#dandelion fights with her house

[dandelionsandderivatives]

Today is Packing Up and Cleaning my Kitchen Day. Posting about it here so I feel like people are cheering me on.

[bunnyhugs77]

Honey I'm Home

୨୧- Just a little slice of life of a hard working dad, his tired wife and their twin girls.

୨୧ WC: 900

Jungkook pushes open the door to your small two-bedroom flat, his keys jingling in the door which attracted the two little girls on the other side to come running instantly.

The soft patter of their socked feet hitting the wooden floors as they rushed to his as fast as they could. "Daddy!" The girls squealed. Jungkook crouched down, his once drained expression replaced with one full of delight.

"Girls!" He exclaims, taking the both of them in each of his arms, listening to their adorable laughter as he engulfed them into his tight embrace. "Daddy! Can't breathe!" Aria squeaks from where her head rested against his chest. Always the dramatic one of the two.

Jungkook laughs, apologizing and letting them go. Aria runs back to the kitchen where he could only assume the source of that flavourful scent was coming from. Meanwhile Hye-Ji stayed back to show him the flowers she'd picked just for him.

"Are these for me?" Bending at the waist to collect the crushed dandelions that were once in the grip of her fist. She nods with the brightest smile he's ever seen.

Picking her up as well, letting her rest on his side with one hand, careful not to ruffle the very elaborate princess dress she was wearing as he finally begins to make his way to the kitchen. "Thank you so much princess, I'll make sure to add this to my collection." He places a kiss to the crown of her head.

There you were. His eyes seemed to soften once they landed on you. In a button up and your favourite pair of mom jeans." Hi baby," He gets the chance to peck your lips briefly before Hye-Ji was asking to be put down.

She quickly ran off to her sister in the living room where there were colouring pages ripped out, building blocks all over the place, a box of crayons in the laundry bin full of clothes that were waiting to be folded.

"Hi." You manage a smile before resuming your blank stare into the pot of tomato sauce for the spaghetti that you'd been stirring for god knows how long. "Is everything okay?" Disregarding your mundane 'yeah' he know something is up.

"Honey, what's wrong? Talk to me." You sigh, dropping your shoulders, finally looking at him. He was in his typical work-wear for his day job as a private banker meanwhile he works part-time nights as a mail courier.

"Today was a bad day." Letting your head fall into your husband's firm chest in defeat. His hands raised to hold you in his arms the same way the have been for the last 5 years.

The shiny silver band of his wedding ring catching the light for a moment as he gently rubbed your back. "You wanna talk about it?"

You pout softly, "There's nothing to say, look at the state of the house. Hye-Ji turned the house upside down looking for her dress this morning. Then I took them to the grocery store and Aria got lost." Jungkook's eyebrows raise, but you weren't done.

"I finally got them to sleep for an hour while I did some laundry, and then I ended up falling asleep myself, waking up to crayons and toys everywhere, and Hye-Ji was crying because she missed you and then I started crying because I missed you too and-"

You couldn't believe this was making you tear up. The day was hectic and the fact you'd have to do it all over again tomorrow. Jungkook hushes you in a comforting manner, practically swaddling you in his arms. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here," you sniffle, stepping back.

"It's not your fault. You work two jobs. it's just hard sometimes." You admit and Jungkook gets an idea. "Go." He says and your brow arches, "I'll finish dinner, and take care of the girls. Go rest, or read that Jasper Wilde book you've been wanting to read. Please. Let me help, you deserve it." He pecks your forehead and you weren't going to fight him on it.

Leaving the kitchen and the responsibilities to him. Telling yourself that it would only be a thirty minute nap but it turned into 2 hours. By the time you walked back into the kitchen, it looked like you'd walked into a whole new house.

Everything was neat and tidy, the girls were sitting on the ground with a bowl of abandoned grapes shared between them as they watched Moana with an entranced gaze.

The laundry basket was gone, the floors were clean and the air smelled of soft fresh linens and cinnamon. Looking back to the kitchen where Jungkook quietly tidied up, humming softly to himself. You stood hidden from where you were admiring your little family.

You may not have had much but you had everything you needed right here. "You're amazing you know that?" Jungkook says as you approached him. "I should be saying that to you." You counter.

"No. I mean it, Y/n. Having two jobs is easy, but doing what you do everyday is a job for a saint. I appreciate everything you do for us, I love you so much." His lips pressing against your forehead while your heart felt so full of love. "I love you." You say.

"I have to potty!" Aria declares and the both of you look at each other.

"Not it."

"Not it."

[dreamsteddie]

Steve H.

Part One, Part Two

I think it would be incredibly funny to write a No-Upsidedown Au where Steve and Dustin still become unofficial brothers. Like, the kids are still getting into a ton of dangerous mischief and one way or another Dustin adopts Steve as his older brother figure and in short order Claudia takes him in as a second son.

Like maybe Steve gets his first concussion actually helping Dustin find his missing cat after Steve has been in his mentorship/brother role for a few months. How I don't know, I like to imagine it playing out like the book version of Dandelion and Geralt's meeting in The Witcher where Dustin is being chased by some bullies and just latches on to the first strong man he sees to hide behind and then BAM, bonded for life.

Anyway, Steve has been around for a little while and Claudia has met him a few times (she's not just going to let a strange older boy she's never met hang around her middle school-aged son without meeting him first) but they don't know each other too well and Steve seems very...plastic for lack of a better word when she's around. Like he doesn't want to upset her so he's always got a perfect smile and polite words ready to offer her, but he's a nice kid and way more goofy and authentic when he's hanging out with Dustin and she peeks her head into the living room.

So when he gets hurt while helping, and subsequently protecting Dustin and a couple of his friends she makes sure to stop by with cookies and a profound thank you. She asks where his parents are and who's going to make sure he wakes up every hour for the next 24 hours when he gets discharged and he says he was planning to call a cab and set some alarms because his parents aren't in town and there's no one else at the house. So Claudia pretty much just tells him he's coming home with them for the rest of the week, which turns into a full week when his parents still aren't home, and by the time he's actually ready to leave they've all grown accustomed to this new family unit.

Steve does go home at first, but he makes a lot more excuses to come over and Claudia and Dustin work overtime coming up with lame excuses as to why he should just spend the night.

"Oh Steve, it's already midnight and you're taking Dusty to school tomorrow morning anyway, why don't you just take the spare bed."

"Steve! Steve! We have to watch the next one! You said we could watch the whole series so we're not stopping until we pass out on this couch!"

"Oh, honey the snow is really coming down out there. I know you have snow tires but you really shouldn't risk it. You stay here tonight."

And Steve doesn't want to leave, not at all. He's never felt more at home than he does sitting with the Hendersons after dinner watching sitcoms or playing board games, but sometimes he doesn't have a good excuse or his parents are planning to come home for a couple of weeks so he leaves and hates every moment spent in his own house.

Until one day when he's staying the night at his parent's house while they're home for a long weekend and they have an absolute blowout of a fight. He doesn't even know why it started, just knows that everyone was already in a foul mood and none of them are the type to back down from a fight and the result is hours of screaming hurtful things at each other and his mom throwing a few slaps his way that hurt his soul more than his face and ends with his dad going upstairs and smashing his walkman and his favorite cassettes with the kitchen kettle. At which point silence descends on the Harrington house and Steve turns around and walks out the door.

It's a 20 minute walk to the Henderson home and by the time he gets there, he's numb in the heart and the hands. Dustin is already in bed and Claudia pulls him inside to warm him up and talk it out, at which point Steve curls up into her arms and cries and rages.

After that night Steve doesn't go home aside from the single trip he made to fill a bag, grab his car, and tell his parents he won't be coming back. They put up a bit of a fight but ultimately let him go with the promise that no legal action will be taken, meaning that they'll sign whatever documents he needs for school or the doctor or whatever if he faxes them to the office but he won't try for emancipation and bring all that legal drama to the forefront. Steve knows that any lawyer he could get for the case would be trounced by whoever his parents brought in, so he agrees.

And from that day on he lives with the Hendersons and becomes Claudia's second son and continues being Dustin's older brother.

(We didn't actually get to the funny part but I was on a role so if you're interested I'll be posting part two soon!)

[vanessamooney]

Heaven Above - Draco x Reader

Prompt: Draco finds you late at night in the astronomy tower, set during 5-6th year.

Pairing: Draco x Slytherin!Reader

On black nights where the air stood still and the sky was littered with flashing bulbs of hope she came and sat on the highest peak of the astronomy tower. Her legs were curled against her chest, squeezed uncomfortably tight by her frail arms. It was cold; not cold enough to shiver but cold enough to sit and ponder in thoughts that swirled within them the very galaxy.

Of course, she wasn’t allowed up here so late - no one was. It was so much like a game, one of the only thrills she partook in. It was worth it for her, even if she were to get caught; but she never did, not by wandering prefects, not by professors or other misbehaving students. Never by them. 

She was caught by the moon, and the stars, and creatures watching from the forest she wasn’t aware of. But she was aware of the moon, aware of the planets and the yearning which pulled her closer, which made her twinkling eyes widen just that little bit more, made her inhale just that little bit deeper and made her nostalgic for lifetimes ago that she never really experienced. 

It was the sort of magic the professors never taught, the sort of magic which had no history books or lessons to attend or true believers. Magic from another world, so much more fragile and fussy than the magic which spouted from her wand. It took tender love and peculiar attention for this magic to blossom; the kind which granted wishes made on stars and pleas blown on dandelions. 

Y/N let her legs dangle along the edge, fighting the cold stone against her skin. She planted her palms firmly next to her hips and she pondered on her own self and the foreboding which wrapped her in chills. She imagined she was the dandelion, and her petals were blown to be forever spread across the cosmos, never to be seen again.

'Don't get too close to the edge lest you fall,' 

She heard the familiar voice of Draco echo around the tower and into the distantness of the night. She pressed her lips into a thin line, and slowly turned to see the blonde boy standing with posture so rigid and his blue gaze piercing through the darkness. 

She met his gaze, her own expression unreadable. 'Malfoy,' she acknowledged, taken aback from the unexpected company. 

Y/N and Draco had spent the entirety of their schooling at Hogwarts in the same house, exchanging glances and polite nothings. 

In second year, the glances became longing and stares became more noticeable. Polite exchanges became longer and their seats in the great hall grew closer. Their friends became mutual and late night study in the library turned into giggles.

In third year their hands brushed each others during potions class, receiving unapproving looks from Snape. Weekends were spent with butter beer moustaches and unexpected flowers plucked from gardens.

In fourth year Draco asked Y/N to the Yule Ball and she was sorry to tell him that a Durmstrang boy had already asked her and she had said yes. Draco watched that year as she danced the night away with another boy, his heart heavy with unspoken emotions.

His eyes held the same look now as they did that night and she saw his face heavy with grief as the moonlight illuminated his features, 'Y/L/N,'

She motioned for him to join her, a flicker of sympathy softening her features even more - as if he didn't melt her just by being a flame. 

