#can you tell i suddenly care very much for seth

[andrew-03-minyard]

stop i just realised seth never got to see them beat edgar allan or even see them win a single of the major games. he cares so much for exy you don't understandddd and he never got to see them win, he never got to experience the thrill of fans supporting the foxes, not just the Kevin day, he never got to see his own fanbase, or real supporters or

[nhstadler]

A   S H O T   I N   T H E   D A R K

Two song choices: 

One:

Two (for my Swifties):

So, I’ve had this James POV sitting around and I thought I’d finally share it considering we’re reaching the end of this journey. I’m not entirely happy with it because I’m not good at writing spicy scenes. They can go wrong so easily because there’s such a fine line between ‘just enough’ and ‘entirely ridiculous’. That being said, *trigger warning* for very mild spice. Like, one chilli pepper. Nothing explicit.

Please let me know what you think. I’m always so thankful for feedback, no matter how short, long, cryptic. And finally, thanks for still being here. It’s been an honour writing for you guys.

A   S H O T   I N   T H E   D A R K

For a second, I think I’ve lost my mind. That my endless thoughts of her have somehow taken shape and are playing cruel tricks on me. Because she’s there, in front of my window, still in that damn dress and clutching my jacket around her shoulders as snow drifts by, catching in her blonde waves. 

“What…” I freeze as I stare at her, my T-shirt stuck to my arms half-way, not daring to move for a moment; like she’s a deer and I might scare her away. I’m still not entirely convinced this is real, but then she lifts her arm and gives me a wave, her lips tugging into a careful smile.

It’s not in my head. 

Seth Woodley is actually standing in front of my window in the middle of the night, waving at me.

“Woodley?” I hastily pull my shirt all the way down, stumbling over my backpack - still where I dropped it two weeks ago - as I cross the room to open the window. “Are you okay?” I look her over, not exactly sure what I’m searching for. But she’s here, alone, standing in the frigid cold in her gauzy ball gown and I want to make it OK again. Whatever it is. “What happened? How did you-”

“I apparated,” she says, almost surprised, her words turning into puffs of smoke, clouding her face for a second. “I meant to end up at Katie’s house but –” Her cheeks darken slightly, the colour extending to the tip of her nose as another gust of biting wind whips through the trees. “I kind of messed up?”

I still can’t quite wrap my mind around this; around her, standing outside my window, eyes wide and biting her lip like my wildest fever dream. I’ve thought about this too much - about Seth in my room, my bed - but this feels fragile. Like the phone booth. Like I could mess it all up too easily. 

The smart thing would have been to tell her to go. But I’m decidedly stupid.

“Come on, Woodley,” I say when a shiver runs through her body and then hold my hand out to her. “It’s freezing.” 

Her gaze drops to my hand, like she, too, knows that she’s making a mistake, but then she takes a sharp breath and reaches out, letting me pull her up to the ledge and into my room. She stumbles a little, slipping on the icy wood, and I swipe my arm around her middle to catch her.

“Sorry.” She looks up at me then, her eyes round and so grey and damn it, I’m pathetic. There was still a part of me that hoped that maybe kissing her would get her out of my system, but it’s useless. Because all I can think about right now is kissing her again. All night.

Instead, I clear my throat and step away from her, still not entirely sure what to make of this; why she came here of all places. Apparition is not a vague sort of magic - you can’t take a wrong turn and accidentally end up somewhere else. That’s not how it works and we both know it.

“You’re not seventeen yet, are you?” I walk to my door to turn the lock for good measure. It’s late, but there’s no telling if Lily won’t suddenly burst into my room, demanding to draw a glitter pygmy puff onto my face.  

Seth looks at me for a long second, biting her lip again, and then nods. There’s a kind of haziness to her movements, her reactions, and I realise that she’s still drunk.

Right.

“So -” I say, trying to give her a casual grin even though something coarse is winding itself around my heart, crushing the dumb flicker of hope that sparked there when I saw her standing in front of my window.

“I’m not supposed to apparate, no.” She shrugs, like it’s not a big deal, even though I know it is. I know that she cares, that this nonchalant act isn’t her. Something’s wrong and I should give her a sweatshirt and take her home before I can do something very dumb. Even though I want to be dumb so badly. Just for a second.

“Did you get into trouble?” I ask, skirting my bed as I walk back over to her. It’s unmade with my blanket piled on top and I curse myself a little for not cleaning my room when Mum told me to. It’s a mess and I can see Seth’s gaze sliding to the heap of clothes on my chair and the unfortunate pair of Quidditch underpants that dangle from the armrest. 

“Did you?” Seth gives me a grin that doesn’t fail to make my stomach jolt, even when I know it’s not real; even when I know she’s still pretending. But I humour her. Because she’s smiling and flirty and I’m weak.

“For kissing a girl?” I watch her cheeks flush, all the way across her nose, and for a moment, I don’t care that she’s been drinking or that she’s acting strange. Because she came here. Just like she let me kiss her in the Ministry phone box. A part of her wants to be with me and I want it to be enough. Even when I know it’s not.

“Your family probably wasn’t too thrilled.” I slide my hands into the pockets of my joggers instead of around her waist and watch the expression on her face shift - eyebrows drawing closer and lips pressing together as she avoids my gaze - and it all makes sense.

I only caught glimpses of her family when we stumbled out of the phone booth, mostly because she was ushered away immediately, before I could even so much as talk to her, but she’d told me earlier, hadn’t she? About that guy she was supposed to marry and about her family’s expectations.  

Maybe that’s why she came here; still drunk and reckless, trying to prove a point.

“I still have your jacket,” she says awkwardly all of a sudden, sliding the thing off her shoulders and holding it out to me. She’s probably realised it too; that this is the last place she should be. That I’m nothing but a bad decision. 

“Maybe - maybe I should go,” she says quickly, and I can see it in her face - the flicker of reason that pushes to the surface. 

“Yeah.” I let out a breath as I take the jacket from her and throw it onto the pile of clothes on my chair. I don’t want her to go, but I also don’t want her to stay like this. Like I’m just the means, not the reason. “Maybe.”

“Yeah.” Her voice is a whisper, fizzling out at the edges as she takes a step closer and places her palms against my chest. She’s frowning up at me, her eyes like storm clouds, fingers digging into the fabric of my T-shirt and, even though I know that this is going to hurt, I give in to it - to her.

I’ve kissed many girls before - and Augi on a dare - but kissing Seth feels different. New, somehow. Fluttery and shaky and so slow, like I’m doing it for the first time - nervous and a little scared to mess it up. She’s tugging on my T-shirt, fingers twisting into the fabric like she wants to tear it off, and I’m not really thinking as I pull it over my head. 

Seth blinks at me, her eyes and hair bright in the semi-darkness of my room, and then her gaze drops to my arm, her brows furrowing as she studies the letters that a very shifty bloke inked into my skin there in some London back alley two years ago.

“Seth,” I say, coming to my senses a little now that she’s stopped kissing me, even though my blood flow is directed somewhere else entirely. “Maybe we should -”

She looks back up at me, shaking her head just the slightest bit as she leans into me again, and I’m pathetically helpless when her mouth opens against mine. My tongue brushes against her lips and she makes a small sound that is my complete undoing, pulling resolutely on something below my abdomen. My fingers find the zipper on the back of her dress and, though I hesitate for a heartbeat, I’m too far gone to stop. 

It slides down her body, crumpling on the floor around us in a heap of silk, leaving her in nothing but gauzy underwear. It’s pale blue, with pink and red flower embroidery crawling along the lace, and I take my time taking her in - every detail - because she’s perfect.

Seth’s cheeks are flushed as I slide a hand into her hair and tip her head back, but she doesn’t pull away. When I kiss her again, it’s a little harder, a little more desperate, and it occurs to me then that I probably should be more careful. That I should slow down, because I don’t know if she’s done this before.

But she’s clinging to my shoulders, body pressed against mine, and I’m beyond reasonable thought as I trail my hand down her back until I can feel the tiny flower applications underneath my fingertips. 

We stumble a bit as I push her towards my bed - almost clumsily, with my hands grabbing her waist and pulling her into me a bit too roughly - and I bang my knee against my bed frame like an overeager 13-year-old. But she’s there, underneath me, her heart racing against my chest with every fast, shallow breath and her eyes heavy lidded. 

It feels wholly unreal as I press my lips against her throat, kissing and licking down the column of her neck to the birthmark above her collarbone while my hand drifts to the soft skin of her thigh. I don’t know what time it is, for how long we’ve been doing this, but it barely matters. 

I try to pace myself, but I’m breathing too fast and my heart stumbles along as I push closer, propping myself up just enough to not crush her underneath me. And then, she looks at me with those eyes that could be a painting and my breath catches embarrassingly.

The words are on the tip of my tongue, though I can’t say them. I should ask her if she’s sure about this. If this is alright. But I feel her fingers tremble slightly as she weaves them into my hair, the hitch in her heartbeat, and I know it’s not. 

She doesn’t want this - me. Not really. Not like I want her.

“What the fuck am I doing?” I mumble to myself as I push myself up too forcefully, but I have to. I have to bring physical distance between us to jolt myself out of this. “Shit.”

“What?” Seth blinks at me, the look of confusion on her face fading to something more gut-wrenching. She’s yanked the covers up to her collarbones, mortified, and I hate that I’m doing this to her. That she’s doing this to me. 

“I – I can’t fucking do this.” I shake my head, hands clutching at my hair, but I can’t look at her. Because it fucking hurts and I don’t know what to do. How to make it stop.

[bluberimufim]

Writer Q&A Tag Game

Hello. I got tagged for this by @squarebracket-trick on this post and I thought it sounded super fun. So, here we are!

1. What motivates you to write?

I started out as an artist, but I began writing once I realized that visual art as a medium wasn't enough to tell the stories I wanted to tell - it had no way of codifying lore, defining character traits, or even just easily telling a long story. I think it's still largely that, in a way. I come up with all these stories and I "get them out" through writing because I sure as hell can't keep them inside my brain for eternity.

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

This one is pretty recent, from a few chapters ago in DoS, but I'm really proud of it. I just feel like it emphasizes how much Seth's experience with souls connects with the body, which is the Goddess of Time's domain. A lot of metaphors in this story centre around bodies and physicality because of this. Here's the snippet:

And yet, there was Theo, with her soul so unwound there was no fixing it anymore. The most she could do was keep healing and healing, covering the cracks of the bowl with her own hands in the hope that they'd go back to normal. Keep filling the ocean so that, no matter how many holes lined its bed, it would never be empty. [...] She held her so tight she thought her hands would fuse to her skin. As if she could cover the cracks of her soul with her own body.

Idk, I just vibe with it.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

(what happened to 3 and 4? where did they go?)

I'd say back-and-forth banter, probably because of my time in theatre, but also horror description. It creeps up on me. I keep writing horror on accident. And I always really like it. Just something about describing something weird and spooky.

6. What do you enjoy most about the Writeblr community?

Mostly the fact that there's all these other writers who have cool stuff and also wanna see my cool stuff. I already loved writing on my own, but knowing that there are people Out There who also care about my stories just feels amazing.

And also, the casual friendship between people. You interact with someone's blog, they interact with yours, and you suddenly feel like you're friends, kinda. I can only compare it to making quick friends with someone on the playground as a kid. I like it <3

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech-to-text, a writing program etc)

I am a very ✨analogue✨ person, so my best writing advice in this scenario is always: put that shit on paper.

Feel unsure about a scene? Put that shit on paper. It's like a 0.5th (hehe "halfth") draft that you will copy onto your document and you will always improve it with that second look.

Worried about perfectionism? Put that shit on paper. Even pencil, at least to me, feels hard to erase. It's mostly about living with the stuff you've written and not looking back - erasing is such a pain in the ass that you might as well just keep going forward.

Wanna write secretly during class/lectures/whatever where you're not allowed to have a device? Wadda ya know, the answer is also paper.

Wanna edit? Printing stuff out helps you get some distance from your own writing and it also makes you see it more as a book than as just something you've made.

It also generally makes you feel less bad about changing stuff later in the document, because you have a solid, physical record of what you've written before.

Put that shit on paper. It works well.

(sorry for the rant sbdhagjk)

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

I once made a post about the art movements in the world of the dystopia WIP (yes, seriously) but I can't find it anymore. I'm not gonna explain it again, it was stupidly long the first time around.

I guess, outside the dystopia WIP, I'm pretty proud of the whole Three Sister Goddesses thing from DoS. I have drawn designs, but I'll make another post sometime. I'm also proud of the relationship between the Goddesses tho.

They're at war with each other, but they're just doing it for entertainment. They kiiiinda hate each other but not as much as their desire to have fun. Like, they will send their daughters to decimate each other's armies, but they'll also hang out together in the Plane of the Gods. The war is kind of like a decades-long game of Monopoly they're having at the family function. And I just think it's cool. Goes into that whole thing about mortals being like ants to uncaring gods that I like.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Kinda cliché, but I'd say this: it happens to everyone, dude (gender neutral). Everyone has periods of time when they feel bad and can't write. Or where they feel like their writing is terrible. Doesn't make you less of a writer.

Even if you're not as productive as other people: who cares, honestly? As long as you're having a good time and doing something you love, it doesn't matter how much time you need or don't need to finish something. Even if you never finish anything. And if you feel like you're not as good as other people: who cares either, you know? Everybody starts somewhere. And everybody has different strengths. You'll get better. You always do.

At the end of the day, we're all just doing this because we love it. Don't force yourself. The time will pass anyway.

Ooooookay that last one was a bit more serious than the rest. Anyway, I wanna tag, no pressure, @fleurtygurl @stesierra @cheeto-flavoured-pasta and @sarandipitywrites

[multicolour-ink]

Thoughts on The Super Mario Bros Movie

Spoilers ahead

- - -

Positives

- The fact that Bowser's entire plan to get the Power Star was just so he could use it as a proposal gift to Peach is hilarious 🤣

- Jumpman!

