#horseshoe secret santa

[yoomschoocs]

(Late) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! I took part in a Secret Santa this year, organized by @herami in the RWBY Horseshoe discord server! I got @storyweaverkirea , so of course I drew them some sweet Horseshoe shenanigans ❤️ I had a lot of fun, and I hope to participate again next year! 😊

[by-speaker]

Rituals (ENG. VER)

Prompts by @raven-cincaide-words and Happy Halloween!

There were rituals that were purely Missa — lighting incense every morning, leaving offerings of fresh bread and water, murmuring blessings in Nahuatl while hanging fresh cempasúchil in the windows. Santa Muerte had its own traditions to uphold, after all.

There were rituals that were uniquely Philza's — boiling water three times for morning tea, hanging horseshoes over every new door, whispering ‘white rabbit’ on the first day of the month. The Angel of Death had his own customs to observe.

And then there were the rituals they had created together, as a family.

Every night, without fail, Missa would tuck Tallulah in while Philza read a story to Chayanne. Then they would exchange children — Philza would kiss Tallulah's forehead and tuck in her nightcap, while Missa would sing softly to Chayanne until his eyes closed. It was their nightly ritual, as sacred as any ceremony.

‘Why do they always have to do everything in that order?’ asked Chayanne once, half asleep.

‘Because that's the way it should be,’ Missa replied simply, running his bony fingers through his son's blond hair. ‘Like the sun rises every morning and the moon rises every night.’

Sundays had their own rituals. Philza refused to do laundry, of course, but he compensated by helping Missa clean the altars. It was a curious sight - Death and the Angel of Death, side by side, dusting off the offerings and swapping wilted flowers for fresh ones.

‘Isn't it a bit redundant that Death has an altar?’ asked Philza once, as she held up a fresh bouquet of cempasúchil.

Missa smiled, his eyes sparkling with amusement beneath his mask. ‘Isn't it redundant that the Angel of Death fears bad luck?’

Tallulah had her own rituals as well. Every morning, without fail, she brushed her hair exactly one hundred times — she had counted it once and refused to do it any other way ever since. Then Missa or Philza (whoever was available) would braid her hair, always ending with a purple ribbon.

‘It has to be purple,’ she insisted in sign language. ‘It's the colour of royalty.’

‘Of course, princess,’ Philza replied each time, as Missa hid his smile behind his mask.

Chayanne, for his part, kept a secret ritual that not even his parents knew about. Every night, before going to sleep, he would take out his Technoblade stuffed animal and tell him about his day in whispers. He would tell her about his training, about Tallulah's antics, about the stories Missa brought back from her travels, about Philza's superstitions.

‘I know it's silly,’ he once confessed to his stuffed animal, ’but I like to think that somehow you can hear me.’

What Chayanne didn't know was that Missa, being who she was, could ensure that somewhere in the afterlife, Technoblade smiled every time he heard his little admirer's stories.

[heramiart]

A gift I made for @anderazu for a Secret Santa on a horseshoe/ironcharms server c:

Bit late merry crimcheese everyone~ 💖

[safyresky]

Smile Shot: The Clifton Society Incident

...is finally crossposted over on ao3! Find Part 1 HERE, complete with 2024 glow up!

The Clifton Society Incident

Spurned by the injustices done to him in "The Clifton Manor Incident", the estranged brother of 1732's Santa starts a hunting club for myths, legends, and all manner of magical beings that spans the ages. Finally, hundreds of years later, a Clifton manages to do what no other member could do: capture Santa Claus (and an errant Jack Frost, too). Finding themselves Legend-napped and, in Jack's case, rendered powerless by two silly little slap bracelets, Santa and Jack endure the terrible decor, dress choices, and scare tactics of a crazy specific CULT as they figure out a way to escape their clutches. Meanwhile, Jacqueline and Charlie are sent out on official Legate business to find Santa and Jack, free them, and hopefully put a stop to whatever nonsense the so-called "Clifton Society" has caused for magibeans all over the world this time.

Part 1: Search

Santa and Jack are taken into holding and given an eye-opening historical lecture in the way of a villain monologue. Working with literal children, Santa plans their escape while Jack does his best to stay alert under non-magical influence. Back at the Pole, a search and rescue mission is launched and Charlie and Jacqueline set off to find their Legendary Counterparts before it's too late...

It's the proper successor to The Clifton Manor Incident, bridged by The Santa Dump! Check them out! They're a fun time 🤭

And check out a preview under the cut!

“Oh GREAT! Now I’m gonna be ITCHY!” Santa looked up as well. The shadow of what looked like a colonial style house loomed before them. It was maybe three stories, and very square. Though he couldn’t make out many details, Santa suspected something Jack could already see was disagreeing with him. “Quiet, you!” the girl shouted, whacking the back of Jack’s knees. “OW! You know, it’s kids like you that get themselves FROZEN. Don’t HIT people! It’s rude. Why is everyone so rude down here? Honestly! This sleet would NOT happen to us in Canada.” “Calm down, Jack.” Santa surveyed the kid, letting his Santa magic do its thing. “Jamie, he’s right. It’s rude to hit people, especially people you’ve already beaten up. Haven’t you ever heard the phrase don’t hit a man when he’s down?” The girl (Jamie, consistent nice lister for eight years running), flushed, looking away as they approached the wide stairs up to the portico of the house. Santa shook his head, glancing above them at the overhang. Nailed into the wood were an assortment of horseshoes, hung upside-down. He glanced back at Jack, speaking in a whisper. “Horseshoes?” “YES,” Jack practically yelled, doing his best to climb the stairs without Santa’s help. “Shhh! Tone it down a notch, would ya, Jack?” “Sorry,” Jack stage whispered. “They make us itchy. They don’t repel us these days; they haven’t for THOUSANDS of years. I know some fairies who actually give them TO ordibeings for good luck! And sometimes,” he laughed, “sometimes, for bad luck!” Santa stared at the sprite, dumbfounded. “How is it that you manage to be both loud and quiet at the same time?!” “I’m gifted. You know, we even use IRON,” Jack continued, in the same boggling loud-quiet tone. “That’s not even a recent thing, we’ve been using it for centuries! MILLENNIA, even! It used to sting a bit. Not anymore. Which is why I DON’T GET these bracelets!” Santa shushed Jack once more, glancing around them. If any of the crossbowmen had heard them, they didn’t acknowledge it. The kids, however, seemed to be watching inquisitively. Santa gently put his finger to his lips (which was hard to do in mittens), quietly shushing the kids. “These are trade secrets,” he whispered with a wink. The boy looked up at him and gave an awe-inspired nod. The girl, despite trying to look fierce, seemed to soften a little, the smallest of smiles breaching containment. “If you two are quite finished?” The leader asked, stopping in front of the door. “We’ve…arrived.” The double doors opened with a drawn-out creak as the group stepped in. Santa frowned. He looked at Jack. Then back at the forest where they had emerged from. Then back at the building in front of them. Though it didn’t look uninviting, it certainly didn’t feel inviting. Welcoming or not, the truth was that the two of them were nothing short of prisoners, and this could be very, very bad for them, yep.

Check it out HERE!

Not convinced? Here are some Cool Things it has:

Jack and Santa friendship!

Cultists!

Legate action!

Charlie as next in line to be Santa! All is right in the universe!

Really cool OCs!

And if you've read Crystal Springs already, IT'S JACQUELINE! SHE'S THE REALLY COOL OC! AND ADRIA MAKES A RETURN!

Magic! Chaos! Shenanigans!

