#plot dump

[icespur]

I don't know if it's ever explicitly stated, but have you noticed that Joker seems immune to his Laughing Gas/Joker Gas.

So for my Biological Batjokes Daughter OC, I also made her immune.

I originally had plans for a full chaptered VERY DARK origin story for her. Luckily I only got as far as finishing the prologue. Now that I'm older it's in need of major rewrites.

In the original plan, due to reasons, the Daughter got secretly taken to the Orphanage unbeknownst to Joker, who thinks she died.

A couple years later they come across each other but while Joker finds her physical appearance very intriguing and confusing---the realization that "Oh, this is my daughter who I thought died" doesn't even cross his mind. They don't get along at first, Joker tries to gas her and is even more bewildered when it has no effect on her.

This started about Laughing gas immunity but turned into talking about my old story. I got tons more I'd like to say,

If you want to hear more about her or the story, comment or send an Ask I'll gladly ramble about it

[goldensimisage]

As promised, I did my best to shake off the writing rust with a quick plot dump, but it took way longer than I would have liked. Here it is under a cut though, for those interested:

Unova is a big place, but it’s populace is far from evenly distributed, and most of its daily goings on are centered around 4 cities known as the center ring, with most everything else (especially those geographically isolated by rough terrain or singular routes) being referred to as the outer branches. They all have their own local histories and claims to fame like Nacrene being home of the biggest labor strike in Unova’s history in the past, and nowadays being home to a certain prohibition-styled speakeasy and the biggest natural history museum the Unova region has to offer. And of course there are others ranging from the culinary hub of Striaton, the quiet fishing towns of Humilau and Village Bridge, to Anville town and its train museum or Opelucid and it’s deceptively traditional appearance hiding quite the tech powerhouse. But then on the flip side, there are also places like the isolationist Lacunosa, the far-off Aspertia and Nuvema, or the textbook definition of the middle of nowhere, Lentimas. But enough about those, on to the breakdowns of the big four:

Nimbasa City- The Unovan capitol in this au, serving as the geographical, economic, and political heart of the entire region. Be it underground passenger subways, above ground freight lines, or on-foot travel, all roads eventually lead back to Nimbasa. As such, there’s no better place for the elected representatives of each of Unova’s cities to gather, nor is there a better place for live entertainment with its sporting complexes, theme park, and music hall for old fashioned stage plays. No matter what your business, you’re likely to end up here at some point.

Driftveil City- All things considered, the mining and industrial focus of Driftveil isn’t all that different from canon. One of Unova’s oldest cities, Driftveil has always been the production hub of the entire region, leading in both industrial hardware and raw materials for everything under the sun. If it comes out of the ground, it ships out of one of the countless Driftveil mines. Mines that, due to their age, stretch for miles under the mountain range in Unova’s west and northwest.  

Mistralton City- While there are no planes taking off from this city like you might expect, there’s still plenty of air traffic. Home to countless avian pokemon and the biggest mail processing center in the region, most of the pokemon who live here are well traveled, and tend to share a common love of gossip from how much they hear wherever they go.

Castelia City- By far the biggest city in all of Unova. While Driftveil may be the center of domestic industry, not even the biggest mines in the world can match the sheer volume of imported goods processed by Castelia’s massive ports on a daily basis. And of course those goods don’t come alone, Castelia also serves as the biggest entryway for immigration, making Unova’s most populated city it’s most diverse as well. And with it’s wide array of mixing cultures, bustling streets, and history rich sites like Liberty Garden and the Kalosian lighthouse built at its center, this is the biggest tourist hub in Unova, and in fact, is the main thing most picture when the region is mentioned.

[krotecho]

Update on my work, I shared with exactly three people and one read it (Without pictures~)

My dear friend, whom I love dearly, must have enough of me and my writing bullshit by now (I sent her unhinged smut yesterday and she didn't reply much after that, I think I broke her with my awful writing °-°) So. I'm going to whine about my characters here. Because who's going to stop me.

I mentioned before that I work on my old project now. My brain is amazing with how fast it ditches ideas in a hole, next to which is a sign "Hiatus purgatory hole". Besides. Original plot can make one question where were my parents, because stuff I wrote when I was like twelve is worrying. I didn't had a good concept of the world it turns out and my world was incredibly... Weird.

