#a guy that can into a green giant and a talking raccoon

[thebionicautisticindividual]

Keep thinking about these two interacting.

[wincore]

wasted nights | liu yangyang

pairing: yangyang x reader

words: 5.5k

summary: firstly, you don’t think you should have survived this long. secondly, this might be the zombie apocalypse but your survival doesn’t feel as threatened by zombies as it does by liu yangyang. thirdly, you’ve chosen the worst time to develop a crush.

genre: zombie apocalypse!au, fluff, humour(?)

warnings: mention of injuries & blood, violence (against zombies), dumbassery, do not attempt during an actual zombie apocalypse

song rec(s): wasted nights - one ok rock 

a/n: october birthdays get halloween specials~ although this one is just full of unnecessary appearances by cats. also campfires because october campfires hit different. (i’m definitely saying this because i was born in october) also not me writing this as a joke and reaching 5.5k words </3

It’s two hours till sundown. 

What would you be doing on a day within the ordinary? Likely getting back from after school activities, chatting with a friend or feeding the stray kittens by the school building, or maybe pretending Liu Yangyang doesn’t exist—the possibilities were endless. Now there’s only one.

“Yangyang,” you call, more worried than not.

On a day out of the ordinary, you wish you hadn’t prayed for your exam to get cancelled the day all of this broke out. You wouldn’t be scavenging like some sort of rodent and you wouldn’t be standing at the gates of an abandoned shrine, though now is undoubtedly a better time to pray. It’s not the best of situations (especially not with a certain little rascal attached to your side). 

And understatements are definitely your thing now.

“Yangyang,” you call a little louder this time, eyes shifting around the shrine area. 

Should you step in? He asked you to wait, the stone steps now looking a little glum without him skipping over them. The only signs of life you’ve seen around has been a family of raccoons looking rather smug and a single spotted dove preening itself atop a branch. The lack of visibility into the forest surrounding the shrine bothers you, like something could jump out any minute and you suck your teeth, growing annoyed. Where is that boy?

You tap your foot against the ground soundlessly. What if a zombie were to pop out? They might be slow but the sight of them is still gross enough to paralyze you. Yangyang has his baseball bat with him, which leaves you defenseless in terms of weapons. Still, it’s not like the bat would have done you any good. You are, in the truest sense of the word, average at any sort of combat and freezing at the limbs comes to you more naturally. Zombies are not fun; whatever nonsense Yangyang has been trying to explain to you for weeks is optional, as is every other suggestion that comes from his mouth. It’s quiet and quiet, creepy shrines have never been your favourite place in the city.

You hear a low growl behind you, stiffening at the sound. Best case scenario, it’s a big rat. You’d rather not think of the worst case. Eventually, you gather some courage and turn slowly only to jump back with a short scream. 

Yangyang takes the old festival mask off to reveal a giant grin on his face, urging you to knock it right off. The anger that follows is natural and he should be used to it by now. Yangyang continues smiling, as if he didn’t just pull your soul right out of your body, and when he opens his mouth to say something, you’re quick to land a swift punch to his gut. He lets out a pained cry, dropping to the ground in a squat.

“Don’t do that,” you seethe. “Why can’t you greet me normally?”

“I’m okay!” He signals a thumbs up while the other hand clutches his stomach. 

“I didn’t ask.”

He moves his hand to place it over his chest. “Ow. Oh, and to answer your question, it’s because you don’t want to do my special handshake with me.”

“Hm. Get up. You said there were supplies here. What did you find?”

He pouts, finally getting up. “I can’t believe you’re just using me for supplies.”

You cross your arms. “Just get up already.”

Yangyang springs up despite the (admittedly) strong blow to his stomach and presents to you the plastic bag he’d been holding. In any other circumstances, it would spark some disapproval on your behalf but it turns out, those things do outlive most everything. For a moment, the ridiculous image of pulling a plastic bag over a zombie’s head crosses your mind. 

Yangyang finally responds, taking out whatever items he recovered. Not everything is useful however; he’s simply taken to collecting knick-knacks. 

“I found toothbrushes! Maybe your breath will stop stinking—”

You raise your clenched fist as a threat.

“—I was kidding. Obviously. You have lovely breath.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose in an attempt to contain your exasperation. 

“Also, I found clean water so I filled up some bottles and yeah, I couldn’t find much else but oh! There was this huge cat and I mean huge like a big chonk kinda guy, you know? And I’m sure he was, like, trying to tell me something, like, he kept hissing when I went near him but…”

You wonder if Yangyang ever gets tired from speaking so fast, his words fading out of your comprehension. You shake your head, clearing your throat.

“Can we leave now?”

Yangyang raises an eyebrow, almost smirking as the gears in his head turn.

“You’re not… superstitious, are you?” he asks. “I heard there’s a lot of reported sightings of ghosts here.”

“No,” you blurt, quick to deny. Yangyang might have seen you crying after getting lost in the dark, almost fainting after encountering a zombie for the first time or even in deep sorrow after you lost your friend—but there’s still part of your dignity to protect before you can admit your fear of ghosts. There’s just something about this abandoned shrine; there are no visitors apart from the caretaker and if loneliness is responsible for anything, it’s making lonely things seem a whole lot scarier. You’d rather leave before the sun sets.

Yangyang laughs. “Who do you think would win in a fight? Zombies or ghosts?”

You roll your eyes. “That’s so stupid. Obviously ghosts.”

“No. Okay, maybe. I just think…”

There he goes again. 

You wonder if he was always this way—when you passed him by in the hallways, when he shot you a polite smile at club meetings or when you saw him being loud with his friends blocking part of the sidewalk. You’re sure he couldn’t have been entirely sane.

“Oh my god.”

Yangyang’s voice jerks you back to the present. You follow his line of sight to a cardboard box beneath a particularly dense shrub; it's a large one—quite possibly a carton of some commercial product which doesn’t matter anymore. However, it’s not the details of the box itself so much as it is the contents that grab your attention. 

You can almost see the sparkle in Yangyang’s eyes as he views the cats huddled together inside the box. They don’t seem to mind each other within their personal space—you count four of them, tightly packed and eyes closed in a late afternoon nap. How the box hasn’t ripped apart yet is quite a mystery, and what’s more troubling is how at ease they seem to be with the entire human race in disarray.

You grab Yangyang by the collar before he can make his way to them.

“Don’t harass them,” you say, massaging your temples. “Jesus, it’s like they’re glued to each other. Do they have to be in the same box?”

“It might just be the last cardboard box left on earth.” Yangyang shrugs.

The cats mind their own business, grooming their fur or closing their eyes in an odd sort of bliss. You wonder what it would be like to be so unbothered by all the chaos. It reminds you of someone.

“Come on,” you urge, thinking back to older times. “Don’t think I forgot how much you used to bother old Louis back then.”

Louis was the university cat, fed with so much love that he eventually started avoiding people like the plague. You wonder how he’s holding up for a brief moment.

“Don’t think I forgot how you were back then too.”

“What do you mean?” you snap, glaring at him.

“You were already a zombie,” he says before engaging in a cheap mimicry of you, drooping his eyelids and taking slow steps muttering, “I… must… maintain… gpa… grr.”

You almost take off your shoe to throw it at him before deciding it’s not worth your time. Ah, if only you had done that during club meetups, perhaps you’d have felt better about him joining. Everyone treated him so differently, and you hate to admit you now understand why. 

Everyone loves a good troublemaker.

And there happens to be another thing special about your sole competitor for the debate club’s president position. Apart from his strange antics (charms, he says), even this virus—this fuckall literal killer virus can’t infect him. He’s immune—an occurrence with a possibility lower than you finding him attractive. (There, you said it.)

You look at Yangyang still talking about Louis and a small smile crosses your face. You’d feed your right arm to a zombie before you admitted it but it’s nice having him around. You furrow your brows at the sudden familiar bubbling in your chest and shove it away in a flash before your conscious decides to tell you what it is. 

Your heart jumps to your throat when you make eye contact with Yangyang, turning away in a rather awkward manner. Oh, the end of the world does awful things to you.

“Are you listening?” Yangyang raises an eyebrow. “Oh my god, you weren’t listening at all.”

You roll your eyes. “I was distracted.”

“By me?” he offers in a sing-song voice, prompting a smack from you. It’s easier to pretend this way.

Yangyang massages his shoulder with a huff. “Why are you hitting me so much today? I’ve counted like eight and the day’s only just over.”

“Sorry,” you mumble before clearing your throat. “I mean, you’ve also said something annoying, like, more than eight times today.”

“I’m not annoying.”

There’s a pause.

“Okay, maybe a little bit.”

The sun starts to lay in rest by the time you reach the city. Compared to the green, red and yellow of the yet standing shrine, this place is in dull monochrome with the occasional coloured signs that flicker to life. You force yourself to think but have a hard time remembering if it was always this way. Was it any different with the rushing cars or apathetic crowds? You can’t tell. You were part of them, after all. 

“Hey, how about a bottle flip challenge but with traffic cones?” Yangyang thinks aloud, walking backwards as you pass by a particularly well-lit alley. 

You roll your eyes in response. Is it the lack of people making him that way? Your unflustered companion looks at home among neon lights, all of them seeming to point towards him as an answer to a question you haven’t quite figured out yet. 

You glance at the alley just a second longer. The electric lanterns still glow red, and although dim, there are many. The shops almost look like you could enter and be greeted with a crowd of university kids or a group of office workers drinking away in celebration of the weekend. You sigh. It’s most certainly deserted inside; there’s no doubt. At the most, the tables are still arranged neatly and the meat grills aren’t completely rusted. You wonder if it’s a Friday.

There was never much grass in the city but whatever growth there was has withered into a mustard yellow or a lamenting grey. An empty city is hardly appealing, but you can’t deny the ill-favored things you’ve done the past few months in the absence of people—a part of you questioning whether breaking into supermarkets is still against the law when no one’s around to keep it. You smile at the memory of Yangyang pushing you around in a shopping cart, though you’d gotten drunk off the (stolen) liquor prior. The neon lights hanging as a banner over sketchy shops sometimes spark alive before dying down over and over again, and to be fair, you don’t think they ever shined too bright. Ironically, they’re the liveliest thing about the city now. 

The sky’s soaked in ink at a time you assume to be around seven in the evening. You walk closer to Yangyang without realizing; it’s not often you’ve been out this late the past few months.

“Hey.” Yangyang snaps you out of your daze. “Be careful.”

The words are strange coming from him but you understand why. You look up ahead with caution and a shiver runs down your spine as you stare at the intersection, a lone, tattered figure droning aimlessly. It’s only one, you tell yourself. And they’re slow.

The memories of your previous encounters send warnings over your skin, shivers begging you to run as fast as you can. You would if it weren’t for Yangyang’s grip on your hand, tugging you forward gently and though it’s something he does every time, you wonder if he knows how you’re really feeling. His footsteps are soundless, with the same red sneakers he’s worn since the beginning of this but something tells you it’s not the shoes that give him a cat’s footfall. The purple lights flicker on and off over the shop on the opposite street, the suddenness of it making you latch onto Yangyang for a short-lived moment. You’re quick to let go, throat too dry to make any sound. 

You curve around what would be a straight path, careful not to be in the creature’s line of sight when you cross. The streets seem wider when they’re so empty, and somehow it feels more unlawful this way. Yangyang signals to you to stay closer, and you follow before bumping into his back when he stops abruptly. There’s absolutely no sound, the feeling in your gut much worse than at the shrine.

“Something’s wrong,” Yangyang whispers.

A strangled shriek erupts from your mouth when something launches itself onto the two of you, making you land on your butt. You would’ve placed your hands over your eyes, but you’ve learned how to be less of a coward these past few days. 

A shaky breath leaves you. A cat. It was a stray cat. The little asshole looks at you with almost twinkling eyes, tail swishing from side to side before deciding you’re not worth its time. Your shoulders sag, a moment of relief despite your stiff muscles.

“Uh, (name)?”

You look up only for your stomach to fill with dread. The zombie from before is staring directly at the two of you, the same vacant look in its eyes that has haunted you for the entirety of the apocalypse.

“It’s okay, he’s too slow,” Yangyang reminds you, voice barely a whisper as he helps you stand.

“We can just take the other street—it’s a little longer but it’s mostly safe and there’s no way he can—”

Yangyang is interrupted by a sickening growl from behind you and you jump back. There’s another one. And another. You count four more before holding back a swear. Yangyang grabs you by the shoulder and the two of you take a step back, onto the sidewalk. There’s a shop behind you; you read a smeared sign above the plastic door curtains indicating a dumpling place. Even if you were to hide in there, there’s no guarantee you’d be safe. 

But if you’ve learned anything in these months, it’s that anything is always better than nothing.

The night has settled in completely, you realize. You’re about to tug Yangyang to the inside as you turn around, only to freeze up in your spot. A pale woman emerges from the store, her makeup still fresh but you know that look, the look in her eyes. How cruel.

“Please,” she mumbles, taking a step towards you and you think you might just cry. It’s not long before she turns, you think with dread.

You stumble back to Yangyang when she emits a blood curdling screech, lunging at you and to either your alarm or worse, relief, Yangyang pushes you back. You watch with wide eyes as the woman sinks her teeth into his arm, nausea growing at the sight of blood. He moves fast though, his arm swinging the baseball bat to meet the woman in the head, hard enough to knock her out. In these few moments, one of the zombies is close enough to reach an arm out towards you and you swear you can hear the horrid sound of his bones cracking when you step back. The longer you remain in this state, the slower you are. You suppose you should take comfort in these words but when you look at it, you still see a man.

Hollow. They’re all hollow. 

You take a deep breath.

Just as the thought crosses your head, you see Yangyang swing his bat again, meeting the zombie on the head and much to your wide-eyed horror, the head flies off into the dumpling shop and the body reacts with just about as much confusion as you do. It wildly waves about its hands in the now vacant spot before crumpling onto the road with a quiet realization.

Yangyang makes a face, pressing his knuckle to his mouth to prevent himself from what you presume is gagging. However, when you look closely, he seems to be holding back a laugh instead and very painfully so. You know he has a habit of laughing at the most inappropriate times but this, it really takes the cake.

“Home run?” he suggests, turning to you with a sheepish half-grin. There’s no hint of malice in his voice and you think that it’s probably not that he enjoys swinging his baseball bat at zombies. 

“You’re disgusting,” you reply, shaking your head.

“Maybe I should leave you here then.” 

You can’t believe he has the gall to be cheeky with blood running down his arm and four of the undead drooling at the sight of you two. 

“Do you think we can find ingredients that aren’t stale here? I miss having dumplings.”

“Yangyang.”

“Okay, okay.”

The other ones are still far enough and the two of you take this chance to run off towards the street Yangyang mentioned earlier and safely out of view. You notice him panting heavier than before, and your eyes scan over his arm in worry. The bite is ugly, red with oozing blood, and you hold back the urge to ask him if he’s anaemic. 

Yangyang follows your eyes before an ‘ah’ leaves his lips. He spins his head to the right, trying to catch a glimpse of the wound in the same manner a dog chases after its own tail. He puts the bat down to try and twist his arm to see the injury but you stop him, clicking your tongue at his silly behaviour.

“You’re not twelve, Yangyang,” you scold. “Let’s get back to the hotel first.”

He shrugs, and you think some provoking words are ready to leave his mouth when he simply picks up his bat and walks off. You blink before quickening your steps to catch up with him. The blood dripping down his forearm makes you feel a little unwell but you know better than to touch infections.

It takes around fifteen minutes longer than usual to reach the hotel—Yangyang was right. It is safer here, with no zombies lurking around the corners. He must have been out late when he was scouting, you think with distaste.

You reach the now-rusting gates of your haven without trouble and the moment you reach, Yangyang falls to his knees, heaving a breath he seems to have been holding. You rush to him, eyes frantic when you reach your hand out to him, and he flinches, moving away from you.

“Don’t,” he mutters before getting up. “You turning into a real zombie would be my personal nightmare.”

It’s not enough to curb your worry but you follow him nonetheless, the stupid, wavering grin on his face making you unable to decipher what he’s really feeling. 

The familiar smell of honeysuckle washes into you as you pass by the entrance, locking the door behind you as Yangyang falls onto one of the chairs in the lobby. Kunhang happened to be passing by, a muffled swear leaving him when he sees the blood on Yangyang’s arm.

“You didn’t touch him, did you?” he asks, pulling on his gloves to further see the wound. A former med student is the best you have here, and somehow, you’ve never seen him complain about having to take care of someone as bothersome as Yangyang. 

You shake your head in reply to Kunhang and watch as he runs from shelf to shelf to procure more bandages than you’ve ever seen in your life. You’ve been seeing an awful lot lately. 

“We’re going to run out of bandages in a week if he keeps this up,” Kunhang says with a frown, moving so fast you can barely see his hands. “He’ll be okay, I guess. The virus just makes him dizzy.”

He’s probably thinking the same thing you are. Something serious happening to Yangyang is a little bit of a miracle. Maybe he’ll finally be set right in the head. 

Even so, you know Kunhang is worried despite his quick response, his frown lines deepening once he’s done wrapping up. He sighs before waltzing off to discard his gloves.

It’s not that you aren’t impressed by Kunhang; you’ve just seen him do that too many times to count. And of course, it’s mostly Yangyang on the receiving end. They might be good friends but this also happens to be the only time they're serious together. Moreover, Kunhang seems to beat Yangyang in the talking-for-twelve-hours-straight department. You have to admit though, being in charge of first aid for the few people stuck in this hotel is not an easy business. 

You take a seat opposite to Yangyang, dozing off in his chair and wonder if you should wipe the drool off his chin. Disgusting, you think to yourself, but another part of you dares to offer the word cute. 

The best thing about barricading yourself in a hotel during the apocalypse is not having to worry about beds. There’s at least five hundred rooms in this skyrise, more than enough for, what, sixteen people? The place is so big that you hardly run into the others. The only rule around here is regarding the pantry—to write down who’s taken what on the notepad stuck to one corner. Despite what movies show, people are far more helpful to each other in times of need, more so than usual even. You relax into the chair, the velvet cushion feeling comfortable against your back. 

There’s a nice communal feeling in this place. 

You frown. It’s not like you can stay here forever. 

At the very least, you can pretend each sundown and sunrise is ordinary here. You close your eyes, and slowly, thoughts of why you’re trying so hard to remember life before this drift away.

//

Yangyang wakes up before you do, grinning like crazy as he shrugs you awake. You stare at him through groggy eyes, untangling your limbs from yourself. The cold seeps into you and you shiver, hugging yourself.

“We found the keys to the lounge,” he rushes, albeit in a gentle voice. “Guess what?”

“Unh?”

“There’s a campfire spot over there! The others already started but I thought I should wake you up.”

It’s just like him to be excited about something like that. You get up nevertheless, Yangyang pulling you through the stairs and onto the only elevator that seems to work around here. There’s quite a few things about this hotel left to be figured out. You’re going to have to start worrying anyway when the power from the generator runs out.

Kunhang and an older man, Mr Kang, are the only ones there once you reach. You had expected it but the lounge is gigantic and a small part of it provides the artificial campfire area. There are paintings of wild animals and trees for children, you assume, on the walls only cut off by a large vent on the ceiling. The fire burns bright over the large circle of soil and firewood, whose authenticity is debatable. You sigh at the warmth, having grown tired of the autumn weather’s mood swings.

Kunhang greets the two of you with a grin before delicately poking Mr Kang to at least acknowledge your presence. It’s funny, the lot of you.

The place is a little small, considering there’s a literal fire in the middle of the room. You almost sit on Yangyang because he shifts too suddenly at Mr Kang’s disapproval of proximity, a small yelp leaving you whereas Yangyang, for the first time, looks like he’d rather die. He mutters an apology, and two of you manage to sit a good two feet apart, sudden awkwardness rising in the air—all of it unnoticed by Mr Kang. You heard he was a banker but if Kunhang and Yangyang had a polar opposite, it would most certainly be him. You can’t even remember the man’s voice.

You think you should say something but Kunhang’s laughter breaks the silence. There’s an unspoken exchange between him and Yangyang, piquing your curiosity though you aren’t sure what you should be asking. You just assume it’s one of their stupid inside jokes.

“I left your gift on your table. You can add it to your dumb shoe collection,” Kunhang tells Yangyang, smiling before standing up to stretch. “I’m going to bed. Mr Kang, won’t you accompany me?”

Mr Kang gets up begrudgingly and you’re about to ask them to stay longer when Kunhang turns to you enthusiastically. “Good night, (name). Don’t have too much fun. Although, I suppose there’s no better time to have too much fun either.”

You watch with furrowed brows as the two disappear into the doorway and down the stairs. You spend a couple of moments in silence before clearing your throat. When it goes unnoticed, you turn to Yangyang despite the warmth on your face. 

“It’s not dumb,” he mutters to himself, a little zoned out.

You stare at him for a few moments and the familiar feeling rises in your throat, now with a little voice to accompany it. 

Cute.

You cough, distracting yourself with any and all thoughts you would rather have, even of the zombies. Now isn’t the time—or is it the perfect time? You shake your head, calming yourself.

“Does it… hurt?” You ask, eyeing Yangyang’s arm.

He looks up as if broken from a daze, the campfire lights still dazzling in his eyes. You hold back a laugh. He really is a child; if he’s so easily mesmerized by fires, that is.

“Probably not any worse than the lady I whack-a-mole’d. Now that must’ve hurt.” Yangyang puffs his cheek before looking straight at you.

You stare back. It’s not the weirdest thing he’s said.

“What? I feel bad beating the crap out of zombies sometimes,” he says, scratching the back of his head. 

You hum in response. The thought of Yangyang developing a conscience is almost as bad as having to think about zombies. Though, you’ll have to admit, it does give you a strange relief. Zombies can’t really feel pain—they are, after all, numb in every possible sense—but some part of you wonders if it’s alright like this. Morals and survival aren’t meant to overlap. 

You feel the need to distract yourself with something.

“Hey,” you call, moving closer to Yangyang such that your shoulders almost touch. Before you know it, you brush the hair from his face, trying to style the mess into something more neat—a thing you’ve been wanting to do since the first time you saw him. Every time you’d see the messy mop of hair at an official event of the debate club, you’d have this strong urge and an almost putrid form of annoyance. You still don’t know how he managed to get in.

“You don’t look terrible with parted hair,” you muse. “You could’ve looked more decent at the debates.”

You look down from his hair to see Yangyang frozen, eyes wide as if a deer in the headlights.

“Are- Are you not breathing?” you ask.

Yangyang sucks in a large chunk of air, fast enough to choke on it and break into a coughing fit as he turns away from you. You reach out to pat his back but he waves his hand at you, indicating he’s fine before he can turn to you.

You look at him with no particular emotion, the night breeze having worked its way to you.

“What was that about a gift? Are you and Kunhang getting things for each other without telling me?” you say, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

There's a short pause, filled with the crackling of fire.

“It’s my birthday,” Yangyang says with a small smile as the campfire lights dance across his cheeks.

And yet, the words come out sad as if he’d been waiting for an occasion to tell you. You look at him, eyes widening ever so slightly accompanied by the loss of words and take a sharp breath.

“I’m not going to ask for a gift,” Yangyang teases. “Don’t look so worried.”

You open your mouth and close it again, unable to explain the gentle wash of sadness overcome you when you see just a boy. For all the talking he does, he never asks for much. 

“I mean, I- I liked spending the day with you. Why do you look so sad? Did I say something? Again?”

You look over his features, from his brow bone to his wide eyes to his lips and the conclusion arrives as gently as the end of the world. What’s the worst that could happen?

You quickly pull him into a hug, still careful of his injury, and a vaguely embarrassing sound escapes Yangyang, something akin to a sheep’s call. He clears his throat which turns into coughing before he can wrap his arms around you, his breathing soft against your shoulder. 

“I’m- I’m alive, you know? I don’t think I’m dying any time soon. I- I can’t even get infected! You know that.”

“That’s not why I’m- I…” You pull back, steeling your eyes so you don’t feel the warmth of embarrassment. 

Just like you prepare for debates, you think to yourself. Maybe Yangyang was right about you being a zombie—the way you follow the same drudging formula.

“I like you,” you say, your words more of a strained whisper but they’re out before you know it. You can fake confidence, you tell yourself. It’s horrible timing and spending your (potentially) last days with someone who rejected you is just another way to shoot yourself in the foot.

But part of you has been wanting to do this for so long that you almost don’t mind.

Yangyang sucks in a breath, pressing his knuckles to his mouth as he straightens.

“That was- Wow. Okay. I- Uh. Wow.”

You let the heat grow stronger in your cheeks, racking your head for an explanation or even a lie. Maybe you can say it was a mistake. 

“I- I meant…” You lose track of your words. You can’t lie.

“I’ve never been confessed to,” he blurts, and if you squint, you swear you can see him blushing.

“Huh?”

Yangyang coughs again, followed by the same embarrassing sound. “That was- That was the first time.”

The silence between you is accompanied by the crackling of fire and the soft path-making of wind. You’re at a loss for words, something that you should be used to by now—they clearly belong to someone else.

