#sorry for the abrubt ending

[makyouhijau]

Captain Marvel time travel au, but its powered down teenage Billy getting stuck in the past around the early year when he starts heroing. Maybe he got cursed with magic or some strange Dr. Sivana's invention, but whatever it is he was hit with, he couldn't turn into shazam and access the rock of eternity, so he had to resort to the last option, which is to contact the current Justice League for help.

So in the future, the adults already all know about his secret identity and have made peace with it (some albeit reluctantly); but now that he's in the past, he couldn't really blurt out that he's Captain Marvel to the Justice League, because firstly, that could cause some huge damage to the timeline; whatever's going on in Flashpoint is enough proof, i think. And secondly, he doesn't want to force his younger self to reveal his identity when he's not ready because he's been there before himself and it wasn't great, like at all. So he lied.

So what ended up happening is that, due to some misinterpretation of Billy's lie, all of Justice League feel under this conclusion that his captain's child is from the future and Billy could do nothing but play along with it.

[jaehunnyy]

His same, old, safe bet

Part 3 - What do you want from me?

Synopsis: Jeong Jaehyun has been the college's resident heartbreaker since before girls could even remember. He didn't care about feelings—well, until he met you. Blinded by your thirst for revenge, you become determined to give him a taste of his own medicine. It's only a matter of time before Jaehyun's carefully crafted walls come crashing down... right at your feet.

Genre: college!au, kind of an enemies-to-lovers!au, angst with a happy ending, fluff, attempt of crack

Word count: 1.3k

Pairing: heartthrob!Jaehyun × fem!reader (feat. Yuta × reader's bff)

Warnings: mentions of bad past relationships, mentions of heartbreak, some curse words, Jaehyun is a bit of a douchebag and he flirts a lot, usage of pet names, crack, abrubt ending (this chapter), possible grammatical mistakes

✨️ Taglist: @painted-hills, @kookiedesi, @shakalakaboomboo, @bluisheye93, @daegall, @lovelyjaem, @ahtisa02, @carelessshootanonymous, @justineasian, @eneiyri, @pckeia, @shairamaexx, @vanclaudewho, @sungbeam, @chuusposts, @mkjeong, @precioussoulofmine, @sstarrysshit, @evilsailorsenshi, @angel-luv-04

__________________________________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

One week has passed since your first encounter with Jeong Jaehyun. As much as it bothered you to admit, while the pain of the thoughts was crushing your pride in sharp pieces, you found yourself thinking about him and his weird antics. His last words were tattooed on the back of your brain, their weight feeling like a burden and giving you headaches. You used to believe in love at first sight, but you were now gathering all the strength to erase the thought that you might have fallen in love with him. You weren't supposed to, as he was only a challenge for you, a chance to prove him wrong. Your eyes were absentmindedly staring outside the window, your fingers fidgeting with the straw inside the drink you had ordered a while ago.

"Y/N, are you listening?" your friend, Ari, stopped typing on her phone, waving her hand in front of you so she can get your attention.

"Were you talking to me? Since you and Yuta have gotten together, your eyes are glued on your damn phone."

She pressed her lips together, in hope to have her smile contained—though it didn't work, her lips immediately stretching into happiness at the mention of his boyfriend.

"Sorry, Y/N. I was telling you about how our date went, but you spaced out. What's up?"

"I was just thinking about some assignments I need to get done. Tell me more about your date," you tried your best to force a smile, though right then, you were the suspicious one.

Worried that she might notice the change of your attitude, you brushed it off immediately, giving her a gentle nudge so she can start talking.

"It was very cute! He brought me roses and all—he's a real gentleman!" she squealed like a kid, clapping her hands softly.

Her genuine happiness made you chuckle, sincerely this time. You were happy that she had found herself a nice guy, but you were hoping it would last too. Your look traveled to the little clock placed on the taupe-colored wall, and you jumped off the chair in disbelief.

"Holy shit, i'm going to be late! I'm leaving now, take care!"

Without giving her any chance to say her goodbyes to you, you ran out of the café, your legs moving at their fastest pace. You kept on walking like that for around five minutes, before a loud honk resonated next to you. At first, you wanted to ignore it, but it wouldn't stop. Already annoyed, you looked in that direction, ready to shout at the someone that kept bothering you—but that was before his right front window rolled down, every thought dissipating at the sight of him. His signature smirk furrowed his face again, making you roll your eyes. Were you really bothered, though?

"Do you need a ride, hon'?" his voice resonated again, his hand resting on the steering wheel.

"I can get there by myself. You're no savior." you spat, smiling innocently. "Plus, if you wouldn't have appeared, what would have happened?"

He was quite intimidated by your stare and how it had an impact on him every time, along with the way you had a back up answer for his words, always.

"Just get in, I won't bite. It's a win-win situation for both of us."

You raised your eyebrow, crossing your arms softly. He burst out laughing, though when he saw the burning flames your eyes held, he stopped immediately.

"What were you thinking about? What I meant was that you will luckily get to your classes in time, and I get to spend time with you. So you'd better stop sitting here, on your own, and actually hop into my car."

You sighed, measuring the opportunities. "It's not like a 10 minutes ride with him would kill you. C'mon, Y/N." And though you knew that it wasn't part of your plan, you got inside.

The first two minutes were peaceful, but the silence was interrupted by his raspy voice. The only difference was that he wasn't talking, but singing. His honey voice matched the song perfectly, and as much as you wished to prevent that from happening, some butterflies started to dance in your stomach. If only it was the right time, but it wasn't the time to feel flattered by him, god, you had a mission. So you did what you thought was best right then—turned off the radio.

"Y/N? You actually resemble someone I tried to avoid my whole childhood."

You glared at him again, getting more and more confused with everything that was slipping through his mouth.

"And may I ask, who is that?" you bit your lip nervously, excepting a foul pick-up line of his again. Though—you wouldn't have ever imagined what would come next.

"Grinch. You remind me of Grinch. Do you know him? The one who stole Christmas, yeah." he stated with a serious face, before his laughter could replace the awkward silence. "You're both really grumpy… But if it makes you feel any better, you look a bit better than him."

If you used to find him the tiniest bit charming before, now it all went away, deep into the void.

"Grinch?! Jeong Jaehyun, I swear to God I'll end you."

"You'll end me? And how will you do this, doll?"

His calm tone irritated you, and the pet names he came with made you cringe every single time.

"I'll distract you until you crash," you threw him an evil smile, before realizing the deep meaning of your words: "No, wait, this could have both of us hurt!"

His chortling was heard once again, and you really wanted to smack him. Was he laughing at everything?

"You are such a dummy sometimes, Y/N." he said while parking the car, his hands handling the steering wheel skillfully. "Attractive", you thought, before shaking your head. And you made it obvious too.

"Y/N… you are acting very weird today. Am I, maybe, the reason behind this behaviour of yours?"

He was getting too full of himself, and you had to do something about it.

"No, it's actually your friend, Dokyeom. He is really hot, and less of a douchebag too." you proudly smiled, and got out of his car, leaving him high and dry once again.

There you were, again. The sassy Y/N he knew. The girl who tricked him with a fake name, the one who made him feel what losing his mind was like. The different one. He watched your figure getting smaller as you walked away, before leaving his car with a slam of the front door. His friends, Dokyeom and Mingyu, were working on a project together, and Yuta was attending his class. He shrugged and regained his cool posture, before putting his sunglasses on and walking inside the big building.

Two hours later, the break found him entering the café, as usual. His friends were waiting there, but they seemed to pay attention to the girls talking a few tables away. Even from a distance, they could tell how important the conversation was. And they were right. Ari had finally decided to tell you about her ex, and though you felt like the world around you crashed, it all made sense. A blinding thirst for revenge grew inside of you, and you already knew what you had to do. On the other side, you walked to your table like nothing happened, a weird smile plastered on your once—bright face.

"Hey, Y/N! We're meeting once again." he waved and sat next to you.

He felt like he needed to hurry this process, before the tables could have turned.

"Look, I want you to go on a date with me. If you'll enjoy it, we will meet again. If not, I promise I will leave you alone, for good."

Your eyes widened at his words, crimson red blush settling on your cheeks. He was giving up fastly, and that was odd. You knew he was planning something, but so were you.

"Are you in?"

You were more than happy with how the tables started to turn. "I'll show you why you shouldn't have messed with me, Jung," you thought, before opening your mouth to give him the answer.

[infartoomanyfandoms]

My Supergirl 6x09 liveblog

- um this looks like the creepy forest Sam went to in her head in S3 when Reign was out

- this is spooky but Nia looks very pretty

- CGI strikes again 🤦‍♀️

-oh this is kindaheartbreaking

- OOOH THERE SHE IS. Why is that lil smirk kinda attractive tho

- GAME NIGHT. God I've missed game night. This is so cute. Everyone looks so good too. I love thissss

- Who's flat is this??

- Aww Dansen hug 🥺

- Alex did you just quote Frozen you big nerd I love you so much 😭

- Nia bby u look so tired </3

-Aw space dad would team up with Lena if she was here. I love that.

- yeah that really is putting it mildly J'onn thank you for that lol. I like that we're acknowledging Brainy and Lena's existence though

-Someone pls hug Nia immediately

- Oh Kelly got a new job!! Good for her 😌

- Ugh god look at these mushballs. I need more Dansen in my life

- oh that was a very abrubt cut lol. But I love Andrea and her whiteboard so much 😂😭

- THE WAY ANDREA JUST TOLD WILLIAM TO JUMP OFF A BRIDGE AHAAADGJK Andrea, bby you can't just be saying that to people

- wait Catco is 3 now, I thought they were at 8? What did I miss, am I dumb? Lol

- okay but I'm legitimately impressed that she fell asleep standing up. How is Andrea just letting her get away with that though??

- Ohhh 🥺 That's actually really sweet. Andrea is a good boss.

- Andrea really said 'William jump off a bridge' and 'Nia take a mental health day' 😂

- I can't get over how proud she is of her whiteboard - Loo at her!! I love her

- Kara honey how have you ever managed to keep 1 single secret in your life. It made me laugh though

- this lady gives me bad vibes

- Oh 🥺 Is this foreshadowing that Kelly's gonna be a great mum? I sure hope so

- I LOVE THIS TINY CHILD SO MUCH. I WANT TO ADOPT HER IMMEDIATELY 😭

- oh this place is not great

- YES look at Kelly go! I kind of want her to be my therapist lmao

- Joey's story is making me tear up big time

- Ugh yes!!!!! This is a team up that I want. Kelly & Kara!! They haven't had scenes alone, ever I think? I'm so excited for this

- wait why is nyxly being helpful? I have my eye on you ma'am. What are you up to? Uh oh this isn't gonna end well is it?

- that once over and sigh was a little 💅 Nyxly calm yourself!

