#or at night when it’s hard to confirm a tornado on the ground. warning times have increased dramatically in the last 20 years

[ereardon]

Friends Don't || Chapter 11

Summary: Bob Floyd has been your best friend for almost a decade, ever since he quietly agreed to tutor you in college. The two of you have spent years chasing each other around the globe – Bob as a WSO, you as a travel blogger. You’ve always been the anywhere-but-here girl, and he’s been your rock. But when a surprise diagnosis threatens to crumble your picture-perfect life, you’re on the first flight back to San Diego, desperate to put down roots for the first time. Will Bob finally have it in him to admit that you could be the love of his life? What will he say when he finds out the secret you’ve been skillfully hiding from him? Or worse, what if he doesn’t find out until it’s too late? 

Pairing: Robert “Bob” Floyd x OC [Reid] 

Tropes: Friends to lovers

Warnings: Cursing, angst, cancer, alcohol, mentions of death

WC: 3.3K

Series masterlist here; previous chapter here; next chapter here

Your skin was on fire. 

Everything felt like it was melting and in slow motion. Like you were inside a raging tornado, just you and Bob staring at each other in the midst of the destruction. Nothing else but his blue eyes on yours, drowning in sorrow and pain and anguish. 

A bottle shattered in the distance, ruining the illusion. And then you were yanked back to reality. 

“Reid?” Bob’s voice was quiet. Shaky. Just your name on his lips, saturated in pain. 

“You fucking asshole,” Phoenix hissed at Jake, shoving his arm and he tipped over into the railing of the deck in his drunken stupor. 

He righted himself, half-lidded eyes finding yours. “Sorry.” It came out cheap and you stepped forward, slapping him clear across the face, the sound of your palm hitting his face echoing in the clear California night. 

“Fuck you, Bagman!” you shouted, winding your hand back for another slap before you felt thick limbs grabbing you from behind, pulling you back. 

“Stop it,” Bradley whispered, his hands hot on your arms as he physically held you back from striking Jake again. “He’s not worth it.” 

The air was heavy. Desperate. You let out an angry sigh, looking over at Bob. His mouth was wide open. Your outburst at Jake confirmed his deepest fears. 

It was true. 

“Bobby,” you whispered, wiggling out of Bradley’s embrace, stepping toward him. He held out a hand, stopping you mid step, and you let out a guttural gasp. 

He shook his head. “No. Don’t touch me.” 

You crumpled to the ground, Bradley catching you before you almost smacked your head against the wooden flooring. Looking up at Bob from the ground you saw him turn, Phoenix’s hand light on his arm, her face drawn in concern. She looked down at you and Bradley before nodding her head, following Bob back into the bar. 

It wasn’t until a thin breeze floated off of the ocean that you realized your cheeks were streaked with tears. 

Bradley held you, cradled against his chest, as you sobbed on the dirty patio floor of the Hard Deck. After a few minutes, the crowd had thinned and he leaned in, whispering into your ear. “Come on,” he murmured softly. “Let’s get you up, OK?” 

Slowly, Bradley pulled you to standing. You felt wobbly and he slipped one arm around your back, gripping your waist tight. 

Phoenix and Bob were still gone. Jake sat in the corner, perched on top of a picnic table, Coyote at his side. Fanboy came up and whispered in Bradley’s ear, who nodded, a frown spread across his face. He turned to you. “Better take you to my place tonight,” he said. “I, uh, think you should give Floyd some space right now.” 

You nodded silently, following his lead as he steered you toward the stairs near the side of the patio, out toward the parking lot. But you pivoted in his arms, stepping directly in front of the picnic table, Jake and Coyote looking up in shock. Your slap had sobered Jake up, at least a little bit, and his eyes looked less glazed as they locked onto yours. 

“I hate you for doing that to him,” you whispered hotly, anger dripping out of every single one of your pores.

Bradley reattached his palm to the small of your back, guiding you away. But not before you saw Jake’s face fall with the realization of what he had done. Of what he had caused. 

Back at the house, you showered in Bradley’s bathroom. When you emerged in a towel, he had an old Naval Academy t-shirt and a pair of boxers laying out on the bed for you. After slipping them on, you wandered down the hall where the back of his head was plainly visible over the edge of the couch. 

He looked up as you rounded the corner of the couch, settling easily onto the other end, your bare feet landing in his lap. Bradley looked down at them before smiling. “Just like old times, huh?” he asked. 

“Shit,” you muttered, pulling your legs to your chest, creating distance between the two of you. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think.” 

He shook his head. “Reid. It’s fine. I promise.”

You frowned. “I’m guessing you hate me, too.” 

“What?” Bradley reached out, placing one hand on your ankle, gripping you tightly. “No. Not at all. If anything, I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell us.” 

A tear slid down your cheek. You knew it was just the start. “I just wanted everything to be normal for as long as possible,” you whispered. “And then everything with Bob.” You sighed. “I knew the moment I told him, everything would change. And I didn’t want it to change. I wanted to stay like that forever.” 

Bradley dropped his hand. “Why did you tell Jake?” 

“I didn’t. He figured it out himself.” 

“Fucking hell,” Bradley muttered to himself. “Well I spoke to Nat. She’s with Bob at the house. He, uh, he doesn’t want to see you right now.” 

You hung your head. 

“So you can stay here. As long as you need.” Bradley grinned. “Looks like we’re finally spending the night.” 

You laughed, despite yourself. “Thank you, Bradley.” 

He stood up, holding out a hand, pulling you to standing. “Are you going to be OK?” he whispered softly, never dropping your hand. 

You felt his thumb stroke the backside of your hand. “I’ll be fine,” you replied quietly. 

***

The next day, Bradley drove you back to Bob’s. You sat in the passenger seat of his old Bronco, tapping your foot nervously, as Bradley went to the door, ringing the bell. Phoenix opened it and they chatted for a few minutes before she looked over at you sadly, closing the door. 

Bradley climbed into the driver’s seat. “Let’s give him one more day. Want to go grab breakfast?” 

You laid back against the seat, dejected. “Sure,” you whispered. 

You felt guilty. For a myriad of reasons. First, that you had hid the truth from Bob for so long. That he had to find out from Hangman of all people. Every time you thought of how broken and devastated he had looked that night on the patio you disintegrated into tears. 

You also felt guilty for letting Bradley take care of you. After everything that the two of you had gone through, he stepped up. While Nat took care of Bob, Bradley took care of you. He coordinated with Natasha to get an overnight bag packed, he tried to entertain you all day and keep your mind off of Bob and the fight. But still, when you went to bed in Bradley’s guest room, you couldn’t sleep. 

So you pulled out your phone to call Bob again. You had called him five times already and left him a dozen messages. All unanswered. The clock in the upper right hand corner of the screen said it was after midnight, but you didn’t care. 

You hit his contact and waited. Just as you were about to hang up, you heard a voice. “Hello?” 

You almost choked. “Bobby.” 

There was a pause. And then, “Reid. I can’t do this right now.” 

“Wait!” You cleared your throat, trying to will away the lump that had taken up residence there. “Honey please. I just, I needed to hear your voice.” 

He sighed. “Well you heard it.” 

A sob rose in your throat. “I know you hate me,” you whispered hoarsely, “and I don’t blame you. I’m sorry, Bobby. I hope you know that no matter what, I love you.” 

“I don’t hate you,” Bob said quietly, his voice low and slow and it felt like in a dream when something you were chasing was just out of reach. “I just can’t believe you hid this from me. I thought after everything, that you’d at least be honest with me. I’ve always been honest with you.” 

A tear slid down your cheek and you let it blaze a path toward your chin. “I’m sorry.” 

“I have to go,” Bob said and your heart constricted in your chest. “I’ll let you know tomorrow if I want to talk.” 

“Okay.” You didn’t hang up. “I miss you, Bobby.” 

Bob let out another sigh. This one sounded dejected. “You’re at Bradley’s? You’re OK?” 

You nodded. “I’m here. I’m alright, given the circumstances.” 

A pause. “Goodnight, Sunny.” 

You closed your eyes, letting the tears stream down your cheeks. “Goodnight, Bobby. I love you.” 

And then the line went dead. 

You laid there for a few minutes in tears, before sitting up. Bradley or Natasha or whoever had packed your overnight bag had included a rather skimpy pajama set that you were now wearing and you shivered. 

Quietly, you tiptoed out of the guest room into the hallway. The light near the kitchen was on and you entered the kitchen toward the back of the house. 

Bradley had his head in the fridge and when he closed it he jumped. “Fuck!” 

You stood a foot away, nonplussed. 

He leaned back, resting against the kitchen counter, shaking his head. “Reid, you scared the shit out of me.” Bradley looked at the clock on the microwave. “It’s late, what are you doing up?” 

“Couldn’t sleep.”

Bradley sighed. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of gray boxers. You stepped closer until the two of you were only a foot apart. Maybe it was the emotions coursing through your veins. Or the fact that you had time on your mind. Or that you were seeking comfort. 

Either way, you looked up at Bradley before slotting yourself between his legs, pressing your body against his, tilting your head up for a kiss. You felt him stir in his boxers against your stomach. 

“Reid.” Bradley pressed his hands against the tops of your arms, pushing you away softly, air rushing between your bodies. “Don’t do this. I know you’re upset and sad and confused, but this isn’t going to help anything. It’ll only make things worse.” 

He was right. You knew that he was right. It’s why you sagged against him as he pulled you into a hug, your tears soaking the front of his shirt, Bradley’s large embrace grounding you, absorbing your shakes and sobs. 

Bradley held you in the kitchen as you cried. And once your well of tears was empty, he led you softly to the couch. “Reid,” he said quietly. “You gotta tell us what’s going on. All of it. So we can help you.” 

You closed your eyes tightly. When you opened them, Bradley stared back at you expectantly. He should have hated you. He should have wanted you out of his life after you had toyed with him and then hung him out to dry. Instead, he had taken you in. They all had. 

They deserved to know. 

You opened your mouth and sighed. The truth came out. All of it. And you watched tears gather in Bradley’s eyes. He leaned forward, his hands clasped around your smaller ones. When you were finished, he wiped away the tears that had gathered on his lashes. 

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, pulling you into a hug. 

You nodded against his chest. “So am I.” 

***

Watching Bob grieve for Denver had been one of the hardest things you’d ever done. More difficult than leaving Bridgeport. More difficult than almost flunking out your first year of college because you hadn’t been able to properly balance work and play. 

Watching as your best friend grieved the loss of a woman he spent every day with, a person he trusted with his life, almost broke you. 

You held his hand in silence at her funeral, Bob’s eyes misting behind his glasses, his cap perched on his head. You stood next to him in a black shift dress as he wore his service dress uniform, his legs shaky, your heart dropped in your stomach. 

It was Bob who stepped forward and presented Denver’s parents with a perfectly folded flag. 

You watched as he nodded and spoke quietly with the other aviators at the memorial service. You watched carefully when he excused himself from a conversation with Omaha and Fritz, slipping out the back door. A few minutes later, you followed him, finding Bob sitting on a bench facing the hills, his head in his hands. 

Instinctively, you sat down next to him, wrapping your hand around his arm. “I’m sorry,” you whispered quietly. 

When he looked up at you, your heart snapped in half. His eyes were ringed with red, his face blotchy, his nose running. “It should have been me,” he whispered. “That should be me in there, in a casket. Not her.” 

“You can’t say that.” 

“But it’s true. She was the better aviator. She knew exactly what she was doing.” He hung his head. “She was protecting me.” 

“You both did everything you could,” you replied softly, running one hand through the hair at the base of his neck. “She loved you. She wanted you to be safe.” 

He raised his eyes to yours. “How can I keep going when she’s not here?” he asked softly. “How do you just keep living?” 

“I don’t know,” you replied. “You just do. Because if you don’t, then everything she did to save you was wasted. Do you think that’s what she would want? Wouldn’t Denver want her death to mean something?” 

He nodded, tears dripping down onto his slacks. You scratched your nails down his back in calming circles. “No, I guess not.” 

You rested your head on his shoulder. In the distance, the sun was starting its descent toward the horizon, blurring the whole sky in orange. You closed your eyes, sinking in the feeling of Bob’s warmth under your cheek. 

Thankful that he had been the one to come home. 

“I love you, Bobby,” you whispered. 

“I love you too, Sunny,” he replied quietly. 

The two of you sat there, side-by-side, gazing out at the sunset. He was held together with tape and glue. And you were his rock. 

***

On the third day after the incident, Bob reached out via Phoenix. Bradley grabbed his phone off the counter, answering it in a swift motion, nodding along. He turned around, catching your eye. “We’ll be there in ten.” 

He hung up. You held your breath. 

“He’s ready to talk.” 

The fifteen steps from Bradley’s car to the front door felt like an eternity. Only a few weeks ago, the three of you had been arguing on the cement driveway and you had gone inside and slept with Bob for the first time. 

So much had changed in such a little amount of time. 

Everything was different. 

You looked at the front door. It was a normal front door, but it felt like you were about to breach an impenetrable force field. Bradley looked at you from where he stood at your side. “Are you OK?” he asked. 

You looked up at him. He had been so good to you. Too good, arguably. You nodded, leaning in and pressing your lips to his cheek softly, squeezing his hand at his side. “Thank you, Brad. For everything.” 

He nodded. “Of course.” 

You sucked in a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. 

A moment later, the door swung open. Phoenix answered, wearing a pair of jeans and a simple white t-shirt, her face tight. Bob appeared behind her, his head slightly dipped. She opened the door wide and you slipped inside into the foyer. 

“We’ll give you guys some space,” she said, grabbing her keys from the table by the door, nodding to Bob. “Talk to you later, Floyd.” 

