#'Danny how could you not realize how attached I am by the way I've been hiding from you for months'

[queenoftheimps]

OK but imagine if Season 3 kicks off, Daniel is still trying to figure out where Armand is while tagging along on the Rockstar Lestat tour for the second book, he's having no luck figuring out where Armand has squirrelled away, then he winds up at some concert venue chatting with some aging punk who's around his mortal age and it gets mildly flirty and then LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL, HERE COMES ARMAND WITH THE STEEL CHAIR

[dragonmasterhiccup]

She nodded, watching closely as he secured the buckles around Twilight. After he was finished, she moved over to where he was, and started tightening the saddle, feeding the leather straps through the buckles and securing it as tight as possible.

She shook the saddle lightly, her expression filled with pride as it didn’t budge at all. “I think that’s good!” She looked over at Hiccup. “Do you think it’s tight enough? I mean- I do, but you’re the expert here.”

At first, a huge smile made its way onto her face, mainly because it sounded like he was saying ‘yes’ with no strings attached. But he just had to ruin it. “Well, how else am I supposed to reach you expect for Terror mail? There’s not much else, especially if I’m, y’know, fifteen islands away.” She groaned in mild annoyance. “I don’t need hand-to-hand combat. One, that’ll take forever. Two, I have my bow, and three, nothing should happen if I don’t go to the islands you marked!” That wasn’t even mentioning the fact that Twilight could just fly high enough to stay out of range of any hunter boats they might come across.

In her opinion, he was worrying way too much. Just because she got kidnapped one time doesn’t mean anything. He was thinking too deep into it.

“And I’m not stupid y’know, I know how to stay away from suspicious looking people.”

(That’s great! I’m glad you had fun! 😄 And that’s amazing! I bet it was super delicious!!)

He watched as she secured the saddle, and returned a smile after she checked that it wouldn't budge. Just to be sure, he checked it as well, and nodded in approval. "Well done! It's perfect."

He guided Twilight to sit close to the ground again. "Alright, now mount up! You'll want to place your left foot first, then swing your right over the other side. Sounds obvious, I know, but you'd be surprised how many try to start with the wrong foot, only to end up sitting backwards on their dragons."

His eyebrows furrowed together, understanding why she was frustrated, but not understanding how she didn't realize how important these things were.

"A distress signal can be seen for much farther out than you'd think. But you're right, how much help could I be if you're fifteen islands away?" He sighed, sitting down in a nearby stool that was typically used for dragon claw trimmings. "And what if I think an island is perfectly safe, just for hunters to be lurking there? It's been months, close to a year since I've been able to leave Berk. I know which islands have dangerous dragons, but people are too unpredictable." He paused, almost at a loss for words.

He took a breath, standing back up. "I know you can handle yourself, and I know Twilight will be there to protect you. But if you think hand to hand combat training will take too long, you're underestimating just how long it will take to learn to ride Twilight and build up that trust between you two. It's one thing to be close when you're on the ground, but in the air? You're one unit, and the stakes are so much higher. Sure. You know what the hunter boats look like. What if they're on the opposite side of the island? Or in a secluded cove? You need to be ready for anything, Danny."

Oh, gods. He was sounding like his father. Not always a bad thing, but in this case? Probably bad. He inwardly braced himself, because he suspected that Danny would not be happy with his response, but it was the truth.

[sleepingwithinkink2-0]

A Friend In The Darkness fragment #65

People admire my story, the adventures they devour with a longing of their own ...they listen to my stories with awe , but they swallow only half of the story .The idea of freedom, of exploring and meeting new people, but they don't see the burden that I carry beneath my eyes, dark shadows that never seem to disappear ... The reality; it's lonely...breath taking at best ..At the begining I was looking , searching for something. For as long as I could remember there was a sadness cradled tucked away beneath my ribs, spreading like cancer ...I wanted to find a cure, from the dark nights that loomed over the horizon like a thunderstorm, bruised and heavy ...I don't know when it started, perhaps it was growing inside me the moment I was brought into this world...thriving off my experiences. Careless with my heart, my body . Young dumb and stupid..I never could stay in one place...afraid I ll grow attach and lose it and my whole routine would crumbling like sandcastles, as reckless and random as I seem. I crave normalcy ...The older I get the more I realize nothing in this life is guaranteed and that scares me...Lately I've been writing for myself trying to define who I m the only way I know, through words, perhaps together as a whole something might come out..an answer to this unsettling journey..As I wonder through the hallway I feel as if I don't fit here, and to be honest I never felt like I fit any where. I know this idea is just in my head, but that's enough to make it matter right...I thought I found away out, but it was momentary, till the trigger is pulled and I begin to fade in and out... I never know who I ll be when I wake up...The happy Danny that is excited for what the new day will bring, laughing and smiling or the Danny that can't find the right words, the thoughts in his head louder than the voice of those that stand before him. Who can't seem to remember how to smile..Apart of me knows you will read this. The smell of balsam and cedar will give you away lingering in the stitches of the pages , a faint reminder that our lives are still entangled even in the silence we allowed to grow between us ... you will imagine your self sitting across from me, watching me write with a sadness of knowing . Perhaps that's why I continue to stay just in case you need me, a friend in the darkness..

