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closingqueeen · 9 months

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luveline · 11 months

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𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐨'𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚

you and miguel have different definitions of the same word. he finally gives in to temptation —featuring a cranky but lovesick miguel and a flirty, head-in-the-clouds spider-girl. pre across the spider-verse but contains spoilers. requested here. fem!reader, 3k

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

This has to be your favourite song in the whole world.

You sit in the hall beside the entrance to Miguel's office (this week, you're thinking you might call it The Bedroom, on account of all the magic happening inside), headphones on, a bottle of lemonade beside you.

Today has the makings of a great day. You're at the Spider Society headquarters and not at home, for starters, and one of the Peter Parkers you'd made friends with in the med-wing saw you this morning and recognised you, which is brilliant because he looked super similar to every other Peter Parker you've met. He offered to help you fix your rinky-dink headphones, and now they're working again and loud enough to cover the sound of Spider Chatter, even with your enhanced senses.

What's more, Miguel has finally emerged from his dormitory, and he's walking toward you looking confused. That's a step up from unhappy.

He asks you something.

"What? I can't hear you."

He says something else. You shake your head, music too loud to catch even a hint of what he's saying, and Miguel eventually crouches down to push your headphones around your neck. He's surprisingly gentle.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Waiting for you, what did you think I was doing?"

"Why are you sitting on the ground?" He gestures backward to a red-lit control panel. "Chair right there."

"I think that's someone's desk."

"It's really not."

Miguel stands up and doesn't hesitate to grab your arms and help you up too. It means more to you than it should, because it's not necessary and a few months ago he wouldn't have bothered. Which isn't to imply that Miguel is a mean guy, Lyla says he used to be a loser (code for sweetheart), and you get flashes of it every now and then in chivalry and kind smiles.

He's not mean, he's cranky.

"Don't sit on the floor," he says. "Just– just go inside if I'm not here."

"Well, The Bedroom doesn't come when I call."

Miguel's lips part in confusion for a second. Lyla appears at his shoulder, and says, "She can't get the platform to come down without you, genius."

"Put her name on the command list," Miguel says.

Your eyes widen. Lyla flashes to his other side, closer to you, and smiles playfully. "Done."

"Stop sitting on the floor," Miguel says, turning around. He walks a few steps and pauses when he realises you're not following. "Are you coming with me?"

You jog to catch up with him. Music plays against your collar, a slinking, indie sound that makes Miguel wrinkle his nose. You turn it up a little bit and smile when he glares at you.

You enter the atrium that houses The Bedroom. Miguel hops up onto the platform because he's too tall to see sense while you struggle, but you're pleased when he takes your hand and pulls you up properly. All these familiar touches today, anyone might think Miguel liked you.

He definitely does.

You sit down in the spinning chair near what you've decided is your desk but certainly isn't, again pleased beyond words when you find your sketchbook from last time still there, cleaned away carefully, pencils in a pot and a brand new pencil sharpener by the side of it. It matches your spider suit. You look over your shoulder, your face lit up with thanks, and Miguel swiftly looks away from you.

"It's electric. Tell me when the battery's dead, I'll charge it."

"Thank you," you say, flipping your sketchbook open to the last entry.

You aren't Picasso, but most members of the Spider Society are somewhat artistically inclined, considering the suit-making rite of passage they must all endure —if you don't know how to sew before you start, you will by the end.

Or like Miguel, you could cheat and make the suit out of nanotechnology.

You haven't really been designing any suits lately. Spidering is tiring, you need to relax, and your reluctant friends are the easiest subjects, though Miguel's face is painstakingly difficult to get right. He's very angular, high cheekbones with that divot that needs kissing stat, and his nose… He's really pretty, but you almost wish he wasn't so your sketches of him held a better likeness.

He's the only one of the regular crew that stands still long enough to be drawn. Jessica doesn't like you (or maybe she does, it's hard to tell, but she hasn't forgiven you for asking if her baby was like a maraca bead when she fights) so she doesn't let you draw her. Lyla will stand very still if you request it, but after a few portraits she got bored and started changing her hair or glasses, and after a few more she gave up. Margo is hard to focus on because her blue light makes everything else seem super orange, though she does stand in one place usually. She takes up a lot of pages, but it's Miguel you've drawn most of all.

You go around the Spider Society sometimes asking people if they'll sit for you, but again your skills aren't impressive, so it's awkward when they want to see how you've done. There are drawings of all kinds of Spiders, including yourself, between Miguel, and Miguel, and Miguel.

His back, the side of his face, his hands ungloved. His pointy bottom teeth mid fight. The naked stretch of his arm and his Rapture injector positioned over it. He might not appreciate that one. You rip it out and toss it in the waste paper basket under your desk, where it incinerates, paper smoke curling up toward the extractor fan on the atrium ceiling.

"What are you doing?" he asks without looking at you, his gaze on one of his marigold coloured monitors.

"Drawing." You're not drawing so much as sitting there with a coloured pencil in hand, trying to think of conversation starters. "What are you upto?"

"According to the program, there are no Canon events today at risk of disruption," Lyla chimes in, "so Miguel's doing chores."

"What, not one bad thing is gonna happen today?" you ask.

"Nothing we can predict," Miguel says.

You swap your pencil for your drink, unscrewing the lid of your lemonade to sip at it leisurely. Today is your favourite kind of day. No fighting, lots of time with Miguel, and music to go with it. You're so happy you could melt.

Miguel turns to you and sees your stickying smile.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just happy to be here with you," you say.

"Don't say stuff like that," he says, turning back to his screen.

"Scared you'll actually experience sincerity?" Lyla asks.

"Lyla," he warns, as though Lyla might be afraid of any consequence he had the power to inflict.

"Sorry," you say, not very sorry, but not wanting him to be uncomfortable, "it's just nice, being friends with you."

"We aren't friends."

You're not quick to take offence with Miguel. He can be cruel. He's hurting, he's unhappy, he has a lot on his plate. Oftentimes he's so tense with apprehension his neck locks up and you hear it clicking as he turns one way or another, or if he isn't apprehensive he's disappointed, furious, upset. You give him the benefit of the doubt because you know him, but you don't know the tone of voice he uses now. It's like he's offended at the insinuation. Like he would never, ever be friends with you.

You put your lemonade on the desk and don't know what to do. His insipid floating platform is too high now to leave without causing a scene. Maybe when he's busy you can web down and go home. All you know is that you desperately don't want to be near him. But home sucks, and the dormitories are worse. You're stuck.

"You can be so mean," you say softly, turning back to your sketchbook and pencils.

You're thinking you might draw him with a bunch of bee stings, or find a previous sketch and cross his eyes out.

"What?" he asks.

Your hackles rise. "You're mean. Don't talk to me."

"What?" Miguel stands very still. "Y/N, what?"

"What do you mean, what? I said something nice and you said something cruel. I get it, okay, we aren't friends, so don't talk to me."

"I've upset you."

You stare at your blank page. "It doesn't matter."

"No, I've said the wrong thing."

"Miguel, don't bother. What else could you mean by that?" You laugh with little humour. Crestfallen doesn't begin to describe how you feel. "I'll be quiet. I just don't want to be at home."

"What's wrong with home?"

"Is there ever much right?"

"Did something happen?"

"We aren't friends, so why ask me?"

You bite the inside of your lip as Miguel approaches, his footfall hushed over the lightweight metal flooring. You turn to him in your chair, head tilted back to meet his eyes, arms crossed over your stomach defensively.

"That's not what I meant when I said that." He speaks slowly, firmly, to avoid any misunderstanding. "What's wrong with home, mi cielo?"

You tap his ankle with your shoe, looking away from his gaze. You don't want to tell him, and if he keeps looking at you like that, you will.

"¿Qué pasó?" He bends at the waist slightly, bringing his face closer to yours, dark hair falling into his eyes.

"I don't know what that means," you murmur.

"Did something happen?" he asks.

"Nothing happened, it's just– it's lonely there," you say, squirming under the weight of his gaze, his sudden caring. "What's with you? One minute you're not my friend, the next you're worrying about me? You're giving me whiplash."

He stands up, and his face falls back into a more typical emotionlessness. He's clearly feeling something, but he's wiping the slate clean.

"When I said we aren't friends, it didn't mean–" He grunts, crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought you were staying in the women's dormitory?" he asks, frustrated.

"I am, but I'm useless, and they don't really respect me because I'm–"

"Eccentric?"

"–not as experienced," you finish, eyes flaring.

"Oh, my god," Lyla says, appearing in front of him to make sure he sees her delight at his slip up.

Miguel bats her hologram with an annoyed grunt. She disappears again, her tinkling laughter cut short.

"It's a good thing," Miguel says quickly.

You stand up. "It's not the point."

"You should feel at home in the dormitory, and if you don't, I'll find you somewhere else to stay here, you don't have to be in there if you don't feel welcome."

"Miguel, you're sounding awfully friendly right now."

"We aren't friends," he says again, stepping closer to you. "What's so hard to understand about that?"

"But we spend time together. We have fun. You like me, Miguel, you do, you tell me jokes sometimes, you make me things for me. You… you do like me, right?"

"You know that I do," he says, his eyebrows pinching together.

"You like me, like, you want me," you say, just to make sure.

His fist clenches hard enough to make an audible sound. Miguel's voice is fraught, and through barely parted lips, "If you know that, what's the problem?"

You don't know. Maybe it was silly to worry about how he sees you, because you do know that Miguel likes you, but you also know he hadn't wanted to like you. His attraction to you was reluctant, you're not stupid enough to miss that, and it was important to you that whatever tension sexual or otherwise lingering between you had bloomed into mutual affection.

"I want us to be friends, too," you say.

"I thought we were more than that."

It's such a quiet admission. He isn't afraid to say it, and he isn't reluctant like you feared.

"Miguel," you say. "I want you to like me. I know I can be off-putting, I know I tease too much, but I don't want you to like me despite those things, I just want you to like me. So, when you say we aren't friends…"

"I've never heard you say three serious sentences in a row," Miguel says, reaching out for your hand. He pulls you toward him slowly, his fingertips gliding up the length of your arm. "Then again, it's the same nonsense as usual."

"Miguel–"

"Of course I like you. How else do you need me to say it? I like you and I want to kiss you, I like you and I like that you're irregular. You want us to be friends? Then let's be friends." Miguel's hand closes around your bicep. His thumb presses against soft fat and muscle alike. "But not just friends."

Relieved, you sigh. "So you're saying we really weren't friends?"

Miguel leans down until his face is the only thing you can see. His smooth skin, his dark eyes, their darker flush of too-long lashes; it's unfair how pretty his eyelashes are, how they curl, how they bunch in triangles you have to fight to resist touching. His eyebrows so often slightly set, giving him an unhappy expression even now.

He brings the hand that isn't clasped at your bicep to the hill of your waist. It's hot as a brand, and it pulls you closer, your neck craning with every inch he steals from between you.

"We can be friends," he says.

His fingers twitch against your arm, and his hand begins to climb. It's not as slow as it feels, conquering the curve of your shoulder, your neck. His hand is big, his thumb pressing into the column of your throat gently.

He looks at you for a measured lapse of time, and you know, finally, that you're on the same page.

"What you said before, 'mi cielo?'" You hold his elbow. "What does that mean?"

"My sky," he says. "My… my heavens. It's saccharine. It's something teenagers say, when they're," —his voice dips, the hand at your waist squeezing tight like you might slip through his hold— "infatuated."

"Just teenagers say that?" you ask.

"No," he allows. "I always thought it was too much."

"But you–"

"Yeah. I did."

The first kiss is surprisingly sweet. On the tail end of words, Miguel presses his lips half-parted to yours, slowly, softly, like the brush of a downy feather. He lingers, and it's your own movement that spurs him on —you shudder up into his lips and he loses control.

The sound he makes is a shock. You try to pull back to check he isn't hurting, and he lets you until he realises why it is you're pulling away. "It's fine, it's okay," he says quickly.

Assuaged of your concern, he pulls you back in and he kisses you, he kisses you, his hand squeezing too tight and his nose bridge sliding up against yours from the force of it all. Your chest feels like a pit and you need Miguel closer if you're ever going to fill it, your hands snapping up to his face like magnets. There's no need to pull him down to you, he's already wading in, not wading —crashing, kissing you so hard your lips burn.

You make a sound that says, hopefully, This is really fun, but don't give me a bruise.

His tongue is a heat at the seam of your lips. Your weight bends, your chest leaning into his front. He doesn't hesitate to ease his hand behind your back and prop you up against him as things get heady, and the only thing you can feel is him.

All those times he almost kissed you, all those times he couldn't cross the gap. He poked and prodded and provoked you into getting into his space and each time you called his bluff. You wanted Miguel to give in, and now he has, it's the meltiest, most stickying warmth you've ever felt.

Voices sound far away, off the platform and down the hall. Jessica and someone else, approaching fast.

Something sharp snags your bottom lip as Miguel pulls away. You press your finger to your sore lip. When you pull it away, blood spots your skin.

Miguel takes your face into his hand and angles your face to a glowing screen carefully, in total juxtaposition of the grip he'd had on your waist.

"Sorry," he mumbles, the tip of his fangs catching the light. His adrenaline must be high.

"Excited?" you ask him breathily.

He wipes your lip with his thumb. The other hand pet's your cheek. You feel suddenly and smotheringly adored, all his attention on your pinprick wound.

"Everything okay up there?" Jessica calls.

