#at least writing ahit like this helps a little

[sammywolfgirl]

y,ou should talk about fireknight. for me

I’ll do you one better and go fire wind knight :3

Okay okay for real, Fire knight? Love the energy.

I write them as fire spirit being chaotic and knight is just both used to and constantly thrown off guard by this guy.

And then you add in wind archer, the guy who’s used to fire spirits antics and unsurprised which makes the contrast to Knights freaking out even funnier.

I love these dorks, I honestly wanna write it like fire and wind knew Each other long before knight showed up, but their relationship was ambiguous at best, but somehow this underapreciated little cookie brought them together and it’s so sweet.

Also I’ll die on the hill knight is a very competent knight and has accomplished some ducking amazing ahit but is cursed to never be appreciated for it. At least his two god bfs and bestie appreciate him.

Like seriously, this dork has not only slain a dragon, battled monsters, and adventurered into dangerous lands several times and came back alive, and has TWO ELEMENTAL BOYFRIENDS and still people think he’s the silly goofy bumbling body guard

For the love of god please help him.- anyways

Fire spirit hype man. He will hype up this cringe fail cookie so hard! Definitely does cheesy pickup lines. Absolutely dorky around his Knight. And knight cookie being both charmed and tired of his antics but loving him all the same. One time he pulled an Uno reverse and flirted back and fire spirit got so flustered his fire burnt brighter for several minutes it’s great!

[avellanas-nutty-empire]

Every day I hate the usa even more than the last

(This is a vent, ignore if u want)

When people were talking about the recent supreme court members death, I thought it would all be fine. I dont know literaly anything about them, and I generally dont understand my own emotions enough to grieve for someone like that.

But I went on instagram

And all the posts made me feel as though I'm being crushed by a mixture of negative emotions I rarely feel like this. Negative emotions so powerful and raw I feel I'm being literally crushed.

I feel as if I'm being literally crushed.

This is especially the worst since I dont understand my own emotions enough to heal from the pain and resolve them and move on from them properly. I'm stuck. These will forever linger, fractions of being healed, ready to crush me another time.

I made a lil angst post thing for Anna of my ABC girls oc's in which she also suffers from the inability to understand her own emotions. But in reality, that's just a fragment reflection of me. Except the details are solidified - a peace of mind I fear I will never have.

Trump is the third president to ever become impeached, and that alone says a fuck ton. He tries to build a wall, that would damage the ecosystem, solve nothing, and waist money. Then he does next to nothing about covid, using China as an escape goat while a ton of other countries handle it all much better than he does. Then the west coast fires get practically ignored. I have a suit case packed just for fucks sake because if theres one thing 2020 taught me, it's that shit can and will get worse REAL fast. I've been living with yellow smokey ash skies for the past few weeks and this morning at 4am, it rained a good rain for the first time long before the fires started. I was excited and happy for it. It even rained recently AGAIN while I was at work. It gave me hope. Hope that has swiftly been crushed.

Even if the fires get solved, the govornment will not. Trump holds his place in office like a tyrant, bragging about fighting for more terms in office than legally possible. Covid is still a thing, no matter how less officials have cranked down on social distancing. Other countries are out there PAYING people to stay inside. But everyone in the states will just complain and shut down that idea because "oh, we dont have the funds for it. The country is in enough debt already" yeah. Why are you building a wall then. Trump has SIGNIFICANTLY raised that debt since he joined office. Why are we letting a man who has his own history or bankruptcy on SEVERAL occasions be president? Our debt should be going down, not up.

The usa likes to preach to high heavens that it's the best country when in fact, its super NOT. And THATS one of the big problems. Much like a racist insisting "I'm not racist, it's just a joke" or something simular, no progress is gonna get made. People just get mad when our poor countries quality gets pointed out and refuse to see the truth. Then they look back over the constitution written over 100 years ago and recite it like the bible for worshiping practice.

We need to rewrite our constitution like MANY other countries have done SEVERAL times, and stop worrying about what a dead person MEANT when PURPOSLY being vague when writing the constitution because it was supposed to be open for change. But nothing about the United states is open for change. This country needs to get off its fucking high horse, and I need to move to canada

Except that's WAY easier said than done. I want to teach high school math, but I'm p sure you need a degree in french to teach ANYWHERE in canada (especially Quebec, but that's on the other side of the country so I think I'm good). I SUCK at learning vocab and had a hard enough time with my 2 years of spanish class. How am I supposed to get a degree in french?

The college I'm attending has study abroad programs I could participate in, and I have considered transferring to a canadian college if mine doesnt become in person soon, but god knows when that's gonna actually become possible again. I want to do in depth research on teaching requirements and scout out schools in canada and talk with my college supervisor and stuff about it all, but theres no point untill covid ends. I would say to just cross that bridge when I come to it, but the land behind me is rapidly disappearing faster than I can aproach the bridge.

Besides, isnt the canadian boarder still closed? What about my job down here? I dont have money to move to canada. And I dont have the confidence to do it because my mom hindered my progress in becoming a fully functioning adult who can leave the house without a backpack full of shit I wont actually need unless I'm roughing it in the wilderness. What college would even accept me and allow me to transfer my current credits anyways?

All I know is the United States of america is a toxic country that is bad for my health, and I am not ok.

[ahatintimepieces]

Snatcher hears a song he hasn’t heard in a very... very... long time. Can his poor ghostly heart face the music? And his daughter who’s very much alive? This fic is based on Somewhere Only We Know by Lily Allen! Please enjoy!

[theplushmaker]

Sonic Headcanon please

Ok, here it is! another 40 headconnons! hope you enjoy!

• Sonic has a lot of family, his first being his biological family Queen Aleena, Sonia, and Manic, his second family (aka adopted family) is Jules The Hedgehog, Bernadette The Hedgehog, and Charles The Hedgehog, (also Scourge is Bernadette and Jules' biological son, making Sonic and him brothers) and last but not least, Longclaw, she was Sonics last guardian before Eggman took over the world completely, oh! And Tails is still Sonic's little brother

• Sonic knows sign language and he considers it his first language

• Sonic likes to view himself as the oldest, even though Scourge is older by ten seconds and Shadow is physically 16 (we are not counting the 50 years he was frozen in time)

• Given the fact that Sonic basically has three moms, he's come up with a way to distinguish them when he calls, he calls Aleena - momma, Bernadette - mom, and Longclaw - ma, he refuses to call any of them "mother" saying "it's too fancy for me"

• Whenever Sonic takes on a new form, they don't just disappear. They instead end up living inside Sonic's mind until he calls them to help (I can make another post explaining this a bit more if anyone wants it)

• Sonic didn't meet Tails until he was eight, which would make Tails 1 at the time (I have a complete timeline in my head, I just need to write it out XD)

• Sonic knows how to play the guitar and would take song requests from Tails. He'll sometimes write songs for Tails as well

• Sonic can sense spirits

• During the Phantom War, when Sonic was captured, he was chained to the wall (think of snatcher from ahit) with his legs locked up (similar to the cuffs Elsa from frozen had, except both legs are in one cuff)

• During Sonic's capture, Infinite would make Sonic feel as though he lost his arms/legs/hands with the phantom ruby's power, he'd also take advantage of Sonic's Aquaphobia by making him think that he was in the middle of the ocean during a storm

• Sonic doesn't want to worry anyone about what happened in the Death Egg, so he's bottling it all up, he thinks he's sneaky, but everybody knows somethings wrong

• Sonic still has Chip's necklace/bracelet in his room on a pillow. He makes sure no dust settles on it

• Sonic may be optimistic and not take things seriously, but there are times, rare as they are, when he sits down, skips all the jokes, and be serious

• Sonic's been teaching Silver sign language. He finds it funny how Silver lights up whenever he learns a new sign

• When Sonic was rescued, he was malnourished, he had lots of injuries, and most of his muscles atrophied. He spent the first few days bedridden and two months in a wheelchair and, after some physical therapy, he upgraded to crutches. He had to stay in the med bay area so the nurses could keep a better eye on him, but either way, he didn't want anyone to see him like that, and those who did don't bring it up, for his sake

• After the Phantom War, Sonic preferred to be outside more often than before. Tails stayed by his side, working on one of his smaller projects

• Sonic considers Mighty, Ray, and Knuckles as his brothers

• Sonic knows how to use a hoverboard thanks to Manic

• Sonic kicks in his sleep if he doesn't run around when he's awake, once he accidentally woke up Tails by breaking the lamp beside his bed, so now whenever Tails knows he didn't run around that much, he moves everything away from Sonic's bed before he goes to sleep

• Sonic and Tails are roommates

• Whenever there's a thunderstorm, Sonic lets Tails sleep with him

• When Tails was younger, Sonic would read him bedtime stories, sometimes even play a few lullabies with his guitar

• Sonic gave up his childhood when he was separated from Longclaw, having to learn to take care of himself, having to fight at the age of 5, lead an army with Sonia, Manic, and Sally a year later, and ending a war at 8, along with taking care of, and raising a 1-year-old two-tailed fox, Sonic didn't have much time to not worry about what would happen next (even though he never shows it)

• Sonic learned to be positive no matter what because not only did everyone around him need the positive energy, but it was also his way of telling a crumbling world under the rule of Eggman that, no matter what he did, he will never stop fighting, and he wasn't going to be knocked down by hopelessness

• Sonic is viewed as a symbol of hope by many (^)

• Sonic loves to tell stories of his adventures to children. It was also one of the things he looked forward to during the first war (aka The Robian War)

• Sonic's quills are sharp enough to pierce metal

• Sonic is an adrenaline junkie

• When Sonic was showing Knuckles around the city for the first time, he recorded the experience. Sonic will never forget the look of curiosity and wonder on Knuckles' face

• Sonic loves to record all sorts of moments, but his favorites by far are the first-timers, like bringing Tails to his first amusement park, or secretly recording Shadow trying chili dogs for the first time, or even Silver's first time seeing rain!

• Sonic doesn't remember the events of 06

• Sonic doesn't do it as often as he used to when he was younger but he does sometimes throw concerts with his siblings

• While raising Tails, Sonic hired Vector (who would be 13 at the time) to find info on Tails parents, Sonic doesn't hear back from him until a year later (Sonic thought he ran off with the money) where he's told that Tails' dad is nothing but scrap metal and his mom was killed during the Robian War, he was also told that Tails name was Miles Prower, Sonic thanked him and paid him extra for his troubles

• During the Robian War, after Sonic was on his own, he didn't meet a lot of hedgehogs, so whenever he had a health problem, he didn't go to the doctor (mostly because the doctor at the hideout didn't know how to take care of hedgehogs and would get frustrated with Sonic) instead he would learn to take care of his health by himself, this has lead to poor decision making

• Growing up wasn't easy, especially when the people around you are afraid of getting hurt by your quills, so when Sonic had his quills bent and pushed into his back during a fight, he couldn't ask someone to help remove them, so he would simply find a waterfall, sit under it and let the water dislodge the quills, afterward he'd go home and shower

• Sonic knows how to make flower crowns thanks to Cream

• Sonic likes to visit the Chao Garden, he also has a chao he calls Indigo

• During a new years party when Sonic was 9, he introduced Mighty and Ray to Vector who, then introduced them to Espio and Charmy. Sonic took lots of pictures of them and gave copies to Vector (Charmy was only a few months old while Tails was 2, and Ray would be 5 when this happened)

• Sonic didn't know how smart Tails was until he made a TV out of paperclips at the age of 5

• once, when Sonic was 12, Sonia tried to get him to comb his quills to be more organized. Sonic learned the hard way by having her drag him by his shoes back inside the castle, but not without dragging Manic down with him since he was laughing while Sonia chased Sonic

[doodleimprovement]

AHIT Spiderverse AU :: Tell Me Why

Soooo this took an embarrassingly long time to write for how short it is and I apologize

This is 110% humor and fluff for @crowfry‘s excellent and stupendous AHIT Spiderverse AU 

Okay enough dilly dally-ing! Enjoy! 

-- 

She hadn’t said a word since they’d brought them to their “home”.

SpiderMoon had told him that she was probably just tired, or processing, but both the symbiote and the human he inhabited saw that she wanted to say something, but wasn’t.

The kid with the bow was much more receptive to the attention from the older “heroes” per se, ready to tell how they got trapped by Doctor Emprina and her henchmen, and repeatedly thanking them for saving the two who- had gotten really out of their depth for the first time in a while.

But the hatted one said nothing.

The symbiote tried to brush off the feeling of vague concern as belonging to his other half, but he knew he was lying to himself. Their shared heart was in their throat when they saw what trouble the girl superheroes had gotten into. It was … harrowing, in a way.

But she was always the more talkative one. The one that got in your face, that grinned cheekily under her mask and sassed back. He respected that about her.

But she wasn’t saying a peep.

Moon and Bow had gone into the kitchen, leaving the two other “heroes” alone in the living room, with the hatted one pulling her legs up and hugging her knees.

He had to say something - or at least, his other half was trying to coax him into doing so.

“Just be nice” his other half pressed.

The symbiote groaned

“Kid, you need anything?” He asked.

She shook her head.. But didn’t respond.

“You seem bugged” he joked “I usually can’t get you to shut up”

She then deliberately looked away.

He was about to snip at her - Prince be damned - but then she finally spoke

“Why’d you rescue us?”

“... What?”

“Why? I thought you couldn't stand us” She turned her head away.

“What? Geez- kid I wouldn’t go that far” The Snatcher felt almost offended at her assumption

“Then what do you call all the mean things you’ve said!?”

God, she sounded really upset??

“Snatcher, maybe let me talk?” 

“What? No! She doesn’t-” 

“Well maybe she should!!” Prince interrupted.

Snatcher paused, looking at the eyes of the child-heroes mask. The symbiote hated that he kind of agreed.

“... fine” 

And he gave up control.

Spider-Hat stared in absolute bewilderment as the symbiote slunk away, revealing the lithe, but familiar man underneath.

“... Prince?”

The man’s brow furrowed “How do you know my name?”

The child paused at that - seemingly realizing that she gave something away, before nervously taking off her hat, and then pulling off her cowl.

Prince stumbled back in alarm.

“Hattie?!”

“... I’ll be straight with you, I didn’t see that coming” Snatcher commented.

The little girl he’d recently befriended had tired, red eyes, and her face was covered in dark bruises that made his heart twist.

“You.. you were Prince this whole time?” She twisted her cowl in her hands “With the symbiote?”

