#della was a lot easier to do

[rosiesdisneydrama]

Android Donald AU Idea

I was hit by a variant of an Android Donald au I've seen on here (this one, to be specific) while at work and I wanna share it. This is pre-dt17/in the same universe. Potentially pre-Spear of Selene as well.

Basically, Donald gets hurt really bad while out fighting. Like really, really bad. He manages to drag himself back to Ducklair Tower, but he's basically in critical condition. Uno isn't as ready as he would have liked for this, but he does have something that can help.

It's basically a healing pod that Ducklair (or maybe Uno himself) had made that wasn't any good for commercial/hospital use because of how much the material cost was and took a lot of time to do its job. But it would take a long time and Donald's family would notice if he just- went missing for a year (or likely longer). It could buy him, buy them, some time to figure out a more efficient way to heal Donald.

But he knows Scrooge and Della are off on an adventure at the moment (Donald had mentioned that it seemed like a long one this time), so he has roughly a month to come up with a plan.

He also has Layla and a tremendous laboratory at his disposal (and he's a supercomputer).

And he hits on something that should allow Donald's body the time it needs to heal as well as keep anyone from getting suspicious.

It's honestly a simple plan overall.

He makes an android body that looks like Donald and (through handwaved science things) he transfers the duck's consciousness to it and makes a link to his own servers with it. Even connecting himself to the body to make sure he can help/make sure he's alright at any time while this is set up.

Donald can pilot the droid body to keep his family from knowing that he'd been hurt while his real body is in the healing pod recovering. And, with the direct link to Uno, he can basically have his partner at a moment's call and even just- Have another person "with" him while dealing with his family. (Also, finances. Uno is a godsend for dealing with all the numbers that Donald just doesn't have a head for.)

The two of them continue this charade for a while, sometimes with Uno actually being with/in Donald's head for a few adventures.

Until Ducklair comes back and (unknowingly) royally screws up the previously smoothly working plan before vanishing into the aether again.

When he shuts down Uno and locks down the tower, Uno actually has part of his AI in Donald. So he's not gone, but he is cut off from his main network. He is still able to get data for the healing pod which is still working, thank the stars. But they can't get to it now since it's locked behind the security of Ducklair Tower.

Both of them are Stressed:tm: about this but there isn't much they can do. So they make do with what they have to work with and keep going. And things mostly go well.

Then the Spear of Selene happens and the duo have a whole new pot of issues to deal with.

Raising triplets is hard, but Uno and the scanners built into the android body make it easier. And Uno is down to help out with more than just that. So things are fairly good, if not as good as either of them would have liked.

Huey, Dewy, and Louie don't know that their Uncle is an android but they do know about Uno.

Since the two shared a body, it was impossible for the boys to never learn about Uno. But since they're really young, Donald and Uno agree that they probably won't understand that Uno is an AI. Advanced computer engineering and robotics are a bit beyond the understanding of a trio of four-year-olds.

The boys end up thinking that Uno is the ghost of a really smart scientist-friend of their Unlce that's possessing him now because he was locked out of his house by his wizard dad. (It wasn't explained in those words, but that was what the boys came away from the conversation thinking.) They have to keep Uncle Uno a secret because otherwise someone might think he was hurting Uncle Donald and would try to make him go away. And their Uncle Uno is cool and knows all kinds of cool things and they don't want someone to make him leave. So they promise to help keep him a secret.

Fast forward to the start of dt17.

I have more, but my brain is tired (it's 10 p.m. rn) so I will continue this later.

[nburkhardt]

Other parts: One, Two, Three

Eddie Munson is determined and he has a plan. It’s very much thrown together and involves a lot of yelling on his part towards a certain teenager. But he has a plan, maybe.

At least, he has the start of a plan.

After leaving Steve’s house, which took a lot to physically do. He might’ve lingered a little too long in their hug, squeezed a little too tight. Repeated promises and made a new one to be with him the next day.

When he closed the front door behind himself, he had to fight himself to move forward. It took a while to talk himself out of just turning back around and grabbing Steve, to take him away from his house, to get a head start on those promises.

There’s a little tiny idea in the back of his head that maybe someday he won’t have to leave Steve’s side at all. That promise of forever lingering in that idea, sparking up in hope with how Steve held on to him.

Maybe Steve wants the same just as much as him.

For now, he’ll be a good friend that’s starting to lean into being overprotective. Maybe a little clingy on top of that, he did notice the way Steve relaxed faster when they were touching.

After pacing in his room, muttering bits of pieces of his plan to get it together, he finally decided to get some sleep and it wasn’t much at that. His overactive brain keeping him from fully relaxing, too focused on Steve and how exactly he’ll help. Not just with words; the promises. Those he’s already good at. It’s the actions part that has him baffled and thinking it over and over.

Actions has always been rough for him, he's the story teller; can come up with things off the top of his head. It's always been easier for him to speak things out. Running is his thing, granted the most recent he ran; it landed him in a hospital bed for a while. But it also lead him to this moment too, so maybe it wasn't all that bad.

There’s another thing of if he should tell their friends or if he should keep it to himself. He doesn’t want to break Steve’s trust. Doesn’t want to share something that isn’t his secret to tell, doesn’t want to push Steve to saying it either.

He knows what it’s like for someone to break your trust. Knows how it feels when someone gets to know your insecurities and how some people, even friends, can just take it and hurt you the most.

Though there’s always other ways to help them figure it out before he goes on with his plan.

So, how does one hint something to some of the smartest people he knows?

----

hopefully it's up to everyone's exceptions. 🙈

hey, you know the thing about unreliable narrators? yeah that would be me. not eddie tho, he was going somewhere with his line of thinking. also i realized half way into writing this that i never actually planned out eddie's plan fully like at all 🫠. so we'll come back to that next time.

just know our boy (eddie) is so stubborn.

taglist: @zerokrox-blog @piningapple @i-wanna-combust @stevecarrington @henderdads @fiore-della-valle @eddiemunsonswife @mixsethaddams @momotonescreaming @ajamlessbaby @novelnovella @flustratedcas @thelastwalkingsoul @hellfire1986baby @manda-panda-monium @xo-blairej @freyaforestafay @princessstevemunson @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @sapphirecobalt-1 @stevesworldxx @jonathanbyersbbg @fromapayphone @anzelsilver

@adaed5 @koyislosinghismind @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @bornonthesavage @seths-rogens @xwildangel @mightbeasleep @y0urnewstepp4r3nt @sunshine1066

Part Five

[natalynsie]

random ducktales headcanons in whatever order I think of them

Louie likes math. He acts like he doesn’t because he thinks it’s dumb and nerdy, but he likes math.

In a human AU, Huey would wear cargo pants, track pants, or jeans on occasions. Dewey is a jeans every day type-of-guy, he doesn’t own any pants besides jeans. Louie always wears sweatpants or track pants.

Researching Scrooge really got Webby into American history. She loves learning about Scrooge when he was in America. Some of her favorite periods to learn about; The Gold Rush, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, primarily the early Gilded Age.

As Dewey gets older, he gets a passion for writing. His overactive imagination is a tool for this. He also uses inspiration from his childhood fantasies and incorporates them into his stories. For example, he makes references only he would get about Dewey High in his writing. He does primarily action/adventure and realistic fiction.

Louie gets easily embarrassed about his hobbies. He starts by doing them nonchalantly, but when he realizes people are noticing, he starts doing them in secret.

Huey does not get art, primarily poetry, plays, or anything written. It just goes right over his head. He hates English class and Shakespeare.

When Lena likes something, she draws it a lot. Whether it be her magic, people, friendship bracelets, or even just a little trinket she found, she’ll draw it. These drawings go into her most beloved sketchbooks. But she also has the Sketchbook of No Return, in which she draws things she hates as a way of getting her emotions out. Sometimes she even blacks out the page after drawing it.

Violet introduces Webby to Ancient Civilizations. They study early history together, from Mesopotamia to India to Greece.

Huey and Violet get competitive when they do Junior Woodchuck things, but they get along really well otherwise. They both have passions for science and nature.

Boyd and Huey are best friends, and hang out all the time. Despite being a robot, like all Gearloose’s inventions Boyd feels human emotions. Huey finds this extremely fascinating. Louie likes to tease Huey about being friends with a robot, but Louie doesn’t really have many friends himself so he can’t say much.

Gosalyn feels awkward at the huge sleepovers the Duck and Vanderquack family are always hosting. Her only friend at them is Dewey, while everyone else knows each other. Even Boyd knows Lena and Violet. Plus, Gosalyn doesn’t even know the rest of the Duck boys. But, eventually she warms up to everyone after being super competitive in games and sort of cold as a defense mechanism.

Lena and Violet dye their hair together sometimes.

Panchito and José eventually become known as Uncle Panchito and Uncle José.

Huey, being terrified of Dewey’s carelessness, finds Louie to be his Comfort Sibling™

Louie is kind-of into knitting???

Fethry, Gladstone, Donald, and Della always came to Scrooges for the Holidays. Every Holiday. Winter and Spring break too. They all got pretty close. Plus, adventuring was not Donald and Della exclusive.

Donald is the only one who can tell the triplets apart when they do their hair the same way and wear the same clothes.

Dewey cannot cook for the life of him, but Huey is a master chef. Huey also makes the best soup-and-salad combos. Louie is in the middle ground, but for some reason finds baking much easier.

One time Della, Donald, Fethry and Gladstone played War together, but on teams. Donald and Gladstone wanted to see whose luck would outweigh the others, so they teamed up. The game was cut short because the table got knocked over and the cards fell through the floorboards. They looked for the cards but couldn’t find them.

May loves drawing and June loves reading, and they like to write books together. Daisy gives May fashion tips for her characters, and reads the books June recommends.

Webby likes to photobomb Dewey's selfies.

Gosalyn and Louie scam people together.

Webby and Lena have a playlist of both their favorite songs. They sing to all of them at their one-on-one sleepovers.

Lena and Violet both like heavy metal.

Gosalyn was extremely girly as a child.

Lena reminds Scrooge of Donald when he was younger.

Drake adopted Gosalyn (obviously).

Lena and Huey lowkey have beef.

Dewey was actually laid first.

One time Dewey accidentally called Storkules his Uncle Storkules. The man was never happier.

Panchito became a sky pirate once but Don Karnage booted him.

Boyd really likes listening to Huey talk about his passions, which is good since Huey goes on and on about them. Donald thinks it's so sweet that Huey has such a good friend. Boyd is Donald's favorite of all of the boys' friends.

Louie's khopesh is his favorite treasure ever.

Della was Donald's best man at his and Daisy's wedding. It didn't matter that she wasn't a man.

Launchpad and Drake nerd out together for at least three hours a week.

