#big mine run geyser

[jtownraindancer]

Local here, cutting in just in case you were planning a visit!

Grafitti Highway has since been covered and the cops patrol the area like crazy now, with a hefty fine for trespassing. Most of the area is overgrown anymore & all but a handful of buildings have been knocked down.

The Greek Orthodox Church and two cemeteries still remain, but that's about it for "sightseeing."

If you're in the area though and curious about the history of the region and Centralia especially, Ashland's Pioneer Tunnel has a mine tour & a short steam train ride partially around the mountain (may have been extended since I last stopped in).

There also the Big Mine Run Geyser, just a short drive further into the woods. The folks on the backroad are super friendly, and there's a nice grassy area directly by the geyser great for a picnic. Not much for excitement, but a really cool (literally; the humidity out here is brutal) spot to relax for a bit.

My family usually made these two, plus a hike up and down Grafitti Highway, all part of a day trip, ending with a few hours at Knoebels, a free-parking, free-admission, free-entertainment, free-musuems amusement park that was on our commute home.

We've also got quite a few antique shops, several more mining towns you can explore (Shamokin in particular comes to mind; she looks rough but has some amazing food and parks with a lot of good local bands), a red deer farm, a handful of state parks, and so many abandoned mines and houses you wouldn't believe it.

There are ghost stories all up and down these mountains; the tragedy and government bullshit pulled with Centralia is just one of them.

A road leading to the small town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, where an underground fire has been burning since 1962

[powdermelonkeg]

You're big on Zelda, so I'm curious. How would you rewrite TOTK, if given the writer's room?

Fun question! *cracks knuckles* Let's answer it.

I've answered about the disconnect between BotW and TotK before, so I'm going to take some of those ideas and run with them here.

I'm taking the intended route, for the sake of keeping coherence rather than just making up an entirely new Hyrule from scratch. Link and Zelda are the same as they are in BotW.

To start off, I like the Zonai.

I like that they're an entirely new race of people in Hyrule. I love how weird-looking they are. I love that they're not human race #87.

I also love their bastard not-Zonai lovechild thing. If we saw more examples of Zonai, I would love for this funky lil dude to be part of them, kind of like how the Zora have a ton of variation between them.

So why don't we do that? Why don't we give them a kingdom?

And why don't we put some meat on the bones of what was already built?

There are Zonai-esque ruins all over the Depths, mostly in mines for Zonaite.

Their color palette matches. Rauru's braids and Sonia's earrings match brightblooms.

And the three dragons, who have Zonai features (segmented, color-edged hair, long ears, blunt muzzles, scale beard mouths), could have been a catalyst.

A catalyst for what, though?

It starts with the Depths themselves, and the dragons breaking free.

See, in TotK, the three elemental dragons all dive in and out of the Depths chasms. There's no explanation as to why, and the only explanation we have for the chasms forming is that it was like...geysers of Gloom.

However, the dragons in BotW are confirmed to have carved these canyons:

So let's go back in time a little.

The Zonai live in the Depths. They're underground, away from all the chaos that Hyrule has ever had to endure. They worship the bargainer statues as gods, they collect the souls of those above that drip down into the world below.

They have a rich mining industry, and coliseums for their greatest warriors to test their mettle against captured monsters.

They have their Secret Stones, and the one who's allowed to hang onto those is their leader.

That'd be young Prince Rauru.

The elemental dragons, Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh, are testaments to why no one can be allowed to have the Secret Stones. They were consumed by their power, literally.

One day, they break free, as if summoned by an unknown force. They tunnel through the ground and into the sky, connecting the world below to the one above.

The Hylians cautiously venture below, or the Zonai above. Prince Rauru, keeper of the Secret Stones, and Sonia, High Priestess of Hylia, meet.

They fall in love.

They marry.

Their marriage marks a unity between the Surface and the Depths.

(Maybe throw in a lil Skyward Sword continuity, mention that while Hylia sent the humans to the sky, the Zonai fled underground to avoid Demise, to keep the Secret Stones out of his grasp. You don't even have to name drop him, just say they went down to avoid destruction.)

Suddenly, Hyrule (the center part of the map, based around the Great Plateau, not the whole sub-kingdom conglomerate it exists as in BotW) undergoes a technological boom. Ganondorf, neighboring leader of the Gerudo, is interested. He talks trade with now-king Rauru, but there's the sub-plot of trying to get his secrets, which he steadily grows obsessed with.

Meanwhile, the Gerudo make their own expedition into the Depths.

There. The stage is set.

Now Zelda falls into the past.

She's found by Rauru and Sonia. Adopted as their daughter, more or less.

Also, the two of them have a small child. Nintendo, you CAN'T set them up as "they're her ancestors" and then kill them childless, descendants don't work like that. Zelda's immediately endeared to the kid, who reminds her of Link. Lil half-Zonai girl with a wooden sword who swings it at anything that moves. There are memories, it's cute.

In the past, Zelda witnesses, real time, Ganondorf going mad with power. They get along well at first, he's cordial, polite, a model diplomat. But she finds his troops in places they shouldn't be, confronts him about it and gets brushed off.

She tells Rauru, he's unwilling to throw suspicion onto Ganondorf. They're semi-friends and diplomacy is important! He's got to run this kingdom right. He can't fail, this is the biggest thing he's ever done!

(Sprinkle in a parallel to BotW Zel's fear of failure)

Some of the memories fill in gaps about Rauru's power, also. He's got what Link can do, minus Recall. Ultrahand and Fuse mainly, but Rauru's been experimenting with Ascend, excited because it'll make passage between the Depths and the Surface so much easier, and we see where Zel gets her scientific excitement from. Regardless of how different they look, they ARE family.

Ganondorf and Rauru get into a fight one day. A BAD fight. Maybe because Zelda tipped Rauru off, and despite telling her no, Rauru looked into it anyways. Regardless, they march out in opposite directions, and Zelda overheard it in the hallway. As Ganondorf leaves, he gives her the most SCATHING glare.

He then declares war on Hyrule.

Rauru makes a bid for allies, trying to get enough manpower to fight Ganondorf's impressive military. It's a struggle at first, but Zelda steps in, being the leader she's skilled at being and telling the others how crucial it is that they help. Ganondorf, meanwhile, turns to forbidden arts in his rage against Rauru, gets infected by Gloom/Malice, becomes scarily powerful. First Blood Moon. The Gerudo are kind of unnerved by him.

We see Zelda and Sonia helping with the war. Sonia's got light powers, Zelda's are stronger, together they can destroy entire ARMIES of monsters, saving their warriors on the battlefield. A few instances of Little Princess trying to be involved like the grown-ups are, getting huffy when she's told no.

In the aftermath of each fight, Rauru runs around, sealing away the monsters' latent energy with green spirals. That's where the Shrines come from, though in the past, they're Luminous Stones—it's all faded by present day, the light bled out of them.

Sonia is on the battlefield against Ganondorf one fateful night, Little Princess wanders onto the field, both the girls panic about it, and Sonia tries to run away with her while Zelda affords them cover. THAT'S when Ganondorf strikes her—he's fast like a ninja, rushes past Zelda, strikes Sonia.

She falls. Little Princess tumbles.

Zelda races to Little Princess's side, picks her up to run away with her as Ganondorf gets Sonia's stone, and he transforms into the Demon King. He raises his army. Little Princess screams, and we see an uncontrolled blast of Hylia's power, like an erratic attempt at what Zelda did at the end of BotW.

It fritzes, Zelda hugs her tight and ducks down to shield her, and the power cascades across the battlefield, affecting monsters AND people alike. The war is in shambles. Ganondorf stares at the child and her guardian, and retreats in a hurry.

Cue Rauru running to their side.

He grieves his wife. Little Princess is kept safe by Zelda. The Gerudo shun Ganondorf and join Rauru's side, and everyone involved in the war dedicates everything to one final assault against Ganondorf, one trap to finally END him, to force him into the Depths and fight him on the Zonai's own turf. The Secret Stones are distributed. Rauru knows what he has to do, and at the climax of the final battle, he uses his Secret Stone to amplify his sealing magic, knowing it'll kill him in the process and locking Ganondorf away in the Depths.

Except, it's not that simple.

Gloom bursts out of the newly trapped Ganondorf's chest, flooding the Depths, eliminating everyone in its path. That includes the Sages, the assaulting army, and the VAST majority of the Zonai. Its sole purpose is to gather enough strength over time for Ganondorf to break his shackles, because the Gloom wants OUT.

(Subtly implied that the Gloom is the first iteration of Demise's curse of hatred, maybe.)

And Zelda is alone. Trapped in the past, stuck with Little Princess, her Secret Stone, and the last of Mineru's notes.

Gloom continues to fume out of the Depths, so they're sealed off. The Blood Moon keeps spawning new monsters, so Little Princess and the remainders of the construct caretakers are sent up to the sky, for her protection. Zelda's the one that orchestrates it. Her people once hailed from the sky, and it's always been known as a place of safety for them.

Is this self-referential to the history she's building, or a Skyward Sword reference? Who knows.

They go skyward.

Then the Master Sword appears, and Zelda knows what she has to do. It's compounded, of course, by crushing guilt over the fact that Sonia's death happened on her watch. She tells Little Princess to look out for the world ahead, tells her to be strong, and brave, and everything she wishes her dad had told her. Then ends it with a final message.

"I'm leaving you something very important. Take good care of it."

Then she goes off alone to become a dragon.

Present day.

Link's not guided by Rauru, he's guided by a strange, beautiful woman who looks kind of like Zelda (albeit with Zonai hair, eyes, and long claws), who has a deep regret for the world below and who knows the lonely world above like the back of her hand. She teaches him the basics of his powers as he visits the shrines.

The Great Sky Island is otherwise normal.

You go to Hyrule. The Light Dragon's the one that breaks the cloud barrier, and as she does so, she sheds a single tear. By the time you get to the tear's location, it's spread a mural of the memory it contains around it.

Whenever you Recall a tear, the Light Dragon sheds a new one somewhere else, and it's up to you to follow.

You're chasing Zelda, twice over.

Besides that, Hyrule's Surface is...largely unchanged. I'm still upset that the pirates assaulting Lurelin weren't ACTUAL pirates, so guess what, they are now. Splinter faction of Yiga. Also, River Zora take over Lake Hylia, there's a spat between them and the Sea Zora, and Yona is the princess of the Rivers.

Then you've got the Depths.

That's where you find the ruins of the Zonai civilization, and you start piecing together the world it contains on your own. You aren't told, you're SHOWN.

Rauru's ghost finds and guides you here. He has a moment of "hey, isn't that MY arm?", upgrades your abilities or shows you how to use them more efficiently (ups your build limit, shows you how to un-Fuse, teaches you DEscend, gives you Autobuild, things like that), then DIES-dies. You escort his poe soul to a Bargainer statue.

The biggest change to the Depths, though, is that under the Gerudo Desert, you find PEOPLE.

So remember how the Gerudo launched their own expedition into the Depths in the past? How the Gloom killed almost everyone and the world below was sealed off?

There were a sparse few survivors of the Zonai, and some unfortunate Gerudo researchers that also got trapped. The people down there now are descendants of both. They're not Zonai anymore, though.

They're Lomei. They evolved like how the Rito evolved from the Zora in Wind Waker. Their tribe name comes from the Zonai word for "loneliness."

Regardless, they're initially inhospitable to Surfacers, because Surfacers are how they ended up how they did. If you sneak into their city, you're captured, like a few unfortunate Zonai Survey Team members that have wandered in, only YOU can escape via Ascend. OoT Gerudo parallel.

You can earn the Lomei's trust by doing things for them (maybe beating all three labyrinths as a rite of passage?), and then they let you into their cities. They've got their own brand of tech based off of old Zonai designs. One of the Lomei scientists is working on a mechsuit—that'll be the sage that Mineru passes her stone down to. And it fits doubly, both because the Lomei ARE the descendants of the Zonai and because the Lomei technician and Mineru are both scientists.

The Lomei people give you more pieces to the complicated Zonai-Hylian puzzle, and they're the ones that first tell you the legend of the dragons-from-Secret-Stones. So you can either learn it from them OR get it revealed in Zel's later memories.

Besides that, the present plot is pretty much as normal. Still the same bosses. Still the same sages-help-with-everything, though each sage you rescue gives you another piece of what really happened at the final fight (rather than the same cutscene over and over), telling you about how Rauru sacrificed himself and the effect it had on the rest of the Depths.

I will change where the Ganondorf's Army fight takes place, though. It's ACTUALLY very hidden, like the game was trying to imply it to be when you chase around Kohga. You do still have to do that, but he accidentally directs you to a place that's hidden in the tiniest crevice near Hyrule Castle, one that's very easy to miss and sitting in a veritable sea of Gloom. Once you finish the Kohga quest, a poe hovers outside of the crevice, which leads into an even deeper chasm that leads to the Underdepths.

The poe's your help to get through the maze there, and wherever it goes, Sundelions bloom at the corners. If you go early, before getting everything done, you have to navigate that place yourself, and it's a nightmare.

But you do it. You get to where everything started, and you beat the army, then Ganondorf, then he shoves his fist down his throat and goes dragon.

As he breaks through the ground and curls around Hyrule Castle, he SHATTERS it. The building crumbles to smithereens, crashing into the Depths below.

You beat Demon Dragon, Zelda catches you on her nose, it's over. You're in the spirit realm over sleeping Zelda.

The poe appears over your shoulder, drifts away from you, then materializes into Sonia. She says nothing, just activates Recall, turns Zelda back to normal, then cradles her in her arms. She gives her a kiss on the forehead, looks at you, then says the same line Zelda said to Little Princess ages ago, with the single change of one word.

"I'm leaving you something very important. Take good care of her."

She fades, as does the Spirit World.

You're falling.

Zelda's falling.

You catch her.

She wakes up, sees you, then hugs you and sobs into your shoulder.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Roll credits.

