#its p empty usually but i take care of a few outside pots in the winter when its too cold to not keep em in

[milkway]

elesii replied to your photo: hes in spider timeout

free him :( have pity :(

ALSO IS THAT UR HOME ITS SO NEAT AND COZY-LOOKIN

i gave him my pity and trust and he spat it right back into my face hes gotta think ab what hes done....... ALSO YE THATS MY ROOM!! thank u <:”D

[beyond-the-mirror]

Nocturnal Encounters - An Incubus! V x Reader story

It’s been a long time but the second night is finally ready! In which the reader is plagued by dreams of our lanky boi and she wonders who he really is. Next chapter they will finally meet personally I promise!

It’s a quite long chapter and once again I hope you don’t mind.

Second Night: Dreams

Your eyes fluttered open at the warm sunlight that filtered through the curtain, letting out a long yawn before sitting up and stretching your arms.

Normally you were a light sleeper, more often than not you would feel a little heavy and drowsy at mornings, you were not a morning person after all. However this particular day was different, not only were you feeling quite rested, but your sleep wasn’t interrupted at all last night. Maybe you were more tired than you believed? But then you remembered the dream, how it felt completely different and unusual from others that you had before.

Shaking your head from your thoughts, you reached your hand towards the alarm clock on the nightstand. Checking the hour your eyes widened, no wonder you felt so rested.

“What?! I overslept?! Ugh, stupid alarm!”

You shot out of bed and right into the bathroom, taking a shower and getting ready at mach speed. There’s no way you could afford getting late to work, not after you had so much trouble finding this new job.

After putting on something decent to wear today, you headed to the balcony to quickly water your plants. You had just finished when something caught your eye, a single feather tucked under one of the pots stood out. Curiosity had once again taken the best of you as you picked up the feather and inspected it closely, its dark midnight color mesmerizing you with the way light reflected on it revealing blue and purple hues. Running your fingers through the feather’s elegant, sharp silhouette , you found its texture so incredibly soft and smooth, you couldn’t help but wonder what kind of bird could have such gorgeous plumage.

“So beautiful, maybe a crow flew over here, or a raven perhaps…” You muttered to yourself. Now that you think about it, you were in need of a new bookmark since you lost your previous one, this feather could be an excellent replacement, of course you would have to clean it first.

Suddenly your mind was brought to the present once again

“Gah! Stop wasting time (Y/N), we have a job to keep!”

Quickly grabbing all your stuff, you rushed to the door, not even stopping to eat some breakfast before leaving for your job. You were definitely going to feel a lot hungry this morning.

The same dream kept coming back over and over again. Every night you would find yourself in a different scenario, a garden, a pond, a clearing in the middle of a forest… and in every single case, the same man would appear before you, always embracing you, always caressing you, and always whispering poetry in your ear.

The first few times you thought nothing of it, but as time went by you started to become wary, not to mention the fact that the dreams were all strangely lucid and that since that first night, you have been sleeping for longer than usual. Who was this man? Why did this particular dream overwhelmed you so? What did his presence mean? After all, people say that sometimes dreams carry an important message with them.

Many times you tried to talk to the man in your dreams, to ask him the reason for his constant visits, yet you never could. It's almost as if he kept you in some kind of trance that numbed you and made you feel lighter, a warmth enveloping your entire being that lulled you into submission. At the end he would always turn you around in his arms and lean towards you, your eyelids fluttering close as his breath fanned across your lips, but just moments before you could feel his kiss you would wake up.

To be honest you were scared, your thoughts wandering around any possible explanation to your current predicament. One thought crept to your mind, one that made a cold shiver run through your spine

Demon

Attacks were uncommon in the city but definitely not unheard of, though they were not frequent and they’re usually dealt with by a locally infamous demon hunter, there was still a small possibility that one could have found its way into your mind. Still, you had never heard of a demon that could interfere with dreams, so maybe the idea was a little farfetched after all.

You looked at your alarm clock, the numbers displayed marking fifteen minutes to midnight. Letting out a sigh you closed the book you were unsuccessfully trying to read in order to help you relax, tucking the black feather you had found a week earlier between the pages. Reaching for the lamp on the nightstand you turned off the light, reciting a short prayer before pulling the covers over yourself.

It was only a matter of time before he arrived.

“A recurring dream you say?”

“Yes, it’s always the same every night. I have never met this man in my life, and yet he is always there”

You were having a conversation with your best friend, having decided that you definitely needed someone to vent out your worries and maybe ask an advice. She had invited you to the small coffee shop near your workplace for lunch before you had to go back to your job.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you, my dear, have a crush on somebody”

“Now is not the time for jokes! I’m genuinely concerned about this”

“Sorry sweetie, you know can’t help but tease you a bit” She booped your nose gently, making you giggle. Although she couldn’t really solve your problem, she was definitely succeeding in making you feel a lot better.

“Maybe it’s trying to tell you something, like someone new you’re about to meet? Or maybe a person you’ve already met but just don’t remember?”

“Honestly, I don’t even know. Though I can assure that if I already met him, I would definitely remember him” You let out a sigh. She immediately reached for your hand to support you.

“Don’t worry sweetie, nothing bad has happened so long right? I mean, from what you told me you’re still able to rest at night. If you’re worried about your job and oversleeping, you can always go to bed a bit early than normal to compensate, maybe that’ll help?”

“I suppose you’re right, thank you, I really needed that” You smiled, she stood for a moment to give you a hug. 

“If anything happens or you start feeling unwell, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll do anything in my power to help”. You can’t help but thank the heavens for gifting you such an amazing friend.

You decided to change the topic and spend the rest of your lunchtime just hanging out and relaxing with your best friend.

Running to the bus stop, you managed to catch it on time before it left. Today was a really busy day, forcing you and your coworkers to stay overtime and catch up with pending work. The only thing worrying you is that it was already dark outside, you just hoped the walk to your apartment will be uneventful.

You were reading your book when you noticed the bus already approaching to the stop near your home, closing it immediately and putting it in your purse, the feather still marking the pages you left on.

Once your feet where on the sidewalk you took a deep breath, just a few minutes of walking and you’ll be back in the comfort of your home. However as you continued, you couldn’t help but feel nervous as you noticed the street being unusually quiet and empty, you knew what they said about quiet nights in Red Grave. Just a few more steps though, you clutched your purse tightly, just a few more-

“Well then, what do we have here?”

A tall figure stepped out of an alley stopping you in your tracks. By the way the person slurred his words, you could tell he must have been drinking.

“P-Please excuse me, you’re in my way” a small stutter left your lips and you cursed yourself silently for acting so meek at such moment. You tried walking around the tall man, but just as you thought he was going to leave you alone he took your wrist in a strong grip.

“Let me go right now!”

“Hey that’s a nice bag you have there, maybe if you hand it over nicely I will consider letting you go” His putrid breath could reach your nose and it almost made you vomit, yet you maintained your ground and refused to give him what he wanted.

“I said LET. GO!” With a quick shift of your weight, you used your free arm to elbow the man in the stomach, following immediately with a strong kick right between his legs. As soon as your wrist was free, you immediately bolted towards your apartment, thanking the heavens above that you took those self-defense lessons last year.

“You BITCH!” You heard your attacker scream behind you, right before his running steps started to be heard. If he was armed or not you didn’t care and you definitely were not going to look back, the only thing in your mind was running non stop until your reached your home.

The beat of your heart pounded in your ears just as strongly as the steps behind you. The door to the building was right there, you immediately dug in the pockets of your jeans for the key without slowing down a single moment. Almost. Almost there. Your hand grasped the door handle right at the same time you felt a breath on the back of your neck. Time seemed to stop, looks like you were not going to make it after all. You closed your eyes and braced yourself, and then-

A yelp of pain erupted from behind you. You were shaking uncontrollably, curling over yourself waiting for the man to attack you… but nothing happened. Slowly, you opened your eyes and even though you were scared to, you forced yourself to turn around.

He was gone. Your attacker was nowhere to be seen, as if he had just vanished in thin air. Your legs wobbled and gave away, hands holding onto the door handle for dear life and your heart in your throat beating as if it were about to explode. Steadying yourself, you inserted your key in the door and ran up the stairs to your apartment.

You didn’t bother to cook dinner, the incident made you lose your hunger completely. Instead you immediately changed into your pajamas and boiled some water to make yourself a cup of tea to try to calm your nerves.

After emptying your cup, you climbed on your bed hoping to get some sleep. You were safe. You were safe.

Once again you found yourself inside a dream, this time you were laying on a large bed in the middle of a white bedroom, a tall glass door in front of you led to a beautiful rose garden, looking down at yourself you were now wearing a white silk nightie that barely covered your behind.

A tap against the floor sounded behind you and you turned around right away. There he stood once again, the green-eyed man.

He was tall and lanky, black ink flowed through the entirety of his torso and arms, he wore a long black vest with ties on the front laced in a corset-like fashion, as well as a pair of skinny black trousers with a chain on the side, he was completely barefoot and you noticed a silver cane on his right hand, that must have been the source of the sound.

He approached slowly and placed his cane gently against the wall beside him, he leaned towards you and scooped you in his arms, carrying you bridal style towards a door behind him. To be fair he was making you quite nervous, and yet you once again  found yourself relaxing at his touch.

The door led to a bathroom, you noticed a tub filled with water surrounded by a few candles, petals and water lilies floating gently on the surface of the water. The man put you down on your feet and ran his hands soothingly up your arms, taking the straps that held your dress up, he gently pulled them off your shoulders, letting the nightie fall swiftly on the floor.

With a small gasp, you lifted your arms to cover your breasts and preserve your modesty, but with a soft kiss on the side of your neck he took your wrists in his hands and slowly lowered them, revealing your naked form to him.

“Sweet dreams form a shade, o'er my lovely infants head. Sweet dreams of pleasant streams, by happy silent moony beams.” He whispered into your ear like every other dream, once again carrying you in his arms and lowering you gently into the bathtub. The water felt cool against your skin, the scent of the candles and the flowers relaxing you more so. Taking a seat behind you, the man used his hands to take some of the water and pouring it over your shoulders and neck, never once stopping his poetry. You couldn’t help the small moans and whimpers that left your lips.

“Sweet moans, dovelike sighs, chase not slumber from thy eyes. Sweet moans, sweeter smiles, All the dovelike moans beguiles.” His hands took one of the lilies that floated around and placed it behind your ear, tucking your hair before placing a kiss on your temple. His hands kept massaging your body, his voice and ministrations keeping you in trance like always.

Suddenly, you found the energy you needed to finally speak. “Who… who are you?”

His hands froze completely, not a single sound could be heard except your breath.

“You… you always appear in my dreams, every time you embrace me and hold me in your arms like… like a lover would. And yet, I don’t know absolutely anything about you.”

He still didn’t move or make any sound. “May I at least… know your name?”

Finally, the man took a deep breath before answering “… You may call me V”

V… what a strange name. You considered the possibility that wasn’t his real name to begin with.

“May I know why are you always in my dreams?”

“… I’m afraid now is not the right time for you to know yet. But I can assure you, all your questions shall be answered eventually.”

You pouted, finally you ha gained the strength to talk to him and now he won’t give you any answers. You felt his fingers tipping your chin up, making you look into his green eyes.

“Little wanderer, I will not let anyone or anything hurt you again. Fear not my little one, for I shall keep you safe and protected, that is my promise to you.” With those last words, his long fingers tapped into the center of your chest, making you fall in that deep trance once again.

