#and really baby lime was setting himself up to be the perfect child

[lover-of-trash-and-people]

im angrier this time? netflix shadow and bone s1e7 re-watch (substituting alcohol with iced coffee this time) (oh, also, spoilers)

yes jesper shooting ketterdam cards title card omg I straight up forgot that this was the darkling backstory episode we all know I love bin bons as much as the next person but um can we petition to never see the flashback darkling look again I kind of love Luda but I find the entire backstory kind of unnecessary even though I get why they did it okay mr. barnes king of micro-expressions alright fuck you show makers with you breaking my heart showing me how the Grisha have had to go through this countless times that they have their plans memorized oy dumbass otkazat'sya man you speak the darkling's name with some respect alright I've got to accept the tricck they use against the king's men is pretty cool omg you fucking bitch this is exactly why people say acab I've seen people say why couldn't he have broken his bonds and killed them before they killed Luda and I truly believe a) he didn't want to kill unnecessarily and b) Luda's life was at stake so like I get it okay so I don't like the 'just mortal' thing they brought it to sort of drive darklina soulmates agenda home because lmao that is not why okay I get Baghra's points but I don't like her, she like made more sense in the books her position on merzost is true to the books but like her pacifist stance is not the same and it just doesn't make sense okay I like the poc tidemaker in their company the score when the king's men soon to be volcra confront the darkling is impeccable that blast of darkness that we see spread outwards from him was very cool dunno how I feel about him hyperventilating and the fold flowing from him like an inky black liquid god, the score when baghra asks alek 'what did you do' is so eerie and beautiful that transition was on fucking point HOW IS KANEJ IS SO ON POINT I SIMPLY CANNOT the Inej Jesper bond is so beautiful I love it okay I love and hate how they refer to Inej's horrible time at the Menagerie so briefly and yet try to add so much impact to it omg why is Jesper about to make me cry cut to Malina huddled together? okay, show god I hate how the amplifier storyline is so incredibly poorly developed the stag is so beautiful I can't 'maybe there's another way to do this'?! again with the sgegehshshsjsjs I hate it here, fucking explain it at least okay fine the shot of Alina lighting up as she touches the stag and smiling with the soft violin in the back was beautiful now time to say bye to the stag and cry I guess okay I love zoya, she feels very authentic to book 1 zoya with maybe a few tweaks we love to see a man with plot armour uwu okay Alina my fucking queen taking out the arrow would cause him to bleed out faster why would you do that the dumbassery okay alek you overdramatic bitch I LOVED THE LIGHT SHIELD lmao I'm gonna cry at how nasal and supervillain-y the Darkling sounds when he says 'you can't save them all Alina' like okay king maybe that line could have better delivery I'm so sorry I love you so much I'm still a BB stan 'you've lost too much blood' maybe if you wouldn't have taken the arrow out you dumbass 'you said you wouldn't hurt him' nobody said that Alina but I get it you've been through a lot you're obviously not thinking love the cut, she's always cool 'miss starkov' you're in tsarist russia stfu ono I'm not prepared for this Kanej scene I need several minutes they're so perfect 'Jesper fixed your cane' I see you writers thinking they're clever omg Amita shivering from the cold babe I'm so proud of you you're so incredibly cool I love his little jaw movements before he says 'you were right' and her composing herself before turning around due to the shock of hearing these words from Kaz's mouth okay we've all talked about the voice break when he says 'she's real' so I will not dwell on it but it was beautiful the little head bend after he says 'and you' as if catching himself before saying 'and jesper' yes sir that was very convincing AAAAAHHHH IT'S HAPPENING I CAN'T COPE yeah okay fuck you I'm crying Kaz's expression at 'I can't go back to the Menagerie' being literally 'I can't believe

you think I'll ever let that happen' you fucking idiots I hate you and how much you love each other you are disgusting David so much so as breathes I love him Him saying 'Im going to place this around your neck' comedic genius David looks so sad my baby angel it's not your fault get that man's true name out of your mouth Starkov you're not supposed to know it let alone say it in front of other people aleksander this is the first time I've truly disliked you, you fucking asshole, Alina my love please don't believe him (why am I saying it like I haven't read the books and watched this already) LUKE HAVING ACTUAL TEARS IN HIS EYES AS HE PLACES THE ANTLERS AT HER NECK WHY IS HE SO GOOD AAAAAAAAA I didn't notice Ivan slowing her heart on my first watch, is that to reduce the pain ouch I am even more sad now okay Jessie you did it again Emmy time for all of these people okay the violin being sad and terrifying this is so good Luke being sad, Jessie literally crying I fucking can't do this anymore 'this is my power' 'but now I control it' really? that was the best you could do at this scene that is meant to have this great of an impact? him sort of pushing her down made me even more upset I'm so mad right now Freddie's microexpression with the eye when Inej says 'Jes has a point' Jessie looks so perfectly shell-shocked, I love them so so much the prosthetic's so gross, I love it so much DAISY HEAD IS THE PERFECT GENYA I WILL ACCEPT NO COMPLAINTS She brought me to tears and I love it Alina pointing out the Darkling's role in Genya's circumstances this early on, we love to see a well deserved call out it seemed very unlikely to me that Kaz would agree to go home empty handed but I do think it would make sense to cut their losses at a certain point I love the Kribirsk camp sets far too much, they seem to have literally leapt out of the books the darkling coming to see Mal seems very fanservice-ey and not at all adding to the plot in any way but I love it Archie bringing that youthful brashness to Mal that we all know he would have is wonderful mal calling the darkling 'shadow man' lmao I'm gonna cry 'you are a child' yeah Alek babe it's best you don't talk about that Alina is of the same age as he is I wanna go to Ben Barnes' school of nose acting because god damn Archie perfectly bringing to life Mal's realisation of the impact that Alina's immortality will bring to their life together oof sir you don't understand how perfect it is that Ben's eyes are actually that dark 'you'll wish you killed me here' it's okay honey you lost this one the Crows being the Crows I love them can we please have Jesper wearing the Zemeni man's red suit be a stepping stone to him wearing fancy clothes of outrageous colours like lime green and orange in the six of crows timeline because the fans will lose their shit and you know it Inej looking fucking fabulous in her suit I can't Kanej smiling at their crazy little bi son's antics okay can we talk about Milo literally saving the day because writer's room im looking at you you're a bunch of crazy mfers and I love you but I also hate you also I get that Mal's a tracker but would he actually have food in his pocket I know this joke has been made before but like Mal pretending to be asleep after waking the guard up is every teenager pretending to be asleep when their parents come to check on them in the middle of the night omg it's the scene those beautiful gauzy curtains at the door of the tent, I want them so bad 'you are special' he says standing stiffly at the door with a creepy inflection why am I suddenly an anti wtf I want his kefta so bad though 'my parents' I love that the show added her losing her parents to him as well because well it makes him even more villanous in her eyes doesn't it no matter what she might have felt for him uwu first fight as a couple (I'm kidding please stop) I love Jessie as Alina so much darkles don't even go off comparing being Grisha to being half-shu you can't compare experiences of being the other that interchangeably yes baby call him out on his

hypocrisy man I'm so conflicted like I understand his motivations and his story so well but like how is this helping okay but Alina's expression changing ever so slightly at him saying 'you and me' stop breaking my fucking heart assholes why is Jessie breaking my heart more on this watch than Ben did on the first one I knew it before he said it but I still gasped when he did on my first watch the little head tilt after he says it still with tears in his fucking eyes man I love this show this was the most devastating break up I have ever experienced and I will not accept any counter arguments okay actual villain time we love to see it sir please don't erotically remove her cloak you have long lost the right again I knew it before they said it but them saying it had me screaming WHAT A GLORIOUS EPISODE

[consumedkings-archive]

ancient names, epilogue

A John Seed/Original Female Character Fanfic

Ancient Names, epilogue: goodbye

Masterlink Post

Word Count: 3.7k

Rating: M for mature themes, mostly T though.

Warnings: just sad feels, my guy.

Notes: One last and final thank you to everyone who has read, kept up, commented, popped in to say hello to me on Tumblr. You really made this an incredible experience. ♡ I can’t wait to get started on the sequel, and I hope you enjoy this little interlude!

Everything hurt.

Or, rather, everything that he could feel hurt—which wasn’t much, or was hard to categorize, considering that opening his eyes felt impossible and thus his brain couldn’t register whether or not all of his limbs were attached or not.

“.... ohn. John, wake up.”

No thanks, he thought, tiredly, as pain splintered up his spine and radiated through his skull. No, I’m really quite good right here where I am.

“John,” and it was Joseph’s voice, muddled with the sound of steady rain. “Wake up.”

John felt the groan, rattling somewhere deep in his chest, as he pushed his eyes open. Then, and only then, did the agony really fucking hit—real, pure body-pain, the kind that sank straight into the marrow of his bones and stayed for a good many days. Struggling, he forced himself into a sitting position, hands flat against cold, wet pavement.

Hands flat. Free. Not cuffed.

“Good,” Joseph said, sounding relieved, “you’re awake.”

When his older brother extended his hand out, John took it; with a surprising amount of strength, Joseph hauled him to his feet, and he finally got a good look around him.

Carnage.

The highway was littered with bodies and blood and the mangled metal of crashed vehicles. He saw dark figures; it was night, late, and his eyes burned, and his body ached, and when the low snarl of one of Jacob’s judges echoed in his ears, he thought, ah, that’s it, then.

Jacob was there too, with Faith glued to his side. Her palms skinned and her dress torn, and the blood from Jacob’s gunshot wound seeping through dark-crimson. A steady sheet of silver rain had begun to fall, drenching them all; the chill seeped straight into his bones.

And, of course, there was Joseph. Relatively unscathed. Not an open wound in sight.

“How did—” John started, his brain still foggy from pain and, presumably, being unconscious. Joseph gripped his shoulders. There was a kind of look in his eye; fervent, urgent, and John realized that it had been there all along—that his brother had always looked like this, and maybe he had just gotten used to looking into different eyes as of late.

“Our followers have stayed true,” Joseph told him, his voice low. “The Collapse remains on the horizon. Perhaps—”

His brother stopped, as though to gauge himself.

“Perhaps,” he began again, “not as close as I thought. I prayed, John. I prayed for us—for you, and for your child, and even for...” Joseph’s mouth twisted viciously for a moment. “Even for that Delilah of yours.”

Elliot, he thought, a wave of sickening, burning fury washing over him even when the venom in Joseph’s voice doused him like gasoline. Liar. Lied to me, lied to my family, lied—

Wretchedly clever and cruel. More devil than woman. He had always known it, had loved her for it, and he couldn’t be surprised when his hand had come back from the fire burned. You can’t have both, she’d said, and she’d meant it; of course she had. He wouldn’t love her if she wasn’t the kind of woman who meant what she’d said.

“We have much to do,” Joseph plunged on, as headlights turned around the corner of the road. “God is going to speak to me, I know it. I can feel that we have so little time left, John.”

“Okay,” John said, feeling a little dazed, trailing after Joseph when he began to move to one of the nearby trucks idling. “Okay, yes, we’ll—what do we do about—”

He stopped, opening the door to the car automatically for Faith to climb in. Of them all, he thought maybe he was the least fucked up—outwardly, anyway. Inside, his body felt like it had been jumbled around, tossed like a fucking salad at Olive Garden. The ache in his head didn’t dull as the seconds ticked by.

Jacob paused. The redhead’s mouth twisted, like he was biting back the things he wanted to say; John knew it had to be something like I fucking told you, I told you the situation wasn’t under control, I knew you couldn’t control her, but the words didn’t come out.

And in his own mouth, words sat, too: I’m sorry, I know I fucked up, but I know I can get her back.

Not can. Would. Would get her back, no matter what. By any means necessary.

“John,” Jacob barked out, and he realized that moments had passed—maybe minutes—of him standing in the rain, the door of the truck open. He moved on autopilot, hauling himself into the back seat of the truck and slamming the door shut.

The air inside the truck was humid, fizzing and popping with a strange energy. He could taste it on his tongue, electric; ozone; vibrating in his mouth and in his skeleton. Some of it the storm outside, and some of it the fury in his mouth, so potent it had become tangible.

Mine, he thought, shifting as pain splintered up his spine and shoulder. My wife. My baby. She thinks she’s done with us, huh? Not even fucking close.

“We have much to do,” Joseph murmured as the truck pulled a u-turn and began its route back to the compound. “Now, more than ever.” Through the rearview mirror, his gaze met John’s; lingered for a moment, and only a moment. “We will find her, John. Her, and your child.”

John felt his eyes flutter. Exhaustion was already beginning to try and take its toll on him. “She traded us in.”

“Yes,” Joseph replied, and his voice was terse, sharper than normal. “But God is ever merciful. And are we not to liken ourselves in his image, so that we may be as holy?”

He didn’t know if he wanted Elliot back to be holy. He thought maybe he wanted her back because she belonged to him—because they belonged to each other, two wretched creatures, and she owed him, and he would have what was rightfully his. What he was owed.

“Yes,” John agreed hoarsely. “Just as holy.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Nothing like dry-heaving over a toilet with your mother standing by.

“You know,” Scarlet said, “us Honeysett women have always taken well to childbearing. You were the most perfect baby, Elliot.”

Her mother was perched on the edge of the sink, a glass of rosé (chilled glass, of course) in her hand, golden curls perfectly pinned and coiffed and the floor-length maxi dress pressed to perfection—in stark contrast to Elliot, gripping the edge of the toilet in her sweats, stomach somersaulting and trying its best to achieve Olympic level gymnastics.

You’re not a Honeysett woman, she thought exhaustedly. You’re a fucking Graves woman. She managed to spit, taking in a long-suffering breath. “You said I was colicky.”

“Well, yes. But I never got morning sickness.”

Elliot gritted her teeth, eyes fluttering shut at the hot wave of nausea rolling over her, prickling sickly heat along her spine in warning. “That’s awesome, mama. Good for—” She swallowed. “Good for you. So glad. Really cool.” She exhaled. “Thank goodness it’s five in the afternoon. What’s that, then? Afternoon sickness?”

