nodded solemnly. “And I am the only one you’ve told?”

“MK is going to find out soon,” Tang admitted. “He went with the Monkey King to figure out what all this is. Just in case. If it turns out that is happening, then... I-I don’t know.”

There was a heavy silence between them.

“Well, if it does come to that,” Mr. Jiang said softly, after pondering for a moment. “MK’s a smart kid. He saved us all from the Lady Bone Demon. I think you can trust him to figure something out. And you have the Monkey King! I know enough about the legends to know Sun Wukong is as stubborn as they come when he has his mind set on something. Even if you... If it’s THAT, he’d tear about the Celestial Realm itself to find something to help you.”

“How does everyone around me know exactly what to say to make me feel better?” Tang said with a laugh as he sipped from his cup.

“I’m just an old man with a lot of life experience!” Mr. Jiang said. “But I’ve been coming to this shop for so long that I like to think I know you at least a little bit. I know you enough to tease you about your Totally Not Boyfriend.”

Tang shouldn’t have.

He really shouldn’t have.

He’d been doing so well, he’d even not even denied it when Bai He asked.

Maybe it was because he was just so used to the knee jerk reaction that was half serious and half joking for years at this point.

He didn’t even get to voice his usual protest before his hands felt like they’d been jabbed with needles and his cup slipped from his grasp, loudly smashing on the floor. His whole body twitched, his stomach aching for a moment.

“What happened!?” Bai He shouted, rushing out of the storage room. She got a quick answer when she noticed the mess on the floor. Running behind the counter, the girl snatched up a towel to cover the broken shards and absorb the spilled tea. “Is anyone hurt?”

“I, uh...” Tang stammered as he looked at his hands. “I-I think I might have a problem.”

He held them up, flexing them slightly as he took in their new appearance.

They’d... Not exactly shrunk, but they’d changed shape slightly. Less like human hands with long fingers. They were still recognizably hands, yes, but his fingers were rounder, shorter, and more closely resembled paws than before. His claws were much more pronounced now, clearly seen through his fur.

“Well,” Mr. Jiang said with astonishment. “That, uh... that’s going to take some getting used to.”

Tang flexed his hands again, looking down at them in surprise as a shock of concern rushed through him. That cold feeling flopped in his stomach again.

How many changes were left now?

“Tang?” PIgsy’s voice rang out before he could get too lost in his thoughts.

“I...” He said softly after a moment. “I’m okay. I’m sorry about your cup.”

Pigsy scowled, grabbing Tang’s hands gently and pulling them forward before checking his new paw hands and nodding.

“I ain’t worried about the cup,” he said gruffly. “Just glad you’re not hurt.”

The ache in Tang’s stomach lifted faster than he thought possible as he felt grateful that his new fur hid the blush on his face.

Just as his phone dinged.

“And sent!” MK announced as he pocketed his phone. “One arrival text was sent successfully.”

“Good!” Sun Wukong said with a determined chuckle. “Now... Hmn...” He stood there for a moment at the entrance to Scorpion Demoness’s castle, head tilted in thought for a moment.

“Do you think she would be able to hear if we knocked? This place is huge.”

“She wouldn’t if she happened to be inside at the time,” a voice sounded from behind them. MK yelled in surprise, spinning around and pulling his staff out of his ear to defend himself at a moment’s notice. Before him was...

A woman. A very pretty woman, he would admit. Tall, long green hair put up in a hairstyle that reminded him slightly of horns. It was so voluminous that she’d tied it up multiple times in a long ponytail, almost resembling a scorpion’s stinger. And she wore purple.

A loooooot of purple.

“Lucky for you,” she continued after a moment, clearly unbothered by MK’s reaction. “She was gardening. I never expected to see you again so soon, Sun Wukong.”

The way she said his mentor’s name made MK think that something had gone down between them. There was familiarity there: not angry familiarity but maybe some exasperated fondness?

Like he’d done something she’d been upset about at the time but she was okay with now.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect to be stopping by so soon,” Sun Wukong answered with a shrug. “I did want to visit you though, I uh... I don’t exactly remember our encounter completely and I kind of wanted to apologize for... wrecking your castle? I think I did. I remember going through a wall.”

“You did,” the woman said with a small scowl before it tapered away into a smile. “Not that it was hard for me to fix, mind you. No harm done.”

“Great! I think!”

“And who is this?” The tall woman asked with a tilt of her head, leaning down slightly to get a better look at MK. “Something about him seems... familiar.”

“This is Tang’s kid!” Sun Wukong said enthusiastically as he pushed MK forward. “MK, Scorpion Demoness. SD, MK.”

“Hi?” MK said awkwardly, raising a hand to wave at her before she snatched it up and started shaking it vigorously.

“NOW I REMEMBER!” the scorpion said with a laugh. “When I had him as a ‘prisoner’ he showed me your photo! You’re quieter than I expected.”

“You held Mr. Tang prisoner?” MK asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He’s normally a lot louder than this,” Sun Wukong explained as he ruffled his student’s hair. “It’s just been a long day and a lot of flying to get here.”

“It was more of a ‘kidnapped to be my friend forever’ kind of thing, I can explain later,” Scorpion Demoness waved off before looking them both up and down. “You didn’t fly ALL the way from the city to here, did you?”

“We did!” MK answered as he stood up straighter, fixing his mussed up hair. “We’re in a hurry, we need to help Mr. Tang, actually, Jin and Yin—”

“What did they do this time?” Scorpion Demoness asked with a sigh.

“This time?” MK blinked.

“Look, I really like Jin and Yin!” Scorpion Demoness said with a wave of her hands. “Really! They’re great friends, always keep me company and have the best ideas for games and things to pass time! But they’re not... They don’t exactly...”

“Think things through?” Sun Wukong offered.

“YES!” Scorpion Demoness said with relieved laughter. “They can’t seem to plan past—”

“Step two,” Mk said with a nod.

“Damn, you both really are familiar with them.”

“They may have tried to defeat me by running my dad’s noodle shop out of business.”

“Why would they think th—okay, just. Tell me what the chuckle heads did.”

“Okay so Mr. Tang and Pigsy and I were in the city doing stuff and they suddenly jumped me all like ‘oh, we’re gonna prove we can beat the Monkie Kid’ and then we fought and I was winning but then they pulled out some kind of curse thing and hit Mr. Tang with it so it wouldn’t hit Pigsy and over the last three days or four days I don’t know how you measure time he’s been slowly turning into a rabbit demon and Monkey King wants to make sure he knows how the curse was made so he can maybe fix it but most make sure that Tang isn’t going to be hurt by it!”

There was a beat as the two demons stared at MK. The panting boy drew in a breath.

“Sooooo... are they here?” he asked, adding a hopeful smile.

Scorpion Demoness blinked before answering. “They were. But you just missed them. They headed into Lantern City to buy some things and won’t be back until morning.”

“Then we gotta—” Sun Wukong started.

“No, no!” Scorpion Demoness said quickly, waving her arm before Sun Wukong could gather up his cloud again. “Like I said, they’ll be back in the morning! And I know a lot about curses, they come with the territory of illusionary magic sometimes. Maybe I can help? If it’s for Tang, I would be more than happy to. Besides...” She scowled again, glaring in the direction of the Lantern City. “Those brothers need to learn when to leave people alone. I told them messing with someone as strong as the Monkie Kid was a bad idea.”

“But we still need to sleep somewhere,” Sun Wukong said with a frown. “Do we just camp, or...”

“Stay here for the night,” Scorpion Demoness offered with a smile. “You can catch them when they’re off-guard!”

“That would make everything a lot easier,” MK agreed.

Monkey King narrowed his eyes slightly at his student. “You just want to explore her castle.”

“OF COURSE I DO, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PLACE!?”

Scorpion Demoness chuckled a bit at the exclamation from MK, shaking her head as she waved her hand at them.

“Well, come inside then,” she said. “Daylight won’t last more than another hour or so and you must be starving. You can explain what my two chuckleheads have done over some dinner.”

It took no time at all for MK to rush inside behind her, Sun Wukong following shortly after, sending another text on his phone as quickly as he could manage.

“You good?” Mr. Jiang asked as he watched Tang flex his hands around his phone awkwardly for the fifth time since he picked it up. The dock worker was hesitating, caught between needing to leave for work and his concern for his friend.

“I... Yeah,” Tang said with a soft sigh and chuckle. “I used to joke around that my phone was too small but, uh... I doubt I’m going to have that complaint again.”

The humor was a little to dry for anyone in the shop to really appreciate. Even him, outside of a soft chuckle from Mr. Jiang. But even that chuckle sounded forced.

Tang was able to pick up his phone, though with a little difficulty. The screen lit up to reveal a “we’re here, not dead” from MK. Which was, surprisingly, not an unusual message from MK. A few minutes passed before another text showed up. “SD here, she’s treating us to dinner, bros not home”, it read.

So there was... some kind of update. Which was better than nothing. If he was being honest, Tang was more concerned about his hands than what MK and Monkey King were up to. While he was able to use his phone like normal, it has been much easier to get it to register inputs from the built-in pen than his hands. With his fingers shortened, it felt like he was holding the pen with his knuckles. Too short, too close to his palm, and just awkward.

But not impossible.

“You’re a pretty stubborn guy, you know that?” Mr. Jiang said with a smile. “Or maybe tenacious is a better word.”

“No, I think stubborn is right,” Tang admitted with a smile.

“That means you’re gonna be just fine,” the elder man said with a nod before announcing his departure. He waved to each of them, heading back to the docks.

Tang decided then and there that Mr. Jiang would probably appreciate some more visits to his boat in the future.

“So, it’s going to take at least an hour or so to make something up,” Scorpion Demoness said as she laid out the myriad of vegetables from her garden. “In the meantime, why don’t you tell me what’s happening in more detail. I could point you in the right direction of where to look.”

“Well,” MK said with a shrug. “I kinda said everything I know already. Mr. Tang was hit by a curse and he’s turning into a rabbit demon.”

“But what kind of curse?” Scorpion Demoness asked slowly. Her gaze narrowed, clearly honing in on something as she thought about what he had said again. She turned to Sun Wukong, raising a brow to wordlessly ask him for a more clear explanation.

“You know those old truth curses that turned humans into demons?” Sun Wukong started. “Well—”

“Oh,” Scorpion Demoness let out slowly before scowling. “OH. Oh, I know those curses alright.”

“You do?” MK asked excitedly.

“Yes,” she assured with a nod. “Because they got those from MY library.”

The silence between the three of them was thick enough that you could cut it with a knife.

“IT WAS YOURS!?” MK yelled out in surprise once the information was finally processed.

“No! Yes! Kinda?” Scorpion Demoness clarified quickly, voice squeaking in the surprise before she hastily cleared her throat. “The curses aren’t mine, but my specialty is illusion magic. While not the same, curses and illusions can be intertwined in ways that most people don’t connect sometimes. Some curses rely on illusions to work, and some illusions can be held up by curses. My library has just about as much research on all the old curses over the centuries as you can find.”

“And Jin and Yin were given unfiltered access to all of those curses?” Sun Wukong asked with a shudder.

