#at least we'll always have tree on the hill | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shadowuponstorm · 5 months

Text

Stay Away From The Coach's Granddaughter

A/N: I recently started watching One Tree Hill and when I searched it, I noticed it's rarely posted about on this platform. So, I thought "Why not write up something for it and be a part of those who want to keep it alive?". Hope you 'Ravens' enjoy! (I just wanted to mention, I love all the endgames! This is just another scenario separate from the show)

Summary: Coaching basketball for Tree Hill always seem to be first place on the list of Brian "Whitey" Durham's pride and joys, when it's in actually fourth place. The third place belongs to his son, Dale, the second for his granddaughter, and the first place is always reserved for Camila. When he gains custody of his granddaughter, he vows to always have her best interest at heart, even if it means warning his boys to stay away from her. What would happen if one of them breaks one of Coach's rules?

-4 YEARS AGO, WHITEY'S POV-

I was about to sit down to eat dinner when a knock came on the door. I grumbled as I tried to get out of my recliner, complaining that all I needed was peace and quiet. I opened the door to see two police officers standing there, with the lights on the squad cars still on.

"You Whitey Durham?" The officer on the left asked as I nodded my head and confirmed I was, "Your son, Dale, was in a car accident. I'm sorry to inform you, sir, that he didn't make it to the hospital."

Hearing those words, ripped a chunk of my heart out. "No, no, not my boy." I kept thinking over and over again, trying to stay upright.

"Thank you for coming all this way to tell me," I said to the officers as they nodded in understanding of my reaction to the shocking news I've been given, "H-have you informed his ex-wife? What about my granddaughter, was she with him?"

"Someone is going over there right now to tell her," The officer on the right responds, he then tells me, "As for your granddaughter, we have her in the back of the squad car. She wasn't in the accident with your son."

I sighed in relief as I looked past the cops' shoulders to see her just sitting there, looking devastated, and I couldn't blame her, she just lost her dad. I asked, "Is there any way you can allow her to stay with me? I mean, her mom lives pretty far from-"

"Oh, Mr. Durham, she isn't going to her mom. Social Services came by the hospital and explained to her that she was to live with you if something were to happen," the officer says as I see his partner go down the steps of my porch and get her out of the car.

"Why don't you go on in? I'll finish this up as quickly as I can," I told my granddaughter as she passed by me to enter the house.

After a few more minutes, the police left and I shut the door behind me to see Charlotte sitting on the couch, as quiet as she could be. She turned to look at me after hearing the door shut and whispered, "What am I going to do without my dad? I'm only 13."

"Oh, sweetheart," I said as I took a seat right next to her and pulled her into a hug, "I know this is going to be hard, but we'll get through this. That's what us Durhams do."

"I'm glad he and Grandma Camila are reunited at least," I hear Charlotte whisper as I tell her that was a good way of thinking.

I will do everything in my heart to keep her safe and protect her as best I can from harm's way.

-PRESENT, Charlotte's POV-

"Come on! Let's Go!" I hear Grandpa shout at the boys as I try to study on the bleachers, "Focus on practicing the plays, not showing off!"

I chuckle to myself and roll my eyes as I witness Tree Hill's star player, Nathan Scott, doing the exact opposite of what he was "asked" of. My phone buzzed beside me and I picked it up to see a text from Haley.

Haley: "Hey, wanna study at Karen's cafe?"

I text back, "Have to ask Grandpa first, but that would be greatly appreciated!"

After I put my phone back down, I glanced back at the court to see Nathan looking in my direction and proceeded to wink at me. I looked around to see if Peyton was sitting nearby, but couldn't see her anywhere.

"Nathan, you got something in your eye son? If not, stop blinking!" Grandpa yelled as the other boys laughed and I shook my head.

I packed up my stuff and headed down the bleachers toward Grandpa to ask him, "Hey, Haley texted me asking if I wanted to study over at the cafe. Can I go?"

"Sure, go ahead," Grandpa said as he glanced his attention to me for a split second, "Stay safe and remember to keep your phone."

"Yes sir," I respond as I walk toward the exit, but not before turning my head to yell over my shoulder, "See you guys at the game!" prompting the guys to hoot and cheer, much to Grandpa's annoyance.

After I arrived at the cafe, I sent a quick text before opening the door to see Haley helping Karen out behind the counter.

"Oh hey sweetie," Karen says as she spots me walking in and putting my schoolbag on the counter, "Your grandpa's yelling was too much for you?"

I laugh at her little joke and respond, "I wish I could say I'm not used to it, but I'm used to it. He's stressed about the big game and Nathan was busy showboating. Speaking of Nathan, he did something strange."

"What did he do?" Haley asked as I pulled out my notes and textbooks, "Did he flirt with you?"

"Okay, one, you know my grandpa's rule about me fraternizing with his "boys" so flirting is out of the question as well as dating. Two, no, he winked in my direction, but Peyton wasn't on the bleachers or there."

"Hold on, you say he winked in your direction, but Peyton wasn't around?" Haley asked as I nodded my head, "Charlotte, he was winking at you."

"No, he wasn't," I respond skeptically as I look over at Karen, who has the "Yeah, he definitely winked at you" expression on her face, "There's absolutely no reason that Nathan Royal Scott, who is taken mind you, would want to wink at me."

"Why not? You're intelligent, funny, and such a beautiful girl," Karen says as Haley voices that she agrees with that.

"Nathan lives up to his father, which means, he is not going to go for the smart and nerdy girl, he's going for the pretty cheerleader," I respond before mentioning, "No offense to Peyton, she definitely rocks it."

"Well, believe me when I say this, something is going off in that boy's brain when you're around," Haley says as she grabs a biscotti from the jar.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Lucas asks from behind, making me jump a little, "Oh, sorry, thought you heard the door open."

"It's fine, we're good," I said as I turned my body in his direction, "Also, none of your business who we were talking about because it's nothing of importance."

"Nathan winked at her and she thought Peyton was nearby," Haley responded as I shushed her from going further than that information.

"Well, they're always breaking up and getting back together, so I didn't know," I said as Lucas nodded his head in understanding of my theory before mentioning, "He and Peyton have broken up for good."

"There, now you have a shot at becoming the star player's girlfriend," Haley says as I roll my eyes and remind her that I'm also the Coach's granddaughter, so there's a little to no possibility of that happening, "You never know, maybe Whitey will go soft at the fact you're finding love."

Despite doubt running through a loop in my mind, maybe Haley's right about this. Grandpa is always telling stories about how he and Grandma were soulmates in love, he would want me to have a similar experience.

-BASKETBALL GAME-

"Hey Charlotte, if we win this game, how about we grab some dinner together?" I hear Tim shout at me, making me roll my eyes and yell back, "In your dreams! Now focus before he chews off your head or worse, benches you for the rest of the game."

I could've sworn I saw a little smile on Grandpa's face when he heard me rejecting Tim's offer. After my dad's passing 4 years ago, it was in writing that Grandpa was to get full custody of me since my mother wasn't acting like an actual mother and being reckless with everything regarding money, drugs, and especially men. It was honestly the best decision my father made because he didn't want me to be exposed to the fact my mom put those first instead of my health and well-being. I understand why the "Stay Away From The Coach's Granddaughter" rule is in place, but doesn't help when most of the boys are actually really nice.

"Hey Charlotte!" I heard someone shout and I looked to see who it was, "Down here!

I turned my head in the direction of the voice to see it was Martin McFadden, or what he likes to be called, Mouth.

"What Mouth?" I asked as I walked down the bleachers to his spot, "Did you need extra help with something?"

"No, it's not that, here," Mouth says handing me a folded-up piece of paper, and before I can ask, he mentions, "If your grandpa asks, just say it's my number so we can keep in touch in case we're working on something."

"Got it," I respond as I put the paper in my pocket and head back to my spot on the bleachers, with part of me itching to want to read the note now.

-AFTER BASKETBALL GAME-

As always, the Ravens kicked ass and my grandpa gained another win to his record. Grandpa and I were on our way home when he asked, "What was that kid giving you? The one with the big lips."

I laughed a little before saying, "His name is Martin, but he goes by Mouth as a nickname. He just wanted to give me his number for his phone in case we're to be working together on a project."

"You sure it isn't a love note? It was folded up pretty good," Grandpa responded as a little joke, prompting me to shake my head.

"No, just a friendly communication between the sportscaster and the granddaughter of the coach," I say as Grandpa parked the car in front of the house.

After dinner had been eaten and dishes cleaned, Grandpa went into the den to watch TV in his favorite recliner as I went into my room. I pulled the paper from my pocket and unfolded it to see a very recognizable handwriting, Nathan.

"Hey, I know this is not ideal, but you know, your grandpa has that rule of his set in stone and I don't want to be benched for the rest of the season. Here's my number xxx-xxx-xxxx, in case you want to talk or text."

I chuckle at how bold this boy is, using his friend to give me this note and bypassing my grandpa's rule. I pull out my phone and text the number, "If this is a prank, I very much don't appreciate that."

Nathan: As fun as that sounds, it's not. Guess you got my note ;)

Me: You know very well I did, it happened right in front of you, and you also had Mouth help you. Good game today.

Nathan: Thanks, that wink was towards you by the way.

I looked at my phone screen in confusion before texting back, "I know, you texted it to me just now."

Nathan: No, I mean earlier. You were looking around like it was meant for someone else.

Me: Can we switch over to a phone call?

Nathan: Wouldn't Whitey overhear you?

I closed my phone and put it in my pocket as I left my room to head towards the den.

"Hey, is it alright if I go for a night bike ride? I won't be gone long," I said as Grandpa nodded his head, "I have my phone on me."

"Stay safe, love you," Grandpa shouts as I yell, "Love you too."

After I shut the door behind me, I started biking down the road that goes toward the River Court. I pulled my phone out and called Nathan as I leaned my bike against the bleachers. He answered on the first ring and said, "So what excuse did you give?"

"Har har, very funny, I gave him an honest one. He's used to me doing rides at night, as long as I'm not out too late," I respond as I hear Nathan laugh, "What? I'm serious, I've never broken any of his ground rules, as of now."

"What a way to break the old man's heart, betrayal," Nathan said as I rolled my eyes and rebutted, "At least I'm always on his good side."

"Touche, question, why were you looking around when I winked at you?" Nathan asked as I ran my hand over my face and groaned.

"It's embarrassing," I respond as Nathan hits me with a "Try me."

After I took a breath, I said, "I thought Peyton was around, so when you winked at me, I looked to see if it was for her since she's usually your girlfriend."

Nathan laughs a little before saying, "We do break up a lot, don't we? Yeah, we're done for this time. Don't worry, that's not something to be embarrassed about."

"Jeez thanks, Scott," I respond jokingly before pulling my phone away from my ear to see the time, only have 15 more minutes before I have to start biking home.

"How much longer do we have on this call?" Nathan asked and before I could ask how he knew, he said, "I heard you pull the phone away."

"We have 15 more minutes before I have to bike home," I respond before I hear his voice change when he asks, "I'm sorry? Did you say bike?"

"Yeah, I thought I mentioned that," I said before clarifying, "I don't have a car yet and I think we both know how my grandpa feels about your dad, so there's no way my car is coming from him."

"Yeah, probably best if you don't," Nathan agrees as I add in, "Sorry, know he's your dad and all, but he can sometimes be an ass."

"Oh no, feel free, I feel the same way," Nathan responds as I start to feel bad about the way how unhappy he is talking about Dan.

To change the topic, I asked, "So, what's the real reason you wanted to talk to me?"

"Just to get to know you, the real you. You know, finally know your personality, not just the fact you happen to be related to my basketball coach," Nathan responds as I feel the inside of my body warm up and blush.

"Didn't know Showboater Scott actually had a heart," I say sarcastically as Nathan laughs and mentions, "Just takes the right person to make it skip a beat."

"I really should get back before Grandpa sends a search party, I'll see you tomorrow," I respond as Nathan agrees and tells me goodnight.

After I told him goodnight back, I closed my phone and started biking back up the road. I entered the house to look into the den to see Grandpa snoring and see the TV was playing a video of an old Ravens game. I grabbed a blanket to cover him up and I kissed him on the forehead to whisper, "Goodnight, Grandpa."

My phone buzzed to signal a text came through as I entered my bedroom, I pulled it out to see Nathan texted me.

"Had to tell you goodnight again, hope your dreams are sweet and have me in them ;)"

I laughed before putting my phone on charge and getting dressed for bed. Maybe tomorrow will bring something more into my life.

-TOMORROW-

"Have a good day today, I'll see you later," Grandpa says as we both exit the car and head toward the school.

After I told Grandpa to have the same, I headed toward my locker to see Tim leaning against it. I thought to myself, "Great, another day to reject his advances, again."

"What do you want Tim?" I asked as I stopped in front of him and shoved his shoulder to get him to move, "And get off my locker."

"Just thought I'd try to serenade you to go out with me, no one can resist my charm," Tim says smugly like he thinks he'll be successful in his attempt today.

Before I can say something, I hear someone say, "Tim, she's never going out with you, so stop. Besides, Turner's looking for you, it looks like you're in trouble as always."

"Aww man, I gotta hide," Tim nervously says as he bolts down the hall and keeps looking in all directions to try to avoid our principal.

I turned around to see Nathan standing there with a smile on his face.

"Clever, is Turner really looking for him?" I asked as Nathan shook his head and said, "Nope, thought I'd save a damsel in distress."

I open my locker to get my textbooks before saying, "I could have handled it myself, but thank you. I swear he just never gives up."

"Yeah, that's Tim for you," Nathan responds as I laugh, "Did you make it home in time? You didn't respond to my text."

"I did, thanks for being concerned. I did get your text, was nice," I said as he plastered an "I take offense to that" expression as a joke and whispered, "How dare you? I worked on that text for hours."

"Fine, it was funny, better?" I respond as Nathan nods and looks around for who I assume is my grandfather to make sure he isn't nearby before he leans in, "I really enjoyed our phone call, we should do it again."

The school bell rings and everyone starts rushing the hallways, causing my attention to be distracted and when I looked back, he was gone. So I pulled my phone out to text him, "We should."

I entered class to take my seat and the teacher started teaching his material when I saw a folded piece of paper get thrown on my desk. I looked towards the person who put it there and they shrugged their shoulder, meaning they were only told to give it to me. I started to unfold the paper when the teacher called my name.

"Yes sir?" I asked as he glanced toward the paper in my hand and asked what I had in my hand, "I'm not sure, I was given this just now."

I handed it to him after he asked for it, knowing he believed me since he knew I was not the type of student to break school rules, opening it to see what it said, before folding it back up.

"Sir, isn't it your rule to read notes aloud?" I hear a student asks before the teacher responds, "Yes, but in this case, I'm not going to."

"Not fair to the other times you did it," Another student says before the teacher looks at me with a somber expression and apologizes before he unfolds the paper to read what it said.

