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wutheringmights · 1 year

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"We’ll Meet Again (Some Sunny Day)” - Unfinished Bonus Links Draft

Over half a year ago, I swore that I was going to write a story based on @ezdotjpg‘s @bonus-links, which I never finished. This is in part due to a) me being absolutely devoured by CTB, b) me realizing that this story was gonna take 20k to tell at a minimum, and c) me being struck with a wave of insecurity; in short, I got really worried that I was not writing War and Spirit correctly and was projecting too much CTB onto them.

I had resolved to wait until I see them in the comic so that I could get a glimpse of their dynamic in action, but that might take a while. So in the meantime, here’s what I have.

Some Notes:

Obviously, this is just a draft so the writing/editing may not be up to snuff

I tried my best to gleam mannerisms and personalities from some posts Em made way back when, which I am unsure is still canon or not

Spirit signs in order to work around a severe stutter for these sounds: B, S, Th, Ch, St, G, W; I based a lot of how he talks around that stutter on how I deal with my own speech impediment (which is not a stutter) (so take it with a grain of salt)

War has a cockney accent that, in the worst decision of my life, I attempted to write out phonetically; he then switches to something more posh and British sounding

Official Summary For The (Completed) Story:

Spirit and War have always haunted each other.

(Or: Spirit can see ghosts. War treats him like one.)

----

Spirit crouched before the engine, oil drenched up to the elbow when the bell over the workshop door chimed. Alfonzo typically took care of the stray window shopper who didn’t realize an train garage wasn’t a store, but Alfonzo was out on a run that took him to the farthest reaches of the Snow Realm. By all accounts, it was Spirit’s job to greet the shopper.

But Spirit was precariously balancing about six different wrenches, trying to keep the loose cogs in place as he fixed one of the engine’s inner mechanisms. He almost had it too. He couldn’t abandon it now, not even to return his workshop to its tranquility.

“S-sorry!” he called out, swearing when his gloves slipped on the largest wrench, causing the cog it held to slip out of place. “Just g-give—hold on for a moment!”

The customer didn’t say anything, but they didn’t leave either. Spirit could hear them meander around the messy space, observing the walls covered in framed pictographs and the shelves brimming with engine parts. Spirit did his best to ignore then, but his attention helplessly narrowed on the faint clinking of chain mail and the soft intake of breath from someone who was surprised.

Spirit didn’t necessarily hate noise. Trains were loud. But it was easier to concentrate when he was the only one making a ruckus.

Admitting defeat, he began tightening the cogs and screws until he could safely remove his hands. He sighed as he stood, wiping the sweat off his brow. Belatedly, he remembered the oil on his hands, and grumbled as he shed his gloves and pulled a handkerchief from his overalls pocket.

He blinked. Sometime between starting this project and now, the morning sun had disappeared in favor of velvety night. Yet, someone had turned on the oil lamps, dousing the garage in suffused orange light. The shopper must have lit the lamps.

Slowly, he turned hands already rising to sign his question. But before his fingers could start the first sign, he was met with a man too pretty to be real.

Pretty really was the best way to put it. He was a decent height, but not necessarily tall—not that Spirit, having not grown an inch since he hit double digits in age, didn’t need to crane his neck to make eye contact. His lashes were long, curtaining half-closed eyes as he bent down to the base of the last oil lamp. A match glowed between his fingers, the flame bursting when it caught the gas. The lamp lit up.

The stranger stood upright. Eyes bluer than the ocean flickered to Spirit. His face held a sophisticated gauntness that made even the act of blowing out the flame elegant.

Spirit fidgeted, suddenly self-conscious of how dirty he was in comparison.

The stranger was dressed to the nines in a well-kept green tunic, with a blue cape draped around his shoulders like tinsel on a tree, pinned in place by an opulent broch. Even his boots, the ones that had echoed around the workshop, were shiny with fresh polish.

A man like this wouldn’t normally look twice at him, even when he washed the oil away and put on his castle guard uniform. But this one smiled so brilliantly that the ornaments on his body couldn’t compare. “It heaven and hell is ya,” the stranger said, flicking the match away. His accent was thicker than molasses. It made every word sound long and chewed out. “It looks like ya kept yer promise, conduc'aw.”

Spirit stared. “I’m sorry?” he signed. “Who are you?”

The stranger’s face fell. His boot scuffed the ground in an aborted step back.

Spirit frowned. With the handkerchief, he scrubbed the oil from his face. Seems like this stranger really thought he was too good for the likes of him.

The stranger cleared his throat. “Pardon me,” he said and, like that, his accent was totally different. Each vowel and consonant was crisper than fresh laundry, each syllable perfectly creased into place. It threw Spirit through another loop. “I seemed to have been confused for a moment there. Are you perhaps the Royal Engineer they call Link?”

Spirit nodded.

The stranger seemed to study him for a moment longer.

Spirit scrubbed his brow again, trying to get the oil off his skin. Just who was this guy?

Finally, stranger smiled. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He held out his hand. It was pristine. Even his nails were finely filed. “I am also named Link, but I am called the Hero of War. Tell me—are you prepared to perform your duty as a Hero of Hylia?”

Spirit stared. “What?”

Line Break

The Hero of War said to call him the captain, or perhaps sir if Spirit wanted something more succinct. But that last part was said with a rakish smile, so Spirit rolled his eyes and settled on captain.

From there, War’s good humor disappeared. Face drawn, he explained everything he knew, which wasn’t a lot—portals had appeared in his time, and someone named Lana had handed him a map detailing where in Hyrule’s convoluted history they led to (actual Hyrule, not a reinvention like New Hyrule). War didn’t know why the portals had appeared, but he had been in a conflict many years ago that had a similar mechanism.

“Get your personal affairs in order and make your goodbyes,” War said when his explanation was done. It was a weekend night, and chatter of couples and friends finding entertainment for the night drifted through the workshop’s windows. “Take your time, but we should leave before the new day.”

“Who said I’m coming with you?” Spirit signed.

War arched a brow. His lips quirked into something that was almost amused. “Because you wouldn’t let anyone walk into danger. Not even a stranger.”

Spirit scowled and signed, “What makes you say that?”

“This is far from my first encounter with another sacred hero.” War meandered around the shop, making tiny faces at the hodgepodge of half-made machineries. Whatever congeniality he had built up soured the moment he realized there was black residue on his fingers. He pulled a worn, red handkerchief from his pocket.

Spirit’s attention narrowed on it. It was frayed to the point where little flecks of broken thread fell from it like rain. If there was ever a print on the fabric, it had long been drowned out by noxious black stains. The captain didn’t seem to notice them, primly wiping his fingers clean as he said, “We are all beholden to the same virtues.”

“I’m not a hero,” Spirit signed. “I’m a conductor.”

“I know a hero when I see one.”

“You’re looking for someone else.” Spirit marched over to the door, turning around so that War could see his hands. “You need to leave.” He ended on a curt jerk of the hand before yanking the door to the garage open, gesturing for War to reenter the bustling streets of Castle Town.

War frowned, but something else in his face shifted as well. His charm had disappeared, and Spirit heard a warning in the back of his brain as War folded up the handkerchief and stuffed it into his pocket. “You are Link of Aboda Village. You have always been able to see spirits and ghosts, though you ignored your sixth sense in favor of apprenticing as a conductor and train engineer. Through hard work and study, you became New Hyrule’s youngest ever Royal Engineer.”

War walked up to him, ever footfall a punch to the gut. “However, your first months as the Royal Engineer were put on hold when the Spirit Tracks disappeared as well as the Princess Zelda. Luckily, your senses allowed you to see that she too had become a ghost when a dark demon ejected her from her body.”

Spirit’s hands shook too much to sign. They became fists at his side as he stuttered out, “St-st-st—”

“You fought the Demon Malladus and rescued the Princess Zelda. You restored the Spirit Tracks across Hyrule. You were given charge of a sacred train as well as a sacred sword. You are the successor of the Hero of Winds and an incarnation of the Hero’s Spirit.” He stopped right in Spirit’s face, close enough to make Spirit feel insignificant. “And you dare to tell me that I have the wrong person? Rest assured, Link of Aboda. I know more about you than you realize.”

Spirit stuttered over a few more syllables. Forget that. Without bothering to vocalize or sign, he pointed out the door. Get out.

War stared down at him for a moment longer. The corner of his mouth twitched the way Zelda’s did whenever she didn’t want anyone to know how mad she was. But his eyes were a different story. They softened, losing their intensity so quickly that it threw Spirit off kilter. “I’ll leave then,” he said gently. “If that’s what you desire.”

He stepped back, giving Spirit a little space. War managed a little smile before miming the tipping of his hat. “Good day, conductor. May the Spirits of Good guide you.”

His blue scarf trailed behind him as he left, entering the dark streets of Castle Town.

Spirit slammed the door back shut and pulled his gloves back on. He was retired from the hero business, thank you very much. If Zelda couldn’t convince him to join the Castle Guard, then War couldn’t convince him to drop his entire life and go on some cross dimensional adventure.

But staring at his abandoned engine, Spirit couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm to pick up his wrench and get back at it. All he could see was the gleam of the pommel at War’s side, how genuinely hurt he seemed when Spirit had turned him down.

How did War know his story? The only people in New Hyrule who knew everything about Malludus was himself and Zelda.

Did that even matter when War seemed like the type to throw himself into battle headfirst, heedless of whether he lived or died?

Spirit groaned and tossed the wrench aside. Barely grabbing his keys, he ran out of the workshop. Under the streetlamps, drunkards emptying the taverns glowed gold. Spirit stood on the cobblestone street, searching for the long blue scarf in the crowd.

“Hey.” Behind him, War leaned against the side of the garage. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he chewed a piece of candy on the side of his mouth. He grinned. “Changed your mind?”

Spirit frowned. “Give me three days,” he signed. “I need to make preparations.”

War almost choked on his candy. He banged a fist on his chest and spat it out. “Three days? We can’t wait that long!”

Alfonzo was due to return from his run by then. It would also be enough time for Spirit to finish his project and arrange replacements for the runs he was already scheduled for, as well as contact Niko and Zelda. He didn’t think War would understand that, but he hardly signed, “I need to get some things done” when War sighed.

“Well…” He mulled over it for a moment. “I have no choice but to agree. Three days it is.”

Line Break

Spirit was no stranger to ghosts. There was one now that frequented his apartment a few blocks from the workshop. It was the lingering spirit of the old woman who lived there previously, and she hated how dirty he kept his space. She seemed determined not to move on until Spirit learned some housekeeping. It was easier to just sleep at the garage.

But War couldn’t sleep at the garage. There was only one bed and it was harder than a sheet of steel: unbefitting of a man well-acquainted with the finer things in life. So Spirit had to take him home. He had half a moment to be embarrassed by the number of dishes he’d left to mold in the sink as well as the pile of oil-covered clothes and half-finished projects he’d left strewn about before War sighed and unpinned his scarf.

“Of course,” he muttered. “Of course, of course, of course.” He folded it nearly on the table, then added his sword and shield next to it. Then he rolled up his sleeves and started picking up the mess.

Spirit stuttered his own swear before rushing to help.

“Sorry I’m such a bad host,” Spirit signed when War did the dishes.

“Nonsense. It’s not as though I had given you any warning.” War scrubbed at a plate like he wanted to do much worse to it. “I remember when I first began living alone. It took me quite some time to master my own space. Speaking of which, how old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

War paused. “Oh.” He set the plate aside. “You are much too young—to live alone, I mean.”

Spirit clicked his tongue and signed, “And not fight some evil?”

War barked a laugh. “If anything, you’re much too old for that.”

Spirit didn’t know what he meant. So while they did laundry under the midnight moon, War told fantastical stories of a hero who had fallen from the sky and the children who followed in his footsteps—their progenitor, their legacy.

The next three days were spent

#i literally haven't touched this since hold on let me check my doc #APRIL???? I HAVEN'T TOUCHED THIS SINCE APRIL????????#DAMN OK OK OK OK OK #I'm sorry but ctb is literally all i have time for right now #bonus links #bonus links fanfiction #bonus links spirit #bonus links war #bl spirit #bl war #legend of zelda #loz #loz fanfic #me writing #fanfic draft #yes the title is a reference to the vera lynn song it's relevant #we'll meet again

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mintytealfox · 4 months

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Hey, so I kinda have this small concept/AU since highschool and I wanna throw it at you.

So, basically in this universe not only are the Greek gods real, they also interact with mortals more. Here the three Virgin goddesses Artemis, Athena, Hestia got together and built this institution called "The Elysium of Virginity" (real original IK) where people can go to live and swear off either sexual relationships. And while this is nice for the Aces and all, a lot of the time it has been used by overprotective parents and such to keep their loved ones from having a healthy love life.

Back to topic : So basically we have Nortalice being a cute couple and Orpheus just isn't having it. Dude tried almost everything to break em up but it didn't work, so as a last desperate F you to Norton (and a super unintentional dick move to Alice) Orpheus just signs her up for the Elysium. Obvs godly contract didn't stop Nortalice from being together, and bonus point, the three V's know all about it and are literally helping them while discussing ways to deal with Orpheus that doesn't involve murder and brainwashing and shit.

(For more info I kinda made a post about it : https://www.tumblr.com/feministqu33n/695561682345426944/what-if?source=share)

(edit: oh my goossh I thought I had already finished responding and posted it but ITS JUST BEEN SITTING HERE IN MY DRAFTS WHAT THEEEEEEE MY BAD LOOOOL)

OOOOOOOOOO 👀 Love me some good greek lore/gods stuuuufffsssssss 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👀👀👀👀

But oooooohhh this is fascinating

I love that so many gods will be getting involved LOOOOL I can even see Norton being like 'eeyyyyyy Hadessssss buddy ol paaallllll, yeeaaaaaaaa, I've got a situation', with Hades also being the god of hidden wealth and all, I can see Norton trying to gain favor with him for most his life cause of that. (and would also make most people wary of him cause oooooo boi bro is trying to get close with the SCARY god of the underworld?? lol)

*crowd of people harassing Norton about trying to gain favor with Hades* Norton: "he is actually way chill--" -he is telling the truth lol- *the crowd FLEEING the scene fearing Norton about to be struck down for being so informal LOL* Norton: "finally peace and quiet"

but that would definitely add to the 'ALICE you CANNOT be with T H A T GUY"

but that is probably part of what drew her to him in the first place LOL The only person that wants to enter his world and stick around, that actually shows a genuine care for him then Norton being able to appease her curiosity and take her places no one else would dare to venture to. Cause 'as long as you don't mess with the dead you're gonna be just fine' lol two peas in a pod doing their own things together, growing closer as time passes

only to then be ripped apart like thaaaaat 😭

BUT maaaan in the end I can see them being their own constellations together with no more interference from mortal or immortal parties ahhhh

😭😭😭😭 gooooossshhhhhhhhhhhh I love GREEk LORE STUUUFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

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bourbon-ontherocks · 4 years

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Author Meme

Tagged by - @riosnecktattoo @missmaxime @wakeupflawless (thanks babes!! 😘😘😘)

Tagging - I have absolutely no idea of who did it already so I’ll blindly tag @mamey2422 @sdktrs12 @xstrawmari @juuuunaaaaoooo and @nottonyharrison

Well I did this a while ago, but I guess a couple of things have changed ever since...

ao3 name: Well, not everything. It’s still BourbonOnTheRocks, haha!

fandoms: Still Good Girls. Graceland if you squint really hard, and hopefully Crazy Ex-Girlfriend one day...

number of fics: 16 (which is. Insane.)

fic I spent the most time on: Lol. It’s All Coming Back To Me has been a work in progress for like 8 months now, so it has to be this one? Although if one counts strictly in terms of time spent on it, and doesn’t includes the literal weeks I spend without actually opening my doc, it... still might be it because ugh, ten chapters already! But I did spend an unreasonable amount of time on Take A Dip too, and the more I go the more time I tend to spend on writing and editing, so it could be any fic... Also have you considered the highest time spent/words count ratio?? Cause that would probably change the answer a little bit.

fic I spent the least amount of time on: Well, it’s still He’s not Dumb which was started from scratch, written and posted in less than three hours. I probably won’t ever reiterate this performance.

most hits: Still Love And War, for chronological reasons.

most kudos: The last time I played this game I predicted that It’s All Coming Back To Me would eventually top every category... And it probs would have. But then the kudos bombing happened (lol), so it’s finally Take A Dip (but directly followed by the former).

most comments: It’s All Coming Back To Me

most bookmarks: It’s All Coming Back To Me

highest total word count: Love And War

favourite fic I wrote: No. No. No. I won’t pick one favourite among my babies!!!! But I’m very satisfied at the moment with We're Living In A Powder Keg And Giving Off Sparks and Take A Dip. I put a lot of work in the characterizations, and these two were also my first post-S3 canon-ish fics and finding the right tone wasn’t easy, but both of those fics came out pretty satisfyingly.

Oh and I love my envelope crackfic too -- and not only because now Four Seasons In One Day isn’t alone anymore in the least kudos category -- but mostly because since I have a taste for angst, I hardly ever write tooootally fun stuff. I mean I try to bring some comical relief even in my darkest stories, but Envelopes Comin' In The Mail, Let Her Open 'Em was the first time I allowed myself to write something fully for the fun, which is something I don’t indulge in very often.

fic I want to rewrite/expand on: Oooooof... Obviously if I had an unlimited amount of time and motivation, I’d probably rewrite Love And War because it makes me cringe so much right now!!!! But I can’t say that such a prospect enthralls me at all. I also have a drafted ‘five years later” epilogue/fifth chapter to A Reason To Fight that I’m not sure I want to post yet, I haven’t decided if it would do any good to the story or not.

