#aunt mathilda

[aaandbackstabbed]

Goldie, about the twins: they’re six. They can take the subway.

Mathilda: Goldie, that’s crazy. They’re babies. Hortense, just call them a taxi

[blossomarlia]

A Quiet Escape

you find your introverted boyfriend, remus, hiding from a party.

remus x fem!reader

warnings: none!

Remus is hiding around the shady side of Lily and James’ house, expression guilty the moment he sees you. 

You beam reassuringly. “Hiya.” 

“Hey- I’m sorry,” He says. You cock your head; he’s always so adamant that you not apologise, it’s amusing when he falls into the trap himself. Before you can call him out on it, he continues, “Warranted apology, sweetheart. I was being plagued by Peter’s aunt Mathilda and I abandoned you completely.”

“It’s alright, Remus,” You step forwards, hands behind our back. A perk of having a boyfriend who sneaks off during garden parties to escape the crowd is the joy of finding him in private places like this. You’d used to worry that you were intruding, only he’d assured you that your presence is one of the select few he’s not avoiding. “I’ve been having a lovely time discussing how to get the most out of a lemon tree with Mr Evans.”

Remus smiles fondly, meeting you in the middle and wrapping his arms around your waist. “Have you?” “M-hm.”

“Darling girl, we don’t have a lemon tree. Do you think we ought to get one?” You think for a moment. Remus watches your expression, wishing he had a photograph of you in this (and every) moment, all sunkissed and happy. “I don’t think so,” You decide. “We haven’t the space and if we did, neither of us like lemons enough to find a whole tree useful.”

“Probably true.” You stand on your tip-toes to kiss him, hands laced around the back of Remus’ neck. He presses his hand affectionately to your cheeks- the skin there is still warm. “Are you burnt?”

“Not terribly,” You admit, smiling guiltily at his raised eyebrows. “The sun’s not nearly so fierce anymore. I have aloe vera in the glovebox of your car, we can get it if you’re ready to head home.”

Remus laughs softly, more out of affection than anything. He’d want you forever in the summer, warm and tasting of fruit punch, if you weren’t equally lovely in the wintertime when he can dress you in his jumpers and share hot chocolates. 

“I don’t want to pull you away from the party,” He says. It’s not the whole truth; if he could take you home this moment and kiss you more than would be appropriate down the side of his best friends’ house, he would, but you’re so outgoing and he’d hate to cut your day short. 

“Plenty of people are leaving,” You assure him, as if you can read his mind. He wouldn’t put it past you. “We won’t be hurting any feelings. You’ve valiantly made it through six entire hours, I’m very impressed.”

Remus doesn’t feel very valiant, tempted as he is by the thought of a book on the sofa with your feet in his lap. He hates the idea that he’s dulling your happiest moments for you, irritated by even the dearest of his friends far more quickly than you are. You’re really the only person who has the opposite effect; he can’t seem to be around you enough, even when you’re right in front of him.

“I’ll find a way to help inside.” “No, don’t,” You shake your head. “I’m happy to head off. Just give me a moment to say goodbye?”

You’re so sweet that Remus has to press another kiss to your soft lips, knowing he has at least another half-hour before you’re finished bidding farewell to the small crowd on the lawn and not minding in the least. “Of course, lovely girl.”

“Thanks, lovely boy,” You laugh softly, mirroring his gentle tone and holding his face tenderly in both hands. “I’m excited to tell you the gossip I learned.”

He raises his eyebrows, intrigued. As little as Remus enjoys having the conversations wherein he would learn gossip for more than a few minutes every few weeks, he very much likes hearing you relaying news from your group of friends to him in front of the telly. 

“I’ll meet you by the car,” He says, reluctantly letting go of you. You smile. 

“See you then, handsome.” 

[whoopsyeahokay]

October Sun

summary: Simon hadn't planned on committing expulsion-worthy crime at 10am on a Thursday. In fact, he hadn't planned on committing expulsion-worthy crime ever. In his defense, though, his best friend's ghost had been emphatic about getting into Mr. Anderson's phone, and it'd been the only course of action he could think of to prove she could rely on him. Simon had regretted it as soon as it'd happened. Fuck my life, I guess.

pairing: Wally Clark x fem!reader

warnings: panic attacks. eventual smutty smut smut. and mad spoilers. and obvious Canon divergence. very involved, very dense plot.

bon reading, frens

___________________________💀

OCTOBER SUN pt.17

Simon found you at your locker at the tail-end of lunch, trading sketchbooks for your copy of Frankenstein and your English binder. Mathilda stood beside you, merrily outlining her upcoming interview with an administrator from some posh, East Coast art academy.

You smiled and nodded in the appropriate places; giggled when Mathilda commented on something Hana had said at lunch. However, Simon noted, you weren't offering a lot in the way of conversation.

Mathilda clocked Simon first, lengthened her short frame as much as she could—spine straight, shoulders back, chin up—and leveled him with a look that could boil water. It took him a second to remember they shared History. That she'd been in Ms. Fields' class when Simon had accused Xavier of hurting Maddie and had forced the contents of Xavier's backpack to spill in front of an audience.

He wanted to pretend her hostility toward him didn't sting—because it didn't, right? They weren't friends. Mathilda hadn't shown anything but superficial interest in him since Xavier and Maddie became XavierandMaddie. To her, Simon was Maddie's plus-one. The guy Maddie took everywhere she went. Linus' security blanket in human form.

Of course, that reality only existed if Simon completely disregarded that it'd been Mathilda who'd always asked after Simon; had extended every invitation to join them for group events. She'd driven Simon home on multiple occasions, even when it'd made more sense that Hana and Lucas would have since they shared a neighborhood.

Shit, maybe he and Mathilda were friends? He'd never considered it before. How you and Mathilda and—aw crap that's right: Eli—had made significant efforts to get to know Simon. Had welcomed him into the fold of pre-established friendship and encouraged him to carve out his own place within it.

And to show his appreciation, Simon had lunged after Xavier like a vendetta with claws.

Simon waved at Mathilda weakly, eyes darting away from hers when she doubled down and fiercened her glower. Despite his height advantage, Simon considered running to the Philippines to stay with his aunt. He'd request a room with reinforced steel walls and a couple of security guards outside the door, just in case.

Did Mathilda have her passport? He should ask.

"I'm gonna head to Media," Mathilda announced before you were even aware of Simon's presence. "I'll see you in Bio." She flipped her long, purple-black hair, deliberately whipping Simon in the face with the ends as she swanned by.

"Later gator," You replied, offhand, shutting your locker and, "Oh, hey," catching Simon as he slunk into the space Mathilda had vacanted.

Simon watched Mathilda warily until she disappeared into the stream of students. Partly because he felt a weird kind of fucked up for not having sooner recognized the olive branch of friendship Mathilda had been brandishing, but mostly because he was batshit terrified she'd reappear just to punch him in the nuts.

Needing a second opinion, he blurted, "Are Mathilda and I friends?"

You startled, spluttering around an answer before reminding him, "Didn't you go with her and Eli to Comiccon when everyone else bailed?"

Holy shit. With everything going on, Simon had genuinely forgotten about that adventure. Xavier was 'too cool'. Maddie and Nicole hadn't been interested, you'd been visiting your dad in England and, well, he didn't know why Hana and Lucas had backed out, but Simon had been given Lucas' ticket. Told to treat it like a months-late birthday present.

Mathilda knew when his birthday was.

Simon groaned and hit the back of his head on the locker he leaned against. "I fucked up."

"You really didn't think she thought of you as her friend?"

"No comment." Simon pinched the bridge of his nose. Watched stars explode behind his eyes when he rubbed his lids with the pads of his thumb and forefinger.