He nodded back at her and she walked through the doorway. Bradley lingered for a moment, his eyes on you. You smiled at him. “I’ll text you, OK?” 

He looked at Bob, and then back at you before finally agreeing. “Alright. See you later.” 

And then he was gone. Bob moved forward, shutting the door behind them. 

You took a long look at him. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a soft olive green henley shirt, feet bare. His normally slicked hair was soft, falling a bit into his eyes. Your heart ached. All you wanted to do was throw yourself into his arms, feel him hold you tight, tell you it would be alright. 

“Hi,” you said softly, putting your duffle bag down on the floor. 

“I made coffee,” Bob said, heading for the kitchen. It wasn’t a request or a question. Just a statement. You followed him wordlessly and sat on a bar stool as he poured you a mugful of coffee, adding in heavy cream before you could even ask. 

The silence was painful. Normally, silence with Bob was tolerable. Being with him was like an extension of yourself. But this was strained. Unnatural. There was tension. 

You wrapped your fingers around the mug and took a sip, sputtering at how hot it was. 

“Shit,” you whispered, setting it back down. 

“Are you OK?” 

You nodded. “I’ll be fine.” When you raised your eyes to his, he was pleading with you. 

There was no more time. No more space. No more avoidance. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bob’s blue eyes flooded with tears. “Were you ever going to tell me?” 

“Of course I was going to tell you,” you said softly, fingers trembling as you held onto the sides of the ceramic mug. “I just didn’t know how. We were good, we were happy. And I knew this would ruin everything.” 

“But by not telling me, you ruined things.” 

A fresh flood of tears pummeled out of your eyes and down your cheeks. You closed your eyes, trying to blink them away. 

“Reid,” Bob whispered. “Honey, God, after everything that’s happened over the last few weeks, I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me. Maybe before I could have understood. But I thought this, us,” he waved his hand between the two of you, “was serious.” 

You lifted your gaze to him. “I wanted you to want me for me. Not because you thought I was dying.” 

Bob froze. “Reid. Tell me exactly what’s wrong with you.” 

You smiled at him softly. Broken. “I have cancer, Bobby. Uterine cancer. It's, well it's not good. The doctors aren't sure how much time I have.” 

Bob bent in half, a sob falling from his mouth as he softly crumpled to the ground, his back against the cabinets beneath the sink. You pushed to standing from your bar stool, walking over and crouching down next to him, putting one hand gently on his knee. 

“Honey,” you whispered softly. “Bobby, please don’t cry.” 

He looked up at you, pushing away the tears from his face with his rough palms. “What does this mean, Sunny?” he asked. 

You sank to the ground between his legs, your hands cupping his cheeks. “It means I’m sick, Bobby. And I’m probably not going to get any better.” 

Bob pulled you into his arms until the two of you were a mass of tangled limbs and you weren’t sure if his tears were the ones soaking your shirt or if they were yours. He held you for so long that you almost forgot what it was like not to be wrapped in Bob’s embrace. You closed your eyes and waited. 

Waited for a break from the grief. But you were waiting for something that simply would never come. 

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[scribbling-stiks]

Puppets - XXVIII - Touch-down

The remainder of the night is eerily quiet, and even when he is relieved from the watch, Russia can only manage to relax enough to stare up at the vast ocean of stars above him, but he's still far too jittery to sleep. The smell of rot is still vile, but being outside makes the smell almost bearable. 'I wonder if there is a water source nearby,' Russia thought.

Then something flashes in his peripheral vision. He sits up quickly and sees Texas and Canada grabbing their weapons.

"Oh," Massachusetts mumbles, "I thought you guys were sleeping."

"What are you doing?" Texas asks, lowering his club.

"Practicing some more magic," Massachusetts replies.

"Makes sense," Texas mutters.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Massachusetts says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're good, Massy, just warn us next time," Louisiana replies.

Massachusetts nods before announcing, "I am practicing some spells that flash brightly." Louisiana flashes Massachusetts a thumbs-up.

Russia watches him practice. The spells explode like fireworks but slowly transition into more focused bursts of light. Eventually, Massachusetts looks satisfied with his results, and he begins trying to summon something that looked far more solid than his other attempts had produced.

Massachusetts strings together strange words and waves his hands around a mass of bright green light, with eyes half-open. The light condenses, and its outlines become more solid, but just before its shape is revealed, the light begins shaking. It illuminates the brief look of panic on Massachusetts' face before it implodes.

Massachusetts flies through the air for a few moments before landing hard on his back. Russia hops up and starts walking toward him.

"Massy, you good?" Texas calls from behind Russia. Massachusetts raises an arm and gives the thumbs up.

Russia sits back down. After a few moments, Russia sees Massachusetts back on his feet and shuffling over into the firelight, his book under his arm.

"Well, that didn't go so well," Louisiana teases.

"I know! I know. I'm trying to figure out why," Massachusetts rebuttals.

"Maybe your magic is just messed up," Louisiana teases.

"HEY!" Massachusetts shouts. Texas flinches, rubbing the sides of his head.

"Can y'all quiet down?" Texas asks. The pair look over, surprised.

"Are you okay, Tex?" Massachusetts asks, concerned.

"What? Oh-yeah. Y'all don't gotta worry 'bout it," Texas replies, waving off their concerns.

"You don't normally ask us to quiet down. What's wrong?" Louisiana questions.

"Just some severe weather in my state. Nothing y'all need to worry about, it's just giving me a bit of a headache is all," Texas soothes.

"You're still getting severe weather?" Massachusetts inquires.

"Every day of the year, Massy," Texas replies with a tight smile and finger guns.

Massachusetts sighs, but doesn't say anything else on the matter. Russia keeps an eye on Texas and notices that his face falls the moment the other states look away, contorting into a pained grimace.

Thankfully, the rest of the night is quiet, and, per Russia's insistence, they would not start their search until after sunrise.

As soon as dawn breaks, they pack their bags and enter the abandoned mine shaft. After walking through the mouth of the cave, Massachusetts stops.

"Oh, not this s*** again," Massachusetts complains.

"What?" Canada asks.

"There are more godd*** cameras. Look," he responds, pointing to a flashing red light on the ceiling.

"Should we knock 'em down?" Louisiana asks.

"Nah," Texas replies dismissively.

"Taz, now you're being really weird. Are you sure you're okay?" Lousiana asks, turning to face Texas.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Should just be a thunderstorm, no tornados or nothing," Texas says, waving off their concern.

"A tornado? In fall?" Massachusetts says skeptically.

"My tornado season, especially in the northern part, is year-round,  Mass-hole. Now stop yellin' at me," Texas hisses.

"I wasn't yelling," Massachusetts mutters, his voice sounds confused and concerned.

"We should go back," Louisiana suggests.

"What?! No, I'm fine, Lulu. I'm fine," Texas insists, waving his hands as if to stop Louisiana.

"No, you ain't. You've been acting weird an' you ain't looking so good. We ain't going exploring if you're gonna get sick, Tex," Louisiana orders, her arms crossed.

"Look, I'm good. I ain't gonna get sick. We can keep going," Texas asserts, "we gotta look for Dad."

"Texas, all we have been finding is monsters. If you can't fight, then you shouldn't be going," Massachusetts remarks.

"Listen, I'm fine. We can't be stopping now. Come on," Texas grumbles, stomping ahead of the group.

Russia follows behind Texas, feeling a little worried for the state. Texas' breathing is labored, and he keeps stumbling over himself on shaking legs. He isn't even able to hold his light steady. Imagining being confronted in such a small space with Texas in such a state sends a pang of dread through Russia, and he grabs Texas' shoulder.

"That is enough. We are going back to the campsite until you are better," Russia says, pulling Texas back.

"No. I gotta look for dad," Texas mumbles.

"Dad may not even be here!" Massachusetts exclaims.

"I gotta keep looking," Texas insists, trying to walk forward, but Russia refuses to let him go.

Texas weakly tried to pull away, which only confirms Russia's suspicions that Texas is only barely able to stand and won't be able to fight anything. Russia pulls Texas out by the arm, and the others follow.

"No. Why are we doing this? I'm fine!" Texas yells, trying to shake off Russia's hand.

"If you were fine, Russia wouldn't be able to manhandle you like this, eh?" Canada asks.

"No. That don't matter! I-" Texas starts, before he hunches over and groans.

"Are you okay?" Russia asks. Texas doesn't respond. Instead, he begins to stumble, like a toddler who had just gotten off a spinning chair.

"Whoa!" Massachusetts exclaims, reaching out to help steady Texas. Russia readjusts his grasp and gently lowered Texas down to the ground. As soon as Texas is seated, he curls up on himself and holds his head. his breathing is heavier now and uneven.

"Are you okay?" Lousiana asks, placing a hand on Texas' back.

"It's a tornado... a big one... just touched down," Texas mutters, his eyes screwed shut.

"Anything we can do to help?" Massachusetts asks.

"I ain't gonna be flying back, so no," Texas snaps.

"Hey! I'm just trying to help," Massachusetts remarks.

"Well, don't!" Texas growls, and then he groans into his legs.

Russia finds himself standing aside, unsure of what to do. Texas is still curled into a ball of suffering, immobile. 'At least we are outside and not stuck in the mine,' Russia thinks, sitting down and making himself comfortable.

~

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Table of Contents

[wizardess-legends]

Power of the Day Class Girls

Summary: Of course the day wouldn’t be complete at the famous academy without there being some chaos as magical creatures attack during lunch time. (Here’s an introductory fic for the rest of my ocs plus one I may have forgotten to mention existed ^^’)

A multitude of spells were flying as the group of prefects were trying to fend off a quite large group of creatures. “Werewolves I can understand showing up out of the blue,” Caesar started to shout while shooting out another fire spell. “But why the hell are there giant spiders here!? No one told me spiders could get this big,” Zeus cut in shouting. Lucious was using dark magic as he let out an annoyed huff while listening to them complaining. “Oh yeah the werewolves and giant spiders are the biggest concern! It’s not like there’s a WHOLE minotaur among them,” Lucious yelled at the two. 

Lizzy was running as the minotaur was chasing behind her as she shouted, “The glitter bombs didn’t work, it only made him more pissed!” “Run over to us, we’re going to try and attack it at once,” Alfonse called out to Lizzy while Elias, Yukiya, and Luca stood together. Quick to change course making her way over to them in which once she reached them she slid under Alfonse's legs. Once with a clear shot the boys unleashed four attacks at the same time sending the minotaur backwards with a loud thud sound. 

“Ha take that,” Luca shouted excitedly with a large grin.

“Luca it’s getting back up,”

“Ah shit, this bites,” he said, shoulders dropping as the small group watched as the bull-like creature was getting up again.

Without warning a large tide of water came out of nowhere and swept a couple of werewolves and spiders away. Then a couple of other spells hit a couple more of the attacking creatures. “What are you all doing out here?! You three should be inside the academy it isn’t safe,” Elias shouted in a stern manner as there were three female day class students. “That’s what I-I tried to tell Dite but she wouldn’t listen,” A girl who had short muted purple hair with a long low ponytail in the back and light coral colored eyes called back as a black wolf stood by her. “Now, now Lias don’t worry your pretty little head off! Besides how are we going to show off to the night class what the day class is made of, especially us ladies,” the girl next to her spoke confidently; medium wavy hair that was silver but more towards the bottom was pink and brownish pink eyes. “If anything we’ll buy you guys time to make sure everyone gets inside safely,” the third student was holding a long golden trident with medium straight teal hair with a couple of strands of hair in front that were two different colors and slate blue eyes. 

~~~~~

Seeing that the prefects took our offer they started to fend off the werewolves and spiders that were going after the other students. Letting out a small sigh I twirled my trident before holding it properly in my hand pointing it at the creatures before me. “Aquarum voragine,” I shouted as the trident formed water as in the distance water collected and shot up into the air moving like a tornado which some of the werewolves got caught inside. Moving my trident the vortex of water would follow the movement hitting more. “This’ll be no problem at this rate,” I muttered to myself but then when I heard the sudden close sound of growling I looked to my left to see a werewolf lunging towards me, holding the trident with both hands I blocked its claws and pushed it back. “Acies aqua,” I quickly chanted another spell, blades of water slicing the creature as it let out a whimpering sound. 

~~~~~

My whole body was trembling, I still can’t believe I let Aphrodite talk me into this crazy plan! But… She wasn’t wrong; aside from wanting to help keep the others safe, some of the prefects are our friends and even they need to be protected at times too! “These spiders really aren’t giving any room for anyone to try and attack,” I said to myself as I continued to dodge out of the way of webs the spiders were spitting my way. Catching my breath I closed my eyes for a moment and just breathed to calm myself down; now isn’t the time to be acting like a coward Genova! I brought my hands closer to my face kissing the rings on both my index fingers and then taking a fighting stance as my iron claws appeared on my hands. “Now you’re looking more like a wolf,” I glanced over to see my familiar before glancing back to the spiders. I’ll be putting myself at a greater risk of getting hurt, but it’ll be harder for them to shoot their webs if we’re fighting close. “Right, let’s go Bane,” I shouted running head on, continuing to dodge the webs or swing my hand down as it would create blades of wind to cut through them. When close enough was when I started to lash out and send out attacks of claws of wind. I’m sorry spiders, but I have people I need to protect!

~~~~~

Dodging between the spiders webs and the lunge attacks from the werewolves were becoming super tiring. “Are you really sure this was such a great idea,” I heard my familiar ask from my shoulder as I was too busy keeping an eye out for the creatures and sent out countless spells to keep them back. “Absolutely my dear Sheba,” I said with a small grin; I may not be as skilled in fighting like Genova or Vivievianna, but I was still confident in my magic! “But I will admit the sheer numbers of the creatures are wearing me out a bit and if I break a nail because of these gross beasts I’ll be mad,” I said while castes another spell making spikes of earth to grow from the ground. “But not only that I stay true to what I said earlier, as not only for the night class to see, but for the rest of the day class to see what we’re capable of,” I said passionately as I really do hate not being taken seriously. While fighting I couldn’t help but continue to feel concerned about the minotaur, it’s been a while since I last saw it and if we’re not careful it could easily take us out. A chill violently went down my spine when I heard the loud and heavy running footsteps, looking around I needed to figure out where it was coming from. Turning to look back over to where Genova was my eyes grew in fear as it was going to attack her! 