“I didn’t think they would actually use them!” Scorpion Demoness defended. “There’s more stuff in my library than just curse documents, like how to upkeep the castle and a bunch of old books I have found after travelers lost them over the years. They’re my friends and I... trusted them to not, you know... be dumb when I told them not to try anything dangerous.”

The look of hurt on Scorpion Demoness’ face was as clear as day. It didn’t take an expert to tell she was genuinely upset the twins had done something like that without her knowledge.

“Look,” Sun Wukong said with an awkward smile as he put a hand on her shoulder. “Sometimes friends mess up. That comes with the territory.”

“I’m not used to being in that territory, you know that,” Scorpion Demoness said with a humorless chuckle. “I don’t know how... bad this is. Is it bad? It feels bad.”

“Oh yeah, it’s bad!” MK agreed with a nod. “The twins messed up big time. But Red Son broke into my apartment once and set it on fire a little back when we were enemies and we’re friends now! Kinda took him joining our team to be LBD and a loooooot of apologizing for taking advantage of his hospitality to steal one of the rings for the True Fire of Samadhi to get there, but we got there!”

“I... I feel your example is a little extreme—wait, are you friends with the bull prince?” Scorpion Demoness stumbled on her words, clearly at a loss for where the conversation was heading.

“I think what my successor is trying to say,” Sun Wukong said with a chuckle as he reached over and ruffled MK’s hair. “Is that he has experience in making the best out of a bad situation when it comes to friendships. He’s definitely better at that than I am!”

“...Well, I could definitely use the help in that department,” Scorpion Demoness admitted with a nod. “But that’s not important right now. What is important is that I might have everything you need before Jin and Yin even come back.”

She pushed her vegetables to the side, gesturing for the two of them to follow her.

“There’s a wing of the castle you can stay in for the night,” she explained as she led the way. “It’s connected to the library wing, while I make us something to eat you can start looking in there for anything that could help you with Tang’s curse.”

“Why don’t you let me cook?” MK offered. “My Dadsy owns a restaurant, I know my way around a kitchen! And it is your library after all.”

“Because I need some time to process all this and cooking helps me calm down and think,” Scorpion Demoness answered quickly. “I’ll make something fast, bring it in here for us to eat while we continue looking together. Sounds like a plan?”

They stopped in front of a large set of double doors for only a moment, the doors opening wide to reveal... well. A library.

A massive library.

“Holy shit,” MK breathed out in amazement even as Sun Wukong called him out on his profanity. “It’s huge.”

It was organized chaos. Though there were signs to label what each shelf was, the effect was kind of nullified by the piles of books, scrolls, loose pages, and pamphlets surrounding the shelf.

“Looks like my treasure room,” Sun Wukong said with a half chuckle.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Scorpion Demoness said as she turned away, coming back for a split second to scowl at them. “And keep everything to their assigned section when you put them back!”

They shouted their agreement down the hall as she rushed off, the two left in a slightly awkward silence.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” MK said bluntly once they were alone in their assigned wing. “You promised that you would keep less secrets, Monkey King...”

“I know!” Sun Wukong said quickly, defensiveness getting the better of him for a split second. “I know. I want to tell you, wanted to tell you, but Tang... he asked me not to say anything until we knew for sure.”

“Mr. Tang?” MK asked unbelievingly. He cocked a brow as he stared at his mentor. “The guy who can’t even keep his crush on Pigsy a secret?”

“You’d be surprised what people can hide when they really want to, MK...”

“I’m staaaaarving, Pigsy,” Tang mockingly whined as he laid dramatically over the counter. Next to him, Bai He giggled. “I’ve been looking forward to your noodles for the last two hours while I worked on my lesson plans, take pity on me.”

“It’s done when it’s done, freeloader,” Pigsy snapped back at him with no real venom in his voice. The scholar could clearly see the smile that was just barely starting to form on his face. “You know perfection takes time.”

It was at that moment Tang’s stomach chose to growl.

“My stomach disagrees, feed me Seymour.”

The snort from Pigsy told him that, as cheesy as it was, he appreciated the little reference.

“Okay, okay, it’s finished,” Pigsy announced. “Two fresh bowls of Lanzhou beef noodle soup.”

He laid out the two bowls between his best volunteer and his number one freeloader, smiling at his handiwork. Two absolutely beautiful looking bowls of noodles and meat, that smelled just as good as they looked. Tang didn’t realize his sense of smell had increased so much, it was almost overwhelming.

“I’m so hungry I could eat this entire bowl in less than five minutes,” Tang said as he sipped the broth first. It tasted DIVINE. As expected from someone as amazing at cooking as Pigsy. There was something... different about it, though. Not bad, just different. Tang couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Please don’t, you’ll burn your mouth,” Pigsy said as he went to get his own bowl.

“Wanna bet I can eat this before he comes back?” He whispered to Bai He conspiratorially, chuckling as she made a face of disappointment in his direction.

“You’ll make yourself sick,” she protested before he took a bite of noodles in tandem with her own bite.

The noodles tasted even better than usual, somehow.

“Maybe,” he acknowledged for a moment before looking down at the bowl. His mouth salivated at the idea of scarfing it down as quickly as he could.

He attempted to pace himself, but the bowl was gone in five minutes. That must have been a new record.

Tang leaned back in his seat as Pigsy chastised him for eating too quickly. The scholar and chef fell into their usual banter as Bai He had pulled out her homework to work on once all the late dinner stragglers left.

It was nice. Normal. For a moment, everything was right with the world.

But after a while, something felt... off. His stomach, to be more precise.

The scholar groaned as he finally lost concentration over his lesson plans that he had been attempting to finish up. The ache in his stomach was making it hard to focus on anything else.

“Mr. Tang?” Bai He asked with concern deep in her voice. “You don’t look so good...”

“I don't...” Tang trailed off, laying his head down on the counter in front of him. The coolness of it felt good as it seeped into his fur. “I don’t feel good, either.”

“What’s wrong?” She asked softly, and from the corner of his vision he could see her waving Pigsy over hurriedly. “Is it the curse? Are you dying?”

“If I was dying I would be much louder.”

“Tang?” Pigsy asked softly from over the counter. “You okay?”

“I think I ate too fast,” Tang said. It was the only explanation he could come up with. The only one that made any sense to him. The pain in his stomach became stronger and he couldn’t hold back a soft whimper. It felt like someone had reached into his stomach and yanked something they shouldn’t have. “I... I-I think I need to lie down.”

He barely paid attention to Bai He and Pigsy as they muttered something beside him, his ears registering it but his mind not.

“Come on,” he heard Pigsy say before the chef helped him stand up. They were... climbing up steps? “Kid wouldn’t mind you using his room for a bit.”

They were going to MK’s apartment. That was... MK would be okay with that, right? He wouldn’t mind, not when he was feeling so bad, right?

Something was making thinking difficult. It made paying attention to his surroundings harder, which didn’t feel... right?

They were at MK’s door before he realized it. Two of the hands propping him up moved away and Tang leaned heavily to one side. When the door opened, Tang started to slip off Pigsy’s shoulder.

That was a bad thing.

It made Tang’s stomach lurch painfully, as if it was being pulled and squeezed at the same time. He hadn’t felt this kind of pain in ages, not since he had eaten something he didn’t realize he shouldn’t have as a child.

The room rushed around him and he barely registered that he had made it to the bathroom until he felt Pigsy holding his ears back for him in one hand and his forehead up with the other. Bai He was frantically saying “pick up, pick up, pick up” in the background. Who was she calling?

“Tang,” Pigsy said firmly. “You okay?”

“...No.” He answered honestly. “But I... feel better?”

“Bai He is calling Monkey King and MK,” Pigsy said as he helped Tang stand back up. He grabbed a towel and gestured for Tang to wipe his face with it. “This... this ain’t normal for you, Tang. Even if you ate too fast.”

“...You’re right,” Tang agreed, turning on the sink and swishing his mouth out with water before following the other demon out like a guilty child. He allowed Pigsy to guide him to MK’s bed, awkwardly flopping down on it before immediately feeling guilty. “I feel like death.”

“No death talk,” Pigsy chastised instantly. “You’re not dying.”

“I’m not dying,” Tang repeated. “I just feel like I am.”

Pigsy sighed, rushing off for a moment before returning with a wet cloth in his hand. He laid it over Tang’s face, the warmth of the cloth seeping through his fur. It was nice. Very nice. Tang felt like he needed to do... something? Something like grinding his teeth but not in a bad way. Odd.

“MR. MONKEY KING, MR. TANG IS DYING!” Bai He suddenly yelled over the phone, startling the two men back into the present.

“No, no!” Pigsy said firmly, taking the phone from the young teen. “Tang is not dying, Bai He, I promise. But something is wrong.”

He directed the second part of his sentence to the phone, quickly ensuring Sun Wukong that Bai He was just worried.

“Hold on, explain to me exactly what happened,” Sun Wukong said as he waved at MK that he had the call handled. He listened intently as Pigsy explained everything, how Tang had quickly deteriorated after dinner and his odd behavior. “...Give the phone to Tang, I want to know how it felt from his end. To be safe.”

The explanation he got from the scholar was much the same. But the symptoms he described...

“Think, is there anything you did differently?” Sun Wukong asked. The fact that anything had happened was odd, there was... wait... “Tang, tell me what you did today. Everything. Walk me through it.”

The symptoms.

They almost reminded him of the few times he has accidentally eaten something like chocolate. He was a powerful demonic being, yes, but he was also still a monkey. And there were things he should never eat. He COULD eat them, yes, and it was much easier for him being as tough as he was and being five times immortal. But he really shouldn’t.

“I... got up,” Tang said. He sounded miserable. “Ate some fruit for breakfast. Water. Did my lesson plans. Went to Pigsy’s and—”

“Did you eat your usual order?”

“Yeah?”

“...Fuck.”

Well. That didn’t bode well. Sun Wukong actually cursing did not bode well at all.

“Uh... Monkey King?” Tang chanced after a moment. “How bad is it?”

“Well, to put it bluntly?” Sun Wukong started as he sighed. He went silent for a moment, saying something softly off to the side before turning back to the receiver. “Tang, I need to tell MK. Either your transformation is finishing up faster than I thought it would be and you just happened to have the luck of getting some very specific dietary restrictions some rabbit demons have... or we were right to be worried."

...Fuck.

#monkie kid #lego monkie kid #freenoodleshipping #bunny tang #ship fic #fanfic #lmk pigsy #lmk tang #lmk bai he #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #scorpion demoness #lmk mk #lmk qi xiaotian #lmk oc #if Mr. Jiang counts?

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st4rg1rl-yana · 2 years

Text

Here’s Part 2! The comments and everything on part one were so sweet Im glad people actually liked it <3

also I have this Spiderman Vi fic that i’d been working on hopefully I can post it soon but I’m open to any other ideas to try writing just lemme know! :)

That was the last you’d seen of her for a while. But she, unknowingly to her peaked your interest, who was she? How were you supposed to find her? Questions like these plagued your mind for weeks while pondering over the stranger you met on the roof. She hadn’t even told you her name but her soft encouraging words and enchanting ocean blue eyes were being held hostage in your mind. The feeling of her calloused thumb rubbing away at your deeply rooted pain and insecurities that night had captured you whole, leaving a longing feeling within your chest whenever she crossed your mind. Even now as you scouted throughout the lanes dodging enforcers left and right while, running errand after errand for Silco you couldn’t help but think about the strange girl.