He nodded “Lemme make it clear that I’m not the one that’s insulting you all the time. That’s all Snatcher”

“Gee, thanks”

“Shut up”

When she cracked a little smile, he felt like he’d hit a milestone. She looked back down at her cowl.

“But still.. Why’d you rescue us?” She asked again, daring to look up at him.

Prince nervously tapped his fingers “Well, Snatcher might be annoyed I say this, but we do care about you, super hero or not”

Her smile grew a bit “... Well… thanks, for saving us, I mean”

Prince gave her a smile back, sitting down next to her. “Our pleasure”

“Speak for yourself”

“Shut up”

Hattie giggled a bit at the banter, and she put the cowl down, kicking her feet for a moment before sitting up on her knees, and reaching over, wrapping her little arms around Prince’s torso “... Thanks” She repeated.

Prince froze, a bit surprised that of the two kids, Hattie was the one to reach out to hug.

“Not that I care but mayyyybe hug her back, you doofus?” 

The polite reminder shocked him out of his stupor, and hugged the spider-girl back, squeezing just a bit.

“... Wait, so Spider-Bow is… Beau?”

“Uhhh yeah. Is Spider-Moon… Moonie?”

“Yup”

“.... This is kinda really funny” Hattie admitted, giggling.

Prince couldn’t help but snort “Yeah… Yeah it kinda is” his chuckles turned to laughter, and Hattie followed right behind. 

By the time Moon and Beau returned to the living room, the two stared in awe at the two (three?) currently resting, Hattie well and truly asleep with Prince seemingly in a half-asleep state, with a small, slightly snake-like Snatcher halfway through pulling a blanket over the Spider-girl ... with his mouth.

Snatcher squinted at them, dropping the blanket

“Say nothing”

The two promptly turned around and left.

They’d talk about it later.

[ahatintimestorybook]

AHIT-Being Happy

Hey everyone!! I got another story for my good best friend @erekiosuncreativeideas! This time for her story, Being Human which is based off of @doodledrawsthings OTH AU! I wanted to write a bit of what happened after Snatcher broke the Time Piece.

Hope you love it Erekio!!

Also you guys should check out Erekio’s story Being Human as well as her other stories like Reliving an Old Nightmare! You’ll definitely get a good read from her works!

Enjoy!!

“I wish to be happy.”

Those were the last words Snatcher said before slamming the Time Piece on the ground. A bright light flashed into Hat, Bow and Moonjumper’s eyes. The trio covered their eyes and as soon the light faded, they looked at Snatcher in shock.

Right in front of them was Snatcher; not ghost Snatcher not kid Snatcher, but Prince Snatcher.

The former ghost looked at himself in surprise as he saw he was human again wearing the same clothes he wore before he became a kid during the battle with Vanessa.

Hat Kid slowly walked towards Snatcher, and stood there for a bit before Snatcher grabbed the young girl and pulled her into a tight hug. The young child felt tears in her eyes, as she slowly wrapped her arms around Snatcher and buried her face into his shoulder. The former ghost had tears forming in his eyes letting out a sniffle as he held the young girl in his arms.

“So,” Hat Kid started. Snatcher slowly let go of his grasp and looked at the alien child. “Are you staying like this then?” She asked.

Snatcher took one more good look at himself and smiled. “Yeah, kiddo.” Snatcher answered. “Hope that’s alright?”

“Oh cool. Yeah, that’s okay I guess.” Hat Kid replied. Snatcher gave a soft chuckle before letting the young girl go. He then looked at Bow and Moonjumper, now holding hands ready to be teleported back to the ship, or in Snatcher’s case; home.

Just before they could teleport Snatcher turned to see Hat Kid collapse on the ground, breathing heavily. Her face red, and she started to sweat despite it being cold outside. “K-kid? Are you alright?” Snatcher asked, worried about the state the young girl is in.

Hat Kid couldn’t speak, just letting out a few moans as her eyes slowly opened and closed. The last thing she heard was Bow’s cries and Snatcher calling her name before passing out.

Back on the ship, everyone was outside Hat Kid’s room waiting for answers on the young girl’s health. They all agreed that it was due to the kid frozen by Vanessa, and from what Moonjumper told Snatcher she was the first to freeze. The guilt ate at the ghost that he couldn’t save the young girl in time.

“I’m.” Moonjumper started, but Snatcher put his hand over the ghost’s, which caused him to look up at him.

“I forgive you. It wasn’t your fault.” Snatcher told him. Moonjumper gave a smile at the former ghost. Soon the trio heard the door open and Cooking Cat coming out.

“How is she?” Bow Kid asked, rushing towards the cat chef. The other child was worried for her sister, more than Snatcher was worried for the kid. It didn’t surprise him, Snatcher knew those two have stuck together like glue for like forever.

Cooking Cat put a paw on the young girl’s shoulder. “Hat Kid is fine, she doesn’t have a high fever. Just a day or two of rest and she’ll be back to normal.” She explained.

Bow and Snatcher both sighed in relief seeing Hat Kid wasn’t in too serious condition. Snatcher was glad he didn’t have to lose another loved one due to Vanessa. “Could I go see her?” Snatcher asked. Cooking Cat nodded and allowed the former ghost to check up on his obligated contracted bff.

Hat’s room light was dimmed, except for a small lamp turned on. The child was lying down reading through a book of fairytales, however at times she let out a cough and after coughing she’d shiver and pull the blankets closer to keep her warm.

“Hi kiddo.” Snatcher said.

Hat Kid looked up and smiled. “Snatcher!” She exclaimed, in a hoarse voice. Though that appeared to be a mistake as she coughed harder. The former ghost quickly went towards the child, and rubbed her back to relax her.

“Don’t push yourself kiddo, you're sick.” Snatcher told her. Hat Kid nodded and lied back down. She closed the book and placed it right between her and Snatcher. “How are you feeling?” He asked as he pushed a stray hair from her face.

“My head no longer hurts,” Hat Kid started. “but my stomach hurts, I still feel hot, and my throat hurts at times.” She explained as she rubbed her neck.

“Well don’t worry, Cookie said you’ll be fine in a few days. Just some rest and her cooking should do the trick.” Snatcher explained. Hat Kid giggled before letting out a cough. She nodded, as her throat felt hot to speak. Snatcher thought for a second, and got up to leave the room. “I’ll be right back.” Hat Kid nodded and lied back down to wait for Snatcher.

Snatcher then made his way to the kitchen to see Bow and Cooking Cat making some soup for Hat. Moonjumper was sitting down watching the two cook. The moon ghost turned around hearing Snatcher come in. “Oh Snatcher! Is Hat alright?” He asked again, making sure Hat Kid’s fever didn’t spike up.

“She’s fine, but I just need to make her something for her throat.” Snatcher explained.

Cooking Cat smiled. “Well, you're in luck. I’m making some soup for the kid.” She told him.

“I’m helping!” Bow added.

Snatcher smiled and nodded, seeing that will help Hat Kid. He then went over to the pantry and looked for some tea bags. “ So do you have any tea bags or tea leaves?” Snatcher asked.

Cooking Cat nodded and opened a drawer and pulled out a few tea bags. “Here.” She said. Snatcher smiled and looked through the tea bags. Once he found chamomile tea he quickly grabbed a mug from the shelf, opened the tea bag and soon went to boil some hot water.

Once the tea was ready, Snatcher poured it into a cup and put a spoonful of honey. However, his tea wasn’t done yet. “Do you have any fruit or berries?” He asked.

“I know where they are!” Bow exclaimed. She got off from her stool and went over to a basket where a bunch of fruit sat. Snatcher looked at the fruit and found oranges and lemons. Just what he needed! Carefully, he cut slices of the fruit and put it in the tea.

“Perfect.” Snatcher said.

“Here.” Cooking Cat started. She brought over a tray where the soup was and Snatcher put the tea next to it. “Careful, don’t spill it.” She warned him. Snatcher nodded, knowing he was careful and quickly went to Hat Kid’s room.

The kid was still awake, not getting an ounce of rest as her fever kept her from sleeping. She heard her door open and saw Snatcher with a tray of soup and tea. “Cookie, made you some soup and I made you some tea.” Snatcher said. He then handed the tea to Hat Kid, and the steam opened her nose.

She took a sip and her eyes widened at the taste. The chamomile mixed with the citrus made her throat not hurt as much. It wasn’t fully better, but at least it won’t be as painful. “This tea, it’s good!” Hat Kid exclaimed. “Hey! I can talk better!”

Snatcher chuckled. “My mother made me this tea anytime I was sick, and if it helped me. It could help you.” He explained. Hat Kid smiled, thankful Snatcher did this for her.

She then took a sip of her soup, and it felt like her body warmed up a bit. She let out a happy sigh as the tea and soup were making her feel better. After finishing her meal she felt she would be able to talk to Snatcher. “Snatcher,” Hat Kid started.

“Yeah kiddo.” Snatcher started.

“What are you going to do now?” She asked. Snatcher was confused by Hat Kid’s question. “I mean you choose to stay in prince form, but now you're no longer a noodle ghost, what are you going to do about souls, contracts, everything you were when you were a ghost.” She explained.

Now that she mentioned it, Snatcher was for certain he’d still rule Subcon, but now that he can’t steal souls or poof up contracts there will be some changes to Subcon soon. “Well,” He started. “I’m still going to rule Subcon, but…” His voice trailed off.

“But?” Hat Kid asked, tilting her head.

Snatcher chuckled and turned away. “It's nothing. Its stupid.”

“I won’t know if its stupid unless you tell me.”

Snatcher turned to Hat Kid, and looked into her eyes. They were filled with honesty and care. This little time traveling alien and her sister cared so much for him. He never felt this care since he still had his parents, who are now long gone and during his early days with Vanessa.

God this kid was turning him back into a softy. “Well, would you like it if you and Bow came to live with me and Moonjumper in Subcon?” He offered.

Hat Kid’s eyes widened and glistened with tears. D-Did she just hear her BFF right? Was he offering her and Bow to live with him in Subcon? “Y-you want us to live with you?” She asked.

“W-well that’s up to you! I-if you need to head back to whatever planet you came from t-then its fine-oof!” Snatcher stuttered until Hat Kid pulled him into a hug. Snatcher was confused until he heard sniffling from the young girl.

“I’d love to Snatcher.” She whispered. If she wasn’t so sick right now, she’d be cheering, bouncing off the walls. Snatcher blinked, and smiled as he pulled Hat Kid closer to him.

All this time he dreamed of having a family. He and Vanessa always talked about having a little princess or a young prince, and watching their child grow. However, after the incident he’d given up on having a family, even the Subconites and Dwellers were never seen as children to him, just minions that were told to do work around Subcon.

When Hat and Bow came to Subcon, he just saw them as more fools to do his contracts and at the end steal their souls. However, he secretly grew to care for the two kids, even if they do cause mischief and he denies that he did care for them.

However, after turning human again and spending time with these kids, he did show his care for them, especially Moonjumper. However, the thoughts of losing them again worried him, as he remembered Bow crying locked up in a cage, and Hat Kid and Moon being frozen ice statues right in front of him.

“Does this mean I can call you dad?” Hat Kid spoke up. This snapped Snatcher out of his thoughts, and was now blushing in embarrassment.

“W-Well I mean? If you want to, b-but I-I don’t mind. J-Just your sick and well-” Snatcher was sputtering so much nonsense that it made Hat Kid laugh a bit, despite letting out a cough or two. Snatcher gave a small smile and pulled the young girl close to him. “You can call me whatever you want.” He said.

Hat Kid nodded and hugged Snatcher once more. “Okay, Dadtcher.” She joked. Snatcher laughed and hugged the young child close, snuggling her. Hat Kid giggled and was soon put back to bed. Once she was back in bed she handed Snatcher the fairytale book she was reading. “Read to me, please?”

Snatcher chuckled. “Alright.” He took the book from the kid and turned to the story Hat Kid was reading earlier. Before he could read it, the duo heard the door open to see Bow and Moon right outside. With a smile, Snatcher asked, “Want to join me?” He asked.

Bow nodded and ran towards Snatcher sitting right next to him. Moonjumper floated by and sat on the pillow pile as Snatcher went to read the fairy tale to the girls. As he read the story, Hat Kid quickly fell asleep and soon Bow fell asleep on his lap. He should have stopped reading and let the two sleep, but he continued.

This was his life now, and he was happy for it!

[frickfracksnatchisback]

Never Coming Back (AHiT Short Story)

So uh, to quickly explain this before you all hate me for the upcoming sadness and angst, I had this thought like late last night and I decided to write it out. (Also to give a bit of context, this is set around the time when Snatcher and Moonjumper were fighting for Subcon, before Moon become reformed) Not gonna lie, the idea made me cry. So...hope you enjoy it!

(WARNING! This fic deals with the subject of death, mourning, and a slight mention of blood near the end. You have been warned.)

***

Subcon Forest had become...much quieter, in these past couple days. Barely anyone was seen roaming around the forest, even all of the ghost inhabitants. It had been like this for awhile now, ever since “that day”. It seemed like no one, not a single soul, would dare to make a noise. In fear of angering their king, or worse. So it was especially quiet up near the Snatcher’s home, where the ghost king had been staying for over more than a week now. It was silent, it was cold, it was dark.

It was driving him mad.

He wasn’t even reading, nor was he making any contracts. He was just sitting there, his head sunken low and his hands clamped together. He didn’t say a word, and let the dust around him collect in his lonely home. He even restrained himself from fidgeting, as a nervous habit, which he had surprisingly gotten better at as time went on. His traps hadn’t gone off for days upon days straight. Or, if they had, he certainly didn’t care enough to check. He was too busy lost in his own thoughts to even care about going hungry anytime soon. And the hunger wasn’t even affecting him anymore, as he had lost all ability to notice or even care about his well-being. Which left him alone, in his home, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him sane.

It was quiet, he noticed. Too quiet. And there was something missing in his forest home. Something small, which he dare not name. Even in the comfort of his own home, he would not utter a single word. He had been staying like this for what felt like forever now, so surely he could keep it up. (At least, that’s what he figured to himself) And yet...his mind wandered further more. He recalled old memories, things of the past that he hated to be reminded of. But instead of these thoughts being about his past, the times before he died, they were of something...different.