- I'm sorry Nyxly can what!? Damn now the 6x10 promo makes sense

- Oh god this is so clearly manipulation and I wanna know what Nyxly's really up to

- o shit that made me jump

- it's nice to see Kara actually reporting.

-The receptionist is very cute. Miss Receptionist are you single.

- I miss casual use of superpowers so much 😂 They should let Kara do it more

- Melissa is so pretty and it's distracting me from whatever this Second Chances program really is

- J'onn?? Oh the plot thickens

- Hmm I think the Warden is behind it. He sounded like he was hiding something

- Kelly you haven't done anything wrong at all!

- This scene is making me emotional 😭 The tear wiping is so soft. I love them. Alex is such a good support person. More hugging yes!!

- (can someone please spare one for Nia tho 😭 girl is going through it)

- Oh Mr Warden dude you are so guilty

- Kara write the story /now/

- we stan the owl

- This episode feels really long is it just me?

- "Who cares about the ratings?" KARA!! You're right but you only just got your job back by the skin of your teeth, you're lucky Andrea is in a good mood today 😂

-Ew I knew this place was terrible

- I wonder what the significance of Esme is. What's she gonna do? I hope she helps get that awful place shut down

- "I was a fool for believing in him" okay Kara since when were you season 5 Lena 💀

- it's really really good to see Kara actually working again

- oh god this show keeps bringing up Cat Grant, I really want her to make an appearance just once before the show ends

- I knew hew was dirty!!

- YES KELLY!!!!!!

- oh yes, way to make an entrance

- hey you assholes she saved you (understandable to be cautious I guess but come /on/ guys)

- THIS!! This is the heart of this show!! This is what it's needed more of through the years

- Ah look at them actually working!! And I love a happy Andrea ahahaha

- He just smiled like he knew. Does William know?

- Yess for Kelly getting that nasty old woman out of there!

- Brothers reuniting 🤧🤧🤧

- I must say, I love how well all these plots were intertwined this episode

- Hehehe Esme is a smart kid.

- Wait wtf 😭😭 I've known Esme for 38 minutes but if anything happened to her I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.

- GUARDIAN KELLY YESSSSS

- ALEX KNEW SHE WOULD I LOVE SUPPORTIVE GFS. Alex is so proud of her look 😭😭

- oh no this is bad news bears. I trusted the owl.

-ohhhhhh

[hunter-the-sad-skeleton]

Chapter Two Is DONE! AS AM I WITH THIS THING. IF Y’ALL DON’T LIKE THE ABRUBT ENDING, I DON’T CARE. I DON’T NORMALLY SAY THIS, BUT THIS MAY BE THE FIRST CHAPTER THAT I HATE. IT FEELS TOO DRAWN OUT AND IT GOT ME IRRITATED SO I MAY HATE THIS CHAPTER. NOBODY’S FAULT, JUST MINE. Tag List: @bccfggffbgv, @new-account-sam-christy-456(Feel free to ask to be removed or added.)

(Flashback.)

Hunter packed her backpack as she was asked in her last letter from Stanley, despite confusion as to why she was asked to do so. Hunter paused as she heard something hit the window. Hunter walked over to the windowsill, opening the window and looking around for the source of the sound and eventually spotting Stanley. “Stan…!” Hunter called quietly.

“Heya Tiny…! Ya did what I asked…?” Stan asked quietly. Hunter held her backpack up so he could see. “Great work, Tiny…!” Stan grinned. Hunter tossed the bag down, Stan catching the bag while Hunter climbed down. Hunter rolled down, landing on her feet in a clearing near Stan.

“So, what’d ya wanna meet up for…?!” Hunter asked, getting up.

“Well, I got kicked out yesterday, so I gotta find a place to live, and I wanted to see if ya wanted to join me…!” Stan grinned.

“But why…?!” Hunter asked.

“Hunter, you and I have known each other for a while now and I’ve gotten a glimpse at your uh...Home life.” Stan started. Hunter winced.

“I….I’m fine here, St-Stan….! I just...Keep getting on their bad side…!” Hunter excused. Stan was aghast at what Hunter was saying.

“What…?! How can you SAY that…?!?” Stan hissed. Hunter broke eye contact. “Hunter, they are NOT nice people…! You deserve better…!” Stan scolded.

“I...I-I-I-I-I….” Hunter stammered.

“How many times have they hurt ya and locked ya in the basement…?!” Stan asked, voice turning dead serious. Hunter fell silent. “Well…?! I’m listening…!” Stan chuffed.

“....Too many times to count…” Hunter whined.

“Exactly. That’s a problem.” Stan frowned.

“Where’ll we go…?!” Hunter asked, worried.

“Across the country…? I dunno yet…! We’ll just wing it…!” Stan smiled. Hunter felt a feeling of worry weigh her shoulders down. “Don’t worry…! We can get as far away from here as possible…!” Stan grinned.

“What about Fordy…? Is he gonna be coming…?” Hunter asked.

Stan froze, thinking for a moment. Does he say the truth about how Ford is gonna be going to college and leaving them behind, or tell a small lie that he’d be with them at some point in time? “St-Stan…?” Hunter peeped.

“Yeah, um, he’ll uh...Meet us there...We have a meetup place...It’s uh...Quite far away…” Stan lied for the safety of Hunter getting away from her family.

“O-Oh…! Okay…!” Hunter smiled, trusting Stan fully.

Stan winced, faking a smile that Hunter didn’t see as such. She saw it as his typical “Everything’s okay!” smile. “Yeah, we’ll...We’ll meet him at the meetup…!” Stan grinned weakly.

“Oki doki..!” Hunter beamed. “Where is it?” Hunter asked.

Stan thought on his feet, making up a name on the spot. “Uh...Gravity Falls…!” Stan said.

“Wait...If we’re going, what about Mo-” Hunter started.

“HUNTER MARY INKWELL, WHERE DID YOU GO, YOU LITTLE SHIT?!?” Chip yelled. Hunter yelped, shaking violently.

“Hunter, get in the car.” Stan said.

“What..?” Hunter peeped.

“GET IN THE CAR, I AM NOT GETTING ARRESTED ON BEHALF OF YOU RUNNING AWAY!” Stan snapped, shoving Hunter in the backseat of the car with her backpack. Hunter yelped, sitting upright and hurrying to put her seatbelt on. Stan hurried to turn the car on, failing a few times. “Come on…” Stan grumbled.

Chip ran out, looking around for Hunter and eventually spotting Stan. “HEY!!!” Chip snapped.

Stan slammed his foot on the gas, speeding off. “Hold on, Tiny!!” Stan called.

Hunter sat in the back, shaking violently as they drove off, panic attack in full force. “A-A-A-Are we gonna be okay…?!?” Hunter wheezed.

“Hold on, little buddy…!!” Stan called back.

“U-Um, St-St-St-St-St-Stan….?! I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I think we need to speed it up a bit…!” Hunter whined.

Stan turned around, seeing Hunter’s parents getting into their car, panic setting in.

“OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT!!!!!!” Stan panicked.

Stan drove through back alleys, hurrying to get onto the freeway and lose Hunter’s parents.

(Present day.)

Hunter sat down on the couch, talking with Stan, falling silent as Glitch walked in.

“Oh. ya have someone over.” Glitch said tiredly.

“Yeah, he’s an old friend!” Hunter explained.

“Why’s there a living corpse on our couch?” Glitch asked, Stan gasping in offense.

“This is Stan, he’s……...my brother, so please treat him with respect.” Hunter said.

“Whoa, who’s this?” Stan asked.

“Oh, this is Glitch, I adopted him. He’s my adopted son.” Hunter explained.

“You? Adopt a kid? Hah! Funny joke!” Stan laughed.

“Not a joke, bud.” Hunter said.

“Oh.” Stan said.

“Yeah, he’s a handful.” Hunter shrugged.

“Why doncha come over for dinner tomorrow? Meet up at the shack, catch up, ya know! Like friends do!” Stan suggested.

“Really?” Hunter asked, unsure.

“Yeah! You can come by about...5:00 and just chill out! You can bring Glitch if you want to!” Stan said.

“Well, okay! Sounds good!” Hunter grinned.

“Great! See ya then!” Stan said.

Hunter saw Stan out, closing and locking the door behind him.

“You’re heading out to the shack later tomorrow?” Glitch asked.

“Yeah, we haven’t seen each other in years, Glitch. We have stuff to catch up on!” Hunter said.

“Really?” Glitch asked, raising an eyebrow. “Y-Yeah…” Hunter stuttered.

“All of the stuff?” Glitch asked.

“W-Well, except for what I’ve been doing the past few days, we have a bunch to catch up on…!” Hunter stammered. “H-He doesn’t need to know that…! He doesn’t need more trouble in his life….!” Hunter stammered, breaking eye contact.

“He’ll find out someday.” Glitch said.

“When he does, I’m sure he’ll understand.” Hunter said shortly.

(Flashback.)

Hunter walked home from the store with a fresh batch of Ink, stopping when she heard sobbing, trying to ignore it, but the closer she got to home, the louder it got. The sobbing eventually starting to drive her crazy, she started looking around for the source, finding a young child in a cardboard box in the middle of the rain near Hunter’s apartment. Feeling bad, Hunter took him in, thinking it’d just be until the morning. Hunter put him in some of her spare clothes, looking at the kid, then at her phone which had 911 on speed dial, looking between the two before turning her phone off with a heavy sigh.

Hunter got down to his height. “Hey kid. You’re gonna stay here a while.” Hunter said.

“O-Okay…!” He nodded.

(Timeskip)

Hunter walked up to the Mystery Shack, taking a deep breath before walking up and knocking on the door. “No need to be nervous…It’s just Stan…” Hunter sighed.

“You’re not any good at this, are you?” Glitch sighed.

“Shut up, Glitch!” Hunter snapped, upset at being called out. Hunter fell silent as the door opened.

“Oh my gosh! It’s you!” Mabel beamed.

“Oh! It’s….Dabel!....Right?” Hunter asked.

Mabel laughed. “It’s Mabel, silly!” Mabel corrected.

“Right, sorry…” Hunter apologized sadly.

Before they walked in the door, Glitch grabbed Hunter by the shoulder. “Hold up, take a deep breath, your feelings are valid, but you need to breathe. Remember to breathe, and don’t panic.” Glitch said. Hunter nodded.

“Oh! Hunter! Ya made it!” Stan grinned.

“Yep…! Sup bro…?” Hunter asked nervously.

“Why so nervous, Tiny?” Stan asked, worried.

“Oh, no reason, Stan, just...Typical nerves, ya know…?” Hunter squeaked.

Stan noticed Glitch, thinking something over for a second. “Hey, kid; go over to the gift shop, pick something out!” Stan offered.

“Really?” Glitch asked.

“Yep! Go ahead, whatever ya like! A friend of Hunter’s is a friend of mine!” Stan smiled.

Glitch shrugged, heading off to go look around.

