#anyway I was about to pause to tell my sibling and make this post and then SEB WALKED IN so uh I went back ten seconds and wish

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

OH MY GOSH CANON THAT CARLOS WAS BULLIED 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔❤️❤️❤️

[dcxdpdabbles]

I JUST SAW THESE POSTS OF DANNY BEING RAS AL GHUL CHILD LIKE THE FIRST THAT IS LIKE 25-30 YEARS OLDER THAN TALIA AND MAKE MY BRAIN WORKS FUCKING WIGGLE!?!?!??

anyway

Danny established the status quo and the disappeared for 20-60 years and the is summoned by Ra where he’s like “Dad you could’ve have called my personal phone you know that right?” And Ra’s like “YOU WENT OFF THE GRID FOR YEARS AND NEVER TOOD ME-!!??!? Now do you look different? Are you eating? What’s with comingoutthesummoningcirclefortheghostking? HMMM???”

“Ah- I knew I forgot something! Let me tell you all about it! I see you brought the whole fam and in laws let’s have dinner and discuss it- AWWWW THATS BABIES!!!” *Damian, Jason, Tim, and Dick being referred to as “babies”*

“Excuse me.” Danny then fucking tackles them in hugs and loves while dodging and/or holding their punches and kicks

"My maternal uncle is coming for a visit and likely evaluate my living arrangements.. We must be at our absolute best when he is here. " Damian announces one evening right as the family is finishing preparing for a night of crime fighting.

Everyone freezes from their respective stations, twisting around to stare at the young Robin in confusion. He doesn't notice; he is too busy making sure his katana is sharpened to perfection and balancing it on his fingertips.

"Baby Bat?" Dick calls, "What do you mean by that?"

Damian pauses in his prep work, approaching the eldest with a pretty impressive scowl. " Mother sent a messenger a few days ago about Uncle's plan audit. Should we fail it, I shall be removed into a different household."

"An audit? Removed?" Steph repeats, confused, but Damian has no idea why. He thought it was pretty apparent that Uncle Daniel would be scoring them, which would determine if Damian would be allowed to continue living within them. He has done so to all of Ra Al Ghul's offspring, and nothing his Grandfather has done has been able to stop him.

How could they think they would have more power than his grandfather?

"When shall Dusan be here?" Father asks, quickly switching on the home security. "What kind of attack should we expect?"

Damian scoffs, "Not the White Ghost. Uncle Dusan is on the other side of the world on a mission for Grandfather. No, Uncle Daniel will be the one conducting the suit. He is the eldest, after all."

Father's eyes narrow behind the white lenses of his masks. "I was unaware your mother had more siblings."

Damian considers the words, wondering how he could politely- at least he shames Alfred- remind his father that his grandfather has been around for hundreds of years. Staying at his peak through the usage of the Lazarus Pit, he has never been short of lovers.

And sometimes those lovers have given him children, many who aged and died naturally, as none has deemed worthy of the Lazarus. All except for one, the First Son, who has never needed the Pits but remained youthful and powerful on his own.

The perfect heir.

It's too bad he had abdicated long before Damian was even a thought.

"Grandfather has had many children, but Uncle Daniel is different. Special. He is the First Son."

"Capital letters," Todd cuts in, shaking his head. "It's never good when the League of Assiasans assigns capital letters. How strong is he?"

"He could easily best Grandfather and all under Grandfather's command," Damian replies, watching as the rest of the vigilantes grew uneasy by the information. It's good that they are wear of Uncle Daniel's power but they have nothing to fear of his wrath. "Uncle Daniel is a pacifist. He carries a protective core."

"A Al Ghul that a pacifist? I'll believe it when I see it." Drake droned as he was clipping on his utility belt. At once, Damian felt his body grew hot with rage. No matter what, it seemed Drake would always curse his family.

The way he says the family name drips with disrespect as if the other teen was saying a swear.

"My Uncle Daniel is a great man!" He shouts, gripping his sword so har his knuckles ache. Drake's face twists as if though he smelled something foul and the rage burning in Damian's chest spreads to his whole body.

He is just about to reach for his throwing knives when a familiar cold hand settles into his hair. "Aw thank you Little One. I love you too."

"Uncle Daniel!" Damian shouts excitably, forgetting the fool he was about to run his blades through. His uncle stands before him, the same darl night hair, warm blue eyes, and a crooked smile that had secretly comforted him in his youth.

"Where in the world did he come from!?" Damian hears one of Father's adopted brutes gasp but does not care to see who as his uncle quickly reels him in for a hug.

Hugging Uncle Daniel was like being wrapped in warm blankets in winter. He always ran rather cold, but it was lovely to be wrapped in his arms and surrounded by his protection.

It felt like nothing in the world could harm him from here.

"You seem well, Little One. Are you happy?" His uncle says. The delict of their native tongue is another comfort Damian can sink into.

"I am." He allows, snuggling his face against his stomach, as childish as it is. If only he could grow taller like his father.

"Wonderful. I'm so glad." His uncle then switches to English, ignoring all the weapons drawn and pointing at him from the Bats. Damian steps back to admire the man he wishes to grow into. "I'm terribly sorry for arriving so late, nephew. You must be tired. When is your bed time?"

"I do not have a bedtime." Damian scoffs. Uncle Daniel frowns, reaching into his chest to pull out a clipboard and a pen- he'll never get used to his uncle storing things within himself no matter how often he sees it. Damian is pretty sure he heard someone gag.

A soft click is heard as his uncle opens the pen and quickly scribbles something down. He is not tall enough to see what is written, but he can see clearly as day that his uncle selected the red ink of the muli-color pen he is using.

He only uses red when he is doing bad things. Damian breaks into a sweat. "What was that? Uncle what did you just write?"

"No bedtime. Tsk tsk." Uncle Daniel mutters, looking around the cave with disapproval. "No proper heating living space."

"Oh no! I do not live down here. This is merely the training grounds. We live upstairs" Damian quickly says, waving his hands frantically in the air as his uncle's unimpressed look. Curses, the auduit just began and already he got bad markings.

"Would you care for a tour? I shall not be going on patrol-"

"He forces you to fight crime? At your age?" Uncle barks, throwing a look of utter disgust at Father. It's the same one he gives Grandfather whenever the older man tries to raise child soldiers.

Even Damian had not been sent on any missions. His childhood had been intense training but nothing that was life-threatening.

"I volunteered to go!" He tries to defend Father, but his uncle only clicks his pen and scrambles more red ink on his paper.

Drat and Damian were actually enjoying living at the manor. He will likely have to say goodbye to it all and be moved to some house Uncle deemed more child-friendly.

"What is your diet here? Have you been taken to the doctor? Any form of therapy?" His uncle fires each question quickly, walking through Todd and Cain when they try to apprehend him without a glance.

His uncle is, and not to sound like the fools of his school, so cool.

[kamii-2]

please make more kk arnold fics just not angst i can’t handle it anymore

-👾

hi 👾 anon, i hope you enjoyed the angst 😭 anyway this is a fic about kk and her funny ass lives on tiktok

warning(s): cussing

genre: fluff

pairing(s): kk arnold x fem!reader

==================================

you and kk have been together for about 7 months and no fans knew. you guys planned on telling people eventually but you guys were nervous because of the way fans act when their celebrity crushes get with someone, so you just kept it on the low.

-

you were at home in bed watching tv and bored as ever, when you got a notification on tiktok that kk was live. you joined and it was her, paige, and ice answering questions and messing around. when people seen you joined they all started to say your name, people knew you because you were apart of the media team. you posted pictures, took pictures, and managed accounts.

kk was the first to notice you, “oh my god hi y/n!” she said while smiling, “HI Y/N!” ice yelled, and paige said “hi y/n,” you got up and set your phone on your desk then sat in the chair then requested to join the live. ice picked up kk’s phone and accepted it, placing it back after.

“hi guys,” you said while waving and smiling. “what are you doing?” paige asked you, “nothing i’m bored as fu- freak,” you replied to her question. you know that they can’t cuss on live or they will be in trouble so you won’t cuss either because you’re on their live and they could potentially get in trouble. “you should come over” ice said, “wait i should, i’ll be there soon” you said as you picked up your phone and left the live.

you got up and put on a basic ass outfit. you put on a tight black shirt and grey sweatpants. you put on your shoes, grabbed your phone and keys, then left.

-

when you got to her shared dorm, you knocked on the door and azzi answered. “hi y/n,” she says with a smile and hugs you, you say hi and hug her back.

you went back to kk’s room and opened the door. they had invited people to the live to tell stories. someone was currently telling a funny story about their siblings. when you walked in the comments were going crazy and the 3 girls said hi and the person telling the story paused to say hi, you said hi back before you went and sat next to ice on the floor. before the fan continued their story they called out your name, “y/n you’re so fine oh my god,” you were a bit shocked that they were so open about it. you giggled and said thank you.

-

it was about 30 minutes later and you guys were all answering questions about yourselves, uconn, etc.

you were thirsty so you got from the door and went to get a water bottle. when you got up kk turned around and said “where are you going baby-,“ she realized what she did and immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. ice was staring at kk in shock and paige was looking at the live with her jaw dropped. you were staring at kk with wide eyes and a shocked smirk.

the comments were going CRAZY.

“kk you are actually dumb,” paige said while laughing.

“oops..” kk said as she turned around to the live.

“okay so basically, we were gonna tell you guys but like we weren’t ready.” you quickly explained. they all agreed before ice and paige started to laugh again, “it’s not funny,” kk says while she covers her face.

-

after the live ended, paige and ice went to their rooms and you and kk were cuddling while on your phones, showing eachother tiktoks and other things people are posting about you guys.

“kk how do you even manage to do that” you questioned her with a laugh. “i honestly don’t know, it slipped out”

“idiot,” you call her while laughing and kissing her.

==================================

i hope you enjoyed, sorry it’s short 😭 anyway hope you have a good day/night, love you 💋💋

[axailslink]

I think I want kids

Shuri x FEM reader

Summary: Shuri has had something on her mind.

You could just see that something was eating at Shuri's brain all day you originally weren't going to question it but as the day progressed the more it seemed to affect her. You hated when she was like this because she made no jokes she wasn't loud instead she held this stoic facial expression and never said anything.

So when you two were home you climbed on top of her lap and kissed her forehead first then her cheeks then her lips she smiles at you and you smile back. "You've been my love for 4 years so tell me what's wrong? It's written all over your face so don't lie your eyebrows are down-turned, your jaw clenched, and you've been biting your lip" she shakes her head and hums "I love it when you read me like a book but since you've brought it up I guess I'll put it out there I think I want kids y/n" you pause taken back you knew Shuri loved kids but of her own with you...? "I don't think we have the tools for that my love" she laughs and rubs your back "you make everything a joke I'm not joking I want kids don't you?" You smile "no they're little heathens you have to teach them to piss and write you forget I have many siblings" she laughs and sighs "would you be open to it with me?" You make it seem as if you're thinking long and hard but you're not you already have your answer "of course I'd be open to it but I mean but I'm not changing diapers and fuck up my nails?" She laughs at you as you rub your hands along her shaved head "I'm playing but I wouldn't mind it a child maybe one...we could adopt or have a surrogate" she nods and hugs you planting her face in your chest "we don't have to think about it now but it'd be nice but for now let's enjoy the house we have to ourself. Hm?" You nod as you kiss her forehead.

A/n: sorry if you like kids but I don't I think they're a little heathens seriously anyways have this I still like writing for myself even though I currently have requests to fill. (Won't post much tomorrow have something military related going on.)

[pip-n-chips]

how (some) DoL characters play Minecraft

Robin

Mainly sticks with the easy difficulty

Likes building things in survival mode instead of creative for the extra challenge

Has keep inventory on + mob griefing off

Plays multiplayer a lot (sometimes with local orphans, sometimes online), and can get quite competitive during minigames

Parkour is the bane of their existence

Has like 46 dogs in their main survival world

Scared of Herobrine (they know he's fake, but...)

Has thought about streaming their gameplay, but they need some encouragement from you in order for them to go through with it

The peaceful music from the game paired with Robin's commentary is calming, you might take a nap...

Whitney

Griefs your base with TNT and lava buckets, initially

Starts getting more creative with ways to fuck with your shit, you'd be impressed if you weren't so pissed

Got a friend of theirs to help them use cheats, but brags about it + takes the credit for themself

Has been banned from a handful of online servers, takes pride in the ever growing list

Builds,,, questionable sculptures

"lmao get good bro"

Basically a big troll lmfao

Throws their controller/hits their keyboard when raging (they strike me more as a console type of person, though)

Has a dog/cat/horse they name the same thing every single time (perhaps in remembrance of an old pet or stray)

Mickey

Almost exclusively* plays modded singleplayer

* Maybe they used to play with Robin or other orphans (before life got so much more complicated, anyway,,)

Has made their own mods + add-ons but hasn't posted any online

Fond of mods that add RPG + fantasy elements to the game (especially DRAGONS!)

Pretty good with redstone, they like making weird contraptions

Has a complicated + organized base

Sets up traps, hidden compartments + other secrets in their base even though they're the only one who'll see it

Tries to get all the achievements (vanilla + any that mods add) + collects and frames special items

Has a lot of commands memorized + knows how to use command blocks

Sydney

You introduce them to the game and they like it a lot!

It's funny watching them learn more about the game and what to do/what not to do

Punched a bee once and fell off a cliff trying to run from it

Dies a lot tbh, and you see death messages you've never seen before because of that lol

Corrupt!Sydney makes their character twerk (crouch, un-crouch, repeat), laughs at it every time

Surprisingly good at building, recreates locations from their favorite books

Only really plays it when you guys play together, though

If you're gaming together at their house, Sirris pops in to check in on you guys at some point and pauses to smile at the heartwarming sight (as embarrassing as it may be for Sydney)

Kylar

"What if I put my Minecraft bed next to yours? haha jk... unless?"