"Charlotte, you should wipe your existence off Planet Earth because of how ugly you are, no wonder your daddy is dead and your mommy didn't care to want you."

My stomach dropped and my veins turned cold hearing those words,

"I-I-" I tried to say but sentences weren't forming in my brain nor connecting with my mouth, "I can't."

I suddenly grabbed my bag and ran out of the classroom with tears streaming down my face. I didn't even know I was going outside the school until I was actually outside, standing on the sidewalk.

"I can't stay here, I don't want anyone to see me like this, especially Grandpa," I kept thinking over and over in my head.

I walked back into the school and towards Turner's office, who was surprised to see me.

"Charlotte, how can I-. Is everything alright?" He asked as I shook my head and told him, "I'm feeling sick and can't stay for the rest of the day. Do you mind telling my grandpa I went home?"

"Of course, hope you feel better soon," Turner says after I thanked him and left the office towards the parking lot to grab my bike.

After I biked home, I got in the house and that's when I finally decided to let out a scream and started sobbing, where no one could hear or see me this way. I've been bullied like this a lot by Rachel, and no one knows about it, not even Grandpa. I don't know why she's doing it, she's only been in Tree Hill for a few months. "I wish she would just stop."

I went into my bedroom and practically slammed my whole body onto the bed to grab a pillow to hold. I must've fallen asleep for a few hours because my phone buzzed with a text and I looked at the screen name to see it was Nathan.

"Hey, where were you? All the guys asked Whitey and he said you'd gone home sick."

Me: I did. A bug must be going around and I caught it.

Nathan: You looked fine this morning so I know that's a lie. What's going on?

Me: Nothing, I'm fine. Aren't you supposed to be practicing?

Nathan: Practice is over, didn't you see the time?

I looked at the time to see it was 5:30, which meant Grandpa would be home in an hour or so from mingling with his friends.

Me: Didn't realize, oops. Sorry, I had to miss seeing Grandpa yell at you guys.

Nathan: I need to hear your voice, phone call?

I sighed and tried to make my voice sound like I hadn't been crying before pressing the call button.

"Hey, how did practice go?" I say with a hint of crackling in my voice, which I silently curse that I let it slip

"About how it is sometimes, are you really okay?" Nathan asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I might've just caught what's been going around. I'll be fine," I said as I heard a car door shut nearby, "Shoot, Grandpa's home early, I'll talk to you later."

After Nathan and I said our goodbyes, I made it look like I'd been sleeping since I got home. The door creaks open as Grandpa's footsteps enter my room and they stop as he sees my appearance. I hear him set down something on my desk and walk over to kiss my forehead to whisper, "Hope you feel better sweetheart, whether the bully is getting to you or you're actually sick."

I open my eyes to see a soup container and by the smell, it's from Karen's cafe, which means it's bound to be delicious. First, I need to talk to Grandpa, so I exit my bedroom to enter the den.

"Listen, I'm really sorry-" I started to say before Grandpa stopped me and said, "I know, your teacher got worried so he came to see me and showed me the nasty note. Then Turner came and told me you left because you weren't feeling good."

"Does that mean I'm barred from going to the next game?" I asked as Grandpa shook his head and told me the skipping class rule doesn't apply to me, "I promise, it's a one-time thing."

"Oh really? So, you're not going to skip class even if Nathan asks you to?" Grandpa asked, making my eyes widen in shock, and before I could ask, he said, "I see the way he looks at you, and I admit, maybe my rule is a little harsh."

"It's not, I understand why," I responded as I mentioned, "He doesn't know about the note or the bullying. This is all recent."

"Well, you outta tell him, he was worried about you when he didn't see you in the bleachers," Grandpa said as I sighed and responded, "I know, I just- I don't know why I'm allowing their words to hurt me."

"Those words hurt me too, seeing those awful things said to part of my whole world, hit me in the core," Grandpa said as I went to sit on the sofa, "You know your daddy loved you so much, loved you to the point he thought of the world of you and ensured you'd be with me as well as protected."

"I know, and I appreciate him for that. The mom part though, struck a chord since it's true, she loves those things more than me," I mention as Grandpa shakes his head yes, "At least I have the best parental figure take her place, because it makes me miss her less."

"Now you're just pulling my leg," Grandpa says to try to make me laugh. I shout, "I'm not! I'm serious."

"I know, just wanted to see that smile of yours, which I hope you've been showing Nathan," Grandpa responds as I blush and say, "We just started recently talking on the phone, but you can say he has since I have a tiny crush on him."

"As much as I don't like the fact he broke my rule, I'm glad," Grandpa said as he smiled and mentioned, "He'll be excited to see you back in the bleachers."

-BASKETBALL GAME-

I sighed, trying to keep the butterflies at bay, before pushing open the door to the gym to enter the basketball game. I looked up at the scoreboard to see the Ravens are winning by 5, hopefully making Grandpa pleased.

"Hey Charlotte, glad to see you're feeling better," I hear Peyton say to me as I walk near the cheerleaders, causing me to turn my head and respond, "Thanks, Peyton."

Before I even passed by the cheerleaders fully, I heard from behind me, "You look like you need a good purging, why don't you go into the bathroom real quick?". Rachel, she's on the squad?? I decided to ignore her and keep walking, but she apparently didn't like that because the next thing that came out of her mouth was, "Hey fatty, did you hear what I said to you?"

"Rachel, stop," Brooke said, genuinely worried, "Don't you realize who you're speaking like that to?"

"Oh I don't care that her grandpa is some big-shot coach, doesn't excuse the fact she looks like that. Probably why her parents didn't want to be near her," Rachel responds with a smug look on her face.

Before I could turn around and call her out on her disgusting behavior, I heard Nathan shout, "That is enough!" causing the whole gymnasium to be quiet.

"Oh come on, you know it's true," Rachel says as if she believes Nathan is on her side and will get the others to join in.

"No, it is not. And you have no right to speak to her like that," Nathan responds as he inches forward, "Ever since you came to Tree Hill, you've been acting like a real bitch to Charlotte, who has never done anything to you. Despite what you've done to her, she remained silent because she knew what it would mean if she spoke up."

"It's not like I'm going to get in trouble for this," Rachel says as Turner speaks up, "Rachel, we know it was you who wrote that note to Charlotte, we'll be discussing your punishment."

When Rachel turns to look at me, she had pissed written all over her face. "You are so fake! People need to know the truth about the real you." Rachel shouts, looking desperate for attention to be on her.

"She's not fake," Nathan says as he moves to be closer to me, "She has a heart of gold, she's kind to everyone around her, she's so smart, she's funny when she thinks she isn't, and doesn't pay any notice if someone is admiring her from afar."

"Nathan, I-" I started to say, fear of my grandpa's rule creeping in when he said, "He gave me permission, it's okay." He took my hand in his and squeezed it in comfort before whispering, "Now, you have another person in your life to love."

I looked up into his eyes to see sincerity swimming in them before I pressed my lips against his and kissed him. I felt him wrapping his arms around my midsection and picking me up, causing everyone to cheer and hoot. Meanwhile, Rachel stormed off with a fuss, but no one was paying attention to her. I pull away before whispering against his lips, "Now go kick some ass, boyfriend."

"Not a problem, girlfriend," Nathan said as he put me down and I smiled as I watched him run back onto the court.

I looked over to see my grandpa smiling back at me and I gave him the thumbs up before going to my seat next to Haley.

-WHITEY'S THOUGHT-

"Camila and Dale, you would be really happy and proud of our girl. She's doing amazing and found herself the best boy I'd imagine she falls in love with and he treats her like she deserves to be treated. Keep watching over us and blessing us with what we need most.

#nathan scott #nathan scott imagines #nathan scott fanfic #one tree hill #one tree hill imagine #one tree hill oneshot #nathan scott oneshot #james lafferty

97 notes · View notes

drarry-is-totally-cannon · 1 month

Text

Drarry & The Goblet of Fire: 4th Year Rewrite

Chapter 7 ~ Something Exciting/Wicked This Way Comes

(A/N: Don't panic. YOU HAVE NOT MISSED THE PREVIOUS 6 CHAPTERS!!! I just started it at 7 because this is where my story diverges from JKR's original Plot. Also, I'm new to writing in 3rd person so we'll see. I'll try my best to imitate the original HP style but it might be a bit off. Ahhh! This took me way too long. I feel like it isn't perfect, so I may edit it later, but at least it's done. My very first Drarry fic!!!)

The Weaslys and their youngest son, Ron's best friends, Hermione Granger, and the famous Harry Potter have been up since before even the sun had made its first appearance in the sky and Harry feels as if he's been hit by Jelly-Legs Jinx. But now, arriving at the destination, the campgrounds for the finale of the Quidditch World Cup, his energy is completely restored. In fact, there's been a sort of buzzing in him since the group met up with Mr. Digory and his son, Cedric.

The moment is still fresh in Harry's mind, despite the slight disorientation from the Port-key.

The older boy had been perched in a tree when they reached the top of the hill. Harry hadn't noticed him at first, still too busy laughing at Ron's groaning complaints about the long walk. But when Cedric greeted everyone Harry's eyes went immediately to him.

His red hair caught the light like the suncatcher in Mrs. Weasly's kitchen making it almost appear to sparkle and the sun gave his skin the same glow. Harry thought he must be part faerie or nymph or something because no boy should be this attractive.

Cedric jumped down from the branch in one fluid movement and strode over to shake everyone's hand. Harry swore he smiled a bit brighter when he got to him, but maybe that was just his imagination. He recalls how Cedric's hands were warm and his grip was pleasantly strong, fitting of his build.

Harry blinks away the memory to look at the Hufflepuff seeker again. Somehow the boy, three years Harry's senior, is even more handsome in real life.

'I've never been jealous of a bloke like this before. And I've always thought I looked alright, but this is weird . . .'

"See you 'round Arthur. Ced and I have got to be off now. Got to meet the Missus before she gets all in a twist. And goodbye Harry. May the best team win."

Cedric looks away, clearing his throat lightly, embarrassed at his father yet again referencing Harry's terrible fall last year. "Well, it's been truly great meeting all of you. I guess we've got to go. Hopefully, we'll see you around. If we don't see each other before September, know that I'm looking forward to that re-match. I would like to beat you on fair terms." He winks at Harry, his competitive spirit clear in his eyes. Whatever skill he may or may not lack, his spirit certainly makes up for it.

Something about the gesture makes Harry feel warm, a slightly different feeling than the blissful buzz of Quidditch camaraderie. He looks down, then slowly back up to Cedric, not quite meeting the boy's eyes. "Y-yeah. Me too. It'll be . . . fair."

Harry has never been a master of words but even he thinks that was awkward. But he can say no more because with that the Diggorys are off. Thankfully for Harry, most everyone is too preoccupied with the majesty of the grounds to pay much attention to his fumbling. After all, they are something of a sight to behold. Tents in every shape and size imaginable stretch on as far as Harry can see (and probably farther accounting for his notoriously unreliable vision).

"Is this okay?" He asks, his breath taken away at the sheer expanse. He's never seen so many wizards in one place. People from all countries, children younger than Ginny, and adults with silver hair.

"What do you mean, Harry?" Mr. Weasly asks.

"What about the muggles, won't they get suspicious?"

"Nope, there are hundreds of charms around the campground. If any muggle comes within a mile they suddenly remember something urgent they have to do at home. It's quite the sight actually, the poor people, running off like that. And, of course, each family puts charms on their own tents. We wizards rarely get together like this so when we do, we can't resist showing off a bit." The man giggles with joy, sounding more like a Hogwarts student himself than a ministry employee of many years.

—

Harry's amazement only grows as they walk down the rows upon rows of enchanted temporary homes. Most tents look fairly ordinary, their owners making a somewhat decent effort to blend in, but they're still spectacular by their sheer number. Not to mention the few obviously magical tents that look more like small houses. He's not the only one impressed. Hermione gasps.

'These must all involve such advanced, precise charm work. Extension charms, cloaking charms . . . if only I could make something like this, even something small like a bag.'

Even Ron, despite his magical upbringing, has never seen this many international wizards before and gapes at the sheer decadence of some of the tents. He is not so silent about his thoughts, muttering "Must be the pureblood families, right rich snobs the lot of them."

Hermione is too lost in thought to hear and Harry ignores his best mate's grumbling in favour of scanning the crowd for a particular tent. He's not quite sure what he's looking for but is sure he'll know it when he sees it. He frowns when he fails to spot it and follows the Weasleys dejectedly.

After labouring for an hour and a half to set up the tent, everyone heads inside. The cloth enclosure, which from the outside looks hardly big enough for two people, much less 10, has a small loft with a window, invisible from the outside. It's through this window that Harry spots the largest tent he's seen so far. A black mass with turrets, balconies, and several peacocks tethered to the outside.

'That has to be it!'

Harry's suspicions are only confirmed when he sees a familiar head of white-blond hair parting the crowd to enter. At the sight, he jumps down from the loft, scaring an unsuspecting Ginny into dropping her copy of Witch Weekly: 100 Most Influential Women in Quidditch Edition.

She blushes at his sudden appearance in front of her, but he hardly notices. "Ah, Harry. What on earth?"

"Sorry, I've got to, er, get some water?"

"Water?"

"Yeah . . . I'm really thirsty, from the walk, you know."

"Okay. Well, the pump's a bit of a way away, would you like me to go with you, I can help. I'll tell Dad."

Harry sighs, wishing she'd let him go, but that's seemed impossible since he rescued her from the Chamber of Secrets in her first year. As much as Harry denies it, he's easy to read and Ginny is hardly stupid. He should've known she wouldn't accept his lie so easily.

"Ah, well I kind of wanted to explore on my own, meet up with some of the boys from my year, and do, you know, idiotic boy stuff." He lies easier than he thought he would, quoting Hermione.

Harry feels guilty when Ginny deflates, shoulder sagging with obvious disappointment, "Well, Dad won't want you just going off, this is a big place."

"I know. But I saw Dean and Seamus just outside. I won't be going far. And I'll do everyone the favour of bringing water back."

'Agh, drat! Well, hard to be subtle when you're Harry bloody potter I guess. Probably best though, Ginny's right. I still get lost around the castle sometimes and I've been there loads. And Mr. Weasley isn't the nosy type., I'm sure it'll be fine.'

The thought of being sent out to trek across the grounds for water in the summer heat makes the idea more infinitely palatable and reluctantly, she nods. "Alright, I'll tell Dad so he won't worry."

"Thank you, Ginny. You really are the best."

She lights up at that, and Harry wonders if it was the wrong thing to say, but not for long because his thoughts turn to another as soon as he's out of the tent flap.

Surprisingly, for all their talk, the Malfoy family tent isn't a far walk from the Weasley tent.

'Everyone must be inside. I'd bet Pansy and Blaise are there, probably Theo too. We didn't plan to meet, I wonder if he'll even want to see me.'

