#happy holidays!! enjoy the mers ^-^

[ser-estinien]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Persona 5 Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren Characters: Akechi Goro, Persona 5 Protagonist, Kurusu Akira (Persona Series), Original Characters, Maruki Takuto, Takemi Tae Additional Tags: Mer people, Human/Monster Romance, Monsterfucking, mermaid! Akira, Pregnancy, Possessive Behavior, warning for weird mermaid biology, hole fucking, Top Akechi Goro, Bottom Persona 5 Protagonist, Fisting, Breeding, Breeding Kink, Transformation, Animalistic Behavior, Loss of Control, mermaid! Goro, Violence, Longing, Yearning, and a touch of depression, Attempted Sexual Assault, Murder, though we can call it self defense, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending Series: Part 3 of A Life on the Sea Summary:

After raising their sole surviving pup, Goro and Akira run into problems with their mixed species family. Goro finds that a life on the sea as a human raising a mer child isn't as welcoming as he expected and, with his mate wanting to expand their family again, he's worried about the future. With the timely promises of a persuasive sea witch, Goro makes a sacrifice of his own humanity to see that his place by Akira's side will be solidified forever - so long as he doesn't destroy their family with his own hands first.

Written for @naometry

[butcherlarry]

Weekly Fic Rec 49

This week's fic rec list! I was surprised how much reading I got done, but then I remembered I had Monday off for the holiday :) So enjoy this longer than expected list!

A Sacrifice Love Demands by second_hand_heaven - Superwonderbat, complete. Bruce gets hit with a new fear toxin from Scarecrow. Featuring cuddles with Superman and Wonder Woman to make it better :)

I got better things to do by Amisti - Batman, complete. Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern get captured by a bad guy and thrown in a prison cell. Batman Brucies his way out, much to the shock of Flash and Green Lantern.

Brucie Moments series by That_One_Curly_Haired_Fangirl - Batman, stories are complete, but series is not. Some moments of Batman's Brucie persona showing through.

Flowers From Mr. Wayne by Ktkat9 - Superbat, complete. After an interview gone wrong, Bruce sends Clark some flowers to show his interest :))))))

a sky of honey by TheResurrectionist - Superbat, wip. More of the Superbat omegaverse fic that I always get excited about when it updates :) Featuring, Jason finally figuring out who Superman is, overreacting, and Clark having a Big Sad (but Lex makes it better, surprisingly).

Emergency Contact by Elegitre - Batfam, wip. An update to a fic where Tim joins the Batfam early. Jason has a misunderstanding about his place in the family, but Bruce makes it better.

A place to stay warm by Speechless_since_1998 - Batfam, complete. Barbara is Tim's babysitter. During some cold weather, the heat goes out in the Drake house and Tim is sick. Barbara makes the trek to Wayne manor for help.

how cleanly, how quietly by shipyrds - Batfam, complete. Bruce thinks Tim is lonely and tries to set up some father-son bonding to make it better. Turns out, Bruce is wrong and Tim has a lot of friends.

we shall be free; we shall find peace by mediant - Superbat, wip. I was SCREAMING with this fic's latest update! Clark is captured by the Bats, oh no! What's going to happen next!!!!!!! 👀👀👀

the walks of dreams by januariat - Superbat, complete. A sweet, smutty fic, featuring Adam West Bats and George Reeves Superman 💖💖💖

RIP to the Rumours by BoredomBeckons - Batfam, complete. Instead of dying, Jason retires as Robin and goes to college. No one told this to the rest of the world though.

I found a brother in the trash by Speechless_since_1998 - Batfam, complete. Dick finds a new sibling (Jason) in the trash and brings him home. Jason learns from his older brother, and finds his younger brother (Tim) in the trash and brings him home. Shenanigans ensue.

Flock Building for Dummies by DragonDart - Superbat, wip. A creature AU where Bruce is a harpy and Clark is the vet who takes care of him. Lot's of tasty, tasty world building in this fic too!!

bruce's villain origin story by InkpotSprite - Batfam, complete. Bruce gets turned into a cat, but none of his kids notice. Adorable shenanigans ensue.

Just A Little Bit... by HaleHathNoFury (My_Trex_has_fleas) - Superbat, wip. More of the alien Clark and eldritch Bruce fic! Clark goes off to investigate Cadmus with Lois and Bruce is Worried and Grumpy about it. Featuring my favorite scene with one of Ivy's killer plants >:D

Champagne Problems by SalParadiseLost - Superbat, wip. Himbo omega Brucie Wayne is dating alpha Clark Kent. He also suddenly adopts three children using unconventional means. Shenanigans ensue.

Patchwork Pod by Ktkat9 - Superbat, wip. More of the mer Bruce fic! Bruce is still missing and a new threat arises :((((((

Happy reading!!

[splashaxis]

strawberry-seed28

This is my G/T Secret Santa 2024 gift to @strawberry-seed28 !

The small written portion of the gift just threw itself into the garbage corroded file so here’s a summary of the lore!

—

Ray, our mixed species mer, and her best friend Vale the salmon both live with Rays nana in a small house, not unlike a shed, located in the suburbs of a large high tech city. 

Unfortunately nana has been ill for a while and it’s only getting worse, but Ray and Vale can’t afford to get her help, so what do they do? Obviously get monopolised by some shady sea urchins and are sent out to collect three stones that are a death sentence and near impossible with the promise that they will pay for nanas health. 

The stones are around the neck of an orca mer, everyone’s greatest threat and the rulers of the ocean. However, they again don’t have a concrete idea of what the stones look like.

As they approach the outskirts of orca territory, a shark attacks them. Somehow they’re still alive? The exact orca they need comes to their rescue, and fear play ensues. 

They shakily partner up (orca’s reasoning is because of the ostracisation she faces from her other sea life and even her peers because she’s of an extra aggressive bloodline [their is more lore but I can’t type all that out so please use your imagination :) ] Ray & Vale’s reasoning is they need protection while in orca territory) about a week passes and they slowly build trust that turns into friendship.

Orca (she has three stones on her neck in the first picture and you can see her give the other two stones to her new friends in the art) gifts them a part of her necklace and vale gets the revelation that those were the stones they were looking for the whole time (their bloodline thing helps prove it) 

They get back and realise they were tricked (orca gets to be ✨scary and fierce✨ so more fear play scenes) and rush to nana to see if theirs anything else they can do. Unfortunately again it’s her time to pass but she gives them all her best wishes and blessings to give them courage and strength after she’s gone.

Orca, seeing the tragedy that is their home city, offers for Vale and Ray to stay with her in orca territory (since no one dares fuck with her, and she’ll be there to protect them) to keep her company. They gladly accept and boom! Happy ending!

Hope you enjoyed!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

[thefluffiestbird]

Happy holidays @iffeelscouldkill

I hope you enjoy some fun swordfish mer au this Christmas

[atplblog]

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[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

hi hello 🐟 anon here!! i’m so happy you liked my brainrot about mer!sugu :D and i’m sorry for taking this long to reply………….. TTTTTT i’ve been kind of busy these days but i’m resting now before easter comes so woohoo!!

you wanted to know what i wrote about BSD and uhhhh kind of embarrassing but it was a skk based on the chapter where dazai got shot (and we all believed he was dead but then all of that chaos happened and yeah……………🗿🗿🗿), so it was really angst-y and sad, where chuuya and dazai’s bond was analyzed and all…. and then dazai came back later, ijbol. as you can read, unfortunately im trapped in this skk hell, but i like to write from chuuya’s pov more :,,,) it’s more fun and easier for me!

anyway, just dropping by to tell you that i loved your sugu!drabble and that brought me so much comfort too because i woke up with an headache from yesterday’s events (there was a big international festival in my city and i was out almost all day…. so tiresome but so beautiful and colorful aaaaa) so yeah TT thank you for writing it! it was so sweet and nice to read and omg………. the stsg implications……. crying……….

ALSO,,, YOU’RE EUROPEAN TOO???/$;/&:!:&/ 🫂 have a nice day!! <33333 sending many hugs to you!! 🐟🐟🫶🏼🫶🏼

HELLOOOOOO 🐟 ANON <333333

first of all PLS dw about when you reply!!! 😭😭 there’s never any rush!!!!! i’ve been busy too lately so i’ve gotten slow at answering asks 😔😔 BUT I’M ALWAYS EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU i hope you’ve been resting up as much as you need!! aaa and you celebrate easter too…. one of my favorite holidays tbh it reminds me that spring is here :333 i used to be an egg hunting expert…. the best of them all….. sniffed them out like a bloodhound……

AND AAA THE SKK FIC …….. 🐟 anon you’re literally so real i also wrote a fix-it fic when one of my favs died 😔😔 i’ve never been super into skk as a ship but their dynamic is so good…. and i love them both!!! i think writing from chuuya’s pov is such a fun decision too :33 i love dazai but i would be way too overwhelmed to even attempt to get into his headspace LMAO….. i respect you sm for analyzing their relationship there’s just sooo much to dig into!!! i need to catch up on the bsd manga at some point soon … i miss kunikida :(( are skk your bsd faves 🐟 anon ?? or are there any others you like??? :>

TYSM FOR DROPPING BYYY and and and!!!! tysm for reading my geto drabble 🥺🥺 i’m so happy it could bring you some comfort!!!! that’s all i want!!!!! ohhhh to have suguru geto here to soothe my headaches… i hope yours ended up fading swiftly hehe. but ouffff not the festival 😞😞😞 i’m so sensitive to noise i could never survive…. luckily there aren’t really any festivals where i live at the moment but i suffer every single new years eve 💔💔 back to the drabble THE STSG IMPLICATIONS YES…… very happy you enjoyed them >:33 seriously though, tysm for reading and taking the time to let me know!! that makes me so happy!!!! <3333

[chrancecriber]

Antenne Vorarlberg Chillout Lounge (August 09, 2023)

23:59 Rue Du Soleil - Manush 23:54 Above & Beyond Feat. Zoe Johnston - We're All We Need 23:51 Klangkarussell And Givven - Follow 23:47 Moby - Porcelain (Arty Remix) 23:39 Kygo - Freeze 23:36 Sum Wave - Milkyway 23:30 Alex H - Seeking Agapism 23:27 Tomas Skyldeberg - Chillin With You 23:22 Rìfìs Du Sol - Alive (Anyma Remix) 23:13 Pet Shop Boys - Love Etc. (Gui Boratto Mix) 23:11 Lost Frequencies, Zonderling & Kelvin Jones - Love To Go 23:06 Twocolors & Anna Naklab - Dust (Extended Mix) 23:02 Brendon Moeller - Emerging 22:58 Passenger 10 - Serving The World 22:55 Crying Robot, Abi F. Jones - Different Sides 22:53 Rene Rodrigezz & Tristan Henry - Let Me Go 22:47 Shakedown - At Night (Afterlife Remix) 22:44 Blank & Jones - Fall In Love 22:41 Consoul Trainin Feat. Steven Aderinto & Duoviolins - Obsession 22:36 Tinlicker Feat. Roos Jonker - Come Back Home 22:33 Robin Schulz Feat. James Blunt - Ok 22:30 Felix Jaehn, Cheat Codes Feat. Bow Anderson - I Just Wanna 22:27 Martin Trevy Feat. Hedara - Talking To The Silence 22:21 8000below - Turnaround 22:18 Felix Jaehn Feat. Zoe Wees - Do It Better 22:14 Ypey - Life Time 22:11 The Hitmen - Turn Off The Lights 22:07 Schiller - Midnight In Shiraz 22:05 Braaten - Enjoy The Silence 22:00 Goldfish - Love Everlasting (Extended Mix) 21:57 Tiësto & Ty Dolla $ign - The Business, Pt. Ii 21:53 Sylvering - The Sun Always Shines On Tv 21:50 Lost Frequencies Feat. Love Harder - Beat Of My Heart 21:47 Parov Stelar - Fire 21:41 Lexer & Paji - Red Puddle 21:37 Alok Feat. John Martin - Wherever You Go 21:34 Agatino Romero - I'm Feeling For You 21:30 Stone Van Brooken, Henri Pfr - Tarida (Original Mix) 21:27 Wave Wave Feat. Lena Sue - Repeating 21:24 Wim Mertens - Close Cover 21:21 Nora En Pure - Wetlands 21:16 Fous De La Mer - Luces 21:12 Sphere - I Fly Away 21:08 Klangperlenspiel & Puzzls - Kyoto (Wish You'd Move On) 21:05 Mike Candys & Séb Mont - What's On Your Mind 21:01 Stephane De Lucia - Trippin 20:58 Emily Burns - Im So Happy 20:51 Edx - Conundrum 20:48 Rudimental Feat. Ed Sheeran - Lay It All On Me 20:44 Shallour & Riah - Lie 20:36 Jan Blomqvist - Empty Floor 20:30 Nor Elle - Dubsolution 20:23 Avira & Diana Miro - The Worship (Mark Knight Extended) 20:19 Atb - We Belong 20:16 Armin Van Buuren Feat. Angel Taylor - Make It Right (Trinix Remix) 20:13 Kygo With Avicii & Sandro Cavazza - Forever Yours (Tribute) 20:05 Stan Kolev, Yuji Ono - Try (Original Mix) 20:02 Glockenbach - Dirty Dancing 19:59 Gibbs & Code X - Close To Your Heart 19:53 Afterlife - Breather 2000 19:50 Blank & Jones Feat. Jan Loechel - Beautiful Life 19:48 Tiesto - Lay Low 19:43 James Bright - Sarabande 19:40 Alok, Zeeba And Iro - Ocean 19:38 R3hab, Timmy Trumpet, W&w - Distant Memory 19:30 Ost & Kjex - Queen Of Europe Feat. Anne Lise Frokedal (Solomun Remix) 19:27 Meduza Feat. Goodboys - Piece Of Your Heart 19:22 De-phazz - Anchorless 19:19 Hagen Feetly - Cry 19:13 Hakan Kayis, Furkan Sarikas, Cinar Gedizlioglu - A Night In Alacati (Original Mix) 19:09 Light Of Aidan Feat. Note For A Child - Loving You 19:06 Chris Avedon - The Letter 19:04 Munich Monstrs - Shine 18:59 Loungertrip - Brighter Day 18:56 Elderbrook - I Need You 18:52 Cats On Bricks Feat. Zach Alwin - Planes Over Ushuaia 18:47 M.i.k.e., York, Asheni - Across The Ocean (R.i.b. With Soty & Seven24 Remix) 18:43 Mefree - Horizons 18:39 Schiller - Summer In Berlin 18:35 Nightmares On Wax - Les Nuits 18:32 Melonia - Sweet Child O' Mine 18:26 Chicane - Offshore 18:16 Moby - Too Much Change 18:13 Gamper & Dadoni - My Lovin' 18:07 Prodoxo - Bailanduna 18:00 Miyagi, Sascha Braemer, Dan Caster, Jan Blomqvist - Woodpeckers Love Affair 17:57 Cotone - Faded Glory 17:51 Simple Minds - Mandela Day 17:48 Shaun Frank & Takis Feat. Shells - Don't Say I Love You 17:45 Alex Zind Feat. Lisa Schwab - Cruel Summer 17:41 Music On Canvas Feat. Tabitha - Upside Down 17:37 Mike Candys & Jack Holiday - Saltwater (Rework) 17:34 Dizkodude & Dj Antoine - Your Eyes (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k21 Summer Mix) 17:31 Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me 17:28 Goldfish Feat. Nate Highfield & Dan Silver - Forever Free 17:24 Coldplay - Everglow 17:20 Glide - Y Môr 17:17 Mount & Emdey - Venus 17:14 Alan Walker - Faded 17:11 Hugel - Can't Love Myself (Feat. Mishaal& Lpw) 17:09 Trinix & Ian Urbina - Bad Things 17:04 Naomi - Anybody Here? 16:58 Nora En Pure - Cognitive Fadings (Club Mix) 16:51 Atb - No Fate 16:46 Afterlife - How Does It Feel (Original Mix) 16:40 Sirius & Nyla - Infinity (Remastered Remix) 16:33 Hraach Feat. Iveta Mukuchyan - Sarer Jan 16:30 Meduza & Becky Hill X Goodboys - Lose Control 16:27 Nora Van Elken - Honshu 16:22 Estelle Feat. Kanye West - American Boy (Lost Frequencies Remix) 16:19 Dennis Kruissen Feat. Liza Flume - Another Soul 16:12 Shkoon Feat. Fruiterama - Napauken 16:08 Schiller - Der Tag...du Bist Erwacht (Mit Jette Von Roth) 16:06 Kush Kush & Sickmellow Feat. Kazhi - Blacklight 16:02 Sans Souci - Nanda 15:58 Dj Shah & Adrina Thorpe - Who Will Find Me (Acoustic Mix) 15:50 Martin Roth - An Analog Guy In A Digital World 15:46 Schiller & Peter Heppner - Leben... I Feel You 15:42 Tontario - Late (Original Mix) 15:40 Nathan Evans - Wellerman (220 Kid X Billen Ted Remix) 15:38 Ofenbach & Ella Henderson - Hurricane 15:33 Schiller & Jan Blomqvist - In Between 15:29 Milkwish - From The Earth To The Moon 15:26 Lucas Estrada, Twopilots - Bloom 15:18 Super Flu - Mygut (Solomun Remix) 15:14 Tonenation - Hijo De La Luna 15:10 Agron - Love My Soul 15:06 Lucy Neville - Ransom 14:59 Mahmut Orhan - Way To Life (Boral Kibil Remix) 14:56 Aural Float - Be As You Are 14:53 Lunax - I Like 14:48 Worakls - Caprice 14:43 Schiller - Mittelerde 14:39 Sum Wave - Malin's Song 14:34 Monolink - Harlem River 14:29 Blank & Jones - Coming Home (Afterlife Remix) 14:26 Junge, Junge Feat. Jamie Hartma - Wicked Hearts 14:21 Kosheen - Hungry 14:17 Nora En Pure - Enchantment 14:12 Rìfìs Du Sol - Next To Me 14:08 Karen Ramirez - Looking For Love 14:01 Blond:ish Feat. Shawni - Wizard Of Love 13:58 Iossa, Ken Holland - The Seed Feat. Iossa (Original Mix) 13:55 Klingande & Krishane - Rebel Yell 13:48 Armen Miran - Nani Jan 13:46 Fedde Le Grand Feat. Vince Freeman - Devils 13:41 Jasmon - Sanpo Suru 13:34 Monolink & Zigan Aldi - Fidale (I Feel) Vocal Version 13:30 Sum Wave - Beach Memories 13:25 Schiller - Rubinrot 13:22 Blank & Jones - Swept Away 13:16 Jose Padilla - Bosaxi (Touched Mix) 13:13 Carstn & Ten Tonne Skeleton - Safety Dance 13:09 Blank & Jones Feat. Mick Roach - Magnolia 13:03 Cell - The Gate 12:59 Nora En Pure - Dry Sobbing 12:54 Dreamerproject - Horizons (Glenn Main Remix) 12:48 Kruder & Dorfmeister - High Noon 12:42 Rodriguez Jr. Feat. Liset Alea - What Is Real 12:38 Sound Nomaden - The Morning After 12:32 Mahoroba - Soft Breeze (On Air Mix) 12:30 Mike Candys, Sb Mont & Salvo - Turned To Dust 12:27 Sans Souci - Fenton 12:20 Depeche Mode - The Love Thieves 12:14 Tebra - Suton 12:11 Bedouin Soundclash - Brutal Hearts (Flicflac ) 12:06 Blank & Jones - Twilight Moon 12:01 Moli - Cloud No9 (Montmartre Remix) 11:58 Rìfìs - Like An Animal 11:55 Robin Schulz & David Guetta - On Repeat 11:52 Vize & Alan Walker Feat. Leony, Edward Artemyev - Space Melody (Edward Artemyev) 11:46 Moca - Kleine Träumerei 11:42 Armin Van Buuren & Avira - Illusion (Mixed) 11:39 Ec Twins, Oda Loves You - Wonderful Life 11:31 Humate - 3.2 (Bedrock Ambient Mix) 11:28 Morgan Page Feat. Lissie - Firewalk 11:22 Consolidation Feat. Moguai - Ode To Joy 11:17 Cinemascope - Sweetest Story 11:14 Alok & James Arthur - Work With My Love 11:10 Mari Boine - Gula Gula (Chilluminati Mix) 11:07 Mila Feat. Uwe Worlitzer - Teil Von Mir 11:03 Lucas Estrada & Henri Purnell & Neimy - In My Fantasy 10:57 Leftfield - Original 10:54 Blank & Jones Feat. Kyle Pearce - All Of Me 10:51 Tom Staar & Cedric Gervais - Playing Games (Mixed) 10:45 Tosca - No More Olives 10:41 Tinlicker Feat. Nathan Nicholson - Be Here And Now 10:38 Fritz Kalkbrenner - Kings & Queens 10:32 Fous De La Mer - Luz 10:29 Klingande & Bright Sparks - Messiah 10:26 Dj Antoine & Deep Vice - When You Want Some Love (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k21 Mix) 10:23 Era - Ameno 10:18 Blank & Jones Feat. Zoe Durrant - One Evening (Lofi Selection) 10:14 Levitation Feat. Cathy Battistessa - More Than Ever People 2015 10:11 Raffa Fi - Ritmo 10:05 Schiller - Der Goldene Engel 10:01 Rihanna Feat. Mikky Ekko - Stay 09:58 Filatov & Karas - Au Au 09:54 Kid Massive, Yuji Ono, Dtale - Pray (Wolf Krew Remix) 09:48 Fous De La Mer - Clairs De Lune 09:44 Daniel Portman - Sensual Desires 09:39 Three Drives On A Vinyl - Greece 2000 (Sebastian Davidson & Melosense Remix) 09:35 Kate The Cat - I Was Made For Lovin You 09:31 Chicane Feat. Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up 09:24 Beyhude - Alabora 09:17 Blank & Jones - Chilled Cream 09:14 Chicane - Capricorn (Back Pedal Brakes Remix) 09:07 Armen Miran - Precious Story 09:02 Deep Dive Corp. Feat. Dennis Le Gree - Water 08:55 Nora En Pure - Thermal (Extended Mix) 08:48 Calavera & Manya Feat. Maja Aleksic - Seta 08:45 Colorblast - Message In A Bottle (Colorblast Version) 08:34 Monkey Safari - Hi Life (Cheeky Bold Cover) 08:27 Menachem 26 - Hal (Anatolian Sessions Remix) 08:24 Robin Schulz & Alle Farben & Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World 08:19 Röyksopp Feat. Astrid S - 02 Let's Get It Right 08:12 Sans Souci - Seaside (Extended Mix) 08:07 Blank & Jones Feat. Zoe Durrant - Adios Ayer 07:59 Blank & Jones - California Sunset 07:55 Schiller - Liebe 07:51 Sons Of Maria - Elevate 07:46 Alex Christensen & The Berlin Orchestra - Infinity 07:43 Avian Grays & Azteck - Endlessly 07:35 David Hohme - Fear Less (Hraach Remix) 07:33 Troels Hammer - Azur 07:30 Dize Feat. Aurii - Wenn Ich Nicht Mehr Weiss 07:25 Lazy Hammbock - Surround Me 07:20 A.r. Rahman - Mumbai Theme Tune 07:17 Tiscore - Fire To Smoke 07:13 Julian Wassermann - Painfully 07:07 Thievery Corporation - The Glass Bead Game 07:02 Cecilia Krull - Agnus Dei (Benny Benassi & Bb Team Remix) 06:59 Brando - Don't Call Me (Galantis Remix) 06:50 Aural Float - Dreamer's Dream 06:48 Bernward Koch - Flowing Colors 06:39 Worakls - Nocturne 06:36 Valerie Dore - The Night (Zyx Edit Remastered 2021) 06:31 Klangkarussel & Poppy Baskcomb - This Love 06:25 Bernstein - Babel 06:21 Audax Feat. Ron Caroll - Falling For You 06:18 Loud Luxury And Frank Walker Feat. Stephen Puth - Like Gold 06:11 Sébastien Tellier - La Ritournelle 06:06 Eelke Kleijn Feat. Diana Miro - You (Frankey & Sandrino Remix) 06:03 Mount & Illian - Fool 05:59 Kabanjak - The Rain 05:55 Above & Beyond Feat. Justine Suissa - Little Something 05:52 Panama, Satin Jackets - The Future 05:48 Depeche Mode - Goodnight Lovers 05:44 Basixx - Stay In Your Sunlight 05:39 Soho Lounge Feat. Dea Li - Chiaro Di Luna 05:36 Bernward Koch - Lonely Dream (Solo Piano) 05:32 Lstn - Sky & Sand 05:28 Frank & Friedrich Feat. Duncan Woods - Coming Home 05:24 2raumwohnung - Wir Werden Sehen (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix) 05:20 Hein Klein & Cheyenne - Every Breath You Take 05:16 Moby - The Sky Is Broken 05:13 Hbz, Anna Grey & Agent Zed - Aloha Hey 05:06 Colyn - Unstable Gravity Alert 05:03 Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You 05:00 Kamrad - I Believe 04:56 Sum Wave - Goodbye Earth 04:53 Eelke Kleijn - Transmission (Joris Voorn Remix) 04:47 Lamb - Wonder 04:43 Ganga - Time Spent 04:40 Minelli, Filatov & Karas Remi - Rampampam 04:36 Undressd - Forever Young 04:32 Beatkonexion - On Air 04:29 Magnofield - Lupino 04:25 Nora En Pure - Stop Wasting Time 04:22 Lost Frequencies Feat. Flynn - Recognise 04:17 Goa Foundation - (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight 04:14 Lunax & Zana - Gone Tomorrow 04:11 Mr. Probz - Waves 04:07 Sofi Tukker & John Summit - Sun Came Up (Radio) 04:02 Airstream - Your Tears (Del Mar Mix) 03:55 Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit (Claptone Remix) 03:51 Blank & Jones - Sunny (Summer Vibe Mix) 03:44 Hraach And Armen Miran - Krunk 03:41 Moby - My Only Love 03:36 Robert Manos - Silver 03:32 Five Seasons - Her Almond Eyes 03:29 Alok Feat. Alida - Love Again 03:26 Clément Leroux - Memories 03:23 Sagi Rei - Rhythm Is A Dancer 03:16 Beyhude - Akasha 03:09 Doyeq & Jay Medvedeva - Break Into My Walls (Armen Miran & Hraach Remix) 03:03 Markus Hakala - Curacao 03:01 Amely & Lvndscape - Losing My Mind 02:57 Monoir, Eneli - 3 To 1 02:52 Best Of Chillout Lounge - Sylt (Sensibar Mix) 02:47 Tebra - Istok 02:42 Blank & Jones - Nuits Blanches 02:40 Nora Van Elken - Let It Go 02:35 Sofi Tukker X Mahmut Orhan - Forgive Me 02:30 Espresso Del Lago - Ballet Or Sauna 02:26 Klangperlenspiel - Million Words 02:20 Victoriya - Nothing Remains 02:16 Aakarshan - Tantra Café 02:09 Christopher Von Deylen - Opaque 02:05 Loud Luxury - Cold Feet 02:01 Redlounge Orchestra - Reserver 01:57 Fritz Kalkbrenner - Good Things 01:54 Pascal Letoublon - Feelings Undercover 01:46 Tom Novy & Milkwish - Dream Catcher (Extended Mix) 01:43 Avaion X Vize X Leony - Pieces 01:39 Late Night Alumni, Myon & Shane 54 - Under Your Cloud (Acoustic Version) 01:32 Blank & Jones - White Light 01:30 Feder & Ofenbach Feat. Dawty Music - Call Me Papi 01:26 Robin Schulz - Sugar (Feat. Francesco Yates) 01:22 Sans Souci - Condor 01:18 Bolier & Leandro Da Silva - Floripa (Extended) 01:11 Richard Grey - Need Your Lovin (Murjd Remix) 01:08 Nora En Pure - Branches 01:05 Armin Van Buuren & Garibay - Phone Down 01:01 Melosense - Polarization (Original Mix) 00:56 Two Lanes - Pièces Froides: Ii. Danses De Travers 00:53 Deeperlove & Marc Korn - Vertigo (R.i.o. Remix) 00:49 Massive Attack - Three 00:43 Röyksopp & Jamie Irrepressible - The Next Day (Mind Against Remix) 00:39 Ludvig & Stelar - Reflection 00:34 David Guetta, Robin Schulz, Cheat Codes - Shed A Light (Blank & Jones Remix) 00:31 Nora Van Elken - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) 00:28 Felix Jaehn Feat. Jasmine Thompson - Ain't Nobody 00:22 Armen Miran & Hraach - Gravitation 00:19 Mike Candys - Sky (Club Mix) 00:15 First Aid Kit - My Silver Lining 00:11 Passenger 10 - Voices In Her Head 00:09 Above & Beyond - Quieter Is Louder (Original Mix) 00:04 Moby - A Case For Shame

