#also i am going to call her. hm. wendie or something

[peixespyrope]

CG: HEY ASSHOLE, STOP PLAYING GAMES FOR GIRLS.

this is a trans hc!!! imagine one of those huge post banners here. personally nothing against genderbends but this is Not One

[happyinjection]

♠️♥️High Card Short Story 5 “Poison Phenomenon” (2/3)♦️♣️

Enter Finn and Leo, who surprisingly gained mutual understanding through a favorite band. Work forgotten, thus the listening session began...

Original: https://twitter.com/highcard_pj/status/1539805709390344193

Author: https://twitter.com/poipheno

On Leo’s orders, the office had not the usual bland BGM, but Poipheno’s coolest FK rock playing.

I immersed myself in the sound, listening intently.

With his arms folded Leo closed his eyes, while Wendy, as she furrowed her brows, was listening with a difficult look on her face. Vijay, with an unwavering serene expression which I couldn’t really figure out, was keeping his eyes fixed on his houseplant.

The song that I picked from their second album, “Love Imitation”, was finally over.

“How was that!”

I quickly turned back to Wendy.

“Hm. Well, it’s cool, I guess...”

“I know right?? Let’s get to the next song, Leo!”

“Hit it.”

“Damn, I can’t hold back any longer!”

I took off my suit jacket and shirt. An orange t-shirt appeared.

“Oi, Finn. Pinochle employees shouldn’t wear t-shirts underneath their suits. It’s improper.”

Leo chided me.

“So what, this is my lucky item. Look!”

I turned my back. A Poison Phenomenon logo was conspicuously put there as a backprint.

Wendy could only stare at me with a questioning look on her face. “Is that what you call a band tee?”

“Exactly! Isn’t it cool!”

“Uh, yeah. Cool, it’s cool alright.”

Suddenly Vijay butted in.

“The rippling-like part of the P serves to show that the titular ‘poisonous effect’ as the band was named after is still going on.”

“Why are you even elaborating?”

After that, our Poipheno listening session continued for a while. At first we only played my top songs from their early days, but eventually we also began to play Leo’s Selections of the works from their middle and current era. While listening, my body naturally moved along.

“Enjoying yourself, aren’t you, Finn.”

“You bet I am. They became a hit ‘cause they shifted to a more danceable music since the middle era. Rock that you can dance to, isn’t it the best.”

“The fact that even a lowlife such as you can also enjoy it is the greatest thing about Poipheno.”

Only when Poipheno was the subject of matter I would overlook Leo’s needlessly snide remarks. All of a sudden, Vijay spoke up.

“Finn is quite talented, huh. It’s an honor, so please show me more.”

“Ah? What about?”

“Your dance, you can dance, can’t you? Please show me, Justin seems to be excited about it as well.”

Vijay nudged the pot of his houseplant toward me.

“Plants don’t dance.”

“Oi, don’t push your beliefs into the stuff Vijay says.”

There was a rare hint of confusion on Leo’s expression.

“The cells are moving due to sound waves. Come, Finn, take a look too.”

“Vijay, don’t be ridiculous. Do you think Finn can dance?”

Wendy might have meant to follow it up with something, but before she can say anything else, it passed my mind.

I immediately got to my feet.

Just like that, I rolled my way right to the center of the showroom, and then used the momentum to do a forward somersault. I heard Wendy let out a quiet scream. And then, with a few shakes of my body to the music, I dove shoulder-first into the floor. Spreading my thighs open to maintain the momentum I kept spinning round and round, before finally leaped back upright.

“Heh. I can at least do this much.”

It was break dance. Using my thumb, I brushed the tip of my nose.

Wendy cheered in a shrill voice.

“Amazing, Finn! That was cool!”

“Eh, for real? Hehehe. I learned it from a friend who did street dance. I can also do the head spinning thing, y’know.”

“If you tear your suit I’m going to cut it from your paycheck.”

Leo reminded me. Getting my salary deducted is a big problem. If I ruin my suit while on a mission the expenses would get covered, but if I ruin my suit over a stupid matter like this, Leo would really make me pay.

Right as I decided to stop doing acrobatic moves---

“Even so, you’re a well-trained monkey. Shall I give you a banana as a reward?”

There he went again.

“A~ah? Bastard, ain’t ya just chickening out ‘cause you can’t dance--?”

“Hold on, Finn, don’t easily take the bait. Leo, you should give an honest praise too, shouldn’t you.”

“Leo~ Ain’t ya the type to cry uncontrollably in school plays ‘cause you can’t dance, ya little shit?”

As though on cue Leo walked up and stood in front of me.

From below, he shot me a glare. The glint in his eyes was not of a 14 years old.

“Oh, got something on your mind? Do you want a crash course in boxing?”

♠️♥️♦️♣️

TL notes: I’m in no way a professional translator so if you find any mistakes, please do not hesitate to inform me right away. I love the High Card gang and I found it very unfortunate that while it is meant to be a multimedia project, I can’t seem to find the translated versions of any materials (beside the anime) anywhere (if this is against copyright, I will take it down). Hopefully this small TL would help international viewers gain better understanding of HC universe and characters. The author of these SS himself said that he hoped fans would have their “so that’s what it is!” moments when they watch the anime after reading his short stories. So with that in mind, let’s enjoy High Card together~

[jj-babebank]

Camp Willowdale / JJ Maybank AU / PART 5

Synopsis: Camp Willowdale is buzzing with new campers. It’s Caroline Windsor’s first year as a camp counsellor after attending the camp as a camper for ten years. Little does she know that this year Willowdale Lake is going to be a little different from what she is used to it being… Warnings: future chapters may include curse words, mentions of drugs, mentions of alcohol, mentions of sexual activities, mentions of death. Pairings: JJ Maybank x fem OC Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3 ; Part 4 Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 5 -

53 days of camp left

The first day at Camp Willowdale was usually pretty straightforward – campers arrive, sign in, move into their designated cabins where they meet their counselors, then all gather in the Wildcat Lodge to get their schedules, maps, badges and compasses. Ever since Pricilla’s daughter left her, she ditched the idea of having a stable with horses at camp (saying it reminded her way too much of Wendy, and also cost a lot of money to maintain), and settled for scavenger hunts in full scout mode in the forest, hence the compasses and badges. Every camper was given a first badge for participation and would get the chance to earn new badges to add to their collection during their nine week stay. Pricilla made sure that there was a badge for literally everything – from successfully starting a fire to throwing out the trash. She liked to do this to make all the campers feel included and special, which on its own sounded like a wonderful thing, however her actual motives were selfish – happy kids meant happy parents, and happy parents meant money. She also liked to turn everything into a competition, so she established a scoring system that nobody but her understood, where she’d award or deduct points from different groups and the group with the most points at the end of the summer will be crowned conquerors of the camp at a made up end-of-summer event Pricilla named the “Camp Will-all-hail banquet”. Caroline always found the name to be extremely tacky, but much like mostly everything that Pricilla put her finger onto, it wasn’t surprising.

JJ and Caroline had gotten assigned to Teens 2. Unsurprisingly, everyone in their group was almost their age, which seemed like somewhat of a recipe for disaster, as Caroline feared that this could result in the teens refusing to follow orders from someone who is basically their age. She was pleasantly surprised to find out that their group of teens was actually quite well-mannered and well-behaved. John B and Sarah’s teens, however, were a whole different story.

“You sure you got T2 and not T1?” panted Sarah after finally sitting down at the counselors table beside Caroline for dinner.

Caroline smirked, “Positive,” she confirmed, not being able to hide her amusement at the sight of an already tired Sarah, “Why’d you ask?”

“Oh, no reason,” said Sarah sarcastically, “Well, besides all the girls, and I’m pretty sure one of the boys, having a massive thing for John B, and them all quite literally being the spawns of Satan, hm… no reason,”

Caroline laughed at Sarah’s words, looking over at the table where her group and Sarah’s were seated at. Two of the T1 girls were giggling while telling a story, while everyone else’s attention was on them. Caroline came to the conclusion that they would be the It Girls at this year’s camp, bossing everyone around. She couldn’t help but laugh at the irony that it was Sarah who got these two as they were literally mini versions of her.

“Heard my name being called,” John B slid onto the bench across the table from the girls. Now that everyone had been sorted, the Wildcat Lodge seating area had been rearranged so that the groups would be sat together according to their ages, and the counselors would be sat together according to their groups. The head staff had their own table at the very foot of the podium, right next to where the food was, conveniently.

JJ was quick to join their group at their respective table, “What’d I miss?”

“Oh, nothing,” Caroline said nonchalantly, “Just Sarah being jealous over her girls liking John B, no biggie,” Sarah kicked her under the table, earning an, “Ow!”

John B’s eyes immediately shot up, that familiar twinkle of excitement swimming through his honey orbs, “Jealous?”

“As if,” barked Sarah, squinting her eyes at him threateningly.

“We’ll see about that, baby cakes,” John B winked, diving into his dinner.

“So,” said JJ, lowering his voice in case any of the neighboring tables were listening, “What’s the plan, guys?”

Caroline shook her head, “I don’t even know where we could start, I mean, the only clue we’ve got so far is that message we had to scrub off the rock this morning before the campers arrived…”

John B thought for a second, “Hey, wasn’t Topper paired up with her?” he said suddenly.

Caroline’s eyes widened in realization, “John B, you’re a genius!” she said, earning a proud smile from the boy, “Last night at the counting, Topper said something about feeling guilty for not offering her his jacket!” the four of them turned to look towards Topper’s table. He was sitting quietly, barely poking at his food, while the rest of his fellow counselors were having an animated conversation around him. Caroline turned back towards her friends, “Chances are he was the one who saw her last!”

“Yeah, and judging by the look of his face, he doesn’t seem too excited about it,” remarked JJ.

“Can you blame him? I’d be pissed if I was paired with Madison, too,” muttered Sarah, scrunching her nose at the leafy salad in her plate.

“Tonight at the bonfire,” said Caroline, “Sarah’s going to offer him some help with his girls, seeing as he’s dealing with all of his kids alone,”

“Hey, why me?” Sarah frowned at the plan.

“Because you’re the one who had a massive crush on him back in the day,” Caroline whispered in Sarah’s ear, resulting in Sarah kicking her under the table again. Caroline bit back a groan as she smiled forcefully, looking at the two boys in front of her, “Okay, well, sounds like we’ve got a plan.”

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

After handing out the songbooks and marshmallows to all of their teens, Caroline, JJ, Sarah and John B took a seat at their designated log next to their groups, which had somehow bonded during dinner and were all laughing together.

“Alright, settle down kids!” Pricilla said, causing everyone’s chatter to die down, “As you have already been informed, it is a Willowdale tradition to perform our very own rendition of Bomfiara every morning and night until the end of camp. The songbooks you’ve been kindly given by your counselors contain the lyrics to all of the camp songs we’re going to be singing this summer, but I’m sure that by the end of it you won’t be needing the books anymore,” Pricilla fake-laughed at her own joke while everyone just started at her blankly, “Okay, well, let’s sing!” she gave the tone and everyone started signing.

“This is so lame,” said one of the girls Caroline proclaimed as “It Girls” earlier that evening, “We’re too old for this BS,”

“You got that right,” mumbled Sarah.

“Oh, come on, I love it, it used to be our favorite tradition!” whined John B.

The two girls squealed and started pinching each other, immediately opening their songbooks and joining in on the singing, making intense eye contact with John B with their best seductive looks. Sarah rolled her eyes at the scene.

“See?” she whispered to Caroline, “This is what I meant!”

Caroline smirked at the blonde girl, “Am I sensing… jealousy?”

Sarah scoffed at the remark, “Pf, yeah right,” she said defensively, “I’m just annoyed that they’re only listening to what he’s saying and we’re supposed to be counselors together.”

Caroline nodded slowly, pretending to be buying the story, “Yeah, sure,” she turned to look at Topper, who regardless of the fact that he was surrounded by his group and fellow counselors, still seemed down, the camp fire illuminating his distant face, “Speaking of together, when do you wanna go talk to Topper?”

Sarah followed Caroline’s gaze towards the boy, “Once this stupid song is over,”

Caroline nodded and both girls turned towards their group again, where the It Girls were still making sexy eyes at John B, who seemed totally clueless to their approach as he was belting the lyrics of the much familiar song out loud, waving JJ’s hands every so often.

Once the song was over and everyone got back to their regular chitchat, Sarah stood up and straightened her shorts and camp sweatshirt as she made her way towards Topper.

“Hey, Top, this seat taken?” she said, referring to the empty spot on the log next to him where Madison was supposed to be sat.

Topper looked at Sarah as if she’d just said a distasteful joke, “Hey, Sarah…” he muttered, “Obviously not,”

“Awesome!” Sarah smiled widely, plopping down next to the boy.

“So,” Topper started awkwardly, “What brings you here?”

“Saw you from across the pit,” she explained directly, “Couldn’t help but notice that you seem lonely,”

“Yeah, well,” Topper looked at her with a look of disapproval once again, “I sort of am,”

Sarah pretended to only just realize what he was talking about, “Riiight… So, about that,” she chirped again, “Last night you said something about a jacket?”

Topper sighed, “Yeah, Madison said she was cold when we were in our cabin and instead of offering her my jacket, I sort of felt… relieved that she was going to leave me for a second to go grab hers. I should’ve known that something was wrong when she was gone for over 10 minutes, instead I just laughed around with Kelce and the boys and then we heard the scream…”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “Oh, please, you’re not blaming yourself for it, are you?”

“I mean, I kinda am,” Topper confessed, “If I wasn’t too caught up in being annoyed that I’d been paired up with her, I’d have just given her my jacket or followed her to your cabin to get hers and none of this would’ve happened,”

Sarah tried putting on her best apologetic smile as she reached for Topper’s hand, taking him by surprise, “Look, Top, I hate Madison just as much as the next person, but I hardly think any of this was your fault. She probably just used the jacket as an excuse to ditch and got excited to see her rookie boyfriend, hence the scream,”

Topper frowned, “Don’t tell me you actually believe all that?”

Sarah shrugged, “I mean, she was a drama queen,”

Topper pulled his hands away from Sarah’s, shaking his head, “Just go, Sarah,”

Sarah looked over towards her friends across the fire pit who were all staring at her in anticipation, as she shrugged her shoulders and mouthed them a, “Sorry, I tried,” making her way back to where they were seated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Camp has finally officially begun and so has the search for truth ~~ As always, let me know what you think, I hope you are enjoying the story so far, I'm super excited to be writing this xxx

tags: @k-k0129 ; @hayleyy-l ; @marvellover04

Part 6 here

[martianbugsbunny]

OUAT Thoughts Pt.24--Episodes 6-7

I have watched through S3E7; spoilers DNI. Also, spoiler warning for anyone further behind than I am.

—Ariel was worth the wait. Her naïveté comes off better than OG!Ariel’s did, because she doesn’t seem stupid so much as inexperienced—which is generally the point of being naive.

—Her picking around Rumplestiltskin’s shop was adorable. And calling a fork a mini-trident? So cute!

—Also, I just like slightly older Ariel. I think it’s because her actions are no longer those of a pouty, rebellious-for-no-reason teenager.

—Her mermaid-on-land outfit is so pretty. I love how much the skirt looks like her tail. And the sparkles on her midsection are the perfect touch.

—JoAnna Garcia is a great actor, too. I especially loved her in the Astronaut Wives’ Club, as Betty Grissom. That role killed me.

—I love that Snow and Ariel wore shorter dresses in Eric’s kingdom. Either the actors or the writers totally wanted to throw a couple of short formals in there just for kicks, so they came up with the idea of it being a regional style. I mean, the dresses don’t strictly vibe with the fairytale aesthetic, but it’s alright. At least they weren’t ugly.

—It’s interesting that Eric’s perception of Ariel is different, too. Like, OG!Eric? Total dumbass. He remembers Ariel enough to be obsessed with finding her, but not enough to remember her face? This Eric is better. I love that he decides Ariel can’t be the same person who saved him, but that the mythical being he does believe to be his savior also showed him a vision of his future with Ariel. So he connects her to his rescue, not in the right way, but he at least gets a B for effort.

—Why is Ursula gold? That’s weird! And why do we never get an Ursula who’s actually a drag queen?

—Y’all, I knew those guys in Storybrooke were the Darling brothers. Two British dudes, one of whom wears glasses, who just happen to be working for Peter Pan? Come on!

—Kinda sucks that they’re adults while Wendy is still a kid. If their ages don’t even out via magic at some point, it will be very depressing.

—On the total opposite from depressing, I got to see Dr. Hopper! I’m so happy! And he wasn’t just chilling in the background somewhere, he was basically being Belle’s emotional support human. Which, lucky for me, showcases his emotional intuition beautifully. I adore that part of him. *gazes lovingly at the ex-cricket*

—Also, his smile is enchanting. Not to be dramatic or anything, but, you know…love me a gorgeous smile. 😍

—Peter knows exactly what Henry wants to hear. Also, he’s a kid, so he’s naturally gullible. Which of course means something terrible is going to happen that Henry will be indirectly responsible (because it’s Peter who’s really to blame) and he’s going to get a terrible dose of reality.

—Hm. It might even crush his magical beliefs. Wouldn’t that just be peachy. *sarcastic* *annoyed at the very idea*

—I hate the love triangle between Emma, Baelfire, and Hook. First, most love triangles aren’t worth it. Second, I wish I could slap a polycule on it and be done, but with Hook and Baelfire’s past relationship (and secondarily, the fact that Hook dated Bae’s mom) I can’t really do that. I hate being stalemated.

—Not that I polycule everything. A lot of the times, a love triangle has a couple in it (or the two people vying for the third person’s attention who definitely won’t be a couple) with obvious chemistry, so I pick that as my ship. Because frankly, most love triangles are trite, forced drama. But Emma has good chemistry with both Bae and Hook, and I like both Bae and Hook as people, so I can’t pick between them. I guess this ship will be determined by what the writers do, for once.

—Also, Emma picking Henry was a total cop-out. There’s no way she said that as anything but a way to deflect from having to talk about her feelings.

—scary forest scary forest scary forest

—Very bad, would not go there. As if the creaking trees and the creepy reddish lighting wasn’t bad enough, it’s full of evil shadows!

—Speaking of shadows, how dare they have shadows with Dr. Facilier? Dude’s an icon, I’d much rather see him than Peter. Besides, I bet if Facilier showed up in OUAT, he’d be drop-dead gorgeous.

—But the Princess and the Frog takes placed in New Orleans, which oh-so-inconveniently happens to be on Earth, so it might be harder to adapt well.

—How long are they going to keep dropping Oz references without actually going there/having any of the characters on? It’s getting ridiculous!

—MMMMM, Pandora’s Box. It’s an interesting concept, but I’m not quite sure how that can help. Unless, of course, it doesn’t unleash something—it sucks the greatest evil in. Which is Peter Pan, at the moment. Other than that, I’ve got nothing.

—Snow and Charming are a great couple. They both have moments where they’re a little bit too self-sacrificing for their own good, but that chalks up to their sheer goodness and their love for each other. But they both fight hard for their relationship. That’s an underrated trope, imo. Of course you have to fight for love. It’s not easy just because it’s the right person for you.

[tkc-info]

Confession At Night

OCtober 2021 day 2 - glass

2018

“Did you know that glass is made out of sand?” Oliver asked.

Cal hummed. She wasn’t paying much attention to him, but rather was laying on her back —heedless of how her scalp would be itching with sand for days— with her eyes trained on the sky. Tonight, like most nights, it was almost devoid of stars; yet Cal insisted, like most nights, on checking for her ‘second star to the right’.

“It’s molten at a very high temperature to create a whole new material.” Oliver continued. He was rambling, and knew it.

“Lovely.” Cal murmured noncommittally “That means that if we set this place on— ah, there!”

She clutched his shoulder (not his hoodie; she was wearing that) and yanked him down to the sand. Then, she pointed up at two stars in particular. “‘Second to the right, and straight on till morning’. That, Peter had told Wendy, was the way to Neverland.” she slapped his pectoral “I told you today was the day I’d find it.”

Oliver snorted. His parents had decided to bring them to a beach outing so that they would destress from school. Oliver, of course, knew the trip was but a plan to get him to see whether Cal was Saz, but Cal had proudly declared today would be her lucky day because ‘beaches weren’t all that polluted and shit’.

“I thought the place was called Wonderland.” he said as he propped himself up on his shoulders. Just to annoy Cal.

And indeed, Cal was close to enraged. “Neverland, asshole.” she lightly kicked him “Don’t compare a piece of art to such bloody rubbish.” she groaned, then sat up “Really, I don’t know what kind of crack Lewis Carroll was on when he wrote those books. I finished Alice Through The Looking Glass last week, and it’s all nonsensical. She goes through a mirror and ends up in a world similar to her own, but where giant insects take the train and laws are impossibly alien? Oliver, dude, what does jam tomorrow and jam yesterday but not jam today mean?”

Oliver shrugged. “As if I knew.”

But Cal’s words secretly bothered him. In his current state of tension, he couldn’t help but think of his homeland. Her homeland.

Mirror was a reflection of the only world Cal had ever known. In a metaphorical sense, a thin coat of glass separated her reality and the life she should have lived as Saz. The Kinship was much like the literary world she found so nonsensical: a united nation hidden in the depths of the Earth, twisted conservatism, beings who could pretty much become talking insects, people who could bend reality in unimaginable ways…

Cal stood up and walked to the freezing sea as a familiar guilt enveloped Oliver. There was also a wall of glass standing between his best friend and him. A one-way mirror that showed him everything about her, and her only what he was allowed to show Aboveground.

Heck, Oliver knew more about Cal than Cal herself. He knew what her parents were —had been— the position her aunts and uncles had in The Kinship, the friends that so fervently wished for her safety… and a dozen other secrets she should’ve been entitled to knowing.

Oliver looked at the sand, hesitating momentarily before deciding to go for it.

‘I’m sorry’, he wrote. In Sazla; Oliver may have grown up in Aboveground London, but Sazla still was his native tongue and the one he felt the most comfortable in.

The guilt over lying to Cal had began gnawing at him when he was around eight. At the time, he’d promised himself never to keep non-Saz secrets from her. He’d succeeded. At least for the most part. Recently he’d realised something about himself he needed to tell someone —Cal— but whenever the opportunity to tell his secret to her arose, Oliver always backed down.

Cal came back to him with her legs freezing wet; on her hands, the bottle of iced tea she’d buried underwater a few minutes ago. She plopped down on the sand, opened the bottle and chugged down half its contents. “Tea?” she offered Oliver, who took the bottle but didn’t move to drink from it.

This morning he’d promised himself he’d tell Cal that secret of his. No matter what. Oliver knew he had to tell her or else he’d explode.

“Oliver, what’s wrong?” Cal’s laidback demeanour promptly disappeared as she noticed the change in Oliver. Gingerly, her hand moved to grab his —Oliver noticed she’d began doing that when she wanted to comfort but didn’t have the necessary words.

Oliver squeezed her hand gratefully; closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “I want to tell you something.” he opened his eyes and turned to her “Mind you, I’m irrationally scared of telling you this.”

Cal tensed. Oliver wasn’t allowed to do this, but he reached out to her and willed her shoulders to relax ever so slightly. Using his insignia helped release some of his own tension, and when he next spoke, his voice didn’t sound as scared as he’d feared. “I’m bisexual.”

He studied Cal’s face to see her reaction. At first, she only blinked at him —processing the information— but a second after his confession, she exhaled as if tremendously relieved. She used her free hand to also take Oliver’s, and pressed her forehead to his arm. Oliver could feel her silent laughter.

“Cal?” Oliver asked “Did you hear me? I’m bi.”

“Yes, yes. I did.” Cal drew back and met his eyes, a small smile grazed her lips “I just— Oliver I thought you were going to tell me you’d been diagnosed with something, or were moving to —I don’t know— Gloucestershire.” she smiled at him “But you’re bi. That’s amazing, dude.”

“Really?”

It was as if a part of the weigh he’d been carrying since childhood had been lifted off his shoulders; and if Oliver couldn’t quite walk straight, he now could at least walk on lighter feet.

“Of course it’s amazing.”

It wasn’t only that keeping unnecessary secrets from Cal hurt him. He had needed to tell someone, and to be reassured that his bisexuality was valid. No Saz would ever care about him not being straight, but Oliver lived at the other side of the wall of glass.

He’d heard his classmates say horrible things about queer people, and was terrified of what their reaction to him would be. Clara and Carter Whitaker always told their son not to care about his inferior’s ‘senseless bigotry’, but Oliver had to care. Otherwise he’d become the target of their hatefulness.

“Are you going to come out to everyone?” Cal eventually asked.

A breeze of salty air pulled her hair backwards, allowing Oliver to fully see her face: Cal’s eyes shone with fondness, and something else. Was it…? But no.

“I have to, don’t I?” Oliver shrugged; half achieving the confident tone he’d been going for.

“No.” Cal snorted, but wiggled closer to him “Your bisexuality is yours to share. No one’s entitled to knowing your secrets.”

“I know that. But I want to be out —or at least reach a point where if people don’t know I’m bi, then that’s on them— and talk about boys comfortably.”

Oliver didn’t ask for anything too extravagant, just to be recognised and respected. That wasn’t too hard, was it? His classmates and teachers would surely understand him.

But Cal frowned at him. Oliver thought she’d say something, but the only thing she did was lean against his shoulder silently. “I’ll kill whoever’s homophobic or biphobic to you.” she eventually said.

Oliver snorted. “You’re the best, CC.” he thanked, putting his arm around her shoulders and briefly kissing the top of her head.

“Oh, come on, don’t cover my hair in saliva.” Cal protested, but didn’t move.

“It’s already full of sand. How are you even going to get it off?”

Cal rolled her eyes. “You. I’m helping you dye your hair, you’re helping me wash mine.”

“Hm.”

