#shoulda said something right away and if it was weird i coulda just went and sat somewhere else

[loverboybitch]

saw the coolest looking person on the streetcar i literally want to k*ll myself.//.

[storiesbyjes2g]

Our third day of vacation was the first day of summer, but you wouldn't know it by how cool it was. Murillo family shenanigans began in Wakaba, even further south from Senbamachi. Alessia has been so inspired by this trip and spent a few hours researching its history and looking up activities to do. No one was more shocked yet excited than me. Her whole life, I worried for her, hoping she'd find something that lit her up inside. And now, at the final hour of her teen life, she's found a passion.

She said there was a river in Wakaba that was a popular swimming spot. Luca agreed swimming sounded like a good idea, so that was where we went. But we arrived in the middle of a terrible thunderstorm and ran to the nearest shelter we could find. It was a lounge. Luca ran inside so fast, he almost knocked over this girl standing near the door. He apologized and made sure she was okay. But the way she was smiling at him, she was more than okay. He seemed to have trouble tearing himself away from her, so I gave him a TINY bit of privacy. I'm nosy, okay? I wanted to hear what my son's game was like!

But, in all seriousness, I don't want to hinder or embarrass him, so I joined Alessia on the couch. Imagine my surprise when I discovered Ali was just as nosy as me! This guy casually joined our conversation, but didn't sit with us. He stood in front of us to get a good look at the tea spilling behind us! It took me a minute to catch on, but his eyes kept drifting behind me, and he was totally smiling and nodding and saying "uh huh" to everything we said. Cheeky plumhead! Naturally, I asked him to give me a play-by-play, tee hee hee. We are an entire mess!

Needless, everyone had forgotten about swimming. It was for the best anyway, as it wasn't near warm enough for that. Luca's gatekeeper scolded us for eavesdropping—not that we could hear anything anyway—and said we were pathetic. She might be right, heh. I hope she knows I'll try to eavesdrop on her first conversation with a stranger too, tee hee.

Ali eventually sat down and let whatever happened behind us happen. When Luca returned to us, I wish we could say we were as cool and collected as he was. We tried to pretend like we were, but anyone could see through our charade.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Alessia sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. She was so done with us. 😅

"These two were spying on you!"

He shook his head at us. "So, what are we doing next?"

That's my boy! #unbothered should be his first tattoo. I told them since tomorrow was our last day, and we planned to hit the big slopes, they should have some quality time with their dad before we go home. Our custody arrangement will be nullified when Alessia blows out the candles tomorrow, and they don't have to spend weekends with Ali anymore. I don't think they'll stop visiting him completely, but I think they might see him less. Not because they don't love him, but they'll be so wrapped up in their own lives, they won't make him a priority. That's just how life goes, and the same will happen with me when they move out.

While they did whatever together, I headed back to our neighborhood to finally take a dip in the hot springs. It was reeeeeeally nice. Kinda weird too, being so scantily clad and warm yet surrounded by snow.

This trip has been interesting. On the one hand, I'm thrilled we're all together. But on the other, I'm kinda bummed. This whole thing has been one long preview of the life we never got to live. What makes it worse is Ali and I still love each other. And we're still friends, so hanging out with him is always a good time. It's only awkward because I do enjoy it and am afraid I may enjoy it too much. I miss us...

But I made my choice. There's no need to get sucked up in the shoulda, coulda, woulda's and hurt the man I'm with now. If only I had that insight before.

[platypanthewriter]

Hiding a Multitude of Sins

Prompt day 13:  hidden injury

Billy accepted Steve’s bat, tossing his cigarette into the road, and holding his shoulders square.  He wished he hadn’t been such a fucking cunt the night before, asking his dad favors when he knew better.  

Just walking to Steve’s car had him breathless as he tried to force his lungs to expand—the pain didn’t even register right anymore.  It felt like the shock of cold water, when he slid off his surf board straight down into the Pacific—even when he swam back up, his whole body seized up against his commands to breathe, breathe, jesus, you’re gonna pass out.

He tried to hold his ribs expanded, keep his breaths short and shallow.  His vision blurred, a little.  He waited until Steve wasn’t looking to try and open the car door awkwardly with his left hand, so he didn’t have to shift his right side at all.  Even that motion torqued his ribs, and he made a weird gaspy noise, and Steve looked up.  

“...I told you, you don’t haveta come,” he grinned.  “I know not everybody can handle monsters.”

“I’m coming,” Billy managed, turning to drop his ass in the passenger seat, and nearly puking out the door.  His eyes stung with tears, and he closed them, cursing himself for arguing.  He coulda just gone to bed last night, and actually been useful somehow today, but he’d been a whiny fucking bitch instead.  “S’why I told you to pick me up, I’m not...not leaving your royal ass to get...eaten, your Kingship.”

“Hargrove,” Steve said, sounding concerned, and Billy sucked it the fuck up and swung his legs inside, yanked the door shut, and sat there trying to swallow back acid, looking at a field of rainbowy colors he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to see.  

“M’fine,” Billy said, and he didn’t grunt at the sensation of his ribs contracting with his exhalation, and he didn’t blink, knowing his blurry eyes would just spill over, and Harrington would notice he was a fucking weak link.  

“...Billy,” Steve said, reaching over, and Billy’s breath caught in his throat.  Steve yanked his hand back, biting his lip.

 The asphalt behind the nail salon was bumpy, and Billy kept his eyes fixed on the windshield as the jarring bumps rattled through him.  He fixed his eyes on the overflowing dumpster as he swung his legs out and pushed himself upright, but when Harrington got out he slammed the door hard. 

He stalked around to grab Billy by the collar of his shirt, hissing “Hargrove.”  Steve slid his other hand under Billy’s shirt, and yanked it up, and Billy made some kind of little pussy groan in his throat as Harrington stared at the bruises and bloody scrapes all down his side.

“Jesus hell,” he bit out, and Billy laughed, and regretted it.

“I can still help,” he bit out, “I’m not a broken doll, Harrington, get off me—”

“You can’t help like this,” Harrington said, yanking his hand back, and grabbing the bat.  “I shoulda grabbed Max, jesus.  Get the fuck back in the car.”

“I’m not fucking useless,” Billy yelled back, and Harrington pushed him, not hard, but hard enough that he cried out and set his jaw, clenching his eyes shut.

“Just get back in the car,” Steve hissed.  “We don’t have time for this, Hargrove—” 

Billy felt hot tears rolling down his cheeks, and hated them, and his lungs chose that moment to rebel and make this retarded—accordion noise—and Harrington squeezed his shoulder, hard.  

“Get back in the car, Billy,” he said flatly, and Billy bit his lips and swallowed hard, nodding.  He waited until Harrington had stalked off to open his eyes, wondering whether he’d even come back, whether Billy’s dumb shit backtalk to his dad the night before was gonna get King Steve Harrington killed.

Billy sat very slowly, catching his breath, and braced himself, taking shallow breaths.  There was yelling from Steve and the kids, and loud metallic thuds Billy thought—vaguely—might be something hitting the dumpster.  He bit his lip, hard, and turned his body to get his legs back in the car, trying at least to be ready.  He could at least not slow Harrington down trying to escape, the way he’d already wasted time not telling Harrington to leave him home.  That he was useless.

He swung his legs inside the car with a shuddery gasp, and swallowed, and swallowed, his stomach ready to empty all of the nothing he’d eaten all over Steve’s dashboard.  He went to lift his wrist and check his watch, and that hurt too, which was funny, in a way, and he was laughing, tears dripping off his chin, when Steve suddenly leaned in the door.

Billy couldn’t even remember whether it had been open, and he stared back into warm brown eyes, waiting.

“...jesus, Billy,” Steve hissed, and Billy laughed jerkily again, covering his mouth in case he puked.

“...Harrington,” Billy whispered, and Steve sighed, leaning his head against the car door.  

“Come on,” Steve said, slamming the door again, and he walked around and dropped into the driver’s seat, and backed out.

Billy wondered hazily where the bat was, and how long it had been, but focused on breathing, and digging his fingers into his thigh, because it drew his brain off his stomach roiling—until Steve pulled into the hospital, and Billy slowly turned to look at him.  “You—you got hurt, shit,” he said, looking Steve over.  He had bloody knuckles, and Billy grabbed them as Steve turned the car off.

“I’m fine,” Steve said shortly, then sighed.  “I’m okay.  Billy.”

Billy stared at the blood on Steve’s hand, but let go when Steve tugged his hand back.  

He got out and went in, and Billy watched him go.  It was too much effort to ask further, so he just sat there, breathing, until Steve came back and made him get out of the car and into a wheelchair, like he was actually really hurt.  Billy snickered, shaking his head, and Steve pushed it away and leaned in the car again.  

“Get in the chair,” he said, “—or—or I’ll just—shit,” he sighed, and Billy grinned at him, letting his eyes drift closed.  “Billy,” Steve said.  “Billy.”

It was getting harder to breathe, Billy thought, like his lungs didn’t have enough room in them, and he coughed.

“Billy,” Steve shouted, his fingers gentle on Billy’s face, and then Billy vaguely remembered being half-lifted out of the car, and wheeled through corridors and hallways.

 He awoke in a bed, and stared at the ceiling.  Everything felt a little numb, and he breathed, slowly, relishing the ease of his lungs filling.  

“Don’t go back to sleep, Billy,” came Steve’s voice, and Billy rolled his head to see him, and squinted.

Steve looked like he’d been fighting monsters—which figured, he guessed, groggily.  He had circles under his eyes, and his hair stuck out at weird angles, and Billy felt guilt burning through him again.

“...sorry I was useless as shit,” he whispered, coughing, and Steve’s eyes widened.  He held a straw to Billy’s lips, and squeezed his hand as Billy drank warm, plastic-flavored water.

“Jesus, Billy,” Steve sighed.  “...you know you can just...ask me for help.  You didn’t need to pretend you’d help fight monsters to get me to—”

“M’ sorry, jesus,” Billy interrupted, his eyes stinging.  “I’m a waste of fucking time.”

“That’s not—” Steve groaned, resting his head on the hand holding Billy’s, and Billy’s eyes widened at the sensation.  “...that’s not what I’m saying, Hargrove.”  He pressed a kiss to Billy’s knuckles, and Billy giggled, too much, and he realized he was full of drugs.  

Steve sighed.  “You can just call me.  You coughed blood everywhere,” he said, running his nails through his hair again, his eyes kinda...haunted, and Billy grimaced.  “Fucking—punctured lung.”

“...’m fucking useless,” Billy told Steve’s fingers, watching them squeeze his own, and Steve took a slow, shaky breath, and squeezed harder.

“What happened,” he whispered, and Billy blinked at him.

“How the fuck would I know?” he asked, registering that he was slurring, a little.  “I was in—in the...car.”

“What happened to you,” Steve bit out, and Billy blinked at him.

“...fell down the...stairs?” he offered, and Steve nodded, closing his eyes.  Billy cleared his dry throat, and Steve picked up the empty cup of water, and glared at it before getting up and dropping Billy’s hand.  He returned with cold water, and Billy drank gratefully, feeling it spread through his body.

“You had three broken ribs,” Steve told him.  “And a concussion.”

“Shit,” Billy sighed.  

“I’m gonna get a job,” Steve said, out of the blue, and Billy blinked at him.  “Hopper said he has somewhere we can rent.  We’re moving.”

“What,” Billy croaked.

“He said I can start paying him when I have a paycheck,” Steve said.  “It’s just got the one bedroom.”

“What,” Billy whispered. 

“Tell me it’s fine I moved your shit,” Steve told him, and Billy nodded, blinking wide eyes.  “There’s no stairs, either,” Steve said vindictively, and Billy snorted a laugh, and winced.  

Billy didn’t say anything for a long moment, watching Steve’s tired face, as he fidgeted with the straw in the now-empty cup.  

“...I know this isn’t what you wanted,” Steve said.  “You can get a job yourself and move out or whatever.”

“...what,” Billy asked again, and Steve grimaced.

“Kissed you like twice and then I just...kidnapped you,” he muttered, and Billy tried to get his brain to engage, and not just...think about kissing Steve.  He hadn’t really expected it to happen again, especially not after he’d fucked up so bad Steve had to fight a demogorgon with help from some middle school kids.

“...okay,” Billy told him, and then, when Steve frowned over, gave him a thumbs-up.

“...you’re loaded,” Steve told him, laughing, and Billy gave an amiable snort.  

“...why d’you want me in a house,” he asked, still trying to wrap his drugged brain around the weird shit Steve was saying.  Steve groaned, squeezing his hand again.  “...why’re you still here?” Billy asked, lifting his head to see better.  “You hurt?  Ha...Harrington?”

“I’m adopting you,” Steve sighed.  “Like a pound dog.”

“...okay,” Billy said, letting his head thump back on the pillow.  “I don...don’t play too well with others.”

“Yeah, I know,” Steve nodded, smiling tiredly.  “Everybody knows you bite, Hargrove.”

“Only ’f you ask nicely,” Billy told him, winking, and Steve started snickering, leaning his face on his hand again, and squeezing Billy’s fingers.

“...we’re moving,” Billy repeated, and Steve nodded.  “Two’ve...us.  ...in...together?” Billy asked, to clarify, pretty sure he was missing a loophole.

“Yeah,” Steve grimaced, and Billy bit his lips together, nodding.  “It’s, uh, it’s really small.  But…” he trailed off, glancing from the floor back to Billy’s face, and then setting his jaw.  “...I’ll help you figure shit out, uh, from there.”

“...what—what partic’lar shit,” Billy asked, aware how much there was.

“Um, not living with me forever, in somebody’s old hunting cabin,” Steve laughed, sighing, and Billy shook his head, flapping his other hand towards Steve until he smiled, and grabbed it.

“Don’t want to fix that shit,” Billy mumbled, and Steve laughed again, but his smile looked brighter.  “I got—there’s—worse shit to fix, Harrington, you adopt dogs, you keep ‘em—”

“Okay, okay,” Steve told him, beaming.  “I’ll...I’m gonna ask you when you’re sober, though, okay?”

“No,” Billy told him firmly, and Steve leaned in and kissed him a third time, despite Billy’s hospital-and-probably-puke-breath.  

“Okay,” Steve whispered.  “I’ll get you a license, asshole.  Buy you a collar.  You’re stuck now.”

“I’ll fucking wear it,” Billy hissed, shaking his hand loose from Steve’s to yank him closer, into a kiss.