“So, Hunter, how’d you come across him? Ya have a one-night stand?” Stan asked quietly.

“What?!? No!! I ADOPTED him!!” Hunter retched.

“Ooooh! Oopsie!” Stan winced.

“Yeah, it’s okay though.” Hunter smiled weakly.

“Well, how’d ya find him? Adoption center?” Stan asked seriously.

“Rainy day. He was in a cardboard box.” Hunter frowned.

“Oof...That’s rough…” Stan chuffed.

“Surprise High Five Time!!” Mabel cheered. Hunter yelped in surprise at the sudden hand being raised in her direction, flinching away and dripping slightly.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mabel, sweety, we don’t do that with Hunter here, okay?” Stan said gently.

“Why? Something wrong?” Mabel asked, confused.

“Well, Mabel, sweety, Hunter uh….Grew up around some...Not-so-good people and uh...She doesn’t like surprise contact, ya know..?” Stan asked.

“Why?” Mabel asked, still confused.

“Well...You know how some people are nice and others are not so nice..?” Stan asked.

“What?!?” Mabel gasped.

“I know, I know, but some people are just plain bad to be around, and Hunter was in that situation and I helped get her out.” Stan explained.

“Awww! How heroic!” Mabel cooed.

“With her parents on my tail, too.” Stan said.

“Ohmigosh!” Mabel gasped.

“I remember how angry her mom sounded. She sounded ready to commit WAR CRIMES.” Stan grimaced.

“Oh no…” Mabel frowned.

“Yeah…’oh no’ is right…” Stan grimaced.

“Did everything turn out okay?” Mabel asked.

“Sorta….” Stan winced.

“Look, Mabel, just...Please...No surprise High Fives for Hunter, alright?” Stan asked gently.

“Hmm...Okay!” Mabel nodded.

“Thanks, sweety…” Stan smiled softly.

“Sorry I scared you, Hunter, I had no idea…!” Mabel apologized.

“I-I-It’s fine…! You didn’t know..!” Hunter said, shaking it off.

“Okay!” Mabel smiled, skipping off to go find Glitch.

(With Glitch)

Glitch looked around, finding a Game Over beanie, putting it on. “This is mine now.” Glitch said.

“He seems really tall….Maybe I can just…” Mabel said, hugging Glitch’s leg.

“Oh! Hello…!” Glitch said awkwardly.

“Hello! I’m Mabel! I seem to have lost my name, can I have yours?” Mabel winked.

“You...Just said it.” Glitch chuckled. “If ya wanna do pickup lines correctly, ya gotta say this: Are your parents Bakers because they sure made you a cutie pie~" Glitch smiled.

Mabel’s eyes sparkled like diamonds in amazement. “Of course….I’ve been blind this whole time…!” Mabel gasped.

“Heh…” Glitch chuckled.

Dipper walked in, freezing at hearing the pickup lines.

“Dip-Dip! Glitch is teaching me pickup lines!” Mabel grinned.

“Oh really?” Dipper asked.

“Yeah, do you have 11 protons? Because you are sodium fine~!” Glitch winked. Dipper’s face went tomato red as he rushed off to the room with Stan and Hunter in it.

(With Stan and Hunter)

“Whoa, what’s with your face bein’ so red, sport?” Stan asked.

“Everything fine’s!” Dipper blurted. Hunter thought for a moment.

“Ah. Glitch.” Hunter said.

“Whozamawhanow?” Stan asked, confused.

“Glitch has a tendency to flirt with people.” Hunter explained.

“Oh.” Stan said.

“It like’s he wanted to mess with me..!” Dipper spluttered.

“He tends to do that.” Hunter shrugged.

“Oh, so he’s a casanova?” Stan asked.

“Basically, yeah.” Hunter said.

“Oh, okay!” Stan nodded.

“Yeah…” Hunter said, trailing off and dripping slightly.

“You alright man? You seem to be dripping a bit.” Dipper asked skeptically.

“Wait what?!” Hunter yelped, noticing she was dripping.

Glitch leaned in, noticing Hunter having a freakout. “Okay, we’re heading out for a walk.” Glitch said, putting Hunter’s hood up and taking her outside. Hunter went with Glitch, trying not to drip much.

“Thanks Glitch…” Hunter thanked, sighing in relief.

“No problem, are you okay?” Glitch asked.

“Yeah, I-I-I’m fine…!” Hunter said.

“Ya sure? You were REALLY freaking out in there.” Glitch said.

“I…...Just typical parental flashbacks, Glitch...Nothing out of the ordinary..” Hunter frowned.

“Hunter, it’s okay to move on.” Glitch said.

“I know, but…” Hunter trailed off.

“You’re too forgiving for your own good…” Glitch grimaced.

“I know, but Dad was never that bad…! It was mostly Mom…!” Hunter defended.

“Hunter, being indifferent is not any better!” Glitch objected.

“I-It’s fine, Glitch, I-I-I-I forgive him..!” Hunter said.

“Hunter…” Glitch winced.

“I’m fine now…!” Hunter said.

“Ya sure?” Glitch asked.

“.......Yeah.” Hunter nodded.

Hunter walked inside again, sitting back down where she was earlier. “Everything okay, Tiny?” Stan asked.

“Yeah, I-I-I-I-I’m fine, Stan, sorry I worried ya…” Hunter apologized.

“Ya sure, Tiny….?” Stan asked.

Hunter nodded, still dripping a little bit, worrying Stan slightly.

“Well...If ya say so…” Stan sighed.

Hunter sighed in relief, sinking down in her chair. Hunter jumped as she was pulled out of her thoughts by a dripping sound.

“Wait...Black dripping liquid….” Dipper hummed.

Hunter gulped nervously. “I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I gotta go…!” Hunter squeaked, hurrying up and running out the front door, leaving Inky footsteps behind her. Dipper crouched down, touching a footprint and realizing what it was.

“Grunkle Stan…?! What did the news report say was stolen…?!” Dipper asked, panic filling his voice.

“Uh...Ink and machine parts, why?” Stan asked, scratching his head in confusion.

“.......We’ve found our culprit.” Dipper said, getting up.

“What?!?” Stan gasped.

“Hunter?!” Mabel gasped.

“It all adds up; she shows up when the thefts start up, she gets nervous around people, her footsteps are Inky, the facts all add up!!” Dipper explained.

“No, nuh uh, I REFUSE to believe it’s true!!!” Stan objected.

“It only makes sense, Grunkle Stan!!” Dipper said.

“No, I KNOW Hunter, she would NEVER steal!!” Stan objected.

“How many years has it been since you last saw each other, Grunkle Stan?!” Dipper asked.

“That doesn’t matter!! I GREW UP with her, Dipper!! I THINK I know her!!” Stan defended.

“Stan, it’s been YEARS!!” Dipper objected.

“So what?!” Stan asked.

“LEMME GO, GLITCH!!!” Hunter yelped from outside, getting everyone to run outside to find Glitch holding Hunter back.

“Hunter, calm down.” Glitch sighed.

“NO, LEMME GO!!!!” Hunter whined, struggling to escape his grip.

“Hunter, please just calm down…!!” Glitch snapped.

“NO, I’M HAVING A MELTDOWN AND I NEED TO GET HOME, GLITCH!!!” Hunter begged.

“Why, is it because you’re DRIPPING INK EVERYWHERE AND YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT DRAWING SUSPICION TO YOUR CONDITION?!” Glitch snapped.

“What?!?” Everyone gasped in unison.

“Guys, you-you CAN’T believe him…!!!! He-He’s a-He’s a demon-he’s lying!!!!” Hunter squeaked.

“MOM!!!!” Glitch snapped.

“YOU LET SOMETHING OUT, I LET SOMETHING OUT!!” Hunter snapped.

“WHAT I SAID DIDN’T HAVE ANYTHING BAD OTHER THAN A MENTION OF YOUR MEDICAL CONDITION!!” Glitch piped up.

“Glitch is a demon...THAT’S what’s causing Hunter to steal the Ink and machine parts!” Dipper said, snapping his fingers in an ‘ah-ha’ moment.

“No!!! I don’t CARE about Ink!!” Glitch piped up. “Or machinery or any crap like that!! I’m a dimensional traveller!!” Glitch added.

“Yeah, right!!!” Dipper snapped.

“I don’t!!!” Glitch defended.

“He’s right, Hunter would NEVER steal ANYTHING.” Stan denied.

“Uh, g-guys…?” Hunter peeped quietly.

“What purpose would I have for Ink and crap like that?!?” Glitch snapped.

“I….I dunno! Somethin….malicious?” Dipper suggested.

“............Invalid hypothesis, Dip-Dip.” Glitch sighed.

“G-Guys, p-please calm down…!” Hunter whimpered.

“Hunter, get behind me.” Stan said, pulling Hunter behind him.

“Wait, Stan, no!” Hunter yelped, getting tugged behind him.

“Wait, let’s just calm down, I’m not gonna hurt you!” Glitch stammered.

“How do we know that, Wiseguy?” Stan asked, narrowing his eyes in skepticism.

“If I wanted to hurt you or Hunter, I woulda done so by now!” Glitch explained shakily.

“I don’t believe that.” Stan frowned.

“Hunter, come on-” Glitch started before Stan stepped back, pulling Hunter back with him.

“You stay the hell away from her.” Stan scowled. Glitch looked at Hunter, eyes begging for her to step in. Her face visibly darkened and she slowly shook her head no sadly. “Now get outta here before I throw ya out.” Stan threatened. Glitch opened his mouth to say something, but just as quickly closed it, leaving the shack’s area. Hunter dripped nervously, slouching slightly in worry and exhaustion.

“You okay, Tiny?” Stan asked, looking back at Hunter.

“Y……….Yeah, Stan-Stan, I’m……..I’ll be okay….” Hunter breathed. Stan felt worry for a second at Hunter’s sudden loss of energy, clapping a hand to her shoulder, ignoring that he squished it slightly.

“Ya sure?” Stan asked gently.

“I…...Yeah, just….Scared I hurt his feelings…” Hunter fretted.

“It’s alright, Tiny. Like ya said; he’s a demon. Demons don’t have any hearts.” Stan assured.

“I……….Yeah…..You’re…...Probably right…” Hunter conceded. Stan took the twins back inside while Hunter sat outside a little bit longer, eventually settling on a hill closeby to watch the sunset.

(Timeskip to sunset)

Hunter put her hands behind her back, palms facing down, propping herself up as she watched the sun set, washing the skies with beautiful shades of orange, yellow, pink, and purple. Hunter was startled out of her thoughts by footsteps on the grass behind her. “Wh-Who’s there?” Hunter demanded, turning around recognizing a familiar face.

“Heya, Tiny, did I spook ya?” Stan asked, gently padding over. Hunter breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar gruff voice.

“Stan...I...You scared me there…” Hunter sighed. Stan slowly made his way to Hunter’s side, sitting down next to her.