Syrprised no one has mentioned this yet. No seriously this cameo made me smile so hard 😄 And yes it is Charles Martinet, and yes he is playing "Jumpman" in the background!

I just thought it was very sweet and YES while he doesn't look like game Mario, it was the best way they could've done it in, my opinion.

- The family was charming!

Honestly when I heard they had a whole family I got very worried that they would be taking up so much screen time.

It's like the issue I have with the humans in the Sonic movie's so far - they are not terrible, but I find it hard to care about them when they are not the main characters, and they go and high jack the movie.

But surprisingly, they aren't in it for too long! They are only at the beginning and end, and serve their purpose. In short, I am ok with them 👍🏻

- Bowser is perfect!

They got Bowser so right - honestly was a bit worried that he was just going to be a love struck clown throughout the whole thing...but when he gets mad or something doesn't go his way - he's terrifying! They really captured the fury of what a monster he is, both Jack Black and the animators 👏🏻

- OK now I know the other reason why they hired Jack Black! Bowser being a secret rocking music dude is not what I was expecting, and I love it 🤣👌🏻

- The fight scenes

DAMN! They did not hold back on these! The way the characters hit each other, the number of times Mario should've been dead with how hard he got smacked around. Dang it's brutal! And I love it!

Gotta mention the epic DK/Cat Mario, Rainbow Road 🌈, and Bowser/Luigi/Mario fights!!! So good 💗

- The Bros reunion

Need to mention it here, even though I already knew about it and gushed about it so many times there is literally nothing else I can say! It's a beautiful moment and even though it's quick I'm so glad they took the time to make that a moment ❤💚

- THE BROS FIGHTING TOGETHER

Kudos to the movie for never forgetting the true heart of the movie - the Bros' relationship. Luigi coming in to defend Mario, the Bros taking each other's hand, them running to the star together, Bowser being absolutely pummelled by them! It's so good!!! 💗💗💗 I could watch that all day!

- This movie actually made me like Donkey Kong but not Seth Rogan

- I like what they did with the Kong's being a whole kingdom and like a big family 💗

- DIDDY KONG GOT A LINE

- Toad is a funky dude. Please give him more in the sequel!

- I like the fact the end credits was so open. Yes I am aware some are upset that Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, and even Rosalina did not appear. But I think that it's a good thing. It shows that Nintendo and Universal did not want to hype up too much, just in case of the possibility of a sequel never happening (you can't really tell with Hollywood sometimes...) and it just means they got time to work on it.

This is the issue I had with Tails being introduced at the end of the Sonic Movie. They hyped him up so much, only for the writers to have to try and write in a sloppy reason in Sonic Movie 2 for why he is there.

It's clear this movie was a MARIO movie. Not hyping up too much for a cinematic universe or trying to get to the sequel - and I appreciate that immensely.

- The fact that Foreman Spike and Peach (two characters who have been in the same franchise but have never interacted due to the time and console releases their intro games took place in) suddenly sharing the same space in a movie??? That is surreal to me.

Negatives

Technically these aren't so much negatives - just nit picks and little annoyances I found that they could've done better - and also talk about some complaints other people have mentioned.

- The pacing

Yes everyone has talked about this - and they aren't wrong about it...but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! Yes some scenes did seem to be on fast forward, just so the writers could get to the parts they really wanted to do...but when you also look at it from the perspective of urgency that the Mushroom Kingdom is under, some of it does make sense.

But still, the movie does tend to move at too fast a pace sometimes. But it is a fun rush. I can't really find a middle ground with it...

- Slow mo

No seriously did Zach Snyder take over at some point? There were too many pointless slow mo scenes for my liking.

- The pop songs

Not as bad as I thought they were going to be - but I still can't stand pop songs on Mario and I especially hate 80s songs!

In fact, what bothered me the most was the weird opera song they kept playing during their scuffle with the dog. Not only is it obnoxious, but it's playing so loud over the sounds and voices that you can't process anything effectively. It's weird and should've just been left out of the scene.

- Cranky's voice

Literally the only voice in the movie I felt did not fit the character at all. He should've sounded more old and grumpy.

- The fact it went by so fast!!! It was such a rush it went so quick. I wanted to stay in the MK forever 😭

- Luigi being absent

Honestly, yes we needed more of the Bros, but it was inevitable that Luigi wasn't going to have more screen time. Yes it is sad a prison breakout did not happen, but with all the footage they revealed up until release, it became more clear to me thst this wasn't going to happen. There just wasn't going to be time. I'm not upset about it, but we definitely need more in the sequel.

[whumpshaped]

Obvs you don't gotta do anything with this but thinking abt Seth lashing out, possibly toward Pumpkin after getting embarrassed out in polite society and taking it out on his stress toy, a break in his otherwise calm and collected torture sessions

see i would love to do this and project all my dumbest issues on seth but it causes a much too intense emotional reaction so i cant-

but heres some unorganised thoughts

tw beating, unpredictable whumper lashing out

the thing is, seth wants to be the centre of attention. very naturally at that. he doesnt want to scramble for it and seem desperate

but with that role comes the horrid reality. people Will be looking at you. and some of them wont like what they see

or just in general theyll have a sense of humour you feel insulted and embarrassed by. but of course you laugh because youre Cool and only insecure people cant laugh at themselves

so seth keeps it together each time, even though hes itching to just punch the offender in the face. he pushes down all the other memories of real or percieved embarrassment that this event has brought up

and then when they get home, all hell breaks fucking loose.

pumpkin gets used as a punching bag. seth finally doesnt have to keep up any sort of image (or so they think) and they can just go ham

but then when hes calmer, suddenly he realises he broke character, he wasnt the perfect smug composed whumper of his self indulgent fantasies. so he bashes pumpkin's head against the basement wall and tells them to fucking forget about this

the fact that they care what pumpkin thinks just makes them even more pissed. pumpkin is so far beneath them, they shouldnt care, they dont care, theyre not insecure, and even if they were, they wouldnt be looking for pumpkin's validation

eventually he just leaves the basement and slams the door shut and the next day he acts like nothing happened

[abimee]

been thinking about 1031 recently as well just because i enjoy her as an oc but shes also one of those ocs i consider an untouchable because shes encased in the time i made her and her story that id feel really weird using her for anything else

her name isnt 1031 but rather thats the name of the story, but i call her 1031 for ease and because she lacks any name in-canon and isnt reffered to as anything besides that girl and her. the entire story is that a teenage seth wewason lost his sister aria to suicide a year prior, and now he himself is struggling with the same thoughts, but when he goes to the roof of his highschool he finds a stranger (1031) already there who cryptically talks to him over multiple days about his feelings and the contemplation of suicide

the jest of the story is about the state of suicide prevention in the united states and especially the care (or lack thereof) for suicidal children; seth is easily disregarded by his peers, and his school lacks the safety or care to keep him from continuously returning to the dangerous school roof

and 1031 herself is an ambivalent mystery; she easily parrots the dangerous ideas that children are taught about their emotions, that if something is wrong in your life you should simply look at what positives there are and think about those less fortunate than you, essentially the ''someone always has it worse'' argument. she uses other's feelings against him, telling him how his sister hurt him leaving him behind so to imagine how much he'll hurt others leaving as well, scaring him away on the first couple of days

but later, when seth starts really getting to the root of his own suffering and misery, 1031 turns the other way; she talks about how theyre often told to think of others instead of themselves when theyre miserable, yet so very few of those same people are willing to help in the hour of their need, that the root of the suffering is tossed away and instead their emotions are dictated by the loss it creates; the loss of a student, the loss of an employee, the loss of the person who does the laundry. the life of a child is dictated by their usefulness and what will happen when thats lost, and so the child's emotions are put on the backburner. Rarely does the system want to deal with the problem of suicidality, and simply worries about the loss it'll create not because a person's life is important, but because the loss of profit and blame that will be put on them

1031 herself is an enigma in her story as well as to what she is; she could entirely be Seth's imaginative conscious, that constricts when in the grip of suicidality and thus only sees the two options of suffering or die, or she herself could just be another child forgotten by the system due to her own suffering, or maybe an angel sent by god to either lure seth to the other side or push him back for as long as possible. or perhap she is just a creation of suicidal herself, the conflicting emotion of wanting to be saved from the suffering but unable to see anything beyond the options of dying or suffering. it's never explained and nothing is clarified about her existence, beyond the fact that she can seemingly ''jump'' and disappear before seth's eyes yet appear again the very next day unharmed.

the ending of the story itself is left up in the air, as ultimately i didnt want to end a story with the idea that something can ever change the greater problem that is being suicidal; talking to someone wont save seth permanently, having a religious revelation or ''successfully'' arguing with your own consciousness doesnt suddenly make you well again; seth and 1031's time together is just a brief few days in what could very well be a lifelong struggle for seth, and no one person has the answer to it all, not seth or 1031 and whatever she may be. the suffering of kids is an ongoing problem that has not been dealt with because it is part of the greater society we live in, of a death-fearing, disability-fearing, apathetic individualistic society that refuses children their right to their emotions, their pain, their lives. a child's sadness is seen as lesser or unimportant because of the idea that children do not deal with important things, and are not important people on society, so seth and 1031 are in a stalemate at two children simply trying to deal with the unending suffering they are going through with no help from others, the system, the adults they are told have all the answers, etc. seth and 1031 are ultimately just holding onto each other at the edge because the safety net refuses to be put up because a building's aesthetic value is higher than the life of a child, and theres no way to simply fix it in a day. so 1031 is always around on that rooftop waiting for the next person, and the next person, and she herself stays up there and waits, because nobody ever does for her what she does for others

[banannabethchase]

Take a Chance on Me Chapter 6: Does Your Mother Know? - also on AO3

~

Mox and Wheeler have a conversation they've half-had for 22 years, and Wheeler finds something out about two people he loves. Reluctantly.

~

I write this with the perspective of someone who has, in not so recent history, been 22 and stupid.

~

Eyes bleary with exhaustion, Wheeler shakes his head a little, trying to process everything he’d heard. He kicks his feet up on the table, covered in cans of soda and paper plates. “Dad,” he says, a little dazed, “holy shit, you had a really busy week.”

Mox laughs. “Yeah, kid, I know. Not as busy as, like, nine months later. But busy.”

“I just,” Wheeler shakes his head. “How the fuck did all of that happen?” He shakes his head. “Also, Jesus, ever heard of a condom?”

Mox blinks. “Wheels. I have said this a hundred times. I was 22 and stupid.”

Wheeler accepts that. “But, like. You must have known to track…things.” Wheeler doesn’t know much about periods, never having had one himself, but his friends from high school told him more than he expected and he knows there’s patterns to this stuff.

Mox shrugs. “Bud, I was 22 and trans. I only managed to get my name change organized with the help of my job. You really think I had the sense to track ovulation cycles?”

“A calendar app?”

Mox laughs, throwing his head back. “We didn’t have apps back then, kid. Jesus, you gen Z kids don’t know a world without technology.”

Wheeler opens his mouth to answer, and very suddenly realizes how right his dad is. He isn’t going to argue with him. He’s right. “That makes sense.” The next question he’s asked a few times, especially in the photos of Mox when he was pregnant with Wheeler. “You were okay with it?”

“Of course I was okay with it.” Mox’s clear blue eyes are serious. “It was my decision, and I got you out of it all. That’s all that matters. There were some weird moments, yeah, but.” He yawns. “I support you, fully, in finding out who it is. But, for me, it didn’t matter. As a kid, you asked, but you didn’t…” He pauses. “Well, I would say we could find him, and you’d say you didn’t care.”

“I didn’t,” Wheeler says, catching the yawn from Mox. “Not really. Not until Claudio proposed. And then I figured, maybe at the wedding.” He shrugs. “It could be fun to have him walk me down the aisle.”

“I get that,” Mox says, and he reaches over and squeezes Wheeler’s hand.

There’s a little shuffling from the guest room. “You guys still up?” Seth asks. He looks far too chipper for five thirty in the morning, hair tied up in a stylishly messy bun like he meant to do it that way. “Boys, go to sleep.”

“I was busy learning about all the bad decisions my father made in his early twenties,” Wheeler replies.

“Aw, potato,” Seth says, leaning over to kiss the top of Wheeler’s head. “All those bad decisions led to you.”

Wheeler leans into him, the familiar scent of his shampoo surrounding him like a home.

Seth makes himself comfortable on the couch next to Mox, who looks not entirely pleased to see Seth next to him. “He tell you about how he seduced Chuck by insulting him?”

Wheeler rolls his eyes. “Yes.”

Seth wrinkles his nose. “He tell you about where they banged?”

“Against your car, yes,” Wheeler says.

Mox laughs. “You’re still mad about it?”

“Yes!” Seth says. “That was the first car I ever owned and you got,” he wrinkles his nose, “sweat everywhere.”

“Okay, seriously?” Wheeler says, and he’s beginning to regret all of this. “Dad, you were so much more,” he pauses, trying to find the words, “succinct in your LiveJournal posts.”

“Using words like succinct is why I worry you’re Regal’s kid,” Mox says, staring at him.

Wheeler rolls his eyes. “That’s more a product of, you know, going to college.”

“Whatever,” Mox says. “You’re smart enough to know what succinct means and figure out the internet to get my old LiveJournal posts. You’re a genius, we know.”

Wheeler shrugs. “I mean, your words not mine.” There’s a strange silence that settles, like Seth and Mox know exactly what he’s about to ask next and they’re trying to find a way to avoid it. “Okay, so, which one, if you absolutely had to guess, is my dad?”