Still is, but at least I embrace it now and I think it isn't as horrible as I was painting it eight years ago XD Either way, I'm wandering from main topic. I work on my idea, with my nearly ten years of experience with writing. And it's a bit depressing that I'm still not that good at writing after all that time.

...

I warn about me spoiling stuff here, if you think you'll want to read that story (It's in polish so good luck, mate) then don't go below this point. I'll keep it civil, nice and clean, but I'm not going to hold much. Summary probably will be on my master post, so before reading this you can look there and decide. But to the main event.

I'm obsessed with my characters, for past week or so I was spamming my friends with random trivia, I randomly come up with. But I think I was annoying as hell with that xD That's why I will just do scene dump for my damn idea (Which btw would eventually be posted, presumably when I'm done or have more than two point one chapters) because I'm going for failing this semester with how distracted I am. I mean to be fair I'm improvising quickly but I have project for one class due this Thursday and I'm not mentally ready for this. Not to mention I didn't even start researching statistics for this. But that is future me problem.

My ultimate info dump would definitely start with the characters. I wanted to draw the designs but my drawing skills just said "Yeah your free trial ended, you can buy subscription nowhere" so I'm not going to do that for a while. I need new email and I can just cheat the system for my mediocre art style to work. I planned not to complicated story with main character older than me. It's plus minus ten year difference. I'm twenty for reference. His name is Rhys, because I love giving my characters unusual names. You will see that later. I'm still thinking about giving him last name, but I don't think I will. It has connection to his past, but that is still in development. Rhys is quite short man, he looks like he is no older than at most twenty, while in fact in the start of the story he is in mid twenties. And story is spread across something like ten years maybe. When I was first writing that shit (13/14) I would say he's old. But right know I would consider dating a guy that age. It's not that old honestly.

I kinda forgot if I did gave him freckles now but in original storyline he definitely had them. He has jet black hair, their length is based on my own hair's length because he would look awesome with that. It's like almost to the shoulders, but not too long? You can make a ponytail but it's not long enough to be a problem. I need to get a haircut they are getting too long. Besides. Black hair. We got that. In the first part of the story he looks like stray cat, who never saw brush in his life. Matted tangled messy. That is how you can describe it. Because he couldn't care less. By the time plot starts he already was alone for seven years, he only preached basic hygiene, because he knows somethings about diseases and doesn't want to fuck around and find out. But touching his hair isn't something he needs to do so he doesn't do it.

I spend whole paragraph about his hair only. It's going to be a long post. Really long. To complete that weird unusual look better he has matted golden eyes, lifeless and tired for most of the plot. They express more than he thinks tho, other people will see stuff there. His eyes are also so pretty I swear. Especially when there is dimmed light, and the light is just reflecting in the irises. I just made a pretty boy. Pretty man. He is a grown adult after all. Back to my word vomit. Eyes actually will be showing his personality better than I ever would with words (It's not that I'm writing the damn story. Nope) It is connecting to the back story, so I can just smoothly go to that. Because his skeleton-like look is also kinda connected with this.

Making a character without trauma is like cooking without spices. You of course can do that and it's fine but I like my food spicy. And my characters traumatized. It's so easy to give trauma to neurodivergent person, really. Because I kinda write him on the spectrum. And I refuse to believe he isn't there. But I'm not going to confirm nor deny this. I made him have some quirks and other stuff that feel like autism? It may be that or I just suck at characterization and stuff happened. Either way it was really easy to give my man trauma. He has three older siblings, did I mention that he's a shapeshifter, I think I didn't so I do it now, and both parents. That may feel weird, main characters usually don't have parents. Unless they are awful. And I did write them so good I hate them with burning passion. I do not have names for them because I only recently polished their personalities. It helps that I watch so much commentary videos on stories from r/InsaneParents on yt. I have my material right there. (The Click, I'm not going to hide that, why should I)