Taking a breath, Harry points his wand at the tent, sending a shower of harmless silver and green sparks, the colours of Slytherin house, inside. It's a spell he learnt from one of the tent's occupants. He snickers when he hears a girl scream.

'Sorry, Pansy.'

"Ah, what in Merlin was that?" he hears Blaise mutter.

"I told you the Irish are crazy, I don't even know why you're cheering for them, Draco. The Bulgarians have Viktor Krum, who's only the most famous seeker in all of history." Pansy scoffs dismissively.

"Famous, but not best. And we're cheering for the Irish because Malfoys always cheer for the winning team."

'You knotheads, those weren't Ireland's colours, they were ours.' Draco keeps the comment to himself, not feeling like risking Pansy's wrath just now.

"Famous but not best, eh? Like Potter."

Harry, who'd know the sound anywhere, notes the absence of Draco's laugh in the chorus of snickers.

There's a pause and all sound from the tent stops. "Ugh, bloody Potter. It's always something with him, isn't it? Stupid perfect Potter no one ever shuts about him. I swear if I hear another word about the Golden Boy, I'll puke."

'But you're the one who never shuts up about him, Draco.' Pansy keeps these thoughts to herself, giggling as she looks around at her friends, all thinking a similar version of the statement.

'He's such a good liar, if I didn't know I'd think he really meant that.' Harry shoves the insecurity down. His friendship with Draco has always been a rocky road, fragile due to the circumstances around them. For one thing the natural distrust between the two and then the animosity between the adults in their lives. What started as politeness neither is sure has blossomed yet into kindness. It's quite difficult to know where you stand with someone when you can't even talk in public.

Harry may not be the most observant but he now knows Draco well enough to see that ever since they met it's seemed as if some invisible barrier prevents Draco from getting close to Harry. Though Harry isn't sure if it's a natural defence mechanism or something more. He can't imagine what it could be since after the Third Year he's assured Draco that everything he does in public is for show. The teasing is all a part of the fun. He's not sure if he can say the same for Draco because sometimes his words feel so real. But what could possibly be the reason for that?

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come back quick though, I want to paint your nails in Bulgaria red."

"How about you don't, and I go find the imbecile who nearly set our tent on fire. Probably some poor drunk Irishman."

Harry can hear his friend's voice getting closer and steps out of his hiding place. The blond's grey eyes widen when he sees Harry, then narrow again, face falling into an easy smirk on his face.

'He's harmless like this.' Harry thinks, 'Still a snake, but not a venomous one.'

"My, my, so that was you, Potter. You've improved greatly over the summer. I didn't know you knew any spells besides Expleiarmus."

Harry punches his arm lightly "Git!"

The smirk shifts into something more genuine. "Hah. Sorry, I love my friends but I know they can be intense sometimes. But seriously, what are you doing here, Harry?"

"Oh, nothing much. I was just out for an afternoon stroll, that's a thing muggles do, you wouldn't know, and before I knew it, I was here. It's not far from Surrey really, only a couple hundred kilometres." Harry answers casually.

"Be serious, Harry." But Draco's own seriousness is lost behind the smile that he's trying to hide.

"I'm watching the finale of the Quidditch World Cup, don't be dense." Harry laughs

Draco nods, mostly to himself. "Oh, the Weaslys took you along with them, then."

"You knew the Weasleys were coming?"

Draco rolls his eyes, "Yes, of course I did. I heard my father mention that Mr. Weasly sold his house to get tickets so I assumed he used connections at the Ministry." Both boys wince. "Anyhow, that's very kind of them. I'm glad they did. I think you might love Quidich even more than Weasley."

Harry laughs, "Maybe, but his room is basically a Chudley Cannons shrine."

Draco frowns in mock disgust, "The Cannons? I've always been more of a Magpie fan myself."

"Magpie? Like those Australian birds that attack shiny things? I learnt about them in primary school a bit."

"Oh, right. Gosh, Potter, You got to tell Weasley to drag you to more Quidditch games. The Montrose Magpies. They're one of the best teams in the British-Irish league."

"Cool. Your friends are here?"

"Yeah, Pansy, Blaise and Theo. Crabbe and Goyle are probably off somewhere buying out the concessions. But, I'm sure they'll manage without me for a bit."

"Yeah." Harry agrees. There's something Harry finds satisfying about Draco ditching his friends for him. Like he's bringing him to the Gryffindor side, Harry guesses. But both boys know that Draco could never be a Gryffindor. Perhaps that's even why he and Harry are such good friends. After all, how could he not befriend the boy who risked his father's wrath to secretly help him learn about the history of Slytherin and Parselmouths and then gave them the clue that helped them solve the mystery of the chamber and made Harry realise he was not, in fact, going insane.

"We should probably go, you know, so they don't see us."

Draco doesn't respond for a second, staring off into space and right at Harry. Harry's found that Draco is almost always staring at him. At first, it was a bit uncomfortable, his gaze heavier than anyone else Harry has ever met, grey eyes looking down at him with the intensity of the sun when Dudley uses his big magnifying glass to fry ants. But now Harry is just used to it, used to those grey eyes boring into him. Sometimes he'd swear it's grown almost pleasant now. He never bothers to guess what Draco might be thinking about because he knows he couldn't anyway.

Despite his hefty stare, Draco's tone is light when he speaks. "Right, I know a place."

He looks around as if searching for something, then he points his wand and despite him saying nothing at all, a comically large green top hat with an even larger green shamrock and green jacket also adorned with shamrocks come whizzing into his hands. Harry stares at his use of non-verbal magic. Draco takes no notice of Harry's amazement, throwing the garments at Harry who lets them fall.

"What are you waiting for, get those on." Draco's face falls into comic offence, "Oh . . . oh, don't tell me you're cheering for Bulgaria?"

"I don't know who to cheer for, it's not like I get to follow Quidich much when I'm at home. Why?" Harry asks stupidly, then answers his own question. " . . . Right, yeah. Duh."

"Merlin, you forget you're famous, don't you." Draco sighs, ignoring the mention of Harry's unfortunate home life for the both of them.

Sheepishly, Harry picks up the garments, shrugging on the too-small-looking jacket which somehow (probably by magic) fits him perfectly, and the large hat which casts rough shadow over his face to cover his scar and the white section of his hair above it.

"Come on!" And then Draco is grabbing his hand and pulling him along.

They end up at the edge of the campground, just in the woods exactly where Mr. Weasley told Harry not to go. The forest looks thicker than it should and green light filters through the trees casting a greenish glow over them. It makes Draco's hair look mint green instead of blond. They both laugh, a little out of breath from the sudden run across the huge campground and relieved to be away from the eyes of their respective groups.

After he gathers himself Harry notices for the first time Draco's clothes. For Harry, being raised by the Durselys, dressing like a muggle was his first nature, robes feeling awkward and out of place, but, of course, this wouldn't be the case for someone like Draco Malfoy, a member of one of Great Britain's wealthier pure-blood families.

And yet . . . Harry finds that Draco wears muggle clothes well, even better than he does. This isn't the first time he's seen him without robes, but outside of school, it feels somehow different. He's dressed in all black, an all-black suit with a black shirt. It makes his hair almost seem to glow.

'I guess I can see why all the Slytherin girls fawn over him.' Harry thinks. It's an odd thought, but not objectively untrue. He ignores it when another question enters his head.

"Aren't you hot?"

"I'm a Malfoy, I am always hot, Potter."

Harry cocks his head, ignoring the twinge of annoyance that Draco still uses his surname sometimes, "What? That doesn't even . . . oh. Hey! That's not what I meant!"

Draco laughs. Harry ignores his embarrassment being mocked because it's a real laugh. Rare even when he's alone with Harry. "I know that. Mother put a cooling charm on all our clothes."

"That's nice."

Draco looks down, "Sorry."

"About what?" Then Harry gets it. He hadn't been thinking about his long-dead mother before, but Draco probably felt bad for bringing up his own, very alive, mother. "It's really fine. You don't have to walk on eggshells, I hate it when people do that. You never have before, so don't start now. Let's just talk. Okay? About anything else, something funny."

"Alright, well father," Draco says the word with heavy exasperation, "keeps hinting about a mysterious event taking place at school this year but refuses to give any details. And I know mother knows as well but she won't budge either. Cruel, the both of them, keeping me in suspense like this."

"Event? Well, I only hope it's not an exam."

"Scared, Potter." The quip is stupid, stupid, and familiar.

Harry gulps dramatically, "A bit yeah. If it is an exam, the homework is going to be enough to fill the entire lake."

"Merlin, yeah. Binns and McGonagall are the worst, sorry, I know you like her, but five essays in two months, really? The professors are aware we have other classes, right? I'm going to get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a muggle affliction of all things." He moans, throwing his head back in a typical display of theatrics, his blond hair ruffling with the sudden movement. When he recovers himself his hair falls perfectly back into place.

'It's quite nice, his hair', Harry notes. If only his own hair could look as nice instead of sticking up like he's taken a shock. 'Is it a spell?' he wonders.

Harry can't help but laugh. He's heard of the ailment from Aunt Petunia's awful friends when she used to host Thursday afternoon book clubs in the Dursley's parlour.

Harry groans, "I bet it's an exam, that'd be just my luck. If Voldemort can't get me, sleep-deprivation will."

Draco winces at the name, looking suddenly serious. Privately, he worries that the upcoming event may have something to do with the mysterious people that his father started inviting last year. Now he doesn't even invite them, they just show up, anytime, all the time. He's caught whispered words through walls, snippets of conversations not meant for him.

Voldemort.

Death Eater.

Is his father involved in that? Surely not? Narcissa Malfoy never talks to her son about the war, but that must be because she lost someone, collateral damage, or even had a cousin or something who was a traitor, right?

But before Harry can ask, he's smiling that Slytherin Prince smile of his again. "If you're really worried about it, I'd be happy to help you study . . ." The sentence trickles off, the sound dying on the breeze. Draco looks around, eyes landing on everything but Harry, seemingly surprised at his words.

'Shite! Why . . . why did I say something like that? Merlin, Draco, get yourself together. If you keep acting like this . . . I have to fix this, let him know I didn't mean . . .'

"If you'd like, or not, of course. You don't have to." Then he recovers himself, laughing (but in Harry's opinion it seems half-hearted) "But, Potter, I'm sure someone like you could use all the help you can get. I am second in the class after all. Second only to your bushy-haired menace of a friend. It's like she can make the days longer just to study. I bet if she ever found a way that's exactly what she'd do."

Draco laughs bitterly.

'What's he rambling about? Does he really resent Hermione's grades that much? Is he jealous? Of what though? He's got the brains to beat her. I bet if she didn't have the time-turner, he would. Is this about our friendship? Surely he knows I'd be happy to study with him. I know he's emotional, but this seems a bit much, even for him. Is something wrong?'

Taking a breath, Harry tries to clear his mind. He's not used to thinking so deeply about something like this. It's kind of tiring.

"I'd rather study with you, actually. You're about as bossy as Hermione, but at least you don't expect me to know everything, acting like it's all obvious." The words come out before he's entirely thought them through, but they're not untrue.

Draco thanks Merlin that the darkness of the thicket hides the pinkness of his cheeks.

"It is obvious, and I would expect you to know everything, if you paid attention in class, that is. But I know you don't, so I'm patient. It's as simple as that. Though it's nice to know I'm better than her at something." The words come out slightly sharper than he means for them too, like a snake coiling up, using insults to mask embarrassment.

"Hey! I do, I just daydream sometimes. And you're better than her at a lot of things."

"Oh?" Malfoy arches an elegant blond brown.

'It's like he was made for smirking and sarcasm, isn't it?'

"Well, flying for one. You're a brilliant flyer." Harry knows that Draco knows exactly how smart he is and that he shouldn't be fueling his ego but he can't help it.

'Maybe compliments are what it takes to get his walls down. Ah, I know better than that, he's not that shallow. But I've still got to try.'

Draco moves farther into the shade. 'Look at me floundering over some nice words just because they came from Potter. Pathetic.'

"Well, thank you, Potter. You're not so terrible yourself."

"Oh my god! Wow! That's like the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!"

Both boys nearly fall over with laughter at Harry's impression of a high-voiced American schoolgirl.

"Your American accent is shite. You sound just like Sally."

"Who?"

"A Hufflepuff from Astronomy club last year, and I'm so sorry, I'm sure she and her family are very . . . nice people, but she's got a voice like she's inhaled helium."

"Oof. Speaking of Hufflepuff, I met Cedric Diggory and made such a fool of myself"

"What? Why? You're not still embarrassed about the broom thing are you, everyone knows that wasn't your fault, don't they?"

"Yeah, but I think I must've sounded like a right idiot."

Draco tilts his head, resembling a confused cat. "Well that's to be expected, but why in particular? I mean, it must have been severe if you picked up on it."

"Oh shut up! I- I just . . . I don't know but I was so embarrassed I couldn't speak. Not even about the fall, just like, I don't know . . . stuff."

"Stuff." Draco questions, trying not to get ahead of himself. 'It's fine. It's probably nothing, don't worry. Just totally straight Quidditch bruv stuff.'

"Oh well, he just good-looking, I guess, and-"

'WHAT?!'

"Oh, are you gay now as well, Potter? Welcome to the club. Would you like a pin" It comes out bitter, and hurtful because Draco is bitter and hurt.

'Does . . . does he like guys now too? If he likes guys why can't he . . . what's bloody Diggory got that I haven't?'

"Huh? What?" Harry blushes the colour of his quidditch robes, "N-No, it's not like that. I actually like . . . erm . . ." he says the first girl's name that pops into his head, "Cho Chang!"

"Cho Chang?" Draco raises an eyebrow, relieved, hiding embarrassment again, but not fully convinced.

". . . Yeah? What's wrong with Cho?"

"Oh, nothing." Draco's tone is sing-song, relaxed, his face calm as always. But Harry sees the glint of mischief in his eyes, the one that's usually there even as others accuse him of scowling.

The look on Harry's face is one of confusion, embarrassment, and terror all in one.

"I just think you're lying." Draco's expression turns sincere, "I mean, it's okay, mate. You know me of all people won't mind. You know you can talk to me . . . anytime, yeah." But by the end of the sentence, Darco's smiling, a laugh colouring the words.

Once again the two fill the silence with shared laughter.

'His laugh's not half bad, I wish he'd laugh this much in school.'

"Yeah, I don't think I will." Awkward silence. "Not that it's bad to be gay, obviously, love who you love, that's fine, it's just that . . . well, you know . . . I'm not."

"Potter, you dunce, it's fine. I was only joking."

'Because that's all this will ever be.' Draco hides the disappointment behind a practised smile.

"Yeah, right, of course." Harry is too relieved at not offending his friend to see through it.

"Enough of this." Draco waves a dismissive hand, "You know I love good gossip, Potter. Tell me exactly what happened with Diggory."

"You'd better not tell anyone!" Harry swats at him, but Darco shares his seeker reflexes and doges easily.

