#i like to think she used to have two big old horns before losing her memory

[whatdourelfeyessee]

Well, can you see me?

[yeehawbvby]

Falling Away With You | Ch. 48

Sebastian x F!Reader and M. Rasmodius x F!Reader

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Chapter Summary: Y/n goes a little apeshit at JojaMart lmao

Author’s Note: *Crawls out of a pit covered in dirt and blood. Slaps this chapter down in front of you, on a SUNDAY no less!*

My health situation hasn’t improved whatsoever, but I will prevail, damnit!!

I wrote most of this and posted to ao3 early this morning, and haven't had a chance to proofread really. I'll do my best to get that done soon ^.^ Sorry if there are any weird wordings. Also sorry for the complete lack of Seb and Magnus in this one, I hope the shenanigans make up for it <3

Table of Contents + Work Summary

Check it out on ao3!

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I hate that stupid, cryptic, blue note I got.

Ever since it came, I think about it every time I check the mailbox, without fail. I don’t want to, I kinda just want to forget it exists, but I just… I dunno. I have a bad feeling about it. A gut feeling. Like, something’s totally up with it. It’s just been sitting in my closet for safekeeping until I decide what to do, though.

For some reason, I’ve been too nervous to bring it back up to Magnus. He’s forgotten it exists, from what I can tell. I think I’ll do my best to keep it that way for now. It feels more like my burden to bear than his, and besides, he’s already got the whole region to take care of.

After today’s confirmation that I don’t have bills or anything important like that, I head inside to get ready to leave the farm. Reeeally hoping my routine will shake out my heebiejeebies.

I got the OK from Magnus to use his fancy shrine for Spirit’s Eve. Got an idea of what I think I want to make myself look like, too. Maybe a tiefling or something. If tieflings don’t really exist, I’m sure some sort of succubi, or imps, or some sort of creature that looks like one’s gotta, no? I suppose I could always fall back on just pretending I’m an elf… man, a tail and horns would be so fun though. 

Either way, tomorrow is the big day and I am so ready for it.

I mean, like, almost ready. Whatever.

Today I’m going to Magnus’ place to get some practice in. Just a precautionary measure to try not to, like, blow myself up or something.

I’m gonna keep my outfit cozy and easy to move around in, but I have half a mind to make sure I wouldn’t mind losing these clothes in particular if something goes wrong with the transformation. Just some leggings, some crew-cut socks, an old hoodie, and my favorite boots, since I won’t have my shoes on in the shrine anyway. All of it is in black. Sebastian cosplay. 

I’ll pop my red studs in too, gotta commit to the bit. I haven’t had time to talk to The Emo and see if he actually did get his shit pierced last night, but assuming he did, and assuming he was able to use these for it, I wanna go all out, baby.

Now, before I head to the tower, I’ve got some errands to run around town. I woke up a bit late so there’s gonna be more people out than I’m looking forward to, but hopefully I have no creepy Alex encounters or awkward conversations with Shane again.

I promised Sam I’d visit him at work sometime soon, so I might as well head there first. He hates it there, and it’s been a while since we’ve caught up, so I’ll hopefully be a welcome distraction. I’ll bring him a coffee too to keep his spirits high.

After it’s done brewing, I grab two foam cups and pour the coffee in. Knowing Sam, he probably needs this stuff sweet, and I’m in the mood for sweet too, so I pour in a bunch of vanilla-flavored creamer. To make the beverages ~gourmet,~ I add a little whipped cream to each, as well as a light drizzle of chocolate syrup. After securing the plastic lids and giving Cannoli some well-deserved love, I head out.

While I pass by the bus stop, I make eye contact with Pam. I’ve never spoken to her, but… I dunno. I can’t tell if I like her or not. She gives me a nasty stink eye and I can only further assume she’s as mean as she outwardly appears. Unless she was just cursed with an intense resting bitch face...

I smile Pam’s way anyway. She doesn’t smile back, but that’s okay. It doesn’t benefit anyone to be so judgemental of her.

I pass a few local moms once I make it to the town square. None really mind me, which could mean they either didn’t notice, or they don’t care. Either is fine by me. I don’t hear what they’re saying, but Caroline talks very animatedly just before the rest of the group bursts into laughter.

I turn my attention back ahead as I pass by Pierre’s and nearly bump into Marnie as she’s leaving the shop.

We both squeak out a little “Oh!” before apologizing in unison.

“I wasn’t really paying attention,” I double down. 

“Oh, that’s fine. I rarely ever am!” She then motions to the two cups in my hands and adds, laughing, “At least the coffee’s safe!”

I awkwardly nod in agreement. Then, a brief flash of myself actually spilling coffee somewhere down the road raids my mind, my necklace tingling against my skin and my fingers practically buzzing.

Great.

“Everything alright, sweetie?”

That probably looked weird. “Yeah, sorry,” I try to recover, “just sleepy today!”

I take a sip of coffee to emphasize my point. Plus, I might as well drink what I can before these puppies go down. Hopefully I’ll be able to save at least one of them when the time comes.

“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that!” She puts a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I need to get back to the shop, but take it easy and don’t overwork yourself, you hear?” 

I nod, thanking her and waving her off with a shy grin before I continue moving. Once I get closer to the spot I’m supposed to be spilling these drinks — just before that little bridge over the river by JojaMart — I begin to walk more cautiously. If I can just keep these steady and focus on the ground… 

A sneeze creeps up on me. Oh god. Oh god oh fuck oh no.

Just as I’m beginning to carefully place one of the cups on the side of the bridge for safe keeping, the sneeze forces its way out of me. Luckily, one beverage — the one I hadn’t drank from yet — stays safely in my hand. Unluckily, the one I was working on trying to keep safe fell to the stones at my feet, opening up and dispersing its contents fucking everywhere.

God damnit. 

“Nice one.”

God fucking damnit.

I look up to the voice. It turns out Shane’s outside having a smoke. He’s at the opposite end of the bridge watching my clumsiness unfold with an aloof look about him. He’s bent over to lean on the stone wall, his right elbow propped up and his corresponding cheek in his palm. His left forearm is flat against the structure while his left hand lazily dangles his cigarette between two fingers.

Is that pink nail polish on one of them? I wonder if that’s Jas’ doing. 

I merely groan back my response, picking up the now-empty cup to discard in the trash bin near the store. As I proceed on my walk of shame past Shane, I point out, “At least my clothes stayed safe.”

Shane follows and asks, “How many ants do you think you murdered with that accident?” 

I grin a little at his dry humor. “Oh it was a massacre,” I bounce back. “The war in Gotoro pales in comparison.”

“Ha!” Oh my god, I made Shane — the grumpiest fuck I’ve ever met — laugh?! “Right on. Seems like pointless violence anyway.” 

I turn to see if I can catch him smiling for the first time, like, ever. It’s not there anymore, but there’s a residual brightness in his features.

Shane snuffs out his cig on the ashtray built into the garbage’s lid, abandoning it there before shoving his hands in the pockets of his bright blue shorts.

“Those sons’a bitches,” he nods in the direction of my carnage, “they had it coming.”

My nose scrunches as I laugh a little, giving him a funny look. “Damn, what’d they do to you?”

There’s a playful glint in his eye, as he deadpans me. “Exist.”

I shrug and nod — I get it, they can be pretty annoying! — and follow the man as he makes his way through the white-rimmed, glass-centered automatic doors. I try not to cringe outwardly at how many self-righteous pro-Joja fliers are on them.

Shane stops a few steps into the store. Turns around. I stop too and look up, tilting my head. What’re you looking at, punk? I think to myself. Dunno if I’d be pushing my limits by trying to say it out loud. Better not.

Shane gives me a weird look too, but I can barely see it. My senses are taking their damn time getting used to the obnoxiously fluorescent lighting.

“Don’t you shop at Pierre’s?” Shane wonders out loud.

I blink a few times as I adjust to the environment and then nod. “Visiting Sam,” I explain.

“Ah.” He nods too, in understanding, and then looking the other way he continues, “Enjoy.”

Shane makes his way towards a door to the right of the manager’s office. Says “Employee’s only,” so I’m assuming it’s a break room or something. I don’t miss the incorrect apostrophe, but choose not to linger on it either.

“You too.” He looks back over his shoulder, so I pair my well wishes with a lazy salute.

“Buh.”

…Buh?

I smile. I think he’s warming up to me!

Feeling a tad lost now that I’m alone, I look around before making any advances. Should’ve asked Shane if he knew where Sam would be around now. I dunno how the shifts work around here.

The cashiers to my left — a visibly exhausted red headed woman, probably in her late 30s or early 40s; and a scrawny, scruffy looking teenager, with thick-framed glasses sitting atop his freckled nose — both look miserable.

The boy is boredly leaning against the counter, zoned out on the ground in front of it. The woman looks totally spaced out on nothing in particular. It almost seems like she’s fighting off sleep, too. Poor lady. 

The woman and I lock onto each other. She looks away from my face before I can even register it, but I notice her eyes flicker longingly to the coffee cup in my hand a few times after the fact. I peer between her and the beverage twice before I all but scurry away into the aisles. I’m too awkward for this. My only option is to retreat. Never said I wasn’t a coward.

While I venture past the boatloads of boxed, bagged and canned foods in search of the resident dog boy, I observe some of the products. Some don’t look safe for consumption, while others seem like they’d be fun to try as a one-off sort of deal. It overlaps a few times as well. I mean, why wouldn’t I want to try this cereal which very explicitly states on the box that it’s more sugar than grains? It makes me stifle a giggle. I like the brutal honesty. 

I stop and stare at it for a sec. Gnawing my lip. Wondering if I should just…

No. I shan’t.

I break away from temptation and trek on. As I reach the end of the aisle, I pan across the back of the store. More shelf-stable products, a small produce section… ah!

Sam looks like he’s supposed to be mopping the floor near the freezers. To be fair, he is holding a mop, and it is touching the floor! But instead of cleaning, he uses the tool as a microphone; singing against the end of the brown wooden handle, both hands passionately gripping it as he bends his torso to quietly belt one part in particular. Sam’s eyes are shut, his bulky black headphones are secured over his ears, and he has not a single worry in the world. 

Holding his coffee in both hands now, I stop walking and lean against a nearby shelf. Observing. Waiting. Eventually he’ll have to see me.

He does a little spin move and carelessly bumps into the bucket of soapy water he’s working with, causing it to slosh around a little. Some of it lands on the floor, and some on the pants of Sam’s jumpsuit. Doesn’t faze him in the slightest. 

He does another spin the opposite way and nearly knocks over the conveniently placed display of sprinkles that are situated right in front of the ice cream freezer.

I feel like I should probably stop him before something bad happens, but he looks so damn content and so stinkin’ cute that I can’t be assed. 

Just as I’m thinking this, he opens his eyes, completely avoiding my direction while he immediately peers over his shoulder. Sam scans around, getting a full view of the proximate areas. It seems like he’s just making sure he’s not about to get caught by his boss or something, if I had to guess.

Eventually he lands on me. We both smile wide, and I triumphantly hold up his (unspilled!!) coffee in one hand, presenting it with a small flourish of the other and a bow of my head.

“For you, my good sir.” I make sure to sound extra fancy, dropping my voice an octave and annunciating my words a bit too much.

He looks around again before meeting me in the middle with a fist bump, completely ignoring my bit. Aw man.

“Hell yeah, thanks dude!” 

I shoot some awkward finger guns at him, “You got it, bud.”

“You didn’t make yourself one?”

I sigh, lamenting, “I did…”

Sam scans my face as we share a short silence. Then, the lightbulb almost visibly goes off in his noggin. “You spilled it, didn’t you?”

Pursing my lips, I nod. “I spilled it, yeah.” 

“Buuummer, dude.” He pats my head and I sigh, leaning into his touch. I’ll be damned if I don’t still love head-pats, even if it’s been a while since I’ve gotten one. “Wanna split this one then?” he offers, palm still on my crown. At this point he’s just trying to messy me up.

“No thanks, I’ll just grab another later if I’m really craving it.” Not having noticed the trance I’ve been in as my hair gets slowly and steadily ruined — it feels nice, okay? — I finally look up at him, cheekily glaring as I manually remove his large hand from me. I add on as I try to repair the frizzy aftermath, “Sick performance, by the way!” 

“You think so?” he beams. Makes me laugh.

“Of course! It looked like you were having a lot of fun.”

Sam’s face is a bit flushed as he takes the compliment, not even trying to hide it; he has a big goofy grin on his face, too.

It drops and Sam looks behind him as a deep voice with a bit of a southern twang booms from one of the aisles nearby. “Samson?”

“Shit, here.”

Sam hurriedly places his coffee into my hand and rushes back near his water bucket, looking around for his manager as he moves. I try to make things less suspicious by pretending to look at some nearby end caps. 

I take a peek over when I hear Sam greet the man, “Hiya! What’s up, Morris?”

Crossing his arms and puffing out his chest to try and make himself look mighty, a man in a navy blue suit, a bright red bow tie, and a poorly-applied black toupee corrects him. “That’s Mr. Saxton, son.” 

I roll my eyes. Awesome to know the guy running this Joja is just as insufferable as the dudes who work on the corporate side.

Sam puts an anxious hand on the back of his neck, and halfheartedly smiles as he apologizes, his speaking patterns much more formal than before. Poor guy… it hurts to see him having to tone it down so much for this dipshit.

I turn my attention back in front of me so as to give him some privacy. Not sure he’d want me to hear him getting his ear talked off.

This display is full of holiday cards... I might as well waste some time with these bad boys. I pick up one with a cartoon beagle wearing a birthday hat on it, stealing a sip of Sam’s coffee as I read the pun on the front: “Have a doggone good birthday!” Alright, nice and cheesy start…

I flip the card open. It starts blaring Baha Men’s “Who Let The Dogs Out.” Fucking hell. Jumpscare me, why doncha! I shudder at how tinny the music sounds — likely made worse by its volume — then close the card and place it back in its spot, not bothering to read more.

“Excuse me, miss?”

I peer over my left shoulder, and see that Mr. Saxton is making his way towards me. A vein is popping in his forehead, but he has a toothy smile on his face that screams customer service. Not sure what’s going on and feeling a little anxious about the situation, I don’t answer with words — I just turn my body to him and watch him expectantly. 

My eyes flicker to Sam real quick, who’s closer to the opposite end of the freezers now. He’s looking over here though, and when his eyes catch mine, he mouths “Go!” and motions his arm towards the front end of the store. Maybe he got caught socializing or something… wouldn’t doubt that there’s probably heavy surveillance in here. Man.

I look back at Sam’s boss as he says, “I’m going to need you to discard your beverage.”

My brows furrow and I tilt my head. “Why?”

Ah, he’s the asking-questions-is-talking-back type: He huffs a deep breath and tilts his head as if to mimic me, clasping his fingers together in front of his ribs. The smile and vein are both still on his face.

“It is not only unacceptable to bring your own food into a grocery store,” he strains, “but I cannot have you spilling your drink all over our products.”

…I haven’t spilled anything. What does he think I am, some crusty little kid? 

Damn, this is bringing out a rage that I haven’t experienced since working behind a Joja desk. I didn’t know I was even capable of it anymore. Must be something about the overstimulatingly bright blues, or the blindingly white strips of lights. Same ones we had above each cubicle in the office.

My anxiety is rapidly replaced with a petty yearn to cause a ruckus as I realize that I don’t work for Joja anymore. I never have to even come here again, actually.

I don’t answer to this fucko! I don’t answer to anyone!

Screw this guy!

Feeling courageous, I put on my own customer service mask as I inquire, “Do you want me to spill this on your products?”

“E-excuse me?!”

I hover the cup near the cards, tilting it a little. Doing a little eyebrow wiggle too for good measure. “It feels like you dooo.”

“I— w-what are you doing?”

Seb would be so proud if he were here. Not sure how Magnus would react, but I’d like to imagine he’d support me too.

Completely on impulse, I bring the cup in front of me and splash a little coffee in the man’s direction instead of the cards’. The now-lukewarm liquid splatters onto the white button-down beneath his jacket and rapidly seeps into the fabric, leaving a light brown, unsightly splotch.

Sick, got him where it hurts and none got on the floor! Less work for Sam!

Making sure my voice is just as cheery as Morris was trying to keep his, I cap this off, “Stop treating your employees like crap and stop treating complete strangers like children, asshole.”

This feels so good. My heart is racing and my pits feel a little moist and I might just end up an anxious mess the second I walk away, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t cool as fuck in the moment. When Leah asked me last week if Magnus ever wanted to go apeshit, it didn’t even occur to me how badly I wanted to go apeshit.

I walk down the nearest aisle as Morris continues sputtering something about me leaving, paying for this, whatever.

Shane’s kneeled down in the middle of the aisle stocking shelves. He faces me for a moment and grins slyly. “That was cool as hell.” Why does this feel so validating? “A woman after my own heart.” 

HUH?

I blink that fucking flashbang away — seriously, the last time I saw him he was still being a dick, and today he’s treating every interaction like we’re fully acquainted, if not more, what the heck — as he turns away to scan items onto the shelf again.

“I really didn’t do much…” I really didn’t. Just kinda caused a minor inconvenience for the guy. 

My hands are shaking though, so it must be catching up to me.

“That still took some balls.” He glimpses at me briefly and adds, “Y’look like you might cry, though. Get outta here before I change my mind about you.”

I huff out a quiet laugh and steady Sam’s — well, my, now — coffee in both hands. “On it, boss.”

[plantsarepeopletoo]

Only Friends Music EP6 part 2/2

Part one covers the first half of Ep6, or you can find other episodes on my pinned comment.

This is a series of posts taking a closer look at the music of Only Friends. Reminder: Playing with the music is like body language, it moves with the conversation. Verbal says something either through lyrics or something like a song title.

[3/4]

Song: Dark Premonitions by Jon Sumner 

Scene: Ray confronts Boston at his house

Type: Vocal, Playful

Starts after Ray yells “You slept with Top”. Another way of seeing Boston shutdown and he turns it back on Ray, saying Ray would be just as evil as him if Ray tells Mew. All the while minimizing and deflecting anything Ray throws his way.

Boston gives Ray a view of the future where he’s the villain for doing what is right. And this feeling makes Ray pause before telling Mew the truth.

Fun fact: the mirror has news clippings on it, one has Halloween in big letters, another might say Halloween is coming.

Song: Too Dusty (Live Version) by Blood Red Sun  Scene: Ray and Mew in the bathroom Type: Vocal

Lyrics in show:

[Verse 1] You got me acting out, you All tenderness is out the window What you do to me when the cold bites blue is straight cruel, mmm Oh, it has to be you leaving writings on the wall You promised me roses and hungry heads but, now there's only madness (Got me feeling dusty) (Got me feeling dusty) And I can't even whisper in this haunted scene oh take my hand and wake me Please Tell me it's a dream (dream) the worst kind you've ever dreamed [Chorus] Don't wanna lay anothеr night, here without you Don't wanna walk another milе, (I just can't) please don't make me do it I, I've got too much to lose I've got too much to lose Too much to lose [Verse 2] Now lay me in the wilderness, to dry out bits of your sweet caress I can't weep no more Willow trees have died, and the last Horned Lark will fly (Got me feeling dusty) (Got me feeling dusty) Please tell me it's a dream (dream) the worst kind you've ever dreamed

It starts in the bar bathroom scene, and most of the song in the show, except the last two lines. playing so softly it’s almost a background sound like you’d hear in a bathroom at a bar. The song is mournful, wishing for release of the old feelings even while hoping for the lover to not leave them. Death, drought, nightmares through out the song, and he just wants to be released.

“You’ve got me acting out” basically is what Ray will do, even though he’s trying to save himself and Mew. He’s fighting with himself, Mew told him that they can’t be friends if he can’t leave the old feelings, Boston and Sand both think that he’d tell Mew because of those feelings. He’s at risk of losing everyone if he tells Mew.

Later, when he does tell, he seems so heartbroken, assuming Mew would also believe it's because of those feelings. "I'm ok, I've always been ok" - "I just want you to be happy, even if I'm not part of it"

Song: ร้ายก็รัก by Joey Boy

Scene: Mew's party, Yo and friends are singing along to Joey Boy

Type: Vocal

Lyrics they sing:

I guess good guys only exist in… "Where?" "In Yo’s club!" A bad guy like me is doomed to misery I guess good guys only exist in fairy stories (You should’ve said “Yo’s club”) I’m a villain, no matter how much I love you, I must die eventually In the end, he’s the one who has your love

Mew's acting strange for what we know in the story, as everyone else is celebrating and singing along to the song. Good guys really only exist in fairy stories, and everyone is going to face their wrongs.

Song: Bursting Into Life by Harper Rey Scene: Ray criticizes everyone Cheum Type: Vocal

Starts after Ray says Cheum always complains to us you don’t have time for her, and she doesn’t understand your indie films. Ray’s finally moving, not just silently taking all the bad energy around him.

Song: Blame Game by GEMINII  Scene: Ray gets punched by Mew Type: Vocal

Lyrics not in show:

Stop fighting Done lying For closure Can we turn this last page over? Talk about it Can’t go round it It’s not over Everything is moving slower  They cling on to the blame Cause it’s all (Can we turn this last page over?) They have left to do Moving on from the pain Cause it’s all (But, everything is moving slower) They have left to do More, then thousands On the horizon I swear we’re trapped in Everything we feared is happening

Ray brought everything to the surface. He kicked everyone’s sandcastles down. The only person he attacked personally was Sand, and even then it wasn’t anything sacred that Sand shared with him. Now he’s trapped holding the blame, he became the villain in their stories like Boston was in his. 

“Everything we feared is happening” is an interesting line, since Boston was afraid Ray would tell Mew about Top, Nick is afraid Boston will leave him, Mew was afraid of Top not being serious about their relationship, Top was afraid that Ray and Mew were more than friends, Sand is afraid Ray will choose Mew, and Ray is afraid that Mew will push him away. Sand already pushed Ray away, so Ray hurts Sand like Sand hurt Ray. Sand doesn’t want Ray’s money, but if Ray keeps repeating it, maybe Sand would get how it feels to be accused of something over and over. 

They’ve all made prophecies that have come true, and now everyone holds onto the blame.

Maybe once they let go of that blame and start actually being honest with themselves, they can move forward. 

[4/4]

Song I’ll Do It All over Again by Mindme  Scene: April and Cheum make up, Boston and Nick in bed Type: Vocal

Lyrics:

I see you struggle Like butterflies in water Can’t get moving forward I see your shoulders Weighed down by armor You don’t need that protection

Lyrics not in show

I would walk on glass I would run ten thousand miles and more I would give my eyes if you lost your sight I would run through fire I would carry you through the heat I would do it all again if you needed me to Wish that I could Take away your pain Like sunbeams in the rain Oh we’re family Where ever you go I’ll follow What ever you do I’ll handle I would walk on glass I would run ten thousand miles and more I would give my eyes if you lost your sight I would run through fire I would carry you through the heat I would do it all again if you needed me to Oh, oh I’ll do it all over again Oh, Oh I’ll do it all over again I would run through fire I would carry you through heat I’ll do it all over again

Song starts as April asks Cheum to not lie, that her words mean so much.

I see you struggle Like butterflies in water

These two lines play as April and Cheum hug, their problem fixed as soon as Cheum stopped blaming Ray and owned up to her own words.

The scene switches to Boston and Nick in Nick’s room halfway through the next line, as they lay silently in bed. Nick and Boston are stuck, unable to move forward since Boston refuses to talk. Ray exploding at the club has upset Boston more than he’s willing to say to Nick, the one person who would listen and accept.