Other than that... I mean I already have too many new fics to write/edit, I’m not gonna start giving myself more work with expansions!!!

share a bit of a wip or story idea you’re working on: So I’m totally aware that the last time i played this game I shared a sneak peek to the Good Girls/Crazy Ex Girlfriend crossover promising it would come out soon, and it was like three months ago, and that fic’s still not on top of my posting list... I’ll try not to repeat my past mistakes, and will share an unedited excerpt of the second chapter of the Western AU, hoping that it will not eventually curse it, haha.

He watches her yanking the man down the other horse with quite a deliberate absence of care, and he'd swear she let him fall down the ground in purpose. The man loudly groans in protests and Rio can't completely repress a gasp at the sight of the man's face.

Now don't get him wrong. He's seen some pretty ugly shit back then in the army. It takes more than just a little blood to upset him, it's just -- it's the idea that she did this. Probably with her bare hands cause she exudes a general rejection of the basic concept of tools.

"Jeez, you could have spared his bone structure!" he scolds.

"Think he deserved it?" she immediately bites back with an irritated wave of her head as she inflicts a string of rapid kicks to the guy's butt until he's on his feet, his hands still tied up in his back.

As if on sync with her rhetorical question, the man spits some blood with a groan. Pretty sure there's a tooth too in the repulsive mixture that drops and draws a crimson star on the dusty ground.

"She's crazy, man! I might need facial surgery for that!" the man yelps in a high-pitched, strangled voice.

Rio smirks, takes his time to blatantly ignore the guy's complaint, his stare focused on her. She stares back at him, challenging, a light of triumph ready to ignite in her deep blue eyes. Cause obviously the pathetic loser whining in front oh him deserved it -- this and more. He can't contradict her on that. But...

"Ain't the point, sweetheart."

Elizabeth rolls her eyes with an exasperated glare.

(Guess who the beaten up man is for another sneak peek!!!)

#author meme #tagging games #yeah I've already partially written several chapters of the western AU #I just have a tiny plot issue around chapter 10 that I want to solve before I post anything so everything can stay consistent #but it's coming soon #normally the next thing I'll post #unless I manage to also finish it's all coming back to me in between idk #my fic #fanfic #sneak peek

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maikatc · 4 years

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Black Sun Tale | Her Lullaby

i said i’d post it today without a time, so here it is! you actually get to meet some of my favorite super-side-characters in this haha–

remember this is a first draft with only minor edits, but enjoy! comments are reception are always appreciated.

Oliver was off at school, leaving Ayu to his own wits at the house. Though, the assignment for finishing a section of the textbook deemed itself… ill-tasting for Ayu’s attention.

He doodled instead, most definitely, cursing his own drawings in the meantime. Thoughts of the events days prior already passed by his mind as almost nothing out of the ordinary. To be fair, however, Eilwen’s tests did pop up from time to time.

Despite the scenes he drew, those crosses and his own blood seeped an abnormality into himself while tapping his fresher skin. It ticked him. The thoughts of his relations to Akeldama poisoning him beckoned as another one of his mistakes. But I should’ve expected that, shouldn’t I?

Then there was Eilwen herself: follower in Akeldama’s society being punished by such simple items. The idea of her hands holding still from the burning cross stuck to him, leading him to wonder his own curiosities. Is everyone else the same, he asked. Certainly, they must have had pain tolerances similar to Eilwen’s words.

But, then again, he always had somebody to ask.

“Vittorino?”

“What is it, now,” he asked. His form appeared out by his and Oliver’s bed, sitting with an irked face.

“You… know Eilwen right?”

He scoffed, “Yeah, I’m taking you to see her later today.”

“I am?”

“It was a last-minute call,” he replied. “But why are you asking about her?”

Ayu adjusted himself before answering the question. “I just want to know what you know about her.”

The question brought Vittorino to a side-eye of thought, but he shrugged nonetheless. “There’s not much I know about her, or any first eras other than Alice –but everyone knows about her really–. All she really does is hate on Akeldama and stick herself inside her own room, but most of ‘em keep to themselves like us too.”

He fidgeted. “That’s it?”

“Yeah.” He then asked, “What, did she do something weird?”

“I guess she did…” He brought an explanation to the table. “I guess she was wondering about what’s happened to my body after dealing with Akeldama, which that was weird but… She tested me with a cross and her hands looked like they were burning…”

Vittorino’s calm face dropped just the slightest.

“She said it happens to everyone because of contracts, but she didn’t even bat an eye at it. I figure she’s just strong about it. She seems strong. But I just want to know how it is with other members in the society since– since it burned me immediately yet she took it like a champ.”

“Wait it burned you?” He nodded. “Huh, I didn’t expect that… I figured Oliver would but–. Anyways, you really wanna know about that stuff, don’t you?” Within a whim, Vittorino brought himself down to Ayu’s sitting level.

“It’s just been stuck in my mind for a while.”

“And that’s a bad thing to get stuck behind.” Digging through, he buried his hands into his pocket, viewing downwards whilst doing so. Soon, steam appeared out of the pocket as he paused, only to bring himself at a sigh when he brought it out.

There laid a wooden cross against his skin, burning up in a red yet he too held no response. “It’s a simple thing: it burns whatever is associated with a demon like Akeldama.”

“He’s a demon?”

“Probably,” he answered, “We figured once Alice told us some stuff.”

“So, he’s that bad…”

“Well, people take him for granted,” Vittorino commented. “Anyhow, this stuff is painful, yeah, but it’s just that some of us are used to the feeling by now.”

Ayu asked, “Why?”

“Because…” Vittorino shook his head, storing the cross back in his pocket and standing back up. “Because some of us like holding it sometimes… to think about things.”

“… Vittorino–”

The tallest chuckled to himself, turning back to Ayu with a cheeky smile. “I think I’m one of the only second eras who even do it, but it’s just because it’s funny. Like, we aren’t even allowed to hold it, how idiotic is that? It just shows how ridiculous all that stuff is.”

The lie radiated to Ayu’s discomfort, a good one for sure considering his character, but a detection in lies were somewhat of a tendency. “Vittorino, are you sure this isn’t about…”

He pushed the idea aside, “No, they were all idiotic. That’s why I left the whole place.” His foot tapped impatiently. “Do you want to go to Eilwen’s early or something?”

Ayu blinked at him, then back at the textbook. “… I mean, if it gets me out of language arts.”

Opening a door already, Vittorino rolled his eyes. “He really wants you learning all that?”

He followed him over to the forest entrance. “It’ll be important for when I’m older, and I really need to catch up anyways.”

“Yeah, like learning phonetics can help you fight stuff or whatever.”

“Ollie said that shouldn’t be my priority anymore–”

“That’s what Oliver said,” he argued, “but not what you decided.”

He ventured himself into the darker woods that steeped itself by its depths of a hillside. The conversation obligated Ayu to follow.

“I’ve been watching both of you ever since you guys had to be relevant in my life, and all you do is care about and follow others. But what about yourself?” The steps he trudged formed a beat to themselves, as if of a slow march. “Oliver’s was easy to notice since him caring causes him to start dying, and he stopped following people a while ago, but you’re less noticeable. For everyone, you’re less noticeable, since you aren’t dying from it. However, you keep caring and giving yourself away for other people. You’ll kill yourself eventually from just doing that.”

The speech brought fear to Ayu’s throat, as he gulped at those last words.

“’Everyone is manipulated by everything, but it’s in everyone’s power to take their own control.’” he glared down at Ayu. “That’s what I’ve been taught, and by now I think you should learn it for once.”

“… You were taught that by Akeldama, weren’t you?”

He answered, “Obviously. Like I said, he’s taken for granted with some things he says.”

Ayu had to argue then. “Vittorino, he’s a terrible person.”

“So, what if he’s a bad person? For me, he made me the great and living person I am today and got rid of so many lost causes from making more chaos.”

The excused seemed invalid with many counterarguments. “He caused the deaths of a bunch of lives because he felt like it.”

“And that’s where it is: he does what he feels. He has nothing holding him back and we can’t even imagine all the events he’s had in his life. He doesn’t follow anyone and that’s what makes him great!”

His excitement over the conversation peaked the slightest with his voice and giddy hands, to Ayu’s dismay.

“Oliver’s right, you’re a weird fuck.”

“If those guys are the ones that are free from all those rules,” he chuckled.

As they walked, Ayu tripped on a root again. “Why are we even walking here? Didn’t you want to drop me off at Eilwen’s?”

He shrugged. “I just like walking here, and I don’t actually have access to her room. She locked me out of it.”

“I…” Somehow, Ayu yelled in anger, “Vittorino! –”

***

Eilwen was found in the wild an hour later conversing with Alice. Though she hesitantly brought him back to the black-box.

As they sat together in their separate chairs, Ayu questioned her silence. “Why did you bring me here now?”

At the question, she bit her thin lip, her eyes piercing at him with an unknown feeling. Then sighed, “I asked Alice about your body’s behavior, and why you even have such odd relations with Akeldama… And I’m afraid I’ve now been tasked to prepare you for that answer yourself.”

Ayu blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I cannot explain any details. I’m sorry. However, you are not here for that; you’re here to learn of other matters.” Standing up, she grabbed her candle to light up others from behind her back, illuminating a distinct chart connected to her watch by a string. “That being the current members of the society today.”

Admittedly, Ayu groaned in the inside. “Can’t you take me on flashbacks again for this?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s rather unnecessary. I’ll only be explaining each briefly.” A face mirroring a sigh planted on herself. “Then you’ll meet some yourself.”

The last section peaked his interest at an instant, as his eyes beamed at attention once said. “You mean I have to meet them?”

“As annoying as it is yes. However, considering your importance, they won’t harm you now especially after the Margaret incident.” She shook her head, adjusting her hat while setting up her watch. “Now then, let’s begin with the second eras.”

After many psychopaths and silly characters in such a presentation, the watch clicked onto the final member. In his seat, Ayu sat intrigued but rather tired, with his arm barely lifting his head up. All the faces he only met on the board deemed themselves a weighing amount to handle by sight from their demeanors and smiles or frowns.

At least some members seemed human.

“Finally, we have the accursed, Bluebell.”

Ayu tilted his head. “Accursed?”

The picture brightened up with a woman in the forefront. Her body still like a portrait, she hung against a wreath of giant flowers delicately with her gown and hair flowing. Her hair welcomed itself like long roots of strawberry blonde that breezed down up until her waist. The gown glowed in a gentle white, small patterns of flowers speckled across its edges and rims, and sleeves cuffed under her wrists leaving an airy puff to her arms. But within it all, crowned with flowers colored vibrant and beautiful upon her freckled skin, she smiled, wide and calm.

The beauty and serene nature of her image calmed Ayu as that of a young, mystical mother. However, previous members already brought him to a distrust. Plus, ‘accursed’ was finally explainable with her appearance.

“Don’t trust her.” Eilwen explained, “While Bluebell is objectively the most gorgeous of the first eras, she is most definitely the least liked.”

“And why her specifically?”

“She’s just a sinister addle pate,” she grumbled. “She has not talked much of her origins but she either lied to many or she held multiple jobs as a caretaker, nursemaid, and florist whilst as a young mother. The happenings to what happened to her child are unknown, though she joined Akeldama without them.”

The image, in Ayu’s mind, continued to stare down into his soul somehow. While doing so, Eilwen explained her abilities and methods of extermination.

The concepts blended with Ayu rather poorly along with all the other new faces. “I get she hunts down kids but aren’t I safe?”

She replied, “It’s difficult to consider… and to explain. She likes to fool around with everybody in general. Although, I’m not sure if you’d even be affected by her.”

Through some thinking, Ayu shrugged. “I’ll be fine; Oliver’s singing is probably better anyways.”

Eilwen’s expression downed itself, proceeding to blow out the candles near the board and summoning a door. “I’m sure you will.” The door opened up her hands, which signaled Ayu to jumped out of his chair. “Follow me, please.”

And so, he stepped on out along her side, yet through the door was not the average forest of Fowls. Glass-ridden, a topless hallway was formed, large and wide in its endless interior. On each side of its walls placed multiple doors all of which caked against each other in their designs, along with small silver plaques beside them all.

“Woah…” Ayu breathed out into a smile. “This is cool!”

“This is where you have access to the houses and fields of every member in history.” The coat that blanketed her shuffled whilst she returned back to the door behind them. “Many will be empty, I warn you. And I won’t be accompanying you due to all their annoyances.”

As the door closed, he asked her. “Wait- Wait! How am I supposed to get back here? Or back to you?”

“Elementary, now that you’re here, just think of this hall and the door will appear. Don’t hassle over it.” Then the door finally faced him flat, its carvings of bells and old clocks mocking him.

The situation brought Ayu to a grumble, not so much any fear in his bones more so irritation of mentors. Perhaps the day was a bad mood, we will never know. Though after a huff and sigh, Ayu trudged forward to the first door in sight.

The new entrance glossed itself in comparison to all the other wood-like structures, shining along carvings of fancy men.

One of Ayu’s eyes lifted up at the design, its properness making itself more of an oddity. And already his guesses as to who it was appeared in his mind. He took a breath, motivating himself to enter in, and with his sight closed, he opened the door.

Barging in, Ayu stopped himself before his speed kicked in. Opening his blind view, he was met with velvets and greens, as well as stairs to his questioning. Stepping over, he greeted himself to what seemed to be a rich brat’s lair.

Yep, it’s him.

At the edge of the floor, a table sat furnished in cards and coins, as well two party members sitting on each side.

“… I draw three.”

“What do you mean you draw three? I had just went all in.”

“Well, you always cheat so you’ll be disqualified in two seconds once King comes back.”

“But don’t we always cheat?”

“Yeah, but the two of us can’t manipulate the card order.”

“Then that’s just too bad to be you.”

The two conversed at the singular turn. Their bickering brought Ayu to a slight familiarity. Soon, he spoke out, “You’re… Eden and Cosmina, right?”

They turned at him instantly, the girl holding a card by her two fingers without hesitation. The appearances began to clear up for Ayu, however their clothing and accessories contradicted that of past sights. The man, Eden, seemed to have lengthy brunette hair tied to the back, edges still rolling off from the knot and blocking up some of his face, though a piercing still appeared by the edge of his lip. His top comfortably laying against his torso and thighs as a well-knit turtleneck, yet the sleeves ripped themselves off. Then Cosmina’s hair changed to that of a slim cut down to her chin, with her uniform only consisting of a tank-top, shorts, and thin coat.

Eden questioned, “Are you the kid Alice mentioned earlier?”

“I thought he’d look more off-putting,” Cosmina commented. “Not that I’ll complain. Were you expecting King?”

Hesitantly, Ayu nodded.

She stared down into his soul. “Timid, I see. Well, there’s not much to be weary of here. We won’t bite, if that’s what you’re thinking. And King’ll be here soon, he’s only getting essentials.”

Ayu’s words stumbled within themselves, ultimately bring nothing of a reply.

“You’re calling booze an essential?”

“What else are we supposed to do waiting here? Might as well get a little tipsy.”

“I…”

“Jesus fucking Christ you couldn’t believe the number of parents at the liquor store today!” The door behind them all slammed closed. Ayu and the others whipped their heads to find the last member of the party. His figure lean and confidant with his boxes hung around his arms; his tailcoat flowed as he paced up the stairs. In Ayu’s eyes, the man’s eyepatch glistened in its dark cloth, his short haircut to match. “Oh, it’s the kid.”

“It’s Ayu…”

“King, perfect timing, he just got here.” Cosmina walked on over to the new figure. They greeted each other by King’s kiss on her cheek whilst he placed the boxes down for her to grab. He kissed down Eden’s cheek as well, to Ayu’s slight confusion. “He’s a little shy, so we’ll save the drinks for later in case you two do something stupid.”

“Oh, who are you kidding? We all go stupid with bourbon,” King laughed as he tidied the small mess on Eden’s shirt.

Ayu scurried in his spot. “You’re King?”

“In the flesh, hopefully.”

The answer forced Ayu to gesture at the whole room. “Aren’t you supposed to be the fancy one?”

He muttered, “Damn, I really do wanna drink. Mina, get the OJ.”

“On it.”

“Anyways,” the focus laid back on Ayu. “I suppose that’s how I’m seen in the society.”

“Yeah,” Ayu eventually brought himself to a seat. “You’re the fancy-ass ruler with the throne…” he then pointed at the other two. “And you guys were the servants?”

Eden cackled. “Oh god, that takes me back.”

The king chuckled a little with him. “Yeah, I guess that’s how it was.”

“You all had old fancy clothes and stuff… what happened?”

“That shit was hot, that’s what,” Eden answered.

The girl returned with cups of orange juice by a hand and placed it on the table for the others to grab. “There were too many layers back then, I’ll admit.”

“Thank you very much,” King snatched a cup. However, he offered to Ayu, “You want some? It isn’t spiked,” as he eyed the alcohol in the corner.

That in itself raised Ayu’s hands against it. “I prefer apple juice…”

“Huh, we haven’t had apple juice in a while. I’ll get that later.”

Ayu still grabbed the cup from him, taking a sip to a surprise of the nice taste. And no pulp. “– Still why’re you guys like this now?”

King handed himself his own cup while answering. “Well, I will admit that back then, we did act like snobs.”

“It was you who was the snob,” Cosmina retorted.

“And it was you all who went along with it,” he added. “But what am I joking, almost everyone in the first era has some kind of act going on, especially if we’re talking about back then.”

Ayu questioned with his cup, “What are you talking about?”

“Everyone here exaggerated themselves back then, whether it be by fashion or action. We were just the types who did both,” King explained. “And while we did like the roleplay and the clothes, being immortal for four hundred years made that a little boring.”

“Oh yeah,” the idea of immortality seemed so normal for Ayu by then. “How is even being immortal.”

“Oh, my god, it’s terrible!” Eden raised an arm.

Cosmina said, “Remember you’re supposed to live a life for less than one hundred years and imagine doing the same thing four times.”