Like all other dreams before, you were completely at his mercy.

The human whimpered pathetically on the floor, crying desperately in fear of the creature before him who gave him a look of utmost disgust. The wound on his side was bleeding, painting the concrete beneath his figure crimson red.

“P-Please, p-please… I beg you… M-mercy, m-mercy…”

The demon huffed in annoyance “You bore me deeply human, I have decided that you are simply unworthy of my time, let alone killing you”

Sharp, pointed claws waved in a dismissive manner, which the human took as a sign to scramble to his feet and flee in terror. The creature lifted his hand to his lips, licking them clean from his unfortunate victim’s blood. He moaned at the delicious taste, though it was not his preferred food, a bit of the red liquid made a sweet treat from time to time.

His mind then went to the girl he encountered weeks prior, after all, if it weren’t for that small gift he left on her balcony he wouldn’t have been able to help her from that filthy scum that just left. A lustful groan left him, he couldn’t help but imagine that the blood in his claws was actually her own essence, thus making his tongue start lapping at a much more vigorous pace. Oh how he wanted to take her, claim her for himself. But he had to be patient, if she was going to give herself to him, it had to be out of her own volition. Incubi prided themselves on their ability to bring their partners absolute bliss and pleasure, and although sadly some don’t follow that nature, he proudly considered himself to be one of the former.

“Little wanderer, I will not let anyone or anything hurt you again. Fear not my little one, for I shall keep you safe and protected, that is my promise to you.”

[tabarnaks]

Bravery’s Call

AU where Duck accepts his destiny at 18, except some of the ages (Aubrey’s) are weird because otherwise, it doesn’t work.

You can also read it on ao3 here.

As Tabitha drives him back home after their day at Mount Kepler, Duck knows he’s made his decision. It’s difficult for him to find the right words to tell her, but he has no other options available to him.

He has to refuse Minerva.

He can’t do it. He can’t risk his life like that. He can’t throw away every single one of his future opportunities, he can’t throw away all the potential french onion soup he’ll have in the future.

Duck decides not to tell Minerva the exact reason why. He feels stupid enough reiterating it in his thoughts, saying it out loud would be much worse.

About ten minutes before Minerva usually shows up, Tabitha pulls up in front of his house. Duck steels himself before opening the door to his girlfriend’s car. He makes sure he’s ready to tell Minerva a firm, unwavering “No”.

Finally, he starts to open his door, and Tabitha pulls him towards her. She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, before adding, “This was super fun, honey. We should do this again soon.”

Duck swallows through the rapidly forming lump in his throat and nods. He almost wants to mention the fact that he wasn’t even with her for most of the day, but opts not to, “Yeah, we should.”

He closes the car door behind him and starts heading through his driveway. He hears the car start speeding away before he’s even at his door. Duck sighs, and hopes he’ll be able to stop himself from overthinking it. Tabitha’s just in a hurry to get home. It’s nothing to think twice about.

It takes until he’s at the door, fishing through his pockets for his keys, before he realizes the driveway is empty. He feels anxiety start to bubble up in his stomach, his mother’s supposed to be home by now. Duck shakes his head in an attempt to clear it. His mother was supposed to pick Jane up from a friend’s house today. She’s just running late.

Everything has to be normal right now. Duck’s already telling a semi-ethereal woman that he can’t fight her war for her, and he doesn’t think he can handle anything else.

As soon as he enters his home, Duck loses any hope that this is a regular evening. There’s a pot of pasta cooking on the stove,  the burner still on, boiling water overflowing and spilling out. Duck leaves his keys in the door, rushing to the stove to turn off the heat.

After he’s turned off the obvious fire hazard, Duck spots the hastily scrawled note left on the kitchen counter.

Animal attacked Jane Couldn’t get in touch Come to hospital

Duck’s heart drops. He doesn’t think even for a second before running outside, slamming his front door behind him, unaware of the keys still hanging from the lock.

He runs to the middle of the street, hoping that he might be able to still see Tabitha’s car, but of course, he’s not that lucky.

He considers his options for a second. He could always call one of the three cabs in Kepler and hope they’re close enough to bring him to the hospital in less time than it’ll take to walk there. Or, he could just book it.

There’s a weird energy coursing through him. There’s a part of it that’s adrenaline for sure, but also something else, something a lot more foreign. That energy makes him sure that he’ll be able to reach the hospital or at least Tabitha’s car which should be heading in the same direction.

A weird energy courses through him. Part of it is adrenaline and anxiety and fear for his sister’s life, but there’s also something else, something a lot more foreign and alien.

It’s that foreign feeling that makes him sure he’ll be able to reach the hospital, or at least Tabitha’s car, before a cab even arrives.

Duck decides to run for it. It feels like the fastest option, even if the energy wears off after two or three street corners.

Also, if Duck had stayed still for a second longer, he would’ve had the worst anxiety attack of his life, right in the middle of the road.

So Duck runs as fast as his legs will take him. Which, turns out, is pretty fast. The streets fly by, pure instinct guiding him through the streets of Kepler. Though he knows he should be feeling something by now, shortness of breath, cramps, whatever, there’s nothing. It feels like little more than a casual jog.

Duck almost trips in surprise when he spots Tabitha’s familiar red car at a stoplight. He slows down, knocking on the passenger side window. She jumps and a look of shock spreads across her face. Tabitha stays frozen for a second before finally leaning across the passenger seat to unlock the door.

As the door before him opens before him, familiar music starts playing, immediately followed by the voice he’s dreaded almost all day, “Duck Newton! I see you have started utilizing your abilities! How exciting!”

Duck grits his teeth and doesn’t think before turning back to Minerva, “Not now.”

He sits in the car and slams the door in the ghostly figure’s face. He shoots a look at Tabitha, whose face has shifted from flabbergasted to worried.

“Sorry,” Duck says quickly, “My little sister’s been hurt. You need to drive me to the hospital.”

Ned wonders how he managed to get himself stuck in this situation.

Housed by an old, dying woman after having broken into her home with the intent to rob her blind. His name written on her will, giving him her museum of oddities.

He does have to admit it is a comfortable situation, despite how boring it often is. As long as he knows how to convincingly peddle his bullshit, he’ll always have a roof over his head and warm meals.

Still, it’s never as simple as that. Especially right now. Especially with the way the walls of Victoria’s home seem to close in around him a little more with every minute he pushes back checking on her.

Victoria had told him last night she didn’t think she’d make it to sunrise. She’d been saying stuff like that with increasing frequency the past few weeks. This time, Ned had really believed her.

The total lack of movement, not even the sound of struggling breaths, makes Ned more and more sure of her passing as the minutes pass.

Ned’s never dreaded anything more than entering Victoria’s room right now. Even if it’s only to confirm what he already knows, it feels like an insurmountable task.

The handle to her door feels colder than it should be, a lingering effect of Death passing through. He hesitates before turning the handle and opening the door, but it has to be done.

He finally rips off the band-aid and swings the door open much faster than he means to.

Her room isn’t as dark as Ned expects it to be. Apparently, she had managed to open the curtains some time last night. The late morning sun shines through the window, illuminating every last nook and cranny.

She looks like she’s sleeping. Her eyes are closed, and her arms are draped across her stomach. She looks about as peaceful as she has ever been, at least around Ned.

He knows it’s pointless, but he tries to call out anyway, “Victoria?” he says, surprised by the shakiness of his own voice.

Predictably, there’s no reaction.

Ned sighs, passing a hand through his too long hair, and leaves the room heading the landline.

He dials the doctor’s phone number and is assured someone will pass by in the next few hours.

So Ned waits. He shuts Victoria’s door, leaving her as is. He closes the Cryptonomica for the day. It’s pointless to leave it open when he can’t put on a convincing show for the potential visitors. Instead, Ned busies himself by tidying up Victoria’s office, and finally sorting through her paperwork.

This is his place now after all. He needs to know about all the finance stuff.

The men from the local coroner’s office finally come, and Victoria leaves with them.

Before leaving, one of the two men comes to talk to him, “You’re Ned right?”

Ned nods, trying to not let his nerves get the best of him, “Yes, that would be me.”

“I’m Gregor, I’m so sorry for your loss. I just wanted to make sure you noticed the note she left on her bedside table. It’s probably for you unless she knows another Ned.”

Ned smiles, but it feels tacky on his face, “Oh, yeah, that would be for me. Thank you for the info, Gregor.”

“It’s the least I can do.” Gregor pauses, looking at his clipboard, “Are you the one who’s going to be taking care of the funeral arrangements?”

Oh, yeah. Victoria needs a funeral. That’s another thing Ned needs to worry about.

“Yes, I suppose so. I’ll contact you as soon as I can.”

The mortician nods and heads towards the door, “Alright then, I’ll hear from you soon.”

The door shuts, and for the first time in months, Ned is alone.

He watches the van drive away, a lump caught in his throat. Once it’s out of sight, he heads upstairs to Victoria’s empty room. The coroner was right. There is a note left for him on her bedside table.

Big, and very obvious. Ned has no idea how he missed it.

Ned picks it up, admiring Victoria’s neat handwriting. Ned would guess she wrote this a few weeks ago, or, at the very least, not yesterday. She’s been shaking a lot lately, and she would’ve been too weak to spend so much energy on making her handwriting so neat.

Ned opens it and sits on her bed to read it.

Ned Chicane. I’ve already told you that I’m giving you the Cryptonomica. I know that you’re going to change some things about it. Even more than you’ve already changed that is. I understand. A man with so much life ahead of him like you needs to worry about money much more than a dying old woman. Still, I just want to ask you one thing. No matter how much you change to this place, make sure it always does one thing.

Ned, please make sure to keep Kepler as curious as you can.

Duck is in the middle of an unfamiliar clearing in the forest. The moon shines above, its light filling the opening of an odd stone gate a few feet from Duck. the wind blows, rustling the leaves and chilling Duck to the bone.

A monstrous, guttural growl snaps him out of his reverie and sends Duck running away from it on pure instinct. Some kind of fiery projectile comes toward him and he ducks to avoid it. It hits the thing behind him, if Duck judges by the ensuing screech and sound of glass breaking.

Duck looks in the direction the fire came from and sees a young girl, one or two years older than Jane, staring at her own hand in wonder.

The girl opens her mouth, but as she starts to speak, her words get drowned out. The ambient noises of the forest fade with her, replaced with his little sister, growing more and more frustrated, “Duck. Duck. Duck!”

Duck’s eyes snap open, looking around at his surroundings. Bright neon lights, blue curtains, lots of machinery, he’s in the hospital room. And, more importantly, Jane is finally awake and trying to get his attention.

Duck shifts in the chair he’d fallen asleep in, getting back into a comfortable position, “Hey, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

Jane looks around the room and sits up slowly, flinching and clutching at her stomach despite her caution, “Bad. Where’s Mom?”

“She had to talk to people, insurance or something. She should be back soon.”

Jane nods, “Duck, I have somethin’ I need to tell you. But you have to promise to believe me, okay?”

Duck frowns puzzled, “What is it?”

She locks eyes with him, and Duck sees a look he’s never seen on his sister’s face before, “You gotta promise first.”

Duck doesn’t hesitate, “I promise, whatever you say, I believe you.”

Jane looks away and takes a deep breath, “I lied to mom. It wasn’t an animal, it was some kind of freak monster that attacked me.”

Duck’s heart drops straight into his stomach. Fear and apprehension lock his muscles in place. He opens his mouth to ask a question, but nothing comes out of his mouth.