"I won't. Malfoy's honour." Draco places a hand over his heart and bows like a prince from times past.

'Not that that means much anymore . . .'

"Okay, fine, gosh!"

"'Gosh'?" Draco questions teasingly, "Just say Merlin for Merlin's sake!"

"Malfoy." Harry warns, teasing as well, "Do you want to know or not?"

(A/N: Harry will swear as a form of rebellion and because he learnt it from Dudley doing it behind Petunia's back, but the Durselys never took the lord's name in vain so it's not a habit he picked up.)

Draco puts his arms up in surrender.

'Being with him like this, alone together, talking, laughing . . . I wish we could do this all the time. At school, away from everyone maybe we could- Merlin, I'm turning into some dewy-eyed schoolgirl! But I'd skip around like an idiot if it was with Potter, I know I would. Merlin, am I really such a simp? Is this what he's done to me? Stupid knight!'

"Okay. So I have no idea why but I was just really jealous all of the sudden, well, not jealous exactly, but, I don't know, I just felt so . . . insecure." Harry still isn't quite sure that that's the correct word for the strange tingling feeling he experienced but nevertheless, he wants to hide as he says it.

Draco's brows furrow, considering this, readying advice.

'His advice is usually good. . . . Maybe not this time though. It isn't like the Slytherin prince has got much to be insecure about, then again, he did seem weird about being behind Hermione in year rank . . . I don't know. It's been two years and I still barely know him. Ugh.'

'Potter, insecure? What a bloody joke. Gyffindor's knight? Perfect, popular, seeker, saviour of the entire wizarding world Potter? Ah, well, we all have our down moments. I- . . . Pansy's the prettiest girl I know but sometimes I catch her staring in the mirror with that look in her eye . . . If a friend is all Potter and I will ever be then I should at least be a good one and help.'

"Well, don't be. You're a bloody brilliant flyer, and you've got a talent for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Diggory can turn watches to whistles? So what does Diggory know about a few charms? I could do that in my sleep, without a wand. What's that going to do if You-Know-Who comes knocking at his door?"

It was a joke, but neither of them laughed.

Anyone observing both boys would notice how they paled at the words.

Frames from Harry's dream flash behind his eyelids, the greenlight blinding him for a second. He would swear that he can hear the thump as the gardener's body hit the old wooden floor.

'No, no, I'm here. Here in the Quidditch World Cup. . . with Malfoy.' Harry reminds himself.

It was a joke. A poorly timed one, one echoing the words of the little voice in the back of Draco's head.

Draco opens his mouth but closes it without saying anything. Harry can tell he wants too, that the words are on the edge of his tongue, dying to spill out, but as always, held back by some invisible barrier.

'I know I've hardly earned the right to his thoughts, but I'd like to know all the same. I felt like I understood him better when we were enemies, but now I know that there's so much more I don't know. That seems like a running theme in my life. Heh. Maybe Professor Binns should just let me write my essay on that. How there always seems to be something that someone isn't telling me, a memoir by myself, Harry James Potter. I've never wanted to know so much about magic before, about the families who carry it, that's Hermione thing. Will Malfoy ever tell me what he really thinks? Not just the brutal honesty about trivial things, but, like . . . real stuff? Hermione says bottling things up isn't healthy.'

"Yeah."

"What?" Draco almost forgot his original comment amongst his worries.

"Yeah, charms won't be much help. They weren't for my parents."

Draco nods, looking a step behind for once. "Right."

Neither boy knows how to broach the subject of what's going on in their heads. But they both know they don't want to leave the presence of the one person who seems to understand.

"Let's meet up later." Harry blurts out, "as friends, of course." he adds using the old gay joke to cover the awkwardness, it sort of works.

"Of course, I could never date an idiot of your magnitude, Potter."

"Right, right, how am I going to"

"I'll find you," Draco assures.

The words reassure Harry more than is really necessary. The warmth of having a good friend, of course. It is reassuring to have a confidant . . . maybe. If Harry didn't know better, he'd say there was something else in the blond boy's tone, but Harry has never been good at reading people so he must be wrong.

'What? What, why did I- Merlin that was like something out of a cheesy film! I need to stop this. Potter is only so daft. He'll realise eventually. . . . Or maybe he won't. And that might just hurt more. I'm a Malfoy, we're not supposed to be so invisible.'

Suddenly: footsteps!

"Quick, Potter!" Draco whispers, the words a near-silent shout.

"What!"

"Hide."

But there's nowhere to hide, the trees aren't thick enough.

"What's going-"

"My father." The two-word explanation is enough to send shivers down Harry's spine.

"Shite! I can't-"

Then Harry is shoved violently up against a tree trunk, by Draco of all people.

Draco slaps him. "You call yourself a wizard, Potter? Pathetic. I can't believe a wizard as 'great' as you would go wasting your time with low class refuse like the Weasleys, with . . ." Draco pauses for half a second, guilt clear in his eyes, he can't bring himself to say the word, not again. For better or worse he doesn't have to.

"Draco? Is this where you scurried off to? Off fighting with fists like some lowly muggle?" Lucius Malfoy says the word with unmasked disgust. "Did your mother and I simply waste the money we spent on dulling lessons for you?" His look of disapproval is penetrating, the kind of look that freezes one's self-esteem and then shatters it all in the same instant.

Harry would say it reminds him of his wretched Aunt, but Petunia Dursely could only dream of looking so cruel. 'Aunt Petunia wishes she could look at me like that.'

Draco doesn't want to look at him.

'Don't be a coward, Draco. Not in front of Potter.' He tells himself.

Draco turns to face his father, a calm, unbothered look in his eyes, not like a boy desperate for approval but scared of what it means.

"Well, you see father, I simply couldn't duel him."

Lucius quirks a blond eyebrow, hair barely darker than his son's. "And whyever not?"

"Because it would be too cruel. You see, Potter, here, can't duel. He was raised by muggles." Draco makes an aghast face, but it's theatrical. "He only knows how to use his fists. Isn't that ridiculous, Father? Can you believe such an imbecile is 'The Chosen One'? He's like a troll-"

"Draco, quiet! I hear of nothing but bloody Potter all summer. Now let him go before you dirty yourself. After all, he consorts with mudbloods."

"Of course, father. I shan't touch him any more than necessary." Draco shoves Harry back, slamming him into the tree just hard enough, yanking his hands away like Harry is a hot cauldron, throwing one last artificially nasty glare then turns to follow his father back to his tent.

"Idiot boy." Harry can hear Lucius Malfoy whisper cruelly as he exits the forest with his son. "Did I not tell you to make friends with 'The Chosen One'? If only you'd gotten on his good side then perhaps you could've been useful. Hmmph, surely he will find something an ingrate like you can do."

Harry would like to say the words shock him, after all, Lucius has done nothing but gloat of his son's perfection whenever he's encountered Harry, especially when he's with the Weasleys, but Harry has seen the cruel glint in his eyes. It was inevitable he'd turn that gaze to his son if he hasn't been from the beginning.

'Is this why he never tells me anything? . . . Is he . . . afraid? No, Malfoy isn't afraid of anything.' But Harry knows that isn't true. He remembers that time in the woods in first year, even before the boys encountered Voldemort, Malfoy had been shaking. And when Lupin had mentioned the Boggart. No, not Malfoy, Malfoy isn't afraid of anything, he couldn't care less, but Draco is. Draco is the young boy who cares all too much.

'What would have come out of there?'Harry wonders distantly.

But behind his hard exterior, it can be hard for anyone to see that, even the boy he'd now call his closest friend. Harry ignores the gruesome memory, blinking away the visions of split unicorn blood turning the ground under his feet silver, telling himself not to feel guilty.

It takes Harry a moment to catch his breath, he doesn't know why. He's definitely the fitter of the two boys, with all his running away from near-death experiences. But Draco is stronger than he looks, and at the moment, with all that fear and adrenaline, the pressure building, mounting to an explosion under his father's watch, he pushed Harry a bit harder than he meant to. Harry doesn't mind. He's used to being shoved. He's had much worse. He understands. It feels almost nice to be shoved for a reason other than someone's enjoyment of seeing him in pain.

With one last glance in the direction the Malfoys left, he leaves the forest, heading back to the Weasly tent.

'Wait . . . the water! Fuck. Right.' Sighing Harry ducks to avoid an explosion of bright green sparklers and heads to the pump.

As he walks a feeling of embarrassment washes over him for the second time that day. He hadn't noticed in the moment, but Draco had been so close, his silver eyes looking so guilty, guilty, and something else. Harry thinks it was far more guilt than was necessary. It's not like he's had a choice. How else would he have explained their being alone in the forest together? It's just the way that things have to be. Harry's learnt to be fine with that.

'Or should I feel guilty as well, for nearly making him say . . . that word again. How didn't I realise before? Of course, Mr Malfoy reserves his highest standards of all for his family. Maybe having no parents at all is better than that. I know I'd rather have been put in a group home with Nuns than with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, then at least the beatings wouldn't have been personal.'

Harry looks down just in time to see his pail overflowing. It seems heavier than it should as he carries it back.

'Relax, Harry. Not everything is about you. Here no one cares, they're all just here for Quidich. The dream can't have meant anything, nothing bad is going to happen. Don't go being all paranoid. Voldemort is gone. I can't let him have any more power over me. Ron would tell me to enjoy myself, so that's what I'll do.'

Harry nods, waving at Dean and Seamus as he passes them, they nod back, then go straight back to setting sparklers. Harry was going to have fun at a non-school sporting event for the first time in his life, yes he was, and absolutely nothing was going to stop him.

(A/N: OMG! The first chapter. I really hope it's alright, characterisation can be hard for me sometimes. I hope I kept Harry's sass in enough.)

(A/N: Use of underage magic can be explained by this reddit post: [Harry Potter theory] The underaged magic law was created in a subtle effort to remove non-pure-blood wizards from wizard society. : r/FanTheories and these Quora posts: If underage wizards and witches can't perform magic outside of school, how can Harry use Lumos at 4 Privet Drive? - Quora)

#drarry fic #drarry fanfiction #drarry fanfic #drarry #draco x harry #harry x draco #hpdm #dmhp #harco #gof #harry potter and the goblet of fire #harry potter rewrite #hpdm fanfic

8 notes · View notes

alicewritingstories · 3 months

Text

Whumperless Whump Event: Scattered in the Mountains

@whumperless-whump-event

Fandom: Linked Universe

[Previous] << Chapter 2 >> [Next]

Prompts for this chapter:

3: Struggling to stand / "Is the room [ground] spinning, or is it just me?"

4: "I'm used to it"

10: Forced to work (at killing monsters) while ill

11: Hate to be sick

Central characters: Legend and Sky

***

As they walked out of the portal, Legend immediately looked around, alert for any danger. They hadn't yet been ambushed as they left a portal, but there was no reason to get complacent.

There were no monsters, no apparent hazards, and, more worryingly, no sign of the members of the Chain that had walked through ahead of them. Behind him, Legend heard the portal quietly close, leaving only him and Sky.

Sky, who was probably going to continue to insist he wasn't sick despite the fact that his face was flushed, his eyes were glassy, and Legend could hear that he was breathing rapidly even standing still.

And he was standing still, not even looking around on the alert.

"Sky, I can see you're sick," he said with a sigh.

"I'm fine," said Sky, raising half-lidded eyes. "I can manage."

Legend wrinkled his nose as he looked at the taller Hylian, but at this point he was starting to think that if that was the way Sky wanted to be it would be best to let him get on with it for now. He'd talk to one of the others when they found them.

"Right," he said briskly. "Let's see if we can find some high ground and look round for any sign of the others. Maybe we can find some landmarks and figure out where we are."

Sky nodded after a pause that was slightly too long.

Legend let out another huff of breath. He did sympathize - he'd pushed himself plenty of times when he shouldn't have. But it was going to be a problem.

"Come on," he said, and set off up the path, trying not to make it obvious that he was going slowly.

He wasn't subtle enough; after about five minutes of walking Sky murmured, "Sorry, Legend, I'm slowing you down, aren't I?"

Legend sighed. "Yeah, because you're sick."

"Well… also slow."

"Sky, it's… it's fine. We'll just take it easy."

When Legend looked at him, Sky looked like he might actually cry. "I'm too slow," he said again as if Legend hadn't even spoken. "I… I'm always too slow. Being sick just makes it worse."

Legend patted his arm, unsure what to say. "Let's keep going. We can take it easy for now and then you can rest up once we find the others. All you have to do for now is keep walking."

"I hate being sick," mumbled Sky, but kept walking.

About halfway up the rocky hill they were climbing, it started to become clear that Legend wasn't going to be able to keep that promise.

"Monsters," he muttered, standing up from inspecting some tracks. "Lizalfos, maybe? It's something with clawed feet. But the stride isn't right; I can't be sure." He swore under his breath. "We might be in a new era."

Sky nodded and coughed: a nasty, thick, chesty sound.

Normally, they would probably at least check out the situation with the monsters, but Legend wasn't taking Sky anywhere near a monster camp in this state. Fortunately, Sky seemed to have enough self-preservation that he didn't suggest it either and the two of them continued on up the hill, moving more and more slowly, Legend wondering at what point he should mention that Sky's breathing was getting faster and shallower.

The time came when Sky suddenly broke down in another horrible, wet coughing fit. Legend darted back to his side and supported him with an arm around his shoulders as he coughed up and spat out something nasty and green-tinged.

"Sky, you're smarter than this," snapped Legend. "I can hear that you're having problems breathing. We're going to have to stop."

Sky shook his head again and cleared his throat. "I'm used to it," he said. "I can keep going longer. It's… not great, but I can manage."

Legend stepped back and looked around, turning slowly in place as his eyes flicked from one gap between trees to the next and up to the mountainsides he could see beyond, but there was nowhere promising they could stop, especially with monsters around. He growled under his breath.

"Really, Legend -" Sky broke down coughing in the middle of whatever comforting lie he'd been about to tell.

Legend hurried back to his side, though he wasn't sure what he could do and he ended up hovering over his sick brother, his hands outstretched as if to support Sky but not actually touching him.

Again, Sky spat out green-tinged phlegm.

"How much worse is it?" asked Legend.

"The… coughing's new," said Sky, straightening up. "Until now it's just been… a stuffy nose."

Legend reached up to lay a hand on Sky's forehead, but Sky stepped back before he made contact, smiling thinly.

"You don't need to check my temperature," he said firmly.

"I do when I can't trust you to tell me if you have a fever."

"What difference would it make?" asked Sky with a bitter note Legend would have assumed was aimed at him if it came from anyone else. "We have to keep going either way."

Unfortunately, he was right.

"Well, we'll keep an eye out for somewhere we can rest up and find some shelter, OK? The first safe place we see."

Sky wavered for a moment, but then nodded with a heavy sigh that turned into another coughing fit. "OK. Just… just for the night. Maybe some sleep will help me shake it off."

Legend nodded and asked a question he already knew the answer to. "You've been making sure you get enough rest, right?"