[carebooks]

alright i watched the whole third season of House of Anubis

I first have to say how much I enjoyed the leads: Eddie and KT. They have such a good chemistry and they’re honestly hilarious together. As I mentioned before, I did ship them together when I was younger and first watched the show but with watching it again, I would keep them as friends. Best friends. (especially since KT is hella gay I don’t care what anyone says) They totally give me Cloak and Dagger vibes, especially in terms of partnership. At the start of the show, they were alone, they had no one to confide in, no one to be with, Eddie was torn about letting Sibuna know about Nina, still not over Patricia. KT just lost her grandfather and came to England on a quest with some key and vague warnings, she was hella confused but still did so out of loyalty to her grandfather (this baby is too precious and good for this world, i swear). And next thing you know, fate and Osirian visions bring them together. They form a partnership, they snoop around the Gatehouse, they form a bond. And I love it so much. What I love especially, is that at the end, when the sinners are everywhere and even the Sibuna members are taken as sinners, it’s down to Eddie and KT, just like the beginning. Sure, they get help from Willow and Harriet, but they lose Willow pretty quickly, and right at the end, Harriet sacrifices herself so they can get the other key and lock away the evil for good. And together, Eddie and KT join the keys and lock the evil as one. They started together, and they ended it together, and I think that was really poetic. I know that the Osirian and the Chosen One are meant to be the pair and the Ying & Yang, but in this particular case, Eddie and KT were a bond formed by friendship and hardship rather than destinies planned or written in the stars by the gods, yes fate brought them together, but only because they knew they could only accomplish their tasks with each other. I especially loved when they took down Ammut, and Robert tried a last ditch attempt to get KT to feel guilty over doing this, telling her that he would die if Ammut was locked away. It brings in KT’s loyalty to her family, even when it’s bad, but then Eddie yells during the commotion, “Don’t trust him, trust me!” And I think it really brings a full circle what a great partnership and bond they have.

Other than that, it’s really just random stuff I liked

i liked that Willow could sense bad vibes that Robert had whenever he was around Anubis House, as well as sensing the bad vibes that sinner!Victor and sinner!Patricia gave off. I kinda wished they could’ve looked more into that. Like she was naturally sensitive to these things or something.

Her relationship with Alfie was a nice touch, seeing him with someone who liked the same things that he did was real cute. Especially seeing them happy.

Victor and Sweet playing that card game gave me life.

Joy’s new attitude and look were certainly appreciated

While I preferred the Jerome that developed in S2 and won Mara over (especially over the course of the first season and second, i mean talk about a slow burn done right) and rather he didn’t cheat on her and Willow, the Joy+Jerome ship wasn’t terrible. I much prefer the developed S2 Jerome, I’ve said this twice now, but again, it wasn’t terrible. (but real talk? KT and Joy should’ve happened)

Amber being the one to bring Sibuna and the pair Eddie & KT together because *Amber Millington voice* “Hello people! Isn’t it obvious? Work together.”

Like that girl knew what was up. Well, she did invent Sibuna, not surprised.

Alfie was perfection this season, leave him be. Also, highlights of him:

“Crypts are for dead people!” “I’m afraid of everything.” “Guys, go! Get out of here! Sibuna! SIBUNNAAA!!”

I already talked plenty of Eddie and KT being the best, so yeah. But imma do it again anyway.

I have a theory that Eddie focused his primary Osirian instinct of being protective over the Chosen One to being protective over KT. Like he reffocused his powers to someone else for the time being. Nina wasn’t there, and when KT showed up in his vision it was almost like the house was telling him “You need to help her now. Keep her safe.” And I really like that.

It was especially shone a lot through out the season, and the last episodes too. 

When sinner!Patricia and sinner!Fabian had KT and wanted to exchange an artifact that Eddie had discovered, she told him to run and get away, like they did when Alfie told them to leave him behind. And he says, “That was Alfie, this is you.”

And when Eddie, KT, Willow and Harriet went to get the sun key from Caroline, and she managed to take KT and Willow and turn them into sinners, Eddie says, “Not KT,” very worriedly. Later on he’s hard on himself, “I can’t believe they got to KT.”

It was interesting that half the season was awakening the man in the tank and the other half was releasing evil into the world. Like a different feel for half the season, not many shows do that.

I kinda despise the fact that the things I didn’t like are probably going to be longer.

Let’s go paragraph first so, how about that plot? First off, the whole thing is very weird for Sibuna. The first two seasons were about riddles and thinking things through. They were real mysteries. In this, it was more direct, they had an obvious problem, they had to stop the bad guys from waking up a bad guy, and then literal evil converted their own friends against each other. It sounds super interesting for a Vampire Diaries or Teen Wolf or even My Babysitter’s A Vampire plot line (or just one episode) since those shows were more active based. This season barely had any hidden things or riddles, and half of it had Sibuna paranoid and working against each other which I’m sure no one really loved. Not to mention that the action mainly happened at the Gatehouse rather than the actual Anubis House, the center for two of the last mysteries. Now I know, I know, the new season couldn’t just be a copy, and having a third mystery with hidden compartments over the house would certainly be a lot for Robert and Louisa. But I mean, didn’t Het Huis Anubis have four seasons? They couldn’t just do their version of that? I’m guessing that they did something different (I really hope so, because if not, this is embarrassing)

things i did not like at all about this season

the fact that they twisted Mara’s character up in their new ‘messed up girl obsessed with a boy’ like Joy in S2. just- why?

the fact that they undid a bunch of Jerome’s development.

or how about the fact that all Jerome got to do this season was be part of a love triangle cheat fest and then a love drama with Joy. In S1 he shoved himself into Sibuna and Rufus and it was bad for him, but he was involved. And S2, he was just amazing, they managed to connect his family and his family troubles with something that Sibuna would’ve needed for the Mask of Anubis: the Frobisher Gem. It all came together perfectly.

we didn’t get anything of Mr. Sweet telling Eddie about his Osirian thing or their family history.

The way they treated KT when they thought she was evil. It was so messed up, honestly, that poor baby. (though I did appreciate that the other residents noticed, like at breakfast when she sat down and no one looked at her, and he said, “Good morning, KT.” and he just noticed something was wrong. And then Joy and Mara noticed. I just really feel like that was the moment where Jerome and Joy coulda been more involved with Sibuna again- wait what am I saying)

No, when they and Patricia and Alfie were at the Gatehouse and they tried to warn them about the ceremony is when JOY AND JEROME SHOULDA GOTTEN INVOLVED IN SIBUNA AGAIN. Or like, at least be more aware, I mean come on?? Joy, you’re better than this. And Jerome, you’ve seen enough weird stuff to know when it’s Sibuna-related and usually that means deadly-related so you’re whole having two girlfriends thing can wait for a while.

Caroline Denby sucked. (And Caroline Forbes from TVD is a fan favorite of mine and not to mention that MY NAME IS CAROLINE so imagine that).

the fact that we got rid of the real Victor was kinda just wrong for me. I mean, Victor has always been a pain in the ass with the kids, and he’s usually wanted what they were after as well but he’d never resort to murder or anything like that, so when he got turned into a sinner and lost his friggin soul (yes, they said that, this is true) we truly lost Victor and I didn’t like that at all.

Season 1 was all about a mystery but also partly conspiracy, there was a moment between all five of Sibuna where they got proof and realistic statements after Joy lied to them (at the insistence of her dad) they were starting to think that the mystery wasn’t real and almost backed out of the search. Remember? Nina said, “You guys aren’t giving up on me, right?” Anyway, that was that. It was all about finding more information about what really happened and what’s really going on. About finding answers.

Season 2 was darker, it was a race against time because unlike the mystery of the first season, this one was more about saving themselves. Nina’s life and her friends and Gran would’ve died, it’s a great motivator to go through the tunnels. And there were moments where we see just how serious this is, there’s one shot where Nina is in a dream sequence in the house and all her friends are running away from her, terrified. And even when Victor sees her, he backs away in fear and hides himself in his office and then in the mirror it’s revealed Nina’s dressed and appears as Senkhara. And then when Senkhara freezes Vera, Victor knows it’s time to back away, he’s scared, he’s worried, so we see him do what he has to do to get Vera back. And when he’s playing the game? With Sibuna as his game pieces on the huge board? When Alfie disappeared, he backed out, he knew when to stop and almost considered calling Mr. Sweet to do something about it.

Meanwhile, Season 3 was all dark evil stuff, run for your life or your literal soul will be taken. It’s the end of the world if they awaken this sleeping dude, we need heroes to stop the bad team. Oh no, he’s awake, now he’s going to unleash hell and evil and it’s the end of the world, only now everyone’s converted to the evil and it’s real bad, we need heroes desperately. 

This season might’ve been more dark or good vs. evil type of thing but it just didn’t feel right for HOA. The show has always been subtle, it’s quiet and the kids solve the mystery and they do everything very hushed and private, this season sort of felt like WHOAH PIE IN YOUR FACE GUESS WHAT IM A SIBUNA what with turning the whole school into sinners, I just didn’t like the whole school being this active. but that’s me personally. 

Robert Frobisher-Smythe being the one in the tank is ridiculous considering wE SAW HIS FRIGGIN GHOST AT THE END OF S1. And honestly, bringing him in and saying that he’s going to bring forth a darkness to make people evil and bring the apocalypse is just a really bland plot. It’s no mystery, it’s legit good guys vs. a villain. It’s a ‘save the world’ plot, yeah like we’ve never seen that before.

We love the mystery, where was it? oh right, nowhere.

When the four descendants of Robert’s expedition party were revealed: Patricia, Joy, Alfie and Jerome, there could have so much content.

The four of them speaking in unison while they sleep should’ve been used more.

Remember the childhood lullabies they were supposed to use to find a random artifact? Those lullabies were riddles and other than that cylinder that KT opened using her synesthesia, it was the only thing that made it feel like good old days of House of Anubis.

again, making Robert the man in the tank and then evil was just stupid. im not gonna approach the fact that he took the punishment meant for his expedition party and that’s why he’s cursed, and now he’s evil? oh gods

again, seeing the three OG Sibuna gang members evil and not on Sibuna kept killing me.

that ending bugged me

like oh no! everyone’s gone insane, we gotta shut this thing down before it devours more souls. TWO HOURS LATER and now it’s time to enjoy fireworks and Fabian and Mara and flirting and its so unnecessary, whyy??

Leave Mara with Jerome (in which he didnt cheat) and Willow is happy with Alfie and KT and Joy are out there being gay as hell. Those are the ships that shoulda happened.

Honestly, when I think back at S2 and Amber and Nina are there, it just brings back such good vibes. S2 really is the best season, but I stand by my love for Eddie and KT. Friendship goals AF. Like I said before, the third season was in your face, it was loud and it was telling everyone ‘end of the world’ and when you think about it, it’s perfect for the characters they introduced. S1 and S2 fit so well for Nina, because she’s like that, she’s quiet yet badass and is about riddles and mysteries. Meanwhile, Eddie is loud and wants to get this over with, LET’S BREAK INTO OUR TEACHER’S HOUSE BECAUSE I HAVE A HUNCH. YOU WANNA SEE THE SLEEPING MAN’S FACE, FABIAN? LET’S REMOVE THE GLASS. LET’S STEAL THE TANK WITH THE SLEEPING MAN IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.  LET ME JUST BARGE INTO VICTOR’S OFFICE TO TAKE YOUR KEY BACK, KT. LET’S DO WHATEVER IMPORTANT TASK OR MISSION WE NEED HAVE TONIGHT. LET ME BANG AGAINST PIPES AND BRICKS REALLY LOUDLY. And let me tell you, it just makes me laugh how into it he gets, like “why not?” it’s just so funny for some reason. Anyway, I think they decided to make this season fit what they wanted Eddie to be and that’s what they did. I loved Eddie’s performance, I loved him so much, I loved KT more. But I just didn’t love this season.

[superfreakerz]

TDDUP 29

"Til Death Do Us Part"

Rated M for smut and heavy themes.

Reincarnation/Immortality AU

Summary: There are immortals and there are those who reincarnate, but it's best to keep these things hidden. Lucy is attending college and meets Natsu, a boy with pink hair, a mischievous grin, and a body that never ages.

Read earlier chapters on FF.net

Chapter 29

The Immortals

The car ride home was insufferable. Lucy could feel Gajeel's glare piercing the back of her head, Erza chose to sit in between her and Natsu- which she could only assume was to keep him away from her- and nobody had said a single word since the night before. Even the music that Gray so graciously played in hopes of lightening the mood did nothing to ease the tension. The negative aura was thick, and it felt like she was being suffocated with everyone's blatant stares.

All she had to do was show them the locket. Inside was proof that she wasn't just twenty years old. Still, part of her wondered if that was going to be good enough for them. Technically, she was still a mortal, and if Gajeel's dirty looks were enough to go off of, they had some pretty bad run-ins with mortals who knew of their secret.

A sigh slipped past Lucy's lips. All she wanted was to go on a ski trip with her friends. Couldn't she just have one day without some bad luck interfering with her plans?

Turning her head, she glanced past Erza to look at Natsu. As if feeling her stare, he turned towards her and gave her a show-stopping grin that somehow managed to chip away at her anxiety.

Her lips curled into a grin. At least there was one good thing that happened on the trip. The secrets that strained their relationship were now out in the open. She could finally be her true self around people. That is, being a girl who reincarnates. She didn't have to hold back on details, she didn't have to lie, and she didn't have to keep her lives straight anymore.

She was sure the same went for Natsu. Sure, he had a group of friends that shared his immortality, but he must've felt the same way about her. Now, he didn't have to lie to her about anything.

Everything felt so easy now.

Or at least it should have if it weren't for her overly skeptical friends.

Seriously, they were immortals for god's sake! Their bodies healed at abnormal rates and they never aged. Why was it so weird that she reincarnated? When they got to her apartment, she was going to make sure to rub it in their sorry faces and demand an apology. It was the least they could do after putting her through the wringer.

Reaching Lucy's apartment, the group stretched their legs outside. After being trapped in the silent car for the past four hours, they were relieved to finally be free of its confines.

"I'll go grab the locket and prove how ridiculous you guys are being," Lucy said, heading to the steps to her apartment when Gajeel blocked her path.

"Oi, remember our deal?" he asked, peering down at her. "We go together. Gotta make sure you ain't cheating."

"How in the world could I cheat? This isn't some contest, you know?"

"You could photoshop it or something!"

"How would I even have time to do that?"

"Doesn't matter! We're all comin' with you!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. Grabbing her suitcase out of the trunk, she rolled it behind her as she walked to her apartment, making sure to run over Gajeel's toes in the process.

"Fine. Come on then," she said. She couldn't deny that her feelings were hurt. After all they'd been through, they still couldn't trust her? The only thing that made her feel better was knowing that Natsu believed her, even without needing to see the proof that lied within her locket.

Waiting for everyone to finish putting their luggage aside, Lucy headed towards the bathroom. The group followed closely behind as if they were little ducklings trailing after their mother.

"The bathroom's small, so some of you might want to stand out in the hall," Lucy suggested.

"Nonsense," Erza replied. "We can all huddle together."

Lucy sighed as the whole group squeezed themselves into the bathroom with her. The seven huddled together, their elbows poking into each other while Lucy stood a foot away by the tub. Bending over, she swiftly threw open the drawer, slamming it into Gajeel's shin. The boy jumped away with a yelp.

"Oops," she said with a shrug.

Gajeel rubbed the sore spot, glaring at the blonde. "Didja really hafta do that?"

"You deserved it. In fact, if you ask me, all of you deserve it. Other than Natsu, of course."