Has the most OVERKILL gaming PC setup you've seen (way too many screens, everything has lights, etc etc. looks pretty dope tbh)

Likes designing Minecraft skins! (there's like 10 separate skins of you in different outfits)

Plays heavily modded Minecraft, but will play vanilla or lighter mod packs with you

Definitely tried that one Girlfriend mod at some point

Has attempted a few speedruns (in the Top 10s for some of them!)

Gets SO excited when you tell them that you like Minecraft too (but it's not like they didn't know that already)

Alex

Doesn't have much time to play with their current workload

When they do, the most they do is play it as a farming sim (???) (you get them to explore more options to do in the game)

Becomes a BIG fan of parkour!

Downloads parkour + adventure maps so they can play it offline (farm WiFi can be unreliable)

Learns some basic redstone, mainly to improve their (in-game) farms

Automatic farms + mob grinders, though they still like the experience of doing it themself

Builds a Minecraft version of their real farm, excitedly shows it to you

Names some in-game farm animals after their siblings as a joke

Gwylan

Only plays offline because they live in The Forest ™️

Loves potion brewing! (they don't have an internet guide so they experiment with different combos all by themself, gets quite good at it)

Hoarder. Has so many items scattered across their chests, they forget what they do and don't have

Aesthetic matters to them a lot when choosing where to put their base + building it

Went to the End + defeated the dragon just to get the blocks there + the egg for decoration

1.17 (first part of the Caves And Cliffs update) is their favorite yet, all the new blocks and cave biomes make them go aaaaaaaaa

Felt so bad when they had to kill animals for food in the beginning, has a good farm system now though

Definitely keeps mobs you can't tame as pets

[notjustdragonspages]

Brotherly Bond

"No! Stop! You think I don't know how he feels?! How you feel?! He was my brother too! And, yes, you and Leo were twins- a different connection than I ever had with him- but no one, NO ONE can tell me that I can't be just as upset!" Mikey shouts at his older brother and Donnie flinches, glancing at Cass and April as they leave his lab.

"Everyone keeps talking about you- saying 'oh, how tragic- his other half gone forever.... But it's okay, Mikey can help him!'" Mikey's eyes start glowing as he glares at Donnie, his hair turning white before his eyes. "Donnie.... I know the connection you and Leo had- twins, sharing everything together; holidays, birthdays. But that doesn't mean that just because I am the youngest, that I didn't have just as strong of a relationship with Leo! He was my older brother!"

Donnie glanced at the ground. He'd never paused to think about it. Of course, Leo had been his twin. His other half. But he didn't think that Mikey.... Was just as effected by his death as he was. Donnie felt like an idiot. He always used tech to push down his grief, but now he wondered if Mikey did the same.... When he helped other people with their feelings. Pushing down his own to help others.

When he looked back up at Mikey with tear filled eyes, he almost shrank back at how intense they were. Mikey made a sound- a choked, strangled noise as he glared at the ground.

"I'll never get to see him again.... Feel his ninpo around the base.... Have him help me with breakfast or patrols..." Mikey chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around himself.

"Use the older brother card on me... Donnie," Mikey finally met Donnie's eyes and his heart broke a second time. Donnie slowly walked forward and wrapped his arms around Mikey, gently shushing him.

"I'll never- see him again," Mikey sobbed into Donnie's scarf and Donnie pressed his nose to Mikey's hair.

"I know Mikes.... I'm sorry... Why didn't you ever tell me...?" Donnie pulled away to look at his little brother. Guilt pooled in his stomach- of course he had been grieving, locked up in his lab, leaving Mikey to run the base in his absence due to losing his twin. But he'd never stopped to think that maybe Mikey was going through something similar.... He really felt stupid now.

"You were always busy.... And I didn't want to seem like I didn't care about the relationship you and Leo shared.... I'm sorry," Mikey looked down at the ground again. Donnie frowns.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I feel like a just kicked your 'twin bond' under the buss," Mikey laughs bitterly.

"No you didn't. You opened my eyes Mikey. Look, I'm sorry I haven't been helping around the base that much these past few weeks, and I'm sorry I didn't realize that you were grieving just as much as I was. Yes, Leo was my twin, but he was your brother too. He's not just mine to grieve, Mikey," Donnie wraps an arm around Mikey's shoulder and gives him a small shake as Mikey rubs his eyes.

"Thanks, Dee."

"Anytime, 'Angelo," Donnie and Mikey share a smile before walking into the base kitchen.

Hiiiiii sooooo.... uhm... angst???? Anyone??? First piece of writing I'm posting here??? Anyways, I have been thinking about how the whole fandom talks constantly about Leo and Donnie's twin bond, but never ever mentions how Mikey may be affected by either of their deaths??? Like??? The twins are Mikey's older brothers. But the fandom just goes "heh, Mikey's the family therapist and has almost no connection to his brothers except for Raph." Guys. Please. SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS.

Btw, this is if Leo died instead of donnie- so my Double Genius au. I might make this longer, might not. Excuse the terrible writing.

[plushietoon]

Also, just saw your pinned; hit me with the sweet Kat & Ana takes

N'aww, you think my takes are sweet? I'm flattered! I hope I don't let you down! ...also so sorry this ended up being a REALLY long post. The twins be a hyper fixation, I feel awful about it. So um...maybe get a snack or something while reading...idk...thank you for reading and supporting my thoughts if you do.

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them

They are baby but they can kick your ass.

Individually, Kat has ADHD vibes and as a person with ADHD, I feel we both just forget to pause and have taken things seriously. Also she is protective of Ana and I relate. Plus there's something charming about Kat trying to act like the grown up between her and Ana.

I'm a bloody sensitive crybaby and had projected that onto many favorite characters much to my current shame. I'm trying not to push that trait onto other characters now. But to know that Ana's an actual crybaby resonates with me and thus I get to write sob stories with her as I please. Horrible, I know. But I do adore that she is childlike but observant, sort of mature.

least favorite thing about them

The original voices. Ok, I can't diss on those ladies too much, they were doing silly voices for a bit. It is frustrating that most of the twins' voice stuff then and now are not separated in files. I want to animate them saying stuff dangit.

Anyways, I love and hate that Kat is a bit of a bully to Ana because like, why would you be mean to your baby sister, but at the same time, siblings tend to fight. It creates interesting situations. IDK, her saying that Ana is hopeless resonates with me as in yeah I been in Ana's shoes, but also I shamefully take any chance to pity characters I love. Woobiefication been a thing for my whole life, unfortunately.

I'm not a big fan of Fryda and probably the newer games' writers and voice director making Ana more loud and energetic in GiT and Move It. It makes her less distinguishable from Kat who's always been the energetic loud twin. Ana has always been portrayed and described as the timid, quiet, cautious sibling and to see the newer games muddle that trait makes me annoyed. Ana's portrayal in Gold is perfect, though I will not lie some newer voice lines are still cute.

favorite line

Kat - "I need a nap!"

Ana - "I've never been readier!"

...what? I like it when the twins' actual age show up.

brOTP

If you spend like 5 seconds on any of my active plushietoon accounts, you'll easily find that I adore Lulu and Ana being besties. Stemmed from throwing the two together in roleplay, and seeing Ana kinda latching onto Lulu whenever Kat's away cuz Lulu is like...brash and confident like Kat. But Lulu also likes frilly things that Kat can't stand. I feel Lulu is also a bigger fan of cuddles. But both Lulu and Kat will protect Ana...though technically all of WarioWare would protect each other.

Can't forget that technically Kat and Ana are also BrOTP too, cuz they're siblings. Best siblings perhaps. But most certainly they are like each others' best friend. Kat can be outspoken and speaks a lot for herself, she's also one to speak up for Ana too...though maybe sometimes too much. Ana is a bit different from Kat so there are some differences in needs, and like Kat can assume incorrectly and overstep boundaries. But generally Kat is pretty good at guessing what her sister needs. On the other hand, Ana is scarily good at knowing what Kat wants and needs in general. She is observant and cautious...though isn't above following Kat's childish/reckless antics...sometimes.

OTP

Debatedly Lulu and Ana but, they're baby. It's too soon to tell. Plus I love platonic stuff. I have mixed feelings about romance in general due to...past experiences. People be taking (romantic) shipping too seriously sometimes. IDK, I'm one to say that Lulu and Ana end up having a very deep intimate connection that doesn't surpass the twins' familial love for each other, but is plenty close enough with snuggles. It's the kinda bond that makes one think "is that romantic?" when they're older but the true answer is a mystery because love comes in all shapes and forms. But that's a me logic.

Kat x ninjutsu #1 ship though. Nothing beats that in regards to the twins besides the twins' love for each other. Life long love, baby!

nOTP

Aside from me saying "i do not care what you create or consume but please keep the non platonic ships involving the girls with anyone who are teenagers and adults when the girls are kindergartners away from me", I'm iffy about shipping Kat and Ana with the Volt boys. They're currently at different developmental levels. I get it could get romantic when they're older, but it's not my cup of tea. Plus, it's probs a me thing but, imagining the twins and volts dating each other simultaneously feels weird. It's hard to pinpoint why for me but I won't be dissing anyone who ships them.

Also I sometimes consider myself Leo x Ana's biggest hater. I mean...I'm ok with it, and very much support the idea of Leo having a crush on her. It's just that he's like a bully to the ninja twins, and probs punched below the metaphorical belt even when trying to figure out that lovey feeling. People shouldn't be rewarded for being a dick to those they have a crush on (or love). But again, do what you want, it's fiction. I get the enemies to lovers thing and people change as they grow. Fans probably ship the two because they aren't shown to be glaring at each other in the GiT gallery. I've thought of Ana and Leo like the Anya x Damien thing from SPY x FAMILY. But I know there are folks who ship Kat x Leo, and that's coo too. And that's waaaay more fitting of the enemies to lovers dynamic.

random headcanon

I could go on all day about what brainworms I have about the twins, but here are the ones I said on this account so I don't repeat myself. And now for two more.

Kat fractures her (left) leg at some point in her life, possibly around the current 'ware period, or older. Definitely from a fight with some baddie (or training gone wrong). Has some agony over "no fighting, training, or rough play for awhile" for about a week. But she recovers quickly enough from it in that time thanks to cartoon logic and the Crygors' help. Based off the fact that my first Kat sticker from Sweet Cosplay Sisters lost her leg. Also she's reckless, and battle happy.

Ana is sensitive to touch and affection. Does not like it when a stranger or person (she doesn't trust) touches or holds her and can cry from it. But being gentle and familiar is comforting and can ease upset feelings or overstimulation. Will often take hugs from Kat and some of the crew, though Kat isn't a big cuddle bug. Ana's the one who initiates most of the affection between herself and Kat.

Seriously, please ask me about the twins, it makes my day. Y'all may also ask questions to the Ana ask blog I made (@/cautiouslittleninja). It'll be like asking Ana herself...kinda...it's unofficial for sure. I want to return to it and all the WarioWare fanfics, comics, and whatnot that's brewing in my brain. But i'm terrified of the fandom. ;w;

unpopular opinion

Repeating what I said earlier, I do not ship Ana and Leo romantically. It seems like shipping the younger twin and the lion boy is popular. I've written and drawn Leo into situations where he's dealing with (an) Ana who doesn't reciprocates his feelings.

Also this is mostly a me thing but I don't like it when people forget the fact that the twins are kindergartners. Like yes the twins are badass, but they aren't teenagers, let them be silly like-KAT NO DON'T POKE THE BEEHIVE.

...You'd think the new voices would help, but people just insist that the twins should only be badasses, no room for kiddy stuff. But I get where they're coming from because the food loving trait is being pushed a lot. It did give me a tragic headcanon that pushes that the twins aren't well off so any chance of eating is treasured. Wait they did canonically state that they had to pay for kindergarten AND THEY LIVE IN A PARK. But yeah, the twins can be badasses and baby. The powerpuff girls did it, so why can't these girls do that too? Actually were the WarioWare writers inspired by the PPG? It's a mystery.

song i associate with them

Barring the excellent Split Screen tune that perfectly encapsulate the twins vibe and the amazing Patchwork title music lovingly played by the twins on recorder, gonna go with Oshiete Yo by Hyorotto Danshi. It's partially due to Gold moving to a more cutesy (chubby) aesthetic for the twins to the point I keep imagining them, Red, Lulu, and Pyoro dancing that animation. But the lyrics fit them and Lulu with the childhood whimsy. I do have a playlist for the twins but I'm not completely sure if it fits completely anymore. Though if I were to remake it, the Baby Shark, Bluey, and Sago Mini (and maybe Pororo) songs stay. I feel the twins got some silly preschooler bones in their bodies.

favorite picture of them

The babies are eepy.

Sorry I've been calling the twins baby a lot. I'm 99% sure Kat hates it. She's a big girl y'all. But the twins are kids, children, sometimes toddlers and littlies. I just find baby easier to say.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Fushimi is hanging out with Yata and his siblings and they end up watching whatever was the latest Disney princess movie at the time and Fushimi reveals he hasn't watched any before so Yata's sister suggest a movie marathon. Fushimi thought it would be lame but ended up liking them especially the older ones since, while he doesn't want to admit it, he could relate to growing up in an abusive household and wanting out. And Yata was like the prince who helped take him away from all that.

Fushimi watching the wicked stepmother in Cinderella and being like ‘you think that’s wicked, amateur’ XD Imagine post-ROK Yata’s parents are leaving for an overnight trip, maybe Minoru has like something for school so they’re going with him and Yata asked to watch Megumi. Yata figures it can’t be so bad, he can babysit for the night and anyway he hasn’t spent a lot of time with his siblings since he left home so he thinks this could be a good opportunity. He asks Fushimi to come along, Fushimi snorts all ‘I’m not going to help you babysit.’ Yata’s like I’m not asking you to help (and maybe muttering ‘besides, I’ll probably end up babysitting you too’), he just thinks it’s a good chance to spend time together, like in middle school — staying up together with no one else home but his siblings. Fushimi pauses and then he’s like ‘…fine.’