“Oh my god, that was so stupid,” he says, pulling a horrified face as he frantically waves his hands about. “I meant to say I like you too but I- I guess I forgot to say it out loud. Ah, crap- I sound even stupider now, don’t I?”

Your lips twitch, trying to contain your smile but you’re seized with uncontrollable laughter anyway. The mortified expression on Yangyang’s face makes you burst into another fit of giggles before you can somewhat compose yourself.

“I think that’s the longest you’ve been quiet for,” you say in between recurring laughter. “Did anyone ever tell you being able to talk fast doesn’t get you ahead in debate clubs?”

Yangyang frowns.

“Oh, I just joined because I thought it’d get on your nerves,” he says, not a hint of jest in his voice.

You straighten away from him, the smile dropping from your face.

“You can’t be serious.”

He grins sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and offering no explanation. You huff in exasperation, getting up abruptly to avoid another oncoming headache. It’s a little difficult, considering you have the human version of it right beside you.

“Wait- Where are you going?” Yangyang scrambles up to his feet. “It’s my birthday, you know?”

You turn around and put your hands on your hips, a small smile on your face at the sight of him. “It’s midnight already.”

“Oh. How was I supposed to know?”

You laugh, shaking your head. Maybe the little rascal is special.

“Hey,” Yangyang calls. “You know, since this is the end of the world and all…”

You stare at him, heartbeat erratic at the lack of distance and despite the fading of teenage fantasies. Yangyang shifts nervously, glancing here and there while simultaneously trying to keep eye contact with you, an action which makes you hold back a chuckle. There’s a particular twinkle in his eyes but he can’t seem to be able to look at you straight.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, finally.

And what a daring end to the world it is.

[awxward]

A3! Boys + My Stuffed Animals

Spring Troupe:

Sakuya

Gabriel

Gabriel is a small elephant with big ears that constantly make him fall over. He has a pink bowtie that says 'I Love You'

Makes Saku feel safe and Gabriel is a reminder to himself that he's loved and appreciated by everyone at Mankai.

Named after a friend from theatre class :)

Masumi

George Washington

George Washington is a tiger. He is small, but his arms are like those slap bracelets so you can wear him on your wrist (or let him hang on the side of shelf like I do).

So I got Georgy-Boy for easter 2020. i asked my friends for name ideas. They sent me stuff like 'Stripes'. I went offline for a few minutes and when I came back online I told my friends his name was George Washington.

//////////

Me: tiger has a name now

Friend: which name did you choose?

Me: his name is George Washington.

Friend: what the fuck. how'd you get George Washington?

//////////

Pretty sure he got the name bc I was listening to the Hamilton soundtrack.

Citron

Daniel

Daniel is mostly pink but has other pastel colors that look like watercolors. He's a unicorn. And a ketchain. And he's one of those dream lites, so he lights up. (He's supposed too anyway, but he's never lit up since i got him like 7 years ago at a yard sale).

Named after Daniel Howell (formerly danisnotonfire) [YouTube]

Tsuzuru

Lucifer

Lucifer is a small panda pillow pet. Very easy to travel with bc he fits in most backpacks.

My mom told me she wanted me to have a stuffed animal with a biblical name, i picked him up, looked her in the eye and said "His name is Lucifer." My mom tried to protest. "You said a biblical name, Mom. Lucifer is in the bible."

Itaru

Pao(???)

Pao is a panda. They are also a phone holder thingy. Like it'll hold your phone if you're watching movies or whatever.

Like 5-ish years old. Got them from a friend. They have a tag with their name on it, but I read it once and then just called them "the panda" for some reason instead of their actual name and now the tag is too faded to read the name, but i am 38% sure it says Pao or something close to that.

Chikage

Tsuki

Tsuki is a dinosaur. Tsuki is a sparkly dino. He's green rn, but if you brush your hand over him, the sparkles turn over and he becomes orange. I like green tho bc his tummy and the bottom of his feet are orange and so are his eyes.

Named after Tsukishima Kei (Haikyuu)

Summer Troupe:

Tenma

Hinata

Hinata is a narwhal. A bright orange narwhal. Infact he is the same color as Tenma's hair.

Named after Hinata Shoyo (Haikyuu) [bc its the same color as his hair. there is a theme with this narwhal and the anime boys i associate with them]

Yuki

Steve

Steve is a regular teddy bear, except he has a shirt that has pikachu on it. (the shirt was originally Tsuki's bc i got tsuki at a friends build a bear bday party, but it fits Steve better)

I just think Yuki would try new designs/color schemes/styles by making clothes for Steve to see how they look.

I got Steve from a claw machine (my bf at time won him for me just before we watched Endgame together.)

Named after Steve Rogers (Marvel)

Muku

Eeyore

Muku most definitely loves the Winnie the Pooh movies and I will fite for this hc. He gets my Eeyore. You know how Eeyore's tail is always going missing or falling off??? Eeyore's tail comes off (velcro) but its attached to his actual body with a string so it cant be misplaced.

Eeyore has a patch that says "official disney store" but i got him for $3 at a thrift store.

Misumi

Sherlock

Sherlock is a polar bear. Sherlock is very huggable. He makes Misumi feel safe. He has a hat and scarf (that don't come off. they are sewn on him)

the hat has a pom pom on top and the scarf has a pom pom on each end. the hat and scarf and the bottom of his feet have a blue/white plaid pattern.

Kazunari

Victor

Victor is a puppy and the first big stuffed animal of mine on the list! He's all tan and abt maybe 3-4 ft long. Victor lays pretty flat so he's comfy to lay/sit on. I think Kazu would like sitting or laying on him when drawing. Probably has him on his bed so he's like a giant pillow.

Victor is from Toys R Us. I got him last August-ish from my Aunt and Uncle who found him at a thrift store and thought I'd like him.

Named after Victor Nikiforov (Yuri On Ice)

Kumon

PJ

PJ is a small white tiger. He is also a ball. He can fit in one hand. When Kumon is thinking or stressed or bored (etc) he just lays on his back and tosses PJ up into the air.

When Kumon is laying on the floor tossing PJ, Misumi sits on the bed closest to where PJ is and tries to grab him (but only if Kumon is in a good mood and okay with it) It's a fun little game they made up they like to play.

Pretty sure he was named after KickthePJ (YouTube)

liber pls give us a pic with all of autumn i am begging

Autumn Troupe:

Banri

Sammy

Sammy is another one of my large stuffed animals. He is also a puppy, but unlike Victor he is sitting instead of laying. He's abt 2-3 ft tall. His fur is the same color as Banri's hair. Great to squeeze at anytime, but very therapeutic when you're in a bad mood. Has a heart on his ear.

i got him abt 7 years ago. I had just finished spn season 2 and was upset abt the finale and had no way to start season 3.

Named after Sam Winchester

Juza

Tiggs

Tiggs is a beanie baby tiger. Tiggs is a little larger than PJ (and not a ball). He's a regular orange tiger instead of a white tiger like PJ. He'd buy Kumon PJ so they could have matching stuffed animals. Small and very comforting to just hold/hug.

Omi

Benedict (Ben)

Benedict, also known as Ben, is a small koala. Just a little bigger than Tiggs. He has a heart on one of his feet (i think the right one). very soft. very fluffy.

Named after Benedict Cumberbatch (Actor)

Taichi

Dean

Dean is my largest stuffed animal. He is a dark brown teddy bear that's abt 4-ish ft tall. He can be put in a corner and used as like a bean bag chair, or he can lay down flat and be a good pillow like Victor can.

It's very fun to just wrap around him and squeeze as tight as you can. Especially in when your in a bad mood. Very comforting to cry into.

I got him a couple years ago at a thrift store.

Named after Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

Sakyo

Lev

Lev is a lion abt the size of a regular teddy bear (maybe slightly larger). I got him a thrift store so he's slightly worn out from age. He's mostly a pastel dark yellow-ish tan and his mane is dark brown. very huggable.

He's the stuffed animal I sleep with. Smells nice all the time, like the fabric softener.

Named after Lev Haiba (Haikyuu)

Sakoda

Emotional Support Iron Man

So Iron Man is small and he sparkles. He will hurt you/someone if thrown hard enough. Sakoda likes heroes bc they remind him of Sakyo they look cool. I'd hc that he got Iron Man from Sakyo when he was younger and its one of his most valued possessions and goes everywhere with him (or stays with Azamo or Sakyo at the dorm. Maybe Izumi or a couple others are on the list of who can watch over Iron Man.) Very protective of it.

Got the emotional support part of his name from a friend.

She saw Eddie Redmayne on a movie cover (think it was The Danish Girl) and started freaking out bc she loved him. I handed her the Iron Man and the next day she thanked me and said he was an Emotional Support Iron Man and the name stayed.

Azami

[Emotional Support] Spooder-Mon

Sakoda knew Azami as a kid. He most definitely got him the Spider-Man so they could have matching plushies.

Spider-Man is square and has little blob hands doing the web thingy. The tag said travel pillow, but he probably just chills by Azami's bed. When needed, Iron Man will be placed next to him if Sakoda can't take Iron Man with him.

I brought him to school one day and we had a bio test and all the people sitting around me passed him around and gave him a pat for good luck. We all got good grades and then he was dubbed as Emotional Support Spooder-Mon, but the Emotional Support title isnt part of his name (unlike the Iron Man).

i wanted guy in the pic, but i also wanted tsumu and hiso in the pic so you get 2 pics for winter

Winter Troupe:

Tsumugi

Phil

Phil is a zebra. He is a pillow pet zebra. Like Lucifer, Phil is also easy travel size. The bottom half of Phil is pink, so I refer to him as my pink zebra.

I just think it'd be cute to have Tsumugi with a pillow pet ok. I also thought he'd probably have has Phil for many years (since he was a kid) and Tasuku most definitely brings up things from when they were kids and shit.

//////////

Tasuku: you chose the pink zebra, and for what???

Tsumugi: its a very aesthetically pleasing pastel pink.

Tasuku: THERE WAS A DOG PILLOW PET RIGHT THERE AND IT WAS CUTER

Tsumugi: dont talk bad abt Phil.

the rest of mankai: ????????

//////////

I got phil before I got Lucifer many years ago. He was old when i got him and he is very old now. I love him so much.

Named after Phil Lester (AmazingPhil) [YouTube]

Tasuku

Cap

Cap is a husky. He was won from a claw machine with Steve.

There's just something abt the grey and white that gave me Tasuku vibes. Also, Cap's eyes are abt the same shade of blue as Tsumugi's and Tasuku knows this bc they are in love. Very squishy when hugged and with the way he sits, you could make it look like he's guarding something.

Named after Captain America (Marvel)

Homare

Ushijima (Ushi)

Ushijima, also called Ushi, is the last of my giant stuffed animals. He is abt 2-3 ft tall (like Sammy) and has a tail abt the same length.

Ushi is a raccoon thats mostly hot pink. Ushi's eyes are also pink and just abt the same shade as Homare's hair, although Ushi's fur is brighter by a few shades.

Ushi hurts when thrown/swung hard enough. Very fun to hug bc he's filled with beans (like beanie babies) so unlike all my other giant animals, he doesn't have to be fixed/adjusted after everytime you squeeze him. The tail has cotton tho and makes a good pillow.

Homare would definitely just see a 3 ft tall hot pink raccoon and claim it with no explanation.

Named after Ushijima Wakatoshi (Haikyuu)

Hisoka

Vladmir Dracula the 3rd (Vlad, Drac)

Vladmir Dracula the 3rd, who has many other names but usually goes by Vlad or Drac, is a vampire (surprise).

Vlad is a squishmallow thingy, and their tags say something abt them being able to be used as pillows, and thats why Hisoka gets Vlad.

Vlad is triangular in shape, with triangle ears, and triangle fangs, so I thought abt Misumi, but i figured Hisoka bc it's a pillow.

He's like the perfect travel size and he has a cape and a bowtie.

Named after Vlad the Impaler, the real life inspiration behind Dracula (my brother thought he was named after Vladmir Putin and I wanted to punch him for that but I was too busy laughing.)

Also named after Dracula, who was a vampire.

Idk where 'the 3rd' came from, but it's part of his name for forever.

Azuma

Sebastian

Sebastian is a dinosaur thats blue with a white tummy.

He's also a squishmallow, but he's bigger than Vlad by abt 2× as wide, so he'd be harder to carry around, which is why Hisoka got Vlad instead. Being a squishmallow means he looks more blob than dinosaur and i love it.

His tag said his name was Dominic or something, but I named him Sebastian before I actually checked the tag, so he's Sebastian.

Named after Sebastian (Black Butler) and Sebastian Stan (Actor)

Guy

Moriarty

Moriarty is my other polar bear. I got him with Sherlock and named him Moriarty bc Moriarty is Sherlock's nemesis.

He's just a plain white bear thats very huggable and adorable. I usually have a bowtie on him bc it makes him look fancy.

Guy would like him bc he's plain white and very fluffy.

[wannabe-fic-writer]

Natasha Romanoff x Reader : Escape

Summary: The Red Room haunts you, from the moment you stepped foot inside to long after you’ve left. Truth is, you don’t think there is any escaping it.

Warnings: 18+ Violence, Depression, Mentions of Death, Smut

Chapter 3

******

It’s safe to say that you’ve seen a decent amount of the world, having been to places like: France, Spain, the UK, the US, Russia, and South Africa multiple times and you’d thought you’d seen the most beautiful things the earth had to offer.

Which is why you’re so surprised when you see Wakanda for the first time. The country is absolutely breathtaking, while Natasha takes top spot for the most gorgeous sight you’ve ever seen, the place definitely takes a top spot.

But none of it lasts very long. It seems as though things happened in the blink of an eye.

One second you’re walking through the state of the art tech facility built by Shuri and the next you’re being pinned down by rabid aliens with razor sharp teeth. 

There you were thinking the toughest fight you’d ever been in involved a guy with silver claws in his knuckles. This proved to be tougher. 

Quite honestly, you can’t tell if your side is actually winning or not. For every alien you all take down there are about twenty more where that came from.

“You know when I agreed to help, it wasn’t cause I wanted to get my ass kicked.” You half joke into the comms.

Surprisingly it’s the King that replies,“ trust me, we aren’t planning on losing.”

“Tell that to-”

Bruce’s frustrated and frightened shout interrupts you,“ there’s too many of them!”

You look over to see his giant metal suited form on the ground with about a dozen aliens tearing into him.

Just as you’re about to go help, a beam of rainbows appears in the sky. It touches the ground and an ax flies out, lightening trailing behind it. The ax sails over the battlefield and takes out every alien it hits.

Not only have you stopped in your tracks, but so has everyone around you. All of your eyes on the man that just appeared in the middle of the field. Beside him stands a tree and a raccoon.  

He catches the ax in one hand and surveys his surroundings.

Bruce chuckles and exclaims,“ you guys are so screwed now!”

“I’m confused is this guy on our side? Is he not also an alien?” You question. 

The man’s words clear it up for you,“ BRING ME THANOS!!”

“Alright, got it.” You nod and throw yourself back into the fight. 

You hate to admit it but each hit makes you more and more tired. It’s like your bones shake each time you punch or kick these things.

The people around you chatter, almost lightly, as they fight. Barnes tells the raccoon that he isn’t selling his arm as they shoot at aliens. And Steve chats with the God of Thunder and the tree, who says he’s Groot.

But the talking stops as the ground rumbles beneath your feet. 

You take down the nearest alien before looking around. 

The source of the tremors is unclear, confusing everyone around you. Briefly. 

When giant saws burst from under ground your eyes widen. 

“Fall back! Fall back now!” The King shouts retreating.

Everyone follows his orders, running and dodging out of the way of the saws.

Rhodes calls out directions to Sam as everyone seemingly snaps out of it. The fighting continues.

But you’re just a little too slow.

Right before you can start fighting again you’re tackled on to the ground by two aliens. 

“Oh shit.” You grunt, holding one of their mouths open. The other snaps at you, teeth scratching your arm as you jerk away. 

You punch the first one multiple times and stab a knife into it’s neck. Which leaves you too occupied to fight off the second one properly. It bites you again on the same arm.

“For fuck sake!” You groan through gritted teeth.

The second one starts to writhe as electricity ripples over it’s body. You kick it away before the pulses reach your body. 

Looking up, your eyes connect with familiar, warm, green ones.

“Did I just save you?” She asks jokingly. 

You take her hand and let her help you up,“ your one to my, what, six?”

Despite the seriousness of the battle around you, Natasha still smiles. As little as it is, she smiles.

That’s where the small moment ends.

“Guys, we got a Vision situation here.” Sam calls out.

“Somebody get to Vision.” Steve replies.

Both you and Natasha look around the field and the woman’s eyes widen. She takes off, running past you and to a trench in the ground. You go to get to Vision.

You make it into the woods just in time to see the big alien guy hit Vision. The android flies right past you, landing on the ground aggressively. 

As the two progress on Vision you stand in the way, Bruce dropping in beside you. You both share a quick look before facing the aliens again.

“Oh no, oh no you don't. This isn't going to be like New York, pal. This suit's already kicked the crap out of the Hulk-” Bruce’s words are interrupted as the big one charges him. They struggle for a moment before Bruce flies off with him.

You turn to the lone alien and smirk,“ wanna cut your loses and get outta here now? I bet you’re gonna look mighty weak to Thanos when he hears I kicked your ass.”

The alien grunts,“ humans always make the mistake of overestimating yourselves.”

Instead of replying, you wait for the alien to attack first. 

He comes at you with his scepter, swinging it at you, almost gracefully. You make sure to stay in front of Vision, even as you dodge the aliens attacks.

“Hey, I need back up, someone needs to get Vision ba-”

Your eyes widen and you look down at the scepter that’s pierced your skin.

In the midst of you talking and trying to count the aliens attack, he managed to stab you. The blade of his scepter wedged itself into your side.

“Every bit of weak I assumed you were.” He growls, snatching the blade from you. 

You grit your teeth, hand pressing into your wound. As much as it hurts, the last thing you want is to lose to Thanos. While you are far from a hero, you want to save the universe since you’re one of the idiots who lives in it.

Finding more strength than you thought you had, you surge forward and slam into the alien. His scepter falls from his hand and you both tumble on the ground. 

He gets up much faster than you and tries to come at you again, only to have his scepter stab through him.

Vision raises the alien in the air, holding him there, and then flinging him aside. 

“Vision,” you force yourself to stand,“ you gotta get back to Shuri.”

Steve and Wanda both make their way into the woods and over to you and Vision. The brunette goes over to the android while the super solider meets you.

“That looks pretty bad.”

You chuckle breathlessly,“ it looks worse than it feels.” Which is half true.

It hurts but you’ve had worse.

Taking a deep breath, you stand up straight, hand resting on Steve’s shoulder for slight support.

“You think Thanos wants to take a break, maybe lay off for a couple days.” 

Steve breathes a chuckle, looking up at Natasha as she comes over.

Her eyes snap to your injury and she’s by your side in an instant.

“Don’t fuss Romanova, I’m fine.” You give the most reassuring smile you can.

“Well this doesn’t look fine.” She remarks.

As much as you want to reply, you don’t. Because you feel the atmosphere shift. Tension swirls around you. The air is so thick if you breathe too hard you swear you might choke.

“Everyone, on my position. We have incoming.” Steve speaks into the comms.

All eyes follow his direction of sight. The King and his general join you, Bruce rejoins you as well, as does Sam.

Blue mist appears, opening to reveal the void of space. A very tall, muscular, purple guy steps out. 

Your eyes snap to the golden gauntlet on his hand. All stones but one. Your gaze flickers to Vision, who hangs on to Wanda.

“Cap,” Bruce nods,“ that’s him.”  

The eerie feeling in the air set the perfect tone. 

Thanos took you all down without batting an eye. Phasing Bruce into a wall, trapping Natasha under debris, flinging you and Okoye away like you’re nothing. 

Smacking into a tree literally takes your breath away. You feel yourself losing blood by the minute. Each breath you take is labored but you’ve never given up in your life, despite having every reason to.

It was pretty much ingrained in you to keep going unless absolutely impossible to.

Every bit of you protests as you stand up. Just in time to see Thanos dig his fingers into Vision and yank the stone from his head.

“No, no no no.” 

Two steps toward Thanos and you see him get hit with a bolt of lightening. It stops and Thanos shoots a blast at Thor, who just throws his ax through it. 

The ax lodges itself into Thanos’ shoulder.

Thanos raises his gauntlet covered hand, and snaps his fingers.

You feel your heart drop before it kicks into overdrive.

In an instant the titan disappears, leaving Thor’s bloody ax, and a very confused group of people.

“Nat.” You look around for the red head,“ Talia!” You call out.

Finally you see her, dazedly walking around. 

Knowing that the snap couldn’t possibly be a good thing, you rush over to her. You cup her face and search her eyes for any signs of pain or whatever the hell you’re looking for.

“Where’d he go?” Steve also comes stumbling into the open,“ Thor, where’d he go?”

“Steve?” 

You all look over to Barnes who literally turns to dust before your eyes.

You subconsciously tighten the hold you have on Natasha, praying that she doesn’t disappear.

Through the comms you hear the team calling for each other. You hear the general call for the king. The lack of a reply is all the answer you need.

Barnes. Sam. King T’Challa. Groot. Wanda.

With the remainder of you standing around Vision’s lifeless body, you have to ask.

“What the hell just happened?”

Steve exhaustively falls on the ground, right into Wanda’s ashes beside Vision.

“Oh god.” He breathes.

Natasha’s hand grips yours as reality just barely starts to set in for you.

You lost. Big time.

******

Taglist: @thelastavenger-3000 @aaron-despair @messuhp @izalesbean @bvb-bk @username23345 @sighsam

[10shillingsand6pence]

Can I get a minific of Waylon Jones with his alternate job, like, chasing down Bigfoot or smth? I find that thought to be very entertaining.

(This was fun! Thank you for the request! Sorry it took so long to finish.)

fic request inspired by this initial post of alternative rogue careers

Technical Difficulties

Waylon stood still and let the sound assistant attach the small lavalier mic to his camo-colored vest. At 5'3", she had to reach over her head to clip it in place. He was too focused on the stack of flashcards he was holding, dwarfed by his large hands, to spare her a glance.

He lifted his eyes from his prompt cards to the guy standing next to him. With a bit of a paunch and a comb over, his face showed only excitement (even standing within arm's reach of a man with Waylon's particular, ah, attributes). The siren call of fifteen minutes of fame was stronger than some people's sense of self-preservation, apparently.

"'Kay, er," Waylon began. "I gotta get through all these questions. Even if we already been over it, just answer 'em, yeah? Best you can. And talk slow. Yer always talkin' faster than you think you are, on camera."

The man nodded earnestly.

"And if you mess up, it's fine. Just keep talking. They'll fix it in post."

Another eager nod.

Waylon glanced at the director, who was standing behind one of the two cameramen, checking out the framing of the shot. A whole troop of crewmen filled the clearing in the woods, just far enough from the Gotham suburban line that the mics wouldn't pick up the sounds of distant passing cars. It was still surprising to Waylon that when the footage was all put together, it would look like he and his guest were out in the woods alone.

Seeing Waylon look in her direction, the director nodded. "Let's have a run-through. Make-up, they're sweating. Fix that."

A man holding two containers of cake make-up (for two completely different skin tones) approached and did a quick touch up on their faces, using powder to take away the shine that would look unnatural on camera. Waylon was used to this and bent down so the guy could reach his face, wishing they would hire taller make-up people.

"All right, let's go, people. Quiet! Waylon, whenever you're ready."

Waylon nodded and tossed his cards over his shoulder, where they were scooped up off the ground by an attentive assistant. He straightened his square shoulders and addressed the man. "So, I hear ya got quite a story to tell?"

The man jerked his head down to speak at the mic under his shirt. "M-my name is Dennis Hardey--"

Waylon waved a meaty hand, causing him to instantly fall silent. "Ya don't need to say yer name, the intro'll have the names. And stand up straight, man!"

Dennis nodded like a faithful bobblehead and jerked up straight.

"So tell me what happened the night of, uh, the incident," Waylon prompted again.

With enough enthusiasm to make up for his lack of experience in front of the camera, Dennis launched into a description of the night that landed him an interview on the show. "It was prolly around eleven. Earlier in the day, my wife she had thrown out a big bunch o' oranges that had gone bad, and then I heard a commotion out in the yard, by the garbage bins. I headed out and that's when I saw 'im, goin' right through my garbage."

Waylon peered at Dennis. "Could it've been a raccoon?" he asked in his gravelly voice.

"It was big!" Dennis insisted, holding his hand up above his head to estimate the size. (His hand did not quite reach a height equal to the top of Waylon's head.) "Way bigger'n a raccoon. Bigger'n a bear even!"

Waylon glanced down at his hands and then remembered he wasn't holding his flashcards any more. "Uh... could it have been Man-Bat?"

"Did I say it had wings, son!? This weren't no Man-Bat. This was Bigfoot!"