The two sat in silence, then. Oliver allowed himself a contented smile as he basked in his first moments of being out. This was good, he thought. Just the feeling of being accepted and loved unquestioningly. And Cal had said it was amazing that he was bi. Oliver felt on top of the world.

“Oliver?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you for telling me.”

Oliver quirked an eyebrow at her. “Prepare to hear it many more times. ‘I am bisexual’; it sounds good, doesn’t it?”

@oc-growth-and-development @wagnerthedragon @iloveallmyocs @littleturtle95

[fantasysamsclub]

so the adventure zone was recently picked up for an animated series.

hooray! good for the mcelroys. i’m glad they’re getting more mainstream. i’m glad they’re able to financially support themselves and their family with this fame. i’m glad taz has a chance to get new fans! i’m glad fans get to see some of the most iconic balance moments animated!

i also think it’s a monstrously bad idea.

(this is long and this may seem pretty mean and radical, but please read before fighting me on any of this. also this isn’t an attack on anyone that’s excited for any of this adaptation stuff! it’s good to be excited for this success. but also there are some things to consider.)

okay! so, up front: i think the taz animated series is a bad idea. i also think, retrospectively, the graphic novel was a bad idea. also i think the vox machina origins comic and animated series are bad ideas.

okay so this is going to get. a little long and rambly. but i’ll try to keep it organized.

1. TAZ Graphic Novel

now, when the first book was announced, i was excited! i’m still excited for the next one. aside from the blue/green elves thing, which i won’t ever forgive, carey’s doing a great job adapting this piece. i’ve met her before and she generally does know what she’s talking about, comics-wise, so i do think she was a very good choice to pick up the graphic novel

there are still problems! oh, are there problems. for example, i think everyone in the novel is characterized in a wildly different way than the original podcast. i can also get into this later if people want to hear about it, but! people have picked at that one before.

out of all the adaptations i’m going to talk about, this one is the best!

2. Vox Machina Origins

alright. context. i don’t know if i’ve said this on this platform before, but i’m a comic book artist (my big project is coming out this year, i’ll announce it on here, that’s not the point of this rant). and i bought the comic on a whim! it was a christmas present to me.

now, i know a lot of people read it and enjoyed it! and that’s great. i’m happy you got joy out of the book, really. i think every piece of art means something to someone, no matter its popularity or quality. and it did well, as far as i know! so that’s very good for CR and its fans. also i think pike is hot.

all that aside, the comic does suck very much.

i could go into a deep analysis of it (i CAN, if enough people actually want to see that?) but tldr: it’s rushed, both in production and story pacing. the character art is good! but you can see the shortcuts. the lettering is. awful. (that’s mostly a problem of modern comics in general though)

and i’m not blaming anyone at CR for these problems! really, if dark horse wants to pick up an adaptation, any writers from the original project should be heavily coached on how to write for a new medium. i’m not blaming matthew for that one! i know from firsthand experience that comic writing is different from anything else you will ever write, and is so difficult to get correct. as far as i knew, matt had never written for comics before! it would be really nice if he had some more resources to get this done right.

but that would cost money.

and that brings me to--

3. The Vox Machina Animated Series

wow! look at all that money everyone raised for this animated series. this animated series that the creators said they were raising money for so they could do it independently. hope they don’t go pitch it to a bigger company to do m--

and, it was sold to Amazon.

like, it didn’t even take them a month.

and in the current climate of how animation is bought and sold, i understand the need to sell it to a streaming service! you need a platform to let people view it, and youtube is in the shitter with its copyright stuff lately, so it makes sense to go private to keep your show safe. and then, you can maybe make more episodes after you run out of kickstarter money. i don’t hate that idea!

but amazon...hm.

it’s probably fine, right?

3.5. Wendy’s

haha remember when CR got sponsored by wendy’s and played their shitty rpg that wasn’t even balanced properly and then people called them out for it and then they donated all the money to a cause wendy’s hated to make up for it (good on them!) and then deleted the VOD off youtube? gosh, good times.

money makes people do strange things.

4. TAZ Animated Series

so, peacock has taz. sure! that works. it’s not the best company to pick this up, but it’s also not the worst. i’ll take that. i looked up the guy that’s slated to direct this and i don’t think he’s ever directed an animated show? which isn’t great, but that’s not what i’m worried about.

you know what i am worried about?

these big corporations don’t care if these adaptations are any good. they just want to cram as many iconic moments from your quirky, small-owned d&d podcasts to get you to give them money. for the mcelroys and the CR crew, it’s a passion project. to amazon and dark horse and NBC, it’s an investment.

you’re going to buy the book to see vax and vex bicker!

you’re going to tune in to watch magic brian!

you’re going to want to read pike meeting scanlan, of course!

you want to see “phantasmal and resplendent” animated!

here’s the other thing. when i see people talking about the animated series, this is exactly what they’re looking for.

“i want to watch merle dirty talk the plants on screen!”

“i want to see the taakitz date!”

“i want to see magnus do the julia scene...”

now, this mindset isn’t bad! no, if you’ve been thinking this, that’s okay! it’s really not my personal thought (i think adaptations are best when they DO change things in the story to better fit the new medium they’re going on) but it’s fine.

we might get tom arnold!

but you know what we’re not going to get?

we’re not going to get apologies and revisions when something goes wrong. we’re not going to get cute extra scenes because that would require more writing. we’re not going to get the same respect for the LGBTQ+ characters on screen. the people working on this show will not get paid what they’re worth.

we’re probably not going to get a trans actress for lup.

we’re probably going to see less of carey and killain.

we’re probably going to see even fewer black and brown characters than we already have.

why’s that?

because it’s a money project. they’re doing it for money. and they want to reach as wide of an audience as possible, right? “really, we need to cut back on this gay stuff so that straight people aren’t uncomfortable. we need to stay more moderate on this project so that more people will watch it!”

(that was sarcasm)

now, NBC has had some good shows! but that’s really the responsibility of their individual writers, and it’s usually in spite of the companies they work for, and not because of them.

once an author or an artist sells their project to a company for adaptation, they often lose all rights to input from it. i don’t know what the mcelroy’s or CR’s contracts are, but unless they have better lawyers than NBC or amazon.....they probably got shafted somehow.

it’s not a mcelroy product. it’s not a CR product. don’t pretend like it is.

you can enjoy it, but please be cautious. this is just a pile of money in a cheap taako costume. don’t trust it as much as you would the podcast.

tldr: individual creators are always going to make more genuine content than corporations that buy those creations for larger adaptations. it’s okay to enjoy these adaptations, but please be aware that it’s not going to have the same spirit or heart as the boys talking about masturbation on a filler show they did quickly so justin could go support his wife in labor.

[rvmmm21]

. unpleasant reminders (1.5) .

small note : i know what you’re thinking. great titling. seriously, why can’t i title to save my arse? like i’d pay someone to title my stuff for me. i didn’t mention anything about currency, so go wild. again, please heed my warnings before reading. and uh... remind me never to write this much dialogue ever again, yeah?

*you do not understand how Elated i am to finally be able to pin half of this onto you guys*

i’ve said this in the tags before, but please don’t use shock-collars. save them for this au, okay?

(also... i... i do write soft stuff too. um, j-just in case you forgot... it’s okay to ask me for soft things. i’ll gladly oblige. rvmmm21 isn’t just a yandere bucket).

[yandere!omega!irene x alpha!wendy]

tw : choking, bondage, violence, noncon, implied use of shock-collar. (a very, VERY toxic relationship).

...

Bae Joohyun doesn’t need to be an alpha.

She’s already in control.

And Seungwan isn’t the only one who knows things. Joohyun does too.

She knows plenty.

But if there’s one thing she knows best, it’s that alphas who love their omegas unconditionally do not bolt at any given chance.

And if there’s anything Joohyun considers worse than an alpha who is unwilling to accept that they belong under her, it’s an alpha who actively does something about it.      

It is rather unfortunate that Joohyun, being an omega, does not possess those useful little pheromones alphas use to either overwhelm or calm. Life would be so much easier if she could just have Seungwan on her knees with a whiff of her scent. But when life presents her a challenge like an unruly alpha... a challenge like Seungwan, Joohyun would rather die than back down. She may have been cautious, hell, she may have even bothered to put on a coat before setting out after her fleeing lover. But it really doesn’t matter, not when Seungwan is as docile and harmless as a baby mouse. 

It’s at times like this where Joohyun really doesn’t think her girlfriend deserves her alpha status, or any of those knee-weakening pheromones. It’d be a surprise in itself if Seungwan was aware she even had them, let alone know when and how to use them.

But that isn’t completely her fault. She’s a young pup. Which means she has a lot to learn.

Luckily for her, Joohyun is nothing, if not a well-meaning trainer.

…

Joohyun is standing over her when she opens her eyes.

Even through the blur, it’s creepy. The way she’s just… observing.

She’s calm. Far too calm for Seungwan’s comfort. Not that there’s anything remotely comforting about being gagged and cuffed to the floor. She wants to kick and scream, because she recognises her surroundings far too quickly.

The basement.

Or as Joohyun insists it is, the ‘Training Room’.

For a few seconds she does nothing but quietly stare at the metal around her wrists, the taste of old rags seeping into her tongue anything but pleasant. Finally, Joohyun sighs, bending over to run her fingers along the knot behind her head as she breaks the silence. “Gag wasn’t necessary, but… I know you hate it. And I did catch you doing something very naughty, so I think it’s only fitting, don’t you?”

She fiddles around with the fabric before dragging it down and tossing the damp cloth to the side. Seungwan’s jaw aches when she flexes it a couple times. Stray tears roll down from the corners of bloodshot eyes as she opens her mouth to form some sort of apology. But as soon as her lips are parted, four fingers shove their way into her mouth, as good as choking her in an attempt to keep her from making another mistake.

“Don’t you dare.”

The tears are welling up and she can’t help herself.

“You ran. Again.” Joohyun’s tone is somewhere between a drawl and a snarl. The smaller girl impulsively jerks forward when fingers thrust themselves deeper down her throat. She coughs, gags and tries to twist away, but Joohyun just follows her, never leaving more than a millimetre of space between them. “How many times this month, alpha?”

“No, no, no…” Seungwan tries to say, but it just comes out as incoherent mumbling around Joohyun fingers, all subdued and useless. And it doesn’t help that her head is still spinning. Holding onto a simple train of thought is proving to be harder than the force Joohyun must have applied to knock her out and drag her back.

When the omega pulls her fingers out with a skin-crawling laugh, Seungwan scrambles to defend herself, pointless as it is.

“I wasn’t trying any – wasn’t running, I–”

A foot embeds itself into her diaphragm and cuts off whatever the end of that sentence was supposed to be. The hot pain concentrated in her chest slowly blossoms down her ribs, stomach, and her head. The impact of her back shoved further into the cement she’s slumped against sends agonising jolts down her spine, and it’s that instinctive wince that reminds her that she truly is at the mercy of her sweet, sweet omega.

The added pressure behind the heel serves to better restrict Seungwan’s breathing.

“Puppy’s learnt to lie now, has she?” Joohyun sounds lethargic, and it’s nearly twice as scary as that look of pure, animalistic rage Seungwan had seen on her face not two seconds ago. “You’d better tell me where you picked this charming little habit up… or you’re not going to like what happens next.”

She sounds unimpressed and bored and it’s terrifying.

“P-please…” It doesn’t cross Seungwan that she’s speaking out of turn, that she’s not answering her omega’s question, that she’s not thinking straight. It’s impossible. She can’t think straight. Not when she’s in such a compromising position. “I-I promise it won’t happen again, please… I don’t want to run, it – it was a m-mistake! I didn’t mean to–”

“I didn’t mean to plan an escape, I didn’t mean to keep running when I was called, I’m so sorry, Hyun, please don’t hurt me, Hyun.” Joohyun taunts her, mimicking the panic in her alpha’s voice with a sickening light-heartedness. “How many times do you think I’ve heard that, hm?” She pauses to chuckle at her own awful reminiscing. “Pretty much the first day we started training. And how many times has it worked?”

She kneels down again and wraps her hand around her alpha’s throat. She squeezes, smile broadening when Seungwan whimpers and chokes out a weak – “… none.”

Joohyun smirks. “None.”

Tiny black dots speckle Seungwan’s vision as the pressure on her throat increases, turning her laboured breathing into ragged pants. It takes everything she has to force herself still, if only to keep from encouraging the irate omega, who’s growling at her now, sounding more like an alpha than she can ever hope to be.

“Don’t make me wait for it, puppy.”

At this point Seungwan’s reactions are more reflexive than genuine. “I love – I love you!” Her words are clogged in her throat, but she forces them out in short, sharp gasps. “I love you! I’m sorry – sorry I tried to run, please, please don’t… please Hyunnie, you’re hurting me, stop please…”

Joohyun just grins and uses one more final burst of strength before she relents, keeping her alpha pinned up by her shoulders as she splutters and wheezes and struggles to stop the tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Don’t think you’re getting off scot-free. Seems like I haven’t trained you well enough, puppy. Outbursts like that are very rude, and they will not go unpunished.” She finally lets her go completely to reach for something Seungwan can’t see. It should soothe her, however the lack of pressure on her neck and the lack of a foot in her ribs does little to do so. Quite the contrary. It fires every nerve in her body up, because if Joohyun��s hands aren’t on her now, there’s no telling where they’ll be next.

When Joohyun finally turns around, it’s the familiar little remote she has clasped in her right hand and device in her left that kicks Seungwan’s legs into gear, weak as they are. It makes her forget. She forgets she’s tethered to a U bolt in the floor, forgets that if her omega can singlehandedly retrieve her mid-run, she stands no chance if they’re in the same room.

She forgets her place.

Still, she springs into action, aiming to lunge past her insane girlfriend and head straight for the door. But she never reaches it. As soon as she’s on her feet, Joohyun is straddling her back, knee digging into the base of her spine and forcing her face into the cold cement floor. Seungwan sobs harder, one hand grappling pathetically out in front of her while the other stays pinned under Joohyun’s knee.

“Bad alpha, bad puppy.” The omega patronises as she fumbles around with the contraption she had intended to put on her lover ever so nicely. Of course, Seungwan had to fuck that up too, didn’t she? The battered alpha goes rigid when she feels deceptively soft lips against the nape of her neck, kissing her so lightly and so comfortingly that she almost mistakes it as forgiveness. But that hope is quickly suffocated when she hears the click of a buckle and a lock, when there’s that tightness around her neck.

She suddenly realises that –

“I’m tired of false promises, puppy. If you can’t tell me the truth, then I think it’s better you can’t tell me anything, don’t you?”

– it’s much more painful to swallow in fear when there are two icy iron prongs burrowing themselves firmly into your throat.

[asthmark]

❝ ride ❞, m.l

[3:17 PM] where r u??

[3:18 PM] i just came out of 6th period. i'm in front of the school

[3:19 PM] hello??

[3:19 PM] wendy!!!!

[3:21 PM] jeez if ur not gonna pick me up u could at least text back :((

you press send and sigh, turning your phone off and sliding it into your pocket. you knew Wendy wasn't going to reply or pick you up (despite having promised to) anytime soon. it looked like you would be walking home. you had only been standing outside your school for a couple minutes but the sun had already let it's rays shine on you mercilessly.

the walk home was about half an hour. you were positive you were going to end up melting before you even got halfway there. you're just about to start the journey when a white Honda pulls up to the curb in front of you so slowly that it catches your attention. you freeze in your tracks, watching as the window rolls down even slower (you're almost positive it's for dramatic effect) to reveal who's in the driver's seat. 

sitting behind the wheel is none other than Mark Lee. new kid from Canada Mark Lee. always asking for a pencil in history class Mark Lee. 

"hi." he gives you a lop-sided grin. he's wearing a white tee under a flannel that fits him so loose he's left it completely unbuttoned. you also notice that underneath his cap (with the Canadian flag proudly displayed on it) his hair is now dark. did he dye it... black? that was new. you only ever saw Mark Lee in passing but you were used to the innocent, brunette look. this was bold... in a good way, of course. a really good way.

"hey," you respond, realizing you've spent far too long just observing him.

"um, Wendy had some sort of emergency—don't ask what it is because she didn't want to tell me. and i'm really good at bothering people until they give me an answer."

you snort. "well, i'm pretty good at blowing people's phones up until they text back yet here we are."

he chuckles. "i've been trusted with the task of driving you home. i'm Mark, by the way."

you bite back an 'i know'.

"you're Y/N, right?" he asks.

you nod. "that's me."

"cool. first name basis. we're officially not strangers anymore. now you can get in my car without it being weird."

you can't help but smile as you open the door to the passengers seat. "taking extra precautions, i see."

you buckle up and Mark takes the opportunity to readjust his hat, his fingers raking through his hair once. it has more of an effect on you than it should. "hey, i'm almost positive i got more manners than any other guy that's asking you to get into his car with him."

"does that mean you have experience when it comes to picking random girls up?" you ask, quirking a brow.

he giggles. you've heard it dozens of times in every class you had him in but this time you actually join him and laugh for yourself. "'course not! this is a favor." he stops at a red light and takes the moment to glance at you. "you know, i was happy, when Wendy told me it was you i would be picking up. actually... i was kind of, really excited."

you can't hold back your shock. "really? even though we've never actually had a proper conversation before today?"

he hums in confirmation. "yeah, i mean, i always see you around. you seem like fun. my type of girl." your heart speeds up at that. "besides, any friend of Wendy's must be mad chill."

"well, it's super nice of you to think that. if i were you, i would feel like i was missing out, if anything."

Mark furrows his eyebrows. "how come?"

"because Wendy is popular, dude. she's friends with all the cheerleaders and yearbook committee. you know, the important people. you could be driving Irene around right now instead of me. she's been nominated the visual of our school for three years in a row, you know."

Mark is so confused and expresses it by stuttering over his every word. "wh-okay, first of all, i don't even know who Irene is. second of all, i'm perfectly fine driving you around. i'm more than just fine, actually. i like you."

your eyes turn to him so quickly but before you can say anything, he continues. "you know because Wendy was one of my first friends here and she always talks about you! so, it's like we're already friends. we've just never actually talked so it feels good to finally put a face to a name. well, not that i don't already know what you look like. in fact, i think i look at you more than anyone else in any of my classes. not in a weird way! i just... get bored and you're nice to look at."

you stay quiet, focusing only at how Mark's hands grip the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turn white.

he cringed at the awkward silence that settles upon the car, inwardly beating himself up to letting his mini crush on you slip out like that. he'd probably already blown his chances with you before you even became friends. but then you speak up.

"i knew you stare at me in math class! i could feel it!" you exclaim and Mark is trapped between being confused or relieved. why did you sound... excited?

"wait, so you're not like, creeped out by me like, staring and stuff?"

"as long as you don't mind me staring back." Mark nearly chokes. "you can't possibly expect me not to, especially with that new hair of yours."

he smiles, widely. "you actually wanna stare at me?" his voice raises slightly higher, as he turns to face you, eyes filled with in hope.

"eyes on the road, oh my god!" you say, laughing when the car behind you honks in frustration at your lack of movement at a green light.

"oh, sorry!" he apologizes, despite knowing the driver won't hear him.

you shake your head, smile still prominent on your face. "you're so cute, Mark," you say, as an afterthought, not expecting him to hear it.

he does. and the car swerves out of its lane, Mark exclaiming, "you think i'm cute?!"

you cling to your seat as the car moves, wildly. "tell you what, if you get me to my house in one piece, i promise we'll go out on a date or something right after but please just don't crash, bro."

Mark's eyes light up at the word "date" and you end up going even faster than before.

##bonus: 

"there you are!" 

Wendy looks up from her phone, smiling as she watches you and Mark approach her, seeming very close to each other. "here i am! looks like having Mark pick you up wasn't my worst decision yet, hm?" 

you just shrug and Mark wets his lips, before he speaks. "probably your best idea yet." he smiles when you playfully bump his arm with your own. 

"actually, i've been meaning to ask; what was that emergency you had to get to anyway?" you ask, folding your arms beneath your chest. 

it's almost comical how fast Wendy's face changes. her jaw drops slightly and her eyes dart around, uncomfortably. "oh, um, i felt super duper sick. went straight home and took a nap." 

"uh huh," you say, nodding as if you believe the lie. "is that why you had sent me over twenty texts and tried to call me three times as soon as i told you Mark had dropped me off?"

"i wanted to see how it went! sheesh, you set someone up and this is how they repay you." she rolls her eyes, obviously not noticing how she gave herself away. 

"set someone up?" Mark repeats acting confused. he faces you. "Y/N, i think someone's been playing cupid." 

"i think so, Mark. i didn't think you could play cupid when you were 'super duper' sick," you respond, tapping your chin, dramatically. 

Mark chuckles at the way you effortlessly play along so well with his jokes and you copy him, giggling yourself.  

"oh no," Wendy groans, watching you two laugh like dorks. "they're a match made in heaven." 

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

I can't stop thinking about your madame red au and the headcannons you wrote last. Can I ask for Joker and reader where she helps him during the dance and all and defends him behind his back when some ladies are shocked because ,,how dare a woman lead a man?!". And maybe Madame Red notices the reader and her behaviour towards Joker and the others and already ships them? Sorry it's so long. Headcannons or scenarios are fine. 😅😁

PLEASE DON’T BE SORRY, THIS IS ALL I EVER WANT IN LIFE AND I OWE U FOR REQUESTING IT

it got so hecking long omg I never plan for things to get this long but when I like something a lot it just kind of happens!!!

The fact that your new companion is missing an arm seems to bother you far less than it does him, at least in the context of trying to figure out how to position yourselves to dance.

“I just, ah ― oof, Lord ― I-I dunno if this is gonna work.” His face is about as red as his hair by now, and he just draws himself away from you. “I’m… I’m sorry. This pro’ly ain’t such a good idea, beauty. Why, uh, why don’t ye go dance wit’ someone else?”

Able to feel other people’s eyes on you both, you shamelessly step back toward him. “Because I want to dance with you. It’s not really that big a deal, is it? There has to be a way.”

He offers you a timid smile. “Be m’ guest, m’ lady.”

The sound of several other girls tittering behind their fans as they watch the man flounder is all the determination you need.

“So I shall!” You return his smile before analyzing the situation. After a moment, you make a move: you wrap your arm around his waist and draw him flush against you. This might be a good start… “Hm, this may work. If I keep my arm here, then I can support you. That way, we can hold hands and you don’t have to worry about losing your grip or anything, because I’ll be holding you.”

Another round of blush blooms over his cheeks. “T-this ain’t exac’ly proper, though, is it? I mean… Mum said th’ man’s s’posed ta be th’ one wit’ ‘is arm round the lady’s waist. Heh, treatin’ me like a lady, are ye? Makin’ a joke like ev’ryone else?”

You can’t help but to burst out laughing, though you take care not to be too loud. The two of you have enough attention on you already, and you get the sense that it’s not the good kind, so you don’t want to attract more. “What?? I wouldn’t make a joke of you. It’s just that we have to do things a bit differently, and we have to do whatever works. It doesn’t mean I’m treating you like a lady. If this is what works, then that should be the proper thing, shouldn’t it?”

“… Well…” His good arm scratches at the side of his cheek as he seems to think that over. It makes a lot of sense, as far as you’re concerned. The very definition of proper is that something is correct. If the way you normally dance doesn’t work when dancing with him, then clearly it isn’t proper. “I, ah, guess I never thought ‘f it that way b’fore. Good way ta put it. This is… alrigh’, then? Dancin’ like this? Ye don’t mind it?”

“Of course not. It’ll be kind of exciting to do things differently.” With your free hand, you take his, weaving your fingers into the spaces between his and noting how it just feels right. “I think this is song is meant to be waltzed to, so… one, two, three?” you tease.

When he chuckles, it’s a sound like golden honey. He has such a lovely voice, and a bright laugh to match even as he’s keeping it soft. “One, two, three, it is, m’ beauty.”

So the two of you start to move. As you lead him around the dance floor, you focus on him rather than all the people who are staring at you. “By the way, I don’t think we introduced ourselves. I’m (Name). And your name?”

“Ah, it’s JOKER,” he hums. “Mum told me she’d never heard ‘f anyone wit’ tha’name, but I picked it m’self a while ago. Never ‘ad any other one.”

“Huh… Lady Durless-Barnett isn’t your mother by blood, right?”

“Aye, tha’s right. She found us all an’ took us in.”

“So, what about the woman who gave birth to you? She didn’t give you any kind of name?”

He averts his eyes down toward your feet with a halfhearted shrug. “She didn’t. Rather not talk ‘bout any o’ that, ‘f ye don’t mind.”

You frown, but recover quickly. “Oh… no, that’s fine. I understand. Then ― all the others that Lady Durless-Barnett took in along with you. You were all basically a family before she found you? You’re all brothers and sisters?”

“Mhm. Tha’s ‘ow we’ve always thought o’ each other.”

“That’s so sweet.” You glance around the room for a minute, spotting some of them, and you can’t help the smile that settles on your lips. “What are their names? What are they like?”

His own smile is back at those questions. “Well… th’ two over sittin’ in th’ chairs, that’s Mally an’ Dagger. They’re each missin’ a leg. Both a bit ‘otheaded, if ye ask me, but that jus’ means they’re also passionate an’ determined. Go ta th’ ends o’ the Earth f’r ye if they think ye deserve it.”

“What about the tall fellow standing by the punch?”

Joker laughs and this time a little snort makes its way out. “Aw, that’s Jumbo. Ye can tell righ’ off what’s goin’ on with ‘im, can’t ye? I knoo he looks scary, but ‘e’s got the biggest ‘eart I ever seen. More afraid o’ ye than ye are o’ him, I’d wager. That suit don’t fit ‘im right; Mum did ‘er best.”

“And the girl next to him by the refreshment table ― the one with cake all over her dress?”