Drake cannot handle affection. He gets all awkward when someone tells him they love him or when someone hugs him.

When Louie isn't around, Boyd is the number two comfort buddy for Huey.

Violet and Boyd get along really well, and Huey gets jealous of Violet. But they primarily hang out in JW meetings so it isn't crazy.

[drawingducktalesducks]

Webby: Hmm... Getting past this would be a LOT easier if we were smaller...

Della: I can shrink. Did you know I can shrink myself?

Webby: You CAN????

Scrooge: No you can't, lass.

Della: I can lose A WHOLE FOOT whenever I wanna!

Webby: OOOOHHH!!!!!!

Scrooge: Girls, focus-

Webby: And you can give other people a boost too, right!?

Della: Can do! Hey Webby-

Scrooge: Della-

Della: -do you want a LEG up??

Scrooge: I cannae take this.

Webby: Sure! I'd LOVE to be a little more.... meTALLer!!

Della: AYYYYYEEE!!!!!

Webby: WOOOO!!!!

Scrooge: Ah'm disowning myself from this family.

Webby: Wait wait wait- if you're DIS-owning yourself, then that means..

Della: -that you got OWNED!

Scrooge: What does that even... OH FOR PENNY'S SAKE-

[lunamagicablu]

Le persone silenziose, di solito, non sono amate né apprezzate. E' più semplice provare simpatia per chi chiacchiera senza problemi, per chi è di compagnia, meglio ancora se è "l'anima della festa". Il silenzio fa paura, non è forse così? Fa risuonare nell'aria pensieri scomodi, è la strada per guardarsi dentro e scoprire tutte le proprie ombre. Ecco perché le persone taciturne sono incomprese, a volte odiate, altre volte reputate "strane". Sembra che non si possa fare a meno del chiacchiericcio, delle parole (anche futili e banali), perché ci distraggono da quello che veramente siamo. Impariamo ad apprezzare chi parla poco e ascolta molto, chi osserva senza giudicare né parlare, chi pronuncia poche parole, ma di valore. Quelle persone sono entrate nel proprio silenzio, hanno lottato contro i propri demoni e raggiunto conquiste. Attraverso i loro occhi potreste scorgere un mondo intero a voi sconosciuto, un mondo che potrà essere la chiave verso la comprensione di qualcosa di più importante di semplici parole. Perché solo chi sta in silenzio può ascoltare il battito del proprio cuore, la vibrazione delle ali di una farfalla, l'energia che ci circonda e ci attraversa. Esiste un mondo che va ben al di là di vuote parole, un luogo di meraviglia, dove il silenzio è Tutto. Pubblicato da Mirial art by_mikesch_ ************************ Silent people are usually not loved or appreciated. It is easier to feel sympathy for those who chat without problems, for those who are company, even better if they are "the life of the party". Silence is scary, isn't it? It makes uncomfortable thoughts resonate in the air, it is the way to look inside and discover all your shadows. This is why taciturn people are misunderstood, sometimes hated, other times considered "strange". It seems that we cannot do without chatter, words (even futile and banal ones), because they distract us from who we really are. We learn to appreciate those who speak little and listen a lot, those who observe without judging or speaking, those who say few but valuable words. Those people entered into their silence, fought against their demons and achieved conquests. Through their eyes you could see an entire world unknown to you, a world that could be the key to understanding something more important than simple words. Because only those who are silent can listen to the beat of their own heart, the vibration of a butterfly's wings, the energy that surrounds us and passes through us. There is a world that goes far beyond empty words, a place of wonder, where silence is Everything. Published by Mirial art by_mikesch_ 

[writebackatya]

Let’s go with Let’s All Go to the Movies! for fic bingo.

*gasps* Aren’t you the same @tokuvivor aka ducksandspandex on AO3 who did the Spanish translation for the story!?

Well you got it! This is for you and the anonymous person who also requested this story, which is one I’m still very happy how it turned out (after I went back and added and edited a few things)!

Honestly, kinda glad this was a June prompt giving me a deadline and all, really pushed me to not obsess over things and just quickly drop ideas that would have just dragged the thing out. Legit started while I was working on It Was a Dark and Stormy Night! and knew I’d only have enough time to do only two of the prompts

I wanna start things off by saying. I love this group. I wouldn’t add or subject anyone from this group. If you didn’t like this story I hope you at least like this group and plan on using them for a story or drawing or whatever of your own

First you got the three kids: Dewey, Gosalyn, and Webby. It was really easy picking these guys to be the ones who are excited to see your typical superhero blockbuster. They just have this youthful energy that I find very contagious and they’re honestly my most wanted trio to happen. I legit loved making Gosalyn the “cool kid” out of the three. Yeah she can be a handful for Fenton and is intentionally trying to be difficult for Gandra, but she does care about both Dewey and Webby

Also I just love both Webby and Fenton in this story for the fact they’re the only two not causing any drama. I loved writing the scene where they’re both at the crane machine working together to win prizes. They’re a pair I see a lot of similarities between one another so that inspired that dynamic

I think it’s safe to say that both Dewey and Gandra are the main characters of this story and it’s just another pair I’d love to see together because they’re so different yet so much alike that I think it’d make for great comedic moments. (I still love their interaction in the Split Sword of Swanstantine! where Dewey attempts to trash talk her only for Gandra to reply with a snarky “Thanks!” for helping her out)

Dewey I can just see be immediately drawn to Gandra out of all the members of Team Science cause A. She’s the least dorky member, B. She makes cool stuff, C. She has robots in her body, and D. He has history of pairing up with badass female characters (such as Webby, Della, & Gosalyn)

One thing I love writing about with Gandra is thinking about how difficult it will be for her to get know this family because our of all the characters, she’s the biggest outsider. She has no personal connection to any of the McDucks or Ducks, her connection is that she’s dating a guy who’s more than willing to put in the extra work for this family

And you know what? Fandom is way too harsh on Gandra and often expect her to just know certain things that she wasn’t there for. I don’t think she’s a hypocrite for working for Beaks (Fenton did too), it was a one time job to get what she wanted and plus, Beaks is an idiot. I just think it’s funny when people are like “Doesn’t she know that Beaks is way worse than Scrooge! Doesn’t Gandra know that?!” No. She doesn’t watch DuckTales like you, nerd. To her theyre both selfish billionaires but one is more idiotic and easier to take full advantage of while the other recruits his employees for adventures and probably still pays them minimum wage. We’re comparing Musk to Beezos here

For all their differences, I think the one thing this group has in common is that when danger calls they’ll be the first ones to respond no questions asked

I intentionally crammed a bunch of references into the story both to make the story fun and to poke fun at all the meta self-referencing media out there these days. I didn’t want to go overboard so I did my best to keep all that exclusively at the movie theater and to end it as soon as the group’s movie ended. Besides the superhero stuff, I love how all the references are either Disney or Disney adjacent (some 20th Century Fox stuff in there) Honestly every now and then I want to make a full list of all the references

I did try to be mostly subtle with all the nods and references. The only ones I wanted to be not subtle at all were the cameos. I was low-key inspired by the parody fake biopic movie Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story where all the historical cameos are just intentionally on the nose where the characters just flat-out say their full names in an unnatural way, “What do you think George Harrison of The Beatles?”

Also yeah, the cameos are also intentionally miscasted. But I did do my best in my story to make all the cameos be completely in character

Roxanne is a beloved character from the classic movie A Goofy Movie so having her work at the movies was a no brainer for me. Horace Horsecollar was the first one I knew I wanted to do because of his role in House of Mouse (and yes that woman speaking to him over the walkie-talkie was Minnie Mouse)

As for Dickie. Look, I’ll be honest. I don’t know if I did a good job with her or not. For the scene where Webby was the only one whose conscience was bothering her about sneaking candy into the movies, I was originally gonna just have your typical bored teen walk by and say no one cares, but that’s no fun! And honestly kinda mean-spirited. We needed someone nice and Dickie is a character I somewhat know from being in the fandom and I know is a character Goldie fans would want in DT17 cause she’s her granddaughter and all. So I looked up a few comic panels and went “Okay, I think I know how to write her!” and wrote her scene

And this was the Bobbie who was playing with the nacho cheese btw

Originally I wanted to do more trailers, but I quickly decided to go with just the trailer for Disney’s live action remake of their box-office bomb, The Black Cauldron. For that I rewatched the original movie as well as every 1st trailer for every Disney live-action remake from Cinderella to The Little Mermaid. I’d say the trailer was mainly poking fun at the Peter & Wendy and Pinocchio trailers (I didn’t watch either) as well as The Black Cauldron. I neither love nor hate The Black Cauldron but looking joking about it and low-key proud of the casting choices

As for the movie itself it’s mainly a riff on the MCU but there’s some DC stuff in there. I’d say I was inspired by the Spider-Verse movies, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Avengers: Infinity War, and The Flash (the only movie I didn’t watch out of these!)

All the characters (except the Nick Fury/Maria Hill stand-in) all come from either the comics, the OG DuckTales, and Darkwing Duck. I didn’t want to make them all one-to-one but turn them into how I think they show would change them slightly

Awesome Comics is from a Darkwing Duck episode where the hero is pitching his comic book to the company. Comet Guy is a Superman send-up that had a couple of episodes in Darkwing Duck and the main villain of the movie, Ordinary Guy, comes from Comet Guy’s second appearance where we go to his home planet Mertz where everyone but Ordinary Guy is a superhero. The brain teasers also came from Darkwing Duck and have a couple episodes themselves. I picked them because they’re hats and Comet Guy uses his spaceship as a hat

The Masked Mallard and the Scarlet Brigand both come from the OG DuckTales. The Masked Mallard is actually Scrooge McDuck and was inspired by swashbuckling Zorro type hero the boys were watching in the same episode. I basically made the Masked Mallard a combination of both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers since he can’t be Scrooge. And I decided to make the Scarlet Brigand female and she was inspired by Scarlet Witch and Black Widow (a lot of Scarlet here!) with more of a rogue sword fighter vibe and more scarlet in her costume. The Titanic Trio was actually just Huey Dewey and Louie at the end of the episode with their own Masked Mallard costumes so I stole the team name from them since this group was a trio

Also MEL was the villain in Gizmoduck’s tv movie five part episode tho bf

Super Snooper is the first superhero sendup from the comics so he had to be here. Him basically being a major role in someone else’s movie was poking fun at Michael Keaton being heavily advertised for The Flash movie. After all Super Snooper is a sendup of both Superman and Batman but mostly Superman. His death was inspired by the infamous reverse time scene from the OG Superman movie which I do love

I just think it’s funny this character came back from the dead only to be killed again

And I love the post credit scene for this. I had to do it. (There’s no post credit scene for the movie because I couldn’t think of anything.) But yeah, I love it because it’s just this family chilling and hanging out with one another

And the whole story ends with Della encouraging Gandra to go bang her boyfriend with a Spider-Man 2 reference. 10/10 storytelling

[the---hermit]

hii I've been learning Italian on duolingo since May 2021 (my two Italian best friends got me into Måneskin around Eurovision and I decided I want to understand the lyrics properly lol), could you recommend any relatively easy Italian books I could read?

