#she's turning 1 year old in early august

[duskbats]

my baby annie when we adopted her vs now 😭 

i’m WEEPING.

[caffeinemachine]

Life Jacket- Chapter 2

Hi!! Thanks for all the love on the first chapter! Sorry this out later than I expected but I couldn't stop writing and I didn't want to end the chapter at an odd spot.

Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list! Hope you like this chapter!

WC: 4.8K

Conrad Fisher x Eldest Conklin Sibling Reader

Blurb | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

~~~~~~~~~~

The first day always went the same. Unpack, swim, shower, nap, dinner. Sometimes the first bonfire of the season was the first day we got there, other times it was the next day. This year it was the first. So today’s order was, unpack, swim, shower, nap, dinner, get ready, party. 

We all gathered around the table for dinner in our usual spots. My Mom, Belly, and me on one side,  Steven and Jere across from us, then Conrad on the end next to me, and Sussanah on the end next to my Mom. The spots never changed over the years, unless we had guests to squeeze in somewhere. The other thing that never changed was the food. Susannah was an amazing cook. She had taught me to cook over the years. I had spent many hours by her side being her ‘little sous chef’ as she called me. This summer she told me she would show me her old college food recipe hacks. 

I picked my head up from my plate when I heard Jeremiah’s voice, “So Y/n/n when do you leave for school? Do they have the swim team go early?” 

I nodded, quickly swallowing my food so I could answer, “Yeah I have to go early, It's not too bad though only 2 weeks before the regular move-in date. I leave on August 5th.”

Susannah spoke next, “We’re so proud of you, our little fish.” Everyone chuckled at the nickname, ‘little fish’. Susannah had been calling me that for years. 

“So what about you man when do you leave for training camp?” Steven asked Conrad, only he wasn’t the one who answered. Jeremiah did.

“He uh quit football.” Silenced stretched over the table. He what? I stared at him in disbelief, but in my heart, a part of me felt relieved for him. Being a student athlete isn’t easy and I knew Conrad only did football for his father. Sure he still loved the sport, but not enough. 

“What you quit? Why man, I would’ve killed to play college ball?” Steven asked Conrad but again he didn't respond, his mother answered this time. 

“He can always change his mind.” That made Conrad speak up, getting defensive towards his mother in a way I didn't usually see from him.

“I’m not gonna change my mind, I was just gonna sit on the bench all season anyway.” I sat quietly. I didn’t know what to say. Conrad and I bonded over our athleticism over the years, it felt weird to think we didn’t share that similarity anymore. 

I hadn't realized I was staring at him until he looked back at me, our eyes locked and yet I still couldn't move. You'd think it'd be instinct to look away but as he came into focus, we just stared. I tried my best to read him to understand why he might do that, Why would he quit? I knew he didn't love it but he had gone this far with it, What made him change his mind?

There was something unreadable in his expression I didn't think it was regret or nostalgia or sadness or anger but instead some combination of all of it. I wondered why. He looked away first turning his attention to his plate as he picked at the food in front of him. I didn't push him on it, I wasn't sure I'd push him on it later either. I’m sure he had a reason, maybe it’d be best if I just let him tell me if he wanted. 

The rest of dinner continued on like normal on the first night. Catching up, making jokes, and just being happy to be in each other's presence again. Everyone went their separate ways to get ready for the bonfire, and Belly and the moms stayed downstairs preparing for their movie night. Their tradition started a few years ago when Belly was 11, almost 12. That was the first year we went to a bonfire, Conrad and I were 14, and Jeremiah and Steven were 13. The bonfires were different then, we were with the younger crowd still unmixed from the older kids.  It was in the backyard of the house owned by a kid Jeremiah and Conrad knew from sailing camp. Belly was so upset she couldn't come with us. She was too young and we didn't want to have to watch out for her the whole night, or entertain her for that matter. I love my sister and she's gotten a lot better over the years but she loves attention, even though she won't admit it. Having her come meant that I would have to keep her by my side the whole night, that I couldn't mingle with new kids and make new friends. The moms promised to hang out with her that night. They went to the drugstore in town and bought a bunch of candy. Susannah made brownies and they watched a movie, a PG-13 movie which Belly thought was awesome at the time. 

I didn't do too much to get ready for the bonfire, it wasn't anything new, but I still like to look a little bit nice. It was the first time I was seeing everybody for the season after all. My hair was down, air-dried from the shower I took earlier so it had a natural wave to it. A little concealer under my eyes, some mascara, tinted lip balm, and that was that. I put on a tank top and some jean shorts with my navy Cousins Beach sweatshirt on top. It tended to get a little bit chilly on the beach at night. I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes catching on the shimmer coming from my ears. My pearl earrings, Susannah's pearl earrings. She gave them to me for my 16th birthday just like her mother did and I've treasured them every day since. 

I had to shoo the thought away as I felt myself getting choked up. I exited my room and went down the stairs, slipping on my very worn-in black Converse by the door.  I heard stories of people in college having a designated pair of shoes they called their ‘frat shoes’. This pair of black Converse was that for me over the summer.  They had been covered in sand, soaked from water, and scuffed with dirt, more times than I could count. 

As I finished tying my last lace, the boys walked down the stairs. I sat up, shoes now tied, and patted my knees, “You guys ready to go?”

“Yep let's do this we're taking my car. Y/N you promised to be DD for the night right? Don’t worry though I won’t drink too much anyway, wouldn't want to be hungover for my first day of duty, right Y/ N?” Jeremiah answered.

I laughed, “No Jere, you definitely shouldn't be hungover. Wouldn't look good for me either after I vouched for you to get this job. But yes I’ll be DD.” He laughed with me throwing his arm over my shoulder as we walked to the car. Steven called shotgun which left me and Conrad to sit together in the back. I hated to admit it to myself but he looked good. How someone could pull off a gray hoodie that well I didn't know, but he pulled off a gray hoodie and jeans better than I'd seen ever before. 

The drive was silent in terms of conversation but in the front seat, Jeremiah and Steven were singing their hearts out to Steven's ‘pregame’ playlist off Spotify. I kept my gaze out the window. Partly because I was still taking in the beauty of Cousins, partly because I could look at him. He looked too good and I always had to distance myself from Conrad before parties. I never knew how they’d play out with him. Sometimes he’d just stick close to us, the crew, and have a super fun night hanging out. Usually, that’s what he did when I was at the party with the guys but I’d been told the stories of his playboy party actions when I wasn’t there, and last summer I had gotten a glimpse of it. A girl named Nicole had come up to him and started chatting with him. Within seconds she was quite touchy-feely. Her hand was on his chest or upper arm, even playing with his hair every once in a while. I had whispered into Jere’s ear who was between me and the horny fest, “Who’s that?” 

Jere took a quick glance over his shoulder and then whispered back, “Nicole, she and Conrad hook up every once in a while.”

I furrowed my brows, “I’ve literally never seen her before.”

“They met at a party last summer when you had left for swim camp, I think her family like only comes out for August.”

I swallowed the information and then excused myself to get a drink. I stole a beer from the kid's fridge and walked back feeling a little bit better now that I had a drink in my hand. But when I looked up to find Nicole on her tiptoes kissing Conrad against the wall, the power of the drink in my hand ceased. I turned back to the kitchen, leaning against the counter by myself for a few minutes. I had my focus down on my hands when I suddenly looked up at the sound of the refrigerator doors flying open. It was her. She was seemingly grabbing a beer from the fridge the same way I had been just a second ago. I expected her to walk back out to Connie, but instead, she stationed herself on the counter, so I took that as my sign to walk back. It was the first, and only time since I had seen Conrad's fuck-boy behavior, but the stories continued, and I never let myself feel unprepared for the chance I might see it again.

Now sitting in the car with him I did just that as I watched the houses go by. The streets are littered with beautiful bloomed hydrangeas. Suddenly, my hair was pushed behind my ear. I turned my head as his hand draped its way down from my ear to the ends of my hair. His face was soft but I could see the dimples around his smile starting to crease. I shifted in my seat, nervous with his attention on me. 

“W-what are you doing?” I spoke lowly. Not that it mattered, Jere and Steven had no chance of hearing over our screaming.

“You’re hiding.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. And it left me speechless. “Your hair is always so soft, you’d think after years of chlorine that wouldn’t be the case.” 

That eased the tension a little, as the corner of my mouth turned up. “Well, that's because I wear one of those swim caps.”

He laughed, “I’d pay to have a picture of that.” 

I laughed with him, “Don’t say that to my mom 'cause she’d easily take your money for an exchange.” 

“Let's go!” Jeremiah shouted, exiting the car along with my brother. I hadn't realized we had stopped.

I looked over my shoulder to see Conrad hadn’t moved. His eyes looked at me like he was observing my soul. I held my breath. As if not breathing would help ease the bubbles floating around in my chest. 

I couldn’t bear it.

With an awkward laugh, I scooted out of the car and jogged over to Jere and Steven. I didn’t want to walk down alone. I knew the boys wouldn’t stay by my side the whole night, they’d go do other things within the first hour, but I liked to hold onto them for as long as I could. I didn’t mind the girls I’d met with the guys here over the years, but we were never that close. Nicole, Dara, Gigi, Marisa, and Shayla, we’d all lose contact over the school year. I also knew some people who weren’t from that crew. Some of them I knew from the swim club I used to do at the Country Club when I was little under the Fisher’s name. I wasn’t exactly supposed to be in the club seeing as I wasn’t truly a member but Susannah had a way of getting people to do what she wanted. Kindness can be blinding. The club was mostly made up of little boys, there were only 3 of us girls, Sydney, Ally, and me. Sydney was a nice girl. She was super smart, and ambitous, she’s set to start at Princeton for business in the Fall. Ally, I remained better friends with as we grew up. She was a dedicated swimmer like me so we even ran into each other sometimes during the school year at competitions. Ally was a total sweetheart, but she liked to have fun. She was easy to hang out with, she understood. I hoped they were here, I had forgotten to text them when I got to Cousins.

The fire wasn’t too crazy, they had to be careful not to draw too much attention from the cops. A big crowd of people had already formed though and it was only 9:30. I grabbed a cola from the cooler as I said hello to everyone coming up to us. Chit-chat was made with numerous people, and I couldn’t help but feel these conversations were really competitions for these kids. It was like every comment had to be a one-up to the one previous.

It was around 10:30 when a hand plopped down on my shoulder abruptly.  I assumed it was one of the guys but then he came into my eyeline, Peter Millington. 

“Yooo Y/N what's good?” He said a little slurred. As he moved to stand in front of me his hand dropped from my shoulder. 

“Hey Peter,” I laughed. Peter was a good guy, he was flirty but it was harmless. Annoying, but harmless. I met him at the swim club when we were 10. 

“So miss big shot where you heading this fall?  I’m sure schools across the country were practically begging outside your front door!” 

I laughed, “I won’t deny that, but I’m actually not going far. I’m gonna be going to Harvard.” His mouth hung open.

“No shit.”

“Yes, shit. How about you, still swimming?” 

He shook his head, “Nah nah, I’m trying to be a sports agent, I’ll be going to Penn State.”

“That’s great, congrats.” I smiled at him. 

He pointed at me a big smirk spreading across his face, “Yeah so you better remember me when you go all famous.” He finished his statement by slightly hitting the side of my arm. 

“You got it Pete, I won’t forget you-”

“Belly what the fuck!” My head snapped and my jaw dropped. I took off over to them. I sort of abandoned Pete but eh, he’ll be fine. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Steven yelled.

I smacked his shoulder once I had run up to them. “Stop yelling! You’re making a scene!” I whisper-shouted at him. 

Then I turned my attention to my baby sister. My baby sister, who wasn’t supposed to be here. My baby sister, who was just talking to a man 5 years older than her. My baby sister, who chose to wear a tiny skin-tight pink mini dress. My clueless, trouble-causing, baby sister. 

“What are you doing here?” I asked her as calmly as I could. 

“What I can’t go to a party?” She bit back defensively.

Excuse me? She didn’t get to give me shit for being concerned when she's the one who showed up out of the blue. I scoffed, “Did I say that?”

“What are you even wearing Belly we are on the beach why would you-“ 

“Steven. Knock it off. Go hang out with Shayla.” This was getting too aggravating. Steven was instigating too much, he must have already pissed Belly off by the time I ran up and now I had to deal with it.

“Did Taylor tell you to wear that or something?” I asked Belly, trying my best to figure out what was going on without having to have an argument in the middle of a party. 

“Why can’t I just dress nicely without being questioned?” Why the hell was she being so defensive? 

 “Again did I say that?” I couldn’t hold back the bite to my tone.

She rolled her eyes before looking at me. But then her gaze sharply caught something over my shoulder. I turned to look. Jeremiah. Drunk off his ass. Standing next to the fire trying to strip and go skinny dipping. He had already stripped off his sweatshirt, shirt, shoes, and socks. 

“Great.” I scoffed, running over to my now 2nd problem of the night. 

When he saw me running over he smiled brightly, “Y/N! We are going swimming come on! OH MY GOSH Belly! You’re here! You come too!”

Belly laughed beside me and I would’ve thrown a dirty look her way if I had the energy to spare. 

“No. No one is going swimming. It’s pitch black, the rip currents are crazy, and you are wasted. That’s all recipe for disaster.” I said authoritatively. 

Jeremiah pouted. “Please?”

“No. Now put your clothes on.” 

“Booooo.” Was he serious? He swayed as he re-dressed, his shirt blocking his vision. Good god.

“And get rid of the drink Jere, You’ve had enough.” 

“Ughhh fine party pooper.” Before I could stop him he threw his drink into the fire. 

“Jere-” The fire grew, a blaze lighting the beach. Shouts were heard as other drunk idiots followed Jeremiah’s lead and fueled the fire. “I can’t with this, Jere hang out with Belly.”

He smiled at that, “Alright come here belly button sit with me by the fire.” She giggled and obliged.

I took a deep breath, my feet taking me to the shoreline without even thinking. I needed to calm down. The chaos was overwhelming. I sat down on the sand a few feet away from where the water reached. The breeze flowed against me and I felt my mind begin to ease. This. This is why I always loved Cousins. I will never feel as at peace as I do when I’m next to the ocean. Water just calmed me down. I was the little fish. 

I hoped that would never change. I hoped I would always be the little fish, no matter how big or how small the pond. No matter what happened down the line, the peace I felt by the water would never be disturbed. I’d always be, as Susannah so deemed me, a little fish. 

I felt a plop next to me in the sand. I knew who it was without even looking, I could simply feel his energy. It was Conrad. He looked out on the water as he placed whatever drink he had in his hand down next to him. I kept my gaze out on the water as well. It felt good to just sit with somebody. With him. 

“So you go around telling everybody you’re going to Harvard?” He said, slight humor in his tone.

I sighed, “I mean only when anyone asked.”

“No shouting from the rooftops?” 

“No shouting from the rooftops. I’m not a big bragger.” I snickered, and so did he.

“You? Please! You have always been humble but you never shied away from sharing your accomplishments. You should be proud of yourself, it’s a big deal.” I just shrugged in response.

“I’m proud of you.” I looked at him then. His eyes were full of sincerity. I don’t think he knew how much that meant to hear. I caught his eyes flicking to my lips. 

Wait what-

He was looking at my lips and when he looked back up his eyes shone with vulnerability. I couldn’t help myself when my eyes dipped down to look at his. I imagined what it’d be like to kiss him. His soft pillowy lips moving against my own. I wondered where he’d put his hands. He seemed like the type of guy to cup the back of your head. I’d feel the weight of his hand as he pulled me into him like he was desperate for our connection. Maybe one hand would fall to my hips or my thigh, acting like an anchor. 

I couldn’t let my mind wander too far. Lord knows where that would lead. When our eyes met the tension was unmistakable. I couldn’t. I couldn’t let myself fall into him. I’d never stand back up. 

“Stella? Alright, thanks man!” 

Spell broken. Peter had just snatched Conrad’s beer from its spot between us and was taking a big slug of it. 

“Pete what the hell?” I said, standing up from my seat on the sand. 

“Dude give me my beer back.” Conrad stood up as well, Pete was standing between us. 

“Whaaaat? You weren’t even drinking it man! It was just- you know just sitting there and all the- all the other Stella’s are gone.” He was plastered. I felt my chest sink. This isn’t gonna go well.

“I don’t give a fuck if there aren’t any left, that one is mine now give it back to me.” Conrad defended.

“Connie come on-” 

“It’s just a beer man.” Pete turned to face primarily towards Conrad. 

“Exactly, so give me my beer back and get yourself your own.” 

“No.”

“Pete come on you definitely don’t need another drink.” I approached him, going to put my hand down on his shoulder to try and calm him down. Then just as I did he rolled back his elbow saying,

“Oh fuck off.”

I fell to the ground. His elbow collided right with my ear and the side of my face. Well, that hurt like a bitch. I’ll have a black eye on my first day back to work. Awesome.

“Y/N-“

I kept my eyes clenched shut for a minute before I felt a hand come to my shoulder, it was Belly and Jeremiah helping me up. My ears rang for a minutes before clearing. I watched as Steven and Jere broke up the fight. 

Conrad looked at me as Steven pulled him back. I shook my head and looked away. Actually, I looked right at the flashing blue and red lights now coming from the top of the dunes. Cops, awesome. 

“Enough!” I snapped everyone out of it, “Let’s go! Come on!”

I grabbed Belly’s hand as we ran up to the car, glancing over my shoulder quickly to make sure the boys were behind us. 

“Jere keys!” I caught the keys as he tossed them to me, unlocking the car doors. “In! Now!”

I started the car, a scowl on my face. My head felt like it was vibrating but it wasn’t like any of them could drive with their intoxication level. I couldn’t believe them. How on earth did they think it was appropriate to act like this?  I kept my eyes on the road, but I was sure they could feel the anger radiating off of me. 

“Y/N look I-“ Steven started but I cut him off.

“I don’t wanna hear it.” 

Then Jeremiah came in, “We didn’t mean to-“

“I said I don’t wanna hear it! Unless you want me to hit a drunk teenager stumbling home, you’ll shut up and listen to me! I’m distracted enough by the pinging in my head.” 

They were silent after that. 

I was mad and I had plenty of reason to be. I had been in this position with my sibling plenty of times, a few with Jeremiah, but never Conrad. I knew he started fights occasionally, but never with me around. 

I pulled into the driveway and parked the car. Then I child-locked in all those mother fuckers. I unblocked my seatbelt and positioned myself to be able to see them all. Steven and Jere struggled to open the doors while Belly sat in the middle confused. To my surprise Conrad just sat in his seat, his focus down in his lap, he made no objections. Once the three backseat idiots figured it out they looked to me expectantly. 

I raised my brows, “What you thought just cause I didn’t want you distracting me while driving you were gonna be off the hook?”

“Y/N what do you even care? You’re not our mom.” Belly said, rolling her eyes.

She only fueled my anger, “Yeah no shit I’m not 'cause Mom wouldn’t have put up with even an ounce of the crap you guys pulled tonight. Do you think I like playing mommy? Do you think I wouldn’t have rathered to enjoy the first night of my summer stress-free? You are lucky I’m a good sister, 'cause I could so easily walk inside and tell Mom everything that went down tonight. Then maybe you’d realize that having you deal with me instead of mom, is me being nice.”  I watched my sibling's attitudes deflate. Jeremiah on the other hand was sitting there trying and failing to hide the smirk from his face. “What’s so funny Jeremiah? Do you think I’m not talking to you too right now? All of you put me in bad positions tonight because of how you acted. ”

Jeremiah chimed in again, “We weren’t that bad.”

My jaw dropped, “Not that bad? Let’s see who should I start with. How about you Jeremiah, I stopped you from getting naked in front of every teenager in cousins, potentially drowning and killing yourself, and even after I did that you acted like an idiot! Throwing alcohol into the fire, you’re probably the reason the cops came! Oh and just the cherry on top, the fact that you’re wasted after promising me you wouldn’t be.” He was quiet now. 

“Steven had to cause a whole scene, but I’m not even that mad at him because he was right to be questioning you Bells! How the hell did you even get there?”  

She peeked up sheepishly, “I walked.” 

“You walked? Belly do the Moms even know you came to the bonfire?”

“No, I snuck out.”  She spoke in a quiet tone.

“Jesus Bells! If you had just told me you wanted to come I would’ve vouched for you. For god sake, I would’ve given you a ride!” My head pounded. I rubbed my forehead trying to ease the pain, I needed some advil. “You guys can’t act like that. It’s dangerous, and quite frankly embarrassing. I’m just- I’m done dealing with it.” I took a breath and unlocked the doors, “Go inside guys. Go to sleep.” I sat forward with my head in my hands. I heard the doors open and close as they got out without a word. 

Except he didn’t. I didn’t look over at him. I honestly didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t know how I felt at the moment. 

“Are you ok? Is your head alright?” He had worry in his voice and I couldn’t help but feel a flutter in my heart. 

“I have a headache and I’ll probably wake up to a huge bruise on my cheek but I’m fine.”

“How come you’re not mad at me too?”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t mad at you.” I felt his eyes on me the whole time but mine stayed forward at the house. 

“You didn’t yell at me like everyone else.”

“Because I didn’t know what to say to you not because I’m not mad at you.”

A beat passed. Just us sitting in the car before he spoke up again, “I’m so sorry you got hurt, Pete was plastered-“

“You could’ve just let him have the beer.”

“Y/N I wasn’t going to-“

“Look it’s been a long night, just- just go to bed Con.” I grabbed the keys and left the car. I hadn’t looked at him once and I didn’t look back at him.  I couldn’t. I don’t even think I was truly mad at him, I mean it was Pete’s fault, not his. I was more overwhelmed with tonight’s events and I didn’t have the energy to unpack anything right now. My head was pounding and I needed to lay down. Work would be a nightmare tomorrow morning. 

I went straight into the shower when I got inside. I gave myself a quick rinse. Susannah always stoked our bathroom with luxurious bath products for me and Belly. But I know Steven liked it too.

I walked into my room and plopped right down onto my bed. Man, it was soft, and it only seemed softer after a hard night. 

I went to grab my phone when I saw it. A water bottle, advil, an ice pack, and a cookie, sitting on my bedside table, and I most certainly didn’t put it there. I knew who did. I knew it was him, and I could feel myself smile a little. I felt myself forgive him, he was hard to stay mad at. He wouldn’t mention it, I probably wouldn’t either, but we knew that we knew. That was enough. 

For now.

