#dunno what other tws should be added!! if you have any i should add please tell me

[mockingbirdshymn]

coughs sputters gives you a thumbs up

hi have some harrison angst for tongue tied the fic im working on WOAHHHH WOWIE

pov harrisons parents shun him for his magic and he internalizes it till all of it spills out in front of the two people he cares about the most

i have no clue if the dnd part is accurate and i don’t like how i described harrison’s hands as gloved twice in a row but whatever that’s what drafts are for

[laws-yellow-submarine]

Uhhhh hi? Lol I dunno if anyone remembers this, but this past May I mentioned I was going through quite a lot, and at the time I had a Hazel-focused Mother's Day angst one-shot half-written, that never got finished.

Well, it's 3:30 am, and it's finished! 😃 this was written on my phone, so it may not be well edited, and I can't guarantee it's 100% in character; but it was cathartic as hell. I won't be including this in Together With Fruit (it just doesn't fit anywhere), but I will say it's 100% canon to Hazel’s character/story. That being said, you don't have to read it if you don't want to - it's a little heavy, imo, and I won't be offended if people skip it.

But without further ado, I present: The Problems with Mother's Day

TW/CW: Parental angst, estranged parent relationships, mentions of death, feelings of inadequacy (if I need to add anything lemme know!)

Word Count: 2,052

-------

From the moment Hazel opened her eyes, she knew it was going to be a long day. The skies were cloudy, the waves choppy, and her roommate’s face was about ten inches away, smiling a little too sweetly.

“Ahh!” she yelled, jumping back in bed. “Nami, what the hell?!”

“Oh good, you’re up!” Nami chirped at her, doing nothing to alleviate the suspicion in Hazel’s gut. “I need a favor!”

“I told you before: if Luffy gets his head stuck between the railings, it’s better to just leave him there or he’ll never learn his lesson.”

“No, no, not that, silly!” Hazel glared further at the young woman, suspicion thoroughly piqued. “See, it’s Mother’s Day! Normally, Nojiko and I have a tradition of cooking a big breakfast, but since she’s obviously not here, I was wondering if you’d like to join me?” and then she flashed the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes Hazel had ever seen. Which was saying something, considering how often Ace had tried to use that on her when they were kids. 

There was just one issue.

“It’s Mother’s Day?” Hazel groaned, rubbing one hand over her face. Nami took her groaning as a sign of tiredness, and enthusiastically nodded her head.

“Please, Hazel? My sister and I do this every year, and I’d really like to share it with you!”

Guilt gnawed at Hazel’s gut. How could she possibly say “no” now?

“Sure, Nami...just,” she sighed, “give me a second to get dressed.” And then Nami let out a squeal, of all things, hugged the purple-haired girl around the shoulders, and bounded up the stairs.

Left alone, Hazel took a deep, shuddery breath. Then she took another one. Then another, on and on until they became steadier, and the world didn’t feel like it’d swallow her up right there. She stood up, padding over to the closet the girls shared, and quickly threw on a plain t-shirt and shorts; something she wouldn’t be upset about getting messy. She threw her curly hair into a messy ponytail, squared her shoulders, and with a firm nod of her head, she followed after Nami.

It was early, enough so that the sun had barely peaked over the horizon. With all the clouds in the sky, the seascape remained a rather dull blue, the orange of the sun’s rays blocked from view. Even Sanji, who normally woke up pretty early to get a start on breakfast, was still nestled deep in his hammock down below.

“How’d you manage to secure the kitchen for the day?” she asked as she entered the galley, deftly catching the apron Nami tossed her way.

“I told Sanji-kun I had something special planned, batted my eyelashes a bit, and he was convinced to sleep in for a day,” Nami explained, pulling the last of the ingredients from the fridge and setting them on the counter. “I’ve got the pancake batter covered, if you wanna get a start on the bacon!”