You pulled at your hood, keeping your head down as you passed people on the busy streets just trying to make it back home. “Those kids are gonna be a problem one day, I swear” you heard a man say sarcastically, your steps slowed a bit while you turned the corner waiting against the bricked wall, listening to their words eagerly. “Their good kids, Benzo. Just rough around the edges” the taller one of the two chuckled taking a drag from an bronze colored pipe. “Nothing but trouble if you ask me, especially that pink one, yeah” there was a pause then an exhale of smoke filled the air. “Vi? She’s troublesome I’ll admit that but, her heart is always in the right direction” the taller wiser old man admitted before making his way back inside the building they stood behind.

So that’s her name? You thought, the overhead conversation playing over again as you walked down the deserted back alley. This left you stunned to say the least, leaving your mind clouded with never ending questions about the girl, Vi. Who was she truly? Was she always as kind hearted as she’d been with you? And by the time you’d made it back to Silco’s lab, placing his new set of vials and chemical extracts on his work area, you’d already decided that tonight you’d sneak out once more to find the all too alluring stranger.

You waited patiently and silently watching the slow rise of the moon before making your hasty escape from your home. You found yourself in the eerily silent and inhabited alleyways of Zaun, taking the same route as before. What if she wasn’t even there? You stopped momentarily contemplating if you should just go home. What if she didn’t even show up? Was it even worth it? You sighed heavily but nonetheless continued your path to the abandoned building. Even if she wasn’t there what’s the harm in getting some fresh tainted air?

You walked through the half broken door of the building and climbed the rickety staircase, floorboards creaking underneath your steps. At the top of the stairs stood a metal door and behind it was the rooftop that started it all. You pushed through the heavy metal door, half expecting to see the girl and her messy pink hair. But low and behold you stood on the rooftop alone, just you and the sky up above. You stepped towards the ledge your mood deflating even more with each step. You tirelessly gazed at the sky above you, pulling your knees to your chest as you sat down.

The exhaustion from today’s venture around Zaun caught up with you as you leaned against some old boxes. You were dozing in and out of sleep for a minute, so worn out from the day that you didn’t hear the creak of the rusty door or the soft footsteps making their way to your sleep induced figure. A sweet, smooth voice lulled you from entering your dream world with a light chuckle and nudge to the shoulder. “Hey there, Sleeping Beauty.” You opened you eyes slowly only to be met with those icy blue eyes that hadn’t left the corners of your mind for weeks. Your heart paced almost out of your chest as you stared at the girl crouched to the side of you. “Hi” she smiled a bit before fully sitting next to you. “Long day, Princess?” she asked noticing the way your eyes would lower slowly only to be opened again as to not miss a second of the girl next to you.

You nodded slowly, you wanted nothing more than to make your way home and crawl into bed. But staying here, sitting here with her brought a foreign peace unlike no other. Your head tilted to the side, lowering onto her shoulder slowly. Her body tensed under the light weight on her shoulder but relaxed as she found herself pushed against your side completely soon after. Her left arm perched behind you holding herself up. You peered up at her admiring her beauty from the new angle.

“You never told me your name” you stated even though you’d had an idea of what it was, still you wanted to hear it from her. Her right hand rose to play with the little pink hairs at the back of her neck and a pink tinted blush danced along her freckled cheeks. “I- uh” she stuttered a bit before composing herself and glanced down to you. “The names Vi.” You hummed, your eyes closed shut as you muttered “That’s a pretty name.” She snorted “Thanks, are ya falling asleep on me, Princess?” You only hummed in response as a comforting silence washed over the two of you. She glanced at you her sky blue eyes softening as she wrapped her arm around you pulling you closer to her side. “Don’t worry, I got you Angel” she whispered looking outwards to the scenery of stars scattered across Zaun’s dark night sky.

#vi x reader #vi x you #vi x y/n #vi x female reader #vi arcane #arcane fic #arcane headcanons #arcane #arcane league of legends #arcane x y/n #arcane x you #silco #league of legends #arcane x female reader #arcane x reader #vi imagine

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analogwriting · 5 months

Note

ok I feel a bit weird sending in another message today, but the newest chapters put me in such a killer mood I wanted to read more for him

and I must say??? We need more killer writers pls 😔 I love oneshots, hcs, all that stuff, but where are my longfics??? not to complain (i am), but WHERE IS THE SLOWBURN??

ambrose you are a godsend fr fr… I get so picky with this kind of thing because sometimes i’ll say “Oh I don’t like slowburn THAT much” but the moment I find a good slowburn, I will eat that shit up. I will be HOOKED on my phone for hours at a time and let my work pile up because yeah, these fics have me forgetting I need to sleep

Wish I could give you all the kisses in the world because you really just spoil us with ur amazing writing… ive never felt so blessed by an author before cuz the way the slowburn is so agonizing it has me ripping apart my lungs, my heart aching, myself going insane… I live for it.

Respect to you and other slowburn authors, cuz it takes a lot of work to write one… I always find other law or killer fics and the relationships always feel so rushed 😔 please, law and killer are such slowburn potential characters and i hate to see them act so impulsive in other works. I love how u write tho. So so so much. everything is so slow and i love it

(one day I’ll get to reading your law fanfic…hopefully this weekend)

anyways, me 🤝 number 1 kese hater, next chapters are rlly gonna get me 😭

-long rants anon

first of all, don't feel weird. I love getting asks, replies, or anything. no matter how many times. I eat that shit UP ✋✋

second, FKSKFKEKOD???? got me ugly crying on main frfr with this ask. i literally called my bsf crying 💀 you're so fucking sweet??? im just a funky little guy that had a few dreams and decided to write em out bc fuck it and to know that people are enjoying it that much is so insane to me 😭😭😭

im a sucker for slowburn and would eat that shit for breakfast lunch and dinner if I could. i just never really found it of my favorite characters so i was like "dammit if i want this shit gonna have to make it myself ig" i always felt like the law stories kinda happened to fast as well and i wanted some PINING. and then when I started my killer fic, there was hardly any killer content in general. there seems to be a surge in content for him tho which I am forever excited about my mans deserves it.

like the last time I wrote fanfiction it was a decade ago when I was first starting off high school. (not counting rps n shit with friends that continued forever)

never in a million years did i know people would enjoy it as much as they are and that shit makes me so unbelievably happy. like y'all have no idea. when i say i be giggling and kicking my feet n shit I MEAN IT

like this is me every time I get y'all's comments n shit. like I be giggling and just glowing all day. (it's partially why I just kept the trend of posting updates at night so I can wake up to them nice messages 💅 start the day off RIGHT)

like my head is reeling from this ask and im on cloud nine frfr. you are so fucking sweet and i just want to tuck you in my pocket and keep you safe. like FJSKDKDKS I'm going to be thinking about this all day and probably the rest of the week if not forever 😭😭😭

but seriously, from the bottom of my soul, thank you for this. shit makes my year frfr. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

#hopefully you like my law one as much as you like my killer one #that one is deffo crazy and it feels like a fever dream at this point #like i still cant believe i wrote it #and im going to feel that way when i finish the killer fic too #good thing ive got like a million more for the both of them #but i think i might write for cora next bc i dont see too much content with him either #but serious from the bottom of my heart thank you #am answers

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countessofravenclaw · 6 months

Text

A homeland this north, country dear fathers! Part cuatro

Winter is the time for holidays, celebrations, and fun. Nina, Gastón, Luna and Matteo receive a wedding invitation to France for the New Years and decide, since they're already going to Europe, why not take everything out of it and take a well-deserved skiing vacation? Simon and Ambar join them and all is set for a relaxing holiday at Finland's northern region called Lapland. A place for speed, reindeer, fun, and dangerous situations... Just kidding, what could possibly go wrong at the winter wonderland? (There is a Finnish Christmas song linked on the title)

Pakkasyö on, ja leiskuen pohja loimuja viskoo

This chapter will include lot of medical nonsense that I mostly made up. Accuracy comes second to the story, the story is the priority, so bare with me okay

“What’s going on here?” Ambar and Simon had just finished descending a slope when they heard sirens.

“Hopefully no one has gotten hurt,” Simon remarked as they took their skis off. “Hey, can we take break? I really need a donut.”

“I could never deny you that,” Ambar laughed, “Hopefully they aren’t out.”

They grabbed their skis and started walking toward the central hub of the slopes where the cafe was located. As they were walking, the noise of the sirens started deluding. Whatever that had been, it was moving away from them.

“I think I can totally fit three of those in my mouth.”

“Don’t you even dare to try it,” Ambar gave Simon her sternest look, “I am not gonna perform a Heimlich on you when you choke, mostly because I don’t know how. Should we go on a first aid course?”

“When will we find the time to do that—?”

They had reached the center and to their surprise, they saw Luna standing in front of it, looking frantically around.

“Hey! Luna!” Simon called to get her attention.

“Oh my god! Simon and Ambar!” Almost like lightning Luna had appeared in front of them. “Thank goodness you’re here. I didn’t know if I should call you and I wasn’t sure if you’d hear…”

“Luna, what are you talking about?” Ambar furrowed her brow. Luna was speaking faster than normal and looking extremely frantic. “Where are Matteo and Gastón?”

“Did you hear the sirens?” Simon asked, “Did you see what that was about?”

“He fell and we didn’t know what to do, until some other people came behind us who knew where to call,” Luna launched into another fast-paced spiel. She was almost looking scared, “He wasn’t moving…”

“Wait, Luna, hold on…” Ambar wasn’t understanding anything, “Who wasn’t moving? Slow down.”

“Okay,” Luna took a shaky breath, “We decided to try this black slope, and there was some ice and he fell onto the trench and hit a tree.”

“Wait, so, someone got hurt?” Simon didn’t seem to be able to keep up either. “The sirens were for you?”

Luna nodded.

“And since you’re here… it means that…” Ambar started grasping the full picture.

“It was Gastón,” Luna continued, “He, he wasn’t moving… It looked like he was dead.”

“Oh my god!” Simon exclaimed.

“So, you got help?” Ambar tried to stay calm. Staying collected under pressure was part of her job and this was not the time to freak out. “And I suppose Matteo went with him, did they say where?”

“I think it was to the Lapland Hospital,” Luna responded. “I’m not sure.”

“Text Matteo, right now.” Ambar tried to think. “Does Nina know?”

“NO!” Luna looked horrified for a moment. “I didn’t even think about that. I’ll have to tell her…” She scrambled to get her phone out.

“Luna waits,” Ambar grabbed her hand, “If she doesn’t already know, she needs to know asap. Her husband is on his way to the hospital with presumed head trauma and who knows what else. She is his next of kin and is the only one with some say. Who knows what kind of brain surgery he will need… However, this can’t be told over the phone.”

“Oh.” Luna stared at her.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” Ambar took a deep breath, “Find out the hospital from Matteo, then Simon will drive you there. I’m gonna take the other car and get Nina.”

“It should be me,” Luna tried to protest, “I’m her best friend.”