~~~~~~~

Tag list:

@mid-80s @geekinthefuschiahair @paytonloiselle

[lovesodakid]

sworn to secrecy

chris sturniolo x fem!reader

2 3 4 5 6

summary: chris and y/n have known each other, pretty much their whole lives. y/n has always had a crush on chris. chris always viewed y/n as ‘nate’s little sister’ until one day, he realized, she wasn’t so little anymore…which nate sees..in which. he does not approve whatsoever. (“brothers best friend trope”)

warnings: slight mention of toxic household. shouldn’t be any more than that, if there is, lmk !!

____________________________________________

i groaned as i opened my eyes, fluttering them multiple times so i could adjust to the sunlight hitting my face through my window, lighting up my room and painting a beautiful orange-like color onto my walls from the early morning sunrise. i extend my arm out from under the warm comforter, to turn off my blaring alarm. i move to my side to look over at the alarm as it reads, 6:04am.

i sit up, stretching and yawning as i grumble a few breathless words as i place my feet on the cold hardwood flooring of my bedroom.

i quickly shuffle my way to my closet to grab some clothes to change into. considering it’s the middle of august in boston, it’ll most likely be warm today, so i grab a short sleeve plain white t-shirt and light washed baggy denim jeans. also, of course socks, bra, underwear, the good stuff.

today is the first day of my junior year. which means, it’s the first day of senior year for my annoying brother, nathan doe, and the triplets, whom i’ve known since i was at least 5 years old. i’ve grown up with them. i’ve seen them pick their nose, pee in the pool, and scream that girls have cooties into my face. i’ve witnessed them going on dates for the first time and their first sip of alcohol. i’ve seen it all.

nick is my best friend in the whole wide world. hes the one person who knows every single detail about me. when mine and nate’s parents used to get into fights when we were younger, nick was the first one to distract me from it. i’d bring my barbie’s to the triplets house and play with him, while nate played x-box with matt and chris. speaking of those two, im very close with matt. he and i bonded in my freshman year, when i was discovering what having anxiety meant, so was he. we kind of helped each other along the way, ive always viewed him as a second brother. chris on the other hand? not as a brother.

christopher sturniolo. the guy i’ve had the fattest crush on since the age of 10. below that age, i also thought boys had ‘cooties’. until one day, when i was playing tag with chris on the playground in elementary school.

flashback

i was chasing chris down the sidewalk that separated the playground from the grassy area at recess, when i tumbled over and landed on my hands and knees. which caused my knees and palms to be scrapped up. as i stood up, my knees were slightly bleeding, along with my palm. i guess chris heard that i stopped, he hurried over to where i was.

“are you okay?” chris softly asked.

“n-no.” i softly cried.

he gently picks my right hand up, planting a microscopic kiss on the back of it.“here, i’ll take you to a teacher. okay?” he says, slightly holding onto my elbow.

“okay.” i sniffled.

from that moment. i knew. i liked him.

end of flashback

i sigh at the memory as i finish getting dressed.

once im done, i put on a pair of air force 1’s, and make my way to my vanity. i opt on just putting on some mascara and lip gloss, deciding that i dont want to do a full face of makeup today.

i pick up my hairbrush, slowly brushing out any kinks or knots in it. once im done, i walk towards my bathroom, and brush my teeth.

“hey! are you ready? the triplets are on their way!” nate yells from down the hall.

“yeah! almost! give me 3 more minutes!” i yell with a mouth full of mint toothpaste.

once im done in the bathroom, i make my way into my bedroom, picking up my backpack off the floor, and grabbing my phone off the nightstand. almost as soon as i head toward my bedroom door to open it, i hear a faint honking coming from outside.

“are you ready? they’re here.” nate says to me as i walk down the rigid, old stairs of my house.

“yes.” i say as i walk past him, to outside.

i make my way to the minivan in my driveway, as i walk around to open the door behind the passenger seat. as nate and i get into our usual spots. matts always driving of course. chris in the passenger seat, nick in the middle backseat, me sitting behind chris, and nate sitting behind matt. it’s the ‘unspoken seat chart’ we randomly came up with.

“you guys ready for senior year!” chris yells loudly.

“yes. my last year in this hell hole!” nate exclaims.

nick and matt just say ‘yes’ in unison.

“what about you, kid? you ready for junior year?” chris turns around in his seat to ask me.

“kid” how i hate that nickname.

“uh yeah, sure.” i mumble.

“junior year really isn’t that bad. don’t stress to much over it.” nick whispers to me

after 15 minutes of chris’s loud rap songs giving me a blasting headache, we finally arrive at the school. once we walk in, we all split our ways to head to our first period classrooms. this year, i have english, so i make my way there.

once i get into the room, i head to the seat furthest in the back. as soon as i sit down, the bell rings, signaling it’s time for first period to begin.

“good morning everyone. my name is mrs. steven’s, ill be your english teacher for this year. now let’s go over…” mrs. steven’s speaks to the room full of teenagers.

i allow her words to trail off as my brain blocks her voice out. i hate school. how long until summer break again?

____________________________________________

a/n: okayy sooooo. i know this part is actually so boring and kind of short. idk if this is actually good or not so lmk if you want me to continue. in this story, the triplets and nathan are the same age and y/n is a year younger. ngl, i kinda gave up at the end lowkey, i just wanted to get this part out to see if it’ll be worth writing a whole story over, which i do have a lot a plans for actually. but it’s also 1:30 in the morning so im tired as fuck so.

[armed-with-a-waffle-iron]

The Bat Family Timeline and Ages (Post-Crisis and New Earth) with Sources

Evidence

In Batman: Year One, Bruce is said to be 25 in the January he returns to Gotham. The 1976 DC Calendar puts Bruce's birthday on the 19th of February so Bruce is 26 during his first outing as Batman in April.

Marv Wolfman's Batman: Year Three (Batman vol. 1 #436) tells us that Dick Grayson's parents die in Bruce's third year. In Batman vol. 1 #441 (also by Wolfman) Tim says that Robin started appearing around 6 months after the death of the Flying Graysons. For Dick's age when he becomes Robin, see below.

Bruce joins the Justice League before Dick forms the Teen Titans. Both these teams form before Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl at 16 (Batgirl: Year One).

Barbara and Dick are each other's dates to their high school prom and so are less than 2 years apart in age (Detective Comics vol. 1 #871).

I suspect Dick, who was an emancipated minor, graduated high school and started college a year early, which allows Dick and Barbara to have some time as the new Dynamic Duo, as we see in Batman Family.

Dick Grayson is 18 when he forms the New Teen Titans, all of whom are also teenagers (Nightwing vol. 2 #137 by Wolfman, who also created the New Teen Titans).

Dick Grayson is 19 when he becomes Nightwing (Batman vol. 1 # 416).

21 year-old Helena becomes Huntress (Huntress: Year One #1), and interacts with Batgirl, meaning that Barbara is not yet Oracle.

Jason dies at 15, 4 months before his 16th birthday (Batman Files). This is before the New Teen Titans' third year anniversary (New Titans #71), before any of the Titans turn 22 (Deathstroke vol. 1 Annual 1), 2 years after Dick becomes Nightwing and almost 10 years before Dick's parents are killed (Batman vol. 1 #436). Dick is hence 21 during these events and 11 when he became Robin.

I also kinda like Dick being 17 years younger than Bruce because that's also the age difference between Adam West and Burt Ward from the 60s TV series.

After these events, Tim Drake becomes Robin and is 13-14 (Batman vol. 1 #441 and Robin II #1)

Soon after, Stephanie Brown is 15 when she becomes Spoiler (Secret Origins 80-Page Giant).

Stephanie is still 15 when she realises that she is pregnant (Robin vol. 2 #59) and Tim is almost 15 during this time (Secret Origins 80-Page Giant).

Cassandra Cain is 17 when she comes to Gotham during this time (Batgirl vol. 1 #1), during No Man's Land which lasts one year.

Helena’s family were killed when she was 8 and during Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood, Tim says the murders happened roughly 15 years ago, making her roughly 23 during this storyline.

Cass turns 18 in January (Batgirl vol. 1 #39), Tim Drake turns 16 (Robin vol. 2 #116), Jason would have turned 18 in August (Detective Comics vol. 1 #790), and Stephanie is 16 when she "dies" (Batman Allies Secret Files & Origin).

Personally I'd re-arrange Tim's 16th birthday to be the last of these events four events to accommodate him still being 17 late into the Batman: Reborn, see below.

Jason soon returns to Gotham as Red Hood, not long before Infinite Crisis, 52 and One Year Later.

Following the one year time skip, Dick says it's been almost 10 years since his misadventures with Metal Eddie and Liu as a 16-17 year old (Nightwing vol. 2 #133 by Wolfman), which makes sense because he would be 25 by my math.

Stephanie returns from her time as a medical volunteer in East Africa, finishes high school and begins university during Batman: Reborn. She'd turn 19 by the end of this year by my math, which is a typical age to be begin attending university (Gotham Underground and Batgirl vol. 3 #1).

Dick calls Damian Wayne a "10 year-old" before Stephanie attends university (Batman and Robin vol. 1 #2) and Steph still calls Damian a "10 year-old" while she's in her second semester (Batgirl vol. 3 #13 and Batgirl vol. 3 #17). He might have turned 11 before the reboot.

Batwoman: Elegy (Detective Comics #858), during the Batman: Reborn year, shows that Kate was 12 when she was kidnapped and saw her mother and sister killed. This incident is also said to happen "20 years ago”, making her 32 and hence 30-31 during her first appearance in 52/One Year Later.

Tim Drake is still 17 while Steph is in her second semester of her first year at university, and it's stated that he is meant to be in his senior year at high school (Batgirl vol. 3 #13, Red Robin #17 and Red Robin #25). It's possible he turns 18 before the reboot.

