#saw one of my family beaking off today and I’m just so tired

[ceo-of-stealing-ur-fucking-teeth]

People talking about honour killings from non-white countries as if some delusional man doesn’t decide to kill his wife or girlfriend here in the west almost every day. As if they get divorced and then decide to kill their ex partner and children. As if parents don’t regularly throw out their children to be homeless for things like teen pregnancy, homosexuality or being transgender, if they don’t beat them, kill them, or drive them to suicide. As if men won’t stalk and kill a woman for being ‘rude’ or telling them no.

We have no moral superiority here. The only reason you care about honour killings is because the people doing them aren’t white. It’s not because it’s femicide or murder in general, because if that was the case, you’d be getting just as outraged about what happens to all women, including black, indigenous and latin, to gay and trans people. You care because it gives you an excuse to be racist. If you have a shit, you’d be fighting all forms of abuse and asking for better resources for everyone.

The only time I ever heard my white, Catholic, middle class family talk about women’s oppression was in regards to the Middle East. They didn’t do anything about it, don’t get me wrong. They didn’t sponsor people looking to escape, or anything useful. They just used the violence committed against women and LGBTQ+ people as a weapon to show how these people deserved to be bombed and harmed and not allowed to be in our country.

You can be critical of violence. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be. But there’s something about glass houses, and rocks, that makes me angry when the only time people seem willing to acknowledge it is to justify cruelty en masse. When I grew up and saw domestic violence statistics, family annihilators, how people talked about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Two Spirit People, teen pregnancy, and on and on. Too often, people would complain about how barbaric it was that a woman was murdered by her family or husband for bringing ‘dishonor’ on her home, and then turn around and completely ignore their friends and family going down the same path until it was too late. These assholes don’t care about women, they don’t care about anyone. They just want to be cruel.

They just think their version of cruelty is superior somehow because their evil just shoots their wives and daughters instead of stoning them.

[stargaze-sunflower]

I wrote more Dewey and Louie bonding! I hope you like it! :]

Ao3 Link     Word Count: 1184

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Having been slightly taller than usual for a few hours, Dewey was now having a bit of trouble using his legs as he normally would. Not enough trouble to where he couldn’t walk, thankfully, but enough that it was a mild annoyance, especially with Louie snickering at him and Huey hiding a grin every few seconds. He was just a little wobbly, that was all. He was readjusting.

They hadn’t stayed at the resort for very long after returning the spring breakers to their original ages. No one had wanted to be near the pool for any longer than they had to, given what had just happened in it. It’d been nightmare fuel, for sure, along with being stuck in a pool floaty awaiting instantaneous old age. Not that Dewey had expected anything else from an adventure with his family; this was probably actually pretty tame in comparison to some of the other things they’d had to deal with.

Anyway, nightmares and trauma aside, they’d eventually decided on leaving, and Scrooge had said his goodbyes to Goldie, smiling like a sap the whole time. Yuck.

As mentioned before, Dewey’s legs were being less than cooperative, what with his brain being confused at the two sudden changes in height he’d experienced that day. He couldn’t help but be mildly surprised whenever his feet hit the ground sooner than expected as he walked, and that slight confusion caused him to stumble more than once.

It was irritating, and his brothers teased him a little, but they also caught him whenever he lost his footing, and made sure he was steady before letting go. It made him feel warm inside, even as he glared at them playfully and stuck his tongue out at a smiling Louie. They were annoying, but they were his brothers. He wouldn’t trade them for the world.

They finally all made it back to where Launchpad was waiting with the plane, and Dewey climbed aboard and sunk down into a seat with a single triumphant laugh. Webby plopped down into a seat on the opposite side of the plane and almost immediately fell asleep. From what he understood, she’d had a pretty rough day herself. She deserved the rest.

Huey went up to the front to talk to Scrooge about the aftereffects of being young and then aging rapidly, and Louie sat down next to Dewey just as the plane started to take off. Dewey swung his legs back and forth a bit as they climbed higher and higher into the sky, trying to force his mind to get re-used to his normal height.

“You know, I think part of Huey’s problem with today was that you were taller than him,” Louie said casually, giving him a little grin. “It’s always been his dream to be tall.”

Dewey glanced towards where Huey was listening to Scrooge’s rambling – earnestly taking notes in his guidebook – and huffed a laugh.

“Don’t remind me,” Dewey said, his mind quickly being overtaken by the memory of Huey with freakishly long legs. “His dream is my nightmare.”

“And today, your dream was his nightmare,” Louie pointed out, sliding down in his seat a bit as he made himself comfortable. “It drove him crazy that you insisted you were oldest.”

“Yeah, well, he takes being oldest way too seriously,” Dewey complained, not as irritated as he might’ve been, a few hours ago. “We’re triplets, it hardly matters!”

“Then why did it bother you so much?”

Dewey turned to frown at Louie, who was smirking back at him. Why did brothers have to be so annoying and perceptive? It was inconvenient, really. Dewey sighed.

“I guess I just wanted to be the big brother for once,” Dewey said, staring down at his slightly aching legs. “I thought it’d be fun.”

Louie hummed in response, yawning soon afterwards. Dewey felt the corners of his beak tug upwards; Louie was always tired after an adventure.

“And was it?” Louie asked, eyes half lidded.

“I mean, I guess,” Dewey replied, his brow furrowing. “It was more work than I was expecting, though.”

Louie shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”

“Right,” Dewey said, finally leaning back in his seat and settling in for the ride. “And neither do I, now that I’m not the big brother anymore.”

“Maybe not the big brother,” Louie mumbled, obviously half asleep already, “but you’re still a big brother, y’know.”

Dewey blinked, taken off guard, and the warm feeling in his chest from earlier came roaring back, wrapping around his heart like a loving hug from an old friend. It almost hurt, with how pure it was.

“Oh,” Dewey said. “Oh.”

He hadn’t forgotten, exactly, that Louie was younger than him, it just didn’t cross his mind very often. He was usually too busy thinking about he was younger than Huey. He’d spent all day trying to prove himself as ‘big brother’, and he’d sort of overlooked that he’d actually been one all along.

Because Louie was independent, sure, but he also cried at TV shows, and put his hood over his head when he was upset, and held onto Dewey’s arm when he was spooked. They were triplets, yes, but Louie was still his little brother.

Dewey thought that he suddenly understood Huey a lot better.

“Louie, you— Oh.”

Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off as he looked over and saw Louie fast asleep and lightly snoring, his head unfortunately resting against the back of the seat at a pretty uncomfortable angle. Dewey found himself continually impressed by the conditions in which Louie could sleep; him and Huey had found him sleeping in a cabinet once, back when they were living on the houseboat.

Dewey laughed softly and gazed at his sleeping brother with a fond grin. His younger brother seemed to be quickly developing the habit of saving the day and then immediately going to sleep. If Louie hadn’t figured out what was really going on at that resort, who knew where they’d be.

Dewey envied that, a little bit; the fact that sleep came so easily to Louie. He himself could never fall asleep after an adventure; he was always too excited and energetic. Usually about this time, him and Webby would be enthusiastically talking about whatever had just happened, but even she was exhausted after the day she’d had. Dewey made a mental note to ask about it later; it seemed like it would be an interesting story.

Returning his attention to his brother, Dewey slowly and carefully guided Louie’s head to rest on his shoulder, attempting to at least get him into a more comfortable position. Louie sighed softly against his neck, shifting a bit, leaning his full weight onto him before dropping back into deep sleep. Dewey grinned happily, feeling like he’d done something right, like he’d done something good.

From the front of the plane, Huey caught his eye and smirked at him, something teasing but proud shining through his gaze. Dewey rolled his eyes good-naturedly – careful not to move his shoulder too much – and settled in for the long ride home.

[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch24 Accidential New Star

(I had to look up the prices and what the bill document said to get this right.)

Dead Bird Studios.

The place where for YEARS had been the birthplace of creativity and actors on the big screen. And now she was standing right in front of it. The others didn't look so fazed at the big building considering they had been there multiple times before but that didn't stop her from staring up in fascination at it all. It. WAS. HUGE!! WAY bigger than those tall buildings back on the moon. A giant logo sign of a black bird skull and film real decorated the outside on the big front there with the giant words under it reading DEAD BIRD STUDIOS. A parking lot stood between them and the entrance and they were already walking across it towards the entrance. To the far left of them, they could all see a bunch more of those cars parked into the rectangular spaced, not that Poppy was paying attention as they marched across in the hot sun beating down on them all. Poppy would be lying if she wasn't impressed, as she subconciously walked after the small group still walking, the shadow of the building fell over her and she involuntarily sighed feeling the harsh rays of the sun gone for a moment. Still following along after them up to the double doors of the building. The grown lady flinched when they opened on their own as soon as Cookie got near it and mumbled grumpily to herself about forgetting her purse and having to walk all the way back here on her day off of all things helping out and how it was so rude of her to make them all take this detour. Not that anyone minded as the children excitedly ran in past them inside. Poppy glanced wearily at the doors for a moment while passing, jumping a foot forward when it closed by themselves, blue eyes glanced between it and Cookie for a moment before following after the mumbling cat. The long hallway was pretty dark with a black carpet with bird skull patterns with lots of white squares lights barely lighting up the place. With a whoosh noise the doors up ahead opened on their own accord and the three children ran on through and into what looked like a well lit room. As they continued to persue the children down the rest of the hall she thought she heard some squeals of delight but she wasn't too sure yet. When she finally approuched the double pair of doors, they opened again with a whoosh for Cookie and Poppy flinched again...Before blinking and sticking her head into the lit room. A giant white Television set(computor) was sat on the counter which was the first thing she saw, and shiny marble floors reflected the bright lights above. There was a tired looking bird manning the counter as he calmly watched everything around him. Next to him was some kind of giant piece of heavy looking machinery, and as Poppy finally stepped in, she gawked at the sight of GIANT glass cases on either side of the room with shiny copies of trouphies safely sat inside with names of old movie directors of years past. But those only held her attention for a moment, above the trophies on either side were giant framed posters. On the right with a few penguins gathered was a strange looking instrument in disco lights, a ...slime monster??, and some penguin in an astronaut suit. To the right was a more western style of two seperate birds holding guns and a random cactus. Two doors were on either side and two signs by them each saying FILMING IN PROGRESS.

"DARLING!! You're back so soon?," A loud voice boomed out and Poppy yelped dropping her bags of clothing on the floor.

Who the voice belongs to was another moon penguin...But this one looked TOTALLY different from any other penguin she's seen before. He wore a ridiculous outfit with weirder shoes on his feet making him taller than the other penguins by a few inches, and he actually had hair and yellow eye brows styled up into some kind of weirder haircut, and last but certainly not least a giant pair of all black shaped sunglasses over his eyes. His beak was curled up in a smile as he approuched from the small crowd of three girls tailing after him as Cookie walked over to him.

"I wasn't expecting my best best network star to return so soon," he happily addressed her earning him a few embarrassed chuckles.

"Not exactly planned. I uh...Forgot my purse on set again and needed to run in and grab it. Can't exactly feed a bunch of hungry children without it now can I? H-How's the movie auditions so far?"

The penguin sighed and reached a flipper up to his forehead. "Easier said than done. There's the part of the wicked family who still need spaces filled in place, and the handsome prince, not to mention that I still have no one to play the concerned father and we only have a few months to put this together! I can't describe how much pressure I'm feeling..But I have a good feeling that this year will be in our favor for sure!"

Cookie smiled brightly. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find the perfect people to fill those roles soon. You always manage to pull off a wonderful display."

"*sigh* I sure hope so, Dear. I'd hate to have nothing to present for my efforts." His gaze turned up once he noticed movement by the doors as Poppy reached back down to pick her bags back up. "And I see you brought a new friend!" Poppy paused as she was approuched by the eccentric looking fella. "Why HELLO there, Darling! I don't believe we've met!"

"Uh..." Poppy had to blink to actually make sure she was seeing who she was actually seeing before shaking her head and standing up, giving a politely smile. "Howdy! I don't think we've met actually."

The penguin chuckled and shook his head. "We didn't and I never forget a pretty face, Darling. And who might you be?"

"I'm those two's temporarily babysitter," she answered pointed at two of the three children huddled by his side. "Until I can get back on mah feet that is. Kinda starting from scratch after a crazy wake up call."

"Well, it's an honor to meet you Darling." His whole being radiated positivity and his voice despite being loud was very welcoming, making Poppy smile brightly, "I take it this is your first time at a studio?"

She smiled a bit shyly. "I-Is it that obvious? hehe" She reached up to rub the back of her neck. "Uh...Y-Yeah. Do you work here?"

At this the penguin and Cookie shared a chuckle before he spoke. "Well, I should hope so. Or else my name isn't DJ Grooves."

Grooves?....DJ Grooves? As in THE Mr. Grooves Cookie had spoken about before? OH! He must've been the director she spot about earlier, that would've explained the way he dressed. This guy was a walking fat cat with deep pockets, but he looked rather friendly and cheerful to her. And not to brag, but she did have a good judge of character usually.

"OH! So YOU'RE this Mr. Grooves I've heard so much about."

He chuckled. "So you heard a lot about me? I'm flattered, Darling. Really I am-" He was interrupted when a rumble sounded out and Poppy grabbed at her stomach embarrased. "...Oh my, my, my. Hungry are we?"

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and we've been running around all day."

"Well, then I better get back there and find that darned thing." Cookie turned to Mr. Grooves with a smile. "Ya'll don't mind if I just run to the back real quick like and grab it do you?"

"Not at all, Darling. Be my guest." Cookie smiled and without another word turned and ran off towards the door on the fair right of the room. The giant thing creaked open and closed behind her as she disappeared into the area behind it. Poppy watched her go behind sighing and stretching out her back from the now uncomfortable weight of the heavy used farm equipment on her, but her attention went back to Mr. Grooves when he pointed towards the counter and spoke again. "Darling, if you want you can just place these bags right on over there with the other random things we brought in today. You look redder than an apple on the sun."

She nodded yes reaching up a hand to wipe at her face. "I feel like a baked apple too. ...Ya sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all, Darling. Not at all. Why don't you go do that and I'll have one of my assistants bring you out a glass."

"Well, if you're really sure."

She smiled and lugged her way over to the counter by the crate and weird machine thing. Placing the bags down by the crate, she shimmied the golf club bag of farming tools off her shoulders and into her hands, leaning them all carefully against the big ol' machine thing next to them. Sighing that her back didn't have weight on it anymore she stretched it out making her back pop. A few giggles made her look back over towards the small group of girls around the penguin. Bow was still pouting looking down at the clothes in disgust but looked up when the penguin adjusted the sunhat on her head, she looked up at him and Mr. Grooves said something to her. Poppy couldn't hear exactly what he said but it put a smile on Bow's face and he patted her head with a flipper. A smile returning to her face at the cute scene in front of her. A small creaking noise came from her left, and Poppy didn't notice the expensive camera starting to lean from the weight of her tools.

BAM!!

A loud bang filled the room but strangely enough, barely anyone flinched or looked up from it. As if used to hearing large booming noises in the studio. The only ones who reacted was Mr. Grooves, the girls, and Poppy. Poppy all but jumped out of her skin backing against the counter and whirling towards the source of the sound, the girls seemed to flinch, and Mr. Grooves only casually looked over towards the left side of the studio. There the other giant pair of double doors had been kicked open and slammed into the walls, a moment later a very angry......Yellow owl?? Stomped out and behind him followed some regular Express Owls holding various items or just following. .....Wat? Poppy had to blink as the small whatever he was stomped over near to where she was standing and starting barking demands all of a sudden.

"You three grab the bloody camera and make sure ye pecknecks keep a tight grip on it! I nae need me raw footage damaged in anyway!" His head turned as he barked orders to the owls who jumped and nodded at their bosses demands. "Good! Can't count on you all to do anything without me tellin' ye to cannae?"

Well THAT was rude. Poppy frowned at the rude little whatever he was and still didn't notice the large machine next to her lean over even more. Neither Poppy, the owls, or whoever this small yellow guy was(who was still yelling at the poor owls through all of this might I add) noticed the heavy duty camera leaning over or the glamerous penguin waltz on over towards him with a smile until they all reacted at his voice. The owls stopping, the yellow bird thing freezing for a few seconds, his fist shaking and slowly closing into fists, and his head snapping to peer over his shoulder, and Poppy looking over blinking.

"Conductor, Darling. You mustn't be so loud. It disturbs the peace and scares potential clients away," Mr. Grooves calmly spoke to this person. "You know I'm still expecting others to answer my casting calls."

Wait. Didn't Cookie also mention a Conductor? Huh. So this must be him. Not gonna lie, not a good first impression to her if she said so herself. Conductor huffed and turned his whole body turned to completely face the calm moon penguin now.

"Tis NAE of your business ye no good puffy haired peckneck!!," Conductor shouted while pointing a hand at Mr. Grooves. He was loud enough to make Poppy wince. "Why don't ye badger off and leave me to my worrrrrk!!"

"Darling, I would love nothing MORE than to leave you alone undisturbed," Mr. Grooves insisted calmly holding up his flippers, "All I ask is that you don't make such a ruckus in the lobby so my interviewers don't get scared off."

"HA!! Ye still going on 'bout that nonsense! Like anyone would rrrreally want to be in some techno sore to the eyes picture like yours!"

"Well that's not true at all. I have a gentlemen coming in tomorrow to see for the part of the Father in my little play. "

"HA!! The third one in a row? By this rate, ye won't be able to show ye face at the Award Ceremony for judging!" He smiled this time and crossed his arms.

"Now, now. There's still lots of time. And I'm going for something far more simple this year. A little change of style but still fabulous if I do say so myself."

"HMPH!! Well I say ye are full of birdseed if you think you have an inch of chance as usually! Another second place trophy would be more fitted! AHAHAHA!!"

Poppy could feel herself frowning at his words. Well that was really uncalled fore especially since Mr. Grooves wasn't being rude at all back or making a big scene like Conductor was. CREAAAAAAAAAAKKKK!! Hey...What was that creaking sound? Or was her ears ringing from the earlier screaming.

"Ye should give up now and save ye some trouble! With me raw footage it's surrrre to be in me favor."

CRREEEEEEEEEEEEE-

A giant creaking sound echoed out in a black blur as the giant camera leaned over and tipped. Owls hooted in fear as they scrambled out of the way as all eyes looked over and it seemed time slowed down as it went down, down, down- .....With a loud crash glass and pieces of metal shattered and flew everywhere. On instinct everyone close enough held up their arms and looked away from the shatter, but it was too late. Time slowed down as the camera shattered beyond repair and lots of metal clangs and sounds followed the disaster until it all finally settled piece by piece in front of them all on the floor. Destroyed camera and farming tools splayed on top of it. Everyone stood in shock staring down at the absolutely DESTROYED piece of machinery but that wasn't the last of it. A few sparks from the top of the camera shot out .....and then just a tiny spark of flame appeared. Well that tiny flame was enough to send some panic througout everyone there as owls sqawked and gasped back at the sight of the small flame which slowly started to grow causing everone else to get mildly panicked.

"SOME DARLIN' GET A FIRE EXSTINGISHER!!," Mr. Grooves yelled one flipper going up behind him to push back the small group of children behind him.

"STAND BACK!!"

In a fury of feather and blur, a white streak of foam shot out from some random direction and slammed into the flames, successfully putting out the flames with a sizzling sound by none other than the receptionist. The bird who was behind the counter wasn't finished yet as he continued to spray the camera and part of her tools down until it was all white like snow had piled on it and he stopped. Everyone remained in their tense pose for a long while staring at the camera...before some sighed in relief as did Poppy. Well that was certainly a surprise wasn't it? ...But not a very pleasant one by SOMEONE'S standards.

"MY MOVIE!!," Conductor cried recieving all eyes on his as his hands reached up to grab those feathery parts of his head staring dead at the camera in horror. "ALL ME HARD WORKED RRRRRRAW FOOTAGE IS GONE!!! .....AH!! YOU!!" His horror quickly shifted to anger when he snapped towards the fightened owls with an accusing tone. "YOU NO GOOD......FEATHER BRAINED....PPPPPPPEEEEECCKKNNEEEEEECKSSSS!! I TOLD YE TO BE CAREFULL!! NOW LOOK AT WHAT YE DONE TA ME HARRRD WORK!! WAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH A BLOODY SHATTERED MESS MADE BY BUBBLING BAFOONS?!"

The owls all froze at their bosses torment as Grooves turned around to ask the little girls if they were alright and Poppy stared. Watching as Conductor continued to shout as he blamed the poor owls for the mess....Blue eyes blinked down to the farming tools laid upon the floor. HER mess. The one she made-

Red eyes and shadows stared at her frightened form as a voice hissed. "Take her to the room and lock her away. ...I can't to look at her for as my prince had done. Perhaps locking away her forever will teach her a lesson about gazing into another man's eyes who belong TO ME!!"

"STOP!! JUST STOP IT WAS MY FAULT!!!"

Blue eyes snapped open at the yell. The yell that made everyone freeze and look at the red head who looked just as shocked and surprised as everyone else at her sudden outburst, but the Conductor wasn't yelling at the owls anymore. Despite him not having eyes, she could still tell he was staring right at her along with everyone else around her in more stunned silence as nobody spole.

".......Wot?"

"So YOU'RE the one responsible for this?," the tallest bird from the counter spoke putting down the fire extingisher and crossed his arms with a frown making Poppy flinch.

Poppy stared at him for a moment but seeing one poor worried looking owl behind him, made her frown before taking a deep inhale...and nodding towards the receptionist without hesitation. "That's right! One hundred peckin' percent!" She boldly pointed to the half foam covered tools by now. "Those are mah tools and it's mah fault the giant whatcha-ma-callit thing fell over 'n broke! Not anyone else's! So don't be yelling at anyone!"

The receptionist stood there for a moment staring at her before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a pen and piece of paper. "Are you willing to pay for the damages? If you chose to claim the damages that is."

She nodded again without hesitation. "I am!"

"Alright." The paper had the same bird skull logo and Dead Bird Studios in bold red words. "Where do you live, Ma'am?"

"Uh...."

"With us!," Hattie piped up.

"Alright." Under the words 'Billing Details' he wrote Red Head Human Woman and the adress Spaceship in the sky 1 6829 this planet, Invoice #: (insert random Owl Express Numbers), Invoice Date: Today, and Currency: Pons. After studying it for a bit he looked back down to the damaged thing with a hum. "Let's see. There was film so that counts under 'Distruping Studio Recordings' which comes to one hundred thousand pons." He wrote under the words 'You Will Be Billed For' as he spoke and looked at the damages caused. "One count of 'Penguin Harrassment' which is five hundred pons. Five cases of 'Owl Harrassment' for two thousand five hundred pons. 'Destruction of Property' oh definately for three thousand. And 'Tresspassing' for seven thousand."

Poppy could only stand there and let her eyes grow and widen in shock at the claims and how much pons this guy claimed she owed for such lunacy. ".......Tresspassing and harassment!? Of what kind?! I wasn't tresspassin' if I was invited in here!! And I wasn't harassing anyone!!''

"Ma'am. I'm only doing my job handling paperwork, and our insurance doesn't cover humans. The moment you stepped on property you became a liability and responisble for paying for any destruction you caused," he explained calmly as if he did this every day. He wrote one other thing down on the paper before holding it out for her. "You owe us one hundred thirteen thousand pons plus tax and another seven hundred fifty for the expensive high defintion camera to be replaced."

Poppy could only stare and not move at the paper held out to her with wide eyes and an open jaw like there was another cursed statue in front of her. After a moment, the recptionist carefully and calmly put the large bill in her hand and she finally reacted to the movement. with anger and a scowl. "WHY IS THIS SO EXPENSIVE!? I couldn't afford this even if I suddenly turned into solid gold like that roach did!!"

"Like I said, Ma'am. I'm only doing my job. If you like I could call the local court house of law, the lawyers there can assure you the paperwork and damages are all legal."

"Well I still can't PAY for it!.....What if I work off the debt instead? I'm a hard worker I promise."

"Well.....it wouldn't be the first time someone worked it off. But you'll have to speak with the two big bosses about it, not me I'm afraid."

"And they would be?"

"ME!!" She jumped and nearly dropped the paper when the Conductor scowled up at her with anger. "That was MY movie ye destrrrroyed with yer no good foolishness! If ye are gonna work it away ye better be ready to receive some hard work thrown at ye from meself!!''

".......No."

Silence. You could hear a pin drop as everyone in the studio of hearing range completely stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards the scene before them with wide eyes. Completely shocked into silence as they all stared at the human alike. Penguins, Express Owls, the two children, and even both the directors seemed to be shocked into the dumb silence as they all gawked at the frowning red haired lady staring at the Conductor. THE CONDUCTOR!! NO ONE BUT DJ GROOVES HAD EVER SAID NO TO THE CONDUCTOR BEFORE!! (except Hattie that one time in the basement but we don't talk about that not that anyone outside of the little girl, and a few of her friends knew) But now it seemed everyone was too shocked seeing a new person say no to the famously hot headed owl. One owl staring completely let the script she was holding fall from her hands and land scattered at her feet as everyone watched jaws dropped. Eventually Confuctor was the one to break the awkward silence by what else, his famous yeling. "WOT!?," he shouted and stared at her. "An' why not?! Ye are the one who cost me mah raw footage! That was ten days of haarrrrrrd work I ain't nah gettin' back, Las!" The red head crossed her arms and didn't change her expression. "I know and I am terribly sorry I caused you so much trouble in that department. But I refuse to work with someone so rude and treats the employee's who's workin' hard trying to help him by calling them useless! Obviously you're a terrible boss who treats anyone helping him with no respect, and I would feel terrible! Being in one of your movies knowing that, Sir." The girls exchange silent shocked glances behind Poppy as she turned her head towards the damaged camera. "....If it's the material that I damaged I would gladly pay in anyway I can. But only on the basis you apologise to those you've wronged, Mr. Conductor. But don't you go thinkin' I'll do anything before I know I'll be treated with respect!" Conductor's. Jaw. DROPPED!! Obviously not used to anyone other than that ridiculous long time rival of his speaking to HIM. HIM!!! In such a brass and demanding manner and it took a moment for him to even process what she just said but in a moment his temper flared up in a moment's notice as those feathery appendages on his head wriggled and he pointed at the penguin director as the other fist clenched into a fist as he demanded. Mr. Grooves blinking surprised at the sudden action "Bu-Bu-Bu-BUT WHAT COULD BE SOOOO SPECIAL ABOUT 'EM DOWN RIGHT EYE SORE OF A SO CALLED MOVIE!? YE GARBAGE NEVER COULD GET OFF YE GROUND IF DJ GRRRRRROOOOVES HAD ALL ETERNITY AND BECAME PRRRRRRESIDENT OF YE BOX OFFICE!!" "That's not true! I actually saw one of his movies myself." "YE DID WOT!?" "You ...did?," Grooves shifted his funny glasses wearing face up towards her just as confused as the angry owl man. Poppy nodded. "Yes. I. Did. And to be perfectly honest, I didn't think it was that bad. In fact, it was really interesting. Maybe not the 'best' by bird standards, but by human standards the story was really easy to understand for someone who honestly doesn't really know a whole darn lot 'bout these fancy lights, or high tech stuff, or..." She waved a hand off shrugging. "Or whatever ratings are. And a struggling career was relatable for someone who's been struggling with a lot happening." Conductor was sputtering and made some kind of funny bird sqawking noise before some of the feathers around his collar ruffled up in rage and he jabbed a thumb at himself. "WELL MAH MOVIES ARE NOTHIN' TO SHY FROM EITHER, LASSIE!! RRRRESPECTIVELY THAT AYE AM THE ONE TO MAKE IT ON TOP ALL YE TIME!!" Her face frowned again as she looked down at the older bird with a harsher scowl. "MY respect, SIR, is earned. Not GIVEN! And so far you've done absolutely NOTHING to earn it! Yelling like a baby who didn't get their candy and throwing a fit is not the way to do that! You just come off to me as a spoiled old man who doesn't know the word no even existed!" "WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE BLOODY PECKNECK ANYWAYS!?," He demanded fuming. "If you can't respect him as your rival then the least you could do is respect him as another person in your profession. As far as I've seen he's been nothin' but polite and kind to everyone and considering he's not in mah face yellin' like a baby bird for his mama is somethin' I respect." With a huff of that sass Snatcher would've loved to see she closed her eyes, and turned her head away with her nose stuck up. "I will start RESPECTING you as an adult when you ACT like one and apologize and decide to stop throwing a tantrum and embarrassing yourself! Because the truth be told I think YOU'RE the only peckneck in this studio." More silence settled around the entire place as Conductor dropped his jaw and the only sound that came out of him was something that sounded like 'A-Ah...ah..ah ah ah.....' in a stuttery way. Hattie's eyes were wide and Bow's hands had come to cover her mouth in a dramatic way. If Snatcher was there, Hattie would have no doubt he would've started laughing loudly at the look on the old bird's face. In fact, she could almost hear it now. A deep rumbling chuckle-....But wait. Snatcher's voice wasn't deep? It was high and raspy. Then who was-... A cold flipper patted Poppy on the back making her hum and look next to her to find the afro wearing penguin chuckling...before laughing a deep but loud laugh that filled the room with an almost joyful mood. That seemed to snap the Conductor from his trance and glared in the laughing penguin's direction. After a moment, Mr. Grooves stopped and turned his gaze up to Poppy with a smile. "Darling! I never could've said that any better than how you did!" He patted her back again. "You know. I like you already, Darling. My little stars usually have great taste in character and I see they didn't spare any expense in making another darling friend. What did you say your name was again?" ......She blinked but smiled at the happy moon penguin politely. "Poppy Rose Bloomington. You can call me Poppy, Mr. Grooves." Grooves hummed for a moment looking at her up and down for a moment before turning to the glaring Conductor and the broken camera lying a few feet away in pieces. "Was that footage really that important to you Conductor, Darlin'?" "OF COURSE IT WAS YOU PE-" "There's children here." Conductor's feathery appendeges went back as he growled. "YES! It was half me movie! It cannae be so simply replaced with the secret idea I was goin' for! All the time I spent on it cannae be replaced in time of the award ceremony!" The penguin hummed and brought his other flipper up to rub the bottom of his beak staring at the camera with a thoughtful expression...before looking back up to Poppy. "I'm afraid he's right, Darlin. I've known Conductor long enough to know one thing he never does is lie about his movies, even if he does brag while doing so in such a rude manor." "HMPH!! OF COURSE I DONAE!!" Grooves just rolled his eyes. "Even so, I think we should help him." "YE WOT!?" Conductor glanced surprised at the penguin like he won the trophy all of a sudden. "What kind of nonsense are ye blabbering about now?" Grooves turned to him staring, before tilting his head down wear his sunglass slid down enough to reveal some of his eyes in a deadpanned expression. "Believe it or not, Darling, I don't like unfair advantages." Conductor just stared blankly at him. " But I'm sure my little stars here could help out with anything you may need." Bow lit up with a smile. "Yeah! I'd love to help!" "Don't you have a back up plan like you usually do?" "Of course Ah do! I ain't no dummy." "Well, there you go, Darling." He reached up to push his glasses back into place. "I'm sure you'll put together something spectacular like you always do." "......B-B-But..What are the damages!? Ye camera cost the studio over a thousand pons! I cannae just look past that!," he argued back pointing at the shattered thing. And Grooves hummed again. "I'm afraid you're right about that too. Frankly, these kinds of ones aren't too easily to come across."........In a moment he smiled and looked up to Poppy. "I know! She can work for me as payment for those damages." Poppy blinked with a surprised expression as did most of everyone else but at the thought of Poppy being in a movies both young girls suddenly looked even more excited. Conductor on the other hand- "ABABABABABA!! Hang on a pecking second! THE LASS WORK FOR YE FOR DAMAGING MAH FILM?!" "I-I AM?!," Poppy asked whirling wide eyed to the moon penguin director. "Yes. Cuz quick frankly it might've been your film, but it was on OUR shared expensive studio high definition camera, Darling. She can easily pay off any debt she owes for the camera and your footage by working and her pay going to the repairs and reienbursment for any misguided accidents." The Conductor growled again and went to probably argue some more- "Tick tock, Darling. You don't want to waste anytime fighting when there's a deadline to meet. It looks like you'll be needing to step up your game." "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! FINE!!" The tiny bird man turned and began stomping away towards the owl's side of the studio. "WHAT ARE ALL YE LOOKING AT!? SOMEONE BRING ME MAH BACK UP SCRIPT!! CHANGE THE SETS TO OUTSIDE SCHEDUALED!! SOMEONE INFORRRRRRM THE OTHER'S WE'RE GOIN' WITH PLAN B THIS YEAR!!! AND SOMEONE GET THAT SMASHED HUNK O' JUNK CLEANED UP!!" The owl's scrambled to grab anything they needed to grab and quickly follow the fuming bird boss as DJ Grooves chuckled and shook is head. "Don't feel too bad about the Conductor, Darling. He's usually all talk and no bite." Hattie giggled. "Yeah! He's a crazy, grumpy grandpa!" Both Grooves and Bow chuckled at Hattie's description of the old bird, but none of them noticed frozen and mildly panicked form. Her?! In a movie?! Where millions of people could see her?! WHAT HAD SHE GOTTEN HERSELF INTO NOW?!

