#atwq fanfic

[snicketstrange]

Untie My Silence Knot Chapter 6 - L, you're so clueless

I should have asked L those 13 questions directly when we met. I tried to convince myself several times that I had forgotten to ask. Then I tried to convince myself several times that this was no longer important. Then I tried to convince myself that it was better not to know the answers. After all, if he didn't answer me there must be a reason. Maybe he just ripped my letter up in an impulse of anger … But I can't imagine L doing such a thing. But I also can't imagine him not answering that letter. And after that, still having the courage to show up here … How could he have had the courage to do that without answering those questions?

I went back to the library and got my copy of Ivan Lachrymose - Lake Explorer. I opened it between pages 302 and 303 and took out a card that L had given me. I never really understood what L had done while in Stain'd-By-The-Sea. But whatever it was, now it was time to collect some favors in his name.

I didn't find B at the mansion for the rest of the afternoon. The children were busy with their affairs, and it was soon dark. B must have left, as I didn't even see him in his room. I checked if he was in the secret tunnel, and not. The car was still in the garage. If he had left, it must have been on foot, by rental carriage, or by taxi. That was awful. I couldn't go out and leave the children alone.

I decided to call Violetta.

I talked to her about the plant I had found.

Do you have the antidote at the hospital? - I asked.

Yes, we do. Are you sure you want to continue with this?

Yes, I am. It is now or never.

Then, I decided to call the Royal Gardens, since I couldn't go there at the moment. The woman I needed to speak with would be finishing work soon. I asked the operator to call Miss K., chief scientist at the Royal Gardens.

Miss K?

Yes. It's her. But K is my maiden name. I got married recently.

I'm calling to ask a very important favor.

Who is talking?

Unfortunately I can't identify myself. But we have a mutual friend named L.

And what might his last name be?

Snicket.

I'm sorry. I don't trust phone calls.

C, I have a card that L gave me. L told me that if I gave you the card, you could do me a favor.

What kind of favor would you want me to do?

I need you to find a certain plant there for me.

Which plant?

Conium Maculatum.

This plant is in the Poisonous Pavilion .. No sample of the plant can leave here.

If this plant could be legally removed I would not need to be charging you a favor in the name of L.

Bring the card here. If it's really true, I'll help you. But I want you to know that L is helping you to commit a crime, whoever you are.

I heard the noise of B coming.

I have to turn off. Please wait for me at the entrance around 10:30 pm. Tonight.

B came into the house. I went to greet him.

Where have you been, dear? I was worried about you…

Are the kids in their rooms?

Yes, they are. Way?

I don't want them to see their mother making up a lot of lies to justify that.

He brought a file of letters. It was the file of letters L had sent me.

So you went to E.'s house. I don't understand … He promised that he would never show this file to anyone but me.

It seems that your brother also breaks the trust that others have in him. It must be a family problem.

I am not going to lie B. I couldn't get rid of these letters. You know L and I had a history together. As much as you want to undo this story, you can't go back in time and erase what I lived with him.

I'm not talking about the past, B. If you love me, burn those letters in the fireplace now, in front of me.

I will not do it. But that doesn't mean that I don't love you!

Some things in an actress's life are difficult to understand unless you're an actress, an actor, or you live in constant disguise. My secret was to write about it. I hate to write that it didn't work for me. I no longer knew what was pretend and what was real. But I knew that the tears that started to fall in an amazing volume of my eyes were real. I wanted to shout something but I didn't know what words to shout! From the bottom of my heart a feeling gradually materialized in the form of words. The words were "Forgive Me, please". I started to sob. Who was I trying to apologize to? To B? To L? To my children? To O's Father? To my parents? To myself?

I never wanted a hug as much as I did in that moment. But nobody came to hug me. L was not there, as I did not marry him. My parents were not there because they had died. My kids were sleeping, because I couldn't be honest with them about how I really felt or what my life was like. My friends were scattered around the world on dangerous missions. And my husband … My husband didn't come to hug me even though he was in front of me.

I wish my parents were alive so I could call them to ask for help in my marriage. I didn't want them to have been murdered for being involved in VFD. I wish I had spent time with them and not gone far, and not even being able to say goodbye to them. I wanted to go to a normal school, fall in love with normal schoolmates, and be disappointed like any normal girl. I wanted to choose who to marry, and I wanted to have a normal marriage. I wanted to have normal fights with my husband. I came to the library, got my commonplace book from the secret drawer. I came to the tunnel and recorded these latest events. I'll call a taxi and meet Miss K. I'll leave it behind this brick, which is a secret compartment in the tunnel. I don't know if anyone will ever find what I wrote here, but I hope so. My life has become a tangled knot. Now I'm going to control something for myself.

__________________________

Confidential.

Note to the Archive: Please add this writing to the Snicket File.

Preferably on page 9.

J.

[clairyclue]

hey guys…wanna…wanna rec some good fics for some fandoms….

-over the garden wall

-raggedy ann

-to kill a mockingbird

-the snicketverse

-scooby doo

-matilda

-hadestown

-riordanverse

-ride the cyclone

-anything related to 90’s cartoons (animaniacs, etc)

these are the main ones (if u rec smut i will hurt u)

[snicketverse-fic-finder]

Snicketverse Gift Exchange (Fanfiction or fanart) 👁️ 6 DAYS left to sign up…

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2Cf9inaV-3CzsjOYBi9uaxn3G7byhXQz4Br_9UZMPAaIybQ/viewform

Say you’ll volunteer?

(You do not have to be a member of the VFDiscord to partake, however I will put a link to the discord server here incase anyone wants to join!) The more people the better! If you think you would enjoy it then please join!! :)

https://discord.gg/2nhsZ9hf

[sub-librarian]

Please elaborate on your Beatrice started the fire theory i need to know

I am so extremely sorry that I never answered this. I'll do my best to sum it up after a disclaimer:

I have covid and my partner has a broken leg from a hit and run but I will try to write out an explanation that does justice to it soon for you/anyone still following this blog.

I still think about this (and the way it will eventually go into a fanfiction that follows up on my TETMTM one) pretty frequently.

In short:

Beatrice's characterization is largely as an almost coldly efficient member of the Noble VFD. I think she sent the children out and faked her own death (to die later At A Social Engagement, unintended). I think they used the trap door. I think she WANTED Olaf to have the fortune and be a guardian and had managed to miss all the red flags + had enough ties to the firestarting side that she *thought he could stop the schism* . Like everyone did with the VFD itself because they were too invested in Solving Problems to realize they were creating them. There are heaps of justified reasons why, within the text, Beatrice could have legitimately thought the children were, and I know it's ridiculous "safer with Olaf" (or another VFD member, on either or neither side) than with her and her husband at that point and furthermore she *knew the symbolism of fire, of the power of children, of the power of near misses*. I think the entire first book more or less, was the result of one or two bad decisions made by a flammable woman trying to outrun the flame someone else started and starting another to try to fight back.