Snatcher, for the first time since his choice to never move again, reluctantly shifted in his chair. He leaned back and rested his arms onto the sides of his armchair. It made a small squeaking noise, which was the first noise he had heard in a long time. But he didn’t pay much mind to it, as he was too disoriented to even noticed. But there was something about his posture that seemed off. Like he had left enough room for someone to sit up there with him. Perhaps, a small chi-

Snatcher’s grip on the chair arms tightened, as his claws dug into the outside fabric.

He started to shiver, his body having slight tremors as he remembered something. A memory, which was broken into pieces. He didn’t dare to recall all of it, as fear took over him. But...small details still managed to fill his mind, without his consent. And he quickly closed his eyes, the sudden vision invading his thoughts…

Snatcher was sitting in his home, like he had been. But there was something...different about it. Something all too familiar, yet comforting. And there was strange feeling of warmth, something that he had desperately missed in his home. A small being, which looked like colorful blur of light purple and yellow, appeared in front of him, immediately jumping up onto his chair. It sat in his lap, not asking whether it could be seated or not. And he chastised the small being for this, as he said he wanted to be left alone without him even opening his mouth. But it simply started laughing at him, letting out a childish giggle. The noise filled the home, making it seem...warmer, in a way. And before he could stop it, the little being leaned into him.

And gave him a hug-

Snatcher snapped out of it, shaking in his chair still. He let out a short gasp, his breathing becoming shaky soon after. He could feel his eyes beginning to burn, and blinked rapidly to stop the sensation. He wasn’t going to cry. Never, under any circumstances, was he going to shed a tear over such a memory. An unwanted, stupid, foolish memory that came out of nowhere when he least expected it, was not going to earn any sympathy from him.

But...it did leave him with a feeling of unrest. Like he should be doing something, but wasn’t. And that “something” had been eating away at him ever since he hid away in his home. It was something he had wanted to avoid so badly, both physically and mentally, but always kept coming back to it. He felt like if he didn’t give in soon, the feeling would never leave him. And he would just be stuck here, letting his forest go practically unattended to. What was he to do then? What was left for him to do then? Wait in silence and just wave it off? Wait until months, possibly years, passed by?

Wait until that traitor showed his face again?

………

No...he had waited long enough.

Finally, with a sudden burst of emotional strength, Snatcher pushed himself from out of the armchair. Dust clouds formed, and cobwebs clung onto his back. But he didn’t bother to dust them off, as he was already leaving his home for good. He came out of the entrance, and it was just as quiet outside as it was in his home. No Dwellers, minions, or anyone else visible was waiting close or near to his home. He floated further away from his home, and into the vacant trees. He still kept silent to himself all the way, his hands behind his back, not saying a word as he floated solemnly on the path. As far as he knew, no one was watching him. And he preferred it that way, considering where he was headed.

Unknown to him though, someone was watching him. A strange figure, hidden in the darkness, watched him carefully as he went down the path. They observed him as they silently sneaked through the trees, with their piercing red eyes that almost lit up in the shadows. But they wouldn’t make their presence known. And Snatcher would never even know that they were following him. It was odd timing, really, as the strange figure had already been planning to visit that place. And that was before they even knew that Snatcher was headed in the same direction. If anything, they would have to wait their turn. But they didn’t mind.

After all, it was a perfect coincidence that they were both headed to the graveyard.

After time had passed going along the trail, and he went even deeper into the forest, Snatcher finally came up to the graveyard gates. He froze on the spot, staring intently at the rusted gates that were extremely old with age. There was nothing stopping him from going in, as the gates weren’t locked but instead wide open. Well...nothing except himself, as that lingering fear returned once more. But soon, after taking a deep breath, he forced himself to go further.

Into the place he had dreaded to visit again.

This graveyard wasn’t like any of the others scattered around Subcon. Those just homed clusters of the unidentified people buried there, which were most likely made up of Snatcher’s previous victims. But this graveyard was different, not just because had a gate closed around it. This much was apparent, as Snatcher floated past the other lonely tombstones. The people buried here were different. They were people that had been special to him in a past life. The royal family, a few loyal servants, some of his old friends and acquaintances, even some of the villagers that never made it out after her reign of terror. But none of them where who he was visiting today.

He paused as he reached the edge of the yard, where a single oddly-shaped tombstone was left to stand alone. It stood out from the crowd, as the marble slab was newer and didn’t show any signs of decay yet. The soil wasn’t fresh, but the earth between the head and foot of the tombstone certainly wasn’t flat. And a small patch of glowing flowers had been rooted into the soil near the head, so they would never wilt and grow strong. It was painfully obvious that this grave had been dug recently.

And Snatcher could remember every detail of it, as he had ordered the burial himself.

All of his subjects had gathered there on that day. The day before he had become a recluse, and the last day he had been seen around his forest. He could still vividly picture the whole affair, as he had observed the entire thing. Even the little details. His minions had cried as they worked together to dig out the hole. The Fire Spirits quietly lit the candles in remembrance, which had been removed long since then. The Dwellers had shed glowing tears and paid their respects in their collective muteness. Even the spiders, who had been thought to be hostile, helped to lower the tiny coffin into the ground. Snatcher was the one who planted the flowers, as it was all he could think to do.

Snatcher stared at the grave in silence, before finally opening his mouth to speak.

“Hey, kiddo.”

The nickname stung him, like a knife being thrust into his chest. But he quickly shook it off. It was good to get the name out of the way first, as that was the hardest part. Yet...it made it harder for him to go further. Eventually, after waiting for a response that would never come, he spoke again.

“Have...have you been doing alright, kid?” Snatcher nearly choked on the words, as the memories from before were almost brought back. But he managed to take a big gulp, and continue with his conversation. “I’m only saying that because, y’know, it’s...what you ask me all the time.” he let out the weakest of chuckles, which sounded more like a dry wheeze than anything else. “I mean it’s not like I care about you or anything. I’ve still got a reputation and all that.” he tried joking again, almost cracking a smile, before realizing it hurt too much. His smile fell, as he went back to staring at the small, top hat-shaped grave.

“I waited for you to come back.” Snatcher said, as if the grave had betrayed him. “I waited for you to send me a sign, to finally manifest as a spirit, to come back and say it was all a huge prank. But you never did...” he bit his lip, not wanting to go any further. But he couldn’t stop himself. “I see how it is, kid. I get it. You wanted me to come visit you for once. Still a tough negotiator as ever, huh?” he almost felt like laughing, but the silence that followed after was too much to bear. It almost pushed him over the edge.

“Listen, while I’m here, I just wanted to say...” he paused, dreading the words that would come next. “I’m sorry. For once.” he said it slowly, instead of fast like he had wanted to. “And I know I’m not the most honest guy around. But trust me this time, alright? No catches or clauses, and I mean that, kiddo.” he defended himself, though the grave said nothing in return. He paused for a moment, holding his breath, as he brought out his hand-

And placed it on top of the tombstone.

Snatcher rubbed his hands back and forth on the surface, expecting there to be hair. Simple, brown hair, that he loved to ruffle in a teasing manner. But all he could feel was stone. The cold touch was unforgiving, as he felt his hand beginning to clench up. But he didn’t remove his hand from the tombstone, and instead used the other to snap his fingers. In a puff of purple smoke, a familiar light purple top hat, with a yellow ribbon, popped out of thin air. He caught it with his free hand, holding onto it tightly as it was tiny compared to his hand. But after a few moments of holding it in his hands, he plastered on a smile and held it out for the grave to “see” it.

“See? I even brought you an apology gift. Although...I guess it’s not a ‘gift’ if you stole it to begin with.” Snatcher pondered to himself, before moving on. He then leaned down, and gently placed the hat in front of the grave, next to the flowers planted there. He stared what he had done, feeling like it just wasn’t enough. He still felt empty inside, as something kept nagging at him.

He continued his apology, as tears began to well in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, kid. I...I didn’t mean any of it.” he could feel his voice beginning to break, but he went on. “I didn’t mean to call you a brat. I didn’t mean it when I told you to get lost. I didn’t mean-” he stopped for a moment, the words caught in his throat. “-I didn’t mean...for you to die...” he could feel his grip beginning to falter, as he shut his eyes tight and finally let his tears fall.

And with his tears, he collapsed onto the ground.

“...why, kid? Whywhywhydidyouhavetoleaveme-” Snatcher dug his claws into the dirt, weeping on his hands and “knees”. His whole body shivered, and his vision became cloudy with tears. “WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?!” he began shouting at it, hatred beginning to grow in his voice. But it wasn’t hatred for the grave itself. It wasn’t even hatred towards the murderer that caused all of this.

It was hatred towards himself.

He could have stopped it from happening, if he had tried hard enough. He could have ended the fight he and Moonjumper were having, before it ever escalated. He could have noticed the kid come running closer, if he had been paying attention. But he didn’t. He just didn’t. Instead, he had watched as it all happened. He watched as the kid tried to intervene, jumping in the way of one of Moonjumper’s attacks towards him. And he watched as Moonjumper’s sword slid straight through the child, plunging into her heart and sticking out of her fragile body. He watched as Moonjumper dropped his sword in surprise, letting her plummet to the ground.

And after standing there, just watching, he had let out a loud scream and dove for the kid. But it had been too late, as he noticed a giant red stain quickly spreading on her favorite coat. He had brought her into his arms, cradling her as her eyes became more and more grey. All he could do was panic as he held her, her life quickly fading before his eyes. But before her final breath, she had used all of her strength to rest a tiny hand upon his fluffy mane, and speak her last words.

“I’m sorry...for everything...”

“WHAT WERE YOU SORRY FOR?!” Snatcher screamed, as he could hear her words in his memory. “I’M THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE SORRY! I’M THE ONE WHO DID THIS! IT WAS ALL-” his words were cut off as he, started coughing profusely. He felt like he was choking as his voice became irritated from all his screaming. And it didn’t take much, as he hadn’t talked in a long while. His tears were falling at a rapid rate, as he had to take a couple breaths before speaking again.

“It was a-all...my f-fault…” Snatcher spoke in a raspy voice, as he bumped his head against the tombstone. He stayed there as his glowing tears rained onto the grave’s flowers, coating the petals in his tears. He then looked up, removing his head, as slowly lifted his hand up. He dragged a single claw against the engraving on the tombstone, not reading the words but tracing over them. And eventually, after drying his pointless tears, Snatcher lifted himself up to leave.

“See ya soon, kiddo.” he spoke barely above a whisper, feeling like he was done here. “I’ll keep waiting for you to come visit me.” he promised, as he turned his back to the grave. She had to come back at some point. She just had to. Either as a ghost, or if this was all an elaborate dream. She would come back eventually. Snatcher floated back toward the exit, going past the other graves and leaving his BFF behind him. The BFF that would never come back, and the cycle would eventually repeat itself.

Once Snatcher was gone, Moonjumper revealed himself from the shadows.

He moved to the spot where Snatcher had been, standing at the head of the grave. He had his hands behind his back, hiding something. He stood there for a moment, giving the grave a sad look. He even use a freed hand to pat the top of the stone, as Snatcher had done before. But after a few moments of silence, and looking around to make sure he was truly alone, he spoke to the grave.

“How...curious.” Moonjumper mused, though he didn’t smile. “And yet, what a tragic fate indeed. You risked your life to save what you called your ‘friend’? Such a big mistake.” he shook his head, his words becoming less and less sympathetic. “Though I suppose I did you a favor, little one. That ‘friend’ of yours would have killed you at some point. Honestly, you should be thanking me.” he almost laughed, before thinking better of it. “But I should be the one thanking you, no? After all, it seems as though my shadow has a soft side I’ve never known before. Perhaps...I will be victorious, winning what is rightfully mine!” he hummed for a moment, playfully tapping on the grave’s surface.

“But...for now I must apologize. I didn’t mean to take an innocent life such as yours. A child like you never deserved this fate.” Moonjumper said sadly, feeling guilt for only a moment. “I wonder what could have been if we had known each other for longer? What could we have become? Friends maybe?” he wondered, not looking for any particular answer, before letting out a sigh.

Moonjumper then revealed the object hidden behind his back, which was a sword. A red glowing sword, made of magic strings, to be precise. The same sword that he had accidentally killed Hat Kid with. He held it in both his hands for a moment, running his hands along the blade. It was covered in dried blood, which had darkened over time. He brought his finger up to the tip, dragging in against the stain and leaving behind an imprint of his finger. He could have easily destroyed the sword, and yet he didn’t.

There was something he needed to do first.

Moonjumper took the sword in both of his hands, and laid it in front of the grave. He then knelt down and closed his eyes, mumbling something incoherent under his breath. It almost sounded like strange praying. And in a way it was, as he was preforming a ritual over the small grave. He opened his eyes for a moment to reach into his inner coat pocket, bringing out the necessary materials. First, a lock of hair from the unfortunate victim. Then, a photo of her and Snatcher that he had stolen from her ship, along with a box of matches. And finally, a small dagger, engraved and glowing with supernatural power. He laid out the objects in front of him, before saying a small prayer for good fortune.

He then began the ritual to put her spirit to rest.

“A piece of your mortal body, of what was once loved and lost, to remember you by.” Moonjumper announced to the grave, picking up the lock of hair and placing the strands over the grave in a circle. Once they were all out of his hand, he patted down the soil to firmly put them in place. “Connect to this part of you in this moment, as it will be lost forever.” he whispered once he was finished. He continued to the next step.

“A memory of life, laughter, and love, to ease your aching heart and woes.” he went on, picking up the stolen photo from off the ground. He also took the box of matches, holding the picture in his other hand as he lit a match with his other. “Say farewell to your past, as your loved ones shall remember you dearly and join you soon in death.” he said, bringing the match up to the photo. He then watched, as the small flame burned at the edges of the photo, then to the rest. It burned and burned, until all that was left of the photo was a pile of ash. He sprinkled the ashes in the middle of the circle, bringing him to step three.

“And finally...” Moonjumper said, before reluctantly picking the dagger from off the ground. “A sacrifice from the one who took your life away, to put your soul at rest.” he said, before clenching his teeth as he brought the blade to his exposed hand. He swiped it against his blue flesh, cringing in pain as the fresh wound began to bleed. It was strange and unnatural, since it was the blood of a ghost, glowing bright and green. “May this blood quench your thirst of anger and revenge, and know that all shall be forgiven once you are gone.” he said, as he squeezed his hand and let the droplets of ghost blood fall into the circle.