[abluescarfonwaston]

Shapeshifter Au - 9

Here is our very long Reunion chapter! Part 8 Part 7 

TW for blood, violence, mind control, and temporary memory loss

There were advantages to traveling alone.

He could spend as much or as little time in a town as he wanted- or at least his purse allowed. If he met a pack of wolves or a flock of birds or a herd of deer he could enjoy their company as long as he liked because no one was waiting for him.

He enjoyed the company of every manner of creature that would tolerate another’s company. He made friends and they cared for him and he did his best to care for them back and it was almost enough.

It was almost enough when the crowd beat their feet to his songs and cheered.

It was almost enough when the pack near Oxenfurt greeted him with open mouth kisses to confirm his wellbeing.

It was almost enough when the barn cats curled around him in the stable, rumbling their contentment.

Then winter came- as it always did. The birds flew south, the bears disappeared into their dens and the wolves grew too lean to feed what they all knew was an outsider.

They didn’t say as much. He didn’t wait around to hear it.

He knew what he was.

The animals all knew on some level. That on the edges he wasn’t quite right. Wasn’t quite the same as them.

So he did what he did every winter- because he’d never survive it on his own.

He answered the letters from court bidding him to play.

The Countess de Stael had requested him back this year and he was seriously tempted by the offer but he’d heard rumors of a mage at her court.

He could resist Yennefer’s call so whoever they were was unlikely to overwhelm him. But Yennefer had also never tried to.

Best to stay away. There were other offers.

He accepted a very generous offer from a southern family that lived on the coast. The sea called and maybe in the spring he’d walk out into its depths. Maybe he would love it so much he’d never walk the land again and the hollow space in his chest would fill with the sea.

“You are as beautiful and youthful as the stories say Master Jaskier.” His skin prickled at the young lady’s attention. They were alone in the dining hall, aside from the staff and numerous guards. “There are even rumor you’ve elven parentage. Tell me, have they any merit?”

Even people knew he wasn’t quite human.

“I’m afraid not Lady Nadia.” Where was the rest of her family? The war may have emptied the house somewhat but her mother, her unwed sister, or her brother who should have been far too young for service should have been there. “A good skin care routine can work wonders though. I could show you if you’d like? Not that much could be done to further enhance your radiance.”

He smiled brightly and sent her a quick wink. In her bedchambers there was a chance they’d be alone. He could ask what was wrong.

If not he would leave tonight. No amount of gold was worth his life. Every shape screamed at him to flee.

He hadn’t lived this long by not listening to them.

“Oh come now there must be more to it than that. There are rumors the White Wolf lent you his time in exchange for your company.”

He forced a brilliant laugh and took a long but shallow drink from his glass. “Such is not an ability of Witchers I’m afraid.” Even if it was Geralt wouldn’t share it with him. “But if its stories about The White Wolf you request I am more than capable of providing.”

“Firsthand accounts I hope?” Her voice coy but her shoulders ridged and her knuckles white where they gripped the spoon.

He stood and made his way to her, offering a hand as he quickly bowed. “Shall we retired to a more private local? I promise to tell you all my best stories about him.”

Her eyes met his and he saw the desperation there. A wolf who’d lost her pack. Her eyes flickered behind him and he knew. Knew this day ended in shackles.

He let the performer fall away and knelt before her, taking her hands in his. She was so young. He’d seen countless people do far worse for far less.

“It’s alright dear. Make sure my lute gets back to Oxenfurt will you?” Tears brimmed in her eyes, tremors shaking her small frame. He pressed a kiss softly to her forehead. “I know what we do for the people we love.”

He stood as apologies cascaded from her turning to the guards. Really an unnecessary amount of guards. He knew he had a reputation for being slippery. For leaving empty cages and locked shackles in the night. But really. This was an unnecessary amount of soldiers.

He offered his wrists out to one of them with a smile.

“I do hope you’ll be returning her kin once this is over. I mean really? All this fanfare for a bard? Your higher ups must really need some music. Is the war truly so dull they’ve stooped to holding nobles hostage to kidnap innocent bards?”

One of the other soldiers walked over and snapped the shackles around his wrist. Dimeritium shackles.

“Expensive!” He whistled. No one had ever bothered with Dimeritium shackles before. He wondered if they’d work. “Someone thinks I’m a sorcerer! I must admit, I’m very flattered but my skill and good looks were a blessing of hard work and luck, not magic.” The man yanked the chain, pulling him along.

“I hope they keep their promise Nadia! Care of Oxenfurt University! Don’t forget!”

“Shut up.” The soldier demanded, accented heavily.

He jabbered at him in Nilfgaardian. “Oh you just expect a bard to shut up do you? Want that blessed silence? Well guess what? Never really gone in for that so you can just-“ There was a sharp pain on the back of his skull and the world went dark.

 The floor rocked under him and he suspected it wasn’t just the blow to the head. He was curled in a cage on the rocking seas. Hands still shackled. Feet bound in silver.

They were really overdoing it.

“He’s finally awake. Go get the sorcerer.” Someone whispered from behind him. He curled in tighter and ignored the growing thrumming of a song. It wasn’t as pleasant as Yennefer’s. Not as strong, even when he entered the room. It just made him feel gross.

“So sorry for the harsh treatment Master Jaskier.” The sorcerer stood over him. Voice assuring him that they were not sorry at all. “You’re rather known for being a difficult man to keep and we wanted to make sure you didn’t leave before I could make your acquaintance.”

“Could have just asked. I’m sure Nadia would have been glad to show off her bard.”

“That was the plan but it sounded like you were getting cold feet for your performance.”

I would perform for you any time. It drawled, barely even convinced of the man’s merit itself.

“Did you let them go?” The man made a questioning noise. “Nadia’s family.”

“Why of course we did!” He lied. There was nothing to be done for that lie, so he choose to believe it. “And nothing bad will come to you either if you help us.”

The man crouched in front of him. He curled tighter hiding his face in his knees. “I’m sure.”

“Look at me Jaskier.” He curled tighter. Digging his hands into his legs.

Look at him.

Look at him.

Look at him.

It chanted over and over and over and he curled tighter and tighter and tighter.

“Look at me.”

There was power in those words and his body uncurled to lax. Knelt in front of him with hazy eyes as he beat at the magic manipulating his mind.

Their eyes met.

The man gasped.

He reached his hands through the bar, cupping his face. “I didn’t think there were any of you left.”

Cold dark sludge poured in. Cooling the distant memory of lightning in his veins. Covering the broken tapestry in his heart in something vicious and unpleasant. He did not move.

“Are you the last unclaimed familiar? There are so few of you in this world and you landed right in my lap. Destiny has truly blessed me today.”

The cold flooded him. Chilling every cell to the brittle bone. The hollow in his chest never filled. It Froze and never filled.

“You are mine now. I claim you.”

“Yours.” Someone said.

“Unlock the cage I want to see what he can do.” The others hesitated. He barked a command and they leapt to do as ordered. Do as ordered.

Doors unlocked somewhere and locks dropped free. The man bid him follow. Follow.

He followed.

There was sun beating on the deck but it didn’t warm him. The cold was there and the hollow and the man and that was all. The thick ichor sliding through his being.

“You need a better name familiar. You are no flower are you?” The man stroked his hair.

What are you then?

“Transform for me. I want to see what you can do. What you really are.”

What are you?

The cold was power. He was not helpless. He was not prey.

He spilled into a mountain cat. A predator. Claws long and sharp. Fur dense against the cold that filled him.

He was never enough of any one thing to truly be them.

Wings split from his back covered in long feathers. Claws into talons. Muzzle into beak. Size growing as more and more waves of cold chilled his mind.

“An Arch Griffin.” Awed a man. Hand on his beak. “The things we will do together.”

‘Griffins mate for life.’ A different man’s voice said to him. He didn’t know that voice. But he knew it was right.

His chest was hollow. His mate was gone.

He opened his beak. The cold man smiled.

He closed it and the man smiled no more.

There was blood and screaming and pain.

He collapsed in a clearing. Pulling out bolts that pierced his hide.

They bled. It joined the blood on his face and claws. It stuck his fur together in clumps. Feathers of his wings stuck up at the wrong angles.

He didn’t bother fixing it.

He flew in a random direction. When he was tired he slept. When he was hungry he ate.

Distantly he thought it was sheep’s blood in his mouth but he didn’t care if it wasn’t.

His mate was gone and the world would pay for it.

The smell of death drew him in.

Force knocked him from the sky.

The cold seeped from a crack jarred opened by it.

He shrieked scrambling out of the way of the hunter’s blade. He spit at him and the hunter rolled away quickly.

“Fucking arch Griffin. Not getting paid enough for this shit.” He said dodging around his claws landing a blow to his shoulder.

It burned with cold that rushed out with his blood. His beak snapped closed around the hunter’s white hair as he slipped away.

“How do you like that silver?”

He didn’t.

He leaped to the skies away from the hunter.

Force blast his wing and he spun into the dirt.

He’d broken that wing once. Someone had helped him then.

He spat at the Witcher, acid burning his throat on the way up.

“You’re not much of an arch griffin are you?” He said easily side stepping it. “No wonder your mate’s dead."

He roared talons and sharp beak seeking to tear him apart.

His mate wasn’t dead! His mate just-

The silver opened a fresh river of cold on his chest.

His paw slammed into the Witcher’s side hurling him backward.

Just didn’t want him.

The cold sludge slowed to a drip. His body was warm. Warm but cooling as red heat flowed from him.

“Getting too old for this.” Geralt cursed, standing. Preparing for another attack.

He didn’t move.

His mate didn’t want him. There was no blood to drain from the earth in retribution for their death. He just wasn’t wanted.

Geralt’s face twitched. “How long are you going to make me wait?”

He laid down on his side, stretched his neck long and tried to remember them. The mate who wouldn’t even greet him on the other side.

He remembered Gentle hands on a broken wing.

Geralt stepped forward, blade raised.

He remembered hands gently smoothing down long brown ears.

Geralt eyed his unmoving limbs, stepping around the blood crusted talons.

He remembered a hand in his on a sunny rock by a lake.

Geralt raised his sword above his ribs to plunge it in for one final blow.

He remembered a song. The notes escaping his beak one last time.

Toss a coin to your Witcher.

The sword didn’t come down.

Oh valley of plenty.

“Jaskier?”

That was his name wasn’t it? His chest trilled. Jaskier. A flower.

Maybe that’s what he should be. That way he couldn’t hurt anyone else.

The sword clattered against the dirt. Silver was delicate Geralt would never-

He raised his head to look and Geralt’s arms buried themselves in his thick mane.

“Jaskier.” Geralt said it again. “Jaskier.” Like a desperate prayer finally answered. “Jaskier.”

This form couldn’t purr technically but he didn’t let that stop him.

Geralt sobbed as the rumbles started. “I thought you were dead.”

How long had it been? Weeks? Months? Years?

What was time anyway?

He ran his beak through the tangled mess of Geralt’s hair. Blood chipping off his beak into it.

Geralt shoved his face away. “You need a bath.”

That felt very fair. Everything stuck together and was covered in grime and he stunk.

He nudged Geralt’s shoulder. So do you.

He huffed a laugh and collapsed into his side. “Fuck. I really needed that bounty.”

He screeched as if in the throes of death. Gagged dramatically and flopped into the dirt, sticking his tongue out to really sell it.

“Hm.” He considered him. “Somehow I doubt that would work.”

He gave them a look and then returned to being dead.

Geralt shoved him. He glared at him. Fuck off I’m dead.

Geralt shook his head. Hand running through his mane. The last of the cold sludge slowly sealing the silvered gashes near to closed.

The form was bowing in the center, like it might snap under him, even though he didn’t particularly mind staying in this form. It was a new sensation.

“Shouldn’t have yelled at you.” His hands clung tightly to his mane like he thought Jaskier might run away. Which was stupid. He’d never run from Geralt. Not really. Even in the forest as the bear. He hadn’t run from Geralt.

He rumbled his agreement. Seemed like a bit of an overreaction.

“I didn’t mean to bind you.” Geralt muttered into his coarse, sticky fur. “Believe that I never meant to bind you to this life Jaskier.”

He could feel the form splintering under him. He purred louder. Bound. He wasn’t the one Geralt had wished for. Wasn’t the child of surprise accidentally claimed.

He was Jaskier. He’d chosen this life. He’d loved it. Even when it was awful he’d chosen to love it.

He rubbed his, frankly disgusting, – how did he let himself get so disgusting? - face against Geralt’s back. Soothingly. He hoped.

“I never meant to bind you to me.”

The form cracked out from under him. Geralt’s knees hit the ground as his supporting Griffin shifted into a bard in his arms.

Geralt squeezed him to his chest. “I didn’t know any other way to break it. I got to the bottom and you were gone. Really gone. I knew I’d never see you again. Because you only stayed-“

He reached his blood crusted hand to Geralt’s face – tried very hard not to remember whose or what’s blood it might have been – and cupped the thick stubble of his jaw cutting him off. “Because I wanted to.”

“Geralt that’s why I stayed. Because I wanted to. Because I wanted to be with you. We’re not fucking bound by magic.”

“Yennefer said-”

“Yennefer doesn’t know what the fuck she’s talking about.”

Geralt glared at him and he buried his face in Geralt’s armor to avoid it.

Yennefer knew what she was talking about.

Didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Yennefer said you’re drawn to magic. That you. Were bound to mine. I swear I never meant to.”

“Geralt.” Geralt wouldn’t look at him, eyes locked on the horizon even as his arms crushed him in his embrace. “Geralt look at me.”

Geralt allowed his head to be turned to look at him. He knew he must look terrible. Hair long and matted. Coated in grime and blood and who knows what else. Fresh blood still dripping down his chest.

There was a tapestry of tiny threads, only made strong by how they were tightly woven together.

There was a question forced from his mouth once. Long ago. Because he wanted to stay by Geralt’s side.

“Geralt you did not bind yourself to me. I bound myself to you. Because I never wanted to leave your side.”

“You left my side all the time.” He tried to jest. Face soft with sadness and longing.

“And I always found my way back didn’t I?” He leaned up. Tried to get closer to Geralt’s face. He wanted to be close in every way.

“You did.” He agreed before his face shuttered closed in pain. “But magic. Yennefer said it could compel you to do anything. Love anyone if it was strong enough.”

“Geralt, dear heart?” Geralt’s embrace didn’t let him close enough to his face, so he settled for burying his face in the junction of his shoulder. “I think I bit a man’s head off for trying to use magic to make me love him. And he was far stronger than you. Fuck Geralt you don’t even set off the singing.”

“Singing?” Geralt shook his head slightly before burrowing into the muck of his hair. “Thought you abhorred violence.”

“I do and once we wash this off me I’m going to try very hard never to think about it again.” He was honestly feeling a bit nauseous from even mentioning it. The way his-

Ugh. Don’t. Don’t think about it.

“You do smell awful.” He buried his nose deeper. “Absolutely disgusting.”

“Well I feel even worse so can we maybe go get me a hot bath? I’ll tell them you saved me from the griffin and killed it.”

“With how you look right now they might actually believe it.”

“Hm.” He agreed trying to refill the space Geralt once resided with his scent. With the warmth under his fingers and the too tight embrace. “Geralt I’m sorry.”

“You owe me no apologies Jaskier.” Geralt continued his nuzzled wandering through his hair.

“I’m sorry for binding you to me. For” For the child of surprise. For the djinn. For everything. “For staying when you didn’t want me.”

His mate was gone. Not dead. Just didn’t want him.

“Jaskier I didn’t want you to go.” Geralt’s grip crushed the air from his chest before easing only slightly. “I just didn’t want you to have to stay.”

Tear tracks cleared clean creaks down his face and he turned up towards Geralt. Forced an arm free to turn Geralt face to his. “Can I stay? I want to stay.”

He nodded. “Please.”

Geralt relaxed his grip enough to press their foreheads together. “Please.” He said again.

“What do you want me to be?”

Geralt’s eyes widened slightly, recognizing the musically magical tint he had missed the first time. Or maybe just recognizing the words from all those years ago.

“Jaskier.” He hummed. “I want you to always be Jaskier, no matter the form you take.”

He closed his eyes enjoying the tapestry reweaving itself over the hollow in his chest.

He slowly opened his eyes to Geralt’s soft smile.

His mate wanted him.

He slowly angled his face, closed his eyes, and kissed him. Gently kissed his mate.

He eventually withdrew just a breath. Taking in his mates softly closed eyes and serene face.

His mate. The griffin trilled.

His mate? Oh fucking instincts he’d just kissed Geralt- not even for the first time- because of his inhuman instincts.

And his mate?

His face and neck and ears went hot with blood. Geralt eased his eyes open and chuckled, resuming his scenting nuzzle now over his jaw and face. “I have something of yours.”

“Hm?” He squeaked as Geralt’s lips ran over the pulse of his neck.

“You’ll have to explain to the university I didn’t steal it next time your there of course.”

His lute?

“My lute? She’s safe?” He begged of him.

Geralt’s eyes turned up to him and he nodded before resuming his self-appointed task of scenting every inch of his grimy neck.

“Well then you definitely did steal her because I said care of Oxenfurt not Geralt of Rivia who wouldn’t know proper lute maintenance if his best friend spent two decades explaining and demonstrating it to him.”

“Would you rather I’d left it? You’d have to wait until spring to play it again.”

“And why is that?”

“Because we’re going to Kaer Morhen.” He buried his nose in the crook of his neck and took a long drag of his scent before finally standing them up. “Can you walk? There’s someone you need to meet.”

He leaned against Geralt as the dizziness of standing slowly subsided. “I think so.” He assured.

“If you want me to carry you-“

“I want to stay human a little longer.” He interjected. It had been so long. It felt like it had been so long.

He smirked cheekily. “Then I can. You’re not heavy.”

“Oh.” He leaned on Geralt for a few moments more. “Just an arm for now. I want to walk.”

Geralt nodded hooking an arm under his.

“So who’s this mystery person I need to meet?”

Geralt smiled, leaned over and told him.

[koiantlers]

I was super inspired to write thanks to THIS AMAZING COMIC by @skeleslime-phantom !!  Please go look at all his other artwork, it’s all so good.

The Conductor is used to doing things on his own.

He taught himself to fight, years ago, back when he was a wee chick with even bigger anger issues. He learned to cook in order to help his parents out, after he saw how hard it was for his mother to move, or how tired his father was. He bought his first camera with his own money, doing a job he hated.

And when his wife left, leaving him with a lil one, he took care of her all by himself as well.

He has no issue watching his grandchildren, happy to do so for his daughter. He can focus on them, feeding them, instead of thinking about how she's getting weaker, her feathers are falling off more, her eyes are dimmer-

No, none of that. The Conductor has to focus on his grandchildren.

"Clocking out already, darling?" 

The Conductor snaps, "None of ya business!" as a reflex, already on edge from today. But he glances at Grooves, and continues, "...But yeh. Gotta go watch the grand kids for a bit."

"Did something come up again? Is she…" Grooves asks him, and the Conductor hates how much softer his voice gets. And at the same time, his shoulders tense at the word again and that fatherly instinct kicks up inside of him.

"Save it, Grooves," he snarls, "don't pretend to to care." The Conductor won't listen to someone talk about his family like this, especially his daughter, who has worked harder than anyone else, especially DJ Grooves. "That's just cruel-"

He's jerked back, and he realizes his coat has been grabbed. He snaps his gaze up at Grooves, ready to yell at him, but the rockhopper is looking at him oddly, in a way that makes the Conductor pause.

"I don't need to 'pretend' if my sympathy is real. I'm finished for the day too, so if you need a helping hand, then you got one." They're close enough that the Conductor can see his eyes through the hideous sunglasses, those bright blue eyes. It makes him think of their sparring not even a week ago, when Grooves got the upperhand and won. And the Conductor had stayed on that floor long after Grooves left, staring up at the ceiling as he thought back on his rival.

"Okay?" Grooves speaks and it jolts the Conductor back. His head is screaming no, that he doesn't need this gaudy primadonna's help. But the Conductor keeps glancing at those eyes, and he ends up sighing, "Fine. If ye want to come so badly, I guess the kiddos wouldn't mind another pair o' watchful eyes."

"Happy to help, darling." Grooves has an annoying smile on his face as he follows the Conductor, and the owl chooses to ignore, walking slightly faster than normal.

--

The last kid has been put to bed. Despite the feeling of dread in his stomach, the Conductor feels at ease, for once not feeling so tired after spending time with his grandchildren. 

Though, he supposes Grooves is to thank for that.

The penguin is a natural with children, the Conductor noticed. Plays with them easily and is great at distracting them, with his glasses or bright coat. The Conductor kept watching him, something warm settling inside him as he sees Grooves pick up his grandchildren, calling them lil darlings.

He huffs a laugh. Little darlings, right. Their babysitter would get a kick out of that.

It's late now, and the Conductor knows he should be shoving Grooves out, mumble a thanks and be on with his life.

"Ye want dinner?" He asks instead, and he feels smug at the surprised look Grooves gives him, only for his heart to flutter at the smile he gives him, "Never can turn down food, darling."

So, the Conductor finds himself cooking dinner for two. Grooves hovers around him in the kitchen, and he finds her doesn't mind it. He cooks them steak, something easy, and stares at it instead of Grooves.

"Yer good with kids." He finds himself saying after a moment.

"Heh. Well...had a lot of little cousins growing up."

"No kids?" Conductor glances at him, and he does find himself a little surprised. Grooves is a peckneck, of course, but he's by no means ugly. Nice soft blue feathers, broad shoulders, a soothing voice...Grooves is by all standards, a handsome bird. 

"Ah, well...you know, guys like me can't really have kids." Grooves laughs, a nervous thing the Conductor barely hears.

The owl furrows his brows and looks at him. "Like you?"

"Gay."

Oh. "Ah." The Conductor clears his throat, and he feels so suddenly flustered.

Him and Grooves go quiet, and the owl hands him a plate of food. They sit next to each other on the couch, shoulders touching.

This feels odd, sitting like this, in his daughters home. Grooves eats quietly, and the Conductor's chest keeps fluttering, every time they brush against each other.

"You'd be a good parent." He says, suddenly, and can't bare to see Grooves expression. He sets his plate aside, and instead finds himself fiddling with his hands. "I, er, appreciate...you helpin' with the kids."

He does look at Grooves now, and his heart jumps into his throat. The penguin is smiling at him, that smile all lopsided and dopey, as his blue eyes are soft. He can see them clearly now, with the shades set aside because of one of his kiddos playing with them. 

He's suddenly very aware how close is he to Grooves. He shifts a bit, angling himself to face him. Grooves is still smiling, and says in that lovely voice of his, "Thank you, darling. You're not so bad yourself."

That teasing near the end gets the Conductor swallowing hard, feeling himself heat up because of it. Grooves is so close now, their beaks almost touching, and the Conductor should say something back, but all he can do is open and close his beak.

Grooves' eyes dart down to the Conductor's beak. "Darling?" He mumbles, quietly. The Conductor is gripping his jacket, and Grooves closes his eyes as the owl leans forward-

"Pepaw!"

Both the Conductor and Grooves jump, the Conductor shoving himself away from Grooves. One of his little tykes smile at him, crawling out from the kitchen.

Oh bloody hell, "Hidin' in cabinets again?" He huffs at the little one, who giggles at being picked up. He snuggles into the Conductor's chest, who shyly glances at Grooves.

The penguin stares, but manages to clear his throat. "Heh, uh...ahem, best put him to bed."

"Yeah." He says, and looks away. He quickly walks away, not at all thinking about what him and Grooves were about to do.

It was just the heat of the moment, he tells himself.

[kingreywrites]

Sans Réponse

Fandom: Tangled

Word Count: 2764

Rapunzel Appreciation Week Day Three: Destiny

Summary: She hadn't expected anyone to be here, so the voice startled her enough to raise her head automatically, and see Lance looking down at her, obviously worried. That was when she realised that her cheeks were wet with tears, and that she was still breathing heavily. Embarrassment burnt within her, and she tried frantically to wipe off the traces of her crying with her sleeve, even though Lance had most certainly seen it.

Read on ao3

@s-vnshiine

Rapunzel didn't know how she managed to stumble to the castle's garden without anyone seeing her, but she thanked her luck for it. Thanked it for not waking up Eugene from his exhausted sleep when she opened her eyes with a start, thanked it for making the guards' rounds synch up with her barely coherent dash for fresh air, thanked it for making sure no one was here - though, since it was the middle of the night, she wasn't quite sure it was luck and not simply common sense. Yeah, maybe none of this was luck, maybe it was Eugene being rightfully tired after a hard day of work, maybe the guards were only respecting there wishes for privacy, maybe- maybe-

Rapunzel wasn't feeling lucky, right now. Her chest was too tight and, despite the evening's air, she could barely draw a breath. Her face felt too hot and uncomfortable, and she couldn't breathe, and- She let herself sit down heavily, back pressed against one of the trees, until she could put her knees in front of her and hide her head in them. She was too dramatic, she knew it. It was only a bad dream, and it didn't happen anyway so why, why couldn't her heart slow down, why-

"Rapunzel?"

She hadn't expected anyone to be here, so the voice startled her enough to raise her head automatically, and see Lance looking down at her, obviously worried. That was when she realised that her cheeks were wet with tears, and that she was still breathing heavily. Embarrassment burnt within her, and she tried frantically to wipe off the traces of her crying with her sleeve, even though Lance had most certainly seen it.