After a short lull, you asked, "You know we're friends, right?"

"Yes?" Simon replied, the upward lilt of punctuation prompting a sour expression to your face.

"You're an idiot."

Simon readjusted so he was tilted on his shoulder, putting every ounce of apology he had in him behind his next words, "I'm sorry. I just...I figured you guys let me hang out because Maddie and I are a package deal."

Were, a voice not unlike Maddie's unhelpfully corrected, we were a package deal.

"I repeat: You're an idiot." But you said it with humor, giving Simon a crooked smile and a harmless whack to the arm. "Look, none of us pretend we're as close to you as you are to Maddie, but, Si, that doesn't mean we wouldn't help you hide a—" Body.

Simon saw the instant your brain caught up to your mouth and suddenly you curled into yourself; crossed your arms and ducked your chin into your chest.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Hey, it's okay." For the first time in a long time (perhaps the first time ever), Simon reached out to you, put a hand on your shoulder, and squeezed. "I get it." Quiet, touched, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. And don't worry," You assured him, "Tilly won't hold it against you forever. Once we expose Mr. A and clear Xavier's name, she'll forget what you did to him."

"If you say so," Simon muttered. Belatedly, he registered, "Mr. A?" He hadn't heard anyone refer to Mr. Anderson as Mr. A and, as far as he knew, the only teachers to earn a friendly nickname from their senior classmates were Mrs. Bloom, the Drama teacher, and Mr. Fitzgerald, the band director. Bloomageddon and Fitz-G respectively.

You carried on as if Simon hadn't said anything, "Speaking of clearing Zav's name, I have an idea. But we'll have to do it after school when he's busy with Booster Club."

Simon remembered then why he'd sought you out, shifting to curl a hand around the phone in his sweater pocket.

"His fingerprints have to be all over that money," You explained in a stage whisper, "If we can get it to the police, they'll have to arrest him." You nudged closer when Simon didn't say anything, somehow reading him like a picture book, "Or...you have a different plan?"

Taking a fortifying breath, Simon volunteered, "I'm gonna show you something, and you can't freak out."

Dubious, "Oh-kay~."

He leaned closer, gently turned you so there was a little cave of privacy between both your bodies and the lockers. You glanced around, checking for possible eavesdroppers, before giving Simon your full attention and, damn, being on the receiving end made Simon's pulse quicken a little.

He shoved the thought aside before it could gain any ground, unwilling to make room within himself for anything that didn't directly impact locating Maddie's body.

"You can trust me, Simon."

"I know," He said, though he still needed a moment to build the confidence to show you what he'd done.

Although you'd already proven you were in this with him, willing to drown in the same dark pool of questions to resolve Maddie's murder. Although you'd obviously spent time and energy constructing a plan that, upon hearing it, Simon had to concede was a lot smarter than what he'd done. Although you'd admitted you and he were friends and you'd help him cover up a crime at the drop of a hat...

Simon was scared. Scared that he'd done the wrong thing; that he'd get expelled; that he'd hallucinated his best friend and had stolen someone's property because, oh fuck, he had a brain tumor or dormant schizophrenia or—

"Breathe." You ordered, hand flattened over Simon's heart, taking long, deep breaths of your own for Simon to mimic.

And, oh God, you'd lifted his hand from his pocket as he'd been spiraling, pressed it to your chest so he could feel the steadiness of your heartbeat under his palm. Placed safely above inappropriate, warm skin and hard bone, rising and falling slowly as you talked in a calming rhythm.

He sucked in a shuddery breath, then another, and another, lungs finally expanding to accommodate the air he so desperately needed. It took another minute for the spots in his vision to recede, another minute after that for embarrassment to flush under his skin like a sunburn.

"Sorry." He gasped, taking his hand back and returning it to his pocket. "I..."

"Stop thinking, Simon." You said in an aloe-vera tone, the sound of it cooling the hot prickle of humiliation before it calcified. "Are you okay?"

You'd asked him that almost every day since the APEX. Hell, just last night you'd made sure he was okay to drive home after your sister had called you in for dinner.

"Yeah." He said, not sure how much he meant it, but decidedly averse to unpacking his trauma in a semi-crowded hallway. "Thanks for..." What? "For that." He ended lamely and cast his gaze to his feet.

With a distinct note of sadness, you admitted, "Xavier spent a year helping me...breathe."

And Simon was grateful that you phrased it that way, suddenly drained and unable to receive another frank overture of support.

"So, what am I not freaking out about?"

Simon could kiss you, seriously. "Right, yeah." He made sure no one was watching when he pulled out Mr. Anderson's phone and held it between you and him.

You raised an eyebrow, "You want me not to freak out about your phone?"

"Not mine," Simon murmured, "Mr. Anderson's. I grabbed it off his desk this morning."

Without missing a beat, "Is it locked?"

Simon almost did kiss you then, a fizzy cocktail of so damn grateful and so damn pleased that you didn't immediately chew his head off and spit it out in front of Principal Hartman.

"Yeah. And I don't have the code. But if we can find out who he was talking to last night—"

"—We might find out what happened to Maddie." You finished, nodding like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Alright. I bet there's a YouTube tutorial for hacking into phones." Simon hadn't thought of that.

"I'll look into it. I've got a free period 'til sixth, I'll see what I can find."

"Good." You stared at the phone, eyes narrowing, "You turned it off, right?"

"No..?" Simon said as he stuffed the phone back in his pocket.

Alarmed, "Simon, if he has that Find My Phone app, he's going to catch you! You could get expelled! You need to turn it off now!"

That was another excellent point Simon hadn't thought of.

"Alright, I read you loud and clear, Major Tom, I'm turning it off." He appeased and pulled the phone out again.

"I swear to God, Simon, if you get expelled and leave me alone in this giant pile of shit, I'm gonna end up going after him with a—" You stopped before you revealed what manner of weapon you'd use, diverting yourself to, "With the threat of bodily harm."

Simon looked you up and down, uncertain how effective that would be.

"Fine." You yielded, "I'd sic Tilly on him."

Simon snorted, the image as horrifying as it was awesome. He briefly wondered if you and he shouldn't recruit Mathilda to the investigation. She was tenacious and clever and probably knew a thing or two since her mother was a big-shot lawyer who commuted to the city every morning to prosecute criminals.

"Why wasn't that our first plan?" He joked and then returned his attention to the phone.

Just as he was about to press the button to turn the damn thing off, a throat cleared behind him, followed by an unsettlingly pacified voice.

"Simon Elroy?"

Ms. Chung. The grief counselor.

Fuck his whole life, front to back.

He quickly hid the phone in his pocket and spun around, forgot that you and he had been stood particularly close until he heard you grunt, his backpack knocking you in the chest.

"Um, yes?" He answered politely while inside he cursed that he couldn't plead for you not to leave him alone with her.

"Can I have a word, please?" Ms. Chung asked, the inferred privately directed over his shoulder at you. Her open expression didn't falter, even as Simon began to stumble over a half-baked excuse. "This will only take a moment," She assured and took a meaningful step closer.

You came around and bumped Simon's shoulder with yours. Friendly, casual, except that your gaze was fixed on Ms. Chung. Something unpleasant churned beneath the public face of respect you gave her, and if Simon didn't know better, he'd think she'd committed some sort of offense against you.

Ms. Chung, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed, returning your odd standoffishness with a serene, Woodstock smile.

Had you already been to see her?

At last, "I'll see you in Psych," you said and excused yourself, leaving Simon woefully alone for Ms. Chung to poke, prod, pry his feelings out of him one by one.

It was fine. He was fine. He'd let her say her piece, tell her what she wanted to hear to get her off his back and be on his way.