He had relatively good childhood, until he was seven and he broke his nose or something, not important what, important fact is that he was bleeding much. He bleed over some stones, when one turned into lovely green gemstone stained with some red on the surface. Here is some important information about my beloved shapeshifters. If you count all the time I spend with this somewhere creeping in my mind, I was planning this "race" for something 'round six years. At first I was going in some slavery territory with how I divided living beings there (I told you, it was weird) but I got better and now I have humans, shapeshifters and some kind of mages?, that is still under work. And among shapeshifters there are two groups. "Purebreds" and hybrids. It's mostly genetical factor how the kid will be, but traditionally hybrids are a mix of human and a shapeshifter. They can shapeshift but they need to have their precious gemstone, made from their blood (You see where I'm going with this). Without it they also can change form, but it's simply not worth it. They can't fully control their new form, giving to the animalistic brain. For example when a hybrid would change into a let's say panther, they would be under influence of panther's instincts only vaguely remembering they aren't a panther. To that goes pain, that rises exponentially with the size of an animal. To put that in perspective, changing in to the rat and back would hurt only a little or not at all, but taking form of a brown bear and back, would be agonizing. And for the record shapeshifters can do dragons, wyverns, and stuff. It simply isn't worth the trouble to change without the stone. Next thing you hear about shapeshifters as a whole will be tainted with mpreg, I'm not even sorry.

So continuing with Rhys' backstory. To this point everyone thought he was just going to learn late to change shape. It happens nothing to be ashamed of. But when he with a smile and blood on himself, proud with his discovery showed this to his parents he wasn't expecting that reaction. There was shock, denial which he promptly debunked changing into wolf's pup to present what he could do. His mother went through all five stages of grief in mere seconds, accepting that fact pretty fast. But oh it wouldn't be nice. His father could not accept this. He accused the mother of cheating even though Rhys is practically his carbon copy. (And here is the genetical factor, Rhys is his son, he just got that genes. It's a mystery, because there is no modern genetics there. And I don't exactly have time for writing thesis for a fictional world. At least now. Semester ends in like two months) They started to argue in front of the child, that is confused as fuck, green gem clutched in hand. And things changed from there. Father either avoided Rhys or was just straight up cruel to him. That man had audacity to not acknowledge practically his clone as his kid. He ignored his youngest when he tried to impress him with skills he learned. He would call him useless, criticize him to the point he eventually was scared to do anything.

Rhys' parents also separated. That lead his mother to hate him, a child, because he was the reason. Not saying she wasn't right but she didn't need to take it on a literal child. Rhys got punished for stupid shit, he became a real troublemaker, putting himself and others in danger with his shenanigans. He didn't understand why suddenly his parents hated him, and stalking wolves was his coping mechanism apparently. Amount of times he got injured is amazing. His mother used corporeal punishment, locked him in the room (he learned how to pick locks just because of that), she even gone far enough to tell him, if she knew how he would turn out she would have get rid of him before he was even born. By that time Rhys was around thirteen. His oldest siblings weren't living around anymore, and his sister, barely eighteen, doesn't see severity of shit he goes through. She is busy with keeping her act together, pressured by mother to have her role as the future leader of the group they live in. Father left, few years before so it was only these three.

When Rhys turned fifteen, on the very same day he got a gift from his mother. She thrown him out. She told him to get out, and leave. And he did, only valuable thing on him his cursed gemstone. Surviving was hard, he didn't know where to go, wandering through forests, hunting for food, eating in animal form to not die. He found some lovely small village after few months like this. He wasn't warmly welcomed but it still became a place for him to live in. He spent three years there, life seemed to not be bad, he had a girlfriend. Even though he is aroace. We all figure out ourselves. But everything turned into shit again when his girlfriend, after committing literal crime got pregnant. She accused him of raping her, because she was from "no sex before marriage" background. Whole story almost ends here, people want shapeshifter dead.

Girl is at least decent enough to try and make it just a life sentence. Here chimes a mage, saying he can arrange something that will punish him, no one will see him around again and no one gets killed so everyone's happy. That is summary of a story how Rhys got himself into specifically designed for him prison with only himself as a company and grim future in dimmed light of fluorescent protists. Some people are just unlucky in their life. She also took his gemstone so no shapeshifting, something he dearly loved, that made him feel better with everything that happened to him. And suddenly he was only with his thoughts, skin itching to change and helplessness that weighted on him while he haunted tunnels that were his new home.