Hello hello! This is really exciting, I hope you are having fun learning Italian!

My go do recommendations for people who are learning a language is to read books that are meant for kids (this works too with movies tbh). This is because at the end of the day if you have been learning a language for kust a few yeara you are at the level of a child native to that language, so why not use the tools meant for those children to learn more? If you trust me with this advice my first recommendation is my childhood favourite (that believe it or not I am currently rereading in a nostalgic moment): Geronimo Stilton. You might be familiar with this litterary mouse because it has been translated in a lot of languages but the author is Italian! There's so much you can pick from this collection of books the standard novels, the classic litterature retellings for children, the Tenebrax family series, and my childhood favourite the Kindom Of Fantasy series (it's called Nel Regno Della Fantasia in Italian!). These books offer you a variety of genres so you can find something that works for you, they are fun and easy to understand and they could be a great starting point.

Another option is Italo Calvino's children/YA stories (I guess you could call them that). I personally own a fairytale collection by him but ai have not yet read it so I can't be super precise about it (but in general fairytales work very well too when learning a language because again they are meant for kids so they tend to be easier). I also remember reading a few of his stories in middle school, back in the day I hated reading so I will be honest with you I don't remeber lots, but I do remember Il Barone Rampante (a story which I really want to reread so you'll probably read more of that on my blog in the future). This is the story of a boy who has an argument with his parents, climbs on a tree and refuses to get down again. Other stories by him that I am pretty sure we got to read in middle school are Il Visconte Dimezzato and Il Cagaliere Inesistente.

As I said I think kid's books are a great starting point (graphic novels toocalthough sometimes they can be a bit more challeng because of the humor, but if you are interested I have a pretty good list of Italian graphic novel authors). This is what came to mind right away, if you need a more curated recommendation list I will research a bit more and put it together, so let me know (also let me know if you end up reading anything from this list, and how your Italian learning is going, if I can be helpful I am happy to help!).

[starshinewriter]

For my ABDFD au:

What They Have is You

Summary: Scrooge never wanted to be Dad.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48942046

alternative to ao3:

When Scrooge agreed to take in Jet and Turbo he didn't think too much about it, it was clear Donald had his hands full and he wanted to help in any way he could. Plus, they were Della's... and he wanted every piece of Della he could have right now, selfish as that sounded. But once Donald left he realized he had no idea how to take care of eggs, or infants, or anything that was younger than the age of ten.

It would be a challenge, but he was Scrooge McDuck and he never backed down from a challenge.

The days until their eggs hatched were quiet: Beakley was busy with her own bairn and anytime Donald came over they did anything but talk. But Scrooge was used to silence, silence was all he had for months after the Spear of Selene. He wasn't sure he was ready for that to change. He wasn't sure he wanted it to stay the same.

The silence ended eventually for better or worse, he needed things for the twins and he didn't know what all they were. Donald ended up being more competent in that store than he did. Donald was made for this, Scrooge wasn't.

But the moment they hatched it was like none of that even mattered. This was just a new kind of adventure, and that was something he was made for.

The first night was hard, the first week even harder, and more than once he had the selfish thought that he shouldn't have taken this on. The first month went by and he found there was nothing else he'd rather be doing. The next month went by and he could hardly believe he had had those selfish thoughts at all. He got the call that the Money Bin was losing profits fast and it all crashed down.

It wasn't more important than the boys, nothing ever would be, but Scrooge knew if he became too vulnerable it would put them in danger. And that wasn't an option. He set up an area for them in his office and promptly got back to work. The area was moved to the living room when they got a little bigger. He stayed in his office.

Finding out he missed their first words put some things in perspective, what was the point of protecting them if he never got to see them? He hired a secretary and entrusted them with the little things. He would never lose sight of what was most important again.

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

Taking in the twins changed a lot of things for him, he couldn't recall the last time he had spent this much time with his family- as bad as that sounded. He loved his family dearly, and absolutely adored Donald and... Della, but there was a distance there that Hubert and Dewey broke through somehow. It made it easier to make the sacrifices he knew he had to make. It made it easier to talk about things he really didn't want to talk about.

Back before the twins were born he and Donald agreed not to tell them everything about what happened to Della, there was no reason for them to think she didn't want them or have questions they would probably never get the answers to, but that didn't mean they could never talk about her. And if the twins did have questions, well he would just do his best to answer them. Still, he didn't want them to waste all their time wondering about someone who wasn't there, especially since someone was.

He didn't like thinking about his darling niece like that but as far as he was concerned the twins were more his than hers.

But when exactly he started thinking that way he wasn't sure.

He knew he never felt that way about Donald and Della- they were Hortense and Quackmore's kids and he was completely fine with that, but with Huey and Dewey it was almost like it was meant to happen. Not that he believed in that sort of stuff. No, he knew it had something to do with the age he took each pair of twins in at. Even if they were unfortunately similar circumstances Huey and Dewey didn't know their parents and that made it easier. Sometimes too easier.

The decision to take them (and Webby) on their first adventure wasn't something he made easily but he figured if he could start them out early he could better prepare them for any danger that came their way. He could protect them this time. And they were so excited about it, their energy was infectious! They reminded him so much of Donald and Della and for once there was no hurt in his heart because of it.

So of course it wouldn't last.

Ack, what was he thinking?! They were only six! Of course they weren't ready for this! He had never felt so horrible about one of his decisions... besides that one time. And there was the hurt. But, he was Scrooge McDuck and he could bounce back from this! He just had to make more careful decisions when it came to the kids in the future. There were other ways to make sure nothing like that blasted spear ever happened again.

He couldn't protect them from everything -that was the only thing he kept dwelling on. He knew Bentina was right, but that didn't make it easy to come to terms with. The thought of the twins getting hurt, in any way, was one he couldn't stomach. But that didn't change the fact that they would eventually, that they had already, and there wasn't anything he could do to change that. It made him feel helpless in a way he never had before. It made him feel a lot of things he had never felt before, and he didn't know how to deal with them. Feelings, those weren't his forte. But he would figure them out, he had to, he couldn't pull in on himself again- not now. He had to figure out how to process his feelings so he could help the twins process theirs. He had to show them they could come to him with anything.

And they had so far, but they were getting older and he knew from experience they would stop being as open as the years passed. Unless, he curbed that now.

That meant considering something he never had before. Therapy. He knew Donald had been going for years now and the difference still astounded Scrooge, not that he wasn't fine before or that he would've been a bad father by any means, but there was something there that wasn't there before. It was like he finally felt heard. It was all Scrooge wanted for him, really, no matter how little he may have said it. And it was because of that that Scrooge thought about therapy, and made an appointment.

He mostly talked about the twins, something that was happening more and more over the years, and how he wanted to make sure they knew they could come to him when they needed to. The session went well, better than he thought it would, and he came out of it feeling better about things than he had in a while.

He scheduled another appointment.

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

He kept up with therapy for a while, but then he got too busy and went less and less until he stopped going altogether. But it was fine, by that point he had a good grasp on things, learned how to healthily process his emotions and how to help the twins with theirs. Which is all he really wanted from the whole experience. So it wasn't a loss in his eyes.

The only thing that was a loss was the time going by, it felt like the boys were growing up too quickly. Like just yesterday they were mere babes and now they were almost eight, soon they would be teenagers. Teenagers! But, he couldn't think that far ahead, he just had to focus on the here and now. It was easier said than done. He didn't know how Donald and Bentina did it.

But then again they had always been better at this whole thing than him.

He was learning, everyday he was learning, and he knew they were too, but it felt like they had unlocked something he hadn't. Something that was keeping him from being the best guardian he could be. And he wasn't going to take that sitting down, he was Scrooge McDuck! He solved mysteries, and this one might have been the most important of them all.

It involved the twins- it was definitely the most important of them all.

His first thought was to talk to Donald and Bentina, but when he did they gave him a funny look and tried not to laugh. So that was a bust. It was clearly something obvious as well and it was killing him that he couldn't figure it out. It was like... something wasn't right. Off. And he didn't know how to fix it.

His next thought was just to talk to the twins, but he didn't want to let them know something was wrong. And he knew, he knew! That he just got done with a program that told him to do the exact opposite, but this was different! This was something they weren't supposed to know about. Ever, if he could help it. No, it looked like he was on his own for this one. Oh well, it wasn't like it was the first time. But it was the first time when he was this close with his family, and that might just make the difference.  

And normally Scrooge was not this introspective, but, well, some things required it. But why? Why were Huey and Dewey in a different category for him? Why had they been since before they had been born? Why was this the one thing he could not wrap his head around?

What was he not getting?

It was all he thought about until the twins got sick.

It started with Dewey, he always got into stuff he wasn't supposed to, and since the twins were inseparable it wasn't long before Huey got sick as well. He tended to them, because of course he did, and tried his best not to get sick as well. He hadn't in years, he wouldn't break that record, especially not when they were.

Taking care of sick twins was pretty easy all things considered. Maybe it was just because he had experience with it but they never gave him too much trouble. Not that he would mind if they did. No, they were just content to stay in their bed, they always got cuddly when they weren't feeling well, and watch TV or sleep. The only times they really needed him were when they needed food or water. That didn't stop him from staying by their sides during the whole ordeal every time though. He would do it whenever they needed him to, that was what parents-

Oh. He found what was off.

Of course, it made so much sense! No wonder Donald and Bentina wanted to laugh at him! Of course, of course he was their parent. How could he not see it before? He had done everything a parent was supposed to do, yet he never put that label to it. Was it his way of honoring Della?

Della...

His darling niece, who, as much as he hated the thought, was probably dead. He wasn't trying to replace her, but he was there for the twins in a way she couldn't be. Not that he blamed her, he was six years past that. But the fact was that the twins needed someone and he stepped up, he always stepped up. Still, maybe he would let her have this one.

If he was only a parent by name in his mind that was okay. The boys hadn't talked to him about it, so he was left to assume they just saw him as their Uncle. Which was completely fine! Whatever made them comfortable, and if having him as their Uncle and Della as their Mom who wasn't around was what made them comfortable, then that's how it would stay. (It never occurred to him that the reason they never said anything was because they thought he didn't want them to call them that- not until years later.) He would just call himself their parent in his mind, he would give himself that at least.

The twins got better but nothing really changed with his relationship with them. And why would it? He may have called himself their guardian or Uncle but he had always been their parent. But changing that title... it gave him a warmth that nothing else did. It felt right. More right than anything had ever felt before.