Waylon didn't answer. He had to halt a moment and process, because no one had ever called him son before. The director sighed and jotted the time down on her clipboard so she could go back and edit out Waylon's blank, deer-in-the-headlights look.

* * *

The next morning, Waylon saw the director reviewing footage and lumbered up to her as quietly as a seven-foot-tall man could lumber. She lifted her head only long enough to wave him closer and then went back to studying the small screen. He looked on over her shoulder.

Their small campsite appeared in the footage, all in blacks and greens due to the use of a night vision camera. It was a steady shot, obviously from a stationary camera set on a tripod. The camp was quiet and empty, a circle of rocks in the center with no hint of a fire, and two tents set up on either side.

Suddenly a furious roar broke out, tiny on the small camera speakers, but the watchers knew how effective it would be in full audio. The camp sprung to life like a nest of ants prodded with a stick. Dennis Hardey and his brother -- who was also accompanying them but hadn't been interviewed yet, and Waylon couldn't remember his name -- burst out of their tent wearing nothing but boxer-briefs and tanks. They stumbled around the campsite. Hardey Brother #2 tripped over one of the rocks around the fire pit and went sprawling.

The giant, shadowy form of Waylon burst out of his own tent, breaking the front poles as he exited and collapsing the front. He didn't pause, only answered with a roar of his own and charged into the forest.

The director forwarded the footage, watching intently as the Hardey brothers circled around the campsite in doubletime. They picked up sticks for weapons and then changed their mind and dropped them, pointed at the camera that was rolling, pointed at the woods, circled some more.

Finally, as one, both brothers turned to the woods where Waylon had disappeared. The director hit the resume button and watched as Waylon lumbered up out of the bushes, towering over the rest of the campsite. His eyes glowed yellow in the night vision camera, tiny headlights in the dark, and his jaw and chest were stained black. The two brothers were statues, unable to look away.

"Uh, false alarm," Waylon rumbled on the screen. He scratched his cheek for a moment, searching for something more to say, then changed his mind and turned, going back into his half-collapsed tent.

The director paused the footage.

Waylon sighed heavily. He opened his mouth to start an apology for messing up the shoot and for damaging company equipment. Before he could get the words out, she slugged the tall man on his armored bicep. "This is GREAT," she said enthusiastically. "We're getting a second season for sure!"

Waylon let his mouth snap shut. He tentatively smiled.

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

It’s The Avengers (03x11)

Loki x Reader Avengers The Office AU (Slowwwwww Burn)

Season 3 Episode 11: Exotic Medicines

Series Summary: Living in the Avengers facility post-apocalypse in a better timeline   Tony Stark has decided to capture every moment by pulling The Office on the Avengers. All of housemates are pretty used to the idea except for you, who had just come here to finish her degree, and the newest member- Loki.

Warnings: high and...slutty moments?

Word Count: My heart feels so light today. And Tari is one of the reasons for this. In the sense that she is amazing and gives me hope about myself.

MASTERLIST in bio, darlings. Tags are open (check bio)

A creature with the head of an unhinged raccoon and the body of a dragon lizard scuttled on the dry patch of land, looking at its surrounding with those crazy eyes and panting with the sounds that usually came out of an out of breath pug whose nose was too small to take in the precious air for that chonky body. This guy, however, was more interested in chewing on the first piece of leather it bonked against, those huffing noises making any witness feel for this miserable looking animal. The leather boot shoved the raccoozard away only to have that stubborn bastard come back for the seemingly delicious leather that was now drowned in its spit. The boot kicked it casually- and lightly- once again to move away from the ground and instead rest on the barrel. The camera focused out of the boot to show Loki having no feelings look to the little 'zard. The other camera flying low over the creature was more interested in Lulu's raised hair looking at the abomination with caution before coming to smell the poor thing that laid upside down, thanks to Loki's amazing boot skills. Lulu raised its fluffy paw in the air, taking his sweet time to tilt his head and smack the animal in its face. And much to the little fluff's surprise, the 'zard growled and hissed at him, making the fluff ball take a step back. "Hey," Loki called out for Javier, who turned the galactic go-pro in his hand towards the God, "send one of your peekers inside to see how's it going." Javier moved the camera toward him to record himself giving Loki a look of confusion.

"The cameras are not 'peekers'," he signed before shrugging, "and peeking is not ethical." "Oh," Loki raised his brows while the camera quite tactfully panned in on the tension in those exposed biceps of his arms under the black shirt. He raised his hands to sign back. "So you go ahead be 'ethical' when those witches sacrifice her for her blood. Okay?" Javier's muted gasp had more emotion than Natasha on her bloody days- pun fully intended. "You were the one who suggested the witches!!!" The hand movements got more intense by the passing minute. "I suggested them for her bloody cramps," Loki signs back, still perched on the barrel, "I don't know what happens after?!" The camera was called to zoom upon Javier's face before he facepalmed himself harder than he should have. "Most cunning God MY ASS!!" "If the two of you are going to make a ruckus here then I would suggest you leave." Both boys stood in attention while the cameras focused on the woman in her wise years standing right outside the tent. Her authoritative features on that beautiful wrinkled green skin showed no sign of remorse or acceptance for the apologies. When she turned to go inside Javier turned to Loki to sign, "But we were not even talk-" "Because I can hear your thoughts, you useless meat suits," she shouted from the inside. Loki looked down at a fluffed up Lulu and shrugged. "Witches."

The Lounge "Okay, so the trick is for you to go-" Scott raised his leg and gracefully brought it back to bend over to let his beautiful booty naturally display the trademarked 'thicc'ness - "and then jerk it back like-" he continued by giving it a pop. Once. Twice. Thrice. The camera turned away to look at Peter and Vision stare in a mixture of shock as well as delight with a synced tilt of their heads. "How did you do that?" Pretending to flick away the hair from his face as he came back up- quite seductively- he sighed. "I've had practice." The audience waited and was met with no further commentary. "Oh, okay. So, we are not discussing the...uh...practice," Peter breathed before letting his brows furrow in deep curiosity, "but how the eff do you do the-" he bent over and tried to twerk. That twerk came out more like Peter trying to force his diaphragm to push up a seed stuck in his windpipe.  Scott blinked at the effort before helplessly looking at the camera.

Scott: *clicks his tongue* White people problems. We either shake that thang like Beyonce was our mama or we bend over as if begging someone to do the Heimlich on us. *camera zooms in* There is no in-between.

"You need a lot of practice," Scott pointed at the spider boy before moving over to Vision. "And show me what you learned." Vision looked at Scott's phone and WAP started right from the build-up to the verse. The camera never went below Scott and Peter's torsos but the unprecedented shock in their popping eyeballs left a lot to the imagination. When Vision finally came back in the frame, he smiled at the two. "I feel like I could have popped my behind more." Scott and Peter blinked and felt themselves jolt at his statement. "More?!" Peter gasped. "How?!!" Scott shouted at the same time. Vision, unphased, let the music start from the top. "Like this," he added innocently and went out of the frame, leaving both the boys to find a God in their prayers to answer their questions.

Planet of the Witches Javier took the shade of the lone bush under the sweltering sun by squatting under it, all the while watching Loki's leg impatiently tap on the barrel it was resting on. And when their eyes met, the former smiled and signed something. "I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about my ears falling off from listening to Stark's babbling of 'not taking care of her daughter'. I am not her bodyguard. He should know that by now." Javier scoffed. 'Are you sure you know that by now?' Loki narrowed his eyes at him.  "You have been getting cheeky by the day, boy." "And you cannot control your grumbling clouds for a fraction of the 'kula, can you?" The eldest of the witches, a humped grandma with a river of wrinkles over her face and hands and feet, came out to glare at Loki, who got off the barrel to stand in front of her in just a pinch of guilt before his eyes were distracted by your figure coming out of the tent. Before Loki's veiled relief could say anything, grandma took her crooked walking stick and slapped Loki's shin. The tiniest whine filled with confusion to the brim escaped the raven-haired boy. "OW!" the God growled at the old woman before raising his leg to hop around in pain while you tried your best to contain the laughter bubbling inside you. "Do not come to me for help if you cannot handle a few 'kulaeg, you impatient bog!" Loki's jaw unhinged while he hopped about and you gave the camera the more delightful look.

You: *gasp and beam* never in my life I thought I would see Loki stagger like that. That too by a five hundred-year-old alien lady!! *screeches* I love space! *shimmy your shoulders*

"I didn't even do anything this time?!!" Loki thundered, finally putting his foot on the ground. "Wait," you raised a finger in anticipation and confusion, "this time?" Grandma tapped her stick hard into the rocky ground. "Be thankful it's not a yank in your nethers for kidnapping my Logo last time." Your muted gasp grew wider, and the camera panned in when you stood in the middle of the two. "You kidnapped her Logo?" You whispered with elation. "Your Logo did not want to be kidnapped?" You tried hard to restrain the chortle in your voice before trying to come back to a straight face. The camera panned in on your face to catch you whisper, "I don't even know what a Logo is!" right into the lens. "I feel like there's a lot to unpack here. Grandmama, tell me everything this stupid ass has ever done!" Loki didn't seem to like the idea. "What is your problem, Se'tiri? You hit me even when I don't do anything wrong?! Every! Single! Time!" Se'tiri narrowed her eyes at the God, not letting her little body be intimidated by the six-foot tall creature. "You have one those faces, boy. Ones that are asking to be hit because they do not know what manners are." "Oh, dang," you whisper to the camera and secretly praise this alien grandma's spirit. "Fine, I'll never come here, ever again," Loki huffs, grabbing your hand to leave in a two-second surprise state, "come on, Y/N, let's go." "That's what you said last time you blue seaweed," Se'tiri shouted in her raspy voice, "make sure to remember this time! And take those damned bao-bao I made you and your friends, you giant slug!" Leaving your hand for a moment- that seemed to bring a microsecond of mellow sadness over your face- Loki smoothly turned a one-eighty to go inside the tent and bring with him a bento wrapped in blue fabric, grabbed your hand again and gave a stink eye to the woman. "I am taking these bao-bao with me, you rotten hag! And I will come whenever I please!" "You better come with some fucking bao-bao material or I'll not make more for you!" she yelled. Loki was already walking away with you by his side. "You will make me more because I am the only one who eats these stinky buns!!! Come on Lulu!" he yelled back, making the camera focus on Lulu standing upright, both excited and confused with something thin and long hanging from his mouth before he sucked it in and ran behind you two. The raccoon thing was nowhere to be seen.

The Lounge "You guys are the f***ing nuts!" Sam announced as the camera panned out to show Scott, Vision and Peter sitting on the sofa. Two of them had pouty faces while one was enchanted by the Falcon. A good moment of silence passed with Sam's firm expression before he finally spoke again. "You have to move your hips in a way to not hurt your lower back. And you have to split without hurting your nuts!" Both Scott and Peter winced at the memory and brought their ice packs closer to their crotch. "Now, watch...and learn." Sam gave one quick look to Vision and the AI automatically turned on the music for Sam to manoeuvre his body to the beats with the rigidity of water. And before anyone knew it, he was making a one-eighty with his leg to open it into a perfect split before popping that booty thrice for a perfect finish. The camera panned out to zoom in at the faces of equally bewildered and impressed Steve and Bucky standing at the entrance of the Lounge holding hands. "Should we...ask?" Steve wondered to his partner, his eyes still glued to the man of many talents. "Do we have to?" Bucky added.

Bucky: *in all his seriousness* We have to. I need to learn how to do that perfect split but I will cut my own veins before asking Sam for tutoring me.

Away From the Witches "All the weirdness aside because I know it comes from the insecurity in your past relationships of being not loved enough to trust another person, I have to say you and Grandmama Se'tiri really care about each other." The camera was stuck in one frame- on your head resting on your hand while your gaze was stuck on the God pretending to brood while eating the purple coloured buns the old witch had made for him. A quick glance from him at you from the corner of his eye and he was already turning his eyes towards you to question that softness stuck in your eyes while you looked at him. Not to mention your smile. "Stop looking at me like that," he muttered with his mouth half full. "Fuck you, I won't," you giggled lightly, getting a raised brow from Loki. "How the fuck can someone look so cute while eating? Why are you looking so good while eating?" Loki had to stop chewing and look at you for a few moments in keen observation. Or judgment. Or both. "What did they do to you in there?" It was your turn to sit straight in this weird open buggy floating between two alien rhinos as they languidly strolled over the deserted part of the planet. "They squeezed all that painful shit out of me," you inhaled. "Like I could feel my uterus squeeze and let the walls out from inside me, the blood, the gooey stuff, all of it. It hurt a bit at the beginning like every other time but once Grandamama and her sisters started chanting, it was all gone," you concluded with a smile. "Even though the goo was still coming out of my vagina." Lulu's camera caught the reasonable blankness on Javier and Loki's face before both of them put the buns down and tried their best to blink away the pictures you had so patiently put inside their heads. You, still perched with your head on your palm, smiled at the boys. "Should've left the bun for after the icky bloody part. Is it weird I can still smell the blood? Just like that bloody stench you get when you dump your menstrual cup down the drain during a shower and watch all that blood go down imagining you just murdered someone and are reminiscing the entire thing." Loki looked at the camera with newfound confused horror in his eyes.

Loki: Remind me to never piss her off during her bloody days. *inhales* Also remind me to make Clint and Steve piss her off on her bloody days *smirks and raises his brows suggestively at the camera*

"Oh! And she even gave me candy!" You nearly shout, going for the little backpack and unzipping it take out a blue plastic looking bag which looked like something straight out of your younger sister's newly opened business with much effort given to the packaging and the brand. An outline of a herb adorned the logo while a few imprints of languages unknown to you were written below it. "And I am not sharing it with anyone." Loki scoffed, looking at you while slowly putting the delicious-looking bao-bao in his mouth, making you wrinkle your nose before opening your own collection of fluffy marshmallow-like collection and putting one in your mouth. "Oh dang! It's cheesy!" You babbled through your full mouth, gasping with a sudden revelation. "Ooooh!! And spicy!" Loki chuckled and turned his whole body towards you. "Oh come on now, Y/N. You don't have to pretend to give your little trinkets flavours to tease..." His voice drowned when his sight apparently fell on the packet you were holding while gobbling down your second treat. "This one's minty," you added with a wiggle of your brows and a huge smile on your face. "...me," he barely whispered, his attention only on the packet with his eyes narrowing on the foreign words written over it. The bun resting in Loki's hand dropped into his lap for Lulu to make it disappear within less than a second. Loki's hand came for the packet but your reflexes were too good today to let him lay his claws on it. "Oh you aren't getting any," you gasped at his audacity. "I don't want to ea-" Loki snapped himself and moved his hand towards the packet- "let me see the packet." Silence. "Y/N." Your hand went inside the packet for another snack. "Y/N," he called out sweetly with a hint of caution. You popped the little ball of crunch in your mouth. He leapt halfway towards the packet, his hand reaching and almost grabbing your newfound treasure. "Stay. Away," you command with your eyes. "I just want to see the pack-" he leapt again and this time grabbed your back instead while the snacks were raised away from him. "Really?" "You're not getting any!" Loki was lying over your now. Both of you were grunting and squirming; Loki trying to lock his arms around your waist to push you down while you anchored your free hand on the edge of the floating buggy. "Give me the packet!" He roared. "No!" You growled back and hissed at him without turning around to look at his frustration lines. The God locked his legs around yours, using his one arm to restrain your waist and the other to tickle your armpit long enough to make you howl in a burst of laughter that ended with a blood-curdling sigh when he finally got the packet in his hand. "Aha!" He exclaimed, still not letting you go. "I hate you!" You wiggled inside his hold that didn't seem to work him much. "Why do you have to be so FUCKING strong!!" But Loki had all his attention on the package by now. His glow of victory faded as fast as it came when his eyes went over the print, the shades turning from a subtle shade of confusion to a much denser stroke of fear. "Wha-no...no!" Loki looked at your scowling face cursing him left and right. "How many have you eaten?" "Oh screw you!" "Y/N! How many have you eaten?!!!" All the rage in your pupils melted into full-blown innocent kitten eyes. "A few," you whispered. Loki- his lips parted in question with the nearest star hitting his pale face from the side to let his green eyes glow with the reflection coming from your white tank top- tilted his head to judge you with a raised brow. Your lips parted just like his but in heavy bewilderment of the sorts that one does not usually let out before turning to share a look with a camera.

You: *tilt head* was he always this...poetically beautiful?

You mumbled something under your breath with your eyes darting away from his face. "Y/N." "I said I had some at grandmama's place." A muted yet sophisticated gasp came out of Loki's mouth. "How many exactly?" "....Six or seve-" "We can still fix this-" "-teen?" Any hope bubbling in the God's eyes suddenly evaporated when he looked into a camera with a newfound fear.

Loki: This candy *raises the packet to show to the camera* is a sort of soother. It releases the tension in your muscles and helps in better blood circulation along with improving focus, increasing the stamina and...making everything quite...brighter? *sucks on his teeth* *looks at his feet while still holding the packet in frame* All of this happens when you consume two candies. *camera pans in on the artificial smile on Loki's face as he looks back at the lens* *whispers with a strain in his voice* she's had seventeen.

WAP Boys The flatscreen showed Loki gasping in sheer horror while the mute icon activated right over his disparate shade of horror as compared to your confused one. The same camera shifted from the huge screen towards the group gathered in the lounge, trying to figure out who did it. Scott, Peter and Sam were busy teaching Bucky and Steve while Vision made everyone some fizzy lemonade. Wanda searched for the WAP dance videos online while Natasha sat on the sofa- closest to the screen- making videos of the boys. For a second she revered her eyes from the screen to look at the camera sideways. A fleeting second, a straight face and the single silent entity in the chaos was all it took for the Black Widow to blink at the camera before going back to her phone. "There is no way I can do tha-" Steve was trying his best with his hands raised up to his chest in defeat. "Oh, come on, Cap," Scott begged, "you don't even have to do much. You just wiggle a little and your beautiful bouncy ass will do the rest of the work." Steve started to speak but stopped to give a hyperexcited Scott an expression filled with so many questions. "Word," Sam chimed in from behind Steve before gulping down his share of lemonade as he walked towards the sofa, getting a frown from Steve as a response. "Amen," Bucky announced whilst looking at the camera with a nascent smirk as he sipped his lemonade, at the same time trying to push his hair back. The 'really, Bucky?' look on Steve's face was a sweet bonus to already blushing owner of America's ass. "What the hell is happening?!" The unprecedented surprise in the familiar voice put everyone's metaphorical tails into one collective bushy goosebump. All the cameras shifted to a stunned yet stoic Tony Stark standing by the entrance of the lounge while everyone else tried to calm their heartbeats and look for an explanation.

Scott: I actually thought I was gonna get kicked out and so *shrugs*

"He did that!" Scott blurted out while pointing at the empty loveseat. Tony narrowed his eyes at him and the poor Antman found himself at a loss of words. "We were-" Steve paused for a second to give a quick look at everyone's faces before scratching an itch behind his ear- "learning a...a new dance?" "..." "It's the WAP!" Peter acknowledged with quite the enthusiasm till the wide cautious eyes of three people standing around him made him realise what he had just said.

Scott: *breathing into a paper bag* Oh crap! I am definitely dead today. Stark's gonna kill me for ruining his precious baby!!

"You all-" Tony at everyone in the room- "are learning the WAP while I get the news about a deadly virus taking over the world." "What?" There are muffled gasps and confused looks shared before everyone gets serious.

"It's a flu. The scientists are calling it Covid. Dr Cho, Bruce and Shuri are working on the cure," "Who's behind this?" Steve's persona did a complete one-eighty. "Hydra?" "The Neo-Nazis?" "Oh! Illuminati?" "Apparently, it has originated from 'bats'. The Wakandans have a lead on the 'bats'." "Okay, everyone," Steve announced, "let's suit up!" "Woah! Woah-ho-hooo!" The camera panned in on Tony's posture that clearly said 'nobody's going anywhere'. "Where do you think you're going?" Silence. Everyone looked at Steve for an answer. "To find the root of this virus." Tony took a step forward, his head already held high as usual. "Not before I win the WAP." Scott's jaw dropped to the floor, him and the camera looking at each other at the same instant. On the other side, Natasha- lying on the sofa- scrolled through her phone. "Okoye has already taken care of the 'root cause', hasn't she?" she nudged Tony. He didn't answer that. For a few seconds. "Doesn't matter. I can still wipe the floor with his ass. With all your asses." "Okay okay okay okay okay-" Sam nodded, enjoying the playful tension between the boys. "It's on. It is on!" The camera shifted to Natasha, who was still sprawled upon the sofa, smirking at her phone. "Perfect timing," she commented with a wink before opening her phone's camera to start recording.

In the alien Buggy "IIIII Loooove you BABAYYYYY. And if it's quite ALRIGHT!! I neeeed you BABAYYYY to warm these lonely NIGHTS!!!! OH PRETTY BA-" The singing continued in the background while Loki sat defeated on the floating vehicle, focusing on anything but that singing. His lips ran in a thin line, really telling the spectator the limit of his patience. The tension was boiling in his muscles and yet he did not move an inch, just waiting patiently. "Oh my God Loki?" You sat up in a daze behind him, your mouth agape with disappointed horror. "We have been together all this time but you got your hair conditioned! And not mine?!!" Loki's palm tried its best to rub some of his own disappointment off his face. "I thought we were best friends," you whimpered with betrayal in your already watering eyes. The camera focused on Loki shifting as he went for his bag to take out a bottle of water and a small green sachet. His eyes were on the camera when he asserted ever so sweetly, "of course, we are friends, Y/N. And I'll tell you where I got my hair conditioned-" he opened the sachet and mixed the herb-like contents in the water- "but first you need to drink some water." The camera panned out to show you running on the rough terrain away from the alien buggy- while Loki kept talking to himself- hopping in excitement at intervals.  "It will hydrate you and flush out those undesirable dru-" The d-word hung in the air when Loki found the space behind him empty. "Y/N?" He questioned in a tender tone, quite probably wondering you were hiding somewhere. The second time your name came out in urgency when he looked at Javier and Lulu sitting there in confusion. The third time he hopped down the moving vehicle- which, to be fair, moved at a turtle's pace- and looked underneath the levitating body. There was no fourth time. He just looked at Javier and Lulu, who turned to look in the direction you had dashed in. "Why didn't you stop her?!" Loki was restraining the anger so hard. "Oh, what do you mean neither of you can speak!!" By this time, Loki's heart was in his mouth, he was sweating and his breaths were shallow. Javier whistled at the rhino-like aliens pulling their buddy to stop. Getting down, he set his camera to Loki's side profile, conscious to maintain a safe distance from an untethered God. Licking his lips, he shut his mouth and took one deep breath with his eyes closed. The nearest star helped with its bright rays to let the audience know the clench of his jaw was an intense one. Opening his eyes, there was only one emotion that was visible on his entire being. "Fuck."

[dreamerboo]

Dream SMP headcannons|| 🍃

before i start i just wanna say these headcannons WILL follow the storyline, meaning stuff like family SBI are not going to be in here.

(seriously guys stop saying Tommy is Philza’s kid. Its been stated multiple times that Phil is not Tommy’s dad. It is lore, cannon. Found family can work for Wilbur and Tommy, BUT THEY ARE NOT RELATED.)

- While Kristin (Phil’s wife) is not stated to be canon in the DSMP lore, i think she is the Angel of Life. For death shall never consume her, and she shall always bring life and happiness wherever she goes.

- Opposite to Kristin, Phil is the Angel of Death. For life is always on his side, and he shall never succumb to that fate. Although he is a loving and kind man, he will, without hesitation take your life if he see’s fit.

- Both of they’re jobs include:

Phil:

He’s in charge of leading people to they’re ultimate fate (and also transporting they’re souls to the afterlife). If your a kind; loving person with a heart of gold, your death shall be peaceful and serene.

On the other side, if you were... lets say someone like Dream. A manipulative tyrant, trying to get everything you want, even if that means manipulating his own son Phil shall make sure your death will be one for the history books.

Kristin:

She’s in charge of leading people to a new start (transporting them to they’re new dimension to start a life). She always asks questions that would best suite you, and tells you about the different dimensions and all the creatures you can be.

If you end up with a bad life; and do not deserve it, she will absolutely try her best to make things right. Take Ranboo; he deserves none of what he’s getting, so she set up opportunities such as Micheal or the Antarctic Commune for him!!

Although if she does not like you; her angel will come after you, and beware, death is quick.

- Techno has 3 forms, Full Piglin, Hybrid, and Human! His favorite is his Piglin form, as he thinks it suits him the best. Although, he uses his Human form the most as its more easy to do things in. Although there have been a couple occasions where Phil steps into Tech’s house, only to see a giant Piglin cuddling with a polar bear

- I can never decide if i like Tanuki (Raccoon)! Tommy more, or Winged! Tommy more, so have headcannons about both:

Tanuki Tommy:

- Tanuki’s can shapeshift! He likes to use his powers on a daily basis, whether its trolling some of his friends, or getting into fights

- He has a natural connection with leaves, since they resemble transformation! Because of this he has a small collection of leaves; as well as a bracelet with a cute little leaf charm!

