#goose chase (story)

[nadekofannumber1]

If they adapt nadeko pool via the vignettes there’s nothing stopping them from adapting mayoi welcome in the viginettes of shinobumonogatari

This is the funniest option from a story access and translation perspective mind you I’m not against it lol

[sinnerclair]

wip of goose chase

It was a cool morning in Norfolk, Virginia. The folks were conversing among themselves. Today was the day that the Dreamcatcher would be arriving and departing at 5pm. In his house, Charlie Taylor was talking with his mother, Betsy Taylor.  

“When you get back, make sure to help your sister Bess with the cows,” his mother said.  

Charlie nodded as he rummaged through his bag for his train ticket, eventually finding it and placing it neatly in his pocket.  

“Alright, ma. I’m leaving for Ellsworth.” He approached the front door.  

“Stay safe, dear. Northerners are nasty folk sometimes.” Betsy warned. Charlie glanced at her before leaving.

The Norfolk train station was packed, which was unusual. Charlie squeezed through the crowd to the front. There was the Dreamcatcher, a large steam locomotive. It was quite an old model, dating back to when these machines were first being used, roughly 30 years ago. People soon began piling into the train, and Charlie soon followed suit. As he got in, he gave his ticket to the men at the doors and sat down in one of the leather seats which were damaged in some spots. The train’s horn was heard, signalling the train’s departure. Charlie kicked his legs at the metal floor as the train left the station.

The train ride for the most part was quiet, long, and boring. Some folk talked about shopping, their children, or plans they had for when the train stopped in Maine. The train soon went into a dimly lit tunnel, the only light being the sparks that came off the wheels from the train tracks. However, the train car began to feel unusually warm. Charlie shifted uncomfortably around in his seat as he picked at the buttons of his tweed sweater.

The heat only got worse as the train ride went on. Eventually the train’s windows went dark. Charlie coughed as the air began to fill with light smoke until an explosion went off and Charlie immediately blacked out.

Everything was black for Charlie still. He felt disconcerted, nauseous, and dizzy. He laid on what felt like sand for a few minutes before being poked by someone.

“Hello? Are you alive, sir?” They had an accent that seemed to originate from the Carolinas.

He squinted to regain consciousness, staring at the person who pulled him off Death’s doorstep. It was a woman with a pastel pink Southern belle-style dress that reached to her ankles.

“Oh! You are alive. Good to know I didn’t just poke a dead body!” She chuckled.

Charlie got to his feet and held his head, which was pounding. His ears rang badly.

The woman had introduced herself as Florence Ward. She was from North Carolina and also was on the Dreamcatcher before its untimely demise. While she rambled, Charlie could only worry about his mother back home. She was going to be worried sick.

“Hello? Are you listening, Charlie?”

“Oh, uhm, yes.” He lied.

Florence glared at him. Charlie sighed.

“Where even are we? Are we even in Virginia anymore?” he said.

Florence shrugged, “I would say I knew where we were, but the only sign I found had worn out paint and I could barely read what it said.” Charlie facepalmed.

Florence and Charlie wandered through what seemed to be an endless desert until they spotted a group of gentlemen looking around in confusion. Florence raced over to them. Charlie stumbled after her. The two men had introduced themselves as Edward Louis Gray and Claude Ellis, both from Pennsylvania.

“Were you on the Dreamcatcher too?” Charlie inquired. They both nodded.

“I don’t quite understand what happened. An explosion just suddenly happened. The train seemed fine.” Edward, who had a slight British accent, said.

“I knew something was wrong the moment the train got uncomfortably warm.” Claude added. Everyone else nodded.

“Do you at least know where we are?” Charlie desperately asked. Florence snickered at him.

“Are you going to ask everyone that in hope to get an answer? I don’t think anyone recognizes where we are.”

Charlie sighed, “I guess you’re right.”

Edward eventually spoke up, “There’s nothing bad about having a look around. Let’s see if there’s any towns around.” Claude nodded in agreement as Florence pouted. Eventually, all four of them headed North in a desperate attempt to find anything in the desert wasteland they ended up in.

After almost an hour of searching, everyone was about to give up. Even Edward, who kept insisting the group keep moving despite their many protests and groans.

“Are we even going anywhere? My feet are killing me.” Florence complained.

Nobody responded to her as they were all equally exhausted. As if miracles existed, they began to see a sign up ahead. When they reached it, it turned out to be an entrance to a town by the name of Harpsville, with a population of forty-five.

“Quite the small town.” Claude commented.

“Never heard of it either.” Charlie added.

When they entered the town, it was like they were back in Virginia again. Townsfolk were talking everywhere, kids were playing, and Charlie swore he could hear an auctioneer babbling on. Florence soon went out of sight and so did the others when Charlie realized he had slipped into a daydream while analysing the town.

“Guys? Where did you go?” He looked around in worry.

“Charlie! Get your butt over here before I drag you over here!” Florence was heard.

“Hold on, jeez.” He replied as he speedwalked over to her.  

The group had wandered to the heart of Harpsville, known as the Harp.

“Let’s try to find a mayor. Maybe they know how we got here.” Claude suggested. Everyone agreed as they looked around for some type of local mayor’s office. But, before they could move, they felt a presence.

“What are you non-locals doing here in Harps?” Someone growled behind Charlie. They had a Southern accent that Charlie only ever heard when his mother was mad. They nervously turned around to a woman who was two times Charlie’s height, towering over them. She was clad in cowboy wear with a rifle on her back with the initials SM carved in gold on the forestock. Charlie felt himself shrink a few inches as he quickly chose to hide behind Edward, who raised an eyebrow at the woman. She merely laughed at Charlie’s cowering.

“Don’tcha worry, partner. I ain’t going to hurt ya. Unless you give me a reason to.” She chuckled.

“Stop scarin’ him for God’s sake!” Florence snarled.

“I ain’t tryna scare. I’m tryna warn.” The woman replied, “Name’s Scarlett Morris. I’m the bounty hunter of Harpsville. Nice to meet y’all.” She tipped her hat at them.

“Bounty hunter? So, you kill people for money?” Florence gasped.

“I kill the bad people for money. It’s how I keep nonlocals like you out.” she nudged Charlie��with her rifle.

“But we didn’t even mean to be here!” Charlie protested.

“Still, it’s my job to keep this town safe.” Scarlett said. “And she does a darn good job at it! So, I recommend you stay outta her way.” A woman nearby added.

“So, you seem to be liked by this town. But we need to know where we are. We were just in New Hampshire a few hours ago.” Claude said, cutting into the argument. Scarlett scoffed, “Wish I could tell ya. This town’s considered in the middle of nowhere. Never really knew either.” She shrugged.

“Are there any other towns nearby at least?” Charlie piped in.

“Not for another three hundred miles.” Scarlett replied. Florence whined.

They eventually settled near a ranch to get food. Florence hadn’t eaten because she wished to make something with the vegetables she had bought and that she had a few caramel candies in her dress pocket to snack on. Scarlett had decided to tag along with the group to keep them safe, but Florence seemed to completely disregard her motives and stayed a fair distance from her.

“Do you think we could find a post office? The seal could tell us where we are.” Florence suggested. Scarlett looked over and shook her head, “Our seal only says Harpsville. We aren’t an established town in Texas yet.”

“How did we end up in Texas?” Charlie tilted his head.

“Now that’s a question I don’t know the answer to.”

Meanwhile in Norfolk, the news of the missing Dreamcatcher had been the talk of the town for a few hours now. The parents of the 5 missing teenagers were huddled around a nearby church.

“The train shouldn’t be too far from the border of New Hampshire and Maine. Maybe they could look around there?” Harvey, Charlie’s father, suggested.

“They already checked near Conway. Didn’t find anything there.” Fleur, whose son James was one of the missing, said.

Betsy hadn’t spoken. She had a worried look on her face. Eventually, the group had a moment of silence to hope their children were alive and well.

Charlie and Edward had decided to explore more of the town to see if any other passengers of the Dreamcatcher had ended up in Harpsville. They eventually found a man named James Silvester.

“I thought I was the only survivor. Everyone here seemed to be as confused as I was when I explained the train, I was on exploded to smithereens.”

“We thought too. This place looked desolate until we found this town. I don’t quite understand how we ended up in Texas out of everywhere.”

“We’re in Texas? How did we end up going South?” James seemed dumbfounded.

Edward shrugged. They brought James to Florence and Claude who were quite happy to know there were other survivors of the possible derailing of the Dreamcatcher. The group noticed it was getting dark, so they looked around for somewhere to stay, eventually settling on an inn named Sunrise. Claude and Edward fell asleep quickly. Florence had gone back outside to see if she could buy more candy despite the late hour.

Charlie was up trying to think of ways the train could’ve ended up in Texas, but alas he came up short. He decided to go to bed once Florence had come back inside.

Meanwhile, while Florence was outside, she had noticed someone. It was a woman in her mid-twenties walking around the Harp as if she was confused. Florence stared in confusion as well, wondering why someone was out here at such a late hour. She walked over to the Harp, only for the person to disappear into the saloon. She stopped and shrugged, turned, and walked back to the inn. Maybe they were just getting a late-night drink.