“I know that,” Ambar continued, “but time is of the essence right now. We all know how she’s gonna react, it does not matter how it’s told to her. We don’t know how much time we have here. This needs to be a surgical strike. I’m sorry Luna, but you’re terrible at tough love. Go to the hospital, this surely is hard for Matteo as well, he needs you. I’ll go get Nina. Now lets move!”

***

“Miespuolinen, 27-vuotias. Laskettelurinteessä laskenut puuta päin. Mahdollista pää- ja selkäydin traumaa. Murtunieta kylkiluita. Taju mennyt monta kertaa matkan aikana. Tajuton tälläkin hetkellä.”

Matteo watched in horror as the paramedics wheeled Gastón in. This was not happening. Everyone was speaking a language he didn’t understand… and his best friend was lying there unconscious…

“Hei! You can’t go in there.” A male nurse got Matteo’s attention.

“I’m sorry,” Matteo tried to straighten his thoughts out enough to get some English out, “Is… is he going to make it?”

“He is in good hands,” the nurse assured him while pulling a tablet out, “Can you tell me his full name?”

“Gastón Perida.”

“You tourists? From where?”

“Buenos Aires.”

“Okay, so Argentinians,” The nurse put something down on the tablet before turning toward the treatment room, “Hei! Potilas on argentiinalainen. Pistän tulkille kutsun tulemaan.” Then he turned back toward Matteo, “You speak pretty solid English, how’s his?”

“Uh… better than mine,” Matteo noticed that he had been gripping his hands together so tightly that they were almost white. Miracle he hadn’t bent his wedding ring in the process, “He lived in England for six years.”

“Well, thats good to know,” The nurse nodded, “We still have paged a translator, because we can’t rely on patient’s language skills, especially with head trauma.”

“You mean,” Matteo tried to find words, “he might be in such bad shape that he can’t talk?”

“Not exactly, but you never know with these kinds of cases before throughout examination. Trauma to the head is serious, especially with possible added spinal trauma.” The nurse tapped on the tablet again, “Social security number?”

“I, I… I don’t know his,” Matteo mumbled. He had the key to Gastón and Nina’s house, had known his phone password almost as long as they had known each other… but social security? That wasn’t something you shared a lot… They hadn’t thought they would ever need to know.

“You’re not family?”

“He’s my best friend,” Matteo responded, “SO… no, not family, technically.” Technically, technically… Gastón and his parents were his family, as much as Dad and Sofia were… sometimes even more. “But… but, he should have his driver’s license somewhere on him.”

“Sotusta ei tietoa, mutta ajokortti on kuulemma jossain taskussa! Tarkistakaa!” The nurse yelled to the treatment room.

“Kysy omaisista!”

“Since you’re traveling here from afar this might be hard, but is there any family we can reach to be here—?”

“Hei Antti! Sormus. Naimissa!” Someone from the back yelled and the nurse turned back to Matteo. “He’s married. You know the wife? How can we contact her?”

“Oh, she’s here,” Matteo felt absolutely terrible at that moment. Nina. He hadn’t even thought about her… She didn’t even know! “I mean with us. Not at the slopes, though.”

Matteo scrambled to get his phone from his pocket. He was just about to call Nina when he noticed a couple of messages from Luna.

Luna: We’re on our way with Simon! Luna: Oh, Ambar went to get Nina. How is it? Matteo: I don’t know

“She’s on her way here,” Matteo responded to the nurse, “I don’t know how long it’ll be.”

“Okay,” The nurse sighed, “Is there anything you can tell us. Any previous medical history, previous injuries, alergies?”

“No, nothing,” Matteo shook his head, “Outside of like sprained wrist and ankle when we were 14, but that surely isn’t relevant.”

***

Nina looked over at her phone as she made another cup of tea. There was nothing out of the ordinary that no one had texted her. They were having way too much fun at the slopes, and you couldn’t blame them for forgetting her for a moment, since there was no way that anyone, even her husband, could convince her to join sliding down mountains at dangerous speeds.

But hopefully, Gastón had taken pictures of the views, so he could show her since he had neglected to send her any today.

She sat down on the couch, enjoying the fireplace.

She opened her book and had just started reading a new chapter when she was startled by a sudden gush of cold air as the door opened.

“Ambar?”

Ambar suddenly burst through the door. Her face was red, and she looked kind of sweaty. She also looked like she was out of breath.

“None of you were supposed to be back for a couple of hours…” Nina glanced at her watch, “Actually, it is really early.”

“Yes, I know that” Ambar didn’t start taking her outdoor clothing off, instead she opened the closet and pulled another jacket out. Nina couldn’t fully see which one it was, but it didn’t look like one of Ambar’s or even Luna’s… but that couldn’t be right.

“Ambar, why are you here?” Nina got the sense that something was off. No one had ever come from the slopes before it was dark.

“Yeah, about that,” Ambar looked straight at Nina and took a deep breath. She had her “I mean business” face on, “Okay, this will be a lot and I will speak straight because this is important.”

“Why are you acting like you’re in the courtroom?”

“Because otherwise, I won’t get this out,” Ambar walked to Nina, still fully dressed in outdoor gear, even wearing the shoes. “And it’s crucial that I do. We don’t have much time.”

“You’re scaring me.” Nina noticed that the jacket Ambar was holding was one of hers, “What is going on?”

“Please sit down.”

“Why?”

“Just do it,” Ambar took her arm and practically yanked Nina onto the couch, “I told you, we don’t have time.”

“Time for what?”

“Look,” Ambar sat next to Nina, “There is no easy way to say this, but I have to rip the band aid off. Luna, Matteo and Gastón tried this bigger slope today—”

“Oh, Luna said that she wanted to try one of those,” Nina noted, but then she saw the look on Ambar’s face, “Wait… what happened?”

“I’m just gonna say this,” Ambar took another breath, “Gastón hit a patch of black ice, and got totally derailed off the path, and hit a tree.”

“What!?” Nina stared at Ambar. Her brain felt like it was going in slow motion. “He collided with a tree?”

Imagines started swirling in Nina’s mind. Collisions with trees were one of the biggest risk factors in the whole sport…

“Matteo went with him to the hospital.”

“He’s in the hospital!!??” Her brain started finally to catch up with what Ambar had just said.

“Luna said that he was in pretty rough shape.”

“I… We… We need to…” Nina felt like she had been suddenly paralyzed. Her thoughts made no sense. She couldn't form comprehend sentences. Her breathing started becoming shallow. Gastón was in the hospital…

“We need to go there now,” Ambar placed her hand on Nina’s arm, “So now, you need to get up, I have your coat right here, put the shoes on and get in the car.”

“Yeah… yes…” Nina carefully got onto her feet. It still felt like her body was shutting down.

“Hey, Gastón’s not dead,” Ambar handed Nina her coat, “Your husband is alive, focus on that.”

***

“Matteo!” Matteo bounced his knee up and down nervously as he heard the noise. He looked up from the chair he had been sitting on, and saw Luna and Simon enter the waiting area. Luna ran to hug him.

“Hey, whats going on?” Simon asked. “How’s Gastón?”

“I don’t know,” Matteo shook his head, “Last I saw they were doing imagining or something… I don’t know, but it sounded bad. He has not been awake at all, or I mean, like conscious. They’re not telling me anything and I can’t understand what they have been talking about.”

“Why aren’t they telling you?” Luna questioned.

“Because I’m not family,” Matteo sunk back into the chair, frustrated, “This is the first time someone has ever said that…”

He looked up suddenly, “Nina! She needs to be here. They’ll actually talk to her.”

“Ambar went to get her,” Simon explained, “She texted me that they are coming.”

“Yeah, of course,” Matteo nodded, “They asked me his social security code, but I didn’t know it. I hope she does, because I don’t want to call Isla and Marco about this… at least before we know what is going on. I can’t do that to them.”

“Do what to them?”

“Isla’s father died in a car crash, Marco lost both of his parents to cancer and Isla almost died due to a condition that even to this day is not really specified. They don’t have the best track record with people ending up in hospital.” Matteo sighed, “I don’t want to tell them until we know what’s the case. They’ll overcome with worry; they have lost so much already. I can’t let them think that they are losing Gastón as well. Plus, it's not really my decision… it’s Nina’s.”

At that moment the doors to the waiting room opened up.

“Matteo!” Frantic-looking Nina ran up to him, with Ambar behind her. Panic was evident behind her eyes. “What’s going on?! Is he okay?”

“I don’t know.” Matteo answered truthfully, “They won’t tell me, because I’m not the next of kin. That's you.”

“Who do I talk to?” Nina looked around, her voice still clearly vaiwering.

“I think the nurses' desk is right there,” Matteo got up from the chair, “they have talked English to me here, so you shouldn’t have a problem.”

“Okay…” Nina turned around. As she started walking toward the desk, everything about her body language basically screamed dread. You couldn’t blame her.

Matteo decided that the best thing to do was to follow her, because one, he wanted to hear what was happening to Gastón, and two, Nina didn’t look that steady on her feet.

“Excuse me!? I need to talk to somebody!” Nina said at once as she made it to the desk. She didn’t appear to struggle with getting English out, given her clear British accent, but her voice still wasn’t fully firm and higher pitched than usual.

“Miss—?” The nurse who was manning the station started saying.

“Mrs.—” Nina corrected them. “—Perida. My husband was brought here. Can someone tell me what is going on?”

“Perida?” The nurse seemed to be looking something up from the computer, “If you wait for a moment.”

She pressed her earpiece. “Hei! Mulla on kympin omaiset täällä. Joo, vaimo näyttää olevan. Nuori nainen, kyselee aviomiehensä perään, sama sukunimi. Joo, laitan tulemaan.” The nurse turned back to them, “Yes, I got it here. If you follow me, we’ll get a doctor to talk to you.”

“Thank you,” Nina breathed. She then looked at Matteo, “Come with me?”

“Yeah, of course.”

***

“Skiing accidents are often very serious.” To doctor continued her explanation, “Especially the collisions with trees. Your husband has multiple broken ribs plus severe head trauma.”

“What does that exactly mean?” Nina asked while fiddling with the rings on her left finger.

“What we’re optimistic about is the fact that there is no neck or spinal trauma. The problem lies in the fact he has not been able to stay conscious but is still breathing on his own. The MRIs and the CT have not been clear, which is not a good sign.”

“Wha… what does that mean?” That was the only thing she could say. Nina had been trying to convince herself that everyone had just overreacted. Gastón had just blacked out, had a broken leg or an arm and was fine… that had been the only thing keeping her from going into a full panic… which was slowly creeping in now.

“It means that we have been unable to determine the damage to his brain,” the doctor continued. “The plan at the moment is to keep him under strict monitoring for twelve hours to see if he wakes up on his own, because that would be the ideal situation… if he doesn’t we’ll need to move fast because brain bleeds will require operating as soon as possible.”

“A brain bleed?” Nina had to grab on Matteo’s arm for support, so she didn’t lose her balance.

“That is the most likely outcome.”

“Just tell me how bad this is,” Nina finally asked. She didn’t understand most of the medical jargon.

“At this case, it is really serious. We’ll gonna do our best. Since he is quite young, there is a slight possibility that he might wake up on his own.”

