#just got a newer phone which means I can now take pictures with that silly little lens feature that makes ur dog look longer

[edienotsedgwick]

Sneep snorp

[rubydubydoo122]

Jason gets de-aged because I've seen fics of Tim or Dick being de-aged, and Bruce losing his memory, but no one has realized the potential for angst if you de-age Jason.

Something was different about Gotham. Sure the streets were relatively the same, but the buildings seemed different. Less run down. Newer. 

They passed a fire station that had an electrical board that showed any events, the weather, the time and… the date?

“Holy crow? It’s 2023? Does that mean I– does that mean I time traveled?” That would make him 21– nope, 20 because it was April. His birthday wasn’t for another 4 months. “This is so cool. Can I meet me?” Was he in college? Of course he was, there’s no way he would throw all that away. Did he get another growth spurt? He was probably cool. 

“I’m pretty sure you got de-aged, since you’re still wearing your suit. I think if it was time travel you would’ve showed up in your…” Stephanie glanced back at him like she had just realized something, but immediately shot her eyes back on the road “Robin costume.”

Wait. He wasn’t still Robin? A grown adult being Robin did seem kind of silly though. Dick had become Nightwing when he was 18. They kept calling Jason “Red Hood” . Was that what he called himself now? How in the world did he convince Bruce to let him use guns? Why did he use guns?

Steph lifted a finger to her com, “Um..quick question, who’s in the cave right now?” 

The question didn’t echo in Jason’s ear so he assumed that maybe she’d switched to a different frequency. Which was kinda rude, but also maybe polite because the reverberation is kinda annoying.

“Ok good, Oracle already filled you in. We’re coming up on the cave, Agent A, maybe you should put a sheet or something over the case.” a pause, “How am I supposed to know? I didn't know you people then.” she looked at Jason again, “He still has the white streak in his hair. If that helps?”

“I dyed… my hair?” He tried to get a glance of himself in the side mirrors and sure enough he had a streak of white near his forehead, “ Cool .”

They got to the cave, which had a lot more bat-themed vehicles than Jason remembered. No duh, it’s been like five years. 

They got out of the bike and walked further into the cave. Well, Stephanie walked, Jason waddled because his pants and boots were way too big. She turned around with her phone and took a picture with a shit eating grin. 

“What- hey! Delete that!” He reached to grab the phone but she moved it just out of reach. Screw her and her tallness.

“No can do, bitty bird. It’s not often I can get blackmail on the Big Bad Red Hood.”

She was basically a stranger and now she has a picture of him. Sure she was let into the batcave, and Bruce probably trusted her, but that doesn’t mean he was comfortable with her taking pictures of him. Jason’s eyes felt like they were burning in shame.

“Miss. Stephanie, don’t tease Master–” Alfred was cut off by a hug, 

“Alfie!” Jason couldn’t see Alfred pale in his arms. Because other than the white streak running through his hair, Jason looked almost exactly how he did before he… left. For Ethiopia. 

Alfred wrapped his arms tightly around him. Afraid that if he let go, Jason would run away and he would lose him for a second time. “...Jason.” 

Jason shifted in his arms, because hugs with Alfred were never this long, even when he was hugging Dick. Did Jason not see Alfred anymore? Nah, that could never happen. Even if Jason was angry at Bruce (which he couldn’t be for that long) he would still try to see Alfred at least once a week. But the hug felt good.

Alfred cleared his throat before letting go, “Dear god, you are practically swimming in those clothes. I’ll see if I can find something that might fit, Master Jason.”

And before Jason could thank him, Alfred was gone. 

He started walking deeper into the cave because if it really was 2023, there’d better be much cooler technology and if there wasn’t, Jason was gonna be really disappointed. 

But of course, since Jason was wearing clothes that were meant for someone who was Bruce’s size, he stepped on the leg of his pants and tripped on his boots while trying to catch himself.

“These boots are ten sizes too big.” Jason totally wasn’t whining as he kicked them off and started aggressively rolling up his pant legs, “You could probably put these pants on a giant and they’d still be a nuisance to keep up.”

There was a huff of a laugh that did not sound like Stephanie’s. “Well, you are usually kind of a giant, Jason. You probably scare more badguys than Batman.” There was a teen in pajamas offering a hand out to him, “I’m Duke.”

Jason accepted the hand, “Thanks. It’s nice to meet you, but I don’t think it’s possible to be scarier than Batman.” Who was this kid? He seemed about Jason’s age. Did he know Bruce was Batman? Was he the new Robin? 

Duke shifted from side to side, “Yeah, you’re right, I was just trying to start up a conversation.”

Alfred came back into the cave with a pile of clothes in his hands. “After you change, Master Jason, meet me in the medbay. I’m sure Master Bruce will want to run some tests.”

That meant he was about to be poked and prodded. And ever since Jason’s mom died–

No… It can’t end like this… Gotta get you out of here….I’ll save you mom…It’s locked! 

“Master Jason?” Alfred had placed a hand on Jason’s arm. 

“Thanks Alfred.” Jason took the clothes with shaky hands. That flash of– maybe a nightmare, left him feeling clammy. He could see Stephanie walking over to them and Duke was looking at him with a slight frown. They couldn’t see Jason like this, scared of what his own brain conjured up for no apparent reason. So he quickly headed towards the bathroom to take a shower, to wash away the sweat. Not the fear. 

He had… a lot of scars. Scars that he didn’t remember getting. The two most concerning being the one on his throat, and the Y shaped scar running down his torso. If Jason didn’t know any better, he would think it was a scar from an autopsy. But he was very much alive. 

Jason peeled his eyes away from the mirror and hopped into the shower. He felt like somehow, he was intruding his own privacy. And he was grateful for the turtleneck that was slightly too big because he wasn’t sure if the scars were something he wanted everyone seeing. Because the clothes he was wearing before seemed to cover them up.

Jason could hear the roar of the batmobile. Bruce . Yeah, maybe things have been kinda rough between the both of them recently, but Jason was confused, and scared, and all he wanted was his dad. 

Except by the time Jason had reached the Batmobile, it wasn’t Batman coming out of the driver's seat, it was–

“Dick?” Jason had to do a double take. His costume was a lot more muted. Less blue and more black. Also, since when did Bruce let Dick drive the batmobile? 

Two other people were coming out of the batmobile too, but before he could get a good look at them, he was engulfed in a hug. Which was weird. Really weird. Because Dick rarely hugged him. 

Dick pulled away, “I forgot how small you used to be.”

“I wasn’t going to point out how old you look, because I’m a nice person, but you look old. ” Even with the mask on, Jason could tell. Well, it was less physical, and more of a vibe. There was a different aura of maturity surrounding his older brother. He seemed to be less of a ball of rage and more… Well, calm. 

There was a mumble that came from near the batmobile.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

The kid, who was maybe the same age as Jason. He held himself in a way that screamed, I’m better than you . And he had the Robin ‘R’ on his chest. But the costume held little resemblance to the normal Robin suit. Almost all the colors and light had been stripped from the costume. It fit the vibe of Gotham, but it couldn’t be Robin. He also got a sword. A sword. “Are those my clothes?”

“I dunno. Alfred gave them to me.” Jason pulled the sleeves over his hands and crossed his arms. 

Emo Robin was looking at him funny. Jason could see the puzzle pieces clicking into place. Before the look was covered by a look of arrogance, “Tt” and he stalked off. 

Dick watched as Emo Robin went to the cave's bathroom, and then looked back to the third person. The girl who had come out of the passenger seat of the Batmobile. 

“Remembers. Recognizes.” She shrugged and locked eyes with Jason. 

She had a mask in her hands, and was wearing all black with the signature yellow bat. The way she was looking at Jason made him feel like she knew everything about him, but it didn’t feel wrong. If anything, it was kind of comforting. He offered her a little smile. 

“I am Cass. Your big sister.”

Jason felt his smile widen even more, “I’ve always wanted a sister.” 

She just ruffled his hair in response. 

Jason looked back to Dick, “um… where’s Bruce?” Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to ask the dude who was almost constantly getting into screaming matches with Bruce where he was, but Dick was driving the Batmobile, which meant they have to have made up in the past 7 years. 

“He’s just tying things up with Commissioner Gordon. So he sent us ahead.” Dick gaze was searching his face. “Do you want me to ask him to wrap up sooner?”

As tempting as that was, Jason shook his head, “Nah, he’ll come home eventually.” 

Dick opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then shut it, “I’m gonna go change. I’ll be back.” 

That… was probably the most awkward conversation he’s had with Dick. And that was saying something, because that conversation before Dick officially passed the mantle of Robin to Jason had been pretty tense. This was tense in a different way. 

“Master Jason?”

“Oh! Right! Sorry Alfie. I’m coming.”

[cynicalrainbows]

The Next Best Thing Chapter 11

Sleepover fun! Credit for all the good ideas goes to @afretfulporpentine, like they’re literally all down to her!

**

Anne takes her into the playroom which is all decorated with balloons and streamers- it’s just them, because Anne’s dad is at work and Anne’s Mum is Busy and Mary has gone to her Group with baby Catherine. 

Group, according to Anne, is where you have to go if you have a baby so you can talk to other people who have had babies- or, in her case, if your big sister has had a baby and Jane isn’t there to look after you because she has to go to her job, which is sometimes stacking boxes on shelves in Sainsburys and sometimes listening to people shout because their parcel wasn’t delivered on time. 

(Jane does not like her job much.)

All the people at Group are young (like Mary) and they all look a bit tired (also like Mary), and their babies all look more or less like Baby Catherine too, except that Baby Catherine has nicer clothes and newer toys that make the other girls look at her and Mary out of the corners of their eyes in a not-very-nice way.

 At Group- says Anne- sometimes you sit in a circle and take turns crying and other times, you sit in a circle and lie about whether or not your baby can sit up yet or not and how much sleep you’re getting, unless you’re Anne, which means sitting on the floor at the side and playing Candy Crush on Mary’s phone.

Anne says it’s all very boring but that Mary brought her a McFlurry on the way home the first time so it was mostly worth it.  

(The second time, Anne pointed out that Baby Catherine wasn’t really sitting up by herself ‘just that morning’. She didn’t get a McFlurry that time.)

It’s nice, not having to have Anne’s Mum and Dad there, because it means Cathy doesn’t have to talk to them about how school is going or worry about Manners or be scared she’s going to do something Wrong, like when she was invited for lunch and it had been a proper lunch at the table and Anne’s Dad kept looking at her while she was eating and shaking his head and Anne’s Mum kept twitching like there was a fly on her and she was a restless horse.

 It had made her so nervous that she’d barely been able to taste her food because she couldn’t work out what she’d done wrong- her elbows definitely weren’t on the table and she couldn’t possibly be talking with her mouth full because she wasn’t saying anything because Anne’s Dad likes to hear himself think.

 The whole thing was so tense that it was almost a relief when Anne’s Mum eventually turned to her, frowning like she had a headache.

‘We like to use our knife and fork properly in this house, Cathy.’

She hadn’t understood what she meant until Anne nudged her and she realised that everyone else was holding their fork in their left rather than their right hands.

(She hadn’t known it was wrong until then.)

Her face had gone all hot and she’d quickly switched hands and done her best to eat the rest of her food like that, but eating with her left hand made her clumsy and when Anne’s Mum winced when she accidentally spilled a forkful of couscous into her lap, she’d nearly cried.

She hadn’t been allowed to go over to play at Anne’s house for weeks after she’d told her Mum and Dad about it, so she’d stopped telling them anything much about Anne’s house at all.

(She wonders if she’ll need to be careful what she tells Catalina.)

Once they’re in the playroom, she drops her rucksack on the floor and thrusts her parcel into Anne’s hands.

‘Open it!’

‘What is it? No wait, I want to guess!’

‘You'll never guess!’ (She knows Anne won’t be able to guess.)

‘Bet I will!’

Anne immediately starts shaking it, listening to see if it rattles and it makes Cathy very relieved that she and Catalina packed it all so carefully.

‘I picked all of it out myself, and I picked the wrapping paper and ribbon too- Catalina helped with some of it but it was my idea!’

Anne examines the outside, pokes the dinosaurs, giggling, and then strokes the green ribbon lovingly.

‘This is so cool- I’m going to save it and have Jane tie it onto my ponytail when she next does my hair...’ 

This is an excellent idea and Cathy is just wondering if Catalina could be persuaded to stop by the craft shop one more time so that she can see if they have any blue ribbon for her own ponytail- when Anne puts down the parcel unopened.

She feels a little sting- is Anne bored of it before she’s even seen what it is?

‘Aren’t you going to open it?’

‘When Anna’s here.’ Anne starts sorting through the pile on unwrapped presents in the corner, hunting for something.

‘Oh no, Anne, open it now-’

‘I will when Anna’s here, I said!’

‘Please-’

It’s the magic word but it isn’t always very magic and now is one of those times because Anne just shakes her head.

‘No, I want to wait for Anna!’ Anne picks up the parcel again and hugs stubbornly it to her chest. ‘And it’s my birthday so I’m going to open it when I want and I want to wait.’

She can’t argue with that. The ‘It’s My Birthday’ rule is inviolable, she knows, which is annoying because she’d quite like to be able to argue.

She isn’t sure if she really likes the idea of Anna seeing the present she got for Anne. 

It had seemed like such a good idea when Catalina suggested it.

 (She knows that telling Anne she came up with it was a tiny untruth but Catalina had just laughed when she’d anxiously asked if Anne would mind it not being her idea. 

‘It doesn’t really matter, mija. It’s an excellent present, no matter who came up with it.’

‘But-’

‘If it bothers you, you can tell her it was your idea if you like.’

Cathy eyed her suspiciously.

‘Will you really, really not mind?’

Catalina kissed the top of her head.

 ‘I really, really won’t mind.’)

The shopping trip to find Anne a present had been long- they’d spent the whole morning looking through shop after shop until Cathy’s feet felt ready to fall off and she’d been sure she was going to drop to the floor in exhaustion.

 Just as she was ready to despair, Catalina had said that they should take a break and led the way to a Starbucks, a welcome bit of quiet after the noise and bustle of town.

‘Let's try to plan a bit before we brave the masses again.’ Catalina stirred her hazelnut latte while Cathy worked on spooning every last bit of froth from the top of her hot chocolate. ‘What does Anne like?’

‘Lots of things. But she has it all already.’

Cathy knew she wasn’t being unhelpful but she didn’t feel like being helpful, she was too tired to be helpful.

‘She can’t have everything, mija.’

‘Well, she does.’ She rolled the marshmallow around between her fingers, enjoying the sponginess, until Catalina raised an eyebrow and she reluctantly let it drop into her mug.

‘What sort of games do you play together? Maybe we could get her something to go with one of your games?’

Cathy had started to explain that they didn’t do expansion packs or accessory kits for the games she and Anne liked to play- and Catalina had just shrugged.

‘Why not?’

She hadn’t been able to answer.

The second part of the shopping trip was much more fun. 

They’d made a list on the back of a paper napkin of all the things that one should put in an accessory kit for Inca Princess Burial and then made a thorough search of all the little poky second hand shops to find just the right things.

The embalming sheets and the embalming lotion just came from Asda, which was boring, but the wax grape ‘offerings’ and the candles that worked with batteries and the bright silky Priestess robe came from little shops that smelt of dust and old books. 

The flowers came from the big stack of plastic flowers in the Poundshop- Catalina explained they’d last better than real flowers- and that night, she and Catalina had woven them into a beautiful big flower crown that was surely worthy of any princess, Inca or otherwise.

She’s sure Anne will love it but she isn’t sure she wants Anna to see it: what if Anna thinks it’s silly? 

After all, to explain it, they’ll have to explain Inca Princess Burial, and what if Anna thinks the whole game sounds babyish and stupid? 

She had hoped that Anne would be able to open her present, just the two of them (and that maybe they’d even have time for a quick game before Anna even arrived) but Anne isn’t budging and it IS her birthday, so she pushes the worry away as much as she can and lets Anne show her the birthday card that George sent.

When Anne pulls it out from its hiding place, she thinks it doesn’t exactly count as a birthday card because it’s not a ‘birthday’ birthday card. 

It doesn’t say Happy Birthday anywhere on it, there isn’t a badge with Anne’s age on, there’s no glitter or really anything birthdayish about it at all.

Really, it’s only a card because it’s a postcard, with a picture that’s of some funny looking figures carved in stone wearing beads and headdresses and not very much else at all and as funny as that is, it isn’t really a birthday sort of picture.

The card also wasn’t even sent to Anne, it was sent to her parents, so it’s not for Anne’s birthday really, it just happened to arrive on the right day.

 Anne says she rescued it from the bin when her Mum wasn’t looking and that she’s not going to show this one to Jane to read to her- she’s going to read it herself because now she’s eight and that’s too old to be read to and besides, Jane leaves bits out, which is ok when it’s just changing the end of Kitty’s old copy of Millions of Cats so that the cats in the story run away rather than eating each other, but most definitely not ok when it’s something important like a real postcard.

(Cathy wonders if Catalina knows that eight is too old to be read to. She hopes that they at least finish Little Women before her birthday.)

She doesn’t say any of this to Anne though.

She keeps the unbirthdayishness of the card to herself, and when Anne shows her the important bit- the bit at the bottom that’s written more clearly than the rest, the bit that says ‘Rock on, little sis. Peace and love from your big bro in London’- she agrees with Anne that that bit at least was worth saving the card for.

They pass the card back and forth, trying to decipher the rest of George’s scrawly writing. 

Anne’s so far made out ‘Francis’- Jane calls him George’s special friend and Anne’s Dad calls him ‘that one who got him into this bloody ridiculousness in the first place’- and Cathy has made out ‘understand’ and ‘busy’- when the doorbell rings, and they both jump up and run to let Anna in.

She can’t help but feel excited as she races Anne to the door because- although she still isn’t sure that she’s glad Anna was invited too, having her arrive also makes everything feel more special.

Now it feels like the birthday party part of things has actually begun and now rather than it just being her and Anne playing together like usual, it’s a proper sleepover party.

Anna arrives with her present in one hand (a shiny red gift bag with little string handles) and her overnight bag (smart blue duffle bag) in the other. 

‘Happy birthday Anne!’

‘You came!’

Anna’s Mum gives her a kiss and tells Anne Happy Birthday in her funny accent and then she looks past Anne and Cathy like she’s expecting to see someone else.

‘Your mother, she is at home, yes?’

Anne nods.

‘She’s busy.’