I'll try to find the energy and time to find my textual evidence + write more on this at some point soon but as mentioned I'm ill, being an unexpected in-home nurse (while taking care of 5 cats and 2 birds), working, preparing for NaNoWriMo, AND writing+drawing a horror comic while in talks to be the artist on a graphic novel. So I'm busy. And Exhausted. I think about this a lot though and want to talk more about it.

[afterthegreatunknown]

Randomity: Surprise Appearances

As Fiona and Fernald continues to walk down the street of Downtown Ordin —Fiona holding her shopping bag with her right hand, while she holds her brother’s shopping bag with her left hand— she couldn’t help but stop. In the distance a few blocks down, is a frozen dessert place.

It’s a gelato shop. A gelato, if Fiona recalls correctly from her V.F.D. tutor, is an Italian based frozen dessert that is similar to ice cream. It has less air and butterfat compare to ice cream, and the texture is supposedly different too. What is the texture, Fiona has no idea.

“You want to get some gelato, Fernald?” asks Fiona, gesturing her head at the shop. “We have some leftover money, and it is our Saturday together. Why not get ourselves a nice little treat?”

“I rather have a sorbet or a shave ice, to be honest,” replies Fernald. “But if a gelato is what you want, Fiona, a gelato you will get. I just hope that the workers don’t freak out over my hooks.”

---

Fernald and Fiona take one of the window booths, and sit opposite from one another. Fernald has a mango gelato, and is taking his slow time. Fiona eats her strawberry gelato faster than him, though she too, is taking her time. Fernald gives a sigh as he leans back against his seat.

The bell of the door chimes, and enters two adults. The first person is a woman whose light color hair is mostly cover by her sunhat which obscures much of her face—except her ears, which shows off her pearl earrings. The second person —a bowtie wearing man carrying a satchel —takes off his hat, and reveals a quiff that reminds Fernald of a stick of dynamite.

Fernald couldn’t help but give a sharp gasp as he watches the woman take off her hat. The woman and the man briefly look at his and Fiona’s direction. Fernald quickly looks downward at his gelato, and starts eating it rapidly. He can’t believe who enter the gelato shop.

“Fernald, are you okay?” asks Fiona quietly.

---

“I’m fine. Totally fine,” says Fernald, his voice going slightly higher than usual. “I’m totally not freaking out that Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Haines walked into the gelato shop with her brother!”

Fiona blinks behind her glasses. “Am I supposed to know who is Lizzie Haines, Fernald?”

“What!?” Fernald hisses at Fiona, and leans over the table. “You never heard of Lizzie Haines? She’s just one of the greatest actresses of our time! She starred in the seven-time award-winning film The Long and Winding Road! Hell, one win was her as ‘Best Actress in Leading Role’! She appeared in plays like Pygmalion and The Mouse Trap, and many more! I can go on about all the roles she did, but we could be here forever!”

“Wow!” Fiona sets down her spoon. “I never seen you gushing over any actor or actress before! Why don’t you get Lizzie Haines’ autograph?”

Fernald couldn’t help but laugh, and gestures himself. “You think she would want to sign an autograph to a guy like me?”

“You never know! I could ask on your behalf!” Fiona slides out of the booth. “In fact, I’m doing it right now! He or she who hesitates is lost!”

“Fiona! No!”

As Lizzie and Kellar look away from the brother and sister—she can tell that the two are siblings by their similar facial structure— she hears her little brother laughing, and waves down one of the workers behind the counter. The worker smiles at them, and Kellar raises four fingers.

“We’re taking our gelatos to go,” says Kellar. “Two limes, one coffee, and one peaches, please.”

“You got it, sir!” The worker nods her head, and scurries over to the gelato counter.

As the worker gets out four takeout cups with lids ready, Kellar turns to Lizzie. “I didn’t think that we’ll find a fan of yours here. You think he wants to take a photo, but is too scare?”

“I wouldn’t know why he has to be scare of me,” replies Lizzie, looking back at the brother and sister. “Do I give the impression of being scary?”

“Well, you do take after Mom more than me.”

Lizzie playfully slaps Kellar’s shoulder. “Says the one who inherited her love of all things Italian! Especially food!”

---

Kellar starts to tease Lizzie when he hears a soft, teenage girl clearing her throat. He turns around, and sees the triangle-glasses wearing girl in the navy inspire outfit standing in front of Lizzie. In her left hand, is an annotated copy of T.S. Elliot’s, The Waste Land, and a blue pen.

“Hello,” says the girl softly. “You’re the actress Lizzie Haines.”

“Yes, I am,” answers Lizzie, and gestures at Kellar. “And this is my little brother, Kellar.”

Kellar watches the girl turn her attention to him. “Hello.”

“Hello, Mr. Haines,” replies the girl, and re-focuses back on Lizzie. “Ms. Haines, if you don’t mind, would you sign my older brother’s book? He’s a major fan of yours.”

“Of course!” Lizzie gently takes the book and pen from the girl’s hand. “What’s your brother’s name, my dear? What’s your name as well?”

“Jules. And I’m Freddie. Short for Winifred.”

“Well, Freddie,” says Kellar, slapping a hand on his knee, “I have a question for you. Is Jules willing to take a photo with my sister?”

---

Jules —and Freddie— as it turns out, is willing to take a photo. The photo is taken outside the gelato shop though. Lizzie and Kellar had to take their gelatos to the hotel where Mom and Stepdad are at, and Jules and Freddie were done eating their gelatos and needed to go back home to their own stepfather.

“It is okay for me to be in the middle?” asks Lizzie, staring upward at Jules; he’s several inches taller than her and Freddie.

“That’s-that’s fine, Ms. Haines,” says Jules nervously. “Uh, it is okay for me to put my arm and hook around you?”

“Oh, for sure!”

Jules carefully places his arm and hook around Lizzie’s shoulder. Lizzie does the same for Jules and Freddie. From the corner of her eyes, Lizzie can see Jules forming a big smile on his face. Clearly, the man was scare she wouldn’t be accepting of his physical disability.

“All right! Give a big smile for the camera!” Kellar presses the button on the instant camera.

A bright light soon flashes. The instant camera then prints out the photograph of the three. Kellar carefully takes it, and smiles.

“Now I call this photo a keeper!”