Draco joined her on the cold floor of the astronomy tower, the moon bathing them in her light. For a moment, they simply sat in silence, legs swinging in the tension, taking in the breathtaking view of the night sky stretched out before them. 

'It's beautiful, isn't it?' Y/N murmured, her voice barely above a breathy whisper as she gazed to the stars. 

Draco nodded in agreement, sneaking a glance of Y/N's side profile. He noted how flushed her lips were from the cold, how rosy she was and how the scent in her long hair enveloped them in peonies and myrtle with the gentle blows of the wind.

'Why are you out here?' 

'I could ask you the same thing,' 

'That’s true,' she smiled, 'But I asked you first,' 

Draco couldn't help but return her smile, he always had a soft spot for her. 'I just needed some air,' he admitted, his tone laced with a reserve that hinted against his own words. 'Now you,' 

'I just needed some air,' Y/N parroted, a glint of mischief lighting her up momentarily as they both let out a slight chuckle. She laid her heavy head on the willing shoulder next to her and he relished in her touch.

Draco felt a rush of warmth flood through him as Y/N mirrored his words, her playfulness always brought a sense of lightness to the atmosphere and he wishes he could selfishly lock her into a box, all for himself.

'Do you remember the first time we snuck out of the castle together?' he asked suddenly, breaking the tranquil silence that had settled between them. It was a moment he had buried deep within himself, yet it resurfaced now in the stillness.

Y/N lifted her head from his shoulder, looking at him inquisitively. 'How could I forget?' she replied, her voice filled with amusement. 'It seems like life times ago now,' she remembered, of course she remembered. 

She let out a heavy sigh upon the resurgence of buried memories, her gaze faltering to the twiddling thumbs in her lap. Her watering eyes met his and she couldn’t help but let out a sob, her eyes fluttering with embarrassment.

'What happened to us?' She breathed out shakily.

Draco reached out instinctively, his thumb brushing away her tears as he met her gaze with an unwavering intensity. 'I wish I knew,' he admitted softly, his voice tinged with regret. 

With a lingering kiss on her forehead. Y/N leaned into his touch, seeking comfort in his warmth as she struggled to compose herself. She reached out to rub his forearm to comfort him too but Draco had flinched, frantically pulling the white sleeves of his shirt down. And with a silent knowing glance, she knew exactly what happened to them. 

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - October 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles on Patreon!

1. Arctic ozone reaches record high in positive step for climate

“Above-average ozone levels continued to persist through September 2024. This is significant as, previously, spring has been associated with ozone depletion[….] The March 2024 ozone average peaked at 477 Dobson units (DU), which is 6 DU higher than the previous record in March 1979 and 60 DU higher than the average for the study period (1979 to 2023).”

2. Why Massachusetts loves Nibi the beaver and [won the fight] to keep her out of the wild

“Nibi, now 2 years old, is roughly the age when wild beavers embark on their journey to find a mate and build a home. [… But] if Nibi is released in October, she would be ill-prepared for the winter[…. The governor has] issued a permit for Nibi to remain at a wildlife rescue as an educational beaver and inspire folks to protect our natural world."”

3. In Madagascar, Taniala Regenerative Camp aims to heal deforestation scars

“Residents of the villages around Lambokely manage the nursery and market garden crops. “Local communities receive training in agroecology and agroforestry, benefit from improved soil fertility, and earn additional income from intercropping in the agroforestry plots. In addition, community members are incentivized to participate in tree-planting activities.””

4. Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana Breaks Ground on $6.4 Million Affordable Housing Project

“The project’s first phase will create three-bedroom homes designed for multiple purposes, including elderly housing, emergency shelter, and support for displaced and low-income Tribal citizens. These homes will be built to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, ensuring accessibility for all.”

5. Scientists say painting roofs this colour could save lives: How does it keep cities cool?

“[Researchers] found that cool, light-coloured roofs installed across all of London’s roofs could have cooled the city by around 0.8C [in 2018]. [… Solar panels] could have cooled the city by around 0.3C, preventing the deaths of 96 people [… while generating] more than half the energy [used by] London during the entire year of 2018.”

6. Travis County [TX] opens center to help keep people experiencing a mental health crisis out of jail

“The walk-in urgent care facility is open 24/7 and provides immediate support for people experiencing mental health crises. From there, some patients may be referred to a residential facility[… where] patients will be able to stay for up to 90 days[….] Jailed individuals may also work with their legal teams to coordinate admission to the facility.”

7. Spain’s first transgender soccer team makes debut in regional men’s league

“A soccer team consisting entirely of transgender men has[…] become the first all-trans squad to achieve federated status in Europe. […] Spain passed a pioneering trans rights bill last year designed to make it easier to change a person’s legal gender identity. […] Players may also choose to use a name that’s different from their legal one[….]”

8. Green Status of Species: Pushing Conservation Ambitions Beyond Preventing Extinction

“[… T]he Green Status of Species [is] a new part of Red List assessments that helps tell “a species’ full conservation story.” […] In addition to quantifying species recovery, the Green Status of Species […] will help to better inform future conservation actions by shedding light on which past actions have contributed most to species recovery.”

9. Hell froze over in Texas – the state will connect to the US grid for the first time via a fed grant

“[The projects will] boost grid reliability, lower energy costs, and support the clean energy transition. […] They’ll also generate nearly 9,000 jobs, supporting local economies[…. In particular, the Texas portion is] designed to prevent outages like the ones during Winter Storm Uri that hit Texas hard in 2021.”

10. Pine martens released to be reintroduced to Devon

“Work to release 15 pine martens into woods across Dartmoor has been completed[….] The eight females and seven males have all been fitted with a radio collars to allow their movements to be tracked. […] They were kept in soft-release pens for three days to get them used to their surroundings before being allowed to run wild, staff said.”

September 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[camelotian]

(Okay, first things first, I’m very new to this app so bear with me please)

Like many of you, I’m rewatching Dead Boy Detectives for time number ??? and I’m still noticing more things! This time, I was paying closer attention to Niko’s character arc and her relationship with courage, which is so much more present throughout the show than I initially realized.

When we meet her, she’s pretty timid (and probably crushing on Crystal, but I’ll table that for now). In episode 2 (the case of the dandelion shrine), Niko explains that she went looking for dandelions because her dad used to say to keep one in your pocket “if you needed a little extra courage”. Then, in episode 3 (the case of the Devlin House), the dandelion sprites call her a coward, taunting her about staying in her room while her friends were in danger (of course, this backfires on them when Niko, in all her sweetness, rushes after her friends with a pot lid and a crowbar to help).

The big thing I somehow missed before though is that she shows up the next episode (episode 4, the case of the lighthouse leapers) wearing this:

At first, I dismissed it as another classic Niko outfit (bright, colorful, and adorable), but she’s very specifically wearing all red in the episode immediately after Litty and Kingham called her a coward.

Then—and I really can’t believe I didn’t pick up on this until now—she hands Edwin the red piece of sea glass, telling him it’s “red for courage”.

Niko is wearing red for courage!

Several of the characters in the show wear their clothes as armor, like Edwin with his prim and proper layers and Charles with his pin/patch-covered jacket, and it seems Niko does too. She chose red as a reminder, to guide her, and to prove to herself and the sprites that she can be brave.

This arc continues, with Niko commenting that she knows she isn’t the bravest in episode 7 (the case of the very long stairway), and culminating in her actions in episode 8 (the case of the hungry snake). In that last episode, Niko is truly a beacon of courage, insisting on helping the boys “even if it’s scary and the odds are bad and [she and Crystal] might die horrifically”. She’s repeatedly and emphatically warned about how dangerous the situation is, but her courage and love for her friends outweighs her fears. In her bravest moment (and easily one of the most heart-wrenching moments of the show), she throws herself between Crystal and Esther’s magical blade (despite how visibly scared she was of Esther moments prior). The Cat King even refers to Niko as Edwin’s “brave friend” when offering his condolences!

Anyway, I know I’m rambling and that this was probably obvious to others, but GOD I love this show, I love the details, and I love its characters dearly! 🤍

(Plus, the courageous Niko Sasaki would fight for her favorite show, so we will too)

[melefim]

Dead Boy Detectives full soundtrack!

(Or at least all the ones I could find)

I’ve seen several soundtrack playlists floating around, but unfortunately a lot have other songs added or are missing some that were used in the show, so I went ahead and made my own!

Below the cut is a full listing of when each song was used during the show, timestamped as accurately as I could manage.

Please let me know if there are any songs I missed, and I’ll add them ASAP! Score will be added if/when it’s released. If anyone would be interested in separate posts for each episode, let me know and I’ll get right on it!

Enjoy!

🎥Promotional🎥:

“Psychobilly Bandits” by Alibi Music: Teaser trailer

“Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance: Full trailer

“Young and in Love” by Fast Forward Romance: Meet the Characters teaser

🔮The Case of Crystal Palace🔮:

“Doorman” by slowthai, Mura Masa: Hotel hallway chase scene. (2:33-2:47)

“Hang on to Yourself” by David Bowie: Prep for Crystal’s case. (11:59-12:30)

“Bad Feeling” by Cobra Man: What Crystal is listening to on her headphones in the subway before the David the Demon fight. (12:36-13:04)

“I’m Telling Your Mum” by Danny Farrant, Paul Rawson: Jenny’s introduction. (21:46-22:44)

“It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones: In the Malt shop after they find Esther’s house and after Crystal sees David the Demon. (26:42-27:38, 29:24-29:47)

“Bones of Rock” by The Boneless Ones: In the background during Crystal and Jenny’s talk in the alley. (34:03-35:07)

“Take the Rest of Me” by Brocklesby Crooke: Dandelion sprites- Crystal meeting Niko. (36:39-36:51)

“Deal Wiv It” by Mura Masa, slowthai (instrumental): Meeting David the Demon flashback. (38:36-39:10)

“So What?” by NOISY (instrumental): Planning Becky’s rescue in the butcher shop. (41:34-42:19)

“White Teeth” by The Screaming Gypsy Bandits: Record playing inside Esther’s house. (43:33-44:30)

“Surfing in the Sky” by The Vaccines: Fight in Esther’s front yard. (49:08-49:50)

“Missing” by slowthai (instrumental): Sending Becky home, heading back to the butcher shop. (51:23-52:34)

🌼The Case of the Dandelion Shrine🌼:

“Take the Rest of Me” by Brocklesby Crooke: Dandelion sprites- Niko faints outside the bathroom and attracts attention in the butcher shop. (12:48-12:52, 28:29-28:57)

“Natural Successor” by Pictish Trail: Turning Monty human. (47:22-49:16)

🪓The Case of the Devlin House🪓:

“Free Tonight” by Skymachine: Charles & Crystal walk into butcher shop, just a few bars on radio before anchor talks about the storm. (8:13-8:15)

“Oceans” by The Yada Yada Yadas: on radio after anchor talks about the storm while Charles and Crystal are asking Jenny about the Devlin murders. (8:21-8:50)

“Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes: Devlin house time loop, repeated multiple times. (First full loop 19:06-21:09. Loop repeats: 21:31-23:05, 23:36-24:38, 25:02-25:35, 26:52-27:17, 29:04-29:55, 30:22-31:24, 33:17-34:30, 34:34-35:35, 35:48-37:01, 37:18-38:55, 39:28-40:50. Final loop: 42:23-42:36)

🌊The Case of the Lighthouse Leapers🌊:

“RoMaNcE” by ShitKid: Jenny reading letter from her secret admirer, gets rent from the girls. (1:16-2:40)

“Fire Escape” by Nine One One: Jenny reading letter before finding the Night Nurse upstairs. (29:06-29:32)

“The Wellerman” (original music box version): Charles winds up music box, hits Night Nurse with it, kicks her into Angie. (43:07-43:49)

“Young Blood- White Sea Remix” by The Naked and Famous, White Sea: End of episode- Niko starts to read letters from mother, Charles and Crystal kiss, end credits. (48:22-50:59)

🐉The Case of the Two Dead Dragons 🐉:

“Thunder” by ZEE MACHINE: Interviewing students about Brad & Hunter. (14:24-15:11)

“Apocalypse” by Cigarettes After Sex: Jenny and Maxine mid-date. (26:54-28:04)

“Melting” by Kali Uchis: Jenny and Maxine late date until stalker reveal. (36:25-38:10)

“Disorder” by Joy Division: End credits. (49:49-50:41)

🍄The Case of the Creeping Forest🍄:

“Who’s Ur Girl?” By The Mysterines: Niko redecorates her room. (1:15-1:29)

“The Wellerman” (original Music box version): Sea calming music box, playing inside Angie. (13:45-14:07, 15:35-15:49)

“A.T.T.A.C.K” by Arre! Arre!: Niko tries to get Jenny to forgive her in the butcher shop. (20:49-21:57)

“Shakedown” by Infamous Stiffs: End credits. (51:17-52:11)

🕷️The Case of the Very Long Stairway🕷️:

“Under the Milky Way” by The Church: Charles’ memories of his death. (11:06-13:15)

“Dinner Jazz” by Tony Kinsey: Limbo/Hotel lobby in Hell. (17:27-18:27, 44:13-44:30)

“Revolution Action” by Atari Teenage Riot: David turns on lights and music in abandoned bowling alley. (30:20-30:48)

“Window Shopping” by Robert Foster: Gluttony/Café when exiting Hell. (43:13-43:35)

“Circle In The Sand” by Belinda Carlisle: Jenny singing in Crystal’s head while possessed. (31:43-33:50)

“Burning” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Monty flies away from rooftop, Esther works on her machine, Jenny sleeps while Niko looks at Cursed Magic 8 ball, Night Nurse knocks on supervisor’ door, Crystal eats first memory marble, end credits. (52:37-55:16)

🐍The Case of the Hungry Snake🐍 :

“Standing In The Way of Control” by Gossip: Crystal’s first memory marble. (1:18-2:04)

“I’m What You Want” by Walt Disco: Crystal Club fight memory. (8:35-8:48)

“When I’m Gone” by Ging: Crystal says goodbye and leaves the butcher shop. (16:18-18:13)

“Sleeping On Grassy Ground” by The Heavy Heavy: Charles and Edwin wake up in Esther’s house. (25:55-27:43)

“Who’s Sorry Now” by Connie Francis: Niko and Crystal break into Esther’s house. (30:35-31:17)

“Loss & Relax” by Black Belt Eagle Scout: Talking in Niko’s room. (40:44-42:59)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And if you like lists of things like I do, you can check out my other Dead Boy Detective ones here!

When Charles’ shirt color changes

George Rextrew’s Edwin comic inspo board

Moves, Incidents, and Cases masterlist

Swearing Stats Masterlist

First pass at finding where the songs in the score are used- full post with timestamps in progress.

[jrooc]

🎃 Spooky Halloween Tag Game 🎃

Name: Jolene, Jell, Rubert, Vlad, Percival--

Staring back at @gallapiech. 😉🔪 And waving at you sweet tagging mofo's @sgtmickeyslaughter @creepkinginc @energievie @gallawitchxx

Your... uhm.. ScAaAary age: Flew past it a while ago. Turned out it's better to be less confused all the time about who you are. New scary age is 40. Might pull a U-turn before that one.

🎥🔪🩸

Do you like scary movies? HAH no. I was traumatized by the Ring and abandoned the genre. I get very bad nightmares so anything visual haunts me even if I'm not scared in the moment.

If so, what's your favorite scary movie? Re-watched Death Becomes Her for halloween. Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep are hilarious. Witches of Eastwick? Scariest I'd do is The Craft. Love me a 90s flick.

If you were trapped in a slasher film, would you survive? if not; how & when would you die? I think I'd be quite practical and would not leave the house and go check out the creepy sound in the garage. But I am awkward an uncoordinated so I'd probably die in an embarrassing way if I had to get away fast.

Now that we got the scary questions out of the way. Let's get a little more light hearted! 💕

What is your greatest fear? Heights

What is your favorite supernatural creature? Pie

Ever had a paranormal encounter? My cat definitely stares at ghosts sometimes

Assuming you believe in ghosts...

In a high stress situation; do you fight or are you more of a flight person? Flight? Maybe? Unsure. It would def be awkward and not well thought out tho.

What is your favorite part about Halloween? The fall leaves. Kids in cute costumes. Fun halloween movies. Candy.

Thank you for entertaining me 🥰You may live for another day. Yayyyy!

Bonus question What is your credit card number? 867-5309

pls include maiden name and expiration date etc: Jrooc. Exp. priceless.

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[spacebarbarianweird]

I love the troupe of finding Astarions parents. Can I ask for a request of Tiriel and Alethaine running into an elven woman at a market who looks suspiciously similar to Astarion please? If not that’s totally cool!

Past Grief

Synopsis: There were years when Sylenn Ancunin was happy, but ever since her only son died her life as been all mysery and sorrows. And now she meets a young elf who reminds her of what she lost.

Tags: hurt\comfort, dadstarion, astarion's mother

The fic is set a few months prior The Dhampirs of the Sword Coast

Alethaine's age - 24-years-old

Thanks @themadlu for beta-reading! Thank you for being the fastest reader in the wild west!

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

There were years when Sylenn Ancunin was a warrior.

She was a fighter, one of the many protectors of Evereska. 

There were years when she was a scholar, diving deep into the secrets of elven history.

There were years when she was a mother and a wife – but those decades disappeared into oblivion, a true curse of elven existence.

It’s all gone.

Her first child –  a girl –  died when orcs ambushed one of the elven towns. Sylenn was still young and the very idea she could overlive her own children sounded unreal. They were elves, not humans! Their children didn’t die unless mortal danger came for them.

But orcs smashed Sylenn Ancunin’s baby daughter against the wall and the elf would forever remember how she held a lifeless body whose every bone had been broken into tiny pieces.

She got pregnant again – sixty years later. Her husband and Thiramin assured Sylenn everything would be fine. Everything… But three human mages killed him, and her sorrow caused Sylenn to miscarriage. Another rare thing for Tel'Quessir. Still weak and bleeding, she put her heavy armor on and avenged them both, slaughtering the cursed wizards like livestock. 

Then, she buried her Thiramin and returned to Evereska, to her home, where at last she was among her own kind.

A century passed, slow and peaceful. She married again – never did she love Caeldrim as much as she did her Thiramin. But he was a good friend and partner, and Sylenn was happy by his side. 

The only thing she truly wanted back then was to conceive a child. She wanted to become a mother, she wanted this gift she had been deprived of twice.

Sylenn prayed to all of the elven gods. Corellon, Hanali, Sehanine, Naralis…Each of them.

Until one day, instead of a reverie, she had a dream. A silhouette weaved of light placed a small star in her hands.

The gods gave her a child.

… Now, centuries later, Sylenn fears and waits for those memories when she reveries. The moment the healer placed a newborn boy in her hands.

Astarion. Her little star.

He was born with curled silver hair and when he was a child he resembled a dandelion. Sylenn remembers Astarion was a crybaby, always demanding her attention. He wanted his mother to hold him, to carry him around their house. And, should he have a nightmare or some ghostly shadows of his past lives haunted him, he came straight to her, eyes puffy, lips quivering. Sylenn would lull him back to sleep but rarely carried him back to bed.

The boy had the temper of a human, and Caeldrim joked that some of their ancestors must have bedded a N Tel'Quessir. Sylenn’s son was smart and brave, and if she couldn’t find him anywhere, it meant he was in a library – learning new things, new languages, new facts.

Or he could have been in the hills, if the sun shone brightly. Caeldrim’s mother called her grandson Sunflower – for he sometimes would spend hours just standing in the sun enjoying its warmth. 

Sylenn taught Astarion to fight. A longsword. Daggers. All possible weapons. She often took him outside Evereska to show him the world behind the elven realm.

It fascinated him.

Sylenn knew Astarion would leave to see the world soon enough. When she would see him again, he would be an adult – and she wished his childhood would last just a little longer.

It didn’t.

Her baby boy grew up. A beautiful elf whose eyes were green like the hills of Evereska and whose hair was the color of moonlight.

There is another memory Sylenn is afraid to re-live.

The last time she saw Astarion. 

He was twenty-four. Fully-grown. Handsome and beautiful, taller than other elves, with hands almost as strong as a human’s. 

Astarion was standing in front of her in his traveling armor and Sylenn couldn’t take her eyes off him. 

“I will be fine, o’si,” he told her. “Besides, you taught me so well, I could put up with a devil in a fight!”

“Don’t be stupid, Astarion” she tiptoed and kissed his forehead. “Pity, I didn’t finish the circlet I wanted to give you.” She pointed at the unfinished twisted rope-like headwear adorned with a little star. 

“You can finish it by the time I get my adult name.” Astarion kissed her cheek. 

And he left. Sometimes in her reverie, Sylenn wants to cry and beg her only son to stay. Besides, not all adult elves leave their homes! Some stay where they were born.

Her Astarion disappeared. That wretched city he went to study murdered him and no one could even tell her how it happened. 

After eighty years of receiving no message from him, Sylenn left Evereska one last time and traveled to the West.

To find her son’s grave.

They even buried him like a human – and Sylenn wanted to dig the grave with her bare hands. Her son didn’t deserve to rot in the ground but all strength left Sylenn and she spent a day curling in the graveyard until a guardian came to check on her and took her to the inn.

With the years, Sylenn accepted what happened. Besides, there are fates much worse than death.

Her son could have been cursed. Or turned into an undead. At least she knows he sleeps peacefully in his grave and maybe if the gods allow she will meet him in their afterlife.

Sylenn Ancunin never returned to Evereska. She came to Neverwinter, found her youth friend, a gnome paladin, and asked him to give her a place in his adventuring guild.

At least dying in battle is better than rotting in her own misery.

