#I might post this stuff on AO3

[philcoulson-redtapeninja]

Wip Wednesday| Instructions on Mindful Focus X X

Each patient had to be given a code name to be used in place of name, pronoun, or any other identifying article in the written documents. 'Safety through obfuscation', the unofficial motto of the IMF, or at least it was for the Psych Division. All documentation produced before, during, or after a session had to be written by hand, never typed on computer or typewriter, and stored in self-immolating file cabinets. Press the right spot or don't enter the right code, and all of the files would be burnt to ash in seconds. It wasn't anything new to her. In Martha's last job, anonymity was a selling point to most clients. Martha preferred to wait 'til the end of the first session to give a pseudonym. It gave her a chance to get to know them and let the nickname cement itself in her mind. Right now her notes were filled with little blank spaces just waiting to be filled with the distillation of a person. Flicking her eyes over the man on her couch, she couldn't help but correlate the unnatural stillness of Agent Hunt and a sheep dog belly down in the grass after an order to Wait. Fidgeting with her pre-session notes, she tried to find a good way to start. Should she start with just the facts? No, that wouldn't work. It would sound to much like a debriefing and Hunt wouldn't open up to an agent after all he's gone through. Maybe she could use a sweet heart approach? Acting like a doe-eyed civilian would be about the opposite of an agent as she could get.

I have also been overthinking just how the IMF would be set up

Under the vague hand wavy control of the CIA

Branch > Division > Department > Sub-Departments

Three branches of the IMF: Operations, Support, and Field. There is a great deal of overlap and sharing of personnel/resources

Operations - Agents in the foreground of Missions and intel gathering

Divisions under the Operations Branch

Control: The guy in the chair, plans and supervises the mission - James Phelps, Daniel Briggs, and Ethan Hunt

Engineering: mechanical operator, in-field technical advisory, and general Macgyver - Barnard "Barney" Collier,  Benji Dunn, and Luther Stickel

Transportation: Pilots, getaway drivers, and other specialized transportation experts. Declan Gormley

Face: Agents that wear the Mask, and have direct and consistent contact with the Mark. Honeypot is a sub-department of Face - Rollin Hand, Cinnamon Carter, and The Great Paris

Security: The hitter and strong man - also works in the IMF buildings as base security - William "Willy" Armitage, and Zhen Lei

Infiltration: Specialists in getting in-and-out of secure buildings without being found, often an acrobat. Ethan Hunt

Specialist:Pinch-hitters from other branches and other agencies - Nyah Nordoff-Hall

Intelligence: Long field operatives, moles, help open doors for IMF teams. Not part of the Field branch for administrative reasons; pay and benefits the same as Operation branch agents.

Support - Analysts, Medical staff, Fabricators, and Legal teams that support and maintain the IMF from within Headquarters(Langley?DC?) and Satellites

Divisions under the Support Branch

Medical Departments: In-Patient, Out-Patient

In-Patient Sub-Departments: Acute care(ER/Surgery), Chronic care(...everything else)

Out-Patient Sub-Departments: Pharmacy, Wound care, Physical Therapy, Specialty, and Primary Care

Analysis Departments: Intelligence analysis by Region, Psychology, [physical evidence?], and Information Distribution(Control Handlers)

Personnel Departments: Recruitment, Records, Covers, Training, and [Family and Friend management]

Legal Departments: Domestic Law, Foreign law, and Admiralty

Sub-Departments for Criminal, Civil, and for the various Continents

Cyber Departments: Cyber-Security, Code making/breaking, Electronic Infiltration, and IT. Previously part of both Analysis and Fabrication before becoming its own department.

Fabrication Departments: Wardrobe, Masks, Hazardous Materials, Large Scale Construction, Small Scale Construction, Rigging, Smithing, and R&D

Logistics Departments: Field Logistics, Operations Logistics, and Support Logistics. Works closely with the Personnel Divisions, with Sub-Departments for each Division that handle Requisitions, Supply Chains, and Disposal.

Field - a mixture of Reservists, part-timers, and Outsiders that were read into IMF for one reason or another, all supporting teams in the field and couriering messages

Divisions under the Field Branch

On-Site Fabrication:

Dead Drop:

Courier:

Local Intelligence:

Location Maintenance:

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

posting this with absolutely no context

[humlors]

Wait which billford fics pspspspsps

gotta say, it feels just a little surreal and silly to make a billford fic rec list in the year of our lord 2024, but hell yeah sure

There's an Endless Road by @agentquinn is one of those fics I reread like. at least once a year at this point. Post-canon, human!bill (absolute trash gremlin, as he should be), roadtrip with Bill, Stan and Ford. Cannot understate how much of a comfort fic this is to me. Do yourself a favor and read it

Also by Quinn, State of Dreaming is very much as the description of "One of Us AU, sort of". I remember for real gasping when figuring out what was going on. It's dark, it's just the right flavor of a bit surreal, it's fantastic

In All My Dreams I Drown (also by Quinn, I swear I've read fics from different authors) is a Pirates of the Caribbean AU with Bill as Calypso, Ford as Davy Jones that kickstarted me and @swiftboone talking non stop about this AU for months on end back in the day. Here's a masterpost of the AU of all of the wonderful peeps contributing to it!

While not really a billford fic, if you're on the Bill canon backstory high rn, please please PLEASE read Flat Dreams by @pengychan. It's an absolute masterpiece that very much made me weep reading back in the day. 100% one of those fics I want everyone who's into GF to have read at least once.

If you're not intimidated by long (LONG) fics, I slavishly followed Knowing Me, Knowing You by @f-imaginings back when. On surface, a typical 'bill gets trapped in a human body pre-betrayal' fic, but holy damn does it go places. equal parts rom com with an ABBA theme, equally character study/exploration with some great sci fi stuff

for something shorter, this fic by @marypsue is 100% one of my fave AU concepts of 'bill losing his own powers to make Ford a demon instead, making himself human in the process'. It's so good, bill being his usual trash baby self while coming to terms with the whole "being powerless" thing.

Anyway, these are the one's I can come up with from the top of my head! I've still got a whole heap of GF/billford fic recs under my fic rec tag, so that's another place to go searching! (and what the hell, shameless self promo of my own old fics lmao)

happy hunting for those fics my friend!!

[spacemooshroom]

Dare to Hope

• odxny/reader

• 1.8k words

• Summary: Stepping into the light after living in the darkness for so long is not easy.

But he finds it may be worth it if you're there for him.

Your voice rang in his ears even hours after hanging up.

He sat on his chair, staring at his monitor, hesitant on what to do next.

He replayed your last call in his mind, stuck like a broken record.

A million thoughts ran in his mind. And there you stood, amid them all, in the eye of the hurricane.

You.

How could someone he had met such a short time ago change everything so fast?

His hope had been long gone. He was certain the pit of darkness he had fallen into would be his reality for the rest of his life.

But then. A weirdo with a strange passion for esoteric languages came into his life.

Did you even come into his life? Was your effect on him grand enough to declare you had, in fact, impacted his life?

He groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Were you a divine beacon? A sign that he shouldn't go along with what he had been planning for so long?

A sign that he could still dare to hope?

He groaned even more.

He knew it when he met you, and he told you as much. That your time spent together would be short.

When you met, it was settled that in just a short while, you would become strangers again.

And yet.

You were so hell-bent on that not happening.

Just why?

Why did you care so much about someone you had just met?

Someone you knew nothing about? For fuck's sake, you didn't even know what his face looked like.

And yet you liked him.

Warmth bloomed in his chest, settling in his stomach as rocks at the realization.

You liked him.