~~~~~

Flying on the back of the wyvern I was approaching the academy as scanning down below it wasn’t hard to spot the battle going on below. “Kaiser, Kaiser do you copy,” I heard my communicator go off hearing Klaus’ voice, how annoying. Letting out a small groan I rolled my eyes before replying “Yes your uptightness I copy.” “I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that, what’s your position,” he asked as I gritted my teeth when I had eyes on the Minotaur as it attacked a student. “I’m already at the academy, I’ll have to talk to you later,” I said, cutting communications giving the wyvern directions to fly down. “Milady did that student just-” I heard Fang say from my neck as much to my bewilderment as the girl who got hit by the creature to ash. “Turn to ash… Yeah,” I confirmed what he saw as there was no way a minotaur could have done that, but I wasn’t going to worry about that.

“Alright Fang you know the drill,” I said, removing Fang from my neck and onto the wyvern’s head. “You and our little friend here take out the rest of the werewolves and spiders,” I gave them their orders as I swung one leg over before jumping off free falling above the magical creature. Holding my right arm and my tattoo began to glow as I loudly chanted, “Poroboros Nox!” The purplish black balls of magic went falling down around the minotaur before blowing up. Smirking at the sound of the creature crying out I felt myself land on the creature, pushing off of it and landing on the ground safely. “Become thy blade, ferrum tenebris,” I chanted the shortened spell as both arms the same purplish black particles formed until they took shape into long blades. Hearing the loud screeching sound of Fang I glanced over and grinned seeing him bigger easily disposing of the lingering creatures. The loud roar that came from the creature before me, I turned my attention back to him. I watched as he scuffed his hooves against the dirt.

~~~~~

Falling down with a hard thud the Minotaur was defeated as the long dark haired woman dusted her hands off. The prefects rushed back over as the long battle was finally over as well as the girls who helped. “Though your uniform is slightly different, you wouldn’t happen to be with the Ministry would you,” Alfonse asked curiously with his hand to his chin. Picking up her once again small familiar, Kaiser picked him up and placed him back around her neck. “Yes, I’m Kaiser; I’m the Ministry’s black magic specialist,” she answered in a cold manner. Lizzy and the other prefects took turns introducing themselves before it was the students turns.

“I’m Vivievianna Ariella,” the girl with the trident spoke first in a very neutral tone. The girl who was smiling and had a ferret-like creature on her shoulder chimed in next “I’m Aphrodite Dolloway and this is my familiar Sheba!” “Hey... What happened to the purple haired girl,” Hiro asked as he saw the wolf that was with the girl, but it was when from behind Aphrodite a younger version of the muted purple haired girl came out wearing a simple white silk dress. “I-I’m right here… I’m uh Genova Merkulova,” she shyly introduced herself before now hugging the black wolf. “As this is my familiar Bane,” she added shortly after.

The moment was shortly interrupted by an angry voice shouting, “I’d ask you if you were crazy, but it’d be pointless because we both already know the answer is yes!” Rolling her sapphire blue eyes, Kaiser said, “Great he’s here. That’s my que to leave.” Many were confused as there was Klaus approaching the group. Kaiser started to climb up on the wyvern as she gave the creature a pat on the head. “Where do you think you’re going?! Also where did that wyvern come from,” Klaus shouted as he obviously looked irritated. “Ya know back to headquarters to put in the report of what happened. As it isn’t any of your business, but I have my resources,” Kaiser replied smugly before the magical creature took off flying. Pinching the bridge of his nose he decided to leave it as he’d give her a piece of his mind later. Decided to all go inside the prefects filled Klaus in of the events that had taken place.

[theangriestpea]

Crowned : five

Summary: Two blonde princesses, two dark-haired princes, and one plotting marquess. Lily is in love with a secret admirer. Shanna doesn’t want to ascend to the throne. Jughead wants to spend the day writing poetry. Sweet Pea would rather be out on his horse. And Reggie just wants to be king. <ao3> <masterlist>

Pairing: Sweet Pea x OC, Jughead Jones x OC

Word Count: 4.6k+

Warnings: None really, mild drinking I suppose. 

A/N: Welcome to the grande finale! Part six will be an epilogue! Thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed this series! There is also a scene that was omitted from this part that will be made into a one-shot later. Enjoy! Graphics on this chapter at by @princesweetpea���!

Part Five: Wedding Bells

Two fair haired princesses sat in silence at the table drinking a special blend of mint and ginger tea. They had both had unsettled stomachs for a few weeks now, and it was only getting worse. Everyone around them had chalked it up to nerves before their big day. In truth, that was part of it but not the reason why they had been so ill. 

“We have to tell them.” Lily said after a sip of tea. She held the teacup gently in her hands. The fragile porcelain was shaking slightly in her grip. “It’s the right thing to do.” 

Shanna was quiet for the longest time, and Lily wondered if she even heard her. They sat in a stuffy silence for another ten minutes before she finally spoke. “You’re right. They deserve to know.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Did the tea help you at all?” 

Lily shrugged, “a little. I feel slightly less like puking and more like laying catatonic on my bed until it all goes away.” 

“We’ve got a long time before that happens.” Shanna said with an unladylike groan. “Well, I know where Sweet Pea is. Always in his fucking war room. Any idea where Jughead is?” 

She bit her lip as she thought, “I’m not sure. Probably with daddy. It will look weird if I go get him. He will get suspicious…” 

“Divide and conquer then?” Shanna asked, “I’ll get my fiance, you get yours?” 

Lily nodded reluctantly. “Meet back here in ten minutes?” 

“Deal.” 

Roughly ten minutes later, the two princes had joined their future wives with a curious look in their eyes. They had noticed their strange behavior lately but they assumed it was just stress. 

The girls stared at one another, unsure if they should proceed. “Well?” Sweet Pea asked, annoyed that he had been interrupted. “I was in the middle of something important.” Shanna snorted back in response, knowing it couldn’t have been all that important since he was willing to come their little rendezvous. 

“On the count of three?” Lily asked her sister who simply nodded in response. She took a deep breath and counted slowly. 

Once of three they said in almost perfect unison, “I’m pregnant.” Before looking down at the ground, ashamed of their confession. It had been so  stupid  , so  reckless  of them to let this happen. Their wedding was in one week. Maybe, just maybe, they could get away with this without anyone finding out. After all, they were only about four or five weeks along.

The princes stared at them, Sweet Pea baffled with how this could have happened while Jughead had a broad smile slowly spread over his features. “This is great!” He exclaimed happily, clapping his hands together for emphasis. 

The other three royals stared at him with wide eyes and mouths agape. Great? How in the hell was this great? “Do tell me, brother,” Sweet Pea drawled with a grave tone, “how exactly is this  great ? We have to raise each other’s kids!” He threw his arms up in exasperation before pacing vigorously. 

Lav frowned, shuffling her feet and shifting her weight uncomfortably. She had known he’d be upset but she still wasn’t prepared for it. “You have to get rid of it.” He quickly added, looking directly at his lover with piercing brown eyes. They only softened when he saw the tears spill from her eyelids and down her cheeks. 

“Is that what you want?” She asked in a voice that shook like a leaf in a tornado. Pain made it crack with hurt. “You want me to just kill it and pretend none of this ever happened?” 

“You cannot be queen and give birth to my child!” He said, voice raised due to the intense anxiety he was feeling. “What about that don’t you understand?” 

Her eyes set ablaze as she stormed up to him and slapped him hard across the face, leaving the faint red impression of a hand print. “I understand that you’re a heartless, prick. Thank the heavens I’m not marrying  you  instead!” 

This time his eyes portrayed his own pain at her words. Something he normally steeled himself to. For a brief moment they both felt guilt. However, their anger made it quickly wash away. “No one will ever love you.” He bit back, spitting out the same phrase he told her after their first race. “Not my brother, not me, not your bastard child, no one.” 

Lily was about to jump on him herself, but Shanna stopped her. She swallowed the sob that threatened to erupt from her as she stared at him with narrow eyes, tears still streaming down her flushed cheeks. Before anything else could be said, the dark prince stormed from the room, the door slamming shut in his wake. 

Jughead was in a state of shock at how cruel his brother had just been to his fiance. To the woman he had consensually impregnated with his own seed. As soon as the door slammed closed, the older girl broke down. Before she could fall to her knees, both him and Lily caught her in their arms. They looked at one another with sorrowful eyes, knowing this was a pain they could not mend. 

“Don’t listen to that asshole.” Lily said, running her hands through her sister’s golden hair. “I love you. Our babies will love you. And I’m sure Jug-” 

“I’ll love you.” Jughead said with a soft smile, “maybe not in the way that I’m supposed to, but I will still care for you always.” The words stung Lily but not as much as she thought they would. This was their cold reality. There was no going back. 

Once he was back in his precious war room, Sweet Pea broke down himself. He remained silent as hot tears flooded his eyes and he went down to his knees in front of his war table. Everything was so messed up. Him marrying Lily. Shanna carrying his child. And worst of all the immense guilt he felt from the horrible things he had said to her out of anger. His father had tried time and time again to teach him control, but it always failed him in the end. This was just too much, he couldn’t bear it. 

And worst of all he knew that she’d hate him now and would possibly never let him see the baby she refused to get rid of. A prince or princess that will forever be their dirty little secret. A boy or girl that will one day ascend the throne even though they will have no Jones blood in them. But if anyone knew the truth, the alliance could break. Shatter their peaceful lives into tiny unmendable fragments. War would rage with the kingdom of Greendale. Their happiness was a lost cause. 

But still, he had broken his own heart with the way he had acted and unfortunately, this time, he had no idea on how he’d make it better. His own bride to be was likely to loathe him as well. Essentially he had just made his home life hell for who knows how long. Their joint weddings would be next week, not even a full seven days away. They’d honeymoon and I suppose consummate but it was far more possible that the only way he would get laid from now on would be through the string of mistresses he had planned to keep. Because ultimately no one would feel like Shanna did when she was in his arms or how comforting her presence was while they were in bed together. No, he’d probably just sleep alone. 

And that night, he was alone in his room. His eyes rimmed red and inflamed from the many tears he had shed. He stared up at the blank white ceiling, wondering how things were ever going to be okay again. No one had spoken to him, no one had bothered him for the rest of the day. Even so, he got no more work done. He was far too upset to concentrate. 

Instead he had found a bottle of top shelf whiskey in the kitchen and had taken it to his bedroom to nurse solemnly. It was half gone, his mind fuzzy and somehow horny for the one he had cast away. Perfect, he needed her and he had made it so she’d never satisfy him again. Why did he always screw things up? 

There was a banging on his door and he slurred a sloppy  come in . The door opened and his brother stood, looking tired and angry and determined. Shit. Sweet Pea knew that face well. That was the face Jughead made when he was on a mission to fix something that is broken. That something was no doubt the current state of his relationship with the woman that would bare his child. 

“Are you drunk?” He asked, staring at the dark prince that appeared to be extremely disheveled. Sweet Pea hiccuped a confirmation, having no need to use actual words to affirm the state in was currently in. 

Jughead wanted to punch him. Sweet Pea had a habit of drinking copious amounts when he was upset. It was a terrible coping mechanism that he and their father shared even though they weren’t blood relatives. 

He moved closer to the bed as Sweet Pea sat up. He grabbed the bottle from his nightstand and took another chug. Jughead snatched it from him before he could finish. “Is this about what you said to Shanna earlier?” 

Sweet Pea would rather fuck a cactus then talk about this with the crown prince. He thought it was glaringly obvious as to why he was drinking. Today had been a pretty shitty day. He found out he was going to be a dad and then ruined his relationship with the child’s mother. It was beyond terrible. 

“I didn’t mean it…” He mumbled, mostly to himself. He didn’t mean it, but that didn’t stop him from saying it. The moment replayed in his head like a broken record set to haunt him for the rest of his life. There was no way he could make this up to her. 

Jughead let out an aggravated sigh. “I don’t understand why you blew up like that. It’s not that bad. Actually, I think it’s pretty great. I love kids.” 

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, “You want to raise someone else’s kid?” He spat back at him, “you won’t even see yours most of the time.” 

He shrugged, “I’d rather you be a father to them than a stranger.” He answered honestly. “We both need heirs anyway. This just speeds things up.” 

Pea stared at him in an attempt to see if he was being serious or not. Did he really not see how dangerous this was? “And what if someone does a DNA test on the child? What then?” 

“I’ll be king. It won’t matter because what I say will be absolute.” Jughead replied sharply with an air of authority. “We only have to keep this a secret for six more days. Then, it won’t matter. The deal will be sealed. No harm can come to our kingdoms. So if you ever want to see your kid in the future, I suggest you go to Shanna and apologize for what you said to her.” 

“She’s not going to forgive me.” Sweet Pea said miserably. “She probably won’t even answer the door.” 

“Go try!” Jughead said, his frustration showing more and more. “Because she’s having your child whether you want her to or not! You could at least be a halfway decent person for once in  your life and mend things with her before our weddings.” 

His brother’s words hurt. They struck him deep in the chest. Maybe Jughead was right, maybe he wasn’t a decent person. Always sleeping around. Breaking hearts. Getting into fights….the bad in him seemed to outweigh the good and he suddenly wondered what she saw in him at all. 

“Fine.” Sweet Pea said in a defeated tone. He managed to stand up and wobble towards Jughead who stepped out of his way. “But if she hits me again, I’m blaming you.” 

Jughead rolled his eyes, “you deserve anything she throws at you. Now go.” He shooed his brother out and watched him stumble down the hallway towards his fiance’s room. 

Once there, he leaned against the door with all his weight, breathing heavily in an attempt to control his nerves. Doing this while intoxicated was much harder than he had thought. He offhandedly thought about going back to his bed and crying himself to sleep. That would be easier than this. 