‘Ah-’

Anna’s Mum hesitates. ‘I was hoping I might say hello to her-’

Anne looks uncertain. ‘I could- go and get her-’

Cathy wonders what’s going to happen- Anne’s Mum always gets cross when they interrupt her, even when it was because the man at the door needed her to sign something so that he could leave her parcel-  and there are some rooms Anne isn’t even meant to knock on the door of and what if she’s in one of those rooms…..?

But luckily Anna interrupts things.

‘Mutti, I’ll be fine!’ She huffs a bit as she says it, stretching out the last word into two syllables like it’s chewing gum. ‘Please! You don’t need to say hello!’

Anna’s Mum looks into the (empty) hall and then back at her daughter. 

‘Well…. Is she very busy? I suppose I wouldn’t like to disturb her….’

‘Yes! Yes!’ Anna looks ready to push her Mum out of the door. ‘She’s very, very, very busy! Busier than Vati!’

Anna’s Mum laughs. ‘Alright then, liebling. You have the new telephone number?’

‘Ja! Yes!’

‘Ok. Be a good girl. Do everything Anne’s Mutti tells you.’

She says the last bit a little uncertainly, like she is only now just wondering if Anne’s Mutti will be there to tell them anything at all- but at last she goes, and Anne tugs Anna into the house and towards the playroom.

Anna’s looking all around her as they go up to put her bag in Anne’s playroom and Cathy wonders why before she remembers that Anna hasn’t seen Anne’s house before so she isn’t used to how it has more rooms than most houses and how everything is extra shiney or extra fragile or both.

 As they walk up the stairs, Anna asks Anne where her Mutti is, and if she’s really at home, and Anne looks like she’s surprised Anna is asking.

‘She’s here. Somewhere around.’

‘Don’t you know?’

‘She’s busy’ Anne shrugs. ‘It’s better if she is, it means she won’t make us be quiet or do a jigsaw-’

(Cathy has experienced Anne’s Mums jigsaws before. It’s always the same one, with a stupid picture of a rabbit and a kitten in a basket, and she makes them do it whenever they’re being too loud or playing something she doesn’t like. She always says it was her favourite as a little girl and it makes Cathy wonder just how boring Little-Girls-Anne’s-Mum was.)

Anna just blinks back, all confused by the absence of parental figures and Cathy thinks that she’ll get used to it soon enough.

In the playroom, Anne wants first of all to show them her best present.

It’s a bit awkward when she pulls them out from the pile of gifts at first because they just look like a pair of trainers.

Anne says that Jane found them in the British Heart Foundation shop, and Cathy thinks she’d be able to tell even if Anne hadn’t said anything because the green suede is a bit worn-shiney, and even though they’ve obviously been cleaned up and scrubbed to look new, the insides are still a long way for the snowy-white of proper new shoes.

The glittery rainbow laces threaded through them are new (paid for by Jane but picked out by Kitty as her contribution to Anne’s present) and they’re even quite pretty, but still, it’s not a very exciting gift.

 Cathy thinks it’s a shame that a boring pair of shoes is Anne’s best present, and she’s very glad that she got her something more fun to make up for it.

 She’s just trying to think up all the nice things that Catalina would know to say about Anne’s birthday present shoes so that she won’t feel sad about them when Anne sighs like she and Anna are missing something obvious, then turns them over and shows them both the little wheels in the soles and suddenly they go from being just boring old trainers to being very exciting and cool, especially when they take turns trying them on and gliding across the playroom floor.

They’re even better than roller skates Cathy thinks- because really you can only wear roller skates to the park or in the street, unfortunately. 

 (She knows this because Catalina has made her feelings about wearing roller skates inside the flat very clear and plain, even though she didn’t break a single thing when she tried out her skates in the hall. When she pointed this out, Catalina just shook her head firmly and said she had no interest in tempting fate, whatever that means, and from now on, skates are only to be worn outside. It’s a very boring rule.)

Anne’s wheelie shoes though look just like normal shoes which means she could wear them anywhere and the possibilities makes her breathless.

Anna says that if they were in Germany, Anne could wear them to school because they don’t have to wear uniforms- and Cathy barely even has time to be annoyed at Anna for bringing up Germany yet again because the idea of Anne wearing the shoes to school on a mufti day is brilliant.

 Anne agrees and then they all try to remember if they have a mufti day coming up or not.

Annoyingly, they don’t (at least, none of their parents have done the sigh-groan-that- school-always-asking-for-money moan that accompanies most mufti days), so they make a Plan that on Monday, they’ll all suggest to their teacher that perhaps it would be nice to raise money for the poor sick children or the poor sick puppies or the poor sick old people or the poor sick hedgehogs or the poor sick something else.

The sneaky part is that they’ll all make sure to make it look as if it’s something they’ve only just thought of themselves, and surely their teacher will be so surprised that all the children are wanting to raise money at the same time that she’ll say yes to a mufti day at once.

(It is an excellent Plan.)

They glide around on the shoes until they’re dizzy (and a little bit bruised from attempts at rolling on just one foot) and then Anna asks Anne what her parents got her.

Cathy is excited to hear what it is, because Anne’s presents from her parents are usually very exciting….but when Anne shows it to them, it’s just a doll.

Not that there’s anything wrong with dolls per se. 

Actually, Cathy thinks that Anne’s doll is rather nice- it looks like the sort of doll from a story about a little Victorian girl, the sort of doll that’s almost too pretty to touch.

 It has long, perfect curls of blonde hair and tiny leather shoes with little pearl buttons and cream stockings and a cream silk dress and a cloak trimmed with real white fur.

It’s beautiful, beautiful, and she opens her mouth to ask Anne if she can hold her...but before she’s even asked, she changes her mind.

The doll is far too pretty to be held after all, and she’d hate to mess her up somehow, especially seeing as it’s Anne’s birthday present.

Anna is a bit braver, but even she holds the doll awkwardly when Anne hads her over, as if she’s scared of dropping her, the way Anne looked when she was allowed to hold Baby Catherine once, and soon she hands it back to Anne, who lies it down very carefully indeed.

‘She’s- pretty…..’

‘Yeah.’ Anne sounds distinctly unenthusiastic. 

‘She looks really expensive.’

‘Yeah.’ Anne sounds even more disconsolate. ‘Mummy keeps on telling her that she was and she says I have to be really careful with her because she can break very easily.’

They all eye the doll, as if she might crack under their very gaze but she stays reassuringly whole, for the moment anyway.

‘She says I’ll be in big trouble if I break her so I have to be really really careful because she’s fragile.’

‘Can you play with her?’ Anna asks and Anne shrugs. ‘Mummy says yes and that Daddy will be really sad if I don’t because he picked her out but I don’t know how I can. She’s too…..fancy.’ 

Anna and Cathy and Anne devote the next few minutes to trying to think of a way for Anne to play with her present but it’s difficult: normal games for dolls like Victorian Orphanage won’t work, and games like Witches definitely won’t work. 

Her clothes won’t come off, even her hair can’t be brushed because of her ringlets, and her dress is so clean and pristine that it’s obvious immediately that it will show up every speck of dust or dirt.

She is, overall, quite a disappointment of a doll, and it makes Cathy glad that her own dolls are reassuringly sturdy and well up to being dropped, thrown and smeared with pretend red-smartie blood, as the game might require.

It’s all very tricky…..and eventually Anne says they can think about it later and that she wants to open Cathy’s present.

She does….and there’s a silence as Anne picks out and unshells the little individually wrapped parcels.

Anne looks at them.

Anna looks at them.

Cathy looks at her knees.

She thinks about the lotion, the robe, the candles in their box- and about how, helping Catalina wrap them in tissue paper last night, they looked beautiful- but now, lying on the carpet, they look….just normal. 

Even a bit tatty- suddenly she can see the loose threads from the cut up sheet, she can see where the robe has gone bobbly from being washed.

She wants to sweep the things up and hide them back in the box before Anne or Anna can laugh at them (she wonders if she should pretend that it was a mistake, to say that of course these aren’t Anne’s REAL presents) but she can’t. She can’t move or say anything or do anything other than sit there and burn with embarrassment and wish with all her might that she’d just got the colourful felt pens Catalina had suggested in the first shop.

Tentatively, Anne leans over to examine the bottle of lotion. She holds it close to her eyes and brightens.

‘It’s glittery!’

Cathy nods (it’s what finally convinced her to get the lotion to be embalming oils rather than the multi-pack of lip balms that actually HAD balm in the title).

 ‘It….it smells of strawberries too….’

Her voice trails off- she can’t say anything else without crying but Anne doesn’t notice, she’s trying to sound out the words on the label Catalina carefully hand lettered and stuck to the bottle the night before.

‘Em- ball- Em- Balling… Lotion-’ Suddenly her face clears of confusion and she beams. 

‘Cathy! It’s embalming lotion!’

She looks so happy and excited that Cathy can only nod.

‘And-’ Anne sifts through the box with new interest. ‘Bandages- and candles! And-’

She picks up the wax grapes.

‘Offerings!’ They say together, and now she knows it’s alright, Anne does like it, and everything is ok and she hasn’t ruined the sleepover- and she’s so relieved she’s almost forgotten Anna is there too until Anna asks what offerings are.

Anne rolls her eyes like it’s a silly question- which is really a bit unfair because they didn’t know what offerings were until they learnt about the Inca Princesses last year and maybe Anna hasn’t had anyone to tell her yet. 

‘They’re what you bury with the princess so she doesn’t curse you!’

‘Princess?’ Anna looks confused and Cathy can tell she’s thinking of other princesses, of Rapunzel and Cinderella and Belle with their big dresses and pink-lipped smiles, who couldn’t rain down a curse if their life depended on it.

‘Not those princesses!’ She explains. ‘Inca princesses- from-’ She tries to say it properly, since it’s easy to twist her tongue over the word. ‘The Incan Empire.’

Anna still looks a bit confused so she and Anne do their best to explain about offerings and sacrifices and people living hundreds of years ago in a place called Peru.

‘Oh!’ Anna looks like she understands and Cathy sort of hopes it will stop there but then- ‘So how do you play Inca Princess?’

She sounds like she actually wants to know so Cathy lets Anne explain.

‘-and then she gets embalmed and entombed and then you make offerings to her to appease her angry spirit…..it was Cathy’s idea!’ Anne finishes and she wonders if Anne is saying that so that Anna will only judge her for playing baby games and not Anne- but instead Anna looks at her with a smile that is definitely not a smirk and her eyes open wide.

‘Cathy! That sounds like a fantastich game!’ 

It feels funny to have Anna looking at her like she’s so clever- funny but also nice but also a bit embarrassing too. 

‘Anne came up with the idea of removing her brain through her nose like the Egyptians’ is all she can say, and Anne sends her a grateful look when Anna gasps like that’s the best thing she’s ever heard of.

‘Do you think it would work with three people?’

Anne shakes her head. ‘We tried to make Kitty play with us and she ruined it-’

‘She wasn’t any good-’

(It had been a real disappointment, Cathy thinks, because Kitty is usually quite willing to take whatever part of the game they need her for, as long as Pink Kitty is allowed to accompany her. 

She has been a Dead Body in Business Woman Detective, and a Vampire Bat in Vampire Barbie- a black cocktail napkin had served well as Pink Kitty’s wings, but when they tried making Kitty help entomb Anne, she just wailed that she didn’t want Anne to be buried like a dead person, and when they tried to show her that entombing really didn’t hurt at all, she cried until Jane heard and came to investigate.

The game ended with the un-entombed Inca Princess sniffling in Jane’s lap and being soothed with an illicit Jammy Dodger, while the tragically biscuitless Inca Priestesses were told quite firmly to be more gentle in the future and to find something else to play, which was not a satisfactory end to the game at all.)

‘Oh.’ Anna droops and then Cathy realises what she meant.

She opens her mouth, just as Anne is already speculating that while the game didn’t work with three people when the third person was Kitty, maybe it would just fine if the third person was someone else….

It turns out not only does Anna NOT think that Inca Princess Burial is babyish at all, it’s a game she really wants to try for herself and they’re well into setting up the burial ground, having settled the argument over who should wear the robe first (Anne because it’s her birthday, Cathy because she brought it all or Anna because this is her first time ever even getting to play) when Anne’s Mum pokes her head into the playroom to check on them.

‘Alright in here, girls?’

‘Yes thank you Mummy.’

‘Yes thank you Mrs Bullen-’

‘It’s Boleyn now, Cathy dear!’ Anne’s Mum reminds her with a tight smile, and Cathy wishes she could explain that it’s actually really very tricky to learn a whole new name for someone when they’ve been Anne Bullen since Reception and that no matter how many angry letters Anne’s Mum sends to the school about teachers getting it wrong, it’s hard to make her mouth say Boleyn when her mind says Bullen.

Instead, she settles for a meek ‘Sorry, Mrs Boleyn’ and is rewarded with a little nod of forgiveness.

‘Are you having a nice time?’

‘Yes thank you Mummy.’

Anne smiles beatifically from beneath her flower crown but Anne’s Mum frowns.

‘What on earth are you all up to?’

‘Just...playing. Aren’t we?’

Cathy and Anna nod and try to look well behaved.

‘What’s all this rubbish everywhere?’

Cathy wonders what she means- and then Anne’s Mum picks up the offerings with a dainty thumb and forefinger and then she realises and it feels horrible.

Anne’s Mum thinks her present is rubbish. 

Anne fidgets a bit. ‘Just part of the game, Mummy. We’ll clear it up before we go to bed, won’t we?’

Cathy and Anna nod again and Anne’s Mum purses her lips. 

‘Alright. Although I don’t see why you’re not playing with your birthday present…. Your father worked very hard to be able to afford it, you know, and he’d be very sad if he heard you weren’t grateful…’

Anne’s looking so sad and uncomfortable that Cathy can hardly bear it- she knows that in Anne’s house, the crime of being ungrateful sometimes leads to lots of unpleasant things like early bedtime and no dessert and how can you go to bed early and have no dessert at a birthday sleepover?

 She isn’t sure whether to stay quiet or to speak up and say she’s sorry for getting Anne a present that’s gotten her into trouble- but before she can even decide one way or the other, Anna interrupts with a big beaming smile, like everything is fine and nothing is wrong at all and no one is nearly crying.

‘Oh we were playing with her, Mrs Boleyn! She is such a lovely doll, Anne is so lucky- we just put her down to keep her safe for this bit of the game. So she wouldn’t get broken or hurt.’

Anna is looking like one of the choir children at Catalina’s church, all sweet and good and perfect, and miraculously, Anne’s Mum actually smiles back.

‘She is lovely- and I suppose it’s sensible to put her to the side if you’re playing something more boisterous…. Just make sure you’re careful!’

‘Oh we will be!’

‘Good good…..’

Anne’s Mum waves a hand at them and goes back out and it’s as if the whole room lets out a breath.

Cathy wonders how Anna knew to do quick thinking like that, how she knew what to say- even Anne doesn’t know how to say the right thing to make her Mum smile like that at her….but Anna doesn’t seem like she was having to make an effort, like knowing the right thing to say to make things better comes to her naturally, like how reading is easy for Cathy and French is easy for Anne.

And things are better- sort of. 

Anne doesn’t seem to be in trouble any more at least, which is good.

Still, there’s a moment after the door closes when everything feels a bit flat- like the game is a balloon and the word ‘rubbish’ is a pin and now all the fun and special feeling is leaking away…. 

But then Anna mutters darkly that the Inca Princess will surely rise up to rain curses upon any silly person who dares to insult her offerings, and they have such fun coming up with curses and acting them out that they forget all about everything that isn’t toads raining from the sky and food that turns mouldy before you can take even one bite.

Then Anna wonders if maybe the Inca Princess would be angry enough that she might even rise up from the grave to wreck revenge and it’s such a good idea that Cathy doesn’t have time to even think about whether or not her present was a good idea because she’s too busy trying to help Anna subdue the wrathful Inca princess.

(She can’t help but think the game really is better with three.)

[leemotionalwreck]

Of Black Chats and Fallen Angels (chapter 5)

HEY BEFORE YOU READ!: This chapter does contain someone being made extremely uncomfortable at best, and sexual harassment at worst. If I’m wrong about that please let me know, I just don’t want to accidentally trigger anyone or make them uncomfortable so I’m covering all my bases now. Thank you and enjoy :)

Read it here on AO3!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | You are here

*********************************************

He felt Plagg shift restlessly inside his jacket pocket while he watched the sunrise from the backseat of his car. At 4:51 am, the sun had yet to rise, and the street lights illuminated his face as Adrien rested his head against the window. The ride was quiet as usual, the only words being ‘good morning’ as he climbed into the backseat and ‘thank you’ as he exited and headed towards the building where the photoshoot was to take place. 

Adrien did his best to avoid conversation with anyone aside from a polite ‘hello’ or ‘good morning’-- his eyes were blurry with sleep, so it was probably for the best. He kept his head low as he walked towards the elevator, passing businessmen and women with cups of coffee filled to the brim, talking-- rather loudly-- into their earpieces and brushing past others just like themselves. He’d never liked the building itself; it had always been dull and grey despite the constant stream of people coming in and out-- as if it was a cruel reminder of just how similar it was to his new life. 

Two flights of stairs and an elevator ride later, Adrien had finally reached the floor where the shoot was to take place. Walking towards the dressing room, he opened the door to see the photographer laughing about something with his makeup artist. 

“Hey Cecil,” he said groggily. The doorframe seemed to be the only thing holding him up at the moment. “Hi, Mona.”

Cecil turned to see who had spoken, grinning when he saw a sleep-deprived Adrien Agreste. “What’s up, Adrien,” he said, his American accent thick as always. Giving the model a once-over, Cecil’s grin died down slightly. “So,” Cecil took a sip of his cup. “How many ounces do you want this morning?”

Mona slapped his arm. “You know there’s no coffee before shoots.” She huffed, getting a laugh from her husband in return. Turning to Adrien, she smiled sweetly. “I’m sorry sweetie, but coffee’s gonna stain your teeth and I wanna get you out of here as soon as possible.”

Cecil opened his mouth to protest before Adrien yawned again.

“It’s alright,” he muttered. The floor seemed to be getting closer and Adrien wondered why until he realized that he was falling forward. 

Cecil jumped towards Adrien to catch him just as he managed to right himself. “I’m alright,” He said. “I just hope I can make it to school on time.”

“Well then,” Mona said unsurely as she gestured to the chair in front of her. “Take a seat and we’ll get started.”

Cecil took another sip of his coffee. “We might take a little longer setting up, cause there are so many new people this time around. Just take your time and head over when you and your partner are ready, okay?”

He looked up from where he sat while Mona prepared everything she needed on the counter behind him. “Partner? What partner?”

She turned toward him slightly. “No one told you?” Adrien shook his head. “Ah, that’s all right. You’ll meet her soon enough.”