In the show, the lyrics are Nick’s feelings “I see your shoulders” Nick rolls over to put his hand on Boston’s chest, “weighted down by armor” Boston moves Nick’s hand away, and “You don’t need that protection” plays as Boston rolls away, shutting down Nick’s comfort.

Boston’s armor is his minimizing, reflecting blame, his masks, and here, the disconnect. Nick would walk on glass and follow Boston across the world, but he can’t fix anything if Boston turns away from him. You can’t force someone to love you, even if you walk through fire for them.

Song: I Used to Be Free by Fleurs Douces Scene: Song Mew puts on after lighting candles Type: Vocal

Lyrics heard in show:

Feeling caged Unsafe Lights are out I'm fading Angels Call my name Move on Just move on I'm falling so deep, deep below I'm not alright Can't get no sleep, time's too slow I can't keep fighting I used to be free, but now I'm just old Losing my mind It's all in my head, it's all in my head Not too long ago When I still felt joy Not a pressure on my chest Try to find a Way to Control it I don't wanna live a life like this I'm falling so deep, deep below I'm not alright Can't get no sleep, time's too slow

(beginning of next song overlaps and drowns out the rest)

I can't keep fighting I used to be free, but now I'm just old Losing my mind It's all in my head, it's all in my head

Mew lights candles and we get a sickly green glow, the song is haunting and it draws Top into the bedroom. “When we love or get attached to anyone, it’s hard to get over that person. Don’t you think” Mew asks Top.

Not too long ago When I still felt joy Not a pressure on my chest Try to find a Way to Control it I don't wanna live a life like this

Mew took control of the situation, he didn’t give Top a way out, and he proved that it is Top’s voice on that tape. The refusal to want to feel this pressure, this despair, is what drives Mew’s actions in the next episode.

I like how the next song, cold-blooded drowns out the rest of this song. It's angry and decisive, Mew has made his decision. Mew is ready to hurt Top as they start to undress.

Song: cold-blooded by King Sis  Scene: Top and Mew start to do it in Mew’s bed Type: Vocal

Lyrics not heard in show:

I lay you to rest in pieces No picture on a T-Shirt Like you never existed I’m done being a victim This is my villain era, look out I go hard from my heart Play with her, it go down Now you blocked Shhh Don’t make a sound Don’t wish you no harm But I hope that no good come around In my space there's no cheaters allowed I gave you my word Try it again you gonna lose your girlfriend The nerve To think I wouldn’t disappear from your life Cold-Blooded Boy I’m cold-blooded All this blue ice water in my veins Memorial service in your name Cold-blooded You are trying to spin the block now Bring flowers to my job now Oh you realized what you lost now I been pressure, never stop now But I’m way too good at goodbyes Bet you thought grass was green on that other side Guess what I’ll help you decide Tattoo'd on my tears No I swear that you won’t catch me crying Got no reasons left to rewind I gave you my word Try it again I’ll put you on the bench Do not disturb To think I used to dream of being your wife Cold-blooded

The beginning of the song starts after Mew asks for one more gift and turns to undo Top’s shirt. Given this song, that gift might be front row seats at Top’s funeral. Or at least a close up of Top’s shocked face when he finds out about the tape. As the song says:

I’m done being a victim This is my villain era, look out

Top messed around, and instead of doing what he should have done, which was go to Mew with his concerns with Ray, he decides to fuck Boston.

Song: The Vice by Hampus Naeselius Scene: Mew confronts Top about the tapes  Type: Background, Playful

Top’s vice, his wrongs, are brought to light and at first Top falls back to his habit of not telling the whole truth. Mew voices his concerns, his insecurities, angry at the betrayal of a friend and a lover at the same time. The song ends with Mew saying he can’t trust anything Top says.

Honesty and Sincerity are a major theme of Only friends, as the first song in the show says,

Because I know you are honest Someone like you I've never met Take it, take all of my heart It's all yours

Right now the only couple at the end of Ep6 is April and Cheum, who, after their problems were laid out onto the table, were able to start to fix them. Top and Mew’s bewitchment has been broken, and Sand and Ray’s fragile connection has shattered. Nick and Boston, in Ep7 are completely apart, but it’s still early, and I’m not sure how the show is going to direct their path. 

--

That's it for EP6, thank you for reading! Thank you @rocketturtle4 for your patience with me this episode.

Here's the master list

Here's a link to EP6 part 1

[lonely-lost-soul]

Under The Floorboards pt. IIII

(Technoblade X Reader): Pt. I, Pt. II, Pt. III, Pt. IIII, Pt. V

Whipping the sweat off your brow you placed the honey jars you collected on the ground, Phil really built this farm efficiently. However, that didn’t stop you needing to collect honey pots here and there, now that the vault was complete you could actually use the honey for normal things. Technoblade would never admit it but he loved when you put honey in his tea, contrary to popular belief he wasn’t a fan of plain black tea or coffee. You rolled up your sleeves and adjusted the sunhat that sat lazily on your head against your better judgment you had left your armor inside. The only thing on your person was a netherite ax Techno had enchanted for you, it was an effective weapon but without your armor, you were a bit of a sitting duck. As the bees buzzed and bumped lazily into each other, you couldn’t help but smile fondly at the sight. They were just so silly. You picked up the crate of jars and turned around, your eyes narrowed as you saw some movement by the trees, it was still too early for Tommy and Technoblade to be back...so just who was snooping around the property. You felt very naked in your sun hat and overalls, especially if it was Dream himself that you were about to encounter. Your worry only increased as you noticed four men all in netherite armor walking towards the house, their swords were drawn. You had a feeling that these were the men who took Technoblade the day prior. They were like a little gang all dressed the same way, bloody aprons and all they really had the executioner vibes down. 

    “Hello, gentlemen.” You smiled giving them a wave while you adjusted the box of honey, “beautiful day isn’t it?” 

The first to answer was a man who had a scar from the tip of his eyebrow down to the bottom of his lip. He sent you a smile and you noticed a tooth missing from the upper row, a navy blue beanie held his dark hair in place. 

    “Very beautiful, it’s always a good day when the sun is shining.” He mused the sun in question reflected beautifully across all their netherite armor. The one thing you decided to leave inside, you weren’t intimidated nope not at all. “What’s your name sweetheart?”

    “(Y/N).” You responded with a hum, “Is there something that I can help you all with today?” Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed two of the men moved to surround you, they thought they were slick. The only one who didn’t move was the tallest of the children there, he looked to be half Enderman. He also looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was right now poor thing. Drawing your gaze back to the other three men, you noticed one was Tommy’s age and had small horns atop his head, along with goat-like ears. A burn scar also took up half of his face. It made you frown distastefully, what was with these kids getting traumatized? First Tommy and now the half enderman and the goat kid, you couldn’t adopt all of them, well you could but it’d be a lot of work. The other looked to be part fox after all the big orange ears and the fluffy tail was dead give away, wait didn’t Ghostbur say his son was a fox. “Are you Fundy?” You asked, suddenly tilting your head to the side.

    “How do you know my name?” Fundy’s face flushed a little and he shuffled on his feet, his hand twitching to grab the sword that was at his side. 

    “I talked to your father earlier today. I’m assuming that’s how you found me?” You took the hat off your head and rested it on Carl’s stable. The fox gave a reluctant nod of confirmation you licked your lips and put your hands behind your back. “So? Do you have a problem with Technoblade or just me specifically?”

    “Wow, she’s not even a little bit ashamed.” Quackity mused and you frowned, “We’re here because your boyfriend blew up our country. He also disgraced our President right Tubbo? Don’t know if you’re aware of that or not but he escaped his punishment. So we intend to make him repent.” He walked towards you and you took a step away from him. 

    “That’s far enough thank you.” You held up your hand in hopes it would stop his trek towards you, Quackity did pause for a moment. He let out a chuckle and smiled. He thought your tough attitude was cute, but he was clearly mocking you. 

Jackass. 

    “Quackity maybe we should leave her be...she didn’t do anything.” The young goat kid murmured his ears flicking as he looked up at you. 

    “Quiet Tubbo. Let the adults speak,” Quackity snapped at him before clearing his throat and looking back at you. “Listen (Y/N) was it? We’re going to have to ask that you come with us. If you don’t we’ll have to take you by force.”

    “Wait, couldn't Technoblade have trained her?” The half enderman spoke holding up his finger in the air but no one seemed to pay him any attention. 

    “I guess force it is. Although the fight is a little unfair.” You took out your ax and twirled it in your hand, “Something tells me you don’t exactly like fair fights.” Fundy took a hesitant step backward not really wanting to lose a life for this of all things, but he pulled out his sword just in case. Clicking your tongue in distaste you sent a bloodthirsty smile their way, one that rivaled Technoblade, “Come at me.” 

Without hesitation, Quackity charged at you with his sword he didn’t aim to kill, just disarm or injure. You blocked the swing with the wooden part of your ax and spun around just in time to dodge an attack from Tubbo. You managed to elbow him in the back and he stumbled forward into Quackity, the man made a grunting sound before shoving Tubbo off of him and into the snow. Fundy moved next and managed to land a hit on the side of your arm, you hissed loudly glaring daggers at the fox. His ears pressed against his head and he let out a small whimper, “sorry!”

    “Don’t apologize to her!” Quackity groaned, “You guys are the worst gang ever.” He slapped his forehead as you readjusted your posture, “I have to do everything myself.” Quackity snarled charging at you again you sidestepped out of the way. As he stumbled trying to regain himself he knocked over the honey pots and they shattered against the ground. You swung your ax and managed to land a hit on him in the back of the legs, he let out a strangled yelp and fell on his face into the snow like Tubbo had done earlier. Yanking out the ax out of the leader of the gang blood splattered all over the ground and stained the snow. Little red beads dripped off the ax as you held it by your side, the man only let out another scream as it was torn out of him. 

    “Back. Off.” You repeated again baring your teeth with a hiss, “Turn around and go back to L’manburg and I won’t kill you. Got it.”  The ax was pointed at all of them, you saw the half enderman nod vigorously, 

    “Yes ma’am.” He nodded rapidly grabbing Tubbo and Fundy by the arm and pulled them back, the three of them watched as Quackity snarled and backed up to join them. You watched them cower and you dropped your ax on the ground so you could press the palm of your hand into the wound on your arm. You quickly turned and ran back into your home to collect bandages and fix yourself up, blood speckled the floor as you made your way into the bathroom. You tore off your overalls and shirt, washing out the wound before wrapping your arm in bandages. You didn’t know how long you stood there in front of the mirror but you looked worse for wear. 

Technoblade was going to lose his shit.

---

All Technoblade could think about on their way back to his retirement home, was you. He could only put up with Tommy for so many hours until he needed to talk to literally anyone else. He was ready to get your relaxing date night underway; he could already feel your fingers running through his hair braiding his as you went. He hummed fondly listening as the voices called him simp repeatedly, he didn’t mind this time considering he was when it came to you. 

    “That’s still cringe chat.” He murmured to himself as Tommy continued to scream about something in the background, “Yeah, yeah I love her.” He heard the chat flip their shit and he fondly chuckled, intermixed with their happy cries there was a distinct sound of ‘E’ as well as ‘nerd.’ He almost didn’t hear Tommy’s worried shouting. He frowned and rolled his eyes back into his skull, 

    “What Tommy?” 

    “Technoblade! Technoblade!” The teen bumped back into him, Technoblade grunted and looked down at him. He followed Tommy’s eyes and spotted the blood littered snow outside his house. Technoblade paused and his vision went red around the edges, his eyes stayed trained on the bloodstains as the voices began to roar within his skull. His head shot up and he saw the honey box spilled over on the ground, glass littered the snow, your hat hanging loosely on Carl’s old stable. 

     “T-Technoblade.” Tommy stuttered again looking up at the pig-man, seeing how glazed over his eyes looked. He swore steam was coming out of Technoblade’s nose and his hand drew out his pickaxe gripping it so tight his knuckles turned white. He felt his tusks grow in size and his face began to shift into his pig form. Tommy’s voice was drowned out by the flood that was the voices in his head: 

‘SHE’S GONE. THEY HAVE HER. KILL THEM ALL. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. WE DEMAND BLOOD. E. SAVE HER. YOU’RE A FAILURE. YOU DIDN’T PROTECT HER. SLAUGHTER ALL OF THEM. SHE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG. SHE NEVER HURT ANYBODY. YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE. BLOOD. BLOOD. BLOOD. BLOOD.’ 

Technoblade took a step forward to which Tommy rapidly backed up in response. He’s never seen Techno this gone before, oh shit he has it bad for (Y/N). However, Tommy didn’t make a move to stop Technoblade; he didn’t want him to release that rage on him. Technoblade walked into the house, stepping on his glasses that fell off his face. He threw his door open with a loud slam, he needed potions and he needed a new sword. 

Whoever did this all their cannon lives were gone he’d make it long and torturous.

A soft voice broke him out of his stupor his entire body went rigid. 

    “Bubs…” He slowly turned around and came face to face with you, you looked so small, so delicate standing in the doorway. You were wearing your pajamas, soft blue with little sheep all over them. His ears twitched and his shoulders softened considerably seeing you standing safe in the doorway, however, he tensed again the minute he saw the bandages tied around your arm. Blood leaking through them, he growled eyes locking in on the spot as you made soft shushing sounds at him. 

‘SHE’S HURT. SHE’S ALIVE THOUGH. BUT SHE’S HURT, THEY NEED TO PAY. ATONE FOR WHAT THEY DID TO HER. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. SPILL THEIR BLOOD THEN MAKE OUT WITH HER. SHE’LL LOVE YOU MORE IF YOU DO. BLOOD. BLOOD. BLOOD.’

Technoblade jumped feeling her hand caress his cheek, “Bubs it’s alright I’m okay.” Your voice was smooth and soothing, his eyes dilated as you spoke to him. His face shifting back to normal as he breathed heavily through his nose, “See?” You brought his head down to rest against your chest, it looked uncomfortable the way that he was bending. However, he could feel your heart beating in your chest, he made a soft whimper and grabbed onto your shoulders his pink hair tickled your chin. You brought your hands up to run his fingers through his hair as he finally calmed down enough to ignore the voices for the time being. Right now they were just commenting on how nice and warm her hands were anyway.

    “What happened to you? There was blood everywhere I was so scared.” His voice broke a little bit as he pulled away from you. Your heart twisted painfully in your chest Technoblade had never looked so broken. 

    “The butcher squad came and attacked me. They wanted to use me to get to you but I fought them off just like you taught me.” You couldn’t help but smile proudly at him and he let out a disbelieving laugh. His hands moved from your shoulders to your back as he cradled you gently in his arms, you both stood there rocking back and forth together until Technoblade was satisfied. 

    “That’s my girl.” He finally murmured backing away from you, you flushed at the compliment. Whenever he called you that it made you flush all over, you let out a loud flustered whine and whacked him on the chest. Technoblade laughed at your flustered expression, it was a rare moment the tables were flipped like this and Technoblade was going to take full advantage of the situation. “Princess what’s with that look? Am I, thee Technoblade, making you flustered? I know I’m a lot to handle, I beat Dream once, I never die, I’m not homeless. Guess what?” 

    “What?” You couldn’t help but let out a giggle as he circles you eyeing you up and down. 

    “I’m single.” 

    “Oh really?” You cocked an eyebrow, “I thought you had a girlfriend.” You twirled your hair around your fingers and you felt his strong hands rest on your waist. 

    “Hm I don’t think so. You might need to refresh my memory,” Technoblade mused kissing your neck tenderly. 

    “Well she’s stunningly gorgeous, and tough as nails,” Your eyes fluttered closed as you leaned back against him. “She absolutely adores you and how protective you are of her, and how much of a gentle giant you are.” He made a noise of protest and rested his chin on the top of your head. You could tell he was pouting at you, 

    “See, not only is that super cringe but also factually incorrect. I am not a gentle giant, I just committed vast sums of minor terrorism and I also kill orphans so what would my girlfreind say to that huh?” He huffed clicking his tongue distastefully. 

    “She would say that you’re right but also she sees the way you take care of Carl, and how you put up with Tommy. You’re totally brothers. That makes you at least a little bit soft” 

    “Not brothers and I don’t like him.” 

    “Right sure,” You giggled a little and kissed his chin lightly. 

Technoblade let out an indignant sound before muttering, “Oh we should probably tell Tommy you aren’t kidnapped. Also discuss what to do about L’manburg now that they know you exist.” You blocked out that last part and made a beeline outside to find Tommy. The teenager in question was fumbling with his hands over by his cobblestone tower, you ran over to him and engulfed him in a hug. 

    “(Y/N)!” He shouted letting out a disbelieving laugh hugging you back with a childish smile. “You’re okay! Holy fuck I totally thought you were dead and shit! Technoblade was going fucking apeshit! His face went all pig like n’ shit totally thought he was gonna kill everyone for you! Not that I was worried.” He added quickly shoving you away crossing his arms. 

    “Of course you weren’t THE Tommy is never worried.” 

    “Yeah exactly Miss Blade you get me.” You smiled fondly at him and you ruffled his hair and he shouted at you to stop. You did so sensing Technoblade approach the both of you, Techno interlocked your hand with his own and squeezed it tightly. “You chill now Big T?” 

    “I’m always chill Tommy. Only nerds aren’t chill.” He mused with a scoff, “Hence why I always call you a nerd.” 

    “WHAT THE FUCK TECHNOBLADE! I AM ALWAYS CHILL! I’M THE CHILLEST MAN ALIVE I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW!” 

    “Stop shouting,” Technoblade groaned burying his face in your hair as you laughed fondly at their antics. Although L’manburg knew about your existence now, and although you knew Dream probably wasn’t too far behind in learning that knowledge either, you felt everything was going to be okay. 

All you needed was each other, Technoblde, Tommy, Phil and you. Together you four were gonna do great things, you just knew it.

~~~

I do plan on making another part because people seem to be enjoying this story a lot more than I originally thought when I first posted it. Which is amazing thank you for all the love and support! New stuff is also in the works, thanks again for reading and enjoying! Stay safe guys! 🥰✨

[dreamrecorder]

Family in the Inn

Wherein Verr adopts Xiao and how he got you as a sibling.

The idea was from here ksks---- also this is quite long | Part hc part trad, Im not even sure anymore hahaha it’s just- siblings are a wholesome concept and there are so much things to add i dont know what to do haha Enjoy~

After a night full of battles against the demons lurking Liyue, Xiao struggled to keep the corruption in him at bay. He was losing his mind in pain as the screams continue to persist both in volume and their harsh words. He needed to get away from here. From the bodies that was slain by his very hands. He wanted to go away to somewhere safe.

It was an unconscious thought- out of nowhere, Xiao just teleported himself into whatever place he thought was safe and crash landed into familiar wooden floorboards.

The crash was loud- enough for visitors of the inn to rouse awake. Luckily, Verr and Huai'an were quick to reassure them that they are safe.

Verr Goldet was first to arrive in their balcony and what she saw tore her heart.

As if a mother to a child, she quickly rushed to the adeptus whose body writhed to himself while shaking violently. Verr didn't care about the malicious energy emanating from Xiao- she just went to his side and cradled what she can of him.

Normally, Xiao would instantly get away from any form of touch, but he was too weak and too tired- so he let her be.

Verr began singing lullabies as she wiped his tears away, hoping to ease his pain even just for tonight.

The lullabies- they were soothing. Moments passed, his shaking lessened along with the dark mist covering his body. Xiao merely focused on Verr's lullabies- clinging to the innocent words the lullabies carry as if hoping that they would take all his pain away.

And they really did- the way the she cradled him was very reminiscent of how a mother cradled a child. She didn't care if her clothes were now damp from his tears. She kept singing until finally, Xiao finally slept with a genuine peace gracing his face.

And that is how Xiao finds himself seeing Verr as a mother and how Verr finds Xiao as a son. Always know that this inn will be your home with someone who cares for you.

~~~

The following day came and Xiao finds himself in his room, waking up to the sunlight filtering from the window. By the bedside, the innkeeper sleeps with arms crossed. As if waiting for him to wake up. Even if he sees Verr now in a new light, Xiao still decides that he does not want to be seen for now. But before leaving, he mutters a sincere thank you.

When they cross paths in the inn, there was no closure whatsoever about what happened to him that night. But before he leaves to protect Liyue again, Verr called him. "Xiao,"

The adeptus stopped in his tracks and faced her.

"Stay safe. If you get hurt don't hesitate to come home alright?"

Ah. The words of a mother to a child. But Xiao is no child and not certainly a child to a mortal- but still, Xiao finds him saying, "I'll be back."

This simple pattern went on for years. While they never called each other 'mother' or 'son' verbally, the relationship is there. Whenever Xiao leaves, Verr always reminds him to take care. And when he comes back, she never fails to greet him, "Welcome home!"

Xiao felt loved.

As small thanks, there are times Xiao would help in the inn aside from protecting his home from monsters and hoarders.

Like- helping Huai'an with heavy crates of materials and teaching Yanxiao Sweet Dreams (the inn got a boost from his recipe). He'll help as long as it doesn't involve interacting with other mortals aside from the inn staff.

Then the time came when Verr announced she was pregnant.

Xiao's initial reaction... was to leave. He didn't want the baby near him- no, scratch that. He didn't want to be near the baby or else it would catch his karmic energy if ever he loses control. The baby deserved a life free from any danger- free from him.

And Verr was having none of that!!!

She noticed the lessening appearances of the Yaksha within the inn ever since her announcement, so he waited for her son at the balcony.

"The evening cold will not do you well and the baby." He said as he materialized a few feet away from her.

Verr noticed his walls up again and her mother instincts told her that something's up. So with careful prying, she finally learned his reasons of him staying away. But with a gentle smile, she reassured him that he can never do wrong or harm to the baby

Carefully, she let out a small joke, "Who knows, I bet the baby will be even safer having a brother like you."

Oh how she doesn't know how her joke struck a chord in Xiao's heart. The adeptus vowed to protect you at all cost.

Throughout his mother's pregnancy, Xiao became very protective of her. And that also means being careful of himself whenever he fights in order to avoid his karma leaking out. There was this one time even, Verr convinced Xiao for him to hold her swollen belly and feel the baby. The moment he felt that small kick! His heart burst feelings he didn't think he would ever feel! Pure joy and love for another.

The day came when you finally entered the world with strong fits of cries- as if demanding to be brought back to the darkness you were familiar with in your mother's womb!!!

Despite accepting the fact he now has a little sibling, he doesn't show up to greet you to the world. Perhaps he was still in denial? That all of this was just some dream that he's desperate mind conjured up? But still his heart beckoned him to go to you.

With swift and silent movements, Xiao entered the sleeping couple's bedroom and there he saw that small bundle of you. The way his heart welled up in pure happiness. The mere sight of you just confirms that all this is real and not a dream.

Awkward, but careful and determined, Xiao lifted your small form to his arms and against his chest.