He couldn't wrap his head around the fact, but he so desperately wanted to cling onto it.

Were you really the sign he didn't know he had been waiting for? A sign he never dared to hope would come?

He deemed himself helpless. The fate he had decided for himself was the only fate he seemed fit for him.

The fleeting image of a new fate with you made him lurch back on his chair and begin pacing around the room.

You haunted him, and he found he liked the feeling.

He dreaded liking the feeling.

Even if- okay, even if the attraction was mutual, how could you two even make this work?

What if when you saw his face you found him ugly?

What if you held him in your arms and were immediately repulsed by him?

What if he was too much for you? What if he wasn't what you wanted?

What if the spell broke? What if you hated the real him?

Was there even a real him?

...........

He sat on the floor, knees against his chest.

The scene was straight out of a teenage rom-com, he realized.

He groaned yet again.

What if you looked inside and did like what you found?

What then?

What if you decided to stay?

What if he dared to hope?

You had landed on his life by pure chance, and now he found he wanted to take the reins of his destiny.

He stood up from the floor and sat back down on his chair, intent on turning his life around.

And he was, to say the least, afraid. But he wanted this. Wanted to believe in this feeling.

He sighed, logging into the program, a plan already formed in his mind.

The final hack. The end of something.

And the start of something new.

Was it corny? Maybe. Possibly. Definitely.

It didn't matter to him. He realized he preferred corny to meaningless.

His hands trembled as he typed his phone number in.

His mind was plagued by thoughts of you.

You, and your stupid laugh he liked so much.

You, and your innate way to make him smile and laugh.

You, and your words to him, which he still couldn't believe were making him do a 180 on everything he had been planning for so long.

He spared a glance at his mask. It sat on his desk, seemingly staring at him.

You, and the possibility of a future with you in it.

It took you less time than what he'd anticipated to call him.

He felt light. Chill in his balcony, but warm in his heart.

He realized you were just as hopeful as he was.

He couldn't stop smiling.

He walked across the airport, his nerves alight.

He was fighting the urge to turn on his heel and sprint away, yet he had gotten so far already, now hadn't he?

Besides, he found this feeling sort of addictive. And he realized it was worth it to feel like he was about to throw up in the middle of the airport when he spotted you amongst the crowd, scanning the area to find him.

And when your eyes met his and he saw your lips stretch in an impossibly wide smile, all thoughts of running away dissipated.

And goddamn, he already loved hearing you laugh through a screen, but hearing you laugh while sitting on your couch with you and eating take-out was so much better than he could've ever imagined.

"So, like, where did you get the mask?"

"That," he began, grabbing a fry from the coffee table and popping it into his mouth, "is a secret."

You scoffed, shoving a handful of fries into your mouth.

"Oh, come on! Did you get it custom made?" Your voice was muffled by the fries in your mouth, and he had to concentrate to make out what you were saying.

"Not telling."

"And what about the emojis? Did you draw those or did you commission them?"

"Not telling."

You groaned, plopping back onto the arm of the couch, staring daggers at him while he simply smiled.

"Come on! Why the secrecy?"

"Why the rush to find all that out?"

"What, so will you tell me as time passes?"

"Perhaps."

You groaned yet again, changing into a kneeling position on the couch, your face closer to his.

His smile in real life was no match to the smile almost covered by the mask he sported in videocalls.

And his eyes... You were glad the mask was no longer concealing the glimmer in them.

"Did you throw the mask out?"

He shook his head, popping another fry into his mouth.

"No, it's way too cool to throw it out."

"Oh, good. It does give you all of your charisma points."

He laughed and you laughed with him, and you looked into each others eyes and everything felt so simple now when just a short time ago it had all felt so complicated.

He was no longer a vision on your monitor, and he would never be "a fond acquaintance you would never see again" like he had put it.

When your laughter died down, you gingerly brought a hand towards the side of his head. You heard him suck in a breath, his chest stilling.

You asked for permission with your eyes, and he softly nodded, allowing you to touch him.

You tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and let your hand linger on his jaw, your touch making goosebumps rise on his skin.

"I really like the mask, but..." You ever so softly stroked his jaw with the back of your fingers, and he felt he could just melt right there and then. "I prefer to look at the person behind the mask."

He gulped. Intimacy. He could do this.

"I..."

He took a deep breath, an attempt to slow down the beat of his rampant heart.

The desire to run away suddenly returned.

It was easier to let something go that cling tightly to it, but he found he wanted to cling to you as hard as he could.

He didn't want- he couldn't let you go.

He dared to hope you would feel the same.

"I'm scared."

His voice sounded small to his ears.

You tilted your head in question, urging him to continue.

He sighed, sinking deeper into your touch.

"I'm scared this won't last," Once he managed to get that out, his next words came out rushed, eager to get out of his chest. "I'm scared you'll one day wake up and realize you don't want me around, or worse, that we'll grow distant with time and- I just- I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose you as well."

Word vomit out, rocks settled in his stomach once again.

You continued to stare into his eyes, and for a few seconds, the fear you would mock him gnawed at him, but then, you cradled his face in your hands and caressed his cheeks with your thumbs, and he felt the drumming in his chest slow down ever so slightly.

You said his name oh so softly, and he fought against the tears that welled up in his eyes.

"For what it's worth, I don't ever want to lose you," you paused and took in his softening expression, easing from a nerve-tightened one. "I don't ever want this to end, either, and I'll be clinging to it, to you as hard as I can."

That. He needed to hear that so badly.

Neither of you could predict the future. Neither of you could set a due date for your relationship. This wasn't a server made specifically to extort people that would be shut down once everyone involved had achieved their goals.

This was more than that. More real, more volatile by nature.

You both wanted this to last, and you were both going to do everything in your power to make sure it lasted for a long, long time.

Both of you dared to hope.

And he found that was enough for him for now.

He fully melted into your touch, his chest brimming with emotion and affection.

"You're not alone anymore." you said in an almost whisper.

He cradled one of your hands with his and pressed it deeper into his skin.

"Thank you for coming into my life."

You smiled softly at his words, and he fought back the urge to press his smile against your own right then.

"Thank you for letting me stay."

Warmth bloomed in his chest and threatened to spill through the tears welled up in his eyes.

He didn't want to hold the urge back anymore.

And apparently neither did you.

You met in the middle. You hummed and he let air out from his nose, tilting your heads to press deeper into the other.

His other hand pressed against your own. He then slid his hands down your forearms, and you shivered and he felt like dying. In a good way.

You pulled his face even closer to yours, and his hands caressed your arms in slow motions, tentative yet full of affection.

He almost didn't believe the moment was real, along with everything that had led up to it.

You had changed everything, and had given him the courage to hope.

This was only the first step in his new journey.

And he was certain you would be there for him every step of the way.

• a/n: The main thing i wanted to portray here is odxny's shift of mentality and how he reacted to it. How adverse he was to any chance of betterment coming his way and then the fear of it not being real or not lasting once it eventually arrived. I really didn't want to fall into the whole "he's found love and now he's happy" thing, I wanted to portray the exact opposite; how he now has something (someone) that brings him so much happiness and is his first step into his life having meaning again and how he's so afraid of losing it.

I really hope he wasn't out of character here I luv him with my entire heart and wanted to portray him being in distress but in a believable way.

This may be too long of an author's note but idc i love to yap.

[deviousdrtruffles]

You know you hit the deep end of hyperfixation when you submit fanfiction for it as your English assignment.