Bonus for the memory completionists, the True Ending has Zelda meeting the grown Little Princess up at the Great Sky Island, reconciling with her, both of them saying how proud they are of each other. Then Little Princess turns into a poe, and Zelda promises to take her to the Depths so she can be with her parents again. As they walk away, Sonia's poe tails after them.

And THAT is a way longer post than I expected to write. Whew.

[lazodiac]

It's time again to look at Thunder Junction's cards and try and divine where each and every one of these bad boys are from.

Also just a note in case people are curious; since Tumblr has a 30 image limit per post, I'll be doing all of The Big Score at the end, after all the colours and stuff. It's my prerogative and I'll do as I please. If you missed the first part, you can find it here! So without further ado, it is time for...

BLUE

While I don't think EVERY mount is from Thunder Junction Proper... newts ARE a creature that shows up in the west. I was initially thinking this could be for Eldraine, especially given it belongs to an archmage, but... ultimately, I think this is a native to the plane.

Another native, and dare I say this is a CHARISMATIC crab. I love the crystals on its back! I also love the blue cacti nearby it? Those are real by the way!

There aren't many turtle-men in Magic. Three, in fact, before this one; the Lagoon Sage, a Quandrix student, and a Kappa from Kamigawa. The Kappa has a VERY distinct look, the Quandrix is a sea turtle, and the Lagoon Sage is a snapper just like the Thunder-Thief over here... and I'm gonna make a called shot and say this is from Bloomburrow as a result!

Homarid are a Dominaria specialty, so this racist bastard is absolutely from there.

Djinn of this type are only found on Tarkir, so this one is easy. He's taken a break from his dragon-infested plane to relax under a waterfall martial artist style, and that's just kinda fun.

This is a tricky one, since the ability is pretty plane agnostic, and the design doesn't evoke much in it... but her collar DOES have the typical three-fang Dimir tell, and it'd fit both colour and what she's doing, so lets go with Ravnica.

Sadly a cursory Wiki glance tells me only that this guy is from America.

... okay okay, taking this seriously; the wings and the scroll and the steps, the name, all the flavour suggests this is from Amonkhet for me. It could be from elsewhere, but this feels the most "correct" for lack of a better term. I wish cards like this would get flavor text reprints down the line though...

These are some home-grown ghosts, and we know from various other stories (Gideon, Elspeth, etc) that when you die you go to the afterlife of the plane you're on... so these are some newly "born" natives.

These unfortunate individuals are from the dead plane of Oregon.

... what? I already used that joke? Okay fine. There really isn't any actual signifiers here, and the only humanoid in the art is too indistinct to tell. Given the content of the card is trying and failing to ford one of Thunder Junction's mighty rivers, I'm calling this card "native to the plane" for lack of anything else appropriate.

Oh hey it's everyone's favorite running gag from Ravnica. Fblthp is an easy one, so instead of elaborating more on our mono-eyed friend instead I'll bring up a question I want any of you reading this to answer.

Didn't they say during the initial preview teasers that there was an important plot event happening in the background of this card? That never bore fruit and I can't remember the exact preview stream I heard it, but I swear I did. I want someone to confirm this for me. I'm abusing my power.

Regrettably, the flavor text makes this spell be sourced from Oko's Home Plane. I do love this weird tumbleweed creature though!

God I hate Oko he's such a scum bag (derogatory).

A personal favorite character of mine, Geralf is an Innistradi born and raised, here to investigate the Thunder of the plane- as well as test how mana bonds work for planebound folk now that they have access to planar travel. Good luck, sir.

An obvious native of the plane. I quite like the flavor of this card as well by the way, it's just a clever way to incorporate the geysers you would occasionally see in the old west.

Another Thunder Junction native! It's wild how many of these there actually are, but wild animals do make up a bulk of cards in Magic so it's not THAT unreasonable.

Fun lore tidbit; allegedly the Thunder only started after the Omenpaths opened up. No one has lived here before that so no one can confirm that is true, and this flavor text suggests otherwise.

One of the only cards showcasing the least important members of Oko's gang of ruffians! Kaervek and Satoru busting out of jail thanks to the help of Annie Flash. The framing of the card makes it feel more like Kaervek's doing the real world (valid, Satoru is a loser this entire story) so I'm gonna call it for Zhalfir here- and yes even though technically everyone from Zhalfir is from Dominaria, it's a plane all its own now. I make the rules here!

The Fomorian made star-key to open up their vault on Thunder Junction, I feel like it is safe to say this was made here. It's got little arcs of Thunder and even looks like a deputy star, so it fits the vibe.

Fun fact; being a six pointed star, plus the fact that in the story they mentioned the sixth slot started glowing purple, I briefly had the idea that they might be implying the Fomorian's know of Purple magic and we'll get it in the big Space set we're getting down the line. Then I remembered Cosmium is purple and a major energy source for the Fomorion people, so nevermind.

I can't confidently say this is from Bloomburrow, given we don't know how big the people of that plane can get- so far they've maxed out at Badger and Fox- but I really don't know where this guy could be from otherwise! Maybe Ravnica? So lets call this Bloomburrow until corrected otherwise.

Incidentally this is one of my favorite pieces of art in the set. Love this fucking guy.

Beyond all the art signifiers, I believe it was straight up said on twitter this is a Therosian Sphinx, so she's from Theros. Good for her. Why is she wearing spurs...?

I'm fairly confident this is meant to depict Stella Lee, and she's from the Atiin people, so that's where this is from! Rundo meanwhile sounds like a Ravnica, but that's just some trivia.

This one I'm not fully sure on. The little bird like flecks of white in his magic, the watery energy... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before, but I can't quite place it. The red and blue suggests Izzet but then he's a Slickshot, the red-blue faction on Thunder Junction. I'm gonna go with my gut and say Ravnica, though.

Shit like this is why I wish we'd gotten a planeswalker guide...

Blue, so far, has some of the most easy and obvious ones to place, and for this I'm thankfully. This guy is a Stitcher, so he's from Innistrad. Easy as.

She's got some of the Sterling Company aesthetic going on, but I'm a stickler for stupid jokes so I'm gonna say she's from Zendikar. The armor could evoke Sea Gate, and they've always been good with ropes so why NOT translate that to combat?

Like with the earlier ghosts, dead-then-revived means you're native to Thunder Junction... but also this guy is clearly an Obscura from New Capenna, using some of his old magic, so I'mma call it for the big city here.

Oko's big bad gang preparing for the heist of the life-time. Since it's Oko's big idea it's from Oko's stupid plan.

The sort of misty blasts of fire and ice we're seeing here is aesthetically similar to the "gunfire" magic of New Capenna. I love this guy by the way.

Hey wait a second Ashiok can't do stuff like this. They can only read nightmares, not minds!

YEah for those of you who don't know, the Ashiok in this set is actually Jace in disguise! So this is from home-grown celtic Vryn mind-shredding. Our hero(?) ladies and gentlehommes.

An actual Sterling Company goon, though at least this one has a funny joke to his card. I still really like the work they did in making sure every weapon used in the set has the needed arcing loop for Thunder to channel through it.

Oh right the reason why we're here. I'm gonna say New Capenna again, because there's basically no defining traits here. Also god I just realized he's missing the front brim of his hat and it looks terrible. Graywater pay your men properly they can't even afford complete hats!

It took me a bit to realize what was happening in this card. The lady in the back is only choosing the final Spree option here, swapping around the Outcaster and the Hellspur's clothing. Rude!

Clothing swap spells seems like a funny prank to pull at magical college, so Arcavios is where this is going.

I think in cases where I just cannot make any reasonable assumptions based on art, I should look at mechanics. Flashback is usually in Innistrad... but this lady's neckline is WAY too exposed for that Even accounting for the new plane... honestly I give up, the only real identifying factor here is her little lockpick device, which... kinda looks Kamigawan? Lets go with that.

The vibe, the way she wears her hat, and the little phone cord(?) on her belt makes me think of New Capenna. Look some of these are really difficult and I gotta go by vibes!

And that's the 30 card limit, give me a half second for part two!

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I'M SEEING FOB LIVE TODAY OMG 16yo me is sobbing hysterically rn -Danny Words: 2,152 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Girl' -by Jukebox The Ghost

XV: Maybe Consider This: Let's All Get Along

They get transported back to camp, where Apollo passes out instantly. Ara drops him at cabin seven and then continues her day, taking a brief nap on the porch before Lily comes to find her and asks for updates.

"An attack?" Lily says with concern. "Of what? Who's attacking?"

"I don't know, Rhea only said to get ready."

"We should mine every corner, then!" Sherman slams his hand on the table, they're all gathered around the ping pong table since Ara saw fit to have a meeting.

"You can mine every corner and still get attacked, Sherman," Malcolm scowls.

"We don't really know what's coming," Ara intervenes.

"It's coming from the forest," Malcolm points out. "Let's guard the limits."

Nyssa steps in. "Those men Rachel found live in the city, not the woods. Ara's right; the attack could come from anywhere."

"Like a virus," Will shivers.

"Let's think Roman," Ara suggests, leaning both hands on the table. "If these are old emperors, what are they most likely to do?"

"You forget these have been alive the whole time," Nico points out. "I don't think they've achieved that by sticking to the classics."

Lily glares at the map of the camp in the middle of the table. "We should first find out if they consider us a big or a small threat."

"Considering we've stumped two of their sponsored wars, I'd say they should at least consider a medium-size attack," Connor responds.

"That was before, when we had over a hundred campers in our frontlines, now we barely reach a dozen—And they know that. They... they have a spy here," Ara says, holding her breath and looking around the room to gauge their reactions.

The veterans quickly tense at her revelation. "A spy?" Nico asks sharply.

"Well, the beast mentioned having someone well-placed in camp." Lily scans the faces of the recent additions after Ara says that. "But let's not focus on that—"

"How can we not?" Malcolm demands. "It's useless to plan anything like this!"

"All I'm saying is, we don't need a plan. Stay alert, make sure we've got things ready just in case. Any questions?"

"Yeah—why are flowers sprouting out of your hair?" Connor points out.

Ara groans. "I meant questions about what I just told you."

Nico raises a hand. "Are you going back to the forest today?"

"We have to, Meg was taken, and from what the geyser god told us—we've got two tropical geysers in the woods, by the way," she tells Lily as a side comment. "We gotta map that out. Anyway, from what he said, we've got a day before she starts turning into jello."

"Is that what happened to the others?" Sherman asks trying to sound tough, but Ara senses his fear. Miranda was—is—his girlfriend.

"I don't know. The trees lure them, but they might be wandering the forest still, with any luck they've stayed away from the myrmekes."

Lily makes a face. "I hate those guys."

"Who doesn't?" Nyssa raises a brow. "They were a nightmare to deal with while building the Argo II."

"Strategus," Chiron calls. "What do you suggest we do while you're gone?"

Ara rubs her forehead. "I'm leaving Pollo, place him uphill, he's got a sharp vision and sharp ears, and he's fast so he can come running to warn us of an incoming threat. That's all I can come up with, we can't build a defense line that's half decent in our current state."

Everyone grumbles a response as if wanting to oppose but having nothing to say. "Is there any use to ask you to take some of us with you?" Malcolm crosses his arms sighing.

Ara shakes her head, openly sorry. "If I reach the missing demigods I'll have enough help, but I can't drag more of you into the woods. Even Apollo would agree on this."

"Very well," Chiron sighs. "Let's get ready."

Ara runs into Apollo at the armery, screaming at the sky. "If you want to punish me, Father, be my guest, but have the courage to hurt me directly, not my mortal companion. BE A MAN!" He pushes arrows into a quiver aggressively.

"So you've reached the yelling phase of frustration, huh?" Ara leans against the doorframe. "Been there. Often."

Apollo looks up to reply, but his voice falters and he pales when he spots the flowers knitted over her hair, now braided so it stays out of her eyes. "Hyacinth."

Ara raises a brow. "That's what they are? They look so different when they're not packed in a bulb. Don't worry, they'll fall out after a day, or the next time I shower, hopefully." She frowns. "Though I already showered and let me tell you, those things are like, rooted. It freaked me out."

"Why would she put them on you?" Apollo asks weakly.

Ara scowls, not liking the way he says that. "Why wouldn't she? The flowers are pretty—"

"They're a reminder of death!" He exclaims in outrage. "An homage to my lover, and you call them pretty? They're a bad omen when placed upon the daughter of Olympus like a laurel wreath!"

"Maybe Rhea put them there as a warning to others. Danger, highly murderous demigod, do not approach. You know?"

"That's nonsensical," he huffs grumpily, walking past her and hanging the quiver over his shoulder. "They make you look too good."

Ara follows him out without saying anything, she examines his choice of weapons, this time she's got nothing but her sword and shield both in camouflage mode. They get no sappy farewell, the demigods are occupied with fortifying the camp and ensuring no corner is unwatched. Ara and Apollo stride side by side in silence at a faster speed than it's wise.

"So you've decided to double down on the oath-breaking?" She points at his quiver.

"Saving Meg overrules any concern I could possibly have over my well-being." Ara laughs, irritating Apollo. He stops and looks at her. "What's so funny?"

"You," she retorts smirking. "Saying that as if your well-being didn't depend on saving Meg."

"Well, yes, but I'm not saving her because I'm forced to! I care about her! If it had been you, I would've waited a whole week before coming to find you."

"You think that would insult me, but it checks out with the way gods work," she replies unbothered.

Apollo rolls his eyes and keeps going. "It was your choice to become a daughter of Olympus."

"Oh, please..."

"Sure, you had that curse and the prophecy, but it was up to you to weave your path through it, you know? Gods work with what we've got, we don't make things out of nothing when it comes to humans."

"Hephaestus said that once..." Ara mumbles as they keep walking, and hearing it now annoys her all the same. However, after a couple of minutes, she stops again. "Listen, man..."

"We have no time to—"

"Just let me say this," she insists, catching his arm to stop him. "We can't go into the Myrmekes nest not being a team, it won't help Meg. And if my campers are in there, I need to know you'll set them free."

"My children are there too—"

"So you agree?" She presses. "Truce? I'll hold back and play nice if you promise to be a team player. I promise to try and get your Styx vow solved."