“Now that the ritual has been complete-” Moonjumper said, as he brought his hand back and began to bandage it with his own strings. “-I ask that you never come back as an unwanted spirit, ghost, or any other spectral-like being.” he emphasized on this part, wanting the ritual to work and not be faulty. “Let your soul rest, let your friends and family remember you in their hearts, and let this be a sign of respect.” he closed his eyes, and quickly clapped his hands together.

And through an unseen force of magic, a glowing purple circle appeared in the middle of the grave. But Moonjumper pretended not to notice, as he mumbled a strange language under his breath. Magic wisps emanated from the circle’s surface, filling the air suddenly with sparkles of power. And rising from out the grave, a child-like apparition with it’s eyes lightly closed was lifted through the air. Moonjumper watched as it floated up to the treetops, higher and higher, until-

It finally faded into the starry night sky, and disappeared forever.

Moonjumper smiled to himself, though it was short lived. He then let out a sigh, as the deed had been done. Her soul had been put to rest, leaving her grave empty. Or at least, empty of an eventual threat to his plans. Now that he made sure she could never come back as a ghost, he didn’t have to worry about his rightful place to the throne.

“I’m sorry you had to leave so soon, little star.” he hummed, staring up at the sky at the light of the stars filled his vision. “But perhaps, you will find peace in not coming back as one of us.” he nodded, erasing any earlier signs of guilt. “What a pity that Snatcher has to wait a bit longer, though!” he laughed suddenly and cruelly, before turning to leave the graveyard.

But instead of floating out the gate, he disappeared in a cloud of pixels, his evil chuckle echoing away into the night. And as he disappeared, he left nothing but an empty grave behind him. An empty, hat-shaped grave that housed nothing but a soulless body in it now. The only things that were left of it now was the forever child-less hat, the planted flowers left by a mourning ghost, and the tombstone’s engraving. The sad chosen words, which read:

Here lies Hat Kid The kindest soul, The bravest of all, And the planet’s hero, Until the end of time…

[glottia-arts]

Friendship is outer-dimensional

Old story kind of brought back from the grave since I felt bad, but here we are now! Another combined story of @konan720‘s world and mine from AHiT because I liked doing that for some reason before.

I hope this isn’t too bad even with editing out a lot of my old writing, but oh well.

This is also a multi-chapter story, but it’s TBD on whether I’ll put the other chapters up here as well.

Word Count: 4,892

_____

Loud sounds echoed around stone walls, unrecognizable to her ears. Aura was unsure what to make of the foreign land.

Buildings were one thing, sounds another, but the overall appearance of the world was dull and frankly made Aura’s eyes hurt. She never thought dull would hurt her eyes, but she supposes this is what she gets for consistently being surrounded by bright objects.

This applies to only the ghostly residents of her home and her hourglass, but she digresses.

Despite the headache, the dweller surveyed the odd-looking town; Its appearance strange compared to that of her village before its fall. Buildings were larger, more intricate, several decorated beyond compare. Some showcased products that she’s never seen or heard of, others purposes were left unclear to her.

Several people passed through the area, whether by foot or odd contraption. She noticed that some children would ride on two-wheeled objects, a protective headpiece in place as they wandered the streets. Adults, on the other hand, seemed to favor moving metal boxes or larger more metallic versions of the thing the kids rode.

The things they traveled with were certainly loud and smelly, having been up close and personal with several of them. Aura still didn’t understand how they work but was a little peeved that one decided to move over her.

She may be a pure shadow that clings to surfaces during the day, but that doesn’t mean she has no feelings!

Speaking of, getting around was hard. Traversing the town proved challenging, no matter the time.

During the day, there was leeway as she didn’t have her normally large body to contend with. Of course, there were complications due to the lack of shadow filled locations to cross through.

A group of children caught her one time, believing someone painted a spooky ghost on the wall. It was simple to stay still and let them presume so, but she’d hate to see their reaction when they found out someone removed said ‘painting’.

Come the hours of twilight, Aura had to worry over her glowing body. True, she could revert to her basic dweller form to decrease her size, but her body still shone brightly. In order to properly travel, she needed to be out and about and couldn’t afford the attention. She wasn’t a shapeshifter like Snatcher but wished she was for this. Even having a basic human form would be helpful! She’s sure an excuse exists for glowing people, given the several odd things in this world, right?

No, that’s possibly too silly.

The ghost just had to stick with a touch and go method in the towns she goes through, letting her freedom be while she roamed the peaceful forests.

Aura does not understand how she wound up in this world, other than it probably being her own fault, but held hope; Hope in finding someone who might hold the key to her way home.

Several days of traveling later, she sensed a magical signature. Though faint, she could sense a powerful aura in the signature. Perhaps they would know what she sought and if not, refer her somewhere else.

Given her lack of a magical signature, unless using her powers, along with the fact hardly anybody could sense magic flow, it’s doubtful they were aware of her. Hopefully, they were friendly.

Getting closer, the signature began to feel familiar, both positively and negatively.

She’ll have to play this safe.

It didn’t take long for the ghost to arrive in the town she noticed their presence radiate from, but waited for night to strike. Aura had no clue of their lives or what they did but most individuals tended to become available at nightfall. That and she would prefer to deal with them as her usual self.

In the time the large dweller waited she observed this town, getting a lay of the land if she could not receive the information she hoped for. The city seemed peaceful but had held an uncomfortable air. It was possible a lot of negative thoughts and emotions lay in this town, but it might be something else.

It was several hours past dusk when she made it to the housing district that she sensed the magic emerge from. This wasn’t a terrible housing area, several large nice looking homes in the vicinity. Several had yards, some having trees with the occasional treehouse. Seeing them all made her homesick. Hopefully, she’ll be able to return soon.

Arriving at the mystery house, Aura surveyed the home. It looked just like any other ordinary house but much like the town, gave an odd impression. Dread filled her nonexistent stomach, fearing the one she’d have to deal with would be troublesome.

Hating to do this without at least knocking on the front door, the dweller clung to the shadows, traversing the walls of the home into the closest open window.

Entering the room, she began scanning for the magical user. They were indeed located in the home, but not the current room. Unsure of what to do, yet curious, Aura emerged from the shadows to survey the room properly.

Drawings hung up along the walls, primarily done in crayon. The ghost had a hard time making out what the drawings were, unfamiliar with several things detailed, but it was nice to see the imaginative side of whoever drew it. The room lacked much decoration, reminding her of her own room back while she was alive. Not much personal detail was shown, other than the works of art and the quilt that covered the bed.

She may be an intruder, but she refused to be rude and snoop through personal belongings. Aura would make do with this information presented to her. Besides, this could be the room of someone else and not the one she sought.

Hearing soft footsteps make their way to the door, Aura slid into the shadows, hiding under the bed. A few moments later, the door opened and in stepped a small figure. The undead dweller had some trouble making things out from her hiding spot, but from what she could tell, a child entered.

Oddly enough, the child retained a faint magical signature. No other humans she observed in her travels registered with one, so this was new. Additionally, she sensed the one she had followed here, believing they entered with the young one, yet could not see them whatsoever.

A shiver ran down her spine as she fully picked up on them. The dweller now knows why the reading felt off to her, the very same thing she picked up on and was hesitant around Vanessa their entire lives for; deep seated anger has altered their presence, seeping to their magics core.

Maybe it was a mistake coming here.

She noticed the child approach the bed, hearing the shuffle of sheets. It must be the girls’ bedtime, a yawn following the fade of fabric movement.

The girl was ready to climb into bed but was halted by another voice.

“Julia, I think you should go get properly ready for bed.”

“Huh..?” A pause. “But Moon, I go to bed like this sometimes anyway.”

“I know dear child but perhaps a change of clothes and a wash of your mouth will have you feeling better. You might sleep easier as well.”

The child didn’t respond, but went over to a dresser and opened it. Once she got what she wanted, she exited her room.

A few seconds went by before Aura finally could make out a shadow, hearing them open various compartments and even a door.

“If someone’s in here, they will regret ever entering.” They continued opening more things. “Perhaps it’s just my paranoia, but something feels wrong.”

Aura’s nerves were in shambles. Did she disturb something when she came in? No… if he’s paranoid like her, situations that are off are easier to notice.

She didn’t want to reveal herself after her realization but she nevertheless needed to know if they knew anything.

“Um… sorry to intrude, but yes, I’m here.”

A lengthy pause before they responded in a baffled yet hushed tone. “Am I going senile or did I hear a response that did not come from the child?”

Did... no one else speak to them? That’s somewhat sad.

“No, you received a response.”

Their shadow moved from one side of the room to the other.

“Where are you?” They sounded mildly irritated.

“I believe we both know I’m in hiding. If I have your word that you won’t harm me, I will show myself.”

Another extended pause, one she wasn’t sure she would even get a response to.

“All right, deal. Though I want you to show your hands first. No tricks.”

That was fair. “Of course.”

The dweller wasn’t assured the bed would be much of a barrier between them both but having something to separate them might ease both of their nerves.

On the opposing side, she gradually extended her hands out of the shadows to where they’d be able to see them. Taking an unneeded deep breath of air, she slipped out of her hiding place, becoming visible to the world. She still held her hands above her head as a good sign of faith, even when done leaving her safe haven. Now in view, bright blue eyes took in the sight of the one she had been searching for, who happened to be in a defensive stance. Aura was shocked, not expecting their appearance.

Their skin was pale blue, head resembling that of a mask in her opinion, a point resembling a crescent extending from the right side of their skull. Contrasting with their primary skin tone was a secondary one, being orange marks. These marks protruded from their eyes and mouth on both sides of their face.

Their eyes were unique, shaded with blue and red on either side, yet deferred in design; The left eye reminded her of a hypno wheel while the right sported diamonds.

Clothing not appearing to fit into this time frame is what they wore; A large orange cloak with a yellow undershirt catching her attention primarily. To make things even fancier, they wore a monocle and a cravat on their being. As they shifted their arms did she notice cuffs around their wrists, chains attached.

If they were a ghost, she partially wanted a do-over at dying, feeling underwhelming in comparison.

Their arms began lowering, shocked at her presence. Maybe they weren’t used to other odd figures?

Believing they had ample time to take her in, she closed her eyes and bowed her head somewhat, addressing them as calmly as she could. “My apologies for disturbing you, I’ve been traveling hoping to find some help with a predicament. You see, I believe I’ve wound up far away from home and was wondering if you-”

“Aura?”

Eyes shooting open, she stared at the other magic user. How did they know her moniker?

Now it was her turn to grow defensive. Lowering her arms, one moved to her chest as she inclined her head. “How do you know that name?”

They blinked several times as they registered her question. After a moment, they replied. “It’s… the name you went by, not wanting to be referred to as ‘the Mayor’s Daughter’ all the time.”

“You are correct, but how are you aware of it?”

They crossed their arms and tilted their own head. “Do you not recognize me, Lady Aura?”

She remembered most of the people she’s interacted with in life but this specter wasn’t ringing any bells.

“I’m afraid unless you’re a dweller, I cannot exactly identify you.”

They stared at her for a minute more before saying something that threw her for a loop, smiling and bowing. “You really know how to wound your dear ol’ Princy, don’t you Lady Aura?”

Wait… what!?

She stared at him for the longest time, so long in fact, he finished righting himself after many moments, shooting her a worried glance.

He can’t be… there’s. Yes, he looks similar, but Snatcher… what!?

The teal ghost apprehensively made her approach to him, still attempting to process this new bit of information. Was it possible, him the Prince as well?

Standing before him, Aura looked him over once more. “Not that I don’t believe you per se but do you mind if I… check?”

He blinked a couple of times, confused. “I… suppose so?”

Reaching in between her ‘hair’ wraps, she took hold of her pendant, changing its form. Pulling it out, revealed to be a monocle of her own. It was similar to any ordinary one, but held bright flecks of light flowing through the glass.

Holding the glassware up to her eye, her grip grew tight, preparing to see this ghost in any form he could have taken in life. Much to her shock, the glass instantaneously showed her the image of her dear old friend, the Prince.

Sluggishly returning the monocle back to its original place, she changed it back to a necklace. The teal ghost didn’t know what to say at this reveal.

The blue ghost went to touch her but stopped short and positioned the hand to the back of his head, scratching it. “Did you learn what you needed to?”

A nod but nothing more.

“That’s good.” He too was at a loss of words. After a while, the lengthy silence started to become uncomfortable for him. “Well, I know we both have a lot of questions for each other. Um…”

“If you have something to ask, just do it. I don’t even know what to say right now over this.”

“Right.” He coughed before continuing. “If you don’t mind me asking… Did you at least have an enjoyable long life?”

She peered back up to him, unusually calm. “It depends on your definition and other standpoints. For a regular person or a dweller, I suppose I did. For my other bloodline, I barely even lived.”

He tilted his head and she could tell he didn’t want to be rude and ask his next immediate question.

“I died on my 21st birthday if that clears it up.”

The ghost’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting that.

“I... I’m sorry, Aura. I-“

“It’s fine, you didn’t know.”

“Well yes, but on your birthday..?” He glanced to the side, glaring daggers at nothing in particular, angry over the new tidbit. He looked back to her, sorrow evident in his features. “Really, I am sorry. It must have been hard to die so far away from home, even if you were gone on a trip.”

Aura paused, dread filling her. Oh... she had to break the news to him as well it seemed. “I had nearly forgotten Vanessa told everyone that.”

“... That wasn’t the situation?”

She almost didn’t want to tell him, it was both an embarrassment on her part and she dreads his thoughts of the matter. After much hesitation, her head shook no.

“Then, what happened?”

“... Queen Vanessa... kind of... banished me from the kingdom.”

His long silence and unemotional stare spiked her anxiety, afraid of what was to come.

“She banished you?”

A nod and she began to shake.

He ran a hand over his face, a burst of joyless laughter escaping his lips. She involuntarily flinched, not knowing what to make of it.

“She lied about the trip. Of course she did.” His false humor faded, noticing her discomfort. “You have me curious, you know of the lie yet were out of the kingdom, how is that?”

“I learned it from...” How would she describe this? It was such a peculiar subject that her mind had a terrible time wrapping around it, her hands moved on their own as she struggled to find the appropriate words. “... your other half?”

A twitch of his body. “How do you know of Snatcher?”

With all these questions her anxiety grew. She really needed to sit down. His energy set her on edge before, but now it made the nervous ghost want to bolt home even sooner. She didn’t want to take any chances for anything, especially if he lost it as Snatcher had when he found out this information.

“W-well... since the forest is where we all died, it’s hard to miss him.”