“So, they won't have a clear picture of everything until he wakes up,” Nina was sitting on a chair at the hospital’s waiting room. After talking to the doctor, she was trying to explain everything to the others… while she just wanted to fall apart. “They said that they can’t know the amount of brain damage or how it will affect him before, but anything from motor and cognitive functions can be affected to… to… amnesia.” Her voice finally started to break.

“Amnesia?” Luna who had been holding her hand questioned.

“Anything from couple of months to even years, many years,” Nina shook her head, “Apparently it is very common… if he even makes it. He could stop breathing any second, he would need to be intubated and put in the respirator… or be declared braindead…” She buried her head in her hands. She couldn’t keep it together any longer as the tears started streaming down her face, “I— I can’t… I can’t be a widow before I am thirty…I can’t be a widow at all. I can’t do this.”

“Nina, they are telling you those things because they are legally obligated to do so,” Ambar started explaining, “They have to acknowledge every possible risk factor, but it doesn’t mean those will happen.”

“I know that, but I can only think of the worst,” Nina tried to take a breath, she couldn’t have a panic attack right now, “Just… You never really know what Till death do you part really means do you? Until you stare it in the eye—”

“Mrs. Perida?” A nurse suddenly walked up to them.

“Yes!?” Nina frantically looked up alarmed, “What’s happened?”

“Your husband is stable so we’re transferring him to a ward for observation,” The nurse explained.

“Can I see him?”

“Yes, if you come with us,” The nurse nodded, and Nina got up from the chair.

She followed the nurse down a hallway and into an elevator, down another hallway, around a corner, and to a hallway with a bunch of rooms.

“It’s this one,” She gestured to one of the doors.

“Thank you,” Nina took a deep breath again. She tried to keep herself from shaking, but it probably wasn’t very unusual that she was afraid.

The nurse had opened the door and was holding it open for her. Nina gathered herself and walked in.

“Minna, potilaan vaimo.” The nurse said something to the other nurse who was in the room.

Nina walked slowly deeper into the room. The hospital bed came into her field of vision inch by inch.

The view was astounding. Gastón was just lying there… it almost looked like he was sleeping. Nina walked closer. The sight was scarily simple, there wasn’t any blood or scars. The only thing indicating that he was hurt were the oxygen tubes going into his nose.

His eye was also black, and there was some bruising on his face and forehead. Nina noticed them as she brushed some of Gastón’s hair off his face.

It was finally setting in that this was all real. Not just some nightmare she would be able to wake up from and see the love of her life sleeping next to her, not unconscious in a hospital bed…without any knowledge if he was ever going to wake up.

A wave of insurmountable dread and fear filled her in that moment. Nina ignored the beeping heart monitor on the wall and grabbed Gastón's wrist. She had to feel for herself that he was alive.

Feeling the pulse and seeing his chest rise and go down, didn’t really do anything for her in terms of peace of mind. There was no magic cure that would make him wake up.

Nina tried to swallow her tears, but it was getting harder to do so…She had never been a strong person to begin with. Wondering and just waiting to see if her husband was going to live or die, that wasn’t something she had been prepared to go through. She couldn’t go through this. She grabbed the hand she was holding tighter.

“Esto no puede estar pasando. You can’t leave me. Newton is waiting for us to come home. You need to fight. Fight for me, for our future children, for our life. For your life…I can’t do this alone…”

“Doctors were pretty optimistic about his prognosis,” Nina jumped as nurse walked up and adjusted the IV that was hanging on a hook next to the bed, “Even if they have to operate, him only being 27 is a huge advantage.”

Nina nodded. She wasn’t sure how much of that was just said to reassure her. The nurses might not have understood what she had said, but her tear-stained face surely gave everything away. She looked back at Gastón’s hand… she realized suddenly that it was the left hand.

“Excuse me, uhm, his ring. Was it taken off during the examinations?” Or had it been lost on the slopes during the accident? That would be the last nail in this coffin. It was maybe a bit materialistic to wonder about that now, but the wedding ring was as important to Nina as it was to Gastón. Gastón’s ring had a custom engraving on Nina’s handwriting, just like hers had his. If it was lost, it almost felt like a prelude to losing him.

Plus, it was an Aguirre ring. Maria had tragically died a year after their wedding and almost all of her custom pieces were already viewed as priceless pieces of art. Their rings were no different, especially since they had been one of the last pieces made before Maria’s condition had worsened.

“Oh, yes,” the nurse who had brought Nina there, grabbed a zip lock bag from the table, and handed it to Nina. “It can come down to minutes so, it's just easier if he doesn’t have anything that we need to remove.”

Nina held the bag in her hands. The ring and the watch he had been wearing were there. She put the watch in her bag but fished the ring out and put it on her left index finger.

“There are a couple of things we need you to sign,” the other nurse came back handing Nina a tablet.

“Of course,” Nina looked at the tablet, “What is this?”

“Since you’re from overseas, it’s hard for us to obtain his medical records,” The nurse explained, “The hospital lawyers are on it, but your consent will make it easier as he can’t give his consent at the moment.”

“Okay,” Nina nodded and singed her name at the bottom of the form, “Uh, I have his ID.”

“Good, I can just scan it,” The nurse nodded, “The other form is just general information. Was it correct that his blood type is A positive?”

“Yes, it is,” Nina answered as she signed the other form. The only reason why she actually knew that was because Gastón had started donating blood at Oxford with Oliver and James. The blood drives had come there quite often. He was also a registered organ donor. It was something that had been agreed between him and his cousins to honor their grandfather, Joakim Vasquez, who had saved up to five lives after he had died, by organ donations.

That probably didn’t carry over to other countries though… That would mean that Nina would need to be the one to sign over his organs… No, no, no, she couldn’t even fathom the thought right now.

“This is the last one,” The nurse handed her another ipad, with another form, “It’s the consent form for the operation. If it needs to be performed, everything will be happening fast so it’s better to have preliminary consent.

Nina felt like she was operating on autopilot when she signed her name on the line again.

When the nurses had gone again, she buried her face in her hands. She couldn’t believe that she had just done that. She had just signed a document, giving her consent for them to perform brain surgery on Gastón, even if it was to save his life.

No matter how optimistic the doctors were. No matter if he was young. It was very possible that he was going to die.

This had not been what she had meant by a new era beginning in her life. She had no life without Gastón. He had been by her side through everything, the year they had been apart had been the worst in her life.

She couldn’t do this; she couldn’t be the one to tell these people to disconnect him from the respirator—even when he wasn’t even on it yet—and watch his heart stop. She couldn’t be the one to tell his parents that they had lost their only son, their only child.

Her hand went to touch the necklace Gastón had gotten her for Christmas as she tried to calm down. None of that had happened yet, that was the worst-case scenario.

He could still wake up… and even if he had a brain bleed, they could still do something about it.

She couldn’t fully fathom the outcome of that, though. Him not able to walk she could take, but amnesia… She wasn’t fully sure how she could keep on living if he didn’t know who she was.

She hated waiting like this, without knowing a single thing.

Beeb! Beeb!

***

After Nina had gone Ambar, Simon, Matteo and Luna sat silently.

“It probably does no good to any of us just to sit here,” Ambar broke the silence, “they won’t let visitors in, I presume. I feel like all the hippa laws are a bit stricter here, given the welfare country.”

“You’re probably right,” Simon stood up from his chair, “I think we all need some coffee. I think I saw Starbucks across the street.”

“Good idea!” Luna jumped up.

“Yeah, we should go back to change out of all this skiing gear,” Ambar nodded.

“You go,” Matteo looked up, “I’ll stay here.”

“Matteo,” Luna looked at him disapprovingly, “You should come with us. You need to get some air. It would be good for you.”

Luna grabbed Matteo’s hands and pulled him up.

“We won’t be far. Nina will tell us if something changes.”

“Okay.” Matteo sighed.

As they were making their way out, they passed another nurse's station. The people there were talking very loudly.

“Hohhoijaa, tulin juuri kymppi huomeesta. Kahvitauko kyllä jo kelpaisi”

“Kymppi? Mikä juttu se nyt olikaan? Oliko se se argentiinalainen?”

“Joo, se. Turistiporukka laskettelureissulla. Mun ymmärryksen mukaan tais olla kolme nuortaparia. Oli jotenkin laskenu puuta päin tai jotain. Vielä ei oo saatu hereille. Vaimo on aika järkyttyny.”

“No, olisin kyllä minäkin jos oma mies päätyisi tällä tavalla sairaalaan. Aivoverenvuodostahan lääkärit tossa puhu. Ei olisi yhtään ihme.”

“Kauheata tuo on. Vaikuttavat aika nuorilta myöskin. Kuinkakohan kauan ovat edes ehtineet olla naimisissa?”

“Sanoitteko Argentiina? Ehdin jo ihan ajatella, että ovat brittejä. Naisella oli ainaki täysin selvä brittiaksentti ja puhuu täydellistä englantia. Saipa oma kielipää vähän virkistystä.”

Wonder what they’re saying?“ Luna wondered as they kept walking. Matteo just nodded, not really reacting. “You okay?” Luna asked as they walked outside to the crisp freezing air.

“Of course, I am not,” Matteo shook his head, “This should have never happened.”

“It’s not your fault,” Luna reached for his hand, “The black run slope was my idea.”

“It was no one’s fault,” Mateo shook his head again, “I just don’t know what to think.”

“The healthcare here is top-notch,” Ambar noted.

“That doesn’t still mean that things can’t go wrong. Everything they said is a real possibility.” Matteo sighed, “I just can’t even bear to imagine it… Gastón is the reason why I am even here right now. It was because of him I ever even managed to have a cordial relationship with Sofia. Saved me a whole lot of unnecessary misery. He doesn’t deserve this, nor does Nina.”

“Maybe it will just be like you,” Luna suggested, “Just focus on the positive.”

“I fell three meters,” Matteo noted, “It wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t a high acceleration collision. I wasn’t at risk of a brain bleed or being unconscious for hours. I only blacked out…”

Matteo hung his head again. All of this was bringing all the emotions he had been trying to avoid for the past 17 years. More people he loved couldn’t die. “I was 10 when Mom died. I said goodbye to her while she was lying in a hospital bed, barely able to talk. There was nothing to be done and we all knew it. It just… It can’t be happening again.”

“He’s not going to die,” Luna took Matteo’s hand, “Not if there is any good in the world left.”

“Are we sure there’s any good in the world to begin with?”

***

“GASTÓN!!!!!”

Everything went black…

…there were voices that intertwined with each other…

“Ei reagoi valoon!”

“Aloita tippa!”

“Will he make it?”

“Lucha por mí, por nuestros futuros hijos, por nuestra vida. Por tu vida... No puedo hacer esto sola…”

The blinding light was directed toward him.

He had to open his eyes.

As soon as Gastón opened his eyes he became hyper-aware of the pounding pain on his head and on his sides…

…he was lying down on a bed…in an unrecognizable room…

What was going on?

“Don’t try to get up.” A person he didn’t recognize, who was wearing a white coat said in English, but the phrase was then repeated in Spanish by a different voice. Someone else, who Gastón couldn’t see from the side, pushed him back down as he had been trying to look around the room better.

“Espera... qué... ¿Qué estamos pasando?”