Ms. Chung's eyes glittered and her smile grew teeth.

Simon audibly gulped.

💀___________________________

PART SIXTEEN - PART EIGHTEEN

also available on AO3!

MASTERLIST

[foundtherightwords]

As the Sun Will Rise - Epilogue

Pairing: Grunauer (Overlord) x OFC, Beauty & the Beast retelling

Summary: After losing most of his unit in a disastrous D-Day mission, Derwin Grunauer returns to his hometown near Miami, body riddled with scars and heart heavy with guilt, only to find his neighbors shunning him due to his German name. He retreats into his family mansion and remains there, unwilling to rejoin the living, until the day Alba Reyes turns up at his door with a basket full of warm bread. As the daughter of a Cuban immigrant, Alba knows something of being an outsider, and when she offers to work for Derwin as his housekeeper, it is not only to pay off her father's debt to the Grunauers, but also because she feels some connection to the reclusive young man. When that connection develops into something more, they must overcome both the town's prejudice and their own doubts to find happiness.

Chapter warnings: none

Chapter word count: 1.5k

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19 - Chapter 20

Epilogue

1968

"Dad, can we go now?" Mattie whined from her perch on the sofa's armrest. They were in the living room. Mattie had been playing on the rug with their dog Sultan, but she soon got tired of it and went to bother her father instead.

"We're waiting for Mom," Derwin said.

"But she's been on the phone for hours," Mattie said, drawing out the last syllable with all the impatience and frustration of a ten-year-old. "Grandpa and Aunt Bea and Uncle Frank are gonna think we've gotten into some horrible accident." She jumped down from the chair. "Maybe she's forgotten. Let me go get her."

Derwin looked up from his book and regarded his daughter. She had, like all three of their children, inherited their mother's dark hair and his brown eyes, though there was a trace of green in Mattie's eyes that reminded him of Alba's. "Mathilda," he said sternly. "Don't disturb your mom. You know how important this is to her."

Mattie slumped back in her chair. "OK," she said reluctantly, but with sincerity. They all knew how important this project was to Alba. Her whole life's work had led up to this.

Twenty years ago, when he asked her to marry him, Derwin had told Alba that he didn't want her to have to choose between having a career and having a family, and he had kept his word. After getting married in late 1948, they had both enrolled in the University of Miami, she to study biology and he to finish his degree in literature. It had taken them a long time, between studying, working, and raising three children, but eventually they'd graduated and found jobs in their respective fields.

Alba's job as a wetland specialist had taken her all over the country. And while she tried to save every piece of wetland from the salt marshes of the West Coast to the freshwater bogs of the East, from the largest swamps of the South to the smallest mudflats of the North, Derwin had been happy to stay home with the children. He knew it raised some eyebrows, but he had learned, a long time ago, not to care what people thought of him. Alba had taught him that. Besides, staying home had allowed him to focus on his teaching at the University and his poetry, as the four collections of poems he'd published—the one he wrote for Alba, published while he was still in school, and three more after that—could attest.

Anyone who doubted how they managed to raise a family with two working parents only had to look at their children, all well-behaved and ambitious in their own way. Raf, their eldest, a senior in high school, had gotten an internship at Cape Canaveral for the summer. Will had taken after his namesake, Grandfather Wilhelm, and was already eyeing the zoology program at the University. It was true that Mattie, as the youngest, was spoiled rotten by her father as well as her older brothers, but as she was the one who showed a penchant for poetry and literature, Derwin thought some indulgence on his part was allowed.

It was true that they also got a lot of help from Alba's family and friends. Beatriz and Frank had two girls of their own, and together with Claudia and Marty, they had always been eager to lend a hand whenever Alba and Derwin needed. Mauricio had kept his promise. Once he'd agreed to modernize the bakery, it had quickly turned a profit, allowing him to pay off the debt within a year, and by the time Beatriz and Frank were married, Mauricio had been able to purchase the building from Derwin. Throughout the years, the neighborhood had changed, people and shops moved away, but La Perla del la Sur remained a staple of Cypress Grove. Even though Beatriz and Frank had realized Mauricio's dream of opening a bigger branch in South Beach, the old man still lived there and ran the original bakery.

In fact, it was Beatriz and Frank who suggested that they hosted a dinner to celebrate Derwin and Alba's 20th wedding anniversary at the old bakery, because Alba had been so wrapped up in her latest project to think much about anything. After twenty years, the thing she feared the most had finally happened—an airport was being built right next door to them, just a few miles north of the Everglades. For months, Alba and her colleagues had heard about the plan for a supersonic jetport near the area and had tried to fight it in vain. When construction began, Alba had broken down in Derwin's arms and cried as he'd never seen her cry before. It had torn his heart apart, not being able to do or say anything to help her. But Alba, resilient as ever, had rallied again.

"Who knows Gastin Grant could actually predict the future, right?" she'd said, smiling through her tears. "He must be patting himself on the back right now."

"He won't," Derwin had told her. "You won't let him win. You didn't let him win before, and you won't now. I know you can do it."

She had given him a grateful smile and gotten to work, putting together a campaign to halt construction. Now Alba was waiting for news from the Department of Interior to see if their efforts had paid off or not.

The door to the study opened. Mattie and Derwin both looked up, and Derwin saw his own feelings reflected on his daughter's face, which was brightening as if by magic as Alba stepped into the living room. Sultan, who had inherited his love for Alba from his grandfather Otto, also ran over to greet her.

"Mom!" Mattie exclaimed, launching herself into Alba's arms. Although Mattie was too big now, Alba still picked her up like she was a baby. "You're making us late," Mattie said reproachfully.

"I'm sorry, cariña," Alba said. She staggered a little under Mattie's weight and laughed. "I'm ready now."

"Great! I'll go get Raf and Will." Mattie wriggled down and ran off, taking Sultan with her.

Derwin took Alba's laugh to be a good sign. She still looked worn and tired, with dark circles under her eyes, but she seemed more hopeful than she had in weeks. "Well?" he asked.

"We got the go-ahead to form a committee," she said. "Headed by Dr. Leopold. To research potential impacts of the jetport on the environment."

Derwin squeezed her hand with a triumphant smile. "See? I told you, you can do it."

"I'm not banking on that just yet. They may disregard our report altogether. And this should have been done long before construction even began. It may already be too late..."

"No, don't talk like that." Derwin took Alba's hand, drew her down on his lap, and ran his lips over her hair. "We can't all afford to go live in the woods like Henry David Thoreau, remember? You want to be practical. And this is a practical step."

Alba put her head on his shoulder. "You're right," she said, smiling tiredly. "You always are." She sat up. "I think we should get going, before Papi put out a search warrant."

"Hang on a minute." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin box. Alba had given him his present earlier that day, a tiepin set with an emerald that reminded him of her eyes, so now it was his turn. "Happy anniversary, Herzchen."

With an excited smile, she opened the box to reveal a delicate gold necklace with a pendant shaped like a frangipani flower. "Oh, cariño," she breathed out. "It's gorgeous."

She lifted her hair so he could put the necklace on for her. He happily obliged, letting his hand linger on her neck for a moment, before leaning down to kiss her shoulder and the nape of her neck. Twenty years and three kids, and for all the gray hairs and the wrinkles, and to him, she was still as beautiful as the day they met.

Alba fingered the pendant for a moment and twisted around to kiss him back. "Where are the kids?" she asked, when they finally broke apart.

"Getting our present, no doubt."

"They got us a present?"

"It's supposed to be a secret. They don't know I knew. So remember to act surprised, OK?" He grinned conspiratorially, and she grinned back.

"What is it?"