*********

After sitting still and in a chair for entirely too long and getting changed into the clothing provided, Adrien checked that the time on his phone read 5:35 before setting it with the rest of his clothing and heading towards where the shoot was taking place. 

The room was spacious with plenty of natural lighting coming in from the massive windows that reminded him of his bedroom. The walls and floors were baby blue and white, giving the place a strange feeling that it had just been painted, despite having been there for years. With Cecil, the crew, and the equipment set up on one side of the room, all tables filled with coffee cups and torn open sugar packets lined the wall on the other side of the room. 

While Adrien was chatting friendly with one of the newer assistants by one of the tables (which had always seemed out of place to him in the otherwise empty room), Cecil came up to him with a girl trailing behind who Adrien couldn’t see quite clearly save her long brown hair that reached her waist.

“Sorry no one told you about this earlier,” Cecil smiled apologetically, his bright white teeth contrasting his deep brown skin. “But we’d figured you’d be okay with it. She’s pretty new, so go easy on her, yeah?” Adrien smiled and nodded. “Great. We’re almost done setting everything up, be ready in ten.”

The photographer walked away along with the intern, allowing Adrien to finally get a look at the new model. 

Lila Rossi. 

“Lila!” Why hadn’t she brought this up before? “Since when are you a model? You never mentioned it before.”

“About that; funny story actually,” she giggled. “I hadn’t told anyone because, one; I’d only been hired recently and two, even if they had hired me sooner, I was told not to tell anyone. I had no idea you’d be the one I was working with since all they told me is that I’d be with some big-time model and not to bring it up until after.”

“Oh,” he murmured. That didn’t answer all of his questions, but he could always ask later when they had more time. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he plastered a smile on his face. “Well. I’m glad to be working with a friend.”

“So am I,” Lila purred. Something in her eyes made Adrien want to turn away and run while she took a step closer to him. “I’ve been thinking, you know.”

Adrien stared cautiously at the manicured finger that was making its way up his chest. “Oh?” 

“Mhm. I think, as friends, it’s important to have close relationships with everyone in the group. But it seems like you and I aren’t all that close.”

“We’re plenty close right now, aren’t we?” He joked, shifting away from her slightly. 

Lila maintained the contact between the two, seeming as if she had no intention of moving away any time soon. “You know what I meant, silly.” Her gaze was finally torn away from his arms and chest, locking on his eyes instead. “We don’t spend nearly enough time together, and I think the two of us should hang out more. Maybe after this shoot is over we could--”

“Alright guys, come on over!” Adrien didn’t think he could have been more grateful for Cecil than he was at that moment.

“We’re coming!” He shouted across the room. Removing himself from Lila’s touch, Adrien turned to face her again and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re right Lila, but I’d hate to leave the others out, you know? Besides, we’ve got school after this.”

As the pair walked towards the set Adrien noted the strangled growl that came from behind him, along with the burning sensation that came from where she touched him. 

*********

The designer, Jeremy McKnight, was present the entire shoot-- adamant about being there to ensure his vision was properly executed. His original idea had been extremely reliant on the theme of good and evil. Light and dark, yin and yang, angels and demons, and so on. Both outfits were simple enough. For Lila, all-black clothing; basic dark jeans, and a black long-sleeved shirt with a dark grey ruffled shirt over it along with black boots to complete it. Adrien was almost completely the opposite. A white long-sleeved shirt and white pants, complete with a light blue button-down overshirt and white tennis shoes. 

Both models had a few pictures taken alone before stepping in front of the camera together. 

“Alright, you two,” Cecil said as the two walked in front of the camera. “From what I’ve seen, you two have chemistry, which means this part shouldn’t be difficult at all.”

The designer spoke from his chair a few feet away from the camera. “Exactly. What we want is the coming together of light and dark. You guys think you can do that?” Unfortunately, Jeremy fit the stereotype of the diva designer perfectly.  His cliche beret, scarf, and glasses all seeming to feed into the persona.

That wasn’t helping the pit in Adrien’s stomach.

It wasn’t nerves. He’s done countless photoshoots before, the one continuous emotion being boredom. No, this was something else-- something synonymous to fear. Or was it dread?

The two nodded in tandem. “Great!” The designer said. “Let’s see what you guys got.”

*********

A couple of shots later both Cecil and the designer were pleased with the outcome, except for the latter requesting to adjust the two models himself. 

Cecil looked at the two for confirmation consent before turning back to the designer. “Yeah sure. Just make it quick, cause we’ve only got about an hour left.”

“What time is it?” Adrien asked. 

Cecil looked at his watch. “Seven on the dot.” Looking back up at Adrien, he raised his eyebrow with a chuckle. “You got somewhere to be?”

He smiled sheepishly. “School.” 

He chuckled. "Fair enough. Alright Mr. McKnight, come on over."

Jeremy walked towards the two with his nose in the air and began his adjustments. In the end, Adrien was facing towards the camera with his hip jutted to the left and his head in his pockets. His head was angled slightly upwards while his gaze was still locked on the camera. Lila's body was faced entirely towards Adrien, with one arm on his shoulder and the other with its thumb in her belt loop. Her head faced the camera and the designer beamed at his work. 

He wasn’t claustrophobic, that was what he knew. But right then and there the suffocation he felt was overwhelming and he felt faint. His breathing grew shallow and his palms were sweaty and the ground was swaying but Lila and Jeremy didn’t seem to notice. In fact, it seemed as if they were getting close to him and that Lila’s grip on his arm was getting tighter. Worst of all, the burning spread. It spread from his shoulder and filled his chest and melded with his brain and sank into the soles of his feet. It grew so hot that it felt cold and the fear grew with it and Jesus was he about to die?

“Great,” Jeremy said. “How does that feel?”

Adrien couldn’t really tell if he nodded, hoping the strangled noise that came from somewhere was both his and a  sign of confirmation. 

“It’s perfect,” Lila said. 

“Alright then,” Said the photographer. “Last couple pictures and we’re done.” 

*********

Lila and Adrien (after securing a sleeping Plagg in the pocket of his school bag) returned from the dressing rooms at the same time, both dressed in their school attire and their bags on them.

Adrien released a deep breath and Lila sighed next to him. Her hand somehow back on his shoulder. After Jeremy had moved away from him earlier the suffocation subsided but it wasn’t until Cecil called him over to where his tripod was set up that the pain had all but went away. 

“Hey, you alright man?” He asked softly, making sure that the girl on her phone not too far from them couldn’t hear the question. 

“Yeah,” Adrien said. “Why?”

In any other situation, the dumbfounded look that Cecil gave Adrien might have made him laugh, but right now he was worried. Why wouldn’t he be okay?

The photographer took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing deeply and kept on speaking. “I’m gonna help the rest of the crew put all this away then meet up with Mona downstairs,” Cecil huffed at his uncooperative tripod before it finally conceded and he continued. “I know you two have school, but if you want I wouldn’t mind buying a cup for you.” He sighed at Adrien. “Looks like you need it.”

Adrien sighed, “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds nice.” He called to the girl not too far from him. “What about you, Lila?”

“Hmm?” She'd been texting furiously to someone on the other end of her phone. Based on the look in her eyes, he’d hate to be whoever that was right now.

“Do you mind stopping for a coffee before heading to school? I’ll make sure to give you a ride if you do.”

“Oh,” she smiled and put her phone in her grey messenger bag. “Sure. As I said, it couldn’t hurt for us to spend more time together.”

Adrien just shrugged at the curiously worried look Cecil gave him. 

As the trio walked down to the ground level Lila questioned where Mr. McKnight had gone. 

“No idea,” Cecil said. 

Just as they turned the corner, Adrien could have sworn he felt a pair of eyes on him. He caught a glimpse of them, most likely imagining the red gaze burning through his back directly into his soul. 

*********

“Thank you both so much!” Lila called as she slid into the back seat of the limo, her drink in hand. 

Cecil looked at Mona and nodded. “Hey Lila you go on ahead,” she said. “We’ve got something we need to talk to Adrien about.”

Halfway out the door, Lila shot a look at Adrien who nodded. 

Mona’s tongue fiddled with her lip piercing. “Are you and Lila dating?”

Naturally, he’d been taking a sip of his tea at that time; which meant he choked while burning his throat and nose. 

Fun. 

After reassuring the couple that he was okay, he answered Mona’s question. “No. no we’re not. Why?”

“I told her about earlier,” Cecil said. “About how uncomfortable you looked. If you two aren’t dating-- are you okay?”

Adrien’s heart warmed at the fact that they cared enough. He hadn’t felt a love like that in a while. Smiling, he answered. “Thank you both, but I’m okay. Lila can be somewhat… touchy-- but that’s just how she is. I swear I’m alright.”

They looked at each other skeptically, silently having some sort of conversation that Adrien, despite speaking several languages, couldn’t even begin to decipher what they were thinking. 

After a long, drawn-out silence, they nod and Mona says one more thing before they leave to walk to their car. “Hey, in case she ever tries anything-- I can’t always be there but please remember that you’re allowed to be uncomfortable and say no.” He nodded and said goodbye to the both of them.

He slid into the seat next to Lila, handing her his cup to avoid spilling on the leather seats. 

“What’d you get yelled at for?” She asked. He couldn’t tell if she was serious. 

“Nothing I was in trouble for. Just a reminder. ”

Aside from Lila’s attempts to start a conversation, the rest of the ride was silent as Adrien did his best to figure out exactly why Mona had been concerned, too deep in thought to notice the burning sensation spread as Lila ran a hand up and down his thigh. 

[lyssala]

#Gummiephone

Pairing: Terra/Aqua, Kingdom Hearts

Rating: K

Setting: Post KH3

 Notes: I’M REAL LATE and will keep being late cause what else can I do haha I struggle a lot with getting back into my writing after my whole life shifted this year but if I can do it for anything its my sweetest babus <3 This was my first finished fic in months so I hope its decent enough! 

AO3

The cold didn’t ever bother Terra too much. When he was a kid he found playing in the snow easy even wearing the lightest winter clothes, and while his desire to toss himself in the snow dwindled over the years, his ability to usually stay pretty warm stayed. That even included visiting worlds that were in their season cycle of winter. Admittedly Arendelle was colder than most in their winter, but he still found himself dumping the fur lined jacket, hat, scarf, gloves and every other bit of winter gear Aqua could possibly think of onto one of the ornate chairs in the guest room of the castle. She seemed to forget just because she was always cold didn’t mean he was too.

He stretched his arms over his head, a yawn pulling at his lips as even the soft sweater he was still wearing made him feel hot. Despite the cold stone of the castle and the snow swirling around outside the large window, the castle kept rather warm. He was just about to toss that sweater into the pile too when he heard the soft knock on door frame.

Terra dropped the hem of his sweater, glancing over to the door he knew he left open to see the only other familiar face on this world.

“All set then?” Riku asked. He discarded most of his winter gear, that Aqua also made him take, making him look more fitting in this world in a similar set of shirt, sweater, and pants.

“All set,” Terra said, gesturing to the tossed clothes.

Riku snorted. “She’s just looking out.”

The thought made Terra feel a little bit warmer than he had a moment ago. “I know, but you’ll learn soon enough she worries too much.”

“I think…” Riku said, tapping his fingers on the door frame. “She has every right to.”

Terra opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again. That was fair. It wasn’t like he particularly was fond of leaving her and Ven alone in their home even if he knew it was plenty safe there. Some habits were real hard to break.

“Hey, I’m going to meet with the princesses, I have very specific instructions from Sora.” Riku rolled his eyes though his amused smile was all too familiar. He raised his hand to wave. “Get some sleep I’ll fill you in tomorrow.”

“Alright, see you.”

Riku closed the door behind him, his footsteps soft on the carpet as he walked away. Terra didn’t move until he was sure nothing jumped out to attack the kid; yeah, old habits died hard.

He tossed off the sweater, dumping it with the rest of the winter clothes before looking back to the room around him. Usually he would’ve gone with Riku to make sure everything went okay but since the sisters knew Sora it was decided Riku would probably be best at taking lead on this particular mission. Terra was eager to get back out into the field and do something…do something good like he knew he was capable of but he also could recognize when strategies better fit situations. Plus they had to walk a few miles to even find the town and he was admittedly not exactly back at peak condition.

It was over half a year since everything happened, and despite being back up to regular training and the ability to take and lead missions again he still found himself sore or winded easier than he used to. An effect from what his body went through he assumed, but he wished he’d work out of it so he didn’t feel like such an old man crawling into the large bed to get some rest.

Or he would’ve if he didn’t feel something jab into his thigh.

Terra quickly reached in to grab whatever poked him, only to remember he left his phone in his pocket.

“Why the spikes?” he muttered to himself as he flopped down into the admittedly very comfortable bed. Whoever designed the gummiephones didn’t think about leaving in in your pocket apparently.

He almost just tossed it off onto the night stand so he could sleep but then decided not to. Instead he brought it up to his face, looking over whatever notifications were floating across the screen. He really only checked the mission chat as it sometimes gave them information they needed and may not have started with but he noticed there were other notifications blinking at him.

The dim fire lanterns on the wall flickered slightly but didn’t blow out, still illuminating the room just enough.

There was some sort of group chat but he didn’t even know how he got added to that. Considering the last message was a bunch of winking faces from Xion, Terra was pretty sure he still didn’t want to know. He scrolled down a little bit, seeing some sort of link Sora sent at some point and a message from Lea asking if he could stay at the Land of Departure to get away from Roxas and Xion; both of whom where in the chat too so it was probably just Lea teasing.

Terra did click on the one from Ven, which wasn’t too old, probably just after Terra left for the mission. The chat opened up on the screen, the remnants of the last time Ven tried to message Terra up top but the newer message was a picture. He clicked on it, making the picture of Ven and Aqua making the most dramatic faces imaginable fill up his screen.

Ven: We miss you already, whatever will we do without you

A smile pulled at Terra’s lips. Despite the silliness of it all, it still made him feel a little less lonely. It was nice to know people somewhere missed him, even if they were being ridiculous about it. It was probably late back home but he still tapped in the text box so he could respond; Ven would sleep through it just fine if he was sleeping.

I haven’t even been gone a day. You’ll be fine.

Terra pressed send but lingered on the screen with the picture. It wasn’t the first time any of them left on their own; Aqua took a few missions, as did himself, and while Ven didn’t take any as of yet he was often off visiting his many new friends. Even then it still made a part of Terra wish he was home. He was more than happy to be able to start rebuilding the life he thought he lost, but part of losing that life was losing the people he loved. He had them back now, and even though it was rocky at first to work through old hurt and new pain, home was feeling more and more like home.

He loved being given the change to work on being the peacekeeper he always wanted to be but at the same time, traveling away from Aqua and Ven made him more homesick than it used to.

Terra clicked out of the chat when he was sure Ven was sleeping well enough to not respond. As much as Terra wanted the interaction to feel closer to home, it was more of a relief that Ven was not responding right away meaning he wasn’t laying in bed on his phone unable to sleep. It was an issue for them all at first, but nightmares started to fade and sleep started to come easier for them all. Granted, now he was the one laying in bed staring at his phone.

He pressed on another set of notifications, bringing up pictures this time. He recognized the app as something Ven excitedly showed Terra the moment they were given the gummiephones. It was a way to post pictures and everyone who was connected to your account could see it…or something like that. He sort of just smiled and nodded at Ven as he explained the whole thing.

With a flick of a thumb, Terra scrolled through the pictures, recognizing faces and even places as Riku was one who posted a shot of Arendelle Castle when they got here. There were a few comments; Kairi saying she thought it was beautiful but she wasn’t sure she could handle the cold, Sora immediately chiming in that it was freezing there and what was wrong with Riku that an island boy like him could take the cold so well.

There was also a comment from Aqua, a small picture of her next to her name and text. She wrote about missing the snow covered worlds, and that she’d love to see it. Pretty typical; Aqua loved the snow even if she also was always cold. He was about to keep scrolling but he saw the timestamp next to her post, that it was only made five minutes ago.

She was still awake.

He hesitated, thumb over her picture. He knew enough that if he clicked on it, he’d be taken to the profile she set up and from there he could message her or call her. A part of him wanted to. It was a long day, trudging through the snow and staying in an unfamiliar bed. The other part of him told him he saw her this morning and it hadn’t even been twenty four hours yet so rationally he shouldn’t miss the sound of her voice yet.

Rational or not, he did.

With a groan he pushed the phone down onto the bed, his head leaning back against the headboard with a dull thud. Maybe it was rational; time passing or not he spent a very long time without someone he used to spend everyday with. He barely remembered the time he lived with Master Eraqus before Aqua. She was always there and when she wasn’t…

He closed his eyes, chest contracting at the swirl of dark memories that flooded his mind. It used to be very hard to push them away, choosing to sink into the guilt of what was done but tonight he could open his eyes and remember the past was the past. He was okay, she was okay, just a little farther away tonight. Which wasn’t common, but it also wasn’t uncommon as they started on the path that they were trained to follow.

Still, there was nothing wrong with checking in, right? Nothing weird about just wanting to make sure his home was safe while he was away. That was completely reasonable. Totally normal to call up his best friend in the middle of the night with an excuse he was checking in when really he missed hearing her knock on his door with two cups of tea to share in a quiet moment before bed.

Totally normal.

He quickly picked up his phone, clicking where he last saw her picture. It brought him to a familiar profile layout so he knew where to find the video call button before he could lose his confidence. The ringing noise echoed in the room as his call was going through.

Terra quickly jumped out of bed (not without nearly falling out as his legs got tangled on the blankets in his effort to move fast) to walk over to the window. There was a small place to sit, the moonlight from outside shining in over the cushions and pillows that sat there. He didn’t know why he needed to move, anxious energy he supposed, but the calling screen cut out just as he was sitting down. He held up the phone to try and remember how Ven said was the best way to angle it but Terra’s stomach fell so fast he nearly dropped the phone.

The background of the call was a vibrant blue sky, palm trees scattered around. While blue eyes were watching him, it wasn’t the blue eyes he wanted to see.

“Terra?” Kairi asked, her forehead furrowed slightly. “Is something wrong?”

“Terra?” Another voice piped up from somewhere nearby. “You mean he actually knows how to call someone?”

More red hair filled the screen, so much of it that it nearly covered the entirety of it.

“Axel,” Kairi snorted, reaching a hand up to shove his face away.

Terra wished he could just hang up and pretend this never happened but he could only hope in the poor lighting of the room they couldn’t see how hot his face felt. “Mmm, yeah, I know how to call people.”