Hazel slid up to the counter, eyeing the array of food and utensils the navigator had set out. It had been a while since she'd made bacon - Luffy had a habit of stealing the still sizzling strips from the pan - but she dutifully set to work at the stove as Nami chatted on.

"One year, Belle-mere wasn't able to afford our usual breakfast ingredients, so Nojiko and I had to improvise," the younger woman was saying as she steadily dribbled pancake batter onto the skillet. "We snuck into the tangerine grove and picked as many as we could find, but we stuck to the smaller ones so they wouldn't be missed." Hazel hummed in acknowledgement, gut churning. "Nojiko set up an entire tray of tangerines cut into different shapes, but when Belle-mere tried to eat? Her face puckered up like this!"

Nami's face scrunched into an expression that resembled a dried up pufferfish, cheeks sunken in and eyes screwed shut, before she bust out laughing at the memory. Hazel smiled good-naturedly, piling more bacon onto the plate beside her, and Nami launched into another story.

"Oh! And then there was the year I tried to make the pancakes by myself for the first time! Normally that was Nojiko's job, but I convinced her to let me try," the navigator said, eyes far away as she expertly flipped another pancake. "The entire kitchen ended up covered in batter! I'm not even sure how it happened - I thought Belle-mere would be furious! I was so scared I hid in the closet, but I didn't realize I'd tracked flour behind me." Nami shook her head, smiling. "Belle-mere opened the closet door, took one look at me, and grinned this huge grin. She said it was the 'best year ever'..."

Hazel bit her cheek as Nami sighed wistfully. "Belle-mere was always saying that: it was the 'best year ever', no matter how much we ruined breakfast."

"Hm."

"Hazel, are you ok?"

"Huh?" Hazel glanced at her in surprise, then quickly resumed her task, tension coiling in her gut as she nodded. Just breathe, Hazel…

"Are you sure?" Nami asked, worry ringing in her voice. "You don't seem to be having much fun."

"I'm fine, Nami," Hazel grit out, flinching back as a drop of grease jumped out at her.

"No you're not! What's wrong?"

"Look, I said I'm fine, alright?!" Hazel snapped, turning from the bacon to glare at the young girl. "I just don't really give a shit about Mother's Day!"

Nami's gasp was accented by the galley door opening, their crew's footsteps halting as Hazel’s statement hung in the air. All at once, her anger fled, replaced quickly with burning shame at Nami's watery gaze. Swallowing against the lump in her throat, and the warmth growing in her cheeks, Hazel muttered a quick "sorry" before bolting from the room.

The others watched her go, breakfast momentarily forgotten, until the familiar thwap thwap of their captain's flip flops broke the silence, punctuated by Luffy’s excited cry: "Sanji! Food!"

--------

"I just don't get it!" Nami yelled as she sat at the table, anger, embarrassment, and guilt all warring within her. Hazel still hadn't returned to the kitchen. "It's just Mother's Day. It should be a day to celebrate!"

"I'm sure Hazel-chan has her reasons, Nami-san," Sanji said around his cigarette, unhappy that "his girls" were at odds. Luffy scratched under his hat. 

"What's Mother's Day?"

Luckily for him, Luffy was used to the incredulous stares his crew often bestowed on him. Even Zoro was looking at him like he'd grown a second head. Wait. Could he do that?

"Even you should know what Mother's Day is," Nami scolded the boy as he inexplicably began to pull at the skin on his shoulder.

Luffy shrugged. "Nope!"

"It's the day you celebrate your mom!" Nami was met with a blank stare. "You know, the one who provides for you, even if it means she goes without."

"The one who encourages your dreams, and loves you unconditionally," Sanji added, a wistful look in his eye as he flicked his cigarette.

"The one who tells you stories, and tucks you into bed at night," Usopp chimed in, face alight with happy memories.

But Luffy merely raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Hazel already has a birthday, I'm supposed to give her two parties?!"

And then the room grew silent once more as the weight of his question settled on the others' shoulders. Nami felt her stomach clench, threatening to evict a breakfast she hadn't even eaten as she realized what had happened. She pushed herself to her feet, rushing out of the kitchen with barely a word to the others.