The way you instantly cuddled into him with hand accidentally tugging his hair just sent Xiao into a pure moment of peace.

~~~

During your infant years, Xiao would always spend his time with you during the night by sneaking into the couple’s bedroom and just simply holding you close. Verr, having noticed his nightly visits to you, have even prepared your bottles of milk in case you were hungry during his visits.

The first time you cried while he was holding you, surprisingly, Xiao did not panic. He knew you were hungry and he silently thanked himself for observing mortal mothers back then. He simply took the bottle Verr had prepared and gave it to you as he began singing the very same lullaby his mother had sang to him. That’s how soft Xiao is for you.

Although there are other times when the inn was very bustling with business to the point of having Verr and her husband’s hands tied. These are the times Xiao will then just grab you from your mother’s hold with no word and take you to the balcony. With a prepared bottle in hand at that. Verr would always smile at Xiao’s retreating back.

Innocence, it’s such a pure thing honestly. While playing with you, you somehow grabbed his mask. Xiao was about to take it, in fear you would cry at its hideous look. But you never cried or whimpered. You simply toyed with it by putting it on your face or by playing its horns. Perhaps even hideous things can still have a chance at love?

Your first word came while Xiao was holding you with Verr close by preparing your baby meal and it was gēgē. You kept babbling that word over and over while tugging at his hair so happily and Xiao can only hold you closer as his body shook in silent, happy tears. Verr taught you that word *wink*.

Come toddler years and boy did Xiao’s worry for you intensifies. You were an explorer! The moment you learned how to crawl, you were going to places here and there! You almost gave your brother a heart attack </3!! Especially that time when you were crawling up the stairs on you own!!! Your exploring habits only intensified when you learned how to walk~ To tone down your exploring tendencies- Xiao would take you for small walks where your tiny, little legs can take you. It was a cute sight, the two of you walking hand in hand. You were so small~

Childhood arrived and you became a big bundle of energy. Since you’re not old enough to help with the inn, you often bothered your brother to play with you or walk with you outside. Of course Xiao will always agree with a smile.

Glaze lillies only bloom during the night yes? But oh how Xiao was proven wrong when you approached a wild lily and it instantly bloomed under the sun in your presence. The joy that shone your eyes was so prominent, it was infectious. Because of that glaze lily, that is how the two of you got into your favorite past time, story telling with your brother. 

Also, imagine that sweet moment when you showed him your missing tooth and you both laughed off how you look ridiculous without it. 

His stories were mostly vague, but they never fail to amaze you. Stories about flying cranes, about majestic stags, how Liyue was created by the Geo Archon. But never about the Yaksha, that was a truth for another time.

The time finally came when you were about to visit Liyue for the first time. It was for a physical check-up with Dr. Baizhu, Verr said. Normally, you and your mother should have left the inn a day ago because of the distance but Xiao insisted that he teleport the three of you to Liyue. That was the first time you disagreed with your brother. “But I want to see the roads and places going there!” Ah, an adventurer at heart.

Xiao crouched down to your level and ruffled your hair saying, “Sure, we can take the carriages on the way home. That way you can see the beauty of Liyue.”

But there was another thing that grabbed your interest. “But, gege, teleport? Are you like the adepti you tell me in your stories? Like they use their magic to go around places to keep us safe?” Then a fantastical idea popped in your head as you eyes shone bright! “Gege, are you an adeptus?!”

Xiao inwardly panicked and he had no words for your excited question. He didn’t expect to have you discover the truth so soon. But lying can bring him nowhere. He took a small glance at his mother, who was smiling at him encouragingly. 

“Yes. I am one, but I will tell you more when you become older okay?” The first statement made you explode excitedly then the second statement made you pout. All in a milisecond. But at the back of your head, you listed this moment to your ‘adult stuff I want to know in the future.’

“Someday, I wanna be a cool adeptus like you!” You exclaimed proudly and Xiao smiled at your aspirations, but prayed with desperation to the Archons to never make that happen ever.

But this does not stop him from showing you his anemo vision. And now, your playtime involved use of his anemo <3

Your energy was basically uncontained when you step foot in the harbor and Xiao’s eyes were only at you. Despite having familial relationships, he still detests humans to a degree, so he glares at anyone suspicious walking on your merry way.

When you arrived Yujeng Terrace after the check-up, everyone was so surprised at how glaze lillies simply bloom at your presence, especially Madame Ping. But she was even more surprised when she saw you running to someone she hasn’t seen for so long. Seeing Xiao lift you up with a smile made Madame Ping’s worries for him ease down. Coming into eye contact, Xiao simply offered her a small bow. You noticed and saw the old lady he was bowing to. You were a respectful child, so even if you had no idea who the lady was, you also gave a small, shy bow to her way.

Since this was a one-day visit, you took your sweet time exploring the harbor with your mother and brother tailing you. You often would point things out that grabbed your interest. Sometimes, you would stop at the sight of a stray cat just for you to crouch down and pet it. You even found a black cat with gold eyes and a white diamond spot on its forehead. You excitedly lifted it to your arms and showed your brother, “It looks just like you, gege!”

On the first half of the travel back home, you marveled at the nature surrounding you. You never left the window side of the carriage you road. And then the latter half came, you were snuffed out like a candle with cat cozy in your arms and you cozy in Xiao’s arms, who was also asleep. Verr had etched this moment into her memory forever. 

A/N: Might add another part? I dont know i am indecisive hahahaha If i do add some, prolly more about how you met Venti and Zhongli and your visit to your mother’s home land, Mondtsadt-- 

[queenxxxsupreme]

An Unlikely Choice (dad!Arthur Morgan)

A/N: This is an addition to my new little dad!Arthur series! Hopefully we will see more of domesticated Arthur in the near future :)

Warnings: none, just fluff!

Word Count: 2.9k

Summary: Arthur takes Daisy to get her first horse. 

***

“Come on, daddy!”

“We’re goin’ as fast as we can, sweetpea.”

“I’ve seen Poncho go faster than this!”

“Well Poncho don’t go fast when little kids are on his back.” 

“Don’t you give him a little nudge like this?” Daisy leaned to the side and used her heels to give the buckskin standardbred an encouraging nudge.

Poncho put his ears back, huffing in displeasure. 

“Come on now, sweetpea.” Arthur reached down to stop her leg. “You don’t do that. You’re not the one with the reins so you aren’t the one who tells him to go faster, okay?”

“Okay, daddy.”

“We don’t wanna confuse poor Poncho, do we?” Arthur rubbed the side of Poncho’s neck. “He’s a good boy.”

“Daddy, what if all the horses are gone by the time we get there?” Daisy looked over her shoulder to him. 

“Sweetpea, I don’t think all the horses are gonna be gone-,”

“But what if they are?” Her little eyebrows were drawn together with concern. 

“Then we’ll have to find somewhere else that has horses, sweetpea.” Arthur leaned down to kiss her head. 

“What if that place runs out of horses too?”

“You sound like your mother.” He sighed, bringing Poncho to a stop at the end of the main street. “She worries just like that too. Always questionin’ everything.”

Arthur climbed down from the saddle and took the reins, making sure Daisy sat safely in the saddle. 

“I promised you I was gonna get you a horse, didn’t I?”

Daisy nodded, messing with the saddle horn. 

“Then I’m gonna get you a horse. Have a little faith in me, sweetpea.” He fixed the way his hat sat on his head and began to lead Poncho down the busy street. 

“What’s faith, daddy?”

“Faith is, uh…. is like trust.”

Daisy didn’t hear his answer. She was too busy watching a pair of huge horses pull an even bigger cart. 

“Whoa! Daddy, look!” She pointed. “Look at how big those horses are!”

“Those are workin’ horses. Papa Hosea used to have one a long, long time ago.”

“How many horses has Papa Hosea had?”

“Too many to count.”

Arthur led Poncho down to the stables at the end of the street. He tethered the horse to a hitching post and moved to get Daisy down from the saddle. 

“Now remember sweetpea. In here, you can’t be too loud and you can’t move too fast. We don’t wanna spook the horses.”

“Okay.” She nodded her head, taking hold of Arthur’s hand. Her little hand only wrapped around his pinky and ring finger but he still held her hand as he took her towards the stable. 

“You got any names in mind?”

“Names?”

“Yeah. Names for the horse.”

“Hmm.” Daisy tapped her free hand to her lips. “What about Cookie? I like cookies.”

“That’s…. an interestin’ name.” Arthur chuckled. 

“Howdy, folks.” A man approached Arthur and Daisy, holding his hand out for Arthur. “Davis Thatcher. Owner of this here stable.”

“Arthur Calhoon.”

The two shook hands. 

“What can I do for you today?”

“I’m lookin’ for a horse.” Arthur answered, his eyes dropping down to Daisy. She squeezed his fingers as she peered around Mr. Thatcher, spotting a pony in a stall. “We were hopin’ to find somethin’ along the lines of a foal.”

“You are in luck! I’ve got a handful of fillies and a couple colts. Let’s go take a look and you can tell me which one looks good to you, Mr. Calhoon.”

“Well, I’m not gonna be the one pickin’ the horse. If we find the right one, this’ll be my daughter’s horse.”

“Oh, how nice! Is it a special occasion?” 

“Sort of.” Arthur began to follow Mr. Thatcher around the stable. Daisy eagerly walked alongside her father. “Her birthday’s in a couple weeks.”

“How old are you gonna be, missy?” 

“Eight!” Daisy answered, practically bouncing up and down next to Arthur. 

“That’s a big number! Congratulations!”

Mr. Thatcher led Arthur to an enclosure towards the back of the stable.

“Here we have a few of the younger foals. Take a look, see if any of them catch your eye.”

Arthur picked Daisy up and sat her on the top rail of the fence. He kept his arm around her stomach, not wanting to let her fall into the enclosure. 

“Give them a treat when they come up to you.” Mr. Thatcher handed Daisy a biscuit. 

The first horse to take interest in the duo was a palomino mare. Daisy excitedly shifted in her spot. Arthur could practically feel the excitement radiating off of her. 

“Easy, sweetpea.” Arthur said. “Don’t wanna spook her.”

“She’s pretty, daddy.”

“Sure is. Remember to keep your hand flat so she don’t nibble on your fingers.”

Daisy put her hand out falt with the chunk of carrot in her palm. The mare sniffed the treat for a brief moment before taking it from Daisy. Daisy giggled. 

“That tickled.”

“That one’s called Trudy. She’s got a filly over there that we call Millie.” Mr. Thatcher pointed to a light yellow foal that was playing with a dark brown foal in one of the corners of the enclosure. 

“What do you think about that one, sweetpea?” Arthur asked Daisy, but she wasn’t even looking at that horse. Her eyes were focused on something else in the corner to her left. There was something brown laying in the hay. It didn’t appear to be a foal at first, no features were discernible. But the more Daisy looked at it, she could see it was breathing. 

“What about that one?” She pointed to the lump. 

“You wouldn’t be interested in that one, honey.” Mr. Thatcher shook his head. 

“Somethin’ wrong with it?” Arthur asked quietly.

“That’s one of the runts from another mare. She’s not strong. Ain’t worth your time, I can assure you.”

“Daddy, I wanna look at it.” Daisy tugged on the sleeve to Arthur’s shirt. He looked over to Mr. Thatcher, who let out a sigh. 

“If you’d like to look, you can. But I promise, she ain’t nothin’ special.”

“Come on, sweetpea.” Arthur pulled her down from the fence. Daisy led the way over to the corner the little filly was in. She knelt down so that she could see the baby horse between the bottom two horizontal fence boards. 

“Here, girl.” Daisy clicked her tongue, holding her hand out. The foal had its nose tucked into the hay and showed no signs of acknowledging Daisy. 

“You got a treat she could give the foal?” Arthur looked at Mr. Thatcher. He nodded and pulled another biscuit out of his pocket. He gave it to Arthur, who then knelt down by Daisy. 

“Here, take this.” He handed the biscuit to her. 

“What’s her name?” Daisy asked.

“Uh, she…. She don’t really got one.”

Arthur shook his head. 

“Here, girl. Look here.” Daisy spoke softly, trying again to get the filly’s attention. 

Arthur would’ve thought it was dead if it weren’t for the shallow breathing movements it made. 

He reached through the fence and tapped the foal’s hindquarter. 

“Wake up, girl.”

The filly lifted her head, a few pieces of straw getting stuck in the part of her mane that fell across her forehead. She blinked once and then twice, looking from Arthur to Daisy. There was a white patch around her left eye, a stark contrast to the rest of her chocolate brown coat. 

“Here.” Daisy whispered, holding out the biscuit for her. She took it and nibbled lightly at Daisy’s fingers. Daisy giggled, then reached up to pull the straw from the filly’s mane. 

“There’s a few more outside I can show you.” Mr. Thatcher said, moving towards a door that would lead them outside. 

“Come on, sweetpea.” Arthur started to stand up. 

“Daddy, I want her.” Daisy brushed her fingers over the filly’s tangled mane. 

Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. The filly didn’t look very healthy. Even laying down it looked small. And there was a chance that it was deaf too. It was odd that it hadn’t responded to any noises being made. He couldn’t get his daughter a sickly horse and risk it dying. 

“How old is that little filly, Mr. Thatcher?”

“Five months.”

“Five months?” He repeated in disbelief. “Looks barely three months old.”

“I told you, Mr. Calhoon. She’s a runt, and she’s got issues with holding on weight.”

Arthur looked back to Daisy. She was completely engrossed with the filly, already whispering and murmuring to her as she stroking her mane. 

“Give me a second, would you?”

“Of course.” Mr. Thatcher moved away to give Arthur some privacy with his daughter. 

Arthur leaned against the fence with his arms, looking around the enclosure at the other foals. 

“Daddy, she’s so pretty. Ain’t she?”

His eyes dropped down to the filly just below him. 

“She is pretty, sweetpea.” He nodded. “Daisy, this filly…. She ain’t healthy, sweetpea. It wouldn’t be…. I just don’t think….” He couldn’t find the right words. Everything he tried to say sounded terrible. 

Daisy stopped petting the horse and stood up, brows drawing together as she peered up at her father. 

“Did Mr. Thatcher say we can’t take her home?”

“No, sweetpea. That ain’t it.” He shook his head, looking down at her. “This one here ain’t the healthiest they have. If we get her…. I don’t know how long she’ll last.”

The look that crossed over Daisy’s face broke Arthur’s heart. 

“I just don’t want you to have to go through that, sweetpea.” Arthur put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug, his hand finding the back of her head. “I know what it’s like to lose a horse and it’s a really nasty feelin’ that I don’t want you to ever feel.”

“She just looks so sad here, daddy.” Daisy sniffled.

“Oh sweetpea, don’t cry on me.” He pulled back, wiping her tears away. She looked down at the ground while his eyes stayed on her face. “You really like her, don’t you?”

Daisy nodded, rubbing her eyes.

“If she’s the one you want, then she’s the one we’re gonna take home.”

Her eyes flickered up to his. 

“I do want her.”

“Then it’s settled.” He kissed her forehead. “You wait here while I go talk to Mr. Thatcher.”

Arthur crossed the barn, making sure Daisy was still in his line of sights. 

“So what’ve you decided, Mr. Calhoon?” Mr. Thatcher asked.

“My wife is gonna kill me.” Arthur sighed. “We’ll take that little filly with the patch over her eye.”

“If that’s the one you want, I won’t fight you on it. Glad to have it out of my hands to be honest. It’ll be fifty dollars.”

“Fifty for an underweight foal?” Arthur’s mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Unfortunately I’m not.” Mr. Thatcher shook his head. 

Arthur locked his jaw, reminding himself that this was for Daisy, and pulled the money out of his pocket. 

“You bring a wagon with you?” Mr. Thatcher asked as he began to count the money to make sure it was the correct amount. 

“No…. Why?”

“Well, then I hope you live nearby. Like I said before, that horse ain’t very strong. I doubt it’ll be able to walk very long.”

“Son of a bitch.” Arthur ran his hand over his face. 

“You can always keep it boarded here for the night- for an additional twenty dollars.”

“What about until later on today?” 

“Ten.”

Arthur bit his tongue as he forked over another ten dollars.

“It was a pleasure, Mr. Calhoon.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Daisy looked over to Arthur as he knelt down beside her. 

“Okay, sweetpea. So we’ve got a plan. I’m gonna take you home to momma and then I’m gonna come back for this little lady.”

“Why can’t we take her home now?”

“Well ‘cause she can’t walk all the way up to our house. She’s not that strong yet, so I’ve gotta get the wagon and come back down to get her.”

“But what if someone takes her before we come back?”

“No one will take her, sweetpea.”

Arthur and Daisy left the stables and began to make their way out of town on Poncho. 

“You thought of any names, sweetpea?” Arthur asked, his hand rubbing her arm. 

“She’s got a patch over her eye. I thought maybe Patches, but we already got a sheep named Patches.”

“Yeah, that could get confusing for poor ole Patches. You said you liked the name Cookie earlier.”

“She don’t look like a Cookie.” Daisy shook her head.

Arthur moved Poncho over to one side of the road as a horse and wagon came into view. A smile came to his face as he realized who was driving the horse.

“Look, Daisy. It’s Uncle Charles.”

Arthur brought the horse to a stop next to Charles’s wagon. Beside Charles on the wagon was a woman. She had warm copper skin and black pin straight hair that was braided back into two braids. 

“Uncle Charles! Aunt Lucy!”

Arthur put Daisy down on the ground and watched her move over to the wagon. Charles got down from the wagon to pick her up, embracing her in a tight hug.

“Hey there, Daisy.” 

“What are you two up to today?” Lucy asked, looking at Arthur.

“Just heading back home. Bought this little lady a new horse.” Arthur nodded to Daisy. Charles placed Daisy on to the wagon so she could property hug Lucy. 

“Where’s the horse?” Charles patted Poncho’s shoulder. 

“Still at the stable.” Arthur sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He lowered his voice so Daisy wouldn’t be able to hear him. “She chose a little sickly filly out of a bunch of other ones, Charles. The horse didn’t even stand up.”

“At all?”

“No, not at all.”

“And you bought it for Daisy?”

“I didn’t want her to cry no more, Charles.”

Charles shook his head.

“She’ll be crying a lot more when that filly never stands up.”

“You’re always so critical.” Arthur muttered. “Anyways, I’ve gotta take her home and get the wagon to take the horse back home. Don’t know if it can walk, but the stable owner said it couldn’t walk very far.”

“Why don’t you just put it in the back of my wagon?” Charles gestured to his wagon. “Lucy just has a few things she has to get at the store and I’ve got to pick up some feed for the horses. Should be enough room for a filly.”

“If you’ve got the room, I sure would appreciate it.”

“Of course.”

Charles moved towards his wagon. 

“Hey, sweetpea? There’s been a little change of plans.” Arthur said, looking at Daisy. “Uncle Charles is gonna let us put your little filly in his wagon so we don’t have to go all the way home.”

“Thank you, Uncle Charles!” Daisy clapped her hands together.

***

You walked out to greet everyone when the wagon pulled up in front of the barn. 

“Hi, Lucy. Hi, Charles.” 

“Hello, Y/N.” Lucy embraced you in a warm hug. “We ran into Arthur and Daisy in town. They needed some help with your new horse.”

“My horse!” Daisy corrected her, giggling as she moved towards the back of the wagon. 

“Why did he need a wagon for the horse?” You asked, furrowing your brow. 

“Um, it’s….” Lucy trailed off. 

Your eyes fell on Arthur and Charles. They counted to three and lifted the horse out of the wagon. 

“Excuse me, Lucy.” You placed your hand on her arm before moving towards your husband. “Arthur?”

“Gimme a second, pumpkin.” He grunted, moving with Charles towards the barn.

“Why isn’t this baby walking?” You followed behind them. Daisy tried to follow you too but you stopped her. “Daisy, go to Aunt Lucy please.”

“But momma-,”

“Daisy, please.”

She frowned but did as she was told. Lucy took her to the front porch. 

The two men placed the foal down into an empty stall on a bed of straw. Charles stepped back to examined the horse while Arthur pet its neck.

“It’s good to see you, Charles.” You gave him a tight smile, trying to maintain the growing frustration in your veins. 

“You too, Y/N. I’ll, uh, I’m going to go out with the girls.” He motioned to the door. 

Your eyes fell on to Arthur while he watched Charles leave. The door to the barn creaked shut. 

“Arthur Morgan, tell me you did not buy our daughter a horse that can’t even walk.”

“Pumpkin, it’s not like that.”

“Then show me that the horse can walk.” You crossed your arms.

He opened his mouth and looked down at the foal. 

“I can’t do that.”

“Jesus, Arthur.”

“Y/N, wait.” He stopped you from leaving the stall. “The fella at the stable, he said the horse was weak and wasn’t like the other foals they had. He tried to steer us away but once Daisy saw this one, she wouldn’t look at any others. She was crying because I told her she couldn’t get it.”

Your gaze dropped back down to the foal. It moved some of the straw around with its nose, snorting softly. 

“Arthur…. What if…. What if it doesn’t….?”

“I know.” He rubbed his face. “Thought about it the whole way up here. But she wasn’t willin’ to get any other. She wanted this one.”

“I just don’t want her hurt.”

“I know.” His hand found the small of your back. “She’s a strong girl. You are her mother afterall.”

You smiled. 

“Come on. I told Charles I’d make him dinner for lettin’ me use his wagon.”

Taglist:  @winterwolf @doggone-cowgirl @lauramb7 @caraqas @bluscryn @nonodino @krenee1drful @thefirelordm @sargeantsea @sokkasdarling @thecollection @mayday1284​

If your name is in italics, that means it wouldn’t let me tag you :(

[we-have-bangtan]

I summoned you

Random one-shot #3

Pairing: demons!OT7 x witch!reader

Genre: fluff, fluff and more fluff, poly au

warning: swearing, its hella longggggg. <33

Part 2

Synopsis: The seven most powerful demons in the world were summoned for the first time in over a hundred years only to find out that their summoner is a little witch who was being hunted by witch hunters. She seeks protection from them but at what cost?

“Who the fuck summoned us?” Hoseok groaned feeling the familiar pain of transformation go through his body, “I don’t know but it better be worth it, I’m getting too old for this shit” Seokjin groaned as pain shot through his veins, black, bat-like wings erupting from his back as he fell to the ground in pain, the scars on his body burning up.

          Namjoon wasn’t much better either, biting into a pillow as burning pain took over his head, his horns and fangs coming out for the occasion, it had been over a hundred years since they had last been summoned and they were bearing the pain of not transforming in all there years, Jungkook hissed as he felt his tailbone extend out of his body, piercing through his skin to form a tail.

Jimin and Tae held each other as each of their left eyes glowed bright, screaming as they changed from black to red, “I hope it isn’t an accident again or I’ll eat them alive” Jungkook groaned as he pulled himself off the ground grimacing at the pain that shot through his body.

Yoongi was the only one not in pain because he had been living in his demon form for a few years now, he didn’t have to transform.

“The spell was lost, I don’t know how someone is summoning us” he informed as Seokjin opened the portal to the mortal world, the portal would take them to where ever they were being summoned.

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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 Y/n anxiously stared at the pentagram she had drawn on her cottage floor, she’d be over if this spell didn’t work. She could hear the villagers approaching, could see the glow of their torches from her window. They were climbing up the hill, coming for her life, this spell was her only way of living.

She didn't know why the villagers had turned on her so easily when she had never done anything to them. She had kept her witchcraft confined to her cottage and its surroundings, but they seemed to have found out, she would blame the church people for that, because they were at the beginning of the uprising egging the villagers on.

They had almost caught her an hour ago when she had gone down for supplies, her arms were bruised from their assault but she had managed to escape from them, but she could run anywhere except her cottage.

She couldn't run anymore, there was no where to run now, she either had to stand and fight, which she was too weak for, or she had to perish, which she was too stubborn for so she had taken to the last resort, the demon spell.

Her magic wouldn't be enough to Wipeout all the people who were marching up the hill to her cottage, they'd burn her on the stake if they caught a hold of her, it would be a death with no pride or honor.

She felt the air shift around her, the salt grains blowing here and there and the candles flickering, the wind picked up speed outside as a portal opened directly above the pentagram and a demon fell out, falling to the ground with a thud and a groan. She moved to help him up but quickly stopped as a scream came from inside the portal before six other demons fell on the first one. Chaos ensured as each of them yelled at the other to get off their wings or tails or any other body part, she loudly cleared her throat to grab their attention making seven pairs of eyes snap to her.

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"Did you summon us little girl?" Namjoon asked as he took in her condition, she was awfully malnourished, her arms bruised and frail, she was a timid little thing who he assumed wasn't much younger than Jungkook before he had been changed into a demon. The girl nodded, holding a wand in her hand, a witch, Seokjin realized before he focused on her arms, “How did you summon us little witch” he asked, he was pretty sure the spell to summon them was a 21+ spell and she barely looked 18+ to him.

           “with the spell of course although I didn’t know it would summon seven of them, I would have drawn a lager circle had i known” she mumbled making Yoongi gawk at her statement, “HOW THE FUCK DO YOU CAST A SUMMONING SPELL WITHOUT KNOWING HOW MANY DEMONS IT WOULD SUMMON?? WE COULD HAVE RIPPED YOUR THROAT OUT THE MOMENT WE SHOWED UP HERE” Hoseok barked, snapping his fangs at her.

 “I know, no need to be an arse about it” she retorted as Hoseok stared at her in disbelief, “well then why did you summon us little witch?” Taehyung intervened, “I need help,” she stated plainly. This piqued Jimin’s interest, they all were clearly thinking the same thigh judging from the look in their eyes, they were mates, he knew how they thought, “Are you sure you can pay the price for our services darling” Seokjin remarked sweeping his eyes over the mostly bare cottage. 

            This girl was clearly living alone, a cauldron with coals under it sat in one corner of the house and a winding staircase lead up to attic which he assumed was her bedroom. Clothes hung to dry near the fire place in another corner of the house, her cupboards were mostly empty other than a loaf of bread and a tin of something he couldn’t recognize. She clearly didn’t have much to give.