[mx-quartz]

rereading my posted works and. yikes!! half tempted to rewrite them again

[asouefanworkevent]

another fall is upon us! another woevember is coming!!

what is it?

woevember is an asoue fanwork event week, that will take place from november 10th through november 16th, 2024. every day of the week is dedicated to a different part of a series of unfortunate events or all the wrong questions for you to create something about! this year's theme is objects!

what do i do?

the prompts will be revealed now, so everyone has time to make something. between now and the week of november 10th, you’ll create fanworks about the prompts, and then post it on the corresponding day during november 10th - 16th! there will be the occasional countdown post between then and now too, so we all know how many days are left until posting begins.

don’t forget to tag this tumblr (asouefanworkevent) in the post so i can find it and reblog it, and tag the post with #woevember !

what do you mean by fanwork?

everything! fanfic and fanart are of course allowed, but woevember has always been meant to be an event that is as big or as little effort as you want! fanwork also means edits, gifs, analysis posts, headcanons!! your cosplay!! your photography!! your photosets!! your web weaving!! your moodboards!! your super short fics!! your sketchiest drawings!! your most ramble-y half-fic idea posts!! your wip scenes!! you merely saying ‘lemony snicket, though. am i right?????’ (and you are. you’re so right.) your loving macaroni art!! your embroidery!! your sculpture!! whatever you are moved to make from the prompts! i want people to be encouraged to and be able to create even something small that didn’t exist before for the snicketverse, and share it with other people!

are there any rules?

to keep the event open and comfortable for everyone, no explicit content. also, as always, sibling romance and age gaps will not be tolerated.

do i have to make something for every day?

only if you want to! feel free to just make something for one day if you want :) the point of having a different theme for each day is so some part of canon that you like comes up eventually, and you can at least make something for one of the days. or you get struck by an idea you might not have considered before! i want to get people thinking about all the intriguing things in asoue and atwq and the exciting, different ways we can interpret and create from the same idea.

what are the prompts?

the description under each prompt is just some ideas to get your brain going – feel free to take them in another direction too! whatever you want to come up with!!

november 10th - violet's inventions

the grappling hook! the toaster in the clock! the rock retrieval device! the bobblehead train stopper! even just lockpicking, and violet's ribbon, too! what else do you think violet has made, pre-canon or during canon? what does she make now? post-canon, does she have a job that relates to inventing? does she still invent in her spare time?

november 11th - the sugar bowl

the mysterious sugar bowl! lives have been lost in the quest to find it and it's important to both the snickets and the baudelaires, so says esme. where is it now? what was its importance? what was inside it? where was it during canon, before canon? who has had it before? did anyone have it before esme? what does it look like? how does it keep its contents safe? when was it first used? did it make it to the hotel denouement? is anyone still searching for it? what if it wasn't stolen?

november 12th - disguises

both the firestarters and the firefighters have used disguises --the same disguises, supplied by vfd. what other kinds of disguises have each side used, and for what ends? was a disguise ever seen through at the wrong time, or the right time? was a disguise ever NOT seen through when it should have been? even the disguises beatrice wore when she acted on stage, or the cow disguise worn by jacques snicket, or the denouement triplets pretending to be each other, what does it mean to wear a disguise and what do you do when you wear one? do the baudelaires, or the quagmires, ever wear disguises again? do frank and ernest ever pretend to be each other post-canon?

november 13th - the bombinating beast

our beloved statue the size of a milk bottle, valued upwards of a great deal of money! where do you think it is now? what did lemony do with it when he left stain'd-by-the-sea? who used it before canon? do the baudelaires ever encounter it? does it make its way back to stain'd-by-the-sea? and where is the bombinating beast itself now?

november 14th - books

lemony's a series of unfortunate events books do, after all, exist in asoue canon itself! what does vfd think of the books? who's read them? or books like the unauthorized autobiography, and the beatrice letters, and lemony's childrens books, what place might they have in canon? for all the wrong questions, who's read them? they were filed at vfd headquarters, after all. how many members of vfd know what lemony did during his apprenticeship? or books like caviar: salty jewel of the tasty sea, or stain'd myths, or lemony's pamphlets on the accordion, or even the classic children's lit books, like the ramona series by beverly cleary, and their place inside canon and especially vfd? or even beatrice and bertrand's a series of unfortunate events, the journal they contribute to on the island. who else has written in that journal?

november 15th - the duchess of winnipeg's ring

the ring that went from the duchess, to lemony, to beatrice, to back to lemony, to kit, to bertrand, to beatrice, to the box she kept it in, to widdershins as he searched the ruins of the baudelaire mansion, to ishmael when it washed up on the island, to violet, and to the second beatrice, who traded it to a shepherd for a yak ride. what other adventures has it been on? does the duchess ever get it back again? why did beatrice keep it in a box -- a box that kit's grandfather made the code for? what has the rest of the duchess' family done with it? what does it mean to them?

november 16th - free space!

do you have another object in mind? the spyglass, one of klaus's books, or sunny's meals, or the harpoon gun, or ellington's record player, or cleo's chemistry equipment, or something like the medusoid mycelium? the laudanum? all the things esme says are in or out? the baudelaire fortune? the quagmire sapphires? the fabled tito puente records? the ruins of the baudelaire mansion and what else might be there? all those objects mrs. bass had her students measure? jake hix's meals? cleo's car, or the bellerophon taxi? the vfd taxi? gustav's films, or the sebald code? violet's bread knife? kit's book raft? commonplace books? do you want to combine any of these objects with one of the previous days and create something with two objects for one of the previous days? so many options!! or do you care not for objects! use the free space to write about the item or character or relationship or thought or whatever of your choosing! feel free to pick a theme from a previous woevember event for the free space, if you'd like!

if you have any questions about anything, feel free to drop me an ask or a message!

happy creating, and i hope to see lots of you november 10th-16th!! ✨

[dragoneyes618]

I've actually been thinking about doing so!

....You know, in between the five other fanfics I'm in middle of writing. ;)

So far all I have if the two of them showing up at the house and talking to the parents, and they realize in the middle, when the parents mention the noise outside, that it's been a VFD recruitment. Which neither of them were told about, because if ATWQ shows anything it's that VFD was very fragmented, even without taking the schism into account. They didn't know Dashiell Qwerty was a member of VFD, Lemony and Kit planned to steal something (the sugar bowl?) from the museum against the wishes of the adults, Gifford and Ghede had their own plan in mind possibly working against Theodora, or maybe just wanted the museum heist to succeed without actually filling Lemony in on anything. My point is that there's sufficient wiggle room to have other members of VFD operating in the same town without letting Theodora or Lemony know.

So they don't actually know it was a recruitment until they're already talking with the parents. And, of course, they can't unrecruit a child from their organization. They need recruits. So Theodora gets up and leaves, dragging Lemony with her, saying something like "I'm sure your little boy will be just fine. He probably wandered off and got lost like little boys do. He'll be back soon, I'm sure. Come along, Snicket."