In the morning, they were awakened by Scarlett firing a ‘morning shot’ as she called it to wake them up. They groggily walked outside to meet Scarlett, who was grinning at them. Florence, grumpy as ever due to being tired, glared at her. Scarlett chuckled at this.

“Why do you need us this early?” Charlie yawned.

“Because y’all ain’t living here if you’re going to be walking around in the middle of the night and goin’ to the saloon. Aren’t y’all like seventeen?” Scarlett scowled.

“No one went outside but Florence, though.” Charlie said.

“That wasn’t me either! It was some woman! I saw her.” Florence retorted.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow before walking up to Florence, “What did this woman look like, exactly?” she asked with a low tone, as if accusing Florence of being the individual.

“I couldn’t see her due to the darkness, but she was wearing a dress. White, and like mine.”

“I will investigate it tonight. You five can go explore, or somethin’. I don’t know what you non-locals do.” Scarlett said before walking off.

An investigation in Norfolk was opened about the missing train a few hours ago. Detective Burns, one of the investigators on the case, was huddled in a small interrogation room with one of the workers at the local station where the Dreamcatcher had been seen before its departure, Madison Smith. The room was dimly lit and slightly uncomfortable due to the incoming summer heat.

“The train was headed towards Ellsworth, correct?” Burns inquired as she looked over, taking a red push pin out of her bun.

“Affirmative. It was carrying a lot of paperboys and girls as Ellsworth had lost most of its own ones due to a mass job shortage, so they needed support from the other newspaper areas across the South and East.” Madison said.

Burns nodded at him and placed a red string in between the two points. She kept the string in place by putting two push pins on Norfolk and Ellsworth. Before they could continue any more questions, a knock came at the door. Burns got up and walked over, answering the door. One of the local newspaper deliverers was there at the door and held a small paper envelope. Burns thanked the person and closed the door.

“Looks like we got a letter coming from Texas.”

As she opened the envelope, there was a small postcard inside that explained that they had reportedly found the remains of the Dreamcatcher in a ditch 300 miles away from any civilization, which had at once made Burns’ face contort to one of skepticism.

“What does it say?” Madison piped in, leaning back in his wooden chair.

“Apparently some folk found the remains of our train in the Texas panhandle. Don’t believe it in the slightest but my gut is saying we should ride down there. Borrow a stagecoach, maybe?” Burns said, fixing her bun.

“Let’s wait it out a bit. We still need to check around, there’s blind spots, y’know.” Madison said. Burns nodded.

The group of five had been spending hours trying to find any source of how they ended up in Texas. But they came up short.

“Are we going to be stuck here forever?” Florence complained.

“I hope not. I’d hate to hear your whining every day.” Scarlett snickered. Florence growled at her.  

“Anyways,” she continued, “y’all are going to stay at my family’s ranch until the sheriff can find out how to get y’all back in Virginia.”  

Charlie was relieved. Finally, somewhere he was familiar with, a ranch. When they got to ranch, which wasn’t too far from where they walked from, Scarlett left back to the Harp, Florence shooting her a glare before she got out of sight. There was a homestead in front of them, its brown paint seeming at least a decade old with how faded and chipped it was. It had two gray windowsills with faded lilac curtains adorned on each side of the windows. A white portico hung above, providing shade for two chairs set outside. They entered the homestead, which at once alerted a younger child as they ran over to them, tugging on Florence’s dress. She looked down and raised an eyebrow at the child. It was a girl who looked easily five or six, nothing more. She was small and wearing a white dress patterned with sunflowers and trimmed with lace at the sleeves and bottom hem of the dress. She wore small white Mary Janes with frilly ankle-height socks. She was pale and blonde with freckles around her arms, face, and legs.

“Are you the people my sissy is letting stay? She told us a lot about you!” She giggled as she stared at them with large, round hazel eyes. A subtle southern accent laced her voice.

“Yes, we are.” Claude replied, ruffling her hair.

“My name’s Carmen.” she replied as she tilted her head.

James crouched to her level, speaking gently, “Where is your parents?”

“Oh, they’re upstairs. I can get my mom!” she gleefully said as she beamed.

Claude smiled, “That’d be wonderful. Why don’t you fetch her right now? We could use another adult.”

Carmen nodded vigorously and skipped upstairs. As the group waited for the young girl to return with her mother, James started to analyze the place. The homestead was decorated with painstaking detail. The wall was faded with a Norwall wallpaper, which displayed bluebonnets against a beige background. The floors were wooden and mostly spotless. Many papers were framed, congratulating Scarlett and two other individuals on their performance in all sorts of weapon-related activities.

“Looks like this family has a history of bounty hunting, eh?” he commented.

“My family were assassins before we moved here, so not always.” A voice said, a rough southern drawl going with it.

Charlie jumped slightly at the sudden voice but turned around. A woman was standing there. She looked to be in about her 50s or 60s. Carmen was hiding behind her legs, peeking out at them with a smile. She was pale with sunken eyes, short gray hair that barely grazed her shoulders. She had a long pink scar going vertically down her left eye, and some minor scars on her cheek.

“Assassins? So, you are the people who kill for money?” Florence said, her skeptical attitude returning.

“Were. You’re makin’ me sound like a horrible person. Use the correct tense next time.” She growled, her southern accent intensifying.

“But you did used to do it, yes?” Florence spat.

“Only ‘till me and my husband John moved here about 30 years ago. Folk here didn’t quite agree with the term ‘assassin’, so we were labelled as bounty hunters instead. Except we don’t necessarily have to be humane anymore.” she replied.

Florence blinked at the unexpected response. She was used to having the upper hand in arguments. Guess not today.

“Name’s Charity Morris,” the woman continued. “Mother of Permelia, Scarlett, Carmen and Pierce.”

“We’ve met Carmen and Scarlett. Where’s the other two?” Edward asked.

“Pierce doesn’t come out to have a chat usually. He’s out huntin’ right now. Permelia is out in Kentucky fulfilling a bounty offer she was given due to the lack of skill in the own town’s hunters.”

“Ah. Understandable.”

For the day the group stayed at the ranch, not daring to move anywhere else. Everyone was content, except Florence who kept complaining how hot it was. Charlie and Claude were talking with Charity and her husband, John, while Florence helped Carmen with feeding the animals. Scarlett eventually came through the door.

“Did the sheriff say anything?” Claude asked.

“Unfortunately, the sheriff doesn’t know how to get y’all back without a train. He’s sayin’ we don’t have any railway systems either. So, I don’t know what to tell ya.” Scarlett shook her head. Charlie frowned.

“Florence isn’t going to be happy.” he replied.

“I don’t think anyone is going to be happy. We’re stranded.” Claude added.

Meanwhile, Scarlett had gone outside to tell the news to Florence and Carmen. Carmen ran over to Scarlett and hugged her leg. Florence gave her a scrunched-up attempt at a frown.

“Bad news. The sheriff has no idea how to get your group back to Virginia.” Scarlett said as she ruffled Carmen’s hair. Florence whined and kicked the sand in frustration, storming back into the homestead. Scarlett rolled her eyes as she picked up Carmen and headed back inside.

The investigation in Norfolk was coming up devastatingly short. All clues lead to dead ends, and nothing made sense. Betsy was endlessly pacing in the town square, it was only a day since the Dreamcatcher had gone missing, but it felt like weeks to Betsy without her son. Detective Burns and the rest of the investigators on the case had finally decided to listen to the letter sent and headed down south to Texas where the remains supposedly were, and once they got there, they realized the letter wasn’t lying about its condition. It was already rusting and very damaged.

“Do you remember seeing any…corpses inside?” Burns reluctantly asked the question to the men who had sent the letter. They shook their heads. Detective Burns dusted off the side of the train to confirm the authenticity of the remains, and although most of the paint had been scraped off in the accident, the Dreamcatcher’s golden nameplate stood, glistening in the sun.

In Harpsville, Charity was talking to the sheriff. She had her suspicions the man was purposefully lying to them to keep them there, which she was not happy about.

“I thought we had a workin’ train system near the Smith’s ranch? Are ya demented or somethin’?” she hissed.

He blinked at Charity, pursing his lips as he tried to lie his way out of this. But she saw right through him, and it made her even more furious.

“You’re lyin’, aren’t ya? Answer me, goddammit!” She slammed her fists on the table, making Oakley flinch. He could barely respond as he tripped over his words, trying to find an excuse that would diffuse this woman’s ticking bomb of anger. It only resulted in her grabbing him by the arm and forcing him to look at her. He squirmed in her grip as he panicked, sweat dripping down his temples.

“You’re lucky I ain’t an assassin anymore, Ellison, because I would’ve already beheaded your stupid self.” She dug his nails in his arm.

Elison stared at her with wide eyes. He was petrified.

“Don’t try to run, Ell. Because I won't be afraid to go back to my old ways.”

-

Tension was high in Harpsville as Charity’s threat seemed to echo throughout the town like an old church bell. When the group had exited the ranch and entered the town square, they noticed the town was quiet and still, completely unlike the liveliness they had met the day before. Folk was gathered outside their homes and ranches as they clutched their children and spouses close as they could. The group sauntered awkwardly past the people. They felt eyes all over them. They eventually found Scarlett near the Smiths’ ranch and approached her.