“What is your price?” She asked, Yoongi admired her guts, she was clearly working hard on trying to seem unafraid, although she failed miserably, at least she tried. The seven of them thought for a while when they head a loud bang on the door. The girls eyes widened in fear, “they’re here” she cursed as she cast a colloportus spell on the door, “hurry up please” she pleaded, “what’s going on? what help do you need?” Jungkook asked as Seokjin place a shield over the door blocking the people from coming in for a short while.

                “They’re hunting me and i want them gone” she revealed, the boys looked up at her, “how sure are you that we won’t rip your throat once you set us free from this circle” Yoongi asked, “I don’t have anything to lose if you kill me the moment i let you free, I don’t have much to live for anyway” she answered, “we’ll discuss the price once we’re done” Namjoon warned as she cast the aqua eructo spell, a stream of water sprouting from the tip of her wand, wiping the circle of salt away just as a window shattered, glass spilling everywhere.

               “Jimin, get her somewhere safe” Namjoon commanded his mate, the younger demon nodded dutifully before stepping forward and wrapping an arm around her waist, positioning his wings, “hold on tight” he warned as he too to the air, going out through the back door of the cottage, taking her to the roof of the cottage, “stay here while we sort that stuff out” he told her, taking off to join the others.

        They possessed the humans, making them kill each other or they’d simply burn them to a crisp, she had expected them to be strong and powerful, but not this powerful, powerful to wipe out all the people who had come to attack her. She didn’t pay much heed to the humans who ran into the forests, she didn’t care where they went as long as they didn’t come near her or her cow, Morphus, who was currently in the shed, a little away from the clearing she lived at. 

  She noticed one of the church men trying to climb the roof to get to her but she quickly jinxed him, making him fall off the roof. Half way through the battle, Yoongi called in quits because the boys could deal with it without him, he joined Y/n on the roof top, folding his wings carefully to not hurt her, “Why don’t you just move from here, go fin some other forest to live in” he asked, leaning back on his hands, looking up at the sky, “there’s no where else to go, I’ve been running for too long” she answered and with that all conversation subsided as they both watched the others fight, Yoongi noticed a few people running for the forests and jerked up to go after them only to be stopped by Y/n, “let them be,” she said and he obey’d.

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It didn’t take the demons long to finish everyone, they all gathered in her kitchen, Jin and Taehyung were hurt, but nothing big, just minor wounds according to the two demons but she insisted on tending to their injuries with a warm cloth and some potions, “this will scar” she told Jin, feeling guilty all of a sudden, “one of a million, don’t worry” he smiled as she wrapped his almost fully healed hand up.

“what is this?” Jungkook asked as he peered down the mug on Y/n’s table, “banana milk” she answered as she turned to Taehyung to wrap his wound up too, Jungkook took a sip of the milk before downing the whole mug, “do you have more?” he asked, looking like a child who wants an extra treat, she nodded, getting up to pull out a jar full of it from her cupboard, handing it to the boy, she didn’t seem the least bothered that a demon boy was drinking up all her banana milk. 

“so what is the price I have to pay? if you’ll hurry up, I have cleaning to do” she said looking at the dead bodies scattered all around her house, some even on tree branches. The boys looked at each other, “We’ll need some time to discuss” Namjoon said on behalf of them all, “you do that and I’ll clean that up” she said, grabbing her wand and leaving the house.

“So, what now?” Namjoon asked once he made sure she was far away from them, “I don’t think she can really give much, she barely has anything herself” Hoseok said, scanning the room again, “This place is nice tho, although she could use some more things in it” Seokjin admitted, looking around the peaceful cottage, it was clean, and would look beautiful if it wasn’t so bare, “it is” Namjoon admitted when Jimin’s piped up, “I don’t like the fact that she lives like this, she could die any moment and no one would notice, maybe we can come here more often” he suggested, already planning all the things he’d bring here from the underworld, Namjoon nodded, “it has been way too long since I’ve actually seen the sky, donno why mortals have to have all the good things when they die so easily” he huffed as he looked out of the window, looking down at the valley in which the village nestled.

        “I have an idea hyung, why don’t we use her place as a sort of abode, she can offer her house to us when ever we want in exchange for our services” Taehyung offered and Namjoon and Seokjin agreed, it would be nice to come to the mortal world often, “is everyone fine with that?” he asked the others, none of them rejected the idea and soon enough, Y/n was called back in.

   They explained what they wanted and she just stared at them, dumbfound, “why would you want to come here when you can live luxuriously in the demon world?” she asked, “the demon world is not all its cooked up to be” Jimin answered.

It took a little convincing (threatening) to get her to agree but she did.

________________________________

________________________________

The boys were common visitors to her little cottage, each of them would show up on their own accord and timing with their own reasons, often in their human form, she had been surprised to see how much more handsome the seven of them were in their human forms and she had told them so.

             They would show up with little things that she would need around the house, sometimes unnoticeable and sometimes ridiculous, they’d bring her small fancy plates and saucers, fabrics and potion ingredients and even a new wand once before they progressed to bringing bigger things like vases and pillows and rugs despite her protesting.

Namjoon was the first to show up at her door with a book in hand to see books about the seven of them scattered on her table. They had stopped popping up directly inside the house after Y/n had yelled at them for freaking her out, “reading up on us I see” he commented as he dragged a chair to sit, “I’ll have to because i literally don’t know anything about the seven of you” she mumbled as she read on. They both read their books in silence before Y/n offered him tea which he accepted gratefully.

  Seokjin and Jungkook were the next one’s to show up because they were hungry, she served them with honey bread and maple syrup. Seokjin showed a keen interest in cooking, offering to help her out while she cooked for the three of them, since then, he’d show up during meal times to eat with her and cook with her, it became something the two of them got used to and one of the greatest things Seokjin would miss once she had passed.

   Jungkook and her bonded over banana milk, the boy couldn’t get enough of it, even taking some back to the demon realm only to come back for more the next day. They both would wander the forest in search of bananas and maple trees and make the banana milk together, he was the most frequent visitor that even Morphus had started to recognize Jungkook who would sit next to Y/n when she milked the cow every morning.

Tae and Jimin would often come together just to mess with her and to make a fool out of the villagers down in the valley. They went herb searching together in the forests. They’d pick flowers for the house and they even dug up a well for the little cottage to use.

Hoseok would also come by often just to gossip with her, telling her about all the events in the demon world, they both would talk over tea and little cakes about Namjoon’s snoring and Seokjin’s new obsession with bad jokes. On days which were not too hot or too cold they’d set up a table outside and just bask in each others company.

Yoongi was the last to visit her, and even when he did visit, he decided to take a nap only to get back up complaining about how bumpy the mattress was before vanishing off and coming back with a new mattress. They’d nap together on days Y/n didn’t have anything to do, and had been found wrapped up with each other by the other quiet often. 

They’d all come together once every few days to have lunch and dinner and to talk and play, enjoying the sun and grass and flowers before they had to go back to the demon world.   

It was funny to see the seven strongest demons be so gentle and ind to a little human girl, weaving flower crowns for her and laying their head in her lap, taking cat naps together.

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They seven boys got quiet attached to the little witch, trying to meet her as often as possible and be as gentle as possible to her. Imagine their surprise when Namjoon walked in on a sorcerer sitting on one of the chairs as Y/n made him a cup of tea. 

“A demon!” the sorcerer shrieked as Namjoon came inside the house, Y/n slowly turned around to see Namjoon standing st the door, greeting him with a smile and a kiss to his cheek, “Namjoon-ah meet my mentor, the great Sorcerer Potter” she introduced as Namjoon felt a green knot form in his chest, he was sure the rest of his mates felt it too because a portal opened not soon after, tossing the 6 other boys into the mortal world, all of them looking eerily calm, “why is he here y/n? he questioned, “he just came to visit” she explained, “then why is his smell all over you?” Jungkook demanded, grabbing her wrist to get a scent of her.

“get lost” Yoongi hissed at the sorcerer, the powerful man shrieked as he apparated to who knows where. “Y/n,” Hoseok said, taking her hands in his, “did he touch you” he asked, his voice low, she shook her head, no, no one had touched her, thank the demons, Jimin thought as he enveloped her in his arms, overpowering the sorcerer’s smell with his own. “good, don’t let anyone touch you except for us little witch” Seokjin mumbled as he placed a kiss on her forehead, she hummed in agreement as they all bundled up in her cozy cottage, now a lot more comfortable and colorful than before.

They loved her but they couldn’t have her because demons didn’t deserve happiness, it was a curse on them, they weren’t meant to love, only hate and kill because even if they loved y/n they’d inevitably end up with a part of their heart hollow because demons couldn’t love little witches because demons were immortal while witches would meet their end soon enough.

None of them laid with their little witch because it was forbidden but they did caress her, they held her close and made her feel warm and loved by each of them, they were tender and careful with her, trying to spend every moment with her and while that might seem like too much for a mortal, it was a mere few moments for immortals and they tried to carve her memory into their hearts and minds so they would never forget her despite how much time passed by.

___________________________________

___________________________________

The eight of them spent 86 years together, Y/n passed due to illness at the ripe age of a hundred and twelve years with a smile and her seven demons surrounding her when she too her last breath.

The demons wished she’d reincarnate bu they didn’t keep much hope in that because demons wishes were never fulfilled. But they lived on with the memory of the little witch who had summoned them and had carved herself into their cold, dark hearts.

__________________________________

Y/n's cottage

___________________________END_________________________________

First try, how was it? let me know!!!!

[jeeperso]

D&D Quotes Without Context

Treasure Island Edition, Chapter 15

OOC: Tonights episode: You put the DIE in the coconut. OOC2: Next weeks episode: Jonni’s barely disguised fetish! OOC3: Gonna have to narrow that down a bit. Jonni seems like she's got a lot of barely disguised fetishes. Nima: "Barley disguised. Is that what we're calling it. Calling Jonni's fetishes barely disguised is like calling a Banshee "the silent killer." It makes one wonder if you can actually speak Common." Irost: "Now hold on… those are her OBVIOUS fetishes. What about her hidden fetish of Old English accents?" Nyx: "Nima, we know you like the sound of your own voice. Now please spars us it anymore, it is like fingernails on slate." Nima: "It really is. I think that's just a side effect of the Necromacy Like you think I shave my head? I went bald when I was like twelve." Jonni: "Dunno, most people that piss me off and survive are bald. On account of all the fire." Nima: "I grew up in Geb, the lander of necromancers where the dead outnumber the living. I didn't see another living person who wasn't a slave or food till I was sixteen." Marshal & Magnus: "Neither did I but but we didn't use that to become a servant of anti-life... JINX!" Gorbash: "Horns and frills are vastly superior." Irost: “Yikes, housing market so bad even the plots are evicting…” OOC: Speaking of Nima, I'm trying to come up with chaos and law aligned versions of Lichloved and Nymphs caress. So far my tentative titles are "Slaadicurious" and "Why Jennifer isn't allowed near the electronics section anymore." WE CAN NEVER GO BACK TO BEST BUY JENNIFER. NOT AFTER WHAT YOU DID. OOC: Tonight was tacos. Tacos take a little longer than usual. "Wilkin's coffee is used by some Warforged to clean rust off themselves, and get barnacles off. How any organic being can drink that and survive is beyond me." "It is said Wilkins harvested the beans to make his coffee from the Nine Hells itself. They can grow and thrive in virtually any condition, but they taste wretched." "It's not every day you meet your ex on an unchartted island." "Yeah, I only had that happen to me twice in over a thousand years." "Ded have been having memories of peeing on a tree." “Deja wee.” “Are you saying he forked a wooden leg? That’s wild. Seems like you’d get splinters though.” The kakamora have no idea who you are, but you are clearly ANGRY and ON FIRE so they are also terrified. “Tell them if they surrender there’s weed.” OOC: I.e.: make the fire bigger and more on fire. "BLUE FORTY TWO. BLUE FORTY TWO. HUP HUP HIKE!" "See how many of these nerds you can stuff into Davy Jones' Locker." Amber: "Crud, they are combining into a giant. I should have seen this coming." Archie: "HOW?" MJ: “Combiner technology. They must have found the Enigma of Combination!” "Now this is something new, a coconut-based mecha, seems to use the milk like hydraulic fluid to help it move. Neat." “Even I’m not high enough for that to make sense.” Archie: "I'M GONNA BUST A COCONUT!" Janus: "Oh that was terrible." "I HAVE AN IDEA. TOASTED COCNUT AND ALMONDS, COVERED WITH DARK CHOCOLATE. WE SHALL CALL THEM.... BUTTERFINGERS. I may have a concussion." Cookie gestured and made an animal call, as a little spider monkey came out from the jungle and climbed onto Archie's head, begining to pick at his hair and groom him... Making him feel better. Archie: "Aw, I shall name him Mojo. When this is over, we shall go and rob a bank." Archie gets hit in the face, then catches the second blow. "No toucha my monkey." "We will not be felled by gods-damned doughnut toppings!" MJ moves around the side, her staff brimming with electricity before Dingo opens her [sic] mouth wide and a bolt of lightning arcs from his tongue. “Holy crap, that actually worked! Uh… sorry if any of you lose feeling in you toes for a while.” Archie, laying face down on the ground, smoldering. "I'm okay" Amber: "No you're not, you big galoot. Now rest while we mope up the small fries." He gives a weak thumbs up, as Mojo breaks out the extra large box of bandaids. "No Amber we must confound Jerry at every turn!" Amber sees the kakamora go flying and swear she hears it say "Team Coconut is blasting off again!" Archie (bringing axe up to coconut’s… neck?): "Don’t move or he gets it!" The Surviving Mutineers seeing the way the wind is blowing either drop their weapons and surrender or take their chances with the jungle and flee. Cookie: "The wild beasts... will eat well tonite.. such is nature." Ded: "In the jungle, the hungry jungle, some people get eat-ennnnnnnn..." MJ: “They will be… ded?” Amber: "I hope none of them get sick: some of those mutineers weren't in the best of health." Janus arises, his body covered in banana shaped band aids "Right as rain. Now then, where's Konk?" OOC: Bananna Aids. Janus runs his tongue across his teeth and shudders a bit "I have to stop volunteering to take lightning bolts. I think my fillings have become magnetized." MJ: “Oh, it would take way more, or way more prolonged exposure to do that permanently.” "It's a race. And... the tortle... always wins the race..." "Yes, because the Harengon was caught using illegal magic potions of expeditious retreat." "Oh they're all drunk on the rum of greed. And we all know what to do with Drunken Sailors." Dingo has produced a black hood and a length of rope. "Dingo, one of these days we need to have you see an animal psychiatrist." “Oh, Dingo’s from the Feywild.” "Which would explain where he got the tiny hood." "Are Fey Psychiatrists a thing?" "You're thinking of frontier psychiatrists." "Ded see one, once. Ded drunk at time. Look like duck." "...Sounds like a quack."

[theartofdreaming1]

As usual, my thoughts regarding this week’s prompts and random thoughts on chapters 25-27 are below the cut.

heart

The imagery that really caught my attention this time was Peeta pointing out the changes in the moon to Katniss: The only indication of the passage of time lies in the heavens, the subtle shift of the moon. So Peeta begins pointing it out to me, insisting I acknowledge its progress and sometimes, for just a moment I feel a flicker of hope before the agony of the night engulfs me again. - So for one, we see another example of Peeta focusing on the small details in life (which I’ve previously hypothesized to being an important element in his recovery from his hijacking) as well as Peeta being the one to give Katniss hope, even if it’s just for a brief moment. Also, it’s a nice parallel to Katniss looking at the moon and desperately wishing for it to be “her moon” back in chapter 23. As a nocturnal person, I also love watching the moon from my living room window🌙

mind

Hmmh, I don’t think that Katniss and Peeta’s win was predetermined - although I do believe that by introducing the romantic angle, they significantly improved their odds. A Career winning the Games is not really that special and exciting, since it happens so often (although Careers generally satisfy that excitement for violence/blood/gore, that plenty of Capitol people seem to share). As a volunteer from District 12, who achieved an extremely good training score and proved herself to be very capable in the arena already, Katniss definitely had an edge by playing into the classic underdog story, which offered another exciting “narrative” for the Capitolites to follow - that, coupled (heh) with the romance angle Peeta introduced? Katniss (and Peeta) definitely had the entertainment (and excitement through novelty) factor on their side. Ironically, Cato’s chances of winning were not as good as he expected, precisely because he was playing it by the book.

soul

Poor Peeta (and Katniss), it hurts that their relationship was in such a rocky place by the end of the book. Especially those weeks right after the end of Book 1, when there were still cameras around District 12 and they had to pretend while hurting must have sucked big time🥺

Chapter 25

Ugh, the muttations are just so unsettling... *shudder*

Honestly, I’m just so impressed by Peeta’s presence of mind to draw that X on Cato’s hand, after he had just most of his calf ripped off, only to be grabbed and put in a headlock by Cato! He and Katniss work insanely well under pressure

God, Cato’s death is just so gruesome and awful... In the end, his “gift” from the Feast doesn’t help him win at all, but instead ends up prolonging his suffering a cruel amount... I wonder if in general these “gifts” come with a string attached (aside from the expected danger of trying to get them, I mean) - because the Gamemakers also intend for Katniss’s “gift” (medicine for Peeta) to force an even more cruel outcome on her - saving him from blood poisoning only to be forced into killing him herself... 🤔

I’m not sure if this is exactly medical protocol, but I’m terrified that if he drifts off he’ll never wake again. “Are you cold?” he asks. He unzips his jacket and I press against him as he fastens it around me. - Katniss is terrified of the idea of Peeta dying; at the same time, Peeta worries about her freezing - I can’t with these two 😩

Peeta begins to doze off now, and each time he does, I find myself yelling his name louder and louder because if he goes and dies on me now, I know I’ll go completely insane. He’s fighting it, probably more for me than for him - Katniss can’t lose any more people she cares about 😢; on a different note, Peeta fighting his unconsciousness “probably more for [Katniss] than for him” points out one of the crucial elements Katniss brings into Peeta’s life - she is that someone for whom he will fight - including for his own life and well-being - even when it feels easier to give up... Having that person in your life that keeps you going can make all the difference - if Katniss hadn’t had Prim and promised her “to really, really try” to win (and later also made Rue the same promise), I’m not sure she would have made it this far; it’s the thought of Prim anxiously watching her after Rue’s death, that forces Katniss to keep going, to not give in to despair after that particular traumatic event - Peeta, on the other hand, didn’t really have that kind of person in his life, as he will point out on the beach in CF (and Katniss acknowledges herself that the only person who will be devasted if Peeta dies is her)... that is not to say that neither Katniss nor Peeta aren’t fighters on their own - but it helps to have someone that inspires you to not give up

the adrenaline pumping through my body would never allow me to follow him, so I can’t let him go. I just can’t. - We’ll see the mirrored version of this by the end of Mockinjay 

Pity, not vengeance, sends my arrow flying into [Cato’s] skull. - Another act of rebellion, technically (sure, this can be spun as Katniss killing Cato so she and Peeta may win - before Peeta dies from blood loss - but we know better - Katniss’s motivation was compassion for her supposed enemy)

We inch down to the tail of the horn and fall to the ground. If the stiffness in my limbs is this bad, how can Peeta even move? - Peeta is tough as nails, yo!

Before I am even aware of my actions, my bow is loaded with the arrow pointed straight at his heart [...] I drop my weapons and take a step back, my face burning in what can only be shame. “No,” he says. “Do it.” [...] “I can’t,” I say, “I won’t.” - In spite of her initial reflex, Katniss chooses Peeta/ chooses not to kill him; it’s a recurring theme in their relationship (despite her wariness of others, she chooses to open up to Peeta eventually; although she vowed to never marry and have children, she’ll choose to have a family with Peeta); also, my psychology-brain just noticed how this moment illustrates how harmful thoughts/impulses don’t have to determine your actions and are not an indicator of who you are - it’s about what you choose to do

“You’re not leaving me here alone,” I say. Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this areny trying to think my way out. - Again, makes me think of MJ; also, I think that from this point onwards, Katniss and Peeta are officially linked together forever; the bond they forged during this traumatic experience will connect them to each other until the day they die

“On the count of three?” Peeta leans down and kisses me once, very gently. “The count of three,” he says. - My heart😭

Chapter 26

... while our muscles are immobile, nothing is preventing the blood from draining out of Peeta’s leg. Sure enough, the minute the door closes behind us and the current stops, he slumps to the floor unconscious  [...] Through the glass, I see the doctors working feverishly on Peeta, their brows creased in concentration [...] I’m not sure, but I think his heart stops twice. - Peeta was in such a bad shape by the end of the Games; I’m still kinda salty that the movie really glossed over this fact :/

... they’re taking Peeta but leaving me behind the door. I start hurling myself against the glass, shrieking and I think I just catch a glimpse of pink hair - it must be Effie, it has to be Effie coming to my rescue - when the needle jabs me from behind. - Oh geez, in Catching Fire Katniss will also get sedated in a hovercraft because she’s upset about being separated from Peeta 😢 (also, Katniss thinking that Effie is coming to her rescue 😭)

While she [Lavinia, the avox] adjusts my pillows, I risk one question. I say it out loud, as clearly as my rusty voice will allow, so nothing will seem secretive. “Did Peeta make it?” She gives me a nod, and as she slips a spoon into my hand, I feel the pressure of friendship. - Katniss is so considerate of Lavinia’s situation, and Lavinia’s giving her a gesture of comfort and support; they’ve never been able to have a proper conversation (Katniss doesn’t even know Lavinia’s name), but still they managed to build up such a bond - compassion certainly is a strong thing to behold 😭 (and this whole scene is just through and through about compassion, with Katniss asking how Peeta is doing!)

Home! Prim and my mother! Gale! Even the thought of Prim’s scruffy old cat makes me smile. Soon I will be home! - Katniss is so excited to see her home and her loved ones again

I want to get out of this bed. To see Peeta and Cinna - Aww, the two people she grew closest to over the course of the past weeks (Haymitch will be added to that list in just a smidge)

Or do I hear a man’s voice yelling? Not in the Capitol accent, but in the rougher cadences of home. And I can’t help having a vague, comforting feeling that someone is looking out for me. - Thank God for Haymitch! 

And behind one of them [doors] must be Peeta. Now that I’m conscious and moving, I’m growing more and more anxious about him [...] “Peeta!” I call out, since there’s no one to ask - Katniss is sick with worry over Peeta; romantic feelings or not, she cares so fricking much for him by now!

I run for them [Effie, Haymitch, and Cinna] and surprise even myself when I launch into Haymitch’s arms first. When he whispers in my ear, “Nice job, sweetheart,” it doesn’t sound sarcastic. - These reunion scenes are so intense and heartwarming! And then Katniss asks about Portia and Peeta because their presence would make this scene complete 

when I asks for seconds, I’m refused. “No, no, no. They don’t want it all coming back up on the stage,” says Octavia, but she secretly slips me an extra roll under the table to let me know she’s on my side - It’s moments like these that help humanize Katniss’s prep team - they might be shallow, they might be completely oblivious and ignorant, but they aren’t that bad [of course, the prep team chattering about their mundane lives while talking about the event that ended with the deaths of 22 children shortly after, leaves a bad taste in our mouths]

I immediately notice the padding over my breasts, adding curves that hunger has stolen from my body. My hands go to my chest and I frown. “I know,” says Cinna before I can object. “But the Gamemakers wanted to alter you surgically. Haymitch had a huge fight with them over it. This was the compromise.” - God, the idea that the Gamemakers wanted to give a boob job to an unconscious, malnourished 16-year-old girl makes me sick 🤢 (Also, what’s the flipping deal about boobs?! As a pretty flat-chested gal, I’ve always been annoyed that there are barely any bras my cup size that are not push-up ones; I’m not self-conscious about it, so stop making me pretend that I’m bustier than I actually am!)

“I thought it’d be something more... sophisticated-looking,” I say. “I thought Peeta would like this better,” he [Cinna] answers carefully. Peeta? No, it’s not about Peeta. It’s about the Capitol and the Gamemakers and the audience. Although I do not yet understand Cinna’s design, it’s a reminder the Games are not quite finished. - Ugh, that sinking feeling when Katniss and the reader realize that the Games are still not over... Sidenote: Peeta flirted up a storm with grimy, bloodied Katniss and complimented her when she wore Cinna’s first, absolutely badass costume (”You should wear flames more often”)... Katniss’s girlish outfit  has nothing to do with Peeta and she knows it... Cinna could have dressed Katniss up in a trash bag and Peeta would have been smitten - although a trash bag by Cinna would probably still look pretty good ;)

