#I also like how the houseguests are older

[julieeexcheeen]

Matt and Luke look like if you ask AI to generate a white male BB houseguest…

[cursedcola]

Prompt: "Will You Marry Me?" - Proposal Headcannons Characters: Everyone :) Part(s): Heartslabyul, Savanaclaw, Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, Diasomnia( pt.1 Here!)(pt.2) Fandom: Twisted Wonderland Warning(s): None. I mean, unless you don't want to marry any of them. Just don't read if that's the case. Note: These are all if he is the one proposing btw. Also, I went overboard. So much that I exceeded the character limit and need to post Diasomnia in 2 parts. I have favorites I guess :/

Malleus experienced more firsts over the course of three years than the duration of his life. His first board game session, his first group trip with peers, his first taste of carnival food, his first sleepover, his first true friend - so, so many firsts. All a byproduct of one person walking into his life and taking a genuine interest in him.

You were the first houseguest he personally invited over to Diasomnia. Not for a tour, not for business, not on behalf of another - no. You were Malleus' houseguest, there to visit Malleus and spend time with Malleus. The snacks prepared were for you both to share. The lounge seating reserved for your company. His first time hosting for fun.

You were the first person he ever got a present for outside of his family. How quick your birthday had come, and how startled he became to find he cared. You were older. Growing so quick and changing at an alarming pace. He could see it in your features and mannerisms. Malleus knew that humans aged at a much faster rate than fae. Silver sprouted like a beanstalk. Yet you were blossoming like a flower in spring. How long until you'd wither?

Malleus cared. Not out of curiosity, but something deeper. Malleus did not want a servant to pick your gift, not even his closest companions. He desired to adhere to human custom and do the task himself. He did not trust another to pick something meaningful and to your preference.

You were the first to make him laugh. Your humor being like none he had heard before. Others tend to correct themselves in Malleus' presence, or try to cater to 'his' taste. Even those closest to him, often sharing a joke that flies over his head without any explanation. You did no such thing. Your humor was curious, and perhaps a bit crude. The jokes did fail to land with him, but he still found them funny regardless.

You were the first to make him yearn. Malleus had felt loneliness before. He's been bound in it's searing clutches and taunted. Yet his rooted longing never compelled him to change. He never felt jealous. Until your smile became another's and he felt a hot pit in his stomach. One different than his fiery magic.

You were his first desire.

Malleus fumbled and panicked. He had finally found a friend, yet he wanted more. The realization striking him deep. The first want he had no guarantee of obtaining. Yet his need for you was strong. He could not lose you. Malleus begun to value your presence. Your joy. The new life you breathed into him. He held it as dear as his family. You became his fondest treasure.

Malleus needed to ensure that you would never be taken from him. That you would never change.

You were also his first failure. On the dawn of your second year and his graduation, Malleus proposed. He had forgone all customs and jumped straight to marriage. Love to the fae was a lifetime bond. No power could chain you to him stronger than matrimony. Which is why he demanded your presence in the gardens after the ending ceremony. He decorated according to your tastes, with colorful lanterns and firefly lights strewn across the plants.

He saw the hope in your eyes. The way they sparkled with affection and pride bloomed knowing that he was the cause.

“Malleus….It’s so beautiful. Did you prepare this just for me?” You ask, clutching your hands to your chest. He smiles, reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a black velvet box in the shape of a rose.

“I’m happy to see you like it; however, I hope this offering pleases you more”

Malleus opens the box to reveal a ring. Your eyes widen owlishly and he interprets it as a good sign. Until you step back.

“Oh Malleus….I can’t accept this. We aren’t even dating!” You deny his unspoken proposal with a shaken tone Malleus’ is unfamiliar with. Not from you.

“Why not? I love you. Is that not enough? Do you not love me?”

He fails to understand why you declined. He spent countless hours studying human customs and expression. No. Studying you. He was confident you returned his affections. So why? Why not leave this place and join him?

You explain to him that you’re incapable of marrying someone you haven’t spent time with romantically. That you do care about him. That you liked him and did feel for him. That you could love him, but not so suddenly. You have friends at NRC and didn’t want to leave. Not to mention how him marrying a human, especially with no warning, would cause so many political problems.

Of course he had already taken all this into consideration. He didn’t care about all that, yet bit his tongue from speaking his mind. Another first for Malleus.

“What if I abide by your terms? Would you allow me to court you properly?” He cuts into your sea of reasons not to be together. They weren’t his concern. Only you.

This gets you. He clearly wasn’t listening. Love blinded the average person, and Malleus’ heart bled. You consider his offer, and agree to his courtship. It would be difficult to maintain considering your distance and his status. Yet they were fickle matters to Malleus.

You were his first failure, yet he didn’t mind. There was no true victory without a bit of labor.

The change that he so feared, it became something Malleus adored. Every time he would whisk you away from NRC, or return for a visit - you were different. You had a new story to share, or had changed your appearance. At first he began to panic once again at how quickly you seemed to evolve without him.

And one day he realized that you would keep changing. He’d see a new you forever. All these new versions. A constant spark and longing that made him realize how precious each one was. They would come whether he bid them to or not - so he had to cherish them. Every version of you was one he loved and lost. Yet the fact that another would emerge kept his heart complacent.

You were his first kiss on a dewy fall morning. You were his first heartfelt dance, dressed in shimmery black satin and pearls that he gifted. You were his first goodnight kiss, and first morning embrace. You were his first comfort after tragedy struck and his first sympathetic heartache. You were everything.

It was no longer about chaining you. He loved his firsts. He would forever remember them.

His first goodbye.

On the cusp of your 3rd year coming to a close, Malleus prepared the ring from two years prior. He would gift it to you after your graduation. It would be yours whether you accepted the meaning behind it or not - the ring could go to no one else.

An announcement arrives to him the week prior via pen and paper. Hand written by you and oh how he so loved your letters. Malleus opened it with calm delight, yet as his eyes traveled across the words he forgot how to control his strength. The paper alit in flames.

‘The Headmaster found a way to send me home. Would you come for a visit?’

The letter was not so blunt, but that’s all he could comprehend. Malleus was not ready to say goodbye. He once thought his greatest fear was to watch his flower wilt, yet now it must be cut to make a bouquet.

As much as it tore him apart, Malleus had to let you go. He couldn’t root you to soil forever. His hands unconsciously drift to the velvet rose box tucked safely in his breast pocket.

It’s only natural you’d be the source of some of Malleus’ lasts. He would never love another.

He joins you days before your ceremony. You explain to him the procedure to return, and he bites his tongue once again. He encourages you, and is happy that you’re happy. The ring burns a hole where his heart lies yet he continues on with grace, ignoring the cautious behavior of your peers whenever he’s around. The only opinion he cared for was yours, and he’d stay as long as you needed.

Malleus missed the way your heart sought his. The way you gave him chance after chance to ask you to stay. How you clung to him despite the roles normally being reversed.

“I guess this is goodbye. I’ll miss you,” you whisper, holding Malleus’ hand and glancing at the glowing portal behind him. Malleus smiles, his eyes softening as he leans forward to kiss your forehead.

“I will never forget your heart,” he murmurs against your skin, and reaches into his breast pocket with fluid movements. Malleus places the velvet rose box in your hands, cradling them gently with both of his.

“This is yours. I had it made for your finger alone, and only you will be the one to wear it. My heart belongs to you. Let this be my final selfish wish, but I hope you will think of me when you look upon it”

Malleus doesn’t understand why you break down. The way you clutch the box to your chest and look at him with such pain. He thought you wanted to go home. Is it not what you waited so long for?

He cannot be strong when you’re crying. How can you be so cruel. He won’t be able to -

“I want to be with you. I love you,” you whisper yet he hears it perfectly clear.

Malleus’ heart stutters and he clutches your shoulders. With one hand he tilts your chin up to look at him. Your eyes splotched with red irritation and glassy with sorrow. He wipes at their edges with his thumbs, cupping your cheeks ans looking at you for any sign of doubt. Any insincerity or fear. Your expression from years prior still lives rent free in his mind…he would not risk your happiness for his selfishness.

He finds nothing and pulls you in his arms. For the first time, Malleus sheds tears born from love. From relief. He wraps his arms protectively around you, and tucks his chin over your head.

“If you love something, let it be free. If it was meant to be yours then it will come back willingly. This is a saying of humans, is it not? I could not have you at the cost of your happiness. You do not deserve such a tainted love…but if this is truly what you desire, then I will not cease my efforts. You are mine, and I will eternally be yours,”

{Malleus’ ring is hand crafted by the royal blacksmith. Some would assume that there is a ring passed down through generations of the Draconia bloodline. There is not. The fae do not follow such traditions, yet Malleus would not instill all his values onto you. If it is a ring you need, then it is a ring he will get. He decides to reforge a gem plucked from his mother’s staff. The ring is made especially for you, with a teardrop-cut of magic-infused emerald as the focus point. It’s enchanted to reject any hand other than your own, and morphs to the size of your finger. It is subtle, made of pure gold, and a symbol of union between fae and mankind.}

"One should never make a vow of eternal love lightly. Take it from someone with ample life experience"

Lilia often imposes advice without any prompting. The musings of an old man normally went in and out of people's ears anyways. Sometimes it takes experience to learn, and no matter how we try to warn our children - fate is fate. They will go through the motions just as the people before them. Especially when it comes to trials of the heart such as love and loss.

Lilia knows both intimately. They've forged the man he is.

Philia: Love of friendship and equals. His peers, his comrades in arms, his fellow fae. The friends he has lost through death and distance. Those he fought to protect.

Storge: Parental love. To raise the son of his closest friends, and the blood of his sworn enemy. Lilia has fought through loss to feel the gratification of fatherhood. Lilia loves his children.

Agape: Love of man. This one took work. It took losing all he had, and then losing more. Hundreds of years of healing and trying to be better. Even in his final stretch Lilia is still learning this love.

Eros: Passionate, unconditional love. Lilia has felt this once, and only once. The wound still fresh with a dribble of salt steadily halting the healing process. To feel eros is a beautiful thing, but to have it ripped away is enough to kill.

Lilia experienced his fair share, and now enjoys watching those in the prime of life seek out love. He doesn't engage in romantic gossip, but enjoys watching others live their lives. One of his biggest curiosities being you, oddly enough.

This is because you've shown no interest in feeling love of any kind. Being the nosy man he is, Lilia finds your dismissal of others a bit concerning. He's not the most open person himself, yet you're a young human. This is when you should be wild! Surely you must feel something, considering all the 'escapades' you've been on with other students. The best way to bond is over shared trauma - he's not endorsing it. Just stating a fact.

"It's nothing personal. I'd rather not get too attached considering my living circumstances, if you catch my drift" you say in response to his prying.

He indeed 'catches the drift' and sees a bit of himself reflected in you. You were not unkind, yet also not overzealous. You did not push others away, yet also made an effort to protect yourself. For all the kind deeds you've done, Lilia knew better than to think it a case of bleeding heart syndrome. You remind him of how he was when deciding to raise Silver - afraid and very good at hiding it for the sake of others.

He decides to step in against his better judgement. If anything to repay the kindness you've done Malleus and his two youngsters. He couldn't watch you waste the precious life you’ve been given huddled away in isolation. Lilia would become your confident, as he is the most equipped to endure inevitably bidding farewell. If anything he will encourage you to forge stronger bonds of your own accord without fear.

He does an outstanding job at being the extrovert adopting an introvert. His favorite hobby being to startle you - popping out from random places like trees, bushes, the ceiling, your closet, etc. So much that you grow accustomed to his antics and expect them. Going so far as to always carry hard candies in your coat pocket as a peace offering.

He invites you to play online video games, go shopping, and sometimes pops by your dorm with Malleus. However his visits soon become solo, sensing that his adopted son didn't enjoy his 'nightly stroll' with his best friend being invaded. Lilia didn't mind - it meant that he'd get your company all to himself! There was nothing like watching a few horror flicks and tormenting Grimm after them. You even had a guest room in case he felt too ‘lazy’ to fly home.

On your birthday, he bakes a cake and leaves it on your kitchen windowsill. You found it, and even thanked him 'happily' later that day. He never said he was the chef though....you must have quite a keen sense of taste! That or he must be so talented that you know his cooking by heart!

Lilia felt a sense of relief, seeing your mannerisms shift from neutral to happy as time passed. It was hard work ebbing away at those walls of yours. It's not good for humans to be stressed. It lessens their already short lifespan.

He really should step aside. Let you befriend more humans and people that will support your journey. Except he doesn't want to. Philia's taken root in his heart - you're now a friend. An actual one.

So...he doesn't let go.

You join the college's boardgame club, and Lilia feels honored that he's the first you ask to play with. Each time you sought his company made him feel young again. Thrills did tend to follow your wake after all.

You often spent many evenings teaching Malleus, Silver, and even Sebek about your world. Not something Lilia planned for, but seeing you open up about it put his mind at ease. The different cultures, history, trends - Lilia listens in happily as well. Going so far as to learn some of your favorite recipes. He wants to cook them right away, but agrees to wait for your company. You grew nervous when he brought the topic up, possibly because you didn't want to be left out? Surely, that must be why.

Soon comes another January 1st - Signifying a new year and also Lilia’s birthday. The night prior he was out on the prowl, flying free throughout campus, watching people party and celebrate. Normally he’d spend this evening having fun of his own, but being caged at a school left him little chances to be free. Jumping across rooftops and sneaking around doing parkour was a trip down memory lane. The fireworks and lively people made for an excellent atmosphere.

By chance he happened on your rooftop, and decided to pop in for a quick respite. Slipping in through an open window was child’s play, as was avoiding your paranormal houseguests and popping in and out of rooms.

His keen hearing picks up your voice coming from the main bedroom - and normally he wouldn’t invade a personal space but the door was open. So obviously it was an invitation. He sticks to the ceiling and crawls to a shrouded corner with a mischievous grin.

How unsuspecting you were - dressed up in fancy clothes and muttering to yourself while in front of a floor length mirror. Lilia thinks you’re going to a party and is prepping to tag along -

“Alright. I can do this,” you mutter and turn around to pace the floor. A neatly wrapped present is clutched tight in your hands - wrapped in ivory paper with a sparkly pink ribbon. Lilia freezes just when he’s about to jump down, and clings back to the wall. “Just give it to him. Give it and tell him how you feel,” you turn towards the mirror, holding the box out, “Hello there Lilia. Yes, this is a birthday present. Yes, you’re a year older, how exciting! By the way I really like you so would you want to go on a date?” You fall silent, cringing in disgust at your reflection before sitting on the bed, “Ah. That was such dogshit”

Lilia exits as swift as he entered. The night air whips against his skin as he transforms into a bat and is already on the way back home. The implications of what he just witnessed weighing heavily on his mind.

This would not be the first time someone has caught feelings for him. You don't go 700 years without any suitors - he'd always turn them down with careful consideration.

Except he doesn't want to this time. That's the major issue.

The flight home was long, with purposeful detours until he felt tired enough to retire. A familiar bitter ache stung his heart. He'd only felt this disappointment once prior, and swore off letting it bud again.

Eros.

Lilia was in love too. He recognized the passion growing long before this moment, and against his better judgement let it fester.

"Seems I'm not as equipped to handle this as I once believed" he says to no-one and moves to play some online games instead of sleeping.

Lilia once felt a love he couldn’t express through anything other than fealty and devotion. It was a darker time where there was no promise of future. He swore not to endure that pain again - yet this is similar yet also different. The love is blooming effortlessly. His devotion is growing. The desire is there and so is the fear. All the same feelings yet without the dire weight of external forces adding pressure. This time it’s his choice to follow through. There’s no bigger force at play stopping him. Not even your mortality, considering how his lifespan is almost at its close.

Yet for all his years of wisdom, the thought of putting his heart out was still as frightening as the first.

In truth, Lilia had ulterior reasons for pursuing your companionship other than worry or repaying a debt. Your behaviors did remind him of his past self. That was no lie. He simply felt affection blooming upon your first meeting and thought having your friendship would morph it into something more tame. He had a habit of drawing in lost souls - what was one more?

Now the affection is stronger, and you return it.

Heavens, was he being given another chance? After all these years.

You return it. It's requited. He needn't hide it for the sake of someone else's happiness. Lilia could be selfish, if only he let himself.

The next day, Lilia finds an ivory box with a sparkly pink ribbon outside his door. A neatly written letter is attached, with the words 'Happy Birthday' written on the front. His name is written on the tag in black ink, with your name signed as the sender.

Lilia picks it up and undoes the wrapping with nimble movements. Inside is an assortment of treats that he wanted to try from your home, and a neatly folded letter atop them. It details exactly what was expected, a perfect explanation of your feelings that's entirely different than the nervous display he intruded upon.

He looks around the hallway, checking to see if you’re nearby before disappearing without a trace. Nothing but an open door showing that he left.

Everything after is a blur. While doing the dishes back at your dorm and trying not to think of the present - Lilia appears out of nowhere, startling you for what was probably the first time in months. His typical cheeky grin and snicker were nowhere in sight.

He says one thing, “Are you certain?”. The words held a heavy meaning for the both of you.

Asking if he’s willing to go for one last chance. To take one final risk or simply be satisfied with all he’s accomplished thus far. It asks if you’re willing to do the same - to risk everything you’ve built in one fell swoop.

You nod, and Lilia smiles. Not an impish smirk or a snarky grin. A true, soft smile that is full of released tension. He happily hugs you from behind as you finish working in silence, gradually slipping back to his playful ways yet not entirely. He would remain the out of touch peepaw that you so loved to tease him as, but a bit of his youthful spirit was being revived. His inner self being healed, perhaps.

He loves you, and the world hasn’t split in two. It was his time.

Finally.

From then on he had no reservations in loving you. This was a new form of eros. A new passion filled with joy and living for the moment - versus the weight of time holding him back like it did when he was younger. Nothing changed in your dynamic other than he now had the strength to let himself love freely.

Which is exactly why he wastes no more time. Just as he told you off hand long ago, one should not make a vow of eternal love lightly. He’d take his own advice and seek his own happiness for the first time in hundreds of years.

On a random night with no inkling of warning, Lilia drags you out of bed to the Ramshackle rooftop in nothing but your nightclothes. It wasn’t the first time he’d ask for a midnight escapade - just for the thrill and surprise, most of the time. He loved to keep things exciting.

Except he was being far too gentle. Far too nostalgic. He sits you down on the edge of the roof and puts his cardigan over your shoulders. Not a word passes between you as he tucks it snug around your shoulders - his hand tracing the line of your cheekbones, down your arms and to your hands. He cradles them gently, never taking his eyes from yours.

Then something foreign glimmers against your finger. In an effortless motion, he slipped the ring on without pause. You can’t help but stare at the gem in thought, looking between it and Lilia’s thoughtful expression over and over.

Lilia nods, taking your hand in his and running his thumb over the ring - admiring it against your skin.

“I’ve lived many years. Lead many lives. I thought I had accepted my nearing end, yet I find myself wanting more. I want to grey with grace at your side. To enjoy mundane evenings - greet you come morning and kiss you to seal a day’s end. I want my last life to be at your side, if only you will have me”

{A blood red garnet placed inside a blossom frame. Lilia’s ring is made of silver, and gives the illusion of a red rose in a bed of vines. Red is the color of passion, devotion, and unconditional love. Red roses hold this very meaning in the language of flowers. Lilia has felt this before - but you are his fated. You have chosen him simply for the person he is - not who he needs to be. He can finally be free and at peace. Your love is something he can selfishly hoard and it gives him the desire to enjoy life. He feels full. Happy. He hopes that this ring shows that he wants to live for the moment by your side, eternally}

[melanieph321]

Hellooo I don’t know how to write well so I’m sending this to you, it’s just something that has been on my mind and since you are my favourite writer I wanted to make this request.

So the reader is the sister of a footballer and they are all together on a villa or something, travelling with family, but the reader’s sister is dating the reader’s ex and take him with her to the trip and like the whole family knows so the brother (I was thinking maybe Bernardo) invites his teammate (Ruben Dias) to join them cause he knew the reader and him would get along well and it’s all like flirty between them and maybe even smutty and leaving the sister and ex jealous

Thank you and sorry for the long ass request 🤍

This, this is the request!!! 🙌

Ruben Dias x Reader - The Houseguest (Part 1)

Enjoy!

"You're bringing who?"

You couldn't believe it. You traveled all the way from your university in Porto for the annual vacation with your family, only to find out that you sister was bringing her boyfriend who is also your ex.

"Come on Y/N. It's not like it would be wierd or anything, you guys broke up when you were what, fifteen?"

"Seventeen actually." You corrected and your sister was right, perhaps it wouldn't be that wierd for her to bring your ex, they had been together for over two years now, a long enough time for you to cope with the situation. Still, he was your first love and that's a feeling that's left It's marks.

"I thought this was a family vacation?" You said, folding your arms.

"It's is." Your mother budged in as she came downstairs, carrying a suitcase.

"Then how come Anita gets to bring her boyfriend, ergo, not a family member."

Your sister rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her mom, she's just jealous."

"Who's jealous?" Bernardo your older brother said,  he came downstairs carrying his suitcase along with you dad's suitcase. Your dad followed behind him, his bad hip forcing him to lean against the railings.

"Y/N" Your sister said. "I'm bringing Tomàs with me to Portimão this weekend which she thinks is wierd."

"Well she's right, that is wierd."

"Told you!" You said, sticking your tounge out at Anita.

Bernardo chuckled.

You were glad that somone seemed to have your back in this.

"Now, now children let's not argue." Your dad said, the pacemaker in the family. "There is room for everybody at the villa, ex boyfriends or not."

"Exactly." Anita said and carried on to take her luggage out to the car.

"I can't believe I turned down the invitation to go to Cancun with my friends for this." You muttered.

"There there." Your mother patted your back and led you out the house. "You'll see, it will be just like old times."

It wasn't.

During old times the drive from Lisbon to Portimão were a bliss for you and your family. You children would sit in the back whilst your parents took turns driving. Usually you'd be the one to sit in the middle, although you hated it. You sucked at rock papper scissors, but only because Anita and Bernardo had tricked you for years, convincing you to always open a game with paper. Unfortunately for you everything beats paper.

"We're here!"

No, the drive to the villa this year had been far from enjoyable. Firstly your family had to split into two cars because of all the luggage. You and Anita in one car whilst Bernardo drove your parents in the other. It was all going smooth, but eventually you had to stop and pick up Tomàs which resulted in the awkwardest two hours in your life.