Megumi is extra excited when she sees Fushimi came along too (and Minoru suddenly doesn’t want to go on his trip because he wants to see Saru too, Yata’s over here like what am I chopped liver). Yata makes dinner for the three of them and then says his mom gave him permission to let Megumi stay up a little later. Megumi wants to watch Disney movies and tells Fushimi to pick, Fushimi has never watched these before though so he just stares blankly. Yata says those are girls movies anyway and Megumi gives him the teary face and says Saru should see Disney movies, suddenly Yata has been roped into letting his little sister make them both watch a Disney movie marathon.

Yata quietly apologizes to Fushimi for this, like I know you aren’t into princesses and stuff. Fushimi shrugs and says it’s fine, already having his PDA out and totally ignoring the movie. Yata sighs and resigns himself to watching kids movies all night. They start with Snow White and imagine Fushimi slowly starts paying attention (starting of course with the part where the dwarves show up and being like ‘look Misaki, your people’ as Yata’s like ‘shut up if my sister wasn’t here I’d kick your ass’). I imagine Fushimi becoming the most interested in Cinderella though he starts complaining about how unrealistic it is, she’s just toiling away working for her terrible family and then magic comes and saves her, how stupid. Yata says he doesn’t think it’s stupid though, like Cinderella had to be pretty strong to keep surviving even with her family being terrible, right. He gives Fushimi a significant look and Fushimi clicks his tongue and looks away.

Fushimi keeps watching though, as the prince comes and takes Cinderella away. Yata says these kinds of happy endings aren’t bad right, sometimes there’s nothing wrong with someone taking you away to a place that’s better for you. Yata’s probably thinking about Mikoto here but then he glances over at Fushimi and adds it’s all about ending up where you belong. He coughs and says that anyway, maybe sometimes you need a prince to give you a little push and get you away from all that bad stuff, like homes you don’t need. Fushimi turns to look at Yata then and Yata gives him a soft smile, Fushimi clicks his tongue again but quietly adds ‘I guess even a prince can be a dwarf too’ and Yata’s all I knew I shouldn’t have let her start with that movie.

[goodbye432]

Zuko Is a Theatre Nerd

Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Fandom:

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005)

Relationships:

The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)

Toph Beifong & Zuko

Characters:

Zuko (Avatar)

The Gaang (Avatar)

Aang (Avatar)

Katara (Avatar)

Sokka (Avatar)

Suki (Avatar)

Toph Beifong

Ozai (mentioned)

Azula (mentioned)

Iroh (mentioned)

Additional Tags:

Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings

Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck

cactus juice

Suki is so done

Zuko is a theatre nerd

He is high on cactus juice

and trauma dumping like no tomorrow

Everyone else is just loading

Based on a Tumblr Post

Episode: s03e17 The Ember Island Players (Last Airbender)

Ember Island (Avatar)

Toph thrives on chaos

and we love her for that

Crack

Language:EnglishStats:Published:2024-05-31Words:741Chapters:1/1Comments:1Kudos:18Bookmarks:3Hits:116

Zuko is a Theatre Nerd

ZuriTurner999

Summary:

He turns to Suki who was already turning to leave for more firewood and shouts after her, “I take it you want to play my mother?” Or Zuko tries to cheer everyone up after the awful Ember Island play. What better way than to put on their own? Inspired by a tumblr post.

Everyone is silent after returning from the theatre. It’s frustrating, none of it was even close to accurate and the acting was frankly, atrocious. He’d have been more believable as a five year old; Pu-on Tim should be ashamed. He paused, this was an awful idea… they did look like they needed a distraction. 

“You know what? We can do better than that. Let’s make our own play. Sokka you can play my father” 

Sokka looked incredulous, “I don’t want to be your father” 

Zuko almost laughed but he forced his expression to remain flat, “Perfect, you already know your lines.” 

Now Sokka just looked confused. And concerned. He opened his mouth to ask something but Zuko had already moved on, turning to Katara, “You can be my sister” 

Katara was still looking over at Sokka, but her expression turned to disgust as she processed what he said, “That’s disgusting, the thought of that repulses me on a spiritual level. I would kill you.” 

Zuko nodded again, “Already getting into character, good work Azula” 

She kind of reminded him of Azula anyway. 

She went to object, but he was already turning to Toph, who was already grinning, “And you can be my grandfather” 

“I would rather die,” She contributed cheerfully. 

“Outstanding, a perfect impression. Could hardly tell the difference.” 

Toph’s smile got bigger. 

He turns to Suki who was already turning to leave for more firewood and shouts after her, “I take it you want to play my mother?” 

She shook her head and kept walking. Aang pipes up, “Don’t worry Zuko, I’ll help you with your play!” 

“Yep, you can play Uncle Iroh.” 

Toph cackled, “Wow Sparky really got some great family members there” 

“Family dinners are a riot” 

She cackles harder. He smiles a bit. 

“So are we just… not going to address that bundle of trauma?” Katara asked. 

Suki returned with the wood, ”No.” 

Zuko shrugged, Suki was already acting out of character by coming back. If they were doing this he may as well go all in. 

“Toph, you order Sokka to kill me,” he directed. Toph nodded imperiously and created a rock throne to glare down at him imperiously. Sokka managed to look even more concerned. 

“Why did your grandfather even want to kill you?” 

He shrugged, “My father wanted to be Firelord and he used the excuse that Iroh no longer had an heir. Grandfather liked Iroh best and said Father should also know the pain of losing a son. Now Katara?” 

She was gaping at him. 

“You eavesdrop then run to taunt me about getting killed by our father.” 

“What?” 

He ignored her, “Suki you get to beg Sokka for my life and kill Toph.” 

Toph obligingly fell off her boulder throne. Suki looked unimpressed, adding more wood to the fire. 

“Sokka, you’re the firelord and Suki is never seen again.” He went on, disregarding their growing horror completely. 

“Katara you act like you’re better than me, like usual, and Aang you can just start spouting old, vaguely helpful proverbs at me” 

Aang looked like he was about to start crying. 

“Sokka you light my face on fire” 

“Wait, wait, wait, I thought I was playing your father?” 

“Yes?”

Your father gave you that scar?” Sokka asked him, pointing to his own face. 

He arched a brow, “Yes, we’ve been over this. Now you banish me to find the Avatar.” 

“You were banished to find me?” Aang asked, “But your scar looked healed when I met you” 

“Of course it was healed, I’d been looking three years by the time you got out of that iceberg” 

“Obviously,” Toph intoned loftily. 

“I’m not dealing with this tonight.” Katara threw her hands up and left. 

Zuko stared after her, “Goodnight then.” 

Sokka gaped at him a bit longer before also heading over to his bedroll, “This is a conversation for future me.” 

“You’ve got so many issues, Sparky, it’s hilarious,” Toph giggled a bit more before throwing up a rock tent for sleep. 

Suki had already went to bed and had taken Aang with her before he tried to talk with Zuko. She was pretty sure he’d tried some of the cactus juice at the festival and was not looking forward to the emotional blowup that would happen when he remembered what he said. 

Zuko smiled. None of them were focused on that awful play anymore and he felt great, kind of floaty but he was sure he’d sleep it off. He wondered what was in that cup the lady had given him. 

He shrugged, going to his bedroll. That was a problem for tomorrow. 

[spaceorphan18]

What do you think your next writing project will be? Love your writing!

Ni Nonny! Thanks so much!! Here's an update on all the things!

Glee: First of all, the one thing I did manage to work on in that hotel was Head Over Feet. It's still my passion Glee project, and I'm hoping to make some real headway over my vacation. I think when I'm done with it though, I may put a pause on my other Glee projects. The ones I want to keep going with are more episode in nature anyway, so it's fine. But I've been writing Glee fic for ten years now, and I wonder if it's time to take a break. At least to write other things for a while.

X-Men: So, I have a one-shot series going where I kind of react chronologically to what I'm reading in the comics and doing in my meta, and that's really fun and doing it one at a time doesn't feel like there's a pressure there. I also have written out an outline for a novel length fic that it SO COOL! I've started writing a bit of it, but I'm going to take my time and I may try to get it written as much as possible before posting.

Bridgerton: It's so funny you sent this to me because I was thinking about doing a mini poll -- because I would love to write something, and I currently have a few ideas, and I kind of wondered which one(s) people might be interested in. So, I thought I'd ask you guys what you might like to see first?

A story set within canon, exploring Penelope's character

A canon-esque story, the Polin story told through letters, journal entries, written word, etc

A story that unfolds with one scene being with one pairing of the Bridgerton siblings -- a way to explore the dynamics between each and every one of the Bridgerton siblings

A Modern AU - I have no idea what it'd be, but I'm sure these are a dime a dozen already, I just think it's fascinating as an idea. And clearly Penelope would be a gossip writer of some kind...

Anyway, that's where I'm at! I'm very excited to be writing again. I just need some time and not to be stuck in hotels, lol! Thanks for asking Nonny! <3

[heavenwontbethe-same]

Hey!! Long follower of yours but I've only recently been back on Tumblr and I just saw a post about Cordelia being the one who should have died in CoT. I was curious about it and read the tags and I'm already disappointed in Cordelia/CC. Because I really like Cordelia but I haven't read CoT yet, so if you're comfortable could you maybe elaborate a little? Just so I can understand if I should be prepared to be disappointed in Cordelia in CoT when I finally read it. (I don't care about spoilers so have at it). I'd really like to know your thoughts<3

hello! i would start off by saying that when you do read chot, to go in with an open mind because of course what i will be saying in this post is my own opinion and my perception of the books will obviously be different to how others see it. this post is going to be long and incoherent at points, i do apologise beforehand.

with that being said, i liked cordelia from the snippets we got before tlh even came out. i liked her in chog, even though there were certain moments that made me pause - her allowing her friends to make whatever assumptions or comments about her brother they liked without her ever blinking an eye, because she was too concerned with fitting in with them. but i still liked the book and still liked her.

choi is where i started to dislike her though, and it literally took me almost 2 years to finish choi because i found cordelia so insufferable.. in the very beginning of the book, alastair is looking out for her and wants her safe and out of trouble and says as much to matthew, but cordelia berates him in favour of her friend (page 17). at this point, cordelia knows the truth; if not in its entirety, then at least a considerable part of it. at the wedding reception, her friends are hostile to her brother despite all his attempts to be cordial. i believe at one point they even suggest that alastair made cordelia uncomfortable? the same alastair that sacrificed most of his life to protect her? and all before you're even a 100 pages into the book (page 96). she says, on page 297 to matthew, "perhaps you think i am terrible, still loving him." of course, she thinks it, she thinks alastair is kind and sweet and vulnerable, but god forbid she ever said any of this to her friends in her brother's defense. this post by @thepictureofsdr on cordelia and her continuous reluctance to defend alastair in any way shape or form is very well said.

and that was all just the sibling aspect of it. she continuously lies to lucie, her supposed best friend and future parabatai, about lilith and james and even matthew, while shunning lucie for keeping secrets of her own. lucie tries to talk to her, apologises for not telling her, but she can't move past it even though she literally did the same.

*chot spoilers*

in chot, during every battle or fight, she was reluctant to lift a weapon in order to not summon lilith. valid, but instead of seeking shelter, she would just stand there and wait for danger and have her friends babysit her while fighting off demons. there's a fight in chot where grace is inside because she can't fight. cordelia also won't fight but she's out there, not helping her friends fight them off, but also just standing there as a sitting duck waiting for them to attack??? and they eventually do attack because why wouldn't they, and three people are distracted from their own fights trying to save her. assuming you already know who dies, they die trying to save her here, all because she wouldn't lift a weapon but has to be in harms way anyway.

she hands off cortana to alastair, who not to mention lives with their heavily pregnant mother, knowing that demons now had a special interest in cortana after she became lilith's paladin. she eavesdropped on her brother and charles, when it was not her place to do so, she eavesdropped on james and grace and caused a whole other problem. she ran away with matthew to paris and led him on even when she knew she'd never get over james. she kissed matthew and ended up comparing him to james but still continued to kiss him anyways. she'd be in james' presence but think about grace even after james' continuous assurance that he felt nothing for her, and then she'd wish she was with matthew instead. every time she was in james' presence, she'd fixate on grace.

she did get more tolerable after she knew the truth, but that was such a small portion of the book and my opinion of her was already negative by then. she then goes on to rehash the lucie and lying thing even though it was resolved earlier in the book. the book ends with the epilogue stating that attitudes to her brother had changed because he had changed. and that was true, alastair wasn't closeted anymore and had changed, but cordelia follows it up with the line that he wouldn't have to worry about fitting in with her friends anymore, and that hit me the wrong way.

the overarching themes of her dynamic with most characters, whether intentionally or not, seemed to give off a holier than thou attitude. she never held herself accountable but was comfortable doing it to everyone else, even if her actions caused the problem in the first place. her relationship with alastair was particularly disappointing, given how much he sacrificed for her and how she was at times disappointed/ashamed to even be related to him. this just reminded me how this applies to edwina's character from the bridgerton show too, but i digress.

she never really had any character development throughout the entire series, so i would've preferred her dying instead of an actually interesting character.

[sleepy-achilles]

Remember when Shawn and Taker carried triple h out of the ring after hell in a cell? Cassie and Leon feud ending with Leon picking up and carrying his baby sister out of the ring and halfway up the ramp Taker comes out and picks up the both of them and carries them backstage!

Keeping up with the Michaels- Battle of the Flames

I keep forgetting to finish my cassie vs Leon stories so I have around three of them chilling in my drafts rn

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

Leon leans back on the old sofa as his eyes bore into his phone. People keep posting about how his birthday lands on a episode of raw this year, the fans want to do something for him. Leon hates it. He hates attention on his birthday, it's not exactly the best day of the year. Leon's nose burns slightly at the thought. Not only was it his birthday but it was also Halloween.