“Ah, God! She’s got it all dirty already, does she?” That grin of his is… really something. “Tha’s Freckles. We call ‘er Doll sometimes, too. Ye knoo, she’s pro’ly the brightest outta all o’ us, ‘r at least brighter’n I am. She’s pretty much th’ heart o’ our li’l group, always got a smile f’r us all.”

“I think the last two are… running around flirting? They seem to be half everyone else’s height?”

It’s obvious that the image is hilarious to him. “Oh, Peter an’ Wendy. Those two only grew ta a certain ‘eight, an’ they’re ‘bout as inseparable as anythin’. Peter can be a bitter pill ta swallow, rough round the edges… come ta think ‘f it, so can Wendy, she’s jus’ quieter. Once ye get ta know ‘em, though, ye see they ain’t bad at all.”

You give one more look at all of them, then return your gaze to Joker’s face. “… So, how about you?”

He blinks a few times, looking surprised. “Me?”

“Yes, you,” you giggle. “Now that I know that everyone else is passionate, nice,energetic, loyal… what are you? How would you describe yourself the way you just described your family?”

“Oh… er…” And he’s blushing again. Precious. “I… dunno, really.”

A hum vibrates up from your throat. “I suppose I’ll just have to find out for myself, then. As it stands, this is one of the most pleasant dances I’ve ever had with someone, so I would use charming as a starting point.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Ye think?”

“I’ve done this a few times, you know.” You lead him in the next step, twirling around with him in your arms. “So far, you’re probably the best dance partner I’ve had. You’re very sweet.”

“Awh, ye’re havin’ a go at me. Don’t make me blush, beauty.”

As the song transitions into a new one, you lean over and give a very light kiss to his cheek. “Oh, don’t limit me like that. You’re very handsome when you blush.”

You loosen your arm so that he can move away if he doesn’t want to dance for another song. “So,” you say, “would you like to go for another song?”

He shifts himself out of your arms. “Actually, sure. But first, would it… maybe be alrigh’ if I brought Mally an’ Dagger over? They both been poutin’ over not bein’ able ta dance, an’, well, if ye can find a good way ta ‘elp me dance, I bet ye could f’r them too. Sure make ‘em real happy, if ye’re up f’r that.”

“Oh… of course! I’m nothing if not up for a challenge.” You step back and give him a curtsy. “Hurry back!”

-

“Joker, darling, did I just see you were dancing with (Name) (Surname)? Goodness, and you didn’t think you’d be confident enough to ask anyone to dance, yet you asked the most beautiful, eligible woman in the room!”

Joker shoots a nervous grin at his mother, who’s currently fanning herself as she surveys her party. “Actually, she… she was th’ one who asked me.”

“What?” Anne’s eyes get even wider, sparkling devilishly. “Oh, my!! That can only mean one thing. She’s interested in you.”

“Her? Oh, Mum, she’s lovely, she really is, but… I-I dunno.” Just thinking about you makes his heart skip a beat. He’s very much interested in you, but the two of you did just meet, and he’s… missing pieces. “She couldn’t be int’rested in me.”

Anne pauses in the motion to point her fan toward the dance floor. “Then why is she doing that?”

When Joker turns his head where his mother is pointing, he not only sees what you’re doing, he hears it too. Currently, you’re positioned as if in a stand-off with one of the other attendees.

“― And you don’t know anything about him! You want to insult someone, pick on someone your own size and come at me. Go on! If you want me to tell my father to cut off business with yours, I dare you to say something. A woman leading a man in a waltz isn’t that strange! Well? Suddenly you don’t have anything to say? Just turn around like the coward you are, and if I hear you so much as breathe another word about him, you will be sorry.”

Joker’s attention isn’t even on the fact that the other lady turns bright red before flouncing off with her friends. He doesn’t care about her reaction; he cares about what you’re saying and doing. What…?

It would appear you’re defending him from someone who tried to make rude remarks about him. Why? Isn’t that the kind of thing that could ruin your standing if you get too heated about it? Why would you risk that just because someone made a cruel comment about someone you barely know? Why would you threaten such a big thing as changing your father’s business partners for him, who’s basically a stranger to you?

Anne’s giggling as she nudges Joker with one elbow. “Keeping that in mind, we should start thinking about whether you’d like a June wedding or a December wedding.”

“Mum!!” he snorts, though his face is all aglow with a soft pink. “That’s not… I’m not… she’s…”

“She likes you. Which, of course, proves that she has excellent taste.” Anne runs an affectionate hand through her son’s hair. “Why don’t you set up a date with her, sweetheart?”

Joker’s gaze returns to you, still standing in the middle of the dance floor, arms crossed, silently daring anyone to say anything mean about him or any of the others, while he remembers how kindly you treated him.

“… I just might do that, Mum. Just might.”

[diddlesanddoodles]

DUMPLING ch 33

She had managed to quell the flames after a minute or so. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was in familiar and comfortable company or if she was beginning to understand how to manipulate the fire. Avery and Saen continued with their taunts for the remainder of the time she spent in the camp and as the sun began to hang low in the sky, Quinn called out to her and asked if she could come over and stand near the tent so he could find something in the dark. She just stuck her tongue out at him.

It seemed like no time at all when Lolly returned to collect her. She walked over to Bart and patted his shoulder. “You were right about the jam, Bart. The little prince perked right up.”

Bart chuckled. “Thought he might.”

“And the Princess is up and eating, so I am pleased with that,” Lolly continued. “She’s still awfully frightened, the poor thing. Jumping at every noise and shadow...”

“Must be hard being in the house of the fella that slaughtered yer whole family,” Bart replied in a soft voice, possibly so as to keep Nenani from hearing. “She might take a while yet to calm. That’s an awful long time to be in hidin’ and certainly won’t be settin’ itself right in a day.”

“I wish there was something more we could do to calm her nerves. If you think of anything, don’t be shy by about sharing it,” Lolly replied. “Too bad jam doesn’t work as well with her as it did Haiyer.”

Bart chuckled. “A few days of rest and you takin’ care of her should help plenty, lass. Ye only had the Dumplin’ there fer a few hours when she showed up and ye worked wonders fer her.”

“I appreciate your confidence in me,” she replied with a gracious smile and then turned to Nenani. She was sitting near Avery’s station helping him cut lengths of twine to tie up roasts. “Well, little ma’am, are you ready?”

“Can’t I stay a little longer? Until Farris gets back?” Nenani pleaded. She had hoped Farris would have been back by then, but he had thus far failed to materialize.

“Oh, now put that pout away, missy,” Lolly replied. “It won’t get you anywhere with me.”

“Ye tryin’ to steal my twine cutter, woman?” Avery asked in mock outrage.

“Yer twine cutter’s overqualified,” Lolly shot back with a faint smirk.

Avery huffed a laugh. “My twine cutter’s cuttin’ her twine too long. Yer wastin’ my good twine, Dumplin’!”

“No, I’m not,” Nenani replied, glaring at Avery but without any heat. “You don’t double loop on the last one like Bart does so it just looks longer because you’re doing it wrong.”

Behind them, Bart laughed.

“I ain’t doin’ it wrong,” Avery replied defensively and inspected over one of the roasts he had already tied and placed in the waiting roasting pan. “See? Just as it should be.”

“They come undone if you don’t double loop the last one,” Nenani replied.

Avery leaned down into her space, regarding her with a quirked eyebrow. “I’ve been doin’ this longer than ye’ve been alive, lass. I think I know how to tie a roast.”

“That’s a long time to be doing it all wrong,” she shot back with a grin and yelped when Avery abruptly grabbed her up and shoved her towards Lolly.

“Take her,” Avery said dramatically. “Before I double loop her and add her to the roasts.”

Nenani was giggling as Lolly took hold of her and just before Lolly turned away, she stuck her tongue out at Avery who returned the expression gleefully.  

“Go on with ye then,” he said with a laugh, waving them on and returning to his work. She did notice however, he double looped the last roast. Lolly let Nenani say her goodbyes to the others before taking her back to the Blossom room.

The corridors were abuzz with activity and Lolly was forced several times to dodge a wayward footmen or maid dashing down the hall. “Bettie! Have you pulled the south lawn laundry yet?” Lolly asked as one particular maid hurriedly brushed passed them.

“Just fetching it now, ma’am!” the young woman called back, face flushed.

“Well, go on then,” Lolly replied, non too pleased. “It should have been done more than an hour ago.”

The dark haired young maid dipped into a curtsy. “Sorry, ma’am,” young Bettie replied. “It’s just...I got distracted.”

Lolly clicked her tongue and shook her head disapprovingly. “That’s no excuse, you’re old enough to know better than to let little things distract you from your work.”

“I am sorry, it’s just...well, you’ll hear about it soon enough, I suppose. They found something in the west wing. Something big.”

Lolly huffed dismissively. “I don’t care what they found. I care that the King’s linens aren’t left out longer than need be. Once you’ve taken them down, get with Madam Reed and help her with the aprons. Wendy is ill and Ginger doesn’t have the upper arm strength to work the mangle.”

Bettie wilted, but gave another polite bow and turned to ostensibly go take care of the south lawn laundry.

“What’s a mangle?” Nenani asked.  

“It’s a contraption they use down in the laundry to wring out excess water after they’ve washed something,” Lolly replied. “Very useful, but if you’re not careful it’ll smash your fingers. They’re washing your all boys’ aprons tonight and it’s quite a job to get all that oil and blood out of white cloth. They all have to be boiled in large tubs overnight. If you think Quinn and Kol get a work out making all that bread, you really should see my laundry maids on apron day. Those boys would not be able to keep up.”

Nenani grinned at that, putting away the nugget of information the next time she saw Quinn and Kol. The closer to the royal apartments they got, the less and less staff they ran into and more and more guards were to be seen. They passed one door that had two armed guards standing in front and Nenani craned her neck to peer at them as Lolly walked passed.

“What’s in there?” she asked.

“That’s Jae’s room,” Lolly replied. “After the attack, his Majesty's had guards posted outside his room night and day.”

“He got hurt trying to protect me,” Nenani said in a regretful and quiet voice.

“I’m very proud of him, actually,” Lolly told her. She looked up into the Matron’s face, curious. “He was very brave defending you against that monster.”

“But,” she said. “He almost died...I thought he did...”

“He will be very glad to see you once he is better enough for visitors,” Lolly told her. “Don’t fret now, sweetie. We have much to be thankful for and I am sure Jae will agree with me that there is no use regretting what we can not change. Besides, I am sure he will find ways in which to have you pay him back in spades once he is much recovered.” Nenani laughed at that, feeling better. Though she did regret involving him at all, she was very grateful to have him as a friend. She would need to think of some way of repaying him. A gift maybe? She would thin about it.

When they neared the Blossom room, Nenani was surprised to see two armed guards standing on either side of their door as well. She did not remember them being there before.

“Hello gentleman,” Lolly said as she approached. Both guards stepped aside to make room for her.

“Ma’am,” said of the guards, tipping his head politely to her and then his eye drew down to Nenani. He bowed his head in a more formal way. “M’lady.”

Nenani was about to reject his use of the honorific, but Lolly was stepping through the lintel and into the room before she could do more than open her mouth.

“You’re going to have to get use to that, I’m afraid,” Lolly said with a little snicker as she closed the door behind her.

“...hm,” Nenani grumbled, but a curious sound drew her attention. Haiyer was standing on the window sill, pressing his hands and face to the glass and giggling. Oira sat up in her bed, watching him with a content smile. When Lolly entered, Oira flinched, the smile disappearing in a flash of sudden fear, but it was gone the moment she recognized Lolly.

“My apologies, m’lady,” Lolly said as she placed Nenani on the bed. “I should have knocked.”

“No, it’s alright,” said Oira with a forced smile. “I’m still...it’s just...it’s been so long since I’ve been in Vhasshal or spoken with any of its people. I’ve quite forgotten my manners.”

“Not at all,” Lolly replied and stood there contemplative for a moment before continuing, “If it isn’t impertinent for me to say, Princess: I do not blame you for being frightened. Gods above we’ve given you every reason to fear us. It is my hope, though, that you come to see us as allies once more.”

“Please, do not call me that. I do not hold a title,” Oira said shaking her head. “And you don’t need my permission to speak frankly. In fact, I prefer it. I never did much care for the pageantry and parade that came with it all or all the flowery talk. It was always too easy to lie with people spoke with roses in their mouths. I was always terrible at it.” She gave Lolly a small smile. “Please. Just call me Oira.”

“Very well then,” Lolly said, smiling brightly. “I would also be very happy if you would call me Lolly.”

Oira returned the smile. “We have an accord then, Lolly.”

Haiyer’s loud squeal of joy drew their focus to him and the little boy was hopping up and down enthusiastically.

“What is out there?” Lolly asked, leaning to the side to peer through the window.

“He said he saw a fairy,” Oira replied, the content smile returning.

Nenani furrowed her brow. “A fairy?”

“It’s probably just a silverwing catching the light,” her mother said. “He claims to seem them all the time. Silverwings, fireflies, and so on. They’re all fairies to him.”

“...could it not be a real fairy?” Nenani asked. Both her mother and Lolly gave her patient smiles.

“Fairies only exist in stories,” Oira replied. “Otherwise I would be very concerned that one seemed to be taking interest in your brother.”

“Why? Are fairies bad?”

“When I was very young,” Lolly said, watching Haiyer with great amusement. “My mother told me that if I didn’t behave, fairies would come and snatch me away and take me to their fairy kingdom and I would never be seen again. Absolutely terrified me. I was scared of fireflies for years because my cousin told me they were fairies looking for children to spirit away.”

“We didn’t really have those kinds of stories in Silvaara. Evil mages and witches and such, yes,” Oira said. “My first governess terrorized me with stories of the Moor Witch.”

“Moor Witch?” Lolly asked. “I’m not familiar with that one.”

“She’s supposed to be an Ibronian spellweaver who was cast out for cursing the daughter of a great lord,” Oira explained. “And she roams the lands in search of naughty children to cook up or use as ingredients in her evil spells.”

“Why are all childhood stories always about something that wants to harm them in some way?” Lolly asked. “There are easier ways to get children to mind you properly without resorting to terrorizing them.”

Oira just shrugged. “Who is to say. I always felt there was enough true evil in the world to resort to tales of flight and fancy.”

Lolly nodded solemnly. “That is very true.”

“I wanted to thank you again for bringing the jam for Haiyer,” Oira said. “I haven’t seen him so excited in a long time.”

“I cannot take credit for that one,” Lolly replied with a grin, waving her hand dismissively. “It was Bart’s idea.”

Oira looked to Nenani. “Is he one of your kitchen friends?”

“Yup,” Nenani said smiling. “He’s the head butcher.”

“Well, when you see him next, tell him he has my gratitude,” she said and they all turned when Haiyer gave another loud squeal of joy, waving at his ‘fairy’. Oira laughed. “And Haiyer’s as well.”

Nenani walked across the bed to the side table next to it and just under the window. Hopping the small gap, she walking up and eased herself up onto the sill. Haiyer looked at her and grinned, holding up the blue stone that Nenani have given him prior.

“You were right! It is magic,” he said, bouncing a little. “Ellis said it’s really powerful too.”

“Who?” Nenani asked.

“The fairy,” he said. “She said it will protect me from the bad man.”

“Is Ellis still outside?” she asked, indulging in her little brother’s play and looking through the window. She could see the roofs and a watch tower and just the corner of what she assumed was the west wing as she could see fire damage. But there did not seem to be a fairy out there.

“No, she went away,” Haiyer replied in such a serious matter of fact way that Nenani couldn’t help but grin at him. “Ellis is very shy.”

“Is she your friend?” Nenani asked.

“Yep!” he said. He still had jam on his face and on his fingers. There were small sticky fingerprints all over the window. “She comes to see me sometimes. When I’m sad. And tells me funny stories to cheer me up.”

“Well so long as she doesn’t try to snatch you and take you to the fairy kingdom.”

Haiyer shook his head. “She said she couldn’t,” he replied. “Because she’s not allowed there anymore because she did a bad thing. So she lives in the mountains with her friend when she’s not visiting me.”

“Oh? Who is her friend? Another fairy?”

“No, he’s a giant,” he said once more in that matter of fact way. “Ellis says he’s really smelly, but she likes him anyway.”

Nenani tilted her head. “...a giant?”

“Uh-huh,” Haiyer said, sitting down next to Nenani on the edge of the sill; his little legs contently swinging back and forth. He noticed the jam on his fingers and licked them clean. “I never met him, but she said he doesn’t eat people like other giants and that’s he’s nice.”

Nenani laughed. “What’s his name?”

“Bertol,” he said. “Ellis said he can see the future.”

Nenani stared, a sudden sinking feeling in her belly and she wasn’t entirely sure why.

……………………………………………………………….

When night finally fell, Nenani and Haiyer settled into their beds and their mother took her time carefully tucking each of them in. Color was returning to her face and though she still looked tired, there was a more gentle easiness about her that made Nenani feel very relieved. Haiyer’s eyes were already closed by the time Oira finished pushing in the blanket around him snugly. Once the little boy was tucked in, she turned to Nenani, smiling. “I’ve dreamed of this so many times,” she said quietly as she pulled the blanket over her. “And I always wondered if Halden would tuck you or sing to you.”

“Sometimes, but he never sang as pretty as you,” Nenani replied, a funny fluttering sensation in her chest. It had been so long since her mother had tucked her in and it was almost like she was little again. Before all the bad things happened. Oira’s smile widened and she huffed a quiet laugh. And then began to sing...

“A rose for my beauty

So red

And frail

A peach for my sweetheart

So sweet

And pale

A hug for my darling

So warm

And brief

A goodnight kiss for my baby

To hold

To keep...”

Nenani closed her eyes, letting her mother’s words drift over her and closed her eyes. No dreams came to her, but she slept deeply and peacefully. So she was surprised when he eyes fluttered open and it was still dark. She sat up and looked around the room, the moon having cast a dreamy pale light that allowed her to see fairly well. Both her mother and brother were soundly asleep and it was only when she heard the voices from outside the door that she understood what had woken her.  

“Sorry, sir,” she heard the muffled worlds of one of the guards. “They’re all in for the night and we have order not to allow anyone inside without...”

“Aye, I’m sure ye do boys and I thank ye fer it. Figured it was a lost errand, but nothin’ ventured nothin’ gained. I’ll say goodnight, then.”

Nenani’s heart skipped a beat and she threw off her bed clothes and scrambled to the wooden stairs set beside the larger bed and almost fell the last two steps in her haste. She ran to the door and began to bang on it. “Open the door!” she yelled, slamming her fist into the wood with such force that her hand hurt. “Open it, please!”

“Nenani, what’s wrong?” her mother asked worriedly from her bed.

“That was Farris!” Nenani replied, turning to look up at her mother with pleading eyes. “He’s just outside!”

Oira sighed in relief and shook her head. “Darling, it’s late, you’ll be able to say hello tomorrow...”

“No! I need to see him now!” Her fists returned to banging on the door, but still it didn’t move. She growled in frustration and gave it a firm kick. “I said open the fucking door!”

She heard her mother gasp. “Nenani, that’s...”

The locking mechanism clicked high above her head and the knob began to turn and it had barely opened at all before she was wedging herself through the gap and she spilled out into the hallway.

“What the...”

“M-m’lady, what’s…?” Nenani ignored the confused uttering of the guards and looked around. She spotted movement at the end of the hall as it turned the corner and she ran towards it. Behind her, she could heard the confused guards talking and then her mother call her name, but she ignored them all. When she rounded the corner, she abruptly hit a wall of leather and fell back with a startled cry.

“Ah!”

“Oi!” She looked up and met Farris’s green eyes as they went from wide and surprised to narrow and angry. “What the –? Dumplin’! What th’ fuck are ye doin’?”

She scrambled to her feet, her eyes suddenly blurring and she knew her hands were glowing, but did not have it in her to care. “I wanted to see you before but they said you went to the market and Lolly wouldn’t let me wait for you and Bart said he was gonna ask the King’s falcon man to send Yale a note to let him know I’m okay and then I heard you just now but I couldn’t reach the door knob and they were opening the door really slow!”  

“Take a breath lass, yer turning blue,” Farris said with a confused chuckle as he knelt down. His eyes flicked down to her hands. “...and yer glowin’.”

Nenani looked at her hands and growled in frustration as her finger tips began to flicker with flames. “I can’t help it, it just happens now.”

Farris snorted into his hand. “Aye, the boys were tellin’ me about yer new trick an’ all that.”

“And before you ask,” Nenani said firmly and holding up a glowing finger. “No one’s allowed to call me Princess, Princess Dumpling, or m’lady. I’m not any of those things. I’m just me.”

He laughed properly at that, wiping a hand across his brow. “Alright, then. Any other commands ye have fer me, lil’un?”

Nenani stared into her guardian’s face and thought for a moment – there was so much she wanted to say – but in lieu to vomiting out all the miasmic thoughts and worries congealing in her head, she simply held her arms out, face pleading. Farris’s eyes softened and he reached down towards her, pulling her little body into his hands and raised her up. The pressure and warmth of his grip was a welcome and familiar presence and she felt herself trembling as she fought to keep her emotions from sending her into a blaze.

“Oh, my lil’ darlin’,” he said quietly, pulling her close to him, tucking her under his chin and wrapping her up with his hands. He was nearly enveloping her and she felt the wave of relief wash over her. “Thank the Gods yer alright. I thought I’d lost ye.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, pushing her face into his shirt.  

“Don’t,” he told her firmly. “I won’t be hearin’ it.”

“But he hurt you and you were bleeding!” she cried, shaking. “And I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before about what was going on and maybe if I did you and Jae wouldn’t have gotten hurt and now everything’s all weird and scary and I just...I just...”

“Lil’un,” Farris said in the same stern tone, pulling her away from him to peer at her. “Yer not responsible fer what that bastard did.”

“But I am still sorry,” she whimpered. “Everyone keeps telling me not to be, but I can’t help it. My friends were hurt and I’m sorry for it. Even if it wasn’t my fault, I still feel like it is. I can’t help it.”

Farris shook his head, suppressing a grin and then fixed her with a look. “Nenani. We wouldn’t be stickin’ our neck out fer ye if we didn’t think ye were worth protectin’. Princess or not, fire mage or not...yer still the same scrawny lil’ lass yer always were. I took a vow when I had that marker made.” He pointed to the small metal mediallion still around her neck. Through everything that had happened, she had managed to keep a hold of it. “And it don’t matter who or what ye are. I intend to keep that promise. Whatever the risks. Understand me, lil’un?”

Nenani nodded and sniffed, wiping at her cheeks with her sleeve. “Yes.”

“And I should be the one tellin’ ye I’m sorry,” he said and hesitated, swallowing against the emotion rising in his throat. “Yer just a lil’ girl. Ye shouldn’t have to be worryin’ about some deranged fuck tryin’ to kill ye. Ye got hurt ‘cause I couldn’t protect ya like I should’a.”

Nenani shook her head and opened her mouth to protest his words, but he pulled her to him again and said quietly, “And when I thought ye were gone, lass…I haven’t felt so low in a mighty long time... a mighty long time.” Nenani didn’t trust herself to speak so she squeezed her hands against his fingers. “And then the boys all told me how Keral’d brought ye back from the dead somehow and who ye really were and…what ye were.”

He pulled her away again so he could look at her. His eyes were always so sharp and piercing, but now they were soft and warm and there were tears pooling under them. “But all I cared about was knowin’ my lil’un was alive. Safe. And home.” She broke down and sobbed, the flames began to dance around her, but Farris didn’t even flinch.

“I...” Nenani struggled to speak and swallowed thickly. “I...I never...finished the tonics…”

The spice master’s face broke out into a wide grin. “Ah, now. Don’t be worryin’ about that, lass.”

“But, it’s my job right?” She said, looking into his face, pleadingly. “Will...will you still teach me?”

“If ye still want to be learnin’ all that,” Farris replied. “Seems a like a lowly way fer a Princess to be spendin’ her time.”

She hung her head. “I don’t want to be a Princess if it means I can’t be with you all anymore...”

He pulled her close to his face, nuzzling her. “Yer always welcome down there with us, Dumplin’,” he said softly. “Always.”  

Farris’s eyes suddenly darted over to the corner and he pulled Nenani away from him. She turned around as best she could within his hands and saw her mother standing at the corner of the corridor, watching them.  

“Mama!” Nenani said, grinning. “This is Farris.”

Farris then seemed to remember himself and careful as he might, sat Nenani back on her feet, clearing his throat quickly and straightening his shirt. “Apologies m’lady,” he said somewhat awkwardly. “I was just...”

“No, no, please. Don’t be,” Oira assured him quickly with a smile. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“I didn’t mean to wake ye, I know it’s late,” Farris said with a bow of his head and Oira stared at him for a moment.

“When Keral told me that Nenani had been living here for over three months and that she was being looked after by the cooks,” Oira said. “I couldn’t help but imagine the most horrible things...”

Farris blinked at her and nodded solemnly. “...I can understand why,” he replied seriously. “But none of my boys or I would ever hurt her.”

Her mother smiled, looking profoundly relieved. “I can see that now. I feel foolish for having ever thought otherwise. It’s very obvious that you love her dearly. And I can’t thank you enough for taking her in, sir.”

“Yer very generous, m’lady,” Farris bowed his head. “But it’s not anythin’ more than any other decent folks would’a done.”

She studied him for a moment, her smile fading.

“No, it’s not. It’s so much more,” Oira said frankly, shaking her head. “I know many supposedly decent people who all turned her away. People I had thought I could rely on. People who had known her since birth. Being a decent person doesn’t make someone good hearted. And I believe you have a very good heart, sir.” She paused. “Nenani told me that she caught the reap and that you were the one who gave her medicine and stayed with her through the fever. All those decent people I knew would have thrown her away in fear of catching it. But not you.”

Farris seemed at a loss for how to respond.

“And I overheard all that you were saying just before,” Oria continued with a grateful smile. “You care for Nenani greatly, do you not, sir?