Natsu grinned. "I've got your back, Luce! Now hurry up and show us what's in the locket! I've been dying to know for weeks!"

Lucy smiled at him. Grabbing the tampon box, she dumped it out into the drawer. Sure enough, the locket fell out with a thud.

"So that's where you hid it!" Natsu exclaimed. He tried to push everyone out of his way so he could get a closer look, but with how cramped the bathroom was, he was stuck in place. "Wait, but I checked there for other evidence and there wasn't anything in there!"

"Wait, you checked for evidence? When? And for what?"

"While you were visitin' your old man. I kinda thought that you were an immortal too, so I looked through all your stuff for any clues. I didn't find anything!"

"Oh. That's because the only hard proof that I keep with me is this locket," Lucy explained, dangling it in the air. "I don't have access to anything else."

Before she could say another word, Gajeel snatched the necklace out of her hand.

"How is this supposed to prove anything?" he asked, his crimson eyes piercing hers.

"Open it, idiot," Lucy answered, crossing her arms over her chest expectantly.

Everyone peered over Gajeel's shoulders, watching as he opened the locket to reveal a black-and-white picture of Lucy between an older couple.

"I don't get it," Gray said.

Lucy sighed, grabbing the necklace from Gajeel's hand and carefully removing the photo. Unfolding its edges, she handed it back to the boy. "Look at the date at the corner."

Natsu's eyes widened as he read the date. It was over sixty years ago.

"Ha! I toldja she wasn't lying!" he exclaimed, slapping Gajeel upside the head.

"This doesn't prove anything!" the other boy barked. "This coulda been photoshopped!"

"When would she have photoshopped it, dumbass?" Gray asked. Somehow during their time in the bathroom, he had ended up shirtless.

"Gray's right," Levy chimed in. "There would've been no reason for Lu-chan to photoshop a fake date onto it when she didn't know about us until yesterday."

Juvia shrugged. "Juvia believed her last night, so this doesn't change anything."

"You did?" Lucy asked, her mouth parting.

"Yes. Considering Juvia is an immortal, it isn't impossible for other kinds of beings to exist."

"Oh my god, yes! Thank you for saying that, Juvia! Seriously, the rest of you are all just a bunch of hypocrites!"

"Yeah!" Natsu agreed, pushing past the others so that he could stand by Lucy. "You guys shoulda trusted her!"

Gajeel scoffed, crossing his arms over his burly chest. "I still don't believe it."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked with a groan. "You need more proof? Fine. Follow me." Slipping through the group, she led the way to the dining room where her laptop rested on the table. Opening up a searching browser, she started to type her name.

"I already looked you up," Gajeel said. "I didn't find anything that proves you reincarnate."

"That's because you were looking up the wrong name. My first name stays the same whenever I am reborn, but I am always born into a new family, so my last name changes. You looked up Lucy Heartfilia. The first name I went by was Lucy Ashley."

Pressing enter, the page was reloaded with multiple links. Most of them led to the social medias of other girls that went by the same name. Muttering incentives to herself, Lucy narrowed the search with details of her death and tried again. This time, a link to her obituary popped up. Clicking it, she was led to a page that showed some of her pictures, a brief description of her life, and an explanation of how she died. In the back of her head, she noted how strange it felt reading about her own death, but at the moment, she was too spiteful to care.

"Holy fuck," Gray breathed out, pulling a chair out next to Lucy.

"So it is true," Erza added, her eyes wide as she cupped her chin.

"That's what I've been telling you guys," Lucy said, standing from her seat so that she could face all of them with a glare. "But you didn't believe me."

"I apologize Lucy, but can you really blame us?"

"Yes! I can! I believed you guys about your immortality right away!"

"Yes, but you were shown the facts first. It was impossible to deny it when you saw Natsu's body healing on its own. For us, we didn't see any proof that you reincarnate. We never believed in reincarnation before. It was just awfully convenient timing to confess such a thing, so it was easier to believe that you would say whatever you had to so that you could still be with Natsu."

Lucy crossed her arms, her glare never wavering. "Okay, yes. I can agree with you on that. I did see the proof, and maybe I wouldn't have believed that you guys were immortal if I hadn't seen Natsu's body regenerating. But did you guys have to treat me like crap because of it?"

Erza glued her gaze to the floor with a frown. "No. And we shouldn't have treated you like that. I am truly sorry for what we said last night."

"I am too," Levy added, wringing her hands together. "We've been best friends for a long time, I shouldn't have dismissed you so quickly, especially when you've been nothing but kind to me. I was a bad friend."

"Same goes for me and Jellal," Gray said.

"Juvia should've stuck up for you," the other blue-headed girl chimed in. "Juvia believed you, but she was scared of saying something last night."

Lucy glanced towards Gajeel expectantly. Part of her expected him to be stubborn and refuse to apologize. Instead, he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. What he did next was surprising.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," the boy said. "Look, there's nothin' I can say that's gonna change how I acted. Truth is, I've had some bad experiences with mortals who found out that I'm immortal- a lot of us have. I just wanna keep Levy safe. Guess I got a lil' carried away."

"A little?" Lucy asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm glad you guys are apologizing and all, but that doesn't change anything. You guys made me feel horrible last night, and I warned you before that I wasn't going to be so quick to forgive you."

"Yeah, I know. So let us make it up to you."

"How?" Lucy asked, arching a brow.

Gajeel's face was serious as answered, "We'll take you to Fairy Tail."

The widening gazes of everyone else in the group went unnoticed by Lucy as she threw her arms in the air.

"You think taking me out for some food and drinks is going to make it up to me?" she asked incredulously. "That's the dumbest-"

"Fairy Tail isn't just a pub. It's home of the immortals. Taking you there could get us in a lot of trouble."

"Gajeel!" Erza hissed.

The boy turned to face her with a shrug. "We were gonna take her to see Makarov anyways if she was tellin' the truth. Why not bring her to Fairy Tail? We can make it up to her by telling her everything. There's no better way of showin' her that we trust her now."

Lucy glanced at Natsu, who grinned back at her with a nod. She couldn't deny that her curiosity was more than piqued. She finally knew where they lived! She just couldn't believe that she'd been there a million times without knowing.

"I can get on board with that idea," Lucy said. She knew that it was a big risk to them, so she knew it was a big deal and that they were really trying to make it up to her. "If you take me there, I will agree to put all of this behind us."

Erza glanced at the others to make sure they were on board. Receiving a bunch of nods and shrugs, she turned back towards Lucy.

"Alright," the redhead stated. "We will take you there. Just keep in mind that there are other immortals who might be wary of you. They will all be surprised to see you."

"Wait, there's more of you?" Lucy asked, her mouth hanging open.

"Yes. Fairy Tail is an organization built to support immortals. The pub is a way to bring in money while the basement houses all of us."

"That's so cool!"

"I can't wait to show you to everybody!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulders. "You gotta try Mira's cooking!"

Lucy arched a brow. She remembered that name. "Mira? Isn't that the friend who moved away?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot I sorta told you about her! Truth is, we aren't supposed to bring up anyone who lives in the basement, but it just kinda slipped out that one time. So then we had to tell you that she was our friend who moved away, but she's really living in the basement!"

"Wait, why is she living in the basement?"

"It's a long story," Levy said. "We'll tell you all about it when we get to Fairy Tail."

"Prepare to get groped," Gray added, leading the way to the door.

Lucy covered her breasts with her arms. "Groped!?"

"He means Cana," Natsu explained while she locked her door behind them. "She has a thing for big boobs. And yours are huge."

Growing red in the face, Lucy slapped the boy upside the head. "Natsu! You can't just say things like that!"

"Ow! But it's true!"

That got him another slap.

Arriving at Fairy Tail, Lucy's stomach was doing flips. Her fingers wiggled at her sides as she stepped inside the pub, antsy at meeting the rest of the immortals. Following the others behind the counter into an area that was restricted to the public, she watched them head down a flight of narrow steps. Not wanting to get lost, she trailed closely behind.

Each step made her stomach churn. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

The steps led to what looked like a lobby. There were multiple sofas, tables and chairs, and even entertainment centers. There was also a bar, where a stunning woman was drying off glasses. Her hair was snow white and fell in waves, her eyes a brilliant shade of blue. She turned to greet them, but the words died in her throat the moment she laid eyes on Lucy. The glass in her hands dropped to the floor, shattering and catching the attention of everyone else around.

There was another girl slouched in one of the stools by the bar. Her hair was also wavy, but it was a relaxing shade of brown. She was clad in a pair of khakis and a bikini top, clutching a barrel to her chest. Her cheeks were dusted pink, clueing Lucy into what could possibly be in the barrel.

At one of the entertainment centers sat a man even larger and more muscular than Gajeel. His hair was blonde, and he had a scar running down one of his eyes. Over his ears were two large headphones with spikes protruding from the sides. Surrounding him was a man with long green hair, a scantily dressed woman with glasses, and a man wearing the strangest outfit Lucy had ever seen before.

All of them had their eyes on her, and it was clear that her presence was unexpected, if not unwelcomed.

"Erza," the blonde man called out, jumping to his feet. "Who is this?"

The redhead gnawed on her lower lip. Well, there was no use in lying. "This is Lucy."

"Wait, Lucy? As in the Lucy?" the silver-haired girl behind the bar asked. A shaky hand flew up to her mouth. "You guys brought a mortal into the basement?"

"What the hell are you guys thinking?" the brunette asked, setting aside her barrel as she glared at them.

"It's a long story," Erza answered. "We need to speak to Master. Is he in his office?"

The brunette nodded. "Good luck. Seems to me you've got a death wish."

Erza turned back to the group. "I will go let Master know that we need to speak to him. Wait here and do not move. Understood?"

Natsu flinched under the menacing stare she directed at him. "A-Aye!"

"Good. I will return shortly."

Lucy kept her eyes on the ground. Perhaps they should've given the others a heads-up that she was coming. Now, she felt unwelcomed. Not that she could really blame the others. She wouldn't be too happy either if some stranger just let themselves into her home.

"Oi, mortal," a voice called out. Lifting her gaze, Lucy saw the brunette waving her over. "C'mere. Have a drink."

"O-Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother," she replied, waving her hands in front of her face.

"Just have a drink already. I'm sure you've gotta feel awkward with all this."

Natsu nodded at her, gesturing for her to go mingle with the other immortals. Swallowing thickly, she took the empty seat beside the brunette while Natsu sat on the other side of her. At least he was there to keep her company.

"The name's Cana," the other girl said, pointing at herself. "Nice to meetcha, Lucy. We've heard a shit ton about you. Oi, Natsu, you're right! She does have ginormous knockers!"

"Toldja!" the boy replied. The two shared a high-five behind the blonde's back while she because a blushing mess.

"I-It's nice to meet you too," Lucy said. "So you are an immortal too?"

"Yep. Have been longer than most of these guys."

"Really? I didn't know that some of you could be immortals longer than others."

"Oh yeah. Immortality is way more of a complicated bitch than most people would think."

So many questions floated around in Lucy's mind. She had no idea how immortality worked. Were people born with it? Did it run in their genes? Was there any sort of limit to their immortality? Opening her mouth to ask one of her many questions, the girl was cut off as Erza entered the room.

"Master will see us now," she said.

"What did you tell him?" Jellal asked.

"I told him that there was someone here to see him. I did, however, leave out the fact that she is a mortal. I figured it would be best to explain it all together."

Lucy swallowed thickly. "I'm scared of meeting this Master person."

"Don't be," Natsu replied, nudging her gently in hopes of alleviating some of her anxiety. "Gramps is awesome! And you're a girl, so he'll definitely go easier on you. If anything, he'll just try to kill me for bringing you."

"Yes, because that definitely makes me feel better."

"Good! Let's go, Luce!"

Cana watched as Natsu dragged the mortal away by the wrist. The rest of the group followed behind them.

"You okay, Mira?" Cana asked, her gaze tearing away from the hallway where the others went in order to face the other girl. A frown immediately graced her face as she found tears welled in the blue orbs of her close friend.

Mira's shaky hand flew up to her chest, her eyes wide and glazed over with hot tears. Her breathing was heavy and ragged as she hyperventilated.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she breathed out, rubbing her neck. "I-I was just a little surprised, but I'm fine."

Cana frowned, but she didn't bother arguing with the other girl. All she knew was that there had better been a damn good reason why Natsu and the others brought a mortal into their safe haven.

Lucy was a fumbling mess by the time they reached the door to what she assumed was Master's office. Natsu's warm hand slid into hers, lacing their fingers together and giving her hand a gentle squeeze, silently telling her that it was going to be okay. She decided to take his word for it.

Following Erza and the others, Lucy's eyes immediately landed on the tiny, elderly man that sat at a desk that was taller than him. The top of his head was bald, but the sides sported patches of silver hair. He had a white goatee and a fluffy white coat. At the sight of her, he cocked his head to the side.

"Hello, my name is Makarov" the man greeted, jumping onto his desk so that he could stand at the same height as her. "I heard that someone wanted to see me. That must be you."

"Umm, yes," Lucy replied, shaking his hand.

"You must be an immortal. Let me get some paperwork started and we can get you all situated to join our family!"

"Oh- uhh- I'm actually not an immortal."

"Oh, you must be a government official affiliated with immortals."

"Actually, I'm just a friend of these guys. My name is Lucy."

Makarov halted his movements, the uncapped pen in his hand dropping onto the desk and tainting some of the documents.

"I'm sorry, come again? I don't believe I heard you right the first time. Pardon my bad hearing, it comes with the old age," he said, cupping his hand around his ear.

"Umm, Master, this is Lucy. Natsu's girlfriend and our friend from school," Erza explained.

The man whipped his head towards Erza. "What!? Erza! What are you thinking bringing an outsider here!? You know better than that! Oh no. The school will probably have to be shut down, along with Fairy Tail. We'll all have to relocate and who knows what will happen to-"

"Lucy's not just some outsider," Natsu interrupted. "She's different than the other mortals!"

"Natsu, I understand she's your girlfriend, but that doesn't mean you can bring her here!"

"No, not just that! Tell him, Lucy!"

Lucy swallowed thickly. Her gaze was pointed at the desk as she was too afraid to meet the gaze of the older man who- despite his kind smile- had an air of authority to him that frightened her.

"Umm, I uhh, I…" she started, the words dying in her throat due to her nerves.

"Spit it out, dear," Makarov said. "I have to know what made these brats think it was acceptable bringing you here."

"…The truth is, I reincarnate every time I die."

Makarov's eyes went wide, his jaw slack.

"I know it's hard to believe," Gajeel began, "but she's got proof! She has a picture of herself from sixty years ago, and there are obituaries written about her past lives!"

"It's true," Erza chimed in, hoping to calm the monster that resided in the older man. He was a usually kind man, but if angered enough, well… That wasn't something anyone wanted to see. "I've seen the proof myself."

"I see…" Makarov said, stroking his beard. "That is why you brought her here. To ask questions about her situation."