Mistakes I Made

Cassandra Cain is 21 in Year Eighteen.

The "Titans disbands" in Year Thirteen was definitely a year early but it's done.

[hazel-of-sodor]

Sodor in the age of social media

1. Edward

Edward is perhaps not the type of engine you would expect to have an online presence, much less an active one, with a large following. However whilst he has never been a loud presence online, he has been consistent and beloved since nearly the beginning.

It began with a story.

In the early 2000s Edward's driver was at her whits end. Her toddler refused to fall asleep, instead crying throughout the night. The doctors all said she was healthy, that this was a phase, but the driver and her husband were exhausted. One august night, it was her turn to stay up with the toddler, she tried driving around, hoping the motion of the car would lull the child to sleep, but there was no luck. When she went to pass by the engine sheds, she turned in out of desperation. Edward was over 100 years old, maybe he knew what to do.

She entered the engine shed, finding all the engines awake. It is well known among railway men that any engine can pick out the cry of a child above any other sound, a fact that has proved both a blessing and a curse to their crews.

The exhausted woman climbed onto the bufferbeam gently shushing the child to no avail.

'Well hello little one."

The baby quieted, staring up in awe at the engine before her.

"Would you like a story little one?"

The toddler cooed and stretched a hand towards the giant face of the engine.

"Thomas was a little engine..."

The child was soothed by the elder engine's voice, and try as she might to fight it, she was soon asleep. The driver thanked the engine profusely, but he just chuckled and asked her to bring the child if it happened again.

Victoria Sand grew up on the buffer beam of her mother's engine, listening to stories of the railway, and her grandfather's time as driver.

In order to allow the engine sleep the mother recorded many of the stories, so they wouldn't have to disturb him to get the child to sleep, despite the engine's protests that he enjoyed their visits.

The years went on, and young Victoria began sleeping through the night (although there was more than one instance of her sneaking out to see her honorary grandfather.) The mother wished to help other mothers and fathers like herself so, with Edward's permission, she uploaded the stories to a video site.

"Storytime with Grandpa Edward" grew slowly but surely, as parents found them and played them for their children. As the videos popularity grew, many asked for Edward to read their children's favorite books.

It should be noted at this time, almost no one outside of the Island realized 'Grandpa Edward' was in fact a locomotive, much less Northwestern No.2. Victoria's father was an artist, and the videos consisted of Edward's voice over his paintings. Most of the audience had assumed Grandpa Edward was human. Upon the realization, Edward chuckled and asked it be kept that way, as he was touched so many people liked his stories on their own.

A young generation of children grew up listening to "Grandpa Edward" alongside Victoria Sand, some of whom would later visit Sodor. Whilst their parents would almost never recognize the engines voice over the sound of steam and metal, the children would. Edward would just laugh and ask for it to remain their secret.

The years passed, and the 2020s arrived. By this time "Grandpa Edward" was a household name for much of Britain, with thousands of stories recorded and released. Edward had declined in person interviews over the years, he was much too busy on his branchline after all. Despite helping to raise an entire generation, Grandpa Edward had remained a mysterious figure, known only by his stories, even as little Victoria grew up and became a mother herself.

The revelation of his identity involved certain blue tank engine, because of course it was. The sickness that must not be named had swept the globe. Sodor was weathering the storm well, as it had closed its borders promptly and thoroughly. Despite this, the children of the island grew stifled in their houses, mossing school, their friends, and the freedom of the outside worlds.

The NWR came together to help in what ways they could. Thomas was ran from one side of the island to the other, making videos for children to watch, to show them that the world and their friends would still be there waiting for them when they came out. As expected, the 'Thomas touch' happened, and the videos seemed to explode overnight, with children around the world eagerly watching Thomas on his adventures around the Island. But Thomas was growing tired. He was older now, 106 thank you very much, and the constant longer runs were more than he was used to on his branchline.

Edward took one look at him one evening at Wellsworth as he waited for a clear signal to Ffarquhar, and promptly dragged Thomas and his coaches. Thomas protested, the kids needed the joy the videos brought.

"Leave it to me," Edward said.

The first video was simply titled 'Grandpa Edward reads Thomas a story.' The video opened to show Thomas and his coaches parked inside the Wellsworth Sheds, a fully grown Victoria holding the 'The Three Railway Engines' up for Grandpa Edward to read.

[outsideratheart]

Plans (Alexia Putellas x reader)

A/N: This idea has been in my head for while but whenever it came to writing it my mind would go blank. I hope you guys like it.

To those around you your departure from Wolfsburg didn't come as a surprise but the rest of the world couldn't believe they would let you go considering the way you performed at the Euros with Germany. For you it wasn't about the money like the rest of the world assumed, you wanted to play for a team that valued you and over the last 18 months Wolfsburg hadn't done that.

You had been playing football since you were 4 years old, got your first professional contract at 16 years old and was the youngest player male or female to become the starting goalkeeper. Throughout your career you never picked up any injuries other than a niggle here and there. That was until a reckless tackle left you needing major surgery on your shoulder and put you on the side line for almost a year. Your return to the starting 11 came in the second leg of the champions league quarter final against Barcelona where you managed to keep a clean sheet and contributed heavily to giving the Spanish side their first loss of the season.

When it came to your contract negotiations you made things very clear, you were the number 1 goalkeeper. It wasn't a claim fuelled with arrogance, it was backed by facts. They had different plans, ones that didn't align with yours so you asked your manager to put some feelers out. Throughout the euros he would keep you updated and when he called to say Sandra Panos was taking an early retirement to spend more time with her family and that Barcelona was interested, you didn't think twice about it. During the summer tournament you, along with your manager, had several video calls with the Catalonian side and came to terms on a contract which pleased both you and the team. They only had one request; it had to kept a secret until Sandra made her announcement.

It's how you found yourself standing outside Joan Camper on 2nd August just two days after you lost the final. You were told to take a few days off to recover from the loss and to take some time off but you didn't want to. Losing the final in extra time was brutal and you couldn't sit around doing nothing or you would obsess over every minute detail.

"You're the new signing?"

You turn on your heels to see Ingrid walking rapidly towards you with Mapi not too far behind her.

"I cannot confirm nor deny" you briefly hugged the Norwegian before she introduced you to Mapi.

The three of you walk into the facility but you are soon pulled aside to sign your contract and make things official. The process itself is tedious, page after page requires your signature and several members of the higher ups take a photo with you. Then the part you were waiting for comes, they give you your shirt. It felt weird seeing your name on the back of anything that wasn't Wolfsburg and it fills you with a bitter sweet feeling even though you know the change was needed.

Shortly after you are led out onto the field so you can be officially introduced to the team. Many of them you had met before when representing Germany but now they were your team mates and there were a couple that had already held that title in the past. You had already seen Ingrid earlier in the morning, Frido welcomes you with open arms stating how happy she is that you're both on the same team again. There was only one person left.

"No way did they let you go" Caro shouts as she runs across the training pitch. She leaps into your arms as soon as she's close enough. Caroline is one of you best friends and you were devastated when you learnt she was leaving Wolfsburg after 6 years.

"Barely even fought for me" you whispered in her ear.

She jumped down and you can tell that she is caught aback by what you've said but she hadn't seen the way they treated you after your injury.

"I bet the girls wasn't happy"

"Not in the slightest. I had to keep it a secret until Panos announced her retirement. Svenja was the first one I told, then Poppi who isn't talking to me, not properly anyways"

After the quick catch up you watch the team train from the sidelines. You wasn't allowed to join in until you completed your medical. The team was worried about putting you to work so soon after the euros so they wanted to put you through some tests before they let you put on your gloves.

As a football fan it was amazing watching the Spanish champions train. The tika taka style is something you have always admired and to see it up close, well it filled you with excitement for the upcoming season. You see Mapi struggling to defend against Caro and you see an opportunity to gain some points with the defender.

"Mapi, come here" you call her over when they split for a drinks break. A few of the players watch as you whisper some tactics in her ear then show her the positioning your former team mate uses. When the scrimmage resumes you watch as Mapi follows your advice and stops Caro twice in a row.

When Mapi looks your way she points at you leading the Norwegian to realise what you must have told her.

"That's not fair" Caro complains.

"How did you know what she'd do?" Ana asks you.

"It's my job to know how attackers think so that I can stop them. Caro is a creature of habit and hasn't changed her style since she left Wolfsburg so it was easy" your football IQ had helped you become the player you are and it's the reason why teams did more research on you than any other goalkeeper.

"Clearly not if you couldn't stop her at Camp Nou" Pina's voice is laced with smugness.

Out the corner of your eye you can see a couple of players shaking their head, a few even burying their face in their hands.

"It's hard to do that when you’re watching from the stands Claudia" the young forward was clearly confused "I had only just been cleared by our doctor so I wasn't playing"

Pina went bright red when she realises the mistake she had made.

"Alexia's going to love playing with her. I wonder if she knew Y/N was signing with us" Marta whispers to Caro.

"I think she knew before us but not by much. Just wait until they can play together, the way their minds work will be make them dangerous. Speaking of, Y/N!" Caro shouts over to you "Have you met Alexia yet?"

"No, I heard she is coming in later for some physio so I will meet her after my physical"

The team share a look. Alexia sang your praises often and it was no secret that she admired you not only on the pitch. They wished they could be a fly on the wall for the first meeting between the two of you.

As expected you pass your medical with no issues. The cardio test is easy and even though you were fresh off a gruelling tournament you showed no signs of fatigue. The only thing they were a little cautious on was your shoulder, in the lead up the winning England goal you were taking out  by a white shirt and during the ceremony you were seen holding your elbow to limit the pressure on the joint.

The physio asks if you want the TV on whilst she works. You connect your phone and play a reply of the Euros final. The doctor scoffs beside you but doesn't say anything. After the champions league they learnt the importance of understanding a loss.

You are laid on a treatment table as the physio tries her best to turn your shoulder inside out. The pain was there and it was more than you were willing to admit but you had a strict recovery routine and you didn't do it after the final so you were a little sore. The physio tells you to lay on your front so she can look at the muscle behind your shoulder. Your focus is 100% on your breathing and trying to relax, so much so that you don't hear the door open or the sound of crutches travel across the room. It is only when you hear her speaking to one of the other physios closest do you wave yours off so you can finally meet your new captain.

You wait for her to finish talking before introducing yourself, only Alexia beats you to it.

"I never thought we get the chance to play together. I'm Alexia" Alexia is quick to remove her arm from one of her crutches so that she is able to shake your hand.

“Y/N Y/L/N”

Even though it has been a month since her surgery you can tell she isn't used to her crutches so you pat the closest treatment table so she can sit down.

“Mucho gusto”

“Igualmente”

Alexia's eyes widen at your Spanish response, even more so that it sounds authentic even with your german accent.

"Surprised the German speaks Spanish” You laugh a little at her shocked response. Truth is as soon as a potential move to Barcelona got brought up you started studying the language straight away. You had welcomed many people to Wolfsburg and you told them the same thing 'learn the language and get to know to the culture'. You had been putting in the work on the first one but given this is your first day in Barcelona you hadn't had to chance to experience the second.

"Mm-hmm" she was impressed and you knew it.

“It would be ignorant of me to move to a different country and not make the effort to learn their language. I was just doing some extra physio work but i'll get out of your hair so you can start yours"

"No, no. I don't mind you been here" Alexia surprised herself by allowing you to be there when she does her rehab. Since the injury she has been keeping herself to herself but there was something about you that made her feel comfortable. Maybe it was the fact that you had been through something similar to her, you understand what it was like to be at your peak then have everything come crashing down.

Alexia gets changed into some training gear and when she re enters the room you are stood up as the doctor assesses the movement of your recently healed shoulder. Your upper body was covered in noting but a sports bra revealing your sculpted arms and toned abs.

Alexia admired the view in front of her, maybe for a little bit longer than she should have for when she meets your eyes she sees that you've caught her.

“I’m sorry, I...I" Alexia stumbles over her words and you find it adorable "I was —”

“Checking me out" you finish her sentence, smirking as you do so when you see her cheeks flush red "Don’t be embarrassed, own it. Do you want me to turn around so you can have a full look”

Alexia laughs as you walk back towards the bench as if there's a catwalk “enjoying the view from behind?” you almost shout back to her

“Yes” you turn hastily, shocked at the new confidence Alexia has "What? You said to own it"

"Touche Putellas, touche"

Alexia starts her rehab whilst you sit back on the bench wearing a compression sleeve which is hooked up to a machine to monitor the pressure. After twenty minutes she notices what is playing on the TV and he first instinct to to scold you for tourturing yourself but it would make her a hypocrite because she did the same thing after Turin.

It gets to the final ten minutes and you know what is about to come. You fists turn into balls as Chloe Kelly's shot hits the back of the net. Your eyes close for a brief moment and a single tear falls down your cheek as you do so.

"It was a handball" the soft voice brought you back to the present.

"Doesn't matter. I should have been better" you couldn't bring yourself to look at Alexia.

"It's not on you Y/N" Alexia tries to console you but she knew nothing would take away the sting of losing such an important game "I know it's easy to blame yourself when your team loses but a loss cannot be placed on one person's shoulders"

"Especially if that person isn't able to play" you knew that you might be pushing the boundaries of your friendship which was formed not even an hour ago but you knew she needed to hear it.

"It's that obvious" you send her a look that says yes "It's hard not to think what would've happened if I could have played but i'm coming to term with this" she point to her knee showing that she was starting to accept her injury.

"I don't know if this will help but I knew we would beat you before the Euros even started. After the Italy game I saw your team's weak spot. Your number 10 Hermoso"

You see Alexia wince at the mention of her former team mate and ex girlfriend.

"I take your face as confirmation that the rumours were true" Alexia nods her head "Ok well back to what I was saying. Hermoso played a bigger role than your team realised and you couldn't replace her, it was obvious you were still experimenting when the Euros started. So let's say you were healthy because I worked really hard to build what we called an APS, Alexia Putellas--

"Segura?"

"Close but the S stood for strategy, the Alexia Putellas Strategy. I worked with Lena Oberdorf for months perfecting it and I am confident when I say she would have made your job incredibly difficult when we played each other"

"I guess there's only one way to find out" Alexia says as she continues her rehab. The thought of playing against you and seeing this APS in person gave her a little bit of extra motivation.

It is almost an hour later when Alexia is done and although you finished over 45 minutes ago you didn't want to leave. You were enjoying getting to know your new team mate with it been just the two of you. The first few questions revolved around your career, after that you refused to talk shop, normal question only. You discussed everything from top 5 movies of all time to favourite Christmas memory. Without knowing it you had both put each other on pedestals and this time alone together made you both human.

Before going home you had to get your new training clothes from the locker room. When you leave the building you see Alexia sitting on a bench typing furiously on her phone.

"Is everything ok?" you ask the midfielder.

"My sister is suppose to be picking me up and now I can't get a hold of her"

You hear her leave a voicemail for who you can only guess is her sister. The way she furiously speaks leaves you no chance of understanding what she said.

"That wasn't Spanish"

"Catalonian"

"I'll add it to my list" you joke.

Alexia is clearly stressed out about the situation and it leaves you no choice but to be her knight is shinning armour.

"Calm down" you place you hand over her phone screen "If you want I can take you home"

"To my mum's"

"Ok, let's go" You take her bag before she can argue and lead her to where you've parked.

Once in the car you give Alexia your phone so she can pick the music. The drive to her mum's is done in comfortable silence, the only sound was Spanish music and Alexia's instructions. You pull up outside, get her crutches and bag from the boot before helping her of the car and following her to the front door. The path isn't exactly even so you are cautious of every step she takes. Her mum, having not recognised the car outside her house, meets you both at the door.

"Querida, I thought Alba was picking you up" She takes the bag from you.

"Me too but she never showed"

Alexia's mum stays in the door way with you and Alexia on the other side of the threshold. It's almost like Alexia doesn't want the day to end as much as you do.

"Are you going to introduce me to your new friend?"

