You write fluff and flangst absolutely amazingly and I’m in awe every dang time!
Buuut since you’ve got spring break coming up, a little fic idea that’s in my head that I’ll never do justice! (If you’re interested)
Fem!reader finding out an adorable way to tell Spencer she’s pregnant. I don’t care if they’re dating or married or what - but like she puts together a crossword, or a puzzle and he just doesn’t get it. (If you wanna throw angst in, he leaves without getting it for a case and then realizes it in the middle of the night.)
puzzling | S.R.
trying to tell Spencer you're pregnant, but he's too concerned with your well-being to fill out your custom crossword puzzle
who? spencer reid x fem!reader
category: fluff
content warnings: pregnancy and misc. symptoms., talk of fainting and blood tests.
word count: 1.69k
a/n: welcome back to the spencer reid dilf agenda! i hope this does your request justice and thank you for entrusting me with this idea!!!! <3
you
It was your pride and joy, the collection of folded papers that sat on the kitchen counter, next to a cup of coffee that you had already filled for him.
On your fake newspaper, you had created a custom crossword puzzle. With four very important clues.
Across: “Early stage of life”
Across: “American actress Frances _”
Down: “Must be finished by”
Down: “Veteran’s Day month”
You smiled softly to yourself as you heard Spencer’s footsteps coming down the staircase. Padding over to the kitchen counter, you sat on one of the stools, a cup of tea in front of you.
Before he even looked at the newspaper, Spencer leaned over to kiss you good morning, “You look tired,” he whispered, hooking a finger under your chin as if he were investigating the dark circles underneath your eyes.
“Way to make a girl feel good about herself,” you teased lightly, even though you knew he was right. At least you felt tired.
He rolled his eyes, “You know that’s not what I meant.” Turning to grab his mug of coffee off of the counter, he observed you again, “Are you sure your doctor said nothing was wrong?”
Smiling, you gave him a brief nod. You had gone to see your doctor a few days ago for nausea and fatigue, and Spencer would’ve gone with you had he not been on the other side of the country on a case. “They’re running some tests, but they didn’t see anything blatantly wrong,” the doctor was running a few blood tests, checking your iron levels and HCG.
Using his free hand, Spencer reached over and moved a lock of hair out of your face, “They said your blood pressure was low?”
Low blood pressure, as it turned out, was a pregnancy symptom that was most common in the first trimester. “You’re freaking out over nothing, Spence,” you told him. Really, it was something. A rather large something – or small, depending on how you wanted to look at it. “Come on, it’s crossword time,” you told him, using the end of the pen to tap on the newspaper.
“I worry about you when I’m away. You do know that low blood pressure can cause syncope, right? Did they prescribe you anything for it?” He asked, ignoring your wishes to move on and do the crossword.
There was a small part of you that just wanted to tell him, but frankly, you had worked too hard on the crossword puzzle to give yourself away like that. You couldn’t tell him that they didn’t prescribe you anything because they didn’t know how far along you were. A larger part of you knew that if you just got him to work on the puzzle, he would have his answers in about seven minutes.
Then his phone rang, he pulled the device out of his pocket, and the Caller ID on the screen caused you to slump your shoulders forward. It was Garcia. “Hey Garcia,” he greeted on the phone, “at the tarmac?”
You set your head on the counter and sighed in defeat as Spencer hung up the phone.
“Are you alright?” He asked you softly, tenderly wrapping an arm around your torso.
Humming, you sat back up, ignoring the stars in your field of vision as you did so. “I’m fine, you should go,” you insisted.
Spencer shook his head, “No, you’re sick. I’ll call Garcia back and tell her I have to stay back.” Acting bewildered at the idea that he had been so remiss as to agree to do his job while you were unwell.
You reached out and set a hand on his, “It’s alright, love. I can take care of myself,” you reminded him. Besides the fact that you were wholly self-sufficient, the only reason why Spencer would be asked to meet the team at the tarmac was if they were headed toward a particularly gnarly case – they needed all hands on deck.
“Promise me you’ll check in? Call your mom if you need any help, please,” he requested, pleading eyes following you as you got up to hug him.
Nodding, you wrapped your arms around him, “You should take the crossword with you.” Pulling away, you haphazardly refolded the newspaper and handed it to him.
Furrowing his brow, Spencer inspected the paper that you had given him. “We always do the crossword together on Saturdays,” he found you incredibly helpful on the pop culture clues. “We could save this one and then have two for next week,” he offered.
God. No. Your eyes widened at the idea of having to keep your secret for another week, shaking your head, you shrugged, “No, you should take it. It’ll make me look forward to next week even more,” you insisted.
He folded, and with a sweet kiss to the forehead, he was off to go save lives, remaining entirely unaware of the one growing inside of you.
him
The judgmental Italian behind him was proving to be a distraction, “Did you find something?” Spencer asked, eyeing the evidence board with frustration. Something bugged him about the case, and he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.
“Not right now, but it’s three in the morning,” Rossi said, joining Spencer by the evidence board. “Why don’t you give that big brain of yours a break?”
Shaking his head, Spencer crossed his arms in front of his chest, “I tried. I can’t stop thinking about the case.” Men were popping up dead in a small Missouri town at an alarming rate, and he felt so close to a breakthrough.
Dave nodded like he understood the feeling, that was probably why he had emerged from his hotel room so early, returning to the precinct before the sun peeked over the horizon. “What do you usually do to wind your brain down?”
Raising his eyebrows, Spencer shrugged, “Crossword puzzles,” he admitted, any word puzzle would do the trick.
The chuckle from the older man next to him startled Spencer, “Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?” Rossi looked around the precinct, “I’m sure we can find one around here somewhere.”