[take-the-moon-take-the-sun]

Ok so heres some cute fluffy Halloween stuff for @intistone scars and scales. Its 4:30am and im so tired. I got like 3 hours of sleep yestersay and then might have skipped sole meals but im good im fine see look fluff. Totslly normal for liz

Its pretty sweet so i hope yall have a good dentist mk. I cut literally all the angst out. But enjoy a fic of the boys first night Trick or Treating with their big brother Eclipse!

It was halloween night and you had been spending the past hour or so helping Sun and Moon get ready. They are so excited for tonight and have been since you agreed to let them go Trick or Treating with Eclipse. They had been adjusting to going out slowly but relishing every moment they got when seeing something new. You had been worried they would always be afraid of everything outside your house but thanks to Gregory they had been having an easier go of it.

You had them sat down on your couch telling them the rules for the night when your front door opened loudly showing Eclipse fully decked out in a costume that matched Sun and Moons. You should have guessed they would coordinate. A quick run over the rules again and you waved them off for the night. While you really did enjoy the holiday and wanted to see the boys having fun you also knew they had been looking forward to more time with “big brother Eclipse” and you decided to give them this. Sure you had been worried but Eclipse is strong and can easily defend the boys. Plus their not defenceless. Your sure its going to be fine. You start working on some dinner for when they return. Heart light and mind wondering what kind of fun they are going to have.

Sun is so excited he cant stand still even for s moment. Arms swinging at his side as he energetically talks to Eclipse. Moon on the other side of Eclipse adding to the conversation as well, hes not nearly as bad as Sun but for him this would make him seem a chatter box. Eclipse happily listens to them rattle on about silly stuff YN has done or whatever they have seen. The mood is light until they reach the first house. Both little mers freeze at the sight of it. Finally understanding the full scope of what they have to do for their treat. Wall up there and ring the door bell to great a stranger. What if the stranger saw through their costumes and attacked. What if they tried to grab one of them and drag them inside. Panic slowly seeping into the boys as a few other kids make their way to the door.

Eclipse kneels down to reassure them that it will be ok. Hes right there incase anything happens. Hes not going to make them go alone after all. Hes too worried about the same thing as the boys but theres not way hes telling them that. So with a gently nudge they make their way up the driveway too the house. Sun and Moon get more snd more nervous but having Eclipse there with them makes it much easier. Though when the person opened the door neither boy could manage a word. Both frozen in place a bit. Luckily the lady was very kind and thought it cute that they all seemed to be skeletons. “What adorable little brothers you have.” She then produced a large orange bowl to the boys for them to take a candy from. Slowly they reach up and each take a single piece. She chuckles at their clear nervousness. “I remember my first halloween. I was so scared i cried when i got to the first house. You boys are doing great.” She laughed a bit as she spoke. Her words bringing ease to the boys. Enough for them to speak up and say thank you. She told them how “they are very welcome” and wished them a happy Halloween as they walked away.

Panic quickly left the boys after that house and their nervousness only lasted two more houses. Clearly more excited about the candy than they could be scared of the people. Plus having Eclipse right there really helped them relax much easier. They came to a house fully decked out in halloween decorations. They even had a fog machine in their yard. Sun and Moon seemed to get nervous again till Eclipse laughed from behind them saying how “over done” this house was. Pointing out the location of the fog machine did help Sun and Moon feel less scared about approaching a house that seemed to be so spooky it was greating its own atmosphere. Now that they knew the trick is wasnt so bad. Still a bit on edge though they approached the door. Lots of noises from different machines had kept them on edge even more. Once they knocked on the door a lady dressed up as a witch opened it cackling! Sun yelped and hid behind Eclipse a bit. Moon on the other hand simply took a step away, also to Eclipses side. They lady was waaayyy to into it as she ran a whole bit about eating naughty children who dont say please and thank you. Even going so far as to say she likes to stew them in her big caldron, which was easily visible from the open door. By the time she finished that both boys had moved to behind Eclipse. He wasnt at all going to stand for this. Thats too far of an act for little kids who are clearly scared. “Hey cut the crap, cant you tell your freaking them out. Whats wring with you!” Anger clear in his voice. The lady to offence to that. “How dare you talk to me like that! Im just trying to scare some sense into these brats!” Clearly she thought she was completely in the right and saw nothing wrong with scaring little 9 year olds. “Dont you Dare call them brats you bitch!” He shot back, pushing Sun and Moon behind him more. “Excuse me” he cut her off before she could say more “No i dont think i will excuse you! Learn how to act around children! Clesrly you are the one who needs to be taught manners.” She gasps “I beg your pardon!” Eclipse has never been handed anything easier in his entire like “oh come in i think we all mnow you could beg better than that” the boys began to snicker at that. The lady goes red in the face before yelling “get the hell off my porch you disrespectful, unruly, heathen!” “GLADLY!” Eclipse shouts back as he pushes Sun and Moon along off the porch. Moon turns to stick his tongue out at the lady before they make it down her steps. Clearly she was off her rocker.

Moon was recovering quickly from the rude bitch but Sun was still a bit shooken up. He stayed noticeably quite as they made their was to the next house. Eclipse decided to pull them aside first to make sure Sun was gonna be alright. Offering to maybe call it quits now and they can go back home. Sun quickly shot that down saying he was ok. Hes fine to keep going. But clearly from the looks he was sneaking at Moon he just didnt wanna ruin the fun for his brother. Who seemed to be alright. Still Eclipse decide to take it slower and he was also sure to make sure he was closer to the boys when they went to the door. Just incase. Everything was going smoothly and eventually Sun perked right back up after getting a huge full size candybar.

As they approached another house another group of kids was walking up at the same time. “Woooooh you look so AWESOME!!!” On little boy shouted while pointing to Moon. Nervousness returning as moon turned to face the boy. He was probably going to panic but a nudge from Eclipse helped him understand he was safe. A soft “thanks.” As if his thanks was an invitation the kid joined them in step, walking along side them. “I mean your face paint is so cool!!! And those claws on your hand!! SUPER AWESOME!” Moon not knowing to much how to react “um thanks? I uh really like your uh hat?” Clearly he felt out of his depth but the kid took the complement as if Moon had been just as enthusiastic as him. “THANKS! I made it myself!” He said puffing out his chest and placing his hands kn his hips. Moon had clearly picked the correct thing to complement because now the kid was ranting and raving about how he made it and how long it took but how he did it all kn his own. Then he toon it off and offered it to Sun “you wanna see? It looks even cooler upclose!” Not knowing what else to do Sun nodded and took the hat. His eyes lighting up at the little details the other kid put into it. “Wooaahh look at all the little lines you put on it!” Quickly showing his brother. The kid probably didnt need more of an ego boost if you asked his parents but he bounced on the spot “right!!” Then trying to look cool “im an expert of my craft.” He said as he wiped at his face. “Oh we are almost there! I gotta get ready!” He reach for the hat and Sun easily let it go so the other get could put it back on. “Im gonna go get the best candy before everyone else!” He exclaimed before running ahead. “HEY!!” Sun shouts after the kid and joins in on running up to the door. Moon quickly takes chase “WAIT FOR ME!” Not wanting to be left behind. Eclipse cant help but smile as the boys branch out and make a little friend. They go through without a hitch at this house. Not bothered or noticing that they dont have Eclipse with them at the door. Just enjoying themselves fully as they walkaway ranting about what was in the goodie bags that house gave out.

Once they reach the sidewalk again they find the kids parents not to far behind with two more, much smaller kids. Clearly they had no problems with their small 9year old walking with strangers. So the kid join up with Sun, Moon, and Eclipse for a while. As they walked between houses they traded candy and gossip about what costumes they had seen. Moon telling about the rude lady between giggles while the kid looked shocked “thats so mean!! You should have blown a rasp at her!” Ehen that got confused faces from both Sun and Moon the kid froze in his tracks. “You guys dont jnow what RASPS ARE!!!” They shared a look before shaking their heads. “Oh oh that ok look you hold your hand uo to your face like this, then BLOW!” The kid made wuick the noise that got not only Sun and Moon to laugh but Eclipse got a good chuckle from it. Quickly Sun and Moon went to try it themselves. Satisfied they could on the first go. “Now when someone is real mean you do that to em!” The boys very excited to show YN something new continued on chatting with the kid for two more houses before the kids parents decided it was time for them to go home. After goodbyes they group parted ways. Deciding its time for them to make their way back too. The whole way back Sun and Moon chatted about some of their favourite costumes to tell YN about, inviting Eclipse in to figure out which would have freaked you out the most. It was a very smooth walk back.

The moment you open the door you sre met with three rasps blown in your face and then giggles from two little mers who had the night if their life. They tell you all about their night over dinner. The moment one paused to take a bite the other would take his place in continuing the story. A soft smile creeps on your face as you listen to Sun and Moon tell you about slm the fun they had. Even with Eclipse joining in to remind them of stuff they skipped. The boys fell asleep the moment your tucked them in and Eclipse decided to stay up and chat with you about how the boys made a friend and how well they got along before decided to crash in your couch. Even if you missed out on seeing them you are happy to know they had the Halloween of a lifetime.

[boardstomymood]

‘’So you are… A Magician ?’’ ‘’A Druid.’’ ‘’The Druid who gave us that stupid powder ?’’ ‘’Well…’’ ‘’With no way to turn back to ourselves again.’’ ‘’It will take a couple of days to wear off and we – !’’ ‘’We are a couple of days later, Mer – ! – Wait. Are you even Merlin ? – Who are you ? – There’s no way Merlin could use magic like that.’’ ‘’Why not ?’’ ‘’Magic is for brilliant and evil person. – Merlin is neither.’’ ‘’You literally said the powder idea was stupid.’’ ‘’It is stu – ! – Wait. – So YOU ARE Merlin ?’’ - Arthur to Merlin

Requested ? : No Inspired by : December Flash Bingo by Merlinbingo Concept : A Tale as Old as Winter Holidays Times (part 2/5) Arts : Moodboard (9 pictures, 2 edits (300x300px (or +) each) + Little 337 words drabble (under the cut) Author's notes : Filling the sun square with that 2nd fill All pictures used are free of use/made via Quotescovers

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---------- A Tale as Old as Winter Holidays Times (part2)----------

Happy Merlin Bingo ! I hope you will enjoy it ! Thank you for your attention !