“Mm.” Her mother sipped at her wine, setting it on the counter with a little clink that somehow managed to sound three thousand times louder in her wretched state. “Yes, we’ve always been excellent vessels for our children.”

“That’s lo-uuh—” She closed her eyes tight. “Lovely.”

Scarlet’s fingers brushed her hair back from her face, cinching it in a ponytail. “Must be the father.”

You don’t fucking say? Elliot wanted to spit, but there was no room. Scarlet Honeysett tolerated a great many things—poor weather on the day of her events, a lukewarm glass to transport her alcohol, the repeated and systematic abandonment of her by her husband—but a mouthy child she did not.

“Educated inference,” is what she said instead. “I think I’m done.”

“Well.” Scarlet looked at her, arching a manicured brow. “Stay here for a while longer, then, just so you don’t go puking on my carpet.”

“Thanks, mama.”

“Mmhm.”

When her mother swept out of the bathroom and took with her the scent of her perfume—normally familiar and comforting, now only nausea-inducing—Elliot closed the door with her foot and leaned back against the wall in the bathroom. Her chest was burning; the strain of dry-heaving while the skin on her chest was still tight and healing was enough to have probably broken it open if she hadn’t been meticulously taking care of it.

And thank God her mother hadn’t seen that yet.

After a few more minutes of questioning whether or not she was going to actually puke, Elliot pushed herself to her feet and rinsed her mouth out with Listerine. It had not been easy, the last two weeks. Not only was she acclimating to living with her mother again—a thing which she had not done since she was in high school—but she was doing it pregnant. Pregnant, and with the child’s father nowhere to be.

Her arrival at the ancestral Graves home—a meticulously kept two-story historic building that had not only been in their family for so many years, but was planted on twenty acres of premium real estate in what was otherwise a small town named Weyfield—had been a tumultuous one, to be sure. Though her mother seemed inquisitive about what had occurred, she wasn’t even aware that anything had been happening at all.

Because she hadn’t been there.

“What do you mean?” Elliot had asked, incredulous.

“Well, I always come down here when the weather is starting to turn,” Scarlet had replied idly, squeezing her lime wedge dry into her glass. “I left In July.”

“The weather is not turning in July.”

“Some of us, Elli,” her mother had snipped, “are sensitive to changes in the weather. It’s not my fault you couldn’t feel it. Nor my fault that you didn’t answer my phone calls.”

It provided, at the very least, a bit of leeway when it came to explaining what was going on. Her mother had, of course, been aware of the Seeds in some capacity; but only in the kind of capacity that she thought them a zealous nuisance, and a little slimy—“Except for the oldest one, he seems like a good man,” she’d said, much to Elliot’s disgust—but nothing more than that.

This meant that Elliot didn’t need to tell her anything she didn’t want to. For now. Until the news broke, if it ever did; it seemed like headlines these days were more preoccupied with what was going on overseas than what was going on within the States’ own borders.

“Here,” Scarlet said, planting a pill bottle in her hand. “Take one of these thirty minutes before you go to bed.”

“What are these?”

“Sleeping pills,” her mother explained.

Elliot’s mouth twisted. “I sleep fine.”

“If you slept at all, I might believe you. I know you, Elli, I birthed you from my own womb, and you’ve never been a good sleeper.” The blonde paused. “And I hear you at night, you know, moving around. You and that hound.”

Boomer was fairly good at being stealthy, but perhaps not so much so in a house that was almost exclusively hardwood flooring. She’d have to remember that the next time she decided to go on a walk at three in the morning.

Elliot looked at the label. Eszopiclone, it said. S. Honeysett. “I probably shouldn’t take your prescription, mama.” And why are you giving me sleeping pills you should be taking, anyway?

“You need to sleep,” Scarlet said firmly. “For you and baby.”

It took a concerted effort to swallow back bile that tried to surge up her throat—for some reason, the knowledge that there was now a she and a baby, that she was both herself and vessel, made her nausea want to kick in. She hadn’t been sleeping, it was true. Not for lack of trying, either. She’d drink some kind of stupid sleepy-time tea, settle herself into the bed, and lay there. And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

But every time she’d close her eyes, she would be assaulted by images; Joey, jaw snapped and hanging loose from her face. Kian, face a bloody pulp. The blood seeping down her chest from the WRATH scar John had left. And John, of course.

He was always there, too. His eyes on her, his hands on her, his mouth on her.

So good, hellcat, it’s gonna look so good on you.

I’m all yours, just take what you need, I’ll give you anything, anything.

I’m fucking it for you.

I love you, Elliot.

“... listening to me?”

Elliot blinked. Her eyes burned, stinging with the threat of tears, and she swallowed thickly again. It felt like choking. Things often felt like choking, nowadays—things like breathing, swallowing, sleeping. It all felt too much for her to take, sometimes. Like she was deranged.

“I’m sorry,” she managed out, her voice barely breaking a whisper, and the second she felt the slip of a tear down her cheek she quickly wiped it away and sniffed. “I’m sorry, mama, I wasn’t.”

Something in her mother’s expression shifted for just a moment. Her eyes swept over Elliot, like maybe she thought she could see what it was that was really ailing her. Scarlet had tried to pry about John; she’d tried to figure out who it was that had left her daughter destitute, like this. What she didn’t know was that Elliot had left him destitute.

He deserves it, she thought through the heavy wave of exhaustion. Whatever they do to him, he deserves it.

“Maybe you should take a nap,” her mother suggested after a moment. “Dinner in an hour.”

“I’m going for a walk,” Elliot replied, tucking the bottle into her pocket for later. “Boomer gets crazy if I don’t.”

“Well, can’t have that. Back in an hour, then, bunny.”

She slipped past her mother, snagging the dog leash by the door and calling for the Heeler. He came sprinting down the stairs delightedly, and Elliot opened the door so he could go racing out. He’d certainly gotten less time running than he had prior to this, but he seemed in better spirits, anyway—new smells, friendly people. It was a dog’s dream.

“Don’t forget you have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow,” her mother called after her. “I’m taking you in at nine A.M. sharp.”

“Yes, mama.”

The afternoon had passed by in a blitz, as it was wont to do in late Autumn, and now Elliot found herself with so little golden daylight left; but she thought maybe she liked it best like this, walking with Boomer darting around ahead of her, watching the sky wring the last little rays of light out of the sun before it dipped fully behind the mountains.

I love you, Elliot.

She stopped walking, closing her eyes for a moment. A low, dull headache had begun to bloom behind her eyes. Lack of sleep, probably. Lack of sleep, and now she had a—

A fucking baby, she thought, with no absence of despair.

Boomer had doubled back when she stopped moving, and for a moment Elliot felt a vicious sting in her chest. Cry, it said, when the dog nosed her hand with a cold nose. Cry, it said, when she struggled to sit down in the damp, chilly grass, and Boomer could push his face into hers.

She had been alone, before. Alone in all the world. But not anymore.

Boomer tucked his face against her neck and stayed there, panting his hot doggy breath down the collar of her shirt. And as dusk fell, and the first speckling of stars started to make their appearance, Elliot felt herself come undone.

Just a little bit; just for now, while she could bury her face into her dog’s fur and cry, she would come undone.

And when she was finished, she would get up and walk back home. She would sit down and have dinner with her mother, and listen to her complain that while the doctor they were going to see was quite new but supposedly very nice, and she’d take a sleeping pill so that she could hopefully get some peace of mind for one night. In the morning, she would get up and out of bed, and she would keep living. That was all she could do.

For now, though—for a little while, she would let herself grieve. And every time she thought she couldn’t do it anymore—every time she thought she’d reached the absolute bottom—she’d keep fucking digging. What would she do with grief, if not lug it?

She would never heal otherwise.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Where the fuck is Weyfield?”

Jacob’s derisive tone did nothing to help John’s mood. Hunched over a map, the scattered papers of the file he hadn’t thrown away, eyes stinging, he thought he’d felt shittier only once before—long before his reuniting with Joseph. Back before he’d been cleansed.

He’d read every paper three times over. Stared at her photo for hours. Nothing felt any better than it had two weeks ago, when she’d been screaming that she would kill him.

“Some nowhere corner of Georgia,” John muttered, passing a hand over his face. “Her file says she was born in Weyfield, but that can’t be right—that shit is so small. Like, population three hundred, maybe? And her mom’s rich, which means—”

“Probably some kind of old money, then,” Jacob suggested. “Historic home. Lots of farmland surrounding it. Didn’t you say her grandfather was a racing jockey, mom never worked, or something? Gotta have room for horses and big fancy homes to go with those horses.”

Oh, John thought absently. Oh, of course. Of course her mother is a trust-fund baby. They would have an ancestral home, wouldn’t they?

They’d been back at the compound for a few weeks; Joseph had been secluded, alone, ruminating and marinating or whatever else it was he had to do to really hear God, and that meant John had been free to figure out what his plan was. So far, it was pretty bare bones.

Find Elliot and baby. Bring Elliot and baby home.

Joseph did not have a timeline, yet. He didn’t even know what it was that had delayed the Collapse—not quite. He had fervently insisted he be left alone to himself and God, to ensure that there were no interruptions—“Interruptions,” he’d said, “interfered with it last time, I won’t have it again,”—and so John, Jacob, and Faith had been left to rebuild what they could.

What members of Eden’s Gate remained after the veritable slaughter the Family had brought upon them were run ragged, but the nice thing about having an enemy meant that they were bound together by the same hatred.

“So that’s it, huh?” Jacob asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Weyfield, for the little hellcat?”

“That’s it.” John sucked his teeth and came to a stand, grabbing his coat from the back of his chair. “I should head out to Atlanta as soon as possible. I’ll need—”

“That’s a big city,” his eldest brother cautioned.

“That city has resources I’ll need. As much as I’d like to think that I could just track her down and we’ll kiss and make-up, I get the feeling that if I don’t do this the right way, it’ll be dragging her back kicking and screaming.” He paused, his voice tightening. “And I will be getting her back.”

Jacob watched him for a moment. He exhaled out of his mouth before he reached over, planting a hand on John’s shoulder. He half expected his brother to say something like, just forget it, Johnny, or it’s not worth running the risk of getting recognized, but he didn’t.

Instead, he said, “Be careful, keep in touch. And get my nephew back, yeah?”

John swallowed thickly. There was a lot wrapped up in those words; a lot that he had yet to parse through. Blinding, insatiable fury, that he had been tricked and lied to and deceived, but above all else—above all of that, he missed—

No, he thought, hands shaking and jaw clenching as he pulled his coat on. No, above all else, Elliot belongs to me, and that’s the beginning and the end of it.

“Don’t know it’s a boy,” he managed out, with all of those whispers rattling incessantly in his head. Jacob smiled.

“Joseph does.”

“I suppose so.”

A moment of silence stretched between them, and for the first time in a long time, John felt closer to Jacob than he did to Joseph—and maybe that was because he hadn’t seen his brother’s face in weeks, or maybe it was because he knew that for some strange reason, Jacob was pleased to have Elliot come back, and Joseph might not be.

Not if he was being honest, anyway.

“Off I go,” John blurted out, worried that he would get stuck in an infinite loop of trying to parse out things that weren’t meant for him to understand. “I’ll call when I get there.”

“Take someone with you?”

“It’ll just slow me down. Besides, I’m trying to not draw attention.” He paused, hesitating at the doorway of the church. “You’ll tell me when he knows, right?”

When he knows how much time I have?

Jacob’s expression hardened. He nodded once, short. “I will.”

“Thank you.”

John pushed the door open, stepping out into the night. It was chilly; soon, it’d be snowing, if it didn’t do so that very night, and the compound’s courtyard was bustling with sleepy life. As he climbed into the truck and took a breath to calm the rapid, unsteady beating of his heart, he closed his eyes for just one moment.

Just for now, he thought tiredly. I’m going to take a breath just for now, and then—

And then one more breath, and then another, turning the key in the ignition and shutting the radio off and throwing the car into drive, and then one more breath, until he was breathing all the way to fucking Georgia. He was going to get his wife back.

One way or another.