ENJOY! Or don't! You do you :)

I, meanwhile, am going to decide if I should make it three parts instead of two, and if so, where the split should be and if it's already written...well. I guess post some NEW Clifton Society Incident shit! Yay :3

[ilopisara]

15.12. 22:55 | Ilo Pisara vs Sandels 4 - 5

Well, well, well... if it isn't the Ilo Pisara squad serving up a performance that's about as inspiring as watching paint dry on a Zamboni. Let's talk turkey here: we just got plucked 4-5 by Sandels with only 12 shots to our name! VETOJA HYVÄT HERRAT! Sami Noddy, you're like a Swiss Army knife out there – useful in many situations but when it comes to shooting, apparently more corkscrew than blade. Two measly shots? What were you doing out there—conducting an orchestra? And Yuri Tarde—you've got 'playmaker' written all over you except for those ten giveaways which scream 'secret Santa'. Four shot attempts and half of them hit the net; at least your accuracy is better than your decision-making. Jani Saari seems to be the only one who came to play hockey instead of hide-and-seek with the puck. Six shots on goal and two lighting the lamp? You’re like that one glimmer of hope in my otherwise dark day. Remember folks, this isn't horseshoes or hand grenades—close doesn’t count! We need wins like we had against Piska Mig Stensport where we dominated 8-4. That’s ancient history now though because today was about as successful as trying to teach piranhas vegetarianism. So let’s lace ‘em up tighter next time because another loss will have me questioning if our team strategy involves playing blindfolded darts with our skates on ice. Redemption awaits—or else my wit might start taking aim at egos rather than opponents’ nets!

[stephsyearinreview]

Steph’s Year in Review – 2022 Edition

2022 was a year of celebration and it was a hoot! It felt like our first “real” year of retirement as in 2021 Craig was so involved with closing his parents’ estate. The freedom this gave us, combined with celebrating my 60th birthday all year long, had me/us seeing many friends and family around the country/world

I started the year in the Tucson area for pickleball with Joan Hanson, Dave Brown, Johnny Stutsman, and Heidi Thorsen (SEA pickleball peeps) and a visit with Marilyn Byrne (MSFT friend).  In February, Craig and I took a quick ski trip to Sun River/Mt Bachelor as a trial run for our road trip “ski safari”.  The three-week safari took us through Idaho, where we visited with Bob and Ann Arnold (MSFT friends) and down to Salt Lake City (SLC).  In UT, we had great fun skiing Snowbird, Alta, Deer Valley, and Solitude.  We also had dinner with Colleen Daly (MSFT friend).  After SLC, we went over to Steamboat Springs where we visited with Brandon and Scott Jones (cousins).  Guy Michaelsen (SEA neighbor) joined us in Steamboat and we had fun hanging with him. Driving home from CO, we stopped in Jackson Hole for some snow mobiling, and Montana for one last ski mountain, Big Sky. I was wondering if I’d get tired of all that skiing and I never did!  

April 11th marked my 60th birthday and my pickleball peeps helped me celebrate, at the local SEA bowling alley, which was a blast.  Craig surprised me with a 10-day trip to Palm Springs to mark the official milestone. While there, I was doubly surprised when Jan and Gray Crary (Univ of CO friends) showed up from LA to help celebrate. In addition, Heather Pollock (childhood friend), came over from Santa Monica for a visit.

In early May, my girlfriend Susan Landahl (MSFT friend) and I went to Phoenix for a long weekend.  And in mid-May, Peggy O’Connor (Univ of CO friend) and Suzanne Coupe (Pat Kirkland Leadership friend) met me in Tulsa for a weekend of reading and girl-time.  Unfortunately, when I got home, I came down with Covid. While Craig got it from me, miraculously neither Peggy nor Suzanne did!

At the end of June, Craig and I headed to the Midwest. The ultimate impetus was a joint birthday party in Bloomington, IN.  My sister, Jan, turned 80 in September and I turned 60 in April so we had a joint birthday party over the 4th of July weekend.  It was fun to see the whole fam damnly (as well as Bea Travis, Ellen Campbell, and Gary Hafner & Jane Clay -  all old friends from Bloomington).  Leading up to the visit to my hometown, Craig and I spent some time in Cleveland checking out the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and going to the water park at Cedar Point. While in Cleveland we saw my Portland friend, Cathy Wilcox.  On this Midwest junket, we also went to Detroit where we toured the Ford museum and did some fun bike riding.  We also had a lovely dinner with my Booking.com friend, Amy Accetura.

It was great spending the majority of the summer in the Seattle area.  Craig talked about a perfect week including hiking, biking, and stand up paddleboarding and we had several of those trifecta weeks!  

In September, Craig and I headed to the desert and did some great site seeing & hiking in Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Zion before ending up in Vegas.  In sin city, we met up with my niece, Melanie Schwandt, and “the Scots” Jules and Dougal.  The five of us headed for Lees Ferry and took an amazing two-week rafting trip the Colorado.

In late September, Craig and I took what Craig called Secret Squirrel “The Fall Tour” (the second part of my surprise birthday trip/celebration).  We went down to the WA/OR border and slept in a tree house (!) for three nights before heading to the beach and spending three more at Cannon Beach.  

In October, we headed to North Carolina for my niece, Clare Cady’s wedding to Austin Tepsic.  After our time in Raleigh, we did some exploring of the Outer Banks and the Southern Banks.  When we got home, I was so excited to be home for two whole months.  Who would think I’d get a bit burnt out on traveling.  

On November 16th, I had a small accident with my 2017 Fusion Hybrid.  “Füshy B” as I call her has less than 30k miles on her and will be paid off Feb 9! Fortunately, no one was hurt. While technically I hit the other person, it was her fault as she pulled out in front of me.  Amazing how much damage can be done to cars even going at a relatively slow speed.  As of January 14th, Progressive hadn’t decided yet whether to fix it or consider it a complete loss.  

In mid-December, we caught the travel bug again and were very excited to fly to Iceland and Sweden for our arctic adventure. While the crazy weather in Iceland curtailed some of our activities, the time in Sweden was perfect.  I spent time with my step mother, Eva, as well as my Swedish family Margareta & Bengt, and Chatarina, Lief, and Elisabet. Christmas day, Craig and I flew up to The Ice Hotel -  200k above the Arctic Circle.  We spent one night in an ice room and two nights in a warm room.  Activities there included dog sledding (where we were mushers), snow mobiling, Nordic skiing, and eating lots of yummy food.  

In between all these great trips, when home, I play pickleball three times a week and continue to be honored to volunteer for End of Life Washington.  

As I wrap up this missive, I love the fact that this year I did so many fun things and saw so many of my friends and family in person. I love this quote from Carol Zizzo (Henley Leadership Group) in response to one of our blog posts:  I imagine you on your deathbed saying "Yep, been there, did that, as I said I would, and it was fantastic!”

On that note, I’ll sign off and continue planning our 2023 adventures.  

Love & Kisses - Steph 

[demon-goblin-thing]

Ooh this looks fun

@underestimated-heroine @nao-walks-into-poles @alcor

ok the post was getting way too long so i'm. just gonna start anew.

thank u so much @crazymadredfox for tagging me!! this is such a cute idea!! i stole ur meowth plush btw!! >:3

tagging; @roseofcards90 @sai-my-beloved @asagiri-fushimi-natsu @laveindrz @beddhead-red @megacarapa @bernkastel-ao3 @boy-yuri @icarianiscariot @trashcan-train and literally anyone who wants!!!

[platanchorsociety]

LOVE your headcanons. Since we’re getting close to December, could you please share some holiday headcanons? 👀

Aww, thank you so much!! Such a polite ask too, thank you!

Nick likes to make his own Christmas decorations. He likes to do everything from rigging up complicated lighting set ups to making paper chains.

Ace's house is always covered in lights over the Hanukkah-Christmas period (the family celebrates both but Hanukkah is done religiously whereas Christmas is done from a secular stand point). Ace was obsessed with the lights as a child and his parents could never say no to buying them and think its a waste to not put them all up. Rebecca always reminds anyone who says that it is over the top that Hannukah is the festival of lights.

Bess insists on watching the British Royal Christmas day speech every Christmas. She always liked watching it when she was little and liked to see the glamour of the palace around the Queen.

George set up a long standing tradition at the Claw where there is a Christmas Eve party for kids and every child who comes gets a stocking to take home full of presents so everyone has at least something to unwrap. Nick copies this tradition at the youth centre.

Nancy was banned from seeing any mall Santa after she achieved a three year run of exposing 'Santa' as a fraud in front of the other children.

The Drew Crew always run a secret santa. When it comes to exchanging gifts, they make everyone put money into the 'Sleuth Jar' if they worked out who any of the others had ($5 per person they worked out).The Sleuth Jar is then put toward buying drinks.

