#thank you gramma Grace for pointing out my typo

[daily-dose-of-danno]

Aside from Vlad do you have a favorite ghost villain?

And aside from Danny who is your favorite good ghost?

For villain, definitely Skulker! I guess it’s his overall vibe? But I think he’s really neat. Plus he’s like. Iconic.

Season 1, Episode 3 - One of a Kind

Season 1, Episode 7 - Bitter Reunions

And for good ghost! Absolutely Frostbite. I love Pandora, but Frostbite had so much potential and really took on a sort of big role towards the end of the show when it came to understanding Danny’s core and his powers. I wish we had gotten to see more of him before the show got cancelled.

Season 3, Episode 2 - Infinite Realms

Season 3, Episode 6 - Urban Jungle

[just-some-random-blogger]

I Win, You Lose

Pedro Pascal x Actress!Reader

Summary: In Loving Memory of Pedro Pascal, the best bachelor that ever graced the planet. He's not dead, he just got into a relationship and I'm in mourning.

Word Count: 1k+

Warnings: Fem!reader, extremely delusional, socmed au, crack fic, use of y/n smh, fluff, im on my final straw, typos, etc.

A/N: listen pedro pascal is a happy pill for me and i just wanna be silly goofy so let me have this or else i will cry. Tagging: @pinksirensong @aralezinspace @sloanexx @amis-love-bugs @top1bbgloak @sunfairyy @djarinsstuff @mooniesyubi @pedropascalgirly @mmmmandoz @multifandom-fangirl4

Flickering lights. Hollering paparazzi. Click, flash, shudder. Pedro smiles through it all then is redirected to a few interviewers.

The interviewer he is redirected to beams at the sight of him, adjusting his grip on his mic, "hi! How are you?"

Pedro smiles, "I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm great! I'm so excited to see what you have in store for us, as I'm sure everyone else is," he motions to the camera.

Pedro places a hand on his heart. He thanks him, "that means a lot. I'm excited for everyone to see as well."

"Are you nervous at all?"

Pedro blows a raspberry, "I feel like I'm about to pass out any second."

He laughs, "is that the same thing you felt when you were talking to Y/N Y/L/N?"

Pedro's eyes widen a fraction. He lets out a chuckle then stills for a second before playfully slapping the man's arm. He laughs so hard that he can't respond. His face grows a bit red.

The interviewer laughs with him.

Pedro regains his wits, "I won't lie to you, my brain disconnected when she fixed my tie."

"Oh yeah," he agrees, nonchalant, "she did that to me once-"

"SHE DID?!" Pedro gasps.

"-and my- Yeah, she did-"

"When?" Pedro furrows his brows and points a finger, "right now? Right now?! You're not even wearing a tie!"

"No! No! Last time!"

"Well," he purses his lips and raises his brows, "hate to break it to ya, but she fixed my tie, like, 5 seconds ago." He rolls his eyes.

The interviewer raises his hands, "you're right. You win."

"Yes, that's correct."

Y/N Y/L/N poses with Pedro Pascal and stuns in blue dress

pascaldailyupdates: Okay but y/n and pedro 👀👀👀👀

anakinskyrunnin: 🧍‍♀️ this wasn't on my bucket list

ynforgetsramen: WHY ARE THEY POSING LIKE THAT

→ oscarpascal replied: THE WAY HE LOOKIN HER HAS ME ILL

→ → ynishotok replied: ??? CONFIRMING A RELATIONSHIP SOON

grogumybeloved: BRO BRO BRO WHAT @.dilfpascal have you SEEN THIS

→ dilfpascal replied: ❌👄❌ wdm

ynweekly: SO YOURE TELLING ME MY PREDICTIONS WERE ALL WRONG?

→ oscarpascal replied: LITERALLY ME THIS IS SUCH A PLOT TWIST

hollywoodscoop: Y/N Y/L/N & Pedro Pascal spotted with friends in New Yourk.