Yeah, it made him laugh too, a demon born on Halloween. His sister was born on valentines day, really adding to their whole opposite sibling vibe.

"Leon Michaels."

Leon's gaze shifts from his phone to the tv as the lockeroom falls quiet. "Yeah, hi big brother" cassie smiles. Leon frowns, what is she doing? "I'm challenging you to a fight." She states. Leon raises an eyebrow and lowers his phone, ignoring the camera and eyes on him. "Im calling you out. The balls in your court now. And we know how you've been dealing with challenges lately." She spits. Leon's jaw tightens. Leon has been avoiding challenges lately. Not because he can't do it, but because so many newer stars have been calling him out trying to make a name for themselves. It's not that he minded, he just wants a break from putting people over. It's not like they win anyways.

And if his sister thinks she can beat him?

A sinister smile grows on Leon's face, quickly followed by a deep chuckle.

She would be mistaken.

"Rookie mistake sister....rookie mistake."

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

Cassie gasps as her back hits the matt.

Shit I have to stop taking so many back shots.

She groans, rolling onto her front to take the chair shot she knows Charlotte will deliver. Same old flair, same old tricks. She also closes her eyes just before the lights turn off.

Which is why she doesn't question it when the fans suddenly cheer and scream.

She opens her eyes at the feeling of a boot pressed against her lower back. Her eyes immediately land on the tron to see Leon towering over her, one hand catching Charlotte's chair mid swing.

Leon looks at Charlotte. "Make yourself useful and shoo" he orders as he pulls the chair from her grip and throws it out of the ring. "And who are you to tel-" "Your god damn king" Leon growls, glaring at her. She frowns and backs down. "Thats what I thought" Leon mutters as she climbs out. He holds his hand out and catches the mic tossed his way.

Cassie grits her teeth as Leon puts more pressure on her back. "You wanna challenge me girl?" Leon asks as he looks down at her. "You wanna challenge me in my ring? My yard?" He asks knowing it'll get a fan reaction. It does. Leon bows down slightly, swatting at her hair, causing her to growl at him. "Whats the problem cassie? You tired of living in my shadow?" Leon questions, tightening his fingers in her hair. "Tough. You will always be beneath me, you will always live in my shadow. And if I need to prove that to you, I will. I will help you get that through your thick skull baby sis" Leon smirks. Cassies hands fly up to grab his wrist. "And you know, oh you know I hate playing by the rules, so I will accept your challenge. On one account." Leon tells her.

Cassie swears her heart stops in long pause her brother takes.

"Hell in a cell. Just me and you. No escape." Leon growls. Csssies eyes widen only to close in pain as Leon let's her hair go, causing her face to suddenly drop, and he presses his boot further against her back before lifting it.

She rolls back onto her back as the lights turn off.

"The balls in your court now" he whispers.

She stares at the ceiling as they switch on, a mic left in Leon's place. She slowly sits up, ignoring the twang in her back as her eyes land on the microphone.

He won't win this.

His mind games won't work on her.

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

"Lee...you shouldn't." Drew sighs as his back hits the wall. "And what? Say no to her? Wouldn't that be more disrespectful?" Leon murmurs as he kisses up drews neck. "Hell in a cell? Are you serious?" Drew huffs tilting his head. "Shell be fine" Leon mutters, really not wanting to talk about his sister right now. Drew places his hands on Leon's shoulders. "Your dad is coming"

Leon pauses and looks at Drew. "Wha-?" Then he hears the boots coming down the hall. Leon growls and pulls away from Drew. Drew huffs and makes his way to his bag just as the door is kicked open. "Can I help you?" Leon asks. "What the hell are you playing at boy?" Taker growls grabbing Leon by the shoulder and pulling him close. "Im giving her what she wants. A match against me." Leon snaps shoving his father away. "Hell in the cell? Have you lost your goddamn mind!" Taker yells. "Probably." Leon shrugs moving to the bench to grab his water. "Im doing her a favour. Besides, the ball is in her court now." Leon adds. "All she has to do is say no" Leon states looking back at his father.

"You are better than this." Taker murmurs. "Am I? I fought you, I've fought pa, I've taken John on multiple times. Cassie was gonna happen eventually." Leon admits. "Shes your baby sister!" Taker snaps. Leon just smiles. "I know. That's why I accepted."

Both drew and taker look at Leon. The other just drinks his water. "What does that mean?" Drew asks. Leon just smiles at him. "All stars burn up eventually." He states throwing his bottle at taker. Taker catches it and just watches as Leon walks out, hands in his pocket and whistling that goddamn tune.

Drew watches as taker tenses at the whistling. He can't lie it was a eriee sound. Drews never heard Leon do it before, but he's heard it around the valley. "What is that?" "The call of death." Taker mutters placing the water down. Drews eyes widen as taker turns and leaves. "Death?" He repeats in shock.

What is Leon up to?

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

It didn't take fans long to start referring to the growing fued as the battle of flames.

It made sense.

Cassie was the firecracker. The name she hated as a child used to tease her bright red hair, but as he became a fireball in the ring it changed her view.

Leon was the star. He was the ball of hot fire. He was a force to be reckoned with. And he had the tendencies to play with fire, despite his father's fears and his own experience with a burning death. (Multiple)

Leon couldn't help but grow excited as he waited.

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

Leon smirks down at dolph as he fights for breathe. Another win, another victory. A easy one at that. And on his birthday!

Leon removes his foot from the mans neck as cassies music hits. Leon smiles and tilts his head, stepping into the center of the ring as dolph rolls out. The ref hands him a mic as cassie steps onto the stage.

She stares at her brother, ignoring his smirk as she raises her mic. "I accept." Is all she says before lowering her mic.

Leon can't help but laugh.

"Happy birthday to me! Huh!" Leon beams, his eyes glowing purple.

Cassie frowns and walks away. She would not be feeding him. She wouldn't play his games.

She listens as Leon chuckles. "Ill see you in the cell, baby sis" Leon calls before dropping his mic.

Oh this will be fun.

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

"Are you crazy!" Shawn barks. Cassie sighs and sinks in her seat. "Sure! I understand wanting to fight Leon, that is fine. But in hell in a cell! That is his home! His birthplace!" Shawn scolds. "I know! And that's why I accepted." Cassie groans. Shawn pauses, confused. "Why? Why do you want this?" Shawn asks. "Because I'm sick and tired of people underestimating me pa! I'm sick of people not seeing me as the talent I am! I'm sick of girls like Charlotte getting shot after shot because she's flairs kid!" Cassie snaps standing up. Shawn watches her. He can't help but smile as he sees that passion and fire a young him used to wear. "If I win? That opens doors for me. If I lose? That sucks sure, but if I put up the biggest fight they've ever seen? I have the respect I want." She explains.

"I understand" Shawn nods. And as he turns to the tv to see Leon absolutely torturing Rey, he can't help but feel like he too understands cassies reasoning. "Thank you" she whispers sitting back down.

Shawn trusts Leon. He trusts cassidy.

That's all that matters.

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

Cassies nerves were starting to hit.

It's post match and she's walking through the halls when she hears it.

Rhea glances back as cassie suddenly stops. "Whats wrong?" She asks. "You hear that?" Cassie whispers. Rhea looks down the hall as a whistling sound echos down it. "What is it?" Rhea asks. "The call of death..." she whispers clenching her fists. Rhea eyes widen. "Cassie what the fuck have you gotten yourself into?" Rhea hisses grabbing her arm.

Cassie let's out a shakey breathe as she watches Leon Cross the hall towards the men lockeroom.

It's only a split second, but he glances at cassie, a smile on his face and eyes glowing purple.

Cassie shaking as she pulls her bedroom door open, being careful to be as quiet as possible. The whistling sound echos through the house and whilst she didn't understand, she knows her daddy said danger follows it. She glances down the hall to see a figure stood at the end. She can only see them because of the glowing purple eyes staring back at her. She can't stop the scream as she slams her door shut and hides under her covers.

Cassie growls. "Bring it bitch"

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

Drew watches as Leon gets the winning pin. It was always a good match when he was fighting with Leon. Always led to a good time. Drew climbs into the ring and practically lifts Leon off the floor. "We did it!" "Of course" Leon smirks as drew hugs him.

Drew feels Leon tense as a whistling sound echos through the arena. Drew pulls back to see Leon staring at the tron, at himself. "Lee?" Drew asks quietly as Leon's eyes falls shut.

Leon's hands shake as his friends freak out. "Oh we are so fucked!" Mattie whines holding his head. "We?! He's my step dad!" Valentina gasps. Leons eyes burn into the older man as a fear grows in his stomach. His father is going to kill him. Leon Thomas Michael. Killed at age 12. By his own father. Beautiful. "Ok ok we have to think about this. He was a pedo" Mattie states. "And?" Val asks. "He was in the process of trying to take us and probably molest and kill us like he did the other three children" Mattie adds. "Yeah..yeah..you have a point.." val sighs rubbing her neck. Both children look at Leon who's still staring at the man. "Oh right...Leon's just killed a man." Val whispers pulling leon into a hug, carefully to avoid the blood on his face.

Mattie steps up to the man and kicks him. "Oh yeah he's done for" Matthew whispers. "Does the brick not in his head give that away?" Val snaps. "How did you do that lee?" Mattie sighs. "Who cares! We need to leave now before he arrives! We need to clean Lee up!" Val snaps. The kids heads jerk up as the whistling begins. "Shit. Let's go" matt whispers grabbing both kids arms and running. Leon can't help but stare back as death himself rises.

"Leon!"

Drew watches how Leon's breathing becomes rapid, almost panic filled. He cups the mans face. "Breathe, please" he whispers. Leon's eyes snap open and his jaw tightens. "You wanna play that game cassie? Let's play" Leon growls.

Drews eyes widen at the sudden rage and fear in the blondes eyes.

This isnt fun anymore.

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

Cassie swallows nervously as she paces in the ring. She was nervous, now that she was actually standing in the cell.

Her first hell in a cell match and its against her own brother.

She shakes her hands and jogs on the spot as Leon makes his entrance. This is it.

She wonders if her nerves are solely about the fact she doesn't recognise this man. This isnt her big brother. This isnt the man she grew up with. This isnt the boy she pranked John and taker with. The boy who protected her.

When this whole thing first started? Yeah. But ever since she played his own game back on him. He's changed.

She's brought back when Leon stands infront of her. His entrance gear gone. His eyes dark. She wipes any fear from her face and matches his gaze.

He does something that shocks her.

He smiles softly at her as the bell rings.

----

There's a reason fans loved to watch the Michaels fight each other.

They had very similar fighting styles and they were always stubborn.

Leon can't help but smile as he rests his head back. Blood dribbles from his mouth as he runs a tongue over his fang.

He's tired. So damn tired.

His eyes land on his baby sister. Her head split open and leaking onto the mat were she's hunched over catching her breathe.

Leon closes his eyes, enjoying the cooling feeling of the cage against his head. 'Finish this.' His father's voice echos in his head.

He won't lie, cassie has done a number on him. His back is covered in welts, his chest is red and raw, his nose is busted along with his lip. But, she was only giving as good as she got. Leon will not deny the fact he was holding back. Until the first drop of his own blood fell. Not many made him bleed.

He pushes off the cage and climbs back into the ring. His can't help the way his hands shake as he approaches his sister. He stands over her as she tries to regain her composer.

"Are you just going to let these bums push you around?" Leon asks. Cassie glances up at her brother as she tries to fix her glasses. Leon was sporting a black eye from his most recent fight. "And what? End up like you?" Cassie snaps, fighting tears. Her wrist hurt so bad. Leon kneels infront of his baby sister, ripping the sleeve of his shirt off. "No. Become better than me" he tells her quietly. Cassies eyes widen as Leon begins to use the sleeve to wrap her wrist. She stares in shock as the pain fades as he tightens it. "Dont let them push you around. You are above them. You always will be. That doesn't mean you have to take this abuse." Leon explains as he ties the sleeve. Cassie just watches him in shock. He hasn't been nice in a long time. The fresh scar on his face changed him for the worse. "Thank you" cassie whispers. Leon stands, pulling her up. "Dont thank me yet. Thank me once you've won your first fight." He smirks leading her towards his car.

Cassies fingers shake as she wraps them around the sledgehammer. She tries to lift it as the shadow looms over her only for a boot to land on the end of the hammer, keeping it down. "Enough." Leon orders. Cassie bites her lip. She's in so much pain. She struggles to lift the hammer. "Stay down cassie! It's over! Its done!" Leon barks as she begins to stand. "Its not done" she gasps before slapping him and falling back down. Leon stumbles back, eyes wide, rage racing through his body as his cheek stings.

Cassie takes this time to stand, lifting the hammer. She swings and-Leon grabs the hammer end and pulls it. The girl stumbles forward and lets go. Leon let's out a quiet growl as he throws the hammer against the cage wall. "Its over" he repeats, eyes burning purple. Cassie goes to punch him but he grabs her wrist again. Leon's not stupid, out of them both, cassie is the slugger. She was like their dad, a fighter, a boxer. Whilst Leon has always been like their pa. A high flyer, a technician. Even Leon doesn't like being at the end of taker or cassies punches.

Leon pushes her back towards the rope and as she bounces back he delivers sweet chin music. He stands there as she falls. His body is weak but his mind is weaker.

Leon hated fighting family to be honest. It took so much out of him. These are his people, he doesn't like hurting them. But he's not going to disrespect them. "Stop" cassie gasps. Leon glances at her as she weakly pulls herself up. "Finish it!" Takers voice screams at him. Cassie stares him straight in the eyes. "Your not him. You never were." She whispers. Leon's jaw clenches. She shoves his chest. "I love you." She whispers knowing what's coming next. Leon grits his teeth as he rushes forward. Cassie closes her eyes as she's put in a tombstone.