“How about a hug for luck?” Okay, that’s an odd request from Haymitch but, after all we are victors. Maybe a hug for luck is in order. - Aww, Katniss actually wouldn’t have minded giving Haymitch a hug just because - sadly, this is about survival tips instead :/

But what was it Haymitch said when I asked it he had told Peeta the situation? That he had to pretend to be desperately in love? “Don’t have to. He’s already there.” Already thinking ahead of me in the Games again and well aware of the danger we’re in? Or... already desperately in love? I don’t know. I haven’t even begun to separate out my feelings about Peeta. It’s too complicated. - Poor Katniss... she didn’t have the time and peace of mind to sort out her feelings regarding Peeta before they all got tied up and muddled with her need for survival. Now she’ll be having an even harder time trying to untangle that mess :(

Chapter 27

Then there’s Peeta just a few yards away. He looks so clean and healthy and beautiful, I can hardly recognize him. But his smile is the same whether in mud or in the Capitol and when I see it, I take about three steps and fling myself into his arms [...] He rights himself and we just cling to each other while the audience goes insane. He’s kissing me and all the time I’m thinking, Do you know? Do you know how much danger we’re in? After about ten minutes of this, Caesar Flickerman taps on his choulder to continue the show, and Peeta just pushes him aside without even glancing at him. - Man, their reunion here always gets me - it would be so fricking good if Katniss didn’t have to worry about their potential doom 😒😔 - she barely has time to just be happy to see Peeta alive and well before slipping back into survival mode while Peeta is just genuinely thrilled to have her in his arms, completely unaware of the pressure and immediate danger Katniss experiences in this moment... It hurts so bad

I’m with Katniss - How did the previous victors endure rewatching those horrible moments from the Games?! I guess because they had to, but oof... I think I’d just completely shut down, blocking out the footage shown, ugh

But I do notice they omit the part where I covered her [Rue] in flowers. Right. Because even that smacks of rebellion. - In such a callous and cruel place as Panem, any act of compassion can be regarded as rebellion, it’s crazy. In a place filled with apathy, hedonism, greed, and cruelty, the most radical things you can exhibit are love, kindness, and respect!

A wave of gratitude to the filmmakers sweeps over me when they end not with the announcement of our victory, but with me pounding on the glass door of the hovercraft, screaming Peeta’s name as they try to revive him. In terms of survival, it’s my best moment all night. - Again, another instance where Katniss’s genuine feelings/reactions to Peeta are get muddled with her need for survival

The one thing I never do is let go of Peeta’s hand. - irrevocably linked with each other

Despite Haymitch’s running interference, I’m determined to see Peeta privately. - Katniss just wants to have an honest and open talk with Peeta 😢 (I get where Haymitch is coming from, and maybe in this instance it’s the right call, but we’ll see a similar situation in the beginning of CF when Haymitch advises Katniss not to tell Peeta about President Snow’s visit and that time, it doesn’t go so well...)

Then Peeta’s there looking handsome in red and white - for someone who isn’t sure whether she’s into him or not, Katniss sure mentions how good Peeta’s looking a lot 😏

“Well, there’s just this and we go home. Then he can’t watch us all the time,” says Peeta. - 👀👀 Peeta is so thirsty here; reminds me of when he pulled Katniss close to him in the cave before they set out to hunt... He clearly believes she’s also “already there” regarding their relationship; he’s never this “suggestive” (can’t think of a better word right now) with her once she lets him know that she doesn’t really know how she feels about him - I feel a sort of shiver run through me and there’s no time to analyze why - Katniss totally isn’t averse to what Peeta’s suggesting here, either (though there’s probably also a healthy amount of fear mixed in with the thrill of being wanted - letting people in can be terrifying)

I can feel Peeta press his forehead into my temple and he asks, “So now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do with me?” I turn in to him. “Put you somewhere you can’t get hurt.” And when he kisses me, people in the room actually sigh. - It’s me; I’m people 🙋🏼‍♀️ (also, the “turn in to him”?!?!! it just suggests such a closeness, I can’t-)

Katniss burying her face in Peeta’s shirt when she’s afraid she might cry learning that he lost his leg 🥺 (how awful it must be to be constantly on display while you’re dealing with your private feelings, ugh)

“... The moment when you pulled out those berries. What was going on in your mind... hm?” [...] It seems to call for a big, dramatic speech, but all I get out is one almost inaudible sentences. “I don’t know, I just... couldn’t bear the thought of... being without him.” - It might not be a super eloquent way to put what she was supposed to say, but this way, Katniss is being perfectly honest (and frankly, if she’d had the chance to properly process her feelings, she would have been able to voice this sentiment with less hesitation)

I go back to my room to collect a few things and find there’s nothing to take but the mockingjay pin Madge gave me. Someone returned it to my room after the Games. - For one, Katniss didn’t think of that pin (again), but also - was the pin returned to her simply because it’s standard procedure or did someone (like Plutarch, for example) arrange for Katniss to get the pin back, to keep her connection to this symbol going?

I stare in the mirror as I try to remember who I am and who I am not. - Poor Katniss! She’s been through so much, experienced so many traumatic events in short succession recently (aside from the trauma she already had), already had problems defining her identity beyond sheer survival, and now the Capitol also keeps pushing an identity onto her and a romantic relationship, when she hadn’t even had the chance to figure out how she felt about that yet

“... Haymitch has been coaching me through the last few days. So I didn’t make it worse,” I say. “Coaching you? But not me,” says Peeta. “He knew you were smart enough to get it right,” I say. “I didn’t know there was anything to get right,” says Peeta. - Oh boy. It’s always so painful to see Peeta realize that he’s been completely out of the loop; again, we’ll see how Katniss and Haymitch adopt a similar strategy in the beginning of CF: banking on Peeta’s good social skills and eloquence and keeping him in the dark. In a way, it’s a sort of compliment they pay to Peeta for being good with people, but, by not telling him, they are also using him for their purpose (which is motivated by caring for and wanting to protect Peeta, but still). Peeta is right to be upset about it - he has always been very clear about not wanting to be used as a piece in anyone’s games, really. And, as we will see later in CF, they are way more effective as a team when they are open and honest with each other.

“It was all for the Games,” Peeta says. “How you acted.” “Not all of it,” I say, tightly holding on to my flowers. “Then how much? No, forget that. I guess the real question is what’s going to be left when we get home?” he says. “I don’t know. The closer we get to District Twelve, the more confused I get,” I say. He waits, for further explanation, but none’s forthcoming. “Well, let me know when you work it out,” he says, and the pain in his voice is palpable. - It’s just so goddamn painful😢 They’ve both been done so dirty by that forced star-crossed lovers of Distrct 12 routine. (Sidenote: I appreciate that Peeta actually gives Katniss the chance to explain herself here - still, it’s too much to deal with on the spot so I can understand why Katniss ended up dropping the ball, even though it’s frustrating to read.)

That it’s not good loving me because I’m never going to get married anyway and he’d just end up hating me later instead of sooner. That if I do have feelings for him, it doesn’t matter because I’ll never be able to afford the kind of love that leads to a family, to children. And how can he? How can he after what we’ve just been through? - Oh Katniss, you certainly are skipping a couple of steps here; I’m pretty sure there are some options in between dating and being married with kids you could look into. Also, she’s just assuming that this is what Peeta wants, but she doesn’t know that at all - As someone who also has this stupid habit of imagining how whole conversations could possibly transpire and then resigning myself to the hypothetical outcome of said imagined conversation instead of actually having them: Don’t do that. ‘Never assume - it makes an ASS out of U and ME.’ 

I see Peeta extend his hand. I look at him, unsure. “One more time? For the audience?” he says. His voice isn’ t angry. It’s hollow, which is worse. Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me. I take his hand, holding it tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go. - Ma babies! They are both so hurt and both just want to be with each other 😭 But they’ll need some time apart, to figure things out before they can do that.

[marjansmarwani]

drop what I’m doing and sit beside you

6.4k || ao3

The past few months have been a lot, and Judd is feeling the strain. Ever since the accident, he has devoted every spare moment to making sure Grace was okay until she finally insists that he take some time to himself. So he decides to head to the cabin he used to visit with his old crew, TK in tow and Carlos staying behind with Grace.

But what starts out as a calm and relaxing weekend takes an abrupt turn and Judd is left hurt and TK is left trying to figure out the best way to save them both. ------ Day 2 of @911lonestarweek: "Please, stay awake" + “I’m right here, I’m not leaving, okay.”+ Cauterizing a wound for @badthingshappenbingo

Judd and Grace deserve some love so here is a take on “I’m right here, I’m not leaving, okay” prompt requested by @immortalstrand ages ago. She asked for Judd and TK being brothers, so I also managed to squeeze in some Tarlos and some cauterization, requested by Max for bthb. 

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

The last few weeks had been a lot, to say the least. 

They had careened directly from a pandemic (that was still going on) to a damn volcano straight into a forest fire. They had lost one of their own and hadn’t had a moment to catch their breaths, let alone properly grieve. The universe didn’t seem too keen on them having a moment to process. 

From there it had been smaller things for a while: a minefield, TK switching to medical, whatever it was that was going on with Owen and Gwyn. Small interruptions to their everyday that were just enough to upset their equilibrium and set things off balance. But they were manageable; small stumbling points in their forward momentum. 

Until they weren’t. Until the molehills became mountains and Judd was reminded again what it was like to not be able to breathe in the face of fear. The feeling of the breath being stolen from his lungs was not a new one, but one that he hated. 

But he had hated what he was hearing even more: the paramedic team was missing. Nancy; who was his sole link to the time before, to his old life with his brothers that were no longer here. TK; his cocky, annoying, and big-hearted little brother. Tommy; his friend, a person he relied on and whom he owed the world to for introducing him to Grace and bringing him the greatest happiness he had ever known. They were missing and probably in danger and Judd couldn’t do a damn thing about it. 

But then they were found, and he could breathe again; if a little tensely. Because they were all alive but TK was hurt and it could have been so much worse but it hadn’t and he had to keep reminding himself of that. They were okay, and everything was fine. 

Until the rain and the blaring of a horn and the sensation of falling before the staggering crash of hitting the water and the desperate fear that was so much more real than any of the rest of it because it was Grace this time and nothing he had ever faced could be as bad as that. 

But slowly, they healed. The moment Grace opened her eyes again and smiled at him Judd swore rivaled their wedding day as the happiest moment of his life. As long as Grace was okay everything would be fine. And it was. It wasn’t easy, but it was okay. They were okay. His injuries had been minor, comparatively speaking, but Grace’s had been much more dire, and much more lingering. They had impacted their very way of life and every day was a bit of a struggle, but it was worth it. Any moment he got to spend with his wife safe and whole beside him was worth it, no matter how difficult. 

But eventually, things became something close to normal and Grace was tired of him hovering over her in every spare moment. 

“You need to do something, my love,” she had told him. “Take some time, go somewhere.” When he had protested she had simply shaken her head. “I love you, Judd,” she said evenly, “but if you don’t let me be for a few days, I’m going to lose my mind.” 

And so, in the face of his wife’s unwavering gaze, a plan had formed: there was an old cabin, about an hour outside the city. Judd and some of his teammates used to take a trip there at least once a year, often more. It had been almost two now since Judd had last been there, but he figured now was as good a time as any. He floated the idea to his new team, in the interest of keeping the tradition alive. Paul and Nancy turned him down outright, though they were touched. Marjan had a roller derby bout that weekend and Tommy didn’t want to waste any of her time with her girls. Which left him with TK and Mateo, who both eagerly agreed. 

Judd couldn’t hide his surprise at TK’s ready acceptance, making some comment about the city boy camping which caused the younger man to roll his eyes. 

“You do realize that you can leave New York, right?” he asked sarcastically. “There’s a big state outside the city and plenty of places to camp. My dad and I used to go whenever we had the time when I was growing up. It’s been years, but I doubt camping has changed all that much.” 

Judd didn’t have much to say to that so he settled for mussing up TK’s hair, causing him to give an indignant squawk and Nancy to laugh. The pieces began to fall into place the closer they got to the actual date. Judd had confessed his hesitation of leaving Grace completely alone to TK only to have Carlos offer to stay at the house with her when he wasn’t working. More surprising than the offer was Grace’s ready acceptance of it. 

“You think you boys are going to have fun,” she teased Judd, “but I’d wager that Carlos and I can give you a run for your money.” 

Which didn’t exactly instill much confidence, but if there were two people Judd Ryder trusted in the world, his wife and Carlos Reyes certainly made the list. So Judd thanked Carlos (and TK, who he was certain had something to do with it) and moved forward. 

The day of their excursion dawned bright and clear and found TK and Judd securing the last of their gear in the bed of Judd’s truck. Mateo had come down with a stomach bug the day before, leaving them with just a duo for the weekend. 

“I don’t know,” TK quipped as he deftly caught the bag Judd tossed him before setting it down in the truck bed he was standing in, “think we’ll be able to handle it?” 

“Handle what?”

“So much time together, just the two of us.” 

Judd shrugged, “I don’t see why not. Besides, you get annoying enough there are plenty of places to dump a body.” TK rolled his eyes as he climbed down from the truck but Judd continued contemplatively, “Could easily make it look like an accident too.” 

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” a new voice deadpanned and Judd turned to see Carlos and Grace approaching. The young cop raised an eyebrow and TK smiled at him as he stepped into his boyfriend’s space. 

“Or otherwise you’d have to arrest him on suspicion of murder?” he teased lightly. 

“I don’t know about that,” Carlos countered as he snaked his arms around TK’s waist, “you know what they say: no body, no crime.” 

“So you have to wait until after he murders me? Wow.” 

“Sorry babe, I don’t make the laws.” 

“Rude,” TK exclaimed, but leaned in for a kiss anyway. 

Judd rolled his eyes at them, only to get a swat from his wife. “Don’t pretend that we were any better at that point in our relationship Judd.” 

Judd grinned and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. “Who says we’re any better now?” he asked, causing Grace to giggle and half-heartedly swat at him again. He leaned even further to pull her into a lingering kiss. When they pulled apart he studied her for a long moment. He wasn’t ready to leave her just yet. What if…

But his spiral was interrupted by her firmly shaking her head. Judd wasn’t surprised that she knew where his thoughts were going: she knew every inch of him and it was all hers. 

“Judson Ryder I will be fine. Which is more than I can say for you if you don’t take some time for yourself. You need to recharge, my love. Go and take that city boy and show him how to rough it. I’ll be here when you get back.” 

Judd swallowed and nodded, forcing a smile in the weight of his wife’s expectant gaze. He leaned down to give her one more kiss before straightening and throwing a glance at TK who was still talking closely with Carlos, still wrapped in his embrace: “You ready to get this show on the road, lover boy?” 

TK leaned in for one last fleeting kiss before turning to face Judd with a smirk: “Ready when you are, Cowboy Judd.” 

Carlos shook his head and came to stand beside Grace, clapping a hand on Judd’s shoulder as he passed him. “Try not to kill him, if you can,” he requested lightly. “I do kind of like him, after all.” 

“I make no promises, Reyes,” Judd shot back. He went to step away, but paused. He looked back at Carlos, needing to say how much he appreciated what the younger man was doing but Carlos shook his head before he even had a chance to form the words. 

“I’m happy to do it, Judd. Besides, I know you’d do the same for me.” 

Carlos flicked his eyes to where TK was checking the bungee cords over the truck bed and Judd nodded. Of course he would, that’s what family does, after all. 

“Alright kid, let’s hit the road,” he said instead, turning back to the truck and TK. “We’re burning daylight.” 

TK sent a wave in the direction of Grace and Carlos before climbing into the passenger side of the truck. Judd walked around to the front and pulled open his door, turning to give Grace one last look. She sent him a warm and reassuring smile and he forced himself to take a calming breath. She would be fine, it would be okay. 

With that he shot her a grin before climbing in himself and pulling away, already counting down the seconds until he would be back by his wife’s side. 

---------

Grace had been right. 

Which shouldn’t surprise him after all these years, but the fact remained. 

It turned out that this had been exactly what he needed. To get away for a while, to spend some time in the fresh and open air. He had been worried, before they came, that being back here would bring up old memories of the family he had lost. And it did, but not in a bad way. He had been struck by it the moment they had arrived, when he had opened the door to the familiar room that even now seemed to echo with the sounds of their laughter. He had paused, overwhelmed by the force of it all when he felt a cautious hand on his arm. He glanced over to see TK looking at him carefully. 

“You okay?” he asked and Judd took a deep breath before nodding. 

“Yeah,” he said lowly, “it’s just been a while, you know? And the last time I was here...things were different.” 

He didn’t expand but he could tell by the look on TK’s face that the young paramedic knew exactly what he wasn’t saying. He nodded, glancing around the room as if he too could see the ghosts. “What to tell me about them?” 

He looked at TK sharply, surprised but the other man just shrugged, “I think I’d like to know more about them, if you feel like talking about it.” 

Judd looked away from his friend to study the empty room again. They had come here so often, every single inch of the space held a memory. More than he could ever forget and, as had happened more and more often with time, he realized he didn’t want to. “You see that part of the ceiling over there that looks cleaner than the rest?”

TK followed his pointed finger and nodded when he saw the ceiling tile that stood out as starkly more white than the others. 

“Let’s just say you are not the worst firehouse cook I have ever seen, kid.” 

TK glances up at the ceiling and then back at Judd, eyebrow raised. “Do I want to know?” 

“Why don’t I tell you and we’ll find out.” 

-----------

The rest of the day passed in a similar way, the two men chatting as they set up camp and Judd filling the space with whatever story of his old crew’s antics he thought of at that moment. 

“I think I would have liked them,” TK noted once he caught his breath after a particularly entertaining story about a wild turkey and a very startled probie who did not know they could fly. 

“Oh, you would have,” Judd agreed. “And you would’ve all gotten along like a house on fire. It’s Austin I’d be worried about.”  

TK rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to their surroundings. They were on their way to a trail Judd said they used to frequent that apparently had some great views from the peak. Judd was in his element now, sharing stories and showing TK around the patch of forest he knew so well. There was apparently fishing in the creek on the agenda for tomorrow and while TK would be lying if he said he was enthused by the idea, he was happy to see Judd happy. The past month or so since the accident had been hard on them all, but none more than Judd. Seeing him standing a little straighter and smiling a little wide brought TK a relief he hadn’t been expecting. 

He was so lost in his thoughts he almost didn’t notice the ground give way underneath his foot until it was too late. He flailed, windmilling his arms in a desperate attempt to catch his balance but it proved to be unnecessary when Judd reached out and caught him, steadying him and pulling him back to even ground. 

“Easy there,” he said firmly, “you good?” 

“Yeah,” TK responded after his heart rate returned to normal. “Yeah, I’m good. I don’t know what happened though. One minute I was walking and then...”

“And then you weren’t,” Judd finished helpfully, looking past TK to the spot he had nearly fallen from. TK followed his gaze to see that the edge of the trail they had been walking had crumbled under his feet. 

“Looks like erosion,” Judd observed with a frown. “I knew they’ve had a lot of rain up this way, but I didn’t realize it would have been enough to affect the land.” 

“That’s global warming for you,” TK retorted wryly, stepping closer to the middle of the trail, “and I don’t think it’s going to be any better as we get further.” 

Judd nodded, “Yeah, we should probably turn back.” 

But even as he said it TK could see the disappointment playing out on his face. This was important to Judd, and this weekend was all about giving him a break from all of the shit he had been dealing with for the past month. If that meant walking a slightly less than stable trail for a few hours, TK could manage that. 

“What?” he teased, stepping around Judd and heading further up the trail, “You don’t think we can handle it? There’s no reason we can’t, we just have to watch our steps.”  

Judd looked as if he were debating for a moment before TK rolled his eyes at him, “C’mon Judd, we’re here. We might as well take the chance while we can. Besides now that we know, we’ll just have to be more careful.” 

Finally, Judd shook his head. “Alright kid, but if you get yourself injured I am not covering for you with your man.” 

TK shook his head but laughed as he turned around. “Then we better not get injured because I’m not covering for you from Grace either. Besides,” he added, “I didn’t bring the full first aid kit so mortal injuries are not allowed.” 

He quickened his pace as he moved further down the trail, causing Judd to curse under his breath as he sped up to catch up with him. He slowed after a minute and the two men continued down the trail in companionable silence. TK may be a city person, born and raised, but there was something comforting about the silence of nature. It offered a silence he had spent years and many pills trying to find in his own head. The only problem with it was that eventually, it ended and he was always right back where he started. 

But this was about Judd and so TK turned to glance at him. He seemed lost in thought. “What’s on your mind?” he asked, startling the other man out of his reverie. He had an almost guilty look on his face and TK rolled his eyes, “Please don’t tell me you were worrying about Grace?” 

The way Judd turned away, avoiding TK’s gaze told him everything he needed to know. 

“Judd,” he sighed, “she’s fine. She’s in no danger and is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Besides,” he added after a glance at his watch, “Carlos’s shift will be over in an hour and then he’ll be over there and I’m sure they’ll be having a great time making pasta and gossiping over wine.” 

Judd did at least snort at that, causing TK to relax a little. “I know you’re worried,” he continued, voice softer, “and honestly I can’t say I blame you. I don’t think I would be much better if it were Carlos in her place and we had gone through what you have. But you trust her, right?” 

“More than anyone,” Judd replied, without a moment’s hesitation.

“Then trust her,” TK implored. “She told you she would be fine and so she will. And if she’s not she has people to rely on. She’s not alone in this, neither of you are.” 

There was silence between them for several moments and as it stretched on TK began to worry that he had overstepped. He was about to offer an apology and resign himself to a hike filled with awkward silence when Judd finally spoke. 

“That’s actually pretty wise,” he mused, “who would have thought you had that in you?” 

TK rolled his eyes as Judd laughed. “See if I ever give you advice again,” he gripped, staggering as Judd clapped him on the shoulder. 

“I appreciate it kid, really,” he assured him. “And you might just be right.” 

“Only maybe?”

“Well I can’t have you getting a big head, can I?” 

TK rolled his eyes and decided to change the subject, “How much further to this lookout point?” 

“What, you getting tired on me?” 

“No, but it will be getting dark in just over an hour and while an eroding trail in daylight is doable, an eroding trail in the dark is something else entirely.” 

Judd sobered at the reminder, “It’s not too much further, 10 minutes tops. Besides, it’s worth it. Most beautiful view you’ve ever seen. Chuck actually proposed to his wife out here.” 

“Are you planning on proposing to me, Judd? Because I’m flattered but I think your wife and my boyfriend might have something to say about that.” 

Judd shook his head, “Can’t even show you the wonders of nature without you making it weird. What am I going to do with you kid?” 

TK simply laughed and Judd rolled his eyes. They continued forward, reaching an opening in the trees a few minutes later, as promised. TK could feel Judd’s eyes on him as they stepped forward and he meant to make a quip about it, but the sight that sprawled out before them stole the words from him. Open fields spread out as far as they could see, bright spots of blue dotting them and a river winding lazily through. 

“This is the best time to come out here,” Judd was saying. “The bluebonnets are fully in bloom.” 

“It’s gorgeous,” TK agreed. “Why didn’t you bring Grace out here to propose?” 

Judd shrugged, “That was the plan, actually. I figured she deserved the best. But it didn’t quite work out that way.” 

TK studied him for a moment. “You blurted it out without thinking, didn’t you?” 

Judd looked startled for a moment but when TK raised an eyebrow he chuckled ruefully, “Yeah I did. Don’t give me that look,” he protested defensively, “like you’re going to do any better when the time comes for you and Reyes.” 

TK’s laughter petered off and he shook his head. “You’re probably right,” he admitted. “Besides, take it from someone with unfortunate experience in this matter: those overly planned and dramatic proposals aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.” 

Judd sobered at the change in TK’s tone, and though he didn’t push TK was sure he had connected the dots in his mind. 

“Yeah well,” he said instead, “if it’s the right person the ‘how’ doesn’t matter.”  