“Scarlett? Why is everyone actin’ as if they saw ghosts?” Florence asked.

Scarlett shrugged, “Don’t know. Been tryin’ to get an answer all day. Nobody’s darin’ to speak. It’s like a darn vigil.”

One of the townspeople, a young woman, eventually walked up to the group. Her eyes were sunken. She spoke, her voice laced with fear.

“Sheriff Oakley’s dead. He was found deceased this morning.”

“…What?” Scarlett said, her tone dropping dangerously low.

“He was found with a bullet hole through his chest. Murder, I say! Murder!” she cried.

The entire town began chanting ‘murder’ before Scarlett silenced them and ushered the five back to the Morris’s ranch. Once they had got there and the door closed behind them, Charlie wasn’t the first to notice Charity staring at them with a skeptical expression.

“The hell’s goin’ on out there?” she asked as she approached them.

“Apparently, Sheriff Oakley was found dead this morning. Nobody’s sure who did it but they’re sure as hell it was a murder.” Scarlett explained.

“Sheriff Oakley was murdered, and it wasn’t me? What a surprise.” She said, handling the situation as nonchalantly as one could muster.

“Is there any way you can get us home yet? I want my mom.” Florence butted in with a whine.

“There’s a railway near the Smiths’ ranch, but we still need to see how far the track goes. We know it ends somewhere in Virginia, though.”

“So, are we just going to completely ignore a murder just happened?” Claude said.

“The law will deal with them; we don’t need to be involved more than we are.” Charity replied.

When night fell, Charlie was having a hard time sleeping. It was 2:08 AM, and all he could hear was the chirping of crickets and the others shifting in their sleep. He got up and silently exited his room, staring at the front door. Charlie carefully walked over to it and peeked outside, a soft chill brushing up against Charlie’s face. He grabbed one of the kerosene lamps near the fireplace, lit it, and exited outside.

Despite having his tweed sweater, the cold night air made Charlie shiver. He began heading towards the entrance to the Harp when he saw a figure walking around. He froze up as his breath hitched in his throat. Who was out this late? He watched the figure appear again, peeking out from behind the local post office. They looked left and right before disappearing behind the building again. Charlie took a cautious step into the Harp, not seeing the figure anywhere and assumed he was just seeing things due to how cold it was. Despite the figure not being anywhere in sight, Charlie felt a sense of dread. He swallowed down his fear and continued further until he heard a noise from the saloon nearby.

He looked over. The noise sounded like bottles clinking together and corks being popped. Charlie walked over, pushed back the swinging saloon doors, and inside. In front of him was a woman who looked to be in mid-twenties. She was holding a large bottle of whiskey in her hand and was visibly tipsy.

“Uh- ma’am? The saloon closed five hours ago.” Charlie tried speaking to her.

“I know…” She trailed off, blinking. It was as if she was trying to form a coherent thought.

“Then why are you here?” He asked.

“Just gotta lay off some…stress. Yeah.” She smiled crookedly, revealing a snaggletooth.

“Do you know anything about the recent murder of Sheriff Oakley?” Charlie hesitantly asked.

“Oh, yeah. Him.” She snickered a little “I killed ‘im. But if ya say anythin’ about me to the investigators, I’ll do the same to you.”

Her words sent a chill down Charlie’s spine before he backed up and bolted out of the doors and ran towards the homestead. He knew one thing, and it was that he did not want to be here anymore.

Charlie hadn’t been able to sleep since that encounter. He wanted to tell Scarlett and Charity about it, but both had left the house by the time he had left his room. When he did, he saw Florence handing out brownies to everyone in the living room, where he saw an unfamiliar figure.

“Oh! Charlie! There you are!” Florence smiled and walked over. “Do you want a brownie?”

“Oh, sure. Thank you.” He forced a smile before grabbing the brownie from the silver baking sheet.

The unfamiliar figure looked over at them and got up. She looked a lot like Scarlett, except her chestnut brown hair had blonde streaks, presumably due to the sun, and had freckles all over like Carmen.

“Howdy!” The woman waved.

“This is Permelia, the woman that was out in Kentucky. She just came back after the news of the murder spread like wildfire.” Florence explained.

He swallowed dryly and spoke, “Something happened last night. I went outside, which admittedly was a very stupid decision, and saw a figure walking around. I followed them and heard a noise from the saloon. This woman was inside. She was very visibly drunk, swaying and all. I asked her if she knew anything about the murder and…she admitted to being the culprit.” Charlie’s voice fell quiet at the last part.

“She…killed the sheriff? What did she look like?” Florence asked.

“…White dress, like yours. Blonde hair. Sunken eyes. Which was weird, she didn’t even look that old.”

“I saw the same woman! She was wanderin’ around the Harp before I saw her enter the saloon. Now you’re sayin’ she admitted to killing Oakley?” Florence’s voice was laced with bewilderment.

“And she threatened to do the same to me if I told anyone.”

“I swear to the Lord if that woman puts a single finger on you, it is on.” She growled. Charlie smiled at her boldness.

“I wanted to tell Scarlett or Charity about it, but I don’t know where they went. Do you know where they are?” Charlie inquired with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“I believe Permelia told me they were going to the sheriff's office to meet with the investigators that came down from Virginia.” She explained.

“Virginia? That’s where we came from. Do you think they’re here to pick us up too?”

“Maybe. I hope so, though.”

Charlie and Florence had gone to the sheriff’s office, and sure enough they saw Scarlett, but no Charity. The cowgirl saw them and smiled.

“There y’all are. Where’s the other three?” she asked.

Both shrugged.

“We could get them if you’d like.” Florence suggested, pointing back with her thumb.

Scarlett shook her head, “No, no, it’s alright. You two are the ones the investigators need the most anyway. C’mon. I’ll show you where they are.”

Scarlett began walking. Florence and Charlie seemed confused why but decided not to argue with the girl with the gun. When they had entered the office, there were people lining the halls with muskets in hand. Charlie had recognized their uniforms—they were the Richmond sheriff! One of the deputies started ushering Florence and Charlie over to the interrogation room. When they got inside the room, Charlie froze. There was the woman from the saloon. She did not look happy to be there in the slightest. Florence glared at her and moved Charlie closer to her. Eventually the detective told them to sit down.

The woman was revealed to be Prudence Calloway. She had a history of charges in the past, but nothing as big as murder, mostly just assault. She was left off the hook, which was a decision Florence heavily disagreed with, saying she should ‘burn in hell for all eternity for threatening Charlie’, and all sorts of expletives before the detective settled her down.

Charlie had talked to the officers and, unfortunately, they could not bring them back to Virginia, but could send messages to their parents in Norfolk to let them know they were okay.

When they left, Florence and Charlie began to head back to the ranch.

Florence broke the silence, “You know. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you, Charlie.”

“Huh?”

“I know we’ve only really known each other for like, a few days or so, but I like you.”

“…” Charlie stopped and looked at her.

“I know, it’s- stupid. I really shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Oh, no. I would be fine…with it. Just surprised. I’ll have to tell my mom, though. She’s weird when it comes to relationships. But it’s just more of a ‘want me to be treated right’ thing. I’m sure she’d approve though.”

Florence smiled.

Chapter 2

When they got back to the ranch, everyone was waiting outside. It was getting late, so everyone went to bed. However, as Charlie tried to sleep, he heard whistling outside. It was quickly interrupted by a woman shouting—which sounded like Florence to Charlie’s tired ears. He got up groggily and looked out the window.

He saw Florence yelling at Prudence, who had somehow found her way onto the property. A whiskey bottle was clutched in her hand. It was clear by the way she was swaying that she was intoxicated. Scarlett must’ve heard the commotion because she had come out and begun ordering Prudence to leave, which was only coherent due to how mad she sounded. Prudence ultimately refused to, leading Scarlett to smack her with her rifle, which made Prudence yell out an expletive and leave. Both Florence and Scarlett went inside, and Charlie finally fell asleep.

Another morning shot was done, except Permelia had fired it. The group walked out front to meet Scarlett and Permelia, who were smiling at them.

“Good news, y’all. The railway systems were fixed, and you all can go home soon. However, the journey is going to take a while, so you’ll be jumping trains to reduce stress and to give y’all time to stretch.” Scarlett explained. Everyone had relieved faces.

Permelia spoke up, “I think I should introduce myself properly now.”

Everyone looked at her.

“The name’s Permelia Morris. I’m the sister of Scar here and the oldest daughter of my momma Charity.”

Charlie smiled, “You have the same name as my aunt. She’s not from Texas, though.”

Permelia grinned, “Alright, ya scoundrels. Let’s get y’all back home.”

The Harpsville train station was much cleaner than the Norfolk Station, at least as Charlie remembered it. His memory was still quite fuzzy. The train they were going on, named Starlight—which Charlie immediately didn’t trust due to the incident with the Dreamcatcher that made the five get into the situation in the first place—had arrived about ten minutes after they had got to the station.