“No,” Spencer said, “I have one in my bag, actually.” He refrained from including the detail that you had given him the crossword puzzle, or else he’d never hear the end of it.
Clapping him on the back, Rossi lifted his coffee cup, “Then I suggest you go take the thirty seconds to fill out that puzzle and then get some rest.”
Once he was back in his hotel room, he changed before pulling out the pile of papers that you had sent him off with. Sitting on top of the bed, he filled out the puzzle in approximately six minutes and forty-three seconds. Once the letters were filled in, he skimmed the puzzle – just to check it over.
The only one that might’ve given him trouble was about an American actress – usually he had you to help him with pop culture, but he recalled having the same last name as an actress in Days of Our Lives.
It was interesting that the words “Baby” and “Reid” were right next to each other.
Wait.
Quickly, he calculated the odds that the words “Baby” “Reid” “Due” and “November” were all in the puzzle and when the numbers were put together, they made your anniversary. Spencer just as quickly called you, listening to the phone ringing.
His heart was racing as he waited to see if you answered the phone. “Hey,” your groggy voice came through the receiver.
“Where did you get this crossword puzzle?” He asked you, flipping through the rest of the newspaper for the first time.
You hummed softly, “You’re doing it right now?”
Looking at the alarm clock on his bedside table, he dropped his face into his hands. “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t even think about the time,” it was just past four in the morning now, making it just past five in the morning in Virginia. “I just thought that…” his voice trailed off. What if it was just a coincidence?
There was silence on your end of the call, and he wondered if you had fallen asleep. You hadn’t been feeling well, and he’d woken you up with his phone call. “You thought what, Spence?”
The teasing lilt in your voice had given you away to him immediately. He knew. Every one of his suspicions were confirmed, “Y/N Reid,” he breathed.
“Spencer Reid,” you countered.
He took a deep breath, “Are you pregnant?”
“Yeah,” you answered simply, with about as much enthusiasm as he expected from you at five in the morning.
It all started to make sense to him. The low blood pressure, the drowsiness, and even the slight caginess when it came to him asking about your doctor’s visit. He swiped away a few stray tears, “I don’t know what to say.” It wasn’t a feeling he was overly used to.
You cleared your throat, “Are you happy?” Nerves clouded your voice, and he could hear you becoming more awake – more alert.
“I am,” he searched aimlessly. Elated. Thrilled. Ecstatic. “I’m so happy,” he told you, at a loss for words. “I don’t know what to say, I just… God, are you okay?” Dread washed over him, you were alone, sick, and pregnant at home and he was halfway across the country.
Sighing, he heard a ruffling on the other end of the call. “I’m great. I’m exhausted, I had no idea being pregnant was so tiring. I mean, I knew, but I didn’t know.” You sighed again, “I’m not making any sense.”
He laughed lightly at your rambling, “You’re making perfect sense. Chances are your energy will return during the second trimester.”
“Don’t get my hopes up.” You paused again for just a moment, “I’m sorry if I scared you. With the whole doctor’s appointment thing. They really are keeping an eye on my blood pressure and whole slew of other things, but they know the root cause.”
A giddy smile grew on his face, “It’s because you’re pregnant.”
A soft hum came through the phone, “It’s because I’m pregnant,” you concurred.
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𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀’𝐒 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 | 𝐋𝐇𝟒𝟒
— social media au.
pairing: sir lewis hamilton x dallas cowboy cheerleader!reader
summary: stars will always find a way to align to each other
warnings: social media environment, reader’s a bit of a southern belle. typos (maybe?)
saint’s team radio 🪩: i have a serious hyper fixation on the dallas cowboy cheerleaders so you know i had to do it 😝okay enjoy, mwah! tags are down below! 🫶🏽 i have two other things to release this week so watch out! 😚
yourusername
liked by ddcheerleaders, yourbestifriend and 3,738 others
yourusername fun fact, these pom poms are heavy
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user the dress!
yourusername got it made by my best friend 🫶🏽
ddcheerleaders a star forever shining! ⭐️
user where to next?
yourusername we’re playing a home game against the Denver Broncos then Cota
user you’ll be watching the race??
yourusername courtesy of work, yes 🤍
katpurr goodness you’re stunning
yourusername no, you! 🥹
victoriakelina the whole race weekend, it’ll be so fun
yourusername girl, you know damn well we can’t do all that 😭
user i so badly wanna be a dallas cowboy cheerleader
user the prettiest southern belle ever
yourusername oh, bless your heart 🥹
yourusername
liked by ddcheerleaders, camilaturdi and 7,838 others
yourusername what a game, y’all! congrats to the broncos and now onto COTA for F1 <3
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kelcey_w the hair!!! you keeping it for COTA? 🤨
yourusername oh absolutely, kels
user would you perhaps be interested in the part team owner of the broncos?
yourusername and who would that be? 🧍🏽♀️
user his name is lewis hamilton 🧍🏽♀️
ddcheerleaders ⭐️🤍!
victoriakelina now what is a teamLH and why are they camping under this post?
yourusername i’m as confused as you are, my sister 😣
user she’s gorgeous!
ddcheerleaders
liked by f1, lewishamilton and 374,922 others
ddcheerleaders our lovely stars absolutely shined for the Austin Grand Prix and a huge thank you to y/n for the wonderful choreography! ⭐️🤍 @/yourusername
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user oh no he discovered y/n, i fear she is gone
user of COURSE he’s gonna be in the likes when this mf doesn’t follow anyone
user i just know he felt y/n’s aura from the garage
user PLS 😭
f1 always delighted to host these amazing girls!