**

A reeking scent of death lingers over the cave and Sylenn curses. This part of the dungeon disgusts her, and if it wasn’t for her mission she would have already returned to the surface. 

“Well, they told us ‘dead or alive’,” the Dragonborn by her side chuckles and points at a dead human prince whose body is torn in two. 

“We need to find the map,” Sylenn sits on a boulder. “I am too old to wear armor.”

“You are not old,” the Dragonborn laughs. “You are what, only a millenia?”

Sylenn cringes. Well, is there any difference between being five hundred years old and a millenia? 

“Almost,” Sylenn says. The warrior looks at her with awe – and she knows how she looks in his eyes.

A forever young woman with long silver hair and a pair of emerald green eyes. Delicate and thin but in the full set of heavy armor. Other races in Faerun don’t care how old elves are.

“Let’s set up a camp somewhere it doesn’t stink. And where the fuck is Irbis?”

Sylenn decides she isn’t going to take off her armor. Who knows what killed the prince? And they need the map that leads to the secret dungeons of the Dark Elves. The lord of Gauntlgrym won’t be happy if the party comes back empty-handed – and with his dead son’s body.

“He must have found a whore to spend the night with and forgot about us,” Selynn says. She has never liked Irbis – the human man cares only about ale and gold and would sell all of his companions for a good pact with a devil.

“You have a dirty mouth for an elf,” the Dragonborn notices.

“I’ve been through such shit within my lifetime I have every right to swear like a drunken dwarf.”

Whatever the Dragonborn wants to say next is interrupted by loud steps.

“And who am I supposed to talk to?” A young woman demands and her voice echoes through the cave.

“This one” Irbis answers, letting a stranger approach the corpse.

Sylenn turns her head.

She sees a young woman in a black traveling armor. Her long silver hair, so common for Moon elves, is braided. 

“This is Alethaine,” Irbis announces. “She is going to talk to that… body. So good I’ve met a necromancer in these lands!”

Alethaine yawns.

“Good morning.”

“It’s almost sunset,” Sylenn says.

“It’s morning when I wake up,” Alethaine bites her lower lip. “Alae, etriel,” she adds in Elven.

Sylenn meets the necromancer’s eyes and feels a wave of uneasiness. 

The girl looks like an elf. Pointy ears, slim and delicate body. But there is something off about her, as if she pretended very hard to look like Tel’Quessira.

But wasn't one.

“Oh, and they say all dragonborns look alike!” the Dragonborn laughs. “Look, Sylenn, you could have been sisters!”

“She looks nothing like me!” Sylenn whispers as quietly as she can. Alethaine’s ear twitches and Sylenn realizes the necromancer can perfectly hear her. “Besides, there is something… strange about her!”

“My mother is half human,” Alethaine says looking at the mutilated corpse. “Maybe, this is what bothers you?”

As if there were such a thing as a pure-blooded elf, Sylenn thinks. No, it’s something else about her that makes the old elf shiver.

“We are so lucky to find someone who can talk to the dead!” Irbis announces. “I entered the tavern, no hope to help the cause and that… that young woman was beating a cleric of Lathander with a book.”

“My dad taught me to beat the shit out of perverts who eye me out,” Alethaine casually says. ‘Hope the bastard has a concussion.”

“I think you broke his spine.”

“Even better!” Alethaine sits beside the corpse looking at the body with such tenderness as if it was a child or a cute animal. “Who is going to ask the questions?”

The Dragonborn pushes Sylenn forward and the warrior approaches. No, the body doesn’t disgust her.

It’s the young elf who scares her. 

“Only five questions,” Alethaine says, puts her arm to the dead man’s chest, and mutters a spell. The corpse stirs and its eyes glow green.

Sylenn has witnessed death. But necromancy is so unnatural and disgusting that she hates the very idea of the prince's body being violated this way.

“Where is the map?” Sylenn asks.

The corpse is silent. 

“You asked it the wrong way,” Alethaine says.

“Where is the map to the Dark Elves’ lair?”

“They burned it.”

“Fuck. Who?”

“The one who killed us,” the corpse says.

“Who killed you? And where is the lair?!”

“I don’t know.”

Alethaine grabs Sylenn’s hand. “You have one question left!”

“Who killed you?!”

“Shadows.”

And the corpse goes silent.

“Very informative,” Ibris mutters.

“You still have to pay me!” Alethaine says. “Ask better questions next time!”

Sylenn pulls away. Everything is lost. They better run to the town and warn than the Dark Elves will probably try to attack them soon enough…

“Watch out!” Ibris yells.

A shadow detaches itself from the walls and pierces the human with its claws. Blood spills on the stones

Sylenn grabs her sword. The whole place bursts with movement. Shadows, screeching and wailing, surround them. The Dragonborn falls and Sylenn knows he is already dead.

“Oh fuck…” Sylenn mutters.

Alethaine jumps on her feet. 

“Do something!” Sylenn yells but the shadows surround Alethaine threatening to destroy the young necromancer with necrotic damage.

But instead…The claws don’t hurt her, as if she was an undead. Alethaine looks pissed and angry as if someone spilled her ale in the tavern. She pushes Sylenn away from the shadows and despite all the heavy armor, the elf feels herself thrown away like a kitten.

“OBEY” Alethaine orders. “BEGONE!”

The shadows curl around her. Sylenn thinks the creatures don’t understand why they can’t hurt the weird woman. 

Her eyes glow green. 

“I SAID, BEGONE!”

The last thing Sylenn remembers is the shadows running right through her.

**

Sylenn wakes up her head upside down. She notices a narrow pathway below her and also the fact someone is carrying her on their shoulders.

In a full heavy armor set.

“Easy money, easy money,” Alethaine mutters. “You, guys, didn’t even have loot I could scavenge! It seems like these are bad times for adventuring finances, am I right?”

Alethaine carries Sylenn as if she were a child. More than that, her sword and bow were still on her and it seemed like the necromancer couldn’t care less about the weight.

The sun still shines in the skies and Sylenn suppresses the irrational fear the girl is a vampire. 

“Since you woke up, etriel, where to go next?”

“I’m Sylenn. Don’t call me etriel, I am not a noble.”

“All right, even better! So, where?”

… Alethaine finds Sylenn’s house when it’s already dark. She opens the door with her leg and the loud slam echoes through the empty streets.

Then, the necromancer gently places the wounded fighter on the bed and stretches like a lazy cat.

“You are wounded,” Alethaine says. “Do you have bandages?”

Sylenn tries to get rid of her armor but can’t. All her body aches and she realizes she has a burning wound on her stomach.

“Stay still,” the necromancer orders and starts to unlace the straps.

“Do you know how to do it?” Sylenn wonders. “Or you only tend the dead?”

“My mother is just like you. Constantly comes home in her armor and it’s just meat and blood under it. I’ve learned to tend wounds at a very early age. Well, she doesn’t wear heavy armor - says it restrains her in a fight”

“So your mother is a berserker?”

“She prefers ‘barbarian’ but yes.”

Sylenn relaxes and allows Alethaine to bandage the wounds. Another wave of fear passes through the elf when she notices how the necromancers lick her lips at the sight of blood”

 “What are you?” Sylenn asks. 

“What do you mean?”

“You are not an elf but you look like one. Try to act like one. But you can’t lie to the elves, we know you are not one of us. So, I ask you again, Alethaine, what are you?”

Alethaine sits in the armchair looking straight into Sylenn’s eyes. The girl is so fucking pale she could have been a ghost.

Then she opens her mouth.

“What the…” Sylenn elbows. “Are you a vampire?!”

“I am a dhampir. This is much worse! I once bit my dad’s wrists and the flesh wouldn’t regenerate for a month!” Alethaine smiles. “And it’s a little bit offensive considering I saved you.”

Sylenn lies back on the bed. Dhampirs… Half-dead children of vampires. Sylenn thought they were legends.

But one of them sits in front of her. 

“I can leave,” Alethaine says. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. Stay. You’ve saved me. Be… my guest.”

**

It’s nice to have someone to talk to. Someone who doesn’t see a five-century-old elven warrior in her. Alethaine speaks in perfect elven and curses like a sailor. Her eyes burn as Sylenn tells her about her own adventures and about elven history. As she concentrates on the stories, her eyes glow red and she bites her right thumb.

By the morning Sylenn finally manages to get into reverie – and this one is bitter again.

Her leg is broken in two and she limps returning home. Hunting has gone wrong and she fell from the hill, snapping her delicate bones.

She mutters curses all the way back and then collapses in the armchair.

Then she realizes she isn’t alone.

Astarion, her Little Star, stands in the center of the room, arms wide open. His eyes are closed and a smile lingers on his pretty face. He is only fourteen and he still retains many of his child features, but Sylenn can already see the adult he is becoming. 

He is in the reverie, deep in his own memories – or, maybe, shadows of his past lives. Or ghosts of his future, should he inherit the prophetic gift. 

The sun showers his face in its warmth and Sylenn forgets about pain. 

Her boy, the gift from the gods. 

She just keeps looking at him. 

Until the memory fades away.

Sylenn gets up – her wounds are more or less healed. The elf feels dizzy as she goes downstairs.

And sees Alethaine cleaning the set of armor.

“Good morning, Sylenn,” Alethaine bares her fangs. “You’ve slept like a human.”

“You shouldn’t have…” 

“No worries, I don’t want to go outside. That dick of a Lathander priest is looking for me anyway. It’s not like I can't run away from a halfling but if I can keep a low profile, I should. Oh…” She looks at Sylenn. “Are you all right?”

Sylenn blinks and realizes she’s been crying. “I… am. Bad memories. And good ones.”

“I can listen if you want,” Alethaine implores.

“How old are you?” Sylenn suddenly asks. “You look rather young for an elf to be on her own.”

“I am twenty-four. I just look… smaller. Because I am a dhampir, you know.”

“Oh, I see… But we rarely let our children go when they are younger than twenty-five. Though, I let mine.”

“I was raised in a human village, and my mother is half a human…And my dad… well, that's a story for another time.”

Sylenn sits down. She rarely talks about her son but for some reason, she feels like she will die if she doesn’t tell her sorrows to that stranger. 

“I had a son. Many years ago. He was your age when I let him go and he died fifteen years later. He was my only one. I still see him when I reverie.”

“Oh,” Alethaine says. “I am sorry.”

Both elves are silent. Alethaine looks out the window.

“You know… I sometimes think that if I die, my parents will never know what happened to me. Or they will decades or centuries later.”

Sylenn bitterly smiles. “We elves think we are invincible. But we are not. Death is a rare guest among us, but there is nothing scarier than an elf burying their child. I lost my daughter when she was four, had a miscarriage – and then my son was just killed. Some clerics even thought I was cursed. Though, almost every human has been through the same shit. That corpse you were talking to is the only son of a local ruler. And he will have to bury him.”

Alethaine is silent. Her face resembles a mask and it’s difficult to decipher her emotions. 

Then the dhampir stands up and hugs Sylenn burying her face in her chest.