Sometimes he couldn't believe how much he loved those two.

Sometimes he couldn't believe that he lived without them for so long. Something had been missing his whole life, and he didn't know it until a few years ago. He thought all he would ever need was his family and his treasures. But even as his family grew, even as he amassed riches, he was still missing something. And he never noticed until he had it...

Scrooge never wanted to be a Dad. But he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

[dellawren]

What if life was easier than we make it out to be? What if all that stuff we think we have to take on isn't ours and we don't really need to worry about it? What if a lot of the pain we experience in our lives is actually just us in our own minds? Yes, sometimes the experience causes pain, but more often than not we make that pain worse through our thoughts. The experience itself starts it and the mind says "hold my beer" and finishes it. What if we could manage our thinking and understand our emotions in a way that allowed us to be okay more of the time? My life experience, specifically my healing journey over the last 9 years, has taught me self-mastery. It's taught me this process of managing thoughts and emotions, gaining mental clarity around those things, and then shifting my behavior to something that didn't offer more pain. I've learned how to be okay in my experience without really changing my experience. Sometimes I use the analogy making yourself comfortable in a chair. You squirm around a bit. You find a comfy pillow or two, maybe a blanket, and you curl up and get comfy. Well, that's how life works. You're given the chair which is your experience in your life, and you're asked to make it work. But unlike a regular old chair that you sit in, you never bother to find a way to make life more comfortable for yourself, instead you roll around in the misery and wonder why you're not happy. My life changed, not because I worked on changing external circumstances, but because I changed myself within those circumstances. I stopped reacting to the experience because I began to understand that my reactions and my interpretations of the experience were causing more pain. I learned to shift my behavior so that didn't happen anymore. I spent years just working on my thoughts before I ever did anything else. Getting control over the run away mind took some work. I'll be honest that for me, that was probably the hardest part. I sat in pools of fear because I was afraid of everything. I had to learn how not t be afraid to simply exist. Sitting in the fear while learning to manage my mind was some of the most challenging work that I did on myself. The stuff I do now is a breeze in comparison. Of course, I stared down the fear so I'm not afraid of very much anymore. I taught myself this. I was guided through it intuitively and now I live it. It's my life and my life's work. It's the thing I offer to other people to help them feel better without needing to make massive changes to their lives if they don't want to yet. That's what I write about, what I talk about, and how I live. It's given me peace. It's made my life simpler. It freed me from the pool of fear I was drowning in. It offered me hope that I had the power to create something better for myself. Thanks for reading. If you're interested in learning more about self-mastery, just follow me along. I've got lots to say if the length of this post is any indication of that! Much love to all. Della

[tagthescullion]

Il Minuetto della Ragazza

Fandom(s): Percy Jackson and the Olympians Rating: T Summary: Bianca di Angelo is alive. Alive and upset, confused, desperate… Camp Half Blood lost her little brother, and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to bring him home safe. AO3 link Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine: Rendezvous

Thalia had been waiting for Bianca a few metres away from the door, still on the La Rues’ front porch.

With her stood Phoebe, the big girl who’d tried to teach Bianca how to arm-wrestle, and Ludovica, who Bianca hadn’t spoken much with, but the older girl had been kind to her nonetheless.

“Everything okay?” Thalia asked.

Bianca nodded. “Where’s the rest?”

“I sent them ahead, a big group would call too much attention to us, especially after you blew up a building.

“I— We didn’t—” Bianca stammered. “It wasn’t like we wanted to bring the thing down.”

“Clarisse looked very proud about it.”

“She has very thorough knowledge on explosives,” Bianca defended her. “That can be useful.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Thalia said. “I heard Ares’ children know how to use any weapon. Y’know, like innately.”

Phoebe snorted. “That’s not true.”

“No?” Thalia shrugged. “Too bad, it would’ve been cool.”

They’d started walking. Bianca followed without recognising the way, but she did see one of Clarisse’s former schools they’d walked by the other day.

“Where’re we going?” She asked.

“To check the building’s ruins.”

Bianca stopped in her tracks. “We can’t! What if they know who I am?”

Phoebe put a hand on her shoulder and prompted her forward.

“They won’t,” Ludovica said. “We checked the news. They’re going on about a group of protesters being guilty about the whole thing.”

“Trust the police to blame the peaceful protesters for blowing up a whole building,” Thalia muttered.

“Why do you want to see the place?” Bianca asked. She wanted nothing but to never set foot there again. The thought of it brought the nasty smell of burning to her nostrils.

“Annabeth’s asked me to check the door.”

“The door? The entrance to the Labyrinth? It’s been destroyed.”

Thalia made a face.

Bianca looked around. Phoebe and Ludovica appeared to be just as confused as her.

“Annabeth thinks the Labyrinth might be alive,” Thalia explained.

“Like a monster?” Ludovica asked. “How can a structure be alive?”

“Not exactly.” Thalia took a deep breath. “I didn’t understand what she meant by most of what she said, but when she found out about the explosion in Phoenix, she guessed it might’ve had to do with you, Bianca. Or, I suppose she did imagine Clarisse had a hand on it too. She talked to Clarisse, and she is sure you two have succeeded. Thing is, Annabeth’s not all that sure destroying an entrance to the maze is enough to completely close it.”

Bianca hoped Thalia was wrong. Otherwise, it’d mean the whole thing had been for nothing.

Ludovica patted her shoulder. “You look so crestfallen. We don’t know if that's true yet.”

From what Bianca had heard in the quest, Annabeth Chase was usually right in those situations, but she didn’t say anything.

Getting into the site was a lot easier than Bianca would’ve expected. Thalia took out a set of pliers and simply cut off a chunk of the wire fence surrounding the property.

“The entrance is full of cops, they’re still fighting with the hippies,” Thalia told Bianca. “They’ll never see us if we come in this way.”

Bianca had no idea what the hippies were, and she wasn’t all that sure the police force was fully concentrated on the main entrance, but she did trust the other girls to defend their group if it came to it. Police men wouldn’t be a match for Phoebe, much less if Thalia got involved.

They walked through the ruins, being mindful not to be seen. In spite of Thalia’s assurance that they wouldn’t be noticed, Bianca insisted that they didn’t tempt fate.

“You’re right,” Thalia admitted. “I’ve got super bad luck.”

Ludovica and Phoebe nodded in agreement. Bianca supposed being a tree for years wouldn’t exactly be considered lucky, regardless of how many fellow demigods you impressed by that feat. 

After a minute Bianca realised it was her leading the others. It made sense, of course, she was the only one who knew exactly where to look, but it still made her anxious. She didn’t like being in charge, it had been an issue since she was little. 

She surprised herself with a memory of an older woman, her light-brown hair propped up, a few strands purposefully out of place, giving her a casual air of elegance. She wore a long dress and stood perfectly straight. 

“You’re the oldest,” she said firmly. “Your brother will look up to you when the time comes. At least until he’s married.”

“But il Nonno says–” 

“Bah, il tuo Nonno thinks men must make every decision,” the older woman waved her hand dismissively. “And yet he’s never agreed to anything before asking me first.”

“Bianca?”

Bianca snapped out of her thoughts with a start. Ludovica was giving her a worried look. 

“You looked upset,” she said in Italian. “Is everything all right?”

Bianca nodded.

Thalia sighed. “You people need to stop speaking in languages I cannot understand.”

“Or,” Phoebe said with a shrug. “You should learn a language or two so you can understand the rest of us.”

Thalia rolled her eyes. “Easy to say, you’ve been around for three thousand years. I’d speak sixteen languages too, if I’d lived that long!”

“Sixteen?” Bianca wondered out loud. She turned to Ludovica. “How many languages do you speak?”

Ludovica laughed. “Not as many, I haven’t been around that long, I joined the Hunters after the Great War.”

Bianca was tempted to ask how Ludovica, originally from Lombardia, as she'd been told in passing before the quest, had come across the Hunters of Artemis in the late 1910s. There was something she ought to know, she was sure. Something about Ludovica that rang a bell, but Bianca couldn’t find the connection. 

Perhaps she’d known her family? Bianca remembered her grandfather had a good many friends, maybe Ludovica’s family had been some of them. 

She focused on the task at hand. They had to get to the Labyrinth entrance, and out of the ruined building before being seen. Besides, Bianca hated that place, even without the threat of a fight with policemen, she’d want to  be out of there as soon as possible.

She led her friends through the rubble, the fallen debris, and whatever was still standing. 

When they reached the spot the door had been in, they could barely hear the protesters nor the cops in the background. 

“Here.” Bianca pointed at the remains of a wall. “There was a delta symbol when Clarisse and I were here last time.”

Thalia and Phoebe looked around the wall. 

Bianca shivered at the thought of the maze. It had been the most unnatural feeling she’d ever got, being there. It felt hopeless, dangerous, lonely, the closest thing to Hell she could imagine.

Ludovica put an arm around her shoulders. 

“It’s okay,” she said. “We’re only checking.”

“If Annabeth’s right,” Bianca argued. “Then it’s still here.”

Ludovica shrugged. “Even so, we could find a way to destroy it.”

It didn’t sound very feasible to Bianca. If explosives like those Clarisse had used couldn’t destroy a single entrance into the Labyrinth, she doubted it could be killed at all.

“Nothing here,” Phoebe said. “I can’t find anything.”

“Neither can I,” Thalia yelled from the other side of the wall. She poked her head at the end of the wall. “How far do you think it would have moved?”

Bianca shrugged. “It hadn’t at all the other time, but nothing had happened to the building.”

Bianca extracted herself carefully from Ludovica’s hug, she didn’t want to seem ungrateful. She studied her surroundings. There wasn’t much left. The tallest bit of building left standing was some ten metres away, a storey and a half of height, give or take.

There was a mountain of debris not too far from the wall they’d been examining. Bianca felt uneasy about it, so she approached it slowly.

“Can we check here?”

The other girls came over. This time, all four of them tried to find the delta. 

“Here!” Thalia said.

Bianca felt blood rush to her head. Please God let her be wrong, she thought.

But no such luck, Thalia was standing next to a relatively smooth chunk of concrete about her height. She saw they were all close-by and she slammed the delta symbol. 

It glowed blue, as it had before, and a fissure in the concrete grew until it became a doorway into darkness.

“That’s actually pretty cool,” Thalia admitted. 

She walked into the darkness but Bianca pulled her back by her arm.

“Are you crazy?” She demanded. 

The force in her tone made Thalia’s eyes harden. Bianca remembered she wasn’t keen on being ordered around.

Softening her voice Bianca added. “It’s dangerous. It could close right after you got in there and then we’d be separated. Who knows how long it would take for you to find a way out again!”