Miguel drops your face like he's remembered himself. You turn to your newfound company, Jessica Drew and an unhappy looking Gwen Stacy. This high up, there's no way they can see the state of either of you, mussed hair and Miguel's blushy cheeks, but they'll see you eventually. And Miguel might like you, might want you, might be your more-than-friend, but he's a stickler for appearances, and being found kissing your subordinate dizzy when you're supposed to be working would mortify him.

"I cut my lip on a lemonade bottle," you call cheerily, waving at grumpy Gwen. Her lips perk up. "Miguel's trying to tell me it's my fault. Is lemonade usually sharp?"

His hand flattens subtly at the small of your pack.

"Thanks," he murmurs.

"Welcome, handsome. Is it bad?" you ask, turning back to hip with your lip pouted.

His eyes visibly soften at the sight of you. "Not that bad."

"Alright, good. You'll have to let the platform down, I need to go."

"What? Where are you going?" he asks.

"If we're friends now," you say, lilting, performing a half spin in front of him just to watch his eyes narrow, "I'm going to have to make us bracelets. Friendship bracelets." He clearly doesn't like the idea of being friends still, so you amend with a softer tone, "Friends and whatever that was. Come on, you'll love it. I'll make it match your suit."

He rubs the space between his eyebrows.

"Will you bring your stuff here?" he asks, the platform beginning to lower under your feet.

"Duh. I need to take lots of measurements. I'll be in your hair all day, you'll hate it."

He nods like he agrees. "I'll hate it," he says, deadpan. When he's sure Jessica and Gwen aren't looking, he gives you a smile you've never seen before.

You and I have a secret, it says.

Lyla appears by your shoulder to instantly tell him otherwise. It goes without saying that she's mildly disgusted and extremely smug. "Don't match it to his suit, Y/N. Mr. Heartthrob here needs something soft. How about some baby pinks, hm?"

Miguel sighs, but you barely hear him over your excited gasp. "Yes! Pink and white, for sure, that would be so nice."

"Great," Miguel says. "Perfect. Thanks for that, Lyla."

"You're so welcome!"

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :D please reblog if you have the time ♡

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iliketangerines · 1 month

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Ok but the idea of Johnny having a thing for a waitress/server but being too nervous to do anything about it directly except come in all the time and make up excuses to talk sounds so adorable

excuses excuses

a/n: ohh, this was a cute one

pairing: johnny cage x gn!reader

warnings: none :)

Johnny bounces his leg underneath the table, waiting for you to come out from the back and come and take his order

he shouldn’t be nervous, no way, he was Johnny Cage, he was getting his PhD in quantum physics and was a master at fighting

and he was scheduled to film for some indie film as the romantic interest, no way he should be nervous right now to talk to a waiter at some small local restaurant

and yet, here he was, fingers twitching impatiently and leg bouncing rapidly, nervous as the day he saw you several months ago

he always asks for your section, and sometimes he gets his timing wrong or you veer off your normal schedule, and he has to eat when the waiter isn’t you

but that was fine, especially when he saw how your face lit up when he gave you a big tip

he was a broke college student but that was fine if he got to see you smile because of him

Johnny fiddles with his fingers and straightens his back as he sees you approaching his table, tying the apron behind your back as you walk straight towards him

you pull out your notepad and greet him with a wide smile, calling him by name and asking if he wants his usual order

he gives you a dopey smile and asks actually if you can give him a recommendation for something you really like on the menu

you tuck your hair behind your ear as you bend over and look at the menu before him, eyes flitting between the different options

he wishes he could tuck your ear behind your ear for you, to ask you on dates and treat you to the best places, hold your hand, kiss you, dance with you

your finger underlines something on the menu, and you say that’s your favorite

Johnny immediately places the order, and you jot it down and ask if he needs anything else

he wants to make a move, to ask you out, to take you on a date, to let im pick you up in his shitty car on an adventure, but he chickens out and says no he doesn’t need anything else

you walk away, going off to the next table, and Johnny deflates in his seat, mentally scolding himself for not taking the chance and growing a pair

he goes over the plan in his head one more time to ask you out, he’ll just do it when he’s paying the bill

you bring over the food, warn him that it’s hot, before you go off and service another table, and Johnny unwraps the utensils folded neatly in the napkins and digs into the food

you have great taste in food as well, and Johnny has to struggle to not shovel the food into his mouth to try and seem somewhat gentlemanly in front of you

every time you come around, Johnny straightens his back, fixes his posture, wipes his mouth, and he can’t tell whether or not you’re glancing at him and smiling

finally, he calls for the check, unable to finish the rest of his food, and you kindly bring over a leftover box and a paper bag to hold the meal

he hands you over a wad of cash, enough to pay for the meal and still have a hefty tip, and you smile at him and blush slightly and leave with a small wave goodbye

packing away his meal, Johnny curses at himself for not being bolder, for not asking you out on a date, for not doing anything except be another customer in your day

he brings the meal home and digs the box out of the bag to put it in the fridge

his fingers crumple up something inside of the box, and he frowns, not remembering whether or not he had put something else in there or not

pulling out a napkin he definitely didn’t put in there, he flips it over and nearly has a heart attack when he sees a number on there with your name signed on the bottom

he nearly drops the food on the ground in a rush to get his phone out of his pocket and type in your number

leaving his food on the counter, he types and deletes messages, unsure of what to send and furrows his brows as his fingers fumble and become sticky with sweat

after what feels like an eternity, he decides on a simple but straightforward text, just saying it was him and when you were free this weekend, that he’d love to take you out on a date

he tosses his phone to the side, too nervous to see if you’ll text back, and he goes and puts his food away and takes a shower, trying to wash away the nerves

making his way back to his phone, he stares at it for a few seconds before finally picking it up and unlocking it, nearly having another heart attack when he sees you’ve responded back so quickly

you tell him when you’re free and your address with a small smiley face, telling him to surprise you, and Johnny immediately hops over to his dying laptop to look up date places

he was not missing this chance with you

#mortal kombat x reader #mk x reader #mk x you #mk x y/n #tangerine writes #tangerine answers #mortal kombat #mk #mortal kombat 1 #mk1 #mk1 2023 #johnny cage #johnny cage mk1 #mk1 johnny cage #johnny cage x reader #johnny cage x you #johnny cage x y/n #mortal kombat fluff

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ladykailitha · 3 months

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Yesterday I had two ideas for a steddie fic, so you'll be getting two updates from me today...

The first one is a modern (ish it would be set in the 80s) day Pride & Prejudice with Steve as Darcy, Robin as Bingley, and Eddie as Lizzy. Chrissy as Jane. Probably Billy as Wickham.

Nancy as Lady Catherine, but in the way that she's the catalyst at the end that comes up to Steve and tells him he can't date Eddie. Not because Eddie isn't in love with him, but no, because she thinks Steve is straight.

Cue Steve rushing to Eddie to tell him he still loved him.

Not sure where the rest of the gang would filter through. But none of them are related to each other like they are in the book.

I think Vickie would be a great Charlotte though. Deciding to be with someone she doesn't love because she doesn't think she can be with the one she wants because they're (Robin) out of her league.

The scene that gets Eddie to hate him on sight is they're at a party and he overhears Robin and Steve talking and Steve's too embarrassed to go on to the dance floor so he keeps making excuses. Tells her that Chrissy is the only pretty one there. Which Robin calls him out on because Eddie is soooo his type.

Steve scoffs and calls him cute at best.

Now Eddie who has carefully constructed his image to metal thinks that cute is the antithesis of that and gets offended.

Then in comes Billy and starts bad mouthing Steve. Saying all sorts of bullshit that Eddie just eats right up. Flirted with a 14 year old girl (Max and Steve was protecting her from Billy), deliberately threw a basketball game (had gotten a concussion and instead of continuing to play like the coach wanted went to the ER instead), and the list goes on about how miserable Steve has made Billy's life.

Chrissy doesn't believe it because the guys on the basketball team the following year love Steve. But Eddie thinks they were tricked by the King Steve image.

Robin isn't any help regarding the rumors because she wasn't friends with Steve until after all that went down and she wasn't in marching band that year, her parents couldn't pay for the uniform.

I know I know Bingley is the rich one and Jane is the poor one, but work with me here, it's based on personality. Robin isn't naive enough to be Jane.

Anyway.

Steve is oblivious to the drama going on around him because he's trying keep Max out of Billy's hands, as he took custody of her after her mom was unable. And dorky as hell.

He accidentally breaks up Robin and Chrissy with a remark about how Chrissy didn't seem all that interested in her (she was being shy Robin being her first girlfriend and didn't know how to act).

So when Steve asks Eddie out (at party hosted by Nancy that Eddie was trying to duck out of when Steve spotted him), Eddie flips out on Steve throwing all sorts of allegations around and Steve is devastated. He leaves this long voice mail on Eddie's phone explaining his side of the story and Eddie is gutted.

Steve really was a cool guy. But it's too late. Steve has gone back to Indy with Robin as they both nurse their broken hearts.

Chrissy goes to stay with her brother in Bloomington and the band takes Eddie to Indy not realizing that's where Steve's gone.

Their van breaks down near Steve's place and while they're stuck in town waiting until it gets fixed Steve and Eddie get thrown together a lot and Eddie falls head over heels.

Just as things are getting good between them, Eddie's van is fixed and Wayne tells him to haul ass because Billy has been threatening the Hellfire kiddos about Max's location.

Steve comes rushing to the rescue and gets a plate to the head for his trouble, but because of all the witnesses, Billy is forced to run, leaving everyone safe at last.

But Steve tells the kiddos not tell Eddie it was him that rescued Lucas and Max, thinking that Eddie still hated him.

Steve helps get Robin and Chrissy back together and now Eddie done for. He's in love with this man.

Cue the Nancy scene and Steve and Eddie finally getting together.

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #pride and prejudice au

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dragonwritersblog · 1 month

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She Was Like A Sunflower

Read on AO3

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12

Yeah, I just finished this so there may be some spelling mistakes. I just didn't want to delay the second chapter any further so I'll fix them when I wake up. Also, WHO PUT DOOMED YURI IN MY FUNNYBUNNY FIC?!?! Also, come support me and Pandora's new au on our shared tumblr called 'The Amazing Digital Redacted AU'. If you love indie horror like Bendy and the Ink machine, Poppy Playtime, FNAF then you'll love this AU. Here's the link Don't forget to check out twitter as well All that said, enjoy chapter 2! (and dont kill me pls)

2. Marjorie

What died didn't stay dead

You're alive, so alive

And if I didn't know better

I'd think you were singing to me now – Marjorie by Taylor Swift

Cloudy skies, not a hint of light coming through. It was going to be that type of day today, and that type of mood by the way Winter observed Riley’s behaviour this morning. The redhead was at the table, drinking coffee and bouncing Percy on her knee. Winter could tell whenever a smile was pretend, and the way her wife smiled right now was no exception.

Could she blame her? Winter was a wreck when Jack went missing and knowing how close Penny and Riley were, it made sense for her wife to behave the way she did. But the thing is, Riley didn’t, or scream, or get angry. The passionate, loud, amazing women she married wasn’t the one holding their son at the table. There was only a shell. And after that visit she had with David, Riley’s shell had only gotten tougher.

If Riley said anything that related to Penny, it would be to trying to find her. She never spoke about how it made her feel, never saw a tear, or the grieved anger that one would expect. Riley was always so loving towards anything about her sister, it unnerved Winter seeing her wife like this.

“Look at him,” Riley cooed at the little baby on her lap. “We have the cutest kid in the world, look at him.”

Percy giggled as his mother held him up under the arms, thrashing his legs about as he peered at his mama over the kitchen island. “He is the cutest baby in the world,” Winter agreed. “Um, I know Captain Rae is okay with you working on this case. But are you sure-”

“We should get him a new mobile,” Riley cut her off, focusing her attention on Percy. “I think the other one isn’t working to well, he never pays attention to it.”

Winter pursed her lips, tapping her fingers on the kitchen counter. She wanted to at least say something about Penny before Riley had to leave to drop Percy off at Laura’s. “Listen, Riley,” she spoke, making her wife turn to her. “You have been nothing but patient when I found out Jack went missing, I know this type of this is so fucking far from easy. Whatever you’re feeling, I’ve felt it too. You…you know that right?”

“I know,” Riley smiled warmly. “You know, you can say if you’re missing Jack again. You don’t have to be light about it to make me feel better, okay Hun?”

“No, no, that’s not what I’m trying to say,” Winter pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ve heard you in the night, waking up crying. I understand what you’re feeling, you can talk about Penny-”

“-Okay Percy,” Riley turned back to her son. “Are you ready to see Grandma?” She immediately stood up, holding him by her hip as she grabbed her own bag, Percy’s baby bag and car keys from the table.

It was as if a switch was flipped, a wall was put up and the shell was hardening. “Riley, wait!” Winter went round the kitchen island as she chased her wife to the door, “Riley.”

Riley froze as she opened the door, facing the outside, her face hidden. Winter heard her take a sharp intake of breath before facing her with the same faux smile that she had been wearing ever since she came back from David’s “Yeah?”

“I…It’s just,” Winter tried to find the words, to say something that didn’t involve her life leaving without at least finishing a conversation. But she knew that no matter how hard she tried, Riley would find an opening in order not to face it, and it would only make Winter’s efforts even harder. The dark-haired woman sighed, “I’ll see you at work later. I…love you.”

A glimpse of a real smile appeared on Riley’s face, “I love you too carrot cake.” The redhead pressed a kiss to her wife’s cheek, “I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah,” Winter nodded solemnly, “See you soon.”