-Danny Sheehan

11.3.21

3:35 am

[ma-gic-gay]

So this is a new one of these and the other one is probably over so yeah

It's a weird Christmas.

It marks a year since anyone last saw Sonny, a year since Julian's death, and a year full of drama, as one would expect.

Michael and Willow had had another child, a girl this time. Her name was Ophelia and Wiley loved being a big brother to her. The pair had also burned their annulment papers when they'd realized she was pregnant and finally admitted their feelings for each other. Watching them together had probably been the highlight of the year for their family.

Sam had started hooking up with Dante much to the chagrin of, well, everyone. It had started as a few random hookups but changed quickly into an actual relationship, testing several familial bonds.

Luckily, that disaster on wheels had been halted when Lulu had woken up from her coma. Lulu and Dante got back together and fell in love, again.

Sasha and Brando had formed a relationship as well, which was quite a surprise at first glance but made sense after a few weeks.

"Carly? You okay?" Jason asks. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't completely broke down yet, or ran away. The furthest she'd ran was the island and even then, it was only a few hours no one knew where she was, since he couldn't teleport and it took that long to get to the island.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," she responds, faking a smile.

"Tell that to the tears in your eyes and obviously fake smile," he says to her. "What are you thinking about?"

"It's been a year since any of us have heard from Sonny. For all we know, he's dead. Hell, he probably is. I know I should give up and just agree to a funeral, but it feels wrong to do that without a body," Carly sighs, head in her hands in an effort to hide her tears. "It feels wrong for him to not be here. Last Christmas, we were convinced he'd be home by now and now it's like we've all resigned ourselves to him being dead."

"If it doesn't feel right to have a funeral, don't have one. I've known you for a long time, and your instincts are right a lot of the time. Just because Sonny's not confirmed dead doesn't mean he's not," Jason frowns, putting his arm around her and rubbing circles along her back.

Sonny's "death" meant he had to step up in more ways than one. This had marked the year of Jason running the mob, which he'd practically been doing before but was actually doing now. He'd also had to become sort of a surrogate husband to Carly to the point he practically lives there by now. The kids hadn't questioned it; they'd asked a few times if there was anything going on there but after getting a firm no there hadn't been anything else from them in forms of questioning their relationship status. It was what it was and that was the same friendship they'd always had.

There had been times even Danny had questioned why they were at that house so much, to the point he once asked Carly if they were together or not.

You know it's reaching an odd point when a twelve year old is asking if you're in love with your best friend.

Of course, they didn't take into consideration the fact the whole town thought they were together. Again. Everyone had assumed, based off of how much time they'd been spending together- surprisingly more than normal- and the fact that he'd all but moved into the house that they were together.

That was a fun one to realize when he'd gotten shot and everyone had assured her that her boyfriend would be fine.

It just wasn't happening, they were friends. Anything more could complicate it and complicated almost always meant that there would be fights they couldn't go to each other to uncomplicate.

"I know that, but I just don't want to live knowing that there's a chance he could be alive somewhere and he's been kidnapped or forgotten his name or something. It's like I'm stuck in this neverending circle where there's barely any hope but I can't pretend there's none either. Sometimes, I wish that the police would show up with a body and I would have to confirm that yes, he is dead, just so that I could get out of this loop," Carly sobs. "And then I feel terrible for wishing he was dead because I love him, you know, but then at the same time, I can't help but feel like I need closure."

"That's not a bad thing, to need closure. None of us get any closure when it comes to this, Carly. You're not a bad person for wanting some," he reminds her. "You've been grieving for a year a man you don't even know for sure is dead. It doesn't make you bad to want to have something definite."

"But wanting my husband dead? That's dark," she argues with him.

"You want to know if he's dead or alive, something to confirm what's happened to him. I hate to break it to you but you don't qualify as a terrible person," Jason chuckles. "You've never killed someone, never hurt a kid."

"I shot a dude in open court, I almost killed AJ. I've done a lot of questionable things in my life, Jason," Carly fights back.