“I – kid, I just told you about how,” he pauses, “how do I put this appropriately yet firmly to my child?”

“Slutty you were that week?” Seth suggests, halfway through his green smoothie.

“You shut it,” Mox says. “But, yeah. How slutty I was. I really have no clue.”

Wheeler nods. “Yeah, I get it. Hey, is this why you were always on me so much about safe sex as a teenager? Because you were a slut?”

“Okay, now, I don’t like my kid calling me a slut,” Mox says, frowning.

“Fine, sexually untethered,” Wheeler says with an eye roll. “Stop beating around the bush.”

Seth snorts.

“Would you please leave?” Mox groans, dropping his head in his hands. Seth shoots a grin over his head at Wheeler.

“Later, sweet potato.” He blows a kiss to Wheeler.

“Prick’s probably going to go for a run on the beach and then do yoga while he drinks coconut water or something,” Mox grumbles.

“Dad, focus,” Wheeler says. Now that he’s asked it, he can’t stop asking. “Are you – you don’t even have an inkling?”

“Nada,” Mox says. “I promise, if I knew who your other dad was, I’d’ve told you years ago.” He reaches his arms out and Wheeler curls up next to him on the couch, leaning on his Dad’s arm like a pillow, just like he’d done since he was a baby. “I didn’t keep it from you because I was ashamed, or annoyed, or wanted you not to have another dad. I just…” He sighs, pausing. Wheeler can see the tension, the concern, in the lines of his father’s face. “I didn’t end any of those, uh, connections on a romantic or relationship note, I guess. And telling them I had you…” He trails off. “Honestly, I didn’t want to share you. You were the first unexpected good thing in my life that I could keep safe, keep my own.” He turns to Wheeler with a sad kind of smile on his lips. “It was selfish, but I wasn’t willing to let anybody claim to be the reason you were as amazing as you are.”

He sits with it for a moment, letting the memories play across his vision. First days of school, field trips, wrestling matches. His first day of college. His dad was always there, often accompanied by one of his many uncles, with a smile and unlimited love.

Wheeler wipes away some rogue tears before they fall down his cheeks, and hugs his dad close. “I never needed anybody else but you, Dad,” he says quietly. “But, sometimes,” he forces the words out, “sometimes, I wanted the other one.”

“I know.” Mox’s voice is choked. His dad’s crying. He never cries. “I was selfish. And that hurt you.”

“You didn’t know,” Wheeler says. “And I didn’t either, really, not until I got engaged.” He lifts his head. “You know I’m not mad at you, right?”

Mox wipes another tear, coughs gruffly. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I am.” And Wheeler means it. “You had hard decisions to make. And I –” Wheeler has to take a deep breath to steady himself. “I wouldn’t be who I am without all the work you put in to make me who I am.”

“Oh, potato,” Mox says, face crumpling. “All your accomplishments are yours. I just helped push you to where you needed to be.”

They sit like that, holding each other, until Wheeler’s tears have dried and exhaustion has won its battle against his questions. He fails at fighting back a yawn.

“You should go back to Claudio,” Mox mumbles into Wheeler’s hair. “Get some sleep. You’re getting married on Sunday.”

“Tomorrow,” Wheeler clarifies. “I’m getting married tomorrow.”

Mox sits up. “Shit. Go sleep some, Wheels. I’ll see you later today.” He presses a kiss to Wheeler’s forehead. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

Seth is reorganizing the kitchen cabinets as Wheeler passes through. “You heading out?”

Wheeler nods. “I,” he interrupts himself with a yawn, “I gotta get some sleep.”

Seth leans over and kisses his forehead as he walks by. “Enjoy your weekend, Wheels,” Seth says. “Seriously. Make this about you and Claudio. Don’t let anything else interrupt.”

Wheeler nods. “Of course.”

He’s too close to half asleep as he drives himself back to the hotel. He yawns as he stumbles his way toward his hotel room, and nearly crashes into somebody as he steps into the hallway to the stretch of rooms for their wedding party.

“Watch where – Potato!”

“Uncle Eddie!”

Eddie yanks him in for a rough hug, giving him a noogie. “Kiddo! Missed you last night!”

“I was with Dad,” Wheeler says, wiggling out of Eddie’s grip.

Eddie grabs him by the cheeks, turns his face. “You look great, kid. Tired as fuck, though. Why you still up?”

“I uh,” he breaks eye contact, “I may have invited the three guys who might be my other dad to the wedding.”

Eddie blinks. “Oh, you’re a fucking idiot.”

“I know,” Wheeler says. “Why, uh. Why are you up?”

For the first time in Wheeler’s life, he sees Eddie blush. He looks…caught. “Oh, you don’t wanna know.” He laughs, a little awkward. He pulls off his hat and starts scrubbing his hand on his head.

Wheeler stares. “Did…what did you do?”

“Nothing. Go to bed, Tater, go make out with your European mountain range.”

“His name is Claudio.”

“His entire identity is being European,” Eddie says, rolling his eyes. “I’m just matching his vibe or whatever.” He presses a rough kiss to the side of Wheeler’s head. “I gotta go to bed.”

Wheeler quirks an eyebrow. “So you weren’t coming from your bedroom.”

“Shut up! Love you! Leave me alone!”

Wheeler laughs and yawns, stumbling his way to his hotel room where Claudio is already awake and showered. “There you are!” he says, lighting up. “Missed you last night. Could barely sleep.”

Wheeler presses a kiss to his cheek as he dizzily sits down on the bed, toeing off his shoes. “Dad and I spent the night talking,” he explains. “I know…so many things now.”

“Like who your other dad is?”

“Oh, no,” Wheeler says. He slides under the covers, yawning. “Found out my dad was kind of a slut before I was born, though. That was enlightening.”

 Claudio blinks. “I’ll ask you more about that when you don’t look like you’re about to pass out.” He kisses Wheeler gently. “Go to sleep, Schatzi.”

And Wheeler does.

~

He wakes up, not long enough later, to somebody smacking him with…well, a pillow is his only guess. That or a Squishmallow.

“Wake up, Wheely!”

“Danny,” Wheeler groans. “Fucking leave me alone.”

“Get up, bitch, we have ho shit to do.” The blankets are ripped away, and Wheeler is now annoyed and cold.

He sits up, a little dizzy. “You fucking suck.”

“Yeah, I do.” He winks. “Let’s go hang by the beach.”

“I’m tired!”

Danny shrugs. “And? I don’t give a fuck. Go get your bathing suit and let’s go chill.”

“How did you even get in here?” Wheeler looks around.

“Claudio gave me the key.” Danny grabs his arm, half yanking him out of the bed. “Come on, you douche, we have bachelor shit to do.”

And, unfortunately, Wheeler follows.

They make their way down to the hotel’s private beach. It’s beautiful out, sun beating down on them as they spread out their beach chairs and the umbrella. Wheeler thinks he may be able to fall back asleep.

The umbrella casts a comforting shadow, soothing and gentle, and he’s almost asleep when Danny speaks.

“So,” Danny says, “I gotta tell you something.”

Wheeler turns to him, one eye open. “Oh, I hate that tone.”

Danny’s grin is horrifying. “Guess what I did last night.”

“I don’t want to know.” Something starts to dawn on him, but he’s not sure what.

“I’ll give you a hint,” Danny says, stretching out. “I got railed last night so good I can barely walk today.”

Wheeler winces. “Nobody I’m related to?” Nobody, he desperately thinks, he ran into in the hallway that morning.

“Well,” Danny says. “Technically, you’re not related to him.”

“Oh, no,” Wheeler groans. He turns slowly, reluctantly, to Danny. “Danny, please tell me you didn’t fuck my dad’s best friend.”

Danny shrugs, grinning lips almost as red as the hickies across his chest and neck. It’s all Wheeler needs as confirmation. “Alright, bet. I won’t tell you.”

Wheeler grabs the leg of his beach chair and flips it over. “Did you fuck Eddie?”

“You told me not to tell you,” Danny says, and it’s unfair that he’s the one laughing while he’s face down in the sand.

“Oh, god, you met him when we were, like, just out of high school!” Wheeler groans. He drops his head back onto the chair, and half hopes the sun burns him alive. “That’s so gross!”

“What can I say?” Danny says, shoving himself back to sitting and fixing his chair. Wheeler gets a little vindication at the way the sand sticks to all the places he’s got sunscreen. “I like an older man.”

“Jesus,” Wheeler says, feeling a little weak. “Why is everybody in my life a slut?”

“And proud of it,” Danny says.

“Don’t look so smug about sleeping with my uncle, please,” Wheeler whines.

Danny looks at him, slides on his sunglasses. “Deal with it, bitch. You’ll be calling me Uncle Danny once I get him to propose.”

Wheeler laughs. “Eddie’ll never get married.”

“That’s a challenge I’m willing to take on.”

Wheeler chucks the sunscreen at Danny. “No! Bad!”

They start hitting each other with towels until Wheeler shoves Danny into the ocean and only halfway holds his head under the water. It goes back and forth, with probably too much saltwater ending up in his lungs, but it reminds him of college.

He’s got one leg on the back of Danny’s neck, holding him under, when he hears it.

“Wheeler, who’re you drowning over there?”

Wheeler jumps at Eddie’s voice just enough to slip, letting Danny to the surface, spluttering. “You fucking douchebag, the leg isn’t –” He cuts himself off once he sees Eddie make his way down the beach, and turns bright pink. Wheeler gives him a little credit for how he tries to cover it with a smile.

“Hey, Uncle Eddie,” he says, and he makes it sound annoyingly dirty. “How you doing?”

Wheeler dives under the water for a brief respite from whatever Danny and Eddie are doing, but he can only hold his breath for so long. When he comes up for air, Danny’s running along the beach after Eddie.

“Come on, be my date to the wedding!”

“You’re, like, eighteen.”

“I’m twenty-two!”

“You know how fuckin’ stupid people are at 22, kid?” Eddie says.

Wheeler gets out of the ocean. “Dad had me at 22.”

“Yeah, it was the only smart thing he did that year, Potato Head,” Eddie retorts. “Go back underwater, I don’t want you to hear this.”

“Danny told me everything. Too late.”

Eddie groans, looking toward the sky as if God might grant him a mercy killing right then and there. “Jesus, kid, what part of ‘keep this between us’ didn’t get through your head?”

Danny blinks innocently, and Wheeler’s seen him use that strategy on too many guys to count over the years. “Sorry, Eddie. I think you just fucked the sense out of me.”

“That implies you had any sense to begin with,” Wheeler says.

Eddie stares at him, the one he’d always get when he got too close to the weights as a toddler or started climbing the ring posts when he got a little bit older. The one warning him that, if he kept going, whatever happened was his own fault. “You be careful, Tater.”

“I was insulting Danny, not you.”

Eddie shrugs. “Shit. You’re right.” He looks back at Danny. “Listen to Wheeler, kid, he’s the one with the reason between the two of you.”

“Oh, wait, no,” Danny says, looking between the two of them. “You don’t both get to insult me.”

“You fucked my uncle,” Wheeler deadpans, “on my wedding weekend. I get to do whatever the hell I want.”

Eddie laughs at that one, the kind of belly laugh Wheeler has millions of mental screenshots of from his childhood. “He’s right, baby, you don’t get to tell him anything.”

Danny turns on this big eyed pout. “You called me baby?”

“Aw, fuck,” Eddie says. “Don’t fall in love with me, kid. You’ll regret it.”

~

Fun fact: The Eddie/Danny of it all is what convinced me to write this fic instead of leaving it in my chaos brain pocket. Here, have a link to the scene in the movie inspiring the Eddie/Danny. It's good. It's really good.

[altruistic-meme]

AFTG fic recs

Hi all! I just wanted to share some of my all-time favorite fanfics for aftg, for no real reason other than I want more people to read them and send their love to the authors :) 

Under a readmore because it got. A little long. But please enjoy!

WIPs

Dangerous Habits by LovelyLittleGrim ( @lovelylittlegrim )

Andrew has run into problems while on undercover jobs before. None of those problems were anything like the troublesome runaway that is one Nathaniel Wesninski

Aka: the fic where Andrew is undercover as a hitman for hire and Neil is the guy who hires him. Things get complicated from there.

Undercover Andrew? BAMF Neil? Hitman AU?? Absolutely. I’m in love. The story is just *chef kisses*

Chapters: 8/9

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, past rape/non-con, Drake Spear (who is his own warning), Butcher Neil, 

--

Negotiations by elesary ( @elesary )

This is what Andrew Minyard knows: his brother is dead, killed by a petty Raven prince who has never learned to keep his hands off of Andrew's things. His brother's daughters are his responsibility, a job that is made infinitely harder when their shitty grandparents want custody. Nathaniel Wesninski is a liar, but he might be the only way to avenge Aaron and protect his nieces. All Andrew has to do is watch Nathaniels - Neil's- back as he carves out his own life and identity from everyone who thinks they own him.

Andrew has always been good at upholding his end of the bargain, has he finally found someone willing to uphold theirs?

This fic has got me fucked up, honestly. I’m emotional over it. It’s fantastic.

Chapters: 11/?

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, attempted sexual assault, Butcher Neil,

--

the upper hand by plantelty ( @plantelty  )

Shortly after losing his mother, Neil arrives in the small town of Palmetto, South Carolina, alone in the world and with an impossible plan to carry through.

At the age of eighteen, Andrew ends up helping a boy stage his own death.

-

Just two fucked up boys learning to trust each other during the course of a summer, but also: multiple references to songs, twinyard angst (Nicky tries his best), The Plotting of Neil Josten's Gruesome Demise, and shit hitting the fan in a variety of ugly ways!

The cliffhanger has got me on the edge of my seat, but it is 100% worth the read and the wait for the last chapter!! 