TK smiled at him before turning his gaze back to the amazing view before them. Judd kept talking beside him, “We used to come out here, from time to time. My old crew and me,” he clarified and TK nodded.

“A bunch of macho firefighters admiring the pretty flowers?” he teased lightly but Judd shook his head. 

“It was just kind of peaceful, you know? We’d come out here and somehow find a way to talk about the serious things. It was nice. It was…” 

He trailed off but TK continued for him, understanding where he was going with it, “A safe place.”

“Yeah,” Judd agreed softly, stepping closer to the edge. “It was.” 

TK smiled sadly at his back, staying quiet as Judd took a moment. He couldn’t begin to imagine what he was thinking about or how much he had suffered. TK had never been as close with any crew before this one, and he couldn’t imagine losing any of them, let alone all of them. He couldn’t imagine what that would feel like. So he was content to offer silent support and to let Judd do whatever it was that he needed to do. 

Or he was, until Judd took another absent minded step forward and TK heard the tell-tale sound of earth crumbling. 

“Judd!” he called out, lunging forward to grab for the other man, just managing to latch on to his arm before the rest of the ground crumbled around him. 

He wasn’t fast enough to prevent it though. All he could do was follow as gravity did its work, pulling Judd over the edge of the overlook, pulling TK with him. 

They tumbled for what felt like ages, each moment a blur of motion and pain. When they finally came to a rest TK took a moment to remember how to breathe, to reacquaint himself with his body once more. And in the next moment he turned, looking for Judd. 

He found him only a few feet from him. He was sprawled and not moving and for a moment, TK forgot how to breathe all over again.

“Judd!” he called as he pushed himself up, collapsing with a sharp gasp as pain shot through his right wrist. He stopped for a moment to examine it; carefully feeling the joint for any signs of a break. He didn’t find any and tried to pull himself up again, more carefully this time. He made his way to Judd’s side, surveying him the best he could without moving him unnecessarily, looking him over for any signs of major injury. He didn’t see any so he gently turned him over, biting his lip against the pain that shot through his wrist at the motion.

“Judd,” he tried again, “are you with me?” 

“Yeah,” came the other man’s response and TK almost collapsed in relief.

“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked, beginning to examine him more closely. 

“Are you going all paramedic on me kid?” he asked drily and TK narrowed his eyes. 

“Humor me.”

Judd sighed, “We were hiking and I stepped too close to the edge of a trail we knew was unstable. I screwed up.” 

“We’re all allowed,” TK reminded him. “God knows I’ve done my fair share. What’s important is that you’re okay. Is there anything that hurts?” 

“What about you? You okay?” 

“I’m fine. Really,” he insisted at Judd’s less than convinced look. “I’m going to be very bruised and I think I sprained a wrist but it’s my right and since I’m left handed, I’ll live. I’m more worried about you at the moment.”

“Don’t need to be,” Judd said weakly, “I’m fine. Help me up and we’ll get out of here.” 

But TK had continued his examination and determined that while Judd Ryder was a lot of things, one of them (at the moment) was a liar. There was a puncture wound on his thigh, and it was bleeding heavily. TK swore and reached around for his backpack, knowing that while he had not brought the full first aid kit he had at least grabbed some bandages. 

It was a moment later that he realized he no longer had it. It must have been lost somewhere along their fall. He glanced back up to see that they had fallen much further than he had thought; nearly 40 feet of steep, overgrown hillside was stretched out between them and the overlook. He swore again. 

“What’s wrong?” Judd asked him. 

TK took a steadying breath before he looked back down at Judd. “What’s wrong is that you have a wound that is bleeding pretty heavily and that I lost my backpack with all our medical supplies and gear somewhere in the fall. I can try to make a pressure bandage maybe, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough to stop it.” 

“And we need to get out of here,” Judd added, “because it’ll be dark soon and the local wildlife might not take too kindly to our being here.” 

“That too,” TK agreed, already pulling off his hoodie and balling it up to compress against the wound. “Overall, this is less than ideal.” 

Judd nodded and reached into his pocket for his phone and turned it to TK after a moment, revealing a picture of him and Grace, and no bars. “Well we’re on our own for getting out,” he told TK, “no service.” 

TK cursed again. Looking back down at the hoodie in his hand, the gray material rapidly being consumed by the bright red of blood. It was bleeding too much. 

“You should go get help.” 

TK looked sharply up at Judd, who seemed to think what he was saying made sense. “No,” TK said incredulously. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here, I’m not leaving, okay.”

“You should,” Judd countered, “it might be our best shot.” 

“How exactly do you think you are going to do against that wildlife you mentioned?” TK asked him with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

They lapsed into silence, after that, both their minds spinning with possibilities and solutions. It was Judd that eventually broke the silence.

“What if you cauterized it?” 

TK looked up at him incredulously, “I’m sorry, what?”

“To stop the bleeding. We don’t really have enough equipment with us for you to properly bandage it and it’s bleeding an awful lot. Cauterizing it might be the best way to stop the bleeding with what we have.” 

TK shook his head, “It’s not that simple Judd. Yes, it would stop the bleeding, but it would only stop it from coming through the skin. I have no way of knowing what is torn internally, and cauterizing the outside won’t do anything for that. You could just end up with massive internal bleeding instead, not to mention the risk of infection. And I think you are ignoring the fact that cauterizing it would literally mean I would be melting your skin back together.” 

“What’s another burn scar?” Judd said with a shrug and TK frowned at him. 

“At some point we’re going to have to talk about how casually you said that,” he muttered, “but there are bigger matters at hand right now.” 

TK could feel Judd watching him but his mind was turning; pros and cons and possible courses of action flying through his head. He bit his lip as he looked back down at the compress he was still clutching tightly to the wound, and swallowed. It wasn’t the worst idea in the world, but it also wasn’t a great one. It was a last resort type of idea for sure, and he wasn’t quite sure they were there just yet. 

But they were pretty close.  

“Listen, kid,” Judd said, interrupting his thoughts, “you need to do what you think is best. I trust you and I know you won’t let me down.” 

“It could go wrong though,” TK admitted quietly, “it could make things worse.” 

“Or you could not do it and we could be trapped here, since you refuse to leave for help.” 

TK bit at his lip as he considered. He hated the idea. Not only was it not guaranteed to work, it would also be incredibly painful. But Judd was right; it might be their only shot. 

“We’d need something that could get hot enough,” he finally said, “and something to heat it with.” 

“There’s a hunting knife strapped to my belt and a lighter in my right pocket.” 

TK took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay, but this is going to hurt; a lot.” 

“I trust you.” 

And he did. TK had always known that, but the way he was looking at him now as he bled out on the forest floor made it even more apparent. He took another wavering breath before he nodded, “Then let’s do this.” 

He took the knife from Judd and reached into the indicated pocket for the lighter. He flicked it on and held it under the knife, running the flame back and forth across it, making sure to evenly heat it. When he could feel the heat emanating from it he pulled the hoodie off the wound and did his best to clean it before he met Judd’s eyes.

“Ready?” he asked. 

“As I’ll ever be,” he responded.  

TK nodded again and swallowed, looking back down at the offending wound. He took a deep breath and pressed the hot knife against the puncture, making sure to raise and lower it in short bursts to prevent from killing the healthy tissue surrounding the wound. He could hear Judd’s cries of pain and apologized over and over again, for all the good it did. Then finally, it was done and he tossed the knife down onto the ground beside them as he leaned forward to examine the wound. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, at least, which meant he at least hadn’t tortured his friend for nothing. 

He pulled his eyes off of the wound in search of Judd’s face, feeling fear course through him as he saw his eyes closed. 

“Hey,” he instructed, “I need you to open your eyes, Judd. I need you awake.”

He tapped on the other man’s face and eventually, his eyes blinked open. 

“That’s it,” he said soothingly. “That’s better. I know it hurts but I need you to keep those eyes open. Please, stay awake.” 

“Can’t leave you out here on your own,” Judd quipped weakly, and TK laughed.

“No, you can’t,” he agreed. He settled down on the ground beside Judd, determined to let him relax a bit before they tried to move at all. 

“We should get moving,” Judd said instead, trying to pull himself up. “The road should be that way, unless my head is truly scrambled. We should be able to find someone passing by, or at least get a signal to call for help maybe.”

“And we will,” TK assured him, “but you can take a second to catch your breath first. That can’t have been fun.” 

“Wouldn’t recommend it,” Judd agreed, “but I’m good.” 

“Well I’m not,” TK countered. “I’m going to need a minute to recover from melting my friend’s skin back together so you can just wait a minute or two if you don’t mind.”

Judd's unimpressed look told TK he knew exactly what he was doing, but he settled back down with a sigh.  

“What do you think Grace and Carlos are going to have to say about this?” he asked, and TK chuckled. 

“Nothing good,” he admitted, “but they’ll both just be glad we’re okay. Pretty sure Grace will have something to say about irony though when you were the one we should have all been worried about, in the end.” 

Judd snorted and they lapsed into silence. They waited for a few more minutes until TK glanced up at the sky and the slowly sinking sun with a sigh, “Guess it’s time,” he said, gingerly pulling himself off the ground and brushing himself off. “We’ll have better luck if we can get to the road before dark. You good to go?” 

“As I’ll ever be,” Judd shrugged and allowed TK to help him up. It was a sign of how badly he was feeling, TK thought, that Judd leaned against him without even a hint of protest, allowing TK to support him. He slid one of Judd’s arms around his shoulder. 

“Lead the way, Cowboy Judd,” he instructed once they were settled, “I have no idea where we’re going.” 

“East,” Judd told him, nodding in the direction away from the setting sun. “The road is East from here.” 

“East it is,” he agreed as he took a tentative step forward, allowing Judd a moment to get his feet under him. “Then we just hope it’s rush hour out in the sticks.” 

They made their way to the road, slowly but surely. TK kept stealing glances at Judd, making note of his condition. So far he seemed good. Or as good as could be expected, at least. He was pale and sweating but that was to be expected from exertion and blood loss. Hopefully they would find help soon. TK wasn’t ready to think about what could happen if they didn’t. 

They reached the road without incident and TK could hardly believe his eyes. There were lights in the distance, heading towards them. 

“Judd!” he exclaimed, “there’s a car coming! Come on!”  

Judd followed his gaze and picked up his pace, the sight of the car apparently giving him a second wind. When they reached the side and the car slowed to a stop at the sight of TK’s frantic waves and Judd clinging to him, TK allowed himself a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. It would be okay, they would be fine. 

And that was all he could ask for. 

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

TK was dozing off in the uncomfortable chair at the side of Judd’s bed when he heard frantic footsteps approaching. He sat up as Carlos and Grace entered the room, both wearing anxious expressions that didn’t ease much at the sight of them. 

TK knew he must look like a wreck - covered in cuts and bruises and his wrist wrapped with an ice pack resting on top of it - but he was at least sitting up (for the most part). Judd on the other hand…

Grace went straight for him, a hand covering her mouth as she took in the sight. 

“He’ll be okay,” TK told her softly, “they did a full exam. They just want him to get some fluids and a transfusion to make up for the blood loss and some antibiotics just in case due to the less than sterile conditions. He’ll be up and on his feet in no time.”

“Probably sooner than he should,” Grace snorted, though her voice was thick. TK looked away, allowing her to have her moment, to Carlos who was studying him from the doorway.

“I’m okay too,” he assured him. “Just some superficial cuts and bruises.” 

“So the ice pack and bandage is just for fun?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s only a sprain,” TK retorted. “We’re both going to be fine.” 

“Well one thing’s for sure,” Grace noted as she took one of Judd’s hands in hers, “I would say Carlos and I did have more fun than you. Until we got that phone call, that is.” 

“Hey now, I think me and the kid were doing just fine in the fun department before this all happened, isn’t that right TK?” 

All eyes turned to Judd who had apparently woken up at some point during their conversation and was beaming up at Grace. 

“That’s true,” TK agreed, giving Carlos a fond smile as Judd and Grace looked at each other, “and it’s not like we asked the path to erode. That was definitely not the plan.” 

“I would just like to make pasta without someone I care about ending up in the hospital,” Carlos declared, coming up behind TK to put his hands on his shoulders and leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head. “But that is apparently too much to ask.” 

TK looked over at Judd and Grace to see what they had to say but they were too wrapped up in each other to even know that they had company in the room. Grace had tears in her eyes as she reached out a hand to put a hand on Judd’s face. “And here you were worried about me,” she reminded him. “That is what I call irony, my love.” 

TK did his best to bite back the laugh that came at that and Judd spared him a glance long enough to roll his eyes before turning his gaze back to his wife. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t want to worry you.” 

“I’m afraid you don’t get a say in that Judd,” Grace argued, “it comes with the territory when you love someone.” 

TK looked up at Carlos to see him smiling down at him. He reached his good hand up and placed it on top of one of the hands on his shoulders, giving it a light squeeze. Soon they would work out the logistics and likely leave Judd and Grace to their own devices, giving them the time they needed to savor the existence of each other. They would likely go home and do the same.  But for now TK was content to sit here; the man he loved beside him and two dear friends nearby and just soak it all in. It had been a long day after a long few months, but they were all safe and whole and they were here together. 

And TK knew now just as surely as he had by the side of the road: couldn’t ask for anything more. 

[wouldnt-it-be-hilarious-if-i]

🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻

currently listening to: life is a highway by rascal flatts

🎶Life is a highwaaaaaaay, I wanna ride it all night lonnnnnngggggg 🎶

🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻🛻

Accidental act of self-care: Riding in a tow truck!

Picture this. It's 5 pm, you're driving back from the spot where your truck broke down the night before, and your truck breaks down AGAIN, this time, however, instead of it being in the dead center of the highway---you smell the burning transmission ahead of time and pull to the side of the road. You're in the middle of nowhere, sandwiched in between a major highway with a dollar store like three miles up the road (the only store for a while) and a gigantic field.

Your driver's phone is at 8%, and yours is useless because you've been having trouble with it. What's a girl to do?

We got our new (to us) truck last week (his name is RB, said like Arby!) and we love him. But the poor old guy is just not having it this week. So, my mom called a tow truck guy and while we waited for him to arrive, we cleaned out the car.

After we cleaned, we started to explore a bit of the field and saw wild piggies!!! They weren't really wild. I think there was a farm a little ways down. But I was squealing like a pig 🐖 I was so freaking excited. There was a mama, daddy and two baby pigs. The babies were so little!! It reminded me that I really have to find a way out to the horse farm near me so I can volunteer to work with the horses. I LOVE horses.

I tried to get a picture of the pigs but couldn't get across the mud in time. (I was wearing slides. If I'd been in my boots like usual, I could have gotten there faster 😡)

Anyway, once we got into the truck, the tow truck guy came and I realized for the millionth time: I FUCKING LOVE TRUCKS.

My mom told me we were going to have to ride home in the giant tow truck and I just started hopping up and down I was literally so excited. Her mood improved a lot more because I was that excited. It really sucks having your car break down, and I understood that. But seeing the piggies and the tow truck made me so freaking happy, I couldn't contain myself. She started laughing at me and smiling because I was smiling.

I ran up to the truck and I was having a tiny panic attack because the truck is super high up so I was scrambling to climb inside it without falling off. I got so many pictures 😂✋ I felt like a four year old.

But IT WAS SO EXCITING.

If there's anything I love in this world, it's trucks. I literally cried when I found out my mom replaced our old car with a truck. All I've ever wanted to drive are trucks, and I envied every girl at my southern ass school who had really big trucks. We had a truck when I was really little and it was my favorite car. I loved that truck, and I cried my eyes out when we had to sell it. Having a truck again feels like coming home.

Not jeeps. Not vans. Not even American muscle cars (though I love those too). TRUCKS.

Here's a video of me absolutely losing it over watching the tow truck in action:

Here's the truck being hooked up. You can hear my mom fretting over losing her vape lmao meanwhile, I'm pterodactyl screaming about how much I love trucks 😂😂😂 in another video, I was showing the inside and screaming about everything I saw.

I was literally in heaven. I completely forgot about how dearly I love every truck, especially really big ones. I was just staring at everything. I told the driver that I love to feel tall, and being in that truck makes me feel very tall.

He offered to teach me how to drive it!!! I almost cried I was so excited!!!!

I. LOVE. TRUCKS.

Anyway, so we got to hear him honk the horn and wave at other truckers and I saw my town from a very interesting perspective that I've never seen before. I was on cloud freaking nine!!

When I saw that dog with his head sticking out the window, I really understood him. I felt the exact same way. I really did.

It was a great day! We don't have a working truck right now...but at least we saw some adorable baby piggies and I got to ride in a tow truck!!! So it wasn't so bad. I also got another phone case in the mail!!!

As soon as I got home I asked Alexa to play life is a highway and danced around my room 😂✋

I'm literally so freaking happy rn I love trucks

[abbysfrenchbraid]

Kissed by a Wolf - Chapter 6

Masterlist   /   Playlist for this angsty mess

Eivor returns from her raid successfully and celebrations are in order. More drunk confessions.

Content Warning for alcohol/food consumption, blood, injury, intoxication

Inspo pic by @anaakeart​

A Place in this World

As you left Valka’s hut, you could see people rushing down the hill toward the dock where a small crowd had gathered already. Sigurd and Randvi stood ready to greet Eivor and the other warriors. You arrived just in time to watch Eivor step on solid ground after all the others had already gotten on their way to the longhouse, surrounded by the singing and cheering people who had waited for them all day.

The blonde she-wolf looked exhausted but happy. The sight of her felt like a punch to your gut. She was covered in blood, her beautiful hair was dark and sticking together in thick strands, only her teeth flashing white in the light of the torches as she smiled at the few people left waiting for her.

“Eivor!” Sigmund greeted her, “You were successful!” They shook hands and hugged.

“Did you expect any less?” Eivor taunted him in her deep voice, laughing as he assured her of his confidence in her.

Her eyes brushed over Randvi and a strange expression flickered over her face, vanishing too quickly for you to grasp its meaning. Then her gaze met yours and again, she seemed to be fighting conflicting emotions. At last, she smiled and took a few steps toward you.

“Y/N! All your predictions proved true. You honored us greatly today.” She placed a hand on your shoulder and squeezed as Sigurd and Randvi both turned to look at you.

“Is that so?” Sigurd asked with raised eyebrows. “Then it seems that thanks are in order. We shall prepare a welcoming ritual for you to become a member of the Raven clan, if that is your wish.” He gave you a respectful nod and left for the longhouse. Randvi lingered just a moment longer, looking you and Eivor up and down, then she followed him.

Eivor had moved on to greet Valka and this time her face showed nothing but love and warmth. She hugged the healer tightly and pulled something from her pocket. It was a set of long claws on a string. Valka’s face lit up.

“Bear claws! I thought there were no more bears in these lands.” She took them and held them up to her face, inspecting them closely.

“Oh, I suspect the same,” Eivor said, “maybe this was the last one. The Steward wore it around his neck. It didn’t bring him much luck.” She smirked, not knowing how terrifying she looked, drenched in blood and dirt and smelling like death itself. Valka seemed to notice the same.

“Eivor, I mean no disrespect, but… I think you should wash before attending the feast. For your own good and everyone else’s sanity.”

The warrior looked confused for a second, then she laughed out loud and looked at her hands.

“You’re a wise woman, Valka. I should do that.” Her eyes darted to you for a second, then she nodded and laid a fist on her chest. “I will meet you at the longhouse, then.”

You both looked after her as she walked up to her hut, then Valka gently touched your arm.

“Let us celebrate. There is enough time to worry tomorrow or the day after. I think you’re even well enough to have some ale tonight.” She grinned at you and hooked her arm under yours, then you followed the trail of noise to the feast.

The feast was already in full swing; there was a big fire in the middle of the hall and people were eating and drinking, singing and dancing and praising Eivor's warriors for their victory. You quickly found Sfáva, the old cook who greeted you with great excitement. She gave you both plates with meat and vegetables and handed you two clay jugs, which were quickly filled by a young man responsible for the ale barrels. You sat down together at the front of a long table, right at the foot of Sigurd’s table.

You felt Randvi’s eyes on you again, but you decided to simply not waste any more time worrying about her tonight. While you felt genuinely sorry for the heartbreak she had been through, it was not your fault and should not control your life in the clan. So you raised your jug to Sigmund’s first toast of many that evening and emptied half of it in one go. Valka laughed at you and you both dug into your meal, hungry from the long day of talking and worrying.

A murmur went through the crowd when Eivor finally entered the hall. She was all clean now, her blonde, wet hair shining in the light of the torches, a few fresh braids taming the warrior’s mane. She wore the leather pants and a tunic you had repaired and a grey fur cape was draped over her shoulders to protect her from the cold. Her father’s ax and a longsword hung from a belt around her hips.

Her eyes scanned the crowd and found you, your hand that was holding a spoon stopping mid-air as you froze under her gaze. She seemed to take a deep breath and straighten up before coming toward you. She stopped next to you and placed a hand on your shoulder. Her touch burned your skin through the fabric of your tunic, anger and passion, sadness and excitement fighting a battle in your stomach. You felt your blood rush to your cheeks as you looked up at the blonde towering above you.

“Enjoy your meal, Y/N. You deserve it.” She squeezed your shoulder and winked at Valka before turning around and joining her brother at his table, conveniently sitting just a few feet away from you and facing you directly. You just stared at the tabletop and tried not to choke on your food, downing another jug of ale to get yourself to loosen up.

After a while, Sigurd rose to give another speech, this time with and for Eivor at his side. He had already drunk a considerable amount of mead and was slurring his words ever so slightly, but he managed to stay standing up for the whole speech.

“My dear Ravens, my warriors, and my wolf-kissed  drengr ! You have made me proud today, proud to call you my clan! I want to thank each and every one of you who fought bravely today.” He raised his drinking horn to each of the people that had been involved in the raid. “I’m glad that we did not have to give away any of our warriors to Valhalla at Fort Winton. Together, we shall make England tremble!”

He swayed slightly as cheers erupted around the hall and Randvi stood up, supporting him with a hand on his back.

“Let us not forget the people who made this possible,” he continued. “My beautiful wife, Randvi, helped plan this raid and made sure our  drengrs  were well prepared!” He opened his mouth to continue, but Randvi cut him off.

“I thank you, Sigurd, but it was not only me that made this possible. We have to thank the English girl down there!” She pointed at you. “Her willingness to betray her people and tell us everything about their weaknesses enabled us to slice through them like a knife through butter today. Thank you, Y/N!”

Even though most people around you cheered and clapped for you, you felt nothing but white-hot shame and anger rise inside of you. How could she disgrace you like this, after everything you had done for her? Valka placed her hand on yours and shot you a warning look. Eivor had stayed silent and you could see out of the corner of your eye that her hands were balled up into fists. You risked a look at her and she met your gaze, shaking her head almost unnoticeably and telling you without words how sorry she was for Randvi’s behavior.

As soon as everyone had gone back to eating and talking, Eivor got up from the table, shot Randvi an icy look, and vanished into one of the back rooms. Randvi seemed unnerved, shuffling her feet as she waited for the right moment to get up as well. When one of the warriors came up to Sigurd to ask him something, she excused herself and went after Eivor. You and Valka exchanged a look, then she nodded.

You got up, took your empty jug, and quietly made your way toward the back of the hall. Keeping your head down, you passed a couple that was already half undressed in one of the alcoves and a man sitting on the floor and sleeping upright against the wall, his loud snores muffling your steps. Finally, you heard voices.

“-was the truth! I don’t trust her after she willingly betrayed her people and neither should you!”

“Do not speak to me of betrayal!” Eivor’s voice was cold. “Ever since she arrived here, you have been on a warpath. Can’t you accept that something is not about you for once?”

“Eivor -” Randvi sounded desperate. “I don’t mean any harm, you know that. I just want to protect you. This girl, something is wrong about her. Why did she give up so easily?”

“Because her fucking master made her life a living hell, that is why! Here she finally had a chance to be treated with respect. But it seems you won’t grant her that, you won’t leave her in peace nor will you finally let me go!” Eivor kicked something and it crashed through the room. You pressed yourself into your corner and held your breath.