Kairi clicked her tongue, a smile pulling across her lips that was uncomfortably like the redhead still trying to squeeze his face in view. “Just not the right people.”

Terra would never say Kairi wasn’t perspective. He must’ve been in such a panic to actually call Aqua, he didn’t check to make sure he was still clicking on the right picture. His phone probably scrolled up when he tossed it and he just didn’t notice. “No,” he tried, but he had nothing to follow that up.

“Nice try,” Axel said. “If Red needed to know anything about the mission, tall, silver and broody would’ve called her.”

“Stop it,” Kairi chuckled.

“What I’m wondering…” he said, tapping his finger against his chin. “Is how you called Kairi, her name should be nowhere near Aqua’s in the contact list.”

Terra really hoped his choke couldn’t be heard over the phone. “That’s not…I wasn’t…” What could he say? That was who he meant to call.

“Leave him alone,” Kairi said, though she was laughing as she tried to push Axel away again. “I assume it’s late there. Have a goodnight, Terra.”

He always knew he liked Kairi. “Yeah, you too.”

“Try searching under A next-” Axel’s voice was cut off as Kairi ended the call.

Terra groaned as he hung his head. He had done some stupid things in his life, he wasn’t sure if he had done anything quite as embarrassing as that. He should just go to bed and call it a night. Yet even despite knowing he’d never hear the end of that especially from Axel, Terra still wanted to talk to Aqua.

This time he did search under A, finding her name and her picture. He pressed the call button, heart still pounding in his chest though whether cause he didn’t know how she’d respond or because of the last call he accidentally made, he wasn’t sure.

This time when the calling screen ended, he was greeted with a familiar background. It was the library in the castle, a place he knew like the back of his hand. Firelight from the fireplace sent a glow onto the well loved couch, Aqua’s face looking more worried than anything when she came into view.

“What’s wrong?” she asked in that tone that meant she was trying to keep calm but inwardly starting to freak out.

He snorted but he felt a smile pull at his lips, warmth filling his chest like he was sitting in front of the fireplace too. “Why does everyone say that when I call them?”

She seemed to be satisfied that him, Riku, or the mission weren’t in danger because she leaned back against the couch. Terra could see the blankets piled up in her lap, the book she must’ve discarded when he called off to the side. “Because you never call anyone.”

“Fair, I guess,” he said. “The castle is huge here, you know.”

“Yeah,” she breathed, tucking her legs under her in an effort to make herself more comfortable. “I saw the picture, it looked beautiful.”

“Its different, you know, different from home. Nice in its own way, but think I like ours better.”

“Are you homesick?” Aqua asked, her tone just slightly teasing.

“Homesick for what? Ven snoring so loud I can’t sleep and waking up thinking the castle is on fire but its just you up at the crack of dawn baking a multi-tiered cake or something ridiculous?”

The answer was yes though and her smiled seemed to know it. “Did you stay warm? In all the clothes you took?”

“Aqua, I could’ve been buried in an avalanche and I still would’ve been sweating in all the clothes you gave me.”

“Huh, well, maybe you’ll be thanking me when an avalanche hits you.”

He laughed and it made her laugh, her eyes curving into half moons and her smile wrinkling her cheeks some. It was so familiar to him. It reminded him of notes passed to her when Master had his back to them during a lecture, silly drawings to make her smile when the rest of the lesson was so dry. It reminded him of warm summer days when he’d jump off into the lake purposely too close to her to make the water splash up to get her wet. Of dessert snuck to her way past bedtime when he knew she was up studying. Of him being pinned to the ground yet again, her leaning over him in victory. Of very late nights outside under the stars with Ven asleep next to them as Terra told her everything he wanted to do in the worlds.

“I miss you,” he said, probably not very gracefully but all the memories, the lifetime of memories that he never thought he’d get back just made it so hard to feel so far away again.

Her face softened as she leaned her head back against the couch. “I miss you too. Home’s emptier without you. It always is when you were gone.”

“You’d like it here though,” he said, clearing his throat. “Lots of snow and frost for you to freeze in and pretend you’re fine but your fingers are turning purple.”

“Lucky for me there’s someone whose always warm and I can shove my hands up his shirt.”

He snorted, though even the thought of her freezing hands against him was a warm thought. “I should’ve expected that.”

She was quiet for a moment, just sort of watching the screen. He almost asked if she wanted to leave so she could sleep but she shifted the phone a little instead.

“Will you take me?” she asked.

“Take you where?”

“To Arendelle, when the mission is done. Will you take me back there?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “Anywhere.”

Her smile had his heart in his throat, so did the thought of going somewhere with her, just her that had nothing to do with missions or jobs.

Aqua looked like she was about to say something but her eyes flickered to the top of the screen for a few moments instead. “Terra?”

“Hmm?”

“Why is Axel asking me if you finally called me?”

Terra hit his head back against the stone of the wall. Embarrassment was there once again, but for once it wasn’t enough to make the comforting feelings of talking to Aqua made him feel. “I’m going to kill him.”

Aqua laughed, and Terra couldn’t remember even why he was nervous to call her in the first place. She was the one person he never needed to be nervous around, someone who accepted him for everything he was and everything he wasn’t.

Well, he was a little nervous at how much his heart skipped when she arched her eyebrows at him, her way of prompting him to tell the story with her usual smile still on her lips. Ven and the other kids liked to tease Terra that he was dense or oblivious but he wasn’t that much so, he was aware of what it meant at least.

That was absolutely not for tonight though.

He snorted instead, holding the phone up a little so he could shift back against the wall behind him.

“Did you know that yours and Kairi’s names are surprisingly close in the contact list?”

She leaned her head back against the couch and he imagined if he was sitting next to her she would’ve nudged her leg over to kick him. “Liar.”

“No, its true, right next to each other.”

“You called her name without even looking to make sure it was me, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, that was it.”

Aqua laughed again, and he never thought he would ever be tired of the sound. “You really need to learn how to use your phone, Ter. It’s important, not just for the kids to post pictures.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it handled.”

She paused for a second, and he thought she was about to tell him she had to go; the thought alone making him feel lonely again. “I’m glad you called.”

That was enough, that was worth it all. To know on some level she was happy to see him too. Maybe he would make an effort to learn how to use the phone better if it meant he’d get to feel closer to her while they were apart.

“Me too.”

[silver-greedling]

While You Were Away

Prompto Argentum x Reader (could technically be seen as a part two of the last one, but you don't have to read it to read this one)

It had been about two weeks since my twin brother had been practically absorbed into the crystal that was meant to save us. In a flash, before any of our friends could save him, he was gone.

I hadn't been there myself; They had left me in Lucis after the destruction of Altissia. Cid was more than willing to let me stay in the caravan at his garage, and I was happy to help him and Cindy.

I had started to become really good friends with Cindy. At first, I thought it might be a little awkward, as she was Prompto's old crush and I was his girlfriend, but she turned out to be really sweet. Our personalities complimented each other perfectly, according to Cid.

Somehow, I almost knew what to expect when the Regalia returned with only three occupants. An all too familiar raven's nest of hair was missing.

Before I could even walk to the Regalia, Prompto had left the car and was walking to meet me at the caravan. He pulled me into his arms, burying his face into my neck tightly. I didn't know what to expect, but I was certainly shocked to feel something running down my neck.

"It's about Noctis," he cried softly when I asked him about it. "He..."

Slowly and tearfully, he explained everything as best as he could, from him getting accidentally pushed off the train, to meeting the guys at Zegnautus, up until Noctis had tried to use the crystal, but had paid a high pice in return for naught.

My own lip quivered as he pulled me close. "I couldn't help him, I'm so sorry."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," I assured him, trying to keep my breath steady. "Noctis...is an idiot. He does dumb things, sometimes, but...I'm sure he's not blaming you, wherever he is."

"How have you been?" he asked once his eyes had dried. He offered me a smile, but it was too forced.

"Alright, I guess," I sighed. "Although, I have noticed that something is very weird." I stopped for a moment, shaking my head. "That's too vague, I mean to say that something is really...off with the world, lately. The nights have started to grow longer and longer, and the days are getting shorter. That means the daemons are out for longer periods of time, and a ton of nearby places have been getting scared of attacks."

"But you've kept safe here, right?" he asked, scanning my body quickly for injuries. I saw his eyes stop on the scar on my arm, and I put a hand on his cheek to force him to face me.

"I'm perfectly fine," I told him. "Do you see me? I'm standing right here, and you can feel me, right? I'm here and I'm real, I promise."

He nodded, pressing a kiss to my lips, before moving back to fully look at me. "You got prettier while I was away," he flirted unashamedly, and I blushed, not having expected it.

"Prompto!" I buried my face in his chest, and he laughed at the action. "Give a girl a warning next time, geez!"

"No one warned me that you were going to enter my life," he told me, stroking my hair. "But here you are. I thank the Six every single day that you're in my life, you know? Every single day, princess."

"When did you get so bold?" I asked shyly, hiding my red face.

"Well, aside from kicking ass, I had a ton of time to self reflect while I was out there," he told me. "Y'know, when your best friend kicks you off a train while mistaking you for the enemy, a bit of alone time is deserved, I always say."

"I'm glad you seem a little more confident." I pulled back to give him a smile. "I love you, baby."

"I love you, too."

Our lips met again, but not for long. Ignis had called Prompto's name, causing him to remove himself with a sigh.

"I'll be back in a moment, okay? Don't go anywhere."