With that, Riley turned her focus back on Percy and shut the door behind her. Winter let her soldiers sag, a painful ache forming in her heart. She knew Riley was hurting, she saw it flicker in her eyes every time a dead end came up for Penny’s case, she heard it when Riley awoke crying from nightmares – yet Winter pretended she was asleep in order for Riley to not feel ashamed – and she felt every single anger and grief that she knew Riley was having because she had felt it when Jack went missing.

So why wouldn’t Riley talk to her?!

Winter took a deep breath, trying to cancel out the negative energy. Everyone copes differently with these types of things. Besides, she and Riley were as strong as cement, they could work through this despite how bleak everything seemed.

Riley would come to her eventually…maybe…hopefully.

So why did Winter feel so lonely?

“Okay, let me understand this as best as I can,” Ragatha started. Pomni and Jax had set up some bean bags for everyone while they sat on the bed, just finishing up their rundown of everything that happened in the last day. “You two have your memories back?”

“Yup,” Jax nodded.

“And you two were engaged before you got sucked in here?” Zooble questioned.

“That would be correct,” Pomni agreed.

“And now you guys might know a way to escape this place?” Gangle asked.

“That is a plausibility,” Jax replied.

Ragatha pressed her hands together and held them near her face, taking a long, deep, exhausted breath, “This is a lot to take in.”

Pomni bit her lip nervously, “I know this is the last thing you were all expecting, but you’re all handling this well all things considered.”

“I’m just confused on how you managed to fall in love with Jax of all people,” Zooble muttered, glaring at the rabbit.

Jax rolled his eyes, “Thanks Zooble.”

Pomni frowned, taking his hand into hers and squeezing it tight, “Because he loved me despite everything, saw me at my worst yet stayed because he knew I could thrive into my best. And right now, he helped me find a possible way to get everyone out of here. Do I excuse what he’s done to all of you? No. And I’m still not happy with how he treated me and Ragatha on my first day. So don’t think I’m taking sides, I’m simply observing.”

Zooble sighed, almost feeling guilty…almost. But they trusted Pomni’s word, not Jax’s (they didn’t know if they ever would) but definitely Pomni’s. “Fine” she muttered.

Kinger looked more lost than he usually did. The usual quiet brainstorm he would have in the middle of the room increased like wildfire. “Memories…returning,” he mumbled. “This…I don’t…I haven’t seen anything like it.”

Jax turned to the chess piece. He didn’t like this reaction, not one bit. It brought up too many painful flashbacks of someone similar to Kinger going through the same thing a long time ago, “Kinger, buddy, stay with us.”

It was like going in one ear and out the either for the royal character, still shaking like a leaf, “How…what is…something is…a trip?”

Trip? Jax didn’t want to see how far this would go, how far Kinger would go unless he’d – no, he wasn’t going to finish that thought and he wouldn’t let this continue. “Kinger!” Jax clapped his hands, the sound ringing through the room and snapping the chess piece out of his mumblings.

Kinger blinked. Once, twice, “Oh Jax.” And once again, he was back to himself, “Apologies, I must have been lost in a dream. But it’s so nice to know you and Pomni were together, young love finds a way.”

Despite the chess piece giving them all a scare, that statement alone made the rabbit and jester blush. Would it be rude if he kicked everyone out and smother his fiancé with attention? Yes, yes it would. And while it was tempting, Jax couldn’t afford to indulge. Not when the giant elephant in the room was still being addressed.

“It is really sweet,” Gangle whispered. It sounded like a genuine compliment from the masked woman – and it was don’t get her wrong – but there was something else lacing her tone. Something else that suggested the bodied ribbons couldn’t be as happy as she wanted to be. But she didn’t say, it wasn’t her place. No one could even tell from that slight lilt in her voice that she felt this way.

But Zooble noticed.

“Okay, still a little confused but I think I’m getting there,” Ragatha finally spoke up again. “Listen, Pomni. You know I trust you whole heartedly, but we’ve been here for years and no one has seen an exit until now, are you sure that what you’ve seen is accurate?”

Pomni’s face fell. Despite the door in front of Ragatha, despite everything she told her, why did the ragdoll still doubt her? “But we told you. The exit door is right there,” Pomni pointed to the door on the wall, desperation filling her eyes. “I know it seems impossible but I really think we can get out of here!”

Ragatha gasped, covering her mouth with guilt at what she said, “Sorry, sorry Pomni I phrased that wrong. It’s just…we’ve all tried looking for a way out and it always backfired, even when we think we’ve gotten so close. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”

Pomni opened her mouth, about to speak when-

“Ragatha,” Jax spoke. Everyone’s eyes widened, he never said Ragatha’s actual name, and so seriously either. “We saw her mother. She saw us send out a message to her. She knows we’re alive.” He paused, watching the ragdoll process everything with shock written all over her face. “Someone knows we’re here now. I know you’re scared, but this is a real chance of finally leaving.”

Ragatha’s mouth opened and closed, cutting off words before they even arrived at her lips. She thought she knew everything about the circus, had accepted that no matter how much they tried they could never escape. It was a horrible thing to accept, but she had to if she wanted to stay sane and not end up like…she could still feel herself almost crumbling away when Kaufmo’s abstracted form attacked her. No, no! She can’t lose herself now. She should be grateful that Pomni and Jax managed to find a way to be free, so why did it feel so hard to grasp onto that hope? “Okay,” she sighed. “I trust you, Pomni. But what about Caine, do you think you’ll tell him-”

“NO!” Pomni cut her off, fear swimming in her red and blue eyes. Even everyone seemed shocked by her sudden volume. Jax held her close, hugging her trembling form as the jester took a few breaths to calm herself down. “No, I-I don’t think that’s a good idea. He already had a weird way of trying to make things ‘fun’ here, I don’t know how he’ll feel when we say we’ve found a legitimate exit. What if he tries to take that away?”

The rest of the group nodded slowly. Even before Pomni arrived, Caine had always shut down the possibility of an exit being possible. And every time it was shown to him, he would twist it and prove to them that it was just another part of the circus. It was like he feared an exit even existing.

“It’s just your imagination!” he always said, leaving them to doubt if what they saw was actually there. And if you lost yourself in those thoughts, then it was a one-way trip into the cellar. And nobody wanted that.

“Well in that case…” Ragatha trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment. When they opened, they were fierce and determined. “Keep doing what you’re doing. This actually seems like a true way to finally get out of here. But do not let Caine find out. Keep pretending that everything is the same, you two are just friends, you don’t remember your past and that there is no way an exit is even here.”

“Got it,” Pomni and Jax said in unison.

“Which means that you two should stop acting like a couple whenever you’re in public,” Ragatha stated.

“Oh we know,” Pomni smiled innocently.

“Yeah, it’s not as hard as it seems,” Jax replied cooly.

Ragatha raised a coy brow at the two of them, “Pomni, darling, you’re sitting on Jax’s lap.”

Oh, right, the two of them forgot about that. They were both quick to slip back in to how they used to be before the circus, which meant a lot of trusting physical contact that the two were proud to have developed over the years. But then again, Ragatha was right. Something like that would be extremely obvious to Caine that something was up.

Pomni slid of the rabbit’s lap, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly while Jax coughed nervously behind his fist. “Right, sorry,” Pomni laughed sheepishly, while Jax pouted at the lack of contact.

Ragatha pinched the bridge of her nose again, this is gonna be a disaster.

Riley paced back and forth in her mother’s living room, her phone held to her ear as she chewed on her fingernail. “Oh god I fucked up, I really fucked up,” she mumbled as the dial buzzed in her ear.

“Riley, sweetie, it’s gonna be okay,” Amber put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders, ceasing her pacing. “If this Samual boy is as nice as you say he is I’m sure he’ll listen to you.”

“I was really awful the last time I saw him, Mom,” Riley winced as she remembered his cries, ignoring him as the elevator doors shut behind her. “And the worst part was, I genuinely believed he was telling the truth. You always told me to trust my gut and I did! With him! But then Jason Wood said stuff that sounded plausible, and I feel so fucking stupid because even my head was screaming at me not to believe him. I didn’t know whether to trust the facts because both of them were laid out to me and I-”

“Hey, hey,” Amber’s voice was soft yet firm. “This isn’t like anything you’ve ever worked on before. We are dealing with something that we didn’t even know existed, and its personal since both Jack and Penny are involved in this. In a normal case, maybe someone like Jason is right about this. But this isn’t a normal case, and we have proof that this Jason guy isn’t to be trusted.”

Riley nodded, “I have to let him know how sorry I am. This kid, he’s been through so much, all I did was make his situation worse. If Jason really treated him like that them…oh god…oh god Mom we really need to help him!”

Amber nodded feverishly. When Riley told her what Samual went through, with his parents going missing and how Jason was like to him whenever they were brought up, all the mother saw was nothing but red. The only time Amber looked like she was ready to kill was with David after the car crash all those years ago, and again when he showed up at both of her daughters’ homes unannounced.

Riley was about to speak when-

“Hello?” Samual’s voice answered through the phone.

“Ah, Samual!” Riley gasped, keeping the phone tight to her ear. “Samual you were right about everything! We couldn’t trust Jason!”

“M-miss Riley?!” His tone was small and frightened, almost trading on eggshells at the sound of her. “What are you talking about?”

Riley only wanted that type of fear from the voices of those who wronged her, not from innocent kids trying to help. She wanted to slap herself in the face for making that mistake, “Samual, you know the emails you showed me? Of the mystery person? The same thing happened to my Mom, my sister, I think she’s trying to get into contact with us.”

There was a small pause on the other line, before the boy spoke meekly, “You…you believe me?”

“Yeah, yeah kid I do,” Riley was nothing short of breathless. The last twenty-four hours have been nothing but a blur. But the way she spoke to him, at the height of her anger. Even if this situation wasn’t real, she shouldn’t have spoke to a hurting kid like that. “Samual, I owe you an apology.”

“Oh no, you don’t need to-”

“Samual, please,” she gently cut him off. “The way I spoke to you was nothing short of cold and rude. I was in a bad place and me and my family have gone through so much pain, but that’s no excuse and I should never have taken my anger out on you. I’m so sorry Samual.”

There was a pause, Riley waited with bated breath. Mere seconds felt agonisingly long until Samual finally answered, “I forgive you.”

Riley felt her lungs fill with air, finally letting herself breathe, “Really?”

“Yeah, I get it. Jason has a history of getting people to believe his stories,” Samual said. “I don’t blame you. And now I’m guessing we have more proof that he’s lying?”

“That’s right,” Riley confirmed, “Are you free to come check it out?”

“I’ll be there as quick as I can,” Samual’s excited and curious tone returned. “I can’t wait to get started on our secret FBI work!”

The line cut off before Riley could say another word. She grinned, shaking her head.

He forgave her.

“I’m guessing it went well?” Amber asked, her own smile gracing her lips.

Riley nodded, relief washing over her again and again, “We might actually be getting somewhere.”

Amber faltered a little. For a while, she was starting to lose hope that she would ever truly hear those words. But somehow, mercy was gifted to her and her family. “We’re gonna find her,” she stated firmly to her eldest daughter “We’re gonna get Penny back.”

“We will Mom,” Riley agreed, “We will.”

Yes the option to not go on Caine’s adventure was always available, but it didn’t mean that the ringmaster was too happy whenever someone decided to stay behind. Right now, Zooble was idly walking down one of the hallways on the tent, kicking their foot against the carpet a few times. Ironically enough, Zooble wasn’t the first and only one who volunteered to stay behind for the day. Nope, it was Gangle who asked first.

Normally the ribboned lady wouldn’t mind tagging along on an adventure with everyone else, but today she turned away at the offer trudging back into the circus. Zooble had instantly recognised that it wasn’t Gangle’s usual behaviour and decided to stay back too. He would deal with Caine’s shenanigans once the pair of dentures came back with the rest of the crew.

Zooble paced up and down the hallway, the day was nearly up but she hadn’t actually worked up the courage to see if Gangle was okay. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but Gangle was one of the sweetest and sensitive people here. Zooble cherished the fact that someone like her wanted to be friends with someone like him, to the point that they even got a bit nervous when talking with her one on one. But right now, there was something obviously wrong with Gangle and Zooble made the choice to stay behind to make sure that she didn’t feel less alone. Yet here she was, keeping a distance from the masked lady because he was nothing but afraid.

But then they stopped. When he was in the gloink hole, Gangle was the only one to realise he was missing, even being brave enough to try and bring her back. It would be selfish of Zooble to not at least try to comfort the girl and see if she was okay. Swallowing both his fears and pride, Zooble marched themselves down the hall to find Gangle.

He found her sitting on the stage, her silk legs drawn up to her chest as she sighed to herself, her comedy mask was once again broken and she had to rely on her secondary, sombre one instead. Under Zooble’s stoic expression, she was absolutely terrified. They didn’t know why, Gangle was their friend. Why did they feel afraid to start a conversation alone with a friend. Their sweet…kind…pretty friend. Ah! Pull yourself together! Gangle needs you!

Zooble took a deep breath, he could do this. And so, he walked up to the stage, slipping into their usual and calm posture, “Hey Gangle. No adventure today?”

She jumped a bit at the sound of her name, relaxing when they saw who it was, “No, not today. I wasn’t in the mood.”

“Oh,” Zooble nodded awkwardly. They weren’t really good at the emotional fluffy stuff, every time they tried she somehow always reached a dead end. But he didn’t want Gangle feeling this lonely, he had to at least try and help her out, “Any reason why?”

Gangle rubbed her arm, giving Zooble a sad smile, “It’s okay Zooble. If you have somewhere to be then you can go, you don’t need to stay and talk to me if you don’t want to.”