“You’re in the Central Hospital of Lapland,” The person with a coat said again, and again it was repeated in Spanish. There was a translator present? Why? “You have been in an accident.”

An accident? That explained the pain he was in… “What?”

Nothing made any sense.

“You suffered a severe impact to the head and have been unconscious for several hours. Can you tell what year it is?” The doctor shone a bright light in both of his eyes.

“2027.”

“Do you know your full name?”

“Gastón Joakim Perida.” Gastón didn’t fully understand why he was being asked all these questions.

His whole body felt weird, like he had no strength left.

“You recognize this person?” The doctor pointed to his left. Gastón realized that his left hand was being squeezed had been squeezed quite tightly for a while now.

“Nina?” He turned his head to see her sitting next to the bed, wearing a worried but also relieved expression.

“And she is…?”

“My wife,” Gastón looked at the doctor again. Why was he being asked that? He looked at Nina again and noticed that she had some tears in her eyes.

What on earth was going on?

“Can you recall at all what happened?”

“Uhm,” Gastón tried to think, but all he remembered was getting off the ski lift, “No.”

The pounding pain in his head got worse and his vision started getting blurred. He needed to close his eyes.

“Viisi milligrammaa morfiinia.”

A nurse who had been standing on the side did something on the IV and the pain started to subside.

“I remember that we decided to try one of those black slopes,” he started speaking, “We hadn’t done it before. We got on the lift and got off at the top… then nothing…”

***

“Follow the light with your eyes,” Nina watched the doctor shine a flashlight on Gastón’s eyes.

The confusion had started to ward off and he was starting to comprehend what was going on, which was relieving, but she didn’t still like watching him being in pain.

“Move the eyes from side to side,” the doctor seemed to furrow his brow for a moment, before he asked Gastón to do that again.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like some of the pupil movements,” The Doctor put the light away and pulled the tablet he had had up, “It could be nothing, but since the images we have had have not been clear, I’m gonna order a full neurological workup on you.”

“What does that mean?”

“You have a severe concussion, so I just to make sure there isn’t any underlying damage to the parietal lobe.” The doctor stood up, “Just a routine precaution. Right now, you need to get rest.”

After the doctor had gone, Nina breathed a shaky sigh of relief and grabbed Gastón’s hand again, caressing his knuckles with her thump. “I thought I lost you.”

“What happened?” Gastón grimaced after putting his head back down on the pillow. His voice was still quite hoarse. “Was there an avalanche or something?”

“No,” Nina shook her head, “I don’t know exactly. Luna and Matteo—”

“Wait, if I was in an accident, what happened to them?” Gastón’s face started growing alarmed and he started pushing himself up, “Are they okay?”

“Don’t try to get up,” Nina pushed gently on Gastón’s shoulder as he tried to move. “They’re fine. It was only you. Matteo was the one who came with you here. I didn’t have time to ask him for details…You’re never skiing again.” She finished sternly. She would not allow him to put himself at risk like this again. He could have ended up much worse off.

“I think I can oblige,” Gastón grimaced again, “I feel like I have been run over by a train. I just don’t understand…”

“Don’t try to think too hard right now,” Nina brushed his hair back, “It’s a lot at the moment, so obviously things aren’t making sense.”

“I don’t remember what happened,” Gastón sighed again, “That’s freaking me out.”

“You don’t remember at all?” Small alarm bells were ringing in Nina’s head, but she shut them down by reminding herself that the doctors had not been concerned by it.

“No. We got of the lift, put the skis on, and then I woke up here.”

“I’m just happy you’re talking to me right now.” Nina leaned over him, careful not to put any weight on him, and softly kissed him before leaning her head next to his on the pillow. “I love you.”

She got up as they started hearing footsteps approaching down the hallway. “They probably coming to check your drip.”

“My god!” It wasn’t a nurse, it was Matteo who suddenly appeared at the door, “You’re alive!”

“Maybe,” Gastón responded as Matteo rushed to his bedside. “Don’t exactly feel like it.”

“The fact that you feel pain is a sign that you’re alive,” Matteo shook his head, “I’m taking it.”

“You scared us,” Luna, who was next to Matteo said, “I thought you were dead.”

“The visiting hours will be over soon, so we have to make this quick,” Ambar came through the door, “Great to see you awake. What’s the verdict?”

“Concussion that’s extremely severe,” Nina started. She thought it was best if she explained since Gastón should preserve his energy. “That’s what they’re operating under since he’s awake. They did order a neurologist exam, so not quite out of the woods yet.”

Beeb! Beeb!

The monitor had started beeping very loudly and the nurses hurried into the room.

“Venrenpaine on alhainen ja pulssi koholla.”

“Kutsu lääkäri tänne.”

“What is going on?”

“We’re a little bit worried about the blood pressure so we paged the doctor. Nothing to be alarmed by.”

… … …

“Time of death, 17:16”

“We’re so sorry…”

… … …

“NO!!!!”

Nina shot up on the bed in the dark room.

Wait… It had been a dream.

She felt tears fall from her eyes and she was shaking all through out. Her hand automatically went to feel the other side of the bed, only to find it empty and cold.

Of course, he wasn’t here… He was in the hospital, kilometers away from her.

But he was alive. When the beeping had started and they had worried about blood pressure, he had woken up after a while.

Nina went to feel the ring on her left ring finger. Taking the engagement ring off at night had been a struggle, but in the end, she had managed to do it. But she always slept with her wedding ring, she almost never took it off.

The room temperature was absolutely freezing. She took a couple of shaky breaths as she pulled the blanket tighter around her, like that would actually help.

Only one thing helped her when she woke up after a nightmare, but she couldn’t have that right now.

***

Matteo rolled over on the bed. He really should not have expected to be able to get much sleep.

Yep, this wasn’t going to work. He got up as silently as he could, so he didn’t wake up Luna.

As he walked into the kitchen in the dark to have a glass of water, he started hearing furious paced typing. Only one person typed that fast.

“Nina?” He walked into the living room to see her hunched on the sofa, light from the computer illuminating her face. “What are you doing awake?”

That was a stupid question.

“This is the only way I can get my thoughts in order,” Nina quickly looked at him.

“Okay,” Matteo nodded and sat next to her on the couch and took a peek of words written on the computer screen. “Dark.”

“I write what I feel.” Nina shook her head. “I don’t sleep well alone. Very clear showing that I’m used to way too good. Been too happy and now I’m punished for it.”

“No one should be punished for that,” Matteo placed his hand on Nina’s shoulder, “and you are not. Gastón could have been much worse.”

“But he’s not okay, either.” Nina looked down, “I’m just scared that if I close my eyes my phone will ring, and they will tell me that he has crashed and there was nothing they could have done, and I wasn’t even able to say goodbye. I should have stayed at the hospital, but they didn’t let me.”

“He’s gonna get better.”

“What if he won’t? I know that I’m just being paranoid, but he seems to be doing a little too well. They didn’t actually think he was gonna wake up. What if there is something they overlooked something or what if he gets worse, like the amnesia is delayed or something? I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know. I’m scared that tomorrow he won’t recognize me.”

“He would need to lose a lot of years for that to happen,” Matteo noted. He did completely understand why Nina was so worried about all of that, and it was totally justified of her.

“Ten is enough,” Nina looked down again in the dark, “You try explaining to him why the person he has talked to twice is his wife.”

“You know he has had feelings for you ever since that photography class,” Matteo noted trying to lighten the moment, “He would probably be delighted.”

“Maybe,” Nina laughed slightly, “But, I’m still scared.”

“I know how you feel,” Matteo grabbed her hand, “I have been through this, when Mom died. I cannot even fathom if Gastón went too but he isn’t doing that. We need to keep the faith up that it’ll be okay.”

“Yeah,” Nina nodded and brushed her eyes, “I shouldn’t keep you up. I’ll try to leave as early as I can in the morning. They said that they can give me a little leeway in the visiting times.”

***

“Hey.” Nina walked into Gastón’s hospital room at eight o’clock in the morning. She maybe should have gotten a little more sleep, but she just couldn’t.

“Hey.” Gastón turned to look at her and Nina relaxed a little bit as the recognition shone in his eyes. She knew it was a stupid thing to be worried about, but that was just how she was. She didn’t want to start bombarding the doctors with stupid questions either, so she kind of was just left alone in her head and that was never good. She had thought that she might need to talk to April. She could answer all the stupid questions Nina had, but she knew the couldn’t just get Gastón’s family involved in this until he wanted them to know.

“I didn’t wake you right?” Nina asked as she sat down in the chair beside his bed.

“No. Apparently, with a fresh concussion, you don’t exactly sleep well.”

“How are you feeling?” Nina grabbed his hand and kissed it, “Are you in pain?”

“I’m not not in pain,” Gastón grimaced. “Okay, I’m in pain.”

“Has someone come to check on you yet?”

“Someone has, not sure who,” Gastón answered, “It was not the neurologist… It’s too early for that… Why are you here at this time?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Nina answered truthfully. Gastón could always catch her with a lie. “I just wanted to be here.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Gastón closed his eyes for a moment, “Seems like I’m gonna be stuck here for long time. I hate the fact that everyone is speaking to me through a translator, AI, or a living one. I can communicate with them in English.”

“That’s energy that you shouldn’t be using right now.” Nina brushed his hair out of his forehead to inspect the bruising which hadn’t started to fade quite yet. He was also still on oxygen. She didn’t like how pale he looked. He had never looked like that before, not even when he had gone through a more serious case of a virus in 2021, which had made him miss almost three weeks of classes at Oxford.

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Gastón asked her suddenly.

“It’s not important,” Nina shook her head.

“You know that’s not gonna work with me.”

“Okay, I was having a bunch of nightmares,” Nina admitted, “about you. About yesterday…because they were telling me all kinds of things about what was happening when you were unconscious.”

“Like what?”

“They told me that you most likely had a brain bleed.” Nina squeezed Gastón’s hand tighter “I signed papers to let them perform brain surgery on you.”

“Well, I’m really glad that I didn’t need that.” Gastón laughed slightly.

“But it’s okay now,” Nina continued, as she watched Gastón swift in discomfort. She hated to see him like this. He was on strong drugs, but there was only so much those could do. “Is there anything you need? I can text Matteo to bring stuff over.”

“I’m not sure if there is,” Gastón closed his eyes again, “I mean all I can do is lie here. If I look straight ahead for too long, I get super dizzy. I won’t be able to even read.”

“Well, I can read to you,” Nina ran her hand on his arm.

“You know I prefer it.”

“Hola.” A woman who looked like a doctor walked into the room with couple of nurses. Nina stared at her for a moment, as it had taken a moment her to realize that the doctor was speaking Spanish. “Soy la neuróloga Iiris Jokinen. I know what you’re probably wondering, I’m the only one who knows Spanish in the whole building.”

“Can I ask, why this is necessary?” Gastón asked as the neurologist shone the light into his eyes, “I mean what kind of brain damage can I have?”

“You suffered a severe impact to your head and were unconscious for a significant amount of time.” The neurologist explained, “We’re just being throughout. The doctor who checked you out yesterday noted that, because of the unclear scans, we need to confirm that there isn’t any underlying damage to the parietal lobe that could cause dyscalculic, dysphasic, dyslexic, apraxic or agnostic symptoms.”