He stared at her for a moment before twisting away, floating towards the window. Once in front of it, he peered outside, covering his expression from her. Part of her craved to go over and comfort him but another urged her to stay where she was.

The teal ghost could feel her chest ache from the strain in his next words. “She killed you... didn’t she?”

“She did, yes.”

Her friend didn’t respond, silently staring outside once more.

Aura hesitantly floated to him, her concern outweighing her fear. Once beside him, she waited a moment before speaking to him in a soft nature. “Moon... can I call you that? Or is that just what the child calls you?”

She heard him discreetly clear his throat and paid it no mind, waiting for his response. “I go by Moonjumper now, though you may refer to me as Moon or anything you have prior.”

On instinct, she would like to go back to her old habits but felt guilty anytime she accidentally referred to Snatcher as “Princy”. He didn’t mind, but she didn’t want to bring up things that could hurt him, she certainly wouldn’t with Moonjumper either.

She decided to try this new name out. “Moonjumper...” Ok, it’ll take some getting used to. “This is a foolish question for me to ask, but... are you all right?"

Given his mood, Aura half expected a snarky response, though this specter was good at proving her wrong.

“No... I’m not.”

Hesitantly, she laid a hand against his arm. At the contact he recoiled, causing her to retract her hand as fast as lightning. 

“S-sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s fine. Just...” He quietly chuckled. “You were always concerned about being near me, it’s strange to have you willingly this close let alone touching me.”

The dweller gently poked him to test his claim. This time he didn’t flinch but a slight smile grew on his face.

“Satisfied?”

“Never.”

He snickered again, ceasing at her hand making full contact with his arm.

She was about to say something to him, but the door opening and closing startled both souls, affectively interrupting their conversation.

“Ok Moon, I’m all ready for-” The child paused, noticing not one, but two strange entities staring at her. “Bed…?”

Aura’s eyes darted around restlessly, unsure how to handle this.

Moonjumper stared at his little charge, unsure of how to address the situation. Julia beat him to the punch though, terribly excited.

“Moon, why didn’t you tell me you had another friend?”

“I… um…”

The small child ran over to the pair, shaking out of the excitement of meeting another unique character.

“Have you just been hiding them from me the whole time? Where’d they come from? Can they do all sorts of cool stuff like you?”

Julia threw out questions faster than the duo could process them and continued to do so. Aura wondered if the child even took a breath between rapid-firing them out.

She tilted back, eyes squinting at Moonjumper in question. He shrugged and held a hand up to the child.

“Young one.”

She stopped rambling but was still delighted.

“You must calm down, it’s time for rest.”

“Aw, but Moon.”

“No buts. You’ve been having trouble sleeping and don’t you dare try to deny it. Bed.”

The child pouted as she glanced between both ghosts, but obeyed. If it wasn’t so late, Aura was sure the child would stomp her feet as she made her way to the mattress. She angrily tucked herself in bed, staring at both of them, pout still present.

“Julia…”

She pouted further.

Aura chuckled, floating over to the girls bed and began tucking her in properly. Julia’s pout disappeared at this, taking in the strange ghost.

The large teal ghost carefully sat on the bed, blue eyes meeting green. “If you are having trouble sleeping, you should try to get enough rest while you can.” Her large hand ruffled the child’s orange locks. “I don’t know if I’ll be sticking around long enough, but I can tell you my name.” Glancing side to side, the large ghost leaned in like she was hiding a secret, whispering to the child. “My name is Aura.”

Julia blushed at the odd feeling of having her head messed with yet giggled at the ghost’s act of secrecy. She whispered back, “I’m Julia.”

“What a beautiful name.” She ruffled the girls head once more before straightening and removing her hand.

The child took notice of Aura beginning to leave her bed, darting out to grab her hand. The ghost paused, head tilting in question.

“Please stay.”

“Julia I-”

“Actually, Aura...” Her gaze shifted to Moonjumper. He was hesitating, glancing between both girls. “Would you mind staying with Julia for a while? I have something that demands my immediate attention.”

Aura felt like she knew what it was he would be leaving for but didn’t call him out on it, looking between him and the girl before nodding.

“All right.”

Julia silently cheered, kicking her feet in excitement.

“That doesn’t mean you get to stay up all night Julia.”

Her head nodded rapidly, just happy that Aura was staying with her longer.

Moonjumper’s eyes glanced between both girls, apprehension in his features. Before Aura could question the blue ghost, his form faded, leaving the two girls alone.

Unease began to settle in the ghost’s stomach but was drawn out of it because of the bouncing figure beside her. Never did she believe a child would be so excited to be near a ghost, especially as one such as herself, but here was one.

Taking a chance, she looked to the small child, fatigue and wonder shining behind those big green eyes.

“Have you known Moon for long?”

“In a sense, yes. In another, no.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well… before I died, I had known him personally for only a few short years. I’ve been dead for several hundred now and have not seen him until this moment. It depends on how you look at it.”

The child nodded before adding in her own thoughts. “I’ve only known him a while, short like you.” Her face scrunched up. “I… haven’t been keeping him from you, have I?”

Aura blinked in confusion, tilting her head to the side. “Dear, I doubt you’ve kept him away from me, especially this long, it’s nothing to fret about. Besides, with you keeping him company, I’m sure he’s been happy with the time you’ve spent together.”

“Yeah, but what about you?”

“I’ve been… fine.”

The being fine part applied to current years, but the beginning of her death? Not so much. She wasn’t about to tell a child of her violent beginnings of the afterlife though.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. I’ve been… preoccupied with other matters and have recently come into contact with others I once knew.”

Nodding, Julia did her best to hold in a yawn but horribly failed. Aura smiled behind her mask, running a caring hand over the child’s head.

“If I’m here tomorrow, you can continue answering your questions. Rest is important.”

A soft whine escaped Julia. “But if you leave, I can’t ask anymore… need to ask... now.” Another yawn escaped the child, tears forming in her eyes from that one. “Besides… havin’ a tough time sleepin’.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“I’m afraid the boogeyman will come back…”

“Boogeyman?”

To the ghost’s surprise, the child somewhat curled in on herself. “A mean man who liked to scare me. Moon said he wouldn’t come back, but I always get this feeling that he’s there still, watching.”

Aura frowned, sensing the worry radiate off the child. Either this monster was real or a very detailed figment of her imagination. She’d have to ask Moonjumper about it if she stayed longer.

“Tell me, Julia, is there anything that makes you feel better?”

The child stayed silent for a while, eyes vacant as she stared at her legs.

“... I used to talk to the moon… it helped me a lot. Even more after Moon showed up from it one night.”

A clawed hand went to the chin of her mask, holding it in thought. Well, she’s not the moon nor is she Moonjumper. What could Aura provide that they could not? After a moment, an idea struck her.

“Julia. How do you feel about the stars?”

A slight frown graced the child’s face, her eyes filled with another question as she turned them upon the dweller.

“The stars?”

“Yes, the sun and moon may be pillars of the cycle of life, but the stars of the universe surround everything, accenting the beauty of the unknown. Not to mention, the stars certainly complement the moon at night, yes?”

The child somewhat understood where this was going, nodding lethargically. “The stars are pretty, just can’t see them that often…”

“How about this; If you promise to go to sleep, I’ll show you some stars before you do so.” The ghost hesitantly looked around then leaned in to whisper, “Just don’t tell Moonjumper about it ok? Don’t need him jealous.”

The child’s eyes widened, her excitement reignited. “Whoa really? Ok, I’ll go to sleep after then!”

Not even a second of thinking and the child already agreed, adolescents were certainly something else.

“All right, I’ll hold you to your word then, child.”

Holding a hand out, a golden ball began to form within Aura’s palm, gradually growing in size. Once the golden sphere reached the size of her hand, the ghost gracefully lifted it into the air, letting it float up to the ceiling. Julia watched, enamored with the beautiful glow, even more so as the ball burst into small spheres and diamonds with contact, the light particles spreading around the room.

The child’s eyes grew wide, sitting up in bed watching the descent of the fractals. Several froze in place at a certain height, twinkling like the stars in the night sky, others took several more moments before they stopped as well. Room filled with dazzling light, Julia could swear she was in her own little part of space.

“So cool…”

Smiling softly, Aura couldn’t help but agree.

With a flick of a finger, one light languidly drifted to her palm, twinkling in white and rainbow-ish hues. The action drew in the young one’s attention, scooting closer to the ghost to gain a better view.

“Don’t stare young one, you’ll injure your eyes.”

Registering the words, the child blinked several times before retreating and rubbing her exhausted eyes. She was still trying to fight sleep, but the light of Aura’s magic seemed to calm the child further. Julia slumped against the large ghost as her eyes struggled to stay awake.

Gently caressing the child’s head, Aura began softly humming a tune, seeing Julia relax further. Her eyes no longer struggled to stay open, now remaining shut for the night. To Aura’s surprise, the child still tried to interact with her.

“Miss… Aura…?”

“Yes, young one?

“Thank you… you’re so nice and cool… just like Moon… I hope you get to stay…” A yawn interrupted her as she snuggled closer to the ghost, laying an arm over Aura’s ‘lap’. "… and talk with him… he… smile… more…”

Aura didn’t know how to respond to the child even after she drifted to sleep, leaving the ghost to stare at her sleeping form.

Refocusing on the room after several minutes, with a wave of her hand, the magic particles broke apart, dissolving and returning the room to its natural state.

Returning her hand to her lap, her hands folded together as her gaze drifted to the window, eyes settling upon the moon.

Aura was unsure how long Moonjumper would be gone for but prayed that he would not do anything reckless. Of course, if he was anything like Snatcher, something might wound up happening, regardless. She just hopes he’d be safe.

Her anxiety ate away at her again as she recalled the uncomfortable feeling his magic had brought her before, looking down at Julia with worry. It was unknown why his magic had morphed the way it did, but her best guess would be similar as to why it did for Snatcher; Queen Vanessa. Aura hoped that this would not cause any issues for Julia in the foreseeable future.

Though faint, she could sense his magic once more; the hatred from his emotions wafting through her senses, causing her to shiver.

Thinking back to Julia’s words, should she leave? Perhaps she shouldn’t depart yet, even if she desired to return home. The dweller doubts Moonjumper would go as far as Vanessa with unwarranted murder, but something tells her that there’s more to this situation of his than meets the eye.

If she found his intentions to be unjust, Aura would have to take care of the specter with a heavy heart.

A hand unconsciously slipped beneath her wraps, grabbing hold of her birthright. “Ancestor… please give me strength if it ever comes to that…”

For the rest of the night, Aura remained unmoving, lost deep in thought.

[ravensroleplays]

Headcanon dump for my AHIT AU

-One of Hat Kid's abilities is that she can automatically understand and speak any language she hears or reads. Also, the only thing from her ship that gives any sort of hint as to where she originally came from, aside from the time pieces, is an old storybook written in her people's language. She asked Snatcher to read it for her when she was small, but he couldn't understand the writing, much to her disappointment.

-Sometimes, Hatty will wander into the forest and read it herself, to try imagining the planet she originally came from.

-Also, the reason her ship crashed in Subcon in the first place? It was tampered with by [REDACTED].

-I imagine that MU in my version was at least partly motivated by jealousy against Hatty. After all, she's pretty much an orphan, homeless, and all alone, and along comes this little girl talking about how she wants to get home to a daddy and like hundreds of siblings who she loves and misses...it was a bit much for MU, considering she didn't have anyone.

-I'm admittedly borrowing something from the 'Coffee Shop' AU, but in the 'Earthlings' verse/AU, the Subconites are just a bunch of kids/teens who met and befriended Hatty and Snatcher during their travels, and help them out sometimes.

[maddyx-mystery]

.·:*¨༺ Author's note༻¨*:·.

Hello and welcome to what's essentially my first ever AU ask blog and my first ever blog on tumblr as well! I was honestly so surprised by how many people wanted to see this happen on aHiT amino, to be honest! Also, this will mainly be an indie ask blog to get replies done more quickly and easily, though if there is something more on the specific side in an ask, then there will be a drawing to accompany the reply most likely. Hope you enjoy this little introduction story for it I wrote up, even if I am a bit rusty at writing, especially since I'm still not used to how tumblr works! -Mattie

It was a normal day in Subcon forest, well, as normal of a day inside a dark, haunted forest can get, that is.

Matcher had just finished assigning tasks to the Subconites as well as Hat Kid, who got mail delivery assigned to her. She floated back to her little tree-home, magenta colored crystals illimunating the pathway to her tree-home, some even having brief appearances of souls that were stored inside them. Once she got to her cozy little home, she noticed that the book she usually had set down on the table next to her chair wasn't there but instead a turquoise and pink colored parcel in it's place, having a letter taped onto the top of it and secured even further by some loosely tied orange rope that was tied around the package as a whole. There were even a few stickers with a logo she had never saw before.

She couldn't help but wonder a little on what it could be, considering she never really got mail from anyone. Heck, she didn't really even have a mailbox now that she thought about it.

She carefully grabbed a corner of the envelope on the parcel and peeled it off, opening it to read letter inside, which read in rather neatly done handwriting, though it was most likely made on a computer considering how the letter was worded, "Hello! Thank you, MATCHER, for signing up for the AMINO and TUMBLR ASK BLOG subscription box! Inside you'll find a custom made mailbox for your ASKs and a camera to record your responses! Have a great day!" There was no signature or name at the bottom of it. This just started to make her curiosity about this grow a bit yet it also made her feel suspicious of the parcel, since she didn't remember ordering anything yet it was still addressed to her name and everything. It honestly rather eerie to her, all things considered. But since it's here, she may was well look, right? Surely it wouldn't cause that much harm to just to take a peek inside.

So she cut the orange colored rope that tied the parcel together rather loosely and opened the box with caution. As the letter said, there was a indigo colored mailbox and a small cam recorder. Though it was a relief it wasn't something else instead, the question still stands, who sent it?

Was it Hat Kid in order to get back her for the pranks she's pulled on her multiple times or one of the Subconites as some sort of joke? Or... she didn't like to think of what the last thought came to mind was, though it would've been a more strange guess on who sent it, to say the least.

Matcher and Hat Kid are now available for asks! Send whatever questions you wish to ask them to my inbox!

.·:*¨༺ Rules and details ༻¨*:·.

•Magic!asks/Magic!anons are allowed, though only two of them can be active at the same time during asks, to avoid it being overwhelming for me to remember them all and write out each of them in every reply while they last.