“No I do!” Zooble said a bit too quickly, making Gangle squeak. “Gah, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to sound like that. It’s…ugh how does Ragatha do this so easily?” They closed their eyes for a moment, breathing deeply before opening them again. “I’m here because I want to be. And I’m always willing to lend an ear if you need to talk. Gangle, if there’s anything you wanna say or do, I’m here.”

The ribboned woman seemed to be taken aback by that, not fully expecting that level of support from the usual reclusive assortment of parts. But she wasn’t complaining, she liked seeing this side of Zooble. “Well, it’s just…” she started, fiddling with the ends of her ribbons for a moment. “I’m happy that Pomni and Jax have their memories back, really I am. And it really is sweet that they used to be together, but…”

“But?” Zooble asked.

“…Jax has done nothing but torment us, prank us and make our lives miserable,” Gangle spoke. “Every day, he’s done nothing but go out of his way to annoy us just because he likes seeing funny things happen to people. And now he has his memories back and we’re suddenly happy for him?! After all he put us through. As if it erases everything he did to us! With Pomni, I’m glad that she remembers who she was. She was so scared when she got here and Caine has done nothing to help her, so it’s good finally seeing her smile. But with Jax? It might be wrong for me to say but it doesn’t seem fair! We’ve been trying everything to remember who we were, all the while he laughed at us for doing so! Like he hadn’t tried doing so in the first place as well yet he still made fun of us! And now he gets them back just like that! I wanna remember! I tried so hard to! Yet he berated me for trying and he-”

She covered her mouth, ashamed. She said too much. “Oh gosh, that’s horrible what I just said!” her eyes darted round the area. “I need to find my comedy mask, that why I’ll stop talking like this and be happy! Where is it? I swore I had it here somewhere, it’s not broken. Oh god, what if it is?! No, no, no! I need my comedy mask! I need it! I wanna stop feeling like this!”

“Gangle! You’re okay!” Zooble quickly caught Gangle’s flailing hands in theirs, holding them firmly yet gently. “You’re not a horrible person for saying that and I get what you’re trying to say. I know you don’t mean anything bad by it and I understand your frustration. Am I glad that bozo has his memories back, sure. But it doesn’t mean that I forgave and forgot all that he put us through, and you don’t need to either. If someone as weird as Jax can get his memories back, then someone as amazing as you can get yours back too.”

Gangle lips parted for a moment, speechless at the honesty in Zooble’s tone. “Y-you think I’m amazing?” she whispered.

Zooble’s voice got caught in her throat, her entire face flustering up as she removed his hands from Gangle’s. “Well, yeah,” they replied nonchalantly. “You don’t overwhelm me like Caine or annoy me like Jax. Plus I like your acts you put on.”

Gangle practically beamed at that, “You like my acts?”

“Hehe, of course,” Zooble’s eyes gleamed. “You got a real talent for that.”

The masked lady giggled, “You know, for someone who doesn’t think they’re good at soft stuff, I think you did a pretty great job with talking to me.”

“Oh,” Zooble blushed, clearing their throat before mumbling, “Thank you. And your comedy mask, you wanna leave it or…”

“No I can’t leave it,” Gangle quickly told her. “Everything just gets too much in here, I need my mask to make it easier, to make me happier. That way I won’t bring everyone down and I’ll be as happy as I need to be.”

Zooble furrowed his brows at Gangle’s statement, “But you don’t bring-”

“Oh, I think I know where it is!” Gangle grinned. “I’ll be back soon! Thank you Zooble!” She then tore off down the hall, all the way back to the bedroom quarters.

“Wait but…” Zooble reached out an arm to her, but Gangle was already gone. “But you don’t need your mask to be happy.”

They sighed. They had seen Gangle smile without the mask, a real genuine smile that wasn’t forced by some code from the character model forced onto her. If anything, Zooble swore that the mask only made things worse for Gangle, making her rely on it more and more. Zooble wished to see that real smile again.

Their train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a group of voices, tired and groaning. She turned, looks like the adventure was over for today. “Jeez, what happened to you guys?” they asked.

“Football stadium adventure,” Ragatha mumbled, rubbing her lower back. “Turns out when you put four inexperienced players against a group of NPC’s coded with tons of knowledge about it, you tend to face a lot of back pain.”

Zooble hissed through his teeth, “Yikes.”

“But it’s all a part of the adventure!” Caine boomed, making them all jump. “After all! How boring would it be if you didn’t learn at all!”

“You couldn’t at least give us a tutorial?” Jax grumbled. “Was that really too hard for you to do dentures?” He wasn’t really angry for himself. Well, he was. But Pomni had a really hard time on her feet during the whole game, easily being outnumbered and beaten by the NPC’s.

At one point, one of them kicked her in the leg instead of the ball, sending her to the ground. For a moment, Jax had forgotten all about the pretending, tackling the NPC to the ground before checking on his secret fiancé. Thankfully, Caine saw it as Jax thinking they were playing soccer (despite him literally kicking the ball for hours on end) and being a good teammate. Jax had never been more thankful for the AI’s naivety, especially when it gave him a chance to take Pomni to a nursing room and dressing her wound (he wouldn’t forget about how her cheeks turned red when he kissed the side of her bandaged knee).

“Anyhow!” Caine fiddled with his cane before tossing it away, a cartoonish sound effect resonating from where it landed. “I suggest you all rest up! We’ve gotten even more adventures planned for tomorrow and you’ll all need a good feast and rest before that!”

“Oh great, its not as if we heard that line before,” Jax muttered. Pomni crossed her arms over her chest, raising a brow at the rabbit. Jax only grinned, rolling his eyes at the pair of dentures before circling his finger at the temple of his head, clearing stating his opinion of the ringmaster. Pomni scoffed, failing to hide a smile at her fiancé. Jax’s face softened, he’ll never get tired of making her smile.

“I’ll leave everyone to themselves before dinner!” Caine boomed with his usual, yet unsettling, toothy grin. “Take care my superstars!”

Like the same song and dance he had done many times before, the pair of dentures vanished in a puff of smoke. Jax waited a few seconds, making sure that the ringmaster was gone before rushing over to Pomni. “How’s your knee? Does it still hurt?” he asked, brushing his hand over the bandage.

“Yeah Hun I’m okay,” Pomni reassured him, petting behind his ears. “I’m sure it’s just a bruise now with the way things work here.”

His brows furrowed worriedly, “You sure? No more aches?”

“No more aches,” Pomni repeated.

“Good, good,” Jax let his thumb brush over the bandaged skin one more time before standing up. “So, you ready to get back to business.”

Pomni took in a sharp breath, both excitement yet a hint of nerves washing through her, “Yeah, let’s go see my Mom.”

Jax nodded, the two of them going down the hall again, unable to feel the gaze of everyone else’s eyes on them.

“Still having doubts Rags?” Zooble turned to the ragdoll.

“A little bit,” Ragatha nodded, a bit of shame shown on her face. “It’s not that I don’t trust them. I guess I’m just…scared. We never had anything like this. It could go either really well or…” She didn’t want to finish that sentence. She didn’t want to finish that thought! Never before had they tittered on a tight rope so close to collapsing. If this went wrong, then all of them could suffer a fate worse than abstraction. No, no she wasn’t going to think about that. It she was brought down, then so would everyone else. And she wasn’t going to allow herself to act so selfishly, “Never mind, how about I go see if Bubble would like help making dessert?”

Zooble frowned at Ragatha’s shift in mood, “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Ragatha questioned innocently.

“You always do that, act like you’re not sad when you are,” Zooble told her. “You’re allowed to not have good days, you know that right?”

“Oh Zooble, you worry too much,” Ragatha patted his arm. “I’m absolutely fine, no bad thoughts in my head whatsoever. Now, I think a pie would do well for dessert for tonight, don’t you think?”

With that, the ragdoll turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen. That was two people in a row that pretended to be happy to Zooble. He hated when that happened, when they forced down any type of negativity in the fear of being abstracted. It wasn’t fair that this threat kept hovering over everyone’s head, and Zooble hated it that Caine didn’t do anything to sooth their worries, instead leaving them to wallow with shallow adventures that they all hated. It was another reason why Zooble felt bitter with Jax, he kept pushing them on the brink every single time while knowing how much they all feared the fate of the cellar, yet he never stopped. Zooble felt frustrated tears at the corners of her eyes, allowing them to fall. The others might be too scared to cry, but they didn’t want to (part of them was glad that Pomni felt the same way as well).

He felt a hand cover her shoulder, rubbing it carefully like a parent would do with their child. Zooble turned his hand, it was Kinger. His eyes didn’t meet theirs, still lost in his own worlds of chaos and insects. Yet his hands moved on their own, as though another part of his mind wanted to reach out and sooth them. Zooble sniffed, if they could smile then he would be smiling at Kinger right there and now. As crazy as it sounded in her head, Kinger somehow seemed to be the sanest of them all.

Knock, knock

Riley rushed to the door, opening it wide as it revealed the startled face of one Samual Abel. “Samual,” she gasped. “Thank you so much for coming! I’m so, so sorry!”

“Miss Riley, it’s okay,” he smiled softly. “I already told you I forgive you.”

“I know, I know,” Riley brushed back some of her red hair. “But you didn’t need to. You could have just accepted my apology and moved on, but you forgave me. Why? The way I spoke to you was awful.”

Samual shrugged, “When I was a kid, my Dad always taught me that forgiveness is a heavy thing. Many people will feign an apology just so they can unburden themselves with forgiveness without actually being sorry. I don’t forgive a lot of people, I don’t think I can forgive some of the people at C&A for lying to me and letting Jason control me, I know that if they said sorry it wouldn’t erase all that happened over the years. But you, you didn’t know. You were tricked and I know that you meant how sorry you were. That’s the difference that my Dad taught me about, I’ll know the right people to forgive and not to bring myself down with the people I don’t choose to give that right to.”

This kid was just too kind, speaking with a wisdom many people who lived longer on this earth lacked, “Your father sounds like a good man.” Not many people have that luck.

“Both he and my mother were great people,” Samual’s eyes were warm, lost in a memory of love and comfort from so many years ago. He blinked them away, his face simple yet determined. “Anyways, you got something to show me?”

Riley nodded, slipping back into business, “Yeah, let me introduce you to my Mom. She’s the one who got the messages.”

She led Samual into the house, shutting the door behind him. Amber came into the room, her hands clasped together and a cardigan wrapped around her shoulders. “Oh, hello,” she blinked in surprise at the sight of the boy. She turned to Riley, “Is this Samual?”

“Yeah, this is him,” Riley confirmed.

“Hi, it’s so nice to meet you,” Amber walked over, wrapping her arms around him, his eyes widening in surprise. “Riley told me what happened, I’m so sorry all this happened to you.”

He stood frozen for a moment, as though he wasn’t used to someone wanting to hug him back. But his arms wrapped tight around Amber like Riley expected, burying his face into her shoulder. He was shaking a bit, she couldn’t hear any sobs but Riley was certain that the kid hadn’t received this level in security in a while. Hopefully with how things were going so far, that would change soon enough. Soon, Samual pulled away, trying to still his shaking hands. “Right, so,” he took a step back, his hands shoved into his pockets. “Ready to get to work?”

Amber nodded, grinning, “This way.” She guided him to the sofa, letting him sit down as the computer switched on next to him. “It was so bizarre. I’m not sure what your experience was like, all I know from Riley was that you only received messages.”

Samual lifted a brow, “I guess yours had more to it.”

“Yes,” Amber confirmed. “Before I got the messages, all my lights were flickering, like something or…someone was controlling it. That’s when I got these.” Once the computer was up and functioning, Amber clicked onto the documents that held the words from her daughter.

Samual shifted closer, “Yeah, this is certainly…different. I only got emails, but it looks like someone wrote this if it’s on a document.”

“That’s the thing,” Amber turned to him. “I don’t know how but Penny was in this room. I couldn’t see or feel how but she was there, controlling the lights and writing to me.”

Samual’s eyes widened, no disbelief was seen but rather surprise at this new revelation, “Your daughter is trying to communicate with you. She even managed to be here with you somehow.”

“Yes, yes!” Amber exclaimed, grinning. “She was right here in this room.”

“But you said not physically?” Riley asked, her tone curious rather than accusatory. “She managed to speak to you but her body wasn’t here?”

“Unfortunately,” Amber’s face fell slightly.

“So wherever she is, she’s still trapped,” Riley sighed.

Samual got up, facing the two women, “But it doesn’t seem impossible to find her. If she managed to get here the first time than its possible that she could come back.”

Riley bit her lip, “But how would we know?”

“Riley’s right,” Amber agreed. “I might have spoken to her then but I don’t know how to get in contact with her again-”

The lamp flickered, the trio’s attention focused in on it. “I’m guessing that wasn’t my eyes playing tricks on me?” Riley observed, her toes curling at the thought of who she hoped it was.

“Nope,” Amber’s grin returned, whipping back round to the computer. “Penny, is that you baby?”

Hey Mom

I’m back

Riley’s hands covered her mouth, her knees dropping to the ground, “Penny? Is that really you?”

Unbeknownst to Riley, Pomni had done the same thing. Matching her sister as she tried to stifle a sob, “Hey Jax, do you mind?”

The rabbit chuckled behind her, watching the exchange go down. There were no memory-like pathways this time, just a simple walk through the door and they arrived right back in the living room, “Yeah babe, I got it.”

She’s here, she just got a little overwhelmed seeing you all again

Hi Mrs Reed

It’s good to see you again

Amber brows furrowed in confusion for a moment before realisation struck. There was only one other person that she knew who disappeared the way her youngest daughter did, “Jack?”