Jane doesn’t notice his silence, and continues talking, “It was huge. At least twice as big as you or mom, and it looked like it was made of this weird slimy purple crystal. It had huge claws and even bigger teeth that smelled just awful, and I don’t know if it had eyes there was too much crystal. But it probably did because it seemed to be able to tell exactly where I was running and everything.”

The door to the room opens behind him, and though he’s sure Jane has more to tell him, she shuts her mouth.

“Oh, Jane,” his mother says from behind him, “You’re awake, I hope you’re not feeling too bad. Is it okay if the doctor checks on you now?”

His sister considers for a second before nodding, “Yeah, sure.”

Duck hears some rustling, and then his mother’s handing him a five dollar bill, “Hey-” she hesitates on the name, of course she does, “Honey, do you mind getting yourself something to eat? The doctor needs some privacy to check on Jane.”

Duck nods and takes the money, it’s almost time for lunch anyway.

His sister’s confession sits heavy on his conscience. He knows his sister wasn’t lying. He also knows that the thing that attacked her is one of the creatures Minerva says he’s destined to fight.

The same creatures he’d decided it was impossible for him to fight. The same creatures he’d decided were too dangerous to fight. The same creatures he’d realized would be the end of him.

One of those creatures had attacked his sister.

It feels like a slap in the face. Or some kind of fucked up wake up call.

If he doesn’t do anything, if he rejects Minerva like he’d planned to do just hours earlier, the monsters would hurt more people. If he doesn’t do anything, the monsters are sure to kill someone sooner or later.

Duck is suddenly aware of how selfish his initial decision was. He knew it was selfish, he’s not that dumb, but it didn’t feel real.

Now, with his sister in a hospital bed, he has no idea how he could live with himself if he does nothing to try and stop the creatures.

God, he feels so guilty.

Duck lets his head slowly fall towards the table he’s sitting at, exhaustion and guilt taking their toll on him.

“Minerva,” Duck whispers, hoping the few others in the cafeteria can’t hear him, “I don’t know how this all works. I don’t know if you can hear me right now, or what. But I’ll do it. I’ll be your chosen one.”

Aubrey spends way too long looking at herself in the mirror, trying to see what she can do to make herself look older. The owner of the hotel had seemed skeptical on the phone, but Aubrey had assured her that she just sounded young. She really doesn’t want to get kicked out before performing for silly reasons like being too young. She’s an entrepreneur after all.

Aubrey finally gives up, realizing that nothing she’s doing it actually helping much. She puts on her usual costume, a traditional magician’s outfit she’d modified with cool flame motifs. Then, she grabs her coat and her suitcase full of gear, heading for the door.

She’s ready to open the door before she realizes she’s forgotten her greatest ally. Aubrey drops her things, and runs to her room, almost tripping on some of the miscellaneous boxes still littering the corridor. Dr. Harris Bonkers Ph.D. is in his enclosure, as expected. She picks him up and puts him in his travel bag, before heading back to the front door.

Once she’s sure she has everything she needs, Aubrey writes a note for her dad. Just in case he comes back before she’s finished her show. Once she’s placed it somewhere so obvious he couldn’t possibly miss it, she leaves their new apartment.

Somehow, she manages not to get lost while travelling through the streets of Kepler. Soon enough, she’s in front of the large entrance leading into Amnesty Lodge, anxiety building up at the thought of the first show in her new town.

Aubrey opens the door and walks into the warm lobby. It’s much emptier than the previous places she’s performed at, but there are a few people here and there.

She heads towards the desk, trying not to let her nervousness show.  This is going to be her first show in Kepler after all. And her first show since…

Aubrey shakes her head to get rid of the thought. It’s definitely bad luck to think about that right before a show. She’s practiced a lot. She’s going to be okay.

Once in front of the reception desk, Aubrey drops her suitcase and gently puts down Dr. Harris Bonkers Ph.D. She stands up a straighter, hoping to seem at least a little taller than she is.

Seeing her walk up, the tall bearded man smiles behind the desk smiles down at her, “Welcome to Amnesty Lodge, I’m Barclay. How can I help you today?”

Aubrey gives Barclay her sweetest smile, and places her hands on the counter in a way she hopes looks professional, “Hi! I’m Aubrey, I’m here for the magic show.”

Barclay frowns, “I didn’t know we’d advertised that.” he mumbles, more to himself than to Aubrey, “Well, the performer hasn’t arrived yet. Just take a seat anywhere and she should get here soon.”

“No, no, no. You don’t understand. I am The Lady Flame. I’m here to perform.” The look on Barclay’s face stays doubtful, so Aubrey quickly opens her jacket to let him see her costume and gestures to it, “See?”

The man stays doubtful for a few more seconds before carefully switching to a more neutral face, “All right then. Let me just go get Mama, she didn’t tell me where she was planning for you to set up.” he says before walking to a back room, leaving Aubrey alone in the lobby.

She manages to wait for at least a few minutes before getting bored and lifting Dr. Harris Bonkers’ travel bag onto the counter to look at him. He looks the same way he usually does, but Aubrey can tell that he’s just as nervous as she is.

She leans in close, poking a finger through the net to pet him, “It’s gonna okay, Doctor. Everything’s gonna be okay.” she whispers to him.

After like an hour, Barclay comes back with a woman as tall as he is. “So you’re The Lady Flame, huh?” she says, moving around the counter towards Aubrey, “Can I have an actual name?”

“Um,” Aubrey hesitates, trying to come up with a fake name, but she comes up empty, “I’m Aubrey.”

The woman raises an eyebrow, “Aubrey what?”

“Aubrey Biggle.” It takes Aubrey real effort to not start laughing at her own answer. Aside from a tiny sideways smile she can’t quite conceal, she thinks she manages it pretty well.

The woman nods, “Well, I’m Mama. Follow me, I’ll show you to the spot I prepared for you.”

The woman, Mama, leads her to a spot near the fireplace where a big table, has been set up.

Aubrey is quick to get everything set up. She places all the necessary things on the table, and then releases Dr. Harris Bonkers on the table with a treat to keep him well behaved.

Once everything’s finally ready, Aubrey takes a deep breath and looks around the room. It’s not packed or anything, but there are a few people here and there. Her eyes soon shift over to Mama, who’s leaning against a wall near a door talking to someone Aubrey can’t see. Mama catches her looking and she smiles and gives her a quick thumbs up.

With such an obvious sign that it’s okay to go, Aubrey starts her show immediately.

The first few tricks go pretty well. Though when she asks for volunteers, she’s disappointed there’s no kids or even people her age.

Luckily for her, a blond guy, like twenty-five or something, wearing a cool bright pink and blue coat, volunteers for her card tricks.

Though she’s skeptical at first, since adults usually aren’t as much fun to do tricks with, she quickly warms up to him.

Finally, she gets to her first fire trick. The fire isn’t integral to it or anything, it’s just a bit of flash paper used to distract the audience, but she feels excited regardless.

The feeling builds up until she feels like she’s almost vibrating in place while doing her trick. It’s not nervousness. She would know, she’s been nervous the entire show. It feels like there’s a weird heat emanating from her heart, spreading through her, all the way to her fingertips.

Instinctively, she knows to keep it inside, to not let it flow completely out of her. But as she’s about to finally pull out the flash paper, she realizes no one’s looking at her.

In the back, Mama and Barclay are talking in hushed voices, Barclay holding car keys in his hand. That’s not a problem, Aubrey’s fine with not having all the attention on her, but everyone else is looking at them too. Even the blond guy in the cool jacket, who’d been her volunteer and had seemed to be really into it, is looking away.

Though Aubrey’s only distracted by the lack of attention on her for a second, it’s long enough for something to snap.

Suddenly, the flash paper has ignited in Aubrey’s hands and has caused a much bigger flame than it’s supposed to.

A flame that is becoming bigger and bigger faster than anything Aubrey’s ever seen. A flame Aubrey has no idea what to do about.

The fire has been enough to get attention back on Aubrey, though she really wishes it hadn’t.

There’s a second where the room is still and silent, only leaving the fire slowly spreading more and more.

Then everything starts moving very, very fast.

Aubrey grabs Dr. Harris Bonkers from the table, place him in his travel bag which she slides away to safety. Then, she grabs the extinguisher she’d left underneath the table.

As she’s doing that, she hears Mama say, “You go to Victoria’s place. I’ll take care of this.” Followed by a flurry of footsteps, many of them heading toward her.

Aubrey fumbles with the fire extinguisher for a bit, unsure of how it actually works. Before long, it’s grabbed out of hands by a much more confident Mama who turns it on easily.

The fire is put out as quickly as it had started. Aubrey’s already trying to stumble through apologies, but Mama doesn’t let her get a word it. She grabs Aubrey’s arm and drags her out of the main room to some nearby office.

“Okay, now you’re not in any trouble, but you are going to have to come clean about why you weren’t following the rules.” Mama says in a stern voice

“Rules? No, you told me fire elements were okay. It was just some faulty flash paper.” Aubrey pauses before adding, “Look, I am really super sorry, I can pay for any damage and all that-”

The older woman interrupts Aubrey, “You know that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the rules relating to Sylvain.“

"Sylvain? Is that a place in town or something? Sorry, we moved from out of state a week ago so I don’t know much about Kepler.”

“Come on now, don’t play dumb, you know what I’m talkin’ about. You know humans can’t do magic.”

“No, no no,” Aubrey laughs nervously, “It’s not, like, actual magic. They’re just tricks.” Aubrey pulls her hand out of Mama’s now loose grasp and pulls at her sleeve, “See? I have flash paper in my sleeves and that one was just a bad one.”

Mama considers her for a second, frown still etched across her features. Finally, she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, “Oh man, you really are human, aren’t you?”

Ned decides not to take the rest of the day off, even though he knows he should

He concentrates on two things: planning the funeral and getting the legal rights to the Cryptonomica.

The first thing is pretty easy. He finds Victoria’s old phone book and calls a few people. Just enough to get the ball rolling and to make sure everything will be done in a timely fashion.

The second is a little more complicated. Sure, he’s gone by Ned Chicane for a few years by now, and he has the appropriate IDs to go with the name, but Ned Chicane is hardly a real person. Definitely not real enough to own and run a business in any case. So he makes a few other calls, this time not using the phone book.

By the time he finishes all his phone calls, he’s completely skipped lunch and it’s already well into dinnertime.

He’s halfway through cooking his dinner when a loud noise outside grabs his attention.

Shivers gather up his spine as he carefully heads towards the backdoor to check it out. He sees his car, undamaged, thank God, with a tall man he’s never seen before leaning against it, pushing it sideways towards the Cryptonomica.

Immediately, Ned opens the door and shouts, “Hey! What are you doing with my car?”

The man stares at him for a second before screaming back, “Go back inside, it isn’t safe out here!” As he shouts, the man motions toward the Cryptonomica.

Ned’s about to retort, tell him to stop messing with his car, but as he turns his head toward where the man is motioning, he honest to God feels his heart skip a beat.

A creature stands there, definitely not human, but definitely not one of the cryptids the Cryptonomica presents either. It’s huge for one, and it’s covered in odd translucent spikes, like the worst porcupine imaginable. Its mouth, which is hard to miss thanks to all its grotesque teeth, is open, letting a disgusting slime-like substance leak out. But, the worst has to be its claws. Though they’re not particularly disproportionate considering the size of the monster, they’re clawing at the walls of the Cryptonomica, definitely damaging it

The stranger continues to motion for Ned to go inside while he’s trying to find words to say. He can’t make any sense of what he’s seeing in front of him. This stuff isn’t supposed to be real, but it is. Except it can’t possibly be.