"Lance!" she exclaimed awkwardly, putting her palms over her eyes to get rid of the blurriness. "What are you- I mean, I was just- I..."

"Hey, Rapunzel, breathe," Lance said, not even trying to humour her excuses.

She felt more than she saw him kneeling down before her, and she had to fight the childish desire to curl up even further on herself until he disappeared. She knew he wouldn't leave her alone in this state, but she was fine, she just needed… If only she could breathe, everything would be fine, she had no reason not to be, she-

"Do you feel my hand?"

"Wh- What?" she stuttered through her uneven breathing.

"My hand," Lance repeated, voice low and soothing. "Can you tell me where it is?"

It took a few seconds for her muddled mind to understand the request, and a few more to finally realise the warm weight now resting on her knee. She hadn't even noticed that Lance had touched her, too lost in her panic.

"It's… on the top of my right knee," she mumbled.

"Great!" he exclaimed, without even a hint of irony - and Rapunzel smiled weakly. "By the way, what was that bird from this morning again? You know, you told me it wasn't a pigeon, even if it did look like a pigeon, you can't change my mind on that-"

"Starling," she sniffed, meeting his eyes. "It was a starling, and they look nothing like pigeons."

"Sure?" Lance prompted again, even if she could see that he was more concerned for her than interested in the differences between a pigeon and a starling.

The thing was, this distraction was working. Slowly, while she described the patterns on their wings and the colours of their beaks, Rapunzel started to breathe normally again. Her heart calmed down, her tears stopped, and even if she still looked like a wreck, she at least didn't feel like one.

"Last question," Lance smiled when she didn't have anything else to say on birds and their specific characteristics, "do you want a hug?"

He barely had the time to finish that thought that she was throwing herself in his arms, desperate for a comfort that she had been so happy to flee earlier. Lance gave great hugs - more than great, even. They were warm, and gentle and, in Rapunzel's opinion, they had only gotten better since he adopted Angry and Catalina. Perhaps it was getting used at holding people smaller than him in a more regular basis.

"You're good at comforting people," she laughed when the hug ended and she scooted back. They were both still sitting on the ground, and she would feel a little embarrassed if she didn't know Lance was the last person to care.

"Eh, I had practice," he shrugged, shifting to be comfortable.

"The girls?"

"Eugene." Silence settled between them for a moment, as Lance seemed to think back on his memories. "Though, to be fair, he comforted me a lot more than he ever let me comfort him."

Rapunzel hummed, but didn't add anything. It was easy to forget what Eugene and Lance went through as children. She knew it had lasting consequences on both of them, that one didn't forget being an orphan even after finding a family - but they were both so good at making people ignore it that, even though she had witnessed first-hand these consequences, it sometimes still took her by surprise. The idea that, as young children, Lance and Eugene only had each other to turn to for comfort made her want to cry all over again - but at least, it would be for good reason this time, an angry voice in her mind told her.

"I had a dream," she blurted out, drawing Lance's attention back on her. "And… It wasn't even a bad one, you know, but…"

"If it made you this upset Princess, I'll call that a bad dream."

"But it wasn't! It was- It was mostly a feeling," she tried to explain, playing with her short hair distractedly, "like… some kind of emptiness within me. I had no purpose anymore, no destiny to accomplish and everything was so- so- I don't know why, but when I woke up, I could barely breathe and-"

"Hey now," Lance interrupted, moving until he was sitting next to her, back against the tree, "let's not panic about it again, shall we?"

She nodded, and they stayed silent for a while, just breathing in the evening air. Lance was usually more talkative, but he was also very perceptive, she knew that. She had to admit that the silence was soothing. Her dream had been… Strange. And more than that, it felt like it had never truly left her since she woke up, and was still lurking beneath her skin, that feeling of emptiness ready to swallow her whole. She had hated it. Had hated being meaningless and powerless, had hated it even more for being true because she wasn't the sundrop anymore, she was simply Rapunzel. The destiny she had been clinging on for three years was gone and she didn't know what to do now.

"It's easier, that destiny stuff," Lance said suddenly, breaking the silence. She turned her head towards him, but he was looking straight ahead, deep in thoughts. "Thinking that, no matter what you do, no matter what happens, you're on a path you can't deviate from. It's easier, isn't it?"

She shrugged, not sure she would have put it in this exact form. She did think she had a destiny. Maybe not anymore but, as the sundrop, it had to have been her destiny to find the moonstone, right? And now that she didn't have that anymore, she had nothing else to do… Right? But that sounded wrong to her own ears. If her destiny had been to reunite sundrop and moonstone, then her destiny had been to die. Or, maybe her destiny hadn't been to die, but to be betrayed by Cassandra and, honestly, that didn't sound any better, because it meant that it was destiny which made them both hurt the other so deeply. She didn't like this idea at all.

"Not many people know that," Lance continued quietly, "but I wasn't abandoned like Eugene. My parents died when I was six."

"Lance," Rapunzel exhaled, putting a hand on his arm. He smiled in her direction, patting her hand gently and finally meeting her eyes. He didn't look sad, simply thoughtful.

"Don't worry, it was a long time ago. I don't really remember them, or even what happened but- What I'm trying to say is, for a long time, I liked thinking that all of this was destiny, you know?"

"I know," she acquiesced, because she truly did, in a way. It was easier to explain being kidnapped and abused by Gothel as being a part of destiny, instead of being simply… Life, in all its unfairness.

"We didn't have many books, but in a lot of them, the heroes had dead parents. Eugene didn't like them much," Lance chuckled, "he preferred the adventures to the backstories. But, for the longest time, I took them as a sign that, one day, my parents dying would have helped me become a greater person than everyone else. That, actually, I deserved losing them, because it would all make sense in the end."

"But you were a child, you didn't deserve that at all!" she protested.

"Exactly. I didn't, Eugene didn't, Angry and Catalina didn't and…"

"... and I didn't deserve what happened to me either, because no one does," Rapunzel finished, knowing exactly where he was going with that.

It seemed evident, now that Lance pointed it out. For the longest time, and even today, destiny had been the justification she had used for every difficulty she had to face. She needed to go to the Dark Kingdom, even though she was terrified, because it was her destiny. She had to take the moonstone, even though it could potentially kill her, because it was her destiny. She had to fight Cassandra, had to protect her kingdom, had to risk her loved ones' lives against Zhan Tiri because- because-

Destiny. Easier to blame, and easier to trust into.

She didn't think she could excuse her bad choice by saying it was her destiny to do them, but she tended to explain what hurt her by giving it meaning through that concept. It didn't add up. And it was true that, when thinking of Lance, or Eugene, or anyone else, she didn't excuse anything by destiny. Even if it meant he ended up not meeting her, she would never want Eugene to be abandoned and to grow up feeling unloved, she would never wish for him to need to steal to survive. All of that might have made him who he was today, and she loved him with all she was, but she still wouldn't want it for him if she had the choice.

And she knew that, even if Lance wasn't putting it into words, he would do anything so that Catalina and Angry never had to suffer again. So, if he had the choice, he would probably make the same one: assure them a good life, even if it meant they couldn't meet.

Not that she wanted a world where she didn't meet Eugene. But she couldn't in good faith think that her kidnapping, and his abandon were justified, even by destiny. Eugene had never chosen to be born in a kingdom destroyed by the moonstone, had never chosen for his father to stay behind while he was put in an orphanage, and yet, he still had to live with what it did to him. And she… She had never chosen to be the sundrop, had never chosen for her mom to get sick, and yet, she was reaping the consequences and called them destiny because it was easier to deal with it that way. So, maybe, her nightmare shouldn't have been one; maybe she didn't have to have a meaning or a mission, maybe she never truly did anyway.

Was it emptiness or was it freedom she was feeling?

"All I'm trying to tell you," Lance sighed, stretching his arms above his head, "is that, thinking that we all have a destiny makes things easier sometimes, but I don't think we actually do have one that's set in stone. Look at you, you were literally born in the royal family and, for eighteen years, you didn't even know you were a Princess!"

Rapunzel laughed at his exasperated tone, and he joined her. They probably were both too tired for this conversation. The night sky was becoming lighter, and it wouldn't take long for the sun to come up - she didn't even know how long they had stayed here.

"Also, for what it matters, everything you did wasn't the result of a path, but of you being a good person and making the best choices you could," Lance smiled. "Give yourself some credit."

"You're going to make me cry again," Rapunzel answered, more touched than she would care to admit.

She had never thought to be especially proud of what she did as the embodiment of the sundrop because… Because it was what she was supposed to do, wasn't it? When she still believed Gothel, she thought she had a duty to protect her powers from the outside world; once on her quest, she thought she had a duty to stop the black rocks and take the moonstone. But it was true that she could have… not done it. It wasn't anyone that had been brave - it was her, Rapunzel. And in a few sentences, Lance had managed to make her see it for the first time.

"I think..." Lance trailed off for a moment, looking for his words. "I think life is way less fate, or destiny, and more choices, and accidents, and, uh-"

"Horses," Rapunzel snorted.

Lance's raised eyebrows made her laugh again because, of course, he didn't know every details of her first meeting with Eugene. Now that she thought of it, maybe that cynical comment had been right. Fate, or destiny could be used as explanations, but at the end of the day, it was a horse that led Eugene here in front of her, and that was all that mattered. Because all they had needed was to meet, and the rest, the friendship and the love that grew from it - it was all their choices. It was her, choosing to trust him despite her fears, and him, letting her see who he truly was. It was soothing words to calm her down, an aborted kiss on the best day of her life, a dramatic haircut because Eugene was ready to give his life for her freedom.

"Thank you, Lance," she said, not sure she could convey how much this discussion had helped her. It wouldn't fix all her fears, of course but it felt good nonetheless. People often didn't give him enough credits for it, but Lance had plenty of good pieces of advice to give - which made him an incredible father to Angry and Catalina, amongst other things.

"Happy I could help," he yawned, "though I didn't expect thinking about the metaphysical implications of destiny when I got up to fetch a glass of water at 4am."

Instead of answering, Rapunzel got up to hug him a second time, and he hugged her back happily. Then he yawned again and, considering that the sun was appearing on the horizon, Rapunzel accompanied him back to the guestroom that was mostly considered Lance's room, since he and the girls often spent the night here. The castle's staff was slowly waking up but, thankfully, no one questionned their presence, or even their dreadful expressions - a sleepless night wasn't kind on anyone.

She thought herself too energised to go back to sleep but, when she opened the door to her bedroom and saw Eugene still deeply asleep and hugging a pillow to his chest, she couldn't help but slip under the covers with him. He sought her out immediately, mumbling something incoherent against her skin before settling down, and she remembered once again how incredible it was to have him in her life. She loved him, had been loving him for years now, and the simplest moments made her heart beat faster with emotion, no matter the time that had passed. Destiny and fate had no influence over that - no influence over the way his hair shone under the light, or the warmth of his hands around her waist, or the cuteness of his little snores when he slept. They had no influence over the way she choose to love him more everyday, or the way he did it too for her.

Perhaps she owed Maximus an apple or two, however.

[nataliedanovelist]

GF + OH - Fallen Owls pt.1

Summary: What happens when the milf of The Owl House meets the dilf of Gravity Falls? Find out in this multi-chapter crossover fic.