Arriving at the villa though, he had actually pulled you aside to exchanged a few words.

"I know you're not happy with me coming along this weekend."

"What, no. Who told you that?"

He smiled. "You always were a terrible liar Y/N."

"I pretended to enjoy your cooking didn't I?" You said, knowing Tomas had been a terrible cook, but which seventeen year old boy wasn't?

"I just hope we can get along this weekend." He said. "I'll keep my distance if it helps."

There was no need for that though, apparently it was you who was forced to keep distance from everyone in the house.

"Why do I have to sleep in the poolhouse?" You asked as everyone settled down for dinner in the lovely villa your family has inherited through generations. It was located just off the cost. A ten minute walk from the beach, a paradise in itself.

"Because..." Your mother said, passing you the salad bowl "....your brothers friend is taking your room."

"Friend? What friend?" You frowned, shifting to Bernardo. He made you wait for him to chew his food, annoyingly slow, you might add.

"Yeah, my friend from Benfica is coming. Ruben. He'll be here tomorrow."

"Well that's not fair. How come no one told me to bring someone to this, not so family vacation."

"Of course you can bring a friend meu amor." Your mother patted your thigh under the table. "Why won't you asks the neighbors kids to come over tomorrow, play by the pool like you used to."

"Because I'm 23 years old mom, not six. Besides, I hate the Da Silva twins. They used to tell me that I had split ends."

A soft laughter spread around the table.

"You kind of do though." Anita said, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

"That's it."

You rose from your chair.

"Thank you for a lovely dinner, but I think I'm going to bed now."

"Oh come on, don't go." Your family teased you for your foul mood

"Ha ha, very funny." You sighed.

"Sleep tight sourface."

You withdrew from the rest of your family and hid out in the poolhouse, your accommodation for these few days. A part of you mourned that the magic of the villa had died out with time. Growing up simply changed things. If you were still twelve years old you wouldn't be in bed right now scrolling through Instagram on your phone. You'd be going for a midnight swim in the pool, pretending to be a mermaid. Or you and Bernardo would be camping out in the living room, planning which prank to pull on Anita. Those days were gone though. Good times always came to an end, luckily the construction of the villa stayed forever. Perhaps your future kids would enjoy it as much as you did as a child. Yes. That would be the dream.

Speaking of dreams, you woke up from yours after hearing something make a splash in the pool.

"No, no, no."

You rushed to put on a robe. The Da Silvas had a dog, a half blind dog that could still jump fences. It was a Welsh Corgi, a fat Welsh Corgi that would drop like a stone whenever it tried to go for a swim.

"Whatta, who are you?"

It wasn't the Da Silvas dog however. It was a man making a splash in the pool, a very tall man with shoulders you could climb on.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Bernardo said you slept like a hybernating bear."

"Pardon?"

He was handsome too. Once he went to remove his swim goggles the light from the water shimmered in his marron eyes.

"I'm sorry." He smiled. "I think you're brother must have wanted me to disturb you from your sleep."

"Sounds like my brother alright."

The man swam to the edge of the pool near you and raised himself out of the water with ease. Once he stood, the height difference between you two became very clear.

"I'm Ruben." He said, stretching out a hand for you to shake, towering over you like a tree.

"I'm...I'm..."

"Y/N?" He said, saving you from embarrassing yourself yet again. The draft you felt underneath your thin nightrobe was embarrassing enough.

"Your brother have told me about you."

"Of course he has." You sighed.

"Yeah, he told me if I could make the trip here earlier, your family's trip to the city tomorrow would be more fun for you if you had a friend."

"Um...come again?"

You couldn't believe what was coming out of this guys handsome mouth. Had Bernardo really set you up with his friend like this. Did he pity you this much?

"Isn't that what you said, that you wish to bring a friend?"

"Right." You nodded. Ruben seemed to notice the skepticism in your voice.

"But I am not your friend of course, I am your brothers."

"You said it, not I." You were glad that he was smart enough to understand the awkward in this.

"It's just that Bernardo has spoken to me about this girl that he would like to pursue."

"Girl? What girl?" You said, suprised by the devious look in Ruben's eyes.

"I dunno." He shrugged. "Some girl he has kept in contact with for a long time. "

" A girl that lives here, in Portimão?" You gasped. Of course Bernardo wanted to keep you distracted from disturbing him this weekend, he wanted to keep the whole family distracted whilst he go on and chat up his crush.

"How come I am the last one to know everything?" You said, folding your arms.

Ruben chuckled. His laughter was like a ray of light in the dark night.

"Well perhaps we could follow him tomorrow, get a glimpse of this mystery girl of his?" Ruben said, the water dabbed on his skin made it appear as if all of him shimmered with the light from the pool.

"I would like that." You said, surprisingly pleased with his first impression.

"I must let you go back to sleep." He said, throwing a glance over your shoulder towards the poolhouse. "Again, I'm sorry for waking you up."

"You didn't." You said, but only to be polite.

"But I did." Ruben smiled. Tomas was right, you were a terrible liar.

"Perhaps we could use tomorrow to get him back." He winked.

"I like the way you think Ruben." You said, a foolish smile on your face.

"Tomorrow it is then."

"Tomorrow." You nodded, slowly backing away towardds the poolhouse. You'd return to bed thinking perhaps you were sleeping walking or something. Forsure it was all a dream. Ruben wouldn't really be here in the morning, would he? It was just too good to be true. He was just too good to be true, wasn't he?

There was only one way to find out....

[hidefdoritos]

So, for Christmas break, I've been staying with a very considerate older couple. When I got here, I found out that they're also...comfortably wealthy. I wish I could have been live-blogging my stay here, but this summary post will have to suffice.

MOSS'S MUSINGS: HOUSEGUEST EDITION.

-Ask which dishes you are allowed to use. I didn't know this would even be a question--I grew up with one set of dishes--but it matters. The dishes we've been using are red with snowmen on them. Tonight I put my soup in a red bowl with Christmas trees around the edge. That was wrong and bad. I have been told that they "prefer I not use that" because it is "for special occasions," and was told to "set it aside so I can hand-wash it." Side note, rich people also own things that can't go in the dishwasher. Thankfully they told me about this ahead of time.

-In general, they make requests when they mean to give you instructions. "I'm having some ladies over tonight, so if you'd like to clean the bathroom, that would be fine." = I, Moss, need to clean the bathroom before I leave for work this morning. They're secret instructions--instructions in a suggestion-shaped suit. I like to think of it as a secret code that I'm very smart for solving. It helps me to not tear my hair out.

-House thing that shook me to the core: They have heat vents on the floors under the sinks! So you can wash your hands or wash dishes and your feets don't get cold!

-Speaking of heat: heated mattress pads exist! It's like a heating pad for your whole body. High settings are nice for muscle aches; low settings are so cozy to sleep on.

-Speaking of mattresses: The guest room has a Sleep Number mattress. I think it's a scam. It's a balloon under your mattress to adjust the firmness/softness. I am 240 lbs. If it isn't over half inflated, my butt's on the bedframe.

-They are weird about trash. All food waste is handled separately and taken straight to the bin in the garage so it doesn't smell. The kitchen trash can lid has a motion sensor. It's automatic. Scared the daylights out of me when I first walked past it to get water at night.

-Speaking of water, ask what water you should use. Tap is not acceptable to some! My hosts have a fridge dispenser. Unfortunately it dispenses cold water. I have worked around this by getting water in advance of my needs and letting it change toward room temp. Also, you can't put drinks on the furniture! Wood is different from the plastic-coated OSB furniture that I grew up with. I must remember now to use coasters because any spills or drips can leave white marks.

-When they start discussing money, try not to let your mouth drop open at the amount of zeroes. One host bought a new car and was bragging to me about how he only paid $28,000, and that was actually $5,000 off for having a certain type of credit card. I just worked the mental math for the discount percentage to keep my brain from exploding. $5k is more than I paid for my entire car. My family motto is "Buy used and drive it 'til the wheels fall off." I did not say so.

-Most importantly, they've been extremely kind and generous to me. They dropped my rent for the month down to almost nothing. They bought any groceries I expressed interest in. I'm going back to campus with some of the best homemade soup of my life, and a coupon for an oil change, and a new appreciation for dark chocolate almonds. When I got here, my hostess had set up a desk for my sewing machine in her sewing room (!! a whole room for sewing!!) and taught me to use a rotary cutter and an iron that's entirely too complex.

tl;dr rich-ish people are super weird about some things you wouldn't expect, and your head will explode a few times, but they're still people and my overall experience has been great.



[macaroni-and-antifreeze]

alright everybody it's time for another episode of

Ash Read The Instagram Comments & Wants To Hit Something!!!!

tl;dr: y'all would fuck a fence if it was white (i know Matt isn't but it isn't as funny shut up)

Ok I said I wouldn't go back but the bb instagram posted a surprisingly good edit of Tucker & Angela to The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived and I thought, stupidly, "oh! let's see the comments! they must be praising the artistry of this edit!"

NOPE.

It was all "waaaahhh you're gonna lose a million viewers after this" " *sniffles* time to cancel my paramount subscription, i don't *hic* need it now".

Ok maybe the sobbing wasn't there.

But it was also the classic "angela's a bully who can't cry real tears" bullshit (even though i kinda agree with the second part) and of course: "there needs to be a battle back!! cbs will get their ratings back somehow!!"

1. When they tell the evicted houseguest the votes or any game information they did not know, chances are they ain't coming back. They wouldn't tell them that if they were just a skip and a jump away from sequester.

2. CBS doesn't care if you live or die. You think that sex pest cares that you're unhappy? No!

3. You're not gonna stop watching. You're gonna keep whining like the pussies you are while still giving CBS your money.

And once again the golden boy can-do-no-wrong personality-of-damp-cardboard Matt is still getting jerked off by the comments section. In any other season, we wouldn't even fucking remember Matt!

God I fucking hate Instagram. I forget Tumblr is the millienial/older gen z website and we have a much different view of fandom and how the game should be played. Like we're fucking bored of kumbaya unanimous votes! Keep it interesting!

It is almost 1 in the morning so I do apologize for my harshness but it pisses me off

[dragonknightofsummerset]

So with zos having said that they'd like to revisit the older companions, and the recent letter mentioning they'd like to expand on old zones/quests, it got me thinking of things I'd for sure like to see.

Of course, the shipping side of my brain was like, "Romance??" Cause to me, all this info means that we can possibly get more depth with recurring npcs &, of course, companions who already have a different dynamic with the Vestige (or whoever your main character is) which could possibly lead to romance (please).

I especially would love Bastian & Mirri to get more added to their houseguest lines, an additional quest, since they're the only ones with just 2 & they're short compared to the newer companion's quests, more unique dialogue to the different world events (although I'd want this for all of the companions that came before Zerith & Tan) because I am enjoying both Zerith & Tan having unique dialogue to the different world events, (I do still have some to test though).

No offense, but Bastian saying "the gates to oblivion stand open" to anchors, oblivion portals, & harrowstorms is disappointing, especially after being spoiled with the newest companions. (I don't think Isobel or Ember say anything unique about the vents but Tanlorin does, so you see where I'm going with this.)

Speaking of Ember, I definitely think she needs more love, from my experience, having gone around with all the companions, she says the least while you're out harvesting, unless it's a runestone. I also think she should have dialogue and/or approval when you create an enchantment, as one of her lines is, "I can't wait to see what your going to do with that" when you harvest a runestone. Also, she definitely should be able to say something if your character is a werewolf, the same way Isobel voices some discomfort if your character is a vampire. (Which btw I'm still surprised Zerith-var doesn't say anything to your character if they're a vampire.)

Also, me personally, I find Ember's questline to be the weakest because we don't learn more about her, other than she was really close to her friends from skywatch, and we don't necessarily do anything related to her magic, which is a reason she gives for wanting to travel with us (to learn more). It's just sad cause there isn't a balance between helping her friends & learning more about Ember or discussing her magic with her.

Admittedly, I feel similarly to Isobel's questline, although it's a bit better written, but I think sometimes it comes off as the quest being more about Aurelia than Isobel.

Ah, anyway, I rambled on a lot there, but in regards to ALL the companions, I truly hope they get an update where they react to new life festival quests.

For example, Mirri reacting to the snow bear plunge, since she has mentioned her mother participating in it, and maybe reacting to the dunmer celebration too, or the orc one considering Mirri gives me the vibe of someone who likes to eat lol. Bastian reacting to the old life observence as well as the breton celebration since he grew up in daggerfall. Sharp-as-night enjoying the hissmir fishing. Tanlorin enjoying the mudball merriment, being the gremlin that they are, and also wanting to participate in the khajiit one to see how fast they could do it. Oh, and with Ember having lived in skywatch, maybe she's familiar with the mudball throwing as well as liking the five claw guile to test her lockpicking skills. Azandar probably would have negative things to say about running around in alik'r, maybe intrigued by the imperial's way of celebrating? Zerith-var's reaction to the khajiit holiday quest could be him mentioning that they celebrated differently in the order (or not at all?) & maybe he likes the altmer or argonian holiday quests because they're about giving and helping others. As for Isobel, I'm sure she'd like the performances done in the bretons holiday quest.

[bethanydelleman]

I’m researching a Regency figure (Seymour Fleming, Lady Worsley, in my profile pic) and her annual income as a single woman was £2000-3000 based on an inheritance of £52 thousand.

Which Austen figure is that income comparable to? What sort of standard of living would you expect her to have, especially as she would not be expected to run a house on that but live with relatives?

That income is directly comparable to Miss Sophia Grey from Sense & Sensibility, who has £50,000 and therefore a similar income to Seymour Fleming. Unfortunately, we know very little about Sophia Grey so I think a better comparison would be Mary Crawford or Caroline Bingley (£20,000 each, income around £1000/year).

Because yes, young marriageable women were basically required to live with relations. We know Sophia Grey, despite being of age, lived with guardians. When Mary Crawford can't stay at home because her uncle openly took his mistress publicly, she moves in with her half sister. Caroline Bingley seems to live with either her brother or her sister.

Now what would they spend their money on? Most likely clothes/jewlery: Sophia is described as, "a very fashionable looking young woman", and Caroline: "His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion". Just like today, fashions changed and there were more expensive fabrics if you had money to spend. It's also likely that these women would employ their own personal maid.

As for other living expenses, we don't know if a portion of their incomes went to whomever they lived with, that's never said in Austen and I haven't read about it, but we do know that will and contract law was pretty evolved. For example, Eliza Brandon was married to Mr. Brandon (Colonel Brandon's older brother) so the family could steal her fortune, meaning that even as their ward they couldn't touch it (we don't know how much she had by the way). It's likely that a portion of the income of a ward's fortune would go to their upkeep as a child but that the principle would be protected. Which means young Henry and Mary Crawford probably paid their own way in their uncle's care.

Mary Crawford doesn't seem to do anything to improve the standard of living at the Mansfield Parsonage, but I could see that Henry and Mary's money helped pay for the Admiral's cottage near Richmond.

Now I could totally see a brother like John Dashwood strongly suggesting he wants room and board paid, but someone like Bingley I could see not caring at all. Also, it was common for friends and relations to just come and stay for two months or whatever, so the culture around semi-permanent houseguests would be very different than today. Lastly, I have read that guests were expected to tip the staff, but I'm not sure if that would extend to someone like Mary Crawford.

On that point, Caroline and Mary both live with pretty well-off relations. It might be different if their guardians were poor. We don't see that sort of thing in Austen novels. Even the Brandons had a good income, they just squandered it.

Lastly, travel and fun. Caroline Bingley goes with her brother to Scarborough, which was beach-side resort sort of place according to my annotated edition. It's possible she would pay for travelling, for tickets to amusements, etc. Especially since she is likely of age or near it (we don't know her age).

Anyway, not a historian but this is everything suggested by the novels.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

okay final amc interview with the vampire rewatch thoughts:

- I liked the pacing much better. the middle episodes felt like a slog to watch week by week but I think it’s much better suited to bingeing. there were still choices I didn’t love, but the plot was going at a consistent clip the entire time.

- sam reid and jacob anderson were both fantastic! galaxy brained takes on both characters. bailey bass.. her acting is good but I am too southern to be able to take that accent seriously 😭😭 it was painful

- lestat is still given more narrative dignity and power than I would like. he’s introduced having his own wealth and he is the one giving louis money as opposed to being the broke unwanted houseguest who invited himself. he doesn’t use claudia to babytrap louis, louis has to beg him to change her (hated this!). he is given a personal pawn in antoinette, and is allowed to see the murder attempt coming. I feel like sam reid brings the necessary vain, overeager desperation to the role to offset it, but the plot is still like that

- I’m still deeply unsatisfied with all of the choices they made with claudia. I think it’s a huge cop out to have louis save her from a fire that she 100% would not have survived otherwise. I missed the very key book element of it being louis who killed her and lestat who “saved” her by making her into a vampire. I also disliked how cleanly her relationship with lestat becomes one of hate after episode five. there’s zero mixed feelings and they’re both so on the same page about how much they hate each other. I get what they’re trying to do with “they’re too alike therefore they can’t stand each other” but that doesn’t preclude a more complicated dynamic

- I hated that all of claudia’s issues surrounding never growing up seemed to revolve around sex and romance. she’s given the sweet romance/almost romance that ends poorly and marks her slide into being more recklessly murderous and her dissatisfaction with vampirism. meanwhile there’s the OC vampire they invented to assault her… as a monkey’s paw curls situation I guess?? and to cement her vulnerability to other vampires. a lot of her arc feels so defined by men in a way that’s not really about her. it also doesn’t help that in casting an older teenage actress, it’s harder to buy that she would run into issues day to day with living on her own or passing as a young looking adult. idk she just felt particularly Written By A Man to me

- I’m also still unsure how I feel about the more literal domestic violence allegory. with daniel’s cynical quips about stockholm syndrome and abuse. or the way the big fight is framed when it looks like louis might leave lestat for claudia. I don’t mind them becoming violent with each other, it seems like that would be second nature to vampires who are killing every night. their relationship with violence would simply be different than a typical person’s. but then I think the fight’s framing was perhaps too typical to make sense for vampires? idk idk I like abuse narratives and I think interview as a story has always been in part about usurping an abuser so… seeing physical abuse… makes sense but this also felt too on the nose. so I am on the fence

- the pilot and the finale were the strongest episodes by far. I really appreciate this series’ dedication to style and atmosphere. it’s the first piece of contemporary vampire media in a while that feels like it actually wants to be about vampires

- I was shrieking at every single little hint at the larger vc lore, even when I knew full well it was coming. I’m honestly too attached to the first book so any loose show adaptation was destined to be prickly for me but I have zero reservations about the rest of the series. I’m so fucking excited to see it continue and cover more of the books!!! I will PASS OUT when we actually get to the theatre des vampires

- having the armand reveal confirmed makes the entire show so fucking insane???? I was watching this with maka and dolce who had NOT seen this before and it was such a struggle not to dissolve into hysterics every time he was in frame. like what deranged psychosexual nonsense???

- like louis describing being so desperately in love with lestat in excruciating detail while his current bf is literally always in the room?? the extent armand goes to to keep up the charade that he’s just an unassuming human ☺️ no reason to be suspicious at all ☺️☺️ it’s even funnier having the second season trailer out, knowing that he’s devised like an entire costume and sense of style for this rashid character purely to fuck with daniel 😭

[miraculous-rewrite]

Miraculous World Rewrite - New York

Across the atlantic there's trouble brewing

We cold open to the sound of keys against a keyboard, ominous clacking against the otherwise silent room. We first see only shadows, fingers darting across a keyboard illuminated by the screen light alone. The glare from the screen reflects against a pair of glasses, but other than that the figure is cloaked in darkness. They clack the keyboard a few more times before speaking.

A young woman’s voice comes out of a crookedly grinning mouth. “Got it.” 

A table lamp lights up, illuminating the room--and Alya--in warm yellow tones, she’s sitting in bed with her laptop perched on her knees. And the person with his hand on the lamp is none other than Nino. They both look a decent amount older, having transitioned from teenagers to young adults. Nino squints at her blearily in the light. “Babe, go to bed.”

“I’ll sleep when I'm dead.”

“That’s the PTSD talking. Go. To. Bed.”

“Nino, I think I’ve got something here!”

“So?”

“So… You ever wanted to go to the United States?”

“Not particularly-”

“There’s an amateur music competition coming up~” she sing-songs and Nino cracks his eyes open and glares at her. 

“You play dirty.”

“I’m a fox, it’s what we do.”

Nino huffs and curls up a bit until his head is in Alya’s lap “So what’s in New York, other than a shit ton of superheroes?”

Roll Opening Credits

When we open back up we open up to the new base, (the one we described back in Tokyo) and Specifically we focus on a map of the world. There are colored pins in the areas we’ve spelled out was Miraculous holding, and Alya sticks a very noticeable black pin in New York. 

Nino’s leaned over a laptop that's perched nearby, scrolling through the pictures with a look of concentration. 

“I thought we said we were gonna leave New York alone since they already have a million superheroes?” another voice pipes up, and panning around just a bit to see Rose knitting something on the couch. She glances up at them and tilts her head to the side. “I mean the others are already getting ready for their trips and such-”

“Why do you think they left Luka in charge and not one of us?” Alya counters. “My girl Mari knew something was gonna come up that required our attention.”

“It’s true.” Marinette pops in through the elevator, zipping in and rummaging through a storage closet while she talked. “You know how impossible it is to keep Alya from a case. She already briefed me and Adrien over email and they’ve got our blessin- where is it…” She grumbles a moment longer before pulling out a specific coat from the closet. “Got it! How did it even end up down here? Oh also, how are you guys getting to the states?”

“Amber’s hooking us up, apparently she and Chloe have a cousin about Lycee-ish age who’s willing to let us be houseguests while I ‘Look at NYU’ and Nino ‘competes’”

“Good. I was worried you guys would have to navigate the city on your own.”

“Have a little faith Mari-” Nino huffs “We’re not exactly in college anymore. We know better.”

“I didn’t know Chloe and Amber had a cousin!” Rose pipes up again and this time is joined by Juleka pressing a mug of something steaming to her cheek. 

“Yeah I always assumed either of their parents were too unpleasant to have had siblings.”

“Yeah uhhh her name’s Zoe I think.” Alya checks her phone again. “Yeah, Zoe. And… wow she’s like fourteen. She’s a baby.”

“Babe you were a Miraculous wielder when you were fourteen.”