Before everyone left, Scarlett spoke up. “Be safe out there, y’all. It’s been a nice time with you folk. Come back sometime. Just not by some crazy train accident. It’s been enough already for the first time.” Everyone chuckled at that before the train’s horn went off, signalling its departure.

It was only twenty minutes into the journey that Charlie began feeling uneasy. Edward had noticed this.

“You alright, mate? You look as if you swallowed arsenic.”

Charlie looked over at him and fiddled with the buttons of his sweater, “I don’t know. I’m nervous something is going to go wrong again. I think it might just be because of what happened with the Dreamcatcher.” He responded, forcing a smile.

Florence must’ve seen through him because she looked at him with a disappointed look before scooting closer to Charlie and squeezing his hand. Charlie’s face flushed and he looked away. Edward ultimately was feeling uneasy as well. He didn’t want to admit, since he was the oldest of the group. He shouldn’t be feeling uneasy. He sighed and looked out the train’s window, which was slightly blurry due to the speed of Starlight. He noticed the terrain had slightly changed to less desert and to a more rural country area of Texas.

Florence had fallen asleep against Charlie’s shoulder, and he hadn’t moved since. He didn’t want to disturb her sleep. In Norfolk, the messages had arrived, and the parents were much more than relieved.

“Your tellin’ me my Charlie is okay?” Betsy said. She could feel tears in her eyes. It stung in a good way.

“Oh, thank the Lord. Is she going to be okay?” Elmira, Florence’s mother, asked.

Back in Harpsville, the engineer of the Starlight, Edward Simons, had noticed an error in the design of the Starlight and was pacing around in the town square. Lillie Smith, one of the bounty hunters, approached him.

“What in the Lord’s name is goin’ on with you, Simons?” she said coldly. It almost sounded like a snarl.

“You know those folk goin’ on that train back to Virginia?”

Lillie paused for a minute, “Sorta. Permelia has been talkin’ to me about them.”

“Well- I designed the train they went on. I just noticed a design flaw. It can’t go the full way to Virginia. We need to get them back. Before it’s too late.”

Florence had woken to a rather violent shaking of her. She looked up to see a panicked Charlie. He immediately clung to her as Florence looked up, confused about what had happened. The train had stopped, and they were in the middle of nowhere. Again. Florence hugged Charlie and saw Claude was approaching them. Florence nudged Charlie and got up.

“What happened, Claude?” she asked.

Claude shrugged, then sighed.

“I’m unsure. Edward told me to go find James and was wondering if you knew where he was.”

Charlie seemed to have calmed down and spoke up.

“I think he went out for some fresh air right before I started panicking.”

Claude nodded and left.

Back in Harpsville, Scarlett and Charity were getting the horses ready to retrieve the five.

“I’m still mad at Simons for lettin’ that design flaw go through. The kids could’ve died if he realized it any later than this.” Charity sighed in frustration.

“Why don’t you just get the mayor to fire him?” Scarlett asked.

“I would but the mayor hasn’t been seen since those folk had come here. We might have to get them and find out where he is. Unless we’re dealing with a double murder. Wouldn’t be surprised if Prudence murdered him as well.”

Scarlett sighed, “She’s a difficult gal, ain’t she?”

“Yep. Alright, horses are ready. Let’s go find those kids.” Charity hopped onto her Pinto Thoroughbred, and Scarlett got onto her Mustang. They both flicked the reins, and the horses began moving.

Meanwhile, Claude had been looking for James around the area where the train had stopped, but he so far was having barely any luck. He had checked around the train but hadn't found him at all. He was beginning to get worried as he readjusted his fedora.

“James! Where are you, mate?” He called out. There was no response and Claude sighed.

Edward peeked out from the other side of the train, “Any luck with finding him?” he asked.

Claude shook his head and Edward let out a disgruntled sigh.

“Where could that chap be? I told him not to stray far away.” Claude frowned at that. James didn’t seem like the type of person to just wander off like that. Claude only assumed this due to how close he was with James.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to worry you all.” James popped out from the front of the train.

“Christ, mate. I told you to stay nearby. We all thought you left without us to continue the journey to Virginia by foot.” Edward said with an annoyed tone. James shrugged.

Detective Burns and Madison Smith had eventually across Harpsville, and Burns immediately raised an eyebrow.

“Since when was this a town?” she asked. Madison looked up and stared at the sign for a moment.

“No idea. I’ve never been to this part of Texas.” he admitted.

They walked inside and were greeted by a group of bounty hunters. They looked over in their direction, all having mixed reactions. One of them glared, another waved, and one just simply stared at them.

“Hello, folk—do you perhaps know where a group of five teenagers would be? They’ve been missing for a few days now.” Burns asked.

One of them, a woman with brown hair with bleached streaks, had stepped forward.

“What are their names?” she asked as she raised an eyebrow at burns.

“Charlie Taylor, Edward Louis Gray, Claude Ellis, Florence Ward, and James Silvester.”

The bounty hunter nodded, “Yes. They came here for a few days before getting on another train to try to get back to Virginia. But our engineer who made the train, damn him, made a design flaw and were pretty sure they’re stranded again.” she told Burns.

Detective Burns sighed, “Do y’all know if anyone tried to find them?” she asked.

“We have two folk who just left right now to go find them. You may stay here if you like until they return, hopefully, with the kids.”

“That’d be wonderful.” Burns smiled.

The five had been stranded for about twenty minutes but it felt like hours. Luckily, it was bearable since Florence and Charlie had fallen asleep and were curled up together in the corner of the train cart. Nobody bothered them.

Meanwhile, Claude and James were out watching in case anyone rode by that could help them get back to Harpsville. Edward was trying to his best to try and fix the problem with the train, whatever had happened. The sun was beating onto them.

Scarlett and Charity were still riding along the train tracks, looking for any sign of the train. They eventually stopped for a moment and walked their horses to the side and got off them.

“Damn, where did that train go?” Charity sighed.

“Language, ma.” Scarlett said. Charity rolled her eyes.

Smokefall was approaching. Claude and James were beginning to become restless and hopeless, while Edward was beginning to think the train had stopped for no reason. However, explorers Jasper and Almaretta Smith had taken notice of the train and Claude and James who were standing outside, seeming relieved. But—Almaretta had recognized Claude.

“Hold on, is that you, Claude?” she asked.

Claude perked up, “Wait, you’re my mum’s friend, right? Were you sent to look for us?” he inquired.

“Oh, no, we were just exploring. Your mom has been so worried. We would bring y’all back but we’re too far and we don't have enough resources for five more folk to join us.” Almaretta said, her tone filled with regret.

[zukoandtheoc]

nooo apollo... don't send me back to the reliquary...

[yourqueenb]

Imo one of the issues was that MC was assuming motives and working solely off of that instead of conducting the investigation with an open mind and based on evidence found. It caused her to read too much into or make the wrong inferences from irrelevant pieces of information in the conversations we had.

Of course it’s fine to have general theories. Someone trying to prevent the Act from passing would make sense. Sebastyan being jealous and Juliana’s potential ex lover would also make sense. But I feel like operating completely off of whatever theory comes to mind first instead of allowing evidence to lead them in the right direction made Trystan and MC easy to manipulate, causing the investigation to drag out longer than necessary. Holding too tightly to a theory is honestly a rookie mistake for a detective. And this MC is supposed to be smarter and more experienced than that

[wizzycore]

post novus lyric comic... again! you’ll never take me alive

(song is mary by the happy fits)

i might continue this lyric comic i might not so here. take it

[trencri]

I found another Garvey comic from the 3 I'm missing ! Only issue is that the shipping is a TON of money since this thing is coming from Germany....        

[skrunksthatwunk]

man i don't even wanna get into it that much but i gotta say this week has been TOO MUCH. AGH. but we're cool(er) now it's just been Non Stop Choice Making And Task Doing

[granonine]

Rahab Was Convincing!

Joshua 2:5-7. And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the…

[dino-anarchy]

17, 25!!

oh man these were hard

a song u would sing duet with on karaoke:

while technically sung by 1 person i think thelma and louise by the lippies would sound nice as a duet. one person takes verse 1, the other takes verse 2 and they sing the bridge together. very good song, i like singing along to it myself

as for an actual duet, musical theatre has good picks and the first to come to mind is do you want to play from black friday (the starkid production) buuuuuuuut itd prolly be rlly hard to sing for me at least so maybe not the best for karaoke

a song by an artist no longer living

dog sees god brainrot eternal. revolutionary etude by chopin

[theunderthecover]

(hi its the anon from earlier, now clearly not an anon. im sending this before I fold into myself. <3)

Scar has been tempted to fold the towel for the past half hour, no matter how safe and lucrative this scheme is. 

Doing anything in front of a crowd for 5 hours nonstop is a tiring task by itself, but singing on top of that could make the most experienced performer want to keel over.

But, a group of powerful and wealthy adventurers entered the tavern 30 minutes ago, and Grian's eyes narrowed in their direction. It's a look the Aarakocra only has when a bigger fish (a bigger prize) unexpectedly appears on the job. It's a look that leads to some of their biggest catches. So, Scar will sing and entertain the party til they're blackout drunk and his throat dies so Grian can snatch whatever caught his eye. 