user i’m obsessed with y/n and I’ve only known her for a few hours
yourusername ⭐️🤍!
lewishamilton you did absolutely amazing today! 🥳
yourusername so you’re the broncos owner?
lewishamilton yes? 🧍🏽♂️
yourusername inch resting. thank youuu and you’re cute btw.
user NOT Y/N KNOWING HIM AS THE BRONCOS OWNER???
user THEN SHE SAID HE WAS CUTE? MY QUEEN
user i fear we will be seeing a new wag on the paddock
lewishamilton
liked by 13thwitness, fencer and 1,838,537 others
lewishamilton all about the fire for me
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mercedesamgf1 exactly!!
user dare i say the dallas cowboy cheerleader performance was a lucky charm?
user don’t be delusional 😭
user right? god forbid he interacts with someone 😭
ddcheerleaders the 44 clubs is where it’s at! ⭐️
yourusername you’re cool or wtv, broncos owner
lewishamilton thank you, ma’am
yourusername can’t wait to watch the race tomorrow!
lewishamilton you were in the 44 club right?
yourusername no?
lewishamilton now you are
user get you a nfl team owner who will put you in his very own paddock club suite 😣
user what a way to flirt, lewis
user we just watched this man bag y/n in real time 😭
yourusername
liked by katpurr, roscoelovescoco and 263,836 others
yourusername the world is your oyster, drain a man’s bank account today!
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user now how tf did you get this man to buy you these? 😭
yourusername i called him baby as a southern girl usually calls anybody within a ten mile radius and he was crumbling
user THIS IS PEAK COMEDY 😭😭
fencer i need you to teach me that jump split immediately
yourusername i fear it would kill you
fencer aw dang it 😔
user btw, teamLH absolutely loves you
yourusername i love you guys too! (i’m utterly confused)
ddcheerleaders a star with a star! ⭐️
user one thing about this man, he will bag anyone the internet finds attractive
user he done pissed me off with this one 😭
lewishamilton 🤍🤍
yourusername come back to the room, i need you to tie my bikini
lewishamilton yes ma’am
user he is WHIPPED
user universe, if you’re listening, guide a man like lewis to me RIGHT NOW
saint’s notes: not only am i painfully south african, i also wrote this in 45 minutes lol. if you’re southern, i am sorry if i got stuff wrong about you guys! hope you enjoyed 😚
tags: @mauvecherie-writes @motheroffae @exotic-iris13 @greedyjudge2 @purplelewlew @serpenttines @httpsserene @non-stop-imagines @yeea-nah @emjayewrites @queenshikongo3 @cocobutterqwueen
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Just... I have to get this off my chest for some reason.
One of the reasons I can't stand S*puffy anymore, is because in season two with B*angel, they were trying to tell this story that him becoming her whole world was not a good thing and dangerous. And you can definitely see that in the narrative, like with "A*ngel, when I look to the future all I see is you." And this was a very good thing! This was, really, foreshadowing how even when their relationship was "good" and looked good there was also some foreboding here and, really, they were doomed. And this culminates in the whole A*ngelus arc where at the end she has to kill him to save the world. Because, intentional or not, even when he was A*ngel, she had gotten to this place where she was putting him above her duty (short aside: I don't think A*ngel would have ever wanted that. The opposite, really. He wanted to help her be the Slayer. But they got too wrapped up in each other, and yeah. And like I said, intentional or not, even before he was A*ngelus, maybe it was like he was starting to ask her to choose between him and her responsibilities), and that's why season two had to end the way it did.
This is one of the many things that makes B*uffy the Vampire Slayer good. And B*uffy a good heroine. This is what made the show what it did. And this is, quite arguably, the show at its best.
I remember some quote of Joss Whedon's where, in some ways, he was excited about the supernatural young adult fiction that started coming out around the time of Twilight, including Twilight, starring female characters. He thought that this was a good thing and he wanted to root for them... but as he read them, he felt like the stories were more about "what boyfriend is the girl going to pick." Because when forced with a tough choice, like between the world and her love, the girl would choose her love every single time and would never make the difficult choice, like B*uffy had. In these books, there was no "Buffy" in sight. Keep this in mind for later, please.
Now, in season three of B*uffy the Vampire Slayer, A*ngel does come back. And despite them trying to fight the inevitable numerous times, the two of them do end up dating again. But for the most part, they don't fall into the trap of season two, where they're putting each other above everyone and everything else. They love each other in a much better and healthier way, where they reach the potential they always had (and I feel they're even healthier in later seasons, where B*uffy doesn't do things like be willing to kill F*aith to save A*ngel). But even then, they're still doomed because of A*ngel's curse and know this, and A*ngel leaves.
Enter S*puffy. Now, I'm not even going to get into all the toxic stuff with them--that does bother me, don't get me wrong--that most people (for good reason) talk about with them. I'm here to discuss when they're "good." Including the comics. Which, I'll admit, is them at they're best (which I have enjoyed/did enjoy in the past). And there definitely is some good there.
But what really ticks me off, is that we completely forget the lesson that we learned and preached about in season two. And we start getting into "S*pike" is suddenly all B*uffy sees territory.
In season five, Buffy is faced with the dilemma of having to kill her sister to save the world at the end of the season. And this is one of B*uffy's major breaking points in the show (she goes catatonic after her sister is kidnapped by the goddess looking to murder her). Until season six (when she's ripped out of heaven by her friends) it is her lowest moment in the entire series. And the one thing she will not back down on: that, no: She will not let her sister die to save the world. She's given up so many other people (A*ngel in season two, for instance) and things (like her sanity, safety and peace of mind. Heck, she's already died once at this point). But this is the one sacrifice she won't make. And at the last seconds of the season--since she and her sister have the same blood (D*awn was created from her)--she realizes that she can die instead, and makes that sacrifice.