“Like she was m’own,” Farris replied without hesitation.

Oira was silent for a long moment, studying the larger man as though seeking something in his eyes.

“I have failed her so many times,” she said finally, voice quiet. “It just seemed the harder I tried to protect her, the further away she became until...she was all alone. I was never there when she needed me most,” said the woman, her eyes brimming with emotion. “But you were. And I will be forever in your debt for it. She needs people she can rely on and it’s clear to me how much she cares for you too.”

“M’lady, I...”

“Please,” Oira replied with a small laugh. “I haven’t been a lady for a long time and I’ve all but forgotten how to act the part. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I’d prefer if we spoke frankly.”

“Aye, I can do that,” Farris replied, seeming fairly pleased with the idea. “Lil’ relieved to here ye say it, if we’re speakin’ plainly. Never been all that good with that flowery talk.”

Her mother laughed at that, nodding in wholehearted agreement and then regarded Farris curiously, smiling. “I have to say, I find you far more tolerable than your brother.”

“Oh, aye? First time I’ve ever been accused a’ that,” Farris grinned. “But Keral’s not so bad once ye come to understand his...idiosyncrasies.”

“His idiosyncrasies are in need of a bath,” Oira replied tersely and earned herself a loud bark of a laugh from Farris.

“Fat chance a that, lass,” he chuckled. “Mum’s been tryin’ to get him to bathe regularly since he was ten. If her chasin’ ‘im with a broom ain’t gonna convince ‘im, ye ain’t got a breath of a’ prayer.”

“Your poor mother,” she replied. She looked to Nenani with a pointed look. “I could never keep this one away from mud puddles. And I swear she only had any interest in them until after she’d already had a bath.”

“Aye, she does have a knack fer findin’ a mess to throw herself into,” Farris remarked with a smirk and then regarded Oira with a curious look. “I’ve been teachin’ her how to mix tonics few a wee bit. I don’t suppose ye would have any objections on that continuin’?”

Oira seemed a little surprised by the question but recovered quickly. “Not at all. It’s a very useful skill to have. And I’m sure she’d love any excuse to visit you.”

Nenani gave her mother the biggest grin she could manage, her flames dying down until only her fingertips glowed. “So I can still go to the kitchen? Even if it’s not proper…?”

“Nenani,” she said patiently and cupped her daughter’s face in her hands. “You’ve made a life here all your own. And I don’t want to tear you away from that, but to to be apart of it. My only wish is to see you safe and happy. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

“Thank you,” she said and hugged her mother.

“Alright then,” Farris said with a smirk and carefully eased himself back onto his feet. “I’ll be seein’ ya tomorrow morning then, lass.”

“After breakfast though,” Nenani added quickly. “I’m not waking up with the chickens.”  

“Pickin’ and choosin’ yer terms a bit there, ain’t ye?” Farris asked and then nodded. “But, aye. After breakfast then. I’ll say goodnight to ye both.”

“Goodnight,” Nenani said with a big smile.

“Goodnight,” Oira echoed before adding, “And thank you, Farris. Truly.”

The kitchen master dipped his head before turning away to walk back down the hall towards the servant’s corridor entrance, his head held a little higher.

[winterfang53]

Gajevy Week 2020 - Relax

Gajevy Week 2020 - relax!

Saturday was Gajeel’s favorite day of the week.

Gajeel, Levy, and Lily had a tradition: Every Saturday, given that no one was on a mission, the Redfoxes would spend the day in the comfort of their home, in their PJs, and binge-watch all the TV or movies they missed during the week. Most Saturdays also ended up as pizza nights, much to Gajeel’s glee. Nothing, in the Dragon Slayer’s mind, was better than cuddling on the couch with Levy and Lily, watching trash TV, while eating a large meat lover's pizza.

They had started this tradition during their council days, as a way to save money surprisingly enough. Right after the Guild’s disbandment, Gajeel and Levy both found themselves broke, and even after getting jobs in the council, they didn’t have that much money to spend. In order to save on expenses, The trio rented together a small one-bedroom/one-bath apartment within walking distances of the council headquarters. During the first few months when money was tight, the 3 Fairies had created Lazy Saturdays as a way to have cheap, relaxing fun on a budget.

Even with the Guild back together and Gajeel and Levy being married (which happened very soon after the war) the Saturday tradition still lived on. Saturdays were sacred for Gajeel, and no one messed with sacred -- even annoying Guildmates.

On one particular Saturday, however, the rest of Fairy tail would test that sacredness.

The day had started like any Saturday: Gajeel and Levy had spent most of the morning in bed, cuddling and kissing until stomachs forced them up to eat breakfast. It was about 11 AM when Gajeel had just made it into the kitchen before the knocking started.

Gajeel turned towards the door in confusion; Levy was still upstairs and Lily was dozing on the couch, so who could it be? Turning to open the door, Gajeel came face to face with Jet and Droy.

“What are you guys doing here?” Gajeel asked (nicely, cuz they’re friends -- even if they came over on a Saturday).

“We were gonna see if Levy wanted to go on a mission!” the boys cheered loudly, breaking the soft quiet of the morning.

Gajeel blinked, a mission? On Saturday?

Blasphemy.

“No can do guys,” Gajeel said, crossing his arms, “it’s Saturday. No missions are allowed on Saturdays. Levy’s still sleeping anyways so I’ll let her know that you stopped by. See you guys on Monday.” And with that Gajeel closed the door (gently cuz they’re friends, he reminded himself). 

Jet and Droy looked at the door in confusion. “What did he mean by no missions on Saturdays?” Droy asked Jet as the pair turned to walk away awkwardly.

Jet shook his head, “who knows man, who knows.”

Gajeel had thought that Jet and Droy would be the last intruders on the Saturday tradition, but he had been wrong. So wrong.

Not even an hour later, after the Redfoxes had finished their late breakfast, another knock was heard at the door.

“Gajeel could you see who that is?” Levy called from the couch as she set up the movie. Grumbling, Gajeel made his way to the door, opening to reveal one of the last people he wanted to see on his Saturday.

“Hey, Metalhead!” Natsu said grinning as Happy fluttered around him saying hi, “let’s train!”

“Can’t,” Gajeel said bluntly, already closing the door, “It’s Saturday and there’s no training on Saturdays. Now get lost!” Gajeel closed the door and walked away, still hearing Natsu complain from the outside.

“Was that Natsu?” Lily asked from the couch, already cuddled up in Levy’s lap.

“Unfortunately,” Gajeel replied as he too sat on the couch, “told him to get lost though. Had much more important things to do.”

Levy giggled before leaning into him. This, Gajeel thought, was the meaning of Saturdays: his family together, relaxing. Nothing could get in the way of his family time.

**Knock!**

Well, a man could hope right?

“I can get it,” Levy offered, already moving to get up when Gajeel beat her to it.

“Nah Shrimp, I got it” he said grumbling, “won’t take long.”

This time around, it was Natsu and Lucy.

“Hi Gajeel,” Lucy said smiling, “Natsu said something about me hanging out with Levy while you 2 train?”

“Yeah Metalhead! This way Levy won’t get bored while we train!” Natsu butted in.

“I already told you no!” Gajeel growled in annoyance, “no training or socializing on Saturdays! Now get lost!” This time Gajeel slammed the door and huffed his way back to the couch.

“Natsu again?” Levy as softly as she pressed into Gajeel as he sat down. Gajeel wrapped his arm around her in comfort.

“Yeah, and Blondie. I told them both to leave. It’s Saturday and Saturday is for relaxing at home, why doesn’t he get that?” Gajeel complained.

“Hm,” Levy hummed as she cuddled against him, “most of our Guildmates don’t understand the idea of downtime. Hopefully, this time we can just enjoy our movie.”

It was after 1 in the afternoon and the movie had just ended. Levy had gotten up to make lunch as Lily was finding the next movie when another knock was heard at the door.

“What don’t these people get about ‘no!’” Gajeel moaned as he went to the door, opening to reveal Juvia and Gray this time.

“Hi, Gajeel-kun!” Juvia cheered brightly as she clung to Gray, “Would Gajeel-kun and Levy-chan like to join Juvia and Gray-sama for lunch downtown?”

Gajeel took a deep breath (cuz this was his friend. Friend. FRIEND.) “Nah, Lev’s just about done with lunch for us anyways but thanks for asking.” Gajeel replied, “you 2 go enjoy your date.”

At the sound of ‘date’ Juvia squealed and clung tighter as Gray turned red.

“I-its not a date!” he cried but Gajeel had already closed the door since he really didn’t care.

Between lunch and the end of the 2nd movie, 3 more people knocked on the door:

1st were Wendy and Charlie asking for a book.

2nd was Cana stopping to say hi.

And 3rd was a door to door salesman which Gajeel scared off with a roar.

“My peaceful Saturday,” Gajeel lamented on the couch, “gone.”

“Oh, don’t give up yet Dear,” Levy joked as she sat in his lap, playing with his hands in her lap. Lily had gone outside to take a nap in the sun, “It’s only 4 pm, we still have pizza night and that movie we rented yesterday.”

“You’re right,” Gajeel sighed into her hair, already feeling more relaxed, “what would I do without Lev?”

Just then, as if in answer, there was another knock at the door.

“...I’m going to kill someone,” Gajeel growled darkly, tossing Levy lightly onto the couch to get up and march to the door.

“Someone better be willing to -” Gajeel began only to screw his lips shut, because on the other side of the door was Erza.

“Be willing to what Gajeel?” Erza asked, her brow raised in question.

“...nothing, what do you want Erza?” Gajeel replied (a little too scared to put too much attitude into it).

“I heard from the others that you’ve been turning people away,” Erza explained, as she broadened her stance, “is there a particular reason for the unusual antisocial behavior?”

Gajeel bristled, “I just want my peace and quiet!” he growled, “A day without you nut heads, is that so much to ask?”

Erza glared, “and what about Levy? I heard you’re not letting other people see her. If you think you can control her just because you’re married then-”

“Hi Erza!” Levy called out from under Gajeel’s arm, slipping past him to stand in between, “what brings you over?”

Erza shifted to Levy, taking note of her PJs, “are you not feeling well Levy?” Erza asked in concern, “you’re already in your PJs.”

“Never left them,” Levy admitted, “I feel fine but did you need anything?”

“I came because I heard Gajeel had been turning people away today,” Erza explained, “I wanted to check to make sure everything is alright.”

“Oh, everything’s fine!” Levy replied happily, “it’s just today’s Saturday and Gajeel and I prefer to keep Saturdays as Family days, you know? Just spending some quality time together.”

Erza blushed in embarrassment, “o-oh,” she muttered shyly, “that’s...oddly romantic of the 2 of you.” she then cleared her throat, “W-well, don’t mind me then, I’ll be off! I’ll let everyone else know not to bother you today either.”

“Thank you Erza!” Levy called after her as Erza walked down the lane before turning to Gajeel, “now, my Dear Husband, what would you like on your pizza?”

“I love you so much, you know that?” Gajeel admitted as he closed the door behind them.

Levy giggled, “I know, and I love you too. More than anything.”

Come Monday, when Gajeel and Levy walked into the Guild, the girls pulled Levy away for ‘girl time’ while Gajeel made his way to the bar. At the bar, the other guys teased him on his ‘softness’ for wanting to spend ‘quality time’ with his wife, but Gajeel didn’t mind. He knew that by the end of the day, all those guys were going to wish they were as ‘soft’ as him if the proud smile on Levy’s face, who sat in the middle of a group of fawning girls, was anything to go by.

[sheeple]

The intern | 10: Birthday parties part II

GIFS NOT MINE. THIS IS ALL FICTION. Genre(s): intern!au / fluff / mild angst Group(s): NCT / Red Velvet Pairing(s): Moon Taeil x fem!reader Summary: The new Elysion Publishings intern is the youngest they ever had. It’s not a problem until she grabs the attention of the IT guy. Warning(s): Age-gap of five years [Masterlist] [Mini masterlist]

My phone rings as we ─ Johnny, Taeyong, Wendy, Taeil, and I ─ walk out of the office and I see it’s Mark. A smile spreads on my face as I answer my phone.

“Hey hey”, I say, my voice cheerful. The others look at me surprised at my sudden switch to English I always do with Mark.

“Yo. How’s you’re birthday going?”, he questions, a smile obvious in his voice.

“Meh”, I shrug, “it was okay. Got a lot of ‘happy birthday’-s.”

Johnny and Wendy look at me with weirdly and I mouth ‘Mark’. Wendy frowns and shakes her head, her eyes telling me to hang up.

“Do you wanna hang-out tonight? Eat pizza, play some videogames or watch a movie? Since it’s your birthday, you know”

I pout. “I’m sorry, my dude. I’m already going out with my friends and sing some karaoke.” I run a hand through my hair with a sigh.

Mark whines loudly. “But I wanted to hang out!” He shuffles around. I can only imagine him wildly throwing around his limps, just throwing a hissy fit in general.

“What if... you’re coming with us?”

“No!”, yells Wendy in protest. Oh right, I forgot they’re cousins.

Mark chuckles at the protest of his older cousin. “Sounds fun. Where y’all meeting up?”

I look at Johnny and he signs me to give my phone.”We’re going to Suyi’s Karaoke Bar before eating somewhere.” He hums and nods a couple of times before giving me back my phone.

“So I’ll see you there.” Mark’s voice sounds cheerful.

I say goodbye to him and end the call. As I pocket my phone, Wendy looks at me sourly.

“I can’t believe you invited him! I already see him like every other week.”

I roll my eyes. “If things worked out between him and me, you wouldn’t see him ‘like every other week’.” I make air-quotations as I say the last part.

“Wait, what?”, butts Taeil in with wide eyes. He pushes Taeyong away to rush next to me.

“Well...”, I trail off.

“She and Wendy’s cousin, Mark, went on a date a month or two ago”, interrupts Taeyong with a glare towards the eldest.

“Yeah!”, smirks Johnny. “Isn’t he the same age as you? Born in ‘99?”

I glare at the two boys, seeing right through their attempts to make Taeil jealous. And from the look of it; it’s kinda working. Taeil chews angrily on his bottom lip and he balls his hands in firsts.

I frown. He has nothing to be jealous of. Mark and I are just friends. It weirds me out thinking about being more than friends with him. My choice of ignoring the whole thing is the best choice I made. The conversation picks up again with Johnny and Wendy being idiots.

We soon arrive at the karaoke band and we see Mark leaning against his bike. I yell his name and rush towards Mark. He looks up from his phone and hugs me once I reach him. He spins me around and I laugh loudly.

“Look at you being an adult now.” He wipes away a fake, non-existing tear and I punch his shoulder.

“Don’t act as if you’re not two months older than her.” Wendy laughs in a teasing way with a grin.

We go into the karaoke bar and Taeyong walks up to the desk. He says that he has a reservation on the name of ‘Lee’ and the guy behind the desk nods as he types away.

He leads us towards some privet room and explains how everything works to us. From choosing the songs to calling assistance.

I hang up my coat on one of the hooks and let myself fall on the couch. Wendy drapes herself next to me and says her arm over my shoulder.

“You’re going to duet with me, no matter what”, she whispers in my ear and I nod with a giggle.

“Of course! With who else am I going to sing Truth Hurst?”

After singing our hearts out and duetting with almost everyone, we walk laughing out of the bar. 

“So, what’s next?”, questions Mark as he puts his hands in his pockets. 

“Well, we were going to eat somewhere...” I throw Wendy a pleasing look, Mark joining me.

“Fine! He can come. But I want no whining, no screaming, and definitely no flirting”, she says as if she’s talking to a toddler. 

Mark just smirks and throws an arm over her shoulder. “When did I ever do that, dear cousin?”

“Well...”, trails Wendy off and starts to list the times he was basically a child during past family gatherings.

As we walk, I see Taeil walking far in the back. “Are you okay?”, I question and start to walk next to him. 

“Hm? Oh, yes.” He smiles at me, but I’m not convinced. 

I grab his hand and pull him with me, so we’re closer to the group. “No sulking on my birthday, mister.” I swing our linked hands back and forth between us and hum some song that we sang earlier.

“Can I... can I ask a question?” Taeil licks his lips and looks at me. 

I nod with a slight smile. We start to walk a little slower so we’re out of hearing distance of the group.

“Do you like Mark?”, he asks bluntly with his face beet red. 

I chuckle softly under my breath. “Oh yeah! He is such a great friend. We connect really well since we’re only a couple months apart and we both speak English.”

“Not like that. Do you like-like him.” 

I stop and look Taeil in his eyes. “Are you asking me if I have romantic feelings for him?”

He nods and I scrunch my nose in disgust. “Ew gross! He’s more like a brother than anything else. Oh my god.” I shiver thinking about it.

A sigh of relief leaves Taeil’s lips and he squeezes my hand lightly. We pick our pace back up so nobody noticed we were gone for just a smidge.

“Ready to fill our stomachs!”, cheers Taeyong as he pushes the door open of the Korean BBQ place. We take a seat around a table fit for five people. 

A waiter comes and takes our orders. We order all different kinds of meats and side dishes. And of course, Soju.

I am placed between Johny and Taeil, with Taeyong seated between de cousins in front of me. 

“Wait, so, don’t tell me this is your first time eating k-bbq”, asks Wendy while throwing a shot of Soju behind. 

I shrug. “I never had the chance. Eating alone is never fun, so why would I go without anyone?”

“Except those three am ramen trips.” Mark gives me a knowing look and we giggle.

“Okay, something is going on with the both of you and you guys have to spill it”, muses Johnny with folded arms.

“It’s nothing, really. We just hung out a lot the past couple of weeks. (Y/n) is a very bad sleeper and I game until late, so we planned these late-night trips to the grocery store and ate ramen so neither of us has to go alone”, says Mark with a smile.

I giggle. “Yeah. We live in the same neighbourhood and the closed grocery store is only a five-minute walk. Two if you run.”

“Wait. Do you live in that new-build block? Four streets behind his?”, asks Wendy as she leans backwards, almost falling off her chair if it wasn’t for Taeyong.

“Yup. The apartments are surprisingly spacious for what the rent is. I think that’s why Mr. Kim placed me there.”

The group stops. “THE BOSS PAYS FOR YOUR HOUSING?!”

I flinch a bit. “I mean... yeah? I get paid less than the other interns because of that.”

“Now I really want to see your place”, hums Taeyong and the others agree. 

“I mean, we can stop by a grocery store after we’ve eaten and buy some food and drinks and hang out at my place.”

The group agrees as we stuff our faces with delicious food. I bite my lip. I just hope I cleaned my apartment enough.

With our arms filled with snacks and booze, we enter the lobby of my apartment complex.

“Good evening, Mrs Choi”, I greet the old lady that lives on the ground floor next to the staircase.

“Good evening, child. I see that you brought some friends”, she notes and I smile. 

“Yeah, we’re celebrating my birthday today. Sorry in advance if we’re making too much noise.” I bow slightly with a small smile.

Mrs Choi chuckles. “Go and be young, child.” She waves us off before entering her apartment. 

“Such a cute little lady”, says Johnny with a smile as we walk up the stairs. 

“She’s the sweetest. She helped me settle in and makes wonderful kimchi.” I fetch my keys out of my pocket and unlock the door.

“I don’t think I have enough slippers for all of us...”, I mumble, removing my shoes. I lead them into my apartment and place the food and drinks in my kitchen. 

“Just... seek a place around the living room. I’ll grab bowls and glasses for us.”

“I’ll help you!”, chirps Wendy as he follows me in the kitchen. She opens the fridge and a gasp leaves her lips. “Are you serious?! There’s only one thing in your fridge!” She grabs one of the ice tea packs from my fridge and I chuckle awkwardly as I scratch the back of my head.

“I told my mom that I missed my favourite brand of ice tea so she sent like twelve litres of it. She also sent my favourite type of candy.” I open up up a cabinet above me and shove the stacks and stacks of candy.

Wendy laughs loudly. “You’re a child.”

[hitchell-mope]

(Third film. After “smells like teen spirit”. Back in Auradon. At Evie’s house. Mal’s in the kitchen making party food. Uma’s fighting a loosing battle with the swivel stool. And Celia’s sitting on the counter)

Celia: ok. I’ll bite. Why Harry. Out of all the idiots, all the boys, and Gil, that you could have chosen. Why Harry?

Uma: hm? Shit. Fuckin’. Crappy chair. What now

Mal: I can get you a proper chair if you like

Uma (slamming her palm down on the counter): I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY KITCHEN FURNISHINGS!!!! Ow

Mal: ok, dude. Say it. Don’t spray it.

Uma (sounding like Sideshow Bob): urgh. (Normal voice) What were you saying Ceels?

Celia: why. Harry.

Uma: he’s a good employee. Does what I say, when I say it, without argument

(Her sister and cousin look unconvinced)

Celia: you wanna tell or can I? Or if you’d prefer we can go full on Greek muse

Mal: ha. And let halfwit Harry be happy? Yeah, no, don’t think so

Uma: yeah I’m lost

Celia: toi, ma chère soeur, tu aimes le pirate

Uma: slander and blasphemy

Celia: well it’s true. Wether you like or not. You “wuv” him

Uma: you’re wrong. Mal, tell her she’s wrong

Mal: I can’t, I’m cooking. (She clears her throat) Coughshe’srightthoughcough

Uma: low blow. Even for you.

Celia: you know it. (She starts humming the “in a tree” song)

Uma: must she use that insipid song?

Mal: she’s your little sister. So yes.

Uma: I’m not, you know, with Harry

Mal: I am really not the one you should be talking to about this. If I had my way he’d be staring down the business end of a jet propeller.

Uma: yeah. You’re right. Got anymore booze?

Mal: open bar cuz, open bar.

Uma: thanks

(She reaches for a new bottle and promptly falls off the swivel stool)

Celia: HAHAHAHA!!!! Called it

Uma (popping up from the floor): I have to go

(She heads for the gazebo)

Mal: if I were you I’d go after her and knock her off the trail.

Celia: meaning you’d turn her away from Hook.

Mal: yep.

Celia: luckily for her, I’m not you.

(She gets off the counter and heads in Uma’s direction. Then she stops and turns around)

Celia: by the way. Where are Dizzy’s folks?

Mal (looking very uncomfortable): uhhhh (her eyes flit to the ceiling)...asleep...?

Celia: eh they deserve after the day they’ve had.

(Celia leaves Mal my long about Lamborghini’s, Doug’s shirt and throttling Evie, and goes to her sister)

Celia: hey

Uma (taking a swig of whiskey that empties half of the bottle): what?

Celia: just checking up on you

Uma: I’m not. It doesn’t exist.

Celia: yeah, yeah, I know. But if it worked

Uma: I am not like them. And you know I’m not. I’m (she takes another swig, emptying the bottle completely) independent

Celia: yeah the thing about they is well.

(This is when “miss independent” happens. After the song Mal poofs in)

Mal: Jay phoned. They’re just coming up to the house.

Celia: about time

Mal: oh and Uma, que pensez-vous de la livraison de Harry dans une boîte d'allumettes?

(Uma blanches and poofs to the front of the house. Mal bursts into cackles)

Celia: I hope you’ll still find it funny when you’re eating your meals through a straw.

Mal: ahh it’ll be worth it. C’mon kid

(They troop through the house and end up meeting Devie at the bottom of the stairs. Mal flings her arm over Celia’s eyes)

Mal: oh look. They’ve finally emerged from the nest (telepathically) Doug your buttons are disordered. Evie, my dear sister, you might wanna charge into your own clothes instead of Doug’s shirt

(They both look red faced and proceed to make the changes)

Mal: that’s better. (Verbally) lets go then

(Once outside they wait for the others. Jaylos, gilonnie and Jane walk up first)

Mal: where’s Ben. You said you found him

Jay: I also said I had a surprise for you

Jane: oh god tell me you didn’t

Gilonnie and Carlos: he did

Jane: fucking cats

Mal: cats? What about cats?

Jay: not cats. Ben.

Mal: uh-kay

Jay: 🎶come on out Ben🎶

(Ben poofs in. Mal promptly squeals in surprise)

Mal (euphorically, Unser her breath): it’s just like cats

Evie: ladies gentleman and pirates. I give you the acting queen of auradon

Mal: oh blow it out your ass sis or I’ll tell them about you’re last wardrobe choice

Evie: I’ll shut up

Lonnie: now that the king and his fiancé are safe. There’s something I’ve been waiting a year to do. You’re Uma yeah?

Uma: yeah

Lonnie: awesome

(She launches herself at Uma and tackles the sea witch to the ground)

Uma: what the fuck!

Lonnie: what’s your problem with Mal anyway? Huh? Is it that she’s more powerful then you? Or that she got away first? Oh don’t worry. I know what she did. And I don’t care. That’s who she was not who she is. But you did what she did. And you did worse. You were angry. And you lashed out at the first person you could. So how are you any different

Uma: get this crazy bitch offa me!

Mal: Lonnie! Lonnie, we’re cool now! So if could I uh hehe?

Lonnie: really? Well alright then.

Ben: got it all out of your system?

Lonnie: mostly. Might be some residual anger that’ll present itself at an inopportune time. But for now I’m ok.

Mal: cool. How about we get you a drink?

Lonnie: appletini?

Mal: more then doable. Let’s get you inside, Evie wipe that smirk off your face, and get you a nice appletini on the rocks yeah? (Lonnie nods) yeah...

(Mal and lonnie go in. Ben approaches Uma)

Ben: I’m sorry about her. She kinda got left out last year and today’s been awful for everyone concerned. She just snapped

Uma: don’t make allowances for her kid ok? I don’t make allowances for Harry

Carlos: no, of course not, you just let him get away with blue murder

Uma: don’t you have a genie to be cowering behind?