“Yeah but… she’s a BABY”

We smash-cut to our first spot of New York. Specifically a teenage girl with blonde hair partially hidden by a green beanie, she’s talking on the phone. “Mom, I’m fifteen years old, I’m not exactly a baby anymore. I can pick up my cousin’s friends on my own! No, I won't get lost! Yes I will have you on speed dial if anything goes wrong. No, I won't get lost! Love you too. Bye.”

There’s a moment of snickering at her side, and she elbows the source, who only laughs more, adjusting her purse a little from the jostling. “You have to admit it’s nice how much she worries about you, even if we’re doing this as a class.” 

Sure enough, there’s a hoard of kids around the same age as the two girls playfully elbowing each other, all talking amongst each other while a couple of teachers are trying to bring back some semblance of order to the group. 

“So-” the other girl starts up, leaning in a little closer to Zoe “When are you picking these two up?”

“Basically once we’re home from this stupid field trip.” Zoe rolls her eyes and the other girl laughs. “Don’t give me that Alyssa, you’re just excited because you haven’t been in this state long enough to get tired of this damn museum.”

“Uh huh, sure, totally.” The girl, clearly named Alyssa, mumbles with a wave of her hand, clearly enraptured with the architecture of all things, and Zoe lets out a sigh.

“I lost you already, huh? Come on, before we get left behind.” 

With that, Zoe grabs the strap of Alyssa’s purse, and starts tugging the other girl along with her, even as she yelps in surprise and starts trying to get the blonde to let her go. All of those attempts stop when the two reach the exhibit the class was heading for, and her eyes settle on a fancy ring in the glass display box. 

One of their other classmates, a girl with dark textured hair pulled back into a ponytail with a bandanna around the top reads the placard out loud, it was supposedly a gift from the Oneida peoples to Marquis de Lafayette during the infancies of the Revolution, some sort of show of good faith between them, and Lafayette used that sort of leadership skill to apparently ‘rouse the people from their fears’ while recruiting for the American forces. 

The girl by her side, dark hair in a long braid behind her, snorts and huffs a ‘yeah right’ as the class starts to answer questions. “Which is why it’s here in THIS history museum, and not maybe in one specific to franco native relations, or maybe in Lafayette’s home estates. They made that up to compensate for whoever they stole this from.”

“You really think a Museum would do that?” the bandanna girl responds, but with a playful tone to her voice. “Just steal artifacts from native peoples and tell lies?”

They both chuckle and as the class starts to move on this Alyssa girl stays behind for a moment. She takes out her phone and snaps a few pictures of the ring, before pocketing her Cellphone, pausing, and looking back at her purse. She looks around and sure enough she’s alone so she whispers to the purse. 

“Are you sure? Didn’t you say they’re hard to tell when they’re hidden?” there’s a pause and Alyssa huffs “Okay… yeah I trust you.” 

“Alyssa!” Zoe calls out and Alyssa’s head pops up, she holds a hand to her lips to shush the assumed Kwami inside her bag and runs into the next room. She nearly collides with a stout boy about her size, they both stumble and she apologizes, he responds in kind and introduces himself as Ryan. She insists she knows. Their teachers said to expect him. “You just moved here too, right?”

“Yeah… I was raised in Alaska.”

“Oh! Inupiat?”

“Yeah! You could tell?”

“It’s the vibe. And I recognized the bracelet as a traditional pattern; I like studying about other tribes sometimes, it seems right that we all understand each other, yeah?”

“Oh, what tribe are you?”

“Hopi actually.”

“You’re a long way from home too, huh?”

“Tell me about it.” 

They both laugh and as they continue on with the tour Ryan gets banged into someone else again, this time hard enough to send him to the ground.

“Oh, excuse me, young one.” An older gentleman, like way too old to have so easily knocked Ryan over, offers him a hand up, and Ryan rubs his arm in pain. “I did not see you there.”

“Oh uh… no problem man.” Ryan reaches down and panics, patting his shorts a couple of times, looking around. “Where-!” he finds a little fuzzy thing on the ground. He yelps and the old man looks down at it. 

“Oh, is this yours?” he reaches for it but Ryan dives down and grabs it with a quick “yes!” He holds it close to himself before stuffing it into a pocket. “It’s uh… it was a gift, from before I left home. It’s… precious to me.”

“I see….” 

The old man continues on his way, as Ryan gets back to his feet, and Alyssa is seen watching this exchange. She makes a humming noise, but Zoe grabs her attention again and pulls her away. But as she pulls away she goes back to her phone, posting one of the taken pictures to a french site and (with the help of google translate) roughly sending out a ‘I don’t know if it’s anything, but Maybe?’ in the captions. 

“Do you want me to come with you to pick up these people? I doubt they speak much English…”

“It’s okay, I speak French. Didn’t you say you’ve got something to do today anyway?”

Alyssa looks away, a bit shifty eyed. “Well yeah but-”

“You’re just like my mother sometimes, Lys…I’ll be fine.”

The older man passes by the other pair of girls, and they in particular trade a look, the girl with the braid nodding toward him with a puzzled look, but the girl with the bandanna waves it off with a laugh. We cut from the group there to an airplane door opening later in the afternoon. Alya’s got a backpack and a laptop carrier in her grip as Nino quickly heads down to Baggage claim. “So who are we looking for again?”

“Blonde kid, green beanie.” Alya responds. “But let’s grab your equipment first.” So after one comedic acquisition scene the two are found with Nino’s equipment and their clothes suitcases at the ready, looking around the bustling crowd until Alya makes am ‘aha!’ noise, grabbing Nino and dragging him forward until they ran into Zoe. 

Zoe makes a surprised yelp noise when the two approach, but smiles and gives a slight wave. “Uh… are you guys… Cesaire and Lahiffe?” She asks in stilted french. And the two respond in kind, Alya purposefully talking slower, and Nino stumbling his way through English. They exchange pleasantries. Zoe saying that Amber spoke highly of both of them, and how eager she had been to meet some of the people that finally tamed Cousin Chloe.

“Actually I’m a little jealous of the two of them, finally got Amber out of this hellhole and to a place where people love her.” 

“New York can’t be all that bad…?” Alya tries “There’s good stuff right? The lights and the hustle and bustle and all of the stuff you hear about?”

“Yeah if you’re a tourist…” Zoe shrugs. “Live here and it's all crowds and traffic jams and subway rats. Is Paris really a dreamy romantic City of Love? Cuz that’s the stuff you hear about it.”

“Oh so it really IS like that in all other parts of the world…” Nino huffs “I thought we were just unlucky…”

Zoe laughs and soon the others follow.

Zoe leads them into the streets, claiming that she wants them to take the subway to get over to her place, but just as they start to head over there’s a huge crashing sound, a crumble of buildings and a few screams. Nino and Alya both jump, hands darting to their Miraculouses, but Zoe seems unperturbed. “Oh, it’s just Gigavolt again…” she mutters. “Come on, he never makes it past Knightowl and Sparrow.” she gestures for them to follow her, but Alya shoots Nino a grin and Nino groans. Next thing Zoe knows her french charges have deposited the equipment with her and are running in the direction of the fight. 

As expected of a New York Superhero set piece it’s all flashy and fancy, as the lightning based villain does battle against the dark brown suited hero and sidekick. We follow them for a while to see Sparrow roll onto the rooftop and Knightowl places a hand on their back before Sparrow sort of shoves them off of them and gets back into the fight. But just as Sparrow is just about to get knocked down again a blast of energy zips up from below and hits Gigavolt in a pack on his back, making the supervillain’s powers seem to short circuit and they fall from the sky. Sparrow reaches the edge and throws a small gadget to the ground with such speed it beats the supervillain down and inflates a cushion for him to land on. Sparrow also dives off the side, though Knigthowl is clearly trying to keep them from doing so. 

“Gigavolt, you’re under arrest for felony larceny, as usual. You have the right to remain silent-” as Sparrow starts the whole spiel they glance over to see a purple suited cyborg standing at the edge of the cushion, her open palm trained on Gigavolt. 

“I could have handled it, Uncanny Valley.”

“You always say that but Knightowl wouldn’t have to baby you if you weren’t always taking risks!” Uncanny Valley responds, looking a bit put out. She lifts a hand and one of her fingertips comes off to reveal a small blade underneath, she slashes at the cushion and it quickly deflates. 

“Knightowl just doesn’t want to admit that I’m better at this than they were at my age!” They huff and force Gigavolt to his knees. “You wanna try to break out of what they have cooked up for you this time GigaDolt?”

“How Original.” Uncanny Valley rolls her eyes (her one purple robot eye glitching with the motion. “You know you’re not making a very good hero look if you keep being so mean to your opponents.”

“They’re Villains Uncanny! What am I supposed to do?” 

“We’re heroes Sparrow, can you at least try to-”

“SPARROW!”

“Crap.” “Ohhhh now you’re in for it. I’ll Take Gigavolt from here, you make a run for it.”

“Thanks…”

“What are friends for? Now go!” Sparrow turns heel and runs off, Knightowl in hot pursuit going on about how much trouble Sparrow is in. 

Alya is of course filming all of this with a big grin and barely contained laughter. “Ah man, they look like us when we were kids…” she mutters. “Listen to that banter.”

“They’re talking too fast. I didn't catch it.”

“You guuuyyysss!” Zoe calls out, flagging Nino down again and having him drag Alya back “You guys can’t just leave your stuff anywhere! This isn’t a cartoon!” Alya is sheepish at the chiding and Nino is protectively double and triple checking his stuff. Finally all in order they descend into the subway, and Zoe looks back one last time at Uncanney Valley before she’s out of sight. “You guys really don’t have to make that big of a deal about superheroes. They’re pretty common around these parts.”

“Like, yeah sure we’ve got a lot of supervillains to match them, but we’ve got aliens, AI, whatever the hell Knightowl and Sparrow actually ARE god knows those two have been around for literal centuries.” she huffs. “I’ve heard a lot of stuff about you guys’ Team Miraculous, but they’re like… all from the same group of magic aren’t they? There’s a lot of different kinds of heroes around here.”

“Well yeah!” Alya pipes up “I know about Knightowl and Sparrow, who wouldn’t? And Uncanney Valley is new on the scene, but she’s some kind of cyborg or Android, and she was apparently trained by Majesta wasn’t she?” Alya begins to rattle off hero factoids to a politely interested Zoe. 

“The heroes are doing their best to keep up the peace. There are some things that the law systems just can’t keep up with, and… sometimes they just don’t know better anyway.”

“Don’t we know it.” Nino laughs. “I’m pretty sure if you put a lot of what Team Miraculous got up to during the war under a microscope Our Favorite Heroes wouldn’t be coming out of it looking too hot either.” But when he speaks he does so with a distant sort of expression. Alya’s own gaze darkening before she huffs and brushes it off with a “Man I cut so many classes just to keep Paris updated about the goings on of the world back when I was your age Zoe-”

The conversation goes back to a light nature as Zoe then asks how long they’re planning on Staying in New York. To which Alya responds for the next couple of weeks, rattling off their assumed alibis of the competition and NYU. Zoe brightens up at the Amatur Music competition, saying that one of her classmates is entering as well. 

“This girl I have history with, Jessica Keynes, and she’s going to be playing her guitar. She’s REALLY stiff competition. She's been playing since she was like eight.”

Nino laughs. “So have I, we shall see who is the ultimate rocker then!” 

We cut very quickly to that night, as Nino and Alya are settling in for the night, Alya complaining that she’s ACTUALLY TIRED right now this is absurd, and Nino is clearly wired up from jetlag. He asks after the location of their little Black Thumbtack, when it was last spotted at least, and Alya yawns and pulls out her phone. “A man wearing the crest of the Old Order; Tsering Wan’s--may he rest in hell--stupid ‘family crest’... was spotted by someone whom follows the ladyblog in…. Manhattan I think?”

“And where are we now?”

“Manhattan I think.”

“Sweet. I’ll work off some jetlag and do a scope out of the area, you have anything more concrete than ‘some guy in Manhattan?’”

“Uhhhhh Older Chinese man probably, he was lingering around this one museum of revolutionary history uhhh…. ‘The Elizabeth Hamilton Museum of American History’”

“I’ll check it out.” but as Nino suits up, before we can see his Adult Costume we cut to the same museum, and a pair of shadowy figures approach the closed building. 

But we timeskip before we can discover anything about it. 

Instead, when we return, it’s to a yawning Nino, it seems he worked off his jetlag and then some, but he’s still awake enough to set up his gear and practice in the competition hall. He’s on the phone as he enters, getting some harsh looks from others practicing, and Alya’s laughter can be heard as he wishes her luck on her “tour” before hanging up. 

His attention is caught by someone playing an acoustic guitar, sitting on the edge of the stage as she does so, and he idles rather than begin to bring his gear up there and distract her. When she finishes, he claps awkwardly around his armful of gear.

The girl looks up and sure enough it’s the girl with the dark braid from earlier. She jolts and sort of looks away awkwardly. Seemingly to try and hide behind her guitar.  He states that it was beautiful. He can tell she works very hard. She still seems nervous and asks if he’s trying to psych her out or something, you know, make her nervous or something. She’s got rock solid nerves; she's not so easily cowed. (though her hands are shaking on the neck of the guitar) Nino gets up and sits on the edge of the stage with her (after setting down his things carefully) and asks if she needs to talk about it. She uh… she looks like he did during his first gig. 

She continues to cling to her guitar and responds that she doesn’t have as much time to practice as some of these kids to, her room isn’t exactly soundproof so she can’t just stay up late practicing or anything, and… well she loves her aunt, but the family business takes up all of their combined time, she feels like she doesn’t have any options in how to be her own person. She’s gonna be under her Aunt’s training until the day she takes over for her with the business, and that’s her future, no matter what. She sort of laughs wryly and says her friend Aeon tells her she’s always trying too hard to break away but she doesn’t get it. If they’re not driving out to do Tribe things it’s always Business Time. She wants to do her own thing for once. 

“Tribe things?”

“We live pretty far from the reservation so every weekend or so we drive out to my hometown to help the community. Keeps us connected.”

“I get it. Makes sense. Certainly a quicker drive than New York to Paris.”

“What brought you to the states anyway? I’ve ranted at you enough, stranger.”

“It’s Nino. And your name Mademoiselle?”

“Jessica. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you. But uh… My girlfriend and I have been scoping out universities, we’ve been together since college-”

“College?”

“Uhh… the school phase after primary? Before Lycee?”

“....Middle school?”

“Sure.”

“Sorry, go on.”

“Right uh, she was interested in NYU and I have to wait a little longer to look into the art schools in the area so I figured I’d do the competition while I was in the area.”

“Tell her not to waste her time, NYU’s a shithole.”

“Woah, language.”

“I’m a New Yorker. We learn our swear words when we learn to read. So you must be pretty passionate about music too to waste your time in every competition huh?”

“I suppose so. It was always between music and directing, but I have way less opportunities to do films than I do with music.” Nino’s look gets a little distant. He unrolls one of his sleeves and Jessica spots a gnarled looking scar on his arm, the one you may remember him retaining in the finale. “Music got me and my friends through some really rough times.”

“Woah, when’d you get that?” Jessica puts her guitar into the traveling case as she asks.

“You might have been too young I dunno how old you are but… You know how a few years back Paris had this whole ‘war’ going on between Team Miraculous and a bunch of magical supervillains?”

“That was only a couple of years ago, yeah I know about it…Knightowl apparently kept a lot of heroes from going over there themselves. They couldn’t chance someone like Hawkmoth corrupting someone who has powers on their own.”

“Yeah uh… it was a time certainly. Things have quieted mostly, but back then it was… stressful I guess. Troubling. My music gave me a sense of stability. And hey, I only ever got akumatized once!” he winks at Jessica who looks a little uncomfortable but grins back a little after a beat. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what was it like?”

“Oh no worries, it was only like the very START of things, and to tell the truth I don’t remember like any of it. My best bud wasn’t allowed to have a birthday party because his old man was working through some stuff and was being a jerk about it, and he was a real jerk about it when I tried to convince him. I got really pissed off and then I was waking up near the eiffel tower with a couple of superheroes standing over me.”

“Huh…”

“Yeah uh, it was certainly something to live through. I guess continuing my music career gave me something to hold on to. You know?”

“Yeah I get it. It’s like a control thing.” but before they can continue on, a phone chime comes off of Jessica and she sort of jolts “Well! I guess I won’t keep you from practicing! I gotta take this.” she grabs her guitar case and shoulders it, giving a jaunty wave and a ‘good luck!’ before darting backstage. But she doesn’t reach for her phone. Reaching down to the pendant around her neck and popping it open. A strange message pops onto the small screen inside, asking if she wants to live under her master’s shadow forever or do something for herself for once. And then beneath the message, co-ordinates.

So she huffs, and puts her guitar in the designated ‘equipment goes here’ room and calls up a friend. “Hey Aeon, I’m gonna do some teen rebellion, can you cover for me? Thanks.”and sure enough when she’s in a more secluded area she presses a button on her communicator and in a flurry of brown and white fabric, Sparrow stands in her place, looking around for just a moment before throwing a grappling hook and ascending into the buildings around.

It’s twilight again when Sparrow arrives at the Museum, the same shadowy figure from before standing in the foreground yet entirely hidden in shadow. “Sparrow.” They greet. 

“How’d you get hold of my communicator frequency?” She asks in lieu of greeting. 

“Magic.” The figure lifts their hands and wiffles their fingers a little dramatically. “Honestly it’s best not to question it.” They take a step into the dim light, and it’s a brown suited hero, her hair pulled into a bun, with a pair of ribbons that look similar to long ears falling from the base of it, and a pair of antlers perched on her head. “I’m Jackalope.”

“New kid on the block huh?” Sparrow huffs “Well I’m not very interested in joining some Teenage Superheroes Only Team so Sorry for telling you you wasted your time but-”

“Actually, I was hoping for your help. You uh… you know those heroes in Paris? The ones with magical objects?” 

Sparrow stiffens a little before answering sort of noncommittal, yeah Knightowl keeps an eye on a lot of things. What’s your point? Jackalope pushes the armwarmers over her forearms up a little to show Sparrow a bracelet on her wrist. She’s got the same type of setup. When she found it, the spirit inside told her a little about their story, apparently when the Europeans came to this side of the world, many many tribes and nations and kingdoms had at least one of their own of them, but when the spaniards absolutely ruined the Aztecs and somehow managed to destroy their Spirit’s home and physical presence, they grew fearful of their own relics being destroyed and began to hide them away. Most refuse to come out of a hidden form unless given to a member of their peoples of origin. Her spirit was one hidden away and forgotten at the start of all of this. And she wants to find these lost relics, these Miraculous, and return them to the peoples that had to leave them behind. 

Sparrow asks what any of that has to do with her, and Jackalope walks toward the museum. “My spirit, she was able to ascertain that one of the items in here is a relic, a Miraculous like mine. Given to Marquis de Lafayette by the Oneida tribe as an inherent camouflage. It wouldn’t awaken for him, and thus would be kept safe should anyone who would come looking for it until the time came for it to be retrieved.”

“Oh so you’re robbing a museum. Clever idea to tell a superhero before you try it. How would you even know any of this?”

“My Miraculous contains the spirit of Destiny. Things that will always happen. She hasn’t been wrong yet, and she told me that the Eagle’s claw ring will awaken here.” 

Sparrow crosses their arms and huffs. “Well… I don't believe this about as far as I can throw it, but surely if I try to take you down right now you’ll just turn this into a running thing and that’ll be annoying. So I’ll come with, and I’ll test out if your stupid ring is a magical device. And when it’s bullshit I don’t have to worry about you making off with a historical artifact.”

“Do what you need to to feel safe.” Jackalope says with a shrug. She takes out her weapon, a sort of lasso-like rope, and Sparrow takes out their grappling gun, when they’re both distracted by a shout. And like the heroes they both are, completely forget the planned heist to run in the direction of the fearful young man who let it out.

Sure enough it’s the same boy that we saw way back when, the one from Alaska who’d bumped into the old man. He’s struggling with a man dressed in an ornate black and white robe, one arm missing a sleeve with a sparkling arm band around it. He’s demanding in a hissing voice ‘where it is’ and Ryan is insisting he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Jackalope more acting on instinct shouts an aggravated ‘Hey!’ and distracts the old man just long enough for Ryan to escape his grasp. She and Sparrow both run forward, Jackalope grabbing Ryan as he passes her by and asking if he’s hurt while Sparrow descends on the older man. 

Sparrow does well but she’s clearly too brash with her approach, eventually the man is able to trap her in a bad exchange and knock the wind out of her. Which is when Jackalope tenses and puts herself between Ryan and the man. Their exchange is fast and tense as the man tries to get her out of the way, but during a certain move he grabs her forearm and humms. “Ah I see… the Virtue of Destiny.” Jackalope jolts and springs back a bit and it’s quick enough for the man to throw her out of the way. But just as he’s about to descend on Ryan again Sparrow comes back in, getting a solid hit in. Now she and Jackalope are fighting together.

Though it seems he just won’t go down. No matter what they hit him with at once or with what, he just keeps getting back up. Ryan, now more than a little afraid, gets a pale hand placed on his wrist and when he turns the figure pulls him into the shadows of a nearby building. It’s in fact Zoe. And Ryan recognizes her as such. The rich girl from their school at least. 

They speak quietly, Zoe telling him to keep quiet and to let Jackalope and Sparrow handle this guy, Ryan asking how she knew that rabbit-suited girl and Zoe answering sort of evasively, also not a rabbit a Jackalope, totally different. Ryan responded in a hushed yell that that just raises MORE questions! Zoe waves him off though, insisting that Jackalope and Sparrow will handle this, she’ll keep him safe. Ryan looks back to the fight, then back to Zoe and reaches into his pocket, pulling out that thing that had fallen out of his pocket earlier, revealed now to be a furry ear cuff earring in the shape of a bear’s paw. He says after a moment, that he can do something too. He clasps the cuff onto his ear and takes a deep breath. “Tuuquu Transform me!” 

There’s a flash of white that gets sucked into the cuff earring, too fast for Zoe to track, and then he’s transformed, joining the fray just as Jackalope is knocked back for a moment. 