Finally, a few words come to him that leak out of his mouth without a thought, “Okay, what the fuck is going on?”

[bilgesnipebitch]

BkDk Flower Exchange

Title: Humility

Author: @bilgesnipebitch

Ship: Katsuki Bakugou x Izuku Midoriya (aged up pro heroes)

Prompt: Hydrangea (symbolizes pride and apology)

Warnings: male x male, kinda angst and fluff?, a bit of swearing, some injury and fighting at the beginning

Giftee: Dukes (bakudekudukes on twitter)

Word Count: 2,152

Hope you like it, Dukes!! And thank you @bakudekuflowerexchange for hosting this great event!

He let out a cry of pain that rang through the heavy night air. It made my stomach churn, but I just couldn’t leave. I had to hold the front line. I had to keep them from reaching the warehouse. I had to trust Deku. A loud crack soon followed, and I dreaded all the possibilities of what it could have been. I gritted my teeth, resolve wearing thin.

Trust Deku. It’s alright. He can take care of himself.

Another heart-wrenching scream.

That’s it, I can’t take it anymore.

I ran as fast as I could into the rickety old building, ignoring the protests and cries of the other heroes still holding the front line.

“Deku!” I cried, examining the scene before me.

There he stood, toe to toe with the villain, a bit worse for the wear, but determined as ever.

“Kacchan! What on earth are you doing?” he cried.

The villain took advantage of Izuku’s distractedness and knocked him back a good few feet.

“I’m here to help you, dumbass!” I entered the fray, standing between Izuku and the giant, grotesque thing that could hardly be called a person at this point.

“I told you I can take care of this myself! Why aren’t you helping the others?”

I opened my mouth to answer when I suddenly found myself flung sideways into the far wall of the building. My heart immediately dropped into my stomach as I realized whatever it was came from outside the warehouse’s open doors.

Shit. The villains got through.

“Master, it’s time to go!” one of the villains held out a hand to the beast of a man, and before we could make sense of what was happening, the entire legion was gone. Every last person.

“Damn it, Ground Zero!” I heard a hero cry from outside.

He stomped toward me, fury burning in his eyes, and favoring a limp, bloodied arm.

I heaved myself onto my feet, ready to give this man a piece of my mind, when Izuku wedged himself between us, “Listen, I’m really sorry, but��”

“No, you’ve made enough excuses for Ground Zero,” the hero pushed Izuku aside, eyes still fixed with mine. “But this is the final straw. We won’t tolerate this kind of behavior anymore, newbie.”

I clenched my fists so hard they must have gone white, desperately resisting the urge to punch this loser’s nose in.

“Oh yeah? And–” Izuku quickly clasped his hand over my mouth and looked up at me with those big sad eyes, silently begging me not to get myself in any more trouble.

I finally relented, ripping his hand off me and walking away with a scoff.

We eventually got back to the agency and took off all our gear, showered, etc. Izuku might not have shown it in front of the other heroes, but I could tell he was not at all pleased with me either. It was strange and honestly heartbreaking to see him acting so coldly. We were walking to the train station together when I finally decided to speak up about the incident.

“So, that warehouse...”

“Not now, Kacchan.”

My heart writhed in my chest, and I didn’t dare speak about it again the rest of the train ride home.

At the apartment, we both went through our usual nightly routines in complete silence, and every second of it weighed my heart down until I could’ve sworn I could feel it beating away in the soles of my feet.

“Deku, just say something damn it!” I snapped at the green-haired man, who only looked at me with a vague sense of disappointment.

“What is there to say?”

“I– I don’t know. Anything. Are you seriously still mad about the warehouse?”

Izuku scoffed and shook his head, “I can’t believe you.”

I blinked at him and knitted my brows, “so you are?”

“Yes, Katsuki! I’m still mad about the warehouse!”

Katsuki. I hadn’t heard him use that name in––well––since we were little kids. My heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces right then and there.

“But you needed my help. You’re lucky I intervened, or–”

“No I didn’t! I was perfectly fine without you!” I had never imagined just how disarming Izuku raising his voice could be.

“You abandoned the other heroes holding back the villains from the warehouse! We needed their leader alive! You knew that if the one with a teleportation quirk got a hold of their leader, we would all be done for! But you just couldn’t see over that huge ego of yours, huh? You always have to play the knight in shining armor and save the day!”

“I–”

“You what? Ran out of excuses? God, you’re so frustrating sometimes!”

“Deku, listen–” I growled.

“Don’t you ‘Deku’ me, I stand up for you every single time you let your massive ego take control because I know you’re a good person deep down, and I know you can change, but honestly, I don’t know what to do with you anymore! If you keep this up, they’re going to kick us both out of the agency!”

I opened my mouth, but not a single word that ran through my head seemed to be right.

“You know what, I’m going to bed. You can tell me your excuse in the morning,” Izuku sighed and walked off into the bedroom.

I could hardly believe what had just happened, but the more I dwelled on it, the more I felt my eyes begin to well up painfully.

Without another word, I stormed out the door, furiously wiping at my eyes. I could feel all the anger and pain inside of me, swirling and melding and starting to froth up into an all-too-familiar rage.

“I was helping him. He could’ve been killed without me there. It’s not my fault those other heroes couldn’t hold the villains back,” I muttered.

But then that miserable little voice in the back of my mind came rearing its ugly head like it always does.

You didn’t help at all. The mission failed all because of you. You’re pathetic. Worthless.

“No I’m not,” I growled under my breath.

Yes you are. And even your own boyfriend hates you now. Maybe it would be better if you just–

“SHUT UP,” I howled and let out an involuntary explosion from my palm.

I heard one of our neighbors cautiously peek out his door behind me, but I didn’t bother looking. I just hurried down the stairs and out of the building, hoping a little fresh air would help me clear my thoughts. The night sky was pale, though I couldn’t see whether the sun was peeking over the horizon quite yet. It had been a long night, that’s for sure, though strangely enough, I didn’t feel tired at all. Frustrated, yes. Heartbroken? Absolutely. It was probably just all the adrenaline in my system.

I trudged along the empty street, hands buried deep in my pockets, when I heard some shuffling and a delicate ringing up ahead. Looking up from the dreary pavement, my eyes found a vibrant medley of colors and a small, silver-haired woman crouched and arranging it with care.

“Oh, hello there! What are you doing out so early?” She smiled warmly at me, standing up with an ornate, blue flower in hand.

“Just... clearing my head,” I said flatly.

She nodded pensively for a second before it looked like she remembered something, “Say, you wouldn’t have anywhere in particular to be right now, would you?”

I shook my head, and the lady’s face lit up.

“Perfect! Then a strong young boy like you wouldn’t mind helping me move some flower pots, would you?”

“Oh, um, sure,” I didn’t exactly have anything else to do at the moment.

The lady led me inside her shop, door closing with a jingle behind us. I had to admit, it looked lovely inside with all the vibrant flowers neatly and artfully arranged––and smelled just as delightful as it seemed.

“They’re right back here… oh, I don’t believe I ever caught your name.”

“Um, Katsuki.”

“Then right this way, Katsuki!”

The lady was friendly enough, maybe a bit too friendly, but I supposed helping her out might keep me occupied enough to silence that bitter voice in my head. When all the moving was done, she insisted that I try one of her homemade cookies, which was surprisingly delicious, and we got to chatting. Well, it was mostly her talking about how her youngest son was getting married this spring and she’d been looking for just the right flowers for the reception’s centerpieces.

“You know, you remind me a lot of my son. He used to come help me set up the shop every morning. Well, not since he moved away to his fiancee’s city, but he still calls every now and then.”

I simply nodded and took another bite of the cookie.

“Do you have anybody special?”

I nearly choked on the shortbread, surprised at the lady’s bluntness.

“Um, yeah, I’ve got… someone.”

She nodded in satisfaction, “are they good to you?”

“Yeah,” I paused, my head flooding with the events of last night once more. “Though I’m not sure I can say I’m very ‘good’ to him…”

“Why do you say that?” She wrinkled her brows in concern.

I let loose a heavy sigh, “Well, I– I messed up. And... it’s not the first time.”

She nodded, urging me to go on.

“I just–” I rubbed my face in frustration, “I don’t know what to do anymore. I trust him, but… God, why am I like this??”

“So you two are having a lovers’ spat, eh?”

I nodded.

“I thought so. I could tell from the way you were walking down the street, all sulky and lovesick.”

“Hey–” The lady held up a finger to silence me.

“And I could also tell that you’re the prideful type. Always letting your bravado get the better of you, am I right?”

I growled and nodded again.

The lady just grinned and whirled around wordlessly, fiddling with some things behind the counter. When she turned back to me, she presented a bouquet of beautiful purple and white flowers.

“Here. You’ll be needing these.”

I took the flowers into my hand and examined them carefully. There were only four flowers, but they seemed to be made up of dozens of smaller blossoms, making the little bouquet look quite full, yet still trim and neat.

“They’re hydrangeas,” she explained, seeing my blank stare. “They symbolize pride and apology, which I think fits our little predicament quite nicely.”

I still looked from her to the flowers and back dumbly.

“Give them to your special someone, numbskull. You’re gonna go apologize, right?”

I nodded again.

“Then give him these. And tell him how sorry you are for being a dimwit. And treat him like a king from now on, you hear me?”

“Oh, how much are they?”

“Free of charge. Consider it payment for helping me move those pots.”

A faint smile crept up my face as I looked at the simple bouquet.

“Thank you.”

“Any time. I’ve got to admit, I’m a sucker for young love,” the lady chuckled and shooed me out the door to go apologize with another shortbread cookie and flowers in hand.

I stepped into the apartment as quietly as I could, relieved to find Izuku was still asleep, and got to work. It was well after dawn now, partly because I took a little detour to the grocery store to pick up a couple ingredients. But I knew Izuku was an early riser, so I set to work quickly.

I had just finished when I heard Izuku’s alarm go off, and a short while later, his sleepy footsteps come padding into the kitchen.

“Kacchan, why are you up so earl–“ Izuku stopped mid-yawn and stared at the table.

“Deku, I know this doesn’t even come close to making up for last night, and I know you probably don’t believe me at this point, but I’m sorry. I really, truly am. And I can’t tell you how much I–” Izuku put a finger on my lips to stop my rambling.

“How long have you been up?”

I paused, a bit unsure whether I should tell him the truth.

“All night…” I finally admitted.

“Babe, why did you–”

“Because I can’t sleep knowing how much I’ve hurt you,” I took hold of his hand and kissed it softly, running my calloused finger over his scarred knuckles. “And pancakes and flowers aren’t nearly enough to express how sorry I am—for everything—but it’s a start.”

Izuku looked up at me with that soft little smile of his that just melted my heart every time and reminded me that everything was going to be alright.

“Well, the pancakes aren’t going to eat themselves,” he laughed, and I ruffled his wild mop of bedhead.

[ellanainthetardis]

I announced a surprised guest last week but sorry I grew confused, that’s next week ;) Today we get Haymitch’s and his old demons :p Please do let me know your thoughts, reviews and comments keeps me going!

{FF] or [ao3]

37. 7 Days

Haymitch woke up gasping for air, an arm bent in front of his face to protect himself and his free hand feeling around for the handle of his knife. There was a voice but he couldn’t focus on it. He couldn’t hear it. His ears were ringing.