The door suddenly opened and he toppled forward, landing face first onto the carpet. He heard a shuffle of feet and an annoyed huff. “Did you shower in whiskey or something?” Shanna asked, the smell making her want to throw up for the fifth time that day. She was exhausted from the amount of emotion she had felt that day. Too tired to put up a fight as to why Sweet Pea was drunk outside her door. 

He mumbled something into the thick carpet that she couldn’t comprehend. “I can’t hear you when your mouth is full of shag.” She said, the bitterness in her tone made him flinch. 

Sweet Pea turned his head to the side and took a deep breath, “I came to apologize…” 

Shanna resisted the urge to kick him angrily in the side. “Please, just leave.” She said in a soft, defeated voice. “I don’t want to talk to you while you’re drunk.” 

He sat up, albeit with a bit of difficulty. “Shanna, listen, I didn’t mean what I said...I was just upset, I don’t want you to get rid of the baby…” 

She huffed angrily at him, “You’re so full of shit, Sweet Pea. You’re only here because Jughead ordered you too. I’m not an idiot. Just, go sleep it off or whatever. I don’t want to see you after what you said to me. Not meaning it does not make it okay. I’m not some verbal punching bag for you to take your anger out any time you get upset.” 

He looked down at the floor and against his will, more salty tears filled his eyes. She hadn’t seen how awful he looked when she opened the door. She could barely see it now. Snot flooded his nose, causing him to sniffle to keep it from dripping out. The sound made her freeze in her tracks. 

“Are you crying…?” She asked, her voice even quieter than before, almost as if she didn’t believe it. 

Sweet Pea looked up at her once more, fresh streaks of wetness down his face. “I’m sorry...I’m so sorry, I always fuck everything up. I’m not really a Jones, you know? I’m not royal. It’s not right for the queen to have a baby that’s not royalty. I’m just an abandoned mutt and you deserve better than what I could ever give you.” 

Shanna got down on her knees in front of him, reaching out with both hands to cradle her face. “I don’t care about your lineage. I never have. That doesn’t matter to me. Royalty or not. I don’t understand why you think so low of me. How did I possibly make you believe that I wouldn’t want you just because you’re not King Jones’ biological son? You are his son, Sweet Pea. Blood doesn’t always matter.” 

She wiped his tears away with her thumbs, her heart heavy from his words. “I love you.” She said for the first time out loud. While Lily and Jughead had no issue saying the three words until their lips turned blue, Shanna and Sweet Pea had not dared to utter them. “I love you and I will always love you. Even if you don’t love me back.” 

His heart twisted in its cage. “That’s not...that’s not true.” He said, meaning her last statement. “I do…” He hesitated, the words feeling so foreign in his mind. As if thinking it and saying it would cause the world to crash down around him. “I love you too.” He finally said in a low voice. He silently hoped she didn’t hear him. 

The princess leaned in and gently kissed him on the lips. It was tender and chaste, and after a second she pulled away. “Come in and close the door before someone sees you. And please, take a shower before you make me throw up.” She laughed lightly as she stood up. She outstretched her hand and he grabbed it, needing all the help he could get to stand. “Maybe it’ll sober you up a little.” 

“Oh, ha ha.” Sweet Pea said flatly before making his way into her bathroom. “Join me?” 

Shanna smiled and nodded, following up behind him and walking inside. 

  |\/\/|

 Six days past and the big day had come. The first item on the itinerary was the wedding of Shanna and Forsythe. It would take place promptly at 10 am, following a brief intermission there will be the wedding of Lilian and Nathaniel. Then the reception would follow. It was going to be a very long day. 

Prince Forsythe was at the altar in his traditional military uniform. He looked striking, as did Sweet Pea who was wearing a similar outfit next to him. The only difference was he had several more medals pinned to his breast. Adorned on both of their heads were crowns, although Jughead’s was much more elaborate compared to Sweet Pea’s modest one. 

One side was filled with the Northside Kingdom’s royal court and what little bit of royal family there was still left. The other housed the Southside Kingdom’s court and family. King and Queen Jones as well as Princess Jellybean. Even the royal hound lovingly named Hotdog was there sitting patiently. 

On the third row of the Northiside side, the Mantles sat waiting in quiet. Reggie had his evidence stockpiled against the princesses. He planned on using them to his full advantage. The pictures, the physical evidence he had gathered, it was all for this. All to usurp the Jones family. Hopefully the King would listen to him, although the duke had assured him that King Owens would have no choice but to concede. 

The music began and the wedding party slowly walked down the decorated aisle. There was but one bridesmaid and groomsman. The siblings of the bride and groom. They walked down the aisle together, Lily forcing a smile while Sweet Pea had a blank if not annoyed expression on his face.

The guests rose as the music changed to the traditional wedding march. The King appeared at the end, his eldest daughter on his arm as they walked slowly down the aisle. Small gasps at how beautiful the princess looked sounded, happy tears were already starting to be shed. 

Sweet Pea could not look away from him. His gut twisted painfully at the thought of the only woman he had ever actually loved marrying his brother. His eyes darted to her still flat stomach before going back up to her face. This wasn’t right but there was nothing he could do about it. His son or daughter would be in Jughead’s care. This seemed like a fresh kind of hell for him. Life had never been terribly easy but now it seemed a million times harder. 

Reggie’s hands twitched nervously as he fumbled with the plastic wand in his pocket. It was almost time. Almost… He did not notice Jughead’s gaze landing on him. 

The prince held his hand out for his future queen as the royal priest spoke, “who gives this woman away today on the day of her wedding?” 

“I do.” The King said with a kind smile, his eyes twinkling. Shanna gently grabbed Jughead’s hand and stepped forward to take her place at his side in front of the altar, facing him. 

The priest looked across the crowd. “Should anyone here present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” He stated for tradition sake. Obviously no one in their right mind would object. 

All four royal teens tensed at the old line. Lily and Sweet Pea’s eyes were on the marquess as Jughead and Shanna remained staring at one another in an attempt to pretend to be having a good time. Everyone was on edge. 

And then, as if on cue, Marquess Mantle stood. “I do, father.” He stated in a booming,  arrogant voice. “I have evidence of infidelity. Trickery. And something even more sinister that has happened under the noses of the royal court.” 

King Owen’s head shot around to stare at Reggie, his eyes aflame with rage at the interruption. Certainly nothing he had was true. Certainly this was all a trick to stop the wedding. “Marquess.” He said in an authoritative tone, “show me this evidence or you were be excused from this court...permanently.” 

“Your highness, some of it may be unsuitable for the eyes of the public. There are young children here.” He added calmly. “However, I will show it to you in private if you do not take my word.” He looked to the bride and drank in the horrified expression on her face. “King Owens. Are you aware of what your daughters have been doing on the days leading up to this ceremony?” 

“They’ve been busy planning.” The King said distrustfully. “And spending time with their fiances.” 

“That is only half true.” Reggie corrected. “They have been planning, yes. However They have not been spending quality time with their betrothed. Rather, Princess Shanna has been making a bed with Prince Sweet Pea while Princess Lily was having her own affair with Prince Forsythe.” 

Shanna thought she was going to faint. Sensing this, Jughead kept a firm grip on her in case she did lose consciousness. Lily’s knees were wobbling so hard that she was visibly shaking. No. No, no, no, this was all wrong!

“And your proof?” The King asked, his face red with fury. There was no way this was true. This was impossible. A fabrication to smear the names of his daughters. 

“I have video and photographic evidence.” Reggie replied, his tone cool and smooth. He took out two objects from his pocket and showed them to the king. “As well as these. Taken from the princesses’ personal bathrooms.” In his hand were two positive pregnancy tests. 

“Not only are the princesses not virgins but they are pregnant with the other prince’s child. I’m sure a simple medical exam will find this to be true. A DNA test will confirm it once the children are born.” Reggie said, a satisfied smile on his face at his success. 

The king’s murderous gaze turned to his two girls, “Tell me. Tell me this is all some cruel joke being played on your old man.” He said, his voice rising, “tell me you did not break your vow to me!” 

Before he could continue, King Forsythe Jones the Second stood. “King Owens.” He said, an amused look on his face for what his sons had gotten themselves into. “If I may propose a solution to this predicament?” 

The Northside King looked as though he did not want to negotiate any longer. His daughters had betrayed him in the worst way possible. Their kingdom was depending on them and they just threw it all away. He wanted to scream until his lungs gave out, but he held his composure. He took a breath to try and still his raging heart. “What do you have in mind?” He asked finally. 

“Since both my sons are of royal blood, and likewise both of your daughters are of royal blood, then what does it matter who marries who? I only ask that my son is king of our united kingdoms.” FP was smiling warmly at his sons and their fiancees. “I am not so set in my ways that I can’t compromise, are you?” 

King Owens sent a heated look to his daughters, mainly Lavender who was boldly looking back at him. “Daddy, I never wanted to be queen. Please, let Lily take the throne. She will be a brilliant queen. I will stay on the Southside with Prince Nathaniel to help him with the rural provinces. This is what we both want. Will the kingdom not be happier with two rulers who truly love one another?” 

Her gaze turned to Reggie. “The Marquess would have me marry him, daddy, but the truth is. He is the one that took my virginity on my eighteenth birthday to try and steal the crown from you. The only one here deserving of punishment is him. Sneaking into our bathrooms, spying on us, all of this is unacceptable for someone of the royal court.”

Reggie opened his mouth, about to protest when she held her hand up to silence him. In that moment she looked more like a queen than she had in her entire life. “But, do not blame him, daddy. It was his father that put him up to all of this. His father that has thirsted for power although he is already corrupt with greed. If anyone should be harmed on the day of your daughters’ weddings then it should be the Duke.” 

Duke Mantle shot up from his seat, “your highness, this is absolutely ridiculous slander against-” 

King Jones started to laugh at once and all in attendance stared at him. “What’s wrong, Marty? Are you that eaten up about your bastard son being a prince? Does him potentially becoming king instead of your royal heir that you will do anything to dethrone him? You are such a vile, sad man and I agree with my future daughter-in-law. If anyone here is guilty of wrongdoing, then it is you. King Owens, for his heinous actions against both of our courts, I suggest you strip Duke Mantle of all of his titles and honors. Do with his claimed heir as you will.” 

King Owens, flabbergasted with the turn of events stared in shock at King Jones. Was he truly okay with all of this? Was the decision truly his? Shanna’s words rang in his ears painfully. “It is settled.” He said finally, looking back at the bride and groom. “Lillian, you will marry Prince Forsythe who will ascend the throne after me. Shanna, despite your show today of how great of a leader you could be, I will allow you to step down and marry Prince Nathaniel. If this is what the both of you truly want, then so be it.” 

His dark and stormy eyes met that of the Duke who had suddenly gone pale. “As for you, I hereby renounce your title as Duke of the Northside. Reginald, you may take your father’s title if you wish but he is to be banished from the kingdom. I will not allow his scheming to continue on my soil.” 

Reggie sat down slowly, in utter shock at the King’s decree. He would be duke? Then his father...He’d finally be rid of his father? A grin broke onto his face. “Thank you, your highness for your mercy.” 

King Owens nodded curtly. “Shanna, switch places with Lily. Let the wedding commence.” 

Happy tears were streaming down Lily’s face. Her waterproof makeup set in place as she joined Jughead at the altar. Without any more objections the two were wed. And then, in place of an entire second wedding, Shanna and Sweet Pea were wed on the spot next after switching places. 

No one in the kingdom had seen the dark prince smile as he had that day. It was the dawn of a new era and their happiness would reign.

Tag List: @the-gargoyle-queen​, @wayward-river​, @redhairdontcare732​, @southside-vixen​, @iamaunicorn4704​, @jezzabelleserpent​

[worddevdealswithml]

Side Effects Include: Empathy

Chapter 16:

“You’re distracted.”

He blinked, as he managed to parry once, twice, and… Not a third time.

“I—" he said, “ah…”

“Why?”

He tried to find some usable explanation as he reset his stance.

“I’m serious,” said Kagami, pulling off her helmet, to his surprise, “Why?”

He didn’t react, still grasping for an appropriate reaction.

“Neither of us is going to gain anything from this if you’re distracted and I’m not being challenged,” she said, evidently by way of explanation.

He pulled off his helmet as well, but…  “Sorry,” he said.

She didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Alright then.  Who?”

He looked up at her, eyes a bit wider than he’d meant them to be.

//

Who?

He hadn’t been lying; he really had started missing her as soon as he’d walked away from her, and the rush of emotion, only partly hers, as he’d wrapped his arms around her for a moment had only cemented that.

If he’d managed to say what he’d really meant, or at least something more concrete, maybe it wouldn’t bother him so much, but…

He hasn’t been able to justify going back as Chat Noir.  Not last night, and maybe not this one, either.  Maybe… Maybe he’ll just have to wait until Monday.

The idea isn’t exactly pleasant.

//

 “Is this about Marinette?”

He looked sharply at her, even as the world seemed to go fuzzy for a second with the burning in his face.

Kagami’s expression was even, but it was obvious she knew she was right.

As unexpressive as if she’d left her helmet on, she considered him.  “I have no reason to keep sparring you right now.  You may as well sit down.”

He nodded, unable to keep the embarrassment out of his face.  For all he would never have given up his feelings towards Marinette, this wasn’t fair to Kagami.  From what little he knew, her schedule was almost as restrictive as his, and she didn’t deserve to have him derailing her in the middle of something, and that was even without considering the fact that, well…

--

“So?” she said, “What happened?”

His face was bright red, he seemed on the verge of refusing to answer, and then…

“I…” he sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For… Interrupting our sparring for… Nothing, really.”

“If it was nothing, you wouldn’t have done it.  Tell the truth.”