“I am sorry, Sylenn. I am sorry for what has happened to you,” she says and her words are sincere. Sylenn allows tears to flow down her cheeks as she strokes Alethaine’s back. 

What are her parents like, Sylenn wonders. Since she is a dhampir, one of them is a vampire. She mentioned her mother, a warrior like Sylenn. But about her father? Do vampires raise their children? Anyway, whoever was responsible for Alethaine’s upbringing did a good job. A necromancer and a dhampir, she saved Sylenn, tended her wounds, and listened to her.

Sylenn makes a mental note to mention Alethaine in her prayers next time. May her parents never have to go through what Sylenn did.

“Well, I suppose I need to flee the town,” Alethaine smiles. “I think I should go to Waterdeep. I can easily mingle with the local weirdos!”

“Thank you, Alethaine,” Sylenn smiles. “I am sorry for being rude”.

“I got used to elves staring at me as if I were a doppelganger.”

“I-I don’t have money to pay you,” Sylenn gets up. “But I want to.”

Sylenn goes to the basement. Turns off the protecting sigils and takes a small chest out of its hiding place.

“I want to give you something,” Sylenn returns to the room. She places the chest on the table and opens it.  “When my son said he would leave me with the first snow, I decided to make him a parting gift” Sylenn takes out a circlet. “But I was no artisan and I didn’t finish it. I was supposed to give it to him when he would return to receive his adult name…”

“But he never did,” Alethaine finishes. 

“I finished the circlet anyway but I had no one to give it to. I don’t have children, I will never have grandsons and granddaughters. And this thing just lies here reminding me of what I’ve lost.”

Sylenn takes the precious circlet and crowns Alethaine’s head. The circlet fits her perfectly and suits her hair. The small star is placed in the center of her forehead. 

“You can’t give it to me,” Alethaine mutters.

“I can. Take it. It’s yours. Things are made to be used. You are a beautiful young woman, wear it. Besides, I don’t think you’ve had a lot of elven adornments.”

Alethaine looks at the mirror and smiles baring her fangs. Sylenn chuckles: maybe this one is half-dead and a necromancer, but a girl is a girl.

“Thank you, Sylenn.”

“But don’t you dare sell it. If you do, I will find you,” Sylenn threatens.

“I wouldn't even think about it!”

Sylenn hugs Alethaine again. “Uluvathae, Alethaine.”

“Uluvathae, Sylenn.”

Alethaine goes outside and soon disappears in the dark.

Sylenn is alone again. Suddenly, she feels like pieces of her sadness have gone, as if Alethaine somehow took them away. Well, Sylenn isn’t old – she has centuries of life ahead.

Maybe it’s too early to bury herself.

She is going back to Evereska. Her husband, Caeldrim must have died already, he was much older than her – so she needs to pay respects to him. And then… Then she will decide what to do next.

**

Sylenn has the next reverie on the road to the east. She hopes it will be something neutral, something that won’t harm her soul but the memories are merciless to the elf.

Sylenn enters the library. Her mind is preoccupied with the news about Yuan-ti’s attacks on the elven settlements. Fucking serpents need to learn Tel'Quessir had been here before them and will stay when the snake become ashes. 

“Thinking of the snakes again, o’si?” Astarion asks.

He is nineteen, still an adolescent, not an adult. He reads a book on human laws and customs and bites his right thumb as it helps him to concentrate.

“Is there something about them in these books of yours?”

“No. Did you know that humans have so many laws about inheritance and burial?” Astarion flips the page. “Listen!”

Sylenn tries not to show that those things sound boring to her. History, that’s where her interests lie. But Astarion is so enchanted with all these articles and small details and many differences between the tribes and cities of humans that she listens.

At least, she can reverie to hear his voice again.

Sylenn wakes up crying again. She looks at the starry sky and sniffs.

Weird, she later thinks that the necromancer, Alethaine, was biting her right thumb the same way Astarion did centuries ago.

--

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@wilteddreamsofbaldursgate

[dandelionsandderivatives]

I will, very soon, be moving into a new apartment with a dishwasher. Friends, you have no idea how often I've daydreamed about this dishwasher.

I found myself actually dreaming about it the other night.

[blue-aconite]

fields of dandelions || prologue

Summary: Jake's life falls apart in less than an hour and he's left trying his best to pick up the pieces.

Warnings: Swearing, cheating

Word Count: 1.6k

Pairings: Jake Seresin x OC

Authors Note: And we're back with a new series! This has been sitting in my drafts forever and I finally found the motivation to finish off the prologue. I just think the world needs more single dad!Jake, don't y'all agree?

Thank you to my betas @a-reader-and-a-writer & @green-socks and for letting me ramble on about this!

Jake spent a good twenty minutes staring at his own house through the windscreen. He remembered when he and Sarah first bought it. A lot had happened since. And now it looked like it was all coming to an end. 

Sarah was on the phone as he entered the kitchen, talking quietly as she flipped through a magazine. He shoved his hand into the pockets of his jeans, leaning against the doorframe and waiting for her to notice him. When she didn’t acknowledge his presence, he cleared his throat.

“Sarah.”

She looked up, eyes widening as she saw him. “Jake. I didn’t realise you were going to be home yet.” She ended the call without saying goodbye and Jake noticed how she chose to put the phone with the screen down. 

He gave her a tight smile before sitting down across from her. “Half day. They’re running drills with the kids so Mav sent us home.”

“That’s nice. Did you pick up the boys?”

Jake shook his head. “Javy picked them up. They’re trying out his new pool.” The boys had been on their case since they found out their uncle Coyote was installing a pool in his backyard. 

She hummed but offered no other answer. An uncomfortable silence filled the space, neither of them speaking. Sarah shifted in her seat, eyes darting back and forth between him and her phone. 

Jake felt his stomach turn but decided to jump the gun. “I think we need to talk.”

He had expected some sort of fight, some sort of protest, so when Sarah only sighed and twisted her face in what resembled a smile, it was like a punch to the gut. 

“How did you find out?” she asked, completely unbothered as she inspected her nails. She didn’t bother denying it, even though Jake hadn’t asked about it directly. But it was enough to confirm what Jake already knew but hoped he was wrong about. 

Jake dragged a hand through his hair, baffled at her lack of reaction. “How did I find out? Is that all you have to say?” 

“What do you want me to say?” Sarah shook her head, manicured nails tapping the table. Jake dragged a hand down his face. 

“I want you to say that you didn’t fuck him. That you didn’t invite him into our house while our boys were home. I mean, what the fuck?!” 

If his words affected her, Sarah didn’t show it. She twisted her wedding band round and round, her silence telling him everything Jake needed to know. 

“If you’ve been unhappy -”

“It’s not about that. It’s complicated, Jake.” Sarah sighed. 

Jake scoffed, clearing his throat. “Uncomplicate it for me then. Tell me why I had to find out from our son that you’ve been inviting another man into my house. How many times, huh?”

“How many times what?” she countered, staring at him. Jake could barely recognise his own wife. She didn’t seem to care that their five-year-old had seen her with another man. 

“You know what I’m asking, don’t play dumb. How many times did you bring him here?” Jake pushed away from the table, unable to sit still anymore. Sarah’s disinterest only served to make him more agitated. 

As if his question finally affected her, Sarah looked up at him but her face showed nothing. “Just one time. And the kids were supposed to be asleep.”

“How long?” It hurt to ask but he needed to know. How long had she been cheating on him? He could piece it together, track back to when she started to become distant but he wanted her to admit it. As if it would feel better. 

Sarah pressed her lips together, hands clasped on top of the table. “Couple of months. I don’t know.”

He laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Of all the possible scenarios he had of the future when he asked Sarah to marry him after high school, this one had never crossed his mind. How had they ended up here?

“Why? Tell me why.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.” 

Shaking his head, Jake gripped the back of the chair he vacated earlier. “Stop saying that. Tell me the truth. If the last 18 years have meant anything to you, you’ll be honest with me,” he paused, drawing a shaky breath. “You owe me that much.”

“I don’t know what to say, Jake! It’s done, okay? I can’t pinpoint the exact fucking moment, alright? One moment everything was alright and then it wasn’t. And he was there for me. Stop questioning me, this isn’t an interrogation.” Sarah spat, anger seeping into her voice.

“No. You don’t get to be angry. You’re the one that fucked up. You do not get to tell me I don’t get to ask questions.” Jake spat back, his own anger surfacing. She had no right to play the victim. 

Sarah rolled her eyes, a humourless laugh leaving her. “Alright, fine. Do you want the truth? I’m so fucking tired of this life. I’m tired of staying home all the fucking time whenever you get deployed, putting my own career on hold for you. I’m tired of it all. I’m tired of you. For once, I want to do something for me, have something for myself.” 

“And to achieve that you decided that cheating on me was the best course of action? Why haven’t you talked to me about this?” Jake demands all the anger and hurt clashing together. 

Sarah shakes her head. “Like talking would do any good.”

He thought it would hurt more, to hear that his own wife was tired of him but all he could feel was a numbness spreading through his body. 

The woman sitting in front of him wasn’t his wife, wasn’t the mother of his children. She sounded cold, detached, almost like Jake felt. 

Jake scoffed. “Well, you could have said something, instead of fucking someone else. We could have tried couples therapy -” 

“It wouldn’t have made a difference. And now it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.” Sarah interrupted. 

He stared at her, trying hard to remember the girl he once had fallen in love with. But she was nowhere to be found. Instead he saw someone he didn’t even recognised anymore. Sarah stared back, neither of them breaking eye contact. He knew it was the end. She knew it too. 

“Are you leaving?” 

Sarah lowered her gaze back to her hands. “Yes.”

“What about the boys?”

Sarah didn’t say anything. She stayed quiet, once again twisting her wedding band round and round. Jake sat down again, exhaustion seeping into his bones. “Sarah. What about the boys?”

“What about them?” She kept her eyes on her hands, refusing to meet his eye. 

Jake threw his hands up in frustration. “What do we tell them?”

Sarah pulls the wedding band off along with the engagement ring he’d given her all those years ago. He could do nothing but watch as she ended twelve years of marriage right in front of his eyes. Eighteen years together, right down the drain. 

She leaves them laying on the long abandoned magazine and Jake couldn’t make himself pick them up. He didn’t want to touch them. “We need to tell them.”

“They won’t understand,” Sarah argues. 

“So we shouldn’t say anything? They’re old enough to understand that something is wrong. We need to sit down together and talk to them,” he reasons but Sarah seems disinterested in continuing their conversation.

“No. You can tell them whatever you want. I’m not doing this,” Sarah snaps, blindsiding him. What the fuck is she saying?

When he asks her as much, Sarah simply shrugs her shoulders, that cold, hard exterior back in place. “I’m leaving. You can tell them whatever you see fit. It’s honestly not my problem.”

Jake explodes. “You’re not even going to say goodbye? How am I supposed to go pick up our children and explain to them why their mother isn’t home? How is that fair? To me? To them?!” He wants to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. 