Thalia pulled her arm out of Bianca’s grasp. 

“Fine,” she said. She turned towards the dark entrance but stayed a few steps away. “Did it always look like this?”

Bianca forced herself to look into the tunnel. It was hard to see, as usual, but this time it looked like an underground train tunnel. Much more modern than it had been when she’d seen it with Clarisse, and much more man-made than the first time she’d been there.

She told the others.

“How does it change so much?” Ludovica asked. “If the entrance is more or less the same place, wouldn’t it look the same?”

Phoebe shook her head. “That’s not how Daedalus created things. His style is weird, obscure, and dangerous, but above all, dynamic, everchanging. To him, there’s no point in a structure that doesn’t try to kill you.”

“Did you meet him? Daedalus?” Bianca wondered. 

“Once,” Phoebe made a disgusted face. “Full of himself and preposterously condescending. Awfully unhappy too.”

“Well his son did die,” Thalia reminded her. “That can’t make you too happy–” she hesitated. “You know what? Mythologically speaking, I’m not sure that’s true.”

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. “Mythologically speaking?”

Thalia huffed, “You know what I mean. Like, my father threw his newborn son off Olympus because he was ugly. Parent’s aren’t very nice in Greek myths.”

Bianca was sure the other two hadn’t missed the bitterness in Thalia’s voice.

“It was your stepmother,” Phoebe corrected her. 

“Was it?” Thalia asked. “I’m not that surprised, if I’m honest.”

There was a pause in which all of them turned to the Labyrinth entrance.

“What should we do with this?” Phoebe asked at last. “We can’t leave it here for anybody to fall through.”

“It doesn’t open for mortals,” Thalia said. “Annabeth told me.”

That made sense to Bianca. “The door has been here for a while,” she said. “If mortals could open it they would’ve discovered it as soon as they started working here.”

“We’ll leave it then,” Ludovica offered. “The only demigod in the area is Clarisse, and she can keep an eye on this door.”

Thalia didn’t look too sure about that, but at present there was no other choice. 

“We’ll speak with Artemis when we see her again,” she decided. She poked the delta symbol with her finger. Its glow diminished and the door closed. “I’m not sure she’ll know what to do, but she could mention it to the others. If it’s a threat that Luke plans to use, the Olympian council should know about it.”

They started their way back, out of the construction site and to wherever the rest of the Hunters were. 

“What will the council do?” Bianca asked. 

“Send a group of demigods to die in an attempt to solve the issue of course,” Thalia answered. 

Phoebe gave her a hard look. “Put some trust in them. They cannot get involved.”

Thalia took a deep breath, which did nothing to calm her. 

“Their involvement varies to their convenience,” she spat. “And they don’t trust me, they were very clear about that.”

Phoebe opened her mouth to argue but Ludovica cut her off.

“Let’s not fight about this again,” she said. “The gods have to know. It doesn’t matter what they do with the information, they should be told nonetheless.” 

“Where is Artemis?” Bianca asked, hoping it would ease the tension in their little group.

“New York.” They all answered in unison.

They reached the bit of wire fence Thalia had cut open. 

“She and Apollo were called to Olympus a week ago,” Ludovica explained, crawling out under the fence. “They’re good trackers, they were probably needed to find someone– or something.”

Bianca went out next. She was small, getting out was easier for her than for Phoebe, who was a whole head taller than her.

“She’ll meet with us there,” Thalia said. Despite her height –not quite as tall as Phoebe but still rather formidable– she crossed the fence with surprising agility. “But it’s on us to get to New York.”

______________________

As they walked towards the rendezvous place –a lively piazza with a full children’s playground–, Bianca asked how long the trip to New York would take. She guessed they wouldn’t be walking, but even so, the journey to California had taken ages (and she had only been there for half that time).

Phoebe smiled. “We cannot answer that question. It might take a week or a month.”

“It’s around 23 hundred miles,” Thalia offered unhelpfully.

“Close to 37 hundred kilometres,” Ludovica translated. 

Geography wasn’t Bianca’s strong suit, but she was sure that was enough to cross most of Europe East to West.

They arrived at the piazza. The Hunters had spread out. Some had invaded the swings; a couple of them were trying to keep a see-saw horizontal while balancing precariously on each end; and some were simply hiding from the early afternoon sun under the shadow of a big old tree.

Thalia stood on the stone-edge of a fountain, in the middle of the park and clapped her hands loudly. 

The Hunters gathered around her like devout followers listening to a sermon. 

“Right ladies, I've got some bad news,” the daughter of Zeus started. “The Labyrinth door is still there. I doubt it’ll budge no matter how much dynamite Miss La Rue drops on it. The good side of this is that it’s not our problem right now. Our plan is to go to New York to meet with Lady Artemis at our earliest convenience.”

“Not Camp surely?” Scoffed Edwina, a wayward English girl who’d left her aristocratic family in the mid 19th century.

“I never said we were going to Camp,” Thalia clarified. “We can stay close to the city. It’s likely that’s where Lady Artemis will meet us.”

The girls looked relieved at that.

Bianca didn’t understand why they disliked Camp Half-Blood so much. Many of them had been there at some point or another. Besides, she was sure it was the campers who should feel uneasy around them, not the other way around. But she said nothing. 

She wished they’d be a little more open to the idea, however. She guessed if she wanted to find Nico soon, she’d need help from Camp. She supposed she could always ask Thalia or Lady Artemis to go alone, but she wasn’t sure how that worked. 

“How are we getting there?” Asked Greta, a pink-cheeked girl of about 16 who was always smiling. 

“Greyhound bus.”

“All of us?”

“Yeah,” Thalia said. “We’ll pretend we’re a school group. We’re on our way to a camping trip.”

The girls looked unimpressed by the choice. Bianca guessed it wasn’t very creative but it was effective enough. Most of them could pass for school-aged students and the older Hunters could play the role of chaperone.

The bus station wasn’t far. Bianca stayed close to Ludovica the whole way. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the rest, but she could feel their stares, and it made her self-conscious. 

When they got there, she saw Thalia in the ticket line. She spoke swiftly to the man at the counter. He didn’t look very suspicious but he said something that made Thalia frown. 

After a couple of head shakes and an exasperated sigh by their lieutenant, Thalia returned. 

“We’ll have to wait two hours,” she said with apparent irritation. “I hate waiting.”

Some of the girls smiled. Bianca guessed Thalia wasn’t known for her patience. 

“Right, anyway,” Thalia’s voice turned back into leader-mode. “Don’t stray too far. I want you back by twenty past 5, okay?”

The girls dispersed. Thalia sat down heavily next to Bianca.

“I hate waiting,” she repeated. “That bastard wouldn’t give me tickets for the bus leaving right now because they’d have to delay it for what? Five minutes? Ridiculous.”

“Why don’t you go for a walk?” Ludovica suggested. “It may help calm your nerves.”

Thalia frowned. “I’m not nervous. I just don’t like being cooped up here. I don’t want to leave though. I’ve never been good with time, the chances are I’ll lose track of it and come back at twenty past 5 am.”

Bianca nodded, she could empathise with that. She’d never been good at measuring time either. An hour could feel like five minutes or a whole eternity to her. 

She saw Thalia twirl something in her hand.

“What’s that?” She asked. 

Thalia showed her the plastic rectangle. “Credit card. Fees go straight to Olympus.”

The last bit she said with a smirk.

“And you can use that whenever you want?” Bianca tried not to sound too skeptical.

Ludovica smiled. “No, she can’t. But sometimes, for transportation and whatnot, the gods give us a hand.”

“My father owes me 19 years of child support,” Thalia added. “I deserve a little comfort. Lady Artemis wouldn’t let me buy that chimera, though, remember?”

Ludovica laughed. “She said you would forget to feed it.”

“I thought it was a reasonable purchase,” Thalia argued amicably. “We could have trained it to eat Luke’s head off. Imagine the trouble we could have saved.”

Ludovica was about to say something else but Thalia put one of her hands over hers. The humour had left her eyes, and her muscles had tensed.

“Do you see that woman over there?” She asked in a low voice.

Bianca and Ludovica turned subtly. Indeed, an older lady was leaning on her cane by the snack machine. She wasn’t really looking at the food, and something about her made Bianca wary.

“That is a Fury.”

[widevibratobitch]

hello! who's kissing tebaldi in your icon? and would you perhaps want to share some of your favourite arias or songs along with who sang their best renditions? love your blog<3

Oh anon dear, the first question is very easy. It's my most beloved baritone, one of the very finest in the history of opera if you ask me (and many others) and a certified operablr sexyman, Ettore Bastianini.

Now, the second question... is a bit more complicated and I honestly don't think I could ever possibly make an exhaustive list of all my favourite arias and recordings, it'd be much easier if you gave me some specifics of what exactly you're most interested in (time periods, composers, voice types, singers etc. - do feel free to DM me, I'd be happy to help!).

So I've decided to narrow it down thematically to the ask you've sent and give you a list of a few of my favourite aria recordings of Tebaldi and Bastianini (under the cut).

these are literally just a few from the top of my head, arias from their most iconic, signature roles, but there's more, there's so much more. there are also countless recordings of these arias that I love but I tried to choose mostly the ones when you can *see* them sing because 1. they're always more fun; 2. they're both so hot fr;

Renata Tebaldi

Voi lo sapete from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni (with an absolutely delightful io piango at the end)

Suicidio from La Gioconda by Ponchielli

Io son l'umile ancella (and Monologo di Fedra, though there's not much singing there) from Adriana Lecouvreur by Cilea

Sì, mi chiamano Mimì from La Boheme by Puccini

Un bel dì vedremo from Madama Butterfly by Puccini

Vissi d'arte from Tosca by Puccini

Senza mamma from Suor Angelica by Puccini

Pace, pace, mio Dio from La forza del destino by Verdi

Tu che le vanità from Don Carlo by Verdi

bonus: Una partita a poker from Puccini's La fanciulla del West where at 4:45 you can witness the single sexiest moment in the history of opera aka Tebaldi's legendary TRE ASSI E UN PAIO scream.

Ettore Bastianini

Urna fatale from La forza del destino by Verdi

Il balen del suo sorriso from Il trovatore by Verdi

Eri tu che macchiavi from Un ballo in maschera by Verdi

Per me giunto + Io morrò from Don Carlo by Verdi (he sang A LOT of Rodrigo - it was also the last role he ever sang on stage - and there are plenty of different recordings, my personal favourite isn't on yt but you can literally choose any and it will be gorgeous every time)

Cruda funesta smania from Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti

Largo al factotum from Il barbiere di Siviglia by Verdi

Nemico della patria from Andrea Chenier by Giordano

Te deum from Tosca by Puccini

Prologo from I Pagliacci by Leoncavallo

Also, if you want recommendations of entire operas with both Tebaldi and Bastianini together - Tosca and La forza del destino, both from 1958, are an absolute MUST.