It's her finisher more than Leon's. They both know that. Leon almost never pulls that move, unless he's desperate and lost. Cassie knew it was coming when the pin didn't come. Leon always finished his matches with a kick and then a pin.

Not like cassie could lift Leon for a tombstone, even if she wanted to.

Leon falls to his knees and presses cassies hands across her shoulders for the pin.

1

2

3

He falls back onto the mat, closing his eyes as the fans scream and cheer their names.

His own sister.

He just wrestled his own sister in hell in a cell. Why the fuck did he do that?

Leon sits up and moves to kneel next to her. He leans down and presses a kiss to her temple. "I love you." He whispers as the cell raises. He goes to move his hand from beside her when her fingers curl around his wrist. He smiles slightly as she gives him a slight squeeze. He lets out a shskey breathe. She's okay. That's all that matters. He didn't take it to far like always.

"I've got you" he whispers adjusting his stance. He slips his arms under her knees and places the other under her shoulders. He stands, lifting her and adjusting his hold to support her neck and head. The ref just smiles. Leon doesn't care what vince or hunter says, he doesn't care about a stupid fan moment right now. The ref sits on the rope to help Leon out.

Cassies head hits his shoulder as they begin the walk up the ramp. Leon's leg starts to spasm. He grits his teeth as a pain shoots up his spine. This was a terrible idea. He glances at the stage to see taker walking out onto it. "Dad" he chokes as his vision blurs. Taker, sensing things about to go bad, rushes forward and catches both kids as Leon collapses. "I've got you." Tsker murmurs into Leon's temple.

He lifts cassie over his shoulder as Leon leans on him. "Who put the hex on you?" Taker asks he wraps a arm around Leon's waist. "Finn." Leon mutters keeping his head against his father's chest. "Of course. Let's get cassie to medical and you to finn." Taker sighs. Leon's legs only carry him a few steps before taker is hoisting him up aswell. Leon is more conscious than cassie so he wraps an arm around takers neck, keeping a hand on cassie to support her, and his legs around the older man's hips.

"Too old for this shit" Taker grunts as he carries them onto the stage. Leon can't help but chuckle as they walk backstage.

---------------------------------------------------------------------NotEs

I know we joke about Leon killing people but the story about valentinas step dad is like a Canon event that has been with him since day one. I mean it existed before the idea that Paul cut Leon's face. The og story of it is this man had been taking kids and Leon and Matthew were taken. The difference is Matthew gets killed when Leon kills the guy. (Val didn't exist back then)

I changed it a lil as I love the idea of adult Matthew and drew meeting. But also because the death whistle needed to have traumatised Leon aswell as cassie.

Also hex mentioned because well technically cassie wouldn't be able to hurt Leon at all. And well I need that bitch to suffer.

Enjoy, because I did :)

[achitka]

Doors (Chapter 46) Caja de Recuerdos 

(Box of Memories)

The holidays be upon us. It's just past midnight and I somehow managed to get through almost another day - go me. Anyway, on with the show: Pepa gets stuff, Tuli's issues are definitely becoming more apparent, Isabela is not all that sure that being a shut in is working for her anymore, Luisa is the bomb diggity and Dolores - good god, but I love that woman. She is very helpful at stripping everything to its component dialogue. Makes my laziness a little less obvious. Hope you all enjoy.

Pepa sat surprised and staring at what her mother had just handed her. When she had told her earlier that she wanted to help her with the family history she was working on. Pepa never imagined she would give her all this. She knew about this box of photos and had feared it had been lost in the breaking. Her fingers twitched, and she noticed her mother’s small smile before she returned her attention to their guest. She stared at the box of photos and began to gently lift them, being careful not to take them out of the box. Pepa had wanted for years to see the photos that were now, right here in her lap. She paused when she came upon a photo of her father. He was sitting, pen in hand, looking thoughtfully at papers strewn across a very ornate desk. It actually reminded her of the one in Bruno’s room. She wondered if it was taken at her parent’s old home.    

She flipped through a few more and paused on another of her father. He was working on a piece of furniture, but had turned back to face the camera, so she couldn’t’ tell what sort of furniture it was. This was actually something Pepa did not know about her father, and she realized that that was the norm. The pain that was always evident when Mamá spoke of him caused herself and her siblings to stop asking questions.    

Others were of everyday things like the afternoon market, photos of various buildings and landscapes, usually with one or both of her parents. Some were picture post cards of faraway places. Pepa resisted the urge to dump them into her lap, and had completely lost track of the conversation between her mother and Rodrigo. Bruno had alluded to her before supper that Rodrigo was probably the one related to their mother and the actual focus of that first sponty. He told her that it wasn’t until he completed the sketch that he realized his error. Before the breaking, Bruno had often taken his spontys at face value and disregarded them once they ended. Now that he’d taken to sketching them, something their mother would not have allowed when they were younger, he could get a second opinion. She was relieved that it was Rodrigo, and not Señora Vargas, who was related. Her brother had gone back through the bulk of those sketches and found that Rodrigo was in a lot of them. That’s what sent him out on the patio to wait for Bubo and that also meant that José, Tuli and Bubo were relations as well, distant, but still family.    

It was almost overwhelming, and Pepa could feel the cloud forming and   started to fidget. Not wanting to rain on these precious items or their guest, she excused herself to go to the table that was a few meters away behind the sofa. She put the box on it as she sat down then began to pick up each photo, then carefully turn them over to see if there were any names or dates written on them. There were a total of seven pictures related to the wedding. There were a few group pictures that showed two pairs of smiling older people. She flipped one of them and read the names of what could only be her abuelos. Some were a little faded, but the people in them could be easily distinguished. Julieta and Bruno came over then, and even though she wanted to snatch all the pictures away, she didn’t. They were just as curious about their family as she was. The three of them looked over at their mother, who was now speaking with Tuli’s Tío. Luisa and Tuli were gone, probably to her room.    

They returned their attention to the pictures and Bruno said in a whisper as he pointed, “Pep, you look just like this lady here.”   

Pepa flipped it over and read, “Pepita and Sixtos Madrigal – Pedro’s parents” She appeared much younger than in the wedding photos and her hair was very light, but since there was no color to the photos, she couldn’t really say whether the woman was a blonde or was a red-head like her. This was a box of questions, that was for sure. Julieta was looking at another photo of the woman, who Pepa thought, was the same woman in the wedding photos. Julieta turned it over and her eyebrows went up. Bruno was choosing photos, reading the backs and replacing them.   

“What are you looking for, Bruno?”   

“Just seeing if any of these people have my name.”   

Bruno continued to search further into the box, now passing them to Pepa, so she could add them to her growing number of piles on the table as Julieta watched. Bruno got almost to the bottom of the box when he paused and took out a picture of what appeared to be a sleeping child of maybe one or two. He turned the photo over and whispered, “Bruno at rest – October 1884” he set the box down as he handed the picture to Pepa and said, “I don’t think he’s sleeping.”   

Pepa and Julieta both looked closely at the photo. The sister’s exchanged glances, and Julieta said, “I think you’re right about that, Bruno.” The handwriting on the back was unfamiliar, and Pepa thought it was likely her abuela’s. She nodded and handed the photo back to their brother. He looked at it again, then gently set it on the table with the others. When the husbands appeared, Pepa got excited all over again as she showed Félix the small piles. Agustín stood behind his wife as she held up the photo of the woman identified as their tía. It was such an odd thought that they even had any. Did she have any on her father’s side? That her mother had a sister who was still alive really made Pepa want to leave the Encanto and meet this person. This also made her wonder about those doors in the tower. Now that her mother recognized a few of them, the possibilities were so enticing, so many left to explore. She was quite looking forward to finding out about that yellow one. She just hoped that nothing would happen between now and noon to keep them from that.    

Pepa looked up as Casita shifted some floor tiles at the clock and realized it was later than she thought. Julieta glanced up at Camilo’s room, then touched Pepa’s arm. Pepa nodded as she set the picture she was holding back on the table and headed for the kitchen. She quickly put together a tray with a plate of cookies and some really weak coffee that was still fairly hot. She quietly dropped it off and noted Mirabel appeared a bit tired and Camilo was concentrating on something with his eyes shut. Not wanting to disturb them, she exited and headed back to the courtyard.   

Julieta and Agustín were gone, and her mother was speaking quietly with Bruno. Rodrigo and José were discussing the two photos Rodrigo was holding as they waited nearby. Félix was going through the piles, being careful not to mess up her ordering system. She joined him and put a hand on his shoulder, and he said, “These will make a nice addition to the ones you were working on earlier, Pepi. Probably a good thing you haven’t placed any in the book yet.”  

“Yes, but I am thinking now I should draw up a family tree as well.”   

“That sounds like an excellent idea, mi vida,” Félix said, “I’m going to make sure Antonio found his bed. Tuli is still with Lulu?”   

“Yes, she’s looking after her while Mirabel helps Camilo study.”  

“I wonder how that’s going.”   

“From where the piles were when I dropped off some snacks just now, it looks like they are about finished.”    

“Very good, I’m off. I’ll see you upstairs, mi vida?”   

Pepa blushed and said, “In a few minutes. I’m going to help Mamá see our guests off.”   

He nodded, and she watched her husband head for the stairs. She turned back to find Bruno had vanished, along with the picture of that sleeping Bruno. She sighed and began placing the photos back into the box. When she was finished, she replaced the lid, tapped it twice, then went to join her Mamá.  

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

Tuli absently pulled at her locket as she walked with Luisa up the stairs. She wondered if Luisa really did have a collection of stuffed animals in her room. It didn’t make any sense to her. Mirabel’s older sister was really nice, but she was really tall and super strong, so why would she need that? They reached the door and Luisa smiled as she opened it. Tuli went in and was surprised when she looked down to find fluffy clouds surrounded her feet. The floor was covered end to end with rainbow clouds, that billowed softly toward the other side of the room. Tuli noticed then all the shelves and bookcases were crammed with every kind of stuffed animal she could think of in between the books.   

“Wow! Señorita Luisa, you weren’t kidding,” Tuli said as she let go of her locket to reach down to touch the cloud that was flowing gently around her feet. This caused Tena to slide off her shoulder and disappear into the misty covering. “Oh no! Tena!” she cried as she dropped to her knees and began frantically searching. Reaching down into the cloudy flooring, she found it was deeper than she was expecting, since her knees had remained on top. She was starting to panic and was searching desperately when Luisa touched her shoulder. Tuli continued searching and said tearfully, “Tena’s gone, and I just got him back.”   

“It’ll be all right, Tuli” Luisa said,” and Tuli looked up at her. “Don’t worry, Casita can help with this,” and she asked the house, “Casita? Can you help us find Tena?”   

A cloudy floorboard poked itself up out of the top layer a little ways away, and the stuffed rat appeared draped over it. Tuli let out a sigh of relief and gently took the rat with shaky hands as she said, “Thank you, Casita.” The floorboard plopped back into place, leaving behind a small smiley face that appeared just above the surface for a moment, and this made Tuli giggle. She then held up Tena and waggled a finger at the stuffed rat, saying, “Don’t you scare me like that again, Tena.” Tuli paused as she remembered what her Tío said about being afraid when she ran away. Was he as scared as she just was? She decided she didn’t want to think about that, then hugged the rat to herself. 

“You okay, Tuli?”   

Tuli nodded and said while looking around, “I’ve never been in a room that was so… soft.”   

“Best room ever,” Luisa said and did a quick twirl. This made the clouds puff up around her, and Tuli placed Tena back on her shoulder as she nodded in full agreement. She glanced back at Luisa’s door. She’d noticed in Isabela’s room that the image appeared on both sides. She’d examined Isa’s door when she went to get the scarf from Mirabel’s room, and noticed then that Isa’s door was very crisp and clear. Luisa’s picture looked a little fuzzy, and she wondered why there were animals in the background. They weren’t always there, so that made it all the stranger. Maybe it was because Luisa felt the way Tuli did. Stuck in the middle of being who she really was and who people thought she should be. But who wouldn’t want to be super strong?

Luisa had Tuli come sit on the bed as she gathered a number of the plushies from around the room. She piled them up on her bed, and Tuli arranged them in neat lines as Luisa told her their names. While she was doing this, Luisa told her how she used to collect the donkeys after they would get out of their pen in town. She was demonstrating how she would pile them up on her shoulders, and Tuli said, “I think you’re making that up.”   

Luisa smiled and said, “If only.”   

Tuli was still skeptical, so Luisa decided that next, they would play a game of balancing the stuffed animals atop their shoulders. Luisa managed to get ten donkeys on her first try, then picked up five more without losing any of the others, tossed them in the air and caught those as well. Tuli decided this would be easy, but kept losing one or two when she would reach down to get the next one. She was starting to get frustrated, and it took her several tries, but she was pleased when she managed to get her pile of donkeys seven high.   

“Nice job, Tuli,” Luisa said, setting an extra one on top. The donkey pile collapsed, and both started laughing as they put the plushies back on the shelves and Luisa asked, “What would you like to do now?”   

“I don’t know. Sometimes I would watch TV, but I was only allowed to watch it for an hour. Then I would go to my room after and read. Tío was usually working, and he has a lot of books… Didn’t go outside much, and besides, I’ve never had many friends.”   

“Me neither. Being super strong, I was afraid I would hurt someone accidentally. Once I was done with my chores, I was usually pretty tired, so I would stay in my room and read. But now, I have way fewer chores and,” Luisa said as she pointed to the archway, “I can go to the beach any time I want.”   

Tuli could not help but smile. She loved the beach. She loved the ocean.    

Luisa noticed her smile and asked, “You wanna go?” and she held out her hand.   