“I…  I…”  His eyes closed.  “I didn’t realize how much I liked Marinette.”

“And?”

“And…  I had some free time yesterday, and she showed me around the city…”

“A date?”  It was more a matter of confirmation than anything else.

He inhaled, and… shook his head.  “Not… really.”

She pursed her lips.  “Did you want it to be?”

There was a long moment, and… He nodded.

It hurt.  A sharp, twisting sensation in the pit of her stomach, and then…  She opened her eyes. “Then you should have made it one.”

He sat up, and looked at her.

“You don’t like it that you didn’t tell the truth.  The only way to avoid it is to get over yourself, and do it.”

His face was turning red.  “I…  I…  I was, well, that’s part of it, but…  I realized, well, afterwards, that I hadn’t told you, and…  Well…”

“You’re mistaken if you think I’ll let myself break down again.  Once was enough.  Twice was disgraceful.”

“You’re… Okay?”  He let out a sigh of what seemed to be relief.

“I will be.”

He sighed, expression showing, what, secondhand pain on her behalf?  Confusion?  “You’re way stronger than me, Kagami.”

“I know,” she said, expression still even.

She did.  And, if nothing else…

She’d half expected Adrien to finally come to terms with how he felt about Marinette since the day they’d gone skating, even if she hadn’t fully understood what exactly he found so admirable about Marinette.  Yes, she was talented, and dedicated to helping people but…

Kagami had heard the recording, just as everyone else had, and, despite herself, she’d been impressed.  There was a certain raw strength of character that Marinette had shown, and there was no denying it was admirable.

The first time she’d been akumatized, it was a loss that, in her bones, she’d known she hadn’t deserved.

The second time, it had been Adrien’s heart, seemingly pilfered by a dirty thief in the night.

This?  She’d seen it coming, and if she’d… lost, it was to someone as good as she was.  There was no shame in that.

There was no shame in that.

She took a deep breath, and her exhale barely shuddered.

--

“I’ll tell you exactly what I told Marinette,” said Kagami, standing.  “I never hesitate.”

As she turned away, Adrien, unthinking, reached out a hand, and caught her shoulder.

//

“Are you… Sure?” he says.  “I mean… I know there’s nothing I can do to make this… Not something you have to face, but are you sure you’re okay?”

He can feel the burning, prickling through her; sadness, pain, anger, but…  They call her the ice queen, but they’re wrong.  Kagami isn’t cold.  She isn’t made of ice.

She’s more like iron.

She turns, looking over her shoulder.

“I told you,” she says, “I will be.  Are you doubting me?”

He isn’t.

//

He pulled his hand away, embarrassed at the impulse.

“No,” and, as she walked away, “I’m sorry.”

“I know you are.”

She put her helmet on again, and picked up her foil.

“Now, as soon as you’re ready to continue, I’ll be practicing.”

He nodded, feeling somehow…  Well, maybe it was that Kagami had a zero-tolerance policy towards moping, which, in fairness, he had been doing a bit of.

Well, suffice to say he was feeling much more alive now.

He’d finish things next time he saw Marinette, and in the meantime, he’d get back on his feet, and stop wasting Kagami’s time.

He took one breath, two breaths, and… with a third, he was-

-falling back, just as quickly as he’d tried to stand, over the back of the bench.

He blinked, looking over at Kagami, who had clearly felt what had apparently been an earthquake.

Except, of course, France wasn’t exactly known for its earthquakes.

He tried to scramble to his feet, as another thunderous impact shook the building.

It felt closer.

They looked at each other, and he just caught the glance at the rack, and he nodded, grabbing a sabre, which, if nothing else, should at least be a bit less useless for actual combat.

Maybe he should just transform now, or-

He threw one to her, which she caught ably.

Another thunderous blast, and this time he caught the sound of falling rubble.

Whatever was coming, it was close, and it was getting closer.

So, he needed to do something, and he needed to do it now.

No hesitation, Agreste, no getting caught untransformed.

“We need to split up, now,” he said.

She looked sharply at him, then in the direction the still-echoing sound had come from, and back at him.

“Fine,” she said, and jerked her head one way, making to go the other.

One more blast, almost upon them, and he cleared the room.

A quick look around, and-

“Plagg?  Claws out!”

--

Hawkmoth couldn’t hold back a grin.

Collateral damage had two useful applications.

The first, of course, was attention.  Ladybug and Chat Noir could hardly miss Destruction Worker’s trail of, well… Destruction.  That meant no boring waiting around for them to notice it, and no trouble with

The second, meanwhile, was like the first, but distinct; collateral damage meant that one of them at least had to make sure that nearby civilians were safe.  Yes, of course, he didn’t technically enjoy putting bystanders into harm’s way, but, in a roundabout way, he trusted Ladybug and Chat Noir to avoid putting unnecessary deaths on his conscience, which, in truth, would have bothered him.

So, one construction worker, and a strong dose of disrespect for public workers, and he was cooking with fury.

See how she liked it when the roads, bridges, subways, and… Well, suffice to say, many structures she depended on daily, were torn to pieces.  And if Destruction Worker got a little carried away, and started in on some of the less public buildings, well, she’d disrespected builders as a whole, and who was to have built, for example, her home, if not the very people she had called uncivilized, brutish, and lacking in any sense of aesthetics.  It was no trouble for him, since it would just be one more place Ladybug and Chat Noir would have to split their attention toward.

Speaking of which…

He flicked his fingers, and a screen switched on.

Oh yes, this was good.

Ladybug was on the scene, already rescuing people, as any good hero should.

And Chat Noir…

--

It was like the path of a tornado; buildings shredded in its wake, carving a clear path through the city.

From his perch at the top of his staff, he could see it curl through part of a residential district, and back towards the river.

The earth rumbled again, and if he’d meant to keep his balance, he might have been in trouble.

But he hadn’t meant to.

Slowly, ponderously, he swung downwards.

One good yank on the staff as he was getting close to the ground, and…

He came down lightly, just next to a bridge.

The civilians in the area, some on foot, some logjammed in their cars, most checking their phones in the hopes of getting advance warning, all looked up as he dropped to the ground in front of them

Well, advance warning had arrived.

“Nothing to see here, folks,” he said, “just an angry supervillain on the way.  Probably time to head home.”

The sentence was punctuated by a thunderous slam, and people started running.

“That goes double for those of you in cars!” he shouted, “whatever’s coming, it hits hard!”

Aaand...  Good.

Well, that would keep people out of harm’s way, at least, and any second now…

Another slam, and the building in front of him seemed to fracture.

He silently stepped behind one of the parked cars.

“So, give it one, two-

He ducked lightly, as bricks and glass exploded outwards.

Then, with the casual grace he always tried to bring to his work, he stepped out, and for the first time, laid eyes on his new enemy.

“Well,” he said, “You’re big.”

Neon safety jacket, bare arms, bulging muscles, and a stature that almost matched with Stoneheart gave Chat Noir some idea of what he was up against.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said, “I’m Chat Noir, and I’ll be your superhero for today.”

The guy, the big one, cracked his neck.

“And you are…?”

“Destruction Worker.”

He laughed.  “I should have guessed.  And… You’re here to smash things, I assume?”

Destruction Worker snorted, bringing up the hammer in his hand, which, on closer inspection, was less in his hand, and more part of his hand.

“Yeah… Among other things.”

He laughed, backing away slightly.  “Right.  Taking Miraculouses.  Um, separate note, but I don’t suppose you remember seeing a butterfly, just before you got all big and hammer-y, do you?”

“As a matter of fact—” A shadow crossed his face.  “Don’t see why I should tell you about it if I did.”

“Yeah…  Didn’t think that’d work, but you can’t blame a cat for trying.”

Destruction worker laughed again, and stepped forward.

Right.  Okay.  So, he, was here, and Ladybug… Nowhere to be found.

That was a bad start to a fight.

Another step forward, which he matched with a step back, and with an almost absent-minded swing, Destruction Worker smashed a car.

Really, was he surprised that the hammer hit harder than it was supposed to?  One man, even one so large, couldn’t have left a trail of destruction like that without some kind of miraculous help.

“I don’t suppose we can talk this out,” he said, but the hammer was already coming down again.

[bakugou-tm]

Bakugou's s/o showing up at his dorm room one night looking flustered and angry as hell and him finding out his s/o's parents are trying to force her into a quirk marriage with some other guy? (Also that they want her to quit her dream of being a hero because "Who's gonna watch the kid if both of you are out doing hero work? Your husband can take care of it just go watch the children.")

Mmmmm this one is saucy, I’ll make sure to throw some angst in there but I can’t help but try to make a happy ending :’)

Bakugou found it weird that you weren’t answering any of his phone calls or texts, most of the time you were pretty consistent with getting back to him.

Especially when he first texted you at three o’clock and it was now eleven thirty. While he was worried, he did remember you were visiting your parents today so he figured you might have just turned your phone off.

That’s why when a harsh banging against his door effectively waking the ash blond up he jumped slightly, his eyes flicking up to the door before he cautiously opened it in case it being some sort of trap.

Upon opening the door the ash blond soon realized it wasn’t a trap, but at this point he might have preferred it to be some sort of trap rather than your fuming form before him.

“The hell is wrong with you?” Bakugou groaned, his voice still groggy from the deep sleep he was in. While normally you would’ve felt bad to wake your boyfriend up, clearly having been asleep since he stood before you in his sweatpants only, there were more things on your mind.

Clenching your fists, you stormed past him mumbling curses under your breath while you invited yourself into his dorm. Between the gust of wind that blew through Bakugou’s blond locks from your quirk to the angry growls escaping your lips it was quite clear you were beyond angry.

“Everything this is wrong Bakugou! I don’t know why i ever thought this would work.” You hissed, your form pacing back and forth between his bed and desk while you continued to talk to yourself, your mind thinking a mile a minute.

Raising a brow to your ranting form, Bakugou shut his door while mumbling something snarky under his breath before walking over to you with folded arms, “Just explain to me why the fuck you’re so mad and I’ll try’n fix it.”

Suddenly your pacing body froze, your eyes flicking up to his with such intensity it even startled him just a bit. There was a quite sinister look in your (e/c) orbs, a low chuckle escaping your lips while you clenched your fists at your sides.

“You’ll try and fix it huh? Well good luck trying to fix the forced quirk marriage I’m in!” You snapped, eyes narrowed up to his own challengingly.

The sound of marriage caught the ash blond’s attention, his crimson eyes widening while he looked down to you with furrowed eyebrows, “A..A fucking what?”

“Yeah that’s right! I’m due to get married to some freak I’ve never met because of our fucking quirks!” You growled, teeth gritting while you let out an annoyed huff, “Because surely me fucking some jerk with a fire quirk would make the ultimate powerhouse child wouldn’t it?!”

While you ranted you hadn’t even noticed your quirk activating around you, wind starting to swirl around you slowly causing your (h/c) locks to blow around.

“My parents put me up for sale like a damn animal! They’re making money off me, can you believe it?! I thought if I could get into this school I could prove them wrong, show them what great potential I have but no… no they sell me off like I’m a damn cow in an auction!”

Bakugou was angry now, for a moment he hadn’t even noticed your quirk activating due to his own anger radiating off him, “So they’re gonna force you to marry this fucking guy you’ve never met? You can’t fucking do that!”

Laughing darkly you looked up to him with yet again that crazed look in your eyes, “Oh that’s not even the best part babe! Since I’m being forced to go marry this prince charming, I can kiss UA goodbye! That’s right, they said a woman like myself has no right working in the hero field. They’re making me leave UA because, ‘Who’s gonna watch the kid if both of you are out doing hero work? My husband can take care of it while I watch the children!’”

The ash blond listened to every venomous word you spat with wide crimson eyes, he couldn’t believe it. He knew your parents were crazy, but not this crazy this.. this was beyond crazy! Clenching his fists, Bakugou was ready to shout out a rebuttal as to how you couldn’t go until one of his papers smacked square across his face.

Ripping the thin piece of paper off it was just now that he realized his room was turning into a mess because of your quirk, your angry ranting causing your quirk to form some sort of human tornado in his room. You were so heated about the topic, your mouth moving a mile a minute, you hadn’t even noticed the mess you had been causing.

“All my dreams are down the garbage! I’m stuck being a boring house mom for the rest of my life and there’s nothing I can do about it!” You shouted, your hair whipping wildly around you while you continued to rant.

Bakugou tried his best to call your name, trying to calm you down but it was no use. The only thing you could hear were your own thoughts drowning you out, it was actually beginning to scare the ash blond.

“(S/o)…” Bakugou called, walking toward you while you stared at the ground as you shouted out. After calling your name a few more times and seeing no change the ash blond finally walked up to you, dodging some objects that were flying around the room before gripping onto your shoulders firmly.

“(S/O)!”

Jerking your head up up to the sudden shouting of your name you saw your boyfriend’s crimson eyes glaring down to you, fear and worry surging through his face. Suddenly you froze, everything that was once flying around the room crashing to the floor to leave you to in silence.

Looking around the room you had just begun to noticed the mess you made, you had just gotten so overwhelmed you hadn’t even noticed…

Before the ash blond could even scold you about messing up his room, a single tear slid down your cheek causing Bakugou to freeze, guilt running through his body.

You hated crying like this in front of him, you absolutely hated it… but you couldn’t help yourself. You were a mess, as simple as that. Your life was slowly crumbling apart before your very eyes and there was nothing you could do about it.

As more tears slid down your face, suddenly your lip folded out before you looked into his eyes desperately, “I..I’m so scared Katsuki, I d..don’t want any of this.”

Bakugou looked down to your form, a frown folding his lips down before he let out a sigh, “Come here (S/o).”

Without another word you ran into his open arms, throwing your (s/c) arms around his torso while burying your face in his chest. Every bit of anger, fear, sadness, worry, and any bit of emotion you had bottled up inside you, you let out through your tears.