Chapters: 10/11

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Canon typical violence, 

--

The Butcher’s House by Fire_Bear ( @fire-bear )

Andrew thought something was odd with the house the Foxes had to move into after their Athletes' House had been burnt down. He just wasn't prepared for what was actually wrong with it.

For this was a house full of monsters.

Ghost story! Ghost story! Ghost story! I literally think about this fic every other day, it’s fantastic. 

Chapters: 6/?

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: character death (major or minor is unclear), injuries, 

--

Promise of an Unbroken Boy by elesary ( @elesary​ )

Neil is caught by the police with Mary's burning body and is sent to juvie in Oakland where he is assigned to share a cell with one Andrew Doe, who promises him Exy, if only Neil will tell him all of his secrets. With no access to tinted contacts and hair dye, he agrees, it's only a matter of time until he's killed after all. What does he have to lose?

But Andrew's found someone who knows what a promise means, and he'll be damned if he lets that go without a fight.

Ngl this is definitely in my very top favorites -- I LOVE the idea of Neil and Andrew meeting pre-series, and this fic just BLEW my expectations for that plotline out of the waters

Chapters: 14/?

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Underage, attempted rape/non-con, canon-typical violence, 

~~~~~~~~~

Complete

The Nameless Monster by kanekicure ( @kanekicure )

Nathaniel Wesninski wants nothing more than to see his father dead and buried. But when his father promises him the title of The Butcher, Nathaniel quickly realizes that his destiny of following in his father's footsteps is closer than ever before.

So of course, when he gets forced to go undercover for the Baltimore police, he starts seeing what living could truly be.

-

Andrew Minyard is a newly recruited police officer for the worst precinct in Baltimore, who is dedicated on hunting down the notorious Butcher and his unnamed underling. But when Neil Josten is thrown into his midst as his civilian consultant; he starts to realize some things don't quite appear as they seem.

I love the story telling -- the secret identities, the plotting, everything.

Chapters: 14/14

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Butcher Neil, implied/referenced rape/non-con, implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced slef-harm (I believe there is a scene that is somewhat detailed on this subject), some characters also get drugged at one point, 

-- 

that’s just something people say by nanatsuyu ( @theoctopusnods )

Neil makes the mistake of stealing the wrong car. Andrew makes the mistake of offering a ride to a liar. They both make the mistake of turning the whole affair into a road trip ‘home.’

Gonna be honest; the summary does not give a big idea as to what is in store and i am SO GLAD I gave this one a try so i’m telling you that you will be too

Chapters: 24/24

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse, panic attacks (somewhat grahic descriptions of)

--

The Story After You by kanekicure ( @kanekicure )

Andrew Minyard does not understand how Riko Moriyama landed Neil Wesninski.

How the snot-nosed, small dick, rich brat, second son of the Moriyama family who also just so happened to own the largest EXY gear and merchandiser company in the world “RAVEN” - had landed smart mouthed, quick witted, stupidly blue eyed Wesninski, was beyond him. Well, unless Wesninski was a gold digger, but Andrew doubted it.

-

Or; how Andrew Minyard says he doesn't get into messy situations, until he meets Neil and suddenly he is in the most messiest possible situation ever imagined in his life - oh and also, he might be becoming a homewrecker.

Ok I am behind bc I haven’t read the final chapter of this but!! I love the story, it’s very emotional and moving, and I love the characterization in it.

Chapters: 10/10

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Abusive Riko/Neil, abusive relationship, implied/referenced rape/non-con, implied/reference child abuse, implied/referenced self-harm, graphic depictions of violence, some descriptions of injuries/scarring, 

-- 

This Complicated Life by 5a5b5p5 ( @andrewsbutterflyknife )

“This is exactly why I don’t want you and Andrew to meet,” Aaron says grumpily. “You two would get along far too well.”

Neil grins. “I just like pissing you off,” he says, “It’s not my fault your brother does such a good job at it.”

—

Neil doesn’t expect much from his Sophomore year of college, but when he becomes a waiter at the Palmetto Bistro, his life gets a whole lot more interesting. As it turns out, maintaining friendships new and old as well as navigating an interesting relationship with the head chef of the restaurant—who just so happens to be his best friend’s twin brother—is a lot more complicated than he’d thought it would be.

A much more light-hearted fic than most of the others! Includes a secret relationship, and also chef Andrew >>

Chapters: 10/10

Rating: Mature

Warnings: 

--

When I Fade, Keep Me in Your Memory by demesh 

Neil Josten has a secret: he can flicker out of existence.

He can vanish with the turn of a thought; click his fingers, and suddenly he’s not there anymore. Invisible and untouchable, he becomes a living ghost.

Having promised his mother never to let his ability go, Neil teeters the line between faded and real, a person and an echo. He can’t risk getting hurt.

But then, one day, someone sees him when they shouldn’t be able to.

 A (flower-shop) AU about how a faded and lonely Neil finds it in him to become someone real.

Another fic that I need to catch up on ;; but anyway it’s amazing and I love Neil’s ability in it, it’s so well explained and well-written about

Chapters: 12/12

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: mentions of past abuse, panic attacks

--

12 Ways to Woo a Minyard by NikNak22 ( @knickknacksandallthat )

Neil is a math nerd who, by a stroke of dumb luck, falls into a group of friends that are the closest thing to family he’s ever had. So, when he tells them about his new mysterious crush, he shouldn’t be surprised how immediately they come up with a plan to help win them over. One they insist that if Neil follows it, he’ll have them falling for him in no time. But things don��t always go to plan – or do they?

Nicky wants to set him up with someone else. Matt and Jeremy are confused but supportive. Allison and Seth offer lewd suggestions, while Dan does her best to keep everyone in line. Jean and Renee know something, Aaron doesn’t really care, and Kevin just wants Neil to join the lacrosse team.

But one thing’s for certain – whether Neil’s successful or not, everyone’s got money riding on this.

The romance-trope-filled fanfic of my dreams. Sometimes you just need a fic of pure joy -- this is that fic. 

Chapters: 14/14

Rating: Mature

Warnings: 

--

finders keepers by moonix ( @annawrites ​ )

Andrew meets Nathaniel through a scavenger hunt app. As their team takes part in a hunt that sends each of them to creepy, abandoned places alone to solve clues and gain points, Andrew and Nathaniel begin a little treasure hunt of their own. The anonymity of getting to know each other in small increments, never meeting face-to-face, allows them a level of intimacy neither are used to. Meanwhile Renee’s friend Neil is acting weird whenever Andrew shows up…

This was one of the first fics I read for aftg!! And BOY what a great start!! All of the little pieces and parts that work together, and just the scavenger hunt itself is fantastic! (I also REALLY wanna know if there is an app like this out there because I would be down to do that)

Chapters: 8/8

Rating: Mature

Warnings: (these all come from the author:) “mentions of historical abuse in a mental asylum, mentions of suicide, mentions of murder and kidnapping, morbid facts, creepy abandoned places including a haunted house at a theme park with disturbing rooms, special appearance of a creepy clown doll, fatphobia and some introspection on body image/complicated relationship with food, mention of self harm scars”

-----

Scared to Live (But I’m Scared to Die) by Major_816 ( @major816 )

Neil Josten goes to the Nest for Andrew, but he stays for a lot more.

~

"I'm sorry Coach," he muttered.

"For what kid?" Wymack shifted. "You've got to give me something to work with here."

Wymack watched the thin traces of sorrow as paper exchanged hands and he was looking down at a contract with the Edgar Allan Raven's.

"I signed them Coach, I'm sorry."

~

The one where Neil doesn't come back from Winter Break.

It is VERY dark, and is one of very few fics that I have actually been almost unable to read one of the scenes, so DEFINITELY pay attention to the warnings -- both these, and the ones provided for each individual chapter. I did go through the fic to collect as many warnings as I could find in the chapter warnings, but be sure to take care of yourself.

Chapters: 36/36

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: rape/non-con elements, implied/referenced rape/non-con, discussions of rape/non-con, canon-typical violence, graphic descritions, physical abuse, panic attacks, descriptions of injuries (often graphic), psychological warfare, dissociating, psychological torture, physical torture, use of knives, alcoholism/alcohol abuse, pain-induced delirium, rape/non-con, emotional self-separation, suicidal ideation/thoughts of suicide, emotional distress (which sums up the whole fic and also me while reading it), handcuffs/chains used as restraints, referenced/implied abuse towards animals, vomitting, begging, excessive use of painkillers, drowning, waterboarding, physical restraint, mutilation of an animal, mild hallucinations, non-con drugging, sleep deprivation, starvation, humiliation, the Butcher, 

Also one of the first fics I read and 100% my absolute favorite fic!!! Which is adfjhsd a little worrying, considering, but it is what it is. Anyway. This fic absolutely wrecked me, and while it is technically complete, there is a sequel in the works! So! But I am so so excited for the sequel, and I am working on rereading this. It’s amazing. 1000/10.

[therealvinelle]

Could you expand what happened during the funeral in Ftlow?

I mean, it's the kind of thing where we knew all the people going in and the rough outline of how they would clash, but never actually sat down to plot it out in detail. That kind of thing happens as we write.

That being said.

Also, trigger warning for the following post as it talks about suicide.

The attendants

You have a rich cast of people who will be going to Bella's funeral for various reasons.

THE GRIEVING FATHER Charlie Swan lost his daughter to suicide because the idiot she fell in love with turned out to be a delusional psychopath and her best friend was just as bad. With her history of depression and mental health problems Charlie thought at first she was taking things much better than last time, now he knows that wasn't the case at all.

THE SUDDENLY BEREFT MOTHER When Renée Dwyer heard her daughter broke off her engagement she was initially pleased. Oh, she didn't quite see Edward Cullen eloping with Jacob and it's a shame Bella's so mad at them, but Renée is a progressive woman who accepts the gays. Bella will come around, she'll go to college, most importantly she won't be married at eighteen.

Then the suicide happened, and now Renée is beating herself up for not picking up the signs - there are always signs. She looks to Charlie, who was in a much better position to pick up on these signs, and will never quite forgive him for failing to prevent this.

THE AWKWARD STEP-FATHER Phil Dwyer liked Bella, she was a great kid, this whole thing is a shame. When he hears about how the Cullens, in particular Jasper and Carlisle (?!), crowded Bella in those final weeks, not even letting her run errands on her own, his eyebrows raise along with his creep-o-meter. Uh huh, are we sure Edward and Jacob are the only reasons Bella killed herself? Poor girl.

THE WITNESS Jessica Stanley had drifted apart from Bella, but they were still in the same social circle, you know? They weren't friends, but they were friends. And now Jessica had to witness... that.

Jessica is not okay.

THE ONE WHO COULD HAVE STOPPED IT ALL FROM HAPPENING If only Bella had dated Mike Newton instead. But, he tells himself, squaring his shoulders, he can't blame himself.

Bella wouldn't have wanted that.

THE WOULD-BE IN-LAWS With newborn Bella safely in a bunker in New England, the Cullens find it wiser to attend her funeral than not. It's the natural, human thing to do, for all that they really don't want to.

(That they have to bear the scarlet letter that is their brother having caused the suicide in the first place, and come up with a lie explaining why he didn't even show, is just a bonus.)

Which is all well and good, except Carlisle bit Bella just days earlier, and his eyes are still bright red. Now, he could do contact lenses, but his eye color has consistently been bright gold. The way color theory works, there's not a lense in the world that can turn red to bright yellow.

He wears his aviators to church and refuses to take them off. It is presumed he's been drinking.

THOSE WHO KNOW THE UGLY TRUTH Bad enough that the Cullens came to Forks, worse that they turned Bella, unforgivable that they took Jacob.

Insulting that their leader shows up with eyes that they know are red behind those aviators.

The Quileute attendants, namely Billy Black and Sue, Seth, and Leah Clearwater are there in support of Charlie, but if looks could kill the Cullens would be piles of ash.

(Apart from Leah, who at this point is too done with all of this. She doesn't have it in her to care anymore.)

THE TOWNSFOLK This entire clusterfuck is a very public event witnessed by half of Forks.

-

I was very sad we had to cut the funeral.

[radioproto]

TW: HEAVY G0R3, BL00D, G^T$, KN!F3

•Dr. Seth Stethoscope

•Male

•Age unknown; likely early to mid twenties

•Taught about medical equipment

•Motto: "Health is key, and the key is health!"

•Headcannons:

-he is quite sensitive and doesn’t take losing patients very well at all (worse than most other doctors)

-he’s bi, just look at his haircut and boot-like shoes

-one big crybaby (thanks @shapeshivvter for the idea lol)

-has really good hearing since he’s a stethoscope

-in his object form, since his left hand is part of the stethoscope, he can hear a person’s heartbeat just by pressing his "hand" to their chest, no additional equipment required

-he is very social and does like to meet new people

-he gets anxious if he’s surrounded or there are loud noises around

-you can often tell he’s nervous if he fidgets or shuffles his feet

-isn’t formal at all; usually just wants to go by his name and nothing like dr., mr., sir, etc

•Lesson Song:

"Hello students! It seems that you’re all due for a checkup. I’m here to take care of that!"

*The students are visibly nervous, muttering among each other.*

"What’s he gonna do?"

"Is it gonna hurt?"

"I don’t need a doctor!"

*Seth quickly cuts in-*

"Not to fear, young ones! I’m here to teach you first."

"About what?" *one student asks*

"About what I’m going to do with all this!"

*Seth holds up his medical bag and begins to sing.*

Let’s start with the basics

Alright, let’s see

"Hm…"

Oh, I know!

Let’s start with me

I am a stethoscope

I check your heartbeat

A simple touch to your chest

It’s really quite a simple feat

I measure just how much you breathe

In a certain span of time

This time I simply touch your back

Oh don’t be afraid, this is just a silly rhyme!

"Er, so far…Let’s get back on track!"

This is a sphygmomanometer

It checks your blood pressure

A quick small squeeze around the arm