“What she said,” King sipped. “We followed the trend of the society for a while which was ‘stay in your rooms to do whatever bullshit for eternity’. But we realized that, in itself, was bullshit.”

The swearing still threw Ayu off.

“Usually people would off themselves after being tired of immortality, but we knew that was a stupid idea considering our society deals. So, instead of killing ourselves or moping like the rest of the ‘woe is me’ first eras–”

“And the even more ridiculous seconds.”

“– them too,” King continued. “We just decided to go and have a life outside of killing.”

“By… drinking and living off of orange juice?”

Eden drank his own cup of orange juice when he spoke, “Nah, the bourbon’s only for when we’re stuck here.”

“… You’re gonna throw that out later, right?”

“No, why would we,” Cosmina asked.

And Ayu replied, “Because my dad always told me and my sister to throw that stuff out for Mom so…”

“Psh,” Eden chuckled, “Then that’s just a bad parent.”

“They were pretty nice,” he defended.

“I’m sure your parents managed to fix that up, or at least will do soon,” King pushed aside to Ayu’s own bitterness. “But, no we aren’t alcoholics. We go travel and find whatever’s fun in the new world.”

“What?”

“We visit all different kinds of places in the world and do whatever festival or party’s going on there. Because, why stick here for a hundred more years when you can do whatever you want?”

“Whatever’s fun or whatever sounds funny enough,” Eden added, pointing at his own piercing with brows together.

“It looks lovely on you, dear.”

The compliments gave Ayu another topic to look upon. “… And all you three are?”

“A couple.” Cosmina stayed in the background during all of the answers. “Is there anything of it?”

“No, not really,” Ayu looked down at his cup. “I just, don’t know anything about that stuff and I’ve never seen three people before so I was wondering why.”

“Fuck monogamy, that’s why,” King replied.

“I drink to that.” With the raise of a cup, Eden drank more of the juice.

“…?”

“We do as we feel, and we all like each other’s company. That’s all the necessary explaining,” yet even Cosmina casually sipped the orange juice. “You’re only a child but once you really understand, good for you.”

“Wait… do people like each other just because they like their company?”

King interjected, “Well, there’s more to it but…– hold on we aren’t here to give romance advice!”

“I wasn’t asking for any! I was just curious!”

“What, are you having a school crush or something,” Eden raised a brow at him.

“What?” Ayu scoffed at the idea, blushing in the midst, “No!”

“Alright then. That’s that.” He finally set his empty cup down after playing with it. “Are you going to ask us anything else or are you done with your orange juice?”

“I…” He set down the cup. “I think I’m done.”

***

The other doors Ayu entered were abandoned by their owners long ago, as Eilwen told. Some brought worn down activities for Ayu to venture into, though others laid barren. Those barren lands packed themselves up, from the owner ready to leave as he learned. The ghosted lands still hung around with bright colors, but the dim atmosphere brought him to leave early to every single one.

King’s trio seemed like the biggest treat of the day, alongside their flavorful beverage, but he tried to ignore that. Their modernist attitudes stuck to him, as well as their farewells to his visit.

“If you end up joining us, come over here because everyone else sucks!”

Not the kindest gesture, he admitted, but the message still stood. He questioned the message, Am I joining the society soon? Is that what Eilwen’s worried about?

The idea pleased itself easily, considering his associates and history. Besides, with everybody’s growing concerns to his own apparent growing importance, the aspect of him joining them seemed of a satisfying end to finish his mess, in some way of the matter. Perhaps he would receive more power than he could ever imagine or be granted his wish to undo everything in his life. That concept pleased himself the most.

However, the price still stood ahead of him. That price of taking another’s life for his own lingered in the concept. And to that, he availed from the chances quickly enough, his heart too strong to break by himself.

There ahead of him, was yet another door to enter. This time, the wooden décor carved itself into flowers and leaves growing into one another in intricate detail. The petals fell and the stems kissed the grass carved below. In such detail in design, Ayu gulped knowing who it may be. And yet again, he brought his arm to open up the door.

Stepping into new grounds, the soles of his old sneakers brushed up against long grass. It tickled his knees as his first views of the land were made. Despite the nature field, her land posed itself as disproportional. Flowers grew wild and of various shapes and sizes which many were larger than likely possible of a normal plant. They all swayed rhythmically to nothing, dancing to their own hearts content at the silence, but also the humming of another person in the garden.

He faced doubt in the eye, and ventured more inside, ignoring his own inner-warnings. Quickly after drowning of the leaves in front of his path, he discovered the source of the hummer. Her long, angelical hair swayed down like a river, covering her face alongside her crown of wild flowers. She mumbled a tune as she watered a bustle of flowers, but the identity was clear nonetheless.

Bluebell, his eyes darted down the nearest bush and hid in its rustling leaves. Even with his mouth of courage to Eilwen, her own words left a mark of warning once seeing her in person. He managed to not flinch, to itch a muscle, or to form a single peep of gripe. After moments in time, and some flashing of black and white, Ayu sighed. Soon, he rung his arms to start crawling away and making it out of the door–

“And who might you be?” As soon as he stepped towards the outside, the lady grabbed him by the hood. She yanked him back to his startled fear.

“Fuck–” He pulled the hood in front to resist choking, and struggled with his own feet to muster up. “Let me go!”

With his light weight, she lifted him up with ease, her copper eyes squinting at his appearance. Yet eventually, she smiled. “No, no, come with me,” she pulled him, “You look tired; you can sleep here if you need rest.”

“Let me out,” he yelled, but to no avail.

“Oh, don’t be fussy, Ayu,” she giggled, “This will make Akeldama fuming. Just listen to me.”

While the pleasure of Akeldama’s misfortune would have convinced Ayu another day, the risk of her ability still lied as a great possibility for him. “No– Stop! –” However, he was too late to make a hit.

“My dear, in sickness, sadness, and red, can sleep from a song with sigh…”

Her voice echoed and rang into his ears, slowly softening every inch of this tension and mind merely from those lines.

“Your life, your soul, your ending night will rejoice with us in light.”

The lullaby wrapped him around, stopping his struggles and whines and instead relaxing and numbing the pain.

“Despite these somber eyes, I can see, there is time to close them away…”

Such a clear, siren-like voice called to him. It chilled the bones that wanted end so recently and brought along a warmth that coddled him endlessly. Soothing him, his own eyes began to calm into a slumber.

“In hope, my love, without life in sight, your days will say–”

“BLUEBELL!” Alice screamed at her, interrupting her beautiful song. From the erupt end, Ayu snapped back awake with the lingering melody as he turned to the distressed woman ahead of them. She ran and snatched him away from the siren, to his dismay.

“Oh, Alice, you ruined his fun,” she said.

The head of the society glared at her. “You impudent–” yet she turned back to the young boy with closing lids, “Are you alright?”

Ayu remained silent, processing the event that just unfolded.

Another slowly walked into the scene, somehow shying away with her scarf.

“Eilwen, I told you to keep watch on him,” she stomped towards the mentor.

“I–” she stammered. “I thought he would be alright considering he’s of–”

“He hasn’t developed at all yet! He’s only a mere child at this stage!” Alice shrieked in her stop. “God, didn’t you think of how Akeldama could be upset by this? – Ugh, that’s beyond the point now. At least I managed to catch him before Akeldama arrived… How are you feeling Z– Ayu?”

The argument rather unsettled Ayu’s mood. The lullaby from before seemed as something to return to once more already… In all honesty, the song was not as horrifying as he imagined. “… I’m doing fine.”

“Be honest.”

More so, it lifted him up the slightest. “No, I really mean it,” he told her. “Kind of, uh, refreshed actually.” He forced a smile upon the odd feeling. That sense of wanting more began to kick in.

Alice nipped her lip and turned to Eilwen. “Do you believe it’d be alright to bring him back home? It doesn’t seem all that bad…” The head turned again to the wonderful lady. “We’ll only need to console you later,” she spat at her, who only continued to water her plants once more.

She scoffed, “You never tell us anything, Alice. How would I know of the consequences?”

“Well, your fun may have caused you your own death grave.”

Instead of anything else, Bluebell shrugged with a giggle, “Do you really think that matters anymore, Cecily?”

Alice huffed, patting Ayu towards the exit. “Let’s go; you need the rest.”

***

The apartment entrance shut as Alice led the way. Ayu scurried behind her, unsure of her silent aggression.

Oliver sat by the couch, legs crisscrossed and Ayu’s textbook on his lap. He poked a pencil by his hand, jotting down on whatever pages Ayu bothered to commit to the day prior. Corrections most likely covered the pages considering previous marks on his answers.

He turned around at them, his pale eyes peering at Alice. “Oh, hi… Alice, why are you here?”

Originally, Ayu would have pondered as to why Oliver never asked why he was gone; however, that failed to bring him down that day. Alice instead pushed him gently more towards the inside as she explained. “Ayu simply ran into a… mishap, while in Eilwen’s care. But don’t worry, she and I will take care of it.”

He dropped the book down onto the couch, standing up. “Alice, what happened?”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about. The most Ayu will experience is some improper thinking and a state of intemperance.”

“But I can’t ask why?”

“No,” she stated, her voice reaching a new low. “You aren’t to be involved with anymore things that can harm you.”

“So, he’s been hurt.” Oliver’s brows furrowed together at Alice, as he walked down to Ayu’s side. “Are you okay?”

He told him, “Yeah… I’m great, Ollie.” A smiled crept up the slightest in his dazed fate.

His face raised into that of confusion. Only for him to sigh, “Just go, Alice. You aren’t going to help me with this.”

She nodded in silence, and exited through the doorway and magic.

In the unknown, Oliver hummed and stared up until he faced Ayu again. “Okay, Ayu, what happened?”

Unsure of how to reply, the serious tone gawking him, he only answered back, “Nothing really… But, something really nice happened if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“… What?”

He figured Oliver would like his story. “I met this lady, who sang a nice song and I got to hear it… Too bad Alice stopped it though. Oliver, you should have heard it, she sounded amazing.” His mind bubbled at the thoughts of it. “I think I’ll go try and visit her again. You should come with me.”

“Oh.” His face softened the slightest. “Okay…?”

In the comforts of his thoughts, Ayu held up Oliver’s hand and gripped it in his smile. “Trust me, the song makes you forget about everything.”

At those very words, Oliver’s mouth sided downwards. “Sure,” his words slurred as he reached back in a smile.

Ayu let go of the hand, bringing himself to an arm stretch. “Well anyways, I’m gonna take a nap.” Drifting off, he told his final words to Oliver, “I’ll talk more about it later.”

In the room, instead of sleeping, Ayu actually giggled at himself and his own formulating thoughts. Not even sure himself as of why, he laid there, smiling and basking himself in the growing euphoria inside of him. However, his sense remained ever so prevalent, and his ways of listening peered from outside the room.

“You have a clue, don’t you, Vittorino?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “I’ve only heard of Bluebell, but I know kids are her main targets… He must’ve been affected by her ability.”

“… What does she do?”

He quickly jabbered, “It’s a more subdued but strong version of my ability. She sings people to sleep to kill them. But if she doesn’t finish her song…”

“Ah,” Oliver said once connecting the dots. “And it’s going to get worse, I assume?”

“Most likely.”

He sighed from the outside. “Goddamn it…”

But Ayu listened to it all, and all he could reply from it was to shrug. Oh well.

#writing #my writing #writeblr #writblr #writers on tumblr #swearing warning #religion warning?? christianity warning???#burning warning #murder mention #genocide mention #kinda #alcohol warning #child murder mention

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sorbriquette · 6 years

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Tagged by @basic-banshee Thank you Ban <3

1. How did you begin writing? I was writing from childhood. My primary school tutor was really encouraging so I started posting fanfic on FF.net illegally at like age 9. It was bad. When I was about 13 I started doing online RP and fell in with a group of brilliant people who helped me keep that up for YEARS and is kinda how I got into writing properly, not my shitty childhood fanfic.

2. What was your first writing project? Tell us a little about it. Like I said, shitty childhood fanfic. First legit project though would probably be last years NaNoWriMo (where you write 50k in a month). I wrote the first draft of a high fantasy kinda thing I’m working on but like the entire plot of that has been scrapped and I’m starting from scratch this year so...

3. What is your preferred medium for writing first drafts? Oh, I use ywriter 5 (link here) it’s like a free program that lets you write (without a spell check importantly so I don’t stop) and like add in like character and location and item tabs so you can keep track of what and who appears in the story and what each scene fulfills and shit. Imma shut up before this turns into an add but it’s really good and yall should check it out (even if I basically just use the POV system myself)

4. What rituals or habits do you have around writing?

I don’t really have any I don’t think? For me it’s kinda just sit down and go for as long as I’ve got the motivation. Usually late at night admittedly but yeah there’s nothing particularly consistent about the way I write.

5. We all have a “type”– of character, plot, theme– what is yours? I feel called out.

Probably wit though. Across all my characters RP, actual story, weves, I like the snarky asshole ones. I’m weak for that banter.

Also kinda both theme/character: good characters bore the shit out of me. I like ‘em morally grey or immoral and as such I write a lot about the subjective nature of morality in my original shit.

6. Introduce us to one (or more!) of your OC’s. Right so my current original shit has 6 mains and asking me to choose between them is inhumane so you get the 4 starting ones and the other two will remain a mystery.

Ren --> Brings a knife to a gun fight because ‘you gotta live life on hard mode’, makes bad choices for fun, stupidly reckless, very loyal but issues with authority. Military deserter turned pirate. Unofficial leader of this band of misfits.

Marcel --> Brings 2 knives to a gun fight because he is both a follower and coward. Just here for a laff and a taste of freedom. Prince of a country but does not want to rule. Falls in love with the first man who pays attention to him. Alignment is chaotic dumbass.

Kia --> Supposed to be the party thief but ‘it’s easier to loot a corpse than pick a pocket’. An actual proper coward, will leave everyone else to die if it saves her. Can’t take anything seriously. Tries to life-hack everything. Thinks murder is the solution to everything.

Corvus --> Absolute pacifist regardless of the danger. RLLY into blackmail (and plants). Lowkey the token evil teammate. Perpetually rolling his eyes. Makes all the plans and then gets salty when no one follows them. Would sell you to Satan for one corn chip.

7. What’s your favorite genre to read? FANTASY! Which is why, despite only really writing fic for Carry On, I’ve not actually read any of Rainbow Rowell’s other work. Contemporary romance doesn’t really interest me.

Also I’m weak for anything featuring like crime, but the criminals doing the crime, not the crime solving.

8. Your favorite genre to write? Fantasy again! Both high and low but with a preference for high because I like to world build.

9. How do you conduct your authorial research? LMAO what?

Like I said I like to write high fantasy so I don’t so much research as like to perpetually learn and incorporating things I like in.

10. What does your editing (gasp) process look like? So in 3. I said ywriter doesn’t have spell check? For fanfic I give it a cursory read over and fix anything glaring, then I copy it into word and use spellcheck and also grammarly. Then to the betas for the final round (I should do more but also?? Just fanfic)

My NaNo project tho? Never got edited at all.

11. What are your favorite tropes? BRuh I love all the tropes. I am WEaK for tropes. So trimming down to the favs:

I have a weird thing for catagorising so I love me some Cast Calculus

I try but never quite succeed with Blue and Orange Morality

Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking barely counts but I love it

A comedic Rashomon AKA that thing where everyone is being interrogated and they all tell completely different stories

I high key love a Magnificent Bastard in any form

And I mean a nice round five would have been good but how can one resist a Deadpan Snarker

Also I don’t think this is what I was meant to do for this segment but I enjoyed it so wevs

12. Show off your writing space. ABSOLUTELY NOT MY ROOM IS A MESS

13. What is the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever used? Don’t write for anyone but yourself. Write what you want to read.

I know it’s been said a multitude of times but idk the first time it really resonated with me was when VE Schwab mentioned it. I can’t find the source but I think she was quoting someone, soz!

14. What is the least useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever ignored? Write what you know.

Like get fucked? What I know is fucking boring. Let me write what I can imagine.

And though I don’t consider it real writing advice cause it was just 1 dumbass post on pinterest I saw one time “when writing a woman's pov make it more about emotions than a males. Her emotions, other peoples emotions’ etc. etc. Basically a load of shit. Don’t write a gender, write a fucking character.

15. Your writing beverage/snack of choice? I drink a lot of tea but it usually goes cold.

16. How do you compile your ideas? I don’t mostly, it’s a bad habit. Sometimes I drop stuff in my phone for fanfic or I have a couple of pocket sized leather note books I used to carry around for my original shit.

But mainly it’s just left in my head to get forgotten :\

17. What are your controversial opinions ™ on the craft of writing? I’m about to get crucified but here goes:

Writing isn’t hard.

Originally and concepts and stringing together a proper story? Yeah it’s a challenge. But just writing? Nah. not for me at least. If I’m sitting in front of a blank word document it’s because I have a problem with the scene. It doesn’t happen that often but when it does I find the best thing to do is go back and redo the sequence because going off no 13. It probably means I’m not interested in the scene.

But that’s just my opinion so please extinguish your torches and put down the pitchforks.

Tagging: @mydamnsunshine @thatsbitchcraft and any of my mutals who write. Chances are if you haven’t been tagged I thought you already had so go ahead and consider urself tagged.

#tag game #this ended up being a lot longer and a lot later than intended #twas fun tho #tbh I wrote this like 3 days ago and just edited it now

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reesewestonarchive · 6 years

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10 questions tags

so in my absence I ended up with something like... fifty tags? a lot of tags. and they’re now all in my reading list and I’m going to draft them all so I can read and reblog and reply and whatnot, but holy shit, you guys keep busy.

I’m not tagging back because this is really long haha

tagged by @sleepy-and-anxious for questions

Do you have a writing routine?

noooooo lol. I don’t even write when inspiration strikes, haha.