"I'm -"

"Don't lie to me."

Sky winced. "I'm not. It's just… I just don't want to hold us up. I know I'm slower and less accustomed to traveling far on land and that I can't cope with as much exertion, so I have to try harder. You know that."

Legend had thought they were past this stage with Sky, but he didn't argue; once again, if that was how Sky wanted to be, Legend could let him get on with it for now. He just scoffed softly and walked on, keeping his pace slow and making sure Sky was keeping up. With any luck, they'd soon find shelter.

Luck tended to be in short supply for the Chain, but he could still hope.

As they walked, he kept his eyes on the ground, watching for the few traces of monster tracks that showed up in damper, softer patches of earth. It was increasingly clear that this was a dangerous area and the monsters were using this road, but it couldn't be helped. Normally, he might have gotten under cover, tried to make his way across country and just keep an eye on the road from a distance, but Sky wouldn't be able to do that.

If he could find somewhere safe to hide Sky, perhaps he could track down those monsters and deal with the camp they presumably had in the area. That would at least be a weight off his mind. Hopefully he could persuade Sky to wait for him somewhere out of sight.

But he didn't get a chance to find out. They heard an unfamiliar hissing noise and there was just enough time for Legend to draw his sword and put himself in front of Sky before a large lizard scuttled into view.

Legend stared at the unfamiliar form for a split second before it took a deep breath and he realized what was about to happen. Sky had apparently realized too and even as Legend went to shove him to the side he was already diving, drawing the Master Sword.

The stream of fire the lizard breathed out passed harmlessly between them.

In moments, they both had their shields on their arms and were flanking the new monster, but Legend could hear that Sky was struggling; his breathing was too loud, too fast, especially given that the fight had only just begun.

"Sky, get back!" he shouted as his sword skated off the hard scales on the monster's head. "I'll handle this!"

Sky didn't even try to reply; he dashed past the lizard and Legend saw that a second was scurrying through the trees. With a hissed curse, he slashed at the first one again as it spun round and started to inhale again, aiming for its eyes this time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sky stab downwards into the second one, stumbling to his knees as he threw his whole weight behind the blow.

One more better-placed cut took off the lizard's head and Legend turned to help Sky as it dissolved into smoke, but the downwards stab had done the job; Sky's was fading away too.

Sky, meanwhile, was still on his knees, coughing hard. As Legend reached him, he struggled half up, then stumbled back down.

"Easy, Sky," said Legend, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Is… is the ground spinning, or is it just me?" asked Sky with a humorless laugh that turned into a cough.

"It's you," said Legend. "Take it easy, OK? Just breathe." He looked around, gnawing his lip. They had to find somewhere to shelter. There was no way Sky could go on like this.

Sky, meanwhile, had managed to calm his breathing back down to an uncomfortable wheeze and he started to get up carefully, leaning heavily on Legend's shoulder.

"There are probably caves in these mountains," said Legend. "We're going to find one and stay there until you're recovered."

This time, Sky didn't argue.

#whumperless whump event #lu whump #linked universe whump #lu sky #lu legend #whumperless whump event prompt 3 #whumperless whump event prompt 4 #whumperless whump event prompt 10 #whumperless whump event prompt 11 #whumperless whump event 2024 #my fanfic #cw: illness #cw: violence

14 notes · View notes

royalsunshinehotel · 6 months

Text

social media preference (dev patel)

Anwar Kharral (Skins UK): Anwar is the only one on this list active on TikTok. He's not an uncomfortable teen anymore - he's being cringe on main and setting trends. I bet he's got 90K followers at least! He uses Threads and Instagram to back up his TikTok, not much else.

Sonny Kapoor (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1&2): For the benefit of the hotel, Sonny is active on Reels to promote the corporate 'brand'. He likes the chance to be creative, and the 'Board' likes the chance to show off the handsome CEO.

Neal Sampat (Newsroom): Neal is an OG Tumblr user, who joined the site as early as 2008. As demonstrated on the show, Neal is adept at using Twitter to cross-reference and fact-check various sources, I do think he'd be a prolific shitposter on a side account, rivaling our king @dril.

Deon Wilson (Chappie 2015): Deon is self-explanatory. he likes to support the indie social media sites that sprung up in the wake of the Fall of Twitter. He's a fan of SpaceHey because he went to Computer Camp with the engineer who started it (it's based out of Germany), which he's always wanted to visit!

Sheru “Saroo” Bierley (Lion 2016): I find it harder to deny with each passing day that Saroo Brierly isn't an Instagram thot. Look at @brockohurn on IG and tell me that they don't have the same respectful bro energy. I think Saroo likes the chance to use all the photos in his camera roll, and I think the MILFs of Instagram are grateful for the content.

Jay Menha (The Wedding Guest, 2019): The closest Jay gets to social media is the Polaroids he likes to stick up on the wall of your shared room. Sometimes, if he's having a bad time, he likes to sit in his beanbag and look at the wall. He only gets a ghost Facebook account to keep up with relatives- nothing ever is posted, ever.

David Copperfield (The Personal History of David Copperfield, 2020): I think David would do numbers on Medium.com because he can write self-prompted think-pieces that no one ever asked about, AND get paid for them! He's writing analyses of "Jeyton vs Brucas vs Leyton: One Tree Hill", and he's actually making money. It would be magic to him!

Joshua Madika (Modern Love, 2019): Joshua's social media is all on Tinder. He's perfected his profile, and he likes talking to people. It's all genuine and zero malice. Who wants to be alone with their thoughts?

Sir Gawain (The Green Knight, 2021): I once read a post about Edward Cullen texting that read, "just saw a snail . . . effervescent," and I think that's as close as Gawain should get to the internet. It's just like shitposting, but it's all for you.

Dr. ZZ Chatterjee (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, 2023): ZZ keeps his drama on Facebook. He's definitely showing up in comments to defend someone's mutual friend from accusations of bias when she broke up with her tiny boyfriend because she was having neck problems*. With a doctor on her side, she didn't have to post X-rays of her neck! ZZ will be beefing!

The Kid (Monkey Man, 2024): "Ted, the movie hasn't even come out yet! How can you say The Kid is a Pinterest girlie?" It's all pretty pictures with an indefinite scroll. I also bet he's a big fan of putting things in categories (see also: skittles). We'll see who's right.

*true story circa 2018 on my Facebook page.

18 notes · View notes

mightymizora · 11 months

Note

"No matter where life takes us, I hope we'll always have this moment." for Jaheira/Halsin!! all rise for jahelsin agenda!!

(alternatively, "I thought I knew who I was until I met you." for Manva and one of her strange and unusual loves, Gortash for easy mode, but bonus points for making it weird and picking someone unexpected!!)

Well, you're getting both (Jahelsin forever)

They run together.

They run through the woods at a pace, through the clearing where they first found each other like this, past the tree they destroyed and up further. They run through the woods. he on her tail as she carves through and up the steeper parts of the hill, her claws finding purchase in the clay and forcing her way up and up to the very top of the hill. He is not far behind, crashing into her, pinning her beneath him as the reach the pinnacle, the light bright with the coming of a crisp dawn.

But she wants to talk. At least, for a little.

As she drops her shape, he, eventually, does the same, his hands wandering and his mouth at her neck.

She slaps his hands away playfully, and comes to sit.

She does not come here much. It is a long journey, it is tiring, but it is the best view of the city and further. It joins the land and the sea, the walls and the land beyond it. It shows the horizon, out towards what was the Shadow Cursed Lands. The place they met. The place he would return today.

"I will come here, when you are gone," she says. "I promise. As much as I can. I will come here and I will look out towards this new life you build. It is a good thing that you are doing."

"I'd like that."

He knows that he cannot convince her to come with him. He knows there are things that tie her here still, but there is still a small girlish part of her that thinks it would be nice for him to try. Even if she would cut him down like a weed.

"I will plant new trees, like these ones," he tells her. He is beaming. The difference of him here, only a few miles out of the city, is striking. She cannot imagine how beautiful he must be in the heart of nature. "I will tend them with love. I will grow food for the hungry. I will build new possibilities. I will put all of the love you have awakened in me into the earth."

He pulls her into a kiss, long and soft, his hand in her hair in a tangle. She pulls away and holds onto his arm.

"I want to tell you more," she tells him. "I want... but it's been so little time."

"You don't need to do anything on my account."

"But I want... more than this."

She wants to run in these woods with him until they have tracked the whole of the Coast. She wants to stop time so they have more. She wants to shed everything that made her who she was, and become something new, just for a while. Just them, for a while.

She just wants more time.

"There is a seedling," she says, closing her eyes and raising her face to the sun. "It is small, and it is beautiful and full of life. And if it takes, and it grows into a sapling, and then a grand oak, it will be beautiful. So beautiful. But it is no less full of life and beauty if it doesn't. If it only lived for days, not centuries."

She takes his hand and kisses it. He tastes of the earth. "Do you understand?"

Halsin smiles at her and kisses her ear. "I do. No matter where life takes us, I hope we will always have this moment. But... I must confess, I hope we will also have many more."

(And have the ultimate love. CW BLOOD)

"I thought I knew who I was," she says in a whisper, her hands spread over the body on the altar as she sits astride it. "I thought I knew my place, back in the old temple. I thought I new what my life would be, what service I would render unto the world. Until I heard your voice, I thought I knew."

Sceleritas hands her the bowl, and she pulls out the tongue from the mocking mouth of Michaelis, who had spread his doubts across the ears of the faithful. Bors had told her, dear sweet man, and she had granted him a quick death for his devotion. Michaelis, however? He would drown.

"I knew nothing," she said to the eyes of her Father, glowing red and bathing her in light. "I was nothing. A cowed child. Afraid of my power. Afraid of you. I was so afraid. Will you ever forgive me?"

He says nothing. A blessing in itself.

"I will never show fear again, Father," she swears, as Michaelis thrashes beneath her hand on his chest in his last moments. "I will be your hand forever."

#thank yoooou #god I LOVE Jaheira and Halsin #my most romantic shit for them forever #jaheira #halsin #manva warhelm #the dark urge #bhaal #little cw for the last para and some bloody stuff

9 notes · View notes

indigo-flightly-falls · 1 year

Text

The Cruelest Dream (Reality)

The grave is still. There is nothing left around it besides hills of dirt and piles of stone. All the flowers were torn up months ago, the trees farmed for their wood, the grass turned to mud in the heat of battle.

The grave is not alone, however. There is one person (if he can still be called that) left, siting in front of it. He knows he will go next session, with the little time still left. His hands have been washed with seawater and covered in dirt, but there still remains a hint of blood.

An axe, so simple, not even enchanted, lays in across the grave. The weapon would not be useful in the endgame.

The weapon had it's use, just like the axe crafted by it's maker three games ago (has it been that long already?). It has tasted blood, and now it shall rest.

There is not even a birdsong to pierce the stillness of the night, all the wildlife having moved beyond the barrier, where they would not be hunted.

There are footsteps off to the side, not hostile, not yet. Another not-quite-human approaches, the flag of a forgotten kingdom around his waist.

"So, he's out again."

It is a fact, stated like anything else.

"Session seven, just like the past two times."

There is a silence, only broken as Martyn moves to sit next to Etho.

"Who killed him?" Martyn asks, and Etho wished he could say his time ran out, but that was not what had happened.

"He asked me to, gave me a little bit longer to live next session." The answer is brief, giving all the details but leaving so much unsaid.

Martyn is quiet, looking at the axe, the edge stained with blood. So little blood for such a huge impact.

"We have something in common then."

Etho did not ask whether the Listener was referring to the first game, or his newest ally.

"I guess we do."

There is a stillness to the night, and the noise of a simple question seems to scream it's contents to the entire server.

"How do you deal with it?" Etho asked Martyn, avoiding looking at his hands, still feeling wet with blood.

The other shrugged. "You just keep going. Skizz gave himself up, and he'll be proud of however far you get."

Etho huffed out a chuckle. "I wish Skizz was better at this game. Maybe then he wouldn't die within the first few every time."

"Hey, at least he's not washed up like you." Martyn said, smirking. Said smirk was wiped off his face when Etho pushed him to the side, disturbing a small pile of gravel.

"But in all seriousness, Skizz knows the rules of the game. He wouldn't keep coming back if he decided that it wasn't worth it." Martyn added, once he pulled himself back up.

Etho had nothing to add, so he nodded, before resuming his way of avoiding going back to the base. Back to the walls he had just barely learned the layout of. Back to the walls where, not even a day ago, Skizz was doing his best to support his teammates.

"I should go back to Scott." Martyn remarked, his voice quiet. "He's be wondering where I've gone."

"See you soon." Etho responded, offering a smile that his friend couldn't see. "I'm guessing we'll be back to enemies in the morning?"

"Such is the rules of the game." Martyn replied, a faint smile of his (now scaly) face. "After this game, we'll all take a break from our servers."

"Deal." Etho said. "We've got to work on the redstone stuff anyways."

Martyn groaned, not wanting to mess with the contraptions Etho had created. But once he started on his way back to the beach, the Dogwarts flag still wrapped around his waist, he carried himself lighter.

Etho watched him go, before taking on last look at the grave, and heading towards his own base. He'd see Skizz once the game was done.

He'd see them all once the game was done.

After all, once a red banner, always a red banner. For better or for worse.

#limited life spoilers #dogwarts #indi's writing #ethoslab #martyn inthelittlewood #listen this idea wouldn't leave my head okay-#this is playing with my everyone in the games are friends and hand out with and talk to each other outside of the games #and most of the drama between alliances is just them being drama kings #or them deciding to let the Watchers that Watch over them have a show #trafficblr

18 notes · View notes

nightmaresaskblog · 1 year

Text

Officially made my first fanfic for the Cursed House AU!

(Apologies if it's bad. This is my first time writing fanfic)

Fanfic is under cut:

Fnaf 4 Cursed House Au fanfic!!

Chapter 1: The House Has New Owners

Despite their father's over excitement about their new home, his 3 children were not as excited as he was. Being cramped with her siblings in the already-too-small car for hours in the heat was annoying enough. They were hoping their destination would arrive soon enough.

"Will your new job sell ice cream, Daddy?" The middle child, Elizabeth, asked as she swung her legs in rhythm to the song that was on the radio.

The father, William Afton, gave a small smile. "It's more of a diner rather than an ice cream shop, sweetie. But there is ice cream on the menu that people can order. You can get ice cream whenever you would like!"

The oldest, Micheal, slumped back in his seat. He hoped Dad would be able to keep his job. The family's life was already hard enough.

While Dad did get a new job in town, the kids knew that wasn't the real reason they had to move.

The passing of their mother was the downfall of the Afton family's life. The trio weren't able to do their best in school with being overwhelmed by grief. William had nearly lost his previous job due to depression.

But maybe this time, it's new. This is a fresh start, for a chance at a new life. The children didn't mind moving away from their old town (aside from packing everything into boxes and hauling them to a moving van, which took days).

