#phone speed booster

[woso-dreamzzz]

Injured VIII

Alexia Putellas x Child!Reader

Jenni Hermoso x Child!Reader

Summary: There's an emergency

"Alexia...Alexia...Alexia!"

Alexia comes back into consciousness slowly. It's still dark out and her alarm clock proclaims it to be nearly two in the morning.

Olga is standing over the bed and even in the dim light, Alexia can tell something is wrong. Olga is saying something but Alexia is still waking up and only tunes in at the very end.

"-Already called Jenni. She's going to meet us there."

Alexia sits up, rubbing her eyes. "Meet us there? Jenni? What's going on?"

She flicks on the bedside light. Olga is still in her pyjamas but she's wearing her coat over the top and a pair of shoes. She's got Jaume on her hip.

He's got old little red pinpricks all over his neck and arms.

"Is that chickenpox?"

"No," Olga says, babbling at rapid speed as she shoves the sheets off Alexia's body," I thought it was but I saw some article on my feed about how to make sure it's not anything else and-"

"Olga? What is going on?"

"I think it's meningitis," Olga finally says," And we need to take him to the hospital."

Alexia's up like a shot, hopping around on one foot as she grabs the first set of shoes she can find. "It can't be," She denies," We got him vaccinated. I remember it!"

"That's what I thought!" Olga says back," But the rash doesn't go away when I press a glass to it and you know how he's been lately!"

Alexia nods, pulling on a Barca issued jacket. She pauses as she moves. "Bambi," She murmurs before raising her voice," Shit, Bambi! She was running a bit hot after her ballet class. But I just assumed it was all the movement. My phone...Where's my phone? I need to-"

"I used it to call Jenni," Olga says as they both go running out the door," She's going to meet us there."

She and Olga get there well before you and Jenni do.

Jaume is taken to get a spinal tap but the doctor is confident that it's meningitis so puts him on antibiotics as soon as the procedure is done.

"I don't understand," Alexia says," My kids are vaccinated! Both of them! They're up to date. I took Bambi to all of her boosters! Jaume's scheduled for another one when he hits a year!"

"Sometimes vaccines aren't one hundred percent effective," The doctor says, clearly used to calming enrage parents," What matters is that you saw it and you got him in tonight. The spinal tap should confirm the diagnosis but we've already got him on an IV." The doctor turns to leave before stopping. "You've got another child?"

Alexia's head frantically nods. "Yes. A girl. She's four. She's being brought in now."

The doctor nods, scribbling something on his clipboard. "As soon as she's here, have someone page me. Older children find it harder to stay still for the spinal tap. I'll contact anaesthesia and get someone to bring a mask."

Alexia's head changes from nodding to shaking furiously. "No!" She says it a bit louder than she meant to that even Olga looks shocked.

"It'll be better," Olga tries to explain," If they put her to sleep-"

"No, I mean..." Alexia shakes her head, the words spilling out of her mouth naturally. "She's allergic! To Isoflurane! That's the gas anaesthesia, right? Right?"

She looks around wildly as the doctor's face turns grim.

"I'll get some local," The doctor says," I know we made you wait outside for Jaume but it would be best if you came in for your daughter, if we're only using local, to keep her calm."

It's a waiting game until Jenni arrives with you and Alexia finds herself doom scrolling. She's dived into whatever article she can find on meningitis in children and the more she reads, the worse she feels.

They're yet to be allowed into see Jaume as the staff work to get him a bit more comfortable but Alexia can see him through the window and he's completely passed out asleep.

"I didn't know y/n was allergic to anything," Olga says softly.

Alexia laughs. It's more a nervous chuckle than anything else. "I don't even think Jenni does. My father was allergic. It skipped me and Alba but I wanted to check for Bambi, just in case."

"It's a good thing you did," Olga says.

Alexia looks down at her phone. "Where are they? They should be here by now."

"They'll be here soon. It's going to be okay."

It takes another ten minutes for you and Jenni to arrive.

You look infinitely worse than Jaume. The rash is completely obvious, taking over your whole body and Jenni looks just as distressed.

It takes another ten for the doctor to return.

You don't understand what's going on. Your Ma-Jenni woke you up super early before the sun has come up. She didn't get you dressed or brush your hair how you like it.

She didn't explain much at all...or, anything really. She just put you in the car and didn't say anything.

You'd tried to ask but your throat felt all scratchy and your tummy hurt.

All you know now is that you're at the hospital with Ma-Jenni, Mami and Miss Olga. There's a strange man with cold fingers that takes your shirt from you and makes you curl up on your side.

"Ma-Jenni?" You ask, trembling," What's going on?"

"Ssh, Bambi," Ma-Jenni says. Her tone is harsh, harsher than you've ever heard her speak to you and your tummy ties itself in a knot at her words.

You can hear the strange man talking nonsense to the adults and your eyes go wide at the tray of tools that's wheeled in. They look pointy and sharp, like the tools from that silly doctor show that Tia Alba likes.

You suck in a harsh breath when you feel a pinch at your back. You yelp and instantly try to wiggle away.

"No!" You cry," No! Off! Stop it! I don't want to! I don't want to!"

You force yourself to uncurl. You don't want this strange man touching your back. He makes it hurt and you got want any more of his sharp tools in your skin.

There's a grip on your legs though, forcing them back into position. You turn your head to look at who's got you against your will.

It's Ma-Jenni.

Her grip is firm and hard as she forces your kicking legs still. One of her arms has clamped them together, forcing them to stop moving while her other hand is on your hip, forcing your down onto the table until you're immobile.

You want her hands off you. Ma-Jenni has big hands that are perfect to hold you but not like this, never like this. You don't want her touching you like this.

"Ma-Jenni," You sob," Stop it! Stop it, please! Please!"

She doesn't stop though, merely readjusts her grip and pushes you down further until you well and truly can't move your bottom half.

"Stop it!" You continue to say," Stop it, Mama! Mama, stop!"

Hands curve around your shoulders and these are familiar hands too.

Mami's hands are perfect to hold in yours. They're always warm and they always hold you so gently. But now they've got your arms pinned to your chest and are forcing your shoulders firmly into the examination bed.

"Mami," You cry," Please stop. Mami, please. I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Mami! Stop!"

Mami's lips ghost your hairline. "I'm sorry, Bambi," She says, her voice a whisper that you can barely hear over your panic," I'm so sorry. It's going to be okay. You just need to be still. I'm sorry."

You can't move and the strange man is doing things to your back. You can't feel any pain but you can feel pressure and you can feel when he sticks something beneath your skin where things aren't supposed to go.

The only thing you can do is move your eyes and they focus on Miss Olga, the only adult in the room that's not actively hurting you.

"Miss Olga," You sob," Make them stop."

Her eyes nervously dart to the door like she wants to run away but she doesn't. She steps closer to where the adults are holding you, crouching down until your heads are almost the same height.

"I'm so sorry," She says to you," It's going to be okay, I promise. They're just making sure you're healthy."

"Miss Olga, please," You reply. You try to kick out your legs but Ma-Jenni just grips them more tightly," I'm sorry. I can be good. I can be better!"

"Hey," She says softly when your eyes dart towards your Mami," You are being so good. There's no one being better. Do you know what's going on?"

"No."

"You're very sick," Miss Olga speaks gently to you and brushes away a portion of hair that's covering your eyes," And we need to know what's wrong. Do you remember a few months ago when we came here and they put a needle in my arm?"

You do remember that. It was on one of hospital visits that you went on to see baby Jaume in Miss Olga's belly. They took some of her blood that appointment.

"They takin' my blood?" You ask shakily.

"They're taking a little bit of fluid from your back," Miss Olga explains," And they're going to test that for the illness they think you have. Like how they took my blood to make sure I was healthy."

You sniffle.

Mami and Ma-Jenni's hands are like shackles around your limbs, wrapped around your flesh and unwilling to even give you an inch.

"I'm scared," You whisper.

"That's okay," Olga whispers back," It's always okay to be a little scared. But you're doing so well. You're being such a brave girl. I'm sure it won't be much longer now."

You can feel the thing in your back moving and you try to shift with it but Ma-Jenni's hand clamps down on your hip and anchors you to it so you can't move again, not even a little rock back and forth.

"Hey," Olga says, pulling your attention away from what's happening at your back," Your Mami told me that you've moved up in ballet. I'm sure it's so much fun."

"It is."

"That's great! Do you want to tell me about it?"

Actually, you find that you do what to tell Olga about your ballet. Your words come out stilted and stuttered but you force them out of your mouth.

Olga smiles at you. She's got a pretty smile, you think. Mami must really love girls with pretty smiles.

"That sounds so cool," Olga says to you," You must be so talented." She leans a bit closer to you and you don't even feel the man taking the pointy thing out of your back. "Hey, maybe when you're all better, you can show me some moves. Only if you'd like to."

You duck your head down as the hands slowly leave your body. "Yes, please."

You're rolled onto your back but you keep your head tilted to look at Olga.

You don't know much about her apart from the fact that she's marrying your Mami and they had baby Jaume together.

Mami and Ma-Jenni are still talking to the doctor so you can fully focus on Olga.

She and baby Jaume look alike, you think. They've got the same eyes and nose and face shape. You think that baby Jaume might get her pretty smile when he's older too.

Her hand is gently resting on the side of your bed and you very gently move your own until your fingers are touching.

She hasn't got big hands like how Mami and Ma-Jenni's are big but they're still bigger than yours. They're safe too. You know this because she's never once dropped baby Jaume, even when she once tripped over and fell on her butt. She didn't drop Jaume once.

She smiles her pretty smile and you smile too, not even noticing when the nurse hooks you up to an IV.

"Hey, Bambi," Mami says," Everything's going to be okay now. I'm so-"

You stubbornly don't look at her and she frowns.

"Bambi?" Ma-Jenni asks," How's your back?"

You don't even deign her with an answer. It's still early and you're very tired. You don't want to talk to them, not when they pinned you down like that.

"I'm sorry," The nurse says," But I'm going to have ask you all to leave. The legal guardians can sleep over but that's all."

You don't know what legal guardians means but you do know that Ma-Jenni isn't one. She lives in Mexico for most of the year so she can't be your guardian because you don't live there with her.

She looks like she's going to argue but she doesn't. She reaches to give you a kiss on the forehead but you flinch away and she stops before her lips can press against your skin.

"I love you, Bambi," She says," And I'll be back to see you as early as I can."

You don't answer her.

It's just Olga and Mami left.

"I'm going to go sit with Jaume," Olga says and you frown.

"Jaume's sick too? Did I get him sick?" Your bottom lip wobbles.

"No, of course not." Olga says firmly," You and Jaume just got sick at the same time. It's very sad but it does happen."

"Really?"

"Yes." She heads to the door. "I hope you feel much better later. Maybe, if you feel up to it, you can tell me about your trains? Your Mami says that you love them a lot."

You nod. "Yes."

Then, it's just you and Mami left.

The nurse has set up a little bed next to yours for Mami to sleep on.

Mami seems a little nervous with you, pulling at the sleeves of her pyjama shirt. She looks at you.

You look at her.

You only saw her a few days again, when you painted pottery together and you asked her if you were wanted.

Mami doesn't sit in her bed, she pulls up a chair next to yours. She tries to reach for your hand but you pull it away before she can touch you, cradling it against your chest as you stare.

"Bambi," She begins before shaking her head and stopping. She takes a few moments before opening her mouth again. "I'm very, very sorry."

Those weren't the words that you were expecting.

You still don't answer though. If you blink, you can still feel her phantom hands over your body and the iron grip she had on your limbs.

She scoots the chair closer.

"I love you so much and I'm so sorry that you're sick."

She looks like she wants to say more but you don't really want her to keep talking.

"Bambi, I...I have not been a very good Mami to you," Alexia has to force the words out of her throat even if you give no indication that you can hear her," And I'm very, very sorry."

You still don't say anything. You just lie on your back with your eyes wide open.

"I'm sorry for what happened at home and I'm sorry for what a few-"

"I'm tired, Mami," You say, your voice quiet and exhausted.

"Right," Alexia says, scolding herself inwardly at keeping you up. It's still the middle of the night. "You go to sleep, Bambi. I'll be right here if you need me."

The stress of everything tonight seems to knock you out quickly but Alexia doesn't move to her own bed. She doesn't move. She doesn't sleep. She just stays in that seat even as a nurse pops their head in to confirm that both you and Jaume have bacterial meningitis.

A week hospital visit and IV's full of antibiotics is what awaits you both, baring any complications.

Jenni returns as soon as visiting hours begin again, pulling Alba and Eli in tow.

Eli diverts briefly to check on Olga and Jaume while Jenni and Alba come straight to you. You're still asleep when they arrive, lying on your back with a cannula in your hand to administer your medication.

"You look exhausted," Alba says in greeting, handing off a cup of to-go coffee to her sister," Did you sleep at all?"

"No." Alexia continues to stare at you, focussed on the soft rise and fall of your chest as you sleep.

"I'm surprised you're still here," Alba continues and, for once, her tone isn't biting. She seems genuinely surprised. "Haven't you got training?"

"I called off for the week," Alexia replies," And next week. It's more than enough time for them both to recover."