And you know, Jackalope might have clearly been pretty beginner at this, but she was somewhat holding her own, but Ryan, when transformed, striking with bear claws attached to his suit, clearly is even less prepared for battle than her and sort of… really makes a fool of himself here. The man makes quick work of him and would have otherwise made a grab for his cuff if Sparrow hadn’t come in right when she could and grabbed him, hefting him over her shoulder and grabbing Jackalope by her lasso and dragging the two of them off into a retreat. The man loses sight of them quickly and grunts in frustration but when he heads in the direction they’d been he passes by the shadow Zoe had been in, and she vanishes before he can see her.

We hold on Zoe for just one more second in the shadows, she huffs and pulls out her phone. “Hey Aeon, it’s Zoe, look this is gonna sound weird but I’m with my girlfriend tonight and I need an Alibi, can my cover story be that I’m working on a project at your house? Thanks.”

But we cut back to the heroes before too long, Sparrow carrying Ryan and dragging Jackalope behind her until they’re far enough away for the poor girl to catch her breath. Which she does, dropping the two onto a rooftop and standing upright. She puts a hand over her goggles before grunting and shoving Jackalope. “Uhm. EXCUSE ME?! What the FUCK was that!?”

Jackalope stumbles more than you'd expect for only being shoved, eyes still wide, face turning slack-jawed now that the three are out of danger. It seems to take her a second to process she’d been shoved at all, her eyes checking her wrist (as if still being transformed isn’t proof enough that the man didn’t take her Miraculous), and then looking at Ryan, who offers a wave. 

“HEY!” Sparrow shouts again, pushing a hand against Jackalope’s shoulder and keeping it there, dragging the other girl’s attention back to the hero. “Answer me!”

Taking a deep breath in, her eyes seem less ‘deer-in-headlights’ in appearance when she finally speaks up. “Remember how I talked about those heroes in Paris? Do you know about the war that was being documented on that one site, Ladyblog? That guy was wearing the symbol of the group they were fighting.” Her eyes darted down to her Miraculous again. “He knew what my Miraculous was… If you hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would’ve happened…”

She glances back up at Sparrow, and offers a shaky smile that just looks off with the scared look in her eyes. “I don’t have any answers, not really, but thank you for answering my message.”

Sparrow huffs and groans, kicking at the corner of the rooftop before sighing. “Ugh. Fine. FINE.” She finally shouts. “New supervillain. Easy. Easy and fun. New Superhero after magical objects. Simple, Understandable. New Supervillain and a new ‘hero’ who may still just be a cat burglar with a weird gimmick and Some Guy who just has a magical item and both are so green that I’M the most experienced person in the room. Fine. Fine!” She huffs for a moment longer before taking out one of her weapons, a collapsible staff, and grabs Ryan under the jaw with it, tilting his head up. “Explain.”

“Wha?”

“How’d you get your little magic item. Explain.”

“...oh!” Ryan jolts in realization and nods. He takes off the ear cuff and quickly transforms back, a little white Kwami zipping out. “Well when my family was about to leave Alaska, one of my friend’s mothers said that I’d helped out so much with babysitting while she and his dad were off doing Adult things, and she gave it to me as a way to remember my people and remember Alaska when I was gone.” As usual for these types of stories we zoom out to be able to see pictures depicting these exact events behind the three on the rooftop. “Then in my first week here uh… New Yorkers are really aggressive drivers.” The image shows Ryan barely dodging a car that was plowing through the streets. “Tuuquu says that she’s the embodiment of the concept of the afterlife, and people can’t prove themselves until they cheat death while in possession of her.” 

Tuuquu then speaks up, voice a soft whisper yet somehow loud enough to be heard. “My little snowball is the first worthy wielder I've had in centuries! That ruffian that tried to take us would never be worthy with a power that doesn’t let him brush with death. I’d be useless in his possession anyway.” Ryan thinks for a moment longer before looking at Jackalope. “Did yours need that kind of trial too? Not gonna lie, it kind of scared me out of doing anything with it until today.” Jackalope however doesn’t seem to be paying attention, she’s pushed back her arm warmer again to look at her bracelet, toying with the gems along the length of it.

“Whuh?” she asks after a pause. Sparrow shakes her head. “I’m calling Knightowl.” 

But before she can open her communicator a small orange glow lights up the night, forming a little fox seemingly made out of sparkling light. It pokes its nose against where Sparrow’s nose is and closes the communicator with a paw, the fox trotting on the air and breezing past Sparrow, approaching Jackalope and Ryan, seeming to smell either of their Miraculouses before letting out a happy little ‘chirrup’ noise. It prances forward until climbing up the arm of its summoner, resting on Rena Rouge’s shoulder. We now see her and Carapace make their appearance, in their new and improved adult costumes. 

“Hey kids, sorry to interrupt but we’re on the lookout for someone that I’m pretty sure just came your guys’ way.”  Rena chirps, and Carapace looks around the rooftop for a second longer before shooting Rena a thumbs up. “Okay good. So…Word on the street is one of our enemies has been spotted near the area. One of the ones from Paris’ war.” Though the knowing look says she already knows. “You folks seen an old man with a magic item nearby?”

“Probably harassing perfectly innocent magic item wielders-” Carapace joins in 

“Probably down for child murder.” Rena continues. “And you’re a bunch of literal infants-”

“Hey!” Ryan shouts 

“So we’re here to help.” 

Sparrow scoffs. “Fine. I wasn’t exactly excited to get lectured by Knightowl anyway. It’s your villain I guess. So what are they? Jackalope said something about that war you guys fought in?”

Rena sighs and looks to Carapace “You wanna go for it Pace?”

“Nah I already trauma dumped on a child a few hours ago. I’m good.”

“You know I'm starting to think the idea of getting a therapist for the team might be a good idea- Anyway… sit down everyone--you too Sparrow--because this is quite the story. And it started a couple of hundred years ago, with our team’s mentor, and even the kindest intentions can start the greatest calamities.” We know this story of course, so we don’t linger too long on that. 

We in fact cut right then back to Our girl Zoe, she’s grumbling over something on her phone, still hidden in the shadows of buildings, when a dark figure approaches. Zoe yelps and whips out a taser, the prongs sparking with electricity. Before the figure raises her hands. “Zoe! Zoe! Calm down, it’s me!” Zoe blinks and raises a brow “Aeon? I thought you were at home! That’s why I asked you to-”

“Cover for you? Yeah I’ve been getting that request a lot tonight.” If you’ll remember her, Aeon is shown to be the girl with the bandanna from all the way back earlier.  “But uh… I've actually got some stuff to do tonight, and…” She thinks for a second before sighing. “Zoe look, I know whoever you’re backing up right now has your trust, but I actually need to be covered for tonight more than you do. So please, go home.”

Zoe looks offended for a second, and then looks back up at the rooftops before looking away bitterly. “I guess I wouldn’t be any real help anyway.” She thinks for a second longer before patting Aeon’s shoulder. “Whatever you’re doing then, be safe. I know we don’t talk a lot but I’d be really sad if you weren’t in class tomorrow.”

Aeon smiles back at her, before Zoe calls up the family chauffeur, seeing her off with a wave. Aeon takes a breath and looks up at the same rooftops Zoe just was, but her left eye glows a striking violet. “Jessie for god’s sake…” she mutters to herself, before pressing something on the inside of her wrist, in a hologram-like flash Aeon’s street clothes fade away and are replaced with the uniform of Uncanny Valley. She messes with her hair until it’s in a high ponytail instead of the low one, and throws out her arm, her hand extending on her wrist to grab hold of a building which she quickly begins to scale. 

Right when Uncanny Valley reaches the rooftop it’s at the very end of Rena’s story, the older hero gently fingering her foxtail Miraculous and looking away with a dark expression, Carapace looking equally grim. “-The Old Order isn’t gone, and the ones we ran into aren’t the only ones who survived the war, so we’ve been on the look out for anyone with that crest. And that man you described… he’s probably one of them, especially if he was making swipes for Your Polar Bear Friend’s Miraculous and Jackalope’s.”

Rena thinks for a second. “Would it be too personal to ask what your Miraculouses are?”

Jackalope looks uncomfortable for a second before Ryan answers, strikingly casual. “Nah. Tuuquu’s the… Kwami did you say? She’s the Kwami of the Afterlife. She told me that her power lets me draw on the wisdom and memories of great magic wielders that came before.”

“I uh…” Jackalope looks to Ryan then back at Rena. “I have uh… Loppe. They’re the Kwami of Destiny. They let me uhm… see into the future, but only the things that will for sure happen no matter what. Things that can’t be changed.”

“Not super combative powers…” Sparrow huffs “AND you’re both green. This is gonna be-!” She cuts herself off before seeing her friend. “Uncanny!”

“Oh hey Sparrow.” 

“Oh thank god, Uncanny get over here I need to have someone who knows what they’re doing in my vicinity.” Sparrow runs over and helps Uncanny to the rooftop. “Ugh, You will not BELIEVE the evening I’ve had.”

“I can guess…” 

Rena coughs pointedly into her hand and Sparrow looks at her before looking back at Uncanney. “Oh.. right. Uh… This is my friend Uncanny Valley, Uncanny, this is uh… Rena Rouge and Carapace, two of the-”

“Two members of Team Miraculous, I am aware. It’s nice to meet you both. And you two are?” She looks at the two, Ryan at this point has re-transformed and thinks for a second. “I’m uh… Glacier. Yeah, Glacier. Cuz I’ve got a polar bear.”

Jackalope pauses for a second, then sort of sighs, leaning heavily on her knees and shooting a wry grin “I’m Alyssa.”  

“You guys know you shouldn’t just be telling people your real names, right? Or removing your magical artifacts? Some heroes may be more cavalier with their identities but not to that degree…” Sparrow huffs “Uncanny, can you do that thing where you don’t scare people as much as I do? I should still tell Knightowl about all of this before they just… you know… FIND OUT.”

“You mean, ‘be nice to people’? Yeah I can do that.” Sparrow puts a hand to their nose and waggles their fingers, to which Uncanny sticks her tongue out. 

Sparrow turns away and opens a connection to Knightowl, but just as she does so an explosion half the city away rocks all of them a bit. And as Sparrow patches through the first thing she hears is ‘Can’t talk right now, Jailbreak. Stay safe with your friends. I’ll talk to you later.’

And then the line goes dead. Sparrow grumbles and tries to call again, but no answer. Knightowl either broke their communicator, or turned it off. She curses harshly and pockets it again. “Okay fine. So we catch this guy, your enemy or whatever, we what, use Glacier to draw him back out? He’ll expect that. He’ll know it’s a trap.”

Jackalope thinks for a second before standing up. “Not unless he thinks we’re busting him first.” 

Sparrow looks over at her, tilts her head to the side. “Oh you don’t mean-”

“You have any better ideas?” 

“Wait, what are you guys talking about?” Uncanny asks worriedly. To which Jackalope describes her initial reason for being here, the eagle talon ring. And Sparrow responds again that just in case this is some kind of bullshit long con she’ll in fact be testing if it’s a real magic object or not. Alyssa ending it with the idea that this Old Order Guy was probably in the area because he was looking at the same ring and just happened to run into Glacier too.

“Wait-” Says Rena after a beat. “So you were planning on breaking in and stealing an item with massive historical significance?” 

“Yeah.” 

“I knew I had a good feeling about you.”

In a way not dissimilar to the ML heists of yore, we start on a shadow of Rena Rouge on the scene, blowing a note on her flute to put a bunch of small dark shadows over the security cameras, and Carapace close to the shadows as he peers into the museum. Uncanny unlocks the physical locks, disabling the alarm in the process, but as they all enter it turns out that that was unneeded as the Old Order man was already there. He’s carefully striding through the exhibits and followed quickly by Sparrow at his heels yet out of sight. And when he arrives at the eagle claw, as if by accident, he spots Jackalope and Glacier in the reflection off the glass. He lashes out with his weapon, a scimitar, and it makes connection with Glacier's claws, he looks about as surprised as the Older man that he was able to catch it, but just as the clang rings out Jackalope throws her lasso around an unrelated exhibit, tipping over some prop replicas and making the alarms go off. And once they’re blaring in everyone’s ears she shouts ‘NOW!’ 

And the other more experienced heroes descend. The combination of Uncanny’s technology, and Rena and Carapace’s battle prowess leaves the old man very distracted indeed as Jackalope and Glacier approach the ring case. Glacier sort of nervously puts his claws on the edge of the glass and rotates his hand in an uneven circle, the glass disk pulling away with him. And Jackalope looks into the case, about to reach for it before looking back “Sparrow!” Sparrow looks over from her part of the fight and huffs. “What?!”

“We had a deal. This is on you!” 

Sparrow looks back at Jackalope, then at the ring. She pulls away from the fight, Jackalope tagging in (less coordinated of course but she’s holding up) and approaches the ring. She barely looks at Glacier before reaching a hand in. “This ring was from the Oneida tribe.” She says quietly. 

“Yeah, given to Marquis de Lafayette, right?”

“If it’s real it was to hide it from someone who could use it. Probably only another Oneida.”

“Would it work on you then?” Glacier raises a brow at her, to which Sparrow closes her fingers around the talon-

And in a flash of light a little Kwami stretches and yawns. The Old Order man finds an opening through Jackalope and lunges forward, but just as he does there’s a burst of light.

And Sparrow stands there no more. 

In Sparrow's place stands a young woman with hair in wrapped braids, a feathered cloak, and in her hands a seemingly wooden bow catching the man’s hand. 

“... That doesn’t belong to you, little girl.”

“I get the strange feeling that it’s more partial to me than it is to you.” She responds. “I wonder what this thing does…” she says with a small chuckle. 

The fight continues, Rena, far more excitedly begins to direct the kids. Limbs and weapons going every which way, but just as before, the man is simply not going down. The children start to quip off of each other, Jackalope cheering that Sparrow grew up to be an Eagle, Glacier wondering out loud how this team up is gonna go, Uncanny Valley huffing and puffing about being the only non-magical kid in this team up right now. And of course Carapace and Rena flirting outrageously with each other. 

The man doesn’t go down, but they are able--at Rena’s behest--to corral him into a more heavily armored location, to which Rena signals Uncanny who reactivates the security measures and traps him behind slamming bars. 

The children all look at eachother and Sparrow, now that we can see some of her face, pinches her expression into a sort of pout, looking away and huffing. “Good hustle I guess.” 

“That’s ‘Sparrow’ for ‘thanks’” Uncanny Valley chirps, bumping her shoulder against hers. “Now, what do we say next?”

Sparrow looks away further, now scowling. “.....Sorry I thought you were a thief Jackalope.”

“It’s okay…” Jackalope laughs quietly, especially as Uncanny grins widely at Sparrow and coos about how proud she is. Sparrow looks away, face turning dark with a blush. “God! You’re worse than my Aunt!” She finally shouts even as Uncanny grabs her and pulls her into a hug from the back. 

But Sparrow takes off the ring and the transformation undoes itself around her, turning back into her usual Sparrow look. “Sorry for waking you and immediately putting you to work uh…”

“Nyoote.” the eagle Kwami responds. “I am the Kwami of Courage! And it’s wonderful to meet my new wielder, Sparrow was it?” 

“It’s uh…” she looks over to Rena and Carapace. “It doesn’t matter actually.” She moves to hand the Miraculous to them. “These guys are gonna need you more than I do.”

Carapace looks about to take it from her, but loosely closes her fingers back around the ring. “Keep him. We just need to make sure they stay out of the Old Order’s grip. We’re not looking to take other people’s cultural artifacts ourselves.”

“Besides, didn’t Jackalope say she was hoping to return your guys’ artifacts back to their peoples? That’s way more useful than us keeping them in a box hoping they don’t need to come out. ‘Pace and I were just here to prove some theories and take care of this guy.  I think you guys have some real potential myself. Learn to use your powers, all of you. And when you think you can do it, contact us. Okay?”

The three magic-wielding children look at each other and then look back at the two and nod. “I’ll keep an eye on them.” Uncanny agrees with a nod. “I’ve been helping this one with her people skills since she became Sparrow, I can train the others too.” She puffs up her chest and Sparrow yanks the bottom of her mask off to stick her tongue out, which Uncanny returns. 

We see a brief timeskip from here with a bit of music that sounds like it could possibly be a new theme song playing over it, first of Zoe re-entering on an undisclosed street corner and borderline tackle hugging a de-transformed Alyssa (and sneaking a kiss to the girl’s cheek), the competition, Jessica playing her guitar and singing, Nino mixing on his turntables, Alya touring through a school, Aeon on the phone with several names on a list titled ‘people who are “at my house,’’ Ryan fiddling with the ear cuff and speaking quietly to Tuuquu. Tuuquu snacking on a can of anchovies. 

It turns out that Jessica won the bronze in the competition and Nino the silver, but they both sort of sigh in good nature when it turns out neither of them won, passed over for some other white boy with a decent voice. 

Then we cut to a sort of ‘that night’ when the children all make their way to the same rooftop as before. Jackalope carrying Zoe on her back, Sparrow with the eagle on her finger but not transformed. 

“Uhm, excuse me, who’s that?” Sparrow asked sort of testily. 

“Oh, this is my Secret Keeper Zoe. If we’re going to be covering for eachother then she should know too.”

“I’m rich I can cover in ways Aeon Anderson can’t.”

“Rude.” Uncanny Valley huffs, and with the flicker of a hologram she’s there. “I cover for way too many people, granted I'm doing hero work too.” 

“Really? We’re just going to get started on this?” Sparrow asks, but just as she does so Alyssa and Ryan detransform, their Kwamis eagerly introducing themselves to each other. 

Sparrow yanks off her mask and sure enough Jessica Keynes rolls her eyes at the lot of them. “I’m surrounded by incompetence.” 

“Admit it, Jessie,” Aeon chirps, swinging her arm around her in a half-hug, “you love us!~”

“Hideous. I feel nothing.” Jessica pushes Aeon away from her a bit. 

“Oh also! This is super weird but-” Aeon cuts back in “Can Kwamis not be detected by technological means? Because I can only see our cute little friends out of one eye and it’s not the robot one.” she proved her point by winking either eye with Nyoote hovering over her. 

We slowly pan back as the kids chat, to show Carapace and Rena Rouge watching from a distance. 

“So what do you think?” Nino asks quietly. 

“I think it feels absolutely absurd that we were their age when we first started out.” Alya responds, just as quiet, but there’s a sort of deep sadness in her voice. “I mean… were we ever REALLY that young? I guess we can only hope they won’t be facing as much as we did at that age, huh?”

“Somehow I get the feeling they’ll be okay.” Nino looks up and a shadow passes over them both “If only because they’ll have a little more guidance.”

Knightowl descends on the group shouting “SPARROW!”

“Ah crap, SCATTER!” The kids all run away from the furious superhero, all of them laughing and taking various magical or practical ways out. Jackalope lassoing another building, Glacier tipping backwards off the building, Uncanny Valley grappling a different building with her extendo arm, Eagle jumping high and catching a thermal to glide away, and Zoe scrambling down the fire escape ladder. Knightowl growls in annoyance and shouts that Sparrow is SO grounded when she gets home!

Roll credits. 

But for those whose DVR’s didn’t cut the recording they do see one last moment. They see a prison cell and the same old man as before but now in an orange jumpsuit. He’s laying on the prison bed with a hand over his eyes. But a little voice gets his attention. “Du Chao. Little Badger?” The old man, now recognized as Du Chao, cracks open an eye to see his ever faithful black and white Kwami, holding the arm band likely confiscated from him upon arrest. “Patti, old friend.”

“Our work is not yet done little badger.” the Kwami places its Miraculous back in his hand. “For the Order. We must continue to fight. We are perseverance.”

“Indeed we are. And those children shall know that we will not be giving in easily.” Du Chao smiles softly at his Kwami, stroking them gently with a finger. “Well, Patti, shall we make our escape?”

“Gladly.”

The end

[starboybutler]

Poor Boy ( CH.2 )

summary: the morning after jess takes in an injured young man, he tries to find out what happened to him. the boy doesn't want to say.

word count: 5240

warnings: violence, allusions to sexual assault, night terrors

notes: chapter two! like i said on the previous post, im already three chapters deep on a03, but i wanted to post things here. i'll post chapter three tomorrow, and then i'll post as i update on a03. also, happy love me tender day!

chapter 1

chapter 2 (you are here)

chapter 3 (coming soon)

jess awoke the next morning, having slept surprisingly soundly considering yesterday's events. jess never really let things bother him too much, no matter the circumstance. he told himself that everything was temporary and would be solved eventually, no matter what. that often soothed his racing mind.

he smoothed his shirt down and stepped out of his room and into the living area, where his eyes scanned the room for his unexpected houseguest.

clint was sat up on the couch, staring out of the window with a somber look on his face.

some of the dirt from his body had rubbed off onto the sleep dress, making it look dirty and more run down than it was before. the gown was slightly big on him, hanging off of his collarbones and revealing the pale skin of his chest. if jess had a funny bone left in his body, he'd joke about the boy looking like a ghost.

“you're up.” jess said simply, slipping his hat onto his head.

clint’s head snapped towards him at the sound of his voice. he blinked owlishly at jess, stuttering back.

“o-oh, yeah…i’m up.” the blonde muttered, his eyes fixed on the ground as he spoke.

silence fell between the both of them, neither man sure of how to carry on the conversation. they didn't know each other, and their introduction to one another was less than conventional.

“you sleep good?” jess asked.

the boy blinked but nodded in response, fidgeting with his hands.

“yeah. just..” he paused, shifting on the couch. “didn’t expect you to be up this early,” he murmured, hands wringing together. “hardly slept, actually.”

“wounds botherin’ ya?” he asks, looking clint up and down curiously, and clint shakes his head, sighing softly as he goes back to staring solemnly out of the window.

the sun gave him a little bit of life. under the golden rays, he didn't look so sickly and pale, and his bruises disappeared under the bright light. his hair was practically glowing in the light, giving him almost an angelic look. what was a boy like this doing all the way out here? he looked so fragile– like the slightest bit of wind would break or bruise him– he wasn't made for life outside of the city.

“how'd you get way out here?”

the boy sat up, his golden look quickly stripped from him as he was bathed in shadows from jess’s dim house. his eyes were wide– scared and vulnerable as his throat bobbed, lips parted as he took small, cautious breaths.