But then, all of a sudden, in season seven, B*uffy's saying that now she's changed and if she did have to make such a choice again--if there were no other option--she would sacrifice D*awn to save the world, but she won't sacrifice S*pike?! What the fuck?
I feel like no writing decision has ever pissed me off more than this, as the season five arc was one of my favorites in the show (maybe even more than the A*ngelus one, or tied with it). I was completely on B*uffy's side with the D*awn thing in season five and respected her for it, and they just threw it in the trash in season seven. And as someone who loves her own sister more than anything, and would definitely feel this same way as B*uffy, I take this personally.
Furthermore, remember that Joss Whedon quote from before that I told you to recall? Congratulations Joss and writers, you are now doing what you criticized in other authors: Having a heroine willing to let the world burn, but not her boyfriend! But she suddenly will let her sister burn, but not her boyfriend? That's vile!
And we're going backwards here. In season two, B*uffy realized why having her boyfriend be her whole world and cloud her judgement was a bad thing... and what? Now we're saying it's not? Or that it's okay with S*pike?!
Which gets me into another issue I have with S*puffy, that I made a post about (that I didn't even get even go into as deeply with as I could've/should've), that the writers started doing this thing where something they said was bad with B*angel was somehow okay with S*puffy. Which makes absolutely no sense. And could even get near a "S*pike is a Gary-Stu" level.
And it doesn't even stop with the D*awn thing. As others have pointed out, in season seven the S*coobies could have gotten seriously injured and S*pike has, like, a scratch on his lip (I'm exaggerating, I know, but the point stands) and B*uffy runs to him. He's a vampire! He has magical healing and is fine! Priorities, woman!
And there's this part in the comics where S*pike thinks that his great-great-great grandsire is going to possess him, and that he's going to become a real threat to B*uffy (that he might even lose his soul) and that she should probably just kill him for her and the world's safety (which, hey: is admirable. Major points to Spike here!:D). And B*uffy doesn't even take this seriously at all. (There's even this great part where she says something along the lines of, "You were a good person without a soul. If you lose your soul, you will be again and I'll just help you find your way again." But somehow, they also end up talking about his attempted rape of her when he was soulless and B*uffy goes, "That wasn't really you." Buffy, authors, you just contradicted yourself in, like, three breaths. You can't have it both ways. Which one is it?) But he does end up being controlled... and Buffy doesn't end up fighting him at all! All of the S*coobies are like, "What the hell are you doing?" as he's attacking her. But Buffy decides to take the risky chance of trying to get through to him with the power of love, and of course it ends up working out for them! This is not the B*uffy, nor the B*uffy the Vampire Slayer, I know and love. And of course when this ends up happening to A*ngel later on, they go about things differently for him. Ugh. (Another S*puffy issue I have: the point where the writers really started handing him his wildest dreams on a silver platter, while A*ngel and B*angel got nothing but suffering and trauma).
And then we have people like Stacey Abrams saying that A*ngel was good for B*uffy when she was discovering her power, but S*pike was good for her when she became the power. To me, it looks like S*pike made her weak AF, clouded her judgement--almost made her feel like a different character to me, after a point (especially in the comics, where she was making stupid decisions at points. Like the aforementioned risky power of love move)--and forget long, hard lessons she'd already learned.
Let's also not forget that a lot of times in the show that whenever they tried to push S*puffy, they had to do so by isolating Buffy from all of her friends.
And everyone likes to write home about S*pike's relationships with, like, J*oyce and D*awn and certain S*coobies. But eventually we lost those, too, to try and push S*puffy.
Buffy is definitely S*pike's whole world, which isn't healthy at all, which I'd say even takes away from his character and becomes his whole character in a lot of ways... especially in the comics. (The Buffyngton Post on YouTube has a lot of funny videos about the comics--and he's a huge fan of the comics, so it's not like he's hating on them or anything like that--where he pokes fun at everyone's entire role in the season. And a lot of times for S*pike, it'll be things like, "Show up at the end of the season with little to no bearing on the plot." And/or "Here to be B*uffy's boyfriend." And he's not a S*pike or S*puffy hater or anything like that. I feel like season 10, and arguably season 11 [or parts of it] is the only time this didn't happen. And The Buffyngton Post had the fear as the comics were coming out, that if S*pike became B*uffy's boyfriend in them, that he would lose all agency and just be Buffy's BoyfriendTM, with no arcs whatsoever. And that did kind of happen. Granted, this may moreso be an issue with the comics' writing as a whole. As the B*uffy the Vampire Slayer comics weren't the greatest. The A*ngel & F*aith ones were definitely better, for instance. But still.)
People complained when it seemed like this was the case for A*ngel in the early seasons of B*TVS (him just being B*uffy's vampire boyfriend, essentially). But then he got his own show, his own life, and friends. At a certain point, after S*pike falls in love with B*uffy, you rip her out of his life... and I honestly have no idea what he would do, where he would go, or what his story would be. Like in season twelve, when they've broken up. Which I guess is why it's a good thing that we really don't see much of that, and have a time skip. We jump right to when they're forced to interact again to fight an apocalypse. S*pike says that in that time he did some detective work with Dowling during their time apart, which I can buy, but it's still not a lot to go off of. Which is kind of the point and kind of my whole issue here.
Case and point: B*angel actually better adheres to the important theme that the B*uffy writers put in early in the show, and should have stuck to, then S*puffy.