[themarauderstheoutsidersandpeggy]

If you’re still taking requests, could you write a Tom x reader. the reader being a ballerina, like they still have a job but they’ve been doing ballet on the side. And Tom and them just practice and stuff on the weekends? 💗👁👄👁 🩰

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Sorry if you wanted more of a drabble rather than headcanons but I couldn’t figure out a good storyline i’m so sorry :’)

That boy is flexible

And it scares me

I feel threatened

Honestly he looks like he’d be clumsy af like he looks like the type to walk through your front door and trip over a chair and throw his drink across the room bc he fell and then the side table breaks bc his knee hit it and you’re standing there like ://

he broke that chair by just reaching forwards in it

But he’s had so much training and practice so when he’s like hehe I’ll practice with u you’re like hmm ok

And somehow

That man manages to not break his legs

Or yours

He’s prob the type to wear ratty tennis shoes and jeans to ballet practice and you’re staring at him like ಠ_ಠ

He realizes that now you’re a duo and immediately is like let’s do the dirty dancing routine

You’re like dude that’s not really typical ballet but-

Ten minutes later he’s vaulting himself into your arms and you’re sitting there like wait a second you’re strong af why aren’t you lifting me-

uses plies as an excuse to slut drop

sorry I don’t feel like using the accent kgjdafd i used to do ballet but i’m too lazy to write it correctly

you don’t rip your hair out of your head (if you have long enough hair) in those stupid buns if you don’t have to

But sometimes it gets in your way

Seriously tho those buns hurt

But then he’s like i mean if you’re gonna do a bun do it all the way

so he takes out your loose bun and proceeds to tear your hair out of your head

You’re like bRO O W and he’s like idk what u want me to do 

So you yank his hair up into a lil ponytail so that he also feels your pain

He looks like a sprout

He sheds a tear ngl he’s pretty weak 

He acts all tough but then you accidentally step on his toe with your pointe shoe (if you work with pointe shoes) and he’s like it is now my time to leave this earth

buys you both matching leg warmers

Expects you to wear them every single weekend

Gets upset when you don’t

He shows up the first time in a tutu like um where’s yours

‘I thought this was ballet’

Definitely spends most of the time wrapping his arms and legs around the bar and hanging off of it like a sloth

He’s giggling the whole time

he’s a child :’)

Taglist: @peachybabykxo @5aftermidnight @spideyyypeter @book-wyrm-snacks @loki-sharpe-hiddleston-imagines @set-phasers-to-cuddle @thecurlyhairedwinchester @lou-la-lou @ilostcount-helpme @snazzy-posts @meisiisem @stevieboyharrington @clean-and-claire @peter-null @embrace-themagic @yafriendlyfangirl @fandomnerdsarecool @ellie-emb @soniaxmsj @avngersunite @m4shtyx @sparkling-gayyy @nervous-shawn @americaswritings @robinkat3 @buckybabyy @mrsstarkstrange @servamp-addict @Darkworld-Student @alexiamiky2003 @freightcarcap @dumbasscorn @cordelia-sagewright @multifandomshitblog @stickybuckybarnesmarvel @dorcasmeadoweslupin @chloe-geoghegan1 @remusfreakinglupin @lostnliterature @chaospossum @closertothesunwhenimwithyou @serpent-tea @marvelouspottering @karanliginkizilovato @swansong321 @xinyourdreamsx @melannchoholic @swansong321 @xinyourdreamsx @melannchoholic @deathofthethrones @tylerposeforme @infinitywarrior @1penryn @spideymood @hp-hogwartsexpress @marvelandsuchstuff @cmweikle37 @marauders_trash_forever @lensedwriter @khaleesiclifford @gaylactic @southsidespidey @positiveparker @thisismysecrethappyplace @bellamyblakemorley @flower-holland @coonflix @not-jay-cosby @stardust.and.glitter @ink-bottlebouquet @mamarhee @marcymakemagic @tomshufflepuff @obsessedfangirl4lyfe @jade7he9em @spiderman-n @psychofangirl @lush-bby @delicately-written @tnrthings @goldenariana @gummyhoneybees @panic-at-top @captainbuckyy @mysticracoon @dumbass-sandwich @crushed-velvet-nothings @iwritemaybe @ariagrillart @hiddlestonstansworld @raavka @maraudersandco @lokislilcarribbeanprincess @sock-and-sandles @potterhead-of-ilvermorny @spencer-is-too-perfect @my-babies-are-ash @whysoseriouspadfoot @mysticalsandwichseeker @existingovertherainbow @laurenicochran @graciegxo @silverquartx @peetieparker @smhavengers @nefelimalfoy @sedanleystanley @yallgotkik @jessicaklehrwinchesters @keey-lime-pi @screeching-student-unknown @soakingandsoaring @chrisstabme @sovereignoblivious @itsanarttodie @hollandhours @multifxndom-avxngers @galaxyoffangirls @just4muggles @everything-s-comin-up-aces @binki-g @hbknati @tomhollandhasnolips @awkward-useless-unicorn @justinekomwriterkru @boomtownboy @sedanleystanley @starryeyedsupernova @mcu-potter-pirate @mikylxhh @parkersingfinitywar @the17resa

[abalonetea]

i’m at 900 followers as of today, and just now realizing that I never made an official writeblr intro post! so, to followers old and new, to people who love Groundhog Day and are just learning about it...hello! let me introduce myself to you a little more!

my name’s Katie and I've been writing for as long as I can remember! i’m 23, and I do all of my work online (writing and art commissions) because of some health problems that stop me from working normal jobs.

before I quit work, I broke and trained hunter/jumper horses! before that I worked at an animal sanctuary! my family (me, my mother, and my sister) just recently moved onto a 5 acre fixer-upper farm and we’re working towards making our homestead dreams come true!

my main story is called Groundhog Day! i’m roughly 100k words into it, all out of order, with the exception of the first 6 chapters! it’s my baby, and I love being able to share this story, and the process behind making it, with all of you!

when Blue is swapped out with Red, he finds himself traversing the dangers of Fara Falls - with the general of the Royal Guard, Bolte, as his only companion and guide. the problem, of course, is that Bolte has had to cut himself off from kindness and good things, because those will get you killed in his world. still, he struggles to keep his own paladin, Red, safe, keep himself alive, and attempt to bring some semblance of peace to his land.

meanwhile, Red finds himself in Fields of Fara, where Locke, a knight-in-training (being personally tutored by the mute general of the guards, Flame) takes him in and tries to show him that, despite everything, the world is still worth trying to save. riddled with a glitch known as Groundhog Day, the world is doomed to consistently reset itself back to various save files, with only a handful of people remembering the previous loops.

as the game data becomes more unsteady, and Queen Midnight’s grab for power becomes more absolute, it’s realized that the only way to prevent Fields of Fara from crumbling completely is by putting aside past differences and working together…and learning a little more about each other along the way.

the setting is inside of a video game with a high candy aesthetic, riddled with characters such as Celeste (a genderfluid spider bard), Polynya (captain of the Fields of Fara guard, and a water elemental with an aquarium for a torso), and Aba (the cursed second child of the lost queen, forced to act out the role of villain when he was never meant to be one).

a heavy emphasis is put on healing, both physically and emotionally, learning to accept help, and understanding that there is always a chance to come back from doing bad things; that there is always a chance to change; that knowing, sometimes, good people are put into bad situations, and there’s nothing wrong with learning to be better.

a happy ending is promised!

my other, less developed, background wips include -

Sacrilegious - raised in the church his entire life, Abel has never been much for religion. he just has a hard time believing in something that can’t be seen. this goes double for the cursed objects often dropped off on their front steps...right up until the day one happens to really be cursed, and the demon trapped in the box finds himself bound to Abel. the only way to get rid of Alloces is to break all seven seals, but that’s going to be a lot harder than originally thought...especially when Abel realizes that the demon isn’t quite as awful as those who preach Bridgism would like him to believe.

The Business - a slice of life story following along with two cats, Tequila and Lime, who just so happen to be in the mafia. along with Cayenne, an overly excitable dog, and Salt, a drunk of a raccoon, this gunfire filled story isn’t going to end the way anyone expects.

Hunt For The Aurora Borealis (first three chapters available on patreon.com/abalonetea) - Orion, Cash, and Blitz have been living a secluded but peaceful life for several years, running the South Pole Station. it’s the best that can be asked of a few monsters in disguise. but this new batch of scientists bring with them a few dark secrets, and a whole lot of pain. what’s Wes really hiding? and who paid to send him here?

How The West Was Lost - a gunslinging adventure set in Perfection and the desert surrounding it. when Charlie, brother to a law man, gets thrown from his horse, he’s found by a pair of bandits, and mean ones at that. only Sam is a lot more kind than his bounty would lead you to believe, and West would burn for his partner. the clash brought about by their burgeoning relationship is only made worse when Charlie’s brother, Deputy Dallas, gets tangled in a string of corruption that goes far higher than he originally thinks.

In The Woods - Cain and Vincent have spent their lives in a small, secluded village surrounded by monster infested woods. it’s a simple life, filled with baking, drying herbs, carding wool, and attending the local service. all of this falls apart when Cain gives sanctuary to two injured monsters, calling out both the Holy Father and the Village Guard on murdering monsters without just cause. when the entire village finds their lives turned on end, which side will Vincent fall on? that of his brother? or that which he was raised on?

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Bad Habits | Fostered Writing Update

Hey People of Earth!

I feel like it’s been forever since my last writing update, but I’m back to spill the tea on Rewired’s 23rd chapter, Bad Habits. I feel like I’ve been writing this chapter for a millennium, though I think it’s actually only been around a month? It would’ve been completed sooner had it not been for school, but I’m happy to announce that your girl has been accepted into her top choice university and is officially slacking off from school starting now! (Just kidding but I will definitely be a lot more relaxed... I hope.)

I titled chapter 23 BAD HABITS, and oh is she filled with piping hot TEA.

BAD HABITS is split into four scenes:

Scene A: 

Reeve is chilling in a bathtub, smoking cheap cigarettes and drinking even cheaper margaritas. She feels like a queen, heH.

This is what I call a Classic Reeve Scene. She’s feeling superior, she doesn't think she’s better than you, she knows she is.

Scene B: 

Reeve reminiscing about her being a powerful almighty being the night before (in her eyes). If you remember my last Fostered chapter update for Younger, you would remember I mentioned intoxicated Reeve infiltrated Darren’s motel room at 2AM to make a case for why he should marry her. This is that scene as it goes wrong, lol cuz why would it not go wrong.

 TL;DR: Reeve has lost her bONKERs AND knows that if she can convince Darren (who is sort of NOTTT interested) to do anything with her, she is #Jesus << her words not mine

Scene C: 

We hop back into the fictive present where Reeve has finished her goddess bath, and is politely reminded by Foster that everyone is waiting for her outside and she’s taking forever to finish. Little does he know, she’s not planning to go outside to meet them because she’s going #Rogue, kids.

Foster says none of this, he’s more like: um soo so sorry but we outside haha okay!!

Scene D:

This is just the wrap up of the chapter where Reeve outlines where she feels she’s mentally at (she literally thinks she is a deity), and what she’s going to do. Instead of heading back home to Boston, she decides to hitchhike to New York City and con people for cashhh. Of course. 

This is the start of the end of the book! The plans are as follows (I hope they don’t change lols): Reeve hangs out in NYC for the moneyyy, heads back home, does some witchy shit, and vanishes because she’s powerful like that. 

This chapter was soooo fun to write. I originally didn't have this chapter in the book because I’d skipped so far in the future, Reeve had already gotten home. But, upon realizing this time jump was too large, I tracked back to the motel and wrote this bad boy. I think it’s definitely a chapter with attitude that most people would be turned off by (basically Reeve is cocky as fuhhh) but I dig it. She’s really embracing her inner Bitch, and I dig it.

The chapter title, BAD HABITS, sort of signifies all the things Reeve continues to do wrong but that she’s now accepted, like how someone would accept their bad habit of biting their nails (just me?). Reeve accepts that she is basically a bad habit, and is like: you know, I’m toxic but at least I’m POPPIN. I love her. This chapter makes Reeve feel like she is a magical being that can literally do anything, and shapes her attitude into the next book. 

Excerpts:

This is the opening paragraph of the chapter and basically sets the Mood for what the rest of this tragedy is going to be. Also we stan that bathtub aesthetic:

In the morning, I soak in the tub and sip on a margarita. I’m part demi-god, part tequila and lime. The tiles are dingy with mildew, and cracked along the spines, but their flower decals still make me feel rich. In my mind, they’ve been painted by a Slavic watercolorist, and imported to the US by ferry. Desperate college kids that laugh like Darren taking turns eating rocket pops and sticking them to the ceiling with grout. One of my last Egyptian cigarettes hangs limp, like a broken finger from my lips. Someone’s left a Playboy in the basket under the sink, and I page through it glumly, the naked women boring and unsexy to me. The bathroom’s wallpaper could be mouldy, but I call it vintage.   

The next excerpt I PG-ifyed so its meaning is slightly altered, but it mostly reads the same! Reeve is incredibly flawed when it comes to her views of other women, which you definitely see in this excerpt. She describes a hypothetical of what she believes will happen to Darren as he “grows up” and marries his (now ex) fiancée, Jo. Intoxicated Reeve has an infatuation with Darren, so is incredibly jealous that Jo was even good enough to catch his eye in the first place. Although she has never met Jo, she makes (v/ unfair) judgements about her: 

In New York, I’ll buy him designer cologne. He’ll feel so expensive, he’ll be tempted to sell himself just for the six-figure profit. Darren will grow up and get married to Jo, and have a child he’ll call Cassiopeia because Jo is probably a paranoid astrologer. She’s a trust fund baby, the woman who brings a clutch to a party and doesn’t know where to put it, undersexed, overdressed, going to church every Sunday at eleven in button-down coats that reach her wrists because she’s modest like that, praying grace before supper because she’s too orthodox not to. She’ll drag him to the confessional once a year, maybe twice, and there he’ll tell the priest about the woman on his ceiling, crumbling from the stucco. The woman stuck in his bathtub with a margarita, and an Egyptian cigarette, and a Playboy, and his dripping bottle of cologne. 

This is so subtle but my fave part of this ^^ excerpt is the fact that Reeve describes what will happen to Darren when he grows up as if ain’t grown already. That subtle jab got me SHOOK.

The next bit is some dialogue because I rarely share it and I dig Reeve + Darren’s dynamic here:

“Where are your cigarettes?” I asked, my hair tangled with vomit. I clarified, “You have a lighter. Only smokers carry lighters.”

“It’s for emergencies.”

“Bullshit. The gas is almost out.”

“I already told you. I don’t smoke.”

“I just want a cigarette. It’s not that complicated.”

“You bought a pack from the convenience store.”

“And I want one of yours.” 

(also the fact that only smokers carry lighters might be *fake news* but Reeve is really going for it today isn’t she.)

This is a prime example of my wild descriptions (I can’t just say something... not morbid???):

His lips bloody from where he’d chewed too hard. I drank it like venom, like on my obituary, I wanted it to say I’d been poisoned to death by his blood. I wanted to. He shrunk in on himself, his bones like tiny wired cages, and I propped onto my elbow. I thought, if I just wished long enough, I’d understand why he was crying. I would osmosis myself into him, and vomit the truth. 

cw: this next excerpt is a lil blasphemous and def doesn't reflect my beliefs, but in case it might offend, I’m leaving this warning here! 

Like an eight-year-old, he looked up at me in wonderment, and maybe to him, I was the prophet come to save him. Maybe I wore a gold halo, and a white dress, and I was ready to shove his head under the water and clean him. I really was God to him. The latest incarnation of Mother Mary. 