“don't wanna talk about it,” he says, pulling his knees to his chest and curling in on himself. jess hummed, wandering over to the couch where the boy sat, small and scared. he looked like a kitten. jess tried to look sympathetic– but he wasn't sure if he did– he was never good at expressing these types of things.

if he pressed the boy on, there's no telling how he would react. thanks to him being shaken up from whatever he went through, his behavior was off. jess couldn't gage his temperament– so he just decided to back off so that the boy didn't lash out at him. he couldn't just let him sit and mope on the couch, however, so he needed to get some conversation going. jess wasn't good at conversation either.

the older man padded over to the sink, filling an old pot he had with water and heading over to start a small fire in the fireplace and setting the pot on top. he can feel clint’s eyes on him, wide and curious while he makes his way to the cabinet and grabs some shoddily ground up coffee beans, grabbing the water once it’s boiling.

“you drink coffee?”

“uh, a little,” clint mutters.

jess hums, stirring the beans in and pouring them both a glass. jess walks over and hands the mug to clint, who takes it gently and mutters a small ‘thank you’ in response.

the boy takes a sip and his face immediately screws up in disgust as he tastes the bitter fluid. jess hums, slightly amused as clint grimaces and sets the mug in his lap.

“you alright?”

“ugh,” he groans, swirling the contents of his mug around. “you don't use any sugar or anything? almost killed me,”

jess huffs out, a ghost of a laugh. this boy obviously had a fiery spirit to him. “it ain't that bad,” he mutters, turning towards the kitchen and wandering towards the cabinet where he kept his small stash of spices. he didn't have many, as he didn't really use them much. he had little things of salt and pepper, some sugar, but he really didn't see a need for it.

he pulled out a small container of sugar and walked back over to the boy, setting it down beside him. the boy grabbed it eagerly, pouring almost half of it into his coffee and swirling it around. he took a sip and sighed.

“much better.”

jess grabbed his own mug and sat on the opposite end of the couch, taking a swig from his mug. it was bitter and hot, just how he drank it every morning.

the two men sat there, silent as they drank. clint would take a sip of his coffee, and steal a glance or two at jess, who was looking at him intently.

jess was curious about him. there wasn't many people around here– especially people this pretty. clint was obviously someone of some kind of importance– otherwise he would have just stayed where he was. people around these parts don't kidnap randoms, they kidnap people that are worth a damn, usually for ransom. it's what he and vince mainly did.

he thought of the boy’s name. clinton reno. it sounded awfully familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. there were so many important families and outlaw names that jess had to be wary of that he was starting to lose count of them. jess tried his hardest to think of where he’s heard that name before. was it something vince had told him before they parted ways?

‘you just be careful jess…them boys…’

“you just gonna stare me down until i leave?” clint asked, voice cutting through his thoughts. jess sat up and blinked, coming back to his senses. he must've zoned out– and the poor boy must have mistaken his thinking face for a scornful one.

“nah,” jess hummed, sitting back and taking another sip from hus mug. “i don't plan on letting you leave too soon,” he says.

the boy looks horrified when jess says that. jess waves him off, rolling his eyes.

“you're still injured, and someone's out there for you. your blood ain't gonna be on my hands.”

clint sighs deeply, his eyes flashing with an unreadable emotion as he stares down into his coffee mug. his hands fidget with the glass, turning it in his hands restlessly as he speaks lowly.

“ma is probably worried sick about me,” he murmurs, eyes fixed on his lap as he sets the mug onto the rickety table. “vance too,”

“vance?” jess hums, swirling his mug.

“oh, ‘s my brother.” clint says, fidgeting with his hands restlessly. “he's the oldest. then it's brett. then ray. then me. and ma, of course. ‘m dad died in the war,”

“ah,” jess hummed, setting his jaw stiffly. he remembered now. vince was making a fuss about this family a while ago before he left– and he had completely forgotten about it. he was saying something about them causing a stir, especially the oldest one, vance. he had went to war, and when he came back, something went down that jess wasn't all too sure about.

the reno family was well known. they weren't extremely wealthy, but they did have an influence. vance especially. jess still wasn't too sure what the whole situation was, but he knew that keeping the younger brother of a well known– possibly well liked man in his home, did pose a threat. he didn't know if he should keep clint and nurse him back to health, or just let him go back to his family before things got complicated.

“so, what about you?” clint asks, eyes fixed on jess curiously.

“what about me?”

“what's your deal?” he hums, pulling his knees to his chest. “you haven't said a word about yourself. i don't even know your name,”

“do you need to?” jess mutters into his mug, drinking another sip of coffee. “y’ain’t gonna be here that long,”

the boy huffs, rolling his shoulders back. “well, for the time i am here i wanna know who i’m staying with,” he huffs, furrowing his brow at jess. “unless you're hidin’ somethin’ from me, mister.

jess sighed deeply, adjusting his hat and finishing off his coffee in one gulp. “jess,”

“jess what?”

“wade.”

clint thinks for a moment, soaking in the information before perking up and snapping his fingers. “i’ve heard of you.”

“have you now,” jess murmured, running the tip of his finger around the rim of his mug lazily, looking at the boy as he nodded.

“you're that outlaw, with the hackett gang,” he began, sitting up. he seemed so full of life now. “you did all kinds of stuff. stole that canon, ransacked towns–”

“i don't do that no more.” he said hastily, his teeth gritted. “vince hackett ain’t nothin’ but a thorn in my side now,” he huffed, standing and taking his mug over to the kitchen. “i’m done with him.”

clint watched him owlishly as he stared out the window, rubbing at the bridge of his nose tiredly. he turned around, facing the boy once more, sighing deeply.

“look, enough about me,” jess uttered flatly. “we need to talk about what happened to you.”

clint stiffened again, his feisty demeanor gone. he looked away, his eyes darkening as he lowered his head and spoke.

“i said i don't wanna talk about it.”

“well, we have to.” jess demanded, crossing his arms. “i told you about me, now i need to know how you got here.”

“i don't wanna fucking talk about it!” clint yelled, eyes squeezed shut as he gripped the sleep dress, fists shaking at the white-knuckle force. jess was taken aback by the boy’s yelling. he had seemed so pathetic before– like a porcelain doll that would shatter if the wind blew the wrong way. but now, he was angry, his body trembling and eyes burning with resentment, but also fear as he stared down at the floor.

jess stared at him, setting his jaw as he grabbed the boy's half full coffee mug. “fine.”

jess walked into the kitchen and poured the coffee into the sink, glancing over his shoulder as he heard rustling from the couch. the boy had buried himself under the blankets, trembling and sniffling slightly. jess sighed deeply, resting his hands on the counter and letting his head fall forward. he didn't know how to deal with this shit– he never did. he needed to know how clint got here, but he didn't have all the time in the world. someone somehow was going to figure out he was here, and then jess would be caught up in a problem he had no business in.

he understood you couldn't rush these kinds of things, especially because there was clearly some kind of traumatizing event involved– but he didn't have time for this. he took one more glance back at the boy, who was still under the covers, and huffed lowly. he walked towards the door and grabbed his boots, heading outside. they both needed time to clear their head.

jess must've have walked for hours.

it's easy to get lost around his house, because there's nothing around him for miles. for a brief moment he thought of visiting the sheriff, but he ultimately decided against it. he loved sheriff ramsey, but he really wasn't in the mood for helping out right now. he had enough on his mind with the reno boy at his house, refusing to tell him how he had gotten to his house in the first place.

jess sighed deeply, approaching his cabin and stopping as he heard the faint sounds of a guitar. he paused, stopping in his tracks to listen to the faint singing he heard.

they call me poor boy, poor boy, poor boy

but i ain't lonesome, i ain't blue,

the voice was soft, sweet and melancholy as it sang to the deep orange of the afternoon sky. jess slowly approached the steps of the cabin, eyes trained on the blonde boy as he continued to sing, seemingly lost in his own world. he had changed from the sleep dress and into the slightly tattered button up and pants he was in when jess found him.

‘cause i could never he a poor boy

as long as i’ve got a dolly like you.

jess felt a smile wanting to appear on his lips, but he kept his face straight as he leaned against the rickety wooden railing of the porch, making clint’s head snap up as it creaked. his face flushed soft pink as he stopped strumming the guitar, a shy smile coming to his face.

“oh, you're back.”

“where'd you find that?” jess asks, gesturing to the guitar in clint’s hands. the boy clears his throat, shrugging nonchalantly despite the flush high on his cheekbones.

“just…layin’ around,” he murmurs, plucking at one of the strings nervously. jess hums, sitting in one of the rundown and creaky chairs, looking at clint as he fidgets with the old guitar. the boy looks flustered– embarrassed almost, as he looks up at jess and speaks once more.

“you play?”

“used to.” jess says flatly. “stopped after i got involved with the hackett gang. been sittin’ gatherin’ dust ever since.”

clint looked like he wanted to ask another question, but refrained as he went back to strumming the guitar. jess watched, slightly interested.

“heard you singin’,” jess hummed, crossing his arms. “you like to sing?”

clint chuckled shyly. “yeah. uhm,” he paused, swallowing and moving to set the guitar down gently. “i wanna say i’m sorry for earlier,” he murmured. “i didn't mean to yell.”

“don't worry about it.”

“no, i–”

“it's fine,” jess said firmly, waving him off. “i shouldn't have tried to get all in your business like that– it was wrong of me. you stood your ground.” he hums, the faintest smile tugging at his lips.

clint flushed pink, smiling boyishly as jess spoke. “thanks.”

they sat in silence for a few seconds.

“what were you doin’ out here?” jess asks.

clint chewed at his lip, his fingers laced together as he averted his gaze. “i don't like bein’ alone.” he admits. “just needed a way to soothe myself, so…saw the guitar gathering dust and decided to have a go.”

“didn't mean to leave you all by your lonesome.” jess says, setting his jaw. “you could have told me you didn't like to be left alone.”

“didn't wanna sound like a little girl,” clint mutters, embarrassed.

jess stares at the boy for a second. he was truly intriguing. his spirit was so fiery– but he was so shy and vulnerable at the same time. he stood his ground, but didn't like to be alone, and would crumble if you caught onto him.

“c’mon,” jess said suddenly, standing and gesturing for the boy to do the same.

“huh?”

“i said c’mon,” jess hums, rolling up his sleeves a bit. “i got some work to do– and since you don't like being left behind, you're comin’ with me.”

clint stands dumbly, his eyes wide and owlish as he follows jess to the stable. without wasting a second, jess tossed a heavy bag of grain into the boy’s arms, almost knocking him over.

“first things first, feed my ol’ horse here,” jess says, gently patting at the steed’s side. “poor thing is hungry.”

clint huffed as he lifted the hefty bag, glaring at jess as he walked to fill the horse’s trough.

“coulda gave me some warning before you threw it,” he murmured. jess huffed out a chuckle, watching as clint set down the bag and groaned, stretching out his back. “jesus,”

“sorry,” jess hummed, walking over to grab a broom that was leaned against the wall. he grabbed it and walked it over to clint, who took it and internally looked grateful that jess didn't throw this at him as well.

“just need you to sweep for now, if i need help with anything else i’ll holler.”

“okay,”

jess left the boy to sweep out any debris that had blown in while he grabbed his horses water trough and dumped it out into the dry terrain outside. he bought it back in and filled it with water from the hose. it wasn't the best water, but it was about the only water they had around.

clint was was humming to himself as he swept the sand and stray pieces of hay outside, tsking when a rouge gust of wind blows and bring it all back inside. he seemed calm overall, his demeanor relaxed and confident as he fought to keep the sand outside.

jess remembers being like him. young and feisty.

the reminiscing stops as clint yelps, dropping the broom and looking at his thumb. “ow, damn it!”

jess walked over and gently grabbed his hand, inspecting it. “what's the matter?”

“i got a splinter,” clint muttered, showing jess his thumb. “you don't sand your tools or nothin’?” he grumbles, letting jess inspect his hand.

“i don't get splinters,” jess mutters, stopping as he spots the piece of wood embedded in clint’s thumb. “i got tough skin.”

“well i don't– ow!”

“hold still.” jess scolds, trying to keep clint’s wriggling to a minimum as he tries to press around the splinter, urging the wood out. “you're gonna make it worse,”

“that hurts– cut it out!”

jess grabs clint wrist roughly, making the boy freeze as jess leaned down to come face to face with his hand. “stay. still.”

clint obeyed and stood still, fingers still twitching as jess added pressure to them. the piece of wood was coming out, but not all the way. he gently tried grabbing it with two fingers– but his hands were big and a little clumsy when it came to grabbing such a small thing. he sighed, frustrated.

“are you done?” clint muttered, bouncing impatiently.

“hold on,”

jess leans down, lifting clint’s thumb to his lips and humming as he very gently used his teeth to pull the splinter free from the boy’s skin. clint jumped, but didn't move, and watched as jess spit off to the side. “now let's go clean that,” he hummed. “don't want my spit infectin’ it.”

jess watched as the boy nodded, swallowing hard and following him. he pretended not to notice the blush on his cheeks.

when they entered the cabin, clint quickly ran his thumb under some water, and jess walked around in the kitchen to look for something to eat. well, now that he had a guest, maybe he should cook some dinner for the both of them.

“you hungry?” he asks, looking at the boy curiously.

“huh?”

“i asked if you’re hungry,” jess says again, scratching at his beard. “i can whip something up.”

“oh, i can help,” clint offers, drying off his hand. “i can cook real good, ma said so.” he brags, straightening his posture.

“is that so,” jess hums, crossing his arms and leaning on the counter. “well, what’re you in the mood for then? i got meat and vegetables, and some seasoning– but not an awful lot.” he hums, nodding towards the cabinet. “i got bread too.”

“hmm…maybe just some sandwiches then?” clint offers. “or if that's too boring i can do a stew.”

“hell, they both sound good.” jess admits, stretching out. “if you wanna do a stew, i got some rice, too.” he hums, reaching for a cabinet just above him abd grabbing an older container with rice inside.

“stew it is then,” clint says, taking the container and setting it aside.

jess set out a few vegetables from his garden. he picked out the best looking ones, the ones that had actually managed to grow in the dry, humid environment he was in, and bought them in so clint could wash them and cut them up. hess was in charge of the meat. he used one of the sharper knives he had, slicing it into cubes and placing it where clint told him to.

jess had never been a large cook. he would usually just heat up his meat and eat it with no seasoning or anything to go with it, except maybe some bread. clint was obviously very different– if it wasn't evident with the coffee fiasco this morning. the way he was chopping up the vegetables and seasoning everything and tossing them into the boiling water– which was also seasoned– was intriguing to jess. he’s never seen something like this before.

“you're handy with that knife,” he observed as clint chopped up a carrot with ease, sliding the slices from the chopping board to the pot seamlessly. “next time i’m in trouble, i’ll make sure to call you,”

clint chuckled, a faint blush rising to his cheeks at the praise. “i mean, it's just somethin’ i’ve been doin’ for a while. i’ve cooked since i was young.”

“you're still young.” jess muttered.

clint rolled his eyes. “younger, i mean.” he sighs, moving to grab the last potato and beginning to cut it up. “it was just somethin’ i did with ma to pass the time. she always hated when i would use the knife, but i was always good at it. the one time i did cut myself, i wasn't allowed to touch knives for months.” he chuckles, sighing fondly.

jess looks at him as he continues chopping up the potato, a small smile still on his lips.

“you miss her, huh?”

“of course.” clint sighs, pushing the slices into the pot. “i miss all of ‘em– brett, ray…vance,” he sighs, setting down the knife. “i know they're all worried sick. but i…i’m scared to go back. especially after…”

the boy paused, staring at his hands as his eyes flashed with that familiar look from earlier. jess set his jaw, unsure if he should urge him on or tell him he didn't have to talk about it. he was conflicted– so he just looked at the boy steadily.

“...promise you won't laugh.” clint says solemnly, looking at jess with heavy eyes. “please.”

jess wanted to ask, ‘why on earth would i laugh?’, but he felt like it would be inappropriate– so he just nodded.

clint took a deep breath, closing his eyes and speaking lowly, his voice shaking as he spoke.

“i…i was outside doin’ work, and…i dunno, someone came up an’ grabbed me,” he said, sighing deeply. “took me on their horse and…took me out where no one could hear and…”

tears were falling from the boy’s eyes, but his voice remained steady. “there was a lot of em. maybe four or five– and they took me off the horse and started hitting me and…ripped off my clothes–”

“you don't have to keep going.” jess said quickly as the boy began to tremble. he knew what he was going to say next. the boy whimpered softly, his hand coming up to his hair and grazing the bandages around one of the wounds from the struggle.

“it was horrible. i was so scared, i-i saw that one of them had a gun in their holster and i grabbed it, and– i shot one of em.”

that was the gunshot jess heard that lead him to clint. the older man nodded, watching as tears fell down his cheeks in a steady stream. he pawed at his eyes frantically, sniffling as he exhaled shakily.

“i think i killed him, jess.” he hiccups, hands trembling. “i’m a murderer– i can't go home anymore,”

jess bit his lip, walking towards the boy and hesitantly placing a hand on his shoulder. the boy relaxed slightly, and the older man sighed inwardly, relieved that he had done the right thing.

“we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, alright?” he says, patting him firmly and gesturing towards the pot over the fire. “c’mon, let’s eat.”

clint wiped at his eyes one final time and nodded, taking the bowl jess handed him shakily and giving a weak half smile.

clint served the both of them, and they moved to the dinner table. there was only one chair, and clint paused.

“oh, i can sit on the couch,” he offered, and jess held up a hand.

“you cooked, you have the chair.” he hums, scooting the chair over. “i can stand.”

“you sure?” clint asks softly, shuffling.

“go ahead.”

clint sat down and muttered a ‘thank you’, grabbing a spoon and digging in to his stew. jess hummed as he ate, slowly beginning to calm down as he enjoyed his meal. the older man grabbed a utensil and did the same, humming at the taste.

“mm, this is real good,” jess says, licking his lips. “might have to keep you around as my personal cook.”

“oh c’mon,” clint murmurs, looking away. “i’m sure you've had better.”

“not really. maybe it's all that seasoning you used.”

“i didn't use that much,” clint chuckles, looking up at jess. “you really need to use your seasonings more– you’ve got some good stuff in there.”

“all from the sheriff.” jess hums, stirring the stew around in his bowl. “his wife loves giving me things– and i never have the heart to turn ‘em down.”

“you have a thing for her?” clint asks.

“hell no.” jess says flatly. “not the type of man to go for a taken woman.” he said. he wanted to add ‘or women in general,’ but clint didn't really need to know all that. “she's just real friendly, that's all.”

“mm.” clint hums. “maybe i can go meet her one day.”

“maybe,” jess hums, sipping from his bowl. “you'd be a good help in town.” he mutters, setting down his now empty bowl. “you look fast, you can help me wrangle up some criminals.”

clint giggles a little at that, standing and wiping his lips. “i’m no officer.”

jess takes his bowl, placing it in the sink and shrugging. “i think you got what it takes.”

clint waves him off, before yawning loudly and rubbing at his eyes. “ugh, i’m tired.” he murmured, blinking slowly.

“have you been sleeping?” jess asks, tilting his head as clint averts his eyes.

“no,” he says, clearing his throat. “told you i don't like bein’ alone.” he mutters, scratching the back of his neck. “i just lay awake a lot of the time.”

“you should really say somethin’,” jess mutters, sighing. “you want me to sit out here with you? hust until you fall asleep?”

clint blushed, abashed as he scratched at the back of his neck. “you don't have to. don't wanna be bothersome.”

“you're not being bothersome,” jess says firmly, standing. “i’ll go let you change, and i’ll be back out to sit with ya, alright?” he hums, and clint just nods shyly, walking to the couch and grabbing the sleep dress. jess disappears into his room, leaving the boy to change.

jess exhaled and took his hat off briefly, removing his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt, shrugging it off and throwing it to the side. he slips on a plain white shirt, moving to unbuckle his belt and shimmy off his pants, replacing them with looser ones. he placed his hat back on and walked back into the living room.

clint was already laying back on the couch, fidgeting with his hands as he perked up when he saw jess emerge from the room.

jess sat on the floor next to the couch, looking up at clint, who was looking out the window once again. his hair was shining in the pale moonlight, making him look boyishly handsome in a way jess couldn't put into words. just looking at him, he suddenly felt protective over the boy.

“uhm,” clint started, blushing softly as he looked at jess. “thanks for doing this, jess,” he says, looking down at the older man with a sheepish smile on his lips. “means a lot.”

jess shrugs, leaning his head back against the faded edge of the cushion. “i’ve done plenty of bad, figured i could do something good for once.” he mutters.

clint hums softly, settling his head on the pillow. “i don't think you're a bad guy,” clint says softly, blinking owlishly at him.

“you don't think,” jess says, scratching at his jaw. “but i’ve done things in my lifetime kiddo– things i ain’t proud of.”

“that doesn't define you.” clint frowns, turning to face jess fully. “i mean– you coulda left me to die, but you took me in. i don't think a bad guy would do that.”

jess shrugs, looking away. “i think that's just basic humanity, honestly.”

“still humanity.”

jess sighs, rolling his eyes. “look– we here to sleep or to talk about me?”

clint giggles. “sorry.”

the boy yawns and settles into the couch, closing his eyes and humming lowly. “i still don't think you're bad, though.” he says sleepily, his voice slightly slurred. “i think you're alright.”

jess gave a hum of acknowledgment, listening as the boy’s breath evened out. he sighed softly, relieved that he was finally getting some rest. jess felt his eyes getting heavy just listening to the sound of the boys breathing. he hadn't experienced something like this in a long, long time. it was comforting, but scary. very scary. he didn't know how to feel about it.

as he was drifting off to sleep, he noticed clint’s breathing change. he sat up, looking at the boy. he was beginning to tremble, his eyes squeezed shut as his breath picked up.

“no, stop–”

jess instinctively reached for the boy, but pulled his hand back as his body jerked, his hand grabbing at the blankets tightly as he whimpered.

“please–! i’m sorry–”

“clint,” jess said softly, slowly placing his hand on his side. “wake up,”

the boy didn't budge, the dream still shaking him to the core as he trembled hard, tears coming to his eyes. “stop–”

“clint!” jess yelled, and the boy jumped awake, sitting up at attention and panting heavily. he looked at jess with wide, glassy eyes, his chest heaving.

“wha–?”

“you were havin’ a nightmare.” he said bluntly, squeezing his shoulder. “you were screaming and trembling.”

clint sniffled, blinking away the tears in his eyes, looking embarrassed. “sorry,”

“don't be,” jess mutters, sitting up and facing him. “anything i can do?”

clint stared down at his lap silently for a moment, blinking before he spoke. “can we just…talk?” he asks. “i-if you don't mind.”

that wave of protectiveness came over jess again. he nodded and hummed, looking up at clint patiently. “we can talk.”

clint went on about his family and his mom, and how his dad used to be. he told jess almost everything about his family, and jess hung onto every single word until clint finally fell asleep, face illuminated by the moonlight.

jess truly didn't know what to make of this boy.