Yup, that’s me

Hope you’re not too disappointed

The older woman let out a breathless laugh, about to reply with how happy she was to see him…until she was interrupted by another voice, “YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

Jax’s ears pressed flat against his head as Riley stood from the ground, fury written all over her face. Pomni, Amber and Samual had to take a few steps away from the raging woman.

“YOU TELL MY SISTER THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO MARRY HER AND TRY TO MOVE AWAY ON THE DAY OF YOUR WEDDING! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!” Riley screamed loudly. “YOU’RE SO LUCKY I CAN’T SEE YOU OTHERWISE I WOULD RIP OFF BOTH YOUR ARMS AND LEGS AND FEED THEM TO WOLVES WHILE WATCHING YOU BLEED OUT!”

Jax gulped, he should have known this was coming. After all he heard from Winter how Riley slammed someone’s head against a table just because they looked at Penny funny, if he wasn’t in the circus he would be on a missing poster by now. He took a deep breath, typing away on the keyboard.

You’re allowed to be angry

Furious

What I did was unforgivable and I understand if you won’t forgive me

But please understand then when I say sorry, I mean it

I’m so sorry Riley

For hurting your sister the way I did

For everything

Riley crossed her arms as she scowled, letting herself think long and hard about it, emphasise on long (she wanted to make him suffer at least a little bit). Jack was an asshole for what he did, but she knew what he went through as a kid and how hard he tried to make things right both for himself and for everyone else. She looked to Samual, the boy giving her a smile and a thumbs up before she turned back with a sigh, “Thank you for your apology.”

Jax’s stomach did a flip. There was a thank you, but no forgiveness. It was expected, a bit disappointing, but also a good start.

You’re welcome

Riley’s face turned soft again, shifting her feet on the rug below her, “Penny, are you…can you speak to me?”

Pomni clenched her hands, grinning and trembling with excitement as she rushed over to the computer.

Hey Riles

Please don’t kill Jack when we get back

Riley sniffed, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, “I’ll try not to, but I’ll do it for you Pen. Oh my god I missed you so much.”

Pomni bit back her sob, if she missed her mother so much already, then the weight of missing Riley hit like a bag of bricks.

I missed you too

You’re making me cry Riles

“I can’t help it,” Riley laughed. “You’ve been gone for three months.”

I know

You have no idea how much I wanna hug you all – Penny (did that so you can tell who you’re talking to)

Jax hummed, amused by her quick choice, “Smart.”

She gave the rabbit a quick grin before she turned her gaze to the boy in the living room, tilting her head curiously.

Who’s that guy?

Jax followed her gaze, letting out a small gasp of realisation at who it was, “Samual Abel?!”

“Wait, you mean-?” she realised now who he was talking about.

“Penny, Jack,” Riley walked over to the boy. “This is Samual Abel, son of Kaleb and Quinn Abel. He’s gonna be helping us get you home.”

“Uh, yeah,” Samual replied nervously. “Hi again Mister Jack, nice to meet you Miss Penny. Um, I’m really sorry I couldn’t do more for you when Jason came up to you that day Jack.”

Jax frowned as his fingers reach for the keyboard again.

It was nobody’s fault but my own kid

I was the one who took up Jason’s offer

Don’t beat yourself up about it – Jack

“Copycat,” Pomni stuck her tongue out at him.

Jax chuckled, “Couldn’t help it little lady,”

“But I should have done something!” Samual stood so fast it nearly gave him whiplash. “Jason always does this! He knows it’s dangerous when people touch that stupid game! The moment he said where he was sending you I knew what job he was talking about! I could have stopped all this!”

Riley faced the boy, confused, “Game? What game?”

“That fucking game!” he cursed. “It’s been the root of all of our problems yet he never got rid of it! It started small with people disappearing in the company with headsets left behind, but then it started spreading somehow to the public! And now we lost the file! It keeps jumping from place to place and we can never catch it! All because Jason was too stubborn to get rid of it!”

“Sam, Sam, hey,” Riley clicked her fingers in front of his face, his attention solely focused on her. “What game are you talking about.”

Samual’s buried his face into his hands, a stressed groan leaving his mouth, “It was supposed to be a VR remake of the first game my dad made, but Jason kept making too many shaky choices with it. Then my parents disappeared. I hate that game… ‘The Amazing Digital Circus’.”

Pomni gasped, “That was the game I saw when I tried to find you!” She turned to Jax, “We’re stuck inside the game!”

“I-I remember!” Jax clenched his hands. “When I disappeared! That was the file I saw!”

It fell on deaf ears. “The reason why Jason wanted to send Jack away was because that was where the last person went missing, the last time we saw the file,” Samual told them. “He wanted to send Jack there as a way to retrieve the file and get back to working on the game again, even if he knew it wasn’t safe. Unfortunately the file routed its way back to this city and took Jack with him.”

“And then it took Penny,” Amber whispered.

“Okay,” Riley gathered herself, her mind settling back into business. “Jason sent Jack away and lied to everyone for all these years. That wasn’t your fault Samual.”

“But I-” he tried to speak.

“You told me that whenever you tried to speak up to talk to someone then Jason would get in the way and scare you into stopping,” she stated firmly. “Don’t blame yourself because a grown man was enough of a coward to bully a child.”

He looked like he was about to retort, but a stern glare from Riley was all that he needed to heed what she said, “Ok Miss Riley.”

“Next,” she moved on. “What should be our second course of action.”

Pomni quickly moved back to the computer.

No one else in the circus has their memories

Is there a way we can try and help them get them back? – Penny

“Oh, oh wait!” Samual piped up, an idea bright in his mind. “I overheard Jason talking about this. He has USB files of each person that went missing, including their past leading up to this point.”

“You overhear a lot of stuff kid,” Riley crossed her arms. “I didn’t mean that as a criticism, just observing.”

“Hehe, well, when you’ve been isolated from everyone and everything all your life you tend to get a bit bored,” Samual replied with a wry smile. “Case in point, eavesdropping on the guy you’re suspicious off in order to gather information.”

“So if we get the USB files and hook them into this computer,” Amber started to catch on.

“It could help get their memories back,” Samual finished. “I’ll get to see if my parents are there!”

“This is amazing!” Amber cheered. “Well, not fully amazing because their all still stuck but we’re getting somewhere. Oh wait till Winter hears about Jack being alive!”

A wide grin appeared on Jax’s face. Winter, his sister, he could finally see her again! Reassure her that he was alive-

“-Wait! No, no!” Riley quickly interjected, making everyone become quickly confused at her sudden outburst. “We can’t tell Winter, not yet at least.”

Amber blinked in surprise, “Honey, she’s your wife. She’s been missing Jack for so long, she needs to know the truth.”

Pomni watched as Jax’s ear twitch, a slight scowl was on his face. He didn’t like this one bit.

“I know that,” Riley said. “But you weren’t there when Jack was gone. She went nearly catatonic, unable to move, speak or eat. The devastation of losing him for so long nearly broke her. We nearly lost Percy in birth because of the impact. I…I can’t risk that happening again.”

A slow, angered breath released through Jax’s nose as he started to type again.

This is a mistake Riley

Winter deserves to know

You can’t keep this from her – Jack

Riley shook her head, “I’m doing this to protect her. It’s for her own good Jack.”

He wasn’t convinced, turning away from her. Riley shouldn’t have to make that choice for Winter, it wasn’t fair! She needed to know, not be kept in the dark!

Pomni patted his hand softly as she went to the keyboard.

But he’s right Riley – Penny

“I’ll tell her eventually,” Riley reassured everyone. “J-just not now, until I know for sure that everything will be fine.”

Pomni sighed. Riley was as stubborn as they came, there was no changing her mind with this.

Both rabbit and jester jumped when they heard the dinner bell ringing from outside the exit door. It was time to go.

We have to leave

You better know what you’re doing Riley – Penny

“What? But you just came back!” Riley cried.

Amber put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, “Don’t worry. If this interaction has proved anything, they’ll be back.”

Riley was unconvinced, but if there was anyone she trusted more than anything, it was her mother. “Ok,” she nodded, “Just…please be safe Penny.”

I will

And like that, both rabbit and jester rushed out the door. They were able to make it on dinner on time, and Caine was none the wiser about what happened. But despite the feast laid out in front of him, everything that Riley said left a bitter taste in Jax’s mouth. After Penny, Winter was the one he was closest to out of anyone in his life. He might not have been the greatest person, but Winter was the furthest thing from bad. She was the reason that he started to believe that good things could happen in his life, and now Riley was refusing to tell her that he was here and alive.

It felt so wrong.

Pomni’s hand was on his leg, still yet reassuring. It was a silent confirmation that she was on his side about this. He laid his hand atop hers, making sure it was out of Caine’s sight. He squeezed it, hopefully things would be okay…they had to be.

“Riley…”

Black, everything was black.

“Riley…”

It was like she was stuck in inky tar, unable to move her feet, stuck in the black substance.

“Riley.”

She looked up, the redhead gasped as she saw one very familiar, visible figure.

“Penny?” Riley’s voice sounded louder in her ears.

The brunette was wearing the same outfit Riley had last seen her in, a plain white T-shirt and grey leggings. Though it looked dirtier than she last remembered, and why were her eyes shut?

“Why did you leave me?” Penny’s voice echoed.

Riley was startled by the sudden statement, “What?”

“You’re my big sister,” Penny mumbled. “You’re supposed to protect me…yet you didn’t.”

“No, Penny I didn’t mean for you to get trapped!” Riley yelled out for her. “I’m doing everything I can to bring you home!”

“You said you would always be there for me,” Penny whispered back. “You said that no matter what happens I would be safe if you were there…but you weren’t…you didn’t save me…you’re a liar.”

“I’m so sorry Penny,” Riley sobbed, hands on her leg as she tried to pull them out, but to no avail. “I’m really sorry!”

“Liar,” Penny repeated.

“Liar!”

“LIAR!”

“L̷̩͚̯̲̖͖̙͔̹̬̮͉̲̝̑̊̀́ͅỈ̸̢̹̝̝͓͔̟̠̌́́̆͝Á̵̬͎͛̐̑̔̃̈́̓R̶̳̪̩̹̳̬̻̜̫͇̓̏̀͐͒͂̚͠͝͝”

Riley gasped, trying to run but she was frozen solid in the ink. Suddenly, the darkness was replaced by thousands of multicoloured eyes staring at her as Penny drew closer.

The brunette grabbed Riley by the collar of her shirt. It was nothing but silence.

Then her eyes opened.

Riley screamed when she saw that they were as hollow and black as the ink.

Penny opened her mouth again, the same ink leaking out from her lips as she screeched one more time.

Ļ̷̨̛͚̙̭̖̩̥̝͇̮̻̼͍͎̗͉͍̦͖̹͎͔͈̞̰̟̯̩̝̠̻̫͕̱̝̎͊̽̈́̇̀͊̄̑͋̅͊̔̄͒̃̀͌̈́̏̈͆͐̋̓͐̾͛̊̈́̈́́̏̋̀̄̏̈̚̚͘͘̕̕͠ͅÌ̶̧̧̧̛̛̪͔̝͚̫͎̝̬͈̺̫̭̱̞̹͖̞̹̳̻͖̫͉̋̓͋̈́̓͂͗͐̈́̐̈͐̒͗͆̏͛̈̏͌͗͑̈́̐͐̔̂̊͊́͆͆̒̓̾̀̀̾͘̚̕̕̚͜͝ͅͅA̷̢̧̛̛̻̳̞̬̟͇̟̟͉͔̻̻͙̩̣͈̖̘͙̪̱͎̰͙̝͚̣͈̓͒̎͛̆̓̋͌̅̈́͂̏̎̈́̅̍̈̈́̆̕͜͝͠͝ͅR̴̡͈̞͔̮̻̩͋͂͑̚ͅ

Riley awoke with a scream tearing from her throat, her hands fisting the bed sheets beneath her. She failed her, she failed Penny, she couldn’t save her, she was nothing but a failure-

“Riley, Riley!” Winter reached out, taking her wife’s hands in hers. “It’s okay, see, everything is ok.”

Riley was still trembling, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Breathe with me babe,” Winter told her, taking deep breaths in and out again. Riley gulped down a sob, repeating her wife’s pattern. Eventually, she breath was even again and she was calm enough to see her surroundings. There was no ink, no eyes. She was in her bedroom with Winter as the other woman turned the lamp on beside the bed. “It’s okay, it was just a nightmare.”

She was about to bring Riley back into her arms, before the redhead pulled away and stood up, “Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you. I’ll go sleep in the guest room, to let you rest before work.”

“No, wait, Riley!” Winter shouted as her partner gathered up her pillow and a spare blanket. “I just wanna talk, you don’t have to do this.”

“I want to get some sleep before work, alright? Conversation over,” Riley stated, gathering what she needed in her arms before marching to the door.

“Riley enough!” Winter yelled, making Riley freeze in her tracks still facing the door. “We can’t keep doing this.”

“Doing what?” she retorted bitterly.

“You avoiding me,” Winter told her. “Especially when you’re hurting. You can’t keep pretending that I don’t exist just because you’re too scared to talk about Penny.”

Riley bit her tongue, nearly drawing blood, “I’m not scared Winter. Stop it.”

“Where were you last night?” Winter questioned, unrelenting. “Yesterday you wouldn’t answer your phone after I tried calling you for hours. Where were you?”

Riley couldn’t say, she couldn’t. If Winter was told about Jack, she feared about what could happen. She still remembered Winter’s pale face, nearly slipping in and out of consciousness during Percy’s C-section. She nearly lost both her wife and her son that day. She couldn’t tell her, it’s for her own good.