She had to find Hazel.

-------

Nami found her standing against the railing, on the complete opposite side of the ship. Hazel’s arms were crossed in front of her, the wind blowing through her loose, purple curls as she gazed out at the sea. The navigator approached slowly, suddenly nervous now that she was here. But before she could utter any apology, Hazel beat her to it.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. That wasn't very fair, and you didn't deserve it."

Nami's brown eyes snapped up to the other woman's face, still not facing her, and swallowed against the growing lump in her throat.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," she said, leaning on the rail beside her. "I should have asked you first. I shouldn't have assumed you'd be OK with it."

Hazel shrugged. "You had good intentions, at least. It's the thought that counts."

"Is it?" But Hazel didn't answer, and the two slipped into a heavy silence broken only by the crash of waves against the hull. "What happened to her?" Nami finally asked, shoulders tensed as she waited for the older woman to either answer or scold her.

Hazel only sighed. "Honestly?" she clicked her tongue, shrugging her shoulders and biting her lip. "No idea. Don't really remember her."

"But if you don't remember…" Nami started, eyes lighting up as an idea struck her. "Then she could still be out there somewhere! Maybe we'll find her-!"

"I hope she's dead."

The finality of the statement struck Nami dumb, mouth hanging open in shock at the woman's deadened expression. There was no waver in Hazel’s tone, no room for any doubt that she meant it. "What…?"

Hazel laughed through her nose, a bitter sound. "Sounds horrible, right? Especially today of all days? But it's true." Hazel’s jaw clenched, her fists curling around the Merry's railing. "If she's dead, then it wasn't a choice. If she's dead, then she didn't decide to -! She didn't just -!" Her shoulders shook, breaths coming out in ragged gasps, unable to finish the statement.

Nami reacted without thinking, pulling the shaking woman into her arms without hesitation. Hazel's voice broke, heartache echoing between them as she gasped out: "why wasn't I enough?"

"Now you look at me!" Nami cried, pulling back to lock her eyes onto Hazel’s. "Don't you ever think you aren't enough! Just look at everything you've done! We're all here because of you, Hazel!"

Hazel rolled her watery gray eyes. "You're here because of Luffy - I'm just emotional support." But Nami shook her head.

"Luffy may have brought us together, but he only got to where he is because you supported him! He thinks the absolute world of you, he loves you - we all love you! And you've done all of this without her! Screw her!" Hazel dissolved into a new round of tears, and Nami pulled her back into her warm embrace. "New tradition: from now on, let us show you how much we appreciate you, whether that's through breakfast together, or leaving you the hell alone."

Hazel choked out a wet, shaky laugh, fingers clutching tightly to Nami's t-shirt as the tears flowed through her. Finally, they subsided, and as she leaned back Nami helped wipe the remaining tear tracks away. Hazel took a deep breath, then another, feeling lighter than she had all day. Then, her stomach growled.

"I think I'm ready to go back to breakfast," she murmured, too drained to be embarrassed. Nami just smiled, linking their arms together as she led the way back to the others.

When they entered the galley, the pair were separated when a rubbery figure launched itself at Hazel. Luffy wrapped his limbs around his sister, squeezing so tight it was a wonder she didn't break a rib. "Hazel! Sanji made you coffee! He wouldn't let me try it but I did anyway - how do you drink that stuff?!"

Hazel just smiled at his rambling, wiggling her arms free of her brother's embrace, surprising the boy when she hugged him back (almost) as tightly, and kissed him on the forehead. "Heeey!" He whined, pulling away to angrily rub at the spot she'd kissed. "What was that for?!"

"Nothing, just…I'm proud of you, Luff." The boy's face broke into a grin.

"Shishishi! I'm proud of you, too! Now, let's eat!"