“Eivor.” Randvi suddenly spoke sweetly, her voice endearing. “Don’t act like you actually want that. We belong together, last night proved that yet again.” Eivor huffed at her words.

“Last night was a grave mistake. I was drunk and you caught me off guard outside. I admit that it felt good for the moment, but as soon as I left I knew I should not have given in. You  have  to accept my decision.” Eivor sighed. When she continued, she just sounded terribly sad and exhausted. “I do not love you anymore. And I cannot betray Sigurd any longer. Why can’t we part gracefully and accept that our time together has come to an end? Why are you fighting this losing battle?”

There was silence for a moment and you were about to hurry off when you heard a sob. Randvi was crying.

“I can’t, Eivor, I can’t lose you. You are the only person who has ever understood me, who has made me feel complete and made my life worth living. I am no one without you, nothing but an empty shell. I cannot bring myself to let you go. The pain of loving you is tearing me apart, but I still dread the pain of letting you go too much to loosen my grip.”

Your heart dropped at her words. She loved Eivor deeply, and she was acting out of desperation. That was why she had treated you like this.  Eivor the Heartbreaker. Randvi’s crying sounded muffled now, maybe Eivor was holding her to soothe her. Then Randvi cleared her throat.

“I will try to treat the English girl fairly from now on. She has no idea what she stumbled into and it is not her fault.” A weight lifted off your chest at her words. “But Eivor, promise me this: do not make any rash decisions and be careful who you trust. Do not hurt me on purpose, I beg you. Give me time and stay by my side through this. I cannot live without you.”

When Eivor next spoke, she was also crying.

“Oh Randvi, what cruel fate have the Gods given us? I wish it was not so, I never wished to cause you any sorrow. I promise I won’t leave you, but I can’t be with you anymore. What happened between us is over and I sincerely hope” - she gasped for air - “that we can continue to be the close friends we always were. I don’t want to lose you either.”

You had heard enough. Slowly, you backed away from the dark room and made your way to Sfáva, thanking her for the great meal and filling up your jug. As you turned toward the open hall, you noticed that Valka was no longer sitting at your table and nowhere to be seen. You had a feeling that she had snuck away with her lover again and smiled into your ale at the thought. Looking up, you saw Randvi sitting down at the table again, her face turned away from Sigurd as she emptied her drinking horn in one swig.

You jumped when Eivor suddenly appeared next to you. Her eyes were glazed and her lashes still wet, but she tried to gave you a brave smile.

“How have you been, little bird?” The sight of her face and the hope in her eyes twisted your stomach and almost made you bend over in pain. You swallowed hard.

“Good. I spent the day with Valka. I’m healing.”

Eivor nodded and stared into her drinking horn.

“I just wanted to say -” she gave you a quick look, then she turned fully toward you. “I am deeply grateful for your help in this. We would have fought much longer and suffered many losses, had you not prepared us for this day. Thank you.”

She reached out a hand for you and then stopped, letting it fall to her side. Following her movement with your eyes, you suddenly noticed a fresh blood stain forming on her hip below her belt, hidden by the handle of the ax. You immediately forgot all your resentment and sorrow and stepped closer, lifting the heavy ax to inspect her side.

“Eivor - are you hurt?”

She gently took the weapon from your hands and let it fall back down, flinching when its weight pulled on the belt and pressed against her wound.

“It’s nothing, sweet Y/N. Just a scratch. The man that caused it paid with his life.” She took a swig of mead and looked around the room.

“They are celebrating my victory, yet I do not feel vindictive at all. Everything feels muted today.”

You were at a loss for words. What could you possibly say that would make her feel better without giving away what you knew? And after all, she had hurt you, too. So you just hummed in approval and shuffled your feet, waiting for her to say something.

The silence between you got longer and more uncomfortable until suddenly a younger member of the clan stumbled drunkenly toward you. Eivor caught him with one hand before he could land in your arms or run you into the ground.

“Get it together, Norvid,” she hissed and gave him a shove toward his friend that had come after him and was laughing loudly.

“Sorry, Eivor. Milady.” The drunk man bowed to you before his friend dragged him away. His words confused you. Milady? Was he mocking you? Was this the result of Randvi’s side blow against you earlier? You sighed and were actually thankful when you spotted Lewin, the butcher from Williamsburg that had taken up work here, too.

You excused yourself with a nod toward Eivor, then you rushed to join your old companion. He was happy to see you and introduced you enthusiastically to his new friends. He told you that Aelfric and Hal were at the stables to check on the horses and get their new dice game. They were going to be back soon.

When they returned, you all dutifully marveled at the board and dice the men had whittled themselves, then Hal explained the rules. After a few rounds, you joined in, too. To the other men’s surprise, you quickly got the hang of it and started beating them in every game. After you had made them get you more ale and stripped them of their coin and a small wooden bird Aelfric had carved today, you willingly backed off and watched the others play.

Even though you did not dare to turn your head toward the back of the hall, you could hear Eivor’s rough baritone a few times, then came her drunk laughter, getting louder as the evening progressed. The sound of it still stung. You wished you could talk to Valka about the conversation you had overheard, but she did not return. Maybe she had gone to bed; you knew she was not really a person for big celebrations.

You had eaten enough to build a base for all the ale you were drinking. Even though you felt a bit lightheaded, you were not even close to drunkenness. Years of drinking hard burned liquor with the other servants at night had built up your tolerance and you and the three others from Williamsburg could not help but laugh at the state some of the Vikings were in. Maybe you could try to make your infamous barley spirit and test its effect on a few selected warriors. Valka probably had the equipment needed for brewing more than just ale.

When you went to fill up your jug, you noticed Eivor talking to Sváfa behind the hearth fire. They were sitting on the bench and speaking Norwegian, a language that still had not opened its doors to you. They both looked up with an expression like you had caught them in the middle of something. You just smiled and shrugged, turning your back to them and asking for a refill from the boy at the barrel.

As you turned back around, Eivor was standing directly in front of you. You could feel her warm breath on your face, smelling of ale and the dried fruit she had been sharing with Sfáva. It made your heart crumble like burned coals. You could almost feel the pieces drop to the bottom of your stomach and disintegrate into fine ashes as you waited for her to speak.

“Little bird.” She was breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed from drinking again. “Can I speak to you in private for a moment?”

You nodded and she took your hand, pulling you with her into an alcove. Her touch sent shockwaves up your arm, fading away in the hollow of your chest where they only found the burned remnants of your heart.

“Y/N, I think I have made it obvious in the time we have had together so far that I have unusually strong feelings toward you. I was unsure of their meaning, but I know now.”

She swayed back and forth and had to lean sideways against the wall to still herself. Her eyes were glossy and almost blank, but a desperate desire was buried deep within them.

“Little bird, I cannot bear the moments in which you are not by my side. You are on my mind no matter what I am doing, even in battle.”

Her hand instinctively moved to the now big and visible bloodstain on her tunic. What was that supposed to mean? You spoke without thinking.

“Did the thought of me distract you from your task? Am I to blame for your wound?”

“Oh, Gods no. No blame lies with you. For anything.” She furrowed her brows, leaning closer.

“You are the reason I’m still standing. You brought me luck and glory today.” Her voice got quiet and she placed a hand on your good cheek. “You were sent to me by the Gods, it is meant to be.”

Before you could even realize what was even happening, her mouth was on yours. You were stunned for a moment, completely encased by her warmth and the softness of her lips. Slowly coming back to your senses, you placed your hands on her chest and gently pushed her away from you.

Her head fell forward and her mouth hung open. When she raised her head, she looked confused.

“Little bird…” she mumbled, holding onto your shoulders to stay upright. “Come to me…”

“Eivor, I can’t do this now. You’re drunk.” Your throat closed up and you were on the verge of crying.

Pull it together. Be strong!  You took a deep breath.

“Eivor! We’re going to go back to your hut now and I’m going to help you to bed. Understood?” You gave your best commanding tone and wrapped her arm around your shoulder, supporting her weight with all your strength. “Come on, now.”

You stepped out of the dark alcove and into the hall. Most of the other people were just as drunk as Eivor, stumbling around or already sleeping on the tables. When you looked up to the front table, your eyes met Randvi’s. You could see the silent pain in her eyes. She held your gaze for a moment, then she nodded almost unnoticeably and looked away.  Eivor the Heartbreaker .

You made it out of the hall without further distractions and met Lewin outside. He understood immediately and grabbed Eivor’s other arm to support her from the other side. The large woman was already half asleep between you. You steered her toward her hut and opened the door with your foot, then the two of you maneuvered her inside and laid her down on the bed. You thanked Lewin and he left for the longhouse again.

Whispering an apology to Birna, you pulled off Eivor’s boots and the fur that was fastened around her shoulders before covering her with a thin blanket. What now? Should you sleep here, next to Eivor?

You needed some space to think, so you slipped out of the hut again, Birna following you silently and vanishing into the bushes. You sat down on a tree trunk next to the cabin and hugged your knees to your chest, letting your eyes wander over all the wooden houses with their white roofs and the torches lighting the pathways. You could hear the laughter and singing from the longhouse in the distance, but the silence of the snow in the woods behind you was louder. It encased you and carried you away, finally granting you some peace of mind. After a while, the cat came back and jumped into your arms. You held her close.

This day had overwhelmed you with too many new ideas, stories, and possibilities, too much knowledge you did not know how to use. You and Eivor were destined to be together, you knew it and she felt it, too. There would be difficult times, this being one of them, on your path together. Eivor had to let go of Randvi irrevocably and Randvi had to step away from both of you. Eivor needed to figure out what she wanted and learn to express herself without being blackout drunk, to hold herself accountable for her actions, and to fight for what she wanted.

You did not know what exactly the future would bring, but for now, you decided to stay at Eivor’s side. Today more than ever she had shown you how terribly lost she was and how she longed to find and be found. Maybe you could pull her back on the path destined for her. She had given you a new life full of possibilities, it was only fair that you tried to help her find her way, too.

Pressing Birna to your chest, you got up and quietly entered the hut again. You placed your shoes under the bed and took off your coat, then you slipped under the heavy quilt and made space for the cat who curled up against your chest. There was love for you here. You would fight like hell to find it.

[ohgodmyeyes]

Freezing

Anakin gets hit by a train, and dies in the arms of a stranger. 

You are the stranger.

Modern AU. 2.7k words. Bad writing.

TW: Suicide

...

"You're awfully handsome— did you know I've never met such a handsome guy before in my whole life?"

"You're just saying that."

You laughed, despite the fact that the tears you happened to be shedding were threatening to freeze to your face. "No— no, Anakin, I'm not just saying that."

It was dark and it was snowy, and you were all by yourselves at a sparse, semi-rural railway crossing. You were looking down on him right now, holding his head in your lap; his face was dimly illuminated by a few old, halogen street lights. There hadn't been time for you to get to learn very much about him, but it would have been clear from even the most cursory glance in his direction that Anakin was a lovely man... and so that was what you focused on. Even though his face had now been rendered as stark-white as the snow surrounding you, and even though his eyes were presently brimming with fear, you could hardly have used any word to describe him that was not synonymous with 'beautiful'. That shouldn't have made this any more sad or wasteful than it already was, but it did. Somehow, it did.

"Why are you doing this, anyway?" he asked, having begun to sound a bit weak.

"It's nothing," you lied. "You seem like the kind of person who would do this for someone else, so I think I should do it for you." The snow you'd thought was so pretty only a few minutes ago was landing on him; you moved to brush some of it off of his shoulder. The gesture was both gentle and useless.

He chuckled at that, as best as he could chuckle. "I seem like that kind of person to you?"

With an emphatic nod, you answered him, "You do— you really do."

He did. You'd been standing near the tracks appreciating the snowfall when you first saw him; the railway signs had just started to blink, and you could hear the sound of the train engine's horn blaring as it approached. You thought someone had left garbage on the tracks; a big bag of it. As you had admonished the offending litter-bug in your head, though, you noticed the end of the dark bundle start to move; that was also when you realized that it seemed to have both a head of hair and a face, too.

By the time you'd recognized Anakin for what he was— a person laying across the tracks— the train had been nearly upon him. You dashed toward him anyway; grabbed his jacket in an effort to try and pull him away, but you couldn't. You wouldn't realize until later that he had most likely been gripping the rails with his fingers, actively preventing you from rescuing him. He didn't say anything while you tugged on his coat; as the train whooshed by your face, you recoiled. As soon as it had passed, though, you leapt back to his aid in spite of the fact that you knew it was much too late.

The train, for its part, didn't stop— it just carried on into the night. There were so many little bushes and piles of dead wood alongside the tracks; maybe the engineer hadn't realized what had happened. Maybe he, like you, had thought the man in his path was just a pile of trash.

You tried as hard as you could not to look, but of course you couldn't help yourself: Everything below the middle of his chest had been decimated as the wheels of the engine had passed over him. It had been going so fast that it seemed to have torn him right in half. His legs were hardly even recognizable as legs anymore (save for the boots on his feet), and his midsection had been all but ripped apart. There was blood on the snow and blood on the rails; blood everywhere, really, although to look at his face you might have thought he was going to live. His eyes, after all, were open... and again, they were wide with fear.

"Why?" was the very first thing you had asked, somehow summoning the strength to lift (albeit with shaking hands) his head onto your lap. You were sitting on your knees in the snow; your own legs were cold, but you didn't care. You should have been panicking: Screaming, shouting, running for help. You weren't, though, maybe because you understood that there was nothing to be accomplished by doing so. Maybe you were just in shock.

It was by then that you realized you could smell the blood— rich, coppery, pungent. You didn't want to smell it, but you did anyway; kept your eyes fixed on his face so you wouldn't have to see it as well.

"I was too scared to put my head on the rail," he said, not really answering your question. "I still thought I'd be dead by now, though. How bad is it; can you see?"

"It's... well, it's pretty bad," you told him, without having to look again. "I just don't understand why—"

"My wife died," he said. He clearly understood what it was you wanted to know. You had no idea how he was still talking; still conscious. You were afraid to peer back down the length of his body, because you'd already glimpsed more than enough.

"Your wife?"

"I always used to tell her I couldn't live without her."

"You weren't joking, were you?"

"I don't tell jokes. Not lately, anyway."

You didn't doubt that was true. You might have asked what happened to his wife; how she died, or maybe what she'd been like. You didn't need to look to know you didn't have time for that, though, so you just asked for his name. You wanted to know his name.

"It's Anakin," he said. "My name is Anakin."

"That's a nice name. It suits you." You paused, and reached into the pocket of your coat to look for your phone, only to find that there was nothing there. You must have left it at work; you'd been coming home from work when this had all started. It didn't matter, though; a phone wouldn't have helped. Anakin was going to die no matter what you did. Maybe that was why you weren't running away, although by then you'd started to cry. You couldn't help but cry.

"A name's a name," he told you. If he could have shrugged, you thought he might have. "My mom must have thought it suited me, too."

"Well," you said, "I think she was right."

You had told him next that 'Anakin' was a handsome name, and that he was handsome too. After that was when he had said to you that he thought you were 'just saying that', and asked you why you were sitting with him. Again, your answer hadn't been a lie; he did seem like a kind person... so why the hell would he have done this? Losing his wife didn't strike you as being a good enough excuse to erase himself from existence... but then, you didn't know him. Surely, though, there had been more to his life than only her. Didn't he have anybody else?

"Why is this taking so long?" he asked, his face finally having begun to betray the seriousness of his injury. You glanced down even though you didn't want to; the blood was freezing into the snow, and the shredded remnants of his lower half had ceased giving off much steam.

"Probably because it's so cold outside," you said. The cold slowed everything down, from cars to rot to human bodies.

"I always hated the cold," he told you with a smile. How was he laughing and smiling right now, anyway? You didn't understand it. Maybe he was delirious from the blood he'd lost, or maybe he was just happy he was about to die. There was no way to tell. He still looked scared, though; if he had any trepidation, it was his eyes that betrayed it: Even if he wasn't frightened, they certainly were.

"You must not be from around here," you said, trying as best you could to smile back at him. It was cold, sometimes, for half of the entire year where you lived— cold, and dark too. Months of winter meant that most people who were born here grew accustomed to the climate when they were very young.

"No," he confirmed. "I'm— shit!"

His exclamation made you jump, although you tried not to jostle him too much. "What?" you asked. "What's wrong?" How stupid a question was that?

"I-I... I don't know. I thought it would hurt, but it doesn't hurt. It's just cold. Are you cold?"

"Freezing," you said, glancing one more time down the length of his body in spite of yourself. The blood closest to you was so dark that it was almost black, in sharp contrast to the bright red spray marring the snow all around. You thought you could see bits and pieces of a few of his internal organs scattered about the wood between the rails, but you didn't really know much about what people looked like from the inside, so you couldn't be sure. You took a deep breath then, trying to steady yourself.

"I'm g-glad I'm n-not the only o-one," he stammered.

"You're definitely not the only one, Anakin. I'm cold, too. We're both cold." The type of cold you were experiencing and the type of cold he was experiencing were two very different kinds of cold, of course, but you didn't want him to feel alone. Not at a time like this.

"I th-think... I-I mean, I think I'm a-almost..."

You nodded, and touched the side of his face; stroked it gently with your thumb. "You are," you said. "I think it's almost over."

"Th-that's a-all I w-wanted. I... I wanted this to be—" He interrupted himself then with a halting, ragged-sounding groan. You waited a moment for him to resume speaking, but he didn't. His mouth opened and closed uselessly as he looked up at you; when it was agape, you were sure you could see blood bubbling up from the back of his throat.

"Shh— don't talk anymore, Anakin, it's alright. It's alright." It wasn't alright, but what else were you supposed to say?

He nodded for you, and breathed as deeply as he could. His breathing sounded terrible.

"Can I tell you something?" you asked, because you thought it might help if you kept talking. If you were dying in someone's arms, surely you would have wanted them to talk to you. You didn't wait for him to nod again or otherwise respond before going on, "I'm glad I met you tonight. I'm glad I saw you. I was telling the truth when I said you seemed like a nice person."

There was blood trickling out the side of his mouth now despite gravity, and his eyes were starting to close. You'd only just noticed that they were blue— very blue. You guessed his wife must have liked them, because you certainly did. His bloodied lips seemed to want to turn up into a smile, but they couldn't, not anymore. You kept on talking to him, because he couldn't talk back.

"I don't have a lot of friends," you said. "I've always been that way, ever since I was a little kid. My parents called me a loner, and I guess they were kind of right. You know what, though? I think I could be friends with you." Even though you knew he couldn't respond, you asked him, "Would you mind if I called you my friend, Anakin?"

You didn't know why you did it, but you leaned down to kiss his forehead next. You hoped it didn't bother him. Again, if you'd been in his position, you might have liked for someone to lean down and kiss your head.

Maybe he did like it; maybe he didn't— you'd never know, because by the time you raised your head to look at him again, it was very clear to you that he was dead.

Cold, white, silent, and dead.

You should have leapt to your feet at that point; jumped up for the purpose of running to the nearest home (the homes were spread-out here; it would take several minutes no matter how quickly or in which direction you moved), but you didn't. Not right away.

For whatever reason, you just couldn't bring yourself to place his head back down in the snow.

"I'm sorry, Anakin," you said, as a violent wave of guilt crashed into you at a speed comparable to that of the train he'd just used to end his pain. You couldn't discern why you were apologizing to him; maybe you were sorry for forgetting your phone, or for arriving at the crossing too late, or for not being strong enough to drag him out of danger. Maybe you were apologizing for whatever he'd been through that made him think suicide was a reasonable response to losing someone he loved.

You wished, then, that he'd had time to tell you a bit more about himself before succumbing to his injuries.

You still didn't want to get up, because you still didn't want to lay him down in the snow. You'd held pets as they'd died before; every single one you'd ever had, you'd wrapped up in something like a blanket or a sweater before burying it or leaving it with the vet. Anakin, you knew without having to know him, had been much more of a presence during his time on Earth than anybody's dead hamster or fish or black-and-white spotted rat— how were you to be expected to leave him like this? Alone, in the cold?

Thinking swiftly (if haphazardly), you very carefully took your hands off of his face, and went on to remove your coat. You'd be running at full-speed soon; after that, presumably, you'd be riding in either an ambulance or a police car to show somebody who could help just what had happened.

It was difficult not to look at the middle of the tracks, and it was difficult not to move him too much, but you managed to slide your bundled-up jacket beneath his head in place of your knees anyhow. Reluctantly, you rose to your feet after that; hardly even noticed how cold and stiff your legs had grown while you'd been sharing Anakin's final moments. You'd notice tomorrow; tomorrow they'd hurt, but you wouldn't care about that. Anakin, after all, didn't have the privilege of looking forward to 'tomorrow' at all. You supposed that to do what he'd done, though, his 'tomorrows' must have seemed more like looming spectres, as opposed to opportunities.

Involuntarily (and inadvisably, too), you stole one more look at his body before you turned to run. Icy, black blood coated both the tracks and the wood between them; slivers of bone and cartilage as white as the skin on his face glimmered in the light cast by the street lamps. His legs had been broken along with the rest of him, and you hoped fervently that he hadn't felt them splinter apart.

The last thing you looked at before dashing off in search of a house was his face, which contrasted so sharply with the rest of his wounded body that you could almost imagine he was still alive— that, if you hurried, you might be able to get back with a team of paramedics in time to save him; take him to the hospital, where he might be patched up.

His life would never be the same, but it would be okay, because you'd already agreed to be his friend.

You let your imagination run as wildly as your legs in that precise direction, as you left him in the snow to go and get help.

I'm glad you found me in time, you imagined him saying over coffee, as he sat in a wheelchair or something like one at the café near your house.

I'm glad I did, too— I couldn't have asked for a better friend, Anakin, you pictured yourself saying back to him, as you smiled into those pretty blue eyes of his and opened up a box of your favourite kind of doughnuts.

You'd never actually know whether or not the ones with the white icing and multicoloured sprinkles were his favourites, too.

[thetwstwildcard]

Damned Deal

Word Count: 1,101

Content Warning: Demons, mention of loss

Characters: Lyss Carriedo, Des Carriedo and Ire Carriedo

"Why... Why..." Lyss bit her lip "I did all the right spells and drew all the symbols" she frantically looked around her dark room. She quickly grabbed the blot stained playing card and clutched it to her heart. "WHY CAN’T I BRING YOU BACK?!!!?" She wailed.

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

Outside of her room, the 15 year old Des knocked lightly on her door "Big sister..." He kept his hand on the door "Are you okay?" He frowned, teal eyes staring at the door. Ire would see her brother as she passed "Oh Des..." She sighed sadly "I know you want to help Lyss..." "Why won't she let us in...?" He sniffled "I just wanna help her..." The young teen bit his lip. Ire frowned more, hugging him "She just needs some time to herself, she lost someone she loved..." The eldest sister glared at the door.

"And if she's not careful she'll lose more people who love her..." Ire trailed off, eyes going blank before she shook her head "Never mind that, would you like to see some of what I've learned at school?" She changed the subject, Des wiped his eyes, perking up at the idea of seeing his sister's magic. The two walked away, leaving Lyss to lose herself in her grief.

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

Lyss frantically looked through all her books "Where!!! There has to be a spell!!" She scribbled on the wall, another symbol of false hope as she kept trying to bring her dead love back. The candles around her began to flicker "Useless..." She trembled in anger "This is all useless!!!"