"A weekend trip to the Everglades, all expenses paid."

Alba looked dismayed. "But I'm going there next week with the committee anyway!"

"I know, but this is to relax, not to work. And who knows, if you see it from a tourist's point of view, maybe you'll find new ways to protect it too. Promise you'll act surprised?"

A teasing smile crept over Alba's lips. "If you promise to be careful on the boat this time."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault! You were putting your hands on me—"

"I seem to remember that you had your hands on me as well. Like this—"

"Shh. The kids are coming."

"Oh, they won't hear anything..."

And laughing, they left the room together, hand in hand.

THE END

The construction of the Everglades Jetport began in 1968, and after the environmental report was submitted, the project was abandoned in 1970. You can read more about it here. I came across it when I was doing research for this fic, and while I already wove it into with Grant's scheme, I thought it would be fun to feature the real-life case as well and use it as an excuse to show how Alba and Derwin's life turned out.

And yes, Sultan is the name of the little footstool/dog in "Beauty and the Beast".

Thank you for following along with this story. I never thought a character with 2 minutes of screen time and a handful of lines would result in what is my longest fic to date, and I hope you've had as much fun reading it as I had writing it!

Taglist: @kitkat80, @hahahafucku

[christinesficrecs]

Lost fics. Any help would be appreciated! ❤️

...

Hi! I'm looking for a fic that was based on Léon The Professional, though Stiles was older than Mathilda. Derek was the hitman, and Stiles's family had been murdered. If I remember correctly, Isaac and Scott had been his little brothers.

Would you be able to put your finger on this fic? "stiles has magic and he made a deal with a powerful witch to protect beacon hills, but it supposedly took away his love for derek in the process (or maybe Derek made the deal), except that he's growing a garden to break the spell" My google-fu is failing me. I know I've read it before, but going through my history is a month-long endeavor! I think Derek is a deputy and he keeps running into Stiles and it's not clear what has happened between them at first. I think Stiles is referred to as a hedge witch at some point? que tu m’aimais encore by magneticwave | 19.9K Wolves mate for life, don’t they?

I think this fic has been deleted off ao3 and I'm very sad. De-aged Derek. He and Stiles become a couple. Stiles ends up a human alpha of the entire pack. (TBH it's rather porny and there's voyeur/exhibition) and there's a lake house or beach house. Eventually Derek goes back to regular Derek.

Hi! Bit of a long one: there's this fanfic that is uncompleted, where Stiles was in the Hale House when he saw a crystal ball (??) on the floor, got down low to grab it and fell through the floor, waking up in the past. He met teenage Derek in a diner with Laura, started talking to them, and decided to protect Derek from Kate before he ever met her. Derek is a lifeguard at the lake where Stiles goes to monitor him and there was a scene where Derek lapped the lake to impress Stiles. Stiles also squats in the Stilinski House to survive and Sheriff doesn't know who he is. Do you know the fic? I've been looking for it for forever

Hi! I have been trying to find a teen wolf and marvel cross over fic. It’s where I believ Tony stark and Claudia where best friend growing up and fell in love. And then she gets pregnant with his baby(aka stiles). Stiles finds out from a bunch of letters but keeps it to himself until I believe Tony get captured and goes missing for months.( iron man 1). Then he goes into a depression and won’t eat or anything until the day Tony is found. Also involves when aliens attack and stiles freaks out again and makes it his mission to go to New York and meet him. Hidden Truths by Harmonious113 | 212.4K | WIP Claudia Stilinkski always did her best to hide the truth from her family-her past, her family, the boy she couldn’t quite seem to let go of- to spare John and Stiles from the heartbreak. Stiles finds a trunk of letters and pictures unearthing the truth. His father is Tony Stark.

It was a Teen Wolf Sterek fic, an au with magic. Claudia either adopted stiles or was his bio mom and pretended to adopt him, but stiles had a familiar who constantly turned into dead grotesque bodies and the only person who accepted them fully (and laughed at the familiar being gruesome) was laura. laura dies somehow and derek comes in. I think laura and stiles were partners for the magic things law enforcement? I remember that they thought stiles might have killed laura/tried to pin it on him, but after lauras death derek takes over as stiles' partner. I remember one scene with lydia and maybe heather and stiles with candles? I'm pretty sure both lyds and stiles lived with claudia. by the end of the fic the familiar sacrifices itself to save stiles and his friends from the argents, and I'm pretty sure there's a scene where ally defects from her aunt/grandpa. (There's) Sulphur in Our Blood by WonderWolf | 210.9K | Explicit | WIP Secret Agent AU where Derek blames Stiles for his sister’s death and Stiles is pretty sure that Derek’s going to murder him. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, Stiles’ familiar keeps having public breakdowns

Hi Team! Hoping the community can come through on finding two fics... First one - Stiles gets a stressful job in IT (poss in San Fran?) and starts hallucinating rich Derek drinking posh coffee in NYC. After several hallucinations of Derek being all "you really need a new job," it turns out that Derek is real, is an alpha, and Stiles is fated to be his emissary. The Sun to Rise by andavs | 7.5K Stiles has an imaginary friend. He's kind of a dick.

Second one - (which may have been deleted from AO3) is a canon divergent S1 AU. It hits the beats of S1 but instead Scott doesn't hesitate when Derek offers him the chance to kill Peter and possibly reverse the bite. Scott kills Peter and is human again. The main thing I remember is after the fact, Stiles visits Derek at the burned down Hale house and says something like "it's like none of it really happened." And Derek levels him with a sour wolf look and says "it happened." Timshel by jsea | 12.5K Derek lets Scott kill Peter for the cure at the end of S1. This is the story of how that choice changes everyone's fate. "Sir, you should know..." Derek starts to say, then snaps his mouth closed when the Sheriff takes one hand off the steering wheel, and holds it up in a halting gesture. "You're not a bad kid, Derek." "I'm a werewolf," Derek says, before he can think about it. For the first time in his life the word feels dirty, like something to be ashamed of. It makes him feel like a little kid again, using a curse word without understanding what it means.

I can't remember if it was a steter or sterek fic. It's a short humourous fic where Stiles has an injury but he was adamant that bandaids could fix it and it was at least a six inch long-ass gash or something. If this sounds familiar to anyone? Thanks!

Looking for a fic where I don’t remember much just Isaac coming home to Derek trashing the loft and saying something like “I just saw stiles, he reeks of sex” then it cut scene to something else. I don’t think it was a king fic but I could be wrong. Thank you so much in advance Noticed by forestofbabel | 35.1K Stiles left on a Tuesday. Nobody Noticed.

[murfpersonalblog]

Claudia's Celebration of Life: Spark in the Dark - Hobbies

As the title suggests, this event is to celebrate the wonderful Claudia; her personality, her aspirations, her journey. The heart for the past two seasons of AMC Interview with The Vampire. This is to take the narrative back to her, proving she's not just a shingle roof for us. 1. Aug 11th & 12th: Hobbies

For the Hobbies prompt, my brain immediately went to book!Claudia, where we know she initially loved playing with porcelain dolls. The only time we see AMC!Claudia with a doll, however, it's a voodoo doll.

This short but sweet scene is a stark demonstration of power; of how vampires are removed from (and even above) the practices & beliefs of mortals. Claudia takes the magical weapon and treats it as nothing more than a child's toy to be cooed over, dismissing any threat the terrified NOLA locals have of the "Weird Brothers and their child bride" who haven't aged in 30+ years.