Finally, the Straw Hats gathered around the table, digging into their meal with an excited frenzy. Sipping her coffee, Hazel nudged the woman beside her. "Thanks, Nami," she said, smiling easily after the events of that morning. "But, for future reference? On Father's Day, you may just wanna let me stay in bed."

[pencilwritesshiz47]

The Fourth Arrives

MGR Chapter Six

[Previous] [Next] [Masterpost]

TW: Mentions of destruction and fire

Marigold was tired.

And she didn't mean the sleepy sort of tired (although she was that as well).

No, this kind of tiredness was different. It was more like feeling drained, like something had sucked the energy out of her.

At first, she had just thought it was the empty feeling that came after Goldie had been gone for three days with no contact. That would have made sense. But that feeling was different. Empty, and missing. But it was only a piece of her life's puzzle, while this... this was the puzzle itself.

So that left the only other possibility-- that she was magically drained. She had been blasting raw elemental power into the water to propel the boat for hours now, a task that should have been easy and effortless. But it seemed to be taking a toll on her, something that should only happen to elementists, who had limited powers. These things just didn't happen to sprites. And that worried her.

So, she tried not to think of it. She focused on moving the boat forwards, and if her mind wandered too far, she would just bring it back again.

It was during one of these times that Lauren spoke up, maybe at around 2 or 3 in the morning.

"There's someone here."

Lady Elisabeth sighed from the other end of the boat. "How in the world could there be a fourth person? That makes no sense."

Marigold had her back turned to them, but she could feel the stare Lauren was giving her from where she knelt.

"I dunno. There just... is one."

And if this were anyone else, Marigold would have dismissed it out of hand. Anyone would. But this was Lauren, who always seemed to know just when someone was sneaking up on her, to a point where it was kind of intimidating. So, if she said there was a fourth person, there was one.

The boat fell silent.

"Then what do we do about it?" Marigold finally asked.

Silence again.

"Well, uh, we should... wait, no... oh..." Lauren stammered, trying to come up with a response. Her instincts may have been great, but when she needed to come up with a plan on the fly? That was more Goldie's department.

"Is anyone there?" the noblewoman finally asked, and Marigold held her breath, hoping it was nothing malicious.

And then, after a moment, a response came. "Uhh... yeah?"

The voice was young, and they seemed to have a Calinian accent, so at least it (probably) wasn't some sort of terrible creature.

"Do you want to come out?" Marigold asked, stopping her blast, and turning around to face the direction of the voice. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you," she quickly added.

There was a beat of silence, and then, in the back corner of the boat, darkness seemed to lift, revealing a child.

Marigold held back a gasp. This was not just any child—this was Princess Amina.

In the light of the moons, she looked exactly like Marigold always imagined her, yet still totally different.

On TV she had always seemed so regal and fancy—always dressed in frills and makeup. She had always stood still next to her parents as they made important announcements, as if she were just there for decoration. And maybe she was.

But now, she was different. There wasn't a bit of makeup on her face, and she was just wearing a simple purple dress with sleeves that ended just past her elbows. Her jet-black hair was down, and there was something in her brown eyes that seemed so... adventurous.

She quickly raised her hand in a wave. "Hey."

"Sup," Lauren replied, and Marigold groaned internally. You couldn't just say "Sup," to a member of the royal family, could you!?

No one seemed to know what to say for a moment.

"So," Lauren started, and Marigold started praying that she wouldn't get any of them imprisoned. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." the princess said, looking down at the bottom of the boat. "I don't think you'd believe me. Heck, I kinda don't believe me either."

Lauren smiled. "Hey, it's alright. Just tell us."

The princess looked up at them. "I, uh, got sent here. By Time."

Marigold wasn't sure how to react to that. It seemed completely unlikely, but then again, she wasn't about to question the future leader of her country. Elisabeth, on the other hand, did not appear to have the same thoughts.

"I'm sorry, you what?" she said, and Amina shrugged.

"Hey, like I said, I don't get it either. All I know is that she told me to find you, and stowaway in this boat. And that I'm part of some solution or whatever. And I think you all are too? It's confusing."