- He loves Sam Nook because Sam Nook, like Tommy, is also Tanuki! They get along quite well!

- Tommy’s tail is super fluffy, and quite big. You can often find Tommy walking down Prime Path with his huge tail swinging back and forth, as he hums a tune he likes to call “The Able Sisters”

- His ears are also surprisingly fluffy as well, although currently the only one allowed to touch them are Tubbo. As well as this, like most Tanukis he has a little pattern on his face that looks like a mask!

- Whenever Tommy is upset he goes into his full tanuki form; he basically looks like this:

and whenever this happens, he always scurries off to Tubbo, and proceeds to be clingy. Days like this often end up with Tommy asleep (PLATONICALLY) cuddling with Tubbo. How cute :]

Winged Tommy:

- Tommy’s wings have never fully developed. This is because when he learned that Wilbur had wings, but were cut off, he binded his own out of respect for Wilbur

- Whenever he’s happy, his wings involuntarily will flap!! This is always a tell tale sign that Tommy’s excited, happy, ect!

- His wings are white! They have no symbols, just pure white, semi-fluffy wings

- Even if he never binded his wings, he would still never know how to fly or properly take care of them. As his parents abandoned him at the young age of 4.

<—————>

- Speaking of which, Tubbo was abandoned at 5. The reason Tubbo and Tommy are so close is because while adventuring, they stumbled upon eachother and have been inseparable ever since

- Wilbur, did in fact, have wings. But as payment for L’manburg, Dream cut them off and kept them. This is one of the first events that caused Wilbur to go insane

- Eret hosts pride parades for the server! They always like to look stylish and gaudy; so if you see him in a ball gown with tons of jewelry; know its that time of year!

- George is actually a witch! Although he’s a baby witch, he wants to learn the art of potion brewing. This has also led to many cottage explosions, much to his dismay

- Whenever Sapnap gets angry, he flames up, completely engulfed in flames. He basically looks like the shape of a human but... well... fire. Because of this, its been advised people carry a small spray bottle with water, just in case.

- Skeppy taught Sapnap how to swear, much to Bad’s dismay.

- Antfrost was the first person to know Sapnap liked Quackity and Karl. The only reason Sapnap told him first is because he knew Ant wouldn’t judge him

- Puffy is called ‘Mother Puffy’ by the rest of the badlanders. ‘Grandmother Puffy’ by Sapnap.

- Quackity had pastel yellow wings! He loves to fly around at dawn and sing while the sun comes up

- No one knows exactly what dream is, nor does anyone really want to...

- Tubbo is a goat, like Shclatt! (Dad!Shclatt anyone?)

- Whenever Tubbo gets excited, others often have to grip the base of his horns to calm him down.

- Ranboo has a tail and horns as well! Whenever upset, Ranboo swishes his tail around, similar to a cat.

- Sometimes Ranboo sleep talks, with often coming out as garbled endermen noises

- Fundy will never tell anyone, but his favorite food are berries

- Niki dyes her hair everymonth, nobody knows why but they cant say its not lovely!

- Sam has green freckles. Thats its thats the po-

- Everyone really likes Jack’s eyes, because they’re two different colors

- Phantommy has two different eye colors. One green, and the other purple and white, to resemble his discs.

- Phantommy also a heart stitched into his shirt/jacket. Its a green heart, with a smiley fave over it. To resemble the fact Dream took all of his (canon) lives.

- Ghostbur likes laying in fields with sheep, liking that they’re fluffy and good cuddle buddies.

- Whenever Eret is gone, Ghostbur and Friend are in charge of the castle. They have they’re own crowns and everything!

I might make more posts like this but hOLY COW THIS IS LONG IM CUTTING IT OFF HERE

[ultraglittercat]

Drabble 127

Nature Walk

Varian was happily showing off his new invention to Rapunzel and Eugene. “And those snowshoes slip right on your boots, so you won't sink in a snow drift if you go traveling in a blizzard.” he explained.

“Why would anyone want to travel in a bliz- oh.” Eugene realized who he was talking to, and shut his mouth.

“They're very nice, Varian. I don't normally wear shoes, but for those I'd make an exception.” Rapunzel smiled.

“I also invented cross country skis! Wanna hear how those work?” he babbled.

“If it rhymes with 'freeze' I'm not interested. It's way too cold to do anything.” Eugene said.

“Lance and the girls don't agree with that. They just left on a nature walk, but if you hurry, you could join them, Varian. I'd come to, but Eugene and I are meeting with the delegates from Galcrest today.” Rapunzel informed him.

“That sounds pretty good! Dad and I love to explore the woods outside Old Corona. And maybe we'll find something good for you to eat, Ruddiger.” Varian petted his raccoon. Ruddiger, thrilled with both the prospects of food and a good petting from his owner, chittered happily.

“Would you like to take Pascal with you? I'm sure he'd enjoy that more than a diplomatic meeting.” Rapunzel said.

“Sure, hop aboard!” Varian beckoned to Pascal and the little chameleon climbed from Rapunzel's shoulder over to Varian's hand. Sometimes it was hard to believe Rapunzel and Pascal had once been Varian's sworn enemies, but the chameleon held no ill will towards the redeemed alchemist. Pascal had a kind and loving heart, just like Rapunzel.

“We'll bring you back something from the hike.” Varian promised.

“No snow of any kind! That belongs outside, and even there, I'm not too thrilled with it.” Eugene complained.

“Oh, Eugene.” Rapunzel laughed as her husband groaned.

Varian waved goodbye, and he and Ruddiger and Pascal set out to find Lance and the girls. The trail they'd left was pretty obvious, with Catalina's wolf tracks at the beginning of their hike, before she calmed down and shifted to her regular form. A hike was a good way for the girls to burn off excess energy, which now that Varian thought about it, was probably why his father had encouraged him to explore as a child.

“Hey guys!” Varian yelled as he saw the group ahead. “We came too! Rapunzel and Eugene couldn't get away from their meeting, so it's just us.” he explained.

“That's alright. We were just looking for things to build a snowman with.” Lance replied.

“Did you get carrots from the kitchens?” Varian asked.

“We did, but somebody already ate like 5 of them.” Catalina answered.

“Just because you girls don't eat your vegetables, doesn't mean the rest of us won't.” Lance countered. “Besides, they're good for you, helps with your eyesight.”

Kiera threw a snowball at Lance. “Bet you didn't see that coming, Dad!” she teased.

“That just means I'll have to eat more carrots.” Lance reached into his pocket and pulled out the final carrot he'd snagged from the kitchens. Both Kiera and Catalina looked disgusted and Varian laughed.

“How about pine cones? There's plenty of coniferous trees around here.” Varian suggested.

Kiera snorted. “You could just say 'evergreens' like a normal person.” but she liked his idea anyway and began looking for pine cones.

“I like to see if the trees are uninodal, producing just one whorl of branches each year from buds at the year's new shoots, or multinodal, producing two or more whorls of branches.” Varian explained.

“...leave it to you to ruin nature with science.” Kiera complained.

“Hey science is really helpful! Without it, we wouldn't know what foods are safe to eat.” Varian pointed out.

“Good argument.” Lance agreed, having just finished his carrots but still feeling a little hungry.

“There's some black walnuts over here. Hey Ruddiger, you want some?” Varian offered. The little raccoon waddled over and ate the walnuts out of Varian's hands. “You know, people can eat walnuts, too. They're really good roasted.” Varian added.

“That's all I need to hear!” Lance exclaimed, running up and grabbing a handful.

“Don't eat all of them, Dad! We need two for the snowman's eyes.” Catalina said.

“And I got a big pine cone we can use for the nose.” Kiera added.

“I'll get some branches, then.” Lance decided.

“I'm still looking for something Rapunzel would like. I promised I'd bring her something.” Varian recalled. Varian felt a little tug on his ear. It was Pascal, sitting on his shoulder and pointing up in a tree.

“Hey V! Look over there!” Kiera saw what Pascal was looking at: an abandoned bird's nest.

“That's perfect! Rapunzel would probably love to paint that, or weave part of it into a basket. But it's kinda high up...” Varian sighed wistfully.

“Leave it to me! My claws are great for climbing!” Catalina boasted as she shifted into a wolf. Her claws dug into the bark as she effortlessly shimmied up the tree.

“Careful with the nest.” Varian warned. But he didn't need to worry, Catalina climbed trees often and knew how to keep her balance even when holding something. She jumped down at the end and took a bow.

“That was awesome, Catalina!” Kiera cheered.

“Good job, Catalina.” Lance praised his daughter. “And nice cheering, Angry.” Lance always tried to be fair and compliment both girls regularly.

“Thanks a bunch.” Varian said.

“I guess if we've got everything we need, we can head back to the castle and build a snowman over there.” Lance suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement, and the group headed back.

Varian, Kiera, and Catalina rolled giant snowballs while Lance shoved some branches onto the snowman's middle to use as arms. The girls then added the walnut eyes and pine cone nose.

“Hey Varian. Can I see the bird's nest for a second?” Catalina asked.

“Sure. You were the one who got it down after all.” Varian said.

Catalina turned the nest upside down and placed it on the snowman's head. “Now it has short hair, just like Rapunzel.” she exclaimed.

“What's just like me?” Rapunzel asked, having offered to show the delegates around the castle as an excuse to get outside and see her friends.

“It's our snowman!” Catalina said proudly.

“It's very pretty. I thought our guests might like a tour of the grounds, I'm glad they got to see something nice.” Rapunzel replied. One of the delegates smiled, she had daughters at home around Catalina and Kiera's age.

“You can have the nest when the girls are done with it. I thought you might like it as a backdrop for your paintings.” Varian told her.

“Aw, that's so sweet.” Rapunzel smiled. Pascal waved at her and she bent down so he could climb into her arms.

“Is that a frog?” wondered a man from Galcrest.

“Eugene thought the same thing.” Rapunzel laughed. “But this is Pascal, a chameleon. He can change colors.” Pascal obediently changed from green to pink, matching Rapunzel's coat.

“So pretty!” squealed one of the female guests.

“We don't have anything like that in Galcrest!” said another guest.

“Pascal is very special, just like my friends. And my husband, even if he wouldn't come out in the snow and join us.” said Rapunzel. Everyone who knew Eugene laughed, it would take more than a little diplomacy to get him to play in winter.

The End

We hardly have any snow where I live now. But when I was a kid, we lived in Buffalo where it snows all the time and we used to make snowmen and do all those fun activities Eugene hates so much.

[ironwoman359]

Thoughts on Remus Sanders

So the new video came out and I have a lot of thoughts on a lot of different things, but for this post, let’s talk about our new resident trash man, Remus Sanders, aka The Duke, aka the Dark Side of Creativity. 

Remus’s Role (who or what is he?)

First off, Remus’s ‘Side Title’ as it were is definitely Creativity. He is not simply “Intrusive Thoughts.” That is not his function, intrusive thoughts are a result of his function, an area of thinking that he is responsible for. Like Roman, he embodies Creativity and the Imagination, but unlike Roman, he deals almost exclusively in ‘dirty,’ mature, dark, or disturbing ideas. Sure, the video was about intrusive thoughts specifically, but that’s not all that Remus does. He said himself twice, once in song and once in regular speaking, that he wants Thomas to explore more mature themes in his videos and to be more “realistic” with his creations. So while the other “dark sides” like Deceit and Anxiety (maybe Paranoia?) have different functions than the “light sides,” Remus and Roman are two sides that embody the same trait: Creativity. 

As Thomas said, the Duke and the Prince literally wear black and white, because his relationship with his imagination while he was growing up led to Roman encompassing the “good” parts and Remus the “bad” parts. Both ‘sides’ of creativity are important over all, but Thomas specifically gave Roman, the light, the positive sunshine rainbow unicorn side, more import than the dark, the twisted macabre disturbing side. Hence Roman is a Prince, while Remus is merely a Duke, a lesser rank of nobility. 

Remus’s Goals (so what does he want?)

Like Roman, Remus wants Thomas to create things, things that he can be proud of. And more SPECIFICALLY, he wants Thomas to be remembered, to have a legacy. Roman, you will note, wants this too. All sides, after all, want what they believe is best for Thomas, but they all have different views of what that looks like AND of how to get it. And Remus believes that the darker sides of creativity that he encompasses are the way for Thomas to get that notoriety he craves. Just look at the way Remus talks (or sings) about himself in relationship to Thomas’s content:

“If you really wanna challenge your viewership, then you need to stop limiting me.” 

“If you want the spectrum A-Z you’ll need a little help from me.”  

(in reference to Thomas only wanting bright and happy things in his content) ”Hey Prude, your art is Bad.”

“What will our legacy be? Will you even have one? How about this: you get buck naked on camera and self immolate to Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off! That’ll leave an impression!” 

Remus wants what ever creator/performer wants: he wants to be remembered. But unlike Roman, he holds no reservations about how they get there. 

But Remus ALSO a rather chaotic force in general, and you get the feeling that he really just wants to have fun...unfortunately, what’s fun for him is not very fun for most people, Thomas included. Remus is more like the way many of us characterized Deceit at his first introduction: likely to be cruel for no reason. Because it’s fun! Right?! 

Roman vs. Remus...why?

I have a headcanon that Patton (or Patton’s influence) is largely responsible for the development of Remus and Roman as separate entities, actually.  During their conversation about Just Like Heaven, Patton mentioned that a happy ending “makes good cinema.” And...no, it doesn’t. Objectively, good cinema, good ART is not dependent on whether or not it is happy. Now, whether or not it is happy is certainly a valid indicator of whether or not YOU as an individual like it. But not it’s objective quality. And that’s what has happened with Roman and Remus, anything that Thomas’s Moral Code (again, Patton himself or his general influence) deemed as “bad” or “wrong” got shoved into Remus, while Roman kept all the good parts for himself. 

When you look at it that way, it’s no wonder that Remus spends so much of his time sending intrusive thought’s Thomas’s way. (Yes, intrusive thoughts are fairly common, but not everyone has them, and not always to the severity that Character Thomas does) That’s basically his ONLY creative outlet, as everything else has been given to Roman. And why it makes sense that he is desperate to be more involved in Thomas’s creative process. Intrusive thoughts are all fine and well, but if Thomas isn’t ACTING on them, then Remus is effectively not being listened to, which as we all know is every single side’s greatest source of frustration. 

His Logo (this is a pure guess based on my own theories and observation, but it’s fun to think about.)

It’s been theorized before that the “dark sides” have something animal themed in their clothing and/or appearances. Deceit’s is obvious the two headed snake, and Virgil’s is largely thought to be a raccoon, and if we look closely, Remus seems to fit this theory. His animal is some sort of tentacled sea creature, as evidenced by the thumbnail of the video, his green coloring, and the belt buckle he wears. Some have suggested a squid or octopus, but this IS Creativity we’re talking about here...it could be Something Else. Something a little more...creative. 

“Whoa, you guys are acting fishier than the Kraken’s crack.” -Roman, timestamp 3:43. 

I propose that his ‘animal’ is a Kraken, a giant sea monster known for causing great destruction, killing sailors and dragging ships down into the depths of the sea. Sort of like how our Dear Old Duke seems to take pleasure in being destructive towards both himself and others and dragging Thomas’s thoughts down into the depths of depravity? Huh? Maybe? Imagine a logo similar to Roman’s, but instead of an idyllic castle, it’s a giant sea monster. Perhaps reaching it’s tentacles around a ship? Or perhaps looking a little sleeker and going for something like the Hydra logo in Marvel? I dunno, it’s fun to think about! 

The Rainbow Theory (no, I’m never gonna let this one go)

Remus’s existence, and more specifically, his color palate, only reinforce the Rainbow Theory as being canon. Thomas is Full Rainbow all the time, and each of his sides encompasses one color on that spectrum. You have Red (Roman), Orange (a yet to be discovered “dark side”), Yellow (Deceit), Green (Remus), Blue (Patton), Indigo (Logan), and Violet (Virgil). 

One of the reasons I really like the rainbow theory is that it allows for a sense of balance between Thomas and his sides. I like to imagine it like this: There are three “light” or “good” sides, (Roman, Logan, and Patton) and three “dark” or “bad” sides (Deceit, the Duke/Remus, and an unnamed, Orange party). I use quotes on these labels because arguably, any trait could be used for good or for bad, and no side embodies this more than Virgil. Violet, the odd little shadowling out. The side that is now canonically CONFIRMED to have once been considered one of “the Others,” but who now has an equal seat at the discussion table. The side, if you will, that is the tipping point on the scale between whether or not Thomas is a “good person?” Ah, but that’s a theory for another post ;) 

If you combine the rainbow theory with a color wheel, Remus’s appearance also all but confirms some theories that we’ve had about “dark” sides in the past: they are opposites to/extensions of/foils for a corresponding “light” side. It’s no secret who Remus’s corresponding side is, both he AND Roman are literally both creativity. And what is Red’s complimentary color on the color wheel?

Green. 

While it’s harder to tell who Deceit’s foil is, since the blue/indigo and the yellow/orange parts of most color wheels you look at are more blurred, but I’m leaning towards Logan, the darker blue, the indigo, being the foil to Deceit’s Yellow, and Patton’s lighter blue being complimentary with the Orange Side yet to be revealed, since the light blue is closer to the green and the orange is closer to the red. 

This also solidifies the idea that I have that Virgil himself has no foil. I see some people suggest he could be Logan’s foil, but I honestly think that Logan’s foil is either Deceit or Mr. Orange, and the Patton’s is whoever Logan’s isn’t. Virgil’s trait doesn’t necessarily have a perfect foil...and purple in particular has no opposite color that isn’t already sort of taken by one of the other three “light” colors. But I digress, this post is about Remus, not Virgil. I just like talking about the rainbow theory, I think it’s neat! 

Other, smaller observations (mostly just fun things I noticed/liked about his character)

As much as they are opposites in ways, Remus shares many mannerisms with Roman, from his expressions to his vocal ticks to his gestures. 

Literally less than a minute after he first appeared on screen, he broke out into an entire Disney Villain style musical number. (no really, he appeared at 6:00 and started singing at 6:53)

I sort of mentioned this earlier, but he is not only responsible for the darker parts of imagination, but also clearly things like childish potty humor and sexual innuendo. For THOMAS, this is a “bad” thing banished to it’s own separate side, but for some people, that kind of humor doesn’t cross the line. Joan, for instance, has both a raunchier sense of humor and darker sense of humor at times than Thomas, as holding up a disembodied corpse prop’s middle finger is, yeah, TOTALLY something they would do without Remus’s influence. 

He cannot be insulted through traditional means, as he takes them as compliments. It is only through him being discredited/weakened by Logan’s words that we see him having any sort of negative reaction to the others. 

Again, a point to get more into detail with another post, but he was particularly interested in beating down Virgil specifically, and in ways that seemed less relevant to what was going on like his taunts to the others. Just like with Deceit in the courtroom, he clearly knows Virgil well enough to get under his skin, and he relishes doing so. 

The trash boi does not sit still, if he’s not engaged by what’s happening, he’ll find some other thing to occupy himself with, such as picking his nose or eating deodorant. 

Like Deceit before him, he gets huffy when he doesn’t have his way, and then does his best to just be a general inconvenience (read also: a dick) to Thomas if he can’t be actually listened to. 

That’s all for now! Thanks for reading <3

[ladyofwisteria]

Prologue pt1: Welcome to the Villains' world

 Darkness all I see is darkness I can not tell if my eyes are open or not, nor if it was a just dream wait, did I even fall asleep It's dark and it feels like I'm floating so maybe this is a dream, and as to confirm what I was thinking I then hear a voice speak up.

     "Ah...My lovely lord. My glorious, beautiful flower of evil.  

     You are the fairest in all the land.  

     Mirror, Mirror, pray tell. Who is the most..."  

 I then begin to hear the sound of a horse galloping and finally, I see something light up in front of me revealing a decorative framed mirror with a hand reaching out to me.

     "You, who has been summoned by the Mirror of Darkness.  

     Listen to your heart's desire and take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.  

 Feeling my body move on my own I reached out towards the mirror once I touched it the rippled and I get a flashing pain in my head and I received a vision of a battle between a giant feline beast covered in blue flames and Seven figures, and by the look of things the beast is winning and ready to unleased it's final attack. And just as quickly the vision appeared it vanished and I was back in darkness.

     "Flames that can turn the moon to ashes,  

     Ice that can freeze time,  

     Earth that can swallow the sky,  

     Show no fear to the power of Darkness"  

 A new bright light appears blinding you till you noticed an unknown hand reach out towards you becoming you to take it.

     "Come now, show me your power. We only have a little bit of time left.  

     At all cost, do not let go of that hand."  

 And thus, you take the hand and once more everything falls to black

 ~ Å ~

     Prologue: Welcome to the Villains' world  

     Part 1: Welcome to Night Raven  

 'Where am I' I open my eyes once again to darkness but I felt like I was trapped inside a cramped box I desperately tried to find some way to open the box but to no avail but after a while, I've begun to hear something

 "What's that noise"

 I moved as close as I could and put my ear to the surface to listen better.

 "I need to find a cloak and quickly," said a childish like voice I was about to call out for help until I heard what sounded like someone trying to push off the lid of my container.

 "Grrr! The lid is heavy. Time for my... secret move! Guwaahuhh!

 I didn't know what the person outside at first until I started to feel hot and not just me but the box as well, I started panicking until I heard the sound of wood snapping in front of me which is when I realize I now have an opportunity to escape so with a few hard pushes I finally got them off an threw myself forward.

 "Gyaaaaa!?!?"

 Not realizing that where I was held was elevated and fell face-first onto the floor. It took a few seconds for me to recover and picking myself up from the floor to have a look at my surroundings and my jaw drop.

 The room was around gothic with floating coffins and in the middle of the room over a fountain of bright green water was the same mirror I saw in my dream or probably still am, what made me convinced about even more was when I turned around and saw who it was that got me off the coffin

         "Ok, Gotta get..." The floating cat? looked inside the coffin only to find it empty but turns around to find me. "Whaaaaaaaaa! Why are you up!?"

 "Ok, this has to be a dream, I'm in a room full of floating coffins and a talking Raccoon" I exasperated

 "Just who are you calling a raccoon, I'm the great Grimm!" he yelled angrily "Anyway hurry up and give me those clothes!"

 "What no way" I grab the sleeves of my outfit now taking a look at it realizes that it was not my pajamas but a black cloak with gold trims and purple inner layer.

 "Give me those clothes or I'll roast ya!"

 The floating raccoon let out a breath of blue fire, panicked I noticed a slightly open door and ran towards it.

 "Forget it, I'm not going to have a dream about getting roasted by a freakin raccoon."

 "I said I'm not a freakin raccoon!"

 "Somebody help me" I yelled as I ran as fast as could through a long dark hallway and garden until I ran out of breath in what looked like a Library I took a quick look around to see if the flying raccoon was still flowing me.... they're gone I dropped to the floor to catch my breath.

 "Please let this just be a bad dream, I just really want to wake up."

 "Did you really think you'd get away from my nose? Dumb human!"

 'Shit' I quickly turned to see the floating raccoon dog had caught up to me and blocking the only exit and I'm still trying to recover my breath 'I'm fucked'.

 "If you don't wanna get roasted, better hand over-" before he could finish a cord came out of nowhere and bided the creature.

 "Buwah? What's with this cord?

 "This is no mere cord. This is the lash of love!"

 Out from behind the creature was a tall sharply dressed man with a half raven themed mask, a black and white suit, over that is a black overcoat and top hat decorated black feathers, and mirror-like accessories on his hat and hip but what stood out the most was his glowing gold eyes.

         'What the hell kind of dream is this?'

 "Ah, found you at last. Are you one of the new students?"

 'Wait, what'

 "You shouldn't do things like that. Leaving the Gate on your own! Not only that, but you also have yet to tame your familiar which has broken a number of school rules."

 "Um, sir he's not-."

 "Let me go! I'm not their freakin' familiar!"

 "Sure, sure. The rebellious ones always say things like that." He then summons more cord a tie it around Grim's moth. "Just quiet down for a moment"

 "Mmmmmmghmmm!" Grim struggled to get out but with his arms a mouth cover it was made impossible.

 "Um sir"

 "My goodness. It's unprecedented for a new student to leave the Gate on their own. Ugh......How impatient can you be? The entrance ceremony is already well underway. Let's head to the Hall of Mirrors."

 "Wait, what do you mean New Student? And what Gate?"

 "It's the room you woke up in with all of the doors. All students who wish to attend this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here. Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key but"

 "Well, his fire kind of blow the lid off" I point to Grim.

 "So, in the end, the culprit appears to be this familiar. If you're going to bring it with you have the responsibility and properly take care of it."

 "But sir he's not! "

 "Oh my! Now isn't the time to be long-winded. The entrance ceremony will soon come to a close. Let's get a move on."

 "Wait! " I yelled causing the man in front of me to halt. "Just who are you, and where exactly am I?"