→ smexywolf replied: THAT COULD LITERALLY BE AND MY GRAMMA THATS SO PIXELATED

→ starwitch replied: YO WAHT

→ javijavipedro replied: GUYS DW I WENT TO NEW YORK AND DIDNT SEE THIS 😌 it cant be real

→ ynftw replied: [VIOLENT SCREAMING] I THOUGHT SHE WAS DATING ANDREW GARFIELD MY SHIP WHAT ABOUT MY SHIP

→ → ynishotok replied: 😭😭😭 PLEASE SAME THOUGHTS

→ goetye replied: I HAVE EXAMS WHAT IS THIS

→ javimypapi replied: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO COMPETE WITH FUCKING Y/N DAFAQ

→ → 1234choco replied: gg fr fr

Pedro Pascal & Y/N Y/L/N Confirm Relationship

Pascal has confirmed to Volume Magazine that he and actress Y/N Y/L/N have been in a "loving relationship" for a few months now.

pefropuppet: 🤪 loving 🤪 realtionship 🤪

→ javimypapi replied: 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 time to delete myself

It's Official! Pedro Pascal & Y/N Y/L/N are dating

And they're the cutest couple on this side of the planet.

wuit39pi: so glad i live on the otherside of the planet. that means this isn't real

c00lwhip: Y/N and I are still dating on the other side.

→ crayonpascal replied: me with pedro

ICYMI: Y/N Y/L/N dating Pedro Pascal

But I'm willing to bet you Pedro girlies did not miss a second of it.

djarinoppa: please this article is being so LOUD 😭

Radio 100 - Y/N Y/LN talks Pedro Pascal

"Let's talk about it," the young interviewer says, pursing her lips, pinching the air with her manicured nails.

I let out a breathy chuckle and nod, "let's."

"Pedro Pascal."

"Pedro Pascal," I repeat with a smile, continuing to nod.

"I want to know everything," she says, adjusting her headphones and her mic, "we at Radio 100, along with the rest of the world, want to know--" she turns to me, "--how did you bag the baddie?"

I break into laughter.

The host stresses, "the baddie."

"THE baddie," I repeat, "the baddie of our generation, Pedro Pascal," I chuckle and suck in a breath.

The interviewer chuckles with me and motions, "because goodness knows we're all going to be taking notes."

I sigh and think for a moment. I link my hands together and prop them on the table in front of me, "ya know, I was just real with him."

She nods, eager to know what else I had to say.

"I told him," I shrug, "I could bring him in hot or I could bring him in cold."

She breaks into a fit of laughs before I even finish the sentence. I laugh along with her, pleased with the reaction I garnered. She wheezes, "no but did you really?"

"Absolutely not," I snort, "that would have been great though, wouldn't? I'm pretty sure if I did do that, he would have cried."

We both cackle.

"Like," I chuckle, "don't know if it's a good cry or a bad cry but there would have been tears."

dukes_Ducks reposted itsYNduh's story [captioned] 😱😱😱😱

cheeseontoast reposted itsYNduh's story [captioned] THE PEDRO MEME???????????????????????????????????????????

anabreathing reposted itsYNduh's story [captioned] ARE WE GOING TO SEE THEM ON A MAGAZINE TOGETHER LORD HAVE MERCY

TESTmeTRY reposted itsYNduh's story [captioned] in front of my mother fucking salad 💀✋

pascalispunk reposted itsYNduh's story:

howlorgrowl reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] did this mf really just say strongly worded letter 😂😂 fuck outta here

itsYNduh reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] THANK YOU 😤😤

dindjarindaddy reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] ????? WHAT IS THIS

thelastofh0e reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] his boomer jumped out smh SCREAMING

pascaldailyupdates: Pedro and Y/N spotted together in a beach in Malibu.