“You doin’ okay? Ya need to talk about anything?” Stan asked.

“Why would I…? I’m fine…” Hunter admitted, looking to the side and breaking eye contact.

Stan tilted his head, eyebrows furrowing in concern. “Hunter, you’re doin’ that thing ya do when somethin’s troublin’ ya. What happened? Was it because of earlier?” Stan asked, worried. Hunter didn’t answer, gently picking at the grass by her feet anxiously. “Was it that fight from earlier?” Stan repeated. Hunter still didn’t respond. Stan sighed, thinking of how to get Hunter to talk.

“Tiny….” Stan sighed. Hunter pulled her knees to her chest, mouth forming a frown of discomfort. “Tiny, look, I understand it’s hard to open up to others about some things, but I’m here to listen if ya need it.” Stan suggested.

Still dead silence from Hunter. “Well, I gave it my best….” Stan sighed, going to get up. “Guess that Demon made ya feel like ya can’t trust your own-” Stan started.

“He’s not a bad guy, ya know, Stanley…” Hunter mumbled. Stan perked up, looking down at Hunter.

“What was that? Ya know we’ve talked about your mumbling.” Stan asked gently.

“He’s not a bad guy, Stanley…! We have a symbiotic relationship…!” Hunter blurted out, eyes tearing up, shining like diamonds in the moonlight.

“Whoa...Tiny, are….Are you okay…?” Stan asked, worried. Hunter sniffled, rubbing her eyes with her hoodie sleeve.

“I just don’t know what to do….! I try my best, but I just never feel good enough…!” Hunter hiccuped, shoulders sagging, showing just how exhausted she was. Stan winced, slowly walking over to her, hands outstretched.

“Tiny, what happened to ya…? You were fine, back when we were kids, but now look at you….You look like a corpse shambling about town, trying to find a job…!” Stan worried. Hunter sniffled, trying to not break down into tears, worrying Stan to the point of no return. She’d NEVER shown her emotions THIS freely before.

“I’ve made so many mistakes, Stan-Stan…! I can’t ever take those mistakes back…!” Hunter shivered, starting to tremble slightly as emotions started to take hold of her reasoning, suffocating the reasoning part of her brain slowly but surely.

“We all have, Tiny…! I-I’m sure people have forgiven ya for those mistakes…!” Stan assured, grinning slightly. Stan was caught by surprise as Hunter fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands.

“They say they have, but I know they’re talking about me behind my back, Stan-Stan…!! Even when they assure me over and over, I still know I don’t deserve forgiveness…!” Hunter wept, choking on tears and air. Stan swiftly slid over, pulling Hunter into a tight hug.

“Hunter Mary Inkwell, you stop that nonsense talk this INSTANT. You are one of the most wonderful people I have EVER met! Don’t you EVER doubt that for ONE SECOND.” Stan scolded softly.

“But I-” Hunter started.

“No, you don’t get to say ‘but’ this time. You’re a FANTASTIC person who deserves the world and more! You are NOT a bad person! You are NOT stupid, worthless, inconsiderate, wasteful, or otherwise bad! You are a source of joy for me, the twins, even other people!” Stan said.

“But I don’t have any purpose…!” Hunter sobbed.

“So? Laze about! Do what you’ve always wanted to do! Go on an adventure, go around the world, go monster hunting, heck, you could even probably become an animator! I don’t care! You are FAR from worthless! You are WORTHWHILE! I don’t care what voice in your head says you’re not, or what some random Joe says you are, you are a WONDERFUL piece of work! Sure, ya have cracks, dents, and scratches, but guess what! That adds CHARACTER to ya!! Those who say otherwise? Answer to ME. Stanley Pines, High School Boxing champ of FOUR YEARS.” Stan announced.

Hunter fell silent, mouth agape in awe at the assurance from Stanley and face stained with tear streaks that glistened in the moonlight. “Stan-Stan…” Hunter gasped.

“We may not be family by blood, but I consider you my little sister. If anyone-and I mean ANYONE-gives you trouble, send em my way.” Stan said.

“I…..I don’t know what to say…” Hunter chuckled sadly, rubbing the tears away, despite more falling down.

“Tiny?” Stan asked, worried.

“I….Oof...Now ya have me feeling all sentimental…” Hunter chuckled sadly.

“And ya know the best part, Tiny?” Stan asked, crouching down to her height, sparking a feeling of familiarity deep within Hunter’s body.

“What?” Hunter asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“This time, out of all times, out of all times of my life,” Stan started, taking a deep breath and making eye contact with Hunter. “I’m not lying.” Stan finished, eyes glimmering with determination. Hunter gawked in awe, not having heard this tone of voice from the taller adult before. Stan’s eyebrows quirked in concern. “Uh, Tiny…?” Stan asked, getting Hunter to gwomp in confusion. Stan pointed at Hunter’s face, pointing out a bit of ink dripping. “Are ya supposed to do that?” Stan asked.

Hunter panicked. She pulled her hoodie hood up higher, hoping to hide her face better from the moonlight. “I-I gotta go, Stan, see ya tomorrow…!” Hunter blurted out, hurrying up and hurrying off.

“Tiny, wait!” Stan called, following her before losing her in the dark forest. “....Are you okay…?” Stan asked nobody as he stopped in the dark forest.

Stan grimaced, worry for his technical little sister now worsened. “What’s going on, Tiny…?” Stan muttered to himself, walking back to the shack.

(At the Mystery Shack.)

Stan walked in the door, closing and locking the door as he got inside, sighing as the events of the day stewed over in his head.

“Grunkle Stan?” Dipper asked, rubbing his eye as he walked downstairs. “Everything *yawwwn* Okay?” Dipper asked, yawning.

“Me? What about you? You should be asleep!” Stan scolded. Dipper shrugged tiredly.

“Couldn’t. What were you doing out so late?” Dipper asked, yawning tiredly.

“I...Went out to try to find Hunter...Make sure she’s okay, ya know?” Stan explained. Dipper nodded, giving a tired ‘mhm’ as he did so.

“Didja find her?” Dipper asked.

“Yeah…” Stan faltered.

“Why’d ya falter? Ya found her, didn’t ya?” Dipper asked.

Stan shook it off. Dipper doesn’t need to know yet. “Never mind, Sport. Ya need to be getting to bed; it’s past your bedtime, Kiddo.” Stan assured. Dipper frowned in disappointment before realizing he wouldn’t win if he fought it.

“But what about Hunter?” Dipper asked as the two walked upstairs.

“Let me worry about her, kiddo. Have a good night, alright?” Stan asked, walking to his door. Dipper nodded, going back to bed. Stan sighed, walking into his room and sitting down, looking at the photo from his pocket. “I’m sure she’s still there somewhere…” Stan sighed, putting the photo down and going to bed, opening his window slightly, just in case.

(With Hunter.)

Hunter ran through the empty streets of Gravity Falls, making sure she was being as careful as possible. No need to get caught. Hunter carefully slipped through a garage door, searching for the supplies she needed.

She snuck through a hanger full of beams, crosswires, gears, and other mechanical devices: perfect. Exactly what she needed. Hunter looked around, picking out five fifteen tooth gears, ten twenty tooth gears, a couple spokes, a couple tubes, a couple robotic arms, and four gearbox power connecters. Satisfied with her haul, Hunter put the items in her backpack, padding them so that they didn’t make any clattering noises. Hunter returned the items home before heading back out to a laboratory, stealing a couple barrels of the special Ink she always required. As a test, however, Hunter grabbed one barrel of a different kind of Ink that would, hopefully, help prevent her dripping so often.

Hunter hurried home, hiding everything from her outing in her basement, not daring to look at the now empty pit under her invention. She knew it was down there-it HAD to be, but she didn’t want to chance seeing it.

Just thinking about it made her stomach bubble with regret and guilt. She felt as though her legs and arms would give out on her, feeling as though they were weighed down by cinder blocks, gritting her teeth in a grimace.

It happened so quickly-it happened so swiftly-it happened because she lost her temper. She would never let Stan down in this place. She didn’t want the incident to repeat itself-she wouldn’t ALLOW the incident to repeat itself, even if it meant keeping visitors away.

Frowning, Hunter left her basement, closing and locking the door. Hunter retreated to her room, going into her bucket and going to sleep for the night. She thought over telling Stan about her plan, but ultimately decided against it; her relationship with him was already rocky due to the events thirty years ago, why make it worse? Hunter drifted off to sleep, humming an old lullaby to herself from her childhood.

“It’s okay, Tiny, you’re safe here with me. Here with us is your safe space, your parents can’t find you here. No need to cry, I’ll be right here. Right by your side, always staying near. There ain’t no call to worry, so please don’t cry or fret, a couple year’s difference won’t change you, no matter how long it is.” Hunter hummed to herself.

(Timeskip to the morning.)

Hunter got up, forming into a full human again and stepping out of her bucket, getting ready for the day. Hunter walked downstairs, confused when she didn’t see Glitch anywhere downstairs. Maybe he just needed some space after yesterday. That was fine, Hunter understood, sometimes, she needed space from herself too. Hunter winced, gently holding her wrist. She knew the scars had been healed for years now, but it still stung sometimes, usually when she thought bad things about herself. She shook it off.

Hunter got herself a granola bar for breakfast, as she hadn’t been feeling all that hungry that morning. She knew if she told Stanley, he’d flip, but that’s why she WOULDN’T tell him. She knew how he and….She knew how he was about self care and stuff like that. He got scary when he heard Hunter hadn’t self cared that day, so she’d resulted to either lying to him, or not telling him at all. Sure, both options were horrible, but telling him the truth would hurt her worse, as she felt she inconvenienced Stanley most of the time.

Hunter checked the clock, knowing that she had to return to the Shack at around noon-time, as she promised. Hunter went down to her basement, grabbing some of the new Ink and injecting some of it into her body, which had hurt as much as a pillow hitting her in the face, as she’d been used to needle pains due to having to give herself more stability. “It’s for the greater good, Hunter…” Hunter assured herself.

Hunter headed back upstairs, getting her bag and getting ready to head out. Taking a deep breath, she started her way back to the Mystery Shack, shaking off any and all worries she had: Stan was her technical brother, he wouldn’t judge her too harshly, that wasn’t how he worked!

He wouldn’t judge her. He wouldn’t judge her. He WOULDN’T. JUDGE. HER. So why was she hesitating? She found herself stopped just outside the entrance to the Mystery Shack’s area of land, breath caught in her throat. She was so shaky. She was so shaky, she was losing her sight, she was losing her sense of touch, what was going on?! Hunter eventually mustered up the strength to take one step back.

Then another.

Then another.

Suddenly, she was in a full-on sprint away, out of control of her legs. She tried to stop, by GOD she TRIED to stop, but she couldn’t.