[cartoonlover16]

I posted 64 times in 2022

36 posts created (56%)

28 posts reblogged (44%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@l-thefriendlyghost

@lettheladylead

@disney-diligent

@neopuff

@ducklooney

I tagged 47 of my posts in 2022

Only 27% of my posts had no tags

#writing - 23 posts

#ducktales 2017 - 21 posts

#dt17 - 17 posts

#disney - 14 posts

#ducktales - 11 posts

#della duck - 10 posts

#donald duck - 9 posts

#oneshot - 9 posts

#tumblr - 6 posts

#huey dewey louie - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 36 characters

#we cant all be webbigail vanderquack

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I love to write.

Writing is my life. It has been my life for a long time now. I like to write fanfiction. And its Ducktales fanfiction I like to write right now.

3 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

#4

Could you write a story about Della finding out she's going to have babies?

Sure, I can. Just give me a few days to write another one-shot that I thought of and then write this one.

4 notes - Posted March 9, 2022

#3

Would you mind writing one about Huey and Boyd taking the other kids camping in the backyard?

Sure I can. I just need a little time to write it out.

4 notes - Posted March 1, 2022

#2

NEW CHAPTER FOR DUCKTALES ONE-SHOTS.

CHAPTER 4: PARENT BURNOUT.

Donald Duck wished that these triplet boys were easier to handle. They were almost a year old, and he felt like he needed a break. He had a parent burnout. He called his grandmother to help him. He needed to rest for a couple of days. He wanted the boys to sleep through an entire night. He had not slept an entire night in so long. He can’t remember the last time he did anything for himself. He can’t remember when he took a shower, ate, or slept an entire night. He needed a break for a few days. He also wanted his grandmother to see the boys once in a while.

“Grandma,” Donald said. “Oh dear, you look like you’re about to pass out,” Elvira said. “I haven’t slept much in the last year,” he said. “Come in, I want to see my great grandsons,” she said. Donald came in with the boys in his arms. Louie started to whimper. Elvira took him into her arms to calm him down before upsetting the other two boys. “You have Louie, the one in blue is Dewey, and the one in red is Huey,” he said. The boys were being raised well by Donald.

“Hey Donaldo,” Gladstone said, coming into the house. “Shh Gladstone, the babies are asleep,” Elvira said. “Sorry,” Gladstone said. “Gladstone, this is Huey, Dewey, and Louie,” Donald said. Elvira was holding Louie, while the other two boys were sleeping in the playpen in the living room. Elvira was trying to soothe Louie to take a nap along with his brothers. He seemed to like being held a lot. She held him until he was drowsy enough to fall asleep on his own. She put him into the playpen with the other two triplets. Louie peacefully fell asleep for a nap. He knew that he would be safe while taking a nap. It was quiet at the farm because it was in the country just outside of Duckburg. Elvira took Donald to a bedroom so he could get some rest.

“Get some rest, Donald, you look like you need it,” Elvira said. “What about the boys?” Donald said. “They’ll be fine, I’ll take care of them so you can rest,” she said. “The boys need me to take care of them,” he said. “Donald, they’ll be fine, trust me. I know what I’m doing,” she said. Donald laid down and closed his eyes. He fell asleep until dinner. His mind was at ease while he was asleep. Elvira, Gladstone, and Fethry took care of the boys while Donald was asleep. The boys were well taken care of while he was asleep. Gladstone fed Louie, Fethry fed Huey, and Elvira fed an overly excited Dewey when they were all hungry. Donald said that he kept them all on one schedule during the day and night. Elvira couldn’t feed the triplets on her own because there were three of them. The boys needed to be fed at the same time. She was a great grandmother to the boys. She knew that she just met the boys, but she loved them already.

“There we go,” Elvira said as Dewey finished his lunch. “Huey won’t eat,” Fethry said. “Here, you take Dewey and I’ll feed Huey,” she said. She gave Dewey over to Fethry and took Huey into her arms to feed him his lunch. Louie ate his lunch for Gladstone with no trouble at all. Louie had to be fed his lunch because he was lazy and didn’t want to do stuff for himself.

Donald woke up after the boys had lunch. He came into the living room where the boys were playing. Louie came toddling over to him and hugged him. He reached up wanting to be picked up. “It’s about time you woke up; you must’ve been exhausted,” Elvira said. “Raising three boys by myself is exhausting,” Donald said. “You should come over once a week and let yourself get some sleep,” she said. “I think I should,” he said. “You can and you will,” she said.

That evening, Elvira bathed the boys. She bathed them all at the same time. She gave them a warm bath. After their bath, she dried them off and each of them in their color-coded onesies. She gave each of them back rubs to help each of them fall asleep for the night. She put each of them in the playpen in the living room. Donald tucked them in for the night. They were all asleep for once in their lives since they hatched. The boys were happy, healthy, and safe.

4 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

NEW CHAPTER FOR DUCKTALES ONE-SHOTS.

CHAPTER 3: DELLA'S THREE BABIES.

Della had not been feeling well for a few days. Scrooge had called her mother to take her to the doctor to see what the matter with her was. There was nothing that could stop Della Duck. Della knew that her mother was coming by that day, but she didn’t know why. It was a surprise for both of the twins when Scrooge told them that their mother was coming by that day. They had not seen their parents in such a long time, and they needed to see them once in a while.

“Hello, Hortense,” Scrooge said, coming into the foyer. “Hi Scroogie. Where are my twin babies?” Hortense said, walking into the living room followed by Scrooge. Della was laying down on the couch with a bucket by her face. “You poor girl,” Hortense said, kneeling down next to Della. “Mom, I don’t feel good at all,” Della said. “Why do you think that I’m here? I’m here to take you to the doctor,” Hortense said. “Mom,” Donald said, coming into the living room and pushing past Scrooge. “Oh, there’s my boy,” Hortense said, hugging Donald tightly.

“Lad, your father and I are taking you out of the house for the day, while your mother is dealing with your sister,” Scrooge said after Hortense had left with Della. “You know how twins can feel each other’s pain?” Donald said. “That’s not going to work, son, you’re going with us,” Quackmore said. “You need to not be so focused on your twin sister’s safety and health all the time, lad. I’m sure that whatever is wrong with her, she’ll be fine in a few days or so,” Scrooge said. “Alright,” Donald said. “Come on lad,” Scrooge said, jabbing Donald on the back with the end of his cane. They went down to the bay, and they got on a boat. Quackmore drove the boat out onto the water where it was safe for them to start fishing. “This should take your mind off of your sister,” Quackmore said, handing Donald a fishing pole. They started to fish in the water.

Della sat on the examination table in the little examination room of the doctor’s office. Della couldn’t sit still. “Sit still, Della,” Hortense said. “I can’t sit still, mom. I’m nervous,” Della said. “You’re nervous about becoming a mother, aren’t you?” Hortense said. “I am,” Della said. The doctor came in with the results. “Congratulations, you’re pregnant, Della,” the doctor said. “Thank you, Dr. Thrasher,” Della said. “Now, let’s see how far along you are,” Dr. Thrasher said. He set up an ultrasound and Della unzipped her jacket and pulled her shirt up from her stomach. Dr. Thrasher put some ultrasound gel on her stomach and then the probe. Dr. Thrasher gasped. “You’re going to have triplets, you’re pregnant with three eggs,” Dr. Thrasher said, gasping. “What?” Della said. “See? You’re having three eggs,” Dr. Thrasher said, pointing at the ultrasound screen. Della started internally freaking out, but she kept her cool while at the doctor’s office. She waited until her and Hortense were in the car to express her concerns.

“Mom, I’m scared,” Della said. “It’s going to be alright, Della, I know how you feel,” Hortense said. “You do?” Della said. “When I was expecting you and your brother, I was nervous as well. I had your father by my side and your grandmother helped me a lot as well,” Hortense said. Hortense took Della home to get something to eat and to relax for a little while.

“Mom, do you really think I’ll be a good mother to my three kids?” Della said. “What do you mean, sweetie? I think you’ll be an amazing mother,” Hortense said. “I mean there’s three of them and I’m a single mother,” Della said. “You’ve got a family that will help you with your kids,” Hortense said. “But, what about their father?” Della said. “Ack, who cares about him? He wasn’t the one that was meant for you. He cheated on you after he had sex with you,” Hortense said. “He probably doesn’t want anything to do with me or the kids,” Della said. “You shouldn’t have to tell him if you don’t want to because you are these kids’ mother. You should do what you think is best for you and the kids,” Hortense said. “Thank you, mom, I love you,” Della said, leaning her head on Hortense’s shoulder. “You’re welcome, sweetheart, I love you too,” Hortense said, wrapping her arm around Della, giving her a hug. “I want to have these babies, but I’m so nervous about being a mother,” Della said. “I know Della,” Hortense said.

Donald soon came back with Quackmore and Scrooge. Quackmore came into the living room and saw Della cuddling with Hortense. Della seemed to be asleep. He came closer to them and gave Hortense a gentle kiss. “How is she?” he said. “She’s fine, but she’s got something to tell you all,” Hortense said. Della opened her wide eyes. Quackmore had to hold onto Donald to keep him calm and not jump on his sister. “Della, what do you have to tell everyone?” Hortense said. “I’m pregnant with triplets. We don’t know what gender they are yet,” Della said, with a few tears running down her face. She dug her face into Hortense’s shoulder as she cried.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Quackmore said. “No, it’s not, daddy,” Della said. “Why’s that?” Quackmore said, letting Donald go and sitting down with Hortense and Della. “Lucas left me after we had sex together, he probably won’t want the kids,” Della said. “Come here,” Quackmore said, with his arms open. Della leaned over to Quackmore. “You’re going to be alright, sweetheart, you’ve got a family to help you with these kids,” Quackmore said, stroking his hand through her hair. “I love you mom and dad,” Della said. “We love you too,” Hortense said. “Yes, we do,” Quackmore said. “You are going to be a great mother,” Hortense said. “Yes, you are,” Quackmore said. Della continued to cry until she fell asleep on the couch. Duckworth brought a blanket and a pillow for Della to make her more comfortable while she slept for a nap.

Five and a half months later, Della went into labor. She went into labor two weeks early. She often went to the doctor to make sure that everything was perfect during the pregnancy and the doctor said that she was pregnant with three boys. She was going to be a mom. She had to go in for a C-section to deliver the boys’ eggs. She was loopy after the birth because of the medication she was given. She was put to sleep during the procedure because it was an emergency C-section. Della couldn’t hold her eggs when they were brought into her room.