"I'm not leaving you, I promise."

~~~

"Prompto, you've been living here for two years, you know where the sugar is," I laughed. Despite my words, I still came into the kitchen, reaching into one of the cabinets to get the sugar.

"Yeah, but it's a great excuse to get you in here with me," he giggled, wrapping his arms around me from behind as I set the sugar bag on the counter. "You should stay, it'll be fun!"

I smiled at his words as he turned me to face him. "Not for too long - I still have a ton of work to get done."

"But I'm more important, right?" He gave me a little pout, tilting his head like a puppy.

"Of course you are." I rolled my eyes. "What a silly question."

"Ah, but hearing that makes it worth it," he told me, putting his hands on my cheeks. "I love you, princess."

"Mhm, I love you, too."

His lips met mine, and it was heated quickly. I found myself moving the bag to the side as he picked me up to sit on the counter, mouths hardly ever leaving one another for more than a short breath of air.

My hands found their way under his tight T-shirt, which didn't do much to conceal his toned chest. He wasn't super buff like Gladio, nor was he a square of a man like Ignis, but he was perfectly Prompto-shaped, as I liked to say.

A phone ringing interrupted our moment, just as it was starting to get further. It was Prompto's phone. He tried hard to ignore it, pulling back to huff and roll his eyes as he denied the call, but they called back almost immediately after he set the phone down. Sighing, he grabbed the phone, not moving from his spot.

"Ignis," he muttered, "always ruining the moment." At that, he answered the phone, keeping an arm wrapped around me.

I could barely hear Ignis' voice, and I couldn't catch a word he said, but he spoke in that same, cool tone that was unmistakably him.

"Yeah," Prompto sighed in response to something Ignis said. "Yeah, sure. I'll be there. Yup."

Ignis hung up after that, and Prompto dropped his arms to his sides.

"He wants me to join him and Glad on a hunt. Today."

A sense of sadness rolled through me. He didn't go on hunts often, especially now that daylight was nonexistent and that made everything more dangerous, but it always scared me when he did. I begged him every time to let me go, but the look in his eyes perfectly mirrored my own. It was a look of pure love, the look you give someone when you know you may never see them again.

A million times he had told me that he refused to lose me during a hunt. That he'd be put at ease to know that I'm at home and safe from harm. He promised to always return if I just stayed out of danger.

"Be careful," I told him as I hopped off of the counter. "I...I'll help you pack."

His weapons were now in a storage closet at the end of the hallway, one that we almost never used. He grabbed a gun or two as I raided some boxes in the closet for curatives and the like. Once I was satisfied, I gave him his bag, and went to the bedroom.

"Your camera," I told him. "I know it's dark and all, but you never know when you'll get a good-"

I stopped as the images on the camera popped up. Of course, the first thing to show was a picture of my brother and I, right outside our home. This was years ago, when my brother was around...when our dad was alive...when the Crown City - our city - was alive and prosperous.

A hand on my back startled me, and I almost dropped the camera, but Prompto steadied me.

"Keep it with you," he told me as I clicked through the pictures. "Hold onto it, okay?"

"But what'll you-"

"You always forget that I kept the one that you gave me," he chuckled, picking another, newer camera up off of the dresser. I smiled.

"No, I just like hearing you say that you keep it."

"Of course I keep it." He smiled back. "What a silly question."

With a laugh, I set the older camera back on the shelf to view at a later time. I followed him to the front door, where he hesitated to leave.

"I love you." He turned to face me, a hand resting on my cheek. "Be safe."

"I love you, too," I told him. "And you be safe, too. Tell Gladio I'll be pissed if I see so much as a scratch, alright?"

He laughed and rolled his eyes, before planting a kiss on my lips. Seemingly happy with his sendoff, he opened the door and stepped outside, where a special bright light covered our house completely. I stood at the door and watched him walk out to his motorcycle - which he looked really hot driving, not gonna lie.

Before stepping on the bike, he turned back to me. With a shake of his head, he started toward the house again, and I walked up to meet him about halfway.

"Did you forget something? I'm sure we packed-"

I was cut off by his lips all but slamming into mine. Surprised, it took me a second to respond, but I placed my hands on his chest in response.

He pulled back, and I saw a certain gleam in his eyes. "This hunt might take a really long time. It could take weeks, maybe even a month." I nodded in understanding as his hand stroked my cheek. "Oh, Six....when I come back, I want you to marry me!"

My mind blanked at the words, but a stupid smile crossed my face. "Marry...?"

"I don't have a ring, and the circumstances suck, and I know we wanted to wait for Noctis, but I can't wait anymore, princess. I can't stand another second knowing I haven't completely made you mine."

He stepped closer, giving me a watery smile. "I would trade the whole world for you. I love you more than anything and anyone else, I hope you know. I'm ready to say that I'm spending the rest of my life with you, not as a friend, kot a boyfriend, but your husband."

"Of course I'll marry you," I cried, tears already streaming. "W-What a silly question, Prompto. I will, I will marry you."

"I knew you would, but hearing you say it makes it better."

I wiped the tears from my face, but they came too fast to stop for longer than a single moment.

A few of his own tears fell as he kissed me one more time. "The second I get back, we're getting married. One way or another. It's too late to change your mind."

"I'd never change my mind." He grinned at ny words, planting a final kiss on my cheek, before slowly, almost against his will, turning to get on his motorcycle.

"I love you," he told me as the engine started.

"I love you, too. Get back home quick; It's rude to keep a girl waiting."

Laughing, he started driving off, but not without giving me a little wave as he left.

[icequeen-shiva]

alright, you know what

about two weeks ago maybe by now, i made a post about how i’ve recently hit 200 followers and i’d like to do a q&a again, and even with a reblog from someone more ~*popular*~ than me, and multiple reblogs once a day for a few days by myself, i didn’t get a single fucking question. not one. earlier today i posted two pictures of myself where i felt pretty (i’ve since deleted them) and nobody i actually know of liked it and i got asked by a stranger who doesn’t even follow me if i had any nsfw pictures. i don’t get asks anymore, i don’t get shit. and that tells me that, you may be following me, but you aren’t connecting with me. and i feel that. i get on tumblr and i don’t feel like i’m friends with fucking anybody. and i did that. i know i did that. 9/10 times i let my fear of rejection and embarrassing myself overcome my desire to talk to people, so i don’t do it, or i let it fizzle out and we go our own ways and we don’t become friends. 1/10 times i actually function as a human being and make a connection or at least something that sticks a little.

so here, below the cut, is a comprehensive (loosely) list of things that i like, in no particular order at all, besides tickling, because apparently both sides of this need a little help connecting on any front.

scooby-doo

beetlejuice

the addams family

the sims

the mcu

classic disney animations; my favorites are dumbo, the great mouse detective, the rescuers, sleeping beauty, and oliver and company (it’s old enough that i consider it in the classic category)

~modern disney animations too; my favorites are treasure fucking planet, coco, and... i’m a sap, beauty and the beast. rise of the guardians too even though it isn’t disney.

musicals; i can’t pick a favorite just fucking ask me, but i don’t know a lot of newer ones honestly

empire records

the greatest showman still

cats (i mean the animals but i also like the show even though it is Weird As Hell)

my cat in particular

alice in wonderland

stranger things

space jam

tsum tsums

elvira, mistress of the dark

dice

kiki’s delivery service and specifically jiji things

winnie the pooh i don’t even fucking care i LOVE HIM AND ALL OF HIS FRIENDS

silly hats

playdoh

interesting earrings

exploring libraries or big bookstores

true crime mysteries; my favorite youtuber for this is georgia marie, bless her. i also watch bella fiori and kendall rae

fictional mysteries too

i have a kind of fascination with jack the ripper and with the lizzie borden case

shipwrecks! i don’t know why but shipwrecks fascinate me! why did they go down? all the stories that went with them!

i once read a novel that was told as a series of letters, or journal entries, by people on the titanic, including the iceberg and it was THE absolute saddest book i have ever read in my life. like, obviously i knew what was coming, but i got attached to the characters, the letters made them alive and it was just like... NO. NO I DON’T WANT THEM TO DIE. I KNOW THEY’RE GOING TO BUT THEY CAN’T. and it was awful. i had to put it down and cry.

cryptozoology

the bermuda triangle theories (i’m not saying i believe sOmEtHiNg’S gOiNg On but i think some of the theories are interesting)

ghosts

the nancy drew computer games

monopoly

i still play a lot of my snes games; my go-to time killer and head-clearer honestly is kirby’s avalanche. i also play a lot of super mario rpg legend of the seven stars, super mario world, kirby’s dreamland 3, and donkey kong 2 and 3

final fantasy x in which i’m guaranteed to call almost (i can’t stress that enough) every character at some point “my child”

hyrule warriors, i know it’s not a tRuE zelda game but it’s fucking fun

same with fire emblem warriors

red dead redemption

kingdom hearts

the uncharted series

splatoon but i don’t have it wahhhhh

mind you i am not very Good at videogames, i just like to play them anyway

game grumps

ninja sex party

jacksepticeye

markiplier

monty python

crocheting

tea

harry potter

classic rock. pretty big on queen lately. i like tom petty and the heartbreakers. i like joan jett and the blackhearts.

i just... like rock. across the board. i like the offspring. i like some rage against the machine songs. acdc on the radio makes me happy. def leppard on the radio makes me happy. beartooth, starset, powerman 5000, as long as it’s got a good beat and good stuff going on behind the vocals then i’m gonna be happy. i’m way more into the guitars and the bass and everything going on instrumentally than i am vocally, honestly. the whole big guitar solo to van halen’s “you really got me” and then that bassline that comes in, that bassline is sexy. it’s so simple but i LIKE it.

anyway music as a whole gets me right in the heart and can lift me up when i am at my literal worst point

it’s hard for me to name a favorite or specific bands that i like because there’s so many and i’m not really picky about it. 

pop vinyls

good ol’ vines

buffalo wings

mac and cheese

grilled cheese

dr. pepper

i drink a l o t of dr. pepper

pretending i know how to do makeup well

history; i watch a lot of expedition unknown and mysteries at the museum, and sometimes i’ll watch a free documentary on youtube if it catches my attention. last weekend i explained the donner party to my boyfriend. just.. on a whim. because i’d just watched a thing on it and he said he didn’t really know what it was. i’m that person.

OH I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THIS BACK AROUND TRUE CRIME BUT I READ A BOOK ABOUT H.H. HOLMES AND HIS MURDER CASTLE AND THE CHICAGO WORLD’S FAIR. it was by erik larson, i believe. larsen? i could google this. devil in the white city. there’s been talks to make it a movie. it’s a good read though i will admit i skipped a lot of the fair parts because i was there for the murder.

i also read a book about the lusitania by the same author and i was like ohhh my goooood what. it got a little boring sometimes, i had to push myself to keep going, but i would read dead wake again.

csi: miami reruns are the greatest thing don’t @ me

dark purple and black aesthetics

just like... witchy aesthetics. those colors and black cats

if you haven’t noticed by any selfies i’ve posted, i do have my lip pierced and i love finding new lip jewelry. i have a new opal stud in and i love its look

leather jackets

combat boots; i have a galaxy print pair and a pair with classic marvel comics stuff printed on the inside and you can fold down the sides to show it. they’re my faves.

owls

drunk history

the first 5 seasons of supernatural and i still have a soft spot for the winchesters and castiel

i’m slowly making my way through watching the librarians

i’m also making my way slowly through watching the magicians

(american) football

nature walks

going to the zoo

going to the aquarium

like really take me to either of the above and i will lose my shit

road trips

savannah, georgia

the smokey mountains

last august i drove by myself from ohio to boone, north carolina for a friend’s wedding and that wedding was smack on a mountain top and it was the coolest thing i think i’ve ever done

roller coasters BUT NOT EXTREME ONES baby steps ok

log rides tho, i don’t know why, i always love the water rides

ren faires!

cosplay, even though i’m not exactly active in it myself (but i want to be; one of my offline friends is an actually-getting-kind-of-internet-famous mei from overwatch cosplayer)

cards against humanity

foosball

pool but i suck at it

speaking of pools i love swimming ... but i suck at it, i just like boppin’ along in a pool

cookouts

summer

there is nothing like being out in the middle of nowhere in summer when the evening starts to fall and the sky is dark, dark blue and there’s a sea of shimmering lightning bugs out over a field. it’s beautiful. it’s peaceful.

there’s nothing like sitting outside on a calm spring night and listening to the spring peepers (they’re frogs) either.

if you couldn’t tell, i live in the middle of nowhere. i have to find enjoyment in the little things.

campfires

dancing around said campfire, you cannot have a campfire without good music. this is when a lot of my classic rock education came to pass.

elephants

my favorite books are the abhorsen trilogy by garth nix, tied with the serpent’s shadow by mercedes lackey

i am trying to get into comic books by way of the youtube channel comicstorian. they break comic books down for you and read them aloud with the images, altered slightly to avoid copyright strikes (and that’s all made very clear, it’s not done sketchily), and it’s been really easy for someone like me who doesn’t just have a comics store close (and i would otherwise continue on as i have been, forgetting to ever look for them on the internet). i listened to injustice 1 and 2, and they covered the game. i’m actively following scooby apocalypse, and there was some teen titans stuff i went all the way through up until now. i don’t think it’s finished yet from what i remember.

i love museums

candles

i actually kind of collect tea sets

i also have a collection of sand art bottles AND IF I’M EVER AT A FESTIVAL OR A FAIR WHERE THERE IS A SAND ART STAND YOU CAN BET I AM GOING TO MAKE ONE

yugioh duels; i’m definitely just a novice and it’s just a fun pastime my friends got me into when they found their giant binders of cards again

i’m not actually that big on pokemon, i don’t know a lot of them but it’s still fun and i know some. but i did love pokemon go when my friends still played it (don’t really have time anymore, and it kept crashing way too badly on one of their phones anymore anytime they tried to join a raid and it just wasn’t fun as a group then)

i don’t have any but i like the ~look of crystals and would like to have some, not for my own aesthetic but i just... like having pretty things!

listening to the rain

how the air smells (at least where i live) after a long rain and everything is just cleansed

depression has stopped me from writing for a long time but, in my heart, writing has always been something that has touched me ever since i knew how to do it and could put my stories down on paper instead of having to just talk about them... so i’m going to include that here

root beer floats

hotdogs

hard dip ice cream (if you don’t know what hard dip means... as my boyfriend didn’t... it means ice cream that you have to use a scoop with, not soft serve)

soft serve’s good too tho don’t get me wrong

strawberry milkshakes

this isn’t even stuff that anyone would need to know on this site to befriend me at this point, nobody’s gonna message me like HEY I READ YOU LIKE STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKES ME FUCKING TOO

you’re cool if you do that lmao

so bad they’re good creature features from the 50s and 60s

the old godzilla movies

i like the moon more than the stars, but i like them too

flower crowns

bouncy balls

original skittles

this has gone on way too long, nobody is reading this, your mom’s a hoe, goodnight

no she’s not, i’m sorry, if you got this far then i hope your mom is a nice person

[mako-lies]

Finally finished the promnyx thing. You can read it here or on AO3.

yards & milkshakes (ffxv, promnyx, t, part of the oracle!gladio verse)

Nyx's milkshake brings Prompto to his yard.

(Or: Nyx jumps out of an airship and is lucky enough to get a lift from a cute mechanic.)

Nyx was honest enough to admit he didn’t exactly follow orders to the letter. (Sometimes at all, but those were special cases, even Crowe agreed.) Occasionally it could be bothersome, given his profession. But when your boss said, “You couldn’t even if you tried,” without looking up from his mission report, you just had to prove him wrong with all due respect. Which was how Nyx wound up warping out of the speeding airship, calling back to the others, “Race you to the City!”

Last thing he saw was Libertus’s exasperated smile.

+

They weren’t that far out from the Crown City when he’d jumped out like some idiot action hero. Which, if half the stories the Glaives told about him over drinks were to be believed, wasn’t a bad description. Leide was hot as ever, especially in his leathers, but it wasn’t Galahd hot, so he’d pull through.

He warped out his landing, smack in a gaggle of grumpy garula. Just typical. Nyx considered them in that split second before they charged, his kukris up and ready as ever. Garula meat fetched a good price, but he didn’t really need the money. Not like he had anybody to spend it on, anyway. And the outposts could do their own hunting, they didn’t need some city slicker sliding in to do it for them. Most outposts had conservation programs for the herds these days. Who knew what elaborate planning he’d fuck up if he just killed them.

Yeah. Running it was.

Two towering adults and three car-sized babies started toward him then. He tossed one of his kukris and appeared, running, his stomach swooping out and tingling from the warp. Like drinking liters and liters of soda that had been all shook up.

Tusks first, the herd raged after him, ground rumbling like an earthquake.

The road rose up ahead, thankfully closer than he’d been expecting, and—

A neon yellow truck screeched to an abrupt halt just ahead of him.

Nyx warped again as the door shot open to reveal a lanky young man. A tuft of blond hair, styled like chocobo tail feathers. A neon yellow tank with hot pink lettering—HAMMERHEAD!!!—and the tiniest pair of frayed denim shorts Nyx had ever seen, and he’d been to Lestallum plenty. His entire look was topped with some black, thick-rimmed glasses that he’d seen kids wearing in the Crown City.

“Garula!” Nyx called, pulling in a breath so he could warp again. If this guy didn’t get moving, Nyx was gonna have to kill the beasts after all. Damn.

The guy flashed a smile—all sunshine and freckles—and in one hand he held a beat up, old school camera and in the other, a revolver that looked like it came out of one of those cowboy movies his mom’d liked. It was a lot to take in: somebody less shiningly attractive probably couldn’t have pulled it off, but as it was, the effect was breathtakingly silly.

The guy was so much to take in Nyx forgot to warp, just ran to the flashy truck and even flashier man. How old was he? Didn’t look older than twenty, but maybe that was just the pink converse haphazardly laced. “Get in!” He called, chipper for somebody holding a weapon.

Nyx was in no position to decline. He could outrun the garula, sure, and run back to the Crown City, but this guy looked like an adventure waiting to happen, and Nyx had a problem. That was what Libertus told him, anyway.

“‘Preciate it!” Nyx said, as he threw open the door.

The camera shutter sounded—taking a picture of the stampeding garula? Really?—guy was was probably crazy. Nyx could work with crazy.

Without firing a shot, the guy slid back into the driver’s seat and dumped the camera and gun in the backseat—and just gunned it. “Hang on,” he said, a second or two after he’d floored it. Better late than never? Wasn’t like Nyx objected to the thrill, lived for it, actually. The truck purred as it shot down the road. Nyx caught his breath. “I’m Prompto! Nice to meet ya!”

He turned to look at Nyx. His stomach lurched more than it had the first time he’d snatched up the King’s offered magick and warped. Hell. At the least the garula—Nyx double-checked the rearview mirror—were well behind them. “You one of those Crownsguard guys?”

“Kingsglaive, but close enough. Name’s Nyx Ulric.” Outside of the city, the distinction carried little heft, but inside it was everything.

“Headed to the city?” At Nyx’s tense nod, Prompto finally turned his full attention to the road. “Lucky I found you. I’m on my way to the Crown City, and well. Never been before, so I could use some company. Besides, you’re like super hot. Wins all around.”

Well. He was being flirted with. Guy was cute, and he’d saved Nyx a lot of trouble. A winning combo, for sure. “What’s your business in Insomnia?”

“Eh, you know. The uze. My dad kicked me out and now I’m off to college.”

“Your dad kicked you out?” Maybe he shouldn’t ask, but it was a hell of an opener.

“Yeah. Y’know Hammerhead? I work there. Or I did, before he fired me.” He half-shrugged, both hands firmly on the wheel.

It explained why the truck ran so smooth when most cars outside the Wall tended to be beat up at best. Did that mean that old mechanic at Hammerhead was his dad? Never would have guessed. Prompto didn’t look like he has an ornery bone in his body. “Know what you’ll study?”

“Eh, I’m gonna study poli-sci. Maybe someday I’ll get into politicks and everything,” he said with the air of somebody doing standup at their own hanging.

There’s weren’t a lot of white collar jobs for Outlanders, but especially politicks was a rich nobleman’s game. Still, if he could get his foot in the door, that’d be good for the Outlands, right? Nyx didn’t really know much about politicks, but it couldn’t be bad to have some more kinds of people making decisions. “Know anybody in the city?” He could already see the checkpoint looming up ahead.

“Well, I know you!”

It pulled a laugh from him. Cute. Forward. It didn’t hurt that Nyx had always had a soft spot for blonds. “Yeah,” Nyx agreed. “If you give me your number, I could help you out.”

Prompto beamed, all teeth and blinding light. “And here I was, hoping you might invite me to dinner!”

“Could do that.”

Prompto took both hands off the wheel to shove his phone at Nyx. Hell, Nyx couldn’t say for sure that reckless was his type, but it really should have been alarming and not flattering as hell that Prompto would risk their safety just for Nyx’s number. His heartbeat picked up even as Prompto put his hands back on the wheel.

He programmed himself into Prompto’s phone, a newer model with King’s Knight installed. Nyx put the phone on the dash. “There you are.”

“Thanks!” Prompto slowed as they hit the checkpoint. “So, Mr. Kingsglaive, got any tips for getting through?”

“I got it.”

He was ready to flash his Citadel badge, except the watch took one look at the car and asked, “You Prompto Sophiar?”

Prompto chewed his lip, fingers drumming the wheel. “Yep. That’s me!”

“Papers? The King just notified us that you would be coming.”

The King ? Nyx couldn’t help but stare as the guy fished out some old ratty papers from his tiny shorts. The girl examined them. “Looks to be in order. Who’s your friend?”