She COULDN’T. STOP. RUNNING. Hunter started freaking out, losing grip on staying calm, eventually coming to a stop in a small cave just a while away from the Mystery Shack. She stayed inside the cave, collecting her thoughts.

“God, I thought I was over this...I thought I grew up...I thought I wasn’t a coward anymore…!” Hunter scolded herself. Hunter beat herself up, starting to space out as she did so.

Eventually, Hunter was snapped back to reality as she suddenly got a heat flash. Hunter swiftly panicked, checking her backpack, swearing under her breath as she noticed a lack of some form of sugar inside. “Damn...That’s not good…” Hunter swore. Hunter’s vision soon started blurring and eventually getting covered with black spots. Hunter slowly got up, collapsing against a wall soon after, panicking as she knew she had no way to contact anyone for help.

(Timeskip a few hours.)

“-un-er?” A voice called, barely discernible. Hunter didn’t move.

“H-n-er?!” They called again, panic lacing their voice.

“T-ny, co-e on!!!! W--e -p!!” A different voice, gruffer than the first, called. Hunter slowly stirred, barely able to open her eyes.

“Ow…” Hunter winced at the sudden light level shift.

“Is she gonna be okay, Grunkle Stan!?” Mabel asked, fear lacing her voice.

“Mabel, it’ll be okay, calm down.” Stan hushed. “Tiny, can ya move your hand for me? I need to gauge how bad the crash is.” Stan requested.

Hunter barely moved her hand half an inch, worrying Stan immensely.

“Okay, it’s bad.” Stan announced.

“What does she need?” Dipper asked.

“Something with sugar that’s not energy intensive to get into her system. Like...Liquid sugar, some form of Honey, I dunno-” Stan started.

“Sugar cubes!” Mabel grinned. Stan was starstruck.

“....Yes, actually.” Stan nodded. Mabel hopped over, giving the sugar cubes to Hunter. Hunter slowly downed the cubes one by one, slowly returning to normal.

“How long have I been out?” Hunter asked, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

“I dunno, when’d ya head out?” Stan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Around like...what, 11:30?” Hunter said, confused.

“You’ve been out for about four hours, maybe.” Stan said, wobbling a hand as he estimated the time.

“FOUR-” Hunter started.

“Calm down, preserve your energy.” Stan said.

“Four HOURS?” Hunter gasped.

“Yep. We came out lookin’ for ya because ya didn’t show up when ya said you would.” Dipper said.

“Oh my….I’m so sorry…” Hunter said, facepalming.

“What’d I tell ya?” Stan reminded, Hunter’s face heating up.

“Stan-Stan, not in front of the kids…!” Hunter groaned.

“What did I tell you?” He repeated.

“Keep something in my bag in case of a blood sugar crash…!” Hunter wheezed.

“And what DIDN’T ya do?” Stan asked.

“Keep something in my bag in case of a blood sugar crash…!” Hunter groaned.

“I know it seems like I narc on ya, but it’s because I care. You’re my favorite little sister in the world, I don’t wanna lose that.” Stan smiled.

“I know…!” Hunter smiled back shyly.

“It sure seems like ya keep forgetting that! I’ll keep remindin’ ya however I can!” Stan promised.

“But what if others are present…?” Hunter winced.

“So?! I’d announce to the world how much I love my little sister! I’d scream it as loud as I can!” Stan joked.

“Please...Don’t…” Hunter said, face getting more flustered, still visible despite her hoodie hood still being on.

“Come on, you’re blushing~!” Stan grinned, nudging Hunter gently.

“Because you’re embarrassing!” Hunter wheezed.

“Darn right I am! That’s sorta my right, as a big brother!” Stan said proudly.

“Oh my Jupiter, you’re SUCH a dork…!” Hunter groaned.

“Not just any dork~! I’m your dork!” Stan grinned.

“OH MY GOD, STAN, I AM GOING TO DIE OF OVERHEATING, SHUT UP!!” Hunter wheezed.

“Are ya gonna take better care of yourself?” Stan asked.

“Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine! If it gets ya to stop!” Hunter wheezed.

“Thank you! Little sissy~!” Stan teased.

“I AM GOING TO SMACK YOU.” Hunter growled.

“What~? Wouldja rather I say-” Stan started.

“DON’T YOU DARE.” Hunter threatened.

“Moist~?” Stan said, dragging out the word.

Hunter stood up swiftly, despite how bad of an idea it probably was, and started walking away. “NOPE. I AM NOT DEALING WITH THIS.” Hunter snapped.

“I….I don’t know that word, and I ALREADY HATE IT.” Dipper grimaced.

“She hates it! She and…” Stan trailed off, smile slowly fading.

“Grunkle Stan?” Dipper asked.

“...A good friend of ours!” Stan picked back up, smile returning.

“Really?” Dipper asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, he beat me with a book for sayin’ it once!” Stan laughed.

“I may do the same.” Dipper frowned, nose wrinkling slightly in disgust.

“What? Moist?” Mabel asked.

“Don’t.” Dipper warned.

“What’s wrong, Dip-Dip? Don’t like moist~?” Mabel teased.

“We are siblings, I can LEGALLY throw you.” Dipper warned.

“Okay you two, calm down.” Stan laughed.

The group started heading back to the Mystery Shack, finding Hunter waiting on the front porch.

“Ya didn’t go inside?” Stan asked, confused.

“I found it rude to go inside without asking.” Hunter shrugged.

“Nonsense! Ya practically live here, even if ya don’t ACTUALLY!” Stan grinned.

“Yeah, I know, just typical manners I learned as a….Kid..” Hunter said, voice faltering slightly.

“You okay, man? Your voice faltered.” Dipper asked skeptically.

“Yeah, we don’t talk about that.” Stan said, stepping in before the twins asked too many questions.

“I-It’s fine, Stan, I-I don’t mind, they’re just c-curious..!” Hunter assured, waving her hands around.

“Hunter, no, you don’t seem comfortable with talking about it yet, so ya don’t HAVE to talk about it.” Stan assured.

“Stan, come on, bud, it-it’s fine..!” Hunter said, smiling shakily.

Stan quirked an eyebrow in concern. “I know that smile, Hunter. I know that means that you’re uncomfortable.” Stan said.

“It-It’s fine, Stan, I-I promise..!” Hunter said, shaking slightly.

“Hunter, ya need to work on your assertiveness. Ya can BARELY bring yourself to say no to people.” Stan sighed.

“I COULD say no to someone!” Hunter defended.

“Oh? Go ahead. Show me.” Stan said.

“W-Wait, what?” Hunter asked nervously.

“Tell me no.” Stan elaborated.

“I….You’re my brother, I can’t say that to you!” Hunter said.

“Pretend I’m someone ya hate. Pretend I’m your mom.” Stan said.

Hunter shrank down, backing against a wall, shielding her face.

“Wait, that was a poor choice…” Stan groaned, facepalming.

“I-I-I-I-I-I’m sorry…!” Hunter whimpered, shaking slightly.

“Hunter, calm down, it’s okay, you’re here, you’re alive, you’re safe, you’re with me, you’re not there anymore.” Stan assured, sitting next to Hunter, but not touching her until she gave him the go-ahead.

Hunter winced as Stan sat next to her, but regained comfort as she recognized him. As she looked to him on her left, she could have sworn she got thrown back into junior year of High School, but she shook herself back to current day, not willing to linger on the past.

“You okay, Tiny?” Stan asked. Hunter nodded, slowly leaning in to give Stan a hug, Stan hugging back only when she gave him the okay.

“.....Am I-” Hunter started.

“Do I need to give ya the same pep talk I did last night?” Stan asked.

“......Am I at fault for what happened back at home…?” Hunter asked.

“No. Your mom was like a Demon; no heart, all barbs.” Stan assured, not noticing the wince from Hunter.

“I...But I tended to be a bad kid...I-I snuck out…!” Hunter objected.

“Because she never let ya go outside.” Stan objected.

“But-” Hunter started.

“The only thing you’re at fault for, Tiny, is being a wonderful person. You’re such an innocent person, you’d never do ANYTHING wrong without reasoning.” Stan said. “You’re one of the most innocent people I’ve EVER known. If anyone’s at fault, it’s me for not doing something sooner.” Stan said.

“No!!” Hunter snapped, dripping slightly, surprising Stan.

“Whoa.” Stan winced.

“You’re not at fault, I am for not following and meeting their expectations! If I’d just tried harder, I woulda been fine most nights! If I just TRIED, I woulda been fine! If I’d just put in EFFORT, I woulda been okay!” Hunter freaked out.

“Tiny-” Stan started.

“If I’d JUST LISTENED, I woulda been fine! If I wasn’t such a DUMB, STUPID, SELFISH KID, I WOULDA BEEN-” Hunter started.

“HUNTER, CALM DOWN.” Stan said, gently grabbing Hunter to snap her out of it.

“But-” Hunter started.

“No buts. You. Are. A. GOOD. PERSON.” Stan stressed heavily. “JUST because that GLITCH Demon showed up and made ya doubt yourself doesn’t mean jack diddly SQUAT.” Stan frowned.

Hunter froze at the mention of Glitch being bad, defense mode activating. “H-He’s not bad…!” Hunter defended.

“Let’s think here; I see ya after thirty years after ya make a deal with a Demon and ya see to have a worse mental state than when we last met, he said something CLEARLY bad to upset you to tell everyone he’s a Demon, you two have an unHEALTHY connection as he calls it, but nah, he’s a pure, sweet, innocent Angel.” Stan grumbled.

“He’s only thirteen..!” Hunter whimpered.

“.................................Well hot belgian waffles.” Stan winced.

“Yeah.” Hunter frowned. “Then again, maybe he didn’t come home because he needs space...Maybe he doesn’t...Like me anymore...I don’t blame him…” Hunter whimpered, hugging her knees to her chest. Hunter winced slightly, trying to shake it off. “I’m fine, just….A headache…” Hunter assured, mostly to herself.

“Maybe ya need a break, take a day off of….Whatever job ya have…?” Stan guessed.

“I….Don’t HAVE a job.” Hunter winced. “......Not anymore, at least…” Hunter added quietly, hiding her hands in her pockets.

“Well, we could always use an extra employee here, if ya want!” Stan offered.

“I…..Maybe...I don’t wanna take up valuable space…” Hunter trailed off.

“Ya won’t, trust me!” Stan grinned.

“Ya sure…?” Hunter asked sheepishly.

“Come on, Tiny~! Would I lie to you~?” Stan grinned. Hunter grew an unamused look on her face.

“Ya don’t want me to answer that, Stanford.” Hunter frowned.

“....................Alright, fine, I get it, but I ain’t lying! My offer still stans this time!” Stan grinned.

“.....................Really?” Hunter asked.

“What? I thought the pun was charming!” Stan defended.

“Oh, you are SO lucky you are my brother…!” Hunter sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Ya thought it was PUNamusing?” Stan grinned.