Carlos: not after the mirror, no. But I could repeat the process if you like? (Uma shuts up) good

(Jaylos go into the house. Uma turns around and looks at Jane who is not impressed)

Uma: hey, which one are you

Jane: I don’t want to talk to you. You enslaved my mother. And you boyfriend looked at me like I was food

(She follows jaylos into the house. Evie is tight lipped with barely contained glee)

Evie: today has been raining shower of crap but it’s gotten so much better in the last half hour

(Dizzy walks up to them followed by Hades, Elsa and the Hooks)

Dizzy: grandpa wouldn’t let jay keep Harry in a matchbox

Doug: awww honey, but you know what, there are mountains of cupcakes on the buffet table in the kitchen. Why don’t you go and show Celia?

Dizzy (turning to Celia): now you’re gonna see Wendy kinda magic I can do

(The two head inside)

Doug: I’m gonna head to the garage. You go inside, enjoy the party

Evie: meet me when you’re done?

Doug: goes without saying

(Devie leaves the patio, leaving Ben, Gil, Uma, Hades, Elsa and the Hooks)

Ben: I need to change, starting to feel chilly. Gil could I borrow some of your clothes? I’d poof but I knibda want time to think

Gil: sure

(The two brothers head inside)

Elsa: you haven’t lived until you’ve had my daughter cooking. And I’m starving so I shan’t keep you

Hades: I’ve heard only good things about my daughters cooking. So I’ll join you

Elsa: perfect(.)

(The two head inside)

Uma: tension much?

Cj: typical case of biological father vs adoptive mother both trying to assert their place in the child’s life

Harriet: huh?

Cj: pissing contest. You know what? You three head in. I just remembered something

(She heads to the garage where Doug’s pulling a motor engine in and out of a hole in the ground by a metal chain)

Cj: so you’re the half dwarf who grievously injured my brother

Doug: I stabbed Harry in the dick as he was trying to kill me. Also. It’s been a year. Get over it already.

Cj: a Hook doesn’t forget. Nor do they forgive.

Doug: you know there’s a subdivision of Eton here. I’m sure you’d be able to get a scholarship

Cj: hah. Boys club. And besides. When this is all over I’m going back home and doing away with my father.

Doug: yeah, sure, whatever. Now are you going to stand there gawking like a haddock or are you going to leave me to my own devices?

Cj: I should like to see what happens when the chain breaks or you’re strength gives up.

Doug: won’t break. Dwarven titanium. Magic.

Cj: I know what dwarven titanium is. I’m not as uneducated as the remaining plebs on the island

Doug: yeah. I know. I read your file. (He puts the engine down) I also know that you’re James Hook’s least favourite child. I know who your cousin is. And I know that you’re allergic to vinegar. Which is rather depressing since that’s the only readily available condiment on the island besides rock salt. Don’t mess with me kid. I’m the major-domo.

Cj: so you’re the hornbill to the maneless leonine. Alright then. If you’re do intelligent. Tell me. What goes through your mind when you’re face to face with the sister of the man you viciously attacked and left for dead?

Doug: of course he told you that. I don’t leave the numbskull for dead. Elsa, Merida and I delivered him to the ship and Uma revived him.

Cj: they wouldn’t lie. Not to

Doug: each other yes. But everyone else is fair game. Believe what you wanna believe. I’m going inside to make my kid a snack. I make a mean pb&j. Oh. And I’m not scared of you Miss Hook. I lived through my worst nightmare today so you’re of little to no consequence to me. And stay away from the cars. I’ll know if you don’t.

(He leaves her looking slightly shocked and runs into Mal on the patio bench. She’s holding a sandwich)

Mal: blt?

Doug: beef instead of bacon?

Mal: baloney. Fried on one side, salted on the other. Minced tinned tomatoes. Iceberg lettuce. I know my friends lunch orders.

Doug: you’re a marvel Mal

Mal: not really. I just cook when I’m nervous. Or bored. Or worrying. Or planning a party. Which in this case was all of the above.

Doug: ah. You covered (she hold up a beer bottle) naturally. Wanna sit

Mal: sure. I’ve been on my feet for most of the day

Doug: I’ve been thinking

Mal: yeah?

Doug: oh god this is gonna be difficult. I know you’ve made up your mind and Ben, Jay, everyone, won’t hold it against you if you choose not to. But I think it’s time

Mal: time for what?

Doug: to. Start helping

Mal: oh boy. Ok look. I get it. I do. I get it. But we tried. I tried. And came back with produce in my hair. We all did

Doug: that was six months ago. And besides. (He pulls her off the bench and has her face the window). Look. Vk and Ak. Somewhat peacefully. Coexisting. All because you kept a handle on things when everything else had gone crappy

Mal: eh. Though my cousins about to pelt my sister with apples. Hey jay? Could you? Thanks. What’re you suggesting bud?

Doug: start off with FaceTime. Say once a month Ben FaceTimes you when he goes to the island. And work your way up. It could work

Mal: my being rhere would grind everything to a halt. They’d be focused on me and not on Ben

Doug: true. But you have got to step up some more. You can’t hide behind the curtain forever

Mal: I know

Doug: come on

(This is when “collision of worlds” happens. After the song Mal turns to the party still going on inside)

Mal: I’ve been an ass haven’t I?

Doug: no, not an ass. Just yourself

Mal: somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better. I suppose I should go talk to him

Doug: you do that

Mal: before I forget. (She tackles him in a bear hug). Thank you. Now I’ll go.

(She poofs into Gils room where Ben is currently trying on a pair of aquamarine trousers with yellow braces)

Mal: you know if I had my way, that’d be all you’d have on

Ben: if you had your way, I’d still have the tattered bike pants on

Mal: touché. But why the 13th Doctor cosplay? And more to the point, why Gil’s 13th Doctor cosplay?

Ben: well I did just spend two hours traipsing through the forest, half naked, accompanied by, among others, your birth father and adoptive mother. So I feel like I should cover up a bit

Mal: fair is fair. Speaking of. A few questions. Who did it to you? Why did they do it? Can I kill them? And is it like my dragon form or is it a one and done deal?

Ben: my father, your birth mother and Chad. To get rid of me. Yes you can. And yes I can.

Gil: Harry ran his mouth and Ben switched and chased him for half a mile

Mal: he’s a moron. Oh and by the way. I sorry about the boys.

Gil: I know. I still don’t get why Adam did that

Ben: he’s a heartless up his own ass opportunistic bastard. That’s why

Mal: finally letting loose with the swears I see

Gil: “bastard” is nothing. My baby brother right here gave Adam the mother father uncle and aunt of all call outs. He even used the “count without the O” word

Mal: I’m impressed

Gil: it was amazing. I’m so proud

Ben: shoulders buddy, shoulders

Gil: right, sorry, my bad

Mal: before I forget. I made an omelette station downstairs. And a smoothie bar.

Gil: see ya!

(He rushes downstairs leaving bal alone)

Mal: so I’ve been thinking about the wedding

Ben (putting the coat on): yeah?

Mal: mhmm. I’m guessing we have to have it in the cathedral cause yknow, royalty, but we can still plan the reception yeah?

Ben: correct? What were you thinking

(Mal clicks her left hand and brings her arm down, shifting them to a new location in the process)

Mal: were you there your post coronation rave. Bookends and all that

Ben: oooh I like it

Mal: I’ve even thought of the song for our dance

Ben: I think I know where you’re going with this and I love it. And I’m in a tux. (He feels the top hat) with bunny ears. Huh

Mal: from my dream last night so was this

(She now has the purple Aurora dress on)

Ben (impressed): wow

Mal: not to fancy. But not too modern. And I’m wearing flats so stent dwarfed in comparison by me

Ben: well I could always activate my beast paws.

Mal: might give your mother a heart attack

Ben: true. True

Mal: well then your highness. Shall we practice?

Ben: yes we shall

(This is when “at the beginning” happens. After the song the school exterior melts back into the spare room. Mal’s eyes flash fuchsia and she collapses into Ben’s arms)

Ben: woah! You alright?

Mal: yeah. I just gotta talk to my father

(She switches back into her previous outfit and trots back downstairs where Evie’s hosting a singalong. This is when “better when I’m dancing” happens. After the song she walks outside)

Mal: dad I need a word. You too Uma. You’ll want to see this. (Once they’ve sat down she hands a scrap of paper to hades). Does this mean anything to you?

Hades (Jesse L Martin): “when the day becomes the night...no time for tea...before my final rhyme...return home....turn back the hands of...”. It’s one of the Cheshire cats forsaken riddles. Why do you ask?

Mal: I was talking to Ben just now and everything turned dark fuchsia for a sec, like when my eyes when I use magic, and I heard Doctor Facillier say that in my head. It’s not a prophecy is it?

Hades: no. The last prophecy I remember hearing was the Fates telling me I’d rule the cosmos. Followed by Herc beating me. Why would you think it’s a prophecy?

Mal: uhhhh

Uma: no. NO! YOU DO NOT GET THAT AS WELL AS EVERYTHING ELSE! I REFUSE TO LET THAT HAPPEN

Hades: I’m afraid I’m not following

Mal: I’ve got all the hallmarks. Powerful parents. Double heritage. Annoying brother. Really it should be Ben though. Or you cuz

Uma: really? Me?

Mal: yah. You’re much better qualified

Hades: haha. It’s funny. You’ve spent so much time trying to kill her. And she still think you’re better than her

Uma: what’s your point?

Hades (smiling smugly, he’s eyes glowing bright yellow): be very careful about who you piss off my dear

Uma: don’t test me uncle

Hades: and don’t test ME niece

Mal: >snickers<. Sorry. Anyway. So rhere really isn’t a prophecy built around me?

Hades: nope. not even close

The cousins: oh thank god

Hades: would it really be so bad if it were though?

Mal: most likely yes

Uma: she doesn’t even have the cajones necessary to get kids off the island. Why would she be so sort of cliched chosen one

Mal: HEY! You know why I don’t go. I told you why I don’t go. My reasons are my reasons. And you don’t get to say anything to me after the crap you’ve pulled to one up me when I personally couldn’t care less

Uma (oh so very smug): face it cousin. I’ve got moral high ground in this one

Mal: and you had face it “cousin”, that you have a thing for my brother

Uma: not really no seeing as I hate him and he’s only into guys...

Mal: not the fun one. The rat one

Uma (experiencing face freeze): huh?

Mal: well Harry’s my brother and you’re my second cousin which means he’s also your second cousin. And if I read the signals right possibly your almost stepbrother

Uma: I’m gonna kill you

Hades: no you won’t niece. It doesn’t matter. You knew him long before your father and I -ahem- “joined” together and your Olympian dna only counts the parents with said dna. You’re not related to my second son, Uma. And I have absolutely no intention at all of claiming you as my adoptive daughter. So, to use the modern turn of phrase, you’re golden. Is that better

Uma: sort of

Mal (at the same time as Uma): dammit.

Hades: good. Now that that’s all settled. Shall we rejoin the party?

Uma: in a minute

Hades: oh Kronos what is it now?

Uma: did you bring me out here just to say that Harry’s my cousin? Or to talk about the prophecy that isn’t?

Mal: first one. But you pressed my buttons so I wanted to throw you from your comfort zone

Uma (nodding): alright. I respect that. HOWEVER! Don’t look at me like that dragonhide. However. The fact remains you’ve gotta grow a pair and get out there. Your own feelings be damned. It’s not about you

Mal: When has it ever been about me?

Uma: butterfinger boy’s made his whole vendetta about you lousing up his home

Mal: thank you Uma, thanks for the help

Hades: ooh. I know what to do

Mal: smite Harry and save us from his unneeded existence?

Hades: no. You need a pep talk

Mal: no. Please don’t

Uma: actually. I wanna hear what he has to say

Hades: thank you Uma. But you probably won’t like what I have to say

(This is when “who I am” happens)

[minijenn]

Universe Falls Chapter 73

Eyyyyyyy look at me finishing a chapter on Thanksgiving. Because of course I would. Either way this one is hella cute and filled with all them good Dipifica vibes i won’t shut up about, also god bless its finally canon. Anyway I’ll stop spoiling the chapter and let you at it. Enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/188894376744/universe-falls-chapter-72

***

Chapter 73: Mismatched Making

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For the past several weeks, the Crystal Temple had sat still and silent, its usual inhabitants having taken up shop at the barn out in the countryside to finish their progress on the drill. Likewise, the Mystery Shack was also rather silent, for while Stan had more or less remained there to maintain the gift shop and the museum while the rest of his family was away, for the past day or so he had been absent, a large closed sign hanging from the door all the while. However, that peaceful quiet all but came to an end as the conman’s car pulled up in front of the shack to let out the far too many passengers that had piled into it for the trip back. 

“We’re home!” Steven exclaimed brightly, bursting out of the vehicle first with both Dipper and Mabel not too far behind. 

“Oh, it’s been so long!” Mabel proclaimed dramatically, hopping up onto the shack’s porch to hug one of its support beams. “I almost forgot what this old place looked like!”

“Mabel, we’ve only been gone a few weeks,” Dipper chuckled, amused. 

“A few weeks too many!” Steven chimed in, already running towards the hill that led up to the temple. The Gems followed after him, ready to finally settle back in themselves, something they readily started doing the moment the young Gem first burst back in through the front door. “Hello, house!” he greeted blithely, running inside. 

The Gems all chuckled amongst themselves as they watched their young ward run about, refamiliarizing himself with his cozy home. “Hello, bed!” Steven grinned, flopping onto said bed as he switched his television on. “Hello, TV! We’ve got some catching up to do. Hello, kitchen!” he continued, rushing back downstairs to throw the fridge open. “Hello, food--augh!” The young Gem quickly stumbled back, rushing to cover his nose to avoid the overwhelmingly foul stench coming from the fridge. 

“Uh oh, did that cake go bad?” Amethyst asked, taking a peek inside at the rotten assortment of food. 

“That was a cake?!” Steven gawked in disbelief before he quickly picked himself up off the ground to head towards the door. 

“Steven, where are you going?” Pearl asked curiously. “I thought you were all excited about being back home.”

“And I am!” Steven grinned. “But now that I’ve gotten ‘re-acquainted’ with home, I’ve gotta do the same with the Mystery Shack! And with Dipper and Mabel and Mr. Pines and Mr. Ford!”

“Dude, we literally just saw them like… 5 minutes ago,” Amethyst pointed out, deadpan. 

“And I miss them already!” the young Gem heaved a heavy sigh, leaning against the door. “See you guys later!”

As Steven set out to head back down to the shack, the Pines family was just stepping inside, all eager to pick up their usual flow of activity where they’d left off. “Ah, finally,” Ford sighed rather contentedly as he made a beeline to the basement stairs. “Back to my real lab again. Even if we did manage to build a functional, earth-piercing drill there, working out of a barn is… less than ideal when it comes to in-depth, tactile scientific research. Also, I miss my favorite reading chair. And my favorite coffee maker, unlike the one at the barn that Peridot broke. Twice...”

“Heh, yeah, that’s right, sixer, head on back down to your ‘nerd cave’,” Stan called as the author began to trudge down to the basement. “Meanwhile, I’ve got real work to do. Like marking up all these prices!” The conman quickly began doing just that, working his way through the gift shop to raise the tabs on just about everything. “Shack’s been closed for two days now; I’ve gotta make up for all those lost profits somehow! Though… I guess I could always cut Soos and Wendy’s pay again… hm…”

While Stan pondered over this plan, Dipper and Mabel eagerly ran past him to head back up their usual space in the attic, ready to make themselves comfortable within it once more. “Yeeeesssss!” Mabel cheered as she burst through the door first. “Bed!” she happily jumped onto her bed, high fiving each of her colorful posters along the wall and ceiling as she did. “Posters!” As she flopped down onto her stomach, she didn’t hesitate to wrap her nearby pet pig up in a tight, affectionate hug, glad to see him again after all the time they’d been apart. “Waddles! Ah, it’s so great to be back! Dontcha think so, bro-bro?”

“I gotta admit, I do,” Dipper grinned as he much more calmly reclined on his bed. “Especially since we don’t really have anything to worry about for the change. The Cluster’s under control, Lapis is finally free from being Malachite and her and Peridot are ok with living together. Even that group of Rubies is out of our hair with no problems at all. For once, it looks like everything is finally gonna be ok.”

“You can say that again!” Steven chimed in as he entered the attic blithely. “We’ve been through a lot of really tough, dangerous stuff this summer. But now that it’s all over, we can spend the rest of our summer just hanging out and having fun!”

“Yeah! Like all those kids in those wacky summer comedies!” Mabel exclaimed excitedly. 

“I love those kinds of movies!” the young Gem quipped brightly. 

“So do I!” 

“Heh, well while you guys are off having your ‘wacky summer comedy’,” Dipper chuckled as he leaned back on his his bed again. “I’m gonna use this as much-needed chance to hang back and relax.”

“You? ���Relax’?” Mabel scoffed. “Pfft, I don’t believe it. Just watch, Steven, it’ll be no time at all before he’s out and about with one of the journals, hunting down some monster or mystery or something, just like he always does.”

“Oh, come on, Mabel, I’m not that predictable,” Dipper protested, sitting up. “Sure I like a good mystery hunt every now and then, but after dealing with so many of them this summer, I… kinda wouldn’t mind a change of pace. Maybe I’ll try my hand at hunting down something else for a change.”

“Oh yeah?” Mabel asked with a challenging smirk. “Like what?”

“Like…” Dipper trailed off, admittedly unsure of what to say. After all, he’d spent so much time lately embroiled in one mystery, one fight, one disaster after another. So much time spent struggling in the loudest of moments to win the quiet moments like these. And now that they finally had these quiet moments, admittedly, he really had no idea what to do with them. 

Fortunately, he didn’t have to supply an answer to his sister’s question as the shack’s doorbell abruptly rang out. “Well, right now, I guess I’m hunting down the door,” he said succinctly, slipping out of the conversation to answer it. 

“Wait… how can you hunt down a door…?” Steven wondered, confused, though all the same, him and Mabel followed along after Dipper to see who had arrived. The initial speculation on all sides was that it was probably the Gems, though it was a bit odd for them to not just enter without knocking or ringing as they usually did. Though who was actually at the door was just about the very last person any of the kids could have expected, even from the moment Dipper first swung it open. 

“P-Pacifica!?” Dipper exclaimed, absolutely baffled to see the heiress standing in front of him. Even more bewildering was the fact that, unlike the last time she had ventured out to the shack to seek his help, this time, Pacifica hadn’t come in any sort of heavy coat or concealing disguise. Rather, she was in her usual fashionable attire, her expression pensive and her hands held tightly behind her back before she greeted him back with a somewhat awkward wave. 

“O-oh! Uh, h-hey, Dipper,” she said, smiling rather tightly. “Looks like you’re back--finally. N-not that I haven’t been hanging out around here waiting for you to get back ever since that day we spent at the mines, b-because that would be weird, obviously, but… um… what was I talking about again?”

“I… honestly have no idea,” Dipper frowned, confused before breaking into a small, cordial smile. “But anyway, hi, Pacifica. What brings you all the way out here-”

“Pacifica!” Mabel suddenly interrupted, pushing her brother aside to brightly greet the heiress. “Hi! How are you?! Did you come out here to invite all of us to another super glitzy, glamorous party? Because if you are, we are so on board, the last one was so fun! 

“Yeah, it was!” Steven interjected just as cheerfully. “Ya know, aside from the vengeful ghost and crazy Gem mutants. But that’s the sort of stuff we deal with all the time, so I guess it was nothing too out of the ordinary.”

“Oh… you guys are here too…” Pacifica’s smile fell as she looked between Steven and Mabel. “Great…”

“Uh, so…” Dipper cut in, squeezing his way back into the conversation between the pair. “Like I was trying to ask before, what’s up, Pacifica? You need some help busting another ghost or dealing with a pack of angry, city-slick dwarves?” 

The heiress couldn’t help but let out something of a small laugh at this, one that Dipper slightly joined in on, not noticing as Steven, and Mabel in particular, watched the exchange curiously. “No, nothing like that,” Pacifica smirked. “I was just… um… w-well, you remember how you said after your how drill thing was over, we’d… uh… h-hang out?”

“Yeah…?” Dipper nodded, raising an eyebrow before he realized Pacifica’s intention in coming all this way to see him. “Oh, wait, you mean right now?”

“Uh… I mean, if you wanna?” she shrugged apprehensively. “I-if you’re busy though, I-I totally get it. I can always come back some other time.”

“I mean, we did only get back from the barn for weeks on end just a few minutes ago…” Dipper noted with an earnest frown. “But…”

“But he’s totally free and he would totally love to hang out with you!” Mabel sharply interrupted, excitedly pushing her brother out the door a bit. “Wouldn’t you, Dipper?”

“Uh… well…” Dipper hesitated for a moment before meeting Pacifica’s hopeful expression. She offered him a small, almost demure smile, one that carried none of the cold haughtiness she often used to front, but instead, it was completely honest, completely genuine. And if there was something that Dipper knew well from experience, it was that Pacifica was always at her very best when she was at her most genuine. “You know what? Sure, why not. It’ll be fun.”

“R-really?” Pacifica asked, quite surprised to hear this as her cheeks flushed the slightest pink. 

“Yes, really!” Mabel exclaimed as she pushed Dipper out towards Pacifica even more, urging the pair off. “Now, go on, get outta here, you crazy kids! Go out and make some memories!”

“Yeah, and have fun!” Steven called after the two as they exchanged a somewhat startled glance, though ultimately decided to head off together towards town all the same. Leaving a very satisfied and a somewhat confused Steven behind. “Huh… that’s… kinda weird,” the young Gem noted. “I wonder when Dipper and Pacifica became such good friends.”

“Friends?” Mabel scoffed. “Steven, please. Those two aren’t just friends. They’re absolutely, 100%, head over heels in love with each other!”

“Whaaaaat?!” Steven exclaimed, dumbfounded. “But… how can you tell?”

“Just look at them!” Mabel motioned towards the pair as they headed off down the forest trail. They lingered noticeably close beside each other as they casually conversed and caught up, sharing the occasional warm laugh along the way. “The rich, elegant heiress with a hidden heart of gold; the awkward, nerdy bookworm who’s looking for something more in his life. Its like something out of a fairy tale, a true, forbidden romance, just like Romeo and Juliet! Though hopefully with a lot less dying involved…”

“Eh, I don’t know, Mabel…” Steven frowned, crossing his arms. “I’m pretty sure Dipper and Pacifica are just friends.”

“Oh sure they are now,” Mabel said with a flippant wave of her hand. “But the sparks of something deeper are there, for sure. And if you don’t take it from me, then why don’t we just go see for ourselves.”

“What do you mean?” the young Gem asked, confused. 

“I mean,” Mabel put on a wry, daring smirk as she wrapped an arm around Steven’s shoulder and nodded off to the path Dipper and Pacifica had just taken. “You and me going undercover, Steven. For the sake... of LOVE!”

***

Neither Dipper nor Pacifica had any particular plans in mind as they ventured into town together to spend the afternoon. After all, Gravity Falls was a rather small town with not too much to offer in the way of man-made attractions, but even so, they decided to make do with what they had. Though as they first set out on the town, Pacifica did make it a point to make herself rather scarce, doing everything she could to conceal both herself and Dipper from anyone who so much as looked like they had a camera at the ready. It was a strange, sort of anxious behavior, one that Dipper quickly picked up on, especially as the heiress pulled them both into another alley for what seemed like the fifth time in the past hour. 

“Uh… Pacifica?” he asked as she peeked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. “What are you doing?”

“Huh?” Pacifica turned back to him, startled before throwing on a forced, casual grin. “Oh, uh, n-nothing! Just, uh… hanging out in a dark alley, like all you middle class people do!”

“Uh, I hate to break it to you, Pacifica, but most middle class people don’t do that,” Dipper pointed out, somewhat amused until his smile faded somewhat. “You know, if you’re embarrassed to be hanging out with me, you can just admit it. At least then we won’t have to keep ducking in and out of alleyways every five minutes.”

“Embara--what? No!” the heiress quickly shook her head, flustered. “I’m not embarrassed by you. It’s just…” She hesitated, glancing away in anxious shame, almost as if she was afraid to tell him the truth. Though as she met his patient, expectant expression once more, she ultimately folded and decided to do just that. “I’ve never… ‘hung out’ with anyone before. Heck, I’ve never even had any real friends before, just fake ones that my parents hand picked for me, This sort of thing is all new to me and I’m just… scared, I guess, that I might mess it up. Or even worse, that my parents might find out and keep us from hanging out anymore. I mean, no offense, but… you’re not exactly their… favorite person…”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Dipper remarked with a bit of a sardonic grin, though his manner turned serious as he placed a consoling hand on Paifica’s shoulder. “But… if you really are worried about word getting back to your parents, then… I think I know somewhere we can go where nobody will be around to snitch on us.

For a moment, the most Pacifica could do was look to him, surprised and bewildered that he was willing to accommodate her so easily, all for the sake of making her feel more comfortable. But in the end, she smiled, warmly, almost daringly accepting the hand he was holding out to her to let him take her away to wherever he might lead. And that’s exactly what he did. 

Though just as the pair slipped out of the alley as discreetly as they could, the lid of the dumpster tucked away within it suddenly flipped open. And out of it, both Steven and Mabel popped up, their ‘undercover’ mission steadily underway. 

“Aha! See, Steven?” Mabel asked with an eager grin. “Just like I said, it’s forbidden love! And what’s better yet is they aren’t even about to let that stop them, they’re sneaking off to go hang out together alone anyway! Augh, it's so beautiful and so romantic I could cry! Speaking of which, you brought that box of tissues, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Steven nodded, handing said tissues off to her. “But… I don’t know… I still think they’re hanging out just as friends, Mabel.”

“But Dipper took her hand, Steven!” Mabel protested. “He took her hand! That’s always how it starts, and then it builds and builds from there until they’re in smooch city! Believe me, I’ve read enough $5 romance novels from the grocery store to know all about these sorts of things.”

“Hm… well, you do seem like an expert when it comes to love,” Steven noted. “I mean, you’ve been in plenty of relationships yourself, right?”