She tossed the book she was holding to the side, hitting a candle causing hot wax to fly across the room. She whimpered when it hit her, fumbling into the broken glass "tch-" she winced in pain as she saw blood on her hand. Quickly she went to cover her hand, but not before drops fell onto the symbol beneath her. As she looked for a way to stop the bleeding the symbol glowed. A chill ran down her spine as a chuckled filled the room. Candles began to flicker as she fell back, she crawled backwards away from the symbol. Her eyes wide in fear.

"Well well, what an interesting little girl" the voice chuckled lowly as a shadow emerged from the center of the room "W-w-who..." Her voice hitched in her throat "You summon me and yet you have so much insolence? Have your "great seven" never told you about us? Though I do think that mountain devil is a clear example" the deep voice was practically smirking as the dark figure walked towards Lyss.

"N-no, I just wanted to bring him back.." "Well, this is what you get for dealing with forbidden magic, my dear little human" the horned creature looked down at her "There is no way to bring him back, but as my summoner you have to deal with the consequences" Lyss flinched as she felt a clawed hand touch her cheek. The room was silent, save for her shallow breathing, before she cried out in pain "One who deals with shadows, must fuse with darkness to survive" while the creature spoke Lyss covered her eye, screaming in pain. When she pulled her hand away she could see black on her hand "blot....?" She gasped before her chin was forced up "Open your eye." The figure commanded and while still in pain the girl obeyed "An eye as dark as your heart. It suits you" they chuckled as they looked at the girl's newfound heterochromia.

"I suppose now I should fulfill my part of the deal. You summoned me and I'll help you until you die" a fanged grin stood out of the darkness. "You have fallen into the darkness and have lost your own shadow" the figure kneeled down in front of Lyss, forcibly taking her hand. They kissed the bloody hand as the darkness faded away "So, I shall be your shadow" the demon smiled as they took form, what appeared like just a young man looked at her. She squeaked when slit eyes stared at her, her blood on his lips "I look forward to our time together. While you summoned me you still don't know my name. Well, only you can say it fully. Dantalion. You better not forget it, my idiotic human" the demon smiled before disappearing.

Lyss laid silently here, trembling as she desperately tried to figure out what happened "this was just a dream... A twisted dream..." She tried to convince herself as a candle flickered back to life. She looked at her shadow on the wall, but something was off, the shadow wasn't of her. Instead, her shadow looked like the demonic figure, a fanged smirk appearing with a chuckle and before Lyss could scream, it was back to normal. "You won't be alone anymore, care to try it?" The voice was inside her head "Not alone... " Lyss nodded to herself "Take a deep breath, and focus on how you are feeling"

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

Days continued to past and still Lyss had not left her room. As Des passed again he could hear his sister talking to herself "Big sister..." He mumbled, knocking on the door to no answer. He looked around, no sign of Ire. He gulped before using magic to unlock the door "Big sis-"

Des gasped loudly as he saw the scene that was the room. Multiple eyes looked at him as he trembled. His sister blankly turned to him, new dark eye crying blot. The creatures of emotion surrounded her, her shadow grinning. Des rushed to his sister "Big sister...!! Big sister!!" He shook her though her demeanor didn't change, he started to cry. Des hugged Lyss close 'please... I wanna help my sister... Please.... Please...' He mentally begged as the creatures drew closer. Suddenly something came over him, silently he put his hand over his sister's eyes.

"I want to help you, let me help you" his eyes widened as the voice left his lips, a surge of magic taking over. The burst separated the siblings, Lyss falling back as Des fumbled, wailing as almost endless tears fell. The creatures faded, retreating away into the darkness leaving nothing more than drops of blot on the floor. At the ruckus Ire sprinted upstairs "Des, Lyss!!" She cried as she ran into the room. As she entered Des laid blankly on the floor with a tear stained face, Lyss grinned as she laid unconscious "What happened...." Ire covered her mouth with her hands. Ever since that day, the Carriedo siblings have never been the same.

[thewidowsghost]

The Daughter of the Sea - Chapter 9

(Y/n)'s POV

It doesn't take me long to pack. I decide to leave the Minotaur horn in the cabin, which leaves me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me.

The camp store loans me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. The coins are as big as Girl Scout cookies and have images of various Greek Gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron had told us, but Olympins never used less than pure gold. Chiron said the coins might come in for non-mortal transactions - whatever that might mean. He gives Annabeth, Percy, and me canteens of nectar and Ziploc bags full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It is god food, Chiron reminds us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it is lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally, Fun.

Annabeth is bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she tells me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. She is also bringing a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she gets bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I'm sure the knife is going to get us busted the first time we go through a metal detector.

Grover is wearing his fake feet and his pants to pass as a human. He wears a green rasta-style cap, because when it rains his curly hair flattened and you can just see the tips of his horns. Grover's bright orange backpack is full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket is a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knows two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto Number 12 and Hilary Duff's 'So Yesterday,' both of which sound pretty bad on reed pipes.

We wave good-bye to the other campers, take one last look at eh strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hike up the Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, the Daughter of Zeus.

Chiron is waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stands the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy is the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he's wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I can only see the extra eyes on his hands, face, and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron tells me. "He'll drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

I hear footsteps behind us.

Luke comes running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes. "Hey!" he pants. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushes, the way she always does when Luke is around.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke tells us. "And I thought . . . um, maybe you could use these."

He hands Percy a pair of sneakers, which look pretty normal.

Then, Luke says, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels. The shoes flap around on the ground until the wings fold up and disappear.

"Awesome!" Grover exclaims.

Luke smiles. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days...." His expression turns sad.

Annabeth stomps down the other side of the hill, after arguing with Percy, where a white SUV waits on the shoulder of the road. Argus follows, jingling his car kees.

Percy picks up the flying shoes and then looks up at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"

Chiron shakes his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air...that would not be wise for you."

I nod, getting an idea, "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

His eyes light up. "Me?"

Pretty soon, we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy is ready for launch.

"Maia!" Grover shouts. He gets off the ground, okay, but then falls over sideways so his backpack drags through the grass. The winged shoes keep bucking up and down like tiny broncos.

"Practice," Chiron calls after him. "You just need practice."

"Aaaaa!" Grover goes flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawnmower, heading towards the can.

But before I can follow, Chiron catches my arm. "I should have trained you two better, Percy, (Y/n)," he says. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason - they all got more training."

"That's okay. I just -" I stop myself.

"What am I thinking?" Chiron cries. "I can't let the two of you get away without these." He pulls two pens out of his coat pocket and hands one to me and one to Percy.

Looking down at it, I see a teal-colored gel pen. Maybe cost thirty cents.

"Gee," Percy says. "Thanks."

"Percy, those are gifts from your father. I've been keeping them for years, not knowing you two were the ones I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You two are the ones."

Instinctively I take off the cap, and the pen grows longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I am holding a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a teal and silver leather-wrapped grip. This is the first weapon that feels balanced in my hand.

"That sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron tells Percy. "Its name is Anaklusmos."

"Riptide," Percy translates.

"I have never seen anyone use that sword that I'm aware of," Chiron says, turning to me. "Yours is named Τυφώνας."

"Hurricane," I translate, surprised that the Ancient Greek came so easily to me.

"Use them only for emergencies," Chiron says, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but neither sword would hurt them in any case."

I look down at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How could it not?"

"Those swords are celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blades will pass through morals like an illusion. They simply are not important for the blade to kill. And I should warn you two: as demigods, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."

"Good to know," Percy says.

"Now recap the pens," Chiron says.

Percy and I touch the pen cap to the sword tips and instantly Riptide and Hurricane shrink to ballpoint pens again. I tuck it in my pocket, a little nervous because it's pretty easy to lose a pen.

"You can't," Chiron says.

"Can't what?" I ask, slightly confused.

"Lose the pens," he says. "They're enchanted. They'll always reappear in your pockets. Try it."

Warily, I throw the pen as far as I can down the hill and watch it disappear in the grass.

"It may take a few moments," Chiron tells us. "Now check your pocket."

Sure enough, the pen is there.

"Okay, that is extremely cool," I admit.

"But what if a mortal sees one of us pulling out a sword?" Percy asks.

Chiron smiles. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."

"Mist?" I ask.

"Yes. Read The Iliad. It's full of references to the stuff. Whatever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go fit things into their version of reality.

I put Hurricane back into my pocket.

For the first time, the quest feels real. I'm leaving Half-Blood Hill. I'm heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone - Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be no worse than sending up a flare. I have no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead.

"Chiron . . ." Percy says. "When you say the gods are immortal . . . I mean, there was a time before them, right?"

"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."

"So what was it like...before the gods?"

Chiron purses his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually, the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."

"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So...even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?" I ask, feeling rather uncertain.

Chiron gives me a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, (Y/n). The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."

"Our destiny...assuming we know what that is," I say grimly.

"Relax," Chiron tells me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, the two of you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."

"Relax," I say. "I'm very relaxed."

When Percy and I get to the bottom of the hill, I look back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron is now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur."

Argus drives us out of the countryside and into western Long Island, It feels weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to me, Percy on the other side of Grover, as if we were normal carpoolers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seems like a fantasy. I find myself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parent's car, every billboard and shopping mall.

"So far so good," Percy tells Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

She gives Percy an irritated loo. "It's bad luck to talk that way."

"Remind me again - why do you hate us so much?" Percy asks.

"I don't hate you two."

"Could've fooled me."

Annabeth folds her cap of invisibility. "Look...we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?" Percy asks.

Annabeth sighs. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"They must really like olives," Percy comments, and I stifle a snort of laughter.

"Oh, forget it," Annabeth grumbles.

"Now, if she invented pizza - that I could understand," I add, in a slightly teasing tone.

"I said, forget it!" Annabeth says, hitting me lightly on the arm.

In the front seat, Argus smiles. He doesn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winks at me.

Traffic slows down in Queens. By the time we get into Manhattan, it is sunset and starting to rain.

Argus drops us at the greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox is a soggy flyer with mine and Percy's picture on it: Have you seen these children?

Percy rips it down before Annabeth and Grover can notice.

Argus unloads our bags, makes sure we get our bus tickets, then drives away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulls out of the parking lot.

I think about how close I am to the apartment. On a normal day, Mom would be home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe is probably up there right now, playing poker, not even missing her.

Grover shoulders his backpack. He gazes down the street in the direction I am looking. "You want to know why she married him, (Y/n)?"

I stare at him. "Were you reading my mind?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Just your emotions," Grover shrugs. "You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

I nod.

"Your mom married Gabe for you and Percy," Grover tells me. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. This guy has this aura . . . Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him o you, and you haven't been near him in a week."

"Thanks," Percy grimaces from Grover's other side. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."

I soften, looking down a the ground. I'll see her again, I think. She isn't gone.

You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, the Oracle whispers in my mind. You will fail to save what matters most in the end.

The rain keeps coming down.

We get restless waiting for the bus and decide to play some Hacky Sack with one of Groer's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable at it. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. Percy wasn't too bad either, but I found that I wasn't that great at it.

The game ends when I toss the apple towards Grover and it gets too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappears - core, stem, and all.

Grover blushes. He tries to apologize, but Annabeth, Percy, and I are too busy cracking up.

Finally, the bus comes.

I am relieved when we finally get on board and find seats together in the back of the bus, Me and Annabeth in one row, and Percy and Grover across from us. The four of us stow our backpacks.

I glance over at Annabeth beside me, who keeps slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.

As the last passengers get on, Annabeth claps her hand onto my knee. "Look!"

An old lady had just boarded the bus. She is wearing a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadows her face and she is carrying a big paisley purse. When she tilts her head up, her black eyes glitter.

I see Percy slump down in his seat.

Behind her comes two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise, they look exactly like Mrs. Dodds - same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dress. Triple demon grandmothers.

They sit in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle cross their legs over the walkway, making an X. It is casual enough, but it sends a clear message: Nobody leaves.

The bus pulls out of the station, and we head through the slick streets of Manhattan.

"She didn't stay dead long," Percy says, his voice quavering a little. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth murmurs. "You're obviously not."

"All three of them," Grover whimpers. "Di immortales!"

"It's okay," Annabeth says, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."

"They don't open," Grover moans.

"A back exit?" she suggests.

There isn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we are on Ninth Avenue heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I say. "Will they?"

"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminds me. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?" Percy asks.

She thinks about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof . . . ?"

We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus goes dark except for the running lights down teh aisle. It is eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.

"I need to use the rest-room."

"So do I."

"So do I."

All three demons start coming down the aisle.

"I've got it," Annabeth says. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?" he says with disbelief.

"You're the one they want. You killed one of them. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guys -"

"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth says as she glances over at me. "You're a son of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you," Percy says, looking desperately at me.

"Go," I say, frowning and Annabeth hands him the cap.

The old ladies are not old ladies anymore. Their faces are still the same - I guessed they couldn't get any uglier - but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws; their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

The Furies surround me, Grover, and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"

The other people on the bus are screaming, cowering in their seats. They see something, all right.

"He's not here!" Annabeth yells. "He's gone!"

The Furies raise their whips.

Annabeth draws her bronze knife. Grover grabs a tin can from his snack bag and prepares to throw it.

Word Count: 3222 words

[firerose]

headcannons about each individual member kf the seven as dark?

So I decided to split this answer into seven seperate posts because otherwise it would be too long (I'm having to much fun wit this XD)

I'll post the first one here <3

Ok, here we go <3, Hazel: People expected her to change after Franks death She had lost her boyfriend at fourteen no one expected that to be easy So none said anything when she kneeled over his grave for five whole days and nights Reyna simply brought her food and hot chocolate and mourned with her But if they all could have had a look into Hazel's mind they could have seen the slow death of the sweet kind girl she used to be Thoughts of hate begin to burn inside her She asks herself why Juno who saved Franks stick from burning up as a baby refused to do it a second time. The question makes her storm up to Olympus, her brown eyes hard with anger Her friends are with her, Of course, they want to protect each other now that one of them has fallen Juno awaits them in her usual glory, tall with a cloak around her shoulder and .. jewellery precious metals decorating her arms and neck "Why didn't? Do you save him? Was he just a weapon you did not need anymore?!, hazel shouts out her suspicion and now people, gods and demigods alike begin to worry The queen of Olympus remains silent She sees the hatred in hazels eyes and regrets not answering her grandsons screams for help when he burned in the flames Her silence is Hazel's answer and in her growing rage the necklace on Juno's neck starts chocking the goddess Hazel does not feel remorse, only satisfaction as she hears Junos choking It is Percy's hand on her shoulder that snaps her out and Juno's necklace flys into her open hand "You will never use a demigod like that again I will make sure of that. She says and then with one last glare leaves Things are not the same when shes back at camp Jupiter Everything and everyone annoys her, reminds her of what she has lost They are around her all the time like, Leo who reminds her of Sammy, Jason who made Frank Praetor, Percy who loved Frank like a brother Whenever they talk about Frank she feels the desire to yell at them One time when Jason tries to comfort her once again she snaps "You don't have to do this just because you made Frank Praetor and you feel guilty.", Hazel tells him a bit too harshly and Jason leaves her She feels guilty so she does her best to act as grateful as possible from now on The days are very hard for her That is why she loves the night She hasn't forgotten the power rush she got on Olympus and that is why keeps practising She steals weapons from the night patrols She makes the tunnels under the field of Mars change so that they all lead to dead ends When some of the new Rome's war veterans talk about having seen lost loved ones at night Hazel pretends to not listen She just thanks Jason in her thoughts for telling her so much about the ones that fell in the titan war Hazel disappears two weeks after Frank's death The remaining five of the seven are devastated They immediately go searching for her but even after five months there is no sign of her Other demigods start whispering Even Thalia who visits Reyna often is part of those whispers She doesn't know hazel and Frank well and yet what she has heard reminds her so much of the story of a friend she had once lost He had been left alone with his fate with his insane mother just like Hazel Thalia fears that now that Hazel has lost a loved one she will seek revenge just like Luke once did. Nico and Percy are Hazel's greatest defenders They deny every rumour and says that Hazel just needs time to calm down it's the only thing that keeps them from drowning in their guilt Hazell has gone to her old home in Alaska Arion took her there It hurts to be back but here she is saved from the gods who used her and her loved ones She's so sick of being their pawn The years pass and all alone in this cold country Hazel's heart turns to ice A few old men yell insult her with racist phrases She controls the metal ankers on their ships to impale them She hears screams from her neighbour's house at night and so she breaks the metal lock to get in The man who is beating his wife only has a second to look at her before her senses reach metal and they find it......in his

blood She concentrates hand stretched out and the man chokes to death She leaves without a word There is no remorse in her, if the gods let her sweet gentle boyfriend die why isn't she allowed to kill a few bad peopöe One day she decides to return as thoughts about her past cloud her mind Someone has to show the gods that they can't treat their children like this She returns after ten years but does not show herself to her friends Maybe because she worries that they notice how much she has changed Instead, she decides to try to control the labyrinth just like Pasiphae once did The mist helps her to create new tunnels that lead wherever she wants them to go One day they lead to new Rome She just wants to look at how everyone is doing but when she sneaks near the city hidden in her magic she sees something that makes her furious Her friends have moved on She sees them celebrating with other Romans and greeks They celebrate Gea‘s defeat like it wasn‘t just a terrible unnecessary war they had to suffer through She hates that they enjoy their demigod lives They should have told the gods that they want to live normally away from both camps that endanger their lives Unfortunately, that makes her think of Frank and how he has ripped away from his life, his home country just to serve the gods Hazel feels her rage burning like an active Volcano close to erupting She walks up the hill over new Rome and looks down at the glorious city She could bury it without even trying For a moment she thinks about the lives that will cost but then again what else could make the gods notice their flaws She reaches for all the metals buried under the city She hesitates for a moment but then she thinks about Frank, his sweet smile and with a scream the earth starts shaking Buildings and temples collapse People get swallowed by big cracks in the earth There are screams horns are blowing Mist is rising and People hear voices whisper that this is god's fault They have to be punished for their mistakes It‘s like a storm of fog being thickest at the hilltop Hazel‘s old friends are filled with dread as they have seen those powers before Leo decides to fly directly into the mist together with Piper and Jason Hazel sees them approaching and a soft smile appears on her lips The mist lightens All demigods gasp Leo yells in despair He already blames himself for Franks death and now he sees that Hazel the girl he once loved has gone mad Her once curly short hair now long falls around her shoulders Her once brown eyes glow sickly golden as if the riches of the earth have taken control over her It drives him insane and so he rips out a hammer from his tool belt and attempts to attack her Hazel feels deeply hurt by this and so she moves her hands Leo is thrown of Festus's toolbelt made of metal turning out to be his curse Hazel smashes him into the ground a hundred feet under him Festus claws impale Jason and Piper before they have time to react Hazel feels a sting in her heart but she oppresses it The gods and their quest would have killed them anyway Percy and Annabeth are still in the falling city trying to get as many people out of there as possible They both try to ignore the corpses falling from the sky Percy‘s mind is still refusing that the girl he sees as a sister would do this He knows that she has to be stopped but how is he supposed to do that? He still loves her like a sister despite the lives she is taking Her real brother steps up instead Hazel can feel his presence behind her It makes her lose focus The citizens of New Rome cry in relief when the metals stop resurfacing Their city is in ruins but at least it has stopped Before Hazel can react skeleton warriors jump out of the earth restrain her by grabbing her arms She is furious about Nicos interference and struggles to escape „Hazel please it‘s not worth it just surrender and we‘ll talk about this.“, Nico says while he walks up in front of her. Hazel‘s heart breaks at the tortured look in his eyes and she realizes that she is the reason for it She disappeared She came back and murdered

hundreds She did it for Frank but she suddenly asks herself if Frank would have ever wanted to get justice in this way Would he wanted her to become hateful and obsessed with revenge just for him? As she looks into Nico‘s eyes regret strikes her „I……..I‘m sorry.“, She whispers with tears in her eyes. Nico smiles sadly happy that his little sister came to her senses He stretches out his hand to gently touch her cheek Thunder rumbles and suddenly a lightning bold explodes the hilltop right where the children of the underworld Jupiter feels nothing as he watches Percy, Reyna and Annabeth falling to their knees, sobbing and holding each other Hazel Levesque is just another demigod for him, a girl that could not get over her boyfriend Percy buries Hazel next to Frank all by himself New Rome is rebuilt with the help of the greeks The time goes by and slowly Frank and Hazel‘s names are forgotten Juno would love if they had never existed in the first place Whenever demigods speak of them they do it with anger and the queen of Olympus fears that one day a rebellion will start It's not often that their names are talked about but when they are people always refer to them as „Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang. The couple that died in Storm and fire