“STOP.” Hunter warned.

“Come on, you’re smiling~!” Stan grinned, nudging Hunter’s side gently.

“Just because I AM, doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.” Hunter said.

Stan laughed, Dipper and Mabel joining him soon after. “Okay, fine, they’re amusing.” Hunter sighed heavily.

“Awww~! I thought I’d get A LITTLE more than THAT~!” Stan teased.

“DO NOT PUSH YOUR LUCK, STANFORD FILBRICK PINES.” Hunter warned.

Stan fell silent immediately. “That’s what I thought.” Hunter smirked.

“........Yikes….” Dipper winced.

“............I must be in big trouble, if you’re using my full name.” Stan winced.

“Don’t test me.” Hunter teased.

Stan finally realized it was a joke, thinking his options over. “Hmm...How about this, ya get inside before I say ‘it’~!” Stan grinned.

“YOU WOULDN’T.” Hunter gasped, faking offense.

“What~? Mo-” Stan started. Hunter darted inside, door slamming shut behind her, causing everyone to break out laughing.

“Awww~! Ya didn’t give me a chance to say it~!” Stan teased.

“I WILL LOCK THIS DOOR.” Hunter warned.

“I will break down said door.” Stan added.

“I will go hide in the corner until needed.” Hunter said.

“No, you will not!” Stan said, going to stop Hunter.

(Timeskip to next day)

Hunter got up, wincing as she felt a slight stinging pain. She shook it off, working through the pain to start getting ready for the day.

Hunter got herself a granola bar, stuffing her backpack with the typical blood sugar control snacks, not wanting to have another crash later.

“Okay...It’ll be fine...Glitch, I’m leaving…!” Hunter called, only getting silence as a response. “R….Right...He’s….Not here…” Hunter frowned. Hunter grabbed her bag, starting to walk to the Shack.

As she started walking, she tried ignoring anything bad that came to mind. Already getting ONE lecture from Stan was enough for a week, let alone THREE in one day. “It’s okay...He’s family...He won’t bite…” Hunter reassured herself, falling onto her face.

“..............Son of a-” Hunter started.

(At the Mystery Shack.)

Stan jumped as his phone rang, answering. “Yello?” Stan said.

“So…..Stan-Stan…? Can ya….Sorta kinda come pick me up…? I….Sorta kinda maybe fell over from pain...I can’t walk….at least, long distances..” Hunter winced.

“I think so, yeah, where are ya?” Stan asked.

“On the sidewalk of Maple drive......” Hunter sighed, defeatedly.

“Really? Ya made it halfway! Congrats! That’s further than yesterday!” Stan grinned, only to gain defeated sobs in response. “Oh-kay, not good timing…” Stan winced. “Okay, I’ll come get ya, don’t move.” Stan said.

“NOT LIKE I CAN, YA LITTLE-” Hunter started.

“I mean stay where you are!” Stan said, quickly hanging up.

“Kids, I’m heading out to help Hunter get to work!” Stan called.

“Huh? What’s the matter?” Dipper asked, worried.

“Hunter’s havin’ a bit of pain-I’m assuming it’s a girl thing, so I’m just leavin’ it at that.” Stan said.

“Oh no!! I’ll get the ibuprofen and heat pads ready!! The hot coco too!” Mabel said.

“Don’t burn yourself! Wait...How did you know what I mean-” Stan started.

“I’m a girl and Mom deals with it all the time!” Mabel called from the kitchen. “So does Wendy!” Mabel added.

“Okay, well, I’m going, don’t burn the house down while I’m gone.” Stan said.

“I can’t promise anything~!” Mabel sang.

“I’ll make sure she won’t.” Dipper said.

“Thanks.” Stan said, heading out.

(With Hunter.)

Hunter sat upright, wincing as she did so, so that people were able to pass by without much trouble.

“Are...you okay…?” Candy asked.

“I’m fine...Just typical pains…” Hunter winced.

“Oof...I didn’t bring my Ibuprofen with me…��� Candy apologized.

“It’s fine, I’ve been through worse…” Hunter assured.

“What, did you get into a car accident or something?” Candy asked.

“...I think...Maybe it was just a dream...Who knows…” Hunter shrugged.

“Well, I’m gonna go meet up with my friends, hope to see you later, and hope you feel better!” Candy smiled.

Hunter smiled back, perking up slightly as Stan pulled up. Candy waved, smiling. “Hi Stan!” Candy greeted. “Is Mabel still hanging out today?” Candy asked.

“I’m sure she will be, yeah.” Stan nodded. Hunter groaned, attempting to stand up. Stan hurried over, catching her as she was about to fall over. “Okay, you’re not allowed to move anywhere without someone with you today. If you try to do so, I will be very disappointed in you.” Stan said.

Hunter nodded, not having enough energy to fight him on the matter.

(In the car.)

“.....Stan-Stan…? Is it normal to hear static…?” Hunter asked.

“No….? I don’t think it is…!” Stan worried.

“Huh….I wonder what’s wrong…” Hunter frowned, worried.

“I-I’m sure you’re fine! It’s probably just….that, and Glitch’ll probably be back soon and he can tell us what’s going on!” Stan assured.

“......He’s normally never been gone this long...Was it something I said…? Was I too harsh…?” Hunter frowned, dripping slightly.

Stan winced, worrying slightly. “I…….I’m sure nothing’s wrong..! It probably just took a bit more time is all…!” Stan assured.

“But usually he’s back in an hour…! And usually static doesn’t sound this loud, usually it’s not this bad…! Usually it’s only when Glitch takes a shower…!” Hunter whimpered.

“What would happen if he touched water? Like, fully got into a pool or lake? Like, submerged in the water?” Stan asked.

“He would most likely be in pain...Why…?” Hunter asked.

“........Does said pain affect you too?” Stan asked.

“Not usually...But then again, he does dilute his water...I dunno what happens when he touches pure water…” Hunter shrugged tiredly. “Plus, I don’t think he can swim...So if he jumped into a lake of sorts, he wouldn’t be able to come up…” Hunter added.

“..............HECK.” Stan winced.

“Stan-Stan…? Is everything okay..?” Hunter asked, worried.

“Oh, yeah, everything’s okay, just...Tell me if the static gets worse, okay?” Stan asked. “Or, ya know, the pain, too.” Stan added. Hunter nodded.

“10-4, Bro-Bro…” Hunter nodded tiredly.

Stan thought over the potential places that Glitch could be, not being happy or satisfied with any of them.

“.......Wait, he headed towards the woods..” Hunter said. “So….” Hunter said. Stan pulled up to the Shack, helping Hunter get inside.

“I got some Ibuprofen and a heated blanket!” Mabel said, helping out however she could.

“I’ll be fine, so long as I don’t….Walk long distances…!” Hunter assured.

“Nonsense! Now, I have an important question: Shapes or Pillows?” Mabel asked.

“............Shapes…?” Hunter said, confused.

“Great! I can getcha that! Shapes it is!” Mabel said, skipping into the kitchen.

“Wait, why did you ask?” Hunter called.

“Hold on a sec!” Mabel called.

Stan backed out of the room before Hunter could say anything, washing his hands clean of the whole ordeal. “Whipped cream, yes or no?!” Mabel called.

“Uh….Yes?” Hunter called back.

���Sweet! My kinda gal!!” Mabel grinned, walking into the room with two mugs of hot cocoa.

(With Stan.)

Stan looked through the woods, looking all over for Glitch, hoping he was okay and just hanging out somewhere. As he started heading towards the lake, a loud splash caught his attention, heart dropping pretty much onto the ground.

“Oh, that better not be him…!” Stan worried.

(With Hunter.)

Hunter yelped, shoving her hands over her ears in an attempt to shut out the static, dropping the hot chocolate onto the ground in front of her. “Hunter? What’s wrong?!” Mabel worried.

Dipper rushed downstairs, holding the hat Glitch had, clearly worried. “Mabel, is everything okay?!” Dipper asked, clearly panicking.

“Something’s wrong with Hunter, I-I don’t know what’s going on…!” Mabel worried.

“Wait...Hunter said she had a connection with Glitch...Doesn’t that mean that she feels what Glitch is feeling…?!” Dipper worried.

Hunter whimpered as she heard Glitch’s thoughts, curling in on herself.

“Hunter, is everything okay…?!” Dipper asked.

“I shoulda gone after him…! I shoulda talked to him-I-I-I shouldn’t have said anything…!!” Hunter whimpered.

“Hunter, it’s okay, calm down…!” Mabel begged.

“I shoulda gone after him…!!” Hunter panicked, dripping slightly.

“Hunter, it’s-” Mabel started, putting a hand on her shoulder, feeling it sink in slightly. “O….kay…?” Mabel trailed off, pulling her hand back. “What in the world….?” Mabel gasped.

“Oh my….” Dipper said.

(With Stan.)

Stan looked around, noticing a pile of clothes. Well. THAT’S concerning.

“Oh no...Isn’t that….Glitch’s...Jacket…?” Stan winced, going to look down at the lake.

As panic took over, Stan went in after Glitch, pulling him up to the surface, struggling slightly due to the weight. Stan eventually made it back to the surface, setting Glitch down and laying on his backside.

“Oh, Hunter owes me for this.” Stan panted. Stan slowly got up, grabbing some spare clothes from the back of the car, getting Glitch out of his wet clothes and into some fresh ones, including the beanie he took back from him.

(With Hunter.)

Hunter started fidgeting, almost hurting herself half the time, as panic started settling in. “Is Glitch okay..?! What’s going on…?! Why’d the pain suddenly lessen…!?” Hunter panicked.

“I-It’s okay, Hunter, calm down…!” Mabel urged carefully.

“Nobody cares, nobody cares, nobody cares….!” Hunter panicked.

“What…?! That’s ridiculous! We c-” Mabel started.

“He thinks nobody cares…!! He’s in pain, I can’t do anything about it…! I can’t stop it…!” Hunter hiccuped.

“Wait, who…?!” Dipper asked, concerned.

“Who do you think….?! The ONE person I was supposed to keep safe…!! I put his life in danger…! I’m gonna lose ANOTHER family member….!!” Hunter whined.

“It-It’s okay, Hunter…!” Mabel assured.

“NO, IT’S NOT OKAY!!! I WAS SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIM SAFE!! HE WOULDA BEEN SAFE IF I DIDN’T BLOW UP AT HIM FOR DOING NOTHING WRONG!! IF I DIDN’T TELL YOU WHAT HE WAS, EVERYTHING WOULD BE OKAY!! BUT I DID BECAUSE I PANICKED BECAUSE I DIDN’T PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT HE SAID!!!” Hunter snapped, dripping worse.

The front door opened, Stan walking in holding Glitch. “I’m home, and VERY tired!” Stan called. Dipper quickly cleared off a space to put Glitch down on. “So...He needs medical help…” Stan said. Mabel nodded, running off to grab bandages.

