#she wants to study all the small town residents like a bug

[hiccanna-tidbits]

@gigilberry @gryffindorkxdraws actual conversation between Jack and Rapunzel, binge-watching movies at the theater after escaping theirs

[insomniac-dot-ink]

The Hopping Lamp Post

The night was thick with sugared darkness that left my neighborhood feeling grainy and unreal in the velvet insides of night. I was hunched over on the sidewalk with my back to the front door.

“You can’t just come home at all hours of the night and expect--” “I told you I was at work!”

“Work my ass!”

“Can’t I come home from a long day without being…”

The voices screeched back and forth like alley cats defending their own piss-smelling crevice of the street they owned. I flinched and knew I didn’t want to go back inside. Never, ever, I could stay outside in the grim darkness for as long as it took no matter how much my mom hollered and pulled out her hair.

I used dirt to doodle circles in the cement in front of me and lost myself to the rough feel of the smeared earth. I was studying it like a painter studies the face of a subject when I heard the front door open.

“Where is that girl?” I jerked myself to my feet and scurried away down the street. My mom wasn’t so determined as to go anywhere past our front lawn. The neighborhood was hushed with little moths zapping at porch lights and windows all but empty black eyes staring out.

I wandered away from our block and it was only when I couldn’t see our house anymore that I let out my held breath. I blinked a few times as mist started twisting off the ground in haunting tiny spirals.

I turned around in circles as I watched the ground grow foggy and it wasn’t until I looked up that I saw it.

I stood up straight like the pads of my feet had been electrocuted. Right at the end of the street standing proudly tall and stiff was something that shouldn’t be there. I rubbed my eyes with my fists until little white spots appeared.

I opened my eyes again to find the same black metal thing with a glittering white light ahead. It wasn’t like any of the other lamp posts on the block-- not tall and tired bent metal and a hanging dull yellow light.

It was finely crafted with indents like a roman column and a curved neck with a hanging lantern at the end that gave off light like snowfall and stars. I took a cautious step toward it. It took a step back.

“What?” My brow folded in.

I edged closer and the thing edged back. I looked down and found that through the mist and unfurling curls of clouds that there was some sort of foot at the bottom of the lamp post. “Well that ain’t right.” I muttered and took a few hurried steps closer.

It leaned back from my presence like a fancy lady from a corner bum, but it wasn’t fast enough. I managed to get a few feet from the lamp post and squint up at its tall metal body.

“Where you from?” I asked as I would any stranger from out of town. It hopped back and I followed. I was on Wilkinson street now with more faceless tiny beige and grey houses that bled out into the highway. I couldn’t hear the busy traffic right then though.

I only had eyes for the hopping lamp post.

“You come far?” I said and circled around the light like a dog with a scent. “What’chu ya doing here?”

Bugs bumped into the glass of it's head and landed on it’s metal top as if to take up residence. I was close enough now to make out the big grey feathery moths with fat bodies and tiny white moths that look like delicate fairies lost from home.

I frowned at the closest moth. It’s wings were frayed and threadbare like it had been through the wash one too many times. Another moth had two sets of wings on its back. A third one was a little firefly that could barely glow it’s little butt at all.

“Huh.” I bit my bottom lip and glanced up shyly toward the light as we strolled to the end of Wilkinson. “They’re like me, huh?” I spoke slowly in a low voice as if not to spook it.

The mist was fuming off the ground in great big fistfuls now like the whole world was a bathtub and it was determined to fog up every single mirror nearby. I couldn’t hear so much as a yapping dog by then and no whir of cars that should still be running at this hour.

I gathered myself a little closer to the lamp that gave another enormous hop forward in a jerking unsteady motion. I glanced up to see that a bat was hovering close to the light. It’s tiny body was fury and it flapped mechanically by the side of the light. From head to foot it was pure white.

“Like me . . . ” I murmured and brought a hand up toward my chest to fist my shirt. “Wrong.”

I had never been wrong in the way people could tell. They couldn’t point at me and say “there’s that wrong girl!” But I had never had a teacher that hadn’t given me funny looks for my questions and hadn’t gone to a family reunion without an auntie muttering “that one’s a little off in the head” to another auntie.

I looked down as to not focus on the white bat or the double-winged moth or any of the other creatures that were pulled to the light of the lamp post. I stopped in place as I peered at the ground, but the ground didn’t seem to be there. It seemed to have fallen away and I gasped.

It was just dark beneath my ratty white sneakers. I looked up and the houses were all but distant outlines from a different life. The mist was growing thicker and the only light was from the silvery glow the lamp ahead.

I clenched my teeth and inhaled sharply through my nose. “Where are we?” I looked up and the lamp was now at least several paces away. “Wait!” I ran after it. “How do I get home?” It gave another mighty hop and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to turn back or find out about more things that shouldn’t be. I gave a small glance over my shoulder and it was all mist and darkness behind us now anyway. I kept following the hopping lamp.

The darkness became almost absolute and I held my breath as the mist grew thick and tangible. It licked my cheeks like a wet kiss and my hair was heavy on my shoulders from the moisture clinging to it.

I started shivering. I didn’t want to keep looking. I didn’t want to see what was beyond that mist and dank gloom. I started to hear things. I heard deep ugly breaths from something that had be bigger than the biggest horse I’d ever seen and bigger than any dog from down the street.

It gulped down air in a deep raspy voice. In. Out. It’s nose was probably the size of a bus and it’s lungs bigger than any whale. I could smell brine and salt in the air and I couldn’t stop shivering.

To my surprise the lamp’s pace slowed. It stopped in place and it’s hanging head turned and faced me. My eyes went wide, “So you ain’t gonna just leave me after all?” I whispered and slowly reached out my hand. I put it softly on the cool metal of the lamp and we began to walk together.

I closed my eyes because I didn’t want to see the monsters we were approaching in the dark. I didn’t want to see what lay ahead. Nonetheless, I felt that warm bath of air hit me across the face and we passed the beasts.

I opened my eyes again to the sound of cars honking and an even stronger scent of salt. I turned and we were standing on a road this time with the mist still thick and dancing off the cement. Something was different.

The road was winding up a huge mountain top and on the other side was the twilight dusk and an ocean that spanned as far as I could see. It was a shifting flatness with pools of blue midnight and frothing white waves out in the distance. I smiled broadly. “I’ve never seen the ocean.” A car passed with it’s headlights blinking and it was like no car I had ever seen before. It’s windows were too broad and lamps too bright. The figure inside was shadowed and strange with hands made out of smudgy murkiness and a shrouded face.

I steadied myself. “Alright,” I put my hand back on the lamp post. “Let’s keep going.” We walked through that world of ocean and ghosts. I closed my eyes and we passed between another darkness with the sounds of sleeping monsters and into new unknown places. We entered a world of dirt roads that led past unkempt green gardens with fruit like diamonds and rubies. We went through nights that were all storms with lightning flashing out on the horizon and people that were shaped like angels flying out toward it.

The sun never rose and we never stopped walking. It could have been a lifetime. It could have been just that night and nothing else. I oohed and awed at the strange sights and smells of ozone and sunshine. It was only in that third darkness that my legs started to complain and my eyes started to droop and betray me.

The lamp slowed its pace to an inching crawl.

“It’s alright.” I yawned. “I don’t wanna go back.” I said softly with my eyes closed. We walked into the darkness of beasts once more. “But I gotta. Don’t I?”

Something landed on my shoulder as we went into a new road made of crushed white shells and with running water the color of mirrors besides us. Little floating lights dancing just above the surface of the river and I blinked at a giant moth perched on me. She had white feathery feelers and wings with grey eyes in the center. She was missing an eye on the right side of her face and I smiled at her.

“Well hey there,” She was the size of a kite and her little legs tickled my shoulder. “You’re not from where I’m from.” I said with a nod, “you’re awful pretty though. You all tangled up about going home too?” She moved her feelers up and down and cocked my head to the side. “It’s not so bad. But it’s not so good either.” I shivered from somewhere deep inside of me and gave her a sad smile. “I just . . . can’t seem to get myself to turn around yet.” The moth gave me a long look before she took off from my shoulder. She flapped away into the moonlight of this strange land and the lamp post simply sat in place. I made a face, “now you feel like stoppin?”

The lamp post simply angled it’s face to the sky.

I followed it with my eyes. It was a long few minutes in the cold damp air with the water rushing besides and lights flitting around. I waved when the moth finally returned with something between her feet. She was carrying something that shone with the force of gold teeth in the mouths of rich men. I opened my hand and the moth dropped a single coin into my hand.

“Oh,” I breathed and held up a golden metal disk. The front held face I didn’t recognize in any way on it.

A queen maybe. She was in profile on the coin with a half-smile, her eyes closed, and crown of light on her head. I made a hiccup of sound as the coin fit snuggling in my palm and gave off a strange burning warmth.

I turned it over and over in my hands and ran my fingers over squiggles on the back that could only be words. I sucked in breath. “What’s this for?” The moth only turned around and suddenly it was flying back toward the way we came. The lamp turned too and I frowned. In a twist that was more ironic than not the lamp started to follow the moth.

"Wait for me!" I trailed after.

We went back through the beast realm. Back through the night garden of jewels and back through the storm lands of angels and mountains of ghosts. We returned to my street with the slanted roofs and scraggly lawns.

I held the coin hard in my hands and turned to the lamp post. “Thank you.” I said with a nod as you’re supposed to for helpful strangers. “I’ll remember this, always.” I wasn’t sure if I was brave enough to return yet, but the lamp bent its long head and the light caught in my eyes. I looked down and the words on the coin righted themselves like soldiers called to duty all at once.

“Be brave,” I read the words and traced them with my fingers. “Because the light will always come.” I blinked and the words remained just as the lamp kept hopping down the street on its endless trek. I slowly waved goodbye in the way of children who are able to accept things that shouldn’t be but are.

I turned and went back into my house just as the night was losing its shape and the sun broke across the heavens. And I was going to be brave for however long it took until the light came again.

--------

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[storytime-with-moth]

Writing modern teen Dad Sokka (zukka uni)

I wrote this a few months ago, but I ran out of steam and inspiration, so anyone is welcome to take this on and finish it as their own or take it as a prompt and try there own story.

Summer of grade 11, Sokka and Yue spend the whole summer as lifeguards, soaking up the sun, making each other laugh and dreaming of the future.

One night it’s just the two of them in the pool after it’s closed, you can see the full moon through the windows above, Sokka and Yue lay on floaties driving around the pool.

“Hey Sokka?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Sokka laughs “Haven’t heard that since I was a kid and I wanted to be and otter penguin - and no I have no idea where that came from.”

Yue turns over so she can look Sokka in the eyes. “Seriously though, what do you want to do when you can leave this small town and its small ideas.

Sokka could tell that there was more behind the question but tired answering it honestly “I dunno exactly “What” I want to be, but I think I would like to build things, useful things too. And I’m not really a car guy or a building guy.”

Yue snorts “Ya not a car guy, says the guy who failed to get his license twice!”

“Hey!” Sokka splashes yue playfully. “Okay okay, I have been looking the some of the research into mixing prosthetics with robotics and focusing more on make prosthetics one with the body, I don’t know much about it yet. But I guess I started reading all about them and I kinda became obsessed.”

“what about hockey?”

“I love hockey, and the coaches at school think I’m good enough to get scholarships, so if hockey helps support an actual career for me I’m all for it, but I know I want to do more than catch pucks my whole life, I want to really use my brain and solve puzzles.”

“hmm” Yue turned over and looked back at the moon thoughtful.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Well as you so gracefully put it, what do you want to do when you can leave this place that’s too small for you and your big ideas and dreams?”

“Well when you put it like that… I want to travel, see places, important places. I want to fall in love, out of love, I want to have enough friends that my house is always filled with good food and loud laughter. I want to be a Mom someday, I think maybe I want to go to school and study philosophy, not sure what kind of job that leads to but I want to ask questions, the big questions like why are we here, what is a life well spent?”

“Whoa”

“Ya… Whoa”

“and have you talked to your dad about that?

“Sort of, and it sort of didn’t go well.”

“he’s still set on you making the Canadian swim team? Duty to country and family stuff?”

“YeP” she said as she popped the P

“That sucks”

“indeed it does”

They floated around in silence for a bit longer.

“Hey Sokka?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want to have sex?”

Sokka promptly fell into the water, Yue’s laugh echoing around the empty pool.

They did indeed tumble into bed together that night, an awkward interaction for both of them that ended with the laughing covered in sweat. That morning when Sokka woke up Yue was already sitting on his bed looking at his doodles on the walls.

“Sokka I love you, I do, and I honestly thought maybe I loved you like a girl loves a guy, but I think I just love you because you're my best friend.”

“Ookaaay. I think I should add in you’re my best friend too? Because you’re being weird”

Yue looked to her hands in her lap and a tear fell to her hand. “Sokka, think I might like girls.”

She said it so quietly that it took a second for Sokka to understand what she had just told him.

“Whoa, no I mean, Cool! That’s fine. I support you, wait was I really bad last night?”

Yue’s tears quickly turn into laughs “No you idiot! You ere great, it just wasn’t right”

“Okay well cool then…..”

“Cool then”

“promise you won’t tell?”

“Yue, I promise I won’t tell! I can even pretend to be your boyfriend so your dad can’t freak out, and we can totally go to the girls soccer games this year if you want?”

“Sokka I love you, you big dummy”

“Well I love you to, to the moon and back dreamer”

___________________________________

So Sokka and Yue were still best friends and they spent the fall attached at the hip, and when Yue found out she was expecting a baby and her parents kicked her out, Sokka just grabbed her hand and her backpack and walked into his house stating that Yue lived here now.

Hakoda and Bato nodded and welcomed her home, Katara squealed and fawned over becoming an auntie.

And for a while things were good, they were complicated as they prepared to become teen parents, co parenting as best friends, both of them aiming for scholarships and working part-time gigs whenever they could to save up. But life was happy, they were going to have a baby.

But then things went wrong, Yue went into labour 6 weeks early, her pressure dropped, the baby’s dropped, there was blood, there were doctors everywhere, then there was a small shrill cry, more moving and running and yelling. Then there was a lot of quiet.

Yue died in labour, their baby was in the NICU for three weeks to improve her lungs and even then doctors were worried about how premature she was. Finally after weeks camped out in a hospital next to his baby in a box or in his bed in the dark or the shower staring at the wall, he could bring his daughter home. She was going to be okay.

Her name was Juno Kya Last name, and she was perfect, wide hazel eyes like her Mom, and the sharp cupids bow like Kya, it looked like she would have Sokka’s dark hair and complexion. She watched everything with curious eyes, and didn’t cry unless she was hungry or tired which was often the first few months. But Bato and Hakkoda loved their granddaughter to bits and helped with everything. The diapers, the late feedings, the tummy time, the grieving.

The grieving was the hardest. Mostly because he was to busy trying to be there as a Dad and as a student and as a team player. He spent so long being there for everyone else that one night once hockey season was over and Katara took Juno to a girls sleepover he was all alone, for the first time since he was a little boy after his Mom died.

The dam burst and he sat on the floor and cried, he cried until his Dads came home and they wrapped him up in a hug and he cried some more. Then they made hot chocolate and sat on the couch in thick chewy blankets. They talked and talked, Hakkoda speaking about loosing the love of his life with two young children, being a dad by himself, Bato spoke about loosing his best friend Kya so unfairly and traumatically. The spoke about the unfairness of life and the peace in death, and how he will never move on but he will move forward, with one hand holding his daughter and the other pointing him forward to his own future.

When Katara came home the next day, Sokka was already awake and making blueberry pancakes poorly singing ice ice baby. When he saw his sister holding Juno he scooped her up and gave her a million kisses.

They were going to be okay, because they were loved, because Sokka was smart, because Sokka was going to be driven just like his best friend was, he was going to ask the big questions whenever he could, and love and laugh, so much his home was filled with it.

For Juno and for Yue, and for himself too.

_________________________

So Sokka worked his ass off, he won a full ride scholarship to university for hockey to study bio engineering, he was even able to work on family residence on campus, which took a load off his shoulders of trying to figure out travel to and from school with a baby, now he skates, lives and attends school on campus (which even had a daycare)

During the summer leading up leaving for school Bato revealed that ever since Sokka got into school he has been trying to transfer his job to the same city so they could be closer and he had not only done that but he had gotten a promotion out of it too. So Katara was starting at a new high school for senior year and Bato and Hakkoda were moving to be 20 minutes away from Sokka’s school.

He knew he would have to get used to being more independent, as he knew his dads thought he would be annoyed by them following him, or his sister would be upset about changing schools. But no, katara had high hopes for her new adventure and sokka was just relived to not be alone, and that Juno had more than one badly an adult person in her life.

_________________

Little hands grabbed at Sokka’s hair as he hoisted 9 month old Juno up on his hip. “Well June-Bug this is it our home for the next four or so years”

Juno looked up at her dad with wide hazel eyes and replied in noisy baby babble.

From behind Sokka Bato came up and rested a hand on on his shoulder “Deep breaths kid, you’re going to be great.”

Sokka smiled ruefully at Bato as Katara ran up with a stroller full of baby things and his dad struggled with his hockey bags as he tried to lock the car with one hand.

Sokka looked at Juno again and whispered to her and himself “Deep breaths kid”

Later after they had gotten the crib set up in the attached office to Sokka’s room Bato and Katara took Juno for a walk in her stroller to grab some food. While Sokka and his dad finished unpacking.

“Son are you sure you want to stay on campus, are you sure you want Juno to stay with you? We could take her for the weeks mostly and you could come stay with us at the new place on weekends. I know you expected to do this more by yourself, but Bato would move oceans for you kid and got the new position in town, so we’re here, we can help.”

“Dad… Ya I’m going to need help, so thank you, I will take you up on looking after Juno when I need it, but you and Bato are going to be looking after her as her grandparents and not as her guardians. I promised Yue - Juno and I are family, and I’m not going to pass her off whenever I feel like not being a Dad anymore, she’s my kid and I want to be here for all the stuff, the walking the talking everything, and that’s not going to happen if she’s only my kid on weekends.

“Sokka you’re doing just fine son, more than fine really. Okay okay well when Juno wants to see her Great Papa and GB (Grand Bato) you give us a call, or if you need to pull an all nighter for an assignment you call, anything you call and we can be here. And when you get your game schedule, email us so we can make sure one of us can take her to the games, Bato is very excited about the baby headphones he bought her.”

“Okay Dad Okay, Now get out of here ya old man, and Dad Thanks for being here.”

“Of course Sokka”

________________________

Sokka was pretty pleased with his new place, sure it was small, but it was clean and had more room than he expected to get so he was grateful. The suite was in the family/accessible living accommodations which was a small building with elevators to every floor. This suite had two rooms on opposite sides of the small common area which had a worn in couch and a coffee table. There was also a small kitchen and an even smaller dinner table. Sokka’s room had a small attached office space that he turned into Juno’s room, even though she still co-slept with him most nights, it was good to have a crib for naps and a place to put her never ending supply of diapers, blankets and clothes.

Sokka's roommate was a paraplegic kid named Teo who happened to have basically the same schedule as Sokka so they quickly bonded over advancements in the medical and mechanical fields. Teo also seemed pretty chill and took a liking to Juno right away. Which made Sokka endlessly happy because, well they were now living together and babies cry and poop so he was worried about tiptoeing around his new home.

Day care still didn’t open for the next two weeks while sokka would be attending training camp so his Dad would be taking most of the days with Juno, but it happened to shake out where the first day of meet and greet and skate Hakkoda was attending a support group meeting for retired field medics in a new city and Sokka didn’t want his Dad to miss it, plus it gave Sokka an opportunity to introduce everyone to his best girl.

Katara came to hold Juno while he was on the ice excited to get a sneak peek at university life before her high school year started.

“Da da da” Juno babbled as she mushed her fist into Sokka’s mouth, sokka smiled and pretended to gobble up her hand, the baby shrieked and laughed and Sokka adjusted her baby sweater around her neck.

“Sokka she’s fine, I have diapers, formula, and the big blanket you packet in the stroller, if she gets fussy I can take her for a walk to see the birds, and she won’t get cold because you packed a million layers and she will be held by every limbo there so again, she will be fine.”

Sokka checked the stroller again nodding to what his sister was saying. She was right, he was prepared, he had already emailed with the coaches so they knew what was up and he had coffee with the captain yesterday, who looked like a giant holding his baby, but overall seemed like a good guy. Eric “Wooly Mammoth/ Wooly” Woolner seemed like a solid guy, like physically solid and also like the type of guy Sokka could lean on as a leader while figuring out classes, fatherhood and being on a university level hockey team.

Everyone met in a blank sort of room with lots of chairs facing a projector, Sokka thought it was probably to review game footage and make new plays. He settled in with Juno on his lap as the other guys in the room took notice that there was a baby in their midst.

“Sokka you brilliant man!” Shouted a familiar face from across the room as he stood up and ran over.

Haru was taller and broader than Sokka, much bigger at least than when they last saw each other when they played on the same club team when they were 15.

“Haru, dude! You’re here! Awesome!”

Haru took a look at Juno and sized her up, then he stuck out his tongue and did a silly dance, Juno hid her face in Sokka’s shoulder and Haru ran around so she could see him and did it again. This time he managed to get a small smile before she hid her face again, grabbing Sokka’s collar with her hands.

“She’s cute Socks, she yours?”

“Yep, this is Juno.”

“Nice, is she gonna be at the games and shit?”

“Easy up on the potty mouth there dude, and ya I hope so, my dads moved into town so they hope to be there and bring her to them and stuff.”

“Wicked, is the uh - mom in the picture?”

“Nah, she passed when Juno was born so it’s just us.”

“Sorry bro”

“Thanks, anyways we should totally catch up properly later. Let’s introduce the team to our new good luck charm shall we?”

Katara was right, Juno has passed from bro to dude to himbo, once she realized that everyone one here was as big and cuddly as her dad she seemed to warm up and enjoy the attention. Then it was time for everyone to get on the ice to pass around the puck and do some laps getting a feel for the other players on the ice.

Juno sat with Katara smearing her messy hands all over the glass looking at the people on the rink until she fell asleep in her stroller tucked under a whole blanket.

Sokka enjoyed the team, Haru was a great comfort of home, Wooly was a level headed captain that set a tone for the rest of the guys, then there was Lucas “Longshot” Cho, Dennis “The Duke” Cunningham, Sam “Rooke” Chesterfield, Finn “Pipsqueak” Biggs, and the team manager Suki and the assistant captain Zuko.

All of the guys were loud and boisterous, including Suki, but Zuko seemed reserved and maybe a little prickly.

Then there were coaches Piandao and Bumi. Piandao seemed more serious, the man with a plan. He had coached a lot of different teams and was sought after for his reputation of the coach who turns coal into diamonds, Bumi on the other hand had coached here forever it seemed. He gave Sokka Manic genius vibes that had him thinking that maybe he should let Piandao hold Juno for the occasional practise instead of the ripped crazy old guy who ran around the ice in uggs.

——————

Later when Sokka was packing up and talking to the coaches about potentially bringing Juno with him in case he couldn’t find a sitter last minute working out how that would work, Katara pulled up with a fussy Juno in her stroller.

“Sorry Sokka I have to run, Dad is outside waiting for me and I have to finish unpacking my room tonight”

“All good Kat, thanks again for coming tonight!”

Katara leaned down and kissed her fingers and pressed them to Juno’s head “Love you little bug”

The coaches bid their farewells shortly after and Sokka packed his stuff into the stroller before taking Juno out to settle her and give her a bottle.

Just as he tucked her into his arms and pulled the bottle from the bag someone walked briskly into the locker room where he was sitting.

Zuko and Assistant Captain huffed in and sat down hanging up his phone and tossing it on the bench.

“Uh hi?”

Zuko whirled around looking ready for a fight before spotting Sokka and said baby sucking on a bottle. “Hi Baby.” Zuko said shyly.

Sokka laughed “ Take me on a date before you call me that.” And winked at Zuko.

Zuko looked like a startled deer so Sokka took pity on him.

“Just kidding dude, I mean sort of I am Bi - what a discovery that was and anyways - sorry I wasn’t coming on to you - I don’t know you - I just thought I should make it clear that I COULD come on to you because I like guys, and girls…. Whelp I would start running away in shame now for oversharing but I’m currently a food spruce for this nugget sooo, yep just going to sit here and wish I could time travel to punch myself in the face.”

Throughout the vomit of words coming out of sokka’s mouth Zuko seemed to relax and then smirk at the other man.

“You do know I was talking to your kid right?”

“Yep, yes I did”

“Well see you around Sokka.”

And Zuko grabbed his bag and left the locker room. First impressions for today might be bit all over the place Sokka thought to himself.

____________________________________

Sokka talked to Juno all of the time. What can he say, he is a guy with a lot of words and they can’t all stay in his head.

So Juno has an interesting and advanced vocal for a 9 month old baby.

Of course she can address the people in her life, Dada, Kat, Great Papa, and GB (Great Bato)

She can also ask for milk, to go up, and uh oh.

She loves to say no but can infect say yes (sokka swears he’s heard that one)

But it also means she tries to say things that Sokka often says to varying degrees of baby success

“Stupid gravity!”

"Monkey balls”

“Shoot”

“I love you to the moon and back”

“hockey time.

And her favourite word of all time

Puck

It stopped making Sokka freeze after the first 2o times he thought he heard his baby say fuck. Now its just a cute funny thing his kid has figured out, Dada has to find the puck, and it is her job to hide them.

She hides pucks everywhere, he swears sometimes she is multiplying them on her own because he always finds at least two in the diaper bag and one hidden in her crib.

So very quickly into the season the team dubs the hockey baby with her very own nickname

“Little puck”

Sokka quietly thinks that Yue would have liked that one because her favourite Shakespeare play was midsummer night's dream.

________________________

The team gets Juno and Sokka a fancy running stroller for her birthday/christmas

It was Zuko’s idea

Zuko sometimes comes by to offer to take her for a run when Sokka has exams.

_______________________

Zuko seemed to always be the last to leave the locker rooms, Sokka would usually rush out to pick up Juno from whoever had her unless she had stayed with Couch Dao during practise which she had today.

On days like today Sokka takes his time, cleans and folds his gear, re-tapes his stick for next practise and actually has a real shower. So today he was tucking Juno back in her stroller after changing her as Zuko put the tape away. They were casually talking about the hilarious origins of Pipsqueaks nickname when sokka realized Zuko had a funny look on his face.

“What? Do I have poop on me or something?”

Now Zuko looked even more confused as Sokka looked at his shirt, twisting around to make sure he was free of baby droppings.

“No, you just never look at it, is all. I was trying to figure out what was so -weird about you other than being a crazy goalie, and you don’t look at it.”

“I don’t look at what?”

Zuko gestures to the scared half of his face glumly. “You don’t look at it, you look me in the eyes, always have. It’s weird I guess. You pretending it’s not there.”

“Oh”

“Forget it, sorry.”

“No! It’s just of course I know it’s ther, I’m not pretending its not there, it just seems like whatever happen was probably truamitic, ya know? And - well - okay so tragic backstory time. My Mom was killed in a targeted home invasion by some racists, super fucked up... “

“Holy shit.”

“Yep, anyways everyone knew about it, in the town we lived in, in the next town we lived in, So it was like everyone could see my big truma all the time, it wasn’t up to me to trust people enough to share something that was hard for me and that hurt. It was out of my hands and everyone knew including people I didn’t feel safe with or I didn’t know at all. So I get it, in a way. I see your scar I do, but I get that it maybe comes with a pretty sucky story that’s not mine to make assumptions and judgments on. If I’m worthy of knowing then I will, but I will always look you in the eyes, I’m not going to look at your trauma first because you’re Zuko first.”

Zuko stared at Sokka with his mouth open. Sokka looked away and finished strapping Juno into her stoller before looking back up at the other player. When he did Zuko was looking at the wall, his shoulders turned away from the young father.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry about your Mom… I promise I won’t tell anyone, that scar can stay between us for however long you need.”