The ash blond could feel the warm tears sliding down his bare chest but he didn’t care, rather he pulled you closer against his chest letting you get everything out of your system so you could talk. Without warning he lifted you up on to the ground once your wild sobs turned into soft sniffles, placing you on the bed with him before sitting next to you.

It was embarrassing to have to look at him again, but you knew you didn’t have a choice. Letting out a small hiccup from the crying you had done before you looked up to his orbs with bloodshot eyes, “Ever since I came to UA I’ve felt so..so free. Everything I get to experience here, I was denied at home.

I’ve met new friends, inspiring teachers, a..and I met you…”

Biting your lip you looked down to your legs, rubbing them together nervously before looking back up to him with fresh tears already streaming down your face, “I didn’t want to have to say this so early in our relationship since I wasn’t sure if you were ready enough to hear this from me but… I..I love you Katsuki.”

Bakugou froze at your final words, his body tense underneath your gaze while he looked you up and down. Of course he was comfortable with it… he thought… he just wasn’t sure if you were comfortable with it. Both of you could be pretty closed off from each other sometimes, who knew such a desperate moment would bring your true feelings for each other out.

“I don’t care what anyone says, you have a good heart. That’s what I love about you so much, the passion you have for the things you care about is so inspiring to me… just being around you makes me feel like a better person. N..Now I have to lose you… and if I’m being honest…”

Slowly you looked up to him with fresh tears running down your face while you shook your head, pinching your lips together, 

“I don’t think I can live without you Bakugou Katsuki.”

Those words sent a surge through Bakugou. As if he were just waiting to hear those words so he could confirm them with himself. Hearing them come from your lips was all he needed to hear.

Suddenly his hand wrapped around yours causing you to look up to see a determined look in his eyes, “Then you’re not gonna go with those fuckers.”

“W..What?” You mumbled, making a small sniffle before you tilted your head to him with a confused expression.

“You heard me damn it, I’m not letting your shitty ass parents take you away from me. I earned you, and nobody else is going to so much as look at you but me.” Bakugou hissed, dragging your form up against him before running his fingers through your (h/c) locks, “Tomorrow we’ll both go to Mr. Aizawa and explain to him what’s going on, I know sure as fuck what your parents are doing can’t be legal. Even if it is, I’ll go to whoever the hell I need to to keep you away from those fucktards you hear me? Nobody is taking your ass away from me without a fight.

You’ve worked too damn hard at UA to let all of that work go down the drain. I don’t care if your parents would go poor and live off the streets if you still went to UA, as long as you’re living out your damn dream they should be okay with it. You are powerful as fuck and I’m not letting your potential go down the drain.”

Upon hearing your boyfriend’s determined speech you couldn’t help but crack a smile, your head tilting while you lovingly looked up to your boyfriend before he cupped your chin gently, “You deserve to live your life the way you choose, and I’m not going to let anyone stop you from reaching your dreams. Not even your shitty ass creators.”

A soft giggle escaped your lips at the taunting name Bakugou made for your parents before you looked up to him, more tears slid down your face except this time they weren’t angry tears or sad tears, they were happy tears. Proud tears. Loving tears.

“Thank you so much Katsuki.” You whimpered with a laugh before wrapping your arms tightly around the ash blond once more, “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Without me you would be married to some prim asshat with a fire quirk.” Bakugou joked with a grin, his heart skipping a few beats when he heard your quiet giggles against his chest before you snuggled in closer to him.

The two of you just held onto each other for the next ten minutes, none of you wanted to let each other go. You both felt safe in each others arms, as if nobody could separate the two of you if you stayed together. It didn’t take long for you to slowly drift to sleep, your breaths growing deeper while your body felt heavy against Bakugou’s chest.

Even the ash blond was falling victim to his need of slumber, his crimson eyes fluttering closed before he blinked them open one last time, something coming to his mind that he needed to tell you now more than ever.

“Hey (S/o)?”

Shifting a bit in his arms you kept your face nuzzled into his bare chest before letting out a small whimper, “Yeah Katsuki?”

Bakugou inhaled deeply, your quiet sleepy voice making his heart beat just a little faster. It was in these moment Bakugou wondered how he got so lucky to have you, which made it all the more reason why he needed to tell you these four words now, why he should’ve told you them the first day you met.

“I love you too.”

[lokilickedme]

Just found out how lucky we were last night - there are houses decimated into rubble and scattered all over, just 2 miles up the road from us.  MASSIVE damage in several areas around this end of town, the two worst hit places being situated on both sides of us within a 5-minute radius.  We had hundred mile an hour winds apart from the rotation and they’re saying the houses up the road were taken out by a confirmed F2 tornado.  It’s a mess over there :(

When we were getting the boys into the shelter the wind was blowing so hard Little could hardly stay on his feet - it’s likely it was passing over us while we were shutting the door behind us.

There was so little warning and absolutely ZERO lead time before this thing hit...I was sitting here reading and listening to the storm (which had been mild and off-and-on all evening) when my phone beeped.  I figured it was Plants Vs Zombies updating so I didn’t look at it, but about one minute later it beeped again and it occurred to me it might be about the storm.  I was picking up my phone when the sirens started going off.  About a minute and a half later the boys had their shoes on and we were heading for the back door; ten seconds later we were outside getting in the shelter and that thing was already here.

All in all it was a maximum of 5 minutes between the first notification on my phone and the flipping tornado skittering past us to hit the houses up the road.

My mom lives an hour away and she said this morning that right after I texted her from inside our shelter, they had a touchdown in her driveway that took the top half off a stand of pines and threw them all into her yard.  Another confirmed F2 destroyed a lot of buildings around where she lives, don’t know if it was the same one that hit here or not.  And I just heard that one of the twisters that landed in Oklahoma at the same time stayed on the ground for 65 miles before it broke itself up.

And some people (I use that term loosely) don’t believe the climate is fucked up.  All I’ve got to say is...TORNADOES IN FUCKING DECEMBER.

[vastderp]

Rice County was hit hard by severe weather on Thursday, with extreme winds and at least one likely tornado reported in the area.

A tornado warning was issued at 6:22 p.m., lasting until 7:30 p.m., with winds reaching up to 60 miles per hour during the storm’s peak, according to the National Weather Service.

A spokesperson for the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities said there were at least two “likely” tornadoes in southern Minnesota, one near Medford and one near Faribault, though neither could be officially confirmed. Survey crews from the NWS will check out the area in the morning and could find more tornadoes.

“We suspect Faribault had at least one tornado. Just north of Medford, we believe there was also one tornado,” NWS Meteorologist Caleb Grunzke said. “There was also a video of a tornado posted just east of Grenada.”

Whether tornadoes touched down or not, the winds caused considerable damage throughout southern Minnesota.

“It sure looked like a tornado to me [around Northfield],” Northfield Police Chief Monte Nelson said. “Whether it was straight line winds or a tornado, it doesn’t really matter, because everything is totaled.”

Nelson, himself, experienced significant damage on his property.

“I lost my barn and half of my grove,” he said. “My neighborhood out east of town is not in good shape.”

Emergency crews were out in full force across the county and beyond.

“Throughout the path of the storm in southern Minnesota, there are large trees down, power lines down, buildings destroyed, houses receiving considerable damage,” Grunzke said.

Power, where lost, was not expected to be restored Thursday night.

“This is a widespread event that is going to affect us for more than just a day,” Nelson said. “If people are out of power, they shouldn’t be planning on having it until tomorrow morning. People need to plan for not having power.”

Serious damage to buildings and planes was found at the Faribault Municipal Airport, a possible touchdown spot of a tornado. Emergency crews had to block off the airport from “gawkers.” Crews blocked off Lyndale Avenue at 30th Street NW just after 7 p.m.

“Don’t be out driving and gawking. It’s not safe. If people don’t need to be out and about, they shouldn’t be,” Nelson said. “Just check on your own properties and your immediate neighbors to make sure everyone is OK.”

Fargaze Farms, on the edge of Northfield, was “leveled,” according to Nelson. He said between 40 and 50 people were out trying to help them with their livestock. Red Barn Farm, a popular pizza and music venue also on the outside of Northfield, was reportedly demolished by the storm.

Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig said the southeast portion of Northfield seemed to be the most impacted. He noted that anyone in Northfield wanting to place a damage report should call 507-663-9483.

Bill Bongers, who lives between Faribault and Northfield, off Hwy. 3, said 15 pine trees were knocked down in his front yard. He was out in his shop when the storm came through.

“I was holding the door closed as it was coming through. I was in the shop when the overhead door blew in,” Bongers said. “I didn’t have time to get to the house. It came through so fast.”

Bongers called it “very, very concerning,” but said he was all right, as were his house and shop. However, he reported his barn, wood shed, machine shed and garden shed were all taken down.

In Morristown, the damage was heavy. The Rice County Sheriff’s Office issued a curfew for the town from 10 p.m. Thursday to 6:30 a.m. Friday, asking people to stay in their homes and only allowing residents into the city.

In response to Northfield News and Faribault Daily News Facebook posts, residents reported damage all over the county.

Lynnae Byers posted a photo of a house badly damaged in Morristown, where the storm reportedly hit hard. Sandy Larson, of Faribault, said “All large trees are gone in our neighborhood.” And Katrina Todd, of Faribault, said “Over by Jefferson is all tore up.”

Mikayla Lautenschlager shared a picture of an overturned semitrailer on Hwy. 3 between Northfield and Faribault. Christine DeCoster Sickler, of Northfield, shared a photo of trampoline that had landed in the middle of the street. Stephanie Howard Mahal reported a street light down at Prairie and Jefferson.

Dozens of people shared photos of damaged and knocked over trees, some with roots torn right from the ground.

Both Northfield Public Schools and Faribault Public Schools planned to open two hours late Friday. Rice County emergency management will be taking and gathering reports from around the county, and local law enforcement, public works crews and others will be cleaning up and taking care of safety issues.

[stripestheboar]

Everything is Going to Be Okay

Well... my last request of the pile. This one comes from my boi @kansxy, who requested some sweet love for his favorite pairing, Altertale Soriel. As always, I deliver. I hope you enjoy.

Altertale belongs to @friisans.

Pairing: Soriel

Word count: 2,495

Toriel shifted slightly in bed, letting out a soft yawn as her curtainless window only barely allowed the light of the outside from come in. Another day had come and gone up on the surface, and yet, she still refused to get up. Now, many monsters would refuse to waste just a day up above on sleeping in, but a goat needed her rest, especially after a long day of…. okay, you got her there. Still, no one was bothering her. Sans wasn’t shaking her in order to wake her up or literally pulling her out of bed and carrying her downstairs, so as far as she knew, she was in the clear. The only thing that really bothered her was the uncomfortable feel of her mattress and how hot her pillow had gotten. Not wanting to open her eyes and thus break the illusion of sleep, she simply turned her pillow over to lay her head on the cool side. Speaking of cold, she brung her giant ball of unwashed blankets closer to her. She grimaced to herself slightly, telling herself she should really unravel the ball. It was starting to get co-

Wait.

Sans was too tidy. He’d never let Toriel bunch up the blankets like that.

No.

Her eyes shot open, her soul beginning to race as fear overtook her. She sat up quickly, looking around.

God no.

Mattress with no blankets. Blanket grease ball. Treadmill she never used. Self sustaining trash tornado.

Oh god please no.

The familiarity hit her like a baseball bat. She was immediately hunched over, trying to calm her own breathing as she felt she was going to have a panic attack.

This couldn’t be happening.

She burst out of her room, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she quickly scanned for her brother. He was nowhere in sight.

Frisk had promised. Frisk had promised to her that there would be no more resets, and for the slightest fraction of a moment, she had actually believed them. She smacked her forehead repeatedly at her own stupidity. As she struggled not to break down right then and there. And they had been going for so long, too.

However, something wasn’t right this time. She usually didn’t remember most of the resets. Sure, the overwhelming familiarity whenever she met her friends each and every time was always a tip off, and the reports only confirmed it, but this was the first time she remembered a full reset. Memories of everything she had done came rushing to the forefront of her mind; breathing in fresh air, meeting new friends, going on dates, actually feeling hopeful and happy for once in years; it was all gone. It was all gone with a single reset. Was this the universe’ way of torturing her? Had she done something to deserve this?

Toriel called out her brother’s name repeatedly. She didn’t care if he didn’t remember, for she just wanted someone to hold onto. She couldn’t take this by herself anymore. However, when Asgore didn’t answer back, fear sparked within her. She tried telling herself it was only because she had slept in, but her breathing began to hyperventilate before she knew it.

“Asgore!” she tried again, going up to her brother’s room and opening the door. “Bro! You here?” There wasn’t a single response, and the room was left empty of life. He was probably outside or something. A quick shortcut later and she was walking on the streets of Snowdin, calling for Asgore relentlessly as her tears threatened to spill. But there wasn’t a response from Asgore. In fact, there wasn’t a response from anybody. The monsters that usually crowded the streets and hung around outside of their homes were nowhere to be seen. Her voice gave out while trying to just call for anyone, but nobody came. Not a single soul in sight.

It was the anomaly. That goddamned human. Her mind was only mocking her, telling her she shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up. She shouldn’t have even tried. The surface, her life, her friends; what were they all worth now?

Wait. Her friends.