The thing is for Lemony, in Stain'd-by-the-Sea, he grew up. He saw that evil wasn't divided into good and bad, black and white, firefighters and firestarters like he'd always been told. He learned that good people can do bad things, and bad people can do good things, and good things can be done for bad reasons, and bad things can be done for good reasons.

Lemony grew up in VFD. It was all he'd ever known. He barely remembered his parents. It never occurred to him to think that the parents grieved their children. Why would it? He was told it was necessary, good, that the organization even got permission first. Any of the parents he knew were members of the organization as well. It was normal to him.

But now he comes face-to-face with another set of parents who had their child recruited, and he sees their worry, their fear, their terror, all for their child, and it terrifies him.

Has everything he's known been a lie? Are they the nobles ones after all?

Were his parents worried when he and his siblings were recruited?

In Stain'd-By-The-Sea, Lemony and Theodora kept getting called in to solve mysteries. That was how the plot of the first three books began - trying to find the Bombinating Beast, trying to find Cleo Knight, trying to find the culprit who had set those fires.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if a pair of worried parents had asked Theodora and Lemony to help them find their young child who had disappeared without a trace after hearing a noise outside in the middle of the night....

[mariamallahan]

Chapter 7 - The Mallahan Schism

There are secrets that change your life forever. A few years ago I discovered one of these secrets in a hotel room in Rome. Thanks to what I heard that night from a boy named Zayden Snicket, I immediately stopped communicating with Dr. Handler, interrupted the writing of this brochure, and married a man much older than me. I had a brief but lovely marriage to Count Kornbluth. I became known as Condensa Kornbluth, but I never got used to that title. Before we got married, my husband had told me, "Apparently it's a tradition for Mallahan women to keep their maiden names after marriage, so I won't be the first to ask that to change." I am so grateful that he accepted my request.

A few weeks before he died, my notorious husband made me three requests. The first was "I want you to take me to ride a lion for the last time." The second request was something he made me promise not to tell the general public, but it has to do with an intricate plan of revenge against Dr. Handler. And the third request was "I want you to use part of the inheritance you will receive to fund the completion of the Mallahan Brochure." I feel very sorry for my beloved and deceased husband. If he knew about my intentions, he never wasted two of the three requests on things I was already determined to do using all my available sweat and financial resources.

I got 2/3 of my husband's inheritance, and our adopted daughter, Beatrice, got 1/6 of his inheritance. We had to adopt her because he could no longer have children when we got married, and he really wanted to relive the experience of having a girl close to adolescence at home. Next year áshe can enjoy her inheritance as she wishes. For now, Beatrice is working voluntarily with me on writing the Mallahan Brochure. Count Kornbluth also had a biological daughter from his first marriage (Lisa), but her whereabouts are unknown. But I am sure she will soon appear to claim the part of the inheritance that belongs to her. And when that happens, I'll be ready for her.

So I began preparations to restart my research on the history of VFD. During the past 5 years, during the brief periods when I was not taking care of my family's needs, I sought information about past big fires.

The Most Marvelous Method (I can say I'm happy to be an individual practitioner) indicates that there will be records of VFD actions in the vicinity of major fires. Unfortunately I cannot communicate with the many archeology groups around the world without this leading me to risk my life or risk the life of my adopted daughter or risk compromising a beautiful plan in progress. That's why I invited Zayden Snicket to join our group.

He became a handsome, intelligent and handsome young man of 18 years. He specializes in disguises and he is also an animal behaviorist. He said "I don't want to participate in anything that exposes my name or my work to the general public, as it could endanger me or disrupt an intricate revenge plan." But I promised him that I would not publish the brochure until our goals were definitely finalized, and if you are reading this it is because I was able to fulfill everything I intended or broke my promise with Zayden Snicket.

I decided to research one of the biggest fires I've ever heard of: The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Naples that hit the Pompeii district. Beatrice suggested that she go to Naples disguised as Snicket's girlfriend. I hated the idea and suggested that I go disguised as Snicket's girlfriend and she was disguised as my older sister. Snicket on the other hand said, "I believe we had better go separately to Naples so we can cover more research sites in a single day. And it will get harder be recognized in our disguises." I'm grateful to have him on the team, even though he's 9 years younger than me, he seems to have received unusual training.

Snicket painted Beatrice's face white, and handed her a black and white outfit. She went by bus to Pompeii Archaeological Park disguised as mime. I went to Neapolitan University by train and Snicket To the Neapolitan Library by taxi. On the train, I realized that it would have been better to have gone by taxi. I listened to the conversations of people sharing a small passenger compartment with me. "I'm afraid to go to Naples, but I have to go because of my work," one of them said. I thought the passenger was afraid of the volcano there, but his colleague replied, "Just don't get involved with the Camorra." I was already talking about that secret organization. They were known to be cruel, and to seize deep through illegal practices and violence (they are the Mafia). "But there's Camorra headquarters. How will I know if I'm involved with Camorra or not?" They looked at me silently. I realized that it had been a dangerous idea to wear a black suit and sunglasses on public transport.

When I arrived at university, I introduced myself as Violetta Coppola, a researcher at the University of Rome who needed help finding handwritten information about the eruption of Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii. Luckily, Snicket had made a card with my name very convincing, and a few hours later I was in the university library studying the writings of Pliny the Younger. At first I did not understand this title. I wondered "Younger than who?" The librarian named Yuiop explained to me that there was a man older than this Pliny. Coincidentally his name was also Pliny. The older Pliny was tutor to the younger Pliny. Yuiop gave me some privacy, and brought me coffee to help keep me awake while reading the Latin writings. Apparently the two Pliny were involved in studying and trying to avoid the serious effects of the worst fire of all time, which was the Great Eruption of Vesuvius.

According to what I read about Pliny the elder, he was an officer of the Roman army. But he dropped his weapons after a trip to Africa. I can't say for sure, but apparently he must have passed through Alexandria where he might have come in direct contact with AS. He returned to Italy with a completely different attitude, and devoted himself to studying law and the sciences of nature. I found in one of his writings the following: "It was a pleasant surprise to find a man from Alexandria who had noble ideas and a structured plan on how to avoid alarming uncontrolled combustions. " Thus, one of the heralds certainly met Pliny the Elder, and he was one of the first members of VFD in the Roman empire.