And before Sokka could stay anything Zuko turned on his heel and walked quickly from the room.

________________________-

Sokka wasn’t sure what was up with this Zuko guy, everyone else on the team except Haru and Sokka had played with Zuko last year, so they all seemed to have an unspoken understanding of the reserve alt captain. But Sokka couldn’t even get him to smile. Sokka knew he was funny, he was full of 100% organic grass fed dad jokes for goodness sakes! But no, Zuko would not smile, he would not laugh, actually most of the time he seemed to be trying to not talk to Sokka in general. Which was hard considering Zuko was one of the defensemen and it was his job to protect Sokka, you’d think there would be an effort to become friends.

“Maybe he’s uncomfortable with the whole baby thing?” Suggested Teo from the table where he was copying data to a new chart.

“Nahh, I don’t think so, he even said hi to Juno at the first prac - ohhhhhhh” Sokka fell to the floor from where he was sitting with Juno, she took the opportunity of her opponent on the ground and began to climb on her dad.

“What ohhhhhh?”

“I totally flirted with him after that and told him I was queer and he like panic walked out of the locker room.”

“Ugh so do you think he’s homophobic or something?”

“Maybe or something? I don’t get bully vibes from him more like “I act scary so people won’t pretend to like me and then stab me in the back” vibes from this guy. So maybe it’s just a little internalized stuff and he’s not going to beat me up just might not want to talk about it.”

“Well it sucks either way!”

Juno continued to climb around her Dad trying to stuff toys down his shirt and then take them out again. Sokka kept a hand two inches from her back whenever she got close to standing just incase she decided that gravity no longer applied to her and she tumbled over.

“Hey Sokka, do you think he told anyone? Would your spot be in danger if you were outed?”

A cold feeling settled in his stomach “oh shit, I uh, I didn’t think about that… I don’t think I would be kicked off the team. There are policies like that for the school, but I don’t know about how safe I would be from the boys.”

“Oh,” Teo finally looked up from his laptop and set down his highlighter. “You know if you need someone to back you up, I know I can’t take them in a fight but I am friends with some freelance hackers and I could make their lives living hell.”

“Teo, you my man are one scary dude, and the wheels only add intimidation with that tricked out chair. You’re also a really great friend.”

Teo blushed and shrugged “Eh it’s whatever, us queers in engineering trying to change the way people use bionic tech gotta stick together right?”

“Totally, isn’t Uncle Teo awesome June-Bug?” Sokka picked up his daughter and flew her over his head as she wiggled her legs.

“Too too!”

“Uncle Teo?” teo said quietly from the table.

“Oh, well ya, if you want? Juno needs a village right? And one day you and I are going to start a bionics company together, so ya you’re going to be around for a while right?”

“Right.” Teo smiled.

“Toto!” Juno screamed again.

Both of the boys laughed and the night went on.

_______________________________________

Juno was still asleep and Teo was in the house studying so Sokka took the opportunity to go for a run around his building with the baby monitor clipped on his waist band.

It was rare nowadays that Sokka could get a good run in outside, his feet pounding the pavement, a chance to clear his mind.

He was surprised to see that Zuko apparently had the same idea because soon they were matching each other stride for stride around the complex. It was surprising even after weeks of Zuko evading Sokka at any chance they seemed to be in sync.

They were still going strong when Sokka heard Juno fuss from the monitor and slowed to a stop. Zuko halted a few paces ahead and looked confused.

“Are you tired? We can stop-” Zuko started but Sokka quickly waved him off.

“No it’s Juno, I just want to see if she’s going to go back to sleep herself or whether I have to call Teo to pick her up, or if I should go get her. Come on J-Bug settle down,”

Zuko looking curious came to hover over Sokka’s shoulder looking down at the tiny screen which showed Juno in her crib tossing and turning.

“Come on J look your penguin is right there- YES!” Sokka pumped his fist and did a little dance. “My baby went back to sleep, ah I love you!” He continued speaking to the machine and the sky and skipped around before remembering he had an audience.

It looked like Zuko was thinking about smiling and Sokka thought that that might be worth celebrating too.

“Hehe whoops, sorry man. I just haven't been able to run in forever, it's like she knows when I grab my runners and demands to see me.”

“No worries, Sokka.”

So the two hockey players started up a soft pace again around the building. It came to Sokka's mind that he shouldn’t poke the bear but he also had poor impulse control so as he thought it the words came tumbling out of his mouth.

“So have you outed me to all the guys and should I watch my back?”

Now it was Zuko’s turn to stop, he looked like Sokka slapped him.

“What.”

“Ugh! You know, like I can not talk about it and we can just play the game but - should I be making sure that Juno is safe? If she comes to a practise and I’m leaving will I get roughed up by the guys? Because I can take a hit, but my daughter is off limits. Nothing has happened yet so, my guess is you haven't told anyone, but are you going to?”

“No!” Zuko still looked scared “ Never - do I come off as someone who would do that?” He followed up quietly.

“I don’t know what to say dude, you looked scared out of your mind when I flirted with you and practically ran out when I told you I was Bi and ever since you have avoided me, I just assumed you were uncomfortable.”

Zuko looked around as if to check for monsters around them, then he looked at Sokka. “I won’t tell anyone, I haven't, I swear to you that I have your back if you ever want to say anything about it. Juno is safe, I swear it.”

“Whoa that’s a serious tone shift, Um thank you then.”

There was an awkward pause as the two men regarded each other for a moment.

“Just out of curiosity why did you avoid me after? Was it the baby thing?”

“No, it wasn't the baby thing.” zuko mumbled and toed the dirt with his shoe.

“Okay… but were good now right?”

“Ya”

Sokka turned and started to jog again, and soon enough Zuko caught up and they continued for a few more laps. As they were cooling down Zuko still looked amped up, Sokka was surprised, running usually calmed him down but Zuko seemed jumpy.

“Well this was fun! If I can ever join again it would be nice to have company, even company as quiet as you along.”

“Why don’t you bring Juno in her stroller or something?”

Sokka rubbed a hand behind his neck “ Well her stroller is a second hand one we got when she was born, it’s not the kind I can take running without it falling apart or bouncing my babies brains out. And her Mom and I both had much to offer in genetic smarts so I would like my babies brain to be perfect so she can run the world or something.”

“Oh and I guess running strollers are expensive?”

“Ya a bit, and I already spend so much on her clothes, she just won’t stop growing!”

“Too bad, it was also nice running with you.”

“Wow a real Zuko compliment, be still my beating heart!”

Sokka grabbed his chest and fell back and rolled in the grass. Zuko’s lips tilted up just a fraction and butterflies fluttered in sokka’s stomach.

Just then Juno started to cry in earnest and Teo’s voice came over the monitor. “Uh Sokka is her bottle the one in the door of the fridge or do I make a new one?”

Sokka sighed a little then pressed the intercom button on the monitor “Don’t worry about it Teo I will be up in two. Just start telling her the periodic table or something.”

“See you later Zuko”

“Bye Sokka.”

_____________

Sokka’s head was pounding and his vision was blurry, as he stumbled in the dark to the toilet and heaved.

“Fuck.”

At some piont after the sweating and throwing up he dragged himself back to his room to fetch his phone. Juno was fast asleep in her crib because he had a headache last night and homework took forever, so he had put her down early.

Back in the bathroom he rested his head on the cool tile and dialed up his dad with shaky fingers.

After three rings Hakkoda picked up in a panic “Sokka, are you okay? Is Juno okay? Where are you?”

Sokka squinted his eyes at the loud voice of his Dad ringing around his skull. “Dad? I think I have the flu.”

“Oh bud, okay. What’s going on, how can I help?”

“I had a headache last night so I put J down for bed early then I woke up with a fever, I keep throwing up, Dad I -” Sokka felt a lump in his throat and tears sting his eyes. “Dad I don’t want to her her, she was just so small, and I don’t want her to get sick. I know I have to do this, but i love her so much and I dont want to fuck up - “

The tears fall down his cheeks to the floor.

“Oh son, okay. One you love that kid more than anything you would die before hurting her this I know. Two people get sick, people also get better with rest and the I think I can help with that.”

“Dad I know I’m grown up ish, but can you tell me what to do?”

Hakkoda chuckled on the other end of the line. “Sokka, Bato and I will come pick up Juno in 30 minutes, we will drop off some crackers and gatorade too.”

“Dad- “

“Nope Sokka, you asked so I am telling you what we are going to do. We will come and get our baby girl and take her for a few days, You will email your profs and get your homework sent to you, you can only go to class when you don’t have a fever and if you do you’re going to wear a mask, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good you will email your coaches tell them whats what, when you feel better you can go watch practise, the cool might even be good for the fever, but you will not push yourself. This week will not make or break the rest of your life. So you will sleep, rest, do your work form home, and Juno will play at GB and great Papa’s house. And everything will be okay.”

“Okay. Thank you dad”

“We will be there soon buddy”

So Juno went with his Dad’s and he sent his emails and face planted in his bed and passed out for 6 hours.

Later an hour before practise Sokka’s phone pinged, he groaned and grasped around for his phone.

A text from Fire Prince Zuko

Coaches just said you won’t be at practise tonight. Is everything okay? Is Puck good?

Flu bug, don’t want to mess up that pretty ice with my vomit. Juno seems fine she’s at my Dads house until I’m not dying of the plague

A few minutes went by after that and sokka’s eyes started to fall again. “Ping”

I can drop off soup and tea on my way to practise, which suite is yours in family huas?

Dude its fine I can feed myself

Dude. I’m helping at my uncle’s tea shop today. They have soup and tea, it’s no problem. In fact my uncle insists.

14a second floor

And thank you Z

What are Alt Capts for?

Hakkoda was right, everything was indeed okay in the end. Juno had a blast at her grandparents house and sokka managed to get all of his homework done and even managed to watch a few lectures online courtesy of Teo. Zuko was the anomaly he could’t account for but was grateful for none the less. Whenever he could he stopped by with snacks, soup, tea and even weirder sent cute cat and baby videos at random points during the days.

Within 4 days Sokka felt good enough to go to classes and do some dryland training uring practise and after one more day he was back catching pucks on the rink with his daughter sleeping in the bed next to him one hand fisted on his shirt to make sure her dad didn’t leave.

After that week sometimes Zuko would still stop by with a tea, which Sokka had begun to like even when he wasn’t dying. Except now he would occasionally stay and drink his own tea while they watched juno play on the floor.

Sokka was starting to think he might have a new friend after all…

_____________________

[bugabash]

Hold me while we Fall

Miraculous x Attack on Titan au

Fear was a complex that almost everyone within the walls grew to have as second nature. No one had seen a titan besides the scouts since the walls were erected, and the schools taught the children about the monsters beyond the wall in few details. But to Marinette it wasn’t the creatures that fascinated her, it was the world beyond. She had studied books on the wonders outside. But they never taught it in school, and she was chastised for bringing it up. So, the young girl kept it to herself, only sharing it with her sister. She feared the titans beyond the walls, everyone did, it was drilled into them from birth that they were the cattle to the wolves outside, but her family always made sure it was the furthest thing from her mind.

But that was before, and now everything has changed.

Next

AO3

Chapter 1: Marinette Dupain-Cheng

The year was 845 withing the walls of the Shiganshina district. Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood in her room that resided in her home above her father’s small bakery. She was eleven and a half, the half especially important to her when she defended her size to others. She was small, always hiding under her long dark hair that fell to her waist. But despite this her personality always shone through, making her extremely well liked with her peers. And with this came a very protective nature from them over her, feeling the need to shield her from everything, even from some of the stories of the Titans. But no one protected her more than her older sister, Tikki.

Tikki was fifteen, tall, beautiful, her long dark hair constantly in perfectly placed high pigtails, never a strand out of place, reaching down to her waist. She had bluebell eyes just like Marinette, freckles decorating her nose like an artist had painted them on her. She carried their mother’s feature more prominently than Marinette did which she embraced with pride. She was the definition of beauty. She was loved by all, known for her cheerful spirit and, well, being good at almost everything really. She was smart, charitable and all together a good person. She protected her sister from everything, determined to let Marinette grow up without the fear she had grown up with.

Marinette stood in front of her small homemade mannequin with her mauve dress she had been working on for a month now resting on it. Tikki was draped on her bed across their shared room, chattering away about her latest teachings from one of their father’s friends. Marinette was so used to it now, she just focused on her fingers as they threaded the needle through the fabric, counting the last few stitches in her head.

Four, three, two, one.

“It’s done!” She squeaked, interrupting her sister and causing her to jump and sit up, staring at Marinette with a confused expression. “It’s done! It’s d4one! It’s done!” She pulled it off the mannequin and spun around, her hair fanning out around her. Tikki laughed and stood up, jumping around excitedly and ran over. Marinette held it up to show it off to her big sister proudly, this was her first dress she did completely by herself.

“Wow! That’s so pretty, Nettie!” Tikki complimented, smiling proudly at her, “wanna try it on? You can show it off while we go to the market later!”

Marinette gasped and nodded, wriggling out of her current dress and threw it aside, standing in just her thin, white petty coat. Tikki helped her and soon she was in her dress. It was knee length, the red stitches standing out delicately against the mauve fabric. It was long sleeve with white ruffled at the cuffs, a lace like pattern around the neck and a tied up back. She spun around and squeaked with joy, it wasn’t perfect, but it was hers.

“Oh, Miss Marinette, you are the most beautiful ladybug in the land!” Tikki exclaimed with a playful curtsey, using her pet name for Marinette with a cheeky smile.

“I’m the prettiest Ladybug in the world!” Marinette giggled, jumping up and down, “let’s go show Papa!” She grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her along, running downstairs into their home, she knew he would be downstairs in the bakery. She opened the door leading to the bakery and skipped down.

“Papa!” She called out excitedly, her father turning and smiling at her, “I finished my dress!” She spun around showing it off before running and jumping into her fathers strong arms. He laughed and picked her up with ease, hugging her tight.

“You look exquisite my little love bug!” Her father praised, beaming happily at both of them, “it looks amazing! Did Tikki help at all?”

“Nope, she did it all by herself!” Tikki replied with a smile, “little Ladybug, I need to go into the market, do you want to show off your new dress around town?” Marinette smiled broadly and jumped out of her father’s arms. “Ok good, go put on your boots and a coat.”

“Okay, now you be careful girls, okay? Please be home before the sun starts to set.” Their father warned as he turned back to his work. “You know the rules.”

“Yes Papa, we will be back soon, promise.” Tikki nodded, walking over and kissing his cheek before putting her own coat on.

“Papa, can we have the special bread with dinner? To celebrate my dress?” Marinette asked as she hopped around, trying to put her one boot on.

Their father chuckled heartedly, “of course, anything for my main girls. Now, could you please pick up this today.” He handed Tikki a small list and some money, giving her the same look he did whenever they went out, Marinette never knew what it was but it looked like a serious look. She was still too young to be told much, which she hated. She felt old enough.

“Yes Papa, we will be back soon.” Tikki smiled and pocketed the note in her thin fabric bag slung over her shoulder.

“Bye papa!” Marinette yelled and hugged him tight, kissing his cheek too before letting go.

He waved them off, laughing at how Marinette did one last twirl around a customer before leaving. They stepped out of the bakery and Marinette smiled, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth on her face, the wind blowing through her hair and the sound of the birds chirping around them. She opened her eyes and looked around at the world around her. Everyone was busy, children playing with others, mothers working with their babes on their backs, men working hard for their families. Life was hard, but it was happy, simple, peaceful. She loved her town, loved her life really. She had amazing friends and an amazing family. She looked up at her chatting sister, smiling.

As they walked Marinette looked out at the huge walls that protected them. She wondered if the monsters would ever get in, or if one day she could go beyond the wall. She knew it wasn’t possible for humans to live outside, but she still wondered. As her father and Tikki liked to tell her she was destined to meet someone and raise a family. Contribute to the town and survive. She wasn’t too sure on it all, but she did as she was told.

They reached the market soon enough, and something caught their eye, Tikki grabbing Marinette and pulling her off the road into the crowds. Marinette gasped, eyes wide.

The scouts, she had seen them many times before, saw their wounded and saw the families that grieved. Their neighbour lost three sons just last month. She remembered the blood curdling scream, her father had told her that the sons were most likely eaten by the Titans, explaining that that was why she must stay within the walls and stay away from the military.

Today they looked exhausted, almost defeated, the blood standing out on their clothes. Tikki gripped her tight, pulling Marinette against her body.

“Those poor men and women,” She whispered, Marinette looking up at her then back at the soldiers, “Marinette, always respect anyone who wears that uniform. They have given up everything to protect us. Do you understand?” Marinette nodded, looking back at them.

She caught the eye of one young man who was on horseback. His hair was pure black, the top of his hair long and in a bun, shorter pieced falling out here and there, while the underside was shaved to a fade with what seemed to be a haphazardly shaved pawprint on the side. He looked over at them, he must have spotted Tikki, she always caught peoples’ eye. He had green eyes with small pupils, he was handsome but looked young to be in the scouts. His jaw was covered in blood, his cape missing and his uniform stained, though it didn’t stand out much against his black t-shirt. He raised a brow, and tilted his head curiously, examining them. Marinette blinked before she waved, smiling pleasantly. This caught him by surprise, blinking a few times before he smiled and waved back. He had a peculiar smile, his canines looked almost catlike with the small extra length of them and it made her smile more. He was different, just like her and her sister were. Not to the extend but still. He seemed to find it amusing and winked at Marinette, laughing to himself before he turned his attention back to the front.

They watched them leave, the crowds whispering between themselves, Tikki’s grip never letting go of Marinette. Tikki quickly herded Marinette away, “let’s go.” She whispered.

“Did you see that scout?” Marinette asked as she walked, looking down at the stone she had started kicking. “He looked different, like us.”

“What?” Tikki asked, taken aback with a raised brow.

“His smile, I think he looks like he has teeth like a cat.”

“A cat?”

“Yeah, didn’t you see? I like his smile, its unique like us.”

Tikki stayed silent and eyed Marinette before looking forward again, “you know why we are unique, don’t you? Papa said he discussed it with you.”

“Yeah, because we are half Chinese, or oriental as he said.” She answered honestly, “he said we are rare and that there aren’t many of us left. That’s what makes us so special.”

“Well yes, but that is also why we must be extra careful and why we must not be out after sunset.” Tikki explained, her brows furrowed. “You know about the people that could harm us?”

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t think everyone is bad.” Marinette replied with a shrug, she hated these conversations, she didn’t like to think about all of that… of mama…

“I know, but there are bad people out there.” Tikki said before stopping and looking around. The world had almost gone quiet, the wind dropped, and the birds stopped singing. Marinette blinked and looked around too.

“Marinette…” Tikki whispered, grabbing her sister’s shoulder.

Marinette bit her lip and looked around, “what is it?”

Tikki looked like she was starting to panic and pulled Marientte aside. She crouched in front of her and held her shoulders, looking her in the eye. “Okay, I need you to listen to me. Never put yourself in danger, got it?” Tikki stopped and held onto Marinette’s shoulders tighter. Tikki’s blue eyes looked scared. “There are more scary things than the people who could take us. I have done everything to protect you from the reality of this life, but please, if anything happens, ever, you run, you hide, and you do whatever you can to survive.”

“Tikki… What- what are you talking about?” Marinette asked in confusion. She may not know much but she wasn’t an idiot, she knew there were dangers beyond and within the wall. But what was she talking about?

“Trust me, okay? Just listen to my words.” Tikki cupped Marinette’s face, “you are the most important thing to me, and I promised mama and papa that I would protect you from everything, let you grow up but something… something about those soldiers. I can’t lie to you anymore.” She sighed, Marinette felt tears in her eyes at the mention of her mama, “listen to me, if ever something goes wrong, you look after yourself before anyone else, okay? I know it sounds awful, but I need you to survive.” Marinette shook her head, that was an awful thing to say. “Life is survival, it’s not survival of the fittest anymore, its survival of the smartest. You are small, but strong, you’re smart, you use that big brain of yours, and you survive.”

“I-I don’t understand.” Marinette said with a frown, “why are you telling me this? Why can’t I help people if there is danger?”

“I…I….” Tikki looked away, biting her lip, Marinette felt her pulse through the hands on her cheeks. “I just… Promise me!” Tikki looked more serious than she ever had.

Marinette looked at her in confusion, where had this come from? This was so out of the blue, it was like Tikki knew something she didn’t. But what? “Tikki, I don’t understand.”

Tikki opened her mouth but she was interrupted when a crack of thunder echoed, a yellow strike of lightning appearing just beyond the wall. Everyone froze and watched, she had never heard silence like that. Tikki stood up and grabbed Marinette.

What was happening? She saw the huge hand on the wall and gasped. No… It couldn’t be… The wall was over fifty metres tall, no titan was ever that big.

“Oh god… no…” Tikki gasped, Marinette looked around, everyone was still, eyes on the wall. She turned her eyes to the wall and covered her mouth, her blood ran cold. A sweat overtook her body and she started shaking. That was when she saw the face appear. It was all muscle, even from this distance she could make out the eyes and teeth. “Marinette, run!” She heard her sister scream before a gust of hot wind overtook them, rubble flying everywhere then a loud bang. They were flung back into the air, her grip on Tikki gone as she screamed. She didn’t know how long they were in the air but when they landed it was hard and Marinette landed on someone who wrapped their arms around her. She had hit her head, she knew that much from the pain and the wetness trickling down her face.

She had the wind knocked out of her, her vision going white and a pain in her side stifled her scream. She heard screaming around her, and when her vision returned, she was on her back lying on another person who had their arms tightly around her. Dust was everywhere, people running around them and she could hear someone screaming her name. Wait, she wasn’t on Tikki?

“Hey, are you okay?” She heard a young boy’s voice ask under her in a yell, “Hey, can you hear me? Listen to me!” She coughed and struggled against the arms, he let go of her and she rolled off. She rolled onto her knees, her dress was torn slightly over her left side from their impact and blood was dripping onto the white lace around her neck She felt hands on her face and looked up, meeting green eyes. Time stood still and she stared at him in silence. He looked around her age, big green eyes, a cut under his left eye and short blonde hair. He looked so groomed he could be from the inner walls. He looked her over before grabbing her under her arms and pulled her up to standing, grasping her hand and pulling her away from the chaos towards who was screaming her name.

She let him pull her along, her body moving on its own as she stared back from where they came from. Boulders lay on top of people, blood everywhere, limbs lying across the road. Marinette gasped and her eyes widened. She felt her innocence shatter, felt everything of her being shatter. She had been so sheltered, and now…

“Hey, come on, you need to run, I cant carry you, please!” She heard the raspy voice yell in a panic, turning her attention to him with wide eyes. He saw them and gasped, looking past her and saw what she had just seen, pulling her behind a wall and hiding her against the cold stone. Realisation had hit him on what she had just seen, and so he pulled his cloak off and wrapped it around her, pulling up the hood. “Don’t look, I have you, I promise!” He grabbed her hand again and they were running again. Marinette gripped onto the boy for dear life, tears streaming down her face.

They’re dead… The titans, they were in. She didn’t know what was going to happen! Where was Tikki?

“Where are we going? Where is my sister?” Marinette screamed, she was half running half being dragged, but then she tripped up on her skirt with a scream and caused them both to fall, scraping her knee in the process as they rolled away, hitting a wall and stopped. The boy had his arms around her again as he kept her close to his chest as them stampede of people flew past, panting heavily.

“Are you okay? Can you still run?” He asked softly as he looked down at her, blinking when he saw her wide, terrified eyes. He frowned and tilted his head back, looking to where she was looking and froze, 50 feet away from them stood… a titan.

“No… How is that possible.” The boy whispered, sitting them up and pulling her back against his chest, being held close to him as she sobbed quietly. They were frozen, his grip on her tight around her, ruffling her dress between his fists. “A Titan…” Before them stood a huge humanoid creature, his grin ear from ear filled with large teeth, his hair long and black, his tall body muscled. Marinette started kicking her legs, trying to get away and grabbed at the arms around her, screaming for help. “I got you!” He cried as she struggled in his arm before lifting her up with a grunt, shifting her onto his back and began running as Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck, gripping onto his shirt for dear life as he hooked his hands under her knees.

Marinette looked ahead and saw Tikki between the terrified crowds, she was with the scout from earlier, he had Tikki over his shoulder and was looking around as if he was looking for someone. She was kicking and screaming, eyes falling on Marinette and she stopped struggling, screaming for her with her hand outreached, causing the scout to look back, his eyes widening.

Marinette screamed out, “Tikki!” She gripped onto the boy tighter who had a determined look on his face, his eyes focused on the scout. “Tikki! Help-” before she could finish her sentence a titan grabbed them out of no where, causing them both to scream and grab onto each other, the boy twisting and pulling her against his chest. The boy started punching the giant fingers around them, his other arm holding her tight against him, Marinette never let her eyes look away from the toothy grinned giant staring at them in hunger. “Tikki!” Marinette screamed.

“Marinette! NO!” Tikki screamed, Marinette looked over at her to see her fighting the scout who was yelling something at her. He didn’t have his gear, Marinette noticed, her heart sinking as she turned her attention back to the monster in front of them. He was raising them up, the grip getting stronger, the air being squeezed from them. The boy yelped and looked at her in fear. She looked back, tears streaming down her face. They stared at each other before he smiled at her small, lacing their fingers together and keeping their eyes locked.

“Just keep looking at me, okay?” He said softly, she nodded and gripped onto his hand, sniffing and wiping her nose on her arm as she cried. “It’ll be okay, what’s your name by the way?”

“M-Marinette.” She whispered in reply, shaking and stifling a scream as a big hand started to reach for them, the boy squeezing her hand more, the other arm around her tightening, pulling her so her face was against his chest, resting his head on hers.

“I’m Adrien.” He replied, he was shaking as well, tears falling. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” She shook her head, eyes starting to turn towards the hand that was so close now she could feel the warmth, her eyes widening. But Adrien wasn’t having it, tightening his arm again and making her look back up at him. “Keep looking at me or hide, just don’t look. I got you.” He whispered.

The grip on them tightened and her eyes shot open as fingers grabbed the cloak fastened around her, lifting her out of the hand, she screamed for dear life as Adrien tried desperately to keep his strong grip on her. “Adrien!” She screeched, gripping his hands for dear life. He was screaming for her, desperate to get her back. “NO! NO! ADRIEN! TIKKI! PAPA!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, her grip being pulled from Adrien’s her heart stopping and her eyes widening. She locked eyes with the terrified boy, he looked like he was about to be sick.

She wasn’t sure if it was because he had lost her, or because he was next but the boy started screaming and hitting at the hand again. She looked at the titan as it held her up to his face, staring at her with empty, dead, hungry eyes. She was hanging from the cloak, it was slowly pressing against her neck, making it harder and harder to breath. She was sure she had wet herself, feeling warmth go down her legs. This was it; this was the end. She watched as he opened his mouth, the stench was rancid, making her gag and cover her mouth with her trembling hands. She started screaming for help again, kicking at the Titan, she didn’t want to die.

She felt time move in slow motion as she was lifted up higher, closing her eyes and hugging herself. She heard Adrien screaming for her desperately, but her hearing left her, a soft hum taking over. Was her body getting her ready to die? She had read something about it, a fight or flight within the body, protects you from the trauma or the pain to come so to speak. Adrenaline, was it? But she wasn’t sure it was true until now.

Then suddenly she wasn’t being held up as air filled her lung from the loss of pressure on her neck, feeling the air from falling overwhelming her. It’s over… It’s over… But instead of being bitten in half or feeling the wetness of a tongue, she was hit by another body, eyes flying open to see the ends of blonde hair as she was suddenly going another direction. Reality set in and the haze faded quickly, she wrapped her arms and legs around him as he did to her, burying her head in his neck as she braced for impact. And boy was it a hard one.