"You're taking time off?" Alba looks even more surprised than before. "Like, actually?"

Alexia doesn't know why that's so confusing. "Of course. My kids are sick. They need to be looked after."

Alba's mouth opens and closes a few times before she settles on something to say," How is Jaume?"

"Good, better. The doctors said that it's good we caught it when we did. The longer the rash is there for, the worse he could have gotten. It came up last night. We caught here as quick as we could."

Alexia's glad for that. She has no idea what could have happened, how much worse Jaume could have gotten if they had left it a few hours, let alone a few days.

Jenni is strangely silent at her words, reaching out to gently brush some of your hair out of your face.

"How long of a hospital stay?" Alba asks.

"About a week for both of them. The doctors said that they're going to do a hearing test with Bambi in a few days and then four weeks after she's recovered."

"And Jaume?"

"The same," Alexia confirms," Olga is with him now."

"Mama's with her," Alba says," We picked her up on the way."

There's a rustle of sheets as you blink awake. A yawn takes over your whole face as you wake up.

Mami, Ma-Jenni and Tia Alba are all looking at you and you pull your blankets up until they're over your nose.

You don't like the fact that Mami and Ma-Jenni are in the same room together. You can still feel their weights on you, pinning you to the bed as you struggled to get free.

You don't want them here. Not within arms length of you, in case they take your top away again and pin you down.

"Tia," You croak out and Alba pushes past Ma-Jenni to take your hand.

"You're not looking too good there, Bambi," Tia Alba says," How are you feeling?"

"Is Jaume still sick too?"

"He's getting a lot better. Your Abuela and Olga are with him now."

"Is Abuela and Olga going to get sick too?"

"No, don't be silly. Adults don't get sick like that." Tia Alba's teasing you. She's putting on a silly voice and it shocks a little giggle out of you. "I'm sure once your Abuela is done with baby Jaume then she'll be right in to see you."

"And Olga too?"

Alexia goes rigid in her seat. "Olga doesn't have to come in if you don't want her to."

You don't even acknowledge she's talking to you.

"No one has to come in that you don't want to," Jenni promises you but you don't give any indication that you heard her either.

"Olga thinks that I'm talented," You say to Tia Alba," She asked me about my ballet and my trains. She wanted to know more. Did you bring any of my trains?"

The bag on Jenni's shoulder is passed off to Alba. She digs through it, pulling out a spare change of clothes as well as a few model trains that had been shoved in there this morning.

"I want to show Olga my trains," You say," When she's done with baby Jaume." You run your trains over the bed, making little chugging noises with your mouth.

"I think that's a great idea, Bambi," Alexia says but you don't answer.

You haven't acknowledged her or Jenni since you woke up and it's put her on edge. Even when you were scared a few days ago, you still acknowledged her.

But your focus is purely on Alba but even that is hit and miss.

Whenever Alba reaches out to play trains with you, you flinch away. You look up at her in shock each time before glancing back down at your arms as if you can't believe you flinched.

"How are you feeling, Bambi?" Eli asks as she comes in.

You shrug and raise your hand. "They put a thing in my hand."

"They put one in your brother's too," Eli says," It's to give you your medicine."

"Did they put the thing in Jaume's back too?"

Eli nods. "They did."

Your eyes are haunted as you stare at her. "Did they pin him down too?"

Whatever bubble that the room was in bursts and Eli notices the way Alexia and Jenni both exchange a wide eyed look, like two little children caught red handed.

Eli has to think over her words carefully. "You're both very sick," She settles on eventually," Do you know why they had to put something in your back?"

You parrot back the words Olga told you and Abuela nods.

"That's right," She says.

"Olga says I was very brave even though I was crying."

"I'm sure you were the bravest little girl in the world," Abuela kisses your forehead but her lips feel too much like Mami and Ma-Jenni's and suddenly you can feel their hands on you again.

You kick your legs out and move your arms to shake the phantom hands off and they're gone as quickly as they appeared.

"Alexia, Jenni," Abuela says," Can I talk to you out in the hall?"

As they all leave, you look through the windows of your room.

Olga is lingering outside, looking into your room every so often before looking away.

"Tia Alba," You say," Can I still show Olga my trains?"

"Should I bring her in here?"

"Yes, please."

Ma-Jenni and Mami stay outside with Abeula for a long time but you don't even notice.

You've never talked with Olga like this before, not really. There had been a few moments when she was pregnant with baby Jaume where you watched things together and you helped her cook but you had never been like this with her before.

You hand her one of your trains and smile when she plays with you, gently moving the trains around your bed together.

"Is Jaume going to be okay?" You ask her because she's Jaume's mami and she knows things like that.

"He's going to be just fine," She promises you," And so are you. Just a few more days."

"I'm going to miss ballet," You say," That's bad. Mami never misses her training so I shouldn't miss mine."

"Your Mami's missing training now," Olga says," And she's missing it until you get healthy again. That's what you should focus on. Getting healthy again so you can go back to ballet."

"Mami is missing training? Why?"

"Because she wants to make sure you're okay," Olga says," Because she loves you."

You don't believe her but Olga looks very serious so you think that she must think that's true.

"Olga," You say," I'm hungry. When's lunch?"

She laughs a little bit about your blatant change of subject. "A few hours still," She says," How about I go to the shop and get you a snack?"

Olga slips out into the hallway where Eli is still lecturing Jenni and Alexia about their treatment of you. Your sobs and begging still rung in Olga's ears, the way that you cried and cried and begged and begged.

"She's hungry," She says, interrupting the lecture," I'm going to get her a snack."

"I'll come with you," Jenni says," I need a coffee."

The trip to the little shop was awkward, made even more awkward when Olga selected a plain chocolate bar only to have it plucked from her hand and replaced with one with caramel.

"She thinks the plain ones are too hard," Jenni says, almost carelessly," She doesn't like how they feel on her teeth. She prefers caramel."

Olga stares down at the chocolate in her hand, noting down another new thing in the column dedicated to you in her mind. It's painfully bare with only a few things - trains, ballet, the allergy she found out yesterday and now your favourite kind of chocolate.

She had told Alexia she wasn't threatened by Jenni and that's still true but that doesn't mean that Olga isn't intimidated.

Jenni just looks a bit intimidating with her tattoos and her height and the stern look on her face when it comes to you.

"Thanks."

It's silent for a moment as they both wander through the winding hallways back up to the peds wing.

"No," Jenni says eventually, shaking her head like she had been fighting with herself," I'm sorry, Olga. But I have to know...How could you let this happen? With Bambi, I mean? Stuff like this doesn't happen overnight."

Olga wants to bolt, to run and escape this but she holds herself firm as she scrambles to find something to say, knowing exactly what Jenni is talking about. "I didn't notice," She settles on eventually," It is wrong to say but it is true."

Jenni can't seem to understand though. "But how? Bambi is...How could you just not notice?"

"I just didn't," Olga says," And that was wrong of me. It was wrong of Alexia. We've talked about it...a lot...We're trying to move forward, for y/n."

Jenni looks at her, long and hard and Olga suddenly understands what rival players feel when they see Jenni come onto the pitch.

"Don't let it happen again," Jenni says firmly before taking off again, leaving Olga to scramble to keep up.

You're exactly as they left you, sitting in the middle of your bed. You're making chugging noises with your mouth as you run a train over Eli's arm.

Alexia is back in her seat next to your bed but you've scooched away from her as far as you can get.

"Caramel!" You cheer when Olga presents your food," That's my favourite! Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

You munch happily on your food a little but before you stop to scratch at your rash.

Automatically, like she did a few days ago when she first noticed it, Jenni takes your hand to stop you scratching.

You violently flinch away, tearing your hand away from hers. You scrunch your eyes closed firmly as you suck in air.

You can feel the hands on your legs again, forcing you to go immobile as the strange man pokes and prods at your back.

"No!" You cry out, turning away and curling up under your blanket," Stop it! Stop it, Mama! No bad touches! No more bad touches!" You kick your legs out. "No! Stop it!"

"Out," You can hear your Abuela say.

Eli-"

"Out, Jenni! Alexia, you too! Olga-"

"I'll go and see Jaume. He should be up from his nap by now."

"No! No! No!" You continue to chant as the blanket is pealed back.

It's not Ma-Jenni though. It's Abuela with Tia Alba hovering over her shoulder.

You sniffle if you sit up again.

"What happened, huh, Bambi?" Abuela asks," What was that about?"

"Mama hurt me," You say," When the strange man touched my back. I asked her not to! I asked her to stop!"

"I know," Abuela says," I know, Bambi."

"I didn't know what was happening," You say," It was scary and Mama wouldn't tell me what was going on."

It was very scary. You didn't think Ma-Jenni would do that to you, would pin you down and not explain what was happening. Mami could be harsh sometimes and you know she can be rough on the pitch too. She even said she was sorry while doing it but Ma-Jenni didn't.

Ma-Jenni told you to shh and pinned you down and didn't say sorry. You can still feel her hands on you, constantly pinning your legs down and pushing you further into bed.

She didn't say sorry at all and that's what scares you.

"I'm sorry that scared you," Abuela says," I'm sure Jenni didn't mean to."

"She didn't say sorry," You say," And she hurt me."

"Bambi-"

"She did! I'm not lying!"

"No one says' you're lying," Tia Alba assures you," I think you're telling the truth but, Bambi, you needed to have that done, so you can get better."

Ma-Jenni comes back when it's dark. There's no lights coming through your windows and the moon is out so you know it's night time.

Mami is meant to be sleeping on the bed next to you but she's not there.

The door to your room opens though and Ma-Jenni steps in.

But she doesn't look like Ma-Jenni though. There's something different about her. Maybe it's her too sharp features or her too pointed teeth. Maybe it's the curve of her nails or the way she's looming over you.

You can't move and Monster-Jenni's sharp claws dig into your legs easily.

You shriek but she's pressing her whole weight down onto the hand that's got your legs while her other one pins you down by your chest. You can't move. You can't stop her no matter how much you plead and beg and sob.

She's still holding you with bad touches and the strange man appears again. He's got too sharp teeth too and a massive needle that looks even scarier than before.

"Mami!" You cry as you jolt awake, gripping your bedsheets and screaming.

Mami's up like a shot, looking around like she thinks someone's hiding in the shadows. You're scared that Monster-Jenni is there too.

"Mami!" You sob, reaching desperately for her, your mind recycling her apologies as she held you down.

This time though, you crawl into her arms and sob, burying your face in her shirt as you cry.

For a moment, Alexia is in shock at your willingness to touch her. Whatever you had dreamt about must have been bad because you've curled your body around hers and Alexia very carefully curls her arms around you.

"It's okay, Bambi," She whispers," It's okay. It wasn't real. None of it was real. I've got you. Mami's got you."

"Mami," You whimper," Mami, it hurts."

"What hurts?"

"Everything!"

"I'm so sorry, Bambi," Alexia says and she knows that you know what she means, just like how you know she knows what you mean by everything," It's all going to be okay. I promise, this is all going to be okay. No matter what happens."

"I'm scared, Mami."

"I know, Bambi. I'm going to help make it better."

[huskerdustfanclub]

It was about a month after the Vaughn case in Chula Vista California it was currently three o'clock in the morning.

Fifteen year old Lindsey was driving Aaron Hotchnner 's car at a high rate of speed with Jack securely in his booster seat in the back he was crying and screaming for Daddy and mom.

"Honey mom and daddy will be alright I promise. They told me to get you to safety and I'm going to do that." Lindsay said quietly stopping at a stoplight a little bit away from Aaron's home

Lindsay took out Aaron's phone and called Ashley's number from it.

( @the-lost-little-lamb )

Ashley almost didn’t answer when she saw an unknown number. But then she did, answering with an inquisitive voice. “Hello?”

[mrsdeliberatecreater]

Some fun placebos to try.

Chewing and swallowing makes your jawline sharper.

Breathing in your nose and breathing out your mouth, makes your nose <blank> and lips <blank> - insert whatever you want here. Eg. plump, wide, tiny,etc.

Turning your head a bit and scratching right under your ear turns your glamour on - It is impossible for people to conceive of anything but your beauty.

Write something down in your phone's search bar, press search and then immediately kill the search. Its a direct line to your higher self and whatever you typed down manifests instantly - your own modern wishbook/magic lamp - I use this one a lot too.

When you put a cap/watch on(running errands), you're in undercover superhero mode and cannot be bothered or disturbed by anybody till you get your stuff done. Basically you just use it to keep people away.

Rubbing your nose gives you gives your a sloped nose bridge - Using it now.

Touching your lashes grows them - personal favorite of mine. My lashes are basically falsies now.

Now for the absolute champs:

💦 Drinking water clears your skin, shield potion, replenishes health bar, increased regeneration, extremely potent beauty potion, happy elixir, instant wish potion, face/body/life editing potion, calming potion, clears mind, healing(instantly cure any ailments), strength serum, speed booster, productivity booster, wisdom draught, liquid luck - you get the idea.

🛁🚿 Bath/Shower - All of the above but ten times more potent.

I use placebos in my subs as well.

[writeforfandoms]

Puppy Love 4

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The flirting is finally going somewhere!! Sorry not sorry these two are too cute.