Early bird or night owl?

usually I’m awake at night? but having a scheduled job that needs me at eight am tries to put me to bed at a more reasonable hour haha

Who is your least favourite oc? Tell me about them.

...ooh. jon, probably, though even he has badly-justified reasons for doing what he does. maybe one of his clients, because there’s no good reason for them doing what they do, just that they do. (also I just... don’t like to talk about them haha)

How do you come up with plot ideas?

who knows! how do I come up with anything? I consume a lot of media, and it used to be that any time I’d watch a movie I’d be hit with inspiration. now my anxiety doesn’t let me watch a lot of movies so there goes that idea

Do you make playlists for your wip?

I do! oftentimes they suck or have very flimsy ties to my wip but hey

What software/type of document etc do you write on?

pages, evernote now apparently, also notes, because before I had pages on both my phone and my computer I wanted the cloud to help me keep shit straight. I used to email it to myself if I wrote on my phone... that was not fun haha

Do you like to gush about your wip or keep it secret?

a little of both? from the roof of my mouth gets talked about a lot. shadowed’s a little more secret just because it’s darker and I’m concerned no one’s going to want to hear about it?

If you could pick one song to describe your wip what would it be?

everlong :p

Did you make a writeblr for any specific reason?

I just wanted to connect with other writers? and it’s been great, up until my own bullshit made that difficult haha

also tagged by @writerachel

what are your top 3 favorite movies?

can’t hardly wait, back to the future, and... oh. I blanked.

do you listen to music when you write?

not usually. from the roof of the mouth is the first time I’ve been able to in a while, at least stuff that isn’t instrumental.

who’s your favorite character from any book you’ve ever read?

oh. um. ...that’s a very good question.

what’s your favorite line from your current wip?

less of a line and more of a passage, but when Nakoa uses the ‘dicey’ pun on dice’s nickname. also the ““I love you,” he says, and his voice holds steady.”

which of your current wips would you want to be a movie? (IF YOU HAVE ONLY ONE WIP: what book would you want to turn into a movie?)

well. that’s a good question. uhh.

do you have anything/anyone in your life that influences/inspires your writing?

other writers here, and I’m lying if I don’t say raven specifically haha. otherwise, I mean, not really? I don’t write based on my own life because I get anxiety about it.

starbucks or dunkin donuts? (I HAVE TO KNOW I’M SORRY!!)

I drink dunkin donuts coffee at home so I guess them? haha

can you write anywhere or do you have to be in a specific place?

nah I can write anywhere. apparently my favorite is when I’m trying to fall asleep though

worst book you were forced to read in school?

the alchemist. I also don’t care for to kill a mockingbird, and I read it twice for school

do you have any pets?

I do! some kitties!

tagged by @quill-and-ink-writer

What is your favorite time to write?

at night, hahaha.

Is there a book you would rewrite? If so, how?

I feel like I’ve been asked this before, and honestly... I don’t usually think like that? like I read books and usually they’re either good or great, ‘cause I don’t finish books I don’t like haha

Have any specific authors influenced your work?

I’m sure they have but I couldn’t name them.

Where do you draw inspiration?

from other media, other writers. I already mentioned one in particular up there :p

What’s your style/voice?

...? I don’t know?

Which of your OCs could become your best friend?

oh. um. I think I’d get along well with dice, or aero. nakoa’s probably too rowdy, haha. otherwise, there’s a character in autumn moon I’ve yet to introduce that’d fit the bill.

What’s the last book you read?

our bloody pearl by brynwrites which was way better than I expected (which isn’t to say that I didn’t expect it to be great but I was enamored through the day as I read it)

Are you proud or anxious when other people read your writing?

anxious, hahaha. I am never proud.

Do you nail down a character’s personality before you write, or do you prefer to let it grow in the story?

I try to nail it down. nakoa was supposed to be way more laid back and chill and his story was much less heartbreaking, but alas that’s what first drafts and rewrites do to you

Where’s your favorite place to write?

in bed, apparently

also tagged by @trevorparece

Standalones, trilogies, or behemoths of a series?

if I’m writing it, standalones. if I’m reading it, I like things that have more than one installment, because then it gives more opportunities for other people to get into it and then I can live in the world a little longer :p

What is your favorite line of your own writing?

oh, man. I don’t know. I write a lot of garbage.

What would your book’s epigraph be?

I’m really irritated that I can’t answer this question because it’s a very good question

How about its movie poster slogan?

AUGH THIS ONE TOO

If you were going to challenge yourself to try something new, what genre would you venture into?

scifi, lol. I already am trying it. it’s not my forte.

Who’s the first person you show a draft to?

me! just me. I don’t usually work in drafts so I’m nervous about it.

Is there an idea (be it plot or character or world) you’ve been tugging along since childhood, just waiting for the right moment to use?

nahhh. I either write them down and forget, forget them, or start writing them.

What’s the first creative thing you remember writing, and what did you learn from it?

something about aliens, or possibly a fantasy book that was meant to be a series? honestly--that it was easier to write than I thought it was.

What’s the strangest characteristic you’ve taken from real life and given to a character (could be yours or someone else’s)?

oh, I don’t know, haha. I don’t do this consciously. I’m sure I’ve done it, but I wouldn’t know I did it :p

Choose your fighter: Enemies to Lovers, There’s Only One Bed, or Pretend Dating Makes Real Feelings.

PRETEND DATING. fake dating is my most favorite thing

and @editedandwrittenbyhannah

How old were you when you started taking writing seriously (assuming you do now)?

guess it depends on the definition of serious. if it means publishing, it’s been back and forth because I don’t always want to publish, and I don’t always think everything I write could BE published. if it means attempting to write true to characters and plot and whatever, then... always?

How old do you think is the best age to start writing and why?

whenever. if the story’s in your mind and your heart, then put it to paper. you can always grow older and change it, if it needs to be, but there’s no such thing as ‘too old’ or ‘too young’ to start writing.

What is your ideal setting for writing?

in bed, before I fall asleep, lol. this is a popular question :p

What is the weirdest thing that has ever gotten your writer brain going on overdrive about a new idea?

oh. I don’t know. I don’t question inspiration these days, haha.

Do you edit before you post your writing to tumblr?

sometimes. actually, no, usually. and then I forget that I edited it. and it doesn’t make it back to my draft. don’t be like me.

What blogs have inspired you AND/OR motivated you to write? Tag ‘em so they know what they did for you.

@forlornraven @indecentpause @infinitelyblankpage @riftversus @lavenderas @theshadowsofthenight, but also, kind of the entirety of writeblr as a whole is good. I dig this community and watching everyone craft their stories has been kind of incredible. I don’t know writer people in real life, so the internet’s kind of how I find them, and I haven’t had a community of sorts since I was in high school. it’s nice to see everyone so determined and in love with their own work. reminds me it’s okay to not hate my stuff.

Who is your favorite tumblr writer?

...look I’m just gonna say I mentioned them by name already :p but the ones I mentioned in the question just before this are equally as awesome.

I just realized technically I mentioned all of writeblr. look how that works out :p

What is your favorite topic to write about? Read about?

I don’t know, I like contemporary fiction, stuff that’s realistic to write about because it’s the world I most know, obviously, and I’m used to reading about lgbt+ characters and a lot of the times those aren’t in genre fiction--at least not mainstream genre fiction)

or they weren’t, anyway.

but I like scifi too.

How old were you when you read your favorite book for the first time? How many times have you read it since then?

I don’t know that I have a favorite book. if it is, probably room, and I don’t really know lol

List 3 songs that you would NEVER listen to while writing because they’re too distracting for any reason at all.

all of them. ;;

#tag games #sorry mobile

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imaginesofeverykind · 7 years

Text

Tag, Your It || Sam Drake x Reader ||

Characters: Sam Drake x Fem!Reader

Fandom: Uncharted.

Requested: Yes! My first one!! [A request for Sam where you two are good friends, but both have feelings for each other. You're always flirting and stuff but no one has made a move yet. One day you're playing lasergun with Nate, elena and Sam, girls against boys. Sam finds you and sneaks up to you from behind, putting his gun to your head and holding you against his chest. But instead of shooting it ends up in a hot make out session. Later interrupted by Nate and elena who are wondering where you are :) xx love your writing!]

Prompt: Taking a break from the treasure hunting business, you, Sam, Nate and Elena all decided to unleash your inner children in a free for all game of Lazer Tag. Given the dark environment years of built up sexual tension between you and Sam finally crumbles down on the both of you.

Tags: @rafeadderall @missdictatorme @dragonjedihobbit (Message me if you want to be tagged to get notifications of posts!)

Word Count: 1,798

A/N: Lmaooo so I wrote half of this and saved it as a draft but good old tumblr didn’t save it so heck. Y u gotta do me like that tumblr? SEND THROUGH REQUESTS TOO LOVELIESS <3 its also 2 am so i tried to edit it as best as I could but lmao heck/

Cursing under her breath, Y/N had made a break for the barrier, her heart pounding in her chest. It was dark, hard to hear but she knew they weren’t too far behind her. She leant up against the barrier, panting to gradually gather her breath back before jumping back into the action.

Despite the fact that Y/N was in the centre of a large foam arena and the gun she had in her hand was actual a lazer gun, it was almost as if she was back in Madagascar trying to fend off shoreline mercenary’s or as if she was back in the ruins of Avalon the legendary Island of King Arthur.

The fact was that Y/N, a grown woman and three of her other supposedly more ‘mature’ friends, decided that they’d spend their well deserved break from treasure hunting in an adults arcade filled with games like Lazer tag to fuel their childish needs.

Once Y/N caught her breath she bounded up and over the barrier just in time to see a silhouetted figure dart around a corner. She smirked and chased down the figure, not holding back the trigger when she rounded the corner herself. The lazer shot beamed from the barrel of the gun and hit directly at the chest plate which lit up and triggered the lights to flick on.

“This rounds winner, Y/N.” the autoplay system announced, she grinned proudly and bit back a laugh after discovering her victim was Nate. “What can I say, you gotta be sneakier.” She shoved his shoulder and stepped back awaiting for the next rounds instructions.

Sam and Elena emerged at different sides congratulating Y/N on her victory for that round, she bowed cockily, “it’s all in the strategy.” Sam stood beside her and peered down at her, “oh please, teach us.” A slight smirk pulled on his lips earning a shove in response. “Talent isn’t something you learn Sammy, you just gotta be born with it.”

“Oh why excuse me princess, I am a man of many talents.” Sam retorted, his smirk more evident as he looked down at her. Nate rolled his eyes, “all right you two, I don’t think we need a demonstration.” Of course, Nate’s unnecessary added comment was only to stir the pot between Sam and Y/N. Having been friends for quite some time, it was only natural that the two would end up developing feelings for each other at one point or another. Naturally, that’s exactly what had happened.

For months now, quips weren’t just witty one-liners or typical banter, they were now mistaken quite often as flirting. Nate over the course of the past months had to put up with his brothers not-so-inconspicuous-but-very-conspicious complaining and whining over Y/N. It was obvious that the two were attracted to each other in more ways than one, hell, even Sully picked up on it.

“The next round is, team death match, two teams face off. The team with most amount of hits in fifteen minutes wins. You have thirty seconds to pick your team and sync it to the system.” The automated voice sounded over the arena. Nate was quick to pick, ruffling Y/N’s hair as he made his choice, leaving Sam and Elena unimpressed.

“What? She won the last round!” Nate put his hands up in defence, Y/N however shook her head and walked over to Elena, “we’ll settle this dispute once and for all, who’s better, us girls or you boys. But we all know who’s going to win right?” Y/N raised her eyebrow cheekily, a smirk pulling on her lips.

Elena was far more on board with that Idea knowing that trying to verse a team of Nate and Y/N, they wouldn’t stand a chance. The two girls synced up their colours, it was blue versus red now. “I gotta admit, Y/N... i’m a little hurt you didn’t even think to pick me.” Sam frowned jokingly of course.

The countdown started to flash at ten seconds, as she shrugged and winked at him, “c’mon Sam, you and I both know we’d take down these two in seconds. We gotta give em a chance to win.” She saluted him before the two girls both started to jog the opposite direction of Nate and Sam as the timer continued to beep before lights out.

They had just made it to cover as the lights flicked off suddenly, leaving them in the dark environment only lit up poorly by few LED lights. “I’m thinking you take the west side of the arena and I’ll take the east side.” Y/N whispered, but before Elena could get up and leave she grabbed onto her wrist, “stay behind cover, if it’s quiet enough you’ll be able to hear them walking.”

Both girls has parted ways and followed suit with the plan. Y/N was on the east side of the building, hidden behind a pillar, she stuck her head out to see any movement and immediately ducked back behind the pillar upon seeing a silhouette that was indeed not at all Elena. Her side pressed up against the foam pillar, she kept the lazer gun close to her and sucked in a large breath.

She stuck her head out once more but gasped when someone had pointed their gun to her head and snaked their arm around her waist. She knew that someone was Sam, just by his distinguishable smell and strong embrace. “Bet you regret not picking me for a partner now.” His voice was low and silent, he pressed her up against his chest, proud of his little victory.

A blush crept up her cheeks, she was thankful it was incredibly dark so she could blush shamelessly. A silent laugh passed through her lips as had to comment on how dramatic he was being, “you do realise that shooting me in the head with a lazer does nothing.” she referred to the gear she had set up that registered the lazer beams as hits.

“Sure it does-.” he spun her around, his free arm still gripping her waist. He could only just the outline of her face, “-It thickens the plot.” Joking around like he usually did, would result in witty remark after witty remark laced with flirtatious connotations. However this time, it was different.

For months now tension built up between the two of them, every time they’d make an accidental sexual pun or joke it was almost always followed by suggestive eyes, or every time they would touch accidentally they would linger longer than they should, or hold a gaze longer than necessary.

“thickens the plot?” She repeated, snorting out a soft laugh making him roll his eyes, “I couldn’t think of anything witty to say.” Sam admitted shrugging in defence, he thought it sounded cool but it sounded a lot better in his head than it did coming out of his mouth.

She laughed lightly, “Oh I know, that wasn’t one of your best... but besides the point are you going to shoot me or not?” She may have sound composed and put together but on the inside her heart was racing being pressed up so closely to Sam’s chest she was going into sensory overload. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.” His voice softened, while he could barely see her he knew where she was, and his face hovered closer to hers.

“What’s that supposed to-.” He cut her off by closing the gap between their faces, pressing his lips onto hers carelessly dropping the gun on the floor to and caressing her face gently. He caught her immensely off guard but the sensation was nauseating, the good kind of nausea, the kind that made her chest ache and stomach tingle.

He broke away from her but didn’t go too far, the short few second kiss leaving him clammy and sweaty already as well as Y/N. She looked up at him, only just seeing his features before on instinct she brought her hands up to the back of his head and through his hair. Time started to slow momentarily as they stood in silence, nothing but their soft breath was heard before an instant of animalistic hunger struck the both of them.

The months building up to this moment for them was astonishing, their lips sloppily moved in sync, which contrasted the first kiss incredibly. Y/N ran her fingers through Sam’s hair while his own hands were preoccupied running up and down her sides.

He bit down on her lower lip causing a hum of pleasure to pass her lips before pressing her up against the foam pillar. The two could barely keep their hands of each other, that was due to the fact that they were reluctant to let go after so many months of intense sexual tension.

They had to keep reminding them where they were and that as heated as things were going they were most definitely not going to do anything in a foam arena. Of course that meant they were going to have a wild night when they got home. Getting herself lost in the kiss Y/N tugged the ends of Sam’s hair a little too tightly, not that the groan from his mouth was one connected to pain but pleasure.

“Oh please don’t do that.” He murmured against her lips, squeezing her hips slightly. “Sorry.” She mumbled in response, her voice muffled by his lips, “oh no, don’t be sorry, the more you do that the less i’ll be able to hold back from just taking you right here right now.” He admitted, his hands now trailing up to her hair, his calloused thumbs caressing her cheeks softly.

“I don’t have a problem with that.” She mumbled, her hands still in his hair. “You don’t, but we do...” Nate’s voice greeted them, making the two jump apart. They hadn’t noticed the lights had switched back on and Elena and Nate stood not to far with smirks on their faces. “Jesus, Nathan. How long have you been standing there?”

“Oh trust us, we just got here. We wondered where you’d both run off too... oh and by the way I won.” Elena grinned, Nate’s arm around her proudly. “This is a little embarrassing...” Y/N admitted, scratching the back of her neck nervously, her lips swollen, much like Sam’s were as well. “Hardly, but you two lovebirds run along now and you-.” Nate turned to his wife, “owe me fifty bucks.”

“Seriously? You guys bet on us, how original...” Sam groaned, rolling his eyes at his younger brother. At least Sam could very comfortably wrap his arms around Y/N and it not be strange anymore.

#uncharted 4 #sam drake #U4 #request #imagines #one shots #fluff #idek if my writing can be remotely sexy im v sorry #troy baker #Honestly this is turning out to be a Sam Drake blog lmaoooo #idgaf anymore

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starvonnie · 7 years

Note

For the fanfic ask you can choose which/how many to do but pleeeeease do Two Factions!!!!!! That story is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean most of these aren’t for specific fics but wure I’ll do em all lol

A: How did you come up with the title to [insert fic]?It’s literally a play on iirc the very first line of Romeo and Juliet

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?A lot of them are or at least have a bit of personalness thrown in. Can’t remember which off the top of my head.

C: What member do you identify with most?Member???????

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with [insert fic]?Who Am I Living For? by Katy Perry is def a Two Factions song, but I listened to Close by Nick Jonas Feat. Tove Lo to get the feel for the first bit (mostly just the party, but for the beginnings of their relationship before SHIT WENT DOWN)

E: If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it be about?lol I don’t even know.