I didn't have time to do a thorough study there at the library, so I asked Yuiop to borrow those books. "Unfortunately I can't lend you, Dr. Coppola. But maybe I could lend to a certain Miss Mallahan." I shuddered to hear my name. I looked more closely at Yuiop, and then recognized those drawn eyes. I had to restrain myself from shouting with joy. "Mr. Editor! What are you doing here?" He explained to me that a certain Mr. Qwerty had made a great effort to find him in China. "He said people like me genuinely interested in history needed support and that other people falsely interested in history should pay for their crimes through an intricate revenge plan." Without further words, Mr. Editor lent me the publications I needed. I returned to the mansion by taxi. I read a lot of interesting things on the way back. Pliny the Elder died in 79 AD while he was studying the volcano and trying to save people. He also tried to avoid a major fire in Rome, which apparently Emperor Nero caused and blamed a group of religious pacifists. The younger Pliny, on the other hand, created a secret fire brigade, contrary to the orders of Emperor Trajan. I had certainly taken the VFD trail, and looked forward to coming home to study these writings with Beatrice. But unfortunately I didn't have enough time for that that night. Snicket came running to me as soon as I got home. He said:

"Maria ... The Camorra has captured Beatrice."

[virtualfindingsdocumented]

I have interest in doing some collaborative writing. Like, we make an au/canon divergence/anything, and from this basis each writer write something, or as many as they want.

Wait, this sounds like a contest. Maybe I have interest in making a contest. Except I can’t judge, and I don’t know what to offer as prize (A one shot by me??)

[moldygreenblue]

she was probably nice, when you got to know her

I once had this large fic plan that was pre-asoue and pre-atwq, focusing on Ellington and Widdershins. However, I scrapped it, keeping only a snippet that was ficlet size. I originally planned on posting the original snippet ficlet, but I eventually rewrote it to make it more of a standalone, which I like a bit more. I hope you enjoy reading this!

With the cold water trickling out from the faucet, he takes time to stare at his reflection. He frowns at the bruise swelling up around his right eye. Looking at the bruise, he thinks how there are worser places to get punch and punt at. Like the stomach. Or the back.

Bang-Bang! “Hey! New Kid!! Hey!” Bang-Bang!

He ignores the voice, and continues to stare at his reflection. Blood is streaming down his nose, past the corners of his mouth and chin. One streams lands into the sink itself, while the other splatter onto his school shirt collar and cuffs.

“I know you’re in there!” The doorknob jiggles. “I saw you enter the bathroom minutes ago!”

Cupping his hands together in a small bowl, he thinks he can wash away the bloodstain when he gets home. Ma wouldn’t be home until he’s ready for bed, if not actually asleep. Ma works the afternoon shift at the textile factory that goes well into nighttime.

“New Kid, I just want to know if you’re okay! I saw your black eye!” Bang-Bang! “It’ll get nasty looking if you leave it alone like that!”

He brings his hands up to his nose, and snorts in the water. The burning sensation hits his nose, and he huffs it out as best as he could. The blood sprays all over the sink at odd angles. But cleaning the sink is better than having to force swallow the disgusting blood glop.

“Uck! New Kid, you know there’s an easier way to stop your bloody nose, right?”

The voice takes him by surprise. He yelps and jump. He then turns around and grabs ahold of the sink behind him. Standing before him is a girl; not a classmate, but he sees her around during lunchtime. The girl’s two braids curls upward, like snakes pulling themselves up to their full height. She raises one of her very curvy eyebrows, and reaches into her jacket pocket, pulling out a white handkerchief with ‘A.F.’ stitch into it in a dark green thread.

---

“Lean a bit forward over the sink, and pinch your nose for about ten minutes,” says Ellington calmly, still holding out her father’s handkerchief. “The bleeding will stop, but be careful when breathing. Do it too hard, and you could start the bleeding all over again.”

New Kid —not a classmate; Ellington calls him ‘New Kid’ because his status as a new student from overseas (an oversea refugee, in fact) is well known throughout the school— stares her with his wide, dark eyes. He slowly outreaches his right hand, before taking the handkerchief quickly as if she has cooties. He then pulls it closer to him, and staring at it with some confusion. New Kid then stares back at her, and tries to give back the handkerchief.

“Oh no! That’s yours to keep, New Kid,” says Ellington, pushing the boy’s hand back. “My father talked to your mother a few times. He knows how difficult you two are settling in, for we went through something similar in the past. Think of this as a late-welcoming gift from us.”

Ellington gives a small wave of goodbye, and leaves. She doesn’t have time to wait around to see if New Kid waves back. She doesn’t care if he does or doesn’t.  A good deed doesn’t need anything in return. That’s what her father always told her.

“I just hope New Kid gets that bruise swelling under control,” mutters Ellington, making her way back to the main hallway, where her father is waiting. “That won’t go away anytime soon if it isn’t tend to in time. I hope he has an icepack or anything frozen at home.”

[volunteerfelinedetectives]

Happy Valentine’s Day ATWQ fandom! I hope you enjoy this little fic I wrote.

Jake Hix gazed wistfully out of the window of the diner, waiting for the familiar sound of Cleo’s smart shoes tapping rhythmically against the pavement, for the ringing of the bell as she came in through the door, and the little smile she would always give him that made his heart almost burst with joy. Today was the day, he thought with a nervous smile. Today, he was going to tell her just how much he loved her, despite knowing she would probably never love him back. It was only fitting he did it now, on Valentines Day, and he knew that if he didn’t do it now he probably never would.

Cleo Knight glanced behind her to check that nobody had seen her sneaking out, and began walking through the bustling streets to Hungry’s. She was looking forward to breakfast, having not been able to sneak out to get any proper food for the last week, and having only the delicious smells wafting up from the kitchen as her parents sat down to heaping meals of lamb chops and baked salmon, while she was left with nothing but plain green salads, to “keep her figure” as her mother said. But even more so, she was looking forward to seeing a certain young man again, one with scruffy ginger hair and kind eyes, who she loved with all her heart, despite knowing that her parents would never let them be together.

The bell above the door gave it’s familiar ding! as Cleo glided into the room, and Jake’s face lit up as she sat down at her usual place by the counter, brushing a lock of platinum blonde hair away from her eyes as she allowed herself a small smile.

They talked for a while as Jake flipped the pancakes on the stove, a recipe that he had invented himself. But the goat’s cheese he had added to the batter was not the only secret ingredient. He waited patiently for Cleo to turn away from him and write something in the black-and-white notebook full of diagrams and equations she carried everywhere with her, and added the finishing touch.

Cleo looked up from her writing as the aroma of steaming hot pancakes wafted through the room. They were soft and buttery and melted in her mouth with each bite, and she had to fight back the urge to eat them all at once.

“These are delicious,” she said brightly. “Did you come up with the recipe?”

“I did, actually,” Jake replied, turning away to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks.

They chatted for a while longer, until suddenly Cleo gave a startled gasp. She was gazing at the small box buried at the bottom of the pile of fresh raspberries on her plate. She opened it up, and unfolded the love letter inside.

