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coeurdastronaute · 4 years

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Essays In Existentialism: Nerd 13

Previously on Nerd

“One more time,” Lexa called out, walking backwards to the other end of the lane, her sneakers kicking up some dust as she moved and watched the playback on her phone.

“Your girlfriend is a little intense, eh?” Evan asked as he followed Clarke back to the start of their scene.

Clarke looked up and wiped a little sweat from her brow as she watched Lexa move with Luna, talking about something, watching her phone while Luna juggled a camera and a script that’d seen better days. The messy waves were tamed, tied up and hidden by a baseball hat from her sister’s university, well-tattered and sweat-lined. The sleeves on her shirt were rolled up, exposing a slight bit of bicep, her jeans were caked in dirt and mud.

“She’s hot though, right?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“I’ll allow you to answer it just this once.”

“In a weird way, yeah, I guess,” he shrugged. “Ow! What the fuck?”

“She’s super hot in a normal way,” Clarke informed him after socking his arm.

“I meant like, I never considered it. Like, weird in a way I hadn’t considered. I’d prefer not to think of her like that, but you made me.”

“Good, and you’ll never think of her like that ever again.”

“Let’s give it one more go, and this time, Evan, I want you to pause before you answer Clarke. I want her words to ring for a moment. Play it how you think your character would feel it. Just for fun.”

He nodded and Clarke smiled at how serious Lexa was, how intricately she thought about the scene. They’d been at it for three weeks and were nearly finished, toiling away after school as best they could, and Clarke found that she didn’t think she was the world’s greatest actress, but that she did enjoy seeing her girlfriend doing something she was insanely passionate about. There’s a bit of magic in seeing someone happy about something they enjoy. As silly as it might have seemed, Clarke let her imagination wonder to the idea of Lexa actually achieving her dream, of making things. She jumped twenty years, and Lexa was the exact same person, but different, but better, somehow. It was silly, but it helped.

“Notes for me, sir?” she ventured.

“You’re perfect. Keep being perfect.”

As silly as it was again, Clarke smiled proudly and ignored the eye roll Luna gave before setting up with the camera again.

In reality, it was about six more takes, two more requested by Luna, three requested by Evan, and once by Clarke. It was infectious to care and try to do better. But they were finally done with all else, and the end somehow felt so final. Though she’d been hesitant to try, now that they’d created something, Clarke felt connected to the entire thing.

“So when will I get to see the entire thing?” Clarke asked, carefully dropping a bag of equipment on Lexa’s bedroom floor.

“Oh, uh, maybe at the end of the summer? It’ll go through a ton of work with Luna and myself, and I’m not sure what we’re going to do… I will definitely show you though as soon as it is done.”

“I’d hope so.”

“Thank you for helping me with this,” Lexa offered as she ran her hand over the back of her neck. “I know you are really busy. SAT, work, school, pep squad.”

“And you’re not?”

“Well, yeah, but I chose this, and you were recruited,” she shrugged.

With a sigh, Lexa plopped onto her bed, tired and spent from the busy weekend.

“You can recruit me anytime,” Clarke promised.

In a move that was still somewhat new to Lexa, hips circled her own, and knees gripped her thighs, and that led to a lot of feelings in her body, especially in the below the belt part that she hadn’t particularly figured out in the practical sense. Theoretically she knew exactly what was happening.

Without saying anything else, Clarke removed her girlfriend’s ball cap and tossed it on the bed. Lexa held her hips, ran her hands up her thighs and squeezed there, careful not to move her eyes anywhere but Clarke’s face. But they closed on their own when hands ran along her temples, scratching the sweat and soreness away, melting her instantly.

There’d been a truce ever since the dance. There’d been a few make outs that went slightly past polite. There’d been a few time hands wandered lazily where they might not have been allowed, but didn’t care about no trespassing signs. There hadn’t been Clarke in her lap though, and Lexa knew this was different. She made it different when her hands slid around hips and toward Clarke’s ass. She squeezed and she thought she’d died.

By the time Clarke kissed her, Lexa realized she was on her back in her bed with the head cheerleader on top of her. When hips pushed against her, she realized she was going to stop. Hands went to her chest. Hands slid under her shirt. Hands slid under her bra and she pushed back against being pinned.

It all disappeared in a second, and confused at the loss of lips and contact, Lexa opened her eyes and searched. Clarke sat there, hands braced on her stomach until she lifted her own shirt and tossed it on the floor. Scrambling, Lexa lifted herself, tangling her arms in an attempt at solidarity in taking clothes off only to be aided by an amused girlfriend.

“Wow,” she whispered, taking her time to look over new skin before her. She kept her hands locked on Clarke’s hips despite wanting to move them. She let her eyes roam shamelessly. “You’re like… wow.”

“Is this okay?”

“Very okay.”

“Thank God,” Clarke nodded before leaning back down, cupping Lexa’s face, and kissing her again, fiercer this time, if it were possible.

Hips moved more this time. Breathing picked up more. Hands pulled, tugged, grasped tighter. They clawed at each other and at more, at what their bodies already knew how to do but their brains overthought and tempered. It was a battle of want and need and restraint, and in it, they both knew which was losing.

In a shaky attempt, Lexa somehow unhooked Clarke’s bra. And in an instant her girlfriend was topless on top of her, and now her lower half was absolutely made of lava. It was painfully molten.

“Oh… my…. Goodness,” she hummed.

Clarke pressed her hands harder against Lexa’s ribs and rotated her hips. Lexa slid her hands up Clarke’s chest and squeezed. She watched her hands moved and touch and feel. She was touching someone else’s nipples for the first time ever, which was a weird thing to be cognizant of, but something that she never imagined desiring. But she did. And she wanted to memorize it entirely. She earned a hum and she pushed her hips up, in an off-kilter response to Clarke’s hips.

“Hey Lex, you home, sweetheart?” a voice called out from down the hall.

The spell was broken. The frantic, hot buildup was drenched in freezing cold water. The skin on display was covered with shirts as quickly as possible and the contact of bodies was broken with as much space as humanely possible placed between them.

“Yeah, uh,” Lexa cleared her throat and tucked in her shirt for some reason as she stood, her legs wobbly and her head not much more sturdy. “Just got home.”

“Your mom is bringing home dinner. She got sandwiches from the deli.”

“Sounds good!”

“Want to work on your car?”

“Yeah, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Sounds good, kiddo. I’m just going to go change.”

Her father’s voice faded as he moved toward his room. Lexa leaned against her door and looked back at Clarke in her room. The blonde just pushed her hair out of her face and tried to adjust her shirt, tugging her bra slightly from the quick reassembly of her parts. Her lips were puffy. Her cheeks were bright red. She was perfect, Lexa realized.

Lexa cleared her throat again and redid her pony tail.

“So that was--”

“Really good,” Clarke finished. “Maybe we should… it’s good your dad-- we should talk about this, right?”

“Um, yeah, I think.”

“Not right now though.”

“Of course, yeah,” Lexa nodded, unsure exactly what was going to be discussed and even worse when it would be. She needed more context clues because too much had just occurred, and she was a specifics type of girl.

“I should head home. I have to finish some physics homework and take a cold shower.”

“Right, yeah. It was hot out there today and I kept you out in the sun.”

“Okay, we definitely are going to have to have some conversations.”

“Am I in trouble?” Lexa asked, cocking her head as Clarke picked up her backpack and shouldered it, making her way to the door.

“Not at all. I just want to be able to talk about sex with you before we do it because I imagine you might need it, and to be honest I’m not sure how much longer I can survive how sexy you are.”

Sex. Clarke wanted sex. They had almost, Lexa imagined. And Clarke was talking about sex with her and wanted to talk about sex with her and wanted to have sex with her and talk about the having of sex with her and they were going to have sex. Having sex was an option that they were going to talk because they were going to have sex and they should talk about it. It was going to be a thing that was discussed between the two of them because sex was going to happen and it might have almost happened and they should talk about the sex that almost and might also in the future happen. Sex.

“I’m kidding,” Clarke assured Lexa, pressing her hand to the center of her chest and bringing her back from the place she just died and went to. “I can wait however long we need to, but I think we should talk about it so something like this doesn’t happen and we don’t have a clear line drawn or not drawn. Think about where your line is, I guess and then we can talk about it.”

“Okay.”

Clarke kissed Lexa’s cheek and then her jaw and then her neck and then her lips.

“Are you okay?”

“Mhm. Yes. Me okay. I’m okay. Always ok.”

“Did I melt your brain with the mention of sex?” Clarke smiled.

“Yeah, kind of.”

“No rush, I promise. Just like to be prepared.”

“Like a boy scout.”

“Don’t stress. I like you.”

“Mmm,” Lexa nodded and tried to make her eyes not be completely huge, tried to make her heart stop throbbing in her pants and ears, tried to make her brain not explode or melt.

“I’ll talk to you later. Have fun with your dad.”

“Mmm,” she hummed and nodded as Clarke moved past her toward the door. “See you tomorrow.”

In an instant, Clarke was gone, and Lexa looked down at her hands. They’d been on Clarke’s naked boobs. She looked at her hips. They’d been on Clarke’s thighs. She looked at her bed and how surprised she was that her body just did some of the things it did. She wasn’t sure what else it was capable of, but she decided she might need to do research.

XXXXXXXXXX

“I need to talk to you about two things.”

“Hey, I’m good, thanks for asking. Just cramming for some finals, but yeah I definitely have time to help you out.”

“Okay, good,” Lexa nodded to herself as she paced through the garage, twisting a wrench around as she moved, twirling it around her fingers. It all happened quite seriously as she surveyed the car as it was coming to life.

The house was empty, her parents out on a date. Luna was coming over shortly to work on some of their film, but Lexa had a few things she wanted to get done on her car. More than anything though, she needed to speak with her sister desperately regarding many things in her life.

“How have you been, Lex?”

“Pretty good.”

“Anything planned for the summer yet?”

“I have an internship with a film crew that’ll be in town for a few weeks. My history teacher’s old college roommate is first camera. Some movie of the week thing for the holidays.”

“Wow! Lex, that’s huge!”

“I guess. But I need to know about sex. Sex with another girl. You’re in college. Have you had sex with another girl?”

Anya choked on her sip of coffee as she stopped walking down the sidewalk. She nearly dropped part of her armload of books, but managed to get a grip at the last moment.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I haven’t.”

“I tried to ask Gus but he said he couldn’t talk to me about it, and I just need someone to tell me what to do because I’ve run out of online resources short of porn and to be honest I looked a few and I didn’t like it.”

“Lots of information to unpack in this…”

“What do I do or who do I talk to?”

“Just give me a second, okay?”

With a sign, Lexa sat the phone down on the edge of the car and went about the tough work of running some wires through the rear panel. If she was doing something with her hand, then she didn’t have to repeat the word sex nine hundred times per minute in her brain.

“You and Clarke are talking about having sex?”

“We’re talking about talking about it.”

“How long have you been dating?”

“Um since beginning of November. Almost six months.”

“Do you love her?”

“I don’t know. I mean…” Lexa paused her movements and furrowed. She hadn’t thought of it like that. It seemed almost insane to quantify her feelings into one word. She was excited to always see Clarke, and when she had a bad day, Clarke was the only person she really wanted to see, and when she did, the bad day just melted away. How was she supposed to figure out if it was love when she couldn’t compare it to anything else? She got butterflies still, when she saw her girlfriend. And Lexa felt this weird need to do things for Clarke, without being asked. She was helpful and attentive because the payoff of Clarke’s smile was worth even a few minutes of forethought. But she hadn’t considered that love, but maybe it was.

“I really don’t know. I like her a lot. I like how we are”

“That’s fair. I guess I should rephrase it. What makes you think you’re ready to have sex?”

“I really want to.”

“Okay, yeah, well everyone really wants to have sex, but what makes you think you’re ready? Can you confidently say where your boundaries are? Are you ready to have a much more intimate relationship with someone?”

“I was kind of just looking for more help in the mechanics of it.”

“That’s the easy part,” Anya smiled to herself as she took another sip of her coffee. The weather was changing, the spring breeze ruffled the trees so they loudly clamoured above as she moved with the crowd along the narrow sidewalk. “There’s a certain level of intimacy in having sex with someone, especially someone you really like. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, but it’s certainly different. Do you think you’re ready to do that?”

“I think so,” Lexa murmured after a moment of contemplation. She tapped a screwdriver against her thigh and stared at a single screw. “I really want to make her feel good and I know that sounds stupid, but I just… Sometimes it’s easier to want to kiss her than tell her exactly what I feel. I want to show her.”

“I can see how that would work. Just so long as you take a good bit of time and really consider it. And remember, even if you agree, you can change your mind at any time.”

“Ugh, not you too! Dad’s already given me a billion consent talks. I just want to go down on Clarke without making a fool of myself.”

Anya couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the outburst, but she somehow managed to hold her phone away from her mouth as she did. It took her a moment to recover.

“Just do what you like and listen to her. Ask her what she enjoys. Be receptive to how she sounds and moves. It’s really not that hard. Just give it your all.”

“This is all fine advice, but I still don’t know how to actually do it.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“I don’t like leaving it up to chance.”

“You’ll be fine, I promise. You care for Clarke and I think she’ll be able to show you a thing or two.”

“What does that mean?” Lexa paused her movements and furrowed.

“You’ll see.”

“I really don’t like the sound of that.”

“You will, I promise.”

“Are you coming home this summer?”

“I might. So, sex with your girlfriend, huh?”

“Maybe. Is it weird that I just… I want everything to keep going how it has been? It’s been so easy and nice and I didn’t think dating Clarke would be so … so… easy?”

“That’s not weird at all. It sounds like you are having a good time.”

“I’m going to ask her to go to prom.”

“Wow,” Anya smiled to herself, doing her best to sound surprised by the news, as if it wasn’t customary to take once’s girlfriend to prom. “Are you going to do a big ask?”

“Nah, I don’t think that’s me,” Lexa shrugged, even though no one would see it. “And I don’t think it’s Clarke. She’s not like… she’s not like what I would have thought. She’s better.”

“You’ve got it bad.”

“Nah.”

It was nice to talk to her sister. It was nice to be put at ease, even if she just heard a bunch of stuff she already knew. Lexa wasn’t sure how it came to be that she was someone who talked to her sister every few days and actually filled her in on her life. She wasn’t sure how she enjoyed spending Saturday morning with her parents going on a hike or breakfast. She wasn’t sure how it came to be that the head cheerleader was soft and quiet and warm and made her feel like she was full of helium, but it was all happening, and Lexa felt herself open up to the world again without ever realizing she had been closed.

XXXXXXXXXX

For an entire seventy-two hours, Lexa let it all rattle around in her head, the words and the ideas and the thought of it all. All at once it felt like she didn’t know what came next while also incredibly knowing and that held her stuck. She hadn’t thought to ask for more, and she wasn’t sure how to have it. She knew that it was important, and she knew that was a different step than the ones she’d already taken.

Nothing seemed to change with Clarke though.

Lexa still held her girlfriend’s hand between classes, and they still hung out and texted and kissed and no one said anything despite Lexa taking her sister’s advice to really think about what it all meant.

She didn’t know what it meant. Not truly.

“That’s it. I quit. My brain is melting out of my ears.”

With an exaggerated flourish, the body on the bed flopped over and tossed a notebook onto the floor. Eyes rolled back before a tongue hung out and Lexa smiled from her spot at her desk. The music played softly from the speaker on the bookshelf. It was already dark outside as they worked on studying, but the lights reflected so that outside didn’t exist at all.

“Your brain isn’t melting. It’s just growing and growing and will soon explode.”

“I think I prefer the melting,” Clarke sighed.

Lexa smiled to herself because there was the head cheerleader laying in her bed. And Clarke was wearing her old soccer sweatshirt and she was tired from after work, but still stopped by before heading home just for a few hours of studying.

“Would you like to go to prom with me?”

“Me?”

“Yeah you,” Lexa decided, cocking her head slightly. The corpse in her room rolled over again and lifted her head. “With me.”

“Was it the melting brain thing that really sold you?”

“I just like how you look in my bed.”

“Your bed is very comfortable.”

“I thought about the sex thing and I don’t know if I’m ready right now, or by prom or whatever, but I want to just keep doing things slowly if that’s okay?”

Clarke sat up so she was kneeling on the bed. She’d already rolled the sleeves of the sweatshirt that hung a little long on her. There was a hole over the letter on the left part of her chest. Her hair was falling out of a messy bun, and her cheeks had their dimples in them. Lexa took a moment to remember it.

“That’s fine by me.”

“It is?”

“I like how fluid everything is with you. I just wanted you to be aware of what you were feeling and what your limits were.”

“I don’t know them right now, but I’ll know them as things happen, if that’s okay.”

“Very okay.”

“Do you want to go to prom with me?”

“Didn’t I already say yes?”

“No.”

“Well then, yes.”

“Cool,” Lexa grinned, holding her chin on her palm.

Clarke relaxed slightly and smiled back.

“Cool.”