Carson and Ryan are big on Christmas jumpers. They love them, the uglier the better

George and Bess go ice skating each year just before Christmas, just the two of them. They spend the time thinking about Odette

Nick's parents make the best Christmas cakes imaginable. George is still working out how to replicate it

Both Ryan and Ace have dressed up as Santa for the Claw's Christmas party. Ryan absolutely adores doing it and Ace is always popular with the parents because he knows sign language. Ryan gets Ace to teach him sign language so he can be a better Santa

Nick once set out to give George everything for the Twelve Days of Christmas, through art and little toys he had made. George treasures them all: the eleven wind-up drummers drumming; the beautiful drawing of a partridge in a pear tree; the music box that opens up to show nine ladies dancing

Horseshoe Bay has a big superstition loaded celebration to welcome in the new year. The Drew Crew desperately want to be able to attend this festival but every year since they solved Tiffany's murder, there has been a supernatural attack trying to take advantage of all the mystical energy that comes with a new year. They normally have just narrowly averted disaster by the time the fireworks are let off to mark midnight and a new year.

[buryustogether]

read to me?

arthur morgan x reader

author’s note: happy holidays to @bimrsadler ! i’m so glad and honored to be your secret santa! i do apologize for the late delivery, i had to have unexpected surgery recently and i’ve been caught up with that. i hope you’ve had a safe and happy holiday season! <3

You stared down at the dull red cover that seemed to taunt you with its golden squiggles and lines. Your leg bounced beneath the table as you flipped it open to a random page and tried to read the first word. It was a long one. You smacked the book back closed and rested your chin in your palm, lifting your gaze to your gritty surroundings.

Clemen’s Point was nice, as you said, if anyone asked you. If you were to be frank, you liked Horseshoe Overlook far better; you didn’t care much for this heat and the sweat that crept its way down the small of your back when you did your chores. The din of camp filled your ears like an meevery day symphony, one you’d heard a dozen times over and again. It was familiar and comforting, sure, but you couldn’t deny the craving for something new.

That was exactly why you wanted to read... whatever this was called. Pride and Prejudice, you thought. It was Mary Beth’s copy, one she had loaned you, but it was all of useless to you. You couldn’t read; you couldn’t write. But you so desperately wanted to escape, just for a while, into a world of fantasy and romance. You didn’t want to wait to learn it all, but you were much too embarrassed to -

Oh. Arthur looked free, simply lying in his tent and scribbling in that journal of his.

Lifting your skirts, you stood and grabbed the book, making your way across camp towards his tent. You admired the animal skulls hanging on the posts, the hides beneath his cot that he hunted and skinned himself. You can even remember the day he brought home that cougar skin, proud as a buck with in the way he puffed out his chest and walked with a swagger to his hips. You hadn’t even tried to hide your fascination with him that night.

“Arthur,” you said and stopped just outside the tent. “You look rather cozy in there.”

He lifted his gaze from his journal and at once graced you with one of those rare smiles of his. It was as gorgeous as the sun rising over the lake, if not more so. “Wouldn’t quite say that,” he said and set the book aside. He stood, rolling his shoulders and tugging at his shirt to allow his chest some air. You eyed the springs of hair that poked over the collar. “What can I do for ‘ya?”

“Actually...” You looked down at your book and ran a thumb over the corners. “I was hoping you would read my book to me?”

He followed your gaze and he blinked in confusion. “Read to you?”

“Yes,” you said and extended your book toward him. You gave him a shy smile. “Well, you know I can’t read and I really was hoping to hear this story - Mary Beth says it’s to die for - and I thought, perhaps you could read for me? Just the first chapter, if you like.”

Arthur released a chuckle and opened the cover, flicking through a few pages for himself. “There are much better things to die for than stories, Miss Y/N,” he said.

You teased, “Well, I could always ask Dutch to read it to me.”

He waved a hand at you, both dismissing you and inviting you into his space. “Quit bein’ like that, woman. I’ll read ‘ya a bit.”

Triumphantly, you lifted your skirts and sashayed into his tent, smacking him with the hem of your dress playfully. Enjoying the rumble you evoked from him, you took a seat on his cot and folded your legs. He sat with you, keeping a respectful distance between the pair of you, and licked his thumb before turning the first few pages.

“This ain’t one of them sappy romances, is it?” he asked.

“Oh, I believe it is,” you giggled and leaned over to grab a needle lying on his nightstand. There was already thread on it, from where he’d been trying to stitch up his neckerchief himself. Unconsciously, you began to align the cloth and sew up the hole. “You’ll just have to grin and bare it, Mister Morgan.”

He exhaled deep and cleared his throat, glancing to see if anyone was close enough to hear, before quietly starting into the first paragraph. His voice was rough and hoarse from smoking and hollering and drinking all these years, but it was smooth in its own way, like sap dripping down tree bark. Like honey, like an angry sea, like a poem in the dark. He exaggerated all the right words and murmured them all the same, at times his eyes flicking up to make sure you were still listening.

And oh, you were. You’d only made it half way through the hole in the neckerchief, enraptured by his storytelling. He held you in a sort of trance with his voice alone, as if he’d reached out and touched your face with his rough, calloused hands. How you longed to have his fingers carress your cheeks, feel his breath on your neck. You closed your eyes, trying to imagine to feeling, and you nearly did, until -

“Miss Y/N?” said Arthur.

Your eyes snapped open and you found him staring at you, thumb marking his spot in the book. Flustered, you cleared your throat and looked down at your needle. “My. I suppose I’m a little more tired than I thought.”

He turned his gaze back to the page, and you realized he’d already gotten through the entire first chapter. How long had you been sitting here, listening to him read to you about Elizabeth Bennet? About a lady and the man who looked at her differently than the rest?

Quickly finishing the stitch, you bit the thread off and set the fabric down. “Thank you, Arthur,” you said and stood, beckoning for the book. “I do appriciate you doing this for me.”

You were unable to read his expression as he handed you your book, but then he kept his grip on the edge and you looked down. “Listen, Miss Y/N...” He seemed to struggle to find the words, especially with you staring at him expectantly. “If you like, ah, you can come ‘round tomorrow. We can keep goin’, just... if you want.”

Unable to keep the smile from your face, you grinned and nodded your head. “It’s a date, Mister Morgan.”

He scratched the back of his neck and peeked at you. “Is that what we’re callin’ it?”

You smiled again. “It is.”

“Heh. I suppose it’s a date, then.”

[charlessmithhasmyheart]

Title: Hunting Hijinks

Genre: Romance

Type: Charles x Reader

Triggers: None

A/N: Hey hey hey! This is a gift for the lovely @fangirl-ramblings. When I got the message that I was your secret santa, I was super excited! You are defs one of the people who I would consider to be my biggest supporter throughout this blog endeavor. Seriously! I would like to apologize for how long this took, but I wanted to make sure I was happy with everything before posting.

I know you had requested something about several people, so I chose Charles! Hope this is to your liking.

Here ya go! :)

____________________________

The sun was slowly sinking, the fire in front of you easily becoming your only source of light. The camp and it’s residents had been in the process of setting down for the night. Everyone but you. You were sitting on a log lost in thought, head resting in your hands as you stared into the flames; the object of your contemplation being none other than the mysterious Charles Smith.

Of course, this was of no surprise to you. It had been happening quite frequently. Charles was on your mind a lot. Especially since you had officially become a member of the Van Der Linde Gang.

A small smile began to tug at your lips as you recalled your first encounter with the illustrious group of outlaws.

You had been a bounty hunter then. Well, you hadn’t really been a true bounty hunter. You were just taking odd jobs from the wanted posters around Valentine and Saint Denis. It wasn’t the best work, but it paid well when you succeeded. And you did.

Believe it or not, you had actually met them during one of your jobs. You had been tracking a particularly elusive criminal for a few days. He had held up the general store and robbed a few of the townsfolk. Killed some too. The sheriff was adamant that he was brought back; alive or dead, it didn’t matter.

You were on the trail, the tracks very fresh when suddenly gunfire broke out ahead of you. Intrigued, you spurred your mount on only to come face to face with a shoot out. The target in question was crouched behind an over turned wagon, his own horse dead, as bullets from his attackers, three of them, soared through the air.