That’s how an undercover Merlin alias Sir Alwyn and Arthur alias Lady Alwyn travel under a bright shinning sun to Threlkeld in their old form. The travel was a long run. Longer then estimated. Their old bodies weren’t as endurant as they imagined. Their physical envelopes were old, slow, and heavy… Reasons the real Alwyn used to decline the Threlkeld invitation each year. Hunting for food was not an easy task, aiming was… not possible for Arthur in Dolma’s trembling body. Standing still for too long was exhausting as well. – So they were counting on berries and the little rations they had (which weren’t enough for the long run). Traveling on horseback was not their brightest idea either (to travel light is to travel faster). It was painful. The constant bumps, up and down, on the road was pressuring Merlin’s now fragile bones. Not a night of sleep was comfortable either, even with all the efforts he put in making a camp for the night. Setting a camp for nights was taking so much time, the night had already fallen when they (and yes, they. Merlin couldn’t set it up alone before dawn, too slow on its own to get the task done) managed to get it done. Packing up at dawn was also an onerous task, leaving them more and more tired. But the route was calm. Arthur stopped complaining, Merlin just stopped talking. Everything was almost… peaceful between them for a while. Cooperation and silence were the key, it seems. They were traveling for 3 days and nights, when, under the bright sun, they encounter their first real problem/obstacle. Some vile guard, here for money, food, and horses. They thought the old couple was the perfect target to their Machiavellian scheme. Arthur tried, in vain, to fight them off. And Merlin had to use magic for the first time in front of him, with no doubt from who it was coming from. The villain brigade was gone, thanks to Merlin, but the Druid wasn’t reassured.

Author's Footnotes : Thank you for reading ! If you liked it, please kudos, reblog, share ! That was also my 2nd entry (and part) for December Merlin Flash Bingo. Thank you to merlinbingo for hosting it ! Other parts will be posted soon ! Please (if you are interested) take a look on MerlinBingo December Flash Bingo Event others will post some creations as well ! I won't take any fic request for now since I am kind of new at it (in english, at least) for the moment. But my moodboards request are open Bingo Flash Card Used :

Found on : MerlinBingo December Flash Bingo Event

Disclaimer : And, of course, I don't own any of the Merlin BBC characters mentionned. They are the property of their respective owners.I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended. (just in case)

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[kpoptrashlord-007]

Tricks and Traps;; KJM

Word Count;; 3.8k

Genre;; Mer AU

Pairing;; Junmyeon x Reader

Summary;; 

When your dreams become consumed by a mysterious stranger, you go through great lengths to track him down, even going as far as following him out to sea. Coming face to face with your mystery man, you find that not all is what it seems.

Warnings;; 

a little horror-ish at the beginning, much in my usual style, but it’s cleared up and then it fluffens and then it smuttens up. LIGHT smut, implied... somewhat suggestive content. Mentions of suicide. Like, literally just mentioned. Not apart of the plot. Character death in a way but not really - this is a HAPPY ENDING FIC.

~~~

Notes;; 

This is my Secret Santa gift for @myeoning-call​ for the @exolssecretsanta​ event!

HI JANGMI!! I hope you enjoy this fic! It wasn’t quite enemies to lovers and it wasn’t quite smut but it is all for you as your present to tide you over until I can get the original story completed some time next year. I’ve had so much fun getting to know you and I can’t wait to talk to you as myself rather than an anon. Much love!! Happy holidays <3

Main Masterlist || EXO Masterlist

   Under the soft waves and deep below the depths of the welcoming ocean, he called for you. His song, melodic and soothing, summoned you. Every ounce of your being gravitated toward him. There was darkness hidden behind his glowing smile and sparkling eyes as he beckoned you down but you ignored it, leaning over the edge of the boat in pursuit of his retreating figure.

   Warm water lapped at your fingertips as you broke the surface, your reflection rippling across the quiet sea. There was a soft breeze on the wind which did nothing to alleviate your discomfort for the air itself was hot and unpleasant. The midday sun beat down on you without remorse and you were beginning to feel its effects.

   After many hours spent searching for your mystery man, your body ached and your skin wasn't faring much better. It was past the point that sunscreen could recover and far beyond any form of preventative measure. The damage was done and your skin cracked with the slightest movement. What you needed was to bath in aloe vera and guzzle down a few gallons of water. How you had let it get this bad was just another component of his mystery.

   Perhaps it was a trick, perhaps a trap.

   Endless water teased you. It rose and fell, gentle and slow. Each crest touched the side of the boat where your face rested, so close to your parched lips that you could almost taste it as you dangled from the edge. Straining your shoulder in an effort to reach just that much further into the dark depths to chase his shadow, you winced when you felt the bone pull too far from the socket, threatening to snap itself loose.

   There was pain building within your body. Hard for it not to when your arms continued to chase after the man that plagued your dreams whilst your torso caught on the edge of the boat, holding resistant to the end. Metal dug into your skin and left dark, angry lacerations in its wake.

   Then there was the pain of his absence.

   Deep in your mind you knew better than to follow him but his allure wasn't natural. Days of research told you not to pursue him, that no one could escape his song, and yet here you were, too stubborn to let him go. Just the thought of missing his gorgeous and delicate features for a day pained you so much that when you considered the very high likelihood of never seeing him again, the agony was paralysing. As if a thousand pound chain connected you two, you couldn't bear to move unless you were moving toward him.

   You felt heavy.

   The sleeves of your shirt dragged you down. Water latched onto the material and increased its sheer weight, pulling you that much closer to the immeasurable depths. Waves rose to kiss your cheeks and tickle your ears but it brought no comfort, not when your mouth was submerged and your nostrils sucked up the salty water every couple of seconds as you struggled to breathe.

   They shouldn't have been so close.

   The waves, that was - they shouldn't have been so high. Given how soft the breeze was and the complete lack of turbulence on the sea, the waves shouldn't have been touching the side of your boat. It wasn't a large vessel (it was a mere dinghy that you were pushing beyond its capabilities) but it wasn't damn near surface level, either. There was no reason for the sea water to be inside your boat, trickling in with each wave and providing additional weight that only lowered the boat faster and faster toward the awaiting darkness.

   There was something much more nefarious at work here and you had a strong feeling you knew what, or rather who it was.

   Grounding yourself back into the reality of your situation, the fog you hadn't realised was even clouding your mind dispersed. Everything felt that much clearer… and quieter. While you hadn't noticed before, you felt the distinct absence of his song within your mind. That soothing, sweet sound had lulled you into submission and dulled your senses, had left you vulnerable to him, to this:

   He was capsizing you.

   As if you had touched a piping hot stove, you yanked your hands back to your sides and whipped your head around in time to watch the sun disappear behind the hull of the starboard side, the opposite side from which you had been hanging over moments prior. You weren't given much time to think about it before water embraced you.

   You had fallen for his trick and now he had you trapped.

   It stung.

   The saltwater stung your eyes but you forced them open as you watched your tiny boat flip over. Floating below the surface, all you could do was stare in awe and terror. All your belongings sunk faster than you, disappearing into darkness. Your backpack of supplies, your paddles, the fishing spear you brought for defense rather than hunting - it was all gone, even your phone had slipped free from your pocket and fell heavy as a rock.

   Nothing remained.

   Nothing except the cold, dark depths.

   Sunlight didn't dare come this deep, stopping inches above your paling face as you struggled to breathe.

   Fuck, you couldn't breathe.

   It wasn't just from the lack of oxygen but from the freezing water itself - it gnawed at your face, chilling the muscles until they locked into place. Every feature from your agape mouth and your bewildered eyes to your near-lifeless limbs seemed cut from stone.

   The nerves fired pleas for your arms to claw and thrash and for your legs to scramble and yet there was no response. Your body was shutting down and you could do nothing except stare as he circled you, an apex predator waiting to collect his reward after a successful hunt.

   The further you descended, the lower the temperatures fell. You fought to remain conscious as your heart struggled to pump, the endless depth's grip on the organ icy and without remorse. Like a curse, the rest of your body began to follow suit and freeze under the water's touch. Bubbles broke past your lips as your final breath exited your body. They rose toward the light, abandoning you to your fate.

   It was at that very moment that he decided to strike, though the grace of his movements were lost on you as your vision began to fail. Darkness leaked into your eyes from the bleak depths and all you could see was darkness served with a side of more darkness. The once majestic visage of his form was reduced to a spot that was a shade or two darker than the rest.

   The last thing you expected was to awaken.

   Opening your eyes, you took in your surroundings. Sunny, warm, and probably not the afterlife. Your personal paradise featured a coconut tree a few feet away that cast a shadow across your body, protecting you from the overactive sun. You wondered how long it would take for you to crawl to the tree, knock one free and break it open. Your throat was beyond parched and your head pounded from dehydration.

   Sand exfoliated the backside of your body against your wish as you pushed yourself backward, feet digging into the wet sand to propel you toward your goal. As your shirt caught on a small outcropped rock, sand slipped between the fabric and your back. It was gritty and coarse and hot, but even so you would rather experience that fresh hell over the wet and sticky sand clinging between your toes and embedding under your nails as waves lapped at your feet.

   To add insult to injury, your paradise featured one last "treasure": your gorgeous mystery man, lying in the water just beyond your legs. His stunning, bright eyes landed on your shocked, gaping stare as he placed a small crab on your now still toe. A grin broke out across his face and you wanted to reciprocate it but fear welled within your gut. This man, your mystery man, was anything but a sweet gentleman. He was the predator that had lured you to sea and the last thing you wanted was to find any sort of joy in his presence.

   Any kindness was a trick, or perhaps a trap.

   Breaking his gaze away from your trembling lips, he beckoned another crab to your side before trailing a finger across your skin. His movement, as it always was in your dreams, was slow and sensual. Goosebumps erupted where his touch lingered before the crustacean followed. It crawled across your hot skin to join the many other crabs crowding your legs.

   "About time you woke up," he said offhandedly, his attention still on the small animals resting on your feet, calves and even as high as your thighs.

   "Wh- am I- what are you-" your stutters were cut short when you felt tiny pinchers dig into your flesh. "FUCK! Get them off me, God damn it! Fuck, what the fuck-"

   "They're just pinching you so you know you're alive. You ought to thank them."

   "Thank them? I ought to have myself a seafood roast, that's what I ought to do!"

   "I am thoroughly offended."

   "Good! You should be! Who the hell even are you?"

   "You don't recognise me?"

   "Aside from being the asshole who killed me?"

   Another series of pinches from his many clawed friends had you yelping as he spoke, "I didn't harm you. You're not dead, remember?"

   "Yeah, yeah, I get it! Call off your goons!"

   "Now tell me you recognise me."

   "I don't."

   "Don't lie. This face is unforgettable."

   "I'm not, fish boy. I don't recognise you."

   He scoffed. "I'm the man of your dreams."

   "Are you serious right now? You're only in my dreams because I had the misfortune of hearing your song. You ought to keep that to yourself, by the way. It has a serious effect on people. In my world, you'd be labelled a creep and carted off, mate."

   "No, actually, it doesn't. You're the weird one here."

   Standing, you brushed off the sand from your backside and served him an eye roll that he may or may not have seen. You're unsure as you didn't want to make direct eye contact. There's a magnetism to him that you couldn't escape. It was your downfall once but you wouldn't be tricked twice. You wouldn't fall into the sweet honey trap that was his deep, beautiful brown eyes, and with any luck the wind would pick up and carry the sound of his angelic voice out to sea.

   "If you don't mind, I'm going inland so I don't have to talk to you anymore. I'd rather die in peace."

   "I'll just follow you."

   Smirking, you turned your gaze downward. With a pointed stare and a flick of your wrist, you gestured to his iridescent tail. The scales shone bright through the clear water, reflecting the sun into a prism of colour scattered along the beach. Though his tail was quite beautiful (albeit quite odd), it also offered you an advantage: he was sea locked.

   "Good luck."

   "That's rude of you. I saved your life, you know?"

   With a splash, he began to follow you to the best of his ability, which, given the circumstances, wasn't much. First he moved onto the beach, his strong tail propelling him forward, only to abandon the tactic due to fear of breaching himself, before choosing to circle the small stretch of water closest to your position.

   Exasperated, he called for you between irritated sighs and grumbles, his tone both commanding and gentle. It brought a quick smile to your face which in turn made your blood boil. You remedied your fleeting joy with a dismissive shout. "You can't take credit for saving me when you were the reason I needed to be saved!"

   "It was your own fault! I shouldn't have to move to a different ocean just because you're attracted to me!"

   "Attracted to you? Not even in your wildest dreams!"

   "It's not my dreams you have to worry about, lady! You're the one stalking me and obsessing over my kind and trying to kill yourself just because I'm not interested."

   Stopping dead in your tracks, you felt your blood pressure start to rise. The audacity. The audacity! He thought you were stalking him, like you had some sort of choice when it came to whether or not his alluring song ensnared you? Then to claim that you tried to kill yourself when it was he who sunk your boat in the first place? Either he was crazy or a complete manipulator.

   Either way, you never ended an argument without getting the last word in.

   "Okay Ariel, let's get some things straight here. I didn't 'stalk' you willingly, so it wasn't even stalking really, I mean, come on. You're practically a siren. I also-"

   "I am not a siren at all, thank you ver-"

   "I'm not done, buddy! Geez, will you let me get a word in edgewise?" He threw his hands up, his lips pressed into a firm line, and waited for you to continue. "I also needed to know how dangerous you were since you were literally plaguing my subconscious and creating endless nightmares that I couldn't escape from. I was getting no rest at all, which was-"

   "From how your body is reacting, they were sexual dreams."

   "Can you let me finish maybe? Just keep your mouth shut for like five seconds, please?"

   "Sure," he drawled, a playful smile on his lips as he accosted you. His gaze trailed the full length of your body. You wondered if he was even listening now or if he was too intent on watching the way your body flared with embarrassment.

   "No rest! Because of you!" A mischievous twinkle accompanied his growing grin. "And- and… and I didn't try to kill myself! That's just hogwash. You're a liar and that's that."

   "If I'm wrong, fine. All it means is that you're an idiot who capsized yourself instead."

   "You tipped the boat!" With a raised voice and an accusatory finger, you stomped toward where he floated on the light waves, the sun basking him in golden light. Sloshing in the wet sand, you clicked your fingers a few times to regain his attention but he ignored you, falling onto his back instead. Water caressed his dark hair and you forgot your train of thought, too focused on how his locks straightened and darkened now that he was soaked.

   He looked soft.

   Even after he had waited for you to regain consciousness on the beach less than an hour prior for God knows how long and his hair had dried (aside from the tips that had dipped under the water on occasion when he grew restless and chose to lay his chin in his palm while watching you like you were the most fascinating thing to ever happen to him), it looked like silk and you had to fight the urge to run your fingers through it then just as you were now.

   "I did no such thing."

   "Oh really?" Incredulity spiked your tone as you snapped back to the current situation. "It just flipped itself, did it?"

   "Well, yeah. When you put all your weight over the edge and then do nothing but watch once the water starts pouring in, boats tend to flip or sink."

   A scoff-turned-splutter slipped through your open mouth. He wasn't wrong, but he wasn't right either. It might not have been a lie but it wasn't a whole truth either. Your memories were intact and he wouldn't fool you so easily. You remembered how he had called to you and how you then became entranced by his song and how once the boat flipped and you had begun to drown, he had circled you and waited for the fight to leave your body before striking.

   "I cannot believe this is the thanks I'm getting after saving your life. I was willing to ignore the spear gun you brought along to hunt me with in exchange for heartfelt gratitude and perhaps even a promise to leave me alone but instead you're painting me as the villain."

   "You beckoned me into the depths and when I began to falter and fall for your seduction, you tipped the boat and let me drown and now you've kidnapped me and are trying to mind-fuck me but I won't be fucked, pal!"

   "Maybe a good fucking is what you need, lady."

   "How dare you?!"

   Without any real control over your body and a mind gone feral, you found yourself knee deep in warm water as the merman jumped back in shock. He disappeared under the waves only to reappear a few feet in front of you. Despite being shocked by your brazen approach, he found himself riding the gentle waves as they pushed him back to you. There was a fire in your eyes that he wanted to explore. It hadn't ebbed even as he found you half-drowned, the suffocating water having no effect on the burning passion ingrained within you.

   "Who are you to tell me that I need to get fucked? You need to get fucked! You don't know me! Are you trying to lure me back to sea again, huh, pal? Tell me more about how you were "saving" me, I just love being lied to. Honestly, come on, tell me…"

   His eyes zeroed in on your lips. They didn't stop moving even after he zoned out, no longer interested in fighting with you. Now that you were close to him on his own turf, his senses were much more acute. Your beating pulse echoed through the water just as your racing heartbeat did. They felt so strong to him, as if you were surrounding him. He could taste your scent in the air, though your prolonged bath in the deep sea had dulled most of your natural scent. Instead your adrenaline hung in the air, contagious to the point that he felt his own body getting worked up.

   And he could smell your desire.

   A soft pheromone released through your skin like oil; you wouldn't have noticed it yourself but it was all he could focus on. The closer you stalked toward him, a ball of fury intent on releasing your pent up frustrations, the harder it became for him to ignore it.

   You wanted to fuck him.

   He wanted to fuck you.

   But you just wouldn't shut up and he was starting to get antsy. The water was up to your waist now and he felt teased by how your clothes clung to your body. Your shirt drifted with the water levels and he could see your tummy. He wanted to claim it as his own, to mark your bare skin with his teeth. Your pants fit you a tad better and remained stationary but your panties peaked through and he wondered if it would be easier to undress you now that you were wet or if he'd grow impatient and simply tear the clothes off instead.

   "Nothing to say now, huh? No 'witty' comeback?"

   Not one for beating around the bush, he spoke plain and clear, "I want to fuck you."

   It seemed you too were blunt and straightforward or you could at least appreciate the traits for as soon as you comprehended his words, you were on him faster than he could blink. Your fingers had entangled within his soft locks and he allowed himself to be pulled into your gravity, to be guided to your lips. It wasn't an activity he did for fun so he followed your lead, your experience commanding his actions and easing his nerves. With you at the helm, he melted into the kiss.

   Your nails dragged down his back and he flexed, the sensation new and exhilarating. He had never been this rough before and he had never done it with your kind before. Most merfolk believed that all life in the oceans were sacred and that everything was connected and predestined. Amongst his family, not a single member had ever lain with a human. It was taboo. They believed in soulmates and once they found their special person, they committed.

   He had never found his special person.

   Perhaps… until now.

   Your mouth was greedy, hungry, and when he broke the kiss in order to speak, you just moved further down his body, devouring him with sloppy bites that were sure to leave a mark. "How did you hear my song? Your kind shouldn't be able to hear it."

   "You're fucking loud and I can't sleep because your voice is so goddamn beautiful. It's what I imagine heaven sounds like." Ripping your shirt off over your head, you began to unbutton your pants before you frowned as you stared at his lower half. "How does this work?"

   "From what I understand, we are compatible. At least according to the tales told, you know, around the place."

   "That's… great?"

   "Should we… go a bit further out to sea?"

   "Are you trying to lure me out again?"

   "Well given my physiology, I can't really do much in shallow waters."

   "Sounds like an excuse because you can't get it up," you jab, splashing about while you shimmied out of your pants. His eyes burned into your form, observing your every movement. The atmosphere had become awkward since you first started stripping and as he had no clothes himself to remove, you tried to strike up a conversation. "Speaking of excuses, tell me your side of the murder story?"

   "Mur-? Oh, for the last time, I didn't kill you."

   Wading behind him after he dove further out, you followed until the water reached your chest before slipping out of your undergarments. He looked more comfortable now that he could stand tall. A few feet ahead the water got much deeper and he didn't have to bend his body or curve his tail into an odd position any longer. You noticed his breathing slowed and his eyes relaxed.

   "Humour me."

   "I avoid your kind for obvious reasons-" he gestured to his tail but your eyes caught on his firm chest and his toned, muscular abs hidden beneath the surface, "-but you wouldn't leave me alone. You always found me. It's like we're somehow magnetised. I tried to disappear without you noticing but I heard a splash and I felt… despair, so I searched the area around your boat. When I couldn't see you, I realised you had already sunk deep into the depths. You were hard to find but I followed my instinct and it led me to you. And so I saved you and brought you here and you proceeded to yell at me."

   "Yeah, yeah. Let's throw a pity party for- oh, what's your name?"

   "Junmyeon."

   "Let's throw a pity party for Junmyeon. Woe is him, he was yelled out for a little while and he couldn't handle it. How will he ever recover?"

   "I can think of one way."

   "Oh really? Why don't you come over here and show me?"

   You knew you were falling but to your delight, there were no tricks or traps in sight.

  – ♡ –  If you enjoyed this, please consider liking, commenting, reblogging, and/or following! Thank you!

[kaimelia]

Easter

a/n: and another post! I wanted to put this up today bc it is easter...anyway this is quick but I hope you enjoy it!

------------------

"Link's having way too much fun with this," Amelia grinned, watching as her boyfriend scrambled around the backyard with a basket of eggs in hand. She picked up her mug of tea and glanced over at Maggie beside her.

"Does he want a bunch more kids?" The neurosurgeon smiled at her sister.

"We've only talked about it a little bit, but yeah. We're just waiting until life calms down." She wrapped her cardigan around her body. "Does Winston want kids?" Maggie shrugged.

"We haven't really talked about it a lot. But, I'm open to the idea, and seeing how well he gets along with Mer's kids makes me excited for whatever's going to happen." Link walked over to them, placing the empty wicker basket onto the picnic table.

"All the eggs are hidden. And I think I did it well enough that it'll get all of their energy out," he panted, running a hand through his hair.

"I think we got all of your energy out," Amelia joked while watching as he caught his breath.

"It's Easter! I know that Mer doesn't usually do anything super special, but I want the kids to have something fun to do. Didn't you do easter egg hunts?" Amelia and Maggie both shook their heads.

"I lived in Boston."

"My mother didn't care," Amelia muttered, resting her head on her hand. "But, I think it's really sweet that you're doing this, babe." Link beamed proudly.

"I'm gonna go get the kids. I'm sure they're terrorizing Winston," Maggie stood up, heading into the house. Link turned to look at Amelia across from him.

"You seriously didn't have anything special for easter growing up?" She shook her head.

"I mean, before my dad died, we did a bunch of stuff, but after? It was like everyone lost any sort of holiday spirit. My dad was the one to go all-out."

"Well, just so you know, I plan on spoiling these kids and Scout for every holiday." They both grinned at each other, turning their heads as the door opened. "Okay," Link stood up, clasping his hands together as he walked towards the kids. "The purple eggs are Zola's, the blue are Bailey's, and the pink are Ellis'. You each have 12 eggs to find, okay?" They nodded eagerly, scattering around the backyard to search for the plastic eggs. Link walked back over to the picnic table, Maggie and Winston trailing behind him. Amelia adjusted a strand of his hair after he sat down beside her.

"Thanks for setting this up," she whispered, kissing Link's cheek. "These kids are really lucky to have you." He smirked and kissed her quickly before turning his attention back to the kids. She leaned her head on his shoulder, sighing contently as his arm wrapped around her body.

"So, who should I be betting on here?" Winston asked, laughing as he picked up his drink.

"I've got money on Zola," Maggie spoke.

"It's gonna be Bailey. Zola would finish first, but she'll get caught up in helping Ellis." They all shook their heads after Amelia spoke, seemingly agreeing with what she said. They turned to watch Bailey clamor up the ladder on the playscape, holding up an egg triumphantly.

"Are you done, Bailey?" Link shouted, his eyebrows raised.

"Two more!" Amelia shook her head in amusement, picking up the baby monitor in front of her. She fiddled with the dial on the side.

"What're you doing?" Link questioned, noticing how she had busied her hands as she did when she was nervous.

"He's gonna wake up in a second," she muttered, glancing down at the speaker on the monitor. "Just making sure we can hear it."

"How do you know that?" Amelia raised her eyebrows at the man across from her. She'd only gotten to know Winston on a surface level, but she knew that he made Maggie happy.

"It's my motherly sense. It's like, my boobs are tingling."

"She's joking," Link shoved her shoulder lightly. "He normally only naps for an hour."

"An hour and fourteen minutes, to be exact. Scout's oddly punctual," Amelia joked. "Ah," she muttered as her son's cries came through on the device. "Right on time." She excused herself from the table.

"So, how long are you in Seattle, Winston?"

"I'm not exactly sure. Just playing it by ear right now, enjoying the change of pace," he responded, setting his phone down on the table.

"Don't leave," Link practically pleaded, "I need another guy around here. There's so much estrogen in this house," he joked.

"You have Bailey and Scout," Maggie widened her eyes, watching as the two men interacted.

"Scout doesn't count. He's a baby." The door opened, and Amelia walked out with a swaddled baby in her arms. "The cutest baby ever," Link cooed, standing up to take him. Amelia handed their son to her boyfriend and sat back down.

"How're they doing?"

"Bailey's only got one more," Link answered, beginning to pace around the table, his son's cries soon subsiding. "Any moment now-"

"Done!" Bailey screamed, running over to the table. "I finished first! I win!"

"This wasn't a competition, Bailey," Amelia teased, ruffling the boy's blonde hair. "But, good job." He beamed widely and sat down, beginning to crack open the eggs and pile his candy on the table.

"How'd I do at hiding the eggs, Bails?" The boy paused for a moment in thought before answering his uncle.

"It was okay. They were easy to find." Link's face fell in disbelief, the other adults laughing.

"You're gonna hurt Uncle Link's pride, Bailey!" Amelia reached over, helping him to open the small candy bag in his hands. "Why don't you go help Ellis and Zola find theirs?" Her nephew agreed eagerly and ran to where his sisters were searching.

"I'm honestly a little offended," Link confessed, continuing to walk around the space. "I thought I did a great job of hiding the eggs." Amelia patted the bench beside her, motioning for him to sit down. "I gotta keep walking."

"I'll take him," Maggie stood up, holding her arms out. "I still haven't gotten to spend much time with the little guy." She followed Link's previous walking pattern around the table while he sat down.

"You forget for a moment that we're living in a global pandemic," Amelia murmured, taking her boyfriend's hand. "We get little moments of joy and normalcy, and you forget that you can't go in public without worrying about catching a deathly virus." She looked over at Winston, who was shaking his head in amusement. "What?"

"Still not used to everyone here. It's an odd family situation." The neurosurgeon's lips turned upwards into a smile.

"Well, we're glad to welcome you to our odd family situation."

[ssa-montgomery]

Absolutely Smitten

Word Count: 1980

Summary: Addison arrives home late on Valentine's to the perfect surprise from her girlfriend and it turns out to be the best Valentine's Day she's ever had.

Characters: Meredith x Addison, Mark Sloan

Warnings: Fluff, kissing, alcohol, whole lotta romance

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you all enjoy this heap of fluff that I wrote for the occasion, I had almost forgotten about Valentine's so I'm glad I managed to get this finished in time hahaha.

Feedback is what motivates me to work so please let me know what you think! Reblogs are also greatly appreciated.

Taglist is open!

Masterlist

The attending's lounge was quiet when Addison finally made her way inside after her surgery. Her surgery had run overtime and almost everybody else had already headed home for the night. She took a glance at the clock and sighed, it was already half ten and she was still here. She had hoped she could finish early today because as cliche as it was she loved Valentine's Day and all the big romance gestures that went with it. She had hoped to spend as much of the day as she could with the woman she loved. Unfortunately being a surgeon didn't always allow for that. Addison was so lost in her thoughts that it took her a moment to notice Mark standing next to her locker, watching her with an almost knowing grin on his face. Like a child with some secret he knew he couldn't tell but desperately wanted to.

"Mark, what are you still doing here?" She asked walking over to stand in front of him. "Don't you have a date?"

"Little Grey's only getting out of surgery now too so we're heading out to our double date with Torres and Robbins now, just came to pick her up. Plus, someone asked me to drop off a delivery." Mark explained winking at Addison as he said the last sentence. Addison was too exhausted after her surgery to question what Mark was trying to imply so instead she simply laughed at his strange mood and shook her head.

"Happy Valentine's Day Mark, enjoy your dinner."

"Happy Valentine's Day Red." Mark ruffled Addison's hair and pressed a quick, friendly kiss to her temple as he moved past her towards the door to leave.

Once Mark had left the room, letting the door swing close behind him, Addison shrugged off her labcoat and made her way over to her locker to get ready to leave for the night. It was only when she opened her locker door that she realised what Mark had meant by delivery. Gently laid inside was a bouquet of deep red roses, the stems wrapped in brown paper with a piece of red string tied around then. There was a white piece of card threaded onto the string but Addison didn't need to read it to know who they were from. Still, she smiled a warm fuzzy feeling spreading through her chest when she turned it over and saw the neat handwriting printed on the back.

Happy Valentine's Day Addison, I can't wait to see you when you get home. I love you so much. - Meredith.

Addison was certain she was the luckiest woman in the world when it came to her amazing girlfriend. Meredith wasn't the hopeless romantic type and she knew the holiday's had never been her favourite which always made her gestures that much more special. Knowing that Meredith tried because they were Addison's favourite times of the year. She took her phone from her locker and sent her a quick text to let her know she was on her way home and started to change as quickly as she could.