Marigold just looked at her, confused. What was this girl talking about?

"So what are you going to do about that?" Lauren asked.

The young princess looked at her quizzically. "What?"

Lauren shrugged. "If you were sent here on some sort of quest by Time, you must have been told to do something, right?"

"Um... I mean, I got a wooden box?"

Lauren sighed. "Ok, uh, why don't you start from the beginning."

And so, she did. She started from the meeting that she overheard to the part where she sneaked onto their boat. And Marigold was speechless. Time had just shown up and given this girl a quest!? These things didn't happen.

But, then again, a lot of things were happening that really shouldn't be.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Elisabeth asked. "Like Lauren said, you must have some sort of plan."

Amina faltered. "I, uh, didn't think that far ahead."

"You could always come with us," Marigold said, looking at the other two. Elisabeth shrugged.

"Yeah, if you want to, you could," Lauren said, and Amina thought for a moment.

"Umm, sure. What are you all doing anyways?"

The three looked at each other. "Well," Marigold started, "We're going to rescue my lover, Goldie. She's stuck in Xan Ruz."

Amina nodded her head. "Alright then."

And so, they went back to what they were doing, with Marigold propelling the boat, Lauren steering, Elisabeth playing with something in her hands, and Amina sitting in a corner silently.

It took about an hour, but finally, Lauren shouted. "We're here!"

She quickly conjured a rope, tying the boat to shore, then hopped out, with the rest of the party following close behind her.

Elisabeth went up to the front. "Alright, the entrance to the city should be close. Just follow me."

Lauren looked a bit startled by having the control suddenly taken from her, but didn't say anything, just slowed her pace to match Marigold's.

As they walked across the field, Marigold wondered about Goldie. Was she safe? Was she fighting or hiding for her life?

And then the worries about the magically drained feeling she was getting popped back—what was going on? She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the task ahead of her. She just needed to find Goldie. Then everything you would be alright.

"In here," Elisabeth called, and they started to walk though some sort of entrance. And then, suddenly, they all stopped.

Marigold looked up ahead, and gasped. "Oh, Her."

She had known it would be bad. But this?

Buildings were smashed, in, with plumes of smoke coming up from them. She could see small fires on the streets, and large metal orbs stuck in the ground, a few having cracks stretching out from them. There were large pieces of rubble from the top of the cave everywhere, and even as she looked, more pieces started to fall. 

But the worst part was its size. Marigold hadn't realized the city was this big— how on Izan was she supposed to find Goldie?

hope you liked the chapter!!!! trying to get on a sunday schedule, praying that my motivation cooperates heh

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[profoundnightmarestudents]

Just Another Day

because @soaring-and-flying-high told me they wanted a fic about my last jatp post and i crave validation. TW: school shootings, gun violence, death.

They had decided to surprise her at school. They were bored out of their minds and wanted to do something, anything, other than sit in the studio and wait for Julie to get back. 

“Can we go see her at school?” Reggie suddenly asked enthusiastically. His two bandmates looked at him with raised eyebrows from their lounging positions across the studio. 

“No way, Julie will kill us. Boundaries, remember?” Alex responded. 

“She can’t kill us Alex. We’re dead.” Luke argued. “Besides, we have nothing better to do and it isn’t like we’re going through her stuff or anything!”

“Yeah, we’ll just be following her through the rest of her school day. We will literally be stalking her through the hallways.” The blond argued with a roll of his eyes. 

“Come on, Alex! We’ll take all the blame! Please?” Reggie begged, reminding Alex of a puppy begging for food. He never had been able to resist Reggie when the bassist looked at him like that. 

“Fine.” He acquiesced with a sigh. “But only for a little while and you guys are taking the blame when Julie yells at us.” 

“Deal!” His friends responded in unison. The three teens quickly poofed out of the studio and to Los Feliz High School.  