"How?" Apollo squints.

"Hades is my main patron, perhaps there is something he can do if your soul is mortal now," she shrugs. "It's not like he's never been open to negotiation before, and overlooking a god's mistake isn't new to him. Besides, he's a reasonable god, play your cards right and he might try to get the fates to spare you."

"And in exchange you get...?"

Ara's gaze turns wistful. "Everything. My camp goes back to normal, and you get off my back. Perhaps I'll get a prophecy to bring Leo back. That's what I want more than anything."

Apollo's gaze softens, and his eyes go back to the flowers in her hair. "That's why she put Hyacinth on you." He steps forward and grabs her hand, patting it gently. "I'm not the only one who's lost love. I'm not alone."

Ara stares at him, once more feeling weird about his proximity. "Yeah, okay... can I have my hand back?"

He clears his throat. "Yes, of course... so truce?"

"Truce," Ara nods, shaking his hand. "Let's go kill some ants."

"You've got the wind thingy Rhea gave you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Have it at the ready," Ara whispers as they watch the entrance of the nest. "Any game plan here?"

"You should cover your ears once we enter."

Ara looks at him. "I don't hate your singing that much."

"Thanks! But having you jump off a cliff if you listen to my song it's probably not ideal."

She searches in her octopus bag and seizes silicone putty earplugs. She got the idea from Octavian, which is about the only useful thing he ever did.

Apollo stands up and walks up directly into the nest. "Don't make eye contact with any of them and walk straight into the pit."

"Fake it 'til you make it, love that." Ara retorts, following him with a steady step. They jump into the nest and Ara stuffs her ears while Apollo sings. She's walking behind him, so it's only when he stops and stares at a flower ahead that she realizes he's crying. 

"Meg," Ara can read the name on his lips easily. Apollo looks over her shoulder, his eyes widen, and pulls her behind him before grabbing an arrow and shooting point black at a myrmeke that had been close to getting her. He turns with a serious expression and walks past her, she hears his muffled voice. "We gotta find Meg."

Ara follows him, Apollo quickly going back to his song, though it seems to affect the ants less. Ara's hand is tightly wrapped around her compass, ready to start fighting. "Should I help you out with charmspeak?"

Apollo shakes his head and gestures at her to stay quiet. He glances at the flowers on her hair and determination sets. Even though she can't hear him, Ara senses the grief, the human guilt that creeps up and breathes down her neck, she tries to shrug it off, but after so many years swimming in this kind of sentiments, it's hard not to be swept by it.

Apollo stiffens and seizes Ara's hand, yanking her forward. They run into a food chamber that makes Ara gag: there are a bunch of animal corpses all over the place, but Meg has grown a bed of flowers around her to keep the ant goo from her body. Ara pulls out the plugs and kneels, getting Almighty into dagger mode and cutting through the cocoon.

"I'm so sorry." Meg sobs.

"Why, dear Meg? You did nothing wrong. I failed you." Apollo says ever so gently.

"You don't understand," Meg cries. "That song you were singing. Oh, gods... Apollo, if I'd known—"

"Hush, now." The boy's voice is rough and worn out, Ara worries he'll drop dead without warning. "You're just reacting to the grief in the music. Let's get you free..." They freeze hearing the muffled yet heavy steps behind them. "There are ants behind us, aren't there?"

Meg nods slowly. "You have one arrow left," Ara informs Lester. "So leave it to me. You free her." The general runs into battle with Almighty in bow mode, she shoots at two ants, then rolls and shoots again, glowing silver as she goes. 

When the rest of the ants close around her, Apollo screams. "GET BACK HERE!" Ara runs past while he distracts the ants enough for her to come back to Meg's side, waving Paolo's bandana. "BACK, FOUL ANTS! BRASIL!"

He grabs his last arrow and shoots at the ceiling. Ara grabs one of the bombs from her octopus and tosses it upwards. The moment it goes off, the debris buries all living ants, lifting a cloud of dust around them.

"Let's go!" Ara says, pulling Apollo closer and planting a kiss on his hairline. "Good job, ninny!"

"I'll be Styxed," he replies, holding the bandana with astonishment. "It does have magic power. I can never tell Paolo about this or he'll be insufferable."

"Over here!" Meg calls behind them. "My rings!"

Apollo tosses them at her and soon enough two scary scimitars materialize. The ant coming at her doesn't even know what hit it before Meg slips under and cuts its head with a pathetic plop.

"Good job, tiny!" Ara beams. "Aim low, you remembered!"

Meg is still crying when she turns to speak to them. "Guys, I..."

"It's all right, Meg," Apollo insists. "I should be apologizing to you. I got you into this mess."

"You don't understand. I—"

A blood-coiling squeal momentarily deafens them. "That's the queen ant," Apollo winces. "We need to leave."

"But the sound came from there. We'll be walking in her direction."

"Exactly. So perhaps we should hold off on making amends with each other, eh? We might still get each other killed."

"This is why you make peace before battle," Ara blows a thin lock of hair away from her face before walking forward. "Let's kill stuff!"

Meg cleans her nose and nods weakly. Apollo looks at Ara with an amused expression, shaking his head before moving forward. "Weird girl..."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[heavenlybackside]

Big Mine Run Geyser. This is the only geyser on the East Coast, located in Ashland.

[babydollpeachh]

I had spent many nights hidden in the shadows of your back yard, watching you prance about in all manner of undress as you went about your nightly routine. Making my whole body ache and yearn as you flaunted your delicious curves to anyone lucky enough to peek through your parted curtains, showing off your immense sensuality and taunting me with the promise of sheer, unbridled satisfaction should I ever be bold enough to come claim what is most certainly mine. Well enough is enough and tonight is the night... watching as every light in the house gets extinguished one by one until only the bathroom light remains, seeing the steam of your hot shower fogging up the window and taking that as my cue to finally make my move. I knew you had a bad habit of leaving the back door unlocked, I had checked many times before and tonight was no different. Like a whisper I find myself creeping upstairs and into your bedroom, hearing you humming and singing to yourself as you shower, biting my lower lip and slowly undressing myself, feeling my cock spring out of my jeans with a fierce hunger as I take hold of your sexy little panties from the bedroom floor and bring them to my nose, savoring your scent as I rub my thick, pulsating erection. My little slice of bliss is interrupted when I hear the shower shut off and the door swing open as you step into the dull light of your bedroom, completely naked and dripping wet with just a simple white towel tied around your breasts, barely covering the magnificent tuck of your incredible ass as you run a hairbrush through the nest of your curly auburn hair. You had no idea that you were not alone until you felt my strong, sudden grip close around the back of your neck, pushing you firmly against the edge of the bed as I tear that towel from around your body and pin you helplessly down upon the mattress. You shriek and cry out and do your best to flail your arms and legs back against me, but I am much too strong for your pitiful attempts at resistance and with my free hand I grab hold of my fat, throbbing erection and slap it down hard against your soft, supple ass cheeks, grabbing a fistful of your soaking wet hair and wrapping it around my knuckles like a set of reins as I yank your head up and growl into your ear "Fight all you want, puppy. I'm taking what belongs to me whether you like it or not!!!"

Shoving your face flat against the damp sheets I force your legs apart with the edge of my knee, squatting down behind you slightly as I guide my heavy cock down the crack of your ass until I feel it slipping into your tight, spasming little fuck hole, giving my hips a short, sharp buck as I thrust my swollen girth up inside you, stifling your cries of protest by burying your face even harder against the bed. Grunting and groaning and panting like a primal beast I drive my big cock deep into your slick little pussy over and over and over again, my balls slapping against your thick mound with every savage thrust as I mount you like a possessed stallion. Releasing my grip on your hair and grabbing ahold of your exquisite hips as I fuck you hard and fast and oh so deep, feeling your silken walls clench against my shaft like a little fist as I ravage you without pause or remorse, feeling the cum well up inside of my loins like a geyser as your futile attempts to protest slowly bleed away and you resign yourself to your fate, feeling your body go limp as your moaning and whimpering blends with my own grunts to create the most beautifully carnal symphony. Bending over your body and running my long, flat tongue along the nape of your neck, tasting the salt on your skin before sinking my teeth sharply into the edge of your shoulder blade, causing you to yelp loudly and squirm beneath me as you try in vain to push me away, only succeeding in making my big, heavy cock roll around inside you like a gimbal. Licking your face, suckling upon your earlobe, covering your neck with row upon row of deep, red teeth marks as I slap that sweet, luscious ass of yours with the flat of my palms over and over again, adorning your flesh with bright, vibrant handprints and dull, purplish bruises. Finally after what seems like a blissful eternity I close both of my hands around your ravaged neck and pull you back up off the bed, bucking my hips against your soft ass like a madman, releasing a loud, primitive roar into your ear as my orgasm washes over my entire body, making me tremble and shiver uncontrollably as thick, juicy ropes of steaming hot cum erupt inside your quivering cunt, filling your belly and seeping out around my shaft until the seed is literally oozing down the insides of your thighs. You whimper and cry out as I push you away from me and back onto the bed, your shaking body collapsing in a heap as you pull your knees up against your chest and do you very best not to look at me. Catching my breath slowly I savor that intense feeling washing over me from head to toe, pure unabashed satisfaction. Feeling my cock twitch and spasm wildly I reach out and take a fistful of messy, knotted hair once more, pulling your face up towards me and forcing you to look me directly in the eye... "I'll be back, you dirty little cock tease. Don't you fucking dare try and tell anyone what happened tonight or next time I just might get truly rough!" Shoving you away I turn to gather up my discarded clothes, slipping effortlessly into my jeans as I walk out the bedroom door, hearing you utter the only intelligible words I've heard you speak all night through an ever-broadening and contented grin..."Yes Daddy... I promise I'll leave the door unlocked..." xXx

ahh you’re a talented writer!! super cute

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

So I've What the Cat said last week, mentioning Ciel, and I've been trying to think about what kind of weapon she might have.

I finally figured it out when watching a Steam Engine.

She Should have an "Element" Thrower! (like a flamethrower, but depending on the Dust you put in)

Obviously the leap seems big, but Trains run in Time Tables, which follows the ONE line we have from her.

Not only that, but trains would fall under the Cutter's Torch, literally cut apart with fire, and also trains have a fire box.

As for why it's not being restricted to just a flame thrower;

we already have that

Steam is pretty deadly, and Steam engines that overboil have killed their engineers

Why would Ciel not appreciate versatility? allowing for things to change when the schedule goes off to try and get back on track

It's FUCKING AWESOME

I refer to this mode as "Cutter" or "Geyser"

As for the Steam Engine thing, we can stretch it to other steam powered devices, which leads into the Melee portion

Steam drill.

It would have more of a rock boring head, rather than the cartoonish look most drill weapons have (Think the Big Daddy's Drill)

This allows the theme to go from "Time" to "Steam Engine" to "John Henry" which can connect all three.

John Henry is a Hard working, timely, folk lore hero. He out-mines a Steam Borer to make a tunnel for a railroad. (I think it's a railroad)

The Steam Drill form, Which I have dubbed "Bore" as most people wrote her off as potentially interesting, but she seems boring, and as in "To Bore" through a mountain?

It'd have two melee forms, One a badass drill gauntlet, like from Bioshock, and A drill Hammer form, as there are things called drill hammers, and again, it's a John Henry reference!

Not to sound like Todd Howard, but to me it just works!

Anyways, I'm drawing up some references, and I'm gonna try my hand at using Blender, but I haven't done it in a while so I'm rusty on all fronts.

[bishiglomper]

I layed down for a nap. Had vertigo the whole time. When I sleep with vertigo it feels like I'm slowly spinning on a raft. Also my brain was noisy. But I had coherent dreams

My dreams were in chapters. First set of dreams I was in POV of the villain! Which was so cool. I even got a simple run down of his motivations because there was like this introspective monologue. Also it was set inside a video game. Like an imersive one. Which I think he was semi-aware of the fact. I vaguely remember thinking is this file safe? Would it corrode or get corrupted? What if it ends up the last file and it gets lost?

I remember flying around and using powers that use the terrain which... a LOT of areas used wet sand as both terrain and puzzle mechanics and all sorts of uses. There was a musical number. I remember participating like I was a stand in for the villain but I was just playing the part. Shooting up geysers of wet sand pillars.

I remember interacting with some bad-side characters. Both were hermit crabs. 🤔 one little crab controlled a wave wall. If the heroine dug into her hidden alcove and found her she could control a wall of wet sand that dropped to pass a wall of water an access a higher pool. Another was there was a garage full of mechanic hermit crabs that looked like theme park rides. Their shells were barred cages that rose and fell and yu had to avoid getting trapped in the sequence or it'd hold you and gas you with poison. I remember thinking. "Nooo I'm the boss, remember? I KNOW I should know the sequence but cut me some slack!!" Lmao

I even tried to shift around in between the bars and panels but the game logic wasn't letting me haha

I remember lucid dream controlling my power to fly around and investigate the plot. There was supposed to be a heroine. Depending on how she cleared baddies, she had a party. If she failed to save some from their plots though..

There was some rewinding and jury rigging some shit.

There was like a trolley ride through a carpeted hallway. Like at a hotel. Had arches of stairs it went over. There was a guy at a counter at the start and you could obtain goodies like fair inflatable swords people dropped if you scooped them up after someone dropped them. Couldn't get out though. Had to grab as you passed.

Heroine had to jury rig a fishing line for something? She grabbed a bottle of foundation that was an item but there was only enough for one use. Which she used to paint her toenails. Low render mechanics. Slathered it on and it transformed I to painted nails. Which had 3 variations. I remember a companion being like " wheres mine? That not fair."

Then she had to fight a woman/beast sitting in The middle of a vast space in the hotel that was basementy and filled with water. I think it was only like 5ft deep. Too small to drown or hide enemies but too big to maneuver well.