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

Title: Souvenirs In August

Pairing: Miles Kane/Alex Turner

Rating: Explicit

Tags: TAOTU era, falling in love, first time, angst

Summary: On a whim, Miles packs an old camera for two weeks in France that will change his life

❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

i'm so happy to finally be able to start sharing my wildly overdue entry for the @shadowmonkeysbigbang! as many of you know, i co ran the big bang last year with the lovely @subtle-as-an-earthquake (a much more time-consuming endeavour than i'd anticipated, hence how long it took me to write my own entry). i always had this fic planned for the big bang, but as there was a shortage of artists i had originally planned to just submit as a solo author. however, due to some drop-outs i was lucky enough to be able to do a late collaboration with the incredibly talented @blokeykisses, who (as you can see!) has created the most magical artwork for this fic. it was truly the most inspiring experience to get to work together, and i know for a fact this fic would not be where it is today without the creativity getting to work with such an amazing artist sparked. the BIGGEST thank you for all your hard work, you captured the vibe of the fic better than anything i could ever have dreamt of ✨

this fic is based on the photos in the taotu album booklet, and is basically my love letter to baby milex in france. it's quite different to anything i've written before, both in terms of content and format, so i'm a little nervous about posting it! i would truly love to know your thoughts on it, all and any feedback is very welcome 💞

[turtleplushi]

Art for chapter three of Hate Me Not :))

Maybe go read it if you haven't already hehe

[jayjay-thejet-plane]

Oops! I stayed up till 5am drawing this (why do i do these things…)

Anyways; prostate massage in professor seresin’s office after hours <3

(for the piercer bradley (and professor jake) au!)

thank you alex for all the wonderful ideas!

Close up below :P

[escyn]

Since @zukkathirst is asking for teasers gonna put this here gently (👀 hope y’all are saddled up). Id in alt as per usual.

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

I’m the anon who sent you that ask about Sonic and Shadow’s relationship in the Chronic Sonic au. If your post saying you ignore long asks was directed at me, can you please just… post the latest version without answering? I would prefer to save it to my likes and maybe have other fans read my thoughts.

thank you

Well no, it wasn’t just directed at you, there are a couple long asks in my inbox (some of which are positive and very beloved and i cherish, Dopambles I’m looking at you <3). But you’ve sent your ask twice now and this one too so I’ll answer this one. I don’t really want to make this a big long thing, but I also don’t really wanna leave ya hanging when this seems so important to you so lets do this (everyone else can ignore this if ya want I’m going long-winded through everything.)

So, reasons i don’t like to respond to or even post long asks sometimes lets do this [cracks knuckles]

1. I don’t like posting things onto my blog that I haven’t checked over first. I struggle a lot in reading and comprehending long asks. I don’t know why, it’s weird, okay. Let’s leave it at that. I’m not gonna blindly post walls of texts to my blog without checking them over first, because I want to make sure I’m filtering asks so nothing harmful gets posted to my blog. You’d be surprised at how whack a lot of anons can get. Not to say your ask was whack, but I also am struggling to read it so it’s hard to say for sure! It’s not due to the nature of your ask, it is simply because my brain be like dat.

2. Sometimes, I just don’t like having to scroll through walls of texts that aren’t my own to get to my latest posts. I get a lot of asks as it is. I do love answering them, but when they get long, the amount of time it takes to scroll through em makes it hard to refer back to my previous posts and is just is not intuitive or fun when interacting with my own blog, which leads me to my next point

3. This is my space. My blog is by me for me. I choose to post and share to interact and have fun with other people but at the end of the day this blog is my space. I did not create it for anyone other than me. I welcome the people who find joy in my stories here, but this remains my space. If i was being paid for this it’d be different, I’d absolutely curate and change things to make it a better and easier experience for those that i charged to be here, but like… I’m not being paid for this? And to ask me to do what you want in my space so that you can have the experience you want is… i dunno it sounds a little entitled. (I’m not saying that you ARE entitled, only that it sounds like it to me personally.) Contacting me even after I expressed my difficulty in answering asks to try and convince me to post it for your sake is a little rude. I’m not a professional creator, I’m not a person with fans, I’m just a random dude trying to have a good time with other people on a dumpster-fire website. I’m not a creator trying to make sure everyone else is having a good time. This is what i do in my free time to relax and—

4. —being a moderator for other peoples hc’s and conversations is not personally relaxing to me. My blog is not a public confessions blog and I am not a public message board. I am honoured when people share their personal stories and how what I doodle has helped them feel seen and that things will be okay, but I’m not a place for other people to come say what they want to each other, I’m a person, not a message board. How other people use Tumblr is up to them, however, I am not going to change how I use tumblr so that you can have a better experience when it will make the experience worse for me.

5. If i answer asks, I don’t draw. And I like drawing. If I’m posting asks (even without answering them) and stressing about being the middle man in conversations that I will have to regulate to make sure conversations stay kind, that takes a lot of time and energy and I got so incredibly burnt out when i tried to do that. So i stopped. And I will not be starting up again simply so you can have a good time, because I will have a bad one. And this is my space to not have a bad time. If something stresses me out, I will not do it here, it is as simple as that. I have my whole irl to be stressed about.

These are some of the reasons I don’t like to post long asks. I have notified you that I struggle to read, I don’t understand why you continue pushing. I have amazing anon’s who send wonderful long asks who have been kind and considerate with me about my struggles reading and processing. They continue to send their wonderful asks and have assured me it’s okay if I never post them. I am confused as to why you cannot seem to respect my decision as well.

The final reason regarding my hesitance in posting your ask in particular is simply that your hc was not accurate to how I was aiming to portray the characters in the current timeline. You are more than welcome to hc and speculate, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I cannot simply post it without answering it like you suggest because I would need to clarify that it’s not true. When I used to do that, people would start to misinterpret my au’s and it stressed me out. It takes hours for me to write up responses to things sometimes because I want to make sure I’m being kind and thoughtful and accurate. I am honoured that you shared something personal but what you wrote is simply not where the characters are at right now. It could be them in the future, but it is still early in the au so that kind of resentment hasn’t set in yet. Shadow is hurting because he’s taking the brunt of Sonic’s negativity but he is resigned to it because for him nothing else matters as long as Sonic stays alive, even if he has to be the person Sonic hates in all this and that is heavy. He’s angry at him when he does not take care of himself, but he is not resentful. Sonic struggles with being a burden on all of his friends, not just Shadow. The way you described the relationship was closer to how Tails and Sonic interact than Shadow and Sonic and even then, there’s more going on that I just don’t have the time or energy to really walk through. And besides, I want to save that energy to draw out things later.

As i shared with another commenter who asked something similar, I can absolutely DM you your ask back if you want to save it. However I don’t understand why you need me to post it to save it your likes if you simply want to save it. You have your own blog you can post it to. Why does it need to be on my blog? Why do I have to do extra work so you can have an easier time to do what you want? I am very grateful for your interaction and love of my comic, and I understand it’s frustrating when people make things harder for you to have a good time, but that’s exactly what you’re doing to me by asking me to change how I use tumblr to suit your wants instead of what is easiest for me. I am not a public service you pay for. I am a person, a full time student with family issues, struggling siblings that I’m trying to help, a person who is struggling myself. I have a limited amount of energy in a day, I get tired quickly. If i want to continue to find joy in drawing I have to set boundaries. You may not always know why someone does something, I guarantee there is more here that I will not share because it is personal. Sometimes you just have to be okay with not knowing, you have to be okay not understanding, and you have to be okay without an explanation that makes sense to you. All you need to do is understand that often times there is a reason people behave the way they do. It’s not a reflection on you or their opinion of you, it is simply many other factors at play that lead to such an outcome.