It’s just another simple measure

Here is an otoscope

I can look in your ears

Even your mouth or in your eyes

Just to see how it appears

Here’s my thermometer

That I use to take your temperature

You may be hot, you may be cold

Something that even *you* can measure

I may press on your belly

In a couple different places

This is to check how firm it feels

In certain little spaces

Here’s my little hammer

That I use to tap your knee

It may appear that this would hurt

But it doesn’t and I’m sure that you’ll agree

"This doesn’t actually seem too bad." *One student mumbles as there’s a pause in Seth’s song.*

"See? I told you!" *Seth chuckles.* "But we still have a little more to cover."

*The students look up at him curiously as he continues on; he’s pulling out larger equipment now, and from where?*

This an x-ray machine

That I use to see your bones

I can check for something broken

Or even kidney stones

*the students seem visibly confused and a bit nervous now, seeing as Seth just pulled a big machine out of seemingly nowhere*

*Once again, Seth pulled out another fairly large piece of equipment.*

This is an anesthetic tank

It’s a medicine to put you to sleep

I put the mask around your face

And you’ll fall deep…

deep…

deep…

*Everything begins to fade out and a moment later, the students awaken in a small room, all laying in hospital beds, all hooked up to monitors with surgical blankets spread over them. Seth’s voice could be heard echoing through the room, but he was nowhere to be found…*

"Deep…deep…deep…"

*The students looked around, monitors beeping frantically as their hearts raced. Suddenly, Seth appears in the middle of the room with his back to them. He turns around, a psychotic look plastered on his face as he approaches them with a small knife in hand.*

"We never finished the song!" *He chuckles. In his mind though, he knows something is very wrong. Constantly begging the gods to pull him out of this situation, completely out of control of his body and actions.*

This is my scalpel

I use to cut you open

During a surgery to get inside you

Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing…

*Seth laughs maniacally as he takes the scalpel to one of his students’ belly, slicing him open with a sharp movement. The boy screams in agony as Seth tears his organs from his body and the other two students watch on in horror. They are suddenly affected by the anesthesia and are knocked out as Seth rips the boy’s heart from his body, killing him.*

"This is exactly what my patient needs…" *Seth chuckles again as he walks out of the room, covered in blood and a heart, still beating, in one hand. Two students laid unconscious, and one dead, blood pooling around him and his dismembered organs on the floor.*

[unmeinohazama]

Dalim Route Synopsis (30th Sep 2021)

Huge thanks to Onigiri who proofread this for me in discord ♡

ー

One nightーyou meet him. 

"Nice meeting you, my name is Dum. I'm the master of this bar, sweet princess."

---

Dum "Don't be so wary of me." 

Sirius "You must know why she's wary of you, right? Most Popular Guy of the Central Area."

Fenrir "And don't forget him being the Central's Casanova." 

Seth "Beside being known for making everyone his captive no matter their gender or age, the master is also known for having a weak constitution." 

Dum "But because the princesses will take care of me whenever I have a seizure, it's not really…  bad to have a weak body, you know? Shall I have this princess to take care of me today?" 

---

And so, in an unexpected turn of events, I ended up as a waitress at the bar. 

MC "Since we’ll be working together from now on, I'd like it if you could hold off trying to hit on me." 

Dum "I see you take your work very seriously, I appreciate it. Instead of one of my many princesses, I will think of you as my work partner from now on… as much as possible for me." 

---

Dum, despite being a playboy, is kind and very mindful of his surroundings

---

Dum "If you're interested, shall I tell you how to recognize a magic user?" 

MC "If you're willing, I’d very much like to know!" 

To my confusion, Dum put on a bright smile and lifted his index finger up straight. 

Dum "In exchange for teaching you how, I'd like one kiss from you." 

---

Dum "Can you help me stand?" 

I had my suspicions for a bit, but in the end, I offered my hand and said 'Sure.' 

The moment Dum-san held my hand, the corners of his mouth lifted and he briefly kissed the tip of my hand. 

MC "Wh-What are you doing?! 

Dum "It's because you look so worried." 

---

But everythingーー

was a lie. 

---

MC "! What are you doing in the middle of this rain? Who were the people just now?" 

Dum "Hmm, I guess they're my colleagues. To be honest with you, I actually have another job. One that I can't tell you, something forbidden." 

---

MC "I want to use my power to protect the people who've been taking care of me here… and then go home when the time comes." 

Dum "It seems that you've made up your mind. How regrettable." 

---

You suddenly found out about them. 

His real name, his real jobーand also, the fact that he is one of the bad guys. Ooo we love a good baddie

---

MC "So you said that if it's for the Cradle's sake, there's no limit to what you can do?" 

Dalim "To get what I want without having to sacrifice anything is the ideal picture, but the world is not that nice. To earn one thing, you have to let go of something. To let someone live, you have to sacrifice another. Whether it's intentional or not, isn't that what everyone more or less does? "

---

Dalim "No matter how, I will surely offer Alice's magic nullification power to Amon-sama as soon as possible." 

Amon "Hm, that'd better be done. It's also for your own sake. I'm sure you don't want to be back on top of an experiment table, being called test subject no. '09113' instead of a Magic Tower High Officials."

---

But… gradually, everything became unclear. 

He who is not Dum anymore, is he really evil? 

---

Dalim "Even if I push you into the darkness, your eyes and soul don't lose their light. For someone evil like me who's covered with darkness, your light is too blinding, and I can't help but reach my hand towards it… Even though at the time I do so, there is no way I can go back to the place filled with light."

---

Amon "Even as a guinea pig, I don't need you anymore! Disappear from my sight, Alice!" 

MC (Oh no, I can't nullify it fast enough…!) 

At that timeー

A huge ball of offensive magic came flying from behind me. 

It crashed into Amon's attack and exploded in the air. 

MC "Kyaah…!" 

When the bright light from the explosion faded, standing there was… 

Amon "You… No way… Did you stand against me just now? Dalim." 

Dalim "....." 

---

MC "What you're thinking about right now, your past, anything is fine. Please tell me anything about yourself, Dalim-san." 

Dalim "...It can't be, have you… fallen for me?" 

---

MC "The kiss just now… What… does it mean?"

Dalim "The kiss doesn't mean anything. It's just because I want to, so I did." 

MC "Why… do you want to kiss me?" 

Using his fingertips, Dalim-san then tucked my hair behind my ear, and slid his finger caressing my cheek. 

Dalim "What kind of answer do you wish to hear from me?" 

---

The time came for when the intentions of various people and a shocking past came to light.

Which were lies and which were the truthーwhere evil started, and where justice ended.

That answer can only be uncovered by you (MC). 

Because that's the only way he can be saved.

In case you're able to find your way to the truth, and able to raise a 'revolution' where you change the whole story,

-

-

-

What kind of future will be waiting for you….? 

---

Dalim "To pull me into this irresistible, tempting conspiracy, you sure are a bad girl, hm?" 

---

The moment you fell in love, you've committed the worst crime at the Cradle. 

ーEven knowing that, you've already fallen for this evil man. 

[narabea06]

Little Saramy Thing bc I Can-

Inspired by the song Michelle by Sir Chloe-

Also there is a bit of internalized homophobia-

Sarah stared at the shorter blonde on the other side of the gazebo, who was chatting with her boyfriend, as she worked on tuning Tim's ukelele. The gazebo had soon turned into a sort of meeting area for the group after they had found it and decided it would be used for Alex's movie.

Today they were going to be working on just brainstorming a little bit for a few scenes, mainly the music and little details they wants to add before they started filming. Since Jay, Amy, and Tim were all musicly gifted (Jay with the bass guitar, Tim with the ukulele and writing, and Amy with guitar and vocals), they were all invited to come help. Sarah was dragged there though to help with the clothing choices, since Alex learned that designing was her side gig, and realized she was good with what things really meant to the viewer when they looked at a character's fashion choices.

Sarah couldn't take her eyes off the woman though, Amy, Alex's girlfriend. She knew that the woman didn't come to the shoots or to help them out with things very often, but the times when she did, Sarah hated it.

There was always this feeling when Amy was around that Sarah couldn't stand. Her bubbly nature always just felt..wrong. Her voice was annoying. Her style was weird.

Every time Sarah saw her, Amy always made her want to punch something. There was always a guy feeling, one that made her feel nervous around her, and just off. It felt weird, and honestly was annoying. Amy wasn't intimidating or honestly at all threatening. Sarah shouldn't be getting so cared around her.

Maybe she was jealous. Jealous that Amy was going to take everything away from her. After all, Alex and Seth were both Sarah's best friends, yet they both seemed to be people Amy hung out with so much. What if they didn't have time for her anymore?

That was probably it.

Sarah blew a strand of brown hair out of her face and glanced over at Jay, who seemed to be struggling to remember how to play the instrument in his arms. Her gaze softened as she reached over to help him, only to suddenly see Amy swiftly walk over.

"Jay, need some help there?"

Sarah quickly leaned back away from Jay, away from her as she narrowed her eyes at her. The feeling was back.

Jay looked up and gave an awkward grin.

"Yeah, if you could- I'm a little rusty in this, I haven't played since I started college."

Amy smiled and stood right between Sarah and him, pointing to the spots to put his fingers, in hope to refresh his memory a bit.

Sarah rolled her eyes and turned her head the other direction. F**k Amy. Didn't even give her a chance to try helping her friend. F**k her. She's doing this on purpose.

Sure, Amy was a lot more experienced in the instrument, and Sarah didn't really know much other than the basics, but she still could've tried to help.

As Sarah shifted in her spot to lean against the railing of the gazebo, she felt her hand brush the shoulder of the blonde next to her and shifting her blonde hair, causing her to jump and pull away.

"I- Sh*t, sorry-" she blurted out.

Amy glanced over, flinching a little bit away from Sarah before giving a little smile.

"Oh, don't worry, you're okay-" She turned back to Jay.

Sarah felt her face heat up and her stomach get a little queasy. Goddamnit, now she embarrassed herself- Wait, why should she care? She shouldn't, she was fine.

She swallowed and walks away, over towards Tim who was sat on the ground with his newly tuned ukelele. He briefly looked up at her, before shaking his head.

"Jesus Christ, just tell her already."

"Shut. Up."

"She probably knows by now."

"Wright. She can probably hear you."

Tim rolled his eyes, before narrowing his eyes at her and whispers to his friend.

"You can't deny it anymore. You know it's true."

Sarah stared at the ground and put her head in her hand before turning to Amy, who seemed to not have heard them thankfully.

She could deny it all she wanted to.

She wasn't in love with Amy.

She hated her.

....She had to hate her.

[headinthestaticsky]

Frozen Within the Night Wind: Jasper Hale x Fleur Swan, Chapter 6

None of the characters in Twilight belong to me. All rights go to Stephenie Meyer.

"Baby, you don't wanna leave You'd be sorry, 'cause honestly I can make you feel better, any day Look at what you've done for me, I called it how I see You belong with me."

Stick by: BANKS

For the next few weeks Me, the Cullens, and the wolves have been keeping watch on Bella and Charlie. It wasn't an easy alliance and anytime Sam or Leah went onto patrol they wouldn't even acknowledge me. So I often patrolled with Emmett and Jasper to make things less tense. Tonight however I had no choice but to patrol with one of the wolves... a plus side about tonight though, Bella wouldn't be here... she was out with Jacob right now. I had made an excuse that I was staying with the Cullens for the night so dad wouldn't be too suspicious.

"Are you sure Darlin, I can stay behind on this hunt to be with you."

"I'll be fine...I'm sure Sam won't do anything to me. Besides, I've already hunted for the week...you haven't hunted these past two trips because of me...Go I promise I'll be fine."

He sighed before wrapping his arms around me and laying his head on my shoulder. It didn't last long however since we heard rustling behind us. We both turned to see Sam in his wolf form standing there.

"I'll see you later love."

"Bye love."

When Jasper left Sam stood next to me, he didn't look at me at all. We sat in silence for an hour when I finally decided to say something.

"Look...I know I'm probably just going to end up talking to the air tonight but...I need to get some facts straight."

Sam just huffed in his place.

"None of the Cullens turned me...if they would've gotten to me quick enough I wouldn't even be patrolling my dad and Bella right now."

Sam seemed to be staring at me out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't know who he is...but someone working with Victoria turned me...If I am being completely honest I think it's the intruder we're looking for right now."

Sam huffed again.

"And I know you are absolutely disgusted with what I am now but... I really miss you, and Emily... Seth and Leah too. But I know I can't go down there anymore and Leah completely hates my guts but I just had to get off my chest." I looked away from Sam, feeling completely embarrassed that I spouted all of that out. Then suddenly, I felt some fuzzy nuzzle into my hand. I smiled and pet him, it seems he's warming up to me again.

"Thanks, Sam..."

Our heads both shot up as we heard movement and for a split second I saw firey red curls go across the way.

"Let's go Sam!" I said and started running toward her, he followed me a second afterward. She noticed us running toward her and took off back into the woods.

"Sam go back onto your territory so she can't jump back without being caught."

He followed my command surprisingly.

"I thought you were great at self-preservation Curly, but to come right to her house, right near the Cullens isn't very smart now is it?"

She didn't acknowledge me. Suddenly... something popped up in my head... I looked at Sam and winked, I mouthed to him that I had an idea.

Victoria stopped in her tracks and stuttered.

"James?"

I stopped running and crept up behind her, not wanting to let the hallucination go to waste. Carlisle was right... this second power would be useful to me. The image of James just looked at her with deadly eyes.

"James... how are you... here?"

"What are you doing with him?" "James," asked.

"It's not like that...It just so I could avenge you." Victoria stated.

"You disgust me..."

I was just about to get behind her and grab her neck when she snapped out of it and flipped me over and sent me into a tree. She took off again, leaving us in the dust. Sam jumped back over to me and nudged me with his head.