He learned to cope with that, seven years passed by. During which he slowly lost spark, blood on his hands, death wish not strong enough to give up. And we have my plot in that point. Rhys is tired, pessimistic optimist, clinging to life not even knowing why. Before I go more for plot, I can whine about him. Because man is clearly not good.

There is nothing he can understand, he was always "weird", the only kid that complained about noise, that one kid with the most disgusted look when touched by someone he didn't know that much, one that fascinated watched animal corpses and constantly begging to learn more about diseases, death and injuries. He knows it's just how he is, but he doesn't know why is it a problem? He slowly accepts the fact that he will die in darkness, alone, far from his family. That he'll not see any of his siblings again. He doesn't care about his mother, feeling of hate is now mutual. But after that seven years, que Ada. A ten year old, making man in his mid twenties question his life decisions even more than before. Bringing up his past, with grace of a wrecking ball, even when she isn't aware of that. And will not be until few years later.

...

I wonder if I should just post this and do this in parts. It's already long. I already miss on ocassions to make my uni work. Yeah I think I'll pick it up somewhere in the future. So I'm going to make it in parts✨ It's so good I don't have much audience to disappoint here.

Here is a playlist I made for this story: It's not on wattpad yet tho

Maybe next one will include designs or at least one design. Maybe project about red wolves will not make ma living corpse so I could do that. I'm going home for Easter so I'll have access to my tablet for four days. Maybe I'll do a ref for some of my characters. I'm betting on Rhys if I have time for this.

If someone sends me a tablet now I maybe would make some makeshift cover so it would go on wattpad. Don't do that I'm really enjoying my break from posting (I have no time to do pleasure stuff)

And if you are reading this, my perfect beta-reader, I do regret sending that smut to you, let alone writing it XDD Oh and sorry for any spoilers you could get from here.

Have a nice day or night, whoever you are person reading this, take care and drink water :3

[loopy-arts]

how does one “accidentally” uncover intergalactic conspiracies?

pls explain everything about the lore and ALSO (mandatory clause), add me to the tag list because sci fi mercenaries sounds so badass

looking forward to your response! have a cupcake!

oops. the bear ate it. here, have a cookie instead:

🍪

(i’m sorry that was so ridiculously stupid 😔)

Thank you for the cupc- oh the cookie! And the bear! And the question!!!

So, to start out, Jason and Kelli meet in the Galactic Police Academy when they are young.

Kelli's father was an officer. Jason was given a choice between the academy and prison.

It takes a few years for them to get past a bit of rivaly and start their romantic relationship.

Near the end of their time at the academy, Jasons friend is killed by another officer. Jason dedicates himself to solving the case and prosecuting the officer but encounters legal obstacles that clue him into the corruption in the government.

He eventually discovers a massive conspiracy that lead to the death of Kellis father.

Jason and Kelli flee the academy out of fear for their lives and become fugitives that need to turn to mercenary work to get by.

Anddddd that's all before the main story even starts!!! Please let me know if you have any more questions, I am so happy to talk about this!!!

There are a few things I am still workshopping so some questions may not have answers yet. I hope you enjoy!!!

@thecomfywriter

[dana-duchovny]

Can I just say how insane it is that Buck's bisexual awakening was literally because Eddie made a friend who was Not Him

[ugly-bug-starscream]

the miners visiting skyfire's home to hopefully convince him to join them on their quest

(TFONE AU - Sky loving the Stars)

[yume-fanfare]

happy halloween! the cast from fist of idol: togenkyo have reunited again to bring us...... a horror movie?!

[magicicephoenix]

The girls' hand sun this picture

(The girls)

(The one with rays here is Solaris, and the one with the hat is comet. Unfortunately, I still have to remake my banner, but rough color schemes are there)

(Picture totally not stolen)

felt like drawing both of them :P

[umblrspectrum]

ive been struggling big time coming up with anything funny to draw that hasnt been done yet so have my rw au art dump

[feketeribizli]

biggest loss of 2024. to me

[kathaynesart]

Good eye, @luckylazylurker They're just regular military grade ID Tags. So it includes name, identification number, blood type, faith for burial purposes, and US Mutant Guard designation. The usual.