 The man looked at me confused

 "What's this? Are you still dazed? It appears the teleportation magic has left you disoriented... Well, it's fine. It happens often enough. I shall give you an explanation as we make our way there. Since I am gracious."

 After a few minutes, we began walking again I silent until we reached the courtyard since I was not distracted I was able to get a clear view of where I was.

 "Wow this looks like a magic castle"

 "That's because it is. This is 'Night Raven Collage'. Those magicians blessed with a unique aptitude for magic gather from all over the world, here at the most prestigious magical academy in Twisted Wonderland.

 'Twisted Wonderland?' I sware the more crazy stuff that comes out of this guy's mouth the more convinced I am that this is just one weird dream.

 "And I'm the principal, appointed to take care of this academy by the board chairman Dire Crowley."

 "Wait, magicians?"

 "Only those magicians seen as worthy by the Dark Mirror can attend this school. Chosen ones use the Gate and are summoned here from around the world. An Ebony carriage carrying a Gate should have gone to meet you as well"

 Think back I then remembered something from my earlier dream.

 "I think I remember hearing a horse and carriage"

 "The Ebony Carriage goes to welcome new students chosen by the Dark Mirror. They are special carriages that carry the doors. The market decided long ago that carriages are used to welcome people on special days."

 "So, you're saying that the carriage just brought me here on its own!?"

 He continued explaining a bit more about the academy all the while Grim was trying to get our, before long we were back to set of doors which lead to a room that I ran out of earlier.

 "Come. Let's go to the entrance ceremony."

[maddrmatt]

Kairi’s Epic Journey: The Quest for Sora

New to this fanfic? Click here to properly begin!

Chapter 9: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up

Never Land

Up in the Never Land sky, there was a small ball of glowing light flying through.  Upon a closer look however, it would be revealed that it was a small woman with blonde hair, a green dress and wings.  It was Tinker Bell, the most famous fairy in all of Never Land.

Things had been pretty quiet in Never Land lately and the usually tightknit group of Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and the Lost Boys had been off doing their own things.  Tink had just come from Pixie Hollow where she had been visiting with her fellow fairies.  Now that the visit was over, she was looking to rejoin with her other friends.

As she passed by Skull Rock, a strange sound came to her tiny ears.  It sounded as if there was some kind of commotion coming from within.

Flying in toward one of the holes that resembled eye sockets, she perched on the edge and gazed inside. What she saw was quite a surprise.

The Lost Boys were currently in the midst of a fight with a pair of unusual opponents: a redheaded girl dressed in pink and a yellow furred dog.  The girl was brandishing what appeared to be a giant flower covered key.

Tink had never seen the girl or the dog around Never Land before.  She wondered where they had come from.

But then, the fairy took a long and hard look at the girl.  There was something oddly familiar about her and the weapon she carried.

Then Tink’s eyes opened wide in sudden realization.  She had seen the girl before.

Turning around, she flew up and headed in the direction of the mainland.  She had to find Peter right away.

________________________________________________________________

In another part of Never Land, sitting on the limb of a tall tree, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up was playing on his panpipes.  After finishing his current tune, he let out a loud sigh.

‘It’s been pretty boring lately.  There doesn’t seem to be anything fun to do.  There’s no more Heartless to hunt down and even the old codfish hasn’t been up to something.  At least the boys have their treasure hunting to keep them amused.  Wonder if they’ve found it at Skull Rock by now.  Still, I sure wish something exciting would happen.’

No sooner than Peter had finished his thought, he suddenly heard a loud frantic tinkling sound. He looked up and saw his best fairy friend flying toward him at a fast speed.

“Oh, hey Tink! Glad to see you’re back. Everything alright in Pixie Hollow?” he asked as the fairy stopped in front of him.

Tink ignored Peter’s question and continued to speak in the same frantic tone.  Peter suddenly became concerned as he took in what the fairy was saying.

“Whoa, Tink!  Slow down!  The boys are in a fight?  Is it Hook?”

Tink shook her head and continued her tale.  Once she was finished, Peter’s eyes shot open.

“What?!  Are you sure it was her?”

Tink nodded in response.

“Then we’d better get to Skull Rock as fast as we can,” said Peter as he rose to his feet and took off into the sky.  Tink followed close behind.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Peter couldn’t help but feel a little elated.  ‘Looks like I got my wish after all.’

________________________________________________________________

“Take this!” shouted the boy in the bear suit as he threw his club at Kairi.

“Reflect!” shouted Kairi as she conjured up a barrier.  The club bounced off it harmlessly.

“Charge!” said the two boys in raccoon suits as they sped toward Kairi with their wooden swords brandished.

But before they even reached the girl, a growling Pluto leapt in front of them with his teeth bared. The boys immediately turned around and ran while the dog pursued them while barking wildly.

‘So far, I’ve been able to fend off whatever they’ve thrown at me and I’ve avoided hurting them. But is there any way out of this pointless fight?’ thought Kairi as she deflected more slingshot attacks.

“Attention!” shouted a voice from above.  Everyone gazed upwards to see Peter floating high above them with his arms crossed over his chest and a displeased look on his face.  Tink floated above his shoulder.

‘Peter Pan!  And Tinker Bell!  Hopefully, they can help me out of this mess,’ thought Kairi as she gave a look of relief.

“Pan!” exclaimed the boy in the rabbit suit.

“You’re just in time!” shouted the boy in the fox suit.

“This girl pirate was trying to steal our treasure!  But now that you’re here, we’ll stop her good!” exclaimed the one in the bear suit.

“You blockheads! She’s not a pirate!  She’s a friend!” Peter shouted angrily.

“Huh?” exclaimed all the boys at the same time as Peter landed on the ground and they all gathered around him.

“You remember that boy Sora I told you about?” asked Peter.

“Oh!  The one you saved from Hook along with Wendy, Tink and his friends?” asked the boy in the rabbit suit.

Kairi felt a little annoyed when she heard the last statement.  ‘Sora did a little more than just be saved by you, Peter.’

“That’s the one. And it just so happens that this girl is his friend, Kairi.  So, you all ought to be ashamed of yourselves for attacking her!” chided Peter.

“Well, how were we supposed to know that?!” exclaimed the one in the fox suit.

“Yeah!  We’d never seed her before!” said the boy in the bear suit. The one in the skunk suit nodded in agreement.

“You shouldn’t have attacked her!” accused the one in the rabbit suit.

“You started it!” said the two boys in raccoon suits.

The boys immediately started brawling with each other.  Peter ignored the boys’ fighting as he approached Kairi and smiled at her. “Welcome back to Never Land, Kairi! Glad to see you’re more awake this time.”

“Er, thank you, Peter.  And for the record, I wasn’t stealing anything from your treasure chest.  I was only looking in it,” said Kairi.

“Oh, well, no harm done then.  In fact, it’s great that you came back, Kairi,” said Peter.

“It is?”

“Yes.  Why, a few minutes ago, I was thinking how it’s been pretty boring lately.  But now that you’re here, I can think of a million things we can do.  So, first, let me show you around Never Land.  Always like to give the grand tour to friends,” said Peter.

“Um that won’t be necessary, Peter. In fact, there’s something important I need to talk to you about right now.”

“Oh, come on.  Let’s have some fun first.  You were so sleepy last time, you missed out on so much.  Just a quick fly around and then we’ll get to whatever you want to talk about,” said Peter.

‘Looks like I don’t have a choice. I’ll play along for now and maybe he’ll be more cooperative later.’

“Well, okay then.  But what about Pluto?” asked Kairi pointing to the dog.

“Men!” shouted Peter causing the boys to stop their fighting, stand at attention and salute.  “Head back to the hideout and take the dog with you.  But watch your shadows around him.  Dogs tend to bite them off.”

“Right, Pan!  Come on, doggy!” said the boy in the fox suit gesturing to Pluto to come to him.

Pluto looked hesitant as he gazed up at Kairi.  It was as if he was asking her if he should go with them.

Kairi was skeptical about trusting her companion to the boys who only a few minutes ago, were attacking them. But since Peter seemed to be able to control them, Pluto would probably be okay.

“Go with them, Pluto.  I’ll see you soon,” said Kairi.  With her blessing received, Pluto walked over to the boys and they all headed out of the cave.

Peter then turned his back to Kairi. “Hop on!”

“Are you sure you can carry me like that?” asked Kairi.

“Of course!  I’m pretty strong!  Just wrap your arms around my shoulders.”

Kairi walked up to Peter.  But before she could lay a hand on him, Tink flew right in between her and Peter and held her arms out.  She had a sour look on her face.

“Whoa!  What’s up with her?” she asked.

“Oh, she acts like this whenever there’s another girl around.  She acted this way with Wendy and Aqua too.  Never really understood why.”

A shock ran through Kairi’s mind. ‘Aqua’s been here too?  Just how many Keyblade Wielders has Peter met? I’m really going to have to ask him about that later.  Especially about that wooden Keyblade with Terra’s name on it.’

“Tink, just let me take her for a ride,” said Peter.

Tink shook her head.

“Tink, don’t do this,” scolded Peter.

Tink folded her arms and pouted. But she flew out of Kairi’s way and allowed her to wrap her arms around Peter.

Once she was in position, Peter rose up from the ground.  Kairi tightened her grip on the boy.

“Ready to see Never Land?”

“I guess so.  But can we not go to where the mermaids are?”

“Oh, you met them already?”

“Yes and they tried to drown me!” exclaimed Kairi angrily.

Peter laughed.  “Yes, that sounds like them alright.  Hold on tight!”

“Whoa!” screamed Kairi as Peter soared out of Skull Rock through one of eyeholes.  Following close behind was Tink who was completely red with anger.

________________________________________________________________

Much later, Peter was flying through the sky with Kairi on his back.  He had been all over Never Land, showing her the most notable places. Now they were heading back to Peter’s hideout.

Though still precariously holding onto Peter, Kairi had enjoyed every sight that he had shown her. She only wished that Tink would stop being such a sourpuss as she continued to trail behind with her arms folded and her face set in a jealous pout.

“So, what do you think, Kairi?”

“Never Land’s a pretty amazing place, Peter.  Thank you for showing me,” said Kairi.

“No problem.  But it’s too bad Sora never got a chance to see it the first time he was here.  The most he saw before he left was the inside of Hook’s pirate ship.”

Returning to the subject of Sora immediately brought Kairi down.  ‘He should be here seeing Never Land with us.’

“Oh.  I forgot to mention.  I’m really glad that you managed to get away from those bad guys in black coats.”

Kairi was surprised to hear that Peter knew about her being imprisoned by the first Organization. “How did you know about that?”

“Sora called on Tink and me a few times during one of his adventures.  And the magic that enabled him to call us also let us know what was happening even if weren’t there,” said Peter.

Kairi’s surprise increased.  ‘I had no idea Sora’s summons worked like that.  Wait.  He did mention that his summons from his first adventure like Mushu and Simba were aware of what happened.  I guess, even if the summons worked differently on the next one, the same thing applied and all of them are aware of everything that happened.’

Then a horrible thought came to her.  ‘Does he already know what happened to Sora?’

“Peter, how much do you know exactly? I mean, what was the last thing you remember Sora doing?”

“Well, let me think. The last thing I remember was him going with his silver haired friend to this stern looking old man.  I think they were taking some kind of test or something. After that, nothing else. Probably for the best.  Tests are boring.”

‘Peter’s knowledge of what Sora was doing must have been cut off when Riku and him started the Mark of Mastery exam.  Master Yen Sid did say they would lose all their powers and abilities at the start. So, he doesn’t know that Sora’s gone.’

Despite this fact, Kairi didn’t feel any better.  When she started on the journey, it never occurred to her how she was going to break the news of Sora’s fate to any friends of his she might meet along the way.

“Even though it stopped, it was pretty fun joining Sora in a way on his adventures.  Though I do wish he would have called on me more especially when fighting those guys in black coats.  I would have shown them a thing or two and we would have beaten them just as easily as Hook.”

‘No, you wouldn’t have, Peter.  Fighting the Organization, both the old and the new, is nothing like fighting Captain Hook. They are more dangerous than you think, and Sora would never have put you in a fight like that.’

“There it is!” exclaimed Peter pointing downward.  Kairi looked over Peter’s shoulder and saw a large tree with a hangman’s noose hanging from its longest limb.

“Is that your hideout?” asked Kairi.

“Yep.  Hangman’s Tree.  Prepare for landing!”

Once they were directly over the tree, without warning, Peter flipped over.  Kairi shrieked as the surprise caused her to lose her grip and fall feet first.

As Kairi closed in on the tree, she ended up falling through the top of it and onto a slide. She continued to scream as she slid until she came to a soft landing on a bed.

After recovering from the sudden thrill ride, Kairi heard a familiar bark.  She looked ahead and saw Pluto bounding up to her.  The dog leapt onto the bed and licked Kairi on the cheek.  Kairi giggled.

“Thanks, Pluto.  I needed that.  Good to see you got here safe.”

“Enjoy the ride down, Kairi?”

Kairi looked and saw Peter and Tink hovering close by.  She frowned.  “You could’ve warned me you were going to do that.”

“What fun would that be? Right, Tink?” asked Peter causing Tink to laugh.

“Not the most thoughtful pair, are they Pluto?” asked Kairi.  Pluto nodded in agreement.

Peter floated over to a thronelike chair.  After sitting down, he shouted, “Men!  Fall in!”

In response, the Lost Boys dropped down from the ceiling, hanging from their feet like bats.  Kairi gasped in surprise.

“Sound off!” ordered Peter.

One by one, the Lost Boys disengaged from ceiling and landed on their feet.  They each gave a salute while saying their name.

“Slightly!” said the one in the fox suit.

“Nibs!” said the one in the rabbit suit.

“The Twins!” said the two in the racoon suits.

Then the one in the bear suit dropped down and landed on his head.  “Cubby,” he muttered.

“Oh my gosh!  Are you okay?” asked Kairi as she got up and rushed to Cubby’s side.

“I’m fine.  This happens all the time,” said Cubby as he picked himself up.

“Yeah, it’s no problem,” said one of the Twins.

“Cubby’s head is the hardest in all of Never Land,” said the other one as the both of them pounded on Cubby’s head causing him to groan in pain.

“See?” they said together.

Kairi was about to object to their ill treatment of their comrade when suddenly, the Lost Boy in the skunk suit dropped into her arms.  He smiled up at her.

“Now I remember you.  Don’t think I forgot about you beaning me with a slingshot,” she said sternly.

The Lost Boy said nothing.  He just continued to smile at her.

Kairi became concerned.  “Can’t he talk?”

“Nope.  He never learned.  His name’s Toodles,” said Slightly.

Peter then stood up on his chair and announced, “This certainly has become quite a day and we have much to celebrate.  Now that Kairi’s here, she can be our new mother and tell us stories and do anything else a mother can do for us.”

The Lost Boys cheered.  Kairi, however, had a different reaction.

‘Mother?  Seriously?’

“And even better!  Since Kairi’s come to Never Land, Sora can’t be far behind. You’ll all finally get to meet him, and we’ll have many great adventures,” continued Peter causing the Lost Boys to cheer even louder.

Kairi’s heart sank.  ‘I’ve got to tell them.  But how am I supposed to do that?  How do you tell a group of boys who won’t grow up that someone they know is gone?’

“Uh, Peter?” asked Kairi.  But she was drowned out by the revelry of the Lost Boys.

“Peter!” Kairi shouted louder. Still, she wasn’t heard.

“PETER!”

After that outburst, Kairi found everyone’s eyes on her.  All of them looked confused as to why she had shouted.

“Something wrong, Kairi?” asked Peter.

Kairi let out a sad sigh as she set Toodles down on the ground.  “Something is, Peter.  I really hate to tell you all this.  But Sora isn’t coming.”

The Lost Boys gasped.  Tink jingled in confusion.  Peter floated off his chair and landed right in front of Kairi.

“What do you mean he’s not coming? I mean, if you’re here, he can’t far behind, right?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, Peter.  But Sora is…” Kairi struggled to find the right word. “…lost.”

“You mean like us?  A Lost Boy?” asked Slightly.

“No.  Not like you at.  You see, during our last adventure, something really awful happened, and Sora was lost. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.  I’m looking for him and I was hoping that you could help me,” said Kairi.

“So, he was looking for you and now you’re looking for him?  Boy, you two seem to lose each other a lot,” said Peter.

‘You don’t need to remind me of that.’

Peter sighed and floated back to his chair.  “Men, it looks like we won’t be getting our great adventure after all.”

“Aww!” groaned the disappointed Lost Boys.

“But Kairi can still be our mother, right?” asked Nibs.

“I’m sorry, boys.  But that’s not why I came here.  I came here looking for Sora.  In fact, I was kind of hoping Peter or Tink may have seen him.  But it seems that they haven’t.  Is that right?” asked Kairi causing both the boy and the fairy to shake their heads no.

“You boys haven’t seen anyone like Sora, have you?  Brown spiky hair?  Dressed in red and black clothing?  Carries a giant key like mine but not as flowery?” asked Kairi.

“Nope,” said Slightly.

“Haven’t seed anyone like that,” said Cubby.

Kairi sighed and then held up the Wayfinder to look at it.  ‘Then why did it bring me here?’

“Well, if none of you can help me find Sora, then I guess I should be on my way.  It was nice meeting you all though even if we didn’t start on the right foot and I am sorry to disappoint you.  Uh where’s the way out?” asked Kairi.

The Lost Boys pointed in the direction of a passage.  Inside was a staircase that led upwards.

“Thanks.  Come on, Pluto,” said Kairi as she sadly walked toward the passage with Pluto trailing behind her.

Unseen by Kairi, as she was leaving, Tink waved pleasantly goodbye with a smug smile on her face.  She clearly was not too broken up about having to see her go.

“What’s the matter with her, Pan?” asked Nibs.

“I don’t know.  Sure, we’re not getting a new adventure with Sora.  But we’re not that sad about it,” said Peter.

“No one should be sad in Never Land!” exclaimed the Twins.

“Yes.  This is a place to laugh and have fun and never be sad at all,” said Slightly with Toodles nodding nearby.

“I agree.  Men, we cannot let Kairi leave so sad.  We must find a way to cheer her up,” said Peter.

Tink floated in front of Peter. She tinkled in an objecting tone to make it clear that she didn’t want Kairi to come back at all.

“No, Tink.  We are going to do this.  Sora wouldn’t want his friend to not have a fun time in Never Land. Right?” asked Peter.

Tink folded her arms and pouted. But she did give a begrudging nod of agreement.

“So, what can we do to cheer her up?” asked Peter.

“How about another treasure hunt?” suggested the Twins.

“Nah.  She already founded the treasure and she wasn’t even trying. She’s too good.  Hey, how about we take her to meet the mermaids?” asked Cubby.

“She’s already done that and for some reason, she didn’t like that very much,” said Peter.

“So much for your great idea,” said Slightly as he bopped Cubby on the head.

Then Peter’s face lit up.  “I’ve got it!  I know just what we can do for her!”

________________________________________________________________

Outside Hangman’s Tree, Kairi sat on a nearby rock.  Pluto was sitting in front of her while she gazed at the Wayfinder.

“’Follow in the footsteps of your special one and a broken heart may be healed.’  That’s what the woman in my dream said to always remember on this journey, Pluto,” said Kairi causing Pluto to look confused.

“Yeah.  I don’t get it either.  I also don’t understand much of the stuff she told me like it would bring me to where I needed to be and wherever that was, there would be a reason. But what could it be?”

Kairi let out a deep sigh as Pluto nuzzled up to her in sympathy.  “I knew getting Sora back wasn’t going to be easy.  But I never thought it would be this hard.”

“Kairi!”

Kairi turned back toward Hangman’s Tree.  Peter had emerged from one of the entrances and was flying toward her.

“What is it, Peter?” she asked dryly.

“Look, the boys and I are sorry about what happened in there.  Let us make it up to you,” said Peter.

“Thanks, Peter. But I don’t think there’s anything you all could do,” said Kairi as she and Pluto began to walk away.

“Oh, there is!  In fact, it may even help you look for Sora,” said Peter.

Kairi stopped in her tracks and turned back.  “Really? What is it?”

“You’re going to love this.  In fact, Sora actually wanted you to try it when he planned to bring you here himself,” said Peter as he floated up to Kairi and gave her a big smile.  

“Kairi, would you like to learn how to fly?”

________________________________________________________________

Onto the next chapter!

[thewritewolf]

Two Cursed Detectives in Paris: Landing

Chasing down their suspect has lead Connor and Eerie, two detectives cursed with animal-like qualities, to France. There they find two kids madly in love with each other, even if they don't realize it yet. But with the help of two American detectives, love might just find a way...

Based on the Chouette! story and artwork that can be found here.

(If you haven't seen Chouette! before, then don't worry - I explain everything that matters for the plot.)

Hello and welcome to this fic that I have been very much looking forward to for the past month! I've been obsessed with Chouette since I first saw it in April of last year, so combining my two favorite obsessions into one gloriously fluffy fic felt only natural. And if I can get you to join me in this fledgling fandom, then I'll be absolutely thrilled!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 (Final)

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

Broadly speaking, she was cursed.

Although not in the sense that most people thought of when they heard the word “Cursed.” ‘Oh, my hair just won’t cooperate! I must be cursed!’ ‘My TV is flickering, it must be cursed!’

No, she really was cursed. If the talon-like nails, the head that swiveled three hundred and sixty degrees, and a host of other little abnormalities were anything to go off of, then probably cursed by the spirit of an owl. Or maybe she was possessed by an owl spirit? Honestly she had never been too clear on how it all worked despite living with it since middle school. It’s not like she’d been given a handbook or introductory pamphlet to help her through those first few rough months. Or the rough years that followed.

The ‘owl horns’ in her hair could be held down by her bow and the talons just looked like well manicured nails, but the red eyes and orange marking around her eyes like a mask were a dead give away. Not to mention the mossy green hair. At twenty two years old, it hadn’t been a long life so far, but it had certainly been full of struggle.

But that was who she was to the people who just saw her curse and decided not to look any further.

More specifically, she was Eerie. Eerie Escamilla, top of her class out of law school, junior detective and intern at the Cursed Special Unit, filled with people with a similar… background to her. A snore drew her attention to her left, toward one such person.

Connor MacThomas was cursed, like her, but with a raccoon rather than an owl. They hadn’t let him bring his favorite pillow with him into their first class seating, but he managed with his soft and bushy tail. She had to bite her lip to keep from aw’ing at the way his little raccoon ears twitched ever so slightly in his sleep. It wouldn’t do to be cooing at someone who was debatably her boss but unquestionably the more experienced detective between them.

Evidently, he could feel her eyes on him since he chose that moment to wake up. He yawned and stretched, his gloved hands grasping at the roof of the airplane. His hands were his greatest strength and his glaring weakness - so sensitive he could read the mood of a person by touch, which also made them so vulnerable he kept them in sturdy leather gloves worn thin by constant use.

His eyes, with their light blue sclera, opened up as he blinked at her, a bleary smile on his lips. Those eyes stood out all the more for the black mask, so similar to her own orange one, surrounding them. Another person might have thought that his crumbled, messy appearance was because he’d just spent the last five hours sleeping curled up on himself. But Eerie knew that was just how he always looked.

He adjusted himself, pulling down his shirt since it had ridden up a little. Her eyes followed the movement and she felt her cheeks heat up. Her heart fluttered and she quickly looked away, towards the window. A bad idea, given her fear of heights and suddenly her heart was fluttering for a different reason entirely. Her eyes widened and her breathing started to come in short bursts.

“Eerie?” Connor seemed to pick up on her panic quickly, if the concern in his voice was any indication. “Eerie. Boss. Look at me.” With a force of effort, she tore her eyes away from the window. “I didn’t pay much attention to the briefing. Why don’t you tell me about this mission?”

That was a blatant lie, but she was too grateful to call him out on it. She took a deep breath and gladly switched into lecture mode.

“We’ve been on this guy���s tail for the last couple months, picking apart his forgery operation back home.”

Connor grinned and stretched his hands. “Most of which was spent convincing rich people to let me get my paws all over their fancy but fake statues and busts.”

“And the rest of it was me doing meticulous art research,” Eerie said, rolling her eyes with a smirk.

“Of course, boss.” Connor didn’t break eye contact as he reached behind him to close the window with one hand. “And then what?”

“Well, I noticed that all the pieces had one thing in common - all the authentic ones are currently housed in the Louvre. And considering a lot of them aren’t even on display for the public-”

“Explaining why the fancy art people didn’t know they were being had.”

“-that means that the guy we’ve been after is in Paris, France and likely works at the Louvre. The local authorities have it up to their necks just trying to handle some crazy stuff happening in the French capital, so when the Chief offered to send the detectives already on the case...”

“...They were more than happy to accept,” Connor finished. “And luckily, we both know French, so this works out à la perfection.”

Eerie made a disapproving sound. “About that last part…”

“Yeah, boss?” A stewardess handed him a package of peanuts which he quickly tore into.