Also we are now half-way through this fic!

Warnings: Swearing, cuteness overload, fluff.

Word count: 1.3k

John was still awake when he got a text at 1:30 in the morning. He was surprised to see it was from you, but he opened it quickly, half-fearing the worst. 

Instead, he found a video. Curious, he pressed play. 

Warbling puppy howls met his ears, along with muffled laughter. Another dog barked once and set the puppies off again. John's shoulders shook with the effort to not laugh. 

The next text came through, reading simply: I told you they're all menaces.

John smirked as he typed his reply. It is a very good thing they're cute. 

It is. 

Wait, did I wake you up? I'm so sorry! 

John chuckled softly at the back to back texts, shaking his head. I was still awake, don't worry. You didn't wake me. 

John! It's very late, why are you still up? Sleep is a good thing, I promise. 

His lips curled in a smile, warm and fond. He was briefly grateful nobody was around to see it. I know. I'm going to sleep soon. Just trying to finish up some work.

It was a few minutes before you replied, this time with another video. John pressed play, hoping for something entertaining. 

He was not disappointed. The video started peeking around a corner, where Sasha stood barely visible on one side of the baby gate. She barked once, wagging her tail, and a chorus of little puppy barks and howls responded to her. 

"Sasha," you groaned on camera. "You're such a brat, I swear. Go on, go to my room. Go. Shoo." 

Sasha bolted past you at full speed, skidding on the floor and hitting the wall before making it around the corner. The video followed her progress until you sighed. 

"One of these days, John, I swear, I'm going to be down one dog." The video ended, and John had to put one hand over his mouth to get his snickering under control. 

Then he had an idea. He sat up a little and took a picture of the edge of his desk, his lamp, and the clock on the bare wall beyond that. He sent the picture to you with a simple caption: Trade you.

You need pictures on that wall, it's so boring. Also, go to bed. Your paperwork will not rise from your desk to strangle you in the middle of the night, I promise. 

John gave up, standing and letting out a huff of laughter. "Whatever you say, sweetheart," he murmured to his phone. But he did send a reply. You get some sleep too. 

He locked his office and walked back to his room, rubbing a hand over his face. He didn't even realize he was still smiling until he was back in his room and caught sight of himself in the little mirror he used for shaving. Shaking his head at his own damn self, he got ready for bed. 

But he did check his phone one final time before turning off the lights. 

Sleep well, John.

–

Today was pickup day. You were excited for the families taking home a puppy, but also just a little bit heartsick. You'd miss the little furballs. 

Half the pups were gone already. You'd sent each one off with their last shots from you, paperwork, and well wishes. Three more were still coming. 

Including Kyle and John. You couldn't deny that your heart fluttered a little at the thought of seeing John again. 

The knock on your door sent Sasha barking, and the puppies followed her example. You chuffed a laugh and jogged to the door, peeking out before pulling it open. 

"Hi!" 

"Hi." Kyle grinned. "Is he ready?"

"Just about. Come on in." You held the door open wide for them both. "I just have to give him one last booster shot, and your paperwork, and he'll be ready to go." 

You led the way back to the family room, picking up Kyle's puppy and handing him over. "Here you go." 

"Hello Cupid," Kyle murmured, cuddling the pup close to his chest. "Hello cutie boy. Yes, you're gonna be my sweet boy, huh?" 

John snorted and muttered something about "softie", but you grinned. You knew better. He was totally soft on those puppies, too. 

It took you only a moment to get the booster shot ready, and you injected it quickly and easily. The puppy was so distracted with his new owner that he didn't even notice. 

"Nicely done." John smiled at you. 

The warmth of that smile and that approval curled through you, and you ducked your head a little. "It's not too hard with these guys, they're so distractible." You peeled the sticker off the booster and stuck it onto the paperwork. "This has his bloodline information. There's a sheet in here with the puppy records too - shots and such. And if you want to register him, that paperwork is in here too." 

"Very organized." Kyle didn't relinquish his puppy, though. 

"Yes, well, I've put together six of these already, I better be organized about it by now," you agreed, laughing. "Obviously you have my number, and you're always welcome to text or call me with questions or concerns." 

"Brilliant." Kyle smiled, rubbing his puppy's head. "Thank you." 

"It's my pleasure." You smiled and reached over, tweaking the pup's ear. "I know he's going to a good home." 

"Probably be spoiled rotten," John muttered. 

"Oi!" Kyle spluttered. "I'm not planning to spoil him that much!" 

"Soap."

Kyle paused. "Fair." 

"Soap?" You looked between the two, confused. 

"A coworker. His nickname is Soap." John answered, still amused. 

"I don't think I want to know." You chuckled, shaking your head. "Although I'd love to see, someday." 

"Bet we can arrange that, eh, Captain?" Kyle shot John a look that you couldn't quite decipher. 

"Gaz." John made a motion with his hand, and Kyle nodded once. 

"You still have three pick ups?" Kyle was very unsubtle, but you rolled with it. 

"Two more, they're both coming tomorrow." You smiled down at the little puppy with the yellow collar. "At the moment, she's staying with me." 

"Maybe we can arrange play dates, then." Kyle shot a sly look to John that you had the feeling you weren't supposed to see. 

You chuckled. "Maybe," you agreed. "That would be good for both of them." 

"We'll make it happen." Kyle grinned. "Any last bits of advice?"

You shrugged. "Start training early and you'll have no problems. Probably." 

Kyle chuckled. "Right. Thanks." 

You walked them to the door (after making sure John had the paperwork). Letting the puppies go was always bittersweet, but this time… well. You'd come to look forward to seeing these two. You were upset at the loss of potential with them as much as you were the puppy. 

Kyle walked back to the car but John lingered on the door step, looking around. You paused next to him. 

"Did you have any more trouble?" He asked, looking back at you. 

You shook your head. "No. No trouble." 

"That's good." He stroked one hand over his mutton chops, eyes sharp and fixed on you. "Now that your business with Gaz is concluded… can I take you to coffee sometime? Or tea?"

You smiled, slow and hopeful, heart beating fast. "I'd like that," you agreed, risking taking a step closer to put your hand on his arm. "Very much."

"Good." He smiled, turning to face you fully. "Let me know when is good for you. My schedule can be a bit… chaotic." 

"Will do." You squeezed his arm gently. "I look forward to seeing you again, John." 

He pressed forward, a brief, bristly kiss landing on your cheek before he turned and strode to the car. Kyle waved to you out the window, puppy situated in his lap, and you waved back. 

Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't an ending, but a new beginning.

[cowgurrrl]

Don't Blame Me

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader (except this is all backstory)

Author’s note: we interrupt your regularly scheduled rockstar!joel content for the LFTL prequel

Summary: September 26, 2003 [5.0k]

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, talks of food insecurity, outbreak day, canonical type violence, brief brief vague mention of threat from baby daddy, reader being a badass because I said so

“Jane Eloise, let’s go!” You yell through the apartment, struggling to hold your purse, coffee, Jane's backpack and lunchbox, and a file full of paperwork that came home with you last night. You can hear her shuffling things around in her room from where you're standing in the kitchen, already ten minutes late.

"I can't find my backpack!" She shouts.

"I have it! I just need you to get in the car!"

"Oh!" She chirps as she bounds into the kitchen, her light-up shoes sparkling with each step. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail adorned with bows to keep her hair out of her face throughout the school day, and she's wearing her favorite Fleetwood Mac shirt. You don't even want to know what you look like after rushing around, trying to get both of you ready for the day, but you feel less stressed knowing she doesn't look like she has a mom that doesn't brush her hair. You hand her the backpack and lunch box, fastening the straps over her little shoulders, and make a beeline for the door.

You wave to your neighbor, Ms. Watson, who barely spares you a glance which is strange considering how she almost always says good morning to you and Jane. Maybe she's just having a bad day. Jane buckles herself into her booster seat as you try to balance your coffee on top of your car but end up spilling it all down your arm and the side of your car. You curse under your breath as you shake coffee out of the papers you were holding and search your messy car for napkins or something to clean yourself.

"Are you okay, Mommy?" Jane asks from the backseat, and you do your best to swallow down your stress and frustration to smile at her.

"Yeah, baby, I'm okay. I just spilled my coffee, but it's okay," you say as you give up and climb into the driver's seat. You put the key in the ignition and say a silent prayer for the engine to turn over and actually start. It only takes three tries, but it works. "Ready for school?"

Through the power of speeding and pure spite, Jane gets to school perfectly on time. She kisses you on the cheek as she rushes out of the car, her oversized backpack bouncing as she runs through the door where her teacher awaits her. You wave at Mr. Lowery, who shoots you a thumbs-up and a mouthed "Nice" for getting her to class on time. You laugh and flip him off before driving away. He's a good teacher and always nice to the parents if not a little bit of a flirt to you. You went on one date with him before the school year started and discovered he was Jane's teacher. Since then, neither of you have made any moves which is fine. You can barely explain to Jane why her dad isn't around. There’s no way you could explain why you're dating the first teacher she's ever had. It wouldn't be the best look.

You get to work fifteen minutes late. Again. Your boss shoots you a look you pointedly ignore as you drop the coffee-stained file in his hands and rush over to answer the phone on your desk. Thrillingly, you spend the day digitizing files, scheduling appointments for people who get paid way more than you do, and fielding requests. Something you learned very quickly when you got this job is that everyone who walks through the door wants to flirt with the young secretary to get what they want, but once you deny them and they see the pictures of Jane on your desk, they decide you're a bitch and give up.

However, people seem to be especially reactive today. They're jumpy as they wait by your desk and get pissed when you tell them no or that they have to wait. One guy even got in your face and had to be escorted out by security. You have to stay a whole hour after your shift ends to fill out an incident report and explain your side of the story to your boss, making you late to pick up Jane from her after-school program. The standstill traffic on the highway didn't help your case either. When you pull up to the school, Jane and her after school teacher are sitting on the curb, looking up at the orange sunset.

"Mommy!" Jane screeches as you park and get out of the car. You smile as you crouch down and open your arms to hug her.

"Hi, baby! How was your day?" You ask as you reach out to smooth her hair down. Her ponytail and bows did not last the whole day, and her hair is now frizzy and tangled. She must've had a fun day.

"Good! I got to play checkers with Mr. Lowery at lunch, and guess what?"

"What?"

"I beat him! Twice!" She exclaims, holding up two fingers, and you raise your eyebrows.

"No way! You must be a genius or something!"

"I know!" She says, making you laugh. The after-school teacher clears her throat from behind Jane, and you sigh as you glance between her and Jane.

"Why don't you get buckled in while I talk to Ms. Taylor, okay? Start thinking about what you want for dinner." You say. Jane is already halfway in the car before you can even finish your sentence, and you stand to your full height. Taylor has her arms crossed over her chest, and she looks pissed.

"You're late." She says like you're unaware or making her stay late on purpose.

"I know. I'm sorry. Something happened at work, and I had to stay late to get it sorted out, and traffic was horrible. I think there was an accident or something. The whole freeway was shut down." You say, but Taylor just stares at you.

"You can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Keeping the after-school teachers late. If it keeps happening, we're gonna have to fine you." She says, and you feel yourself deflate. You look back to make sure Jane's car door is shut, and she can't hear you.

"You know I can't afford to pay a fine. Please, I'm…" you take a deep breath. "I'm doing my best."

"I know you are, but the message isn't coming from me. It's coming from my boss. I'm just letting you know so you can arrange for someone to pick her up on time if you can't."

"I don't have anyone else."

"What about your mom?"

"C'mon, man," you shake your head. "She's not speaking to me, and even if she were, I'm not letting her see Jane."

"There's nobody that can pick her up? What about a neighbor or a coworker or something?" She asks.

"Nobody that I trust enough."

"Look, I'm trying to help you, but you need to be able to help yourself too. I'll cover for you this time but don't let it happen again, okay?" She says, and you nod. You're annoyed that someone you went to high school with, who knew you when you were pregnant, is acting high and mighty because she doesn't have kids. You don't need someone to tell you to trust others. You need her to watch your fucking kid.

"Thanks. It won't happen again." You say as you turn on your heels and walk back to the driver's side door. You both know it absolutely will happen again, but it doesn't matter right now. Right now, you need to get Jane home, feed her dinner, and study after she goes to sleep. The MCATs are coming up, and you can't afford to take it more than once.

There are a lot of things you can't afford even though you work two jobs. You can't afford to get new work shoes even though your old ones are falling apart. You can't afford a new car, even if it's used. Hell, you can barely afford to pay rent these days, but you'll never let Jane know. Every day, she has food in her belly, clothes on her back, and a safe, warm bed to sleep in. It doesn't matter if you go hungry or have to secretly sew up the holes in your clothes. She's the only thing that matters.

Traffic is miserable trying to get back to the apartment, even on the back roads, but you finally manage to get home right as the sun is setting. Jane gets down and immediately looks up, searching for the moon like she does every night. You're pulling your bag over your shoulder when she gasps.

"Mommy, look!" Jane says as she points at the fighter jets soaring through the air with a loud boom. You look up just in time to watch them fly over your head, going somewhere quickly, and you get a sinking feeling in your stomach. You can't place it or understand exactly what you're feeling, but you still usher Jane inside and lock the door behind you.