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.idk if I can explain why I’m proud of it but I’ll give you a little snippet from A Misplaced Star that I haven’t posted yet.... and no I won’t tell you who’s saying it (though I think it should be pretty obvious)"Sometimes love is nasty," he went on. "Sometimes it's fangs and claws and an angry red that refuses to leave." He sighed. "Sometimes it's turning away your conjunx in his time of need and realizing later that the state he's in is all your fault. And it hurts. It hurts so much to see the pain you've caused him, and you wish that you could take it all back, but sometimes love is unforgiving, and sometimes it's a wake-up call."

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?@justroddythings can confirm that my writing style is writing a bajillion bits and pieces and then crying while trying to string them all together.

H: How would you describe your style?It’s either too flowery or is literally just actions there is no in between.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?Aft sex needs more fics and I’m totally not writing any of them

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].I joked about this with someone but a very jokey ending to Two Factions involving Primus’ hand just coming down from the sky and poking the ground and WHOOP Drift is alive again and then a meteor hits Optimus and Hot Rod and Megatron are free to love each other.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?That would probably be the one where I killed off Megatron and left Rodimus as a single parent XD

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?It depends on how much I care about the fic. Two Factions has definitely been my most heavily edited fic (and the only one I’ve really had a beta look at) but most of my one-shots get the once-over for spelling and grammar and maybe I’ll change things if I don’t like it. Oh! And I’m A Stranger Here I ended up deleting like 4000 words TWICE because I hated them and rewrote the scene entirely.So yeah, basically if I want it to be good I give it a lot of effort but otherwise I generally go with something similar to my first draft.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?So many. Currently, most of my time is going to A Misplaced Star, but I’m occasionally puttering away at the megard merformer sequel and a starrod sparkling thing.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?Oh god. Someone please take When Time Runs Out off of my hands idk why you all like it so much I think it’s so bad and it’s getting closer and closer to my totally abandoned pile WHY TF DO YOU GUYS LIKE IT??????? (seriously I’d like to know because I’m still not 100% on where to go with it and maybe you’ll spark something and I’ll actually finish it lol)

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?I’m not gonna lie, I don’t understand the difference between plot-driven and character-driven stories, like, shouldn’t you have both? I guess I would say plot, though, because whenever I don’t have a good sense of what I want the story to be I just write garbage and filler.

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)I let the story unfold, usually. I like to have a general idea and maybe some Important Scenes already figured out, but most of my really good plot points have come out of nowhere (including how to fix a major plot hole I accidentally made in Two Factions lol)

Q: How do you feel about collaborations?I collaborate with my conjunx a lot (even if it’s just beta-ing or hashing out ideas) but I’m generally not a group work sort of person. I like being able to tell the story the way I want to.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?Not really. Tbh I don’t read enough fanfic. It’s a problem that I’m trying to fix.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?Do sparklings count? Because I fucking love sparkling fics.

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?VALVE SEALS I HATE IT SO MUCH

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.Again, don’t read enough fanfic to have favourites.

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?*shrugs*

W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones?General. I like the freedom to write what I want.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.*looks at Rodimus* sorry dude

Y: A character you want to protect.*wraps a blanket around Rodimus* I’m a hypocrite

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?>:3c

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awgeezitsthetoiletnator · 7 years

Text

the truth

notes: this is for @its-all-for-this-family! ria, this is an idea i had last summer and i wanted to give you it as a present then but apparently it wasn’t in the stars (read: a ridiculously busy schedule and numerous drafts getting mysteriously deleted off my desktop). i hope you like it! i’ll edit this over once and post it on ao3 when it’s finished. this is the first part of two (i think).

summary: stan and dipper bonding! ft. a backwards g4g reveal, a fishing trip, and casual toying with the idea that a few years isn’t enough to completely fix a broken sibling relationship.

The minute the kids hop off the bus, something is wrong.

Stan Pines isn’t quite sure how he knows this. Maybe it’s the fact that they hug Ford before they get to him. He chalks that up to plain old jealousy - childhood feelings that still refuse to leave, even after all this time.

Maybe it’s just how different the twins look. Stan can still remember how small they’d looked getting off the bus for their first summer in Gravity Falls. But fifteen seems to suit them.

Mabel is braces-less, and smiling so wide that Stan is sure her teeth are gonna pop outta her mouth. He hides a chuckle when he realizes that she’s gained a good three inches on her brother since the last time he’d seen her. Dipper must be just ecstatic about that.

He’d grown too - just more out than up. The kickboxing lessons that Stan had gotten him for Christmas had really paid off. Who knew there was actually muscle inside those scrawny little twigs?

Maybe it’s the drastic difference between the kids’ attitudes towards him. Mabel leaps into his arms, gushing about every single thing she has planned for tonight, all the people she has to see, and just how fun this summer is going to be, while Dipper opts for a tight smile and a side-hug.

Sure, he’d always needed more time to adjust than his sister, but it continues for longer than Stan can explain.

Mabel plays a mixtape full of Top 40 hits in the car - she calls them “bangers”, Stan chooses to ignore this - and Dipper does nothing but chew on a pen and stare out the window. He has no reason to be embarrassed about singing, given the zombie fiasco from that first summer, the many times he’d caught him wailing after a shower, and the fact that Ford gradually begins to belt along to every song. But he stays silent anyways.

Dinner is just as bumpy. In an effort to break down whatever wall Dipper has put up, Stan breaks out a classic: 1000 Yuk ‘Em Ups: Uncle Approved! Mabel rewards him will pitying laughs and Ford rubs his temples, but Dipper doesn’t give him so much as a groan. He picks at his vegetables and keeps dangerously quiet, like he’s sitting on a bomb and waiting for it to explode, but Stan is the only one who can see it.

Stan tries one last time to reach out. It’s late, and quiet save for the gentle sounds of crickets outside and the occasional hoot of a nearby owl. It would probably be noisier when Soos and Melanie got done visiting her parents in Portland, but for now, it was calming.

He’s already half-carried, half-nudged Mabel to bed, carefully laying her between her numerous stuffed animals and her behemoth of a pig. She’d passed out on the couch not long after dinner, her scrapbook from the previous summer sprawled across her lap.

Ford has retreated to the basement, after muttering something about researching “gremlins” or “goblins” (or was it “gargoyles”?).

Stan walks into the living room, where Dipper is sitting on the floor, reassembling the journal Ford had given him at the end of the summer last year. It had become a yearly tradition; this was the third one so far.

However, although the two shared a love of the paranormal, it was clear that they didn’t share the same rigidness for journaling.

Unlike Ford’s precise paragraphs and intricate illustrations, Dipper’s journal was filled with frantic chicken scratch and leaking photographs, papers, and who-knows-what-else stuck in there with scotch tape and hope.

Stan settles into the armchair and turned on the TV, prepared for whatever garbage Gravity Falls Public Access had in store for him. Tonight, it was a marathon of a show called Post-Teen Mom, that centered around four pregnant women in their early twenties who all hated each other. He could excuse the ridiculous name and premise for the petty insults and nonsensical cat fights.

Every now and then, he would sneak a glance to Dipper’s project on the floor. The kid, along with his journal, sat in the middle of a fan of extraneous material that had been carefully removed, labeled, and placed on the floor, awaiting its return to the book. With every turn of a page, Dipper would pick out two or three pieces of related evidence, squeeze too much leftover glitter glue on the page and press them into the book with the heel of his palm as quickly as possible, resulting in the golden paste running down his forearm.

Stan snorts to himself. Dipper’s unnatural affinity for weirdness came from Ford and his unnerving methodical tendencies were certainly from his father, but the messy, determined creativity? All Stan.

Come to think of it, Mabel had gotten that from him too. He hadn’t noticed it at first, given how, well… out there Mabel’s artistic tendencies could be at times.

But Stan could remember a myriad of creative endeavors from his childhood that would be right up the twins’ alley - tiny caricatures he’d tried to sell one summer on the boardwalk, wide sandcastles big enough to run away to, home movies he’d made with Ford and -

Carla.

The thought of her hits him like a bullet. The snicker she’d let out every time she got him to blush, her hand gripping his while they strolled down the beach, a single carnation dotting the sea of brown curls…

Stan doesn’t think about her much nowadays, which means that every time he does, it hurts that much more.

He attempts to shake it off as quickly as it came. He had been in love with a girl and wanted to start a life with her and that just wasn’t in the stars for them. So what? It’s not like it had been the end of the world. It had barely had an effect on what his life had become. It certainly wasn’t the cause of the tears brimming in his eyes right now -

No. Stan took a deep breath, and exhaled with a grunt. Pfft. Who cared? Not him.

At least he and Dipper had something in common other than pervasive stubbornness.

Speaking of which…

He’s been waiting for Dipper to say something to him, but to no avail. The boy had either been too focused on his work (or at least pretending to be) to say a single word.

Stan turns his eyes back to the TV, where surprise guest Betty Anne “The Stomper” Lewis was about to unleash hell on Rachel-But-It’s-Pronounced-Rachelle. If Dipper wouldn’t talk, Stan would start the conversation…

…right after this fight.

But he doesn’t get the chance. He’s about to try to predict the outcome of the brawl (“The Stomper” had longer nails than her adversary, but she was also more pregnant) when Dipper gathers his materials and walks to the stairs.

He’s halfway up when Stan stops him, having followed him to the base of the stairs without much thought.

“Kid, hold up.”

Dipper turns around slowly. It’s a turn Stan had done many times in his own life, backed into a corner with his hands up. Stan had Dipper exactly where he wanted him.

But unlike Stan, who’d always accompanied the turn with a scowl and a string of obscenities, Dipper seems emotionless. He stands still on the step, journal wrapped in his arms, waiting for Stan to speak.

Stan crosses his arms and squints up at him.

“You haven’t been actin’ like yourself.”

The second the words leave his mouth, they feel wrong. And they must be, given the nearly manic expression that suddenly washes over Dipper’s face. “Not acting like myself?” he asks.

“Grunkle Stan, I’m not the one here who’s still acting like they’re a completely different person!”

Dipper’s tone is scathing, his hands are shaking, and his words reek of truth.

A fire has been lit in his eyes, one that Stan is all too familiar with.

It’s the same blazing glare behind Dipper yelling at Mabel to close the portal. It’s the same furious disappointment Ford had served him after learning about the fate of his science fair project. It’s the same devastating fury that another teenage boy had hurled at him at a unsettlingly similar conversation thirty years ago.

Betrayal.

Stan is sure that thirty years ago, he had an amazing reply to the accusation but now…

He’s lost his edge.

When Dipper realizes that Stan doesn’t have anything to say, he turns and quickly walks up the stairs.

Stan floats to his armchair and sinks down into it.

This morning, he thought there was something wrong with Dipper. But it was his old mistakes, back to haunt him again.

Because there was no way that Dipper didn’t know that Stan was -

Shit.

#grunkle4grandpa #stanley pines #dipper pines #gravity falls #g4g #mabel pines #stanford pines #my fics #sardonic crew #gf #my fanfics

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jmkitsune · 5 years

Text

posted on twitter soo might as well here too

for those who follow my content making and noticed - I haven’t streamed in nearly 3 months !!!

soooo I haven't streamed since around xmas >.>

It’s taken a while to figure out this, but figure maybe nearly 3 months is long time I don’t know if I’m going back to twitch. • I love streaming • I love entertaining • I love even more interacting with an audience who enjoys the content I make, feels they are part of some community and have a place hanging out while I game for them. Like that’s why I always LOVED what I did, even more so when chat was a live with more than just my friends, new people showing up was a HIGHLIGHT for me cause it gave me a chance to know so many more people I hadn’t met yet and hang out with them But- here is the reality, I have limits. • Limited time in a day, sadly I wish I could do EVERYTHING on my own in one day everyday, but no dice • limited energy each day, physically and mentally- like shits draining sometimes and streaming takes a lot of ya if ya do it a lot, especially the after stream editing and shit • limited funds to thrive- yeah I’m affiliated on twitch, but I don’t bring in enough to sustain myself or like prop up what I already make outside of it to justify putting all my eggs in the basket • also some things about twitch recently have grossed me out/left a bad taste, its the business I know, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it and its fine that others are ok with it- this is a me thing causing me to reexamine my ideals is all- its mostly disillusionment and personal opinions bout the culture of it now is all. maybe I've just outgrown it? I dunno really its VERY complicated even for me thinking it out (I've been dancing on it since Xmas soo if that helps) that being said I need to examine the reality that while I love streaming- unless its sustainable its not as possible anymore. Day job is draining (mentally more than physically but still physically draining), writing demands attention because between the editing and publishing of book 1, recently finishing book 2- which will need to be edited and wanting to write/finish the first draft of book 3 so that can be done as well- ON TOP of like wanting to source out for an artist to do some work for the trilogy to accompany the novels when they're all done done, as well as other creative projects I want to figure out. I barely have time to do all these things. There is also social life, I need one- well need to repair mine. I'm slowly working on fixin the online ones, it's slow but I'm getting there. But the IRL one I'm figuring out, I have some friends that I know I can hang out with and I should and will this year be doing it. Hell maybe if I play my cards right I'll try dating who knows. I can’t sacrifice friends for streaming, like I used to- A LOT. which saying this makes me feel its hollow cause since I last streamed I’ve been a bit more reclusive than normal, but thats a different thing entirely that isn't related to this. Reality- I want to entertain with gaming. I also want to do it with people. I obviously love doing my lets plays on my own, me hanging out with the audience and shit. But I also loved team up games with Mike, or em and Steph doing outlast. Loved team games like pubg/overwatch/siege, etc I didn’t care per say that we were not GREAT, as long as people watching were enjoying the show and shit I had fun playing together. I still wanna start/organize an idea I’ve had since last year, similar in theory to Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter- like an entertaining company...project thing I don't know its still in CONCEPT/theory more than anything else, but I have no idea how to do the project or who even to ask that could help due to everyone I know being busy, stripped for responsibilities, etc I wouldn’t want to have others give up things for a GAMBLE of a project. hell I don't even know how or where to start if I did have people lol so yeah So yeah I’ve been gone because I dunno, I guess five years of making content made me realize- I love it, I want it to be my career. Between writing, streaming, youtube, all that- I still want it all. I just need to figure out HOW I wanna do it all in a way that isn’t lacking in a return to justify it as a job. Being affiliated helped, it showed me I was given a chance to do more and benefit from my hardwork and I had to step up and I did for two years of it, but there was that lingering part of me that still wasnt satisfied with what I had, not because I wasn't paid enough but because I wanted more than just what I was doing. I knew I was capable and passionate about more- just didn't know how to focus all that into what I wanted yet. But I’ll be honest- I don’t want to compete with my peers anymore either- that is one thing I want to stop doing. I hate that factor in twitch/YT/mixer/etc the grind/competition culture makes me sick because it always sucks me in and leaves me miserable and petty and just it affects my content. yes we gotta make bank, like we put the work we want the return. But I don’t wanna gain and find out someone lost in the competitive way, I want I dunno something else, less bullshit I guess? hence my project idea, I want to- with a group of people like minded enough to do it too- entertain people by being the nerds we are, inclusive nerds who just wanna share and enjoy shit together and make people laugh, mend those who don’t feel they belong, etc I’m sorry I’ve disappeared from twitch, but to figure out what I’m doing I gotta take stock of what is on the table, I obviously am still around. I still am recording KH3, I've been editing Persona 5 for YT cause I backlogs of it, and Steph says some point we'll get around to finishing Outlast, doing outlast 2, and other horror games. She also says her and a friend of hers are in for a D&D thing I wanna do, just gotta figure it all out yeah I got projects/ideas/stuff planned- its just building the plan into concrete content lol we'll see, hopefully 2019 is better and I get back in the headspace/game where I used to be :D thanks for those who understand where I poofed to

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vocatharsis · 6 years

Text

Cogs’ TS2 Apocalypse Run (X)

<< Previous | Next >>

Got a hankering for some old-fashioned simmin’ early this year, so I downloaded The Sims 2 Ultimate Edition using my otherwise-barely-used Origin account. I’m trying my hand at an apocalypse challenge run (using Phaenoh’s incredible mod-assisted ruleset from Mod The Sims) and it’s proving very fun so far!

In this challenge, I’ve got to gradually guide a bloodline through lifting a series of tough restriction sets, which go away one by one as I get family members to top the game’s various career tracks. For example, the Culinary restrictions (the first set removed) allowed me to open the fridge no more than once per day, while Medicine (the second) banned all personal hygiene technology except a single sink. As the ‘X’ in brackets in the post title might suggest, I’ve been doing well so far.

If you like The Sims series, nostalgic videogame reflections, wry/silly challenge run blogging or all of these things, feel free to read on!

THE SMITHS’ FREE STATE, PART 10 - SUITS & TRACKSUITS

In which we start with a bit of a surprise -- sharpest-dressed coot in all the wastes -- B-R-A-V-O-O-O -- a ladies’ guy, apparently -- “It’s money that paid for all them renovations we did!” -- Panoptica becomes even more of a warrior.

Welcome back! (Or, if this is your first time reading, Welcome!) It’s time for another update.

Last time, I detailed how Shelmerdine, the run’s founder, died of old age, and how her second child Panoptica (pictured above) reached the top of the Intelligence career, giving my household the power to make and answer phone calls (among other things).

Look, John’s already reaping the benefits of his ‘increased chance of bringing a friend back home from work’ Popularity Aspiration perk; naturally, he uses it to gossip openly with some geezer about state secrets.

Divulge away, John.

Anyway, Sake’s well into the Elder life stage at this point, meanwhile John, Forseti and--

Wait, what?

I seriously thought he had one more day left after this one--

Nooooooo... (*sigh*) well, thanks for everything, Sake. You were important. (This actually came as a surprise to me when it happened.)

Here, have a picture of Panoptica swinging Forseti around.