Nyx flashed his ID and they were let in without any more fuss. “The King?” Nyx had to ask.

“Oh, him and my dad used to be friends or something. Does that mean I have to meet him?”

“Probably. Want me to show you the Citadel?”

Prompto stared at where it loomed in the distance. “Thanks, but I wanna get settled a bit first. Where can I drop you?”

It would be easy enough to tell him where his apartment was, but Nyx had never been one to do things the easy way. And the guy was cute, biting his lip as he navigated the city with considerable more care than he took in the Outskirts. “My apartment is fine. How about lunch first? I know I promised dinner, but…”

Prompto took his gaze off the road for a half second, eyes wide, then he grinned. “Maybe a quick snack would be ok. Do you know somewhere nearby?”

“Sure. There’s a place that does burgers and milkshakes a few blocks down from my place.”

“That sounds like, amazing. Let’s do it!”

+

They made it without any mishaps, and Prompto even remembered his wallet and his camera. It was a small place, just a few tables with mismatched tables and a counter with a couple of worn stools. A family was there, taking up two of the tables, dipping their thick cut fries into their milkshakes.

Prompto beamed. “You sure know how to cheer a guy up.” He surveyed the menu. “The strawberry looks ama-zing.” He  snapped a quick picture of the menu.

Before he could put the camera away, Nyx had already ordered and paid for their shakes. One strawberry and one mango. Contrary to what Crowe liked to tell Libertus, he could be a gentleman. Especially when there were cute blonds involved. Prompto let his camera hang around his neck. He squinted at Nyx from behind his boxy glasses and didn’t seem to notice the cashier staring at his (lack of) shorts. “Speedy. Well, I’ll just get it next time, then…”

Bold, if not a bit presumptuous. But that was the kind of thing that unfortunately worked for Nyx.

They sat by the window, and Prompto kept twitching for his camera as people walked by. He got a shot of some kids in their high school uniforms, then asked, “So uh. Why did you join the… Kingsglaive?”

Nyx didn’t pay attention to the way his fingers toyed with the fringe on his shorts. Nope. Guy had nice legs though. “Well,” he tried to think of a more delicate way to put it, but didn’t come up with anything. Guy’d asked. If he couldn’t handle the answer, best to know now, probably. “Why does anybody join the military? Grew up in Galahd.”

That seemed to explain everything to Prompto. He toyed with the subdued black leather wristband he wore. Nyx frowned. The black stuck out, given his screaming outfit, but he hadn’t noticed. Then, if Prompto had some connection to the King—still. Strange.

“Guess that makes sense. Sorry, shouldn’t have pried…” Prompto said.

Could have been worse. At least he seemed to get it, unlike most of the Insomnians. Outlanders were good that way. Given that the Outlands were all either already swallowed up by the Empire, or one step away from it… Same story, across all of what had once been Lucis. Soon, they’d probably have an influx of new Glaives.

Their milkshakes arrived, thick and sweating in their glasses, and Prompto lit up like one of the signs in Insomnia’s city center. He hid his face behind the camera and asked, muffled by the plastic, “Can I get a picture of you? And the milkshakes?”

“…Why not?”

Nyx held up the two milkshakes, obliging, and thought maybe it was worth it when Prompto flushed at him. “You can have a copy after I develop them… I’ll just have to find somewhere to do it… Man, it sucks—I had my own darkroom before.”

Not sure why he’d need a picture of himself and some milkshakes, but Prompto looked happy and maybe he could give it to Crowe just to prove he’d actually gone on a date, or whatever this was. “Here,” Nyx said, feeling like the least smooth person in the world.

(Growing up in the Glaive would do that to a person: surrounded by people like Crowe and Drautos and poor Pelna, who couldn’t even land a blind date.)

“Oh yeah, I’ll definitely come to your yard,” Prompto chirped, as he took the milkshake.

Halfway, his hands stalled and his freckled skin went bright with a flush. He fumbled his drink and only barely kept his grip on the slippery glass.

Nyx frowned at him. “My yard?” He had no idea what yards had to do with milkshakes, but he guessed it was some kind of sex thing from the mortified way Prompto hid his face after plopping the shake on the table.

“It’s a song,” he said, and then laughed, looking back up with a wicked glint in his—blue?—eyes. “An amazing one.”

Definitely a sex thing. He’d have to listen to it, so that next time he could tease the hell out of him. Seemed like he’d be a fun target. Prompto slurped up about half his shake in one go, crazy guy. Nyx was a bit slower—enough cases of brain freeze would teach a person. Contrary to popular belief, he could learn new tricks.

Sure enough, a moment later, Prompto clutched at his skull, face screwing up like he’d been stabbed. “Slow it down, hot stuff,” Nyx said around his straw.

“So. Many. Regrets,” Prompto moaned, but a second later he was back at it.

Well, Nyx couldn’t really fault him. The milkshakes were amazing. Cold and barely liquid: just ice cream with a bit of fruit mixed in. He really did love this place. Crowe used to take him and Libertus here all the time, when training was particularly tough. “All right, I’ll bite. Why would a mechanic want to go into politics?”

After a long pause where Prompto whined through the consequences of finishing his shake, Prompto finally answered, “Well, like, in school I was always really interested in it? My adopted dad… He’d had a falling out with the King because of immigration policy, y’know? So I got curious why, especially when my crazy uncle would come to visit and tell me about their awesome adventures from the good ol’ days. You know Reggie and Clarus and Cor and my dad? And so I got super curious, because they sounded like such good friends?”

Crazy uncle? And was Reggie supposed to be the King? This was getting more interesting by the minute, and not in the sexy way, but in the oh shit was this actually work-related kind of way, which would be awful. Shitting where you ate just made things complicated. “Sure. Just real quick. Your crazy uncle is…?”

“Cor. He always came to visit me. I guess he was the one who convinced my dad to adopt me,” Prompto shrugged like that wasn’t a revelation at all, but Nyx hadn’t gotten to where he was without being able to read the air. This was way bigger than Prompto probably knew. “So anyway, I wanted to know why immigration was something that could break up the strongest friendship I’d ever heard of? So I went down the politicks wormhole in school, and… Well. Started talking big about how if there were more Outlanders in politicks… More people who look like… well, me, that maybe things might change a bit? But I said it too loud, and my dad was all like ‘that’s a great idea, sonny, now yer fired and off to Insomnia with you, bwahaha.’ Can you believe it? Evil laugh and everything.”

Prompto’s face was calm, at odds the animation in his voice, complete with a telltale Leide twang when he mimicked his father. Nyx was sure there was more there—Prompto’s blond hair wasn’t damning in itself, but he sure as hell didn’t look Insomnian—but he wasn’t gonna ask. Not his business. “I think your dad might have been on to something,”said Nyx, then finished up his shake before he could really stick his foot in his mouth.

Prompto sighed. “Well, I’m here now. And my sister said that if I ended up sleeping in an on-fire dumpster, she’d convince him to let me come home. So. There’s that!” He smiled. Then glanced at his phone. Sighed again. “This has been super cool… Sorry about rambling. But I kind of have to meet my new landlord before four… Mind if I drop you home?”

“Nah. I live a few blocks away. I can walk. It’ll give me time to think of what to tell my boss.”

“…Your boss?”

“I jumped out of a ship against orders earlier,” he shrugged, and as Prompto’s eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to ask a question, Nyxsaid, “You’ve got my number. Once you get settled, you wanna do this again?”

Prompto leaned over the table, close enough Nyx could see that his eyes were definitely blue. “Like a date?”

There it was. Out in the open. It was a relief. Nyx had no idea how to do this shit. It wasn’t like he’d ever—”Yeah,” he said, “Like a date. So once you get set up, we’ll work out the details. And I’ll see about getting you an audience with the King.”

“That’d… be super amazing. Wow, Cindy’ll never believe this. Wow.” They both stood, and once they got out onto the street, Prompto launched—hugged Nyx quick and bright.  “I’m really, really looking forward to it.”

Nyx clasped him briefly, before Prompto rocketed off just as quick as he came on. “I’ll see you soon,” he called, as Prompto threw himself into the car. And then he was gone.

The walk home was shorter than he remembered. He’d meant to call Drautos, but all he could do was think about Prompto’s pretty legs, infectious smile, bright attitude, freckles. And when he got home, he found that Prompto’d already sent him a text: about fifty smiley emojis.

He told himself to shower before answering—

Except he sent of a “drive safe” before he even got his jacket off. Now, to find out what yards and milkshakes had to do with each other.

[cc-kouga-blog]

These Are The Days 6/9

For @quietrook

One Sunday after church, Ronan finally talked to Declan about his plans. His older brother gave him a complicated stare. It was 1% incredulous, 1% disbelief and 98% pride. Ronan had trouble dealing with a proud Declan. For so many years the only emotions he inspired in Declan was disapproval and disgust. It was a sobering moment for Ronan, to see the genuine smile on the oldest Lynch’s face. More so when it echoed the smile Niall Lynch used to give his middle son. It reminded Ronan that Declan was as much as his father’s son as Ronan himself.

“I can help with the business plans and the licenses. But how are you going to separate the farm with this?” Declan made a motion to indicate the Barns and it’s many dream secrets.

Ronan brought out the schematic farm plan he had made with Adam’s help and spread it on the kitchen table. The Lynches property was vast and it gave plenty of space between the Barns and the proposed farm. Ronan and Adam had planned it so the farm would have its own access road, water source and electric line. The farm could operate independently without anyone coming close to the Barns. Declan gave him another smile and approving look.

“So you’ve been thinking about this seriously.” He remarked as he poured over the paper.

“Yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t bring it to you.” Ronan said with only half his usual barb.

Declan only hummed in response. Then he pulled out his phone and scroll through his contacts.

“I’ll start calling people on Monday. In the meantime, you need to set up a bank accounts and get in touch with an accountant.” Declan tapped some more. “There. I’ve sent you the numbers for the local bank and an accountant firm.”

“Okay.” Ronan grunted. His relationship with Declan was better, but it hadn’t reached a point where he can say ‘thank you’ without wanting to wash his mouth afterward.

When it was time to leave, Declan gripped both of Ronan’s shoulders. “I’m proud of you.” Then he kissed Ronan’s cheek and climb into his Volvo.

Ronan made a show of wiping his cheek, but once the car was out of sight, he gave in to the urge to grin. He used to think of his future in a somewhat abstract way, re-build Cabeswater, raise Opal, marry Adam. But now, he had a more concrete way of building up his future, shaping it into one he wanted and could have. It felt big, it felt significant, and he was ready for it.

Three months later, Ronan Niall Lynch was the proud owner of Lynch Farm. Declan must have pulled some strings to get all the licenses and permits issued so quickly. Ronan sent Adam a pic of Opal holding up the legal papers.

‘We might just survive if this brat can keep herself from eating the important looking papers.’

Adam’s reply was a pic of himself surrounded by piles of books.

‘I might just survive if these books can keep from eating me.’

Feeling mischievous, Ronan sent another pic of himself sticking his tongue out obscenely.

‘The question is, can you survive me eating you out?’

To which Adam sent a selfie of himself glaring at the camera, cheeks flushed, middle finger raised.

‘Fuck you Lynch. I’m blocking your number until I’m done with my tests.’

Two minutes later another text from Adam arrived.

‘And I would totally survived it. The question is, can you survive me swallowing you whole?’

Ronan had to groan and locked himself in the bathroom after that.

***

It took another month for Ronan to find a contractor to begin the construction of the farm. For the long term, Ronan had planned for several barns, hothouses and cabins. The cabins would eventually housed the workers, with one intended to be the office, although it would have a bedroom and a small kitchenette tucked in the back for his personal use.

For the first stage, Ronan had the contractor built the road and put up all the fences, but only built one barn, one hothouse and a cabin for himself. He would build the rest once he was more familiar with running a farm.

When everything was ready, Ronan went to buy the rest of what he needed to truly become a farmer. He bought packets of seeds, natural pesticides and fertilizers and the farm machines. He had his sight on a BCS two wheel tractor and it’s various implements. Once it arrived, Ronan took a picture of it and sent it to Adam.

‘My new Italian ride.’

‘What happened to the German one?’

‘I can’t fucking use her to till my farm Parrish.’

‘Is it a Lambo or a Porsche?’

‘It’s BCS you fucker.’

‘Huh. Bought it, or?’

‘Stole it from my fucking neighbor.’

‘Don’t turn me into your accomplice you asshole!’

‘Too late for that Parrish. They’ll know to pick you up if I get caught.’

‘Not if I turn you in first.’

‘Fucking traitor.’

‘Did you mean fucking tractor?’

Ronan laughed and sent Adam a pic of him shirtless, pushing the BCS.

‘I hope that’s not how you plan on doing your farming.’

‘Why not? Don’t tell me you’re jealous of my tractor?’

‘I’d like to see your Irish pale ass skin handle the sun Lynch.’

‘You like my Irish pale ass.’

Adam’s reply was a pic he took in front of the bathroom mirror. Adam was clearly just stepped out of the shower. His tan skin was gleaming with water and his towel was wrapped so low around his hips.

‘How do you like this?’

Ronan had to curse and scrambled back to his room for some privacy. He needed to appreciate the perfection that was Adam’s Parrish body, and he’d rather do it alone and behind locked door.

***

Three months later, Ronan overnighted a box full of his first harvests to Adam. He sent several heads of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Two days later, he received a pic of Adam and his entryway buddies sitting around the common room. Each was holding a bowl of salad and a thumbs up.

‘Thx for the veggies. Do you think you can send us pumpkins and strawberries next?’

Ronan’s reply was a pic of him and Opal standing in front of a farmer market stall. There was a sign reading ‘Lynch Farm’ and several neat rows of vegetables off to the side.

‘We’ll see.’

***

For Adam and Ronan, there was one good thing about being in a long distance relationship. Though the separation was hard, it inadvertently cut their fighting time by a lot. Between Adam’s studies and jobs and Ronan’s farm, they didn’t really have much spare time, so whenever their free time aligned, Adam and Ronan spent it being as sappy as they could get away with, which was a lot. (Still, both vehemently denied of being a sap.)

They still bicker with each other, mostly through texts, but somehow it always ended up in shirtless pics being sent back and forth. Which led to sexting. Which led to either boy locking themselves in their room to relieve the tension.

Whenever they talk on the phone, it was always about hundreds other mundane things. They would talk about Opal or about the latest pic the Gansey trio sent them. They would gossip about Adam’s classmates and Ronan’s farmer market friends. They would commiserate over essays and the sudden shortage of manure in Henrietta. They would complain about nice customers and rude costumers. They would trade videos of their daily life. Adam waiting in line to get food at Annenberg Hall, sunrise as seen from the Barn’s rooftop, Adam doing a handstand, Ronan and Opal doing a handstand.

Some nights, they would Skype but have no conversation. Adam would study and got lost in his books, while Ronan finished his modules or re-reading his notes at the other end. They were too busy to talk, but it was nice to look up once in a while and saw your boyfriend’s face not one feet away though physically they were hundreds of miles away. It made the distance bearable.

There were days when one of them were too tired or too busy to even send a text, and that happened more often than both liked. Ronan hated those days. Those were the days where his doubts crept in and the ‘what ifs’ returned with vengeance. On those days, Ronan would take the BMW out and raced her on the backwater roads of Virginia. The older Aglionby boys knew better than to go against the charcoal gray car, and the newer ones who never even heard of Ronan Lynch’s name learned their lessons soon enough.

It was a good way of taking his mind off things. The adrenaline rush was enough to ease the restless energy thrumming under his skin and come morning light, all his doubts would seem silly. Especially when his phone had one message from Adam waiting to be opened. It was a pic of Adam in bed, wearing Ronan’s shirt, all sleepy eyed and mussed hair.

‘Thinking of you.’

Ronan saved the pic and started his day with a smile.

For Adam, days where he didn’t get in touch with Ronan in one way or another left him feeling guilty. It felt like he was forgetting Ronan or something. He knew it was irrational to feel that way, especially because they were two grown ups who built their relationship based on trust and mutual understanding.

The nights were the worst because that was when the dreams assaulted him. He often dreamed that wretched day where his hands wrapped around Ronan’s neck, robbing him of air, leaving bruises in their wake. He would wake up gasping, hands grasping the sheet so tight he almost ripped it.

Nights like those he was tempted to call Ronan even if it was three in the fucking morning. Most of the times, his finger was one tap away from making the call, but he always pushed down the urge. Ronan slept little enough as it was, Adam didn’t want to deprive him any further.

Instead, Adam would take off his clothes and wear one of Ronan’s shirt. He would take out the toy car and spin the wheels, letting the music filled his silent room. He would take out the photo album and looked at the smiling faces of his family. He would take out his phone and browse through the many pics Ronan sent him. It calmed him enough that he could finally drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up in the morning, he felt half better already. Then his phone pinged, signaling an incoming message. It was a selfie of Ronan and Opal. Opal was holding up a box of strawberries and they both were smiling ear to ear.

‘You fuckers are gonna love my strawberries.’

Adam laughed and forwarded only the pic to his group chat.

‘Strawberries are on their way.’

Adam prepared for class and he could already taste the strawberry on his tongue.

[kaimariephoto]

Instagram: Weekly Update 1

Well it is kind of a weekly update, rather than doing a review every 7 days, which when you are posting daily on instagram results in an incomplete grid I am instead doing a review every 9 days so I can talk through the layout of the grid that is just completed. I want to use this as an opportunity to discuss the progression of my instagram and the stats the instagram offers in an attempt to optimise my posting to bring in more interactive viewers in order to beat the useless algorithm. 

So as you can see this is my first completed instagram grid of 9 images. I went for a mix of older images and images I took on my phone during the lockdown. Looking through them if it weren’t for my captions you honestly wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the ones taken with my camera and the ones where I used my phone and I am actually quite proud of that. Despite the worry about losing quality I haven’t all of the images work together really well and I am pleased with this grid. It has actually changed how I look at my photography. Obviously nothing will ever fully match my camera and photoshop, as with that I can create images that are truly otherworldly and impossible, but I can certainly take great photos and don’t need a lot of heavy equipment weighing me down. It also makes the thought of posting on instagram a little easier. I can take images faster and easier which means I can create more things to post on the fly so I should be able to continue posting more regularly. 

As you can see from the above image, I went with using the white borders and I love the consistency it offers my images. Everything looks tidier and the colours come off more vibrant on the white. I was a bit concerned that the images would look too small on the feed but when you click on each of them you can still easily see and appreciate the finer details of the images. I split up the portraits with an image of my bedroom door which is odd I know. It was originally a silly snap I took using the app huji which applies vintage effects over phone photos, something I use when I am with friends and want some interesting photos to remember the day. With lockdown I found myself often staring at the exact same light pattern on my bedroom door that occurs every time the sun sets. I snapped the picture and found it rather poignant so decided to incorporate it in my feed. It broke up all of my portraits and showed this tiny glimpse into my life. Going forward I plan to include a few of my random snaps from huji as I think they show something a little different from my traditional style.

So I am trying to get the hang of using the “Insights” instagram offers to bring in more viewers and see how my likes and comments compare to the viewings etc. If you look at this image you can see which of my posts have received the most views since I started posting. Surprisingly it isn’t the first post that got the most views. The top two are throwback images that I originally posted a year ago (give or take) and just reposted in the newer style to make sure everything matched. I think with only the first grid complete there isn’t much to look into in regards to the statistics but it is something I intend to keep my eye on to see if I can find a pattern in what images do the best each week. That way I know what posts to be prioritising and I can find the best time of day to be posting.

The most useful insight will probably be the audience section. It can show you how many people have followed you and, possibly more importantly, how many people have unfollowed you. I hadn’t noticed a change in my following this week, but when I looked at my insights I found that 3 people had followed me but one had unfollowed. A common thing on instagram is the “follow unfollow game” where people in an attempt to boost their audience, follow many profiles in hopes of getting followed back. Once that is done they go and unfollow all of the profiles they followed so it doesn’t look like they have participated in the silly game and like the audience growth was more natural. Needless to say I don’t participate in the game but with this now I can accurately track my growth which is ultimately more important. I am hoping with posting regularly I will slowly begin to amass a natural and interactive following.  

[afterspark-podcast]

G1 Episode 36: Transcript

[This can also be found on AO3!]

[Stinger]

O: I'm gonna say he's a cleric who has somehow aligned himself with the god of death.

[Intro Music]

O: Hello, and welcome to the Afterspark Podcast, an episode by episode recap of the generation 1 Transformers cartoon.  I'm Owls.

S: And I’m Specs.

O: And today we're gonna be talking about episode number 36: Desertion of the Dinobots, part 2. Let's talk about giant robots today, shall we?

S: Sure.

O: Welcome back to the Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2. If you'll remember, last time, in Part 1 the Autobots and Decepticons neglected to take their vitamins to disastrous effect and the Dinobots have run away from home to Cybertron.