I sincerely hope this did not offend you, I am not angry with you, nor do I wish for any of this to be taken as scolding or upset you. If it has come across that way, I apologize. I am sorry I am not in a state to give you what you want, and I’m thankful for your patience with me in reading through this and I hope it is enough to at least paint a little bit of a picture as to why I will not be posting your ask. It’s unfortunate that I ended up spending hours addressing this anyway both to you and to another commenter—the very thing I wanted to avoid—but I value you as a person and did not want to leave you feeling negatively if I could change that. I hope this does not affect your enjoyment or experience with how you were having fun with my au, and if it does I am deeply regretful. However, I do have to set boundaries and make sure I’m doing okay or there would be no AU at all. Thanks for your understanding and I hope you have a day as kind as you are.

[theunknownpoetssociety]

Ok I just started reading Crimson Rivers (technically it was last night but that’s not the point) bc I realized that it isn’t too too mcd and omg I’m only on chapter two but broo I can already see things and how the ‘famous’ quote, “You’re hesitating, love.” Is coming into playyy

[chaos-potat]

What if I were to say I wrote like almost 4k words to a tmnt x stardew valley fic?

[child-of-the-cosmos]

This started out as a light hearted doodle, that quickly delved into something more.

Please enjoy the brain rot i had over this.

Small fic thing:

"Moon... I don't think we should do this." Sun whispers to his brother, who was too busy trying to tye a knot to fasten his cloak to hear him.

Sun gripped his own tighter. "Moon." He urged, "I think we should go back. Father will be mad!" Sun's voice came out in a hushed tone, as he looked around the two of them- as if their father would come out to get them just by name.

Moon rolled his eyes. "Oh hush, Sun." He started, "You know you want to sneak out just as much as I do." He said as he messily finished tying the knot. It was barely hanging on, but he didn't care since he tied it himself.

Sun looked around again. Thick brush and trees surrounded them. Birds chirped every now and then in the distance. "I do, but...." Sun groaned, "What if we get in trouble?"

Moon looked at him, stomping his foot down as he did. He had to look up just a little to make eye contactwith his brother, since he was a tad shorter- but he was growing. Wouldn't be long until he was the same height as Sun, anyway. "We're wearing the cloaks, remember? His stupid 'protection spell' won't detect us. Stop being a baby."

Sun pouted. "I'm not a baby..." He mumbled.

Moon took his brother's hand, marching deeper into the forest. "Then let's go. If we don't won't to get caught, we have to hurry before he returns."

Sun wined a bit, but didn't protest anymore as they walked. Sun was careful not to trip, watching his step as he tried to avoid anything that looked too dangerous. Moon on the other hand, just trudged on as he pleased. He'd step on as many fallen twigs and hop over as many logs as he could. Both, had never been this far away from their home.

"Moon, careful!" Sun yelped as moon jumped over a particularly large log while still holding his hand, and almost making him fall.

Moon grimaced as he watched his brother try to grab his bearings. "Sorry, Sunny..." He mumbled, looking down at his little dark brown shoes.

Sun dusted himself off while looking around. "It's okay- hey, look!" He said pointing to the barrier made by their father. Dark crimson magic twisted and swirled, silver and gold dust barely to be seen shined in the sunlight. All of this, only could be seen by the two of them. "We found it!" Sun said, feeling a little braver than before. He took his brothers hand again, and took the lead.

As they eased up to the barrier, the magic reacted. It coiled around itself in knots, as if saying 'you shouldn't be here'. Sun and Moon gripped their little cloaks tighter as they took another step closer. "Are you sure this is gonna work?" Moon mumbled to his brother. Even though he wouldn't say it, now that they were face to face with the barrier, he was feeling a little hesitant.

Sun fiddled with his cloak, making sure it covered him perfectly. "Father uses these cloaks all of the time." He started, "and I'm sure I cut them perfectly. I measured our heights and everything!"

Moon nodded. "You did do that." He glanced at the magic, which only had swirled around faster as they got closer. "What do you think is beyond it?" He asked out loud.

Sun frowned, thinking. "I... don't know." He looked at his brother. "What do you think is beyond it?"

"Something cool enough to keep us locked up in the house for all of these years. Father probably only wants to keep all of it to himself." Moon said bitterly. It was true, their father had prohibited them from stepping a foot beyond their yard. And he made sure they abided by it. Always.

Sun and moon had tried to leave once before, but they couldn't even get close because of the magic barrier that alerted their father as to what they were doing. They ended up grounded for a whole month. Now, they stood face to face with it.

"Stupid barrier." Moon mumbled, kicking a rock into it as he recalled the lack of snacks both him and Sun had been given because of it. The rock skipped along the dirt, until it disappeared within it crimson mist.

They both watched as it did, taking a breath and looking at each other. "Ready?" Sun asks his brother. Moon nods courageously, "Ready."

They both hold each other hand tighter, taking a moment to take yet another breath before finally stepping through. The mist felt... weird, making them close their eyes. They could feel it wrapping around them, almost as it it was trying to pull them back. They pushed forward. Everything felt so prickly... ticklish. Sun scrunched his face as the magic brushed across it. Moon fixed his hood so his cap underneath it didn't push it off.

Suddenly, the pulling stopped. As did the ticklish feeling. And both boys could feel the sunlight graze them once more. They giggled, a bubbly feeling coming over them at the thought of them actually pulling their little sneak away off. Neither had opened their eyes yet, instead relishing in the moment.

Finally, Sun speaks up. "Ready moon?" He asked his brother as he shifted is feet a bit in anticipation. Moon stepped a bit closer to Sun, almost stumbling a bit since his eyes were closed. Sun held his hand tighter so he didn't fall. "...ready." Moon said after a moment, bracing himself. Together they both counted down.

"3....2....1....now!"

It took a moment to adjust to their surroundings. Moon rubbed his eyes a bit as Sun just tried to blink away the blurriness.

And in front of them, they saw... forest. And around them. They both turned around in disbelief. They were on the other side of the barrier... they had made it arcoss, but...

"Are you kidding me!????" Moon bellowed, voice echoing far past the trees and then back to them.

Sun hushed his brother. "Moon, quiet. We don't know what's out here with us."

Moon stomped angrily. "No! There's nothing here!! Nothing cool at all!" His voice wavers, "Why would father... forbid us from nothing at all. Why would he... keep us away for so long." He becomes angry again. "It's stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!"

Moon huffs, finishing his tantrum. He looks over to Sun, who seemed angry as well. They both stood there for a moment, thinking.

"Maybe..." Sun starts, "Maybe if we keep walking-"

"We'll find something." Moon adds, looking at his brother. The spark was lit within the two again, and they looked forward.

Sun nodded. "Okay," He grabs his brother's hand once more. "I'll lead the way... uhm..." He looked around, "let's go... this way."

And on they marched. And marched. The sun sat high in the sky, almost taunting them as they traveled. Moon frowned, the light was beginning to aggravate him.

"We've been walking for ages," Moon grumbled, "and still haven't found anything... let's just go-"

Sun shushes Moon, pulling him closer as he practically shook with excitement. Moon frowns, following his brother's sight. He stills, and soon the bubbly feeling returns ten fold.

There, past a few bushes and trees sat a little house. Pretty flowers lined the walk way, and in the back they could see what looked like planks of wood neatly stacked on top of each other. A bird flew past them, rushing into a tiny red bird house that seemed like it was made just for it.

They turned to look at each other, grabbing onto their shoulders. "Sun, are you seeing what I'm seeing."

Sun vibrants with joy. "Definitely."