pt.2

~~~~~~~~~~

Episode Placement:

GF = after finale (S3?) OH = between S1E5 and E6 It was late, passed the gremlins’ bedtime, but it was summer, meaning the term “bedtime” had very little meaning unless Stan was tired and needed to make the kids quiet. But as of right now he was content sitting in his old armchair, boxers and undershirt and slippers and all, munching on popcorn with his family, sitting around telling stories. Stan and his twin brother, Ford, had just finished telling Dipper and Mabel more about the sirens they had faced a few months ago. While sailing around the world was a dream come true, it was nice to take a break to spend the summer with the niblings.

Dipper, having just heard how Stan had been charmed by the sirens’ song, chuckled and asked, “So, did you ever have any luck finding ‘babes’?” Stan rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. “Nah, but there’s always next year.” “Yeah, don’t worry about it, Grunkle Stan.” Mabel said as she popped some popcorn into her mouth. “You’ll find some pretty girl that is everything you deserve!” Stan, turning red, waved the subject away. “Thanks, sweetie, but it’s fine.” Ford, sitting on the dino-skull, elbowed him lightly and teased, “He’s still heartbroken over Carla McCorckle.” Mabel blew a raspberry. “If I ever find her I’m gonna give her a left-hook and break her nose!” Stan laughed and ruffled her hair. “That’s not necessary, kid. I’m over her.” “And it only took you forty years.” Ford added, earning him a punch on the shoulder. “I’ll have you know I’ve been with plenty of gals after Carla!” Stan quipped. “Heck, I was married once when I was traveling the country!” “Wait, what?!” The whole room gasped at the same time. Ford blinked like a confused owl. “I… I didn’t know that.” “Me, neither.” Mabel said and leaned on Stan’s knee. Dipper, meanwhile, was silent, a memory coming to mind. “Truth is I’ve been divorced once and slapped more times than I can remember.” “What happened? GASP! Do I have a secret Graunty you never told me about?!” Stan barked a laugh. “Hah! No, sorry pumpkin. I was actually married for less than a day. Vegan situation. We reached for the same slot machine handle and it was love at first sight. Marilyn. Had hair like a airline stordis and a neon pink shirt that said ‘Over thirty and very flirty’. Man I was, I was putty in her hands.” Stan said lightly, recalling the most romantic evening he ever had. “You should’ve seen the way she threw dice. One time right at my head. Turns out she only married me to distract me while she stole my car and my winnings. I guess her name was fake and, hair was fake. But ya know, the love was real.” Stan added with a casual shrug. “She was really the one that got away. Like, literally, it was a proper get away. She was chased by cop cars for a mile out of Vegas before ducking out of a door and into a canyon and making off with my loot. Sometimes I still think of her.” The old conman admitted. “That pale bingo hall skin. That one weirdly sharp tooth.” Stan’s face dropped at the sight of his family and he quickly said, “Sorry, I’m getting nostalgic.” “More like love-sick.” Dipper teased. “AW!” Mabel squealed. “That’s so sweet! Maybe you’ll find her one day!” Stan laughed and shook his head. “I doubt it, sweetie, but hey. Who needs stealing babes when I’ve got you three, right?” Mabel yawned and stretched her arms over her head. Ford chuckled and stood up, popping his back. “I think you two should head to bed. It’s getting late and we’re going camping tomorrow, remember?” Mabel gasped happily and stood. “You’re right!” She hugged both her uncles and wished them goodnight and then walked with her brother up the stairs for the attic, then Ford left to go finish packing, leaving Stan alone. He leaned on his knuckles, elbow on his armchair, and he remembered Marilyn. ~~~~~~~~~~ Mabel was grinning from ear to ear as she skipped ahead on the trail in the woods. “Finally, a real family camping trip!” Grunkle Ford, Dipper, and Grunkle Stan were right behind her, the Pines family heading back to the Mystery Shack after a fun night sleeping under the stars around a campfire. They were all smiling and happy to be reunited for the summer. While some things drastically changed and some things hardly changed at all, the Pines in appearance changed a little since Dipper and Mabel and turned thirteen. Mabel had always been nothing but smiles in the past, but if it was even possible she grinned even more now, proud to show off her braces-free white teeth. She still sported amazing sweaters with colorful headbands and skirts, today wearing a brown skirt and a yellow headband with a light-brown sweater with an owl on it, claiming she wanted to match the woods and her Grunkle Ford; he only proved her point when he blushed. Dipper and Wendy switched hats again when they saw each other when the twins came off the bus, but over his orange t-shirt he wore a green flannel unbuttoned and he matched it with blue jeans. No longer out in the freezing Arctic, Stan left behind his long coat, but he kept his white t-shirt, dark pants, red beanie, and water-proof boots for the hiking trip. Ford, the easily cold twin, still wore red turtleneck and dark pants and boots, but his smile was much more genuine and the crack in his glasses was gone. Grunkle Ford patted his niece’s shoulder. “It is nice to have some quality family bonding.” “Next time I say we go fishing.” Stan injected. “Not as many creepy spider-fires or whatever.” “Scampfires.” “I still say whatever.” Dipper chuckled and continued to sketch in his pinetree journal, shading in trees of his drawing of the woods. But he was pulled from his pleasant thoughts by his great-uncle. “Seriously, kid, you’re gonna walk into a tree and then I’m gonna laugh. You need to get your head outta book and see the rest of the world.” “Grunkle Stan, how do you think people shared the world back in your day? You know, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth?” Dipper quipped. “Oh, ho! Wise guy, huh?” Stan wrapped an arm around his neck and rubbed his knuckles on the top of his head. “Alright, Poindexter Jr…” “No! No nuggies!” “Yes nuggies!” “Ford!” Dipper laughed, calling for backup. Mabel, meanwhile, was slowly being pulled away mentally from the touching scene of guys being dudes as the internet would have called it. Distracting her, a tiny brown owl with cute round eyes was hopping. Not just hopping, appearing from behind one oak tree to the neck, but hopping with a sack clamped by the beak. Mabel watched it with wide eyes, hoping for another look, and the second glance she got of it was so brief she didn’t know how much faith she should have in her eyes, but it looked like that sack had things like a Cubic Cube, a newspaper, a floppy disk, a basketball, and other items that could be classified as junk. Mabel decided not to wait for another glance at the owl and to go look at it for herself. Mabel wandered off the path animals had made and moved in between trees and bushes quietly. Her brown eyes eventually landed on the little owl and she followed it; the clattering of the owl or it’s determination to finish it’s job must have been the reason why it didn’t hear Mabel and try to hide or lose her. The young Pines lady watched, walking farther and farther away from her family, and the owl hopped behind a tree and never emerged. Mabel smiled, thinking she was about to find an owl’s nest in the tree or a stash of human things by the tree’s roots, but when she turned to look behind the tree, she gasped to find a doorway that glowed white. Mabel looked around her for anyone that might have an answer or for any clue as to why this doorway was here, but she was alone. Gravity Falls certainly was where this sort of thing might happen, but that did not guarantee that this was safe. Maybe she should have the guys look at this thing. Mabel turned around, her back to the doorway, to leave, but she saw something above her and took in a sharp breath. Stan had Dipper pinned on the grass now, both of them laughing, with Ford shaking his head and scolding lightly. “Stanley, that’s enough.” “Don’t worry, Grunkle Ford, I promise not to break such an old man.” Dipper teased as he lightly fought back, “Old man?!” Stan repeated in pretend offense. They were interrupted by a blood curdling scream that made their hearts drop. Stan immediately got off of his nephew and stared ahead, terrified. “Mabel…” And he ran for the direction he heard the scream with Ford and Dipper at his heels. Mabel pulled her grappling hook out of her hiking-backpack and tried to calm down, but it was hard to with the dangerous anomaly liking it’s chops at the sight of her. It was like a gray lizard, but ten feet long, including the tail, and only on it’s four legs it was seven feet tall. It’s eyes were red and narrow and cold, and it had long sharp claws like a dragon’s and a long snout like a crocodile. Mabel shot her grappling hook at the monster and it hit it on the snout, tossing its head back. The lizard hissed but did not back down. It advanced, getting closer to Mabel, and she wanted to back away, but she was careful not to touch the spooky doorway. Stan saw the scene first, appearing out of the corner of Mabel’s eye. “Mabel!” “Grunkle Stan, what do I do?!” She asked, her eyes glued to the giant lizard. Ford and Dipper caught up. The younger moved to jump between his sister and the monster, but Ford stopped him with a firm six-fingered hand. “No! Listen to me, Mabel. That thing is called a Stone-Reptilian. They're excellent at camouflaging into mountains and can hang onto a one-hundred-and-eighty degree wall for hours, waiting for its prey. It actually has two tongues: one for licking its eyes since it doesn't have eyelids, and one for paralyzing it’s dinner and dragging the meal into its mouth.” “So what do I do?!” Mabel begged, shaking a little at the idea of being paralyzed and then eaten alive. “Mabel, stay calm, it’s alright.” Ford soothed with a voice as soft as silk. “Stone-Reptilians have excellent eyesight, but they’re deaf. Notice how it’s isn’t reacting to us. Now, I want you to…” The Stone-Reptilian suddenly whipped out it’s long, thorn-covered tongue to paralyze Mabel, but she was too quick and leaped through the doorway to survive. As she did, it disappeared, and the Pines men were left to scream and then fight for their own lives. ~~~~~~~~~~ “Whoops, can’t have another stowaway, can I?” A voice said, and then before Mabel knew it, her way back home was gone. She observed her new surroundings. Misfit things like a refrigerator, a grandfather clock, an old mattress, and cardboard boxes full of items cluttered what looked like a big tent, judging by the cloth walls and such. Mabel smiled with wonder at the things. “Wow. What a collection.” She whispered. Her eyes landed on a small glass ballerina on top of a music box. She turned the ballerina around with a finger to catch a few music notes. Mabel smiled, but was once again distracted. “Right, let’s see here… Nope. Garbage. Garbage. Another one of these? Oh, well. Good thing the potions have been selling. I should really thank Luz for helping me take out that competitor. Or not.” Mabel covered her mouth with both hands to keep from snorting; that sounded like something her Grunkle Stan would say. Her heart sagged a little and she turned to look back at where the magical doorway once was. Despite what he might pretend, Mabel knew Stan would be really worried about her. She needed to find a way back home. She crawled on her hands and knees out from under the tent and then got up to explore. “Okay, let’s see…” Mabel looked around to find herself outside in the open air. She raised an eyebrow. “The… Crawlspace? I thought it was underground? Maybe there’s more to it! Won’t Grunkle Ford be surprised!” Mabel cheered and looked around for anything familiar, but the longer she looked, the more she realized nothing was like back in Gravity Falls. She stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking an odd city of some kind. Giant monster hands with no body stood like trees. Smoke rose from chimneys of medieval-looking houses. A small herd of cat-sized dragons flocked by the clouds. A mammoth roared like a lion and then walked into the ocean. Something resembling an orange nun was selling bags of oozing red stuff to tiny red monsters with teeth and fangs for a face. People were riding a giant caterpillar from inside its mouth and then kissing it for a toll. Mabel’s heart was racing from excitement and fear. Nothing here was familiar, but she was familiar with the unfamiliar. She grasped the straps of her backpack and took a deep breath. “Okay, Mabel, you’ve obviously discovered another rift and came to another dimension. Just remember what your grunkles taught you. Don’t touch this dimension's version of yourself or everything will explode. I just gotta live long enough for them to find me. Easy.” Her stomach suddenly growled. Mabel clenched her stomach on reflex, but then remembered her bag of marshmallows, pulled them out, and began to munch on her fluffy sugar pillows. She turned around and walked away from the tent she had left, saw she was in some sort of market, and walked down the street to explore calmly. ~~~~~~~~~~ “And remember to apply it twice a day for the best results.” Luz said friendly to a blue monster made out of goo as she handed her the small bag of dust and the customer closed the door on the human. Luz wiped her sweaty forehead with her wrist and groaned. “Man, it’s so hot today. Ready to head home, King? King?” She looked down to find that the king of demons had found the perfect spot on the porch to nap in the sunshine. Luz smiled, scratched his back, and scooped him up one-armed while her other hand carried the empty sack. “Eh?” King woke up, angry and cute. “Luz! I was having the perfect dream!” “About what?” “What could be more perfect than sleeping?!” “You were dreaming about sleeping?” Luz clarified with a confused smile. “Don’t you?” Luz snorted a laugh and walked through Bonesburrow. Compared to the rest of the Boiling Isles, the apprentice had learned that this was the quietest neck of the woods. King’s nose caught a delightful scent, but the demon was unsure if he should believe it. He sat up in Luz’s arm and smelled the air. “What is it?” Luz asked. “Hm, it’s sweet. Really sweet.” King commented and shivered. “Like, really sweet. So sweet it’ll put anyone in a sugar-induced coma.” “Well, why don’t we just go home and we can have some of Eda’s strawberry jelly instead.” Luz suggested as they turned a corner. She immediately saw the one really really weird thing in the Boiling Isles, apart from her. Another human. After being away from home for about three weeks, Luz didn’t think she would be so happy to see another human girl or see human food that wasn’t red, but here she was, eyes sparkling with happy tears over the sight. Mabel’s eye eventually landed on Luz and the two stared at each other, a good twenty feet away from each other. After a few moments, however, they both shouted, “ANOTHER HUMAN!” And ran towards each other, King clinging onto Luz’s arms in order not to fall. “Wait,” The brunette said and looked worried. “Is this your first time seeing another human here? How long have you been trapped here?!” She apparently had drawn the conclusion that there was no way out of this place. “Oh, no,” The Latino smiled and shook her head. “I’m not trapped here; I can leave whenever I want, I just choose not to.” “Oh. Cool! Hi! I’m Mabel!” “Hi, Mabel.” Luz greeted. “I’m Luz! So… how did you get here?” Mabel’s face dropped a little and she looked around. “You know, I’m not really sure. One minute I was camping with my family and the next I’m falling through a door that disappears and takes me here.” Luz giggled and shook her head. “You must have fallen through Eda’s door. Don’t worry, I can get you back home.” “You can?!” Mabel hugged her tightly, squishing King in between the two girls. “ThankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!” Luz, who was quite the hugger but lived with two hug-haters, grinned and relished in the hug, until a high-voice yelled, “AH! What is with you humans and this tight holding ritual?!” Mabel’s eyes got wide and she jumped away, looking around wildly; that voice sounded too familiar for comfort, but when she saw the king of demons, she gasped with a huge grin and shining eyes. “OH MY GOSH! How cute!!!” She squealed. “Thanks.” Luz giggled and rubbed his belly. “This is the King of Demons.” “This little bundle of joy?” Mabel asked, happily smoothing over his skull and scratching his back. “That’s what I said!” “Hey, hey, easy with the merchandise!” King complained. “What makes you think you can… oh! Oh! Right there, yup, right there.” Mabel had found the right scratching spot, just between his shoulder-blades, and King relaxed in Luz’s arms, almost asleep he was so comfortable. Mabel giggled and asked, “So, how can you get me back to my family?” Luz gave it a moment’s thought and said, “Well, I guess we could take you to Eda and have her send you home, but she’ll be going home soon and it’s kinda…” The girls screamed as a huge guard jumped in front of them. He glared down at the humans and said, “Human previously associated with Eda the Owl Lady, you’re hereby under arrest!” “Not today, sucka!” Luz yelled, threw down one of Eda’s smoke bombs, and grabbed Mabel’s wrist. “Come on! I know where to go!” “Crazy monsters, criminals, smoke bombs, demons… I LOVE IT HERE!” Mabel cheered as she was fleeing with her new friends. ~~~~~~~~~~ Stan huffed, catching his breath, with his hands on his knees. Ford helped Dipper up cautiously, scanning him over for broken bones from when the monster swung his tail at the boy and slammed him against a tree, but apart from being shaken up, he was fine. Now that the Stone-Reptilian was gone, the Pines men were free to worry about the most important thing in their whole world. “MABEL?!” Stan screamed and looked around wildly for the rift that took her away. “MABEL! MABEL, SWEETIE!” “Mabel!” Ford called out. “Mabel, can you hear us?!” “MABEL! MABEL!” Stan screamed and ignored his stinging eyes. Dipper’s own brown eyes were aching, too, but he refused to be seen as weak and he powered through. “Did… did that thing… g-g-get her?” “No.” Ford said firmly. “I saw it. She fell through… some sort of door, or a rift.” “A-A door?” “It was rectangular like one, but it was hard to tell.” “The Crawlspace!” Dipper gasped and slapped his forehead. “Don’t the entrances change randomly through Gravity Falls? What if she fell through and is down at the black market?” “What, you mean she’s probably surrounded by dangerous monsters in some freaky market?” Stan asked. “It’s a likely possibility.” Ford speculated, holding his cleft chin. “Scour the area. If it was an entrance to the Crawlspace, one will show up again soon.” The three men split up, relatively close, and searched for an anomaly. Maybe a hole in a tree or in the ground, what might have been passed as a bird’s nest or a groundhog’s home could actually be an entrance. Stan was checking some bushes when he thought he heard a strange noise and he looked ahead. A rectangular white light appeared on an oak tree and soon an owl with an empty sack in its beak hopped out. Stan gasped and thought that this was the doorway that took his little girl. Ford saw his twin run out of the corner of his eye and then disappear through the hole. “Stanley, wait!” He called and ran towards him, disappearing, too. Then the doorway was gone. Dipper looked around nervously. “Hello? Guys?” He paused, letting it sink in that, once again, he was alone. “I swear if she’s at MAB3L again…” ~~~~~~~~~~ Stan had stopped. Ford then accidently ran into him and they both fell forward. “Sixer, get off!” “Shh!” Ford slapped a polydactyl hand over his brother’s mouth, which made him grumble, but before Stan could lick his hand in response, he heard what Ford was hearing. “I’ll give you fifty snails for the whole lot.” A laugh-filled snort followed. “It’s seventy-five, kid. Take it or leave it.” That voice… something was familiar about that laugh. There was grumbling and what sounded like items being collected. Stan and Ford exchanged looks and slowly got up. After looking around the tent, they peered out of the crack in the curtains to see an odd market. They awed at the sight of dozens of weird creatures. One looked like a turquoise hairless-cat. One looked like a pig with green eyes and it breathed fire on a piece of meat on a stick to cook it for a snack. A kid with pointy ears dropped a basket full of eyeballs and scrambled to pick them up. Ford grinned excitedly like a dork while Stan winced at the sight of an ice-cream eating a customer. Stan glanced to his left and he had to hold his breath to keep from gasping and blowing their cover. Wearing a tight-fitted, torn maroon dress and matching boots, gold on her chest and ears and fingers and a sharp tooth, her eyes sparkling like gold coins, a woman with big gray hair and pointy ears leaned against a table full human things and flicked through a Gold Chains for Old Men magazine with a skeptical look on her face. Stan was nearly as pale as she was when she snorted another laugh and flipped a page. “Hah! Not a bad read. Better than that kindling Luz keeps around.” She mumbled and made herself comfortable in her chair, waiting for another customer, one leg crossed over the other and she lightly kicked it as she read. Stan swallowed. There was no way. No possible way… then again, given everything weird that’s happened to him, from freaky portal, to demon triangles, to gnomes and unicorns and sirens and krakens, even to a full-blown Weirdmageddon, should he really be all that surprised that faith would bite him in the butt like this? Ford glanced down at his twin and found he could read him like an open book. “Stanley…” He hissed. The lady straightened in her seat and looked up from the magazine, listening. Now it was Stan’s turn to cover Ford’s mouth. They were still, waiting for the ady to find them, but she shrugged casually and continued to read. The men backed away, out of sight, and were each on one knee, facing each other, as they whispered. “Sixer, where the heck are we? The Crawlspace?” “I’m not sure.” Ford hissed. “I have never seen these types of anomalies before. I suppose it’s possible they hide here during the day and I had never seen them at night, but… this place feels off. To summarize, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” “Fine, but when what do we do about Mabel?” “Our objection is still the same. Let’s just keep a low profile and try to find her.” The twins froze when the curtain was thrown open and the lady stood before them. She immediately sneered down at them. “If you amateur pickpockets think you can…” But then she stopped, for several reasons. One: these creatures were clearly old, about her age, and so unless they had a sudden career change, they were not amateurs. Two: as a human expert and a teacher and hostess of a human, she instantly recognized these two big-eared creatures as humans. Three: something about the one in the white shirt and red hat was very familiar. “No… way…” She narrowed her golden eyes. Stan was now confident that his memory wasn’t flawed; the way she reacted to seeing him, recognizing him, confirmed that he knew her. Before he could do anything, she grabbed each twin by the ear and pinched; they were at her mercy and receiving flashbacks from when their mother was angry with them. “You two got some explaining to do.” The lady sneered. “Gah! Let us go, crazy old bat!” Stan barked as she dragged them out from the tent and made them sit on barrels for stools. “Who are you calling old, human?” The lady sneered and crossed her arms over her chest. “Just tell me what you think you’re doing here.” “Begging your pardon on our introduction,” Ford said coldly, but then softened as he and his brother did have an important mission. “But our grandniece is missing. We believe she came through here.” And he pulled out a picture of Mabel hugging a stuffed-penguin from his wallet and showed it to her. The lady peered down at the photo and said, “Sorry, old-timers, I haven’t seen anyone like that around here.” “Now, how can we trust you, Marilyn.” Stan sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. Ford’s eyes widened as he pocketed his picture. He was rendered speechless for a moment. “Oh, like you’re one to talk about honesty, Stan.” She deride. “You two know each other?!” Ford gasped, looking from his brother to the stranger rapidly like a game of tennis. “She’s your ex-wife?!” The lady snorted a laugh and sighed happily. “Ah, good times, huh?” “Not really.” Stan sneered and stood. “You still owe me five hundred bucks!” “At least you got your car back, Grumpy.” The lady teased and patted his cheek; he swatted her hand away in response and growled like an angry pitbull. “If you want my help finding your girl then play nice.” “So, you honestly didn’t see her.” Stan repeated with a raised eyebrow. “Hey, I may be a conwoman, a pickpocket, and the most powerful witch you’ll ever meet, but I wouldn’t lie if it was gonna endanger some kid.” The lady snapped her fingers and all of the human collectibles floated and gathered into a green cloth, tied up like a hobo’s luggage. She pulled out a staff and put the bag through it, making it easy to carry. Eda whistled and the little owl flew to her and landed on her staff and turned into wood. “Come along, humans, we’ll find your niece and get you two home.” Ford followed the lady and decided to be the “nice” one since Stan was obviously too salty to be one; someone had to be nice to the lady that was going to help them find Mabel. “Thank you, Marilyn.” “Oh, right. That’s not my real name…” “Knew it.” “... you’re a fool to give your real name to a casino in Vegas. It’s Edalyn, but just call me Eda. Or your worst nightmare.” “Whatever you say, toots.” Stan growled as they walked down the street. “So, Eda,” Ford cut in to try to cut the tension between the two. “What exactly is this place, and what are you?” Eda stopped suddenly and turned around, wearing a proud grin. She stabbed her staff on the ground with a small bang, making the owl come to life, the sack hanging by her fist, and she proclaimed, “I am known as the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch here on the Boiling Isles!” “A witch?” Stan laughed. “More like a b…” “I am a feared, respected, vigorous force to be reckoned with!” Eda went on and let go of the staff so it floated like a witch’s broomstick. “Come on, old-timers, let’s get a bird’s eye-view to find your girl.” They each grabbed the staff when Eda sat upon it and yelled with fear as she had them fly up in the air, leaving the old twins to dangle in the air. “GAAAAAAAH!” “EDA!” Stan yelled. “Put us down!” “That can be arranged.” Eda said cunningly and swooped down quickly. With the air drying Eda’s eyes and forming tears and the brother holding onto the staff (and each other) for dear life, all three were yelling, one with delight, two with fright. “STANLEY!” Ford shouted. “PLEASE try not to piss off your ex-wife!” Eda laughed and at the very last second, right before the men would crash into the ground, she flew them up into the sky. “Ah, don’t worry, I won’t let you two knuckleheads get hurt.” They flew softer and calmer above the Boiling Isles and the humans awed at the scene. In the carcass of a monster, by the sea, the Bones of the Isles sat snug in the midst of chaos. Eda floated to allow the men a moment to take in the scenery, smiling down at their round brown eyes. “It’s beautiful.” Ford admired. “Yup, not too shabby.” Eda commented casually. “It’s not much, but it’s home.” “We know what that’s like.” Stan muttered. “Speaking of which,” Eda said casually. “Where did you two say you were from?” “We didn’t. Gravity Falls, Oregon.” Ford answered, keeping an eye out for Mabel. “Oh, I’ve heard rumors about that place.” Eda said as she flew calmly over the town. “My door has a bad habit of appearing there way too often. I need more variety in my human collectibles.” “So, you steal our junk and try to sell it for a great price?” Stan asked; he sounded a little impressed. “That and I sell potions on the weekdays. When I’m not mentoring my student. Enough chit-chat, see your girl down there?” The men took a few more minutes to look, as well as Eda, but there was no sign of her. “No.” Ford’s voice dripped with concern. “Eda, what are the chances she was kidnapped or hurt?” “Oh, that probably didn’t happen to her.” The witch said calmly. “If she’s not safe she probably got eaten or taken by Warden Wrath.” “WHAT?!” “Relax, Sixer,” Stan said, confident in his pumpkin. “She’s our little fighter, she’ll be fine.” Eda snorted. “Sixer?” “It’s Stanford, actually.” His face was a little red over the fact that he couldn’t hide his six-fingered hands, too busy holding the magic staff to keep from falling. “Meh, I’ve seen weirder.” Eda looked like she truly didn’t care how many fingers he had; Ford appreciated that. “Well, I’ve got a great tracker at home.” The Owl Lady said and started to fly towards the red forest. “Why don’t we go pick him up and see if he can help us out. Got anything the girl held?” “Yes,” When the men landed on their feet and Eda hopped next to them, Ford pulled out his wallet again and took out a folded-up, hand-drawn picture of Stan and Ford on a boat, a gift from Mabel while they were apart that she had mailed to them. “Aw, that’s so cute.” The witch cooed. “Who knew all Pines men were putty in girls’ hands.” She laughed at her own joke and shook her head. “Ah, keep moving, boys.” Stan hurried to catch up and he walked next to Eda with narrow eyes, ignoring the way her odd golden fang sparkled, how her eyes gleamed with spunk, how she held herself up high with pride. “So, you’re gonna answer some questions for me…” “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.” “If you’re a witch, what were you doing in Las Vegas?” “Hey, a witch’s gotta make some gold, too.” Eda shrugged as she smiled. “I haven’t exactly kept a clean record here so making a living takes a bit of extra effort, but it’s much for fun and unpredictable, the way life's supposed to be.” Stan raised an eyebrow at two things: the fact his ex was a criminal in this world too, and her philosophy. “I can respect that, seeing how I was there for the same reasons.” “I know.” Eda rolled her eyes teasingly. “You wouldn’t shut up about how you were gonna make it big and show the world what this big lug could do.” And she elbowed Stan, which he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Heh. Yeah, what can I say, I’m a real loud-mouth. Say what’s on my mind.” “Hey, nothing wrong with being brutally honest to make up for lying, am I right?” Eda said with a shrug. “So, was your hair fake back then, or…” “No, no, it was real. I was really proud of my hair back in the day, flaming red and wild.” “Looks pretty good now. Love it, in fact. Big and bold, hard to miss.” “Hey, you aged pretty well yourself, handsome.” Ford smiled as he watched the exes tease and pick on each other. If a compliment was given, it dripped with sarcasm and there was no guarantee that it was sincere, but they must have seen a gleam in their eyes or felt a “vibe” that Ford didn’t experience, because the conversation progressed well as they walked through the forest. Ford was happy to see Stan get along fairly well with this woman and wondered if this would go exceptionally better than the whole McCorkle incident. They emerged from the woods and found a large house standing by some cliffs leading to an ocean. It was about as far from the seas as Pines Pawns was all those years ago. The house was big, maybe bigger than the Mystery Shack (probably not if counting the basement-floors) with a big stain-glass window that reminded Stan of a cat’s eye and Ford of Bill’s eye, but then they both individually remembered Eda’s title and realized it was probably representing an owl’s eye. A weather-vane with an owl sat on top of the house, a broken-down tower stood behind, and an owl’s head was on the door. The humans were startled, but they quickly recovered, again having experienced much weirder than a live owl-head on a door. “Girl knows how to keep a theme going.” Stan commented as they approached. “Oh, boy!” The owl on the door hooted. “More company! Maybe they wanna hear some of my stories!” “Not a chance, Hooty.” Eda quipped. “Is King still home? We need his help, and we might want Luz’s too while we’re at it.” “They’re both telling stories to that new human. The one with the pretty owl sweater.” “Wait, what?!” The three old people asked and Hooty swung open the door. Luz was holding King on her lap on the couch, sitting with Mabel as all three were laughing. Even King was rolling around and holding his little fluffy body with glee. Mabel’s back was to the door and she resumed her storytelling as she wiped a tear under her eye. “So then I look down at Dipper and see that he’s still got his socks on!” Luz cackled a laugh and held her head one-handed, her other arm still holding King, but it was to no avail as the demon fell off from all the laughing. Eda, Ford, and Stan smiled as the girls were having fun. They had no idea how they found each other, but it was better for them to be here, safe and happy, than to have the newbie be someone’s meal. Luz fanned her reddening face and finally noticed the company. “Hi, Eda. Sorry, but she was lost and needs our help.” Mabel turned, on her knees on the couch, but grinned with a gasp. “GUYS!” And she hopped over the arm of the couch for her grunkles. “Mabel!” They opened their arms and got on one knee for their girl. Mabel ran into their hold and they hugged her tightly, relieved to be with her again and to find her more than okay. “What did I tell you about scaring me like that, pumpkin?!” Stan asked as he held her with all of his might. “You didn’t tell me, Grunkle Stan.” “Oh, right.” “We’re just so happy to find you alright, my dear.” Ford loosened his grip just enough to look up at Luz, who was smiling admirably at the reunion. “And I see you’ve made some friends.” Mabel let go and nodded. “Yeah! That’s Luz! Luz, these are my grunkles! Stan and Ford!” “Nice to meet you guys.” Luz said and waved politely. “Mabel said you’d come, but how did you two survive out there?” “They nearly didn’t.” Eda lied easily. “Were in the mouths of a giant giraffe when I saved their butts.” “Yeah right!” Stan barked a laugh. “Anyways, we’ve been through worse, kid.” Luz gasped excitedly. “Worse than giant bugs and centaurs with eyes on their chest and man-eating slugs and fire-breathing eye-less fangs and jealous witches?!” “Worse. I’ve punched a pterodactyl in the face and a few zombies, fallen down a Bottomless Pit, lost my hands to a witch, fought off eagles and explosions, survived giant man-eating spiders…” “Stanley, that is all impressive, but have you fought a talking chair, battled in four wars, conned an abominable snowman, outran a volcano, examined floating eyebats, been turned to gold…” “I find that hard to believe.” Eda snorted. “I believe them.” Luz said with a shrug. “You always said weird stuff leaks from this world into theirs.” “So, if you don’t mind me asking,” Ford said, stepping forward. “What exactly is this place? I’ve heard rumors of a place called the Boiling Isles, but I just thought it was a little hiding place like the Crawlspace, not an entirely new dimension.” “Nope!” Eda corrected happily. “This whole world is the Boiling Isles, a world full of despair, monsters, gross-stuff, demons, and magic.” “This place sounds so cool!” Mabel cheered. She looked at Luz and said, “No wonder you wanted to stay here. Wait! Do you have your own room?!” “Yeah! C’mon, I’ll show you!” And the girls ran off with Luz scratching King’s tummy and leaving him to nap on the floor, tired from laughing. Eda plopped down on the couch and gestured for the men to do the same. “I’d offer refreshments but all we have is apple blood and some disgusting beverage Luz likes called orange juice.” Stan looked up at the wanted poster of Eda and the reward promised for her capture. He smiled, impressed and interested. “We’re okay, thank you, Eda.” Ford said. “If you don’t mind me asking, our niece said something about Luz choosing to stay here?” “Yeah, that’s right.” Eda reached under her couch-cushion and rummaged as she spoke. “Kid came through my door when Owlbert brought over some little treasures to sell. Sweet girl. Kinda naive and gullible, but clever in her own right and she’s a fast learner. Stubborn with the forces of positivity.” Stan snorted. “Heh. We know someone like that.” “She said she didn’t fit in at home.” Eda finally found what she was looking for and pulled out a wrinkled, crumpled up pamphlet at read, Reality Check Summer Camp: Think Inside the Box. “Don’t really understand some of this human stuff, but I figured it must be pretty bad if it made a kid not wanna go home, so I read over it and this place sounds awful! Totally squandered any creativity or individualism! Her own mother was sending her here!” Eda let Ford look it over and she shrugged off the rant. “Anyway, she said she wanted to stay and she was willing to work for it, so I took her in as my apprentice for the summer and now she’s learning how to be a witch.” “Hm, sounds a lot better than kidnapping.” Stan approved with his arms crossed over his chest. “This place is completely horrible.” Ford commented about the summer camp. “They teach kids how to appropriate public radio!” “AM or FM?” “Both.” “Ouch.” “So, what exactly are you doing with such a cute girl, Eight-Ball?” Eda asked, getting Stan’s attention. “And what is a grunkle?” She snorted with a smile. “She’s our grandniece.” Stan said proudly, puffing out his chest. “We’re her great-uncles. Her grunkles.” “Aw, who knew you were such a softie?” “I am not!” “You watched over five hours of video-tutorials on how to braid hair.” Ford said behind the pamphlet. “She asked me to braid her hair and it bothered me that I couldn’t do it!” Eda cackled and touched Stan’s shoulder. His eyes followed and he smiled at her cute laugh. “Aw, you’re worse than King.” King peeked an eye at her and sneered, “One more passive aggressive comment and I’ll…” “That’s not a passive aggressive comment.” Eda said as she picked up the little goofball. “I can do better than that.” “Huh, and here I was thinking that was just one of Luz’s toys.” Stan teased. “Hey!” King stood on the couch by Eda’s side and pointed a bony paw at the old man. “Since you’re a human, I’ll let you walk away with a warning, but have it be known that I’m the King of Demons and shall one day drink the fear of those who mock me!” Ford folded the pamphlet and observed King cautiously. He didn’t like… his voice. His voice sent shivers down the old scientist’s spine. Stan snorted. “Sorry, pipsqueak, but I’ve faced worse demons than you.” “Oh, yeah, like what?” King asked. The girls came back, smiling and holding hands, and Luz asked, “Eda, can we please please PLEASE have a sleepover?! I want to show Mabel the new light spell I learned and show her how to properly scratch a demon’s tummy.” Ford chuckled and stood. “I’m sorry, ladies, but we really should be heading back. I’m sure Dipper is worried sick.” Mabel gasped with horror. “Oh, NO! Dipper!” “Oh, hey, don’t worry.” Luz eased. “You two are totally welcome here anytime you want.” “Aw, thanks, Luz.” Mabel hugged her and said, “I promise I’ll bring Dip-Dip next time. He’d love it here! And he could tell you all about the Manotaurs and the weird copy-machine.” Eda and Stan stood up, too, and the Owl Lady had her arms crossed over her chest. “Well, looks like we’ll be seeing each other again pretty soon. You okay with them hanging out?” Stan shrugged and pocketed his hands in his jeans. “Yeah, sure. Good friends are kinda rare these days. Gotta hold onto ‘em and never let ‘em go.” “Agreed.” Eda said and saw them exchanging those odd codes on their glowing rectangles. “Well, have your girl tell my girl when to open the door and I’ll see what I can do.” And she held out a hand to Stan. He hesitated (not just because of whose hand it was, but because shaking hands always seemed to lead to something bad, but maybe this time will be different), but he took it and shook it gently. “Yeah, and if your girl never needs a break in the human world, have her tell my girl.” Eda smiled at Stan and shook Ford’s hand, as well. She pulled the key out of her hair and unlocked the door, making it appear and swing open. Mabel skipped to her great-uncles and waved goodbye to Luz, who waved back, and she went with Ford through the door for home. Stan stole one last look at Eda, who winked at him, and he disappeared with a pink face.