"I'm okay Sam... we need to go back to the house in case someone else shows up again. When we made it back to the house I saw Jasper and Rosalie standing in our spot looking confused.

"What happened? Why did you leave?" Jasper asked.

"We saw Victoria and chased after her...we couldn't catch her."

"Damn it," Jasper grumbled.

"Were you close to getting her?" Rosalie asked.

"I was inches away from grabbing her by the neck... I guess the hallucination I made wore off..."

"Can you tell where she's going now?" Rosalie questioned.

"I can try... the tracking is still a little wonky sometimes." I got into that trance again attempting to track her,

"It looks like she's going to Oregon..."

"Oregon what is she going to do in Oregon?" Jasper inquired.

"I can't tell..."

Before anyone could say anything else Jacob's car pulled up, Edwards was not too far behind.

"Uh oh... this can't be good," I said, I then began to jog toward the situation, it soon turned into an argument.

"IF YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAINST HER WILL AGAIN!" Edward roared.

"Guys don't do this here!" Bella pleaded.

"She doesn't know what she wants."

"Hey what the hell happened?" I asked.

"Jacob kissed me..." Is all she said.

"Wait for her to say the words," Edward said.

"What... Edward do you want her to be in a relationship with him? You're losing the argument here bud. bring it back!" I thought to myself.

"Fine, and she will."

"Jacob just go okay?"

"Hey, hey hey... break it up you two," Dad said, he must've heard the commotion.

"Okay... what's going on?"

"I kissed Bella... and she broke her hand, punching my face... total misunderstanding."

I couldn't help but bust out in laughter... this whole situation was something you would find in a crappy soap opera they play at 4 in the morning when no one is awake to see them.

"What are you doing back here Fleur?" Dad asked.

I came up with a lie quickly.

"Oh I forgot some toiletries... and I came back down to get them." luckily my car was still here.

When I pretended to grab my items I came back outside, Bella and Edward were gone. I kissed my dad on the cheek and wished him a goodnight and drove back down to the Cullen's house. When I came in Carlisle was wrapping up Bella's hand, everyone else was sitting in the room with them. I sat by Rosalie and Jasper, just observing the situation, Emmett walked in with a smirk on his face.

"Geez did you try and walk and chew gum at the same time Bella?"

"No, I punched a werewolf in the face."

"Badass...you're going to be a tough little newborn."

Rosalie and I looked up, now focused on the conversation.

"Tough enough to take you on." She said with a smirk.

Rosalie slammed down the paper she was reading and left the room. Bella just rolled her eyes and sighed. I looked at Jasper and he nodded, I slinked out of the room without anyone noticing or so I thought.

"Hey, Rose."

"I can't stand your sister."

"I know the feeling."

"But at the same time... I envy her too."

I pulled her in for a hug, trying to comfort her.

I heard the slight sound of a door opening and closing again.

"What do you want Bella?" I asked.

"You can go and blather about the joys of being a newborn with someone else." Rosalie added.

"Okay... Rosalie, I don't know what I did... to make you hate me so much."

"How many times do I have to say it... If you treat someone I am really close to like dirt... then I'm going to hate your guts."

Bella scoffed.

"I envy you also Bella."

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"It's not...Bella." I jumped in

"How is it not?"

"You had a choice... we didn't... none of us do and you're choosing wrong, I don't care how miserable your human life is," Rosalie explained.

"My life is not miserable. It’s not perfect, nobody’s life is perfect." Bella stated.

"Mine was. Absolutely perfect. There were things I still wanted. To be married with a nice house and a husband who kissed me when he came home. A family of my own... Royce King was the most eligible bachelor in town, I barely knew him. But I was young, I was in love with the idea of love. On the last night of my life, I left a friend’s house late visiting her newborn son, I wasn’t far from home… They left me in the street thinking I was dead, believe me I wanted to be. Carlisle then found me, he smelled all the blood, but he thought he was helping me."

"I'm... so sorry." I said... I had never heard how she got changed until now.

"That's terrible," Bella added.

"I got my revenge on them, one at a time. I saved Royce for last so he would know I was coming. I was a little theatrical back then."

"That's not theatrical... that's bad ass," I said, Rosalie cracked a smile.

"Things got better after I met Emmett, but we’ll always be this, frozen, never moving forward. That’s what I miss the most, possibilities, sitting on a front porch somewhere, Emmett grey-haired by my side surrounded by our grandchildren, their laughter."

"I understand that’s what you want. There’s nothing I’m ever gonna want more than Edward." Bella argued.

"You’re wrong again, after you’ve been changed there’s one thing you’ll want more. One thing you’ll kill for…blood." Rosalie finished, she then walked out of the room without saying another word.

[four-loose-screws]

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 19, Section 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 19 - Night in Rausten (con’t)

Not even a second after she fell into a deep sleep, she heard someone sharply call out her name, and she shot up.

Lyon's voice was still ringing through her ears, and her head was racing. However, it was of course not Lyon who called out to her, but L'Arachel.

"Wake up, Eirika! This is an emergency!"

"Huh…?"

"We’re under attack!” L’Arachel rushed into the room and shook Eirika.

It cleared away her grogginess, and she stood up in a panic. “We’re under attack? No… could it be… Lyon?”

“It doesn’t appear to be Prince Lyon, but one of the mages that serves him. Right now, the castle guard is holding them off, but they won’t hold out for much longer. We must fight, too!”

Eirika quickly changed her clothes and ran out of the room with L’Arachel.

Her allies had already gathered in the throne room. When she and L’Arachel came in, Seth said, “Lady Eirika, please allow me to take charge of this fight. You get some rest…”

“No, Seth. Eirika is fine.” Ephraim cut in. He looked at her face and saw a cheerful smile on it for the first time in a long time. “You are, aren’t you? You can already fight again, right?”

“I am, Brother. Sorry for making all of you worry.”

She hadn’t spoken even a single word, yet Ephraim noticed that she had changed.

Eirika was confident that she could answer the question as to what Lyon wished for now. If she looked back on the time they spent together and the conversations they’d shared, it was easy to do.

Lyon had always wished for one thing. And that was for everyone to be able to live happily. That was his only desire.

She no longer had any doubts. Her heart was made up. “Let’s fight and combine our strength to defeat the Demon King!”

“We can do it!” Ephraim nodded and called over their allies. “Listen up, everyone! The enemy has already begun to invade the castle. The enemy commander is a general of the Grado Army, Riev. He is the last person remaining among the Six Generals. He can wield very powerful magic, so be careful!”

Pontifex Mansel, surrounded by Rausten guards, walked up to them and said, “Riev is not targeting the Sacred Stone alone. He probably wishes to take my life as well.”

“Your’s… The Pontifex’s…?”

“He and I have a history with each other.” Pontifex Mansel’s friendly smile suddenly hardened. “He was once a priest who served at Rausten Cathedral. However, deep down, he had almost no faith in his heart. He is a cunning man filled with greed. He tricked believers into giving him money, which he used to line his own pockets. And that was not the end of it. I knew that he even cast hexes on people. I of course excommunicated him immediately. I heard that he’d left Rausten and disappeared somewhere, but to think that he became a general of Grado…”

“...Are the rumors of him true?" Duessel whispered with a bitter look on his face. “Right after His Majesty chose to suddenly promote him to general, a terrible rumor circulated. That he was excommunicated by the Pontifex of Rausten. I didn't think that there was any way a person like that could be promoted by His Majesty, so I found it difficult to believe then, but now…"

"Lord Uncle, what are the Holy Knights doing? How could they be allowing an enemy army to invade?"

Pontifex Mansel shook his head at L'Arachel's question. "That's not it. A large group of them predicted an attack from the Grado Army, and placed knights around the perimeter of the city to guard it. Grado slipped around behind them and rushed the palace. I sent a messenger to tell them to return immediately, but it will likely take some time before they are able to do so."

"Then we should hold out against Grado until then, yes?"

"You are correct. Once they return, we will have no reason to fear this remainder of the Grado Army."

Eirika unsheathed her sword and turned towards her allies. "We must guard the palace until the Holy Knights arrive! Lute and Artur, please stay by Pontifex Mansel's side and protect him. Joshua, you lead a group of soldiers in guarding the northern gate. Everyone else, please follow me."

When Eirika was depressed, her allies didn't have any energy either, but her fighting spirit had finally returned. They all cheered at her sharp order.

L’Arachel said with a smile, “You seem to have cheered up, Eirika.”

 “Yes, and it is all thanks to you. Your words cleared away all of my doubts.”

“Oh, I didn’t think I said anything that grand… Anyway, it is good to see you look so happy again. I couldn’t stand to see you with tears in your eyes any longer.”

Eirika felt once more just how much she had worried everyone. She couldn’t keep wallowing in her regrets any longer. She had to fight with all of the strength she could muster to protect the last Stone.

Eirika and Ephraim stood at the front of the vanguard and rushed towards the main gate.

Most of the Holy Knights were outside of the city, but the few knights that were left were protecting the gate. Though they were at an overwhelming disadvantage due to their small numbers, they were successfully holding back the enemy army.

But it was unlikely that they would hold out for much longer. When Eirika and her allies arrived, most of them had been defeated, and enemy soldiers had begun to rush inside the palace.

“Don’t let them progress any further inside! Armor knights, to the front line!” Ephraim shouted. 

The armored knights, led by Gilliam, formed a wall, and utilized that strategy by providing cover for the mages and archers behind them.

The enemy soldiers were tough. They attacked with such ferocity that they seemed less like Grado’s remaining soldiers… and more like soldiers who had already been converted to fight for the Demon King himself. Their faces were expressionless, like they had lost all capability of experiencing human feelings.

Suddenly, the waves of a dark mage’s spell shook the air. Gilliam took a direct hit, and his huge body fell backwards with a crash.

Armored knights were weak to magic. Though swords and lances bounced right off their heavy armor, right now, they were being mercilessly destroyed.

“Sir Gilliam!” Franz and Ross shouted.

They worked together to safely carry the fallen Gilliam to the rear line. 

The enemy forces were inexhaustible. New challengers simply stepped over the fallen soldiers.

“Do not fall back! We cannot allow them past this point!" Ephraim shouted, picked up his lance, and dashed out to the very front of the vanguard.

“Brother!” Eirika unsheathed her sword and also rushed forward.

Ephraim glanced over at his sister. A look of worry flashed across his face, but it was only for a moment. Once he’d confirmed that she was calmly swinging around her sword as she usually did, he relaxed.

As the enemy soldiers fell, they heard a frustrated man shout, “What are you doing?! If you waste time, their reinforcements will arrive! End this battle immediately…!”

Eirika looked in the direction of the voice.

There, she saw a short, thin man screaming and being guarded by soldiers. His large, glaring eyes stood out eerily against his sunken face. She knew just from one look at him that he was Riev.

“Over there, Brother…!”

“Got it!” Ephraim noticed him as well. He pushed away the soldiers standing in his way with his lance, aiming straight for Riev. 

Riev's face twisted with hatred. He shrieked, "Know your place, boy…! Kill him! Soldiers of our lord, the Demon King! Kill them all, and then we will torture Pontifex Mansel!" He waved around a staff with great force. A bluish-white light surged forth from the tip. His target was Ephraim. 

Ephraim jumped back, but he didn't react fast enough. His right foot was cut by a blade of light, and he lost his balance.

"Brother!" Eirika tried to run over to the fallen Ephraim, but Riev cast a spell towards her. She just barely managed to avoid it.

“Eirika, leave Ephraim to me!” L'Arachel shouted and raised her staff.

When the unarmored princess jumped out towards the front line, she became the target of the enemy soldiers. She screeched, and a number of soldiers lunged at her.

"Don't any of you take another step closer to Lady L'Arachel!!" The one to scare off the enemy soldiers with a single threat was none other than Dozla. He waved around his giant axe, protecting L'Arachel, and defeated several of them in an instant. Those remaining all panicked and fled.

Eirika decided that her target was Riev. If he got away, he would continue to be a thorn in their side later.

When Riev saw Eirika, he started fuming. The moment he readied his staff to cast another spell, a commotion started from the direction of the main gate.

The Holy Knights had arrived. The sounds of their swords slicing through enemy soldiers echoed through the air.

"Curses… so they've made it in time?! Those pesky Holy Knights…" Riev spat his words out and clutched his staff. "You've managed to escape death this time, girl. I shall allow you to escape. Come to the Darkling woods. The Demon King is waiting for you there."

"Wait…!" Eirika shouted, but Riev quickly turned around. She tried to chase after him, but his soldiers prevented her from doing so.

The main gate was being blocked by the Holy Knights rushing in, but Riev took advantage of the darkness of the night to hide himself. The knights raised up their torches and searched for him, but he was already nowhere to be seen.

“We lost him…?” Ephraim said in frustration. Thanks to L’Arachel’s quick action and first aid, the foot injury he’d sustained had at least closed up for the time being.

Eirika sheathed her sword and whispered, “He said… to go to the Darkling Woods.”

“That does seem like an area that the Demon King would choose.”

“We must hurry and follow after him, Brother. If we waste time, the Demon King will only get stronger.”

L’Arachel said, “Then let’s ask Lord Uncle now… to allow us to unlock the seal on the shrine where the Sacred Stone is kept. Come with me, Eirika.”

Eirika and Ephraim followed L’Arachel and returned to the throne room.

The Pontifex agreed to L’Arachel’s request, and immediately unlocked the seal on the shrine.

The door creaked open. It was one that even L’Arachel herself had never walked through before. She entered the shrine with Eirika and Ephraim behind her, and Myrrh behind the twins. 

The moment she took her first step inside, Eirika felt how sacred the place was. It calmed her feelings of high tension from battle.