They hit a corner of a wall, spinning in the air and slamming into the floor, both gasping and coughing for air. She opened her eyes wide as she took a deep breath and gripped the boy that lay on top of her, covering her from danger. She looked back at the Titan to see it was missing his hands, swiping at the soldier who had appeared. She saw the roses and knew exactly why they were there. She didn’t have much time to think after that as the boy got up and pulled her up, grabbing her and flinging her on his back, running as fast as he could. He was limping as he ran, his groans while he panted telling her that he was injured just like she was.

By the time Marinette could register what was going on fully she was pulled off his back despite her screams of protest to be met by a tight hug. She blinked and looked up, “Marinette!” Tikki… She found her! Marinette broke down and hugged her tight, her sister hitched her up and held her close to her body, and they were running again, Marinette clung on for dear life. She opened her eyes and saw the dark-haired scout behind her, the boy draped over his back. He looked exhausted but still clung to the young man, Adrien’s head hung over his shoulder.

They ran in the screaming crowds, avoiding the many titans that were eating everyone they could. But Marinette kept her eyes on the boy, he had risked his life for her, a stranger. Why did he do that? After what her sister had said to her earlier, she was confused to why he had risked his life to save her?

After what seemed like ages they suddenly stopped, the older teens panting heavily. Tikki shifted Marinette with a grunt and she could feel that Tikki was wet from sweat. “Marinette, I need you to run, okay?” She whispered, placing the girl down who stood on shaking legs, nodding and looking back at the scout who didn’t look like he was struggling as much, but the boy on his back fought against him and jumped to his feet, running to Marinette and took her hand, eyes fixed on her and full of something Marinette had never seen before. She gulped and looked at their clasped hands before she looked around fearfully.

The scout didn’t look pleased but grunted, Tikki looked at the scout who just frowned and started running. The boy pulled Marinette with him, Tikki running behind them. Marinette looked around as she was pulled along, people were being eaten, trampled, crushed, there was nothing but death and despair. How could they survive this?

After not too long they were approaching the main gate in wall Maria, Marinette looked around desperately for her father, but never saw him. They all slowed down, gaining their breath back slowly. They joined the crowd, heading slowly towards the arch. The one flaw of the districts that lay outside the wall was there was only one exit. She remembered her father complaining about it constantly. She looked back at her sister, seeing Tikki was next to the scout who Marinette had figured out his name was Plagg. They were arguing in hushed voices, she wanted to ask Adrien what was going on but she didn’t know if she could speak yet.

Did they know each other? The way they were arguing and their body language spoke a thousand words. But she had never seen this man until today. But then again here she was clinging to the boy next to her, their fingers interlocked and her other hand gripping onto his arm for dear life. He didn’t seem to mind, looking up at him and saw he was looking around with a serious expression. Now that things had slowed down, she got a proper look at him.

He was taller than her by maybe a few inches, his face young and his green eyes bright. The right side of his face was covered in blood, his cut dirty and deep under his eye, another cut on his forehead. She didn’t think she looked any better, feeling the dried blood on her face and the pain from her cuts. She looked down at his dark green shirt and saw red over the side they had hit the corner of the wall on, her brows furrowing. He was injured, and he still managed to carry her out of there.

“He’s my brother.” Adrien spoke softly, turning her gaze back up to his face, he was looking down at her now, smiling small, “Plagg, the one talking with your sister, Tikki was it?” Marinette nodded, looking at the two arguing teens, “he’s a scout, the only reason he’s in Shiganshina is because of me.” He looked down darkly, his eyes looked sad for some reason. “But, hey, that meant I was there to catch you.” He looked at her and smiled sadly.

She blinked up at him, she didn’t know what to say, her whole mind felt shattered. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Why couldn’t she speak? Was she really that weak?

He seemed to understand and nodded, “hey, it’s okay. We have been through a lot today, you don’t have to talk. I’m just glad I could help even one person.” She again blinked, he was so kind, probably the kindest person she had ever met. Why save her?

They both looked up when Tikki turned to them, “stay close, we need to get onto the boats, but there are a lot of people in front of us. You stay by us no matter what, okay?” They both nodded and she sighed, eyeing their clasped hands before turning back, Plagg whispered a comment that caused Tikki to hit his arm, telling him off again.

“Plagg, we need to get them away from here.” Marinette heard her sister say, eyeing her curiously. Tikki’s hair was ruffled, her pigtails messed and some hair had fallen out, framing her face. She had a small cut on her cheek. But what stood out the most was that she looked terrified.

“Yeah, yeah, I know that, sugarcube.” The scout replied with a scowl, “what do you think I’m doing exactly?”

“Well, so far my sister was almost eaten, let snot even bring up the state of them, and my dad is probably dead!” Tikki yelled back at him, pouting as she glared.

Suddenly they heard the footsteps, freezing and spinning around. Their eyes wide. Adrien gasped and pulled Marinette close, his eyes wide and his jaw clenched. In the distance they saw a huge titan sprinting towards them, his arms flinging around him, his jaw slack. Marinette screamed and was suddenly pulled to running by Adrien, turning her gaze forward the saw Tikki being pulled along by Plagg.

They had got out! How were they in danger again! This couldn’t be happening! She looked back just as the titan hit the ground, gasping as she saw the rubble heading towards them she looked at Adrien and saw he hadn’t seen it, his eyes focused on the road ahead. HE had saved her all this time, and if that debris hit them he would be hurt or possibly die. She looked back and gasped, she had to do something! She let go of his hand, causing him to gasp and look at her. She didn’t hesitate and shoved him hard, causing him to yell her name and fall to the side just as the debris hit her. She was hit hard, being smacked back, tumbling until she skidded to a halt, her body limp.

All she felt was pain, her vision went white, and she felt her dress suddenly getting wet. She tried breathing but it was laboured, and she heard gargling a bit. Her body was shaking, the pain coming from her left side of her face down to her shoulder. What was wrong with her? Was she dead? Was she dying? What about Adrien?

Suddenly she felt hands on her neck, she heard her sister far in the distance and then strong arms were carrying her and she was bouncing in them, the wind blowing over her. She heard others yelling and the whiteness started to fade. She was staring up at the sky, her mouth hanging open slightly, gasping for breath. Why did it feel like she was drowning? Was she drowning? No that was silly, she was in someone’s arms.

She felt someone had her hand, a soft voice speaking to her until they finally stopped. She felt hardness under her and suddenly her sister’s face was above her and she felt pressure on her neck, cheek and shoulder. She looked around without moving her head, Tikki’s tears catching her attention. Tikki? Why was she crying? What was wrong with her?

“Marinette? Oh god, oh shit, please, don’t die, no, please don’t die!” Tikki was saying, crying softly. “Plagg, do something!”

“Do what exactly? Do I look like a doctor? I’m doing everything I can!” The young man hissed back, he tore the bottom of Tikki’s skirt and started wrapping it around Marinette’s neck. “Just keep pressure! She’s lucky she’s even fucking alive!”

“Why did she do that?” She heard Adrien, he sounded distressed.

“She was saving you, if she didn’t do that you would be just as bad, possibly worse. She has some guts, I will give her that.” Plagg replied, leaning over her and looking into her eyes. She looked back, examining the dark green eyes, his small pupils getting even smaller as he frowned. “Just shut up and keep her calm!” She must have looked like she was panicking because suddenly Adrien’s face appeared as Plagg’s disappeared and looked down at her.

Marinette tried to speak but it sounded gargled, she felt him take her hand and her eyes darted toward him, seeing the dark faced boy. She should have spoken up earlier, now she can’t speak. She can’t thank this boy. A complete stranger who risked his life, who was covered in both his and her blood, banged up from protecting her. And she couldn’t even thank him. Adrien… He saw her panic and smiled sweetly, kissing her knuckles. She suddenly felt tired, darkness taking over quickly. “It’s okay, we got you, we are on the boat heading to Wall Rose, we are-“ Before he could finish his sentence there was an explosion and Plagg dove over Marinette, shielding her.

“Fuck!” He cursed and sat back up as Adrien took over his place, shielding Marinette, turning towards the wall and they all stared in silence. Marinette wanted to see but the pain was too bad so she gripped onto Adrien’s shirt. He looked down at her with an expression that scared her. She felt her eyelids flutter and darkness slowly took over, the last thing she see was Adrien’s face, his hands suddenly flying to her neck as he started yelling something. And then… nothing.

oOo

When Marinette first awoke she felt groggy and sore, her eyes barely opening. She groaned, lifting her hand and felt the rough bandaging from below her nose down to her breasts. Her mouth was covered so she couldn’t speak. She blinked a few times and looked up, expecting her sister or even Adrien’s face, but she was met by golden eyes under big, framed glasses. She blinked in surprise and stared at the dark-skinned girl standing over her, she had a heart shaped face and had fiery, long hair in a high pony, pieces framing her face. She was in a nurses uniform, but she looked the same age as Marinette.

“Hey girl.” The girl spoke chipperly, “you’re okay, don’t try to speak though. You’re in Troste district. You got badly banged up, but you’re safe now!” She smiled at her and picked up a clip board examining the paper.

Marinette felt the sheets under her hands, they were rough and they smelt funny. She realised she wasn’t on a bed but the floor, a sheet between her and the hard wood. What happened with the titans? Why was she in Troste?

“Marinette, is it?” She hummed and walked around Marinette, Marinette watched her with a raised brow. “You have internal damage, a big nasty cut from your cheek to your shoulder, some cuts on your face and torso, and some bruising. You really fought for your life, didn’t you?” She looked at Marinette with… admiration? “You’re like those scouts, you’re a superhero!” She dropped to her knees and grabbed Marinette’s hand, Marinette’s eyes widening. “That’s so cool!”

Cool? Marinette didn’t think it was cool. She had just experienced the worst day of her life and she couldn’t do anything right, needing others to save her. She felt like a fool, she felt like a dumb child. Why did no one ever tell her how bad they really were? She felt so naive. She looked away from Alya and pulled her hand away. Alya blinked and looked at her with a concerned look, her smile falling. Marinette didn’t have the energy to help the girl with her feelings, she was dealing with her own. Her eyes were empty, the sparkle gone, her innocence gone. Hell, everything she thought she was now seemed pathetic. She noticed she wasn’t in that stupid dress she had spent a month or so on, how frivolous it seemed now. She was glad she wasn’t in it, she didn’t want any reminders. Reminders of them, of the death, of how she was useless.

She couldn’t even protect herself, she had to have others save her, protect her, carry her. She was weak. She was worthless. She needed to get stronger, she had to. She would never let anyone suffer because of her again. The only good thing she did today was push that boy out of the way.

“Hey,” Alya dragged her from her thoughts, looking back at the girl. She looked concerned, “you’re safe now. I promise.” She placed her hand on Marinette’s. Marinette wanted to believe her, but she didn’t know what the truth was anymore. “I’m going to stay here with you tonight, okay? Your sister isn’t far, she will be here soon. But I promise, I will stay with you.”

Marinette blinked up and her, tears filling her eyes. She realised then she had been trying so hard to keep it together. Alya smiled and did a quick examination on Marinette, chatting away about how she was helping her mom who was the head nurse here. After she was done, she shuffled under the sheet with Marinette, lying on her back and staring up at the roof. Marinette felt comfort in it. She couldn’t speak but that didn’t matter right now.

Alya stayed with her that night, describing her childhood, telling her everything about herself. Marinette hung on every word, by the time she passed out from exhaustion and pain she felt like she had known Alya since she was a child. She felt at peace in a way, but she felt different. She felt like she was changed forever, the girl she was the day before was gone now.

---

It took Marinette a long time to heal, Tikki hardly leaving her side and eventually becoming a nurse herself so that she was close to Marinette. Alya spent every night with Marinette, making sure Marinette felt alone and comforted her whenever she was sad. The worst night was when she climbed into the sheets and hugged her friend while she sobbed after finding out her father was dead, and soon every night she slept next to Marinette. She didn’t care that they slept on the floor, she refused to sleep anywhere else without Marinette. They were inseparable.

It was a few months before Marinette was asked to speak, the bandages finally removed and the deep sensitive scar standing red and angry against her pale skin. She was used to the dull pain in her jaw, the now scar didn’t hurt as much as when it was a cut, but the pain was still there.

“Okay Marinette, we need you to try to speak.” Tikki said softly, Alya was next to her, she had stolen a mattress from her home and had made herself comfortable next to Marinette, concerned eyes on her best friend.

Marinette gulped, it felt weird not having her mouth covered, She had only had her mouth uncovered to eat or drink, so it felt weird to be completely exposed. So she felt naked sitting there without the bandage, in the baggy green shirt she had found at the bottom of her bed months ago, a small cut on the side. It was Adrien’s, he had washed it and brought it for her. She knew it was, no one knew for sure but she knew in her heart it was his. She chewed her lip and looked at her sister. It took some time but finally the words left her mouth, “where is Adrien?”

Tikki blinked in surprised and furrowed her brows, “Who?” She asked, “wait, the boy?” Marinette nodded, Alya watched her in confusion, “He’s okay, he isn’t here anymore, he’s with his brother with the survey corps, I think. He’s okay.”

Marinette nodded and looked down at her hands in her lap, she had thought of him almost every night but even now his face was blurry. She tried so hard but she couldn’t make out his face clearly. All she saw was the blood, the titan ready to eat her, felt the warmth down her leg as she pissed herself, the chaffing after as she ran for her life. She was destroyed by the experience, but maybe she could do some good from it. She lay back down, rolling over, pulling the blanket over her mouth as comfort. The others looked at her sadly, knowing she needed space. Alya sighed and lay down next to her, hugging her tight.

"Marinette, I promise he is okay. He was here for a little while and he visited you a few times when you were asleep." Tikki said softly, stroking her sister's face. Marinette hid her face, Tikki knew this side of Marinette too well now. She sighed and got up, "okay... I will come back later."

Alya stayed silent as Tikki left before she whispered, "Marinette?"

Marinette looked back at Alya, "yeah?" She replied in a whisper, it felt amazing to be able to speak again.

"Who's Adrien?" Marinette realised her best friend had no clue about what happened to her, she had been silent for months and now it was her turn to use her voice to let Alya know her.

"He's a boy that... He saved me." She croaked, rolling over so they were facing each other. "He gave me this shirt, I know it. He was wearing it." She covered her mouth with the neck of her shirt, looking down. "Do you want to hear about what happened?" And with that Marinette spoke about the worst day of her life for the first time since it happened. The words fell from her lips and a pressure lifted off her chest. By the end she was sobbing, Alya's eyes were wide in horror, her mouth open in shock. That night they fell asleep holding onto each other, Marinette having her first night without any nightmares, and she could make out Adrien's eyes. So she focused on them, holding onto the image for dear life.

---

More months passed and Marinette was now fully healed, or as healed as she was going to get. It had been over a year since the break of wall Maria, Tikki and Marinette were now living with Alya and her family. Marinette’s wounds had healed but she now wore a pale pink, jagged scar from the far left of her cheek down her neck all the way to her collar bone. Because of this she was stared at constantly and they whispered about how she was a survivor. Her hair had grown longer since the fall of Shiganshina so she used her hair to her advantage, hiding under it yet again, and rarely speaking. Tikki constantly told her she was worried about Marinette, but Marinette ignored her. She didn’t want to talk about this stuff with Tikki, she knew she had her own problems and Marinette didn't want to put more on her.

The person she was, the cheerful, talkative girl was completely erased, as if she never existed. She now was quiet, subdued and emotionless. Alya was the only one who got anything out of Marinette, she even managed to make Marinette laugh, a sound Tikki hadn’t heard since the day of the attack. It wasn't that she had no personality anymore or anything, she just didn't have a reason to be cheerful or talk much anymore. Especially with her giant, ugly scar that she hated. Her scar was like a giant sign that read 'I survived the fall of Shiganshina, stare at me please'. She hated the stares but she was used to it now.

The only person she spoke to was Alya, they lay in bed together at night and whispered to each other. Marinette told her of her plans to join the military the coming weeks. Alya argued with her, saying that it was suicide, stating Marinette has only just recovered from her last experience with the titans. Alya wasn’t impressed but eventually promised to come with her to Marinette’s surprise, stating they were in it forever now.

“Alya, we could die.” Marinette whispered, lying on her side looking at her best friend who mimicked her, a frown on her face.

“I don’t care, look at you, I am not letting you go anywhere without me.” Alya retorted.

Marinette frowned, “I don’t need protection. Don't join the military just to keep an eye out for me, you could die!"

“I’m not coming to protect you, I’m coming to support you.” Alya sighed.

“I can do it alone.” Marinette frowned, looking away. She didn’t need anyone else getting hurt for her. "I don't want you to get hurt or end up like me."

“I know that, girl.” Alya replied softly, “but there is nothing wrong with others helping you. And we are in this till death, right?”

Marinette looked at Alya and sighed at their promise, linking their pinky fingers, “Till we die.”

“Till we die.” Alya repeated, grinning. “So when are you going to tell your sister?”

Marinette sighed and played with the string of her shirt, her mind drifting to Adrien again. “I don’t know, but she isn’t going to be exactly happy.”

“That’s the biggest understatement of the year.” Alya snorted, taking her glasses off and placed them aside. “All I will say is good luck, girl.”

Marinette sighed, watching as Alya blew out the candle, she knew she was right, telling Tikki was going to be hell. "You say that but you're the crazy woman following me to our deaths."

"Nah, it's only being crazy if I thought we would die." Alya replied, "which we wont, we are gonna be badasses."

Marinette chuckled and shook her head, "sure."

“Don’t worry about it tonight though, okay? Let’s just focus on getting some sleep tonight.” Alya smiled and got comfy, Marinette smiled, feeling the tug of her scar. She never smiled now because of it, but she never felt shy or like she had to hide from Alya. She could be herself.

"Yeah... Let's see what happens." She said before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

---

Tikki stared at Marinette like she had grown two more heads, her blue eyes wide with fear. “You… no, I… You WHAT!?” She screamed. They were sitting at the dining table in Alya’s house, the two girls sat on one side while Tikki and Mrs Césaire were on the other side. Tikki was standing up, her hands in fists. She looked like she could jump across the table and bundle Marinette up and hide her forever. She was in her nurse’s uniform, they had chosen to tell them now before their shift happened so that they could pack their bags. “You are barely twelve years old!”

“I’m thirteen soon, I am old enough, I’m joining.” Marinette said calmly. She watched her seventeen year old sister look shocked at her words. Marinette looked at her emotionlessly, being stuck in a bed for months not being able to speak and being stuck inside your own head makes you extremely good at handling emotions and stay in control.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tikki slammed her fists on the table, “it’s a suicide mission joining the military! Do you want to die?”

“No, I don’t. I want to make a difference. I almost died because I was weak, I don’t want to be weak anymore.” Marinette didn’t flinch as Tikki slammed her fist down again, her eyes fixed on Tikki.

“You can’t even comprehend or understand enough to join the military!” Alya gulped next to her, chewing her lip, her own mother staring her down but not saying a word. Tikki wasn’t staying silent.

“Respect anyone who wears that uniform, Marinette.” Marinette said softly, “Remember you said that to me?” Tikki blinked in surprise, stepping back. “I remember you said that minutes before we ran for our lives,” Tikki’s eyes widened and she gasped, “before I was almost eaten by a titan, before I got this.” She pointed at her scar, her brows furrowing. “So don’t tell me that I don’t understand or that I cannot comprehend death or what being a soldier means. I am well aware. I have the scar as a souvenir.” Her eyes darkened, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest.

Tikki stared at her in shock, holding the same look she always had when looking at Marinette recently. The look of not knowing who Marinette was anymore. Tikki turned to Mrs Césaire, “Marlena!” She cried, “say something! I can’t be the only one who doesn’t want this to happen!”

Mrs Césaire sighed and dropped the hand that was covering her mouth. “Alya, have you thought this through?”

“Yes mom,” Alya replied, straightening her back with confidence.

“You aren’t doing this to follow Marinette?”

“No ma’am.” Alya insisted, shaking her head, “I want to bring honour and pride to our family. I want to help with the war on the titans and get our world back.”

Mrs Césaire nodded, thinking for a minute before she stood up, wiping her eyes and walking over to Alya, pulling her to standing and engulfed her in a huge hug. She hugged her back, burying her face in her mothers chest. “We are already so proud of you, and you have already brought us honour by joining. I know you will be amazing.”

“What!?” Tikki was shocked, Marinette looked back at her with a raised brow, Tikki looked bewildered. “You are allowing this? They’re children!”

Mrs Césaire let go of Alya and frowned at Tikki, “they have experienced more than most adults. Especially Marinette.” She replied calmly, “if they want to join the military to make a difference we should be proud of them and their sacrifice! The men and women who are fighting this war against the titans are giving up their lives for us!”

“Exactly, giving up their lives!” Tikki yelled back, “I don’t want my sister dying at the ripe old age of 17 when she graduates!”

“I won’t die, and if I do it would be for the greater good!” Marinette stood up and yelled back.

“No it wont! You will die with your guts hanging out, piss down your leg and you will be crying out for a loved one begging not to die! I forbid this!” Tikki walked over and grabbed Marinette’s shoulders. “You are too weak!” Marinette gasped and stared at her sister in shock. “You will die!”

“Marinette isn’t weak!” Alya yelled, she looked ready to attack. “She is the strongest person I know!”

“The last time you saw a titan you almost died! You are too small, you won’t make it!” Tikki shook her shoulders angrily. Marinette frowned and pushed her sister off her, glaring at her.

“You can’t tell me what to do! You aren’t my mother and you aren’t my guardian.” She growled, “I can do whatever I like, and if anything Mrs Césaire is in charge of me.” Tikki looked surprised. “And I am not weak. If you don’t like it that’s not my problem. You can either support me or you can stay out of my business.”

Tikki glared at her sister before she grabbed her head scarf off the table and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Marinette sighed and sat down, dropping her head on the table with a grunt.

You are too weak… you will die…

Her sister’s words echoed in her head, she was expecting the words to hurt her but they didn’t, they made her more determined. She was going to make it, she just needed to prove everyone wrong.

“Ignore her, Marinette. She doesn’t know who you are, who you really are. You will prove her wrong.” Alya reassured her, resting a hand on Marinette’s back.

Marinette sighed and stood up, pushing the chair back and walked through to their bedroom, walking to the window and looked out. She saw the garrison soldiers on the wall, they were running drills today, she watched them swinging across the wall and felt a pang in her chest. She wanted to be up there, she needed to be up there.

She sighed and turned away, leaning against the wall and slid down to the floor, dropping her head against the wall. Her mind went to Adrien again, looking over at the green shirt draped on the bed. It was a year and a half since the fall of the walls, and his face was almost all but blurred. She remembers how he held her like she was the only thing that mattered. She remembered his voice, and all she could see were those green eyes. She felt her scar with her fingers, drawing her knees to her chest, staring at the crinkles in her skirt.

Where was he? Was he safe? Did he get badly injured? She had so many questions that were most likely never going to be answered. And that sucked. He was the reason she was joining the military, she was spared and he saved her life, a stranger’s life. She had a debt to pay, and she wanted to be good. Not just a good person but a good soldier. But that wasn’t the important thing now. In a few weeks she will be a recruit and will start her training. She needed to focus on that and get through. Her eyes travelled to the shirt again, sadness taking over and the tears came. She had been through so much, yet these moments came very rarely, and when they did she embraced them with open arms. Just happy to feel something.

---

“Tikki I will be fine.” Marinette stared at the uniform in front of her. The cadet badge standing out against the tanned jacket. Her last conversation with her sister the night before echoing in her head. “Just… don’t die, okay?” Tikki had helped her cut her hair and gave Marinette her red ribbons much to her surprise. Now they were tied in her short, low pigtails, the ribbons floating down her back. Something of her sister to keep her safe.

She gulped and started to strip, pulling her new uniform on proudly. She wore her dark green top underneath her jacket, her dark brown sash around her waist fit perfectly and then her white trousers. Everything was custom made for her she figured, because it fit perfectly. She sat down and pulled on her knee-high boots, determination filling her.

Soon they were on the courtyard, in their formation at attention. Marinette looked around, she hadn’t met anyone yet, Alya standing next to her. She finally made it, she was finally here. She clenched her fists and looking to the side at her friend, smiling small at her before her face went hard. She was going to prove everyone wrong; she was going to join the survey regiment and she was going to make a difference. She looked forward, the horrors she saw flashing in front of her eyes, taking a deep breath and relaxed her fists. She had made it, now she had to actually do it.

[damn-stark]

I’m sorry for leaving you

Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Requested by anon “nice! okay i was thinking reader is number three and has allison’s powers is there instead of her and reader is also an avenger and she tried to rumour natasha back after her death and basically goes crazy cuz it doesn’t work so she leaves and bucky and sam go look for her after endgame? sorry if that’s too much!”

A/N- I made Natasha, readers love interest hope you don’t mind :)

Warning- talks of death, angst and fluff

———-

“Okay what are your thoughts on this house?” Natasha points out as she scrolls down and studies the pictures, “I mean it’s nice, it’s surrounded by a green beautiful forest and has a nice blue lake close by.”

You lean in and scan the file, “it’s nice, but,”

Natasha’s eyes drift to you and follow you as you move forward to be closer beside her, “but what?” She queries.

You meet her gaze and continue cautiously, “do you want to move? I mean are you ready to leave this all behind.”

Natasha sighs and sits back in her chair, she rests her hands on your legs that were resting over hers and runs her fingers through her hair before answering. “It’s been five years, I think it’s time. And I’m not giving up, I can work away from there, but you know I think it’s time to try a peaceful life in a place where I don’t have to worry about fighting.”

The corner of your lips tug into a small smile and you move back to admire her from afar. “It sounds nice, I like that.”

Natasha turns and mirrors your smile, albeit hers soon turned smug. “And if anything, you can end up just rumoring me, number ten.”

You scoff and shoot her a pointed look to correct her, “number three.”

Natasha giggles and shakes her head, “I still don’t get that, how come your father couldn’t bother to give you a real name?”

You shrug, “easier to go by numbers I guess, plus it distinguished us by how powerful we all are.”

“Well,” Natasha clicks her tongue, “I think we both deserve a more peaceful life. With no number three, no need to use powers to protect ourselves….unless someone tries to break in or something, but who would break in a house in the middle of the forest?”

“Someone very dedicated.” You quip.

Natasha narrows her gaze and just scoffs, she shakes her head and keeps going. “Regardless, is that the house?”

You gaze back at the screen and nod, feeling a small smile on your face and feeling pure, utter joy within your heart. “That’s the house.”

~

“I heard rumor,” your voice echoes and tears sting your eyes, “that Natasha Romanoff came back to life.”

The cloaked red figure keeps looking at you with his hallowed eyes, expressing nothing but the same blank, expressionless face. “A soul for a soul,” his voice echoed around the crisp air. “No exchanges. What’s done is done.”

Your bottom lip trembles and tears roll down your cheeks. Angry and sad tears alike. There's a void within you. Even after everyone came back; your best friends, comrades, and family, there was a void because the woman you loved, your soulmate was gone. After all you went through to achieve everyone’s return, she was the one gone. When you were about to live a life she wanted, a life you both chose to finally have, she was gone.

Now with life back to normal, all you wanted was her back. That’s all you wanted. That’s why you were fighting so hard, why you traveled through space—You knew the pain was detectable in your voice, it made your power stronger, but why wasn’t it working?

You drew in a deep, shaky breath and repeat it again, you seeth it out with all the strength and pain laced through your voice and power. “I heard a rumor! That you brought Natasha Romanoff back to life!”

The cloaked red figure floats towards you and bellows, “No!” Before he vanishes like smoke. You stare at the spot where he was and only see grey cracked stone, you see ominous fog and just plainly nothing else but emptiness that matched the feeling in your heart.