They didn't have any friends back home. Micheal was ignored by the other teenagers, Elizabeth was seen as a bother, or way too annoying, and Evan, the middle child, was always scared of everything and never spoke because of it.

Kids would constantly ask Evan, or Lizzie or Micheal why Evan would refuse to speak to anyone, or cry all the time.

Evan would constantly never go anywhere unless someone assured him it was safe.

Evan would refuse to leave his bed for fear that there were monsters out to get him.

No matter how much his family assured him that everything would be okay, Evan's anxiety would say otherwise.

With their mother dead, Micheal knew there would be no end for Evan's crying.

"We're there, kiddos!" William cheered.

The three kids perked up and darted their heads to the view of the house.

It was an ordinary house at that.

It was placed on a hill, surrounded close by trees that they could be waiting to swallow you whole. The yard enveloping the structure was tended so often that there was not a single weed in sight. It seemed structurally sound and well built. Their old house sounded like it was going to collapse any minute.

Their new house seemed welcoming, yet there was something... Odd about it. It was placed so randomly in the middle of nowhere that you would have to walk for miles before reaching civilization. Micheal hoped there was a town close by.

"Dad, how old is this house? It looks really new."

"A couple decades old, at least. The previous owner basically gave the house away! Quite the bargain, if you'll ask me!"

The car pulled over to a stop in the gravel filled driveway, and the family of 4 exited the vehicle they were all cramped in.

"I'll help the movers carry our belongings in the house. Why don't you three explore the yard?" William suggested. He turned to the workers. "Please be careful with that! That's an expensive piece of equipment!"

"Okay!" Elizabeth cheered. "Come along, Sparky!"

Their dog, a beagle, had sprinted over to the woods, eager to stretch his legs from sitting in the front seat.

Micheal glanced over at Evan, who was stumbling along, hugging his golden bear plush for dear life.

"What's wrong, Ev?"

"There's no path in the woods..."

He darted over to the entrance of the woods, and he was right.

There didn't seem to be a clear path that could be a hiking trail. Instead, all it had were bushes and logs, obscuring whatever lied beyond it.

"Well, as long as we go in a straight line, we'll be fine. We can just turn back if something happens." Micheal reasoned.

"But Dad said we could only play in the yard! Not in the woods!"

"The woods are an extension of the yard. So it's still our yard. I'm going in, whether you like it or not."

Micheal wandered into the wilderness along with Sparky and Lizzie. Evan, not wanting to be left behind, followed them.

"I wonder if we'll be able to build a treehouse like we had at our old house?"

"Well we're gonna need a good tree!" Elizabeth walked over to a thick tree and tapped it. "Is this good enough?"

"I don't know. They all seem really high up." Micheal glanced upwards at the evening sky above them. He couldn't see much of the sky due to the trees' leaves obscuring most of the sky. He walked over to a tree and started climbing.

"Where are you going?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm climbing a tree, duh. I want to get a better view of this place." Micheal glanced at his palms, which were now red from grasping the tree branches. He looked to the North and saw something... White?

"Hang on, I think I found something," Micheal began his decent down the tree, doing his best to avoid falling to his doom.

"W-What did you see?" Evan nervously spoke out.

"Stay here for a bit. I'll be right back."

"What if you get lost?!" Evan protested.

Micheal took off his gray sweater and tied it around the branch of the tree. "If I get lost, I can find this." He took a stick and dug an arrow in the dirt pointing the way back.

"Don't worry, I won't go far. And once I find this landmark, I'll come back."

"Now you two stay here. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Okay Mikey!" Elizabeth waved.

The teen followed north, trying to find that object he spotted at the tree.

As he moved farther in, thorns and branches poked at his pants. He hoped that none of the various plants were poison ivy.

Compared to the lawn at their new home, the woods were mostly untreated, as they let mother nature do what she wants here.

Behind the bushes he found a glimpse of white. He found what he spotted.

He pulled the bushes away and gasped in terror.

He had to take a closer look before realizing what it was.

A skull laid there half buried in the dirt, possibly being revealed by erosion and time. Various ants were crawling around it, in and out of the one eye socket that wasn't buried in the ground.

Shaking, Micheal used his foot to dig around the skull, checking if there was anything else to reveal. The skull had revealed to be extended to a snout.

So it wasn't human. That made Micheal breath better, even though it was still terrifying. It was probably a deer slain by nature's cold hands.

He wanted to give it some sort of comfort, so he scooped up some dirt to fully bury the skeleton, as if to give it a final resting place.

Wiping his hands of the dirt, he started heading back.

"You're back! And alive!" Elizabeth cheered.

"You sound surprised."

"Well, duh, we were worried! Did you find what you were looking for?"

Micheal's throat tightened. He didn't want to tell Evan or Lizzie about the skeleton.

He forced a smile. "It was my eyes playing tricks on me. I didn't find anything."

"Aww. I thought we could find a portal to another world. And we would become famous for it!"

"Well, there's no portals," Micheal tugged his sweatshirt free from the tree. "Come on, let's get out of here."

The boxes were put in their respective place, though it would take about a day to unpack everything.

"Your stuff is over there. I didn't place them in any rooms yet so you 3 can choose your own rooms." William explained.

"I call dibs on the middle room!" Lizzie called out.

"You can't call dibs on a room, Liz!" Micheal argued.

"Oh yeah? Watch this!" Liz trotted over to the room she wanted and pushed her respective box into it.

"There! My stuff is in it, so I get this room!"

William chuckled. "I didn't expect this to turn into a competition of sorts. Evan, Micheal, what room will you two choose?"

Micheal shrugged. "I don't really care much about it. I'll take this one." Micheal double tapped the door leading to his room.

"Alright. Evan, your room is over to the right. Is that okay with you?"

Evan nodded.

"Alright. I'll help you move your toys and belongings into it."

Evan's room was the weirdest thing about the house. It was large for a bedroom, maybe it was intended for it being a master bedroom. There was no light switch or lamp at all, so the only natural light would be from the right hallway, since it had a window. But even then, it wouldn't let light in. But that wasn't the most weird part.

His room had two doors. The hallways were the exact same, and both sides had mirrored the other.

After the moving was done, Evan was left to unpack his toys alone. He arranged his toys in the closet, which he had no intention of using. It was far too large, and the rack was way too high for anyone to hang their clothes up. He may was well just use it as a storage space.

While Evan was tending to his bed, he heard footsteps come from behind him.

Taking a deep breath, he tried not to panic. He grabbed his flashlight and slowly made his way to the closet.

He held out his torch like a weapon to defend any sort of thing that was hiding in the shadows.

"BOO!" The entity burst out the closest, hand ready to strike, wearing a.. Fox mask?

Evan tumbled back a few feet, eyes already filling with tears. He laid on the floor, expecting it to tear him apart.

Instead he heard... Laughter?

The thing was now giggling joyfully. "Oh man, you should have seen your face!" The thing took off the mask, face red with sweat.

It was Micheal! He should have known it was him.

"That wasn't funny! Y-you scared me!" Evan tried to shout in an intimidating voice to stand up for himself, but couldn't stop his voice cracking.

"Oh come on, it was just a joke!"

"It wasn't funny..."

Micheal scoffed. "You're no fun." He grabbed the fox mask and stormed off, leaving Evan alone.

Evan held his Fredbear plush tightly. He heard a voice of comfort.

"Tomorrow is another day."

#fnaf #fnaf 4 #five nights at freddy's 4 #fnaf au #afton family #william afton #evan afton #cc afton #micheal afton #foxy mask #elizabeth afton #fnaf fanfic #fnaf cursed house au

10 notes · View notes

blazehedgehog · 2 years

Note

Sonic Frontiers Vibe Check?

It's a real bummer that the only Cyberspace tilesets we'll ever see, across the entire game, are apparently Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Sky Sanctuary, and Non-descript City. That, more than anything else, feels like a budget thing.

(Ironically, it's also basically the same spread of environment types we got in Sonic Generations.)

I dunno. As we enter this final week, all the hope I've been feeling welling up for Sonic Frontiers is turning back in to worry. More specifically, that this is going to lead to a massive shift towards a direction I don't really want Sonic to go?

I stand by the fact Sonic isn't a melee fighter. Sonic is a platformer crossed with a racing game, and how that's balanced has been trending toward racing game more and more basically since 1991. Sonic has been going faster, and faster, and faster in every game. I understand that to some degree they've sort of painted themselves in to a dead end with this stuff, but as I've always said with Sonic in 3D, it's less about "we can't do this" and more about "we don't have the right game designer to figure this out."

Sonic has, for many years now, fought to figure out how to become more of a platformer again, and it never feels good. Platforming in Sonic Colors was bad, platforming in Sonic Generations was the worst parts of that game to me, Sonic Lost World was made for space aliens, and Sonic Forces tried to go back to Generations but it's obvious they had no idea what was appealing about the fast parts of that game.

They don't understand how to make Sonic going fast feel good anymore, if they ever really did.

So now we have Frontiers. It still has the racing game parts, but they've been up front saying 75% is going to be punching, kicking, and solving Zelda puzzles. Not only that, they've said the racing game parts can be ignored entirely.

It's like, imagine if Mario x Rabbids was the new direction for Mario.

I don't mean a cute spin-off, I mean, imagine if these games now became the basis for all future Mario games going forward. This was the new standard. Platforming is out, Mario is now an Xcom-like strategy game. That's the canon now. And, at least from where we're standing, that's how it's going to be forever.

Nintendo would never do that, because Nintendo's not that dumb, but Sega is. We could be in for a decade of "trying to make Sonic Frontiers work." Skill trees, and combos, and Zelda puzzles, for two, maybe three or even four games.

And that's sad, isn't it? Sonic is, or was, one of the last games where high scores still mattered. It's what made Sonic unique. And they're taking away what made him unique and are putting in the same grindy RPG systems that are in every other game now.

Just being fun isn't good enough. You could take, I dunno, The Sims, and turn it in to the most fun platformer ever made, but it's not going to be a replacement for The Sims, you know? The people who liked the old Sims gameplay are still going to be there.

And for that reason, Sonic Frontiers makes me very nervous.

#questions #jackelzxa #sonic the hedgehog #sega #sonic team #sonic frontiers #mario x rabbids #nintendo

12 notes · View notes

antiquatedsimmer · 2 years

Text

The Coombes Legacy

Daniel Coombes & Edith Mont Coombes - 1890 A woman from a wealthy family and an outlaw from a notorious gang fall for one another and decide to ditch their lives to be together.

More in-depth back story below! I accidentally made it longer than expected. WHOOPS. I'm more of an artist than a writer and I don't think every post I make will be this detailed and in-depth... but its good practice!

Edith Montgomery Calloway was born into a wealthy family in Windenburg and while living there she met her future husband, Butch Boone. Butch Boone was an outlaw who joined the Van Doren gang in his early teens. A gang centered around robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches. Butch pursued Edith with the intent of getting information & forming a plan to rob Edith's family estate and ends up falling for her tender personality. Obscure interrogations turned into dates and by the end of the month they were infatuated with each other, Butch knew her noble status and his criminal history would make it impossible to be accepted into her family so he took his final cut from the gang, packed what he could, packed it onto a small covered wagon and snuck onto the Calloway estate to propose.

Butch, as quietly as he could, poured his heart out to Edith from outside her bedroom window, and Edith enthusiastically accepted!

Edith's heart fluttered and she struggled to keep her voice down, She was relieved to know Butch loved her as much as she did him.

Except now what? Once the excitement passed anxiety flooded her head. Her family would never allow their engagement and Edith would have to leave everything she's known behind!

Did she really want to leave her family behind? Edith knew she'd most likely never see her siblings again. " Would they even understand? " Negative thoughts clouded her brain. Edith has only ever known a life of luxury...

Was Butch worth throwing it all away?

" Yes! Yes he was! "

Despite the rollercoaster of emotions, Edith knew at least one thing for sure, Her father had already been discussing plans about Marry her off to another wealthy family in Windenburg, If Edith didn't go now she'd surely marry whatever vainglorious man they planted in front of her whether she loved him or not.

Edith had always done whatever task her family has asked of her, she was not going to be trapped in a loveless marriage for the sake of climbing the social ladder!

Edith quietly changed from her nightgown, packing what clothes and trinkets she could take with her, and snuck down into her father's library to take what she could from her family's emergency funds.

Butch lead Edith out of her family's property where they rode off to leave Windenburg and bought tickets onto a boat to take them to Henford-on-Bagley to start a new life together.

On the way to Henford Butch decided it was best to pick up an Alias to help leave their histories behind them. Butch Boone would now be known as Daniel Coombes and Edith would become Edith Mont Coombes.

Butch pulled what funds they had left and took a loan from the Henford bank to buy a large patch of farmland with a house on the hill.

Daniel and Edith had a private wedding under a tree on their farmland and are both eager to start their new life together. But will it last?

Can Daniel the former Butch Boone, really leave his criminal lifestyle behind and devote himself to working to pay off the heavy bank loans and keep his family afloat? Will Edith be able to leave her aristocratic way of life behind, roll up her sleeves, and get her hands dirty for once to make the farm work? Or will the hard work tear their relationship apart? Was their impromptu marriage a huge mistake?

We'll have to wait and see ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#I haven't done a decades challenge in so long im excited!#I'm gonna try to be more strict with this one but not too strict to where im not having fun #hope any other vintage/historical simmies like my couple #The Coombes Legacy #decade challenge #the sims 4 #ts4 #ts4 historical #historical challenge #sims 4 screenies #long post #vintage #I really like how their portrait edits came out!!!#holy shit the bank interest is gonna fuck them but i think they can pull it off

10 notes · View notes

kobblefort · 1 year

Text

Rushsly: Almost The Bottom 2

ENDGAME SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT... MAYBE. THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN LAST TIME. BUT THEY COULD HAPPEN THIS TIME! YOU NEVER KNOW!

-116 is stripped for gold, but reveals no more. The project must be paused again - flux stones are needed to continue steel production, so a big random chunk of dolomite is carved out. Migrants arrive, but only a few, bringing our population from 108 before the siege to 115. Perhaps they heard what we're about to do. Maybe they just heard how much our fortress is flourishing.

Indeed, they are just enough to tip us over from being a "town" to a "city," and our wealth must be known all over the Hill of Scars - maybe even all across the Land of Nails.

One must wonder if they know of the beasts lurking in the depths, if they hear of the ratfolk pitifully sending handfuls of themselves to die against our walls, of the potential doom we flirt with at the bottom of the earth.

The child Sraraz Jokedknit is taken by an unknown force, and at just the same time we can hear Kerrik Perplexnightmares doing battle with our old buddies, the olm men.

And just like that, the beast is dead. It seems like prudent timing to make sure the first cavern layer is absolutely, completely walled off.