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buffythechessplayer · 2 years

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ahem . hi PLEASE write that spuffy time travel prophecy girl au u mentioned in my tags . It is praxis it is such a good idea the world needs it . I’m already so sad about it pls

I've never written fanfic before but I will try writing this summer after I'm done with uni. Your post just really inspired me to think about Buffy before S2. There is something about her that is less aware of death. She knows she'll die on a theoretical level but having actually experienced it changed her in a very profound way. I do have to rewatch the early seasons of the show however because there are a lot of details I don’t 100% recall. (warning: I am going to ramble about what I've been thinking so far, this is not very coherent)

I don't know if I want him to just show up in Sunnydale or if I want him with Dru in the place he originally was at that time. My initial thought was having him show up at the tunnel right before Buffy sees the master, but I'm not a huge fan of Spike saving her life a damsel at the last minute, so I think him being with and deliberately leaving Dru would mean a lot more, character-wise (Also I don't want the paradox of two Spikes running around the world). Of course, I do want Dru to give him some cryptic guidance, similar to the flashback we see in 'Fool for Love' (you're all covered with her) and the way she guides him in S2 when searching for her cure and the judge. I don't want to make her appear like a jealous harpy because I am in love with Drusilla's character.

As for how he travels back, the easiest is him making a wish, on accident by being sad in a demon bar, however I think I want him to make it a deliberate choice, going back and saving Buffy because I want S1!Buffy to react to that fact as well. How would she feel about a souless vampire trying to save her with the black & white stance she has in S1, influenced by Giles, Angel, Jesse, etc. So I think about him going through the trials he undergoes in S6 but with a different demand in mind (I doubt that particular demon is purely a soul granter, but rather a wish giver although I will have to double-check the wiki in regards to lore). I'll also try to establish some rules on time-travel relatively early on, maybe by having some character explain that the wish has erased that particular future and as such, there is no need to be concerned about altering the future.

I want Spike to deal with Dawn not being there. He puts 2+2 quickly together when realising the year, he can understand why she's not there, but he truly misses her and in some way needs her around, as a friend, a moral guide, etc. I want him to miss her because to him she is family (especially with how much they bond following Buffy's death) and to also sometimes need her around because while good, Spike certainly isn't perfect and still needs a bit of help when it comes to navigating morals.

Then we have Angel. While I don’t hate Angel, I certainly have some issues with him, that become more pronounced as the seasons go on, and with how he acts in later seasons of both BtVS and AtS. At first, he doesn’t know why Spike isn’t with Drusilla and wonders if she’s dead. I want to show that Angel and Angelus are not that separated and have some part of him mourn the potential loss, although only as a passing thought. Angel hasn’t turned into Angelus yet and doesn’t know about his curse in detail so I do think he is more detached from Angelus that in later seasons. I think in later seasons, this Jekill/Hyde act is more faked than S1/early S2 Angel. He still plays a big role (in addition to the council and Jesse) in forming Buffy’s ideas in regards to the humanity of vampires, but unlike canon, Spike is there to counteract it from early on.

Another wonderful thing about early seasons BtVS is that my girl Jenny Calendar is alive and I will absolutely take advantage of that fact to explore her character more and write some fluff between her and Giles. Maybe after Spike informs Angel in a very passive-agressive tone about his curse, he sees the Scoobies seeking advice and Jenny’s identity is revealed earlier than in canon.

I don’t know yet if I want Spike to succeed in saving Buffy because that means no Kendra/Faith and a very big change in Buffy’s demeanour, but on the other hand, I do wonder about how Buffy would tackle the emotional load of earlier seasons had she not conforted death so intimately.

I also don’t know how far I plan to write, whether it stops around S2 or if it extends all the way to ‘The Gift’ (it would be worth it just to reunite Spike with Dawn). I’m also not a huge fan of Spuffy in the early seasons because Buffy is still too young *cough* Angel *cough* so I would probably have to drag it all the way into S5 for them to escape platonic territory. If it does extend past ‘The Gift’ and Buffy doesn’t die, that also means no First Evil in S7 and maybe use that as an exploration of The Slayer and her origins, maybe a Council subplot.

There isn’t a plan for it yet in any way, shape or form but this is what I have in mind and if my writing is halfway decent I might just actually publish something like this. I’m thinking of cross-posting this on Ao3 & Elysian Fields but as I’ve never written anything before, so this might take a long time before I even plan an outline. You will be the first to know of any updates, promise. <3

#answering asks #Buffy fanfic ideas #ask tag

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arianajbb · 4 years

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FIC RECS - 5

💕 rewards by @malfoysstilinski

💕 hogwarts express by @malfoysstilinski

Draco fucks Y/N to prove a point to Harry who he knows is hiding in the storage compartment above, watching the whole thing.

💕 phosphenes by @minty-malfoy

draco finally figures out all the mistakes he’s made to you, harry is determined not to repeat them

💕 What in Carnation? by @i-am-a-closet-fanfic-fiend

The swim team is holding a flowergram fundraiser for Valentine’s day, and you have a secret admirer.

💕 please don’t take him (even though you can). by @nsfwsebbie

She can have anyone she wants, but you can never love again. Not without him.

💕 his own doing by @fuckingdraco

after draco breaks your heart, a new romance blooms.

💕 x by @dadplease

💕 x by @malfoysstilinski

riding draco’s thigh in the common room.

💕 Interrogation by @lovinglokilaufeyson

After joining Umbridge’s Inquisitorial Squad, Draco goes to extreme measures to find out more about Dumbledore’s Army. Specifically, through you.

💕 three’s a crowd by @malfoysstilinski

draco and y/n fuck in the common room and when blaise interrupts, draco can’t find it in himself to stop.

💕 Strange Courting Rituals of Reformed Hydra Assassins by @river-soul

Bucky leaves encouraging notes and presents for the depressed reader to brighten her day except everything is written in his creepy serial killer handwriting. Her coworkers are alarmed by the notes like girl this is straight out of a criminal minds episode but Reader thinks it’s sweet.

💕 linger by @buckysbeloved

in which Draco Malfoy wants to be cared for and you want to care for him- yet you only speak through lingering touches and fleeting glances.

💕 The Wedding Date by @river-soul

Reader needs a wedding date to scare off her persistent ex-boyfriend and wants Natasha to come with her. Natasha has another suggestion in mind.

💕 Forever by @donutloverxo

You've been in a secret relationship with Steve for two years. What happens when he tells you he wants to be with you forever?

💕 When I Find You, I'll Find Me by @river-soul

After a 4th of July party at your friend’s house unearths some insecurities on Bucky’s part he suggests you’d be better off without him. You show him just how wrong he is.

💕 3am by @honeysucklesteve

he won’t ever say i love you, but he’ll always fuck you until you can’t stand.

💕 If You Go Down To The Woods Tonight by @badassbuchanan

late night patrols and lonely ladies

💕 Play Dirty by @jurassicbarnes

(Office AU) In which Steve plays dirty in order to make you work late and later you have to play dirty to get Steve to confess his feelings for you.

💕 Dial Tone by @darkficsyouneveraskedfor

Reader is a phone sex worker who gets a new caller.

💕 Serpentine by @cherienymphe

One night of passion ruins your life forever.

💕 red, white, blue’s in the sky, summer’s in the air, baby heaven’s in your eyes by @cloudystevie

sunday’s are for football games and attention

💕 The Perfect Fit by @amandaoftherosemire

Steve Rogers always seems to be wearing shirts that are way too tight for your peace of mind. One day you get the whole story.

💕 Bulletproof Epilogue by @amandaoftherosemire

You, Steve Rogers, and Bucky Barnes have been the best of friends since middle school. On top of that, you’ve been in love with Bucky pretty much the whole time. Everything changed after the three of you got to college, however. Over the past couple of years you and Steve have become even closer but things between you and Bucky have been strained since the night he broke your heart. Can anything bring you back together?

💕 x by @mypoisonedvine

💕 x by @mxchellesworld

blurb on hate sex with bucky and he’s just really rough and degrading

💕 relentless by @cap-n-stuff

Bucky had enough of your shameless flirting and was going to show you just how much you were his and his alone.

💕 A Fresh Start by @angrythingstarlight

Andy has his perfect family with you, and now he wants more. Whether you want it or not. Andy knows what’s best, he always does.

💕 Know It All by @moonbeambucky

Your grades and patience are tested when you’re paired together for a class project with the one person you cannot stand, Bucky Barnes.

💕 I Can’t Swim by @revengingbarnes

The reader pretends to drown to grab the attention of the hot lifeguard who looks after the beach. Lies don’t last long though, and eventually it backfires.

💕 Captain Jealousy by @nony-bear

You and Steve have been keeping your relationship a secret to avoid public backlash for your age difference. However, after watching Steve flirt with a new agent at one of Tony Stark’s famous parties, your jealousy and frustration come to a head.

💕 Taking Care Of Needs by @badassbuchanan

💕 A Christmas Compromise by @stargazingfangirl18

Even if you wouldn’t admit it to yourself, all you wanted for Christmas was Ransom.

💕 Never Leave You Standing Part 1 Part 2 by @thebookwormslytherin

💕 Love Theoretically

Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 10(Epilogue) <-- (my favourite chapters)

by @mypoisonedvine

having lost your husband, sister, and best friend all to the same extramarital affair, you ran away to a secluded villa in the Hungarian countryside to write and get a little time away from the life you’d left behind. you were only looking for peace and perhaps some inspiration for your novel, but instead you found an unlikely connection with the immigrant repairman– even though the two of you don’t speak the same language.

💕 Catfish Part 6 by @vampy-doll

💕 x by @mypoisonedvine

💕 x by @thewritingdoll

Bucky and dirty talk

💕 x by @mypoisonedvine

dark!reader x steve rogers high school AU , where R is rich spoil brat & she always had a crush on steve but she always bully him by calling him skinny and all and Then yrs later, time changes her family discarded her from will and she becomes poor and need job, got hired for PA by dark ceo!steve rogers who she bullied her all school life

💕 Just Falling by @indyluckycharlie

A one shot set in 1936. You’re attending art school in New York, and you became fast friends with your classmate Steve. His best friend Bucky though? It took you a little longer to warm up to him given his reputation as a ladies’ man. But now, you’re happy to call him a friend. But nothing more, right?

💕 Golden Hour Daydream by @indyluckycharlie

Set sometime in the 1930s. Just a late afternoon date with your favorite fella.

💕 The Girl In The Diner by @tinymalscoffee

He was just too naive to see how naughty she really was.

💕 attention by @golden-parker

Bucky has been too busy to give you the attention you’re craving, so you take matters into your own hands.

💕 Beg for Daddy by @sweeterthanthis

The thought of your mother passed out next door, the other side of your bedroom wall, did nothing to quell the intense hunger you felt for him.

💕 Take a break by @badassbuchanan

all work and no play makes Y/N a whiny little brat

💕 heavy is the head by @luciilferss

As the princess of the great lands west of the Indigo Sea, you were born with a burning loyalty to protect and serve your people. From war, from famine – from the rebels that terrorize your land. But when an ambush from said insurgents sees you kidnapped, you’re suddenly torn between service to your country and duty to your family – and, maybe, that odd little feeling that’s evoked by the terrifying men the rebels call Captain.

💕 here, kitty kitty by @nsfwsebbie

Your sugar daddy wants his wildest dreams to come to life. You, on the other hand, aren’t really into it.

💕 Angel Baby by @brooklyns-boys

💕 on my tongue by @moteldwelling

‎‎your next door neighbor was going to be the death of you. tall, dark, and ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎handsome - it doesn’t even seem to matter ‎that he’s your dad’s best friend.

💕 Whatever It Takes by @wienerbarnes

The Avengers recruit you, a medical genius of sorts, to help solve the case of an agent who is dying from an unknown illness. You seem to catch Bucky Barnes’ attention.

💕 Hey Neighbour by @moonbeambucky

You had a plan and then life came along with one of its own. With your future almost derailed you worked hard to get yourself back on track and finally everything seemed to be going right… that is, until your new neighbor moved in.

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stonesparrow · 3 years

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Bird’s Writing Ideas

Summaries of some of the dcst AUs and other fanfic concepts I’m “working on,” or at least just have a google doc going for. Feel free to send me an ask if you want to hear more about any of them :P

No Stone Wars AU

Terrible name, yes, so sometimes I call this the “Delayed Lions AU.” I am not good at titling things. It’s an AU where Yuzuriha was successfully brought back to camp and revived instead of Tsukasa, and then the lions show up. Working together though, our heroes do manage to scare the lions away for the time being, and Tsukasa doesn’t end up getting revived until way later. Essentially it’s an excuse for me to write a civilization-building story where Senku carries out his plans as he intended before the whole Stone Wars shenanigans happened. Senku does still find Ishigami Village (he has to go to Hakone eventually to collect sulfur) but he’s not nearly as concerned about, ya know, getting murdered. Could be really boring for some people, but like I’ve said I LOVE the civilization building parts of DCST and this is my jam. I did way too much math for this one.

Fem! Senku AU

Exactly what it says on the tin. Tentatively titled “Ishigami Senku: Girl Genius.” I’ve left it ambiguous so far whether Senku is cis or trans, but either way this one is great for exploring how Senku’s decisions and character (and those around her) might be affected by Senku being a girl. For instance, this Senku is more used to being underestimated and patronized than canon Senku and has a slight compulsion to wanting to prove herself, which is in conflict with her desire to surge ahead without caring about what others think of her. Her hair also obeys gravity a little more and she wears it in a ponytail, and she’s a little closer to Yuzuriha than in canon (though Taiju is still her oldest and best friend). I’ve had a few problems with hashing out the plot for this one since I don’t want it to perfectly match canon but I also want it to keep some key story nodes, and the butterfly effect makes it tend to veer wildly off into various directions.

Mermaids AU(s)

I have like, three of these because I couldn’t decide how to go about it and just wanted to write something with mermaids. I like fantasy.

Senku and Taiju are young mermen living in an underwater kingdom, and Senku’s fascinated with the above world, spending his days studying humans and their inventions and trying to come up with something that could allow him to go on land. But then one day something turns the whole Sea Kingdom into stone statues, and it’s up to Senku to venture out into the human world in search of a cure. Lower on my interest scale because most of the story wouldn’t take place among the mermaids.

Inspired by ao3 user Luki’s story Flock where soon after revival petrified humans sprout wings. In this case though, Senku realizes that he’s somehow becoming partially aquatic, only instead of being full on mermanified he ends up more like...mermaids in the Sims 3? Where he has to stay constantly hydrated to survive and his legs turn into a tail when submerged in water. I like this one a lot, actually.

H2O: Just Add Water AU. There was this Australian tv show I used to watch at my friend’s house when we were like...seven, about these three girls who after a strange encounter realized that ten seconds after coming in contact with water, they would turn into mermaids. I’ve tweaked that concept a lot but basically this AU is Senku, Taiju, and Yuzuriha taking the place of the three main characters, and also they’re in Japan instead of Australia, for obvious reasons.

A Single Act of Kindness

AU where 12 year old Tsukasa is rescued from the old man on the beach by another, friendlier old man, one with grey hair with dark tips and red eyes. That’s it, that’s the whole concept. Probably gonna be a oneshot.

Future/Next Gen

Not an AU, but basically a bunch of (very theoretical and self indulgent) ideas I have about the Kingdom of Science post defeating Why-man. All of them stem from a concept I had where Senku finds a protege in Taiju and Yuzuriha’s third oldest child, a girl named Yurika (which is a legitimate girls’ name but Senku was the one who named her and meant it to sound like Eureka! on purpose, as if saying he wished for her to have a life full of discovery. He’ll deny thinking that much about it though). Most of the stories I have in this concept are about Yurika’s teen years, with Senku in his forties.

Suika in Wonderland

Just a funny idea I had where Suika falls asleep to Ukyo telling her an “old British children’s story,” one summer afternoon and finds herself in a strange world where a lot of the bizarre individuals she meets look oddly like some of her friends.

ATLA AU

Recently I did a little speculative thing for this in this post, and I liked it enough to write it down into a more fully fleshed out concept. Story 1 is going to be about Ryusui growing up in the Northern Water Tribe and him meeting the Gaang when they arrive at the end of Book 1, while Story 2 is going to be about Senku and his friends uncovering the Dai Li conspiracy in Ba Sing Se and teaming up with the Gang when they arrive in Book 2. Story 3...well I’d like to do something regarding the Fire Nation characters, so maybe something to do with Amaryllis.