However the emptiness in your heart felt painful in every possible way. It made you feel weak, it made you fall to your knees and sob and shout out in a painful cry. “GAAAHH!”

The pain was so raw and mind numbing, the emptiness, the knowledge of failure changed something within you the moment you arrived back to earth. Something that concerned your best friends the moment they saw you.

“Y/N, where the hell have you been?”

You drift your eyes to Sam and stay silent for a while, noticing Bucky come up behind him with a more gentle, concerning gaze. “Y/N…”

“I’m fine guys,” you assure them, “I was just clearing my mind, I was—”

“In space?!” Sam quips. “You were clearing your mind in space?”

You nod, “yeah, what can I say I like seeing the stars up close.”

Sam scoffs and you see his upcoming remark in his eyes, and you stop him before he could utter it outloud. “I’m back now, that’s all that matters,” you pause and show them the best assuring smile you could manage. Even if you hid the pain within, you manage it. “Now, I’m just going to go to my family’s home to just...take a break,” you sigh, “I’ll return soon.”

You pat Sam's shoulder and offer Bucky a warm, assuring smile that didn’t convince him, but he had no choice to take it. Even as he saw you leave, it bugged him.

But he didn’t question it until weeks of you gone turned into months and then a whole year. Sam was more hesitant, and just told Bucky to leave you to mourn your longtime girlfriend. But Bucky was worried and couldn’t just leave you to suffer alone. He knew you had a family, he knew that your siblings and you were close, but he just needed to assure himself that you were really fine.

“This is the spot.” Sam let Bucky know as he parked the car in front of a tall building.

“Are you sure?” Bucky queried as he looked out the window, “she said small house.”

Sam leaned over and studied the huge building. “Well the file said this is her “small house.”

Bucky hums and gets out, tilting his head back to take in the home, and playfully remark to Sam, “your apartment can fit here like a hundred times over.”

Sam scoffs and just continues towards the door, knocking a couple times to then wait until something opens it.

“Hello, this is the Hargreeves residence, how may I help you?”

Bucky blinks in disbelief and looks down at the talking animal. “Is that a monkey?”

Sam narrowed his gaze on the monkey and nodded slowly, “yep. But why should it matter, we’ve met a talking raccoon and talking tree.”

“I’m an ape, but that doesn’t matter, Is there something you need?” The money asked once more.

“Yeah,” Sam answered, “we’re looking for someone. Y/N Hargreeves.”

“Oh, Ms. Hargreeves is not here.”

“No?” Bucky said in worried tone. “She said she was coming here. We’re her friends, we're concerned for her.”

“You and I both,” the monkey shared, “she came here once to reunite with her siblings, but she left soon after and never came back.”

Sam and Bucky both looked at one another and shared a confused look.

“But,” the monkey continued, “her brothers may know where she is. One is here, so if you gentlemen want to wait here while I fetch him that’d be fine.”

Bucky and Sam share another look and this time silently come to an agreement and follow the monkey in the suit inside a long living room with a portrait of your siblings and you over the fireplace.

“What a small house,” Sam remarked sarcastically as he stopped in front of the portrait.

Bucky looked up at the same thing and smiled as he noticed you in a mask and a school uniform. “Cute.”

“Rich.” Sam quipped as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“And also my fathers pride and joy,” a voice said behind Bucky and Sam, earning their immediate attention and making them turn around to face a slim man that looked almost like a misplaced hipster. He waved his hands and they noticed tattoos on the palms and a grin on his face. “Hello. What a surprise and an honor to have two of the best looking Avengers come to my humble home. I’m Klaus Hargreeves, one of y/n’s brothers.”

“Sam,” Bucky introduced the man next to him before introducing himself, “Bucky.”

Klaus smiled wider and had a child-like glow in his eyes before walking to the bar and speaking what he knew. “Pogo says you’re looking for my beloved sister. Drinks?”

Sam nodded and approached the bar, while Bucky only followed behind to decline and say his reason.“Yeah, we’re worried, she said she was going to return and she hasn’t yet. We keep trying to call her, but nothing. We just wanted to know if she’s okay.”

Klaus sighs and puts the alcohol away, he props his hands on the edge of the bar and his face turns more serious. “She only came home once. She left that same day and never came back.”

“Do you know where she is?” Sam probed.

Klaus meets his gaze and nods. “I do.”

“Can you take us to her?”

Klaus gets water and drinks it as he moves away and avoids the question until Bucky asks again. “I’ve been told not to.”

“Do you atleast know how she is?” Bucky insisted.

“No.”

Sam sighs and meets Bucky's gaze to share a weirded out and concerned look.

“And she's blocked me out too. She doesn’t want to speak to anyone, she said to let her grieve in peace and as someone who has also lost their soulmate I understand her.”

Bucky scoffs, “she’s in pain, she needs us, just like she needs all of you. We can’t just leave her to deal with it alone. I understand pain and it can be devastating. We need to check on her. She can’t be alone.”

Klaus hesitates but he decides to give in and give them what they want. “Fine, I’ll take you to the town she’s living in.”

And he does as he says, he drives several hours to a small town where you’re supposed to be in, but stops at the first street and turns back to both Sam and Bucky. “This is far as we go, beyond here we have to ask someone. She just told me which town, not which house.”

Sam groans in annoyance, but he and Bucky begin to follow after Klaus, searching for someone in this town who would give them the time of day, but none of them gave them the time of day. They would simply look at the trio and stare for a few seconds before walking as if nothing. And usually Bucky didn’t like to gloat. Anymore, but he knew that Sam and him were well known around the world. Someone always recognized him.

Not even kids came up to either of them. It’s like they were ghosts. All women ghosts in fact now that he really got to noticing his surroundings.

Until the wrong people came up. A police unit. “You’re not allowed to be here. We have to ask you to leave now.”

“What?” Klaus squeaked, making the policewoman look to him and stare at him for a long time, not saying anything, like if she was searching her own mind for a response.

“Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes are not allowed within the perimeters of this town.”

Klaus sighs in relief and grabs his chest once the woman looks away. “Oof, thank god, I am allowed here. Now lovely ladies do you happen to know where my sister is? You see it’s an emergency. Our mother has died! She needs to know, please.” He begged dramatically.

The policewoman calls something in her radio and then tells them to wait but they point their guns at Sam and Bucky, insisting they get out. Just as a fight was going to break out, someone’s voice came out of the shadows of a nearby alleyway. “Klaus, brother, why did you bring them here?”

Klaus shrugs, “because we want to talk.”

You scoff and slowly walk out and maneuver through the crowd of policewoman. “About our robot mother dying? What happened?” You play along

“A heart attack, because she was devastated about your disappearance.”

You shake four head and glance at Bucky and Sam before looking back at Klaus. “Well it’s a good thing she doesn’t have an actual heart. So she’s fine. Now why are they here?”

“Why are you?” Bucky quipped, stepping up towards you.

“Running a town.”

“Full of woman?” Sam snapped. “That look like they’re all mind controlled?”

You sigh and shove your hands in your coat pockets. “They’re blackwidows, like Natasha was. I’m just helping them.”

“Helping them by controlling them?”

You simply shrug and frown as you look at the floor. “I’m helping them.”

“By taking them hostage?” Bucky rebutted. “Natasha wouldn’t want that. Let them go to live their lives, come back home with us, they’re not going to fill the void you have inside you. Don’t be that person.”

You clench your jaw and ball your hand. “That person? I’m just helping them, they’re the closest thing I have to Natasha. They’re going to help me bring her back.”

“Oh, I see,” Sam sighs, “so they’re your army? Your perfectly trained soldiers. What are you going to do? What’s your plan? Invade the planet where she died? Natasha is gone! She wouldn’t want this for you.”

You step back and feel your eyes sting. But you don’t let yourself cry, instead you glare at them and just as you were going to rumor them both, Klaus stepped in front of them and quickly blurted out. “Don’t. She’s here.”

“What?” You snapped as you snap your attention towards him. “What do you mean? Don’t mess with me Klaus.”

“I’m not,” Klaus quickly explained himself, raising his hands and looking to an empty spot beside him. “I got to connect with her.”

“What?” Bucky questioned too.

Your eyes widen and you leave your lips parted as Klaus begins to talk for her. “She says that she loves you, that she watches over you every second of every single day.” Your bottom lip trembles and tears once again fill your eyes. “She says you’re acting stupid right now and that if she were here she’d punch you.” You cover your mouth and sob softly. “She says that she doesn’t want this for you and she’s sorry for leaving you.”

You fall to your knees and keep looking at the space where Klaus was looking at, Bucky and Sam listen in disbelief, but Bucky manages to come to your side to try and comfort you.

“She wants you to go back home, be with people you love and just live life. Either being a hero or just simply living a life. All she wants is you to be happy, knowing she’s also going to be by your side. She loves you.”

“I’m sorry,” you cry, “I’m so sorry. I never wanted this, I just wanted you back, please..forgive me.”

“She does.”

“I love you,” you mutter, “and I miss you every single day.”

Klaus walks towards you and crouch’s down in front of you, cupping your cheek and offering you a kind smile. “She loves you too.”

A wobbly smile grows on your lips and you know by the look on Klaus’s face she was gone again. However you didn’t hesitate to do as she had said, you did the right thing with the Black Widows. Even if it was painful to think of Natasha dying, you let them go.

“So what now? You mumble as you look at the three men in front of you, swaying back and forth on your heels.

“Depends on you,” Bucky tells you, “we can use you out there, but if you want to go home, you can. We were worried for you, we just wanted you to be okay.”

“I will be,” you sigh as you hook your arm around Klaus’s. “Soon.”

“Well we can go back to your huge house,” Sam suggested, “I saw some expensive alcohol in that bar and I’m down to go there.”

You chuckle softly, “fine. Let’s go home. For a while, but after, I’m getting back to work. I know you boys can’t be without me.”

Sam snorts. “Sure whatever you say Number Twenty.”

“It’s Number Three!”

[runenc03]

Four

Writing date: around October 2020, I think? Not sure tbh, lol

Genre: fluff

Warnings: no warnings! :)

Word count: 3.1k 

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

The first time you saw him with a baby was in the hospital. You were four, nestled in your mum's lap beside your godmother's hospital bed. You watched with big eyes as your godmother gave her second - barely one day old - son to her firstborn, who took his little brother eagerly but gently, making sure to support the baby's head at all times just like his mum had told him to do. You smiled, he suddenly looked so big in comparison to the small baby in his arms.

"They grow up so fast"

That was your mum, complaining to your godmother - her best friend since kindergarten. Your smile morphed into a grin as she put one of her arms around you, rocking you from side to side, as if she was trying to shrink you to match the little baby in your best friend's arms. Needless to say, she failed miserably. You were a big girl after all.

"Tell me about it. They're already going to school! Not that it isn't nice to see them grow up, but, well, I missed having a baby in the house. As hard as it is, it makes me feel so empowered, taking care of such a small miracle..."

Your mum nodded, a nostalgic gleam in her eyes. You smiled too, knowing you'd been that baby for your mum, a long time ago of course. The baby in your best friend's arms started fussing, not quite crying but not as happy as possible either, and you recognised the fleeting panic in your best friend's eyes. It was the same look he'd had when the teacher asked him to show his teddy bear to everyone - you knew he was very protective of his stuffed friend and only wanted to share it with you. Your godmother quickly took the baby from her oldest son's arms, naturally taking him into her arms, and started breast feeding him. Your best friend moved as well, crawling through the hospital sheets to get closer to his little brother once again, placing a kiss on his forehead, as if to say sorry for whatever he'd done wrong.

As you watched the scene in front of you, you heard your mother's 'aww', but your smile faltered a bit. The kissing on the forehead was something exclusively for the two of you, or so you'd thought. Was he going to forget all about you now that he had his own personal playmate at home? Were you going to become just another girl in your class he was scared he'd get cooties from? He'd always assured you that the two of you were an exception to that, claiming it was because your mum was his godmother and vice versa, or something like that.

You decided you'd seen enough for now and wanted to take a nap. Turning your head to the side, you readjusted your head to lay on your mum's chest, closing your eyes and - after checking to make sure no one was paying attention to you - sucking on your thumb before slowly falling asleep.

You weren't sure how much time had passed since you fell asleep, but when you woke up, your godmother was asleep and your own mum was scrolling through her Facebook feed on her phone. You rubbed your eyes, trying to push away the last remnants of sleep in them, and focused on your best friend. He was still sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed, looking every bit as energetic as he did whenever the two of you ate a bit too much sugar. Again, his gaze was turned to the baby, a small smile playing around his lips. You decided with a frown that you still didn't want to talk to him, stubborn as always. You closed your eyes again, pretending to sleep.

"You know, buddy, mummy says you'll have to learn to walk first, but as soon as you can, I want to take you with us on our adventures. 'Us' is my best friend and I. She's sitting here as well, you see? Our mum is best friends with her mum, just like I'm best friends with her. She's my best friend though, so you can't be her best friend, I'm sorry, but you can play with us! She's the best in playing tag, oh and also in telling stories! You should ask her to tell you a story sometime. Mum also told me it'll take a while for you to be able to speak, but I can ask her for you if you want to..."

And as much as you tried to fake being asleep, your smile won.

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

The second time you saw him with a baby was on an indoor ice skating rink.

Okay true, he wasn't holding a baby, but you were both sixteen and he had grown so tall over the years that everyone looked like a baby in comparison to him. You were no exception to that by the way, but you'd never admit that in his presence. About a year ago, your town had decided they wanted to present themselves as a place where all children could grow up in peace while having fun, and so they came up with the idea to organise little holidays for kids. Your best friend had instantly loved the town upon learning that they still needed young adults to go with the kids as supervisors. He'd bugged you for weeks, claiming it would look just as good on your resume as any other thing you, as a responsible teen, had planned to do during the holidays, and so you found yourself living the first day of said holiday, on an ice rink, surrounded by exactly 19 kids, a dumb grin on your face because you were having way more fun than you originally anticipated.

You were shaken out of your stupor by a little girl tugging at your gloved hand to get your attention. She pointed towards the large clock hanging above the ice rink, and you were reminded of your promise to buy everyone a hot chocolate at 4 pm. Your best friend had shaken his head a little, trying to let you know that you were an idiot for giving kids hot chocolate in summer, but you'd just shrugged your shoulders, a provocative smile around your lips.

"Just because you had to vomit that one time we each drank an entire bottle when we were 8, doesn't mean it's a safety risk for every child."

You took the girl's hand with one of your own and whistled to let all the kids know you were taking a break from skating. The result was 18 kids bolting to the door of the cafe connected to the ice rink. 18 kids, your entire group except for one. You turned around after counting them, looking to see where your last kid had gone to. They were normally all very quick to gather around you upon hearing your whistle.

"Don't worry, we're coming!"

That was your best friend of course, yelling from the other side of the ice rink. You noticed suddenly that this was the first time you'd actually seen him interacting with one of the kids today. Before, you'd been so busy learning names by heart and organising everything that you hadn't paid attention to how good he actually was with them. You felt a weird move in your stomach, like a tingle quickly shooting through it, but you decided to ignore that.

The 19th kid out of your group - her name was Alicia - couldn't ice skate. Her posture was awkward, her legs wobbly, her face the same as yours that one time your best friend had convinced you to go on a rollercoaster with 4 consecutive loops. You honestly felt sorry for her, although you expected that the panicky look in her eyes would soon be gone because you thought your best friend would just pick Alicia up, she probably didn't weight more than the ice skates themselves.

You raised a brow when he crouched down to whisper something in her ear instead of carrying her to the other side of the rink. You watched intently, seeing a small smile slip onto Alicia's face, her hand grasping onto his as firmly as she could. And then, very tentatively, she let her right foot glide forward. Then her left, and the right one another time. Her smile broadened, before quickly slipping away because she started swaying on her feet again. Your best friend immediately reacted though, steadying her on her feet and saying something that sounded a lot like "don't give up!"

You suddenly knew what you had to do. You started yelling to Alicia, clapping in your hands, sending encouraging words her way, and soon all the other kids followed, cheering on their friend. The closer Alicia got to the group, the bigger both the sound echoing in the rink and the smile on her face.

Once Alicia reached the other kids, she got tackled into a group hug, and your heart warmed at the sight. This was only day one and they were already such a close-knit group.

A soft hand on your shoulder and a warm breath on your ear made you focus again.

"I believe someone deserves some hot chocolate."

You were about to rub in his face that your idea had been brilliant, but the words were stuck in your throat when you finally looked at him.

"You are brilliant."

His eyes twinkled, and you knew you wouldn't be able to stop the heat from residing in your cheeks for the rest of the day.

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

The third time you saw him with a baby was in your neighbor's house. In this case, you had just turned 20 and the baby was more of a toddler, but you didn't want to ponder the details: it was cute.

You were actually supposed to be studying for your exams, but your best friend had asked you if he could come study with you, and foolishly you had agreed, convincing yourself you'd be able to motivate each other. What started as a study session transformed into a pillow fight, and, when your neighbour called you to ask if you could come over to look after her toddler, it ended up being a babysit date.

You looked at the clock above the fireplace, already getting a headache at the prospect of having to study all night in order to keep up with the schedule you had sworn to follow. If it had been up to you, you would've just been honest with your neighbour. She liked you a lot and wouldn't have minded if you'd just honestly told her that you were in the middle of your exams. Your best friend, however, had immediately agreed to babysit, telling your neighbour that the two of you would take good care of her baby. Truth be told, the woman's relief had been visible on her face, and it did make you feel good to take care of someone else.

"Hey buddy, it's getting late, and your mummy told us to get you in bed on time. What about this: we go get you ready for bed now and if you're quick enough, I'll read you a bedtime story. How does that sound?"

You watched your best friend almost being knocked down by the eager boy. As the toddler ran to the bathroom on his chubby legs, your best friend threw his head back in laughter, dimples in his cheeks. Your stomach did something strange, as it usually did nowadays whenever you were in his presence, but you ignored it. You had to focus on the little one now, you could dwell on your emotions later on.

Your best friend's strategy worked. Within a quarter of an hour, you'd managed to put on the little boy's pyjamas, brush his teeth, go to the toilet with him, and get him into his bed. You tucked him in, making sure all his stuffed animals were in the right place as you did so, and giving him a kiss on his forehead.

"Are you reading a story for me?"

You chuckled, and you heard a lower voice behind you match yours. He came up to you and your young neighbour then, a gigantic book in one of his hands. You swiftly noticed the veins on his under arm, and turned your head, forcing yourself not to get distracted. You weren't even together for God's sake, you should actually be able to keep yourself in check.

"Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away from here, there was a dinosaur called Inky. He was the most beautiful dinosaur you could ever imagine, with big, blue eyes, green skin and two gigantic wings. Inky ..."

Your eyes took in the scene in front of you, your small neighbour watching your best friend intently, eyes wide with wonder, sometimes giggling a bit when the story was particularly funny or when the narrator imitated Inky the dinosaur.

By the time Inky's adventure was over, the toddler had already fallen asleep, his breathing evening out, a content look on his face. Making as little sound as possible, you both tiptoed out of the door, keeping it ajar in case the little one wanted to come to you.

As you sat down on your neighbour's couch, your best friend wrapped an arm around you, and you leaned into him. You didn't say anything, it wasn't necessary. A new episode of peppa pig started on tv, and you stared up at him. His eyes stared back, full of unspoken promises.

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

The fourth time you saw your best friend with a baby was in your own house. Today was actually supposed to be all about your 25th birthday, but your party had ended up being about something entirely different, although you wouldn't have traded the day for something else even if you could have. You had started the day off together by preparing some snacks for your guests, but those preparations had quickly come to a halt as you'd gotten a call from the adoption agency, stating that some things had shifted rapidly, resulting in you being able to bring home your baby that exact day. If everything would go smoothly, the baby would be officially your child within a few weeks to months. As exciting as the day had been, it had also been tremendously exhausting, and so that's how you found yourself waking up from your slumber on the couch, your watch telling you it was only 9 pm. Embarrassingly early. When you let your eyes travel further than your own wrist, the first thing your vision fell on was the mass of congratulations cards scattered on the table. Oh, how people had probably stressed themselves out, trying to find a different kind of congratulations card last minute. You grinned, a warm feeling you could only identify as true happiness spreading in your chest.

A gurgling sound made you look to the left, your smile unfolding completely now. Sitting in the armchair was your best friend, holding a baby with dark, curly hair in his arms. The baby was staring at her dad with big eyes, as if trying to drink in as many details as possible, learning every crinkle and dimple by heart.

She was claiming him as her dad.

Your best friend didn't need to look away from his daughter to know you had woken up. He simply brought one hand to the baby's stomach, slightly tickling her there, and her small gurgling sounds intensified, her legs wiggling as if trying to get away, but not having enough strength yet.

"Look darling, mummy is awake. Now I need to share you again."

His face morphed into a fake pout, and the baby, your baby, stopped her gurgling, trying to figure out why her dad suddenly wasn't smiling anymore. Too late, your best friend realised his mistake, but his attempt to cheer her up again was to no avail, she started fussing, and even though you'd never done this and she had come way sooner than you had anticipated, you knew that that wasn't a good sign.

"Give me my daughter please, I missed her."

Your best friend handed her to you, and you gently bounced her in your arms, kissing her little forehead. Instead of going back to sit on the couch, you went to your dinner table, now morphed into a congratulations card holder. You sat down on one of the chairs, turning your daughter around so she had a good view of the table herself.

"You see that sweetie? All for you, all those people already love you! Isn't that nice?"

You traced her cheek with your finger, and she grabbed onto it with her fist. You observed how both of your skin colours contrasted. Though that was only a coincidence seeing as children of all skin colours got adopted, you loved it, loved the variety of it. While your skin might not match your daughter's in colour, it matched in beauty.

On the other side of the room, soft snores were coming from your best friend's lips. That's right. After all these years, he was still your best friend. Not just your best friend, but not more than your best friend either. To you, he had always been a special someone, you had always loved him, from the day he had been your friend in kindergarten to your partner and the father of your child now.

At the end of the day, those names were only labels, a way for society to put feelings into boxes. The thing is, feelings aren't made to be put into boxes. Love is love, and there are different kinds of love, yes, but one isn't necessarily less important than another. You loved that man just as much now as you had as a toddler, the feelings had just evolved, you had moved several boxes, and now fit into 'family'. Or maybe not entirely, your skin colours didn't all match, after all.

You grinned. Your daughter would grow up knowing the concept of love. Not in boxes, but in all its beautiful, overflowing, free glory.

[writinginthedarkwood]

"If I Killed Someone For You" by Alec Benjamin reminds me of Yanderes! Kaminari, Kirishima, or Deku. Would you do a writing piece of them based on this song?

I love this, hopefully it’s what you were looking for. :) I chose Denki because I don’t see a lot of yandere stuff for him.

Warnings: blood, typical yandere shenanigans. 

Denki pried his fingers off of the edge of the sink and reached for the faucet with shaky hands. The water trickled out cold, he filled his palms and let the water run over them, the blood hadn’t started to dry yet. It ran down the drain dark and dirty against the white porcelain. “It never gets any easier...” He turned his head and looked at the mess on the floor. That pathetic mess hadn’t moved in a few minutes, but he never liked to have his back turned on a body too long. He laughed and kicked his stomach. The body slumped forward with more blood oozing out of his mouth, but it didn’t make a sound. “Yup, still dead.” 

Yeah it never got any easier, Denki thought. 

The cleanup, that is.

 The young man filled up the bucket of water with soap and scrubbed at the walls. The blood came off easy, the difficult part is getting the blood out of the rags. He’ll probably burn them, that seemed to work pretty good last time. “Your honor, I had a moment of weakness, but it will never happen again. My service as a hero should prove that I love this city...” Denki muttered to himself as he ripped the rubber gloves off and tossed them into the trash bag with all of the bloody cloths. The body was wrapped in a plastic tarp, out of the way for now, but he had to hurry and get it on the street before too much of the leaked out. 

 Kaminari caught a moment of himself in the reflection of the metal bucket, he bent down and studied his face. He hooked his lip and pulled on it to look at his teeth. He touched his hair, fixing it back in place and smiled at his reflection. “You need some sleep Kaminari, you barely look like yourself.” He smirked again and winked. 

His phone beeped in his pocket.

Her

Would she be devastated when the police call to tell her the news, or will she be relieved he’s finally gone? Denki wondered and checked the text. “Hey can I call you after work? I’m having a rough day... :(” Denki thought he could cry, reaching out to him after a long day? She really must love him, maybe she knew somehow that he’s been her protector, the one she can always rely on. 

Would you love me even more if you knew it was me who got rid of that scum bag?

“Another body on this side of town, a serial killer?” Denki’s old friend touched her cheek and chin as she asked the chief of police. Denki shook his head in disbelief. “Absolutely disgusting, but I don’t think so Headphone Jack. It doesn’t look like it was well thought out, maybe a robbery?” 

Jiro nodded her head in agreement. “He’s dressed like he was carrying a lot of cash, I’m not sure what he would be doing all the way over here. I mean, he just looks out of place.” The police had the entire street blocked off with flashing lights. The ambulance is moving the body in a bag, the sirens on and blaring. The detectives approached the hero pair. “Thank you for calling us you two, if you hadn’t called I doubt anyone would have reported this for awhile. Things have a tendency to just disappear out this way.” The detective fixed his hat on his head to tip at the heroes. “I think you’re right Chargebolt, a mugging gone wrong. This case will probably turn up cold, his wallet is empty but all his belongings are with him. Nothing to really trace to a pawn shop around here, so unless we find prints on the murder weapon, we don’t have a lot to go off of.”

Good luck finding a print on that crow bar, you won’t.

“Just a mess sir, I’m so sorry. Do we have an ID on him?” Denki asked the detective with another shake of the head. “His ID was still on him, so was his office card. He works on the other side of town.” 

“Where at?” Jiro asked with a stern face. “Maybe we can dig around and find out what he was doing out here.” 

“He worked at the Law Firm by that one sushi bar...” The detective thought for a moment. “Don’t get too involved in this, you know those big office types. Always hiding something. He probably was over here for something shady, and got caught up in a mess. Let us handle it, you two head home.” 

Denki turned the keys in his car over and felt the air conditioning hit his hot cheeks and took a deep breath. Such a rush every time, nobody would ever suspect sweet, kinda ‘dumb’ Kaminari for anything so heinous. He drove out of the bad side of town wearing his favorite disguise.

His hero costume.

He hummed to the radio as he headed for your neighborhood, you should be getting home from work any time now. 

His phone rang, right on time. He waited a second so you wouldn’t think he was staring at his phone waiting for you to call. “Kaminari.” He said casually into the phone. 

“H-hey Chargebolt, it’s me... Y/N.” 

Your voice was so sweet, so gentle. You sounded tired. 

“Hey you! You know you can call me Denki, I told you that!” 

You laughed a small giggle and trailed off for a second. “Oh yeah, sorry. How was your day?” 

Denki talked for a little bit, saying there was a few weird things at work but nothing he wasn’t used too. “But enough about me, why was your day so rough?”  

“One of my bosses never showed up to work today, and they threw all of his work load onto me. I had to give a presentation I knew nothing about, and meet with a client who wouldn’t talk to me because I’m not a lawyer yet... I don’t even work with him often, I don’t know why I had to pick up his work.” You sighed into the phone. “I guess I’m just tired, I don’t even feel like cooking but I haven’t eaten all day.”

Denki grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. That bastard is messing with her from the other side, he smashed that bug to make things easier for her, not worse.

“You know what you need?” Denki asked, forcing his tone to be pleasant. “What’s that?” You asked sweetly into the phone. “Some takeout. Want me to swing by with some food?” 

“Oh no, you’re so busy I could never ask you to do that.” He couldn’t see you, but your face blushed profusely. THE Chargebolt wanted to come to your apartment? 

“I’m never too busy for such a good friend, I’m not far, I’ll come by.”

You looked through your peephole, surprised. You barely recognized your friend. You swung the door open quickly and gasped. “What happened to you!?” 