Determined to be the one to bring him to justice, you pulled your own gun from its holster and spurred your mount on again. Unfortunately the criminal, in what you can only assume to be a moment of stupidity, peaked from around the wagon, pistol loaded, only to receive a bullet to the face. With him now dead, the attacker’s switched their attention to you, guns still drawn. A curse slipped from your lips as you brought your horse to an abrupt stop.

“You take one step closer miss, and I cannot promise you’ll get away unharmed.” Warned their leader, who you later on learned to be Dutch.

When you made no move to speak he continued.

“Now I suggest you lower your weapon and we can talk this out. I see no reason for any more blood-shed.” He spoke, lowering his own weapon and signaling for the others in his group to do the same.

It took a moment, but you complied and re-holstered your weapon. Then came the conversation that would change your life. You had explained how you were a bounty hunter, making money to survive on your own after your family had died. Dutch responded in kind; giving you the run down of his gang, and, when he was finished, offered you a place to stay. After all, a woman of your abilities would be beneficial to their cause. Seeing as you had no better options, you accepted.

When you had arrived at their campsite at Horseshoe Overlook, you were introduced to many people who, despite being outlaws, were some of the most kind and hardworking people you had ever met. You fit right in, quickly developed relationships with many of the gang members, and the rest was history.

But despite all that, there was one member that you still hadn’t been able to understand.

When you had first been introduced to Charles, he barely mumbled a greeting or looked in your direction before heading of to complete some chore. You had brushed it off in the beginning, assuming you would find time to get to know him later. Now, it was later, and you knew next to nothing other than you had developed feelings for him.

It was all so odd. How could you develop feelings for someone who wouldn’t speak to you, let alone even look at you in the eyes? Sure, you had admired his silent nature, his penchant for taking on the difficult or unappealing jobs and his kindness with the other gang members from afar. Not to mention, he himself wasn’t unappealing to look at. But it still frustrated you to no end because you knew that he wouldn’t feel the same way. Charles had made it perfectly clear, without speaking, how he felt about you.

Stifling a groan, you rubbed a hand over your face, your frustration beginning to build to unhealthy levels.

“Something the matter [Y/N]? You’ve been sitting there an awfully long time.”

You jumped at the sound of someone’s voice and turned to see Hosea strolling towards you, a curious look on his face.

“I’m fine, Hosea.” You replied as he eased into a chair on the other side of the fire. “Just tired is all.”

“I may be old,” he started. “But not so that I can’t recognize when someone’s troubled. What’s bothering you my dear?”

You shifted your gaze from the fire to Hosea. He was leaning back in the chair, arms folded in his lap, with his eyes fixed on you. There was nothing but concern and a honest want to help you in them. He had always been like that. When you were struggling to learn the ways of the outlaw life, Hosea had been with you every step of the way. Making sure you knew the best hunting spots, helping you tend to your chores, and keeping your spirits up whenever you got discouraged. But, expressing your thoughts of Charles out loud? That was different. You didn’t know if you could.

“I don’t really know, if I’m bein’ honest.” You responded finally. “I’m just trying to sort out my feelings.”

And you were. Trying and failing, but you were trying. No matter how hard you tried you couldn’t convince yourself to forget.

“Your feelings for Charles?” He stated matter-of-factly.

You snapped your head up, heat beginning to rise in your face as you tried to stammer out a response.

“How did you know— I mean. I never said—”

Hosea chuckled and splayed his hands out in a calming gesture.

“Like I said. I may be old, but I still know a thing or two. And the way you look at the man when you think no one is paying attention? I’d say you were smitten.” He teased, winking at you.

You stared, dumbfounded and unsure of what to say. If Hosea knew, surely others in the camp knew. And if they knew, did that mean Charles knew as well? And if Charles knew then... No. You weren’t even going to consider the thought.

“You know what? I think I’m gonna turn in for the night.” You stated, pushing yourself off the log and heading towards your tent, refusing to look at Hosea anymore lest you get sucked into a full blown confession.

“You know,” He called after you. “It’ll just get worse the longer you keep it to yourself.”

You gave a half-hearted flick of you hand, the only indication that you had heard his words as you continued to walk through the camp.

——————————

The next morning proved to be no better. The minute you had opened your eyes, your thoughts immediately went to Charles. And Hosea’s advice. When you had finally settled into bed last night, you had pondered what he had said. Maybe it would be in your best interest to talk to him, but the fear of his first words to you being full of hate was too much, and you had drifted off late into the night.

Groaning, you pushed yourself to your feet, ready to distract yourself with the days work. You grabbed your hat from where it had fallen on the floor during sleep and stepped out of your tent. The morning sun shone through the campsite and the warmth felt good on your face. A cup of coffee sounded like a good way to start your day so you headed towards the communal pot; Abigail and Pearson already there with cups in hand.

“Morning [Y/N].” Pearson called out. “Any specific plans for your day yet?”

“Other then my daily chores? No.” You responded, pouring the dark liquid into your tin mug. “Why?”

“Well,” he began. “We’re getting low on food supplies and I can’t remember the last time anyone went hunting. Think you’re up for the task?”

“Sure,” you replied between sips. “I’ll head out right now.”

Pearson grunted his thanks and returned to his own mug. It felt good to finally have some sense of normalcy thrust upon you, so you were more than happy to comply. Nodding your head at Abigail, you finished your coffee; the warmth of the liquid reaching and energizing every part of your body before heading towards the horses.

Hunting hadn’t always been a skill that you particularly excelled at, but when you had expressed your unease with the chore during your first weeks with the gang, Hosea had wasted no time with setting up lessons with Arthur. Originally he would have asked Charles to do it, but every time he had mysteriously disappeared, leaving you wondering what accursed thing you had done to receive the cold shoulder. And hunting with Arthur wasn’t so bad. Of course, he was a little moody at times and his patience wasn’t always there, but you learned. You considered yourself to be quite the hunter nowadays.

Having now reached your horse, you ran your fingers through her mane and cooed soft encouragements before swinging yourself into the saddle. Grabbing the reins, you clicked your tongue and eased her towards he camp entrance.

“[Y/N], hold up!”

You brought your horse to a halt, startled, and turned in the saddle. You were surprised and a bit worried as Hosea sped up towards you, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Are you going out?” He inquired, an odd look that you couldn’t quite place etched on his face.

“Yes,” you replied hesitantly. “Pearson asked me to. Why?”

“Why don’t you take Charles with you, huh? He’s quite the hunter himself.” Without waiting for a reply he called out to Charles who was sharpening a knife. “Hey Charles! You up for some hunting? [Y/N], here could use some assistance.”

It was in that moment that your heart beat began to quicken; from anger and from nervousness at the thought of thee Charles Smith hunting with you. Alone. In the woods. With no one around for miles. Oh, would Hosea be getting an ear-full once you returned. Well, maybe you’d say if. The possibility of you running away forever from sheer embarrassment was entirely plausible.

“There now,” Hosea continued, clapping Charles on the shoulder with his hand. “I’m sure the two of you can scrounge up some food for the lot of us. And don’t come back until you do.”

You shot Hosea a burning look as he sauntered away, whistling a tune the whole while. Charles barely glanced at you as he pulled himself onto his own mount, Taima, and encouraged her towards the edge of camp. You followed suite without a word.

————————

You gripped the bow tightly in your hands, trying to rack your brain for anything to say as Charles walked beside you. The silence between the two of you was uncomfortable. At least, that’s how you felt about it, and, frankly, you couldn’t deal with the fact that the man you had pined for months over was finally capable of staying close to you. Deciding you’ve had enough, you lowered your weapon and turned to face him.

“Why do you hate me?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why do you hate me?” You repeated, crossing your arms.

Charles’ eyes widened as he took in your words, and a strange look crossed his face. You started to feel guilty as you waited for a response. You had come across as a bit rude. It wasn’t what you were going for, but the words just came out without any thought. But, now that you were in this predicament, you decided you were going to keep going.

“I don’t hate you,” Charles finally spoke.

“Well, then have I done something to upset you? I’ve been with the gang for months now and you’ve said all of six words to me.”

Another long moment of silence ensued. Finally deciding you’ve had enough, you tightened the grip on your bow and turned to leave, tears pricking at the corner of your eyes. Before you could reach your horse, however, you felt a hand grasp your arm and you found yourself twisted around and a pair of lips locking with yours’. You tensed for barely a second as your mind tried to register what was happening. You were kissing Charles. Or, rather, he was kissing you. And it felt like you had always imagined it to be. When he broke away, you stared, dumbfounded.