When Loustat Turned her, we get to see the bedroom they give her; a confectionery dream. But I laughed out loud when I noticed this:

That tiny AF rocking horse is LITERALLY for toddlers--a FIVE year old, like she was in the books. Claudia's waaaay too big to get anything out of that rocking horse--a Hobby Horse would've been a far better purchase! (Which just goes to show Loustat was so hyperfocused on having a child that they infantalized her from the offset.)

Otherwise, AMC!Claudia never expressed the slightest interest in toys--which might make sense at face value, but I doubt this had anything to do with her being aged up. (I played with dolls at 14--I still play with digital dolls in video games like The Sims.) Instead, I reckon it has more to do with AMC!Claudia growing up in what was clearly an abusive & neglectful home, where luxuries like toys were unavailable.

I got James & the Giant Peach / Harry Potter / Mathilda vibes. I bet toys weren't on the list of things her mean aunt & reluctant caretaker would've bothered wasting what little money they obviously had on Claudia's hobbies. Whatever Claudia would've done to amuse herself would've had to require her imagination; repurposed from things already around her, or found in nature. And we see that when Louis takes her fishing--Claudia takes obvious delight in catching fireflies.

Claudia also obviously loved to dance (like Louis) and sing (like Lestat); which we see in NOLA and ofc in Paris, when she falls immediately in love with the Theatre; and even seemed to have some fun with the Baby LouLou performance (until the novelty wore off).

She also clearly shared Loustat's love of cinema--again factoring into the Theatre's appeal.

IDK if Claudia enjoyed the lessons Les taught her, or if she just used them as a means to an end--especially since we don't see her playing piano or chess (or even driving) after NOLA. (It couldn't've been that with Les gone, Claudia had no one to play with, since pianos & chess can obvs be played solo). Were those pastimes soured/ruined cuz of their association with Les? Was she never really interested in them to start? Regardless, she was great at it, especially chess.

In this same convo, we see Claudia painting/drawing on a tiny easel. And we know she drew a lot in the books/film, too (inc. the nude bodies of her female victims, and everywhere she & Lou traveled).

So she's clearly artistic in other ways outside of performance. Too bad we didn't see Lou take her to the Louvre--she seemed to enjoy listening to him talk/brag about hanging out with Paris' artist circles.

Ofc, there's also her diaries. Claudia was obviously literate when Loustat met her (well b4 she ran away & hid on college campuses); and she leapt on the chance to keep a diary like a fish to water. Diaries were her constant companions, up until she met Madeleine, and finally had a kindred spirit to talk to; closer than Lou.

We don't know what Claudeleine would've talked about, but we see her interest in literature, especially fiction, and her indifference to philosophy, giving us an idea of the topics she'd've been interested in.

And ofc, Claudia was an exemplary predator, who felt "vampire pride," and loved to kill and drink blood.

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 13th birthday to Princess Josephine of Denmark!

Born on 8 January 2011, Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda is the fourth and youngest child of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary (soon to be King Frederik X and Queen Mary) and the seventh grandchild of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and the late Prince Henrik. Josephine is fifth in line to the Danish throne, after her father and older siblings, Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, and her elder twin brother, Prince Vincent.

Josephine and Vincent were christened on 14 April 2011, at the chapel of the Church of Holmen. Her third name, Ivalo, is Greenlandic. It stems from the Qaanaaq region and means "sinew". Her godparents include her paternal aunt, Princess Marie of Denmark; and her parents' friend Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro.

[roga-el-rojo]

Never Whistle at Night - edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

Hello friends!

As a nice way to bridge from Halloween into Native American History and Puerto Rican Heritage month, my first recommendation is going to be an of indigenous dark fiction which tackles themes such as colonialism, gender, and generational memory with supernatural flair: “Never Whistle at Night�� edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

Shane Hawk, a Cheyenne and Arapaho history teacher and horror writer, has contributed to various literary works, including his debut story collection Anoka (the art for this post), this anthology, and co-written an Indigenous Horror stage play titled The Land Has Spoken which debuted this October.

Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr. (enrolled member, Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians) is a professor and chair of Indigenous Nations Studies at Portland State University and has published books like Sacred Smokes and Sacred City. He is also the creative editor for Transmotion, a journal of postmodern Indigenous studies. Hawk's fiction and photography have been published in various publications and journals.

“Never Whistle At Night” is a collection of 26 short stories compiled by a very diverse set of indigenous authors tackling a litany of topics using the advantage of horror genre conventions. I’m sure everyone who checks this out will have their own favorite list, but I wanted to highlight a couple of mine with a short blurb:

Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller - Forced to work for a man who already wants to take advantage of her, this woman’s rage simmers just below the surface before it finally boils over.

Behind Colin’s Eyes by Shane Hawk - Before a hunting trip, this boy can’t sleep in anticipation. Unsure if his eyes are playing tricks on him, he tries to brush aside his fears in the night. But once in the woods, he sees things he can’t explain.

Night in the Chrysalis by Tiffany Morris - Spending the night in a new-to-her home that her aunt had purchased, this woman has trouble settling as she’s haunted by nightmares and spirits. All she can do is wait for the sunrise.

I don’t want to spoil any of the stories, so I highly recommend y’all check out these indigenous horror reads to learn more!

[vilandel]

Next Gen Inccorect Quotes VII ♣️💘

*At a royal gathering* Nebel: Should we stop them? Odette: By ourselves or shall we get one of our aunts and uncles? Nebel: Have any of those options any chance of success? Odette: Not really. Maybe the second one might work if we get auntie Rosette, but I wouldn't count on even that to avoid the Disaster. Zora: And I told you that this is stupid! Nebra: I didn't forced to wear a suit for the occasion, you should be thanking me! Diego: *being held back by Nebra* It is not my fault you look like a dumpster cotton candy! Zinnia: *being held back by Zora* And it is not my fault that you look like a bleeding strawberry tart! Nebel: How do mum and dad manage to hold back Diego and Zinnia from fighting while having their own argument going on. Odette: Must be some kind of talent... Oh, Nebel, have you seen our baby sister? She was right there ten seconds ago. Nebel: *looks around and gets pale* MATHILDA, NO, THIS VASE IS NOT A TOILET! Zora, Nebra, Diego, Zinnia: *stopping their fights immediately in a panic* Someone mentioned Mathilda?

For the record, baby Mathilda is two years old here...

And this example (I still have more) is how I imagine the future Zora x Nebra family in a nutshell 😅 Disaster Parents and their five children. Quadruplets – Two always at each other's throats and loving it, two more calm but still disasters – and a crazy baby 😅

[bigmack2go]

Based on this post because i really liked the idea so i wanted to do my own version off that

So how musicals are related in my head

Be more chill and dear evan hansen are clearly those nine year old ipad kid ginger twins

Hamilton is Newsies father but he left to get Milk at some point. The greatest show is it‘s mother. Also Westside story and Newsies and the outsiders are siblings but adopted siblings. Descendants is their only cousin thats a similar age as them but it’s like their third cousin or smt. And Les Mis is they cousin with piggy tails and braces. Also SIX is the second great cousin of their fathers dog or some shit like-,,

Water for elephants is also somewhere in there but idk.

Something Rotten and Phantom (and- if i may include- the unofficial bridgerton musical) are the older siblings of Les Mis. (Bridgerton and something rotten are twins. And phantom and something rotten are also twins but not bridgerton and phantom)

Come from away are family friends that are basically family but technically they‘re not related. But they‘re at every family gathering and shit.

Same for Illinois

Annie, Anastasia and Mathilda are foster siblings

Beauty and the beast is Cats cousin and Phantoms,Something rotten and Les Mis SECOND cousin. However Cats isn’t

Tarzan, Frozen and Starlight express are forster siblings who are also all actually related but they don’t know it.