The chair scrapes on the floor as Sarah stands and Jake follows suit, anger coursing through his veins. “You can’t just leave.”

Sarah simply levels him with a glare, challenging him to make another move. After a tense minute Sarah folds, shoulders slumping. “Fine. Pick up the boys and we’ll talk.”

“I swear to God, if you’re not here when I get back -”

“I’ll be here,” Sarah promises, sitting back down and flipping the magazine open again. The rings clatter onto the table and down onto the floor but neither of them makes an effort to get them.

As he pulls out of the driveway, Jake prays that she’ll still be there when they get back. He doesn’t believe her but at this point, he doesn’t have a choice. He chooses to believe that she wouldn’t abandon their sons. She might be tired of him, their marriage, but Jake knows Sarah loves Josh and Levi. She wouldn’t just leave. She couldn’t.

After exchanging a few words with Javy and making sure the boys are safely strapped in their seats, Jake rushes back home. He drives slower than he’d like to but with the boys in the car, he’s not willing to risk it. 

Dread fills him when he pulls into the driveway. The garage is open and Sarah’s convertible is gone. After bribing the boys with ice cream if they promise to stay in the car just a little while longer, Jake jogs up the porch, heart sinking in his chest. 

The house is eerily quiet when he steps inside and he berates himself for trusting Sarah to stay true to her word. Because all that is left of the woman he’s loved for eighteen years, the mother of his children, is a note on the fridge.

“Tell the boys I love them.”

Taglist: @wildbornsiren​ @ryebecca @imjess-themess @reels-and-wheels @antiquitea @writercole @hederasgarden @yanna-banana @bobfloydsbabe @hollandorks @anniesocsandgeneralstore @ereardon @luminousnotmatter @roosterscock @thedroneranger @fandomxpreferences @top-hhun @princessmisery666 @bradshawsbitch​ @a-reader-and-a-writer @green-socks @angstybluejay @seresinhangmanjake @ayorooster​@notroosterbradshaw​ @indynerdgirl @gigisimsonmars @girl-in-the-chairs-void@bradshawbabes @unhinged-btch @horseshoegirl @sadpetalsstuff @bradshawbaby @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @ummjustfics​ @septemberrie​ @somenamewithepineapple​ @seresinsweetie​​ @crescentwolf​ @seresinhangmanjake​ @waklman​ @roosterforme​ @rosiahills22​ @dempy​ @i0veless​ @ilovewriting06​ @kmc1989​ @demxters @amortentiadrops @teacupsandtopgun @hangmanscoming

[phanfictioncatalogue]

One Word Fic Titles (7) Masterlist

part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six

Angelfish (ao3) - PyroStormIsBae

Summary: musings on phil’s anxiety, self image issues, and new hair + how dan loves him through it all.

Appreciation (ao3) - Scuddleduck

Summary: "He's meant to just be appreciated."

Dan shows Phil how much he appreciates all of him.

Babylon (ao3) - ottertrashpalace

Summary: Just a little story about two boys realizing that they can make their own rules, and even if it's hard, they are worth it.

Believer (ao3) - phancakesandcoffee (decayedgeeway)

Summary: Dan's been hiding his feelings for almost 10 years. What happens when he can't keep hiding?

Benefits (ao3) - Misha_with_wings

Summary: They never talked about it.

"It" being those nights where one or both of them just needed a release and they helped each other out.

Maybe they both secretly wished they were more than friends, but friendship did have its benefits.

blackpool (ao3) - watergator (orphan_account)

Summary: dan and phil celebrate ten years together

Blonde (ao3) - philforscale

Summary: Phil went blonde. Dan loves it.

borrowed (ao3) - dan-whoell (infiniteseriesofhalfways)

Summary: Dan borrows an outfit to go down to the corner shop.

Butterfly (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: Phil Lester, a lonely writer, finds a dying boy with beautiful black wings on a cold, rainy night in a dingy alleyway. He recognizes the boy as one of the winged men hated by human society. They are considered to be wild, ferocious beasts, but Phil's sympathy forces him to help the boy.

What happens when the boy, considered to be a wild beast, gets too attached and follows him home with an innocent, dimpled smile?

Dandelions (ao3) - throughtheirsnoses (det395)

Summary: Phil returns to his small town after studying how to improve his power that lets him grow plants with his mind. Phil is anxious and struggling with the expectations put on him to grow new plant-based medicine and on top of it all, his childhood best friend, Dan, gets his heart broken and turns to Phil as a rebound. Phil panics.

dangender (ao3) - classichysteria

Summary: it’s late at night and dan just wants to talk about what’s on his their mind

Desires (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: What would you do if you were suddenly hauled from your inauspicious life and dumped into an unforeseen catastrophe with your worst enemy?

Dan Howell and Phil Lester completely and utterly hate each other. They fight every time they meet, and all of their friends are tired of it. But one day, these two hot-headed, reckless men stumble through a secret passage in a mysterious old house and wake up on a strange island uninhabited by other intelligent life forms. They only have each other and no way to escape. Will they fight to death, or will they learn to trust each other in a world where no one else exists? Can they put aside their mutual hatred for each other to survive this misfortune?

Dress (ao3) - ForeverJustAnEmoKidAtHeart

Summary: After the Halloween Baking video, Sister Daniel has some fun with Phil and Phil… Well, Phil should just be glad he made it through the end of the filming.

Float (ao3) - Aliquis

Summary: Dan's a professional, after all, and this is his job. Just another day at the office in front of hundreds of their grown-up fans whose expectations exited the stratosphere somewhere between his last two posts on socials. Fuck.

Her (ao3) - Absolutefilthimsosorry

Summary: Set after Dan’s birthday stream.

A new costume for Phil leads to a new kind of roleplay

holiday (ao3) - dan-whoell (infiniteseriesofhalfways)

Summary: two moments on holiday, fourteen years apart

Home (ao3) - Japhan2024

Summary: Dan visits Phil for the first time. This is how I envision it would have gone.

Kaleidoscope (ao3) - danisnotinteresting

Summary: A fan makes up a rumour about Dan which turns out to be true, he assumes Phil must of leaked this and becomes very distraught.

papercut (ao3) - schnaf

Summary: A cut. A tiny little cut, barely visible - just like a papercut. A cut - and yet, to Dan, it’s so much more. It’s the case he’s working on, the case only he seems to be taking seriously - it’s a serial killer’s signature. So when he gets the chance to track down the murderer, he doesn’t hesitate. And then, there’s Phil, Phil who’s making the chase so much more bearable, Phil who adds something completely different to his task. But things aren’t always what they seem.

Phlonde (ao3) - greyskysss

Summary: Phil gets his hair dyed. Thats the fic

pigeons (ao3) - SylvesterLester

Summary: Dan is wondering if it’s too late to admit he really doesn't care for pigeons all that much.

Or, it's 2017, and the two just moved to the new flat which has a balcony and a new hyper fixation for Phil.

Pounce (ao3) - Kim_Aurora_135

Summary: Dan and Phil met online. This is a fiction of the first in-person meeting.

Precious (ao3) - Scuddleduck

Summary: dnp have intimate lazy sex or whatever the fuck made people so mad on twitter. ( I didn't write the post, I'm just using it as a prompt)

Their first night on holiday.

rebrand (ao3) - dan-whoell (infiniteseriesofhalfways)

Summary: Phil makes some changes and meets a boy named Dan.

Ribs (ao3) - dumbclownsao3

Summary: Dan had felt old from a very young age.

snowballs (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: your mum is trying to get me drunk

Someday (ao3) - philsdrill

Summary: “Everyone had a link with their soulmates, some could hear some of their partners thoughts, some had a tattoo that would appear with their partners name; for me, I knew when they got sick.” For a while Phil has thought that his soulmate might have an eating disorder and doesn’t expect to meet him in the restaurant where he works.

sunkissed (ao3) - ivylakes

Summary: Maybe Phil was made to pour warmth into this man and leave little marks all over his body the way the sun does when it covers his skin with freckles. Maybe everything they’ve ever done and every little way they’ve loved each other has culminated in this very moment, where they can hardly see each other in the low light but are still brighter than the yellow light that breaks through the sky and glitters on the ocean.

Or, Dan and Phil go on holiday, and every photo they take tells a story.

Terminal (ao3) - phantasticworks (steddieworks)

Summary: Phil finds himself stuck in an airport in Florida when a nasty storm blows in from the coast. His phone is dying and his will to live without it is too. He stumbles across a cute brunette who may be just as dorky as himself, and of course flirting ensues. And maybe this cute stranger has a charger to spare?

Really your goal as a reader is to solve the incredible important mystery of whether or not he gets his phone charged (and maybe have a little Phan story along the way)

Truth (ao3) - Mysticallykai

Summary: Dan realizes that he needs to live his truth after the Interactive Introverts tour ends.

[creatchie8]

Yellow Soul: Chapter Six

Dandelion

Chapter Summary: Six years pass and you find yourself back in Wabang.

Pairing: Rhett Abbott/Fem!Reader

Warnings: Minors DNI (not really a warning but the reader does have a sister and I decided to name her, I just looked up what was the most popular name in 1998 Wyoming and chose that one lol)

Word Count: 2,700ish

A/N: Yikes!! I'm back and with so much inspiration you guys. Please excuse this chapter, it is honestly not that great but when I was editing it I just didn't know how to fix it. I hope you love it anyway!

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter - Masterlist

Fall 2022

You hated lines. You hated them more than anything. The thought of having to wait still with people in the front and back of you? Hell no. But here you are, waiting in line with your baby sister (you really shouldn't say baby, she’s twenty-four now), Madison and about four of her friends to purchase tickets for the Amelia County Fair. She used the excuse that she hadn't seen you in forever to convince you to go, even though you had work early tomorrow. 

Two months ago you came back, for good… probably. 

After you finished your Masters in Social Work a job opened up in Denver, Colorado. Well paying and far away from Wabang, just what you wanted. You had spent six whole years there making new friends, had a few boyfriends, and even your own apartment. 

Madison’s grip tightened on your elbow as the line moved up a foot or two, dragging you on like you were the little sister. 

Six years was long enough to make you forget about Perry and the Abbotts. It rarely entered your mind, you were twenty-nine now so there was no use freaking out over something that happened when you were twenty-three. Your parents were wildly understanding when you told them you broke up with Perry, but that’s probably because you didn't tell them any more of the story. 

Your dad never mentioned anything about the ring, even though you know Perry asked him for his permission. He never told your mom either, or else you knew she would surely be devastated. 

You were happy for Perry, you really were. Your mom told you he got married and had a baby some time after you left, a little girl named Amy. You sometimes saw Cecilia’s posts on Facebook, she was a cute little girl and probably everything Perry would have ever wanted. Every other post was of Amy at a 4H meeting or something she drew that got hung up on the fridge, always with his pretty wife too. 

You had to wonder if she really was happy in that tiny house, your ma says she isn't, always hearing about how her and Perry fight like dogs about it. Cecilia’s words, not hers, she always clarifies. 