The energy in the tavern has long since died down, as most rowdy tavern goers are either off to bed or too tired to be loud anymore. The only thing that fills the room now is quiet chatter, the barkeep's everlasting service, Scar's continued performance. He concludes yet another song and basks in another round of faint applause. 

From the corner of his eye, he can see a faint bird-like footprint appear in a small puddle of cheap alcohol near the extremely drunk targets.

With Grian so close, Scar needs to have an iron grip on the room's attention again despite the itch in his throat and the room's energy being at an all-time low. There are too many drifting eyes that could see something being stolen. 

After staring at the puddle for a moment too long, he gets an idea. 

"You've been a delight tonight, kind folks! It'll be just one more song to wrap up the night." Scar declares to the whole tavern from his stage, "Though I'll be sure to leave you all filled with wonder and awe! As a treat, for being such an Amazin' audience tonight." He finishes the segway with an exaggerated wink, causing some patrons to giggle. 

He casts minor illusions with a flourish, making the sound of soft instruments echo around the room. As a viol begins to play, the quiet conversation amongst patrons lulls as every eye--curious, confused, excited--turns to the stage once more.

Scar's eyes close, and he relaxes as he takes in the music the magic creates. He thinks of the song with intent, pulls upon vivid memories to inspire emotion, and lets the feeling consume every movement. He takes one more breath, then, at the cue, begins to sing with a slightly rough voice.

"In a perfect world… one we’ve never known…” 

The tone is jarringly different from the previous songs of the night.

"We would never need to face the world alone…."

The instrument choice, low soothing energy, a soft romantic sway, and the bard's renewed life- all combined- make a near-perfect hook for everyone within the tavern. 

"They can have the world…" 

All Scar has to do is follow through with the catch and reel in the hook enough to let Grian catch the fish before anyone in the pond suspects a thing.

"We'll create our own."

He opens his eyes slightly, half-lidded to obscure where he looks but wide enough to see one of the wealthy adventurer's satchels be swiped off the table and quickly replaced by an identical copy. A bit of panic wells up inside him at the precarious move, but he swallows and trusts his partner knows what he's doing.

"I may not be brave, strong, or smart, but somewhere in my secret heart-" His voice slightly cracks at the rise, but he breathes through it and tries not to let it go completely off-pitch. Scar looks at the ceiling and tries to force his movements make it look intentional, stretching out the ache in his throat. 

"I know, love will find a way… anywhere I go…" Scar lowers his head in time to catch a now visible Grian acting like he just walked in the room, "I'm home if you are there beside me…"

He lets the music breathe, in a tune he knows by heart, as he watches his partner-in-crime casually head for the exit.  

Grian turns around and leans against the wall by the door, a stolen bag tucked under a wing. He signals to leave. They make eye contact.

The warm tavern lights again, and Aarakocra's red tones make Grian look like a painted sunrise. Scar, despite knowing he should be focused on finishing this scheme, doesn't look away. Doesn't stop to think about causing glorious chaos in their victorious exit.

Scar continues to sing, holding Grian's eyes within his own all the while. 

"Like dark, turning into day…"

Grian subtly pauses, confused but suddenly seeming as spellbound as the partner-in-crime in the metaphorical spotlight.

Still, their eyes hold.

 "… somehow we'll come through…"

Grian's incredulously mouthed words, which he fondly knows are along the lines of 'Scar, what are you doing?!'

Still, their eyes hold. 

"… now that I've found you..."

Scar's posture slightly sags with the exhaustion of this performance. He feels the cantrip near its minute end, but the violins swell into an off-script crescendo anyway.

Their eyes still hold.

"… love will find a way..."

The music cuts off abruptly as the spell ends.

He sees Grian suddenly look rather lost, but Scar is not sure why.

The whole tavern is bathed in silence.

He feels compelled to make the song at least sound finished. So…

"Now that I've found you..."

… he repeats himself, even with nothing else to support the song. 

(Scar doesn't admit that, at that moment, as he and his partner swim in each other's eyes, he didn't only repeat it for the performance.)

"… love will find a way."

The room roars into one of the loudest applause at night despite the smaller number of people.

And their eyes still hold.

bard scar singing a little love song at the crastle tavern and making direct eye contact with warlock grian

i think i just got murdered by my own thought what the fuck

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

hi if anyones looking at buying a new laptop, may i recommend you dont buy an acer model.

see, i may have broken my laptop charger by tripping over it (the latter being a familiar experience for me) and obviously, i kinda need a non-broken charger.

so i decided to just buy a replacement from acer themselves to save myself a headache, but never mind, stupid me, im marius pontmercy banging my thick skull against a tree for two hours, because acer dont sell the charger by itself.

they sell other chargers by themselves, just not the one for a laptop that i bought a year or so ago. "not currently available", great, wonderful, that tells me absolutely nothing. just, fuck me in particular, i guess.

also their website is surprisingly unintuitive and a little difficult to use. i mean, maybe im just some thick as a brick bloke hitting my head against a tree in france for two hours to the tune of my lover's cries while the author of our tale fucks with reckless abandon, but idk acer, why are chargers, software and warranties classed as accessories? also maybe your search by device function shouldnt be cosplaying as house of leaves, just a tip.

[qlandduo]

surely the tag will be fixed by tomorrow morning right...

[gay-dorito-dust]

I have been binging your work!

I don't know if this breaks your trauma rule or not, but (with the guys of your choosing as long as Ratio is there) how would the guys react to losing reader (they haven't confessed feelings yet) during a mission and thinking they died. Then, the reader reappears a week later bandaged up, but alive. Maybe spouts their confession first? ˘͈ᵕ˘͈

I adore your writing. Thank you!

This is way too fucking long, so be warned. It’s like I rammed 4 mini stories in one but got lost at some point cuz I left this ask to collect dust. Also thanks for enjoying my writing it’s much appreciated. :) 🦦🐿️

Sunday:

The moment he got news that you’ve been assumed dead in the aftermath of a dangerous mission, he looses composure really quickly.

Loosing Robin was one thing but loosing you on top of that was the straw that broke the camels back.

He originally doesn’t believe that you were gone, he refuses to as he practically tears his office to shreds in a fit of anger and grief before forcing himself to regain composure and clean up after his outburst. He needed to in order to keep up the illusion that he was the levelheaded leader The Family needed in these moments of chaos and mistrust.

Even if he himself was breaking down internally alongside everyone else, hellbent on finding the culprit for your death and punishing them so severely that they’d beg for death. He’d avenge you in anyway he could, even if it meant sending out the bloodhound family on a wild goose chase that only ends in dead ends, he would get you justice no matter how it may come.

His heart had died alongside you that day.

So when a week passes and he finally has you back in his arms, all the while being carful with your wounds as his eyes searched you over in a way you weren’t use to.

‘You’re alive.’ He breathes out in relief as he then begins to laugh and rest his head against yours, breathing you in deeply as he relishes in this long awaited moment. ‘Of course you’re alive.’ He mutters.

‘Sunday,’ you began but Sunday was quite to cut you off.

‘Do you know how I felt thinking you were dead? Driving myself insane to prove that you were still alive anyway I could as not to bear the idea of walking through this life without the one person I love so dearly.’ Sunday takes a brief pauses in his monologue, feeling out of breath after having put everything out into the open before continuing. ‘I thought my heart had stopped beating that day and now I have you bad in my arms.’ Sunday then chuckles darkly as he gripped you tighter. ‘I’ll ensure that I’d never have to revisit that part of my life ever again.’

‘Sunday-‘

‘Shhh.’ Sunday cuts you off once more, pressing a kiss to your forehead as he holds you close to his chest, rubbing your back soothingly. ‘Just know that what I do after this, I do out of my love for you.’ He says against your forehead before pressing another kiss there for good measure.

Jing yuan:

Loss wasn’t new to Jing Yuan.

He has experienced it in multiple forms throughout his life, but that didn’t made the news of your death any less painful for the General.

While his mind might’ve made peace with the fact that you were gone, his heart however did not as he would find himself in the places that you often vacated to in moments of stress, or to just be left alone for a while with your thoughts. So to no longer see you in any of those hidden spots -waiting for him to find you like you usually did- only worsened the grief he felt in his heart as he sat himself down and allowed the memories to pass over him in waves.

You were both so happy together and felt a sense of fulfilment that could only be achieved when you were within the other’s presence; A feeling that was uniquely yours and yours alone that could never be replicated, ever. For no one could ever come close to replacing you, nor the companionship you and he had for each other that many assumed would blossom into something more; Jing Yuan also shared the same sentiments as they did, but just as he built the courage to push that boundary between the two of you, you were taken from him before he could utter a single word.

So when a week passes and Jing Yuan found your battered and beaten form in one of your secret spots, back resting against a tree with your eyes closed.

‘Y/n?’ He called out and your eyes opened upon hearing his voice and looking at him with a weak smile. ‘Hey General, miss me?’ You said as you struggled to get up to your feet, only to stumble forward and into Jing Yuan’s chest as his strong yet gentle hands hold you in place.