You make her mac and cheese and hot dogs for dinner. It's easy, cheap, and she loves it, so it's a win for everyone. She tells you about her day as she eats, excitedly telling you playground tales and what sound an F makes. You smile as you listen and ask her questions, clinging to her every word. She's getting so big and smart that sometimes you just want to sit and listen to her talk for hours. After dinner, you run her a bath and read her two bedtime stories before kissing her forehead and tiptoeing to the living room.

You sit on the couch with some mind-numbing reality show playing in the background as you try to study. After the day you've had, the words blur together, and focusing takes more brain power than usual. You make coffee and eat whatever's left of Jane's mac and cheese as it brews. You're able to take notes on pharmacology and start on endocrinology when your TV show suddenly cuts out. On your screen, an emergency screen blares at you, urging you to seek shelter. Your heart jumps to your throat as you hear more jets flying over your apartment building.

You don't know why, but you rush to your closet and take the locked box from your top shelf down. You find the key and unlock it to find the small handgun, ammunition at the bottom, and a hunting knife your ex left in your car years ago. He probably meant it as a threat, but you kept it in case he ever tried to go through with anything. You load the gun and tuck the extra ammo and knife in your pocket before standing and walking to Jane's room. You hide the gun in your waistband as you enter her room and gently but firmly shake her awake.

"Mommy?" She asks as she blinks in the darkness of her room.

"It's okay. Everything's okay. I just need you to wake up and come into the living room with me." You tell her, already searching for a pair of shoes and socks for her.

"Why?"

"Something's going on. I don't know what yet, but it's safer for you to be with me than asleep, okay?" You say. She yawns but complies, letting you slip socks and shoes onto her feet before doing the same. As you walk to the living room, your gun heavy in your jacket, the floor shakes under your feet. More planes fly overhead, and now you can hear sirens and people yelling in the street. You keep Jane close to your body as you try to come up with a plan when someone furiously knocks on your door.

"Help! Please, open the door!" A voice begs from the other side. You push Jane behind you as you pull your gun and keep it low, the way you were taught. The person in the hallway is still banging on your door and screaming for help, but you don't move to open it. Suddenly, there's an inhuman screeching and cries. The knocking stops. The world goes silent. Jane whimpers behind you, and you quickly shush her.

"It's okay, baby. It's okay," you say quietly. You can see the shadow of feet under your door as the knob jiggles. Jiggling turns to fully throwing their body against the wood, desperately attempting to get in, and Jane screams. Your heart pounds as her fear rattles in your ears, and you raise your gun at the door. "Cover your ears!" You order as the door breaks down, and you fire one shot at the mutilated body, trying to hurt you. Through the low light of your apartment, you can see the blood covering his face and the crazed look in his eyes as he goes down, twitching as he bleeds out on your living room floor.

Your ears ring, and you think you hear Jane say something about you killing him, but you can't focus. The only thing you know to do is pick her up and run. It's not safe to stay here. Your best bet would be to get to the back roads and drive until sunrise. Scarily, you hold Jane with one hand and your gun in the other, the juxtaposition enough to make your head spin. She tucks her head into your neck and cries as you leave your apartment to see the carnage left in the hallway. The guy begging for mercy is dead, his blood splattered across the beige walls of your building, and he's not the only one. There's blood and bodies everywhere. You put a hand on the back of Jane's head and push her face closer to you.

"Don't look at anything except Mommy, okay? You stay right there and close your eyes." You say, and she nods into your neck. Another rumbling shakes the building, and you run down the stairs, checking each floor for bodies or whatever the fuck tried to get into your apartment. Distantly, you can hear the same screeching but don't stop long enough to figure out where it's coming from.

When you get outside, there’s smoke and fire everywhere. People are screaming as jets fly overhead. That's the first time you see a bomb being dropped from a military plane on U.S. soil. You freeze as you watch the explosive fall, fall, fall until it hits the ground in a cloud of fire, ash, and blood. They're going to kill you all, and the only thing you have to protect yourself is a handgun and hunting knife. Fear seizes you, and you feel like you could be sick. You think you would've if Jane didn't scream at something behind you.

You're tackled to the ground before you can turn and shoot, and Jane falls out of your arms. Your skin scrapes against the pavement as you fight under the screaming person with no life behind their eyes. They're covered in blood and brain matter, a sight that churns your stomach, and they are clawing at you for leverage. You kick at them as you struggle to reach for your hunting knife, the skin of your palm cutting open on the glass under your body. Jane is crying and calling for you, but her voice gets louder and scarier as she sees something you don't. Something takes over. You've heard stories of people being able to lift cars or rubble when their loved ones are trapped underneath, their air supply rapidly dwindling as they beg for help. They said it was adrenaline. You never believed them until this moment.

The second your fingers graze the hunting knife, you're plunging the blade into the person's skull. A bubbling sound takes over the screaming, and you push the knife further until their body goes limp, and you push them off you, taking your knife with you. You crawl on your stomach to reach for your gun and shoot the person on the other side of the car, the one Jane saw. You don't see where the bullet lands, but you hear the body hit the ground as you take Jane in your arms again. She whines and tries to kick away from you as you open your car door, and you stop to look at her.

"It's me, baby. It's Mommy." You say, but the hot tears are still streaming down her face.

"B… blood! Blood!" She shrieks. You look down and find your shirt, hands, and arms slick with blood. You try to wipe your hands on your pants, but your bloody handprints cling to her clothes and skin. All your breath leaves you in one huff as the past twenty minutes catch up with you. Three people. You killed three people. Jane was in trouble. You're her mother. You did what you had to.

The sound of jets snaps you out of it. You put Jane in the backseat and get in the driver's seat, ignoring the way your hands shake as you try to put the key in the ignition. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," you beg as the engine sputters. You turn the key again and again and again, but nothing happens. The plane is getting closer, and you can see people running toward you at the sound of the engine clicking. "Please! Fuck!" You yell, your voice cracking as you press the key harder. A guy jumps on the hood of your car and pounds on the glass, making Jane scream in terror. You see the plane pass over you and yell at Jane to buckle in and cover her head. Finally, the engine turns over right as the bomb explodes, not even a mile away.

Your car shakes as debris flies in all different directions. Blindly, you throw the car in reverse and ignore the crunch of bodies under your wheels. The momentum throws the guy from the hood of your car, and you don't look back as you race in the opposite direction. Your heart pounds as you reach for the radio but hear nothing but static. No radio. No information. No help. Whatever help the military could've been sending is shot to shit. They're more interested in dropping bombs on civilians.

"What's going on? What's wrong with those people?" Jane asks from the backseat, and you look at her in the rearview mirror. She's too small to look this scared. Your fingers twitch to reach for her before remembering you're covered in blood.

"I don't know, but it's gonna be okay. I'm gonna get us somewhere safe."

"Where?" She asks, and you hesitate. There are bombs and those… things all over the city. What if it's like that everywhere? What if nowhere is safe anymore? No, there has to be somewhere. If there's not, you'll make it safe for her. There's no other option.

"I don't know yet," you say as you turn to get to the highway. It's packed, and no one is moving. It's standstill traffic for at least the next ten miles. You take a different way and try to get to the back roads, but those are packed too. There's no way out. Your stomach lurches at the idea of being trapped as bombs fall from the sky with your five-year-old in the backseat and no way to protect her. You look around and see fields to your right. You don't know where they lead or if they'll even take you out of the city, but it's enough to get you away from the death trap of a highway. You cut the wheel and pray your car doesn't fall apart as you drive over the curb and into the field. "What are you doing?" Jane asks frantically.

"Are you buckled?" You ask, glancing back to make sure the seatbelt is pulled across her chest. The car rocks with the uneven terrain of the field, but you're moving. You make it ten miles, maybe twenty, before seeing any signs of people again. Even then, they're all dead. Houses burned down, cars in pieces, and debris everywhere. Still, you find a road and can exhale for the first time since the destruction started.

You're about to turn and sail past the destruction when gunshots ring out. Jane screams, and you turn to avoid whoever is shooting. You curse and reach for your gun in the passenger seat as you speed away. You look back to make sure Jane didn't get hit and find her sitting there, breathing heavily but otherwise unharmed. You make it another two miles before your tire finally uses the last of its air, and you can't keep going. You reload the gun while you're safe in the car, and Jane watches with big eyes. She doesn't say anything as you throw your hair up and clip the magazine back in.

"Ready?" You ask as you meet her eyes. She just nods and climbs into your lap, clinging to your neck, as you get out of the car. You leave the only car you've ever known, the car you used to drive yourself to the hospital when you were in labor, and the car you drove Jane around for the first few years of her life on the side of a country road. You start walking away from the city and the gunshots, her face buried in your shoulder, as you listen for footsteps, screaming, and planes.

The only thing surrounding you is the chirping cicadas and the summer heat suffocating you. You decide to try and find somewhere to hide out until the morning. The light of day will give you an advantage. You can make a plan. You can keep Jane safe in the daylight. You rub her back as twigs crunch under your shoes, but she doesn't acknowledge the movement. You want to cry at how far removed she feels from her body. In the same vein, you're secretly glad that she is. Maybe she won't remember tonight. Maybe that's the best thing. Maybe this will all be a bad dream, and you'll wake up tomorrow in your bed.

"Stop right there!" A voice yells, proving you wrong. You jump and turn to see a soldier in full tactical gear with a gun pointed at you and Jane. You put her down and force her to stay behind you as you raise your hands above your head. "Drop your weapon!" The soldier yells again. It's a woman. You can see her blonde hair in the light of her flashlight, and you nod as you slowly put your gun down in the tall grass. Her gun stays pointed at you as Jane sniffles behind you.

"Mama," she cries, and you shake your head, putting a hand on her head to keep her behind you.

"Be quiet, Janey," you mumble, still staring at the soldier. "I have a kid. We're not… we're not sick like the others," you say, but she doesn't move. The bombs, the exit points being sealed off, the sirens. You realize what's happening. The military is trying to contain everyone within the city so they can kill the sick and whoever else might be. "You don't have to do this. Please."

"I have orders."

"She's five," you say. Jane squirms behind you, but you don't let her move into the line of fire. "She doesn't even know the alphabet yet. Please, don't do this." The soldier's radio crackles with a request for her location, but she doesn't make any move to answer it. Instead, she adjusts her grip on her gun and frowns.

"I'm sorry." She says. You dive, pulling Jane down, and scramble for your gun. Bullets fire over your head, making your ears ring as you blindly reach for the metal and press Jane into your chest. You find the grip, cover Jane's ear with one hand, and shoot until the automatic weapon stops firing. Your head pulses with pain from the ear-splitting gunfire, and your vision swims before you realize Jane is still tucked into your chest. You look down and see her— there are tears dried to her face, and she looks scared as hell, but she seems fine. Until you see blood on her shirt. You immediately sit up to search her for injuries when your arm burns with hot pain. A bullet grazed you. That's where the blood is coming from. She didn't get hurt. You let out a shaky breath as you hug her tightly, clutching her like a lifeline.

"You're bleeding," Jane says, and you nod. You kiss her head and wipe your sudden tears away, the pain, exhaustion, and horror finally catching up with you.

"Don't worry about that. Are you hurt?" You ask, putting your hands on her face to look at her.

"That was really scary." She says. You open your mouth to say something comforting, but the crackling of the now-dead soldier's radio pulls your attention. You look around to make sure you're alone in the field before rushing over and smashing her radio. Blood rolls down your arm as you turn her body to take her backpack full of tactical gear and her gun. Twenty-four hours ago, you'd never even seen a dead body. Now you're stripping one for resources while your daughter watches. You dig through the backpack until you find a first aid kit and unroll enough bandage for your arm. Then, without saying anything, you pick Jane up and start walking again.

You stay in the shadows and don't dare to turn on your flashlight. Instead, you rely on moonlight, but even that's shoddy with all the ash and smoke in the air. You ignore the blistering pain in your arm and the weight of the gear on your back. She is the most important thing you could ever carry. She comes first. You walk until you find an old barn, the door broken open, and the wood slats falling apart. It's probably been abandoned since long before tonight. Still, you set Jane down outside before clearing it, checking for threats as she stands just beyond the door. She's barely tall enough to even reach the door handle. Your heart hurts.

Once everything is secure, you and Jane settle along the back wall of the barn, hidden away from any prying eyes that might come around. She lays on your chest, and you run your hand through her hair as she listens to your heartbeat. Her cheek is smooshed against her hand as she starts losing a fight with her eyelids. You can hear her breathing and the way she jumps a little every time she starts to fall asleep. It's the quietest it's been all day.

"Try to get some sleep, okay?" You say quietly as you kiss her temple. She looks up at you and pushes some hair out of your face. It's her way of returning the favor for playing with her hair. She does it every time you guys snuggle like this. Normally, it makes you smile, but you feel more like crying at how gently she touches your face.

"I wanna go home." She whines.

"I know," you say. "We'll go home soon."

"But not tonight?"

"Not tonight."

"I'm scared." She says. You sit up and hold her face in your hands, barely able to make out her features in the moonlight streaming through the roof. Still, you can feel the fear running through her blood. You can feel her heartbeat against yours.