→ MOONBABE replied: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW *RUNS INTO A TRAINTRACK*

→ igotb00bs replied: 💔SO💔HAPPY💔FOR💔YOU💔

→ brrrrambo replied: shhhh you guys its too blurry to tell who it is

→ → dilfpascal replied: LMAOOO

→ → → ynishotok replied: we love denial 🤡

→ cornyluvaffir replied: OK BUT THE HANDS AND THE LEANING AND THE THING WITH THE

→ javimypapi replied: NO CUZ THE WAY MY DAD SAID HE SAW THE MANDO GUY ON THE BEACH AND I DIDNT BELIEVE HIM

→ → 404dead replied: ✋✋✋✋ aint no fucking way 💀

→ dingdongdont replied: *sips clorox cutely*

dadystate0mind: BABE WAKE UP NEW PEDRO Y/N PICS JUST DROPPED

→ dilfpascal replied: what if was my last straw

→ ynbaeluv replied: im so glad this is blurry so i can pretend i didnt see it

→ lmaotryagain replied: the pda is pdaing

→ honeyyn replied: no cuz he got her smiling like mad 😢

→ pedromiamor replied: 😭😭😭

→ ynthighsluv replied: alexa play that should be me

LOOK: Pedro Pascal and Y/N Y/L/N in New York

→ batmanis1 replied: LMAOOOOOO THEY REALLY SAID 4K ULTRA HD

→ → yuh1200 replied: FRRR IM SOBBING I CANT USE THE ITS TOO BLURRY EXCUSE ANYMORE

→ → → jennieluvu replied: JOKES ON YOU I DONT HAVE MY GLASSES ON

→ → → → isaacpascal replied: DW I BLURRED THE PIC FOR US [image attached]

→ propernadz replied: I'm mentally unwell because they look so good together and I cannot deny.

→ stuckyforlife replied: GOD I HAVE SEEN WHAT YOU DO FOR OTHERS

→ natasharomanovv replied: i just woke up

→ → nevergain replied: same 😭😭😭

bellaramsey reposted itsYNduh's story

508cutie reposted bellaramsey's story [captioned] HELP BELLA REPOSTED THIS I CANT

donttalkbetty reposted itsYNduh's story [captioned] SCREASMIFNF

pascalispunk reposted itsYNduh's story:

dilfpascals reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] DEAD IN THE GRAVE NO ONE TOUCH ME

memeynok reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] APOLOGY WITH TEARS

anderson_1 reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] no but theyre so cute for this and i hate it

enterthesandman reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] HES SHYYYYYY

ilovepascl reposted pascalispunk's story [captioned] WHAT IF THIS WAS MY LAST STRAW

itsYNduh reposted pascalispunk's story:

igotitithink reposted itsYNduh's story [captioned] GOD I SEE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR OTHERS

ILOVEyn reposted itsYNduh's story [captioned] WHEN IS IT MY TURN

[maya-net]

Documentation on a Silver Exorcist, a Small Medium, a Smiling Siren, et al. - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Stars Align: Emma Xing Qixin, Tech Support and Professional Administrator of the Unofficial Zheng Ge’s Fanclub

The rustling of the seven large plastic packages of heavily discounted ramen complements the unforgivably nasty squeak of the styrofoam that protects the equally heavily discounted century eggs that Emma had spent the last of her weekly budget on. Squashed together in a trusty, faded blue shopping bag, they are placed very carefully on the chair. Her backpack is dropped just slightly less carefully onto another chair, and she rolls her shoulders, breathing in the various blends of caffeine and sugar wafting around the SunDollarsTM store that she had desperately scouted for.  

Xiqiang glides into the chair opposite, and with an elegant slide of an arm, slips Emma’s other equally faded blue shopping bag on to the seat beside her. Emma doesn’t understand how a human being can be that graceful, and sends a silent apology to her mom for being a failure of a daughter.

“I will order some refreshments,” Xiqiang’s voice washes over the background noise of the other patrons in the café. “What would you like? It will be my treat.”

“Oh no no no, no need! I have -” Emma grunts as she bends over her backpack and pulls down the zipper ornamented with the keychain of a blond cyborg, “a gazillion SundollarsTM gift cards! My college orientation and faculty events have the occasional lucky draws or mini contests, and I’d always get something out of them. It’s great, really. I regift them to my friends for birthdays. Saves me time and money from having to buy actual birthday presents. I keep my money, they get their coffee. But. Um. You didn’t hear that.” With some difficulty, she wrestles out a bright red gift card from the stack that is threatening to burst out of the seams of the pouch sewn into her backpack. “Ah, I’ll save this table. Could you help me order a large caramel frappe? And maybe one of their giant cookies. Any flavour is fine. Please and thank you!”