#dcst #dr stone #dr. stone #dcst au #aus #alternate universes #writing ideas #my writing ideas #dcst spoilers #dunno what to tag yet

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show-choir-gal · 4 years

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"Smart Talk" Zach Dempsey Imagine

Requested by anon on Tumblr: "Hellooo c: could you write a fic on zach dempsey from 13 reasons why? Specifically the reader being a biology nerd and has aspirations of becoming a doctor some day, and zach being interested in her because he wants to be a marine biologist? Thanks! Love your blog btw ^^"

A/N: Heyo! I just wanted to pop in and see how y'all were doing and to say that I kind of switched it up and made the reader want to be a biochemist when she graduated so I hope you don't mind that little change! I cried writing this, so I’m sorry if you cry too

Warnings: mentions of death due to disease, absolutely sad backstory about a father with ALS

Word Count: 6,624

Guide: Y/N - Your Name Y/L/N - Your Last Name

Masterlist of Mastelists

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The first day of school was always filled with nerves and excitement. But I am new, and a sophomore and that didn't make this transfer any easier. I had moved away from Ohio with my mum at the beginning of the summer, my father passed away after a long and tough battle with ALS. I'm 16 now, he was diagnosed when I just about turned 10. He always wanted to live in California, it was his dream to have a beach house with just the three of us. I was always his little girl. Even when his ALS progressed, he was always working so hard to stay as long as he could. He was such a fighter. Mum and him worked hard on finding a house in California before he would pass, get to live out his dream. We had found a house, the house mum and I now live in, a year ago but had to finalise the selling of our other house before we could move. But that hope soon cam tumbling down due to my father quickly getting worse. We were so close to moving, but it got put on hold. He was deteriorating faster than ever before and it was hard to watch the fighter I once knew look so defeated. Before he lost the ability to speak he told us, "Well if Stephen Hawking can do it, so can I." He was always so strong in front of me and mum, but we knew better. Every day after school I went to my dads hospital room and told him about my day and school and do my homework with him. I came in one day, a big smile on my face as I looked him in the eye and said, "I know what I want to be when I grow up dad. I want to be a Biochemist. I want to make medicine that will help you and the others that come after you. I want to do this for you dad." He smiled as best as he could and got out a shaky, "I love you so much", and then he couldn't speak after that. As days turned to weeks, he just got worse and worse. We had the hope that he could wait until after Christmas, but there were no Christmas miracles this time. He passed away the day before Christmas eve, and I was heartbroken. My dad, my biggest supporter was now gone. Gone but never forgotten. I held his cold hand before the coroner and doctors shuffled him away from us and said through broken sobs and tear stained cheeks, "I'm going to make a medicine that cures ALS. I'm going to make it for you, daddy. I love you so much." I finished the rest of the year and we finalised the selling of our, now old, house and we made the flight to California. A few weeks in and we were finally settling and making this house our new home. I sat out on our enclosed balcony with a cup of tea and cozied up in my hammock chair. I listened to the birds chirping as I took a sip of my tea. My mum came out a few moments later with her own cup of tea and we both stared upon the city for what seemed like an eternity until I decided to break the silence, "Dad would've loved it here." "Yes he would've sweetheart. Yes he would."

Mum drove me in for the first day, mainly because she wanted to pick me up especially if I had a rough first day. We had our usual conversations and I went over my schedule out loud with her. "Honours Chemistry AND Honours Biology huh? Why didn't you get put in the AP sections of those?" Mum asked, noticeably a little insulted that I wasn't placed in the AP classes. "Relax mum, they don't allow sophomores taking AP classes, and this was the best I was getting with them. I could've gotten regular Bio and Chem." I reassured her. She reluctantly calmed down as she pulled up to a parking spot in front of the school. Mum kissed me on the cheek and said our 'I love you's' as I got out of the car and headed up to the front of the building. I tried to blend in and just seem normal. My first class was English so I immediately made my way to the classroom located in the second floor. I sat in the front row like I always had in my previous schools. The teacher went through attendance and stopped on me, "Y/N Y/L/N? Are you the new student?" The teacher asked. "Yes I am ma'am" I replied, all eyes on me. "I was wondering if you would be here today! Please come up in front of the class and introduce yourself! Say your name, where you moved from, and your favourite book." I made quickly got up and walked the short distance to be next to the teacher. "Well, I'm Y/N. I moved here from a small town in Ohio at the beginning of the summer, and my favourite book is The Theory of Everything by Famous theoretical physicist, cosmologist Stephen Hawking." I said to the class with a smile. "That's interesting Miss Y/L/N! And why is that your favourite book?" "I look up to Mr.Hawkings work and I want to be a Biochemist." "That's quite interesting. You may sit down now dear." She said with a smile as she started to clap, the rest of the class followed suit. I sat down and the girl next to me tapped my shoulder, "Nice to meet you. I'm Jessica. I think we could be great friends!" She said with a smile on her face. We talked after class and she said she would meet me after my Bio class to have lunch with me. I'm so relieved to have a friend, or someone I can consider a friend at least. It's still early to tell. Next up I had maths, and pretty much the same thing happened with going in front of the class and explaining who I was. I was pretty much creating and reading a script for the beginning of every class. After maths I had my Honours Biology class. I sat at the work bench like I normally did, as I watched all the students pour in they all looked so much older than I did. The class began at the ring of the bell and the same thing happened like all the other classes before me. I made my way up to the front of the classroom and smiled as I introduced myself, "I'm Y/N, I moved here from a small town in Ohio at the beginning of the summer and I'm a sophomore. An-" "A sophomore? I don't normally have sophomores in my class." The teacher interrupted me, and I just gave an "are you serious?" look and some of the class laughed. "Yes, the school wouldn't let me take AP Biology and AP Chemistry so I had to even fight to get honours." I replied. "AP Bio and AP Chem? What would you want with those courses? They're pretty difficult on their own, let alone together." I cleared my throat, "I want to be a Biochemist." "And where would your concentration lie?" "Degenerative diseases." "Wow that's incredible Miss Y/L/N! I look forward to seeing your work. You may sit down." I took my seat and a few of the "nerdy" kids started to chat me up and we all had a great conversation about what we wanted to do in the future. The bell rang and almost immediately Jessica was outside my classroom waiting for me. "Honours Biology? Girl, you've got to give me your study tips!" We walked to the lunchroom as she talked my ear off about the school and everything I would need to know. We sat down at a table and a boy joined us, him and Jess kissed and then a bunch of other guys started to swarm the table we were at. "Y/N this is Justin, my boyfriend! Justin this is-" "You're Y/N! We have maths together." Justin said as he stuck his hand out. Justin started to introduce me to all the boys at the table, all his teammates on the basketball team. "Y/N why did you move here all the way from uhm..." Jess started to ask. "Ohio." I replied with a chuckle. "Right! Why did you move here from Ohio?" All eyes were on me now and I smiled just thinking of the memory of my dad, "I moved here because my dads dream was to move out to California with my mum and I." "Oh that's so sweet! Why did he want to move out here?" She asked. The smile fell from my face and just the thought started to burn my eyes, "That's a bit of a touchy subject. Can we not talk about that?" "Oh my God of course! I'm sorry, I didn't know girly." She said as she shot me a reassuring smile and rubbed my knee. Eventually I went to the rest of my classes and met some really great people. I knew I had nothing to worry about, it seems like I'll fit in perfectly. The dismissal bell rang and I made my way to my locker. I got all my stuff I needed and closed my locker, Jess was standing right next to my locker with Justin. "Did you have a good first day?" She asked. "It was great, especially because of you. Thank you for like, accepting me and being nice. And thank you as well Justin." I said with a smile. "That's great! We definitely need to keep in touch, hand me your phone and I'll give you my number so we can hang out soon!" She said enthusiastically as she took my phone from me and punched her number in. Her and Justin walked off and waved and said their goodbyes and we parted ways. I made my way to mums car. I placed my backpack in the backseat and hopped into the front and we drove off. "So..?" Mum started. "It was great! I already made a bunch of friends and they're all so nice there!" "That's awesome honey! Celebratory dinner tonight? And you can tell me absolutely everything, you can even spill all the deets!" "Ew mum, don't ever say that again!" I said as I joking slapped at her arm. "What?! I have to stay hip somehow!" We both erupted into a fit of laughter. "Oh by the way, the piano got to the house and is all tuned." Mum said, almost full of sorrow. That night we went out to a fancy restaurant a few towns over and I told her everything about my day and how excited I was for school and making new friends.

A month has passed and I've settled in quite nicely in Crestmont. It was a Friday and Jess is sleeping over for the first time. We quickly became really close friends, I even would say she is my best friend. My mum picked us up from school and I showed her around my house. "This house is so beautiful Mrs.Y/L/N!" Jess said in awe. "I'm glad you like it, you're always welcome here sweetheart!" My mum replied with a smile. Jess picked up a picture of my mum, my dad, and I when I was about 11. She examined it. "Awe Y/N you look so adorable! Is this your dad?" She asked, pointing to the man in the photograph. "Yeah, but that's an older photo of him." "Do you have any more recent photos of him?" "Of course!" I said as I lead her to the living room where a lot of the newer photos of him were. She examined them quite closely, noticing his state of being deteriorating, she was confused. I brought her out on the balcony and she sat in the hammock chair right next to mine. "Where is your dad?" She asked and then looked like she wanted to take it back. I grabbed her hand and smiled, "No no, don't worry about it. It's okay to ask!" I replied with a warm smile, "He passed away right before last Christmas. He had ALS." "Y/N I'm so sorry for your loss." "Jess it's okay. He was a great guy and a great dad." "Is this why you didn't want to talk about it on the first day?" "Yeah, it's just a touchy subject especially since we planned to move out here with him." I told her the whole story, everything. I was comfortable enough around her to tell her. And she listened and took it all in. I reassured her I was as okay as I could be even though some days were better than others and she understood. We headed up the stairs toward my room when she spotted the baby grand piano at the top of our stairs. "Wow this is beautiful! Do you play?" She asked, awestruck by the beautiful Yamaha piano in front of her. "I guess. My dad was the one who played and he gave me lessons and so now when I want to feel closer to him I just play and play until I feel okay." "You're one tough cookie, could you play something for me?" I smiled and pulled out the bench and immediately started to play Op. 28: III. Vivace G Major by Chopin as it was a relatively fast lively piece. I lifted my hands from the piano and her jaw was on the ground. "Girly I didn't know this! You NEED to play in the orchestra! They would love you!" She exclaimed as she brought me in for a hug. The night was great and I finally felt normal again, I felt like a normal high schooler with a normal life. And man did it feel good to feel normal again.

Monday rolled around and Jess dragged me down to the music hall to talk with the orchestra teacher. I played the same piece I did for Jess and the teacher looked beyond impressed with my playing. "Some of the best piano playing I've seen from a student in years! I would love to have you in the orchestra Miss Y/L/N!" Jess and I walked out of the music hall and screamed and jumped and hugged. "I'm so excited for you! I'll go to all the practices and concerts I can!" Jess promised as she stuck her pinky out "And I will go to as many cheer practices and games as I can!" I replied and interlocked our pinkies as we made a pinky promise. And both of us kept our promises. As long as I didn't have to tutor someone or practice, I was in the stands supporting my best friend, even doing her hair for her. As long as she didn't have practice or homework, she was at orchestra rehearsal.

Mid-November rolled around and so did basketball and other winter sports, but that also meant mid terms were fast approaching. In biology, we were doing a partner project and our teacher chose our partner. The rest of the class groaned, but I had gotten 100's all year so I didn't see an issue with it. He read off the names in alphabetical order by last name. "Zach Dempsey and Y/N Y/L/N" My head turned to look at Zachs face to judge how he felt, and he had a smile so wide it stretched from ear to ear, which made me smile as well as blush. After partners were announced we all moved to sit next to our partners, I got up and sat next to him. "Well look who we have here, the smartest girl in this school paired up with me." He said with a slight chuckle. "I wouldn't say I'm that smart. More like, I'm just determined to do really well...all the time." I said with a chuckle. We started to plan our project and then suddenly the bell rang. I was about to get up when Zach gently grabbed my arm, "Can I have your number? So we can plan our project?" "Oh, of course. Why didn't I think of that?" I wrote my number down on the top of his project syllabus and waved goodbye as I headed to my locker. I had one more class before I met up with Jess to do her hair before her short practice so they can get ready for the game. I had a free period next so I headed down to the music hall so I could practice. I walked by the teachers office and he ushered me in to talk to me. "Y/N, how would you feel about doing 4 solos for the concert?" He asked, not looking up from the program he was trying to make. "I would love to!" "Great! I'll have you start off the very beginning of the concert with a short but fast piece, we'll have a few group pieces and other solos and then you end the first half with another short but fast piece. Does that sound good?" He asked, I nodded. "Then you can start the second half with a long and slow piece, sprinkle in a few group pieces and a few other solos, then you'll have you last piece which is pretty slow and long as well, and then finish off with our group closing piece? Sound good?" "That sounds great sir! Can I ask one thing though?" "Of course, what's on your mind?" "Could I dedicate the last piece I play to my dad and have a picture of him with me at the concert? It's okay if not, I just figured I should ask." "Of course you can. Don't be silly to ask for something like that. The counselor told me about what happened. I'm so sorry for your loss and I would be honoured to have you dedicate your last solo to your father." He reassured with a smile. I started to leave the room, "Thank you Mr.Blanc! I'll be in the auditorium in you need me." "Y/N, just make sure to get me your sheet music with the order you're performing them in as soon as possible." "You got it!" I nearly shouted as I opened the side door to the auditorium to turn on all the stage lights. I practically came down here every free period I had unless I was working on Zach and I's project. It was always so calm and quiet and made me feel like my dad was still there with me. I made my way over to stage left and pulled the piano out into the centre of the stage. I sat down and just started to play piano covers of popular songs before I started to try figure out what I was actually playing for the concert. I just wanted to calm down from my exams I had today. I decided to just wait and ask Jess which songs I should pick before the first game of the basketball season occurred tonight. I went from Fantasie Impromptu by Chopin to Flight of the Bumblebee before I noticed anyone else was in the auditorium with me. I heard a throat clear which made me jump, I looked up from the piano and it was Jess and Justin. "I didn't mean to scare ya." Jess said with a chuckle, "Justin and I were making out in the back and you couldn't see us but Justin really wanted to watch you play especially after that really fast one." Justin nodded his head in agreement. "Aww, I'm flattered!" I said with a smile. I went down my arsenal of some of the toughest songs to play on piano, Moonlight Sonata, Little Red Riding Hood, Etude Op. 10 No. 4, La Campanella, and ending with Hungarian Rhapsody. I looked at the two who tried to keep up with my hands, Jess had a smirk on her face when she saw Justin's jaw on the floor. "I told you she was good." Jess said, almost cockily. Her and I laughed and before Justin could even say a word, the dismissal bell rang. "I'll meet you in the locker room Jess, I have to put a few things away in my locker." I waved to Justin sense I wasn't going to see him until later in the afternoon. I put my stuff in the locker and shut the door and headed downstairs, I headed toward the locker rooms where Zach caught up to me. "Good luck at the game tonight!" I said with a wide smile. "Thank you! Are you going to be there?" He asked. "Of course! I promised Jess and Justin that I would always be at the games." His face lit up like a Christmas tree, "Awesome! I'll see you later then." He said as he rubbed my arm. I thought his action was strange but just chalked it up to him being friendly. California is different from Ohio after all. I entered the locker room and greeted all the other girls when I took my place next to Jess. We told each other about our days while she changed into her practice gear. I told her how I was given 4 solos for the concert and she was so excited, maybe more excited than I was. "Oh my God that's amazing! I'll invite everyone so that can see how amazing you are!" She jumped up and down as she hugged me. We chatted our way into the gym and I took my usual spot on the bleachers and watched the practice go on like usual. I finished up my homework for the night just as they had finished practicing for the game tonight. I headed out and stood by the lockers and waited for Jess. As soon as she came out she grabbed my arm and practically skipped the entire way to the auditorium. I took my seat on the piano and told her my ideas and played them in the order I would play them at the concert. She wasn't too keen on a few of my pieces so I switched them with similar pieces and those seemed to fit like a glove. "Those! All of them! They're perfect!" She said with a huge smile on her face. We headed to the library and I photocopied my pieces and labelled them and dropped them off at Mr.Blanc's office. We had some free time before she had to get ready for the game so we just walked around and chatted. "How's your bio project going?" Jess asked as we walked around the football field. "Great! Zach and I are pretty close to being done." I replied as we passed the bleachers. "Basketball Zach? Like, Zach Dempsey?" "Yeah...why?" "Oh, nothing. I just didn't expect you to pick him as a partner." "Mr. LaPierre paired us, but he looked fine with it so I didn't mind." Jess was silent for what felt like a few minutes. "Jess, is everything alright?" "Yeah, I was just thinking about the other day when Zach was talking to Justin about a girl in his biology class he was crushing on." "Awe that's cute! She's lucky, he's a smart kid." "She's probably jealous of you Y/N. I just don't want you to get hurt. Because if she hurts you, many people will hurt her." Jess winked as she nudged me. "I have a perfect grade in the class, it seemed like everyone wanted to be my partner." I winked back. "Okay smarty pants, let's get back so I can get ready and you can help me with my hair." We both giggled and walked back into the school. I grabbed a seat on the bleachers right behind where Jess normally sits. The cheerleaders started to file in along with the basketball players. I was too busy looking for her hair ties and brush in my bag to notice her and a few of the basketball players walk in. I found her brush just as she sat down in front of me. I brushed through her silky hair and parted it down the middle.I looked up to a pair of soft brown eyes staring at me, they belonged to Zach. I shot him a smile and a wave before I returned to Jess' hair. I braided her hair into two tight Dutch braids. I secured the last one and put her brush back in my bag. The bleachers were filling up pretty fast when I was done. The players were back in the locker room so they could make their entrance in front of the whole student body. The cheerleaders were just about to head onto the court when Jess turned to me and waved to my mum who appeared suddenly next to me. "Hi Mrs.Y/L/N! Glad you could come!" Jess said as she hugged my mum. "Of course sweetie! I couldn't miss out on cheering on Y/N's best friend!" My mum replied with a smile. "Knock 'em dead Tiger!" I said as I hugged her before she made her way onto the court to welcome our team onto the court. Each player erupted one by one, and suddenly Zach emerged and he searched the stands and then his eyes landed on me and he waved and smiled in my direction. I smiled and blushed back. My mum tapped my leg and I moved my ear closer to her where she whispered, "Is that him? The boy in your biology class?" I nodded to her question and blushed deeper. The game started and Zach and I would steal glances at each other every now and again, nothing to major...or so I thought.