“My mom’s house, my phone was on silent,” she said, her voice void of emotion. “I’m tired.”

She slammed the door behind her, leaving Winter all alone. The black-haired woman brought her knees to her chest, too exhausted to cry. Too tired to keep having these moments with Riley. She would give anything just to have her wife back.

“Well good morning little lady,” Jax bowed as he walked out of his room the next morning. “And how was your sleep last night?”

“Aren’t we supposed to be subtle?” Pomni placed her hands on her hips. “Cause as far as I can’t tell, I don’t think this is what it’s supposed to be.”

“But it made you smile, right?” he smirked.

Pomni blushed, he was right, she was smiling, “Shut up.”

He chuckled, nudging his head to the direction down the hallway, “Hungry?”

“Yeah, I could eat,” Pomni nodded. She was about to walk beside him when she noticed something in the corner of a door from one of the past circus members. She cocked her head to the side as she inspected it further.

Jax paused in his tracks when he noticed that his fiancé wasn’t next to him, “Pen?” He saw her staring at the door of an old string-worm character, coming up behind her carefully so he wouldn’t spook her. “What is it?”

“Do you see that?” she inquired.

“See what?” he asked.

She pointed to the corner, “That.”

Jax’s eyes squinted as he followed her fingers, they widened when they finally noticed what Pomni was talking about. The corner was glitching, similar to how Ragatha was when Kaufmo attacked her on the jester’s first day. “How is this possible?” Pomni observed.

“I…I don’t know,” Jax replied honestly. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this.”

Suddenly, the glitch sparked wildly and loudly, making them jump back in surprise. It started to spread across the door, erasing the face of the string worm with its flashing colours. Jax held Pomni protectively, guiding her away from the door as they stepped away slowly. They watched as little by little, it swallowed up the door, before disappearing entirely.

Both of them panted in surprise, this wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all. “I think we need to hurry with our escape plan,” Pomni told the rabbit holding her.

“Agreed,” Jax nodded. “We’re on a timer Pomni.”

“The question is how long do we have?” her voice shook slightly, gripping onto him.

“Long enough for us to get out of here,” he told her, reassurance in his voice. “That much I know.”

“O-okay,” Pomni hated that she was stuttering, but the sudden fright of what happened didn’t seem to be letting go of her anytime soon.

“Come on, let’s get downstairs before Caine tries to find us,” Jax stood, holding out his hand and helping up the jester.

While the two walked down the hallway, they couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling of what just happened. Did they really not have enough time? Was it just another strange part of this world?

Those questions rung through their mind as they walked down the hall, unaware of a second little glitch behind them in another little corner of the hall.

#the amazing digital circus #jax #pomni #pomnijax #funnybunny #ragatha #gangle #kinger #zooble #caine #bubble #my writing #dragon rambles #fanfiction #fanfic #ao3 #jax x pomni #pomni x jax #jaxni

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burninlovebutler · 2 years

Text

Masterlist🦋💫

~🚧i know this is messy rn pls ignore it is under construction 🚧~

-> Welcome to my Blog Introduction

ao3 - BurninLove

Wattpad - FaultInMyCodes

-> Worship (Secret Santa)* - Possessive-Obsessive!Austin x Fem!Reader

-> Candy Hearts ♡ (vday)* - Sub!Austin x DomFem!Reader

-> Camp Counselors - Pt. 1 + Pt. 2 - Austin x Fem!reader

-> Talkshow Host!Austin Headcanons

Bikeriders Asshole!Austin x Makeup Artist!Reader

-> Pt. 1 *

-> Pt. 2*

-> Pt. 3*

-> Pt. 4.1 *

**last updated; 04.30.23**

-> Pt. 4.2 [coming soon]

-> Pt. 5 [coming soon]

Just an Intern Spotify Playlist ⛓️🖤

𝙸 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚣𝚣𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝙻𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎'𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚘

Themes: friends to lovers, SLOW burn, ANGST, eventual smut, Austin x fem!oc, midsize oc, sad boi/addict aus, fluffy, semi-AU (indie actor austin)

Summary/Intro: Best friends since college, Austin and Elsie are each other's safety nets. Austin has secrets only Elsie knows, and Elsie has too many closet skeletons for Austin to count.

Austin battles internal demons since the death of his father, which caused a switch to flip that would change him forever. His father’s death happened 4 years ago but it still haunts him – in his mind and in little pills.

Elsie has a weakness for wicked, vile, abusive men. Her boyfriend, Nox, is the latest culprit. And Austin can’t fucking stand him.

Between trying to rescue each other and struggling to save themselves, is there something lying underneath?

18+ as this contains both smut & mature sensitive topics. Please check TWs for each chapter. General overarching warnings at the bottom of this post.

Since this is slow burn-ish so some themes/smut do not show up until later

Chapters containing smut that have * by their name

Forever Winter Spotify Playlist ❄️💞

FW Chapters:

01 - Has He Texted You?

02 - Dependency

03 - The Close Call Clause

04 - Not The First Time

05 - Fix-It Pancakes

06 - Cold Showers

07 - Giving In

08 - Of Course I Do

09 - Thanksgiving Pt. 1

10 - Thanksgiving Pt. 2

11 - Winter Break

12 - Truth or Dare

13 - Dressing Room Games

14 - Hot or Cold? *

15 - No Touching **

16 - When The Night Ends

17 - Do Not Disturb

18 - Nothing There

19 - Not Even For A Second

20 - I Know You’re Lying

21 - Blue M&Ms

22 - Christmas - Pt. 1 - (ft. The Grinch)

23 - Christmas - Pt. 2 - Comeback Special**

24 - Ski Slopes**

25 - New Years Eve (Pt. 1) - Til You Come Back for More*

26 - New Years (Pt. 2) - Say It Again**

27 - The First Close Call

28 - Temporary Fix*

29 - Be My Mistake*

30 - It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)

31 - Mr. Percocet

32 - [TBA - coming soon]

**last updated 05.31.23**

[more chapters to be announced lol]

Author’s Notes:

Each chapter will contain a related song suggestion and matching lyrics. I highly recommend listening to each song as they beautifully mesh with the themes of each individual chapter.

Austin/Elvis yanked me from fanfic retirement so when I started writing FW, I fell in love with the characters & the storyline. I’m posting here so that maybe others can fall in love with them too.

I haven’t written in a while so sorry if it’s a little rusty, especially in the first couple chapters.

This post ended up being really long so sorry if it was a lot, thank you if you made it this far.

I hope you love it, please let me know if you do.

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averydavery · 19 days

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Photo Dump from Indy’s Very Own Popcon!

Just to be clear, this was not my only cosplay for this three day event! However, Saturday (yesterday) was the biggest day with the most events, so I did my best cosplay for it! On Friday I was John Marston and my friend was Arthur Morgan from RDR2, and today I just went in a simple gyaru makeup look!

But that’s not what you’re here for!

Here’s my Black Jack cosplay just a few months late of the 50th anniversary year of the series. I knew that since my face is very round and that I have a button nose I wouldn’t be able to do a “one for one” cosplay look that I think would do him justice. So instead of working against my body, I created a look that embraced it… I call it Drag Jack!

Please understand that this was my first ever time doing this cosplay so I ended up putting the skin patch on the wrong side of the face (it’s actually the correct side of the face the wig just is backwards and I forget to flip it), but also I didn’t do the scar on his chin either because I forgot as well, let alone any other scars on my body. Next time I did this cosplay I’ll make sure to fix it!

Full body shot, even though this was in the convention center bathrooms the tile gives that sterile hospital look so I mess with it.

Head shots, as you can tell I’m not good at choosing locations for my photos. I plan on redoing it with better photos and not gluing my brows, so stay tuned!

I really should’ve Got2Be’d those spike before I left house… the strands are everywhere.

Ai No Hoshi Maid Cafe! They were a lotta fun! If you’re in the Indiana, Ohio, or Kentucky area and plan on going to a con make sure to check if they’ll be there too! Highly recommend, one of the butlers was a fellow Doctor!

This shitty redraw of mine of Black Jack as Trixie Matel inspired this entire look!

Price and Advice for Future BJ Cosplayer’s:

Cost (with tax and shipping): about $73.31

Contacts from Uniqso x2: $28.62

Wig from Ezcosplay: $22.69

Fishnets from Five Below: ~$5

Translucent setting powder from Five Below: ~$3

Red Ribbon from Micheal’s: ~$3

Concealer & Brightner two pack makeup from Marshall’s: ~$5

Face Paint from Party City: $5

Lip/Blush pale pink cream stick from [a target resale/wholesale store that I won’t named for my own privacy reasons]: $1

Black Turtleneck Bodysuit from Target: $0 (I had a gift card, if not it was about ~$12 I think?)

Owned or Borrowed Items, many are optional items

Three different colored (black, white, maroon) gel eyeliner pencils: BORROWED

White Foundation from Sunset Makeup: BORROWED

Chrome Eyeliner: BORROWED

Brown Tights: OWNED

Boots: OWNED

Dickey Collar: OWNED, I cut up a white polo

Wig Styling Suppkies: OWNED

Rest of Makeup: OWNED

Advice for Cosplaying BJ

WET-DRY MAKEUP METHOD!!!! The Wet-Dry method of makeup is used in Drag makeup and many other makeup genres to set face paint or heavy makeup. For Black Jack’s face patch you’re going to want to start with a wet facepaint color and then set it with translucent setting powder so it doesn’t only stay all day, but also looks more matte and not porous. Next time I do this look, I plan to use more so my skin looks a bit flatter.

CREAM CONTOURS!!!! Use a cream based contour to contour your nose, cheekbones, and temples. If you use a powdered contour it will come off VERY easily and it will be hard to get a clean line with. I relied on these cream contours mostly for my nose since, again, I have a button nose so I really wanted to contour that to at least make it look a little thinner and longer.

SAFETY PIN YOUR BOW!!! If you want a bow that looks “cartoony” you won’t get that just by tying a red ribbon around your neck. I sewed and glued my bow then safety pinned it my collar to appear like it was standing up on its own. It’s cute!

WEAR TIGHTS (if you’re doing this specific black jack look lmfao)!!! If I did not wear those tights way too much of my hip would be showing. I’m personally not comfort showing that much of my body, so I wore tights underneath my fishnets. But you do you! I like the darker color since it sorta looks like I’m wearing see through dark tights but matching your skin tone as close as possible can make it seem like you aren’t wearing tights at all even if you actually are! Highly recommend!

DON’T FORGET YOUR EAR!!! This isn’t required but I think it looks nice to put a bit of face paint on your ear to look like the skin patch covers that area as well as your face. It’s a bit more cohesive but also doesn’t matter too much.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE CAMPY!!! Black Jack’s character is over-the-top and exaggerated, so you shouldn’t be afraid to do the same. If I really wanted this to be Drag Jack, I would’ve done an entire drag makeup look and I think that would be PERFECT if someone better than I at that kind of makeup does it! The bigger the bow the better too! Get some props like a kids toy stethoscope or a mask or gloves! Monopoly money too haha!!!

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c1tyhaunts · 5 months

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—OC DETAILS MEME ;; @shivasdarknight: 🎶💯 for all of your girls .o.

🎶 MUSICAL NOTES — what type of music does your oc like? do they listen to music very often? (also asked by @bornfornothin!) 💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know. this post already got super long so some of it will go under the cut

Terrah

🎶MUSIC TASTES— She's the kind of woman to end her day with her record player, spinning vinyls until the wee hours of the evening to bedtime. While she's sketching out new machine designs or writing up new reports, she's listening to music. I'd say in a given day, she's spending 60% of it listening to music. Favorite Sound Profiles: Sensual, Rhythmic, Solid Vocals Favorite Genres: R&B (70-2010s), Hip-Hop (70-90s), Country (70s-80s) Music on her "Liked Playlist": ✦ Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton ✦ Fast Car - Tracy Chapman ✦ Me & Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul ✦ You Dropped a Bomb on Me - The Gap Band ✦ I'm Every Woman - Chaka Khan

💯RANDOM FACTS ✦ As I mentioned in a previous post, Terrah is terrifyingly good at putting apart, fixing, & destroying anything mechanical. This is primarily for equipment that she can get her hands on, and more for those with explicit mechanical components like in a car or fridge. ✦ Because of her deft hands, when she was still in college, she started a side hustle fixing other people's cars or computers. From the circuit board to the full system, she found a solution to the problem and charged a hefty amount. ✦ On the flip side of this, she's not computer savvy. She's not a programmer or even on social media that much. She's good with the CAD programs & analytical tools she has to use for work, but anything IT-related? Ask someone else because she won't be the woman to figure that out.

Lilah

🎶MUSIC TASTES— Funnily enough, I don't think Lilah actually listens to music that often, as she's more likely to consume a podcast or watch a TV show over listening to a song. She does occasionally put on music while she's writing. She much prefers going to a live concert. On a given day, Lilah is probably spending 30% of that day listening to music. Favorite Sound Profiles: Angry, Boisterous, Genre-Bending Favorite Genres: Pop (2000-2010s), Indie (2000-2020s), Rock (90s-2020s), Lo-Fi/Instrumental (2000-2020) Music on her "Liked Playlist": ✦ Girlfriend - hemlock springs ✦ Good 4 You - Olivia Rodrigo ✦ Cobra - Megan Thee Stallion ✦ Bitter - FLETCHER ✦ Phonies - Dorian Electra

💯RANDOM FACTS ✦ Due to growing up in a small town that was hyper-fixated on her appearance & mere existence, Lilah occasionally has anxiety attacks if she feels like a lot of eyes are on her. She doesn't like to be stared at by strangers, and if there's a creeping feeling that she's being followed, it will trigger a panic attack. Ironic, given her dream profession. ✦ After she got herself established in her career, Lilah is just prone to taking spontaneous road trips to herself - only taking her sachel, money, a book, and an idea. She would then take that as a 2-week sabbatical where she'd write up a new novel in that timespan and bring it back to the world. ✦ All of Lilah's novels are short reads (~60-70K words a piece), and they all explore aspects of her understanding of life & love. She's self-published, normally posting her books under her pseudonym. All of the books tell her story at different intervals, and if someone knew her, they could read it and know that these "fictional, coming of age" stories were about her.