And then there were chapters with alastor and I was thinking I'm sad he's not real because I seriously wanna know his reaction to asexuals, aromantics and queer platonic relationships. 🫠 also how would he react to being confessed to? Like would he be an ass or handle it gently? It was killing me not knowing 🫣 I went over to figure it out. Next thing I know we took turns having our hands handcuffed to a bench sort of thing and we took tidbits of eachother to snack on. Weird ass cannibal mf'ers. 🤷‍♀️

I wanna go back to flying mode as the villain. I practically had creator privileges (part as lucid dreamer, part as main antagonist) I loved flying around with my powers and just going about the overworld

Not so much when I lost control over the power though. I got hit with shards of glass and temporarily forgot how to power everything because it hurt and I didn't want to crunch more glass in my legs. 😬

[porkchop-ao3]

A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 66)

Where Next?

Thanks for your patience guys ❤ This one is pretty short, I'm sorry about that, but there is action coming, promise. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter with cute little Jack 😊

Tagging @emily-strange and @actuallyhansolo​​ ❤

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

-

I didn't see much of Arthur for a couple of days. Things were strange at the camp, there was no sense of permanence at all, there was plenty of talk about what next, where next? Some people had their answers, but mostly the camp was quiet with everyone in their own bubble of quiet contemplation. Everything had fallen apart in a matter of days and suddenly everyone had to figure out what to do next. 

I just waited patiently, doing what I could for the group. I hunted and provided some meat for everyone to fill their bellies with, it helped us to keep warm. It wasn't the toastiest of locations, so far north, but it would do until we had our plan. 

Arthur had spent the past two days with Charles. They had broken Eagle Flies out of prison after nightfall and they were up first thing the following day to be with Rains Fall. He was meeting with the army; things were not good and he was hoping to salvage some sort of deal or relationship of trust. That's where they were as I was sitting by the fire, wrapped up in a blanket and keeping an eye on Jack for John and Abigail, who were nearby discussing their plan. All I knew of it was they were wanting to get as far away from this place as possible. I wondered if we would ever see them again, or if they would keep on going further and further until the only evidence we'd ever have of their existence was a letter in the post once or twice a year. It made me sad to think about it, but I couldn't for one second protest it. We couldn't have much of a happily ever after, not after the things we'd done. We just had to make the best of things. 

"What're you doing, Jack?" I called out when I saw him wandering a little too close for comfort to one of the geysers.

"Just looking," he shouted back to me, though he stopped and turned around to smile at me. He was still smiling. It astounded me, honestly, he'd taken everything so well. 

He did ask about Dutch once or twice, wondering when we were going back to him. Abigail was usually the one to tell him the truth, but softly, carefully, while John and the rest of us sat tongue tied, unable to think of the right words to satisfy a four year old in such a situation. Jack usually responded with silence, and I couldn't tell if his silence was a signal of sadness or indifference.

I watched the boy as he picked up a pebble from the ground and then eyed up the geyser. I knew what his question was going to be before he opened his mouth. 

"What would happen if I threw this inside?" He called. I exhaled a chuckle and went to answer, though the words got stuck. I didn't actually know.

"Uhh," I vocalised cluelessly, "I s'pose it'd shoot back out again." 

"Can I try it?" 

"Best not," I chuckled, "the speed that thing would come out– I don't know. I wouldn't if I were you, sweetie. What if it falls down and bops you on the noggin?"

"I'd be okay," he assured me, and I cocked my brow a little. 

"Your momma might not be, I'm supposed to be looking after you. I imagine she'd toss me in there if you got hurt on my watch. C'mere." 

He kept hold of the pebble but did as he was asked, and came trotting over to me with a pair of rosy cheeks.

"Sit by the fire, okay? It's freezing out here, ain't you cold?" 

"No," he told me, his tone was high and it was very obviously untrue.

"Your nose'll drop off if you ain't careful," I warned, a little smirk on my face. He touched his pink nose and considered it for a moment. 

"It didn't fall off when we were in the snow." 

"The snow?" 

"With Uncle Dutch and Hosea, and everyone else. Before you were here," he said, gazing down at the rock in his hand, scratching at a piece of mud caked onto it until it gathered under his fingernail. He wiped it on his trousers.

"Ohh," I nodded, I'd heard about it before, their short stop at Colter after the Blackwater fiasco. "Wow, seems like a long time ago, I bet. You've been to so many places since then, ain't you?"

He hummed his agreement and nodded, not looking up at me. 

"You like going to different places?" 

"I guess so," he shrugged, "but sometimes I get bored." 

I chuckled, "yeah, I think we all do," I smiled at him and stroked his hair for a moment. It was feathery soft and light, and I sighed at his innocence. Such a sweet boy. I had no doubt that Abigail and John loved him and were the best parents they could possibly be to him, but I wished he'd had more normal beginnings in life. And I hoped he'd forget some of the awful things he must've seen and heard. 

"How're you feeling, about going away with your ma and pa?" I asked him. 

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" I repeated, leaning my head on my fist as I leaned forward and down to his level. 

"We're going away. Uncle Arthur, and you, and Sadie won't be there? And all the others?"

"No, sweetheart, we won't. But I'm sure it won't be the last you'll see of all of us, hm? Right now, your mama and papa only wanna take you someplace safer, you understand that, don't you?" I asked softly and he sighed, his little shoulders jerking with it.

"I guess so," his voice was small and I gave his shoulder a little squeeze. 

"Keep your chin up, little prince. Your parents love you to the moon and back, a million times over. You're gonna be okay," I smiled at him, even though he was staring at the rock. I considered it for a moment. "Can I see that?" 

He looked up at me in question, and noticed that I was looking at the rock. He paused for a second before handing it over. I inspected it for a moment, it looked much smaller in my hand than it did in his but it still filled up most of my palm. I clutched it tight in my hand, then looked at Jack as I kissed my knuckles. I closed my eyes for a few moments, and I heard him giggle. 

"What're you doing?" He questioned and I scrunched my face up, shushing him softly. 

"I'm concentrating," I murmured, and continued the performance for a few more moments, his giggles continuing until I slowly cracked one eye open, and then the other. 

"What did you do?" He stood up and turned to me, his hand going to mine, trying to pry my fingers from the stone, his cheeks round and rosy with his grin. 

"I filled it with my love Jacky, and a little extra that I got from Karen, Mary Beth, Tilly, Hosea, Kieran, Molly, Sean, Mr Trelawny, Reverend Swanson, Mr Pearson, Uncle…" I made a show of gasping for a breath after listing off so many names, then swallowed before deciding to mention the names which followed, "and Javier and Bill too, and Mr Strauss… and Dutch." 

My voice had wavered and I needed a second to compose myself. I cleared my throat, and was grateful that Jack was preoccupied by looking at the grey lump of rock in my hand. It was warm from my body heat and he gasped a little when he took it from me, marvelling about it's temperature.

"But it's a big rock. Plenty of room for more love. How 'bout you ask everyone to hold on tight to that rock, and put all their love and care into it. So, as long as you've got that, you'll be safe, and you'll be able to remember all of us and know that we ain't ever leaving you, not in our hearts." 

"Okay!" He did a little jump and squeezed the rock in his hand again, holding it to his chest with the biggest smile I'd seen all year. It warmed my heart despite the freezing temperatures. I glanced up to where Lenny was sat wrapped up in his winter coat, a book in his gloved hands. 

"Why don't you go ask Lenny if he don't mind taking a break from reading?" I suggested, and Jack immediately spun around and ran over to him. 

I watched him from a distance, as he excitedly explained the concept. Lenny chuckled and looked up at me from across the camp. He put his book down, laced his fingers together and pushed them out to stretch out his hands before giving them a shake and rocking his head from side to side, limbering up before taking the rock from Jack and cupping it tightly between both hands and squeezing it as hard as he could, eyes intently focused on them. I grinned and laughed to myself, loving his commitment to making the boy smile. I knew everyone would be just as eager to please, not afraid of making a fool of themselves. 

For the rest of the afternoon Jack went around the camp asking people to contribute to the pebble. I was glad to have given him something to amuse him, and perhaps something to remember us all by, even if it was just a simple rock. It would be nice if he remembered us all each time he looked at it, if it didn't get lost along the way during whatever trips he and his parents were about to embark on. 

In the late afternoon Arthur came back. Charles was not by his side but he quickly reassured us that he had simply gone to visit the Wapiti Reservation after the negotiations hadn't exactly gone to plan. I tried not to listen to the details, despite this horrid feeling that built in the pit of my gut as days went by. I kept trying to reason with myself that Arthur had been putting his life in danger far longer than he had known me and had always come out alive. It didn't stop the voice in my head that would whisper about his luck running out…

Before I spiralled into those thoughts I got on with preparing dinner. As long as I had Arthur back in my arms at the end of the day, whatever chaos had found him while he was gone was not worth thinking about. Torturing myself was not going to help anyone, especially not Arthur, who would no doubt grow tired of my whittling about his well being. I just had to keep telling myself that soon this would all be over. 

–

"Canada, I'm thinking. Would be their best chance. They can't stay here much longer after all of that mess we left behind after the negotiations today," Charles was saying over his helping of rabbit stew. He'd returned from the reservation, where he'd apparently spent the best part of the evening convincing them to start packing up to leave. "Rains Fall seems hesitant, not that I don't understand him.  They've been moved around enough, all they want is to settle and have peace so they can live."

"Doesn't seem like they'll be able to do that here though," John said, and Arthur murmured a sound of agreement.

"He's coming to terms with that I think. He knows they'll have to move on sooner or later, it's just hard for him to accept right now, even harder for Eagle Flies. He's even more against the idea," Charles replied.

"He's got a lot of passion and fire in him, that man. He ain't quite learned though, that sometimes passion like that can get you killed," Arthur said. Charles silently nodded in agreement and looked down at his plate. "Canada, you say?"

"Canada," Charles nodded. "And I'd go with them."

"Really?" My brows raised. A quick, sharp pain went through my heart as in a second it became reality that the group was splitting up. These people I had lived with for so long and come to love, we were all going separate ways...

"Yeah. I don't have any other ideas," he chuckled a bit, then shook his head and became a little more serious, "I like it, with them. I feel closer to my mother." 

I smiled, comforted by the fact that even if Charles wouldn't be with us, he'd have a family.

"Arthur," I heard from behind. It was Sadie's gravelly whisper and my heart dropped. I knew what she was going to ask. Arthur, sitting beside me around the fire, glanced over his shoulder and nodded. Then he wordlessly leaned over to kiss my temple, and got up. He stepped over the log we sat on and headed away from the group with Sadie.

They were going to the O'Driscolls' hideout. More bloodshed. More danger. I took a breath and met Charles' eyes.

"I'm happy for you Charles. You deserve to be with people who care about you, who'll all keep each other safe. And the fact they also share your heritage, that's even nicer," I smiled at him and he nodded, "when do you think you'll go?"

"Soon as I've convinced them," he chuckled a little again, the corner of his lip lifting. 

"I'll miss you," I told him. It seemed to startle him but only a little, he was often cool and calm and not even surprising words of emotion could throw him off for long. 

"I'll miss you too," he said after a moment, and the words sounded almost like a revelation, like he also hadn't fully wrapped his head around the fact he'd be saying goodbye to us all until now. "We'll write to each other, all of us, yeah?" 

"Definitely," I nodded, my smile widening, "and if I ever find myself in Canada, I'll have a free place to stay, right?" I teased just a little and he laughed. 

"Of course.”

[catstrophysics-fics]

Been a while since I posted something here. Dean/Cas, 2k, domestic and written in one sitting. Likes, comments, and reblogs WILDLY appreciated! It wasn’t dark at night in the city. Streetlights glowed orange, marking every 100 feet with soldier’s precision—guards never present along backroads and country highways. Buildings adorned with neon signs lined the street, marketing “OPEN” or “VACANCY” or any of the thousand other possibilities for a storefront. Even the horizon shone, light pollution leaching into the night sky unlike anything he’d see among the trees. It wasn’t dark at night, and the Impala’s headlights barely showed against the road.

Sam was home, keeping tabs on Eileen as she hunted down a siren that only targeted men, leaving Dean and Castiel to sort out wrapping up a case in Nowhere, USA. The case was an easy finish: exorcise a demon, salt the doors and windows afterwards, and check the perimeter for anything else dodgy. Then they were alone downtown, and for the first time in too long they had a night to themselves. They started with the basics. Take Baby to a gas station, fill her up and clean the mud (and blood) off of her chrome, then Rain-X the windshields. Stop by the most middle-of-the-road all-night diner they could find, Dean slipping off his overcoat in the car before they went in. He ordered a burger, same as always. Castiel sat across from him in the cramped linoleum booth, same as always. The persistent shake in his leg had slowed to an occasional bounce, and he stretched out both feet under the booth, barely mustering the care to flinch away when he knocked into Castiel’s legs. For a split second he considered apologizing, but when Castiel nabbed a fry off of his plate—he didn’t need to eat, but Dean had long since learned he’d snag bites of food when he felt really happy—he called it even and let his knee rest softly against the side of Castiel’s. Dean ate slowly. Castiel watched. The streetlights outside flickered every handful of minutes, a reminder that time passed even as they sat nearly motionless. He snagged another fry, and this time Dean batted at his thieving fingers with his free hand. That’s mine, his initial look said, but with a cocked eyebrow and half of a sideways smile he relented (as always; so it had been, so it always would be). They finished eating, talking of anything but hunting. I don’t understand why we need to sleep here tonight, Cas had said, met by Dean’s reciprocal I need sleep, and you’re not driving. Never mind that Castiel could drive perfectly well, save for when a truck swerved into his lane and the stereo turned on full blast, or when bouts of road rage would pop tires off of cars in front of him. Aside from incidents like that, he was a good driver, patient in a way Dean assumed came with millennia of watching time come and go. Dean paid, tipping 20% and rounding up to the nearest whole number, some remnant of John and Mary discussing credit card bills and adding them up themselves hanging over from his childhood. They stood, neither acknowledging that they’d been separated only by the fabric of their pants moments before, and Dean held the door on their way out, giving the restaurant one last once-over (for black eyes, glowing blue eyes, and a glance for silver eyes on the monitor over the door). The Impala glistened in the night, chrome freshly wiped and windshields free of the dirt of miles. Absently, Dean checked his watch, more of a habit than anything, and Castiel cocked his head inquiringly. Dean flipped his hand over, showing an upside-down 10:32, and they got in the car with a thunk of the locks shifting. The engine turned over with Dean’s key, and the radio crackled back to life, playing one of Led Zeppelin’s lesser-known songs softly. By some unspoken mutual agreement, they drove aimlessly. The city was nice, Dean thought, small enough to be beneath the notice of big box chain stores and big enough to have infrastructure they didn’t run into most places. A few nice houses scattered around, painted murals on the sides of strip malls, and straggly if well-kept medians. A swath of dark green appeared up the road, and without turning his head he could feel Castiel looking at him hopefully, a question hanging in the air like static electricity. Dean turned on the blinker, and a sense of satisfaction permeated the front seat. The park was nice. The whole city, really, was nice, Dean thought. Well-proportioned. Cas seemed to like it, too, it seemed, as he walked a few feet ahead not by any conscious thought; Dean just preferred to hang back and watch him, sometimes. Turn the tables a little, see him when he’s off guard and full of wonder even after all his years on