“I don’t hate you, [Y/N],” He said, reaching out to take your hand his large calloused one. “I never have. In fact, it’s the opposite.”

“Charles,” You uttered, barely a whisper.

“Ever since the first day you stepped into camp, I knew there was something special about you. I was just too afraid to say anything.” Charles confessed. “I didn’t know how to say anything, because I didn’t know how you would feel.”

His dark eyes locked with yours and you could see the sincerity and fear swirling around in them. A small smile tugged at your lips. There was only one way you felt you could express your true feelings. You reached a hand up to cup his cheek and pulled him into another kiss.

Time seemed to stop. Your heart beat just as quick as you pressed your lips against his in a gentle fashion. His strong fingers brushed tentatively against the back of your neck while your own hand tangled amongst his dark locks. You placed your other hand against his chest and grasped at the loose fabric of his shirt, feeling a hunger your had never felt welling up inside you. Charles, sensing this, slipped a hand down to the small of your back and pulled you flush to him.

The kiss lasted for what felt like years before you finally pulled away, both of you breathing hard and a shine in his eyes that you no doubt mirrored.

“Do you know how I feel now?” You teased.

“Yes, I think so.” Charles chuckled, entwining his fingers with your own. You smiled warmly at him.

“Maybe we should get back to hunting then?” You inquired. “There’s a certain someone I need to have a chat with when we get back. And then, maybe we can have a chat of our own, hmm?”

Charles suppressed another laugh, placed a kiss on your cheek before resuming the hold on his own bow, and traipsed deeper into the woods. The memory of that kiss would reside in your mind as you finished the hunt and it would carry on until later in the evening when you and Charles had another moment alone.

[naceisonthecase]

Hi Natalie! Here is your Secret Santa for the Secret Sleuth Gift Exchange! Whoop whoop! 🎄🧑🏼‍🎄🎁

I know that you ship Nace (🥰) and I wanted to ask you some more information about that! Any favorite scenes and/or episodes? Songs or quotes that you associate with them? Headcanons?

I can’t wait to get started on your gift!!! Have a nice day / evening / night whenever you read this ✨

Hey there!!! Sorry for the late reply

Oof any Nace scene lives in my mind rent free TBH. But, specifically, the stair scene in 3x01, the dreamscape scene in 2x18 (and like the almost confession/left something behind) and the one in 3x04, the library scene in 1x14, 2x10 like that entire episode, 1x10 is like when their romantic story started so that too, the scenes in 2x09 and 2x13. Ugh, I can truly go on!!

Songs I’ll just drop my Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3QvfTZRNJRfiV7VgjHHVhT?si=hYSNmKimT0CUruXzOhArug

Headcanons: i love my future verse where Nace have three kids Katy, Lulu, and Hudson so anything with them but other than that…

1. Ace thinks green jello is the best because it’s all he ate when his dad was in the hospital and it’s a good memory for his six year old self.

2. Lucy’s home is turned into a mental health clinic (not particularly Nace but I love it)

3. Ace is a Sagittarius and they put his hero of horseshoe bay picture on his birthday cake

4. Nancy’s favourite movie as a kid was The Little Mermaid

5. When Nancy was 4 she noticed Ace missing a lot of school (because of Thom’s accident) and asked Kate if she could help

Honestly any book Easter Eggs with a supernatural twist would be awesome too!!

[nightofnetter]

Time to finally share this...

My Favorite Unus Annus Episodes

Ethan will be kicked in the balls

Baby hands operation

Drawing memes from memory

An AI predicts how we are going to die

Mark turns Ethan into a mummy

We buy a professional hypnosis video

Mark and Ethan attempt an escape room

Ethan destroys mark’s van with a bat

Ethan gives mark a Viking funeral

The great meat mistake

Floating inside a real sensory deprivation tank

Santa’s Mukbang (Drinking 1 gallon of eggnog)

Hiding our sins from Amy’s holy peepers

DIY Bungee Jump (don’t try this at home)

Recreating Ourselves as a Cursed Mannequin

This is How We’ll Die

We Cryogenically Freeze Ourselves

Bad Bad Beans

We Hired a Real Hypnotherapist to Analyze Our Darkest Dreams

Looking at Long Lost Memes

Ethan Redefines Male Beauty

Literally Eating Fire

Unregulated Axe Throwing

Literally Laying on Literal Broken Glass

Making an Indoor Tornado to Flex on Mother Nature

Nutball: The Most Dangerous Game

Becoming a Master of Mime

Are We Already Dead?

Our Perfect (And Last) Valentine’s Day

Drunk College Party Simulator

The Ultimate Trolly Problem

Goat Yoga

Granting Access into Heaven’s Sweet Gates

Mark and Ethan go on a “Drum Date”

Top 10 Worst Things Your Friend Could Possibly Spend Money On

REAL Ghost Hunting in an Abandoned Zoo

Becoming the World’s Greatest DJs

Who Can Teach Their Dog a Trick the Fastest?

Mark and Ethan Get Into a Fight

The Barrel - Official Music Video

Mark and Ethan Get a Full Body Scan to See What Secrets Lay Hidden Within (and learn their body fat)

Mark Needs to Rub Ethan And Only His Mom Can Help Him

2 Idiots Get Crushed by 18-Foot Giant Snakes

Unus Annie Carves the Roast Beef

We Tried A Labor Pain Simulator

Mark’s 1 Weird Talent Leaves Ethan Absolutely Speechless

We Made Every YouTuber Battle in the Hunger Games

We Google Each Other to Find Our Darkest Forgotten Sins

We Played Mad Libs and Ran it Through Google Translate

Speed Reading at 1000+ WPM to Gain Complete Understanding of All Human Knowledge

We Found Websites that the World Forgot About

The Scariest True Stories on the Internet

How to NOT Be the Perfect Boyfriend

Mark and Ethan Find the Lost City of El Dorado

Using Google Maps to Find the Lost City of Atlantis

Running Internet Drama Through Google Translate

The Secret Unus Annus No-Touchy Touchy Hans Shake

Two Male Men Judge Female Women On Their Beauty

Don’t Go in the Ocean... Ever.

We Looked at Unus Annus Memes

Is Mark a Masochist?

Are Reptilian Humanoids Living Among Us?

Like it or not... This is What The New Human Looks Like

Eating Only Onions for 24 Hours: How Many Onions Does It Take to Kill a Man?

Making Our Own Gravestones to Prepare for Our Inevitable Demise

How Tall Can A Human Get? An Impartial Review by 2 Average Height Men

Mark Teaches Ethan Korean

Bigfoot is Real and It Ate My Friend

We Explore the Unus Annus Subreddit for Your Delicious Memes

We Played Strip Poker

Mark Cooks Blindfolded While Ethan Guides Him Through FaceTime

DIY Boob

The Unus Annus Confessional Booth

Only UNUS-es May Watch This Video

Only ANNUS-es May Watch This Video

Reacting to Your HILARIOUS Green Screen Memes

Attempting to Build IKEA Furniture Without Instructions

We Made Fanart For Each Other

Will We Break These Boards... Or Will They Break Us?

Creating Mark FISHbach

Ethan Traps Mark’s Soul In The Palm Of his Hand

2 Men In a Trench Coat Teach You How To Save Money at the Movies

Building the World’s First IKEA Boat

Ethan Teaches Mark How to Swim

Mark is Guilty. Ethan Has the Proof.

Recreating Mark’s Childhood

Unus Annus Try Pole Dancing

The Unus Annus Space Program

The Egg Smashing Game

Dunking Oreos in Literally Anything But Milk

How to Escape From a Hostage Situation

The Annual Unus Annus Dunk Contest

Ultimate Horseshoes

Recharging Our Phones Using Only Brute Strength

Mark Teaches Ethan How To Play a Trumpet

The Wubble

Mark and Ethan Shave Chica

DO NOT TRY THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES

Hydro Dipping a Baby

Popping Popcorn With a High-Powered Laser

Puberty Simulator

Momiplier Teaches Self-Defense

Playing Children’s Games in Total Darkness

Too Many Pickles

Mark’s Outdoor Escape Room

Hunting HeeHoo

Mark Gives Ethan a HOT (stone) Massage

We Smell Every Smell

How Many Slaps Does It Take to Cook a Chicken?