~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note: OKAY, first things first, when it comes to fic, I personally don't really like crossovers. Crossovers can be a fun NON-CANON crossover for animation or actors. I get more enjoyment over fun fanart than I so of fics, because I like mine more plot-driven and it's hard to get a good story going just because you wants certain characters to mingle. HOWEVER, I find Gravity Falls and The Owl House just fit so well together! Why? #1: Alex Hirsch and Dana Terrace (the creators) are dating and Dana Terrace is responsible for the awesome Ducktakes reboot (season 1, anyway) AND the famous Not What He Seems scene. So having such a strong connection creativity wise of the shows is very apparent, more so than the other shows. #2: Evidence that supports these connections. Both shows have referenced each other and a theory goes that Eda and Stan were once married for less than a day. (plz check this video for more) And #3: ... I ship it pretty damn hard, okay? So I hope you guys will enjoy this fun little crossover as much as me! And thank you so much for reading!

[futurewriter2000]

Flipping Through the Memories of You - pt. 5

A/N: Oh my God...you know what was the hardest part??? Find a fucking good gif but oh well....happens. Anyways, I’m really happy for this part and I hope you will be too because well.....I ain’t telling. hehehe

XX

So, what was next for Sirius Black? - Clearly, more or so, he took the bird and stared at it, just as he was known for. 

He knew Bradach like the back of his hand. Bradach or Bebo as you both called him was loyal. He was loyal to the point where he followed one person till death and one person only... but what Sirius Black didn’t know was that Bradach was not loyal to one person in his life but two. Sirius Black didn’t know him like the back of his hand because he didn’t know that when you adopted the majestic, black owl, Sirius was aways there. Bradach loved you but he loved you more when you were with Sirius and that was constatly, so whenever there was you, there was Sirius. Bradach was torn and confused. He watched Sirius as Sirius watched him until one day Sirius wasn’t watching anymore. 

He fed the bird, took care of it as he always did but it wasn’t until today that when Sirius opened the cage, gave him a nibble on Bebo’s favorite treat and tucked a piece of parchment on his leg. Sirius glanced up at Bebo’s wonderful eyes and smiled. “Not one second passed by in that prison cell that I didn’t think of her. Not one milisecond was spent on anyhing else but her and what I should have done differently to make her stay that day. Every day I thought about her and the same memories kept replaying in my head. I screamed because I was so tired of thinking of her so long and so much. She couldn’t get out and I cried because of that- well, I cried because I didn’t want her out of my head but at the same time.... I did because it was torture.” he rubbed his finger on the Bradach’s beak. “If you will, I  will be forever thankful but if you don’t, I’ll understand because she’s yours and you’re hers.” he continued to smile but Bradach for once couldn’t. That famous, adorable smile of his didn’t appear. “I love you.” Sirius whispered, got up and walked away.

Bradach watched him leave until Sirius’ heel was begone behind those doors. He watched this man, so unfamiliar but so close to his heart, walk away. He let out a quiet chirp- the one he rarely let out from his darkened beak. Tumbling forward on his two feet, his eyes wide and glistened, he looked after where Sirius left and let out another pleading and sorrowful chirp.

---

When Sirius came back into the room, the bird was gone. He heard a disappointed sigh leave his lips yet a smile formed on them. He thought of Bradach as one of the most important beings in his life. He loved that bird. Why? Because he loved you and what you loved, he loved. 

He walked to his glass of liquor, the one that stood still for few days now. Dust was floating on the surface of it. There were also a few dead insects, circling the glass with their bodies and Sirius felt himself scoff. He took the glass, preparing to throw the liquid in the sink when his toe crashed into the table and the liquor spilled all over his shirt. 

“SHITE!” he cursed and gritted his teeth, looking up at the ceiling and forcing a smile. “You take my friends, you take the love of my life, you take my brother, you take my Godson, you take my freedom- YOU TAKE EVERYTHING!” he shouted and threw the glass on the wall, shattering it in pieces. He clenched his fist, took a deep breath and tried to relax with some long breaths. 

He wished it helped but it didn’t. Maybe seeing Bradach reminded him just how much he lost. He felt his heart squeeze and his throat give out but he didn’t want to cry. It was pointless. He rather fliked his wand to clean the mess and take his shirt off to change. His whole upper body was sticky and smelt like temptation. 

No. He won’t be tempted into this. He passed the mirror on the wall and stopped at his sight. He saw his chest, strong and chiseled. He didn’t know how he was getting his strength back but he was. At some point he liked seeing this man in the mirror. The reflection reminded him of the man he used to be once upon a time. His hair was long and curly- he used to leave them long just so you could cut them. It was you and you was all he ever wanted. He remembered he shaved a day ago and his chin and cheeks were clean, spotless. Merlin, if he could remember the cuts he got from the first time of shaving. He didn’t even have a beard back then. He remembered his father standing in front of the mirror and shaving his growing black stubble. His father looked at him and for once he wasn’t glaring. He thought his son how to shave, like all dads are supposed to. 

His father wasn’t bad. His father was actually a good father on times but those times were rare because with Walburga Black, there was never much good to find.

He did look like him a bit- his father I mean. His father had the same eyes, except the blue was more vibrant and the shape was more rounder. Except the hair, that was as black as any, his chin was just the same. Now that he shaved and compared, there really was more similarities to his father as well as to his brother.

Sirius for once smiled again. As much as he hated to admit it, there still was a part of him that missed his family. He looked down on the piece of clothing in his hand, rubbed his fingers on the material and took a deep breath. 

There was silence after that. Nothing more than wind from the outside, blowing quiet whistles.

“Sirius.”

The voice was quiet and shaking yet still loud and enough to make him turn around in a lightning second.

You. 

You with the same hair. You with the glimmering eyes. You with his favorite leather jacket. You with the same face that didn’t change since the first time his eyes landed on it. You with the same movement of your push lips... 

You.

[alleviat3]

Chica Fan Short-Story

Quick Introduction:

Hello every! This is my first post on Tumblr actually but that’s not really important! Today I’m going to share one my short stories that I wrote. I’m in no ways a professional writer though someday I would love that. This is merely just practice, but I’m putting it out there so hopefully some people can give me advice and criticism. I know there are probably many mistakes but this is just a quick practice piece.

This short-story is actually about Chica the Chicken from the Five Night’s at Freddy’s series. She’s one my favorite characters because of her backstory actually. This isn’t canon at all, I just wanted to put a piece together of her inner dialogue. But you’ll notice sometimes the grammar is wrong, or the words she uses are childish.

Other than that, please enjoy! If you have any advice or anything, please let me know <3

Edits: (foxy’s section has been edited to make him act more like a human child instead of a pirate)

Lonely

The lights shut off. Day is over now, the children are gone. The happiness is gone, and the life is gone. Now the dark hours begin with no lights. The lights mean good. No lights mean we’re alone.

     At least the pain is gone. No more sharp ouchies. I hope the others aren’t getting poked now too. I don’t like them being hurt. I watched them get hurt before and I don’t like it happening again, it makes me sad.

     I miss mom and dad and my puppy. I want to know if he actually got hit by a car, because the man said he didn’t and I’m confused. But I think my puppy is gone, he hasn’t come to see me. He always did, ever day after school. But I haven’t been to school in a long time, so maybe he’s confused. That’s okay, I’m confused too.

     I look at my friends. Freddy is quiet still. So is Bonnie.

     I’m used to calling Freddy by his animal name. Because that is really what he is, but I know his real name. It’s Gabriel. I like that name.

     I nudge Freddy gently. His head slowly turns to me.  I think his voice is tired, because he isn’t talking yet. His hand slowly moves up to his jaw and stays there.

     Oh, my jaw is loose.

     Slowly, I reach my heavy hand up to my jaw and shove it back into place. I hear the click and look at Freddy again. He had moved his hand away so I think I got it.

     I lean forwards slightly to look at Bonnie. He gives me a tiny wave. That makes me feel happy. Freddy and I aren’t as close as I am to Bonnie.  Bonnie was my friend Jeremy. Was.

     “Bonnie,” I say, my voice a groan. It wasn’t cute anymore like it used to be. It scared me sometimes… everyone used to love my voice. They’d say, “Susie, you’re so cute!” or “Susie, you have such an adorable laugh!”. But no one says that anymore… I wish people would just come over to me and say hi to me. I miss my mom and dad… I just don’t know why they haven’t come to visit me. But I have my friends.

     Bonnie stares at me for a second before his mouth opens slightly.

     “Chica. Oh… how sad. The children are gone already,” says Bonnie, his voice a similar ragged moan. He looks around again, hoping that there are still people around but his ears curl downwards in a sad manner.

     “I know, they’ve left. It’s just us now,” I say. “We should make sure everything is good for tomorrow for when our friends come back. I hope we have a birthday party. I’m hungry.”

     “You’re always hungry, Chica.”

     “Yes. I can’t eat pizza anymore, that’s why. But I will keep trying. Maybe one day it’ll work and I won’t be hungry anymore. Watching everyone eat makes me sad sometimes…”

     “I know,” says Bonnie, stepping off the stage. He walks over to a table slowly, his large feet dragging on the floor. “Let’s get ready for tomorrow. Maybe our parents will come,” he groans, picking up a chair that had been knocked over.

     I get off the stage too and join Bonnie in cleaning up. When the children come back, I want it to be nice and pretty so they’re happy. Maybe, like Bonnie said, our parents will come back. I don’t tell him this but I doubt it. We’ve been here for a long time… and I do like having parties for my friends and giving them pizza I don’t want to keep doing it. I’m tired and I hurt, I just want it to end. I have thought about it for a long time, as long as I’ve been here. But that man…

     THE MAN.

     HE DID THIS TO ME. TO US. WHY? Why… what did we do?

     “Chica… oh, you’ve knocked over a party hat with your cupcake. Whoops,” Bonnie said, staring at the fallen paper hat on the ground.

     “Oh,” I mutter, picking it back up and setting it on the table, distracted from thoughts about the man. “Much better?”

     “Much better,” the bunny confirms.

     Out of nowhere, Foxy pulls the curtain to his cove open and looks at me and Bonnie. Raising his hook, he looks at what we are doing.

     “I didn’t know the kids left yet,” he growled quietly. “I wanted to preform again.”

     “I’m sorry, Foxy. You can perform tomorrow,” I say to the sad fox. “I’m sure there will be party tomorrow. Bonnie can play his guitar, you can tell them stories, I can give them pizza and Freddy can sing. It’ll so fun and everyone will be happy.”

     “Yeah, Chica… you’re right. It’s always sad at night.”

     And with that, the red fox hooked the sparkly purple curtain and pulled it shut with a haggard sigh.

     Bonnie and I watched as Foxy shut the curtain. Foxy was… usually distant like this. If there isn’t anyone around he gets sad. I get sad too but Bonnie and Freddy and I share a stage and we have fun together. Foxy is usually alone. But we all do care for each other because we have to help each other. We’re stuck here and we stick together. We’re all very close. We’re a family now.

     I miss mom and dad but… at least I got my friends. But it’s very lonely too. Trapped in this suit. I stopped breathing and eating a while ago. I don’t know if I’m dead, I only heard about it in movies and stuff. But mom would cover my eyes during movies when someone died. I can’t be dead though because mom and dad always told me if I died I would go to Heaven. This isn’t Heaven so I must be alive. I wish I was with mom and dad though. And my puppy. I want to go back to school. But I know they won’t come back. I keep saying maybe they’ll come back. But I know they won’t.

     What did I do?

     WHAT DID I DO?

     WHAT DID I DO?!

     WHY DID YOU KILL ME. WHY DID YOU KILL THEM. I WATCHED YOU PUT THEM IN THE SUITS. I WAS POKED AND SHOVED. I WAS SCARED.

     WHY?

     WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!

     “Stop,” I heard Freddy’s ragged voice say. “I hear something. Footsteps.”

      Bonnie and I listened to him. I was happy he got me to stop thinking but Freddy usually stayed quiet at night. He gets sad and waits for the children. But I could tell something was wrong.

     Freddy tilted his head slightly and looked down the hall. I know the map of this place. It is a part of me. Of Chica, not Susie. But I am Chica now. But… the hall light was flickering.

     “Someone is here,” I say, my voice a groaning whisper. “Maybe someone is here to save us! Bonnie, we must go see who it is!”

     Bonnie nodded and walked towards the office, his heavy feet moving slowly. I followed quickly behind my bunny friend.

     He looked at me.

     “Chica,” he huffed. “Go down the right hall. We’ll go and say hi and maybe the new person will save us. This could be it! We could see mom and dad again.”

         I start down the hallway. If I could feel my heart I think it would have been pounding in my chest. I don’t know if my heart is there anymore but I hope so.

     I started to speed up when I saw the open door.

     To let my new friend I was there, I started to sing. But it was ugly, it sounded like choking. Maybe they thought it was pretty though.

     Excited now, I peeked through the window, my glass eyes looking at the man in the security suit. He looked like a cop, with a badge and a fun belt! I think being a cop could be fun, catching the bad guys.

     Catch the bad guys.

     Catch the bad guys.

     CATCH HIM.

     Finally, he looked at me!

     I tried to smile at him but it’s hard with this beak, it doesn’t smile well. I put my hand on the window too trying to wave even though my fingers curved on that hand because I’m supposed to hold my cupcake.

     But… when he looked at me he was scared. He shut the door on me! I wanted to cry but I can’t cry. Why won’t he let me in? I want to play! Maybe he knows mom and dad. Are you dad? Do you know where they are? My puppy? Was he actually hit by a car?

     Please open the door! I can’t do this anymore.

     OPEN THE DOOR! HELP ME!

     HELP ME!

     HEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

     I slammed my hands on the door as hard as I could. I’m not going to hurt anyone, I’m not scary… I’m Susie. Do you know me? Did I know you? Susie!

     Susie is my name! Hear my name! Help me!

     Help my friends! I watched him get them. I was in this suit. In this suit. Inside. He stuffed the others in here.

     He hurt us.

     HE HURT US.

     HURT WITH US. OPEN THE DOOR.

     OPEN

     THIS

     DOOR

     HELP

     help…

     i’m scared. i want to see my mom and dad. can you take me to them? please….

     He never opened the door. He shined the light in my eyes and covered his face with his tablet. He wasn’t here to save us. I knew that but… I wanted to believe it. Not even for me… for my friends. They deserve to go home and I’d give up anything for them. Why can’t we leave? I don’t know…

     This isn’t heaven.

     I won’t make it there. Cassidy and I are the only one who know of this place called…

     hell.

     But… I will not rest until my friends are safe. I will protect them. I will find him. And I will put him in a suit like he did to us. He will rot.

     HE.

     WILL.

     PAY

[anonsally]

Days 94-96 of COVID-19 shelter-in-place

Various shelter-in-place restrictions are being relaxed, and, unrelatedly, I have had some pretty good birdwatching lately.

Day 94 was Thursday. We had failed to buy milk the previous day (and I feel this was not my job after my medical procedure Wednesday morning), so I ended up having a smaller bowl of cereal than usual (followed by some of Wife’s millet porridge made with almond milk) and then going to buy some. There was no line to get in! That was very lucky! The store will be resuming its normal hours this week and staying open later than it has been lately, which is a relief--we won’t have as many incidents of realising too late that we don’t have what we need for breakfast the next day.

Then I “went” to work: we had a long meeting during which we did not come to an agreement about various strategies for analysis. The biostatistics grad student is convinced that the method two of us are advocating is based on an incorrect assumption, whereas I don’t see where we are making that assumption. I worked out some probability calculations with pencil and paper and wrote to the group about what I thought we were trying to do and why I didn’t think it made the erroneous assumption. I don’t know if that’s where she thought the assumption was coming in, though.

After work, I took a neighborhood walk with my binoculars and ended up getting some good birdwatching in. About halfway into the walk, I heard some rustling in the dry leaves on the ground. “Towhee?” I thought, and looked around for the source, expecting to see a brown California towhee. But it turned out to be a spotted towhee! Such a pretty bird, and I got a really good view of it in the binoculars. Since it’s a comparatively recent addition to my repertoire, I was excited about it. 

After that, I saw some house finches at the tippy top of a thin cypress (?) tree, and also saw a bird through the binoculars that... well, I couldn’t identify it, and I suspect this description is wrong because I couldn’t find anything in my book that matched it, but @lies​, if you have any ideas please let me know! It seemed to be a smallish bird with a solid (possibly orangey-) yellow front and a long, thin beak. It was perched near the top of a tree, and something I assume was a hummingbird seemed to be divebombing it? 

I walked back toward home but stopped at the house with the bird-feeders out front. There was a Nuttall’s woodpecker at the suet feeder! That was exciting (it’s another one I learned recently, and I’ve never seen one at a feeder). It got chased away by a scrub jay but hung out in the tree for a while and I got to watch it some more. There were also more chestnut-backed chickadees, goldfinches, and house finches, as usual, as well as a Steller’s jay. So I felt like I’d seen all the high-quality birds! 

In the evening I solved word puzzles with my dad on a video call. 

Yesterday was Day 95. I got up at 8am, and was really tired, but I had arranged to take a walk with my high school friend who’s visiting (and came over on Wednesday). We had planned to meet at 10am, but in a series of texts we postponed it to 10:15 and then 10:30, and then I didn’t manage to arrive at the meeting place until 10:40, and when I checked my phone on arrival, I saw that she was at least 10 minutes behind me! But eventually she turned up and we had a lovely walk in a park Wife and I have not been hiking in (it is a bit more crowded and less sunny than most of the ones we have gone to), but it’s the one this friend and I had both visited with our families as kids. This was just a very short, easy walk, but we saw ducks, turtles, chestnut-backed chickadees, a cute little periwinkle blue butterfly, and an amazingly well-camouflaged moth. It looked just like a leaf, but I happened to see it flap into position. I think it was an omnivorous looper? but the stripe along the back is blueish, which I haven’t seen in the photos online. Anyway, I was pleased with myself for not being scared of it. We also heard a woodpecker, but I couldn’t locate it. After our walk, we sat and chatted for a long time, and saw a couple of enormous ravens, a wild turkey, a bird of prey with a longish tail, and a couple of Steller’s jays. It was great to spend so much time with my friend. We did not stay 6ft apart the whole time, but when we were closer, we had our masks on, and when we were seated and talking, we were further apart; plus, we were outside the whole time. So I think it is fairly low-risk.

Afterwards, I drove down to my office. I had an appointment at 1:30, but I arrived a few minutes early, so first I ordered tacos to pick up at 1:45, and then I folded down the back seat of the car. I went to the door and waited for the building manager to let me in. I was there to collect my desk chair, in hopes that it will make working at home less of an ergonomic disaster. I also found Girl Scout cookies and some chocolate in my desk, so I brought them home too! The chair did fit in the back of the car (phew), and I picked up my tacos and came home. 

I worked all afternoon, though I took some breaks to read about Juneteenth, too. I had heard of it before as a Black American holiday, but I don’t think I had realised what it was specifically celebrating. And frankly, it’s outrageous that it isn’t a national holiday. The abolishment of slavery is something we should all be celebrating (as a first step toward liberty and justice for all, which we obviously have not yet achieved).

After work, I went to buy some ice cream and noticed that restaurants with space for outdoor dining have resumed seating people outside, with decent spacing between tables. 

I watered the plants that had to be put into pots, several of which are looking pretty shocked from the transplanting. And Wife and I did some heroic Adulting in the kitchen. I stayed up late.

Today was the Summer Solstice and also Day 96! Widget lost his lunch, or rather barfed his breakfast. I’m hoping an opossum will eat the vomit tonight, because I don’t want to have to clean it up.

I wrote to my city councilmember again, this time to ask about the fireworks we have been hearing every night for a few weeks. Last night’s fireworks may have been for Juneteenth, though. Anyway, I ended up going to the farmers’ market by myself rather late (Wife had a headache), but I ran into @llamapunk there and got to spend some time chatting and catching up with her while doing my shopping. Alas, I was too late for peaches! But in compensation, I bought lots of strawberries and some rhubarb. 

After I came home and ate, Wife and I set off to a park for a hike. This wasn’t as satisfying as most of the hikes we’ve taken--the trails were very confusing and poorly marked at many of the intersections, so we took wrong turns more than once. Also, they were both narrow and somewhat heavily trafficked in some sections, making it awkward to maintain much distance between ourselves and other hikers. Still, aspects of it were nice, and we got some good exercise--there was a very steep uphill section. However, the most exciting part of it was that we saw a family of wild turkeys, including several babies! So the hike was worth it just for that! I heard a woodpecker but couldn’t find it, but I got to point out some chestnut-backed chickadees to Wife, who was charmed by how cute they are. There was a variety of plant life, too, including a dead tree with some good fungi, a bay laurel with fragrant leaves, redwoods (with miner’s lettuce and redwood sorrel at their feet, but we were not supposed to stray from the trail to pick them), ferns, eucalypti, wildflowers, and the first ripe wild blackberries of the season. Being outside in nature and getting a little exercise seemed to relieve Wife’s headache, too.

I’ve solved a couple of cryptic crossword puzzles in the past couple days.

It looks like my county’s daily COVID-19 new confirmed case counts have been higher since late May than they were before that time, but that might be partly because of higher numbers of people getting tested. And the deaths seem to have peaked in April. Number of people in the ICU has remained fairly stable since mid-April, but the number of people in the hospital has roughly been increasing very slowly. Still, it doesn’t look like the protests have resulted in a pandemic upswing.

[7deadlycinderellas]

In the bleak midwinter

AO3 link

Despite the others no longer being a threat, it was still a long winter, and possibly the coldest Westeros had seen in living memory.

Even King’s Landing becomes blanketed in snow and ice, though not heavily enough to stop the carts coming in and out, the trade and struggle of its people, who’s memory of so recently being burned is still too close to the surface.

It’s King sits on his throne, as cold and unfeeling as the season.

Or so it’s citizens see.

Bran had been stuck as the cold and unfeeling raven for so long that it is easy to keep the face on, and let them believe that’s what he still is.

It’s only behind closed doors, with those closest to him. His hand, Tyrion Lannister, and the head of his Kingsguard, Ser Brienne of Tarth. The grand maester and his wife and children. It was only with these whom he felt he could let himself be seen, the Bran Stark who had been lost for so long.

It was better that way, Bran thought. No matter how overwhelmingly glad he is to have himself back, that’s not what Westeros needed from their King. They needed someone staid, unmovable. Someone without passion or anger or bloodlust. And if his manner was off putting, then maybe they would learn to only seek his aid when it was truly needed. And those times would come less and less often.

And maybe someday, they would not need him at all, and he could be done with all of this. They would realize they did not need a king to sit above them and decide what they needed. And that damned throne, and all the bloodshed it caused, could die with him.

He dreams, endlessly, of when that day will come.

But now, in the depths of winter, he sits upon his chilly throne, and stands stolid, the king of the ice and snow.

And sometimes, he finds himself in the Godswood. He doesn’t come here much now, not since that one sweet, far day, but today he locks his wheels underneath the still-red leaves of the weirwood, and checks on the others he holds dear.

There is, within the Red Keep, a room with two small beds which is on paper, Gilly’s. She has never slept there.

Right now, her and Sam sit at the desk in the grand Maester’s chambers, pouring over paperwork and whispering. Little Sam sits upon the bed, playing with his younger sister without a care.

“It’s a good idea,” Sam admits, “But I don’t know if people will go for it.”

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try,” Gilly insists, “You remember what it meant to me.”

Bran smiles. It had been the same day that they had asked him to come with them to the Godswood that they had told him of their plans.

 “It’s just there’s so much of this place that isn’t being used…” Sam had trailed off. This as true, the rebuilt Red Keep having whole wings which were not in use.

    “And really it isn’t fair for them to keep everything to themselves in Oldstown.” Gilly had added. Truthfully, Bran hadn’t felt any guilt at letting Sam break the maester’s vow. What happened in the Godswood was between the gods and them. It would never go down on paper, and Sam and Gilly knew it.

 But what did that matter to them?

And after, they sent little Sam, now nearly as tall as his father, out into the streets near the keep, to find the other children. And now, every moon or so, in one of the rebuilt buildings near a gate that goes mostly unguarded, scores of children meet, boys and girls, street rats and merchant’s children alike. They reach the keep leaving their footsteps in the snow, and wearing their thickest wool, and come to learn their letters and their numbers, and how to tie a snare and a bowline.

And, for now, they are thinking and planning about what else they could teach them.

Ser Brienne is on guard duty this night. She stands her perch with poise. Bran sometimes wonders if she had ever dreamed of this life, even if she never spoke of it. It was a coveted position, but one that was doomed to loneliness. Sometimes he thinks he should release her, allow to travel North to serve Sansa again, that they might both have a friend. Selfishly, he knows he depends too much on her.

In his own chambers in the tower of the Hand (though much smaller than the one previous), Tyrion Lannister writes a letter.

The friendship that lingered between the Hand and his former wife was truly a sight to behold. Perhaps the man, having lost what was left of his own family, clung to something that might not have been perfect, but was honest in it’s own way. It seemed Tyrion, much like Bran, often feared Sansa was lonely in Winterfell.

But the truth is, Sansa is too busy to be lonely.

Even in the depths of frozen winter, the North did not grind to a halt. Roads still had to be cleared, animals fed and watered, stores kept an eye on. And the Queen in the North presided over all of this.

And on it’s own, the North can thrive.

Tonight, Sansa is sitting by the fire in her solar, reading. Her hair hangs loose down her back and in her night dress, she is in a state no one but those closest to her has ever seen. Tomorrow she will be taking petitions, and then finding accommodations for a group of orphans.

Orphans have been a special problem in the north it turns out. So many died in the war for the dawn, they are everywhere. And it’s not just the number, it’s that so much still needs to be done. Repairs are ongoing, even this nearly ten years later.

It had been the first decree Sansa had made as queen. Orphaned children would be placed in apprenticeships, cost paid by Winterfell, and would be placed either with families or allowed to shelter in groups. No children would die huddling for warmth on a village street while Sansa was Queen in the North. Sometimes she thinks of what Jon told her once, about how many groups of the Free Folk treated the children as if they belonged to all of them, and wonders if there was anything to convince her northerners to take this view.

But tonight, the Queen simply reads a letter from the north, then snuffed out her candle and went to bed.

The letter she reads come from far north of Winterfell. Jon sent it from the last Free Folk settlement he had been to, the bird that carried it is huge and sharp-beaked; the only raven to travel north of the Wall.

Bran’s heart aches at the sight of his brother-cousin. Though the devastation has finally begun to fade from his eyes after all this time, his appearance still belies his self-imposed exile: His hair has grown long, a beard accompanying it.

But despite his mental state, the others follow him. They have made their way across the land of beyond-the-wall. Sometimes they stop, clearing debris from a formerly abandoned village. They burn corpses, and rebuild dwellings, and sometimes some of them settle and don’t leave.

But Jon always does.

Bran wishes that sometime during the night, he will be able to reach out and touch Jon, the way he did Meera years ago, to remind him of those there are south of the wall, who do not want to lose him to the winter.

And finally, Bran lets himself drift east.

It doesn’t snow often at Storm’s End. The winters here primarily consist of the immense, stone castle being battered by endless storms that drop rain, and hail and wallop it with winds enough to scrap the skin from your face for days on end.

But inside the castle, the fires burn warm, there for anyone to dry off from being inside.

Two girls, black of hair and blue of eye, wring their plaited hair out over the hearth, talking over each other.

As their words reach the point of unintelligible, their mother approaches from behind them with a towel.

“All you would have to do is pull up your hoods and you wouldn’t get so wet,” Arya chides them, rolling her eyes at their cloaks, left on the ground by the door, “That is why they have them.”

And in the winter, the rain in the Stormlands could freeze a man to his bones, she doesn’t add.

Both girls ignore her, and instead launch into a roaring stream of what they’d done that day.

“We saw a dolphin!”

“That was a fish!”

“Nuh uh, it was too big!”

“Oh, and a rainbow over the sea-”

“Lysa pulled off my ribbon again”

“I did not! It fell!”

Arya shushes them both by picking their fallen cloaks and thrusting the wet wool in both of their arms.

“Lyra, go the forge and drag your father out. It’s past supper, and we’ve all missed it again. Lysa, go to the kitchen and have Polly have our food sent up to the solar by the guest wing.”

Lyra runs off without another word. Often taciturn like her father, only being around her twin brought the mischief out of her. Gendry couldn’t spend as much time in the forge as before, but whenever he had the extra time, he would sneak down, and his daughter would follow, fetching and moving things for him, and between the two of them they would pull tools and armor and other joys straight from the flames.

Lysa’s eyes go bugged out at her mother’s words.

“If we’re having supper, does that mean Maester Elric doesn’t need you anymore? The baby’s born?”

Arya’s barely perceptible nod causes Lysa to squeal loudly. Arya’s reaches out and grabs her by the plait before she can run off.

‘Hold onto your guts, giving birth is tiring. Leave your aunt be, and we’ll let you both meet your cousin tomorrow morning.”

Lysa pouts, but doesn’t race off. Lysa loved babies, and had been ecstatic to meet the aunt she hadn’t known she had, especially since she was going to have a tiny cousin to squeal over.

Gendry comes in from the forge still in his apron. He takes it off, goes to the basin and scrubs his hands clean with a thick paste before joining his wife and daughters.

Supper is a stew of salted fish and mussels, The storms wash plenty ashore even if the fisherman cannot always go out. Lysa happily chatters off stories the twins had been told of the krakens that must live in the waters.

Afterwards, Arya sends both the girls off to bed, where they go, sulkily.

Once they are gone, Gendry pulls on her hand towards their bed, and she pulls back.

“Gonna go check on Meera again.”

He sighs.

“I’m surprised Elric let you leave. He speaks of you like some kind of legend. “

“Well I did carry twins and walk around like normal until they day they came.”

“And then tried to get straight up the day after and resume your duties.”

Arya shrugs.

“Not like I could know as a child I would be good at having them.”

Just what she’d always want to be known for, Bran thought to himself. Forget the uncharted islands her ship and crew had found, or the new route to Essos they had mapped, all the Maester wanted to praise her for was the ease at which she bore children.