“I learned French because it was the only foreign language they offered in high school and I thought being bilingual would be good for a resume.” Eerie propped her elbow up on their armrest and put her chin on her hand, staring at Connor. “But you never seemed the type to care about stuff like that. Why did you learn French?”

To her surprise, he blushed. “It’s, uh… it’s not important.”

“Really?” Eerie blinked innocently at him. “So you wouldn’t mind telling me then. Right?”

Connor stuck out his tongue at her. “Nosey.”

“Comes with the detective territory, boss. Spill.”

After watching her for a long moment, he slumped his shoulders and groaned. “I did it to impress a girl, alright?”

Eerie’s eyebrows flew up. “Wow, really?”

“It was middle school okay?” Connor crossed his arms as his tail twitched in irritation behind him. “It didn’t work either, obviously. That was, uh, just before the whole curse thing happened. But I stuck with it!” Connor paused. “Well, mostly.”

“What do you mean, ‘mostly’?”

“Well, I’m conversational at least…”

“Connor! You said you were fluent!”

“No,” he replied. “I said I can speak it.”

“That-” Eerie stopped herself and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was a complication, but if anyone could manage to get by without knowing the native language, it was Connor. He was more resourceful than he looked. “Okay, fine.”

Their conversation was cut short as the pilot announced that they would be landing soon. They glanced at each other, Eerie locked eyes with him as he began eating the package the peanuts came in. Both of them reached the same conclusion. With more people waking up around them, it wasn’t as safe to talk about their assignment. It would have to wait until the hotel.

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

Connor's hand hesitated at the door to their shared hotel room. Knowing their mission designer, he’d half expected her to get them a room with only one bed. Jemina was great and all, but sometimes she was even more pushy about his relationship with Eerie than his own mother was. He opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, this room did have two beds. With some big business event happening in Paris at the moment, two rooms was out of the question.

“As much as I appreciate being stuck staring at your fluffy butt, can you get a move on?” Eerie’s voice brought him back into the moment. “This stuff is heavy.”

“Right, sorry.” He stood still for another moment and looked behind him. “...So you like what you see back there, huh?” His tail swished back and forth happily.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him with her foot. Snickering, he stepped forward set to work turning the bed into something almost like home. Before long, he heard her speak up again.

“...How did you manage to pack your giant banana pillow?”

“Very carefully,” Connor said in what he hoped was a cool and mysterious way. “I figured you wouldn’t let me build a nest of pillows and blankets-”

“Accurate. I don’t want to get the house keepers annoyed with us. We’ll be here for the next few weeks after all.”

“-so this is the next best thing. Thankfully for me, Nanners here is a cuddlebug.” To prove his point, Connor laid down on his bed and spooned the person-sized banana. He opened one eye to see Eerie hiding a smile with her hand. His heart melted at how cute she was in this moment.

His eyes widened at the thought. She’s your intern, he mentally chastised himself, get ahold of yourself. He quickly sat up and put his legs over the side of his bed, facing Eerie.

“So now we’re in Paris. You remember the next part?”

“Yup, some of us pay attention to the mission briefing.” Eerie rolled her eyes, but a smirk still played at her lips. “Tomorrow, we’ll be setting up our covers. Chief managed to get us some part time jobs. Apparently I’m going to be doing deliveries for a local bakery.”

Connor frowned. “That sounds delicious. Is it too late to switch?” He asked with a hopeful lilt to his voice.

“Way too late. But hey,” she said, squeezing his shoulder. “You’re going to be an English tutor for some rich kid, I’m sure they’ll keep you well fed.” She pursed her lips. “With actual people food. So no digging around in the garbage.”

Connor feigned a gasp. “Boss, this is Paris! They have the finest, most gourmet trash in the whole world. How can you ask me not to try the local cuisine?”

“It’s not- No! We’re going to actual restaurants, I’m not letting you dumpster dive while we’re here. We’re supposed to be undercover, remember? And that’s exactly the sort of thing that will draw unwanted attention.”

“You’re just using that as an excuse ‘cuz you don’t want me eating garbage.” He waggled his finger right below her nose. She gently pushed it aside, but even with that brief touch he could a vague feeling of her emotions - a mix of exasperation and amusement.

“You’re exactly right. Is it working?”

His tail flicked back and forth irritatedly behind him. “...Maybe,” he grumbled.

“Good,” she said with far too much pep for his liking. “Now, it’s been a long day and we don’t start our new jobs until tomorrow. I’m going to take a nap.”

Connor yawned. “I think I’ll do the same.”

“You slept for most of the trip here!”

“And that was very exhausting!”

Eerie stared at the ceiling for a few long moments before laughing and soon enough he joined her.

“Good night, boss.”

“Night, boss.”

[deowritessometimes]

The Last Sparks

Summary: After the events of Infinity War, The Reader and Thor attempted to mend their past to no avail. They’re in the Endgame now

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

Pairing: Thor x Reader

Warning: Reader’s death.

Extra(s): This is the Part Two to my previous Thor fic: The Last Roses

GIF Source

“So...You need me to be there... Why?” You’d spoken, eyebrow arched and keeping eye contact with Steve and Natasha.

“Well as acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D., we figured that you’d want to be there. To oversee this.” Natasha spoke.

They’d just finished explaining the plan that they had. To pull off some sort of time heist. All that after barging into the headquarters and demanding to speak to whoever was in charge.

“It all sounds like some shit from out of a comic book. Again, what do I need to be there for.”

“Some shit out of a comic book? You’ve fucked a god before, Y/n. How’s that for some shit out of a comic book.” Natasha crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.

“It sounds like I should grab my coat.” You stood from your desk, cheeks burning red.

This is how you found yourself sitting in the back of a pickup truck with Professor Hulk and some sort of Talking Raccoon. The two of you were on the way to New Asgard. From what you could tell it was somewhere in Norway.

The ride up there had you thinking back to the day that you last saw Thor.

You’d had one of the best nights of sleep of your entire career. Arms wrapped around the only boyfriend you’d ever had. The term having been used loosely, given the on-again-off-again nature of the relationship.

There was never really any other reason why the two of you separated so often except that the two of you had conflicting schedules for the most part. It gets kind of hard trying to schedule dates and meetups when there’s always some sort of crisis. Whether it was on earth or on a completely different planet entirely. It didn’t exactly help that you couldn’t go with him to Asgard.

A groan came from your lips. Expecting a grumble or a shuffle in response, instead, you received silence. Opening your eyes, there was a bundle of sheets where the God should’ve been.

“I don’t know why I expected it to be different this time.” You spoke aloud to no one in particular. With a sigh, you’d rolled out of bed and entered the kitchen, the first thing you had noticed was the missing vase.

In place of the said vase was a crudely written note.

‘ Dear, Y/n

I’m needed elsewhere.

Thor. ’

Some note. You scoffed at the words and rolled your eyes. The nerve of that man.

You’d prepared your breakfast and waited for the entire day for the god to return. Hopefully, the two of you could finally bunker down somewhere and actually start a relationship.

But he never came back. Not for the entire five years.

On the ride up there you saw the most beautiful field of flowers. It spanned for miles. “Hey, Banner. Watch this.” You smiled as you grabbed the smallest pebble, and threw it into the field.

Just as you expected, it exploded out into a brilliance of colors.

“Woah... I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. Where did they...”

“They’re native to Asgard. We’re close.” You cut him off, sighing softly and staring off into the field

“You sure it’s a good idea to bring him? I heard that he and Thor had a rocky past.” Rocket asked, being cautious enough to whisper.

“What? No, Y/n and Thor are perfect for each other,” Bruce waved his larger hand. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to see each other again.”

Ten minutes later, you were standing in the little fishing town of Tønsberg New Asgard.

“Valkyrie!” Banner exclaimed happily.

The woman looked at You and Rocket briefly before greeting the green giant.

You had different plans. This was supposed to be, by no means, a get-together. You crossed your arms and with a huff, you waited for the two to catch up.

After all, if it was indeed a working time machine, then what’s the rush?

“He’s over there. He only comes out for his... refills.” Valkyrie gestured to the large building behind her and to the large brown barrels and boxes labeled BEER

“So what? He’s an alcoholic now?” You scoffed, counting the pile of boxes. “I thought you guys couldn’t get drunk off of Midgardian alcohol.”

“So did I, until he started buying them by the barrel.” Valkyrie shrugged, going back to whatever she was doing.

You took this as your cue to leave the three behind, being the first to enter the man cave of a building. You cringed at the stench in the place.

“Jesus... smells like something died in here.” Rocket murmured, cringing as well.

You traversed through the narrow hallway, careful not to tip over the mountain of beer.

“Thor!?” Banner yelled, his voice echoing through the home.

“Are you here about the cable?” The very changed man hadn’t even bothered to see who it was, just gesturing to the black box. “It’s been out for days now...”

“Hold on just a second. Did you just ask if we’re here to fix your damn cable?” You’d asked incredulously.

“oh... Y/n!,” Thor finally turned to see who it was that entered his home. “And you brought the boys! How have you guys been?” He went over and motioned to hug you.

You’d pushed his chest back. “Don’t fucking hug me. Is this what you've been doing that was so damn important that you couldn’t even wait to tell me?”

“Okay... maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring him.” Banner whispered to Rocket, watching as you began to scold the god.

Thor seemed to wince as you ranted and embarrassed him in front of his friends. “And what the hell is that smell? Did something die in here?”

“Y/n... I can explain... Just calm down a second.” Thor smiled, taking you over to the couch and placing you between Korg and Miek. “Why don’t we talk about it over a beer...hopefully, you’re not in a rush?” The god proceeded to open the bottle with Storm Breaker, the weapon sitting by the television.

“Well, that depends on what you think a rush is...” Rocket started, mumbling to himself. Though, his voice was drowned out by your much louder tone.

“Don’t tell me to calm down. I get to be mad at you.” Your voice jumped a few octaves as you rose from your seat. “You left me for five years. Five fucking years”

“I understand that Y/n, but I-”

“No, I understand why you did it.” You’d cut him off again. “What I’m mad about is the fact that not once did you come back to check on me. Not once did you see how I was doing or try to explain what was happening with me.” Y/n paced back and forth, cracking their knuckles.

“Y/n... I-” Thor started, licking his lips and shifting in his seat.

You took a deep breath, “This is not the time nor the place for this...” You glanced at Bruce, knowing he could probably explain things much better than you could.

Taking the hint, he stepped up and cleared his throat. “We didn’t come here to catch up, Thor, we have a way to undo what Thanos did...”

“Don’t... say that name.” Thor stood, grabbing a fistful of Banner’s shirt.

-

Soon, you found yourself standing in the avengers compound. Everyone stood in front of you, wearing their red and white suits together.

“So... you guys mean to tell me that all I have to do is press this button twice?” You asked, watching them go up to the platform.

“Well, yeah but its also it’s not that simple. You quite possibly have the most important job. You press the button once. Wait ten seconds Then bring us back by pressing the button again.” Tony explained. “You see, we need you here because...”

Your eyes wandered up to the stage, finding Thor’s own. The exchange lasted only a few seconds before you faded back into the conversation.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Stark.” You slammed your hand down on the button, watching them disappear.

You’d waited ten seconds and then brought them back.

“Welcome back. I trust you hand an enjoyable trip down memory lane?” You smiled, bounding up the stairs to greet them.

The thudding of Clint’s knees against the glass floor would never be forgotten. Nor the tears that were spilled. Not even the rage that festered and boiled.

You’d been the first to leave after the news came. Clearing your throat, you broke the somber silence. “I’ve got to go do something.”

You’d quickly left, finding some random room to cry in.

The tears raced down your cheeks the minute you were out of sight. ‘This wasn’t the time to cry’ you would tell yourself. You had to pull yourself together. Though you said this, you still found yourself unable to get up from the bed.

A soft knock on the door.

“Hey,” Thor said, running a hand through his locks. He hadn’t known what to say. Especially since he knew that you weren’t okay. “I’m, uh, still worthy.” He smiled briefly, twirling the hammer in his hand.

You’d sat up to look him, though, after your initial glance, you couldn’t bring your gaze back up to meet his eyes. You’d barely managed to look at the hammer in his hand. “That’s good. At least you’re still the King of Asgard. Y’know, like officially.” You’d sniffled, wiping your face before looking up to meet the 

“I think this would be the perfect time to explain myself... Hm?” Thor forced a smile, before letting his face fall.

“This should be good...” His words brought your eyes racing to meet his own heterochromic ones. 

“Well, I guess, to begin with... I never actually forgot about you... I know it sounds bad, but I’m mad that I didn’t forget. It would have made staying away easier for me..” Thor looked down at the hammer in his hand and twirled it absentmindedly. “I needed to move on... I still need to move on. I have to be what I was supposed to be. The King of Asgard and God of thunder.” 

Thor suddenly ceased the motion, the twirling stopping. He’d gripped the handle so hard that his knuckles whitened. You were sure that if it was Storm Breaker in his hands instead, the war ax would have snapped under the pressure. “I tried so hard... but every time I close my eyes, I see him. I see him with my brother’s lifeless body in his hands and sitting on his throne of corpses, laughing. Sitting atop all of the lives that he’s taken and laughing down at the man who let him do it.” 

“Thor... It’s not yo-”

“All I see is how I failed in the past. The bodies of Heimdall and the rest of my people...” At this point, his voice began to croak and crumble... “And then I start to how I might fail in the future... I see him on his throne, stepping and sitting on the bodies of my comrades. Then he stands and grabs you by the throat and makes me beg for your life as he squeezes your last breath from your body.” Thor spoke it all within one breath. He gasped with a brief pause, eyebrows drawing together.

“I... I can’t let him have you...” Thor looked up at you for the first time, eyes glassy and pink. “I won't let him have you," Thor bellowed, eyes cast back downward. "Not like everything else I love." He whispered the last bit.

You couldn’t help but furrow your brows in both confusion and disbelief. “Thor I can take care of mysel-” You placed a tender hand on top of his.

Thor wiped his nose on his fingerless glove before sniffling. “I’ve made up my mind Y/n. There’s nothing you could say to change it.” Thor stood and walked towards the door. “The gauntlet is almost ready. You should be there when it happens.” Thor left without so much as another glance.

It took a second for the SHIELD agent to recollect himself, from both the passive dumping of his on-again-off-again boyfriend and the death of his beloved friend.

You seemed to have walked in on the right moment because the most important question had been thrown into the air. 

“Who is gonna put it on?” The talking raccoon asked.

“I’ll do it.” Thor jumped at the opportunity to do the honors, taking long strides towards the glove.

“Woah, Woah, Woah, Point Break. Slow down a bit... We’re talking about enough power to annihilate the entire universe here. Do you really think that it’s the best idea for you to handle it?” Tony stepped in, pressing a firm hand into Thor’s chest. 

“Obviously, I’m the strongest avenger. Anyone else would die.” He insisted, grumbling. “Just standing here isn’t going to fix anything. Just let me do it!” He hissed.

Everyone stood dumbfounded at the pleading tone that made its way into the room and the only thing that stopped him was your tenderly placed hand on his shoulder. 

He stepped away and allowed Banner to take the glove without any objection.

“Everyone ready?” Banner asked, ready to slip on the gauntlet and before everyone’s silent confirmations, those with power began protecting those without. 

You and Clint stepped behind Tony and his Nano-tech shield while Thor stepped in front of the Raccoon. Ant-Man and his suit. Rhodey and his. Cap and his shield. 

Professor Hulk nearly had the gauntlet on until Thor spoke up. “Wait, wait wait wait...” He hissed.

Everyone let out the breath they’d been holding. 

“What is it, Thor?” Banner asked impatiently, starting to sweat

“Y/n, come over here and stand behind me....” He spoke, waving you over.

“You cannot be serious right now.” You hissed. 

“I am. Now hurry up so we can get on with it.” Thor snapped back.

The burning of your cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by the group, however, you did as requested by the god. “Fine.” You huffed, now standing behind the man. 

“Banner. Do your thing.” At your queue, Bruce slid the gauntlet onto his hand.

The damage was done immediately, as the fibers of the man’s clothing were singed by the overwhelming power of the stones. You watched as colorful streams of power surged through his arm and to his neck, bringing the man to his knees. He grunted, trying to focus on his objective.

“Are you alright?” You questioned at the same time that Thor began shouting for the man to take off the damned thing before it caused too much damage to his arm.

“Take it off, take it off!” The man in front of you hissed, in fear for his friend.

Nevertheless, Bruce powered through the pain, managing to snap his fingers before his hulking form fell to the floor with a thud. He was quickly surrounded to be tended to.

“Did... Did it work?” You dared to question, though, your confirms were solidified by a phone call from Nick Fury. 

You placed a tender hand on Thor’s back, stepping out from behind your godly shield to take your call. 

Stepping into the corridor, you put the phone to your ear. Before you could get a greeting out, the ceiling caved in all around you.

Thor found himself pushing the heavy remnants of a ceiling off of himself and Steve, both of them looking out onto the newly flattened landscape, as well as the gigantic warship hanging in the sky above them, threatening to launch another devastating attack."Thank you, Thor..." Steven murmured, clambering to his own two feet. "Is everyone okay?" He spoke through the coms.

"Y/n... Where's Y/n?" Thor yelled, racing off to find you.

You came to surrounded by rubble all around you. When you tried to stand, you found that you couldn’t because of the debris that pinned you to the ground.

Trying your hardest to push away the rubble that was laid across your lower body, your face scrunched up in pain. Your eyes brimmed with tears as you tried and tried to free yourself. "Come on... Please!" You shouted to yourself before Thor landed nearby.

"Y/n!" Thor shouted, running over and taking quick note of your condition before crouching and attempting to lift the beams. "Hold on!"

With a grunt, he slowly started to lift the concrete. Until it snapped, most of it falling back down onto your body, making you cry out in anguish, the tears now flowing freely. "Fuck!"

He'd quickly dropped the large obstruction and stepped away, getting more and more distressed by the second. "No... no, no, no..." He repeated, crouching down and taking your hand between his two. "I-I'll have Banner come help you. Yeah... that'll work."

The second his hand tried to slip out from yours, you gripped his harder.  "Thor... Just leave me here and focus on Thanos right now." You squinted through the pain and forced a smile. "Kill the bastard and then come back, yeah?" 

Thor adverted his eyes, contemplating your words before turning back and mouthing something. He kissed your forehead and ran off towards the fight. 

You watched his figure clamber to a stand before fleeing to the battle. It was then that it became apparent that your blood was pooling underneath your body. A cold shiver ran through your body, taking one final look at his bright red cape before everything dissolved into darkness.

[shellheadtm-a]

i think what bothers me the most - over all - looking back at the mcu is the idea that it tries to be too realistic.  like this rich idiot flies around in a robot suit he built, this guy is basically a defrosted pack of chicken tenders from the 1940s, this other guy gets green and big when he gets mad, there’s a woman that literally punches you with the power of the sun, and can’t forget the literal norse gods, talking raccoon and tree, and the aliens.  but lets grope for reasons to tether and hamper it too closely to the real world bc you shouldn’t be able to do any of that!!!  let’s water it down because it’s too weird!!!

no karen, they’re based in comics that literally began for the most part (except cap) in the 60s.  during the space race/early atomic age.  when life was starting to seem like science fiction anyway.  it’s supposed to be literally insane.  that’s part of the fun.  suspension of disbelief and all that.  i am all here for realistic superheroes and dealing with the emotional and physical fallout of what they do day in and day out, but you still gotta remember the fun of superheroes is that they always come back, they always get back up, and the science doesn’t matter.

anyway, like, you got shield thawing cap out by the book, realistically or whatever, and i guess that’s logical (which is the post that spawned this it got me thinking)?  but let’s remember for a minute that the baby comic avengers:

+ found some body floating in the ocean and had hank (giant/ant-man) drag it into their submarine just because.  what were they gonna do with a dead body, we just don’t know, they didn’t even have a place to keep one.  logic was not the babyvengers strong point which is a talk for another time. + slapped said frozen body down on a table and just left it there.  like.  you know, the pack of chicken tenders sitting on the counter for dinner later trying to thaw. + discover said body is captain america!!! as it thaws bc they can see his cap uniform under his trashed army uniform. + no one freaks out when they realize this pack of chicken tenders is still breathing.  the lady that shrinks down super tiny and flies says so. + when he wakes up the first thing he fucking sees is a goddamn red and gold robot, and the first thing he hears is the goddamn robot’s robot voice.  and it’s cool, it’s fine, he saw some weird shit during the war, too. + the thing that gets his ass to stand down so these roughhousing morons (cap, hank, tony, thor) don’t punch a hole in the goddamn pressurized tube they’re in underwater is jan suddenly growing out of nowhere like a disapproving mom. + when they get back to new york cap’s the last one off the submarine and when he comes topside, the avengers have been turned to stone by this alien’s weird gun and he’s just like huh.  weird statues but okay.  and is also convinced this is all a dream anyway and proceeds to have adventures of his own, including getting shot. + they literally punch the ruler of atlantis in the face a few times just because (sorry not sorry namor). + and have known steve a grand total of like a day or two when they invite him into their club house.  + later he and the red and gold robot become best fucking friends even though it could be anybody under that mask or no one at all because for all anyone knew iron man was literally a robot. + no one thought it was super weird some super rich nice guy was absolutely willing to fund an entire superhero team including room and board (in his own house!!!) for absolutely no return in it for himself just because his bodyguard was on the team, even though he and his bodyguard were only ever in the room together like twice - enough even the papers get suspicious - and that he and his bodyguard were the same height when taking into account the jetboots, the same build (iron man’s armor was polarized steel mesh at the time - that’s all tony), the same eyes, and the same mannerisms and speech patterns, but not a damn soul ever put two and two together until said rich guy got his armor taken and was standing there basically naked but for an itty bitty red thong during a mission.

it’s stupid.  it’s crazy.  it literally has not changed in over 60 years.  not the scenarios.  not the dialogue.  everything in every retelling is exactly as it was because it’s ridiculous, iconic, and important.  it’s not supposed to be necessarily believable, it’s supposed to be fun, and trying to make it too realistic, i think, has hampered the really fun stuff.  i’m deeply sorry the mcu never got villains like the unicorn or paste pot pete, or stilt man.  the wrecking crew.  serpent society.  whirlwind.  blizzard.  the fucking melter.  because it’s cheesy and stupid and ridiculous and hokey as hell but it’s so much fun???  dramatics come standard with comics, it’s a feature, not a bug.

[onelonecritter]

FOP: Fairy Fallout Pt.4

Previous (X)

Act IV

After Chloe’s new plan was set, the previous scene transitioned with a fade to a timecard that simply read “Friday, after school…” before the fourth scene began with another shot outside of the elementary school, and the bell rang to signal the end of the day before kids came flooding out of the double doors.  While the children were running and cheering, eager to enjoy their weekend, Chloe was shown among the crowd walking with a rather concerned expression on her face; Cosmo and Wanda’s faces were visible on their pink and green object disguises, but they appeared more puzzled than anything.  Once all the kids in the background were gone, the shot followed Chloe as she walked across the courtyard to get to her bus, and the echoing voice of her conscience could be heard as she questioned why Timmy hadn’t shown up to class that day.  She knew that Timmy was acting strangely during the week, but all he seemed to do was ignore her, and distance himself from everyone.  Once Chloe was on the bus and took a seat, her eyes quickly shifted over to glance at Chester, A.J., and Elmer as they talked amongst each other.

Their voices were muted as Chloe’s thoughts recalled how they asked her what the deal was with Timmy, and how she wasn’t able to tell them, so she was forced to feign ignorance on the matter.  And when she asked the same to them, all of Timmy’s friends just explained to her that they left him after he broke down in front of them one day after school; they went to keep him company, but he grew unreasonably kurt, and gave them the cold shoulder since then.  Chloe frowned sadly, knowing that Timmy likely didn’t mean to push everyone away.  It just wasn’t like him to go out of his way to make everyone stay away from him, and keep himself isolated for so long.  Eventually, Chloe’s thoughts were cut off by the bus driver, who barked at Chloe that the bus arrived at her stop. 

Instinctively, she gave a quick apology to the bus driver before exiting the bus in a hurry, thanking the driver who simply rolled his eyes and grumbled as he pulled the lever to close the doors behind her.  Once the bus drove off, Chloe turned to face the Turner house, and puffed up her chest as she took a deep breath.  It was time.  If Timmy was absent from school, then she doubted he’d be anywhere else except his own room; the last place he could ever feel a sense of safety from the outside world.  Bracing herself for the worst, Chloe paced up the walkway that led up to the front door, and hesitantly gave it a few knocks before waiting patiently for someone to answer.

It wasn’t long until the front door opened to reveal Timmy’s dad, who cheerfully greeted Chloe with his usual toothy smile.  At first, Chloe seemed taken off guard from seeing Timmy’s dad instead of Timmy himself, but maintained her composure.  With her usual respectful tone, Chloe explained to Timmy’s dad that she needed to speak privately with Timmy, and asked if he was available.  This suddenly wiped the chipper smile off of the man’s face, and Timmy’s dad scratched his head before telling Chloe that he hasn’t seen Timmy all day; he swore that he thought Timmy was at school that day, and was absolutely shocked when Chloe revealed that he didn’t even show up to class.  Timmy’s dad became visibly distraught by the news of his own son suddenly disappearing, rushing back into the house without shutting the front door to question his wife on the possible whereabouts of their child.