A pause. “Very well,” Xiqiang graciously replies as she accepts the gift card.

Seven minutes later, Emma is happily slurping down her frappe as a countdown timer to the livestream event pops up on her laptop screen. 47 minutes to go. Her ears are now plugged with a pair of earphones. Opposite her, Xiqiang is steadily typing away on her laptop with unnaturally impeccable posture.

It is at this very moment. That the universe decides to be an utter demon and opens the gates of chaos on what was supposed to have been a peaceful night with Emma Xing and the livestream of her Zheng ge, actor-singer and golden-hearted, multi-talented John Zheng.

Incoming Video Call: Estelle Xing

Emma accepts the call on her phone, and props it up on the table with the camera angled at her. She connects her second pair of earphones (won from a secondary school Poetry-in-Motion Competition with her epic poem Blood is a Vein Work of Art-eries) and stuffs the side with the microphone into her right ear. “Mom.”

“Emma. The house has no WiFi. My phone has not enough data to stream Gege’s event.”

“What. Why? Is it the router again? Did you turn it off for thirty seconds and turn it back on again?”

"Yes. Actually, I called Cellularity and they said that they were having a city-wide network issue.”

“Tch. D*mn company. I keep telling you to switch service providers!” Emma pinches the bridge of her nose. “Wait, where’s Gramma? We all know she's the tech-savvy one, shame on you.”

“... She’s with her tai chi group today.”

“What?! I thought that was next week! And how could she miss Gege’s stream?!”

“... They rescheduled because one of their grandsons is getting married next week...”

“... Just... Go to a café or somewhere with WiFi and stream it there. Do you have leftover SundollarsTM gift cards from my last visit?”

Emma’s mom grimaces. “Yes. See, I actually thought of that. I’m at the nearest one.” The camera angle wobbles, and the queue of chattering teenagers at the cashier behind Emma’s mom blips into view for a hot second.  

Emma feels a strange sense of pride well up in her chest. “Mommy! So smart!”

Mommy laughs weakly. “Haha. Ah. Yah. I bought a strawberry shake. And then they told me that SunDollarsTM’s WiFi is actually with Cellularity. All the branches. In the whole city.”

… “Mom. Why is your luck so bad. Also. Why! Are! You! Drinking a strawberry shake! You are diabetic!”

“Almost diabetic! And this is low sugar! And! All my good luck was used up to give birth to you. Emmiee~”

“Don’t Emmie me! Aiyah, hang up hang up, don’t waste your data. I’ll message Danny. He’s with DiGiTellTM, not that bloodsucking Cellularity. You can go leech off his Wifi.”

“Aiyoh, your Danny, how can you do this to him - “

“ByeMomloveyou.” Emma ends the call, and snatches her phone off the table to begin typing at the lightspeed typical of her generation. The baby blue smiley starfish phone charm attached to it smacks her knuckles.

“Um. Pardon me,” Xiqiang coughs politely. Emma’s eyes dart up. “Your earphones weren’t connected properly.”

Oh.  

“Oh. Aaaaaaahahahahahahaha! Ha! Sorry about that! I’ll just...” Emma mumbles and screws in the earphone jack infinitesimally. “... tighten... this. I don’t use this pair very much. I forgot it does that. Sorry.”  

“It is fine.” Xiqiang blinks at her curiously. “Your mother is in WalaysiaTM?”

Emma’s fingers pause in their assault on her phone’s keyboard, brown eyes wide. “How did you know? Oh. Oh of course.” She slaps her forehead. “Our SundollarsTM WiFi here is obviously fine. We obviously don’t have Cellularity here in CanataTM. And yeah, I kind of revert to my accent when I’m with my family. You can tell?”

Xiqiang nods politely. “I see. Well, I do hope that this works out for you and your mother. You seem to be... close?”

Emma beams. “Thanks!” She returns to her phone.

LuckyStar: Danny.

LuckyStar: Danny.

LuckyStar: Danny.

No reply. She frowns.

LuckyStar: Danny DanyDanny. Dannyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Seen by BetterDanU 7.08PM

Emma’s nostrils flare.