Eventually, the fact that all his palm was finding were sheets, blankets and pillows registered and he started blinking hard, fighting against the nightmare’s daze. His heart was thumping hard in his chest, adrenaline was running through his body…

“Haymitch.”

He snapped his head up in the direction of the noise, almost surprised to find Effie standing there, in the far corner of the room, in front of the crib. It wasn’t its usual place, she must have moved it. She must have gotten out of bed when she had understood the night terror was a bad one. For a second though, nothing made sense. Effie. The crib. The loud wailing of the baby.

Then, he remembered.

Effie and April. His family.

He fingered the band on his ring finger with his thumb because he needed a tangible proof that it was real.

“Are you back?” she asked softly.

He grunted in answer, still short of breath, and ran his fingers in his hair, pulling at the roots. The pain was small at best but it was welcomed. It helped him focus.

Effie took a step toward him, her arm outstretched, her other hand still gripping the edge of the crib. He recoiled, his grey eyes darting back to her as if she was a potential threat.

He forced himself to breathe but the baby’s piercing cries were giving him a nasty headache and…

“Get her to shut up.” he spat and, when he realized what he had just said, he winced guiltily. “I just… Please, get her to shut up.”

Effie hesitated. She studied him a second and then turned around to pick April up. She rocked her a little, humming the familiar lullaby… The baby calmed down a little but not completely.

“She is probably hungry…” she claimed. “It is almost time for her bottle. Maybe you could…”

“No.” he growled, staring at the blankets. His skin was itching. All over. He was covered in sweat and he was cold. His head… The headache behind his eyes was… bad.

“Perhaps it would do you good to take care of her…” she insisted. “She soothes you. And you always take care of the bottles, I am not sure if…”

“Take your head out of your ass.” he cut her off. He knew she didn’t like doing the bottles. He was in charge of feeding April with bottles because it allowed them to share the duties more equally and because she still resented not being able to feed her by herself despite her claims that she had come to term with it. “I can’t hold her.”

He lifted his hand and it hovered in the air, its tremor so pronounced he could barely close his fist.

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him but blissfully didn’t call him out on his language.

“It was a nightmare. Everything is fine. Try to relax and…” she suggested.

“It’s not the fucking nightmare.” he snapped.

April started crying in earnest again and he pressed his hands against his ears, unable to bear it. Everything was an aggression. His throat was parched. He felt queasy. And cold. So, so cold…

“Haymitch…” she whispered.

“I need a shower.” he mumbled – because it was better than saying I need a drink.

He didn’t look at her when he stumbled out of bed and to the bathroom. His legs barely held his weight. This was bad. Really bad. He made it to the shower but struggled to turn it on.

It didn’t bring any immediate relief.

He bowed his head and let the water tumble on his back and nape but the noise made him feel as if his brain was about to explode. It made him dizzy and nauseous. The fact that his stomach was churning with dread over the nightmare wasn’t helping.

He opened and closed his fists a few times but it didn’t stop the tremors.

The only thing that would make them stop… The only thing that would wash away the bad taste in his mouth…

He closed his eyes and lifted his face up.

It didn’t make a difference. The drops he licked from his lips did nothing to quench his thirst.

He felt like throwing up. Suddenly, without much of a transition time, he went from being frozen to being too hot. He turned the shower off and stepped out of there, finding it hard to breathe. He grabbed a towel and wandered back to the bedroom, fleeing the steam that was clouding the air.

“Is it good, darling?” Effie’s voice asked softly. His eyes darted around the empty bedroom and settled on the baby monitor abandoned on the dresser. “Do not worry, April. Papa will feel better soon. It was just a bad dream.”

He dried himself off. Usually her humming to the baby while she fed her would make him feel at peace but right then… It was like someone was drilling nails into his skull.

“You should not be scared of our bad dreams…” Effie went on as he grabbed the first pair of pants and the first shirt he found. “Bad things happened to us but… We will make sure nothing like that happens to you. Ever. We love you so, so much…”

That, at least, he could relate to and it allowed him to stop and think for a moment. He knew what he wanted to do and it was exactly what he shouldn’t do.

“He is the bravest man I know, your papa.” Effie hummed. “I will tell you all about it one day, when you are old enough to understand. He will try to tell you but… He does not see himself like I see him. I wish he would.”

He snorted.

There was a matter of pot and kettle here…

Unfortunately, the reminder that they would have to talk to April about their past someday… With a sigh, he put on his boots and went downstairs. Effie looked up with a small hesitant smile when he stepped in the kitchen. The dog was lying at her feet, fast asleep.

“Do you feel better?” she asked, sounding hopeful.

He shook his head with a wince at her high-pitched voice.

“I’m gonna get some air.” he told her.

She immediately frowned and stopped paying attention to what she was doing long enough that April choked and threw up on her shoulder. She winced for entirely new reasons – being covered in poop, pee or puke didn’t suit her obsession for being clean inherited from her stay in the cells. They both had so many triggers.

For the first time, he wondered if she hadn’t been right all those months ago. If they had bitten on more than they could chew. If April didn’t deserve better than…

“It’s two a.m.” she countered. “Where will you go?”

“Not far.” he mumbled.

“Take Snowball then.” she insisted, trying to deal with the crying baby and to wipe the baby puke from her skin at the same time. She gently nudged the dog with her foot, Snowball yawned and looked up at him with hazy eyes.

“He’s asleep.” he dismissed. “I’ll be fine. I’d like it better if he stuck with you anyway.”

“Nonsense.” she retorted. “You are not going off into the night without Snowball. I will lock the doors behind you.”

Arguing would only make his headache worse and chances were she would have her way in the end. It seemed easier to comply. He nodded his assent, grabbed his coat and clicked his fingers. Snowball stood up and shook himself before obediently paddling over to him. Haymitch petted him distractedly, rummaging around the mess of unopened mail on the dresser for his keys.

“Don’t wait up.” he muttered as he headed for the backdoor.

“Can I…” she hesitated.

“No.” he cut her off before she could offer her help. “I’ll be fine. I just… I need some air, yeah?”

April was still crying and she was clearly torn between attending to him and taking care of their daughter. In the end, she surrendered to the need of looking after the shrimp.

“Be careful.” she requested.

He took advantage of having his back turned to her to roll his eyes as he stepped through the door. Listening to her, one would think he was going off to war not to the backyard.

He went to the pen first, Snowball sticking close to his left leg. The geese were all tucked in for the night and there wasn’t much to see or do. The fresh air wasn’t the relief he had hoped for either. It was cool outside and he buried his shaking hands in the pockets of his coat.

At least, he wasn’t feeling like he was burning up anymore.

And the feeling of suffocation was gone too.

He started walking without a destination in mind. The roads were familiar. He used to roam around the Village at night before Effie had moved in, for lack of anything better to do. Walking always cleared his head a little.

It had never cleared out his thirst before though and that night was no exception.

His feet took him in the direction of the town and he let them because the woods weren’t an option at this time of night. The streets were silent. It was like a ghost town and it was hard to focus on what really was there. He had to remind himself there were no destroyed buildings and no charred corpses in the middle of the streets. Every time he blinked, his surroundings switched from reality to the persistent memories plaguing his mind.

He wanted a drink.

And he wasn’t surprised when he ended up in what used to be the Seam, in the exact spot the Hob used to stand. They had rebuilt it, made it a commercial area with shiny signs and shop windows… Sae’s restaurant was at the very end of the lane.

He stopped in front of a shoemaker’s shop, staring through the dark window but not seeing anything that was on display. Ripper’s booth used to be right there. He used to come here at all hours of day and night when he needed liquor.

He supposed it was muscle memory.

He felt sorry about the old woman who had survived a mine’s cave-in only to find herself buried alive under the Capitol’s bombs. There was an irony there that he didn’t find remotely funny.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, staring at shoes he had no interest in and seeing bottles of various sizes and origins filled with homemade moonshine instead.

The first drop of rain crashed on his shoulder and before he even had time to think about heading home, the sky burst open without warning and he was soaked to the bones.

Snowball barked in protest and dashed in the direction they had come from before stopping and running back to him to bark again. Haymitch passed a hand over his face, lifted the collar of his coat over his head to protect himself from the storm brewing overhead and did the only sensible thing: he ran after the dog.

The Samoyed clearly mistook that for a game because he let Haymitch catch up only to dart further away, apparently delighted in being chased through the rain. Sometimes, he ran circles around him before dashing ahead as if to taunt him, barking a playful challenge – and no doubt waking up half the streets they were passing through.

He was completely drenched by the time he reached the slope that led up to the Village but he also felt a lot better. The thirst hadn’t gone away and the fingers that were gripping his collar to keep it over his head were still trembling but he didn’t feel like he was about to throw up or pass out anytime soon and he supposed that it was a victory in itself.

The lights were still on in the kitchen so he went for the backdoor instead of the front one.

Effie was sitting at the table, a cup of tea cradled between her hands, a steaming teapot a few inches away. She stood up when he came in and ushered him and the dog inside.

He only realized he was shivering when she unbuttoned his coat and pushed it off his shoulders. She did the same with his shirt and his pants. He let her undress him and dry him with towels she had obviously kept ready in anticipation of his return.

They both remained silent for a long time.

“Sit down.” were the first words she muttered and, when he did, she fell silent once more. She toweled his hair dry, occasionally running her fingers through it to untangle some knots.

“I’m sorry.” he said eventually, almost too low to be heard. “Shouldn’t take off like that. Not anymore.”

“I do not mind you leaving for a while when it becomes too much.” she denied. “Not as long as you come back to me.”

“Never been an option.” he snorted.

She pressed a kiss on the top of his head and pushed her half drunk cup of tea in front of him. “Warm yourself up. I will go get you some clothes.”

“Where’s April?” he frowned.

“In her crib.” she answered, nodding to the baby monitor on the table. “She fell back asleep.”

“And you left her upstairs alone?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows in surprise.

“I have been checking on her every five minutes.” she admitted with a sheepish smile. “Do try to towel the dog dry before he puts water everywhere when you are done with that tea.”

His hands were nowhere near steady enough to hold a mug so he focused on Snowball instead. He did as good a job as he could and it was a poor one but the dog wasn’t holding grudges and placed his head on Haymitch’s knee when his owner sat back down. Of course, he immediately dashed straight to Effie when she reappeared with sweatpants and a shirt.

She picked up the towel he had discarded and rubbed Snowball’s fur with it, to the dog’s obvious delight. Her eyes darted from the untouched cup of tea to his face and she pursed her lips a little.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

He struggled to get the pants on and didn’t make any attempt at slipping the shirt on.

“What’s there to say?” he scoffed. “I want a fucking drink.” She took another mug from the cupboard and filled it with tea from the pot. He watched her blow on it before taking a sip. At the smell, he knew it was his favorite brand not hers and the knowledge she had been waiting for him with his favorite tea… He felt guilty. A week with a newborn had taught them all about the importance of sleep and… “You should have gone back to bed.”

“I am no stranger to sleepless nights, Haymitch.” she dismissed. “You would stay awake for me, I don’t mind staying awake with you.” Her face softened. “I just wish I could actually help.”

“Miss the times you could distract me?” he smirked.

Her gaze shifted to his groin. She looked pensive for a second.

“I could still distract you…” she hummed, licking her lips. “My mouth is working fine…”

The flash of arousal was enough to make him forget about his shaking hands for a moment but he came back to himself quickly. “I was only joking, sweetheart. I can wait.”