John’s actually on the verge of becoming an Elder himself at this point. He hasn’t reached perma-plat - yet - but I do wanna keep his lifespan as long as I can, just because. So I had him pick up some new skills, e.g. by learning Cleaning from a book. This builds Nature enthusiasm...

“The hell are you supposed to be?”

He’s got platinum aspiration now, so I figure I might as well just buy a birthday cake and let him get on. Final hug with Panoptica while they both still have non-grey hair!

Ah, these two siblings. They’re so great.

Lotta candles. We can only hope his Elderwear has some semblance of dignity, so he leaves a decent-looking ghost behind.

The twins are excited to see what abomination the RNG calls forth.

Let’s see...

I... John, holy shit. You got a suit. You’re already the best-dressed ghost the Smiths have yielded thus far.

Now it’s time to let the twins become teens!

Niiice! Now they have fourteen or so days to use some of the career rewards and gain whatever skills they can in preparation for their lifts.

Oh, and now that Forseti’s a teenager, he’s finally tall enough to scrub weeks of filthy sandwich grime off the kitchen counter, just like he always dreamed.

(FYI, Forseti has the Popularity aspiration; Aaron has Family. Both have Knowledge as their secondary. I chose their aspirations partly based on the possibility of getting a useful lifetime wish, but it appears that the lifetime wish isn’t rolled until they fulfil their first want as a teen, or until you load the save. And for both of them, the LTWs rolled were for Knowledge, no their mains. So maybe picking a secondary right away causes the game to roll the LTW for it instead of their main life goal? Hm, perhaps I can use this...)

Since Aaron’ll eventually be moving out of the house, and since at that point I’ll be allowed to marry him off to someone and have it count toward restrictions as well, I’m fine with him having a teenage romance. Here’s Tosha Go, one of the standard townies. They’re just friends - for now.

Using the ‘Ask: What are your skills?’ interaction (thank you, Panoptica!), I found that she has fairly high creativity. So I might direct her towards lifting Journalism, or perhaps Business? That’ll wait, of course, since she’s not an adult yet.

Juan has nearly all the skills he needs to reach the top of Architecture at this point (he has the Logic and Mechanical, and will need just two more dots in Creativity) so I sent him and someone else to my homemade ‘makeshift city hall’ community lot. I decided to make it a rundown-yet-still-somehow-standing Scout hall, with scavenged chairs and stuff dragged in to make a crude neighbourhood mooting place.

He signs up via the jobs board (at rank 6, since he’s overqualified), and spends the rest of his weekend using his new drafting table to build Creativity.

Meanwhile, Aaron gets the last of his chess-grind done, followed shortly by Forseti--and about time, too. I’ve discovered that the ‘hobby wants’ are partly determined by personality, so Forseti’s hyper-playful and hyper-athletic nature isn’t inclined to roll the ‘play chess’ want.

I’ll wean Forseti off games until his enthusiasm drops to safe, non-obsessed levels to avoid another poor, poor Kent incident. (You give ‘em chess, suddenly they pine for crummy EA snowboarding simulators and Marco Polo...)

As an Elder, John’s suddenly got a lot of free time on his hands. This is true whether I like it or not: one of the things with TS2 elders is, they wake up when their Energy need is full, and won’t do the ‘stay in bed unless directed otherwise’ thing that most others do. I have him working on maxing all his skills, just becos.

Better also pay protection money to the mob while you’re out there, though. Those guys are dangerous. Except, you know, I’m actually swimming in money at this point after two generations of maxed careers and no retirement (plus Shelmerdine and John both getting loadsamoney from the good outcomes of their top-of-career opportunity cards). It’s only around §11500 (i.e. half the lot value) per week, and we make more than that. I can easily afford to have a higher lot value once Architecture is lifted.

Time for Juan’s first day as a Draftsman.

Oh, and I got Forseti to take the first job in the newspaper (as I’m allowed to do) so that he could maybe reroll wants after work. He got Journalism, which is fine.

Meanwhile, Aaron is flirting with a teen townie called Meadow who came down the street. Don’t worry, it’s not serious; they’re not even friends yet.

And I’ll probably pair him up with Tosha in the end, since Tosha said she was ‘very good’ at Creativity whereas Meadow is ‘pretty good’ at the same. Given that both girls had two chemistry bolts with Aaron, I’m guessing that they’re both Family Sims like he is.

The next few days see Juan climbing up through Architecture, and Forseti making a few new friends. It occurs to me that Aaron’ll need to do some networking for when he eventually moves out...

Forseti tops his teen job, which of course doesn’t count for lifting restrictions,

and the next day, Juan lifts Architecture!

“Right! Let’s do up the ’ouse!”

Now I finally have a space where I can plonk down John’s military obstacle course, which is the fastest Body-skilling object in the game.

Might as well give it a whirl! It seems random, but they alternate between clearing it with ease and getting stuck on stuff. You have no idea how many pictures I’ve taken of people falling flat on their face trying to jump that second hurdle.

Panoptica, meanwhile, is running it like a champion, which creates the opportunity for another one of those well-timed ‘descendant vs spouse’ comparison moments.

N’aw, but I shouldn’t be mean to Juan. He’s doing fine. And not at all tragically, as in the last one’s case.

That’s plenty for this update, I think--got through quite a bit of my backlog. Thanks for reading!

#ts2 #the sims 2 #the sims #my posts

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mechanintendomaster · 6 years

Text

Unused Mario and Bowser: Frenemies Forever Chapter 17

Mario and Bowser 17

Noon of the restless Mario Characters (Chapter 17)

Created: like a month ago -5/16/17

Disclaimer: Why do I bother? I don't own Mario and co.

Author note: Long chapter, go!

Real note: Last edited May 18, 2017. Not technically unused since this was the original draft of this chapter. Still, the current one was edited down making this version ‘lost’.

Mario strolled into the bustling Toad Town. This was going to be a beautiful day, he thought. The weather was warm and the sky blue, the only thing ruining it was the frequent smell of exhaust fumes. The town really had urbanized in recent years with more and more people owning their very own kart to drive around. Mario could even spot a Mercedes-Benz or two pass by. Foot traffic wise, Toad folk and other local Mushroom Kingdom species went about their daily business, going up and down the sidewalks in waves not entirely different from what Mario would see back in Brooklyn. The Usonian resemblance didn't stop there; recent structures and vehicles were designed to be sleek and modern and only a few buildings still shaped like the mushroom structures of old.

After a moment, Mario approached town square to meet a bigger crowd. Men and women in business suits, parents with children, and teenagers on cellphones among them, no one seemed to care that Peach had put the Kingdom in a state of emergency not long ago. In the past, such an announcement would shut up the citizens in their homes until the moment Mario and his brother saved the day. Now it was like any other day. Just another Bowser attack. Mario wasn't entirely surprised, because Peach wasn't actually kidnapped in this "emergency", and she also omitted the fact that Mushroom Flu was apparently being spread by secret agents, for the sake of avoiding panic. For all the kingdom's citizens knew, the emergency involving Bowser could have been him invading a land on the other side of the globe. Still, the change of social climate from what he used to remember made Mario feel older than he was.

After waiting forever to finally be able to safely cross the street, because he refused to jay walk like everyone else, Mario made his way to the post office. Despite recent developments surrounding the humble wooden structure, it hadn't changed a bit on the outside. As he entered, he was greeted by the aged but active Postmaster, a Paratroopa with a busy grey mustache and thick glasses.

"Long time no see. You have no letters, guess no body's worried about you!"

"Oh I just have a little something to send off," Mario said walking up the counter. He noticed that the inside changed either. Same wooden floors, yellow walls, and fake house plant. "And you know, a lot of people don't really get written letters anymore."

"That's tomfoolery!" the Postmaster exclaimed. "I get letters all the time, son! You need more friends!"

Mario laughed at the irony as he handed him a letter labeled for 'Smash Mansion'. "I need first class mail. I have the money."

"Mario, it's on the house for you. No need to fret, we deliver no matter what, remember? Who's it for?"

"Can't say. It's a secret," Mario said with a wink.

"Ah, fair enough. Whatdaya think of this Mushroom Flu issue?" the Postmaster chucked.

"What..was that again?" Mario asked, trying to hide his surprise.

The Postmaster put a label on the envelope. "Mushroom Flu. You heard of it, right?"

"Yeah, but why would you bring that up?"

"It's all over the papers. See here?" The Postmaster pulled out a drawer and gave Mario the day's paper. This particular one was 'The Kingdom Enquirer'.

The headline read: MK citizens struck by 'MF'!

Mario gasped and immediately read out loud front page article. "According to rich entrepreneur 'James Monty', the president of the ministry of health, Toad Toadstool and Princess Daisy Bloom were stricken by Mushroom Flu, known as MF. According to him, he has no idea where it could have came from, but he suspects aliens. Citizens of MK, watch out for aliens! Suspects include Tatanga, Shroobs, Kirby....." Mario stopped reading and looked up confusingly.

The Postmaster smiled. "I know Mario, that was my reaction as well! Completely idiotic, right?"

"Well," Mario muttered, taking another glance at the headline, "it didn't sound like they knew what they were talking about...At all."

"Right. Tomfoolery as well. I caught wind of people being sick at the hospital but that's just crazy. These journalists really think we'll believe anything, except Kylie of course."

"Kylie...Koopa?" Mario mused.

"Right. You getting sick of me saying 'right'? Anyway, she's the writer of the Koopa Kronicle, and a darn good one. That's the only paper I trust now a days. So anyway, I'll have this sent out right away. That all?"

"Oh yeah. Thanks…"

"Right. See you later, Mario!"

Mario left and stood on the street corner, deliberating on his next course of action. It was clear to him now that mass hysteria wasn't about to spread just yet. Peach was wisely discreet with the state of emergency warning, and horrible journalism had diluted any sense of panic that could come from the surprisingly correct assumption of Mushroom Flu, apparently revealed by MKDCU agent Jimmy M., assuming he was that supposed "rich entrepreneur president of health" person quoted in the paper, and Dr. Mario would have the letter by tomorrow for sure. Considering the situation, things we're going as well as they possibly could.

But wait, he thought. He still just need to get to Bowser before Luigi! How would he pull that off, considering they would have already gotten an hour head start on him? There were no shortcuts he knew of that Luigi didn't, and his Sky Pop plane had been out of service for ages. Mario would just have to hope Buckenberry could slow them enough. The thought of the young hero brought up his spirits up a little. If Buckenberry could humble himself and get it together, he could too. He was just disheartened that he couldn't reveal to him that he DID know of Dr. Mario's whereabouts. Mario had promised to keep it a secret for the doctor, and Mario knew he couldn't afford to break anymore promises.

Just then, Mario gasped as someone rounded the corner to met him. "What are you doing here??" Mario asked.

The person beckoned him to follow them to a more secluded area.

=======

At the Mushroom Press, Jimmy continued to entertain the reporters with stories of his past misadventures. After the coast was clear of Richard and Wiggletron, he'd slipped back in. He couldn't let the offer of free coffee go to waste!

"-And I said to em 'he's red as the dickens! Just dunk the guy in the cream', and they did! You haven't lived until you've seen an 300 pound Toad jump in a giant tub of anti-itch cream!"

The Toad next to him, Mitch, laughed harder. "Aww man! This is going into the Mushroom Enquirer next! Hear that, Kylie?"

"Kylie? The girl's been gone ages ago," the desk receptionist said restlessly, putting some more hot water in the coffee maker.

Mitch looked around a bit. "Oh. Ah-hem, I knew that! Well anyway, how long are you sticking around? I uh...." Mitch suddenly stopped and put some sunglasses on.

"What?" Jimmy asked.

"You should probably go outside," Mitch said with sudden seriousness.

Jimmy stop lounging on their chairs and looked at the wall clock. "Oh! Didn't realize I'd been here so long! Guess I should go, ladies and gents, the work of a MKDCU agent is never done!"

The writers and reporters clapped as he got up and proudly marched to the door.

The moment he exited, he was greeted by Sebastian and Parabilly on the sidewalk, both shooting daggers at him.

"Boys? What's happenin? And where's the- Whoa! Stop!" Jimmy yelled.

"No can do sir," Lakitu said. He had the van secured with a giant fishing hook to an oversized cloud. On the side of the cloud, it was printed, "Lakitu's Independent Towing Company".

"Shouldn't you be fishing up go-carts or something?!" Jimmy screamed up to him.

"Sucker, this is my day job. What else I'm gonna do? Not like we'll be having any sports games any time soon by the looks of it. See ya!" The cloud began to float away with the van.

"First the hospital, then the coppers, now the towing companies?! I hate the Mushroom Kingdom!!!" Jimmy yelled at one in particular.

Sebastian crossed his arms. "What did you think was going to happen?!? I'm I still in Subcon? Because this a nightmare, and I'm sooo tired!"

"Me too!" Parabilly piped up as Lakitu took off, "He said this was the most illegalest parked car he ever done seen! All I'll have you know that we're tired of it!"

"What? You twos gonna quit too??" Jimmy asked harshly.

"Well....maybe! Ain't that right?" Parabilly asked, turning to Sebastian.

"Uh huh. Why did we make you leader anyway? Your actions have just made everything worse. We could have been at the bottom of this yesterday, and why aren't we finding a cure for their disease? Aren't we the health experts?"

Jimmy threw his hands up. "We ARE! Do you really think you can lead a disrespectful team while dealing with a deadly plague better than me? Cause this is a severe violation of protocol and I can fire you all right now!"

"Then do it. There's only five dern dollars at stake!" Parabilly spat, making Sebastian look to him questionably. "I quit myself! I ain't learned nothing and we ain't done nothing. We got em all locked up somewhere and we can't even help em. We might as well have never showed up! I got a home, a family to feed, and real job opportunities down home, and you can't keep me here any longer!"

Sebastian gasped. "Billy? You-"

"I already said It! That's it!" Parabilly threw his badge to the ground. "I'm outta here!"

Jimmy fumed. "You know what? It don't matter, you're right! We gotta get em to the Special World hospital but that's it. It's done, and I don't need you all anymore anyway! Get outta here!"

Parabilly wordlessly flew down the sidewalk and disappeared around a corner. Jimmy turned around and went the opposite direction, leaving Sebastian forlorn in front of the Mushroom Press entrance.

*tap tap*

He turned around so see someone peering through the glass door and knocking. When their eyes met, the person motioned him to come inside. He brought Sebastian to his office space and told him to take a seat.

"So you're Sebastian Bullet of Subcon, right?" Mitch asked.

Sebastian nodded.

"I still got!" Mitch said with a twinkle in his eye. "By the way, I'm Mitch T., writer of the Mushroom Enquirer, most famous newspaper ever!" He reached out to shake Sebastian's hand. "Okay, so you got towed by Lakitu. Right?"

"Uh yeah??" Sebastian responded.

Mitch leaned back in his comfy office chair and put his arms behind his head. "Great, well not for you I guess. Sorry I didn't see it sooner." he said somewhat flippantly. "I've gotten so used to blocking it out now, but never mind. James was full of crap anyway, you probably won't miss him."

"Now that I can agree on!" Sebastian said.

Mitch then leaded towards Sebastian. "Listen, I put out a nice fairytale for the paper but I know is really a big deal. I need you to me what really happened," he whispered.

"Well..." Sebastian hesitated.

"I'll pay ya!" Mitch added.

"Sure thing! And I have lots to tell." Sebastian started from the beginning and Mitch wrote down his account studiously. Sebastian felt better about getting fired now that he'd met Mitch, though he still had an odd feeling about him.

***

Outside, less than five minutes later, Jimmy took a wrong turn, being unacquainted with traveling on foot, and hit a dead end in a dark alley.

"Well this is just great. No van. No equipment. No agents. No directions! No respect! The Mushroom Kingdom can kiss- what the?!"

WhoooOOoooosh!

In the darkness, Jimmy saw a cloud of some sort stirring up in front of him, coming up from the ground. He was about to turn back to run when he was frozen in shock by a wicked laughter.

"Hehehehehehehehehehehehe! Stop right there!" someone cackled. "I've been looking for you!"

"I'm sorry! P-please Eldstar, no!" Jimmy bawled.

The cloud settled down to reveal a dark Boo, its face twisted in a psychotic smile. "Stop crying! Laugh, or else you fool! Hehehe!"

"A Boo?! W-what do ya want with ME?"

"I saw the whole thing in front of that Mushroom Press place, hehe. You must feel sooo sad.."

Jimmy didn't respond and continued to shake in fear and hold back tears.

"I said, LAUGH OR ELSE!" the Dark Boo barked.

"Ha ha ha ha haaaa!" Jimmy cried.

"That's better, hehe. They call me Z by the way. Let's have some fun!" Z moved closer. "You hate the Mushroom Kingdom, I hate the Mushroom Kingdom, we're a perfect match. Yaayy!" Z hugged Jimmy. "Come with me, buddy!"

"Hold on, now!" Jimmy said, pushing Z away. "I have a job to do. I ain't no Boo Hunters candidate. What's the meaning of this?"

Z scowled at him briefly, flashing some sharp teeth in the process, then went back to a smile. "Aww, not scared anymore? Well good, maybe we can talk, hehe. You are James Monty of the MKDCU."

"Uh huh? And?" Jimmy crossed his arms, trying to seem unafraid.

"Well, I'm only your biggest fan! We're both from Donut Plains, and I've followed all of your medical journals. I've always admired you more than the others and well," Z looked away bashfully, "I just really wanted to work with you. Please let me help you!" Z latched on to Jimmy again in a tighter hug.

"Alright, alright! Uh, you can help, uh somehow!" Jimmy yelled, his voiced muffled by the bigger Boo's embrace.

"Great," Z said flatly, "but first I need you to help me, hehe. Let's go on a little trip..."

"What? Let me go you- Ahhhhh!"