She's not wrong, persay, but she's not right. "That stuff doesn't make you a bad person. Morally grey? Yes. Bad? No. You do what you think is best and you're impulsive. If something's not going your way, you'll tip the scales. It's just how you are. None of that makes you a bad person. Some people might not like it, but you've never killed someone or hurt a kid, so in my book you're a good person."

Carly's head comes out of her hands for a minute and he smiles, wiping away the tears. "Well you're not a bad person either. You'd never hurt a kid and you only kill in self defense or if the person's really bad and threatening someone you care about. It's not like you wake up and go kill someone for shits and giggles. You mourn the people you kill and feel bad about it. Only a purely horrible person wouldn't feel bad about their murders."

"Neither of us are bad people, let's just agree on that at least."

"Fine," she relents finally. That only took a year. "I miss Sonny. Especially this time of year. Last year, he read Donna and Avery the Grinch and he had the world's worst Grinch voice. I practically begged him to read another book because of how bad it was. But this year, I wish he would be able to read it to them."

"I miss him too," Jason admits. "It's been a hell of a year without him."

"That it has. So much has changed," she agrees with him, shifting her position on the couch so she's lying her head on his lap.

That's probably why the kids thought they were dating.

He plays with her hair as she laughs, remembering some obscure detail about his telling of the Grinch and decorating for Christmas.

Scratch that, this is definitely why everyone thinks they're together.

"Hey Mom, Jason," Joss greets them, coming in from the kitchen. "I'm going to Trina's. Donna's with Ophelia at the Quartermaine's and Avery's with Ava."

"Alright sweetie, have fun," Carly bids her daughter goodbye, sighing. "Why is she so adult now? I mean, I can remember when she was born and it feels like yesterday. Hell, Michael's birth feels like yesterday. And they're both so grown up."

"Time flies when you're having fun," he answers.

"Where'd you get that? A throw pillow or some advice of my mother's?"

"A card someone sent me back when I was in the hospital. Needless to say, that card got tossed in the trash as soon as you'd let me stand up to go to the trash."

"Who the hell sent that to you of all people?"

"No clue. It didn't have a name attached."

"Huh. Well, it's a terrible expression. Too throw pillow. The real answer would be that we're aging, sadly," Carly sighs again, equally as dramatic. "Granted, I still look like I'm 27, but somehow I've aged."

"Age is but a number."

"You sound like a Hallmark card."

"Rude."

"You do!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm aging as well. You're not in this whole getting old thing alone. Provided, of course, that you agree to age," he smirks.

"I don't have anything better to do, sadly, so I suppose I'll agree to getting older. But I refuse to have a gray hair."

"Then go to the salon when you notice one and dye your hair."

"I plan on it," the blonde smiles at him before changing the topic. "Do you think we're weird?"

"That came out of nowhere."

"Answer the question."

"No?"

"That sounded like a question."

"Carly, how am I supposed to answer this one? I don't know, maybe?" Jason says, though most of it comes out as a question.

"Well, I mean, think of it. Sonny's been presumed dead for a year. You've been in charge of the business and been there for all of us in more ways than I can count. Seriously, I think Donna sees you as a father," Carly chuckles. "And you've listened to me crying and losing it. Hell, you spent a month and a half at the island just so I wouldn't be alone."

"Hey, you're family. I was happy to do all of those things. Besides, you wouldn't leave my side when I got shot. Or for a very long month after that," he jokes.

"I know but you didn't have to do that. You didn't have to step up and parent the kids. You already had Danny and Scout and the breakup with Sam to deal with, that's a lot at once. Not to mention, taking over the business and grieving Sonny. And dealing with me. All at the same time," she smiles. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, but you had no obligation to do any of that."

"Carly, do you think I'd be here right now if I didn't want to? You know me better than that. I love you and the kids and want to be there for all of you. So far, I've only gotten shot once and that was unrelated, so I'd consider this a pretty good experience."

The blonde scoffs at him and he chuckles. "Not funny. You could've died."

Rolling his eyes, he reminds her, "I didn't."

"Well you're not allowed to get shot for a long time."

"I'll take getting shot off of my to do list."

"Don't you dare joke about this!"

"Alright. Look at me. I'm not going to die anytime soon. I promise. It takes a lot more than a measly bullet to kill me, after all. Not even Russian madmen could do it," he says seriously.

"Good. Because if you do that to me again, I'll have no choice but to resign myself to a life in either prison or Ferncliff," she says half seriously, getting a laugh out of Jason.

It's not entirely unrealistic she'd end up in one of those positions, especially given that it's already happened. Repeatedly.

Maybe there's a sign she should stop doing dangerous things.

Almost as though she's being told to by something inside her, Carly connects her lips with his.

to be continued

why do i get myself into these things smh