"Oh, no," Lucy replied, shaking her head. "I came to learn more about Natsu and the others."

Natsu cocked his head to the side as he took another step closer to Makarov. "Wait a sec. You aren't as surprised as I thought you'd be. Gramps, do you know something about reincarnation?"

Makarov's face was serious as he mulled over the question. With a sigh, he nodded. "Yes. I am familiar with some of the history of reincarnation."

Lucy's hands went limp at her sides, her mouth trembling as she choked out, "W-Wait, what?"

She had gone there to learn about immortality, but there stood a man with the truth about herself. For lifetimes she had tried researching about reincarnation, only to come up with people's theories and misconceptions as to what it would be like. Hell, in her three lifetimes of searching, she had only found one other person in the world who shared her experience. And now she was finally going to learn about the curse that haunted her?

Natsu glanced over to Lucy. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she swayed. Looping an arm around her waist, he kept her steady.

Makarov's stare was serious as he asked, "Would you like to know more about reincarnation? The history is tied to immortality."

Natsu whipped his head towards Makarov. "It is? Then why haven't we heard about it before?"

The old man frowned, fiddling with his coat. "Lucy, please have a seat. I will do my best to explain." The girl nodded slowly, moving to sit in the chair that was in front of the desk. Only once she did, Makarov continued, "First, I shall start off by saying that I am a mortal, and everything that I tell you has happened long before I was born. In fact, it happened before all of us were born."

"Even longer than me?" Gray asked, having been the oldest immortal in the room.

"Yes. It was four hundred years ago. Reincarnation is much like immortality. Nobody can control it, and it isn't passed down through genes. It is much rarer than immortality, however. Long ago, there was an immortal- or I suppose I should say there is an immortal since he is still roaming the world somewhere. He is one of the oldest known immortals in the world. I have heard of him through Mavis herself."

"Who is Mavis?" Lucy asked.

"She is also one of the first to discover her immortality. She is also founder of Fairy Tail. She was around at the time it happened."

"It?" she repeated, cocking her head to the side. "What happened?"

Makarov's frown deepened. "A massacre. Around four hundred years ago, the first reincarnation was discovered. He is known as the Spirit King because of how many 'souls' he has had since he has died and been reborn numerous times. It was four hundred years ago when he was reborn for the first time. Immortals had already been around back then, and apparently he was familiar with one. His friend brought him to meet some other immortals, as it was such a strange finding. However…"

"What? What is it?"

"Among one of the immortals was a man named Acnologia. As you know, immortality isn't passed down through genes. It is completely arbitrary on who becomes an immortal. Acnologia had a daughter named Sonya. Because of his immortality, he was forced to watch his daughter grow up before his eyes and eventually die while he had to keep living without her. Because of this, he hated his immortality. All he wanted was to die so that he can be reunited with his daughter in the afterlife."

Makarov forced himself to meet Lucy's inquisitive gaze as he continued, "When he found out that there was a man who had his wish of dying and resented it, it set something off inside of him. He followed the Spirit King that night, sneaking up from behind him and killing him."

A gasp slipped past Lucy's lips, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "B-But it wasn't his fault that he can reincarnate!"

"I know. But in Acnologia's eyes, the Spirit King's existence was a great injustice. He gathered up some immortal followers with the same mindset and together they sought out those who could reincarnate. They massacred them all, searching for them everywhere across the globe and murdering them over and over again."

Tears ran down Lucy's cheeks as she imagined what it was like to constantly be reborn and murdered by such monsters. Not only were they cursed with reincarnation, they were also being hunted every life. Then it hit her.

"W-Wait…" Lucy began, her head spinning. "Immortals never die, which means…"

"Yes," Makarov said with a nod, his frown deepening. "They are all still alive, including Acnologia."

"B-But what if he finds out about me!" Lucy cried, glancing towards Natsu. Her breaths were staggered, her heart beating a mile per minute. "I-I don't want to be hunted down!"

Natsu smoothed a hand over her head, bringing the girl in for a hug as he tried to soothe her.

"Don't worry," he said, wiping away her tears. "I'm not gonna let that happen to you."

Lucy covered her mouth with her hand, trying to quiet her sobs.

"Natsu is right, you do not need to worry," Makarov said. "After the massacre, many of the immortals who were in on the killings were locked up. The immortals have a connection to high officials in the government thanks to Mavis. The officials are why organizations like Fairy Tail exist. They locked up most of the murderers. Acnologia and a few others did manage to escape, but the odds of him finding you are slim to none."

Lucy nodded slowly, but it didn't make her fear go away. Sure, maybe he wouldn't kill her in this lifetime, but what about the next one? Or the one after that? Acnologia was immortal and she reincarnated, he had all the time in the world to find her.

Natsu could feel Lucy shaking in his arms. Gently grabbing her face, he forced her to face him.

"I promise I'll protect you, Lucy," he said, his face serious. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Neither will we," Gray chimed in, ruffling the blonde's hair. "You're one of us now."

Lucy smiled at her friends, starting to regain some of her composure. "Thanks, guys."

"Lucy," Makarov started, "would you like to meet others like you?"

The girl whipped her head towards the man. "R-Really? You know more people like me?"

"Yes. Though, perhaps I shouldn't say meet. You've already met them before, actually. You all have."

"Wait, what?" Natsu asked. "Who?"

"A handful of professors at Fairy Tail are reincarnations. Aquarius, Scorpio, and Capricorn, you've had them this quarter, correct? They all reincarnate."

"What!? How come you didn't tell us this!?"

"After the massacre, the existence of reincarnations was swept under the rug and kept a secret from later immortals in case they had the same mindset as Acnologia. When Mavis first stumbled upon Aquarius and found out the truth about her, she wanted to make sure that she had a place to turn to in the world. So, she invited her, along with other reincarnations, to teach at the University whenever they are at an old enough age to return."

Lucy gawked. Finally, everything was starting to make sense. Her talk with Aquarius, why Capricorn was so interested in her story about reincarnation, everything. They were like her.

"Wait, but how did they know about me?" Lucy asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I think they know that I reincarnate. How did they find out?"

"I am unsure. Perhaps you can ask Aquarius when the new term starts."

Lucy nodded. She would definitely have to do that. But for now, all she wanted was to sleep. After the rollercoaster of a day she had, she was left winded.

"I-I think I need to be alone for a little bit," she said. "I should go home."

"Feel free to come down to the basement any time," Makarov replied.

Thanking him for everything, Lucy followed the others back to the lobby. She noted that the other immortals were gone.

"I'll walk you home," Natsu said.

"Thanks," Lucy replied. Saying goodbye to her friends, she followed Natsu up the stairs and back to the pub. Stepping outside the grand doors of Fairy Tail, she turned back and admired the building. This whole time, it had been the home of her friends, and she never even knew it. It was also home to other immortals, who she planned on getting closer to.

Though, that could wait until tomorrow.

[vanilluhbeaux]

Not Another Au!

vanilluhbeaux (distinque)

Chapter 5

: he gave them the heebie-jeebies

“You know, yesterday wasn’t that bad,” Kirishima said, walking into class behind Bakugou and Ochako, the latter of which shot him a confused glance.

“Eijiro,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, “one of our classmates died yesterday.” They followed along into their seats next to each other, almost completing the nearly full classroom. The natural chatter of teenagers already filled the room with as much life as it possibly could, the colors coming from off of the students shining without fail. Kirishima looked back at her and shot a sheepish glance, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Well, yeah, but it still wasn’t a bad day. It could've been a classmate we liked,” he answered, sliding further into his seat.

“I guess yesterday was alright,” Bakugou added, pulling a notebook out of his backpack. “Shit could’ve gone all the way left.”

“I think shit did go left,” Ochako said, rolling her eyes, “The curse actually started. Mineta actually died. Why am I the only one taking this seriously?” She wrapped her arms around herself, pouting slightly.

“Because, like, fuck Mineta?” Bakugou said, shrugging. “Nobody really gave half a shit about him except for Denki, and that's probably because he's a fucking idiot.” The blonde loooked around for a pen out of his backpack, rolling his eyes when he didn't find one. He huffed, looking towards his girlfriend, who sighed before giving him the one she held in her hand. "I think Denki was the one who said fuck him yesterday, Cheeks," Bakugou tacked on, shrugging.

"I said 'Death to the bitch'. Don't put words in my mouth," Denki said, walking in the classroom and taking his headphones out of his ears.

"Is your broke ass talking to me?" Bakugou said, raising an eyebrow.

"The only broke person in the room is your girlfriend," Denki said, rolling his eyes and popping his headphones back into his ears.

"You could've left me out of it," Ochako said, turning around in her seat to look at Denki.

"And your boyfriend could have kept my name out of his mouth. I guess we all have things we could've done. Shoulda, woulda, coulda," Denki finished, sliding into his seat with an expression that screamed 'You Tried It'. In her mind, Ochako thought she was going to try him again, just so that she could get the last word in, but when she paid attention to his face, Ochako's own softened. His eyes seemed darker than normal, and she noticed thin, fine lines forming through purple bags that sat just under his eyelids. She fixed her mouth to ask about him, but she found herself unable to speak after staring at him for a moment more.

"I don't think I've ever seen him this upset," she whispered to Kirishima and Bakugou, the former of which only shook his head in response. She gave a last glance at him before continuing, "It's unnatural seeing him so down."

Kirishima nodded, saying, "Yeah, I've been knowing him forever and he's never been this sad. It's super weird." The classroom door creaked open and Shinsuo slid in, his footsteps quiet against the tile floor. Still, as quiet as he was, he couldn't help but attract the attention of everyone else in the classroom.

"It's almost like he's a main character too," Izuku said, giving a knowing look at Todoroki, who made a confused face.

"Fuck are you talking about?" he asked back, shrugging.

"You know what I'm talking about," he insisted, rolling his eyes.

"Denki's just in a sour mood," Shinshuo explain, taking the attention away from the two in the back and directing it towards himself. "Min—what happened yesterday really hit him hard and he hasn't been right since."

"Acting bitchy isn't a healthy way to deal with it," Kirishima said, throwing an understanding look towards his oldest friend, "And you know that. You can talk to me about it if it's bothering you. Or not; there's a million ways to cope."

Denki looked up at him, his dark eyes only flickering for a second. With a soft sigh, he said, "I guess I never learned how."

"You've never felt like this?" Ochako interjected, "You've never lost someone?"

"No," Denki breathed, "I've never learned to cope with an actual death."

Kirishima opened his mouth to speak, but the bell inturrupted him before he could let a single word loose. Instead, he reached a hand out and grabbed Denki's shoulder, giving him a tight squeeze. "I know we're not as close as we used to be...but you can always talk to me. Man to man. I know what it's like to lose someone close to you and I'm here for you. Always." He gave one last reassuring look towards the blonde, who nodded his head in a numb, vague gesture. Heaving a soft sigh, the redhead went back to his seat and gathered his materials for class, watching the door for their teacher to burst in. She was late most days, but he thought the death one of one of her students—though he had no reason to assume this anyway. Instead, the next person to walk through the door was none other than Momo, her hair smoothed back into a glossy ponytail and eyes rearing heavy bags.

"Your eyes are dark enough to see through the bottomless pit that is my soul," Tokoyami said, lifting his own dark eyes to look at her.

"What the fuck does that even mean?" Todoroki said, furrowing his eyes together.

"Sometimes he just says a bunch of shit to sound fake deep," Izuku replied, rolling his eyes. "You get used to it."

"It means," Tokoyami huffed, slightly irritated, "you look like you haven't slept at all last night."

"I didn't," she confirmed, gliding into her seat in the front of the classroom, "I was having a really bad night 'cause of Mineta, so Jirou came over with the strap."

"Why would she try to rob you?" Mina asked, her pink eyebrow lifted, "I thought she loved you."

"And I thought you were a dumbass," Momo said, flipping her ponytail, "I guess we're both right."

"My dad was always strapped up," Izuku added thoughtfully.

"That's why you don't have a dad," Bakugou said with a snarky snicker.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't have a dad either," Todoroki said, slinging his arm around Izuku, "he used to beat me with the strap."

"You just keep oversharing, Shouto," Izuku said, propping an eyebrow up. "I think it's a personality defect or something. You autistic or something?"

"I'm not a Gary Stu," Todoroki replied.

"And none of you know what a strap is, either," Miss Midnight said, strolling into the classroom with Iida on her hip, disappointment heavy in her throat. "It's slang for a dildo."

"What's a dildo?" Denki asked, raising his hand—not bothering to wait to be called on. "It sounds like a type of bean."

"That's pinto, stupid," Mina said, giving him a strong glare. "A dildo is a kind of instrument with strings. Like a guitar."

"That's a banjo, dumbass," Sero said, laughing, "It's a kind of rodent with a really hard shell."

"That's a fucking armadillo," Bakugou said. "All of you guys are fucking stupid. A dido is a sex toy."

"I'm sorry we're late, class!" Iida said, bowing his head before everyone and effectively changing the subject, "my brother insisted that we ride to school with him today because Mineta's passing yesterday. It can be very dangerous and he doesn't want anything to happen to us when he's not around to protect and serve." Painting a smile on his face, he confidentally strolled to the middle of class and took his seat, quickly getting out his materials and scribbling down the date. Miss Midnight followed suit, grabbing a marker and writing down the date on the white board, along with her intended lesson plans for the day—Sex Education and the History of Lesbianism. She figured if her class didn't know what a dildo was—let alone a bean, banjo, or armadillo—they needed her help.

The classroom door creaking open grabbed the class's attention and Todoroki found himself staring at the principal, who entered the classroom as quietly as he could. Nezu's footsteps barely made a sound as he tipped in, almost silently stepping on the tile and creeping to the center of the room, carrying a deep blue briefcase by his side. When all eyes were on him, he began solemnly, "I have some really terrible news, class."

"Is it about Mineta? Because we all know what happened to Mineta," Todoroki said from his spot in the back of the classroom.

"It is. And I understand that everyone knows what happened to him—some of you guys were even there to see what happened. And I'm sorry you guys had to witness that. It's something nobody should ever have to witness—"

"—I've seen worse," Todoroki replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"You shouldn't have," he said, "The job of a principal is to make my school safe. I'm supposed to make my students safe. And under my watch, a student died. This curse has killed so many people, and I know it hurts—"

"—Not really," Sero said, "The only one really sad about this is Denki, nobody else really cares."

"I don't want anyone to think that this was their fault—"

"We don't," Ochako said, "we don't blame ourselves for anything that happened to him. We didn't tell him to tag along with us, we didn't tell him to run off by himself, and we didn't tell him to get himself killed. He did all that by himself."

"And likewise, I don't want anyone to view death as something to blame others for. Think of them as acts of nature." He bent down and reached into his briefcase, pulling a knife out. With a simple flick of his wrist, he dragged it across his throat, slitting it and spilling blood across the classroom. Momo found herself especially drenched in it, spewing from his life-emptying corpse. A scream ripped from her throat as the blood seeped through her clothes, touching her and sticking to her skin.