You touched his face, he looked pale and exhausted. He held up a brown paper bag and a bottle of wine. “Aw come on, I can’t look that bad!” You grabbed his jacket and quickly pulled him inside. “Come sit down, you look like you just saw a ghost.” You took the food from him and set it on your coffee table. He plopped down on your couch like he had been there a million times. 

Because well, he had. He loved spending time here with you. You had never invited him inside, but he didn’t think you would mind if he slipped in for a bit while you slept. You’re such a sweet person, you’d want him to be comfortable. 

You sat down beside him and opened the bag, the two of you talked and ate together. He had you laughing so hard a noodle almost came out of your nose. Things got quiet for a second after the both of you yawned, I guess it was getting a little late. You turned the T.V. on and a breaking news segment caught your eye.

“We’ll increase our patrols of the area to try and increase the safety of all the cities residents, for now, don’t walk alone at night and keep your smarts about you.” “Hey... that’s you!” You looked at him in shock. Your bosses face popped up on the screen next to the news reported who was interviewing the electric hero. “Wh-why is my boss on there?” 

Denk sat up and put a hand on your back. “That’s... that’s the victim I found on the south side of town today.” Your eyes teared up and you gripped onto Denki. He pulled you into a hug and you shook in his arms. “Why would somebody kill him? I mean he could be a jerk to work with, but nothing to murder someone over.” 

Denki tensed up a bit. The fact that you were in his arms, this should be the best day of his life but you seem... upset?

You pulled away from him and looked up with puffy red cheeks. “Denki I’m scared. A woman on the third floor is missing, and- and the mechanic from IT was found with his throat cut a month ago.” You stood up and paced the floor. “Not to mention my-my...” You stopped talking and crumbled back into Denki’s arms. “I can’t do this, I know this sounds ridiculous but I feel like I’m in danger.”

“You can’t be alone right now...” Denki rubbed your back and cradled you. “I think you should come stay with me for a little while...” 

“Wh-what?” You asked confused. Denki touched your face softly and gave your side a playful shock. You giggled and he hugged you again. After a moment he touched your shoulders firmly and looked you in the eye. “If you think you’re in danger, you should come stay at my place. It’s in a nicer part of the city, and I can keep an eye on you.” 

You thought for a minute. Your boyfriend has only been dead for six months, but in that time you and Denki had gotten really close. Like he was sent by an angel to help you. “I really appreciate it, but I should probably stay here. I think it would silly for me to pack everything up and run, I mean nothing is going to happen to me, right?” 

Denki smirked, but he wasn’t happy. “Are you serious right now Y/N?” 

His tone change surprised you and you stepped away from him in reflex. “What’s wrong?” You picked up your glass of wine that you had been neglecting and took a big sip. You’ve never really been a huge drinker, but the bitter taste gave you something to focus on.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong!?” Denki gripped his hair and smiled at you. “You don’t understand what I’ve been doing for you. I really stick my neck out for you, and you never seem to care about how it makes ME feel.” He crossed his arms and shook his head. “I- I’m sorry I know you’re busy but I thought we...” You didn’t know what the two of you are. He mostly kept your relationship a secret, he didn’t want you to be in the press at all. But you felt like the two of you are really close, you’d never take advantage of him.

“You still don’t get it do you? Everything I do is to make you happy. Make your life easier, and you don’t even seem to notice.” 

He took his jacket off and threw it on the couch. You took another step away from him and gripped your wine glass harder. You’d never seen him act this way before. You took another gulp.

“D-denki there’s something on your shirt.” He looked down, he hadn’t noticed but a few specks of blood had gotten on his ribs. You stepped closer and grabbed it, gently touching the blood stain. “I-is this from work?” You asked in a voice barely above a whisper. Denki said nothing, he reached out and touched your shoulder. 

His hands smelled like bleach.

“I think you... you should go.” You said trying to sound firm, swallowing the rest of your wine. 

“I think I should stay the night, you look tired.” He said in a soft voice. 

Your head was swimming, your eyes feeling very heavy all of a sudden. 

You looked down at the table and saw that he hadn’t taken one sip of his drink, which wasn’t really like him.

“Denki what did you do?” You stumbled backwards and dropped the glass onto the floor.  You reached for your cell phone but dropped it before losing control of your legs. He smiled and caught you in his arms. He planted a kiss on your forehead. “Denki did you kill my boss?” You tried to cry out but you couldn’t move, he lifted you into his arms. “Oh honey, shhhhh.” He laid you on the couch. He didn’t have long to pack some of your things up and scrub any trace of him ever being here. “I was hoping you’d be more understanding, happy even that I removed all of these messes from your life.”

You choked on your words and fought to keep your eyes open. “All of these-?” 

No he didn’t mean... 

Denki crouched down beside you spoke softly. “That boyfriend of yours? He didn’t even yell out for you when he was dying on the sidewalk. He said that other girls name... my blood boiled, how could he not see that he had the most perfect woman in the world waiting for him at home?” He scoffed. “That’s when I stomped out his teeth. He didn’t deserve to ever say your name anyway.” Denki stuck his tongue out at you, showing off his teeth. You wanted to scream, but your eyes shut. 

You felt his lips touch yours, before everything was black.

I didn’t put the lyrics in here but I definitely alluded to just about all of them. What did you think?? I had fun writing this one. 

[braincoins]

Unusual Halloween Movies

Tired of Jason, Freddy, and Michael? Want something new this year? Boy, do I have some treats lined up for you! I’ve used JustWatch to list the streaming options (though these are US streaming options; I maaaaay be up for some streaming fun on Halloween...). I’ll tell you right now, this list can almost perfectly be broken into three categories: Horror-Comedy, Sci-Fi Horror, or International Horror.

American Mary -  A medical student drowning under tuition debt finds a lucrative practice when she enters the world of body modification. ngl, I remember liking this movie but it’s been a bit since I saw it, so for the CONTENT WARNINGS I’m going to straight up rip the MPAA here: Rated R for strong aberrant violent content including disturbing images, torture, a rape, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and brief drug use

Ava’s Possessions - Ever wonder what life is like once all your demons have been exorcised - literally? Now that Ava is free of the demon that once possessed her, she’s out of a job, down a few friends, and facing charges for the acts of violence her demon did. The only way to get out of trouble is to go to the demon-equivalent of AA. CONTENT WARNINGS: mostly blood and bad language; some mild sexual content 

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon - A journalism grad student interviews a young man in training to be the next slasher killer, ala Jason/Freddy/Michael. An absolute treat of a movie for anyone who loves slasher films; it’s about 3/4 mockumentary, 1/4 actual horror film when she realizes that, no, really, he’s going to go kill all those co-eds. CONTENT WARNINGS: Blood, gore, naked boobs (”Ugh. Is that REALLY necessary?” “Now, Taylor, who’s telling this story?”), sex, occasional panty shots (because, again, slasher films). 

Bubba Ho-Tep - OH MAN another one I had to go back and add in ‘cause REALLY NOW. Elvis is in a nursing home (at least, he says he’s the real Elvis) and he and JFK (who is played by Ossie Davis - who you will note is NOT white) have to fight off a resurrected mummy who sucks the souls of the living out of their assholes. Bruce Campbell stars. HOW IS THAT NOT AWESOME ENOUGH FOR YOU?! CONTENT WARNING: Um... look, I think you kinda already know what sort of content to expect given what I just told you about the story.

Bulbbul (Netflix Original) -  (Hindi Language) During the 19th century Bengali Presidency, something - or someone? - is haunting the woods around a lord’s estate, killing men in gruesome ways. The lord has left his estate in charge of his young wife, while his younger brother, who’d been away studying in London, returns to hunt down whatever is causing these mysterious deaths. CONTENT WARNINGS: child bride, blood, and what Netflix calls “sexual violence”, meaning a rape scene so graphic (despite not showing any nudity or genitalia) that it is GUARANTEED to make you uncomfortable. The movie was written and directed by a woman, so there is nothing intended to be “sexy” about this at all. If you can make it through that scene, though, there is a definite payoff for it. (Or should I say “payback”?)

Eli (Netflix Original) - A young, incredibly sick boy with a fragile immune system is brought by his parents to a clinic for an experimental treatment that may be their last hope. But all is not as it seems within the walls of this place... perhaps literally. CONTENT WARNINGS: mostly just language, a few mild jump scares. People get set on fire at one point. No biggie. 

Errementari: the Blacksmith and the Devil (Netflix Original) - (Basque Language) Based on a Basque folk tale. Eight years after the First Carlist War, a government official comes to a small, impoverished Basque town asking after the blacksmith. Everyone tries to warn him away; the blacksmith is an evil, evil man. But he is on the trail of some Carlist gold that might be in the smithy, and the prospect of the gold wins him some helpers. And while everyone is distracted by that, a young orphan girl manages to get onto the blacksmith’s property. And what she finds there, no one could have expected... CONTENT WARNINGS: I took a screenshot of Netflix’s list of warnings just because it amuses me:

[sings “One of these things is not like the others...”]

Europa Report - Look, I really can’t recommend this enough for fans of found-footage features and people who can stand slower-paced, constantly-building terror. An international mission is sent to investigate Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. (Those of you who are fans of real-world space exploration know that Europa is considered a prime target for extraterrestrial life within our solar system.) Contact was lost with the mission for a long time, until the data streams came flooding into Earth all at once. And what they showed... CONTENT WARNINGS: Like I said: slower pace than most horror/thriller movies. It builds slow and steady. There’s really not much in the way of blood and gore, though; an excellent example of terror without resorting to buckets of red corn syrup.

Event Horizon - Hellraiser in Space? Hellraiser in Space. Except the Lamentation Configuration is a fucking SPACE SHIP. Also, props for genre-savvy cast. CONTENT WARNINGS: EYE SCREAM. Blood, gore, and, no really, THE EYE THING. Did I mention the gore and the blood? Oh, and language. And blink-and-you-miss it nudity & sex.

Grabbers - Strange creatures are attacking a small Irish coastal town and the only way to protect yourself is... to be drunk? CONTENT WARNINGS: I mean, it’s Irish and everyone’s drunk, so bad language (by American standards) is a given. That’s... really about it, unless you have a tentacle phobia.

Green Room -  An up-and-coming punk band show up to play a gig and realize too late that they’re playing at a Neo-Nazi club. And when they happen to see something they... really shouldn’t have, it becomes an all-out fight for survival. Same director as Murder Party, though this movie was made later with a much better budget. CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, blood, gore, and yes, some dogs die because they were trained to be vicious attack dogs by Neo-Nazis. :( Also, the most important content warning of all? PATRICK STEWART PLAYS A NEO-NAZI. (You think I’m joking, but for someone who grew up with him as Jean-Luc Picard, it is downright unsettling to see, okay?)

Life - Think Alien meets Europa Report (above). The six-member crew of the International Space Station are given a sample from Mars that might contain actual extraterrestrial life.  CONTENT WARNINGS: Blood. No, let me say that again: BLOOD. Sounds of bones breaking. Alien creature entering someone’s mouth and killing them from the inside (probably through a combination of choking them/asphyxiating them on their own blood/devouring their blood? It’s not clear, it’s just UNSETTLING).

Murder Party - This is what happens when snobby art school brats try to kill someone. (Read: it doesn’t go well.) Fuckin’ bop of a Halloween song over the end credits, too. Also, at least two characters are canonically bisexual. Same director as Green Room, though this movie was made first (with a much lower budget). CONTENT WARNINGS: bad language, blood, gore, nudity, mild sexual content (the nudity is supposed to be “artistic”). The dog probably DOES die, given the circumstances, but it doesn’t happen on screen, at least? And the dog gets some pretty decent comeuppance first... Also, 1000000% accurate cat representation. 

The Perfection (Netflix Original) - A former cello virtuoso (virtuosa?) gets in touch with her former teacher and meets his new star pupil. An instant connection is formed between the two women... or is it? (Yes, there are lesbians!) CONTENT WARNINGS: oh chaos, where do I start? Bugs under the skin, hacking off body parts, blood, gore, mild sexual content, sexual abuse, and the movie itself is complete and utter MINDFUCKERY. Did you like “Tales from the Crypt” as a kid? You’ll probably dig this. 

Ravenous - With apologies to all Native Americans, but at least they did get actual Native American actors for those parts (George is played by a Pueblo actor; his sister Martha is played by an actress of Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee descent). A soldier who won a questionable victory during the Mexican-American war is given a hero’s status and then an exile to a remote fort in the Sierra Nevadas. Not long after he arrives, a would-be settler arrives with a harrowing tale, calling for help for what few survivors there are of his wagon train. The two friendly Native Americans at the fort issue warnings that go unheeded, of course. CONTENT WARNINGS: Blood, gore, cannibalism, PTSD.

Slither - James Gunn’s 2006 Feature Movie Directorial Debut! He wrote it, too. An homage to B-movie gore flicks like you’d see at the drive-in. I am just copying and pasting the IMDB summary ‘cause I love this movie too much to be concise about it: A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters. (Oh, but don’t forget the nasty, slithery blood worm things!) CONTENT WARNINGS: Nasty, slithery blood worm things. GORE, BLOOD, GORE, GORE. A very uncomfortable sex scene. Michael Rooker.

They’re Watching - An American TV crew filming what is essentially “House Hunters: Eastern Europe” stumble into superstitions, folklore, and... TERROR!! MWAHAHAHAHA. No, seriously, I LOVE how it’s basically “What if some HGTV crew wound up waaaaaaaay in over their heads, in a horrible and bloody way?” CONTENT WARNINGS: Blood, gore, and NO WI-FI.

[junie-bugg]

Prospects and Propriety - Chapter One

Summary: Everlark Jane Austen AU

“We’re very similar, you and I.” He turns the leaf over in his palm one last time and then presses it into my hand. His fingertips are warm where the leaf is brittle.

We are, aren’t we? Me, a girl forced to marry by the rules and expectations of society and him, a boy whose freewill was stolen away before he could even walk. We’re both prisoners. Destined to fates we did not choose ourselves. Now I see what was so funny to him.

The two of us: we are absolutely tragic.

Katniss Everdeen and her younger sister Prim are the adopted daughters of Mr. Haymitch Abernathy, a wealthy man with no biological heirs. By the rules of Panem society, an older sibling must be married before the younger can wed. In a time when women have no means of making their own living, marriage is the only way for Katniss to save her sister from destitution and set her up for a happy marriage of her own. Katniss sets her sights on Mr. Gale Hawthorne, a wealthy man who just moved to Whitley and who seems to have his eye on her. But what of the poor baker’s boy who once took a beating to save her life?

Read here on Tumblr or on my AO3 account: izzacrosswriting

Author’s Note: 

This is a story inspired by my love of Everlark and Jane Austen’s novels. I am in no way an expert on the Regency period and I include fashions/details that are not historically accurate.

The setting is an alternate England-like Panem.

The plot is my own (Gale is not Mr. Darcy people, don’t get it twisted) but does borrow aesthetics and ideas directly from Jane Austen and Suzanne Collins.

The cast of characters is a mix of canon Hunger Games and original characters I’ve created.

I plan on including links to music and ambiance videos I used while writing so feel free to explore those! I typically play nature sounds and music together on my laptop so sorry if you're reading on a phone!

Warning: I do plan on this series getting a lil smutty. There will be graphic depictions of violence, sex, and possibly death. I’m still working everything out:)

Nature ambiance(s):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ9uyQI3pF0&t=1694s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUjUhZ1Yy7Y

Music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cc9ofwF-e4

(If you want to listen to this on Spotify it's called 'The Secret Life of Daydreams' from the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack.)

Word Count: 1,727

Chapter One

I run my hands through the tall grasses at my waist. It’s the perfect morning. The crisp air doesn’t quite hold that harsh bite of winter that will soon sweep the countryside in blizzards and ice. Emerald leaves hint at the coming autumn with the slightest tint of yellow along their stems. The sun shines bright through branches and I watch the forest come alive with squirrels and chipmunks that scurry through the thick brush. The dirt path I followed to get here grazes the edge of the woods, but I’ve abandoned it to traipse through the wild-flower dotted hillsides instead. 

From this high up, I can see everything. The village of Whitley lies to the west. I can just make out the rooftops of the squat brick buildings off the main square. By this time the merchants will have opened their shops for business. The rest of the countryside is peppered with grand estates and bountiful farmland. Rivers gleam like veins of silver and dirt roads are wreathed in the dust kicked up by horse-drawn carriages. I wish I could stay and sit here all day. I would drink in the sun and drown in the low hum of insects, though Haymitch has warned me of the nasty gossip that follows a lady with a tan and a set of freckles. 

A lady. I almost snort. Apparently, that’s what I am. Or what I need to be if anyone is ever going to ask for my hand in marriage. The thought ruins the good mood my morning stroll had put me in. I throw myself down among the tall grasses and begin plucking mindlessly at their stems. 

Haymitch Abernathy, the legal guardian of me and my sister, has never been one to force us into doing things we dislike. I’m allowed to ride my horse alone, hunt with a bow and arrow, and take off into the woods whenever I please, like some woodland nymph from one of my father’s old stories. If it wasn’t for Prim and my greenhouse back at home I would probably live out here. Until it got cold of course. I’m allowed more freedom than any other young girl in the county, I’m sure. But not even Haymitch can protect me from matrimony. 

My sister is excited for me. I imagine she’s fantasized about her wedding since she knew what a wedding was. To her, marriage is a romantic fairytale. A strong, handsome man of large fortune will sweep her off her feet and give her an estate to run and small, cherub-faced children to care for. To me, marriage sounds like a death sentence. They say if I’m lucky, I’ll marry for love as well as for fortune, but I never want to love someone as much as my mother loved my father. Because when he died, in a way, so did she. The only person I know that I truly love is Prim. 

Primrose Everdeen, my little sister, was never the outdoorsy type like me. She’s fair, with golden blonde hair that hangs in ringlets past her slight shoulders, and a face as fresh and as pure as a spring dewdrop. She spends her days drawing, flower arranging, and studying languages with my old tutor Mrs. Winthrop. 

“She’ll be a highly accomplished woman by the time I’m done with her. Mark my words, this young girl is special,” Mrs. Winthrop had said to Haymitch mere days after first starting Prim’s lessons. She had been my tutor for years and had never said anything nearly as flattering about me. Sullen Katniss Everdeen must have been a lost cause in her eyes. 

I’m four years older than Prim who’s a mere twelve. We share the same parents, though we look almost nothing alike. Where she received the fair skin, blonde curls, and gentle blue eyes of our mother, I received the olive-toned, straight black, and storm grey palette of our father. 

I sit up suddenly, aware that I left home hours ago and it must be getting time for my lessons. I dread heading back to that stuffy room where I’m required to sit straight and learn to be “lady-like” under the scrutinizing gaze of Ms. Effie Trinket, my new tutor. Manners are of the utmost importance to her, seeing as she makes her living off of teaching them. She considers being late an unforgivable sin. 

With this in mind, I take my time gathering wild-flowers. There are so many at my feet, their delicate white and yellow petals peeking up amongst the grasses. I deftly craft two flower chains. One for me, which I place on the crown of my head, and one for Prim clutched in my hands. I notice some dirt under my nails and smile, wondering what Effie will say when I arrive late and grimy. 

She purses her lips and crosses her arms as I enter the room. “Where were you?” She demands in that high pitched voice of hers. 

“Out,” I shrug. I hadn’t seen Prim on my way in so I’m still clutching her flower crown. I offer it to Effie instead. “Flowers?” She squints at my offering, probably checking for bugs, before gingerly taking it and placing it down on a side table. 

“Katniss, I need you to take today’s lesson seriously.” Her clipped tone sets my teeth on edge.

“I always do-” I start, but Effie cuts me off. 

“Don’t lie to me, Katniss. I know you don’t care for etiquette. I know that to you a spoon is just a spoon, even when that spoon is a soup spoon and should only be used for soup!” 

Again with the soup spoon thing, it was one time. But she’s right. I find learning manners and etiquette a waste of time. I’ve only been out in society for a short while. I barely attend balls seeing as I’m sixteen and prefer to stay at home anyway. I look up and realize that Effie is still talking at me.

“Are you even listening? Mrs. Winthrop was right, you are hopeless.” She sighs and wipes non-existent dust off of her shimmery lilac skirts. “It is imperative that you start paying attention and make some kind of progress in these lessons. Mr. Gale Hawthorne has recently taken possession of Templeton and is traveling here, as we speak, to take up residence indefinitely. Do you know what this could mean for you?” Suddenly, her annoyance melts away and is replaced by a teary, almost hopeful expression. The way this woman’s emotions swing back and forth between happy and exasperated hurts my head. She comes to clasp my face between her palms. “Mr. Hawthorne earns ten thousand a year, Katniss. Ten thousand!” 

I have in fact heard of the Hawthornes. Maybe those lessons have had more of an impact on me than I thought. I was forced to spend months poring over books filled with the names and family trees of wealthy, well-known families that I had either already been acquainted with or might be acquainted with in the future. A healthy knowledge of people, especially rich people, will get you far in life. At least that’s what Effie says. 

Gale Hawthorne is the eldest son of the wealthy businessman Ezra Hawthorne. I forget exactly how Mr. Hawthorne first made his fortune but the word mine sticks around in my head. What his mine produced, I’m not sure. Precious gems? Gold? Coal? All I know is the Hawthornes are incredibly wealthy, and Gale being the eldest son inherited when his father died. He is in possession of everything from the family fortune to a legion of servants to the many extravagant houses in Town. Now it seems he’s grown tired with the city and has decided to try his hand at country living. Good, I think. A wealthy man who’s used to the high society of the Capitol won’t last long out here. He’ll be out of my hair before the month’s up. Effie must not realize this since she’s still staring happily into my face. 

“And?” I ask.

“Well, he’ll fall in love with you and ask for your hand in marriage!” She beams as if this is obvious. “If you play your cards right of course. For instance, he won’t find you very agreeable if all you do is scowl at him like you do me-” I jerk out of her grasp. 

Of course. Marriage. It’s one of the only things Effie has talked about the entire time I’ve been her pupil. 

“Yes, Mr. Abernathy warned me that'd you'd be. . .avoidant. But don’t you see? That’s the reason I’m here. To teach you how to win a husband! It’s an art you know.” She sighs, probably seeing the panicked look on my face, and slips back into a tone of tired annoyance. “You’ll have to marry someone, Katniss. Might as well marry knowing you’ll spend the rest of your life in the lap of luxury.”

She’s right, of course. There’s no way for women to make their own living. I can’t go to university to study business or law, I can’t run my own shop, I can’t inherit Haymitch’s estate or fortune. When he dies the money goes to some estranged cousin on his father’s side. I am a woman, therefore, I am destined to either marry or die poor and unprotected. And Prim…

If I don’t marry, then Prim can’t marry. One of the rules of proper Panem society is that a younger sibling cannot marry unless the eldest has, meaning I must be happily settled before my younger sister can even entertain the idea of love. If I don’t get married and Haymitch goes and does something stupid like die, there will be nothing I can do. For either of us. We’d be turned out of the house and left to beg for scraps. And I will not let that happen to Prim. Not again. 

I force myself to swallow past the lump in my throat and spend the rest of the afternoon paying careful attention to Effie. She’s trying to teach me to communicate with men via body language, long gazes, and the fluttering of lashes. 

This is the only way to save Prim, and with each horrible flutter I produce and each disappointed sigh from Effie, I feel my chances slipping away.

[bitchinrichie]

Major IT chapter two spoilers!!

Adult! Stanley Uris x Reader

This is an AU, all italics are flashbacks, this is chapter one of this fic

September 1989

“Swear, swear i-if it ever comes back we’ll come back too,” as Bill held a broken piece of glass you felt yourself tearing up as you nodded. Stan took your hand as if he had just known- he always knew the best ways to comfort you. Bill approached you like he had with the other losers and dragged the glass across your palm as you hissed in pain. You swore and you meant it now it was only a hope that it never came back.

September 2016 (27 years later)

“Y/n?.... Y/n!.... Y/N L/N!!!!!” Your boss Roger had been screaming for you for the last five minutes.

“Shit! Sorry Roger I’m just trying to perfect the last part of this frame,” you sighed, looking away from the computer screen for the first time in 5 hours.

“You’re working insanely hard on this short you know that right?”

“I’m head animator!! Of course I’m working really hard, I’ve wanted this my entire life!” Roger just laughed at you.

“Okay you have my attention, what’s going on?”

“Your phone has been going off the hook for the past ten minutes!” He handed you your phone you left by your bag, you opened your mouth to say something but nothing came out. Your phone started buzzing once again, a call from Maine-

“Hello this Y/n L/n..”

“Y/n? It’s Mike. Mike Hanlon from Derry.”

“Oh shi- h-hey Mike. Fuck please tell me you’re calling because you’re in town?” You bite your lip in anticipation and start to hyperventilate.

“I wish it was y/n I really do but I need your help.”

You honest to god couldn’t believe this was happening again. But then again you hadn’t thought about- no you didn’t remember anything until Mike called and it hits you like a freight train. Everything- at least what you thought was everything, every moment, every emotion, every single one of the-

“Losers club,” the floor felt like it dropped beneath you and suddenly you were on your knees, feeling a hand clamp down on your shoulder tipped you over the edge and you screamed and sobbed curling in on yourself.

There were distant voices and everything was blurry, you felt yourself being picked up and set down in a chair and you could make out faces in front of you.

“Shit! She blacked out!”

“She’s been working too hard,”

“Y/n! Y/N!! Come on, look at me!”

***

You had been sent home after you passed out, they thought it was stress, so they made you promise to take at least a week off.

As soon as you pulled into the driveway, you took off running to pack because god knows you were leaving as soon as possible. Were you scared? There was no doubt about it but you made a promise. So you got on the next plane to Derry, Maine.

***

Pulling up to the Jade of the Orient had you reeling in lost memories, it almost didn’t feel like Derry but you knew well enough it wouldn’t be this nice of a visit.

“Holy shit is that little y/n all grown up? In heels no less, I remember you telling me you’d never be caught dead in a pair,” pulled from your thoughts, Richie Tozier stood with his hands in his pockets, laughing at you.

“Trashmouth Tozier, shit I actually missed your terrible jokes.” He just laughed again, holding his arms out for you and you hugged him tight. He had been your best friend before you met the rest of the losers with the exception of Stanley Uris.

“Y/n? Is that you?” Letting go of Richie you were faced with your first love, the one person you hated yourself for forgetting-

You were sat on Stan’s bed, peering over his shoulder as he showed you his collection of bird photographs he had taken. Your arms were wrapped around his torso gently and he would smile over at you every so often sometimes adding a small peck on the lips. You were supposed to be studying but he was too excited to show you pictures of his beloved birds.

“Stan! Oh my god!” You didn’t realize you were running toward him until you were close enough, wrapping your arms around him. He reciprocated and you could feel his laughter bubbling up.

“How’ve you been bird man?” Richie came toward the both of you as you let go and Stan hugged Richie. The two men only laughed at each other and turned back to you.

“I see your music taste never wavered?” Looking down at your Queen shirt and back at the new voice which you soon realized belonged to Ben Hanscom.

“Oh don’t start with me new kid on the block,” you smirked and he shook his head as he hugged you which ended very quickly as you were pulled away by the resident redhead of the group.

“Hey Bev, I missed you too.”

***

Entering the restaurant was surreal, finding the other three members: Eddie, Bill, and Mike around the table. Many hugs were given and no one could pass up teasing anyone at the table. It felt like no time had passed, you all had grown up together, those 27 years apart just disappeared.

You had sat between Stan and Richie and every so often, Stan’s hand would brush against yours. You felt like a teenager again but you were unfortunately brought back down to earth.

“Y'know when Mike called me, I threw up. Like I was sweaty and nauseous,” Richie let out a shaky breath- “I’m okay now- why is everyone looking at me like this??”