Earth. They wandered without direction, taking the first path they saw before breaking off to follow tiny train tracks for a spell, Castiel walking carefully between the ties and Dean balancing haphazardly on the rails themselves. A few dozen yards into their balancing act, Castiel tripped, and without thinking Dean caught him around the forearm, holding him steady until he regained his footing. Unlike back home, when they’d limit touching to necessities such as healing or spellwork, Castiel didn’t seem inclined to shake Dean off, and Dean didn’t let go, sliding his hand down to rest closer to Castiel’s as though it were the most natural thing in the world. They carried on, tracks now running between them The train tracks ended abruptly with a miniature “STOP!” sign before opening up into a paved pavilion with a pool in the middle, bubbling softly. Castiel paused, hand slipping out of Dean’s as he looked around slowly, eyes aglow not from within but from the reflections of the lights around the pavilion off of the water. Dean stepped up beside him, careful not to break whatever spell seemed to have come over him in the pavilion. “Y’know,” he said, hearing his words bounce back off of the white stone, “I could teach you how to dance.” Castiel turned to him slowly, surprised at first before his expression settled into something softer. Dean felt his cheeks heat, conversations late at night in motel rooms slipping back into his mind. “You’d said you wanted to learn, and Sonny made all of us boys go to cotillion at least once.” He cracked a grin, and Castiel’s lips responded reflexively. “I can waltz like nobody’s business.” For a split second it looked like he was going to refuse, carefully place another layer of brick between whatever forbidden hands reached out between them. Then he stepped forward off the end of the track, coat swishing, and waited expectantly. Frankly, Dean had expected him to decline. Angels weren’t known to dance except on the heads of pins. But it was Cas, standing in the center of the pavilion a few feet from the water’s edge, head cocked as he waited. Dean took a moment to remember, thinking back to teenage him in a scratchy shirt and too-tight bowtie and the one-two-three step he’d committed to muscle memory years ago in a school gym, rattly classical music playing over the PA system as he laughed and flirted carelessly with whatever girl he danced with that night. The steps had never left him, though faces and memories did, and he flipped through the songs he’d since learned he could waltz to. Castiel stood waiting, stiff in the shoulders and watching his every move expectantly. Dean stepped closer, feeling the familiar electric hum that came with proximity to him and a matching buzz hum through his veins. Gently—he pegged the emotion pounding in his chest as nervousness, and butterflies fluttered to life in his stomach to accompany—he moved their hands into place, one around Cas’s waist resting low near his hips, Cas’s right hand on Dean’s left shoulder. Just like always, his fingers tingled when they brushed over the raised scar, and Dean smiled quietly to himself as he interlocked their hands, the easiest motion in the world. “It’s just one-two-three,” Dean said, taking tiny steps of his own to demonstrate. “We’re set up like you’re leading”—because I want your hand on my shoulder, because I want to feel you under my fingertips—“because you’ve got two left feet, and it’s a little easier to start going forward first.” He paused, flexing his fingers in the fabric of Castiel’s coat. “I’ll lead, though, just follow me.” Castiel nodded, and Dean couldn’t help the smile that broke through his nerves. Clearing his throat, he started to hum the opening of his favorite waltz song, holding eye contact with Castiel as they started to move. I put a spell on you Because you’re mine Even wordlessly, he saw recognition spark in Castiel’s eyes, and the happy, comforting buzz of his presence turned up a few notches as they began to move, Dean guiding them backwards in

spiralling circles around the fountain as he hummed through the rest of the song, watching enraptured as the light changed and shifted around them, always seeming to glint an otherworldly blue from Cas’s eyes. I just can't stand it, babe Castiel was relaxing, pulling Dean near-imperceptible millimeters closer with each turn, and Dean let himself be drawn in, magnetic until they were nearly pressed up one another in the glow of the fountain. Because you’re mine. Dean held out the last note for a few moments, still staring intently at Castiel who seemed breathless despite needing no air. A surge of joy rushed through his chest, and he leaned in the few inches between their lips and pressed a quick, happy kiss to the corner of his lips. Behind him, the fountain burst out a geyser of water that cleared the treetops as the backlight in the water flickered to black. The water came raining down on them, still holding each other from dancing, drenching Castiel’s coat and plastering Dean’s hair to his head. They stood frozen for moments, the din of traffic in the distance audible for the first time, and Castiel’s eyes got wider and wider, fear creeping in at the edges until Dean burst out laughing, leaning forward to rest his forehead on Castiel’s shoulder. Slowly, the tension dissipated from his shoulders and he breaks into quiet giggles, starting soft and low and escalating in seconds into the same body-shaking laughter Dean trembled with, both of them tapering to the end of a bout before catching it back from the other. The fountain behind them had returned to normal, the only signs anything had happened the puddle of water surrounding it and the broken, dark bulb underneath. They drew apart slightly, aftershocks of laughter still coursing through them in tandem with adrenaline. “To avoid further municipal catastrophes,” Dean began, before collapsing into another bout of giggles as Castiel squeezed his hand, “I’m giving you advance warning this time: I’m going to kiss you again.” Castiel’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and he didn’t give Dean time to lean in before his lips were on Dean’s, wet from fountain water and warm from laughter, and Dean didn’t mind the static shocks passing between their hands and radiating out in all directions from Castiel. They followed the train tracks back to the main path, leaving wet shoe prints behind and a line of drips gathering underneath their joined hands. “Grab the towels from the back,” Dean said as they reached the car. “We’re not dripping all over Baby like this.” It wasn’t dark at all in the city as they drove to the cheapest motel on the edge of town, Dean driving left-handed as he stroked over Cas’s thumb. He parked, got out their only bag (a change of clothes apiece, and a handful of weapons just in case), and his voice didn’t waver at all as he asked for a room with just one bed.

[gerrymike]

OK. commentary on my satg playlist. For reasons

lol it wont let me hyperlink but. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0w9pMZtOvP0plqdxT665q7?si=wEFnvdh3Rjaa0p2UX251mQ&dl_branch=1 Plug

1. PIEDMONT (DESTROY BOYS)

Looks like I'm late for the party Everyone knows the attire but me Glass walls separate us Catch a glimpse into different books On different shelves

i.e. teen crisis where u want desperately to live the same life as ppl on the street but also can’t imagine anything worse

2. SWEET ADELINE (ELLIOTT SMITH)

It's a picture-perfect evening and I'm staring down the sun Fully loaded, deaf and dumb and done Waiting for sedation to disconnect my head Or any situation where I'm better off than dead

i.e. she’s alive! is that worse or better. also jfc, you fucking hate hospitals

3. ALAMEDA (ELLIOTT SMITH)

You walk down Alameda  Shuffling your deck of trick cards over everyone Like some precious only son Face down, bow to the champion

also

Walk down Alameda  Brushing off the nightmares you wish Could plague me when I'm awake And now you see your first mistake  Was thinking that you could relate For one or two minutes she liked you But the fix is in

i.e. oops it’s two elliotts in a row, sorry. just. about the connection you can form with someone given just a short period of time, and how sometimes it gets ruined by, like, a werewolf. pretty similar to sweet adeline. mx weisglass gets two songs. plus “precious only son” 😬 “shuffling your deck of trick cards” 😬

4. CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS (IRON MAIDEN)

Give me the sense to wonder To wonder if I'm free Give me a sense of wonder To know I can be me Give me the strength to hold my head up Spit back in their face

i.e. for Me mostly because i think the whiplash from elliott to maiden is kinda funny. also the gerry VS twisty animosity, in over-the-top wizardy terms. sometimes you are full of hate and that’s OK 😬 

5. ICU (PHOEBE BRIDGERS)

If you're a work of art I'm standing too close I can see the brush strokes I hate your mom I hate it when she opens her mouth It's amazing to me How much you can say When you don't know  What you're talking about

and

I'll climb through the window again But right now it feels good not to stand Then I'll leave it wide open Let the dystopian morning light pour in

i.e. we’re back in london…and, well, yeah. also, song title! we’re still in sacramento, actually, spiritually, at this point in the story

6. CRY FOR JUDAS (THE MOUNTAIN GOATS)

Feel the storm every night Hope it passes by Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth Draw a white chalk Baphomet Mistreat your altar boys long enough and this is what you get

i.e. crew. i think about him

7. IRIS (THE GOO GOO DOLLS)

And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life And sooner or later, it's over I just don't wanna miss you tonight

plus

And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am

i.e. OK. OK. OK. yeah, OK. damn right all you can taste is this moment…yeah OK. SONGS5

8. KILL ALL YOUR FRIENDS (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE)

It's been 8 bitter years since I've been seeing your face And you're walking away And I will die in this place

to

It's been 10 fucking years since I've been seeing your face round here And you're walking away And I will drown in the fear

i.e. ah…the lyrical differences in the chorus…yes…also i love how raucous this song is despite what it’s about. it’s got satg energy!!! “seeing your face”, of course, is not literal 😬

9. ENCHANTING GHOST (SUFJAN STEVENS)

Don't carry on carrying efforts, oh no, oh oh oh oh Somewhere there's a room for each of us to grow And if it pleases you to leave me, just go, oh oh oh oh Stopping you would stifle your enchanting ghost

and

Did you cut your hands on me? Are my edges sharp? Am I a pest to feed?

i.e. 😬😬😬

10. PAUL (BIG THIEF)

In the blossom of the months I was sure that I'd get driven off with thought So I swallowed all of it As I realized there was no one  Who could kiss away my shit

and PARTICULARLY

Well Paul, I know you said That you'd take me any way I came or went But I'll push you from my brain See, you're gentle baby I couldn't stay, I'd only bring you pain

i.e. HARROWING TERRITORY!!!

11. PITSELEH (ELLIOTT SMITH)

I'll tell you why I Don't wanna know where you are I gotta joke I've been dying to tell you

i.e. sorry. a lot of elliott smith on this playlist. thems the breaks

12. OPHELIA (THE LUMINEERS)

Oh, Ophelia You've been on my mind girl like a drug Oh, Ophelia Heaven help a fool who falls in love

i.e. callbacks to SONGS5…! and more pain

13. CLOUDS (BORNS)

I forget all my dreams I forget everyones name I meet I forget about time and space But I can't stop thinking 'bout your face

i.e. tfw your memory’s shit and also you just threw yourself into the sky and you’re still not over it. yowch!

14. ARCADE (DUNCAN LAWRENCE)

Oh, oh-oh-oh oh Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh All I know, all I know Loving you is a losing game

i.e. sorry i heard this song first in a c#tradora edit and i have never recovered.

15. WARS (OF MONSTERS AND MEN)

Yeah, I love you on the weekends But I'm careless and I'm wicked Yeah, I love you on the weekends It's a cruel war I still have pieces of you stuck on me Pieces of you stuck on me Yeah, I love you on the weekends It's a cruel war

i.e. PIECES OF YOU STUCK ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is the only song of the new omam i’ve heard. i never got around to listening to it. but this one slaps

16. MONTERO (LIL NAS X)

Lookin' at the table, all I see is weed and white Baby, you livin' the life, but baby, you ain't livin' right Cocaine and drinkin' with your friends You live in the dark, boy, I cannot pretend

AND

A sign of the times every time that I speak A dime and a nine, it was mine every week What a time, an incline, God was shinin' on me Now I can't leave And now I'm actin' hella elite

AND ESPECIALLY

I want that jet lag from fuckin' and flyin'

i.e. God i love this song. re: avatarhood. YOU CAN’T LEAVE!!! not saying it’s like being a celebrity, but it’s like being a celebrity. dual perspectives here with G + his morality regarding the person he loves being, uh, evil? (you live in the dark / i cannot pretend) and M + debt he owes to his god, erosion of his own morals. also, SHEER F*CKING VIBES

17. GEYSER (MITSKI)

You're my number one You're the one I want And you've turned down Every hand that has beckoned me to come

i.e. love songs that serve double as to your god and to your lover

18. THAT’S WHAT I LIKE (BRUNO MARS)

Jump in the Cadillac (Girl, let's put some miles on it) Anything you want (Just to put a smile on it) You deserve it baby, you deserve it all

i.e. this song is here because i say so. a real “sorry it’s been seven years let me make it up to you” vibe

19. RUN AWAY WITH ME (SUFJAN STEVENS)

And I say, love Come run away with me Sweet, falling remedy Come run away with me

i.e. more grand ridiculous propositions. more to come. but they’re born out of a real frustration with the situation at hand! it sucks! also, “falling remedy”,

20. LET’S GET MARRIED (BLEACHERS)

I'm gonna get right for you, honey I'll take all of my medicine, spend you all my money, yeah I know it's hard enough to love me But I woke up in a safe house singing, "Honey, let's get married"

i.e. bro.

21. I WILL (MITSKI)

And while you sleep I'll be scared So by the time you wake I'll be brave

i.e. a lot of these here are self explanatory..