"I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Ever. Not tonight, not tomorrow, and not the day after that, okay? I will always be here to protect you, no matter what," you say. "Do you trust me?" You ask, and she nods. She relaxes in your hands and buries her head in your chest again. You rub soothing circles into her back and hum her favorite Janis Joplin song, the vibrations helping her heart rate to even out. When you're pretty sure she's asleep, you reach for your backpack and pull your gun out, keeping it low and pointed at the door as she rests.

"Mommy?" She whispers suddenly, sleep on the edge of her voice, and you look down to see her staring at you.

"What's up, bug?"

"Why did you hurt those people?" She asks, knocking the wind out of you. Quick flashes of gunfire, explosions, and glints of your knife replay in your mind. You can still feel the terror and the adrenaline rolling through your veins. You swear you'll see the dead eyes of the infected for the rest of your life. As you go through your version of events, you keep coming back to how terrified Jane's screams made you. How the strain of her voice awoke something primal and dangerous deep inside you. How you killed without remorse to keep her safe.

If it were just you, you would've let the soldier shoot you, or the infected eat you. But it's not just you. You have her. You fought tooth and nail to bring her into this world, and you'll be damned if you let someone take her away from you. You'll kill anyone and anything before you let someone hurt her. But she's five. She can't process that. You'll be surprised if she can even process tonight because you know you definitely can't. So, you don't tell her any of that. You just kiss her forehead, hold her a little tighter, and flip the safety on your gun.

"Get some sleep."

[dragonsdomain]

Blob Ghost Supreme chapter 1

Check out @justaphantomhuman's amazing animations that go with this fic! And thank you to @maxattax for beta-ing.

Ao3

Sam and Tucker sat in the Fentons' front room waiting for Danny to finally get home from whatever was going on.

Tucker tapped away on his phone.

"Has Danny texted?" Sam asked.

"Nope. Nothing.” Tucker sighed. “What's been keeping him so busy lately?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Maybe he's off flirting with Paulina or Valerie."

Tucker chuckled. "Yeah right. He wouldn't have the guts for that."

Sam slumped against the couch.

"What if he got kidnapped by a ghost or something?" Tucker asked.

Sam shrugged. "Or he could just be late. Again. It wouldn't be any use worrying over nothing. He's probably just being irresponsible."

Tucker clicked back to his text messages again. Still nothing.

Suddenly a green light zipped into the room, and Sam and Tucker both jumped. The creature froze upon seeing the two of them, and all three just stared at each other for several seconds.

Tucker's jaw was hanging open. "Sam. Sam, that's the blob ghost. The one! The— the one that fights off the other ghosts!"

Sam stared, dumbfounded. "Man. It really is adorable."

The ghost bolted for the staircase down to the basement.

Sam scrambled off of the couch, grabbed their half-empty snack bowl, and dashed after it. "Come on!"

Tucker rushed after her. "What are we doing?!"

"Catching it!" Sam called back.

"Why?!"

"'Cause it's cool! I have questions!" Sam bounded down the staircase just as the tiny ghost zipped through the swirling portal to the Ghost Zone. She cursed, tossed the bowl aside, and grabbed a Fenton Thermos off of a cluttered desk. She then yanked open the door to the Spectre Speeder and hopped into the driver's seat.

"Are we sure we want to be taking the Fentons' flying ghost car without permission?" Tucker asked, even as he climbed into the passenger seat and clipped on his seatbelt (not sponsored).

"Like they could be mad if we came back with the most interesting ghost ever!" Sam started pressing buttons until the Speeder jerked, then whipped toward the portal.

Tucker yelped and slammed his door closed just before the vehicle was enveloped by green light.

...

Did blob ghosts blush? Danny hoped not. He was horribly embarrassed for two reasons, the first being that he'd forgotten about promising to meet up with his friends on the same day as the Ghost King tournament and inadvertently stood them up. The second was that they'd now seen his tiny, pathetic form directly, and Sam had called him adorable to his face.

At least he could be grateful they still didn't know it was him.

Danny floated off through the ghost zone, following the slight tug on his core. He hadn't noticed it until Frostbite mentioned it, but now that he knew to look for it, it felt plain as day. He flew past a shoal of blob ghosts who chirped at him in greeting, and he gave a bubbly growl back at them. He may be a blob ghost, but he didn't want to be associated with all those normal weak ones.

What could he do to let people know how intimidating he was? Could he turn around and fire an ecto-laser from his mouth like a rocket booster? ...No, that'd look stupid. Forget it.

Danny plucked a ghost apple off of a tree he passed and chomped it down with as gruesome of an expression as he could muster. Yes, listen, anyone watching, know that could totally be your head. Wait, that sounded gross. Danny wouldn't eat your head, but so too would your head be crushed! Yeah!

...What was he doing? Trying to intimidate people in his mind? Time to get this over with.

A beam of light flashed just to Danny's right, and he gave a startled, unflattering squeak. He bolted to the side, then swiftly pivoted towards the source of the light.

The Specter Speeder. With... Sam and Tucker inside. Danny grimaced. Great, they were chasing him. This was his karma for ditching them, wasn't it?

Danny picked up his speed, zigzagging away from Sam and Tucker. They pursued, but Danny could turn more quickly than the Speeder could. Danny darted down into a belt of floating islands, weaving between the chunks of land and branches of ghostly trees. A couple more beams from the Fenton Thermos struck obstacles behind him, indicating that Danny hadn't yet left his human friends behind.

Danny pushed his speed even further, zipping out of the belt to the left. A glance back showed him that the Speeder hadn't followed him into the belt. Sam, who was at the wheel, had just been shooting him from outside it. Of course.

Pivoting, Danny rushed straight towards the Speeder. He saw Tucker flinch back, Sam snatching the Thermos from him and pointing it at Danny as he drew close. Danny dodged down again, inhaled (he tried not to think about how his body was inflating like a balloon), and let loose a blast of ice. The ice enveloped the front of the Speeder, even tipping it dangerously upwards. Danny winced for a second, trying to remember if he'd seen his friends wearing seatbelts (not sponsored), then quickly swung around the back of the Speeder and used more ice to clog the Speeder's boosters. That wouldn't last long if it were to be started up again, but it'd at least give Danny enough time to get away.

He swung down, flying quickly off again towards the tug on his core. He had a tournament to get to.

...

The colosseum was deep down in the ghost zone, on a large, flat surface which Danny had first assumed was the dimension's floor (though he would soon enough be informed that it was only a massive slab of stone). Even from a distance, a cloud of ghosts was visible surrounding and churning towards the colosseum, and Danny felt an involuntary bubble of nervousness. It was a tournament for who was going to be the new ghost king. There were probably a lot of contestants.

He shook off his apprehension. That was what he was counting on! Danny was here to prove himself; the more ghosts that saw him do it, and the more powerful the opponents he defeated, the better. He was sick and tired of everyone thinking they could push him around just because he was a blob ghost. Today was the day he'd show them all how wrong they were.

Danny rushed down towards the entrance, shoving through a couple more shoals of blob ghosts and a small crowd of humanoid ghosts all vying for entry. Walker's goons were guarding the entrance, along with an Observant.

Danny tried to slip through the archway, but a ghostly cop barred his way with a rod. He cleared his throat disdainfully, and Danny in turn shot him a murderous glare.

The Observant glanced over towards the two of them and gave a long-suffering sigh. "Let that one in. It's the blob ghost rumored to have fought Pariah."

The cop gaped back at the Observant. "You can't be serious. You actually believe that crazy rumor?"

The Observant flipped absently through some papers. "Do you really want to find out how powerful it is right now?"

The cop scowled, then reluctantly moved his rod. Danny smiled smugly at him as he swept forward into the entrance hallways surrounding the arena.

He floated down the hall, wondering where he was supposed to be. Thankfully, no one else was trying to stop him, but various tough-looking ghosts kept firing dubious glances his way. He heard one whisper to his girlfriend about who had let him in. He scowled. Reflexively he was grateful that at least no one was picking fights with him yet, but then he reminded himself that he wanted to pick fights. If anybody stood up to him, that'd be his chance to show them what was what.

One of Walker's goons spotted him hovering uncertainly in the middle of the hall (oops, he should have made it look like he totally knew what he was doing. Drat). He floated over to him.

"This isn't the entrance for spectators. You're supposed to be on the second floor or higher."

Danny glared, hesitating. How could he communicate to this man how wrong he was? Would he have to talk? Danny tried rolling his eyes and floating on past the man.

"Hey now," the man said, grabbing Danny unceremoniously. Oh, it was on.

Danny unhinged his jaw and swallowed the ghost's hand whole before charging a ghostly laser in his mouth. The cop screamed and frantically shook Danny off.

Danny regained his balance in the air and glared at the man challengingly.

He nursed his hand and glared back. "What's with the attitude?!"

Danny cringed internally. Fine. He had to. "I'm a contestant!" he declared as angrily as he could, but it was no use. His voice was high-pitched and squeaky and adorable. His face felt hot, and he resisted the urge to curl in on himself in shame.

The cop's face dissolved into a smile as he barely contained laughter. Danny fumed. "Ye sure, little guy? I dunno if you want to be involved in something like this. It's the ghost king tournament, you know. The strongest ghosts around'll be competing. You could get hurt."

Danny shook with rage. "'You could get hurt'," he mimicked in a singsong voice, then immediately felt more embarrassed for how childish that sounded. What was he doing? How was he supposed to get this man to take him seriously?

Danny decided he was done messing around. He sped off down the hall to where he found a desk occupied by a bored-looking Observant. There was a stack of application forms in front of him, so Danny yanked one out and faceplanted on it in lieu of a signature. The Observant gave an undignified shriek of surprise as Danny zipped off again.

Firing down the hall like a homing missile helped Danny pretty quickly find where he was probably supposed to be. He found a collection of ghosts gathered in a large room around the back being generally rowdy and hostile, like a bunch of feral cats locked in a room together. Danny flew in through the central archway and asserted his presence by floating there silently, trying to will the ghosts to respect him through force of mind.

Finally the biker ghost he'd beat up once — Jimmy 15? — spotted him in the doorway and smirked. That was not the reaction Danny had been looking for, thank you very much. Danny's glare intensified. 

Jimmy pitched his cigarette at Danny.

Danny shot a fine laser at it, vaporizing it in midair.

Jimmy blinked.

Danny glared harder, and finally Jimmy realized it would be a better idea to look anywhere else in the room than at him.

Danny started slowly moving through the room, trying to exude the same energy as a dark, muscular man with a large gun walking into a bar. It was pretty difficult to do as a sentient water balloon. No, Danny didn't manage it, but he probably got closer than any other sentient water balloon ever had, so good for him, really.

Eventually, after receiving no attention, Danny decided to sit as menacingly as possible in the center of the fireplace mantle. He occupied himself by scanning the room for any more menacing place to sit. Now all he had to do was wait until the pre-round of the ghost king tournament started, and he'd finally be able to show all these people who they were dealing with.

...

"Wow! That was awesome!" Tucker said from the passenger seat of the frozen-over Specter Speeder.

Sam slumped down in her seat. "I can't believe we blew that. We were so close! We almost got him a couple of times!"

Tucker flipped on the heater and defroster. "Eh, would've been anticlimactic if we'd gotten him right away."

Sam gave some wordless grumble and started pressing buttons and flipping switches.

Tucker watched her. "You're just gonna..."

"Yep," Sam responded. "We're getting back out there."

The Speeder suddenly tipped downwards. Sam and Tucker yelped and were only saved from whacking their heads on the dashboard by their seatbelts (not sponsored). Sam slapped back the switch she'd just flipped and the car righted itself. She went right back to pressing buttons.

Tucker gulped and turned the heater up.

Finally something exploded, and Sam and Tucker both screamed, but they were fine. The vehicle had somehow exploded only outwards, expelling shards of ice out into the green atmosphere.  The shards pierced a couple blob ghosts who cried out dramatically, but were completely fine after eating the ice.

Tucker turned off the defroster. "Okay, then."

Sam sat there dazed for a second, then shook herself out of it and said, "Finally! Let's go!" She floored the accelerator, and the Speeder jerked forward with enough force to send Sam and Tucker both slamming back into their seats.

Tucker, eyes watering against the whipping ghost winds, reached forward and pressed the button to roll the windows up.

As soon as the windows were closed and Tucker could hear himself think, he said, "Sam, where are we going?"

She slammed on the breaks. "Oh. Ah." She coughed, then started scanning their surroundings. She perked up. "Hey, there are a lot of ghosts headed in the same direction, aren't there?"

There were. Shoals of blob ghosts were all drifting lazily forward and downwards, close to the same direction the phantom blob had been heading before they lost him. "Huh!"

"Great. Here we go!" Sam slammed on the accelerator again, making Tucker wonder whether she was a bad driver or if the Fentons' vehicles were just wired to start and stop with extreme abruptness.

They powered on, following the trail of ghosts. The flow continued, other ghosts converging in from other directions too, so it seemed that Sam had been right. There was something going on that lots of ghosts were headed towards. Before long, they'd arrived at what seemed to be the destination.

"Woah-ho-ho!" Tucker gasped as the colosseum came into sight. The river of ghosts they'd been following were busy crowding into the audience seats.