~~~

When Addison finally arrived at the house it was late and everything seemed still and silent. Part of her was worried that Meredith might already be asleep but as she climbed the front steps she could see around the edges of the curtains that the lights in the living room were still on. She unlocked the front door - the bouquet tucked carefully under her arm - and stepped inside. The house was warm unlike the bitter cold had started to settle for the night outside and there was an amazing smell of food suddenly reminding Addison that she hadn't eaten since lunch that day.

"You're home!" Meredith greeted her with a bright smile, sticking her head around the doorway. She stepped out into the hall and shut the door to the living room behind her before Addison could look inside.

"I'm home." Addison nodded walking over to kiss her gently, cupping her cheek in her hand. "And you recruited Mark to bring me flowers at the hospital."

Meredith laughed taking the flowers from her and leading her out to the kitchen to place the roses in a vase of water she had ready on the counter. Addison didn't pay any attention to the fact that Meredith took the longer route to the kitchen rather than straight through the living room. She placed the vase of flowers down in the centre of the kitchen island and moved to stand with her back leaning against it.

"He was here already picking up some stuff for Lexie and I wanted to surprise you so I asked him to hide them in your locker."

"Well, consider me pleasantly surprised." Addison grinned at her reaching out to take her hand in hers. "And what can I smell because I am absolutely starving."

"Just some pizza. I thought you would be so it arrived just before you did. Here take these into the living room for me." Meredith handed two plates and wine glasses over to her before grabbing the pizza box off the counter herself.

Addison stopped in her tracks when she finally turned to look into the living room. Meredith had switched off the lights when she first left the room and it was now only lit by the dozens of candles in varying sizes scattered across every surface. The warmth of the house that she had felt when she first walked in was coming from the roaring fire that was giving off a satisfying crackle. There was already a bottle of red wine laying on the plush fur rug in front of the fire.

"Mer," She gasped turning to look at her and she simply smiled back. It was more than she had expected tonight, especially with her coming home late but it was beautiful and it meant the world to her that she had put in this much effort.

"As I said, I wanted to surprise you. I know how much you love Valentine's Day." Meredith's voice was laced with a loving tone as she watched Addison's reaction.

"It's amazing Meredith, I love you."

"I love you too." Meredith leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before making her way over to sit down in front of the fire, tucking her legs up underneath herself as she did.

Addison took a seat next to her and opened the bottle of wine pouring it into each of the glasses, taking her time to make sure she didn't spill any onto the rug below them and handed one over to Meredith who happily accepted it. Addison took a sip of her wine before tearing herself off a slice of pizza and immediately tucking into the food.

"Oh my god, this tastes amazing. I was so hungry." She groaned around a mouth full of pizza.

"You always are after surgery." Meredith chuckled at her girlfriend as she leaned forward and grabbed a slice for herself. She had started to learn little things like that about Addison since they started dating and now she always had some form of food ready for her when she got out of surgery, even if she still barely knew how to operate the oven without the risk of burning the house down.

"Did you get my little treats?" Addison asked once she had finished her slice. She had placed an order for her gifts for Meredith to be delivered today almost a month ago and she hoped everything had turned out okay with it.

"You mean the red velvet cupcakes and Victoria Secrets set that you had flown in from New York? Yes, they arrived this morning after you left. You really don't anything halfway do you?" She teased lifting her hand to wipe away a bit of sauce from Addison's mouth. She leaned into the contact and smiled at her.

"What can I say, I have a taste for the finer things in life." Addison laughed shifting to sit closer to Meredith so she could lean into her side while they ate together.

"I loved them, Addie, thank you." Meredith dropped a gentle kiss to her forehead and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her even closer to her. "I have another surprise for you after dinner."

"Oh yeah?" Addison questioned looking up at her curious expression. "I can't wait."

They spent the rest of their time eating swapping comfortable conversation about their days, from Addison's surgery to what Meredith had heard about everyone else's plans for the night. Nights like this were perfect, it was easy conversation and even when it occasionally fell into silence while they ate it never felt awkward. Addison was beyond grateful that she had someone she could be this close with and she cherished every minute.

Once they finished their food Meredith folded the box over again and tossed it out of the way while Addison topped up their glasses, emptying out the bottle of wine. The fire had died down to a calmer flame now and they knew it had to be late, nearing almost midnight but neither of them seemed to care. They had the next day off and it didn't matter if they slept in, in fact, it sounded rather ideal. Addison had stretched herself out across the rug, her head resting on Meredith's shoulder while she warmed her feet in front of the fire, her heels now kicked off on the floor next to them. Meredith gently held Addison's face in her hand, tilting her chin up so she was looking directly into her eyes.

"I love you, Addison. I never thought I could love one person in my life this much until I met you, and you drove me crazy when I first met you. You were so confident and I was so terrified of the way you made me feel. I never thought you could feel that way about me too until that first night that you told me you loved me and I fell even harder for you. I don't ever want to lose that feeling. I was afraid to tell you how I felt then but now I want to be able to tell you every single day."

"Meredith," Addison said slowly as she moved to sit up properly in front of her. Her heart was racing at the possibility of what Meredith was about to say. "What are you saying?"

"Addison Adrianne Forbes Montgomery," Meredith slipped her hand into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a small black box, opening it to reveal a simple silver band ring with a large diamond sitting on top of it. "I am asking you to marry me."

Addison could feel tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes as she stared at her in shock. She felt frozen to the spot at first, she couldn't believe this was actually happening. She was certain that it had to be a dream. But the nervous look on her face as she waited for her response told her this was real, Meredith actually wanted to marry her. Before Meredith could say anything else Addison threw her arms around her neck knocking them both back onto the rug as she landed on top of her. There were now tears falling freely down her cheeks as she pressed kisses all over Meredith's face.

"Is that a yes?" Meredith laughed breathlessly as she tightened her arms around her waist not wanting to let go of her a second sooner than she had to.

"Yes! Yes, yes it's a yes. Of course, it's a yes." Addison gushed finally stopping her assault of kisses so she could let Meredith slip the ring onto her finger. "I love you so much."

"I love you more," Meredith whispered brushing Addison's tears away while she pulled her into a deep loving kiss, holding the woman she planned on spending the rest of her life with in her arms.

Taglist: @marauder-level-chaos​

[doc-pickles]

right where you left me

It’s finally heeeere! One of the reasons I waited so long to post this fic was because my brain wasn’t working but also this accidentally went from a one shot to 8k words... Oops. Since this got so big I’m going to post it in two parts. Here is part one, so I hope y’all enjoy! (and don’t say i never did anything for y’all)

TW// Blood and Miscarriage Mention 

Jo had just left Val’s room, her situation not improving and looking like it might get worse. The news had brought her to tears, her body desperately racking with sobs as she stood outside the hospital. She knew she probably looked crazy, she felt crazy, but the day had been too much for her. 

The thing that terrified Jo about Val’s situation was that she could place herself there in an instant. Val was pregnant and scared and alone and because of that Luna might not have her mother around. Her mind drifted to the little life growing inside of her, hand flitting down the swell of her stomach as she sat on a bench and gasped for air. What if she died and her child didn’t have anyone? What if she was fighting for her life and her baby was in an incubator alone and scared? 

Logically she knew that wouldn’t happen, her friends and coworkers would make sure her baby was taken care of. And Alex… well she still needed to tell him, but she knew he’d step up and take care of their child despite what had happened between them. 

That particular thought brought another round of tears to Jo’s eyes, her heart aching at the fact that she had to call Alex and tell him that they were having a baby instead of coming up with some stupid cheesy way to tell him when he came home from work. They’d been trying, maybe not with any conscious effort but she’d gone off her birth control after coming back from treatment and he hadn’t restocked on condoms and well… If there was anything Alex and Jo were good at it was finding time to have sex. They’d even managed to find time for a quick round in the shower the morning he left.She missed him, after all the shit he’d put her through she missed him so much. She chalked it up to her hormones, but Jo would give a lot to see Alex again. 

“I’m so sorry to intrude, but are you okay? I know we’re supposed to keep our distance but you look like you could use a hug.”

Jo looked to the woman who now stood in front of her. She was bundled up in a dark pea coat and a grey woolen cap that covered her whole head except a few blonde curls that managed to sneak out. She couldn’t make out any discernible features through the woman’s pink striped face mask, but her dark brown eyes looked friendly enough. 

“I’m just having… a really shitty year,” Jo threw her hands out in exasperation, another sob coming up as the woman sat next to her on the wooden bench. “I have this patient and she’s basically dying and she has this… this beautiful little daughter in the NICU and her baby has no one else and it’s just… What if my baby ends up like that? I mean my husband already up and left me to move halfway across the country, wouldn’t me dying from COVID or something just as horrible really be the cherry on top of this disastrous year?”

The woman places a hand on Jo’s shoulder, the small amount of human interaction soothing her soul as the stranger begins to speak, “You have a good heart, I can tell. Who else would be this concerned about someone else’s baby?”

A chuckle escapes Jo as she thinks in her head that her newfound empathy is a direct result of her pregnancy hormones, “Not me usually, but impending motherhood and the prospect of being alone for the rest of my life has turned me into a softie.”

“I get it, when I saw my kids for the first time my whole life changed. My heart just…,” the woman paused, then let out a laugh. “You know in the Grinch? When his heart grows three sizes? That’s what holding my babies for the first time felt like.”

Jo settles a hand onto her slightly rounded stomach, wondering if that’s the reason Alex hadn’t come home. If he’d been so overwhelmed with love for his kids that he just couldn’t leave. She’d never considered the possibility, but now that she did her own heart cracked a bit at the thought. 

 “I just… I never thought I’d be going through this alone. My husband, he’s so good with kids and he’d wanted them for so long and I was finally ready,” Jo wiped at her eyes as she stared up at the sky, willing her tears to stop just for a moment. “And then he left because he found out he already has kids with his ex. So of course that’s when I would get pregnant, right? Right when things were about to change and we were going to get everything we wanted, he left.”

There was a pause that let Jo collect herself, blinking back her tears before she really had a meltdown in front of this complete stranger. She brushed her coat off, standing and facing the woman on the bench who was staring curiously at Jo. 