Toriel felt another fear come to mind when her panicked thoughts switched to her other friends. Undyne, Alphys, King Papyrus; it didn’t matter if they didn’t remember anything. She had to make sure they were okay and that the human hadn’t gotten to them, too. Now knowing what was going on, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if she didn’t at least warn Undyne or Alphys of the oncoming danger.

However, a quick search of Undyne’s home turned up nothing. A quick trip to Alphys’ lab later, and she was sickened to find just a pile of dust where the doors opened. No luck with the king, either. Dust littered the flowers, small bits of soul just barely visible within the scattered ashes. Everyone was gone.

But there was still one more monster. Her hope was almost depleted at this point. Her only question now was why had she been spared? Was this just the human’s version of a cruel joke? Were they just experimenting, laughing in the shadows as she scrambled around to find anyone at all, knowing she wouldn’t remember a thing the next reset?

She rushed to the Ruins, appearing before the doors, stopping to calm herself. Tears had already fallen, and she barely paused to wipe her eyes as she began to shove the doors open. And sure enough, unlike every single time before, they actually opened this time. The double doors split, letting a bit of dim light into the dark corridor. She saw no one and looked down on the ground, and sure enough, there was a pile of dust, robes spilled on the ground carelessly, as if they hadn’t once contained someone she’d loved.

Toriel collapsed onto her knees, her sobs ringing through the dark hallway, echoing softly. No one was there to help her. No one was there to assure her it would be alright. No one was there to give her a reason as to why.

No one was there.

She was alone.

…

..

.

“Tori…”

...

“Toriel, wake up.”

...

“Wake up. You’re having a bad dream.”

Toriel’s eyes creaked open slightly, her eyes bleary from tears that spilled onto her pillow. She could now feel someone gently shaking her, trying to rouse her from her sleep. With a quick intake of breath, she sat up, taking in her somewhat unfamiliar surroundings as her breathing only started to speed up in pace. Upon feeling a thin hand wrap around hers, her immediate instinct was to pull away. A fearful sound left her mouth for hand a second as she felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her back into a hard mass. Her hands placed flat on the uneven chest of the unknown person, she immediately began trying to push herself away, but whoever it was held her there. That’s when she realized someone was talking.

“Tori, calm down, it’s me,” the voice whispered, sounding deep and soothing and oh so familiar. This caused her to halt for a moment and look up at the man who had her held back. It took a second to recognize such a distinct face: a wide permagrin stretching a white skull as two dark, yet soft sockets looked down on her, the eyelights looking almost lovingly down back into her eyes, all of which was lit by the lamp on the nightstand beside their bed. It was Sans, her boyfriend, alive and well again, much to her disbelief. Her mind wanted to believe it, but her subconscious was only telling her it was all fake and she was still in the underground. She brought a shaky hand up, her fingers brushing against the smooth bone of his cheekbone, her thumb feeling every rounded edge. This was real.

“Sans?” she whispered, her voice cracked and almost unusable. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Sans’ grin was soft as he lifted a boney hand to gently cup her cheek, the familiarity of the touch bringing back memories of dates and late night snuggles and kisses during comedy movies together. “Hey there cottontail. It’s me,” he breathed, closing his sockets. Toriel’s walls broke down as more tears began to spill. “Oh my god,” she sobbed, immediately wrapping her arms around him as her body jerked and shook with uncontrolled wails into his chest. Sans wasted no time in comforting her, rubbing her back gently and whispering soft words to her to assure her she was alright, like he had done so many times before. “Shh… it was all just a bad dream,” he mumbled. “Everything is alright. We’re here now. Everything is real.”

This small sobbing session lasted longer than usual, with it going on for a good twenty minutes. Sans didn’t mind though, and made sure Toriel calmed down completely using several comforting gestures and words that had worked over the months. Eventually, Toriel calmed down completely, drying her eyes on the sleeve of her pajama top. She had crawled into Sans’ crossed lap at this points, laying her head against his sternum. “Feeling better?” her boyfriend asked softly, rubbing her back with a gentle hand. “Yeah,” she croaked, her voice sounding weak. She could recall more times like this now. She would wake up in tears from dreams of coming back to the Underground being left alone with no way out. Sans would always be there to anchor her down to reality and lull her back to sleep. While these dreams had become less frequent and her panic attack had grown less of a worry as time went on, this one was particularly bad. It wasn’t the worst, but it was still pretty worrying.

“Sorry,” Toriel apologized, looking up at Sans as she did. He only shook his skull, pressing his teeth to her head as he closed his sockets. “You don’t have to apologize,” he told her, his small back rubs slowing. “It’s completely fine. Now, how long have we been here?”

“Sans, I-”

“Come on, cottontail.”

She gave a sigh, clearing her throat. “Two years and two hundred sixty days.” She glances at the clock. “Two hundred sixty-one.” Her nerves began to calm down more. “And how many times did Frisk promise not to reset?” Sans coaxed, cracking open a socket to peer down at her. Toriel swallowed and gave another sigh. “Thirty-two. This is the longest run they’ve done.” “Exactly,” he breathed, giving her head another soft kiss. “They’re not going to reset this time, I promise you. Every day you wake up, you’ll be here in bed with me. Asgore will always be just a call away, and our friends will remember you each time you meet again.” Toriel gave a little nod. “Yeah… I know… I know,” she mumbled. She looked back up at Sans. “Thanks for… putting up with me,” she continued. “I swear, even Asgore got sick of being woken up at midnight for this.” She heard her skeleton give a small chuckle as his arms repositioned to wrap around her lovingly. “I’m always here for you,” he assured her. “Even if you do sometimes leave me bone tired in the morning. Understood?” That coaxed a small giggle out of Toriel. “Yeah, I goat you.” The two shared a small laugh, before letting silence take the room again.

“Ready to go back to sleep?” Sans asked after a few moments. She gave a more confident nod, moving off of his lap and resting beside him. Her boyfriend reached and turned the lamp off before resting beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. Toriel watched him for a few moments as he closed his sockets and fell back asleep. She felt a warm feeling well up inside her, something she could only equate to love and happiness. Everything would be okay, she reminded herself as she closed her eyes and snuggled up next to Sans. She would wake up the next morning, and everything would be just as it should be.

She felt herself beginning to drift off. “I love you,” she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper.

There was a pause.

“I love you, too.”

Sans was up early as usual, talking to Asgore over the phone about Toriel’s most recent panic attack. The goat sibling seemed worried, but was sure Sans could handle any problem that came his way when it came to Toriel. They talked for a bit as Sans finished up breakfast for himself and his girlfriend. Once he heard movement from upstairs, he said his goodbyes with Asgore before hanging up.

Toriel came down the stairs a few minutes after the call, though it wasn’t the usual trudging he’d normally see when her tired body somehow managed to wake itself. She seemed a bit more awake. And was that a smile he saw? If it was one thing he knew, Toriel wasn’t a morning person. “Hey, cottontail,” he greeted, already serving breakfast. “You’re up earlier than usual. Have something planned today?” Tori shook her head as she plopped down in her seat, sliding a few bits of bacon on her plate. “Nah,” she chirped, looking up at him with a slightly wider smile. “Just woke up early for some reason.” Sans looked back at her as he poured a cup of coffee. “Well I’m glad to have you down here,” he grinned, sitting down beside her.

Toriel donned a thoughtful look as she munched on her bacon. “I… have something to tell you,” she sighed suddenly, setting the piece down. Sans blinked and set down his coffee, a slightly worried look crossing his own face. “What is it, Tori?” he asked, crossing his arms on the table and giving her his full attention.

“I… checked my stats this morning,” she began, earning a more confused look from her boyfriend. Her smile only grew. “My HP bumped up to five.”

Sans sat back, surprised, before breaking out with a joyful grin. “Wait, really?” he laughed, reaching a hand to grab Toriel’s. “That’s amazing!” She couldn’t help but grin, happiness welling up within her. “Yeah, it surprised me, too,” she breathed, feeling herself get a bit bleary in the eyes again. “I… I just never thought it would happen, I-” She stopped, just stuck in the awe of the phenomenon herself.

“Well I’m happy for you,” Sans grinned. “I told you everything would be alright.” He leaned down and gave her a loving kiss, which she happily returned. “Yeah… I know,” she smiled. “I guess I just only now started to believe it.” Sans grabbed up his phone. “Let’s call Asgore. He’s going to flip over this.”

Toriel grinned giddily and nodded in agreement, feeling a happiness she hadn’t experienced in years. Feeling Sans deliver another loving kiss to her head, she knew that everything was going to be alright.

[kansascityhappenings]

At least 23 dead as tornadoes, severe storms ravage South

BEAUREGARD, Ala. — A tornado roared into southeast Alabama and killed at least 23 people and injured several others Sunday, part of a severe storm system that caused catastrophic damage and unleashed other tornadoes around the Southeast.

“Unfortunately our toll, as far as fatalities, does stand at 23 at the current time,” Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told WRBL-TV of the death toll. He added that two people were in intensive care.

Drones flying overheard equipped with heat-seeking devices had scanned the area for survivors but the dangerous conditions halted the search late Sunday, Jones said. “The devastation is incredible,” he said. An intense ground search would resume Monday morning.

Jones said the twister traveled straight down a county road in the rural community of Beauregard and that the path of damage and destruction appeared at least a half mile wide. He said single-family homes and mobile homes were destroyed, adding some homes were reduced to slabs. He had told reporters earlier that several people were taken to hospitals, some with “very serious injuries.”

Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told The Associated Press that he had to call in help from the state, because there were more bodies than his four-person office can handle.

The National Weather Service confirmed late Sunday a tornado with at least an F3 rating and a track at least half a mile (.8 kilometers) wide caused the deadly destruction in Alabama. Although the statement did not give exact wind estimates, F3 storms typically are gauged at wind speeds of between 158-206 mph (254-331 kilometers per hour).

Dozens of emergency responders rushed to join search and rescue efforts in hard-hit Lee County after what forecasters said they think was a large tornado touched down Sunday afternoon, unleashed by a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.

Radar and video evidence showed what looked like a large tornado crossing the area near Beauregard shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday, said meteorologist Meredith Wyatt with the Birmingham office of the National Weather Service.

“It appears it stayed on the ground for at least a mile and maybe longer,” Jones told the AP.

After nightfall Sunday, the rain had stopped and pieces of metal debris and tree branches littered roadways in Beauregard. Two sheriff’s vehicles blocked reporters and others from reaching the worst-hit area. Power appeared to be out in many places.

President Donald Trump tweeted late Sunday, “To the great people of Alabama and surrounding areas: Please be careful and safe. … To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!”

Rita Smith, spokeswoman for the Lee County Emergency Management Agency, said about 150 first responders had quickly jumped in to efforts to search the debris after the storm struck in Beauregard. At least one trained canine could be seen with search crews as numerous ambulances and emergency vehicles, lights flashing, converged on the area.

No deaths had been reported Sunday evening from storm-damaged Alabama counties outside Lee County, said Gregory Robinson, spokesman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. But he said crews were still surveying damage in several counties in the southwestern part of the state.

Numerous tornado warnings were posted across parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina on Sunday afternoon as the powerful storm system raced across the region. Weather officials said they confirmed other tornadoes around the region by radar alone and would send teams out early Monday to assess those and other storms.

In rural Talbotton, Georgia, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Atlanta, a handful of people were injured by either powerful straight-line winds or a tornado that destroyed several mobile homes and damaged other buildings, said Leigh Ann Erenheim, director of the Talbot County Emergency Management Agency.

Televised broadcast news footage showed smashed buildings with rooftops blown away, cars overturned and debris everywhere. Trees all around had been snapped bare of branches.

“The last check I had was between six and eight injuries,” Erenheim said in a phone interview. “From what I understand it was minor injuries, though one fellow did say his leg might be broken.”

She said searches of damaged homes and structures had turned up no serious injuries or deaths there.

Henry Wilson of the Peach County Emergency Management Agency near Macon in central Georgia said a barn had been destroyed and trees and power poles had been snapped, leaving many in the area without power.

Authorities in southwest Georgia are searching door-to-door in darkened neighborhoods after a possible tornado touched down in the rural city of Cairo, about 33 miles (53 kilometers) north of Tallahassee, Florida, on Sunday evening. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.

Authorities said a tornado was confirmed by radar in the Florida Panhandle late Sunday afternoon. A portion of Interstate 10 on the Panhandle was blocked in one direction for a time in Walton County in the aftermath, said Don Harrigan, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.

“There’s a squall line moving through the area,” Harrigan told AP. “And when you have a mature line of storms moving into an area where low level winds are very strong, you tend to have tornadoes developing. It’s a favorable environment for tornados.”

The threat of severe weather continued into the late-night hours. A tornado watch was in effect for much of eastern Georgia, including Athens, Augusta and Savannah. The tornado watch also covered a large area of South Carolina, including the cities of Charleston and Columbia.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/03/04/at-least-23-dead-as-tornadoes-severe-storms-ravage-south/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/03/04/at-least-23-dead-as-tornadoes-severe-storms-ravage-south/

[the-record-newspaper]

Florence spares Wilkes, catastrophic in much of N.C.

By REBECCA TRIPLETT-JOHNSON

Minimal damage was reported in Wilkes as Hurricane Florence lessened in strength during a multi-day trek across the state which left death and destruction in its wake.  