Jake’s heart pounded in anticipation as her eyes darted across the page, dreading the moment she put the letter down and walked away, shaking her head at how he had ever thought he had a chance with her, but instead she gazed up at him, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks flushed bright red, and whispered, “I love you too.”

She stood up and ran towards him, and then her lips were on his and their hearts were pounding together in rhythm, the scents of the kitchen mingling with her perfume, and all they could think about was one another, and the future they would build.

[afigurelikeadoll]

HUNDRED FOLLOWERS/BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION ASK GAME!!

Hey, everyone! Tomorrow is my birthday, and I recently just hit one hundred followers!

I just wanted to thank each and every one of you that have followed me and supported me, and I wanted this to be way for me to show you that I love and appreciate all of you.

So I created this ask game in celebration of the recent events! Anons are welcome, for the ones they are applicable to, and I encourage all of you to please participate! I’d like to hear from each of my followers, and I know that there are a lot of you out there!

So please remember, have fun, and don’t stress yourselves out. this is just for fun and a way for me to better get to know all of you. For those who stayed long enough to read this, have a great day :)

Ask game:

🥇 - I’ll tell you what my first impression of your blog was

🏵 - I’ll tell you the name of a flower that reminds me of you

🖊 - I’ll write a fanfiction based on the prompt and pairing you give me (size and length of your choosing)

🔍 - I’ll give you an in depth analysis of my opinion on any character or ship you provide (given that I know which fandom it is)

💌 - I’ll send an anonymous ask to your inbox telling you what I like most about your blog

♥️ - provide me any ship, and I’ll tell you my headcanons for them

🔪 - I’ll tell you how I think you would end up dying in the future

✨ - tell me which problematic character you stan and why, and I’ll tell you if I agree or not

🥔 - I will rank your blog on level of superiority from 1 to 10

🎤 - I will tell you which song I think best fits your blog theme/overall aesthetic

💋 - Send me a pairing and I’ll give my theories on their sexual preferences/kinks

🩸 - I’ll tell you if I think you’d ever kill someone, and who it would be

🔥 - provide me the name of a character, and I’ll give my otp, sexuality headcanon, brotp, notp for them, along with their quirks and favourite food

🌍 - I’ll tell you where in the world I think you are, and you can tell me how wrong I am

⭐️ - You can ask me any question from this list

🌈 - I will privately message you a chapter from the multi -chapter rarry fic I am currently writing (anons will need to be turned off here because I have to know who are you to message you)

🍑 - I’ll tell you how attractive I think you are

📖 - give me the name of a popular classic (like Wuthering Heights for example), and I’ll write an essay analysing the intricacies of it

🫕 - provide a pairing and I’ll tell you my soft domestic headcanons for them

list of welcome fandoms:

- Harry Potter

- Percy Jackson

- The Umbrella Academy

- Heathers

- Hamilton

- Sherlock

- A Series of Unfortunate Events/All The Wrong Questions

- Once Upon A Time

- Six

- Killing Stalking

- Stranger Things

- The Hunger Games

- Anastasia the Musical

- Squid Game

I’ll add more fandoms when I can think of them, but for now, this is the list of fandoms I participate in!

And remember, this is just a fun, lighthearted game I thought of, since I just reached a hundred followers and it’s my birthday tomorrow. Please be respectful, and I will be of you too! Have a lovely day everyone, and take care of yourselves! ❤️❤️❤️

@bravegryffindorlion @daughterofthedead2 @ghost-spidey @acciorxses @g1nny-p0tter @nousheen @geetikarandamgirl @femaledoubleagent @zilch-zero-nothing @ all of my mutuals

[snicketverse-fic-finder]

Hi!

This sideblog will work as a fic finder for Snicketverse fics! Describe a fic you either read before but forget the name of in the ask box or give details of things you want to read about and I will find a fic that matches the description! :) 📚

For example, you could send an ask saying ‘A hurt/comfort fic featuring Klaus’ or ‘Do you have any trans Fiona fic recs?’ or ‘All I remember is a scene where Quigley snuck in through the window’.

If I can’t find the fic myself then I’ll post the ask anyway so that other people can see and if they know the fic in question they can reblog the post with a link to the fic! :)

[littlestsnicket]

finally posting my fic for the @asoue-network raffle

for @butherlipsarenotmoving (who apparently i can’t tag?)

title: What would I do for you

word count: ~1.5k

gen; unrequited moxie/lemony

summary: Moxie Mallahan has a plan, or she is going to have a plan the moment she stops thinking about this boy. Never mind that the plan involves said boy's love interest. And it's not her.

[afterthegreatunknown]

Randomity: Handkerchief, Story-Telling, and Bootleg Turn: Not In that Order

To copy-paste most of what I wrote in my author note of Chapter 13 on AO3: This chapter has implied racism, implied period-typical racism (late 1970s/early 1980s period because I headcanon it so), and bullying (which is related to the former two). No slurs are said, but are alluded too. It's in the final section of the chapter, as Widdershins recalls his childhood, Pre-VFD.

“I think we should just go on ahead with the plan,” says Hector, tapping his finger on the hood of Rocher’s Madden impatiently. “Not only are Bernstein and your stepson running late for whatever reason, but Ella Jane is as well. She been running late for an hour and a half. The former I can understand. They must have gotten into a run-in with Alps. But not Ella Jane.”

“I think you should have more faith in Ella Jane, Hector,” says Widdershins, putting the last of the two suitcases inside the trunk. “Isn’t that right, Rocher?”

“Oh, yes,” answers Rocher softly, gripping the metal briefcase in her right hand. “The reason for Ella Jane’s delay is due to what she, Bernstein, and I discussed beforehand.”

Hector says nothing as he stops his tapping, narrowing his eyes at the metal briefcase. No doubt he’s wondering what’s the content inside. Even Widdershins has to admit he’s curious of its contents. Rocher has been carrying it tightly since nearly everyone left the row house; Ella Jane stayed behind for unknown reasons as mentioned by Rocher.

“Are you sure you don’t want to put that in the trunk?” asks Widdershins to Rocher, hands on the trunk door, ready to shut it close at any given time.

Rocher shakes her head. “If you’re thinking it’s holding something suspicious, it’s not. Well, nothing suspicious that would get us all arrested. I would rather have it within my sight. What’s inside the briefcase is important.”

“How important it is to you that you’ll not rather have it in the trunk?” asks Hector.

“Important to where she shouldn’t answer that question,” answers a familiar voice; her voice overpowers the sound of a running engine. “At least not now.”

Widdershins slams the trunk door close, and turns towards the direction of the voice. There in the distance is Ella Jane, exiting the front passenger seat of Bernstein’s retro van. Ella Jane looks similar to Rocher in appearance now. Except for the green bag hanging on Ella Jane’s shoulder, both women of same height are wearing the same orange cardigans, grey V-neck shirts, and red and black plaid pants. Ella Jane even dyed her black hair to match Rocher’s.