Also obviously Highschool musical, Newsies, Descendants and Rocky horror are all siblings. Rocky horror is like 10 years older than the rest tho

Also highschool musical and teen beach movie. But that probably doesn’t count

Reefer Madnes and Chicago are siblings and rocky horror is their aunt. Chicago and Moulin Rouge are lovers btw.

[rhela-xiv]

Character Inspirations

I figured it was about time to redo this!

Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) - Spike (mostly in the earlier parts of the series) was one of the earliest inspirations for Rhela, and it still shows through in her personality. The ever present cigarette and ambivalent attitude definitely stuck with her, as did his sarcasm. Like Spike, she has no apparent fear of death and will throw herself into danger though it is rarely, if ever, out of an interest in protecting others.

Mathilda (Léon: The Professional) - This one is more to do with Rhela's past -- there are definitely shades of Mathilda and Leon between Rhela and her first mentor. While the motivation of revenge is missing, like Mathilda Rhela was too young for the circumstances she put herself in.

Letty (The Fast and The Furious) - {we do not acknowledge the sequels in this house} Mostly an aesthetic inspiration, Rhela still shares some of Letty's traits. Not exactly "one of the boys" but far more masc leaning. Rhela doesn't have "family", even found family, but those she considers important to her are her highest priority and she will do anything for them.

Nikita (La Femme Nikita) - {not to be confused with the tv show. yes i am aware that i have two Besson films on here} Rhela was a street kid in Kugane before landing herself with the Empire, and while her story has much less "vague yet menacing government agency" than La Femme Nikita, Rhela was still very much turned into a weapon.

Billy Butcher (The Boys) - Butcher is on here more for his attitude. Rhela is foul mouthed and shares Butcher's propensity toward violence. They are both resistant to showing emotion or attachment, even if they do feel protective of some people. In pursuit of her goals, or jobs, Rhela is utterly ruthless and there is little she will not do.

Casca (Berserk) - {specific to the Golden Age arc} I was a little bit hesitant to put her on here, because Rhela existed long before I read Berserk. I also debated if she leans more toward Casca or Guts. That said, I ultimately have to go with Casca for her devotion that borders on worship. Rhela is an extremely capable fighter, and can lead in the right circumstances, but she is happier serving someone else's cause. The "I want to be his sword" panel in particular screams Rhela.

Honorable mentions - these weren't added either because they aren't strong enough, or because they came around after Rhela existed as a character. - Guts (Berserk) - Tommy Shelby, Arthur Shelby, and Aunt Pol (Peaky Blinders) - Fordola (FFXIV) - Rocket (Guardians of the Galaxy) - Literally any other Michelle Rodriguez character

[blackbutlercharacterpoll2023]

After the cut is the final list of characters that will be in the poll, aside from any new characters that are introduced in chapter 199.

Abbie

Ada

Agni / Arshad Satyendra Iyer

Akashi

Al

Alan Humphries

Aleister Chamber / Viscount of Druitt

Alexis Leon Midford

Alois Trancy / Jim Macken

Angela Blanc

Angelina Dalles / Madam Red / Aunt An

Anne Drewanz

Annie

the archeologist (Season 2 character)

Arihito Genpou

Aristocrat of Evil with the scarred face

Arnold Trancy

Artie

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Randall

Ash Landers

Aurora Society member (first one O!Ciel and Seb meet)

Aurora Society purified water seller

Azzurro Vanel

Baldroy / Bard / Baldo

Baldroy Jr.

Baldroy's cow

the bear

Beast

beggar boy that Soma gives a necklace to, mother, and baby brother

Betty

Bitter Rabbit

bizarre dolls

bizarre doll horses

Blavat Sky

Bloodbath Johnny

Bronte

Burnett

Canterbury

Carter

the cat from the live action movie

the cats Sebastian rescues from the rain

Cedric Brandel

Cedric K. Ros

CGI horses / driver

Charles Bennett Sato

Charles Grey

Charles Phipps

Charles Phipps's chicken

Chef Lach

Chef Rickman

Chef Tarpin

Chef Wollest

Cheslock

Chlaus

Chris Heathfield

Chris Heathfield's Chris Heathfield's maids

Ciel Phantomhive bizarre doll / Real Ciel / R!Ciel

Ciel Phantomhive child / R!Ciel child

"Ciel" Phantomhive / Our Ciel / O!Ciel

Ciel's horse

Claude Faustus

Claude's birds

Cloudia Phantomhive

Clayton

Conny

Countess Trancy and her baby

the cultists

Dagger

Damian

Daniel

"Deer"

demon Ciel

demon Crow

demon "pet" (the xenomorph)

Derrick Arden

Diedrich

Doctor

Doll / Freckles

Donne

Dove

Drossel Keinz

Drossel's dolls

Edgar Redmond

Edward Abberline

Edward Midford

Edward V

Elizabeth Midford / Lizzy

Ellery Nixon

Emily

Eric Slingby

Fennian

Finnian / Finny

Finny's hat

FOL Orphanage staff

Francis Midford

Fred Abberline

Funtom Corporation's unicorn suit

Georg von Siemens

German countryman

Ginny

Goethe

Green House dorm master

Gregory Violet

Grelle Sutcliff

Grelle's chainsaw

Grete Hilbard

Grimsby Keane

Haku

Haku's henchman

Hanae Wakatsuki

Hannah Annafellows

Hao

Harold West Jeb

Heinrich

Henry Barrymore

"Her"

Herman Greenhill

Higham

Hilde Dickhaut

the iceberg

Irene Diaz

Jackknife Haywood

James

Jan

Jane

Japanese man with a katana

Japanese woman with a lunchbox

Jay the Undertaker

Jeremy Rathbone

Joanna

Joanne Harcourt

Johann Agares

John Brown

John Brown's horse

Johnny

Joker

Julius Pitt

Jumbo

Karl Woodley

Keats

Kelvin

kenpo master

King's Bear prostitutes

Lau

Lau's girls

Lawrence Anderson / Pops

Lawrence Bluewer

Lawrence Bluewer's sisters

Layla

Lord Ackroyd

Lord Ackroyd's son

Lorraine McDowell

Ludger

Luka Macken

the Mad Dog of Venice

Mabel

Margaret Connor

Margaret Connor's father

Margaret Turner

Maria

Mathilda Simmons

Maurice Cole

McDowell

McMillan

Mey-Rin

Milly

Mina

Miranda

Mrs. Mayell

Munemitsu Aoki

Nicholas

Nick

Nina Hopkins

Nina's assistants

O!Ciel's land renters

Oliver

the orphan that called Sebastian an old guy

Oscar

Othello

the other children in the lab Finny was kept in

Paul Jones

the Panzer

Patrick Phelps

Patrick the Grey Wizard

Paula

Peter

Phantomhive family ring

Pitt

Pluto

Polaris

priest (from Season 2)

Prince Albert

Prince Albert puppet

Professor Sullivan / village crone

Purple House dorm master

Purple House prefect from Vincent's year

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria (Season 1)

Rachel Phantomhive

Ran-Mao

Reaper managers

Reaper trainees

Red House dorm master

Red House prefect from Vincent's year

Richard

Ridley

Rian Stoker

Rin

Ronald Knox

Ronald's lawnmower

the Rowdy Count

Sam / Old Man Sam

Sam's grandson

Saneatsu Nekoma

Sascha

Scotland Yard officers

Sebastian Michaelis

the Sebastian Roomba

Sebastian the dog

Sebastian's silverware

Sharpe Hanks

Shiori Genpou

Sieglinde Sullivan

Sieglinde Sullivan's father

Snake

Snake's unnamed snakes

Soma Asman Kadar

Soma's elephant

Sophie Smith

Sphere Music Hall staff

Stella Rose

Susan

Susannah Connor

Tanaka

Terry

Theodore

Thomas Wallis

Thompson

Timber

the timetable guy

the train kidnapper

Trancy / Former Head Trancy

the turnspit dog

Undertaker

Undertaker's death scythe

Undertaker's mourning lockets

Vicar Rathbone

Vincent Phantomhive

Vincent Phantomhive's staff

walking stick shopkeeper

Webster

Wendy

the "werewolves"

Wilde

William T. Spears

William's death scythe

William's pigeons

Wolfram Gelzer

Wordsworth

Yana Toboso

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

Thank you for the tag, @steddieas-shegoes 😘

1. Are you named after anyone?

Technically no. My middle name is the same as that of a great-aunt (my grandpa’s sister) who died as a child, but I’m told that was coincidental rather than on purpose. 