"Are we supposed to take notes on this, Miss Midnight?" Iida asked, wiping the blood off of his glasses with his shirt. "Because this is a really big moment in history and I'd like to be prepared if it shows up on a test."

"Don't you get it?" Momo screamed, "Our principal just killed himself!"

"And it'll be for nothing if I fail this class!" Iida screamed back.

"Is no one going to call for help?" Ochako screamed.

"What is there to help?" Izuku replied, thankful for his spot at the back of the classroom and away from the corpse steadily leaking blood. "Nezu's super dead. Ain't no help for him. We might as well get an early dismissal and go home. Try this shit again tomorrow."

"Nobody's going anywhere," Miss Midnight said, standing by the door. "Tsuyu," she said, pointing to a girl with large eyes and green, blood-stained, hair, "call the police."

"No can do," the girl replied, her eyes glued to her phone, "it'll ruin my Snapchat. I gotta get the whole thing or people are going to try and say Deku, Mina, or Tokoyami killed him."

"Why is it always us?" Mina asked, bunching her brows together.

"Because you're black," Tsuyu said, "And every time something happens, the police are going to try and blame the black guys."

"Miss Midnight?" Shinsuo said, raising his hand, "I called the police when Deku started talking."

"My name is Izuku but whatever," he said, huffing and lifting his legs to lay on the seat next to him, partially to avoid the blood making it's way to the back of the classroom. "Y'all are starting to get on my nerves with this Deku shit."

"Our principal is dead!" Momo screamed, her hands balling into fist.

"So is Mineta!" Denki yelled back, crossing his arms. "People die every fucking day in this class! It can be any one of us next! Or our families! Do we honestly give a shit anymore?"

"Yeah," Mina said, under her breath, "A bitch really doesn't want to die right now."

"That's too damn bad!" Denki said, rolling his eyes. "We're all going to die. One of us is already dead. Does it really matter who?"

"Uh, yeah?" Bakugou said, "It matters a lot. I'd die for Ochako and Kirishima, so it they better not be the dead one."

"Bro, you'd die for me?" Kirishima asked, a soft expression taking over his face.

"Yeah—Don't let it go to your head."

"I'd die for you first, bro," Kirishima said, a warm smile crossing his face. "You too, Ochako."

"Please don't," she said, lifting her own feet up off of the floor. "I appreciate the thought, though."

"I appreciate you," Kirishima said. "I think I'd die for everyone in this class—except for Aoyoma. You're a little weird, fam. And Shouji. And Sato. Basically everyone that isn't an important addition to the class. Everyone else, you're all really cool and I wouldn't mind taking a bullet for you." He turned his red eyes to the unusually quiet Momo, rocking herself shakily in her chair. "You too, Momo. Even if you're a bitch sometimes."

"Then perish," Todoroki said, though he couldn't help the warm feeling bubbling in his chest. It encompassed his entire body, filling him up starting from his heart and moving outward. He let out a little shake, though it did nothing to calm his nerves and steady himself. He felt his hetrochromatic eyes wander the room, and as he looked at his classmates, the warm feeling heated itself into something greater—almost boiling over. Oh shit, he thought, letting out a shaky breath. Does he...he couldn't possibly...

like

his classmates?

His eyes fixed themselves onto Izuku, who's own green eyes were fixed onto his phone, seemingly enjoying Tsuyu's live Snapchat show. He noticed the way his phone was reflected in those bright green eyes, sparkling and highlighting the freckles that dotted his cheeks. The small smile dancing on his lips replayed over in his mind, and he swore he heard his voice over the growing sounds of sirens.

shit.

[bibibibuckleykinard]

For @zippywafflebuns who basically asked for 'Katie haunts the village' taking place during the affair era so soon after she dies" I've decided to make this a multi-fic not sure where this will go but I figure I'd share what I started with.

in hindsight, I probably should have posted this on the anniversary of her death but coulda, shoulda, woulda.

Day Twenty-Two: Guilty Mind

He saw her a lot the days following her funeral, walking out of David’s shop, walking into the pub sat in the corner, the guilt never seemed to leave him, most days though he did his best to push that aside, focus on the here and now. Most people would probably call him a monster if they knew what he had done. Aaron….he knew for the most part what had happened. Aaron knew the guilt that he was feeling that’s why they needed each other that’s why he kept sneaking away to be with him, secret meetups, secret getaways, who else could he turn to? The logical thing after this mess would be just to walk away but he couldn’t. It was late, Robert woke up in a cold sweat, he wasn’t sure what woke him, he looked over to his left to see Aaron fast asleep and almost curled into a ball, facing him. He quickly checked his phone to check the time see it was a little after midnight before returning his phone back to the side table. He leaned back into bed staring up at the ceiling of the dark hotel room, listening to Aaron’s soft snores escape his lips. He closed his eyes trying to convince himself to go back to sleep, he breathed out slowly getting comfortable again, waiting for the sleep to take over. “Wow,” He heard, his eyes shot open at the familiar voice. He leaned over to switch on the side lamp, looking overseeing the other man hadn’t moved.

“Over here,” he heard, the voice coming from his side of the big room. He turned to see her, sat in the room, his breathing got heavier.

“That was quite a performance, you and him, earlier.” She continued. “Good to know my death hasn’t dampened your sex life.”

“Katie?” he questioned.

She smirked, “I knew you’d see me eventually,” she explained leaning back in the chair.

“Yo…you..you’re not… you’re supposed to be-“

“What? Dead?”

Robert stared at the blonde woman, she was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing that February day.

“Don’t worry, Rob, I’m still dead,” she told the man. “Although after what I just witnessed I’m beginning to understand just why you killed me,” she continued.

“I didn’t…it was an accident.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” she replied crossing her legs.

“Rob?” He heard a groggy Aaron say.

“Oh would you look at what you’ve done,” she stated with an exaggerated irritation in her voice. “You woke him up.”

“Robert?” He looked back over to the other side, to see Aaron sitting up against the headboard. “Who are you talking to?”

“No… no one,” Robert replied looking back to see Katie was gone.

“Rob?” Aaron questioned as Robert searched the room. “Robert?”

“What?” Robert replied snapping back to reality.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Robert quickly replied. “I was having a weird dream,” he lied. “I guess I was having a hard time shaking it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, go back to sleep,” Robert told the man as he hopped out of bed grabbing his jeans quickly pulling them on.

“What’re you doing now?” Aaron questioned.

“I need to get some fresh air,” he replied pulling a white tee from his bag.

“It’s nearly one in the morning,” Aaron argued after checking the time.

“I won’t be long,” he replied after pulling the shirt on. He made his way over to Aaron leaning down, giving him a quick peck on the lips, “Get some sleep, yeah,” he added after pulling away, turning to leave quickly.

He tried steadying his breathing as he made his way down the hall over to the elevators, quickly pressing the down button. “Come on,” he muttered as he pressed the button a couple more times before the doors open. He was grateful to see it empty, he rushed in pressing on the lobby button before turning his attention to the close door button. He let out a sigh of relief when the door closed. Before he knew it, the elevator doors were opening again and he made his way out, passing the check-in counter, the woman who had checked him and Aaron in earlier in the evening was there flashing him a polite smile. He ignored her making his way over to the hotel bar. There were a few people there sat at the tables, Robert made his way over to the bar and sat.

“What can I get you?” The bartender asked.

“Whiskey… neat” he replied. The men nodded his head in response, “Actually,” Robert replied stopping the man. “Just a beer,” he stated.

“Coming right up.” A couple of seconds past when the man behind the bar returned with the open bottle. “And for you miss,” the man asked after handing Robert his drink. Robert had felt someone taking a seat next to him but hadn’t thought to look over. “Glass of white wine, please,” he heard her say. He froze at the voice. “Didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily did you?” Katie replied. Robert looked to his right to see her,  “White wine,” the man replied placing the drink in front of her. “Thanks,” she replied. “Come on, Robert, don’t be rude pay the man,” she told a still shocked Robert, he looked back at the bartender who was waiting. He pulled his money clip from his pocket handing over the amount owed.

“You’re dead,” Robert remarked as the bartender left the two.

“Is that a threat or a statement?” She questioned as she ran her finger over the lip of the wine glass.

“I watched you…. you went through the floor.”

“Calm yourself, Robert, I am dead don’t worry,” she replied.

“How-“

“Does it matter?” “There’s a dead woman sat next to me, drinking white wine,” he explained.

“The sad part is I can’t actually drink this.”

“How come he can see you,” he began to question pointing at the man behind the bar. “And Aaron couldn’t?” He went on.

“I didn’t want Aaron to see me,” she explained.

“In the village?”

“All me,” she replied. “I knew you could see me,” she went on. “The look on your face, priceless.” “What do you want?”

“You need to pay for what you’ve done Robert,” she stated.

‘It was an accident… I didn’t know… that the floor,” Robert argued.

“You still pushed me, didn’t ya?”

“Katie…”

“You even dragged poor Aaron into it, having him clean up your mess while you ran off and got married,” she explained. “You know aside from your wife I do feel sorry for him,” she stated. “So in love with you… he’d do something like that.”

“So you’ve been messing with his mind in all? The running, hurting himself?”

“Unfortunately that’s all him,” she replied somberly. “Chas would never forgive me if I did that to him,” she explained.

“So I get the joy of your haunting?”

“Haunting?”

“What else would you call it?”

“Fair enough.”

“Again, what do you want from me?” Robert asked.

“To pay,” she simply replied. “You may think whisking Aaron away for weekends away or holding Andy’s hand while he grieves makes up for everything but it doesn’t Robert because nothing’s changed.”

“I’m not saying that it suppose to change everything If I could go back….change how everything happened…I would but I can’t.”

“You know why you’re in this position right now?”

Robert didn’t say anything.

“Because of your lies, Robert,” she explained. “You’re lies,” she repeated. “You’ve lied to Chrissie, to Andy, Vic, Diane… Aaron and for what?” She questioned. “You tell yourself you're protecting them… but you’re the one that’s hurting them.”

“Shut up,” he said through his teeth.

“Hit a nerve have I?”

“You don’t know anything…”

“Oh but I do,” she replied. “Poor Aaron, ay? What’s he going to say when he finds out what really happened? The man he loves a murderer…” “Keep your voice down,” he replied looking around at the nearly empty room.

“No, Robert… see this…this is just the beginning,” she explained. “I’m not gonna rest until the whole world knows, what. you’ve. done.”

He stared at her. She smirked. “I think I’ll give Andy a visit next, It’s been a while since I’ve checked up on him,” she explained pushing off the bar stool to make her way out. Robert jumped up chasing after her. “Katie!” He called out as she rounded the corner. He made his way after her into the lobby to find it empty.

“There you are,” he heard he turn to see Aaron, dressed in grey joggers and his black hoodie.

“What are you doing down here?” Robert asked trying to act as normal as possible.

“I was worried about you,” Aaron explained. “You just stormed out of the room,” he explained.

“Sorry, uh, had a weird dream,” he explained.

“Yeah, you said.”

“I thought I’d come down for a drink at the bar.”

“Did it help?”

“Not really, no,” Robert replied.

“Well come back to the room,” Aaron replied. “Try and get some sleep.”

Robert looked around the lobby again.

“Are you okay?”

“Did you see a blonde woman come through here?” He asked.

“What? No, why?” Aaron questioned with a frown. “You sure you just came down here for a drink?” The question filled with jealousy.

“She skipped on the bill at the bar is all,” he lied.

“Oh,” Aaron replied.

“It doesn’t matter, security will take care of it I’m sure,” he replied. “Come on,” he muttered nodding towards the elevators. “I’m knackered.”

ao3 link

previous fic

[andthentheresanne]

Fic: raised on the edge of the devil’s backbone

Title: raised on the edge of the devil’s backbone Fandoms: Overwatch & Leverage Characters/Pairings: Jesse McCree, The Leverage OT3 (Parker/Eliot/Hardison) Summary: Jesse grew up on fairy tales where the bad guys are good guys and all justice needs is a little leverage. He hasn't believed in fairy tales for a long time.

They hadn’t meant to leave their children a war, the three of them, but that's the way the world crumbled.

--

Aka the Leverage/Overwatch crossover that no one actually asked for.  

Blame a re-watch of Leverage, McCree starring in my other current WIP, and a certain line about a huckleberry.

(I'm aware the timeline doesn't quite work out (as far as I can tell), but I'm not one to let a plot weasel go to waste.)

--

The stories that his folks told him and his sisters, growing up, Jesse knew that they were nothing more than bedtime stories. Fairy tales to try and convince a couple of kids that the world was not always as bad as it had once been. Or rather, that it had, but that there had been heroes once. That someone had cared enough to do something. That before the world had fallen apart, there had been heroes, and champions, and people willing to do what was right.

His mother and fathers had thought the world of the three of them, their kids. They never told the kids which one of them was whose--it didn't matter, they were family. Sophia had gotten their mother’s blonde hair, curling out in a frizz. Maggie never freckled, saw systems with her startlingly blue eyes like a game she could beat. All three of them got their mother’s light fingers, their fathers’ quick minds, their own unique talents. All with that big heart lying under everything that would’ve buried it deep beneath the simple business of trying to survive in a world gone mad.

They hadn’t meant to leave their children a war. Jesse once remembered a whispered argument, or so it had sounded, between his folks, late at night when the kids were all in bed, supposedly. His mother, insisting they could have done more. Papa reassuring her in hushed tones, Dad gripping the back of the chair like it could give answers if he squeezed hard enough.

His mother’s final foray into blaming herself in some way was met with Dad thumping the palm of his hand onto the back of the chair. “Gonna check on the kids,” Dad muttered to the other two as he walked toward where Jesse had been hiding on the stairs.

Dad hadn’t been fooled for a second at Jesse’s curled-up form under the blankets, feigning sleep. He’d heard the thumping of little feet trying to not thump. Unlike his sisters he hadn’t quite learned that skill yet. Dad sat down on his bed, ruffling his hair with a fond hand. “Hey, kiddo. What’re you doing up at this hour?”

Jesse had given up the play-acting immediately, sitting up in bed, giving a shrug. “Dunno. Couldn’t sleep.”

“Were you eavesdropping?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t even think of denying it. “Mom says it’s how you learn things sometimes.”

Dad laughed, but it didn’t sound like the kind of laugh you gave when you were happy. “There is that.”

Jesse twisted up his mouth in a frown, not understanding most of what he’d heard. “What’d mom mean? When she, when she was talking about stopping the robots?”

His father’s calloused hand stroked through Jesse’s hair as he thought, soothing. “There are a lotta woulda, coulda, shouldas in this world. Your mom’s just thinking about one of those. That’s all.”

Jesse didn’t understand it, but couldn’t figure out how to get around that not-understanding in his head, so he let it go. Years later, when he was older, there were so many questions he regretted not asking, but back then he was a child, and if Dad said it was so, then it was so.

Jesse once remembered a time when he thought his parents had stolen the stars to hang in the sky, believed his mother when she said the moon was the greatest heist she just hadn’t pulled yet, thought his fathers could protect him and his sisters from the rest of the world.