‘More than you could ever hope to know.’ Jing yuan said as he focused on how you felt beneath his hands, warm and alive.

‘I’m sorry I kept you waiting.’ You muttered against his chest as his warmth made you realised just how tired you were from everything you’ve experienced this last week alone. ‘I never meant to keep you waiting in fear that you’d forget about me if I don’t stay in your life long enough.’ You admit and Jing Yuan instinctively presses a soft kiss to the top of your head, holding you protectively.

‘I could never forget about you my beloved.’ Jing Yuan reassured you as he looked you deep into your eyes. ‘You’ve managed to carve your place within my heart and soul, so much that there isn’t a day where you aren’t all I think about, regardless of whether or not your by my side or far away.’ He finished by pressing a gentle kiss to the gauze on your cheek, chuckling upon seeing your cute attempts of burrowing your face into his chest.

‘How long have you’ve been waiting to say this.’ You asked, thankful that he was the one to admit his feelings first, as you would’ve had a hard time articulating your words as fluidly as he could.

‘For a very long time.’ Jing Yuan replied with a small smile as he then proceeded to lift you into his arms, cuasing you to squeal in surprise, as he made sure to be carful of your wounds and began walking to the nearest medics to make sure your wounds weren’t going to be trouble later on.

Aventurine:

He didn’t know what to think when you were pronounced dead, all Aventurine could feel in that moment was an overwhelming numbness that encased him entirely.

The only light left in his life had been snuffed out, plummeting him into utter and total darkness he had once been well acquainted with until you came along, giving him a reason to keep looking forward despite everything.

You were no longer here to hold onto his left hand before he could even think of hiding it behind his back out of habit, you were no longer here to be his reason, his comfort, his safe place. You were taken away from him unfairly and once again Aventurine found himself asking the same question he has been asking himself for a long time; why everyone was born into this life just to die.

So when a week passes and Aventurine finds himself sat on a bench somewhere, still not dealing well then than he was the week of your assumed passing, lost in his own thoughts when someone took a seat next to him. Aventurine was just about ready to tell them to go away, when he saw just who was sitting next to him; you.

‘I know, I look like shit but you don’t have to look at me like that.’ You spoke upon feeling his eyes gaze upon the gauze on your cheek, then towards the array of bandages that littered the rest of your body.

‘I thought you died.’ He hissed, emotion was heavy in his voice as his eyes became bleary with unshed tears as he felt his breathing become heavy with the reality that you were alive. He didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t in that moment as his mind raced. And it wasn’t until you reached out to grasp his left hand and intertwine your fingers together, squeezing, did everything finally became clear to him.

‘I thought I was too at one point but there was something that kept me from journeying over to the afterlife.’ You admit, looking over at him and smiling sweetly, wanting nothing then to calm his thoughts and reassure him that this wasn’t a dream.

‘And what was that?’ He laughs humourlessly as he stares back at you, wanting to hear what excuses you could come up with for faking being dead for a week. ‘Willpower? Determination?’

‘You Kakavasha.’ You replied straightforwardly and his breath hitched in his throat. You rarely used his actual name unless it was absolutely serious. ‘You were all I thought about as I pushed through my injuries.’ You told him as you continued. ‘Kakavasha is waiting for me was just about all I could think about for a week straight.’ You finished as though you didn’t just confess that he was your soul motivator in staying alive.

‘Really?’ Aventurine said softly, finding it impossible that he could possibly be your reason for anything. ‘Why?’

‘Yes really.’ You chuckled, pressing a kiss to his cheek as you rested your head against his shoulder. ‘As for why, it’s because I like you more then did let myself admit, but i just wanted you to know incase anything truly bad were to ever happen to me-‘

‘No.’ Aventurine cut you off suddenly, squeezing your hand as though he were afraid. ‘Nothing is going to happen to you, not now. not ever. I just got you back.’ He adds resting his head against your own in a desperate attempt of feeling more of your against him. ‘Just stay with me…please.’ He begs you in a whisper as he nuzzled further into you. ‘and don’t go anywhere I can’t follow. I don’t think I can bear the thought of loosing you again.’

You smiled softly as you just whispered back against the skin of his neck. ‘As long as you don’t go anywhere I can’t follow. I like my crush to be alive and close by even if he can be a pain in my ass sometimes.’

Aventurine chuckles, his heart becoming whole again as he made you cuddle into his side, kissing your head once more as you took this moment to familiarise yourselves with each other. ‘At least I’m a pleasurable pain in the ass.’ He teased and you pinch his side, causing him to flinch, but his smile remained and this time his smile was genuine.

His light has came home.

Ratio:

Fully believed that he’d see you when the mission ended, knowing just how talented and dedicated to the craft you were, and having faith that this would be a measly walk in a park for you.

Only to receive word that you were one of the many who were assumed dead when you weren’t found amongst the living nor the dead.

Veritas tries to remain as levelheaded and logical as possible during this time and continue life as normal. However found himself retracting from everyone else and going none contact, more so specifically with the people you were once associated with, and instead focused heavily on his studies and academics to an unhealthy extent.

A week passes and Veritas feels as though he’s seen a ghost the moment he saw you in his peripheral vision, bandaged and dressed in ripped clothing but still somehow finding it in you to smile.

‘You idiotic Buffon!’ He exclaims as he walks towards you.

‘Well that’s a nice way to greet someone you care about.’ You replied as you readied yourself for a massive rant about how stupid you were and so on, but instead you were held against his chest as he burrows his head into your neck.

‘I thought you died.’ He says in a whisper as he breathed you in. This went against all logic but in that rare moment Veritas didn’t care, you were alive but he still couldn’t let go of the fact that you didn’t tell anyone you were still alive. ‘Why didn’t you tell anyone that you were alive, send a signal, anything.’

You shrugged as you made yourself comfortable in his strong arms. ‘All communications were badly damaged or completely cut off.’ You told him. ‘I was on my own for a long while before finding my way back to you.’

‘Me?’ Veritas asked, pulling away from you. ‘Why not a medial facility for a proper treatment of your wounds? Have you hit your head so hard that common sense had been left on the back burner when making that decision?’

‘I wanted to see you first you dickhead!’ You exclaimed, shutting Veritas up rather quickly with your confession but you didn’t care. ‘is it so wrong of me to let the man I love know that I’m okay? So go ahead and call me an idiot all you like but that won’t change the fact that I felt more fear about not telling you how I truly feel then dying on some stupid mission.’ You finished your rant.

‘You’re insufferable.’ Veritas said after a moment of silence and you couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed at this that you didn’t notice that Veritas has began to close in the distance between the two of you.

You scoffed. ‘Oh sure call me insufferable as if you-‘ Veritas cuts you off by cupping your cheeks and planting a sweet short lived kiss against your lips before pulling away with a smirk.

‘Glad to know that the feelings are reciprocated.’ He says, taking enjoyment of rendering you speechless as he gently guided you to medical, and remaining by your side for the remainder of the day.

[mimblizzy]

DP x DC story idea y'all:

So the JL has some big ass problem, like really big, like dimension-destroying-big.

And as a last resort they want to find some entity powerful enough to save them and strike a deal (John Constantine-idea tm)

But where do they find something like that?

The infinite realms. John regrets his idea already. That is a fucking suicide mission. But what other option is there?

The whole JLD works really hard to find a way to the infinite realms and after searching every and all books about death magic they manage to find a portal.

It is decided that the Trinity plus Constantine should go in, try to find a powerful being and strike a deal at any costs. 

So they go in. And land somewhere in the middle of nowhere, floating in the Ghost Zone. 

They meet a random ghost and ask if they know of a being powerful enough to save a whole ass dimension from destruction. The ghost says the most powerful being is the ghost king who reigns over everything dead, then gestures vaguely in some direction and leaves. 

So the the group moves in that direction and on the way encounter all kinds of bizarre beings (demons, ghosts, jinns, alpe and the like) getting in all sorts of trouble (walker's prison, some demon with shares of John's soul etc) and only escaping by a hair's width every time, getting new directions and very concerning and sometimes contradicting information on the ghost king from more amicable beings in between (not every ghost knows of the new king yet). The whole journey to the king's castle is very the wizard of oz like.

And then finally. The castle comes into view. All the heroes (and Constantine) are exhausted and desperate. As they come near the tension is rising. Hopefully the king is merciful like that one ghost said and not a ruthless tyrant like the other said. They've almost reached the castle when -are those disco lights coming from the windows?!?! And can anyone else hear Caramelldansen??

There's a big ass houseparty at the ghost king's fortress. 

They can just walk into the courtyard unbothered. There's also a ton of beings partying hard and almost nobody even spares the JL ensemble a glance. 

They, once again, ask some random drunk? beings for the Ghost king and, once again, get directed on a wild goose chase across the courtyard several times, to no avail. Finally, they find someone who at least looks human and alive. 

It's Jazz. She's just finished with her mid-terms and for once not being the responsible one. She earned this. But now there's a group of weirdly dressed humans? asking for her brother. Yeah, she hasn't seen him in a while, she'll go looking with them. Last she's seen him he was near one of the snack bars. 