She pouted a little but didn’t insist. “Do you want to talk about the nightmare? What was it about?”

He shook his head and wrapped his hands around the mug of now tepid tea. The tremors were still there but they were calming down and he managed to bring the mug to his mouth without embarrassing himself.

“Don’t remember.” he shrugged. “Just… bad.”

She sighed and propped her hip against the table next to him to coil a hand around his nape. He stretched his neck to respond to her kiss. He relaxed into it and groaned when she drew back with a satisfied smile. She pecked his lips one last time and then sank on the closest chair.

“You hadn’t had one in a while. Perhaps it has to do with…” She let her sentence trail off. She wrinkled her nose and nodded at the trash can.

He understood what she was talking about without her needing to voice it. He had tossed the newspaper in there that morning. He knew that a week of respite had already been more than they could hope for. In retrospect, they should have been expecting it but they had been cooped up in their cocoon since April’s birth and the “It’s A Girl!” headline had taken them aback.

The article had been detailed too and, if there had been a lot of crap in it, they had also gotten a few things right. Like April’s full name for instance. He supposed they had bribed someone at the Justice Building. They hadn’t managed to snatch a picture of her because they hadn’t taken the baby out of the house yet but they had one of Haymitch buying diapers.

It had unsettled him.

Not really surprised him but unsettled him.

He had always known there would be no keeping the press away for long but…

“I wish they would leave us alone.” he sighed. “It’s hard enough without…”

Without having to do it in front of the whole country when half of it was waiting for them to fail and the other half hated them.

“I know.” she whispered with a small sigh of her own. Her fingers clenched around the mug.

They drank their tea in silence for a few minutes and then he cleared his throat, staring at the wood of the table instead of looking at her.

“I won’t relapse.” he said.

She reached out to squeeze his wrist. “You don’t need to convince me. I know.”

“There’s nothing I won’t do for this kid.” he promised.

And staying sober was a small price to pay for the chance April had given him.

[not-your-everyday-smol]

The Witch and the Borrowers

Chapter 1

“We’re running out of food, Cynthia. There’s hardly anything left!” Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair. “I know. I’ll have to go out tonight. There’s obviously not enough coming from the crumbs, so I’ll just have to go directly to the kitchen this time.” They both knew the dangers of being in the kitchen. That place was a trap waiting to snatch them up. She knew she couldn’t afford getting caught and couldn’t take any chances. She’d gone out plenty of times, but that didn’t make her any less wary.

Being only 4 inches tall doesn’t leave much room for error. As a result, the two siblings living together had trained their senses to notice anything possibly dangerous lurking in the shadows. It also didn’t help that the human in the house was a witch. It was a relatively small place on the edge of the woods. Neither Cynthia nor Logan would ever dare venture outside, lest they encounter any bugs, wild animals, or storms. No, being inside the cozy home was a much better option than being out there. That didn’t mean it was easy or any less terrifying. A normal human was bad enough, but a witch? Who knows what horrible things she’d do if she got her hands on them.

“Be careful. I’d go out with you, but one of us should stay here, just in case,” Logan said. “Yeah, right. You’re just too scared to go out.” She gave him a disapproving look. “Aren’t you?!” He retorted. Of course she was. In all honesty, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into her pile of cloth and stay there forever. But, that’s not living. No matter how much she hated their constant fear of the huge and daunting world, it was still life, and she still had her brother to look out for. Instead of answering truthfully, she flicked her hair over her shoulder and put on a smirk. “Me? Scared? Psh, I’m not scared of anything.” Logan shook his head in response, but dawned a small smile in return. Seeing that her efforts payed off to get him more relaxed, she got up from a small wooden block and grabbed her bag. “I’m gonna go check all of my tools to prepare for the trip. You get some rest or go work on something. We could always use more clothes, or maybe new tools.”

The living space in the walls they shared was decently spacious. Their rooms sat at the opposite ends for privacy, with curtains in place of doors. Logan didn’t keep too many things in his room. He loved to draw so there was a smooth stone for a portable desk and paper scraps. He usually used either pencil lead or paint on his works. Living with a witch did have some perks. For one, she loved plants, and they were all over the house. Great for cover and climbing. Secondly, she took to drawing as well. Sometimes it was for sigils. Other times, it was purely for the sake of creating her pieces. Logan’s trips outside the walls allowed him to catch glimpses of her art and he loved it. Her technique was so flawless and her paintings came to life. Her sketches alone were wonderful. While he was terrified of her, he could appreciate good art when he saw it.

Cynthia’s room, however, was filled with materials and miscellaneous things. There were small bits of colorful crystals in a pile in one corner. Her pile of cloth for the makeshift bed was in another. And then there was a pile of clothes. Lastly, there was a pile of anything and everything, from hair ties, to safety pins, to earrings. Most of that pile was for climbing aid and other contraptions she could come up with.

Between the two rooms was an open space that held a shelving system for the food they could find, a tea candle, a small plastic container filled with water, matches, and a kind of table with different seats. The table was used for eating as much as it was used for crafting. The jar held the water for their drinking and bathing purposes. Though, bathing was more so using some water on the dirtiest areas and soap they’d scavenged. They made do with what they had.

After checking the knots tied to her climbing gear and making sure there were no holes in her bag, she began to devise her route. While it may seem like one could just go out and wing it, she didn’t have the luxury of thinking that way. Every turn and climb had to be mapped out to find the route with the least open areas and most coverage. The general plan would be to use the plants and pots as hiding spots, along with ducking behind any crystals nearby. She’d make sure to stay out of the hallways and try to avoid counters. Though, she’d have to be extra careful in case the human decided to use one of the objects Cynthia happened to be using for cover.

After everything was planned and she knew what she’d have to get, she took in a deep breath. “It’s okay. Everything will go fine. In and out, that’s it. Safe as can be.” Trying to convince oneself wasn’t easy and, quite frankly, didn’t work as much as she would’ve liked. Standing up, she grabbed her supplies and put them delicately in her bag before going to Logan’s room. Knocking on the side of the opening, she waited patiently. “You can come in.” They always respected each other’s privacy to the best of their abilities. While they were brother and sister, it wasn’t like a usual human relationship. They didn’t fight much or roughhouse. It was just the two of them, so they were very close, almost like a team. What one lacked, the other made up for. “I’m gonna head out, okay?” He looked up from his paper, but didn’t look at her. Even though he was the older sibling, she took over that role most of the time. He’d always been confident and strong, they both had, but he relied on her. She could always be counted on to make him feel better, do things for him that he wasn’t comfortable doing himself, like going out scavenging.

“Logan. It’ll be fine. I’ve done this plenty of times before! I’ll be as quick as a cockroach.” She put on her best smile, trying to ease his worries. Noticing the effort, he looked up and smiled back. “Do you think we could get some cheese this time? I don’t want you risking your life for it at all. But, maybe if she’s left out the block again?” Also like the witch, he loved cheese and rarely got it. In all honesty, they had a lot in common. The major difference was obviously their size. ‘If only we were big too, ’ Cynthia thought, ‘They’d probably be really good friends.’ In all honesty, the giant was really cute, but she’d never admit that to anyone, even herself. “Of course we can. I expect to see some great art when I come back,” and with a wink, she left the room.

Steeling herself at the opening to their home, she pushed the piece of stone, serving as their front door, out of the way. After putting it back, she started her long journey through the walls, jumping from nail to nail and shuffling across small ledges in complete darkness. It most definitely wasn’t for the faint of heart. Eventually, she made it to the closest opening that lead directly to the kitchen. Carefully peaking outside of the wallpaper, she detected no sign of movement and couldn’t hear anything. “So far, so good,” she told herself. As fast and softly as possible, she ran across the hallway. Milliseconds seemed like minutes as she remained out in the open, vulnerable and unable to hide. Reaching the opposite side, she didn’t stop to take a breather, instead opting to start her climb. There were vines growing from the floor and onto the walls throughout the house, accompanying all of the other plant life in the place. It was easier to use than a rope because of the footholds, so she made it to the counter in record speed.

'Please let there be cheese out,’ she hoped. Looking over the entire area, she spotted on the other counter, a block of yellow cheese and some slices to the side. “Yes!” Cynthia cried out in joy. In an instant, she covered up her mouth and held her breath. Nothing changed. Relieved, but more aware, she began her path to the dairy goodness. On the way, she picked up a few things they were in need of- sugar, salt, crackers, herbs, etc. There were some small puddles of clear water near the sink, so a jar or two were filled. After arriving, she wrapped up enough cheese to fill them up that night, but small enough to go unnoticed by the giant. “A job well done, if I do say so myself.” She smirked.

Not a moment later, footsteps could be heard. They were heading straight for the kitchen. The smile dropped from her face and she looked around for the best hiding spot. Deciding on hiding behind a small succulent plant, she darted towards it. 'Please, please, please don’t let her see me. Oh god, what if she does.’ Her small face went white with fear. 'No! No, I can’t think like that. It’ll be fine.’ Her thoughts all dissipated the moment of the human’s arrival.

With a yawn, Lily rubbed her eyes tiredly. 'I wonder what time it is?’ She wondered. The kitchen was lit up only by the moon, casting its white light through the window. The room was almost blue, and quite comforting. Sighing, she looked at the clock. “3am? No wonder I’m so exhausted.” With a flick of her wrist, a few candles were set aflame. She walked over to the large walk-in pantry and looked inside. “Please tell me I have some left.” A moment went by. “Aha! There you are!” Pulling out a nearly-empty jar of lavender, she walked over to the stove. After setting a pot of water on top to boil she leaned against the counter. “Shoot! I forgot to put the cheese away!” In her sleepy state, she was completely unaware of the tiny person not a foot away, hiding behind the plant.

Poor Cynthia’s heart was beating erratically. She thought she was about to be discovered when the witch had rested against the counter. Her mind was a scattered mess, her brain turned to mush, her heart thumping away, her body filled with adrenaline. When Lily had noticed the cheese and moved away, she had reminded herself to take a deep breath. Everything was okay, and she would be just fine. At least, that’s what she failed to convince herself. She waited patiently as the giant put away the food and returned to her previous position. Both were completely silent when a white moth flew through the window. 'Poor thing, ’ Cynthia thought, 'it’ll die here.’ She knew what happened to pests. All of her kind did. That’s what they all feared would happen to themselves.

Fluttering about the wide space, the moth went a long its merry way, not knowing that it had gone inside of a house. Lily watched it fly in. 'How beautiful.’ It’s small, fragile wings were lit by the moon. It looked like a white fairy as it flitted about. She reached out her pointer finger and it landed. Bringing it close, she whispered, 'May you live a long and fruitful life, little one,’ before letting it go out the window with a smile on her face and a glimmer in her green eyes. She heard the popping of bubbles from the boiling water and put out the fire before making herself some lavender tea. “Let this tea bring tranquility and a restful nights sleep,” she spoke aloud.

Cynthia was stunned. Not from the blessing put on the tea, that was common. No, she was shocked from the witch’s reaction to the moth. Why was she so kind to it? Isn’t it nothing more than a pest to be rid of? Confusion clouded her mind. 'If she’s so kind to small bugs like that, maybe she’s not so bad after all.’ Of course, that wouldn’t mean Cynthia would reveal herself. Maybe just make her a little less frightened. Only a little.

“Do you need anything else?”