Yes, I'm hesitating, I know I'm hesitating, I always hesitate, I know jumping into the water makes it way easier to adjust to the temperature than slowly dipping in one part at a time, I know I have to just dig straight down already, but that doesn't mean I'll do it, not without a fuss, not without dragging my feet and trying to talk myself out of it.

Sraraz's artifact is Sorudrzl - Bustkindled - hey yeah I'm into busts kindling - sorry - and it's worth a whopping 22900 whatever-the-units-of-value are. Half of that number is of particular personal value to me for reasons I am not about to disclose but just know that I feel even more nervous and unsettled. But I've wasted enough time, and I'm not a superstitious man; we'll dig, damnit, deeper still, and deepe

Are you fucking kidding me man??? From the southern plains a fucking big-ass minotaur comes. I somehow doubt that it "seeks harmony" and it's time to draw up the bridge real fucking quick. By "seeking harmony" do you mean like "not having anyone left to have problems with?" If you wanna talk we can talk with us in here and you out there otherwise yeah we're not gonna talk. Bridge up doors shut everybody in - hey we might finally get to try that magma trap from literally years ago though, that could be cool.

Her first order of business is attacking the random aardvark we had lazing around outside the fort. I don't even want to post the combat logs, it was brutal, it was not quick, but it served to show us that she's fucking mean and fucking fast. Next she literally charges down a leopard and... like...

This shit is fucked up dude. She's not getting any closer to the base, but seeing the shit she does makes me think maybe it's time we test out our catapults. Remember those??? Will they even work????? One way to find out!!!

The first volley misses by a mile, but at least the sight of boulders flying through the air scares her up into some trees. Well, for a moment, anyways.

Investigating her "Military" tab shows a history of violence that apparently only started once she was 169 years old: hard year, I guess, but no reason to take it out on us or our random little wildlife creatures. She's been hiding in the trees for a while, and though the catapults are good at scaring her, it's just not possible to hit her from our position. The marksbolds will be stationed up on the turrets above the drawbridge (safely behind the drawbridge) but they probably won't be able to land any shots from there either. It's a total standstill.

This fucker shows up on the second cavern layer? Honestly who fucking cares?? Like we're so fucking busy??? We don't even go down there but we literally have this asshole up a tree blocking our access to the entire outside world???? Well, we're going to try and bait the minotaur up top into a bad position. Whether that puts us in a bad position... I dunno. We'll fucking see.

The plan is to send the one kobble in the worst possible mood of the fortress to bait it into the lava trap, and unfortunately, that'd be Zil. Despite having a pretty great time of things by its own admission, it has failed to grow close with any of its squadmates and teeters on the edge of a total psychological meltdown. So like, you know, if it dies... well...

Well we're not going to find out I guess!? Saraz Fishedpraise, an unproven wrestler fucking charges out to yank it down from the tree with his spear, stabbing it in the fucking gut - then the lung, then through the hand so cleanly it tears not just muscle but ligament and nerves. But...

well, do you see that "puddle"

It's actually pretty fucking deep, and Saraz gets thrown right down it after losing control of the battle. As the minotaur charges down the hole she saw the kobold come from...

...the thing I was planning to use Zil Dentedleaks for happens. A truly fearsome foe, but once again, not even past the first row of traps. I genuinely don't think I'll use cage traps in my next fort lol they're so fucking overpowered. I know forgotten beasts and werebeasts can't trigger them but fuck dude, a whole-ass minotaur? Well, at least now we get to throw her down a hole and she dies. A bit anti-climactic but... that's Rushsly for you I guess. Time to recover Saraz's body.

Ty is on cleanup duty again, hauling the 602-weight minotaur cage, almost five times the weight of a boulder of jet, to the garbage hole, where if she does not die immediately on impact, she will eventually be killed. She just thinks: "I feel alright."

I deduced from the location of a gem-studded pillar of obsidian in the second cavern layer where we might be more likely to find what we're looking for - maybe.

But when we get there, it's nothing. The tunnel is rerouted for a bit before I ultimately decide we'll dig one more Z-level down.

Mica. Cobaltite, bismuth, granite. Galena, worthless goddamn galena again; silver is "consolation gold." Could it be one layer deeper, just one? 118, a nice, happy number. It would have been nicer if it was 117, like John Halo. 118, right? 118?

118. Here we go.

I can smell it, man.

This alert makes me nearly jump out of my fucking skin. Cool, man. "The Goldenrod Raven." Why are you even still using iron? Whatever. That's great. We're almost there. Whereever we're getting, we're almost there. Granite, microcline, prase, we have to be close. Cassiterite, for fuck's sakes, it has to be here. Was it "adamantine" this whole time? Have I been reading it "adamantite" the whole time, saying "adamantite" this whole fucking time? Seeing the name every single time I go to punch in a work order and just misreading it every single time?? Where did I get "adamantite" from if it's always been "adamantine???"??? ??? ?????

A gnoll right now are you fucking kidding me???????

A gnoll army right now are you fucking kidding me!?!?!? Well, at least I forgot to lower the drawbridge after the minotaur attack. But seriously? Gnolls? Right fucking now???

One of them walks directly and immediately into a cage trap. The next one stands back and frets about, realizing the entrance is full of traps. A third one charges right past them and dodges an iron disc trap to jam themselves right into another cage trap. Two more nervously fret about the trees, no doubt psyching themselves up to get into the fortress and wreak some havoc, then they just walk straight into the cage traps. One more runs off the map, possibly to finally make the smart idea of going home and saying "We should not go to Rushsly, they have cage traps" - and the one fretting around just outside the cage traps without warning their friends about the cage traps finally leaves with them. Well, that's good.

And as the gnoll madness and my own random little bout of madness starts to break, we get visitors. Our old pals the dwarves. We put the bridge down for them but they insist on coming around the long way. Well guys welcome in welcome in. Just make sure you be good and careful of those fucking cage traps

#dwarf fortress #kobblefort #df spoilers

3 notes · View notes

alpaca-clouds · 2 years

Text

Fluffcember Day 04: An Ill-Conceived Attempt

Fandom: Ojamajo Doremi

Shipping: Aiko/Momoko

Genre: Humor & Fluff

Length: 1309 words

[Ao3 Link]

Aiko did feel like small child again. But who could hold it against her? In her entire life she had never seen this much snow! And, sure, the entire thing about the blizzard should suck, especially as the temperatures were quite literally far beneath freezing. But the snow! Oh! The snow was so amazing!

Sure, they had gone out to entertain the kids - Beth's little niece and nephew – for a while, but really: Those kids had to beat Aiko to the top of the hill first.

“Aiko!” Momoko shouted somewhere long below her.

“Aiko!” the two kids echoed, the girl sniffling a bit.

But Aiko just grinned. She would give the sled back to the kids after she had one ride. But those kids had sledded for almost an hour now and really, that inner child in Aiko, who had grown up in Japan without much snow to speak of, just wanted to try this out.

The hill they were sledding on was not far from the house of Beth's sister's family in Massachusetts. Really, in the middle of nowhere, a good chunk away from the coastline at least. But that was what made it perfect as it actually had hills and not a lot of people around getting in the way.

With a wide grin on her lips, Aiko positioned herself on the sled and grinned towards Momoko, who buried her face in her hands. And sure, they had not sled from this far up before. But so far only the kids had been using the sled and Aiko was not kid anymore, was she? She was a student in her final year of university – and a gold medalist at the Olympic games at that. A bit of sledding wouldn't kill her.

So she gave the sled a bit of a thrust, before quickly hurtling down the hill that was quite steep up here. “Yiha!” she screamed, both her arms in the air.

A grave mistake, as it turned out, as the snow was hiding the roots of the trees quite perfectly. Somehow vats got tangled against something like that. Roots or maybe a small rock. Whatever it was: The sled came to a sudden – real sudden – halt. Had Aiko done the sensible adult thing and held on to the sled at least, well, she might've stayed on top, but instead she was catapulted of. Before she knew it, she was rolling down the hill, before a tree ever so kindly stopped her.

Next thing she knew, she heard screaming. Two kinds of screaming to be precise. The screaming of a crying child – and Momoko's worried shouts. “Aiko? Aiko?”

Aiko brought her arms underneath her torso, pushing herself up. Somehow her head hurt and she did not quite know why. She tasted blood, too. “Ouch,” she muttered in Japanese.

Then Momoko was by her side. “Geez. Aiko. What are you doing?” She was speaking perfect English as always. “That was so stupid!”

Aiko spat out the blood that had been pooling in her mouth, making Momoko gasp.

“Are you okay? You still have all your teeth?”

Carefully Aiko checked with her tongue, but yeah, it seemed that all her teeth where still in position. “I am fine,” she managed and was not even sure whether she had used Japanese or English in this case.

“You most certainly do not look fine,” Momoko chided, before sighing and getting up. “It's alright, Maria. It's alright. Aiko is fine.”

Maria was the aforementioned niece of Beth. The daughter of Beth's older brother, Martin. She and the boy, Bennie, where just a year apart – and as Momoko's parents were currently in China, Martin and his wife Miriam had graciously offered for Momoko and Aiko to spend Christmas with them.

Christmas was over, of course. But their flight back to New York had been delayed thanks to the storm.

Somehow Aiko managed to get herself onto her feet. She was entirely covered with snow. of course. Even her black hair was hanging with it. And as some of it melted in her body heat, she started to feel the cold for real. (It was about -20°C!)

“C'mon,” Momoko said, gripping the still crying girl by the shoulder. “We'll go back home and have mommy look at the stupid idiot Aiko.”

And really, Aiko had to give it to her. Maybe her plan had been a bit idiotic. But fun, most certainly fun.

***

A bit later Miriam had taken a look at Aiko. While she was a nurse at a vet, she knew enough about medicine to have a good look at her. “Quite fittingly,” Momoko had noted, “after all she is pretty much a donkey.” At this Beth had laughed and even the children had joined in, who were in a way better mood after having had some cookies.

In the end Miriam's professional opinion had been: Aiko had bit her lip during the fall and had also gotten herself a nasty bump on her forehead. The thick winter clothing had thankfully cushioned her body from any further fall damage, of course.

So now Aiko was lying in the guest room she was sharing with Momoko, watching Netflix. There was a stupid Christmas romcom, that felt just right for her hurting head.

Yeah, this was probably the gods telling her something. As even with the cool pack, the bump on her forehead would not go down.

Those American Christmas romcoms all were the same, she felt. Always something about a dude or a gal returning to her small town for Christmas, some drama happening, them walking into their love interest (who was of the opposite gender, of course) and in the end they would kiss under a Christmas tree.

Aiko had mentally already checked out, being annoyed she could not watch any anime here.

It was already dark outside (no wonder, it was winter after all), when someone knocked on the door. “Yeah?” Aiko muttered.

To her surprise it was Momoko. Not that it did surprise her that Momoko was checking on her, only that… “Ya don't need'tcha knock,” Aiko said in Japanese. “It's yar room, too.”

“I wasn't sure you were sleeping,” Momoko replied with a smile. She was carrying a tablet with some food on it. It smelled good - but Miriam's and Beth's cooking had been really tasty either way.

“Ya brought me dinner,” Aiko noted with a smile. She sat up, ignoring the movie in the background.

“Of course I did. You shouldn't move so much for now.”

“Ah, c'mon, it's just a little bump, that's all.” Still, Aiko was thankful as her stomach started rumbling. By the looks of it, it was some sort of stew. She could make out sweet potato - which was a great start, given Aiko's love of the vegetable.

Putting the tablet on the night stand between the beds, she started eating, only to notice Momoko's gaze after a while.

“What's't?” Aiko asked, making the other girl sigh.

“You really should be more careful,” she replied.

“Ah, I'm fine,” Aiko reassured, before stuffing her face again.

“But what if you weren't? You know how far away the next hospital is?”

That was a good point. After all they really were in the middle of nowhere. So, yeah, this did seem like bad place to actually suffer a concussion or something. “I'm sorry,” she muttered and got up to sit down beside Momoko on the other bed. Carefully she put her hand over that of her girlfriend and smiled at her. “Sometimes… I just wanna be a kid again, y'know?”

Momoko managed a smirk. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Aiko replied. “And, I mean. The snow is pretty awesome, y'know?”

“I guess so,” Momoko said. “Just… Don't you get yourself killed on my watch, okay?”

Aiko gave a melodramatic sigh, before leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Okay.”

#fluffcember #fluff #fanfic #ojamajo doremi #ojamajo doremi fanfic #Senou Aiko #Asuka Momoko #aiko x momoko #femslash #sapphic

2 notes · View notes

shadowspellchecker · 1 year

Text

Distances in Enola Holmes: Basilwether Hall and Station: Part 2 - Topography Comparison

[[Previous]]　☼　[[Menu]]　☼　[[Next]]

This is part of a series of posts on identifying hypothetical real-world locations for unidentified places in Enola Holmes (2020). Since the discussion if posted as a whole, might quickly exceed Tumblr's ten-image limit, I added this separately.

2.2 TOPOGRAPHY COMPARISON

Fig Uplands and rivers within our area of interest

2.2.1 Hills

Hills are a recurring feature in the first half of the movie. The hills we see are always in groups, often with more visible behind them, so inselbergs are unlikely.

2.2.1.1 Basilwether Station

Fig . Basilwether Station exterior, looking away.

Basilwether station appears to be surrounded by hills, at the very least on the right. However, it might also be surrounded, if that line under the clock (below) is hillside and not trees.

Fig . Basilwether Station interior, looking out. Possible hills in center.

In either case, a quick investigation of the film location demonstrates that the hills had to have been deliberately added in. There are buildings all around, and the view would be obscured by modern development. Why they chose this particular background is not known, but it could be that the artists wanted to make the image consistent with the rest of the route.

2.2.1.2 Bridge #1

The first bridge the railway crosses and the farm near it appear fairly untouched by the CGI artists.

2.2.1.3 The Railway Sequences

And, perhaps most strikingly, the areas we witness during the train sequences following the bridge next to the farm are decidedly hilly— and CGI. The CGI considerably decreases the deciding power of the natural topography of the filming site.

2.2.1.4 Estimating extents

At 54m00s, Enola recounts rescuing a sheep from a cliff's edge as a girl, and then her mother patching her up at Ferndell. It is possible that Ferndell is near cliffs. If so, then by calculating possible distances from Ferndell, one might also be able to work out the distance to even more cliffs or rugged terrain. So, I attempted to find a rough estimate for the distance between Basilwether Station and Ferndell, and found the distance to be at most twenty miles. However, while we know Basilwether station is in a hilly area, and that Ferndell is situated in a hilly area, they don't need to be in the same hilly area. Since that describes just about every major set of hills in our area of interest, we'll move on for the moment.

Looking out for:

Hills around station

20 miles or less from more hills

What we can say with some certainty is that the railroad route was consistently hilly. As such, we can estimate that the hilly landscape must be at least four miles across in one direction, given the amount of screentime is shown and our estimated travel speed.