A Purple cloud engulfed them as Jimmy screamed, unable to get out to Z's grasp. His screams died down as the two disappeared into the shadows...

***

On another street, Parabilly waited at a bus stop. He had already phoned his relatives down in Southern Mushroom Kingdom. The 'city folk' life and the stress that came with it wasn't for him after all, he had resolved. He'd be better off as the local prairie physician like he always was. Soon the bus pulled up and he hopped on. He was heading out of Toad Town, possibly forever...

======@@@@@@@@@@@

Toadsworth knocked on Peach's door. After a moment it opened, revealing Toadette, who was wearing an apron and holding a feather duster.

"Mr. Toadsworth? What's wrong?"

"Princess? Wait, what were you doing in here?" Toadworth asked.

"Uh...I was just cleaning."

"And why, young lady? Where could she be?? She isn't OUT is she?" he asked harshly.

Toadette was about to remind him that she was authorized to clean Peach's room when ever she felt, but she held her tongue.

"Is she out?!" Toadsworth repeated.

Toadette kelp silent. When Luigi texted Peach an hour ago that Mario was put out of the mission, Peach immediately made plans to meet him. She had some unresolved feelings about Bowser's message and wanted to speak to Mario about it. Toadette didn't know what she meant by that, but she promised to keep Toadsworth at bay in the mean time. Still, she didn't feel good about lying to the oldest and loyalist servant in the castle...

"Answer me! This is no time for childish games!" Toadsworth scolded her.

"Umm, so why do you think she's out, Mr. Toadsworth?" Deflection, maybe that would work, she thought.

"I have been all over our dear castle, except for her room of course, which brings me here. Is she inside?"

"What do you need, sir?"

Toadsworth pouted. "I need to speak with her about a private matter. You are a higher level servant and I appreciate your hard work, I really do. I am sorry, my dear, for yelling so much. These are just dreadful and stressful times, you understand?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Indeed! What I have to say involves her safety. You know, with secret agents of Bowser running amok and whatnot."

Toadette shook her head. "I understand, but you can't come in!" Toadsworth looked to her surprisingly. "-Because...she isn't dressed! And..she's in the bath!" So much for not lying, Toadette thought. "Besides, the water was taking a while to heat up, but if you must tell her something now, you could just tell me." Toadette smiled sweetly which mollified Toadsworth further.

"Hmm...Thank you dear, but I will just come back at a more appropriate time." Toadsworth smiled. "Good day for now, Toadette."

Toadsworth walked back down the stairs, relieving but also disappointing Toadette who was very curious about that info. She retreated back inside the room and collapsed on Peach's bed, letting out a deep breath. Now she'd just need to keep this charade up for the entire day!

---------@@@@@@

The Mushroom Bus stopped at the Peach's Castle stop. This bus stop was usually used for castle tours or employees but the locals also used it to get to the the lake near Peach's castle or the private racetrack. A group of fifteen or so people exited, including Jelectro Bond, Kylie, Dick and Wiggletron. There was now only a short walk to the castle up a sandy rural path.

"Have y'all ever visited this place before?" Dick asked, breaking the silence that been between the four since getting on the bus.

"Yes, as an young child," Wiggletron answered. "Have heard that it has not been redecorated since."

"Well I haven't been inside but I've heard it's drab. You know, empty rooms with only giant paintings in them and a flooded basement and an endless staircase?"

Kylie, who was leading the way, suppressed a laugh. "Who told you that? Super Mario 64?"

"Umm, yeah? You're trying to tell me that game isn't accurate? What ever..." Dick looked to Bond. "Hey Bond? You alive?"

Bond mumbled something and walked along in the rear, deep in thought.

Kylie glanced back his way and then looked ahead again quickly. "Stay focused, brother. The game plan is this, when we get there, let me do the talkin'. First, we tell them a little of what we know. Make them think we know a lot, okay? Then we get them to tell us what they know. Easy as pie.. or cake considering where we are. Think Peach ever made pies?"

Dick rolled his eyes. "You must be hungry, girl. Anyway, I thought you and Bond knew everything by now!"

Kylie took a quick glance at her phone. "Yeah and no. It came up on my phone that Peach has put the kingdom in a state of emergency-"

"What is that?"

Kylie pouted. "You don't know?!"

"We are not natives to the Mushroom Kingdom," Wiggs reminded her.

"Oh yeah. Sorry bout that, brother," Kylie said apologetically. "Peach does that when there's trouble. Back in the day, this would put everyone's lives on hold until we knew we were safe. I would know, I've time traveled. Now? Pffft! So since she has the emergency out, Mario and the rest must know on some level that trouble's a brewin'. But we still don't know a few key points, okay?"

"What would those points be?" Wiggs asked.

"Well my main one is why Bowser would think he could get away with this. I know he can be more shortsighted than a Bob-omb with a one inch fuse with his plans, but this is so obvious it's stupid!"

"Oh of course you meant that!" Dick said, thinking he was sounding smart. "Yeah, that must be why he was helping Mario earlier at the hospital. You know, be all involved so you can claim it couldn't be-"

"What?!?" Kylie gasped. "Bowser was helping Mario?? When??" She stopped and turned around to face the rest.

"Yes! When?" Bond piped up from behind Dick and Wiggletron. He joined Kylie standing in front of them. Dick gave them a confused look.

"That was yesterday? I thought I told ya? He was confused and junk and he was there when Toad and Daisy when wild. Mario dropped to the floor and he was all about to cry in stuff-'

"Agent Richard and Wiggletron," Bond said sternly, "this changes everything!"

"I should have mentioned it also," Wiggs said, avoiding their gaze. "I apologize as well. The over abundance of new information we have acquired along with the frequent separation of our team has made it difficult to remember who possesses what knowledge..."

"Uh..okay? Well, that's why you record everything in a notebook!" Kylie groaned, scribbling a few more notes down. "Well it's game time now 'cause here's the guard. Everyone stay quiet like I said."

They approached the front castle guard. He was a teenaged red capped toad holding a spear under his arm playing a Nintendo DS. "Halt! All tours are prohibited in times of emergency!" he said in a rehearsed fashion without looking away from the game.

"We aren't here for tours, friend. We are umm, the plumbers that were called!" Kylie said. Even she wondered where she got that excuse from, she had a feeling she had heard it before somewhere...

The guard closed the DS and stared for a moment. "Oh, like Mario or something?"

"Yeah. Just like em. We need to fix that leak!"

"Huh?"

"You know, that leak y'all have? We need to fix it. Right guys?" She pointed back to the rest with her thumb.

"Where is Princess Peach?" Bond asked, not bothering playing along. Kylie shot him an annoyed look.

The guard shrugged. "Inside I guess. Look, as long as you guys aren't Bowser, you can come in or whatever. I really don't care." He pulled the door open for them and went back to his game.

"Perfect, young man. Thank you," Bond said genially. When everyone entered, they were then in the castle main room and mezzanine, an open checkerboard tiled area that connected to all of the parts of the castle. The decor was pretty, with lots of flowers and glass ornaments but there was also a lot of dust and dirt pulled up, making the place look slightly unkempt.

"Welcome to the castle- wait. Aren't visitations over?" A purple capped Toad standing at a podium asked them.

"Where is Peach, mon ami?" Bond asked.

"I can't tell you exactly but she's definitely home. We can't have her running around with Bowser's secret agents spreading the Mushroom Flu!"

Everyone looked to the worker surprisingly. Kylie also wrote something in her notebook.

"Do you at least have an idea?" Bond asked hurriedly.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" The Toad asked with sudden suspicion.

"...Plumbers."

The toad smiled instantly. "I'm so sorry, hon! Plumbers are always welcome here! Just go on up the stairs when you get to the room behind me. If anyone asks who you guys are, just tell them that, okay? Have a wonderful day!"

They went to another room that had stairways going up and down and halls leading to other ground level portions of the castle. The room was deserted of anyone except for a Toad that was vacuuming the carpet while wearing headphones. Said Toad glanced their way exactly once and then proceeded to ignore their presence.

Bond turned around to face everyone. "A little lonely here, is it not? Okay mes amies, I have appreciated all of your efforts until this point, but now that we all have the same knowledge, it is not necessarily for all of us to be present when we meet the Princess. It might look suspicious if we are all here and do no plumbing work at all, so-"

"I see," Kylie said, glancing towards the ex-MKDCU agents. "Why don't you two wander around and find something to fix?"

"Ugh, seriously?" Dick whined. "You mean like the flooded basement?"

"Again, the basement isn't- never mind... y'all keep busy okay?" Kylie took sides next to Bond, who was also looking to them expectantly. It irritated Dick when they used their "team power" against him and Wiggs, like they were their employers or something, he thought. Well actually...

"Sure," Wiggs said, pulling Dick closer to him, which made Dick look to him indignantly, "I would like to explore anyway so as to discover what has or has not changed since my childhood visit. You can count on us to assist you in your operation, right Richard?"

"Wiggs, lay off! Okay whatever. We'll give you love bugs some privacy, alright?"

Kylie did her signature finger snap. "Great brother, we'll just-"

"Hold up 'sis', I'm not done. Bond said he appreciated us and junk, and we have done a lot for you two, so I say we make it clear that we expect compensation! We are for hire agents remember?"

"What? Y'all want pay?!" Kylie put her hands on her hips. "Is the experience of true justice in action not en-"

"-No," Dick interrupted.

"I uh, agree to Richard's preposition," Wiggs added bashfully.

"Hold on," Bond muttered while digging in his wallet. He pulled out a couple of American hundred dollar bills worth 10,000 coins each and handed them out to Dick and Wiggs. "You are right, how could I have been so stingy before? Help yourself, mes amies!"

Dick jumped up and down like an excited little girl. Wiggs gawked at the amount of cash in his hand, the most he'd ever held at once actually. Kylie was surprised and jealous and babbled about how they hadn't really done much. Bond just stood back amusingly.

"Let us go," Bond said finally, grabbing Kylie's arm to lead her away. After Kylie could finally pry her eyes away from their cash, they made way upstairs. They were silent as they went up the steps, but Kyle noticed that Bond seemed to be in a particularly good mood now.

"Hey, what are you so jolly about?" Kylie asked.

"The joy of giving!"

"For real though, what is it?" Kylie asked seriously.

"Ha. Clever as always. Actually it was previous events. You see, you used my idea!"

"What? The- oh! That's where I got the plumber thing from? Yeah that was gonna be our disguise at Bowser's place at first. We discussed that in your car or something, right?"

"Something like that, but I am glad you bought it up. I would not have remembered it otherwise. Excellent work from you as usual."

"Oh yeah, thanks." Kylie said, trying not to smile.

"What is our plan exactly? Your idea that they know something we don't was correct. I suspect Bowser sent them a message."

"I guess so. Secret agents? That sounds like fear mongering. It's all because of stale soda, for pete's sake. Don't eat stale food!"

"Don't underestimate the power of nostalgia, mon ami."

Kylie looked to him solemnly. "Right...So I'm sorry too about last night. I blew up on you like twenty-five Bulky Bob-ombs and I shouldn't have. I've just been having a hard time."

Bond shrugged. "It's okay. This is a dire situation, after all."

"No not that." Kylie stopped on one of the steps. "It was because of you."

"Me?"

"Well, not you. I really do like you. It was just...your abilities..."

Bond's head sunk. "Ah. I see..."

"I guess I should explain. Back when I was new on the reporter scene, I dated this Toad guy who was a fellow reporter. His name was Mitch. He was real nice and stuff and he had powers similar to you which I thought was cool at the time. Well..after a while I realized he was stealing my scoops for the Mushroom Enquirer and was just a jerk overall. Worst thing is, I still have to work with him! Again, I'm sorry. It really wasn't personal but when you told me about yourself last night, it all came back to me..." Kylie was starting to tear up.

"Mon ami," Bond said, grabbing her shoulder, "I am very sorry you had to contend with someone who would abuse their power like that. You say you still work with him? Was he not reported?"

Kylie sniffed. "Yeah actually, but it's hard to provide evidence of mind invasion. It didn't really matter, he realized that his paper could get way more hits if he ignored the truth all together and published exaggerated bogus garbage that people eat up. So he just kind of quit doing it and is more of an annoyance than anything now."

Bond grabbed her hand as they started climbing the steps again. "You have to give me another chance, mon ami. You know I'd never invade your mind...At least not on purpose...." Kylie looked at him. "Uh yeah, it can't always be controlled. I subconsciously followed you this morning..."

"You did??"

Bond looked away awkwardly. "You were on my mind...Literally. I mean, you know what I mean. Listen, I'm decommissioning myself after this ordeal and incidents like that will never happen ag-"

"-You are?? Why??" Kylie demanded.

Bond looked back her way, surprisingly. "Because it isn't allowed according to Super Spy HQ. I mean, I theoretically could if I behaved normal but I clearly can't."

"Don't say that, Bond," she plead as they made it to Peach's room. They stopped outside the door.

"What do you mean?" Bond asked.

Kylie crossed her arms. "I mean, don't let silly ol me and my personal issues take that away from you. We don't do the same bring, but we both work for truth and justice, don't we? I wanted your help in the first place because I knew you were the best of the best. The top dog! And you mean to imply that you could keep this under control then but not now? What's really the issue, Bond?"

Bond took a deep breath as Kyle stared him down.

"-And don't even think about lying to me, Bond. I might not have your gift but I know a fib when I see one!" Kylie said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Bond chuckled slightly, then took off his glasses to look her in the face. Kylie was once more surprised and at his unusual eyes and found herself gazing back with the same intensity.

"Kylie," Bond said softly, "you are aware that our abilities may be affected by our emotions, correct?"

"Uh huh...." Kylie mumbled.

"Well, I guess there is no other way to say this." Bond grabbed her hand. "Kylie Koopa, I l-"

The door to Peach's room opened, revealing Toadette who was holding some dishes. "Who are you guys??" she gasped. Bond threw his glasses back on and Kylie snapped out of it. They both froze up for a moment.

"Well?? I'm calling security!" Toadette warned, putting down the dishes and grabbing her radio.

"We're plumbers!" Kylie and Bond blurted out.

Toadette let out a deep breath. "Oh why didn't you say so!....Wait, dang!" Toadette stepped forward and closed the door behind her. "I'm Toadette by the way. Did Mr. Toadsworth send you guys up here because I said something about the water taking a while to heat up? I shot myself in the foot with that excuse," she huffed.

"So is there a problem then?" Bond asked.

"No. I just needed to get him away. The bathroom is fine, sorry you guys had to go up all of these steps for nothing," Toadette said sympathetically.

"Oh the trip was no issue," Bond assured her.

"Hmm. Really now? Because there's like a thousand steps from top to bottom, and I know you plumbers don't get paid much to deal with this. I'm kind of tight with the Marios you see. Who are you guys anyway? The Noki Bros?"

"I'm a girl, sister," Kylie said, mildly offended.

Toadette flushed in embarrassment. "Oh I knew that. I guess I was just thinking about like, Smash Bros or something. You know, they have female fighters too. I mean, never mind..." There was an aura of awkwardness in the hallway after she said that.

"..So can we speak to Peach, Toadette?" Bond asked.

"No. She's away- but not OUT! Don't tell Mr. Toadsworth I said that!"

"You mean she is not here at all??"

"That's not what I said! I just can't bring her to you, okay? Bye!" Toadette put her hand on the door knob, ready to retreat.

"Toadette, wait, mon ami. We are not really plumbers, I'm Jelectro Bond, a secret agent and this is Kylie Koopa, a reporter, and we have very important information that the Princess needs to hear. We have been on the case since yesterday and I assure you we know more about what's going on that anything you heard so far." Bond spoke quickly in his signature low but authoritative voice.

Toadette frowned at them both. "Excuse me?? Our Kingdom is at stake and we are at war! Prove to me that you really know what you're talking about. And yes, I'm aware of that stupid story The Mushroom Enquirer put out earlier today. If you even bring that nonsense up, I'm calling security immediately!" Toadette spoke authoritatively as well. Bond immediately thought about how she should have been the one guarding the front doors.

Kylie fumed. The moment Toadette had mentioned the Mushroom Enquirer, she blocked out the rest and got red hot. "So Mitch really did it! He put out a half baked-baloney-sorry excuse for a-no journalistic integrity-"

"What's wrong with her?" Toadette snapped.

"Never mind. Just listen to me. Here is the proof. The Mushroom King is now showing symptoms of Mushroom Flu. You can prove this by checking with MK East hospital. Emery T., the rooftop ems can verify everything. What else do you need to know before we can see the Princess?" Bond asked impatiently.

Toadette went pale and speechless for a moment. "HOW?-" she finally gasped.

"The secret is FungusUp, mon ami!"

"Bowser used that? But he said he used air pollutants and- well that message was confidential but-"

"We need to see that message! That's the only way we can solve the missing pieces. Is Peach here or not?"

"No, she's gone to see Mario!" Toadette admitted. "And our King is sick too? I hate Bowser so much!"

"Maybe Bowser ain't totally in hot water," Kylie said, recovering herself, "he was helping Mario all the way last night. Now show us this message!"

"I know Bowser WAS helping Mario but, I can't show the video...it was a onetime broadcast but I can describe it in full I guess. In fact, I might never forget it.." Bond and Kylie, who were growing impatient with her until that point, toned things down.

"Take your time, mon ami," Bond said softly. Kylie nodded and got her notebook ready.