2. When was the last time you cried? 

I cry a lot, it’s honestly embarrassing. It’s my default reaction to any kind of strong emotion, be it anger, happiness, sadness or anything in between, so this kind of question always makes me think very long and very hard. I think the last time was about 2 weeks ago during a fight with my husband. 

3. Do you have kids? 

Yes, one girl. She’ll be five in September and entering school next year in summer. Time flies, it’s crazy! 

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? 

So much and with such a deadpan expression that people who don’t know me that well often do a double take and ask if I’m serious. 😂

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

I’ve always been a clumsy couch potato, I literally had to take physiotherapy as a kid bc I used to trip over my own feet!

I did Judo for a few years as a teen, but the only reason I ever won any medals was bc I was a shrimp and the only one in my weight category. I had a very intense hyperfixation on fitness some 10 years back and was at the gym practically every day. I’d love to have that body back!

Nowadays, I just run after the kid. 

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people? 

Their sense of humor.

7. What’s your eye color? 

Hazel.

8. Scary movies or happy endings? 

Oh, I’m a sucker for happy endings, but I also won't say no to a good scary movie! 

9. Any special talents? 

I have an elephant memory, especially for words and languages. Once that stuff is in my head, it’s hard to get it back out. I still remember the very first poem they had us learn by heart in first grade, and it’s the same with lullabies, song lyrics, you name it. 

10. Where were you born? 

Lüdinghausen, which is a lovely little town with 25k or so inhabitants in west Germany. 

11. What are your hobbies? 

Reading, writing, drawing/doodling, crafting, a bit of photography, used to be really into knitting - if it’s by any degree creative, I’ve probably tried it. 

12. Do you have pets? 

For cats named Arya, Lyanna, Aegon (Egg) and Dany. One cockatiel named Mathilda. 

13. How tall are you? 

172 cm (you can convert this yourself, I’m European and bad at math!) 

14. Favorite subjects in school? 

ALL THE LANGUAGES!!!

15. Dream job? 

I’m pretty happy with the one I have. I work in internal communications and manage an intranet for roughly 3,500 employees, so I get to do a ton of text creation and always hear the hottest gossip! 

I'm tagging @becomingfoxes, @devilfella, @messessentialist, @peachypurr, @renaissan-vvitch, @sourw0lfs, @transmascsteveharrington, @wynnyfryd, @wormdebut and anyone who feels like doing this. ❤️

[vamptones]

my aunt gave me a copy of mathilda by mary shelley (that she edited!)

[b-and-entity]

B walked in with a tray in their hand.

“My lady” they smiled and put the tray of little cakes and other snacks in front of Mathilda “your refreshments.” She lit up with joy “thank you B, it looks delicious! Wouldn’t you say so mr. Erwin?”

She looked at the lamb plushie sitting across from her. B took a hold of the lamb and animated it as they answered in a silly voice.

“Yes, lady Mathilda, it looks absolutely scrumptious!”

Mathilda giggled excitedly, kicking her feet. B adored it. They loved when they had the weekends with her. She was their lover’s younger sister who visited for a weekend once a month. It was the best, not only because B loved children, but also because their lover always seemed to lighten up in her company.

“How about you miss wolfie?” She asked the plush next to her. B looked at the wolf too, anticipating an answer.

There was a silence.

“Miss wolfie? Don’t you think it looks good?” B nudged their partner who jumped a little at the touch.

“Huh? Oh yeah, sorry” unsure hands wrapped around the wolf’s body “it looks great.”

Mathilda frowned and looked at her older sibling.

“8J?-@; it’s not fun if you don’t play along” she pouted.

“Sorry princess, I’m just… I’m a little tired”

B’s heart sank a little for them both. They rested a hand on their partner’s shoulder.

“Maybe you should go take a nap babe, it might help”

They had originally declined to take Mathilda for the weekend, precisely because of this. But the aunt had insisted, almost begged that they took her since she was going to a wedding out of town. Luckily, so far, the weekend had passed without incident, despite the recent increase in visits from the figure. Perhaps they could make it till she had to be picked up that night.

Their lover nodded and got up. Mathilda watched, unable to hide her disappointment.

“Okay… but next time I won’t let you skip a tea party!”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world”

Mathilda lit up a little again as a kiss was pressed to the top of her head. B smiled softly as they watched the two of them. It reminded them of their own younger brother. Back when he was this age, he was missing some of his teeth just like Mathilda. Nowadays he was all grown up, although in B’s head he was still 12.

B and Mathilda continued to play until late in the afternoon. They danced to music, curled her hair, and found bugs in the garden. B was attempting to put makeup on Mathilda when they heard a loud thud from the bedroom.

“}3y!H.?” B called out, but there was no answer.

“Quick, finish so I can show off my makeup” Mathilda said impatiently.

B turned their attention back to her and smiled “okay, okay, I’m almost done” they reached into their limited makeup supply and found probably the only lip-gloss they owned.

“Purse your lips for me… thank you” B stuck their tongue out as they applied lip gloss on her. It was much harder on lips this small, especially when they weren’t their own.

“There you go” B held up a little mirror to show her “what do you think?... Mathilda?”

Mathilda’s eyes were wide, mouth slightly open and her breath hitched a little as she stared past B.

B’s throat turned dry. They dreaded looking behind them, though they already knew what they’d see. Reluctantly, they turned around, immediately met with the sight of the entity. It stood in the dark hallway, staring at them. It slowly tilted its head, bones cracking as it did so. Its intense stare fixated on B,

B stood up and stepped in front of Mathilda who was quietly sobbing already.

“#q7;!K” B said sternly “I think you had a nightmare, please go back to sleep”

In the blink of an eye, the figure moved closer. It stretched its arm out towards B, although still not quite reaching them. B watched its clawed hand twitch in anticipation or fear. Or both.

It let out a desperate moan.

“I have to watch Mathilda, go back to our room and I’ll come join you later, your aunt will be here to pick her up in an hour or so” They kept their tone gentle, yet firm. They didn’t want to be mean to the entity, but they had to think of Mathilda.

B felt Mathilda grab their shirt tightly. She gasped a little and took a step back, attempting to pull B with her. They looked down to see black liquid seep over the carpet and flow around their feet.

Another heart wrenching moan left the entity.

“I promise, I’ll be there with you soon-“

Mathilda screeched with disgust as her feet got lathered in the sticky black substance. There was a crash, like glass breaking. B didn’t have time to see what it was because the entity began frantically glitching around the room. Its stare growing more intense. The black liquid poured down the walls now. Mathilda cried, begging B to make it stop. In the dark liquid lathering the walls, eyes birthed themselves and stared at them. The entity itself stopped right in front of B, claws reaching out with urgency.

B could hear the desperate whispers of their lover although they could not make out what they were saying between Mathilda’s cries and the wet blinking of dozens of eyes.