Sometimes, when the Maester says these things, Arya dreams of the places she’d been. The islands with spiky fruit that tasted of soft custard. The huge, long toothed beasts the sailors would spy, sunning themselves on rocks. The smell of spices on a bay, well before anything but the buildings can be seen on the horizon.

 She tells Gendry that she longs to go back. To smell the sea air and feel the boat shifting under her feet. Her three years at sea had reinvigorated her soul, let her breathe again and rediscover what joy was.

    She’d missed Gendry terribly though, and had told him so often. She’d kept her promise to come back for more than a single reason.

She wants to take him this time, wants to nestle underneath his arms in the hammock on deck, being rocked to sleep by the ocean waves. She wants to show him everything she had seen, that he might come alive again without the stress of being a Lord Paramount who had never once thought he would amount to anything.

 “Maybe in the future,” she says, “When the girls are older. We can leave all the paperwork and all the squabbling and all the disasters on the horizon and just sail off into the sunset.”

When he watches his nieces, Bran is very glad that one of the first royal decrees he had to sign was ushering in Dornish inheritance laws into use across Westeros. It hadn’t been a popular decision, especially when it came to heirs who were already being prepared to rule(and wouldn’t be ousted, his advisors assured them), but it was necessary. Every one of the six kingdoms would be left with at least one house wiped out of existence otherwise.

He makes it up to the guest wing before Arya does, but waits before she enters. When he does, he finds himself averting the memory. Watching Meera on the bed is like looking into the sun.

She’s only wearing a shift, her curls stuck to her scalp with sweat. The linen wrapped bundle she holds against her chest is quiet for the moment. She tilts her head up when Arya enters.

“You feel back in one piece yet?”

Meera snorts,

“I don’t think I have any bones left. I can’t believe Ser Davos’s wife did this seven times.”

“Nonsense,” Arya insists, “You did fine. Didn’t tear even a little.”

Meera’s expression mirrors Bran’s thought process. Of all the things the visions taught him, that such a thing was possible was on a long list of things he wished he could unsee.

Arya sits at the chair the maester had left beside the bed.

“I hadn’t asked. Did you have a name picked out?”

Meera nods.

“Catelyn. We- we were going to leave it for Sansa...but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards so…”

There’s a moment of silence for that. Arya reaches out to flick a finger on the tip of the child’s nose, causing her to make a gurgling sound and shift in Meera’s arms.

“I was thinking of sending one of the twins to Winterfell,” Arya admits, “But I can’t bear the thought of separating them. I might have to eventually.”

“There must always be a Stark in Winterfell,” Meera recites.

Arya stares off, sadly, before changing the subject.

“There’s no rush. You can stay here until you’re back to normal and she’s sleeping more soundly.”

Meera’s eyes squeeze for a moment, as though she was blinking back tears.

“Thank you...I wasn’t sure what we were going to do when- and it wouldn’t have been safe to try and travel back home this time of winter.”

“Is that,” Arya asks, trying not to pry, “What you’re going to do when you leave? You’re going to return to Greywater Watch?”

Meera nods. One of Cat’s arms has come unwrapped, and she reaches up for her mother’s face.

“I owe my father an heir...and Bran can’t have a wife or an heir. That was the plan, and it seemed to be working out fine for us. We talked about it a lot the morning before I left. I’ll stay there for a bit though- at least long enough for him to write it down. Thanks to the power of royal decree, she will bear my name.”

To the world, Meera thought, on paper her daughter might as well be a bastard. She wouldn’t get to know her father until they were all older. The tears gathered in the corner of her eye breaks free, marking a path down her cheek. She nudges it away with her wrist.

“I wish I didn’t miss him so badly though.”

 Sam and Gilly had stood witness for them in the Godswood, without even a question.

    “You did the same for us,” Gilly insisted, “Of course we would.”

Sam had helped him from his chair, so he could sit in the snow beneath the weirwood, and Meera had knelt beside him. Sam had said the words, stumbling a bit, and needing Gilly to nudge and whisper to him. The only cloak available was the same plain wool one he wore everyday, which Meera replaced with her own so he would not shiver, despite not being a traditional part of the ceremony, it suited them.

They clasped hands and prayed, the light snow collecting on their clothes and hair.

It could never go down on paper, they all knew that. But the Godswood had seen more than one of these, and what went on between them and the gods was for them alone.

 Bran would be the last king of Westeros if he had anything to say about it. Maybe sometime in the future, the story would find it’s way out. The queen and princess who weren’t there.

“Seven years it took,” Meera commented, and Bran breaks away from the memory. “We were beginning to think the maesters were right and Bran couldn’t have children,”

Arya rolls her eyes.

“I never understood why they were so certain of that. Though it did take all seven years.”

“And it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying-”

“Hey, if you’re going to go down that alley, I’ll just leave you alone tonight.”

“I don’t think I am alone.”

Arya smirks.

“You think he’s doing the creepy all-seeing bit again?”

“I don’t think he can help it. When I’m not there it’s harder for him to stay in the moment.”

Arya leans foward and claps her on the shoulder.

“If he decides to show up in your dreams again, tell him hello from all of us.”

And with that, she leaves her good-sister and niece alone.

Meera plays with the bit of twine she still wears tied to her wrist. Catelyn is snuggled up against her chest, and she stares off into the candle lit darkness.

Then she tilts her eyes to the ceiling, sticks out her tongue and crosses her eyes.

“Quit lingering,” she says out into the void, “Go to the day I left if you must. I’ll be back soon enough, if only for a little while.”

Bran’s mind chuckles deeply. He could never get much past her.

Opening his eyes for a moment in the Godswood, just long enough to make sure he hadn’t frozen in place, he takes her advice and slips back to the morning before she’d left for Storm’s End.

 Podrick and Brienne took turns on guarding his chamber at night, and then helping him get up in the morning before ending their watch. The chambermaid who handled this part of the keep didn’t come in until later in the morning. Being quite elderly, Bran wasn’t even entirely sure she knew when one monarch changed to the next.

    In practice, this meant Meera could stay with him most nights into the morning without arising whatever gossip would have made it’s way about the keep, even if her few things were kept in the mostly unused chamber that Gilly supposedly slept in. The castle staff was much smaller than it had been in years before, and most of them found King Bran as off putting as the citizens.

It was his favorite part of the day. It was somehow both so different, and just the same as the nights north of the wall when they’d had to sleep practically on top of each other for warmth.

This morning, in particular, he has one of her thighs on one shoulder and his mouth pressed up against her cunt.

One of her hands twists in his hair and he smiles against her.

He licks a stripe up the center of her, and is rewarded with a whisper of a moan. She’s not especially loud, so every one that he draws from her is a victory. He can do this as well as any man, legs or no legs, he thinks.

The visions had told him that some men thought this act below them. They were morons, Bran thought, morons who were missing out. He had long since ignored any knowledge gained in this area from the visions, and just let Meera show him what she’d figured out for herself, and they worked out the rest together.

Her moans get quicker and breathier as he works his tongue faster against her flesh. He feels her quiver and her hand wrench the handful of his hair as she comes underneath him.

And it’s with a satisfied smile, that he takes one of her hands she offers to help pull him back up to the head of the bed, and then gently rolls him onto his back.

“You make me feel selfish sometimes,” she says, head laid back, chest still heaving.

“Wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like it,” he assures her. He reaches down to lay one hand of the small swell in her lower abdomen, “Believe it was you attempting to return the favor was what got us into this situation.”

With a twitch of her lips, she leans over and kisses him, before sliding one leg over and gently lowering herself onto him.

Her movements are languid, still tender from her earlier orgasm. She rests her forearms on his chest and watches him.

“It’s not fair that I have to leave already,” she says, pouting.

His hands find her waist.

“You’re too skinny, people will notice too fast.”

She sighs deeply.

“I know, but I still don’t want to.”

Even as her movements pick up speed again, she still won’t stop touching him, his shoulders, his chest. He had tried to explain to her before that most of the pleasure he got from this was watching her, but she never wanted to stand for it.

When she bends to press a kiss just below his ear, he whispers to her,

“My queen.”

His words make her twitch and clench, and when one hand wanders to twist a nipple, she comes again, softly this time.

Afterwards, when she lays on top of him, face against his chest, he tells her,

“Someday I’ll be able to leave. Someday this damned place won’t need a king anymore and we’ll be able to launch that godsdamned throne into the sea. Then I can come north with you and we can leave all of this behind.”

 It’s a good dream, they both agree. As much as they both know it’s just a dream, especially in the depths of winter.

“Your grace?” he hears in the Godswood, breaking him from his memory. It’s Podrick.

“It’s getting late your grace, are you ready to come in?”

Bran nods, and lets him push his chair through the snow and back into the keep.

And behind him, unnoticed, a snowdrop pokes it’s head through the ground.

[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc0n0c6a3XU

(I had to look up the prices and what the bill document said to get this right.)

Dead Bird Studios.

The place where for YEARS had been the birthplace of creativity and actors on the big screen. And now she was standing right in front of it. The others didn't look so fazed at the big building considering they had been there multiple times before but that didn't stop her from staring up in fascination at it all. It. WAS. HUGE!! WAY bigger than those tall buildings back on the moon. A giant logo sign of a black bird skull and film real decorated the outside on the big front there with the giant words under it reading DEAD BIRD STUDIOS. A parking lot stood between them and the entrance and they were already walking across it towards the entrance. To the far left of them, they could all see a bunch more of those cars parked into the rectangular spaced, not that Poppy was paying attention as they marched across in the hot sun beating down on them all. Poppy would be lying if she wasn't impressed, as she subconciously walked after the small group still walking, the shadow of the building fell over her and she involuntarily sighed feeling the harsh rays of the sun gone for a moment. Still following along after them up to the double doors of the building. The grown lady flinched when they opened on their own as soon as Cookie got near it and mumbled grumpily to herself about forgetting her purse and having to walk all the way back here on her day off of all things helping out and how it was so rude of her to make them all take this detour. Not that anyone minded as the children excitedly ran in past them inside. Poppy glanced wearily at the doors for a moment while passing, jumping a foot forward when it closed by themselves, blue eyes glanced between it and Cookie for a moment before following after the mumbling cat. The long hallway was pretty dark with a black carpet with bird skull patterns with lots of white squares lights barely lighting up the place. With a whoosh noise the doors up ahead opened on their own accord and the three children ran on through and into what looked like a well lit room. As they continued to persue the children down the rest of the hall she thought she heard some squeals of delight but she wasn't too sure yet. When she finally approuched the double pair of doors, they opened again with a whoosh for Cookie and Poppy flinched again...Before blinking and sticking her head into the lit room. A giant white Television set(computor) was sat on the counter which was the first thing she saw, and shiny marble floors reflected the bright lights above. There was a tired looking bird manning the counter as he calmly watched everything around him. Next to him was some kind of giant piece of heavy looking machinery, and as Poppy finally stepped in, she gawked at the sight of GIANT glass cases on either side of the room with shiny copies of trouphies safely sat inside with names of old movie directors of years past. But those only held her attention for a moment, above the trophies on either side were giant framed posters. On the right with a few penguins gathered was a strange looking instrument in disco lights, a ...slime monster??, and some penguin in an astronaut suit. To the right was a more western style of two seperate birds holding guns and a random cactus. Two doors were on either side and two signs by them each saying FILMING IN PROGRESS.

"DARLING!! You're back so soon?," A loud voice boomed out and Poppy yelped dropping her bags of clothing on the floor.

Who the voice belongs to was another moon penguin...But this one looked TOTALLY different from any other penguin she's seen before. He wore a ridiculous outfit with weirder shoes on his feet making him taller than the other penguins by a few inches, and he actually had hair and yellow eye brows styled up into some kind of weirder haircut, and last but certainly not least a giant pair of all black shaped sunglasses over his eyes. His beak was curled up in a smile as he approuched from the small crowd of three girls tailing after him as Cookie walked over to him.

"I wasn't expecting my best best network star to return so soon," he happily addressed her earning him a few embarrassed chuckles.

"Not exactly planned. I uh...Forgot my purse on set again and needed to run in and grab it. Can't exactly feed a bunch of hungry children without it now can I? H-How's the movie auditions so far?"

The penguin sighed and reached a flipper up to his forehead. "Easier said than done. There's the part of the wicked family who still need spaces filled in place, and the handsome prince, not to mention that I still have no one to play the concerned father and we only have a few months to put this together! I can't describe how much pressure I'm feeling..But I have a good feeling that this year will be in our favor for sure!"

Cookie smiled brightly. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find the perfect people to fill those roles soon. You always manage to pull off a wonderful display."

"*sigh* I sure hope so, Dear. I'd hate to have nothing to present for my efforts." His gaze turned up once he noticed movement by the doors as Poppy reached back down to pick her bags back up. "And I see you brought a new friend!" Poppy paused as she was approuched by the eccentric looking fella. "Why HELLO there, Darling! I don't believe we've met!"

"Uh..." Poppy had to blink to actually make sure she was seeing who she was actually seeing before shaking her head and standing up, giving a politely smile. "Howdy! I don't think we've met actually."

The penguin chuckled and shook his head. "We didn't and I never forget a pretty face, Darling. And who might you be?"

"I'm those two's temporarily babysitter," she answered pointed at two of the three children huddled by his side. "Until I can get back on mah feet that is. Kinda starting from scratch after a crazy wake up call."

"Well, it's an honor to meet you Darling." His whole being radiated positivity and his voice despite being loud was very welcoming, making Poppy smile brightly, "I take it this is your first time at a studio?"

She smiled a bit shyly. "I-Is it that obvious? hehe" She reached up to rub the back of her neck. "Uh...Y-Yeah. Do you work here?"

At this the penguin and Cookie shared a chuckle before he spoke. "Well, I should hope so. Or else my name isn't DJ Grooves."

Grooves?....DJ Grooves? As in THE Mr. Grooves Cookie had spoken about before? OH! He must've been the director she spot about earlier, that would've explained the way he dressed. This guy was a walking fat cat with deep pockets, but he looked rather friendly and cheerful to her. And not to brag, but she did have a good judge of character usually.

"OH! So YOU'RE this Mr. Grooves I've heard so much about."

He chuckled. "So you heard a lot about me? I'm flattered, Darling. Really I am-" He was interrupted when a rumble sounded out and Poppy grabbed at her stomach embarrased. "...Oh my, my, my. Hungry are we?"

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and we've been running around all day."

"Well, then I better get back there and find that darned thing." Cookie turned to Mr. Grooves with a smile. "Ya'll don't mind if I just run to the back real quick like and grab it do you?"

"Not at all, Darling. Be my guest." Cookie smiled and without another word turned and ran off towards the door on the fair right of the room. The giant thing creaked open and closed behind her as she disappeared into the area behind it. Poppy watched her go behind sighing and stretching out her back from the now uncomfortable weight of the heavy used farm equipment on her, but her attention went back to Mr. Grooves when he pointed towards the counter and spoke again. "Darling, if you want you can just place these bags right on over there with the other random things we brought in today. You look redder than an apple on the sun."

She nodded yes reaching up a hand to wipe at her face. "I feel like a baked apple too. ...Ya sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all, Darling. Not at all. Why don't you go do that and I'll have one of my assistants bring you out a glass."

"Well, if you're really sure."

She smiled and lugged her way over to the counter by the crate and weird machine thing. Placing the bags down by the crate, she shimmied the golf club bag of farming tools off her shoulders and into her hands, leaning them all carefully against the big ol' machine thing next to them. Sighing that her back didn't have weight on it anymore she stretched it out making her back pop. A few giggles made her look back over towards the small group of girls around the penguin. Bow was still pouting looking down at the clothes in disgust but looked up when the penguin adjusted the sunhat on her head, she looked up at him and Mr. Grooves said something to her. Poppy couldn't hear exactly what he said but it put a smile on Bow's face and he patted her head with a flipper. A smile returning to her face at the cute scene in front of her. A small creaking noise came from her left, and Poppy didn't notice the expensive camera starting to lean from the weight of her tools.

BAM!!

A loud bang filled the room but strangely enough, barely anyone flinched or looked up from it. As if used to hearing large booming noises in the studio. The only ones who reacted was Mr. Grooves, the girls, and Poppy. Poppy all but jumped out of her skin backing against the counter and whirling towards the source of the sound, the girls seemed to flinch, and Mr. Grooves only casually looked over towards the left side of the studio. There the other giant pair of double doors had been kicked open and slammed into the walls, a moment later a very angry......Yellow owl?? Stomped out and behind him followed some regular Express Owls holding various items or just following. .....Wat? Poppy had to blink as the small whatever he was stomped over near to where she was standing and starting barking demands all of a sudden.

"You three grab the bloody camera and make sure ye pecknecks keep a tight grip on it! I nae need me raw footage damaged in anyway!" His head turned as he barked orders to the owls who jumped and nodded at their bosses demands. "Good! Can't count on you all to do anything without me tellin' ye to cannae?"

Well THAT was rude. Poppy frowned at the rude little whatever he was and still didn't notice the large machine next to her lean over even more. Neither Poppy, the owls, or whoever this small yellow guy was(who was still yelling at the poor owls through all of this might I add) noticed the heavy duty camera leaning over or the glamerous penguin waltz on over towards him with a smile until they all reacted at his voice. The owls stopping, the yellow bird thing freezing for a few seconds, his fist shaking and slowly closing into fists, and his head snapping to peer over his shoulder, and Poppy looking over blinking.

"Conductor, Darling. You mustn't be so loud. It disturbs the peace and scares potential clients away," Mr. Grooves calmly spoke to this person. "You know I'm still expecting others to answer my casting calls."

Wait. Didn't Cookie also mention a Conductor? Huh. So this must be him. Not gonna lie, not a good first impression to her if she said so herself. Conductor huffed and turned his whole body turned to completely face the calm moon penguin now.

"Tis NAE of your business ye no good puffy haired peckneck!!," Conductor shouted while pointing a hand at Mr. Grooves. He was loud enough to make Poppy wince. "Why don't ye badger off and leave me to my worrrrrk!!"

"Darling, I would love nothing MORE than to leave you alone undisturbed," Mr. Grooves insisted calmly holding up his flippers, "All I ask is that you don't make such a ruckus in the lobby so my interviewers don't get scared off."

"HA!! Ye still going on 'bout that nonsense! Like anyone would rrrreally want to be in some techno sore to the eyes picture like yours!"

"Well that's not true at all. I have a gentlemen coming in tomorrow to see for the part of the Father in my little play. "

"HA!! The third one in a row? By this rate, ye won't be able to show ye face at the Award Ceremony for judging!" He smiled this time and crossed his arms.

"Now, now. There's still lots of time. And I'm going for something far more simple this year. A little change of style but still fabulous if I do say so myself."

"HMPH!! Well I say ye are full of birdseed if you think you have an inch of chance as usually! Another second place trophy would be more fitted! AHAHAHA!!"

Poppy could feel herself frowning at his words. Well that was really uncalled fore especially since Mr. Grooves wasn't being rude at all back or making a big scene like Conductor was. CREAAAAAAAAAAKKKK!! Hey...What was that creaking sound? Or was her ears ringing from the earlier screaming.

"Ye should give up now and save ye some trouble! With me raw footage it's surrrre to be in me favor."

CRREEEEEEEEEEEEE-

A giant creaking sound echoed out in a black blur as the giant camera leaned over and tipped. Owls hooted in fear as they scrambled out of the way as all eyes looked over and it seemed time slowed down as it went down, down, down- .....With a loud crash glass and pieces of metal shattered and flew everywhere. On instinct everyone close enough held up their arms and looked away from the shatter, but it was too late. Time slowed down as the camera shattered beyond repair and lots of metal clangs and sounds followed the disaster until it all finally settled piece by piece in front of them all on the floor. Destroyed camera and farming tools splayed on top of it. Everyone stood in shock staring down at the absolutely DESTROYED piece of machinery but that wasn't the last of it. A few sparks from the top of the camera shot out .....and then just a tiny spark of flame appeared. Well that tiny flame was enough to send some panic througout everyone there as owls sqawked and gasped back at the sight of the small flame which slowly started to grow causing everone else to get mildly panicked.

"SOME DARLIN' GET A FIRE EXSTINGISHER!!," Mr. Grooves yelled one flipper going up behind him to push back the small group of children behind him.

"STAND BACK!!"

In a fury of feather and blur, a white streak of foam shot out from some random direction and slammed into the flames, successfully putting out the flames with a sizzling sound by none other than the receptionist. The bird who was behind the counter wasn't finished yet as he continued to spray the camera and part of her tools down until it was all white like snow had piled on it and he stopped. Everyone remained in their tense pose for a long while staring at the camera...before some sighed in relief as did Poppy. Well that was certainly a surprise wasn't it? ...But not a very pleasant one by SOMEONE'S standards.

"MY MOVIE!!," Conductor cried recieving all eyes on his as his hands reached up to grab those feathery parts of his head staring dead at the camera in horror. "ALL ME HARD WORKED RRRRRRAW FOOTAGE IS GONE!!! .....AH!! YOU!!" His horror quickly shifted to anger when he snapped towards the fightened owls with an accusing tone. "YOU NO GOOD......FEATHER BRAINED....PPPPPPPEEEEECCKKNNEEEEEECKSSSS!! I TOLD YE TO BE CAREFULL!! NOW LOOK AT WHAT YE DONE TA ME HARRRD WORK!! WAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH A BLOODY SHATTERED MESS MADE BY BUBBLING BAFOONS?!"

The owls all froze at their bosses torment as Grooves turned around to ask the little girls if they were alright and Poppy stared. Watching as Conductor continued to shout as he blamed the poor owls for the mess....Blue eyes blinked down to the farming tools laid upon the floor. HER mess. The one she made-

Red eyes and shadows stared at her frightened form as a voice hissed. "Take her to the room and lock her away. ...I can't to look at her for as my prince had done. Perhaps locking away her forever will teach her a lesson about gazing into another man's eyes who belong TO ME!!"

"STOP!! JUST STOP IT WAS MY FAULT!!!"

Blue eyes snapped open at the yell. The yell that made everyone freeze and look at the red head who looked just as shocked and surprised as everyone else at her sudden outburst, but the Conductor wasn't yelling at the owls anymore. Despite him not having eyes, she could still tell he was staring right at her along with everyone else around her in more stunned silence as nobody spole.

".......Wot?"

"So YOU'RE the one responsible for this?," the tallest bird from the counter spoke putting down the fire extingisher and crossed his arms with a frown making Poppy flinch.

Poppy stared at him for a moment but seeing one poor worried looking owl behind him, made her frown before taking a deep inhale...and nodding towards the receptionist without hesitation. "That's right! One hundred peckin' percent!" She boldly pointed to the half foam covered tools by now. "Those are mah tools and it's mah fault the giant whatcha-ma-callit thing fell over 'n broke! Not anyone else's! So don't be yelling at anyone!"

The receptionist stood there for a moment staring at her before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a pen and piece of paper. "Are you willing to pay for the damages? If you chose to claim the damages that is."

She nodded again without hesitation. "I am!"

"Alright." The paper had the same bird skull logo and Dead Bird Studios in bold red words. "Where do you live, Ma'am?"

"Uh...."

"With us!," Hattie piped up.

"Alright." Under the words 'Billing Details' he wrote Red Head Human Woman and the adress Spaceship in the sky 1 6829 this planet, Invoice #: (insert random Owl Express Numbers), Invoice Date: Today, and Currency: Pons. After studying it for a bit he looked back down to the damaged thing with a hum. "Let's see. There was film so that counts under 'Distruping Studio Recordings' which comes to one hundred thousand pons." He wrote under the words 'You Will Be Billed For' as he spoke and looked at the damages caused. "One count of 'Penguin Harrassment' which is five hundred pons. Five cases of 'Owl Harrassment' for two thousand five hundred pons. 'Destruction of Property' oh definately for three thousand. And 'Tresspassing' for seven thousand."

Poppy could only stand there and let her eyes grow and widen in shock at the claims and how much pons this guy claimed she owed for such lunacy. ".......Tresspassing and harassment!? Of what kind?! I wasn't tresspassin' if I was invited in here!! And I wasn't harassing anyone!!''

"Ma'am. I'm only doing my job handling paperwork, and our insurance doesn't cover humans. The moment you stepped on property you became a liability and responisble for paying for any destruction you caused," he explained calmly as if he did this every day. He wrote one other thing down on the paper before holding it out for her. "You owe us one hundred thirteen thousand pons plus tax and another seven hundred fifty for the expensive high defintion camera to be replaced."

Poppy could only stare and not move at the paper held out to her with wide eyes and an open jaw like there was another cursed statue in front of her. After a moment, the recptionist carefully and calmly put the large bill in her hand and she finally reacted to the movement. with anger and a scowl. "WHY IS THIS SO EXPENSIVE!? I couldn't afford this even if I suddenly turned into solid gold like that roach did!!"

"Like I said, Ma'am. I'm only doing my job. If you like I could call the local court house of law, the lawyers there can assure you the paperwork and damages are all legal."

"Well I still can't PAY for it!.....What if I work off the debt instead? I'm a hard worker I promise."

"Well.....it wouldn't be the first time someone worked it off. But you'll have to speak with the two big bosses about it, not me I'm afraid."

"And they would be?"

"ME!!" She jumped and nearly dropped the paper when the Conductor scowled up at her with anger. "That was MY movie ye destrrrroyed with yer no good foolishness! If ye are gonna work it away ye better be ready to receive some hard work thrown at ye from meself!!''

".......No."

Silence. You could hear a pin drop as everyone in the studio of hearing range completely stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards the scene before them with wide eyes. Completely shocked into silence as they all stared at the human alike. Penguins, Express Owls, the two children, and even both the directors seemed to be shocked into the dumb silence as they all gawked at the frowning red haired lady staring at the Conductor. THE CONDUCTOR!! NO ONE BUT DJ GROOVES HAD EVER SAID NO TO THE CONDUCTOR BEFORE!! (except Hattie that one time in the basement but we don't talk about that not that anyone outside of the little girl, and a few of her friends knew) But now it seemed everyone was too shocked seeing a new person say no to the famously hot headed owl. One owl staring completely let the script she was holding fall from her hands and land scattered at her feet as everyone watched jaws dropped. Eventually Confuctor was the one to break the awkward silence by what else, his famous yeling. "WOT!?," he shouted and stared at her. "An' why not?! Ye are the one who cost me mah raw footage! That was ten days of haarrrrrrd work I ain't nah gettin' back, Las!" The red head crossed her arms and didn't change her expression. "I know and I am terribly sorry I caused you so much trouble in that department. But I refuse to work with someone so rude and treats the employee's who's workin' hard trying to help him by calling them useless! Obviously you're a terrible boss who treats anyone helping him with no respect, and I would feel terrible! Being in one of your movies knowing that, Sir." The girls exchange silent shocked glances behind Poppy as she turned her head towards the damaged camera. "....If it's the material that I damaged I would gladly pay in anyway I can. But only on the basis you apologise to those you've wronged, Mr. Conductor. But don't you go thinkin' I'll do anything before I know I'll be treated with respect!" Conductor's. Jaw. DROPPED!! Obviously not used to anyone other than that ridiculous long time rival of his speaking to HIM. HIM!!! In such a brass and demanding manner and it took a moment for him to even process what she just said but in a moment his temper flared up in a moment's notice as those feathery appendages on his head wriggled and he pointed at the penguin director as the other fist clenched into a fist as he demanded. Mr. Grooves blinking surprised at the sudden action "Bu-Bu-Bu-BUT WHAT COULD BE SOOOO SPECIAL ABOUT 'EM DOWN RIGHT EYE SORE OF A SO CALLED MOVIE!? YE GARBAGE NEVER COULD GET OFF YE GROUND IF DJ GRRRRRROOOOVES HAD ALL ETERNITY AND BECAME PRRRRRRESIDENT OF YE BOX OFFICE!!" "That's not true! I actually saw one of his movies myself." "YE DID WOT!?" "You ...did?," Grooves shifted his funny glasses wearing face up towards her just as confused as the angry owl man. Poppy nodded. "Yes. I. Did. And to be perfectly honest, I didn't think it was that bad. In fact, it was really interesting. Maybe not the 'best' by bird standards, but by human standards the story was really easy to understand for someone who honestly doesn't really know a whole darn lot 'bout these fancy lights, or high tech stuff, or..." She waved a hand off shrugging. "Or whatever ratings are. And a struggling career was relatable for someone who's been struggling with a lot happening." Conductor was sputtering and made some kind of funny bird sqawking noise before some of the feathers around his collar ruffled up in rage and he jabbed a thumb at himself. "WELL MAH MOVIES ARE NOTHIN' TO SHY FROM EITHER, LASSIE!! RRRRESPECTIVELY THAT AYE AM THE ONE TO MAKE IT ON TOP ALL YE TIME!!" Her face frowned again as she looked down at the older bird with a harsher scowl. "MY respect, SIR, is earned. Not GIVEN! And so far you've done absolutely NOTHING to earn it! Yelling like a baby who didn't get their candy and throwing a fit is not the way to do that! You just come off to me as a spoiled old man who doesn't know the word no even existed!" "WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE BLOODY PECKNECK ANYWAYS!?," He demanded fuming. "If you can't respect him as your rival then the least you could do is respect him as another person in your profession. As far as I've seen he's been nothin' but polite and kind to everyone and considering he's not in mah face yellin' like a baby bird for his mama is somethin' I respect." With a huff of that sass Snatcher would've loved to see she closed her eyes, and turned her head away with her nose stuck up. "I will start RESPECTING you as an adult when you ACT like one and apologize and decide to stop throwing a tantrum and embarrassing yourself! Because the truth be told I think YOU'RE the only peckneck in this studio." More silence settled around the entire place as Conductor dropped his jaw and the only sound that came out of him was something that sounded like 'A-Ah...ah..ah ah ah.....' in a stuttery way. Hattie's eyes were wide and Bow's hands had come to cover her mouth in a dramatic way. If Snatcher was there, Hattie would have no doubt he would've started laughing loudly at the look on the old bird's face. In fact, she could almost hear it now. A deep rumbling chuckle-....But wait. Snatcher's voice wasn't deep? It was high and raspy. Then who was-... A cold flipper patted Poppy on the back making her hum and look next to her to find the afro wearing penguin chuckling...before laughing a deep but loud laugh that filled the room with an almost joyful mood. That seemed to snap the Conductor from his trance and glared in the laughing penguin's direction. After a moment, Mr. Grooves stopped and turned his gaze up to Poppy with a smile. "Darling! I never could've said that any better than how you did!" He patted her back again. "You know. I like you already, Darling. My little stars usually have great taste in character and I see they didn't spare any expense in making another darling friend. What did you say your name was again?" ......She blinked but smiled at the happy moon penguin politely. "Poppy Rose Bloomington. You can call me Poppy, Mr. Grooves." Grooves hummed for a moment looking at her up and down for a moment before turning to the glaring Conductor and the broken camera lying a few feet away in pieces. "Was that footage really that important to you Conductor, Darlin'?" "OF COURSE IT WAS YOU PE-" "There's children here." Conductor's feathery appendeges went back as he growled. "YES! It was half me movie! It cannae be so simply replaced with the secret idea I was goin' for! All the time I spent on it cannae be replaced in time of the award ceremony!" The penguin hummed and brought his other flipper up to rub the bottom of his beak staring at the camera with a thoughtful expression...before looking back up to Poppy. "I'm afraid he's right, Darlin. I've known Conductor long enough to know one thing he never does is lie about his movies, even if he does brag while doing so in such a rude manor." "HMPH!! OF COURSE I DONAE!!" Grooves just rolled his eyes. "Even so, I think we should help him." "YE WOT!?" Conductor glanced surprised at the penguin like he won the trophy all of a sudden. "What kind of nonsense are ye blabbering about now?" Grooves turned to him staring, before tilting his head down wear his sunglass slid down enough to reveal some of his eyes in a deadpanned expression. "Believe it or not, Darling, I don't like unfair advantages." Conductor just stared blankly at him. " But I'm sure my little stars here could help out with anything you may need." Bow lit up with a smile. "Yeah! I'd love to help!" "Don't you have a back up plan like you usually do?" "Of course Ah do! I ain't no dummy." "Well, there you go, Darling." He reached up to push his glasses back into place. "I'm sure you'll put together something spectacular like you always do." "......B-B-But..What are the damages!? Ye camera cost the studio over a thousand pons! I cannae just look past that!," he argued back pointing at the shattered thing. And Grooves hummed again. "I'm afraid you're right about that too. Frankly, these kinds of ones aren't too easily to come across."........In a moment he smiled and looked up to Poppy. "I know! She can work for me as payment for those damages." Poppy blinked with a surprised expression as did most of everyone else but at the thought of Poppy being in a movies both young girls suddenly looked even more excited. Conductor on the other hand- "ABABABABABA!! Hang on a pecking second! THE LASS WORK FOR YE FOR DAMAGING MAH FILM?!" "I-I AM?!," Poppy asked whirling wide eyed to the moon penguin director. "Yes. Cuz quick frankly it might've been your film, but it was on OUR shared expensive studio high definition camera, Darling. She can easily pay off any debt she owes for the camera and your footage by working and her pay going to the repairs and reienbursment for any misguided accidents." The Conductor growled again and went to probably argue some more- "Tick tock, Darling. You don't want to waste anytime fighting when there's a deadline to meet. It looks like you'll be needing to step up your game." "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! FINE!!" The tiny bird man turned and began stomping away towards the owl's side of the studio. "WHAT ARE ALL YE LOOKING AT!? SOMEONE BRING ME MAH BACK UP SCRIPT!! CHANGE THE SETS TO OUTSIDE SCHEDUALED!! SOMEONE INFORRRRRRM THE OTHER'S WE'RE GOIN' WITH PLAN B THIS YEAR!!! AND SOMEONE GET THAT SMASHED HUNK O' JUNK CLEANED UP!!" The owl's scrambled to grab anything they needed to grab and quickly follow the fuming bird boss as DJ Grooves chuckled and shook is head. "Don't feel too bad about the Conductor, Darling. He's usually all talk and no bite." Hattie giggled. "Yeah! He's a crazy, grumpy grandpa!" Both Grooves and Bow chuckled at Hattie's description of the old bird, but none of them noticed frozen and mildly panicked form. Her?! In a movie?! Where millions of people could see her?! WHAT HAD SHE GOTTEN HERSELF INTO NOW?!