Together they make their way over. But he isn't there. The Leaugers could fucking scream! They went through hell just for the tiny chance to save their world and now they can't even find the Ghost king!

But then the young red haired woman with them looks around. narrows her eyes. pulls up the table cloth. 

And finally there he is! The ghost king! In full regalia! With a flaming crown hovering over his head, a mantle made out of galaxies draped over his shoulders and the ring of rage on his left hand ... and it's a teenager. Passed out drunk.

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Idk i just thought: what would a normal teenager do if they had a gigantic castle in another dimension and no parents to reign them in? Houseparty.

"I mean what's the worst that could happen? Death of alcohol poisoning? Not fucking likely" -Danny

[kisakis-boyfriend]

The Idol's Lovers — Bathroom

Pairings: Izana x male reader

Warnings: Dom male!reader, bodyguard!reader, sub Idol!Izana, semi-public sexual acts, masturbation, brief oral + cum swallowing, smut within smut

Summary: An hour before one of his performances, Izana scrolls on social media out of boredom. Amongst the fan art, fancams, memes, and gif sets; a few particular posts catch the white-haired idol's attention. He is unable to stop his growing arousal and ducks away into a staff bathroom to take care of his 'problem'.

“Ah-! Mmph-! ” Muffled moans echo inside of the cheaply lit room, accompanying slick sounds as the idol's hand vigorously pumps his dick.

"Izana's back arched while the tall man behind him pounded his virgin hole, slamming his cheek against the wall hard enough to bruise. — The larger man forced his fat cock inside Izana's tight ass. The bratty idol came immediately; his cock dripped with milky cum, making a mess on the dressing room floor. — The two bodyguards stuffed his holes, stretching him to his limit. Their cocks unloaded inside of his warm throat and tight ass simultaneously; rendering the spoiled idol useless as he became addicted to their rough treatment and endless loads of cum."

These were the stories that coaxed the young man into jacking off in the dingy bathroom. With his shirt rolled up and clamped between his teeth, soaking the fabric in drool, and his back pressed into the wall — Izana held his phone with one hand; scrolling back to the parts of the fanfiction that caused his dick to twitch and ooze more precum. His other hand never left his hard cock as he fucked into his fist with urgency.

The burn from staring at his phone screen became more obvious, bringing tears to the corners of his eyes. He was glued to the screen — addicted to the filthy prose that his fans wrote about him.

-

“Where the hell did he go now...” You muttered to yourself. Receiving concerned glances from the other staff members as your heavy, rushed footsteps passed by. His input is required for these last few details of the lighting and he's nowhere to be found, once again...

Pulling your phone from your back pocket with a huff, you checked the app that showed you Izana's location — it was your idea for him to install it. Only you, Izana, and his other most trusted bodyguard, Kakucho, were privy to using this app amongst each other. No one else was allowed to keep tabs on the idol the same way that his personal guards were allowed.

“Found you, ya little shit.” You whispered, annoyed at spending precious time on a wild goose chase.

-

A picture perfect image of desperation — Izana's head tipped back, pressing into the tile wall almost uncomfortably, while his wrist twisted with every stroke. He wasn't even trying to be quiet anymore; loud, yet still muffled by his shirt, moans filled the room. Sweaty, nearly crying, and out of breath, the beloved idol was seconds away from an orgasm–

The loud bang from the door hitting the wall startled Izana; hips stuttering intensely while his pretty eyes widened.

“...Really?” Was the only word you were able to muster right now. Just, really? His fans were out there screaming and cheering for him and he's jerking off in a gross toilet?

A pathetic whimper pulled your full attention towards Izana, who hadn't slowed down his movements, mind you. His big, teary eyes wordlessly begged for anything to push him over the edge; to give him the release that he so desperately needed right now...

Without thinking, you marched over. Crouching down in front of Izana's trembling form, “Mr. Kurokawa,” you said sternly, and with a twinge of annoyance laced into your tone, “if you stay in here any longer you will be late.”

Using one strong hand to hold the idol's wrist away from his leaking cock, and the other to grip his exposed waist, you took all of Izana into your mouth at once. The taste of his precum hit you immediately, it's flavour rather strong seeing as there was so much of it used to lube up his cock. This doesn't deter you, however. You bob your head along the idol's length with the help of his wetness, expertly wringing an overwhelming orgasm out of him.

Izana cries, bucking his hips roughly against your face, forcing his dick further into your mouth and kissing the back of your throat with his tip — cumming inside with a groan.

Some of his cum lingers in your mouth even after he pulls out; it tastes stronger than his precum. It clings to the insides of your cheeks and coats your tongue in a thin film.

“Hah...now then, y-you need to get your ass back out there and talk to the lighting crew.” You said in between breaths. Izana was slightly dazed from the intense pleasure, needing to be dragged out of the room by his arm. “Honestly Mr. Kurokawa...like a horny teenager sometimes...”

[burrcapts]

Furry Midnight Haul

Nobody really knows how such places come to be, but it typically doesn't take very long before they are noticed by those who had the misfortune of living nearby. Most of the time it starts with people simply having a strange, uneasy feeling if they happen to get too close. But with time, the stories behind them begin to grow and fill with new, frightening details. The locals start whispering about those who went missing after going there on a dare, or just because they did not believe the rumors and had something to prove. Unfortunately for Quinn and Leo, they weren't locals at all and heard no such warnings.

After Leo's gps sent the two of them on a goose chase across the countryside, suggesting an apparently far more optimal and 12,7% faster route that eventually turned out to take them through a good handful of different dirt roads, they somehow ended up in the absolute middle of nowhere. Somehow even despite that the duo was still in a pretty upbeat mood, chatting merrily about the amazing concert they were at earlier that evening. Unfortunately it was already well past midnight and Leo was starting to feel really worn out after all the different excitements of the day so driving much further did not seem like such a great idea.

The closest town on the map was almost an hour away and even then, it was so small that Quinn and Leo doubted they would have found an open motel there anyway. Instead they decided to spend the night in the parking lot of this old truck stop they happened to be passing at the time. It looked abandoned, but most of the lamplights around the property seemed to still be working so they hoped that at least no animals would be disturbing them till morning.

Quinn needed to take a quick leak before bedtime but Leo was so wiped that he wasted next to no time reclining his driver seat all the way back and rolling up some old sweatshirt he found on the backseat for a makeshift pillow. Of course he agreed when Quinn asked him to try and stay awake until he was back in case something were to happen. But it wasn't even a full minute after his friend closed the car door behind himself that he began dozing off.

Quinn was only planning to run behind the building and have a piss there, but as he got closer, he realized that he could see a faint light flickering behind one of the windows. Maybe this place wasn't really as abandoned as they originally thought… Upon closer inspection, he found the door to the public toilet at the side of the building, that's where the light was coming from! 

Much to Quinn's surprise, while not spotlessly clean by any means the bathroom wasn't a complete sty like he would have expected and after taking a small peek, he decided to try going inside, not knowing that nobody had been there in ages. He noticed a bit of a funky, musky aroma in the air, but honestly, that wasn’t a total dealbreaker. He walked up to the stalls and found them in a more than acceptable state as well. Those were going to be useful in case that double sized chili hot dog he got at the last gas station came knocking…

But one thing that caught Quinn's eye in particular had to be graffiti that covered the walls inside the stall. He giggled, wondering if he accidentally stumbled upon some secret gay cruising spot. The drawings were pretty simple and rather crude, depicting numerous beefy, burly men, with big cocks and even bigger beards! Quinn giggled when he noticed just how much care and attention was put into drawing their junk and their body hair, but how little anything else. 

Upon a closer look, it was almost like a comic book of sorts, showing the lives of a pair of particularly hairy, bearded truckers (but really, mostly just the two of them fucking each other and the men they met on the road.) One was drawn almost like a round ball with how huge his gut was and while the other had a pretty hefty potbelly too, someone definitely put the most effort into making his arms look as big and muscular as possible. 

Back in the car, Leo could see those same two arms in a much greater detail. As soon as he'd fallen asleep, he found himself having a very strange dream... In it, he was also reclining in front of the steering wheel in the middle of this same parking lot, only he was inside of a huge semi truck, rather than the old sedan he got from his dad. When he tried to move, Leo realized that he was occupying the body of someone else.

Someone big… really big. Those furry arms he saw waving in front of him were just enormous! He also had a beard, and it must have been really long and bushy because Leo could see its end brushing all across his meaty, ridiculously hairy chest whenever he looked down! He immediately blushed when he realized that wasn't the only thing he could see… This guy's fly was popped wide open with a fully hard, beercan of a cock sticking straight out of it!

And the freakiest thing was that as soon as he saw it, Leo began feeling so damn horny, as if he'd just been beating it off himself… suddenly it was almost getting hard to keep himself from wrapping this furry paw that he now had for a hand around the engorged, leaking piece of meat. Why not give it a few strokes? It wasn't like he was planning on cumming before the huz was back… that thought came so naturally to Leo that it didn't really occur to him to ask who was this ‘huz’ that he was talking about.