Though the air smelled a bit musty from the shrine’s many years of being sealed off, there was not a hint of mold anywhere. The carvings of the saints etched into the walls quietly looked down at Eirika and the others.

Even the always chatty L’Arachel did not speak a word. Even if they walked with the intent of quieting their footsteps, the sound echoed off the high dome-shaped ceiling, making it sound as if there were many more people walking the halls.

At the very end of the hallway was a small circular room. In the center of it was an altar, and atop the altar was a small stone. It emitted a faint light, just as Renais’ Sacred Stone had.

All three stared at the Stone in silence for a long while. It was the continent’s last hope… That thought made a special feeling well up within them. The lives of everyone living in Magvell depended upon a small stone no bigger than the palm of a hand.

L’Arachel reached out and took the Sacred Stone. “What a beautiful Stone… Holding it like this makes it feel as if my heart is being cleansed of its impurities. Its power is so strong and pure.” L’Arachel offered it to Eirika.

Eirika was surprised, and shook her head. “You should be the one to hold on to it. It is a very precious treasure of Rausten.”

“No, Eirika. I’ve made my decision. To defeat the Demon King… and return peace to this continent, I will fight together with everyone. And the person leading all of us is you. That is why I entrust this to you.”

“But, I…” Renais’ Sacred Stone had been destroyed because of her mistake. She no longer deserved to hold a Sacred Stone ever again.

Yet L’Arachel curled Eirika’s fingers around it. “Look, it seems to sparkle even brighter when you are holding it.”

“L’Arachel…”

“When I think back on it, I’ve always loved the sidekick who supports the main character. That’s also why I want you to hold on to the Stone. If I had it, then that would make me the main character, wouldn’t it? I want to be your sidekick."

Eirika didn’t know if L’Arachel was serious. Such words were very much like her. Utterly lost, she looked at Ephraim. 

He nodded with a smile.

And with that, her mind was made up. Eirika gently took it and held it above her head. "I understand. Then I shall be the one to hold on to Rausen's Sacred Stone."

The three tried to leave the room, but something seemed to be wrong with Myrrh. She was staring blankly at one spot and shivering in fear. 

Ephraim noticed this and said, “What's the matter, Myrrh? Are you feeling sick?"

"No… No, that's not it, Ephraim. I just feel it. The ominous energy. It's getting strong. We should hurry."

Ephraim's expression stiffened. "Where is it coming from?"

"The Darkling Woods… where the Demon King was defeated…"

"Riev said he's waiting there, too. Then let's get going."

"Ephraim… in the Darkling Woods is my…" She said in a fragile voice that sounded like she was about to burst into tears. It was the first time her words had ever shaken so much.

Ephraim had begun to walk out of the room, but turned around. "What? What's in the Darkling Woods?"  

Myrrh swallowed her words and shook her head. "Nothing... Let's just get going. We must hurry…"

"Before he left, Lord Uncle said he had something he wished to talk about." L'Arachel said. "Perhaps he'd like to give us a farewell gift? Either way, let's hurry and go see what he means. He's such a worrywart, so he might talk for a while…"

ー

When they returned to the throne room and said they wished to begin marching as soon as possible, Pontifex Mansel looked worried, just as L'Arachel had predicted.

"You have finally returned from your long journey, and you're already leaving? L'Arachel, don't you wish to rest for a while?”

“I have no time to rest! I am a princess who fights evil!”

“That may be true, but…”

The Pontifex seemed to be feeling half worried, half lonely. His niece was his one and only family member. He probably just wanted more time to spend with her. 

But L’Arachel’s tone was firm. “You have no need to worry about me. My allies will be fighting by my side!”

“Yes… You have been blessed with many good allies. But if you could please wait for just a little bit…”

“I cannot. I will rest after we have defeated the Demon King and saved the world from evil.”

“You’ve grown into a fine young woman, L’Arachel. I’m so proud of you.”

“Save such words for after we’ve won the war, and I can afford to truly appreciate them. Well then, we’ll be going now! See you later, Lord Uncle!”

“Even though I told you to wait? I have something to give to all of you.”

L’Arachel turned to dash out of the room, but the Pontifex held her back.

He motioned for Eirika to come closer to him, then took two items from a Holy Knight standing behind him, and handed them over to her.

One was an old tome. The other was a beautiful staff.

“Are these…?”

“They are Rausten’s Sacred Twins. The tome is called Ivaldi, the Glorious Light, and considered the most powerful of all light magic tomes. And this is the Saint’s Staff, Latona. It is a very useful staff that can heal the wounds of many people at once. Both were used by our ancestor, Saint Latona, during the ancient war. Lady Eirika, please accept them both. I want you to feel that you can use them as freely as you wish."

Eirika took the Sacred Twins and looked at L'Arachel. 

L’Arachel was staring at them with a look of wonder on her face. "These are the weapons of legend that Saint Latona used…? I always prayed I could see them with my own eyes one day. I'm moved beyond words."

Eirika offered Latona to L'Arachel. "Please take it. I'm sure you'll be able to use it."

"Me? Are you sure?"

"Of course! And who can use Ivaldi…? Hmm… I know, I'll let either Lord Saleh or Artur use it. Do you have any objections to that?"

"No, I don't think I do. Thank you, Eirika! I never thought that the day would come where I would wield Saint Latona's staff. Oh, I really feel like I am living inside of a legendary tale…!"

L'Arachel tightened her grip around the Saint's Staff. She looked just as magnificent as the tapestry hung in her room. It was only natural that Rausten's princess was the most fitting person to hold Rausten's Sacred Twin. "Now, we will depart. Lord Uncle, thank you for being so considerate of us."

"Come home safe, L'Arachel."

Eirika and her army were seen off by the Pontifex and Holy Knights, and left Rausten Palace. Their destination was the Darkling Woods, where the Demon King had been defeated, his blood tainted the land, and no human had ever gone before....

[szchaql]

Total Opposite (part 4)

PAUL LAHOTE X SWAN READER

Part 3 Masterlist

(Y/n)'s POV

The journey home with Jacob full of silence. He didn't say anything, just driving the car. The memories of big grey wolf, baring his teeth, growling, keep appearing on my mind. What exactly happened? I glance at Jacob who focus on driving, trying to ask him.

"It'a okay, (y/n)... it's fine. We all will be waiting for you until you are ready to listen the whole story. And Paul didn't have any intention on hurting you.. you are too precious for him..." Jacob beat me in breaking the silence.

"But the look on his face was like he want to murder someone.... will i be fine??"

"He just angry.. Paul is known for his hot head and short tempered man. But he really try his best not to let his temper exploded when he near you. But today, i think he just couldn't help it and phase..." Jacob glance at me. "I may not like Paul... but i know he will protect you at all cost... believe me.. you will be safe with him rather than with any of us."

I raise my eyebrow, confused. "Why??"

He shake his head. "It's not my place to tell you that. Be patient. Right now, all you have to do is calm down and take all of this slowly.. we will tell you when you're ready.. don't force youself to understand it in one day.."

"Take a hot shower and calm down, okay?? I have to go pick up Bella and maybe tell her about it." He said as we arrive at my home.

I nod and get inside, luckily Dad isn't home yet. I immediately go to my room and lay down the bed. There's must be something, and it's a serious one. But why Jake said that i'll be safe with Paul? He nearly killed me today...

I decided to take a hot shower to clear up my mind. Taking a hot shower help me to calm myself. I drift myself to sleep soon after my body hit the bed after shower.

In the next 2 weeks, i totally ignored Bella, Jacob and all of the wolves. Seeing them just keep reminding me of that grey wolf. I just keep hanging with the Clearwaters and Tiffany. Even at school, when Jared, Paul, Jacob and Bella try to approach me, i always took different path and avoided them. I'm not ready yet.

Today, having nothing to do at home, i decided to walk on the forest. I know it's stupid because it's dangerous, but i need some quite moment. Seth and Leah are having a short vacation to Washington with Sue and Harry, Tiffany is having a family day. Bella is out with Jacob, as i keep refusing to talk to her. Part because what happened that day at Jacob's and part because she's having a relationship with vampires despite she knew about my traumatized. I bet Edward is a vampire, knowing they had a relationship before.

I keep walking deeper into the forest while thinking about everything that happened to me. Not realize that a massive creature are walking behind me, watching me. Until the sound of a broken twig that i immediately look behind. My breath hitch when i see the same grey wolf, standing not to far, eyes lock at me.

I gulp and freeze. What should i do? If i run, will he chase after me? Or should i just stand here? Without realize, i step back slowly.

Seeing me like that make the wolf whine loudly while he lay down on his stomach, ears flat, slowly crawling into me, eyes keep looking at me. When he close enough, he poke my leg with his large snout. He whimpered when i didn't give a respones.

"You won't hurt me, right? You won't kill me, right?" I ask as the wolf shake his head, whimpered. I slowly reach his head. When his suprisingly soft fur meet my hand, i can't help but to stroke it and without realize, i smile. He lean more into me and whimper softly, enjoying the interaction.

After quite some moments, he retreat and walk into behind one of the tree. The sound of bones make me flinch and short after Paul walk with his human form, shirtless, wearing a cut short jeans, and old shoes.

I look into my feets, embarased. "Hey..." his soft voice make my look up at him. He smile softly at me, hands on his pocket.

"Hey..."

"What are you doing in here, alone? You know that it's dangerous." He scolded me softly.

"Sorry... i just want to have some quite time and forest is always my place to think too.. so.. yeah... Bella is out with Jake, the Clearwater are out to Washington. And i'm alone." I chuckle and look up at him.

I realised that i'm so short compared to him, just barely reach his wide shoulder. He has this brown eyes that confusingly full of love and adoration.

"Mind if we walk together? I can't leave you alone on the woods, there're so much dangers.. and i know some amazing place." He ask, blushing.

I nod at him and we walk side by side in the forest.

"Mind to tell me what exactly happened? What are you guys?" I look at him. He look hesitated. "Is this really a serious matter?"

"More or less.. are you sure about this? We can wait until you are ready. No pressure at all.. we decided to ask Harry to tell you all about this thing.."

"Uncle Harry?"

"He is one of our tribe elders, alongside Billy, Sue and Old Quil. Since you are close to the Clearwaters, we thought that it best to have him tell you about the legend and the tribe." He explained, looking slightly hope that i listen to him.

"I think it's better you who tell me first. Later i'll ask Uncle Harry if i have questions that you can't answers. Okay?" He nod.

Paul tell me the tribe legend and everything behind the shifting into wolf. How they are decendants of the first shape-shifters. The Quileute.

"So, you are all wolves? Shape-shifters?"

"Only the lucky one who have the gene that can phase."

"Then... Seth and Leah can shift too?"

"Yeah.. maybe not with Leah, since we never have a female shape-shifter. Seth can phase one day, even if we don't want that to happen."

"Poor, Seth... but isn't it great to have an ability to shift into wolf? It's cool, you know.." i chuckle softly.

"Yeah, but we always put our life in dangerous, to protect people and the tribe. And imagine children shifting into one.. how hard is it for them. It's already hard for us, but the children.. can't even imagine it."

"Anything else? About the tribe or the wolf thing?"

"Then there is one more thing about being a shape-shifters..."

"I'm still listening."

"There's something called an imprinting. It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like… gravity moves… suddenly. It's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does… You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend. To sum it up, it's like our way of finding a soulmate." He look down at me as we stop walking, standing in the middle of a forest.

"Why are you telling me all of this? All of this are secrets, right?"

"Yeah. But you are part of our tribe member. Since the day on the beach..."

The beach? What happened at the beach?

"You are my imprint, (y/n).. when we looked each other at the eyes on the beach.. it'a the day that i imprinted on you... as an imprint, you have the right to know everything about us, the world around us. Even the vampires thing.. you have to know about all of this, so you are aware of the world you are living as an imprint." The word imprint shock me even more.

Me? An imprint? How? Why?

"Why me? How?"

"We don't know.. and we can't help who we imprinted on.." he shrug and we continue walking.

"I want to ask about something.." i look down at my feet as we walk. He hum as response.

"Maybe this is a little out of topic, but is... Edward.. a vampire??"

"Yeah.. all his family, the Cullen are vampires.. but they considered themself as vegetarian. They only drink animal blood..." Paul explain about the Cullen.

So, Bella was having a relationship with a family of vampires. I want to be mad at her, but i can't. The way she so heartbroken when Edward leave her, they must be had a very good relationship before. And most importantly she's happy.

"Bella want to tell you about the Cullen.. but she never found the time to explain it. You already find it by yourself, so maybe it'll be easier for her to explain. She want you to be safe, (y/n).. don't be mad at her. Yes, she was wrong to had a relationship with vampires, when she alone is a human. But the reason she didn't tell you is because you past. She afraid that you can't accept it and she didn't want to loose you."

"Even if i want to be mad at her, i just can't. She's happy with Edward and to me, her happiness is everything.." Paul chuckle softly.

Short after, we arrive at a beautiful sceneries, the cliff. The ocean beneath it is so beautiful. "We used to cliff diving in here. But when we walk toward the other side, it have the most beautiful sceneries. Come on, hold on to me, okay. It's dangerous." He strecth out his hand and i take it. The warm from his hand make me comfortable and feel safe. No wonder Jacob said that i'll be more safe around him. Even if he has an anger issue, I believe that he don't have any intention to hurt me. The way he talk and treat me with so much love and adoration is great.

"Here we are." He said after we walk about 10 minutes. My eyes lit up when i see the scenery. We can see the mountains around us and forests beneath us. It's so beautiful. Well, beside the cold wind, everything is great.

We both sit down, near the edge. Paul sit really close to me, giving his warmth to me. "Do you like it?" He look over me, smiling softly.

I smile back at him. "Totally.. how did you guys found this place?"