S: Carly and Spike have followed behind in Carly's car and last we saw them they were being held at gunpoint by Shockwave.

O: Dual-wielding, no less! It's not enough that Shockwave has a gun for a hand but he's holding another one, too.

S: He's- he's compensating. Shockwave poofs Carly's car out from underneath them which. Yeah.

O: [Laughter] Goodbye pink convertible, we hardly knew ye!

S: Did he send it to another dimension? It just sort of, um, faded away. Cuz it didn't, like, poof, per se.

O: Uh, Shadow Realm? [Laughter] That exists in this universe, right?

S: Maybe? Carly's- [Laughter] Carly's response is great because she's effectively, like, “That was my car, not an Autobot, you dumbass!!”

O: And Spike and Carly flee from Shockwave who's apparently in no hurry, as he just sort of walks slowly after them.

S: He's [not] got better things to do here than pest control, I guess? Because he continues to shoot his disappearing gun at various things they're hiding behind so I guess he doesn't care if any of that stuff vanishes. 

O: I mean, yeah, cuz he's, like, what we assume in his own lab and he just does not seem to care?

S: I don't understand.

O: I don't understand many things about this show.

S: True. Spike seems to think they're safe be- hiding behind things even after Shockwave has, you know, done this- sending things to the shadow realm multiple times.

O: They duck into a narrow opening in the floor which Shockwave can't follow them into.

S: Yeah, he expresses his disappointment in about the same tone as someone who's been chasing down two mice and those two mice have escaped.

O: He is not happy about this human infestation. I'm sure not having to deal with organics on a daily basis is one of the highlights of him being posted in Cybertron.

S: Yeah, honestly, I don't- I feel like he would do very well on earth.

O: I don't think he would, either, and I legitimately think that's why he stays on Cybertron.

S: I don't think he would have really enjoyed it if the planet had actually ended up by Cybertron-

O: No.

S: Or by earth.

O: No. But if the planet had exploded like Megatron had intended, I suppose he wouldn't have needed to care. 

S: That's true. They would have had a lot of resources they could have used potentially.

O: Yeah.

S: I don't know. Spike and Carly look around the room that they found themselves in, which appears to have a glowy pool in some sort of recess in the center of the room.

O: And Carly seems to realize they're in Cybertron's master computer. I don't entirely know how she figures this out but all right.

S: She's a Technomancer, I don't know.

O: [Laughter] Carly is amazing. We already know that, I'm just saying, I don't really know how that thought process happened.

S: Same. Spike uses the silly thumb radio to call Teletraan 1.

O: And to the Ark!! All the Autobots are passed out on the floor.

S: They really look like they've had a super wild night.

O: Sounds like they got all of the hangovers and none of the fun.

S: Yeah, looks accurate. Sparkplug, however, is awake and manning Teletraan 1, which considering he's not a giant robot from outer space makes perfect sense.

O: [Laughter] Teletraan helpfully pulls up a diagram of this Decepticon computer brain Spike and Carly have found themselves in, Decepticon misspelled with a ‘K’, no less. 

S: The little pictures of Spike and Carly look, like, pretty awkward. Spike is super buff for some reason and the fact that Teletraan 1 just has these schematics is kind of... out there.

O: Well then- Carly so, like, demure in this little picture of her and I’m just like- that's not Carly. Have you met Carly? Carly's like I'm gonna go plant a bomb in the Decepticon base because I can.

S: Yeah, that's Carly. 

O: That's Carly. Carly attempts to gain control of the space bridge by going through the computer's wiring.

S: Breaking into the nearby panel in the wall with her car key because she is - she is a can do lady.

O: The pink convertible will have its revenge yet! 

S: Yeah. I imagine it hasn't quite hit her yet that it's gone and now she's going to have to buy a new car.

O: Yeah-

S: It kind of sucks. I wonder if the Autobots will finance it.

O: I wondered too, I mean, she did do it helping so maybe?

S: Yeah. But she's shocked when a big ball of energy travels through the wiring and hits her panel and then she's tossed backwards towards the glowy pool.

O: Epic music plays. 

S: Electrocution: not much fun.

O: [Laughter] 

S: And so the computer decides to throw a wild ass rave party and then explodes, and the glowy pool goes dark. And then Spike pulls a flashlight out of his ass that Wheeljack apparently gave them.

O: This information was important enough to tell the audience, apparently. That and it is brighter than any other flashlight on earth. Apparently. Again, why don’t any of you patent your shit?!

S: Yeah, they could make so much money. But, I mean, this was something just to sell toys.

O: I know, I know- we're attributing far more thought to this then the writers probably ever did.

S: I want- I want there to be plot and background and, you know, good writing and-

O: Ahhh, ahhh, that- that- that's what other shows are for in their franchise. It's okay. 

S: I- I know, I'm glad that the newer ones are getting better writing.

O: Me, too.

S: And, unfortunately, Carly has twisted an ankle sometime a- during this wild rave party and Spike jumps down into the recessed pit to- to help her except unfortunately now neither of them can get out.

O: You know, because Spike definitely thought this through. 

S: Yeah, and it's steep and, I mean, well, he could have pulled out wires, I guess-

O: Maybe-

S: And made a-

O: And could have gotten into the panels.

S: Yeah. Oh, well. Sparkplug calls in and says that there's a way out at the bottom of the area they've fallen into.

O: So right where that glowy liquid was.

S: Yaaay, um, good plan everyone. 

O: I'm sure it's perfectly safe. 

S: I have many concerns.

O: [Snicker] They go down a ladder.

S: Why is there a ladder there?

O: Why is it so small and, comparatively, human sized? Is it meant for Minibots? Do Minibots do all the computer repairs in this world?

S: Well, maybe-

O: We found Rumble and Frenzy’s actual function. [Snicker] I don’t feel like they'd be good at that.

S: Well, I feel like they'd end up pulling out wires to basically have an impromptu wire fight- like a snowball fight.

O: [Laughter] Yeah, that seems right. That seems right. 

S: Oh, and so Spike and Carly make it out to the hallway.

O: Meanwhile, in the space bridge room, Megatron calls and tells Shockwave to send their damn vitamins over.

S: But this is impossible because the space bridge is inoperable until the computer is fixed but, i mean, I guess- how did you call him Shockwave? Or how did Megatron call him?

O: He said the computer’s out, not the phones. This was the 80’s, perhaps they weren't synonymous at the time. I know they are now but, eh?

S: Maybe. I mean, they definitely weren't synonymous in the 90’s but I don't know about giant robots.

O: [Laughter] Yes, giant robots have different lines, or have different lines going for their computers and their phones obviously.

S: And, I mean, how is Megatron getting that camera angle? Did he set up a camera on the ground?

O: Ah, well, you see, it's the birb cam. Laserbeak, obviously, is also on the ground so he's just sort of propped him up to get the angle he wanted.

S: That is entirely conceivable, so yeah.

O: [Laughter] 

S: Megatron threatens to reprogram Shockwave for maintenance if he can't stop the humans. 

O: Not sure how he's gonna manage that if he's dead but okay.

S: Megatron will come back as a ghost and do it. He will totally do that- I mean, considering what Starscream does later. I feel like he'd go out of his way to do that.

O: I'm 100% ready to believe that Transformers can come back as ghosts later out of sheer spite.

S: Shockwave sends a giant ass robot of questionable sentience after the kids but they manage to shut a door on it and get outside, heading towards Wheeljack's lab. 

O: Carly's ankle is still giving her trouble.

S: They're doing a pretty good job of showing her limping throughout all this- and then Spike picks her up and carries her because-

O: [sings] Macho! Macho man! 

S: [Snicker] Yep, they wanted- wanted to do that. And then Carly spots a shadow nearby but it runs away.

O: It was clearly Swoop, guys. It was cleary Swoop.

S: Well, maybe Carly hasn't had enough interaction with them but Spike really should recognize their silhouettes.

O: Swoop saved their asses in the last episode when Grimlock tried to smash them, remember? 

S: That is true. Then again, she may not have a whole lot of- they're also on another planet and she may think that this is just another robot that may have a similar silhouette.

O: That's- that's fair, I mean, to be fair there's a lot going on right now. 

S: Yeah and when you're in pain you're not concentrating as well as you can- or you could otherwise.

O: Also true.

S: So, at this point, they reach Wheeljack's lab and Carly manages to get them in by using the control pad on the door. She is a super genius cuz alien languages.

O: I mean Chip managed it, she managed it- they're both geniuses.

S: Yep and so they hear something or someone banging on the ceiling from outside and Spike manages to grab a spare gun out of a closet.

O: And, yet again, we have the teenager with a giant robot sized weapon.

S: That is bigger than him.

O: And he shoots it before the commercial break.

S: [Laughter] We return and Spike shoots the mysterious shadow that's come through the ceiling because, of course, the- the ceiling is caving in.

O: And, naturally, the shadow is poor Swoop.

S: All Swoop wants is an adult.

O: Him and the rest of us. Uh, he tells Spike- by Spike, I mean, the audience- that the Dinobots were caught almost immediately after coming through the space bridge.

S: Yeah, Swoop was able to get away because he remembered that he could fucking fly and, unfortunately, the others didn't.

O: No, they did not. Teletraan 1 directs the group to the Cybertonium pits and they head out.

S: But not before a Spike realizes that Carly is no longer limping and she just replies, “I- I think it's better.”

O: That is not how any of this works.

S: They wanted to push that romance angle.

O: Ugh, through the power of love your ankle will heal itself. Through the power of having a man around, your ankle will heal itself! 

S: Well. I suppose it is kind of conceivable that not having her weight on it for a little bit of time might have made it feel a bit better but it shouldn't have helped that much.

O: Yeah, yeah, like if feeling better would be fine but she's walking normally after this, like the entire rest of the episode.

S: Yeah, cuz I remember when I screwed up my ankle earlier this year and it was like, “Ha, ha, ha- No!” That would not work. Once outside, Swoop scoops them up so they don't have to climb up some giant robot sized stairs.

O: Aww, Swoop you're a sweetie!

S: He is, indeed, the sweetest dude.

O: The three get on some sort of mass transit vehicle and head down a tube.

S: It's a surprisingly small mass transit vehicle for being a mass transit vehicle, and they get flipped around and they end up thinking though they're gonna go up.

O: Spike even makes a NASA reference. 

S: They go- vooooooo- down instead.

O: [Laughter]

S: Backwards. It sounds- it would honestly- it would be super unsettling, and Swoop is confused as to why the humans are upset.

O: Spike says it's because, “They've left their stomachs up there!”

S: And Swoop is quite happy to not have a stomach.

O: Understandable. They get stopped when the tube ahead of them is broken.

S: So, Swoop just- well, they get out and Swoop picks a direction and starts walking, and then they come across some inactive robots, and Carly makes the leap that they're the Autobots ancestors.

O: Or they could just be like the Sentinel drone thing Shockwave was using but okay and then after that five-second scene we move on.

S: And then they, apparently, set off some ancient booby traps that involve axes. 

O: Swoop gets clipped in the wing but is otherwise okay...

S: Foreshadowing!

O: [Laughter] 

S: Then they almost get smooshed because walls that start closing in on them but um, Swoop just smashes a hole through the wall and they walk right on out.

O: Then some heat-seeking missiles come after them.

S: Ooooh, Swoop transforms and attempts some fancy flying to get away from the missiles but they all end up crashing to the ground before he suddenly remembers he can transform.

O: Yes, I know he just transformed from robot mode but he didn't remember he could transform back into robot mode. Just- just don't ask. Just don't ask.

S: Like, he had some issues with his wing.

O: Yeah.

S: And then he just shoots the missiles with his own that pop out of his chest. 

O: Never mind that he has some on his arms but I guess that would be too obvious.

S: They didn't want to deal with having to animate them being gone, maybe? 

O: Just have them regenerate or something! Or pop back out after, I don't know.

S: Yeah, so they arrive at some sort of outdoor area before entering a room that has some sort of viewing screen that looks, weirdly, like Shockwave’s head. 

O: Then we get a mini history lesson that, I am utterly convinced, is also narrated by Frank Welker. Did Megatron moonlight as a documentary narrator at some point? 

S: Maybe.

O: Regardless, some of Shockwave’s Sentinel bots arrive and take the kids captive.

S: And they talk. That's a person!

O: Well, I guess that's our precedent for Vehicons in Prime, then.

S: I guess? Yeah. And, so, getting captured was somehow the best way they have for finding the Dinobots because they basically get escorted to them. Except something is clearly wrong as all of the Dinobots appear to be happily working for the Decepticons.

O: Carly manages to fix them by comparing their circuits to Swoops’ and realizing the Decepticons have bypassed their memory circuits.

S: They're also at the Cybertonium pits.

O: Yes, conveniently, of course. Plot contrivance.

S: Yes, yes, yes and due to Carly fixing the circuit issue they all thank her.

O: She's already an honorary Dinobot now. That's my headcanon, thank you, thank you very much!

S: Yep. Spike and Grimlock- So they come up with a sneaky, sneaky plan.

O: Of course!

S: Spike- Spike and Grimlock stage a fight to get the force field/fence dropped.

O: All the Dinobots then transform and melt the Sentinels.

S: They escape and head towards a tube with no car. 

O: When Spike points this out Grimlock says, “Me Grimlock need no car,” and picks Spike and Carly up as all the bots enter the tube.

S: Well, I mean, they can fly so-

O: I- yeah, they seem to just sort of be carried up to through the tube. I don't know if they're actually flying or not, or if the tube’s doing it, to be honest.

S: I don't know, but I wouldn't really trust the tube with a human. On their own.

O: Also true. 

S: Sparkplug and Teletraan have managed to hack into the Decepticon computer and changed the spacebridge’s destination, unbeknownst to Shockwave. I have a number of questions about this and I’m never going to get any answers.

O: I was about to say- Sparkplug, most interesting man in the world, knows how to hack computers! [Laughter] Unless that was completely all Teletraan!

S: Eh, could have been. I don't know.

O: And then, apparently, Shockwave this entire time was but a tube ride away from the Dinobots.

S: They took so long to get down there.

O: Obviously, the- the writers wanted us to see the scenic sites of Cybertron.

S: Well, we had to get some sort of exposition in here.

O: Hm-mmm.

S: Oh, the group arrives in Shockwave’s control room and Swoop knocks him over as they all get into the space bridge.

O: Poor Swoop loses part of his wing for the trouble but he does manage to get in with everybody else.

S: Oh, that's a relief. Well, not losing the wing, but him getting in with everyone else.

O: Yeah.

S: So they arrive back on- back at earth with a little trouble.

O: Well, a little additional trouble, anyway.

S: Yeah, afterwards Optimus makes Spike and Carly honorary Autobots and just tells the Dinobots, “Good job.”

O: Where's their medals? Why is he like this?

S: Poor kids. Optimus is not the best dad.

O: No, no. Wheeljack and Ratchet are reasonably good dads, though. They- I hope they gave their Dinobots some hugs after this.

S: Yeah. 

O: So, what's- what's our important takeaway for today, Specs?

S: Take your vitamins and eat your veggies, kids.

O: Otherwise, you, too, may fall from the sky and have to rely on a bunch of Dino babies to save your ass.

S: Maybe.

O: And join us next time for: Blaster Blues! It's one small step for bots, as everybody ends up on the goddamn moon and things get supreme. Omega Supreme. 

S: [Laughter] Yes, and we have some fanfic recommendations for today one from me and one from Owls. So my recommendation is: “The Light and the Smile” by KoiLungFish. It's in the G1 cartoon continuity, it's rated T, it's Gen because there aren't any pairings, uh, there's, yeah, no pairings, and it's entirely original characters, so your mileage may vary. In summary, “A group of failed Decepticons is sent to a remedial training base. Unfortunately, something has followed them.” 

S: It's an all OC cast and it's got some really interesting world building and, like, culture exploration for the Decepticons.

O: Which, quite frankly, there needs to be more of and there's like, none in a lot of continuities.

S: Yeah, this was actually one that I was planning on having as a fic rec for that episode where Megatron gets everyone's power rectifier chips.

O: Hmm.

S: Because that sort of thing is actually, like, relevant to the plot of this fic.

O: Oh, gotcha. 

S: And so the character/theme rec uh, or for why I chose it is like- remember that room with the bodies from the episode? It made me think of this.

O: Oh, that's, again, just not- that- that- that bodes well. That bodes well. That sounds healthy.

S: And, also, the power rectifier stuff but that's not especially relevant to this episode except that the Decepticon- or yeah, not really relevant. Well, it's also the fact that that Decepticon, sort of, grunt or whatever, that- the fact that was a person, also made me think of this, because that character I don't think anyone's explored. 

O: Yeah.

S: And it's the one shot. [It is not a one shot, it is a complete fic with four chapters, if I remember right. ~Specs] If there aren't any the- KoiLungFish didn't do anything else in- with these characters as far as I'm aware.

O: Gotcha.

S: It's a well-written, entertaining story and I would definitely recommend it. So let's go to Owl's pick.

O: My wildcard pick for today is “Confirmation” by Interstellar_Child. It is in the IDW continuity, it is G, it is slash, it is Minimus Ambus/Megatron, and they are our two characters for this. And, in summary, “The phrase, “Can you confirm it,” used over the different points of their relationship.” It's a one-shot, it's short, it's sweet. I just sort of picked it for my random ones because I like MiniMegs.

S: Okay, that sounds like it's neat.

O: I said, it's just sort of short, sweet, and quite frankly, sometimes, though, it's the only kind of fics I can focus on right now. 

S: Yeah, it's just like that sometimes.

O: It just be like that. Yep.

S: And that about wraps it up for us today.  Remember to check us out on Tumblr or Pillowfort as Afterspark-Podcast for any additional information, show notes, or links we may have mentioned.  You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at AftersparkPod (all one word) and various other locations by searching for Afterspark Podcast such as AO3, iTunes, Spotify, and Youtube, just to name a few.  And feel free to send us questions on Tumblr, or Youtube, or AO3!  Till next time, I'm Specs.

O: And I’m Owls.

S: Toodles

[Outro Music]

[blog-optimisticcoffeestuden-blog]

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2-Door Coupe 1989 BMW 6 Series Coupe 2D 635CS, costing $6,000 new 16 yr. old driver.15-20000 in coverage.""

How much does car insurance cost?

I'm looking at a car that costs about 2,400 dollars. It's a 1997 Toyata Camry. It has about 147,000 miles on it. How much insurance would I have to pay. I live in PA and I'm a 20 year old dude so I assume it's expensive. Also is 147, 000 miles a lot for this car...or is the camry super reliable?""

Car insurance deposit + cancellation?

hi guys, i have just bought some car insurance today with the co-op, although I plan on cancelling it straight away because i've decided I can get a much better deal elsewhere, today i paid them a 252 deposit, I plan on ringing them up tommorow to cancel, because i dunno how these things work are they going to keep the 252 or give me it back? obviously i expect some kind of admin fee ontop for the paperwork but they wont keep my deposit right? :(""

Best auto insurance for grown up drivers. Cheapest and best claim service. Thanks!!?

Best auto insurance for grown up drivers. Cheapest and best claim service. Thanks!!?

How much is car insurance.......suspended license?

I am interested in purchasing a car in the near future and am worried about high insurance rates. My driver license was suspsended for one month last January (driving with only a learners license....I know, stupid) Anyways, I did a quote online without stating the fact that my license was suspened, and the rate it game me back was $238 a month. How much more do u think it would be if I added that driving infraction? The website won't give that information. I used to live in Ontario and now am in Alberta.""

""Best insurance company? People with actual experience, having made a claim please.?""

Hi, I am wondering what you consider to be the best insurance company -- mainly for auto, but also maybe for combination auto and home. Please, I need people who have had more experience with the company than just buying their insurance there. I need people who have actually had to make a claim and to tell me how good the company was about it and if they were quick to respond and take care of the situation. Also, did your rates go up as a result? Also, good prices are very important to me. Where did you get reasonable rates with great service? These could be traditional or online insurance providers. I am looking into all options, so I appreciate any input, although like I said before, I need to know from people who have made a claim -- or done more than just pay for insurance. Thank you for all your help.""

Why are car insurance quotes on comparison sites so high?

I'm almost 17 and I'm hoping to learn to drive and buy a car, I was looking on some comparison sites to see what the insurance might be on some possible cars (ford KA, fiat sciento, nothing too fancy) but the quotes were ridiculously high? I know being 17 will mean expensive insurance but this was really expensive, they said the cheapest was around 6000 for third party. This is really high because I know loads of people who drive at 17 and their insurance ranges from 1800-3000. So, why is it so high and will it actually be this price when I come to pay the insurance?""

How much is car insurance.......suspended license?

I am interested in purchasing a car in the near future and am worried about high insurance rates. My driver license was suspsended for one month last January (driving with only a learners license....I know, stupid) Anyways, I did a quote online without stating the fact that my license was suspened, and the rate it game me back was $238 a month. How much more do u think it would be if I added that driving infraction? The website won't give that information. I used to live in Ontario and now am in Alberta.""

The cheapest auto insurance in southern california?

The cheapest auto insurance in southern california?

Car insurance question?

My step dad bought me a car in june '08.He was going through a divorce with my mom and he told me that he would pay my car insurance for the first 6 months. after i got the car he didnt really talk to me much anymore and i didnt see him at all. after 6 months passed in around december i didnt get anything in the mail to my house (he lived at another hosue not wth me anymore) about ym insurance so i assumed he was still paying for it. i had never gotten pulled over or in an accident since i got the car. in february of this yr someone smashed into my cars front hood and the bumper is smashed as well as the girll and headlights, they hit me and then ran so i got no information. when i got into the accident i called the insurance place witch i had no idea which i had i got the info from the papers in my glove compartment and they told me since i got the car in june no insurance had been ever paid. my car was not registered. no basically for 8 months i was driving around an uninsured car. i still havent done nething about it bc im scared idk what is gonna happen. i havent fixed my crash car or drove it . how much money am i gonna ghave to pay to get insurance again. he basically lied to me and he refuses to talk to me about it.""