A couple of ghost cops sped over to Tucker and Sam as they tried to drive up towards the stadium. "You two are humans, aren't you? What gives you the right to bring in all this debris from the living world?"

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other blankly for a second. Then Tucker gave her a wild grin that hopefully portrayed the correct message of I'm about to try something crazy, play along. Tucker turned back towards the ghost cop. "We're ambassadors, actually, so we have diplomatic license. You don't recognize us?"

The ghost raised his eyebrow. "The humans sent two children as ambassadors."

"Excuse me?" Sam chimed in, drawing herself up to full regal height. "You really don't know who we are, do you? The ghost authorities are really slacking with their training, aren't they? In the past we've at least been able to count on security to have basic information." She rolled her eyes at Tucker, and he shook his head disdainfully.

"What are you talking about? There's never been any kind of truce between the humans and ghosts." The cop's eyes narrowed. "Do I have to escort you off the premises?"

Tucker gulped, but he kept his expression stern. "Look, if you need to confirm our identities, you can check with your boss or other immediate superiors. They'll know what's going on. Now please, we have important responsibilities to attend to. We can't be late for this."

The ghost scrutinized them for a second, then he pointed a finger. "I'll be back. Don't move."

"Make it snappy," Sam said, waving a hand in a shooing motion.

The ghost cop flew off.

Tucker jerked forward. "Okay. Now we've probably got, like, two minutes before that guy comes back with confirmation that we're definitely not supposed to be here. We gotta hide the Speeder, then get in here somehow disguised as ghosts so he doesn't recognize us."

"Good quick thinking back there," Sam said, giving him a grin. "Love rebelling against authorities with the besties."

Tucker chuckled. "To each their own."

Sam pivoted the Speeder and pulled it behind a nearby outcropping of ghost rock.

"Is this really going to fool the ghost police?" Tucker asked dubiously.

Sam put the vehicle in park and pulled off her backpack. "I think our biggest concern should be how we're going to trick them into thinking we're ghosts."

Tucker peered into her backpack. "You don't happen to have a pair of sheets in there, do you?"

Sam snorted, continuing to rifle through the bag. "I was more hoping for something like green makeup. I don't think I brought any though..."

"Aww," Tucker pouted. "So then now what? Do we call it quits?"

"No!" Sam glared at him. "We've come so far already! There's something crazy going on over here! We can't turn back now!"

Tucker put his hands up placatingly. "Sheesh, okay. Then what's our plan B? Or C. Whatever letter we're on by now."

"We'll think of something..." Sam said. She scanned her gaze over the Speeder. Her eyes lighted on the ectoplasmic energy core, and her mouth pulled into a grin.

"Why are you looking at the ectoplasm core, Sam?" Tucker asked, hoping he was misreading the situation.

Sam climbed back to it and popped the glass container out of its socket.

"Sam."

"I mean, if anything's going to convince them we're ghosts..." Sam fiddled with the lid to the tank of ectoplasm.

Tucker scrambled over to her and slapped her hand away. "We're not going to paint ourselves with toxic alien sauce!"

Sam pulled the tank away from him. "I thought we agreed the Fentons aren't right about everything?"

Tucker threw up his hands. "But they're right about some things!"

"There you are!" Came a voice from outside the vehicle, and Sam and Tucker froze.

The same cop ghost from earlier was hovering next to the Speeder, looking rather annoyed. "Why were you trying to sneak off?"

Tucker spluttered. "Oh, we weren't— no, we were just parking the Speeder out of the way! Just getting out of your hair!"

The ghost had no visible hair. He squinted at them, then sighed. "Well, apparently you're welcome at the tournament. The Observants' weird boss says you're the future ghost king's friends or something, so I guess you can come back." He muttered something under his breath about clocks and favoritism, starting to float away.

"Wait, can you give us a lift? We can't fly." Tucker asked, and Sam smacked him in the arm for some reason. He later found out it was because she'd wanted to take advantage of the apparent favoritism to park the Speeder closer so they could have an escape route whenever they wanted. That would've been smart. Oh well.

The ghost sighed long-sufferingly then floated back and pulled them out of the car, floating over back towards the stadium.

"It's good I got the news soon enough. The pre-qualification fights are about to start, and I might've gotten in trouble if I'd kept you out of that."

"What did we say?" Sam said, pulling on a scoff.

"You can drop the act. I know you were lying before," the ghost grumbled.

"Oh." Sam blushed.

The colosseum was in an uproar. The officer deposited Sam and Tucker near the top of the rows of seats, one of the only places where there were empty seats left. Sam and Tucker both had to stand up atop their seats to see past the large excited ghosts in front of them to see what was going on.

Sam tapped the shoulder of a pumpkin-headed ghost in front of them. "Hey!" she had to yell to be heard above the cheering. "Do you know what's going on?"

"It's the ghost king tournament!" the ghost yelled back. "The event of the century! Someone took down Pariah Dark so we're having a tournament to choose the new king of the ghost zone!" He paused, suddenly comprehending. "Are you two humans?"

"We have permission to be here," Tucker chimed in defensively.

"Okay!" the pumpkin ghost yelled back. "Have fun!" He turned back towards the arena and continued cheering.

"Can you see what's going on?" Sam asked Tucker, standing on her tiptoes.

"It looks like ghosts are starting to come out? No, wait--" He cringed. "Let's go to the bottom of the stairs. There won't be seats, but at least we'll be able to see."

Sam grabbed Tucker's hand and pulled him quickly over to the staircase and down to the bottom almost too fast for Tucker to keep from tripping. Cheers bellowed on and off from every side. Enough ghosts struggled to contain their excitement that the air was starting to fill with spirited spectators and guests who continued to arrive long after the seats were filled.

Sam and Tucker managed to squeeze down to the foot of the stairs, gaining a clear view of the arena. They were just in time; only a second later a firework went off and the ghosts in the arena launched into battle.

"Is that Ember?" Tucker asked.

"Kitty!" Sam cried, pointing.

Tucker recoiled as ectoplasm started to spray. "Ooh..." he cringed backwards, holding his stomach.

Sam put a steady arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry about watching. I can give you a recap later." She gasped. "Tucker look! Or-- oh."

Tucker was already looking, whether voluntarily or by reflex. And what he saw was indeed a spectacle. In the center of the arena was the very blob ghost they'd chased into the ghost zone. Well, Tucker could only assume it was the same blob ghost based on its size and the fact that it was suddenly dominating the competition. He started by pinwheeling a laser in an arc that sent each of his competitors launching backwards to strike against the stone and barred walls of the arena. He then swept a beam of ice in a circle, freezing the greater part of his competitors solidly against the walls.

"Wow," Tucker breathed. "Maybe it's not such a good idea to mess around with that ghost..."

"Mm, or all the more reason to do so?" Sam suggested.

Tucker shivered. "I think we got lucky."

A small handful of ghosts had managed to dodge the attack upwards, and one or two large ones broke out of the ice through brute force. The phantom blob rocketed towards a dragon, causing it to double over in pain. The blob bit its tail and somehow lifted it up, into the air, then spun in a circle again to gain enough momentum to launch it upwards towards the ghosts that'd escaped his ice. The dragon slammed into them all, taking another group of ghosts out of the arena.

Tucker gestured towards the display, giving Sam a pointed look.

Sam squirmed. "Yeah, okay, maybe more preparation would've been better."

Out of the ice burst a tornado creature, shaking loose a genie-looking ghost next to him, who took one look at the floating sphere of terror in the arena's center and bailed out on her own. The tornado fired a pair of lightning bolts at the phantom blob, who summoned a ghost shield that blocked it easily.

"How many powers does it have?" Tucker whispered. He really hoped things didn't get bloody again. The blood being green and glowy didn’t really help. He wasn't sure he'd be able to tear his gaze away a second time.

The blob aimed an ectoblast at the tornado creature's head, which it blocked with an armored hand. Next, the blob started splitting into multiple versions of itself and firing at the tornado from multiple directions, which quickly caused it to shrink into a sizzling heap on the ground.

Ghosts to Sam and Tucker's left and right started to murmur in awe. And Tucker found himself feeling the same.

The last foe left was a mass of thorny vines cowering on the ground of the arena. The blob quickly subdued it with several ferocious beams of ice followed with slams of ectoblasts that left it shattered and thoroughly pruned.

The colosseum held its breath. The phantom blob coalesced into one again, then slowly scanned the arena around it, almost seeming to dare any ghost who was left to challenge him.

No one came forward.

A tall ghost seated in a booth near the top of the arena stood up. The audience remained hushed as the being's singular eye, which floated in place of a head, gazed down upon the arena.

It spoke. "We have our first ghost who has won the right to compete in the Ghost King Tournament! The Phantom!"

The audience erupted into an excited, confused, and enraged roar.

Chapter 2

[da-birb-writes-sometimes]

Driving Habits -Savanaclaw Edition

Can they drive? If so, what kind of drivers are they? What are their car habits?

Characters; Leona Kingscholar, Ruggie Bucchi & Jack Howl

Content; swearing, mentions of road rage & near accidents

Author’s Note; NRC has a school radio for this (honestly a school radio would be kinda cool ngl), pretending that TWST gets our music from here. I get sappy over Ruggie & his Grammy.

Word Count; 500+

Find the Rest of the Series; Heartslabyul, Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, Diasomnia

Author’s Note; As a reminder, do not put my work — or others for that matter — into AI as it steals. Link to Masterlist

Leona Kingscholar

*Looks at Tamashina-Mina*

The best driver at NRC. It initially started as a means to get away from the palace; enjoying having some freedom.

What he listens to while driving depends on his mood; if he’s content and just driving around he doesn’t listen to anything, but if he’s feeling irritated he’s cranking up the sound and letting it drown out his complaints.

He has his phone on silent and it’s tossed somewhere in the back. If you’re pressed to get in contact, leave a message.

Doesn’t keep many personal belongings in his jeep, most likely just a pillow and a throw blanket for when he decides to have a nap somewhere. Cheka has left some of his toys from the time he snuck in, so he also has a booster seat since his sister-in-law nearly bit his head off for that.

Is easily annoyed by bad drivers, and will mutter insults at smaller offences. Will resort to flipping people off and honking if it’s more serious. The only time he got really angry and almost got out of his car is the time someone nearly t-boned him.

Ruggie Bucchi

A good driver has the occasional slip-up, but still good. Learned how to drive so he could take care of his Grammy and community. Leona gifted him the car so he can do tasks.

Listens primarily to the radio and CDs (I see Leona gifting him an older car). The CDs were discounted at Sam’s shop, or some of the parents from his community gave them to him. They mainly consist of classic rock, R&B, and ’80s-’90s top hits.

His phone isn’t usually on silent, since he’ll probably get a call from Leona or his other dorm mates. Also, he doesn’t want to miss a call from back home.

He keeps his car clean and doesn’t have many decorations. The most he has is an air freshener and a gift he got for his birthday one year. Keeps any coupons he can find in a ziplock bag in the glove box.

Just sighs to himself whenever someone is riding his ass or otherwise being annoying or rude. He’ll take mental note of the car plate depending on the circumstance and report it.

Jack Howl

Defensive driver and drives a bit slower than the speed limit due to his experience with black ice and bad winter road conditions.

He drives without any background music until he feels like he can handle being able to focus properly on the road. When he feels ready for music though, he probably plays a mix of everything but sticks mainly to something more mellow; he saves the fast music for working out and track.

His phone is on silent, and he is not touching it until the car is turned off. Plus Ace pings the first-year group chat so often that it would just prove to be a distraction.

He has a tiny cactus terrarium sitting on his dash (he super glued it down), and also has some other cactus and planted-themed items hanging about. He keeps a booster seat in his trunk in case one of his siblings wants a ride or he needs to pick them up (even if they’re old enough to not need it, he keeps one on hand).

Doesn’t get road rage, but does get disheartened from seeing irresponsible drivers.

[barbedwireheartz]

hey, my name is valentino - but some people just call me val. i was born and raised in galar, having come from the isle of armour specifically. i attend naranja-uva academy. i’m also an exchange student at the blueberry academy and am part of the league club there.

i am a champion within the paldea region, as well as a black-belt dojo trainee back at home. i live with my three sisters, though i highly doubt they’ll join rotumblr. i’m just here to blog random shit tbh, so don’t expect much from me.