“You bet I have!” Mabel grinned proudly. “Like the time I… uh, actually, let’s not count when I dated all those gnomes. Ew, or Gideon either… Mermando was nice, but… he was the one that got away… and ugh, and let’s not even bring up Gabe. And not to mention my massive crush on youuuuuuu-” She trailed off, her eyes wide  as she looked to Steven, realizing what she had practically just let slip until she found a rather sloppy way to recover from it. “Y-your sandals! T-they’re so… pink and cute a-and… I love them!”

“Um… thanks?” the young Gem raised a confused eyebrow at this, though thankfully, he didn’t seem to suspect anything else of it, much to Mabel’s immense relief. “So, you think maybe we should just let Dipper and Pacifica hang out without us spying on them from afar to see if they’re in love?”

“Are you kidding? Of course, I don’t!” Mabel exclaimed, more than ready to change the subject. “We’ve barely even scratched the surface when it comes to those two adorable lovebirds! Now come on!” She boldly pointed in the direction Dipper and Pacifica had went, ever curious to see just where their unplanned day might take them next. Or ideally, how that day might end up bringing them closer together. “We’ve got ourselves a romance to watch blossom!”

***

True to his word, Dipper wasted no time in leading Pacifica not only out of town, but away from prying eyes that might carry word of her rather rebellious activities back to her parents. Instead, he took her back towards the forest, heading out past the temple and the shack and out into the open woods before venturing off the beaten path entirely. Pacifica was rather hesitant as she watched him do so, unsure if she should follow after him as she stared into the light-speckled shadows deep within the vast labyrinth of trees ahead. 

“Uh… are you sure about this?” she asked, frowning at the untamed shrubbery he expected her to head after him into. 

“What?” Dipper asked with something of a challenging grin. “You wanted to make you weren’t caught hanging out with me, right? Well, nobody’s gonna catch us all the way out here, I can guarantee that.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Pacifica paused, frowning down at her outfit, one that was quite ill-suited for traversing the wilds of the woods. “It’s like, super gross and dirty out there…” She caught herself, however, upon looking back to Dipper, who could only really raise a critical eyebrow at such a shallow concern. “A-and isn’t it also sort of dangerous too?” the heiress recanted, coming up with a much better excuse. “What if we run into a bear or a rabid chipmunk or something? Why don’t you have that weird magic sword of yours, just in case?”

“First of all, the Sword of Seasons wasn’t magic, it was technology,” Dipper pointed out before his tone turned slightly embarrassed. “And uh… I sort of… dropped it into the lake on accident. It’s a long story, but don’t worry. We won’t need it anyway.”

“Oh yeah?” Pacifica crossed her arms. “And how do you know that?”

“Because,” Dipper pulled back a few branches leading into an obscured clearing deeper into the woods. “What we’re looking for is right here.”

“It’s… a mailbox?” Pacifica frowned, absolutely confused as she joined Dipper in walking towards it. Sure enough, it was a simple, unextraordinary mailbox, resting alone and rather mismatched against the forest that surrounded it. “Ok, I’m lost,” the heiress shook her head. “You really dragged me all the way out here to the middle of nowhere to look at a boring old mailbox. Is this really what people do when they hang out? Or is this just some weird nerd thing of yours?”

“Oh, this isn’t just any ordinary, boring old mailbox,” Dipper corrected with a knowing smirk. “Its magical. I… think. To be honest, I’m still not actually sure about how it works but trust me, its weird.”

“A magical mailbox?” Pacifica chuckled incredulously. “You know, Pines, I knew you were into some strange, kinda dumb stuff, but this is a little out there, even for you.”

“No, it really works!” Dipper protested insistently as he reached into his backpack to pull out a notebook and a pen. “Watch this.” 

The heiress did so, observing as he wrote a simple greeting of ‘hello’ onto a page before ripping it out of the book and slipping it inside the mailbox. For a moment, nothing really happened at all, that is until the mailbox’s flag suddenly flipped upward entirely on its own accord. “W-what?” Pacifica balked, taken aback by this, though Dipper simply offered her a coy grin as he opened the mailbox and pulled an entirely new slip of paper out of it.

“Out there, huh?” his smirk widened as he showed her the page, which unexplainably read ‘Hello, Dipper and Pacifica,” as plain as day.

“H-how did you do that?!” Pacifica demanded, taking the page and looking over it in disbelief. She was quick to turn back to the mailbox itself, peeking inside to see if there was any hidden chamber or compartment inside. “Is this some sort of weird prank or something?!”

“No, its not,” Dipper laughed, thoroughly amused. “Amethyst and Garnet told me about this mailbox that can answer basically any question, so me and Soos came out here to see if it actually existed a few weeks back. And it turns out, it’s totally the real deal. It knows pretty much everything”

“Hmph, I don’t buy it,” the heiress scoffed.

“Then why don’t you try it out for yourself,” Dipper offered his pen and paper to her, which she readily snatched to pose the mailbox a question. 

“Alright, ‘magic mailbox’,” she snarked as she scribbled her question down before tossing it into the box. “If you’re so ‘all-knowing’, then what did I have for breakfast this morning?”

The mailbox was quick to come up with a response, its flag tipping upward once more just before Pacifica quickly retrieved her answer and read it aloud. “Strawberry crepes suzette with quiche lorraine and imported no-pulp orange juice’?! How does it know that?!”

“Like I said, I have no idea,” Dipper shrugged. “You can ask it anything and it just knows somehow! Isn’t it cool?”

“...Anything, huh?” Pacifica mused thoughtfully, tapping the pen against the paper for a moment as she looked between the mailbox and Dipper. And then, she tipped the notebook up a bit, scribbling another quick question onto it and making sure to keep it out of Dipper’s sight all the while. 

“What are you writing?” he asked, intrigued as he tried to peer over the top of the notebook and see. 

“Nothing!” Pacifica lightly pushed him away, letting out a small, somewhat flustered laugh as she did. “I-I just wanna know something really dumb.”

“Oh yeah, like what?” 

“Like nothing,” she insisted, beating him to the mailbox as she shoved her question inside. Sure enough, it delivered another answer, one that only came in the form of a simple ‘yes’. The heiress was unable to hold back a small, delighted gasp as she read it, one that only made Dipper all the more curious to know what she had asked. 

“Come on, seriously, what did you ask?” he pressed with a wry smile as he began to follow her out of the clearing. 

“It doesn’t matter,” she grinned with a playful wave of her hand.

“Well you sure seem happy about it, so yeah, I think it kinda does.”

“Oh, mind your own business!” she shoved him once more, though this time, he lightly shoved her back, eliciting a shared, bright laugh from them both as they continued back into the woods from whence they came. 

As soon as they’d left, however, Steven and Mabel emerged from their own hiding spot beyond the other side of the clearing, both of them still intent on spying on the pair’s adventures from afar. “Playful pushing? Him showing her magicy stuff? Her getting all excited over a question she wouldn’t let him see?” Mabel listed, growing steadily more excited as she did. “It’s all too good to be true!”

“It is?” Steven asked. “How?”

“Don’t you see, Steven?” Mabel replied, stars practically brimming in her eyes as she hopped up and down on the balls of her feet. “Those are all classic slow burn romance tropes! The evidence just keeps stacking up. And I have a feeling that they’re nowhere close to finished yet!”

***

And sure enough, they weren’t. For as the next day arrived, Pacifica showed up at the Mystery Shack, this time on Dipper’s invitation for them to hang out once again. Just like the day prior, the pair set out into the forest rather than into town, and just as before, Steven and Mabel followed after them, watching from the shadows as they spent more time together. 

“And then we found the Gems’ lost memories about Great Uncle Ford and the portal, but that’s a whole other long story that leads into several more long stories,” Dipper recounted as he led the way through the forest and across a small stream. 

“Wait, let me see if I can get this all straight,” Pacifica interjected, holding her hands up. “So your great uncle actually has a twin brother who was trapped in another dimension for the past 30 years. And the whole time, your uncle was trying to bring that brother back using this huge portal that was secretly under the Mystery Shack the entire time but no one knew about it?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Dipper nodded. 

“And the Gems factor into all this… how?”

“They sort of… don’t for a pretty long time. Like I said before, they lost their memories about all of this thanks to their leader, Rose, erasing them after they were possessed by…” Dipper trailed off, his expression darkening at the mere thought of the dream demon. “Y-you know what? N-never mind that right now.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Pacifica sighed, relieved. “I feel like my brain’s about to burst from everything you’ve been telling me. Your life is like some crazy movie or huge story written by a psychopath or something. Seriously, how do you deal with all these massive bombshell shake ups all the time?”

“Eh, you learn to just deal with them as they come,” Dipper shrugged, hopping up onto a nearby log to take a seat. Pacifica joined him, glad for the much needed break from their ongoing hike, though even so, she watched in curious confusion as Dipper pulled a snack out of his bag that she was entirely unfamiliar with. 

“What’s that?” she asked, intrigued by the oddly shaped sandwich. 

“Oh, it’s peanut butter and jelly,” Dipper grinned, offering half to her. “Mabel packed it for me before we left and for some reason she cut it into a heart shape and said it was ‘for luck’, whatever that means. Anyway, you can have some if you’re hungry.”

Pacifica didn’t immediately accept his offer, instead looking over the half-heart sandwich with a furrowed brow of confusion. “You said this is a… peanut--who and… what, exactly?”

“What, you’ve never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before?” Dipper asked with an incredulous chuckle before meeting the heiress’s dumbfounded expression once more. “Oh my gosh, you’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Is this some sort of… poor person snack?” Pacifica wondered, holding the sandwich up to get a better look at it. “N-not that being poor is a bad thing! It’s just… I-I’m not really allowed to anything that doesn’t cost over at least $100 per tiny gourmet plate portion, so… yeah…”

“Are you kidding?” Dipper asked in apt disbelief. “Your parents don’t even let you eat what you want?”

“Heh, welcome to the super ‘glamorous’ world of a Northwest,” the heiress laughed somewhat bitterly.

“Well, here’s your official welcome into the super average world of a Pines,” Dipper countered, placing his half of the sandwich into her open hand with a playful grin. “And unlike most of your high class gourmet meals, this one’s completely free.”

Pacifica tried her best to suppress the sudden blush that filled her cheeks as she accepted his offering, though all the same, she was still a bit hesitant to try the sandwich for herself. Until, of course, she ventured her first bite of the sandwich. “Mm! This is sooo good!” she exclaimed, her eyes alight with newfound discovery. She disregarded all the proper manners she had been taught in favor of voicing her overwhelming excitement over such a simple treat. “The bread’s so soft and it’s all so creamy, but then there’s like… little nuts in it too? I love that!”

“That’s the power of chunky peanut butter,” Dipper chuckled warmly, amused by the heiress’s elation as she scarfed down another bite. 

“And this fruity taste? What is that?”

“Strawberry jam. So technically, it’s more of a peanut butter and jam sandwich, but eh, same difference.”

“Whatever it is, it’s amazing!” Pacifica grinned as she finished off the other half. “And you just eat stuff like that all the time?!”

“Eh, maybe not all the time, but PB&J is a longtime favorite for me and Mabel for a reason,” Dipper said, still laughing, especially as he noticed the small smudge of jam marring the heiress’s face. “Oh, hey, you got a little something on your cheek there.”

“Huh?” Pacifica reached up, rubbing just shy of the jam that she missed it entirely. 

“Here, I got it,” Dipper slipped his vest off, not really having anything else but the corner of it to wipe the heiress’ face clean. He stopped short as soon as he did however, suddenly caught off guard by exactly what he was doing, and exactly how close their faces happened to be as he did. In the briefest, most breathless of moments, he caught sight of her eyes, wide and wondering as they practically sparkled in the low light coming in through the trees above. Eyes that were staring at nothing else in the world at that moment... other than him. “I-I… s-sorry,” he quickly recanted, backing off as he hastily threw his vest back on and slipped off the log to stand. “W-we should probably get going.”

“O-oh…” Pacifica frowned somewhat, slowly, almost sadly returning to reality as she did the same. “Yeah, you’re right… Um… thanks, by the way, for the… what was it called again? Sandy Witch?”

“Sandwich,” Dipper corrected with a smirk. “And you’re welcome. I’ll be sure to bring you another one when we hang out again tomorrow.”

“T-tomorrow…” Pacifica repeated, her former smile returning in full force upon hearing this. “Yeah, tomorrow. I can hardly wait…”

“Steven, please tell me you saw that!” Mabel whispered as she looked out of her hiding spot just behind the log the pair had been sitting on moments ago. “Because it was absolutely adorable!”

“Yeah, that was really cute,” Steven agreed with a warm grin. “Still, I can’t believe Pacifica’s never had a PB&J before… That’s like… one of the basic food groups alongside donuts and fry bits!”

“Who cares about that?” Mabel shook her head dismissively. “Did you see the way those two were looking at each other? It’s like they were hypnotized… by love!”

“Eh, I don’t know…” Steven noted with a frown. “I’m still not sure if that was really ‘love’ or not…”

“Oh, so you still need even more proof, huh?” Mabel challenged, her hands on her hips. “Well, then don’t worry, Universe. If you need proof, then I’ll give ya proof!”

At this, she let out something of a wild, almost manic laugh, one that admittedly startled Steven as he anxiously tried to reign her back down from her obvious obsession. “O-or instead of that, maybe we could just--whoa!” The young Gem didn’t get a chance to finish as Mabel suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him along after her once more, all for the sake of secretly eavesdropping in on Dipper and Pacifica once more. “O-or I guess we could always just keep doing this, that’s fine too!”

***

The next several days flowed along in a similar, surprisingly sweet succession. In light of the lack of any old or new threats or foes to face, Dipper didn’t mind spending his now very open free time with Pacifica at all. If anything, their already unexpected friendship seemed to grow closer and closer with each passing day as they shared new discoveries, snacks, and even secrets on occasion. The woods of Gravity Falls were essentially a treasure trove of adventures just waiting to be had, though fortunately none of their trips into it led to any real danger or disaster. Though one constant that neither of them were ever aware of during their days together was the fact that just about everywhere they went, Steven and Mabel followed behind at a safe distance, always unseen but always keeping tabs on the pair to look out for any signs of budding love between them. And suffice to say that, at least as far as Mabel was concerned, by the time the week was through, they’d seen more than enough signs of just that. 

All the same, Dipper and Pacifica’s latest trip into the woods happened to fall under the cover of dusk, just as the sky filled in with the colors of twilight and the shadows of the trees gave way to darkness. Even so, the pair ventured into that darkness unfettered, their path only illuminated by a simple flashlight as Dipper led the way further into the forest, his hand intertwined with Pacifica’s all the while. 

“Alright, Pines, I’ve had enough of your ‘mysteries’ for one week,” Pacifica remarked wryly as she eagerly followed after his swift pace. “Where are we heading this time? Some sort of creepy cave or underground tunnel to find some secret monster or something?”

“Nah, nothing like that,” Dipper chuckled, pulling the first journal out of his vest. “Its something I found in here that I’ve never had a chance to see for myself before. And I have a feeling it’ll be right up your alley.”

“Oh really?” Pacifica smirked. “So you’re saying it’s some sort of magical creature that eats terrible, over-controlling, prestige-obsessed parents?”

“Heh, if only,” Dipper replied just as playfully as they finally emerged into a small clearing entirely covered by trees from above. This served to block just about all forms of dying daylight out, to the point that the entire clearing was practically engulfed in darkness when Dipper suddenly shut his flashlight off entirely. 

“D-Dipper!” Pacifica gasped, blindly reaching around until she grasped onto his shoulder tightly. “What are you doing?!”

“Don’t worry,” he assured, placing his hand over hers to steady her. “Just wait and watch…”

The heiress let out an uneasy breath as she decided to heed him, allowing the symphony of the evening to fill in for them. Crickets, cicadas, and birds alike all echoed around the darkened den of trees, frightening and fascinating Pacifica all at the same time, but amidst them, she held on tight to Dipper, almost as if he was the anchor keeping her from losing herself to it all. Until… 

A sudden speck of light illuminated somewhere in the darkened space before the pair, small and sparse but persistent all the same. Another tiny light soon joined it, followed by another, then another, until the petite glowing orbs were popping up all around them, creating a warm, ambient sort of radiance that soon filled the entire clearing, making it apparent exactly what these little lights really were. 

“Fireflies…?” Pacifica wondered, smiling softly as she cupped her hands under one of the glowing insects. 

“Not exactly…” Dipper noted knowingly, watching expectantly until the creature’s normal yellow light suddenly, starkly turned a bright, vibrant purple. 

“W-what?!” the heiress gasped, her hands flying away from the bug as she looked around to its kin, only to see similar shifts among them. The fireflies all seemed to slowly, gently change colors with each passing moment at random intervals, some glowing pink while others illuminated blue, as even more blinked orange and still more among them turned green. As they meandered about the clearing, they ultimately created a glittering rainbow of light, one that absolutely enchanted Pacifica as she simply stood there, trying to take it all in. 

“They’re… beautiful…” she whispered, afraid she might scare them off if she was too loud. “What are they?”

“Iridescects,” Dipper informed, nodding to their depiction in the journal before shutting it and putting it away altogether. “Or, color-changing fireflies. They only live here in Gravity Falls, and they only come out during the summer months. I’ve been meaning to come out here to see them for myself, but everything’s been so busy lately that I haven’t gotten the chance to until now.”

“So,” Pacifica began, her wondering smile still apparent as she stood close to him and gazed out at the iridescects. “Was it worth the wait?”

Dipper paused, taking a moment to glance over at the heiress beside him. And the moment he did, it felt as though the entire world slowed to a soft, almost dreamlike crawl. 

The iridescects still drifted through the clearing, colors changing as steadily as ever as they hovered across the otherwise shadowy trees behind them. And yet, despite their practically magical beauty, Dipper found himself captivated by beauty of an entirely different kind. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he’d always known Pacifica to carry an almost regal sort of elegance and grace, though as he looked to her now, those things seemed so much more natural, so much more vibrant, so much more free. The lights all around her reflected off of her skin to the point that it almost seemed to take on an otherworldly glow, her golden hair taking on a similar, constantly changing, but always appealing pallor. Yet what he noticed most, what amazed him the most, was her smile, her eyes, her soft, easy laughter as a small group of iridescects came to hover around her head, creating what looked like a sparkling, multicolored crown. A crown that somehow, in some impossible way, served to make her appear even more radiant than she already was on her own. 

And suddenly, there was that feeling again, striking at his heart and bearing in deep. The very same feeling he’d first felt inklings of that night at the party when they’d first danced, that feeling he’d felt again, stronger and more realized deep within the titan’s ore mines. The same feeling he’d felt brief, crisp moments of scattered across the week he’d just spent with her each time they sat close, each time they happened to touch hands, each time their eyes happened to meet in stolen glances carried by unspoken words, unknown thoughts, and that feeling. So warm, so curious, so real and raw and rich that this time, it refused to be ignored. It demanded to be known, to be realized, to be felt. And as he slowly started to allow himself to feel it, he couldn’t help but wonder, as he looked down to her empty hand beside him, just waiting to be held, if maybe, just maybe, that feeling might just end up taking him somewhere this time after all. 

And yet… 

Maybe, he wondered, he feared, it wouldn’t take him anywhere, just like it hadn’t once before. 

As the gravity of that fear pulled him back down to earth once again, he suddenly drew his hand away from hers before they could even skim one another. His awestruck expression fell into something much more solemn as he tore his glance away from her, almost as if so much as looking at her was like holding onto a promise that would never be guaranteed. “Y-yeah,” he finally answered her question halfheartedly. For even despite the blissfully warm array of colored lights all around them, he felt as though he was standing in a sea of cold, empty darkness instead. “I… I guess it was…”

***

“Ok, Steven, I think we can both agree,” Mabel began, pacing around in front of the chalkboard she’d positioned in the shack’s den. “That what we witnessed last night in the woods was pretty much THE most romantic thing ever! The color changing fireflies, the cool night air, and they way they kept smiling at each other? Augh, it was all so perfect!”

“Yeah, you know, I wasn’t really sold on the idea before, but… I think last night convinced me for sure,” Steven nodded with an excited grin. “Looks like Dipper and Pacifica really do like each other like that. So I guess that means we can be happy for them and move on with our lives now, right?”

“Wrong!” Mabel corrected succinctly. “You saw what happened last night, Steven! Dipper was this close to making a move that would have changed everything! He totally would have taken him and Pacifica out of the friend zone and into the love zone, but nooooo, he just had to back out at the last second, just like he always used to do with Wendy back when he was crushing on her too!”

“Oh yeah,” Steven nodded thoughtfully. “He almost took her hand and everything. Why do you think he didn’t?”

“Cause he’s an awkward dork who doesn’t know how to show people how he really feels!” Mabel huffed, frustrated over the fact that she knew her brother far too well. “But to be honest, I… kinda think Pacifica might be the same way. Which, I’ll admit, is gonna make this… a little tough.”

“Make what tough?”

Steven and Mabel both let out a startled gasp as they turned to find Dipper entering the room, curious to know what their ongoing conversation was about. Though that curiosity only grew as he spotted the chalkboard that Mabel had written D + P onto, surrounded by a bold, massive heart. “Uh… what’s going on in here?” he asked, confused.. 

“Um… good question…” Steven frowned, still somewhat lost in Mabel’s shuffle. 

“N-nothing!” Mabel insisted readily. “And certainly nothing that involves you and a certain rich girl you’ve been hanging out a lot with lately, though if there’s anything you wanna discuss on that front, bro-bro, we’d be more than happy to listen!”

“Uh… no, thanks,” Dipper raised an eyebrow, looking between the pair with growing suspicion. “Wait a minute…” he glanced past his sister, narrowing his eyes at the chalkboard and the heart drawn on it until he all too quickly realized exactly who the initials within it stood for. “Mabel, please tell me you’re not doing what I think you’re doing…”

“Me? Doing what?” Mabel feigned innocence. “Dear brother, I haven’t the faintest idea of what you’re talking about!”

“Ok then,” Dipper said flatly before turning to the young Gem. “Steven, what’s Mabel holding behind her back?”

“Oh, well, it looks like a list!” Steven informed, catching the title of said list before Mabel could hastily shove it into her sweater. “I think it said ‘Dipper and Pacifica matchmaking ideas’ or something like that?”

“Steven!” Mabel hissed, flustered, especially as she looked back to her brother’s disapproving expression. 

“Oh no, absolutely not, Mabel!” he quickly, adamantly exclaimed. “There is no way I’m letting you try to set me and Pacifica up. Like I’ve told you so many times before, we’re just friends!”

“Yeah, but don’t you wanna be more than friends with her?!” Mabel protested earnestly. “We’ve been secretly watching you guys all week, and we’ve seen that special spark between you guys! All you gotta do is stoke it a little, bro-bro, and it’ll turn into a full fledged, passionate romance for the ages before you know it! Right, Steven?”

“Uh… yeah,” the young Gem shrugged with an awkward smile. “Um, sorry for spying on you all week by the way, that was Mabel’s idea.”

“A great one, just like all my ideas are!”

“...Ok, first of all, never do that again,” Dipper began, hardly even surprised by his sister’s antics at this point. “Second of all, there is no spark! Pacifica and I have been hanging out a lot lately, yeah, but we don’t have feelings for each other and that’s that! So you can forget any of your little matchmaking schemes, Mabel, because they’d just be a big waste of time anyway.”

“That’s what you say, Dipper!” Mabel called after her brother as he turned to leave, thoroughly annoyed. “But just you wait and see! You and Pacifica will be smoochin’ it up before you know it! After all, the only thing stronger than the power of love is the power of MABEL!”

“Uh, I dunno, are you really sure about this, Mabel?” Steven asked just as soon as Dipper had left. “Even if Dipper and Pacifica do like each other, I don’t know if its such a good idea to try to force them to be together.”

“You’re right, Steven, its not.”

“Garnet!” Steven and Mabel both gasped, startled as the Gem leader spoke up from her previously unknown spot leaning against the front entryway. 

“How long have you been standing there?” the young Gem asked, startled, though not surprised, given just how often Garnet did this sort of thing. 

“Long enough,” the Gem leader noted as she stepped up to the kids. 

“Great! Then you’re in on the plan to get Dipper and Pacifica to be an official couple then?” Mabel asked with an eager smile. “This sort of thing is right up your alley, Garnet. After all, you are certified expert when it comes to all things love and romance!”

“Hm, thanks,” Garnet smirked, adjusting her shades, though her smile quickly fell into seriousness all the same. “But I can’t say I’m completely in on the plan.”

“Aw, why not?” Mabel frowned, disappointed. 

“Mabel,” Garnet began, kneeling down to the girl’s level. “I know you mean well in trying to help your brother find love. And… you’re not wrong. There definitely is something there between him and Pacifica. Believe me, I know. I’ve been watching them over the past week too.”

“You have?” Steven asked, bewildered. “Why?”

The Gem leader grinned once more at this. “Let’s just say I could see the sparks flying between those two from a mile away. Even back before either of them knew it.”

“Oh my goooosh!” Mabel gasped, excited beyond measure. “So if even your future vision saw them falling in love, then that means they must belong together! In that case, we gotta get ourselves on matchmaking patrol STAT! Break out the romantic candles and the sweeping violin music! Steven, call up a reservation at the nearest fancy restaurant as fast as you can. We’re workin’ overtime here people, this is a love emergency!”

“Hold on there, Mabel,” Garnet cautioned much more calmly, effectively stopping Mabel’s frenetic energy right in its tracks. “There’s a better way of doing this. Love isn’t something that can just be rushed out the door; it needs time to grow, and for the people who are feeling it to grow along with it. And if we really want to bring Dipper and Pacifica together, then that’s what we have to do: help them grow together.”

“So… how do we do that?” Steven asked, curious.