As Ella Jane approaches them, the differences make themselves known. Ella Jane has slightly shaper jawline and cheekbones than Rocher’s. And Rocher’s eyes are brown, while Ella Jane’s are green. Most importantly, Ella Jane’s very curvy eyebrows are still in its natural color of black. It’s curvy eyebrows that has Widdershins thinking much of childhood today.

“That explains the hold-up,” says Hector. “The plan is to mislead Alps. You’re the red herring in Bernstein’s van, while Heng drives the real Rocher in the Madden.”

“Correct, except for one detail,” answers Ella Jane. She then places a hand on Widdershins’ shoulder. “I’m going to be the red herring in the Madden.”

“You’re what.” Hector says it outright, not as a question.

“You heard me.” Ella Jane turns her attention to Widdershins now. “Bernstein will be the one driving Rocher —as well as Jules and you— in his van until we reach the abandoned Lacuna Hotel. There you’ll take over as discussed in our barter, while Bernstein drives me back so I can return with the mini-van, the triplets, and your stepdaughter.”

“I don’t like this plan,” says Hector. “What if Alps chases after you and my associate in Rocher’s Madden, instead of Bernstein’s van? I don’t want to sound rude, but—”

“Bernstein’s tin can van doesn’t look like it can withhold a car chase?” interrupts Fernald, sticking his head from back passenger seat window. “That’s the point!”

 “V never allows people drive her Madden without her in it, but she made the sole exception for Heng,” calls out Bernstein from the driver seat. “And don’t call my van a tin can, Jules.”

“Despite the fact that it is?” asks Fernald.

“Yes.”

“Alps knows I hate riding in my friend’s van,” says Rocher, walking towards Hector. “Elle Jane figured there’s a higher chance of Alps chasing my Madden, and took the risk of disguising herself as me to make that chance greater.”

“Well…” Hector briefly bites his thumb, and stares at Widdershins. “Are you okay with this?”

“Aye,” answers Widdershins. “No need to think this over. You know my philosophy, after all.”

---

“I didn’t think Alps would be chasing the Madden like a mad man!” shouts Widdershins. “Aye! I guess that’s what happens when one drives an automatic, while one drives a manual car!”

Widdershins presses down on the clutch, and moves the shift stick to a higher gear. As he makes a rather sharp right turn, Widdershins does a side glance at Ella Jane. Ella Jane is holding her right hand on the grab handle, while some of her long, dyed brownish-red hair flying out from the front passenger seat of the Madden. Ella Jane is burrowing her eyebrows.

“I didn’t think about the possibility Alps would drive his automatic,” says Ella Jane bitterly. “It may lack the speed at times, but control is much easier.”

After making the sharp right turn, Widdershins once again presses down on the clutch, and shifts to the last highest gear the Madden can provide. For a short time, this change allows the Madden to get some distance away from Alps. However, Alps eventually starts to catch up.

“Shit.” Ella Jane grips on the grab handle tighter. “At this rate, the only way we can avoid Alps is if we ignore the Lacuna completely, and find an alternate route after turning left.”

Widdershins keeps quiet as he watches a group of construction workers pouring out onto the sidewalk. They’re discussing something—probably whatever inside the nearby giant warehouse.

Widdershins continues to drive as fast as he could on the highest gear. From the corner of his eyes, he sees what’s inside the giant warehouse: a decently size semi-trailer truck. Decently size to be able to fit inside the warehouse, as well as to block up the road. In fact, the group of construction works went to their own truck, and start pulling out bright orange signs.

“I think we can avoid that option, Ella Jane! Aye! Keep your grip on the grab handle!”

“What do you mean by that?”

Widdershins passes by the construction workers. From the both the rearview mirror and driver side mirror, he sees they’re trying to figure out the placement of the signs. Also from both mirrors, is Alps gaining speed, getting yell at by the workers. One of them even flip the bird.

“Heng, you got to start preparing to change gears to make a left!”

Widdershins does as Ella Jane says. He presses down on the clutch once again, and goes to a lower gear. However, he doesn’t prepare to make a left turn. Instead, he repeats the process as fast as he could, going to another low gear, still driving straight down the lane they’re in.

“Heng! What the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to make us crash!?”

From the mirrors, the bright orange signs are now almost properly in place. Widdershins once more puts his foot down on the clutch, and goes one more down, to second gear.

“Trust me on this.”

Widdershins soon quickly turns the Madden, right into the opposite lane. In a very control skid, the Madden enters the opposite lane, completely turn around, and enters a complete stop.

“Did you just do a—”

“Bootleg turn? Aye.”

Widdershins quickly sets his foot on the gas pedal, and drives back as fast as possible on second gear. From the both mirrors, he can see Alps being force to make that complete left turn, and disappears from view. Widdershins focuses back to what’s in front of him; the last orange sign being place to warn people of the semi-trailer truck.

Widdershins goes from second gear to third gear to fourth gear in succession, and prepares to make a right turn to the Lacuna. Once more, he looks at the mirrors; Alps is following again, but the semi-trailer truck is already exiting the warehouse.

When Widdershins makes that right turn, the semi-trailer truck is blocking the road completely.

“No! No way!” Ella Jane’s voice rises in excitement. She sticks her head out fully out the front passenger window to look back. “You actually delayed the bastard with that move of yours!”

“Well—,” answers Widdershins, but stops. In his incoming view, is a dangerous amount of greenery and shrubbery of the Lacuna Hotel.

---

“I guess I should have warned you about that particular detail,” says Ella Jane, looking at all her belongings laying out on the edges of the empty Lacuna Hotel Fountain.

Widdershins recognizes Ella Jane’s cellphone and her sunglasses. He also sees two water bottles, a box of fruit-grain bars, a brown wallet, a green personal diary with a black pen, and what Widdershins suspect is a crumple, folded-up photograph.

“And of course, I didn’t bring a packet of napkins.” Ella Jane gives a heavy sigh, and touches her forehead. She then looks at her fingertips, which is slightly bloody. “Then again, I didn’t expect to get hit by a branch and leaves today.”

Widdershins keeps quiet as he quickly digs into his coat pockets. He doesn’t like to keep much on him, only things that can fit in his pockets. Widdershins is glad he has one such important thing currently on him. He thinks it will be useful for Ella Jane’s predicament.

As he grabs ahold of the soft fabric in his right pocket, Widdershins feels a cold breeze on him. It’s a breeze that soon has Ella Jane screaming.

“No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!”