Avian

🎶MUSIC TASTES— Although melancholy seems to follow Avian's aura, her music speaks differently to that. While she's working the night shift, she has her headphones ringing more upbeat, optimistic music. While her tastes are varied, they do lean more towards older tunes and music that touch on some gospel with strong vocals. These are also tunes that Avian's dancing through during the night as she's organizing medication. In a day, about 70% of Avian's time is spent listening to music. Favorite Sound Profiles: Soulful, Strong Instrumentals, Old School Favorite Genres: R&B (60-90s), Blues (50-70s), Folk (50-80s), Jazz (40s-2010s), Gospel (90s-2010s) Music on her "Liked Playlist": ✦ FREEDOM - Jon Baptise ✦ My Way - Aloe Blacc ✦ Easy Living - Billie Holiday ✦ Into Each Life, Some Rain Must Fall - Ella Fitzgerald, The Ink Spots ✦ Hound Dog - Big Mama Thorton

💯RANDOM FACTS ✦ Avian is classically trained in ballroom dancing thanks to her dad - it was one of the few activities he got her into so she didn't become a complete shut-in. Specifically, Avian can swing dance, waltz, and foxtrot. Avian enjoyed the dancing part but did not enjoy the part with her weird partners hitting on her afterward. ✦ Avian is "technically" religious but in a spiritual way. James never forced her to go to church with him but did guide her to learn how to use religion that best suited her & her lifestyle. She didn't buy into religion much until her father passed away, and so she leans into spirituality as a way to keep herself sane. I wouldn't consider her a bible humper, but Avian does wear a cross of Christ as her own grounding point. ✦ Because of her previous dance experience, Avian is a lot more quick-witted than a lot of people give her credit for. This was shown once when she got to step in for an intramural sport in high school. Her friend pushed her to play softball for a game against another school and Avian killed it. It was the one time a group was begging Avian to stay on the softball team but she said no because Avian didn't like sports.

Elvira

🎶MUSIC TASTES— Elvira rarely listens to music, and if she does, it's typically in between flights or trains she's on as she's traveling. She doesn't dislike music, per se, but she's one of the few people who rather sit with her own thoughts than let them be flooded by music. She's a very passive listener, and she may put it on in the background if she's cleaning or cooking, but again, she may prioritize listening to the news or putting a TV show on. Most music to Ivy is supposed to be played at a party, anyway. About 20% of her day is spent listening to music. Favorite Sound Profiles: Boisterious, Goofy, Rhythm Over Lyrics Favorite Genres: Rap/Hip Hop (80-2020s), Reggae/Soca (90-2000s) Music on her "Liked Playlist": ✦ Rock, Paper, Strippers - Teezo Touchdown ✦ Fye Fye - Tobe Nwigwe ✦ Murder She Wrote - Chaka Demus & Pliers ✦ So Special - Mavado ✦ Here Comes Trouble - Chronixx

💯RANDOM FACTS ✦ A lot of Ivy's current black/gothic style was inspired by her mother; Ivy grew up looking over the old Polaroids of her mother and her long black locs & black lipstick idolizing how powerful she looked in those old pictures. Because of this, that has influenced a lot of Ivy's current wardrobe. She actually locs her own hair in honor of her mother. ✦ Ivy transitioned early thanks to her mother's support. After Ivy's father left their lives, her mother took pride in her child's choice and assisted in giving Ivy the life she wanted. This required Ivy to transfer schools so she could start with a clean slate, but by the time Ivy was 13, she could start living her true self. ✦ Ivy has been arrested a handful of times, but never charged. This was mostly throughout her young adulthood, as she was often the one stepping into fights to break them up to protect other people. She has gotten lucky that her connections ran deep with good people to avoid the actual time, but the old Manchester police department likely knows Ivy by name, and they're waiting on the day she falls back to rock bottom.

#▶⌜ch. terrah v. sparkz⌟#▶⌜ch. lilah eve lyons⌟#▶⌜ch. avian delilah esparza⌟#▶⌜ch. elvira t. delauris⌟#▶⌜terrah sparkz. lore⌟#▶⌜avian esparza. lore⌟#▶⌜lilah lyons. lore⌟#the only thing i'md oing for the holidays because it hits on my favorite thing: music and random muse facts #THANKS ENYA #▶⌜elvira d'angelo. lore⌟

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cto10121 · 1 year

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How The New Twilight Series Will “Fix” Twilight

Bella is now a Strong Female Character(tm), which means she will FLIP OUT at Edward’s watching her sleep, call him out on his overprotectiveness and mood swings, demand that he tell her the truth at all times, be mildly depressed in New Moon, insist on going to college for at least a year (and only change her mind when she is in danger and should therefore probably be a vampire asap), and overall do reckless shit like antagonize vampires and werewolves without consequence. She will also stand up to Jacob’s jerkishness, but also be way more into him because we got to play up that nonexistent love triangle. Her female relationships will get much more screen time and development because it’s Problematic(tm) that Bella’s closest relationships are with her love interests. And of course, Bella’s parentified personality (Cinderbella) would be removed entirely à la Movie Twilight. She will be perfectly perfect in every way and completely intolerable.

We’ve seen Movie!Twilight as an indie teen rom com/CW teen drama. Now get ready for Twilight as a higher-budget fantasy series that will de-emphasize the romance as much as possible. Or simply drain all the spice and tension from the relationship and make it as unproblematic (and thus completely boring) as possible

If they go for this, then Bella and Edward are no longer the protagonists. The Lore(tm) is the protagonist, which means more focus on the other Cullens, the Volturi, vampiric world in general, the Quileute werewolves, and the mysteries. Hell, throw in a couple of murders of human characters we know, because Twilight is totally a murder mystery now. What? It’s what the fans who are totally fans and not antis with a weird obsession with this series want, right???!!!!

Everything to do with the Quileute characters will become more true to the real-life Quileute legends regardless of whether it fits Twilight or not. To do so otherwise would be ~culturally appropriative and ~problematic. Also, the Quileutes will get more screentime and be portrayed as practically perfect in every way. Jacob may also get this treatment by proxy and his more problematic traits will be yeeted out the window.

Edward will be either be even more overprotective and high-handed, his charm and his sense of humor erased (to contrast with our new Gary Stu Jacob)…or simply be perfect for Bella from the get-go. He will agree with her on everything and have zero problems listening to her and trusting her. No misunderstandings, no social comedy, nothing. The latter is most probable if Meyer is there to make sure her canon is adhered to, but there will still be a passive-aggressive undertone in the writing for Edward.

The Quileutes’ attitudes towards Leah will either be portrayed as misogynistic and Leah will definitely call them out for it in the most cringeworthy scene ever…or be removed altogether. Now the Quileute boys are totally fine with Leah joining them. Hell, they just might remove Leah’s bitterness altogether and her role in getting Jacob injured.

They will change how imprinting works. I don’t know how, but it is guaranteed to 100% suck worse than the books, fall apart at the slightest scrutiny, and divide the fans further.

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #new moon #eclipse #breaking dawn #i am torn guys #i firmly believe twilight wasn’t properly adapted #otoh these new people could be even worse #hell they will be worse in some ways #number one is almost guaranteed

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wordsandrobots · 9 months

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The Wishing on Space Hardware playlist (story edition) v1.0

Hmm. A touch premature, perhaps, but while my grand finale plans include a stupidly ambitious attempt to compose a playlist of songs fitted to each character I’m using as a point of view (30+!), I have collected enough IBO-feeling songs to do that for fics in the series too. Well, I did after committing to the bit and hunting down ones to fit the stragglers. We are 18 posted out of 20, so there’s a possibility I’ll revise this later. But hey! For the moment, I’m quite happy with how this came out. And if you like mixes of British folk, indie rock, Country-adjacent stuff, and Leonard Cohen, maybe you will be as well. (Special achievement: it’s not wall-to-wall Thea Gilmore songs.)

For those of you just tuning in, my post-canon Iron-Blooded Orphans series Wishing on Space Hardware can be found at Ao3 via all good web browsers (probably the bad ones too). Full spoilers for both seasons of the anime come as standard.

Arc #1: Moving on or standing still

A Handful of Rusted Petals – Embers [Skinny Lister]

Long is the distance, hard is the mile / That drags me away from our innocent smile / Where wild is the welcome, the company right / Far from the rattle and roar of the fight

I like Skinny Lister a lot and thought this fit the bittersweet themes of these vignettes rather well.

The Grandmaster – The Game [The Levellers]

The clock ticked past the final hour / Which of the men had lost? and what was the cost? / The glasses now were empty and gone / To wash away the shame, and take away the pain

While not 100% on the money, this song seems to capture the feel of the Elion vs McGillis conflict, from Elion’s side at least.

To Catch a Falling Star – Get Better [Frank Turner]

So try and get better and don't ever accept less / Take a plain black marker and write this on your chest / Draw a line underneath all of this unhappiness / Come on now, let's fix this mess / We could get better because we're not dead yet

Gender flip the lyrics and this is basically Yamagi and Shino in this fic to a T.

Fragments of You/Pieces of Me – Injuries [Skinny Lister]

On the advice of my heart I flew / Into the burning sun / And for the life of me I can’t / Find me a way to return

Because sometimes life is at once fundamentally difficult and nevertheless glorious.

Arc #2: Monsters out of the past

Let Sleeping Angels Lie – Call You Friend [Oysterband]

So many times we’ve disagreed / Don’t count the cost there’s a greater need / We sit and watch each other bleed / That’s why I call you friend

Eugene and Shino’s relationship in a nutshell.

Between Family – The Power of Unity [Masaru Yokoyama]

(With full apologies to Mr Yokoyama. I tried to come up with an actual song but using this track is much funnier. Plus, you know. Smut. I don’t tend to spend much time putting lyrics to that.)

I can picture the polyamorous numpties to this far, far too well.

The Ares Affair – Everybody Knows [Leonard Cohen]

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded / Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed / Everybody knows the war is over / Everybody knows the good guys lost

The point where WoSH swerves hard from ‘fix-it’ to ‘consequences of fixing it’.

The Haunting of Takaki Uno – Don’t Dim Your Light For Anyone [Thea Gilmore]

The world is fierce, it's hard as nails / When you do good but goodness fails / You crawl the road that others run / Don't dim your light for anyone

I find Takaki tricky to write because his voice isn’t quite as distinct as Yamagi or Ride, but I know exactly what I want to capture through him.

Arc #3: The pressure of ghosts

Frozen Sunlight – Apparition #12 [Thea Gilmore]

And I smelled the ghosts of the ashes and the orchids / I've got promises tattooed to the insides of my eyelids / And I'll be watching when the Richter reaches ten / I bled by these weapons, babe, and now I'm one of them

Two Thea Gilmore songs in a row, I know, but they have very different tones and this is on point for my interpretation of Azee.

Of Obsessions and Erotemes – A Good Song Never Dies [Saint Motel]

There was a moment, a hole opened in the sky / A chance to join their pantheon / For all the times they never heard your battle cry / Now even angels sing along

I only encountered this song recently but I can see Iverson to it, so now it’s their villain theme.

Revolution for Beginners and Polyamory for Dumbasses – Modern Way [The Kaiser Chiefs]

Hold on to the basics / But we can't change all our tactics / There's no point sitting / Going crazy on your own

Had originally penciled in ‘Truth Is’ by the Levellers for this, but I think ‘Modern Way’ is more applicable to the whole.

Under a Crescent Moon – Son of the Left Hand [Duke Special]

In dying light my shadow calls / I watch his fingers stalk the walls / And now in hollow down I stumble on / The rubble of my babylon

Goes harder than perhaps the tone of the fic strictly requires, but honestly? I think that’s probably earned by the situation.

Arc #4: Schemes and daydreams

Eugene Sevenstark and the Hesperus Treasure – Plans [Devil and the Deep Blue Sea]

And I should find / A better way to spend my time / Than spinning grand designs / Every day with you

The story dealing with coincidence and anticlimax felt like it needed something soothing as a soundtrack.

Hope Against Hope – All This And Heaven Too [Florence + The Machine]

And I would give all this and heaven too / I would give it all if only for a moment / That I could just understand the meaning of the word you see / 'Cause I've been scrawling it forever, but it never makes sense to me at all

I listened to this a lot while writing the next story in the series, but it fits Kudelia too well not to use here.

Love, Death and Cannoli – Fire and Water [The Wandering Hearts]

All love's like fire and water / I ask myself, "Should I bother?" / When you look at me with those big brown eyes / And I know what I'll do / I've tried but it's impossible / Can't keep myself away from you

The Yamagi/Shino song as far as I’m concerned.

Fata Morgana – Belgrade [Battle Tapes]

We pretend in the darkness / We pretend the night won’t steal our youth / Singing me the sweet songs of seduction / Let me be the fool, fool, fool / Who will live and die for you

There are many ways to be seduced and become a fool for others. Also I needed a banging tune for what is, broadly, a long action sequence of a fic.