They found something! Maybe I was just a house, but it was definitely something! Moon looks over trying to peer past the brush. "Do you think there's more?" He asks his brother. Sun peers as well, "I... don't see any others." He says.

They both sneak a bit closer to get a better look. The steps leading to the door sparkled in the sun, as if it was magic. They paused. It was magic.

Without a second thought, the two boys rushed into the yard. They looked around as much as the could before they walked up to the door.

Sun turns to his brother. "Who do you think lives here?" Moon looks around some more, trying to see through the windows. The bird from the little bird house chirps, startling both of them.

"Definitely not father." Moon states, "Everything looks far too... happy."

Sun nods, silently agreeing.

They both stand there for a moment looking around and rocking on their feet.

"Wanna go check out the backyard?" Moon asks.

Sun grins, "Yeah!"

The two boys walk off, and the red bird hops out of her little bird house- following close behind them.

---------------------

You adjusted the straps of the many bags that hung on your arm. Potion hunting was a huge success, and you were carrying your treasure with a smile. You hummed quietly as you stepped on your walk way. The sun sat sweetly in the sky, but was beginning to lower. You'd have to start cooking soon if you wanted a decent meal tonight. You stepped on you porch, you shoes clicking on the surface.

You pause, setting down your bags.

Where's Jubie-

"Y/n!!!" Jubie, sensing your arrival- squeals as she swoops in from above you, landing on your hat.

Then, quickly she hopped on your finger as you held it out.

"Y/n!!!!therearetheseweirdlittleguys-wellmorecutethanweirdand-"

You laughed a little. "Slow down, Jubie. I can't understand you."

Jubie took a breath. "Two little things are in your backyard."

You frowned. "What?"

Jubie hopped a little before leaving you finger, "follow me!" She called as she took off, swooping behind your house.

With a flick of your hand, a wand popped into it. Better safe, than sorry. You thought to yourself. You weren't strong enough really to wield your magic without it. The only trick you had was making it pop in and out of you hands and you pleased... which was actually pretty useful.

You stepped off of your porch quietly, slowly moving to the back of your little house.

You could hear faint giggling and talking.

"Ugh... the bird's back." Someone grumbled- a child.

Another fit of giggling can be heard. "I think they're cute!"

You completely walk around the back, looking around. You pause.

You're poor fillyona's had been picked dry, and your watering can was missing. Jubie, was perched on the planks of wood you had bought. You look at her, distraught.

"They're over there!" She tells you.

You walk over to where your hose pipe was located. Your frown. Are those... cookies????

No, wait. More importantly-

"Stop!" You yelled, frightening the somehow animated cookies. One was holding your watering can, while the other had your hose pipe on full blast. Water was everywhere.

With a flick of your wand, you removed your watering can from their hands and turned off the pipe. You walked up to them, placing a hand on your hip. "What do you think you're doing!?"

They were both frozen in place, neither uttering a word. You take the moment to look at them closer. You'd never seen such puppets before. At least, that's what they looked like.

Puppets were like dolls that someone with enough magic energy could control. Though... these looked especially unique.

They were obviously modeled after cookies. One even had spinkles littering their... humps? If you looked closer, you could even see what looked like even smaller sprinkles being used as 'freckles' for their face. It looked like it was some sort of sugar or gingerbread mix.

Your eyes slid to the other one. Okay, this one's definitely modeled after a chocolate cookie. You thought to yourself. It had a what looked like a sugary version of a night cap on. Fluffy whipped cream, with some sort of fondue and little cookie stars was what the cap looked like it was made after.

But... neither actually smelled like cookies. Which made you think that they were just puppets.

You thought back to the kids you'd heard before. You frowned, looking around. "Okay, come on out!" You called around you, "I bet you guys were the one who ruined my flowers, too! Listen, you shouldn't even be here, the woods are dangerous!"

... no answer. You sigh, looking around some more. You couldn't see anyone past the trees.

Jubie swoops down, landing back on your hat. "Oh, look at what you've done! Now they're scared!"

You frown. "What are you-"

The sound of a whimper makes you whip your head back to the cookies. There, you see the two of them. Moving. All on their own. These were not puppets.

The one with the humps was on the brink of tears, the other was hiding behind them. "W-....we're sorry. We just thought they were pretty and-" they sniff, rubbing their eyes. The chocolate one refused to show you their face, instead pushing it into the sprinkled one's back.

Oh no. These were the children.

Before you can even try to console them, they burst out in tears. You were panicking.

"Hey- no, no, no... don't do that." You plead in a much gentler voice. "I didn't know you were- I mean... it's fine. I can always regrow the flowers." You give a shaky smile.

They look at you. "But... you sounded so mad." The sprinkled one tells you. "We messed with your water and stuff, too." The chocolate one quietly adds on.

You nod. "You did." They flich, watching as you lift your wand in the air. "Luckily, I can clean the water up pretty quickly." You give it flick.

Water from the watering can and the ground lifted into the air. You moved your wand, making it swish and swirl. And with a final flick, it popped- creating a rainbow of dew above you all. You smiled back at them. "There, problem taken care of."

Their mouths were hung open, tears vanishing in the sun just as the water did.

In one quick movement, they came up to you, barreling questions at you one after the other.

"How did you do that? Was that a new type of magic? Can you teach us? Can you lift us in the sky, too!?"

You back up a little with a small laugh. "Woah, woah... first, let's introduce ourselves. I'm Y/n, and this little bird on my hat here- is my familiar, Jubie."

The cookies- children, nod. It was obvious they had even more questions now... but thankfully, they decided to introduce themselves as well."

"I'm sun!" The sprinkled on says. "Moon." The chocolate one mutters.

You nod as well. "Okay, it's very nice to meet you Sun and Moon! Now, can you tell me how to contact your parents?" You smile. "I can send it by bird if needed. Jubie doesn't mind."

They pause, looking at each other. The tears start to return. "We... we don't know." Sun tells you. "We got lost, and..."

Oh dear. You looked at the sky, the sun was now much lower than before. You wouldn't be able to take them to the village if you tried. I'd be far too dangerous around a time like this.

You take a breath before looking at them. "That's okay! Let's... just get you two inside- I know you're not supposed to follow strangers and all... but we don't really have a choice in this situation."

Sun wipes his eyes again. "Why not?" He mumbles.

You frown. "Because that can be very dangerous." Did their parents not tell them that??

Moon looks at you from behind Sun. "What's a 'stranger'?"

You pause, frown deepening. "It's... someone you don't know."

Moon frowns, peering at you as he gripped Sun. "We don't know you." He pointed out.

You sighed. You'd definitely have to talk to their parents. Poor things were lucky they'd found you, and not someone... unsavory. "Just- are you two hungry? I can fix you something?"

Both Sun and Moon pop up, inching closer to you. "Food?" Moon mumbles. "Okay, let's go!" Sun cheers.

Yeah, you were definitely talking to their parents. Child safety is no joke, and for them not to teach their own children the simplest of rules is just-

"Oh, wait!" Sun exclames before he runs off. You're immediately about to call after him, but he comes back. Weird cloaks in his hand.

The energy that came from it felt... odd. Jubie felt it too.

"That's... a strong spell." She whispered.

You nodded as you guided the children inside your home. The sun was just about the set now, and you did not want to deal with things that came out into the forest when it did. You opened your door, guiding the children inside.

"You can wipe your feet here." You said, gesturing to the little mat at the door. The children looked at you, frowning in confusion.

You waited a moment, before slowly wiping your feet on the mat yourself. Both boys watched you do so, before trying their best to replicate it.

It's almost as if they were born yesterday. You thought to yourself, quickly going back to go fetch your bags that you had left on your porch. The boys stepped aside, allowing you to do so.