"Mum, this is Y/N Y/L/N our new goalkeeper. She played for Germany and she used to play for Wolfsburg"

"I thought she looked familiar. She's the one you couldn't stop talking about the other night when we watched the final. Sorry about the result Carino"

You still didn't like the pity in people's eyes when the give you their condolences for the loss. It is something that Alexia is quick to pick up on.

"Y/N this is my mum Eli Putellas Segura"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Putellas or is it Segura" the panic in your tone is small but it's heard by the two Putellas women.

"You can call me Eli. Thank you for driving my daughter home. Would you like to come in for a drink?"

Truth is you would love to but you had already made plans.

"Maybe another time. Ingrid is letting me stay with her for the next fews day and in return I agreed to cook dinner"

"Did the club not help you find an apartment?" Alexia asks, her eyebrow slightly crooked as frustration grows within her.

"They did but for obvious reasons they didn't expect me to be in Barcelona so soon. Something about taking some time off" you joke.

"And you wanted to get back to work" Alexia understands you completely.

"See, you get it. If only everybody did instead of worrying about me" you laugh off your wish.

Eli watches the two of you go back and forth for a few more minutes. She couldn't believe you had only ever met on the pitch because the sight before her looks more like a reunion between old friends than a scene between two people who only got introduced today.

Both mother and daughter stand by the door as they watch you get back into your car.

"So what's going on between you two then?" Eli wasn't blind and the connection that was slowly forming between you and Alexia was clear to anyone with eyes.

"I don't know. She will be good for the team though"

"And for you. I haven't seen you smile like that since you came back from England"

"She understands what I'm going through" Alexia's reply was short and sweet.

Over the next few months you continued your rehab sessions even though you were fully cleared. You even coincided your sessions with Alexia's when possible so that you could spend as much time with her . You even took part in her workouts on top of your own. It was exhausting but totally worth it.

You suggested that the club invest in a reflex grid, it was made up of several shapes connect by ropes. Every time the ball hit a shape, it would send it in a different direction. Some nights you would stay behind with the goalkeeper coach to do some extra practices using your new toy. Alexia would watch from the window of the treatment room and even came outside to watch you train. The team saw the way you brought out the old side of Alexia, the one they feared went away when she had her surgery. They wanted to know if anything was going on but your former Wolfsburg team mates told them that you were a very private person and given that Alexia is in the middle of rehabbing her knee, you most likely wouldn't have made a move.

It was after one of those late night sessions that Alexia joined you on the pitch. She hadn’t done it much because she hated being on the grass and not being able to lace up her boots. You were tidying up when you saw her walking over.

“You looked like you were having fun?” Alexia helps you put the balls back in the bag. You can see her thinking about doing something with it but ultimately decides against it.

“Don’t be sad Alexia, you’ll be the one taking shots at me before you know it. As for me having fun I was. I saw you watching, did you enjoy the show?” You judged her slightly.

“I’m gay” she blurts out.

When you turn to face Alexia you see her stood a few meters behind you. Clearly she stopped walking and you didn’t realise.

“I’m honoured that your feel comfortable enough to share this information, I really am but you’ve got to know by now that I already knew this”

“Then why haven’t you made a move? We have been flirting for months, I spend more time with you than anyone else yet you haven’t asked me out. Why? Is it because I’m broken?” She points to her knee. Even now she was still coming to terms with her injury and it caused her confidence to take a huge hit.

You walk back to where she was standing. She has no idea how difficult it was for you to respect where she is in her life.

“Alexia” you take a hold of her hand “I like you more than I have anyone in a very long time. You’re beautiful, strong and when I was at my lowest you put me back together when you had your own issues to focus on. I would love nothing more than to take you out for dinner but right now you have to focus on your recovery. Trust me when I say I have plans for us once you're back on the pitch”

“You do?” Alexia asks in disbelief.

With a simple nod of your head a huge grin appears on her face.

“So right now I won't act on my feelings. Instead I will stay by your side and be there in whichever way possible"

"Vale" the way Alexia smiles and how it reaches her eyes gives you an incredible feeling. Then again everything she did had you feeling a certain type of way, you couldn't quite put a finger on what it was but in a time were things were new and uncertain she brought you peace.

It was the right thing to do yet you regretted your decision of not pursuing Alexia every time you were near her. Since the night you admitted your plans the energy between the two of you changed and when you were in a room together the tension was heavy and obvious to anyone who took a few seconds to watch you both.

It was during media day when the team really saw the connection between the two of you. The morning was spent doing interviews and the afternoon was spent taking photos for social media and the team website. The last set of photos to be taken was of the team wearing a new limited edition kit. At first everything was normal but when it came to Alexia's turn you could sense something was off. You knew she hated getting her photo taken especially when it was this staged but it was something deeper than that. You watched as she shakily tied her boots and re-adusted her socks for the umpteenth time. It is only when you see her staring at her knee do you understand what's going on.

"Give us the room" you tell the other players.

Many of them argue that they need to get changed too but quite frankly you don't care. Even when the women around you try to get your attention you don't take your eyes of Alexia whose own begin to well up ever so slightly as she gets more and more overwhelmed.

"Now!" you raise your voice this time and it doesn't come as a surprise when the team do as they're told.

As soon as they leave you close the door behind them and lock it. When you turn around you see Alexia's hands shaking as she once again adjusts her socks.

"Talk to me Ale"

You crouch down so that you can see her. Her hands tremble as you hold them tightly.

"My socks won't cover it"

Many people didn't understood the psychological affect scars had and the visible ones took a knock to your confidence that was difficult to overcome. You knew this feeling all two well but it's the first time you see Alexia struggling with the reminder of her surgery.

“Every scar tells a story. This one, if I remember correctly” you point the scar on her right index finger “tells me you're not as skilled in the kitchen as you are on the pitch” Alexia sniffled as a small chuckle escapes her mouth “and this one” you place your hand just above her knee not wanting to overstep her boundaries, she nods her head letting you know it’s ok for you to touch it.

Alexia's breath hitches slightly as you stroke over the reminder of her ACL surgery. The goosebumps that form on her legs let you know the affect your touch has on her but now isn't to time to tease.

“This one tells the story of a strong women who was given the option to give up but she chose to fight. It tells me that even when she wanted to give up she kept going. It shows bravery and resilience” despite a voice telling you not to, you place a gentle kiss on her knee.

"It reminds me that I'm broken" Alexia tries to swallow the ball of emotion that is rising the the surface.

This side of Alexia is one that you have gotten to known well over the past few months but it seems like this time the pain runs deeper than before. She had been cleared to train on the pitch starting next week but the scar on her knee is a constant reminder of how quickly things can change.

"You're not broken Alexia and you should wear that scar with pride"

"Like you do yours?" she is quick to respond and it's clear she is trying to pick a fight because it means you won't talk about her scar anymore.

You quickly take off your shirt and chuck it aside revealing three scars on your left shoulder. She trails her thumb along each scar in a similar motion to what you did only minutes ago.

"Happy?" you raise your eyebrows as you hope to have satisfied the woman in front of you.

"You hide your scars Y/N and you can't say you don't. You swapped shirts with Lola when we played Atleti but you waited until you were in the tunnel so that nobody saw you without a shirt on"

"Maybe I just didn't want you to be jealous when people start ogling my sculpted physique"

"Y/N I'm being serious. I've used you as inspiration for my recovery. You worked hard, got your spot back on the team and lead your to country to the Euros final"

You groan slightly as she mentions the final. It was still a sore subject and she knew it.

"I know you don't like talking about it but you should. You worked your way back to a major tournament, it's something I hope to do as well. Don't you see that you are telling me not to be ashamed of my scar when you are of yours"

Alexia was right, she knew it and you did too. Your team mates, past and present, would consider you a great leader and the reason for that is because you would never ask them to do something you wouldn't do yet this exactly what you are asking of Alexia.

An idea comes to mind. You may not be the captain of this team but you still have to lead by example and that it exactly what you planned on doing.

"Come with me" you hold you hand out and Alexia takes it happily.

Your entrance to the other room gains the attention of the rest of the team. You aren't wearing a shirt and Alexia is holding your hand.

"I'll show them mine if you show them yours, ok?" you ask Alexia who hesitantly nods her head.

You ask a member of the staff for a pair of scissors and ignore the questions coming from your team mates and the co-ordinator of the photoshoot who is reminding you that there is only one goalkeeper shirt. A few gasps can be heard when you cut the sleeves off your shirt.

"Y/N! What are you doing?" someone tries to stop you but they are too late.

"Time to show the world that injuries do not define you and your scars are not something you have to hide"

You see Alexia smiling ear to ear when she realises what you are doing. After putting on your goalkeeper gloves, you grab and ball, hold it forward and turn slightly so that you scars are fully exposed. The photographer begins taking photos immediately and is loving your new found confidence.

"I want to do it too" Mapi shouts before taking her shirt off and cutting the sleeves.

You can see a staff member glaring at you but you can only mouth an apology. You ruining the kit was one thing but now there were two shirts which were now made of less material than the others.

Alexia watches you mess around with Mapi. She knows that you have done this for her but she still isn't sure. A couple of the other players join you in taking less than professional photos but it sums up the team perfectly; a group of a people who mess around together and enjoy each others company.

"Alexia" you sing and she saunters over to you.

Doubt still lingers in her eye but you reassure her that it will be ok and she believes you. She pulls her sock down revealing the full length of her scar.

"Beautiful" you lower your tone so that only she can hear you.

Upon request, you and Alexia pose for a few photos together. You're favourite is the one where you are down on one knee pretending to shine Alexia's boot. It was the perfect shot as it showed both her scar and yours.

She cannot be sure if its the vulnerability she is feeling or the fact that you have once again gone out of your way to make her feel better that causes her to do what she does next. She wraps her arms around your neck and pulls you close. The proximity in which you faces are is the biggest challenge you've faced yet. Every part of you is yearning to feel her lips on yours but you somehow show restraint. Alexia on the other hand doesn't care for such thing.

You could hear a pin drop when she leans in to kiss you just on the corner of your mouth. It is the quickest kiss you have ever experienced and leaves you frozen in place. Did she really just do that in front of the team?

"Thank you Y/N"

She walks away without saying another word. If she were to turn around you would the smugness of her face. After finding out you wanted to pursue something more with her, Alexia bided her time, waiting to strike. Her injury made her feel helpless but she needed to she you just how daring she can be.

"Scheiße" you run your fingers through your hair as you try to bury the desire to go after the Catalonian and finish what she started.

"How's that will power now?" Caro teased you.

In that moment you regretted confiding in the Norwegian about your feelings for the captain.

"On the verge of being non existent"

"Can we get some cold water for the keeper please" Mapi jokes.

Since that day Alexia wasted no opportunity she had to tease and rile you up. It's as if coming to terms with her scar was the last thing on her list, other than her first game but that was coming soon. She had been given the clear the start training with the ball and when it came to set pieces and ball in motion training she requested that you be in goal because she knew you wouldn't takei it easy on her and that she would have to earn a goal with you in between the sticks.

Weeks pass and soon enough it is Alexia's first game back. The way the crowd erupts as she enters the pitch at the 67th minute is enough to make goosebumps rise to the surface of your skin. It showed just how much this club loves her and seeing a stray tear fall down her cheek shows you what the club means to her.

When the final whistle is blown the team waste no time in celebrating the return of their captain but you choose to observe from a distance. You were still new to the team and you didn't want to intrude on a moment between family because that's what this team was.

As Alexia walks towards you she has a huge smile on her face and you know exactly what she is feeling. Even the way she walked was different, it's almost as if she was lighter.

You open your arms out expecting a short hug but Alexia's arms tighten around you and you feel her tears fall down your neck.

"It's ok, let it out"

She takes a few moment to gather her emotions and with a deep breathe she pulls away to face you.

"I'm back on the pitch. You know what this means"

Of course you did. you haven't been able to think about anything else since the team got told about Alexia's return game.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at 6"

"That's it?" you knew alexia had a need for control and her knowing only when you'll pick her up sent her inner control freak into panic.

"That's all you need to know for now"

The two of you do a lap around El Johan as you take up the atmosphere. It truly was like nothing else you've experienced before, the support of the fans was unmatched. In the past few months you surprised yourself at the amount of restraint you showed Alexia but in this moment it was worth it. She was fit, healthy and back doing the thing she loved.  

[northoftheroad]

Ten-ish panels to sum up Dick Grayson

@roma107 challenged me some time back: “10 Nightwing Panels That Perfectly Sum Up His Character. Your turn. Go.” It’s been hard to even get close, and in the end I couldn't quite keep it to ten panels... But, enjoy disagreeing with me all the same. 😉

1. Robin vol 2 # 13 (1995)

Dick has issues with Bruce – they have had occasional problems with communication since the early 1940s – but he is loyal to a fault.

2. Teen Titans vol 3 # 6 (2004)

Just about every one of DC’s heroes respects, trusts and is prepared to listen to Dick. Obviously, that's not because he's a nice guy – which he is, don't get me wrong – or because he puts in the work with relationships – which he does. That may make people like you, but it's not enough to get them to follow you into battle...

No, that's because he's smart, professional and competent. As you see here, he can also be intense and knows how to make a dramatic entrance...

3. World's Finest Comics vol 1 # 200 (1971)

Dick is (often, but not always) ready with a smile and a joke. He loved being Robin as a kid, he wanted to do it forever (see, for instance, Nightwing vol 2 # 75). As Batman after Final Crisis, he smiled enough to convince Two-Face it wasn't the old Batman.

To what extent Dick jokes because he's in a good mood, he’s trying to keep his spirits up or he wants to annoy criminals enough to gaude them into sloppy mistakes – it varies between creators and Dick’s mood at the time😉

However, there have certainly been periods when Dick has not put on his best behaviour. He snaps at Alfred, he's unpleasant to close friends in the Titans, etc. I'd argue this is a sign he's not in a good place, mentally. Most of the panels of short fuse/asshole Dick Grayson you will find floating around are either from when he was leading The Outsiders (vol 3), and was struggling after the death of Donna Troy. Or from the almost five years' worth of New Teen Titans comics where his behaviour is influenced by being tortured and brainwashed by Brother Blood (New Teen Titans vol 1 # 22, August 1982, to New Teen Titans # 31, May 1987).

Alternate panel: Teen Titans vol 2 # 12 (1997)

4. Battle for the Cowl # 3 (2009)

Dick is prepared to change. Whether it's about a new mantle, getting a new job to pay the bills, or moving to a new city.

5. The New Teen Titans vol 2 # 6 (1985)

Dick might drop everything when somebody asks for help, and he is open to asking for help and working with teams better than Batman. But he does have his own set of control issues. He wants to have a job instead of living on Bruce’s money; he wants to know how to cook etc so he can take care of himself. You could argue it's a response to being orphaned and losing his home at a young age, and then having several episodes when he doesn't feel secure about his place with Bruce Wayne (see, for instance Robin Year One, Batman plays a lone hand in Batman vol 1 # 13, Partner to Batman in Batman vol 1 # 65)

6. Action comics weekly # 613 (1988)

Dick is uncomfortable with casual relationships/sex. When he had a fling with Huntress (Nightwing/Huntress, 1988–1989), he tried to start a relationship. It took him a long time to accept that he could live with Kory after she had gone through with a marriage of state on her home planet, and he felt strange living with her because they weren't married (see NTT vol 2 #48).

7. Detective Comics vol 1 # 881 (2011)

Dick is a nice guy who chooses to be kind, optimistic and to give people the benefit of a doubt – but he's still sneaky and definitely not stupid.

8. Titans vol 1 # 3 (1999)

Yes, Dick jokes a lot, and he enjoys hanging out with his friends. But he's also a workaholic and holds himself to a very high standard.

Alternate panel: New Teen Titans vol 1 # 29 (1983)

9. Nightwing vol 4 # 41 (2018)

He has a tendency to self-blame - and he is also very stubborn! Presumably, the tendency to feel guilty over things outside his control is partly survivor's guilt, but also related to the very high standards he holds himself to, and the very high expectations others have on him. And, I would argue, this tendency is a reason he sometimes lets friends an family punish him without fighting back.