Though ironically, the boys do not fall under the newly standardized definition of "Mutant," which only designates humans who have been mutated into creatures. NOT animals that have been mutated to become more human/sapient. An important distinction, considering one can get you enlisted in the USMG and the other will probably get you in a test tube.

Also bonus points to people who can figure out their middle names.

[tiddygame]

Ghoap god type AU.

Soap is the long forgotten god of death.

Ghost is his first follower in a very long time.

[this started as a humble text post and has snowballed into 60,000+ words]

Ao3 /// part 1 /// part 2 /// part 3 /// part 4 /// part 5 /// part 6 /// part 7 /// part 8 /// part 9 /// part 10 /// part 11 /// epilogue

————

At first, Soap had been seen as kind and benevolent. The one to end someone’s suffering and help them along to the afterlife. However, as more wars began to break out, his perception changed into that of a bloodthirsty warmonger. The type that you sacrifice the blood of innocents to for luck in your upcoming battles.

Soap had simply ignored the brutish offerings. But then they spread. Like a plague, soon everyone was murdering their chosen victims in his temples in the hopes that it would bring them even more fortune.

Realizing that his presence was just causing more and more to die, he let himself fade away. He was reduced to nothing more than a comforting feeling people felt before they died. Over time, the so-called offerings stopped. Scared of what would happen should he return, he continued to fade.

A god is only as strong as their followers believe them to be. With no followers, no offerings, they are nothing. While mortal weaponry may hurt a god, may even get them to bleed, it cannot kill them. A god can only truly die when they are no longer remembered.

Soap is waiting for the day that he is truly forgotten and can pass on when he gets a feeling. One he has not had in an age. Though his worshippers have abandoned him, his temples and statues remained, though now significantly worse for wear. And someone just provided an offering of a single slice of bread on one of his statues.

A meager offering, sure, but it’s enough to get his attention. He has almost no power nor any energy left, but he sees a soldier sitting next to the statue as he ate his meal.

Meanwhile, Ghost hadn’t the faintest clue what god he just gave an offering to, but he felt a little better afterwards and so just hoped they weren’t evil. He took note of the statue’s appearance and when his troop was encamped near a town, he snuck away to a local library to see if there were any books he could find about it.

He was not apart of the army willingly, but he owed them a life debt and they had decided that it would only be repaid upon his death. Just a glorified prisoner, he was kept at the general’s side as his favorite weapon. Sneaking away was difficult, but definitely doable. The few times he was caught, he made enough of a disturbance that it was easier for everyone involved to let him do his thing.

They did not need to worry about him running away. If he was able, he’d have run the second he was given the chance. However, he was stuck. As long as he owed a debt, he could not leave.

The statue, at the very least, gave him something to do.

He was intrigued. He did not recognize the features at all, and his research confirmed that it was not a well known deity. It takes a long time of asking the right people and finding the right books to uncover the story of the forgotten god.

Having read everything — from loving poems about the being helping sickly children find comfort in their last moments to angry anecdotes about desperate townspeople sacrificing themselves in the hope that the god would show them mercy — he decides to give the god the benefit of the doubt.

He figures the world is shitty enough, why not find some good that had been tucked away? Ghost himself was seen more as a weapon than a person and couldn’t help but sympathize. He was never one for gods or worship, more likely to curse the heavens than ever sacrifice something of his, but he almost felt bad for the being. So, the next day, from one bloodthirsty monster to another, he gives the forgotten god more offerings.

It’s still not much, just an apple and a ring the general wouldn’t notice missing, but he sets them there anyways. He damn near jumps out of his fucking skin when the feeling of an accepted offering floods through him. He stares at what would have originally been the face of the statue, but nothing happens. The trees behind him continue to sing their song in the faint breeze, with the sounds of a lively woods never fading.

There is no outside sound, no out of place movement, no indication that he hadn’t just imagined the feeling. A leaf falling from one of the branches and landing on the pedestal, where the offerings were now gone, snapped him out of his staring contest. He muttered out a gruff thanks and sat down to eat, ignoring the feeling of being watched.