22. ME & MY DOG (BOYGENIUS)

I had a fever Until I met you Now you make me cool

also

I never said I'd be all right Just thought I could hold myself together But I couldn't breathe, I went outside Don't know why I thought it'd be any better I'm fine now, it doesn't matter

i.e. title is significant. and yeah. just. recovery’s tricky

23. I FOUND (AMBER RUN)

And I've moved further than I thought I could But I missed you more than I thought I would

i.e. this is like a staple song for like. basically. any pairing. but i’m pathetic and it gets me every time. there’s something about it. not sure if i’m going to leave it on this playlist but. hm. yeah

OK that’s a wrap. highly likely i’ll put more songs on this as i go

[mini-fanfics]

Mine Forever (Yandere! Revenant x reader)

Warning: gore and blood

Summary: revenant has finally found someone who knows how he feels being a robot and now he’ll never let them go

You don't remember how it all happened, you didn't want it to happen. The blood of your teammates no not only your teammates but the other legends: their blood, their internal organs, their crushed bones painted the walls of the drop ship and standing in the center of the bloody mess.....him.

A week before the incident

You were a new legend to the apex games. You walk onto the drop-ship with your combat boots, black baggy pants, a crop top and an oversized black jacket covering your body. The legends look at you and introduced themselves except for one of them, a red robot that was fiddling with a black burnt ball all he did was stare at me. You ignored him but you still wanted to get along with him so maybe you'll talk to him later.

The drop ship takes off to the arena and you look at the board to see that you were on a team with Bangalore and bloodhound. You got on a platform with them and head to the geyser, and started to looting the area you got ok stuff, a level one body shield, a wingman and an r103. You head towards the ring but you ended up running into an enemy squad. The enemy took a lot of our health and we did not have a lot of medkits or shields. You tried looting a death boxes but we were third party by another team. The team was octane, mirage and revenant, you stare at revenant as he shoots you down. He looks at you and chuckled, "death is coming rookie but I'll make sure it won't come to you.......for now" he shoots you in the head sending you back to the drop ship eliminating your team. You looked up at the screens of the drop ship and see that revenant was the new kill leader but what did he mean by death won't come to me yet?

You keep looking at the battle and revenant's team wins the game. They come back to the drop ship and everyone cheered for them. Mirage stood in a table, "drinks on us tonight guys" octane butts in, "you mean drink are on you" everyone laughs as we all head to the bar

When we got to the bar all the legends sat in a booth but one revenant. He won too didnt he? He should be having fun too. You look around and see revenant sitting at the bar alone. You sigh and get up from the booth, mirage looks at you, "hey newbie where ya heading?" You look at mirage, "I'm gonna y'all to revenant." The legends look at you like you grew three heads, mirage chuckles awkwardly, "youuuuu don't want that sweetheart trust me he's......crazy not caustic crazy but insane crazy." You roll your eyes, "I'll be fine I'm a big girl guys" you walk over to revenant and sit next to him, you see him drink whiskey, you decide to order it too even though you never had it before. You take a sip of the whiskey it was bitter the taste surprised you so much you started coughing up the disgusting taste. You hear a chuckle you look next to you to see revenant laughing at you a little, "you acquire a taste for whiskey don't get it just because I'm getting it." You smile a bit, "I wanted to make you comfortable at least since you never seem to talk to me." Revenant looks at you, "I spoke to you on the battlefield plus I'm not the type to make friends." You put your head on your hand, "why are you here for mr. revenant?" He sighs, "will you leave me alone if I tell you?" You sigh, "sure I'll leave you alone if you tell me" he drinks the rest of his whiskey then starts talking, "I'm here for vengeance, I was human once until....they made me like this..." he slams his fist down when he says 'they' you look at you even more curious, "and who are they?" He growls and looks at you, "you said you'll leave me alone once you ask your question right?!" You gulp a bit scared but you didn't wanna show him fear, "m-maybe I can help." He grips his hands into fist tightly, "how can someone like you change me back to human?" You sigh and rest your hands on his clench fist, "I can't help with that but I can help you cope." He looks at me, "you'll never know how I feel rookie." You turn your body towards his, "really?" You lift up your pants leg exposing your robotic legs with the labels Hammond Robotics stamped to it, "i know what they did to you. Everyone talked about the man that turned to metal by Hammond robotics." He looks at your legs and chuckles, "you and I aren't so different huh?" You pull your pants legs back down, "I know what you've been through now can we be friends?" He sighs and orders two shots of vodka for us, "alright but I don't want the other legends thinking I'm soft so don't talk to me like we're friends during the games or around them." You giggle a bit as you two clink shot glasses, "deal I hope we become close revenant."

Present time

Those words wanting to become close to revenant You didn't expect him to take it so seriously. Every minute outside the arena he was near you causing you to stay away from the other legends. On the dropship to the arena Lifeline, octane and a few other legends wanted to go out into town with you and you said yes. But what you didn't know was that revenant was ease-dropping on the conversation making him quietly crush his little burnt ball into nothing.

After the game you head home to get ready for the outing with the other legends. They still didn't know about your legs so you wore long black pants and a fancy red top with black boots. You head to the drop ship but it was quiet too quiet. You enter the drop ship to a dark room, you step forward into something wet but it wasn't just any liquid it was..... blood! You turn the light on in the drop ship to see the corps of your legend friends on the floor lifeless. Their stomach was spilling out of them and their bones were clearly crushed. You look up to see in the middle of the blood mess him....revenant with the organs of what seems to be mirage in his hand. Your eyes widen, "r-revenant what did you do?!!" He chuckled, "you were gonna abandon me my friend and I can't have that now can I?" You gulp a bit scared, "b-but I wasn't gonna abandon you! I just wanted to have other friends!" He holds his knife hand up to your neck, "you are not aloud to have other friends if you do I'll make sure they won't see the light of day ever again." You start to cry a bit, "revenant please stop this I'm scared." He grabs your right pants leg and rips it off exposing your robotic leg, "how about this I'll give you a 1 minute head start to run away from me but if I catch you you're mine forever." He pushes you out the dropship, "clocks ticking" you run away from the drop ship you run so fast that you didn't want to look back. You had to hide. You decide to hide in an alley way hoping that revenant won't find you. It felt like you were in the alley forever but as long as you didn't see revenant you were fine. You think a minute or two has passed he probably lost you, you slowly let your guard down but you shouldn't have. Revenant jumps from a building and lands right in front of you, "now.....you're mine forever

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

Where Earth Meets Sky

A scene that takes place in my au where Oscar becomes the Avatar of the atla universe.

.

Oscar pokes his head out of his chambers.  The Earth Kingdom guard stationed at his door looks down at him.  Oscar gulps and closes the door again.  Despite being guests at the Southern Air Temple, some things never change.  His masters’ protectiveness certainly never will.  Oscar sighs.  He reconsiders trying to meditate in here, but his rooms feel stuffy and confined.  He wants to be outside, but avoiding both his Earth entourage and the Air monks has proven to be impossible so far.

If there’s one thing Oscar absolutely hates about being the Avatar, it’s that he no longer gets any time just to himself.  The quiet peacefulness he knew living on his aunt’s farm is long gone.  He knows his masters have his best interest at heart, that they’re just worried for his safety, but it wears on him.

Why did it have to be him?

Oscar knows that he’s always been the Avatar.  Even before he knew, since the day he was born and drew his first breath, he was something greater than anyone else on Remnant.  This was always his destiny, no matter how much he wishes it wasn’t.  He wonders what it would have been like if it was someone else, and he got to stay on his aunt’s farm, a normal person.

Not that he’d been completely happy with his life there, but he hadn’t been unhappy either.  It had been nice.  Not that there aren’t nice parts to being the Avatar.  It’s just a heavy burden.

Oscar sits down on his bed.  A really heavy burden.

He’s supposed to maintain balance between the four nations, but how is he supposed to do that when even his predecessor, the great Water Avatar, Ozpin, could not?  Ozpin was renown for making more strides than anyone else towards a new era of peace, for being perhaps one of the strongest Avatars there ever was.

Then, Ozpin was cut down, his life tragically shortened, by a murderer who thirsted for the power over all the elements only the Avatar has.  A murderer who is still out there, probably planning to hunt down Oscar himself as he sits here thinking.

Oscar puts his head in his hands.  He didn’t choose this.  He didn’t want this.  He’s not ready to be this.  He’s not even that great of a bender.  His connection to Earth is strong, but in the way of a farmer, who asks his soil to grow his crops as best it can.  His link to Fire grows with each passing day, sure, but it’s not the burning heat that’ll engulf enemies in an instant so much as it is the campfire that will hold the dark of night at bay and provide warmth.

Oscar isn’t a fighter.  He knows he’s expected to one day go up against Ozpin’s murderer.  He’s not sure how he can.  If only he could talk to Ozpin, but he can’t even get privacy out of his suffocating rooms to truly meditate and make the connection with his past self.

Sunlight gleaming in through the window catches Oscar’s eye.  He runs his hands down his face and turns to look at it.  His room overlooks an impassable drop off.  Another thing meant to protect him from danger, but only works to make him feel even more isolated.

A sky bison flies by.  Oscar sighs.  If only he could be that free.  He walks over to the window and gazes at the creature.  Oscar can see the silhouette of someone on its back, but then the bison zips around the side of the temple and is gone.  Only the distant, lonely mountain range remains.

Oscar groans.  What was he expecting?  Whoever they are, they probably don’t even know he’s here.  Why would they stick around?  He goes to his bed and flops down on it.  If only he could fly too.

Wait…

Oscar looks back to the window.  Sure, he hasn’t started his airbender training yet, but he’s the Avatar.  Airbending isn’t outside the realm of possibility for him.  He glances once back at his door, half-expecting his guard to have read his mind and come in to stop him.  No such thing happens.

For the first time in a while, Oscar grins.  He returns to the open window and climbs up on the ledge.  The moment he realizes the great height he’s at, Oscar hesitates.  This is absurd.  He should just go back inside, where it’s safe.

And stuffy.  And suffocating.

Oscar closes his eyes.  He reaches out to the air, and asks it to listen.

Nothing happens at first.  Then;

A breeze pushes past Oscar.  He looses his balance.  Panic rises from his gut.  The wind twists, capturing Oscar in its center.  It lifts and carries him.  Despite having nothing between him and the largest drop down of his life, Oscar’s fears fade away.  He’s not going to fall.  He’s certain of it.

The wind takes Oscar and deposits him in an empty courtyard tucked into a secluded corner of the temple.  It’s the perfect spot for some personal meditation time to try and focus on connecting to the Avatar Spirit.  There’s a well-tended flower garden.  It’s quiet, away from the loud hubbub and general going-ons of the temple.

Oscar sits down cross-legged on a grassy spot by the garden, closes his eyes, centers his breathing, and tries to make the connection.  He’s not actually sure what it’s supposed to feel like.  He’s meditated lots of time, felt perfectly calm and at ease and yet nothing extraordinary has ever happened.

Ozpin has never tried to reach back to him.  Sure, the Water Avatar was notorious for being secretive, but he wouldn’t refuse to connect with his successor.  Would he?

Everyone always assures Oscar Ozpin wouldn’t.  That what he’s trying to do is extremely difficult and could take time, but if Oscar’s being honest, it feels like there’s this gaping wound, a hole, in his soul where Ozpin should be.

It scares Oscar.  What does it mean?  Did the last Avatar reject him?  Has he somehow done something wrong?  Destroyed millennia of tradition, culture, and history without meaning to?

Oscar groans and tries to refocus.  Thinking like this won’t help him make the connection.  He needs to—

“LOOK OUT BELOW!!!”

Instinctively, Oscar earthbends the ground to move himself out of the way.  A mass of cream-colored fur speeds over his head and dives into a sloppy landing.  The mass’s great paws scramble against the cobblestones, don’t find purchase, and slide into the garden.  Geysers of dirt and flowers shoot up in every direction.  Oscar covers his face with his arms to protect himself.

When the mass settles, Oscar sees it’s the sky bison he saw from his window, and it’s a fairly young one.  The bison grumbles loudly, not at Oscar, but at a dark-haired girl who slides off its back.  The girl wears the robes of an air novice.  They’re the most haphazardly worn air robes Oscar has ever seen.  When he first arrived at the Southern Air Temple, he’d noted how meticulous the monks were with their clothing right away.  Not a thread or a wrinkle out of place.

This girl, by comparison, seems to be trying to compete for the most wrinkly, dirty clothing ever.  Her long red-orange cloak’s hem has numerous tears.  There’s burrs stuck to her that definitely didn’t originate in this courtyard.  In some ways, she’s more smudged dirt-stains than she is person.

“Yeah, Sorry, that one was my fault.  I thought we could definitely make that barrel roll.”  The girl scratches behind one of the bison’s ears.  “What do you say to trying it again in a little bit?”

The bison rumbles an answer.

“Alright.”  The girl gives her bison an affectionate pat.  “Maybe tomorrow, then.”  She looks around and notices Oscar for the first time.  Her eyes widen.  “I didn’t think anyone came out to the courtyards on this side of the temple anymore.  Are you okay?”  She notices his Earth robes.  “Oh my spirits, you’re the Avatar!  I’m so, so sorry, your avatar-ness.  I will be more careful in the future.  I promise.”

“It’s okay,” Oscar reassures her, hoping to end this conversation as soon as possible.  He hates when people give him special treatment because of his position.  “No harm was done.”  He pauses.  “Except maybe to the garden.”  He gestures to its ruins.

The girl can’t help but crack a smile.  “Yeah, that tends to happen when Luna and I go flying.”  She scratches the back of her head sheepishly.  “If you don’t mind, I’ll stick around for a bit to clean things up.”

“Sure.”  Oscar nods.  He’d really like privacy, but he’d also like to not be stuck with cleaning the mess himself.  He returns to his meditation and the girl begins picking up uprooted flowers.  Her bison follows behind her, clumsily trying to help.