The burly trucker whose body Leo was now inhabiting did not like to think too hard about things, especially not when he was this hard and horny himself! If Quinn had still been around, he would have seen Leo squirming in the car seat, moaning pleasurably as the coating of stubble around his mouth began sprouting darker and thicker. But what was going on inside Leo's dream in that same moment was far less tame…

After giving his swollen meat a few timid strokes, he quickly discovered just how good it could feel to jerk off in the body of such a hulking, furry beast of a man. By now he was completely consumed by lust, grunting loud and beating it so hard that his huge, hairy balls were swinging in the air. Leo could actively feel himself growing dumber, but it was impossible to resist all that pleasure. As if this mind, limited to only the horny, brutish thoughts was experiencing them with that much more intensity.

Some of this horniness must have been rubbing off on Quinn because as he continued to study the lewd graffiti, his cock started to tent up in his pants without him noticing. His eyes were so tightly glued to the drawings that he also failed to realize that little by little, the space around him was changing. Paint was losing its vibrant color and peeling off the walls, the white tiles on the floor turning to shades of grey and freely overgrowing with grime. The unwashed smell of sweaty, wild sex was allowed to fill the air, opening the door to numerous, dirty and perverse thoughts that were just waiting for an opportunity to sneak into Quinn's head.

He found himself picturing what those two bearded truckers might have looked like in real life. Somehow not finding it strange at all that his interest was gravitating particularly towards the drawings depicting the most explicit sex scenes. They both had such massive cocks… the one belonging to the beefier trucker was hella thick, but so was the meat of the guy with a huge gut, and it might have been even longer! Quinn let out a moan as his cock started to grow even bigger, pressing uncomfortably against his jeans. 

Ugh, why the fuck was he wearing something so damn tight while on the road? It always felt best to ride in nothing but his jock so he could always whip out his cock whenever he got horny and give hubby a hot show… and since the jockstrap was right there, he would always have something around to wipe up all that cum off his belly too! Suddenly Quinn had the perfect image of a blonde, big bellied trucker with an enormous, matted beard pressing a nasty, yellowed jockstrap straight into his face. He grinned and gave it a snort, then, a moment later, Quinn found himself making that exact same sound, his hand tightly squeezing the bulge sprouting from his crotch. 

Fuck yeah, horny manstink always got him so damn hard! Quinn started to lift his other hand towards his face, he felt something between his fingers… its crusty fabric was soaked with so many  old loads that he could already smell it… his ripe, old jockstrap… suddenly Quinn was pushing his face right into it, taking a deep snort as his faint, weekend's worth of stubble started to grow longer and denser. Already making him look like he hadn't shaved in well over a month, and probably hadn't bothered to comb his shaggy mess of beard in about as long too. 

Oh damn, this manly stink was really getting him going! Quinn was in the process of trying to clumsily undo his belt and get ahold of his cock. But fuck, he needed more! His mouth was opening, the tongue sticking out further and further, something was telling him that he just had to give this rank jock a good lick… he could already almost taste those salty, countless loads spilled into it… but then suddenly Quinn opened his eyes, asking himself just what the fuck he was doing?! He tossed the jockstrap against the wall, pushing the stall door open and bolted outside.

Unfortunately for Leo trying to resist the influence of this place was proving to be far more difficult while asleep. Even despite his dwindling intellect, he could tell that this was no ordinary dream. Everything was too real… the inside of this cab, this hulking, beefy body covered in coarse fur, the way it felt when he squeezed this beer can thick cock that constantly dribbled with pre. He had this sudden urge to give it a taste and once he did, he simply couldn't stop! He was such a horny pig! Constantly beating off and huffing his ripe pits.

Leo was still able to tell that the deeper he sank into this lustful frenzy, the harder it was getting to recall ever doing anything else, ever being anything else than this massive, furry trucker! But who cared? He was so fucking hot now! Leo wasn't able to resist tilting the rear view window towards the cabin so he could see more of himself in the reflection. Getting so damn turned on admiring his broad, meaty chest and caressing the enormous beard that was hanging down from his tough, brutish face. 

Back in the real world, Leo's body was moving in that exact, same fashion. Fingers combing through what was now a full beard, densely covering his cheeks while his other hand tugged on his swelling cock. Somehow Leo knew what was happening to him, that his real self was changing to resemble this burly, constantly horny, hirsute beast of a man but he was powerless to do anything about it. Completely trapped inside this horny wet dream and unable to wake up. 

Even his best efforts amounted to little more than making himself shift from side to side in his seat. Except by now, it was a tall and wide driver's seat of a massive semi truck and with every stroke of his cock, Leo was getting closer to filling it completely with his furry bulk. He knew that the only hope he had left was for Quinn to quickly get back and wake him up before it was too late!

Unfortunately for Leo, his friend was going through a major crisis of his own at that same moment when he ran out of the bathroom stall and saw himself in the mirror. He was so unrecognizable that at first Quinn screamed, thinking that someone else was in here with him, but when it finally sank in that he was looking at himself, he was far too freaked out to make even a peep. His puffy face was completely covered in shaggy, matted hair! The only thing that Quinn could think of was that he must have been having some kind of an allergic reaction because the rest of his body was suddenly so swollen that his normally loosely fitting hoodie was ready to burst at the seams.

Quinn was panicking so much that despite having felt the messy hairs against his fingers, he still refused to accept that such a huge beard could have sprouted all around his mouth just like that. He rushed towards the sink, convinced that it was something he could simply wash off. Turning on the rusty tap and splashing his face in such a hurry that it was only when his beard was completely soaked wet, that Quinn got a good whiff of just how badly this water reeked. 

It was so unbelievably ripe and musky, as if someone made a whole bunch of brawny construction workers wipe themselves with only a single towel after their shift, and then wrung it right above his face. Quinn let out a strained groan as he tried to hold his breath, but it was too late, his chest started to swell so rapidly that it felt like he might suffocate if he didn't pull off his hoodie. Only to find a massive, round gut flopping down onto the sink alongside a pair of fat moobs when he did.

It was just immense and it was still swelling larger and covering in thick, sweaty hair right before his eyes. Quinn’s gaze constantly darting back and forth between it and this massive, unkempt mess of a beard that was now cascading down his chest. Quinn had no idea what to do now, he only knew that somehow, watching it all happen was getting him so unbelievably horned up that he was only moments away from tearing his pants open to whip out his rock hard cock and start beating off.

But then it turned out that he won't even have to wait that long. Suddenly a big, muscled arm covered in thick, dark fur appeared on top of his belly, with another one undoing his belt and grabbing his cock from behind.

“Fuck huz, should have told me ya wanted to stick around cruisin’ for some cocksuckers round here, would have joined ya earlier! Or maybe even taken care of that gigantic schlong myself!”

Quinn moaned when he felt the grip tightening around his meat as the visitor's broad, rough fingers began massaging its entire length. He looked up and saw the gruff face of a hulking trucker brute with a beard almost as massive as his own. After a moment and a closer look Quinn recognized him, and of course he fucking did! It was his husband Leo, the horny pig couldn't even wait till he was done having a piss and had already stomped here with his cock out, wanting to fuck! But that was why Quinn loved that bastard so much, the only man he'd ever met who was as much of a horndog as himself! He grinned and pulled down his pants all the way, opening his hairy ass wide and sliding it onto Leo’s thick, throbbing cock.

“Yeah, give it to me you hot fucker! Yer gonna be tasting that load when ya rim my arse at the next stop!!!”

Wait… why was he saying that… Quinn wanted to tell Leo to stop but instead only kep spewing more dirty, perverted things and encouraging him to fuck him harder. God, that felt so damn good, seeing just how much his gut was turning this beefy trucker on! Leo was moaning even louder than he was when he caressed this furry, swelling beach ball with his meaty paws. Inside, Quinn was still desperately trying to tell his friend that he had to stop, but the only thing leaving his mouth was a horny litany of the dirtiest curse words ordering him to keep going until eventually even he was too turned on to talk at all.

Only grunting wildly as he tugged on his big nips and pushed his ass deeper and deeper onto Leo's beer can thick fuckstick. After all those years they've spent on the road together, fucking multiple times per day, they could both tell without fail just how close the other was to blowing his load. And with how loud and savage Leo's groans were getting, Quinn knew that the huz was already on the edge.

“Do it fucker! Blow that load in my… HNNGHHHHH!!!

He couldn't finish before he felt Leo squeezing his cock as hard as he could take it and jerking it rapidly until it began spewing thick globs of prime trucker spunk all over the floor in front of them. Then thrusting his cock as deep up Quinn's ass as he could before he started cumming as well, completely flooding the big bellied bear's insides. As always, the intensity of the orgasm leaving them heaving and panting loudly, completely dripping with sweat. After Leo slid his cock out, Quinn gathered some of the cum still oozing from its tip onto his tongue and pulled his man into a sloppy kiss, already looking forward to finding out just how much better this load was going to taste after marinating inside his hole until the next truck stop.

If you liked the story and would like to read more bear themed transformation fiction, or have something written for yourselves consider subscribing to my Patreon! This one in particular was a request from two of my subscribers!

I have also set up two extra accounts on twitter and bluesky for caption purposes! https://x.com/burrcapts https://burrcapts.bsky.social/