LuckyStar: DANNY YOU DIPSTICK WAKE UP WAKEUP I KNOW UR AWAKE EMERGENCY

LuckyStar: DANIEL NG! U WAKE UP OR ILL POST THAT NEW YEARS VIDEO OF U. U KNOW WHICH ONE

BetterDanU: …

BetterDanU: I actually WAS SLEeping because some ppl actually have to WORK friday nite and want to zzz sat morning. 

BetterDanU: Have u not headr of timezones. WHAT DO U WANT  

LuckyStar: Liar, i know ur schedule, u were def not sleeping.

LuckyStar: Gege’s livestream is today!

BetterDanU: … I know. U wouldnt shut up abt it. wat do u want

LuckyStar: Cellularity’s wifi is down all city and mom cant stream it  

BetterDanU: tell her to go to sundollars

LuckyStar: sundollars is w cellularity! 😡

BetterDanU: … bloodsuckers.

LuckyStar: I KNOW. Anyway, mom is at the sundollars near our house. U know which one. Go pick her up n let her use ur wifi pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaz  

BetterDanU: …......… fine.  

LuckyStar: tnx ur the best!

BetterDanU: go away

With that situation handled, Emma neatly bites off one point of her star-shaped cookie, and turns her eyes back to her laptop screen. 36 minutes to go.  

Score: Emma – 1; Universe – 0.

The Universe decides to try again.

Incoming Video Call: Emily Xing

Emma slowly swipes across her phone screen after triple-checking that her earphones are 100% plugged in.  

“... Hi Gramma.”

“Emma!” Several ladies’ heads of various artificial shades of red, brown and black bob into view behind Emma’s grandmother’s face on Emma’s phone. “Why can’t we log in to your VooDooTM account on Mimi’s computer?”  

“... Gramma, did you all reschedule your tai chi group to watch Gege’s stream together using my VIP account which you definitely bragged about to them?”

“Emily, we kowtow! Your Emma is the best!” hollers one of the ladies. Emma’s grandmother preens.

Gramma, Emma despairs, why are you so Asian?

“Emmie~”

Emma closes her eyes and mutters, “Don’t Emmie me...”

“We have VooDooTM open on my laptop, but there is seven of us and one laptop is not enough! Mimi’s computer cannot access the page! It says – it says – what does it say?!” Emma’s grandmother yells.  

“This content is not available in your country!” Aunty Mimi yells back from somewhere behind.

Emma sighs in exasperation, “Gramma, they’ll need to install a VPN. Do you remember how we did it on your computer?”

Emma’s grandmother is stunningly silent for a solid three seconds, and shakes her head. Emma sighs again. “What’s the address?”

One minute later:

LuckyStar: Danny danny danny

LuckyStar: is everytng ok w mom?

BetterDanU: yeah, shes taken over my living room and tv I hooked up to the comp.  

BetterDanU: Shes drinkin a poisonous lppking pink drink and eating those giant star cookies they hv. Theyre not going to last until the end of the dtream.

LuckyStar: … wait.

LuckyStar: wHAT COOKIES. Get them away frm her, shes almost diabetic!

BetterDanU: how can someone be slmost diabetic???

BetterDanU: … she says its low sugar. theyre actually rpetty good.

BetterDanU: *pretty  

LuckyStar: u traitor! and of all the typos to correct!

BetterDanU: ….......

LuckyStar: anyway, DANNY I NEED UR HELP ITS ANOTHER EMERGENCY

BetterDanU: what now

LuckyStar: dont tell mom this,  

BetterDanU: oh? gossip?

LuckyStar: but gramma is with her taichi grp now and theyre trying to stream Gege’s event on two computers but the second one wont work becz they need vpn on that one  

BetterDanU: Wow. brutal gramma.

LuckyStar: danny pleeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaase can u go help them install the vpn  

LuckyStar: pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase 🥺🥺🥺

BetterDanU: ….............  

BetterDanU: where r they

Twenty-ish minutes and one VPN install and seven impressed old ladies and one harrassed Daniel Ng later, Emma daintily bites off the second point of her star cookie.  

Emma – 2; Universe – 0.

Xiqiang sips her tea quietly as Emma narrates this second victory to her, and then digresses into hero-worshipping multi-talented, golden-hearted John Zheng.  