Bonus panel: sometimes, he can admit he has a problem with self-blame. The New Titans vol 1 # 57 (1989)

10. Nightwing vol 3 # 29 (2014)

He wants to be a safety net for everyone. That's a good summary of Nightwing as a character, in my opinion.

And... Nightwing vol 4 # 43 (2018)

Bonus. This one-shot is a good Nightwing story, but very unfair on Roy Harper/Arsenal. It touches on several things – how Dick is always ready to help, that he does not want to be like Batman, his tendency to blame himself...

[marzipanandminutiae]

A Crimson Peak Timeline

(based on the art book, documents shown onscreen in the movie, and the character bios GDT wrote- where the bios don't contradict film canon. I've attempted to combine the two where contradicting elements are unavoidable.

Sometime during the reign of Charles II (1660-1685). Edward Sharpe created Baronet for services to the crown in providing clay for construction projects. Allerdale Hall built in the parish of Above Derwent, Cumberland, England.

1841. Carter Everett Cushing born the second son of six in an impoverished family that traveled the eastern US for his father's masonry business.

1863. Beatrice Alexandra Chetwynde, eldest daughter of a large, wealthy family, marries Baronet James William Sharpe. The marriage is contracted solely for the Chetwyndes' land, which adjoins the Sharpe estate.

April 1, 1865. Lucille Sharpe born.

Sometime between 1865 and ~1873. Carter marries 18-year-old socialite Eleanor Wyndham-Beckford, to the immense disapproval of her family. Though she is disowned and the couple struggles to make ends meet for years, Carter ultimately becomes a successful developer.

February 18, 1867. Thomas Sharpe born.

C. 1867-1872. The Sharpes employ a wet nurse- and later nanny -named Theresa, who would become the only adult to care about the children in their lives. She would ultimately be sacked after Beatrice caught young Lucille snuggling with her for warmth on a winter's night (on the grounds that a noble child should not be close with servants- a "crime" for which Lucille was beaten severely).

1876. 11-year-old Lucille murders her father with poison distilled from mine tailings, after he took Thomas on a hunting trip and left him in the woods to die of exposure.

Late 1876? A mining vein near Allerdale Hall collapses, killing several child mine-workers. I could have sworn I read somewhere that James foolishly dug a mining tunnel under the house shortly before his death, and that's what destabilized it, but I can't find it now.

October 9, 1877. Edith M. Cushing born, after Eleanor had suffered several miscarriages.

1878. Thomas and Lucille begin a secret sexual relationship.

Early August, 1879. Beatrice catches Lucille and Thomas together; Lucille murders her to keep their secret. The siblings try to run away together but are caught and brought back. Thomas is sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Whitehaven (who in turn send him to boarding school), while Lucille is forced into a mental institution.

Probably summer, 1885. Thomas finishes his schooling and rescues Lucille; they return to Allerdale.

1887. The Sharpe siblings travel to London seeking investors for Thomas' venture to reopen the mines. A wealthy, terminally ill gentleman, Major Richard Upton, takes a liking to Thomas and begs Thomas to marry his disabled daughter, Pamela. At Lucille's urging- since they're running out of both options and money -Thomas agrees. The two attempt to poison Pamela to death, but Lucille ends up strangling her instead.

Sometime between October 1887 and October 1888. Eleanor Cushing dies of cholera and appears to Edith as a ghost.

Early-mid 1890s. Carter and the recently widowed Mrs. McMichael have a brief flirtation that both Edith and Eunice oppose. Though it goes nowhere, the rift between the two girls is never healed.

Late October or November 1892. Edith (age 15) becomes infatuated with a 25-year-old poet who is having marital difficulties. After convincing Carter to hire him as a tutor, all unknowing, she confesses her feelings to him. He not only takes his leave of the Cushing family, but of Buffalo itself, quickly moving away with his wife and children.

1893. The Sharpes travel to Edinbrugh, where Thomas again finds no investors but does attract the attention of a 36-year-old widow of means, Margaret McDermott. Once again, he marries her and helps Lucille poison her, though she is ultimately killed via blunt force trauma.

Summer 1893. Edith asks her best friend, Alan McMichael, to kiss her so she can write about kisses more accurately. It means nothing to her, but sparks an unrequited passion in Alan

1896. Lucille falls pregnant by Thomas. He travels with her to Italy, which he loves and she despises. There he meets a wealthy woman named Enola Sciotti, widowed and bereaved of her only child, and decides of his own accord to marry and murder her in their usual fashion. The Sharpes and Enola return to Allerdale.

1897. Lucille is delivered of a son, who may or may not be sickly. Enola tries to care for her and the child, promising she can save him. The baby either dies of natural causes or Lucille smothers him under the conviction that his cries mean something is terribly wrong with him and he can't live- this is one contradiction in the bios vs. the movie that I prefer to leave vague, since it's possible not even Lucille remembers what happened. Either way, she blames Enola and dispatches her by unknown means. Thomas patents his excavating machine.

Late summer(?) 1901. Alan returns from studying medicine in London and sets up an ophthalmology practice in Buffalo. Edith's debut novel, Figures In The Mist, is rejected for publication by Oglivie and Sons. Thomas seeks investment in the mines from Cushing and Co., unsuccessfully. Edith and the Sharpes begin a friendship. Edith sees her mother's ghost for the second time.

September 14, 1901. President William McKinley dies after being shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. I include this because the fact that the movie doesn't is hilarious to me.

October 21, 1901. At the Cushings' dinner party, Carter bribes the Sharpes to leave, instructing Thomas to break Edith's heart or he'll tell her about the marriage to Pamela. A deleted scene reveals that he was on the verge of relenting and investing in the mines when he read the private investigator's report.

October 22, 1901. Lucille murders Carter at his club, then departs to return to England. Thomas and Edith become engaged.

Late October-early November 1901. Thomas and Edith are married and travel to Allerdale.

November-December 1901 (possibly into early 1902?). The rest of the movie's plot.

[thegainingdesk]

Beach Body

Chapter 1

"So she does this every single year for her birthday?" I asked. "What if she wants to do something else?"

"It's a tradition!" Natasha insisted. "It's fun. No, really, it is! Oh, look out for a turning on the left."

"I hate these tiny country roads. And what if it rains one year?" I pointed out.

"It's the start of August, it doesn't rain. There it is, can you see?"

"It can rain in August." I wouldn't let go of this. I turned down the track she'd pointed out.

"There's a pub! We all go to the pub in the village and get pissed instead of having a barbecue on the beach, okay? And it's obviously not going to rain today." Natasha was obviously right about that, bright sunshine illuminating the Welsh countryside around us. "Look, I really don't know what you're worried about."

"I just don't know why I was invited. I've only - there's a car ahead, do you reckon they'll get past if I stop here? - I've only been working with you all for a couple of months, I basically only know you and Jackie." Even I had to admit that I was starting to border on whining at this point.

"But we really like you! And this is a great way to get to know people! Sun, food, a few drinks-"

"I'm driving," I pointed out, interrupting her.

"Well it's bad if you can only have fun if you've gotten drunk," Natasha scolded.

"That's not what I said at-"

"Here! Coming up! Do you see the car park on the left?"

I sighed and parked up, greeting Jackie and a large group of her friends, some familiar, some not. We grabbed various bags of food, drinks and blankets out of the car while we waited for the last few people to arrive. I greeted the few people I knew and introduced myself to some others, promptly forgetting half a dozen names.

Armed with a cool bag of meat slung over one shoulder, and a portable barbecue awkwardly tucked into the crook of my elbow, I joined the line of people making their way across the zigzagging tracks over the dunes leading to the beach. The dunes, while beautiful, were difficult to traverse, and the group split up into small parties, each determined that they'd found the easiest route around or over the steep mounds of sand.

"I'm just saying," I said quietly to Natasha after dropping the barbecue for the third time, looking around to check that Jackie wasn't close enough to hear, "that they are easier beaches to have a barbecue at, y'know."

A loud laugh from behind us, and I turned to see a handsome man I hadn't spoken to yet. "It is a really stupid beach, to be fair," he said, a wide smile on his face.

Jackie's voice came faintly from the next dune over. "What was that?"

"I said it's a fucking stupid beach!" the man called back. He caught my eye, and I must have looked taken aback because he explained: "I'm her brother, I'm allowed to tell her that her annual beach birthday's rubbish." I laughed. "Chris," he stretched a hand out.

I could see the family resemblance to Jackie - the same nose, the same dark blonde hair. Chris immediately put me at ease, with a thick blonde beard framing a constant smile, and deep smile lines around his eyes, despite looking like he was in his early thirties. His handsome face and deep voice set a tingle in my swim shorts.

I took his hand and shook it. "Adam. You must have been doing this your whole life then?"

He laughed loudly. "You'd hope so! No, this is actually a tradition she came up with at about twenty."

"Oh! I sort of assumed it was a childhood thing," I replied.

"That's what she wants you to think. I personally think twenty-eight is a little old to insist on being a special little birthday girl" he shouted this last part across the dunes, and a quiet "fuck off Chris!" came in reply, before he turned to me, and quietly now "but that's just me."

I laughed, his infectious good mood making me forget my earlier reservations about the day. By this point, Natasha was well ahead with some other people from the office and Chris and I were left alone.

"So you work with Jackie?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, just started a few months ago," I replied.

"Enjoying it?"

"Yeah! It's a nice company, people are really friendly." Speaking to Chris, even my boring job was sounding better.

"You're going to have to explain what it is you do, Jackie's never actually been able to make me understand."

"So I'm on the software side, I develop the algorithms that we use to…" I caught myself, realising I was being boring. "I do things with computers that make them make money," I joked.

"Oh my god, I love computers and money!"

"And what about you? What do you do?" I asked.

"Very similar. Computers, money. Sometimes meetings."

"Meetings! Exotic. Is that around Cardiff as well?" I asked.

"Edinburgh." My heart sank, my already slim chances of a date with a handsome, funny man disappearing to nothing. "As much as I think this annual beach birthday is silly, it at least forces me to come back and see everyone."

We walked on for a while, making easy conversation with each other. After a while Chris turned to me. "It's nice to have someone to chat to at this thing. Usually it's just Jackie's work friends talking about office drama and her uni friends talking about decade-old gossip, with me in the middle."

"Surely there's the rest of the family?"

"Nah, she insists on it being young people, but we don't have any cousins, so it ends up just being me. We always do a family thing another night," he shrugged. "Still," he caught my eye and smiled, "I reckon this one will be good."

We heard a small cheer of celebration up ahead as the people in front arrived on the beach, and we sped up, running awkwardly through the sand of the dunes. When we arrived, we dumped our bags in a small pile and helped to spread out the blankets.

I took off my shoes before hesitating, self-conscious of my body. I had a perfectly average body, maybe a little too tall and skinny, but I was always nervous of taking my shirt off in front of other people, lacking the washboard abs and bulging muscles of seemingly all of my friends. I looked around and told myself that no-one would pay me any attention, but I froze, fingers on my top button.

While the other men were wearing swim shorts in various lengths and colours, Chris had stripped off both his fun Hawaiian shirt and particularly short shorts to reveal a pair of bright flowery speedos. His shirt was hiding a subtly chunky body, with a roll of fat sticking out ever so slightly above the colourful lycra, and below, thick legs pooched out ever so slightly where the speedos cut into them. All of this was covered in a veritable pelt of hair, hiding the slight softness of his body.

Chris looked up and caught my eye, and I realised I was staring. I looked away quickly, but could have sworn he gave me a small wink. Emboldened by Chris' confidence and by the lack of notice everyone was paying him, despite the amount of skin he was showing, I unbuttoned my shirt and put it with my shoes.

A while later I walked up to Chris who was manning the various barbecues and settled down next to him. Droplets of salt water still clung to my skin and in my dark chest hair, and I thought the effect was quite sexy, if you ignored all the sand that was sticking to me as well.

"The sea good?" he asked.

"Fucking freezing," I replied.

He smiled and held out a beer to me.

I put up a hand. "Designated driver I'm afraid."

"Fair enough," he pulled the top off and began to drink it himself.

"Are you always in charge of the barbecue?" I asked.

He nodded. "And the beer cooler. It means I get to have more than anyone else without anyone calling me out on it."

I gave a small chuckle. "Good plan," I told him, and took a cheeky look sideways at him. Sure enough, his hairy stomach did look a touch more bloated than it had done earlier. "So your umm…" I cringed at the words even as I formed them, "your girlfriend couldn't make it today?" Smooth Adam. Real smooth.

"Ah, no. My, well my boyfriend had to work." My heart sank. Still, I noticed that his smile shrank ever so slightly when he mentioned his boyfriend.

"Oh! Sorry to assume, I didn't mean to-" I flustered.

"No! No, it's fine really. It happens. Do you? Have a boyfriend?" He held my eyes. "Or girlfriend? Or boyfriend?" His smile was growing again.

"Nope. Single. I broke up with my last boyfriend a while ago." I stressed the word boyfriend more than I meant to. Despite the 400 miles we lived apart, and his boyfriend, I still felt the need to make sure he knew I was gay as well.

"Oh I'm sorry," Chris said.

"Not at all, it was a while ago," I smiled at him. "Just, you know, enjoying being single."

"Yeah, I miss it a little sometimes," Chris said, and I detected an ever so slight sadness in his voice, but he quickly covered it up with his usual, unchanging smile. My heart leapt a little. He was probably just making small talk, sympathising with the lonely singleton, but a boy could dream, couldn't he?

Chris offered me a chicken drumstick. "Have you tried these? They've got like a Korean marinade thing, they're gorgeous. It's like bitter and sweet at the same time. I've had about ten."

I reached over and took it from him, taking a small bite. It was good, and I duly gave a small hum in agreement, but I wouldn't say they were exceptional. Chris picked up on my silence and laughed. "It's probably just me," he told me. "Jackie's always said I'm like a labrador when it comes to food. Food motivated." He beamed at me and picked up another chicken leg, his eyes closing in bliss as he chewed.

I readjusted my shorts ever so slightly. My attraction to Chris was growing as I got to know him - his constant cheerfulness, his small jokes, the way he didn't seem to care what anyone thought about him.

Later that day, I drove back in silence, Natasha passed out after a day of gin in the sun. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face, as I thought back to the day I'd spent mainly with Chris. Despite all the reasons I could never realistically go out with him, I was utterly besotted by the man. I found myself surprised that I was already looking forward to Jackie's 29th.

Chapter 2

"Adam!" Chris called, almost as soon as I'd come from behind the last dune before the beach. "Great to see you!"

I grinned, a little embarrassed. I'd never be able to be so open about being so excited to see someone, but then that's exactly what attracted me to him last year. Paul, a friend from the office, gave me a confused glance which I purposefully ignored. "Hey," I greeted Chris, "looking good man!"

This, I thought to myself, was very true. He was wearing the same flowery speedo as last year, but it now looked positively painted on. He'd clearly put on some weight, last year's roll of flab turning into a sack of fat, suspended above the tight swimwear. His thighs had faint criss-crosses around the tops, not quite hidden by the thick hair there, and his chest now stood ever so slightly forward and down - he didn't quite have moobs, but there were certainly small pockets of fat that weren't there last year. He'd shaved his beard down to stubble, showing just a hint of a double chin forming below his jawline. While I'd never particularly gone in for the overly-ripped, action-man physique, I was still surprised by how much I enjoyed the changes to Chris' body.

I followed Chris back to where some barbecues were already set up. "Got a beer for me in one of those boxes?"

He passed one over. "Not driving this year?"

I nodded over to Natasha, who had a small crowd around her cooing over a small bump at her midriff. "Natasha's pregnant so she's not drinking anyway."

"Handy!" He clinked his bottle against mine and took a swig. I took my shirt off and was pleased to see Chris' eyes rake up and down my body, taking it in. "Sun's out, guns out, eh? You're looking fit!"

I smiled at the compliment and thanked him. I'd taken advantage of the company gym a fair amount over the past year, and for the first time ever I felt like my body could be described by more adjectives than just 'lanky'. I gave a small, joking flex, quietly proud of my beach body and was surprised when Chris reached out and gave my bicep a squeeze. "Looking good," he repeated.