“Della, are you feeling alright?” Scrooge asked. “I don’t know, I’m probably going to just lay down and get some rest,” Della replied. “Alright, let someone know if something’s wrong,” he said. “I will,” she said. She laid down on the couch in the living room. She couldn’t get comfortable. She knew that she was pregnant with triplets, and she was due in two weeks.

Hortense quietly came into the living room. Della looked up and saw her mother. “Mom, something’s wrong,” Della said. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” Hortense said. “I don’t know; I’m just feeling a lot of pain in my stomach,” Della said. “How long has it been going on for?” Hortense said. “Every five minutes for the last hour,” Della said. “We need to get you to the hospital,” Hortense said. “Why?” Della said. “You might be in labor,” Hortense said. “Now? I’m not due for another two weeks,” Della said, starting to panic. “Don’t panic; it’s not good for you or these babies of yours,” Hortense said. Della went with Hortense to the hospital. Della was miserable during the contractions. She wanted the labor and the pregnancy to be over already.

“Mom, it hurts so much,” Della said. “I know, sweetie, it’s all going to be over soon,” Hortense said. Dr. Thrasher came into the room. “Della, since you’re two weeks early and you’re having triplets, we’re going to need to do a C-section for you to lay them safely,” Dr. Thrasher said. “I’ll do anything to have these babies,” Della said. “Alright,” Dr. Thrasher said. Della signed all the consent papers for the C-section, and she went into the operating room.

After the laying of the triplets eggs, Donald, Quackmore, and Scrooge came to see Della. Della was awake, but she was loopy from being put to sleep during the laying of the triplets. Della started crying when her brother, father, and uncle came into the room. Hortense explained to Donald that Della’s hormones are still crazy because she had just laid the boys’ eggs not that long ago. He also couldn’t run up and roughly hug her because she had a large incision on her stomach. She needed time for it to heal before she got rough with her brother or anyone really. Della wasn’t awake for very long before falling asleep. Hortense tucked Della in a little.

A week later, Della went home with the eggs. She couldn’t wait to be home with her family. She was happy to have her baby boys. Donald and Scrooge knew that once the boys hatched, no one would get any sleep because the babies would be constantly crying and needing constant care. Duckworth came to the hospital to pick Della up when she was ready to leave.

“This is so exciting, I’m about to become a mother,” she said. “You’re going to be quite a mother, Della,” Duckworth said. “I am,” Della said. Della couldn’t jump up off the couch because of the incision in her lower abdomen. She had the eggs in front of her on the ottoman. They were nestled in a nest that Hortense had crocheted. The next was large enough for Della’s three eggs. Donald came into the room and shuffled the eggs in the nest and pulled the blankets tighter around them. “Donald, the eggs are fine,” Della argued from her spot on the couch. “You might think that they’re fine,” Donald said. “Why do you have to be just like mom? Ugh!” she said, frustrated. “Mom wasn’t that bad,” he said. “She was so restricting,” she said. “Twins, quite fighting,” Hortense said, coming into the living room where the twins were. “Mom!” the twins said. “Donald, those eggs aren’t yours so stop being overprotective of the eggs and Della, you know that I wasn’t that restricting,” Hortense said. “Sorry,” both twins chorused simultaneously.

6 notes - Posted March 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ninja-librarian]

Random thought of the day. You know how Gyro agreed to update Della's prosthetic leg? I'm now just picturing him making the offer to Steelbeak sometime in the future (if for no other reason than he knows he can do better). But considering the whole "button that can seal his beak against his will" thing from the cartoon, I can absolutely see the idea of any scientist messing with it as a sensitive issue.

And Steelbeak tells him so and Gyro's like "WTF? Yeah, no, we're fixing that IMMEDIATELY! TEAM SCIENCE, TO THE LAB!"

Steelbeak doesn't quite know what to make of this but is also pretty relieved if still confused. But he likes the end result, that's for sure, if for no other reason than it makes kissing Fethry a lot easier.

[braveclementine]

Day 34

Warnings: None, Readers under 18 can read this book.

Copyright: My OCs are Coach Yonce, Emma, Ila, Tempus, and Itty Bitty. I own these characters. I do not condone any copying of this.

EXCERPTS FROM SEBASTIAN STANS JOURNAL

EVIDENCE FOR RUSSO TRIAL

JOURNAL ENTRY ONE:

Things have sort've gotten weird, but I'm gonna have to start at the beginning for it all to make more sense. See, the movie is supposed to be about a HYDRA facility that's testing children by putting them into different scenarios. As Bucky Barnes, I'm helping that. The boss lady's real name is some actress I've never heard of, I can honestly barely remember her name now. I think it's like Della Reyes. But her movie name is Tempus.

So since there's supposed to be a love connection between one of the characters and Bucky Barnes, Tempus told me that Anthony said I could choose who the main character got to be. Which is cool and all, unusual, but I think it'll make everything easier. I chose the brown haired girl from the top block. She's 23 according to the bio, but in the movie will be 17.

So the first day I met her, the looks were a bit different from the picture. The nose clip was a bit weird and she seemed to hate it, messing with it a lot so I assumed it as a prop they'd given her. The whole outfit seemed to make her uncomfortable and I wondered why she would wear it then.

Anyways, I was also told all of her lines were improv and that I could improv most of my lines as well. I asked her what her name was. In return, she asked what my name was. I wasn't supposed to answer questions not asked by someone who controls the Winter Soldier. So I didn't answer. Neither did she. I guess she's going for a cheeky sort of character.

In one of the scenes, I am supposed to 'accidentally' eavesdrop on the kitchen which I did. And that's how I alerted my new ward not to eat the eggs which were 'poisoned'.

By the third day, I told her my name was Sebastian. I was supposed to give her a fake name and I thought Sebastian would be a cool Easter egg. I was never told to do the scene again, so I guess they liked it too.

But now, things are weird. I've been watching. Either the kids are really amazing actors, or they really are depressed. I can only imagine though that they are great actors. Or maybe they're all miserable about something else.

I don't know.

JOURANL EXCERPT TWO:

I've been watching. All of the kids that ate the eggs have suddenly disappeared. I thought they would have 'died' in the games, but that's another weird thing. None of these kid actors are staying in the actors lounge, which is the top floor. I haven't seen any of them.

Tempus says that they're sending them home when their scenes are done. I guess that's fine then. But it would've been cool to meet some of them. I always loved meeting kids that were fans.

Anyways, continuing from the last entry. In the last game, one of the girls playing the killer of the game did a stunt to kill herself. I guess it was in the plot somewhere. I never read anything about the other scenes. Only my own.

Ever since that event, they've been kept in their rooms for three more days. When I took my ward- who says her name is Y/N- back up to her 'cell', she was shaking. It was strange, but then I realized they were probably still recording this scene.

Of course I left after I put her in her room.

But when I was walking through all of the hallways that night because the time difference was still screwing with my schedule, I could hear her screaming into her pillows like she had nightmares.

I told myself she was doing another scene.

But now, I'm not so sure.

JOURNAL EXCERPT THREE:

I had to take Y/N to the showers today as per the script. I was supposed to wait in the room and she would pretend to take a shower as to create sexual tension between the two of us for the plot.

Normally, what happens in this scene is they pull a curtain between the two of us and I would only be able to see the silhouette of her body.

There was no curtain.

I still followed through with my lines, telling her to go ahead. She glared at me, before she actually walked into the shower and showered with her clothes on. It was weird, like it wasn't actually supposed to be part of the script.

After she got out of the shower, I commented that she was going to get a cold. I guess I was just trying to keep the script going, the improv, but I think I really was worried about her health.

She said something about not showering naked in front of me and I said I would've turned around if she had asked. She said I never answered her questions- which was true per my character. I told her I told her my name and she said it could've been fake- which is true.

I asked how old she was and she asked the question right back at me, the way I knew she was going to. I told her 32 and she didn't answer at first. I teased her about that and she was very serious when she said 19.

That confused me just a bit. 'Cause her script said she was 23 and her movie age was supposed to be 17.

Then she went on. Told me how she graduated, how she was going to go to some college I'd never heard of before and become a doctor of sorts. Then she seemed to break the fourth wall, telling me her parents were going to celebrate by taking her to see the new Marvel movie.

That Dr. Strange and Iron Man were her favorite characters and how she'd never seen any of the Captain America movies.

It was so confusing. I wasn't entirely sure now when we were being recorded for the scenes and when we weren't. Apparently, there was camera crews behind the scenes so that everything was more 'authentic.'

She asked me to take her back to her room when she was crying. I've never seen someone cry so realistically before. Usually they're trying not to laugh or smile.

I'm starting to rethink everything.

I brought her down to the dining room. I waited in my usual spot.

One of the boys got impatient and touched the food when I guess they weren't supposed to. I was surprised that the effect seemed to be on him. The white lightning around his body.

Some of the children screamed, some fell of their chairs. But my eyes sought out Y/N. She had her eyes closed, crying. She had told me how much she loved life in general, how much these children 'dying' meant to her.

Except now I don't think I should be putting these 'marks' around the words. Because I think they really are dying.

I could smell the burning flesh of the dead boy.

JOURNAL ENTRY FOUR:

Y/N yelled at Tempus after more children died. Looking around, none of the other guards seemed fazed but me. Then again, I hadn't recognized a single person here. Not one. I thought Frank Gillo might've been here, cause Rumlow was a pretty big part of HYDRA, but so far I hadn't seen him.

Tempus told the children they could eat now, but when several of the children reached out, they toppled out of their chairs in electric sparks too.

I felt absolutely sick. Unless I was misunderstanding things, about six children had just died in front of me. I know understood why Y/N was so angry with me. I really was letting children die.

Y/N stood up, her chair toppling backwards. "I've found I'm not hungry anymore." She had said and then went to storm out of the room. I caught up with her, trying to stay in character though my head was spinning. I couldn't get caught. I had to contact the others, had to let them know to send for the police. Had to get these children out of here without myself ending up dead. I was the only adult here who seemed to care. I was the only one that could save these children.

Tempus told me to take her to the arena, to put her inside the minigame. I told her I would and took Y/N there.

I did my best to stay in character, telling her she was a depressing character with no optimism. I wanted to see how she would react.

She slapped me across the face. The sting of the impact hurt. I had never actually been slapped so hard- except on accident. She really wasn't acting.

I can remember her words, word for word as she berated me for calling her a character:

"Character?" She asked quietly. "Is this some sort of book to you? A movie? A game? I'm sorry if I'm not optimistic. Maybe you're blind, but your boss back there just killed a bunch of kids because she could. For no reason. I guess the games weren't progressing far enough. So sorry if I'm depressed. I just realized I'm not going to see my family again. Sorry about being depressed though. Sorry for not being more optimistic. I'll try and make it more exciting for you next time."

I didn't blame her.

Tempus eventually came in and told me to leave. I did.