Emma swoons. “We all stan him so much across multiple generations! Sure, he’s eye candy, but you know what, even I can admit that, objectively, he’s not the best looking. No but!” She sucks in some of her frappe to quickly rehydrate, “Even though his eyes are not 100% symmetrical, you know they’re 100% real! Can’t say the same about everyone else! Not that there’s anything wrong with that. And! Even though his teeth aren’t 100% perfect... You should see his smile! Oh! My! Heart!” She clutches said heart. “So genuine! Like a bunny! And most of all, that VOICE! That BRAIN! And that HEART!”

Xiqiang tilts her head slightly in what is definitely interest.

“You should watch his songs and dramas and his interviews! He’s really mature, has a charming sort of wisdom, and he really understands his characters. He works so, so hard, and he’s super nice to everyone, even his janitors! And even his haters! Like, what the heck!” A deep sigh. “He is. The Best Guy. In the Universe.”

And thus, the Universe’s third Attempt at utter buffoonery manifests itself in the yet another round of buzzing of Emma’s Very Tired phone. Emma slowly slumps in her seat. Xiqiang’s almond eyes flick to the poor phone, and she excuses herself as she returns to her own laptop for business-y exorcist stuff.

Emma breathes in. Very Deeply. And returns to her Very Tired phone.

Alicia: Hi Emma!

Alicia: Its been a while. I hope you are well!

Emma scrolls up to check the last conversation she had with Alicia. Eight months ago, when they had exchanged the obligatory birthday wishes, and then slinked back to their respective lives until the next birthday.

It’s a bit sad, actually. Emma and a handful of secondary school friends had once been pretty tight, having gone through the horrors of academia and adolescence together. But ever since graduation, everyone had sort of just... drifted apart. With the exception of Danny, practically everyone she knew and was close to had gone on to different cities and even countries to pursue tertiary education in fields so varied you would wonder how everyone had even managed to grow up together in the same academic cohort forced to take up certain courses due to the way their country’s totally not flawed educational system had been structured because of course everyone absolutely agrees on the complete relevance to real life that is inherent in subjects such as Physics and Geography and Moral Studies (which, in all fairness, would be considered a fairly necessary subject especially in today’s society, had it not been based on pure rote memorisation of the regimented definitions of pre-determined moral values instead of critically applying said moral values in the written scenarios thrown to them every exam) and flippin’ dipsticky CALCULUS and and and -  

And we digress.

Emma: Alicia! It’s been a while!  

Emma: How may I help u?  

Alicia: Heehee. 😇

Alicia: iirc, I think u mentioned that u got a VIP VooDooTM account?

Emma: … Alicia you leech! Go buy ur own account!  

Alicia: im poor and u know it!

Emma: We’re millennials! We're all poor!

Emma: go upgrade with a 30 day free trial. Then just unsubscribe after.

Alicia: I can’t. 😭 I did it before and ti remembers my email add and wont let me do it again.  

Alicia: *it  *won’t

Emma: Then use another email add! We’re millennials! Who doesn’t have a back up email account?  

Alicia: I did! I used up my JmailTM, insightTM, innet, etc etc accounts last year  

Emma: Use ur parents’!  

Alicia: I did! They were  

Alicia: Confused when they got the notifs but thank goodness they thought it was Junk 😊  

Emma: … Girl, how much drama do you watch on there.

Alicia: Too much. Im in too many fandoms.  

Alicia: EMMA PLEASE! It's just to watch John Zhengs promo livestream for The Fox today! I swear I will not misuse ur account!  

Alicia: One day when I have money, I swear I will buy my own account.  

Emma: That is a lie and we both know it.

Alicia: 🤐

Emma remembers their shared afternoons of literal tears after every Calculus test they barely passed, and curses her soft heart as she gives Alicia her user name and password in an act of benevolence which she somehow has a feeling she will come to regret.

Alicia: Thank you sm. U rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Emma: Its so u don’t get desperate enough to do anytng illegal.

Alicia: We both know im not that smart lol  

Emma: We are legal! And scrupulous!

Emma: For Zheng ge!

Alicia: For Zheng ge!  