Also... I am not looking for a ship war or argument here. This is me just getting these feelings off my chest (that's why I didn't tag anything and censored everything, because I'm hoping it doesn't show up anywhere and just stays on my blog, really). Anyone here who replies or reblogs this fighting, I will not reply and will probably instantly block you, etc. I'm sorry, but it's just the way it is. This is really me venting.
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Where the Lamb does not Belong.
You're isekai'd into the world of Honkai Star Rail. Thankfully, you're taken into the Astral Express and continue your journey peacefully, until you reach Penacony. Something, or someone, seems to be causing your system to continually crash. Perhaps it's because you did not belong here at all.
Warnings: yandere, obviously. Uh, mentioned fracture(?)
A/n; reader is a tad forgetful and can brush off a few things, and get distracted slightly easily. But for the most part, i think it won't ruin the immersion. Its my first time writing something "self aware" related, and something like a character breaking the 4th wall. I really love these tropes but rarely write them. I hope i did it well. Its roughly 4.5k long. Enjoy.
----
“Ace!”
“It's not ace.”
“Uno!”
“March, you're supposed to say it after you put down your second card.”
“Oh, sure.”
…
“March, it's not your turn.”
“Huh?!”
You giggle, listening in on their banter. You're leaned up comfortably on Dan Heng's back, messing around with a level on Stelle's phone she hasn't been able to beat.
You hear a loud groan, a fwop as March drops on her back onto the bed,
“This is so confusing!”
“The rules are simple, you're just trying to rush things.”
Dan Heng takes the cards and settles them, tapping them vertically to level and gather them onto the little table. You stretch your neck to look back and catch a glimpse of March sulking. Stelle gently pries the phone out of your hands as you do so.
“Hey let's go through our photo album again!”
“It's the 6th time this month.”
You chuckle, getting up from Dan Heng's back as you feel him shift, moving over to situate yourself around the table aswell, the the bed dipping under your weight.
“I knew you were into photography but wow, this is something, March.”
You say, leaning over on the table, your elbow resting on it as your chin rests on your palm,
“Well, you better be grateful ‘cause I just finished up your entry!”
“My entry?”
You blink, confused,
“She's been dutifully taking pictures of your progress as a new member of the Astral express. I've.. learnt from experience It's better that you don't try to stop her.”
You laugh awkwardly, staring down as March excitedly flips through the photo book. It's a bit embarrassing now that you recall.
“Here! Look, look, look! I caught [name] in all their glory!”
“March..”
You awkwardly laugh, as Dan Heng looks over at the photo March points to in her photobook,
You cringe as you see your own expression, dull and groggy, a stark contrast to the bright letters and stickers decorating the edge of the photo that's glued tightly onto the page. You're drooling, to top it off.
“Hehe, [name] looks cute here don't they?!”
March points down to another photo right below, blurry in the midst of action. Your hazy figure is sitting up on a bed, Stelle draped over your lap while in charge of watching over you when you first appeared.
“I should have stayed to watch over, instead.”
Dan Heng comments under his breath, glancing back momentarily at Stelle, her chin hooked over his shoulder after having abandoned the game, seemingly more interested in the collection.
You chuckle softly,
Where did it begin exactly?
You boarded as an official member of the Astral Express about a few months ago, a gold brooch handed over to you, and many new faces who welcomed you onboard. You remember being home one day, going to sleep and hoping, just hoping that all of your worries and stress would just.. disappear. Your head hit the pillow and then-
You woke up. Here.
Suddenly you woke up in the very game you played to relieve your stress. Ironically, that moment you woke up was one of your most stressful memories, panicking at the situation you were in–
“Aw, dang it. I got defeated.”
All of you look over to Stelle, and to the red screen on her phone. You chuckle, as March sighs and shifts the topic.
You yawn and settle back onto the bed, leaning on a pile of pillows as March and Dan Heng continue their banter, taking this time to go through your stats, swiping and tinkering on your phone.
You've reached a higher level now. Having unlocked many items and even levelled up some basic features which allowed you to at the very least, defend yourself.
You read through the archived stories, gazing over all the past dialogue you've shared with this trio from the “main quest” ever since you boarded. Your friendship level with many had increased gradually over time, and shot up with the trio, as expected.
“[Name]..”
Stelle whines, pushing her phone back to you. You giggle, taking the device from her hands,
“Alright, I won't get distracted this time.”
-
This was your first expedition as a new member of the Astral Express. Which didn't help considering you were going into Penacony of all places.
You were nervous – how was your presence going to alter the timeline? Maybe a less “on screen” role like Himeko's? Or maybe you should have just stayed back with Dan Heng? But the experience, materials and all sorts of gizmos Penacony was going to offer.. It was too tempting.
And here you are, in the lobby. Himeko and Welt continue negotiating with the young woman at the reception. You were already on edge, but it seemed things just had to go wrong as well.
To distract yourself, you fidgeted and anxiously viewed the prologue to Penacony the system had just offered to you, repeatedly scrolling up and down on your phone, tapping your foot, pacing around the hotel a bit when–
A hand came up to your shoulder.
“It seems you're quite worried.”
You looked back.
It's Robin.
“Sorry, uh, we're.. having difficulty with the check-in and..”
You momentarily trail off, almost lost as you look at Robin. Her in game model was beautiful, but now that you're standing in front of her, it's almost.. mesmerising. Her eyes are beautiful – deep and ethereal. Pretty pink lips and softly dusted cheeks, her hair wispy and framing her face just the right way. You're awestruck for a moment, before panicking and snapping out of your daze.
You're at a hotel lobby for aeons’ sake!