It was now the week before the Winter Concert, but Zach and I needed to finish up the prep for our project. We were in the library alone after school working on the final prep we needed before we could call the project 'finished'. A few hours had passed and we finished up the last component, but we finished earlier than expected so we started to finalise the project. We were finally done, and we were early. That's not a bad thing though, nothing wrong with finishing early. I was putting my stuff away when Zach cleared his throat, I zipped my bag and looked at him. "What do you want to be when you graduate?" He asked. I smiled, "I want to be a biochemist." "Why?" "Do you want the real answer or the short one I use to not have serious questions?" "The real one." I took a deep breath and then exhaled, "Because of my dad." "Why don't you talk about him? You avoided it when we first met." "It's just a touchy subject, that's all." "Can we talk about it? I want to get to know you more." I was shocked at his response, but it's fair since we've worked a lot together this year. "He passed away almost a year ago. Right before Christmas, to be exact." "I-I'm so sorry Y/N." I took his hand in mine, "It's okay, we expected it. He had ALS. He was diagnosed when I just turned 10 and he's the reason I'm here. He wanted to move to California before he passed." "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I would understand." He said as he gently swiped his thumb back and forth against the back of my hand. "Honestly, it's okay. I'm not ashamed, he was and still is my hero. He was deteriorating slowly so we thought we had time. We bought the house and just had to wait on our other house to sell so we could move. But about Septemberish of last year he went downhill quite fast. So, plans got pushed back as he got treatment. He was always so strong, as supported me even when he didn't want to admit that he couldn't really support himself. Some of the last words he said were "If Stephen Hawking can do it, so can I." which is also why I lookup to Dr.Hawking so much. I want to be a biochemist because of him, for him. I want to find the cure to ALS." Zach was staring in awe. I stood up and he stood up and pulled me into a bear hug. A hug of solidarity, a hug of understanding. We both pulled away and looked into each others eyes and smiled. He looked away and grabbed his things. "I'll drive you home." He said as he motioned for me to follow him. "Oh, you don't have to." "I know, but I want to." We made it to his car and he pulled out of the parking lot and opened up to me. "I want to be a marine biologist." He said. We talked about his aspirations and life on the way to my house. He parked outside and I hugged him. "Thank you. It's great seeing others be themselves too." I said as I pulled away. His arm moved behind me and rubbed my back and he started to lean in and so I leaned in as well but we were interrupted by my mum yelling my name. We both laughed and I got out of the car and waved goodbye and headed into my house. I watched as he drove away.

The day of the concert arrived, and the whole school day was just a blur. The dismissal bell and I headed to my locker where I was greeted by Jess. "What's the plan for today?" She asked with a huge smile. "Well, the group pieces are going to get a run through, then the solos, and then we get to get ready." I replied grabbing my music bag out of my locker and we headed to the auditorium which was pretty much already set up for the concert tonight. Jess sat front row. The group numbers were rehearsed, then solos, and then I had to get ready. Jess and I headed to the locker room. I changed into a long sleeved black maxi dress with my mums pearl necklace. I put my hair half-up half-down and Jess straightened my hair and chatted me up. "There's going to be a big surprise for you at the concert. All because of moi" She said as she smiled. "Should I thank you now or later?" I asked. "Def later." She said as she scrunched her nose and raspberried me. We laughed and chatted until she finished my hair and I finished my light makeup. I put my stuff away in my bag and we both walked over to the auditorium. People we already shuffling into the auditorium. I took out the framed picture of my dad before I let Jess go off and I get ready backstage. "He would be so proud of you." "You think so?" "I KNOW so. Break a leg out there." Jess said as she hugged me and we went out separate ways.

*THIRD PERSON* Jess waited until she saw Mrs. Y/L/N. She rushed over and hugged her. "I have a plan." Jess began to tell Mrs. Y/L/N her whole plan. Jess bought a bunch of flowers so everyone could give her something in support. She explained how she got all of the cheerleaders and basketball to come and support her. Mrs. Y/L/N was almost brought to tears, not truly grasping how quickly and wholeheartedly her daughter was loved at this school. Jess and Y/N's mother sat in the front row by the piano on stage left. Jess looked back every now and again to check to see if her plan would be followed through. And just like that, the cheerleaders and basketball players shuffled in and sat in the first three rows by the piano. Zach sat next to Jess. "Mrs. Y/L/N, this is Zach." Y/N's mum reached out her hand, "Are you her biology partner? She always talks about you. She really likes you, ya know?" Jess chuckled and placed the palm of her hand over her mouth while Zach blushed, the whole team started to be all "Bro we told you she liked you back. You have nothing to worry about." In between laughs Jess responded, "I don't think she wanted you to tell him that Mrs. Y/L/N." "Oop, you're probably right sweetie. I'm sorry to embarrass you Zach. I got really excited when she told me she likes you." "No no, it's okay Mrs. Y/L/N. I'm flattered because I really like here too." A few more minutes passed and it was time for the concert to start. *END THIRD PERSON*

The concert was about to start and I just held the picture of my dad closer. My teacher and conductor was doing his introductory statement before we all came out of the wing of stage right and into our places. I walked across the stage and spotted...all of them. Mum, Jess, Zach, everyone I grew closer with this past semester. A smile drew across my face as I saw my mum first, almost in tears already, and then to Jess, and then to Zach who shot me a wink and my heart could've fluttered out of my chest. I placed the photo of my dad on the piano at an angle so both me and the audience could see it. I heard my mum gasp and then cry a little at the picture, which made me tear up a little. We did the classic orchestral warm up before I spoke into the microphone right in front of the piano. "My first solo piece is Op. 28: XII. Presto in G Sharp Major composed by Frederic Chopin." I took my place at the piano and played the one minute long piece. I took my hands off the piano and bowed in my seat. We had a few classical group pieces followed by a few solos and then a few pop songs arranged for the orchestra like Without You and Fight Song/Amazing Grace and Tour De France. I was the last solo for the first part of the concert, I once again stepped in front of the microphone to announce my solo, "My second solo piece is Op. 28: XVI. Presto con fuoco in B flat minor also composed by Frederic Chopin." I took my place at the piano for a second time and played the other one minute long piece. I took my hands off the piano and we all stood up and bowed and walked off as it was announced that there was a 15 minute break. I took the opportunity to use the bathroom and relax a little. My fellow peers were complimenting me left and right and I did the same back. The 15 minutes were almost up and we took our seats once again. Once I got my cue, I went up to the microphone and announced my third piece, "My third solo piece is Op. 28: IV. Largo in E minor also composed by Frederic Chopin." I once again took my place at the piano and played the two minute long sorrowful piece. I played with much more emotion than I did in the first half of the concert. I took my hands off the piano and bowed in my seat. More group pieces and solos and finally it was my last solo and my longest. I walked up and grabbed the picture of my dad, "Before I announce my final solo piece, I want to take the time and dedicate this to my dad. I lost my dad almost a year ago to ALS or Lou Gherig's as most of you may know it as. He was a wonderful pianist and he's the one who taught me how to play. Not a day goes without me thinking about him or playing a song to remember him. I came rushing into his hospital room one day just ecstatic and I told him, "I want to be a biochemist when I grow up. I want to help people like you." And the day he passed away, I held his hand and promised I would be the one to discover the cure for ALS. And I intend on keeping that promise. My final solo piece was his favourite to play for my mum and I, Op. 28: XV. Sostenuto in D flat major." I placed his picture back on the piano, but fully facing me this time. I wiped the few tears I had running down my cheeks already from before as I looked over and saw her sobbing into Jess who also tearing up along with Zach and everyone else. I looked up at my teacher and peers who were all wiping tears away. He motioned for them to stand and the audience soon followed. I played with more emotion and drive than I knew I even had. I played the piece with passion. I made it about 2 minutes in before the tears started to roll down my face as I played with pure love and passion. I hit the last chord lighter than I thought was even possible. I sat for a few seconds to just absorb the moment. I stood up to bow and noticed I had a standing ovation. I shed a few tears before we all sat down and played our final piece. The concert was over and we all bowed and hugged each other. I grabbed my dads picture and whispered, "I did it daddy, for you." before I went to get my bags and head to my mum, I left the music hall and found Jess who ran to me with flowers. "I knew you were going to be amazing!" She lead me to the people I have grown close to and they all had flowers for me. "Here's your surprise! I told you they all had to hear how amazing you are!" They all were giving me a flower or two and telling me how amazing I was, but then there was my mum who still had tears streaming down her face. We hugged in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Jess took my bags off me and grabbed the flowers so I could hug my mum even closer. We let go and all that was left was Zach who held a huge bouquet in his arms. He gave them to me and I thanked him. He was in awe. I let out a giggle as I gave Jess the bouquet and wrapped my arms around his neck and his hands went around my waist. "Wow, that was just- wow." He barely even got that out of his mouth, he started to lean down but I told him to hold on. I looked over at my mum, "Mum are you going to interrupt this kiss?" "No, not this time sweetheart." I looked toward Zach who had a huge smile on his face, I returned the smile, "Alright, it's go big or go home." Zach, almost like he had rehearsed this very moment, held me tighter and dipped me and kissed me. Our lips crashed and the world felt still, it was just us in that moment. Just us, in love.

#zach dempsey #zach dempsey imagine #imagine #13 reasons why #13rw #13 reasons why imagine #13rw imagine #show-choir-gal

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find-your-sunspot · 4 years

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Chapter I - 3:30 PM

Chieko opened her eyes in a groan of fatigue. Oh, I fell asleep ... I wonder how much time has passed. The realization that someone had come in her sleep to light another incense made her blood run cold. A thousand and one scenarios swirled around in her head, as she straightened up to look around. What happened ?? What did they come to do ? After spending several minutes frantically touching her body, she finally calmed down with a sigh. Nothing had been done to her in her sleep ; and that was enough to reassure her.

The sky, which was still very pale before, had seen itself covered with a veil of cerulean blue, dotted here and there with clouds. Surprisingly gray clouds for the season ; the month of June had been mild and pleasant. Maybe a summer rain will fall soon. I hope, it is always enjoyable. The landscape is so stunning afterwards !

Without letting her smile fade, Chieko retrieved her phone, which she had left on the nightstand, to open the RFA app. It was three-thirty, and the Minister was hungry. The thought of a good snack made her stomach growl ; and even more so when she began to smell a faint smell of strawberry cake. I don't think it's in their best interests to poison me. I should go and see where the smell is coming from. I can't remember the last time I ate.

No sooner had she left her room than she found herself in a hallway decorated like a castle. Marble floors, fresh peonies, thick curtains tied with pretty golden ribbons, but most of all chandeliers hanging on the wall at equal distance from each other. While in awe of all the decorations, she took some time before noticing a young man with blackish hair waving to her. He doesn't seem mean, just... a little funny ? I don't know, he looks nice. Well, that doesn't mean I'm going to trust him.

<< ...Yes ?

-If you want some cake, you better wait in your room for them to come and give them to you ! >>

And, without saying anything more, this funny young man gave her another wave before disappearing at the junction of the hallways, chasing someone running. But what is their problem, anyway ? Why are they behaving like this with me ?

Still, Chieko decided to trust him on this one and reluctantly returned to his room. He is probably right. It's not a good idea for me to get out of here. I'm pretty sure this Saeran would kill me if he found out. However, I remain convinced that it is not him who is in charge of this place.

Back in her princess bedroom, she pulled one of the two armchairs around the pedestal table and sat down in silence. Thinking about how to get out of here, she remembered the information she had obtained about this place, as Minister of Justice. I am probably in the headquarters of this cult called "Mint Eye". Obviously, I was kidnapped here, but not because of my research. And judging the reactions of the members of the RFA, no announcement concerning my disappearance was made… But I should have expected it. I can only count on myself to get out of this.

As she was about to continue torturing her mind with those, her phone vibrated and a notification popped up on her screen. "New Chatroom" ! A slight smile curved around the corner of her lips, and she finally opened the app.

Yoosung 🌟 : Oh, hi, Jaehee, Chieko !!

Jaehee Kang : Hello, both of you.

Chieko : Hi ! :) How are you ?

Yoosung 🌟: Good ! Finally, I’m super restless. I couldn't concentrate at all in class. Too excited !

Jaehee Kang : Is it because of the Minister coming to our chatroom ?

Yoosung 🌟 : Yes ! I mean… Someone who knew Rika that we weren't aware of ?? It gives me so much hope to know more about her..!!

Jaehee Kang : Ah, theoretically, Mr. Han knows her. And from what I could understand, Luciel and V do too.

Chieko : Yes, that's right… I knew Luciel when he was younger, and I had the opportunity to meet V before I parted ways with Rika.

Jaehee Kang : If you are comfortable enough, would you mind telling us how you got to know Rika ?

Yoosung 🌟 : Oh, I was going to ask the same question ! She never told us about you.

Chieko : Of course. We left each other on… Bad terms ? Well. We got to know each other at church. We lived there for a few months.

Yoosung 🌟 : Living there ??

Jaehee Kang : I heard that homeless people can take refuge in church, yes.

Chieko : That's right. Oh, now that I think about it, I probably got the photos back on my phone. Just a second, please..

Jaehee Kang : I didn't know Rika had lived in church, to be honest.

Yoosung 🌟 : Me neither… I thought she had moved from her parents' place to V's directly.

After searching for a few moments in her phone's gallery, Chieko finally found the photo she was looking for. She, Rika, and another girl, holding hands right outside the church door. All three looked tired, but mostly they wore shy smiles. Nothing of the Rika that the RFA knew ; but also nothing of the Chieko that South Korea knew. Rika kept her hair plaited, and played nervously with one of her locks, while Chieko struggled to stand up because she was too skinny. And she, who always made a point of keeping her hair maintained, had let it go, in such a messy way, but also and above all as white as her sickly skin. The other girl, meanwhile, was also not in great physical shape, and wore a poorly executed bob cut.

Chieko : No, she stayed… Almost a year there before she met V and left.

Jaehee Kang : … Wow, this photo is odd to look at…

Yoosung 🌟 : How come Rika is like that ?? She does not look alike ....

Chieko : That's what I told you, she was such a strong woman. She has changed so much since the last time I saw her.

Jaehee Kang : … So you too, I think. I don’t know more about you, but... If you went from being a refugee in the church to being a justice minister, you had to work a lot.

Yoosung 🌟 : It is true that it is impressive !! You are a role model for a lot of people here!

Chieko : Ah, really ? I tend to see what the people blame me for...

Jaehee Kang : Ah, I can relate. ;-;;

Yoosung 🌟 : Waaah, you scare me for the future life.

Chieko : Don't worry, you'll be fine ! You seem like a young boy with lots of potential.

Yoosung 🌟 :… Oh, that's super flattering from you ! ^//^

Jaehee Kang : It is true that you can feel honored, Yoosung... It is very gratifying.

Chieko : Ha, it's no big deal... That is just my opinion. I don’t have any special qualifications to say that, I’m just telling you how I feel seeing you. :)

Yoosung 🌟 : Thank you then ! :D

Jaehee Kang : Well, having that cleared up ... Yoosung, you said you couldn't concentrate in class, is that right ?

Yoosung 🌟 : Yes… I'm spending time on my phone, hoping not to get caught. QwQ

Jaehee Kang : Yoosung, it's a bit... ;-;;

Chieko : Ha, even if you need to follow your class, feeling low one afternoon isn’t going to fail your schooling. Try to drink some water and get out for some fresh air ! It looks like it's going to rain soon. I don't know about you, but I find the summer rains soothing. :)

Jaehee Kang : … It is going to rain, you say ? However, the sky is perfectly clear in Seoul.

Yoosung 🌟 : That's right, the sun is burning my eyes and my teacher won't close the shutters ;-;

Chieko : … Oh, that's weird then. Excuse me. Either way, the intent remains the same. Just hanging out in your school grounds might relax you a bit, Yoosung.

Jaehee Kang : It is true that just for an afternoon it'll be fine… You obviously won't be able to concentrate today, so you should at least pay attention to your sanity. :)

Chieko : And I'll try to answer as many of your questions as possible so that you can concentrate in class tomorrow !

Jaehee Kang : It is true that it would help us a lot... Even if you already have the trust of Mr. Han, I would like us to be able to get rid of all the suspicions about you as soon as possible.