“But…” Nina hadn’t really understood what that had meant, but, from the change of his expression, it seemed like Gastón had. “...don’t those mean like my ability to do math and shape and size comprehension?”

“Dyscalculia does result in difficulty learning or comprehending arithmetic—”

“But that can’t happen,” Gastón’s face started growing alarmed. Nina started to understand what he was talking about, and she placed her hand on his shoulder, “I have masters in science and technology, from Oxford. I work at an environmental construction company as one of the assistant engineers on the executive team there. I—”

“I understand the concern, but let's not get ahead of ourselves,” The neurologist continued, “But I have to tell you that there is a possibility. Right now, I’m gonna order another head CT and MRI and then we’ll do a couple of other primary mathematical comprehension tests, and we’ll go from there. There are also a couple of treatments that have been developed in recent years so recuperation is possible, and you have your young age going for you. There is no guarantee that you would reach your original ability, but close is possible. I’m going to page my attending to take a look after the tests are done.”

“This can’t be happening…” Gastón buried his head to his hands after the neurologist left the room for a moment.

“Hey, look at me,” Nina turned his face to look at her.

“If I have brain damage and can’t…” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I can’t do my job…”

“It hasn’t come to that yet, and you have options. Remember what you said about teaching a week ago?” Nina squeezed his hand again. Gastón wasn’t fully meeting her eye, “You do remember that, right?”

“Yes, I do,” Nina let out a relieved breath as Gastón responded, “I can’t teach something I can’t do.”

“They said that there are treatments… even if it does happen, it’s not the end.”

“But I can’t just stop working. I can’t do that to you. I should—”

“Don’t say you need to provide for me,” Nina looked at him disapprovingly for a moment, “You have never needed to do that. You have just happened to have an extremely well-paying job. You are capable of doing that and so much more, no matter the circumstance. We already have more than we need. We’ll figure it out, together. It is In sickness and in health for a reason and you were the one who once said that you don’t need to start saving for retirement.”

“It was supposed to be a joke… at the time.” Gastón ran his hand on his forehead.

“I know you’re scared,” Nina pulled both of his hands into hers to put his ring back on his finger, she had been holding on it since yesterday, “I’m too, I mean, I hate to see you like this. But I’m sorry if I don’t seem to be that worried about this, I’m worried because you’re worried, but I’m just glad you’re alive. Whatever happens, we’re gonna get through it together. I’ll stand by you through whatever is coming right now. I can’t live without you, I already tried that once.”

“I love you.”

{}

Okay, so I wasn't intending to end this hee, but it was getting super long, so were getting an extra part. Also, I wanna ask if anyone would be interested in me writing a alternative one-shot about Gastón losing his memory for momentarily? I think it would be kind of fun, if he lost those 10 years be back in S1 of SL. Please let me know.

#Soy Luna #soy luna fanfiction #gastina #lutteo #simbar #pelfi #kind of in the background #Christmas #DCLA Holidays #Finland #I have my silly faves visit my country

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chalterdh22 · 9 months

Text

Chapter 42: Will You Wake up Please?

Well, like the one guys said, Din was out! It might be a few hours. And I didn’t know how he was going to react to being drugged. I wanted to save some dignity, so I had my three prisoners walk outside the hut, and sit on the ground, facing out, that way they wouldn’t see him when he woke up. I also took a chain and had them all connected. Keeping the note in my hand, Grogu stayed inside with Din, and I stayed outside with the three.

I didn’t want these guys to know Grogu was special and had any powers, so I communicated that to him. He agreed. I did ask him though if he could sneak into Din’s mind. He said it was black, probably from the drugs he was given.

“How long until this stuff wears off?” I asked again, impatiently.

“It depends on the person! How big, how much they were given, ya know, stuff like that! I gave him what was given to me.”

That got me thinking. They were supposed to get blood from Grogu, who is waaaaaaay smaller, so why wasn’t he waking up? “So,” I started to say, kicking a rock, trying to get something intellectual out of them, “if you guys went after, I don’t know, say a Jedi or someone with force abilities, would you have to give them more?”

“Oh, definitely, almost three times as much!” My body shook, hearing that.

“Can you over dose on this crap?” They all shrugged their shoulders. Ugh, I went straight in and started taking Din’s pulse. It was slow and steady. What a relief. Grogu looked up at me with sad eyes. “I know. Hopefully, he’ll wake up soon, buddy. Don’t be scared though. We can feel his heartbeat.” I put his little hand on his neck.

“Gah!” He was happy to feel his heart.

“Keep making sure it stays beating, ok? I’ll be outside.” I walked back outside and turned to the three. “Ok. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to ask you questions and you are going to give me as much information as your little brains have. Because, you know what? If you don’t and this Mandalorian wakes up to see you tied up here, he will find ways to get it out of you and none are pleasant!”

They started shifting uncomfortably on the ground, sweating a little more.

“So, who wants to start? I need your names and where you came from.”

No one spoke, but something in me said they wanted to.

“If you tell me everything I want, I might just let you go back to your miserable lives! But at least the Mandalorian won’t pummel you to death!”

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Please! My name is Gaffi! I’ve been traveling with these guys forever! Please just let us go before he wakes up!”

“What about your two buddies? Do they want to leave too?”

“I do! I’m Thummel! Please, we just get orders to collect things. We don’t ask questions and people don’t tell us much!”

“And what about you? What’s your story?” He looked away, not threatened by my tactics. “Nothing? Ok, I’ll save you for my Mandalorian friend in there.”

“Please, please let us go!” The other two started saying. “We don’t know anything about nothing! I don’t even know where these instructions came from because it was different this time!”

“What do you mean different?”

Gaffi was the first to speak up. “We usually get a tracker and that’s how we know to find what is being requested. So, we got it, and it took us to a box, not a person. When we opened it up, we had those instructions on paper. Where to go and where to find him! That’s all I know!” Thummel shaking his head in agreement.

“Were you meant to return the blood back to the same location?”

“Yes! It was supposed to go back into the box and sealed!”

“I need to know where this box is.”

“No! Don’t you dare say anything! If people find out we helped them out, we’ll be ruined!”

I squatted down and got in his face. “You’ll be more than ruined once my friend here wakes up. So, you choose!”

Gaffi spoke up first. “No, no! Let’s just tell her! I don’t want to be here when he wakes up! Please!”

“I’ll tell you what,” I said standing back up. “I’ll give you three kids ten minutes to figure your story out. I’ll ask one more time when I come back. Depending on your answer will be what happens next, hear me?” I walked into the hut and listened to them argue. It made me smile.

Standing by Din’s head, with the kid’s hand still on his neck, I leaned down and kissed his forehead. He seemed so helpless like this. No armor, no weapons, no helmet. I whispered in his ear, “Wake up Din. Please, wake up.”

I closed my eyes to see if I could see anything, and just like the kid, it was all black. I sighed and kept straightening his hair for some reason. I held his hand and put it up to my face. He still smelled of fresh soap since he had just washed. I breathed it in, and a tear rolled down my cheek. Will you please wake up, I thought.

Putting his hand down, I walked to his legs to make sure he didn’t have any injuries showing through. Nothing I could see. His feet were covered in dirt, probably from being dragged. Ugh, I hated seeing him like this.

It felt like I was in there for ten minutes, so I walked out calmly, even at this point I just wanted to rip their heads off! “Well, what have we decided? Will you tell me where this box is or not?”

“We will,” the nameless one said, which surprised me. “But we want something in return.” He said straight faced.

“You’re hardly in a position to barter.” I said flatly. “But I’m curious, what did you have in mind?”

“Our ship is being tracked, as a part of the group we work for. We need the tracking piece removed.” I put my finger up to my lip to be more dramatic. I knew I could do that in an instant but wanted them to sweat a bit longer. I was just about to say deal, and I heard the kid squeal with excitement, so I ran back in the hut.

Din was moaning, holding one hand up to his temple. “Shh, shh. It’s ok. We are here. You’re safe.” He couldn’t even speak correctly, like he had one to many shots of vinos! “You don’t need to talk, so get your bearings back. Grogu is on your chest right now, so stay lying down. I’ll be right back!”

“Wwwwaitt,” he barely got out as he grabbed my wrist. “Don’t leave.”

“I’m just going right outside. I’ll see you the whole time. Hold on.” He released my wrist, and I jogged out. “Times up guys! He just woke up!”

#grogu #pedro pascal #star wars #the mandalorian #mandalorian and grogu #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #grogu djarin #mando

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weirdgirlcroix · 2 years

Text

Blacktober 2022, Day 13: Ghost (Oops!)

Bucking the trend of posting ridiculously early by posting 4 days late. This one's about a totally different set of ocs but it takes place in the same AU. Content warning for some death mentions, although the tone of the story's pretty lighthearted. The next chapter is right here.

Dimitri’s life was eternally easy. He’d had a few rough patches lately, but they’d all been smoothed out and now he was living large. He’d decided to return to college, and he was getting a microbiology degree. Maybe he’d get a doctorate if he really felt like it, but it was too soon to think that far ahead. He was just a sophomore at NDC University, and it was a Friday night. Right now his only plan was to meet up with a few friends at the bar and let loose.

He had multiple cars, but finding parking in this crowded city was a hassle so he took the bus. The sun had already set, and there was no one else at the stop. The yellow light above his head flickered incessantly, like it was speaking jumbled Morse code. Dimitri figured it needed a new bulb. There was a sign next to him with a faded map of various bus routes. He was taking the blue line, which was easy to remember since it was his favorite color. The blue line zig-zagged through the map of the city like it was dodging a bullet. It was a long route, which meant he had a long ride ahead of him. Hopefully he wouldn’t fall asleep and miss his stop.

Dimitri checked the time on his phone: 8:09 PM. The bus was running late; it should’ve arrived five minutes ago. He glanced up and noticed a young woman standing beside him. He hadn’t noticed her arrival in the few seconds it took to check his phone, but some people were just naturally quiet. The woman was white, and she had straight red hair that faded to blonde. She was wearing a warm, fuzzy jacket even though it was late summer and her hands were stuffed in her pockets. She glanced nervously between Dimitri and the street, like she was afraid that something was about to happen.

“Public transportation can be really inconvenient, huh?” Dimitri asked, hoping to lighten the mood. He was no stranger to making small talk and he didn’t mind it in the slightest.

The woman did, apparently, and she jumped like she didn’t realize Dimitri could speak. She was a few inches shorter than him, and her short stature combined with her gray jacket made her reminiscent of a frightened mouse. “Oh! Yes, it is! Or, it can be!”

Dimitri smiled and yawned. The boredom of waiting for the bus was getting to him. “Hopefully when the bus finally comes I’ll be awake.”

The woman laughed awkwardly and gave him a shaky thumbs-up. “I’ll be sure to wake you up, then. Good luck!”

Dimitri nodded and went back to looking at his phone. Ten minutes later, he could hear the low rumble of a loud engine approaching. The bus was just down the street now. The redhead looked more nervous than ever.