“O-Oh, uh, my family is–”
You turn over to see Himeko and Welt continuing to go back and forth with the young woman at the reception, and turn again to see March and Stelle slightly off in the corner talking anxiously.
“They seem lovely.”
Robin smiles at you. And suddenly, your eyebrows and shoulders relax. Your jaw slightly slacks. Something about Robin seems to soothe you more than you ever thought.
Your eyes trail over to the bar in the corner;
Friendship level: 0
Right. She's still a stranger, in this timeline of events.
You're snapped out of your thoughts momentarily as another, unfamiliar voice speaks up from the crowd – a blonde man, addressing your fellow trailblazers.
This can't be good.
You walk up, regrouping with March and Stelle as they watch it all happen.
–
The golden hour was a familiar map to you, particularly because you'd loved exploring the place back when you used to play.
But actually being there is stunning.
The yellow lights brighten up the night-like atmosphere in a beautiful, classy way. It's almost as though you're in an old film, the way everything around you is hazy and glowing. There's laughter in the background and shimmering lights somewhere in the distance, drinks and the smell of food occasionally wafting in the air from corner cafés or so. You wander, awestruck at the sight of the landscape when–
You bump into someone, a small sound leaving you at the impact.
You look back to take a look at the stranger - more to try and ground yourself into this “dream” and your current reality. You were in Penacony. And all of this was physically interacting with you, regardless of how miniscule you must be. Whether you would have been reincarnated as a Cafe owner, or an NPC, or anyone else. As long as you were on Penacony, you were going to be a part of Sunday's grand plan.
You zone out, the hazy cacophony of ecstasy in the background blurring in the crowded space of your mind, thoughts overarching and bubbling up.
Beep!
You look at your phone, buzzing as quests pop up. You take a moment to look around the various shops, before your eyes land on a cozy cafe.
It won’t hurt to rest for a moment.
–
“Shit, shit, shit..”
You curse to yourself, frantically tapping on the screen and trying to fix this mess.
“Just– cooperate damn it..!”
Your teeth gnaw at your lip, biting and peeling off bits of the skin. It stings, but in your anxious state, you barely pay mind,
Why was the system not cooperating with you?!
None of your teleportation points worked, you weren't levelling up, barely any of the trinkets given by completion of quests were being used up! It was rudimentary junk in your inventory and now for some god awful reason, your entire system was going haywire!
System error: freespace is occupied!
System error: unavailable tab
System error: unable to access tab
System error: unable to complete..
“Yeah, yeah I got it you little-”
“Is something the matter?”
You gasped under your breath, a chill shooting up your spine as you turn around,
“No, no! Nothing, haha just.. uh..”
You awkwardly shuffle, pretending to look into your bag,
“You seem to be having trouble.”
Sunday's poised figure contrasts your sweaty, nervous, fidgeting one, as you only panic more at his words.
“Oh, just.. well.. it’s my first time visiting another world, so..”
“Ah, first time jitters? I’m faintly familiar.”
You chuckle awkwardly, but your humour doesn't seem to be exactly matched. Sunday’s smile doesn't widen or lessen, and neither does he chuckle. You realise how uncanny he looks in the dim lights of the Golden Hour barely illuminating his face in the alley.
“You seem to have been separated from your group. Would you like me to accompany you on your way back?”
“Sure–”
Warning: you are currently interacting with an influential figure. Proceed with caution.
“..you seem hesitant.”
You look at the glaring notification on your screen - akin to when an amber alert pops up, or when an earthquake warning resounds.
“..uh, I think.. I’ll be able to find them on my own. I should be fine.”
“I insist. As the representative and Spokesperson of The Family it is my duty to ensure the safety and relaxation of guests in the Dreamscape.”
Shit. This guy isn’t giving in.
You hesitate, a bead of sweat forming on your forehead and grazing the top of your eyebrow,
Beep!
Optional: would you like dialogue suggestions to be displayed?
[Yes]
[No]
[No – do not ask again]
You sigh internally. At least this system knows how to assist you when you need it.
“Shall we?”
Sunday beckons you to follow, as the pop-up blinks away, before you get the chance to select.
There’s no getting out of this. You’re just gonna have to suck it up and be careful.
“..sure.”
-
Sunday doesn’t remember when it exactly began.
Strange patterns, predictable dialogues, and the anomalies that occured..
Right after Sunday discovered your name.
He watched as the cup from the trash pile slipped and fell onto the pavement. Your name was written on it – messily and hurried. The cup rolls down a bit before hitting the side of his shoe. Sunday watched it with indifference, opting to simply move it aside before he spotted it. Your name. But it wasn’t supposed to be.
An alias? Maybe. It was different than the name administered in your profile.
He opted to push it back for later; but it was an interrupted thought as he walked ahead and watched you fiddle around with your phone, buzzing constantly as you cursed at it.
He breathes out, before deciding to approach you.
–
“Alone?”
“Alone.”
You respond, your eyes embarrassed and watching the various shuffling of feet in front of you, the crowd forming in front of the Rollercoaster you were too scared to go on.
Well, it's rather you haven't been able to go onto them.
Stelle and March offered you to join, and usually you'd be able to accept the invitation pop up, but as of recent, your system has been going haywire. The system probably narrowed down the scenarios you'd be allowed to participate in,in order to control the situation.
So you stood there, your mood dampened as you accepted that the system would not allow you to partake in the ride with your friends, shaking your head and telling them to go on instead, leaving you behind.
And Sunday saw all of it.
Or rather, just that you haven't gone onto the ride.
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“No, nothing like that.”
You chuckle softly, shaking your head. Even if you were.. he's not exactly the person you'd tell it to, anyway. You ignore the buzzing of your phone as it displays the same warning, jaded and moody as you'd been denied a great opportunity to have fun.