Yoosung 🌟 :… I was going to say something about V, but I think I'll take your advice and hang out for a bit ! ;-;;

Chieko : That's the spirit, Yoosung ! Don't think about what hurts you, and take some quality time for yourself.

Yoosung 🌟 : Thank you girls… have a nice day ! :D

Yoosung has left the chatroom.

Jaehee Kang : It is nice to see Yoosung active again… He had been in a lethargic state since Rika's death.

Chieko : Were they that close?

Jaehee Kang : Yes… Rika was her cousin, and I think he was the person she was closest to, after V, of course.

Chieko : … I imagine the distress he must have felt, indeed. But as tragic as her death is... We have to help him move forward. We cannot let him lock himself in mourning. Neither do you, either.

Jaehee Kang : … It is nice to want to do such a thing, but it's also very daring. We were all greatly impacted by her death, but it's nothing compared to V… Well, time is the answer, I guess.

Chieko : Time doesn't cure everything. Sometimes you have to agree to get help.

Jaehee Kang : … That is probably true. Thanks, Chieko.

Chieko : Thanks to you, Jaehee ! I enjoyed our conversation. :)

Jaehee Kang : I enjoyed it as well. If you will excuse me...

Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.

Chieko has left the chatroom.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a knock on her door. Chieko then turned her curious eyes in the direction of the noise ; and discovered a frail young girl advancing to the pedestal table. Without saying a word, she carefully came to deposit a piece of an appetizing strawberry shortcake in front of the Minister. But it was with even more special care that she made sure not to meet Chieko's gaze.

Still, what beautiful eyes she had. Mint blue, just like Saeran. Maybe it's his little sister ? They look a lot alike, and it's not her white hair that makes me think otherwise. What struck the little Minister the most, however, was the young lady's thinness, which was still apparent, despite the loose tunic she wore.

<< … Miss ? >>

After what seemed like an eternity to both of them, the young girl finally raised her head to stare Chieko straight in the eyes. A gaze so deep it almost seemed to be probing the entirety of her soul. And this sensation made her shiver all the more ; definitely, she felt helpless in front of such an unsettling pair of eyes. But ironically, she didn't think them as threatening, on the contrary. They were just blessed with disarming sincerity.

<<… You are in danger here. I will come back as soon as possible. In the meantime, do not accept food or drink from anyone other than me.

- ... Wait, why is that ? >> Chieko felt her throat tighten into a lump that choked her own voice. << Why would I believe you, anyway ?

- ... I can't take any longer than that now. I will come back at night. I count on your discretion. >>

Chieko thought she could discern, for a fraction of a second, a sympathetic smile burning the lips of the young girl. No, I must be dreaming. I'd better wait to find out more before rushing to conclusions. A poorly mastered curtsy and a brief wave later, she had already left her room, going out of sight, even from the hallway.

Who was she ? How many are there here ? Were my sources about this cult reliable ? Or are they well over a thousand ? These questions danced in a loop in her head. Like a three-beat waltz. Calculated, repeated, endless movements. Movements that would continue indefinitely if she did not end them herself. Which she finally did, firmly planting her spoon in the cake. Yes, maybe this cake is poisoned. But if I ask myself too many questions, I will not eat, and I will starve sooner or later.

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger jihyun #mysme #mysme v #mystic messenger jaehee #mystic messenger yoosung #mysme jaehee #mysme yoosung #jaehee kang #yoosung kim #estherocs #chieko konomi #meiimai #fanfiction #jihyun kim #v x cmc #find your sunspot

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mechanicalinertia · 4 years

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What’s next for Divine Patronage?

So my Ranma / Ah My Goddess! / other miscellaneous anime that take place in 1990′s Tokyo fanfic has become more popular than anything else I’ve ever written. I may have classes but this is my designated ‘leisure activity’ now for sure.

Anyway, I have a rough idea for this initial ‘arc’, and how it’ll end. Fine. Whatever. More importantly, though, I have continuing ideas about how to cross over more and more mid-90′s anime and other things into this mishmash where Urd and Ranma have to ‘problem-solve’ things. Christ I wrote like 9 possible arc setups last night; it’ll take me years to make good on them if I do at all.

That’s why I’m a-posting brief summaries of them here, so if I give up on these people can just steal em’.

1. CRIMES OF THE MISHIMA GROUP AGAINST GOOD TASTE

Sayoko Mishima and her zaibatsu god-nap Keiichi and in doing so royally piss off Belldandy. Urd has to snatch the poor kid, who is now a minor god, out from Sayoko’s clutches before Belldandy just loses it and nukes earth in silent rage. Ranma can’t beat the compound alone, though, so Urd turns to Akiko Natsume - the actual head of Mishima - and her all purpose combat android for some help. Unfortunately, the android has a cat brain. Cue Ranma struggling to confront his fears to save the world.

Crossover with: All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku, a medium-obscure OVA from the 90′s starring Megumi Hayashibara as the wacky cat-bot-girl with Saeko Shimazu (Kodachi’s voice among others) as Akiko. Good fun.

2. FATE / STRANGE; DAYS

Remember Lind, the Valkyrie from the Angel Eater Arc of AMG? Well, she back. She intervened in Fate / Zero’s Holy Grail War (assumed to take place around 1994) and contracted w/ Kiritsugu the way Urd did with Ranma. Now Kiri may have lost all his lady companions, but he gets Illya back from Germany and is raising her alongside Shirou with the help of Illya’s wacky maids. Maybe lil’ Rin and Sakura are involved, too, I dunno.

Anyway, Lind considers the Sailor Senshi a threat to the divine order (they do appear to predate human civilization) - especially since Saturn’s Glaive of Silence is believed to be the Norse Gungnir, Spear of Destiny, Odin’s superweapon that could (even in the OG myths) rewrite reality itself to render enemies nonexistent.

So Lind gets Kiritsugu, Arturia Saber, and Prisma Illya to go to Tokyo and track down Sailor Saturn with Ranma’s help. Then they end up teleporting to the distant past of the Silver Milennium, back when the Senshi’s magic rendered the other planets of the Solar System inhabitable. Cue a string of John Carter references.

Crossover with: Fate / Zero, Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Might even separate the Fate story from the whole Saturn / Gungnir subplot - they’re just hunting Kirei and Gil, then. Sure. Fine.

3. THE FUTURE IS HERE AND IT SUCKS

Skuld time travels into the future, only to find that almost every single timeline ends with humanity being wiped out before the 22nd century - perhaps by SM’s Great Freeze, perhaps by other factors. Unfortunately, she forgot to close her possible-future-timeline portals properly, which leads to various cyberpunk futures bouncing off one another for supremacy in 1996.

(Look I wanted to just fuckin do BGC or GITS crossover. Couldn’t decide. Why not both?)

Crossover with: BGC 2032 (Or my 2069 rebot), Ghost in the Shell, Silent Mobius (maybe)

4. GAMES OF THE GODS

The obligatory ‘gang plays an RPG’ sitcom episode, only a) it’s Cyberpunk 2020 because I’ve read that system’s books, and b) the goddesses all bring their boytoys along to be sucked into the game world as their player characters. (Urd gets Ranma, Bell gets Keiichi, Skuld is the GM, Peorth gets Ryoga, Lind gets Kiritsugu) (I guess I better do an arc where Peorth patronizes Ryoga to screw with Urd...)

5. GUNS, BOMBS, ROCK N’ ROLL

Ranma gets dragged along by Urd for a vacation, theoretically to LA. But then after getting bored of the Obligatory Beach Episode, Urd rediscovers that she has a daughter in Chicago - Rally Vincent. She and Ranma rush off to screw up the events of the manga and protect her daughter from the brainwashing of a lesbian rapist crime lord. (I wish I was making that last bit up). Maybe Priss of BGC tags along to really hammer in the WACKY KENICHI SONODA CROSSOVER thing?

Crossover with: Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean, maybe BGC

6. HEISEI BLOSSOMS BLOOMING

The Japanese government decides to reactivate the Teikoku Kagekidan project, this time using idoru as the mecha pilots instead of the Takarazura Revue thing they had going on in the 20′s. The K-on girls audition, the Love Live girls audition, someone in the Ranma cast or something tries out as well. Mecha are now nuclear-powered instead of steam-powered (whatever that means)

Crossover with: Original Sakura Wars franchise, Tite Kubo iteration non-involved. maybe K-on and Love Live

7. RANMA’S LUDICROUS EXCURSION: STAR-DIAMOND DUST IS UNCRUSADERABLE

Ranma gets a stand. Urd thinks it’s like her angel. Yare yare daze.

Crossover with: What do you think, genius?

8. ETERNAL SUMMER

Ranma gets trapped in a temporal anomaly centered around Tomobiki Town. Now it’s August 1982, Ataru and Lum are about to get married, and unless he can stop the total breakdown of the pocket reality within the seven days before the time loop resets he’ll become part of it forever. Trippy New Wave Existentialist Bullshit - Screwball Comedy meets Body Horror. Also see: Higurashi.

Crossover with: Urusei Yatsura

9. TRICOWBOYOUTLAW BEBOPGUNSTAR: EFF YOU, SPACE COWBOY

A valiant attempt to crossover all three of the late 90′s ‘Cowboy shonen’ anime of the time in one universe. A shared universe? Nah. We’re probably just gonna transplant all the characters into 90′s Tokyo again and watch the body count pile up.

Crossover with: Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Trigun. Oh, and maybe one of those ‘robo-maid’ shows from the aughties (Hand Maid May, Mahoromatic, Steel Angel Kurimi), just to fuck with everyone.

10. COPS AND ROBOTS

Ranma gets in trouble with the police for sneaking onto the Babylon Project, forced into community service, and then ends up blackmailed into the long-running grudgematch between the SV2 Labor Squad and the Tokyo Highway Patrol.

Crossover with: You’re Under Arrest, Patlabor (original OVA mostly)

11. SUPERIOR AUTOMATRONIC DISPUTE RESOLUTION: GO NAGAI EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Skuld gets in a fight with some deities from some rival pantheons, and as a proper grudgematch resolution they all resolve to build Giant Robots and then Battle Royale them. Ranma has to pilot one.

Crossover with: NOTHING.

12. THE HOUND OF ULSTER BARKS AT MIDNIGHT

Cu Chullain, husbando of Ex-Valkyrie and turncoat Irish goddess Scathach, teams up with Ranma in Dublin to stop IRA extremists from resurrecting the Tuatha De Dannan, specifically the Morrigan. A teenage Bazett (from Fate) shows up and gets all fangirly.

13. TALES FROM THE OOPS

An abandoned particle accelerator built in the 80′s near Stockholm may or may not cause Ragnarok. Ranma and some edgy Swedish Teenagers have to deal with 90′s recession bullshit and clean the place out

Crossover with: Tales from the Loop, Things From the Flood

That’s about it, honestly. I have other things I’d like to crossover with, tbh, mostly mecha stuff. Among them:

- Cannon God Exaxxion

- Eva

- Gundam UC

- Muv-Luv

-Negmia / another Ken Akumatsu trashpile (and I mean that in the best possible way)

Shit this is fun. Imma make another one of these posts with even more ludicrious crossovers later. Peace out.

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digikate813 · 5 years

Text

Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Immortal Power of Friendship

Well? Was it everything you hoped it would be? Or did you wish there was more after the book closed after this amazing show’s final song? Well, maybe there is.

It goes without saying that the 3 part finale to My Little Pony Friendship is Magic was an emotional ride, but one of the things I was most surprised to see in the final episode is how much Twilight has, grown. I caught glimpses of it while trying to dodge early spoilers, but I think it’s one of the things that stuck with the fan base. Twilight growing up into a, let’s call it a full alicorn, is something that’s been imagined by fans quite a bit over the years. After all Lauren Faust’s original vision for Twilight’s destiny was for her to become Celestia’s successor. And this season has been preparing us for this. So in a way this was inevitable. And it looks way more natural then I thought it would honestly. But with this new form for everypony’s favorite book horse comes a question that, isn’t new, but has resurfaced. Especially now seeing the rest of the Mane Six quite a bit older. Will Twilight outlive her friends?

Some people really don’t like the idea of Twilight becoming immortal or capable of living for over 1,000 years like her mentor. Since it would mean that she would rule and live on without her best friends. The ponies who set her on this path in the first place. Like she said at her first coronation back in “Magical Mystery Cure”, she wouldn’t have been standing there if it wasn’t for the friendships she made with all of them.

And now that we got a glimpse of what the future looks like, and how everypony ages, and how some aren’t aging as fast as others, even thought the show never presents the possibility, it’s not a ridiculous conclusion to come to. And given how fans have interpreted what Twilight would be like not having her friends around her, I get how some might feel this is a dark revelation or even possibility. But “The Last Problem” does something brilliant with it’s time as a curtain call to both subtly and blatantly address this. And how the show’s legacy actually makes this theory of Twilight’s future more hopeful then mournful.

Part of this comes from the main plot of “The Last Problem”, where Twilight is scared that now that she won’t live in Ponyville, her friendships will fall apart and eventually fade away. Even if she is about to take a major step to accomplishing something wonderful, she’s terrified of losing what got her there in the first place, and what got her through every obstacle throughout the course of the series. And that’s okay. In the story it’s there to show that changes can be scary, and just because you’re afraid something will end, doesn’t mean it will. Or that whatever form it takes next when things do have to change, will be a bad one.

You could argue that this is a way of assuring Twilight about her position as ruler. How to embrace change with high spirits even if it makes you sad or scared. Which leads me to the more subtle and more important message of “The Last Problem”, and how it sort of addresses Immortal Princess Twilight depending on how you look at it.

As we look into the future of the Mane Six, we see that Twilight has taken on a student of her own, Luster Dawn. Who like Twilight so many moons ago, believed that friendship was pointless, and the best way to accomplish your goals was on your own. But Twilight shows Luster not only how she’s kept her friendship with the Mane Six alive despite how much things have changed, but how much friendship connects so many ponies and creatures together. An that if you work at it, that never stops.

Starswirl the Bearded and the Pillars showed how powerful ponies from all walks of life can be when they work together. The Mane Six showed how not only standing together, but taking the time to reach out, empathize and bridge gaps despite your differences can change lives. And the Student Six showed that that doesn’t just apply to Twilight and the girls. That any creature, even if they seem scary or mysterious, can become great friends. And that if you pass on the lessons that helped you grow into a better person, it can leave a great impact.

Friendship and everything that comes with it, doesn’t begin and end with the Mane Six. This is something that the show felt like it was going for back in the early seasons, but I’d say ever since Starlight came around, the show has been making a conscious effort to show the reach of kindness, generosity, laughter, honesty, loyalty, and the magic that friendship brings. The final fight with Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow is proof of how powerful the Mane Six’s attempts to reach out and befriend every creature is. It manifested and took forms none of them could have predicted. Evolving into this Avengers style entrance. And this is why Twilight’s theoretical immortality is not as grim as most might have thought.

Will Twilight outlive the Mane Five? It’s not clear, but it’s certainly likely. Will she outlive their friendship? Absolutely not. The final song shows just how much the Mane Six have effected since the series began. How many lives they’ve touched. How many creatures they’ve brought together. And how much those ideals will continue to spread as the creatures they befriended grow and pass their lessons on to the next generation.

Twilight ruling all of Equestria is probably one of the most optimistic conclusions the show could have had. Because despite the implications of what that means, no matter how long she reigns for, there’s no doubt that Twilight will work tirelessly to make sure those morals are upheld. That creatures of all kinds will continue to bond and talk and connect. That when problems arise, they will be dealt with with understanding and cooperation. That doubt and fear will never overpower compassion and selflessness. That the connections of friendship will continue to shape creatures for the better, and help all involved become the best they can be. Just as it did for a stubborn little unicorn one faithful Summer Sun Celebration.

Which is why Luster Dawn is such an important inclusion. It might seem like an obvious thing to do to have the series come full circle, but that’s why it works. As a way to show that even though friends may move on or change or leave, if you’re willing to work at it, friendship never dies. It expands, it takes on new forms, it influences new people who come into your life, and it manifests in unexpected ways. If you put in the effort, it’s time never ends. Like the song says, the magic of friendship, grows. And I think that message of hope and future potential is what we can take away from the possibility of Immortal Princess Twilight Sparkle.

And hey. At least she’ll still have Discord! That guy doesn’t seem to be going anywhere either.

#My Little Pony #analysis #twilight sparkle #MLP Spoilers #my little pony friendship is magic #the last problem #MLP;FiM

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alias-b · 5 years

Note

tell us ... about more billy and camille aus ... i really like the ones i've seen you talk about so far ... pretty please ;D

Omg I’m sorry this took me forever to answer!!! I have A LOT but I put a few terrible and fantastic select winners below. Thanks for this ask!!! If anyone wants to add to my theoretical list, send them in and we’ll cry together.

-Dirty Girl AU. Set to the tune of One Bad Night by Hayley Kiyoko. Summer after junior year at Hawkins HS, everything falls apart. Two trouble teens with dark secrets aplenty meet up after one horrid night and run away from Hawkins together in search of Billy’s mother. Terrible road trip shenanigans ensue. Jim Hopper bands together with Susan Hargrove to find kids they care about. And Neil sets up to chase down his son. Also watch this movie with Juno Temple.