"What's that?" Moon asked, watching you as you set in down in your living room. He walked up closer to you, trying to get a look inside of the bags. You eyes caught a glimpse of Sun, shuffling his feet close by with the cloaks in hand.

You bent down a little, opening a bag a little for him to see. "Potions." You told him, standing back upright to look at Sun. "You can set the cloaks over there, and come over here if you want."

Sun looked at you, relieved with a smile. "Okay!" He said, setting the coats down to where you had pointed, before happily walking over to you to take a look inside of the bag as well.

"Father has bottles like these." You heard him mumble as he leaned over moon a bit to see. "Yours are weak, though." Moon added.

You frowned. Weak? You mean, yeah sure- the potions on their own couldn't really do anything. They had to be mixed together first. But weak?? These were high quality ingredients!

You placed a hand on your hip. "These can actually be really powerful, y'know? They just have to be mixed together- by an adult." You added quickly. You did not want them to think they could even touch potions. "You two should never touch these, by the way. You can really get hurt."

Moon frowned. "Can not. These look mid grade, at best. Father has far better ones than you." You watched in disbelief as Sun nodded in agreement.

Okay, now you were curious. Just who were their parents exactly? They were obviously not human, for sure. But then, what are they? You looked them over. Not a animin, or a Jin... Highly doubted they were fae, either.

Jubie hopped along your hat and landed on your shoulder. "As cute as they are, they... feel weird. I can sense it."

You hummed quietly in agreement, watching as the boys commented on the things in your bag that they could see without directly touching it.

That was another thing. Their energy. It's didn't feel right. Energy is what you're made of, no matter what species you might be. Your center- the core of who you were could be born of flame, wind, the earth, or water... light and dark also used to be cores, but those who had it died out centuries ago. Someone having a core like that nowadays is non existent. Which is nothing but a good thing. A core like that could be incredibly dangerous- it was.

But that's a story for another time.

Your core was made of earth. It was where you drew your power from- as all others with a core like yours did. You couldn't speak to animals. Well, except for your familiar. And that didn't count since anybody could do that if allowed. You couldn't talk to the plants, either. But... you could feel the life around you. A buzzing, you would often call it. A constant swarm of movement. You felt it in the trees. You felt it in the ground. You felt it in stone to moss. Mountain to pebble. And partially, you could manipulate it. Just like you had with the water. Except back then you had used just a simple floatation spell... having a core from the earth ment that's where you drew the power from to use the spell. It also had other benefits- which varied from person to person. Some could talk to plants or animals. Some could move stone and morph it how they pleased. You had the added little perk of being able to identify the energy of most things- telling if they were good or bad, poisonous or not. It tended to be really helpful when buying potions from a dealer.

Which brought you back to the boys.

You couldn't feel their energy entirely- but you could? It was almost as if you were looking at a mock version of someone's core. It was so close to normal, but something about it just made you uneasy.

You didn't know why.

You bent down to close back the bags, making the boys pout. "Come on," you told them as you made your way to the kitchen, "let's get you something to eat."

You decided to ignore the feeling you had. It was probably just your nerves after finding the two children... but, Jubie had mentioned it too. No, probably were just her nerves as well. You shook off what you deemed as the useless thoughts as you set your bags back down in the corner of your kitchen.

The boys watched curiously as you went to open your fridge. "Can we help?" You heard Moon quietly ask from behind you.

You turn around slightly to see him clinging to your side. Sun appears on the other side of you, doing the same. "Can we?" He asks.

You smile. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Sun slightly bounces in place as Moon tries to look in the fridge with you. They both watch as you pull out many vegetables and herbs. You close the fridge, setting it all on the counter. "Hold on." You tell them as you walk to your pantry, pulling out a sack of potatoes.

They patiently wait for you to return. And once you do, they're back to your sides.

"What are we making?" Sun asks. You catch moon trying to peer over the counter. "Soup." You stated. "You both go grab a chair so you can help."

Immediately, they go do as their told. You watch as they try to grab the chairs and pull it over. You take a moment to fetch bowls and a knife for you while they do.

By the time you set down everything you need, they have their chairs to the counter and are ready to help.

"Okay," you started, "First, we'll wash our hands. Then, I'll cut the vegetables... you two can put them in. Can you do that?" You asked with a smile.

They both nod their heads feverishly as they quickly scoot off the chairs.

The kitchen buzzes to life. And you all talk amongst each other as you work.

They ask you a lot of questions. Mostly about what you do, and what the village you go to is like. You smile, telling them that you had actually moved into your little home quite recently, so you didn't know much about the village itself yet. "Ah, but they do have great deals on potions!" You said at the end.

Moon made a face while Sun pushed on. "Where did you live before?" He asks.

You smile. "At the academy. Some people like to just stay there- it being close to the capital. I decided to leave after learning what I could."

"Was it fun?" Sun asks.

You paused. The question brought up memories you'd honestly rather not think about. "It was... okay." You said after a moment, deciding to smile in hopes that they wouldn't ask any deeper questions about it.

Sun hums, dropping a hand full of potatoes in a bowl. Moon slouches a bit, sighing. "We've never been to an academy." He grumbles.

You frown. "Well the academy teaches more advanced lessons... but surely, you've been to a magic school?" You asked them. It didn't make sense. He talks as if-

"We've never been to a 'magical school'." Moon mutters, frown deepening as he folds his arms. Sun looks over at him, worried. "Moon-"

"Father won't let us leave the house at all! He always says it's too dangerous! Well, we made it out here- and it's not like that all! It's fun!! You're fun!!" Moon bursts, and sun gasps quietly looking at him, and then you.

You set down the knife. "You've never left your house?" You ask incredulously.

"Well," Sun starts, poking at a potato that was hanging a bit out of the bowl. "We can play in the yard... but we've never seen a village or a academy..."

He frowns, while moon just continues to scowl. "We... ran off. We wanted to see what was beyond the barrier."

A barrier? You think to yourself.

"And we found you!" Moon blurts, holding out his hands towards you. He groans, "Can't we just stay here, with you? I don't want to go back if father is just going to ground us again."

Sun shrinks on himself. "I... miss him. What if we never see him or home again?"

Moon whips his head over to him. "T-that... that won't happen! He's probably gonna find us like he did last time."

"But..." Sun started, "We past the barrier. We used the cloaks. And look at how late it is." He looks out of a window from where he sat. Moon does the same.

Moon shinks in himself, too. "That... he's..."

You quickly catch the tears before they fall from both children. "Hey now..." You say, wiping their eyes. "I'm sure you're father is out looking for you right now, and he's definitely gonna find you. I'll make sure of it." After I have a strong word with him, that is.

The children look at you. Bobbing their heads in a small nod as they wiped their eyes with you. "Okay..." They mutter.

You smile, "Good, now let's eat- shall we?"

They boys look at you, confused. "We're gonna eat it raw?" Moon asks, rubbing his eyes one last time.

You grin. "Of course not, that'd be silly. We're gonna use a spell." You tell them, pulling out a piece of paper from a drawer.

They watch you as you put all of the ingredients in a pot with a broth, and close the lid. Then, you take the piece of paper, and tear it right above the pot.

Within a second, golden mist surrounds the pot. And they watch it heat up, bubbling sounds being heard from within.

After a minute you open the pot to reveal freshly cooked soup. The boys mouths drop. You grin, "A cook- Freddy, made this for me. It's a really useful trick, huh?"

The boys nod, and you hear their stomachs growl as you walk to pull out bowls and spoons for the three of you.