“..there is a new bakery that's opened up in the corner. Would you like to visit?”
You blink, and look at him, confused. He seems to have understood your confusion, and follows up,
“Until your companions have had their fill. Just for a cup of coffee.”
You hesitate, humming in contemplation. You look at the options displayed;
Options:
□ “Sure. Let's go.”
□ “sorry, my husband's waiting for me on the express.
□ “No thank y–
System Error: no options available
You sigh. You really need to do something about these errors. You nod,
“Sure. Let's go.”
…
The bakery was warm, and lively. As soon as you entered, the faintly sweet smell of pastries and the waft of coffee enveloped you two. You gawked at the mesmerising scenery, while Sunday asked for an available booth that's more hidden from the public eye.
The seats were soft, and pliable as you took your seat, still taking in the view of the bakery. You hear Sunday clearing his throat and tapping the table, your gaze shifting to him. He points to the menu. You understand his cue and take to reading it, your eyes scanning the plethora of options as Sunday does the same.
“Have you.. been here before?”
“I have visited once in the past. With my sister.”
“Ah, how is Robin?”
Your eyes settle on a particular option, as the silence between you two fills with comfortable conversation,
“She has been well. Are you looking forward to her performance at the coming Festival?”
You blink as you realise. How could you forget? The entire reason you and the rest of the crew even came to Penacony! This was the guy who was gonna put everyone into a coma!
“O-Oh, uh, yes! March has been talking non-stop about it, so..”
You chuckle awkwardly, flustered as he caught you a bit off guard. He hums, his face indifferent and neutral as your words process in his mind.
“I suppose I shall expect you in the audience, then?”
“March will drag me to the front, so you'll probably get a clear view of me in my uncomfortable glory.”
That seems to elicit a small, soft chuckle from him, as his eyes land on a specific item on the menu, seeming to have decided his own liking.
“Very well. I'll look forward to it.”
Soon enough, a waitress comes up to the table, and begins taking your orders.
–
“It does seem a tad scary, but the view is always beautiful in the Astral express.”
“I'm sure of it. It sounds wonderful.”
Sunday listens to you dutifully, as you continue talking. Somewhere along the way, your discomfort at the awkward silence between you two led to you talking and filling in the silence, your coffee cup hanging idly in your hands. One thing led to another, as both of you started talking about your childhood memories, tea flavours, desserts, and so on. You find Sunday has been easy to converse with. You'd been ignoring the constant buzzing of your phone – most likely achievements or quests that popped up constantly wherever you went.
You take another sip from your coffee as Sunday takes his initiative to talk, listening to him well, and chuckling slightly at one or the other thing.
“I came to know tea is supposed to be made with hot water, but by then I'd gotten accustomed.”
You giggle, slightly in disbelief,
“Well, do you like iced tea now?”
Sunday shakes his head,
“I prefer coffee, more than that. Perhaps due to needing it more than a preference..”
His eyes trail to your cup, as you hold it in your hands. You follow his gaze,
Is something wrong? He'd been glancing at your cup a few times now, but you didn't comment on it before.
“Is.. something wro–”
Your words are cut off as your phone loudly rings, making you almost fumble and drop your coffee as you hurriedly take your phone.
It's March!
Crap, you forgot.
“Sorry, I uh..”
You scroll through the plethora of notifications, almost all of them missed calls and various texts.
“It seems your companions were searching for you.”
You look up, as Sunday looks into the distance, Stelle and March running towards you.
–
It was strange how things progressed since you came to Penacony.
Some of your equipment took ages to level up, the others taking barely anything before they hit their maximum level. Your friendship level progressed pretty highly on some days, and barely moved an inch on other days.
Your friendship level with Sunday, on the other hand, shot up to a 5. Not even anyone on the Astral Express had that level.
You only noticed it a fraction before you cleared all your notifications at once, swiped away before your finger had the chance to tap on it.
Regardless, that wasn’t your exact concern as of late. The story of Penacony had been well under way now, and things were starting to pick up.
As of recent, you haven't been able to remember the quest contents as much as you used to, only remembering enough in the last moment to avert an extremely bad decision – at least for yourself. Your own personal missions left you alive by a hair's breadth.
But if that didn't upset you – your crew did. The pressure of everything happening on Penacony seemed to have started to weigh down on your team, as they barely regard you anymore. You could technically blame it on the system – it's been trying desperately to revive and fix itself as the game progresses. You might be interfering with the inner workings, so you suppose it's only natural the game tries to limit your interactions with the world.
So for the most part, you've resigned yourself to be an NPC; walking around all of the tourist attractions, getting who knows how many cups of coffee, trying on various clothing items, and occasionally running into Sunday. The first few times, you awkwardly fiddled with your phone for optional dialogues, but as time went on, you felt more comfortable. Regardless, it's not like anything you say can technically avert him from his current plan. It's been in the schemes for who knows how long? As of now, it's less complicating to remain ignorant and act unknowing, and enjoying another walk with him as he surveys the Dreamscape. Considering how close you two might be getting, you'll probably end up telling him a few secrets from your past.
-
“The Grand theatre is Penacony’s main attraction.”
Sunday’s face is illuminated by it in the distance, as he stands, staring at it. His voice is barely audible, seemingly as if he speaks to himself. But that idea is swept under the rug the moment he turns slightly to you.
When was this cutscene? You curse your memory, the fog of your mind still not cleared from when you first came to this world,
“Have you decided to attend?”
Truthfully, you didn’t want to. Considering the story, you actually knew the event wasn’t going to happen. But in the case it did..