This is Reeve being wild--she has CLAIMED black magic folks:

I blew smoke in Darren’s face because I wanted to humiliate him. I wanted to bewitch him, and make him admit I wasn’t the performer of black magic, but the magic itself. I wanted to make him regret meeting Jo and repent for even thinking about marrying her. I wanted him to realize I was the only one meant for him. I was the only person that ever mattered.

More Reeve being wild:

I slipped Darren down my throat like he was the antidote to my afflictions, which was untrue, because I was in fact the antidote to his. 

And can you believe it! She keeps going (cw: again for blasphemous content)!

I wasn’t like the Messiah to him—I was the Messiah. I was his shaman, and high priestess, and Aphrodite, and enchantress, and woman all in one. His converter, his lover, his naked Greek statue a masterpiece in the centre of the mattress. I wore a halo and a white gown, and I was his God, yes, his fucking God. 

Then we dip into scene C. This is a bit longer so lol hope its not awful ahaaahha. Foster has *just* knocked on the bathroom door:

“You smell nice,” I tuck a glut of soaking hair behind my ear. He’s ironed his shirt on the pull out board. Its cotton singe-y and sharp, perfect ninety degree angles.

“We’ll be in the car.”

“I have some extra,” I lie. “The tequila, I mean. If you want a drink. A little margarita?”

“I already had breakfast,” he says. He leans back, and pretends not to analyze the contents of the bathroom. “Are you okay, Reeve?” He’s talking about the empty margarita glasses, the burnt out cigarettes, the Playboy, the soaked cologne bottle. 

“I didn’t know margaritas could be so good.”

“Do you want me to call your mom?”

“Why does everyone keep asking that? She’s a drunk.”

He nods, but keeps his place, arms crossed protectively. “Well, we’re in the car.”

As he’s pulling back, I jar the door open farther, and catch him by the wrist. He snaps back like the spring of a slinky. I’m an acid burn to him. My fingerprints individual irons running down the perfect creases of his shirt. I tuck my towel tighter around my chest, and lean against the door, letting it fall back with me. Steam and smoke spiral out into the room, the spirits of previous tenants being let out of their bottles like fucking genies.

“I want you to take care of yourself, Foster,” I say, rubbing my fingers against the wallpaper opposite the cabinet. He nurses his arm like my touch is the equivalent to a lightning bolt. “You’re a good person. There aren’t many good people anymore. That’s precious. You’re fucking precious.” 

This is a line I liked because yaaas she’s accepting her flawsss:

My tequila mouth will stay tequila’d and never get sober. 

And we hit scene D as it opens with:

After the bath water has drained and my hair has air dried, I crawl out of the bathroom window and head west to the freeway. It’s dizzily hot and equally humid, but I feel like I’m on vacation in Cancun, and not climbing uneven Cincinnati pavement. Soon, Izzy will start complaining about how long I’m taking and send Foster back out again, and he’ll miserably knock on the door. When I don’t answer, Darren will join him, then unlock it with his spare room key, and I won’t be there, not under the bed, not in the tub, not spewing from the sink, or caught in the tooth of the chipped up margarita glass. 

And lastly: 

He’ll find the note on the desk. Be back, baby. Darren, I have your money. –R. Two hundred from his wallet, slipped into the elastic of my bra. He’ll cuss, as if Darren cusses, and they’ll leave because they won’t find me. Izzy will call me a motherfucker because I’ve stolen her sunglasses, and I am, and I like them. I’m the millionaire’s mistress, the politician’s prostitute, the substitute teacher who the high school boys fantasize about. I’m the clairvoyant who overcharges middle-aged women to have their palms read. The A-List celebrity starring in cheap R-rated chick flicks, who drinks spiked Shirley Temples and dances to pirated CDs on foreign cruise ships. I brush my teeth with 24-karat gold, and eat cucumber tea sandwiches on verandas in Paris, and watch the Tour de France with my boyfriend-for-hire who gives me orange oil massages, tells me my shoulder blades look like wings, tells me I’m his fucking angel. 

Aaand that’s it for this wild chapter, lol. While bits of it gave me a hard time, I’m rather liking the overall tone/atmosphere, and I’ll definitely miss writing in the motel!

I hope to be back with another update soon!

--Rachel

[sea040561]

Comfort Food

Title: Comfort Food

Author: @sea040561

Beta’d by: @sofreddie (THANK YOU SO MUCH!)

Pairing: Jared x reader

Summary: You are determined to improve your cooking skills

Word Count: 3677

Warnings: uh, fluff?

Author’s Note: Written for @katymacsupernatural’s Wish Upon a Star Challenge. My quote was “Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it” from Disney’s Tangled; This is my first fan fic in 20 years. I have only written one fan fic, 20 years ago, that involved BSB, *N Sync, and NKOTB. So, please, give me your honest opinion!

“Really, guys? You actually trust me to cook something for you?” Y/N said surprised.

Jensen glanced at Jared and smirked, “Well, you’ve been saying that you wanted to do something different. Something that you have not attempted before. Boiling hot dogs and toasting bread isn’t exactly cooking.”

Y/N stared at the guys trying to figure out if they had an ulterior motive. “Where’s the camera, guys?”, as you looked around, “Seriously, this isn’t just some elaborate GISHWHES task that Misha has convinced you to do, is it?”

Jared held his hands up in surprise sneaking a glance at Jensen, “God, no! We have a fire extinguisher and band-aids in case there are any accidents.”

Jensen stifled a laugh by covering his mouth.

Y/N, with narrowed eyes, looked back and forth, repeatedly, at Jared and Jensen seriously considering what they were suggesting.

Ever since hiatus was over and the boys went back to filming, you had often found yourself with idle hands. With a break in your own movie filming schedule, you had read numerous books, played all the games on your iPad, and played with the dogs as well as taking them for a run twice a day. Crocheting and knitting weren’t your forte. Lord knows you had already tried that. Fighting your cat for control of the yarn wasn’t your idea of fun.

You had finally taken to visiting the Supernatural set daily to spend valuable time with your boyfriend but you knew you were driving Jared nuts. You were constantly trying to think of unique pranks to play on Jared with the help of either Jensen or Misha or both men. Of course, there was the hour here or there that you snuck off with Jared to his trailer and spent some ‘quality’ time together. But you knew you were distracting Jared by being on set constantly, especially if you watched him filming his scenes. Often his eyes would unknowingly migrate over to watch what you were doing.

“Listen, baby,” Jared said as he took you in his arms, hugging you to his chest, “Now would be the perfect time. You don’t have to return to filming for another four weeks so you can concentrate on this. Watch some YouTube videos, find a cooking class.”

“Hey, they even have online cooking classes,” Jensen interjected helpfully.

Sighing, you realized that they were both correct. You had always wanted to learn how to cook. Not quite french classic cooking like Julia Childs but some down home southern cooking such as Ree Drummond, otherwise known as The Pioneer Woman.

“Alright,” you agreed running your hands through your hair, “I will definitely think about it.”

Jared smiled in relief and quickly kissed your nose as he ran his fingers lightly over your cheek, “I love you, baby. You know I only want you to be happy. Now wow me with your learning skills.”

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

Now here you were a week later, plowing through episode after episode of The Next Food Network Star. You had managed to find the first season of it online. Now you were watching the current season, which was still airing on Food Network. The finale had yet to air. However, you were immensely enjoying watching other people’s amazing cooking skills, or rather lack of cooking skills in some instances.

Today was the big day for your debut. You were going to buy the ingredients for YOUR big cooking finale. You had invited Misha and Vicki over, as well as Danneel and Jensen. You opted for a kid free night so West, Maison, JJ, Zepp, and Arrow were being babysat by your sister, Tina, and her husband, Gordon.

You figured if anything went seriously wrong, like you cut off a finger or better yet, accidentally poison your guests, at least you didn’t have to wait for a sitter before going to the hospital. Hey, you had learned to see the humor in this learning journey these past 2 weeks

Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it.

You smiled wistfully to yourself as you remember those words. That is what Jared had uttered to you after he came home the first night you tried your hand at cooking a piece of filet mignon. You had aimed for medium rare but definitely overstepped that in spades. The Vancouver Canucks could have used it for a hockey puck.

Jared had walked in the door to find you crying while watching an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Through your blubbering sobs, you had managed to show him the charred piece of meat. Only Jared, after wiping the tears from your cheeks, would quote a Disney movie such as Tangled at a time like that. He had said to you, “Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it.”

But that is the exact reason you had fallen in love with him. He always saw the bright side of every situation.

Humming to yourself, you carefully navigated the streets of downtown Vancouver  heading to the Vancouver Farmer’s Market at the Queen Elizabeth Theater to buy all fresh ingredients for your meal.

You knew that your boyfriend and friends would appreciate whatever you served them but considering 2 of them were over 6’ foot tall strapping Texans, you had opted to cook some down home southern BBQ. It was the one type of food that you found most comforting to prepare, as well as amazingly delicious. So you had decided on Tequila BBQ Pork Spare Ribs with Risotto Style Potatoes and Corn.

Most of the ingredients you had at home, like the potatoes, chicken stock, fresh garlic, tomato paste, and spices. You were here to buy the pork spare ribs, corn on the cob, fresh chives and limes, homemade molasses, and one New Mexican chile pepper. You were also on the search for the best bottle of white tequila. Only the best for your friends.

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

You arrived home with more than enough time to get the ribs prepared and in the oven.

You needed a minimum of three and a half hours to finish them. You first had to cook them for two hours in foil then cook them another one and a half hours unwrapped.

The potatoes and corn you would have to keep a close eye on. You needed to make sure that the potatoes absorbed the chicken stock without burning and drying out. You knew you needed at least an hour to prepare and cook them.

“Alexa, please play Liam Payne’s Strip That Down for me,” you shouted as you started unwrapping the spare ribs. Your hips started to move to the beat as you began to sing along.

Two and a half hours later, you had opened the foil wrapper containing the spare ribs and turned them over and had set the timer for another hour. In addition, you had sautéed your onions, garlic, and corn together and had just added the potatoes and chicken stock to the pan, allowing the potatoes to cook.

Misha, Vicki, Jensen, and Danneel were due to arrive in thirty minutes. Jared had arrived home forty minutes prior and was currently showering the dirty and grime of Sam Winchester off himself.

While the spare ribs had been cooking for the first two hours, you had taken the opportunity to indulge in something you didn’t do very often - relax in a bubble bath. You had thrown on a ratty but clean pair of shorts and one of Jared’s threadbare Always Keep Fighting shirts that you had bought and had hurried your way back to the kitchen.

Now, as the potatoes were just beginning to simmer in the onions, garlic, corn and chicken broth, you ran to the downstairs bathroom to change into the summer spaghetti strap dress you had chosen to wear. You quickly ran a brush through your hair, threw it up in a messy half ponytail/half bun (or as Jared liked to call it...your just been fucked look), applied some black eyeliner (simplicity looked better on you), and spritzed some body spray on you.

Looking into the mirror, you whispered to yourself, “Almost showtime.”

As you were exiting the bathroom, Jared was exiting the master bedroom near the top of the stairs. Your eyes roamed the length of his body as he descended the stairs, taking in the very tight dark maroon tee shirt and black jeans that he was currently wearing. Unconsciously, you wet yours lips wondering how you managed to end up so blessed.

Jared looked up and noticed you watching him. He smirked then gave a lopsided grin as he reached the bottom of the stairs, “So, are you almost ready for you big debut?” He leaned over placing a chaste kiss against your lips.

You grabbed his hand tightly, “I think I’m ready as I will ever be.” A deep breath escaped your lungs as the two of you walked towards the kitchen.

“Y/N, is there anything I can help you with?” Jared offered as he reached the kitchen island and leaned against it with his ankles crossed.

You looked around the kitchen trying to think if you had forgotten anything. You had already set the dining room table with your grandmother’s china, placed all the appropriate cutlery, made sure the candles were lit, and set down all the wine glasses. The wine was from Jared’s private collection - 2015 California "Familiar" Mourvèdre. It was known for its great taste of blood orange, raspberries, and cinnamon, as well as other flavors, which enhanced the flavor of the Tequila BBQ Pork Spare Ribs you had prepared.

You also had mugs chilling in the freezer for the beer that Jensen promised to bring from his new brewing company. You were eager to try what delectable taste he had managed to create this time.

Finally, you answered, “I don’t think so.” You turned towards the potatoes and corn risotto, stirring the mixture carefully.

Before you could say anything else, you heard the front door open and the sound of Danneel’s high heels on the foyer floor.

“It’s showtime, babe,” Jared responded as he walked to greet their guests. He gave Misha and then Jensen a one armed hug as he relieved Jensen of the case of home brewed beer he was carrying.

“Hey Jar,” Danneel said kissing him on the cheek as she smacked his ass lightly.

“HEY!” Jared squealed as Misha snickered at Danneel’s antics.

Vicki giggled as she approached Jared and gave him a hug. As she turned to walk away, unbeknownst to Jared, she quickly grabbed his left ass cheek and squeezed.

“Y/N!” Jensen exclaimed as you walked out of the kitchen.

“What is this? Feel Jared up night?” you replied cocking your eyebrow.

“Always,” Danneel answered as she walked by her husband and smacked his ass.

Jensen yelped then scowled at his wife.

You cleared your throat to get the groups attention, “Well, dinner is ready. So go take your seats in the dining room and prepare to be amazed.”

You swiftly turned on your heel and marched back to the kitchen.

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

An hour later, you were enjoying the sounds of bliss and content that were coming from your friends’ mouths.

Vicki looked over at you with a grin, “That was absolutely amazing, Y/N!”

“Definitely,” Jensen agreed, “That tequila BBQ sauce is amazing. Did you make that homemade?”

Y/N laughed as Jared looked at her proudly, “You bet your ass I did, with lots of sweat and tears. Oh, and a few cuts and burns.”

“Well, you can cook for me any time you want, honey,” Danneel said as she wiped her lips with her napkin.