“Thank you, for letting me vent. I really needed it,” Jo sighed, running a hand through her unruly hair as she straightened her face mask. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a NICU baby to go and check on.”

Jo walked back into the hospital feeling lighter than she had in weeks, the kindness of the stranger she’d met lifting her spirits as she journeyed upstairs. She would be okay, her baby would be fine, and Luna’s situation would resolve itself no matter Val’s outcome.

_

“Alex!” Standing outside Meredith’s hospital room, Alex turned at the sound of Izzie’s voice. He was grateful she’d offered to come with him to Seattle for emotional support, but he was so lost in his thoughts that he’d barely registered her presence. 

“Hey Iz, I just checked on her. They won’t let me in, but she’s doing good,” Alex let a chuckle out as he looked to Meredith’s sleeping form. “She was shocked to see me but the grin she got on her face… It was priceless.” “I think you should stay in Seattle.”

There’s a momentary silence as Alex tries to absorb what Izzie’s said to him. Why the hell would he come back here when his kids were in Kansas? Sure he loved Meredith and her kids… and Jo too, he loved her more than anything. But none of that mattered anymore, his kids were his first priority and he wouldn’t let them down. 

“I just think… maybe you should consider it,” Izzie kept speaking before he could even get a word in, her tone making him listen intently. “I love that you’re there for Eli and Alexis, but they’ll be fine only seeing you on holidays and during the summer. I just think you’re needed here, by more people than just Meredith.”

“Iz I-”

“Go up to the NICU, just trust me,” Izzie looks at him, eyes shining with unshed tears as they meet his. He notices that she doesn’t look sad, she looks relieved, happy almost as she speaks to him. “Go to the NICU and if your answer is still the same when you come back then fine. But just… I think it’s important for you to go and see what you’re missing.” 

Izzie doesn’t say anything else, settling into a visitor’s chair in the hallway and bringing out the scarf she’d been working on since they’d left Kansas. Alex knows better than to ask questions when she’s this adamant about things, instead letting his feet carry him on the all too familiar path towards the NICU. He missed it if he were honest, being chief of a huge hospital didn’t give him much time to go up and stare at the babies in their plastic incubators anymore. But the room had always been soothing to him, it’s where he’d realized that he wanted to be a Peds surgeon and for that he’d always be grateful. 

When he approaches the room he sees exactly what Izzie had been steering him towards. She’s walking out of the NICU, stripping out of the cumbersome PPE she’d had to wear inside and back down to her scrubs. Her hair tumbles out of the messy bun it’d been in but she seems unaffected as she smoothes down the creases in her navy colored scrubs. 

That’s when he notices it, the slight swell of her stomach straining against the dark fabric as she reaches up to adjust her face mask. His breathing hitches as his eyes stay glued to her abdomen. After looking at her for almost every day of the past eight years, Alex considered himself an expert on Jo’s body and he knew that the small bump was not there the last time he saw her. 

When she turns towards him finally she freezes, eyes wide as they stand across from one another. Their eyes meet for the first time in months and all Alex wants to do is surge forward and bring Jo into a tight hug. He knows he can’t, she would probably punch him in the face if he got within 3 feet of her, but he can dream, right? She’s blinking at him in confusion as if his presence genuinely doesn’t compute in her brain. 

“Alex.”

-

She’s not sure if she’s hallucinating the sight of her ex husband in front of her, but he’s standing there in that stupid black jacket looking at her as if it were for the first time. Her heart is racing, telling her to run to him and hug him tight and not let go. Her brain talks her out of it, instead carrying her forward to stand a few feet in front of him. Jo doesn’t know where her courage comes from, but she hears herself speak first. 

“What’re you doing here?”

Her tone isn’t angry or upset like she’d thought it would be, instead carrying a neutral tone to it as she takes in Alex. His eyes are scanning over her too and she knows that he’s going to catch on to the fact that something is different about her. He knew her well enough, it wouldn’t take him long. 

“I’m Mer’s healthcare proxy still, I’m gonna hang around until she’s out of the woods,” Alex’s eyes finally come up to meet her again, his fingers reaching out to grab at her hand. “Can we… Can we talk?”

Her heart wins out that time, fingers lacing with Alex’s as she nods and lets him lead her down the hallway. Jo doesn’t know what she’s going to say, doesn’t know what Alex is going to say, but the feeling of his hand pressed against hers is a relief she can’t quite explain. 

When they enter the empty on call room, Jo sits herself on one of the beds, her eyes watching her feet as she rips her face mask away. The cool air of the room gives her lungs a needed reprieve as she focuses on anything except Alex. 

“How far along are you?”

Her heart stops then, eyes darting up to Alex in panic. He’d already figured it out, already realized that she was pregnant before she even had a chance to say anything to him. Fear builds up inside her as she desperately hopes that he doesn’t think she’s been hiding from him on purpose. 

“12 weeks… I haven’t known for that long, I was avoiding it for awhile,” her fingers nervously tangle together as she wills back another round of tears. She’s not going to cry in front of him, she’s stronger than that. “I swear I was going to tell you, I just-”

“I’m not mad, take a breath Jo,” Alex was kneeling in front of her, placing his hands over her own shaking ones as he looked her over. She couldn’t meet his eyes, her own letting hot tears stream down her face no matter how hard she tried to stop them. “Hey don’t cry, I’m not mad. It’s okay, there’s no reason to cry.”

“There is though! There is because you left! You left without a second thought. You didn’t even call, couldn’t even look me in the eye and tell me,” Jo looks up then, meeting his eyes that are now displaying a sad expression. “You left Alex. Nothing changes that, not a baby or a pandemic or anything else. You left me.”

He sighs then, his head hanging low as he takes a deep breath. The all too familiar instinct in Jo wants to hold him close and run her fingers through his hair, but she keeps reminding herself that he’s the one that got them there, not her, “I know I left and I’ve regretted it every day since. I wish I could take it back and talk with you and-”

“You can’t though! You can’t take back what you did, you can’t take back leaving me for Izzie,” Jo pulls her hands out of his grasp then, running them delicately through her hair as she tries to get a grip on her emotions. “You can’t just waltz back in here and pretend a simple apology is going to fix everything because it’s not.”

There’s a thick silence then, the only sounds between the two are their heavy breathing. Jo’s mind is racing and Alex… well Jo is sure that if he didn’t feel guilty before that he definitely does now. She lets her eyes close for a moment, ignoring the tense air and the presence of her ex husband so that she can collect her thoughts. 

“I wanna be there, for you and the baby, you know,” Alex’s voice is soft and laced with trepidation as if he might say the wrong thing. “I’m… Izzie is gonna send the kids for summers so I can come back here. And I’m never gonna stop apologizing for-”

“Fine, you can help with the baby but that’s it. I can’t… I can’t do this again. I can’t trust you anymore,” she knows the words are cruel, but they’re true. The moment she opened the letter he’d written Jo had lost all trust in Alex. “You can be there for the baby, I won’t keep you away, but I don’t need you anymore. I can’t need you anymore.”

She stands and leaves then, knowing if she stays any longer she’ll say something she regrets. She’s full of anger and hurt, but more than anything she wishes she could turn around and fold herself into Alex’s arms for hours on end.

+

There’s something wrong.

As soon as she wakes up in the middle of the night, Jo knows something is wrong. She sits up and turns on the side lamp, not feeling any different but knowing deep down that something had changed. She almost rolled over and went back to sleep, but her fingers brushed against something cool on her sheets. When she looks down at her hand, her heart stops. 

Blood. 

Her fingers were bright red as she looked down at them, heart hammering loudly in her ears as she tried to make sense of what was happening. She’d been fine when she went to bed just a few hours earlier and now her sheets were covered in blood. 

“No no no, please no,” Jo’s voice was barely audible as she reached one hand out towards her phone, blindly dialing the number she knew by heart. “Please god no.”

“Jo? It’s two in the morning.”

“I know but I-”

Her voice cracks then, not able to make out any other words as she stares at the pool of blood on her white sheets. She could hear him clattering around on the other end, the sound of keys jangling and his front door opening and closing. 

“I’m coming, I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”

Really he's there in 10, sliding the door to the loft open and finding Jo sitting up in the same spot she had been when she’d called. As soon as she sees him across the darkened loft she really cracks, a loud sob breaking through her as Alex rushes to her side, his eyes immediately taking in the blood stained sheets. His arms are around her in seconds, pulling her into his chest as heavy sobs wracked her body. 

“Hey, deep breaths it’s okay,” Alex’s fingers are under her chin, tilting her head up and meeting her eyes. She’s terrified, her heart beating out of time, but Alex’s calm demeanor slows her breathing down and gets her to focus on him. “Go rinse off and then I’ll take you in. Okay?” 

Jo nods, trusting Alex’s words as she walks silently to the bathroom and strips out of her clothes. She climbs into the shower, letting the hot water calm her only slightly as her fingers float down to her swollen belly. At 15 weeks she’d thought she’d left her worries behind in the first trimester, but the cold reality of the real world had decided to slap her across the face tonight. As she stands under the warm spray she prays to any god that might be out there to keep the baby resting in her womb safe where they are. 

“You okay? Jo?”

Alex’s voice sounding outside the bathroom door snaps Jo out of her thoughts, her burning skin telling her she’d been in there for longer than she’d thought. She responds quickly, letting Alex know she was still alive before shutting the water off and grabbing a towel to wrap around herself. Jo realizes that she hadn’t even noticed him putting a pair of sweatpants and one of his old t-shirts in the bathroom for her. She quickly pulled the clothing on, exiting the bathroom to find Alex gathering up her bedsheets and throwing them into the laundry hamper. 

“Hey,” Alex’s tone is laced with concern and care as he steps towards her. She’s barely talked to him in the few weeks he’d been back in Seattle, but Jo can’t resist folding herself into the comfort of his arms as hot tears begin to stream down her face. “Hey it’s okay, everything is gonna be okay.”

Jo hadn’t changed her mind on what she’d told Alex when he’d found out about the baby, but as she faced the possibility that they might lose their child all she wanted was his comfort. His arms settled around her waist, one hand curling towards her stomach to let his fingers brush across the bump there. 

“Let me take you in, we’ll get you checked out and everything will be okay,” Alex’s voice is muffled as he presses his lips into her hair. Jo blindly nods, not moving from her place against Alex’s chest. “You’re gonna be okay, you’re not bleeding anymore right?”

Jo shakes her head in answer, her body curling closer to Alex’s as she thought about going in and being told her baby hadn’t made it. 

“That’s a good thing. Come on,” when Jo still makes no move to leave his embrace, Alex leans back and looks down at her, eyes scanning her face somberly. “I’ll stay with you the whole time, okay?”

Jo lets Alex lead her out of the loft and down to his car that’s parked haphazardly in the lot. The drive seems to take twice as long as usual, Jo’s hand never leaving Alex’s grip as she watches the scenery of Seattle pass by in a blur. Her free hand subconsciously wraps around her belly, hoping for the flutters she’d felt the past few days to return. 

Before she can comprehend what’s happening around her, Jo is sitting in an exam room waiting for the OB on call to see her. She doesn’t remember walking out of the car or coming into the hospital, she doesn’t remember changing into the sterile smelling hospital gown or answering whatever intake questions were asked of her. She figures Alex had taken care of that, his hand still clasped in hers as he sits in the chair next to the exam bed. 

“I’m still here, I’m not leaving,” Alex’s voice soothes her nerves, as if he can hear the exact thoughts running through her head at the moment. “I’m not leaving Jo.”

And he doesn’t. The OB comes in and performs a quick physical exam before she powers on the ultrasound machine. Jo lays back, eyes closed in a combination of fear and anxiety as she feels the probe slide around her abdomen. She doesn’t want to see the woman’s face when she tells her that her baby isn’t alive anymore. 

And then, there’s a booming sound that echoes through the room. Jo’s eyes flash open and look towards the screen, the black and white image of her uterus showing a baby that won’t stop moving around. The heartbeat booms again and it takes everything in her not to break down and cry tears of joy. 

“I told you it would be okay,” Alex’s voice is soft and filled with emotion as he squeezes her hand, his lips involuntarily pressing against her forehead. “See, they're fine. You’re both fine.”

The OB spouts off something or another but all Jo hears is that she and the baby are okay. She needs to stay off her feet for a few days but she’ll be fine. Her heart returns to normal as the woman leaves the room, hands coming up to cover her face as a fresh round of tears begin to float down her cheeks. 

“Come here, you’re okay,” Alex envelops her in his arms once more, Jo pressing herself tightly against him as she let her tears flow. They weren’t sad or scared anymore, the tears she was crying now were ones of relief and joy. “Get dressed and I'll take you home okay? I’m gonna go get you discharged.”

Quickly changing back into her clothes, Jo sat on the edge of the exam table reflecting on her night so far. The terrified feeling she’d had when she saw her blood stained sheets hadn’t gone away unless Alex was holding her in his arms, his soothing words and physical presence doing more to put her mind at ease than any of her years of experience as a doctor. Her fingers moved to her stomach as she felt a light flutter, her baby making sure she knew she wasn’t alone. 

“You ready? You’re all set to get out of here and crawl back in bed,” as soon as he had stepped back into the room, Alex laced his fingers with Jo’s and squeezed her hand reassuringly. 

“I don’t want to go home,” Jo shook her head, eyes moving to Alex’s as she took a deep breath. “I don’t want to go back to sleep in my bed. Please.”

“Okay, I won’t take you home,” Alex pulled Jo up and into his chest, one arm wrapping around her shoulders as they walked out of the ER. 

The constant comfort of Alex’s skin against hers is the only thing that keeps Jo stable as he drives away from the hospital. One hand is on the steering wheel but the other is still grasping tightly to Jo’s hand. She thinks he knows how calming his presence is, how at ease he makes her feel when everything around her is uncertain. He’d never say anything but she knew that he could read her thoughts so clearly. 

They pull up outside of an apartment complex just a few blocks from the loft. Jo realizes then that she’s never been to Alex’s apartment, she’s never had a reason to before now. She lets him lead her inside and upstairs, opening the front door of the small one bedroom apartment. There’s still boxes around the living room, some she’d even packed herself in her haste to get rid of anything that reminded her of Alex. 

His hand is on her back as she walks into his bedroom, an empty shell of a room besides the bed frame, bedside table and dresser. Jo takes in the two pictures on the nightstand, the first is of Alex sandwiched between two young children that she knows to be his kids, all three wearing matching crooked smiles. The second is an all too familiar picture frame wrapped up with a red bow. She knows if she looks on the back of it that she’ll see her own handwriting penned in gold ink, but she doesn’t dare to do this now. Instead she settles herself on the edge of the bed, watching silently as Alex kicks his shoes off into the corner of the room before gently removing her own slippers and placing them next to his. 

“You can take my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch,” Alex’s voice snapped Jo out of her daze, her fingers reaching back out to him as he moved away from her. She doesn’t say anything as she wraps herself in his covers, staring up at him silently and waiting for him to join her.

When he finally does climb into bed Jo waits a moment before curling her body around his, her fingers clutching his shirt tightly. It’s not until Alex’s fingers brush across her stomach that she breaks down, letting her sobs fill the air as he holds her close. She’s relieved, of course she is, but she doesn’t think she’s let her emotions properly air out. So she cries and she lets herself be vulnerable in Alex’s arms and for just a few hours, everything seems like it’s going to be okay.

[nataliedanovelist]

Meet the Pines

When ten-year-old Stanford Pines accidentally stumbles across a time machine, he then finds himself in the middle of a forest and somewhere he finally feels ta home.

For @persimmonpollywog, who inspired me to bring an idea to life.

~~~~~~~~~~

January 1960-something

Stanford held his jacket a little tighter around himself. It was chilly here in the wintry late-afternoon, but it was better being cold on the Stan O’ War than being warm at home. Here, no one called him a wimp. Here, no one saw him as a freak or a loser. Here, he was free to be as upset as he wanted to be. He didn’t want to cry, but if he couldn’t hold it in any longer than at least no one was around to see it.

Yesterday had been a bad day. Crampelter had cornered Stanford after school, while Stanley was busy talking to some girl, and eventually had the ten-year-old pinned to the cold concrete with a knee to his back, pulling his arm back and almost dislocating his shoulder until Stanley came and shoved the bully off his brother. All of the boxing lessons were starting to pay off as Stanley walked away with less scrapes and bruises than normal, but he still had to serve after-school detention today. The twins tried to hide their injuries on the way to the bathroom, but Ma saw them and knelt to look them over. Before Stanley and Stanford could convince their mother they were okay, Pa showed up and snapped, demanding if the boys had lost another fight and when they were going to quit getting their butts handed to them. Ma then stood and shouted at Pa and the two screamed at each other for what felt like forever while they fixed each other up with their first aid kit and spent the rest of the night in their room to avoid the fighting. No kid likes hearing their parents yell.

Stanford’s shoulder didn’t hurt as much anymore and the bruise on his back was still big and purple and black, but at least he could hide it. As much as Stanford tried to ignore it, even reading a book he normally would have enjoyed, the voices in his head kept on shouting at him.

“Dorks and losers!”

“FREAK!”

“When are you gonna stand up for yourself like a man?!”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!”

“Watch it, Six-Finger’s got the plague!”

“You’ll NEVER make any friends!”

Stanford closed his book, shut his eyes, took off his glasses, and scrubbed at his eyes with a fist and pinched the bridge of his button nose to try to compose himself. Stanford then used his blurry vision to look down at his birth defect. His vision became even worse when more tears formed, eventually making the boy buried his head in his arms and he quietly cried. Crampelter was right. Stanford was never going to make any friends. No one would ever want him around.

Okay, maybe Stanley did, but he wasn’t here right now, and how long it would be until Stanley decided he was tired of being made fun of? Stanford truly believed that Stanley was cool enough to make it on his own. He’d bet his chemistry set that if Stanley had never defended Stanford, never been his brother, he wouldn’t be made fun of as much as he was now. Sure, Stanley Pines messed up a bunch, but he was funny and smart in a way you can’t teach to somebody and girls seemed to like him. What was stopping him from getting any gal he wanted and being an all star boxer or a superhero? His freak of a twin. The mistake.

These thoughts plagued and poisoned Stanford, who let them flow and then leave him. While he didn’t disbelieve these bad thoughts anymore, they were no longer screaming at him, so he had the strength to go home. Maybe he’d feel better in his warm bed instead of the cold unfinished ship.

Stanford stood and smiled hopefully at the Stan O’ War. Last summer, right after the boys had turned ten, they had found the shipwreck sailboat in a cave and took it as their anchor for a better future.

“One of these days, you and me are gonna sail away from this dumb town. We’ll hunt for treasure, get all the girls, and be an unstoppable team of adventurers.”

Stanford carried that message with him nearly every day, and he doubted the day would come when he stopped. He picked up his backpack and started on the walk for home. The wind howled, making Stanford shiver, and he picked up the pace. He wished summer would get here, he didn’t like the cold. Something on the sidewalk in town nearly made Stanford trip, but he caught himself in time and turned to see what it was.

The boy raised an eyebrow to find a tape measure. It was black and yellow and had two weird triangles on it. “Huh. I don’t recognize that company.” He muttered to himself as he picked up the measurer. He pulled on the tape, as children will with these types of tape measures, and he realized too late that it didn’t read inches and centimetres; it read years, but Stanford had already released the tape and then he was gone with a flash.

~~~~~~~~~~

May 2016

After the flash was gone, one of the first things Stanford noticed was that he was warm. Really warm. And something was crackling behind him and smelled like burning fabric. Stanford threw off his backpack and stomped on it until the little fire went out. Once that panic was gone, new panic came as he realized he was in the middle of some woods. He had never been in the forest before, except for the little patches by the ravine, but the ravine was dangerous and only for stupid teenagers, so Stanford didn’t go there if he could help it.