The Gem leader smirked. “I have a few ideas in mind…”

“Then let’s try them!” Mabel readily lept on board. “All of them! No matter how big or crazy they might be or how many illegal fireworks might be involved in any number of them!”

“There’s no illegal fireworks involved in any of them,” Garnet informed evenly. 

“Oh, wait, that’s one of my ideas, sorry,” Mabel chuckled. “Still, this is a pretty big deal. I have a feeling we’re gonna need some extra help to make sure it all works out…”

“Help with what, dude?” Soos asked as him and Wendy entered the den for their break. 

“Oh, you know,” Mabel said with a casual grin. “Only making sure Dipper ends up with the one true love of his life!”

“Whoa, really?” Wendy asked, both her and Soos equally intrigued upon hearing this. “Well, good for him. I knew the kid would bounce back eventually. So who’s the lucky lady?”

“Pacifica Northwest,” Steven said, somewhat obliviously. 

“Whaaaaa?!” both coworkers exclaimed, exchanging a baffled glance at this. 

“No way!” Soos shook his head, amazed. “I thought Pacifica like, hated all of you guys.”

“She did, until Dipper worked his way into her heart and melted it entirely!” Mabel gushed dramatically. “Seriously, they’re so cute together, and they’d be even cuter if they would just admit how they really feel about each other! So what do you guys say? Are you in?”

“Oh yeah, of course!” Soos readily agreed. “Anything for Dipper, dude.”

“Yeah, what the heck, why not?” Wendy shrugged with a smooth grin. “This whole thing honestly sounds super wholesome and sweet, and besides, it’ll be a good excuse to get us out of work for the rest of the day.”

“Hey, hey!” Stan snapped, suddenly poking his head out from the gift shop upon overhearing this remark. “What have I told you kids before? There is never any good excuse to get out of work.”

“Oh, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel greeted the conman with a bright wave. “You’re just in time to help us get Dipper a girlfriend!”

The moment he heard this, Stan was unable to hold back a heavy burst of laughter, slapping his knee as he leaned up against the doorframe. “Ha! Especially not that!” he chortled, essentially beside himself with amusement as he looked to the group in the den incredulously. “That’s a good one! I mean, we all know the words ‘Dipper’, ‘getting’, and ‘girlfriend’ don’t even belong in the same sentence together! Seriously, Mabel, you’re splittin’ my sides here!”

“I wouldn’t speak so soon if I were you, Stan,” Garnet spoke up knowingly. “The chances of Dipper and Pacifica ending up together are much higher than you might think.”

“Pfft, oh what, did you see that with your fancy future powers--wait,” the conman stopped short as he considered exactly what the Gem leader had said. “Did… you just say Pacifica? As in that bratty, spoiled rotten Northwest girl?”

“Uh huh,” Steven nodded. “Her and Dipper have been hanging out a whole lot lately.”

“Cause they’re in looooove,” Mabel added with zealous smile. 

Stan, however, completely ignored them, his eyes growing wide with dawning realization. “As in the same Northwests who are so stupidly wealthy that they have way more money than they even know what to do with? Those Northwests?” 

“Oh boy,” Wendy smirked, crossing her arms. “I can already tell where this is about to go.”

“Well, then why didn’t you mention that from the get-go?!” Stan exclaimed with newfound excitement. “If Dipper really does get with that Northwest girl and they end up getting married someday, then we’ll all be RICH!”

“Does that mean you’re gonna help us out too, Mr. Pines?” Soos asked. 

“Are you kidding? Of course I am!” the conman said as though it was obvious. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to make absurd amounts of money without even doing anything and I’m not about to let any of you kids mess it up, and I’m especially not about to let Dipper mess it up!”

“Actually, Dipper’s not the one you’ll have to worry about on that front,” Garnet noted, though once again, Stan largely paid her no mind as caught up in his own flights of fantasy over the matter. 

“So what are we sitting around here waiting for?” the conman asked, dollar signs practically in his eyes. “Let’s get those kids hitched so I can finally buy my own private island in the Carribean, just like I’ve always dreamed of!”

“Uh, m-maybe we should just settle for getting them together for now?” Steven suggested much more rationally. 

“Eh, that works too,” Stan shrugged as everyone came in close to begin properly planning. “Just as long as I walk outta the wedding with the deed to my new personal island when it’s all said and done.”

***

Despite the many hands involved, the first stages of planning out a starting scheme went surprisingly smoothly. And in the end, the entire group walked out of their meeting with something that they all hoped and believed had a solid chance at working; the only thing they had to do was to make it all happen. 

Securing a venue for the affair was easy enough of a task; the temple house had just enough room and would do the job nicely, especially after Steven, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy spent the better half of an afternoon stringing up lights and setting up tables. In the process, they managed to recruit Connie, Pearl, and Amethyst into their plans as well, with the former all set up to provide a romantic violin accompaniment while the latter pair would handle the food. Strangely though, neither Garnet nor Stan really participated in the preparations, save for dropping in to carry out a table here, take a few plates and utensils there, even cart off one of the flower arrangements for some unknown reason that neither of them would never explain, no matter how many times they were asked. Even so, the others managed to pull their plans together in record time, with everything and everyone set up perfectly in place just as evening began to fall. All that was left was to bring the hopefully soon-to-be couple into the mix and let nature take its course. 

While, of course, not letting either of them in on that plan at all. 

“Ok, seriously, you guys, what is going on?!” Dipper asked with a frustrated huff as Steven and Mabel shoved him out the Mystery Shack’s front door. Out of nowhere, the pair had pounced on him, forcing him into a clean-cut dress shirt and freshly-pressed pair of pants before they essentially held him down to run a comb through his hair. By the end of it all, even he had to admit he was dressed to impress, though for what reason, he hadn’t the faintest idea. 

“Oh, you’ll see…” Mabel said with a leading grin, more or less dragging her brother up towards the temple. 

“That’s what you guys have been saying for the past two hours now!” Dipper protested, thoroughly aggravated. “And it’s not good enough anymore! I need some answers now! Why are you guys acting so weird? And why did you force me to get all dressed up like this?”

“Aw, sorry, Dipper!” Steven said much more apologetically. “We’d tell you, but that’d ruin the surprise!”

“What surprise?” Dipper asked, still quite disgruntled as they all stepped up onto the temple’s porch. 

“This one!” Steven and Mabel chimed in cheery unison as they threw the door open to reveal the equally bewildered heiress standing just on the other side of it. 

Surprised, Pacifica spun around, showing off the simple, yet classy teal tea tress she was wearing. Her golden hair carried a slight wave to it, her face peppered with just a little bit more makeup than usual, creating an elegant, natural, appealing look. All the same, her eyes widened as she caught sight of Dipper, looking his own formal attire over for a moment before she ultimately broke into a small, impressed smile. “Hey.”

“H-hey,” he returned her greeting much more tightly, trying his best not to show just how mesmerized he actually was by how lovely she looked. 

“Its working!” Mabel whispered to Steven, unable to hide the huge grin on her face. “It’s working!”

“Its starting to,” Steven agreed, chuckling before speaking up to the entranced pair with a formal bow. “Sir, madam, your table awaits.”

“Wait, what?” Pacifica blinked back into reality, confused. “Table?”

“Whoa, whoa, hold on,” Dipper cut in, sending Steven and Mabel a suspicious glare. “This better not be-”

“A date! Yep, you got it!” Mabel exclaimed, pressing past the pair into the shack. 

“A-a date?!” Pacifica flinched, startled as her cheeks flushing bright red as she looked to Dipper, battled and distressed. 

“Pacifica, I swear I had no idea they were planning this!” he quickly assured, scowling at the pair. “Though in retrospect I guess I should have seen this coming considering how you guys always take these sort of things way too far…”

“What was that?” Mabel asked with a growing smirk as she stood before the curtain obscuring the rest of the house. “I couldn’t hear you over that romantic violin music.” She paused, her smile fading as she realized no such music was wafting through the building. “I said… that romantic violin music!”

“Oh! Sorry!” Connie called from the other side of the curtain. At this prompting, she began to play an elegant solo piece, one that Steven and Mabel used as their cue to pull the curtain back to finally reveal their master plan. 

“Prepare yourselves… for a night of romance!” Mabel proclaimed, throwing a dramatic hand out to the setup behind her. In just a few hours alone, the rag-tag team had turned the house into a makeshift restaurant, complete with Christmas lights and candles in an attempt at creating a sense of atmosphere and ambiance, though in reality it ended up coming across as somewhat cheap, perhaps even a bit cheesy. A handful of small tables had been set up, complete with lacy tablecloths and fine plastic dining ware, and at each of those tables sat a different, romantically-involved couple, each of which had been invited for the sole purpose of filling the restaurant up. 

The couple that was clearly enjoying themselves the most was Soos and Melody, the latter of whom just so happened to be visiting town at just the right time to make this impromptu date possible. They sat leaning in close, warmly conversing all the while as they absently munched on their breadstick appetizers before they happened to grab the same exact one, opting to eat it together until it led up to a brief, but very welcome kiss. Sitting at the table across from them was Robbie and Tambry, neither of whom were very invested in their date as much as they were sending each other flirtatious text messages, occasionally reacting to said messages with a coy grin across the table. Surprisingly, Lars and Sadie were also present, though quite begrudgingly so, given how flustered they were as they realized just how romantic the atmosphere around them actually was, something they were clearly uninformed of in advance. And still several other couples sat somewhat boredly as Wendy casually waited on their tables and Connie kept her gentle violin accompaniment going all the while. Even as a very audible argument began to break out between the pair of “chefs” in the very open kitchen nearby. 

“Amethyst, for the last time, nachos are not considered fine dining!” Pearl huffed, clearly irritated. 

“Oh yeah, and how would you know, P?” Amethyst retorted, still trying to prepare the simple snack food despite the white Gem’s protests. “You don’t even eat.”

“Maybe not, but I do know refined elegance when I see it and nachos certainly are not that!”

“Huh, and things were going so smoothly in here too…” Steven noted with a concerned frown that he was quick to chase away with a forced smile as he turned back to Dipper and Pacifica. “N-not that there’s a problem, because there isn’t!”

“Uh, yeah, there is,” Dipper replied flatly. 

“Oh, and what might that problem be, dear brother?” Mabel asked, trying to maintain an air of class despite how classless the scene behind her was. 

“Well for starters, you invited half the town to… whatever this is,” Dipper huffed, waving a hand out at the restaurant. “And second of all, you guys just threw all this together without even asking either me or Pacifica! I mean, did it ever occur to you that maybe we didn’t want you guys setting us up on some big, embarrassing date? B-because we don’t. We definitely don’t…” He essentially had to hold back a disappointed sigh as he said this, and likewise, he didn’t even bother to glance back at Pacifica behind him. Though if he would have, he’d have gotten a glance at an expression that was every bit as crestfallen and fretful as his own. “Right?” 

“Um, y-yeah…” the heiress forced herself to say, frowning as she wrapped her arms around herself and looked to the floor. “Right…”

“More like right idea, wrong execution.” 

The kids were all quite surprised by this interruption as Garnet suddenly stepped into the house, a confident grin on her face as she looked down to the hesitant pair in front of her. “Dipper, Pacifica, your other table awaits,” she stepped aside, holding the door open to the night air outside. 

“Other table?” Steven and Mabel whispered to each other, completely bewildered by this turn of events. 

Likewise, Dipper and Pacifica exchanged a wondering glance, but even so, they decided to at the very least follow the Gem leader’s lead, curious to know where it might take them. At the same time, Garnet silently beckoned Steven and Mabel, as well as Connie to pick up shop and follow after her, which they all did, even despite their palpable confusion. 

“Hey, wait, where you guys goin’?” Amethyst called as she noticed the group heading out the door. “What are we supposed to do with all these nachos?!”

“Not serve them to our guests, obviously,” Pearl scowled, snatching a plate away from the purple Gem before she hastily grabbed it right back. 

“Ah well,” she shrugged with a smirk before scarfing down the entire plate whole in full view of their very confused patrons. “More for me!”

***

As initially out of the loop as Dipper and Pacifica themselves were, now it was Mabel and Steven’s turn, for as the two of them and Connie treaded after Garnet and the couple from a distance, they couldn’t help but wonder exactly what shakeup to their well thought out plans the Gem leader had in mind. Which was exactly what Steven ventured to ask her as she continued to lead the group out past the shack and into the forest instead. 

“Um, Garnet?” he asked in a whisper as him, Mabel, and Connie caught up to the Gem leader. “Where are we going?”

“That’s a surprise,” Garnet said, a finger to her lips as she vaguely nodded back at the pair behind her. 

“Uh, n-not to sound like Nervous Nelly here, but this... wasn’t part of the plan,” Mabel frowned anxiously. 

“It was,” the Gem leader countered. “It’s just a bit of a different spin on the plan. I figured those two would appreciate just a little more privacy. And I wasn’t the only one to think so either.”

“Yeah, that’s right, which means you three oughta give them that privacy!” Steven, Mabel, and Connie all gasped in surprise as Stan of all people suddenly pulled all three of them aside, away from the setup that Garnet was taking the pair still following her to. 

“Grunkle Stan?” Mabel asked, bewildered. “What are you doing out here?”

“Like I said before, I ain’t about to let anyone mess this whole shebang up,” the conman said bluntly. “And that includes you kids. So sit back and watch some real romance happen. Or at least romance according to Shades over there, though since she’s pretty much in constant honeymoon mode, I’d say they’re in pretty good hands.”

“Boy, I’ll say,” Connie agreed, glancing forward and prompting Steven and Mabel to do the same. “Look!”

Garnet had finally stopped, Dipper and Pacifica pausing behind her as they looked around the dark, yet very open clearing they were now standing in with a shared sense of confusion. That is, until the Gem leader swept her hands out, somehow filling the entire area with a soft sort of gentle, multi-colored light, all of which radiated from the handful of iridescects filling the jars and lanterns strung across the clearing. Under that light sat a single table, set only for two, and every bit as warm and inviting as the rest of the serene, intimate setting very much was. 

“I’ll leave you two to it,” Garnet concluded with a simple smile as she turned to the pair, pulling down her shades a bit to reveal her trio of eyes, the topmost of which offered them a brief, knowing wink. “Enjoy.”

And with that, the Gem leader stepped aside, joining Stan and the kids back in the shadows of the surrounding trees. As she did, Dipper and Pacifica looked to each other once more, both of them equally perplexed as they tried to make sense of exactly what both of them had been unwittingly dragged into. 

“W-well, I gotta admit,” Pacifica began diffidently. “This… wasn’t what I was expecting when Mabel texted me earlier and told me to dress up nice and come all the way out here without even explaining why.”

“Ugh, Pacifica, I’m so sorry about all of this,” Dipper sighed tiredly. “I don’t know what those two were thinking with all this. Well, actually… I know exactly what Mabel was thinking, b-but that doesn’t matter. A-anyway, if you wanna call it a night and go home, I wouldn’t blame you. I mean, this is probably way more awkward than you ever could have bargained for…”

“N-no, its not!” Pacifica suddenly exclaimed, far more intently than she had meant to. She recanted somewhat, flustered, though she still managed a small, genuine smile all the same. “I-I mean… it’s actually really… sweet that your sister and your friends would throw all this together for us. E-even if it is sort of… out of the blue. Still, y-you… wouldn’t want all their hard work to just go to waste, would you?”

Briefly, Dipper paused, looking between heiress and the table before them, both of which were practically aglow in the low light surrounding them. And despite his staunch rejection of this so-called ‘date’ before, he found himself hard pressed to turn the offer down when Pacifica herself was the one presenting it to him. “N-no, I guess not,” he shrugged just as apprehensively, following after her as she moved to take a seat. 

Things were still somewhat stilted as they did so, however, the noises of nighttime filling in for any sort of actual conversation. That is, until they happened to lift the covers off their plates to reveal the deceptively simple, but surprisingly meaningful meal underneath. 

“Oh! Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!” Pacifica laughed brightly, absolutely charmed the once again heart-shaped snack. “How’d they know?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know the answer to that,” Dipper remarked, chuckling himself. “Honestly, I still can’t believe how much you liked PB&J the first time you tried it. It was pretty funny to see you get so excited over something as simple as a sandwich.”

“Ugh, no, it wasn’t,” the heiress smirked, blushing. “It was embarrassing. Even if that sandwich was totally delicious.”

The pair shared another laugh over this, one that was filled with warm that didn’t slip away, even after it was over. “You know…” Pacifica began with a soft, easy smile. “Even though we can both agree that this isn’t a… ‘date’, it’s still really nice to just be here… together…”

“Y-yeah…” Dipper agreed with a grin that was every bit as genuine as the heiress’ own. “It is…”

As the pair continued their casual conversation, they had largely forgotten about the group spectating over them from the sidelines. While both Garnet and Stan had taken a much more discreet, wiser approach to watching in the woods, Steven, Mabel, and Connie had all scaled a nearby tree to get a better vantage point. They had perched themselves on an obscured branch, just out of the pair’s view, but still giving them a perfect spot to see and hear everything that was going on between them. And suffice to say, they were quite happy with what they were seeing. 

“Oh my gosh, Garnet was right, this was way better than our old plan!” Mabel gasped, delighted as the pair leaned in a bit from their respective ends on the table, laughing softly all the while. For a moment, it seemed as though their hands were about to overlap, though just before they could, they both ended up drawing back, noticeably flustered as their conversation carried on all the same. “But… they’re still holding back…” Mabel frowned upon seeing this. “Ugh! I can’t deal with all this ‘will they/won’t they’ tension! I need those two to finally get to Smooch City already!”

“Hm…” Steven mused, staring down at the pair. “There’s gotta be something we can do. What did Garnet say again? We have to help them grow together?” The young Gem paused, looking around the dimly lit clearing for anything that could give him an idea. And sure enough, he found that idea in the form of the violin still resting in Connie’s arms. “That’s it! Connie, can you play us a song? Something slow and easy, but emotional and passionate? Like a love song!”

“Well,” Connie grinned, positioning her bow to play. “Let’s see what I can come up with…” After a few practice notes, she was quick to find her footing in a smooth, natural, calmly-tempoed tune, one that soon filled the entire clearing with its gentle, pleasing sound. 

“Yes, that’s perfect!” Steven whispered, stars in his eyes. “Now, if only I had my-”

“I’ve got you covered,” Garnet said as she handed the young Gem’s ukelele up to him. 

“Thanks!” he smiled back down at her, quickly tuning his own instrument before finding the perfect place to jump into Connie’s melody to create a sweet, soothing duet. One that wasn’t lost on the pair listening to it from down below. 

“Yeesh,” Dipper shook his head, facepalming. “They just don’t know when to quit with this stuff, do they? Remind me to get new friends and a new sister when all this is over.” Pacifica couldn’t hold back a small snort of a laugh at this remark, one that admittedly caught Dipper off guard from the very second he heard it. “Whoa, since when do you snort when you laugh?”

“Augh! Sorry!” the heiress flushed, covering her face in embarrassment. “It’s something my parents have tried to break me out of doing ever since I was little. They say its ‘not ladylike’, but sometimes I-I guess sometimes the snort just can’t help but slip through the cracks.”

“Well, I’m glad it does,” Dipper remarked, not even realizing just how red his own face was as he forced himself to maintain eye contact with her, largely speaking without thinking at this point. “Cause to be honest, i-its really… well, cute.”

By this point, Pacifica’s smile was so wide and so elated that she couldn’t help but let the bright, cherished feelings sparking within her brim over, urging her to be bold, urging her to take a chance, urging her to cross the line. Which she did in the form of something quite simple really; by doing nothing more than slowly, carefully resting her hand on top of Dipper’s own. “Say, Dipper…” she began thoughtfully, perhaps even a bit leadingly as she met his awestruck expression evenly. “You remember the night of the party, right? After the ghost was gone and we just went out there danced like a bunch of total dorks for hours and hours until we couldn’t anymore?” 

“Heh, how could I forget?” he answered, finally tearing his gaze away from their hands and toward her imploring smile instead. 

“Do you maybe wanna… I dunno… give that another go?” she offered, her tone soft and hopeful as the musical melody continued sweeping through the air, practically inviting them to move along to it. “W-we don’t have to, of course, I just thought… W-well, it might be-”

“‘Fun, or something’?” he countered, repeating the very words she had used the last time she’d asked him to dance. “Y-yeah, I think it would too, though… I, uh… don’t really know how to dance to something like, um… well, this.” He paused, allowing the almost waltz-like tune to fill in once again. 

“Oh, it’s easy,” Pacifica assured as they stood and stepped up to each other. “All you have to do is just put this hand here, and this other hand here…” she trailed off, steadying herself as she rested one of his hands against her back before she took his other one. As apprehensive as he clearly was, his touch was light and more than welcome, especially as she met his anxious, yet adapting expression with a soft, good-natured smile of her own. “And then… you just go.”

And with that, their dance began, Pacifica leading it given her greater experience with this sort of skill. It began slow and easy, though still in time with the music as they spun in calm, cool circles near their table, their eyes never drifting away from each other all the while. And as that melody carried them on across the clearing, Steven decided to put words to it as he strummed along, creating a fitting love song for the pair that was clearly starting to fall into exactly that. 

“How could it be? Now do you see? Its starting all at once…”

Prompted on by these gentle lyrics, they spun out wider, greater, with Pacifica gradually letting Dipper take the lead as he grew more and more comfortable with each and every step. True, he was still new to this, but she trusted him, she always had, from that very moment he’d helped her realize she could be so much kinder, so much stronger, so much happier than she’d ever thought possible. Happiness that she always, always felt in full form whenever he was by her side.

“You take a leap, then fall in deep. Slow at first, then all at once…”

Perhaps it was the night air or the colorful lights or the dreamlike music urging them onward, but urged by whatever it was, Dipper accepted the lead Pacifica was giving him, using it to spin her out swiftly yet carefully. When he pulled her back in, it was as though her eyes were sparkling as she looked to him, unquestionable elation and excitement filling them to the point that both were instantly infectious. For a brief moment, he could hardly believe that this moment was real, that they were here, together, like this. Certainly it had to be some sort of dream or fantasy and yet as he looked to her again, felt her hand intertwined with his own, he knew that this perhaps the realest thing in the entire world, the realest feeling he’d ever experienced in his entire life. 

“Doubts disappear, there’s no more fear. And it happens all at once…”

Gradually yet naturally, their pace began to slow, their twirls becoming more lofty as the music did the same. Their hearts were both admittedly racing, both from their ongoing dance and from nerves, fear, and exhilaration all at the same time. But there was no question they treasured all of those feelings. They wanted to cling onto that moment, as blissful and sweet as it was. They wanted it, and everything it represented, to last for as long as it was able, even as the song soon came to its peaceful, promising end. 

“Now that you know, your hearts can grow…. Together, all at once…”

Even as the lyrics reached their gentle conclusion, Connie and Steven continued playing their song, albeit a bit softer as the couple opted to ultimately slow dance to it down below. For awhile, neither Dipper nor Pacifica said anything as they continued, their hands still pressed together and their eyes tightly locked on nothing other than each other all the while. When this lingering silence finally was broken, however, Dipper was the one to do it, even if his voice was barely over a whisper when he did. 

“A-are you ok?” he asked softly, intently. 

“Y-yeah…” she nodded, just as subdued as he was. “I… I’m just a little dizzy.”

“Oh. S-should we stop?”

“No…” “Never,” she wanted to say, but she didn’t. And yet, despite this, they still stopped all the same, still holding onto each other loosely as they stared at each other, entranced and enchanted and unsure of what might happen next. That is, until, acting not on reason or logic or any sort of thought at all, slowly but surely they both began to lean in, their faces steadily drawing closer together, much to the delight of the trio watching them from the trees.

“YES!” Mabel shouted in a bright, elated whisper as she pulled out her camera to capture the moment as it happened. “This is it! Smooch City here they come!”

“I’m so happy for them!” Steven grinned joyously as tears started welling up in his eyes. “Oh man, I wish I’d brought a box of-” The young Gem stopped short as Garnet handed him off a box of tissues from down below right on time for his tears to begin to fall. “Thanks again!”

“Guys, shh!” Connie cautioned with a small, amused chuckle. “You’ll ruin their moment!”

Steven and Mabel were quick to pipe down at this, opting to instead watch in anticipation as Dipper and Pacifica only continued to move in closer and closer. For what felt like ages, nothing else seemed to matter, not the several sets of eyes they knew were on them, or the radiant colored lights all around. As if on instinct, their eyes both slipped shut, both of them breathless as they braved themselves to bound across the line and let their hearts lead the way. 

Until, at the very last minute, when one of them realized exactly what was happening. And as soon as they did, they were all too quick to fearfully pull away. 

Once Pacifica noticed her eager lips had been kept waiting, she hesitantly opened her eyes, only to see something that made her heart immediately plummet. For some reason, Dipper had pulled away, relinquishing his hold on her entirely as he took a small step back. His expression was rife with dread and guilt as he all but refused to make eye contact with her and instead gazed downward fretfully. 

“D-Dipper?” Pacifica dared to venture, newfound hurt filling into her own expression as she reached an almost trembling hand out toward him. 

“I-I... “ he hesitated, finally looking up at her before shaking his head. “I-I can’t do this… I’m sorry…”

The heiress flinched, awestruck as she watched him turn to leave her behind without even explaining why at all. All of the previous warmth that had once spread throughout her was now filled in with a bitter chill, one that carried into her tone as she worked up the courage to fiercely call him out. “S-so that’s it then?” she asked in disbelief. “Y-you’re just gonna walk away like its nothing? I thought… I thought you… t-that we were…” She took in a sharp breath, forcing every ounce of willpower she had to keep herself from breaking down entirely. “I-I guess it doesn’t matter what I thought, does it? Because clearly, you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

Dipper let out a long, remorseful sigh at this, briefly glancing over his shoulder at her to meet her bitter gaze. “Pacifica, that’s not-”

“Oh, what? That’s not it?” Pacifica filled in, obviously frustrated. “Then what is it, Dipper? Is… is it me?”