“Well, I’m only just getting started,” Y/N answered eagerly, “I definitely intend to keep cooking. Once I got over my initial panic attack wondering what I got myself into, everything seemed to fall into place.”

Jared stood up, “Well, as a reward for cooking for us, we actually provided dessert for the night.” He turned to look at Jensen nervously and continued, “Actually, Danneel was gracious enough to help me bake something for this wonderful night.”

Jensen pushed back his chair, laying his napkin on the table, and followed Jared as he started to walk towards the kitchen.

Jared stepped into the kitchen as Y/N glanced over at Misha, Vicki, and Danneel.

In the kitchen, Jensen reached the granite countertops where the plate of cupcakes were set out, “How did you manage to sneak these in without Y/N knowing?”

“Well, you remember when Misha almost choked on the rib bone earlier as he was laughing?” Jared asked.

“Yes,” Jen answered inquisitively as he stared suspiciously at Jared.

“Well, notice how Danneel ran to the garage to get him a bottled water in the refrigerator and well, at the same time, she brought in these cupcakes that we had hidden in the there. You know that Y/N doesn’t even go in that refrigerator for anything so I knew I was pretty safe with my secret dessert.”

“So, is tonight the big night?” Jensen wondered.

Jared glanced over at Jen as he arranged the cupcakes on a plate. He gave a tiny nod as he swallowed nervously.

“You know you have nothing to worry about Jar,” Jen responded placing his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “She loves you just as much as you love her. You saved her from a horrible situation with her father. No person should ever be treated the way her father treated her. I’m sorry but you DO NOT blame your daughter for your wife’s death from a terminal illness. You showed her how love should be, especially in the world that we live in.”

“I know. But I can’t help being nervous,” Jared replied as he carefully placed the specialized spun sugar decorations that he had made for each cupcake - an impala for Jensen, a GISHWHES sign for Misha, a butterfly for Vicki, Danneel’s nickname, REDS, and a dog for Jared. “I just hope I’m not moving too fast for her.”

“Listen, Jay, you have been together for over two years now. If she hasn’t kicked your ass to the curb by now for some idiotic prank that you’ve pulled on her, she is yours forever,” Jen answered.

Jared sighed softly as he pulled the soft royal blue box out of the pocket of his jeans. His thumb rested gently on the top as he smiled at his best friend. After a moment, he placed the box on the countertop as he reached over for his last spun sugar decoration. He lifted the carefully spun red heart and swiftly pressed into into the white buttercream icing adorning the cupcake.

“Well, wish me luck,” Jared finally said as he took the engagement ring out of the jewelry box and placed it in the center of the spun sugar heart.

Jensen smiled brightly as he watched his best friend heading into the next phase of his life. He knew that Y/N was going to say yes to Jared. Y/N had finally confided in Jensen and Danneel that it was the one thing she wanted most in the world. The only other thing Y/N wanted most in the world was having a child with her boyfriend. In a few precious moments, Y/N was going to be granted her most wanted wish.

Jared rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles then proceeded to pick up the tray of delicate cupcakes in his large hand. He took a deep breath as stepped beside Jensen, smiled at him, and continued to walk back to the dining room.

When the boys entered the dining room, everyone was in hysterics as Misha was recounting the latest prank Jared and Jensen had pulled on him.

“Here is dessert,” Jared said as he briefly showed them the tray of cupcakes before beginning to give each guest their personally designed cupcake.

Jensen was the only person that knew of Jared’s plan. Unbeknownst to Jared, Jen had set up his phone on the dining room hutch and started recording. He knew that Y/N would appreciate it.

Everyone watched as Jared handed out the cupcakes. Finally, Jared approached Y/N last. Gently, he placed her cupcake in front of her, gauging her reaction. He knew that it would take her a moment to notice the ring on the cupcake.

Surprised, you looked up at Jared, “Oh my god, these are beautiful. Did you do this yourself?”

Jared glanced at Danneel then nodded slowly, “Yes, but with a lot of instruction from Dani.” He silently mouthed to Dani thank you.

You looked down at your cupcake admiring the spun sugar heart. You stared in amazement and awe as you turned the cupcake around taking in all its tasty goodness. Suddenly, a flicker of light caught your attention as you ran your finger through the icing then sucked the delicious, creamy icing off your finger. You quickly turned the cupcake around to the front wondering if your eyes were deceiving you. As you raised your eyes, searching for Jared, you realize that he was next to your kneeling on one knee. Your breath caught in your throat then began to tighten as your eyes began to tear.

“Y/N,” Jared began hesitantly clearing his throat in the process, “you came into my life during a time when I didn’t believe that things would ever get any better. I was struggling with depression and anxiety daily, hoping that something would give. I wasn’t sure I could survive much more heartache but then you walked into the Supernatural casting office and I was smitten. I said to myself that I had to meet this voluptuous, stunning y/h/c that was standing in the corner talking with Robert Singer.”

He glanced up at Y/N trying to gauge her reaction. What he saw only strengthened his resolve that they were soulmates. That the world had specifically chosen them for each other.

He cleared his throat again as he continued his speech, “Then you angled your body towards my direction, throwing your head back in laughter, as you shook hands with Bob. You turned towards the door and rushed out, squeaking out a shy, but quick hello to me. When the smell of your perfume reached my nose, I had shuddered with desire. No woman had ever affected me so quickly, so intensely without even uttering a word to me.”

Jared snuck a look at Y/N as he pulled the ring off the cupcake, “You have made me a better person, a better man, a better lover, a better friend. All of the things that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to achieve by myself. I will forever be yours. Will you forever be mine? Will you marry this 6’4” clumsy Texan who will do anything to keep you happy?”

When Jared was finally silent, he waited with baited breath for your answer.

You turned in your chair taking your boyfriend’s hands in yours. You opened your mouth a few times trying not to hysterical cry at the happiness radiating through your body, “I don’t know where I would even be without your support the last few years. You showed me a world that I never thought I could have or be a part of. A world that I never want to fathom leaving, so yes, I will marry you.”

Jared whooped as he stood up taking you with him. He crashed his lips to yours as his fingers threaded through your hair, pulling lightly. His tongue brushed your lips seeking entrance to your mouth. You moaned as Jared angled his legs between your legs. The pressure of his knees against your core sent shockwaves through your body.

“Hey hey,” Misha exclaimed, “Get a room you two!”

“Yeah,” Danneel agreed, “or you might find yourselves with some more surprises.” She looked over at her husband and winked.

You blushed fiercely and cleared your throat loudly, gaining everyone’s attention, especially Jared’s, “Uh, well, it’s a little too late for that.”

Your boyfriend looked at you in wonderment, trying to figure out what you were saying. He looked over at Jensen and Misha reading their faces trying to see if they knew what Y/N was talking about. When his gaze meandered over to Dani and Vicki’s faces, he saw two big and wide smiles.

You slowly gripped Jared’s hands in yours. You placed it over your heart, squeezing his hand lightly, “This heart will always beat for you.” Then you steadily trailed Jared’s hand down to your abdomen, “So will this one.”

Jared’s eyes widened in amazement as he dropped to his knees, for the second time that night, and laid his head against your stomach.

“Are you serious?” He inquired hurriedly, waiting for your reaction.

You reached out, tilting his head up by his chin, “You did say to venture outside my comfort zone because the rewards would be worth it. This definitely qualifies as outside my comfort zone but these rewards will be endlessly worth it. I wouldn’t want to start this next journey in my life with anyone but you.”

Jared grabbed your left hand and slid the gorgeous diamond engagement ring on your ring finger. He stood up and grabbed you around the waist, pulling you towards him. You jumped up, wrapping your legs around his waist, as you slid your fingers through his hair, “Congratulations, Daddy Padalecki.”

Jared ran his fingers over your lips, then brushed a stray piece of hair behind your ear, “Future Mrs. Mommy Padalecki, I love you to the moon and back.”

As you both embraced, you could hear your friends loudly cheering in the background.

You squeezed your eyes shut reveling in the comfort and smell of your fiancee’s body.

You were finally home.

[ridleymocki]

Them Wild-Eyed Boys That Had Been Away

Written for Pynch Week 17, Day 7. Pprompt:  Road trip // Accidental baby acquisition // First time

Summary: Just a good old fashion fic about stupid in love boys taking a road trip and negotiating their relationship. With bonus ladies of 300 Fox Way at the beginning, and Gangsey at the end.

Notes: I had quite a bit of fun with this, which was nice because wow, fic fatigue. Title is from 'The Boys Are Back In Town' by Thin Lizzy, because it's perfect for this, come on. Thank you so very much for reading! Pynch Week has been awesome and challenging as hell, and you guys make it worth it. One day to go! Enjoy!

Warnings: allusions to homophobia. (Ronan and Adam limiting the extent to which they're visibly together, just because they want to avoid confrontation or comment from other so they can keep their trip pleasant. No actual confrontations are had.)

also on ao3

When Adam turned to him one night and said, “I wonder if there’s magic anywhere else,” Ronan couldn’t see a reason why they shouldn’t try to find out.

There were still a few weeks before Adam had to be at college, and they’d done just about everything they could with these long, hot swathes of sunlit days, and especially while the rest of their gang was away.

So they went, packed up the car with too many snacks and probably too few shirts, and started to drive.

“We’re going to get lost,” Adam said.

“That’s the point.”

………………………………………..

They dropped Opal off at the witches’ house – they’re psychics, Ronan, god – and were fooled into staying for lunch. The house was as eclectic as ever, so they had grapefruit halves, and bits of prosciutto wrapped around slices of rock melon, home-made tea coulis over wholemeal pancakes. Maura had to wrestle the container of pancake batter away from Calla so she wouldn’t make rude shapes with their food.

Opal ate happily, her hoofed feet swinging off the edge of the chair, eating the grapefruit pith and all. She didn’t need babysitting, not really. She was too Other and ancient to really be mistaken for a child. But it wasn’t fair to leave her alone, either.

And it wasn’t fair that with Blue away and Persephone gone, this house – though never capable of reaching quiet – had grown a little emptier. It was clear in the way Maura set out too much cutlery for them and touched her hand to Ronan’s shoulder that she was missing her daughter. It wasn’t so much about having Ronan and Adam to lunch as it was about having people close to her daughter be also close to her.

“Where are you going to go?” Maura asked them, swilling a glass of sweet liquid packed with slices of lime and mint leaves.

“Don’t know,” Adam said, and shoved a bit of pancake with prosciutto into his mouth, ever the opportunistic eater. “We just want to see what there is.”

“Well you’ll see plenty,” Calla said with a scoff. “Not guaranteed that you’ll like it, though.”

“I seem to remember you doing several things that you knew you wouldn’t like, just because you were free to do it,” Maura said with a teasing smile, and folded her legs under her on the chair.

“That’s my point.” Calla threw a plastic teaspoon at her. “You’re free to explore, and then free to decide to never do it again, thank god. The in-between is just growth.”

“Is this lunch or a reading?” Ronan groused.

“I can still read people, Snake.” Calla grinned at him, in an uncharacteristically good mood; which meant she was still a pain in the ass, she just did it with a smile on her face.

With clunking steps meant to announce her arrival, Orla came down the stairs, trailing the smell of summer flowers and sunscreen. “There are my favourite lover boys!” She cried when she saw them, and Ronan would have laughed at the way Adam grew rigid, if it hadn’t been for the fact he did the same. “How have you been?!” She floated behind Adam where he sat and ruffled his hair, pressing a smacking kiss to his forehead. She went to do the same to Ronan, but when he grumbled and swore, and swatted her away she just launched at him and enveloped him in a hug instead. Adam laughed loud and bright at the look of outrage on his face.

“You look ridiculous,” Ronan growled, and she finally released him. Her crop top was almost neon pink and her shorts looked like they’d been through a paper shredder. Blue could roll her eyes at her cousin all she liked but they were not totally dissimilar. Orla just laughed, a tinkling thing, and sat down to grab a grapefruit. She passed her pith to Opal, who rewarded her with a toothy smile.

When they left it was later than they had counted on, the sunlight already turning orange, but they would have enough hours of daylight to at least make it to the next town over.

Maura framed Adam’s face with her hands for a brief second, looked between them and said, “Be safe.”

“You’d know if we weren’t,” Adam said immediately, and Maura cheerily hummed in a maybe fashion.

“Remember, do everything I would do,” Calla called to them from the door.

When they were in the BMW again and Ronan pulled onto the road, he turned to Adam and said, “There is no fucking way we’re doing everything she would do.” They left Henrietta on the sound of Adam’s laughter.

…………………………..

Apart from Gansey family functions, Ronan knew Adam had never really been anywhere outside their poky town. This was a first for him, an exercise in autonomy. They stayed in barely-there little towns, crashing at a motel late at night then exploring in the morning, setting off again in the afternoon. They didn’t have a list of sights to see; if they happened upon something then so be it. The point was movement; feeling the rubber band that kept them tied to Henrietta stretch and stretch and wondering at what point it would snap.

Being outside Henrietta was odd. The town ebbed and flowed around them. It was easy to be there. They’d been gone three days and already it was like the outside world was trying to remould them.

They didn’t hold hands if they could be seen, always sat opposite each other at a diner or café. Ronan found himself readying to throw his arm around Adam’s shoulders as they walked together, and had to hold himself back. If they could they would get rooms with two doubles and let one go unused; if they couldn’t, Adam would push two single beds together and they’d deal with the dip in the middle.

Ronan was tempted to challenge people, to order a room with one bed, to reach across the space between them and cup Adam’s cheek, kiss him for all to see. But things like that weren’t neutral when it was two young men, even if they should have been. They weren’t on this trip to fist fight their way across America. It was just about them, and they didn’t want to risk anyone else sticking their nose in.

It wasn’t bad, if you didn’t dwell on it. They knew who they were and knew what they had and it was good. Being selective about showing that was a compromise they made to keep this little road trip the way they wanted it.