Once he knew he was safe, he looked down at the tape measure. “What the heck is this thing?” He asked himself as he cautiously pulled out the tape. It read measurements of time instead of measurements of space. He slowly let the tape back in the machine and put it in his jacket’s pocket, deciding it would be best to try to figure this weird tape measure out later. More importantly, when was he?

Stanford looked around the fellow pines he was surrounded by and he smiled at the peaceful smell. It reminded him of the holidays and when Christmas trees would be up for sale at the park. Stanford understood his family didn’t celebrate Christmas, and he was fine with instead celebrating a holiday that lasted seven days, but he wished just once they would bring a pinetree into their house just to make all the rooms smell nice. Stanford could hear birds, for once not choking on glass or honking. They either tweeted or knocked on wood. Here, in the quiet and in the warmth, Stanford felt much better than he did five minutes ago, despite being in a strange setting and far away from home.

Stanford thought he could hear the vague sound of a car, and so the boy hurriedly followed him to it. Where there was a vehicle there was probably a town. Stanford saw a dirt road and watched as a car drove one way. He could follow it, but when he looked toward where the car had come from, he could have sworn he saw a wooden structure of some sort through the trees. Stanford emerged from the woods and walked alongside the road.

“Okay, the tape measure had been set to forward.” Stanford thought out-loud to himself to try to think clearly. “And if there’s cars, I’m definitely in the future, but how far? I didn’t see how many years ahead it sent me. Maybe I’ll finally meet a robot!”

As Stanford walked along the old road, it became clear to him that either he hadn’t time traveled that far into the future or he was somewhere considered “old” by this time’s standards. Stanford awed happily at an old cabin with a triangular roof with a big sign that read “Mystery Shack”, but the S was on the grass. There was a goat munching on a tin can and it looked at Stanford with it’s weird yellow eyes, but Stanford grinned at the goat and carried on his way.

“What is this place?” He asked himself. “Some kind of haunted house?” The word “Mystery” was enough to lure him towards the building and he saw a door with a sign that read “gift shop,” so Stanford decided to check that place out first.

A bell greeted him and Stanford smiled at the little shop. A pretty lady with a hat and a green question-mark t-shirt was at the cash register, helping an old lady buy a keychain with a spaceship on it. Stanford grinned as more and more things were his taste. There were baseball caps with pinetrees, question marks everywhere, some kind of Aztec wheel in the back, a monkey-fish - no! A Mer-key! - in a tank, and newspapers and magazines full of supernatural evidence. Stanford grinned and took a newspaper with a UFO on the front and opened it.

Before Stanford was too sucked into the story of the alien-sighting in Wyoming, he could hear the lady at the cash register groan and say to the old woman, “I’m sorry, ma’am, this drawer is always getting stuck. Here, let’s see if my husband has any change for you.” And they walked through a door with red curtains.

Stanford looked at the register. It looks pretty close to the one at Pa’s shop. Curious, Stanford sat the paper down and went over to the drawer. There was a toolbox open by the vending machine, so he borrowed a red screwdriver and pulled a flashlight out from his jacket and got to work to try to fix the cash register.

He found the clip that wasn’t releasing and managed to temporarily open the drawer, but the issue was, for the time being, you needed the screwdriver every time you wanted to open the drawer, so Stanford unscrewed some screws to look at the drawer’s workings and he patiently fixed the clip so it was hooked the way it should be. Stanford smiled proudly at himself, happy to help that lady, and he put the drawer back together and closed it with a little ding.

“Whatcha doin’, dawg?”

Stanford jumped a foot in the air and looked up to find the lady back with a big man beside her, the big man standing in Stanford’s way of leaving the counter. He was a chubby guy and reminded Ford of a gopher. He had a red fez with a golden crescent (kinda like Pa’s if Stanford was being honest) and he wore a suit and an eyepatch. 

Stanford was shaking as he realized how bad it looked to have some kid standing by the cash; if this was Pa’s store he would have called the police. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I just wanted to fix your drawer, I’m sorry!” Stanford yelped and sat the screwdriver down on the counter and shoved his hands in his pockets; he didn’t want this big man to think he was stealing anything, cash or tools.

“Whoa, whoa,” The big guy said and with his hands up to stop him. He was smiling nicely at Stanford and he slowly began to calm down. “It’s okay, dude, I get it. You’re not in trouble. Now let’s see if you fixed this old girl.”

The big guy reached over to the register and pressed a button. The drawer slid open gracefully, making the lady and the big guy grin. “Wow. I’ve never seen that thing work so well.” The lady said.

“Me neither, and I’ve been here for fifteen years!” The big guy patted Stanford’s shoulder. “You did a good job, dude. I’m impressed.”

Stanford’s face suddenly felt really hot, like the kind of hot it gets when someone points out his six fingers, but his gut wasn’t squirming around in the usual bad way. And Stanford found it hard not to smile. “Th-Thank you.”

“Thank you,” The big guy said with a grin. “What do I owe you for a job well done?”

Stanford stared at the big guy, wondering if he was joking, but the big guy and the lady just smiled at him and suddenly he noticed how empty his stomach felt. “Can I have a snack?” And he pointed to the vending machine.

The big guy grinned and nodded. “Sure, dude! Hungry?” Right on cue, Stanford’s stomach growled. He held his jacket tighter around himself and blushed, but the big guy and lady just chucked.

“No wonder, it’s almost lunchtime.” The lady pointed out as her watch told her it was almost one.

“Well, hey, Abuelita would love some more mouths to feed.” The big guy said and asked Stanford, “Why don’t you ask your folks if you can join us for lunch?”

“My parents aren’t here.” Stanford said, unable to believe what was happening in front of him. “It’s just me.”

“Oh. Well, wanna stay for lunch?” The big guy offered nicely. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but we’d love to have you…”

“Yes, please!” Stanford answered happily. “Sounds like fun!”

“Sweet!” The big guy dipped his fez to the boy and said, “Mr. Mystery at your service, little dude! But you can call me Soos! This here my wife, Melody. Want a tour of the Mystery Shack before lunch?”

“Sure!” Stanford even pulled out his notepad and pencil from his jacket and held it ready for note taking.

Soos laughed, grabbed an eight-ball cane, and led the way through the doorway with red curtains. Stanford was amazed to find a little museum full of odd stuff! Left and right there were strange anomalies and attractions that were just the coolest! Stanford had only seen stuff like this in his dreams, and now it was all here in front of him.

Soos cleared his throat and declared, “Dear gentleman! Looking around my Mystery Shack, you’ll see many wondrous befuddlement, unlike anything you have ever seen before! Feast your eyes, on the dangerously adorable Unicat!” And he gestured to a fluffy orange tabby with a unicorn’s corn tied to it’s head. The kitty was sleeping on a fluffy cat’s bed and Stanford grinned and began to sketch it.

“Now beware, tourist, not only could this guy make you sneeze, Mr. Wiggles is so adorable he can literally bend you to his will.” Mr. Mystery warned with wiggling fingers. “One minute he’s purring in your hand and the next he’s biting your hand, but don’t worry, just give him a treat and he’ll be putty in your hands, dawg.” Soos pulled out a bag from his suit and asked, “Wanna give the Unicat a treat?”

Stanford grinned and happily let Soos shake a treat onto his palm. Mr. Wiggles woke up and sat patiently on the bed. Stanford gave it to him and scratched Mr. Wiggles under his chin while the kitty munch on his treat and purred. Then he was ready for his nap again.

“Up next, I give you a rare picture of a horse riding another horse!”

The whole thirty-minute tour Soos amazed Stanford with the Rock That Looks Like a Face, London Bridge made out of popsicle sticks, other strange photos and articles framed on the walls, and finally the good ole Sascrotch. Stanford attentively asked questions and Soos happily answered all of them. 

This little guy was reminding Soos of a younger version of himself more and more. He was helpful and nice and kinda shy and quiet, but Soos could tell this dude was special. Soos wondered if Mr. Pines felt this way about him when he first came to the Mystery Shack.

Melody eventually called Soos and Stanford in for lunch and Stanford let Soos put a hand on his shoulder and led him through the “Employees Only” door. Stanford was surprised to find what appeared to be a house. Not that he was too surprised, Stanford’s family lived above their shop, but still. It looked like a really nice place to live. He had always wanted to live in a cabin! “Wow, you have a really nice house.”

“Thanks, dawg.” Soos patted his shoulder and pointed towards the kitchen. “Mm. Smells like Abuelita made tamales!”

Melody was fixing glasses of water while Abuelita stirred a pot. Stanford smiled at the old lady in an apron with soft old-lady skin. She smiled and shuffled over to the boy. “Aye! ¡Qué niño tan dulce! Hola, niño! Look at you! So thin! You must be hungry.” She cooed and made Stanford sit at the table so she could pile his plate high with rice, beans, and tamales. “Here, eat up.”

Stanford didn’t know much Spanish, but he did know one phrase. “Muchas gracias, señora!”

Ma was a great cook, but she didn’t look much Mexican. There was a taco place that was okay, but this was real Mexican food and it tasted so good! Stanford, who hadn’t eaten since lunch, was starving and happily cleaned his plate while he listened to Melody and Soos talk about work and their plan for the day. They occasionally asked Stanford something and let him talk, but Stanford was happy to quietly eat and the grown-ups respected that.

“Oh, you’re a twig, niño,” Abuelita commented as she carried the plate full of tamales over to him and gave him another. “Here, have some more.”

“No, gracias.” Stanford said politely, making sure to say thank you.

“I asked if you would like more tamales.” Abuelita said with a bit of a scary voice and a stern look. One glance at Soos and Stanford saw him smile and nod his head, advising to accept the food.

“Uh… si?”

“That’s what I thought you said.” Abuelita said happily and gladly piled four more tamales on poor Stanford’s plate.

A few minutes later, a door opened in the distance and a voice called teasingly, “‘Sup, Mr. Ramierez!”

“In the kitchen, Wendy!” Soos called back.

“Aw man, Dipper and Mabel not here yet?”

“No, bus doesn’t get here for a few more hours.”

“Dang it.”

Stanford looked at the doorway and his jaw dropped. A very pretty red-headed girl with freckles, a blue flannel, and one of those pinetree hats, stood with jeans and hiking boots. Stanford was kinda reminded of Stanley; they both gave off an atmosphere of confidence and bigger-than-what-you-expect attitude. Wendy looked at the new guy and smiled. “Great, did you two kidnap some kid?”

Soos laughed and ruffled his fluffy brown hair. “Nope! This little dude helped fix the cash register.”

“Oh, new handyman, huh?” Wendy asked as she stole a tamale off his plate and leaned against his chair.

“Well,” Soos shrugged and smiled at Stanford. “If he wants the job, sure.”

“Wait, really?” Stanford asked. “You want me as a handyman?”

“Sure! Why not? You know how to fix a golf cart?”

“Well, I don’t know if I…”

“Boom!” Soos threw a random question-mark staff t-shirt at his face and announced happily, “You’re hired! One size fits all, dawg! The golf cart’s okay for the most part, but it’s not quite charging right. Think you can look at the battery or the charger?”

“Oh,” Stanford was having a hard time taking this in. First these guys actually liked him, and now they wanted him to stay and work?! He grinned from ear-to-ear with shiny brown eyes, hopped off his chair, slipped off his jacket, and changed shirts as quickly as possible so he could put his jacket back on over his staff t-shirt. “Okay!”

“What’s your name, anyway?” Wendy asked as he patted his hard enough on the back that he went “oof.”

Stanford opened his mouth, but hesitated. If he was going to stay here, some time-cops might come looking for him. Or he might mess up the time-space continuum more than he has. But what if it was always supposed to be this way? What if Stanford Pines went missing and was never found again? What if somewhere there was an unsolved report of a missing boy that no one missed? What if Stanford had found that tape measure for a reason? Deciding to play it safe and making up his mind to start over and stay, Stanford quickly answered with, “Phil.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The golf cart was easy to find. Stanford popped the hood and saw the battery. It was a bit too advanced, not because of the technology, but because Stanford is only ten and had never fiddled with a car battery before, but he knew enough about batteries as a whole to teach himself what to do. It turned out the goat had chewed on the cord so sometimes the battery would receive charge, sometimes it wouldn’t, so all Stanford had to do was fix it with special black tape.

After that, Stanford went inside to see if anything needed to be fixed or to ask Soos what he wanted him to do, when he caught a glimpse of someone climbing up a ladder. Curious, Stanford climbed up and opened a little door to find Wendy up on the roof and sitting in a lawn chair.

“Whoa, what is this place?” He asked.

Wendy smiled with a soda in her hand and said, “Just my hang-out. Great place to come to hide from work. Wanna a soda, bud?”

“Sure, thanks.” Stanford smiled to see that familiar Pitt soda now in a can. Really weird, considering he was used to bottles, but he knew how to open a can and found he didn’t mind the change in containers for his drink.

“So, Phil,” Wendy said casually. “If you could go anywhere in the world, where and why?”

Stanford sat on the roof with his feet dangling off the edge. “I don’t know. I want to travel the world. I want to see it all.”

“An adventurer, I like your moxie, kid.” Wendy said. “Gravity Falls is alright, but I wanna go see a big city, like New York or even just San Francisco.”

“I’ve been to New York.” Stanford shared. It was true; the Big Apple was only an hour drive (two if there was bad traffic) from Glass Shard. “I wouldn’t want to live there, but it’s a nice place to visit. Lots of museums and historical records…”

Wendy laughed and shook her head. “You’d like my friend Dipper. He’s a nerd, too.”

Stanford’s cheeks turned red, happy that this pretty girl seemed to like him. Not that he ever had a chance with her! She was eighteen and he was ten. “Who’s Dipper?”

“My best friend.” Wendy said proudly. “He might be a nerd, but he’s also, like, the coolest guy I’ve ever met. A good friend, too. Hey, you’ll actually get to meet him today! He and his sister Mabel are coming to spend the summer and they’re supposed to get here some point today.”

“Cool! I’m excited to meet them. I don’t have any friends back home.” Stanford let slip.

“Well, you’ve got some now.” Wendy reassured the kid and lightly punched his shoulder.

Stanford punched back as he laughed and he then asked, “So, what’s your favorite type of snack food?”

“Oh man, I can’t just pick one. Popcorn’s a big one. Really, anything salty. You?”

“Does jelly beans count or is that a candy?”

“Naw, man, that’s a snack food.”

“Jelly beans it is, then!”

“Phil! The portable toilets are clogged!” Soos called from inside the shack.

Stanford took a minute to register who his new boss was talking to and then sighed and stood up. “Back to work.”

“Later, dork.” Wendy said with a wink and Stanford climbed down with a dorky smile.

The red head sighed happily as a breeze drifted by, free from having to make-up an excuse as to why she can’t attend to the bathrooms, and she sipped her soda and watched the sun slowly sink. A little while after Phil left, Wendy heard the familiar roar of a bus and saw it pull up to the tourist trap, but instead of a small group of tourists spilling out, two teenagers walked out with their arms full of luggage and a pig at their feet.

“YES!” Wendy stomped her boots on the roof and yelled, “THEY’RE HERE! DIPPER! MABEL!” Using her trusty pinetrees, Wendy climbed down and ran to her favorite pair of twins and hugged them. “I’ve missed you, you weirdos!”

“Aw, Wendy!” Mabel cooed.

“We’ve missed you, too.” Dipper assured her and the hug ended so they could look at each other properly.

Dipper had hit a growth spurt since last summer and was now an inch or two taller than Mabel. He wore an opened blue flannel over his orange t-shirt with his jeans and Wendy’s borrowed hat. As tradition, Wendy swapped Dipper’s pinetree hat for her fur cap back and they high-fived when Dipper fixed his cap so it didn’t cover his eyes. Mabel still wore her sweaters and skirts, but now her hair was only shoulder-length and her braces were long-gone. Today she wore her yellow “Hug Me” sweater with a pink skirt and headband to match.

“Wow, you guys look great!” Wendy complimented. She noticed Waddles making his way to Gompers and them falling asleep on the porch with the goat.

“Thanks,” Dipper said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Can you believe we’re the same age as you when we met?”

“I know, right?! It’s so weird!”

“DUDES!” Mabel and Dipper braced themselves as a heavy man swept them up into his arms and squeezed so hard their faces turned blue. “I missed you two so much! I’ve got a bunch of new attractions to show you and fun stuff to do this summer! This’ll be the best one yet!”

“Soos, can’t breathe.” Dipper wheezed.

“Who cares?” Mabel said hoarsely. “Anything for a Soos-hug.”

Soos finally managed to let them go and he grabbed their suitcases for them. “Here, let me help you dawgs get settled in your room. You’re still cool with sharing with your grunkles, right?”

“Always are.” Mabel reassured him. With Melody and Soos in Ford’s old room and Abuelita in Stan’s old room, that only left the attic for guests, so every summer when the Pines family came home they had to share, but with two pairs of bunk beds and plants of woods for some alone time during the day, it was comfortable enough for the summer. Besides, it was a good way to make up for lost time during the fall, winter, and spring.

As Soos, Wendy, Dipper and Mabel went into the house by the back door, Mr. Mystery called out, “Hey, Phil! C’mere, there’s some dudes I want you to meet!”

“Who’s Phil?” Dipper asked.

“My new handyman!” Soos said proudly as he sat the suitcases on the stairs for a few minutes. “Really smart dude, fixed the cash register and the golf cart already!”

“Aw, you have your own wittle Soos!” Mabel exclaimed with rosy cheeks and bright eyes. “Well I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Yeah, he’s kind of a nerd like you, Dip-Dip.” Wendy added as she elbowed him. 

“Well how long has he been working here?” Dipper asked.

“Just today.” Soos answered. “I really like him. I think he’ll end up being a member of the family soon enough.”

“Sorry, Mr. Mystery,” A voice called from outside. “I only got one toilet unclogged, but I’ll clean the others!”

“It’s okay, dawg,” Soos hollered back.

The door opened and the ten-year-old looked around. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

Dipper and Mabel dumbfounded. It was like seeing a cartoon character come to life. That little sunburnt boy in all those childhood photos Ma Pines and their grunkles had shown them was now right here in front of them in a Mystery Shack staff t-shirt and brown jacket, smiling at the little gang. He cocked his head and looked curiously at the teenagers, who were looking at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. Embarrassed, Stanford’s face turned red and he hid his hands behind his back.

“Yeah, Phil, this here is Dipper and Mabel!” Soos introduced, writing off the twins’ reaction as shocked by the boy’s cuteness and Phil’s quietness as shyness from meeting new people. “Dudes, this here Phil! If you need something that needs fixin’, just go to this guy right here.” And Soos ruffled his hair playfully, making Stanford feel better and smile with his blush still intact.

“Uh… nice to meet you.” Dipper muttered.

“OH MY GOSH!” Mabel ran up to Stanford and scooped him up into a hug. “You’re SO CUTE! Who’s a wittle guy, who’s a wittle guy?! Is it you, is it you?” She cooed and hugged him tightly and combed his hair with her fingers.

“Whoa, hey!” Stanford squirmed a little bit but slowly stopped fighting. He had never been swallowed with so much hugs before and kinda liked it. “N-Nice to meet you. I like you. You’re weird.”

“Great,” Dipper said slowly and moved towards his sister to grab her arm. “So why don’t we get to know Phil somewhere else.” And he dragged them off somewhere else.

Wendy looked at Soos curiously and asked, “What was that all about?”