As for Rhett, you certainly saw him less frequently. Sure, he was in some of Cecilia’s Facebook posts, but he hardly ever posted on his socials (like he ever did in the first place). To be honest, you unfollowed the whole family on all social media. 

The only time you would look was when you were definitely under the influence and  super, super bored. 

Sometimes your job didn't allow you to go home on holidays, but you tried the best you could on all major ones. 

The last time you saw him was four years ago at your family’s Fourth of July BBQ. Rhett was of course handsome, how could he ever not be? In a plain cornflower blue t-shirt and jeans, he looked almost monochromatic. You two kept your distance in the short time he was there, Cecilia probably dragged him along probably with the promise to Perry that she wouldn't stay there for too long as your mom and her were still best friends.

It is beyond ridiculous looking back from where you are now in life but you didn't know if you should be embarrassed or incredibly turned on when you went back inside for a lighter and found Rhett sitting on the same couch he fucked you in front of. Just chilling with one of your uncles (which then wiped away all forms of desire and just left you with this icky feeling in your chest that you defiled your family’s home). 

Finally, you were at the front of the line. The woman taking your cash had a tired expression on her face, counting the bills quickly before asking your group, “Only two dollars more for tickets that include the rodeo. Wanna upgrade?” 

You internally groaned as your sister and her friends immediately started bickering, trying to decide if that two dollars extra would be worth it. Looking up at the sky, it started to gradually turn into a pretty deep orange in the horizon. Hugging your denim jacket closer, you were thankful you brought it. It was nice to finally be back in your usual garb, rather than your business casual all day every day. 

“I think we should!” A voice rose above the rest. You looked down from the sky and your eyes landed on Maria, a girl your sister admittedly wasn't too close with, but someone she considered a friend anyways. 

Maria turned towards the woman, her shiny dark hair whipping around her shoulders as she confirmed the ‘upgrade’ in tickets. Reaching into your pocket you reluctantly pulled out your wallet and plucked two bills out, handing them to Madison who coupled them with hers, handing it into the woman. You watched as she flipped half-heartedly through the paper and turned around in her little booth, grabbing an ink pad and stamp. 

Maria was the first one to go, eagerly pushing her fist under the glass cut out and the rest of your group followed through, you being the last one. A soft, “Thank you.” Left your lips as you smiled at the woman who kept her head down through the whole interaction. 

When you finally caught up with your sister you grabbed her elbow as she did yours, leaning into her ear as you two walked, “Why is Maria so eager to watch?” You murmured softly as to not catch the attention of the other girls.

“I dunno, probably some guy she likes is riding tonight. She chose the day we were coming here too.” Madison whispered back and you rolled your eyes. So Maria is the one to blame for your sister politely demanding you go this day rather than another day that worked better for you.

With the group you walked around till sundown, stuffed full with fry bread and ice cream. A few times Madison bought something and begged you to try it. Fried oreos, loaded fries, pleading with you as she tried her hardest to offer you a fried pickle spear that you were insistent on declining on account of all the other fried foods you ate earlier. 

-

You didn’t get a sip of water till you sat down in the stadium seats, twisting off the top of your plastic bottle you basically downed the whole thing in one sitting. 

Mutton busting was always a fan favorite, sweet little kids with ridiculous names like Gunnar and Zadie holding on for dear life as their crisp white sheep zips through the arena. The family of one of the kids sat right behind your group, hooting and hollering as their little TrudyMae was one of the last girls still holding on. 

“Wanna go to the concession stand?” Your sister’s unexpected whisper startled you, whipping your head around to playfully glare at her.

“Yeah of course I do.” You smacked her shoulder and got up, swinging your leg over the empty seats in front of you. 

Down at the concession stand, you both got a cup of cheap beer.

“Why does this literally taste like ass?” Madison exclaimed as you started walking away from the booth, her face wrinkled up as she leaned over to steal a sip yours, disappointed to see that it tasted the exact same. You shrugged your shoulders and looked at the lonely ice cube swimming in the yellow liquid, it indeed tasted horrible. 

“I dunno, makes me wonder why everyone gets it.” You laugh, looking around at all the people around you also holding the clear solo cups. 

When you made it back to the stairs, a handsome man was standing at the top. He smiled at you under a thick mustache, stepping to the side as you climbed the stairs. You smiled sheepishly back, heat reaching your cheeks as he tipped his head towards you, the brim of his cowboy hat covering his eyes. 

“Howdy.” He drawled, the gold chain under his button up glinting in the stadium lights.

“Hey.” You replied, almost tripping over your boots as you passed him. 

When you were a safe enough distance away, your sister squealed like a toddler, grabbing your shoulder and shaking, “Oh my god did you see that? He was so cute! And he was looking directly at you.” She gushed, and you did admit the interaction did make you lighter on your feet. 

Your beer sloshed as you grabbed on to the railing to steady yourself. 

Opening your mouth in an attempt to say something witty, you glance up into the stands and your blood goes cold. Perry and his parents were sitting almost all the way at the top, a little blonde girl was sitting next to him, swinging her legs and playing on someone’s phone. 

“Why are the Abbotts here?” 

Madison stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow at you, “Girl, what?” 

“Don’t ‘girl what’ me. I’m just… I don't know, I didn’t expect them to be here.” You mutter frantically as you desperately try to get her to start walking again, the two of you stopped almost directly in front of their section. 

She started moving again, pursing her lips, “I thought you were over Perry. You know he has a kid-” 

“I am! You know I am. Let’s just drop it, Madison.” You cut her off before she could say anything else, closing in on your section. 

Bull riding had already begun, the rodeo clown was running around and clinging onto fences as the bull charged him, the crowd around you laughing hysterically at his ridiculous outfit and his attempts to distract the animal from hurting the rider that got flung to the ground. 

You sipped on your warm beer as you watched man after man, not paying attention to the scores or really what the announcer was saying. You glanced over a few times to look at the Abbotts, thankfully a group was always standing in front of them, prohibiting you from seeing them, so you stopped. 

“Alright Amelia County, let’s hear it for our local boy, Rhett Abbott.” 

Immediately, your ears perked up at the sound of the announcer, promptly abandoning the hangnail you were chewing on in favor of scanning the back fencing to find Rhett. 

“He’s gonna be ridin’ Twister, one of the more ranked bulls you're gonna see here tonight.” 

The MC’s voice was almost drowned out by all the excitement going on around you, seemingly everyone there for Rhett. As the guys in front of you stood up to watch, so did you, rapidly jumping to your feet to see over them. You did a double take to the side, Maria standing the same time you did, her hands coming to her mouth to project her voice. 

Rhett was locked in the chute straddling a massive gray bull, you could barely make out his facial expression with how far away you were. Before he could even wrap the rope around his hand, Twister was already getting anxious and ramming his spotted flank against the metal of the pen. 

In the time that it took you to blink, he was out. Truly, it felt like the longest six seconds of your life. Rhett barely made it out of the chute, Twister bucking and flinging his body every which way. 

A gasp left your body when Rhett’s body hit the ground, everyone around you groaning in defeat. Your eyes flicked to the scoreboard and you sat when you saw the results. 

“Damn, was hopin’ for a better ride from him.” Muttered Madison, crossing her jean clad legs.

“Bummer.” Chirped her friend on her other side, nodding in agreement. Leaning forward a bit you wondered what Maria would say, waiting for her exclamation. She just looked disappointed, pulling out her phone. 

-

It was time to go home, but you strayed from the group. When you got down from the stands, Madison eagerly pointed you in the direction of the mustached man you encountered earlier, giddy when you finally gave in and said you would try to go find him. 

Making your way through the hoards of people, you headed over to behind the arena where the contestants park their trailers. You really weren't allowed in this part of the grounds, but as long as you looked confident, no one would question you. You were certainly dressed the part of a bull rider's girlfriend anyways. 

A white straw hat was what you were searching for, which would be pretty uncommon since the weather was getting colder. He was pretty tall too, which made it even easier to spot him when you did, making you instantly smile and start speed walking towards him. 

The mysterious man had his back to you, chatting with others who you could only assume to be his friends. 

In your hurry to get to him you accidentally clash shoulders with a random man headed opposite of you. In any other circumstance you would stop and apologize profusely, but you were on a mission. 

Turning your body halfway, you start side stepping, “Oh my- I’m so sorry, sorry mister!” 

You cringed as he gave you a dirty look and waved you off, making you press your teeth together tightly as you turned. 

A tuft of weeds in the otherwise smooth dirt path gets under your feet, making you stumble and trip on your own shoes. To make it even worse, you are suddenly met with someone’s chest. You start falling backwards, your arms go up instinctively but whoever you just ran into grabs your forearms right before you fall back on your ass. 

“Thank you, god I am so, so sorry sir. I-” You begin to ramble trying to regain your balance. You try to pull your arms back but are met with resistance, looking up in confusion why this man won't let you go. 

It’s like in the movies, the whole world goes quiet around you two.

“You're back.” Rhett states, looking down at you. His cheek was already showing signs of bruising and his eye was bloodshot, probably from the face-first fall he took in the arena. 

Nodding, your heart quickened at the realization of your closeness. 

If he wasn't all muscle then, he sure was now. Rhett was still sporting the longer hair, darker in color but still long enough to curl behind his ears like it did six years ago. He wasn't clean shaven anymore either, the lightest bit of stubble dusting his jaw that you now notice was also bruised up. 

“I am.” You confirm, voice trembling the tiniest bit, “Two months ago. I live in Lander.” Long gone was the thought of the other man you were searching for. Rhett’s gorgeous blue eyes searched yours, he had light wrinkles around them and between his eyebrows. 

“Why?” Rhett asks like it has a simple answer. He asks it like he’s talking about the weather or how birds know to chirp. 

He’s still holding your arms hostage, but when you glance down from his face you find your own hands fisting the thick leather vest he has on. 

Looking up, you tilt your head the tiniest bit. His breath fanning out on your face in soft puffs. He smells like sweat, beer, and dirt. It envelops you like warmth on a summer day. 

“My dad is uh… he’s sick. So I’m helpin’ my momma take care of him.” It was a lot more complicated than that. 

“‘m sorry, I had no idea-”

“It’s okay, how could you know?” Your thumbs rubbed over the leather, the frayed stitching fibers moving up and down with each stroke.

Rhett looked up from your face and at the dying crowd around you, looking like he was searching for something. Turning your face in the direction he was staring, you saw nothing and went back to him. 

Every unresolved repressed feeling you had within the last six years pushed its way into your throat, suffocating you completely. 

Letting go of his vest, you pulled against his hands, “I gotta go, Madison’s waiting for me.” You whispered, Rhett’s eyes snapping back to yours.

“Just, just stay a little longer-” Rhett starts, furrowing his brow. You shake your head and he finally releases you reluctantly, his palms sliding from your wrists to your hands, letting go finally as his fingertips brush yours. 