Silence. After those words, the house was completely quiet. The question that floated in the air wasn’t directed at anyone, was it? Who’s she talking to? Maybe the moth is back? Looking at the window, there was nothing. A breeze hadn’t even come through the small opening. Even more confused, she decided to peak her head just slightly out to see who the witch was looking at. Turns out, the witch was looking at her.

Panic. Terror. Those were the only two things Cynthia could feel. 'How did she know I was here?! Why is she just looking at me and not grabbing me?! Maybe she’s drawing it out because she feeds on fear? Oh god. I’m going to die. She’s going to crush me and use my bones and blood for a spell. She’s going to torture me. What if she burns me?! How do I know she doesn’t want to eat me?!’ She couldn’t move. Time had slowed to a stop and she couldn’t breathe. 'This is it. This is the end. I’m so sorry Logan.’

Noticing the aura around the tiny person, Lily knew she had probably chosen the wrong time to reveal her knowledge of her existence. However, she knows she has to work with what she’s created. “I’d tell you not to be afraid but I think that won’t change anything. If it helps, I’ve known about you and the other boy for some time now. I haven’t done anything to either of you even though I knew. Does that help at all?” No response. “I know how you’re feeling right now because I’m an empath. But please, don’t take me for face value. I know I’m big to you, but I can’t change who I am, can I? Just like you can’t.” Still, the girl was frozen. “Please say something. I’m sorry for scaring you, I really am. I just thought we could be friends. I get lonely out here sometimes and I always perk up when you come out of the walls.”

The words began to register in Cynthia’s mind. The only thing she could manage to get out was a simple, “W-what?” She was honestly, truly dumbfounded. Terrified still, but thoroughly shocked. That one word brought a smile to the giant’s face. In all truthfulness, the witch looked quite friendly. Everything she had said was to calm Cynthia down and she hadn’t reached for her once. It could all be a trick, but no matter what, the other outcomes wouldn’t be great. If she was faking it, then the poor girl would have no chance of escape anyways. She could only trust that the presented expression wasn’t a falsehood.

“I don’t know what you thought I might do to you, but I promise on my life that I would never intentionally hurt you or anyone else. I’m not a bad witch and I don’t hex people. I use my magick for all good things! And when I’m being lazy, but that’s beside the point.” She chuckled. It was a comforting sound, putting Cynthia a little less on edge. Noticing the improvement, Lily continued, “My name’s Lily. It’s nice to meet you.” Taking the risk, she extended a finger out for the girl to shake.

Seeing the approaching hand, she jumped back with a cry, “NO! DON’T GRAB ME!” Her eyes were squeezed shut, waiting for the inevitable. After a few seconds had gone by, nothing had happened. Slowly bringing her arms down and opening her eyes, she saw a finger in front. It wasn’t moving, just staying there. She looked up at the owner of the hand to find a sad smile. Taking a few more seconds, she breathed in deeply, held her breath, and grabbed the fingertip. It moved up and down slightly before retreating, so she let out the breath and sat down. “You… you don’t want to grab me and out me in a jar?”

Lily felt saddened by the reaction she had gotten out of Cynthia. Either something happened in her past, or it was one of her greatest fears. She hoped it was only the latter. “Why would I? You may be a fraction of my size, but that doesn’t make you any less of a person. I’ll admit that there are a lot of bad people in the world who would love to get ahold of someone like you for a variety of reasons, but you can relax because I’m not one of them. Now, back to my first question, do you need anything else? Any food or supplies I can get you?”

Cynthia couldn’t believe her ears. The witch knew of her AND Logan, yet she never did anything. To add to that, she hadn’t grabbed, and now she was offering food to her?! She can’t decide whether this is a nightmare or a dream come true. “U-um. I think I’ve got everything I need. T-thank you.” Earning a polite nod from the giant-no, from Lily, she decided to introduce herself. “My name’s Cynthia, and the boy is my brother, Logan.” Gathering up the courage, she asked,“Would it be okay if I could go home now?”

Lily sighed, “Cynthia, I’m not trapping you or keeping you hostage. You can come and go whenever you’d like. Try and think of yourself as my roommate! We both live here, and that means you can go wherever you want here. Even my bedroom, if you really want. Just… let me know where you are. I’m always careful, but I don’t want to slip up by accident.” She hoped to see Cynthia again, so she added, “Actually, why don’t you come to the table tomorrow for dinner? The one in the living room. And you can bring your brother as well! I’ll have a nice meal planned for the three of us!” She knew it was asking a lot, but she waited so long to actually meet them, face to face.

“Uh…I’ll…um… I’ll see if we can make it. The best I can guarantee is bringing myself. I’m not sure how Logan will react.” Lily seemed to brighten at the assurance of her presence for dinner. “Is there anything he likes? I’ll bring it as a gift… or as a peace offering? To show that I really mean no harm!” Thinking for a moment, Cynthia responded, “Well, he loves art and cheese. He’s always wanted to paint, like you, but he only ever had paper scraps and pencil lead.“ The witch was practically glowing after hearing about the common interests. "That settles it! I’ll bring a journal for his sketches, along with paint and brushes.” Cynthia wondered if Lily realized that there’s no way Logan would be able to use her own huge tools, but decided to gloss over that fact. “Well, I’ll see you later then.” She said with a wave.

“Looking forward to it!” Lily was full of joy as she waved all the candles to go out before returning to her room. It hadn’t gone as smoothly as she hoped, but she was honestly too thrilled for the next night to care. As she tucked into bed, she drifted into a restful sleep.

Hey everyone! Sooo you know how in my blog description, I mention that I sometimes draw and on the rare occasion, write? Welp, here’s that rare occasion! A story introducing three sparkly, new OC’s! Lily, my lovely witch; Logan, my tiny artist and cheese enthusiast; and Cynthia, my brave younger sister to Logan (who takes on more of an older sister role). I might have detailed character descriptions and drawings in the future, but who knows!

[travelling-around-this-world]

Cambodia / south Vietnam

Cambodia is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever seen. The Kingdom of Cambodia (sometimes transliterated as Kampuchea to more closely represent the Khmer pronunciation) is a Southeast Asian nation bordered by Vietnam to the east, Laos to the north, Thailand to the northwest, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

We decided to divide our trip in two parts: 10 days in Cambodia and 10 days in southern Vietnam. Actually, if you haven’t planned yet, you can easily visit Cambodia and Myanmar- as Emirats (the airline we flew with) makes always a stop in Myanmar- or Cambodia and Thailand.

I share now with you the Excel file with the plan we did:

Phnom Penh was our first stop. It’s a city you just became stuck in. It sucked you in. It was laid back, cheap, and easy-going. It’s gritty, polluted, and full of dust. Buildings are run down, lots remain empty, and the streets are filled with chaos. People line the bars for hours on end on hot afternoons. Cars zoom past rickshaw drivers. People laugh on the corner like they used to, and the old men play their domino games. Everyone’s in a hurry to get nowhere. Yet this was a city of contrasts, with ritzy hotels standing next to abandoned buildings. They were still celebrating the arrival of ATM machines when I visited. The city was changing rapidly, and there was such contrast that the feeling of possibility was tangible.

I suggest you to spend at least 2/3 days in PP.

MONEY in Cambodia:

You can live like royalty there with a budget of USD 100 per day. This includes accommodations, food and drinks, shopping, transportation. It’s so economical that couples can do well with as little as USD 50 each per day. If you’re a solo budget traveler staying in a hostel, then you can probably get by with around USD 30 a day.

Conveniently, USD is the de facto currency in Cambodia. It’s accepted everywhere. The only time you’ll ever see Cambodian Riel is when it’s given to you as small change from USD transactions >> That’s bad cause prices are very different for tourists and locals.

TRANSPORT in Cambodia:

“Tuk-Tuk”: You will get sick of this word. But taking a tuk- tuk is the easiest way to visit around. Usually, a tuk-tuk for the whole day costs around 15 USD (if you stay in the city). If you wanna go outside, it’s a little bit more expensive (30 USD for the whole day). One way by tuk-tuk is usually around 2/3 USD.

WHAT TO SEE in Phnom Penh:

Silver Pagoda

Within the Royal Palace compound is the extravagant Silver Pagoda, also known as Wat Preah Keo or Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is so named for its floor, which is covered with five tons of gleaming silver. (Bring a long-sleeve t-shirt > they are really strict!)

Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes

In 1975, Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21); it soon became the largest centre of detention and torture in the country.

That was probably one of the saddest day of my life. The history is really interesting. The visit worth.

National Museum of Cambodia

Located just north of the Royal Palace, the National Museum of Cambodia is housed in a graceful terracotta structure of traditional design (built from 1917 to 1920), with an inviting courtyard garden.

Royal Palace

With its classic Khmer roofs and ornate gilding, the Royal Palace dominates the diminutive skyline of Phnom Penh.

Psar Thmei

A landmark building in the capital, the art-deco Psar Thmei (literally 'New Market') is often called the Central Market, a reference to its location and size.

FCC

A Phnom Penh institution, the ‘F’ is housed in a colonial gem with great views and cool breezes. It's one of those must-see places in Cambodia. Happy hours are 5pm to 7pm and 10pm to midnight.

Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

Between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 men, women, children and infants who had been detained and tortured at S-21 were transported to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek. Get ready for a really sad visit/day.

Russian Market

This sweltering bazaar is the one market all visitors should come to at least once during a trip to Phnom Penh. It is the place to shop for souvenirs and discounted name-brand clothing. It’s perfect for buying suvenirs.

Wat Phnom

Set on top of a 27m-high tree-covered knoll, Wat Phnom is on the only ‘hill’ in town.

Independence Monument

Modelled on the central tower of Angkor Wat, Independence Monument was built in 1958 to commemorate the country’s independence from France in 1953.

Psar Kandal

Phnom Penh’s many markets all have large central eating areas, where stalls serve up local faves like noodle soup and fried noodles.

*From PP you can take a tuk-tuk and in 40 min you are in Oudong, the old capital of Cambodia. It’s not turistic but it’s really beautiful!!!

WHERE TO EAT in Phnom Penh:

-Kabbas >> the BEST restaurant in PP

-Friends

-Khmer Surin

-Mok Mony

WHERE TO DRINK in Phnom Penh:

Bassac Lane is the perfect place to go for drinks. It consists of one narrow street, but there are nice bars where to spend the evening/night.

The best one is @The Den where a friendly Lebanese bartender is always ready to welcome new people, talk to them and prepare them tasty cocktails. It really worth.

 WHERE TO STAY in Phnom Penh:

-       TeaHouse was one of the best hotel. Really good price/quality.

 From Phnom Penh you can easily reach Siem Reap by bus. It takes around 6 hours.

If you’re flying, then you’ll be arriving at Siem Reap International Airport (REP). From there, you can take a tuk tuk or taxi to your hotel. A tuk tuk costs 6 USD to get you to Siem reap’s city center while a taxi will charge about USD 7 for a sedan and USD 10 for a van.

Siem Reap is full of surprises. Everyone knows about the Angkor temples but this place has more to offer than that. I was expecting a quiet small town with little to do at night and few dining options but that wasn’t the case at all. Pub Street is a boombox at night and there are plenty of interesting restaurants in town, most of which won’t break the bank.

Tourists come to Siem Reap to visit the Angkor temples. For first-time visitors, it’s important to understand that there isn’t just one temple. The most famous one — Angkor Wat — is just one of many temples scattered in a large area. To visit them, you’ll need to buy an Angkor pass. Prices are as follows:

One day – USD 37 Three days – USD 62 Seven days – USD 72

 I will suggest you to spend at least 3 days in Siem Reap, if you are interested in all the temples.