Arc #5: The end of the world

We Three Kings – Bullet [Saint Motel]

You don't stop a bullet that you set into motion / You don't stop a fire when you light an explosion / So then, why would we fight it? Already ignited / Counting down, down, down, down

This story is inevitable. Or if it isn’t, the major events are underway long before our protagonists arrive. And then there’s that one-in-a-million shot...

History of a Catastrophe – Who By Fire? [Leonard Cohen, live version]

And who by brave assent, who by accident / Who in solitude, who in this mirror / Who by his lady's command, who by his own hand / Who in mortal chains, who in power / And who shall I say is calling?

More Leonard Cohen, with this particularly beautiful version of the song, for an exploration of how terrible systems warp people’s lives.

Ragnarök in G Minor – Battlegrounds [Coco and the Butterfields]

Hey, hey, what do you say when you fall down / Hey, hey, go away from battlegrounds / And I, I feel like I'm living just to stop you winning / So carry on, carry on, carry on ‘til I'm gone

It’s that third line in the chorus. That’s the fic. (Or it will be once I’ve written this monster; the document passed 1MB a couple of weeks back, ye gods.)

A Day in the Light – Something for the Pain [She Drew the Gun]

Walls for the wind / Shelter from the rain / Something for the hunger / And something for the pain

This will be the coda to the series. And I feel this song works well for the history of IBO’s setting. A summing up, if you will.

#GUNDAM #Gundam Iron-blooded Orphans #gundam ibo #Tekketsu no Orphans #g tekketsu #fanfic #AO3 fanfic #My fic #Playlists #songs #music #the management apologises for the author's musical taste

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rms-writes · 11 months

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Current WIP Monday

tagged by the illustrious @the-stray-storyteller

Rules: Post something you wrote for your current wip, from the last week. If you haven't updated it in a while, this is your time!

from Finding Hope rewrite.

Morgan paused in the doorway, scanning the house. The familiar scent of old beer, weed and mildew washed over her, momentarily stunning her. She exhaled through her mouth, closing her eyes briefly before pushing herself forward. Her room was also at the back of the house. She slowed her movements when she neared, keeping her eyes on the door at the end of the hall. The door to her room was opened and it was obvious someone had gone through her things. She closed the door behind her and dropped her bag on her bed. A few of her dresser drawers were partially opened, the end of a piece of clothing sticking over the edge of one. She opened each drawer, fixing everything that was out of place. The sound of footsteps pounding down the hallway grabbed her attention. The door swung open, and Tobias stormed into the room. He walked to her bed and grabbed her duffel bag, furiously unzipping it and rummaging through its contents. He pulled things out and threw them on the bed and floor. Morgan stood by her dresser, back to the wall as she watched. He found what he was looking for and pulled her phone out, holding it up so it was clear to see. “Get in the kitchen.” He ordered, storming out of the room. Morgan released a breath as soon as he was gone. She grabbed a hair tie and pulled her hair back into a messy bun, pulling off her jacket and replacing it with a long sleeve shirt. She went over to her bag and dug through it. Her fingers grazed the cool metal of her knife, and she pulled it out, weighing it in her hands. She stared down at it for a moment, flicking it open and watching the light glint off the blade. With a sharp intake of breath, she flipped it closed and shoved it in her pocket. She shuffled through the bag again, her actions suddenly becoming frantic. She looked through everything on the floor, then checked under the mattress. Not finding what she was looking for, she sighed in defeat, her posture deflating. She wiped at her face angrily, picking everything up off the floor and throwing it on top of the bag before leaving the room. She stood in the center of the kitchen, taking in everything. The sink was full of unwashed dishes, the stove covered in spilled food. A couple pots and pans sat atop the stove, one still containing food. She opened the fridge and glanced over its contents. “Make something." Tobias ordered. "I’m starving.” He stalked into the kitchen. “And clean this up, this place is filthy.” Morgan looked at him but said nothing.

no pressure! tagging: @blind-the-winds, @zmwrites, @inkspellangel, @indy-gray, @j-1173

#i can't believe it worked out on an actual monday lol #writeblr #tag game #finding hope #current wip tag

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karuinekom · 1 year

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i truly can’t believe i’m finally getting out of two months of a flipping writing block thanks to my cat curled as a croissant against me, snoring so fucking loud she woke me up from my funny dreams. my cat is totally getting a 10/10 review for fixing months of problems. if only she’d done it sooner—

anyhoo, back in june, i convinced myself i could embark on the mystic adventure of that cool thing called writing from scratch in english despite me having a troubled relationship with english, like sometimes, what the fuck are adverbs and why there are no diminutives and endearments like in Italian. still, i decided to finally use the prompt for the modern ouizzy au i wrote down as a fever dream one day, but i failed. because english sucks. and now whenever i open the sims 4 and play in the save dedicated to the crew i’m getting reminded of that google document i haven't opened for ages, and go back making my sims having the best lives they could ask for without thinking about that forbidden file

so, since ouizzy is undoubtedly my comfort ship and i can ramble about for hours forgetting all my responsibilities, yeah obviously i’m writing an ouizzy fic. or whatever. have no idea for how long i will carry this writing thing on. helped by the powers of the ancient muses and my thick cat sleeping like a log, i had the most unoriginal idea of the au where izzy’s a cat—yeah, quite unoriginal but I wanted to write about a cat, and it would be boring just having a cat and no izzy so, boom, shapeshifting cat. still unoriginal as fuck, but this won’t stop me. i imagined a setting where frenchie’s an indie musician, struggling with the life of an emerging artist (who knows if he’ll be part of a band, getting more characters into the scene), having a very chaotic but at the same time normal life, and he starts noticing a cat sleeping from time to time outside of his house right there, on the brick wall, staring deeply inside his soul as cats do when he tries to walk by. and frenchie doesn’t truly like it, because he’s frenchie, and he’s frightened by cats, obviously, and a black grizzled cat creepily looking at him is not what he dreamed of, neither what he asked santa for

but having izzy shapeshift whenever he wants would be too easy (meaning i am basically dooming myself into thinking about a real plot) so what if the cat can only shapeshift into a human during the night, making no sense because cats are most active at night, but who cares. and at this point of my brilliant enlightenment, i realised it was becoming the plot of one of my favourite manhwa (“wolf in the house” by park jiyeon if you wonder) with the only difference being the main character is a wolf and not a cat. fuck.

anyway i’m still writing it because i am in need of my regular dose of ouizzy and i’ve been denying myself for too much now

also, i failed the kinktober let’s fucking go

#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #frenchie #ouizzy #frenchizzy #frenzzy #izzy x frenchie #izzy ofmd #frenchie ofmd #is this considered more of a rant? i am not allowed to know it #back from the ashes with a silly ouizzy idea #obviously my cat will take the merit of the whole story because without her I wouldn’t have written anything

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its-ashley-95baybe · 2 years

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Honestly more concerned about the amount of CO2 those two's private jets must be pumping out... PR or no I would feel morally icky about visiting my partner so often like that when we're witnessing so many climate disasters. I'm an actor too. I always fly economy or train if it's available. It's in my contract. I'm sure they could make do like all of us non-millionaires do with long distance relationships.

Honestly I'm still mad that Zendaya had that big birthday party during covid, made sure it was super quiet and no one could post about it, and got zero flack.

It kind of creeps me out how good her PR team is. Never more than a whisper of her being less than perfect. I don't think she's a bad person, I just think she's human. It's a little culty.

Tom is my ultimate 'I can fix him'. I don't know what him and his agent are doing but one of them needs to learn how to read a script and tell whether it's good or bad. He said Cherry was the best script he's ever read :/ Honestly perplexed by his decisions from a business standpoint. He could go anywhere for his TV debut and he goes Apple TV with a story about a criminal with DID which has been established as a thing Hollywood cannot be trusted to portray with accuracy or empathy. The only rationale I can see is that he signed an old-school Hollywood studio deal (these are coming back, look at Chris Hemsworth and Netflix) and Sony got to him when he was young and naive and excited about Spiderman. The whole thing reeks of an old hollywood business deal. I think that's part of the reason he appears so unhappy. Studios secure actors for a 'type' of role, think Judy Garland = ingenue, and that's left him playing one type of character, which I think he's great at but he's not going to win awards and that man clearly wants an Oscar. Awards are so political and the academy just don't nominate dorky young man #2. If I was him I'd work on those films I've said I always wanted to direct, hire a writer other than my brother because I can't tell a script with potential from a trashfire, and cast myself in a role I've always wanted to play and no one would ever cast me as. He's got the clout to at least get an indie film up.

This somehow turned into a business rant. Sorry. So much of your worth relies on your image so when you get to a certain level you've got to be carefully picking your projects. I think Zendaya will be fine and practically untouchable. Her and her team are very smart. It'll be interesting to see if she has more range or whether she'll remain a 'face' actor or a character actor. Some of that is probably not her fault as there's only certain portrayals of a black woman that Hollywood currently accepts. No matter how skilled she is as an actor she will always have jobs because she's established herself as a marketable brand. Weird comparison but I think The Rock has done the same thing just very different ball park. You don't hire The Rock because he'll give you a killer performance with a nuanced character, you hire him because he's The Rock. I honestly can't think of anything problematic enough she could possibly do that could cut her down now.

okay rant over.

First off let me just say that I don’t read a lot of long messages and even more so want them to keep going.

Also I don’t know if you’re new here or not but I enjoyed the breakdown of everything.

Tom’s roles make sense especially when he’s been lobbying to play Fred Astaire for the longest( Lip Sync Battle and probably further) I’ve been saying his team is severely slacking and after the first Spidey he should’ve been everywhere. Idk if Tom wants things handed to him because of his role as Spidey but I just don’t see him reaching that “star” level. I’ll continue to say there’s no way you’re around Z and her team that much that you don’t want more for yourself…..or maybe you don’t and just want attention based off of your relationship but again that’s not how you get your Oscar.

Flipping to Z…..she again has an amazing team that was built since she was 12. Always at red carpets and her name was always spoken(wrongly of course lol) I remember when people would ask what did she do and even that was enough to sustain an identity. They took their time,perfected their craft and now she has two Emmys and a fashion icon award and if her label wasn’t complete money hungry idiots she wouldn’t had a Grammy. They get it. They perfected it and everyone who works with her express nothing but love. She will be fine no matter what direction is taken.

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formulatrash · 2 years

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We often get the impression that being in TR/Alpha Tauri/Red Bull is extremely stressful for drivers/young drivers. Is it actually more stressful than being in another team?

I think it's different now than it used to be. TR/AT used to be the meat grinder that fed into the sausage factory of Red Bull and it spat out as many drivers like gristle as you can expect from that. even getting near a Toro Rosso seat was asking for a beasting - Seb Buemi and JEV were casualties of the real deal but Brendon Hartley, Antonio Felix da Costa, Robin Frijns etc never got a chance to drive for there.

then in 2016 the situation flipped. Toro Rosso became the safe haven where Red Bull was the wobbly seat; when Dany got sent down from RB and it became clear Carlos was never going to be moved up there was some sort of shift and instead of a relentless sense of survivalist clawing to the top, being in the bottom team sort of gave you the opportunity to just... get strange. the 'we do what we want and if it happens to get points it's a bonus' opportunity of being in the indie b-squad not the mainstream, high-pressure, gotta-get-a-number-one boyband.

in reality, Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri always knew it was a training school so although Franz Tost can be an abrasive person* it's also set up to try and support drivers. yes, Yuki got sent to the gym and engineering and english classes but he got sent there by the team, y'know - not just told he had two weeks to fix it or fuck off.

being an F1 driver is fucking stressful wherever you are. every time you get in the car you have millions of pounds of machinery that you have to make between hundreds and thousands of adjustments to, while driving (hopefully) perfectly over any session. there are between hundreds and thousands of people in the team who are expecting you not to fuck up their work. there are millions of sponsors' money and brands and you need to be able to deal with that straight out the gate, often not in your first language, often a long way from home with relatively little support around you. but TR/AT do at least expect that to be their drivers' situation, so there's a little more leaway.

now, with both RB drivers locked in for years, it's more philosophical what AT is exactly.

*Scott Speed probably would term him as more than abrasive but also, right back at you Scott Speed.

#f1 asks

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independentartistbuzz · 3 months

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Lovetta Entices on Strong New Single and Visualizer "Vuja De"

LOVETTA has just released her new single and video “Vuja De” today, February 8 via Kill Rock Stars. The single for “Vuja De” is Lovetta’s first single since last year’s lively song “Havin’ A Good Time” which received critical acclaim, Atwood Magazine states, “an uplifting and inspiring wash of warm, soul-stirring indie pop.”“Vuja De” flips the words “déjà vu,” delving into the essence of Lovetta’s breakup anthem. Produced by Pete Eddins (Drake, Aaron Dessner) it takes you on a journey of something or someone once familiar feeling strange and unfamiliar, echoing the universal ebb and flow of relationships. The accompanying video was produced and directed by Lovetta and her best friend, Whitni Resides.A native of Michigan, Lovetta now resides in Nashville, a perfect setting for Lovetta’s lyrics which touch upon not only love and heartbreak but powerful, resonating narratives of self-discovery, anxiety and mental health, yet ultimately finding balance and strength.Additionally, the remix for “Vuja De,” produced by Violetta’s Wyatt Oberholzer (Year of the Knife, Fixation, Chemical Fix) will drop on February 28th.Stay tuned for more to come from this beautifully sonic, multi-talented artist.Connect with Lovetta Via:Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

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