[antsday]

okay i will admit it: i don't like 431 from a narrative standpoint (or really any standpoint) but if you view it exclusively as the true epilogue in an alternate universe of mha in which 5 year old katsuki is right about deku looking down on him and doing everything to spite him and wanting to bring about his downfall then the whole thing becomes kind of absurdly funny

[zondearts]

mmj WoF au desings+ doodles

[puhpandas]

gregory vanessa and freddy will have content in secret of the mimic no matter how small like to charge reblog to cast

[thesunisatangerine]

against all odds (to wait for you is all i can do) – part two

alexia putellas x photojournalist!reader

warnings: implied sexual content

(a/n in the tags) [parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve]

word count: 2.5k

You weren’t sure what woke you at first but when you opened your eyes, you found the brilliant, early morning light that streamed through a crack in the curtains. Groaning, you rubbed the sleep from your eyes, not missing the unmistakable rustling of clothes somewhere at the foot of the bed. 

Peeking over the sheets to the source of the sound, you found Ale working to put her pants back on, her bare back to you. You propped yourself against the headboard as you watched on, biting your lip at how Ale’s tattoos deliciously shifted over her rippling muscles. She picked something up from the floor before she turned towards the bed and you caught sight of the darkening marks on her neck and chest. When she saw you looking at her, she smiled, a little bashful, which you returned in kind.

“What time is it?” You cringed at how you croaked out the words.

“Early. You should go back to sleep.” Ale said, putting her bra on as she kept your gaze.

You hummed. “I could say the same for you.”

Ignoring what she said you sat up on the bed, allowing the sheets to slide down and settle by your waist as you stretched. Ale’s eyes wandered to your chest which, you supposed, bore the same marks you could see on hers, and you relished the attention. Once she found your eyes again, you sent her a knowing smirk before you left the bed, headed to the closet where you grabbed the nearest fresh shirt you had, and tossed it to Ale. 

Without even looking at the shirt, she caught it with ease. You raised your brow, both in question and in wonder. In response, Ale just smiled innocently at you. Ale pulled the shirt over her head, hiding the marks from view, then she moved towards you, her eyes dark and shining with intent.

Your body remembered last night’s endeavours before you did: every nerve in your skin lit up in anticipation for Ale’s touch, a fuse waiting for a spark. She laced an arm around your waist and pulled you flush to her front with a strength that left you breathless, her clothed body firm against your bare flesh. Without your heels she almost towered over you that you had to stand on your toes to wrap your arms around her neck. You closed your eyes when you felt the words she spoke against your temple.

“As much as I’d love to stay, I have to go.”

You sighed, unable to hide your disappointment. But what did you expect? You knew what you were getting into last night–you knew this was meant to only be a one-time thing. Besides, you were never one for relationships anyway; all your dalliances were brief and fleeting, ending before they ever got serious. Still, something about Ale pulled you to her, a force that compelled a desire to get to know her. The logical part of you already accepted the fact that you’d probably never see her again after this, but a small part of you wanted to rebel and resist that fate. 

Unsurprisingly, logic won out.

“I shouldn’t keep you, then,” you whispered against her collarbone. Ale shivered and that made you smile: it’s good to know you weren’t the only one still feeling the effects from the previous night.

“You’re not making this easy,” she whined and you laughed. 

“Alright, alright. I guess it’s time for me to let you go.”

There was a moment of silence but not an uncomfortable one. You looked at her, soaked in how her features caught the morning light, how her fair hazel eyes almost appeared like twin golden suns. You were tempted to kiss her lips then but you settled for a chaste one on her cheek instead. “Keep the shirt, to remember me by and… a thank you for last night. It was wonderful.”

“I had a good time, too,” she hummed, a small smile on her lips. 

You returned her smile, and then you gently pushed her away as you took a step back. “Go, Ale.”

Ale stood there for a moment more, took one last look at you, gave you one last smile and she was out of the bedroom. When you heard the front door shut, you sighed again as something akin to regret settled in your bones. Maybe you should’ve at least asked for her number…

“So… did you have fun?” A deep voice filtered through the speaker before you saw the familiar mop of blonde hair and blue eyes on your screen. You rolled your eyes at his dry tone but you smiled nonetheless.

“Oh hi, Derek, I’m doing fine! Thank you for asking!”