“John Zheng seems to have an unusually loyal fanbase,” Xiqiang comments from behind her laptop. Emma nods absent-mindedly. She has barely bitten off the third point of her star cookie when her Very Very Tired phone begins buzzing again.  

Incoming Video Call: BetterDanU 

No longer keeping track of her score with the Universe, Emma sinks lower into her chair under Xiqiang’s intrigued gaze, and weakly answers her phone, “Hello?”

She does not expect her grandmother’s distraught face under the profile name of BetterDanU: “Emmie! Why can’t we log into your account with another computer? It says that – that – Danny ah, what does it say?”

Emma nearly spits out blood. “How many devices are you trying to log into?!” Her hard-earned, greatly coveted VIP account that no one else seemed to want to buy for themselves allowed simultaneous sign-ins to a maximum of ten different devices, a feature that was absolutely necessary for the three generations of the Xing family.  

“Mimi’s daughters and granddaughters came downstairs and heard about Zheng ge’s livestream. Two laptops are not enough for all of us, so of course we had to get more!”

Emma sends a silent thank you to Danny who by now must be an expert on VPN installations. Speaking of which. 

“Danny, you there? Just sign up for a free 30-day trial account. And don’t forget to unsubscribe later.”

“I did.” Danny’s muffled voice sounds admirably calm, but there is definitely the subtlest note of misery in it. “Aunty Mimi’s granddaughter invited her neighbourhood friends to watch the stream, and we are out of accounts.”

“How! Many! Computers?!”  

Emma thinks she hears a suspicious clearing of the throat from Xiqiang that may or may not have been a laugh. Emma locks eyes with her in despair.

There is a tiny, tiny curl of Xiqiang’s lips as she casually remarks, “I am done with my e-mails for the day, and would like to relax with some form of entertainment. VooDooTM seems to have quite the selection of highly rated dramas like you advertised so eagerly to me earlier, and I have been told that there will be a promotional livestream this evening for the much-anticipated... The Fox?” There is definitely a sparkle in those almond eyes. “I thought it might interest you to know that I have decided to watch this livestream, and will do so on my newly purchased VIP account, the user details of which -” she slides over a SundollarsTM napkin covered in the prettiest handwriting Emma has ever had the good fortune to lay her bloodshot eyes on, “ - are written here.”

Emma stares at her with now goo-goo eyes. “Xiqiang! You are a literal angel!”  

“Xi-what? Who are you with?” Danny’s head pops into view next to Gramma’s gleeful face.  

“Danny! I’m hanging up! I’ll send you a new user account info you guys can use!” 

“What -” his calm façade is definitely slipping.

Emma does not hear the curious titters of “Xiqiang? Wah! What an intimidating name!” “Who would dare to name their son Xiqiang?”  “Must be very strong!” “Must be very shuai!” as she chirps in reply, “A professional exorcist, your saviour, and my new bf!”

A delicate clink of a white plate ladened with fresh chocolate chip muffins jerks Emma’s eyes up from her phone. “Oh, a snack for the stream? Xiqiang, did you order this? You shouldn’t have!”

Xiqiang leans forward to divide the muffins evenly. “It is fine.”

Danny chokes on the other line, “What what what -”

“Now don’t bother me anymore, Zheng ge’s livestream is going to start. Check your message! I’ll send you the info! See you later! Bye, Gramma! Bye, Aunties! Enjoy the stream! Zheng ge fighting!”

LuckyStar: [photo attached]

LuckyStar: Isn’t that THE prettiest handwriting you have ever seen?

LuckyStar: Oh, but if you can’t read it, the login name is YXQ_Gege  

LuckyStar: and password is LuckyStar123

LuckyStar: wow. what a sense of humour.

LuckyStar: Anyway! U seriously rock! Thanks Danny! I owe u my life!

LuckyStar: Aunty mimi makes seriously good cakes, so u might as well stay.  

LuckyStar: And remember, don’t tell mom!!!

BetterDanU: WHO IS XIQIANG AND WHY IS HIS PASSWORD UR USERNAME

The star cookie is decimated as Emma congratulates herself on a job well done against the schemes of the Universe. Her laptop screen is flooded with comments when John Zheng’s shy smile fades into view as the livestream finally, finally begins.  