"Okay," Toadette muttered, holding back tears, "this is a safe place by the way. Trust me, no one else is up here. So this Dark Boo messager sent it and it was a video of Bowser himself but kind of vacant looking. Like, I didn't see the video, I only heard the message, but that's what everyone was saying later. Anyway, he started talking about how he had given Toad, Daisy, and everyone else sick the Mushroom Flu. He said he had deployed some secret agents here in the Kingdom to infect them by airborne viruses and if Peach didn't surrender in a day, he'd infect more. And so Mario and the rest went off to fight and Peach put the Kingdom in a state of emergency but she wasn't specific about anything. She figured it would be better to keep quiet about it and hope that the Mario brothers could take Bowser out in the one day than cause mass panic, you know? But Mario had put Luigi in charge or something and then Luigi put him off the team so it was just Luigi, Buckenberry, Alagold, and Yoshi on the mission now I think. Peach went off to talk to Mario because of reasons she didn't go into with me, but she said to not let Mr. Toadsworth know she's out."

Kylie put her pen down and reread her notes, Bond seemed to be thinking about the recount.

"Hmm. A clone. No.. coercion .." Bond spoke to himself.

Kylie thought of something as well. "And you say Bowser's message seemed fishy?"

"Well they said it was kind of stilted and just off in general. I guess we were so distracted by the fact that he was threatening to change all of our lives forever that we forgot about his weird delivery. Why?"

Bond clasped his hands, pleased. "Mon ami? It's all figured out! We have cracked the case, of at least the main parts of it!" Kylie and Toadette gawked.

"Bond," Kylie exclaimed, "I kind of knew you were getting at something but you lost me!"

"Bowser did not do it. In fact, he is completely innocent likely. Someone has forced him to threaten the Kingdom and throw in a red herring with the method of infection. The whole point is to move the kingdom to immediate war, and the targeting of close friends along with innocents with a virus is to sever any chance of a peaceful relationship afterwards."

"Ah ha!" Kylie said triumphantly. "That's probably why they intentionally used a disease that everyone knows could only come from Bowser's castle. It was always meant to lead to Bowser.."

"Sharp as always, Kylie." Bond smiled. "Still I wonder where the MKDCU come into the picture. We know that they were called to the hospital, but not who called them exactly."

"Yeah, me too. Hmm. Their meddling is the only reason why word of MF got out. Obviously MK East was wholly unequipped with mad doctors and all. Why would anyone call em unless they were in on the scheme?...Unless someone was sabotaging it! Now that I think about it, I wouldn't have showed up if not for the crowd they caused."

Bond nodded. "I sort of stumbled into this because of the MKDCU's incompetence at the hospital as well. Still, those are secondary points, we know what we have to do."

"What?" Toadette asked. "If there something Peach needs to know, I can contact her."

"Tell her to warn citizens of drink any FungusUp, and instead turn them in at the the Toadley Clinic, NOT the MK East hospital or here."

"Why not here? MK East is Peach's official hospital and our infirmary here is great too!"

"A cohort to Bowser's conspirers is still at MK East. The other must have been the doctor that jumped out of the window, and I don't want dangerous cans of FungusUp anywhere near this castle. Now, you need to tell her this, Bowser isn't to blame, and there are no air pollutants, but his threat still stands."

Toadette, still overwhelmed by the information they were spewing, gave him a worried look. "What do you mean? Even after that, we'd still be in danger?"

"Yes. You can bet that after today something will certainly happen, even if Bowser is not the one to do it. Mario, or Luigi I mean, and his group DO need to reach Bowser today, but they need to take out exactly who is the cause of this. We can't know their exact mindset, but it has to be those in high ranking league with him. Then of course, there the matter of getting in contact with Dr. Mario before those currently sick go off the deep end..." Bond's voice got quieter as the gravity of the situation sunk in.

"I'll get on it, Eldstar be with you guys," Toadette said determinedly, pickup up her dish and retreating inside Peach's room again.

Kylie turned to Bond. "Zoinks! The truth is out! Guess our part in this skirmish is over?"

Bond turned to her regrettably. "I am afraid so, mon ami. We are just the justice seekers, not the justice enforcers. It is in the hands of Mario and the rest now that they know the truth, or at least enough truth."

"Yeah, and I gotta get on the scoop of the century back at the press. I suppose it's early on the draw, but after the journalistist garbage Mitch put out, I'd better counter it with the light of justice, ya know?" Bond laughed out loud at Kylie's eagerness, his baritone voice echoing slightly in the hallway. Kylie started to giggle too. "We have no business being this giddy. The show ain't over yet! Guess we'd better round up those other two. By the way, where we going for our next date?" She noticed Bond's look. "Yeah I know what you were gonna say, it don't take a psych to know when a guy likes ya!"

Bond flushed. "So it is a date then, my lovely Kylie!"

Mario and Bowser 17 continued

Toadette texted Peach with shaky hands. Explaining the whole deal went past the maximum amount of characters per text so in the end she sent off five or six. Bond and Kylie's revelation made her feel better and worse in ways. Before at least, she had a single person to blame and hate. Even through her sadness and anger, she could feel like she did know what was going on. Now though, she didn't know what was really happening. Who exactly coerced Bowser? Did they now have to deal with an even bigger villain? Then there was the fact that the plan wasn't even into motion yet. Now that Peach hopefully understood the situation, it didn't mean they were going to be successful. Knowing the truth now didn't help Toad and Daisy much, after all. The damage had been done for them.

Only one thing could comfort her now. She opened her messenger and scrolled through the contacts.

------

Luigi, Boo, Yoshi, Buckenberry, and Alagold stoped at a Water Land Toad House to check the map again. It was empty, surprising no one, but they found a mushroom left behind to add to their inventory. There were now six mushrooms, three fire flowers, one cape feather, two Tanooki suits, and one starman in their arsenal.

Meanwhile Alagold clicked on a YouTube video called "Mario is a sociopath". First there was an advertisement with a scene at a park. A hipster looking Yoshi wearing a scarf and holding a cell phone addressed the camera. "Can you hear me now? Oh right, with your phone plan you don't have the range that YoshiMobile has. You could be getting full coverage in all of the Mushroom Kingdom for twenty percent less than those other guys!"

"Yeah right," Alagold mumbled, furiously tapping the "skip ad" prompt that was still counting down. "I should have installed that ad block!"

"Alagold, stop!" Luigi said sternly, looking up briefly from the map he had pulled out .

"Yeah," Boo, who was just standing around, added, "content creators need that ad revenue!"

Luigi shook his head. "Actually I meant that just because Bowser didn't capture any fortresses, it doesn't mean we can have our guard down. Bowser could have deployed soliders, or worse, secret agents to stop us." Saying it out loud sent shivers down Luigi's spine. That, and the fact that this was his first hero mission without Mario in a long time.

"Right, gotta stay focused! Got ya Weegee! ...Hmm, wonder when I should drink this fungus up?" Boo pulled it out of the bag.

"Gross. Never liked that crap, stale or not..." Buckenberry said, looking out of the window in boredom.

"Different strokes," Alagold teased. "When will you learn that?"

Buckenberry looked to him and rolled his eyes, incidentally catching a peek of what Alagold was trying to look up. The video title made him gasp, "How dare you, Gold!"

"What? I know that's a stupid game theory but I'm so bored! We haven't fought anything yet and we'd been walking for almost an hour!"

Luigi shot Alagold another glance, which made him finally put the phone away. Buckenberry noticed that Yoshi was extremely quiet off in the corner of the house.

"You okay?" Buckenberry whispered.

Yoshi nodded silently. Just then Buckenberry felt his phone vibrate.

"Umm, I have to go to the bathroom. That okay?" Buckenberry asked.

Luigi looked to him disappointedly. "Have we not forgotten that we're on short time? Hey, where are you-"

Buckenberry entered the stall quickly and checked the message.

Toadette texted, "Hey baby. How r u?"

Buckenberry replied, "Okay. We've made some progress. Is it better at the castle?"

"Not really. I've just got news from a spy and journalist."

"???" Buckenberry would have added an emoji, but he wasn't hip enough to know which one to use.

"Uh huh. They say Bowser is innocent. *crazy emoji* I think we can trust them tho. They know that our King is with MF too now!"

Buckenberry almost dropped his phone in shock. His sweaty hands from Water Land's humid sticky weather weren't helping. "!!!!" He managed to text.

She replied, "Yea. I know."

"Toadette. Right after Mario was kicked off the team, I spoke to him and he had a theory like that."

"Really? Get this. you do need to get to Bowser still."

Buckenberry debated. Should he let his girlfriend in on the secret? Wouldn't hurt. "Toadette, Mario told me to stall our team. He said he needed to get to Bowser before us!"

After a moment, she replied, "Peach went out to talk to Mario! She was doubting something too. Guess what MF comes from?"

Knock knock knock! Splash!

There was a loud rap on the door, making Buckenberry actually drop his phone this time, and in the toilet!

"AAAHH WHAT?" Buckenberry screamed. "My brand new on contract phone from MushroomWireless!"

"What's wrong? Did you fall in??" Luigi asked from outside the door.

Buckenberry dunked his hand into the tank to retrieve his phone.

"What?" Luigi repeated.

Buckenberry kicked the doors open, narrowing missing Luigi. "I dropped it in the toilet!"

"And you say that I'm on the phone too much!" Alagold, who was also standing near the stall, mocked. Buckenberry shoved him hard and he fell to the ground.

Luigi immediately stepped in between them and he had to pull the Toads away from each other. "Stop this right now! Blue, you can get another phone later!!!"

Buckenberry stopped trying to strangle Alagold but was still seething. So much in fact, that he'd practically forgotten Toadettes's message. What was it? Something about needing to still get Bowser? Close enough, he thought.

"On the plus side guys, we found a warp pipe that will skip a world!" Boo said excitedly.

"Oh no!" Buckenberry exclaimed. "...I mean okay, but where is that FungusUp?"

"I thought it was gross to you," Alagold teased, this time cautiously standing behind Luigi.

"Shut up! Where is it? I need to see it!" Buckenberry demanded.

"Okay okay, here it is?" Boo pulled it back out of the paper bag. Buckenberry snatched it quickly.

"What's with you all of a sudden, Blue?" Luigi asked, approaching him again. "We need to move on, not fight over phones and soda!"

"I need a drink, okay? I'll even drink this garbage."

"But I found it!" Boo moaned, reaching for it back.

Buckenberry hid it behind his back. "But-"

Luigi suddenly snatched it from Buckenberry. "I will just hang on to it. Okay?? Any further objections? And I don't want another outburst from you, Blue. I don't want to have to dismiss you too."

"...Whatever," Buckenberry muttered, on the verge of tears.

"No need to be so angry," Luigi said delicately, "It'll all be over soon. Let's just work together this time. Okay?"

Everyone got silent. Luigi shook his head as he lead them to the pipe. Buckenberry followed as well, with his head sunk low, disappointed at himself yet again.

--------

******

Dick and WIggletron were in the torch lit basement. The downstairs area of Peach's Castle was just storage area and sleeping quarters, and the two had toured the whole little area in just a few minutes.

Dick yawned as Wiggs turned to him. "Well it is just as musty and banal as I remember. Let us explore on the ground level-"

"Halt!" a Toad said to them as they rounded the corner leading to the stairs. "State your authorization!"

"Okay 'pipsqueak the second'. We're plumbers and stuff. In fact, we were just leaving.." Dick said insultingly, but without passion. He felt like he might fall over sleep any moment.

The Toad crossed his arms and continued to block the stairway "Plumbers? Name please?"

"Richard. Call me Dick. And my friend here is Wiggs. Now let us up the stairs, or will I have to walk over you?!"

The Toad, ignoring the threat, pulled out a radio. "I'm going to need to verify your name and occupation for security reasons. Hold on."

"No, you hold on to your face!" Dick charged forward, only to be pulled back by Wiggletron.

"Security!" the Toad screeched.

"What is the meaning of this?" A British voice called from up stairs. After the sound of a few more footsteps, Toadsworth appeared.

"Mr. Toadsworth, these suspious people are down here and they attacked me!" The Toad said, pointing to Dick and Wiggs.

Toadsworth raised his hand to to silence the servant. "This is just a big misunderstanding. These must be the plumbers that were sent here, right boys?"

"Right, Mr. Old Toad Person. We were just fixing your moldy old pipes!" Dick said, winking to Wiggs.

"What? You called plumbers?" The servant asked in disbelief.

"Actually, I thought someone else called them! That is what the servant stationed at the podium told me.."

"No, Mr. Toadsworth. If you didn't do it, no one has that I know of. We've had no outcalls on our castle's phone line." When he said this, he and Toadsworth looked back to Dick and Wiggs suspiciously.

"-That is because the call was made from a cellular telephone," Wiggs spoke up, "but I can assure you that we were called and did not enter the castle under our own intuition or anything!" Dick looked to him with an expression like, 'you've just saved our tails'.

Toadsworth had a hearty laugh. "Of course! I always forget about those newfangled doohickeys! Carry on gentlemen!"

Toadsworth went back upstairs, making the Toad scoff. Dick smirked and lead the way upstairs, purposely brushing past the annoyed Toad and Wiggs waved in a friendly gesture.

Upstairs, it was still empty looking but they saw Bond and Kylie talking in an obviously romantic way on the freshly vacuumed carpet.

"Wow, I'm so surprised you two are dating at just one day!" Dick greeted them sarcasticly. Kylie and Bond turned to them.

"Oh, you're back...well how long have you known Wiggs, brother?" Kylie asked defensively.

Dick thought for a moment. "A month. Why?"

Wiggletron suddenly had a fit of laughter. "Ha ha ha! You are under the assumption that we are-"

"-Business partners! Are you not?" Bond asked.

Wiggs flushed. "Uh, no?"

"What is going on?" Dick asked, confused.

Bond leaned in to whisper to Wiggs. "You know what I mean, mon ami...." he leaned back. "Anyway, we can leave now. Our mission is over, everyone is paid, the proper authorities know the situation-"

"And you have a hot date now, yeah yeah," Dick interrupted. "So it's time to finally split? Well at least we got our highest pay ever. What now?" He turned to Wiggs. "Buy one of those new Mercedes-Benzs that everyone has now? Hang out with 'Munchie'? I mean that Yoshi guy?"

"I am not sure about that last option, Richard," Bond added amusingly, "Yoshi is off with the Marios to fight Bowser. Or one of them."

"Huh?"

"Bond is talkin about that green guy...what's his name again?" Kylie pondered for a moment.

"Luigi Mario?" Wiggs answered.

"Ooooh him?!" Dick exclaimed. "Mr. Green leading the assault against Bowser? Anything really can happen in the Mushroom Kingdom!"

Bond glanced at his Rolex Submariner. "Look at that! Lunch time already?" He looked to Kylie slyly will Dick rolled his eyes. "Let's bail."

@@@@@@@@@

At Bowser Castle

Kamek ran around Bowser's private quarters, relentlessly opening every dusty file cabinet and going through every file of Bowser's that no one had went through in years. After two knocks on the door, Ludwig and Iggy stepped in the room to find a massive mess.

"Gramps! Whatareya doing making this mess?" Iggy asked. "We don't have a maid anymore, remember?"

Kamek grunted without pausing.

"It's alright gramps, really!" Iggy said quickly, about to approach before Ludwig stoped him.

"Iggy. Let Kamek continue, we can tell him our news while he works. Ah hem!" Ludwig paused to retrieve a note from one of his jacket pockets. "As you know, Prince Bowser Junior's location is unknown, and we also know he spoke with Father before leaving. This being the case, we sent an agent specifically for him."

"Ah, our secret agents?!" Kamek exclaimed, still completely occupied in his file searching. "Which one of you useless brats chased after him?"

Ludwig hesitated, thinking about his next choice of words too deeply to even notice the insult. Iggy spoke up.

"We sent Z after him. Don't worry, Z won a track in field race in high school of something and will definitely catch up to-"

"You WHAT?!" Kamek screamed, tossing a few papers up in the air at his disturbance.

Ludwig covered his face. "I was GETTING to that! Yes, we have ally from out side of our dynasty assisting us for-"

"-Who is it? Z what? Who did you tell?!" Kamek asked, startling both Koopa princes.

"Just 'Z', gramps!" Iggy cried. "You know, Z the Dark Boo garbage collector?"

"But why, you idiots?!?" Kamek marched up to them in a conniption. "Don't you know what will happen if others know of our plans???"

"Because," Ludwig quickly interjected, "Z got in on our plans due to a completely random and unavoidable accident. Z just happened to be in the garbage room and, as we all know, our garbage shoots transfer sound much like the horn of a phonograph. You are familiar with the things, no doubt. Anyway, a message was heard, a conversation ensued, and we decided to take Z into our confidence rather than punish a servant who was only doing their job and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I rest assure you, Z is without pretense and is nothing but an asset to us in our objectives."

Kamek stared at them for a moment lost in thought. "Those good old phonographs," he mused, returning to the mess of papers he'd made. Iggy and Ludwig gave each other a glance and left the room.

"I've never seen gramps so...frantic, angry, absent minded. Really he had a bit of everything going on. He had to have set a record for strange behavior," Iggy whispered as they distanced themselves from the room.

Ludwig pouted. "Also notice that we failed to bring up our original inquiry!"

Iggy threw his hands up. "Dang! You're right! Now what?"

"I will put up a line of defense. Nothing too crazy, but enough to not make it too easy for Mario."

"You think gramps will mind us taking all of these liberties? It can't be good for his blood pressure to blow up again like that."

"True, he has been disturbed lately. Don't want to send him over the edge, do we? I AM the army general however," Ludwig said with some importance, "and I believe I am authorized for such small scale endeavors. Tea?"

Iggy shook his head. "I'm gonna do something else instead. By the way, you heard of Peach's emergency call? Mario and the rest are definitely gonna get here today."

"Yes and? Better to get this over. See you later I supose." Ludwig waved as the separated from Iggy to head for the kitchen.

Back inside Bower's private quarters, Kamek almost jumped for joy. He held the paper close to his face, so as to read the small print. After heading a few lines, he folded it up, satisfied, and left the room, not bothering to tidy up.

"Just in case..." he said to him self.

#boomaster-amia #fanfiction #mario and bowser #beta #unused content

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