Derek gave you an unimpressed look. “Come on. I need details cause that club was exclusive for a reason. So, did you hook up with someone?”

“Dude, stop! That’s so–” you shook your head, a palm over your face. You swore if he wasn’t family you would’ve… you breathed through your nose. “Thank you for the pass and everything but I’m not obligated to tell you shit.”

“Fine, I see how it is. Just ‘cause I’m not there you’re keeping secrets from me now, huh?” He raised an exaggerated eyebrow. 

“Then maybe you should’ve come here with me,” you retorted with faux annoyance. “What’s the point of you owning a house in Barcelona if you’re not going to use it? It’s literally rotting here! The fact that you haven’t even put any personal things in here is criminal!”

“And let this agency burn down to the ground while both of us are away? Pfft, yeah, right!” Derek scoffed. “You know it’s either you or me who can keep watch around here. Besides, the house can wait and you’re using it now, right? So, a win-win in my book.”

He was right but you weren’t about to tell him that so you opted to change the topic. “How are things on your end anyway?”

“Chaotic, as usual. And it doesn’t help we’re now down two–actually, three including you–of our best in the Spot News department.”

At that, you sat up from the couch, alarm and dread filled your body and you brought the phone closer to you. “Oh my god, did something happen?” 

Derek sighed heavily, his demeanour clouded over as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “It was Jones and Gilda–they’re stable, don’t worry!–they got caught in a flash flood on the way to the base at their area. Sick with some minor injuries, Jones more so than Gilda, but thankfully they’re both okay.”

At that, you breathed out in relief. You were well acquainted with the dangers that came with your job but you could never get used to how quickly a situation could get from bad to worse. The mere thought was enough to turn your hands cold. 

“When did this happen?”

“Early morning today in our timezone.”

“Oh, fuck. Derek, why didn’t you call me?!”

“Dude, you’re on leave. And it’s not that I didn’t want to let you know, I just wasn’t about to wake you up in the middle of the night to give you this headache. I’m just about done with the paperworks anyway.” A moment silence, then Derek sighed. “You really chose the worst time to go on leave. You know, I had to send Jersey to start covering Spot.”

“Not my fault you authorised it. I was happy to wait another month, remember? Wait, so if Jersey is doing Spot, who’s doing Sports?”

“I know, I know, don’t remind me ‘cause I’m already regretting it. And no one’s doing it. Spot coverage is more important but–”

“–we get a decent sum from Sports, too,” you finished for him. You did some quick estimation in your head: a month or two without Sports could prove costly, too great of a sum to let go. You hummed, rubbing your chin, but it didn’t take you long to realise that you could help out, your mind immediately fleeted to your conversation with Ale and her suggestion.

“I’ll cover it, Derek.”

“No. You’re supposed to be enjoying your leave–”

“Derek.” You fixed a stern gaze at him, the one you knew that he knew meant your mind was made up. Then you proceeded to reassure him that it was fine, and then you told him about your plan. “Alright, then, I’ll leave the press passes to you.”

“I’ll e-mail them to you once I get ‘em, most likely by tonight your time. I–” 

“Derek, you got to see–” Another voice filtered through the speaker while you watched as Derek turned his head to the side and held his hand up to whoever it was before returning his focus back to you.

“Okay, as much as I’d love to keep talking to you, Robert just brought me a huge stack of paper so I’m going to bail.” 

“Alright. Have fun, you. Talk to you later.”

“Ha ha, very funny. But seriously, thank you.”

“No worries. Kiss Mom for me when you see her.”

“I will. Love you, sis.”

“I love you, too.”

After calling Jones and Gilda to ask about their condition and to send them your well wishes, you decided to spend the rest of your day at the nearby square and the beach. A day as good as this wasn’t meant to be wasted by staying inside so you grabbed several rolls of film and your beloved Leica camera before heading out. 

It was already late afternoon when you found yourself trudging along the shoreline of one of Barcelona’s beaches, appreciating the orange-tinged skies and how the gulls called from above. When you looked to the horizon, you found a mother and her little daughter paddle-boarding just a hundred meters from the shore. You could see almost no details in the shadows of their silhouette but the large setting sun framed them in such a way that you felt to take a shot of the moment. So you adjusted your aperture accordingly, pressed the viewfinder against your brow, lined up your shot, and pressed the shutter.