ME~

male (he/him)

pansexual & ambiamorous

born & raised in the isle of armour, galar; currently live at the outskirts of the south province (area four)

son of dojo master mustard & dojo matron honey; black-belt of the master dojo

taken <3 marcy & arven

THE TEAM~

fuilech the seviper - ♂- ✨

poison

tera fire

leftovers

infiltrator

adamant (+ attack / - special attack)

poison jab / coil / ice fang / fire fang

i found him fighting a zangoose in south province area one, and he ended up being injured (though he did win). i patched him up afterwards, and we ended up getting along beautifully - so, i took him in and added him to the team. he’s definitely a trickster, constantly causing mischief. he loves being up on my shoulders whenever he’s out, i think it makes him feel powerful haha.

aurelia the hydrapple - ♀- ✨

grass dragon

tera steel

loaded dice

supersweet syrup

serious (no effect)

bullet seed / fickle beam / recover / tera blast

i discovered her as an applin whilst training in tagtree thicket, and i thought she was so adorable so i added her onto the team. she wasn’t going to be a part of my battle team, but i found out about the hydrapple evo line whilst at kitakami and one thing led to another. she’s a very sleepy pokémon, whenever i set up a picnic she’s asleep 90% of the time. she is also incredibly affectionate, debatably more affectionate than an arcanine.

koray the ursaluna - ♂

normal ground

tera normal

wide glasses

mind’s eye

modest (+ special attack / - attack)

blood moon / earth power / protect / hyper voice

i discovered him on accident whilst in kitakami’s timeless woods - i accedentally pissed him off, and after crayola swiftly defeated him he ended up joining the team. most of the others see him as a father figure, whilst he’s mated to ilayda and highly idolises crayola. he’s extremely hyper-vigilant, and is always the first to notice when something is wrong.

ilayda the primarina - ♀- ✨

water fairy

tera psychic

throat spray

liquid voice

modest (+ special attack / - attack)

sparkling aria / moonblast / hyper voice / psychic

ilayda actually found us as a popplio, when the rest of the team was having a picnic and verena was dancing to my singing - ilayda joined in out of curiosity and excitement, and she hung out with us for our entire picnic before i ended up catching her and adding her to the team. she and koray are mated partners, and she’s seen as the mother figure to almost everyone else. she loves being given attention, and loves showing off.

verena the bombirdier - ♀- ✨

flying dark

tera rock

rocky helmet

rocky payload

jolly (+ speed / - special attack)

dual wingbeat / foul play / roost / rock slide

verena approached me whilst i was training in alfornada to take on gym leader tulip, drawn in by my appearance i’m assuming - she decided it was worth sticking around, and after helping me obliterate tulip’s team she officially joined as a team member. she loves to relax, unwinding by dancing to music - whether from the phone or from me singing. she is still easily enamoured by other people’s appearances, and loves to look at people; observing and taking in their physicality & fashion choices.

crayola the slither wing - o - ✨

bug fighting

tera bug

booster energy

protosynthesis

jolly (+ speed / - special attack)

first impression / body press / leech life / wild charge

i actually found crayola during a week-long vacation to paldea with my family before officially moving, being unaware of the rules around the great crater (trust me, arven’s already given me an earful). i found her injured, and the others were continuing to ostracise and attempt to harm them - so i caught them and patched them up before they officially became my partner pokémon. crayola is hard to budge, both personality-wise and in battle a - not a lot phase/ them. they have incredibly endurance, and love to battle.

HONORARY MEMBERS~

bunny the breloom - ♂

grass fighting

tera grass

i found them injured outside of medali, and they ended up being permanent - so it was more dangerous to let them back out into the wild. they don’t battle, simply hang around. the rest of the team and i love him though.

OOC //

hi!! my name is domino, aka @w0nderl-ust !! this is a side blog, so follows and likes will likely come from my main. some important notes:

based in canon within games, but not anime - some personal headcanons may also be thrown in

content with interacting with other gimmicky stuff (sentient pokémon, hybrids, crossovers, etc..), but will not be taking part in them myself

most posts will be in-character, the only exception being if i reblog art from my main that relate to valentino and/or his team!

speaking of in-character, valentino is not terribly friendly to most; he’s sassy, a bit egotistical, speaks his mind with no filter, and a bit bitchy

this blog is just for fun, so whilst valentino has story elements this blog will not delve too far into those itself

unless stated otherwise, all art belongs to me!!

pelipper mail: ON

musharna mail: OFF

magic anons: OFF

mystery gifts: ON

GUIDELINES !!

even though both valentino and myself are adults, i will not allow nsfw on this blog

any pokéirl blog can interact!

in-character banter/dislike is perfectly fine, just be respectful about it

triggers will be tagged

you will be blocked if: you look like a bot account/your account is blank, you’re an nsfw account, bring hate or malice of any kind, are a creep, actively post about harm to yourself or others, romanticise or demonise disorders, support shitty people

ABOUT ME !!

gender apathetic [any pronouns]

queer & ambiamorous

australian

host of a DID system

dating our arven alter (who is the big inspo for our version of arven) & aster’s owner baetyl, another alter in-sys

TAG SYSTEM !!

#💌 val posts -> posts made by champion valentino

#💌 val shares -> valentino reblogging

#💌 val answers -> ask box responses

#💌 team member [name] -> posts about specific team members

#🗝️ ooc dump -> posts that are out of character

#🗝️ ooc rb -> reblogs that are out of character

ARCS !!

{✖️} AN UNUSUAL FRIEND . . .

[ in progress ]

❝ Some kid named “Clive” is pestering Valentino & Arven about Area Zero.. but why?❞

#𝓪𝓷 𝓾𝓷𝓾𝓼𝓾𝓪𝓵 𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭

[stretchyyonko]

- the 3rd draft on my notes HAHAHA

- itallic (you) bold (kaiser) regular (others)

- idk what to put as title 🥹

- idk why I did kaiser tbh pls don't kill me

- words: visors - the helmet face shield

- beware of typos 😭

"Y/N sweetie are you going to school today?"

"yeah, but only to pass this invention of mine, yet I need to try it first, buuuttt i don't know where to try it"

"I'll be home later before dinner mom!"

"Okay then take care sweetie! By the way he's already outside waiting for you!"

"Huh? Who?....wait, it's kaiser isn't it?"

Her mother let out a chuckle as you went outside and saw kaiser leaning on his motorbike scrolling on his phone.

"Why are you here?"

He smirked along with a scoff as he put back his phone on his pocket.

"What else? I'm here to pick you up princess"

"I can manage myself to go to school"

Suddenly you thought about trying on your latest invention.

"Oh wait I can use these roller skates I just upgraded!"

He was confused to what you are saying not until he saw the roller skates you are holding.

"Oh..you mean those?"

"Mhmm"

"Do they go fast?"

"You bet they do" you said with a huff, proudly showing off your latest invention.

Kaiser looked closely on your invention and lets out a smirk.

"Okay put those on, I'm curious how fast can it go, we'll have a race"

She just look at him if he's serious or not.

"H-Huh?"

Kaiser smirked when he saw your reaction.

"You heard me princess, now put those on before I go and put it for you or are you perhaps scared?"

You glared at him as he attempted taunting you.

"NO! I'M NOT!"

"Then put those on, and let's race on the high way, our finish line is the post lamp near to the Berry Cafe"

"Ughh fine wait post lamp? The one near to the Angels Bakery?" He nodded

You sat down on the side walk as you put on the roller skates and kaiser helped you stand up and gave you your pink helmet that he always carry whenever he went to fetch you and put it on.

"Ready?"

"W-WAIT AT LEAST LET ME TURN ON THESE THING"

"fine" he rolled his eyes and it's your turn to smirk as you pushed the on button and started dashing away, leaving kaiser behind dumbfounded.

"HEY! THAT'S A FOUL MOVE!"

"WE'RE NOT IN A SERIOUS RACE IDIOT!" you replied as you gave him the blep expression.

He got triggered and pumped his pace towards you and managed to went ahead from you.

"Woah...not fair your motorbike is sure faster"

"Well you're fine I guess, don't lose to me or else punishments are waiting for you princess" he said and winked at you.

You then pressed on your phone the highest speed for the booster and it indeed went faster and you managed to surpass kaiser's speed.

He got surprised at your sudden dash beside him.

"Tch, you're cute brave enough to match this speed, I like it"

"You're about to loose though..."

He just glared at you and went even more faster. But it's already late cause you already went on the finish line.

The only problem you have right now is you can't stop.

"What? Did the buttons malfunctioned?"

Even kaiser was confused why'd you go pass the finish line. He got a little worried as he drove to you to check up on you.

He managed to catch up on your speed as he opened his visor as he multitask on looking at you and the road.

"WHAT'S WRONG? WHY ARE YOU NOT STOPPING?"

You also opened your visor to properly look at him.

"I-I DON'T KNOW THE BUTTONS MALFUNCTIONED!"

"WHAT?!"

You two are in the middle of a conversation when both of you didn't saw the downhill.

"Wha-WAAAHHHHHHHH!" you screamed from the top of your lungs as you lunged downhill but you managed to balance your body, except it added more speed to your skates.

Kaiser let out a frustrated sigh as he was thinking of how to make you stop.

*HONK! HONK!*

You look in horror as a big truck was coming on its way to you.

"H-Help...am...am I gonna die??" You said outloud as you got stiff while the roller skates shutted down yet the speed is still fast.

Kaiser suddenly thought an idea as he went to catch up with your speed.

"GRABE INTO ME PRINCESS!"

you got off in your trance as you quickly hold kaiser as he hold your waist and the other hand was busy driving the motorbike.

He managed to match your speed and slowed down to the nearby city down hill and stop by to a nearby gasoline station.

"T-Thank you.." you said controlling your tears.

He took off both of your helmets, as he just gave you a menacing look.

"You...you're so careless sometimes"

"S-Sorry.."

He just let out sigh as he parked the motorbike, as you stood there quietly which made him surprised.

"And now you're awfully quiet"

He was about to add another scolding when he heard you sniffing, when he turned he saw you huff your cheeks to prevent yourself from crying.

He let out a chuckle, and went to you wiping off your tears.

"Go on... Talk now princess"

"I-I thought I was gonna die..."

"Mhmm without me you would've been squished by that truck"

He hummed as he calmly wipe your tears looking at you.

"If w-weren't for you I-I..." You're hyperventilating at this point...

He just chuckled and hugged you calming you down, you clutched your hands on his polo shirt as you let out your cries.

"Hush now princess, what matters is you're safe hmm? Now stop crying you look like a douchebag."

You glared at him and wipe your tears and broke off the hug.

"Fuck you, you're not the one who got traumatized today."

"Oh? Still feisty despite of the incident earlier? Love that on you princess"

"Shut up Remy look-a-like"

He looked at you dumbfounded for a while before glaring at you.

"At least I'm a good cook"

"No you're not"

"I basically cooked a Schnitzel for you last time"

"Still, shut up"

"Tch, should've not rescued you a while ago"

"I'M JUST JOKING!"

Kaiser let out a laugh at you change of answers..

Suddenly his phone buzzed, he seemed to got a text from noel noa.

"Princess we need to go back right now..Noa needs me to go for practice"

You suddenly got sad that kaiser is already leaving.

"Can we go to the beach for a minute?"

Kaiser contemplated at first but it's just minutes, it'll not hurt him if he's a minute late right?

"Yeah sure but only for 10 minutes okay?"

"YAAYYY!"

He snorted when you cheered like a kid who their favorite toy.

"LET'S GO!!"

You pulled him on the seashore but hesitated.

"No princess, I'm not going..I'll stay put to watch you here..."

"Tch, bummer"

"Off you go now, you know you only have 10 minutes."

"Oh shit right"

You then quickly took off your roller skate invention and wemt running on the shore as the chill wind blew by to greet you.

You're enjoying yourself splashing on the sea water like a kid.

Meanwhile kaiser was watching you from the distance with a smile on his face, he took out his phone and went to take pictures of you.

He was admiring you from afar his heart thumping freely and he's relieved that you're far or else his secret will get out.

His little secret.

That he's been pinning you for so long.

His only problem is you're dense behavior, despite of his flirting attempts.

But what got him questioning is you not minding him calling you princess or is he delusional?

10 minutes have passed and you went back to him carrying 2 seashells.

"I'm baaaacckk! By the way I just saw these seashells"

"Hmm? Ohh those are very pretty..."

"Yeah-"

"Like you..."

You got surprised at his words and looked at him.

"Wha-"

"L-Let's go back now princess?"

"Y-Yeah"

You two awkwardly went back up as kaiser went to prepare his bike.

"Uhm i'll hold beside your motorbike.."

"You sure princess?"

"Mn"

Kaiser then started the engine of his motorbike.

"You can star-"

You got surprised when he pulled you to him by your waist and gave you a light kiss.

"Y-You-"

"Shush now princess, let's talk about this tomorrow okay?"

You didn't argue further and simply nodded.

"Good girl, now hold tight behind okay?"

"HEY WAIT! DON'T GO ON FULL SPEED!"

"Haha I'm just kidding princess, i'll just go slow this time"

He then started driving in medium speed as you hold on him for dearlife.

He took you safely at home as he then again kissed your cheek goodbye as he went to their daily training.

And yes noa did scold him for arriving late.

Is it worth it? Yeah its worth it.

- uhhh hope you like it mwehet

[clay-cuttlefish]

Finally we've arrived at 52, the series that turned me from a casual reader of a few comics into a full-on DC fan and Question enthusiast. This is the reason I set out on this project in the first place. I love it so much.

#1

This is my fifth time reading this in full, I think, and I still get hyped at this opening issue. Look at my guys.

It's a miracle this came together as well as it did. The omnibus is great for giving some insight into that construction process.

#2

There's just so much in 52 and I can't believe they pulled it off. Part of that is that it's thematically coherent, despite how different the plots are. Grief, reinvention, self-destruction as a means to cope with loss... it all feeds into itself.

In a slightly different timeline I came out of 52 fixated on Booster Gold and stumbled back into the Question later through Blue Beetle, instead of the other way around.