“Gege!” Emma whisper-squeals. “You can’t hear me and you don’t know I exist! But! You will not believe the night I’ve just had! Your face heals my eyes and your heart heals my soul!” She silences her desperately buzzing phone.

Xiqiang breathes in deeply, and lets herself smile for the first time in a very long time. After an unusual evening of using the Skytrain for the first time, encountering a low-levelled spirit which the Council had not thought to Cleanse, meeting the most interesting Class Three medium who was currently hugging her backpack as she immersed herself in a long-awaited livestream of a clearly beloved celebrity who she had taken great pains to introduce Xiqiang to, and putting the tiniest dent in her bank account to sign up for a VooDooTM account for various reasons, Xiqiang relaxes in her chair, and does not let herself think about tomorrow.

Character Profiles

1. Emma Xing Qixin

Emma is derived from the Germanic word ermen meaning "whole" or "universal". Emma is also used as a diminutive of Emmeline, Amelia or any other name beginning with "em".

  星 (Xīng): star

运气 (Yùnqì): luck

欣 (Xīn): happy

Height: 154 cm; 5.05 ft | 159 cm (error; there is a story behind this)

Tools: Several reuseable shopping bags, backpack, blond cyborg keychain, laptop, secondhand phone, baby blue smiley starfish charm bought by her mom Estelle and customised further by her grandmother Emily

2. Xiqiang

希望 (Xīwàng): hope

强度 (Qiángdù): strength

For the sake of this story, “Xiqiang” is considered a very masculine name.

Height: 179 cm; 5.87 ft

Tools: Laptop, traditional calligraphy brush set, angled-tip pen set, normal ballpoint pen set

3. Estelle Xing  

Estelle is a female given name of Latin origin, and means star.

星 (Xīng): star

Yes, her name literally means Star Star.

Emma Xing’s mother. Has rather bad luck. She admits that, although her daughter can drive her up the wall, she is her greatest blessing and happiness.

4. Daniel Ng

Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge".

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Ng (pronounced [ŋ̍]; English approximation often /ɪŋ/ or /ɛŋ/) is a Cantonese transliteration of the Chinese surnames 吳/吴 (Mandarin Wú) and 伍 (Mandarin Wǔ). Alternately, it is a common Hokkien transcription of the name 黃/黄 (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: N̂ɡ, Mandarin Huáng).

Emma Xing’s errand boy. And former classmate. The real MVP.

5. Emily Xing

Emily: "rival" or industrious and hardworking, comes from the Latin name Aemilia.

星 (Xīng): star

Emma Xing’s grandmother. Is more techno-savvy than her daughter/Emma’s mother Estelle Xing. Story behind that TBA.

6. Alicia  

Alicia means “of noble kind/sort/type” (from Germanic “adal” = noble + “heit” = kind/sort/type).

Emma Xing’s friend from secondary school. They have both narrowly passed Calculus exams together, which cannot be said for all their classmates.

7. John Zheng

The name John is a theophoric name originating from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן‎ (Yôḥānān), or in its longer form יְהוֹחָנָן‎ (Yəhôḥānān), meaning "YHWH has been gracious".

战争 (Zhànzhēng): war

Author is now too lazy to come up with a Chinese name, thank you very much.

Author’s Notes

Character profiles will not be written for every single character because ain’t nobody got time for that. They will be updated as the story progresses. If I have the discipline to actually write this dang story. \o/

This is just a test run. I have not truly touched creative writing in a very, very long time, and have sadly lost many different characters and plot bunnies over the years as I never had the will to just put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard. And neither have I ever tried tackling anything this ambitious, if you can call this ambitious. (Well, actually, I did make a pathetic attempt at a novel ten or so years ago, and reading THAT draft just made me cringe and shrivel up and die on the inside. Which will probably happen to this fic in ten years’ time? \o/ )  

Oh my gosh, I’m so tired of formatting this now. Please excuse any typos because I just. Cannot. 

If you somehow stumbled across this fic and read until the end, bless your heart, bless your eyes, and thank you for reading!