It didn’t stop them from kissing in the car before they left town, or losing themselves in each other in the middle of the night. There was nothing ambiguous about one bed rumpled and one left untouched.

…………………………..

“Enjoy, honey,” their waitress said to Adam, setting a vanilla milkshake in front of him. She smiled at him, a smile that grew a little tight when she directed it at Ronan, but she did her best.

“I hate that,” Adam said quietly, as they hoed into their eggs.

“Hate what?” Ronan knew what, but Adam’s words invited the question.

“The way they look at you. Like you’re no good.” Adam ate his egg and bacon with prejudice – cutlery squeaking against the ceramic – staring furiously into the middle space like he was imagining his retribution. If he hadn’t been so serious, Ronan might have laughed at his expression, the perfect righteous outrage.

“In case you hadn’t noticed,” Ronan said instead, “that’s kind of what I’m going for.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, no shit. I just…”

“You just?” Ronan prompted, as Adam massacred another fried tomato with his fork.

Adam shook his head. “I just wish they didn’t look at you like that, is all.”

Ronan felt something warm curl in his chest and seize him tightly. He remembered how Henry had told him weeks before how hard Adam had blushed when he’d called Ronan his boyfriend in front of them, while Ronan wasn’t there. Henry had pressed a hand to his own grin as he said how pleased Adam seemed about the word.

“I don’t want people to know me the way you know me,” Ronan said, hands gone still over his plate.

Adam sighed. “I know. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like that about us. It’s just, when other people meet you– Their first impression isn’t true. Justified, because you insist on being the maximum amount of asshole you can and dressing like a punk, but it’s not accurate. They shouldn’t write you off like that.” The idea that Adam was proud to be with him still twisted Ronan’s head from time to time, feeling impossible. If he allowed himself to believe it, though, he could see why it might be infuriating to have strangers turn a nose up at someone you cherished.

Ronan reached under the table and put a hand on Adam’s knee. “I don’t give a shit what they think, Parrish. So long as you know.”

Adam smiled sadly. “I do.”

“Good.”

They ate and talked about the small stuff; how many of their friends were actually sleeping together, whether Opal and Gwenllian were getting along, getting Adam’s car certified roadworthy before he started semester.

In the end, Adam slurped the dregs of his milkshake so loud and so obnoxiously that by the time they left, they were both receiving reproachful looks, anyway.

……………………………………….

What Ronan couldn’t say in that conversation, was that people weren’t just looking at him and making a hard judgement, they were looking at him next to Adam.

In black head to toe, tattooed talons and feathers stretching over his neck and shoulders, cold eyes and a whip sharp smile, Ronan was about as far away from the picture of provincial quaintness some of these towns distilled. He was hazardous, the sort of thing a local sheriff on his coffee break would spin around in his chair just to monitor.

That was one thing, to look like trouble personified.

It was a whole other thing to be the trouble that trailed behind a boy who looked like the goddamn American dream.

Adam passed through these towns like their patron saint, a blue-jeaned, blonde-haired vision of youth. Strangers were helpless but to like him, to offer him a free piece of pie with coffee, wish him well and actually mean it. Adam had asked if there was magic anywhere else, but as the days wore on Ronan wondered if he hadn’t just brought it with him.

The people they passed saw Adam and were struck with an instant loyalty, the kind he never got in Henrietta outside of their little group. Ronan couldn’t blame them, knew from experience the futility of resisting that pull. But then they saw Ronan, violence holding his head up and keeping his shoulders back, and their reproachful looks weren’t just a go away, but a get away from him. Like Adam was shiny chrome and Ronan was corrosive against him.

But Ronan didn’t think it would help Adam’s ire to point it out, that part of people’s prejudice was the contrast between the two of them.

Instead, at night, he would reach across the shitty motel bed and pull a sleepy Adam into his chest. They would wake up overwarm and uncomfortable, but the moment where they caught each other’s eye was worth it a thousand times over.

…………………………………….

Days passed in the lazy way that summer had perfected. When Adam drove, Ronan would look at him for long seconds, the scenery outside flying by so fast that Adam was the only thing in focus. They’d talk about nonsense; how to hypothetically kidnap a polar bear, how many presidents drew dicks on their high school tables, who was the victor between pizza and burritos. Being able to voice all their most half-brained ridiculous ideas to each other was an intimacy that they’d had long before they got together, and it hadn’t changed.

They’d been away ten days when Adam, one hand steady on the wheel, used the other to fling a Skittle in the air and catch it in his mouth. “I’ve never been more attracted to you than I am right now,” Ronan said emphatically, and Adam’s laughter rippled through him like magic.

In a town whose beginning was an idyllic bubbling stream with a white bridge, they stopped for gas and to stock up on snacks. When Ronan came out of the gas station he saw Adam jogging back towards him from across the road. “What the hell Par–“ Adam stopped in front of him and, like a sneak attack, stuck a pink carnation behind Ronan’s ear. Sputtering, Ronan looked back across the street to see an old lady at a flower stand waving cheerily at them.

He looked back at Adam in surprise.

“It’s alright,” Adam said as he laughed, “we were chatting and she has a wife. I told her about you.”

Ronan rolled his eyes and dipped his chin at the woman. “You’re an idiot,” he grumbled, and Adam’s smile grew. Ronan stuck the carnation into the disc slot of his car stereo and that’s where it stayed.

…………………………………….

They had a fight about money at 2:00am outside the diner where they’d just eaten. The inevitability of this exact argument made them tired of it from the outset. Ronan paid for dinner like he’d done the majority of times this trip and Adam glared daggers at him and stormed outside.

Ronan didn’t do it to have power over him. He didn’t do it to show off or even because he thought Adam couldn’t pay. He did it for expediency, because it was less awkward than divvying up a bill. He did it because he knew that Adam would pay him back, would make sure they were as equal as possible. He said as much.

But Adam didn’t want to feel like he was kept, said that’s exactly how it made him feel. If this whole trip was meant to be about freedom then he should pay his way. Just because they were dating didn’t give Ronan an excuse to take everything over. He didn’t need anybody to take care of him.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Ronan was yelling and he hated it. “You can’t be in a relationship and not need anybody at the same time!”

“Why not?!” Adam was nearly shaking.

“Because I fucking need you!” It slipped out, and Adam stared at him with wide eyes. “Don’t you get it? I could pay for this whole damn trip and it still wouldn’t mean that you need me more than I need you.”

Adam let out a breath like it’d been punched out of him. Ronan looked out over the carpark, hands in fists at his sides and his whole body rigid. Inside him everything stormed, the feeling he’d given something away he couldn’t get back. Adam waited him out, and Ronan didn’t know if he was silent because he didn’t know how to help or because he had nothing to say. After a few minutes, Ronan’s hands unclenched and he walked slowly over to the car, Adam following carefully behind.

They were tired and hurt when they got back to the motel, their room presenting them with two beds, one rumpled, one pristine. Adam looked uncertainly between the two and Ronan sighed, kicked off his shoes, and held his hand out to him. Adam’s whole body seemed to deflate in relief, and his eyes were shiny when he took Ronan’s hand carefully. They climbed into the same bed, still in their clothes, hands clasped but a cautious valley of space between them.

Ronan was at the very edge of sleep when it changed. “Don’t let me fuck this up,” Adam whispered to him in the dark, voice breaking. In a heartbeat Ronan was reaching out and pulling him into his body, pressing kisses to his brow as Adam shook against him, until they slept.

…………………………………….

They were driving along a highway when the forest either side began to look wonderfully, reminiscently like Cabeswater. Ronan pulled the car over into the dirt and they climbed out, making their way into the trees. It was a stupid thing to do, go wandering in unfamiliar forestland without having told anyone they were doing so, but they’d done worse. Would probably do so again.

It wasn’t Cabeswater, of course. The trees didn’t speak Latin. It didn’t play music for them, and the sun in the sky continued to arc along its usual path. But the shade of green was just right, the dewy smell sharp and vivid, and every now and again a tree had the audacity to look familiar. It wasn’t magic but it cast a spell nonetheless, drawn from memories and longing. It was dusk when they found their way back to the car.

The next day, Adam bought a West Virginia road map from the corner store of whatever town they were in now, took a black marker and drew a circle around the patch of land that illustrated that forest. He grinned at Ronan with the pen cap still in his mouth, map spread out over the dash, and his eyes looked like adventure.

…………………………………….

The thing that they had neglected to do was inform their friends that they weren’t still in Henrietta. “Where the devil are you, Ronan?” Gansey said to him frantically through the phone, the phone that Ronan had only just powered on, after it had been dead for three days, and had immediately started ringing.

“Calm down, Dick, we’re… Adam where the fuck are we?”

Adam came out of the bathroom of their shitty motel room, towel around his hips and hair dripping. He reached out for the phone and put it on speaker when Ronan handed it over. “Hey Gans, how’s it going?” he said cheerily, and Ronan grinned at him.

“It was going spectacularly until we discovered your absence. We’re in Henrietta, where are you?”

“Hi guys!” They heard Henry yell in the background.

“Hi!” Adam chuckled. “Glad you guys got back safe.”

“Yeah and no chewing us out for not communicating when you assholes didn’t tell us when you’d be back,” Ronan groused. He was anxious to see Gansey and the others, and if he covered it with irritation that was his prerogative.

“Point,” a voice that was obviously Blue’s said. “Greetings, by the way. Or whatever.”

“Hey, Blue. Look we’ve been doing a loop around the state, we shouldn’t be more than half a day’s drive away. You want us to come back?” At this Adam looked at Ronan a little hesitantly, half asking him, as well, if that was alright. Ronan, caught between his want to see the others, his want to stay on the road with Adam, and his want to end the phone call immediately and do something about Adam’s state of undress, didn’t know how to reply.

“What? No,” Blue said, “Don’t cut your trip short for us.”

“Well this thing doesn’t exactly have a projected end point, apart from college in two weeks,” Adam said.

“We can come to you!” Gansey exclaimed, and Ronan had the ridiculous image of a light bulb lighting up above Gansey’s head, his index finger pointing skywards. “If that’s alright. We have no plans.”

Adam looked at him, and raised his eyebrows in silent question. Ronan was still struggling a little too much with the path a droplet of water was making down Adam’s chest, but he collected himself and nodded. He really did want to see them.

“That’d be great, guys. We’ll meet in the middle, I’ll text you the details.” He hung up to a chorus of delighted whooping. Adam got busy on the phone, looking up where they actually were, sending a screenshot to Gansey, then seeing what was further down the road, looking for a diner or something.

Ronan came up behind him and pressed his cheek to the side of Adam’s head, uncaring for his wet hair. Adam’s thumb paused on the screen but took up their work again in a moment. Smiling small, Ronan nudged the edge of Adam’s ear with his nose, and brought his lips down to Adam’s neck. The kisses he pressed there were light, but full of intent. He brought a hand up to his waist and Adam’s hands went totally still.

“Check out is at ten, Ro,” he said, but his voice came out teasing.

Ronan hummed. “You think they’re gonna kick us out?”

Adam turned to face him, hooking a finger into a belt loop of Ronan’s black jeans. “They can try. I’m almost sure I don’t care,” he said, and began back-stepping towards the bed.

They had to pause half way through making out for Adam to send Gansey the details of where to meet, but then Ronan was being pressed into the mattress and things outside of that room quickly stopped mattering.

They checked out of the dicey little motel at 10:04, and Adam joked that Ronan’s perpetual scowl scared the guy out of asking for the late fee. Ronan was pretty sure it was the hickey poking out of his t-shirt, though.

…………………………………….

Ronan laughed when he pulled up to the address Adam had been directing him towards for the last few hours. The pizza place was nondescript, but managed it in eerily the same way that Nino’s managed it back home. Neon lights in pink and blue to match the setting sky. Adam grinned at him from the passenger seat.

They were sitting at a booth by the window when the bell chimed and Richard Gansey III practically ran inside. At the sight of him, Ronan could practically feel his brain cross out one of the items on his long list of worries. They stood to greet him and Gansey hugged them each, first Ronan then Adam then Ronan again, like he couldn’t give enough affection to both of them at the same time. Blue and Henry were right behind, smiling wide and bright. Henry gave Adam a brief hug, but at some indefinable time Ronan and Henry had invented a secret handshake, which they performed with excess concentration while Adam and Blue embraced.

The most typifying greeting was Ronan and Blue. She went in for a hug but was lifted off her feet up to Ronan’s full height, a power move that earned from her a cry of indignation. Blue did a complicated twist that ended up with Ronan’s head under her arm, trapped in a headlock as her feet touched the ground again, the knuckles of her other hand scrabbling viciously over his buzzcut. Ronan growled and poked her in her sides, Blue releasing him with a yelp.

The worker at the counter shook his head at them judgementally while they laughed their asses off. Everyone except Gansey, who had a hand on his chest and was looking at them like he was lit up from the inside.

“Are you crying?” Blue asked him, a delighted, wicked grin on her face.

“No,” he said, but no one was convinced.

……………………………………

They ate a disgusting amount of pizza, as the trio offloaded weeks’ worth of stories from their intrepid adventures. Rainforests and ancient ruins and street food of ever increasing unfamiliarity.

Even though one of them was missing, Noah’s soft smile and chuckling palpably gone in a way they couldn’t help, it was nice.

In Brazil, Henry had swallowed a bug and insisted they go to an emergency room, sticking to the story that he’d felt like he was dying even when he was discharged after a fifteen minute consult. The irony of it being ‘He of the RoboBee’ to swallow a flying insect was not lost.

One of Gansey’s nebulous academic friends showed them around a dig site in Peru, and Blue began sarcastically calling Gansey ‘Indie’ half way through the story. Ronan began to use it as well, with as much glee as you can convey through a scowl, ensuring that it stuck, much to Gansey’s embarrassment.

“At least I wasn’t the one that tried to covertly adopt a two-toed sloth,” Gansey shot back.

Blue gasped at him. “They’re tired all the time and hang out in trees. We are obviously family, I was obliged to claim them as my children.”