It took 416 issues but they're interacting! They're together! It's paying off!

Renee's heartbreaking spiral into self-destruction is interrupted by this massive dork. I love them.

#3

I really need to read Steel. Captivated by these two.

Skeets nudging the gyro cart owner out of the way is a very good panel. Catlike behavior.

#4

Booster and Bea's conversation is so. Hhh.

In the omnibus, Mark Waid calls Vic and Renee's scene "one of the high points of the entire series", and I'm with him.

#5

Renee and Maggie...

The metahuman hospital's a really cool piece of worldbuilding.

The only plotline I don't care much about is the spaceguys. I still like them, but the bar's really high here and I want to see other characters more.

Wish this was less creepy about Starfire.

#6

Kind of obsessed with Bob the theatre teacher and villain-for-hire, conceptually.

It takes a while for the Black Adam plot to pick up steam so this part isn't quite hitting yet.

Booster having a normal one.

#7

Renee hasn't talked to her mom in three years by this point. Oof.

The exes of all time!

Booster... Ralph blaming him for Ted's death is brutal.

#8

Oh cmon girl you're smarter than this. It's Lex Luthor, when has he ever had anyone's best interests at heart.

At least Ollie's still doing his thing.

Clark hating Booster is so good.

#9

"Smart-ass." "Consistency is everything." He is so annoying!

The John and Natasha fight is great.

#10

Clark taking a page from Lois' book is so good. Ridiculous.

I like Will and Professor Morrow a lot, nice that they're back in focus.

Supernova time :)

#11

His anti-smoking rant...

"I don't owe you anything." Oof ouch my soul.

Big talk here from a guy who spent a decade hung up on Myra.

The one superheroine ass shot I respect is in the "that's a Batwoman" panel because Renee deserves to appreciate Kate's ass.

#12

Besties moment.

Black Adam's plotline is gaining speed.

Oh Ralph.

#13

Oh NO, Ralph.

#14

They both look so good here. Love his stubble.

Desperately want to hear Tot's side of their conversation, and also their previous phone calls, because I'm sure he'd have Opinions about Vic deciding to become a mentor.

Shaking him. You are so annoying!

"There's no such thing as crazy, just behaviour that society has deemed unacceptable." SO true bestie.

#15

BOOSTER...

#16

Oh god, Renee.

Billy officiating Black Adam's wedding is very sweet.

#17

Luthor's superteam is one of the series highlights.

Still very funny that there's just a guy named Hannibal on it. Zero subtlety here.

Oh Lobo. I do not care about you.

#18

He's so silly.

Renee is having truly awful time falling back into old coping measures and he's out here getting scooped and being made fun of for cockblocking.

Booster's shitty funeral still fucks me up. Choosing to believe Skeets intentionally didn't invite people for evil reasons because the idea nobody showed up is too much.

Once again, oh no Ralph.

#18/2

A backup with Vic's origins. It's about right, though I prefer him starting as the Question before moving back to Hub City.

It lists his "essential storylines" as Mysterious Suspense, The Question 1987, and Cry for Blood, which I mostly agree with. Mysterious Suspense is less important but reading a pre-DC story is useful background for the 87 run and it's his only solo option.

[thestuffmybraincomesupwith]

April 15, 2023:

Dream: There was something in the beginning about having lunch with Jerry and Elaine from Seinfeld, and one of them was studying for a difficult test for a mean, hard ass college professor who didn't like them (because whichever one it was hadn't bothered to show up at all to class all semester). [My friend, irl] and Monica from F.R.I.E.N.D.S were there. We all packed up and started to leave, but [my friend, irl] and I waited for Monica who was in the bathroom.

As we left, it was suddenly that Me, [my friend, irl], [the other parent of my friend's children], and [their two young children] were at a party city / chuck e cheese type place and it was nighttime and closing so we were leaving. There was some stuff about us leaving and making sure the kids didn't walk out with anything they weren't supposed to, like jumbo mylar balloons or party favor toys, but it would happen like [younger child] would go and have to come back as [older child] was going, then we'd send [younger child] back while [older child] was trying to leave again with something. Finally, even though [older child] was holding a floating white latex balloon, we all started walking across the parking lot towards the car.

I stopped to wait for [my friend, irl] and [younger child], so I could keep chatting with [my friend, irl]. We get to the car and I realize [older child] isn't there. I scan the crowd of people and just for a flash I see the tip of the white balloon disappear between two cars. I run over fast and find [older child] buckled in to the front passenger seat of an old green minivan, with some blonde middle aged white woman in the driver's seat. [Older child] looks a little scared but had been sitting there politely because the woman obviously had convinced [older child] that [my friend, irl] had allowed this. The woman rolled her eyes and said "ugh, it was just for the weekend" (meaning she's saying she would only take [older child] for the weekend and then return them, which is obviously a lie because she's kidnapping [older child]). I rip the door open and drag her out, then reach across the seats and pull [older child] out. I snap a picture of the license plate on my phone. I bring [older child] back over to [my friend, irl]'s car, where [my friend, irl] and [other parent] had been freaking out but couldn't go far because [younger child] was already buckled into their booster seat and [my friend and other parent] didn't want to leave them. I'm scolding [older child], telling them that never ever under any circumstances should they trust an adult that says [my friend, irl] gave them permission to spend the night/ weekend with that person, without hearing it directly from [my friend, irl]'s mouth. The green minivan is already gone.

We get in the car to drive home. It had been night, but now it was day. We get stuck in traffic (with cop cars speeding ahead) and suddenly I think I see the green minivan. I point it out to [my friend and other parent], and I don't remember who was driving but they take off after it. We lose the minivan, but we find ourselves driving up this road that goes up into the sky into the clouds. At the top, there's a house (it looks like we're in the back of the house) with a door that leads into the garage. We all get out and sneak into the garage, and it's empty. But [my friend, irl] is determined to get these people that tried to kidnap their child, and I also want to get them. The big garage door is across from us, so we sneak over.

There's a small flap, almost like on a mail slot in a door, at eye level but it's screwed shut into the rail of the garage door. I quietly unscrew it, since we don't want to alert anyone by opening the garage door. Except the screw was holding the garage door down, and when I finish unscrewing it, the garage door pops up and opens about two feet (with the normal amount of noise a garage down makes). I grab it and try to quietly pull it back door, and I close it to about 1 or 2 inches open. I peek out the flap and see at least 6 cars parked 3x2, including the green minivan. There's also the lady talking to a strong looking red headed bearded white guy, with an older white man walking farther away up the sky driveway towards a castle. Luckily, I think the woman and the red headed guy are too far away to have heard the garage pop back open. I explain to [my friend, irl] that I see cars, and a green minivan, and they say "is it the same one? Are you sure?" But I can't see the license plate, so I lay down on the floor and push the garage door up to be about 6 inches open, and check the license plates. I see now that two of the cars are green minivans, and neither of them have the correct license plate number.

I tell [my friend, irl], and I start to wonder out loud if maybe they switched the license plates because they knew i took a photo of the license plate when I look up and see the red headed guy looking at us through the flap. I say "Run!" And we take off towards the door that led into the garage (which is now much farther away, like an airport hanger away) as he throws open the garage door. [The other parent of my friend's children] stays to fight him, and after getting halfway across, [my friend, irl] turns to hold off the guy so that I can get the children out. We make it through the door that led into the garage, but there's still a large track of skyroad we have to run down to get to a door that leads off the skypath back to earth, and if we get through THAT door, we'll find the car and be able to get away. We're running as hard as we can, and we know the guy is after us now ([other parent] is knocked out and [my friend, irl] is captured). The kids keep slowing down to grab things or put them down and I'm like "we don't have time, just run!" I know the guy is about to grab me, and I think about picking up the kids and throwing them through the door to safety when I wake up.

[doloresbarnett98th]

6 Essential Work-from-Home Amenities In Apartment

Work-from-home helps people to emphasize their personal lives over a fast-paced work-centric existence. Implementing remote work amenities now will enhance lease renewals – and may even bring you additional prospects via referrals.

1.Reliable and high-speed internet. Technology has aided the work-from-home trend, and it is frequently the most desired work-from-home amenity for remote workers. High-speed internet is required to enable that technology.

2. Co-working spaces. Consider converting an underutilized or vacant area into a stylish co-working space! And if your apartment has an old, underutilized business center, you may already have the ideal location. Utilize this area by redesigning and renaming it as your own co-working space amenity.

3. Private conference rooms. Many remote workers spend the majority of their working hours in video-conference meetings. Convert a tiny space into a reservable conference room to accommodate these residents. Install additional lighting, cove smart security devices and paint the walls a single solid hue.

4. Enhanced concierge services. Every renter who works from home is different, but they all have one thing in common: the opportunity to be picky. Consider investing in improved concierge services to handle minor tasks for residents. This will improve resident satisfaction and make your house more appealing to potential tenants.

5. Fitness facilities. One advantage of working from home is the ability to fit in a workout during the day. Many remote employees use this benefit to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

6. Reliable phone reception. Spotty mobile service is a distraction that inhibits distant workers from concentrating and hinders productivity. To overcome this, get a cell phone signal booster, which will improve existing 3G, 4G LTE, and even 5G signals. As a result, your residents will have fewer dropped calls and unsent text messages.

[blankdblank]

Poke snippet 2

…

Endless open space ahead of the ship only had your internal panic switch toggle to being tipped over as for what you were going to do to get everyone home safely and without any more damage done, as you’d just helped to annihilate an entire planet. Down to the purse on your lap your hand dipped to dig into your bag again and find your phone. In which you found Elliot’s number, as he’d shared the most on more features of the Kree ship to help you ready for features Venom possibly might not know of after his flight training.

“Do you have reception?” Scott whispered as you dialed the call.

“Ship has a signal booster we added to it. Guess we get to see if it works.” You answered lifting the phone to your ear.

“Pluto, how are you doing?” Elliot asked, sounding to be closing himself in his office between classes at his university he taught at in Spain.

“Hey Elliot, I know you’re probably at work, but hypothetically, if one was leaving Xandar which Asgardian Realm would be the closest?”

The question had him pause a moment, stunned at the odd far from random question hinting you were trapped so far from your home realm. “That, is a very specific question.”

“Yes it is.” You answered plainly.

“I take it you are at the wheel?” he asked with determination in his voice.

“Yes.”

“Alright, Nidavellir would be closest in my recollection. A handful of hours,” and he gave you instructions on how to bring up the navigation system to have the ship aim itself in on that map to get you there in the swiftest time. “Heimdall will see you straight from there and if you have any difficulties do call me back.” He urged you in effort to be there however possible even at this impossible distance. And with the destination came a boost in speed the ship kicked up to automatically.

[random-thought-depository]

I got my third anti-coronavirus vaccination booster (fourth injection) today!

When I got home I took a couple of photos showing the bandage over the injection site and a photo of my anti-coronavirus vaccination record card:

I edited the vaccination card photo to obscure my name for privacy (I took the photos with angles that obscured my face for the same reason).

I got this booster at my local CVS. Embarrassingly, I mixed up the appointment time today (11 AM) with the appointment time for my anti-flu vaccination last Friday (noon) and showed up an hour late, but this didn't cause any problems, they went ahead and gave me the injection and didn't even mention it, I didn't even realize what happened until I was browsing the internet on my phone during those fifteen minutes they make you wait after the injection and I noticed it was 12:03 and went "wait a minute!" There were only a few people around, the staff didn't seem busy, I suspect they were just glad I showed up and got vaccinated. They do the injections very fast there, I was impressed with the speed.

I feel a little soreness around the injection site and I felt a weird and unpleasant sensation in my left thumb (the arm I got the injection in) for a few seconds at one point, but I don't seem to be experiencing any really unpleasant side effects so far.

It's nice to be immunized!

My mother's partner is getting his next booster tomorrow.

[android-app-infographics]

A smartphone cleaner & booster is a mobile application designed to optimize the performance of a smartphone by cleaning up junk files, freeing up storage space, and boosting the device's speed. The app typically scans the phone for unnecessary files, such as cached data, temporary files, and residual files from uninstalled apps, and allows the user to delete them with just a few taps. Additionally, the booster feature can help speed up the phone by stopping unnecessary background processes and freeing up RAM. Overall, a smartphone cleaner and booster can improve the user experience by enhancing the device's speed and freeing up storage space.

[earhartsease]

well, we have an appointment with ENT next week (that's ear nose & throat clinic, not a giant duck), but meanwhile our voice is getting harder to use (our last covid booster in December broke our vocal folds), so we downloaded a free phone app called Text To Speech! and it's actually really good

tere's a big range of voices and languages, you can change the pitch and speed, you can save favourite phrases to save typing time (it'll also show you "recent phrases" that you haven't saved in case you need to repeat yourself), you can choose talk as I type or by sentence or paragraph

oh and it works over the phone too, which is the most important thing for us, as our anxiety in phone calls makes our voice even worse - we haven't tried this out yet, apparently you don't hear your "voice", only the person at the other end does, unless they have you on speaker

anyway, big up for accessibility apps! we chose a Scottish woman's voice called Moira, because all the English (England) voices sound too Home Counties Karen