•Please, no NSFW asks, I know it's probably obvious but still.

•You may send items alongside the asks.

•Some parts of this AU are not fully fleshed out yet so if I take long to reply to your question, it's either because I'm busy with school or me and the other co-owners of this AU are still discussing that detail

•Though it'll mainly star Matcher in the blog, if you wish to, you can ask the other characters, mainly through certain events, the current being HatKid but others will go on down the line as this AU develops.

•if anything is odd in some form, that may be due to me originally writing this on Amino as well as me using the mobile version of tumblr, due to not really having a working laptop but I'll still try to manage making it look as nice as the amino version or maybe even better as I get more experienced!

•In universe, Matcher gets the asks via mail, so you can't exactly interact with her or anyone else directly, sorry!

[papus-clown-enclosure]

I cant sleep i think

I drank a monster bc i was supposed to work on assignment. Like i did kinda and mainly was looking for new sources to read. I got 2 days to finish up after i fully read them.

At least i got ahit written down b4 i did an new more slightly more fleshed out outline.

I got help from the teacher on monday so im good. I even have my little notes that i made that was mainly ramblings and thinking stuff i did during class when we had to work on ot. I just gotta make sense of my own handwriting. Good hand writing does not run in the family bc me and the bros have shitty writing, well the youngest is 7(?) So he gets a pass

[ahatintimestorybook]

AHIT Twin AU- Accident Memories

Here you guys go! More angst from Winter’s Twin AU!

Hope you guys didn’t wait too long for it. Busy with work and my other stories atm, but here is an angsty chapter to make up for it.

I had this chapter in mind for a while, but with the other ideas I had in mind I had to hold this off till I got done with the rest of the story. Speaking of Twin AU, I’m out of ideas atm so drabbles of the story are put on hold till I get an idea. I do have ideas, but it's just summaries, nothing on how the story will go whatsoever.

However, I’m ��interested in Winter’s other AU’s and would write about that in the near future. Not sure which one I’ll write first.

Anyways I hope you enjoy it!! ^^

@winterpower98

Harriet and Bluebell woke up one morning and made their way towards the kitchen. However, they sensed something different about today. At the table Timmy was sitting down, while Cookie was cooking breakfast. However, two twin boys were missing at the table.

“Cookie, where’s Luka and MJ?” Bluebell asked.

Cookie was quiet as she continued to cook, but the girls saw a frown on the chef’s face. The kids looked at each other worried and confused over the cook’s expression,  “Cookie is everything alright?”

Cookie finally spoke, “Yeah. I’m okay. Just tired.” She lied. Cookie finally got the breakfast for the kids done: Just some waffles and scrambled eggs and handed it to the kids and one for herself. Harriet looked over the counter and saw two plates of food for MJ and Luka.

“Is that Luka and MJ’s breakfast?” Bluebell asked.

The cook sighed, “It is.” Cookie answered. “They're having breakfast in bed today.”

That’s a first to the kids. Usually, the twins would be up by now and enjoying breakfast with them. How come today the twins are eating breakfast in their rooms? “A-are they sick?” Bluebell asked.

Cookie sighed. “No they just slept in. They’ll come down soon.” The chef grabbed the plates and walked from the kitchen to Luka’s room. “Hopefully.” she whispered, so the kids wouldn’t hear. Once she made it to Luka’s room she knocked on the door.

“It's open.” Luka mumbled.

Cookie frowned and opened the door with her elbow, when she entered the room the curtains were still closed as Luka and MJ were on the ground looking at some old photos while Bush looked down at her owners in sadness. The little cat meowed at Cookie in sadness. “How are you two feeling?” Cookie asked.

The twins didn’t respond; they just looked at Cookie with tired eyes that were dried with tears. Cookie frowned and put their breakfast on the table. “I-I brought you two breakfast.” The twins still didn’t respond. Cookie sighed and sat down with the twins. “Look, I know it's hard for you two. Today is the day. That happened.”

“It's not fair Cookie.” MJ whimpered. “They should have still been alive. With us.” He choked. Bush frowned and went to MJ nuzzling his leg. The older twin turned to his pet cat and gave her pet seeing her trying to comfort him too.

Cookie frowned and sighed. She then turned to the door remembering the kids were downstairs eating breakfast and turned back to the twins. “You know the kids are worried about you two.” Cookie reminded them. “You should tell them.”

The twins looked at each other, completely forgetting their morning the anniversary of the twin’s parent's death with their adopted kids in the house. “We.” Luka spoke up. MJ and Cookie turned to the younger twin. “We shouldn’t. They should not know.”

“Luka.” Cookie whispered.

“At least not yet.” He continued.

Cookie frowned not agreeing with the idea one bit. “They need to know. You can’t keep it from them forever.” Cookie explained.

The twins frowned and looked at each other. They didn’t want to tell, but they should, at least to not worry the kids. “Well tell them later tonight. Just not right now.” Luka told the cook.

Cookie gave a small smile and hugged the twins. This gave the twins a small smile, as they hugged their older sister figure right back. “How about to cheer you guys up, I’ll bring home some pizza for dinner?” She insisted.

“That sounds nice.” Luka replied. Cookie gave a light chuckle and ruffled the younger twin’s hair, which then gave the latter a chuckle too.

Cookie then looked at the clock and saw she was going to be late at the studio. “I’ll be back home later tonight.” She told them before leaving the room, grabbing her stuff and leaving the house. “Bye kids!”

“Bye Cookie!” Bluebell shouted. Once Cookie was gone, the kids were able to focus on their plan. “Alright, Cookie is gone. Now we can focus on the plan at hand.” Bluebell whispered. Timmy and Harriet nodded in reply.

“What’s the plan?” Timmy asked.

“We need to find out why Luka and MJ aren’t feeling well and help them feel better.” Bluebell explained. She continued as she looked up to the hallway leading up to the twins rooms. “Cookie looked pretty sad, and that means Luka and MJ are sad too.”

Timmy finished the last bite of his breakfast and put his plate in the sink. “So what do you suggest we do? Give them a hug and talk to them?” He asked.

Bluebell opened her mouth, but heard the door open and close. Timmy went to clean his plate as Bluebell and Harriet went to finish their breakfast to try and make it look like they weren’t discussing anything. MJ and Luka came down, and the kid’s eyes widened seeing how the twins eye’s were red and puffy as well as dark circles on the bottom of their eyes.

“Luka, are you okay?” Bluebell asked.

“Y-yeah. Just a rough night.” Luka lied not looking up at his daughter. “MJ and I are going to take a walk, it won’t be long don’t worry we’ll be back soon.”

“Are you sure you're okay?” Harriet asked.

Luka looked at Harriet and gave her a small smile and went over to her and put his hands on her shoulder. Harriet frowned looking into Luka’s sad eyes,  “I’m fine.” He reassured her. Harriet gave Luka a tight hug, which surprised the young man but he needed a hug and hugged the young girl back. “I’m fine.” He repeated in a whisper. Luka let go of the hug as he and MJ went outside for their walk.

Once the twins left, the kids ran out of the kitchen and ran up to Luka’s room. Bush picked her head up and faced the kids. Bluebell sushed the cat, before speaking up. “Okay, lets search the room before Luka and Mj get back.” She told them. Bush mewled and walked over to a box scratching at it.

Bluebell looked at her sister and cousin, “I think Bush has found what we were looking for.” She exclaimed. She walked over to the cat and pulled out the box. “Thanks Bush.” Bluebell said petting the kitten, who purred in happiness. Harriet and Timmy went by Bluebell as she opened up the box to see some old photos, and two masks inside.

“Look at all this stuff!” Harriet commented. She grabbed out a photo and chuckled. The photo was of MJ and Luka with their arms around each other and their parents, Richard and Angela, right next to them. “Aww MJ and Luka looked so cute when they were our age, but who are those two?” She wondered.

“I think that’s MJ and Luka’s parents. Aka our grandparents.” Timmy answered.

Harriet looked at the photo of her grandparents as she found a few more of them in the box. One was a photo of Angela and Richard smiling together in a garden, the other was Angela and Richard holding three-year old MJ and Luka, and the last one was Richard and Angela along MJ and Luka alongside their parents and a blonde haired girl the kids didn’t recognize smiling and holding diplomas while the girl hugged Luka tight.

“I didn’t know how much Luka and MJ look like their father?” Bluebell noted “Think the two would grow a beard?”

Harriet scoffed, “Not Luka. I don’t see that man growing any facial hair.” She commented. “MJ would be freaky, since he dyed his hair blue and blue hair with a brown beard sounds interesting, unless he dyes it too.” The kids shared a laugh as the image of MJ with his blue hair and brown beard that turns blue played in their heads.

Timmy smiled as he looked at some more photos of his grandparents. “I wonder why MJ and Luka kept this from us?” He wondered.

As the kids kept looking, Bluebell spotted a newspaper at the bottom of the box and pulled it out. She paused as she looked at the headlines of the newspaper. “I think I know why.” She whispered. Harriet and Timmy looked over the newspaper and froze with what the article said.

LOCAL LAWYER AND HUSBAND, KILLED IN ACCIDENT Mystery Surrounds on how the accident happened

The kids read through the newspaper article and saw that MJ and Luka’s parents were killed in a car accident. The article read that the car’s breaks were broken and there was ice on the road that mysteriously appeared. Pictures showing how damaged the car was sent chills down the kids spines. Even Bush shivered at the photo.

“T-they d-died in a-an accident?” Bluebell questioned stuttering a bit. Bush walked over towards the girl and nuzzled her leg.

Timmy’s eyes widen at the date in the newspaper. “Look at the date!” Harriet and Bluebell looked at the date and saw that day was today.

“No wonder why they're sad.” Harriet said, frowning. Bush moved over to Harriet and nuzzled her leg. The kids went quiet understanding why the twins aren’t themselves.

The twins lost their parents.

The twins were orphans themselves, despite being old enough.

Which was worse as their entire lives with their parents were flushed away by some car accident.

The kids were so sad they didn’t hear the door opening and the twins were in shock seeing the kids going through their stuff.

“W-what are you kids doing?” MJ asked. The kids gasped and turned towards the twins. Bush gave a meow as she walked over to the twin boys like she was trying to tell them to calm down.

Soon Harriet and Bluebell dropped everything and ran up to the twins hugging them tightly, crying. “I’m sorry what happened to your parents.” Harriet cried.

“None of you shouldn’t have gone through with that.” Bluebell cried. Luka and MJ looked shocked and the girls. They looked at one another before hugging the girls back and comforting them. Timmy then walked over to the four and gave them a hug too.

After the embrace Luka and MJ took the photos and newspaper article from the kids and put it back in the box. “Why were you guys going through our stuff?” MJ asked.

“Well, you guys were sad and we just wanted to know why.” Bluebell explained. “W-we’re really sorry about your parents.” She repeated.

MJ and Luka sighed. “I guess we should tell them, little bro.” MJ whispered. Luka replied quietly with a nod. “Yes, something horrible happened to our parents, and it hurts us a lot. To this day.” MJ told the kids.

The kids frowned and so did Bush. “D-do you wonder how or who did this to them?” Timmy asked.

MJ glared. “I don’t know who? But, I do know it had to be a magic user. There was no way some stray black ice was on the road!” MJ spoke a bit louder. The kids stepped back seeing MJ angry. Luka looked at his older brother and was ready to hold him down, but MJ pushed him away as he continued his vent. “The snow melted days before and it wasn’t just ice cubes that fell out of a truc. It was a sheet of ice! A sheet of pecking ice!” He shouted, tears falling from his face.

Luke hugged his older twin brother tight as he sobbed over the death of their parents. “They should’ve never left! We should’ve stopped them or even drove them!” MJ cried, whimpering a bit. He kept repeating, “they should’ve never left” or “I wish they were still here.” as Luka rubbed his back.

As the kids stood frozen at MJ’s outburst, Timmy and Harriet looked at Luka and saw something in his eyes. It was almost like he might have a clue on who did this to their parents, but he didn’t want to say.

“I think we’ll leave you guys alone now.” Bluebell spoke up in a whisper. She took Harriet’s hand and led her and Timmy out of the room to leave the brothers alone. The kids went to the living room and sat there waiting for the twins to calm down. They could’ve watched tv or draw, but they weren’t in the mood to do so. They too were sad over the death of Luka and MJ’s parents even though they haven’t met them.

An hour or two, the kids lost track of time. MJ and Luka came out of the room and sat down with the kids. Harriet opened her mouth to say something, but nothing was coming out. It took a few tries, but she was able to speak, “A-are you okay, now?” She asked.

Luka sighed, “were fine. Just drained.” He replied. Harriet hugged Luka’s arm giving the younger twin a small smile.

“I can understand why this crushed you guys.” Bluebell spoke up. “Our parents left us, and Timmy never met his parents. You guys have known your parents your whole lives and you just lose them just like that.” She explained. “So sorry.”

MJ sighed. “It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t our fault either. We just…” MJ paused as he sighed, Bush mewled looking up at the older twin as she climbed into his lap and curled up. MJ gave a small smile and pet the little kitten.

“I don’t know if this will help, but you're not alone.” Harriet revealed. “You have each other, us, Cookie and for MJ Peony. So even if your mom and dad are gone, you have people who are still here for you.”

“Yeah.” Timmy spoke up. “If your parents were here, right now they probably don’t want you guys to be sad, they want you to remember them and tell us all the good memories you had. Sure it hurts, but they want you two to remember the good times.” He explained.

Bush smiled and looked up at the twins nodding her head. Luka and MJ looked at each other, giving a small smile. Harriet and Timmy were right, they were sad, yes, but Angela and Richard would’ve wanted them to still be happy no matter what.

“Thanks kids.” MJ whispered. Timmy and Bluebell smiled and hugged the older twin tight. Harriet and Luka looked at one another before doing the same thing. To the twins, this was the first anniversary of their parents death where they smiled.

Harriet looked at her sister and cousin with a smile. “You know, you two did stuff for us. Let us do something for you two.”

“Oh I forgot!” MJ exclaimed. “Cookie is bringing over some pizza for dinner tonight!” He reminded the kids.

Bluebell smiled coming up with an idea. “Hey think we can have pizza here and have a movie night?” She asked.

Luka chuckled. “Sure, MJ and I would do the same with mom and dad on Saturday nights.”

“Awesome!” The girls cheered. “Bow and I will find a movie, Timmy go get snacks, and MJ and Luka just sit down and relax.” The kids then split off to do everything for the twins, making them smile. Luka and MJ were happy they adopted these kids, because without them they probably would’ve still felt alone.