Oscar manages to meditate for a whole minute.  The squish of the girl putting the flowers back into the dirt is a soft sound, but his ears, which spent years attuning to earth and soil, picks up on it easily.  He fidgets.  She’s being too rough.  Even without looking, he knows that.  Oscar takes a deep breath.  He tries to ignore the girl and her poor gardening skills, but he can’t take it.

Oscar gets up and goes over to the girl.  He kneels in the dirt next to her.  “Here.”  He takes the plant she’s about to replant from her.  “Be more gentle.  The roots are delicate.  They’ll break easily.  You’re forcing them into the ground too roughly.”  He expertly scoops out a hole in the soil and lowers the plant into it.  Then, with his free hand, he packs dirt around it.  “Like this.”

“Oh.  Sorry.”  The girl lets out an awkward laugh.  “I guess Earth isn’t really my thing.”

“That’s okay.”  Oscar smiles at her.  “It’s mine.  I’ll help you.”

His meditation probably wasn’t going to work anyway, and it’s been far too long since he’s had the chance to do some gardening.

As he and the girl settle into an easy, natural rhythm with fixing the destroyed garden, Oscar finally asks for her name.

“Promise to not get me in trouble with the monks?”  She asks in return.

“Promise,” Oscar answers.

“Ruby Rose.”  Ruby takes her hand off the flower she was holding while Oscar packed stabilizing dirt around it and holds it out to him.  “And you are?”

“I thought you already knew?”

“I know you’re the Avatar, silly, but what’s your name?”

“Oh.  Oscar.  Oscar Pine.”  Oscar can’t help the big smile that takes over his face.  Usually people stop asking after they find out he’s the Avatar.  The rest doesn’t matter as much to them.  Feeling playful, he adds, “I’ve never seen an air nomad crash their bison before.”

Ruby blushes, which is rather cute in Oscar’s opinion.  “Yeah, we’re not exactly supposed to.”  She glances over her shoulder at her bison, who has opted to take a nap while they work.  “But we never do what we’re supposed to anyway, right, girl?”

The bison opens its eyes, huffs, lumbers over, and affectionately licks Ruby with her massive tongue.

“Eww, Luna!  You know your spit doesn’t wash out easily!”

Oscar can’t help but laugh.

“Don’t encourage her!”  Ruby pouts at Oscar, and then throws herself against Luna’s side in a hug that can’t possibly reach all the way around the bison.  “That’s my job,” she mumbles into Luna’s fur.

They finish fixing the garden too soon in Oscar’s opinion.  It’s been far too long since he’s just been able to relax and talk to someone without worrying about how they’d react to his status, or how to be respectful of their status, or any of the other things the Earth Sages drilled into his head he needed to remember.

“So.”  Ruby wipes her hands together to clean them of dirt.  “Have you ridden an air bison yet?”

Oscar replies, “Yes.  To get here, the monks picked us up in Ba Sing Se and flew us.”

“Correction.  Have you ridden a fun air bison yet?”  Ruby grins conspiratorially.

“No…”  Oscar looks between Ruby and Luna.

“Do you want to?  I promise not to crash into any more gardens.”

They do, and, when they do, Oscar just looks at Ruby, who looks back at him.  They both start laughing.

[maribatshipper]

Ice Age Chapter 4

Y/N bundles Junior in some blankets so he'll go to sleep.

"Why do you do that?" Diego asks.

Y/N answers, "A couple of reasons. The biggest reason is so he'll be warm. The other one is because I usually end up with my blankets used for keeping me warm on the other side of my bed because I kick in my sleep sometimes. Who knows if he'll do it too?"

Diego shrugs and lies down to sleep. Manny picks up the baby and wraps him in his trunk. Y/N smiles and wraps herself up in the leftover blankets.

"Oh, the triumphant return." Manny frowns.

Y/N looks up to see Sid. She giggles.

"How about a good nights kiss for your big buddy Sid?" Sid asks.

"Shh! He's asleep!" Manny frowns as Y/N stares in deadpan.

Sid frowns, "I was talking to you."

Y/N whispers, "Sorry. Don't think you're Manny's type. You aren't mine either, Sloth."

Sid frowns, "Fine. I'll tuck myself in."

He then tries to sleep on a rock. Making lots of noise. Y/N growls as the noise gets louder.

"Will you stop it!?" Manny whisper-yells.

"Cut it out before I rip your tonsils out through your nose!" Y/N threatens, her voice slightly deeper, scaring the crap out of Sid.

Sid stops and frowns, "Alright, alright. Just trying to relax."

Y/N groans as she tucks her head underneath the covers.

"You know what Diego's going to do, right?" E/N asks.

Y/N nods.

"And you're not gonna do anything about it?" E/N asks.

Y/N mentally replies,  "Nothing to do. He'll come around. Now go to sleep, E/N."

Y/N yawns and falls asleep, feeling safe and secure.

***

Diego opens his green eyes and walks over Junior in Manny's trunk. He goes to take the baby when Sid makes a noise, startling Diego. Diego goes to grab Junior only for him to move slightly, causing Diego to stop, and Manny tightens his grip around Junior. Suddenly, he hears something in the tall grass. He jumps towards the creature raising his claw to strike only to stop and see one of his pack.

"What the?" He whispers.

"Go ahead, slice me! It'll be the last thing you ever do!" The tiger growls.

Diego growls, "I'm working here, you waste of fur."

"Frustrated Diego?" Another Saber asks. "Tracking down helpless infants too difficult for you?"

Diego gets off the other Saber and asks, "What are you two doing here?"

"Soto's getting tired of waiting."

The slightly insane one replies, "Yeah yeah, he said, "Come back with the baby, or don't come back at all!" Hahaha!"

Diego deadpans at the insane Saber and frowns, "Well I have a message for Soto. Tell him I'm bringing the baby. And tell him, I'm bringing... a mammoth."

"A mammoth?"

"Mammoths never travel alone."

Diego replies, "Well this one does. And I'm leading him to half peak."

The insane one smiles, "Look at all that meat! Let's get him!"

Diego stops him, "Not yet! We'll need the whole pack to bring this mammoth down. Get everyone ready. Now."

The sabres run off and Diego lies down next to the bundle of blankets Y/N hides underneath. Y/N is heard muttering quietly. Diego's ears perk up as he listens.

"...because I'm not making-... effort? Verschwinde... You say-... more like others... opfer... crazy about success.... scream inside... feigling... robbed me of strength... look at me... please... I'm scared... will never stop... seht doch hin... chains of lead... miststück... smiles... pretence... lonely... nobody hears it... stummer schrei... can barely breathe... nein... can't ignore it... accept me... feel lost... frozen heart... save me... storm rising... me..."

Diego raises his eyebrows confused. He shrugs and falls back asleep as she stops muttering.

***

Manny wakes up and tightens his trunk, only to feel nothing but blankets. He stands up and stomps over to Diego.

"Where's the baby?" Manny orders.

Diego asks, "You lost it?"

Y/N peaks out from under her blankets and asks, "Where's Sid?"

The connection in the boys is instantly connected as they shout, "SID!"

Y/N quickly packs up the blankets and follows Manny as the boys split up. Y/N's not gonna miss this. She sees the spa pits and Sid in them.

"Found the idiot." Y/N points over to the pit.

Just as they reach the pit, Junior throws some of the bubbly mud onto Sid's face, who then, in turn, grabs Manny's trunk to wipe it off.

"Oi, buttsnack! That's not a towel." Y/N frowns, causing Sid to jump in shock.

"Oh, hey! Hi, N/N, Manny..." Sid nervously smiles.

Manny frowns, "What's the matter with you?" as he takes Junior.

Y/N smacks Sid's head and walks away with Manny.

"I think he has two brains. His first brain got lost and the second left to find it and hasn't come back." Y/N smirks, getting Manny to chuckle slightly.

"Nononono, Manny Manny Manny, please, I'm begging you! I need him!" Sid begs.

Y/N growls, "You're using the infant as a chick magnet. They're only interested in you because you seem like a family guy. There's no other reason. Now go back to the girls without Pinky."

Sid frowns, causing Y/N to raise her fist, ready to punch.

"Alright! Alright!" Sid exclaims as he runs off.

Manny frowns, "Pretty tail walks by, suddenly he moves like a cheetah."

Y/N nods, "Yep." popping the p.

"And that tiger. Yeah, mister great tracker! Can't even find a sloth. What am I? Their wet nurse?"

Y/N smirks as she watches Manny rant to the baby. He puts Junior down on a tree branch, causing him to squeal in excitement looking at Manny.

"What are you looking at, bone bag?" Manny exclaims.

Y/N snickers silently as she sits down to watch and as the baby squeals.

"Look at you. You're gonna grow into a great predator, huh? Don't think so. Watcha got? You got a little patch of fur... no fangs, no claws, your folds of skin wrapped in mush. What's so threatening about you?" Manny frowns.

Y/N frowns, "I'm right here. Look, his teeth will grow in after a few months, so will his "claws". If he gets back to his herd, they'll improve his brain, where he can trap his prey with things in the area."

Suddenly, Junior hugs Manny's trunk, causing him to stop, seemingly hypnotized for a second. He then frowns and picks up his trunk, the baby holding on tight.

"Hey, does this look like a petting zoo to you, huh?" Manny asks.

"How does he know what a petting zoo is?" E/N asks.

Suddenly, Junior pulls out some trunk hairs, causing Manny to scream in pain. Y/N winces as Junior laughs.

"This is one of the reasons I'm never having children." Y/N mutters.

Manny glares, "Alright, okay wise guy. You just earned a time out."

He picks up Junior and puts him higher up on the tree, causing Y/N to roll her eyes. Junior laughs even more, aggravating Manny.

"Oh, you think that's funny? How about this?" Manny asks, putting him all the way to the top of the tree. "You're a little snack for the owls."

Y/N sighs as the baby continues making happy noises.

"You're a brave little squirt, I'll give you that." Manny frowns.

Y/N sighs, "Manny, he's an infant. He doesn't see that being high is dangerous, so he's not scared. He does perceive some things as dangerous, but being high up is not on his danger list."

***

Y/N carries the baby on her shoulders and sees Diego with Sid in his mouth.

Manny yells, "Guys, I thought we were in a hurry."

Y/N scoffs, "Spit that out, Diego. You don't know where that's been."

Diego spits Sid out, suddenly disgusted.

"For a second there, I thought you were gonna eat me." Sid sighs, relieved.

Diego retorts, "I don't eat junk food." getting a laugh out of Y/N.

***

Y/N hugs herself tightly as the snow surrounds them in a sheet of white. She's not used to freezing temperatures. She pulls out her hoodie and a blanket and wraps herself up to warm herself slightly. Manny picks her up and puts her on his back.

"Thanks, Manny." Y/N smiles.

Sid somehow gets left behind. Y/N sees a geyser and points to it, giving Manny and Diego a mischievous smirk. They stop at the geyser waiting for Sid.

"Thanks for waiting." Sid breathes as he sits down on the geyser.

"Three, two, one." The three count down.

Sid is thrown into the air by the geyser and the others walk away.

"Sure is faithful." Manny smirks.

***

Later, Sid and Junior are in a poke war, which annoys both Manny and Y/N.

Manny growls, "Don't make me reach back there!"

Sid argues, "He started it!"

Manny retorts, "I don't care who started it, I'll finish it!"

Sid and the baby continue poking when Y/N says something that stops them both.

"If you don't stop that, I will personally ring both your necks then boil them in a pot!" Y/N growls, her voice getting deeper.

Everyone shuts up, and Y/N's eyes widen. She hugs herself, angry.

"Thank you." E/N taunts.

***

The mammals continue walking until they reach a rock that spits out a red flame and beeps, which then causes a big piece of ice to go right past them, and Y/N stares in shock. The rock then makes another noise, and a green flame comes out.

"Huh. What do you know? Traffic lights are a thing a million years before electricity."

***

Sid throws a snowball at Manny, but it hits Y/N, causing her to fall off Manny's back. Manny and Y/N turn to Sid only to have him point at the baby. She puts her fingers to her eyes, then to Sid in an "I'm watching you" fashion.

***

The group passes by the Stonehenge, causing Y/N to gape.

"Modern architecture. It'll never last." Manny scoffs.

Y/N smirks at the irony of that sentence.

***

Y/N watches Diego as he erases a sabre footprint and makes a human footprint. She's impressed at how accurate it is. Diego points the herd in the direction the print is going.

***

Soon, the herd is on ice, and Sid's skating around like a pro, with Junior on his head. Y/N rolls her eyes as she quite easily skates over to Manny and tries to help him.

"Hiya, Manny." Sid smirks as he skates past the mammoth.

Manny falls over, causing Y/N to roll her eyes.

"Time to put all you've learned from Bambi into practice, huh, N/N?" E/N jokes.

Y/N orders, "Okay, keep your legs firm. You're too wobbly. Okay, better idea, I'll just take you to the snow. Give me your trunk."

Manny wraps his trunk around Y/N's arm and she pulls him, skating towards the snow, off the ice.

"There. Now, I'll help Diego and save Pinky." Y/N smiles.

She skates over to Diego and stops right in front of him, her H/C hair whipping in front of her face.

"Give me your paw before you hurt yourself, Tiger." Y/N smirks.

Diego looks up, trying not to fall, and catches the kindness in Y/N's E/C eyes.

"Alright." Diego nods.

Sid skates past, circling the tiger, "Hiya Diego!"

Diego almost falls, but Y/N grabs his front left paw. She pulls him towards the edge of the frozen lake and decides to show off. She lets go of Diego's paw, then runs onto the ice, controlling her balance quite well. She turns around, ending up skating backwards, waving towards Manny and Diego. Suddenly, there's a crash, and Junior comes sliding to Y/N. She picks him up the best she can without falling and slides to the other mammals, excluding Sid.

"Hey, Sid!"

***

"You're lost, aren't ya?" Manny asks.

Diego answers, "No, I know exactly where we are."

"Ask him directions." Manny orders.

Y/N perks up and sees who "him" is. She falls off Manny in shock after seeing Scrat. She still blames him for 2020.

"I'm alright!" Y/N smiles.

Diego retorts, "I don't need directions."