“Can I do anything…?” Hunter asked.

“No, you, sit, now.” Stan said.

“But I-” Hunter started.

“SIT.” Stan growled.

“C-Can I at least sit by him…?” Hunter asked timidly.

Stan moved Glitch closer to Hunter. “If I see you move from this spot, I am grounding you so hard, it may stretch beyond the summer.” Stan warned. Hunter nodded, hugging Glitch gently.

Mabel rushed downstairs with the medical supplies, falling halfway down, rushing over. “I’m okay!” Mabel assured.

“Just hand me the bandages.” Dipper said. Mabel handed them over.

(Timeskip)

Glitch slowly woke up, noticing Hunter passed out nearby in a very familiar living room in the Pines family household. “Oh no…” Glitch panicked, falling off of where he was sitting.

Hunter slowly woke up, rubbing the leftover sleep from her eyes. Glitch hid behind a chair, shaking and trying not to cry. Hunter winced, not wanting to do anything. “St-Stan-Stan…?” Hunter called.

“What?” Stan called back.

“H-He’s up…!” Hunter called back.

“Is he okay?” Stan asked.

“He looks kinda traumatized…” Hunter whimpered. Stan walked in.

“Okay, where is he?” Stan asked, Dipper and Mabel close behind.

“Behind the chair…” Hunter said, pointing at the chair.

Stan walked closer, stopping when Glitch backed into a corner in a panic. “Hey, it’s okay, I ain’t gonna hurtcha, okay?” Stan said gently.

“But you said-” Glitch started.

“I know what I said, but I regret saying it. It was said in the heat of the moment. I wasn’t in the right for saying that. I had no right to say that about a thirteen year old.” Stan winced, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Glitch whimpered, clearly on the verge of a panic attack. Stan thought something over, settling on something. “Okay kid, lemme let ya in on a secret that I have with Hunter, when she gets like this, we do a little breathing exercise to calm down, would you wanna do that?” Stan asked gently.

Glitch whimpered, unsure of if he should trust him. “....I’m sorry I snapped at you. We haven’t had good encounters with other Demons-not saying that you’re like them! We’re just...Wary, nowadays.” Stan said.

“I’m not full demon…” Glitch said.

“I...I know, but there’s still that Demon part and...We just don’t wanna get hurt again, ya know…?” Stan smiled crookedly.

“I dunno…” Glitch said.

“It’s fine, it won’t hurt, I promise! Scout’s honor!” Stan promised, holding his hand over his heart.

“I don’t like promises…” Glitch said. “They usually end up broken..” Glitch added.

“Not mine, kiddo. My promises are the most genuine thing this side of Oregan!” Stan assured.

(Timeskip.)

After Glitch calmed down, Hunter snuck home, repairing the Ink Machine in the basement. As she wrapped up, she felt her phone vibrate and she went to answer it.

“Hello? Yeah, what’s up, Stan-Stan?” Hunter asked. Hunter nodded as he explained. “How much? Yeah, I can-no, I can help with that. No, ya don’t need to tell me. Midnight? Alright. See ya then, bye.” Hunter said, hanging up. Hunter took a deep breath, getting everything together and ready for midnight.

(Elsewhere.)

Agent Trigger checked a screen, jumping in surprise as he spotted something on it. “Agent Powers, sir, we have a sighting!!” Agent Trigger called. Agent Powers walked over, looking at the screen.

“What did you find, Agent Trigger?” Agent Powers asked.

“We found the culprits for the thefts, sir!!” Trigger said.

“Really? Who?” Powers asked. Trigger pointed at the screen, showing two people; Hunter and- “Stanford Pines. Bingo.” Powers smirked.

“What should we do, sir?” Trigger asked, awaiting orders.

“Well, Agent Trigger, we do the smart thing.” Powers said.

“What’s that?” Trigger asked, confused.

“We call in Special Ops.” Powers ordered.

“Sir, yes sir!!” Trigger said, standing up and saluting.

[anieswrld]

are u sure omg

joking around with eddie while watching movies and you accidentally hurt his feelings!

You were watching something he had seen at least one hundred times and he would not stop talking through it. You loved him but sometimes, he just hit all the nerves at once.

"Are you gonna talk the whole time Eds?" You feign a smile to not seem totally bitchy.

He chuckles "You talk all the time, sweetheart, you talk so much during class I'm surprised you're passing." His comment was so lighthearted but something about his comment pissed you off.

"At least I'm actually graduating with my class." You looked back at the T.V as he pulled away from you completely.

"Woah dude, I was just fucking around." He was hurt, you knew that but you didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry Eddie I didn't-"

"Mean it? Then why did you say it. I get it im graduated two years after I'm supposed to. It's not like I wanted to but, for fucks sake I didn't think you'd say that." His soft brown eyes are looking directly at you, if you looked closely you almost saw tears. That's how the night ended, he went to his room and you slept on the couch, he went to bed upset with you, Eddie never goes to bed upset with you.

(sorry for the abrubt sad ending, I'm a lil sad rn 😭)

[flute-mob]

AH I haven’t even HEARD of that fic yet (but now i feel i gotta) but I’m still STUNNED, this is AMAZING like gosh dang not only is the design hella cool its also v v well done and so flowy and well composed and alive feeling. absolutely living for that transition from tail to top human half like what?? hows it look so seamless and natural?? like usually i dont like mermaid/mythical creature aus since i dont get the appeal of taking a character and just making their back half an animal but oml this is just so good??like tbh im just floored ive never seen a mermaid done so good. just like so many things go into making both halves not look out of place. the little scale details just like dang its so small but it makes him feel so much more alive. i love how the tail doesn’t end in an abrubt line and how the scales crawl up and fade into his left side and then all the scale patches all over his top half just make the transition seem even more so seamless like dude i didn’t even notice the line between human and fish or that it was an askew border or anything when i first looked at it, almost everytime i see mermaid fanart its just like “oh look its x but i guess they added fish tail there too i guess” but i looked at this and just thought “MERMAID” like both halves are not just instrinsically linked because they aren’t halves at all this isn’t a mix this is one being.

also i feel a need to talk about the bottom part like HECK loving those six fins i dont even know what to say about them thats v analytical deep but heckity heck they somehow accentuate his transition point and make it so he doesnt just look like loooong torso boy and has some variation in width yet at the same time are v subtle and not in your face obvious again i am stunned by your ability to just make mermaid logan look so natural and not pieced together. also. that circle pattern on the tail. i love it. like you also managed to make a patterned mermaid tail not look articificial or gaudy?? extreme respect. i dont even know how to begin to start trying to rationalize how your circles look so good and natural when usually patterned mermaid tails just look so not. they look so cool and bubbly and fun and i love them

edit: ok woah now im back to talk a bit more bc i just thought of another reason i love this so much (sorry it’s already so long and i gotta go make it even longer) but just want to say i just realized why i love this so so much more than most mermaid fanarts and its that it makes its transition blend and look almost nonexistant and seamless while using distinct solid black lines and somehow not relying at all on color gardient or a fade in like?? idk if you think being able to pull that off is hella cool but i think it is ok go back to your resumed scrolling

Ok so remember when my bio said I’d post art once in a while?

So here’s Logan from @teacupfulofstarshine’s Lovely, Dark and Deep! I hope you like it (and don’t mind me tagging you) Patton and Roman will come soon!

[buggyexplorer-blog]

Buggy Aventures on tour part 1.  Northumberland

Welcome everyone to Buggy Adventures.  This is my first post in a few weeks and that is because the Buggy Explorer clan have had some holiday time.  Now, with a 5 month old baby we didn’t exactly expect to be jumping onto a jumbo jet and heading off to sunnier climes.  A few years ago we decided to invest for our future family life and took up caravanning.  A great way for lots of inexpensive holidays, once you have made the initial lay out for the caravan of course.  I mean, how many holidays and breaks away can most people say that they have in a year? Two, three or for those lucky enough perhaps four?  Well without sounding like I am showing off, we can hand on heart say that we can have as many little holidays as the pennies allow for us.  By staying on lovely caravan sites for as little as £14 per night it doesn’t exactly break the bank and with the North York Moors on our doorstep, we don’t need to travel very far.  Think about how much a little B&B in the heart of a national park would cost you.  So for me it is a no brainer.

Now this particualr break away was our main two week holiday of the year.  Four nights in Northumberland, home in time to vote in the General Election with a few days at home and then part two of the holiday which is yet to come in my next blog post.  So on a lovely sunny Sunday morning we hitched up our home on wheels, pointed the Beast and caravan in a Northward direction and headed up the A19 and A1 to Northumberland.  We were booked in to a Caravan and Motorhome Club site called Nunnykirk.  Looking on the map it appeared that there wasn’t much at Nunnykirk beyond the caravan site and that was exactly what we were looking for.  Not only was it a bargain at £14 per night in June but it boasted to be nestled in lovely Northumberland countryside and a paradise for bird watchers.  I am no bird watcher but it was so nice to see a heron fly right past our caravan front window on more than one occasion and watch all the pheasants roam the site and listen to their “toot toot” call.  When we arrived we had a nice welcome from the warden, who took particular interest in Master Thomas and advised us on the more sunnier pitches.  We found our pitch in the third and final section of the site, which was very spacious and with no hard standing on the site the place was lush and green.  After getting pitched up we had a wander around to take in our surroundings and then retired to sit in the tea time sunshine for a drinkypoo.

Now, this is where the sun ended.  Upon waking on our first morning in Nunnykirk the heavens had opened and they were to remain open for most of the rest of our stay.  Typical.  The country had enjoyed a few weeks of nice early summer weather and then we go on holiday and it pours down!  So this did put play to much of our buggy exploring that we had planned to do.  We are not just “fair weather” explorers but we now had Thomas to consider and we didn’t really want to take him out in the torrential rain.  That wouldn’t have been much fun for the little man.  So we resorted to exploring by car and visited places such as nearby Rothbury, Amble, Alnmouth and Anwick, dodging showers when diving in and out of the many independent shops and country inns and pubs.  We did get one dry day, Wednesday and finally we were a able to do some buggy exploring!

With our wet gear packed, just incase, we took ourselves off for a hike around the nearby Fontburn Reservoir.  There was a car park at the reservoir but as it was so close to us we decided to walk direct from the caravan site making the walk a little over seven and a half miles long.  We walked along the quiet minor road from the site to a “T” junction with the B6342 road and turned left.  According the map there should have been a path not long after crossing the stream from the road which turned right to go through a small wood which linked up with the access road to the reservoir.  However we could not find this path so ended up walking for about half a mile on the road before turning right onto the small access road to the reservoir.  The map and directions for the walk got us a little confused again and you will notice on the map above that we darted off to the left and we were forced to retrace our steps back to the road.    Once back to the road I studied the map and came up with my own route for the walk and we pressed on safe in the knowledge that we were now following our own directions and not someone else’s.