“W-what?” Dipper turned fully at this, seemingly distressed. 

“Look, I get it, ok?” the heiress continued, choking back a small, harsh sob. “I treated you and your sister and your friends terribly. I was awful to everyone and, a-a lot of the time, I feel like I still am except for when I’m with you. Y-you made me want to try to be someone better, to be somebody who’s actually worth all the effort but… b-but… I guess that’s not good enough, is it?” She let out a small, pained laugh at this, her tears finally falling as she shook her head. “I should have known; after all, nothing I ever do is ever good enough for anyone, right?”

She was more than ready to resign herself to such a grim thought, a thought that she had always been taught her entire life and had only recently begun to believe could be false. But all too quickly she was being reminded of just how miserably true it really was, just how hopeless and powerless she to make that change she desperately wanted. 

Until, of course, he came along and, in a single moment, pulled her right out of the darkness of that despair and back into the light, just as he had before. Only this time, it was in the very last way she could have ever expected:

With a kiss. 

She barely had time to react, to think as she felt it, his lips pressed against hers in perhaps the most surprising moment of her entire life. Admittedly, it was quite surprising for him too, especially as he realized exactly what his feeling had so recklessly, thoughtlessly pushed him into doing. And yet it was too late to take it back now, for they there were, standing there, kissing of all things, both of them feeling absolutely ridiculous… and absolutely wonderful all at the same time. 

“YESSSSSSS!” Mabel cheered as quietly as she could as she snapped a picture from the trees. “I got it! This baby is getting an entire scrapbook page all to itself!”

“I-I’m so glad you brought these tissues along, Garnet,” Steven sniffled as he glanced down at the Gem leader. “C-cause I’m really needing them now!”

“You’re not the only one,” Garnet grinned, thumbing away a stray proud tear of her own. 

“Huh,” Stan remarked, absolutely dumbfounded as he watched the scene unfold. “Who could’ve guessed the kid actually had it in him? Either way, I’ll be rollin’ in dough in no time!”

These collective, excited reactions were all but lost on Dipper and Pacifica themselves as they slowly drew away, their faces still close as they tried their best to catch their breath and regain their bearings. After all, everything had just changed in an instant; and yet neither of them could deny that it was an instant in which they could go back to and live in forever, for all it was worth. 

“O-Ok…” Pacifica spoke up first, uncertain. “Now I’m really confused. A-are you like… trying to play some sort of mind game with me?” 

“N-no!” Dipper quickly, anxiously replied, gripping her hand and holding onto it tightly. “I’m not, I-I’m sorry, I just… I-It's not you, please, don’t think it’s you. I love how much you’ve been trying to change and it is good enough and it’s always been good enough and I… I’m just rambling at this point, aren’t I?”

“Um… yeah, sort of?” the heiress raised an eyebrow. “What exactly are you trying to say here?”

“I-I don’t know!” he admitted earnestly, absolutely overwhelmed by all of the thoughts in his head conflicting with the feelings in his heart. “I’m just so bad at these sort of things, I always have been, e-even… even the last time I felt this way about someone…”

“L-last time?” she asked, concerned. “Wait… you mean that crush you used to have on that Wendy girl?”

“W-wha--how did you know about that?!”

“Mabel told me,” she said with an understanding smile. “I didn’t really know why she did… until now, I guess.”

“Ugh, like I said earlier, remind me to get a new sister…” Dipper grumbled, letting out a long groan as he allowed himself to flop down to sit in the grass, defeated. Pacifica hesitated a moment, but ultimately joined him, sitting close, though not too close, as she waited for a long enough beat of silence to pass before speaking up. 

“Uh… so if you don’t mind me asking, what happened with… that whole situation?” she asked, curious. 

“It was dumb,” Dipper shook his head dejectedly. “I was dumb. She’s way older than me and I knew that, but I just had to go and fall in love with her even though some part of me always knew it was never gonna work out. So I spent so long being all anxious and scared and coming up with all these crazy plans to get her to impress her when it all just ended up being a huge waste of time in the end anyway. But then, after it did fall apart, I started to wonder if I was ever really in love with her at all? Like… maybe I just thought I was all this time? I don’t know…” he sighed, closing his eyes thoughtfully. “I know this sort of stuff is all a part of growing up, but that doesn’t keep it from being less confusing…”

“W-well, at least we have that in common,” Pacifica grinned slightly. “After all, I’m all new to this stuff too…”

“Wait… you are?” Dipper looked to her, amazed. “Aren’t you like, the most popular girl in town? I would have thought you’d have had a thousand boyfriends by now.”

“Heh, never any real ones,” the heiress chuckled. “More like stuffy suitors my parents forced me to hang out with to make their business partners or the press happy. But I never actually cared about any of those guys… until… until you.”

“Pacifica…” Dipper said quietly, unsure of what to follow it up with, though thankfully he didn’t have to as she continued for him. 

“I… think I finally get it… why you held back at first,” she explained, slowly taking his hand once more. “It’s… hard wondering if you’ll ever really be good enough, working so hard to try to be the best you can for something that you’re not even sure is gonna work out in the end. It’s like a weight… one that’s so heavy you sometimes wonder how you can even carry it all without being crushed completely. So in a way… I guess we both have our own weights we need to carry, huh?”

He hesitated, though only for a moment. And in that moment, he realized that while his supposedly infatuated interactions with Wendy had always felt awkward and stilted, with Pacifica, it was like always seemed to know exactly what to say and do. A fact that, once again, proved to be completely true as he gave her the kind, easy smile he knew she deserved. “Well,” he began, prompted on by courage he didn’t know he had. Courage that was fueled by affection that he was now absolutely, finally certain of as he offered her hand a steady, supportive squeeze. “Maybe we can carry those weights together. That is… if you want to…”

Tears were welling up in the heiress’ eyes, though this time, they were filled with unquestionable joy as she nodded warmly. “Of course…” she whispered blissfully, somewhat playfully as she began to lean in closer to him. “But only if we take things slow…”

“Like I said, I’ve never done this before,” he laughed, overwhelmed once more, though by feelings of an entirely different, much better kind. “So slow is the only way I really know how to go.”

“Same here… and that’s perfectly fine with me,” she agreed, her eyes closing along with his as they drew in, this time entirely on purpose. 

And on that purpose, their lips met once more. Perhaps even more than their first kiss, this second one was genuine, crisp, and warm, one guided not by fear or guilt but by instinct, by fondness, by faith that this could and would work out. As it continued, she lifted her hand to rest gingerly against his cheek as he absently weaved his fingers through her hair, the mere touches alone striking even more soaring emotions within them both. And by the time it was all over, it felt as though by that kiss alone they had solidified something, that they had made a promise to themselves and each other that this was the start of a bond, of a relationship that they’d cherish and protect, no matter what might come their way. 

For as long and dreamlike as it all was, eventually, that kiss did eventually come to its natural end, though even as it did, they lingered close, their foreheads pressed lightly together as they shared a small, sweet laugh. However, for as tender as this moment was, it didn’t last long before it was inevitably interrupted by the flood of excitement that rushed out to meet them. 

“Mazel tov to the happy, brand new couple!” Mabel cheered, catching the pair off guard as she tossed a handful of rice over them from behind. Steven stood alongside her, brightly applauding while Connie hurried over to try to keep them from ruining the moment any more than they already had. 

“M-Mabel! Steven!” Dipper exclaimed as him and Pacifica pulled away, flustered. “What are you guys-”

“Oh, no need to thank us, bro-bro,” Mabel grinned proudly. “We were more than happy to make a match out of a couple as cute as you two, right, Steven?”

“Right!” the young Gem happily agreed. “Though… to be honest, I think we owe a lot of our success here to Garnet.”

“Well, my experience in the field of romance has never steered me wrong before,” the Gem leader remarked, grinning as she stepped up to the group. 

“Hey! Don’t forget about me!” Stan cut in brashly. “I helped set all this up too! Speaking of which…” The conman threw on an amicable, somewhat patronizing smile as he looked to Pacifica. “Welcome to the family, kid. Does folks on your side of the tracks still do that whole dowry thing? And if so, how much are your parents willing to fork out for yours? Just asking for the sake of reference.”

“Uh…” Pacifica trailed off, exchanging a bewildered glance with Dipper over such an odd question. 

“Ugh, come on, you guys…” he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose before turning to his new girlfriend with an apologetic smile. “S-sorry. I hope you don’t mind dealing with… them.” He nodded to the group surrounding them, composed of Steven, Mabel, and even Garnet’s wide, elated smiles and Stan’s much more greedy one. 

Even so, the heiress let out a bright, genuinely amused chuckle at their antics, one that did more than enough to set Dipper at ease that she’d find a way to fit in among his occasionally overbearing friends and family just fine. “I think I’ll get used to it,” she grinned, accepting his hand as he helped her up to stand. “After all, I’d much rather deal with them than my family.”

“Well then, like Grunkle Stan said, welcome to ours!” Mabel quipped, throwing an arm around both Dipper and Pacifica’s shoulders as she sandwiched herself between them. “Oh my gosh, Pacifica! Does this technically make us sisters now?!”

“Um… I’m pretty sure that’s now how any of this works,” Pacifica noted sardonically. 

“Alright, everyone, it’s getting pretty late out here,” Garnet spoke up, nodding over to the jars of iridescects that were starting to dim as they fell asleep for the night. “Let’s head back to the shack; I’ll make everyone some hot chocolate.”

“Ooo yeah!” Steven exclaimed excitedly, readily following after the Gem leader as she began to head back. “And we can put on a movie too!”

“Something romantic for you two lovebirds to cuddle up to,” Mabel added, offering Dipper and Pacifica a sly wink.

Even though Dipper let out an exasperated sigh at this, Pacifica merely chuckled once more, a laugh that Dipper himself couldn’t help but join in after a moment or two. As the others all went on ahead, the newly-formed couple trailed at the back of the group, their hands inconspicuously intertwining as they set out. As their fingers laced themselves together, they shared a soft smile, realizing just how well their hands fit together, how well they fit together. It was strange, perhaps even downright bizarre just how two people, so completely different yet also so very much the same, hand ended up together, but through fate or luck or something else entirely, they had. And as they strolled through the darkness into their fledgling future together, at long last, neither of them had any doubts left at all. Their feelings for each other were real, rich, and radiant, and there was no question in either of their hearts or minds, that together was exactly where they needed to be. 

“Now that you know, your hearts can grow…”

“Together....”

“All at once…”

Next:

[beendressingforrevenge]

My review of Folklore (first listen feelings)

The 1 - "I'm on some new shit" 🥰🥰. Chill vibes feeling very soothing. If you never bleed you're never gunna grow!! If my wishes came true it woulda been you!! Never leaving well enough alone HUH TAYLOR I see you there. The ending Oooohoooohoh

Cardigan - the slinky feel is amazing. I absolutely love the vibe and the softness in the lyrics. Friend to all is a friend to none. You drew stars around my scars but now I'm bleeding. Marked me like a bloodstain. Peter losing wendy. The imagery!! When you are young they assume you know nothing and then switching straight to "I knew you".... the way she's playing with emphasis is lovely. You'd come back to me/you could stay parallel.

Tlgad - ooh the beat is cool on this one. Only so far new money goes. Oh snap. This is so cutting. Her fault it fell down. She had a marvellous time ruining everything. Pool with champagne again huh. Card game bets. Most shameless woman this town has ever seen. So many implications of "they say". Again with the different style of emphasis. So this is the story of taylors house? Love it. LOUDEST WOMAN this town has ever seen. I had a marvellous tiiiiiIIIIiiiime ruining everything.

Exile - you're not my homeland anymore so what am I defending??? Also the use of films, a recurrent theme in taylors music since fearless. The low register of taylors voice.... delicious. Those eyes add insult to injury. Who am offending now? The step up in piano pace. The echoing vocals. Walked a very thin line. The swell of vocals overlapping. The contradictions and the almost argumentative nature of the vocals is great. Lyrically I'm getting Cold As You/White Horse vibes for some reason?

My tears ricochet - the opposing oohs in each ear is so eerie but I love it? If I'm on fire you'll be made of ashes too. Hero imagery is strong in this album. Same jewels I gave you to bury me... dang. I can anywhere I want just not home... just after the song exile is so powerful. Stolen lullabyes!! The way she repeats but changes the lyrics is so good.

Mirrorball - layering of vocals is beautiful. Shining just for you. Confessional nature of the song echoing the sadness. Masquerade revellers. How can she sing 'rodeo clowns' and its sad and mournful and not jokes? Still on that trapeze trying everything to keep you looking at me.

Seven - lol tay you didnt peak at 7 😂. This is also gay. We can be pirates and you wont have to cry is so soft and also badass. Used to scream ferociously!! I still got lOove for you. Move to india together? I love this so much. Passing down stories in folk songs. This is soft and sweet. Outro is like a melancholy dance.

August - the melody of this song is perfect. August slipped away into a moment of time. The way that the vocals step back at that part? Is so good? She is really playing with the arrangements of instruments and vocals and its so interesting. You werent mine to lose! Twisting in bedsheets.... hello daylight. Cancelled my plans in case you called... living for the hope of it all. The way that line echos and switches sides and moves throughout the arrangement is so cleverly done.

This is me trying - afterglow and btd vibes. The arrangement swells and beats are kind of off putting but in a good way? I got wasted like all my potential - THIS LYRIC IS ME. Pouring my heart out to a stranger - also me. This song is attacking me personally. For real taylor. Bridge feels a little forced ... hm. But I do love the "at least I'm trying" part.

Illicit affairs - wow this is so deep and dark. Tell them you're going for a run... cause you'll be flushed. The force behind "HIM". A dwindling mercurial high! The fact that she says die then lie in the second verse. Dont call me kid dont call me baby look at this godforsaken mess that you made me. Showed me colours you know I cant see with anyone else. This is heartbreaking. SECRET LANGUAGE I CANT SPEAK WITH ANYONE ELSE. This song is attacking me also.

Invisible string - loving the little jig of strings, kind of safe and sound/eyes open reminiscent. Focusing on colours as a means to remember - a theme in her work. Seeeeeeee and Meeeeeeeee is so lovely. It is pretty to think there was some invisible string all along. SINGLE THREAD OF GOLD taaaaylor. Now she sends their babies presents 🥰. I just love the run on "me" and "oh".

Mad woman - they strike to kill and you know I will. You made her like that. This song is giving me chills. Wow. The faint record scratches. Breathe flames every time I talk. Women like hunting witches too. Wanting me dead has brought you two together. RIP Kimye. Nothing like a maaaaaad *deep voice* woman. Master of spin has a couple of side flings... should be scathing like me but no one likes a mad woman. Lyrical artistry. Kind of Better Than Revenge vibes?

Epiphany - swell into the song is a slow build which is very true to the name of the song. The "keep" note is so raw and open? Again this is so different from her usual style. Down/down is giving me chills. Something med school didnt cover - you mean all of it tay? Voice dipping at hold your hand through plastic now is.... good. I feel this may also be about her mother/COVID? A fading outro. This song has me all kinds of confused

Betty - guitar and harmonica is so nostalgic? Riding on my skateboard is the new scooter. This is so gay. Also love the way she uses "garden". The emphasis on words is so unique in this song. The juxtapositions in this song are so great. Also wtf did they do to betty? The way she links words is so reminiscent of the way people think and wish about things and hope and dream of stuff. It feels like authentic to the way thoughts swirl and a stream of consciousness but also very lyrically sound. Excellent songwriting!

Peace - love the spacey intro and the highpaced ticking alongside the slower string piece. I could never give you peace ... feels like the beat vs the calm strings. Dreamscapes on the wall. I'm wasting your honour and then a soft piano added to the mix. Kind of the middle ground between the two. Give you a child 👀. Robbers to the east and clowns to the west. Taylor maybe he wants rain. They think its for show but I would die for you in secret. Keep your brittle fire warm.

Hoax - like a 3 note intro! Eclipsed sun 😪 the sad vibes. Windless fight. These images are so forlorn. The echoing melodies are adding to this vibe. Faithless love is the only hoax I believe in?? Ugh BLUE is back. Love the imagery of this song. The cliffside. The barren love. The hoax of love. She doesnt want any other sadness. Still hurts under my scars from when they pulled me apart? What YOU DID WAS JUST AS DARK? Wow. She been hurt. Again the places she is putting emphasis is very different from her usual songwriting. Longer outro than intro is also very different for taylor. Interestiiiiing.

[waterturnsback]

At the risk of being overly earnest...

All of this blog post will go after the jump because no one should read it, and I’ll probably delete it later.

Today is July 20, and without fail, it is the hottest day of the year. Dark Sky says it is 93 degrees but feels like 98 degrees. MyRadar says it is 92 degrees and feels like 96 degrees. The default iPhone weather app says it is 93 degrees and feels like 99 degrees. It is 7:25 p.m. It is awful.

Every summer, this stretch of days is the most oppressive of the year. The preheating of our sidewalks and streets is over, and it is time to bake. The humidity rolls in to make it a sauna. It is awful. It helps me remember everything.

There are too many events tied to this week. From July 17 through July 24, give or take a few days on either end, I can lay out formative events since 2008. Timehop and Facebook Memories have jarred my brain over the past few days and reminded me of what I miss, what I savor and what has shaped me to this point.

In 2008, Anna and I went to Whartscape in Baltimore on July 20. I took the above photo of Sam Herring of Future Islands there. I used to pinpoint this day as my shift into truly being “cool,” which is a concept that doesn’t quite age well. But we saw Future Islands, Dan Deacon, a Girl Talk side project, Adventure, Parts & Labor, Double Dagger, Ponytail and so many more. There were a bunch of weirdos in a parking lot in Baltimore. I was 16, and I hadn’t been around that before. It was something I wanted to be a part of in the future. It ruled. I am bummed I did not write about this day on the 10-year anniversary two years ago and that it came up quickly this year. Maybe for the 13th anniversary? It was a hot day. Black Dice’s set to close the night got canceled when a storm blew through, and Anna and I got lost in Baltimore in the storm.

Two days earlier, Anna and I went to Artscape to see The Oranges Band, one of the criminally underrated Baltimore bands of the 2000s. Anna was super into them in the early/mid-2000s, and I think they just weren’t weird enough to carve out the longevity and brain space of some of the Whartscape acts. It was fun. It was hot.

One day earlier, Scooter + Jinx played its last show (I don’t think we played again after that?) at the Shamrock Park bandshell. It was acoustic with me, Anna and Benn, and we covered Wilco (three times!), The White Stripes, Silversun Pickups, The Thermals, Cold War Kids, Pixies and I really can’t bear to watch any more of the videos to figure out what else we played. It was a lot. Earlier, I played guitar for Ashley, who sang, and we played some originals and covered Ted Leo. That was the night where Kate and I said we “liked” each other. It was a big deal at the time.

In 2009, there was another outdoor concert at the bandshell the same weekend. I performed alone as Wapinitia, and then Benn accompanied me on a drum for a “Death Valley ‘69″ cover and a Polar Bear Club cover. I played a ton of originals that I know longer remember how to play, though I find the set list for that night when I was cleaning out my room last week and packed it away in a box.

A couple people spent that summer trying to set me up with Elisabeth, and I had been listening to them, despite a couple disastrous encounters a month earlier. The Rita’s/Wendy’s setup will live in infamy. But I tried, and then I realized that I just didn’t care. So I hung out with Kyle and we talked to whole time. I was disillusioned that summer, but I was 17, so it makes sense.

In 2010, I do not really remember what I was doing. The IronBirds were on the road that weekend, so I was not working. I know I went back to Shamrock Park at night and just kind of walked around because I was sad and lonely (lol). My high school graduation party, which doubled as Anna’s college graduation party and my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary part, was in a couple days, so we were cleaning.

In 2011, I went to New York for the weekend. On July 22, Anna and I sat at the Williamsburg Waterfront and watched Death From Above 1979 perform from a distance. It was a hot night. The next day, Molly P. met up with us, and we went to the Prospect Park Zoo before seeing The Feelies, Real Estate and Times New Viking. We saw Real Estate in May and Anna was at the 285 Kent show in June where the band played its new album front to back, so we were seeing the evolution of the Days songs in the live environment. It was a great show, and I think I tried to drink some coconut water and immediately spit it out. Otherwise, Anna kept getting us wine.

From Prospect Park, we went to Shea Stadium and caught Andrew Cedermark’s set to close a bill that had also featured Dustin Wong. It was $7 per person to get in, or something like that, but Anna hustled Patrick Stickles at the door to let the three of us in for $7 because there was only one band left. We were drinking out on the Shea Stadium balcony, and Molly P. told me that she wished she hadn’t agreed to go see ODDSAC with me instead of going to senior prom the week before. I can’t argue with that. I texted Molly M. that I liked her.

Jeffery and Kia were at 285 Kent, so we went down to the water from Shea and wound up seeing Pictureplane at some insane hour of the night. It was so hot in 285. My phone said it was 88 degrees outside or something along those lines, and I got a chill when I walked out of 285. Someone was handing out watermelon, and it was hot. I don’t know how I survived that day. The mass shooting in Norway also happened that weekend.

The next day, Molly M. and I talked about the night before, and I said, “It’s real.” We wandered Williamsburg that day before going to Hoboken to see Real Estate and Dent May at Maxwell’s.

In 2012, Grandpa and Grandma died during the week, so I was a mess (though I did see Shut Up And Play The Hits in theaters, and it was good). I was going to New York anyway July 20, but I called out of my internship and got on an earlier bus. Anna picked me up from the MegaBus and we just kind of wandered Manhattan. The Aurora mass shooting happened the night before, too. I don’t remember where we got dinner, other than we got Mexican. We went out to Ridgewood Queens and then got ready. Molly M. was home in San Diego that weekend, so I didn’t have to walk on eggshells at Emily’s apartment on Havermeyer. Diana was in a fun mood, along with Becky, and Anastassia, Molly K. and Marc B. were also there (and more probably met up with us?). We pregamed pretty hard, and there are a bunch of hilarious photos that are now gone from Facebook because Becky deactivated last week. We went to the Woods and then some random house party in Williamsburg. There are a bunch of goofy pictures of me and Emily in the backyard, and Emily fell asleep on a bike(?).

The next day, Anna and I met up with Dent May at Grand Ferry Park and interviewed him for about 20 minutes. It was a perfect interview, and he tapped into a lot of what me and Anna were feeling psychically without knowing what we were going through. It was a beautiful night, and it was just really cool to talk to him. He was playing Glasslands, and since I was 20, I couldn’t go, so me and Anna met up with Anastassia and went to House of Vans to see Dum Dum Girls and Widowspeak. Anna and Anastassia stood inside the alcohol area, while I stood on the other side of the fence to talk to them. The sets were good, and then Anna and I went back to 285 to see Iceage. It was nuts. There were real punks there, and the indie kids weren’t ready for it.

On Sunday, July 22, Anna and I went down to DUMBO with Anastassia, and we walked the Brooklyn Bridge. It was cool. I still do not understand the logic of riding your bike across the bridge if you are a serious biker, but the views were great and it wasn’t too hot. We wandered Manhattan a little bit and then took the ferry back. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen, and it was a satisfying end to the weekend during an awful time. Emily and Diana met up with us at American Apparel. Everyone agreed it was one of the most fun weekends of the summer, and it happened while Molly M. was away. Hm.

On Monday, we went to see Beach House in Central Park. Marc P. got the ticket that was supposed to be for Molly M. It rained. Lower Dens opened. It was beautiful. Anastassia watched from outside the fence, and we all went back to Brooklyn together. I was taking the bus home the next afternoon, so Anastassia and I met up in Williamsburg in the morning and went to Co-Op 87. I bought her a Widowspeak 7″, and we went over to Manhattan and I got pho for the first time in my life. It remains one of my favorite weekends under the worst circumstances.

In 2013, it was again one of the hottest days of the year. Me, Dan and Rob drove to Annapolis on July 19, and it was miserable. We tried to walk around. I did a phone interview with someone on the street. We got ice cream, and then we went back to College Park. On July 20, I went to Baltimore and met up with Seth and Ryan at an Irish bar on the Inner Harbor where we were going to meet Colleen for her birthday, but her flight got screwed up, so me, Seth and Ryan just watched the pirate boat in the harbor and the lightning.

In 2014, I was alone in California, so I drove out to Pomona to go to the Viva Pomona festival. I saw Thee Oh Sees, Fuzz and Terry Malts. I bought Worry by Big Troubles on vinyl from a record store out there. It was cool. I think that was the same weekend I watched an entire season of House of Cards, went to The Geffen Contemporary to see the Mike Kelley exhibit and then met up with Jack in Echo Park.

In 2015, I came home from covering a girls youth soccer tournament in Richmond and went to see No Age at the H&H Building on the hottest day of the year. They were good. No one was really there. A couple days later, I got my first real job at The Sun.

In 2016, I hadn’t taken my job at PennLive yet, but it was getting close. On July 23, we went to an Orioles game with a pretty deep crew, and it turned into a long day. It was so hot and so humid. It was raining, but there were no clouds over us. Jack said it was like the sky was crying.

In 2017, we spent a night in D.C. We were trying to use Brad & Mike’s pool because it was so hot, but then it thunderstormed.

In 2018, we were on our way to Western Maryland for a weekend at Deep Creek Lake. I got pulled over for speeding leaving Cumberland, but I got let off with a warning because I pulled over right when the guy waved me down. It was a good weekend. I think that was really the first time I started drinking a lot of White Claw. We got taquitos for the lake house, and it was the best food decision we made that weekend. Later, that weekend, I thought I lost my phone. I didn’t.

In 2019, we were in Denver. It was fine.

In 2020, I am sitting in my apartment waiting for a mattress to be delivered so I can throw out my old one and my futon frame in the trash tonight and then set up my room. I am so close to getting there.