“A real beach?” Tuli asked as she looked at the archway. Luisa nodded and beckoned to her again, so Tuli took off her shoes and said as she took Luisa’s hand, “I’ve always wanted to go to the beach at night. I bet the moon is twice as beautiful.”   

Luisa nodded and said, “I like to watch the tide come in. Is peaceful,” and they headed across her room to the archway. “Careful in the dunes,” Luisa said. The sand was still warm from the earlier sun, and this felt nice on Tuli’s feet. Luisa pointed toward the shore and said, “I’ve been staying off the sand since there were some turtles nesting there.”    

“Real live turtles? I’ve never seen one. Are they as big as the books say?”   

“Yes. I even helped one fill in her hole to cover her eggs. Helping animals is why I want to be a veterinarian.”   

“What’s that?”   

“An animal doctor.”   

“Can girls really be doctors?”   

“This one will be,” Luisa said confidently. She helped Tuli up onto some rocks to better see the beach. Luisa sat down and indicated Tuli should come sit with her. Tuli did, and Luisa asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”   

“I want to be a ballet dancer,” Tuli said. “They’re so graceful, and I want to learn how to standup on my tippy-toes and be able to dance all night.”   

“That’s amazing Tuli. I’ve only seen pictures of ballet dancers. I really hope you get the chance to do that. You know, Isabela is actually a very graceful dancer. She learned a lot from our Tía Pepa, and she would take lessons from one of the ladies in town. Maybe she can give you some pointers, without the cacti, of course.”   

Tuli smiled, the cactus lady had turned out to be pretty nice. She’d believed Isabela hated her because of who she was. Tuli could see she was wrong about that and asked, “Luisa, do you think he’s having fun?”   

“Who?”   

“Bubo,” Tuli said and pulled at her locket.   

“Hope so.”   

“I think Bubo really likes Isabela. He was staring at her all during supper.”

“Yeah, that happens a lot around Isa.”

“Do you think she likes Bubo? A lot of the boys back in the city say girls won’t like boys who are short, like Bubo is.”   

Luisa smiled and tilted her head then said, “I’ll be honest, my sister’s never shown an interest in anyone. That includes her former almost fiancé.” Luisa leaned in and added, “Isa did mention this morning that she thinks your primo is adorable.”  

Tuli smiled and hoped she would be able to stay here with Bubo. If he had to leave this place because of her, Tuli would never forgive herself. Then Tuli said, “Wait, I didn’t know Isabela was engaged,” feeling a little confused, “How can she go on a date then?”

“Well, she was never actually engaged. It was actually more of a betrothal.”   

“What’s that?” Tuli asked, she’d never heard that word before.  

“Our Abuela had picked out a husband for Isa and made a promise to the other family that she would marry a certain person from that family. When the other family agreed, then Isa and that other person were betrothed, or just promised to one another.”   

“People really do that?”   

“Sometimes, but in the end, she didn’t get engaged because... Ummm, well… stuff happened,” Luisa said and shrugged.   

“Was it because the house broke?” Tuli asked in an almost whisper.  

“Oh, you heard about that?” Luisa asked.  

“Toni told me about it,” Tuli replied, “He said it was because Mirabel was fighting with your Abuela.”   

“I guess in a way that’s true, but it was a little more complicated than that.”   

“Oh,” Tuli said and let out a yawn as she looked up at the moon. The moon was full tonight and it made the sand sparkle. Before the bad stuff happened, her mother had promised to take her to the beach at midnight so she could see the full moon. Tuli frowned and thought, just one more thing she would never be able to do with her Mamí. She felt tired and was a little cold, so scooched closer to Luisa who put an arm around her and Tuli said, “I really miss my Mamí.”   

Luisa gave her a gentle hug as Tuli looked out at the water then closed her eyes, listening to it. She took a deep breath and the smell of the sea helped calm her already frayed nerves. Feeling a little better about the day, she opened her eyes to find her Mamí sitting beside her. Tuli blinked. Her Mamí looked just as she had before the bad people came. Tuli turned and realized that Luisa was gone. This made her a little anxious, but at the same time so happy, and she whispered, “Are you a ghost?”   

Her mother only smiled.

Tuli pulled Tena from her shoulder and said, “Look, Mamí! I got Tena back. Tío fixed him up, and now he’s just a pretty as he was… ” Her mother put a hand on her cheek, so Tuli stopped talking. Her Mamí would do that when Tuli was rushing and she wanted Tuli to listen. But her mother still didn’t say anything as she turned and held out her hands. Confused Tuli took them and climbed off the rock with her onto the beach. From somewhere, she heard her Mamí’s voice as she sang the first song Tuli ever learned.   

Girls are already dancing

With their gloves inside out

And the moon goes without wings,

Goes without wings, without feet.

Oh, round-faced moon!

How from above you see,

Come dance in the circle

Two and two and two are six.   

Together, they twirled in the sand and Tuli felt actual joy as she sang those lyrics with her over and over. Not even caring that her scarf had come loose when the song ended. Her Mamí gently touched her face again as she kissed Tuli's forehead and then turned toward the water. The moon was shining very brightly over the waves as her mother started toward that light. It wasn’t fair that she couldn’t go with her, Tuli thought, and she took a step to follow. An abrupt darkness fell, swallowing the moonlight, and her Mamí disappeared. “No!” Tuli cried, “Please, don’t take her from me again! Please... ” the darkness continued to march toward her, and Tuli felt the inevitability of her demise.  

Why was every good thing in her life always followed by something horrible? She knew why. She truly was a cursed child, and it would be better for everyone if she were dead. She should have done something to help her mother or died trying. Then at least she would be with her. Everyone thought so. She could see it in the looks they gave her. She felt cold inside and Tuli was down on her knees watching the approaching darkness. It continued to swallow everything around her. Light, sound… everything. She was stupid to think she could ever really be happy. Stupid to believe anyone other than people like Santiago wanted her to be this way. Stupid to believe she should try again. This was the way things were meant to be, she thought, she was a mistake from the beginning. Something akin to peace washed over her as she closed her eyes and let the gloom envelop her.   

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

Luisa noticed Tuli wavering next to her as she said, “I really miss my Mamí.” Luisa had put an arm around Tuli to keep her from falling off the rock shelf they were sitting on, giving her a gentle hug. When Tuli went completely limp, Luisa thought at first, she’d fallen asleep. So, she picked her up and headed back to her bedroom. Tuli’s stillness made Luisa nervous, so she laid Tuli on the bed and decided she wasn’t sleeping. She’d helped her mother with unconscious folks before, so she moved the pillow under Tuli’s feet and covered her up to her chin and asked, “Casita, can you ask Mamá to come to my room? I think Tuli’s fainted.” There was an answering clatter and Luisa nodded.   

A short time later, Casita opened the door and Luisa’s parents came in. Her mother sat beside Tuli and flipped open her eyelids. This made her mother frown, and she said, “Dolores, I’m sorry to interrupt your date, but can you please go to Dr. González’s home and ask him to come to Casita? Agustín, can you get her Tío?”   

Agustín left, and she said to Luisa, “Tell me everything that happened before she fainted.”   

Luisa did, and her mother nodded and said, “Okay, mi vida, can you please get me some cool water and towels?”   

Luisa nodded and felt a little relieved her mother had not requested the tub, so probably no fever. She passed her father and Tuli’s Tío as she made for the stairs. She got the requested items and found her Abuela, Tía Pepa, Mirabel, and Camilo in the hall. Since her door was open, she went inside and set the items her mother asked for on the nightstand.  

“Thank you, mija,” her mother said as she wetted one of the towels. After placing it on Tuli’s forehead, she turned to José and asked, “Has Tuli ever fainted like this before?”   

“Yes,” Tuli’s uncle replied, “but not for a very long time.”  

Her mother nodded and asked, “When would you say the last time was?”   

“At least four years ago,” he said.  

José was sitting at the end of the bed holding Tena. When Fura appeared and squeaked questioningly at him, he looked at the rat, then at the stuffed one he held. They were all but identical. He gave Fura the barest of nods, and she scampered lightly up his arm to sit on his shoulder. Luisa figured that Tuli’s uncle, Rodrigo and probably Bubo all knew what the rats were saying. It was definitely a family thing. Fura was squeaking quietly, and Luisa wondered what the rat was telling Tuli’s Tío. His expression never changed, nor did he acknowledge the rat further. Just sat and watched Tuli sleep.  

Her mother touched her arm and said, “Can you wait in another room, mija?”  

Luisa nodded and asked, “If Bubo’s back, should I send him in?” Her Mamá looked to Tuli’s Tío. He nodded, so Luisa headed for the door.

---------------------------- 

Isa felt Dolores nudge her with her foot and promptly stopped talking. She tried not to blush; she knew she was totally rambling. Bubo probably didn’t need to know all about the life cycle of the wax palm, and he did not seem to mind that she wasn’t actually giving him a chance to get a word in edgewise. She’d never talked this much to anyone outside of her family about things she actually cared about. Isa picked up her coffee and took a long sip. Dolores handed her a plate with a small pyramid of square, bite sized cakes she called pinafores. Isa set down her coffee and accepted the plate, which she set between herself and Bubo.  

He picked up one that was coated in dark chocolate and decorated with white and orange stripes and asked, “I wonder what flavor this is?” He broke it in half, smelled it and said with a smile, “Oh, orange.” He was also not shy about putting it back together and popping the whole cake in his mouth. Isa picked one that was covered with a light pink frosting and tiny blue flowers. She set it on her napkin and examined it. She was trying to decide what sort of flower they were supposed to be. Maybe they weren’t even real flowers, but damn they looked familiar. Isa did not like that she didn’t know and restrained herself since she found she wanted to go ask the baker. After taking a bite, she looked at her hand when she felt the slight rustle and almost sighed. Instead, she lifted her hand as she finished the small cake to examine the tiny flower on the end of her finger more closely.   

“Do you know what kind of flower that is?” Bubo asked.   

Isa didn’t answer right away. The light blue five petaled flower had a star pattern at its base. There was also a smaller yellow five petal-like arrangement at its center, and Isa said with a smile, “Oh, it’s a tiny forget-me-not.” As she said this, the flower grew to its normal size, and she showed it to Bubo, but he wasn’t looking at the flower. He was watching her. She smiled and lifted her hand a little higher, then Bubo remembered to look at the flower.  

“I see she’s back to dropping flower petals everywhere,” a voice from a table nearby said. Isabela knew that voice, it was Lorena Ramirez. Isa looked over at her one-time friend as a twitter of laughter came from the two other women with her. She felt her vine sleeve sprout and closed her hand, letting the flower fall apart. She picked up her coffee in an attempt to keep herself from strangling them with vines but caught the look Dolores was giving her. As if to say, screw them. So, Isa set her cup down and regrew the flower. Bubo’s eyes flicked from Mariano back to her, and he asked as he adjusted his glasses, “Tuli was telling me that Cecilia’s mother has flowers like these growing in her backyard. Do they only come in blue?”    

In answer to his question, she sprouted a variety of colors on her other fingertips. This time she brought her fingers together and grew out the stems. The stems wound around each other, and she handed Bubo the small bouquet. He gently took it and slowly spun it a few times to look at the different blooms. He even turned them upside down to examine how the stems were holding together and said after righting them, “I think I prefer these paler blue ones.” And after smelling them, placed it in his shirt pocket.   

“I’m actually fond of the pink,” Dolores said, “It’s a shame they don’t come in orange, though.”   

That wasn’t a natural color for this flower, but since she could, Isa repeated what she’d done earlier and produced a small bouquet of orange forget-me-nots then handed them to her prima. Dolores smiled then turned and gave them to Mariano. He accepted the flowers, and he also placed them in his shirt pocket.   

Again, she heard Lorena, she was speaking just loud enough that Isa would hear her over the noise of the other patrons. Commenting on how sad it was that she could only grow tiny flowers now, otherwise she might faint. Isa’s vine sleeves had crept down to her elbows, and Dolores was tapping on the table. Mariano was watching her prima with a look that said, ‘Oh dear.’ Dolores abruptly got up from her seat, and both Mariano and Bubo paused in their rising when she said, “I’ll be right back.” She turned then and made her way into the shop and disappeared from view.   

“Where is she going?” Isabela asked Mariano.   

Mariano was looking in the direction Dolores had taken with an amused expression and replied, “She mentioned something about eggs yesterday… or maybe it was the day before.” Then shrugged.   

That wasn’t an answer and Mariano continued to pretend he knew nothing when he caught her expression and to change the subject he asked, “Dolores tells me you’re working with the farmers to strengthen the food crops with your Gift. Have you had any success with that?”   

Isabela was a little taken aback. The entire time they were ‘dating’ he’d never asked her anything about her Gift. But that world had been a very different place, and she nodded and replied, “I’m hoping that I’ll be able to help the plants ward off any diseases that might be in the soil.”  

Bubo asked, “Is that the same thing you were doing in Antonio’s room?”   

“Mostly, but in a more focused way. I know it would take too much out of me if I tried to do an entire field at once,” Isa said and picked up another cake bite. This one had a light green frosting and yellow dots. She liked the minty taste and asked Mariano, “So have you two set a date yet?”  

“No, still waiting for Dolores on that one,” he said with a small smile.   

“How’s your mother handling that,” Isabela asked.   

“With almost quiet impatience,” Mariano replied.   

“I bet,” Isabela said and laughed a little.   

Dolores was on her way back, and she was holding a small plate covered with a napkin. She stopped next to Lorena and set the plate in front of her. Lorena sat back in her chair, as Dolores bent down and whispered something as Lorena slowly began to lift the napkin. She dropped it back into place and her face went white. She looked up at Dolores, and Dolores whispered something else as she tilted her head. Lorena looked back at the other women, who were murmuring to one another. Lorena glanced back at the plate, then toward their table, and Dolores patted her on the back and walked away.    

When she sat back down, Isa asked, “What was that all about, Doli?”   