[ahatintimestorybook]

Waiting for You

So today is Monday or Munday and I wanted to write something for this day. Suddenly out of the blue I came up with this lovely idea for someone in the AHIT fandom, @meepdrawartgood .

I really like Meep's character Ozzy who is their OC the uncle for Mustache Girl and I had this cute fluff turned angst idea for a story based on their relationship as uncle and niece.

So this is for you Meep! Enjoy!

It was a nice, warm peaceful day on the island, and a six year old Mustache Girl was waiting by the docks for someone. Her legs dangled on the docks as she hummed a song waiting for the person who should be arriving soon.

She remembered a week ago she got a letter from the said person she’s waiting for, her uncle, Ozzy and he was going to visit her today. Mu was excited and couldn’t wait to spend time with her favorite and only uncle. Her uncle was a fireman, and left the island for a while to beat an on-going fire on another island, and from her uncle’s letter the fire had been contained and he’d be on his way back to the island.

Mu got out of her daydream when she heard a blow horn in the distance. She smiled and stood up seeing a boat make its way on to shore. Mu smiled recognizing that boat. The little mustached girl squealed in excitement seeing her uncle was arriving shortly. Mu jumped up and down waving to her uncle to show she was here.

Ozzy looked up ahead and saw a bouncing pink dot waving at him. He smiled recognizing the little pink dot. He drove up to the docks before letting it stop and as he got off Mu ran to give him the biggest hug he ever got from her.

“Uncle Ozzy!” Mu squealed. Ozzy held his arms out for his niece and scooped her up giving her a spin. Mu giggled as Ozzy gave her kisses on her cheek and held her close.

“Hey Mu! How’s my little Mustache Niece doing?” Ozzy asked as he put his niece down.

“Great!” Mu replied. “I missed you though, but everyone on the island took care of me.” She explained.

Ozzy smiled seeing Mu was still happy go lucky and beaming with joy as ever. “Did I miss anything while I was gone?” He asked.

Mu shook her head. “Nothing too big, just I went seashell collecting with my friends, helped out the old man at the coffee shop, and got to celebrate a friend’s birthday and it was fun!” Mu explained beaming with joy.

Ozzy chuckled, he adored his niece’s enthusiasm and how she explained everything that happened to her. As they walked around the island Ozzy stopped at an ice cream stand where he took Mu from time to time. Ozzy signaled Mu to wait as he went to order ice cream for the two of them.

Ozzy came with two ice cream cones, a Vanilla and Strawberry for Mu and a Chocolate and Strawberry for himself. Mu smiled, “You haven’t forgotten about my favorite!” She beamed.

“I’ll never forget.” Ozzy replied. Mu and Ozzy smiled as the two enjoyed ice cream together continuing their walk around the island. During their walk they sat on the beach finishing their ice cream and Ozzy went to tell Mu about stuff outside of the fire he was trying to fight.

“Well like we were told the fire was pretty bad, it took weeks to calm it down.” Ozzy started. “Like we thought we had it contained, but then seconds later another fire started and we had to put out that one too.” He explained.

Mu gulped. “That’s scary.” She commented.

“That’s the thing about being a firefighter or any kind of hero. It’s scary, but you have to endure and fight to defeat it.” Ozzy explained.

Mu sighed. She wished she could be brave as her uncle Ozzy, but she wasn’t. She was just a little girl living on an island where nothing happens. “I wish I can be a hero.”

Ozzy smiled and put his arm around his niece. “You are a hero in my eyes.” Ozzy commented. Mu smiled and hugged her uncle Ozzy. Ozzy chuckled and hugged his niece back. He let go of the hug and went to his bag and pulled out a gift for his niece. “Before I forget! This is for you.”

Mu smiled and opened her gift. However, the mustache girl was confused seeing the gift she got was a red blanket. “A blanket?” She asked.

Ozzy laughed. “No, it's a hood.” He replied. Ozzy then took the hood and put it on his niece. “There.”

Mu looked at her red hood and smiled spinning around and showing it off. “I look like the little girl from the storybook you read to me!” She beamed.

“You told me it's your favorite book, so when I saw that I just had to buy it before coming back.” Ozzy explained.

Mu smiled at her uncle. “Thank you Uncle Ozzy.” She said before giving her uncle a hug.

“Anything for you Mu.” Ozzy replied hugging her niece back.

When did it all go wrong?

Why did it all go wrong?

Years had passed and things were looking up between Ozzy and his niece, then suddenly the island was attacked by the Mafia. Ozzy was putting out fires left and right, while making sure his niece was safe. Soon it got so chaotic that the fire department left, leaving Ozzy, Mu, and a few of the residents defending themselves from the Mafia.

Ozzy lost his home and now was living in a cave with Mu. The young girl just added another mark to her cave showing how many days it's been since the Mafia attacked. Ozzy didn’t like how his niece was being pushed around by the Mafia and how the Mafia treats her like a servant. Ozzy had to save her life multiple times now. The firefighter couldn’t handle dealing with this, he knew this would hurt Mu, but he had no other choice, he needed Mu to be safe.

Ozzy got up and grabbed his bag and turned to his niece. “Mu. I’m leaving the island.” He said.

“What!” Mu shouted. “Uncle Ozzy no!”

“Mu! I’m only leaving for a few days to a few weeks. I just want to look for a new place for us to live.” Ozzy explained.

Mu shook her head and held on to her uncle’s bag. “Then please take me with you!” She cried.

“It won’t be long, I promise I’ll come back.”

“Don’t leave me Uncle Ozzy! Please! I don’t want to be alone!” Mu begged crying now. She repeated everything over and over hoping for her uncle to stay or at least bring her with him. As much as Ozzy would love to bring Mu the mafia already saw his young niece as their enemy, and it would only have the mafia on their tail while finding a place to live.

Ozzy sighed and faced his niece. “Mu promise me this.” Ozzy started as he took his niece’s hands. “Promise me while I’m gone you're going to fight.”

“F-fight?” Mu asked, confused.

Ozzy nodded. “Look, I don’t know how long I will be gone, but I need you to fight to be safe.” He explained. “Promise me that?”

Mu sniffled and wiped the tears from her face. “I-I promise.” She cried.

Ozzy gave a smile and hugged his niece tight. “When I get back and find our new place, I’ll find you and you don’t have to live this nightmare anymore. Okay.”

Mu nodded. “Okay.” She sniffled. Ozzy ruffled Mu’s hair before leaving the cave and leaving Mafia Town. Mu watched her uncle leave the island via his boat. Her uncle turned to her and gave a smile before he drove off to find a new place for him and Mu.

Mu watched her uncle leave the island watching him leave their home now known as Mafia Town. She hoped he made it back safely. Once he was gone Mu was left alone in a cave near the shore she sighed and looked at the red cape in her hands. Fear disappeared leaving determination on her face.

Mu put on the red cape and turned it into a hood before adding a small coin to attach it. “I promise Uncle Ozzy. I will fight.” She promised. “I’m not going to be scared anymore. I’ll defeat the Mafia, you have my word on it.”

[erekiosuncreativeideas]

Reliving An Old Nightmare - Chapter 12

<= Chapter 11

Summary : Snatcher and Vanessa have a conversation, featuring someone else. Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/22337299/chapters/55902100

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SORRY FOR POSTING LATE. I was *so* stuck with this chapter that it gave me a writing block and an art block for 2 weeks! Of all the chapters that I had to write and plan to write in the future, it definitely was one of the hardest.

Thinking about writing Vanessa's and Snatcher's conversation was really stressful to me, and, well... I procrastinated on Animal Crossing.

Then I started another AHIT fanfic which helped me to regain my inspiration, but, well, I'll keep this one as a secret for now until I write more of it :)

Please don't hesitate to leave a like or reblog this chapter, as it really has been hard for me to write, more than any I've written until now for this fanfic I think. Thank you in advance !!

Also, no drawing for this chapter, because, well... You know how I have this habit of splitting chapters into several parts when I end up writing too much for a single chapter? Welp, this happened here. So the drawing I had made for this chapter will eventually be used for the 13th chapter, sorry ! I really wish I could have drawn something, but... I didn't know what to draw and I didn't want to make you wait longer, so... Have a drawing-less chapter !

Happy reading !!

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Chapter 12

Snatcher had come to think that humans were fragile little creatures. They were so weak, so easily afraid… Animals with a conscience, driven by instincts and stupid emotions. With shaking knees, they would beg him to spare them, to let them go, but the ghost always killed them afterwards. Listening to their pleas, to their death screams… Sure, the first souls he had snatched hadn’t been for pleasure, though he eventually got used to it. He even got to find it fun! As they always say: time and trauma really do change people!

Humans had distinct signs of fear: rapid breathing, heart pounding inside their chest, sweat all over their face, muscles completely frozen, shaky limbs… He had seen all kinds of reactions from his victims! At this point, one could say he was an expert on that topic. After all, not only had he killed many people after having stolen their souls, but he also murdered them using various and imaginative methods! Thrown into the swamps, blown up by his lasers, drown, hanged, split in two (that one was always fun), and many, many other types of death. Well, he did have to occupy himself during his long and boring afterlife!

But, for the very first time, at that precise moment, he felt exactly like the people he used to kill.

Panic had engulfed him whole, as Vanessa was leading him by the hand through the corridors of the manor. She was in front of him, pulling him faster and faster as seconds passed. Or maybe it was his imagination? If it was, the coldness of her hand certainly wasn’t. Vanessa was clearly mad at him and even his dumb old self would be able to see it. It was obvious: her body was tensed and she was using more strength, as if she was pulling a child somewhere to punish him. Well, it wasn’t very far from the truth, really.

They went through the different floors, and Snatcher could only be relieved not to be taken to the cellar again. Maybe he was going to have a bad time, but at least, it wouldn’t be down there. Every cloud had a silver lining!  He was being positive, here!

The ghost’s fear was soon replaced by confusion, as Vanessa stopped in front of his own bedroom. Why? The shade was almost expecting to be locked up in the attic at this point! Would she really just let him go back to his room without doing anything else than actually talking? He couldn’t believe it. There had to be something.

The Queen opened the door with a smile and pushed herself on the side to let him come in first. With great suspicion, Snatcher complied and entered the room, still staying very much vigilant. Vanessa was vicious, he knew that very well. He couldn’t take the risk of underestimating her or whatever she had planned for him now. His movements were slow and careful and his ex followed him into the room before closing the door behind her. Instinctively, Snatcher stepped away from her, not liking the idea of being alone in the same room as her. It made him feel rightfully quite nervous.

Vanessa dusted her dress a little bit as silence settled between the ex-couple. The ghost gulped down with difficulty, as he could only wait for her to decide what to do next. Eventually, she pointed to his bed, still smiling. However, Snatcher knew her well enough to understand that she wasn’t sincere.

-“Why don’t you sit down, dear?” she asked, in the nicest voice possible. But her eyes weren’t smiling and the sound of her words burnt like poison entering the shade’s ears. It sounded fake.

The ghost’s stance remained defensive as he slowly shook his head, frowning. He really didn’t like where this was going. It was way better than being shackled on the cellar’s wall, obviously, but that didn’t mean he would accept everything in comparison.

-“I’m fine standing up, thank you,” he replied, in a much harsher tone than what he first intended. He was still afraid -who wouldn’t be in his shoes?- but he had a lot of unfinished business with that awful woman.

The Queen’s smile wavered for an instant and Snatcher didn’t need to see more to know that he had annoyed her. Well, retorting always upset her in the past: it wasn’t much different now. Vanessa had always been hot-blooded, anything could get her angry or upset. Not being given what she wanted irritated her, not being able to do something exasperated her, and not being obeyed to made her mad. Especially if her Prince was the one to disagree with her.

-“I wasn’t asking,” replied Vanessa coldly. It contrasted even more with the fake smile on her face.

Snatcher understood quite fast the threat hidden in her answer: if he wasn’t going to sit down, she would make him. And honestly, he didn’t want to try and test her patience, even more when he knew how irritable she could be when things didn’t go her way. Silently and reluctantly, the shade complied once again, not without glaring at her in the process.

He hated her so much. He hated how selfish she was and had always been to him. He hated the very idea of having been in love with her in the past. And he loathed the fact that he could die a second time because of her.

He waited, knowing quite well that Vanessa wouldn’t appreciate him interrupting her one more time. Usually, Snatcher didn’t care about people’s feelings, especially Vanessa’s, but since he was now a mere mortal against someone who had mastered ice magic… He didn’t feel confident enough to put up a big fight.

Plus… He needed all possible chances to find that Time Piece, and creating problems wouldn’t help him in the least. If he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, he had to put his pride aside. Yet, he absolutely loathed the idea of submitting to Vanessa, even just for a while. After everything she did to him… And kept doing, considering the position he was in at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to strangle her and kill her for good. Twice.

-“Now…” The Queen’s voice cut his inner monologue short and he got his attention back on her: “Where were you today?” was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

Snatcher felt all the muscles of his body turn cold as soon as the words came to his ears. He had expected that question, yes, but it was always different to imagine a situation and actually experiencing it. As for where he was, well… He definitely had no intention of mentioning the kid nor her spaceship in any way. So he could only come up with excuses and hope for the best. But, deep down, he was worried and rightfully so: Vanessa always knew how to tell if he was lying or not. Sure, Snatcher had become better at it with years of being dead, but so did she.

He really was nervous, and keeping a straight face in front of his murderer was far from easy:

-“I went for a walk after the argument with my parents,” he answered with the most neutral voice he could make: “Am I not allowed to do that?”

His ex’s smile widened in return, though Snatcher could tell that it certainly wasn’t a good thing. The way she was looking at him was enough to inform him that she was growing impatient and exasperated with him. She probably saw through his lies right away, just like he feared. But it didn’t change the fact that he absolutely could not talk about the kid. Not to her.

-“Oh, you are, you are!” she replied with a sweet voice, joining both hands together as she continued: “But I have to admit that I have some doubts.”

There it was. Snatcher gulped down in a way he hoped to be discreet, but he knew better.

-“With your broken leg, and the other one being quite injured as well… I have trouble imagining you going very far, especially for a whole day! Don’t you find it strange as well, Alistel?”

It was indeed very strange. Finding a reason for such a long absence, especially with how painful walking was to him… He had to admit that his excuse wasn’t a good one, to begin with. However, that didn’t prevent him from retorting, lifting his hands as he spoke again:

-“Well, it’s the truth. What do you want me to say?”