[sophfandoms53]

38.) “I haven’t seen you in a few days.” Huey and Shelly!

She checked her watch for the 15th time that hour. She sighed annoyingly but she wasn’t mad. It was her own fault. She knew Dewey had a meeting today, she just didn’t think it would still be going on for an extra hour. “I swear if he’s not here in the next 10 minutes, I’m stomping my way into his bosses office and giving him a piece of my mind.”

“Shelly?”

The blonde jumped slightly before turning around and her sight was on,

“Huey?”

“H-hey.” He said nervously rubbing his neck, “I haven’t seen you in a few days. How are you?”

They all recently met up to celebrate Anderson’s 22nd birthday the previous weekend.. okay well met up on accident. Despite getting her own invite, Dewey took Shelly as his plus one and Anderson didn’t tell him that his brother’s were both showing up. So when they saw both Huey and Louie, the duo had no choice but to act casual with each other, which was not the night Dewey had planned.

Nothing was awkward, per say. Just felt a little weird to be at your boyfriends close friends party and see your ex-boyfriend who just happen to be your current boyfriends brother. Huey and Shelly didn’t exactly stop talking, they just weren’t as close and didn’t talk as often. So for him to initiate a conversation like this was... interesting.

“I’m good. What about you?” She asked.

In all honesty, he looked terrible. He looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep in days. His hair was all messed up, had excessive bags under his eyes and he didn’t even have his hat on. But he responded with a fake smile, “I’m alright. Just... just over working is all. Louie’s got me doing a lot of paper work.”

“Oh.. okay.. that’s good. At least you’re doing something.” She said, rubbing her arm anxiously. She looked at her watch again and rolled her eyes.

“Who are you waiting for?” He asked.

“Your shell-for-brain of a brother. Dewey was suppose to pick me up here almost an hour ago. His meeting probably ran long but he could’ve texted me first.” She blushed lightly and smiled, “But that’s just Dewey.”

For some reason, her saying Dewey’s name made Huey’s stomach turn. He and Shelly broke up a year ago but any time he saw her talk about or he had seen her with any other guy, he just got upset about it. He did realize what Shelly was talking about in regards to his anger but... that anger turned into sadness. And hearing her talk about and blushing about meeting with his brother, who had recently broken up with Webby a few months back... it didn’t sit right.

“Where... where are you guys going?” Huey asked, despite the sour taste in his mouth.

She shrugged, “He insisted on planning everything himself so, your guess is as good as mine. Ya know, if he even shows up here on time!”

Huey laughed slightly. Something he hadn’t done in a while. Shelly did this thing where, whenever she was annoyed, she’d puff her cheek out, which she was doing right now.

Somethings never change.

Huey was about to speak when he saw his brother’s car pull up.

Dewey stopped in front of them, the blue color of his jeep shining in the day light. He rolled down the window and smirked at her, “Hey blondie.”

She narrowed her eyes, “You’re late.”

“Only by like.. 50 minutes.” Dewey chuckled at her sass.

She opened the door and slid into the passenger seat and closed the door. When she sat down, Dewey caught sight of Huey. He looked at his older brother in worry... he looked exhausted. “Hey Hue. You doing okay? You look practically dead.”

This earned a hit on his shoulder, courtesy of Shelly, who was putting her seat-belt on afterwards.

Huey shook his head, “Haha Dewey. I’m fine. Just getting some groceries is all. I’ll leave you two to.. where ever it is you’re kidnapping Shelly to.”

Dewey chuckled lightly, “If you say so. If you need something, you know who to call.”

“I know.”

Shelly waved goodbye and rolled up her window as Dewey drove away.

Huey waved slowly has they drove off and sighed. Maybe he was just over thinking it but... this really sounded like some type of date... Why do I even care? Shelly can date whoever she wants! Even if it is my brother! But.. since when does Dewey have feelings for Shelly? He just broke up with Webby like 3 months ago! This doesn’t make sense!

He sighed loudly and kicked a pebble on the sidewalk and walked back into the store. He saw Louie still in the same aisle he left him. He made his way over to his little brother.

Louie felt his brother’s presence, “There you are. You ran out so fast, what did you see?” He picked up a box of granola and put it in his basket.

Huey rubbed the back of his neck, “I uh... I saw Shelly..”

He watched as his little brother freeze and slowly turn his head towards him. “How... how did that go?”

“She uh.. she.. is going somewhere with Dewey...” Huey said, anger slowly rising in his voice.

Louie blinked, “I’m sorry did you say.. Dewey?”

“Yeah... he picked her up outside and everything...”

Louie saw Huey clench his fists and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Relax. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Dewey and Shelly always hang out with each other. What makes this any different?”

“The way she talked about him.. and the way he looked at her.. It felt like there was.. something there..” Huey admitted, “She blushed when she talked about him.. and-and the look he gave her when he pulled up.. is that same look you give Lena! I think... I think it’s a date...”

“Whoa that’s a lot of assumptions. I know over-analyzing stuff is your thing Huey but... I don’t think that’s right. Dewey wouldn’t go behind your back and date your ex.” Louie said with confidence.

Huey looked at Louie, “Maybe.. but what about Anderson’s party last week? They were like attached by the hip!”

“Again, Huey. You’re reading too much into this. I’m sure nothing is going on between them and they’re still just friends.” Louie smiled.

Despite Louie’s efforts, Huey still didn’t feel better. A part of him really believed that his theory he had when he was 14 was becoming true... but Louie had a point.

Dewey wouldn’t go behind my back and date my ex-girlfriend? Right? 

-

“Well that... was interesting. How’d you guys even end up talking?” Dewey asked her as he made a left.

She shrugged, “He just appeared behind me. Like.. he legit came out of nowhere. It was weird.”

“Weirder than last weekend?”

Shelly smirked, “Don’t complain too much. You got what you wanted and it wasn’t even your birthday.”

Dewey looked over at her and smirked back, “That is true. Any chances of that happening again this weekend, sweetheart?”

“Eyes on the road, Dewford.” She blushed lightly.

He chuckled, “They’re on the road, besides you love it when I talk like that.”

“Even so, you gotta drive.” She giggled, “And I’d like to make it to our mystery destination in one piece, thanks.”

They got to a red light and he looked over at her again, “You worried about him? I mean.. you saw how tired he looked.”

“I guess.. it’s just.. he has Louie. No need for us to worry.” She said shaking her head.

Dewey looked at her concerned and placed his right hand on her thigh, “You sure you still don’t want anyone else to know about us? I know Anderson hasn’t said anything but.. if you’re worried about Huey-”

“The last thing Huey needs right now is to learn that his ex-girlfriend and brother are dating, Dewey.” She gently grasped his hand, “I know you’re concerned about this but... Huey’s still not... himself yet.. once he’s Huey again.. then maybe we’ll tell him.. just not now okay?”

His left hand held the steering wheel and his other hand interlocked their fingers. “Okay. It’s just... I just wanna make sure you’re still okay doing this. Being us, ya know? We don’t know where this’ll take us and if you’re still worried about Huey, then I-”

“Dewey.”

He felt her squeeze his hand and he looked over at her again and saw she looked away and was holding her breath.

Dewey raised an eyebrow and spoke softly, “Shelly, c’mon. You know I’m just trying to make sure you’re comfortable with this relationship. I know everything that happened with you and Huey still bothers you and if you-”

Before Dewey could finish his thought, Shelly grabbed him by his shirt collar and pressed her lips against his. He was momentarily caught off guard but he closed his eyes and took his left hand off the wheel and softly held her face, as he kissed back.

Their kiss lasted a few more seconds until the light flashed green. Shelly pulled away and sat back in her seat, their hands still locked together. Dewey started the car again and they continued to drive.

“Did you do that just to shut me up?” He smirked.

“Not exactly.” Shelly giggled, “I’m worried about Huey but.. I don’t want that to affect us, Dewey. Our relationship has nothing to do with him, or Louie, or Lena, or Violet or Webby. We still need to figure us out, and I feel.. I know we’re getting to the point where we’ll know where we are. So.. we can tell the family soon.”

She watched as his smirk turned into a soft smile. Dewey never liked hiding things from his family anymore. He wanted to just be honest with his family and be open about his relationship with Shelly, even if their relationship was only a few weeks old.

But he didn’t want to do anything without Shelly’s permission. They had a long talk about what they wanted to do, not too long before they officially started to go out, and Shelly made it clear to him that she wanted their relationship private for the time being and she didn’t want to put Huey through anymore pain. She just wanted to enjoy their relationship and keeping it on the low was what she wanted, and he respected it. She did help him pull himself out of a dark hole and brought him back to being Dewey... her ambition and care was what made him realize how he felt.

He brought their interlocked hands toward his beak and gently kissed Shelly’s hand.

“I’m ready whenever you are.”

[roseskiesandbutterflies]

Killer Queen: Chapter 8 - Scandal

Summary: Life is easy when things go your way. I know this from experience. I also know that that can disappear in an instant and that you have to be able to rely on your friends. Luckily my name is Arabella Ruth White and I’m the fifth marauder. But I want to show you the girl behind the mask. It takes a lot of work to be this fabulous, darling.

A/N: If I got any information about Diwali incorrect, please let me know so I can change it. I'm not Hindu and all of my research was done online and I dread to think how reliable that actually is. Also, happy late Diwali since it wasn't that long ago. That's a lie but let me have this, please.

Drunk Ruth is the funniest thing I've written in a while also more writers need to try writing drunk narrators for their stories because some wack shit comes out of that. Bonus points if alcohol is not featured in the scene at all. Double bonus points if you're writing in the third person. Extra double bonus points if the narrator almost reveals important events that haven't happened yet (could be used as a plot device). The drunkenness was definitely not inspired by the amount of Echo Falls I had last night.

Me?? Including my feminist shit in my stories?? More likely than you think. Please don't start arguing over abortion in the comments though, please. Thank you kindly. I just felt the need to yeet in my opinions about it after all the shit that happened in the USA. 

Sorry for not updating for about six months. It is a bit ridiculous, I know, but oh well. Half-term ended up being a lot busier than anticipated and I had a lot of writer's block and procrastination when I finally got around to writing this. And I did my research and Diwali actually fell on Sirius's birthday in 1975. You would not believe how happy I was about that. If you caught the Brooklyn Nine-Nine reference I love you. The title for this chapter came from Queen's 1989 album, The Miracle. 

Word Count: 3.2k+ (hopefully that makes up for the delay)

Inspiration: You Can’t Make Me Love You by -FromEden- on Wattpad, All The Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 on AO3, The Boy Who Killed God by @sirius-black-killed-god 

Warning(s): talk of pregnancy and abortion, underage drinking (although it’s in the UK so it’s fine lmao), swearing

Tag List: @bhmay @briarrose26 @bijoukitty

Ask to be on my tag list! Let me know if it’s for a specific fandom(s). The full list is in my bio. Also let me know if you’re on my tag list already but you only want to be on it for a specific fandom(s) I won’t be offended if you ask as long as you’re polite about it tehe.

Never before had Diwali fell on and around Sirius's birthday. James had joked about it many a time in the past but the look on his face when he discovered the date of the next new moon in Astronomy was one of surprise and amusement. This meant Sirius's usual birthday celebrations - a.k.a. a ridiculous party - would have to be slightly altered. Not that the birthday boy minded an awful lot. He was rather fond of the traditions involved and his face lit up like the diyas themselves. The day before had been spent creating Rangoli patterns on the floor of their room, Kingsley thankfully not minding as it was part of James's culture. Also, as it had been a Hogsmede weekend, we spent the majority of the day following James around so he could buy new things for the Hindu new year. And also to get Sirius's birthday presents when he was too distracted by the games in Zonko's. 

James's parents had sent a huge box fall of diyas, all varying in colour and size, that had required four owls to carry. Along with it was a lovely heartfelt letter to all of us, reminding to stay safe and revise and all that, but to also have fun with whatever we were getting up to. James definitely teared up at one point but he remained in denial. Silly billy.

Now, after knowing James for a good four years, my knowledge of Hinduism was rather extensive, if I do say so myself. So according to James, Diwali lasts for five days with different festivities on each day. This year, it had started on Halloween so as soon as we returned from our epic prank, we quickly set up with the help of a spell or two and then let James do his thing. The same pattern repeated until now, which was the fourth day of the celebrations and James's favourite day, in his not-so-humble opinion.

Last night had been spent by setting off as many fireworks as we could possibly do, using the fact that it was Diwali to our advantage. They couldn't exactly tell us off for celebrating a festival, right? 

Today was the first day of the Hindu New Year so, of course, we had stayed up last night to welcome it properly. This meant we were all a little tired, especially since we woke up a little earlier too.

The night to come appeared to be rather busy so, while Peter went to get some breakfast for us all, we set up the new diyas, cleared the ones that had burned out last night and fixed the slightly smudged rangoli patterns. Once James had declared everything good enough for tonight - which, as you can imagine, took quite some time - we headed down for our first lesson of the day.

Fucking Herbology.

Sirius did, on many occasions throughout that lesson claim that since it was his birthday, he legally didn't have to be there because he was "Sirius McFucking Black and no man can tell me what to do from this day forward".

Unfortunately for him, Professor Sprout was no man and in fact a very angry woman who "will still give you detention Mr Black if you continue with that language in my classroom".

Suddenly, a petite, barn owl flew in the classroom with a letter in its beak. This could only mean one thing: an escape route. I rapidly tapped on the arms of the boys, not once taking my eyes off of the owl, "Teacher owl, teacher owl, teacher owl, teacher owl."

They all snapped their heads up to look at said owl, who was now perched on Sprout's desk. The teacher took the note - the owl took its leave - and she read it carefully, squinting. A look of both gratitude and distaste made its way onto her face. Definitely for one of us, then. The boys seemed to think the same as I was met with excitement and intrigued looks when I turned to them.

"White!" Sprout's voice boomed throughout the greenhouse, holding up the letter. Groans of disappointment rippled throughout the class and people started going back to their work. She handed me the letter and I opened it without haste.

Dear Miss White,

Please go to my office right away. This is a matter of urgency. You are not in trouble but this does, however, concern your family.

Sincerely,

Professor Dumbledore.

P.S. I have been rather fond of chocolate frogs lately.

Now, unsurprisingly, I had received enough of these notes in the past to know that the whole chocolate frog thing was just a hint for the password. Not very subtle but oh well. The matter at hand was obviously what the fuck this was about. I wasn't in trouble for starters which was, quite frankly, weird. A million possibilities ran through my mind as to what this could be about. It involved my family and was serious. Did someone die? Merlin forbid it but at the current state of the wizarding world, I couldn't help but consider it. It was certainly a possibility, as much as I wished it wasn't.

"What does it say then?" James asked in an extremely disheartened tone.

"I need to go and see ye olde Dumbledore. Doesn't say why," I started packing up my stuff to leave.

"Someone's in trouble!" Sirius said in a sing-song voice that made me want to punch him in the face.

"No, it clearly says I'm not in trouble, you dickhead!" I yelled as I smugly strolled out of the greenhouse.

"Bitch!"

"Twat!"

"Prick!"

"Wanker!" I ran out as quickly as I could after that, leaving Sirius to get into trouble with Sprout. That was my birthday present for him. I practically sprinted to Dumbledore's office, every cell in my body bursting with curiosity. Once I arrived, I pretty much fell into his office from pure exhaustion. Exercise and I were not on good terms. I picked myself up from my mostly ungraceful entrance to see two people already sitting opposite the headteacher. 

"Ah, Arabella, glad to see you received my note. Take a seat," Dumbledore greeted me and gestured to the chair closest to me. I cautiously took it and only then did I get to finally see who I had the pleasure of having this meeting with. None other than the Head Girl and Boy. Or otherwise known as my cousin and her boyfriend. Melanie and Filip. The golden students of Hogwarts. Everybody idolised them and for good reason. Seemingly perfect, they were the Athena and Apollo of our school. Smart but not bookworms. Kind but not pushovers. Beautiful but not vain. So it was no surprise to anyone when the titles they held were bestowed upon them. I, for one, did not believe in soulmates but Melanie and Filip came pretty damn close. Melanie was the daughter of my mother's twin sister. Two years older than me although I think I had corrupted her more than she had me. The type of cousin that you only saw once in a blue moon but when you did, all hell broke loose and you had the time of your lives. I knew very little of Filip but his reputation of being an all-around nice guy preceded him for miles. Their presence was some form of comfort to me because I couldn't possibly be in trouble if they were here too.

"May I ask what this is about?" I looked around the room for it had fallen silent. Melanie uncharacteristically refused to look at anything other than her lap. Filip was gazing off into the distance as if he was a model. Dumbledore was just being Dumbledore so no changes there, not that I expected any.

"Melanie, would you like to explain?" the headmaster asked to which the girl in question frantically shook her head.

"I can't," her voice, no louder than a whisper, broke halfway through. My heart instantly dropped, this couldn't possibly be good. She was usually so strong, so independent. I didn't recall ever seeing her cry so this must be a big deal. Filip grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Filip?" Dumbledore tried a different strategy. 

Clearly struggling with his words, he ended up just murmuring, "Melanie's pregnant."

And so it seemed that even the finest china you had ever seen could be chipped. Misfortune would always be lurking somewhere in the shadows, ready to strike at any given moment. Nobody was ever safe from it, not even the few angels who walked among us. Out of all of my friends, Melanie would be one of the last I would suspect of being pregnant. This list of friends included my male friends so that was saying something. 

But at the same time, who was I to judge her? It wasn't as if I was a virgin either. That ship sailed a long time ago. She was allowed to do whatever (and whoever, if you know what I mean) she wanted. Providing she wanted this to happen. Not the baby but the cause of it. Some people can be absolute twats sometimes but if the father was indeed Filip, surely that wasn't the case.

Regardless of how it occurred, they now had to work out what they were going to do about it. Would they be expelled? Arrested? They were both 17 and therefore adults in the wizarding world. They would be fine, right?

"Ari?" Melanie spoke up, audibly calmer than before and much more like the Melanie I knew and loved, "Say something please."

Only then did I realise that my rather extensive thought track meant that I had not yet said anything. "Sorry, I just- what are you planning to do about it?" That was my top priority for I needed to know how to support her. I couldn't care less about her decision but I did care about her.

"Wait, you're not mad?" relief visibly flooded every cell in her body like a waterfall. I hated that she had been expecting anger and disgust when I would never be like that towards her, even if I wanted to.

"Darling, of course, I'm not mad! These things happen, OK? I just need to know what you want to do about it."

She bit her lip and exchanged a quick glance with Filip, who had been gradually relaxing since I had first spoken, "We're not sure just yet if I'm honest. I was wondering what you had to say on the matter?"

"I will support you no matter what," I answered truthfully, "You want to have the baby? You have the baby! I will be that aunt who corrupts it as much as possible and you know it. But if you're not ready then just abort it! No one will hate you if you do, it's just a fetus the size of a grain of rice for crying out loud! It's entirely up to you, my dear."

"Well said," Melanie smiled slightly. Dumbledore cleared his throat and we all turned to him.

"Just as Arabella kindly put it, you do indeed have the choice. The baby won't be due until August and, seeing as you will no longer be at Hogwarts by then and will both be 18, you hold the right to keep it."

A long, rather awkward silence ensued, which was understandable given the situation. Melanie's glazed eyes told me she was deep in thought but a small, impatient part of me just wanted to break her from her trance, shake her up and down and yell at her to make a decision. I told myself to shut the fuck up because this was a huge decision to make and could potentially affect the rest of her life. Regardless of her choice, this would become something that would certainly loom over everything for a while at least. Besides, it was easy for me to tell her to hurry up because I wasn't going to be the one to raise the damn child. Or children. Twins were common in our family. Luke and Rhea for example. And my mum and Melanie's mum too.

"I'm going to keep it," Melanie whispered. I almost missed it due to the voices inside my head. I still didn't believe it.

"Really?" I asked, sounding a lot more incredulous than I intended.

"Yeah, I, sorry, we," she squeezed Filip's hand back, "We always knew we would have kids after Hogwarts, so why not get a head start?"

I had to admit she made a valid point and, if the look on Filip's face was anything to go by, this baby would grow up having two loving parents. Though, I couldn't ignore my instincts screaming at me to stop her, to tell her that this was a bad idea, to tell her that this wasn't going to go according to plan because nothing ever does. Even while I watched Dumbledore promise to hide the pregnancy. Even while I watched their faces of glee at the realisation that they were going to be parents. Even while I said my goodbyes and left the office. Even then I stayed silent. Because who was I to try and control my cousin's body?

*********

The second lessons ended for the day, Minnie collected James so she could take him to the Mandir in Edinburgh, as worship and seeing family was an important part of Diwali. He wouldn't be back until after dinner so we spent the time 'studying' to get Remus off of our backs and then set up for the party later on. Without Sirius looking of course. Although I must say getting him to bugger off for a while was easier than expected and may or may not have involved an extreme game of fetch. Let's just say that Snivellus wasn't all that pleased to find me lobbing his beloved textbook down the stairs.

All of the stairs.

Personally, I found it hilarious but Lily had a slight difference of opinion. Even when I tried to defend myself and call it my other birthday present to Sirius.

Regardless, it got one of my crackhead friends out of my hair for a while. We managed to hang banners from the ceiling, enchant a disco ball to whizz around like a not-as-dangerous bludger and cast a spell that meant glitter would just hover in the air to give the common room a glitzy feel to it.

Perfect for Sirius's sixteenth birthday. Although that concept alone was a little hard to comprehend. The fact that he had the mental age of a six-year-old was seriously convincing me that his birth certificate was wrong. That would explain a lot except he was still a fucking tall bastard. Although seen as I was only five feet one, everyone was tall compared to me. Apart from Alice, the fucking midget. She may or may not be only half an inch shorter than me but that half an inch made all the difference ('That half an inch made all the difference': title of Marlene's sex tape). 

Moving on, the party itself started at around 9 so as to give everyone enough time to get ready. In that time, I managed to throw on a silver glittery jumpsuit with flowy legs and matching heels, do my hair and makeup and put on my accessories; all of which take longer than you first expect. An animated look was painted onto Sirius's face when we gave him permission to open his eyes and see what we had definitely put effort into creating for him. 'Permission' seems like a strong word until you learn that we had to hex his eyes shut to prevent premature peeking. We know him too well.

We had David Bowie records blasting from my poor record player all night, and while I tried to sneak in a couple of Queen ones every now and then, James just reprimanded me, saying that "it should be up to the birthday boy" and that "I would get my turn in a few weeks anyway". To which I did what I do best and sulked next to the drinks table by myself, thinking of ways to piss James off that I would almost certainly forget by the time I was sober. I was coming up with ways to fuck up the wanker's beloved broom while having a few gulps of what I believed was firewhiskey, when Remus approached me, tension oozing from every part of him. He grabbed the rest of my drink, downed it all in one go without a trace of a grimace, before turning to me and huffing deeply.

"What's up, buttercup?" Okay, so I might not have been entirely sober enough to deal with can-and-will-kill-you-if-you-do-so-much-as-breathe Remus but I'd be damned if I didn't give it a good go. Besides he wouldn't dare murder me. He loves me but he's bloody terrified at the same time, the same goes for pretty much everyone now I think about it. 

Okay back to the issue at hand. Remus just gave me one of those looks that pierces your soul so sharply that you have to look down to make sure you haven't just been stabbed. Once I got past that armour of I-know-your-entire-life-story-and-I-would-sell-it-for-half-a-pizza-and-a-milkshake, I found a look of such hopelessness that I found myself unwillingly sobering up slightly, "Darling, what's going on?" I leaned in, knowing full well that he was going to be as quiet as possible with his reply. God, I know too much about these crackheads.

Of course, I was right with this assumption as he mumbled, "I got into a fight with Idania," he looked at me with a sorrow that I wasn't used to seeing in any of my friends, let alone at a party.

But I could only see red because I don't care you the fuck you are if you hurt any of my friends then you better fucking pray for your life. Jaw visibly clenched, voice dangerously quiet, "Where is she?" My temper was inches away from bubbling over when he didn't respond, "Where the fuck is she, Remus?"

I made to move, tunnel vision without even knowing what happened, but he grabbed my arm first, an iron grip from years of stopping me from launching punches at certain people, "No, Ruth. I wouldn't let you even if I knew where she was." He stared at me in a way that was scarily reminiscent of McGonagall and I knew I couldn't just leave him like that.

"What happened then?" I was trying my hardest to calm down and decided that my best shot was to drink some more.

"She saw some of my scars and asked where I got them from and I wouldn't say and it just escalated from there. What was I supposed to say? There's nothing you can say in that situation that won't worry her," he sighed and gulped another drink down.

I furrowed my brows, concentrating on thinking of a solution, though nothing came to mind. He had a point after all, what do you say when that happens? It all comes down to violence in one way or another and you can never not stress someone out with a cause of pain. "She'll come round if she's worth keeping."

A tiny flicker of hope danced in his eyes, minuscule but still there, "I hope to Merlin you're right."

"Honey, same," I pushed a cup of something into his hand and grabbed one for myself," But for now, we can get pissed off our asses and worry about this tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Oh fuck yes."

[lorewytch]

Return to Shadows part 3

Authors Note:

YAY I decided to post it today because I edited it until my eyes hurt! WOOT.......ahaha yeah, well here’s the last of Lores adventures for a bit. I really need to work on some of the other fanfics I have going on. Especially the third story in the Consumed by Shadows series. ( I will be so happy when I can finally reveal the title...;_;) Thanks to those who like these adventures with Lore. I’ll eventually get back to them. And some I’m very excited to share. But I think you guys will enjoy the Ducktales fanfics much more ^^. I’ll do my best to keep my quality up on those, it just may take a bit longer than normal so please be patient. Also, fun fact! Mount Quaksta is actually Mount Shasta in the Duckburg world. Since it takes place in Northern Cali!

Anyways onto the story!

Floating above the world, Lore was high up in the air. The moon hung behind her as she gazed down upon Duckburg.

“Well, now what do I do?” she whispered nervously, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn’t mean to run away from Donald. But it felt like he was treading on dangerous ground and Lore didn’t want to reveal that much of herself to them. She had to keep smiling.

“Keep smiling Lore, You’ve brought so many smiles to other worlds. You can survive anything if you keep smiling..” she repeated those words she heard so long ago.

A buzzing noise from her bracelet caught her attention and once she brought it up the screen appeared before her eyes showing a distorted form of Clix.

“Lore! Can you hear me?!” Clix looked much more haggard than Lore could ever remember seeing the usually calm and cool tech expert.

“Yes, Clix what happened to you?” Lore asked, worried. “You look awful.”

Suddenly a tanned male with green hair, eyes and dressed head to toe with black and green clothes, straps crisscrossing his body and a sword stuck behind him entered the screen. His green hair was much fluffier than Clix’s choppy and angular short haircut. The only way to tell they were twins was their same face.

“That’s what I said.” The male joked with a bright grin.

“Styx…” Clix looked read to murder her brother, before turning back to Lore. “Look Lore. You have a BIG problem over there! Have you found the Wire?”

“The what now?” Lore frowned, tilting her head.

Clix sighed and brushed a hand through her hair. “The Wire. It’s a dangerous beast that is made completely of metal. It……………………wit………………….mag………………and tech……………….I……” Once more her signal was being lost and Lore shook her wrist frantically.

“Clix! Clix I’m losing you again!” Lore yelled, frantic.

The screen stabilized for a second. “Lore…If you can hear me…stop the Wire before it distorts all of that worlds magic and magnetic field. If you don’t….well lets just say that world will be the definition of Chaos. Good luck!” With that, her form sizzled out.

………………………….

“Don’t tell me that and not tell me what it looks like!!” Lore yelled to her wrist.

Lore did not sleep. She slapped herself to keep herself awake perched on top of a random sky scraper in the middle of town. Suppressing a yawn, she groaned.

Searching the entire night for a Wire was quickly becoming hazardous to her health and she briefly wondered if she should try casting a spell or something. But that idea quickly fled. She was hungry, low on sleep and overall rather lethargic. Yawning again, she slowly closed her eyes only to snap them open at the sound of screams nearby.

Blinking, she glanced around and noticed a Faire within the middle of town. Floating to the ground near it, she hummed. “Oh, right…Donald said something about a Faire…”

An idea popped in her head right as her bracelet made a noise. “Clix! Good timing! I have a couple questions!”

“About the Wire?”

“Nope! What do you know about……Psychics?”

Rushing quickly and out of breath, Lore made it to the fair before the kids. Smirking, she slid through the gates, rushing until she found an empty booth slot. “Hmmm.” She smirked and snapped her fingers. A puff of purple magic revealed a rather large purple tent with the word psychic on the top. “Perfect.” She grinned and walked inside. She conjured pillows and a table with a crystal ball and tarot cards upon it.

“Subtle.” Was Clix’s fractured comment from her wrist. Lore rolled her eyes.

“It’s best to stick with classics Clix!” she spun around, her costume slightly changing. The dress she wore seemed more befitting of a psychic and she wore a couple other necklaces including her own. Her pink hair was up in a pony tail.

“You really think this will work?” Clix asked.

Lore clenched her hands into a fist. “It should. If I can just get Webby to realize that Lena is alive, there might be a chance to save her.”

Clix paused. “You know Lore…this..is technically messing with this worlds path…You realize what you are risking?”

Lore’s pained expression studied the cards upon the table. Brushing her fingers over them, she knew the other was right. “Yes, but the anomaly in this world has already taken Lena’s voice from this world. The Wire is partly to blame.”

Clix sighed. “There’s no changing your mind is there?”

“Nope! Besides all they need is a little push.”

Lore jerked her head as she heard excited voices near the tent flap. She smirked down at Clix, who sighed and vanished.

Lore sat down with a knowing smile, cards held tight in her hands.

Watching the Sunchaser take off from her vantage point from a nearby skyscraper she smiled softly. She had been searching for the Wire since she left the kids. Keeping tabs on how severe the electrical surges were quickly becoming constant. She still hadn’t seen Scrooge, but that was fine. Lore needed some time away from that family. She couldn’t mess anymore within their paths. “I hope you guys can save Lena.” She whispered to the red dot vanishing beyond the horizon. The past few days it had been hard to adjust, but now she had a job to do.