We caught up for a while, taking advantage of being in charge of guarding the beer coolers, Chris eating seemingly almost constantly. While I'd thought back again and again to last year, I'd forgotten just how easy Chris was to talk to, and how much I enjoyed his company.

A few beers in, my courage picked up. "Boyfriend not here again?" I asked bluntly.

He looked confused. "Boyfriend? What do you- oh, John? God, you've got a good memory. No, he cheated on me, I found out around Christmas-ish."

"Oh god, I'm sorry. What an arsehole." I clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, fuck him, y'know."

He laughed at this. "Fuck him! Funnily enough, that's what my mate Sarah did." He laughed again, clearly unbothered.

"Hey! Bisexual affair though! Very modern, very progressive," I joked

He nodded, still laughing, and I watched intently as his paunch shook. "That is a big comfort to me, that at least he cheated on me in a diverse way." His smile grew lopsided as he looked at me, and he shuffled a touch closer to me. "And you? Got a boyfriend on the scene?" He'd lowered his voice now.

"Umm, nope. No. No boyfriend. Some tinder dates, you know but umm," I looked down at his lips. "Single. You know. Available. For stuff."

He nodded and looked around at what everyone else was doing. "The dunes are lovely. To walk around. And stuff. If you wanted to-"

"I want to. Yep. Absolutely. Lovely dunes." I nodded furiously, the sudden movement making me feel more drunk. "The ecosystems and the, uh, crescent shapes."

"Fucking love an ecosystem," Chris said, standing up while he fished out another couple of beers to take with us and quickly grabbed one last hot dog to take with him.

We ran up the closest dune, laughing, and practically fell down the other side. Chris grabbed my hand and led me a bit further on, before pulling me towards him and kissing me, having to reach up slightly to account for the several inches of height difference between us. I melted into him, my shoulders immediately releasing tension I didn't know I was holding, and I ran my fingers through his hair.

The combination of beers, sun and arousal made us act like schoolboys having their first kiss. We stumbled again and again as we continued to walk through the dunes, not paying enough to where we were going, our hands grabbing at each other's bodies the whole way, and giggling breathlessly.

Chris' hand moved down to my swim shorts, and he pulled away slightly, his tongue briefly coming out to wet his lips as his hand rested on my straining cock. "Enjoying yourself I see?"

"Very much so," I replied, pulling him closer to kiss him again. My own hand moved down to his own crotch and I cupped his bulge through his speedos, running my fingers along his length before grasping his hard cock through the lycra. He exhaled shakily and I felt his body tense slightly as I stroked him, grabbing at the fat at his sides as I did so, kissing him deeply the entire time.

Chris stepped back and pulled me down onto the steep sand with him, grabbing my own cock beneath my shorts and began pumping his hand slowly. I pushed him back and pulled down his speedos and my shorts around our thighs. I sat up and straddled him before I grabbed both our cocks in one hand, my long fingers struggling around them both, and began stroking us off together. Chris gave a breathless laugh and laid back, his eyes rolling up into his head in pleasure. I kept my eyes open, watching the shaking of his beef with each small twitch of his body. Chris began to gently girate his hips and I sped my hand up, the fingers of my other hand probing into his flesh, the fat pooling up around them. I heard Chris' breath catch and I relaxed my body, letting my own climax come, so that we both sprayed thick jets of cum up his body at the same time.

I rolled off him and lay next to him, both of us catching our breath. He shifted his weight, rolling over slightly to kiss me. "That", he whispered, "was really fucking hot."

I laughed and nodded. "You know, I really feel like we haven't explored these dunes very much yet."

He took on a faux serious expression and nodded. "I personally don't feel I've seen enough of the unique flora and fauna endemic to Welsh dune ecosystems." He stood up, struggling to pull his too tight swimsuit back up his thighs, and I followed suit, my own swimsuit coming up easily. "There's a sort of cove-y inlet-y thing, that way," he said, pointing, "that's pretty secluded. We could clean ourselves up and explore a little more." He spread his arms out and motioned down at his sticky torso before wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Sounds perfect," I agreed, taking his hand.

A couple of hours later, we stumbled back onto the beach, Chris making a beeline for the barbecue. Thankfully, someone had taken over his duties so there was plenty of food for him to grab. My friend Paul sauntered over and raised an eyebrow suggestively. "You look like you've had a good time."

"We just went for a walk. It's very beautiful around here," I protested.

"Very beautiful," Paul nodded, his voice thick with sarcasm. "I wouldn't have had you down as a chubby chaser."

"What? I'm not a chub- nothing happened! And he's not chubby! That's very rude. And nothing happened anyway!" I could hear my voice go up too high as I blatantly lied.

"No, no, absolutely, I believe you," Paul said. "Your shorts are on backwards by the way."

I felt my face go even redder, if that was possible. I was saved from my embarrassment by Chris returning with a beer for me, and we moved towards the sea for a swim.

"Listen, I know you'll be going back to Edinburgh, but if you're around this week for a drink or something…" I suggested, once we were in the cold water.

The smile on Chris' face completely faded for the first time since I'd met him, not even a joking undertone left. "I'm going back tomorrow morning. 6 am flight."

I forced a smile. "Yeah, of course! That's fine, of course. You'd have wanted to spend time with your family anyway."

"No, no, I'd love to, I would. I really would." Chris looked genuinely sorry. "It just didn't work out. I'm sorry."

Later on, I sat in the back of Natasha's car, exhausted from a mixture of alcohol, food, sun and sex. Natasha was explaining to Annie in the front seat about how she'd actually had so much more fun while not drinking, and she was so embarrassed for all of us, convincing no-one, when Paul leaned over from the other side of the back seat.

"He seemed nice", he offered.

"Yeah, nice," I replied distantly.

"You guys going to see each other again?" he asked.

I shook my head. "He lives in Edinburgh."

"Shit, I'm sorry. Will he be there next year do you reckon?"

I gave a small smile. "Yeah, next year maybe."

Chapter 3

I got to the beach first, the usual work group trailing behind me. I was desperately trying to seem cool and calm, but I knew I was failing miserably. I looked around for Chris but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Jackie! Hey! Happy Birthday! Thirty! The big one!" I ignored her angry reply about how she didn't want to be thirty yet. "Yep. Uh-huh. Absolutely. Got to hate the linear flow of time. Anyway, Chris not here yet? He usually comes to this, right? Can't miss the big day!"

"Oh, do you two know each other? Yeah, he's going to be late, he was visiting our grandma so he's coming all the way from St Davids," she said the name of it like a joke, and I duly laughed, never quite getting the hang of Jackie. Me and Chris had texted a few times in the past year, but I'd been too nervous to ask him directly about coming to his sister's birthday, so I was relieved to hear he was coming.

An hour and a half and a few beers later, I heard a wolf-whistle behind me. "You've joined the speedo club I see!" I turned around to see Chris approaching me, fat jiggling with each heavy footstep. I'd been inspired by his confidence and my own improving physique to opt for something skimpier this time, and was happy to see that he hadn't worn anything less revealing.

It was clear that last year's weight gain wasn't a one-off. While before, he might be able to get away with being charitably called stout or burly, he was downright fat now. His gut was now a heavy, near-perfect sphere, bulging out to the sides and slightly sagging down in front of him, with genuine tits, round, plump sacks of flesh that sat on top of his belly. His always present smile now pushed two chubby cheeks out like a hamster, and he'd regrown his beard, much thicker than before, in a clear and futile attempt to cover a rounding jawline.

I matched his beaming smile and walked towards him, grabbing a beer and a burger on the way for him. I handed them over and slapped a hand onto his gut, emboldened by the few drinks I'd had while waiting. "You've got some new speedos yourself I see," I said quietly.

He twisted and pulled his gut out of the way to look, before looking back at me. "Ah, yeah, the other ones," he looked away sheepishly, "don't really fit anymore."

I bit my lip. "I'm sure they don't," I said jokingly. He smiled nervously back at me.

"Listen, I'm going to have a swim, grab some food. I'll talk to you later, alright." I watched him walk away, deflated. Did he regret last year? Or maybe something had happened, to make him so frosty? A new boyfriend maybe?

I sat and drank on a large rock, until he walked over to me and sat down next to me. Despite my nervousness, I thrilled at the thick fat on his sides brushing against my arm.

"I've been thinking about you, this year," he said finally. I looked over, heart rising.

"Me too," I replied with a smile.

His face broke into its usual grin. "Good. Good. I was a bit nervous, since you didn't text or anything. I wasn't really sure if you'd come."

"I thought the same, honestly," I confessed.

"And then," he continued, "I arrived and saw you looking really fucking good," he reached over and squeezed my strong thigh, "and I thought maybe I'd gotten too fat for you." His face had become bright red as he said this.

I laughed at him. "I like it. Really. It works for you. You carry it really well." I reached out and squeezed his own thick thigh, the fat feeling like butter beneath the skin.

"So you're into fat guys, hey?" He was still smiling, but looked a little embarrassed.

I shook my head. "Not really. I'm into you though."

His smile grew even wider. "I'm into you too." He reached out and held my hand. "I tried to diet for a bit," he confessed after a while.

"I can't imagine you dieting. You're way too confident. Like, you don't care what people think. It's sexy," I told him

"Well it turns out I'm not very good at it. I didn't actually lose any weight. But, y'know, I had the thought. Downloaded an app and everything."

"What was the app?" I asked, quietly laughing.

He shrugged. "It counted calories, told me when I was being a fat arse. Turns out I was probably supposed to do something with that information."

"Probably," I agreed.

Eventually, I realised his cheeks weren't getting any less red. "You're burning," I said, jumping up, "I'll go get some sun cream."

"I'm fine! I'm fine, really, I don't burn" he grabbed my hand to pull me back down but I pulled away.

"You're bright red. I'll get you some food and beer while I grab it," I promised. He relented, pleased that eating and drinking would now be involved.

I came back with my hands full, and passed everything over. I sat behind him and squirted some sun cream onto his back while he ate, and started rubbing it in wide circles. I relished the feel of his soft fat under my fingers, sliding my fingers deep into the crevices and folds of his body, and grabbing thick slabs of beef, all in the name of his skin health. I repeated the process on his front, exploring his soft tits, and hefting his gut up towards his face before letting it go and watching the ripples move through his body. I lingered for far longer than was necessary, tangling my fingers into the hair that covered his body, down from his shoulders, spreading across his torso and arms.

A while later, we both lay sunbathing on the sand, Chris barely moving, while I'd periodically jump up to grab him a snack. I handed him a burger and he propped himself up on his elbows and looked at me. "Listen, I'm not going home for another few days, and I've got a room at the village pub. Did you want to come for dinner? Maybe stay the night?"

"Dinner? You've been eating all day!" I responded.

"I've been snacking all day, I'll need a proper meal," he explained. I could see why he'd put on so much weight.

"That sounds good though, yeah. We need to make sure you don't waste away."

We fell into bed that night, Chris' stomach stretched tight and even rounder than earlier. I pulled off his too small t-shirt, unaccustomed to seeing him in clothes at all. I watched him for a minute or two try to take his shorts off, the button pulled tight by his heavy gut above. I took pity on him and made him suck his gut in, which he managed to, with difficulty, just enough for me to free the button and pull down the zipper, to reveal his aching cock straining against his speedos, still on from earlier.

"There's some condoms and lube in my suitcase," he told me.

"Someone was confident!" I said, but fetched them nonetheless.

He struggled to sit up, his full gut getting in the way, so I pushed him back down. "Don't you worry big guy, I'll do all the work." I sat next to him on the bed and helped him rub his gut, filled with a day's worth of barbecue and beer, and topped off with a heavy dinner, including dessert. He groaned, and I kissed him deeply. I pulled off his speedos, and his dick sprung up, slapping against his distended belly, smearing it with a spot of pre-cum.

We spent the night fucking, being as gentle as possible with Chris' overfull stomach. We spent the next day together as well, lounging on the beach, and I called in sick to work on Monday so we could spend one last day together. As I got out of Chris' car outside my house, he got out and kissed me, making me promise to stay in touch.

Chapter 4

I walked out onto the beach and made a beeline for Chris, pulling my shirt off as I approached him. He'd continued to gain weight, and his ball gut had expanded out, retaining its spherical shape but sagging down, with a deep cavernous belly button at its centre. Thick love handles sat either side of the giant gut, and above it his ample tits sat thick, beginning to droop ever so slightly towards his sides. His thighs were like tree trunks and were easily larger around than my waist, and between them I could just make out a bright flash of fabric, his speedos almost completely covered up from the front.

"They still make those in that size?" I teased him as I reached him.

"Well I don't think they don't make them too much bigger," he laughed.

"You've got your bags?" I asked.

He nodded. "In Jackie's car. You're not driving anyone back?"

"Nope, free to go as soon as we're done here." I grinned at him, excited about our planned week in Cornwall. "You can have a drink though, if you want, don't worry."

He shook his head. "I'm happy just spending some time with you."

I smiled at him and gave him a kiss. Some work friends looked over curiously, but I saw Paul and Natasha lean over to fill them in on all the gossip.

"We'll be the talk of your office will we?" Chris asked.

"Oh, hardly. It turns out Greg might actually be the father of Natasha's baby, so we'll barely be a blip on their radar."

"Oh my god!" Chris said. "I don't know who any of those people are!"

I laughed and led him over to the barbecue.

As we drove away that evening to my house, I looked over at Chris, as he snored faintly. He'd not had anything to drink, but he'd eaten so much over the course of the day that getting back over the sand dunes had been a genuine issue, and by the time we got back to the car park everyone except Jackie and her fiancé had long gone. Jackie passed over Chris' bags and I put them in the boot while Chris collapsed into the front seat, the car dipping dramatically on that side.

That night lacked the urgency of the other times we'd met, not driven by lust, but rather just enjoying each others' company. We watched a movie while I snuggled into his side, sinking into his soft fat like a pillow. The next morning I made a large breakfast before we set off on our holiday.

Chapter 5

I walked out of the sand dunes and was almost immediately accosted by old colleagues. "How's Edinburgh?" Paul asked.

"Great! Really, really great! The job's basically the same thing, computers, money, meetings, you know," I replied.

"And Chris? How's he?" Natasha asked.

"He's great too, we've settled really well into living together, it just all works."

"Is he coming or…?"

I turned around to look at the dunes. "He's just taken the scenic route, he'll be here in a bit." For the most part I'd gotten used to walking at Chris' slower pace, and kept with him for most of the walk, but had run ahead at the last couple of dunes. Sure enough, after a minute or two he appeared between the bases of two dunes.

He'd put on more weight while we were living together, but he'd slowed down a little recently. Still, he was clearly bigger than the last time we were here, one year ago. While the changes might not be so obvious to a lot of people, just a fat man getting fatter, I noticed them all. His stomach stuck out just that bit more, his sides that much wider, his legs that much softer.

He walked over to me (waddled might be more accurate, I pondered, especially on the soft sand), and gave me a peck on the cheek. We put our bags down a convenient distance to the food, and stripped down to our speedos, Chris' once again new to stretch across his added weight.

"Fancy a swim?" Chris asked me, already walking towards the water.

"Sounds good," I said, quickly catching up to him. "Maybe afterwards we can go for a walk through the dunes?" I raised my eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh fuck off!" Chris said. "I'm not going back through those, I'm knackered after that walk. You're just going to have to wank me off in front of everyone, if it comes to it."

I laughed and kissed him on the cheek, admiring the plush softness. "Well hopefully it won't come to that."

"Why not?" Chris asked, joking. "Do you not think I'm beach body ready?"

[sommerregenjuniluft]

@jegulus-microfic august 31 - takeout - 433words

welcome to part 1 of lune generating random dates for the jegulus microfic prompts she hasn't done yet

feat. jeggie granddads<3

James gently traps Regulus’ wool socketed foot under the table where they’re both bent over their takeout boxes of fried rice at Harry’s dining table.

Regulus sends his husband a look which this one ignores in favor of stealing some of the mushrooms from between Regulus’ rice.

Regulus wiggles his toes and steals a big piece of pak choi from James.