“Um, do you know if that’s the blue or purple line? I can’t really tell from here," she meekly admitted. “Maybe you can check for me? I’m new around here, and I’m nervous about messing everything up…”

“Sure.” Dimitri knew for a fact it was the blue line bus, but it never hurt to check. He stepped closer to the curb and squinted at the rapidly approaching bus. The flashing sign above the windshield bore the words BLUE LINE in golden letters. He turned around to tell the redhead, but the first thing he saw was her running towards him, arms raised. Before he could react, she pushed him into the street, directly into the bus’s path.

Dimitri was so shocked, his soul left his body — literally. He was now a translucent blue astral projection floating above himself. His body lay in the middle of the street like it had already been hit. Luckily, the bus driver had good reflexes and had already begun slowing down. He managed to bring the bus to a screeching halt just before it hit Dimitri’s body. He and some concerned passengers scrambled off of the bus to check on Dimitri, took one look at his projection, and panicked. Dimitri was about to return to his body to calm them down, but the redhead dashed into the street and scooped it up first.

“David, are you with me? Oh God, I'm so sorry!” She turned to the crowd and explained, “He’s my cousin! I live close by, I’ll take care of him!” Without another word, she ran off with the body. The projection turned to the crowd and shrugged, unsure of what was going on, and followed after her. There was nothing stopping him from returning to his body and reawakening in her arms, but his interest was officially piqued and he wanted to see what she was up to.

She carefully put Dimitri’s body in the trunk of her car and started it up. As a projection Dimitri could pass through solid objects, so he passed through the car’s passenger door and sat down. He waved a hand in front of the woman’s face, just to make sure she could see him.

“Yes, I totally see you!” The woman confirmed. “Try not to distract me, I’m excited and busy!”

As someone who was prone to falling asleep while driving, Dimitri couldn’t fault her for wanting to avoid distractions, so he let the woman focus. She took him to an apartment complex near Dimitri’s college, one that attracted plenty of upperclassmen residents. Dimitri wondered if she was also a student.

The woman turned left into a small parking lot in the back and took Dimitri’s body inside as quickly as possible. She opened the door to an apartment on the second floor, where another woman was sitting at the kitchen table, textbook and journals spread in front of her. Dimitri sat down across from her and glanced at her notes as the redhead laid his body on the floor. She appeared to be studying something theology-related — a religious studies major, maybe? — and she was so focused on her work that she hardly glanced at her roommate.

The woman pushed her roommates’ belongings to the side, laid Dimitri’s body on the table, and declared in a sing-songy voice, “Katsura-a-a-a! I brought dinner!” Apparently she and Katsura were cannibals.

The studious woman looked between the redhead, the body and the projection with stern eyes shielded by round, gold-colored glasses. She had tan skin, a black bob cut and a faint mustache.

Dimitri expected Katsura to say something, but she remained silent, processing the situation. The redhead spoke again to fill in the silence. “I was gonna take the bus and pick someone further away, but there was nobody at the stop this time and the opportunity was so tempting!”

Katsura put her pencil down and rose to her feet. Dimitri saw that she was easily the tallest person in the room. She wore an oversized, baby blue sweater and loose khakis that complemented her slender figure. She placed her hands on the redhead’s shoulders, bending down so she was at her eye level, and said in a deep, intense voice, “Tilly. I love you. However, you are stupid.”

Tilly looked flabbergasted. “Huh?! I mean, I know, but what did I do this time?”

Katsura poked Dimitri’s body and took his pulse. “He is not dead. Simply asleep.”

“But his ghost is right there!” Tilly aimed a finger at Dimitri’s projection, who was watching the conversation with an amused expression on his face.

“That is a projection,” Katsura corrected. She picked up her textbook and flipped to a different page about out-of-body experiences. There was an illustration of an astral projection that closely resembled Dimitri: the figure had the same hazy appearance, like the wind could disperse them at any moment. The only real difference was that they were watermelon green instead of blue.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” Tilly said over and over, shaking her head. “I messed up! You asked for someone who was dead already!”

“It doesn’t matter. We will deep clean the apartment twice this time.�� Katsura rolled up her sleeves, revealing azure scales that were slowly spreading across her arms. Her white-painted nails turned into sharp, golden claws, and her irises shifted from black to yellow with narrow pupils.

Dimitri decided now would be the best time to return to his body. He wasn’t so go-with-the-flow that he was going to let himself die. He stood up, leaned into his body and sank through layers of fabric, skin, and flesh. His breaths grew deeper, his eyes fluttered open, and he woke up at last. “Thanks for having me, but I’m actually not in the mood for being eaten. Katsura, let me know if you’ve got a test on astral projection — I might be able to help.”

Katsura ignored Dimitri and seized him by the neck, claws digging into his throat. She looked a little surprised, like she hadn’t expected Dimitri to remember what he’d witnessed as a projection. “You are an experienced projector. I will deal with your ghost.”

Dimitri raised his hands in innocence. He still had his signature cool smile, but it was a little tighter than usual; he wasn’t a fighter, and he wasn’t sure he could take a reptilian humanoid in a fight. “You don’t need to deal with anything if you keep me alive, which you’d definitely be better off doing.”

Katsura narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

Katsura asked a good question. As far as she was concerned, he really was just some guy, except for one thing: his family name. He didn’t like throwing that kind of weight around when he didn’t need to, but it was useful for getting out of pinches like this. He relaxed a little, confident that his move would work. “I’m actually a Lyubimov. There might be a couple of articles about me.”

Tilly cocked her head. “What's a Lyubimov?”

Katsura looked thoroughly unimpressed. “I do not care for celebrities.”

It looked like Dimitri had some explaining to do. “I’m not a real celebrity. Have you heard of the Lyubimov Corporation? We’ve got a big office building downtown.”

Tilly’s eyes lit up with recognition. “Oh, I do remember that! I ignored the logo on it because I thought it looked ugly, but the skyscraper itself is so cool! I’m an architectural engineering major and I was stunned by how well it was designed! I mean, usually I prefer retro designs, but— Wait, this isn’t the focus of the conversation, is it?”

“It is not.” Katsura took out her phone with her free hand to look up the corporation. “There is an article naming one Dimitri Lyubimov as the heir. Is that you?”

“Yep, although I’m actually fifth-in-line to the throne, so to speak. It’s a common misconception — most of us keep to ourselves,” Dimitri explained. He came from old money, and his family had long grown out of flaunting their wealth outside of the occasional Tweet or Instagram post.

Katsura’s grip on Dimitri’s neck loosened. “In essence, you are extremely rich.”

“Right on the money.” Dimitri glanced at Katsura’s hand and kept smiling.

“But that doesn’t, like, mean anything. It’s not like you’re shielded by a wall of money or something,” Tilly countered.

That gave Dimitri an idea. “Well, not literally. I’m guessing you have a pattern of killing people for your… girlfriend, right? Are the cops on your tail yet?”

Tilly and Katsura exchanged a glance. “Not yet,” Katsura answered honestly.

“Soon, they will be. To tell the truth, my criminal record isn’t squeaky clean either, but you know why I’m not in prison? Money.” Dimitri answered his rhetorical question with complete confidence. His entire upbringing had prepared him for moments like this, when you had to carve out a good deal for yourself with self-assuredness alone.

Tilly still seemed skeptical. “I don’t know about that. I mean, if the police really cared they’d be knocking on our door already.”

“You ‘killed’ me in front of a dozen witnesses." Dimitri held up three fingers and bluffed, “In fact, I bet an officer will show up in three… two… one…”

Just as he lowered his last finger, the door shook with a few rumbling knocks. Katsura put Dimitri down, shifted to her human form, and sat back down as if she’d been doing homework the entire time. Tilly rocked on her heels and whistled a cheesy pop tune to herself. Dimitri brushed himself off and swung the door open. He was greeted by a pair of beefy cops who glared down at him, arms crossed and backs straight like they owned the place.

“Good evening, officers. What brings you to our apartment on this fine Friday night?”

The officer who’d knocked on the door looked Dimitri up and down and glanced around the apartment, unimpressed by his sweet voice. “We heard about a possible attempted assault at the bus stop down the street. The suspect matched the description of your friend over there,” he said, nodding in Tilly’s direction. Tilly paused mid-rock and whistled a horrified dun-dun-dun-dunnn.

“Really? I didn’t hear anything about that. And honestly, I doubt you did either.”

“Excuse me?”

Dimitri pulled out his wallet and thumbed through the bills he had tucked in it, just to make sure he had enough. He was in a high enough tax bracket that he didn’t need to carry physical money around, but he always kept some on him just in case. He took out a crisp hundred-dollar bill and offered it to the officer. “Have you forgotten why you’re here yet?”

The officer swatted Dimitri’s hand away. “What? You can’t bribe me with just a hundred dollars.”

“How about two hundred? Three hundred? Four? Maybe you and your colleague can have five hundred each?” Dimitri kept producing bills until the officer’s frown turned into a face of resignation. He snatched the money, split it up with his partner, and stomped off.

Dimitri shut the door and spun around to face Tilly and Katsura. Tilly’s jaw had dropped and Katsura nodded slightly in acknowledgment. “And that’s why you should keep me alive.”

“You seem valuable,” Katsura admitted, “but why are you so eager to help?”

“Because I’ve also roomed with a carnivore before. I don’t think eating people is the best idea, but I don’t blame you for wanting to. Finding good prey is difficult these days anyway, right?”

Tilly shook her head and crossed her arms in the shape of an X. “Wait, don’t get it twisted! Katsura’s great at finding food, but she struggles with actually getting it.”

Katsura dragged out a sigh and slumped in her chair. “My executive function is… bad. I am working on it.”

“So I’m helping her out in the meantime!” Tilly wagged her finger and added, “And before you say anything, I’m not crazy! I just really love my girlfriend.”

Dimitri gave Tilly a double thumbs-up. “That’s valid. Love wins, am I right?”

Katsura nodded sagely in agreement. “Love does indeed win.”

Tilly fingergunned Dimitri in response. “Yeah, totally! Also, I’m so sorry about dragging you all the way out here. I should give you something to make up for it! Like, I made dinner tonight! It’s this su-u-u-uper good casserole — let me get it from the fridge.” Tilly skipped off towards the kitchen without a second thought.

Dimitri glanced at Katsura and saw her rapidly shaking her head, mouthing, “She CANNOT cook.”

“No, thank you,” Dimitri started, wanting to save himself from a ruined appetite. “I actually originally planned to meet up with some friends tonight—”

“Uh, your original plans don’t matter! Where I’m from, no one refuses an act of hospitality.” Tilly had returned holding a tray of half-finished green casserole. Dimitri couldn’t tell what the “green” was supposed to be for the life of him.

“And where might that be?” He asked, inching towards the door.

Tilly caught on to what he was doing immediately. She set the tray on the counter and bolted between Dimitri and the door, a dangerously excited look in her eyes. “Northeastern Virginia! C’mon, sit down while I make you a plate!”

Dimitri resigned to his fate and sat down at the table. The casserole smelled expired, even though Tilly had reportedly cooked it yesterday. Katsura excused herself, saying, “I will get some dinner that is actually dead. Goodbye.” She speedwalked out of the door, leaving Dimitri alone with Tilly. He maintained a smile and mentally prepared himself for a bad time.

#ken's shit #blacktober #blacktober 2022 #writing #original characters #rename

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