When they poofed into the hallway where Julie’s locker was, it was empty. There were no teenagers dodging each other in a rush to get to classes, no usual hallway white noise that came with a passing period. And Luke knew for a fact that it was a passing period. He may or may not have found Julie’s schedule one day while snooping through her room and waiting for her to get home. He would neither confirm nor deny whether it had happened should it come up again. 

“why isn’t anyone here?” Reggie asked in confusion, looking around the hallway as if Julie might magically pop up out of nowhere and explain what was happening. 

“Dunno. This is a passing period. I know it is.” Luke muttered, furrowing his eyebrows. Before any of them could add anything else to the conversation a voice came over the loudspeaker.

“The lockdown drill is over. Students may proceed to their next period class. The lockdown drill is over, Students may proceed to their next period class.” And as if on cue, classroom doors opened and students flooded the halls as if nothing had happened. 

“Lockdown?” Luke asked under his breath. “what’s a lockdown?” 

“And why do they need to drill for it?” Reggie followed up in concern. 

“We can ask Julie.” Alex offered. His bandmates nodded and the three ghosts stood at Julie’s locker waiting for her to give them an explanation. 

     When Julie finally showed up at her locker, she glared at the three ghosts who were looking at her with confused and concerned looks on their faces. 

“What are you guys doing here? Boundaries.” She demanded as she opened her locker and began rummaging around inside. 

“We got bored.” Luke answered casually. “Hey, what’s a lockdown drill?” he asked her. she raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

“You guys don’t know what a lockdown drill is? or an active shooter drill?”

“Active shooter?” Alex demanded, anxiety clearly audible in his voice. Julie sighed, rubbing her eyes and shutting her locker. 

“Look. I don’t have time to explain all of this to you guys right now. Go back to the studio and wait for me there. There is no active shooter.” Julie assured them. They were not at all convinced, and followed her to the rest of her classes that day. 

     In dance class, she keot eyeing the boys who were standing on the wall and watching her anxiously. 

“What? is it the guys?” Flynn asked her quietly. Julie nodded. 

“they showed up during the lockdown drill and now they’re following me around.” She explained. Flynn seemed to be contemplating something as the two continued to practice the combination. 

“Well they died in ‘95, right?” 

“Yeah...and?” Julie asked.

“Columbine wasn’t until ‘99. They have no idea about any of it. Columbine, Sandy Hook, Stoneman Douglas, none of it. The drills, the assemblies, they were dead for all of that Jules.” Flynn explained. Understanding finally dawned on the Latina. She felt like an idiot. Of course the guys had no idea about any of the school shootings or the new protocols! They had been sitting in a dark room while Alex cried the entire time! She resolved to explain everything to them when she got home from school. It seemed it was time for another pop culture lesson. Only this one was not fun or amusing. 

     When Julie walked into the studio after school the guys were waiting for her, all sitting anxiously on the couch. She had barely put down her backpack before Alex started asking questions. 

“What’s a lockdown? why are you drilling for it? what do you mean active shooter? are you getting shot? why-”

“Alex!” She cut him off. He stared at her wide-eyed and anxious like a little kid wanting reassurance. “First of all, it’s really complicated ad a really long story.” She informed him. 

“What happened?” Luke demanded angrily. Julie sighed sadly and began pulling out her laptop. She knew she was about to completely destroy any ounce of innocence her boys had left. And she wished she didn’t have to. she pulled up a Google search and then looked at the boys. 

“What do you guys know about school shootings?” She asked. They stared at her, horrified. “That’s what I thought.” She assured herself before typing into Google. “Well, four years after you guys died, in ‘99, there were these two guys at a school called Columbine...”

   When Julie finished explaining, she had barely closed her laptop before she was dragged onto the couch and squished in between her boys. They were all touching her in some way. Reggie had been the one to drag her onto the couch, and he had wrapped both of his arms around her middle. Luke had rested one of his hands on her arm, and Alex had tipped them all over and was stroking her hair. They were totally silent for the first time since they had landed in her garage. She let them be, just enjoying the affection they were able to give each other.