They headed straight to their son’s after landing in London, coming in from Barbados. It’s around 3 in the afternoon and they’re bearing one hell of a jetlag and also hunger at an odd time of the day, not exactly lunch time anymore and definitely too early for dinner. 

Thus, takeout.

Sponsored by their lovely son.

“We’re back,” called from the front door, three sets of feet following Harry’s and then the slam of the front door.

“Chelsea, honey, door-handle,” Harry admonishes, “Door handle, please.”

“Sorry, da—”

“Pap is still at work. Who are you telling we’re back, who’s home?”

“Well,” Harry starts, but doesn’t come far when he’s interrupted by a shriek of, “Grandpas!” and then it’s those three sets of feet thundering down the short hall leading to the open kitchen.

James is already setting aside his fork and turning in his chair when Louis comes bolting around the doorframe only to be pushed aside by Teagan.

The ten year old immediately squeals and heads right for Regulus, as he knew she would, just as Chelsea passes Louis who’s grappling to get off the floor before they both come bounding into James’ waiting arms.

“Grandpooops,” Louis howls accompanied by Chelsea’s giggle as James squeezes them with a happy groan and kisses them all over their heads.

Regulus pulls his eldest granddaughter up into his lap after a tight hug and strokes her inky hair as she clings to him, smiling brightly.

Harry ducks into the room with a fond smile and three backpacks in hand.

Sets them down at the table as Louis starts prattling on about footie and Chelsea examines the two thin braids at the side of James’ neck.

“Kids, let your grandpas finish their meal and go wash your hands, huh?” Harry speaks up.

Regulus exchanges a look with his son when it becomes evident that he has clearly not been heard, who has his hands on his hips and is shaking his head, lips pursed around a smile.

Regulus shrugs with a smirk.

Harry narrows his eyes, points a lazy finger, “You’re already spoiling them.”

“No, that doesn’t sound like us,” Regulus responds. Sees James procuring two sweets from his jeans pocket in his periphery.

[truecrimetime]

The Disappearance of Amy Bradley

Amy Bradley was a 23-year-old Longwood University graduate who was on the Royal Caribbean International Cruise ship, Rhapsody of the Seas, at the time of her disappearance.

After midnight on March 23, 1998, Amy and her younger brother Brad headed to the ship's nightclub to go dancing. Records show that Brad decided to leave before Amy and ship's door lock show that he entered his cabin around 3:35 a.m. with Amy following just five minutes later. The two then chatted before heading to bed.

Ron, Amy's father woke up around 6:00 a.m. to check on his daughter who had earlier fallen asleep on the balcony but she was not there.  After Ron searched the common areas of the cruise, Ron woke up the rest of the family and told them Amy was missing at 6:30 a.m.

Amy’s family immediately reported the missing case to the onboard crew, pleading with them to keep the 2,000 passengers from disembarking the cruise and to make an announcement to assist in finding Amy. However, the team at the purser’s office informed them that it was too early to make a ship-wide announcement. The crew agreed to issue an announcement at 7:50 a.m. after a majority of the passengers left the ship announcing, "Will Amy Bradley please come to the purser’s desk?". Between 12:15 p.m. and 1:00 p.m., the cruise staff searched through the ship but could not find Amy. The delay that the crew put on the search and investigation of the disappearance has been said to have decreased the chance of finding Amy by allowing the passengers to disembark, ignoring the Bradley family's advice.

When authorities were alerted that Amy was missing, the Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard conducted a four-day search in the surrounding waters and along the cruise lines to no result. Authorities began to speculate that she may have fallen overboard and drowned, but investigators have rejected this theory as Amy was known to be a strong swimmer and searches turned up no sign of her.

There have been possible sightings of Bradley in Curaçao. In August 1998, tourists saw a woman resembling Bradley on a beach and in 1999 a member of the U.S. Navy claimed that a woman in a brothel said she was Bradley and asked him for help.

In the years following Amy's disappearance, there would arise some new evidence leading to theories including Amy being sold into human trafficking or potential remains.

[oracleofavallon]

My headcanons about Nero's mother/ Lady in Red :

- Her full name is Eleana Felicia Laguardia. (Eleana means daughter of the sun, Felicia means happiness, and Laguardia is a name given to sentinels/guardians)

- Her hair is crimson red in her younger days. It will darken with age. It will become scarlet red when she is older.

- Her eyes color is emerald green. She is 178 cm when she was young and will be 182 cm when she is older.

- Her zodiac sign is Leo, born on August 1st.

- Her personality is of someone who is very emphatic, someone who understands without words needing to be said. She can read Vergil like an open book, much to his annoyance at first, than to his relief later on. But she is not an easy person and will defend her opinion and the people she cares about fiercely. She is someone with a radiating aura, compared often to the Sun. Vergil, in particular, like her smile and her laugh that brings warmth his heart.

- She is Italian, born in Venice but her family came in Fortuna was she 2 years old.

- She has always been considered by the people of Fortuna as a mainlander despite living there for a long time.

- I like the idea that she is a knight of the Order the Sword. To me, she didn't conceal her gender because, in her opinion, being a woman shouldn't forbid her from being a knight. Unfortunately, this is not a common shared opinion in Fortuna.

-Thankfully, her mentor saw her potential and decided to train her by making her a squire anyway

- She would later gain the sacred sword Galatine and become the 26th Knight of the Sun. That sword is not native to Fortuna. It is a man who was the 25th Knight of the Sun that came to Fortuna to seek a successor to Galatine as he was getting old.

- Because of her gender, her origin and the fact she is not letting the others knights disrespect her as well being stronger than them in terms of swordsmanship, rumors started early on that she was a prostitute. This was made in order to discredit her in front of the people of Fortuna. The fact she got the scared sword made her more hated by her peers.

Her relationship with Vergil pt.1 :

- When she saw him in the crowd the first time, there was something in him that caught her attention. She thought he was a very handsome man but was quickly disappointed by his behavior on their actual first meeting. (This is how I tie up Vergil's intro in DMC4 SE with the headcanons below)

- I like the idea that she saved Vergil from a real bad injury from one of Mundus's servants and that when he woke up, he called her a foolish woman. (Probably because he thought that he didn't need someone to take care of him and that it was dangerous for a human to get near of him. Also, he was an arrogant idiot.) She definitely didn't let that slide and gave him a piece of her mind that surprised him. (Years later on, the others will know about how this is the first thing he said upon meeting his wife for the first time. Dante & Co. will tease him about that very often)

- She then cared for him until he was feeling better.

- As to why she did this would be because she is not the type to let someone injured alone. Also she can fight if the person turns out to be violent which would be why she isn't scared.

- They would meet at first occasionally by accident, then she would help him to get access to the library because she thinks it's better to guide him so she can keep an eye on him.

- To me, Vergil will be in denial over his feelings for her for one year. Mainly because he is not used to these feelings, also because he is at first, focused on getting more information about Sparda's power, not on love. Thus explaining why she couldn't be a one night stand.

- Since Vergil noticed that he was having feelings for Eleana, he would try to avoid her as much as he can. Unfortunately his heart wouldn't let him do so. Thus, he would spend a day with her and avoid her for a few days until his heart yearned again for her and this for a whole year because he is an idiot in denial.

-I like @queenmuzz 's fan fiction where a feline demon (which later will become the nightmare Shadow) hunt Vergil since Eva's death. Like in their fan fiction, Vergil would have unlocked permanently devil trigger to save Eleana, but here, she would have fought from the beginning and did injure the demon a little bit in order to protect Vergil. Alas, the demon was too fast, and she was definitely not used to demons being this powerful, thus nearly killing her if it weren't for Vergil, who unlocked DT from his desire to protect her.

- After all this, he would try to leave very quickly, but she would catch him before he left, asking him why he saved her. They would go in an argument where she asks him why would he avoids her for days and suddenly appear again only to leave her quickly again. It is in this argument that Vergil would accidentally confess his feelings for her. She would do the later after his own confession. After that, they would share their first kiss.

- I like to think because of the many rumors about her being a prostitute, she would not allow Vergil to spend the night with her until marriage, in order to not confirm these rumors.

-It took a week or so for Vergil to propose because he didn't want to be tied up to someone but eventually agreed to this because he wanted to be with her more than anything.

--------

There will be a part 2 that will explain Vergil's relationship to Eleana's family, the wedding and more importantly why she couldn't be with Nero and what becomes her post DMC 5.

-----‐‐-------------------------------------------------------

Extra notes:

(In my story, Galatine, Sir Gawain's sword is a sword that's passed down only to worthy people that are selected by a remnant of Sir Gawain's soul.)

(I also play FGO so that explains the reference to Galatine. Sparda was probably interested in humanity because of their constant evolution through history.)

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Ik this is so random but I'm so confused about the ages of the Silva's and the timeline. Because tabata mentioned that acier silva passed away at the age of 32 but if you see her headstone she technically passed away at 35.

And if you follow the the headstones then noelle must've been born at year 1619 but if you follow the character profile then its year 1617.

Unless this scene is filler cause I'm not sure I've seen it in the manga.

I don't think it's that random, but also, I can't blame you for being a bit confused with the timeline (and... I can't say that I'm 100% confident in mine either, but I'm like 90% sure), but also I am weary of trusting the anime, over manga, or material from the manga. Also, I have seen a few time lines composed by fellow fans, some of which differ slightly from mine.

Anyway, the general consensus among the people I know, 1584 is Acier's year of birth, and Acier's character profile has her dead at the age of 33.

The difference of one year we can quite easily put up to Tab's memory, but I'm taking it as 33. However, this is where things get a bit confusing, but I have a theory as to why her age at death is said to be 33.

This would mean that she turned 33 in August of 1617. Noelle was born in November of that same year.

After Noelle's birth, Acier takes all the kids to another estate, away from the Capitol, where they're subjected to Megicula's attack, where Nozel cradles the new born Noelle while trying to protect her, as Acier kick's ass despite ending up with the curse. (I'm saying 'kicks ass' because Megi fled.) This would have to be, at the earliest, in December of 1617.

Since the curse has said to have killed Acier in a year, this would be in 1618, or possibly early 1619. In August of 1618, Acier would have turned 34, and my theory is that the reason why the age of 33 is placed on the character sheet are that:

It would have been a plot spoiler (of a kind) if he had made her age at death be more

She was dying "for sure" at the age of 33. Essentially, she was "as good as dead" at that age when the curse was placed on her.

But her physical death didn't happen until 1618 or 1619, at the age of 34, when Noelle was just over 1 year old.

Of course it'd be possible for Acier to have died before the 1 year was completely up, somewhere before August of 1618, but I think this is a matter of no one thinking that the fans would start working this thing out.

These are some of the births, deaths, and profile ages I have in my doc.

So, I'm not entirely sure about if the ages and years are fact checked, but we do know that Noelle had been born before the Megicula attack, because otherwise we wouldn't have the panel of Nozel cradling Noelle. So, it wasn't Noelle's birth that killed Acier. Even if for the royals it was easy to blame Acier's death on Noelle weaking her (Acier's) body, and since Nozel suffered from the "inability to speak" curse from the background curse magic, he couldn't really say anything.

Anyways, I hope this helps ^^

[swetty88]

Steven Universe Future Timeline (Including the Movie) [Short version]

We recently made a timeline for the events of Steven Universe Future, including the movie. It was very entertaining to find the exact dates, but we have to admit, it was a very long post that I had to remove a bit of the formatting to comply with the character limit, also, it takes a long time to read. So I made a condensed, shorter and better formatted version of the post.

My inspiration for creating this timeline was the original series timeline made by NubOnReddit on Reddit, which you can find by clicking here.

I considered some details for the construction of the timeline. Some from the series and others based on the timeline on Reddit:

Steven's birthday is August 15th. (Canon)

Steven was born in 2001, turns 16 in 2017 and 17 in 2018. (Headcanon)

With the exception of "The Future", Steven is 16 years old in the entire season of Future, according to his medical record in "Growing Pains". (Canon)

"Snow Day" occurs in December (Headcanon) and from Monday to Wednesday. (Canon)

"Snow Day" occurs one week before the third quarter (Canon), for Steven and by extension for Little Homeschool, third quarter means the third month of the four-month school period. (Headcanon)

"Little Homeschool" and "Guidance" are at most a week apart because Little Homeschool is recent. (Headcanon)

"Little Homeschool" and "Little Graduation" are at least two months apart because during that time Sadie and Shep start dating. (Canon)

"Rose Buds" and "Snow Day" are at least a month apart because Steven becomes a vegetarian. (Canon)

"Prickly Pair" occurs in June because among Steven's plants is a blue campanula, which blooms in June. (Headcanon)

"Bismuth Casual" takes place in mid-June because it is after exams at the cram school. (Headcanon)

"Together Forever" takes place during the beginning of the school vacations because Connie might be getting ready for college in the morning and it seems like her 15-minute break is recent. (Headcanon)

School vacations in human schools don't interfere with classes at Little Homeschool. Classes are from Monday to Friday throughout the year and Saturdays and Sundays are days off. (Headcanon)

"Growing Pains" takes place the day after "Together Forever" because Connie told Steven that she would call him at lunchtime in the previous episode. (Canon)

"Mr. Universe" takes place two days after "Growing Pains" because Steven said that he went to the hospital two days ago. (Canon)

In "Mr. Universe" Greg says his parents go to Florida Island every winter. To keep things consistent, Greg's parents also started traveling in the summer and he didn't know it. (Headcanon)

"Fragments" takes place one day after "Mr. Universe" (Headcanon) and has a range of five days. (Canon)

"Homeworld Bound” takes place on the night of the fifth day of "Fragments" (A.K.A. the day Steven shattered and revived Jasper) and in the early morning of the next day, on which "Everything's Fine" takes place. (Canon)

"Everything's Fine" and "I Am My Monster" occur on the same day. (Canon)

"The Future" takes place months after "I Am My Monster" (Canon) between October and early December. (Canon)

In the movie, the events supposedly began on May 21 (a Monday in 2018) according to Sadie Killer and the Suspects concert poster. However, it would be impossible for Steven to be 16 in "Growing Pains" if he had already gone through a winter. So I interpreted it as a moment of a little mistake (Like when Garnet asked a question in "Cheeseburger Backpack" or when Connie was affected by Blue Diamond's power in "Reunion") and adjusted the start date to Monday, August 21, 2017, with Steven turning 16 a few days ago.

As I progressed through the timeline, I included a few more details based on which month the events of each episode were most likely:

Since "Snow Day" occurs on Monday December 25 (2017), January 1, 2018 would be the start of the third quarter. So, Little Homeschool started on November 1, 2017.

The graduation of the Off Colors would be on February 28, 2018.

From "Little Homechool" to "A Very Special Episode", each episode would occur on a different day of the week.

"Little Homeschool" occurs on Monday, November 6 because the school would be in its first days and because… it's Monday.

In 2018, June 14 was Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan), so "Bismuth Casual" occurs after the mentioned date so Patricia can be present without skipping Tarawih (Correct me if I'm wrong).

Due to a chain of days that links the episodes from "Together Forever" to "I Am My Monster", "Together Forever" can only occur on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, and "Everything is Fine" occurs on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday respectively.

"The Future" occurs over two days, as Connie is present on the morning of the first day and it doesn't appear to be a school day at Little Homeschool, the first day occurs on a Saturday or Sunday and the second day occurs on a Sunday or Monday respectively.

For some dates I implemented the following matches (I'm Peruvian, so I looked for dates in the United States because the series is set there. Correct me if I'm wrong on some):

"Guidance" occurs on November 11 because it's Veterans Day, the healed gems are basically military veterans.

"Why So Blue?" occurs on January 17 because it's International Mentoring Day. As Steven and Lapis try to teach two other Lapises to stop destroying worlds, the concept fits.

"Growing Pains" occurs on June 27 because it's National PTSD Awareness Day. In this episode we see that Steven has PTSD, and Dr. Maheswaran gave a good explanation of the topic.

The second day of "The Future" (A.K.A. when Steven begins his journey) occurs on Monday, November 5 because it would be exactly one year after "Little Homeschool" (November 6, but still a Monday). It would be symbolic because a year ago was the beginning of Steven's problems that unleashed his pink outburst, and now he's healing from his traumas and began a journey to discover himself.