-SKY HIGH/SUPERHERO AU lmaooooo I can’t even talk about it…..but it should be a thing in my orbit.

-Just Like Heaven AU where Billy Hargrove moves to Hawkins and starts seeing a ghost girl Camille in his house who’s convinced she really isn’t dead. They try to uncover her identity and fall in love. Also, they’re really dumb.

-Adventure in Babysitting AU. Camille babysitting some of the kids and having to go rescue Heather after she failed to runaway to the city. Billy and his poor car get roped into helping. C h a o s…….

-Warm Bodies AU. Fighting zombies. Falling in love. except one of them is the zombie. But would I make Camille or Billy the zombie hmmm ????????

-Back to the Future AU. AU, the Hargroves always lived in Indiana. Idk I just want Billy/Camille causing major problems in the old Hawkins and wearing 50/60s clothes and having to set things right. Murray or Alexei build a time machine, shit goes down. Younger counter parts for them, Cam’s parents, Joyce, Jim, Neil, Brenner, Susan, Karen, and Billy’s mom etc etc. Camille would flirt with young Jim Hopper just bc she can. Karen can flirt with Billy and it’s much less weird *eyeroll*. Either way, they’d fall in love in the 50s after fighting a lot about how they got there and how they should shape the future and it’ll be bittersweet, that’s the point.

-The Fifth Element AU. Heavy breathing……………………………

-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind AU. It’s just me sobbing into an open mic.

-Happy Death Day AU: Bitchy sorority girl Camille keeps dying and enlists the local asshole she’s tutoring, Billy Hargrove, and company to help her find who killed her before she dies for good.

-Silent Hill AU. Camille is Alessa and Billy is Pyramid Head. There’s no plot, it’s just sad. But, also ripped Pyramid Head but under the Pyramid he’s Hot. Lmao but real talk, there is a lot I can do with Silent Hill, it’s all depressing tho.

That’s the bulk of them ??????? I mean, we can go harder into gods/magic/myth/fairy tales or Fallout/Skyrim or some kind of haunted house/slasher au lmao but……..these two. There’s no reality where they ain’t falling in love against their will.

THANK YOU AGAIN. ILY.

#billy hargrove #Billy hargrove x oc #Billy Hargrove imagine #billy hargrove fanfiction #Camille Harper #anon #ask #insp

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littlegumshoe · 6 years

Text

ANOTHER skip list in no particular order.

refer to my previous lists for more

SCP 001- when day breaks

SCP 001- the database

SCP 001- gods blind spot

SCP 001- twistedgears-kaktus-proposal

SCP 3000- Ananteshesha

winner of 3000 competition ‘horror’

SCP 3007- A World of Two Artists

hallucination where your mind is transported to a place but your body stays put

SCP 1730- What Happened to Site-13?

SCP 451- Mr Lonely

formerly an scp agent, cannot perceive presence or actions of human beings anymore

SCP 3512- The More You Know

incels and pick up artist culture

SCP 2740- It Wasn't There

Another reason for you to be afraid of attics

SCP 3005- A Light that Died

All information about the appearance of this scp has been lost, all that remains is a testing log. One of my personal favourites

SCP 978- Desire camera

SCP 2316- Field trip

you do not recognize the bodies in the water.

SCP 1423- Summer of '76

Connected to the last SCP “We’ve had a great year, haven’t we?”

SCP 1875- Antique Chess Computer

self playing chess set, who under no circumstances should be connected to the internet, pretty unnerving skip!

SCP 140- An Incomplete Chronicle

a self writing book writing about a long dead civilisation, as it writes fragments of this made up civilisation manifest in reality, the more it writes the closer they come to meeting with our own time, what happens when the date reaches modern day?

SCP 2539- Highway To Hell

“After returning, said individuals typically show signs of severe dehydration and heatstroke, even when provided adequate supplies to prevent this.”

SCP 1231- The Theoretical Family

Amiga which displays a family, the more it is viewed the more thumbnails of the family are displayed, each with more distressing circumstances. Is it all real?

SCP 2933- Mr. Scary

“Yes, see, Father was v-very sick. The rust was inside him. So he p-promised me that if I took the rust from him, that he would m-make smiles for everybody.”

SCP 2935- O, Death

cave leading to alternate earth where everything is dead, plants, animals, humans, microbes, everything! But how?

●●|●●●●●|●●|●

memetic SCP that can only be safely documented through pictures.

SCP 3998 The Wicker Witch Lives

Documents detailing a trial of a witch, slowly we unearth her true intentions

SCP 1425- Star Signals

a self help book

“With the best-selling novel Star Signals, sold in four countries and translated into hundreds of languages, you too can tune in to the celestial frequencies, and then become like the stars!”

SCP 358- The Red Pool

creatures from another world manifest from this otherworldly portal.

SCP 2529- Rest in Peace

missing persons phenomenon

SCP 1538- Instructions to a Twin-Screw Extruder

suicide hole

SCP 1487- Beautiful Bones

girl who can only see people as skeletons

SCP 1782- Tabula Rasa

"There's a hole in the wall in the bottom of the floor / There's a girl in the wall in the bottom of the floor"

SCP 2695- Lucibelle Perhacs

“SCP-2695 is an elderly woman, originally residing in Montreal, Canada,,,

,,,Since initial containment, an additional three sewing needles have appeared within their right atrium and pulmonary valve, suggesting that SCP-2695-T is currently self-replicating at a rate of one needle per two weeks.”

SCP 715- My Face That I May Be

“,,,has been known to animate sporadically, producing images believed to be modified from previous shot,,,Images produced by SCP-715 are often heavily distorted”

This photobooth SCP is under so many locks and keys and passwords, something extremely sinister is within the files.

SCP 3044- Evolution In A Bottle

SCP 2886- Planet Hopping Volcano

[Czech greeting clip] Dear friends [Esperanto greeting] World [sound of wind] [sound of thunder] [Amoy greeting] eaten

SCP 736- The Iapetus Anomaly

Chilling, the build up in the research log makes it just such a great read.

SCP 2467- A Sum Greater than its Parts

‘The watcher of eyes and biter of teeth deemed them worthy’ a ship that appears in any body of water large enough to fit its mast (even a puddle)

SCP 3333 (wayback machine link)- The Tower

the author edited the original and it fucking sucks, so ive linked the old version here! One of my all time favourites.

SCP 2137 A Door to Another World

Special Access Designation: CODE NIGHTMARE REGENT RED

SCP 1048- Builder Bear

a teddy bear

SCP 2508- The Long Wait

Hardcore cottagecore

SCP 2669- Khevtuul 1

a space probe, designed to find any planets capable of supporting earth life. It absorbs the consciousness of a former doctor and wants to return home.

SCP 2798- This Dying World

“SCP-2798 is the result of a Foundation project, initiated in 1954 and completed in 1971, designed to contain SCP-001.”

SCP 2308- Futures Trading

a temporal anomaly used to make infinite moneys

SCP 3999- I Am At The Center of Everything That Happens To Me

A barely coherent SCP that takes a journey through the writers mind, truly wild and amazing piece.

SCP 1981 "RONALD REAGAN CUT UP WHILE TALKING"

SCP 1867- A Gentleman

sea slug with the mind of a british explorer

SCP 2719- Inside

short, im really loving the meta scps at the moment.

SCP 2747- As below, so above

the ULTIMATE meta experience, you will question the fabric of reality

SCP 460- S Séance Storm

Floating cloud that stops to materialise ghosts

SCP 3125- The Escapee (The password is 55555)

Memetic SCP “ At this point, "humanity" as an abstract concept, along with all attendant abstracts such as "civilization", "culture", "society", "community" and "family" will have ceased to exist. “

SCP 1739- Obsolete Laptop

laptop found with an .exe file that sends you to an alternate dimension, with one express purpose,,,

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2844

a cute sentient machine who was programmed to create “small, interlocking metal pieces for the glory of He Who Was Broken” though it only knows how to make paperclips,,, even when its power is turned off,,,

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1451

[DATA LOST] The changes have already begun to occur. The three aspects….are melding Are[DATA LOST]et out[DATA LOST]

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1483

a safe two-way portal leading to another Antarctica, honestly, i could see a whole novel being written about this scp it truly fascinated me

SCP 2474- Irnini Mons

space anomaly on Venus

SCP 3519- These Quiet Days

The World is Going to End

SCP 3029- KIC 8462852 ("Tabby's Star")

A star had been noticed to dim periodically and it was determined to be an array of reflective objects around the star, a ship is sent to investigate. Heartwarming.

SCP 3003- The End of History

Earth like planet invested with a parasite, our world may be a perfect new host

SCP 3002- Attempts to Assassinate Thought

A shared memory, delving deeper into the files unearths something we didn’t notice at the start and it may be too late.

SCP 3200- Chronos

A void in space where trans-universal contact may be possible. A crew is sent to investigate.

SCP 1780- The Temporal Anomalies Department

office nameplate that opens a portal in the nearest door, weird, spooky, and at points hilarious

“Agents █████ and ███████ @2301, Debriefing. Who keeps using the doughnut?!”

SCP 3008- A Perfectly Normal, Regular Old IKEA

SCP 2003- Preferred Option

Time travel to multiple universes and multiple times, really demonstrates the Foundations fear of the unknown and barbaric choices to fend off the end of the world.

SCP 3963- I Contain Multitudes

The writing at the start was meh, but God!! this is such a gross lil goodie

SCP 513- A Cowbell

You’ve seen it. Now he can hear you. You’ve touched it. Now he can see you. Never ring it. If you hear it, he can touch you.

SCP 703- Into the Closet

The lil closet that could

SCP 3101- Contain me Harder

My scp husband, or me as an SCP i cant decide. This skip is all im about.

SCP 6327-J- [redacted for brevity]

A joke SCP i had to include, because its really good.

#scp #scp foundtion

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notbecauseofvictories · 6 years

Note

sybil and sam + arranged marriage, i beg you

Sam spends most of the half-hour meeting raging at Vetinari, to such a profound degree that Sybil—who hasn’t raged at Havelock since they were both sixteen, and he balked at kissing her at her coming-out party—thinks it might not be fair play. Havelock can stand a lot of being-raged-at (it’s novel, given the...tyranny) but even Havelock has limits.

“Sam,” she says, and Sam ignores her in favor of raging some more. She wishes she did not find that so endearing.

He’s inconvenient, that’s the trouble. She’d already made-over her bedroom in pastels and devoted herself to elderly dragons; told Mr. Slant to divert funds to charities, in anticipation of a dowager-hood to come. Unmarried women closer to forty than thirty plan ahead; they know what they’re doing. She was a single approaching-middle-aged woman in possession of a great fortune, with a tendency towards the maudlin. She’d prepared herself for fortune hunters and dandying con-men, not—Sam.

Samuel Vimes thinks about streets, and boots, and tea, and also Justice, and The City. He’d never been married, as far as she knew. Corporal Colon told her; he’d never seemed to be looking. But Samuel Vimes had looked at her—Sybil Ramkin, who had child-bearing hips despite bearing not children, and whose wigs hid a fine shaved head, who liked muck; uncompromising, unstinting, and he’d went ahead and liked her for it.

She’d never been liked before. Even Havelock had skipped over that, in favor of thinking her as a co-conspirator and valuable piece on his Thud board. (It was a compliment, of a kind, just not the kind that a romantic young girl looked for in the only male member of her set who didn’t bore her silly.)

Havelock is looking at her now, his left eyebrow raised just a hair higher than the right.

He would stop this, Sybil knows, if she asked. It is a kind of favor, from Havelock to Sybil, as good as a kiss even if it’s—too many years later, and in the absence of liking. (She knows Havelock likes her too, but it’s in his own cool and complicated way, on his own terms. Not hers. It’s frustrating in such a small way, she’s chosen to let it go. Let it ease away, and disappear, like the hope of being liked, being kissed.)

Sybil smiles slightly at Havelock, and the left eyebrow lowers, mollified.

“Sam!” Sybil interrupts sharply, and he finally falls silent, scowling. Sybil can feel Havelock looking at them both, a twist to his mouth that on another man, might have been called a smile.

“Commander Vimes,” Havelock says, steepling his fingers. “As tyrant of Ankh-Morpork, I have decreed it. To not obey such a decree would be treason.”

“I know,” Sam grits out, and oh, even Vetinari has to grace to look surprised when Sam takes out the crumpled leaflet from his pocket and slams it down on Havelock’s desk. “But why did I have to hear about my own damned wedding from a poster!”

For her part, Sybil had thought the announcement satisfactory; it listed all her names in the right order—thanks to Mr. Drumknott’s fact-checking, she was sure—and she quite liked the idea of a fall wedding. The notice itself was attractive enough, with a border of roses around the edge, and a minimum of spelling errors. But then…Willikins had brought her a placard with her morning tea, and she’d had the benefit of privacy to grapple with the news. Sam had found out when Nobby Nobbs turned up at Pseudopolis Yard just before lunch, clutching a tattered copy and asking if this meant Sam would be a lord.

That sort of nasty shock would prejudice a man towards a public decree announcing the marriage of Her Grace, Lady Sybil Deirdre Olgivanna Ramkin-Vimes, The Duchess of Ankh, to Captain Samuel Vimes of the Watch. Especially when he had not been informed himself.

“Most public decrees are always announced this way, Commander Vimes.”

“My life isn’t a public decree! You can’t order me to marry someone!”

“Commander Vimes, I’m sure you do not need a reminder of the definition of tyranny.” Vetinari’s left eyebrow is creeping up again, and Sybil bit back a sigh when she realized that the novelty was wearing off. “Or perhaps it is Lady Ramkin you object to.”

“Wha—no, of course it’s not Sybil, she’s—she’s—” Sam goes furiously silent, clearly torn between embarrassment and fury at being so caught out. Sybil, despite herself, finds this endearing as well.

“I’m just not the marrying kind,” Sam mumbles. “And certainly not…”

He says this softly, an apology, and she knows he means: nobility, first daughter of Ankh-Morpork, the cream. He does not mean: Sybil. She has to keep these things straight. Or else Sam could break her heart. (He could do that anyway, but she appreciates his tact.)

“Well then, what possible objection could you have?” Havelock says. His hands are folded together, but the knuckles have gone white. Sybil wishes she weren’t so exhausted by their back-and-forth, that she could properly appreicte the compliment each of them is doing her, in their own way. But she can feel the beginnings of a headache building at her temples.

She’s tired. Sybil Ramkin is liked and it’s unexpected, in its joy, but she doesn’t want to be a Thud piece between two men who theoretically like her. She’s Ankh-Morpork’s first daughter, no one relegates her to the very edge of this city’s narrative.

(She wonders if the stroppy heroines in her romance novels ever had to grapple with balancing the political and personal in quite this way---but then, The Cocky Uberwaldian Duke had decided its dragon-breeder heroine didn’t know that late summer was kindling for juvenile dragons. An oversight, but also one that had made Sybil snort and disapprovingly dog-ear the page for discussion with the other ladies in her circle.)

“Enough, both of you,” Sybil interrupts before Sam can let loose of what is obviously a string of curses only a particularly experienced watchman could know.

“Sam,” she says, turning to him first, because---she likes him as well, skinny and short and angry, always angry. Angry for the sake of something only he can see, a Justice, an Ankh-Morpork that she only catches sight of in the corner of her eye. She likes who she is with him, even more than him. (And she likes him quite a bit. Has, since he first introduced himself, and some animal, female instinct, long buried beneath knitting and refusal to hope, sat up straight and went, OH.)

"Do you want to marry me?” she asks, and tries not to blush at the question. “Apart from---the spectacle, should or not, do you...if we went down to the temple of Blind Io right now, and...would you marry me?”

It’s gratifying, how little time he takes to answer, “Yes.”

Sybil turns to Havelock. She still loves him, in an abstract sort of way. She suspects they will always understand one another in a way no one else will---the two misfits of Ankh society; the decidedly unlovely, unsilly heiress, and the assassin determined to supersede the gods. Sybil will always look at Havelock and think of that evening when Havelock snuck into her room with a bottle of Agatean wine and they stayed up until the early hours of the morning, talking about the future of Ankh-Morpork. (He’d been so far gone as to gesture with his hands as he spoke, it was extremely endearing.)

Sybil holds out a hand, and after a moment, Havelock takes it.

“Thank you,” she says, squeezing his fingers. He flinches, a little. but she has a point to make. “For your offer to underwite the ceremony.”

She will give him credit, Havelock blinks and then nods. “Of course.”

“And the reception where there would be food and drink and entertainment enough for all of Ankh-Morpork---as they have been invited through public decree to celebrate the joyous occasion,” Sybil continues, and Havelock’s expression doesn’t change except for the light flaring out in his eyes.

“Of course,” Havelock drawls, the faintest edge of poison in his voice.

“And then the honeymoon to Ephebe.”

Havelock looked pained, and it would be a lie to say Sybil did not take a certain amount of pleasure in it. “Djelibeybi,” he replies faintly. “There is---the matter of current alliances to considered. Ankh-Morpork is on very good terms with the Pharaoh Ptraci.”