 WHAT TO SEE in Siem Reap:

Ta Phrom

That was my favourite. Home to giant roots reclaiming the ruins, Ta Phrom is where Tomb Raider was actually filmed. These massive roots enveloping the temples was a spectacular sight. Definitely a must-see.

Angkor Thom & Bayon Temple

The largest temple in the complex, Angkor Thom is the second most visited temple after Angkor Wat. Covering an area of 9 sq km, at the center of Angkor Thom is Bayon Temple, which is home to these massive, carved stone heads.

Angkor Wat

The jewel of the Angkor complex. The largest Hindu temple complex in the world, Angkor Wat is a massive structure surrounded on all sides by a moat. How they managed to build this in the 12th century is mind-blowing. I visited Angkor Wat twice — once during the day and another early in the morning to get my sunrise shot.

 Bantaey Srei

Around an hour away by tuk-tuk from the main temple complex, Bantaey Srei is one of the smaller temples but also one of the most unique. The only temple made from pink sandstone, it boasts the best, most intricate temple carvings of all. I made arrangements with our hotel and paid USD 22 roundtrip. You may be able to get this for less if you negotiated outside of your hotel. It takes about an hour to get there so we left bright and early at 6:30 AM. It’s definitely worth a visit.

Landmine Museum

The landmine museum is along the way to Bantaey Srei so it’s a frequent stop on the return trip back to town. It tells the story of landmines in Cambodia and their sobering impact on the country’s past, present, and future. Entrance to the museum is USD 5.

Instead of going to Battambang, as planned, we did a jungle trekking > Just be careful because people say there are still mines.

Battambang was too far away and too expensive to do in one day.

WHERE TO EAT in Siem Reap:

-       Spoons > our favourite restaurant

-       Marum

-       Bug Café > here you can try really tasty insects (I swear!)

WHERE TO STAY in Siem Reap:

-       Chez Moi Hotel Boutique & Spa > Best service/price/quality ever. Staff is really nice and helpful.

WHERE TO DRINK in Siem Reap:

Everywhere in Pub street. It’s really funny. Our favourite bar was a reggae bar in the center.

WHERE TO BUY SOUVENIRS in Siem Reap:

-       Night Market

-       Psah Chah (Old Market)

 TRIPS from SIEM REAP:

-       Battambang

-       Floating villages

*Community First: Kompong Khleang Floating Village Tours

This tour is conducted by a non-profit NGO. Our guide, Paren, is an amazing guy. He speaks fluent English and is very knowledgeable about Kompong Khleang. This is because he grew up there, benefited from this NGO and hence has many experience and opinion to share. You will get to see the life in Kompong Khleang and how the NGO is trying to promote education for the children there. The highlight of this trip is the boat ride to Tonle Sap and we also met a few fishermen who was Paren's neighbor. You will not regret signing up for this tour and at the same time help fund this NGO.

INTERESTING ACTIVITIES in Siem Reap:

-       If you are brave enough, you can rent a bike and ride through the fields and the city (!!! Be careful > traffic is crazy).

-       Cooking classes with Khmer Cuisine :P

-       Massages > they are really cheap and they are perfect after a long day walking.

From Siem Reap we flew to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is Vietnam at its most dizzying: a high-octane city of commerce and culture that has driven the country forward with its pulsating energy. A chaotic whirl, the city breathes life and vitality into all who settle here, and visitors cannot help but be hauled along for the ride.

From the finest of hotels to the cheapest of guesthouses, the classiest of restaurants to the tastiest of street stalls, the choicest of boutiques to the scrum of the markets, HCMC is a city of energy and discovery.

Wander through timeless alleys to incense-infused temples before negotiating chic designer malls beneath sleek 21st-century skyscrapers. The ghosts of the past live on in buildings that one generation ago witnessed a city in turmoil, but now the real beauty of the former Saigon’s urban collage is the seamless blending of these two worlds into one exciting mass.

MONEY in Vietnam:

Life in Vietnam in even cheaper than in Cambodia > it seems a paradox, but there is a reason: prices in Vietnam are the same for tourists and locals.

 TRANSPORT in HCMC:

 In HCMC you can easily walk around (Be careful when you cross the streets > On 10 Million person, there are 8 million scooters that NEVER STOP!).

You can also grab a taxi; it’s not expensive.

WHAT TO SEE in HCMC:

War Remnants Museum

Formerly the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, the War Remnants Museum is consistently popular with Western tourists. Few museums anywhere convey the brutal effects of war on its civilian victims…

Giac Lam Pagoda

Believed to be the oldest temple in HCMC (1744), Giac Lam is a fantastically atmospheric place set in peaceful, gardenlike grounds.

Quan Ut Ut

With a name roughly translating to the 'Oink Oink Eatery', this casual place with river views celebrates everything porcine with an American-style BBQ spin. Huge streetside grills prepare great ribs, spicy sausages…

Reunification Palace

Surrounded by royal palm trees, the dissonant 1960s architecture of this government building and the eerie mood that accompanies a walk through its deserted halls make it an intriguing spectacle.

Jade Emperor Pagoda

Built in 1909 in honour of the supreme Taoist god (the Jade Emperor or King of Heaven, Ngoc Hoang), this is one of the most spectacularly atmospheric temples in Ho Chi Minh City.

Fine Arts Museum

With its airy corridors and verandahs, this elegant 1929 colonial-era yellow-and-white building is stuffed with period details;

Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda

Delightfully fronted by greenery and opening to an interior blaze of red, gold, green and yellow, this is one of the most beautifully ornamented temples in town, dating from 1902.

History Museum

Built in 1929 by the Société des Études Indochinoises, this notable Sino-French museum houses a rewarding collection of artefacts illustrating the evolution of the cultures of Vietnam.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Built between 1877 and 1883, Notre Dame Cathedral enlivens the heart of Ho Chi Minh City's government quarter, facing Ð Dong Khoi. A brick, neo-Romanesque church with 40m-high square towers tipped with iron spires.

Binh Tay Market

Cholon’s main market has a great clock tower and a central courtyard with gardens. Much of the business here is wholesale but it’s popular with tour groups. The market was originally built by the French in the 1880s.

Central Post Office

Right across the way from Notre Dame Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh City's striking French post office is a period classic, designed by Gustave Eiffel and built between 1886 and 1891.

Hum Lounge & Restaurant

This new opening brings the excellent Vietnamese-inspired vegetarian cuisine of the city's long-established Hum Vegetarian Cafe & Restaurant to a central garden location.

Bitexco Financial Tower

The 68-storey, 262m-high, Carlos Zapata–designed skyscraper dwarfs all around it. It's reportedly shaped like a lotus bulb, but also resembles a CD rack with a tambourine shoved into it.

WHERE TO EAT in HCMC:

-       Secret Garden

-       Cyclo Resto

WHERE TO STAY in HCMC: 

The backpacker’s area is absolutely the best.

There is a plenty of choices. We stayed at Elios Hotel.

 WHERE TO DRINK in HCMC:

 The walking street is the best one. At every corner you can find a bar or a club.

 Pasteur Street Brewing Company is really good if you like beer :)

TRIPS from HCMC:

-       CAI BE

-        CU CHI Tunnels

-       CAN THO (it’s better to spend one night there)

The epicentre of the Mekong Delta, Can Tho is the largest city in the region and feels like a metropolis after a few days exploring the backwaters. As the political, economic, cultural and transportation centre of the Mekong Delta, it’s a buzzing town with a lively waterfront lined with sculpted gardens, an appealing blend of narrow backstreets and wide boulevards, and perhaps the greatest concentration of foreigners in the Delta. It is also the perfect base for nearby floating markets, the major draw for tourists who come here to boat along the many canals and rivers leading out of town.

There are many tours from HCMC. You can easily join them and they are not expensive.

Flights from HCMC to Phu Quoc are really cheap (30 USD circa). And Phu Quoc is really an amazing island!

Fringed with white-sand beaches and with large tracts still cloaked in dense tropical jungle, Phu Quoc rapidly morphed from a sleepy island backwater to a must-visit beach escape for Western expats and sun-seeking tourists. Beyond the resorts lining Long Beach and development beginning on the east coast, there's still ample room for exploration and escaping. Dive the reefs, kayak in the bays, eat up the back-road kilometres on a motorbike, or just lounge on the beach, indulge in a massage and dine on fresh seafood.

Phu Quoc is not really part of the Mekong Delta and doesn’t share the delta’s extraordinary ability to produce rice. The most valuable crop is black pepper, but the islanders here have traditionally earned their living from the sea. Phu Quoc is also famed across Vietnam for its production of high-quality fish sauce. Phu Quoc island is beautiful and it’s the perfect place to relax.

 TRANSPORT in Phu Quoc:

I deeply suggest you to rent a scooter. It’s easy, cheap and in 1 hour you can visit the entire island.

 WHAT TO SEE/ WHERE TO EAT in Phu Quoc:

Nha Ghe Phu Quoc Crab House

At this crustacean sensation you won't be crabby once you get your claws into the likes of soft-shell crab with green-peppercorn salsa, com ghe (jasmine rice with crab meat and fish sauce)

Mango Bay Restaurant

One of the best eating experiences around is to sit on the deck at Mango Bay, dining on tamarind blue-swimmer crab and peering out to sea. There are Australian beef steaks, honey duck breast and lots of Thai flavor.

Spice House at Cassia Cottage

Nab a beachside high table, order a papaya salad, grilled garlic prawns, cinnamon-infused okra, a delectable fish curry or grilled beef skewers wrapped in betel leaves and time dinner to catch the sunset at this etc…

Le Bar

With its gorgeous tiled floor, art deco furniture and colonial charms, this highly elegant and well-poised upstairs lounge-bar at La Veranda is a superb spot for a terrace sundowner.

Dinh Cau Night Market

The most atmospheric place to dine on the island, Duong Dong’s night market has around a dozen stalls serving a delicious range of Vietnamese seafood, grills and vegetarian options.

It’s also the perfect place for buying souvenirs. Pearls are cheap and the sea surrounding the island is full of them.

An Thoi Islands

Just off the southern tip of Phu Quoc, these 15 islands and islets can be visited by chartered boat. It’s a fine area for sightseeing, fishing, swimming and snorkelling.

Rory's Beach Bar

Phu Quoc's liveliest and most fun beach bar draws a steady torrent of travellers and island residents down the path to its seaside perch.

Fish Sauce Factory

The distillery of Nuoc Mam Hung Thanh is the largest of Phu Quoc’s fish-sauce makers, a short walk from the market in Duong Dong.

Winston's Burgers & Beer

The name says it all: this bar is all about (really good) burgers, beer and a large selection of cocktails, mixed by the eponymous Winston.

*Phu Quoc prison

Being a prison built by the French colonialist to imprison Vietnamese people which was known as Coconut Tree Prison, in 1967, Saigon Government rebuilt the Coconut Tree Prison into Phu Quoc communist prisoner prison in an area of 400ha, also known as Phu Quoc war prisoner prison, or Phu Quoc prison. This was the largest place to keep communist soldiers in the South with more than 32,000 prisoners. Sometimes, this number was up to 40,000 people including political prisoners in several periods.

WHERE to STAY in Phu Quoc:

We stayed at Sol Beach House. In my opinion it’s the best resort of the island.

Even if it rains, there is a plenty of facilities/ to do-activities inside.

Thans to my handsome boyfriend, soulmate and perfect travelling companion <3