His attitude must have annoyed the Queen a bit too much, as the smile finally disappeared from her face. It was replaced by a much more serious expression that didn’t reassure Snatcher at all. She stepped closer to him, shortening the distance between them.

-“I know you’re aware of what’s going on,” she murmured, her eyes fixed on his. She stopped just in front of him, while the ghost’s breath got stuck in his throat. He didn’t like where this was going and he disliked the look on her face even more. Before he was able to move, she gently put her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to remain where he was. Snatcher’s entire body froze from the contact and his heart skipped a beat. He felt like a bucket full of cold water had just been dumped right on him.

He was terrified. As much as he wanted to scream at her, doing so while she was so close to him, when she was much more powerful than him… His mind wanted to fight, but his body turned a deaf ear. Snatcher wanted to tell her to let go of him, to go away… But he couldn’t. No sound came out of his opened mouth.

All he could do was to listen, as she continued, this time with a nicer tone that felt strangely more sincere than before:

-“I know you…‌Remember,” she started again, lightly digging her fingers in the shade’s shoulders, who was completely unable to move at that point: “And I know you might still be mad at me for what happened… But you left me no choice!”

Snatcher frowned: what did she just say?

He didn’t have the time to ask her that as she kept going, not letting him the time to interrupt:

-“I may have overdone it, yes… But you were the one who cheated on me in the first place!”

Snatcher couldn’t believe what he was hearing at that moment. Was she seriously trying to defend herself for having murdered him? She couldn’t be that stupid, could she? Though, the sincere expression painted on her face was enough of an answer to him. She was convinced that everything that had happened was his fault, not hers.

She was exactly the same as before. She had never changed in all those years. She was still the same old Queen that never wanted to admit being responsible for a problem. She had never regretted what she had one to him or to all the Subcon villagers, even the children. All that mattered to her was her own happiness, no matter what she had to break or destroy to obtain it.

The ghost had never wanted to kill her so badly in his entire life and afterlife combined.

-“Are you being serious right now?” he finally replied, with a very dangerous tone.

Vanessa remained stunned for a while, probably not expecting that kind of response from him.

-“What do you mean?” she asked, confused. She then placed both of her hands over her heart and continued, offended: “Of course I am! You can’t have forgotten what you did to me! You broke my heart and flirted with… With that woman!”

Snatcher’s brows rose as his anger was becoming more and more palpable as time passed. So she was being serious, and he wasn’t even surprised. A dense feeling of hatred engulfed him as he glared at her.

-“I broke your heart? Excuse me? You broke mine!” He was so outraged by what she had just told him that he couldn’t help but stand up, forcing her to step back. Words were leaving his mouth on their own, as if finally, he had the chance of getting everything out of his chest: “I was buying you flowers! Because I was in love with you! And what did you do when I came back with them? You locked me up in a cellar and left me to die! And I’m the one who broke your heart? Please, stop, you’re making things worse for yourself, here.”

He stopped, catching his breath. In front of him, Vanessa was silent, unmoving, as if she was still processing what he had just screamed at her. She seemed astonished and Snatcher quickly understood why: he had never raised his voice against her like this. She did. That was certainly why she was so surprised. But soon, her bewilderment was replaced by fury, as her brows frowned and her face became redder and redder with anger. The air around her suddenly became much colder and the ghost could see the tip of her hair turning black. Her eyes were turning red and she was glaring at him in a way she had never done before. She was livid.

-“You’re lying! You never loved me! You played with me!” She suddenly pointed an accusing finger at him: “You went to see her today, didn’t you?”

Snatcher’s face grew pale. Did she know about the kid? He gulped down with difficulty.

-“What are you talking about?” he questioned, trying to look ignorant enough. But his ex wasn’t buying it and the ghost jumped when she screamed once again:

-“That florist!” Ice spread on the ground around her as her voice resonated in the room and probably in the entire manor too. “Anger” wasn’t enough to describe her state of mind at the moment. Her hair was becoming blacker as seconds went by and she seemed out of breath, as if, just like him, she was getting something out of her chest: “I’m giving us the chance to get things right, to erase your past mistakes, and that’s how you’re thanking me? You ingrate!”

Snatcher was well past simple “anger” as well the second she pronounced those last sentences. She couldn’t have said that, she couldn’t be that stupid… But here she was, telling him how she was doing the right thing, like she was the mature adult in this story!

What a joke.

-“You? Doing the right thing?” He stepped forward, making her back away once again: “Don’t make me laugh,” he responded, in the most spiteful tone he could manage.

The shade then pointed to their surroundings:

-“You think this is real, Vanessa? You think you’re doing me, us, a favour by doing this? Well, newsflash! You’re not! And you know why?” Vanessa remained silent, though returned him his glare, as he kept going: “All of this is fake! It doesn’t exist! It’s an imitation of the past! Don’t tell me you actually believe this is real.”

-“You’re lying,” she simply answered, as serious as he was a few moments ago. She was clearly displeased and in denial. She always has been, in the end. This was what had led him to his first death and what would lead to their second one if she continued to remain so stubborn.

-“Oh, I’m lying! I’m always lying, that’s what you think, isn’t it? Well, guess what? I never was! And what I just said? It’s true! Not only everything here is fake, but it’ll be gone in a few days, and so will we! Great way to make things right, Vanessa!”

He clapped his hands sarcastically to emphasize his last sentence. The movement seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Vanessa snapped once again. She came back right before him and grabbed his hands to stop him from clapping again. The contact of her gloves against his skin was awful to Snatcher. Her icy hands were a clear sign of her fury. It was so cold that it hurt.

-“You’re lying, you’re lying, you’re lying!” yelled Vanessa, as her hair was now almost completely black and getting sharper, the same way Snatcher’s spectral form became when he was extremely furious: “How would you know?! I did this, not you!”

Because of the pain on his wrists, Snatcher had to clench his teeth not to whine. He still managed to let out a few words, trying his best not to show himself weaker than he already was:

-“Don’t… Don’t tell me you haven’t seen those white cracks appearing out of nowhere!”

As if the words had a special meaning to Vanessa, she suddenly loosened her grip on his wrists. Her enraged expression changed in a blink, replaced by something akin to realization. Her face grew almost as pale as Snatcher’s and she let go of his hands, still keeping them in the air, shocked.

She had seen them. That was what it meant.

-“Those are not… That’s not what he-” she stuttered, looking elsewhere as an inner fight seemed to be going on in her mind. Snatcher, however, didn’t miss the very important blunder she just made in her attempt to retort something.

She had just said “he”. For the first time in days, he had a concrete clue about the mastermind behind what was happening.

Apparently, she noticed her own mistake and immediately put her hand over her mouth, as if she wanted to silence herself. But it was too late. Snatcher needed to know who that “he” was to her, and also to him.

-“Vanessa. Who’s ‘he’?” he interrogated her, feeling that this was definitely a trail he needed more details on.

The woman simply shook her head silently, refusing to answer him. Though, it really wasn’t enough to stop the shade from wanting to know more. What did stop him, however, was a knock on the door. Both he and Vanessa turned in its direction.

“Well, what a lucky interruption…” thought Snatcher, while glaring at the door. With a quick “come in!”, he allowed the person behind the door to enter the room. Unsurprisingly, Simeon was the one to come in, closing the door behind him. The butler was standing up straight, as usual. In comparison, what was weird was the way Vanessa’s face became paler than it already was. She instantly looked the other way, like a child caught in the act.

“Wait…” Was she reacting this way because of Simeon’s apparition in the room?

Snatcher didn’t have much time to wonder any more on the question, as his inner monologue was cut short by the older man:

-“My apologies, your majesty,” he started, bowing slightly in front of the ex-couple: “I needed to tell you that the doctor is on his way. If you’d like, Prince Alistel, I had someone prepare a bath for you. You must be really tired.”

The man was smiling, but contrary to all the other times the ghost had seen him smile… Something felt wrong. His happiness seemed just as fake as Vanessa’s one a few minutes earlier. Then, there was her reaction to him… It was extremely suspect and Snatcher started to think again about his previous hypothesis. Was the mastermind Simeon? Could it be possible?

But why? It didn’t make any sense! Simeon was dead even before the rift was made! And the hat-wearing child had been very clear: Vanessa couldn’t have been the one to make this time rift. But then… How?

Snatcher didn’t understand, yet… He definitely had the impression that there was something he wasn’t seeing. But it was there, and his ex’s reaction was one of his biggest clues, along with her previous blunder.

Simeon’s stare made the ghost strangely ill-at-ease and, for a reason he couldn’t explain yet, he felt the need to run. But why? Simeon had been the family’s loyal butler! Though, then again, he had been the butler of Vanessa’s family. Not his. And if his hypothesis was right, no matter how far-fetched it was to him… Well, it was best to be extremely careful. Especially if the mastermind was clearly more powerful than the Queen herself.

Snatcher finally nodded and put a fake smile on his lips.

-“Yes, you’re right. I am quite tired,” he declared, moving towards the door. As he passed next to Simeon, he thanked him for the bath. The butler’s smile widened as he replied:

-“Oh, you’re welcome, my Prince. If you need anything else, please tell me, I will do everything in my power to help you.”

-“I will, thank you.”

Snatcher left the room and closed the door behind him. Once he was alone in the hallway, he felt like a huge weight had been removed from his shoulders. He couldn’t tell why exactly, yet he knew that this had to do with what had just happened. Why did he felt this way? Why did Vanessa have reacted so badly? He hated to be in the dark like this, especially knowing that he and the kid had a countdown problem. He didn’t know exactly how much time they had left. The brat had told him “a few days”, but it wasn’t very precise.

Plus, if Vanessa had also witnessed time anomalies… Then, it meant the rift was probably more unstable than what they first thought. They needed to find that Time Piece, fast, and preferably without being caught first.

Instead of leaving to the bathroom like he should have done, he kneeled in front of the door, sticking his ear on the door. If he wanted to be sure about his hypothesis, there weren’t many other possibilities. It’s not like he could ask Vanessa, or even ask Simeon directly! He wasn’t a moron and definitely didn’t have a death wish.

Silence greeted him for a few seconds. At first, he believed that the door was too thick to let sounds go through. However, just as he was about to stand up, he caught up a muffled voice through the wood:

-“You really do not understand, do you?”

Snatcher’s body froze, as he realized that this voice wasn’t Simeon’s nor Vanessa’s. Then who was talking? It was masculine and its intonation had been disapproving. The voice was peculiarly soft and not really deep. In any case, it was a voice the ghost didn’t know. Who was in the room with them? Everything was so much more confusing now!

He frowned and kept listening, trying to find other clues useful to him. Vanessa’s voice was quick to reply to the stranger:

-“I-I’m sorry, I tried to stay calm!” His ex sounded really distressed. The shade never heard her sound like this before and it actually made him feel nervous. If someone was scaring Vanessa, while he did not… Well, this was not good for him and the kid.

Who was that guy?

-“I find it quite weird that you choose to use that excuse again,” retorted the voice, threatening.

Silence ensued and Snatcher remained completely unmoving as he waited for the others to talk again. It didn’t last very long but it truly felt like hours to him.

-“You know,” continued the stranger, “after I decided to help you, I think I made you promise to keep your anger under control. Tell me, do you remember that?”

The spirit could tell very easily from the tone of the voice that it wasn’t really a question.

-“Yes… Yes, I did.”

-“So… May I ask you what you do not understand in that simple request? Because I would gladly explain it to you again.”

The threats were absolutely not hidden anymore now. Damn, that guy truly had threatening potential! In any other situation, Snatcher would have felt something akin to jealousy or admiration, depending on the person speaking, but in the present… He felt as much threatened as Vanessa, perhaps more, since she had powers to defend herself while he did not.

He forced his mind to focus on reality when he heard Vanessa apologize:

-“I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be more careful.”

-“This is exactly what you promised me this morning and yet, you still managed to reveal my existence to him just now. What a shame.”

Snatcher’s eyebrows rose: did that guy just got Vanessa to apologize to him? What was he using, witchcraft? Both in his life and afterlife, Snatcher never managed to get a sincere “I’m sorry” from her! And that stranger got her to say those words just like this? Seriously, who was that guy?

-“Please do not make me regret helping you. We still have much to do for your dream to come true. Do not waste the chance I am offering you.”

-“But…!”

Snatcher stuck his ear to the door even more, extremely curious about what Vanessa was about to say after that kind of threat.

-“He- Alistel told me that this isn’t real. That this world will disappear in a few days…”

-“Oh please, are you believing him more than me?” answered the voice, outraged: “I offered you a way to go back in time, to erase what went wrong, and you would rather believe him? The man who cheated on you? Vanessa, dear, you really are hurting my feelings.” He paused before continuing: “If there is anyone to trust here, it is me. You should know that by now.”

Snatcher was instantly filled with absolute fury at the stranger’s affirmations.

“This guy…!” The spirit had never cheated on Vanessa! She was the one who went crazy and murdered an entire village! How dared he-

The ghost suddenly realized that if he stayed here any longer, he would be found out very soon. The conversation seemed almost over now, and this was his chance to leave before being caught. He did get all the information he needed to prove that Simeon was implied. Though… Did that mean that “Simeon” wasn’t really him? That someone was impersonating him? This was all Snatcher could think of.

He quickly stood up, as silently as possible, and walked away fast until he hid behind a corner. He waited for a bit and, after a few minutes, finally saw Simeon walking out of the room. Vanessa was coming right after him, looking at her own feet. This was really a weird sight to Snatcher. Normally, it would make him laugh, but now… It only meant that whoever was working with Vanessa was much, much more dangerous than her.

“Who are you…?” he wondered to himself, as he stared at the back of “Simeon”, who was walking towards the stairs, followed by Vanessa. Once the ghost was completely alone, he tried to relax his body, which had been tensed for quite a while.

Whoever was that guy… He and the kid would have to be really careful from now on. The sooner they left, the better.

Snatcher frowned and finally looked away from the staircase. Well… Now, he had a bath to take. Maybe it would help him to understand better what was happening in the dark.

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WHO THIS STRANGER MIGHT BE, HUM....

I hoped you liked this chapter ! Please tell me if you did, it really helps me a lot, you have no idea. I work a lot with motivation and I get writing blocks when I become hesitant about my stories. Even comments with a single emoji help, I assure you.

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Chapter 13 =>