“Clix…what am I looking for?” She asked the girl in blue beyond the screen.

Clix sighed. “Descriptions of the monster are vague. But most state its made from some kind of tough metal and is rarely seen. Some say it looks like a serpent. Some say it looks like a big shiny wire.” She shrugged. “Not much to go on..”

“Great..” Lore hummed and looked around the city. It seemed peaceful enough right now.

Then the sounds of a crash, skidding tires and screams. Lore quickly flew over to a certain intersection and frowned. Making sure to keep herself high above the accident so they didn’t see her flying around. Floating there, Lore frowned. The lights in the intersection were out and several people were standing, yelling at each other.

Then Lore saw it, a spark….a electric discharge from one of the dead traffic lights. Her eyes widened. “The Wire! It must have short circuited the traffic lights! But why…”

Floating up higher where the clouds hung, she pondered this. Crossing her arms, she closed her eyes, thinking.

Bzzzzt.

Opening her eyes, she glanced to the side. Where was that noise coming from?

Suddenly a jolt careened through her body and she began to plummet to the earth. Yelping, terror stalled her attempts at trying to regain her flying. Finally though she stopped herself, hanging limply and panting for a few moments still up in the air.

A noise of breathing echoed behind her and her body stilled. Her breath caught and slowly she turned herself around.

There, no more than one foot behind her floated a silver Chinese dragon.

She gasped, eyeing the monster completely made of metal scales, its face and yellow eyes twisted in a cruel expression. Its long mustache feelers floated inches from her face and all she could do is stare at this beast ten times her size looming above her.

“So…ahaha are you an alloy or enemy?” She asked meekly.

It roared in her face.

“Right, not the time for jokes.” Her hands formed into fists.

The roaring beast shimmered in the sky, Lore grit his beak flying towards it. Landing one punch before its tail swept her up and slammed into her hard. Letting out a pain filled scream she was launched back to the earth at a rapid rate and slammed hard into the pavement of a busy street. The impact displaced several pieces of concrete and caused the traffic lights around the intersection to go on the fritz, blinking on and off instead of completely losing power as they had been. As she pulled herself from the crater she formed she realized several people were now looking at her, mouths wide open. Trying to ignore the growing pain, she pulled herself fully from the duck shaped hole.

Looking up, she saw the shimmer above her as the silver dragon was swaying closer to them.

This was bad, she pissed it off and now it was coming down to attack. She wasn’t sure if she had enough energy to fly and fight but still.

A loud roar from the monster directed the attention of the people towards the shining dragon bulldozing towards them.

The city erupted into chaos and Lore was preparing herself to launch back up into the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Blinking, she glanced back to see Gizmoduck with his hand on her shoulder.

“Allow us to lend you a hand.”

“Us?”

Gladstone Gander appeared on the other side, smirking. “I’m not much for fighting, but I have been known to be rather lucky.”

Lore grinned.

“Let’s stop this WIRE now.” Punching a hand into her palm, Lore braced her feet on the ground. “Gizmoduck! A lift please?”

“On it!” He grasped her gently and launched her into the sky, using her magic she flew the rest of the way.

Turning on his helmet copter Gizmoduck followed suit flying towards Lore and the metal beast.

Lore flew and punched the dragon, but winced as she pulled her hand back and shook it. Flying back, she dodged its tail this time and watched as Gizmoduck started to blast at it rapidly with everything he had in his suit.

“It’s made of some pretty tough metal!” Lore yelled over, dodging more tail attacks.

Launching a few missiles at the beast, Gizmoduck’s mouth dropped as the smoke cleared to reveal no damage.

Letting out a few yelps and noises, Gizmoduck also dodged the tail. “What is this thing?!”

“A WIRE!” Lore flew up and blasted magic into its eyes. It screamed, letting out a high frequency that caused Gizmoducks suit to malfunction.

“Uh oh…” he said as he began to fall.

Lore dove with arms extended, straining her magic she managed to catch Gizmoduck and set him safely to the ground.

“Maybe you should fight from down here..” Lore started, and suddenly the face of the dragon appeared behind her. Gizmoduck’s jaw dropped and Gladstone’s eyes widened.

“And….its right behind me isn’t it?” Lore deadpanned.

It launched itself at them, mouth wide open. Gizmoduck grabbed Lore and bolted down the street. Gladstone yelped and ran off too.

The dragon chased Lore and Gizmoduck through the street, tearing it up as it chased after them. Lore continued to throw whatever she could think of at it. But nothing was working and she groaned. “What do I do?!”

“Please don’t tell me this is what you wanted Scrooge to find for you.” The armor clad duck stated.

“Well……technically yes..but..wait…how do you know about that? I only told that to Fenton…and Donald..” She frowned and pulled off the helmet. “AH HA!”

“Oh great…another person knows my secret.” Fenton groaned. A sudden roar from behind them made him stumble and they glanced back as the silver beast was gaining speed.

“Fenton go faster!” Lore yelled. “It’s gonna…” It launched forward, chomping its large mouth at them.

Lore flung out her arm, and suddenly several pieces of random metal launched towards it, most pieces bouncing off, but a few got into its mouth. It choked briefly, coughing and stopping.

They slowed down a bit, both panting.

“Okay new strategy, what is that thing made of?” Gizmoduck asked.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve never heard of it. It’s the hardest material in the universe.” Lore frowned.

“Titungeelium.”

“I have never heard of that in my life….” He pressed a button on his chest. “Dr Gearloose! Have you got it yet?”

There was a pause and a sigh. “Yes obviously overpaid intern.” He stated. “I managed to gather the data on the creature in question. It seems to be comprised of several hard metals mixed together to form a new element. It’s rather fascinating really.”

“And?”

“Well, theres many metals mixed in, mostly Steel, silver, Titanium, Chromium, Tungsten and a few others I can’t identify.”

“Talk about a mixed basket.” Lore commented. Jumping off of Fenton’s suit and preparing herself. The dragon was growling and over his choking attack.

“Any ideas?” Fenton implored.

“Well, acid would be my first option.” Gyro commented dryly.

“Maybe something less lethal to the residents of Duckburg?” Fenton winced.

Gyro rolled his eyes. “Fine..”

The next thing Gyro said made both stop and stare at the suit.

“What?” Gryo sounded annoyed.

“That’s crazy!”

“But our only option. Is there one nearby?” Lore asked.

“Mount Quaksta.” Fenton pointed past Duckburg towards a large looking mountain.

Lore smirked. “Got it. Thanks boys!” She jumped into the air. “Let me take it from here. I’ll lead it over there.”

“Wait, but Lore..” Fenton waved his arms frantically.

Lore shook her head. “This is my job Fenton. I’ll be fine.” She winked.

“But your just a kid.” Gyro commented.

Lore made a puffed up face. “I’m sixteen thank you very much!” Huffing, she floated and turned to face the dragon, hands formed into fists.

“You want me smokey? Come and get me!” Lore flew towards it and kicked it hard in the nose.

Enraged, the beast’s eyes turned from yellow to red and it started to emit a strange electric charge.

All the buildings windows shattered.

Fenton yelped as his suit started to be affected, electrocuting itself from the inside. As it fried he scrambled out of it quickly, dodging and watching as Lore flew off with the angry dragon in tow.

Helpless, his gaze turned worried and he found Gladstone nearby. Completely unharmed even with the devastation around him.  

“Oh hey Gizmoduck!” Was Gladstone’s comment as Fenton grabbed his arm.

“How did yo…... No time for that now!” He dragged the lucky duck off towards the lab. They needed to catch up with Lore.

Lore strained her flying to the max as the beast tore after her. Every cloud it hit turned into a storm cloud, buzzing with energy and sending out lightning as it passed through.

As Lore finally made it towards the mountain she grinned and stopped, suspending herself, she spun to face the dragon who was sparking. Its face was erupting in anger and the sparks caused her to blink a few times from the bright bursts dilating her eyes.

“Now I know you don’t just want to float there!” She grinned, hands forming purple blasts of energy.

The Wire charged at her and she dodged a bit, flying around behind the beast and magic blasting into its back. Letting out an enraged roar, it spun around and tried to attack her again. But she kept dodging it, trying to lead it closer to the large mountain.

Diving a bit, she drew it closer. “I hope this works.”

Her heart sunk as she approached the mountain only to realize one thing.

It was dormant..

An earth shattering roar caused her to turn back with a horrified expression as the beast rampaged towards her. Her mind hit a wall and she froze.

Eyes wide she could do nothing as it collided with her. Together, the two slammed hard into the side of the mountainside.

Pain exploded everywhere and she let out an agonized gasp as she was pinned to the mountain by a claw. Struggling to stay conscious, she glared up at the beast who was almost smirking. Looking down upon its prey like a cat to a mouse.

Gritting her beak, Lore struggled to free herself. The claw tightened around her, making her give out a pained groan.

This was bad. Frantically kicking and struggling, Lore cursed and was tempted to bite the monsters arm. But she remembered biting would do nothing to the hard metal surrounding the beast.

“This…can’t be the end..” Lore felt a lump in her throat and it was so hard to not feel fear in that second.

The monster leaned towards her, opening its jaws to rip her apart.

Shaking, Lore tried not to cry but she knew no one could save her now. “No…”

“LORE!” Yelled a voice.

Instantly, the monster stopped and Lore’s tear stained gaze glanced up to see a helicopter with Scrooge’s face and a money sign on it. Inside she saw Fenton and Dr Gearloose, hanging off the side of the copter was Gladstone, holding something in his hand.

Grinning, Gladstone pulled his arm back. “Catch!” He launched the item towards her rapidly.

Jerking her head back and forth, she realized her arms were still trapped and before she could look back the object slammed into her head. “Ow!” it bounced off and she opened her beak to catch it firmly. Glancing at the object, she realized it was a grenade of sorts. She paled.

Fenton slapped his hand to his forehead and said a few choice words. “Gladstone! What were you thinking?!”

Getting back inside Gladstone blinked and nodded firmly. “Well we did get it to her didn’t we?” he smirked.

Both scientists gave him a unimpressed look.

“Pull the pin and throw it at the monster!” Fenton yelled outside the open window. Lore gave him a look of ‘And how should I do that?’

“Well I do believe its Gladstone’s time to shine.” Crackling his knuckles he pushed Gyro and Fenton aside and took control of the helicopters controls.

“You do know how to fly this I hope.” Gyro commented.

“Not really.” Instant fear consumed Fenton and Gyro at Gladstones comment.

“Come on guys, I’m the hero here! And lucky, well be fine!” Slamming the stick down, the helicopter plunged towards the monster. “Probably..”

Fenton and Gyro screamed, holding onto each other for dear life as Gladstone pulled up at the last minute, barely skimming the top of the Wire.

But it certainly got its attention. Lore took this chance while its head was turned to kick at the claw that held her. It snapped open and she quickly flew out, back still towards the mountainside as she yelled. “Hey heavy metal!”

It turned back towards her and growled.

“Come take a bite!” She taunted with a smirk. It lunged with mouth open. Pulling the pin, she threw the grenade into the monster and went to escape.

A claw slammed into the side of mountain, blocking her path. Yelping, she stopped and heard a explosion.

Eyes widened as she saw the dragon pause, then begin to melt away before her eyes. But despite it dying before her eyes, its head and upper body once more pinned her to the quickly deteriorating mountainscape.

“Nononono!” Shaking her head, panic to overtake her as the monsters head was so close she could feel its breath. Even as the metal was melting around its claws and arms, it still held her firm against the mountain. She screamed a bit and kicked and shot magic at it frantically.

Finally, it released her and she stumbled up the mountain. But she stumbled as the world seemed to shake. At first she thought it was from the Wire, but then she heard the rumbling from behind her.

Her beak opened in shock as she slowly turned around.

Above her was a inferno.

The volcano was waking up.

Three sets of eyes widened as the smoke plumed from the top of Quaksta.

“Oh this is bad..” Fenton commented and quickly took over the controls, flying closer to see if he could see Lore anywhere.

The Wire was almost completely fallen apart, the acidic remains littering the mountainside, bubbling and tearing through the rock.

Or was that the lava surfacing?

Suddenly with a boom, lava exploded around Lore, completely consuming the remains of the Wire and quickly she jumped up into the air before it reached her. Molten rock rapidly descended the mountain from the holes caused by the acid as well as from the top of the mountain as it fully began to awaken.

Suddenly the helicopter appeared next to Lore.

“We have to stop the volcano!” Fenton said in a rushed tone. “According to my calculations, which I just made this second. The lava is heading straight for Duckburg!”

“Of course it is..” Singed and cut up from the Wire, Lore sighed exhausted.

Looking around, Lore searched for a water source of any kind. Luckily, Duckburg was near the coast so she spotted the sea easily to her right.

“Right! We have to lead it towards the ocean!” Lore grinned.

“How?!” Fenton looked as if he was going to tear out all his feathers.

Lore closed her eyes. “Leave that to me. You guys head back and try to build a barrier just in case some spill over!”

Gyro nodded. “Got it!”

They flew off and Lore looked below her at the slowly moving yellow and red sludge.

“Lore!” was Clix’s yell from her wrist.

Holding up her arm, Lore smiled brightly. “Clix! Your back! Just as I need you! I need you to send me a few things…”

Gryo, Fenton and Gladstone reached the town and quickly disembarked from the helicopter. “What do we do?” Gladstone asked the others, arms stretched out wide. “How are we going to protect the entire city?”

Gyro frowned and sat his beak on his hand thoughtfully. “I suppose…I could use That”

“What?” Fenton and Gladstone chorused.

A wicked smirk split the older scientists face. “Come on! It’s time for the big guns!”

Fenton and Gladstone stared at each other.

“This doesn’t seem like it will end well..” Fenton commented before following the Doctor.

Lore grinned as she floated high above the flowing lava. On her back resembled part vacuum cleaner, part ghost busters weapon. She grasped onto the hose and closed one eye, tilting her head a bit to get a clear shot.

“Is this really necessary?” Clix asked from her wrist.

“Yup! I have to make sure none of the lava hits the town. This is the only way to do it without wasting all of my magic.” Lore commented and turned on the gadget.

“Alright, to adjust the beam you need to-“

Lore turned the tip of the hose sharply to the right and pressed the button on top.

A large ray of energy buzzed from the tip, blasting into the earth below and forming a crater where was once a mountain.

“-Not do that..” Clix stated flatly.

Lore blinked. “Wow this thing packs quite a punch!”

Clix smirked. “Of course it does, it’s made by yours truly. Are you sure you can handle this fire power witchy?” she asked, looking amused.

“No worries, I got this!” Lore grinned, pressing the button again and lowering the beams intensity.

Pointing it down on the ground she began to cut a canal of sorts for the lava to follow. Making it as wide as possible to fit all of the oozing substance, she quickly burned a pathway through the earth towards the sea.

It was delicate and highly stressful, more than once she had to accommodate a stray piece of lava escaping or overflowing canals.

Finally though, as the sun was beginning to set she saw the sea in sight. Increasing the intensity of the beam she frantically waved her arm, burning through the earth rapidly as the bubbling molten earth paraded behind her, increasing in speed just slightly as it was going downhill.

She glanced to her left and spotted Duckburg, surrounded by a clear dome….that sparkled?

Blinking, she tilted her head to the side. “What is that? Is that made of-“

“Diamonds?!” Fenton’s jaw dropped.

Gyro looked smug. “That’s right intern.” He typed in a few keys and presented a picture of the diamond dome on the screen. “I liquefied diamonds and mixed them with nanobots to produce this shield. Not only is diamond the hardest substance around and impossible to penetrate, but with the nanobots I can change the size, style and density of the shield whenever I wish!”

“That’s…” Gladstone started.

“Amazing!” Fenton seemed gleeful and looked at the charts, babbling non stop about the chemical composition and how Gyro melted diamonds among other things.

But Gladstone was staring at it cynically, something was bothering him about this.

He just wish he knew what it was.

Lore was almost to the sea, but suddenly the device began to malfunction, spurting out less and less energy and glancing at the gauge she realized something.

“It’s out of juice!” Lore yelped and looked to Clix who blinked.

“That’s impossible it runs off of……solar……….Oh..” the sun was almost gone from the horizon and darkness was cascading across the land.

Frantic, Lore looked around and saw the lava starting to divert towards Duckburg. “Not good.” Throwing the device away she quickly pulled out the next object, black fingerless gloves. Inside the palms were wires and a polished piece of quartz in the palm of each hand.

“Clix! These will do it right?” Lore confirmed and the blue clad girl nodded.

“Yes! Just don’t do anything stupid!” Clix warned.

“Me? Do something stupid?” Lore smirked.

Clix sighed. “Just don’t tear a hole through time and space and make it so toasters were never invented…” was her farewell as she vanished.

“That was one time!” Lore yelled at her friend that was no longer there.  

Lore dove towards the lava that was inching closer to the city. This was her last shot.

Quickly overtaking it, she held out her hands which buzzed to life. “I hope this works!”

Within the polished stones a glow began to overtake her hands and suddenly a beam of pure white energy blasted into the earth before her, decimating three feet of earth instantly. Blinking, Lore looked at the gloves and smirked. “I like these!”

Lore went back to work, blasting at the earth once more to form another canal and turn the lava away from Duckburg, heading back towards the ocean. She had to make quite a sharp turn at the west side of the forcefield, cutting this canal pretty close to the shield. She only hoped the lava would follow the deeper than usual canal and not spill onto the shield.

The raging liquid followed the canal and as it made that sharp turn, some of the rebellious liquid rock did indeed overflow and splatter onto the diamond shield.

There was a large electric discharge, buzzing and instantly the lava melted through the diamonds like glass.

“Oh, that’s the bad feeling I had.” Gladstone stated and Gyro screamed, “My Diamond shield!”

Guess Gyro forgot that even crystals and tech weren’t a match for molten rock.

Thankfully the damage was minimal and the rest of the lava flowed harmlessly into the bay.

Panting a bit, Lore floated to the ground. Feeling the earth underneath her she collapsed onto her back laughing a bit.

They did it…they saved the town. She put her hands on her face and half cried, half laughed. “I am never doing that again!”

The town was mostly unscathed, save a few fires from the random molten lava that had burned through the shield.

But Gyro was sure those people had insurance anyways..

Lore made it back to town and staggered a bit towards the manor where she saw the three standing outside.

Fenton brightened a bit when he saw her. “Lore your okay!” he ran up and hugged her which she winced at.

“Ah ow…well mostly..” she looked like she had been through a fight with a lawnmower. Her hair was scattered and messed up, she had burns and claw marks on her arms. But she still managed a exhausted smile. “But we did it! Thank you, all of you.”

“All in a days work!” Gladstone said proudly.

“You literally did nothing,” Gyro deadpanned.

“Right! And we survived didn’t we? We saved the town too! I consider that a Gladstone Gander win!” with that, he laughed and walked off as a random person approached him offering him a million dollars.

The three ducks left over watched this with varying expressions.

“That duck is…” Lore started.

“Strange.” Fenton supplied.

“Annoying.” Was Gyros biting response. Sighing he scratched his head. “Well back to the drawing board. Looks like the diamond shield needs more….testing..” without another word he left Fenton and Lore.

Leaning against the gate of the manor, Lore managed a smile towards the other duck who awkwardly looked to the side.

“So…uh…” Fenton coughed.

“So…Gizmoduck huh?” Lore smirked and Fenton groaned.

Pulling out a notebook, he wrote down her name along with Gladstones and sighed. “I guess I’m not too good at this superhero thing. Can’t even seem to keep my secret identity….well secret!”

Lore chuckled and shook her head. “ I don’t think there’s any really right way to be a super hero.” She shrugged. “Having a few people know isn’t so bad. Especially when they can help you out of a tight spot.” She pushed herself off the wall and held out her arm. “Thanks Fenton. You helped me out a lot. That anomaly would have kept causing chaos in this world.”

Fenton grinned and took her hand, shaking it. Then something clicked. “Wait..’this world?’”

Lore appeared like a deer caught in the headlights. “Um, Gotta go bye!” She jumped up and flew off.

“Wait! Lore!” Was Fenton’s loud yell. “Who is that girl?”

With everything else solved, Lore opted to make sure everyone else was okay. She had seen when the Sunchaser had returned with several exhausted ducks.

They arrived late in the night, not even noticing the damage done from the now dormant again Quaksta.

At first she checked up on the kids. All three boys were fast asleep. She peeked her eyes in the window of Webby’s room and saw her clutching a doll in her arms, sobbing a bit and Lore found her heart ache at this. She guessed what they tried didn’t work. Closing her eyes she pressed a hand on the window and firmly nodded. “You will get Lena back Webby, don’t lose hope yet.”

Her eyes drifted to the rippling shadow on the wall near the bed and she smiled softly. "Hang in there Lena.."

She then flew over to the boat where Donald was sleeping comfortably.

Lore floated around him and grinned. “Thanks Donald for your words of wisdom.” She smiled slightly.

“I thought it was ye..” The voice she never thought she’d hear again echoed behind her. Eyes widening, spun around to see Scrooge standing at the door to the boat, staring at Lore with a stern expression.

Lowering herself to the ground, she stood before Scrooge and averted her eyes. Sighing, she closed them and reopened them, meeting his gaze head on. “Scrooge.”

“I didn’t believe the kids at first. But it seems I canna deny this now.” Slowly he closed his eyes and sighed, fingers tightening over his cane he held before him.

Lore grinned with her arms firmly tucked behind her. “It’s been a while..”

“And ye haven’t aged at all.” Was Scrooge’s comment full of emotion.

Lore smiled sadly. “Comes with the territory really.”

“Why are ye here?” Scrooge’s voice wasn’t suspicious, just curious.

Lore blinked and hummed. “I came back because there was another anomaly.” Seeing his worried expression she quickly held up her hands. “Oh don’t worry I already took care of it. Although…I’d suggest not going to Mount Quaksta right now..”

“I don’t wanna know..” Scrooge glared.

Laughing nervously, Lore spun around a bit. “I’m just checking on everyone before its time to go.”

“Ye canna stay?” Scrooge's voice sounded hopeful.

Lore’s surprised face flickered before her smile took over again. “Nope, sorry old man.” She grinned. “Lots of other places need me now.”

Scrooge’s eyebrow twitched. “Mind yer elders lass..”

Giggling a bit she took a couple steps closer to him and leaned near his ear. “So….is this future everything you wanted?”

Blinking, Scrooge smiled softly back at her. “Almost.”

“I’ll take it.” Lore pulled back and started to walk past him.

A thought struck him and spinning around, he grasped her arm. “Lore! Wait!”

She glanced back at him, surprised. “Yes?”

Reluctantly, he released her arm and sighed. “Ye see…we have a problem….there’s a poor child named Lena that needs help.”

Lore’s face fell and she wrapped her arms around herself. “I know…Lena is a shadow right? You need to bring her back…right?”

Scrooge looked desperate and Lore hated that expression.

“I’m…sorry.” She whispered. “I can’t help..”

“But..yer magic..”

“It won’t work.” Lore whispered and took a step back. She bit back another lie. “I can’t free Lena.”

Clenching his hands into fists, Scrooge resisted the urge to grab and shake her. He wanted to know why, why she couldn’t help when she had so much magic.

Lore looked away, taking a deep breath she sighed. “Are you telling me the Great Scrooge McDuck I’ve been hearing so much about can’t bring a teen from another realm single handedly? I guess the rumors I’ve heard are just fabrications. I didn’t think you’d resort to relying on magic to solve your problems!” She smirked. Watching his eyes instantly narrow.

“Whatever ye heard they were certainly not fabrications!” he growled. “I am Scrooge McDuck! I am smarter than the smarties! Tougher than the toughies and sharper than the sharpies!” he pointed at her. “I still hate magic and think it’s a shortcut!” he ranted and Lore crossed her arms across her chest, smiling as he ranted about how he had discovered El Dorado, Atlantis and the temple of Toth-ra.

“Scrooge.” He stopped and turned to her. “I believe if anyone can save Lena…its you and Webby.” She stated seriously. “Just…don’t overthink it too much. I’m sure you both will know what to do when the time is right.”

Suddenly behind her formed a portal of cosmic energy, swirling and glowing. It sent a bright light and Donald, who was already awake at that time and had heard everything quacked in alarm.

Looking behind her, Lore hummed. “I guess its time again.”

She took a step back.

“Wait!” This time it was Donald.

Looking back up, Donald approached her and sat his hands on her shoulder. “I know what its like to take the fate of worlds upon your shoulders. But remember this…” he looked a little saddened by this next comment. “You can’t save everyone.”

His words echoed within her soul, bringing fresh emotions welling up.

“And also this.” Donald stated. “You can always come here and we will welcome you…Lore Dimensional Witch.” The wind started to pick up around them, papers floating everywhere and spinning around the trio.

“Wait, Dimensional-“ Was Scrooge’s shocked exclamation as Lore’s tear stained smiling face vanished into the swirling portal.

And that’s that! And here’s the link to the AO3 chapter as well! I appreciate all my comments and likes and hope you all have a wonderful day!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18703183/chapters/44920375

[brightlycoloredteacups]

Old Enemies

Pairing: Ivar x OFC

Series: Brynhilda’s Saga

Warnings: None

Tagging: @tiyetiye @sammi-faye @anunhealthydoseofangst @novumlibellum @salimahbicharara-comun

Ivar is aware everyone is watching him, the cripple going on a raid. He’s arms are killing him, his legs are ready to break, but he has to do this, for himself. Even so, he scans the crowd, looking for the familiar pair of green eyes. He spots her, standing in front of the boat, looking every bit the shieldmaiden she was. Proud, haughty, smiling ever so sweetly at him.  

He comes to a stop in front of her, he has to, he has to speak with her one last time. “You’re short,” He says, grinning through the effort of trying to remain upright. “And you’re handsome.” She replies. His cheeks heat at the compliment. Brynhilda gives a quick inspection to his armor, running her hands over the leather, tugging at the straps, she nods in approval. “My family has a saying,” She tells him, her voice is cracking, she looks at him with watery eyes. Don’t cry, he demands. Don’t cry, if you do, I’ll have to stay. “Victory, Ivar, or Valhalla.” They both know he’s going to certain death. He leans down to kiss her. The position is awkward, but they manage it. There’s a thrill knowing that the most powerful shieldmaiden in all of Kattegat is willing to kiss him in front of everyone.

“I will miss you all my days,” She whispers, pulling back from him. She slips something in his hands. “I am lucky to have known you.” She steps away, allowing him to pass. He can’t bring himself to say anything more than a quiet ‘I love you’. He doesn’t have the inspired words Brynhilda does.

Just as they set sail, Brynhilda steps forward, “Hey, dumbass,” Ivar looks at her, smiling, ornery to the very end. “Remember who trained you, at least kill a Saxon for me before you die.” Ivar gives her a rude gesture, laughing at her. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” He yells. They set off all too soon. Ivar and Brynhilda watch each other until they can see no more.

*

A crow lands beside her, letting out a shrill cry. Brynhilda looks at it. “Yes, Odin,” She whispers. “I know you’re eager for me to begin.” She had wasted enough time in Kattegat, it's been a week after Ivar's departure, but she couldn’t find the strength to leave. Every day she looks to the sea, hoping against hope Ivar finds the strength to survive, despite Aslaug’s vision. The crow gives her another caw, picking at her sleeve. “Allow me my grief, you’ve taken my world from me.” She feels stupid for mourning a boy she only knew a few months, but he was the first real connection she's had since her parents died. Not even Boggvir had gotten so close to her, despite letting her live with him for years.

The crow flies to her shoulder, runs it’s beak across her cheek, seeming to comfort her. She breathes in, then out, slowly. She finds the strength to stand, the crow, flying off. “Brynhilda,” someone calls. It’s Aslaug. “Your majesty?” She says, turning to face the queen, unsure of what Aslaug could possibly want with her now. “You are leaving today, aren’t you?” Brynhilda nods, she can no longer put her journey off. Aslaug stares at her. “I do not know you well,” She admits. “But I know how happy you made Ivar’s last days,” a tear escapes Aslaug's eye, Brynhilda bows her head, saying nothing.

“I’ve had a vision,” Aslaug informs her. Brynhilda growls, irritated, “I’ve had enough of your visions!” She walks passed Aslaug, yet freezes at the next declaration. “When you are queen, come back to Kattegat, I would enjoy opening trade negotiations.”

“I will be queen?” Brynhilda whispers, turning back to her. “Yes, though, I could've told you that without the vision.” Brynhilda gulps, processing the information. “I will make a poor queen,” she says, “I will only terrify my subjects,”

“You will make an excellent queen,” Aslaug assures her, “Have confidence in your ability to lead and inspire loyalty.”

Aslaug raises her hand, showing Brynhilda a pendant resting in her pale palm. “It was Ivar’s,” Aslaug explains. “He told me he wanted you to have it, but..I couldn’t let go.” Brynhilda, says nothing, how could she? Aslaug had every right to keep this last memory of her son, despite his wishes. “You’re right, Brynhilda,” Aslaug continues, “I need to let go of my son.” Brynhilda reaches out, Aslaug drops it in her palm. Thor’s Hammer. A surge of irritation rises within her. Ivar should’ve taken it, it could have saved him.

Aslaug takes Brynhilda’s face in her soft hands, a motherly gesture that makes Brynhilda’s heart ache for her own mother. “You are wise beyond your years,” Aslaug tells her, “You are as strong as the gods, you will achieve all you set out for, and much more.”

“I’m tired of people telling me that,” Brynhilda admits. “But thank you.” Aslaug gives her a genuine smile, then kisses her forehead. “Odin’s blessings.” She whispers. “I am Brynhilda, daughter of Brynjar and Camila, I need no blessings.” Aslaug’s laughter follows her as she finally departs.

Brynhilda looks at the hammer in her hand. Ivar’s pendant. The last reminder she had of him. It a week, and all she remembers is his eyes. Those tired, angry blue eyes. Gods, how she misses him. She’s so busy memorizing every detail, she doesn’t hear the screaming until people are rushing past her. Kattegat is under attack.

Brynhilda pulls her sword out, ready for a fight. The old feeling of exhilaration rushes through her, she bares her teeth in a smile, let them come, she’s itching to spill blood. It’s the perfect cure for a broken heart. She runs towards the commotion, but slides to a stop, suddenly remembering the girls. “Shit,” She mutters. They’ll be in the longhouse, probably scared out of their wits. “I have to save them,” Brynhilda takes off at top speed, she needs to make sure the girls are safe. Hearing a particularly weak cry, Brynhilda slides to stop yet again, trying to find the source.

The old medicine woman. She’s been knocked to the ground, hovering over her is a man, readying his axe for the killing blow. Brynhilda is lucky, she’s faster than the axe. Reaches the old woman in time, her blade finally tastes blood. Brynhilda ignores the tingling sensation in her arms, other warriors are closing in on her. They are little more than irritants, she dispatches them quickly, annoyed they didn’t put up more of a fight.

She looks for the old woman, still on the ground in shock. Seathing her sword she grabs the old thing, “Come, healer, to safety.”

“You are a monster,” she whispers. Brynhilda looks about her, “Yes,” She says distractedly, “A monster that has just saved your life, come,” She runs as best she can with the healer, before she can get two steps towards the longhouse, the Seer slams into her. She doesn’t really stop for him, just grabs his robes. “Let’s go.”

“Are you saving lives now young Brynhilda?” She seer says. “By Odin’s left testicle, none of your shit today.”

Somehow, she makes it to the longhouse without much more effort. She slams open the door, seeing Ubbe and Sigurd ready for a fight. She snorts, good luck, those idiots have never even killed someone, let alone win a battle. “Where are my girls?” She snarls, before Ubbe could answer, Rhona comes running from somewhere in her back of the house. She slams into Brynhilda’s legs, Sigrid and Vigdis follow suit, all are crying, scared. Their babbling stressed Brynhilda so much, she can do nothing but yell, “Enough!” The girls stop immediately, terrified. They back away from her, holding each other close. Shit, it does no good to add to their terror. Brynhilda controls herself. “This is what’s going to happen,” She says, crouching down for them. “The Seer and the Healer are going to take you three into the mountains, where you’ll be safe, when things have calmed down, I will come for you.”

“Brynhilda, what are two old people going to do against an army?” Sigrid asks. Brynhilda has to concede the girl’s point. She brings the girls in front of her. When she speaks, she hears her mother’s voice, “There comes a time in everyone’s life when they either stand against the storm, or they wither and die. You girls are stronger than you know. You will weather this storm, you will survive, do you understand me?” The girls nod. In an uncharacteristic show of affection, she gives them each a kiss on the head, then rushes them off. “Who the hell am I turning into?” Brynhilda asks no one in particular. First, she actually stops to save two people she barely knows, then, she shows genuine affection to slaves. I’m going soft, she thinks. She turns to Ubbe and Sigurd, “Are you alright here?” Before they can say something, the door bursts open again.

Brynhilda turns, heart leaping into her throat. “Eylaug,” She whispers. Eylaug, Boggvir’s favored lap dog next top her. Her belly turns in disgust. “The rumors are true then,” he says, giving her a cruel smile. “Boggvir’s Bitch lives still.” Men surround her. The very same men that she lead into countless battles, to countless victories. The same men that look terrified of her now. They know what was done to her was an affront to the gods. “Well, Eylaug, you’ve certainly gotten uglier since last I saw you.”

“And you’ve become crooked.” He points out. Really, that was the best he had? She chances a turn, looking into some of the men’s eyes.. They lower their weapons, unsure of what exactly to do. She was supposed to be dead, no one survived that much torture. No one but Brynhilda the Deathless, it would seem. “Think,” She urges them, they would come to her side, she knew it. They had to, she had treated them fairly when she lead them, laughed with them, mourned with them. These were her men, not Eylaug’s, they must listen to her.. “Think before you raise your swords to me, they call me deathless for a reason.”

“The dead will be put back into the ground today!” Eylaug yells. He manages to catch her off guard with his swift movement. She curses her luck, how could she forget the first rule of battle? Never show your back to the enemy.