“I thought you looked familiar… And I was right.”

Your thumb froze over the advance lever when you heard someone speak from somewhere behind you. That voice… could it be?

You whipped your head over your shoulder and found none other than Ale standing there. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts, a white opened blouse that put her toned abs and Nike sports bra on display, loose hair slightly damp, with a leash in one hand that lead to a small, fluffy dog. She also had on a pair of black wraparound sunglasses that she moved to the top of her head, revealing her hazel eyes that captivated your gaze immediately.

You could hardly believe your eyes and your luck; you already accepted her fleeting presence in your life but to meet her again in a city as big as Barcelona without any means of contact… that surely was nothing short of a miracle.

“Ale, hi! I–I never thought I’d see you again,” you said after you finally found your voice but as soon as the words left your mouth, your cheeks warmed. What were you supposed to say to a one night stand in this situation, especially when you clearly wanted it to happen again?

“Me neither. I should thank Nala for dragging me out here.” Ale grinned as she glanced down at her dog by her feet. You crooned as you bent down, then you offered your hand first and only after Nala licked your knuckles did you proceed to pet her.

“Thank you, Nala, for taking your owner for a walk.” At that, a hearty laugh came from Ale which caused Nala, who seemed to be overjoyed by the sound of her owner’s delight, to yip and wag her tail. And just as quickly as she had, she seemed to get bored and began to bound forward, urging Ale to move as well so you stood up, brushed the sand from your palms, and fell in step with her. 

For a moment, the space between you was filled by the sound of the waves, the sound of the shifting sand beneath your feet, and the ever-bustling noise from the city. Then you recalled your conversation with Derek this morning.

“I thought about what you said, about covering women’s football. I’m going to be given a press pass for a match, not sure which one they’ll give me, though. But do you know of any big matches coming up?”

“Really? That’s great! Do you have any particular team in mind or…?”

“Research is still on my to-do list so no, not really. I’m all ears for suggestions, though.”

“I see. Well, there is this match coming up: Real Madrid and Barcelona. Since you don’t know, there’s rivalry between the two teams so any match between them tends to get crowded. You should come watch.” 

“That sounds like a good one. I hope that’s what they’ll get me into. Will you be there?”

“I hope so, too. And yes, I’ll be there.” As she said this, her eyes shone with a glint not dissimilar to what you saw in them the night you met. Her lips tilted to the side, closed but quirked at the corners like she was holding in a laugh. If it weren’t already clear that night, it was now–you were definitely missing something here.

“What?” You asked, confused. What was she not telling you? But at the question, Ale only let out a small giggle, grinning as she did so.

“Nothing, nothing,” she said, shaking her head. You didn’t believe her but you let it slide one more time and the fact that she looked so distracting didn’t help either.

She had her head turned to you, her loose hair framed her face and strands fluttered in the cool, ocean breeze. You had to tilt your head up slightly to meet her eyes and, without any bidding, memories from that night and the morning after filtered through your mind: the way she held you against her, the way you wanted her to stay… maybe you should ask her if she was free tonight.

“–what do you have in mind?”

You blinked. “What?”

Ale threw her head back, letting out another hearty laugh before she looked at you and you saw amusement swimming in her eyes. Then, she continued with a smirk, “you asked if I was free tonight. I said yes. Or… was I not meant to hear that?”

Your ears and cheeks burnt while you internally cursed your slippery tongue.  That was smooth. Real smooth. “Ummm…”

You woke the next morning with a delicious soreness between your thighs, a pleasant reminder of the way Ale ravished you last night. Similar to the first morning after, you heard the rustling of clothes being put on. But before you could fully open your eyes, warmth from Ale’s lips branded the skin on your shoulder. 

“I have to go. See you next time?” Ale murmured softly. You shifted slightly to the side and you saw how the sunlight behind her gilded her hair with an amber halo and made her eyes appear like molten gold. 

Brushing a loose strand behind her ear, you hummed in confirmation and pressed your forehead sleepily against the sharp line of her jaw, closing your eyes as you did so and you whispered, “you know where to find me.”