“An uncomfortable truth,” Dolores said.   

Bubo and Mariano both had that look that said, whatever it is, we do not want to know, but Isabela wanted to know and decided she’d ask Dolores about it when they got home. Isabela noticed then that Lorena's friends were no longer at the other table. Lorena was alone, staring at the napkin. Lorena looked back in their direction, then back at the plate. Isabela looked at Dolores. She tilted her head and Isa realized Dolores had heard something, and Isa felt concern for this person she thought of as her former friend. After the breaking, it had been Isa who had pulled back from that relationship. There had been so many indirect piteous comments she’d overheard that she shut herself off from everything and decided she’d go to Lorena’s house tomorrow and see how she was doing. She watched Lorena turn back to the plate and wrapped the napkin around whatever Dolores had brought her, she then got up and left the café.  

Still, Isabela wanted to relax and smiled at her prima who patted her hand, then, to Mariano’s delight, turned the subject to a possible wedding date. By the time they’d narrowed it down to a June wedding, most of the desserts were gone. In that time, Isabela had found out that Bubo was an only child, that he was not a fan of thunderstorms. Also, that before he left the city, he’d been saving money to buy a car. Isa had only seen pictures of automobiles, and they seemed a bit frightening to her. She still wanted to ride in one, though.   

Dolores was finishing her wine when she let out a squeak and Mariano touched her hand. Isabela knew what that sound meant and asked, “Doli, what’s happening?”   

“I don’t know, Luisa just told your Mamí that Tuli fainted.”   

“Is she alright?” Bubo asked.   

Dolores held up a hand as she closed her eyes, and everyone went quiet as she listened to what was happening in Casita. She opened her eyes and said, “Tía wants me to get the Doctor and bring him to Casita. She didn’t say it was an emergency, so I’ll see you two back there. Mariano, can you please help me with this?” She asked as she snitched the last pinafore, then was up from the table and on her way with Mariano in tow.   

Bubo was sitting frozen, staring at his hands, and Isabela could almost feel the guilt. She got up and said as she took his hand, “Come on, Bubo. Let’s go help your prima.” He nodded, and together they headed for Casita.   

Casita let them in, and Isa guided Bubo to the back stairs, and they walked around to Luisa’s room. Her sister’s door was open, but Luisa was standing outside talking to Mirabel and Abuela. Camilo and her Tía were headed toward the stairs with a tray. When Luisa saw them, she came over and told Bubo he should go in her room with his Tío to wait for the Doctor. Isabela joined her sisters and their Abuela, then went over to Mirabel’s room to wait. 

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

When the doctor arrived, he was carrying a small bag that he set on the end of the bed, then spoke to Julieta. She relayed everything she’d been told up to this point. He checked Tuli’s pulse and his eyebrows went up. He then pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Tuli’s heart and lungs. He sat back and reached down into his bag and pulled out a small envelope.  

“Señora, do you have a small bottle?” the Doctor asked. 

“Yes,” Julieta replied, reaching into her apron, “do you need anything else?” 

“Just a small amount of water to dissolve this,” he said as he opened the envelope. He placed a piece of paper on the bed stand and poured a small pile of white powder from the packet onto it. Julieta put a small amount of water into the bottle she had with her, then handed it to the Doctor, and he said to Julieta, “These are smelling salts. They can be used to help wake up someone who’s fainted. However, when dealing with a child, it’s better to use much less than a full dose.” 

Julieta nodded and the Doctor, with practiced ease, used the paper to put some of the powder into the bottle, the rest he returned to the packet. After closing it with the stopper, he gave the bottle a good shake. 

“Señor Bubo,” he said and indicated where he wanted Bubo to sit so he could prop Tuli up. “I’m going to wave this under Tuli’s nose, and I’ll need you to keep her arms at her sides as best you can.” 

Bubo nodded, but was still alarmed when Tuli’s head jerked back into his chest. The Doctor handed off the bottle to Julieta, and Tuli slowly opened her eyes. When she saw the Doctor, she cried out and jerked herself away in her effort to get out from under the blankets. 

“Tuli, Tuli, it’s okay,” Bubo said, as he lightly restrained her, “I’m here. The Doctor was called because you fainted. No one will hurt you here.”  

Tuli’s eyes darted to all the faces around her. She turned and Bubo smiled slightly. She blinked then nodded, and he released her as her breathing evened out. She saw their Tío and flinched. 

The Doctor noticed this as well and said gently, “Now that you’re awake, Tuli. Tell me what you were doing when you fell asleep?” 

“I was sitting with Señorita Luisa by the beach... ” she paused as she looked at their Tío, he nodded so she continued, “I was thinking about my Mamí because she promised to take me to the beach at night... but we never got to do that. I don’t remember much after that...” 

The Doctor nodded and asked Tuli to open her mouth and as he continued on with his regular exam he asked as he looked at her neck, “I see you have a locket.” He touched the hand she was using to hold it, and she released it. He carefully brushed her hair back and nodded. “Try not to pull too hard on it, Tuli. You're cutting into your skin on the back of your neck.” 

“Yes sir,” Tuli said and held on to Tena with both hands instead of grabbing the locket. 

“Did you enjoy your supper?” the Doctor asked and Tuli nodded, and he continued, “Are you hungry now?” Tuli shrugged then nodded again. “Then perhaps a snack before bed then, eh?” Tuli smiled a little, then glanced again at her Tío. She shrunk in on herself, but it was clear the Doctor knew where she was looking. 

The Doctor got up from the bed, then rummaged in his bag and pulled out a small bottle. He removed one small tablet from it and handed it to Julieta, saying, “After Tuli has a snack, crush this on some paper and put a small amount in some water. It will help her stay asleep. I don’t recommend using it more than a few days in a row, else she may become dependent on it.” 

Bubo realized that their Tío had Fura sitting on his shoulder. He set Fura and Tena on the bed as the Doctor motioned to indicate that Julieta and her Tío should join him in the hall. Fura pushed her nose under Tena and brought the stuffed version to Tuli. 

Tuli smiled as she accepted the stuffed rat and said, “Thank you, Fura.” 

Fura squeaked in reply and scampered off the bed and disappeared into the cloudy floor. Tuli turned the stuffed rat in her hands and said, “I’m sorry I ruined your date, Bubo. I wish I could be... not like this.” 

Bubo gave her a squeeze and said, “You didn’t ruin anything, Tuli.” he pulled the pillow out from under the blankets and placed it behind her. He moved around in front of her and said, “In fact, I think it went pretty well.” 

“Really? Isabela wasn’t mad?” 

“Nope, definitely a dramatic ending though,” Bubo replied and pointed, “I see you have Tena.” 

“Tío brought him,” she said and held up the toy, “He looks almost brand new.” 

Bubo took the toy and said as he hefted it, “Tch, I think Tío’s over fed him. He’s gained some weight,” then handed Tena back to her.  

“You’re silly.” 

“It is one of my many failings,” Bubo said and adjusted his glasses, “Abuela always said so.” 

Tuli pushed back the blankets and looked around Luisa’s room and said, “This room is so perfect... do you think it would be okay if I sleep here tonight?”   

Bubo was taken aback and replied, “Really?” then took a good look around and said, “It is pretty girly in here. You sure you don’t want to stay with Antonio?”   

Tuli nodded and said, “I love Toni’s room, he’s so much fun to play with and all of his friends are nice… but it reminds me too much of… the forest… and I don’t want to keep you up all night like I did last night.” 

“Well, that’s not up to me, nor would I be able to stay with you. You’ll need to ask Señorita Luisa.” 

“Oh yeah, you’re a boy,” Tuli said as she pet Tena. She remembered she still had Mirabel’s rosary. She took it off and offered it to Bubo, saying, “Can you give this back to Mirabel for me? Tell her it helped a lot.” 

“I’ll do that,” Bubo said, taking it and placing it in his shirt pocket. The forget-me-nots dropped onto the bed, and Bubo picked them up and showed them to Tuli. “Got these from Isabela. They are pretty, no?” 

Tuli nodded and they both turned when the door opened again and their Tío came back in. The Doctor and Señora Julieta were gone, so Bubo decided Tuli really had just fainted. There was an uncomfortably long silence that was only broken when Tuli said, “I’m sorry, Tío, I didn’t mean to faint and make everyone worry... ” 

He set the tray nearby and held up a hand. Tuli stopped talking and Bubo could see Tuli was terrified of what her Tío was about to say. She was now had a white knuckled grip on both her locket and Tena. He did not indicate that Bubo should leave, so Bubo remained where he was and put his hand on Tuli’s.

He sat at the end of the bed and asked, “You’re not in any trouble, Tuli. Are you feeling better?” Tuli nodded, then let go of her locket as she resumed petting Tena. Their Tío nodded and picked up the plate with a small jelly sandwich which he offered to her. Tuli’s anxiety was clearly visible as she took a few bites of the sandwich. She chewed it very slowly, then set it back on the plate. “Done already?” Tuli nodded again, and he then offered Tuli the cup of juice. Bubo wondered what his Tío was thinking, since this was nothing if not supremely awkward.

But then Bubo thought, maybe he was trying to understand Tuli. Not just the fact that she was a girl, but more importantly that she was a little kid who had been through far too much. He turned to Bubo and said in an almost conversational tone, “I know I said I would give you my answer regarding Tuli staying here in a few weeks. But... something important has changed, Bubo.” Tuli had her eyes closed now with her hands balled up in front of herself as their Tío continued, “After speaking with the Doctor, and Señora Julieta, I’ve decided it would be best for Tuli to remain in the Encanto.” Tuli’s eyes popped open, and she leaned forward “But,” he said, looking around, “She is to stay with the Madrigals. The things we spoke of earlier, Bubo, still apply, but I may have to return to the city sooner than expected, and this will give you more time to get things settled.”

Bubo was not at all sure how to respond to that and just said, “Yes, sir.”

“I can really stay?” Tuli asked. 

“Yes, you can stay,” their Tío replied 

Tuli got to her feet and asked again, “I really don’t have to leave?” 

Bubo knew why Tuli was asking again. More than once she’d been told one thing only to have something else happen instead. 

Their Tío then added, “You don’t have to leave.” 

“Bubo, I don’t have to leave!” Tuli made a little jump.

Bubo nodded but wondered what had brought about this turn as Tuli rushed over to her Tío and gave him a hug as she whispered, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

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

A few minutes earlier... 

Dolores was leaning against the window in Mirabel’s room as she watched Mariano head back home. Abuela had gone to bed saying she was tired. Isa was sitting on the sofa, being unusually quiet. She’d asked her what was on the plate she gave Lorena. When she found out what that was, Isa sat on the sofa and hadn’t moved from that spot. Luisa was half asleep reading a book, while Mirabel was surreptitiously watching the goings-on in the hall. Her mother and Camilo were still in the kitchen making a snack for Tuli, and her brother was telling her about his new job at the school and how he was looking forward to that. Dolores was now half listening to what was occurring in Luisa’s room. Half listening to the Doctor as he explained what was happening with Tuli. 

Doctor (Julieta, has Tuli fainted before this?) 

Tía (Just when she came to us. Camilo unintentionally frightened her when he discovered her in the woods. But we’ve all noticed she seems to get lost in her memories.) 

Doctor (Señor José, would you say that this happened before she ran away?) 

José (You are aware that Tuli is not a girl, yes?) 

Doctor (That was not the question I asked.) 

José (No, not to this degree.) 

Doctor (I understand you are considering taking Tuli back to the city with you when you leave here?) another silence. 

José (It is a possibility.) 

Doctor (Well, then you may want to plan to be here for at least six weeks, possibly more. That child is in no condition to travel any distance at this time. They are under weight, traumatized and probably not sleeping as they should.) there was a pause and the Doctor continued, (Unfortunately, I have been in Colombia long enough that Tuli is not the first child I’ve treated with similar experiences. I am in no way parceling out blame here, but you need to understand how fragile Tuli is right now.) 

José (So you’re recommending I abandon my sister’s child here?) 

Doctor (Not at all, but I need you to see that it would not be in this child’s best interest to leave a place they feel protected after dealing with all that’s happened to them very recently.) There was another long silence. 

José (I’m not against Tuli remaining here. However, my sobrino, Bubo, is not as ready as he thinks he is for this sort of responsibility.) 

Tía (If that is the only obstacle, Tuli is welcome to stay here in Casita until Bubo is better prepared.)  

José (That is very generous; nevertheless, I couldn’t presume to-) 

Tía (It is not a presumption to offer a solution.) There was another pause and her Tía continued, (I am going to assume that your hesitation is actually tied to the fact that our family does not see a problem with how Tuli views herself.)  

The silence stretched until José must have nodded because he said, (In a way, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to accept it, but Bubo made the point that I should at least try to understand. Very well, Señora, I will accept your offer.) 

Doctor (That’s good news. José, would it be acceptable for me to periodically check in on Tuli?) 

José (Yes, of course.) 

Doctor (I’ll come tomorrow, then every few days after that. Good night.) 

Tía and José (Good night, Doctor.)

Tío Gus (Here’s the snack you ordered, madam.)

Tía (Thank you. Can you please take this to Tuli for me, Señor José?)

He must have nodded, since Dolores did not hear a response. She got up from the window sill and as she walked by Luisa, she tugged at her sleeve, indicating she should come out into the hall with her. She waived to her Tía after Luisa’s door closed behind José. She told her Tía that Tuli had asked Bubo if she could spend the night in Luisa’s room. Her Tía looked to her daughter and Luisa nodded.  

“Well, I’m headed for bed now,” Dolores said, “Do you need anything else from me Tía?” 

Her Tía was waving for Mirabel to join her and said, “Can you ask Isa to join us, please?” 

Dolores nodded and smiled at Mirabel, who looked apprehensive. She went into Mira’s room and sat next to her Prima, nudging her arm. Dolores could see that Isa was having a time dealing with what she’d told her about Lorena. “You better not be blaming yourself for her situation, you know that right?” 