Options:
□ “Ill be there first in line to enter.”
□ “Im thinking about it.”
□ “probably not..”
“..I have.”
You hesitantly answer.
“You haven’t made up your mind.”
Sunday states, more as a fact than a question. You can’t blame him, considering the hesitance apparent in your voice.
“..out of everyone, I’d hoped you would have attended.”
The options flicker and appear, but before you can press and respond, he continues,
“I understand. How has your family been?”
He turns to face you, you stay silent for a moment, before humming and clicking on an option,
□ “They’re alright.”
□ “I hope they’re all okay.”
□ “I wouldn’t really know..”
“Ah, uh.. we’re all kind of in our separate ways right now, so.. I wouldn’t really know.”
“I see.”
Both of you stand in silence, as you follow his gaze to the glowing theatre. After a moment, Sunday breaks his silence,
“When I was a child, I was particularly soft-spoken. Back then, Robin used to stand up for me frequently.”
Your ears perk up slightly. Is he talking about a childhood memory right now?
“One day, she wasn’t around, taking a few extra music lessons. The other kids were simply curious enough to take me in.”
You hum, listening to him intently. Your eyes gaze over his features – softly shaded by the cold light of the theatre, and illuminated by the yellow lights of the path.
“We were all kids. One of them pulled and broke my wing that day.”
You gasp, involuntarily. Ouch.
But sunday only chuckles at your reaction, his eyes downwards and distant. You don't think he finds it funny.
“But do you know? Right after that - they visited me. Day after day. Every step of recovery. Every recess when I had to sit back, they accompanied me. I thought about it recently. Humanity is worth saving.”
You stay silent, before smiling. The silence seems pleasant over you two, as you stare at the Grand Theatre in the distance.
“That, is when human spirit and strife first piqued my interest.”
You blink, and turn to look at him, the smile on your face faltering,
“What must the weak, the misfortunate, and the falsely accused do to gain balance within this world?”
You’re left speechless for a moment. It seems even the system cannot exactly provide you any dialogue options, as you glance over to your phone.
“..balance in the world isn’t achievable, which is why the human spirit strives to fix it.”
You stay silent, listening to him.
“Would a bird that cannot fly be allowed to, simply because it yearns to? Would it be righteous of you, or of the bird, to allow the freedom and death of the vast sky? Is it still righteous, if you withhold its freedom?”
He inhales, slowly, speaking in a low voice, wavering.
“Is death the only comprehensible freedom life offers, beside slumber, to the weak? Is that truly freedom?”
Sunday turns to look at you – his golden eyes almost searing into your soul.
You break out into a sweat, panicking as you check your phone, desperately trying to find an option when–
System Error: options not available
Shit, shit, shit. Holy crap. Can you even speak right now?
You're left silently staring at Sunday. He stares back before resigning to quietly look away.
You should leave.
—
Your memory seems to be strangely affected – either because you haven't been able to adjust to the new world, or you just haven't been able to adapt to Penacony.
You groan and slump into the couch of your room, in the real world. You keep forgetting to charge your phone – which isn't technically a hassle; you can access the same menu options, it's just more.. time-consuming. Not to mention you lose your only source of dialogue option pop ups.
How long has this been going on? You knew Penacony had a vast and complicated storyline, but living it feels entirely different. Feeling it is entirely bizarre. No wonder your head's spinning.
But thankfully, it should end soon. Your last quest is to face off Sunday in his boss form. You and your members have decided to meet up at the Grand Theatre, where the event will take place.
You place your phone into charging, and right on cue, March pops up into your room. She stumbles around your room a bit the moment you turn your back, even hear her drop and accidentally knock over some items on her way, simply laughing at the girl, as you continue packing up and preparing for the final “showdown”. You disregard her words, when she tells you she felt something push her.
-
You're not sure when the next cutscene plays.
You're in the grand theatre; just having defeated Sunday, and collectively waiting to return to the Astral Express. This is when you meet Boothill and Black Swan, where she wakes you up using Misha as a fallacy within Ena's dream.
But you aren't waking up.
You've just been stranded in the empty grand theatre after the darkness lifted.
You try to turn your phone on – but its busted. March must have disconnected the plug when she stumbled across a few things.
You sigh, irritated and antsy, choosing to walk ahead and look warily at the mechanical statues. The quest description is empty; devoid of any explanation. The title is vague and doesn't indicate much. Are you stuck in the loading screen? What the hell is going on?
And just as you are about to shout out for help – Sunday appears. There he is, on the stage. But this time, there's no spotlight. He stares down at you, emptily. You're creeped out for the lack of a better word, feeling your skin crawl with every second he stares. The silence is paper thin and thickly dense at the same time; electrified with tension and the unknown.
He makes the first step, slowly descending down and towards you.
“You are an outsider.”
System error: cannot process dialogue
“You do not belong here.”
System error: cannot proceed further
“I do not belong here.”
System warning: further interaction in this context may lead to irreversible da–
Sunday's hand rips through the warning, causing it to glitch violently, and disappear. You're scared, your throat constricting and your heart almost lurching out of your chest as he continues walking towards you, eyes searing into your soul,
“We do not belong here.”
Beep!
Options:
□ We do not belong here
□ I do not belong here
□ You do not belong here
□ We belong together
■ There is nothing else left for you here. You cannot turn back. There is no other option.
The screen glitches out, as Sunday stands before you, his hand reaching out,
“Tell me. What is your name?”
You can't access anything – the menu, the quests, your inventory, nothing. You stare almost endlessly in horror, as Sunday speaks of your real name.
You shouldn't have used it on that coffee cup.
-
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