Instead of waiting in the doorway, Chloe took the opportunity to rush into the house after Timmy’s dad, and entered the kitchen where the married couple were frantically trying to figure out what happened.

“You’re his parents, didn’t he say anything to you guys?” Chloe asked, practically begging for answers as she began to slightly panic.  “He’s been acting so upset lately, haven’t either of you noticed?!” She exclaimed in disbelief, no longer fully in control of her emotions at this point.  

The final straw was when both of Timmy’s parents exchanged puzzled glances, and their expressions turned blank as they tried to remember anything strange, but they could only recall the night when they came home to Timmy bawling uncontrollably.  Aside from that brief mention, neither of them seemed to have any idea that their son was in an inescapable rut, and could only answer Chloe’s question by claiming that they were out of the house during the times Timmy came home from school during that week.  They also admitted that neither would really try to talk to him once they came home because their son would always be curled up in his bed by the time they got around to checking up on him.  This display of obliviousness was enough to aggravate Chloe, and nearly scold Timmy’s parents for being so negligent, but she held her tongue long enough to storm out of the house without another word.  The moment she closed the front door behind her, Chloe took another deep breath and held it before opening up the flap of Wanda’s messenger bag disguise, and let out a muffled scream of anger into the bag as Wanda visibly winced at the noise.  

It was a brief moment, but Chloe was quick to apologize to Wanda after she calmed down again before breaking into a sprint down the walkway, and down the street.  For a split second, Cosmo and Wanda generated arms out of their object disguises just to wave their wands and transform into a couple of dogs so they could run alongside their godchild, and were quick to ask what Chloe had in mind next.  

“We need to find Timmy, and fast.” She simply answered without slowing her pace as she took out her phone to begin dialing a few numbers.  

But before she made the call, Chloe instructed her fairy godparents to split up, and search anywhere they knew Timmy frequently hid to escape his problems aside from his own room.  Without protest, both fairies dutifully went on their way, and teleported out of the scene to let Chloe get to work on her own.  The sequence transitioned into a montage of Chloe contacting as many of Timmy’s friends and allies as she could, pleading for them to join her in her search to find her neighbor before switching into different shots of said search party members scouring all over Dimmsdale.  Some groups even went so far as to look for Timmy in rather absurd places, such as the town sewers, only to get scared away by a giant alligator popping out of the water to roar ferociously at them.  Chester and his group went searching through dumpsters, but some of the group members were attacked and chased off by angry raccoons that were inside the piles of garbage.  Finally, the last group was shown trudging through the thick woods before screaming as they fell off the edge of a shallow cliff.  

After the compilation of the search parties failing to find any sign of Timmy, the scene switched over to a shot of Chloe as she stared out of her bedroom window up at the night sky above.  The tone of the scene changed from suspenseful yet slightly comedic, leading to a more hopeless and glum setting.  From inside her room, Chloe could see the flashing red and blue glow of the cop cars parked outside of Timmy’s house.  The cops had been there hours after she returned home at dusk, and from what she could tell, they would be there late into the night.  Through Chloe’s point of view, the shot switched from the police cars to the kitchen window where a glimpse of Timmy’s parents was shown; the couple were in absolute hysterics that Timmy hadn’t returned home yet, holding each other as they wept.

It lingered there for a moment to show the cops doing their best to console the parents, but to no avail.  The focus switched back to third-person as Chloe leaned against her window sill, resting her elbows on it while letting out a heavy sigh.  Wanda’s hand rested on Chloe’s shoulder, prompting her to turn away from the window and look up at the pink haired fairy with a disheartened expression.

“Do you think we’ll ever find him?” Chloe softly asked, her generally cheerful pitch reduced to an exhausted, hopeless drawl.

Wanda’s expression remained somber as she patted Chloe’s shoulder, genuinely unsure of what would become of Timmy Turner now that things were looking much bleaker than before.  After a moment of hesitant silence, however, Wanda managed to find her voice as the scene came to a close with a shot of the silhouettes of Cosmo, Wanda, and Chloe in her bedroom window together.

“We can only hope for the best.” Wanda could be heard saying as the shot slowly panned up towards the moon, and the stars in the dark blue skies before doing a final fade to black.

END.

[the-awkward-outlaw]

Second Chances - Ch. 6

The Coming of the Storm 

Warnings: swearing, angst, blood, violence

Word count: ~9650

Two weeks have gone by since your arrival to Horseshoe Overlook. The camp is now up and fully functional. When you haven’t been in camp helping Grimshaw or Pearson, you and Arthur have been out hunting. While most of the meat you get from hunting goes to Pearson, you and the outlaw often stop in Valentine to sell the pelts and horns of the bucks, rams and elk you’ve killed. 

You head into Valentine now on Rain with Arthur and his paint horse, who he still hasn’t named, both loaded with pelts. You wrinkle your nose at the heavy odor of livestock animals all throughout the town. For some reason, the roads are always muddy. The people seem simple enough though. You’re sure if you had to go out robbing any of them, it would be easy enough. 

You both bring your horses to a stop near the butcher’s outside the Saint’s Hotel and sell him your pelts. Arthur counts his money quickly, then declares he’s going to go into the shop and buy a few things. You agree to meet him in the saloon next to the shop.

You trudge your way through the thick mud and up the steps into the saloon. Since it’s late in the morning, it’s relatively empty, except for a couple of men at the poker table, and a couple more scattered throughout. One of them in the back near the barber looks like a trapper. He’s wearing a mountain of furs with a raccoon hat, his face covered by a wild, tangled beard. 

You go to the bartender and order a shot of whisky while you wait for Arthur. Several moments go by, and the doors swing open. You turn to see if it’s him, but instead it’s two young men. From their clothes and the mud that splatters them, you’re sure they’re ranch hands. Probably brought in some livestock to sell and are here for a drink before they return to wherever they came from. They spot you on your lonesome leaning against the bar. 

“Well, looky here, George,” one of them nudges the other. He stares at you, and the look in his eye makes you feel anxious. “Ain’t seen a fine thing like this in some time!”

The last word you would use to describe yourself would be ‘fine’, seeing as you haven’t had a proper bath in days. Your hair’s dishevelled, and your shirt and jeans are covered in dirt from hunting. You’re sure you don’t smell the best either. 

“You’re sure right, Jeremiah!” the other one says, looking towards you as well. They both approach you, smiling.

“Hey there, little lady,” the one named Jeremiah says, leaning against the bar next to you as you shoot back your drink. “How much for me to get one afternoon with ya?”

You glare at him. “I ain’t a workin’ girl, mister. You want one of them, feast your eyes on the women over there,” you motion to the two girls standing at the back of the saloon, fanning themselves.

Jeremiah takes a step back to look at them, then he leans towards you again. “Who said I thought you was a workin’ girl?”

“I ain’t for sale, mister!” you snarl, turning to face him head on. “And I sure ain’t spending an afternoon with you, money or not.”

“Hey, that ain’t no way for a girl to talk,” George says, getting closer to you. 

“Well, apparently I have to, since neither of you seem to understand the meanin’ of the word no.”

George’s face darkens and you can tell he’s thinking of hitting you. It’s a face you saw many times on your husband. You prepare to brace yourself.

“Easy there, fellers,” Arthur says, walking up from behind them, coming to stand next to you. His brow is heavy over his eyes, darkening them. “If you really want her, yer gonna have to go through me.”

The two men size Arthur up; he’s much larger than them. 

“Ah, she ain’t worth it,” Jeremiah shoots, waving his hand at you. They both turn away and start talking to the bartender.

You thank Arthur and then notice he’s wearing a new outfit. Black button-up shirt under a stamped red leather vest and a dark green shotgun coat. Dark jeans tucked into black leather half-chaps and black boots. You avert your eyes from his chest, which is slightly exposed under the shirt since he’s left the top two buttons undone and his collar popped up. He still wears his old hat, though.

The two of you turn and order more drinks from the bartender, the two men who had just been harassing you leaving the saloon. You order two more shots. “His is on me,” you say.

“Nah, ya ain’t gotta buy my drinks, Y/N,” he tries to argue.

“Arthur, please. Let me do this for you, since you got rid of those guys.”

He drinks his shot, grunting at the burn. “What they want, anyways?”

“A paid afternoon,” you drink quickly. 

“Those sons of bitches. Glad I got here when I did, sounds like they weren’t too keen on leavin’ ya be.”

“Pretty sure you’re right. Nice outfit, by the way.”

He chuckles. “Ah, it was time. Been makin’ enough money from all the huntin’ we been doin’ the last few days.”

“Well, I like it.”

You can’t tell if he’s blushing or not, but he hides his face with the tip of his hat. The two of you have a couple more drinks, then Arthur orders the both of you some lamb’s fry.

“Ya ain’t gotta buy my food, Arthur, I have enough for it myself.”

“I want to. S’too late now,” he smirks at you. God, he could be so stubborn.

You both take to a table and eat. You’re grateful to finally have a meal you don’t either have to cook yourself or that comes out of Pearson’s pot. 

The two of you finish and walk out of the saloon. You look to the hotel and see a sign offering baths. Your skin suddenly begins to itch, as though your entire body is hungry for some hot water.

“I’m going to go get myself cleaned up. Meet you at camp?”

“Ya sure ya don’t want me to wait for ya?”

“Arthur, you don’t have to if you don’t wanna. I ain’t makin’ you do nothin’.”

“S’a’right, I’ll wait. I was gonna go look at horses anyways.”

You glance to his paint hitched outside of the hotel. 

“What’s wrong with that one?”

Arthur looks at it as well. “Well, nothin’, but it just don’t feel right to be ridin’ a horse from Mrs. Adler’s home. I talked to her earlier, she said I could do whatever I want with it. Still, I might get a different one.”

You nod your head and go into the hotel, paying 25 cents for a bath. You head into the washroom and sink into the long tub, moaning audibly as the hot water laps at your skin. 

While your scrubbing your hair, a knock comes to the door. For a second, your stomach clenches at the thought of it maybe being Arthur, but then a woman’s voice rings through the door.

“Need someone to take over for you?” she asks. You breathe out heavily.

“Nah thanks, I’m doin’ okay.”

“No worries! Just doin’ my job.”

You quickly scrub the rest of your body and then sit a few moments, letting your skin soak up the water. You finally decide it’s time to get out and stand up, drying yourself off. You head out of the room and down the hall and see Arthur’s in the lobby, sitting down in a chair.

“What are you doin’?” you ask. “Thought you was lookin’ at horses?”

“I was, but they ain’t got anythin’ really worth lookin’ at right now. Stable master says he’s short on horses to buy for now.”

“Ya didn’t have to wait here for me, though.”

“Ya always this bossy, miss?”

For a second you stare hard at him, then the both of you start laughing as you leave the hotel. You mount your horses and head back to camp. 

When you get back, Hosea’s sitting on a rock holding a huge, scoped rifle. He calls Arthur over to him. You hitch Rain next to a massive black shire, who snorts almost angrily as you dismount your horse. You give him a wide berth, not wanting to be kicked. 

You head on over to Pearson and give him the things you didn’t sell, including a perfect elk pelt. Grimshaw heads over to you, huffing.

“Glad to see your back, Ms. Y/L/N, but I need you to go help the other girls.”

She leads you to the tented wagons where the others sit. You see the three girls gathered around the canvas that usually covers Hosea’s, Charles’s and Bill’s bedrolls, which seems to have split nearly all the way down the middle. It had rained hard last night, so you’re not surprised the water tore it. 

You pass Arthur and Hosea, standing near the black shire. Arthur mounts the tall horse.

“Ya really gonna ride that thing?” you ask him.

“Gonna give it a try, anyways.”

“Don’t worry,” Hosea calls. “He’s as sweet as a kitten as long as I’m around.”

You chuckle at the face Arthur makes, you can tell Hosea hasn’t given him any confidence. 

“You goin’ huntin’ again?” you ask as he pats the horse.

“Hosea says there’s a giant bear near some lake. We’re gonna try to get it.”

“Okay, be safe.”

The two men wave at you as they turn their horses and head down the trail, yelling at Lenny that they might be gone a few days.

It’s early the next morning, and you’re on guard duty. You were set on it last night just after sunset by Dutch. You wait patiently, yawning widely, for the next person to come and relieve you. You hear two horses approaching. Hosea comes up the trail on Silver Dollar, and behind him Arthur on a brand new horse. He stops the horse next to you.

She’s huge; an iron gray Ardennes war horse. She flicks her black tail. 

“What ya think?” Arthur asks, leaning down on the horn of his saddle.

“What happened to the shire?” 

“Ah, stable master was offerin’ a lot of money for that kind of horse, so I sold him. Someone had just brought this girl in, so I figured what the hell?”

You let her sniff your hand and then offer her a beet. You pat her head softly. “She have a name?”

“Artemis.” 

“Pretty.”

Just then, Charles comes towards you. “I’m here to take your spot.”

You nod appreciatively, offering him the repeater. Just as you’re about to go back into camp, Arthur calls your attention.

“Lemme give you a ride,” he offers you his hand. 

At first you think of saying no, but then you decide to take him up on his offer. You reach up, grasping his arm. He heaves you up easily as though you weigh nothing. You swing your leg over Artemis’ wide hind quarters, and Arthur pushes her into a steady trot. 

He hitches the grey horse to the post and dismounts, raising his arms up to help you off. Even though you don’t need it, you oblige. He sets you down easily, smiling at you. You thank him, then stifle another yawn.

“Think I’m gonna go get some rest,” you say. “I hate overnight guarding.”

“Sounds good. Lemme know if you need anything,” the outlaw says, heading over to Pearson’s wagon. 

Just as you’re passing Dutch’s large tent to go to your own, you see him sitting under the canvas canopy next to his tent. He snaps his book shut as he hears you approaching. 

“Ah, Ms. Y/L/N. Off guard duty, I see.”

“Yes, sir,” you say, stopping. 

He stands up and walks over to you.

“Seems like you’re pretty happy here with us. I must admit, I had my doubts about you back at Bison Point.”

He stops, you wonder if he’s waiting for you to talk.

“Yes, sir. I’m pretty happy here.”

“Good. Well, I think you’re debt to us has been settled. Pearson says you and Arthur bring in almost more food than everyone else combined.”

You smile at him. “You mean I could leave?”

He sighs heavily. “If that’s what you really wanted, as long as I know you’d never tell anyone about us.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that, sir. I don’t want to leave. I ain’t been this happy in years.”

He straightens up, smiling. “Well, good. It’s been nice havin’ you ‘round. I can tell Arthur appreciates your company.”

You hide your face with your hat, trying to hide the blush. “I’ve enjoyed his.”

“And Hosea. He likes you. Says you’re a good kid.”

“Well, I know a few people who’d disagree, ‘cept they’re all dead.”

Dutch chuckles deeply. “Well, I’m glad you’ve found a place among us, miss.”

He walks away, going back to his canopy and opening his book again. You head off to your tent, feeling happy and light. 

The next day, you’re standing next to Karen by her tent, enjoying a cup of coffee in the early morning. You spot Arthur strolling past, carrying a hay bale to the horses. He tips his hat towards the two of you when he sets it down and then approaches one of the wagons where Uncle can be seen sitting beside it, snoozing. 

“Ugh, I need to get out of this place,” Karen complains. “You been lucky Arthur’s takin’ ya out huntin’ so much. I swear, I hear that woman’s voice one more time…”

You smile and laugh, taking a sip of your coffee when you overhear Arthur and Uncle talking about heading into Valentine. Karen must hear, too, she starts to approach him. Mary-Beth and Tilly follow a step or two behind her. 

“Hey, if yer takin’ the old man into town, ya mind takin’ us, too?” she asks him as he lights a cigarette.

“Why? What you got goin’ on?”

“Nothin’.”

“We just need to get out,” says Mary-Beth. You finish your coffee and walk over to the small group. “Karen’s ‘bout ready to murder Grimshaw.”

Arthur huffs. “Can Ms. Grimshaw spare you?”

“Can Ms. Grimshaw spare you?” Karen mocks. “What’s happened to you, Arthur? Four, young healthy women wanna get out robbin’ and yer worried about domestic chores? Let’s go!”

“Ya got me,” he smiles. 

The others celebrate for a moment, climbing into the wagon, you following. You swear Arthur winks at you when he passes you. He climbs into the front with old Uncle and whips the horses. They begin moving down the trail, and Uncle suggests a song, to which the other girls start singing but you’ve never heard before, so you just listen.

As the trail approaches the train tracks, a stage coach drawn by two large horses speeds along it ahead of your wagon. You can tell the driver’s lost control. Sure enough, a moment later the horses break loose and dash off the trail. 

Arthur pulls the wagon to a stop and walks up to the man, who asks him if he’ll help and retrieve one of the horses. You smile fondly at him when he walks away, grabbing the spooked horse and guiding it back to the man.

“Thank you kindly, sir!” the man says. “You are a gentleman!” “Not really,” Arthur jokes. “I was just tryin’ to impress the women.”

Arthur gets back into the wagon and carries you on your way to Valentine. He drives it delicately down the main road and stops it outside the stable. 

“A’right, I need to go to the store,” Uncle says, climbing off the wagon. 

“Right. Me and the others will get to work,” Karen says, beckoning you and the other two to follow her. You’re not entirely sure what she means by get to work, so you catch up to her and ask.

“We just scope out the town, see who we can rob,” she says urgently, leading you to the saloon. “Either you can do it sneaky or you can do favors.”

You didn’t like the idea of doing favors, so instead you decide to see who you can potentially rob. When you were on your own during the past year, you’d occasionally rob people, but your targets back then were always lone men on the trails. Not in the middle of town. 

Karen and Tilly approach two men near the bar who seem to be drunk. Mary-Beth follows a girl who looks like she’s a maid out the doors. You spot, towards the back, the two men who had been harrassing you a couple of days ago. Jeremiah and George. You can tell by their stance and loud, carrying voices they’re drunk as they flirt and stumble around the saloon girls. You decide on an angle to work.

Approaching them, you put on a friendly face. George looks up and sees you through bloodshot eyes. “‘Ey, if it ain’t you! Ya come back to take us up on our offer?” He practically punches Jeremiah in the arm, guiding his attention to you. The other man turns and sees you.

“Well, well. Fancy an afternoon?” he laughs loudly. He’s looking a little green in the face. You can tell by the faces of the saloon girls they would rather be somewhere else.

“Listen, you two,” you say politely. “Why don’t you follow me outside to the back? Maybe we can get properly introduced?”

You wink, trying to suppress a shudder. The two men smile and stumble as they follow you out the back door of the saloon. You find the yard has a waist-high fence and a couple of chickens. No one else is around. Good. 

The two men trip over their feet a little as they step out onto the dirt. You turn and smile innocently at them.

“Well, little lady,” Jeremiah burps. “Ya ready to get things started right?”

You laugh a little, then you pull out your sawed-off shotgun and point it at them. 

“I doubt you two morons will remember this, but I think it’s time you learn that when a girl tells you no, she means no.”

The two men start to holler, but they’re so drunk you’re not worried about them attracting attention. They start trying to get away from you, but they end up tripping over each other. You swing your arm towards George’s face, slapping him with your gun, knocking him out. Jeremiah then promptly vomits over himself, falling down. You kick him in the head for good measure. You bend down and search their pockets quickly, being particularly careful with Jeremiah’s clothes.

You pull out several dollars and a hand-written note. Unfortunately, you can’t read it, so you stuff it into your pocket along with the money, then dash off to the main road. 

You look around and see Arthur and Uncle sitting outside the store, waiting for you and the others. You approach the two; Arthur greets you warmly as you sit next to him. He hands you a journal.

“Here, this is for you,” he says. Your chest warms at the idea of him getting you something.

“What’s this?”

“Journal. For ya to practice yer writin’ in. Figured ya could use it.”

You caress the dark, stamped leather of the cover. A pencil, slipped in a tight leather strip, keeps the journal’s flap closed. You slide it out and flick through the thick pages. 

“Thank you, Arthur,” you say warmly. He nods to you. 

A distraction comes in the form of Mary-Beth dashing up the steps. “Fellers, I just got a tip about a job. Posed as a maid in this big fancy house, usually works. Anyways, these two men were talkin’ about a train going to Saint Denis at night! Could be promisin’!”

“Yeah, them Saint Denise trains are usually full of rich people and things they don’t need,” Uncle nods. 

“Sounds good,” Arthur says. “Where’s the others?”

“Karen’s got some drunk man she’s gonna rob, so’s Tilly I think. Oh, there’s Tilly there!” she points across the road. Tilly’s being handled rather roughly by a large, dark man in between the hotel and the bank. “That does not look ideal.”

“‘Scuse me, ladies,” Arthur says, going after her. You stay with Uncle and Mary-Beth, watching him. He must have smoothed things over since he brings out Tilly after a moment. He hollers at Uncle to watch over her while he goes inside to fetch Karen. A few moments later, he comes out after Karen, who has a big cut on her lip. Turns out the guy she was trying to rob turned out to be a violent, drunken bastard who enjoyed hitting women. 

“He only punched me,” she says, rubbing her lip. “But Arthur hit him a lot harder.”

“Well, glad you’re okay,” you say.

“Hey, is it just me or is that man starin’ at us?” Mary-Beth says, pointing to a well-dressed man on his horse near the butcher. He sees the lot of you staring at him, and he points to Arthur.

“Ain’t you from Blackwater?” “No, sir. Not from there.”

“Oh you were! I seen your face!”

Arthur sighs heavily and starts walking over to him. “I ain’t never been to Blackwater. Look, mister, come over here.”

The man panics and spurs his horse into a gallop, running off down the road. Arthur hops onto a nearby Standardbred and dashes off after him.

“Always runnin’ around, that man,” Uncle says, heading back to the wagon. He and the girls get into it, you follow them. Uncle is just about to whip the horses to get them moving when you stop him.

“We ought to wait for Arthur, don’t you think?” “The man can walk, can’t he?”

You give Uncle a look. “He’ll only be a minute.”

“Fine, better be a fast one though.”

“Don’t know why yer complainin’, old man,” Karen says, still nursing her swollen lip. “Gives you a chance to snooze some more, don’t it? I thought driving horses upset your lumbago.”

“Oh, very funny,” he says, leaning back and crossing his arms as you and the others laugh. 

After several moments, Arthur returns, giving the horse back to its owner, thanking him. He climbs back onto the wagon, grabbing the reins.

“That guy dead?” Karen asks.

“Nah, didn’t need to kill him. He knows now to forget our faces. I doubt he’ll give us any problems. Feller tried to kill himself on a cliff. Damn idiot.”

Arthur drives you back to camp. He hops out of the wagon and heads over to Dutch. You pull out the money you stole and the note. You look around, seeing if you can find anyone who can read it. You spot John near the donation box by Dutch’s tent. You approach him.

“Hey John, can you read?”

He turns his face to you. His bandage has been taken off, revealing the stitches across his cheek, nose and lip. The wounds look red and angry still. 

“Sure,” he says in his raspy voice. You hand him the note. “Says here that some rancher is movin’ some sheep to auction in Valentine later this month. Where’d you find this?”

“Stole it off some idjits in town.”

“Hmm. Might be a good score. I’ll look into it; see what I can find out. If it seems promisin’, you should come with since you found it.”

“Sound good! Lemme know.”

It’s been a few days since you last left camp, and you’re beginning to get stir crazy and bored. You’re wiping down the round table by Dutch’s tent one afternoon when Arthur trots in on Artemis with an unconscious Swanson draped over the back of his horse. Arthur slides him off and onto his shoulder, carrying him over to his own tent by the main campfire. You and Grimshaw approach him.

“Again, Reverend Swanson?” she asks him as he rolls over, asleep. “What he do this time?”

“Nothin’ good. He was lucky, this time, real lucky.”

You step towards Arthur, curious about what had happened, as he walks away from the fire.

“What did he do?” you ask.

“Ah, he got himself stuck on a bridge right before a train came along. Would’ve been run over if I hadn’t been there. Damn fool; wish he’d stop with that morphine of his. Ain’t doin’ him or anyone else any good.”

You stare off at the incoherent Reverend in his tent sadly, Grimshaw sits beside him as she watches over him. Arthur heads over to Pearson and you follow.

“When you plannin’ on goin’ hunting again?” you ask. 

“Why?”

“You know why, Arthur. I need to get out of here, I’m going crazy.”

He smiles at you. “Well, let me talk to Dutch real quick, then maybe you and I can head out.”

You’re surprised he’s willing to leave so late in the day since the sun is already beginning to set. 

“A’right, let me know when you’re ready to go,” you say, heading off to your own tent to start packing up a few things. He heads over to Dutch, sitting inside his tent reading a book. You hear them talking, but then your attention is caught by Lenny shouting for Dutch and Arthur. You haven’t seen the boy since leaving Colter, when Dutch sent him and Micah out scouting. You look into the trees behind Lenny, but see no sign of the other man.