Mark Teaches Ethan How To March In A Marching Band

Making Snow Cones With Literally Anything But Normal Flavors

We Attempt Pottery Without Amy’s Help

Learning to Use the Force

Brick Soccer

Mark Knows What Ethan Did...

This Video Will Never Make Sense

Ethan Watches as Mark Does the Impossible

This Video Went Completely Out of Control

DIY Minesweeper

Literally Finding A Needle in a Haystack

Drawing On Each Other’s Backs in Total Darkness

We Bought Every Grinch Costume on EBay

Learn to Jump Higher in 16 Minutes and 16 Seconds

Momiplier Tells Us True Scary Stories from Korea

We Force Mark to Swim in the Ocean (HIS GREATEST FEAR)

Cryptic Olympics

Phasmophobia in Real Life

Edward Pumpkin Hands

The Annual Unus Annus Costume Contest

Ethan Kidnapped Mark

The Truth About Unus Annus

The Unus Annus Last Supper

Being Brutally Honest With Each Other

Recreating Every Single Unus Annus Video

All Our Video Ideas That Never Happened

Who’s Cutting Onions in Here???

The 1st Annual Unus Annus Roast

Saying Goodbye to All Our Guests

Everything’s Legal if You’re Dead

Goodbye.

[earth-ambassador-jim]

Lost Souls: Story 5

Breaking Point and a Step Forward

Summary: Merlin finally pushes Jim too far and Jim makes a friend.

~~~~

@twistedmashup I hear it was your birthday yesterday! So since I’m still blaming you for starting this AU: have a chapter!

~~~~

(Chapter warnings: Abuse and brief suicidal ideation)

AO3 - Fanfiction

~~~~

Eli watched with bated breath as the small green creepers swarmed up the side of the building like grotesque frogs. He couldn’t believe his luck. All his previous attempts to spot them had only captured images of blurs and distant blobs on his camera, but this…

Eli’s hands shook as he lifted leveled his phone and a snapped a picture. Unfortunately he had forgotten to turn off the shutter sound. The creatures stiffened and started looking around at the click. One of them started sniffing the air and moving in his direction. Eli quickly covered his mouth and ducked down behind the bush.

Stupid!

This was exactly the kind of amateur mistake that got people killed in horror movies.

A sniffing noise was getting rapidly closer. It was just on the other side of the bush. It paused and he heard a raspy murmur that wasn’t human or animal.

He should probably run.

Before he could formulate a plan any farther than that, something wrapped around his waist and he was airborne.

He let out a shriek and the night burst into a cacophony of noise as the creepers came pouring over the bushes.

Fortunately whatever was carrying him was staying well ahead of them. Eli managed to twist around enough to see what was holding him and squeaked.

It was a big blue creeper, one of the stone ones. It had tusks and horns and a glowing suit of armor.

The creeper tightened its grip on him and jumped. All the air left Eli’s lungs.  He didn’t get a chance to even try to suck in a breath before they touched down on a tree branch and the creeper was leaping again.

Eli whimpered as they shot from one perch to the next, only pausing long enough for his rescuer… or kidnapper?... to gather itself for another leap.

By the time they finally stopped, he was feeling sick. Eli leaned over and retched, losing the whole of his dinner on the ground behind the dumpster they were crouching behind.

“Sorry,” A quiet rumbling voice said.

Eli jumped and then his eyes widened with surprise as he realized it was the creeper that had spoken.

“You can talk… I mean you know English?” Eli asked forgetting his fear in the excitement of new discovery.

The creeper blinked and leaned back slightly, nose wrinkling as it stared at him. It was actually surprisingly humanoid, now that he got a chance to get a good look at it. Almost in an uncanny valley way, but not quite.

“…yes,” It said finally. “Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

“I’ve only been able to get close enough to hear the green creepers before,” Eli exclaimed. He was talking to an actual creeper! This was so cool! “They aren’t able to talk far as I can tell.”

“Creepers? Do you mean the goblins?”

“Is that what they are?!”

The armored creeper stared at him, before shaking its head.

“Come on, you need to go home. It’s not safe here.”

“But… but I have so many questions.” Eli stared at it pleadingly.

The creeper eyed him again.

“I can answer some on the way to your house…”

~~~~

Jim wasn’t sure what to think of the strange teenager he rescued from the goblin pack.

Despite almost being eaten and despite Jim being some sort of half-human, half-troll, monster, the gangly black-haired human -Who had at some point introduced himself as Elijah Pepperjack (“but everyone calls me Eli”)- was positively glowing with enthusiasm as he peppered Jim with questions.

Bemusement at the entire situation caused Jim to answer far more of them than he was really supposed to.

Eventually they reached the human’s house.

“You have keys right?” Jim asked, because there wouldn’t be much point in rescuing him only to leave him trapped outside his home.

Eli nodded and then dug around in his pocket for a moment before producing the aforementioned keys.

“Good,” Jim said. He gave him what he hoped was a firm authoritative stare. “Please don’t go out in the dark. I might not always be in time to save you. Have a good night.”

Jim turned toward the bushes and bent his legs, preparing to leap into the nearest tree.

“Wait!”

Jim paused and glanced back.

“I… I um…” Eli stammered. “I was wondering if you wanted to stay and like watch a movie or something?”

The Trollhunter blinked, it was one thing to accept a walk home from a creature that had protected him but to invite a troll into his house? Did Elijah Pepperjack have no self-preservation instincts?

Jim should have said no then. He’d already interacted with the human far more than he should. He glanced toward the woods and then toward the house. His ears flicked. Why was he still hesitating?

“My mom’s not home, so no one will see you,” Eli continued, looking up at him with wide pleading brown eyes.

Meaning he wouldn’t be showing himself to any new humans.

Jim wavered. It had been years since he’d gotten to watch a movie or do any normal human things. Merlin was out, so he didn’t really have to worry about when he arrived back at the cave.

He tapped his fingers against his thigh. His armor clinked.

But Arcadia…

Arcadia would be fine for a little. He had been close enough to the end of his patrol to see that Eli had been the only human about outside right now.

“Sure,” He said slowly.

Yeah he could work with this. He was making sure that Eli, the only human crazy enough to wander Arcadia at night, was staying indoors. That was totally doing his job, right?

“Really?!”

Jim’s lips twitched into an involuntary smile. Eli looked like he had been he’d been given a trip to Santa’s workshop for Christmas and just found out it was the real deal.

“Yeah, just tonight.”