Homeowners insurance in Valrico FL?

I am interested in buying a home in Valrico FL. Particularly Diamond Hill, a golf course community. Great price, but we are new at buying and have no idea what insurance might be on this place.Just to factor it in for our monthly cost. It is a 3/2/2 1800 sq ft @ $110k. no pool. I mean were talking just a rough estimate, close figure something. Again we have not the slightest clue as to what it could be. Any advice is really appreciated.""

New driver - cheapest insurance?

Like thousands of other parents I'm looking for a cheap first car for my 17 year old daughter for when she passes her driving test. We're not in a position to buy her a brand new car, and she's happy to have an older one anyway (she has roughly 2k to spend), but the concern is the insurance! There are plenty of websites with new car insurance groupings, but can anyone please advise me of older small cars which are in the lowest insurance groups.""

What is the best insurance policy for a child age 6.5 year?

What is the best insurance policy for a child age 6.5 year?

How much will my car insurance be? Where should I go?

Hello! I got into a car accident that left my car totaled and my parents kicking me off their insurance plan. I bought myself a car and now I want to get insurance but I want to see a guess of what I'll be paying a month. The accident is listed as my fault with the insurance records. Please don't judge or be mean to me I just honestly need help with this question before I go shop around I want to get a guess of what people will tell me. I'm a 17 year old female, Caucasian. I have one major accident on my record. I live in El Paso, TX I am driving a 91 BMW E30 318i that is in good condition. How much would you guess I'd pay a month for the CHEAPEST insurance? I have a friend with no major wrecks paying on her own with good student discount $50 a month. What's the lowest I may be able to pay and what's the highest I may be able to pay? Thank you so much for your help! Have a nice day :)""

Motorcycle or Scooter Insurance in London?

How much would the insurance be for a motorcycle or scooter worth less than 4,000GBP in London? I'm hoping that it would be a lot less than a 50cc scooter in Dublin worth about 400GBP costing 200GBP for insurance per year.""

Whats the cheapest car insurance company in ireland for young drivers ?

whats the cheapest car insurance company in ireland for young drivers ?

How much would car insurance be for a 16 year old with full coverage?

ok well im going to get 24000 for my car and 3 years of insurance so in just wondering how much monthly car insurance would be because im thinking about 250 but i think that is a bit much please help i need to know how much the insurance would be so i can know how much i can spend on my car???????????????????????????????????????

Why are the big insurance companies so much cheaper?

I am getting off my parents auto insurance and getting my own. The Quote from the agent my parents use who is local to the area was nearly two hundred dollars more per year than the quote i got from progressive. Is there a reason to use a local company? he tried to sell me on customer service but i only deal with my insurance company maybe once or twice a year so i'm not sure that its worth $200 to me. Is there a reason to use a local company?

Florida Home insurance help?

I was recently dropped from my insurance company.My credit is bad so no one will cover me what should I do? I will also need flood insurance.

What health insurance is best and affordable for my wife?

We had a baby 3 months ago, but I am looking for health insurance that is good and affordable for my wife. Any suggestions?""

Can't pay my insurance?

I paid my tickets and was going to renew my license but was told I was suspended from paying insurance till next year, is there really anything I can do?""

How much will my car insurance be?

I'm a 17 year old male and have recently passed my driving test, how much will my car insurance most likely be if I buy a second hand car for about 2000. Thanks.""

How can I get insurance for my kids?

Does anyone know of any affordable insurances out there? We are a family of 4 and my two kids dont qulifiy for Chips, or medicaid. Is there any advice anyone can give? My kids are little. 1 and 7. It really sucks because my husband and i work full time and arent bums and cant even get any insurance for our kids.But i wont even get started on all that!.""

Why is it a requirement to have a car insurance in the UK?

i have just passed my driving test last week. i already have ford fiesta (its so loud). why would i want to insure my car against what. what is car insurance about? what/where is the cheapest company to go and why? what are the benefits of car insurance?

insurance quotes northern ireland

insurance quotes northern ireland

Will my drivers insurance rate go up after this accident?

Im 17, live in California and am insured under Geico. I was driving in a parking lot going the speed limit and this girl back out super fast (presumably without looking) and slams into me. Her car was fine but she left a small dent and paint chip near the door and rear tire opposite the drivers side. Will my rates go up even if I wasn't at fault? Should i even go to insurance on this? Please help!""

Car insurance!?

im looking to get a car and insurance on my own is outragous. the question is my mum has her own car with her policy with NIS. on direct line i want my mum to be the main policy holder with me as an additional driver. is this possible for my mum to have 2 policies on 2 different cars?

Cheap car insurance for an 18 year old?

I'm hearing so many different things. Some people say you can use part of your parents' no claims to bring down the price, but I can't find any sites online who say that. Does anyone know of any cheap places or best companies to try by phone to get a realistic car insurance quote for an 18 year old? Thanks in advance.""

No insurance..?

Okay I have went to 2 doctors appointments with no insurance.. but now I have insurance.. How much do you think its gonna cost for them two visits

Can I still collect money from a life insurance policy even if my husband divorces me?

I have spousal life insurance through my company on my husband which I am automatically the beneficiary. We are currently going through a divorce and he is currently dying of cancer. If the divorce finalizes before he dies, can I still collect on the life insurance?""

How Much Would Insurance Cost For A Renault Clio 182?

How Much Would Insurance Cost For A Renault Clio 182?

Car insurance uk only pt 2 ?

i just posted a question which i have varied answers.. another question of mine is that ok they took the whole years insurance.. now my mums left with 154.77 with not enough money to pay for another car.. she is fully comp, they did not give her a courtesy car which they are suppose to have done for 3days the car had been gone and one top of it the policy claims to give replacement cars until another car has been bought! any opinions?""

""What is good individual, insurance dental plan?""

What is good individual, insurance dental plan?""

CAR ACCIDENT WHOS AT FAULT AND DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH INSURANCE?

I was in a car accident yesterday a very minor one, the damage to my mother in laws BMW was just a cracked head light, and damage to theres was hardly apparent although the man said there was a tiny bump in door and a scratch. what happened was i was leaving a duel carriageway and on the side lane one lane was closed and a cone was in the road i swerved to miss going into work access (plenty of room as cones missing ETC cos of bad weather) then i pulled straight back out into correct lane having dragged the cone and seeming to leave it in work access... although all this happened in matter of seconds when i pulled back out i have hit the car that was originally behind me in the side door he obviously didn't break in time to stop when i swerved... i have a feeling because it was me that hit him that i am at fault? problem is i don't want to really go through insurance as it means both me and my mother in law will lose our no claims and because it was me driving not my mother in law excess is 600 as i am only a named driver.... I would rather just pay for damages if i am at fault than give my mother in law all the hassle...how much do you think it will cost? only thing is when i said this to the man he said he needs to notify insurance anyway and mine which i have been told will lose our no claims anyway... any ideas info please as im quite confused?""

Car insurance Q??????????

Im 16 years old and Ill be geting my car In June that I paid $3,000 dlrs for Can I get the car title in my own name or do my parents half to also be on my title and when i get my car insurance will my parents be on that? im paying for every thing with my own money... And I live in the state of WI.""

What is voluntary access on car insurance?

i saw it on the go compare web site but i dont know what it is as im a 1st time driver

Car insurance for a 16 year old!?

I get my license next month and I finally saved up enough money to get a 1998 BMW Roadster, how much would the monthly insurance cost on average? & if i own the car will that help?""

Do I really need travelers insurance?

We are taking a trip from Oregon to Cancun Mexico soon and am wondering if I should purchase travelers insurance. We are going to purchase airline tickets directly from Delta Airlines and also from our chosen hotel. I'm thinking that if there are any problems, the airline and hotel would take care of it. What are your thoughts?""

How much will my car insurance go up?

Two weeks ago I rear ended a Ford F150. There was very little damage done to their truck, but my mazda protoge was declared totaled. No ambulance was called and the people in the truck acted just fine. The driver was a lady who I thought was just obese but it turns out from the police report that she was 9 months pregnant. I was not arrested or anything at this scene but I did get a ticket for careless driving by failing to yield. I am a 25 year old male btw and I was on my mom's insurance driving her car. We called the insurance and found out that she was monitored and the baby was ok. She was due next week, but the insurance hasn't heard about the delivery or anything. The lady, however is claiming neck and back injuries. Will my insurance go up more because of the accident AND her claims or just the accident itself? I have to go to court in June just for the accident (it is mandatory here for every traffic violation). I need to know how much my insurance will go up to get a newcar""

Should you Always have health insurance whenever going under the knife ?

I would like to get a breast augumentation, and I was wondering if most people has health insurance whenever going under the knife? My credit is not good,but I've heard of something called Credit Care, is the health insurance included? If not,which health insurance is the most affordable and covers cosmetic surgery?""

Is there insurance for Antique Cars?

Hi, I have a 1971 chevrolet camaro. Wanted to ask if there was insurance for antique cars? I know i could just get liability for this car but i was wondering if i could get better coverage for my vehicle? Thanks.""

Does having a coupe or a sedan affect your insurance rates?

I'm going to get a new car, and realy want a coupe, but I heard that insurance cost more because is more sporty. Can anyone help.""

How much is insurance for a 2004 Nissan Maxima?

I'm 16 and this is my first car. I'm going to get liability and was wondering how much it's going to cost every month ? Thanks

Help on car insurance.?

I am 17 yrs old. I am about to get a 2008 Honda accord but right now I drive a 2002 Cadillac escalade. my insurance is $130 a month right now and I was wondering if it would raise it? the escalade is an SUV, & it has a v8. the accord is ofcourse a car and its a 4 cylinder! ( if that makes a difference) thank you to all that answer! :)""

What would the insurance be like on a Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart?

I'm nineteen and looking to buy a lancer. From what I've been told the Evo's insurance would destroy me. I've had people tell me that the Ralliart would be cheaper but I was hoping for clarification. I have a clean record and a good student discount. Driving a Mustang at the moment and it's pretty much a killer lol

Can i change a court order insurance?

My kids have been on medi-cal since i separated with their father and it has been great. I have a child with special needs and we were able to go to the best clinics in town like UCSF and Stanford. i felt that my child gets the best medical care. The court ordered the father to provide a new insurance and we came to Kaiser last year. In almost a year dealing with Kaiser doctors i don't feel the same professionalism and quality of care as we used to get being at different other clinics. I started to think of changing the coverage to what we had prior to this. But i am not sure how i could change the court order and what evidence i need to provide asking for the change. Kids are still on Medi-cal, but its their secondery now.""

Mazda RX-8 insurance cost?

I'm 16 about to turn 17 in a mere few months. After getting a job I looked into cars for myself and set my eyes on a Mazda RX-8. Since I'm only 16 does anyone know a basic price per month on a 2004 model? Currently I am co-insured under my mother on a 2009 Honda Civic for about $80 per month. I'm just curious as to how much I'd be charged if I were to get a RX-8. Thank you for your time.

I desperately need auto insurance. i got my license like 6 months ago and i need cheap insurance?

as u guys probably kno, insurance for teens is ridiculously high!!.. the cheapest i got it was liek 215 a month.. but thats like.. no coverage. do any of u kno a good company or a good alternative way to legally have insurance which is not necessarily a monthly payment? (my friend told me about insuring mye license but im not too clear on how that works)""

Is there a car insurance company that only ask if you have any convictions within the last 3 yrs instead of 5?

Is there a car insurance company that only ask if you have any convictions within the last 3 yrs instead of 5?

I have insurance for a car I had for 6 days. The insurance co. says it's a total loss. They gave me a value?

Audatex is not kelly blue book they look at craigslist & not the dealer. Craigslist sometimes has cars where a mechanic might not catch it but is damaged. The price I paid is higher due to getting sick & credit went down so I had to go to a local dealer with higher interest. They want the insurance check plus $1700.00 & interest. So I will pay for this thing for over 1 1/2 years. I had it 6 days when some crazy driver almost hit me I turned & hit a wall. The insurance company says I loose my good driver discount. Since I will have to wait to pay off this car I can cancel my insurance once the dealer gets the check. Is there any California law that would say if this happens I would be able to pay off the car. It's worth more as a loss then to try to fix it. Please help. Thank You.

insurance quotes northern ireland

insurance quotes northern ireland

Do i still have to pay excess on my car insurance?

can someone please tell me if I still have to pay my excess after a claim on my car insurance, it was my fault and alot of damage was done to the 3rd party car, i never got mine fixed...the thing thats confusing me if is my insurance is up for renewal next month but my current insurance is quoted over 1000 I have found it a lot less elsewhere so if course im leaving my insurance, but will I receive a letter stating i owe them the excess, as I paid nothing at the time of the claim?""

When is it the cheapest car insurance rate based on age?

I forgot when I got my license, freshmen in college though in NY. I was told that the older you are the cheaper your rate, like if you start at 25 you pay less. Is that right? I was told the opposite??????? I think I was 18.""

Do i have to have insurance on my cycle or car.?

So i know it is best to have insurance but i was wondering is it an absolute must, like can i have a car and drive it legally with out insurance?""

Ow much does it cost to deliver a baby without health insurance in washington hospital california ??

Ow much does it cost to deliver a baby without health insurance in washington hospital california ??

Cost of Car Insurance for an Escalade EXT?

Cost of Car Insurance for an Escalade EXT?

How much would it cost to insure a pontiac firebird?

Im turning 16 soon and will be getting a car I was wondering how much money it would cost to insure a 1997 Pontiac Firebird.

""How much is insurance for two adults, two small kids under 10, and two cars?""

I know for each company, it's different and varies, but how much do you guys pay personally for your company? Also, do you have to notify insurance after getting married. what happens if you forget? Do they call you personally or do you get fined?""

Will filing a claim for broken car window raise my insurance payments?

I woke up to a broken driver side window this morning and the first thing i do is call my insurance to ask if its covered. My insurance said it would cost 350 bucks to fix it and i have a 500 deductable so i gta pay out of pocket anyway. He scheduled an appointment for me to get it fixed at a local shop. Is this claim going to affect my rates?

Affordable health insurance in texas?

I am self employ'd make enough to pay my bills cannot afford the average health insurance can anybody recommend me to affordable insurance that does not have a high deductable?

How much would car insurance cost on average?

How much would car insurance cost on average for a 19-year old male, living on his own, drives about 40 miles a day and has had no traffic violations. what would the cost per month be?""

Does your insurance cost increase if you get a ticket but no points on your license?

Does your insurance cost increase if you get a ticket but no points on your license?

Best New York Health Insurance?

i got married 2 months ago, I m waiting to start the process for green card! at this time I wanted to get a good health insurance, my husband doesn t know aythin about it so please help me!!!""

What is a good car insurance company - value and a known company - not high risk?

I would like to switch car insurance companies - one because when I buy a third car and add it to my policy they charge me $5.00 for installment billing even though I pay in full - this leads to the second more serious complication which is that my husband works in the car business and on occasion decides to buy a new car b/c it is a good value and he like the car, then we sell the second car. We typically have the second car for 11-22 months. I mentioned to the insurance company that in the future I want to avoid this $5.00 fee since I always pay in full and I waving it this time wouldn't solve future issues b/c my husband is in the car business and we buy a third car to sell the second when he finds one he likes. THEN the cust svc guy goes on a rant - ARE YOU RESELLERS... blah blah blah and WE HAVE STRICT UNDERWRITING GUIDELINES blah blah blah etc. I tell him that holding onto a car for the time periods that we have would certainly indicate that we are not... and titling it""

Where can I find cheap roofing insurance?

I am looking to start a roofing repair company (residential only at this time) . What I am going to do is secure the jobs, draw the contracts, purchase material and collect payment. I have 3 crews that will do the labor and they each provide liability as well as worker comp on their crews. What I looking for is a company that will insure me with liability (1 million) for my protection. What I am running into is that every company that I talk to says that you have to be in business for 2 years or greater or they are quoting me 7 to 9k a year. I have over 10 years experience in quoting, selling and installing, can anyone help out in finding affordable liability insurance? Thanks""

About a car and insurance?

ok so im 17 goin to turn 18 this decmber and i want to get a this nice car a 1987 Pontiac Fiero and i want to know what would the insurance on it would be

Does insurance pay total or worth?

My car is considered a 'total loss' with about 8,000 in damages. My payoff quote is 12,000. will my insurance pay the amount I owe, or the amount my car is worth, minus my deductible?""

Where can I get cheap auto insurance?

I am looking for good and low cost auto insurance.

How much will 1 point affect my car insurance???!?

I got a right turn violation about 8 months ago and i took traffic school so im assuming that my insurance won't penalize me. Now i got another ticket(stop sign violation), how much would you estimate the percentage of my insurance? I live in California btw and im 20 years old.""

Question about car insurance?

1. How long does it take to get insurance? Can we go in and apply for it tommorrow and have it when we walk out? Or is there a waiting period? How long until you are legally covered? 2. If you get insurance on a car you are going to sell/trade in - can you switch over your insurance to cover the new car? Or how does that work? Problem is, our truck isn't insured right now but we're planning on buying a new car in the next month or 2.. will that make things more difficult for us? - first time insurance buyer""

How much home insurance & tax for a cheap studio?

I know 0 about this: are home insurance rates annual or monthly? Could someone give me just a very rough idea about how much a cheap studio's home insurance & tax would cost? (in ...mostrar ms

Cheap car insurance companies?

i've just passed my test and own a renault clio sport 1.4 w reg all insurance quotes have been over 3000 pound does any one know where to go for cheap car insurance

Whats the average cost a month for car insurance in california for an 18 year old?

Whats the average cost a month for car insurance in california for an 18 year old?

Proof of Insurance for Driver's Test?

My Dad bought me a car about three days ago and the dealership said they will insure the car for 14 days while my dad gets insurance through his company. I might take my driver's test tomorrow and I want to use this car for it. If I show the dmv the insurance papers the dealership gave me, will that count as proof of insurance for my road test? Thank you.""

Will my insurance be raised because someone else got a ticket in my car?

My boyfriend was driving my car and got a texting ticket. Will my insurance rate increase?

So is there any health insurance for those with serious medical conditons?

My younger brother who's only 20 years old has a host of serious illnesses: crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and a few more conditions that has constantly kept him sick for a good portion of his childhood. He's missed at least half a school year on a number of occasions, and despite his maturation he's still heavily affected by his conditions. Obviously, it's practically impossible for him to hold a steady job, he'll work for a while and then he'll have to take off a month or two just to deal with his illness, with that said he surely won't have employee health insurance. Currently, he's using our state's medicaid, however once he turns 21 he's no longer eligible for medicaid. With the health care system being the way that it is, is there any possibility that he could continue receiving health care despite his ineligibility? He takes a ton of drugs daily, and even takes some of the same medications that our grandparents take lol. I know some of you heartless conservatives believe he should provide his own health coverage, but how? His drugs cost thousands, and he's in the ER constantly, thus making his health-care only affordable to extremely rich individuals. When healthy, he does contribute as much as he possibly can, however for someone in his condition it would be downright shameful if he can't continue to receive any healthcare.""

insurance quotes northern ireland

insurance quotes northern ireland

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