“I crashed my car when I was on the phone with him,” coughed out Eddie.

“I passed out at work, they all thought it was stress but I started panicking during the call,” everyone had very similar moment surrounding the call. Then it just seemed to click in everyone’s mind but no one said anything until Bev let out a choked sob,

“Pennywise.”

“The clown?” Everyone let out a collective shaky sigh, frantically looking around for confirmation. And there was just silence until the fortune cookies were brought over.

“I don’t know who’s making the fortunes but they aren’t very good mine just says me,” the paper was thrown into the middle as Bill sighed.

“Mine just says decided.” Richie stared at it in confusion and then tossed his in the middle with Bill’s. Everyone started placing their fortunes in the middle to piece together what it said. It was just arguing and yelling until Bev put hers down and everyone shut up.

YOU’VE DECIDED TO COME HOME TO ME LOSERS

Almost as if on cue the cookies started shaking in the bowl and one by one they popped out, cracking into pieces revealing gross bugs and parts. You all backed away from the table, Stan’s hand immediately found yours as you stood terrified. Mike began hitting the table with a chair and screaming it wasn’t real no matter how fucking real it felt.

***

“I can’t do this Mike, I’m sorry I just can’t. I’m going back to the inn, getting my shit and leaving!” Richie stormed off to his car, followed by Eddie and Stan. You eventually walked off finding Stan leaning against his car, with his head in his hands.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m right here,” you pulled his hands away and he pulled you against him and you let him hold you silently. As he let go, wiping his nose, he kissed your temple and drove away.

***

It was a frantic mess of Richie trying to leave, Eddie getting his stuff from upstairs, and no one knowing what to do. You joined Stan and Bev in drinking from the old bar, downing the scotch in silence.

“We can’t leave, if we leave we die.” Bev says taking another drink.

“And you know this how??” Richie demanded.

“I saw it. I’ve seen us all die. In the-“

“Deadlights.” Finished Bill- “She was the only one of us that got caught in the deadlights.”

“No, she wasn’t. When I was attacked I saw it too,” Stan squeezed your hand, adding more pressure as he spoke.

“If we don’t stop IT this cycle, we all die-“

“If we go after IT now we still fucking die, we all remember what happened last time right??” Richie was right but they all knew the choices given and if IT wasn’t stopped, more people were going to die.

@unamused-fangirl @peteporkers @dry-brian @multi-parker @finnie-wolfhard @chipoisaloser

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names”- Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 12

This chapter on AO3 can be found here.

Chapter 12 - Parental Lecture

“We sure have been finding ourselves here a lot, haven’t we?” Rex spoke as he sipped on decaf coffee.

“Should you even be drinking that, dino brain?”

“What do you mean?” Dr. Saurus asked.

That’s none of your- Rex wouldn’t have to complete his thought, as the “Dweeb Patrol” all came in at once.

“Ugh, you just jinxed it,” Amber whined.

“Hey, the pretty lady’s back!”

Duke chuckled, that was until Joey stepped on his foot. “Don’t you ever learn?” Joey talked to Amber more amiably. “I’m sorry, Amber. Please don’t leave.”

“...” Amber looked away from this group that joined her.

“Long time, no see.”

Rex couldn’t look at Mai when she spoke to him, not after remembering what her last words to him were. “Y-Yeah.”

“I haven’t been seeing you around lately,” Joey noted. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, uh…” Rex wasn’t ready to let his “friends” know about his… condition. “You know, just dueling!”

“Very quietly, apparently,” spoke Tristan. “There was a tournament just last month in Domino City. I was surprised that neither you nor Weevil entered. Even though Amber won it fairly easily.”

“Hah, hah, hah…”

Joey could tell that Rex was running out of excuses. “Rex, you can tell us. What is the real reason you were AWOL?”

Luckily - or rather, not so luckily - an extremely angry phone call from Ptera would answer that question. “Rex Raptor! Where are you, young man?”

“I’m just at the café with friends. What’s the big deal?”

Ptera’s voice was so loud that everyone at the table could hear her, even without speaker. “For goodness’ sake, Rex, you’re pregnant! You need to rest! Come back here right now!”

“Sigh… Yes, Mom.”

When Rex hung up his phone, an awkward silence lingered in the air. Joey was the first one to break that silence. “What on Earth was that about?”

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.” Rex arose from the table slowly and showed everyone his baby bump.

“It can’t be… But how?” Tristan asked.

“Hmm, how can I simplify it for you dweebs? I had sex with this guy ,” Rex pointed to Weevil, “and thanks to the fact that I magically have a uterus, I am now four months pregnant. And if you’re wondering where I was, I was puking my guts out so badly that I had to be in the hospital for the past two months.

“I’m sorry, Rex…” Mai apologized. “It’s all my fault. If I didn’t give you that sex advice, you wouldn’t be this way.”

“Oh no, don’t worry your pretty head about it.” Rex patted his baby bump. “Truth be told, I can’t wait to be a fa- er, mother. Or whatever you want to call me.”

“And I’m sure you can’t wait to face your Mom’s wrath,” Weevil spoke as he checked the notification on his phone; it was a text from Roach. “I know I can’t wait to talk to Father when I get home.”

“Then I guess this is goodbye for now,” spoke Joey as Rex and Weevil laid some money on the table. “Let me know when your baby shower is so I can get your bundle of joy a little something.”

“Y-You got it, man…” After he parted with Weevil with a kiss, Rex began his way back home. “A baby shower, huh? I’ve got a lot more to plan for than I thought.”

While Ptera read the Riot Act to her son, Weevil was about to receive his own parental lecture. He stalled for as long as he could get away with before actually walking in the direction of his house. He ignored the greetings of Adelaide and all the other maids and butlers, and 

headed straight for Roach’s office. “...Father.”

“...Son.” After noticing that Weevil wouldn’t sit down, Roach continued, “You have a lot of audacity to be heading to town so often when you couldn’t even earn the top spot at high school.”

“...” Weevil glared at his father without saying a word.

“Don’t look at me like that! You have a lot to make up for! If you want me to accept you as my son, then you need to study so you can graduate from college magna cum laude!”

“...Who said that I wanted - or needed - your approval?” Weevil began to talk back for the first time.

“Excuse me?”

“All you ever do is treat me like I’m some perfect little plaything! At least Rex treats me like a human being. Actually, he treats me as more than that. He’s the one person I adore more than anything else in the world. And now that he bears my child, I have all the more reason to be with him.”

“What… did… you… just… say?”

“That’s right! Rex Raptor, that poor kid you hate so much, is pregnant with your grandchild!”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself?”

“What?”

“So you think you’re normal, huh? That you can marry another man and have kids with him like you’re not an abomination?”

“Father!”

Roach sharply arose from his seat. “Get out of my house right now, you faggot! You are no son of mine!”

“I’ve actually been waiting for this day for a long time.” Weevil smirked. “Unfortunately for you, I’ve already packed as much money and as many of my belongings as I could into one bag. So yeah, I’ll get out of your house right now, Roach. ”

Before Roach could say, “stop this instant,” Weevil had already raced for his now-old room, and began wheeling his giant suitcase out of the house. He had made it about halfway to Rex’s house when he realized he was being followed. Knowing immediately who it was, Weevil stopped in his tracks. “Adelaide, you bloody fool. You didn’t have to run away too.”

“I couldn’t bear to work for that snake anymore.” Adelaide had only a small handbag with a few clothes, a cheap phone, her Duel Disk, and ¥10000. “But more than that, I couldn’t bear to see him torture you so, Master Weevil.”

“Adelaide…” Weevil’s voice shook. “You’ve already taught me how to duel, and have taken care of me when Roach would not… Honestly, you’re doing too much.”

“I’d say I’m not doing enough. Ever since I moved into the Underwood household, you’re the only one who’s treated me with kindness… The only one whom I could call a friend.”

“S-Stop!” Weevil had begun to cry, even as his trusted maid hugged him. “You’re making me all sappy!”

“There is only one problem… Where will we go now?”

“I know just the place.”

_______

Rex looked up at the door when he heard a knock on it, but did not get up from his comfy supine position on the living room couch. “Mom, can you get that? I’m too busy studying and being pregnant on the couch.”

“Oh, so now you acknowledge you need rest.” Ptera’s smile dropped when she saw Weevil and Adelaide at her door. “Weevil!”

“Weevil? He’s here?” Now Rex wanted to get up, and he urged his boyfriend in the house. “Baby, what are you doing here? And with a big-ass suitcase, no less?”

“I’m not on speaking terms with Roach anymore. If it wasn’t obvious already, I’ve run away from home. I want to live here with you.”

Tricera came to the living room to see what all the commotion was about. “Weevil, honey, you’re more than welcome to stay here. We’ll even get you a job at the restaurant, if you want.”

“Thank you. I’ll probably take you up on that offer.”

Adelaide was still very confused about the situation, and felt left out. “Master Weevil, I can take your suitcase to your new room, if you would like.”

“Oh? And who might you be?” Rex asked.

“This is my maid and friend, Adelaide Windsor,” Weevil answered. “Adelaide, this is my boyfriend, Rex Raptor, who is also the mother of my unborn child. These two amazing ladies are his parents, Ptera and Tricera Raptor.”

Adelaide stared at these strangers absentmindedly before speaking. “I-I’m sorry! It’s just, I’ve never met people like you before. But if you have been kind to Master Weevil all these years, then you’re friends of mine.”

“Huh.” This new resident of the Raptor household piqued Rex’s interest. “I don’t suppose you know how to duel?”

In response, Adelaide took out her Duel Disk, and for a split second her demeanour did a complete 180º. “Young man, I’ve been dueling for almost as long as you’ve been alive. In fact, it was I that taught Master Weevil how to duel.”

“Sweet! I’ll show you what my duelin’ dinos are made of!””

“The only thing you’ll be showing anyone is how smart you are.” Ptera put her son’s duelin arm down.

“Yeah, yeah.” Rex returned to the couch and opened his laptop - a fancy one he received as a birthday gift from Weevil last year.

After she had put Weevil’s suitcase in Rex’s room, and the bug duelist had sat down to watch T.V., Adelaide turned to Rex. “Master Rex, is there anything you would like me to cook for you?”

“Takoyaki with chocolate syrup!” Rex held a thumbs up without looking up.

“You got it!” Adelaide noticed the mountain of dishes in the kitchen sink. “If you like, Madame Ptera, I can wash those for you after we’re done with dinner.”

“You’re too kind!” Ptera lightly hit Adelaide on the shoulder. “Oh, and just call me ‘Ptera.’”

“But if you’re letting me stay here, the least I could do is serve you, just as I’ve served Master Weevil.”

“Would you like a job at our family restaurant too?” Tricera called all the way from the loo.

“Could I? That way, I can actually pay rent.” Adelaide interrupted Ptera before she could say anything. “I insist on it, just like I insist on how I address you.”

Weevil smiled as he took a seat next to Rex on the couch. “This… I could get used to this.” He let his hand linger on Rex’s baby bump. “Finally, I can have a real family life. And now, I can help take care of not only the man I love, but also my child.”

[thetaurusgeminisystem]

A to Z 30 Day writing challenge “Hunkle Grunkle Edition”

Day 1 – Age

Part 2 of 2

 The night was mostly quiet and peaceful as the Mystery Shack settled into another role that it played every day, the Pines family household. The peace was accompanied by the television that was currently playing yet another cheesy period chick flick. Nights like these were a treasure to Raina and Stan.

Not that they did not enjoy the hustle and bustle of their life made more hustle by the presence of Stan’s great niece and great nephew named Mabel and Dipper, but it was nice for them to get a moment to rest and enjoy each other’s company.

The two were given this time because Dipper was off with Winifred searching for more mysteries to be found, though Stan and Raina both knew what Winifred was truly looking for at this point. They could not tell the kids yet, especially because it was so dangerous. Stan knew that eventually they would have to know, but tonight was not the night.

While Dipper was off having adventures with his adoptive “Grant” as both he and his twin sister called her, the latter was out on a date with the local “psychic”. The supposed little worm was truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing and he posed a threat to the Mystery Shack, what more could Stan like about him? Not to mention his most annoying “Lil’ ole me” act that he put on to make himself seem so innocent.

Raina had pleaded for Stan to just leave it alone for now, even though her gut was growling at her to not trust the white haired carnival attraction that was “Lil Gideon”, she was able to view it from the point of view of being lonely and wanting friends. Raina was quick to remind Stan of what it was like for the two of them when they had first arrived her in this sleepy little town. Stan was reluctant to say the least, but with the promise of cuddling up in his chair and watching cheesy chick flicks, he promised to leave the situation alone.

That was where they were now. Raina was relaxed and in her alien form, her fluffy tail wrapped around them both and her naturally raised body temperature acting as a personal heater for Stan. “Ya know, this is nice” Stan said with a happy sigh, his head resting atop Raina’s and careful not to crush her antenna.

Raina chuckled softly and nuzzled Stan. “Yeah I agree, although I just have a weird feeling that it won’t last” Raina replied sounding a bit exasperated.

This made Stan snort a little then he gently gave her a little squeeze. “Oh? Whatcha mean sapphire? Feeling frisky or somethin?” Stan asked her giving her a little wink.

This earned a playful shove from Raina and a shake of her head. “No silly, first off the kids could come in at any moment. Secondly, knowing those two, at least one of them is gonna need us for something. I don’t think it’s gonna be Dipper tonight either” Raina replied.

Suddenly, almost without warning, the girl in question burst into the living room looking distraught and a little sad. “G-Grunkle Stan, Grant Raina I uh…I need a little help with something” Mabel said softly, her face trained on the ground like she was nervous or unsure of what to do.

Raina gave Stan a look that said ‘Told ya so’ and then she got up from her spot on Stan’s lap and stretched a little. “Sure, thing kiddo, whatcha need? C’mon let’s discuss this over a Pitt Cola, ya look like ya need one” Raina said earning a hint of a smile from the girl.

“Ok” Mabel responds and then she follows Raina out of the living room and into the kitchen.

Stan raised a brow and decided to follow after the two girls. He took residence leaning against the door frame in the kitchen and watched as Raina sat Mabel down and tossed her a can of Peach Pitt.

“So what’s going on Kiddo, did the date with Gideon not go the way you wanted it to?” Raina inquired and grabbed herself a can of Pitt and then proceeded to sit down across from Mabel at the little table.

“Well it’s kind of like that, but it isn’t really his fault I guess…Grant Raina how do you tell a guy that you aren’t really into them without hurting their feelings?” Mabel asked Raina as she cracked open the can and took a sip of the cool beverage.

Raina thought about it for a moment. Personally she hadn’t really had to ever do that. Her first love was still currently her boyfriend and she hoped that it would stay like that. This didn’t mean that she wouldn’t try to help the girl out in the best way that she could. “Well the way I see it Mabel is that you’re always going to end up hurting someone’s feelings, but at the end of the day you’re only responsible for your own happiness. If being with Gideon isn’t making you happy then maybe you should just kindly ask him if you two can just be friends again. If he doesn’t accept that then he was never truly your friend to begin with and you deserve better than that” Raina explained.

This got Stan’s attention and he sauntered into the room. “Alright Pumpkin what did he do huh? Do I need to drop kick him into the sun?” Stan asked earning a soft glare from Raina.

This made Mabel giggle a little and she turned to look at her Grunkle. “No Grunkle Stan, he actually didn’t really do anything wrong. I just don’t think that I like him as much as he likes me, I just want to know the best way of telling him that I just want to be friends” Mabel answered and then took another swig of her Pitt Cola.

Stan snorted a little and went over to the fridge to grab himself a can of Pitt Cola. “Whatever ya say Pumpkin, but if he does something to ya, just let me know and we can make the drop kickin’ thing happen” Stan said and then he disappeared back into the living room to continue watching the chick flick that him and Raina had been watching.

Raina rolled her eyes and watched as Stan disappeared back into the living room. Ever the man to love children, but never the greatest influence on them. “Mabel what your Grunkle means is that we’re both here if you need someone to have your back. Back when him and I were younger, we didn’t have an elder to have our back. We just had each other” Raina explained and then patted Mabel on the back gently.

Mabel nodded and gave Raina a big toothy grin of her own, her braces glinting a little in the dim light of the kitchen. “Grant Raina can I ask something?” Mabel asked looking back down at the table for a moment. The girl’s facial expression turned back to one of thought as she waited for Raina’s response.

“Sure thing kiddo, what is it?” Raina asked Mabel and then she took another sip of her Pitt Cola and studied Mabel’s expression with a little concern.

Mabel was thinking for a moment, she was trying to think of the right way to word her question, but then her face lit up in an almost comical way. “How long have you and Grunkle Stan been together?” She finally asks causing an indigo blush to bloom on Raina’s cheeks. “I guess I ask because you guys make it seem so easy, you’re absolutely adorable, but I just wish it was easier for me to find love” Mabel adds resting her chin against the wooden table.

Raina gave Mabel a sad and sympathetic smile and then she gently pat the girl on the back in a comforting manner. “Love is never easy Mabes, it comes in and gives you hope only for it to leave you with a broken heart sometimes, but you know what? That doesn’t mean that the right one isn’t out there looking for you. You’re Grunkle Stan just happened to be the one that was looking for me. To answer your question kiddo, we’ve been together for almost thirty years” Raina explained to the girl and then she scooted her chair closer to her.

Mabel looked at Raina in a almost starstruck awe and then she let out a giddy squeak. “AAAAWWWW You two are the most adorable couple I’ve ever seen Grant Raina! Will you tell me the story about how you two met?” Mabel asked Raina, her eyes looking like an adorable puppy.

Raina chuckled a little, she had grown immune to this look because Stanley used it on her so often. It certainly wasn’t easy though. “Sorry Kiddo, not tonight Ok? It’s almost time for you to go to bed. I promise you that I’ll tell you the story when you’re older” Raina replied earning a pout from Mabel.

Just as Mabel was about to protest and make her case as to why Raina should tell her the story, the sound of the front door creaking open interrupted her.

“Stan! Raina! We’re home!” Winifred called out from the front door and Dipper came running into the kitchen excitedly. Winifred chuckled at his enthusiasm and followed behind him into the kitchen. “Sorry for interrupting, Dipper and I had an amazing journey to see the rainbow bugs that hide deep in the forest” Winifred explained grabbing a can of Pitt cola from inside the fridge.

Raina gently petted Mabel on the head and leaned her chin in the palm of her hand. “Not at all Winifred, actually I was just trying to get this one to head to bed for tonight” Raina said earning an even deeper pout from Mabel.

“B-But Grant Raina…” Mabel started earning a small laugh from her twin brother. Dipper gave his sister a side hug before he let out a small yawning noise.

“C’mon Mabel I’ll tell you about me and Grant Winifred’s adventure to collect and Rainbow bug specimen” Dipper said trying to cheer up his sister and help Raina out of the sticky situation.

Mabel’s pout brightened up immediately at her brother’s suggestion and then with an eager nod of her head she raced with her brother towards the stairs. Raina chuckled and watched the two go before she got up and threw away the empty cans of Pitt.

Winifred chuckled seeing the two rambunctious twins scamper off and then she cracked open her can of Pitt. “You know you aren’t getting off the hook that easily right? Now you’ve got me wanting to know the story…I mean if you don’t mind me asking that of course” Winifred said sitting down in the chair that had once been Mabel’s.

Raina laughed a little, she hadn’t noticed that Stan was now leaning in the doorway again until he spoke. “Go ahead Rainbow, I like how you tell the story of us…it sounds better than how I tell it…” Stan says trailing off at the last part, his cheeks tinted a light shade of pink.

Raina jumped a little and then her own cheeks tinted blue as she looked up at Stan. “Are ya sure ya want me to tell it?” She asks earning a reassuring thumbs up from Stanley. He then wandered over to the fridge and grabbed another Pitt Cola and proceeded to sit down in the chair between the two girls. Raina sighs a little and looks over at Winifred. “Alright, Alright, but Winifred you’ve got to tell me and Stan how you met his twin brother” Raina replied earning a knowing snicker from Stan.

“I mean I am curious on how you met Sixer now that Rainbow mentions it” Stan said simply taking a long swig of his Pitt Cola.

Winifred nodded taking a swig of her Pitt Cola. “Not a problem guys, I can tell you guys that, though it won’t be super exciting or anything” Winifred replies and then she waits for Raina to start.

A few hours later…

It was much later in the night now. The Mystery Shack was quiet except for Stan’s snores coming from behind her. She carefully rose and moved Stan’s arm from around her waist. The talk about how her and Stan became a couple still floated in her mind. Some nights when she just could not sleep, she would go outside on the front porch of the shack and think about the way life has gone.

She carefully slid out of bed; she was always careful not to wake Stan up because heaven knows the poor man needed sleep. Especially when he worked so hard to help Winifred get the Portal up and going again.

Raina then padded into the kitchen of the Shack and flicked on the light switch against the wall. The dim light over the kitchen table hummed to life. She then went to the cabinet and grabbed a mug and then a tea bag. She filled up the cup and popped it into the microwave. Once the beverage was nice and hot, she carefully grabbed the cup and headed outside.

The half alien girl gently took residence on the couch outside, she snuggled into the half that was already fairly imprinted with Stan’s form and then she began to allow her mind to wander.

It didn’t take long for Stan to wake up and realize that Raina had been missing from the bed. He blinked a few times and then he grabbed his glasses from the bedside table. He slowly rolled out of bed and stretched a little, his back cracking and causing a low groan to escape his lips. His curiosity about the present state of his girlfriend kept him from thinking too much about the pain in his lower back.

“Hey sweetcheeks, whatcha doin’ out here this time of night? Aren’t cha a bit worried about the spooks that Winifred warned us ‘bout?” Stan asked scaring Raina for the second time today. The alien girl nearly dropped her mug of tea.

Raina glared at her boyfriend and was awfully glad it was still dark out so that he could joke about her blushing. “I just couldn’t sleep Stan, so I had to come out here and do some thinking” She says softly and then she takes a sip from her cup of tea.

Stan gently lifted her up into his arms, this earns a squeak of surprise from her, and then she settles again in his arms. She rests her mug on the little table beside the couch and then she rests her head on his chest. This caused Stan to give her a concerned look. “Are ya ok doll?” He asked her and lightly petted her soft raven hair.

“Yeah, I’m alright Lee. Just thinking about how the years of us together have changed…how we started out as two dumb thirty-year-old people who did not know a single thing about life for themselves. Now here we are almost thirty years later on a mission to get your twin brother back from some crazy multiverse dimension…I guess I’m just thinking about how time has changed us both” Raina says explains causing Stan to grow even more concerned.

“Is that a bad thing sweetheart?” Stan asked, he was doing his best not to sound too worried, still had his walls of cool headedness up.

Raina chuckles softly and then she places a small kiss on his chin. “No it’s not a bad thing Stan, I think like this sometimes because it makes me realize that I’m so happy and lucky that I got to grow older with you by my side” She says softly and then she gently wraps her arms around his neck.

Now it was Stan’s turn to blush. He chuckled and then he placed a kiss on her head. “We’ve been through hell and back huh? Well just so ya know toots, I feel the same way. I’m so happy that ya ended up by my side” He says softly and then he holds her close. “We probably shouldn’t stay out here much longer though Rainbow” Stan practically whispered in her ear.

Raina shivered softly and nodded. “Yeah, I know, can we retell stories to each other until we fall asleep?” Raina asks looking up at him with a warm smile.

“Already ahead of ya sweetheart, C’mon let’s get back to bed” Stan says softly and then he gently lifts her into his arms and then he proceeded to carry her back up to bed.

For the rest of the night the two just cuddled into each other’s arms and relived all of the tales from their past. Yes age was upon them like every natural human being, but it was nights like these to made them both happy that they were able to share so many ages with each other.

A/N: Hey there fellow Fallers! Here’s part 2 of day 1 of @uhmmmsweetie ‘s awesome A to Z writing challenge! If you would like to take the challenge for yourself then go here: https://uhmmmsweetie.tumblr.com/post/172330329580/30-day-otp-alphabet-challenge

This is Stan and Raina’s side of prompt #1 which is age. I’m not overly proud of this one as I was with Ford and Winifred, but I think a lot of it is just because I haven’t given this pairing as much attention so...I have also never written Stanley’s character before. I hope it isn’t too horrible. I hope that you guys enjoy! Stay tuned for Tomorrow’s prompt: Bath. I will only be doing one of the pairs for that one, but you guys will have to wait and see which one. 

[hello-robin-goodfellow]

Bone

A lengthy independent comic book series by Jeff Smith that took 13 years to complete, mixing the sensibilities of a joke-of-the-day comic strip like Pogo with the sweeping story of an epic fantasy à la The Lord of the Rings. Jeff self-published the series in its original run, collecting the issues in groups of six or so in nine total volumes, until Image Comics picked it up for a time. A second printing came under Scholastic, Inc., for which Jeff's friend Steve Hamaker colored each and every page. The series eventually won several Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards, and propelled Jeff Smith into immense independent comic book acclaim.

It tells the story of three cousins, who happen to look like humanoid, bone-shaped Cartoon Creatures. They are exiled from their town called Boneville and become lost in a Magical Land called the Valley, where they meet an energetic old lady (Gran'ma Ben) and her beautiful grand-daughter (Thorn). Together, they're caught up in intrigue, magic, and adventure.

Characters

The Bone Cousins 

Fone Bone: The main protagonist. Fone Bone is the most dependable, resourceful and most moral of the Bone cousins, and tends to be viewed as the "good" Bone since he's never involved in any of Phoney's moneymaking schemes. He's polite and friendly, and pretty good at thinking on his feet in a crisis. He has a huge crush on Thorn, but has problems telling her about it. 

Phoncible "Phoney" P. Bone: Previously the "richest Bone in Boneville"; Phoney is a greedy, hotheaded schemer who always has a new plan for making money. The problem with his plans is that they tend to backfire and end with him being chased off by an angry mob. 

Smiley Bone: The most happy-go-lucky of the cousins. Smiley is a friendly and loyal guy, but rather short on brains and not the most adept at telling right from wrong, which is why he so often lets himself get involved in Phoney's schemes. He pretty much adopts Bartleby the Rat Creature cub.

Friends and Allys

Thorn: Thorn was the titular character of the comic's earliest incarnation, and even now can be said to be the real protagonist of the series. She is a young girl on the verge of adulthood, who can talk to animals and who befriends the Bone cousins when they are lost in the valley.

Rose "Gran'ma Ben": Gran'ma Ben has the strength of ten elephants and can outrun any cow in the valley. She has lived peacefully with her granddaughter Thorn on a small farm for fifteen years, after the "big war". 

Lucius Down: The owner of the Barrelhaven Tavern, he's a gruff and temperamental but ultimately kind-hearted old man, whom everyone knows has been "sweet on" Gran'ma Ben for decades. He's a constant foil to Phoney Bone and has ruined more than one of Phoney's moneymaking schemes. 

Ted The Bug: Ted is a tiny little insect with a knack for "gettin' while the gettin's good." Nevertheless, despite his diminutive size he's helpful and surprisingly resourceful, and somehow he always seems to know everything that's going on. 

The Great Red Dragon: The mysterious protector of Thorn and Fone Bone, and a master of last-minute rescues. He's a laid-back and lazy sort who at first glance doesn't seem very formidable, but he has a number of strange powers and is feared by the Rat Creatures. 

Bartleby: A Rat Creature cub that ran off from the other rats and befriended Fone Bone and Smiley. 

The Possums: A family of possums — Miz Possum and her three kids — that Fone Bone meets during his first winter in the valley, and who show up sporadically to help him out.

Roderick: A baby racoon whose parents were eaten by Rat Creatures. Plays a minor part in Bone, but is one of the main characters in Quest for the Spark. 

The Orphans: Roderick's friends; a group of young animals in the same situation as him.

Jonathan Oaks: Lucius's assistant at Barrelhaven. He's a young and affable guy, though not terribly bright. 