[snezfics-n-shit]

Sicktember Day 24: "Did you just sneeze?"

Fandom: Ace Attorney Characters: Franziska von Karma, Larry Butz Notes: Can’t get enough of Larry and Franziska being besties? Me neither! If you have had enough, I’m sorry but not really. This entry is actually somewhat of a follow-up of last year’s “Excessive Use of Tissues” entry you can find in my Sicktember 2022 collection. Franziska and Larry get together as they usually do, with Franziska reluctant to allow Larry even a glimpse of the imperfections her life has accumulated in recent weeks. Set early in the 7yg, just like the entry this is following up on, but this time with references to one of Shu Takumi’s short stories from 2020. Just like said entry from last year, there are mentions of very recent past franmaya. Also, Larry has no room to tease Franziska’s girly sneeze because, as some friends and I have decided (and therefore made true and canon), he has his own cutesy pixie sneezes. Maybe a future entry will give Franziska the chance to send the teasing back into his court (hint hint) hehe. If you like the things I write, I always appreciate reblogs and comments; they really make my day!

     Franziska von Karma refused to consider herself unlucky in anything. She was not unlucky in her career after several losses in American courtrooms. She was not unlucky in love after the recent end of her very first romantic relationship. She was most definitely not unlucky in health after that foolish little brother of hers gave her this dreadful cold that seemed to wait for the worst moment to strike once she returned home. Everything had to have happened for a perfect reason; that’s what her older sister once told her. 

A perfect reason for her cold to be at its worst on the day Larry Butz was to visit, no matter how much she refused to believe it, may as well have not existed. It was too late to cancel the plans made months in advance, leaving her pushing herself to appear at her best, even if she was feeling close to the worst. 

“How was your flight?” She asked as she poured tea for both herself and Larry. Tea was a wonderful thing, both for serving to houseguests and soothing an ailing body. Franziska could have easily been upfront about her choice to serve tea instead of her usual offer of a wide range of beverages when Larry arrived, but what good would it be for Larry to know? His occasional obliviousness was a gift that anyone would be a fool not to take advantage of once in a while. 

“It was pretty exciting! I’ve never been on a private jet before.” Larry smiled and made a soft, gleeful noise as he picked up the teacup to blow on his tea, ignoring Franziska’s look of irritation towards his unwillingness to burn his tongue. “I’ve been on a lot of planes, but they were always crowded and I usually ended up with the seat in front of a really fidgety kid who would kick my seat for the entire flight. I don’t blame the kid, though; I probably would’ve been just like that if my parents could afford flying when I was growing up.”

“What about those first class tickets I recall you purchasing?” Franziska asked as she savored a breath of the steam emanating from her teacup, careful as ever to be quiet in doing so. 

“Oh, those weren’t for me! I can never afford more than one of those, but my girlfriends have deserved nothing but the best. Take Bennifer, for example. She really wanted to visit Tibet, so I thought it’d be really nice to travel there with her.” Larry’s expression fell. “When we got there, she thanked me for the first class flight and then immediately told me she wasn’t interested in me anymore.” He sighed. “I guess it wasn’t all bad. I got my miles from the flight and a new place so say I’ve visited.” 

“It still sounds like a shame, though.” Franziska took a small sip of her tea. “To go out of your way for someone, only for her to tell you that a relationship is something that no longer fits where she wants her life to be right now.” Her voice shook despite her efforts to separate herself from this particular topic. For Larry to find out she was just as impacted by the pits of heartbreak as any other human might be even worse than if he were to find out she wasn’t feeling well.

“Did I strike a chord or something, Franzy?” Larry tilted his head. “It’s not like you and Maya– No way!” He leaned forward with wide eyes.  “You got dumped!?” 

“I did not ‘get dumped!’” Franziska growled, taking her throat by surprise and triggering a good few seconds of coughing. “E-Excuse me.” She sniffled as she struggled to regain her composure. “The relationship may have ended, but not in a way I would describe as ‘dumping,’ even if it was her decision.” 

“Woah, woah. Sorry.” Larry laughed nervously. “It’s just a, uh, figure of speech, really. When you get dumped as much as I have, you start to realize it’s not a dirty word. It is the hardest the first time around, though, and I’m here for you. You know that, right?” 

As much as Franziska could not stand the word, considering it to be far too vulgar for something she felt to be a serious and painful matter, maybe Larry was right. Maybe the first time around simply was the hardest and it would be, dare she say, much appreciated to spend this time in the company of a friend. 

“T-Thank you,” Franziska swallowed despite the soreness it caused, “Larry Butz.” She had to be ill for those words to come out so easily. “You’re far better of a confidant than my foolish little brother has been lately.” 

“Huh? What did Edgey do this time?”

“He hogged the tissue box in my time of need, for one thing!” Franziska started. “Then, I can tell he clearly neglected to disinfect his living space because he… he… Iit’tshhew!! H’hsshhiew!!” She scrambled to find her pocket handkerchief and make quick use of it before Larry could potentially catch a glimpse of being so unpresentable. 

“Did… Did you just sneeze?” Larry asked through poorly stifled laughter. 

“Why would it matter?” Franziska’s voice was muffled by the handkerchief pressed against her face. 

“You’re just so… dainty, Franzy!” Larry held his hand to his mouth to hide his involuntary smile. “It’s cute, like a little kitten!”

“Were we not having a serious discussion right now?” Franziska huffed. “I refuse to let it take such a foolish turn as this!”

“Okay, okay. Sorry.” Larry quickly attempted to calm himself. “I, uh, I’m guessing he gave you that nasty cold, huh?” 

Franziska was about to admit it anyway, so there was no sense in denying when this visit had already led to Larry seeing multiple aspects of Franziska that she would have rather hid. 

“Yes, he did.” Franziska scowled as if Miles had committed a much higher offense than just not spending Franziska’s entire time at his home in a hazmat suit. 

“The nerve!” Larry made a scandalized face, one of his favorite things to do whenever he and Franziska met up to tell each other the latest gossip. 

Franziska wanted to laugh at Larry’s exaggerations, but ended up coughing instead.

“Pardon me.” She cleared her throat. “But now you do see the full consequences of Miles Edgeworth’s foolishness.”

“Yeah!” Larry again played up his reaction. “Hold on, I think I got some cough drops with me.” He dug through his jacket’s pockets before pulling out a couple of cough drops. “I don’t know how well it’ll go with your tea, but it’s worth a shot, right?”

“I suppose I’m willing to try.” This was Franziska’s way of accepting the offer, though she grimaced as soon as the saccharine cherry flavor met her tongue. She mentally reminded herself that Larry was trying to help and instinctively used her tongue to push the cough drop to the side of her mouth. “So, while this melts, why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to?”

“Really?” Larry blinked. His brain needed to flip through the cards of Phoenix’s rough situation that he didn’t feel right divulging and recent failed relationships he would rather not bring up given Franziska’s opening up about her first heartbreak. “Well, uh, I graduated from my patisserie school program!”

“You did?”

“Yup! And you won’t believe what Edgey told me afterwards! He said…” 

[new-king-of-boomtown]

Soren :D

Favorite thing about them

His need to beautify things. We are running for our lives from certain death and a simple wonky bridge would do but he takes the time to make it look better even though it will surely be destroyed. I also love how his hair and beard are similar to a lion's mane but he is an absolute coward.

Least favorite thing about them

Less about him and more about how we never see him again. I liked the crazy man.

Favorite line

"I wasn't expecting so many houseguests! There's no way I have enough seashell soaps for all of them."

brOTP

Him and Ellegaard for sure! Given that the duo specialize in creation it would be hard for them not to be besties.

OTP

Love me some Soren x Ivor! It is my fav from the OotS but I could likewise see him with Ellie too.

nOTP

I got nothin!

Random headcanon

He is absolutely somewhere in the portal network. I think after so long he had made friends and did his best to repress the thought of the friends and world he left to be devoured.

Second one sneaking in, I want to believe that the rest of the order isn't BAD at making their home islands but Soren swooped in to beautify their main bases and people came in and just...built around them.

Unpopular opinion

He should of kept a spare enderman suit for us. I want you to imagine the horror of Jesse walking though the entire series in it. I wanted to be questioned about my sweet set!

Song I associate with them

You sit around getting older there's a joke here somewhere and it's on me I'll shake this world off my shoulders come on baby this laugh's on me

Favorite picture of them

Look how dapper he is without armor!

[lovemesomeeddiemunson]

Fugitive Houseguest

Summary: With the townsfolk gunning for Eddie, Steve and Dustin decide he’ll be safer under the care of an old friend. 

F! OC. 8657 Words. Oops.

Part 1 of 2.

Warnings:  MAJOR ST spoilers ahead.  Explicit sex scene in part 1 (Minors DNI.) There is also a hinted at sexual situation in part 2 in which OC is not in their right mind, which may make some uncomfortable. ST-esq violence. Slut-shaming (talking about that moment from volume 1, which was not okay.) Food eating mentions. Cursing.

Authors Note:  This started as a simple bandaid to cope with Volume 4. Definitely got away from me lol. It’s a fix it fic y’all!! As such you’ll see pretty clearly where I took some…artistic license to make the OC more central to the story. I hate myself sometimes I swear but this fic practically wrote itself. 😂 Much as I love my reader inserts, I felt that the protagonist in this fic just had too many specific traits to NOT be an OC. Also, some hints of OC X Billy and maybe even OC X Steve if you squint.  This is part 1 of 2, no further installments currently planned. 

Also, I am always looking for inspo, so I will absolutely take requests for one-shots, blurbs, and head canons. If you don’t have an idea and just wanna chat, that’s cool too! I promise I won't bite.

“Where the hell have you been?” Steve reprimanded the approaching woman as she threw her Chevy Cavalier into park.

“Went to see Raul.” She explained, still bandaged from the encounter.

Steve did a double take, eyes widening. He knew what that meant. “You do realize that it’s the end of the world, right?”

Yeah, she wanted to tell him, but it was the end of the world, again, and she would be damned if that meant canceling her appointment. 

Instead she just smirks. “You have your coping skills, and I have mine.” 

As he follows her to her front door of the cute house on the edge of Lover’s Lake. She unlocks it for him and lets him inside. “Did you at least come by it honestly?” Steve asked with raging sarcasm.

She snorts, playing along and upping the ante. “Unless trading some sloppy head for ink is ‘coming by it honestly,’ then I highly doubt it.” 

He nearly choked, which she’d hoped for when choosing her words.

Back in Steve’s car parked in front of hers, two people huddle together, whispering. 

The older of the two, a long haired boy she had not met before, asks if she’ll really be able to help.

The younger boy, Dustin Henderson, nods vigorously, explaining that it’s cool, she’s cool. The best, actually. The other man couldn’t be in better hands. 

Eddie huffs at that and exits the vehicle, following Steve and her inside despite the former’s insistence that he wait in the car, so he could bring the woman up to speed.

That didn’t look like what Steve was up to. To Eddie, it looked more like flirting. Gross.

“You wanna see it, don’t you?” He hears her tease Steve as he enters without knocking, the man’s arms crossed and expression put out.

“No!” He protested, too quickly, before his eyes flashed to Eddie, Dustin entering the house behind him. His voice dropped low all at once, jokingly. “Show me later.” He muttered under his breath.

She giggled, heading over to the fridge and pulling out several glass coke bottles. Handing one to Dustin first, that giggle is still in her voice as she asks the kid how he’s been, rubbing his cheek lovingly.

Dustin was flushing, even as he lightly protested. “I have to regretfully inform you that I must reject your advances; I have a girlfriend now.” 

The kid is totally serious, but the sigh she lets out is theatrical. “All the good ones are taken, huh?” She quips, eyes suddenly on Eddie, the act sobering. She seems to straighten up suddenly, down to business.

“So, we don’t speak for a couple months and you guys make it up to me by bringing me a person of interest in a murder investigation.” It’s said lightheartedly.

“Right so…His name hasn’t gone public yet, but we figured it’s only a matter of time. And if we’d managed to track him down at Reefer Rick’s then it’s safe to assume that others will too…We figured there’s nothing linking the two of you together so he should be safe here, until we can figure out a way to clear his name.” Dustin rambles. 

She takes a swig of the cola, humming thoughtfully. “…So, when you say, ‘End of the world’…” she eyes the bottle. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re…in the brainstorming phase.” Steve admits.

At that she starts to mumble incoherently - raising her voice louder to punctuate a sharp rant in Spanish, that has Steve objecting.

“English, babe, English. You know I can’t understand you when you talk like that. I’m not Robin.” He soothes.

“Forget it.” She dismisses. “Just…cursing my luck. In any case, I’ll harbor the fugitive. We can work out the details later.”

“It’s Eddie.” Eddie crosses his arms over his chest. “Eddie The Banished.” He adds dryly.

She gives a wave of her hand, “I’ll harbor the fugitive Eddie-the-banished.” She says, not missing a beat. Eddie cracks a smile for the first time in what feels like forever.

“Thanks Amilia.” Steve sighs in relief as Dustin gives her a big hug. She pats his back sweetly.

“Take care of him, yeah?” Dustin asks nervously. 

‘Amilia’ draws a small ‘X’ over her chest, right above her heart. “With my life.” She swears to him.

Then the two boys make their exit, and it’s just her and Eddie, standing about awkwardly. He racked his brain for something to say. Torn between letting the woman know he’s grateful, and spitefully insisting that he doesn’t need anything but a place to crash.

Instead of all that, he starts simple. “So, uh, Amilia was it?” Eddie questions. She nods. 

“You uh, you live here alone?” He asks. “I mean, uh, your boyfriend’s not gonna randomly show up and want to kick my ass, right?”

“It’s just me. Last boyfriend I had kind of got brutally murdered by a spider creature from another dimension 8 months ago.” The words are about as lighthearted as her clarification that Eddie was wanted for murder.

Eddie is surprised. He opens his mouth, and then closes it, sheepishly admitting. “I had a crush on the girl they think I killed…and now…my memories of her will forever be overrun by the sound of her bones snapping and the sight of her lifting off the floor.”

Giving a slow nod, Amilia takes in his downtrodden expression, voice soft. “Look at us, two traumatized souls, finding each other in this crazy world. What are the odds?” Spinning around, she grabs and raises her half drunk Coke bottle in solidarity. “To the fallen.” She toasts.

“To the fallen.” He agrees in slight surprise, touching his own bottle to hers.

Then she eyes him up and down, noting thoughtfully, “You know, you look like someone who could use a home cooked meal.” 

And Eddie is rendered speechless as she stands up and heads over to take some things from the fridge.

He watches in awe, as she brings out a cutting board, jumping as she chop, chop, chops, not looking up at him, tentatively asking. “What was she like?”

“Pretty cool actually. Nice.” Eddie says it casually, like these were passable qualities indeed.

“You like nice girls?” She sounded skeptical.

It made Eddie laugh. “Sometimes.”

“Sometimes.” Amilia mocks him.

“Well, what about you?” He counters.

“Sometimes.” She responds, a glimmer in her eye. “Nice is fine, but who wants it nice and easy all the time? Gotta say, I prefer a person with some range.”

Eddie finds this whole thing really odd. A week ago he was planning a brutal campaign, trying to think of how best to slaughter his friends.

Now here he was, on the hook for an actual brutal murder that he had only witnessed - in a woman’s house he’d only met today, agreeing with her on several fundamental levels.

Eddie wonders if he scratches under the surface any deeper, just how much more they’ll have in common.

“And he had range?” He smirks.

“He was a walking complexity.” She agreed.

The sadness in her voice - Eddie’s unsure if it’s akin to how he’s feeling. Feels deeper than what had happened with Chrissy. More raw. “Did you love him?” He wonders aloud.

She shakes her head. “Never got the chance.” A snort. “Still, the whole thing hurt like hell. I wonder if after that I’m even equipped to love anything beyond, like…a really good dog.”

“So cynical.” Eddie beamed in admiration. 

She doesn’t mind the accusation. “Think it might have worked out between you and your crush, if she had lived?” 

“Hell no.” He scoffs. “We came from two different worlds, for starters. And she also had this terrible boyfriend, who I’m sure is leading the search party for my head.”

“Yeah, well unfortunately for that guy he has to go through me first.” A threat if he’d ever heard one, Eddie hides his smile behind his drink.

She keeps cooking - more seasonings on one shelf than Eddie has in his whole trailer, which she used liberally. 

“So, Amilia, just how is it that you got mixed up with the likes of me?” He asks curiously.

“Hm...I think it’s just an added bonus to being mixed up with the likes of Steve and Dustin.” She laughs. “Yeah, we uh, we worked together to save the world a few times…This is just the latest installment.” Her smile falters. “Sucks' cause I thought it was all over. Now here they are pulling me out of retirement.”

“Well ‘The Hair’ was certainly happy to see you.” Eddie says it sharply, wondering why it bothered him, but unable to deny that he couldn’t get the interaction out of his head.  

“Steve?” Amilia laughs at the thought, shutting down the assumption. “Yeah I mean I guess that whole ‘bit’ came out of retirement with me. It's been hand in hand with us working together ever since we figured out a few years ago how riled up we can get Wheeler.” 

Eddie considered that, the confession shining a new light on their whole meeting. He’s intrigued.

He gets her to tell him more - about their dynamic, takes from how things were before - she tells it all. Even lets him in on Steve and Nance’s tragic love life which he could have done without.

In the end though, knowing about all the supernatural crap going on in Hawkins while he was unaware, he feels just slightly better about his chances. 

They’ve been doing this, apparently, for years. Finding a way out of it seems much more likely than when he was going it alone.

After they talk, maybe an hour or so later, Amilia places a plate in front of Eddie with chicken and rice, and he has to grasp every semblance of self control that he has in order not to let out an obscene moan at the first bite. 

He cleans his plate, leaning back in his chair until he sees Amilia rise from another seat at the dining table, headed to the kitchen sink. 

Eddie quickly scrambled to his feet once he realized her intentions. “Let me do that.” He protests gruffly.

When she gives him a funny look he takes the sponge from her hands. “Least I can do.” Is what he grumbles, gently maneuvering himself between her and a sink full of suds.

She flashes him a smile that sucks the air out of his lungs.

When the hour grows late, Amilia insists that Eddie take her bedroom, telling him that he’s been through too much to sleep on a stiff couch.

He refuses - punching a throw pillow to soften it and waving her goodnight with his many ringed fingers.

She huffs and stomps back to her room, and then she’s back, dragging a pillow and blanket with her. She stubbornly throws it on the floor in front of him, making him promise not to step on her if he gets up to pee.

Eddie laughs, commenting on how insane she is, but really he’s glad for the company.

He crashes, feeling oddly safe, warm. 

He isn’t sure how long he slept but when he wakes up he finds himself in an empty house, with nothing but a note left behind with the time she’d left, that she’ll be back in an hour, tops, and to stay put. 

Stay safe. She had emphasized the word, underlining it twice. 

Eddie smiles crookedly before shaking his head and checking his watch - she had twenty minutes before he grew paranoid.

Only eight minutes later, he hears a car pull up so he peeks through the window shades, only to see Amilia grabbing a trash bag from her back seat, hoisting it over her shoulder.

Eddie opens the door for her, offering a hand. “Thanks,” she tells him, handing the bag off.

“What’s all this?” He asks, following her where she collapses down onto the recliner in the corner.

“Open it up,” she suggests, instead of answering. So Eddie does so.

“These are my clothes,” he says accusingly. 

She merely shrugs, saying. “The crime scene isn't active anymore.” As if that explains it all. 

He’s stunned - it’s just another act of hers that shows how thoughtful she is. And Eddie isn’t used to being…cared for. 

Sure, Wayne leaves him cigarettes, money for food, and beer - but for all that, he doesn’t anticipate Eddie’s needs before he has them. 

“Thank you.” He utters softly.

“No big deal,” she deflects, waving a hand as if she might swat the gratitude away. 

“Did uh…did you happen to notice if my uncle was home?” Eddie asks, concerned about the older man.

She gives a shake of her head. “He wasn’t.”

Eddie isn’t sure if he’s saddened or relieved, hoping that the kids figure something out soon, so he can explain himself to Wayne. At the very least let him know he’s alright.

With new clothes in hand, Eddie takes a shower. Amilia directs him to a spare toothbrush under the sink and gets started on a simple lunch for the two of them.

When he emerges, toweling off his wet hair, he’s surprised to hear Judas Priest’s Love Bites blasting in the kitchen. 

Once Amilia notices his approach, she hurriedly apologizes through the familiar song, before turning it down, trying to be kind and telling he can play whatever he wants if it’s not his thing. 

But holy hell is it his thing, and Eddie is in awe.

What follows that realization is honestly…pure domestic bliss.

The two develop their own routine. She cooks him three meals a day. The two discuss music, books and movies. Eddie makes her laugh as much as he can, and thoughts of her invade his brain long after he’s supposed to be asleep.

By his third evening with her, he can’t take it anymore. As she sets his plate down in front of him, he catches her wrist very gently, tentatively sliding his fingers through hers.

When she raises a brow at him, he suddenly blurts. “Have dinner with me.” 

She raises an eyebrow in confusion, remarking. “I was planning on it,” Only for Eddie to shake his head, flushing. “I…I mean, like, have it with me.”

Understanding washes over her at the implication. She keeps her teasing tone to hide the nerves suddenly threatening her voice. “Eddie, are you asking me on a date?”

Eddie offers his most charming smile in reply. “So what if I am?”

There were several ways she could think to respond to that - but she had to admit, she was flattered. 

Eddie’s face falls a bit. “If I’m out of line at all…”

“You aren’t.” She promises. 

He lights up. “Good, because uh…I really like you.”

“I really like you too.” She tells him, her confession causing him to make a face at his plate. 

“Sure, I mean what’s not to like?” He tries to make it sound like a joke, but visibly cringes.

“Oh you know. Just a nice guy - smart, funny, easy on the eyes.” She shrugs innocently.

“Nice?” He gasps. “Are you saying I don’t have range?” Laughs and eats more of his food.

“Yet to be seen.” She tells him, which he takes as a challenge.

“You think you’ve seen it all, hm? I hate to break it to you, you know, but there is a difference between domestic Eddie and bedroom Eddie.” He winks at her.