"Fine, I'll ask him. Hey, buddy. You see any humans go by here?" Manny asks.

Scrat shakes his head, then puts his finger up, saying what he wants to.

Sid smiles, "Ooh! I love this game! I love this game!" He then plays a small game of charades. "Three words, first word. Stomp, no no, stamp, stamp!"

Y/N inputs, "Pack." not even looking at Scrat.

Sid compliments, "Good one, N/N. Uh, pack of long teeth and claws."

Y/N turns to Diego to see him hiding his claws and snickers.

"Pack of wolves, pack of..." Sid thinks.

Manny guesses, "Pack of bears? Pack of fleas?"

Y/N watches as Scrat points at Diego, trying to tell them he saw a pack of sabres, but they're too caught up in guessing to see.

"Pack of whiskers? Pack of noses?"

"Pachyderm?"

"Pack of lies. Pack of troubles. Pack a wallop. Pack of birds."

Suddenly, Diego flicks Scrat away, which only Y/N sees and she busts out laughing.

"Pack of flying fish!"

Y/N laughs, trying so hard not to die laughing, "Birds don't come in packs, they come in flocks! Hahaha. And fish come in schools!"

***

Sid throws another snowball at Manny, and this time, it hits both Y/N and Manny. Y/N jumps down and picks up a whole bunch of snow as she sees Junior point at Sid. She and Manny both throw their snowballs at Sid, but Manny's is so big it squashes Sid. The baby laughs, causing both Manny and Y/N to smirk. Y/N picks up Junior and trudges along the path.

***

Soon a blizzard appears, and Y/N hugs Junior closer so he doesn't freeze and keeps her hood around her head tight. She wraps both her and Junior in a few blankets as they trudge through the snowstorm.

[maledollmaker]

Being Boldman

I was haunting a family in a Philadelphia house. It was a nice late 19th century house I died in. I was obese in life and now as a ghost I am again. The family had two small kids who were watching a Disney channel, not sure which one. They look the same. Then I saw him. A gorgeous Adonis. I rarely possessed anyone or even thought of it.

But in that moment, seeing his chiseled good looking face, debonair smile and toned body, I want TO BE HIM. Something compelled me to leave that wretched house. I’ve tried to escape for centuries (two centuries still count as centuries!) but finally I was able to break free. I went shooting into the sky like a rocket. I grabbed my things and flew to California.

After searching the beaches and hangouts in Los Angeles I finally found Spencer Boldman. Indeed he was a bold man with his bright white socks and sneakers. He looked so cute. That tiny waist! I wanted it so bad. He w ask delixious I wanted to eat him up. When I wa salive I was mocked for being huge. People would be disgusted to see me. I knew those looks. I was the butt of many jokes.

Fat! Wide load! Whale! Double whale! Big fat pig! Blob man! All kinds of names and slurs, piercing my soul. When people pointed at me or mock me for not fitting in a carriage or chair was humiliating. Worse part was how I died. I choked on a sausage and had to be cut out of my sofa when I died.

Spencer was jogging when I snuck up behind him. I flew behind his buff and rugged his butt. He stopped in his tracks and shouted. He looked behind and couldn’t find anything. I borrowed myself in and he screamed. I entered through his butt, it was right. It felt right. He lost all function of his body. His body flopped to the ground. He wa snoblonger in control.

I opened his eyes. I was on my knees. I looked at my new hands. I jolted up on my feet and took stock of my body. I looked at my reflection in a nearby bus stop. I was Spencer! I smiled in his trademark smile. I almost melted on the spot! I was amazed how handsome he was. I wanted to run to his house and take off all my clothes. I had his memories and could track where his apartment was.

I jogged to his apartment and jogging wa steady now. Jogging used to be pain and a struggle but now it came easy to me. This body felt achy but I felt Power. I felt up my new body and became erect. I felt up my new member and it felt virile and roboust. I slid my right hand up and down in virigious motion. My larger than life member throbbed and tighten. I felt pressure build up. I started feeling pings of erotic waves channel all through me. I felt an enmorous build up.

And it was about to burst. I could not relinquish anymore. My body erupted in waves of rippling pleasure all over as the geyser let out forth. The extract landed everywhere. It smelled heavenly. I felt relief. I was beside myself. After I cleaned up, I looked in the mirror once again and made faces with my new face. I poured my lips. Spencer’s lips were so pouty. I had to remind myself it wasn’t Spencer’s anymore but mine. I was in charge. I was him. I didn’t care what he thought.

“Someone help! Some creep has taken over my body! This isn’t me! I can not control my body anymore. It’s some sort of ghost that has taken possession of my body. It sounds crazy but it’s not! And I think it’s gay. Not that anything is wrong with that, bro. I have friends that are gay. But I can not be gay. I am not.

I don’t feel comfortable this ghost using my body to be f——d. Every night my butt hurts! And the things he makes me do! He makes me suck on.. Blegh! I can’t even say it! My hole is sore and my mouth tastes like yuck. Someone help! Rape! The problem is no one can hear me. I can’t speak! I can’t control my body! I’m trapped in my body! I’ve tried but I can not regain control. No no no! Nooooo! Not the bath house again! Noooooooooo.

I love taking selfies in the middle of the ocean. I surpress his theoughts. I barely hear them anymore. I push him deep deep deep into my subconscious like he never ever existed. If I accidentally get kicked out or forced out, he would be an empty shell and i can easily take possession again. He is a coma-like state. He will be in a veggatative state until i returned. Like putting stake in the refrigerator. It’ll be fresh once again.

It’s been a year and I’ve enjoyed being Spencer. I don’t mind being peigonholwd a gay actor. And I love being rammed every night by a different guy. I think they call me a Power Bottom. Whatever that is. I’m enjoying my new life as Spencer and I’m never going back.

[matildainmotion]

My Cure for the Blues, thanks to my Daughter who Loves Pink: What Might Yours Be?

I am blue. I don’t know why. There are many blatant reasons for blueness in the world right now - more than there have ever been in my lifetime - yet still I don’t know why. If I did I wouldn’t be blue. I would be sad with purpose. Or angry. Or upset. But what I have is a slightly pointless feeling. Being blue is vague. Vaguely low. A big wash of a dark colour, devoid of detail.

Meanwhile my four year old daughter is definitely not blue - she’s pink. “What’s your favourite colour today?” She asks, everyday. I find it a hard question to answer with accuracy, perhaps because of my vague blue feeling. She does not: “What’s yours?” I say. “Pink,” she replies with absolute certainty, “And gold.” Another favourite question of hers, that she poses most evenings at supper: “What are you the fairy of?” The grown-ups round the table come up with various quips in answer: Daddy is the fairy of mashed potato; Granny is the fairy of hearing aids; Mummy is the fairy of tiredness. 

“And you, Tenar?” 

“I’m the fairy of beauty, sparkly things and everything I like,” she replies, while skipping up and down beside the dinner table, because the fairy of beauty is much too busy to pay any heed to the fairy of meal time manners. Her favourite Christmas present was a gold princess gown, which she dons daily, and Snow White-like, checks in the mirror to see if she looks suitably fair. She wants to grow her hair down to just above her bottom. 

This all comes as rather a shock to me because I was not a pink girl - my favourite colour as a child was navy blue, no pastels please. I refused to wear dresses. I had a party boiler suit- dark blue - for birthdays. I climbed trees, ran along garden walls and lived in trousers. I was inconsolable when my father once brought me back a kilt as a present from a trip to Scotland - imagine being given a skirt! Despite being told this was a skirt meant for men, despite the photos in the family photo drawer of my father, a proud soldier in a Black Watch regiment kilt, I remained unconvinced. I have stayed relatively consistent in my tom-boyness into adult life. As a mother my children rarely see me in dresses, hardly ever in make up. Mummy has long hair under her armpits and on her legs but often shaves her head.

Given the version of womanhood I have presented to my daughter, I assumed  her predilection for pink princesses was a result of the vicious marketing to which children, especially girls, are subjected - the bright pink magazines with plastic toy lipsticks and hair curlers sellotaped onto the front, placed at just her height on the wracks near the supermarket check out. This is just one example of the many things about the world that make me blue so, when her pink princess phase began, I set to work. 

I had already consistently switched pronouns around in books - mostly from he to she - or had discussions with my daughter about the absence of active female heroines.  More recently, her questions such as “Why is it girls that have long hair?” Or, “Which one of these princesses is the most beautiful?” lead to long discussions about the history of fashion, gender as a colourful spectrum, and how peacocks are just one example of a species in which it is the boy that gets to wear the gorgeous feathers. None of this seems to make the slightest difference to my daughter’s commitment to pink, but two developments recently have eased my concerns and made me think that there is more than 21st Century patriarchal capitalism at work in her choices, and that the pink thing - or the thing for pink -that is sustaining her spirits through this hard time might actually contain within it a clue to the medicine I need for my blues.  

Firstly, last weekend, after a day on which I had had to work and so had resorted to letting Tenar watch Disney’s Cinderella (the 1950 animation) she ran back and forth during supper and told us her version of the story. In her rendition, she played the part of the fairy godmother, and having magically rustled up a stunning dress for Cinderella, she thought she should be the one who got to enjoy it. So it was she, the fairy godmother, who danced the night away with Cinders. And what of the prince? No princess for him - he was left with a slice of pizza. After three nights of dancing together, Cinderella married Tenar, the fairy godmother, and they lived together happily ever after, with an ever-expanding wardrobe of fabulous dresses. The prince married the pizza, and was, apparently, content with his lot. 

I was reassured by this that my daughter is in no way either a passive consumer of pink-ness or likely to become an easy victim of social norms. Soon after marrying Cinderella, she came up with the second thing which allayed my concerns, and made me question my fast feminist assumptions as to what is at work in her psyche. She announced, seemingly out of the blue (that colour again), that one day she wants to acquire a white, calm, mare.  

We have some chickens, but on the whole we are not an animal-focussed family. No cats. No dogs. Certainly nothing as large and demanding as a horse. My daughter accepts the fact that owning a horse is a big deal - you need a stable, a meadow, and various other bits of kit, so she is going to be patient - not a quality that comes to her easily - and wait, but it is important that she gets the mare when she is still young, she says, by the time she is twelve. By then her hair should have grown to her full desired length and both she and the white mare can ride over the fields with their locks streaming behind them. She is also keen on a cart to go with it, which will, she says, make shopping much easier and less boring. She will look after it very well: she will dress it in garlands of flowers, feed it hay and apples and exercise it daily. Its stable will be right beside the pink, gold and violet-painted bedroom of her own, into which she will also have moved by the time she turns twelve.  

I am not entirely sure from where this horse has ridden into her mind. She has a sticker book of white unicorns, but much of the dream seems to be of her own invention. I am not about to surrender to an essentialist narrative and suggest that all little girls harbour a horsey dream - how could I when I myself never have?- but it has touched me, this sudden passion for a white horse, the oddly mature way in which she discusses the details of it, and it makes me think there is more than magazine marketing at work in her.  

My husband plays Tenar the theme tune to White Horses, the 1960s TV series, whilst I remember all the stories I know that feature a woman and a horse. One of my favourite Ted Hughes’ tales concerns the first woman complaining to God that she is bored - she wants a playmate. After trying out various creations and getting it horribly wrong, God finally gets it right when, out of the crests of the waves, he conjures a horse, who rides ashore to greet the waiting woman. Going further back in time, there are the tales of Epona and Rhiannon, Celtic horse goddesses which I know of thanks to mother-maker, Jackie Singer, who made a brilliant show about them that explored women’s power and sexuality - both its repression and liberation. Rhiannon in particular, who can outride any man with ease, is no passive princess. Whilst the image of a girl dressed in pink is no more than eighty years old, the image of a woman riding a horse is clearly a good deal older. However, irrespective of age (simply using the fact that something has been around for a long time is a highly dubious reason for justifying it - patriarchy, for example, is ancient!) it seems to me, listening to Tenar, that she has somehow tapped into an image-geyser - it has sprung up mysteriously, and with tremendous energy. It feeds her.  Life is tough, we are confined in a tiny house, while we try to stay well, stay sane, shield Granny, but my daughter is buoyant, not blue, because she is dreaming of horses- I need some of what she’s got.  

But I never dreamt of horses. They don’t do it for me. I think back to when I loved navy blue and try to recall what else I was dreaming of then. What made me run around the kitchen table with delight like my daughter does? And then the answer comes: I wanted a meadow too, but not for a horse. I wanted a cabin in one corner - I was going to run across the meadow, barefoot, marvel at the wonder of the world and then head into my cabin and write. I didn’t want to be a princess, I wanted to be a poet. With the same passion, the same weird mix of realism and fantasy as I see in my daughter and her horse ambitions, I made plans for my poetry cabin. I remembered this when I watched the amazing Amanda Gorman, not dressed in pink or blue but brightest yellow, reciting at Biden’s inauguration - a young poet woman warrior. I can feel it does me good to summon up this archetype, this image. It starts, slowly, to dispel the blue. It’s a dose of a meaning-of-life medicine, the first iteration of it that I ever brewed for myself and so, because of this, it still holds a certain potency. As Victor Frankl argues in his classic Man’s Search for Meaning a sense of purpose, of meaning, is what we (man, woman, or betwixt and between) need to survive the hardest times - a holocaust, a global pandemic, or, closer to home, just a tough day of schooling with the kids. 

So, here are your questions for the month - actually a mix of my daughter’s questions and mine:

What is your favourite colour today? What are you the fairy of? What do or did your children, if you have them, dream of? And what were your own childhood dreams? And can your answers to these questions change the colour of your days?

As I type this, Tenar is sitting on my lap, and she has asked for the last word. I have said she can dictate and I will type. Over to Tenar, then, to finish this off:

“I ask my mum so many questions that I feel in my body and I say my heart is the thing that controls my feelings. I ask every night to my mum, why she was a tom boy? And I say that I love you as much as I am going to love everything around me, and I love my heart, and my horse. And I am a girlie girl, not like my mummy.  I love princesses, I say, every night.”