That had been a long time ago.

He always knew his parents were criminals of some kind, but then, who wasn’t, in this new world? There were the criminals and the dead, eventually. Even if some of those crimes were small, petty things, things that a court, if things still worked the way they once had, wouldn’t even bother with. Neglect and little cruelties that leaked through into his sheltered world on occasion. He was the youngest, the baby, but he had a good eye. Jesse never missed much, growing up.

Jesse feels like his world should have been shattered in a single moment or maybe night of high drama, fleeing and blood and darkness. Something suitably dramatic, like something out of one of his parents’ stories. But instead their safety had seeped away, drips and drabs and long nights sleeping in the back of Papa’s van as his folks drove.

He remembers his folks arguing long and low with Sophia, that night she left. That she felt she could make a difference in this fight, and wasn’t that what they had always taught her? And Dad’s eyes seemed so far away and Mom seemed like she was gonna cry and Pops circled back to the arguments he’d pulled out forty minutes before.

In the end, she had left with one of Dad’s friends, Mom whispering advice into her hair and Pops reassuring her that if she changed her mind, at any moment, they’d be there, all she had to do was say the word, and…

“You’re really going?”

Sophia crouched, ruffling his hair. Jesse swiped it back into place. “I got to, baby bro.”

Jesse crossed his arms, half-self-consciously trying to mimic one of Dad’s poses. She just laughed, gathering him into a hug. “Don’t give me that look. I’ll keep in touch. And I’ll be back.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Jesse learned later not to make promises he couldn’t keep. He never blamed her for that one, but it had still hurt. Never officially declared, of course. Things had been too chaotic, by then. But Pops had looked and looked, and every time Dad would come back without Sophia and it seemed like something in Mom went behind a locked door, after that. A door he didn’t know how to open, even with all his parents had taught him.

Maggie hadn’t even been a victim of the war, not really. First responders went into dangerous and deadly situations all the time, Jesse knew that. That building could have collapsed on anyone. Jesse knew, but it didn’t make it any better.

Not for his folks, either. They clung to him tighter, but got more distant, Jesse the one thing they hadn’t lost yet, besides each other. They whispered in secrets to each other more often, Dad going hard-eyed and tight-lipped whenever Jesse was around. No more easily-forgiven eavesdropping in those days. The other problem was that the tighter they held onto Jesse, the more his budding teenage rebellion grew. He stopped trying to listen in, stopped trying to get behind those doors and walls all three of his parents had hidden themselves behind, and so he drifted away.

He remembers the last time he saw them, though maybe not exactly as it happened. He isn’t sure how much of a teenage asshole he was. A fair bit of one, he knows, from the way Pops had rolled his eyes, from Mom’s pained smile. He remembers Dad was serious, drilling Jesse on where the emergency cash was, how to get out, what to do, when, how, Jesse playing along in pre-teen irony.

Dad caught the irony, of course. Did that thing where he looked like four different things tried to come out of his mouth at once, and finally gave up, grabbing Jesse in a crushing hug. “Dad!”

Despite protest, Dad hadn’t let him go for a good long moment. “Hold down the fort for us.” Abruptly he released Jesse, bracing him, then turned and grabbed up his duffel in one swift motion.

Pops watched him go, then pulled Jesse into a hug too, far less over-bearing than Dad’s had been. “What your dad said.”

Jesse was a little unnerved now, the weirdness of the situation seeping through his ironic detachment. “Y-yeah, of course, Pops.”

Then it was mom’s turn for a brisk squeeze of a hug and she was leaving too. House to himself for a weekend, that’s what they had told him. He had believed them.

“We’ll be back,” Mom nodded firmly, then shut the door behind her.

At least she hadn’t promised, Jesse thought later. After.

Jesse was never sure what happened to them, still isn’t. Heard rumors, of course. He could have found out, he was sure, sifted through everything and found the truth hidden among the lies. But he chose to believe the stories he’d heard, the ones that sounded like a fairytale, full of justice and honor and a little bit of payback. He’d been worried, then scared, then everything his folks had taught him had kicked in. Before he knew it he was going down the only path open to him, the one to survival.

Later on, after the blood on his hands and a second chance, Jesse still chose to believe in something. Maybe it wasn’t your traditional fairy story, but a man had to have something to cling to. And what Jesse knew was that maybe there was justice to be found in the world, and maybe there wasn’t, but you couldn’t do a damn thing without leverage

[drundertalescum]

Day 14 - Hole

So I had about 4 different ideas for today so of course I went with a last minute 5th one. I was reminded of @opinioninvalid​‘s great Prison AU and decided that that was the story for today. I think it worked out nicely! 

I dunno if OpinionInvalid has posted info about the AU anywhere publicly but since I don’t think they have I’m going to present this entirely without context! 

(But I did write for this AU once before.)

Warnings: some cursing, criminal activity, imprisonment, some vaguely gross stuff, ableist language, references to gambling and murder and other assorted crimes.

Aster was in the hole, alright. 

He thought it was just slang, back in the day, but it was pretty frickin accurate, turns out.

The Underground’s only prison was basically a basement underneath the castle, and it sure felt like a basement. Cramped, dank, small. Something was constantly dripping from the walls, and whatever it was stunk worse than anything Aster could imagine.

The walls themselves were kinda shabby. Normally his magic coulda busted right through em, but there was some kind of protection spell over the whole thing, so Aster couldn’t break a damn thing. He usually knew his way through that sort of thing, but this stuff was the best and it would take something beyond the normal methods to break the seal and bust out. Pretty much, it was impossible.

Only reason it was even worth the thought was that Aster had both a long sentence and a short lifespan.

But for now, he was just sitting back, avoiding trouble, waiting for an opportunity. Patience was always one of his strong suits. It’s how he got as far as he did (before the part where he ended up imprisoned).

But if Aster was in a hole, his cellmate was in an even deeper one.

Dr. Wingdings was in for life, pretty much. Aster didn’t know if he was a different kind of skeleton that might live a little longer than he could expect to – it was definitely possible– but that didn’t matter. Whether he lived one more day, of a thousand years, probably, he was probably still gonna die in this cell.

A real harsh sentence, but hey, that’s what you get for killing a bunch of guards and shit. Wingdings really flew right off the handle. It was big news all over the Underground for a while, and why wouldn’t it be? You know what the LV of the average monster running around the underground is? It’s 1. Not one point something. Just 1. Because the few monsters with it are such outliers they aren’t even counted towards the total.

Now, Aster knew a lot of rough characters. He ran an illegal casino. Gambling, blackmail, identity theft, fight clubs, burglary, whatever. Aster knew all sorts who didn’t keep to the rules that governed the kingdom. That’s how things are when you’re a part of the Underworld of the Underground. But they were still monsters, and murder was unheard of.

The only killer Aster knew was the one who started at the walls all day and night above his cot and never talked.

It was funny, too, because he didn’t even look that tough. He was a thin, lanky, scrawny kind of fella. He looked deranged most of the time, like someone out of an old sci-fi, but if anything he was kind of nerdy looking. Made sense. He used to be the Royal Scientist before he went off his rocker and killed a bunch of people.

Aster kinda wished he knew what happened there. He was hoping before he died in this cell he could at least get a taste of what went down, because the official story was pretty one sided, and ol’ ‘Dings hadn’t given him a good reason to doubt it, but he knew at least one of those guards, and the official story that he was a hero and community leader, cut down in his prime? Let’s just say that line stunk worse than the walls in this hole.

So Wingdings didn’t talk, but Aster was never the silent type, so they came to an understanding of some sort. Aster could ramble on and on all day, and Wingdings would let him. But if Dings made it clear he wanted him to stop, usually by staring right through him and slamming a fist against the wall, then Aster knew it was time to shut up.

It was a good system.

Aster talked about anything and everything. It wasn’t just breaking about cons and whatnot, though yeah, he was a proud kinda guy and he wasn’t exactly humble. But he mostly talked about funny stuff that happened to him. Weird people he knew. Food he ate that shouldn’t ‘a been eaten. Weird dreams. Dumb facts he knew about the stars. Just… the kinda stuff he would tell someone if he wanted them to be his friend. Not that he thought Mad Doctor L.V. over there would be too interested. But it was keeping him sane, grounded, even if he was already as deep in the ground as it gets.

And Dings was slamming his fists and glaring less and less. Whether he enjoyed his company or got used to the noise was anyone’s guess. But Aster liked to think he was charming enough to win over even the hardest criminals, and Wingdings was as hard as it gets.

“So then Haps says to em, he says: ‘guess we know who the real spook is!’ heh heh heh!” Aster laughed, then looked over at Wingdings, who was looking at least somewhat in his direction. Usually he never even saw the doc’s eye sockets. But he wasn’t glarin’, just… starin’. He felt self conscious, like suddenly after however many months in here, he finally had an audience. “’s funnier if you know Haps is a ghost.”

The doctor didn’t respond.

Aster tried to think of another funny story to tell, since he had a real captive audience tonight (he had to save that one)

“Okay, okay, stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but a coelacanth and a gerbil walks into a bar, and the coelacanth says to the bartender—”

“Stop.”

Aster felt a chill go down his spine. He definitely complied. Didn’t even have to hear the words.

Dr. Wingdings was looking right at him, straight in the eye. That was new. And it was terrifying. Maybe it was intent of maybe it was LV, who could tell, but Aster swore he felt a hole being burned right through the center of his skull, and even through his soul.

Everything was quiet. Aster didn’t think he was breathing anymore.

The doctor tilted his head.

“I have heard that one before.”

“heh… heh… oh.” Aster gulped. “oh yeah?”

The doctor nodded, and looked away for a moment. “yeah… you told it the first week you were here. It was a very funny joke. I almost laughed at it.”

Aster wasn’t sure how to take this guy’s sudden willingness to speak. But he was just gonna have to bite down on his fear and work with it. He was starting to think the intent he thought he felt was a false positive. He never met someone with a high LV before. Maybe he was real sensitive to it. Some people were. (Though Aster never thought he’d stand accused of being sensitive.)

“You shoulda laughed! Then I’d know which jokes to tell ya!”

“Well…” Wingdings leaned back in his bunk a bit, looking a lot more amicable and a lot less rigid all of a sudden. “I said it was almost that funny. I didn’t say it was that funny.”

Aster snorted. “Is that a challenge?”

“No… I just didn’t want to hear that one again.” The former scientist’s expression opened up a bit. “We’ll be in here together for another 3 months and 8 days. I would rather listen to new things in the meanwhile.”

“Uh, buddy? Hate to be the one to break this to ya. The judge really shoulda, but uhh… you’re in here for a lot longer than 3 more months, bud.”

A low rumbling noise crept into Aster’s range of hearing, growing in volume and breaking out into something loud and clattering, paralyzing and all together foreign before he realized what it was. From above him, the mad doctor was grinning beyond what his skull should have been capable of.

“You finally made me laugh! Good job!!!”

“…‘fraid I don’t get the joke.”

“It’s just that you are very wrong and very unaware of it. I’ll be leaving here at exactly the time that I specified.” His grin faded a bit as his laughter died down. “You’re free to join me, so long as you do not stop me.”

Aster gave the doctor a look that likely conveyed the thought “what the hell are you talking about,” but said “Okay, I’m intrigued. Hit me.”

“What? I’m not going to hit you; you would dust, which is completely counter to what I was– Oh.” Wingdings slammed his jaw shut and motioned for Aster to come closer.

The smaller prisoner clambered up the side of the bunked cots until he was eye level with the mad scientist that was his roommate. The owner of the top bunk moved to the side to allow Aster to see what was behind him.

The magic seal of the prison was oddly visible before him, and it was warping and pulsing from a point. And at its center, Aster saw something that should have been impossible.

It was a hole.

Dr. Wingdings, disgraced but brilliant Royal Scientist, spoke as if he was at a meeting with the King himself, and had just done what no one else had managed.  “3 months, 8 days. Are you interested?” In two words: he was cool, and he was smug.

And Aster… well, Aster was almost speechless. His cellmate went from totally nonverbal to this at the drop of a lousy joke. It took Aster a while just to find his words, but when he did, his usual permanent smile was that much wider. 

“Buddy, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.”

[wine-anon]

Watch the Time - Eventual!Racetrack Higgins x Reader - Time Travel AU

Author’s Note: Race mentions his mum in the musical and I thought that it’d be cute for him to have something from her (stay tuned). This may be multiple parts too, so tell me what you think. 

Requested: No

Warnings: swearing

You wished you’d never found it. That stupid watch made and then promptly ruined your whole life. You didn’t think of it at the time, but in hindsight, you should have listened to the lady in the market. Maybe if you did, your heart wouldn’t be so broken now.

You’d gone to a regular Saturday morning market downtown from your home. It was a plethora of wonders and antiques, old pieces of jewellery, furniture and clocks. You’d been walking down one of the side streets of the market a place where you were more likely to find hidden treasures. You came across an old woman, she sat in a small canvas chair behind a table of antique jewellery and sipped on what you hoped was a cup of tea but the intense smell of it told you it was far less child friendly. You were about to walk on to the next stall when a person shoved past you, between the stall and your body, they pushed a hand onto the table and continued to walk. You were about to shout at them for being so rude but by the time you’d collected your self, they were gone. Their tall, blonde frame was nearly at the other end of the alley and then they were gone.

You shook it off and went to leave to the next stall when a watch caught your eye, a beautifully aged pocket watch, you couldn’t tear your eyes from it. You could have sworn it wasn’t there before, surely you’d have seen something so distracting earlier? Something about the watch pulled you towards its antique gold look, it seemed to whisper to you. A soft lullaby entranced you as you reached toward it. However, a withered hand grabbed the watch before you could. The old lady held the watch to her chest, an odd sparkle in her greying eyes.

“Careful, child, that’s not an antique to be played with,” the grin on her face convinced you that she was probably very drunk on whatever liquor was in her cup, “this old watch has special abilities. It could give you what you want, or it could ruin you.”

“I don’t mean to be rude ma’am, but I’m sure it’s just an old pocket watch,” your skepticism was not taking lightly. A frown etched itself onto the woman’s wrinkled face.

“Heed my words, child. The power inside this watch is far greater than you could imagine, if you are not careful the time will run out and you’ll be trapped forever with no way to return,” her words made you shiver, it felt like a cloud had settled over you and you held your breath. She suddenly grabbed your wrist and stretched out your palm, “this is yours now, walk with caution and follow your heart.” 

“I-what?” you were confused as she turned away from you. You stared at the watch in your hands, the cool metal against your fingers and the chain slipping between your thumb and finger. You looked up to find the old woman and her wares gone. All that remained was the table and chair, sitting idly in the crowded alleyway, “that was weird.”

After deciding that that was enough excitement for a Saturday morning, you head home. The watch placed gently in your jacket pocket and gripped tightly in your hand. Boxes were piled outside of the door down the hall from your apartment, you assumed someone had finally bought the place but didn’t plan on sticking around to meet them. That was too much interaction for one day, that old lady really burned you out. You unlocked your door and had just entered your apartment when the elevator at the end of the hall opened. You closed the door before whoever it was could see you but by the loud noise emanating from the hall, it was a group of boys, with very heavy New York accents.