Everything they said was halfway to absurd, and Ronan, even as he teased and snapped out jokes only just on the right side of derisive, was quietly glad out of his mind that they’d had a good time and were home safe.

“And how are you guys?” Henry asked them excitedly.

Adam glanced at him, looking away with a smile that Ronan hesitated to call bashful, but damn, it came close. “We’re good,” Adam said, “It’s been a really good few weeks.” He leaned back into where Ronan’s arm was strewn across his shoulder, eyes heavy and tired, but mouth upturned. Ronan wanted to take a photograph of him in that moment. All three of the faces opposite them softened and it suddenly became unbearable.

“I mean we’re alive so that’s a plus,” Ronan said, draining his coke.

………………………………..

They stayed until the middle of the night, then drove, the BMW leading the Camaro, to the motel down the road. They got one room together, two big beds, the trio piled into one and Ronan and Adam in the other. There was something about falling asleep in the same room as your closest friends that turned the world the right way up again.

“Do you want to go back tomorrow?” Adam whispered into his throat, as the others were mumbling amongst themselves.

Ronan thought about it, thought about the last few weeks with just the two of them. At the same time that he wanted more of it, more of Adam and their dumb fights and their eclipsing kisses, he realised that things were profoundly, deeply good. Good in a way that he was confident wouldn’t end when they went back home or when Adam moved to his college dorm. “Up to you,” he said easily, and meant it.

Adam hummed. “Let’s decide tomorrow.”

………………………………

(Gansey, Blue, and Henry drove back to town late the next day, but Ronan and Adam stayed on the road for another week. Not going anywhere in particular, just holding each other’s space. Sending stupid photos of each other back to the rest of the gang, bickering about who got to drive, adding more flowers to the disc slot on Ronan’s stereo.

When they got back, Orla poked at the skin under Ronan’s tired eyes. “They’re a better blue when you’re happy.” He swatted her away but didn’t contradict her.

Opal placed a newspaper crown on Adam’s head, and he rolled his eyes at Blue’s ‘king of the road’ joke.

They still had a little time before semester started, and they’d fill it well, the group of them.

But the three weeks spent in aimless, wandering abandon with Adam, navigating the seas of each other’s moods and the curious stares of others, were perfect.

“We’ll do this again,” Adam said, as they crossed the Henrietta town line. “As soon as I’m on break we should disappear again.”

Ronan found his hand, clasped it tightly. “Anytime.”)

[mysterydjpirate]

Exploding Secrets                         By: Mystery Davis-Jenkins (aka me)

The sun slowly started to rise over the horizon as the chimeran people as well as the humans cautiously filed in and out of the buildings. The atmosphere didn’t feel right- didn’t feel as casual as it should be. This only had happened when there’s a day where the gods of the world grief or one of them get sick from something. But the atmosphere didn’t feel like that at all, it felt more like the world was burning in flames. I quickly got out of bed and got into my favorite purple dress with the sleeves burying my hands no matter what I do. I brushed out my dark emerald green hair then put it up into two short pigtails.

  I quickly put on my velcro sneakers, grabbing my second backpack- the one for adventuring then dashed out the door. I couldn’t shake the feeling of the atmosphere being so vile as I walked myself to town. The people around me shouted at each other, coughed maniacally in such a way I thought they would cough out their insides to outside of their body, others abusing one another while others manipulating others just to get something they want. This wasn’t them… truthfully I’m frightened. I quickly snatched my bike and rode it to the manor on the other side of town, not stopping for anyone or anything until I arrived there. There has to be a reason. There has to be!

After five hours of just riding my bike non-stop I stopped, jumping off the bike and pushed it to the side not caring of what happened to it. I flew open the front door and what I saw wasn’t so splendid; Fiefo was smoking up the house to the point the smoke-detectors gave up, Jason surrounded by bottles upon bottles of alcohol, Simon had punched one of the walls until there was little of it left, Zero unconscious-beaten up in fact from BJ and Alexia being swarmed by men and women alike. This wasn’t a good sign. Simon never got that angry unless in battle or someone took away someone he loved, Zero normally healed himself up enough to stay conscious .Jason never drunk that much alcohol no matter what.Fiefo never smoked enough to even cause alarm of the smoke detectors, in public or inside at all and Alexia never successfully seduced anybody to really have them around but even then she would leave them because of a mission while BJ never hit anybody unless in battle with someone.

Luckily, Mew saw how terrified I was and picked me up bridal-style, carrying me outside to the small house near the lake we had. Placing me down onto the couch there. He smiled down upon me then pinched me on the arm to shock me back to reality. I stared at him as he walked away to the others that were still sane to their own extent which Maderana, the kindest out of the two sisters had came running to me. “Are you okay?” She quickly asked. Her eyes darting left and right to check to see if I was fine.

“I’m fine Maderana. What’s going on?” I asked but before she could answer another question rose from my mind. “What’s wrong with Jason, BJ, Fiefo, Zero, Simon and Alexia?”

Maderana stared at me, kneeling down to my height. Before she responded she let out a big, tense sigh. “Well..,” She begun to say. “Something must’ve happened after their mission for them to act like this. Jason probably got affected by it since he lives in both the human and MutCrea world. With BJ… I’m not sure. Probably was just upset about it all?”

I looked over Maderana’s shoulder and saw that the rest of them was standing around the back-porch just talking. Mew, Maderan, King Night, Mystery, Sparkle and Budders where just there talking like nothing was happening but the facial expressions on Mew’s face said otherwise. Mew was the only guy out of the whole group I could understand without words. Spending more time with him did something with our friendship I suppose?”

Maderana sees my focus had drifted away from her and looks the direction I’m facing. She then sighs and stands back up. Her presence around me tense a little as she takes my hand and walks outside with me by her side. Instantly as the door opened for us to step outside, everyone’s attention turned towards us as if the spotlight had landed on myself and Maderana. I looked up towards Mew’s face which he gives me a forced smile. It’s not good when he gives me a forced smile so I quickly run from off the porch, around the small house and up to the main house itself,all the while King Night had ran after me. His light emerald green hair getting in his face constantly since he doesn’t have his crown on- but even with some of his armor on he is fast enough to keep up with me.

Once I reach the backdoor of the house I quickly open it then locks it behind me. Locking out Night from the inside but I keep forgetting he’s a lot smarter than I think. I quickly run up the stairs to the second floor of the manor where it’s clear from the mayhem downstairs and where my own room is that’s right next to Mew and Sparkle but the three of us have our own homes that’s being guarded by our own made guards.

It took me a while to even run up all those stairs from the stairway. It would taken me a lot longer to get to my room with the elevator we have but I rather not risk it since Night is a very skilled person when it comes to his determination and willpower.

I look around my room to find anything that could help me out for the time being among the shelves upon shelves of stuffed animals I have. All my dolls I’ve collected in a five-foot tall display case. The grates of play weapons in the far corner while my actual weapons are hidden away somewhere behind the halls itself. The table that’s on the far left side of my room with chairs and silverware neatly arranged. I quickly went over to my bed that’s in the middle of my room but up against the wall, digging underneath it until I feel a small rectangle box then I slide it from my underneath my bed and open it.

Within the box holds a small bag of bullets, a list of ingredients and directions for any potion, duck tape, magical rope that looks like looks like a roll of string and some scissors. I close the box back up and find my miniature small box that I connected to my nightstand. I press my fingers against the top of the box which a wall of weapons arrange to show the different weapons I use. I quickly grab the handgun, snatching up my other sets of magical rope, placing my kit and sets of string besides one into my backpack on my back plus my handgun so no one asks where I’m going or doing with a gun.

Once my preparations are done and the weapons are once hidden I open up my door and find Night right there standing there with his robe wrapped around his body as he looks down upon me like he usually does. “Where are you going, missy?” He asked with his deep voice that could swoon a woman within moments if they didn’t pay attention to his actions. “Going out to explore.” I quickly stated, hoping the doesn’t see anything in my hands since I have a plan to get him out my way. “Mind telling me where?” He slowly walk towards me to make me walk backwards like he does with the criminals where he lives. He’s that intimidating. “Nowhere specific. Exploring is after all a part of a child’s mind.”

Night gives me an evil smirk and before I know it he grabbed my arm and dragged me out into the hallway- to the elevator even. He then shoves me into the elevator, once he steps inside he keeps me from running out since he holds a dagger’s blade to my throat. This isn’t like him at all. He’s acting differently now because normally he just follows Mystery’s orders since they are friends but I swear she wouldn’t let him do this whatsoever. This atmosphere has to be an error…

Once We walked out to the living room one the bottom floor of the house itself with the mayhem that once was there had now subsided. I look out the window and sees Mew waiting for me with his own stuff outside of the manor. I struggle enough to make Night’s hand loosen from their grip on my arm which gave me a perfect chance to escape while I can. I ran out the door before he could grab me again and ran outside to Mew.

I shoved my magical rope I had the entire time into Mew’s dull yellow jacket before jumping onto his back, clinging onto it like a baby koala. Once I was set on his back he bolted away from the manor as fast as he could, dodging anyone that’s around to avoid getting hit or run into anything. There was nothing I can do but to be his guide away from anything. You see, Mew has a generous heart and even with this atmosphere going against everyone, Mew is a tough one to crack under pressure since he’s pretty silent and get things done almost immediately to a good extent that his ability can go.

We get to a community park- thanks to everyone being jerks to everyone else they come across, the park is completely empty. I slide off of his back and lets him sit on one of the benches to catch his breathe from all the running he did.

I sit beside him and analyzes to make sure he’s okay. I see his lime green hair that reaches down to the back of his neck-which doesn’t look well treated to be fair, his right orange showing a faint glow but he stares at the ground to make it stop. I look down to see his many pokeballs buttons down along his coat and further to see the tip of his tail had been dyed a bright yellow with a few black strips to fit the design he was going with. His light chocolate skin that looks so smooth and his handsome face that could win over a girl single handily with his looks but since he can’t talk with a device it sort of ruins the whole thing but he still gets secret admirers and letters from them however. I’m only eleven but what can you say? You have to admit it.

After some time has passed by he places one of the many ways he can talk onto him- his collar voice translator which also has a webcam secretly. He turn towards me and sighs. “ Frizzy what were you thinking on when running off like that?” He asks me with worry, his voice having a soothing way to expression to it plus how deep and concerning it sounds.

I look down and my hands which are folded in my lap, looking down in embarrassment. I couldn’t even tell him on how scared I was and how I just wanted to find a way by myself to figure out how to help out. He just stares at me worries into my eyes, he shows it in his body language and his eyes the most but rather not say it outloud ‘cause right now, he’s waiting for me to answer. “I...I don’t know.Was just scared…” I said shyly. And to my surprise he pulled me close to him and wrapping his arms tightly around me for a few moments to tell him “it’ll be all okay.”

After a while Mew had let go of me and stood up from the bench. “We should get going. I know a person who could help solve this.” He stated and held out his hand to me. Eventually I took his hand and we started walking with myself walking right beside him happily.

To make out travel a little shorter in the town we took the bus to the local town bar to get some answers from the owner of the place. When we entered the place seemed deserted from the last time I’ve been in here but those visits were brief and my own business to be there. Once he had walked into the place Mew instantly saw the bartender and went over to him but in that move he had to let go of my hand but still allowed me to follow him.

“Whatcha’ need?” The bartender asked directly to Mew as he sat down.

“Need some information about two specific guys that come here very often. The names Fiefo and Jason ring a bell to ya’?” Mew asked in a modern way that also sounded so western country with his voice it sounded so hypnotizing. “Well, depends, you gonna’ buy somethin’?” “A sweet tea for me and a sundae for... my little girl.” Mew said but hesitated on the words my little girl. They all did. How do you exactly explain to a person that I was originally a puppet made out of flesh and bones then soon or later had gotten a soul to become alive? Mostly they let me hang out outside with adults if Mew and Night is around so Mew would dress up like a woman just to make everyone have some sense to it. The hardest part was his pretend woman voice, his actions, he words and over all my pupils. Not even pupils they are literally x’s so they wouldn’t know how to explain it but they explain it pretty well.

Once the bartender heard the order I sat down beside Mew and he pats my head in a friendly way to relax my nerves. The bartender made Mew’s sweet tea pretty quick since it’s not hard to make, giving Mew his order then started working on mine. “So, Fiefo and Jason huh? They didn’t come by for over an year for a long while then I find Jason buying the whole shipments of drinks but normally he just gets six and goes with that for a week. Fiefo, the same but he was helping Jason out on his side. Plus Fiefo didn’t smoke for that whole year either and for a another whole year disappeared.” The bartender informs and hands me my sundae which I start eating once he placed it down in front of me.

“That is quite strange,” Mew admits. “Did Jason ever seem off during that time?:”

“Indeed. He didn’t buy as much that he did normally. Seem sicker to my eyes and a bit of sadness warping his mind it seemed. For a long while Fiefo wasn’t around, the lass went back to the human world the longest of times. When he came back he went completely bonkers. Then I heard screaming from the girl saw  in the dress- similar to what your little girl is wearing right now but more stylized to her taste. That woman was running around screaming which Jason had followed her to the woods. That night a lot of the light from the stars and moon didn’t show up since it was so foggy that night and even now it’s so foggy but you can see the moon being blood red up in the night sky.” “Thank you for the information there.” Mew paid for the tea and sundae and pulled me along seeing I was done with it anyways.

Mew and I walked in silence as we headed to the woods, he was on his phone and as usual playing a pokadude game but he seemed off in his own world than usual. The look on his face had caught me off guard since he was actually was focusing on a thought- a strange thought. He soon informed me that deep into the woods laid an abandoned warehouse that could possibly hold something or someone as he put it. It was strange, over all my adventures into the woods with playmates plus anyone else that went with me, we never ever saw a building of the like.