Looking out for:

Hills around station

20 miles or less from more hills

Hills near Basilwether should extend in one direction no less than four miles

2.2.1.5 Conclusions

Given the visuals, even if the area around Basilwether Hall is flat, it needs to be within fairly close proximity to a hilly region where the station and the following train sequences can take place. This is a breakthrough, because at the very least it can rule out Huntingdonshire, which had the third lowest highest point of the 1964 Ceremonial counties. I also took the opportunity to eliminate 1964 Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, the Soke of Peterborough, the Isle of Ely, and Parts of Holland. (As a mental shorthand, this is a contiguous area largely northeast of London.) The City of London, of course, was not even a consideration.

Within my maximum estimates (see above or here), this leaves us with the Chiltern Hills, the South Downs, the Kent Downs, the Surrey Hills, and the North Wessex Downs. Slightly further afield, we also have Cranbourne Chase and the Cotswolds.

Looking out for:

Hills around station

#ShadowSpellchecker #enola holmes #distances in enola holmes (2020)

1 note · View note

catboyyukineapologist · 2 years

Text

NORAGAMI CH 100 THOUGHTS

guys I'm crying I'm genuinely crying actual tears. I was gonna make a "surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me" joke but it's no time to jokE. TOO MUCH IS HAPPENING.

And as a lot of people saw coming this appears to be the final arc🥲 it's sad but I'm glad that the story seems to have been allowed to run its natural course and adachitoka got to tell the story they wanted to tell (and boy, what a story). Bittersweet, but let's all enjoy this final arc together! I'm terrified!! What on earth is going to happen!!! How do all the loose ends get tied up????

anyway we're here and I am back on my bullshit under the cut...! Be warned: This is a long one.

(I went off about Father and his children again please someone take the keyboard away from me)

Sakura is the tree of spring, huh?

as you may imagine I AM UNWELL

fast-moon dropped this one while I was on a date and when I saw that notification I had to stop, process it and explain to my date what was going on because that is how much despair it caused me. (And I hadn't even read the damn thing yet)

Why is it only now clicking for me that there is a CLEAR OBVIOUS MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP between the names Yuki / Haru / Sakura.

Smarter people than I probably have and will speak more (and better) on everything going on with names and wordplay and Yato fighting and being nearly killed by Yuuki on the same hill where he buried his body and letters, but I will just say that it hurts and it made me cry ambiguous, confusing, sad-happy tears.

That entire section looked so pretty and Yato and Yuki looked so tiny and I'm just🥺

Yato with the GRAVE TALK. He is dangerously close to fucking around and finding out. (O como decimos en mi rancho, a dos de acabar muerto por jugarle al vergas)

SHIIGUN IS BACK BABY BOY IS HERE I LOVE HIM LOOK AT HIM GO

why are those dragon ayakashi so cute i want to keep the tiny one as a pet.

BISHA

SHE

WHEN SHE AT THE

WHEN SHE

Nyappy's Kuraha theory is gnawing at the edges of my sanity again it would seem (please will someone bully me into finishing that damn ficlet wip before the manga literally ends)

"The same as me not wanting to use Kazuma" Oh boy. Oh man. Oh honey you got a big storm coming.

OH NO NOT IMMEDIATELY

Kinuha beloved I missed her<3

Kitty cat. Kuraha prefers to be a lion than a human confirmed.

Ah yes, finally some good, old-fashioned, straightforward punches directly to the gut. (also that panel is just beautiful, man)

Oh don't come now with the "you'we impowtant two me" shut the FUCK up, old man. Boo fucking hoo your child you abused doesn't love you:( too bad so sad suck it up worstie<3

Ok now that that's out of the way. He makes a valid point- from his point of view, at least. From what we have seen of his backstory, Yato was created by a wish born of his deep feelings of injustice, of being left behind to die by the world and the gods ("You were my prayer"). TO him, Yato has always been a tool he had a right to, he deserved, to "cull the herd", to take back the power he believed was for him and taken away. Yato was Father's lifeline in a similar fashion as Father was his. He was his precious means of justice until he wasn't anymore. And he loved him in the same sick and twisted way he loves Mizuchi for very similar reasons. Again from what we know up until now, I fear it might be all he knows, love for someone as a means to an end; but I'm afraid we just won't know that until we learn more about his relationship to Kaya (vibrating with excitement As We Speak).

Oh no. Ohhh no. There is so much to unpack from Nora and Kazuma at the end oh NO.

Hey yeah remember that old theory I had that got debunked a bunch in the last couple of years where I talked about hafuri being immune to GGS and roped Kazuma into my examples? well lookie here guess we'll find out sooner rather than later won't we? :)

I mean, Kazu is like double-sealed though so it should be fine, right?

Right, guys?

Nora baby honey child PLEASE I'm so sorry you have been made to feel this way. It hurts my heart that it's all she knows as well. She only knows how to be a tool, and that's the entire meaning of her life- the only way she understands love, just like Father. Her father gave her a name and a purpose, and that is the most important thing to her; she will go to the ends of the earth and betray everyone and everything else because that's her father. He basically made her. But child, please, that's not it:( I want her to go back to Hiyori and learn what unconditional care and love is please:(( Get yourself an older sister like Yuki did I prommy there's more to existing than just being used and thrown away every time:(((

So yeah! i leave you with your monthly(!) reminder that trash dad is uh. huh. maybe leave father and son be for the time being actually they seem to have some issues to figure out.

#noragami #noragami 100 #yato #nora #once again sorry if this makes 0 sense i passed out for an hour and it was done #but hey! i'm back and better than ever! ... I think!#the spanish bit says the same as the english part of the bullet dw about it #Every chapter brings me closer and closer to the side of the Father apologists and I don't like it (/hj)#but also I kind of love it his whole character is extremely appealing like. as a person he's a piece of shit but as a character?#*chef's kiss*#poor little meow meow material. I want to study him i want to poke around inside his head #so many thoughts so many feelings #yes you read correctly i have a ficlet wip I need wrung out of me like water from a rag because I really like the idea #kuraha theory my beloved #shoutout to nanna for being big brain #if u see this- didn't know if i should tag you but lmk if you want me to it just made me really anxious sorry💀#chapter reaction #chapter thoughts #lextpost #noragami spoilers

36 notes · View notes

bumblesimagines · 3 years

Text

Green Thumb

Part 13

Request: Yes or No

You stared in awe as the jet flew into Wakanda. It had been even more beautiful in person. Most of the places you went to were cities. Wakanda had a lot of pretty views so you hoped you could at least stay for a day or two. You noticed the statue of a panther, humming softly before the city came into view.

"This place is gorgeous." Sam breathed out. You nodded, smiling softly.

"I bet you're more excited to see Bucky, huh?" Sam grinned, looking at you. You rolled your eyes, glancing at him and shrugging.

"So?"

"As long as he treats you right.. I won't fuck with him." Sam said, patting your shoulder. You shot him a look, raising your brows.

"Okay, I'll probably fuck with him a little." Sam winked, chuckling softly as the jet landed. You bit your bottom lip, trying to fight back a smile as you followed everyone off the jet. T'Challa and the Dora Milaje waited for everyone.

"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something." Steve said, shaking T'Challa's hand. Bruce cleared his throat, going to bow. You chuckled, shaking your head.

"We don't do that here." T'Challa said, waving him off. Bruce glanced at an amused Rhodes.

"How big of an assault are we expecting?" T'Challa asked, turning and walking towards the palace. Your gaze flickered around, looking for Bucky.

"Uh, sir, sir, a pretty big assault." Bruce responded. You met Wandas' teasing gaze, looking away with a soft huff.

"How we looking?" Natasha asked, glancing at T'Challa.

"We have my Kings Guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." T'Challa trailed off, motioning to Bucky. You smiled widely.

"A semi stable a hundred year old man." Bucky finished for him, smiling as he hugged Steve.

"I brought you a friend, Buck." Steve smiled, stepping aside. Buckys' smile widened when his gaze landed on you, arms opening. You walked forward, hugging him.

"Not the circumstances I expected but.. I'm glad to see you again." Bucky said softly, leaning back. You smiled up at him, feeling him gently touch your cheek with his new metal arm. Your gaze softened, gently leaning into his touch.

"Uhm.. When- When did this happen?" Bruce asked quietly.

"No clue." Rhodes answered, staring at you and Bucky. You stayed outside with Bucky and Sam, wanting to spend more time with him.

"I'll show you my place after all this. You'll be able to meet Aang and Korra in person." You giggled at Buckys' words, nodding. You had helped him name the goats he had bought after T'Challa got him a plot of land he could peacefully live in.

"We'll finally be able to watch the show together." You cooed, hand gently coming up to play with Buckys hair.

"Yeah, I can show you how to tend to the goats and you can help me start a nice garden." Bucky said softly. You raised your brows, grinning.

"Oh? So does that mean I'll be moving in with you?"

"Maybe.. If that's what you want, doll." Bucky replied, metal thumb gently rubbing your cheek.

"Yeah, I'd like that. You'll have to come with me to the family farm though. Everyones been dying to meet you." You told him softly. Bucky raised a brow.

"That's a first." He mumbled.

"So, are you two a thing or what?" Rhodes asked, motioning to you and Bucky. You looked at Bucky, waiting for him to answer though Bucky looked right back you. You stayed silent, head tilting slightly.

"Great answer, guys. Made me tear up a little." Sam said, watching you and Bucky. You rolled your eyes at him, feeling Bucky slither an arm around your waist, a cheeky smirk on his face.

"You two are big babies." You said, arms crossing. You looked up at the sky, frowning.

"Hey, guys?" The two looked up, seeing the chunk flying towards the city. Luckily, there was a barrier protecting the city.

"God, I love this place." Bucky whispered.

"(Y/N), come up. I'm gonna need you here protecting Vision." You heard Steve say, nodding. You licked your lips, hesitating before giving Buckys' cheek a quick peck. You quickly walked away, following one of the guards to where Vision was. You could hear Sam teasing Bucky through the earpiece, chuckling softly. You entered the room as the others left, glancing at Vision.

"You'll be okay." You said softly. Vision nodded, though he was unconvinced. You stood beside Wanda, watching from the window. Your brows furrowed when you noticed the millions of creatures running at the barrier. The first few died but some eventually made it in.

"I should be down there." You said softly. You turned your head when Shuri asked if T'Challa wanted to open the barrier. You swallowed, looking at Wanda.

"I'll be fine." Wanda said, giving you a nod. You turned, leaving the room. You quickly left the building, using wind to boost you into the air and towards the battle. You landed near Bucky, raised your hand and getting the stream of water to shoot forward, catching a bunch of aliens in it. You raised up the water, seeing the aliens trying to get out of the large bubble.

"Sam!"

"Got it!" You made the water let the aliens go, Sam shooting rockets at them and making them explode in the air. You moved your arm, moving it forward in a swinging motion and making the aliens infront of you fly back to the barrier, getting electrocuted and fried.

"Damn.." Bucky whispered. You grinned, shrugging lightly. You rose up into the air, hands moving in front of you and shooting out fire at the ones entering through the part of the barrier that was open. A spear like weapon came flying at you so you dodged it, only for it to come fly back and hit you. You got electrocuted, losing focus and falling to the ground.

"Fuck, that's gonna leave a bruise." You groaned, sitting up and rubbing your shoulder.

"You okay?" Bucky and Sam asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, I guess. Surprised my shoulder didn't get dislocated cause of that alien bitch."

"Woah, (Y/N)." Sam chuckled, shooting at some aliens.

"What? She threw that spear shit at me. She kind of deserves it." You noticed the aliens rushing towards you, bringing your hand up and above you. The ground below you broke off and rose, making you sigh in relief.

"Sam!" You shouted when he was knocked down by an alien. You lifted him up with air, glancing at Bucky. Sam was able to fly again so you focused on Bucky, bringing him to you.

"You okay?" You asked softly.

"Thanks for asking, (Y/N). I'm doing amazing." Sam said sarcastically as he flew by. Bucky rolled his eyes, panting softly. He had a scratch on his cheek.

"Kiss it better?" Bucky breathed out, head tilting.

"Not very hygienic." You replied, chuckling softly. You plucked a flower from the hovering chunk, resting it against Buckys cheek. It withered as the scratch healed.

"Thanks, doll." Bucky breathed out, picking up his gun and pointing it forward. You shielded your eyes when a beam shot from the sky, an axe flying out and hitting the aliens. When the beam went away, you spotted Thor. Thor and his two odd looking friends charged forward, attacking every alien in sight.

"Hop off, Bucky." You said, watching him nod and jump off. You let the chunk of ground drop on the aliens below you, cringing at the guys and blood the spewed out.

"That's nasty." You muttered, turning to face the others. You focused on a group of aliens attacking some Wakandans, one hand rising and using the air to make the Wakandans rise before the other hand moved to open up the ground beneath the aliens. You made the ground close again, safely placing them down. You felt the ground begin to tremble, seeing the trees being knocked down. Something rose from the ground.

"What the hell is that?" You watched it, noticing it looked like wheels with spikes. More rose up, taking out both aliens and people. Wanda flew down, saving Natasha and Okoye. You focused on one, making large roots fly up, raising the machine and wrapping around it until it was crushed completely.

"Guys, we have a Vision situation." Sam called.

"Someone go help Vision!" Steve said, punching an alien.

"I got him!"

"On my way-" You heard Wanda cry out, turning and seeing her rolling down at small hill. Natasha and Okoye were there so you weren't too concerned.

"I'll go too." You called, rising up and following Bruce to the small wooded area. Bruce took care of the big guy so you focused on the other guy.

"Nice seeing you here again, asshole." You mumbled as you landed. The alien sneered, glaring at you. He ran forward, swinging a staff around. You raised your hand, blasting him back with fire. You heard Bruce trying to get Hulk to help but it was useless.

"Useless without your powers, huh?" The alien stood.

"Yeah, I've heard enough of that in movies. I'm happy using my powers to kick your ass." You shrugged. He scowled, charging forward again. You let him get close, grabbing his staff thing when he swung it and grabbing him by the throat with a burning half. You could feel and hear his skin sizzling, staring into his eyes as he groaned. You cried out when something stabbed your thigh, letting him go briefly. He took the opportunity to knock you onto the around. He raised his weapon but Vision quickly threw him back.

"Are you alright, (Y/N)?" Vision asked. You slowly sat up, grabbing the handle of the dagger.

"Well, I just got stabbed but other than that, I'm pretty good." You breathed out, pulling the dagger out. Blood quickly spilled out of the open wound but stopped once you began healing yourself. You looked up, seeing Vision being tossed to the ground. Steve came running at the alien, shoving him back. You stood up, slightly limping towards Vision and helping him up.

"You can't fully heal yourself, can you?" Vision looked at you in concern.

"I'll be fine." You assured him softly, looking over at Steve. You thrusted your hand forward, making a root impale the aliens head.

"Thanks."

"No problem, Cap."

Tags: @geek-and-proud

177 notes · View notes