You threw your keys in to the bowl next to the door, hung your jacket on the hook and shuffled off your shoes. The watch still in your grip as you walked towards your living room. You placed it on the coffee table and stared at it for a moment before shaking your head. Moving to the kitchen, you flicked on your kettle so you could make a cup of tea. You sighed as you waited for the water to boil, you thought about that damn watch again. The lady had said that if it ran out you’d be trapped there. But where the fuck was there? You thought she was definitely drunk. Though that weird feeling you got really freaked you out, maybe it was because you were just uncomfortable. The kettle whistling broke your train of thought and you made your tea before returning to the living room. 

You sat on the couch and stared at the watch whilst you sipped your tea. Maybe it was just some weird prank or dig on young people? You picked it up and examined it closer. It’s golden casing was chipped and weathered, it looked at least 50 years old, give or take a few years. An intricate pattern wrapped its way across the back and front of the watch. The carving looked almost like wind and sand intertwining as two dancers might manoeuvre their way around each other. Twisting and turning in perfect harmony. You brushed your thumb up to the top of the watch, gently hovering over the button. You took a deep breath and pressed it.

The front of the watch flipped open and the affliction you felt was incredible. The watch face was a bland white, with black hands. The numbers were staggered around the face of the watch, a few were out of place by just a smidge and it drove you crazy. Filled with disappointment you shut the watch and turned on your TV, some strange Saturday morning cartoon playing. You fiddled with the turning part of the watch, spinning it anticlockwise. It took less than five minutes for your eyes to grow heavy and for sleep to consume you. Just as you drifted off you accidentally flicked the watch open again.

A golden glow began to emanate from the watch face and they drifted into the air. The golden dust twisted around your body and in a bright flash your apartment was empty of people like it’d been less than an hour earlier.

“I swear, Jack, she was just layin’ there in the freezin’ cold. Albert and I knew we’s had ta’ get her of the street. Who knows what coulda happened.”

“So, you’re telling me you two picked up some weirdly girl off the streets and took her to a house full of young people, mainly boys?”

“What? No, we ain’t tellin’ ya’ that, Davey. We’re telling Jack.”

“Maybe you shoulda taken her to the hospital or even to Katherine’s. Either place is better than here, Romeo.”

The voices went back and forth, soon breaking into full chaos as more voices joined in. They’re accents were really strong New York ones, you reckoned that maybe some old-timey gangster movie was now playing on the TV. Some weird daytime movie that they played when most people were too busy to be watching TV. You’d obviously slept for ages for there to be a movie on now. Your hand twitched, no longer feeling the watch in your hand that you’d fallen asleep holding, you thought you must have dropped it some point when you moved. Now that your mind was becoming more self aware of your surroundings, you noticed that the couch you thought you fell asleep on was now considerably harder than before. You moved your hand to find that you were on what felt like a thin mattress. That made you shoot upward into a sitting position. As it turned out, you were sitting on a bunk bed, the bottom bunk at that, and effectively knocked yourself out, again.

“Well, that ain’t somethin’ ya’ see everyday,” was the last thing you heard before blackness took you.

The next time you came to you were in a far more comfortable bed. Not only were you covered in a blanket this time, but it was considerably warmer. When you finished revelling in the feeling of the warmth that surrounded you, you realised that wherever you were, it certainly wasn’t your bed. Nor your apartment. 

You shot up into a sitting position, this time you thankfully didn’t hit your head on any metal bunk beds. You took in your surroundings, red plush quilts covered your jean-clad legs, a small fireplace sat roaring in the far corner, and a desk with a typewriter in the middle of it sat a few metres away from the large bed you were currently sat on. You were incredibly confused, where the hell were you?

Suddenly, the cream door to your right opened and a girl of about eighteen entered holding a tray with a bowl, cloth and a glass of water upon it. Honestly, you felt as though you could have been more scared but you felt quite relaxed.

“Oh, you’re awake,” the girl smiled at you, “you’ve got quite a nasty bruise on your forehead. The boys said you hit your head pretty hard on one of their bunks,” you brushed your head, wincing as you felt the bruise she had talked about. 

“I-who are you? Where am I?” you took in her clothing and the room around you, your face paled more, “when am I?”

“What do you mean, when are you?” it was now the girl’s turn to be confused, “it’s 1899,” if you weren’t so high on adrenalin then you probably would have fainted but you held yourself together.

“1899?! But, I was just in my apartment a few hours ago! Is this a trick? It’s 2017,” the girl stared at you bewildered.

“Are you saying you lived in 2017? In the future?” the look on her face told you she wasn’t playing a trick on you. You had fucking time travelled.

—-

End Part 1

I think I will make this a series, it’ll be way too long if I don’t. Let me know what you think! Remember that requests are open.

[stevestonbike]

Motivation and Weirdness

A week ago I almost got a PB on the YVR loop.  It was a hot day which makes the air thinner.  There was only a little wind.  If I had just a bit more motivation I coulda shoulda maybe done a real PB.

Yesterday I tried again.  I gave up after just short of halfway as I realized the wind was just too much.  I could have kept up the effort, but I knew that it was not going to give me what I wanted or even close.  Close being a minute or two over 66 minutes. 

The weird thing is two days after that almost PB last week we had a club ride.  The “boss” was not there so getting organized and on the way was a bit ragged.  The “A”s got away and took off not to be seen for a while.  The “b”s were counting and deciding stuff and hell I don’t know what they were doing.  So I and my usual suspects in Charlie took off. Eventually the rest, some several dozen followed well back of us.

The first pitch was flat to rolling with nothing big until the hill from Spanish Banks to UBC.  I was leading and to my surprise the Bs had joined up with Charlie and I found myself at the front of the whole group.  I expected that once at the hill I would fall back into the natural selection by gravity. 

As for all hills I just got into my rhythm and waited to be passed by the faster and lighter.  One went by.  Then another went by then a couple more booted up the road.  This is as it should be.  Then..... no more passed me.  I actually caught and passed one of the people ahead.  OK this is strange.  To be fair I was not climbing at Charlie speed.  I was climbing at my speed. I looked back and saw a long line of riders behind.

They were not pushing mind you they were talking and doing the social thing and simply were involved in that.  Hell maybe they liked that I was setting an easy pace.  At the top of the hill there is a small pull out with a University directory where I pulled over to let them regroup and to collect Charlie.

Some people had some snacks others had a drink, one or two including me took off jackets as the climb had got us warm.  One of the people who passed me was a girl lets call her “T”.  She is slender certainly less than half my age and notably fast.  I was going to find out how fast.  Cycling is strange as there is such a range of body types.  I have large legs and can put out big watts for seconds.  My long term power is regrettably small.  T could surpass my power over an hour and she is about half my size.  Its all about lungs and legs.

We agreed that the regrouping was successful and we were all there, so I took off again.  The UBC campus is on top of a hill with water on three sides.  The loop navigates the perimeter and they there is a glorious long gentle hill down often with a tail wind on S.E. Marine Drive.  It can be fast.  We come to that hill and I am still in front so I boot it.

I am doing 41 ish kph and again we are stringing out.  In a group if you are slower you can hold silly speed as long as you stay in line and slipstream.  It is an advanced skill but worth it.  A key part is being familiar with the people around you and trusting them.  If they do something stupid a lot of pain can happen fast.  I am good at it as I succeed in being steady and consistent.  As I am heavy and this is downhill I am leading most of the way on the hill.

Last year Mark, who is a lawyer, struggled with cycling.   He was fit and an experienced and good runner.  He told me then he was frustrated he was not better.  I told him it takes time.  Your body has to adjust to having wheels.  He is no longer frustrated. He blew by me on that hill.  He got about 30 meters (100 ish feet) ahead.

I put the hammer down and pulled him back and got on his wheel then came up beside him.  He had a huge grin.  “This is my hood!”  He lives near the campus.  He is faster than me now mostly.  I could catch him though.  Then I noticed I had brought some friends with me.  This was a chunk of the “Killer Bs”. That is the faster half of the B group. T was there and between Mark and I pulling we were hitting mid 40s.  Towards the end of the hill T went ahead with another girl.  She kept up the pace and now it was just Mark, me and a few of the killer Bs. T was fast.

She and her buddy gapped Mark and I.  I shouted to Mark; ”you can catch her!” 

He looked back at me and said, “no but you can!”  Ummm.

We were now going uphill.  There are three relatively small hills on Marine Drive I call them 1,2,3.  They come one after the other.  At my usual speed I do not go fast.  But this day I was keeping up.  We were climbing at 30 which is crazy for me.  Good thing the hills were short.

As an aside I know I have no hope keeping up with a young man.  If I can get on their wheel I can hold it, but otherwise bye bye.  But there must be a trace of testosterone in my blood still as I do not like being passed by girls.  I guess that was enough motivation to want to try to keep up.  And weirdly we were able to keep up.  We closed the gap then it opened again.  We call it yo-yoing. T was kicking us guys hard.  The rest of the club was somewhere behind.  Two older guys chasing two younger women.  Strange dynamics which would be creepy if bikes were not involved.  Everyone was grinning this was a lot of fun.

We seem to have dropped everyone else.  T was still in front and hauling.

At the end of Marine Drive there is a deke to get to a bridge approach.  We waited there for the main group which was along presently.  There was another cycling group starting over the bridge just ahead of us.  We gave them a bit of a head start and then went too.  T was in front again.  Crossing the bridge I saw that other group and another and another headed out to Iona.  It was going to be crowded.

As we got to the turn I shouted at T to go left rather than right then we could get ahead of that crowd by short cutting.  She did and we got around and ahead of most of the mob.  This was now a bunch of the fastest of the killer Bees and Mark and I.  I was ignoring Charlie as everyone knows the way and this was fun.

We had about 8 people 6 were male and we formed a paceline rotating the lead and pushing hard.  T was now on my wheel and I can push hard for seconds and I did about 45 seconds at good pace then rolled off and got on the back of the line.  When T got on the front she pulled just as hard as before and we covered a lot of ground.

This was fun.  Doing a solid fast paceline run is just about the most fun cycling thing as long as there are no crashes.  It can be scary.  That makes it a bit more fun actually. 

We got to the park at Iona and there were a lot of bikes there.  “A” Group was there about to take off and I was greeted with surprise at being there with the Killer Bees.  Charlie and the rest of the Bs  sauntered in a few minutes later.  I waited for them.  There were two other clubs as well and many old friends connected.

To be fair this was not supposed to be a fast day, but a long day so sauntering was probably wiser.  The rest of the ride was more sedate with the slow Bees and charlie. I ended up around 121km.

After last night I am near to 400 km for mid-August.  I may be short of last August last year, but no big deal.

This is fun.  It is good when hard physical things are fun.

[thestargirllll]

It’s Ok to Not Be Ok... (Peter Quill x Reader)

You spent several days and nights wondering how you could make things go back to normal. Ever since the incident with his father, Peter seemed…different. Distant. He still went about with his upbeat attitude with the team and held the desire to bump his tunes throughout the ship as usual but when there were moments when nothing was going on, you saw that hint of sadness in his eyes as you caught him staring off into space from time to time. It pained you more than you cared to admit.

Not too long ago, you joined the Gaurdians in hopes you could put your abilities to good use to help protect the galaxy after they had found you on one of their missions. Little did you know you’d grow to become so close to them. You went as far as to considering them family. For a group of misfits, they tended to carry the image of a family unit well. Dysfunctional as times but you wouldn’t have it any other way. You were thankful for that since you didn’t have your family around anymore.

It was another off night for you all and Peter informed everyone he’d be landing soon to refuel the ship. Once you touched down, Rocket discovered there was a bar not too far away and made the initiation to make the decision that you all were going to go out for a night of fun. Drax was on board with the idea, stating he wanted to “put some strong liquid into his body” and Peter, even though slightly hesitant, agreed. Groot, who was perched on Rocket’s shoulder threw his small arms in the air squeaking the only three words he knew. You, Gamora, and Mantis glanced at each other with weary smiles and decided to tag along. As you all made your way over, you kept your eyes on Peter. You didn’t know why you felt the need to watch him all the time recently. It bothered you but you also cared about him. Him and Rocket were having playful banter about who would win at a game they had at the bar while Drax laughed his hearty laugh claiming he’d destroy them both.

Once you all arrived at the bar, you and the other women sat at a table while the guys all gathered together playing rounds of the game.

“I hope they behave this time…” You tapped your finger against the glass of your drink. Gamora glanced down at hers before taking a small swig. The both of you weren’t heavy drinkers and Mantis didn’t drink at all so you were often the babysitters when you all had a night out.

“It’s bothering you too, isn’t it?” Gamora was looking your direction.

“Is it that obvious?” You replied sheepishly. Mantis frowned rubbing her hands together. “Although I have not had contact with you, I have felt that you have felt the same uneasiness as Gamora.” Gamora moved in to get closer to you.

“I’ve tried to get him to talk about it more but…he shuts me out. He just says he’s fine and dealing with it in his own way. I’m not quite sure what that means.”

You bit down on your lip, thinking over her words. Peter’s way of dealing with things sometimes meant just sweeping it under the rug and hoping it will dissipate on its own. Or drinking them away. Both weren’t exactly the best way of dealing with his problems. Especially after what he had just been through.

You let out a sigh you realized you had kept trapped in your chest. “He’s not going to budge easily…I thought for sure he’d opened up to you out of all people.”

“Why’s that?” Gamora seemed genuinely confused.

“Well…don’t you two have a…thing going on?” Your eyebrows raised when you said thing and she lowered her head, a weak smile spread across her lips.

“I care a lot about Peter, (Y/N). But it just wouldn’t work out like that between us. I’m sure he feels there’s still a chance of our “unspoken thing” happening but…I haven’t had the heart to tell him. Not now especially.”

This surprised you and didn’t surprise you. Gamora and Peter had a strong bond, something you noticed off the bat when you first joined the team. You also noticed Gamora and Peter had different intentions. A relationship was something Gamora just couldn’t do right now. You shot her a sympathetic smile. “We all care about him too damn much, don’t we?”

Gamora glanced over at the boys, more so at Peter. “I suppose we do. But (Y/N), I think he would listen to you.” Your smile was replaced by a sudden frown.

“Me? Why me?”

She inhaled and slowly exhaled, as if preparing to say a confession. “He seems comfortable with you. He trusts you. Not that he doesn’t trust me but with you…it’s different.”

Mantis nodded in agreement. “Oh yes. Just the other day, when I touched his shoulder to reassure him, I heard his struggle about this. You were in the room with us. He almost wanted to open up to you that day but couldn’t find the courage to do it.” You sat there, trying to take in what they both just said. You didn’t think Peter would be willing to open up to you but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try. “Ok. If you say so.”