One night wouldn’t hurt anything.

~~~~

“So this is where you’ve been disappearing to.”

Jim froze.

Merlin was standing in the shadows of the tree with his arms folded. His lips were drawn into a thin line.

Immediately a wave of guilt washed over him. He had only meant to hang out with Eli once but then… well… He’d had fun and Eli had had fun and he’d been invited back… and it would have been rude to refuse so he’d agreed to meet again … and that second visit had turned into a third and a fourth and…

And now he was here.

“Are...  are you mad at me?” Jim asked carefully.

Merlin sighed. He pressed the tips of his fingers to his forehead and rubbed them in circles like he had a headache.

“I’m not mad just disappointed.” He sounded it too.

Jim flinched, ears pressing down.

Merlin turned away.

“Come,” He said. “We’re going home.”

He disappeared far into the darkness of the woods and, after a quick glance back at the house behind him, Jim followed.

~

The walk back to the caves occurred in relative silence. Honestly Jim wished Merlin would just yell at him or something. As it was, the calm emotionless expression on his mentor’s face left him tense and anxious.

“You know what you’ve done wrong,” Merlin stated when they were back in their abode.

“Yes,” Jim said, hanging his head slightly. “I showed myself to a human.”

Merlin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“A simple slip up is one thing, but you repeatedly visited this human.”

“…But he already knows about me and is keeping it secret,” Jim said softly. “You’re always busy and I…” He hesitated. “It’s nice to have someone to spend time with.”

Merlin huffed.

“You have your training and Snip.” The cat in question opened an eye at the mention of her name. “If that isn’t enough you can always go to Trollmarket, I’m sure they can find you something to do.”

Jim’s ears pressed against the side of his head. There was certainly always something for him to do at Trollmarket, Bagdwella at least made sure of that, but they didn’t really like or trust him there. He remembered how they had first reacted to him and despite pretending otherwise he heard the whispers.

Abomination.

They had to test him with a gaggletack to make sure he wasn’t a changeling before they’d even allow him to roam free. He’d barely been able to hide his flinch when the iron horseshoe had burned his skin, causing his magic to buzz anxiously as it tried to make him shift but couldn’t since his normal form was halfway between his other two. The trainers he’d been assigned where nice enough but…

“It’s just nice to have someone my age…”

Merlin stood up. The metal feet on his chair shrieked as they grated on the stone floor. Jim flinched at the sound.

“Come,” He said sharply and the half-troll quickly obeyed.

Merlin led him to the large cave that served as their training room. Jim stood stiffly in front of the door as the wizard shuffled around in a pile of props.

“Hmm… Ah yes! Here it is.”

He pulled out a straw dummy and set it in the middle of the room.

“So you want to spend time with this… Elijah Pepperjack,” Merlin said. Jim twitched in surprise. How long had Merlin known about his visits to have found Eli’s full name? “I’ve warned you before that it’s too dangerous but it seems I should expect you to go against my advice anyway.”

Jim opened his mouth to protest but stopped when Merlin kept speaking.

“If you want to persist in this… this dalliance I suppose I can’t stop you, but I must make sure you know what you are getting into.”

He turned to the side and gestured.

“Let’s pretend that this training dummy is your human friend.”

Merlin raised his hand and Excalibur materialized in it. The lights of the crystals glinted off the blade and his armor casting motes of light on the floor.

“Defend him from me.”

“What?!”

“Come Trollhunter, show me how well you can protect someone.”

With that Merlin lunged with his sword toward the training dummy. Jim felt his adrenaline surge as he managed to just barely summon his armor in the nick of time. He threw Daylight, deflecting Excalibur and buying him enough time to get between Merlin and Eli… the training dummy.

The wizard didn’t wait for him to recover his sword and lunged forward slicing at Jim with rapid two-handed strokes. Jim was still somewhat off guard and couldn’t rally his concentration enough to resummon Daylight. He managed to call his shield and held it up to fend off the blows and tried to push Merlin back.

“Come,” Merlin snarled impatiently at him. “I’ve trained you better than this.”

Merlin caught the shield with one of his arm-blades. The next stoke of his sword hit the amulet. Jim staggered, disoriented, as the blue light flickered. Murmurs of distant voices whispered in his ears and his armor vanished. Merlin took advantage and dealt a fast two handed stroke against him. He cried out as it cut into his arm.

Excalibur’s magic burned and Jim dropped to his knees clutching at the wound with a pained snarl.

Too late he recognized the distraction. He forced himself to his feet in a panic, pulling his hand away from to wound to summon Daylight…

And stopped.

Excalibur was sticking out from the chest of the training dummy.

Jim stared blankly at it.

“See?” Merlin said.

He strode over to the dummy and pulled the sword out with a sharp tug, spilling straw across the floor.

“If that had been a human, he would have been dead,” Merlin continued in his lecture tone. “Ours is not world for mere humans. Do you think your enemies will hold back on you? Do you think they won’t hesitate to use friends against you?”

Jim shook his head. His voice seemed to have shriveled into a lump in his throat. His arm throbbed. He glanced down at it and saw a drop of blood trickle off the side of his arm fall onto the floor.

It felt like a vice was closing in on his ribcage.

He wanted to leave.

“Do you understand?” Merlin was asking.

“Yes,” Jim said quietly, voice barely audible. “May I go?”

“You may,” Merlin said. He sounded closer.

Jim flinched slightly when his… mentor laid a hand on his shoulder.

“I know this seems harsh, but I really do have your best interests in mind,” The man said softly. “The Trollhunter has always worked alone. It’s better that way. Now go take care of yourself.”

Jim listened silently, eyes still on the floor, as Merlin left the room.

The moment he was sure the wizard was really gone, he bolted for the door to the outside.

~

Jim wasn’t entirely sure how he ended up in a dumpster but he didn’t particularly care. It was in a secluded part of town, there was no humans, no trolls, and no Merlin there.

The reek of the trash was subdued in the gentle patter of the rain and the light from the lone streetlamp barely reached him here.

He curled into himself and started shaking. He didn’t have any real words for what he was feeling but it felt like hurt and emptiness and a blade lodged in his chest all at once.

He wanted other people to be safe, he really did. But idea of continuing to fight alone until he returned to dust or stone… or whatever a half-creature like him became… felt so… so pointless. It wasn’t just Merlin being against him being friends with Eli. It was Kanjigar’s death, and his mom being gone and Trollmarket’s cold reaction to his appearance and… and…

A pained sob tore itself out of his chest.

It hurt.

He just wanted it to be done.

He just wanted to rest.

The sound of footsteps jerked him out of his misery and he looked up to see a mop of red hair, now drenched with rainwater, and a familiar pair of blue eyes staring at him.

They widened as they met his.

Nemesis, champion of Morganna, seemed every bit as shocked to see him as he did her.

~~~~

~

~~~~

Jim shifts slightly and the branch creaks under him. From his current position he can see through the widow of Elijah Pepperjack without the human spotting him. The teenager is currently sitting at his desk chewing on a pencil as he stares down at a book with furrowed brow. The warm light from his window stops just short of where Jim’s dark fingernails dig into the bark beneath him.

He shouldn’t even be here. He knows better than to ignore Merlin’s warnings. The wizard already has too many variables to deal with without Jim adding his own willfulness to the mix. Anyway, he’s really only looking out for Jim.

Jim knows that but…

But when he’d ran into Nemesis, he’d been ready to let her kill him. He’d seen her familiar face above him and been almost relieved. It wasn’t like he really had anything to live for after all.

And yet…

She hadn’t even tried. She had invited him to sit with her and patched the cut on his arm with an uncharacteristic gentleness. He hadn’t known what to do.

Then –in what was probably his most foolish decision ever- he’d asked her for advice.

She’d given it.

So here he is, contemplating the value of friendship based on the advice from an enemy.

Jim sighs and runs a hand over his face, ignoring the faint rasp of stone on stone.

This is insane. He should just leave. He’ll be putting Elijah in danger. There’s no way he can make sure that the human is always safe, not with the whole of Arcadia to protect.

He stands up and starts to turn away, but the warm glow of from the bedroom window draws him back.

“Do what's good for you, or you're not good for anybody,” Nemesis’ voice echoes in his memory.

The sincerity that he’d seen in her eyes causes a pang of something (something painful but almost sweet) to form in his heart. He just wants something outside of his duty… a chance to be someone outside of the Trollhunter. To be Jim again.

Can’t he be selfish just this once?

~~~~

Eli sits at his desk trying to work on his homework. He can’t focus. He’s been reading the same paragraph for the last hour but still isn’t sure what it says.

He makes a frustrated sound and throws himself back in his chair. It balances precariously on two legs as he shoves his glasses up and scrubs at his eyes.

“You’re losing it, Pepperjack,” He says reproachfully to himself. “Why would someone that cool want to be your friend anyway?”

“Eli!”

Eli looks up to see a blue face and glowing eyes staring in his window. He lets out a high pitched scream and topples over backwards.

“Eli! Are you all right?” His mom calls from downstairs.

“I’m fine!” He yells back. “Just tipped over my chair.”

“Again? You need to be more careful!”

Eli blushes but scrambles to his feet and quickly lunges forward to open his window.

“You came back!” He says, a hesitant, excited smile forming on his face as the blue creeper…. No, troll, he reminds himself… climbs into his room. He did come back. It had been weeks, Eli had started to think that he wasn’t going to.

“Yeah,” the Trollhunter says slowly.

He looks uncertain. His eyes dart from side to side before he turns around and closes the window behind him. He then closes the blinds for good measure.

“What… are you doing?” Eli asks hesitantly.

He’s never behaved this way before.

“We need to talk,” The Trollhunter says and Eli’s heart immediately plummets to his toes.

That phrase never leads to anything good.

“Wha… What do you want to talk about?” Eli’s voice sounds small.