He shrug. "When we are doing patrol, Embry found this. But we rarely gather in here, we usually doing cliff diving. But never going alone, okay? The road is rocky and steep. Ask the boys if you want to come here, if i'm unavailable. Okay?"

I chuckle softly. "Is all of you always this protective? Not in a bad way, though.."

"Of course. Imprintee is always our number one priority. They are our everything. Even alpha order didn't work on us if it regarding of our imprint. And after what happened to Emily, we usually always be careful around them."

"I never knew we are this valuable... what if the imprint die? Or reject you?"

"We cannot live without them. We will be so heartbroken, so lost. It's like we lost our other half... that bad.." he look at the scenery ahead us, looking serious.

Even though imprinting is an amazing thing, it also hold a very important factor on the shape-shifter life. I can't imagine how much it hurt if their imprintee reject them or die.

We talk with each other, getting to know each other well and enjoying each other presences, until it's dawn and we head back home. Paul walk me back to my house as it almost dark.

"Let's see each other again?" I ask as i look into his beautiful brown eyes.

He nod. "Tomorrow i'll pick you up? Let's go to Emily's and since tomorrow is Sunday, we always have picnic at the beach. Want to come?"

"Of course."

He smile softly and kiss my forehead. "I'll pick you up at 8, in the morning. Okay?" I nod, smile at his behaviour. "Get inside. Don't forget to eat okay? And sleep well."

"Okay.. see you tomorrow, Paul. And thank you for today, for everything.. i totally enjoyed it." I said as we then say goodbye and part ways.

As i lay i bed after took a shower and did my homework, i can't help but smile at what happened today. First i was so scared around Paul, but now i totally love being with him. Maybe it'a the imprinting thing, i don't know. I should ask Emily about this.

Tag : @calling-dips-on-j-hope @ivettt

[ibis-gt]

Poker Night

dippin my toes in the writing pool again with a short one about anya and felipe! there’s a bunch of side characters in this one that i just now made up so don’t worry if you have no idea who they are, i don’t either skdjfklsf

just under 2.5k words, kind of hurt/comfort. warnings: fearplay, threats of violence, bullying, peer pressure, felipe not having a very good time at all

Felipe looked around at the five giants seated at the table he was currently sitting on and forced a smile. Once again, Anya asked him to come along to one of the parties her friend Emily often hosted, and once again she’d dropped him off at the husbands’ table while she caught up with her friends. Quite literally dropped him off, plucking him off her shoulder and depositing him on the wooden tabletop with a “Play nice, fellas!” as she waltzed off.

Usually, they did play nice - Anya was built like a brick shithouse and would defend her tiny human husband with every ounce of strength she had. But tonight there’d clearly been some drink passed around, and now the five giants eyed Felipe with varying levels of displeasure. Seth glared at him with annoyance, Rolf looked bored and disinterested, Leo seemed resigned to essentially babysitting the tiny man, Amos heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, but it was Bruno that really worried Felipe. Bruno was staring down at him with a mostly blank expression, but Felipe could see gears turning in his head, and he could tell it was going to come out to trouble.

He jumped as Bruno suddenly clapped his hands together, beaming brightly.

“Who’s up for a game of cards?” Bruno produced a deck from his pocket and began to shuffle them. The others took an interest, nodding their approval.

That took Felipe by surprise. It sounded harmless enough. “Yeah, that sounds like fun. Uh, don’t know if I’ll be able to play, though.” The cards were probably as big as he was, and he could maybe hold onto two at a time. Any more than that, and there would be serious delays as he figured out what to play. “Oh, don’t worry, I know how you can participate,” Bruno assured him. This was not, however, reassuring.

He dealt out a hand to each of the giants at the table, then began sorting out a set of huge wooden chips. Each one was about two feet in diameter. They had different colors and markings to indicate their value, but Felipe wasn’t sure which one meant what, and no one seemed like they were about to explain it to him. 

Felipe shuffled his feet and glanced around nervously. He hadn’t been dealt a hand, and he didn’t know what Bruno had in mind, but he didn’t think it would be all that fun for him. His suspicions were proved right when Bruno tossed a few chips in the middle to start the betting, then grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dropped him next to them. Felipe let out a quiet grunt as he hit the table and looked up in confusion. A few of the giants seemed to have caught on and were grinning down at him, but for the ones who were slower on the uptake, Bruno announced, “You’ll be one of the chips, of course.”

Felipe sat bolt upright and stared at him wide-eyed. Then he laughed nervously, trying to calm himself down. “Oh, haha, good joke! No, but seriously. What am I...” he trailed off, turning from side to side to see their faces.

Silence. Everyone stared at him. Some were still grinning, some were serious. Leo spoke up.

“C’mon, Bruno, you know Anya wouldn’t like that. Just let him sit it out.”

“Oh, lighten up,” Bruno grumbled. “It’s not like she’s gonna find out, is she?” He looked around the table, getting a head shake ‘no’ or a shrug from each in turn, then down at Felipe. “Is she?” he asked again.

“Uh…” Words failed him. He wanted to say yes, emphatically yes, he’d squeal at the first opportunity, and in fact he was going to stand up and start waving his arms and shouting right now to get her attention. But truth be told, Felipe was terrified. Everyone had been drinking and he didn’t know how deep in their cups they all were. Who knows what they’d do if he didn’t go along with it? Maybe if he was quiet and played along, they’d get bored and leave him alone. “...no, sure, she won’t. Ha.”

“Good,” Bruno said, giving him a smile that was not in the least bit comforting. “Then let’s start.” He threw in a few of his own chips. The others followed suit, betting based on whatever combination of cards they had. Felipe flinched every time a chip hit the table. They were being careful - none of the tossed chips hit him, but they landed close enough to worry him. He hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself as small as possible.

Bruno won the first round. He grinned that awful grin again and reached out, putting both hands around the stack of chips and pulling them in close. Felipe, still seated, was dragged along with them, back pressed up against the palm of Bruno’s left hand, trying to resist the urge to his feet and push back.

“Hi,” Bruno said, looking down at him. A few of the others chuckled.

“H-hi,” Felipe stammered, forcing a smile. “Uh, so, what - ”

“Chips don’t talk,” Bruno interrupted, and started dealing out the next round of cards. Felipe shut his mouth and hunkered down, hoping Bruno wouldn’t get any good hands. He was lucky for one round, and Bruno only tossed in two chips before folding. The next round, though, Felipe’s luck ran out. Bruno glanced at his cards and the corner of his mouth went up just a little. He tossed in four chips, then snagged the back of Felipe’s shirt again and dropped him down in the middle. Rolf whistled and looked at his own cards, tapping a chip thoughtfully on the table.

“How much is he worth?” Rolf asked. “Like, how do I meet or raise or whatever?”

“I don’t care,” Bruno said. “Whatever you think he’s worth.”

Rolf threw in six chips. Felipe wasn’t sure if he should be offended or flattered.

Seth ended up taking the hand, and as soon as he slapped his cards down in triumph, Felipe scrambled to his feet and jogged over to him, not wanting to be pushed across the table again. There was a snort of laughter from one of the other giants but he paid it no mind. Seth raked in the chips then looked down at Felipe, tilting his head to one side, seeming to appraise him. Then he gave a horrid grin of his own and pinned Felipe down with a thumb on his chest.

“Ain’t chips supposed to be flat? So you can stack ‘em?” he asked, clearly thinking he was being clever. “Should I…” The pressure increased slightly, and Felipe began to panic and struggle, trying to get himself out from under the thumb.

“Cut it out,” Bruno growled. “You hurt him and Anya’ll have our asses.”

The pressure disappeared as the thumb lifted up and away. Felipe got to his feet and backed away from Seth, eyes fixed on the giant. He felt like his knees were going to give out. Being meek and quiet hadn’t helped one bit, but now he couldn’t find his voice to call out for help. His throat was dry and tight from terror and it felt like his heart was lodged in it. Seth scowled at him and poked his chest with a finger, knocking him on his back.

“Go on,” he grumbled. “I’m bettin’ you. Hope I lose.”

Lose he did. Leo took that hand. He didn’t look too happy about it, either. “Well, come on then,” he sighed, and Felipe managed to stand on his shaking legs and wobble over. Felipe looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. Leo was the least happy with this setup, other than Felipe himself. Maybe he’d speak up now that he had him and could put an end to the whole thing. But Leo didn’t meet his eyes, just picked up his next hand and tossed a few chips in. Okay, next best thing, Leo never bet him and he could stay put and as far away from Bruno as possible. And Seth. Actually, just all of them.

Leo only managed to hold onto him for two hands before Bruno spoke up.

“Don’t get greedy, now,” he called. “Let us have a shot at him, too.”

Leo sighed and finally glanced down at Felipe again. “Okay, you heard him,” he said. “Get.”

Felipe got. Rolf won. Then Amos. Then Bruno. Then Bruno again. Each time, he’d slap his cards down as he reached for the chips, not giving Felipe time to register his victory. He seemed to delight in pushing the little man around and didn’t like it when Felipe tried to walk himself over to whoever had won him that time. Unfortunately he seemed to be the best at the game they were playing, with an impeccable poker face and a decent winning streak. Since he was also the dealer, Felipe half suspected he was cheating, but he lost often enough not to irk anyone else at the table. Bruno started to play with him whenever he had him. He’d dangle him by the back of his shirt and gently swing him back and forth, or pin him under his palm and drum his fingers on the table. Once he even picked Felipe up and began to toss him up in the air and catch him, not very high, but enough to get a frightened yelp out of him. Bruno seemed to think that might draw too much attention, though, and quickly set Felipe back down, shaking like a leaf and trying not to hyperventilate.

Rolf looked about as uncomfortable as Leo had when he won Felipe for the first time. Felipe caught him glancing at Leo and looked up at the giant too, but the combined effort of their stares still couldn’t persuade Leo to speak up, and Rolf didn’t seem to have the nerve to try on his own. Felipe changed hands a few more times before ending up with Bruno yet again. At this point he was fighting back tears. He desperately wished they’d get bored and give it up already, but it seemed pride was on the line for Seth and Amos, and Bruno was enjoying himself immensely. Felipe’s mind started to wander towards what would happen when the game was over for good. What would whoever had won him do? Would they try to take him home? Stuff him in a pocket or a cupboard for later? Or would they make him do something public and embarrassing? More embarrassing than being reduced to a literal object to be passed around, that is.

Just then, his saving grace appeared. He practically melted with relief as he heard Anya’s voice.

“Hey, y’all, what’re you up to? Where’s Felipe?” She caught sight of him and smiled. Despite how terrified he was, his heart sang out at the sight of her. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. The others shifted nervously in their seats and glanced at each other, except for Bruno and Leo. Leo’s eyes were locked on Bruno and his face was grim. Bruno looked at Anya with his perfect poker face intact, although he was betrayed slightly by a small trickle of sweat down the side of his face.

Anya took in the scene and started to pick up on the energy at the table. Her smile started to fade. “No cards for you, honey?” She asked Felipe. “Are you helping Bruno, then? I’ll tell ya right now he doesn’t need it. He’s just about the best player here.” She looked around at everyone and then back at Bruno. She looked at the chips on the table all around Felipe, took in his posture, his expression, the way he was trembling ever so slightly. Her smile was completely gone now, and she set her jaw. When she spoke again, her voice was flat. “He’s not helping you, is he. He’s not playing at all.” 

Anya held out her hand palm up to Felipe, and he nearly tripped over his own feet sprinting across the table towards her. He leapt into her palm and wrapped his arms around her thumb, pressing his forehead to the tip. “Thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou,” he gasped, his fragile facade of calm completely gone. The tears started to flow and he let them. Who cared anymore. He was safe, he was with his wife, the whole rest of the world could go to hell.

“You sons of bitches,” she spat. “I can’t believe you - ”

“Anya,” Felipe squeaked, and she held him up, her face instantly softening. “Let’s just go. Please.”

She looked like she was going to argue, but instead she shot a look at the cowering, ashamed giants, and stalked off. She headed for the exit, putting a hand on her friend Emily’s shoulder on the way.

“You set your husband right before I do it for you,” she warned. Emily spun around to glare at the husbands’ table.

“What kind of bullshit did you pull this time, Bruno?” Emily called, just as Anya slipped out the door, Felipe held to her chest.

She put a fair amount of distance between them and the house before lifting him up close to her face so she could see him better, the light dimming as evening approached.

“Honey? Are you okay? Do you want me to drop you off at the house and go back and kick their asses?”

Felipe managed a strangled laugh through his tears. “No, no, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter,” he lied. “I just want to forget it all.” That bit was true enough. He was so embarrassed by the whole thing. He wanted to pretend like it had never happened.

“I’m so sorry, I should never have left you with those idiots. I knew they’d be drinking, too, and Bruno always gets that mean glint in his eye when he drinks…”

“Wasn’t your fault,” Felipe said, sniffing and wiping his nose on his shirt. “They were just being dicks.”

“Did they hurt you? Because I’ll tell you right now if they did, I swear I’ll - ”

“No, no, they didn’t. And I’m not just saying that so you won’t go twist ‘em into pretzels. I’m fine, really.”

Anya gave him a Look. She rubbed his back with her thumb, working the tension out of him bit by bit. “I believe you that they didn’t hurt you physically,” she said softly. “But I don’t believe you’re fine. You were shaking like a leaf, honey. They scared you. You can admit it. There were five of them, they’re several times your size and could’ve snapped you like a twig without thinking about it.” He shivered, dropping his gaze. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m never leaving you alone with them again. You poor thing. Let’s get you home.”