 After several hours of drinking, dancing, and conversing, you all left the bar to return to the ship. Luckily there was only a slight disagreement among Rocket and another citizen but with Peter and Drax stepping in, it got settled. “You shoulda let me deck that loser! I coulda taken him!” The drunken racoon was scolding them as you all approached the ship. Peter shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry but I don’t think I could afford any more units on behalf of your drunken stupidity! Besides, the dude was bigger than Drax, he would’ve skinned you alive!”

“Boys!” Gamora’s voice silenced them both. Rocket shrugged his shoulders.

“Ehh, it was just all in good fun. Calm down. C’mon, Groot. Let’s hit the hay. Are we getting out of this place or what?”

 As the ship took off from your recent destination, everyone settled down and retired to their own rooms. Before you could make it to yours, Gamora took you aside pleading you to try and talk to Peter. You were slightly nervous to attempt it but finally agreed. She gave you an appreciative smile, placing a hand on your shoulder before heading off to bed. You both knew Peter wasn’t going to bed anytime soon. Although he had the ship on auto pilot, you knew he’d be up in the cock pit, gazing at the stars listening to his Zune. After you figured you were alone, you made your way to where you would find him. Trying to be quiet, you made your way to the cockpit. The moment you entered the space, you saw him, back turned looking in his lap. You thought you heard him sniffling but weren’t quite sure. “Peter?” He didn’t answer. You moved slowly to come up behind him. Trying not to startle him you called his name softly again. You could only hear the muffled music coming from his earbuds. The tune sounded familiar. Finally, you lightly tapped his shoulder in which he flinched violently whipping his head around to face you. His eyes were slightly wet but he was trying hard to cover it up. “Shit, (Y/N)!” You cupped your hands nervously together. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spook you…” He ripped the ear buds out of his ears, giving you his full attention. “What’s up? Is Rocket acting up again?” You sighed, shaking your head and taking the seat across from him. “No-no…it’s not Rocket…Peter…” He bit his lip, studying you. “Yeah?” You looked him dead in the eyes, searching for the right words. “Peter, I’m worried. About you.” His expression changed from concerned to disgruntled. “I’m OK. Seriously. Did Gamora put you up to thi-“

“No. I mean she’s worried but I’ve been worried too, Peter. I know the whole thing with your father…with Yondu…That all wasn’t easy to deal with and I feel like you haven’t really dealt with it yet.” He was looking out into the scenery in front of you both, searching for the words to say. A small lump formed in his throat. You weren’t sure if he was bothered or on the verge of tears. “Peter, I don’t mean to bring this all back up but I have been seeing it in your eyes ever since. You say you’re fine but you’re not. And that’s okay. It’s okay to not be okay.”

“My mom use to say the something like that.” His voice was quiet. He was still looking at the space scenery outside the ship. “Yondu? Ha. It was something of the complete opposite.” He was fiddling with his Zune in his hands. “Sentiment. He hated that word…it’s funny though because he hated the word yet he would show it in his own weird, twisted way I guess. Like this for example.” He held up the Zune. “The fact that that hard ass thought of snatching this up for me, after all those years of complaining about me carrying my Walkman around and yelling at me to rip those head phones off my ears before he threatened to eat me…” A slight crack formed in his voice. “That day when he pulled me from my father’s planet, you know what he told me?” He still wasn’t looking at you and before you could respond he started again. “He said he knew he didn’t do any of it right but he was damn lucky to call me his boy.”

The space between you felt empty at that moment. You kept your eyes on Peter, searching his face as he still was facing the window. His expression was hard but his eyes read something completely different. Before you could attempt to respond again he turned to you, tears threatening to fall from the corners of his eyes. “How messed up is that? That son of a bitch says this to me before he just…he just…” He turned his eyes to the floor, aggressively fidgeting with his Zune, his leg bouncing anxiously. You finally got out of your seat and went over to him and kneeled beside him. Your voice was soft, almost whispering. “Peter. Look at me. Please…” He continued to keep his gaze downward. Without hesitation, you slowly placed your hands over his, encouraging him to stop messing with the Zune. His grip loosened and you gently took it away from him, placing it on the floor. “Peter.” He sighed and finally looked up, a few tears had fallen already, his eyes red. “You loved him. You lost someone you loved. He loved you too. In his own…special way. And you haven’t had the proper amount of time to grieve. What you’re feeling…that’s normal. That’s just not something you can push away to the side. He was family. WE’RE your family and we want to be there for you to help you through it.” Peter’s eyes fought to look away but your words seemed to be hitting him and a sense of relief washed over you. You suddenly felt him lightly squeeze your hands. He swallowed the large lump in his throat before beginning to speak.

“I don’t know why but…I feel like I can tell you anything.” The distance between you two wasn’t very far and you felt your cheeks grow warm. This was a special skill Peter had. Even when he was at his lowest, his charm was still at a full force. “I know Gamora has tried to get me to open up but for some reason I couldn’t. With you though?…hell, I could sit here and tell you every detail of my life without feeling embarrassed, guilty or just damn stupid.” A small giggle left your lips making him flash a quick smile himself. It was a genuine smile that you haven’t seen in weeks and it made your chest unexpectedly fill up with warmth. His moss colored eyes were locked on your face. “Is that your super power or what?”

Your hands started to sweat in his grip. Why were you so nervous for? “No, I wouldn’t say that exactly. But I do know yours.” He furrowed his brows. Another amused smile forming on your lips. You pulled a hand away from one of his, pointing on the left side of his chest. “This.”

He looked down, the confusion still on his face. “My-my heart?” You nodded silently, smiling gently. “Yep. Now I know that sounds ridiculous but let me finis-” He moved one of his hands to take ahold of yours again, bringing it back down. “It’s not exactly the most bad ass  super power…you know I did kick the crap out of my father with…the energy from the planet…”

“Well I think that’s a cool super power.”

There was a silence filled between you for a few seconds until Peter reached to retrieve his Zune. “You remember that song I played for you when you were all laid up from getting banged up from that crazy mission we had a few weeks ago?” You vaguely remembered what song that was but slowly nodded. Peter sat up and went over to his radio, messing around with something. Not too long after you hear a slow steady rhythm fill air.

When the night has come, and the land is dark…

He turned slowly on his heel, a smirk on his face. You knew exactly what that meant. “Oh, boy…” He looked at you suddenly giving you a playful frown. “But it would really make me feel better…” Argh…You felt that warmness hit your face again. Sighing but smiling like an idiot, you presented your hand to him, inviting him to pull you up to the “dance floor”. Another genuine smile spread across his face and he had you in a slow dance position within seconds. As you swayed to the music, you felt him pull you closer. He locked eyes with you for several moments and you couldn’t help but break the ice. “What?” He eventually smiled, a sad but content smile. “Thank you, (Y/N).” You couldn’t help but smile back. “Anytime, Star Lord.” It seemed as though his eyes were growing wet again and before you knew it, you felt his arms move slowly to wrap you in an embrace, his chin resting on top of your head. This was a new form of contact with Peter and you were hoping he couldn’t feel your heart beating hard in your chest.  You embraced him back and the both of you continued to sway to the music.

 Stand by me, Oooh, Stand by me, Oh stand now…stand by me…stand by me

[brooklyndrinksandgoeshome]

It’s embarrassing, the last three written entries on here have mostly been about people passing away as if I’m surrounded by the all-encompassing grim reaper everyday at every turn. I mean, this is what happens when you write about the past and naturally the people who are no longer with us will get a bit of extra space because all we have from them now are memories, but for fuck sake, I’m not mister doom and gloom all the time. If anything, it seems as if I’m surrounded by a self-contained bubble of early 90s Japanese wrestling, 70′s power-pop, Radio Garden, this Oliver Sacks book that I’m hoping to finish before the end of the week and curling. No really, curling. Seriously, curling rules.

I haven’t written that much about music in the last several years mostly because of burnout and if I’m not careful, it’ll start to feel like a job and I’ll want to put it off until my non-existent deadline creeps up on me which I can push back to infinity without any consequence (hell, it’s taken me a week and a half to finish this pointless exercise anyway). Besides, critiquing music as a serious profession, I’ve come to realize as the years have past is, well, kind of stupid; like if you don’t have anything nice to say, just ignore it and all the bad music will all hopefully vanish, right?  

That being said, I do wonder why a lot of bands from yonder past never never got the credit or recognition they deserved. Usually from a DIY perspective, I’m quick to blame poor distribution deals from a company run out of their mom’s basement, or a local band who never played beyond the same 20 people at the same club for their entire existence, (this plagued almost every Detroit band from the early-80s until the late-90s) or just plain old self-destruction that still bites people back, whether if it’s drug addiction or a fear of failure/success. My personal favorite --and I can’t find it on the internet to save my life right now, was when a jilted ex destroyed all but a hundred copies of her boyfriend’s first and only EP of his band, thus making it an instant collector’s item with their tracks being discovered fairly recently on a Killed By Death bootleg.

I also think my own opinions on music have always a been a bit left of center as I get bored way too easily and I quickly turn into a crotchety old man whenever Pitchfork creams their jeans over another Garageband produced dance track that sounds as boring and milk toast as any song put together from laptop bloops and bleeps.* Feeling this old out of touch makes one resort to the jazz or country section of any used record store, or when anyone asks me what I listen to these days, I usually say “podcasts.” But something about the aforementioned 70s power-pop obsession has arrived after a brief yet expensive summer of Northern Soul collecting that got put on hold as I have a hard time paying more than $20 for a 45; yeah, this phase didn’t last very long. Before that, it was Sun Ra who has literally hundreds of releases under his always spotty discography and after awhile, it became overwhelming search through scores of, I’m sorry, no disrespect, bin fillers, to eventually find a reissued gem like Sleeping Beauty or Lanquidity. Before that, it was electronic, sci-fi synth soundtrack sounding 70s prog made by the guy who use to drum for The Shadows. Did I mention that I get bored way too easily?

Even by record nerd standards, I know I have some unpopular opinions on popular unpopular music: Big Star weren’t going to be next Beatles ever and they probably have five good songs top. As much as I love The Jam, Style Council have a handful of tracks that blow away anything else Paul Weller’s ever done (oh snap, fighting words). With a few exceptions, The Yellow Pills comps are wildly overrated with a lot of tracks sound more like a second rate Rick Springfield --even if it was the point for a band to be the next Rick Springfield. Also, it still bothers me that The Fastbacks, mostly ignored for their entire 22 year career, got more recognition when they opened for The Presidents of The United States of America when “Peaches” was in heavy rotation. Seriously, I’ll take Answer The Phone Dummy over any 90s Sub Pop release any day.

The Keys: I Don’t Wanna Cry

Produced by Joe Jackson and still managed to have only found a recent audience from the depths of obscurity thanks to a Youtube hero. Not bad, but probably too nice and squeaky clean as The Buzzcocks and Undertones already did this way better and louder. Still, the singer hits those high notes with ease and could have easily been a hit if it was written for, I don’t know, Elvis Costello or someone else a bit more angsier. 

The Letters: Nobody Loves Me

Again, way too wussy and self-hating even by pop-punk standards, but I still love this track as it’s bouncy pogo energy and raw production more than make up for the shitty lyrics. One and done, never heard from again until a 2002 CD reissue of their mostly unreleased discography, or is it a reunion record? I don’t know.

The Tours: Language School

Another one and done from the UK who got plenty of hype from John Peel, signed to Virgin and imploded within a year never to be heard from until Cherry Red reissued their unreleased album a few years ago which is now also going for a steep price on Discogs. Nice short, poppy number here that if anything, makes you realize how much (again) the Buzzcocks influenced a generation of UK bands in the late 70s-early 80s.

20/20: Remember The Lightning

I first remember hearing about these guys from the well meaning Radio Heartbeat Records who reissued a single that quickly went out print along with the rest of the labels discography --some moved on to form Captured Tracks who eventually went on to re-release all of Milk ‘n Cookies output on a (sorry) completely unnecessary 2xLP box set, huge picture book included. 20/20’s first album got lost in the shuffle of another busted label (notice a trend here) that got swallowed up by Epic Records, which is a shame because we could have had a punkier younger brother of the Knack.

De Cylinders: I Wanna Get Married

Spontaneously heard a live set of these guys on the always fantastic, very missed Cherry Blossom Clinic on WFMU and rushed to see their record release/only American show ever in front of a dozen others at a random Brooklyn bar. The wonderful Sing Sing Records reissued this single and naturally, there’s a way out of print CD discography compilation  that’s only available in Japan for like $40 bucks on Discogs. Uh, I have to find a job first.

Nasty Facts: Drive My Car

God, I love the internet. This gem would have never been discovered if it wasn’t for some Youtube hero who posted a vinyl rip of a bootleg as the original pressing is long gone --cheapest one I found on Discogs going for $70 and it’s tough being a cheapskate and a record collector at the same time. Anyway, punky rocky from New York with a singer who sounds like less gruff but equally badass Joan Jett; America’s answer to the Rezillo’s! Get on it, weirdo!

Ail Symudiad: Garej Paradwys

Probably never made it farther out than Cardiff because everything’s in Welsh, but they put out a surprising number of singles that were all pretty consistent throughout the 80s --I’m pretty sure this is their third one. Full of energy despite the weird guitar effect pedals used throughout the song and if you’re curious, they’re called Second Movement and according to Google Translate, this songs about partying in their garage. I don’t know, I didn’t go farther than their “Paradise Garage” song title.

The Elevators: Your I’s Are Too Close Together

The least punky song on here, but it did make me laugh out loud the first time I heard it. I mean, of all the reasons why he won’t go out with her, and he lists everyone one on here, her facial structure was the final straw. Probably a wee mean spirited, but the lyrics go perfect with the chorus, high notes on the lead guitar and all.

The Records: Starry Eyes

Saving the best for last. There’s no excuse, this should have been a huge hit. I mean, it’s great that we have our own song to share with our closest friends --for example, a heartbreaker of an ex or whatever it was you want to call it when we had an on and off again thing in 2012 introduced me to this and well, all it did was prolong some coulda-woulda-shoulda feelings that lasted a bit longer than it should have. Anyway, this song’s a power-pop masterpiece that, unintentionally or not, sounds like an unreleased Big Star track and it makes me angry that these guys got swept under the rug for whatever reason.

I’m tired and I’ve run out of adjectives, just like how I use to back when I (barely) made a living writing about music, no benefits, no thesaurus. Will try to write more about something like Atsushi Onita or how much I love The Great British Bake Off or something. 

*Nothing made me feel more out of touch with underground/contemporary music when I had a hard time understanding what the big deal was with The Fiery Furnaces, but when I couldn’t get away from Animal Collective, that’s when I get up and settled into a WFMU k-hole. I can tell you the exact moment sometime around the end of 2007, on the 7 train heading into Long Island City for work, reading The Metro --I’m a sucker for free daily newspapers no matter how badly written, and came across their best album of the year list with Strawberry Jam being number four or something. “This album rules” the brief review started and once again, I just didn’t get it. I don’t always take part in any schadenfreude, but I’m glad significantly less people give a shit about them these days.