That was the second time you ran away from Rhett Abbott. 

See me on AO3 as Creatchie8 too for a full list of tags & more!

[writing-with-yours-truly]

Grounded? [Knuckles Show] Knuckles x Reader

Summary: When Knuckles is faced with the punishment of being grounded, Reader must help him understand what he did.

-------

Today was a normal day so you didn't have to go to school. Since your family had no plans of going out of town -as your guardians had to work-, you had decided to go hang out with your three new best friends-- Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.

Their house was a block from yours so you got to take a few moments to admire the beauty in nature on your trek. How the leaves on the trees are a vivid green. How the grass is the perfect shade of color. Dandelions here and there.

You got to the Wachowski door and knocked. After a brief wait, Tails came to the door. "Oh, hey!" He greeted. "Hi, Tails!" You put your fist out for a power bump. He does the same, and you open your hand after the gesture, as if mimicking an explosion.

You peer into the living room. "Oh my. What happened?" The living room from what you saw was transformed into a makeshift fighting arena. "Knuckles wanted to fight someone to become the 'family champion'."

"Should've expected that," You replied with a small laugh, looking a bit closely. "Hole still hasn't been fixed yet?"

"No. It's kind of hard when Knuckles sees the construction crew as enemies."

"Oh. Where's he at now?" You asked.

"Upstairs. Maddie grounded him."

"I honestly don't blame her."

You walked up the attic stairs to see Sonic strapping a VR headset onto Knuckles' head, leaving him exclaiming: "Ah! Where have you sent me?!"

Knuckles removed the headset. "And viral dance videos!" Sonic rushed to find his ring light, set his phone in the holder, and did a dance to "Keep Movin' On".

Eventually, Sonic's dancing stopped, and he set away his ring light.

"See what I mean? Use this time to relax. You'll be out there warrior-ing before you know it," Sonic replied, jumping off the tire swing he sat on momentarily. "Okay, good talk." Sonic walked past you, saying hello, before him and Tails were on their way to the backyard to play catch.

"Hey, Knuckles," You spoke up.

"Hello, human," He looked up from his sitting position on the floor, setting his VR headset and hand remotes down. "Did the fox tell you about my grounding?"

"He did. Why did you think it would be a good idea to build a throne in the dining room?" You asked, sitting next to him, looking out the circular window, watching the clouds roll by.

"Sonic told me to make myself at home. As the family champion, I deserve to sit on a throne during mealtime. Echidna tradition."

You couldn't help but snort lightly. "Knux, things are different with humans than echidnas. Humans don't have thrones at the table."

"But, what about that family that shows up on Maddie's television occasionally?"

"Knux, that's the royal family. It's their tradition as kings, queens, princes, and princesses. But it's not normal in everyday homes like ours."

You ruffled his quills lightly.

"I do think I understand."

"Do you understand the part about the fighting pit, too?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, what I suggest you do, buddy, is apologize to Maddie when she comes home. You'll be back to being a warrior in no time."

"Do you think so?" He asked you, looking up at you with his beady purple eyes.

"I know so," You nudged his shoulder with a laugh.

"Thank you, human."

"For what?" You asked him.

"Explaining to me what human culture is like. It is very different from the echidna culture." Knuckles gave you a sliver of a smile.

You wrapped an arm around his shoulder. He tensed a little, but then leaned into your touch. "You're welcome, bud."

[bucketspammer4life]

Punch out boxers and what pet(s) they would have

hey bestie, exam season is almost over so im recovering a bit so why not give this to you all??

Glass Joe - small, fluffy and cute white cat that is the spawn of satan, knocking shit over, eating your food, wrecking the couch, massacring the toilet paper, all while looking adorable, named "Bouffon", sometimes called bonbon because of it

Von Kaiser - a doberman thats scary as shit but a complete angel, very loud barks when scared but very cute otherwise, named "Turm"

Disco Kid - an african grey parrot that never shuts up, really cool but still the spawn of hell to a certain point, always singing or quoting stuff,named "Angel"

King Hippo - a capybara & a turtle, he lets the capybara on his bed and the turtle has its own pond, both of them are pretty chill and the most evil they do is just bumping into doors, the capybara is named "coco" since Hippo made a hat for it using a coconut shell, the turtle is named "Reef" since he ran out of ideas

Piston Hondo - some koi fish & a praying mantis, he has a pond for his fish and decorates it, meditating there when the weathers right, the praying mantis has its own terrarium and doesnt let it out unless he has to change up something since hes paranoid about crushing it, the koi fish dont have names but the praying mantis is named "リーフ" (Leaf) since he found it fighting some bug on a leaf

Bear Hugger - besides the squirrel (we dont count mrs bear since shes more of a friend and it would be rude to call her a pet)he has a pet snail and a rabbit, the snail is one of his first pets and he got it when he first started his boxing career and found it in the showers after a match, its named "squeaky" because of that, he actually found the rabbit not too long ago after feeding it some dandelions, it just came over to his house on a daily basis after a while and he accepted it, the rabbits named "Dandy" since bear hugger saw it eating a dandelion and ran with it

Great Tiger - has a pet snake & a gecko, the snake has a pattern somewhat reminiscent of a tiger with its Orange & Black stripes, despite its fierce appearance, its pretty shy and hides a lot, the gecko is the opposite of that: it may look not very intimidating but its a menace, the snake is named "tiger" (how creative) and the gecko is named "Woob", aran came up with the name after taking a glare at it and just saying "woob."

Don Flamenco - other than the spider that carmen owns, he has a pet goldfish named "Fish" that he he just feeds and fucks off, he has 0 emotional attachment to it, he could see it dead and he would go "damn sucks to suck" And move on, hes not the one for pets

Aran Ryan - a mountain lion he thought was just a really big cat, he gave it a bath, fed it some meat and just adopted it, it doesnt really mind but its like... really confused, aran named it "princess", the way he found out was him inviting bear hugger over and seeing him go "IS THAT A FUCKING MOUNTAİN LION" the moment princess walked out of the bathroom after eating the toilet paper again

Soda Popinski - a husky thats absolutely running from place to place 99% of the time, its sometimes a bit mishievious but pretty well behaved, its named "soda" since thats pretty much his idea of a cute name

Bald Bull - a lazy fat ass street cat that sleeps most of the time or just eats food, its mishievious but not enough to bother moving, its suprisingly good at opening cabinets and eating to its own hearts content, he really has no way to stop it, named "Tombili"

Super Macho Man - a shi tzu named "puffy" that likes to nibble on wood, its very fluffy since he takes great care to brush it

Mr Sandman - Not the type own a pet since hes indecisive about it, had a few pet goldfish before but thats about it for him

[melefim]

Dead Boy Detectives Score is out!

I’ve also added it to my playlist with all the other songs used in the show here:

I’ll be doing a complete listing of where all the songs are found in the show like I did for the regular soundtrack, but in the meantime here’s what I recognize from a quick listen/ click through:

(Episode numbers are in parentheses)

Death Becomes Him: Gas mask ghost street chase, Death in the office (1)

The Dead Boy Detectives Main Title theme: self- explanatory- opening titles for every episode, as well as credits for 1-3.

So Many Questions for So Many Fools: Edwin’s Flashback (1), intercepted by cats & escorted to the cannery (2), (escort to cannery bit also plays when Niko & Crystal are walking to the cannery in episode 8), Edwin gives Crystal a list of questions for Niko —> We have the same left (2)

Little Girl Collector: Esther’s theme— bits of it played throughout: Esther meets Crystal (1), Yelling at Monty (1), Esther browsing Tragic Mick’s (2), Esther in the butcher shop (3), Esther sees Monty with Edwin (3), Esther & Monty in the kitchen (5&6), Esther walking down the street (8)

Want and Pleasure: Cat King theme- all or partially played during Edwin’s punishment discussion (2), Meeting by the lighthouse (4), Cat King in forest (6), Esther in the cannery (7)

Niko: bit starting around 2:00 is following Maxine (5), 2:45-3:00ish is setting up the butcher shop for the date & Jenny’s reaction(5)

Sadness Came Too/ Looking for Boys: up until 1:37 is Niko & Crystal talking about their families (2), 1:38 and on is the Night Nurse/ Lost & Found department theme. Sections are heard at end of episode 1, reviewing the boy’s files (2), the notary (3), interviewing the Devlin girls (3), Night nurse arrives in Port Townsend (4), upstairs with Jenny (4), that night on the cliff (4), appears to take the boys (6), opening the door to hell (7), and when she leaves at the end of 7.

Awakening Skeletons: Dandelion shrine field (2)

Stuck in a jar: Dandelion Sprite theme- when they’re first in the jar & when Niko first sees them (2), the three scenes with them taunting Niko in Devlin house (3), Jenny sees them (8), very end of igloo & end credits (8)

Odd Customers and Cohorts: first bit is Potential client interviews (3), second half might be at Tragic Mick’s?

VHS and David: Devlin House- last minute of the song is after the loop is broken and Death comes (3)

You Can Talk To Me: first bit is them back at the tongue & tail after the lighthouse Leapers (4)

All So Obvious: 2:20-3:17 is summoning Shelby (5)

Never Been Kissed/ Hell: first bit is Niko & Edwin talking about kissing (4), Middle is probably Charles descending into Hell?? (7), 4:30 on is the ‘Previously on Dead Boy Detectives’ background music (2-8)

I Messed Up: Crystal & Jenny in the alley, Crystal & Charles in the alley, Crystal unlocks her door, Charles shows her his parents (1)

Accepting Being Dead: beginning is almost but not exactly the bit in Hell from when the spider grabs Edwin to when Charles finds him again. (7) 1:00-2:30 is Edwin coming out to Charles (6). Last 30 seconds is Charles crying on the cliff (4), Bad guy talk (5), and right after he realizes he’s dead in his flashback (7).

Mirror Maze: Maxine attacks Jenny (5), pretty sure at least part is the David/Crystal/Charles confrontation in the forest (6)

Run From Hell / I’m in Love with You: first 45 seconds is Charles & Edwin running from the baby doll spider, :45- 3:30 is the second scene with Simon (do you think it has to be torture being the way we are?), 3:30- end is Edwin’s confession (7). Confession time can also be heard during conversation at end of (6) and the hug at end of (8).

Her Own Fault: first bit is Fight at Esther’s house, starts when Esther throws Niko against the wall, goes through Niko’s death

Esther’s Origin/ A New Deal: Cat King’s Esther story (8), 2:50ish onwards is the Principal looking at the case board through the end of the scene to the zoom out the window (8)

I will be going through and trying to find timestamps for where every song plays in the show, but it’ll take a bit. Until then, hope people find this useful! (And if you know any parts of songs that I missed, please feel free to drop a comment!)

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If you like lists of things like I do, you can check out my other Dead Boy Detectives list posts here:

Full soundtrack with timestamps

When Charles’ Shirt Colors Change

George Rextrew’s Edwin comic inspo board

Moves, Incidents, and Cases Masterlist

Swearing Masterlist