“Done,” Sybil said, squeezing Havelock’s fingers again. When she sits back, Sam is staring at her in open incredulity. “You don’t mind seeing pyramids instead of the ruins, right?”

To his credit---his enduring credit, and also how much she likes him---Sam’s first instinct is to laugh.

#secifosseluce #discworld #adherents of the repeated meme

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futuresandpasts · 6 years

Text

Futures & Pasts | MRR #426

So you’ve probably heard by now that Maximum Rocknroll is going to be ceasing its print publication very soon (there’s two more issues left as of this month). Thirty-seven straight years of putting out an all-volunteer-staffed, internationally distributed punk zine EVERY MONTH is completely mind-boggling & I feel genuinely honored to have been a small part of that history for the past four years. They’ve given me a really important platform to write about all kinds of weird & obscure music on the fringes of DIY from all points in time, where I had a page or two in every issue to slip in feverish praise for forgotten Messthetics geniuses and early ‘80s one-single femme-punk wonders and contemporary mutant disco tape freaks in the midst of interviews with, say, any number of D-beat bands.

I'm hoping that if you’ve ever read my column, you’re not among the (many, many) people who dismissively say things about how they haven’t picked up an issue of MRR in years, or like to argue that MRR doesn’t cover anything interesting or relevant anymore, etc. If by chance you are, I’d like to recommend throwing MRR a couple of bucks for their final print issues as a small acknowledgement of the fact that I’ve made all of my columns available to read online free of charge, without you ever having to touch the smudged newsprint pages of an actual copy of the magazine. You can also still pick up back issues, including #426 (November 2018), where this particular column first appeared.

I was struggling a little bit to figure out what truly new (as opposed to newly reissued) music to write about this month, but I got an email completely by chance from my friend Aubrey in LITHICS as they were passing through the UK on their European tour, and she recommended that I check out this band called HANDLE that they had just played with in Manchester. Totally serendipitous, because their six-song demo collection Demonstrations is so completely my thing—all sharp, clanging incantations built from bass, drums, keyboard, and voice, with rhythm at the forefront even as everything else is collapsing around it. “Rubber Necks” and “Step By Step” both lock into propulsive grooves from mutant disco beats and harsh metallic percussion that intersect with a deep, menacing bass throb and urgently yelped and chanted vocals to skirt the line between the deconstructed danceability of early ‘80s New York groups like LIQUID LIQUID or BUSH TETRAS, and the more abrasive, confrontational scratch and scrape of their No Wave cohorts in DNA or THEORETICAL GIRLS. HANDLE somehow manage to be disjointed and tightly-wound at the same time (think of the delicate balance that TRASH KIT and SHOPPING pull off, if you’re looking for reference points from the 21st century), crafting truly anxious sounds for uncertain futures. Can’t wait for them to take the steps toward a proper physical release, because it will absolutely set things on fire when they do. (Absolute Fiction, absolutefiction.bandcamp.com)

After a handful of cassettes that appeared over the last few years, Canadian oddballs TOUGH CUSTOMER recently made their vinyl debut with the four-song Darlene EP on Sweet Rot, in the “slightly less new by the time y’all read this” category. Their austere-yet-playful, bass-driven vibe recalls the effortlessly cool minimalism of early ‘80s art-schooled heroines like OH-OK and Y PANTS, with flashes of KLEENEX-esque free-associated absurdism—“Mash” seems to follow a fairly standard post-punk combination of needling guitar, steady bass pulse, and kinetic drumming, until you start to wrap your head around the fact that lyrics are basically all about potatoes. Each song ends up subtly bending itself into similarly unexpected forms and sometimes more than once, whether it’s via the band hopscotching through the sneaky, shifting rhythms of “Drum Farm”, or the structure provided by the significant negative spaces between sparsely struck notes in “Clean and Clear” (the highlight of their 2015 debut tape The Worst, presented here in an even more tightened up version), or when a legitimately wailing guitar solo in “Soul Patch” breaks up the otherwise taut push/pull that’s been constructed. I can’t really think of many other modern post-punk adjacent bands who are this deep into their own self-defined and uncurbed musical universe, and that’s definitely to TOUGH CUSTOMER’s credit. (Sweet Rot, actualtoughcustomer.bandcamp.com)

The one-off 1979 single from the HAND GRENADES was self-released and packaged in a minimalist sleeve with no personnel credits or identifying information, which posed all sorts of questions as to who was behind the record and where exactly they had come from. Going strictly from audio cues, both sides of the 7” showcased a ramshackle post-punk sensibility in line with the DESPERATE BICYCLES, the HOMOSEXUALS, or SWELL MAPS (not to mention some nasal and vaguely British-accented vocals that sounded kind of like a bedroom-recorded Peter Perrett of the ONLY ONES), which lead many people to understandably reach the conclusion that the HAND GRENADES must have been a product of the same “it was easy, it was cheap, go and do it” school of late ‘70s UK DIY. In reality, they were actually from Long Island, and by the early ‘80s, they’d transformed into the new wave/power-pop group the SPONSORS, abandoning any hint of scratchy Messthetics aesthetics to write songs with skinny-tied titles like “In and Out of Love” and “Love I Can’t Wait”. Truth is stranger than fiction, but despite geography, the lone HAND GRENADES record has rightfully been regarded as a touchstone of UK-minded shambolic late ‘70s/early ‘80s art-punk and also one that unfortunately tends to fetch collector scum prices these days, so praise be onto Last Laugh Records, who just reissued the single as a 12” EP (Demos to London) with the addition of two previously unreleased tracks. “Demo to London” and “Coma Dos” from the original 7” tick off seemingly every box on the UK DIY checklist—charmingly fidelity-challenged, treble to the extreme, shaky single-note guitar, BUZZCOCKS hooks thrown slightly off-kilter, plenty of FALL-worthy repetition. On the unreleased side, the scrappy pop of “Cocoon” could almost pass for the TELEVISION PERSONALITIES stripped of their more psychedelically mod leanings, while “Murder” repeatedly cycles through the phrase “murder in the U.S.” over some wiry econo-punk to a biting and almost RONDOS/early EX-ish effect. Beyond mandatory! (Last Laugh, almostreadyrecords.com)

With each new vinyl reissue sourced from the first half decade or so Flying Nun’s back catalog, I’ve been holding out hope that Auckland’s darkly angular post-punk poster children THIS SPORTING LIFE would be the next in line to have their long out-of-print records brought back into circulation. And this summer, at long last, it finally happened… well, sort of. We’ll have to settle for the new Alms for Children CD anthology, which collects the group’s two proper Flying Nun releases (1982’s Show Me to the Bellrope LP and 1983’s In Limbo EP), the debut 7” from 1981 that was issued under their original name of ALMS FOR CHILDREN, and a number of previously unreleased live tracks—digital is definitely better than nothing at all in this case. Along with Stratford’s NOCTURNAL PROJECTIONS and Christchurch’s the GORDONS, THIS SPORTING LIFE were a part of the early ‘80s New Zealand underground faction that fell more in line with the serrated nihilism of bands like the FALL and JOY DIVISION, in contrast to their jangly, SYD BARRETT/VELVET UNDERGROUND-worshipping peers. The FALL influence is particularly apparent in the tracks drawn from their mid-period, like “Wasting My Time,” where a rickety keyboard line fights for space on top the sort of stripped-down and flipped-out rockabilly rhythm that Mark E. Smith and company continuously revisited for a good forty years or so, with Gary Charlton’s vocals wavering between deadpan and desperate in equal measure. Other highlights of an already stacked compilation: the otherwise-unreleased “Suspicious of You,” with cavernous, razor-edged bass heightening the paranoid tension suggested by the title and lyrical content, and the frenetic, jagged pop sensibility of “Total Loss,” which features some unexpectedly chiming acoustic guitar that almost adheres to the general conception of the whole “Flying Nun sound”. I don’t think I’ve ever recommended a CD-only release in over three years of doing this column, but there’s a first time for everything. (Failsafe Records, almsforchildrenthissportinglife.bandcamp.com)

#handle #tough customer #hand grenades #this sporting life #futures & pasts #maximum rocknroll

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hcfhhgg · 6 years

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Hi @pixiesandink , I hope better late than never...Here your Secret Santa gift. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year and all that. I hope you are having a good time with your snow :-)

By the time Iida and Midoriya returned with their umbrellas, Uraraka was sitting in a garbage container and refused to leave. “It’s my home now.” she puffed, sitting cross-legged, arms folded above her chest while slowly sinking into the mass of thrown away class assignments and shredded meeting minutes: “I live here.”

“It’s a garbage container.”, Iida argued, having faced to many pointless discussions to care much whether his reasons mattered to her.

“Its paper.” She explained: “Soft and comfy. And I don’t have to walk to school at all.”

“That’s inappropriate and probably illegal,” he continued, chopping the air, as he was wont to: “And dangerous on top.”

“It’s a single room flat in a good area,” she shook her head in overplayed disappointment: “People murder for this kind of place. And it comes fully furnished,” she gestured at the paper surrounding her.

“This is the school yard.”

The UA towers stood high to their right, looking foreboding against the grey afternoon sky, the tinted windows reflecting the fading light in deep blue, seeming eternal and calm against the wind beaten branches of near standing trees, shrill signing birds flitting between their branches, hiding from the oncoming storm. It smelled of rain, and the promise of an evening spent huddling in the common room, hoping the electricity would hold while fighting over blankets, their voices drowning out the sound of rain beating against the windows.

Uraraka shifted again, sinking even deeper into her new home, as she aimlessly pulled pieces of paper from the mess. With her head at about Iidas height, she huffed lazily, shaking her head: “What did you think of the essay questions today?”

The other one leaned forwards, setting his forearms against the side of the garbage container, carefully avoiding all dirt and eying his friends new home suspiciously: “I definitively have to study when we return. They are putting significantly more empathies on their humanities program now than they did when my brother went here.”

She nodded her agreement, through she knew nothing about the schools humanities program several years ago: “That last question really got me confused. Did we cover that in class.”

“It was on one of the hand-outs, actually.” Midoriya chimed in from below, having sat himself down on the dirty asphalt besides the containers, his painfully yellow umbrella opened above him, as if to create a small cave consisting only of it, him and the worn out sweater he had thrown over his Uniform: “I hardly understood it through, anyway.” He yawned.

It was the week of test preparation, with teachers drilling theoretical information into them, even putting off part of their physical regime in favour of endless repetition and practise tests.

“I didn’t read those.” Uraraka signed, leaving Iida torn between reprimanding her for not fully following the lessons or scolding himself for forgetting valuable class material.

“I doubt it matter through.” Midoriya went on: “Hardly anyone who is not amongst the top five solved that one. I heard Yaoyorozu say she struggled with it, even.”

“History isn’t her thing huh?” his friend asked past a struggling Iida, still undecided: “But she is so brilliant at Chemistry. Think they will keep a question even the best student can’t answer?”

This made Iida snap. Taking a deep breath and completing a few forceful chops against the unsuspecting air he made his decision known, launching into a lengthy monologue on work ethics, which, to the readers convenience, shall here be reduced to its essence: “Of course they should keep it. As students and future hero we have a duty to meet the highest expectations of not only this school, but society also. It would do you two good to remember…” he started, pushing himself of the garbage container to flathandendly point at Uraraka: “…that even the history of a pre quirk society can be relevant to your work one day.”

“Hm. You think so? But how?” his friend wondered, leaning forwards to look over the side of the container downwards: “He does have a point through.”

Midoriya shrugged, the motion hardly visible through his oversized yellow sweater: “We still have two more weeks to learn, so they might just…expect us to forget everything else.”

“Who needs a hero when you could have someone who understands a gold-standard.” Uraraka laughed, throwing her head back and glancing up at the sky, which was cloudy and unusually dark for a summer day.

“The gold-standard”, it sounded from below, the words torn away from the boy’s mouth, hardly audible against her disinterest. With one hand she took hold of some discharged papers, making them float before pushing them up into the wind. Iida huffed disapprovingly as they where ripped towards the east gate.

“How long can you keep that up?”

“Long enough.” She grinned, watching the paper disappear in the distance: “With something that light till the next shopping district maybe.” A smile broke across her face: “Have you ever drunk like an astronaut?”

Iida huffed, recognizing the abrupt change of topic as what it was, but Midoriya, who knew that the evening would be filled with relentless studying and quiet discomfort, laughed: “With a straw?”

“Yes,” she bobbled her head up and down, her knees sinking in deeper from the sudden movement: “Or like Pacman,” she looks almost proud saying it, snapping her mouth shut trying to imitate the video game character and both boys where struck by the sudden realisation that they would probably soon find out how the dirty brown spots appeared on the common room celling over the weekend.

“Yes”, the smaller boy perked up, his head bumping against the umbrella: “Like an obstacle run, weightless in the air,” he smiled up to them, waving off Iida, whose face softened at the look of excitement on his friends face: “You could train body awareness and agility. Stamina too. With all the - Is it more straining to float liquids?”

“Huh?” Uraraka tilted her head, trying to compare the effort to the lifting of a solid object and coming up empty: “It’s different I think. I can’t actually touch all of it.”

“Oh! So it is all about the surface tension?” her friend asked from below.

“I guess.” She sounded uncertain, twirling a strand of hair around her finger: “Its weird. I was not paying that much attention.” A slight blush crossed her face, remembering the last Saturday night when the common room had been to quiet, with only her and Kaminari sitting on the plush couches, trying to scare the night away with pointless chatter and bad ideas. To throw some drinks into the air had been his suggestion, the kind of drinks as well and she had agreed because she was fifteen and these here the kind of trills she should experience. Nothing more than a slight taste of danger laced with stupidity and laughter. The kind of things that made time pass quicker.

A single drop of rain landed on her face and stopped her in her thoughts, running down her nose and dropping on her lips. Laughing she licked it up, wondering about water pollution and the sense of inner tension floating liquids gave her: “Deku,” she said, reaching backwards for the lid of the garbage container: “ Iida, I think it’s starting.”

Iida looked upwards, at the grey clouds looking just a shade darker than before as he blinked away a raindrop in the corner of his eye. Ignoring the sound of the lid being closed he reached for his umbrella, feeling more drops falling on his thin hair and smiling at Midoriyas quiet mumble: “…he wont like that, he’ll…”

Alarmed his head shot up, starring at Uraraka who smiled at him softly beneath the half closed lid of the container, fitting comfortably and looking cosy lying amongst the thrash, shoulders angled slightly towards him, her legs almost entirely covered by the paper. He blinked as she burst out in laughter, her body convoluting as the scandalised look on his face deepened.

“What are you thinking? We are…” he started, frowning and jerking his head as more raindrops soaked through his hair, the sudden movement letting them drop into his face as he hit the containers side repeatedly.

“Wait, what is she doing?” Midoriya shouted from below, giggling along his friend at the taller boys attics.

“Aw, come on,” despite her apologetic smile, wide and open and not regretful at all, the girls voice was teasing as she tried to wards of the punishing lecture that was sure to follow: “I’m the one without an umbrella.”

“Something any of your friends,” Iida waved at the space behind him, indicating nothing but empty asphalt and rain: “… could have helped you with! Here,” he opened his umbrella, which was wide and dark, looking sturdy and expensive, with light brown studs at the end of its rips, just the kind of model his friends would have expected him to own and held it over the container, leaving his own back uncovered: “… we can share.”

Uraraka laughed again, pushing her head out from below the lid and under the umbrella: “You know that this is exactly the kind of umbrella I thought you had.”

It took her some wriggling and crawling to push herself from the paper, hands folded to activate her quirk a moment before she threw her arms around Iida and, with a forceful jump, let herself float almost vertically upwards, rain and dirt staining her clothing while the taller boy tried desperately to hold onto her and keep them both covered. They must have made for a ridicules picture, because when Midoriya, still seated on the ground in a small circle of dryness, peered at them from below his shelter, he began to giggle, starting with a small, swallowed sound, that soon turned into cut-off pleas to stop, please, of not for Iidas, then for his hearts sake.

It took a few minutes for the two to sort themselves out, like an overworked machine trying to pull a hot-air balloon down to earth, both moving unsuccessfully to avoid each others flailing limps, like two dancers attempting to push each other off balance, as if they where not sure if they should be fighting or help each other to float off into space to never be seen again.

“I am getting good at this.” Uraraka said, after her feet had again found the ground, her friend holding onto her shoulders as if trying to keep her grounded. Her face was slightly pale; looking sickly against her dropping wet hair she spent some time trying to push back. Still she was smiling, proud and exhausted as if she would do this again, in a day maybe, after she had gotten to spent some quality time with her bed: “Who is up for some hot chocolate?”

“I am certainly not ‘up’ anything.” The grip around her shoulders tightened, but she could hear something like happy displeasure in the boys’ voice: “But I would not mind something warm to drink. Are you coming Midoriya?” he asked, already turning towards the dorm, relived about the end of a chaos he had enjoyed all the more for knowing that it would end.

“No”, the boy chimed from the ball of yellow below: “I will not abandon this small heaven of dryness.”

“Huh?” came from above: “You too.”