The Villagers: The human inhabitants of Barrelhaven village; usually peaceful enough, but in general rather small-minded, xenophobic, and easily led. The most commonly seen are Wendell the tinsmith and Euclid the farmer. 

The Disciples of Venu: Also known as the "Veni-Yan" or, more insultingly, "stick-eaters," they are a group of hooded monks who have dedicated themselves to the study of the Dreaming. They were once the elite warriors of the kingdom of Atheia, but after the war they have the reputation as wandering beggars. 

Taneal: A little girl who lives in Atheia; she's a young priestess and shrine-builder who tries her best to keep the faith of Venu going even after it was outlawed. 

Taneal's brother:  Never actually named in the comic, but he's Taneal's older brother. Smart and resourceful, he knows everyone in Atheia, especially who to bribe in order to get your way.

Teacher: Gran'ma Ben's old teacher; he's an old and somewhat cantankerous old man who runs a small rooftop kitchen and is... not as good a chef as he thinks he is. 

Headmaster: The head of the Diciples of Venu and possibly the oldest human character in the comic. 

Mermie: A seventh-level "dreaming master" and steadfast alley of Gran'ma Ben.

Villains

The Lord of the Locusts: A nightmare spirit who long ago wanted to escape from dreams and experience the waking world, which he attempted by possessing Mim, the Dragon Queen. He was defeated and imprisoned by the other dragons, but is still able to contact and influence dreamers in the waking world, plotting to be free once more.

The Hooded One: A mysterious hooded figure who's the highest servant of the Lord of the Locust. Spends the first two-thirds of the story preparing for war, and looking for "the one who bears the star," who will aid in freeing the Lord of the Locusts. 

Kingdok:  The King of the Rat Creatures; a brutish and vicious monster who nevertheless is basically only a puppet for the Hooded One and the Lord of the Locusts.

Rat Creatures:  Rat Creatures are the resident monsters of the valley; they're strong and bloodthirsty predators but also incredibly stupid. Encountered in ones or twos they're more comical than scary, but in large numbers they're terrifying. There are thousands of Rat Creatures, but two of them — a duo of foot soldiers — play fairly large roles in the story as Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains who in Quest for the Spark end up having a Heel–Face Turn (as well as getting their own names, "Smelly" and "Stinky.")

Roque Ja:  The "Master of the Eastern Border." Roque Ja (and not, as he will constantly remind you, "Rock Jaw") is a gigantic mountain lion who initially sides with the Hooded One and the Rat Creatures because he hates them slightly less than he hates the dragons they oppose.

Lord Tarsil:  A former Veni-Yan warrior and ruler of Atheia. He hates dragons with a passion and has outlawed all "worship" of them, including the old religion.

The Vedu: The sect that Tarsil formed; an off-shoot of the Diciples of Venu who follows different teachings and act more like bullies than protectors.

An Animated Adaptation has been in Development Hell for several years. In the '90s, Nickelodeon Movies, having just released the hit film The Rugrats Movie, had an alarmingly misguided vision of what they wanted it to be, and Jeff was the one who bailed out of the deal. The rights were then held by Warner Bros., and the reports on the production team were that Animal Logic, the studio behind Happy Feet and The Matrix, would animate, P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend's Wedding, Confessions of a Shopaholic, the 2003 live-action Peter Pan) would direct, and it would be adapted for the screen by Patrick Sean Smith (ABC Family's Greek). In 2016, Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda, The Little Prince) became the new director, while he and Adam Kline replaced Patrick Sean Smith as the screenwriters.

Jeff was initially fighting for traditional 2D animation, since he used to run his own animation studio called Character Builders that contributed to films like Space Jam, and was the studio that was originally slated to animate the film. According to the interview above, Jeff is fine with the change because the outcome of the movie is not in his control, even though he will have executive-producing credit. He STILL remembers his original preference, though, and fans continue to prove this. However, it was not to be. After several years with little progress made (and no release date appearing on Warner Bros.' slate of upcoming animated movies) the rights to adapt the comic went up for sale again.

In 2019, Netflix secured the rights to the franchise with plans to adapt the comic into an animated series. Time will tell if they are successful.

[jaybug-jabbers]

All-Glitch Pokemon Blue Run Pt1: An Introduction

The following is an archive of a series of e-mails exchanged between ‘junebug15@pokemail.com’ and ‘profwg@pokemail.com.’ 

Please keep this information classified.

6/10/97 10:00am

Greetings!

I am a news reporter with the Butterfree Bugle. I received a tip about a young lady who was found unconscious just outside the town limits of Pallet Town. She reportedly wandered out there in pursuit of "a strange noise."

I am currently attempting to contact this individual so that I might interview them for further details. I would greatly appreciate any help you could offer in tracking her down. The safety of the residents of Pallet Town are my top priority. Such news could serve to alert others to any potential problems or threats in the area.

I thank you in advance for your assistance,

-W. G., Butterfree Bugle

---

6/11/97 7:22pm

Butterfree Bugle Reporter,

I think I may be able to help you locate this person. Do you work at the local office in Pewter City? Did you plan on conducting interviews there? It's odd, but I can't seem to find any W.G.'s listed on your website.

-J

---

6/11/97 9:08pm

J,

Yes, I am a recent hire, and our website has not been updated in some time, unfortunately. I do apologize for that.

I'm actually stationed quite a distance from Pewter, so I was hoping to conduct the interview over the phone or even online.

I am quite pleased to hear that you can assist me! You do live in Pallet Town, then? Did you know this young woman personally? Perhaps you could provide an address or phone number for me. This would help enormously.

Thank you greatly,

W.G.

---

6/12/97 11:31am

Butterfree Bugle Reporter,

To be honest, I do want to help you, but I have some concerns. There's plenty of scams going around online. I kind of need you to provide me some credentials or something. I hope you understand.

-J

---

6/12/97 1:06pm

J,

I understand perfectly. You are wise to take such precautions.

Please see the attached file with my work ID. I trust this will be sufficient.

-W.G.

---

6/13/97 12:14pm

"Butterfree Bugle Reporter",

I just got off the phone with the Butterfree Bugle. Spent an hour talking to them. They've never heard of you. I also described the "work ID" you sent me. It's nothing like what they use for their employees.

Buzz off, creep.

-J

---

6/13/97 11:44pm

J,

All right. Let me start again. I beg of you to read this before you block my address.

I apologize for the subterfuge. The fact is I must be extremely cautious in my line of work, and that sometimes requires a cover story. I can't very well e-mail half the country while spreading my name and purpose around.

However, I strongly suspect you are the very person I have been attempting to locate. So I will reveal to you the truth. I can only hope that you are cautious about what you do with this knowledge.

My name is William Ginkgo. I am a pokemon professor located in Cinnabar. My specialty focuses on very . . . unusual pokemon.

Look, I heard from an old contact about something strange occuring in Pallet Town. I have very good reason to believe that I could provide at least a partial explanation for who or what you encountered out there. I'm willing to wager that nobody else has been listening to you about it.

Let me help.

-Professor Ginkgo

---

6/14/97 2:52pm

Professor Ginkgo,

Okay. I'll bite.

You want to hear my story, I'll tell you. But you may be disappointed. There really isn't much to tell.

It was late, like 9ish or something, the sun was about to set. I was outside with my Caterpie and my Kakuna, practicing moves. We were just in the grass right outside of town. Sometimes in the evenings I hear weird sounds coming from the distance. Like a cry of some sort, but strange . . . distorted. Almost sounds like something between a human and an animal-- I can never really tell which it is. My friends can never hear it, they tell me I'm nuts, but I know it's there. Also, sometimes I think I can see stuff moving out of the corner of my eye? But when I turn to look it disappears.

Well, the mystery had been bugging me for ages, and I was getting tired of my friends telling me I was crazy. And that night, I heard it again. It seemed to be coming from the field just past the fence. Actually, that often seems to be where the sound's coming from.

I don't know if you've been to Pallet Town before, but there's this tall, decorative fence that goes around most of the perimeter of the town, and a big abandoned field just past it. Nothing really out there but grass, but whenever we were young and we tried to climb the fence our parents yelled at us. Nobody was ever allowed to climb it, and we were told not go out there in the field. I guess it's private property or whatever. I'm honestly not sure. But I never see anyone out there. It's practically taboo around here to even joke about going out there.

It really wouldn't even have occurred to me to break that rule, if it hadn't been for the weird noises. I spent a while perched on top of the fence, listening, and waiting to see if anybody would come by. Nobody did, so I hopped down on the other side and made my way over to the grass.

Everything was fine and normal at first, but as I got closer, I started feeling a little lightheaded, and the sounds seemed to be growing louder and higher-pitched. Almost as if I could hear them inside my head. And then I reached the grass, and my vision went blurry and started to black out. I thought for a second that I saw . . . something. I'm not sure what. It's kind of jumbled in my mind.

Then I guess I passed out, because the next thing I remember is waking up at home in my bed. My parents were there, really worried. They said somebody spotted me as they were walking by, unconscious on the ground.

And that's about it.

You're a pokemon professor, so maybe you have some idea of what's hiding out there. Is it dangerous? My friends and family still tell me I'm imagining things.

-June

---

6/14/97 6:12pm

Dear June,

Thank you for sharing your story.

I do not believe that you are simply imagining things. In fact, what you are describing is a phenomenon that has occured before. Typically it occurs when people wander too far outside a town or city limits. It does not always happen, of course, but there are certain locations . . . that seem to attract the phenomenon.

As to what's hiding out there, I may have some idea. I would like to ask: have you ever heard of glitch pokemon?

-Ginkgo

---

6/14/97 8:04pm

Uhh. What? Glitch pokemon?

---

6/15/97 1:45am

Dear June,

Allow me to give you a proper introduction and explanation.

As I said, I am Professor Ginkgo. I have a small lab on Cinnabar Island. To be more precise, there are a series of labs on Cinnabar Island housed under the same roof, and I rent a small space there.

I actually grew up in Viridian City and attended the same school as the pokemon professor in your town-- Professor Oak. We were once colleagues, in fact, along with our little circle of friends.

They were all so welcoming at first, and so supportive. We all helped each other and were quite close. Encouraged each other, learned from each other. I watched Oak get his research off the ground, uniting his interest in psychology and pokemon and developing his innovative Pokedex. I collaborated with Elm on some of his studies with pokemon breeding. I even had some of my work published in some very prestigious academic journals.

That all started to change once I started to progress further into my own research interests. Back then, I was studying Ghost-type pokemon. So much is still unknown about them. In particular, I had been investigating reports of a ghost that the Silph Scope had been unable to identify. It took many months, but eventually I encountered this creature myself. And what I experienced . . . I could not quite explain. During my struggles to understand, I uncovered some very obscure papers published in a very niche journal: they were about glitch pokemon.

The article's authors theorized about the existence of these creatures. Creatures with extraordinary features and powers, unlike anything we've ever seen before. Their underlying theory was that our world, and our very universe, can have certain points where the very fabric of reality is weakened, or . . . distorted. The very laws of nature can bend or even break at these points. And somehow, glitch pokemon can immerge from these points.

I realize this sounds remarkable and perhaps even unbelieveable. Yet the descriptions in these old papers aligned so well with my own observations and experiences. The more I pursued it, the more I learned, and the more I realized I was onto something big. Enormous. And incredibly important.

Unfortunately, my colleagues were not quite so open-minded. Even when I confronted them with the direct evidence that I had collected, they scoffed at my ideas and dismissed them as mere drivel. Crackpot theories and superstition, they told me. Journals refused to publish my work. Colleagues stopped collaborating with me. I was eventually ostracized by the entire academic community.

In my desperation I contacted the authors of the original articles I had found. It took time, but eventually I tracked them down. And here, in Cinnabar, I found a few scientists quietly studying glitch pokemon. It is here I have settled and devoted myself to my life's work.

I apologize for giving you such a lengthy personal history, but I thought it prudent to explain precisely where I'm coming from. It is important that you understand I am not just some quack or charlatan. I can tell you with certainty that glitch pokemon are very real and very incredible creatures. Just as Ghost type pokemon were once thought to be silly superstitious drivel, but were later revealed to be very real lifeforms that we could observe and capture-- thanks to the Silph Scope-- we are on the verge of another scientific epiphany.

However, we must also be very cautious. Over my years of study I have come to learn just how powerful glitch pokemon can be. They have the potential for a great deal of danger, as well, if mishandled. In the wrong hands, this could be devastating. This is why I must take so many precautions. It is also why my research is so crucial. We must come to understand these powerful creatures if we are to safely co-exist with them.

June, I believe you may be able to help me with my research. I don't wish to overwhelm you, but you spoke of frequently hearing strange sounds and seeing things you could not explain; things that nobody else seemed to notice. One of the things I have learned in my work is that not everyone seems to perceive glitch pokemon. It appears that only a select few are capable . . . or are willing. I am still uncertain as to why this is, but I suspect part of the reason is that glitch pokemon are usually very shy, ellusive creatures. It could be that something about you draws these pokemon to you, and makes them more willing to reveal themselves. In any case, the fact that you notice them at all is highly noteworthy. 

I'd like you to mull it over. You could contribute to some very important and meaningful work. And the fact of the matter is I am in desperate need of a field assistant. I may not have the popularity nor the generous funding of your local Professor Oak, but I can promise you the research will be exciting and interesting.

Let me know what you think.

-Professor Ginkgo

---

6/15/97 4:38pm

Professor Ginkgo,

Are you sure you want me? I'm literally just a Bug Catcher. I don't have any aspirations to beat all the gyms or become the very best at anything, like the other kids do. I just like spending time with my bug pokemon and maybe having a few battles for fun. Honestly, I don't have much to do this summer and this whole glitch pokemon thing sounds really crazy but also . . . kinda cool? But I figured I should warn you. I'm not exactly a model pokemon trainer.

---

6/15/97 5:19pm

June,

That shouldn't be a problem. Because of the need to be discrete about our research, I actually would actively discourage you from seeking out many battles for recreational purposes. It's best to keep a low profile.

Of course, I still would provide you with a pokemon to accomapy you during field research. It's simply a necessity in this modern day for anybody going out and about-- for guarding against unruly wild pokemon, for subduing potential research subjects for capture, for protection against any ruffians that may try to pull a Rattata out and try to mug you, etc.

In addition to the sheer practicality, though, I think it would present the perfect opportunity for you to start learning about and bonding with glitch pokemon right away. There's no better way to learn about something except first-hand, after all. It would be a formal part of your research to travel with such a companion.

-Professor Ginkgo

---

6/15/97 8:06pm

Wait, you're gonna give me a glitch pokemon? Really??

---

6/15/97 8:31pm

Of course, if you decide to assist me. I would also loan you a pokedex, of sorts-- one modified for my own purposes. You should find it an invaluable tool on your journey.

Would this be agreeable to you?

-Professor Ginkgo

---

6/15/97 10:00pm

To heck with it. I'm in.

-Junebug

---

End Notes

This series will follow my playthrough of Pokemon Blue using a team of only glitch pokemon. Throughout my journey I will explore and play around with a lot of other glitches in the game, too. I will not be using any sort of cheating device; these will be strictly natural glitches.

These end notes will list the specific glitches I use in each post. Obviously I’m mixing in a little lore and fiction to spice things up in these posts, but I believe the end notes should clarify exactly what’s going on. I hope you all enjoy the adventure with me!

Click For the Next Part of the Series!

This is a repost on a new blog. The original post was on Nov 20, 2019.

[courtorderedcake]

Roses : A CS retelling of ‘Tam Lin’

Hi, everyone! Thanks to @kmomof4​ and the extremely talented @eastwesthomeisbest​ for their patience on this. As usual, thanks to @ultraluckycatnd​ who I would be lost without, the woman is a monster editing machine, and super beta. I live for my updates from her.  Without further ado, here is my laaaaaaaaaaaate contribution to @cssns​. You get TWO chapters for the price of one! WHOA!

Read on Ao3 right here, darlings! Chapter 1/4 Chapter 2/4

-·=»‡«=·- 🌹🥀🌹🥀🌹 -·=»‡«=·-

-·=»‡«=·- 🌹🥀🌹🥀🌹 -·=»‡«=·-

If there was one trope in fairytales that Emma hated, it was the lonely orphan who found parents and lived happily ever after in a beautiful castle. Her first problem with it was that while she hadn’t met any royalty, she doubted that most of them lost track of their children that often. Or, if they were separated, that a prince or princess would be placed in a crowded Boston orphanage. Her second problem was that there were only so many countries in the world, and even less with a missing monarch. Even diplomats and billionaires were few and far between in that category. 

So, on a rainy April afternoon when she returned to her apartment, she did not expect to see a fresh faced courier waiting for her. Although she wasn’t old by any means at 28, the boy looked about 12 with his baby face as he asked her to sign for the letter. She gave a scribble, handed him a wadded bunch of bills from her bag, and stumbled inside to peel off her rain slicker. Throwing aside the envelope of what was probably more of her husband's accounts that she was now responsible for, Emma opted for a nap before work instead. It was until she landed a successful skip that night that she felt ready to tackle another batch of what remained from Neal's legacy. 

Kicking off her heels, which were most likely ruined from the rain, she collapsed on her couch. With a wiggle, the skin tight red number was off and she basked in the freedom of being nude as she searched her floor for a clean t-shirt and a pair of lounge pants. Looking at the letter, she picked it up and placed it between her teeth, paused to put her hair in what she hoped would resemble a ponytail, and pulled to rip it open. Letting the envelope fall to the floor, she grabbed her thick rimmed glasses to read the small script. 

Her roommate, Mary Margaret, came out of her room. “Emma? It’s 4 am, did you just get back?”

“Mmmmyar.” Emma replied, scanning the text. Her late husband's family crest and name, long discarded after his death, was printed on top of the document. She shuddered at the golden medallions adorning a darkened shield, and the scaled, lizard like, dragon that curling around it. 

“Well… OK, but do you want some coffee? David's here and we're getting up early to -”

“Holy. Fucking. Grilled cheese and onion rings.” Emma breathed heavily, staring wide eyed in shock at the papers in front of her. 

“What are you swearing on such sacred foods for?” Mary Margaret quirked an eyebrow in amused concern.

“I've just inherited an estate valued at £800,000.” Emma flicked her eyes up, mouth a thin line. “Neal's family's fortune, home and grounds apparently. Things I never even knew about.”

“Well.” Mary Margaret sipped her coffee, looking completely nonplussed even if Emma knew on the insides she was bursting - it was how she had earned her nickname Snow Queen after all. “That would do it.”

 -·=»‡«=·- 🌹🥀🌹🥀🌹 -·=»‡«=·-

 The estate reading took place in Ireland through a crackling speaker box, Emma's eyes racing around the office the entire time. It was stunning, as were what seemed like all the buildings during her trip to gain the deed to her home. This office in particular was what Emma imagined when reading Peter Pan; a gentleman's study and den, complete with whiskey decanter and cigar box to her left as if she had gone back in time. The tall shelves were lined in books with gold leaf letters and rich leather bindings, the panels of dark wood mixed with verdant jade paint and damask almost making up for the unsettling stuffed deer heads.

Cringing, Emma turned back to the box. The voice on the other line was thickly accented with a rolling brogue which Graham assured her in his own was common, and had obviously been in a bad mood long enough for it to be a defining quality.

“Ye don't be wanting Carterhaugh, lass. T’place is cursed, hallow in the way tat echoes, not t’way of blessings.”

Her lawyer smirked, teeth white and extremely straight. Emma had liked Graham Grimm since she had met him, and this was insight into his character. Taste in wall decorations aside, he respected her agency enough to not let this man continue to try to stop the change in ownership. In her experience, lawyers were far too careless and rude. This man was funny, even when she teased him about his name and he had sighed, an eye roll so loud she could hear it through their original phone call. 

(Yes, my name is Graham Grimm. Yes, they do sound alike. No, I am not involved with fairytales, unless you consider me a fairy Godmother of estate and divorce settlements. No, I am usually very happy. No, I cannot change into a black shaggy dog, can you please just tell me what the approximate appraisal value is?) 

“My client will determine its worth.” His tone was calm and well practiced, even through his own clear lilt, but Emma could hear the edge there just under the surface. He had the heart of a forest hunter; not a threat until prey was too well ensnared in a carefully laid trap. This man on the phone, a Mr. Seáìnns’, had been fighting tooth and nail to keep her from her inheritance, throwing obstacle after obstacle in her way for months now. 

At first it was as simple as he refused to understand that Emma wanted to know the family that had abandoned her husband, wanted to feel the last connections she had with him or any family she could, but it quickly devolved into more. Emma was subject to constant harassment by calls and letters, envelopes filled with shredded paper or scribbled notes she could not read, all from this crazy older man in the village that Carterhaugh laid in. This didn't do much more than annoy her, as well as the post office, customs, and the garbage disposal crew. It escalated to him crossing a line when he tried to prove she was not the proper heir, insinuating Neal was a bastard, and further when he tried to declare the estate a historical landmark. 

Emma hadn't even seen the damn mansion or castle or whatever an estate was considered. It seemed to vary between every property she had compared what little information she had, the repeated ridiculous notion of having her own ballroom driving her and David giddy with excitement. Mary Margaret rolled her eyes, but David pulling her away to dance made a smile crack across her face. They'd discovered over beers that a ballroom didn't make a home a palace, a question neither David, her, or Mary Margaret had ever thought they'd be asking. 

The sound of sputtering rage brought her back to the present. 

“You bloody ridiculous ‘n hateful creatures! I know what you are doing, what you're playing at. You can try to find me, but I know your games, and I know this woman is either demon or worse! She'd kill ye before even looking, smile on ‘er face. Calling her client… Yer client doesn't know her ken folk have cursed me, an m’wife, and took -” The line crackled, an electronic whining mixed with metallic pops. A dial tone replaced the man's voice and Graham’s smile faded. 

“Well. It seems like your new residence has eccentric neighbors, doesn't it?” Graham laughed, and Emma felt his hand slip into her own. She flinched, pulling away from him and he gave her a sad smile. “Sorry, I -”

“It's alright. I… I'm just not looking for anyone.” Rubbing her palms together to do something with her hands, she pushed away the feeling of wrong that came over her at someone's touch. “I don't think I'll be ready for some time.”

Graham nodded, gathering papers together from his desk. He waited a few long, drawn out, silent minutes before asking, “How long has it been since Mr. Gold's -”

Emma's tone was short, frustration defined in every syllable. “It could have happened yesterday, but it was 2 years ago. We got married fast, it was a blur. It's a difficult topic for me.”

“I'm so sorry I -”

“Can we please see the estate?” Pinching her brow as a migraine set in, Emma heard Graham clear his throat and stand. 

“Absolutely. It's a few hours from here, if you'd like to get lunch and car pool -”

“I'll take my car. Lead the way.”

 -·=»‡«=·- 🌹🥀🌹🥀🌹 -·=»‡«=·-

 Driving through the small town of Carterhold, Emma could see why locals may be wary of change. The town was a sleepy and picturesque village, stone homes with thatched or moss covered rooftops that stood sparsely around a small town center. From there, through the foggy clouds that swirled through a dense forest, trees climbed up the slope of a massive hill, emerald fingers that reached for the plains leading up to Carterhaugh’s imposing presence, and its perch on the cliffs over the sea. The wind shifted, and it was gone, swallowed again by mist, but Graham was already making the slow ascent up a winding road. 

Emma heard a thud, jerking the steering wheel as someone barreled into her bug, broad shoulders and crazed eyes under matted hair barely visible through her wet windows. 

“What the -”

The words had barely left her mouth when an unmistakable voice was yelling at her, rambling incoherently as he pounded on her door. 

“Ye kinnit go to Carterhaugh! Ye kinnit have it ye bloody witch or fairy demoness! ‘Tis on Hallowed and protected ground, guarded, an ye haven't a clue what I will do to protect it from you, ye - ” The face of Mr. Seáìnns was lit by lightning, eyes blazing bright blue, thunder from his fists against the passenger door and the sky. Emma felt panic in her chest, heavy and leaden.

Slamming her foot on the accelerator, Emma let the bug lurch into its unused highest speeds as she flew up the road to Carterhaugh. 

The driveway was curved elegantly behind an imposing metal and stone gate, mossy spheres capping the tall towering structure. The manor itself, even in its disuse, was stunning. A fountain stood before large wooden doors, framed by windows that traveled in neat rows up walls choked in ivy. Two wings on either side curved off from there, both facing the sea and woods, a domed roof on one side for a solarium, another for a ballroom. It was both imposing and impossibly inviting, a mystery that was decayed beyond unraveling. 

And it was hers. 

Graham helped her inside, the lights crackling in refusal to turn on in the storm as they stood in the atrium, dripping on the stone parquet. 

“It's fine, I have a lighter,” Emma shrugged, pulling it out of her jacket pocket. “I always carry one. As a kid I was afraid of being alone in the dark. I somehow always seemed to end up there, either hiding or being forced somewhere, so it helped to make my own magic light to fight away shadows. Probably silly…”

“Not silly at all. It's a common fear based on instinct. Predators lurk in the dark, so your brain says that light is safe,” Graham said simply. “Smart to have it on you to start a fire too, or warm up in the wilderness.”

Emma's lips tightened as he continued on about the practicality of the lighter. She turned, expecting him to get the hint, but he followed her while continuing on about the merits of different wood to burn or oils to keep to sustain a good burn. Emma found herself wishing for a nice birch branch just to whack him with. As her annoyance peaked, the lights flickered on. 

“Well. No candles I guess, but let's get you a fire started in the hearth, and then I'll be on my way.” Graham paused, and looked down, shuffling his shiny leather shoes. “Unless… I can stay if you like, until you get used to the place or have someone to stay with you, you know, because it's a big older house and -”

“I think I'll manage.” The words crept out more icily than she wanted, but he nodded with a sheepish wave of his hand. 

“That's fine. Just call if you do find you need something. I'll get someone out here, and then be out myself in an hour or so. I don't want to see you get swallowed up by a house this big.” He smiled and Emma returned it genuinely, touched by his offer. If she didn't know how men dangled kindness in the face of women like her to get something in return, she would have taken him seriously. But Neal… Neal had ruined her. 

The fire in the hearth was easy enough to start, even without special wood. Taking off her boots and coat, she gazed into the flame and planned out her course of action. Her sparse belongings were in the bug, and furniture would be delivered as soon as she took stock of what remained and measured for new pieces. Sighing and rubbing her temples, Emma rolled out her sleeping bag. She was asleep as soon as her eyes closed. 

 -·=»‡«=·- 🌹🥀🌹🥀🌹 -·=»‡«=·-

 In the morning, light flitting through the windows and the chill of the fire's death woke her up far earlier than her usual time. Wandering out to the bug, she dragged her luggage inside, pulling on extra socks and layering her sweaters. The effect was comical, but warm. Her stomach growled, but the kitchen was a quick - and musty - find. Sticking to pop tarts instead of whatever the swamp like gloop in the sink was, Emma set to work making a written game plan. 

Calling contractors would wait until reasonable hours, but she mapped out who she would need while taking stock of furniture, books, tapestries, busts, and paintings. To her surprise, much of the home was in decent condition, and she easily found a bedroom suite that overlooked the sea cliffs from a secure balcony, a fireplace with stone carved boats in its inlay, an almost modern bathroom, and to her absolute delight, had a storybook fairytale four poster bed. The linens were almost new, the pillows fluffy , and it smelled of sea salt, leather, spice, and rum. If she didn't know how alone she was, the room would seem almost home to someone. 

As normal waking hours approached, Emma went outside to survey the gardens and landscape. Most of the plants were dead around the house itself, but the gardens and connected solarium were wild and overrun with blooms. Down the hill, wildflowers in rainbow spectrum danced in the wind, their colors like an eruption of the Crayola crayons Emma had to share in school. 