We reached our destination from over an hour of just walking. Mew signaled me to pull out my handgun and load it with whatever I have so I did. I placed every single bullet I had in the kit, and also placed the special magical rope I had in a compartment of the gun itself then I held my own that had glitter on it within my other hand tightly. I placed my backpack against the outside wall of the run-down warehouse while Mew kept a good eye out for anything. The outside of the place had mold growing, plants in general growing like there’s no tomorrow while the walls and roof looked like it was going to collapse any minute.

Mew gave me a mask to cover my mouth and nose so I wouldn’t breathe anything bad in while he covered his own up as well before he entered into the warehouse like a silent ninja you would see on television. After a while he motioned me to come when he saw the close was clear. I entered into the place cautiously and to my amazement the inside didn’t look anything like the outside. The walls were done and smelled like it was freshly done, there was furniture that looked like it was just bought, a television plugged into the socket of the wall, lamps and fans that worked perfectly and the stairs upstairs felt so smooth.

Magic. Someone lives here and they have done some magic to make it look like this. I thought and I found out I wasn’t wrong. Mew heard footsteps coming from outside and pulled me to a closet nearby and closed it once we were in there. He peeked through the holes which I did to. What I saw was a woman with blood red high heels on with a flower crown upon her head and the dress she was wearing had flowers on it and it looked so breathable to the eyes since the bottom stopped at her knees.

“It’s her!” He softly exclaimed. “Frizzy, get your gun off of safety and turn it to where you can use your string but the sound has to be silent.” He ordered me very softly but I could tell he had that excitement in his tone he was using. He turned off his device as I did everything he told me to do. After doing everything I got the hole of the gun that shot out the ‘string’ he stated and waited. I know what I was waiting for too- was waiting for the right moment to shoot the string right at the woman.

Moments passed and finally the woman started to walk passed the closet we were hiding in and shot the string right at her. The string felt the target and started to wrap itself around its target tightly and soon made itself grow so it looked like rope was wrapped around her. I changed the setting from the magical rope to bullets for just in case as Mew opened up the closet door and tackled the woman down to floor while she is defenseless. Oh, how you should’ve heard her scream in a frightening shriek with her body being pressed against Mew!

He soon got off of the mysterious woman but kept a hold of her from behind so she wouldn’t see his face even though his hoodie is big enough to cover the majority of his face plus the mask on also wouldn’t really matter but Mew is Mew and he’s very cautious about this stuff. I walked out of the closet put held my gun up to her chest since I was tall enough to do this. The woman couldn’t even speak on how frightened she was so I used one of my bullets and shot up to the roof. She Had gotten the idea and frantically started to struggle, trying to get free from the situation she was in. But I kept the gun up to her and Mew held a pretty good grip on her.

“Start talking on why you’re here, what you’re initiations are, and what you did to a white hair cat-rabbit guy, a guy who wears a cosmic looking coat, a guy with purple hair, a girl with a dress similar to mine and a guy who looks like a wreck.” I state clear as day.

“Okay! Okay! My name is Rebecca. I am here because I thought this place would be good to get away from my family that abused me. And those people you questioned, I saw them and they asked for my help so I helped them but the side-effects wasn’t what they wanted to they came back to be screaming and well… I guess it made it worse. The only way to help them is to counsel them or throw them into a fountain. Now, please let me go!” She says.

Mew instantly lets her go and she ended up falling on her bottom heavily. I got my scissors out and snipped the ropes off of her. “What about everything else that has been going on?” I asked Rebecca.

“Oh um… that should clear up once they are back to normal. I’m not sure to be honest.”

“Oh, and this is for messing up my beloved family.” I shoot the roof two more times then shot her right in her foot and she screamed in the lovely pain I hoped she would do.

After I did all of that Mew closed up the wound I made to her foot the best he could since he isn’t Zero after all when walked out the warehouse to retrieve my stuff. He bolted out of there and I quickly followed behind him since we have friends to help.

Once we got back to the manor I shot them with the magical rope in the gun with how much it would take to restrain them especially Alexia who struggled the most. It took us a while to get all five of them out of the house especially with the smoke from Fiefo’s cigars floating about in the house which made it unbreathable but luckily Mew and I kept out masks on. We eventually threw them into the kiddie pools we had in the backyard, all of them moaning in agony.

Mew called up the only sane person left in the group that wasn’t affected by the whole thing which was Mystery. I never understood her very much but thanks to her I can live the life I have but even my life has a consequence to be truthful. No one in out group is perfect since we all have a bunch of flaws.

Mystery has a right bird wing and her right side is a bat-wing,,her left hand sounding like there’s gears in it and her ears are bat ears. Her tail having the same light brown color of her skin but has green stripes and red circles in between each one. Whenever she opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue she has this green snake tongue and smells like specific fruits if she eats one that day. I think she’s strange but the queerest thing is that she has another form which she calls a kitty-panda. It looks like a panda but the tail is her own length along with her stripes stays but turns into black ones. The circles disappear and her ears become rounder at the tips along with her wings disappear and her tongue changes to a pink color. It sounds like a painful transitions it sounds like but it looks cute.

Mew pointed Mystery to outside and they quickly got to work setting up chairs into a circle and I just watched them from the porch while i ate some of the food I had in my backpack that I didn’t get to eat earlier from my adventuring with Mew.

It took them about an hour to set everyone’s clothes dry, set them in the chairs and to get them to snap out of their haze. Once the ones in the actual situation they were in they started screaming for their stuff but Jason had the worse of it since he was throwing up onto the ground beside him and was so seasick and a bad headache. Alexia just complained and was just delusional overall, Fiefo shouting the loudest seeing he had two pair of lungs in his body, Simon snarling at everyone to shut up and struggled to get up and tear apart the rope around him, Zero sounded like a child and overall just was in his own world like he done drugs somehow. This made me feel so on edge but I stayed there to watch since I never saw them like this. King Night stood guard beside Mystery’s side while Maderan, Maderana, Sparkle, Spike, Budders and BJ were in makeshift cage with what Mew, Mystery and Night could find.

All together it took the three of them about four hours all together but with a little bit of my levitating magic plus Mystery’s they got it done pretty quick. Kind Night came up to me while they were working on everything and apologized for his actions from earlier and he also informed me to stay away from the group while they are like this until they calmed down. Which I understood what he meant when the screaming started.

After an hour of that screaming and everything happening, Jason ended up falling out his chair from exhaustion and sickness, falling forward onto the ground in front of him and he instantly passed out. I got up and walked a bit closer to hear what’s going on. Night passed out medicine to each person trapped where they were.

After hours of listening to Mystery lecture about getting help and destroying the habits the people have, Mew finally turned his device on and I paid close attention to what he was saying ‘cause his voice was so soothing to me. After a while Night sang a soothing song in his soothing voice which made me relax which also made everyone else relax as well. I understood why Mystery kept him around but at the same time I didn’t understand. I tried my best to stay awake by drinking the soda I had in my backpack and eating any sweets I had as well.

Since everyone was calm enough I scooted up right in between on Mew and King Night’s chairs. Zero and Alexia had fallen asleep while Fiefo mumbled nonsense since none of his brains were registering anything of what was happening but the atmosphere was lifting very slowly. The night slowly crept up on us and the four of us helped each of the other members into the house, guiding all of them to the second floor’s living room so they could pass out there. Night had carried Jason up as well as he help guide people. Once there they all passed out and the four of us went downstairs to clean everything up, the wall Simon had destroyed was build back up along with trying to make nice dinner for just the four of us.

It was nice that day even though it was really hectic beyond the extent we’re normal too but I’m going to bet something else is going to top that this one day. I just know it. After everything was cleaned up, the wall was fixed, dinner was eaten and I was made to take a bath. Mystery left Night in charge of everyone until everything was back to its normal order. Mew stayed by me when I got out the bath and made sure everything was fine and so did Night for a long while until he heard one of the other people from the living room. He does a lot for us but we do an equal job either way since in a sense we’re family and family looks out for each other.

[themarauderstheoutsidersandpeggy]

dad steve with a very fat and cute baby

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Steve would be cute with anyone really

But with a chubby lil baby 

Omg

He’d for sure have one of those baby backpack things like the carriers where the lil bubba is strapped onto Steve’s chest 

^^ would call his baby bubba

He goes out like every week with his baby to Target and he has the baby strapped into the carrier facing him so sometimes the baby falls asleep against his chest and Steve almost cries

At Target

Steve takes the baby to the toy aisle and lets them pick out their own toy

When the baby is sleeping he just picks out a soft lil stuffed animal

He doesn’t like driving with the baby very much just because he’s so terrified of someone crashing into him whether intentional or unintentional

And hurting his baby

So he prefers to walk where he can

And that man is a super soldier so he can walk lots of places

The baby loves Steve so much

They’ll do that thing where they take their little chubby baby hand and lightly slap it on his cheek and just feel his face

They’ll hold onto his finger and probably eat it at some point

Steve’s finger is literally being sorta chewed on bc the baby doesn’t really have any teeth and he’s staring down with the biggest grin on his face awjngkandf

He doesn’t necessarily overfeed the baby like that’s not why they’re chubby

They’re just squishy and Steve loves it

He definitely squishes their cheeks and does that thing that parents do when they pretend to eat the baby just to make them laugh

Bucky sometimes sees Steve lowkey eating his baby and is like um ok

The baby loves Bucky

Like he always tries to hold them with his non-metal arm

But the baby is like nah fam if I bite you there you don’t feel it and you won’t stop me from doing it gimme 

Steve is like totally fine changing diapers and Bucky is like nO

Literally almost pukes after a diaper change and Steve is like bro are you good

Bucky promises himself that he will never ever change that child’s diaper 

The baby loves Tony

Tony does not enjoy the baby as much

The baby enjoys ripping Tony’s sunglasses off of his face

Tony does not enjoy that

The baby is like halfway through eating Tony’s sunglasses and Tony is about ready to drop the baby

Depending on when the baby was born, before or after Morgan

Tony will view it differently

That stuff up there would all be pre-Morgan

But after Morgan was born Tony is like steve u wanna day off I can take your child there thank u

Morgan and Steve’s baby are best friends

Also it seems weird but Steve wears 100x more baseball caps after the baby is born

They are nicknamed dad caps for a reason

The baby likes eating Steve’s hats

Steve lets him :’)

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[themarauderstheoutsidersandpeggy]

Omg PLEASSEEEEE do a part 4 for the Jealous Roommate Tome HC because WOWOWOWOWOW this is intense it’s better than any show I’ve ever seen

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heheheheheheheheh I thought it was gonna be a one part thing and then I just kept going

Lmao ‘the only thing he had left to do was confess to you’

He said that like it’s easy or smthn

He wasn’t quite sure how to tell you

He hadn’t known you for a really long time, so he didn’t know all of your likes and dislikes

But he did know some of them

He knew that you only liked some of the chocolates that came in the Valentine’s box, so you’d pick those out and leave the rest

He knew that you liked sleeping with one extra blanket because the sheets are cold when you first get in and you wanted to be warm right away

He knew that you almost always wore really big shirts or hoodies to bed, and he also knew that you stole some of his when you were doing the laundry

You said that they smelled like him and that he smelled really nice

He knew that Disney movies made you cry

Who don’t they make cry

And he knew that you were somewhat embarrassed to be crying so you leaned back in your seat pretending to be bored but actually wiping the tears off your face

He came up with a plan

He got Toy Story 3 up on Netflix

The saddest movie besides lion king tbh

And went to the local candy store

He bought a mix of ONLY the chocolates you liked

And made sure to wash the biggest fluffiest blanket in the house so that it would be extra fluffy and smell really nice

He also wore one hoodie every day for an entire week so that there was no way it wouldn’t smell like him

He had heard you talking over the phone to your boss but it seemed like more of a one-sided conversation, because every time you tried to speak, you cut yourself off and went silent and listened

He had also found you up at 3am the previous night because of some dumb work project 

So he knew that you’d be extra tired

Extra tired = extra emotional

When you got home from work he greeted you at the door with the blanket and his hoodie

“You’ve been really really stressed from work lately, so I thought I’d try and help you relax. It’s a Friday night and you’re off tomorrow, so go get changed and come back out.”

He pushed his hoodie into your hands and wrapped the blanket around himself

You almost cried right then tbh

You smiled at him and took the hoodie

You went to your room and changed into it and a pair of comfy sweatpants

He heard your soft little footsteps coming down the hallway

You had wiped off your makeup but you still looked amazing, even more than before

You greeted him with a weak but sincere smile and flopped onto the couch

He pulled you into a sitting position and wrapped the blanket around you too

The blanket was big enough to fit at least one more person but he pretended to not have enough room so that he could huddle next to you

Your head rested on his shoulder and he pressed play

“Oh not Toy Story 3! It’s the saddest one!”

“Well I got you chocolate, does that make up for it?”

“Partially.”

You grabbed the chocolate and popped it into your mouth

You were already tearing up while Andy was packing for college you weren’t doing so well

“Why didn’t the mom just look inside the bag?! This all would have been fine if she had just looked!”

You had managed to not cry throughout most of the movie

You came close during Big Baby’s backstory 

The sweetest child

But when they’re all, oh you know, slowly moving towards a fiery death in a dump and they all look at each other and grab hands

You lost it

You slumped forwards and buried your face in your hands

He was expecting emotional but not this

This was bad

He didn’t know what to do with this

He rubbed your back and paused the movie

“It’s just fake! And remember, they make it out in the end!”

You looked at him with tears streaming down your face

“It’s just so sad in the moment.”

He took a real big chance and uncrossed his legs, sliding you inbetween them

He wrapped an arm around your chest and had you lay back against him

Your head was level with his

You barely noticed until you felt his bReAtH on the side of your face

You turned and nearly bumped noses with him

You two just stared into each other’s eyes for a second

“Hey Tom?”

“Yeah?”

“You wanna finish making it up to me?”

His lips were on yours in two seconds flat

It wasn’t rough, just passionate

It was a somewhat short kiss, you broke away for air and laid your head back on his shoulder

“I love you Y/N.”

“I love you too Tom.”

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