“I think,” said Uraraka, a slight frown marring her face: “You broke him Deku. Congratulations. No hot chocolate for you.”, she sung, looking smug, sickly and happy at the continuation of their attics.

“But,” the teen whined: “All the dedication and patience that went into staying dry! If I get up now, I will be wet too. And I haven’t done the laundry.”

“You can wear…No.” The girl shook her head, remembering, with glee, giddily excitement and slight remorse the last time her friend had tried on any of her clothes and stretched her fourth best tight fitting shirt to a pyjama: “Your can wear Iidas clothes. Right?”

“Wha-? Yes, I am, of course, always happy to help a friend, even if it would not be necessary if said friend had done his chores.” Despite trying to sound accusatory, waving his hands through the air, the dark haired boy seemed to smile, even through he was shivering in the cold, as he tried to pull Uraraka closer to his body, using her as personal source of warmth.

“Oh really?” she muttered: “I bet…” With a slight tap to the shelve of his sweater Midoriya felt himself lifted off the ground, struggling and trying to maintain contact with the small, round patch of asphalt he had sat one, the ground darkening as the first drops of rain fell on it belatedly.

With a drawn out ‘NO’ the teen gave up his fight, stretching his hand comically towards the disappearing dry asphalt, as he was drabbed along on his right foot, trying and failing to keep at least his upper body dry as he wined along his friends cheerful chants of ‘one of us’, preparing to soon be dropped unexpectedly. He had seen Uraraka before, after all.

They made it halfway to the dorms before she dropped him, letting herself fall dramatically into his arms as soon as he had stood up and she brought her stomach under control, fainting sudden weakness and screaming as he tried to lift her over his head.

“Waaaarm.”, she groaned after he had successfully lowered her and hugged him. He hugged back until Iida threw himself over the two, slinging his arms around both their shoulders and throwing them of balance, seeming perfectly content as they all tumbled onto the ground, just a few meters from their destination.

“Now,” Uraraka chided: “Now I really need to shower.”

“You sat in a garbage container.” He replied as he rolled off them: “You should anyway.”

#pixiesandink #rainyweather #bnha #bnhagenexchange #midoriya izuku #iida tenya #uraraka ochako #writing #my fic

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cometeclipsewriting · 6 years

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Strowlers

Season 1: Episode 1

Chapter 1

AO3 Link

Summary: In a world where magic is both real and illegal, a librarian tries to help protect a young girl discovering her powers, while her girlfriend makes a device that helps to find unregistered magic users.

Full video episode can be found for free here!

You want the truth? I think the old magic found it’s way back into our world in a dream.

Just a dream. Nothing more.

***

A typical grey Seattle sky spread unbroken over the Yesler Branch of the Seattle Public Library. Birds sang in the trees of the old neighborhood, plants green and lush from moderate summer rains. From the early morning quiet, a young woman strode up the brick walkway of the library, dancing slightly to music playing through her headphones. She bopped and swayed as she paused. Coming strong or weak, stand and face your equal, and we’ll turn this world around. SJ Tucker was a goddess.

Whit smiled as she moved to the new album her girlfriend had surprised her with. Amanda didn’t always get her taste, but she made the effort to try. Even though it was Amanda’s big week. Her presentation should be starting any time now. Whit made a face, a bad taste growing in her mouth at just the thought of A.R.C. That soulless organization. Thankfully Amanda wasn’t like the Preceptors; she was a beloved professor and a skilled researcher.

Shaking away her pall, Whit pulled her silver compact from her backpack, checking herself. Her bright yellow beanie rested on her tight ringlets and small braids, framing an oval face. Only a little eyeliner and mascara used to enhance the dark brown of her eyes and scattered little moles. In the circle of the mirror, her smile was hidden, reflected eyes serious and masked. This was her ritual, she supposed. With a snap she closed the compact and slipped it back into place. Collected and settled, she walked up the steps to the library.

“Hey, Pepper,” Whit flashed a smile to her boss, the small woman already at work behind her computer. “Where should I start today?” She slipped into her shared desk space, quickly logging in. Their desks were in the entrance to the open foyer, Pepper’s lovely smile and incredible depth of knowledge ready to aid any knowledge seekers. Whit had been a librarian for a while, but she fully acknowledged that she had a long way to go to catch up to Pepper’s knowledge.

Pepper straightened, her bangle bracelet clinking softly as she brushed her hair from her face. “Hey, sugar.” Her smile lit up her timeless beauty with a welcoming glow. “Maybe get the holds started?”

“Sure thing,” Whit slipped her badge over her head, fluffing her hair out from under the lanyard and started towards the task.

“Oh,” Pepper pulled her attention back, “You still want to take the first story time today?”

Whit smiled crookedly and reached down into her backpack and pulled out a worn book, the binding fraying and pages well loved. Another gift from Amanda, from when they had first started dating. A lucky and rare find from Twice Sold Tales, she had been told. “Got it covered.” Reading aloud was one of Whit’s favorite jobs at the library, she almost always volunteered to adopt silly voices and encourage the kids to play. Plus, she and the regulars had been slowly working their way through the unusual collection encased within the pages.

“Fairy tales,” Pepper’s blue eyes went distant for a moment, a memory taking her away. Whit always bit back the urge to ask where she went in these moments. Pepper certainly had more wisdom, more history, than anyone she had met before. But she never asked; delving into other’s lives wasn’t something she did. They might want to return the favor.

Pepper’s smile broadened again, eyes crinkling in genuine warmth. “Always an excellent choice. Children always need some truth in their world.”

Whit nodded and faked a smile, turning to get to work. Very seldomly were fairy tales truth. She would have magic if it were.

“The Goldfinch and the Magic Mirror.” Whit sat on the floor of the second level, holding up a book to display the detailed illustrations to the gathered children, reading aloud in a dramatic voice. “A bird catcher’s daughter was checking traps along a stream and found a goldfinch ensnared. As the girl was about to drop the bird into her bag, it spoke. ‘Human child, show me mercy. My family will starve if I can’t fly home to feed them.’”

The children were entranced, eyes trained on the librarian, mouths slightly parted in concentration to reveal missing and pre-braces teeth. Their wriggles of childhood were settled into crossed legs, one little girl held her bracelets over her eyes, imagination glasses to better see the story unfolding. Parents sat in comfortable chairs around the outside of the circle, listening in relaxed detachment.

“’Free me, and I will show you a secret wonder.’” Whit paused her narrative and looked at the children, lifting an eyebrow in question. “Should she do it?”

Immediately hands shot up, waving in eagerness to be picked for such an important task. Whit suppressed the smile that tried to break through, keeping to the gravity of the moment. She pointed to one of the little boys in front, “Omar.”

His grin grew bigger, and he nodded emphatically, “Yes!”

“Really?” Whit drew out the word, “Do you all think she should do it?” Chimes of mostly agreement came from the diverse little crowd, but there was one who shook her head in a silent no.

Whit whispered mysteriously, “Let’s see.” She turned back to the old book. “The girl was very curious and loved to have secrets to keep from her sisters.” A few giggles from sympathetic siblings floated through the air. “So, she let the bird go. Away it flew, as fast as it could, deep into the forest. ‘Wait!’ the girl cried, ‘wait for me!’ The bird fluttered from oak to elm, and the forest grew dark and menacing.”

Unseen to all but one pair of young eyes, the library started to darken, a purple mist creeping into life around the sitting storyteller and her audience. “A wind rose and chilled the girl’s skin,” leaves rolled down the aisles of books, their rustling unheard except for by little ears. “And in the distance, she could hear the howl of wolves.” Shadows of branches moved along the ceiling, chilling howls underlying Whit’s voice.

Whit continued on, adopting a frightened tone, “Oh little goldfinch, I-I’m scared. I wanna go home.” An indigo light highlighted the young face, her only betrayal of her ability to see the forest from the story was in the flickering of wary eyes. She slowly took in the new surroundings and to the children bound by the magic of the story. Omar in particular; his eyes fixated on the book. “The bird stopped and looked at her, its eyes dark and cold. ‘How can I show you wonder if you are afraid of the forest,’ it said.”

To the girl, they were no longer in the library building. Bookshelves faded into the depths of a forest, becoming more translucent with each passing word. The carpet melted into leaves and twigs, little mysterious lights flickering and heavy shadows moving in the distance. Yet none of the others saw what she did.

Whit’s voice deepened in urgency, “’You must run now, night is falling, and the wolves are on the hunt!’”

***

The clinical beep of machines was the loudest noise in the sterile room. A man, his antiseptic clothing inline with the room, was strapped into a specialized chair. Chest, wrists and ankles bound tight. On either side of his temples, the machine waited.

The man sat patiently, anticipation and trepidation mixing as he awaited the next step of his career. It was finally time for his Focusing. Rubber clad hands went to the metal collar around Recruit 291’s neck, the locking mechanism opening for the technician, and she removed it for the first time since it had been put on.

Immediately his magic was released, exploding from suppressed energy into all the rooms surrounding him. Monitors fizzled, warnings displayed of the danger of the psychodynamic breach. But it was expected, the facilities built for just such occurrences, and the technician continued with her work.

“Oh god,” he whispered, fear and awe roiling. A smile vied with terror, eyes flickering around the scenery his magic transported to him. A forest, deep and varied, with life and secrets. His throat caught, the fear leaving him as he knew it again. Knew the magic. No more theoretical study of his power, no more memories of what it had been like before the collar had been placed on him. Now he saw it, felt it down to his soul.

Joy and sorrow rose twofold. “It’s beautiful,” he whispered through his trembling smile, tears springing to his eyes. And knew that he would never feel either duality again.

Separated by a mirror in an adjoining room, two men in A.R.C. suits stood motionless. Dispassionately, they observed the emotional man, feeling the energy strain from him and cause the high-tech electronics to crackle and blink. The smaller of the two looked to his senior to decide how to handle the situation.

Behind both, a woman stood back against the wall, uncomfortable and slightly frightened. But she made no sound, mute as she observed the path her future would lead her to. She touched slightly trembling fingers to her lips and breathed deeply.

Decisively, the senior member reached out towards the window, his hand making a grasping motion in the air. On the other side of the glass, the magic faded until only a little sphere remained as the arcanologist exerted control over it. The suppression was enough to snap Recruit 291 out of his emotions. He calmed, still watching what was revealed before him. “I see a door opening,” he panted, concentrating. “A forest. A library. It’s all the library.”

The technician came back to him, a mouthguard in hand, protection for the procedure he is about to go through. His emotions got the better of him, the importance of what he saw making him struggle with his confinement, pushing himself as far from her as possible. His determined gaze locked onto the man suppressing his chaotic magic. “Director Rodrigo. It’s a Level Five anomaly. At the Yessler library.”

No hint of reaction crossed the Preceptor’s face nor pulled at the scars at his temples. He remained as he was, hand held out. But the woman behind him blanched, her skin paling even more. And around her throat, her utilitarian collar blinked rhythmically blue.

The smaller man, Director Rodrigo, pulled out an old-fashioned walkie, calmly relaying the message. “Code 37. Yessler library.”

In the room, Recruit 291 calmed, accepted the mouthguard and his future.

***

A few short minutes later, men in SWAT gear, rifles at the ready marched into the library. The white logo of A.R.C. was stamped onto the black of their left shoulder. Leading the team, an arcanologist strode in boldly, his uniform proclaiming to everyone who he was. An Enforcer. A witchhunter. He halted between the front desks, an intimidation tactic with his armed men. Behind the desk, one of Whit’s coworkers froze, terror on his face, and he shrunk down into his chair. Silence followed them; everyone knew to stay out of A.R.C.’s way. But Pepper stood instead, noiselessly watching as the arcanologist took a moment, waiting for something. The feel of magic being worked. A moment later he caught it, and he slowly looked up to the second level, arching a finger towards the ceiling. His men moved out, bringing rifles to their shoulders and quietly moving towards the stairs. An overweight cop tried to blend with the group, his hand on his gun. He was there for protocol, supposedly the higher authority, but everyone knew that A.R.C. were the ones who were really in control. The Enforcer swept wide, eyes creeping dispassionately over Pepper, his scars stark on sallow temples, and dismissed her, falling in with his team.

Upstairs, Whit continued to read from her fairy tales, “The girl ran and ran, but the bird flew further ahead of her.”

Pepper’s worried expression followed the last of the team disappear around the curve of the stairs. She looked to her employee, saw his terrified state, and she slipped from behind her desk to follow their path.

“Now she could hear the wolves making tracks ever closer, swift and strong.”

The policeman now had his weapon out as well, the armed members of the A.R.C. team crouched and stealthy as they slipped down the aisles of books, heading towards Whit’s voice. And the Enforcer strode forward confidently, he could feel the magical energy of the one they were coming to find.

Pepper slowly ascended the stairs, making sure to stay out of sight, slipping along the shelves she loved. She knew, repeatedly knew, that this would not end happily. She needed to be close by.

“Suddenly,” Whit continued oblivious to the approach, “she broke into a clearing, and there in the very center was the goldfinch, perched on the rim of a small golden mirror.”

To the girl listening, she could see the other children around her, could see Whit and the illustrations of the book. And the forest, the forest spreading wide around them, everyone else disappearing from their sphere. She didn’t know anyone was approaching. Didn’t know that there was someone who could feel the energy of her magic.

“Having sympathy for the girl’s plight, the bird whispered, ‘The wolves only want your body, not your soul.’”

“GET ON THE GROUND!” One of the men shouted at the gathered children, rifle aimed at them.

Immediate chaos exploded. The carefully balanced magic exploded in fragments, as uncontrolled as children's screams. Some fell to the ground, terrified. Others raced to their parents, throwing themselves into arms that had protected them in the past. “Hands above your head!” Lights flickered and popped, wind rustled, and a girl dashed into one of the side aisles, dropping to hide behind the scant protection.

Whit whirled around on her knees, throwing her arms out wide to block as many kids as possible, trying to figure out just what was happening. Behind her Omar sat up still, his hands held in the air in the universal sign of innocence. “Get on the ground!” The armed man screamed at Whit again, his gun right in her face. Cries filled the library, and Whit dropped down to her stomach, frantically trying to see all the A.R.C. team at once.

Another armed man moved behind Omar, his gun pointed to the lower back of the child. Omar sat frozen still, hands held rigid, magical energy crackling wildly around him. He couldn’t move, bound in terror, in the effects of uncontrolled magic. Frightened, he stared unseeing ahead of him.

This was when the Enforcer stepped forward, fanatical eyes trained on the little black boy. He lifted his hand, splayed his fingers, and Omar dropped, unconscious, to sprawl on the ground.

Pepper crawled further down the aisle she had slipped along and was able to make eye contact with Whit. She silently mouthed, “What did you do?”

Whit shook her head slightly, lifting one flattened palm slightly in a motion of rejection. She hadn’t done anything. No one had done anything. There hadn’t been any magic, nothing strange had happened. No reason for arcanologists to be here… right?

Out of the corner of her eye, a flash made her look to the side. A leaf?

She frowned, and then focused past it. Peeking out behind a little gap in the bookshelves, just over the top of the books, her eyes connected with another’s. Scared eyes, young, dark. They locked gazes for a quick moment, but Whit looked away, not giving a clue that there was something of interest to be investigated. Hopefully she hadn’t given anything away.

The girl knew she had to keep hiding. She could still feel the remnants of her magic, tried to hold it and suppress it. They would find her if she didn’t control it, hide it. A breeze ruffled her hair, sucked more leaves away from her. Slowly, inexorably, she looked to where she was being drawn. There it was. There He was. Full of power and magic.

A boy, fair blond hair in a haphazard cut fell over delicate features. His knowing, cocky grin was echoed in the casual way he leaned against the shelves, out in the open, one foot crossed over the other. He knew that no one else would be able to see him. He had no need to hide. Tattered leggings and a leather vest adorned his slim frame, a mysterious pouch hung on his hip. She swallowed. There was something about him she instinctively knew. He was not of this world. His smile grew just a hint wider.

In the cluster of prone bodies, the Enforcer nodded slightly to the police officer, the man looking far out of his depth. He accepted the illusion of leadership, now that the Enforcer had given it to him, and gestured to the unconscious Omar. “Collar him,” he said as he put his gun away.

The man who had continued to train his rifle on the boy now stepped forward, pulled a temporary collar from his pocket, and carelessly lifted Omar’s head to slip it under his neck.

Incensed, Whit looked up at the two leaders, “What are you doing?” She demanded. Another of the team reached down and pulled her badge out, checking her credentials. He grabbed her by the jacket shoulder, hauling her up just as the other locked Omar’s restraint collar into place, twin red lights burning on.

Anger boiled in Whit’s veins. She had to do something. They were going to take Omar; she knew the stories. She glanced around, looking for something, anything… and realized she somehow was still holding onto her book of fairy tales.

She kicked her chin up, raising the book into the air as the man still held her roughly in place. “Need some fuel for your next book burning, gentlemen?” She forced her sarcasm and anger into the words, belligerent. Maybe they would forget about Omar if she angered them enough.

It certainly got their attention. The cop and Enforcer both made some sort of gesture, and the man holding her pushed her forward. She would be going with them.

#strowlers #fiction #fantasy #magic #modern day #seattle #f/f

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