After several calculations of days of the week and doing discard methods, the timeline looks like this:

The Movie:

Monday August 21, 2017 - Tuesday August 22, 2017

Little Homeschool:

Monday November 6, 2017

Guidance:

Saturday November 11, 2017

Rose Buds:

Sunday November 19, 2017

Volleyball:

Wednesday November 22, 2017

Bluebird:

Friday December 1, 2017

A Very Special Episode:

Tuesday December 5, 2017 - Thursday December 7, 2017

Snow Day:

Monday December 25, 2017 - Wednesday December 27, 2017

Why So Blue?:

Wednesday January 17, 2018

Little Graduation:

Wednesday February 28, 2018 - Thursday March 1, 2018

Prickly Pair:

Saturday June 2, 2018 - Monday June 4, 2018

In Dreams:

Saturday June 9, 2018 - Sunday June 10, 2018

Bismuth Casual:

Friday June 15, 2018

Together Forever:

Tuesday June 26, 2018

Growing Pains:

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Mr. Universe:

Friday June 29, 2018

Fragments:

Saturday June 30, 2018 - Wednesday July 4, 2018

Homeworld Bound:

Wednesday July 4, 2018 - Thursday July 5, 2018

Everything's Fine:

Thursday July 5, 2018

I Am My Monster:

Thursday July 5, 2018

The Future:

Sunday November 4, 2018 - Monday November 5, 2018

Well, this was the short version of the Steven Universe Future timeline post including the movie. I think the essential is understood. I'll leave the link to the long version at the end in the future.

More information:

Long Version

Spanish Version | Versión en Español

[hotdsstuff]

Hey! Before you start, a few info about me!

You can call me Aerin

My pronouns are she/her

For now I only write for House of the Dragon, but I might start writing for other fandoms if you'd like

I don't have any guidelines yet, so you can request anything you want, but please understand that if I'm unconfortable with what you asked I won't write it, but I'll explain why.

Onto the fanfiction we go

Blood and Ashes

Hi guys! So I have a fanfiction on Wattpad. No, wait, I have more than one, but this is, for now, the only one that I will share here.

Fandom: House of the Dragon

Reader: Fem!reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Love Interest: Daemon Targaryen

Warnings: none (yet)

Chapter 1: Prologue

' 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 76 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 28𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝗮𝗲𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘀'𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻.

It was mid-August, it was the last days of summer and the Maesters had already predicted a long, hard winter.

Other than that, the king was proud of his reign. He had a peaceful people and a very prosperous kingdom, even if it was still his first years of reign, but that doesn't matter to the story, does it?

Well, where was I going? Ah yes, this king, Jaehaerys, was very curious. He was getting old and he knew it. Not necessarily 80 years old, no, but you know, every day he felt more tired, even though he was very young, he felt deep down that something was going to happen, but he tried to concentrate on what was good, and that was enough.

Ahead, Jaehaerys enjoyed knowing, studying, and exploring the past. He still wanted to explore one last thing, before leaving this world. That "thing" was: Valyria.

Yes, yes, Jaehaerys knew of the rumors of Valyria since the Doom: No one returned from there, and now the ruined island was inhabited by men with Greyscale, a disease that turned them to stone.

But what can you do with a mad old man's desires.... There have been worse, haven't they?

He wanted to try. And nothing and no one would stop him.

So, so it was. A few weeks later, Jaehaerys called a meeting with one of his sons, Baelon. Until now he had remained on Dragonstone, taking care of his sister-wife, who was pregnant with his firstborn.

Baelon didn't want to leave his wife alone. Alyssa was more than a wife, she was a sister, quite literally. Continuing. Also, Alyssa was in the 4th moon of her pregnancy, which meant that in just 5 moons, he would meet his son, or daughter.

But, it was a royal order, Baelon couldn't just disobey the king, especially when the king was also his father, could he?

So, at the end of the month, Baelon took leave of his wife and left, with a promise to return before the birth, and departed Dragonstone.

He took 50 men with him, so that he would be protected. Not that he didn't know how to protect himself, of course not, he knew how to take care of himself pretty well actually. Just him and his sword.

Now this sword, as legend has it, was older than Blackfire and Darksister, who had belonged to Aegon I and Visenya. No... Legend has it that that sword once belonged to the Dragonlords of Old Valyria, forged from pure Valyrian Steel and set with a large ruby ​​on the hilt. It's been said that the sword had no name before it was given to Baelon, which I don't believe, but...what I believe or not, doesn't matter, does it?

As I was saying, the sword had no name so Baelon named it Dracarys.

And so it was, in late August and early September Baelon left Dragonstone for Valyria.

Exactly how long Baelon took to reach Valyria is unknown, what we do know is when, how and with whom he returned.

Well, well, one question at a time.

When? Ah well, it is not known for sure, but it is estimated that he arrived in early November. Yes, it had taken him 4 months to come back. But he came back.

How? No one really knows how Baelon came back, because at the time we are talking, in late October and early November, as the Maesters had predicted, winter was very harsh on the people of Westeros, with icy winds and furious storms. Even Dorne felt the icy embrace of some snow, and that's saying a lot.

Now with whom? That's my favorite question personally.

Baelon returned alone. His ship was just an inch away from falling apart but Baelon didn't have a scratch.

The only thing Baelon brought with him from Valyria intact was a book.

Ah yes, the old book.

But what was so special about this book? You may be wondering, don't worry, I'll explain right away.

This book was a book about: Blood Magic

This magic, which had not been seen since the Doom of Valyria. Lost among the rocks, the fire, the embers and ash that were left of Valyria.

When he arrived, Baelon headed straight for Dragonstone, even before he went to King's Landing. At that moment, his sister-wife and son or daughter were more important than anything else.

As soon as he set foot in his quarters, Baelon found Alyssa sitting by the window, watching the snow and wind. When she looked at him, the first thing she noticed was the huge, dusty book in her hands.

Alyssa got up with difficulty, after all 8 gestation moons shouldn't be easy, and she greeted her brother-husband, then immediately asked him if she could analyze the book.

Baelon, knowing his sister's insatiable curiosity, let her keep the book. One way or another, knowing his sister, he knew she would eventually read it so he might as well do it the easy way. We should never piss off a woman, right? Especially if she is pregnant.

That kept her busy for the rest of the month. Busy that Baelon began to worry about his sister's condition. There were days when she didn't even leave her room and sometimes she "forgot" to eat, she said. It was as if she was always in a trance.

Baelon ignored his instinct for a month, but now December had arrived, the month the Maesters had predicted for the child's birth. Baelon tried to distract her attention from the book and tried to persuade her to get into bed, but she declined, not so politely.

Baelon was far away. For your understanding, Baelon thought he was delirious and hearing voices. But not. It was all real. At night, he could hear Alyssa's voice reciting the same promises in the book, in a whisper, as if she didn't anyone to hear her. And then he saw the impossible.

He'd stayed up longer, to make sure he was right. So when his sister started to whisper, he looked at her and the Fire, it increased to what she said, as if it liked what she was saying.

So this one was decided.

In the middle of the night, Baelon burned the book as he should have burned it from the moment he had found it.

But...what was done, was done. And there was no way to undo it.

The next day, Baelon was surprised when Alyssa didn't ask him about the book. Now, everything felt like a dream. Baelon then decided to take her to King's Landing and ask his mother, Queen Alysane.

Baelon rode Vhagar and Alyssa rode Meleys. Meleys was a dragon experienced in battle, and being a female she could sort of feel what Alyssa was going through, so she flew very carefully. But you couldn't be too careful when the winds pull you and push you back and forth. Meleys did her best and Alyssa arrived in King's Landing safe and sound.

Days after arrival Alyssa finally went into labor on the coldest day of the year. Hours and hours passed until the child was born. And the moment the bells of King's Landing rang, all the dragons roared as one.

There are Maesters who say they could even hear the roars of the Cannibal, Sheep Stealer, Grey Ghost, wild Dragons who lived in the mountains of Dragonstone and King's Landing.

But most surprising was the roar following Balerion's, yes, even the Black Dread roared for her, but right now the focus is not on him. The roar that followed was terrifying, it says it deafened the cattle for at least a week.

And that wasn't all that little queen had to show. Then the unthinkable happened. Those were winter times but the girl was…warm.

And as if by magic at the moment she was born, the maesters looked out the window and saw the sun. Shining over the entire city.

That child had done in a day what the gods had not done in years.

They named her Aerin after a goddess of Old Valyria. The Fireborn.

Aerin grew, each year more beautiful and graceful and, of course, very skilled with the blade.

Her father Baelon had her learning to master the art of using a sword.

Her mother, Alyssa, was tasked with teaching her how to be a lady and behave.

Her grandmother Alyssane taught her the art of persuasion and seduction, something she would put to use in the future.

And her grandfather, Jaehaerys, groomed her to be Queen.

On her 6th nameday she achieved her greatest feat.

The king and his family had gone for a walk in the mountains, at the request of the little princess.

Together with her brothers, Viserys, with 5 name days and Daemon with 1 name day. These stayed with their parents. But Aerin, no...

The princess was as curious as her mother and grandfather. So she ventured into the caves. Until she came to one hidden by ivy and fog at the foot of the mountain.

This cave was huge, enough for Balerion to fit inside, but the princess couldn't know because so far she hadn't been close to the adult dragons. It is true that Aerin was gifted with a Dragon Egg in her crib, like any other Targaryen. But this was a baby dragon.

Alyssa didn't want to deprive her daughter of her knowledge of dragons. But she was afraid, from the moment the dragons had roared when Aerin was born.

But now it didn't have much effect.

The princess was distracted looking at the flowers and didn't see the fiery eyes looking in her direction, attentive to her every move.

The dragon roared in her face, but the moment she smelled her she felt the dragon's blood in the princess's veins and lowered her head.

So, fearless as she was, Aerin rode the Dragon that would later be named Valerian and flew above the clouds.

When Baelon and Alyssa saw Aerin riding a dragon, they were scared mostly because the princess didn't have a saddle.

But when they noticed the dragon's size, they felt proud. This one was bigger than Vhagar and at least the same size as Balerion.

At age 7, she earned her most famous nickname. Aerin Targaryen, Mother of Dragons

Why?

Hmm....because at the age of 7, Aerin had already flown on all dragons. Even the Cannibal she tamed.

And it was on her name day that year that she rode Balerion the Black Dread.

That had been the best gift she had ever received.

She also had various other names given by the people, like The Dragons's Daughter, or The Dragon's Flame.

And so, Aerin Targaryen grew up to be one of the most powerful women in Westeros.

She would forever be remembered as The Mother of Dragons and The Winner of the Dance.

[waves-against-a-cliff]

The Inconvenience

This is an SCP work, entirely outside of my normal realm of works so please forgive any first timer mistakes and leave feedback. This is a completely self indulgent however. Please check out @wolveria's The Ravens Hymn since this is a writing piece related to it.

This document is to never reach the hands of Site Director CLASSIFIED. Strictly only O5 and Ethics committee personnel are allowed to access to this document. If caught accessing this without proper clearance, a member of security will be sent to your direct location. See O5-1 or O5-3 for more information about CLASSIFIED

Item #: 8179

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8179 is currently uncontained despite previous attempts. All future attempts at containing 8179 must be cleared by a member of the O5 council or the head of the Ethics committee. No one being victimized by SCP-8179 is allowed be notified about SCP-8179. If the current victim figures out they are being targeted by an anomaly, do nothing about it.

Description: SCP-8179 is an anomalous occurrence that affects one person at a time. The current target of 8179 is CLASSIFIED. SCP-8179's entire existence seems to revolve around making whoever it deems as the worse possible person's life miserable. Previous victims have been listed in Addendum.8179.1. All documents pertaining to 8179's possible appearance have been sealed and archived. 8179's currently victim of choice is Site Director CLASSFIED and like previous chosen victims, is suffering from inconveniences ranging from minor to personally nearly catastrophic. See Addendum.8179.2 for current list of events.

SCP-8179 is capable of moving objects. 8179's farthest movement of an object is 56 miles. SCP-8179 does not choose a new victim immediately following the death of its current victim. The longest period between victims is 30 years.

Discovery: SCP-8179 was discovered on September 6th, 1956 after its first known victim within the SCP Foundation reported a long string of inconveniences. The victim reported over 100 events linked to 8179. The victim was dismissed but two weeks later the victim submitted video evidence of 8179 following them. After this an extensive investigation occurred that led to 8179's designation, object class and several failed attempts at containment. The closest the Foundation has to containment for 8179 is letting it torment its chosen target until it changes targets or until the target dies.

Addendum.8179.1

Researcher Jones was the first victim of 8179, she was located at site 32. Jones was a middle-aged White woman who had worked at the Foundation for 15 years. No family or friends outside of the Foundation. Researcher Jones first reported anomalous occurrences on September 6th 1956 but 8179 wouldn't be catalogued or designated until September 21st 1956. Researcher Jones is suspected to have been tormented by 8179 since 1954 but Researcher Jones own evidence only dated back to February of 1956. Researcher Jones would suffer from SCP-8179 until she took her own life in 1968 after missing several meetings about a possible promotion due to her alarm clock being submerged in water, turned off and located nearly a mile away. Researcher Jones is noted as 'being a stuck up bitch' by many of her colleagues.

D-3245 or otherwise known as Johnny Bryne is the second target. Male of mixed Hispanic and Irish descent, early 20s. D-3245 was tormented by 8179 for only July and August of 1969. D-3245 was killed during a security breach of site 12.

Site Director Garcia, located at site 76 was tormented by SCP-8179 from 1999 to 2003. Site Director Garcia was a male of Hispanic descent, he died in 2003 from a heart attack after SCP-8179 dumped all of his medication into the garbage disposal a week in a row. He was 75 years old. Following his death it was discovered at Site Director Garcia had embezzled over 1 million dollars USD over his career.

MTF Operative CLASSFIED was 8179's fourth victim, CLASSFIED was a CLASSFIED who died in 2004 shortly after 8179's torment began in 2003. CLASSFIED died in an OP to secure an SCP from the Chaos Insurgency.

REDACTED

REDACTED

Containment Specialist Taylor who worked at Site 19. Taylor was an African American woman in her late thirties and was 8179's seventh victim. 8179's torment began in 2009 and continued until Taylor was killed in 2019 from the last security breach of Site 19.

CLASSFIED is the eighth and latest victim of SCP-8179 starting in REDACTED.

Addendum.8179.2

Favorite mug was dirty despite being washed the night before. 6/18

Microwave melted CLASSFIED's lunch. 6/18

Keys were moved from CLASSFIED's left desk drawer to the right desk drawer. 6/18

Computer crashed right before CLASSFIED went to save the document CLASSFIED had worked on for five hours. 6/18

Car broke down in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception despite cell towers near by. Took 3 hours to walk to the nearest gas station. 6/18

Front door lock jammed as well as the back door. 6/18

TV remote was misplaced for six days until CLASSFIED found it in CLASSFIED's filing cabinet. 6/20

CLASSFIED's lunch was thrown into a containment area and unretrievable. 8/1

CLASSFIED's keys were once again misplaced but found in the bathroom. 8/1

Phone was knocked off desk despite being no where near the edge. Entire screen was shattered and had be repaired. 8/17

Despite bring lunch to work, CLASSFIED's lunch was left at home. 8/19

CLASSFIED's alarm clock didn't go off and wasn't found until a month later. 8/30

CLASSFIED had bought another alarm clock in that time, two days after the first alarm clock was found, both went missing. Still not found. 10/2

CLASSFIED's shoes were tied together when CLASSFIED went to stand up from desk. Trip and fell in front of Researcher REDACTED. 10/6

CLASSFIED's entire computer exploded in the middle of an update. No injuries occurred but all data was lost. 10/23

CLASSFIED was reported to complain about CLASSFIED's room always being too hot or too cold. Hidden thermometer recorded a high of 85 and low of 30 in the same night in CLASSFIED's bedroom. 10/31

CLASSFIED's heating and AC broke 11/1

Favorite mug was shattered 11/2

Keys were misplaced and found three hours later in the bathroom.