The once intense Category 4 storm was projected to bring days of high winds and heavy rains but changed course just after making landfall in Wilmington, taking the eye on a more southerly route before being downgraded to a tropical storm and later a depression.

  Reports from W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir indicated .65 inches of rain fell on Saturday and 4.35 inches fell on Sunday with higher amounts being reported in other areas of Wilkes.

After a few hours of partly cloudy skies on Monday, outer band remnants of Florence brought another round of thunderstorms and heavy rains to Wilkes resulting in additional rain totals, yet far less than the nine to 14 inches first predicted had the storm not dipped to the south.  

  Monday’s water level at W. Kerr Scott reservoir was measured at 1040 which is above the normal 1030.  The increase due to water release being at zero in order to maintain flood control throughout Wilkes and counties in the Yadkin River Basin where the Yadkin, its tributaries and other bodies of water remain at and above flood stage. Warnings from the National Weather Service issued alerts into Monday for expected rise of up to 16 feet along the Yadkin River with potentially damaging floods along the banks.  No water release is planned from the reservoir until the river has crested and water levels are below critical measures throughout the affected regions.

  Sam Call, Utility Plant Director for the Town of Wilkesboro, stated that the “no flow” action of the Army Corps of Engineers greatly aided in all things remaining safe and under control at the water treatment facilities in Wilkesboro. He also credited the partnership with Tyson Foods, a combined effort which allowed for sharing in water storage that greatly helped in keeping any extra pressure off the system during the heavy downpours.

  North Wilkesboro Water Treatment sources reported no storm related damage or water issues as of Monday afternoon.

  Several power outages occurred in Wilkes during the storm with power being restored within a few hours.

  Charles Reinhardt, Maintenance Engineer, Division 11, NCDOT, reported only minor road issues related to the storm throughout Wilkes County.  Several trees were down across roads along with scatterings of debris, although neither resulted in extended road closures.  Arbor Grove Church Road sustained flooding in Roaring River as water levels rose and covered the road near the low water bridge. The bridge is designed to sustain high water as its slant leans into the current, allowing the force of rushing waters to push the structure down and not be push under to lift it off the supports. Reinhardt felt this would prevent damage or collapse should heavy rains continue.

  Reinhardt advises travelers of a road collapse on NC Hwy 221 in Ashe County and alerts all traffic must use detour on NC Hwy 163 until road crews can make necessary repairs.  

  Reinhardt further noted that DOT construction crews took precautionary steps in the week prior to Florence’ arrival for extra erosion control along NC Hwy 268 and other active construction sites to better handle road wash and drainage from extended runoff.  

  As of Monday, Reinhardt stated that no further wash or collapse had occurred at the sinkhole area between NC Hwy 421 and Winkler Mill Road at the former Taco Bell location in Wilkesboro.  

  A team of 20 members from Division 11, NCDOT, including Wilkes, Surry and Caldwell Counties, led by Maintenance Engineer, Brian Hamby, are traveling to Southern Pines, Fayetteville and areas hit hard by Florence to work with other DOT divisions and organizations.  Linemen from Wilkes and surrounding counties left prior to the storm making landfall in order to be in position to move into the hardest hit zones as soon as conditions allowed.  Tree crews, electric crews and other volunteers are arriving in North Carolina from more than 20 other states, including as far away as California and Washington.

  Florence began as a Cape Verde hurricane which are known to be some of the largest and most intense storms on record.  Those who experienced Hugo prepared for a similar storm, yet realized Florence was much larger in size and could be much worse.

  Wilkes native and current Wilmington resident, Melody Day Rasmussen, shared her experience of living through Florence at the coast and how it compared to Hugo during her time living in Wilkes.

  “I was in Wilkes for Hurricane Hugo and I can surely say that Florence was like nothing I have ever experienced. It just sat on us for days dumping water.  But we are grateful that the rain amount predictions were much worse than the actual amounts we did receive.  For that reason, I think the after effects of the storm that brought the many night time tornados was the worst.  Just as soon as we would think we were in the clear we would get a new warning.  

  We are blessed that our neighborhood is in an area where flooding is not an issue for our home.  We have power.  So many even within a mile from us are still without power and probably will be till the water recedes.  It broke my heart to see so many of our friends lose their homes and have to be airlifted out of danger.  Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, the home owners on Wrightsville Beach will be allowed back into their homes for the first time since they evacuated.  I cannot even imagine the stress they are feeling.

  Most buildings in Wilmington are still boarded up and we have no idea when any of the businesses will be able to reopen again.  A few grocery stores and restaurants are now open with long lines to get in.  The town officials have done an amazing job of helping everyone and keeping us informed. Duke Energy has also done a great job of helping.”  

  Rasmussen continued, “It is an unusual feeling knowing that all of Wilmington is now completely cutoff as all roads leading in and out are totally surrounded and covered by water.  The residents have been wonderful in helping each other and it makes me so proud to be part of such an outstanding group of people.

  It was a beautiful sight to see the massive trucks and trailers lined up and leaving North Wilkesboro from Samaritan’s Purse heading to help Wilmington and those in need of storm relief.  What a blessing they are to the residents of Wilmington and surrounding areas.

  Rasmussen concluded, “I think that having social media networks like Facebook has helped us all keep in touch with family, friends and loved ones during this terrible storm.  And that was certainly a big benefit over the lack of most all communications during and in the days after Hugo.”  

  According to the National Weather Service, more than 20 North Carolina rivers are expected to hit flood stage and crest within this week, and even more flooding could continue for weeks to come.  As rain ends in one area, ground runoff combined with swollen water ways from upstream downpours will continue to push water into saturated locations.  

  Emergency Management and First Response Teams strongly warn to stay away from and out of all rivers, lakes and streams as flood water currents are deadly and unpredictable.  Remnants of Florence are moving west and north in a swath expected to reach New England with flooding rains.  Florence broke North Carolina rainfall records with 33.89 inches falling in Swansboro. Impact from this storm will be felt for years ahead and damage assessments may take months to complete.

  As of midnight on Monday, 31 deaths have occurred due to Florence, with 25 being in North Carolina.  Many roads throughout the state will be closed indefinitely and DOT advises all travelers check ahead before heading to your routes.  Two tornadoes spawned from the storm have been confirmed in North Carolina and one in Virginia.  

  For anyone wishing to help Florence victims, be sure to find reputable organizations before sending items or money.  Contact local food banks, churches, etc., if you would like to donate unused storm supplies.

[sensitivefern]

May 20 [1969]. Dentist in Lowville in morning: some hope, clean well-equipped and staffed; he had had a case of a woman with only one tooth in her lower jaw and given her something she could chew with. In the afternoon, Glyn took me over to visit the Mennonite community at Croghan, which I hadn’t known existed. We visited the bishop, very German – all the names are German – a tall and dark farmer, with pale blond wife and daughters, who did not look flourishing and who I thought could have profited from some of the gayer clothes that the Mennonite girls are supposed to do without. He took us to the church – white, no steeple, bare and ample, only a pulpit at one end; cemetery neat and trim, the little stones in rows all exactly alike. Mennonism is almost five centuries old. They have not kept up the old costume, with special hat and coat and no buttons but hooks.

Since the two or three days of pouring rain, the country was flooded as I have never seen it: the pastures turned into lakes, the Black River all over its bordering fields. Sugar River a turbulent muddy torrent, a pond in our back lot.

[Edmund Wilson]

===

A civilization crumbled. The question is, how did this happen?

Today most historians and anthropologists believe the culprit was disease... the source of contagion was very likely not De Soto’s army but its ambulatory meat locker: his three hundred pigs. De Soto’s company was too small to be an effective biological weapon... [...] Pigs were as essential to the conquistadors as horses. Spanish armies traveled in a porcine cloud... the lean, hungry animals circled the troops like darting dogs. neither species regarded the arrangement as novel; they had lived together in Europe for millennia. When humans and domesticated animals share quarters, they are constantly exposed to each other’s microbes. Over time mutation lets animal diseases jump to people: avian influenza becomes human influenza, bovine rinderpest becomes human measles, horsepox becomes human smallpox. Unlike Europeans, Indians did not live in constant contact with many animals.

[1491]

===

Phoenix Memo The Phoenix memo was investigated thoroughly... We will recap it briefly here. In July 2001, an FBI agent in the Phoenix field office sent a memo to FBI headquarters and to two agents on international terrorism squads in the New York Field Office, advising of the ‘possibility of a coordinated effort by Usmaa Bin Ladin’ to send students to the United States to attend civil aviation schools. The agent based his theory on the ‘inordinate number of individuals of investigative interest’ attending such schools in Arizona.

The agent made four recommendations to FBI headquarters: to compile a list of civil aviation schools, establish liaison with those schools, discuss his theories about Bin Ladin with the intelligence community, and seek authority to obtain visa information on persons applying to flight schools. His recommendations were not acted on.

[The 9/11 Report]

===

The animals we see in the suburbs and semirural areas – deer, raccoons, coyotes, alligators, and even bears – are opportunists that do quite well on what we... have around us. Why should a bear bother picking tiny berries when it could dine at its leisure from the dumpster behind a fast-food restaurant?

Deer don’t go for the trash, but they do love the same plants we do. The deer also browse the forest understory, with severe and often overlooked results. [...] I once visited a several-acre garden in Ohio. It was a collection of rhododendrons amassed over decades. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see. The plants had been nearly mowed to the ground by deer.

There was a small vegetable garden at the center of this landscape. It was surrounded by a simple picket fence only 2 feet tall, which was... there to stop the bunnies. Deer hadn’t touched any of those plants. Why?

The vegetable plants were growing in raised beds with wood plank sides. The paths were narrow. A deer attempting to hop over the fence would not have had a clear place to land. Deer won’t jump without a safe spot for a touchdown. The same kind of arrangement can be made with a double fence. Deer hop more than they long jump. One fence 3 to 4 feet tall with another one positioned about 4 feet inside it may keep them out.

I visited another garden where chain-link fencing had been sued. But it wasn’t installed vertically. It was pegged to the ground. The lawn could be mowed over the fencing, but deer would not walk on it. Deer (like cattle) won’t walk where the footing isn’t sure.

[The New Shade Garden]

===

Angelonia is a ‘top-notch tender perennial’ that is a ‘strong team player’ – ‘front-and-center or on the sidelines’... Why, Mr., just ‘pop it in place, stand back, and enjoy the show’... the spikes bear pink, white, or purple blooms... deadheading not necessary... pinching growing stem tips is optional... they love the heat and tolerate dry conditions... the breeders have simply ‘gone like gangbusters on this plant’... the Angelface series is known for the strong stems, while the Serena series brings forth a more compact, bushier form...

[The Nonstop Garden]

===

April 16 [1855]. The spearer’s light to-night, and, after dark, the sound of geese honking all together very low over the houses and apparently about to settle on the Lee meadow. [...] I am startled sometimes these mornings to hear the sound of doves alighting on the roof just over my head; they come down so hard upon it, as if one had thrown a heavy stick on to it, and I wonder it does not injure their organizations. Their legs must be cushioned in their sockets to save them from the shock?

When we reached Britton’s clearing on our return this afternoon, at sunset, the mountains, after this our warmest day as yet, had got a peculiar soft mantle of blue haze, pale blue as a blue heron, ushering in the long series of summer sunsets, and we were glad that we had stayed out so late and felt no need to go home now in a hurry.

[Thoreau, Journal]

===

❚David Frum “A greater %age of Republicans support Trump than backed Ronald Reagan after his first four weeks in the Oval Office

David Frum Assembling peaceably to demand the redress of grievances?? Is that even legal? Donald J. Trump The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!

The Safest Place To Be During A Tornado Is In My Arms Robert J. Fenton Acting FEMA Director As tornado season approaches in many parts of the country, it’s my job to remind the public that these storms can be dangerous and often strike without warning. That’s why preparation is crucial. Whether you’ve heard it many times before or are hearing it now for the very first time, it bears repeating that the safest place to be when a tornado hits is right here in my arms.

Cat That Spends Life On One Of Two Couch Cushions Given Rabies Vaccine

Hadley Freeman Assange casually dismissing a sexual offence? Colour me whatever the opposite of shocked is! Julian Assange US 'liberals' today celebrate the censorship of right-wing UK provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos over teen sex quote.

Hunde-Attacke - Bulldogge...

The Sesame Street Theme Performed in a Minor Key

Sen. Joni Ernst Runs From Constituents Fast As Her Bread Bag Shoes Will Carry Her. ...As she was running away, they were yelling, “DO YOUR JOB!” because George Soros won’t sign your protest check unless you say those special words. ...And then finally, as she was riding away in her car, they yelled, “SHAME ON YOU!” at her.

Alex Jones is the proprietor of InfoWars, a conspiracy website that has asserted that the Sandy Hook massacre never happened and that 9/11 was planned by the U.S. government. He is also, he told the New York Times in a piece published Sunday, in regular touch with our president, Donald Trump. We already knew that Trump praised Jones during an appearance on his radio show and that they reportedly spoke in November after the election. Now the White House appears to have confirmed, to the Times, Jones' contention that he and Trump are phone buddies...