I watched the entire thing on the screen, wondering if the monsters were real. I wondered if the wolves were really wolves, or just well trained dogs.

When she cut off her own pinky I threw up. I was shaking when I had to take her back to her room. When I had to address the poorly amputated pinky myself.

I tried to pretend I had no idea what had happened. My hands were trembling as I wrapped the bleeding stump.

I didn't even hear half the words she was saying, though I was sure she was saying something about me being afraid of some blood while I killed people. I had never killed anyone in my life. Sure, Bucky had, but that wasn't real.

It wasn't supposed to be real.

I told her I'd get her more blankets and make sure a doctor took care of it.

I went to Tempus and demanded it, pretending to demand it as the winter soldier slowly falling in love with the charge. I got the blanket and was told a doctor would see her in the morning.

I asked how it happened.

"An accident, unfortunately." Tempus had said, feigning sympathy. "I'll have to file a report with the boss of course. The door just snapped it right off."

I just winced in sympathy and then told her to make sure a doctor would check it out so it didn't get infected.

I went to find my phone later, so that I could contact Chris or Robert or Benedict or Tom, but found it was missing. That made my blood run cold. I wondered where my phone was. I'm guessing its been taken, so I'm starting to carry this journal around with me. I'll have to if I don't want them to find it.

JOURNAL ENTRY FIVE:

I paid attention during the games more than I ever did. I'm noticing that the special effects seem to happen right away, which has never happened in any movie I've ever made before. Usually, the special effects are afterwards.

It really is real.

I'm paying close attention to Y/N. I need to keep her alive. I've come to care for her so much, more than just a friend. I think I might actually be in danger of falling in love with her, now that everything is real.

She spent almost an hour looking for everyone, looking completely dejected.

Tempus told me to get ready for my next scene, and I climbed up the ladder into a very small room. I could see through the wall- which was like a two way mirror. I could hear the same sounds as a girl came around the corner. She was making the same sounds as those in the maze Y/N had to go through.

When Y/N heard them, she panicked, the hammer colliding with what she probably thought was a monster.

When she saw she hit the ground, she panicked, cradling the girls body in her arms, sobbing. My heart went out to her, as I tried to keep my eyes off of the dead girl. I wasn't prepared for this stuff. It was all supposed to be fake. It wasn't supposed to be real.

I was an actor. I dealt with fake death, fake love, fake everything. Not this.

The lights went out and I knew that was my cue. I slid the panel to the left and pulled her in. She was hyperventilating, an overwhelming stench of blood flowing to my nostrils.

I tried to remember my lines. I thought if I could just keep in line with the script, I could get through this. I could help her get through this.

Y/N couldn't breathe.

I kissed her.

I hadn't meant to. It was to early in the script. But it just happened and I couldn't regret it. She clutched at me desperately, trying to hold onto something. I think it really helped, because she was calmer when I pulled away.

I told her she needed to take the girl to the tank and everything would be okay. I told her to survive for me, and her friends.

She went off again and I climbed back down the ladder. Tempus was there. She nodded to me, "A bit early, but I think the viewers will appreciate it."

I excused myself to the bathroom to throw up.

Maybe this is all a huge nightmare and I'll wake up back in my house with Margarita and Betty, the woman on one side and the dog on the other. She'll ask me what's wrong in Russian first because she's half-asleep, and then wake up a little more and ask me the question again in English.

But I know in reality it's not. I wonder if she's worried that it's been almost a week or so since she's heard from me.

I still can't feel guilty about the kiss, even though I now know everything is real.

I made it back to the room to watch Y/N. I'm still telling myself that I'm only invested in her survival because she's just a kid. They're all just kids.

I don't know if I believe my words or not.

A boy just smashed her knee to pieces with the hammer before Tempus automatically killed him for breaking the rules.

I watched her struggle as she figured out a way to continue the game. How she kept pushing herself, fighting, collapsing, and getting up again.

I had to hand it to her- she was strong.

She finally found a wheelchair. She used it for as much as she could before she had to get on her feet again.

The players rushed through the doors, winning the game. Y/N finally collapsed out of the door too.

I rushed over to her, picking her up in my arms.

Tempus told me to take her to Doctor List.

The name didn't ring a bell with me until I got there. I nearly let his real name slip off my tongue, but we both stayed in character.

He left the room once and came back with a second doctor and then came back out to talk to me, "How'd she break her knee?"

"A boy smashed it." I muttered. "Henry, this is real. All of it. Have you realized that?"

Henry looked around and nodded slightly. "I have. I leave tomorrow. I'll alert them."

"Good." Was all I could say before I was able to take Y/N back to her room.

She needed help getting into her pajamas. I did, though I felt embarrassed of course.

JOURNAL ENTRY SIX:

I feel sick. Tempus just told me they're doing another improv scene: A rape. Y/N versus the doctor. Not Henry, he already left. But the real doctor. She said I could wait and then I would save her and it would continue the love interest between the two of us.

I don't know if I can even go through it. After everything that's happened in this place, I can only imagine that if I weren't to break into the room it might actually happen.

I can't let it happen. 

⬅️➡️

[starlingsrps]

wesley michael walker, thirty, army medic

wes was born and raised outside of powell, tennessee on the family farm. he's the youngest of five and with his only brother being fifteen years older than him, his sisters held most of the influence over him growing up which is fine by him - shep's kind of an asshole.

siblings are: shep (45), grace lombard (40), marjorie bryan (36), belle west (34), katy (31). his parents are michael and della walker. his birthday is november 2, 1913.

he was sick a lot as a kid - scrawny and runty with raging asthma and a superpower for catching every single blessed illness that passed through the school and house. he and katy batted the same cold back and forth for over a year and argued over which one of them was worse off constantly. katy was diagnosed with tuberculosis six years ago so he guesses she won, for all intents and purposes and reminds her of that every year she has another birthday.

(gallows humor is crucial for survival in the walker family.)

wes and katy may have the sickly ones in the family but they used that time to study. katy was studying literature before she went to the sanitarium and wes spent enough time with idiot doctors as a kid to figure he could probably do it too.

by college, wes had grown out of his asthma, inspired by a biography of teddy roosevelt that he read when he was twelve that convinced him all he had to do was beat it was start hiking and boxing. the boxing didn't take but to this day, there's nothing that he likes more than a very, very long walk to clear his head. east anglia's a little less hilly than he'd like but it'll do.

katy going off to school was still controversial enough that when wes went to the university of tennessee, no one cared all that much. oh, there was some bitching and moaning from shep about how he should stay back and help on the farm but wes feels like shep was always bitching and moaning about the farm, as though the tailspin it was in wasn't equal parts him being shit at management and the depression. it was a rough time - shep and his family had taken over the farm while wes and katy had moved to town with their parents in retirement. his other sisters had all gotten married and were also living in town, leaving shep on his own and not taking it well at all.

wes can't say he feels all that responsible - it's not his fault shep doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

he studied biology and took a huge hit emotionally when katy was diagnosed with TB and went to live in a sanitorium in virginia. she's his best friend and he misses her. she's his most consistent pen pal and while he wishes he could see her, he's also kind of glad he doesn't have to watch her shrivel up.

for the rest of the thirties, he was in medical school in memphis and picking up odd jobs here and there where he could and when time allowed for it - a lot of bartending and waiting tables, whatever he could do late at night after class. he worked in a lot of music clubs and has a lot of very strong opinions on music as a result - jazz is fine and all but he'll take blues any day.

he was within the finish line of his residency with a job lined up in nashville when the war started and, like just about every other man in the country, he enlisted in the army and joined the medical corps. he had a mild concern about passing the physical with his childhood asthma but managed to squeak by and was stationed in north africa until being transferred to thorpe abbotts.

comparatively, this is almost cushy. he's seen shit in the past few years that he never imagined, shit that he doesn't think he'll ever shake. not that it's any better here but at least there's some sense of a day to day routine that makes him feel more steady. it's easier in some ways, impossibly harder in others but he figures he'll get through it somehow.

wes writes a lot - mostly to katy but to their mother (his father died in 1940) and sisters as well. he keeps a journal that he tries to write in every day, even if it's only one line. he may, he thinks, want to look back at this one day.

wes is a nice young man who was raised to have good manners - he'll yes sir/no sir a man to death. he has a good heart and wants to do right by everyone he meets but he also learned young that the only one who was going to look out for him was him. he's reserved until he's comfortable and then he's a chatty little shit.

he's just a stubborn fucker who will shoot it to you straight but also doesn't love or befriend anyone unless he knows it's going to be for life.

[lunamagicablu]

Le persone silenziose, di solito, non sono amate né apprezzate. E' più semplice provare simpatia per chi chiacchiera senza problemi, per chi è di compagnia, meglio ancora se è "l'anima della festa". Il silenzio fa paura, non è forse così? Fa risuonare nell'aria pensieri scomodi, è la strada per guardarsi dentro e scoprire tutte le proprie ombre. Ecco perché le persone taciturne sono incomprese, a volte odiate, altre volte reputate "strane". Sembra che non si possa fare a meno del chiacchiericcio, delle parole (anche futili e banali), perché ci distraggono da quello che veramente siamo. Impariamo ad apprezzare chi parla poco e ascolta molto, chi osserva senza giudicare né parlare, chi pronuncia poche parole, ma di valore. Quelle persone sono entrate nel proprio silenzio, hanno lottato contro i propri demoni e raggiunto conquiste. Attraverso i loro occhi potreste scorgere un mondo intero a voi sconosciuto, un mondo che potrà essere la chiave verso la comprensione di qualcosa di più importante di semplici parole. Perché solo chi sta in silenzio può ascoltare il battito del proprio cuore, la vibrazione delle ali di una farfalla, l'energia che ci circonda e ci attraversa. Esiste un mondo che va ben al di là di vuote parole, un luogo di meraviglia, dove il silenzio è Tutto. Mirial ************************** Silent people are usually not loved or appreciated. It's easier to feel sympathy for those who chat without problems, for those who are company, even better if they are "the soul of the party". Silence is scary, isn't it? It makes uncomfortable thoughts resonate in the air, it is the way to look inside and discover all one's shadows. That's why taciturn people are misunderstood, sometimes hated, other times considered "strange". It seems that we can't do without chatter, words (even futile and trivial), because they distract us from who we really are. We learn to appreciate those who speak little and listen a lot, those who observe without judging or speaking, those who say few but valuable words. Those people have entered their silence, struggled with their demons and achieved conquests. Through their eyes you could see a whole world unknown to you, a world that could be the key to understanding something more important than simple words. Because only those who are silent can listen to their heartbeat, the vibration of a butterfly's wings, the energy that surrounds us and passes through us. There is a world that goes far beyond empty words, a place of wonder, where silence is everything. Mirial