He’d known that this whole thing was too good to last. Cool monster heroes like the Trollhunter weren’t the sort of people to be friends with nerdy nobodies like Eli.

The troll doesn’t seem to notice his hesitance. He picks up one of Eli’s model flying saucers and turns it around in his hands before putting it back and sitting cross-legged on Eli’s bed.

“You should sit down too.”

Eli obeys, the feeling of dread growing in his chest. The Trollhunter opens his mouth and Eli braces himself.

“I want to be friends,” He says, brows furrowed and expression grim.

Eli’s brain derails.

“Y-you do? But why…”

The expression and statement don’t really match.

“I need to explain some things first, so you know what you’re getting into,” He continues. “Then you can decide if you want to be friends.”

“Of course I want to…”

He is silenced by a sharp look.

“I told you when we first met that I was tasked with protecting Arcadia, right?”

Eli nods quietly. He certainly won’t be forgetting that meeting soon.

“There are a lot of people who aren’t particularly happy about that. In fact they would do anything… use anyone… to get to me…”

The troll looks down at his hand for a moment before clenching it into a fist. A soft growl rumbles from his throat, causing Eli to jump.

“If you decide to be friends with me… if anyone finds out… you, and your family, will be in danger. Do you understand?”

He continues going on to detail exactly what changelings and goblins and Bular are capable of. It was something he told Eli back when they first met and he was trying to discourage him from studying the supernatural. He sounds for all the world as if he’s trying to drive Eli off and he’s not entirely unsuccessful –the idea of putting his mom in danger doesn’t sit well with Eli- but as he’s talking the troll starts to slowly curl in on himself. His gaze drafts downward to study his clenched hand. He looks scared and lost.

“…Merlin thinks it’s a bad idea,” The Trollhunter is saying. His ears press low against the sides of his head.

Eli takes a deep breath and forcibly swallows down the lump in his throat.

“hey…” He tries to get the troll’s attention, but he isn’t quite loud enough. “Hey!”

The troll flinches and looks up.

“You said it was my choice if I wanted to be your friend right?” Eli asks.

The troll nods.

“I… I admit all this stuff sounds scary,” He says and his voice is shaking. Honestly he’s never been able to stand up to Steve let alone a monster like Bular but… “But it sounds like you’re lonely and I don’t really have any friends either and…” His voice cracks and he coughs a little and squares his shoulders. “And I want to try. You said a Trollhunter never gives up right?”

The troll nods again slowly.

“So if the problem is me being in danger then maybe...”

Eli hesitates thinking for a moment before an idea comes to him.

“Maybe you could teach me to defend myself! Then you won’t have to worry about always being there to protect me.

And maybe he could help out in protecting Arcadia. Eli thinks that sounds really cool, but he decides not to say anything yet on that. He doubts the Trollhunter will accept his help.

The troll’s blue eyes widen for a moment and then a hesitant smile forms across his face.

“That’s… that’s a good idea.” His shoulders relax slightly and his ears are back up. “That way I won’t have to worry as much about you investigating something and getting into trouble either.”

He gives Eli a hopeful look.

“So you really would do this?”

“Yes.” Eli says. He’s feeling a little cheesy so he holds out his hand. “Let’s be friends, Trollhunter.”

The troll cocks his head but takes the hand and squeezes it. His eyes study Eli’s face for a moment.

“Jim…” He says softly. “My name’s James Lake, but friends call me Jim,”

“Cool, I’m Eli,” Eli says and then blushes, rubbing at his hair. “Buuuut… you already knew that…”

The Trollhunter… Jim… (Eli’s new friend!) chuckles at that.

“Don’t worry about it.” He pauses, a serious look flickering across his face. “Though for future reference, you really shouldn’t just give your name to unfamiliar magical beings.”

“Why’s that?” Eli asks.

“For one thing, it makes it easy for other people to find your house… but in the right hands… well a name can be a weapon. Fae and some witches can use names to control people.”

“Oh,” Eli says with a shiver. “Is that why you didn’t tell me your name at first.”

Jim nods.

A warm feeling appears in his chest. That means that Jim trusts him.

“Thanks for telling me then,” He says.

“Thank-you for inviting me in,” Jim responds, sincerity shining in his eyes. “You don’t know how much it means to me.”    

~~~~

~~~~

Author Notes:

This is really the center-point of the plot. It happens before and after the events of the first chapter. I was going to do the two parts of this chapter separate but I decided I wanted to keep them together. (Partially because I didn't want to leave Jim in the dumpster.)

Merlin doesn't realize just how far he pushed Jim. In his attempts to do things "for the greater good", he's completely lost sight of the importance of individual people's feelings and needs (Aside from his own).

It was a good thing that Jim met Barbara in the circumstances he did and when he did. If he had met her in battle, he would have ended up being killed. A large part of winning fights is wanting to win and well... Jim had stopped caring. That said things get better for Jim.

I haven't quite decided what part of the story I want to work on next but we'll see. I'll probably do a chapter in the past again. Let me know what you think about the way I'm jumping back and forth between the past and present.

[sassy-santa-baby]

I got this amazing box of gifts and sweets from Ireland today. Thank you so much, secret santa! You definitely made my day! Can't wait to drink the best tea in the world from the funniest mug and eat all the sweets!And look at the heart shaped Horseshoe that should bring me luck for my new business!

[tex-studmister]

Hello! Secret Santa here :) I'm getting started on your fic and wanted to get my last questions in there! Do you want a reader fic or for just characters from the game? Is there a specific camp you liked best from the game? I saw your message about no character deaths which is perfect I won't add that haha.

I’m not one for reader so just camp characters please!! especially arfur,,,,

And hmmm I loved both Horseshoe Overlook and Clemens Point! They both have an aesthetic im just u fucking wu at

yo im v excited about this like aaaaaa thankyouuu

[creative-riding]

If one of these is your town, you’ve gotta go, baby!!!• @boblog111 USA and CANADA! USA AND CANADA ! 4/28/2022 Phoenix AZ Crescent Ballroom 4/29/2022 Santa Fe NM Tumbleroot Brewery 4/30/2022 Las Cruces NM Elephant Ranch 5/1/2022 5/2/2022 Austin TX Antone's Nightclub 5/3/2022 San Antonio TX Lonesome Rose 5/4/2022 Dallas TX Cheapsteaks Bar & Grill 5/5/2022 Houston TX The Secret Group 5/6/2022 New Orleans LA Santos Bar 5/7/2022 Nashville TN The Basement 5/8/2022 Knoxville TN Pilot Light 5/9/2022 5/10/2022 Asheville NC Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall 5/11/2022 Atlanta GA EARL 5/12/2022 Charleston SC Tin Roof 5/13/2022 Raleigh NC Ruby Deluxe 5/14/2022 Winston-SalemNC Monstercade 5/15/2022 5/16/2022 5/17/2022 Philadelphia PA Johnny Brenda’s 5/18/2022 Baltimore MD Metro 5/19/2022 Washington DC City Winery DC-The Loft 5/20/2022 5/21/2022 New York NY Rockford Music Hall 5/22/2022 Brooklyn NY Our Wicked Lady 5/23/2022 5/24/2022 Allston MA O'Brien's Pub 5/25/2022 New Haven CT Cafe Nine 5/26/2022 Providence RI Askew 5/27/2022 Portland ME Sun Tiki Studios 5/28/2022 Winooski VT The Monkey House 5/29/2022 Québec City QC L'Anti Bar & Spectacles 5/30/2022 5/31/2022 Montreal QC Le Ritz 6/1/2022 Ottawa ON Club SAW 6/2/2022 Toronto ON Horseshoe Tavern 6/3/2022 Cleveland OH Beachland Tavern 6/4/2022 Detroit MI PJ's Lager House 6/5/2022 Indianapolis IN HiFi 6/6/2022 6/7/2022 Columbus OH Natalie's Grandview Music 6/8/2022 Newport KY Southgate House Revival Room 6/9/2022 Springfield IL Buzz Bomb Brewing Company 6/10/2022 Chicago IL Beat Kitchen 6/11/2022 Green Bay WI Lyric Room More dates coming soon .. https://www.instagram.com/p/CaWO4bkrTe7/?utm_medium=tumblr