She holds a hand to her heart at the scandalous suggestion, derisive. “Well I wouldn't know from the first date!” 

Eddie chuckled. “Alright, say I wanted to show you…how many dates are we talking about?”

“Five?” She says innocently.

“Five?!?” He blurts out, suddenly standing dramatically, waving his arms about. “Okay, let me think. The other day when you kicked my ass at Torpedo Run, that counts. We also watched a movie last night with popcorn. And today we got high and listened to Peace Sells, and I’m sorry sweetheart but if that’s not romance then I don’t know what is.” 

She giggles at him, agreeing. He snaps his fingers thoughtfully. “Okay, I got it. One fifth date, coming right up.”

He disappears into the living room. “Eddie! I was kidding.” She complains.

“No, no.” Amilia hears him protest, as he starts rearranging the furniture. “We’re doing this.”

She follows him out there. He looks through her cassettes, plucking one from the pile. “Oh, this is too perfect.” Eddie chuckles. “Why would you even own this?”

He slips Elvis’ Blue Hawaii into the cassette player, to her horror.

“Oh god Eddie!” She complains in embarrassment. “I’m pretty sure this was my mother’s at some point before I was born.” 

He laughs at her. “Our mom’s would have gotten along. Now come on. You brought it into this house, now you have to dance with me.” He doesn’t take no for an answer.

So she lets him pull her in tight, slowly swaying her along. Though his feet don’t really leave the floor, he’s actually not a terrible dancer.

Like everything he does, he commands the room. And Amilia’s fixation with him doesn’t go unnoticed.

After a minute he asks softly over the ukulele. “Can I kiss you? I really want to kiss you.” 

She gives a small nod in return, “Yes.” 

Eddie smiles and leans down, pressing his lips against hers.

It’s slow, and sweet, and she’s melting in his arms thinking how she’s never fallen apart so easily, with such a simple act.

The power this man holds…Eddie smiles into the kiss - a bit cocky, like he can tell, holding her tight like he can’t get close enough.

Her arms wrap around his neck while the two kiss passionately in her living room. 

And then the song is over and Eddie is aggressively spinning to turn off the tape, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“So,” she asks, her eyes flickering back towards her bedroom. “You wanna…?”

“We don’t have to, you know? I was only joking earlier. I can give you five real dates. Longer if you want.” He’s sweet, and completely serious. 

He must have more optimism than she possesses, assuming that the two of them would get that kind of time. Amilia didn’t have the luxury of being so sure. 

“I want you.” She tells him. And damn if that confession doesn’t almost cause his undoing right there on the spot.

He kisses her again, leaning down to grasp the underside of her thighs, picking her up where she wraps them around his waist, allowing him to carry her to the bedroom in between heated kisses.

He lays her out gently on her bed, breaking the kiss to ask, “This okay?”

She nods eagerly, pulling him back in. “Want you.” She repeats against his lips. Eddie groans softly. 

“Want you too.” He admits, and that much is obvious. Still it’s nice to hear while he’s crawling on top of her. 

Then Eddie’s hand is wrapped loosely around her throat, and he’s kissing her like he might never stop.

He loves how responsive she is beneath him, the sweet sounds she makes and the way she eagerly rolls her hips against his, hands running through his hair.

Eddie kisses every bit of her exposed skin, stripping her of her shirt and bra in quick succession.

He mutters how beautiful she is, perfect, perfect for him. And latches onto her nipple, sucking eagerly on the one before alternating, always playing leisurely with whichever his mouth isn’t attached to.

She writhes beneath him, crying out at the overwhelming sensation and Eddie smiles into his work. 

He lets go while she pouts, kissing down to her ribs and back, laughing against the skin of her collarbones, his face buried there, tracing every line of her tattoos with his tongue.

“Eddie, please.” She grumbles, and she can feel his laugh reverberated through her, causing her to tug at his hair playfully.

He groans aloud at the sensation, causing a mischievous smile to appear on Amilia’s lips as she gives another experimental tug.

He whimpers.

Then he’s batting her hands away, grinning at her, long hair falling down to curtain either side of her face.

Her brain is fuzzy. She’s drunk off of him, intoxicated, when his tongue plays lazily against hers.

Amilia makes him back away so she can take his shirt off, mumbling compliments about his tattoos, but he’s too impatient to let her appreciate them.

He’s tugging her jeans down her legs, burying his face in between her thighs before they even hit the ground. 

His teeth pierce the soft flesh of them, nipping harshly and then peppering soothing kisses. Doing nothing to help the deep ache she feels in her core.

She lets out an impatient sigh of his name, tugging on his hair again, and suddenly he’s giving what she wants, easing her panties down her legs and tossing them carelessly to the side with the rest of her discarded clothing.

Almost too slowly he pushes his tongue inside - and she’s not sure which it’s meant to be, the torture or the reward. 

He teases until she’s writhing and then he’s licking her fully and properly, tongue flattening out as he makes long strokes through her wetness.

She cries out when he adds a finger, slipping it inside while she rides his tongue. When he’s bold he adds another, filling her up just right and sucking on that little nub that has her teetering on the edge.

Eddie is almost disappointed when she comes - not wanting to stop tasting her, but then she’s dragging him away, crying out from the over-stimulation, and begging him to be inside her, and well, she’s really pretty like this…

Her hands eagerly fumble with the handcuffs he’s using as a belt buckle, and then she’s pushing his jeans and boxers off his hips giddily.

She reaches into the nightstand, Eddie taking the offered condom from her, tearing it open and rolling it onto his weeping cock, lining himself up with her once he’s fully sheathed inside it.

He fills her up, letting out helpless moans at the feeling of Amilia gripping him so demandingly. Cursing and sweating while she begs him to fuck her properly.

And how could he refuse?

He works himself in and out a few times before slamming back in, the harsh thrusts each accompanied by the harsh smack of Amilia’s headboard against the wall.

He drives into her, changing pitch and pace for whatever she begs for, harder, faster, slower, deeper - gives her everything.

While he thrusts he rubs on that sweet sweet spot just at her crest until another orgasm is crashing over her, drawing him in.

Eddie grins, pulling out and flipping her over, guiding her onto her hands and knees. 

When he slips back inside she’s moaning helplessly into her pillows. 

Not having that, Eddie gently winds his hands into her hair, pulling her up by it so he can hear the explicit sounds she releases as he pounds into her from behind.

Her cries and screams encourage him as he absolutely rails her, feeling her grow impossibly tighter still.

It’s not long before he’s stuttering in his movements, giving a few more sloppy thrusts before he comes, hard, against the cry of her name.

Eddie thinks he might have even blacked out for a second.

Wincing when he pulls out of her, he disposes of the used rubber in the small trash bin at her bedside before collapsing next to her.

She rolls onto her back with breathless panting, and they meet each other’s eyes at the same time, big grins splitting their faces.

“So…what’s the verdict?” He asks innocently.

“You look real pretty in the afterglow, Eds.” She teases, mushing his cheeks and avoiding the question.

He laughs. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Humming softly, she reaches out again, ecstatic when he receives her, actually pulling her in closer, burying his face in her hair. 

She confesses. “So, domestic Eddie is actually not a far cry from bedroom Eddie.” He was too sweet, through and through. Despite how rough he could give it to her.

“Hey!” He whines loudly, seeming inclined to remind her of that fact, making her laugh.

“But! You do have range.” She readily admits.

“Thank goodness.” He sighs, planting a kiss on her lips.

The two of them cuddle up the rest of the night, a tangle of limbs and tattoos, falling asleep in a bed for the first time since they’ve met.

The next morning Eddie wakes up, disturbed when he rolled over and she wasn’t beside him. 

He gets up slowly with the intention of going to find her, stretching and yawning and pulling his discarded boxers on before walking out of the bedroom. 

She’s in the kitchen, wearing his shirt and scrambling some eggs. It makes Eddie’s heart ache.

He wraps his arms around her waist, resting his chin atop her head, murmuring good morning.

She tilts her head back to smile at him widely, and he presses a quick kiss to the tip of her nose.

Eddie thinks he could get used to this, being in hiding, if it means everything that comes with it. Food, sex, good music, and the present company that he isn’t sure how he ever lived without.

Still, all good things must come to an end. 

That night it comes in the form of the unmistakable sound of a car pulling into the driveway. 

At the sound, Amilia gets up and looks out, past the window curtain. It’s not Steve or one of the kids.

“Eddie, I see varsity jackets.” She tells him, letting the curtain fall closed.

“Shit, how the hell did they know to look here?” He blurts, jumping to his feet.

“Go, hide in my room. I’ll get rid of them.” She orders, shoving him towards the bedroom door.

“What? Fuck that I’m not leaving you with them.” Eddie complains.

“I’m not asking.” She presses. “Seriously, Eddie, go. If there’s a chance they don’t know you're here yet, we have to take it.” She pushes him away before going to answer the knock on the door to the two basketball players on the other side. 

“Can I help you?” She asks with a sweet smile, reminding herself that there’s no reason that she should be defensive or angry at their presence. Wary, maybe, as a woman living alone with uninvited guests, but no more than that.

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am…” Jason starts.

“Ma’am?” She laughs. “Jason, I tutored you in Spanish when you were a sophomore and I was a senior, remember?”

“Oh. Right. You look…different.” He confessed.

“Grew my hair out.” She jokes, since it’s always been this long. What she hadn’t had before was the tattoos - at least not the currently visible ones - the creeping vines blooming across her shoulders and collarbone. “Anyways, what can I do for you?”

“We were looking for some people - Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Mike Wheeler…we know they come around here sometimes.”

She frowns innocently. “Sorry, but I haven’t really seen the kids since…well I guess since the mall burned down. Their regular babysitter’s hours got freed up since Scoops Ahoy is gone.” 

“Hm.” Jason said skeptically, his eyes narrowing.

She raises an eyebrow. “I mean…you’re welcome to look around?” Then laughs. “But all you’re gonna find is some refreshing lemonade.”

Amilia turns and heads inside. “Let me get you some for the road.” She’s not asking, pouring the drinks into plastic cups for the two goons, and walking them outside.

Jason won’t drink, but Patrick does, not feeling so great when he suddenly cries out in pain, bending over, cup still in his hand, clutching his abdomen.

“You poisoned it!” Jason accused, glaring at her in turn, grabbing at her arm roughly.

“It’s just lemonade!” She protests, grabbing the red solo cup from Patrick and taking a huge drink. “See?”

“No,” Patrick gasps. “Wasn’t the lemonade…I’m fine.” He explains weakly.

“What the hell are you trying to pull?” Jason snaps at her.

“Me? I literally just gave the guy a drink! What the hell is wrong with you?” She snaps right back. 

“I know you’re lying.” He snarls, getting in her face.

She glares right back at him. “Carver, get the hell off my property.”

“Let’s just go.” Patrick utters softly, he doesn’t look so hot.

“No! She’s hiding something.” He growls, stalking back toward the house.

“Oh for fucks sake!” She snaps as he bursts in, heading straight for the bedroom like he was reading from a map.

Patrick trails behind apologetically, but when the door opens, Eddie is nowhere to be seen. 

Jason searches the whole house. Eddie’s gone.

“Did you accomplish what you wanted? Fucking prick. Get out of here before I call the cops.” She snaps, bluffing, but knowing that cops scared people like Jason. 

As it is he’s flustered, pointing a finger at her. “This isn’t over.”

“Dude, there’s nothing here, get a grip.” Patrick insists, all but dragging him out.

“Don’t you get it? She’s with them! A devil worshipper!” She can hear him shout as he’s wrangled into the car..

She watches them leave, biting her lip, knowing that she can’t search for Eddie until the two leave, but hoping he’s safe. 

He was, but not for long. His disappearing act had only bought him a little time.

When he had snuck out the back during Amilia’s conversation with Jason, not trusting the man not to search the place, he took cover in the boat that came with the house.

When they went to get in their car, Jason spotted him in his rear view mirror, huddled down in the dark. “Look!” He tells Patrick. “There!”

Eddie hears, pushing off the shore, trying the engine to no avail, only to have to try and row away as Jason scrambles from the vehicle.

Amilia heard the commotion, leaving the house and heading parallel to Jason, into the woods.

Jason all but drags Patrick to the shoreline, shouting at him, as they shed down to their underclothes, jumping in and swimming after Eddie.

They gain on him quickly and Eddie stops paddling.

“Hey stay back, man! Stay back!” Eddie yells, wielding the oar like a weapon as Jason approaches.

He turns back to Patrick to yell at him for not keeping up. “Come on, let's go, we almost have him!”

The other boy treads water and Jason calls his name. It’s the last thing he says before Patrick is dragged under.

He rises out of the water then, up into the air where he hovers, body bending and snapping.

Eddie backs up so far in the boat that he falls in. 

Amilia bites back the scream threatening to tear its way out of her throat, hugging the shore line as she keeps moving, moving toward Eddie.

She barely registers Jason collecting the mutilated body, bringing it to shore.

She’s trying to keep an eye on the older man, tearing through the woods until she finds where he’s emerged, clambering soaking wet from the water.

“Woah!” He shouts as she nearly crashes into him. “Woah, easy.” 

“Gotta hide.” She says breathlessly.

They run a considerable distance away, and then the two of them spend the night in the woods. Stealing blankets from a nearby clothesline, they huddle together for warmth, leaned up against a large oak.

Eddie holds her close, her trembling much more intense than his despite his wet state. He murmurs words of comfort to her, kissing her hair, and eventually she falls into a restless  sleep in his arms.

In the morning the two of them keep moving, trying to find a way to contact the others when Eddie decides to steal a walkie talkie from a construction site.

It takes over an hour for them to meet the pair at skull rock - and they come bearing bad news. Vecna had gone after Max - his third attempted victim - unsuccessfully, during the morning before the guys had made contact. 

“Jesus,” Eddie complained, head in his hands.

“Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks. And we know he’s doing it from the Creel house.” Max resolves, explaining how they’d gone poking around in it. “So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.” 

Robin scoffs. “If he even has a heart.” 

“A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?” Steve asks in borderline excitement.

“It was a metaphor.” Max rolls her eyes.

“A bullet should work on him, right?” Eddie chimes in.

“I say we chop his head off.” Lucas offers.

Nancy shared her agreement. “Yeah I’d say all of the above, but we can't do any of that 'til we find a way into the Upside Down.” 

“We need El to get her powers back.” Max sighs.

“Everything was like, way easier.” Steve agrees, looking to Eddie to explain, “We had this girl. She had superpowers….”

“Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her.” Eddie said gruffly, thinking how useful that would have been and watching Dustin pace back and forth. “Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?”

“Cursed? No, no. He's fine. Mental? Absolutely.” Steve uttered sarcastically.

As if to emphasize that point Dustin suddenly stops, turning sharply to yell, “Boom!” The exclamation echoing as he points at Steve, walking closer. “Bada… bada… boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north.” 

Steve almost throws a fit. “Seriously? You're serious?”

“Mm-hmm.” He says smugly.

“This is Skull Rock. Okay?” Steve gestures to it. “You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now.”

“Yes. And no.” Dustin says as Amilia raises a brow, looking on incredulously. 

“Oh my God.” Steve moans, head in his hands.

Dustin gestures to his compass. “This worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'. Correct when we got in the car on Curly. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was.” 

“So you're using faulty equipment. You're still wrong.” Steve argues, hands on his hips.

“Except it isn't faulty.” Dustin turns to his friend. “Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?”

“An electromagnetic field!” The other boy realizes.

“Yep.” Dustin grins.

“Uh I’m sorry, I must've skipped that class.” Robin deadpans.

“In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power.” Dustin explains. “So either there's some super big magnet around here, or…”

“There's a gate.” Amilia realizes.

“But we're nowhere near the lab.” Nancy frowns.

Dustin clasps his hands together. “But what if, somehow, there's another gate? A gate that we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful.” 

“Snack-size gate.” Robin theorized.

Steve glances her way. “How? Why?”

Dustin shakes his head. “No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at stopping him from taking another victim.”

“Where are you going?” Steve starts to shout after him. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Eddie's still a wanted man. Amilia’s compromised, we can't just go hike in the woods.”

Dustin holds up his compass. “This little steel capsule might be the key to saving everyone.”

“Fuck it, I’m in.” Amilia walks to Dustin’s side, grasping his right shoulder. 

He looks to his dungeon master since he has the support. “What say you, Eddie the Banished?”

Eddie has a hand resting on the side of his face, lost in deep thought. “I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor…Which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea.”

He glanced up, “But, uh, the Shire…The Shire is burning.”

Dustin starts to bounce beneath Amilia’s grip in excitement. Eddie stands. “So, Mordor it is.”

So the group all goes traipsing through the woods, finding that the wonky compass is leading them right back to Lover’s Lake. Eddie stops Dustin from walking straight into it.

“This is confounding.” Dustin exhales at the sight before them.

“There's a gate in Lover's Lake?” Max questions.

“Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way.” Nancy speculates.

“Yeah, only one way to find out.” Steve says, before the gang rustles up a boat and some oars.

Eddie and Steve place it down in the water as Steve chastises Eddie for his manner of handling. “Easy. I…I said easy, man.”

“Sorry, dude.” Eddie grumbled. 

Robin places a hand on both their heads, stepping over them and into the vessel. Eddie’s next in, offering a hand to Amilia and Nancy, pushing against Dustin’s chest lightly when he tries to clamber in after them. 

“Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us?” This thing holds four people tops, okay?” Eddie scolds as he sits next to Amilia.

Nancy instantly agrees, adding. “It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here. Keep an eye out for trouble.” 

“You keep an eye out. It's my goddamn theory!” Dustin protests.

“You heard Nance.” Amilia tells him as he whines. “Who put her in charge?” 

“I did.” Amilia responds simply. 

“Compass.” Nancy holds a hand out, Dustin handing it over, only for him to call out once in aggravation Steve jumps into the boat after pushing it off. “You said four!”

“Sorry.” Steve whispers as the older kids all row away.

“Bedtime at nine, kiddos.” Robin called, spotting the finger Dustin flips her. “Miss you already!”

As they all head further into the lake, Nancy eyes the compass. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Slow down, guys.”

The compass has gone haywire.

“Guys, what's going on?” Dustin says over the walkie-talkie. “Come on, talk to me. What's going on?”

“Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone

from wonky to wonky with a capital "aah!"” Robin utters.

Nancy’s eyes widen as Steve starts to take his socks off. “Steve, what are you doing?”

He continues to undress. “Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. And unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then…It's gotta be me.”

Amilia snorts. “You can’t even hold your breath longer than I can.”

“That’s true she can hold her breath for a really long time.” Robin reminded him. 

“I know I know!” Steve almost laughed. “I remember.” He winked at her, and Nancy squirmed in her seat. “But, they say fresh tattoos shouldn’t be fully submerged in water for at least two weeks after application. Isn’t that right?”

Amilia rolls her eyes, arms crossed over her chest. “Smart ass.”

“No complaints, all right?” He stands in the boat and sheds his shirt.

“Hey, I'm not complaining. I do not wanna go down there.” Eddie grumbles, wrapping a flashlight in a plastic bag for Steve and wishing him good luck.

“Thanks.” Steve says.

Eddie starts to light a cigarette up from the stress, but Robin snatches it with a complaint of “Gross.” Tossing it into the black water that Steve is staring out into.

“Steve,” Nancy stops him. “Be careful.” He nods, and dives in, beginning his exploration.

After a short period, Robin asks “Where we at, Wheeler?” Her eyes on the surface of the water.

“Closing in on a minute.” She tells her.

“Okay.” Robin mumbles.

Back on the shore, Dustin, Max and Lucas duck and hide from approaching police men.

Steve bursts through the surface again while the older kids are none the wiser, all of those in the boat exclaiming in surprise. 

“I found it!” He announces. “It's pretty wild. It's more a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big-” he’s cut off as something drags him under water, pulling him down with a hash jerk.

It startles all of them, the boat lurching dangerously. 

“Steve!” Amilia calls out in horror as Nancy shrieks the same name - over and over again.

Eddie protests, “No! No! What the hell was that, man?” While Robin looks at the other two girls, asking. “Really, what happened?”

“Jesus!” Eddie screeches before anyone can answer, Nancy standing up. Amilia offers her a hand the second she sees her intentions.

“Wait, wait, wait. You're not going in there, are you?” Eddie objects.

“Just…wait here.” Nancy orders as Amilia tries to soothe Eddie’s fingers away from her hips that he’d latched onto, a bit too insistently.

“No, Nancy!” Robin screams as the other girl jumps in. “Nancy!”

“Goddamn it!” Eddie curses when he loses his grip on Amilia, watching her head for the edge. “No, no, no, no, no, no. What are you doing? She said wait.” 

“So stay put then.” Amilia tells him before she jumps in after her. Moments later Robin readies herself to go after them all too. 

“Are you kidding me?” Eddie shouts. “Don't you go. Don't you…” she ignores him completely.

“Goddamn it…Son of a bitch!” He screams, standing and stomping his foot. “Oh, this is so stupid. This is so stupid. This is so stupid. Shit! Shit! Shit!” He falls into the water more than jumps in.

On the other side Steve is fighting for his life, and losing until the rest of the group shows up. They all fight against bat-like creatures, until the bat’s numbers diminish.

“Steve!” Nancy sighs in relief.

“Jesus Christ. Jesus H. Christ!” Eddie curses, throwing down the oar of a boat that he’d been using to slay the things.

“Are you okay?” Nancy asks Steve, ignoring the other man’s theatrics.

“Well, they took about a pound of flesh. But other than that, yeah, never better.” He tells them all as they sigh in relief.

“Uh, do you guys think these bats have, like, rabies?” Robin whispers.

“What?” Steve asks at the same time Amilia mutters how “They better fucking not.”

Robin swallows. “It's just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear. And I think we should probably get you to a doctor like really soon because once symptoms set in, it's too late. You're already like dead.”

Robins concerns are interrupted by a loud shrieking from the sky. Everyone looks up to see more bats converging, landing in front of them with hisses and snarls.

“All right. There's not that many. We can take 'em.” Steve says before quietly adding, “Right?”

As he does so the sky fills with more, and Amilia mutters. “You were saying?”

Nance glanced behind them all, formulating a plan. “The woods. Come on.”

“Great. More running.” Robin grumbles.

The five of them hide from the bats, waiting until the sounds of the swarm have died down. 

Steve nearly collapses as the adrenaline wears off, and Nancy makes him sit, tearing her shirt up to bandage him.