Soos shrugged and picked up the suitcases to take them upstairs. “Teens are crazy.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Stanford was engulfed in darkness until a bright light was turned on by a pull of a metal string. The boy blinked his eyes to adjust to the light and found he was in some sort of small, dark, cramped space with the two teenagers in front of him, side by side. The girl, Mabel, was grinning really big, but the boy, Dipper, had his arms crossed over his chest and looked both stern and worried. They both somewhat looked familiar to Stanford, but he couldn’t figure out why.

“Alright, what are you doing?!” Dipper hissed at Stanford. “How did you even get here? And where’s the time machine?!”

The idea of playing dumb wasn’t going to work, Stanford realized, as he paled a sheet and swallowed nervously. “You… You know I’m from the past?”

“Yes, we do, Stanford Pines.” Dipper said firmly, making Stanford shiver.

Mabel noticed this and thought her brother was being too harsh, so she slipped in, “But we’re really happy to see you, Ford!”

“But what you’re doing is really dangerous.” Dipper warned in a calmer tone. “By missing in the past you’re jeopardizing the future.”

“You don’t understand.” Stanford insisted. “No one back home will miss me. I’m a nobody in the past, but here people actually like me. Why can’t I stay?”

“Now wait a minute,” Mabel said gently and put a hand on one of his shoulders. “You really think Stan won’t miss you?”

Stanford froze at that. The idea of Stanley all alone made his chest ache, but he shook his head and looked away from the teenagers before him. “He’s better off without me.” He mumbled.

“No he’s not.”

“Yes…”

“No, he’s not.” Dipper insisted and sat on a box to be eye-level with Stanford. “Listen to me, I don’t know if you noticed this or not, kid, but we’re twins, too. We understand more than you think we do. Sometimes you think you’re not good enough and sometimes you think it’ll be better for both of you if you went your separate ways, but… but family sticks together, no matter what. It doesn’t matter if it’s a twin or a parent or just a really good friend, one day you’re gonna realize how much you need your family and I really really hope for you it’s not before it’s too late.”

Stanford, frustrated that he didn’t have a good comeback, decided to turn the tables. “Now, wait a minute, how did you even know I was from the past? And how did you know about Stanley?”

Dipper and Mabel exchanged uneasy facial expressions and Mabel then said to Stanford, “Look, Ford, please. You have to trust us. I know things are hard for you right now, but things will get better…”

Stanford scowled at that. They weren’t listening! They just didn’t understand! “You don’t know that! You don’t know what I’ve been through! I’m a nobody in the past, I’m a freak in the past!” And he even held a hand out to their faces so they could see his six fingers. With tears in his eyes, the boy yelled, “This is the one place I feel at home, and I won’t let you take that away from me!” And with that, Stanford pulled the time machine out of his pocket, threw it on the floor, and smashed it with his sneakered foot.

“Stanford!” Mabel scolded.

“What did you do?!” Dipper yelled as he got on his knees and began to scoop up the broken pieces.

Stanford spun around, opened the closet, and left without another word.

“We should’ve told him we were family.” Mabel said quietly.

“No,” Dipper snapped as he stood up and exited the closest with his sister. “If he found out it could mess up our present. We need to try to get him to go back to Glass Shard.”

“All while keeping it a secret that we’re Pines, too, and also keeping it a secret that Phil is baby Ford?” Mabel clarified and rubbed her forehead. “And you do realize we’ve got until tonight when Grunkle Stan and Ford come home and will definitely recognize him?”

“I know.” Dipper sighed. “I’ll work on fixing the time machine. You’re better with people, you try to convince Ford to go back to his own time.”

“You got it, Dippin’ Sauce.” Mabel said and went off to try to find her wittle uncle.

Stanford was true to his word and went straight to finish unclogging the toilets, so that kept Mabel away from the most part and she got distracted catching up with Wendy. As the sun got lower into the sky, Dipper sat on his bottom bunk and fixed the time machine, meanwhile Mabel had to try to earn Stanford’s trust, but the little guy was doing a good job of avoiding her.

Time was running out, and after Stanford raked the yard, cleaned the gutters, washed Soos’ truck, and a bunch of probably unnecessary chores just to keep him busy, Soos proudly patted Stanford’s back and said, “Good job, little dude! You can go home now.”

“Oh,” Stanford rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “Uh, are you sure there’s nothing else I can do, sir. M-Maybe I can sweep or…”

Soos raised an eyebrow, picking up how sweaty and nervous the kid was about going home, and he smiled gently. “Hey, I get it. I’m not kicking you out or anything. If you wanna stay, stay as long as you want. Heck, you can spend the night if you want to. The couch is always here.”

Stanford smiled up at his new boss. “Thank you so much, Mr. Mystery.”

“Hey, you can just call me Soos.” He offered. “And if you need to talk, I’m here for you, dude.”

Stanford nodded. “Okay.”

Mabel pulled out all the stops. She laid a bunch of arts n’ crafts stuff laid out on the card table and she stopped Stanford as he passed the living room. “Hey, S-Phil! Wanna make some puppets with me?”

“Oh boy, you’re not hungover some puppet-boy again, are you?” Wendy asked as she entered the room, oblivious to Stanford’s scowl.

“Haha! Nope!” Mabel said as Wendy sat with her. “Just felt like setting the arts n’ crafts master free tonight! Whaddya say, Phil? Wanna get in on this? We could make hand-turkeys, or finger-puppets, or paint our nails?”

“No, thanks.” The boy said coldly.

“Aw, come on.” Wendy teased and laid her hands out on the table. “Here, Mabel, I’ve been meaning to do my nails, mind fixing me up?”

“You bet, sister!”

Stanford stomped off angrily, but Mabel somehow managed to stay focused and she left Wendy, confused and alone at the table, so she could go after him. “St… Phil, wait! Let’s just talk.”

“Talk about what?” Stanford snapped and turned back to look at her angrily. “You’re trying to get rid of me! Why would you wanna talk to me if you don’t like me?”

Mabel gasped and covered her mouth. Stanford was so confused, having no idea why she suddenly looked so sad and hurt, and she sunk to her knees and put a hand on each of his shoulders. “That’s not true, Ford.” She whispered quietly. “Not only do I like you, but I love you. We all do. Which is why you have to go back to the past.”

Stanford blinked with surprise at finding Mabel looking so sad. It hurt more than he thought it would. And there it was again, that feeling like they had met before. She just looked so familiar… “But I don’t wanna go back.” Ford tried to explain yet again. “Why should I go back?”

“Cuz if you don’t the entire timeline could change.” Mabel stressed as calmly as she could, but she was failing, her arms trembling. “I can’t tell you too much, but… but by being here instead of your own time, you’re not doing things that’ll shape today. You have no idea what could happen, none of us do, but that’s what’s so scary.”

“Oh, come on, what could I do that’s so important it messes with time?” Stanford dared to ask.

Mabel opened her mouth and closed a few times, like a fish out of water, but with no explanation, Stanford shrugged her hands off of him and turned to the door. He tried to slam it to make it clear to Mabel he wanted to be alone, but in his fury he had stupidly closed the door with his right hand still on it, crushing his fingers.

“OW!”

It was a painful door jam, the kind that made your eyes water and made you wonder for a second if your hand was broken. Stanford held his hand by the wrist as his hand immediately swelled and looked red. Mabel covered her mouth again and got on one knee in front of him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Let me see…”

“Whao, what happened?” Soos asked as he and Melody emerged from the kitchen and Wendy came out of the living room.

“S-Phil closed the door on his hand.” Mabel said as Stanford held his hand close to his chest and hid it with his uninjured hand.

“Aw, poor dude.” Soos went up to him and held out a sweet hand. “Here, lemme see it.”

“N-No!” Stanford stuttered. And took a step back, now being on the porch with everyone else inside. “It’s fine, I’m okay.”

“Don’t be afraid, Phil, just lemme take a look at it.” Soos said as he fixed his eyes, trying to see past the uninjured hand at the hurt hand, but then his eyes widened. No, he must have miss counted. No, he didn’t have… “Phil, lemme see.” He said firmly.

“No!” But Stanford was too slow and Soos had grabbed his hands as gently as he could and held the hurt hand, not only to check if it was broken, but to count his fingers. Suddenly a lot of things were clicking in Soos’ head and he felt like a big dummy dumb for not noticing who this little dude was sooner.

Soos, Melody, and Wendy gasped, making Stanford’s eyes sting. He blinked to make the stinging go away; he should be used to that kind of reaction. He yanked his hand out of Soos’ grasp and shoved both hands in his pockets.

“Dude!” Soos gasped, looking horrified. “Wh-Why didn’t you tell me?! I can’t believe…”

“Who cares?” Stanford asked, not looking at any of them. “It’s just a stupid birth defect.”

“No, I mean why didn’t you tell me you were Stanford Pines?!”

That got him to look up, terrified, and he saw the three shocked faces and the sad one Mabel wore. “But… But…”

“Sweet Paul Bunyan.” Wendy gasped. “It’s really him…”

“I thought you seemed familiar, but I just thought you were a lot like me!” Soos yelled in shock as he held his head. “But it turns out you were a lot like Dr. Pines?! MY MIND! It’S EXPLODED!”

It was slowly sinking in that these guys didn’t care that he had polydactyly; they cared that he was from the past, and apparently his older-self knew everyone here. Was that why Mabel and Dipper freaked out so much? “Wait, you… do you know me?”

Soos stared at Stanford in complete shock. “Of course we know you, dude! You’re…”

“Our friend!” Mabel interrupted. “A really good friend!”

“Yeah, man.” Wendy backed up. “Look, you’re a really great kid, but…”

“But you need to go back home.” Melody finished for her.

Stanford’s whole world was shaking. “Wh-What?! But you…”

“I know,” Soos said and got on one knee to be closer to his eye-level. “But… Dr… F-F-Ford, you’re… you’re a great kid, and we’d never do anything to hurt you, but you have to go back.”

The poor boy’s chest was suddenly feeling really heavy. His eyes were stinging again. He scowled angrily. He desperately didn’t want to go back home, but what was the point of staying here if no one wanted him around? “I thought you guys were my friends.” He croaked, unable to keep his emotions out of his voice.

“Stanford,” Mabel took a step forward, desperately wanting to hug him but she was treating him like a scared animal who would run off at the sight of too much movement. “We are your friends, but you have to trust us…”

Stanford squeezed his eyes shut and darted around for the woods, planning to just run and run until no one could find him, but something he didn’t see stood in his way and made Stanford fall flat on the grass, barely a foot away from the porch. Mabel, Wendy, Melody and Soos all hurried onto the porch and simultaneously gasped. Dipper came out with the fixed tape measure in hand and announced proudly, “Okay, I’ve fixed the time machine and - what the HECK is going on here?!”

Stanford had bumped into whatever he had hit so hard his glasses were skewed, but when he fixed them he marveled at who stood before him. A tall guy with a round gut, a brown coat over a t-shirt and worn jeans with boots, and a red beanie looked down at him. His gray hair passed his shoulders by an inch and he looked so much like Pa, but the sparkle in his brown eyes and the way he looked completely confused but took everything with a grain of salt was something Stanford could recognize anywhere. He didn’t even question it.

He hadn’t realized how much he had missed his twin until he was standing right in front of him. Who cares if he was old? With a trembling lip and wet matching eyes, Stanford lunged into Stan’s legs and hugged him tightly, burying his face in his jeans, the top of his head just barely reaching his hip.

“Whoa there,” Stan’s gravelly voice was strange to Stanford, but his strong hands still hugged him in return and rubbed circles into his back. “It’s alright there, Sixer. You’re okay. You care to explain what’s going on here, Poindexter?”

It sounded like Stan was no longer talking to Stanford. He wiped his button nose and eyes and barely let Stan go, just enough to look up at someone who was standing next to Stan. Stanford almost screamed, but he bit his lip in time. He didn’t need to look at this man’s hand to know who he was. He had Stanford’s fluffy hair, though gray with a light streak around it, he had Stanford’s cleft chin, and while this man also looked like Pa, there was only one person who could resemble Stan that much.

“Incredible,” Ford awed and pulled out a green journal from his blue coat and opened it. Like Stan, he also wore blue jeans and boots, but he had a red turtleneck under his blue coat from the looks of it. “I thought I had another year or two…”

“Did you clone yourself, you weirdo?” Stan asked.

“What, no! Of course not!” Ford laughed.

“Oh, this is that shapeshifter dude you were telling me about.”

“No, Stanley, it’s really me.” Ford knelt as he looked at Stanford, who still clung onto Stan’s leg tightly like it was a life preserver in the middle of an ocean. “Over fifty years ago I came across a tape measure while you were serving detention that transported me from Glass Shard to this place. Is that what happened to you?” He asked his younger self.

Stanford nodded. Ford smiled at him kindly and Stanford managed to smile back. He looked up at Stan and squeaked as timid as a mouse, “Is… Is that really you, Stanley?”

Stan chuckled and patted his shoulder. Did his brother always used to be so cute? “Yeah, kid, it’s me. Holy Moses, would you look at this little guy. You look just as I remember you, Stanford. Except not nearly as puny.”

“Hey, I’m not that small!” Stanford defended.

“Yup, that’s the stubborn brainiac I know!” Stan laughed.

Stanford smiled at him and then got an idea. Stanley would always have his back! He’ll help him! “Stanley, they’re gonna make me go away! Tell them I don’t have to go!”

“Make you go away?” Stan repeated and then looked up at the crowd and saw the time machine in Dipper’s hand. “Oh, don’t wanna go back to New Jersey, huh?”

“But G…” But Wendy covered Mabel’s hand before she could say anything else.

Stanford ignored the meanies behind him and gave Stan the saddest puppy-dog eyes he could muster. He could practically see his brother crumble. “I mean, I could never tell you no, Sixer…”

“Stanley,” Ford said as he put a hand on his shoulder. “I would like to speak to myself in private.”

Stanford didn’t know how to feel about that. His little fingers tightened ever so slightly on Stan’s jeans.

“Oh, sure.” Stan then snorted and added, “If you can let go of my leg.”

Ford chuckled and held out a hand to his younger self. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

Stanford still wasn’t sure. He looked into those deep brown eyes that matched his own, the same brown eyes he saw when he looked in the mirror. Or looked at his brother. Or his mother. Or Dipper or Mabel. Stanford glanced back at the other pair of twins, having a hunch, but he knew that there was only one person that was going to tell him what he needed to hear and wanted to hear in a certain way, so Stanford slowly let his brother go and took his own polydactyl hand.

Ford smiled and walked with the ten-year-old into the house alone. Stanford looked up at his older self and smiled. Ford caught this and chuckled. “Do I look as you had hoped?” He asked.

Stanford felt his cheeks get warm again, but he ignored it to talk to himself. Who else gets a chance to talk to themselves like this? “Did you get better at boxing?”

Ford laughed, knowing why Stanford asked that; the child was clearly happy he would grow up to be somewhat fit. “I did, actually. I’m still not as good as Stanley, but that’s okay. I actually kept fit from field research and travelling.”

“You’re an explorer?!” Stanford gasped.

“We’re an explorer.” Ford corrected. “We are with Stanley.”

“So,” Stanford felt more comfortable with Ford as they entered the gift shop, so he asked, “Where exactly are we?”

“This is our home. We built this place when we first moved here.” Ford explained as he stood in front of the vending machine. “It’s changed a lot, but so have we. Excuse me.” He let go of Stanford’s hand to click a button on his watch, making the vending machine open. Stanford gasped and Ford took his hand again.

“So robots don’t take over the world?”

“Not yet, anyways.”

“Do we ever get better at talking to girls?”

“Better? Yes. As good as we want to be? No.”

Stanford giggled at that. Maybe there was hope for him, after all. The odd pair went to the elevator, Ford typed in the code, and then they travelled down to the third floor. 

Stanford gasped to find a bright, colorful lab. What used to be dark and dingy and dusty was now loud and bright and full of projects ready to be resumed now that Ford was home for the summer. Twinkle lights hung from the ceiling, pictures and books littered the desk, and a big window displayed a big work-room full of projects. The Electron Carpet was rolled up and on a wooden shelf, a motorcycle in the works was in the work-room, and the big machines were fizzing and blinking on either side of Stanford.

“This place is amazing!” He cheered with pure delight.

“Yeah, beats working in a boring office every day.” Ford chuckled. “The lights were Mabel’s idea. Says a workspace needs to be fun. Do you want to see what I’m most proud of?”

“Yes!” Stanford took off for the work-room, thinking Ford was going to show him a microprocessor, or a machine that would benefit all of man-kind, but inside the giant room he could hear Ford chuckling and he found his older self still in the lab.

“No no,” Ford patted his ribs. “It’s right here.”

Stanford raised an eyebrow, confused and hoping it wasn’t going to be a stupid metaphore (he never enjoyed poetry), but Ford pulled out a photograph and Stanford gently took it, thinking it was going to be an award ceremony or a monster or an invention that wasn’t in the lab anymore.

The boy was beyond surprised to find himself in the picture, standing on the broken Stan O’ War with Stanley. Stanford could remember when this picture was taken, it had only been last summer, and from what the boy could tell, this copy was very old and worn. Stanford looked up at Ford to find him smiling peacefully.

“It was our first real achievement, our first big project, and it will always be the one I’m most proud of because we did it with our brother.” Ford explained.

Stanford smiled at himself, but then it went away as he thought about it. He was really willing to leave Stanley behind for all of this. Sure, mostly because he believed Stanley would be better off without him, but how much of it really was just Stanford trying to hide the guilt of leaving his twin alone. “Is… Is Stanley mad at me?”

“Oh, no.” Ford quickly reassured. “When we send you back, it’ll be like you never left.”

Stanford looked back up at himself and saw the picture of someone who looked really similar by his shoulder. Ford noticed Stanford’s averted eyes and he moved to the side so Stanford could look at the picture on the desk. A boy that looked a lot like Stanford had two fingers up by a girl who also looked like him with braces and long hair. The boy was wearing Dipper’s hat.

Stanford took the framed photo and Ford chuckled. “Stanley’s right. The resemblance is uncanny.”

With the pictures of ten and twelve-year-old Dipper, Mabel, Stan and Ford all in front of Stanford, he swallowed and asked, “Dipper and Mabel aren’t just friends, huh?”

Ford chuckled and shook his head. “No. All those people upstairs are your family.”

“So… if I go back now, then all of this will be my future?” Stanford asked, his eyes moving around the room and staying up at the ceiling for a few moments.

“Well,” Ford put a hand on Stanford’s shoulder and said, “That depends on you, you got to make the right choices. But I know you will. Remember, I’m you. I was once a ten-year-old kid looking up at an older version of myself, being told the same thing. Time travel is confusing, but you’ll find what goes around comes around, so if I experienced this,” And Ford gestured to the boy in front of him. ”Then it’s extremely plausible you will experience this,” And Ford gestured to the old man he was.

Stanford grinned and gave himself the picture back and sat the framed photo on the desk. There was still one last thing on his mind. Stanford hesitated, took in a deep breath, and dared to ask, “Does that mean Stanley and I will always be best friends?”

Ford held his cleft chin, hummed to himself, and then said slowly to himself, “I think you better get back to your own time and find out for yourself.”

Stanford sinked in stature and admitted, “I knew you were gonna say that.”