Jubie hops on Sun's head, making him giggle. "I'm gonna go finish my seed from earlier today, don't wanna waste anything!"

You chuckle, "Okay, come back once you're done." You tell her as she flies off into a different part of the house where her cage is.

Moon looks at you while helping set up the table, "You can understand it?" He asks, making sure to set his and Sun's bowls next to each other.

You set yours down on the opposite end, handing him two spoons next. "Well, yeah. You could too, if she allows."

Sun pops up from looking at the food in the pot, waiting on you to come over. "We can?" There's a glimmer in is eyes when he asks you.

You nod walking over to pick up the pot with a slight heave. "Yeah- but, you have to ask nicely." You set it down on the table.

Both Sun and Moon nod slowly, watching as you scooped big spoons of soup into their bowls. They didn't touch it, though. Instead, they waited on you to finish making yours.

The three of you sat down at the table, eating and making small talk every now and then. The boys had finished their food before you did. You gave Moon another helping- since he asked for it. Sun didn't want anymore, deciding he wanted to try talking with Jubie.

"Where did Jubie go?" He asked, leaning a bit on the table.

You thought about it. "She... actually might be sleeping. She does that a lot after she eats."

Sun slouched a little further. "Oh...."

Moon, was far to deep into his food to even hear the conversation. You smiled, "How about we play a game? I have a few."

Ah, that caught his attention. Moon looked up from putting yet another spoonful into his mouth. "Mah jame?" He asked, spoon clicking with his teeth as he talked. Sun perked up a little as he listened in.

You nod, setting your spoon in your bowl. You were done eating now. "Yeah, we can play it after I wash the bowls."

Moon quickly nods as he finishes his food. "I'll help. That way we can play faster." He puts his spoon in his bowl as well, and makes grabbing hands at Sun's. "Gimmie."

Sun covets it, shaking his head. "No, I can do my own." Moon frowns, "No you can't! You always leave stuff behind."

Sun frowns deeper. "I won't this time! I want to do it on my own!"

You stop the bickering before it gets any worse. "Boys... how about, we all do it together?" You offer.

They look at you. "How?" Sun asks, while he stops Moon from trying to sneak and take his bowl.

"Moon, you can clean them... Sun, you can dry them. I'll put them up after. Sounds good?"

The boys look at each other. Moon glances down at the bowl in sun's hand one more time, as if he was about to try and reach for it again. Sun holds it tighter.

Moon looks at you. "And we can play after?"

You nod, standing up. "Absolutely."

Moon slides off of the chair, pushing it back. He then picks up his bowl and takes it to the sink. You have to stop yourself from giggling as you watch him try to see over yet another counter. You take you chair, and set it next to Moon. "Here, you can use this."

Moon glares at you a little, mumbling something you couldn't hear. Even so, he gets in the chair.

Sun still hadn't let go of his bowl. You walk over to him, holding out your hand. "Drying them is a big job. Are you sure you can handle it?" You look at him as seriously as you can.

Sun's eyes shoot to yours. He nods, "Of course. Leave it to me." He tells you as he places the bowl in your hand, and marches over to the sink. He was on a mission.

He stops midway to get a chair as well. You help him.

The three of you quickly finish the dishes, the boys taking their jobs very seriously. Honestly, you don't think you've even seen a dish so clean and dry. "Great job," you tell them as you put up the last bowl. "I knew you two could do it!"

Sun practically radiates joy, while moon hides behind him a little. You hear a very small thank you fro him as he does.

The boys then hop off the chairs, pushing them back to the table as quickly as they could. They run back to you.

You smile guiding them to the living room. You sit them down on your couch, and then walk over too your bookshelf. On the top, you had few games you had collected over the years. They mostly sat and collected dust, so you were happy to finally put them to use.

You decide to pull out a favorite of yours. It was a simple game- first you set up the blocks in a tower, and each person would take turns pulling out a block. First one to make it fall loses, then the other players would duke it out for first place.

You explained the rules to the kids before playing. The first round you lost on purpose, choosing instead to help them from the sidelines. Sun ended up ultimately being the winner. Moon folded his arms.

"It's okay," you tell him, "Sometimes, you have to lose in order to learn how to win. Don't give up."

With that, a spark is lit in Moon's eyes. The second round starts. Sun loses first, making the tower fall on his third turn. He doesn't get upset, choosing to instead cheer Moon on as he faced against you.

You smirk, pretending to put in a good fight before losing. The boys cheer once you do, and laugh when you dramatically admit defeat.

After that, you let them play on their own. Something had been bothering you for a while now, and no matter how hard you tried- you couldn't shake it.

Jubie swoops in, and you hold out your hand for her to land on it.

"Something's wrong," She whispers, "That feeling I had is growing..."

You nod, frowning. "It's not their cloaks.... it's the connection to it. It's messing with the energy around it." You glanced at the cloaks in question. The magic around it was more prominent now, and all of the other energies around it was avoiding it like the plague. You'd never seen anything like it.

"Not just that," Jubie states. There's a fear in her eye. "But look, it's leading somewhere."

You look. Indeed the magic was leading somewhere, the trail going through your door. The feeling got stronger. And you were hit with a sudden sickness. Jubie watches you in worry.

You swollow down your nausea, instead choosing to walk over to the cloaks. You glance out the window. It was night now.

"Sun... moon, where did you get these cloaks?"

The boys hum, too immersed in their game. "It's Father's." Sun tells you after a moment.

You frown. That's impossible. No one could just make something like this. It had to be a relic of some sort... right? The magic, it felt far too-

A wave of energy bursts from the cloaks. And you almost topple over from the sensation of it hitting you. The boys look at you in worry. "Y/n... are you okay?" You faintly hear Sun ask.

You feel Jubie fly off of you, rushing to the boys. "Protect them," You tell her, "leave out the back door if you need to."

Moon looks at you, and then her. "What's going on?"

Another wave bursts, and you almost fall the down from sickness you felt. You were getting dizzy.

"Stay back!" You tell them, faintly feeling the vibration of them tryting to rush over to you. You look at them, they're speaking but you can't hear what they're saying. Your ears were ringing far to much. "Listen to Jubie, she'll make sure you're safe." You mumble. Your head was hurting so much.

The energy was so strong now. Something falls from outside, the feeling so strong that it shook the ground beneath you. You flick you wand into your hand, and glance at the boys. They looked as if they were trying to tell Jubie something... but you couldn't hear it.

You brace yourself.

The realization hits you far to late. Something wasn't pulling the cloaks....

It was the cloaks that been bringing something to you this whole time.

And It was here.

The door bursts open, and the dizzying feeling hit you ten fold. You loose you balance, falling to the ground. There's a shift within the air. The energy around you feeling far to heavy for you to handle. All other energies fled. It was just you, and the overwhelming presence you felt.

Jubie rushes to your side. She's saying something, but the ringing is all you can hear. And then, something else....

"Where..." a voice floods your mind, it sounded rough and so very angry. "Where are they."

You hold your head with your free hand. "W-what...?" You mumble out loud.

The lights flicker around you, popping all at once. The only illumination you had was the moon outside. And that soon, left you too.

A darkly color hand reaches through your door, cracking it's frame. "WHERE." Then another, "ARE." to your disbelief, two more slam through. "MY CHILDERN!?"

You hand unwillingly drops your wand. The pressure- their presence, was far to strong. Sun and moon rush to the figure, stopping them from coming any closer.

"No.... don't." You mumble out weakly, vision staring to blur. "Don't hurt them."

Jubie is still by your side, weak- but not as bad off as you. She couldn't sense- feel like you could.

And yet, she stands beside you. Ready to protect to her best of abilities if needed.