Robin talks rapidly at Steve while she does so, more for her own nerves than anything else. “So the good news is I'm pretty sure wooziness is not a symptom of rabies…But if you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms or you start feeling aggressive, like you wanna punch me, let me know.”

“Robin.” Steve chokes out.

“Yeah?” She asks.

“I kinda wanna punch you.” He confesses.

She exhaled loudly through her nose. “Sense of humor is still intact. That's a good sign.”

Nancy bandages Steve up tight as Eddie crawls to the top of a rock, taking in the Upside Down. “So, uh, this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?”

“Pretty much,” Nancy says.

Amilia hisses softly at Eddie. “Watch out for the vines. It's all a hive mind.”

“It's all a what?” He asks.

“All the creepy crawlies around here. They're, like, one or something. Step on a vine, you're stepping on a bat, you're stepping on Vecna.” Steve explains, hand to his side.

“Shit.” Eddie grunts, moving very carefully.

“But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people?” Robin asks the resident Upside Down Experts.

“As far as I understand it, yeah.” Nance agrees.

“So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate.” Robin rationalized.

“I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin.” Steve mutters. “But guns, yeah, sure.”

“Well, we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns. I have guns, in my bedroom.” Nancy offers.

“You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns, plural, in your bedroom?” Eddie asks skeptically.

“Full of surprises, isn't she?” Robin breathes.

“A Russian Makarov and a revolver.” Nancy explains.

“Yeah, you almost shot me with that one.” Amilia grumbles, remembering how this mess had all started back in 83’. 

She’d told Steve he was an ass who deserved to have his face bashed in when he and some of his loser friends had put up graffiti that Nancy was a slut. 

Then she’d gone ahead and persuaded - threatened him, really - to go apologize, riding over with him only to find Nancy holding a gun at him when she followed the sound of an argument.

That gun had just as quickly turned to her, while Johnathan tried to talk Nancy off the ledge. And then the lights were flickering, the Demogorgon was approaching, and the rest was history.

“Me too.” Steve remembers.

“You almost deserved it.” Nancy smirked at him.

“Totally.” Amilia agrees, her soft smile accompanying the exchange, and Eddie doesn’t like the way she looks at Steve like that.

He throws his vest harshly his way. “For your modesty, dude.” He says sarcastically.

The ground suddenly rumbles and shakes, knocking Amilia into Robin, Nancy into Steve, and Eddie to the ground.

When the earthquake stills, a loud roar tears through the silence.

“Yeah so guns seem like a pretty good idea to me.” Eddie admits, scrambling to his feet.

“Yeah, me too.” Robin seconds, and so they head for the Wheeler's house. 

Robin’s up ahead, complaining loudly to Amilia and Nancy as they lead the way through the woods, leaving Steve and Eddie talking softly behind them.

Eddie murmurs, “Still super jealous as hell by the way…Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any uh, normal circumstances.” He glanced at Amilia, shaking his head. “Nope. Outside of D&D I am no hero. I see danger and I just…turn heel and run. Or, at least that’s what I’ve learned about myself this week.”

“Give yourself a break, man.” Steve slaps his chest lightly.

Eddie stops walking, hands gesturing ahead to the girls to make his next point. “See? The only reason I came in here was because those ladies came straight after you…Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. But Wheeler right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I know what happened between you two, and if I were you, I would get her back. 'Cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen.” 

Steve opens and closes his mouth, unsure of what to say. And then the world rocks on its axis.

“Here we go again.” Eddie says through gritted teeth.

Up ahead Amilia curse’s Vecna’s mother in Spanish, and when all of them scramble up and on with their journey, the Wheeler house is soon spotted in the distance.

When searching it for weapons, it’s discovered that the house is trapped in a version of itself from 1983 - the year the gate opened.

Before all of them can settle in their impending doom though, those upstairs can hear Steve yelling down below. 

“Dustin!” He calls out, the rest of them rushing to him. “Dustin! Dustin, can you hear me!?” He screams into the silence.

“Steve - what are you doing?” Nancy asks. 

“Shh! Just listen.” He orders, gesturing to the space around him.

Sure enough all of them hear Dustin talking, starting to shout out for him too, searching the space for a sign of where he is.

Right side up, the kids are at The Wheeler’s after they’d been caught and interrogated by police - and even worse - their parents. 

“All right, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag.” Steve decides.

“Will found a way.” Nancy huffed.

“What?” Steve asks.

“Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights.” She explains.

“Lights?” Steve repeats as Nancy moves away from him. “Yeah,” she growls, trying to flick a lamp on and off.

“The switch. Try the switch.” Steve tells her, and she does. “It's not working.”

“Guys?” Amilia questions softly, seeing small glittering dust around the chandelier. “You seeing this?”

Slowly the five of them all approach it, hearing Dustin speak faintly. Nancy is the first to reach up and touch it, her fingers skimming along the shimmer. 

“Woah,” Eddie agrees, as the rest of them reach up to do the same.

“It…Tickles.” Steve sounds weirded out.

“It kinda feels good.” Robin smiles.

Nancy dropped her hand. “…Does anyone know Morse code?”

“No.” Amilia, Robin, and Steve say with shakes of the head. Nancy looks down in disappointment.

“Wait, does SOS count?” Eddie asks innocently, wide eyes landing on Amilia’s smile. “Is that…is that good?”

She could kiss him, instead nodding eagerly.

He taps S-O-S repeatedly in Morse code against the chandelier, alerting Dustin, Erica, and Lucas on the other side.

From there they brilliantly rig up a Light Brite for them all to communicate through. Dustin suggests that there are gates open at every murder site.

And so the rest of them all bike to Eddie’s trailer, looking for what they hope is another portal, unguarded by Vecna’s creatures.

The kids ditch their parents and the cops, biking to Eddie’s on their end, before using a broom handle to burst through the barrier of his living room ceiling.

Celebrating in triumph, Dustin leads the charge, using Eddie’s mattress as what looks like it will be a landing pad.

When it hits the ground above them, Eddie addresses the group. “Those stains are uh…I dunno what those stains are.” 

Amilia clicks her tongue, Nancy making a small noise of disgust and Robin one of indifference. As it is they’re much more concerned by Dustin, tossing a makeshift rope of sheets their way, suspended by wonky gravity.

“All right pull on it, see if it holds!” He calls up, Robin being the first to tug, and then the first to climb up and out, where she falls.

“Oh thank god! That was fun.” She laughs.

The rest all look at each other, Nancy making the climb-turned-fall fearlessly. And then Eddie’s had enough of this place, saying “All right, I guess I’ll go.”

“Easy, easy,” Steve murmurs as he and Amilia both watch his ascent.

Then Eddie touched down on the mattress, hair crazy as he sat up. “That…was fun.” He breathes out, slapping his hand into Dustin’s to help him up.

Amilia catches his eye as he smiles up and down at her, her heart fluttering torridly. 

Steve catches her attention, saying, “See you on the other side.” Always having to be the first into danger and the last one out of it.

Amilia ruffles his hair playfully, grabbing the sheets and wriggling up it with a small boost.

There’s a dopey smile on her face still, feeling the whoosh of air when the ascent becomes a fall, expecting to hit an unforgiving mattress but instead falling a lot longer and a lot farther than she should have before landing on cold, hard, ground.

“Oh!” She gasps, hearing a clock chime. One, twice, three, and then four times.

She hears the slithering sound of a maniacal laugh, the darkness surrounding her indicating that there is no way that she’s landed in Eddie’s room.

- Read Part 2 here.

[we-be-writing-bts-stuff]

BTS x Big Brother

A/N: Not expecting this to get a ton of traction, but I’ve been binging big brother us and I can’t stop thinking about what type of player each of the bts members would be.I know that is a niche cross section of fandom but I truly have that kpop and big brother brain rot at this point and want to talk about this. Thanks for reading and I'm more than happy to talk about either of these topics.

Jin: He would be the quiet guy that slides through for a while. I think he would be a bit out of his element but could get solid enough relationships to protect him for a bit. But I think he would get evicted about halfway through the season and be one of the first few jury members. He just wouldn’t want to make the big enough moves to justify keeping him in the game and eventually winning it. 

Yoongi: He would be the one to lay super low the entire game. Throwing comps and floating between alliances and groups. Maybe having one really solid ally and no one else. I feel he would be someone that would be more successful in older BB seasons than the newer ones. Depending on who else is on his season/which BB season he’s on, he could win. I see him as a bit of a player like Jun from BB4. Stay low, don’t win too much, become a staple in the house because of his cooking for everyone, and make moves when needed.

Hoseok: He’s the super sociable one that everyone loves. His strategy is to get everyone to like him and to keep people laughing so that they’ll keep him around. He’s finally seen as a threat really late into the game and gets voted out very late. Think something similar to Enzo from BB12 and BB22. I truly don’t know how he would do in the comps. I feel the endurance competitions would be something that he could do amazing in because of his dance background but the others I feel are a bit of a toss up depending on who is in the house with him.

Namjoon: He is the brains of the season. He’s the one to start an alliance like the Brigade and make it very very far. I think he would be the most likely to win out of the entire group. He would be able to protect himself enough to get to the final two. On the flip side, I could also see him making too many moves too soon and getting voted out because of that. I feel that Namjoon gets in his head too much and that could really hurt his game. I think that would also hurt him from winning a lot of comps. Especially ones that include asking about other houseguests’ opinions. He would absolutely talk himself out of the right answer or be able to justify either one and then not knowing which to choose. 

Jimin: He’s the full package. Most likely to form a showmance due to how much he flirts with everyone. He’s athletic enough to win the comps while sociable enough to form those essential friendships/alliances to keep him in. I think he would be a bit hesitant to stab anyone in the back or lie which would be his downfall. I can see him getting put up with his showmance because its a showmance and then being voted out because he’s seen as the bigger threat between the two. I think his sass could possibly cause waves depending on who else is in house with him. I can see people taking it personally if he says something sassy and then starts a fight with him. Although I see him as coming out as the good guy with the fight and the other person as in the wrong.

Taehyung: He’s a very sweet guy, but I think he would be the one out of the group to be willing to make the big moves and get blood on his hands. Not fully sure why I get that vibe but I do. He is one to not hide how he feels and could cause issues with other houseguests. Although I don’t think he would be one to purposefully start anything, but he would make faces that people would misconstrue and that would cause fights. His thought process is different enough that I could see him potentially winning because of that and absolutely becoming a huge game changer of the series. I think it would be hard to know how he was thinking at any point and that could make other people nervous. Which could make him a target.

Jungkook: He’s the comp beast. He’s a physical threat that people would be gunning for from the start but he would win comp after comp to keep himself around. I think he would also form really solid alliances early on with a few people and that would propel him for a bit. Although I do think he would have to be a late game blindside/backdoor due to how well he does at the competitions. If he made it to the end, he would win because it would be hard to argue against the sheer amount of wins he would have. I do think that if he stays past the first few weeks, he could form really strong bonds with some of the other guests. I can also see him latching onto the mom/dad of the season too. He’s also entertaining enough that it could help sway some votes away from him if need be. Similar to Frank from BB14 and BB18.

[taylors-karma]

AHHHHH CAST LIST OUT!

Alright bitches it is time for me to judge these Houseguests based on appearances and jobs only. I will be following this with my thoughts on their video interviews, but I really wanted to see how I’d do with the first impressions bc usually I am super wrong lol. Here we go....

I don’t know how I feel about her yet, but the fact that her name is Alyssa and she’s from Florida is kind of a red flag. I hope she surprises me but for now I’m giving her a 3/10. 

This girl seems so sweet! Also she’s from my home county in MD and lives 30 min away from my hometown so I might be a little biased. I may have to stan her idk yet. 9/10

She’s giving me hardcore Kaitlyn bb20 vibes with that hypnotherpy shit. She might be cool but I’m straying away from her for now bc she may end up being the cracked one out of the group. Maybe I wanna stan the cracked one tho......5/10

He’s either gonna be really chill or really annoying. He better be gay. 6/10

She’s Brazilian which is cool but I don’t like her. Hopefully she shocks me and girlbosses her way to the end but I see only Whitney vibes idk why. 2/10

She gives me highkey girlboss vibes but are they the girlboss over the men or girlboss ahead of all the other women vibes? Please please PLEASE don’t let me down. 7/10

NO MORE ITALIANS PLEASE  0/10

The fact that he’s unemployed gives me red flags but he doesn’t seem that bad? I’m hoping he drinks his respect women juice or hands will be thrown. 5/10

He’s from Nigeria which is cool, also he has a very cute smile I will admit. Seems very friendly and like he would protect the underdogs but idk looks can be deceiving. 8/10

No way this man straight, but I hope he’s not white gay TM. Seems like he has strong gen z vibes which I might align with a bit, but I’m not sure yet.....7/10

He’s an attorney hm. But he’s wearing a cat shirt. I’m actually confused by this man 5/10 kjsdofiusdfsdg next

I feel like this finna be the man everyone thirsts over but I can also see him disappointing us in the second half of the season. Definitely going to win every physical comp. Idk I’m just wary of the big buff men askjdoad 4/10

I only get good vibes from her I can’t explain it. Although I know she was a cop before she became a chef, I want to like her. Don’t prove ACAB to us Nicole 8/10

I feel like she’s going to align with white people only I can’t explain it she just seems so.....annoying. Alyssa and Anal lice 3.0 I’m calling it 1/10

Everyone is already stanning her and honestly fair bc she’s gorgeous but I’m always nervous about pageant girls asdkljasdisd anyways 9/10

So obviously he’s the token “older” person of the group. He seems cool in the photo but I need him to actually do well and not be an asshole like some older men that have appeared on here. Also why is it always older men and not women? Hmmmm 6/10

[babbysquid]

Not A Whiskey Drinker

Author’s Note: Okay weeee I’m super excited about this. I’m really happy with how this first chapter turned out and I already have plans for future chapters. I am such a sucker for Whiskey and I can’t wait to write more.

Warnings: some slight cursing

Length: 1,934 words

------------

For as much as you loved New York City, you absolutely hated its winters. Snow in the countryside was beautiful; white and fluffy, it stayed perfect for days on end. Snow in the concrete jungle however; wet, slushy, and turned disgusting in a matter of hours. Trudging your way through Central Park, the snow and salt crunching beneath your feet, you mind drifted. You had just been let go from you recent job, a personal assistant at a high end marketing office. Sighing to yourself and thinking about the possibility of moving back home your foot slipped. Before you could catch yourself you shut your eyes tight, preparing to land hard on your ass. But that smack never came. Opening one eye you were standing face to face with…

“A cowboy?” you asked, quirking an eyebrow at the man in front of you.

“In the flesh.” came the sweetest accent.

Opening your other eye you realized that the cowboy in front of you had snaked a hand around your waist. No wonder you hadn’t fallen. A beat passed and you realized the cowboy still had his arm around you. You stepped away and out of his hold.

“Thank you.” you said, giving an awkward cough and taking a closer look at you savior.

Not to be a cliché, but he was tall, dark, and handsome. Atop his head was a black Stetson, an odd sight in the middle of New York City. He had a perfectly trimmed mustache, and a small smirk underneath it. You silently thanked the cold for hiding the blush that crept up your face. The redness could easily be passed off as a flush from the biting wind.

“Anytime darlin’.” he said, shooting you a wink with eyes that you felt could swallow you whole. “Anyways, I best be on my way.”

Giving you a dazzling smile, he tipped the end of his hat with a gloved hand and brushed past you. You could’ve sworn that his hand grazed yours, but because of your thick mittens it was hard to tell.

Shivering slightly to yourself, you pulled your coat tighter around you and continued your walk to your apartment.

------------

Unlocking your door and sighing to yourself you looked around your small studio apartment. It wasn’t much, but over the past year it had become your home. Shucking your jacket off you headed to the couch and sat down to pull off your shoes.

‘Guess I won’t be here much longer’ you thought to yourself.

After making yourself a steaming cup of tea you decided you may as well look at your email. Two days ago when you were told of your “dismissal” you had signed up for a couple different job search sites. If you were lucky enough maybe someone would offer you an interview, but your hopes were low.

You crossed your legs underneath you trying to generate as much heat as possible. As much as you loved your tiny apartment, it was an older building so the heating was shit to say the least. You clicked on the mail icon on your desktop and silently prayed to yourself. 10 new emails. Maybe there was hope.

10 Kale Dishes That’ll Be Sure To WOW Your Houseguests!

WARNING — WE HAVE DETECTED MALWARE

Most of the emails were similar to those: junk and spam, until your eyes landed on the last email.

RE: Y/N Y/L/N Job Opportunity FOUND!

Your eyes widened at the subject. Clicking on the email you realized that it wasn’t a scam, it had really come from one of the job search sites. Swallowing hard you hoped that it wasn’t just an offer from one of those salad making chain restaurants. You had your fair share of beginner jobs; barista, Subway, etc. After getting a taste of something more professional, you knew that that’s where you were meant to be. Besides, the pay that Starbucks gave was certainly not enough to live in New York City on your own.

Dear Ms. Y/L/N,

My name is Mr. Daniels and I am writing to inform you of opening at Statesmen Brewery, the New York City branch. I have been in search for a PA since my previous one left. After reading your resume I have become very interested in your skills and talents. Please let me know what days you are free in the coming week.

Jack Daniels

Head of Statesmen NYC Branch

You snorted at the sign off. There was no way someone’s real name was Jack Daniels and worked for a brewery. It was comedic to say the least, but there was no harm in responding to his email and getting an interview. Maybe this was your chance to stay in the city you loved, even if its winter was disgusting. Taking a sip of your tea you started to write out your response.

Mr. Daniels,

Thank you so much for your offer. I am very interested in an interview and am free Monday all day. Please let me know what time is best for you. Is there anything specific I should bring besides a printout of my resume and documents?

Thank you for your consideration,

Y/N Y/L/N

It was currently Friday so you had the whole weekend to prep yourself for the interview. If you were honest, the idea of an interview created a small pit in your stomach. It had been over a year since you’d been interviewed for a job.

May as well do some research on Statesmen.

Pulling open a new browser you typed in ‘Statesmen Brewery’ and clicked on their website. Clearly the company had some tech savvy people working for them as their website was modern and easy to navigate.

Statesmen Brewery has been brewing fine whiskey since 1885 and serving people all across the country and world.

No wonder you never heard of the company, you had never been big on whiskey.

The brewery had its start in a small barn in Kentucky and has since expanded to include two offices in New York, New York and Los Angeles, California. While our reach is wide, we consider every employee and consumer of our alcohol a close family member.

The rest of the front page went on to describe their whiskey and how smooth it was, as well as some fun facts about the company. You closed your laptop and picked up your tea, holding it close to your face and letting go of the tension in your shoulders that you didn’t realize was there. Before you could fully relax you heard your phone buzz on the couch cushion next to you.

It was your best friend Parker. When you first moved to NYC you decided to visit a small bookstore/coffee shop and accidentally grabbed the wrong drink. Turns out that drink belonged to Parker. She had come to the coffee shop to work on a script for an up and coming TV show that was set to be filmed in the city. The two of you became fast friends. You were slightly jealous of the girl as she really had landed her dream job.

Opening the text she had sent it was a photo of her holding a script she had written. Her round face was pulled up into a smile, her auburn hair slightly frizzed from what seemed to be an all nighter. You smiled at the photo and read the text that followed.

Guess who just finished her first script for SVU!

Quickly you typed out a response:

Congrats! Proud of you P. I have some good news too. Landed an interview with a fancy brewery.

Suddenly your phone buzzed nonstop, Parker was calling you.

You pressed the button to answer the phone and before you could say anything a scream hit your ears.

“AHHHHHH I’M SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!!”

“Haha, thanks Parker. Honestly I’m a bit nervous. I did some research and the company seems to be a pretty big deal.”

“What’s the company?”

“Statesmen Brewery.”

“Oh shit my parents love their stuff.”

“I literally know nothing about whiskey other than the fact that I don’t like it. I feel stressed. The interview is on Monday.”

“I’ll come over tomorrow and help you with prep. Also you know I gotta help pick out the perfect interview outfit.”

“Thanks babe. You’re the best.”

“I know.”

You snorted at her response. Parker was confident, and more importantly confident in you. The thought of having her help you prep eased the knot in your stomach.

------------

The rest of the afternoon was spent talking to Parker over the phone. Eventually the two of you ended your call and you were left to do some random chores around your place. As you mopped the floor you slipped a bit but caught yourself before you fell over. Your mind flashed back to earlier in the day.

At the time you didn’t realize how strong the cowboy’s grip was, but it was not overpowering. You remembered how gentlemanly he was. Looking back on it you tried to remember his face. While it was a short interaction, you couldn’t deny that he was easy on the eyes. Sighing softly you tried to remember the last time you went on a date. It had been several months ago. Your busy PA job never really allowed for romantic relationships. Shaking your head you got on with your day, finishing your chores, eating some leftover Chinese food for dinner, and sinking deep into your bed.

------------

You were awoken by a knock on your door. Grunting as you got out of bed you swung open the door. The only person who would bother to come over without letting you know was Parker. Your suspicions were correct as she walked through the threshold and made herself at home, talking a mile a minute the entire time.

“Okay so first we need to talk about clothing options.” she said dumping her bag on your couch.

“Not prepping for the interview?” you said giving her a confused look.

Parker sighed.

“Look, I already know you have this interview in the bag. Sure, you may not like whiskey, but you are a wonderful person. While you may be stubborn” you frowned at her comment, “that can be super helpful in interviews. You are a go getting Y/N. I have no doubts about that.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Fashion show time!” she said, opening the small closet and rummaging around to find something suitable.

After an hour had passed the two of you finally settled on a suitable outfit. It was professional but still had a touch of you in it. A simple black skirt with a fun silky button down shirt that had a cool pattern on it. As you looked at yourself in the mirror you couldn’t deny that Parker knew what she was doing when it came to fashion.

“Okay finishing touch time.” she said as she unbuttoned the top two buttons of your shirt.

“Parker! This is a job interview, not a date.”

“Ugh. It’s a brewery, they’re gonna be more relaxed about these things. Plus you never know, this Jack Daniels could be a cutie.” she said, giving you a wink.

You chuckled and shook your head. Parker was eccentric but you really did love her. You still had a small bit of anxiety running through your body, but the help of your best friend made you feel more positive about Monday. Maybe you’d be able to stay in New York. Maybe this job might be better than the previous.