Ford chuckled and offered his hand again. “That’s because we are one smart kid, Sixer.”

~~~~~~~~~~

When back up to face the family, Dipper gave Stanford the time machine and said, “Now, it’s already set to backwards, so just go back fifty-two years and you should land right at the second you came from.”

“Thanks.” Stanford accepted the tape measure and looked at Dipper and Mabel. “I’m… I’m really sorry I got mad…”

“Hey, that’s what family’s all about.” Mabel said, waving the apology away.

Stanford smiled and nodded, then figured he owed them a hug and gave them one. Dipper was surprised, but hugged back, meanwhile Mabel was tearing up and sniffing as she hugged Stanford back tightly.

“Are you crying, pumpkin?” Stan asked.

“I’m… I’m gonna miss him…”

“I’m right here!”

Everyone laughed as Stanford let the teenagers go. Wendy ruffled his hair and said, “Had fun with you today, Stan Two. Feel free to get yourself a pet dinosaur on the way home.”

Stanford snorted and saw Wendy hold out a hand to him, wanting a high-five. He hesitated, then smiled and gave her a well-earned high-six. He then turned to Soos and Melody and said, “Thanks for hiring me, Soos, and giving me a tour.”

“Aw, you’re welcome, Little Dr. Pines.” Soos said.

“Just be careful going home.” Melody advised. “Don’t let the time-cops catch you, don’t go anywhere else, don’t do anything you wouldn’t do…”

“Yeesh, you’re worse than Ma.” Stan teased.

“Yeah, about that…” But Soos was interrupted by his adoptive father.

“Now move it, you knucklehead.” Stan said as it was almost dark outside. “Quit moping around too, it’s not like you're never gonna see us again. We’re your family!”

Stanford smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Stanley. See you earlier.”

“Love you, little brother.” And Stan punched Ford’s shoulder as he laughed.

“Yes, yes, enjoy it while you can.” Ford commented as he rolled his eyes, and Stanford pulled back the tape and released.

The second his ten-year-old self was gone, Ford held out a hand to Stan and clenched it a few times until his twin grumpily forked over some cash.

~~~~~~~~~~

January 1960-something

Just like Dipper said, Stanford was right where he was before he disappeared. He checked the clock in the window of a bakery and saw that no time had passed. He sat the time machine down for the owner to find and raced home, excited to tell Stanley everything.

But when bedtime came and Stanford was above Stanley and sharing his adventure, Stanley only said, “Wow, great story, Sixer!”

“It’s not just a story, Stanley, it’s real!” Stanford insisted. “It actually happened! Don’t you believe me?”

“A future in which you’re more fit than me?” Stanley clarified and blew a raspberry. “I bet you five bucks it never happens.”

Stanford grinned, knowing he was destined to win. “You’re on.”

[lightneverfades]

Frostiron Holiday Wishes Challenge ❆ 🎅🎄 Prompt by @brianadoesart Artwork: By yours truly, haha! :D / @lightneverfades 

Wish (Prompt/Idea): MERMAIDS. I like mermaids. Either a fic or art, but I just want more content of mer-Loki or mer-Tony.   I always enjoy versions where Loki is an underwater prince who falls in love with a stupid human inventor by the name of Tony. He's never been 100% happy in the palace with Thor and the others, so he often would go to the shore to watch the humans. He sees Tony working on the beach one day and becomes interested in him from there on. Basically a little mermaid type thing... I am easy to please. I just like mermaids.

x Note: I made two versions of the poster! One with the crown, lol and another without the crown! xD <3 The second one is kind of like a representation of Loki slowly shedding his human self I guess? The collar is when he was caught/found out about his mermaid existence (and I have a little muse bunny telling me this is Loki’s moment where he’s about to kick some ass!)

[siodymph]

“A Hogsmeade Holiday”

Hey @ohlooksheswriting I was your secret santa for the RotBTD Gift Exchange! I can’t begin to tell you how fun your prompt was to work with! I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did writing this! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

All around them powdery white snowflakes fell from the sky. For now it was a light snow, not even enough to coat the already-dead grass in ice. But in a few weeks, Hiccup imagined the entire school grounds would be blanketed in several feet of snow.

Soon it would look just like home. Berk was so far North, the island was almost always icy. Even during the summer there’d still be a bitter chill in the air. And Hiccup did not miss it at all. After a few years Hiccup had come to enjoy the climate at Hogwarts, even began to prefer it, the school was south enough to actually have seasons and change. Actually getting to experience the melting of spring and the warmth of summer. But when things became cold, it would remind him of home. Whether that was a good or bad thing depended on his mood really.

His best friend Jack however, absolutely adored the cold. Far more than any Wizard possibly could. It was like the cold gave him a new-found energy source. Just seeing the snow flurries seemed to put an extra spring in the Jack’s step. Practically bouncing as the two made their way off the school grounds and towards Hogsmeade Village.  

Jack had told him one of the Gryffindor girls in their year was hosting a holiday party at the Three Broomsticks. For Fifth-years only. Apparently it was an effort to bring their year closer together and ease some of the tension between Hogwarts Houses.

So of course, Jack was dragging his Ravenclaw friend to this holiday party.

“But I don’t even celebrate Christmas, I grew up with Sn-”

“Snoggletog, yeah, yeah I know.” Jack was quick to interrupt. “And technically Snoggletog and Yule came first before any Christians came on the wizarding scene. You told me before… I still hate the name though. Makes it sound like a holiday exclusively for swapping spit.”

“Gross.” Hiccup said wrinkling his nose. “So why are you bringing me?”

“Well they aren’t the same but they do celebrate a lot of the same stuff.” Jack explained. “Plus if you stayed cooped up in the library any longer, you’d probably start going looney.”

Hiccup huffed at that, quickly pulling a necklace out of his satchel. “Well unlike some people, I actually want to figure out this challenge Professor Flitwick gave us in Charms!”

Jack just shrugged. “I honestly thought he was just making Dreamworks up. I mean really, a secret necklace that you manipulate in your dreams? And when you wake up it just, happens?”

Hiccup looked down to gaze at his charm. It was a simple chain with a moon-shaped pendent that sparkled oddly. “I’m so close to cracking this thing. I can feel it!”

“You know Hic, you don’t have to be perfect at everything.” Jack said with a laugh. “Maybe you’re just meant to be a Magical Creatures kinda guy. Like that one guy you’re always going on about. Commander Newt, right?”

“Oh you mean, Newt Scamander? Only the greatest Magizoologist of our time?” Hiccup asked dryly.

“Yeah, that guy!” Jack teased.

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head. “You’re lucky we’re friends. Otherwise you’d probably fail all your classes.”

“Not my fault you explain things better than any of our professors do.” Jack replied, his eyes sparked as an idea came to him. “Maybe that’s what you should do! You should become a professor!”

“Now there’s an idea.” Hiccup replied. “But I have no idea what I’d even want to teach. There so much to learn about magic. It’s overwhelming sometimes.”

Jack didn’t seem nearly as concerned as Hiccup. “I just focus on the subjects I feel a connection with. I’m just gonna follow that pull and see where it takes me!”

“Well good luck with that.” Hiccup said sarcastically. “So while you and all the other Gryffindor go flying by the seat of your pants, the Ravenclaws like myself will be trying to actually learn and master our subjects.”

“You’re always so quick to divide people into houses.” Jack pointed out.

“Well, everyone from my island normally lands in Gryffindor. So when I didn’t that kinda caused a schism.” Hiccup said. Though if he was honest, that schism between himself and everyone else from Berk had existed long before he met the Sorting Hat in first year…

“Well who knows? Maybe this party is just the thing to close that gap!” Jack continued enthusiastically.

“I still can’t believe a Gryffindor set this whole thing up.”

“What’s so hard to believe about that?” Jack asked.

“This whole thing sounds like something a Hufflepuff would do.” Hiccup explained. “Trying to get everyone to be friends? Being all… friendly?”

“Well, if you knew Anna they way I do, you’d know that girl is an absolute party animal.” Jack replied. “If that girl can find a reason to throw a party then she’ll throw it!”

“Maybe she should have been a Hufflepuff. They’re all sweet and kind like that.”

“Maybe.” Jack countered. “And maybe you should have been one too! Then maybe you’d chill out more.”

While Jack laughed Hiccup just shrugged.

Soon enough they arrived at the Three Broomsticks. The whole building was decked out in Christmas decoration. And when they stepped inside, the boys saw that the Tavern was packed to the gills with pretty much everyone from their year. Music drifted through the air, competing for volume with everyone hooting and hollering.

Instinctively, Hiccup felt himself move closer towards the door. But Jack moved forwards, taking Hiccup with him as they made their way towards the bar.

“Hey Bun! Get me a butterbeer!” Jack called out to the guy running the bar, a Pooka actually by the name of Bunnymund. The man gave Jack a very pointed glare. But Jack hardly seemed worried. “And make it frozen, extra icy!”

Bunnymund for his part just rolled his eyes, muttering something about Jack being a “sub-zero gumby”. Hiccup almost missed it when the Pooka asked him what he wanted.

“Oh, uh.” Hiccup looked around the bar before realizing Bunnymund had been talking to him. “I’ll just have a Pumpkin Juice cider, please.”

“Sure thing kid.” Bunnymund replied. Before disappearing to go grab their drinks.

Hiccup was about to ask Jack what he’d done to annoy Bunnymund so much when a girl’s voice suddenly boomed across the Tavern.

“Jack! Ye gommy eijit! Where’ve you been?”

Both boys, and almost everyone else in the tavern, turned to see Merida DunBroch standing up at a table. She was a Slytherin girl. Her dark green house scarf was wrapped loosely around her neck and completely countered her massive plume of curly red hair.

“Sorry, Mer!” Jack replied, slinging an arm around Hiccup. “Someone here needed a little extra persuading.”

“Well come on then, get over here!” Merida practically demanded, bouncing her hands off the table as she did so. “I’ve spent the last half hour staking out this table for us! Some nyaffs almost stole it from me!”

As they moved to go sit down, Hiccup noticed how Merida gave a few boys from their grade a very smug look. He remembered when they were all first-years Merida use to hang out with them a lot because they were all from Scotland. That had been before she got to know Jack and Hiccup. The boys for their part scoffed at Merida and walked away with a pout.

As they all sat down, Jack leaned over and kissed Merida on the cheek. And within seconds the two began to bicker. While they went at it Hiccup let his mind wander. Despite the goal of the party, it seemed like a big chunk of the students were sticking to their own houses instead of mingling. Oh well, at least Anna had tried to bridge that gap in their year.

This whole thing was meant to bring the houses closer together but personally, Hiccup already had friends outside of his house. So he didn’t understand why he needed to be here. He was good on the whole friend-quota. Not to mention, big gatherings between houses like these made him nervous. Because if Ravelnclaws, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were all here, that meant Gryffindors would be as well.

And while Hiccup got along perfectly well with Jack, that same sentiment was not there for any other Gryffindor kids. Especially not the ones from his hometown of Berk.

As if sensing his dread, the universe decided it was time to mess with him again. Just as Bunnymund gave them their drinks Hiccup saw the front doors open out of the corner of his eye. And stepping into the Tavern was none-other than Berk’s finest. Most of the kids didn’t notice him, but one of the girls, Astrid, did. The expression on her face was unreadable.

Stumbling out of his chair, Hiccup quickly got up. “I- uh- I’m gonna go get some fresh air.”

“But it’s freezing out there.” Merida said.

“Yeah, nothing like a lungful of ice to get your blood pumping. Right Jack?”

Jack turned to see the group of Gryffindor kids and turned back to Hiccup, “You seriously gonna leave cause of them?”

“I’ll be right back.” Hiccup said, not even grabbing his pumpkin juice as he left. “I promise. I just need to go clear my head.”

And with that, Hiccup hurried out one of the back doors. Once outside, he leaned up against a wall and watched his own breath fog up. It always reminded him of a dragon when it did that. The thought helped him calm down a little.

He hated running into those kids. It was bad enough he had to live with them every summer. But Hogwarts was supposed to be his element. An escape from all that. A place where he didn’t have to hear how much of a scrawny weakling he was. He didn’t have to be reminded of how lowly everyone on Berk thought of him.

Hiccup decided he’d just have to wait until they all left and then he’d go back to Merida and Jack.

In the meantime, he walked around the outside of the Three Broomsticks and sat out front to people-watch. Hogsmead was an interesting town. If it hadn’t been for the school it would have just been a humble village somewhere out on the Countryside. But because there was a massive wizarding school next door there was a hodgepodge of different stores that either sold simple-yet-practical necessities, specifically school-supplies, or superfluous toys and candy. There was no in-between. And the same could be said for the people as well. They were either rugged elders who lived in the same town for generations, or were bright-eyed youngsters playing in the snow without a care in the world.

It was a unique bunch for a unique town, Hiccup guessed. At least everyone’s Christmas decorations, plus the freshly fallen snow made it all gentle and beautiful. As if blending the two polar opposites together somehow.

As he watched the snow fall, one figure walking through the streets caught his eye.

It was a girl around his age. But he had never seen them before in school. She was wearing a homemade bright purple cloak that stood out among the grey walls and grey ice. Her arms were full with bags and packages. And her hair was a beautiful golden blonde, so long that it had to be both braided and pulled up into a bun. Hiccup found himself immediately curious as to who the girl was. She didn’t look like a villager or a student, so why would she possibly be here?

As she passed her foot must have caught on a patch of ice. All at once the poor girl slipped and fell, and all of the items in her hands went scattering across the ground.

Before he could even think twice, Hiccup was on his feet and rushing over to the girl.

“Are you ok?” Hiccup asked.

The girl looked up at Hiccup with a gasp. Green eyes wide with fear. But when she realized Hiccup meant her no harm she laughed nervously.

“I’m fine!” She replied. “I’m just really clumsy. Mother always said I need to watch where I walk.”

Taking her hand, Hiccup helped the girl up and began picking up all her things.

“Oh! Thank you!” She said, somewhat surprised.

“It’s no problem.” Hiccup replied.

As he collected the girl’s things, he noticed it was all books, uniforms, vials and cauldrons. The kind of stuff you’d buy at Diagon Ally before getting to school, not half-way through the year.

“What? Did someone steal your stuff?” Hiccup couldn’t help but ask. “Or did you just get here or something?”

“Last week.” The girl explained. “My mother has been teaching me privately. And normally the school doesn’t accept transfers, but they made an exception for me. I got a letter insisting I attend their school actually.”

“Oh,” Hiccup replied. He didn’t even know their school accepted transfers. “So you’ll be at Hogwarts from now on?”

“Yes, I’m so excited to attend. I’ve heard so much about the curriculum, and the library!” The girl replied. Before suddenly jumping as if she just remembered something. “Oh no, wait! I’m so sorry, I never even asked what your name is!”

“Hiccup” Hiccup quickly replied. “Hiccup Horrendous Haddock. And you are?”

“I’m Rapunzel. Uh, Rapunzel Gothel.” The girl, Rapunzel, replied with a little curtsey. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Feeling’s mutual.”

Rapunzel smiled as she scanned over all the buildings, clearly looking for something. “One of the girls from my class. Invited me to a Christmas party, at some place called the Three-”

“The Three Broomsticks?”

Rapunzel’s eyes lit up at the name. “You know it?”

Hiccup nodded, gesturing to the building behind him. “It’s right here actually. Every fifth-year at the school is in there.”

“Perfect!” Rapunzel said. “This way is much more efficient! I can meet everyone at once!”

“That’s one way to look at it.” Hiccup replied. He was still incredibly curious about the girl so he offered. “My friends and I have a table inside, you can sit with us and get situated if you like.”

“I’d love that.” Rapunzel replied. “Lead the way!”

As they stepped back into the Three Broomsticks, Hiccup made sure to avoid the table currently taken by Astrid. Instead sticking to the back wall until they got to Merida and Jack’s table.

When Merida saw them come over, she grinned.

“It’s about time you got here, ya Blether!”

Hiccup was about to respond but much to his surprise Rapunzel replied instead.

“Sorry! I had to stop on my way to buy some school supplies.” She explained as she set all her bags on the table. “I had a little trouble finding this place, but Hiccup here helped me out!”

Hiccup looked between the girls in confusion. “Wait, you two already know each other?”

“Nothing gets past you, Sherlock.” Jack teased.

“That’s m’boyfriend Jack, by the way.” Merida told Rapunzel. “Complete idiot but he’s cute. And Jakc, since you’re the last one out of the loop, this here’s Rapuznel.”

“How do you do?” Jack said with a nod.

Merida scrunched up her nose at her boyfriend before answering Hiccup. “Ey, Punzie here showed up in my D.A.D.A. class this week. I swear this girl’s a mad genius! She’s got a better grip than most the folks at this entire school!”

“So you immediately became her class partner?” Jack asked.

“You know it!” Merida replied. “If it weren’t for her, I’d be failing this new assignment for sure!”

Rapunzel blushed under all the sudden praise. “It’s not a big deal you guys. We’re just learning about some cognitive curses, and the defensive spells you use counter them with.”

“That’s a mouthful.” Jack teased.

“That sounds really interesting, actually.” Hiccup quickly said in defense. “What kind of curses are you working with?”

“Well,” Rapunzel began. “There’s this one that seems really tricky. It’s called the Disini Curse. Once activated, an evil wizard could steal ideas or dreams their victim has. If the victim doesn’t realize what happened to them, the curse can be active for years and they’d be none the wiser.”

“That sounds horrible.” Hiccup said with a slight shiver.

Rapunzel nodded in agreement. “That’s why knowing the counterspells and remedies is so important. The quickest way to counter the curse is with a mind-clearing potion to re-encourage an independent mind. Though if you’re not careful you can easily be put back under the curse.”

For a moment, Rapunzel looked around the table before looking down sheepishly. “I sorta just hijacked the conversation there. I’m sorry for being rude.”

“You weren’t being rude at all.” Hiccup replied. “I find cognitive spells like that very interesting. My D.A.D.A. class is kinda behind so we’re still going over magical-creature defensive measures.”

“Oh that sounds fun!” Rapunzel said. “I wish I had been here for that.”

“Yeah, it was fun at first. The C.M.C. professor brought in some actual animals.”

For a moment, Hiccup glanced towards Jack and Merida who were grinning to each other like they were sharing some secret.

“You two got something you’d like to share?” Hiccup asked dryly.

“Nope!” Jack replied.

Merida snorted but didn’t say anything else.

Deciding to leave it be, Hiccup turned back to Rapunzel. “Anyways, I don’t know when you’ll do the hat sorting ceremony, but when you do I hope they place you in Ravenclaw. We could use someone brilliant like you.”

After hearing that, Merida laughed out loud, cackling and smacking the table with her hand. “You- You gommy! She already got her house!”

“What?”

Rapunzel looked sheepish as she explained. “It was the first thing they had me do when I arrived.”

Reaching up, Rapunzel undid her cloak to reveal her school uniform. And there loosely wrapped around her collar was a tie.

A yellow tie.

She’d been placed in Hufflepuff?

While Hiccup looked shocked, Merida continued to laugh, clearly enjoying this.

“I’m sure you guys will have some classes together.” Jack said lightly, trying to console him Hiccup realized. “And it’s not like we don’t see each other all the time, despite us all being in different houses.”

“That’s true.” Hiccup had to admit.

Still he couldn’t shake his surprise. Rapunzel seemed so smart and creative. She was everything admirable in a Ravenclaw. How did she not end up in the same house as him?

Maybe he didn’t know the other Hogwarts Houses as well as he thought…

He was pulled from his musing when Merida reached over and put Jack in a headlock. “You’re lucky Jack! I don’t think that dis-curse would work on you. Cause your head’s already empty!”

“Hey I resent that!” Jack said, laughing as her began to wrestle with his girlfriend.

Rapunzel watched them with a curious smile. “Are they usually like this?”

“All the time.” Hiccup replied. “If they aren’t acting like wildlings, that’s when you really gotta worry.”

That made Rapunzel laugh. Hiccup couldn’t help but notice how melodious her laugh was. It made him want to laugh to.

Hiccup couldn’t wait for Rapunzel to join their little gang of Hogwarts misfits.