Something moved out of the corner of her eye, and a dark shape made its way around to the front of the manor. Emma grabbed a rusted shovel from a garden bed, and crept towards where the intruder had gone. She found the man looking curiously at her bug. He was tall, dark hair blowing in the wind, scratching his neck in confusion. In his hand was a hook. 

“Don't touch my car and I won't have to hurt you, buddy!” Emma yelled, wielding the shovel in her hands like a baseball bat. The man turned, surprised. 

Blue. The first thing that Emma noticed was how blue his eyes were; how clear and beautiful the blue she saw in those eyes reflected the color of the sky above. The eyes that currently were gazing at her in confusion. 

“Who are you?” he asked, raising his hands above his shoulders, as if she were police. In his left hand was not a hook, but a three pronged garden trowel. Some impression she made, thinking about urban legends this late in life. 

“Better question, Alex Trebek, is who the hell are you?” Emma snarled. 

<

“I’m the, er, gardener, madam.” He waved the garden trowel in the direction of a nearby wheelbarrow. There was something off in the way he spoke, the accent strange to her. “Killian. Killian Jones.”

“Gardener?” Emma would had refused staff had she known they existed, and had made sure that she was for the most part alone. He shouldn't be here, especially not with her. Anger boiled over to cover her fear. “You’ve done a great job of things.” Gesturing at the dead plant life around the dilapidated manor, she watched his eyes narrow. “You’re truly magic with landscaping.” This comment brought a dark smile to his face that left her feeling like he was in on the punch line of a joke she hadn’t heard. 

“Well, if you’d contact the ruddy owner and let him know to add to the budget for gardening...” The English accent was evident in his voice now, the clear definition between Irish and it what had been off to her ears as she watched his cheeks reddening. Emma gave him a wolfish grin.

“I think that can be arranged.” She gave him a curt nod, before pointing to herself, which he appraised with lips curled back. “Emma Swan. Official new ‘ruddy owner’ of Carterhaugh.” 

 -·=»‡«=·- 🌹🥀🌹🥀🌹 -·=»‡«=·-

 The Gold family estate had beautiful gardens. At one time they even had cultivated a rare buttercup and rose hybrid, so they had been very particular on who tended their gardens. A quick call to Graham that took several minutes of cell phone aligning to make confirmed that Killian Jones actually was listed on a small ledger, his family name written on yellowing paper, noted as “horticultural help”.

“I don't know how I missed this, it's like it just appeared here Miss Swan,” Graham had groaned, yawning into his end of the line. Static cracked through her cell phone speakers as fog rolled over the driveway. “But yes, he is explicitly listed as coming with the property.”

“Great. And you're sure I can't fire him without penalty?” 

“No, I'm sorry. This is written in a ridiculously old way, as if they're counting him as property. He can resign, but even then -” There were several moments of garbled reply that was incomprehensible. Emma huffed, kicking rocks and pacing until she caught a better signal, and Graham's voice snapped back on the line. “-Look into it more as I do some digging. You're out of luck. Do you want me to come stay? I'm happy to while you wait for another friend -”

“No, no, it’s fine. He’s not creepy, he just seems…” Chewing her lip thoughtfully, she struggled for words. “He seems, lonely. Just sort of desperate and excited for company, which I thought I could avoid by being out here. I just wanted to be alone, or at the very least I guess with someone I didn't worry about… Well. I just don't do yokels or men, and he seems a pinch of both.”

Dead air hung on the other line, followed by a faint, eerie whispering. 

“Graham?”

The sound of a low laugh, as quiet as blown leaves over cold pavement sounded over the line, and Emma dropped her phone with a start. 

“Are you alright?” came the sudden voice from behind her, and she whirled on her heel. 

"I'd be fine if you made noise when you walked, buddy, and if I could get some damn reception out here." Emma huffed, and the grounds keeper seemed to decide against saying anything, quickly snapping his mouth shut. "Do you know a better place to get service?" 

In the fog and chill breeze of the gravel drive, Emma suddenly felt a deep sense of foreboding and unease. The shadow of Carterhaugh loomed, as if reaching for her, Killian already swallowed by the scrawled shape in the morning sun. He seemed uneasy as well, even unnerved. Emma watched as his jaw muscles worked as if he quite literally chewed on her words before speaking. 

"I could set up a tea service, if you'd like, but I'm afraid you'll find neither a service or reception out here. Nothing but chill." He made a gesture for her to follow him, which she did with a wry smile. He thought he had a sense of humor. Wonderful. 

As he prepared tea from a silver set in one of the many kitchen cabinets, they made attempts at conversation. Killian was also a caretaker for the property, and he asked her how she came about ownership as they sat at the large oak dining table together. The furniture was remarkably well preserved in the majority of the main rooms, much to her delight.

The sunshine through moth eaten curtains had dust motes swirling in the air as her face fell, and she swallowed the bile that rose before she uttered her tight words. 

“My husband passed away.” Killian had winced at that. 

“I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure he was -”

“I don't… I don't discuss Neal.” She closed her eyes tightly, taking deep breaths, feeling her skin flame. Even after what felt like an eternity, Neal's shadow still darkened her day. She sipped her tea, trying to cool herself, even with the scalding liquid. 

He hadn't asked any more on the subject, only asking about changes to what affected his work. Emma found it comforting; if he was to stay, at least he would leave well enough alone. 

“I'd like to stay here, if you don't mind. I have a master suite facing the sea on the third level of the east wing, and I know there'll be nothing in town for rent,” he stated. Emma chewed her lip in thought, mapping out his room in relation to her own. The answer struck her, and she groaned with a scrunched face of annoyance. 

“Do you get up early? Probably don't keep a fire lit?” she grumbled, and he looked at her with eyes narrowed. 

“Yes, I'm up as early as possible, and I find I enjoy the chilled sea air. Why?”

“And I bet you have a dove gray comforter.” Emma sighed, head falling into her palm with a wry laugh. “Because of course, just of course -”

“I do, aye -” He blinked and his brows shot up. “Were you..? Did you sleep in my room?” 

“Well, no, but I didn't know it was -”

“I mean, it's fine. I'll choose another, I guess -”

“No. No need to be ridiculous. I… You probably know where the next best preserved bed is?” she asked, and his eyes lit up. 

“Well yes, but you'd be in the same wing, is that alright?”

Emma hesitated, and then nodded. “With you up so early I doubt we'd see much of each other. And I'll be busy inside as you work outside.”

He made a non-committal noise, and stood with a stretch. Emma inhaled sharply; he was well toned and very good looking, but the thought of anyone’s hands on her after Neal had… 

Her stomach churned. 

“Follow me, then,” he said, offering his hand. Emma could feel her lungs tightening. Her expression must have frozen on her face too, because his eyes widened and he lowered his hand. “Or we could do this later, if you -”

Emma stood, and shook her head. “Just got a bit dizzy. Lead the way.”

They made no conversation as he led her up the staircase to the third level, the other suite he mentioned on the far end of the hall whereas his was at the beginning. The large door was imposing but carved with floral inlay, the stain perfectly applied to add to its richness. Both sides were flanked by stained glass in the same twisted vine and flower designs. 

“I almost chose this room. It was for the lady of this house at one time, and should serve you better than me.” Killian produced a key with the same designs swirled around the brass, unlocking it to reveal a sun warmed sitting area the color of blushing peonies. An ornate vanity sat in one corner, while a matching bureau and canopy bed sat before a balcony, from which the sea and his own room visible. Stained glass curved around the doors to what she assumed were the closet and bathroom, and more carved wood and glass made up a truly spectacular fireplace. If Killian’s room was big, this room was truly gigantic. 

Emma was at a loss, the furniture was all beautifully intact except for the bed’s canopy curtains and linens. Beyond that, the fabrics and rugs showed no large evidence of wear, the patterns still bright and soft underfoot. She poked her head in the closet and found it relatively large, possibly a maid's room or changing salon at one time, then turned the handle of the bathroom while Killian watched from the entrance. 

The huge claw foot soaking tub and gold veined marble under her feet could not prepare her for the large stained glass framed window that captured the sea, as if she was sailing away in the tub itself. A double sink, open shower, and large mirror completed the space in luxury. It was exquisite, and left Emma aching for a bubble bath. 

“I'll move your things, if you -”

“No,” she whispered, still in awe, before clearing her throat. “No, that's alright. I'll move everything. I… I don't like people touching my things.”

“At least allow me to give you my spare set of bedding, love, and -”

“I am not your love, alright?” she snapped, and his eyes widened. She took in a steadying breath, chewing her lip to rid herself of the sourness she wanted to throw at him. He seemed mollified, scratching behind his ear. 

“I'm sorry, I -”

“No. I'm sorry. It's been… I have… I don't do people very well.”

“Well, I'll get you the linens and be out of your way, then.” There was resignation in his tone, but Emma could only hug herself as she let her armor build back up around her. 

“Perfect. Thank you.” Her tone was clipped, but she didn't expect the annoyed response, huffed under his breath as he pulled blankets and pillows from a hall closet. 

“As you wish, Princess.”

Emma's tone was colder than ice, her words spoken in frigid staccato. “Excuse me? I must have misheard you.”

“I wasn't expecting the new owner to be all business, is what I said. These corridors are old. If you aren’t careful, these halls will try to trick you. You’ll get used to them, though.” Killian deposited the mountain of linen on her bed, and spread out the fitted sheet. 

“I don't think halls,” she snatched the pillows from the bed, pulling the sheet roughly on the other side, “are capable of trickery. Only people. People are difficult, they need to be watched. You have to keep your eyes on them or they'll do who knows what.” Pulling roughly on the sheet again, she glared with narrowing eyes at Killian, his own eyes glowering under dark lashes. “Especially people who say things under their breath like a petulant, scorned, self absorbed, preening -”

“Well, I would despair if ‘People’ took their eyes off of me. Some might say this attention is in the beholder’s benefit, and I'd say so as well. I'm quite dashing, or so I've heard.” Gripping the comforter tightly, he laid it out and smoothed it down while returning her glare. “So, I suppose we are well matched, since you are an icy, insufferable, stubborn, spoiled -” Reaching for a pillow, his hand grazed her own, and Emma yelped in surprise. 

Her breathing quickened as she stared at her skin, Killian’s insults and attempted arguments drowned out by an increasing electrical whine mixed with her heartbeat thumping. Stumbling away into the bathroom, she turned on the tap, desperately washing her skin where they had touched in the rust colored water, scouring the place their skin had met with her nails instead of the absent soap. 

Killian’s hand found her shoulder and Emma flew at him, pushing him away as she screamed profanities. He stumbled backwards into the tub, watching in fear at her transformation, her rubbed raw hand bleeding as she renewed her focus on the new area he'd touched. Without soap it was pointless, hot water her only real advantage, pouring the scalding water onto her skin. She mumbled to herself, trying to focus against the onset panic.

Emma's thoughts were burning away elsewhere, the fires she could not escape when Neal had locked her away; smoke, embers and ash acrid in both the air and her lungs. 

It took what felt like hours for her to come back to herself, her fingernails bloody and skin blistered from the heat. The gentle chime of the clock in the room indicated it had only been ten minutes to her relief. It was the worst attack she had in ages, the first time in so long she hadn't been able to control herself. The first time in so, so, long that she had fallen back into the flame of those memories, of that pain. 

A soft voice whispered gently to her, taking her off guard, and she looked up to see Killian slowly extricating himself from the bathtub. He raised his hands in supplication, kneeling several feet away from her. She choked out a strangled noise and he shook his head. 

“It's alright, it's OK, lo - er…” He gave a sheepish look, thinking for a moment. He smiled in a sad sort of way after a moment, before continuing, “It's alright. Just tell me how I can help. Maybe a glass of water?” Emma nodded slowly. “Alright, I'll fetch you a bottle.”

At his retreat, Emma let her herself take stock of what had happened, falling back into her times under clinical observation. Mary Margaret had been a stone faced angel, taking in her pain and working a life around it, going as far as releasing care notes when she felt Emma was ready. She had met David, Emma's adoptive brother that way, resulting in a very happy marriage.

“Patient refuses to accept human contact, even using high concentration chemical cleaning agents on skin.”

“Patient has no history of obsessive or compulsory behavior, but violence and destruction of property are noted in their state welfare file.”

“Attempts at getting patient to explain what happened on the night of the incident to victims causes patient to become increasingly distressed when her husband is mentioned. Questions regarding other victims or the causes of death are met with silence. Patient claims no memory of her actions.”

“Patient indicates possibility of further witnesses or victims at scene - hallucinations caused by trauma or psychosis?”

“Repeated attempts at questioning or explaining patient's obsessive actions or fear of touch are met with hostility, while questioning in regards to matrimonial life is indicative of abuse. Patient advocate (M. M.) recommends home based care, with patient's brother.”

“Patient continues to allow touch in sparing amounts among family, friends, and in situations where they are prepared. Therapy with preferred Doctor is continuing as part of a deferred sentence. Patient advocate (M. M.) states that large improvement has been made outside of care facilities. Recommending end of observational treatment.”

Killian placed the water next to her, as the feeling of oxygen in her lungs weighed her down. 

“Thanks.” Emma croaked, voice raspy. Killian sat down in front of her, legs crossed as he watched her drink with shaking hands. 

Scratching behind his ear, he looked sideways across the floor, picking at a chipped piece of tile. “It was nothing. I'm sorry that -”

“Don't be. I just have a thing about touch.” Emma stood briskly, ice back in her unsteady tone at glacial levels. “You couldn't have known, and since you are going to be scarcely around it won't be an issue, as we discussed earlier.”

Killian snorted, and stood as well, rocking on his heels. “I was going to say that I'm sorry it took so long, and I brought you some… other items.” His face changed, haughty to solemn, watching her hands tremble as she shoved them in her pockets. “You're right, we won't be seeing each other often. If you need help with something, or finding your way around the estate, leave me a note under my door. If I need garden supplies, I'll leave a note in the kitchen.” 

He turned, walking towards the bedroom door. After a moment Emma followed tentatively, walking towards the door behind him in silence. She shot a glance at the bed, noticing the bandages, a tube of some ointment, a key ring, and a few pink roses. She stopped in the small salon, watching Killian open her door and give her a strained smile. 

“I'm sorry for touching you, as well.” Emma made a sound of protest, ready to tell him again that he was blameless, but he persisted. “While I couldn't have known, my presence here has never been… convenient. I had hoped that had changed with the new owner. Good day, Miss Swan.”

“Wait -” He looked as surprised as she felt, the words racing past her lips, blurted at the last second. “What is your cell phone number? It'd be easier to get a hold of you that way, if I should need you. Not to say that I will…” Killian stared at her in abrupt confusion, his brows knitting. 

“I don't have a phone. The manor has one, should you need to use it.” There was something off in his tone, but her own cell phone had fought every attempt at service on the property, so this shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. The manor phone, she could work with that. 

“What's the number?” Emma pulled her phone from her pocket, the screen lighting up. Killian looked amazed in her peripheral, which didn't surprise her. The town was practically medieval, and this phone was the newest of its brand. Emma scarcely knew how to use it. 

“You have to set it up later, if you want communication by wire. Your device there -”

“It's an Android, I let the kid at the store set it up for me. If you want me to get you one, I can the next time I go to the city. They have a walkie talkie app that I think might work with a wifi connection once I have that set up.” Killian nodded, looking at her blankly. “Have you ever had Wi-Fi in the house before?”

Killian hesitated, his jaw ticking as he bit into his lip in thought. “I wouldn't know, love. I'm afraid that we’re a bit behind the rest of the world here, I don't believe we know what year it is most of the time.”

Emma laughed lightly, and relaxed a little bit more. “Most of us are trying to forget that it's 2019, so I suppose that's fair. I just enjoy Netflix and the occasional game of Words with Friends too much to go without internet.” Killian looked down at his feet, his face unreadable for a moment, fists balled. When he looked back at her and relaxed, Emma caught a glimpse of pure sadness, a mirror of her own pain, before it was carefully pushed behind walls of his own. 

Smiling softly, Killian laughed. “I have no idea what a Netflix is, but you are the Mistress of the estate. I encourage you to do as you wish. If you would like me to have a…” He hesitated again, as if searching for something. “A, er, shell phone, I will gladly oblige if you provide it and give me instruction.”

Emma snorted, and found herself genuinely laughing as Killian’s cheeks turned red. “You're actually funny. Alright. I'll try to get you a ‘shell phone’, old man.” Killian’s eyes darkened, his smile turning almost sour. “Between the two of us, we'll bring some life back into this place.”

He nodded, that same pensive look on his face, almost hidden by his smile. “Yes. Well, taming the estate is not going to be an easy task. I'll help you where I can, should you need me. Good day.” He closed the door slowly, and Emma listened as his footfalls fell away. 

Climbing into her bed, the mattress surprisingly plush under her, she bandaged her hand slowly. The roses he'd laid next to the first aid were beautiful, their strong aromatic scent filling the air already. Picking up one of the roses delicately, she sniffed, the full scent absolutely breathtaking. The throbbing of her skin faded, and all at once Emma felt herself relax. She felt invigorated, but her muscles were loose, and she happily moved her things into her room, making sure to place the roses in a porcelain vase. 

The rest of the day was spent taking pictures and taking full stock of every room in the large estate. It was exhausting and by the time darkness settled Emma had barely scratched the surface of the repairs needed. Neal had left a large sum of money for her, but this was a giant and expensive endeavor. Back in her room, she started a fire in the hearth and tugged on a robe over her pajamas. Opening the door to the balcony and stepping out onto the cold stone, she stared at the waves. 

Never, never in her wildest dreams did she believe that this could be her life. In the moment it was overwhelming, the only silver lining in the thunder cloud that was her marriage to Neal. A true story of a love turned into something poisoned, a once healthy plant that grew into twisted vines, strangling everything in its path. 

His hands tight around her neck, the air in her lungs not enough, she wasn't enough. The other women being led somewhere by the red haired woman with green nails, Ari's and Tam's bracelets heavy on her wrist even as she starts to feel herself go slack. The pressure is too much, black spots dotting the air, and somewhere close, another man hooting like some primate - Brown eyes meet hers, and for a moment he falters, fingers loosening. 

Emma kicks, kicks with all her strength, and when he crashes backwards she screams, screams like her chest is ripping apart just to resonate this noise, this wail of everything he lied about. It is a trick of light, a symptom of lack of oxygen, a freak occurrence spurred by the old home and poor insulation, bad wiring and mice chewed exposed cables. 

Neal looks at her and sighs as Emma can hear the red haired woman and her underling shriek. 

“Thank you,” Neal whispers, reaching for her, but Emma's banshee wail is not over and her mouth is a perfect ‘O’ as the rafters shake, tears stinging her eyes. A Swan song, she thinks, the end of her sanity and her life, the feeling of this cry flowing through her like breathing with every inch of her body. Her skin burns too, but not like theirs. 

He makes it to her on stumbling steps, a vision from a nightmare, her scream unending even as she stares at him in horror. His touch is like a branding iron, his embrace like raw flesh dipped in salt. Neal touches her face as he burns away, ashes to ashes, his hand becoming embers and dust. This is hell fire, and Emma can't stop her scream long enough to beg for this to end. His lips are against her ear and his last words echo as he falls away, falls to her feet, the building crumbling around them. Her scream ends when the ceiling piece hits her skull, and the world too, finally falls into blissful, silent, cool darkness. 

Far off there are sirens, and she can feel the burning when her body is lifted, but for now, Emma prefers the darkness even as Neal's last words occasionally echo through the stillness. 

“I'm so sorry, Ems." 

Emma came back to herself soaking wet, the rain that threatened from the horizon now in full force. It pelted her, cold, salt rain, pulled from the waves and forced from the sky. She was crying, sobbing in silence, but no one is here to see the rain wash away her tears. 

[somuchfuckingsalt]

The Faerie AU

Alright I just found this post about faeries and Ireland and how even though it’s a very modern country there’s just places you don’t go and things you don’t fuck with because even if you don’t believe in faeries, you don’t want to find out they exist by pissing them off.

So anyway, here’s my Fae AU where Annabeth unwittingly puts herself in danger because Fae are Not Real and why would she believe in children’s stories.

One year, after the Chase family has spent many an hour in therapy together, Frederick decides to take the entire family on an extended vacation to Ireland, where his uncle resides. Said uncle is going to be spending the summer elsewhere and has offered his very large house for their use while he’s gone.

Annabeth finds both good and bad things about the trip.

For good, her great uncle lives in a very old, historical home and she has been studying it obsessively with great fascination.

For bad, her father insists on ‘bonding time’ since the whole point of the trip was to help them work through their collective shit.

For good, Annabeth can escape bonding time by going into the local village.

For bad, the local village is a bit of a trek on foot and she’s not allowed to drive her uncle’s nice cars.

For good, there’s this hill that she can climb over that will cut the walk time nearly in half. It’s a large hill, with a few dips and rises but nothing major or terribly difficult. It’s spotted with trees and there’s a natural path made out of the roots of trees breaching the ground that provides an easy way not to get lost.

For bad, it’s One of Those Hills.

The first time Annabeth walked across that hill, it was shortly after lunch and she was following a google search that told her that the village was home to a small second hand bookstore that she wanted to explore. When she started out she slowed herself down though because the path was scenic and she had a healthy appreciation for how green and beautiful Ireland is.

When she emerged in town the first person who saw didn’t even bother to greet her, just asked if she’d come from the hill and then proceeded to inquire whether she’d littered or taken anything from the path. She hadn’t, but she was both baffled and annoyed by their behaviour. Since she had done neither of those things the local had let her be and she’d brushed it off as someone who just didn’t want the American Tourist to mess up their home.

Later that day when she had started home the same way, a young woman who introduced herself as Katie, had warned her to stick to the road because it would be dark soon. Thinking she had meant wild animals were more likely to come about at night on a remote hill rather than road, Annabeth had listened and walked the long way home.

It didn’t take long for Annabeth to learn that those incidents were not because the locals were concerned about wild animals, but rather because of the Fae. Each time Annabeth took that tree root path or mentioned her shortcut some local would warn her about being respectful and never, ever taking the path at night. 

Annabeth never failed to roll her eyes at the warnings, laughing slightly and asking if the newest well-intentioned local actually believed in fairies. They never did, agreeing whole-heartedly that the Fae (as they called them) didn’t exist.

But don’t go to the Hill at night. 

She found this endlessly confusing, however, she also never failed to take the long way home when her trips to town ran a little bit late.

Maybe it was the story Katie told her of some drunk high school kid who’d thrown his empty beer from the paved road high up onto the hill and spent the next three weeks in the hospital because of an unknown but extremely aggressive stomach bug.

Or perhaps it was the story the bookstore owner Anthelia told her, about a nature hiker taking a pretty, crystal looking stone from the path and find the next morning that every tire in her care had somehow gone flat from running over sharp rocks.

Or it was the story of the dairy farmer’s daughter, who’d taken the short cut but wandered off the path, not to be seen for three days and with no memory of where she’d been. 

Most likely it was the fact that there was an apparent string of missing persons who were last seen heading towards The Hill at night. 

Meanwhile there’s Percy, 100% Fae and 100% up for stirring some shit among the humans. He knows about the American girl with the pretty, long blond hair, and very time he heard a tale of her rolling her eyes at the stories the locals told he rolled her eyes at her, just waiting for the day that she’d specifically do something the locals warned her against just to prove them wrong.

Part of him hopes he’d be the one to catch her tossing her crips bag into the grass or picking a flower, mainly because her smarter-than-thou-foolish-fae-believers attitude was pissing him off just a bit. It had been a long time since someone had managed to do something that warranted more than having a minor inconvenience bestowed upon them and quite frankly, Percy was a bit bored.

Percy’s hopes of tying the girl’s long pretty hair to the bars of her headboard (or perhaps to the branches of a thorn bush) were dashed when his only and favouritest little sister came home one day and told her about the human princess with golden hair she’d met on the Hill who’d given her half a chocolate bar and rigged the straps of her dress with a ponytail when a button fell off.

Estelle was too little to give the girl a gift, or do her a favour, herself so could her bestest big brother do it for her? Pretty please?

Well fine. He could do something nice for her now but that doesn’t mean he still won’t switch all of the covers of her books around.

He’d planned on watching her a bit for a day or two so he could know what she’d appreciate best without noticing it as an outright gift (although he’d played around with giving her the most FaeTM gift possible just to watch her question everything but that would not fall under the ‘nice gift/favour’ category).

He’d been thinking about slipping some kind of precious book or an interesting antique into her belongings when she’d left a dinner out with her family abruptly, pissed off, and heading straight for The Hill.

Percy was astounded. Truly baffled. Because of all the dumbass ways to prove the local legends wrong, going to The Hill at night was the dumbest of the dumbass ways.

Quite frankly, Percy didn’t entirely think fixing his sister’s dress and giving her some chocolate was enough of a good deed for him to catch shit for rescuing the girl from herself and preventing the local Fae community from having their first kidnapping in decades. And he knows, deep in his heart, that Beckendorf is going to tease him for the next century about saving the pretty human girl and he does not want to deal with that even a little bit (he does think she’s pretty, and that may or may not be why he’s been paying extra attention to the gossip about the American vacationers, but that’s besides the point). 

However, if his sister found out her golden princess was going to have her pretty grey eyes added to someone’s collection, she’d probably be upset.

So Percy followed her in, keeping his distance at first, until words began to whisper and began to slow, her eyes scanning the land for what could possibly be making the noise. She probably didn’t even notice she was slowly moving off of the path until Percy kicked a rock to get her attention with the noise.

Now both scared and angry, she directed her venom at him. “Who are you? Why are you following me?”

“The locals warned you about coming up here. Stellie would be upset if you got carried off.” Percy replied, thinking at first she was freaked because on a regular day his appearance could be *ahem* alarming to humans. Until he realized he’d glamoured himself and he was a boy and she was a girl and it was night and even Fae know human girls should not be around strange boys at night.

“I don’t believe in children’s stories and I don’t know who that is.”

“My sister. You helped her with her dress and gave her a treat, so she asked me to help you.” That last bit he wasn’t looking at her as he said it, instead passed her to the land beyond the path and those that occupied it. They weren’t entirely pleased with him but even though they’d complain and kick up a fuss about their lost prey, fighting with him would be fruitless.

She didn’t look like she particularly trusted him, though she believed that he was the brother of the little girl she had helped. That wasn’t entirely comforting to her though, because that little girl had freaked Annabeth out just a touch with her too big eyes and odd speech and the way Annabeth swore there were little growths underneath her hair.

He offered to walk the path in front of her. That way she could keep an eye on him and he could tell his sister he walked her home safe and sound.

Along the way he couldn’t quite help himself, he asked why in the fuck she would go for a nature walk in the middle of the night when everyone who knows the area has told not to do. Children’s stories aside, it’s still partial wilderness and she’s alone.

That was the wrong thing to say, because she was not a happy camper and no matter what Percy said she was not pleased.

To be fair to Annabeth, he was a strange boy who’d apparently appeared out of nowhere, she’d been plague by chills and an ominous feeling the entire walk, and she had just gone through one (1) horrendous dinner with her family. The Boy was also infuriatingly smug for a reason she could not for the life of her comprehend and every word coming out of his mouth was a frustrating mixture of annoying as hell and super sexy because goddamn that accent.

Percy manages to get her all the way home, respectfully staying at the gate while she walks to the front door, and waiting until said door is locked before he turns to leave.

(To his chagrin both Beckendorf and Grover are waiting to give him hell but goddammit word travels fast).

Annabeth may or not be slightly obsessed with the hot boy who appeared one (1) time in a village small enough that by week two of their family vacation everyone knew her name and where she went to high school. A boy who was rather strange but no one seemed to know when she gave them a description.

She also may or may not have been plagued by bad luck until the end of her trip (lost items, ripped clothes, tripping lots, etcetera). Percy thinks it’s a decent trade off for being carried off in the middle of the night.

It’s not until her next summer trip two years later that she finds out why Percy was so very smug when she insisted that Fae aren’t real.