Widdershins looks up at Ella Jane —green bag back on, everything that she currently has back inside— and sees the woman running after the now confirm photograph, floating and flying in the air. Every time it seems she is able to grab it, the photograph flies just slightly out of her reach. He couldn’t tell from the distance if Ella Jane is ready to cry her eyes out of anger, or out of grief. Maybe both.

“Don’t worry! Aye! I got it!”

Widdershins watches the photograph flying toward him now. He too, gives chase, and bends his knees. He then leaps up into the air, and grabs the photograph. He lands back on the ground on his two feet, though he slightly stumbles, barely landing straight.

Widdershins couldn’t help but look down and stare at the photograph. Despite it being faded with age and crumpled and folded so many times —the person in the photograph looks like he could be wearing a mask— Widdershins can make out some details. The photograph is of a man in his late-thirties or very early forties. The man is smiling a smile that has one meaning, kindness. The man also shares features belonging to Ella Jane herself: black hair, green eyes, and curvy eyebrows.

He is taken back when Ella Jane quickly snatches the photograph away, narrowing her eyes at him. The blood on her forehead is starting to trickle down.

“Sorry,” says Widdershins, once again digging into his right coat pocket. “I didn’t mean to look.”

“Apology accepted,” replies Ella Jane briskly, her tone clearly not really that apologetic. “Why are digging into your pocket for, Heng? You have a small first-aid kit in there?”

“No. I just have this old thing.” Widdershins pulls out a dull white handkerchief with ‘A.F.’ stitch onto it in a dark green thread. It gently moves from the still ongoing breeze. It doesn’t fly away, because he’s keeping a good hold on it.

Ella Jane, still narrowing her eyes, focus her glaze intensely on the handkerchief. She slowly folds up the photograph, and carefully places it into her plaid pants.

“That handkerchief… Why do you—” and here Ella Jane stops herself. She tucks back a strand of her long, dyed brownish-red hair behind her right ear, and continues. “What’s with the initials embroidered on it? That can’t possibly be yours.”

“Not initially,” answers Widdershins softly. “I got this as a kid. It’s a gift in fact, aye. But I doubt you want to hear the full story. Most people I told it to don’t find it very interesting.”

“Well, I find it interesting.” Ella Jane stops narrowing her eyes at him. She stares at him with somewhat wide eyes. “If you got it as a child, and held onto it since…well, I can say that it’s a story that has me wanting to hear more about. If that’s alright with you.”

Widdershins stays quiet as he stares at the handkerchief, and then back at Ella Jane. “Let’s go back to the fountain. Aye, I’m a bit tired from all this standing around.”

Upon their return to the Lacuna Hotel Fountain, the two of them sits down at the fountain edges. Widdershins stares inside the empty fountain. He sees the dead brown leaves and coins inside, all forgotten. He then clears his throat and asks, ““Have you ever heard of Killdeer Fields?”

“I’m familiar with it,” answers Ella Jane, almost coldly. “It was a poor town that got flooded on orders of the second CEO of Ink Inc. —Ignatius Knight —to save his livelihood and the place he once called home. Hundreds of people and animals lost their lives and their home to it.”

“Well,” continues Widdershins, turning his attention to Ella Jane now, “my story takes place before that. Aye, Killdeer Fields was one of the several places to become home to overseas war refugees from the Southeast Asia region. Mainly war refugees from Vietnam, Laos—”

“And Cambodia,” says Ella Jane.

“Aye,” says Widdershins. He then curls the end of his mustache with his right hand. “To live in these places, you have to be on a sponsorship. My ma and I were two of the lucky ones to get them. Our sponsorship landed us in Killdeer Fields, aye. Ma got a job at Killdeer Textile Factory, and I got an education at Killdeer Elementary School.”

Widdershins looks back down at the handkerchief in his other hand. “I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not the most likable person. I get insulted to my face or behind my back, for all the right reasons. Some insult me with a nickname once used for someone else. But back then? It was for all the wrong reasons. A good chunk of the kids at Killdeer Elementary insulted me in ways I never want to hear again. And the school staff turned a blind eye to it, because it wasn’t physical. I wasn’t hurt in their perspective. But one day…”

Ella Jane leans forward, and frowns. “It got physical.”

Widdershins stops curling his mustache. “Bruise eye, bloody nose. It was after school hours too. If someone in the staff actually wanted to do something about it, they couldn’t. I ran to one of the bathrooms to clean up. As I was running, someone saw me. Not a classmate, because we didn’t share a class. We only saw each other at lunch time. The student was a girl. She had black hair in two braids, greens eyes, and curvy eyebrows. Eyebrows that look similar to yours.”

Ella Jane stays quiet. The blood is still continuing to trickle down her face.

“Anyway, she somehow got inside the bathroom. No idea how. Maybe she teleported inside, or came from the bathroom window,” chuckles Widdershins. He carefully gives Ella Jane the handkerchief, his hands touching hers. Her hands unlike his, are warm.

“She gave this to me so I can clean my bloody nose,” he continues. “I thought it too pretty, and tried to give it back. The girl then told me it’s mine to keep. She said her father talked to my ma a few times, and that I can think of the handkerchief as a late-welcoming gift. Then she left.”

Widdershins quickly pulls his hands away from Ella Jane, and then stands up. He then readjusts his coat, and clears his throat once again. “Regarding the initials, I think the handkerchief was her father’s! Aye! It makes sense! No doubt he gave something for his daughter in case she needs it! Aye! And she gave it to a person who needed it more than her! Aye! Didn’t think it would be me! I don’t deserve it, in my opinion! Aye! But I’m grateful for her kind gesture! Aye! Kept it on me since that day! Aye! Until now! Because I’m giving it to you! Er…”

He slowly turns back to Ella Jane, who now has a small smile forming on her face. Widdershins hunches back a bit, and sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. “If that’s alright with you?”

“Oh, yes,” answers Ella Jane, her small smile becomes bigger. It’s a smile that Widdershins likes very much. Despite being warned of certain smiles by associates, Widdershins thinks Ella Jane’s smile isn’t one to be wary of. “Thank you, Heng. Not just for the handkerchief, but for the story as well. I needed to hear your story after what happened today.”

“You’re welcome.” Widdershins stops his hunching, and stands straight. He then sticks both hands into his coat pockets. “If you don’t mind, it is okay for me to leave you alone, and explore the area a bit? I heard the Lacuna back in its prime had a wonderful aquarium. I would love to see it, even if it empty and in ruins.”

“It’s fine. I need to clean myself up, anyway,” says Ella Jane, pointing to the blood stream trickling down to her cheek now. “Just come back soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

Widdershins turns on his heels, and soon walks to the abandoned Lacuna Hotel. As he pushes the glass doors, he’s glad to know that Ella Jane feels better. No doubt that his former classmate would appreciate that her kindness made another person’s day.