“I guess, but it wasn’t until you ‘mentioned it’ that I realized just how much I’ve cut myself off from the town,” Isa said, "from my friends."

“You needed some space. That’s not a bad thing."

“Does Juan know?”

“Do you really want me to answer that question?”

“No, not really. I want to go see her tomorrow... but not because of that,” Isa said as she tugged gently on her braid, “Maybe I’ll take Mirabel with me... ” Dolores just looked at her and Isabela added, “Probably not the best idea, huh.”

"I think you can handle it. Anyway, your Mamá wants you to come out in the hall.” Dolores held up a hand and added, “No. she did not tell me why. I’m going to bed. A night in town is always a bit much these days.” Dolores got up and pulled her prima up with her.

“Oh, okay, good night, Doli,” Isabela said then added, “Thank you, for tonight and... I had a wonderful time.”

Dolores nodded and headed for her room.

Next Chapter...

Previous Chapter:

[tallsc]

Seeing Ghosts ~ AvM Short Story Pt 2/3

Decided imma just post one per day for these three days so you can get the whole thing pretty quickly ^-^ Plus I'm just about done with the third part other than a final round of editing which I'll be doing tomorrow.

So anyways, here's the second part!

~Mango

Gold.

My little sibling. The kid I've spent their whole life taking care of. My whole world for years. Who's death led to the worst decision I ever made.

They're here. They're back.

And I don't know what I'm supposed to do now.

I want to see them.

I have to see them.

But...

I look up as Purple kneels next to me. I didn't notice them follow me over. "... Mango, you holding up okay?" They ask after a second, looking nervous.

I can't help but laugh at the question - which probably isn't at all reassuring to them. "Okay? I spent so many months thinking my sibling was gone, and now according to that ghost thing they just show up out of nowhere but still won't let me talk to them. They could be sitting next to me right now and I couldn't even tell! That's not okay."

Purple looks at me for a moment before drawing their knees up to their chest. "That still means they're here... Right? If... If the ghost tells you what they say, you can talk to them again..."

"Talk to them about what?" I snap back. I know this isn't how I should be acting, especially not to Purple, but I just... I can't think straight. "About how I failed to stop them from DYING? About what I've done after they were gone? How many people I nearly killed?"

Purple's gone quiet, but I'm too preoccupied to pay much attention. "I spent so long after their death on some stupid plan for revenge. You know, I thought it was a good response at the time, but now I'm pretty certain they wouldn't have wanted that! They'd never want me to hurt anyone, if they don't know about it already I can't tell them now."

Though... I pause for a second, looking back the way I'd came. That ghost I was talking to was gone, which meant...

"... That's all unless they're here right now and just heard me talk about it. Or if they were there when I..."

I go quiet again, my mind clumsily flitting from thought to thought, from plan to plan. Purple doesn't offer any input, their gaze on the ground. I can hear Orange and their group murmuring to each other but I can't make out what they're saying.

Finally, my mind settles on a plan. "... If their... their spirit is here, if some part of them is here, maybe there's a way to bring them back completely. Maybe I was looking at this all wrong. I had so much power with my staff, but maybe I was using it for the wrong thing."

Purple looks up at me with a nervous expression. I keep talking, lowering my voice a little so nobody else could overhear. "Gold can't hate me if I use that power to bring them back. Then they'd be alive again, and - and what I did wouldn't have been for nothing, because otherwise I wouldn't have made the staff, I wouldn't know about that power. They can't hate me for it if I bring them back!"

"Mango." Purple speaks up, looking worried.

I keep talking. "I just need to get the staff back from Yellow, find more icon blocks - I know Orange hides theirs when I'm here, but I'm sure I can find it, and I'll figure out where the other one went. I doubt I'll need any more power than that, and with enough research, or experimentation, I'm sure I can find some way to bring Gold home. Some way to make things normal. Then -"

"Mango!"

This time, Purple's voice pulls me out of my racing thoughts. They almost look... scared. "Mango. Stop. Please, just... stop."

"...What?" Why do they look like that? I'm not... I'm not doing anything.

But Purple still looks upset, worried, maybe even frightened, as they hug their knees to their chest. "Mango, I... I know you want your old life back. Trust me, I get it, I do. I'd do anything, y-you KNOW I'd do anything, to have my parents back, but..."

Purple's gaze drifts from me to the portal we came through. The portal that led near my old kingdom. "I'm just worried that... if you try too hard to bring back the past... you might end up in a past you don't want to be in."

"That's not true." I protest, though their words make my rushing mind falter. Gold would want to be brought back, right...? This wasn't... wrong... "I'm not planning to hurt anyone, I just - I just need that power back."

"You were just talking about stealing the staff and icons again!" Purple hisses, lowering their voice with a nervous glance at the other five.

"Mango, look. We've just figured ourselves out, we've both finally found friends. Green, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Red. Each other. If you go through with this, I'm not going to fight you. But I don't want to be part of any more schemes. I've - I've had enough of that for one lifetime."

Purple looks away, rubbing their eyes. They had been crying. I didn't even notice... "You still should talk to them. You - you get the chance to do that, you should take it. I wish I could've..."

Purple's voice broke off for a moment with a quiet sob. "... You get to do something most sticks can't ever do. Take it, make the best of it, but p-please, don't hurt people again trying to reach for more. That's not a good way to live. And I don't think that's what Or... what Gold would've wanted."

...

Purple's right.

I hate to admit it to myself, I hate giving up like this, I hate not being able to do anything, but...

This is more important.

"... Okay. I won't touch the staff, or blocks, or any of that. I won't go back to how I was. I promise, alright?" I reply quietly.

Purple sniffles, rubbing their eyes again, but gives me a small smile. "Thanks."

I wearily smile back, then tip my head up to look at the digital blue sky. "I'll talk to the ghost soon. I'll... I'll talk to Gold soon. Figure everything out."

I glance at Purple again. They don't look as scared, but... I can still tell this whole thing has been hard for them. And I didn't miss their slip-up a moment ago. "But before then... we should take some time. We should make sure we're both holding up alright."

"We're alive. We're okay. We need to protect that."

Previous

Next

[inkovert]

Ok I decided to share a heartfelt sibling moment (thank you @leebrontide for chiming in on my last post ☺️) bc I haven't really showcased the depth of love/care/protection etc between Cami and her brother Jeremy. And I really love this scene between them and the way it turned out 🥰.

CW: discussions of self-harm, grief, loss of a parent. allusion to suicide.

The minute I reached the porch, the front door flew open, Jeremy standing in the doorway in a T-shirt and shorts. 

“You good? What the hell was that cryptic ass message you sent me?” 

I’d wanted to be strong, hold it together as I explained everything to him. But the minute I saw him, I broke. Rushing forward, I dropped my bag and wrapped my arms around his neck. 

“I’m sorry, Jer. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know…I wasn’t—” I sobbed, my chest heaving between each sentence. 

Shutting the door, he drew me into his arms. “Sorry for what? Cami, what happened?”

“All the running. The way I took off in the middle of the night that day. You’ve been so scared and I —“ I gasped for air to finish my thought. “I wasn’t trying to hurt myself. If I was I didn’t know, I just…was in so much pain and I didn’t know what to do and I —“ I curled into his chest. 

Chin resting against my head, he stroked my hair gently, soothingly. “It’s okay.”

I shook my head against the fabric of his shirt. “It’s not. I’m the older one. I’m supposed to be responsible. I’m supposed to look out for you, but I’m such a mess. I’m such a fucking mess, Jer, and I don’t want you to have to deal with…to think that after everything, one day, you might lose me, too.” I curled my hands into fists. “I wasn’t thinking. I wasn’t thinking about how it was affecting you. I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry.” 

We stood there and he remained quiet as I continued gasping between sobs in his arms. 

Once I’d settled down, he pulled back to look at me. “Want me to make you some tea?” 

I sniffled, nodding. 

He set a mug of Earl Grey tea on the counter in front of me, taking a seat in the adjacent bar stool. 

“Thanks,” I mumbled, closing my hands around the cup to feel its warmth. 

Elbow on the counter, he leaned his cheek against his palm and studied me. “You’re not an idiot,” he said softly. “You’re not a mess either. You’re grieving. We both are. We just do it in different ways.” 

I made an irritated noise at the back of my throat. “How come your way seems a lot more graceful and put together than mine?” 

He paused for a moment, then, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. Pulling something up, he set it down before me. It was a list of voicemails. I shot him a confused look. 

He pressed play on the first one and I gasped as my father’s deep, rich voice filled the room.

Son, I know you’re practicing hard out there on the school field but don’t stay out too late or your mother will get worried. I’m giving you another hour before I come and get you, alright? Love you. Bye.

He clicked on the next.

Son, I know the only thing that goes on in that head of yours is soccer but you’ve got to get more responsible. You left your whole science project on the counter. I’m gonna head over and drop it off for you, alright? I’m glad that you’ve found something that makes you happy but you’ve gotta make some room in that head of yours for some life skills. Pretty soon I’m gonna be old and gray and you’re gonna be the man of the house. Anyway, I’m on my way. Love you. Bye.

And the next. 

Son, I’m at the clothing store in the shoe section and I see these real nice sneakers here that you might like. Just calling to find out your shoe size. You’ve been growin’ too fast and the way you be stomping around the house like Bigfoot, tells me I might be a few sizes off. Call me back, okay? Love you. Bye.

I laughed at the last message, a tear breaking free and coursing down my cheek. 

“Every night before I go to sleep,” Jeremy said, “I lay in bed and listen to each one of these. Every single one. I’ve been doing it for the past three hundred seventeen days since he died and I know all forty-three by heart.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed. “Every week I have pillowcases soaked through with tears. Some nights I can barely bring myself to sleep and so I listen to these on repeat. Over and over again until sunrise.”

I gaped at him, bewildered. “I…I had no idea.”

A weak smile. “I know. Just because I grieve privately doesn’t mean it’s any less messy or any more graceful than you.” Feeling guilty, I stared down into my mug. “You and me. We’re all we have, Cami. You may not think I get everything you’re going through, and you’re probably right, I don’t. But I get it a hell of a lot more than anyone else will. I want you to be able to talk to me when you’re upset, angry, frustrated, feeling hopeless. All of it. All the messy, unpleasant stuff. Even if you can’t put it into words. Even if you think I won’t fully get it. I want you to lean on me.”

I bit my lower lip to stop it from trembling. I nodded, then reached over to squeeze his hand tight and whispered, “You, too,” 

[souslesetoilesavectoi]

I DID NOT KNOW IT WAS YOUR BIRTHDAY UNTIL JUST NOW BUT IT’S OK WE ROLL-

Your heels click against tiled floors. A steady rat-tat-tat-tat against swirling designs etched into the very ground. They spiral out in a fiery flower, petals scattering across the entire floor. Slowly, you weave your way around them, skating gracefully across the dance floor.

Your hand clutched in another’s. A palm, as warm as the morning sun beaming over a field of daises. Glancing up, you meet a pair of gentle, sober eyes. The same eyes you’ve grown ever so accustomed watching every single day. Bright, silver eyes that twinkle in the faint light, like the thousand stars, peeking through an ink black sky.

The pair of eyes you’ve fallen in love with, time and time again. The silver eyes of… Silver. You suppose there’s some irony in that statement. Smiling to yourself, you allow your body to flow right next to his, mirroring his moments. Both of you glide across the dance floor, swaying in time with the gentle music playing.

An arm snakes around your waist, slowly coaxing you closer. Close enough for you to press against him, close enough for you to feel his pulse beat through your skin, melting into your very own heartbeat. There was something tender, something special about that very moment.

For that brief moment, both of you were one. Hand in hand, waltzing across an empty dance floor. No one in the world but you and him.

The silvery moonlight streamed through the windows, penetrating the darkness of the night. You sneak a glance as both of you sail by a particular big window, only to pause for a moment. Silver slows to an halt as well, allowing you to stare up at the sky.

A swirling galaxy of stars, shimmering and sparkling above both of you. A thousand jewels, and all the gold in the world could never compare to this sight. It was simply breathtaking.

Yet even with all this beauty before him, Silver doesn’t look up. From the corner of your eyes, you peer at him. He was simply leaning onto the balcony, face leaning into the palm of his hand. Staring at you lovingly, his expression softened. There was a certain tenderness in his gaze that went straight into your heart.

That was the look of a man so helplessly and so hopelessly in love with the person right beside him.

You nudge him in the arm lightly, asking:

“Aren’t the stars beautiful tonight?”

He only shakes his head, before leaning closer to your face. The ghost of his breath wafting over your lips, so tantalisingly warm.

“I would rather much look at you.

For you are the most beautiful thing I have seen tonight, darling.”

Those last words were whispered softly, gently, before the plush of his lips met yours. Kissing you tenderly, his warmth bleeding into yours. The warmth of his love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOU!!!! Sorry this is sooo short notice- thank you for being one of my first moots, I love love love seeing you in my notifications and your art pop up onto my dash!!! There’s just something so elegant and delicate about your art style that makes me feel like a bull in a china store, works of art carefully painted onto smooth ceramic. We have to do an creative trade sometime oh my gods-

But anyways HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYYY

AAADJKSGGFHKLAAAAAAAAAAAA— (*≧∀≦*) Why. Why Ceru I’m in pieces—

Believe me when I tell you my siblings were side-eyeing me (again).

But seriously I’m?????? Speechless?????? How dare you attack me with your god-level writing—

Thank you so so much it’s so perfect~~~~!!!!!!!!!! It literally took me by surprise SKJDFS

Thank you again~!!!!!!! And it’s alright of course~!!! It was very short notice of me just posting that as well, but I guess it’s classic for me to be late for my own birthday XDDD

I’ll treasure this always!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!! ♡♡♡♡♡♡