“They got Micah in Strawberry!” Lenny shouts, breathing hard. “They nearly lynched me, too, but I got away just in time.”

“Calm down, son,” Dutch says. “Now tell us what happened?”

Lenny bends down, placing his hands on his knees. When he’s caught his breath, he straightens up and explains how he and Micah were in Strawberry, and Micah had a few too many drinks and ended up shooting someone, getting himself arrested. 

Dutch pats him on the shoulder. “A’right, son, relax. We’ll deal with this. Arthur, take Lenny into town, get him drunk then head into Strawberry and get Micah out.”

Arthur tries to argue, but Dutch shuts him down. “A’right, fine. Just can’t do everything right now.” He sees you and beckons you over. “Sorry, Y/N, I gotta take care of the kid. Ya mind if we head out in the mornin’?”

“Of course not, Arthur. Go with Lenny.”

He tips his hat to you and leaves. You turn back into camp, wondering what to do now since the daily chores are done. You’re just about to grab a plate of stew when you bump into Strauss. 

“Careful there, Y/N,” he saws, dropping the envelopes in his hand.

“Sorry, Herr Strauss,” you start picking them up for him. You can see they’re from the post office. One of them is addressed to Arthur; you’ve been practicing enough reading to be able to recognize his name. 

“Here, let me put this in his tent,” you offer. He lets you take the letter and goes off with the others.

Walking into Arthur’s tent, you place the letter on his table next to the picture of his mother. You see the other photo on the ammo crates by his bed, which shows another woman. You get closer to it, trying to see if there’s any familial similarities to Arthur, but you don’t see any. You wonder who she is, and why Arthur has a picture of her. 

You wake up the next morning, feeling tired and achy. You probably had one too many beers last night with Uncle and John around the campfire. You get out, shading your eyes from the sun before putting your hat back on. Arthur isn’t in his tent or anywhere else in camp; neither is Lenny. Just as you’re pouring yourself a cup of coffee, Arthur and Lenny both ride in, looking horrible. You try not to smile.

“Had a fun night, did ya?” you ask them. Lenny groans loudly.

“Don’t know if I would really call it fun,” he says, dismounting his horse on uneasy legs. Arthur hops off of his.

“Well, at least it got yer mind off goddamn Micah.”

He approaches you and you offer him your cup of coffee, bending down to pour another one. He thanks you before taking a sip.

“How many drinks you fellers have last night anyways?” you ask.

“Too many.”

You laugh. “Well, ya got a letter from someone. I put it on your table.”

“A letter? From who?”

“Don’t know. Anyways, let me know when you’re ready to go. Take as much time as you need. I don’t want you pukin’ over Artemis if you’re still drunk.”

He guffaws. “Don’t worry ‘bout that, think I’m just about fine. Let me go read this letter, then we’ll go.”

He heads off to his tent. You go and grab your satchel and bedroll, heading over to Rain and strapping them onto her saddle when Arthur rushes over to Artemis. He barely glances at you as he mounts. 

“Change of plans, Y/N,” he says quickly. “I gotta go take care of somethin’ personal.”

Without another word, he dashes off down the trail and out of the trees towards Valentine. You wonder what was in the letter that could make him rush off so quickly. You go back to his tent and see the letter still lying there, spread open. You pick it up and read what you can from it. From what words you can make out, you gather that it’s from a woman, asking him to help her. You see her signature on the bottom, but it’s so fancy you can’t read the name. 

Not wanting to look like you’re burying your nose into Arthur’s business, you decide not to ask one of the girls to read it to you. You approach Mary-Beth and Tilly, cleaning some clothes by their tented wagons. 

“Arthur was sure in a hurry,” Mary-Beth says as you take a seat, grabbing a needle and thread. “Thought he was takin’ you out?”

“Thought so too. But he got a letter from someone, a girl I think. Said he had to go take care of personal business.”

“I bet it’s from that Mary,” Tilly says, aggressively scrubbing one of Bill’s shirts. “If ya ask me, she ain’t worth it. Don’t know why he goes runnin’ off to her the moment she even mentions his name.”

“Mary? Who is she?”

Mary-Beth and Tilly look at each other, almost as though they’re debating on telling you. Mary-Beth leans towards you with a soft expression; she almost looks sad.

“Look, Y/N, I know you’re sweet on Arthur, but maybe ya ought to let it go.”

You feel yourself blush. “I ain’t sweet on Arthur.”

“Please,” Karen says as she walks up to you, holding a repeater. She must be about ready to go on guard duty. “We all see the way you look at him when he comes into camp.”

“Yeah, that and the way you blush when he offers to take you places,” Tilly chimes in.

“Ladies, we’re just friends!”

“Nah, to us Arthur is just a friend. But you don’t see him offerin’ to take us hunting,” Karen says. “And you don’t see us trippin’ all over ourselves whenever he’s around.”

Mary-Beth giggles. “It’s really cute, actually. But, Y/N, Mary’s a part of his past he ain’t willin’ to let go of. We keep hopin’, she ain’t good for him, but as you saw he goes gallivantin’ off to her on just a whim.”

“What happened between them?” you ask again.

Mary-Beth, Tilly and Karen fill you in on the story of Arthur and Mary. They don’t know the full story themselves since it was before they had joined the gang, but they had heard enough from Hosea and Grimshaw. They had been lovers when Arthur was fairly young, around the age of twenty. However, Mary came from a decent family and her father intensely disliked Arthur because of his way of life. In the end, Mary chose her family over Arthur and married another man. 

“I can understand why she didn’t choose Arthur,” Karen said. “This life ain’t for everyone. But it’s the way she uses him still. Whenever she needs someone to do a job that’s too rough or dirty for her, she calls him and he goes. Every time.”

“He still loves her,” Mary-Beth says sadly. “That’s why he keeps goin’. And every time he comes back from doin’ her jobs, he’s always so sad and sayin’ that she won’t have him since he won’t change.”

“I never liked her,” Tilly adds in. “I saw her once when I was out on a job with Arthur. We were tryin’ to rob someone and she showed up. I swear she insulted him at least three times in ten minutes, then layered them by sayin’ she still loved him. She’s got him wrapped around her finger tight.”

You feel the pain of their words inside of you. It must show on your face, Mary-Beth leans forward and puts a hand on your knee. “I’m real sorry, Y/N. Arthur’s a good man, he deserves someone like you.”

“Nah, he don’t,” you say, hanging your head. “I let go of the fantasy of ever having a happy life a long time ago. Arthur fits into that. Besides, no man in their right mind would ever want to be with me.”

The others go silent for a moment. Then Tilly speaks up again.

“We’ve all tried to tell him she ain’t worth the trouble; he’s better off without her. He always says he understands, but I don’t think he ever hears us. Maybe you should talk to him. He might listen to you.”

You shrug your shoulders, doubtful. 

Grimshaw suddenly tramples her way over to your group, screaming. “Now ain’t the time for gossip, you four! Get back to work! Karen, you were supposed to take over for Bill ten minutes ago!”

You, Mary-Beth and Tilly fall silent, returning to your tasks. Karen starts walking towards the trees, but not before pointing the repeater and pretending to shoot Grimshaw in the back as she walks away. 

It’s early afternoon by the time Arthur returns. By then, your emotions have completely spiraled out of control. While feeling heartbroken by what the others told you, you also feel anger. Anger at Mary, the way she uses him. Angry at Arthur for letting her. Angry at yourself for feeling this way. He approaches you at Pearson’s wagon.

“Sorry for that, Y/N,” he says warmly. “You still wanna go huntin’?”

“Can’t,” you say coldly. Arthur looks at you, confused at your snap. You’ve never been short with him.

“Grimshaw needs me,” you add, trying not to let your emotions show. You know you really shouldn’t be angry with him since it truly isn’t your business, but you can’t help feeling like he’s betrayed you somehow. “Sorry.”

He takes a step back, his smile sliding off his face. “That’s a’right. Well, I do need to go huntin’, Pearson’s gettin’ low again. You and I should go in a few days though, ya deserve a break.”

Arthur leaves and goes to Artemis. You turn back to your pile of carrots, feeling stupid. Why do you even care so much? From what it sounds like, Mary only calls him on occasion. It’s not like she’s around camp, distracting him constantly. Still, you know Mary-Beth and Tilly are right. You’ve grown feelings for the outlaw, something you’ve tried bitterly to prevent. If your past had taught you anything, it was that you are not designed to be with someone who could love you because there is no one who could love you. Besides, you doubt that he feels anything towards you. Most likely, he just sees you as a friend, nothing more. 

You cut the carrots, trying to ignore the stinging of your eyes, betraying your tears. You take your feelings out on the vegetables, cutting them up far more than usual. 

The sun is beginning to set when Arthur returns with a deer and two turkeys, turning them over to Pearson. You’ve been nursing a bottle of whisky the last half hour, getting steadily more tipsy. He approaches you where you sit by the campfire with Hosea and Uncle, who’s singing a song you’re quietly humming to.

“Ain’t seen you drink that much since that time in Bison Point when you fell off your horse and thought you broke your ankle,” Arthur chuckles at you. You stare up at him.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t break my ankle then and it ain’t broken now,” you say sharply. He sits down next to you. You offer him the bottle and he takes it.

“What’s goin’ on with you?” he asks quietly so the others won’t hear.

“What you mean?”

“I mean you ain’t been actin’ like yerself ever since this mornin’. Is it because I had to take care of that thing? Look, I’ll make it up to ya. We can go huntin’ whenever you want.”

For some reason, your temper gets the better of you. You’ve forgotten that alcohol always makes it harder to control and hide your emotions.

“I need to talk to you. Alone,” you say, standing up.

Arthur stands up, setting the bottle of whisky down. You lead him off into the trees, past a broken wagon and down the hill, towards the river. You take him to the bottom, right before the trees stop and the main trail winds its way along the river. You lean against a large boulder and turn to him finally.

“I know about Mary,” you finally say, the alcohol fueling the fire in your chest.

Arthur looks at you, his face is hard.

“What about Mary?”

“Arthur, look, it ain’t really none of my business but the other girls told me about her. She.. doesn’t sound like she’s a good person, and I just don’t want…”

Arthur cuts you off. “You’re right, it ain’t none of yer business, so why you talkin’ ‘bout her?”

“I’m just trying to help,” you shoot back. “Sounds like she just likes havin’ you around to do stuff for her.”

“There’s nothin’ for you to help with, Y/N,” he growls. “She’s a part of my past ya know nothin’ about.”

“I know, Arthur. But please, listen to me. I know you love her, and I know she loved you once. At least, that’s what the others told me. But answer me honestly. Do you really think she still loves you?” Arthur sighs heavily, you can tell he’s getting angry. You’ve seen it before, like a fast-approaching storm, but it’s never been directed at you. “Like I said, it ain’t none of yer business what goes on between me and Mary.”

“Arthur, please just listen to me. If she truly loves you, would she treat you this way?”

“I was helpin’ her with her brother! It weren’t like she was usin’ me!”

“Why did she need your help with her brother? She ask you to shoot someone? Beat someone up?”

Arthur’s face darkens. “He got himself stuck with those damn Chelonian fools. It didn’t require me to hurt no one! Is that what you think she does? Asks me to go kill people for her?” he takes a step towards you, looming over you. You take a step back, feeling nervous. 

“No, that’s not what I meant. But this is what I been tryin’ to say, Arthur. She knows that no matter what kind of life you live, no matter what choices you make, you are a good man and you’ll always help her. I just don’t want you to waste your life on someone who doesn’t deserve you!”

“And who would you rather me waste my life on? You?”

You feel like he just punched you in the chest. He must know somehow about your feelings. Did one of the other girls tell him? You stand up straight, glaring at him.

“I never said I deserved to be with you, Arthur. For God’s sake, don’t! I already know I’m gonna die alone, but you don’t have to share that fate.”

The two of you stare angrily at each other for a moment. You blink away the angry tears in your eyes. “I promise you though, Arthur, you will die alone just like me if you keep chasin’ after her. If she decided not to be with you then, why would she change her mind now?”

Arthur’s hand flies up, and you flinch, expecting the hit. Instead, he takes his hat off and rakes his fingers through his hair in frustration. He stares at you, confused, as you stand hunched over with your hands raised above your head. Recognition dawns on his face, and he lowers his hand slowly.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” he says quietly. “Ya know I’d never…”

“I know, I know,” you mumble, lowering your hands and slowly straightening up. You feel ashamed of how you reacted, even if it was involuntary. The two of you stand awkwardly. Arthur takes several steps back. You can tell he’s still angry. 

“Arthur, look, I’m sorry. For everything. I’m just tryin’ to look out for you,” you almost whisper.

He looks away from you and rests his eyes on a bush. “I don’t need you to look out for me, Y/N. I can take care of myself. Besides, it ain’t none of yer business.”

He turns and stalks away from you and back up the hill. When he’s gone, you feel the tears slide down your hot cheek. You sink down to the ground and let them run. This was not how you planned this conversation to go. In fact, it went as bad as it possibly could have. Not only have you hurt him, your best friend, but now he knows you have feelings for him. 

Feeling betrayed, angry, and confused, you rip out clumps of grass, tearing them apart in your hands. Through your tears, you watch the full moon glide across the sky, reflecting in the steady river. Hours pass, and you can’t find the strength or the courage to stand up and return to camp. You doubt you’ll ever be able to look Arthur in the face again, let alone speak to him. Why couldn’t you just accept the fact that he won’t ever feel for you the way you feel for him? Why couldn’t you take that he was always going to choose her over you? Why couldn’t you just accept that you’re always going to be alone? Hell, it had been easy enough before he found you.

The sky begins to lighten, and you’re still sat by the boulder where Arthur left you. You wipe the long-dried trails of tears from your face and rub your tired eyes. You tell yourself to grow up, to stop acting like a child, and pick yourself up off the ground. You march up the hill. The walk back to camp seems a lot longer than it did last night. Maybe you’re just dreading facing reality. 

You walk into the silent camp. Hardly anyone is stirring yet, most of them are still asleep. The exception is Swanson, sitting on the ground near the campfire, but it’s clear he’s been dipping into his supply of morphine again. You drag your eyes to Arthur’s tent, afraid of what you might see. To your relief, his cot is empty, and upon further inspection of the camp, you find that Artemis is gone. He’s obviously left. Probably back to Mary. You can’t say you blame him. You force yourself to walk over to your tent, practically falling down onto your bedroll and into sleep.

A few hours go by, and you’re awakened by Grimshaw’s yelling. 

“Of course, yer lazin’ about!” she squawks at you, thumping on the canvas above your head. You tiredly crawl out of the tent and she grabs you by the ear. 

“Get over there and do your work!” she tosses you over to the washbin by Tilly’s tent and you obediently get on your knees and start scrubbing some clothes. She marches away to the other side of camp.

After you massage your ear, you look around the camp with sore eyes. It’s early afternoon. Arthur’s horse, Artemis, is still missing, for which you are grateful. Mary-Beth approaches you.

“You a’right? Ya look awful?”

You smile sadly. “I’m fine, Mary-Beth.”

She pauses. “I guess things didn’t go well with Arthur last night.”

You look up at her. “You couldn’t hear us, could you? I didn’t think we were being very loud.”

“No, but I saw the two of you leave. Then he came back by himself. I ain’t seen him look that way in a long time. Then he got on his horse and left. Ain’t seen him since.”

You drop your eyes back to the soapy water before you. “What did he look like?”

“Hard to say, really,” she says after sighing and sitting down on a crate. “Like he was heartbroken, honestly, but angry too. He didn’t say nothing to anyone either before he left.” 

“Well, you’re right in thinking things didn’t go well. God, I’m such a fool. I really thought I might have a chance with him if he wasn’t involved with her. Guess that Mary’s right about one thing. He’ll never change. Besides, he’s right to stay away from me.”

Mary-Beth is silent for several moments. “Why… why’d you kill your family?”

You stop, taken aback by the question. The last thing you want to talk about is your past. “I just… had to. I needed to get away from them and the only way I could was to kill ‘em.”

You go back to scrubbing the clothes, raking them across the washboard. 

“Your husband, was he a good man? If you don’t mind my askin’,” she asks softly.

“No. I’d never met him before my dad told me I was engaged to him. He hated me, though, I know he did. And I hated him.”

“That’s awful. I can’t imagine bein’ engaged to someone I’d never met.”

“Yeah, it was. I tried to learn to love him, but he made that impossible. It taught me one thing though. True love doesn’t exist. It’s just something from fairy tales.”

“I never really saw it that way,” she says, looking off across camp. “I’ve read so many books that I can’t not believe it exists. How could so many different people only believe in such a beautiful thing without having felt it?”

“Guess I never really thought of it that way. Well, if it is real, it surely wants nothin’ to do with me.”

The two of you sit in silence before Mary-Beth offers to read to you from one of her books. You accept her offer, glad for the distraction from your own dark thoughts. 

Grimshaw sets you on night duty, under the impression that you had slept the previous night and simply overslept this morning. You stand there, near the trail, your thoughts circling around one another when you hear a horse coming in. You grab the repeater tighter in your hands. Arthur comes up the trail on Artemis, several pelts on her back. You avert your eyes from him, and he passes you in silence. You wish you could say something to him, apologize maybe, but you doubt he’d want to listen to anything you have to say.

Several moments after he passes, you head up to camp for a drink. You go to Pearson’s wagon and grab a bottle, drinking from it greedily. Arthur isn’t anywhere to be seen, but you can hear him talking to Dutch. From what it sounds like, he’s going to be near camp for the next few days. You don’t know if you’re ready to face him yet. You come to a decision.

After a few hours, when you’re sure most of the camp and most importantly Arthur are asleep, you return to the clearing. Javier and Uncle are the only ones awake, sitting by the main camp fire. You find Arthur fast asleep in his cot, his journal lying on his chest. You quietly pass him and go to the other side of the wagon that forms his tent and look at the map that is stuck to the side. It shows New Austin, West Elizabeth, Ambarino, New Hanover and a state you’ve never been to called Lemoyne. You look over it and focus on New Hanover, trying to find hunting grounds you’ve never been to. You focus on an area called Roanoke Ridge up near a town called Annesburg. Deciding on that, you turn away from the wagon again, heading back down to the trees to return to guard duty. A familiar voice calls you.

“What you doin’, Y/N?” It’s Arthur. You turn and look back at him. He’s sitting up in his cot. You’re soft footsteps must have woken him, you’ve forgotten how light of a sleeper he is. 

“Nothing, Mr. Morgan. I’m sorry,” you say, hoping he’ll find more in that apology than simply waking him. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just… looking for something.”

He says nothing but continues to stare at you, his face hard. You turn away and leave, hoping he won’t come after you. You enter the trees and sigh hard, feeling like you just escaped. You’re not exactly sure what you just escaped from, though. You suddenly wonder if, instead of going hunting, you should just leave entirely. The thought pains you; you’ve gotten so close to many of the others. This gang is the closest thing you’ve ever known to a proper family. However, it might not be possible to stay with Arthur around. He’s such a vital part to the gang. You shake your head, trying to rid these thoughts, and decide that for now you’ll just go hunting near this Roanoke Ridge. You’ll worry about potentially abandoning the camp later when you return.

When Lenny comes to relieve you in the morning, to say you’re exhausted is an understatement. You’ve had hardly any sleep in the last 2 days. You think about delaying your hunting trip for a few hours and sleeping, but you know Grimshaw won’t let that happen. She’s already up and looking like she’s about to go rage at Karen and Tilly. You tiredly roll up your bedroll, but decide to leave your tent here. You’ve spent plenty of nights open to the stars; even been rained on a few times. Besides, you’ll only be gone a couple of days. Long enough to clear your head hopefully. 

You strap your things to Rain’s saddle, and then turn back to the camp. You see Hosea sitting up in his bedroll, preparing to start his day. You approach him.

“Hosea, how are you?” “Very good, Y/N,” he says, standing up. “How are things between you and Arthur?”

Jesus, does everyone know that you two fought? You sigh heavily.

“Not the best. Look, I’m gonna head out for a few days, do some huntin’. You mind if I take one of Jack’s books?”

He stares at you sadly, then nods. “I understand, Y/N. I’ll tell Dutch you’re out followin’ a lead.”

“Thank you,” you say as he hands you another Otis Miller book. You turn away and mount Rain, staring back at the camp one last time before trotting down the trail and into the open air. 

You head into Valentine to pick up a few things. You go into the store and buy some cans of food, coffee, and a small map. You study it briefly, figuring out which trails to follow to get to Roanoke Ridge. You approach the clerk. 

“Excuse me, but can you read what that says?” you point to the north eastern corner of New Hanover. He glances at it.

“Sure, says Roanoke Ridge. You got family up near Annesburg or somethin’?”

“Or something,” you say, putting the map into your satchel.

“Apologies, miss. Didn’t mean to pry.”

You thank him and leave the store. You head over to the hotel and give the desk clerk a dollar for a room, figuring you need to get some rest before heading on your way.

By late afternoon, you’re as rested as you’re going to get. You quickly brush Rain and feed her a few cubes of hay and some apples. You pat her affectionately, she muzzles her nose into your hand. You mount her and canter out of town; someone yells behind you to slow down. You ignore them, following the muddy road away from Valentine. 

You travel up through the Cumberland Forest and into the Grizzlies East in Ambarino. Late into the night, you stop by a lake that the map says is O’Creagh’s Run, although you struggle to read the words. A single cabin sits on the north eastern side of the lake. You make camp on the other side of it. You quickly make a fire and roast a rabbit you had caught not too long ago, staring at the cabin on the opposite shore from you. Smoke spirals from the chimney stack of the cabin; a candle’s light illuminates the window in the front. A single, large white horse stands in a stall beside the cabin. You wonder who lives there and what they do. Not that you’re going to go introduce yourself by any means. 

You eat quickly and then settle down in your bedroll, staring at the stars above, letting them wink you to sleep.

Rain drops splash on your face in the morning. It isn’t raining hard, but it’s enough to wake you. You roll up your things and then kick dirt over the fire, which is just a pile of hot, sizzling coals at this point. You make sure the few pelts you gathered on your way here yesterday are still situated before mounting Rain and kicking her into a gallop around the lake. 

You’ve never been to country like this before. The mountains are grey and green, arching into tall mounds above your head. Among the thick trees and tall grasses, wild flowers of every color bloom. Eventually the trees thin into open grasslands, but the mountains rise higher. At least the sky is clear now and the rain has stopped, giving way to warm sunshine.  

By midday, you’re back into a thick forest, but it isn’t like the ones you left behind in West Elizabeth or by Valentine. It isn’t made of the elegant pine trees you’re familiar with, but tall oaks. The mountains you ride upon are no longer smooth, but broken up and craggly. There are so many cliffs and ledges you have to slow Rain down into an easy canter for fear of falling. 

You reach Roanoke Valley and see the roaring river in the bottom of a steep ravine. You stop Rain and pull out your map, examining it. You struggle to properly read a location called the Elysian Pool close to a place named Butcher’s Creek. You find the easiest trails to follow to get there and send Rain on her way again. 

After nearly an hour of travelling, the trail points down towards the Kamassa River, which you know means you’re close to the Elysian Pool. The trail turns south along the river. Something feels wrong, like you’re being watched. You look all around you, but the trees are so thick and dense it’s impossible to make anything out. The birds above you continue to sing, so there can’t be a predator like a cougar around. You pull Rain to a walk, checking the forest.

A doe bolts from a bush close to you, spooking both you and your horse as she darts up the steep hill. You sigh heavily, figuring that’s what had made you nervous. You kick Rain, sending her after the doe to try and hunt it. She bounds up the hill, dodging through the trees.

Just as you peak over the hill, you hear yelling and hollering. Then gunshots, and Rain squeals loudly. You’ve never heard her make that sound before, but you know instantly it’s bad. She starts turning in circles, your upper body swings over her neck and that’s when you see the blood streaming from her chest. 

“NO!” you scream as another gunshot rings out, slamming into her neck. Her legs begin to buckle beneath her, tossing you onto the hard ground. You launch to your feet, pulling out your sawed-off shotgun and pointing it. Around you are four men, dirty and wild. Most of them are barely dressed, wearing nothing but pants or overalls. They point their own rifles at you, laughing maniacally through mouths missing multiple teeth. 

“Well, lookee here, boys!” one of them hollers. “We got us a live ‘un! I think we’ll like ‘er just fine!”

“Let’s take ‘er back, let her stew a few days,” another one says. 

The man closest to Rain approaches your dying horse. She’s still snorting, although she’s getting quieter. Blood seeps into the ground beneath her, her breathing looks labored. 

“Get away from her!” you scream, pointing your gun to him. You hear one of the others run up behind you, but you’re not quick enough. He slams the butt of his gun into the back of your head, knocking you to the ground. You have just enough time to see the man near Rain place the barrel of his gun against her head and pull the trigger before the world around you turns black.