“?Å~£7n” B reached out for the entity, but was pushed away by cold sharp hands. They landed on their butt, pushing Mathilda down in their fall as well. Bugs lathered in black liquid crawled up their arms. Mathilda’s sobs only grew louder at this.

“You pushed B! You’re just like dad!” she cried out in fear. Instantly, the light in the room started to flash. Dark, eyes, liquid. Light. Dark, eyes, liquid. B could almost feel the entity fight itself. Light. Dark, eyes, liquid. Light.

Their lover was hunched over, hands over ears.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” over and over again.

B blinked as their eyes adjusted to light. All the liquid and eyes were gone. The bugs still crawled up B’s arms. They gently brushed them off, then put a hand on their partner who flinched at the touch.

“Shh baby, it’s okay. You’re alright” B said gently. They felt their partner tremble under their hand which they slowly pulled away. But their lover reached out for the hand, grabbing it tightly, with urgency.

“&v=11§?” Mathilda said gently, crying still present in her tone “I didn’t mean it” she crawled over and hugged her older sibling.

“I got scared because I knocked over the cage with bugs and then you got scared”

B looked back to see the shattered bug terrarium and bugs crawling about on the floor. Their lover’s hand left them. They turned their head again and saw the pair of siblings embracing one another.

“You’re not like dad. You’re nice”

“Thank you, princess. Sorry for scaring you” there was a pause between sniffles “did B do your makeup? You look beautiful”

Once all the glass was swept away and most of the bugs outside… although B feared they might find a few here and there, the three of them settled down to enjoy the leftover snacks from the tea party.

Before they knew of it, the aunt arrived to pick up Mathilda. It was a minor battle getting her out the door, but B wouldn’t have it any other way. Once they finally closed the door B looked back at their lover.

“I think… maybe I should start seeing a therapist”

B nodded. They hugged.

[aurorasilverthorne]

Vampires Don't Fall In Love: Chapter #4

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! All the Bailey School Kids books & characters belong to Marcia T. Jones & Debbie Dadey.

Note: Mr. Lobo belongs to me. If you use him in fanfiction or fanart, please remember to credit me as his creator. Thank you.

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Things remained tense between Mrs. Jeepers and Mr. Lobo over the following weeks. They rarely spoke to one another when she brought the children over to the auditorium for their music class. When they did say something to each other, it was work related, or necessary to appear polite in front of Mr. Davis and the other teachers and students.

Even Eddie felt the awkwardness and discomfort between the two teachers. He made one attempt to cause trouble in Lobo’s class. All the man had to do was look at him and Eddie felt the urge to avert his gaze and sink down in his chair. He didn’t act up again.

There was something strange about Mr. Lobo. Melody, Liza and Howie noticed it too. The music teacher’s eyes did weird things when the light hit them a certain way. They thought they saw his pupils shrink to the size of pinpricks and sometimes the irises seemed to glow a molten gold in the dark.

They did what he said and didn’t talk unless he asked them about the assignments he gave. When the time came to return to class, they’d practically run to line up at the doors when Mrs. Jeepers came to get them. Eddie found himself watching the clock and feeling relieved each time their third grade teacher entered the auditorium.

He’d been dead set on getting rid of Mrs. Jeepers, or at least disliking her, but now she was the buffer between him and an odd music teacher whose lower canines were almost as long and sharp as his eye teeth.

He was walking home from school with Liza, Howie and Melody one afternoon when they heard cries coming from inside his house. Eddie ran to unlock the door only to find it was already open. He and his friends went inside.

His grandmother was laying on the floor. At first, Eddie thought she’d tripped and landed on the coffee table. Shards of glass and splintered wood littered the rug. Then he moved closer and saw that she wasn’t breathing.

Eddie didn’t have time to panic. A large hand clamped down on his shoulder and pulled him out of the way. He looked up to see Mr. Lobo who went over and knelt beside his grandmother.

Mrs. Jeepers appeared holding Eddie’s six year old sister, Josie, in her arms. The girl was all red faced and puffy eyed from tears. Mr. Lobo pressed two fingers to their grandmother’s throat.

“Call for an ambulance,” he said.

Mrs. Jeepers ushered the other kids into the dining room where she grabbed the corded phone off the wall and dialed 911. Mr. Lobo turned their grandmother over and started CPR.

It was all for the sake of the kids. He and Mrs. Jeepers had known the old woman was dead when he’d felt for a pulse and couldn’t locate one. Her skin was cool to the touch and her chest neither rose nor fell.

His heightened senses failed to pick up a heartbeat or the thrum of blood flow. He kept at it until paramedics arrived. The woman was pronounced dead not long after. A heart attack, they said. Not surprising given her age.

Josie cried herself to sleep while Eddie sat there watching people dressed in white shirts and black pants wheel his grandma out on a gurney unsure how to process what had just happened.

Melody and Liza had to go home with their parents. Howie stayed along with his dad. Dr. Jones had offered to care for Eddie and his sister until other arrangements could be made, but authorities refused, so they all waited until Eddie’s father and aunt Mathilda arrived.

Aunt Mathilda wasn’t keen on the idea of taking in her older brother’s children. She’d never liked their mother.

“If I wanted to take care of kids, I would’ve had my own,” she told Eddie’s father. “It’s bad enough you pawned them off on Mom. Now you’re trying to dump the brats on me!”

“They’re not brats,” Eddie’s father argued. “I can’t work and look after two kids at the same time. What am I supposed to do?”

“Hire a babysitter,” Mathilda retorted.

Eddie’s father scowled at her. “I’m barely making ends meet now. How do you expect me to afford a sitter?”

“I’m not doing your job for you. You’re the parent. You deal with your children and stop trying to unload them on other people.”

Mathilda turned and walked out the door. No one was sad to see her go. Nor did they try to stop her. Mr. Lobo went so far as to insinuate that her husband had faked his death just to get away from her.

“She is not a very kind person,” Mrs. Jeepers agreed.

Eddie’s dad ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “What am I going to do?”

Mrs. Jeepers reached up to touch her brooch. “Perhaps I might be of assistance?”

“How?” Eddie’s father asked.

“The old Clancy Estate is a large house. It holds many rooms. The children could always stay there with me while you are traveling for work. You could visit during holidays and when you get time off. The children would not have to move from Bailey City or give up the lives or friendships they have built. And selling this house would ease some of the financial strain as well. You could pay off any debts, tuck the money away for their college fund or use it if there is ever an emergency of any sort.”

Eddie’s father couldn’t believe her generosity. “You’d do that?”

Mrs. Jeepers nodded. “Despite what some of my students may think, I care for their well-being, and I want them to have every chance to succeed in life.” She gave one of her odd little half smiles. “The Clancy Estate is a lovely place to live. I doubt I will ever be lonely with the children around.”

Eddie avoided her gaze. He’d lost his grandmother. Now his vampire teacher was using her brooch's magic to convince his dad to hand him and his sister over to her so she could turn them into bat bait! Could this day get any worse?

“Your house is in need of fixing,” Mr Lobo said. “It would need to be repaired and renovated to be suitable for niños. I can do it, but it will take two or three weeks to gather the necessary materials and complete all the work.”

“Only three weeks?” Dr. Jones inquired. 

“I’m a diligent worker,” Mr. Lobo replied.

“Eddie and Josie can stay with us until everything’s ready for them over at Mrs. Jeepers’,” Dr. Jones offered.

Mrs. Jeepers kept stroking her brooch. The green oval shaped gem seemed to glow when she spoke. “It is settled then.”

Eddie gulped. Not only were he and his sister going to be at the mercy of a vampire. They were stuck with a werewolf too!

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