Sun and moon are still in front of the figure. You were trying focus on them the best you could. The ringing was starting to die down for some reason, but you didn't feel any better.

"Don't hurt them... they....." You can hear one of the boys say, only being able to hear it partly.

The figures eyes slide to you, deep red eyes swirled... fading, turning into a glowing gold.

You were too tired to speak anymore.

"Get your coats... we're leaving." The dark voice commands, looking back at the boys.

The boys feverishly tell it something, and the figure scowls. "They won't even remember you." It raises one of it's hands, and sickly as she looked- Jubie stands defensively in front of you. "That, I'll make sure of."

They boys plead, but it goes on deaf ears. Both you and Jubie are hit with a wave of magic. You fall completely down on the floor, eyes beginning to close.

Oh... you were so so sleepy.

You're vision goes in and out, and you catch glimpses of the boys retrieving their cloaks. They were crying. The figure, slid back outside.... and your vision blurs yet again. Sun and moon are now by the door, looking back at you.

Sun sniffs, wiping his eyes. "We... had a lot of fun with you." You hear him say. Moon doesn't even look your way, but he was gripping the cloak he had on so so tightly.

"No... don't...." You mumble out. Moon, looks at you then. He fiddles with his hat, and something drops onto the floor.

"Don't forget us. You have to fight it, you have to remember." He tells you. There's a gleam in his eyes, and his chest puffs out. "I know you'll find-"

"Moon!" A voice booms from outside. The boys look at you. Sun gives a sad small wave before leaving.

You catch a glimpse of Moon one last time before your eyes shut completely.

"Don't forget."

[the-worms-in-your-bones]

Someone asked for my reworked explanation of regenerative dissonance and I really thought this would be a quick thing to type up, but instead I’m over 1000 words into some sort of time lord dsm entry on it

[centurywrites]

"This wedding is going to be a disaster. The bride and groom both look miserable."

"Be quiet! The alliance is on shaky ground as it is. It won't survive if this marriage falls through."

Arcus heard the murmuring outside the private room where he and his soon-to-be wife were staying. A pit formed in his stomach, eyes squeezed shut. Everything relied on him and this stranger. He barely even knew her name, and he was supposed to marry her? He hated this.

He stared at the wall, head rested on his talons as he counted the swirls painted onto the stone. 35, in total. He’d been doing this for hours, his mother’s words repeating in his mind over and over as he did so; 

“The fate of the family– no, the kingdom– relies on you, Arcus.” That phrase haunted him.

The young SkyWing rolled over onto his back, glancing over at the pale SeaWing beside him. She was laying down facing the other way, mumbling something in her resting state. What was her name, again? Some kind of jellyfish.

He remembered their first meeting just days before, where she had seemed cold and disinterested. Arcus couldn’t blame her– this was all so sudden. One moment he was being ignored by his parents, the next he was suddenly being paired up with some poor princess. It would’ve helped to at least try to get to know her, he told himself, a sense of guilt gnawing at him. A shiver went up his spine. What if this falls through? What if we go back to war?

Arcus closed his eyes again, inhaling sharply. It would all be okay. He just had to get this over with.

* * *

Ghost pulled the veil outside her dressing room open, tail swaying to and fro nervously. An unfamiliar servant suddenly appeared beside her, tapping her shoulder.

An unfamiliar servant suddenly appeared beside her, tapping her shoulder. “Your highness?” They spoke suddenly, making the princess jump. “Sorry, I just have to adjust your accessories.” 

The sea dragon nodded solemnly, staring into the distance. She didn’t want this– not a single part. Yet, here she was, all dressed up like a statue, a gift to be given. Perhaps if she’d been more like her namesake, she could’ve avoided this. She bit her tongue as the SkyWing fluffed up the bride’s lace, making sure all the gemstones woven in were perfectly polished.

After a moment, the servant backed away to go check on something else, leaving Ghost to reflect.

 What did she do wrong to deserve this? Was she too rambunctious? No, it couldn’t be that. She was always double checking the rules, avoiding any form of conflict. Maybe she was too plain, someone who could disappear without anyone noticing her absence. It’s not like anyone came to check on her except the occasional attendant.

 Not dead yet? The voice of her lady-in-waiting echoed in her mind, a dreadfully boring old dragoness who always seemed distant. Good. We can’t have any potential alliance brides dying. Ghost felt a little cruel for pretending her retainer would say that, but she didn’t have time to dwell on that. She heard the noise of someone walking in, probably to lead her to the wedding venue.

Ghost sighed and turned around, expecting the stylist in front of her. Instead, she was met with the willowy form of the SkyWing prince, her groom. He was wearing an outfit similar to hers, the only difference being that he had golden-yellow gems embedded in the fabric of his cape, which complimented the lilac hues of his scales quite nicely.

She frowned, gaze harshening. “What do you want?”

The prince– what was his name, Arcus– stumbled over his words for a moment, staring down at his talons before he finally managed to spit something out. “I just felt bad about…” he gestured around, “all of this.” Ghost raised an eyebrow, but let him continue. “I mean, we barely know each other. So I thought that maybe we should get to know each other better before we get married.” Arcus finished, looking up at the princess expectantly.

Ghost avoided his gaze, glancing around. As much as she hated to admit it, it would

probably help to learn more about the person she was supposed to be marrying. 

She let out a long sigh before nodding, meeting his eye. “Alright. I’m Ghost, but I’m sure you already knew that,” the princess began, and she noticed Arcus squirm slightly, making her chuckle. He must be the forgetful type, she noted inwardly before continuing, “and I don’t want to marry you. I’m 9 years old, and I should be able to make my own decisions by now. However, I wouldn’t mind pretending to be in love.” 

The SkyWing gulped, fidgeting as she finished. As soon as he was done, he opened his mouth to speak. “I’m Arcus, and I also don’t really want to marry you. I’m 10 years old, and I wanted--" Arcus was stuck on the words for a moment, "--to be a candlemaker. I think we could make this work, even if just for appearances.”

Her annoyance faded as he finished, glad to be done with this. “I think we’re both in agreement, then,” Ghost said, feeling empty. She was glad neither of them wanted this. “I’ll put

up with you, and you can do… whatever it is you want to do.” She dismissed the prince with a wave of her hand, turning to leave as she heard the clack of claws against the tiled hallway, a sign someone was coming to collect her. 

Arcus let out a sigh of relief, slipping out of the room to wait outside for his gentleman-in-waiting to come get him for the wedding ceremony.

note: prompt from @prompts-in-a-barrel and dividers here

im getting more into writing again!!! fun fact: this is my first one shot ft. some wof ocs :)) criticism appreciated as long as you're nice about it

[nhi-theuserof-this]

hate me not for my circumstances

by nhi_theuserof_this

Content (skip to read blind)

“hate me not for my circumstances” by nhi_theuserof_this

Word count: 740

Fandom: Ninjago (2011-2022)

Characters: Lloyd Garmadon, Morro

Relationships: Lloyd Garmadon & Morro

Tags: Lloyd Garmadon Character Study, Morro Character Study, The Inherent Worthlessness of the Relationship Between Yourself and Someone Who Hates Your Title, Possession, Ninjago season 5: Possession, Lloyd Garmadon and Morro Canonically Look Alike, Morro Possessing Lloyd Garmadon

Summary:

He looks deep into eyes that are not his own, and feels nothing but hate.

"I hate you," he rasps, "personally, and deeply."

"You don't hate me," the boy croaks.

or; a theoretical interaction between morro and lloyd

Ao3 Link

(it is of note that all of my fanfictions are only available to those logged into an ao3 account)