We reached Fontburn Reservoir and with it being a blustery day the water was rather choppy and the water very dark.  The development of the reservoir, to serve the South East population of Northumberland with safe and plentiful drinking water, was passed by Parliament in 1898 with work starting in 1901 and it was completed in 1908.  With Kielder Water just up the road I wonder just how needed it is in these parts now.  Elsewhere in the country there aren’t enough reservoirs and after a few dry days you find some parts declaring hosepipe bans!  And here you have a working reservoir with the largest artificial reservoir in the country a mere stone’s throw away!

After a little stop we turned left at the reservoir to walk through the car park keeping the reservoir on our right hand side for the rest of the walk.  As it was a blustery day we occasionally lowered the rain cover on the buggy to keep Thomas from getting chilly with the cold wind.  It must have been rather cosy in there as he was fast asleep, a common occurence on our buggy adventures actually!  Once we left the car park we walked past some wooden holiday chalets on our left with elevated views across the water and the path soon turned from tarmac to gravel then grass.  We entered a wood which we would now carry on walking through for about two miles.  The path would rise and then drop back down to water level and meander away and then back towards the water and at times was quite narrow, making buggy pushing a little technical.

In between the narrow sections of path we walked over a number of wooden pathways built up off the ground protecting the soft ground from becoming damaged from boots and in our case, wheels too.  This made walking easy and we were able to stop and take in the views of the water through the trees. At the end of the wood the waterside path came to an abrubt end due to the other side of the fence being a nature reserve and therefore protected.  We walked left away fro the water uphill to a kissing gate, the first of a couple which we needed to lift the buggy over and then we followed the moorland path around the head of the reservoir.  By this time the water was out of view and quite a few feet below our position.  The path was on the side of a steep slope, was narrow and very uneven.  Easilly the most uncomfortable path that I had pushed the buggy along so far in our adventures.  Leela too was having to watch her step.  Doing my best to keep the buggy from tipping over and not to topple over myself we carried on through some boggy patches until we met another moorland track.  This was a particularly boggy area and Leela forged on ahead to pick the easiest route across to drier, firmer ground for the buggy.  Following her lead I got myself and Thomas over without disappearing in the boggy ground!  Back on wider and firmer paths we crossed a few streams and followed the path through a gate back into the wood and headed back down to the water’s edge.  We watched a flock of Greylag Geese on the water get, rather menacingly, chased away from some much larger Canada Geese.  I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the smaller, outnumbered family of Greylag Geese getting chased away from territory clearly claimed by their Canadian cousins!

After watching the potential of “Geese War” we carried on following our route which kept wandering away and then back towards the water for the next few hundred yards.  We crossed a few streams on very narrow bridges that we barely got the buggy through.  Anyone with a slightly large posterior would struggle with these bridges!  We could see here that the water, which was still flowing fast after the rain, had previously run so high that it had flowed over the bridges which would have made the route unpassable.  Thankfully the water had subsided.  We then came to two gates at the end of the path and after a study of our map we took the gate to the right and headed once again uphil, away from the water and wooded area.

This was a steep grassy hill that got the blood pumping and at the top we rested and took in the lovely views for miles around.  However we also noticed a heard of cows that had taken quite an interest in us.  I mean, we must have looked silly to them, two people with bags on our backs pushing a funny red three wheeled thingybob in front!  They wanted a closer look and headed towards us.  This made Leela feel a little ucomfortable and urged me to start walking away swiftly.  As a dutiful husband I honoured this request and we carried on pushing the buggy slightly uphill and left the cows behind.  As we crossed into the next field we notice that the path again split.  We had a decision to make whether to keep to the high ground, or take the path downhill back to the reservoir.  While studying the map and our options another couple of hikers caught us up and were having the same debate.  All four (five including Master Thomas of course) deciced to take the lower path back towards to the water’s edge and into the wood.  As I was putting the map back in my pocket and taking on some water we noticed that our inquisitive friends were back, the cows!  They were close and to be honest quite unnerving.  I have walked through many fields with cattle in over the years but on this occasion these guys seemed a little too interested in us.  We hurried down the hill with our new found friends following, at least until the lush grass became more appealing than the walkers and their funny three wheeled thingybob!

We had another kissing gate and Leela went through first and I lifted the buggy over with Leela’s help and we were now back on some nice even raised wooden paths for a while that we followed along the water’s edge.

By this time we were getting rather peckish.  We had done about four miles, so over halfway and it was quite a strenous four miles.  We decided that the first nice opening on the shores of the reservoir we would stop and eat.  Plus Master Thomas would surely be getting hungry too by now.  After about half a mile we found such a place and decided to have our main pit stop.  I took off my rucksack and reached inside my fleece pocket for the map to put away into the rucksack and uh oh!  Where was it?  I no longer had the map.  Now bear in mind that we borrowed this map and walk directions from the information hut back at the site, so I felt compelled to find it so that I could return it for future use.  Despite the instructions being useless the map itself was good.  So off I went re-tracing my steps thinking I must have dropped it at the top of the hill when we made our sharp getaway from the cows!  Eyes scouring the path I walked swiftly back along where we had already been feeling sure that I would find it in the field in the middle of the cows who would surely not make it easy for me to retrieve it!  And then, there it was, shining like lost treasure on the wooden path and I could rest easy, I didn’t need to go and negotiate its safe return from the cattle after all!  I tucked it safely into my inside pocket and headed back to Leela and Thomas to have some much needed lunch.

After eating in the sunshine and making sure that Thomas was well lathered in sun cream we headed off again.  The wind had died down, it was much more pleasant for walking and the path was broad and easy with the water to our right no longer choppy and dark but light blue and twinkling in the sun.  We hadn’t seen too many people on our entire walk, only three and it was obvious that much of the route was little used but by now we were headed back towards civilisation and noticed a few people fishing.  I have only ever done a little bit of fishing.  I spent one summer of the school holidays fishing with a friend at Scaling Dam, on the A171 road between Guisborough and Whitby.  I caught a few Rainbow Trout and enjoyed it too.  When I was younger than that as a family we visited the Pickering Trout Farm and my Dad and I had a competition of who could catch the most fish.  I forget how many we both caught but I know that I won, easily actually!  I have a photo somewhwere of us both posing infront of our caught fish, me looking rather smug and my Dad not so much.  I can’t wait to be able to do things like that with Thomas when he is older.  I have a fishing rod given to me by my Father-in-Law and as we were walking past the fishermen I remember thinking how I should get kitted out and use it.

The waterside path ended at a car park at the dam end of the reservoir and we joined a tarmac road.  We turned left and walked towards the water treatment works with a rather magnificent viaduct dominating.

We walked downhill to the end of the road by the buildings on our right and followed a little used and overgrown path through a gate on our left running parallel with the old disused railway line on our right.  We then reached some old ruins that appeared to be that of the old Fontburn Halt Railway Station.  The railway line was authorised by Parliament in 1859 and the Wansbeck Railway Company begain buildng the line from Morpeth to Reedsmouth.  As this was costly the line was built in sections and was not fully completed until 1870.  Orginally the line was developed to serve lime works and a local colliery at Whitehouse but in 1923 the line became part of the London and North Eastern Railway to carry passengers.  By 1952 though the passanger trains were withdrawn and in 1963 the line finally closed.  The viaduct is an impressive piece of engineering though and is a lasting reminder of times gone by.

Just after the old ruins of the once busy train station we reached a farm road, turned right and followed the undulating farm road for the final stretch to the B6342. We turned right to follow the road downhill and then a left turn into the minor road taking us back to the caravan site.

A nice walk with some challenging sections for the buggy and one that I would recommend if you happen to be visiting the area.  A little over seven and half miles with 614 feet of elevation gain, it doesn’t have any prolonged hills but rather a number of short sharp rises to contend with.  My advice would be not to start at the caravan site if you happen to be staying there but to drive the short distance to the reservoir car park and start from there.  Yes it shortens the walk somewhat but it is much safter than walking along the B6342 which is quite busy and twisty with no pathway to walk along.  I can not find any details of parking charges online but it did look like there is some development going on at the reservoir visitors centre such as a children’s play park, so it would not surprise me if parking charges were introduced soon, if they are not already.  So make sure you have some change just to be safe.

We were back to wet weather for our final full day at Nunnykirk and a visit to nearby Rothbury showed just how much rain had fallen during our stay as the River Coquet had breached and flooded the riverside walkway and car park.  Thankfully the stream running through our caravan site did not breach but it was running rather high and fast and apparently the site is susceptible to flooding!

The day of our departure was torrential rain and we were totally soaked to the skin packing up and taking down the awning and we headed back South to Teesside in continuous heavy rain!

Make sure you watch out for my next blog, another holiday special when we visit God’s own country, North Yorkshire and the aptly named North Yorkshire Moors Caravan and Motorhome Club Site where we once again aim to boldly go where no buggy has gone before………

[helphelp69]

HELP

rei can’t remember when he started to look forward to saturday afternoons. usually, he worked for the first half of the day.

work is a boring concept, he doesn’t want to work. being surrounded by bitter harpies who wanted to see a young waiter serve them was not ideal. he even considers spitting in their food, but if it tastes bad, he gets no tip.

god, he wants to die. no, he doesn’t want to die. he wants them to. he clenches and unclenches his fist, smiling sweetly as he sets down a tray onto a table with two loud children. they chew loudly, and he taps the back of his neck consistently to keep himself from snatching the food away from them.

before he knows it, his shift is over, and it feels like he’s scratched a hole into the back of his neck. his boss has a crooked smile. she thanks him for always being so pleasant, always entertaining the most annoying customers.

30 dollars in tips. that’s the most he’s ever gotten. he twists and untwists his necklace in nervousness. if his boss finds out, she’d definitely extract something from his check. twist, twist, and untwist. the pebbles inside of the tiny terrarium necklace shift with uncertainty. he’s never been so relieved about the fact that his shift was ending.

it’s cold. the first thing that happens as soon as he steps out is a collision with someone. he’s ready to lash out at the other, before he realizes who it was.

the world stills.

“– sorry. are you leaving? i thought i could get here earlier.” owen shoves his hands into his pockets after regaining his balance, pulling up his mask as if it were to protect him from the cold and not sickness.

“… it’s okay. um,” he takes out the styrofoam box of stuff he usually takes home from work, and offers it to the other. “i like pastries a lot, so usually i take some home. you can have this batch.”

owen furrows his eyebrows, taking the gift hesitantly.

“you didn’t have to–”

“i know. you’re cute, and i like to see you happy.” he doesn’t give the other time to respond, taking his free hand within his. it’s almost as if it wasn’t snowing, and if the warmth from simply holding the other’s hand was enough to get him to stop shaking. “i want to go to your place. there’s not really anything to do in the garden, but… i’d like to spend time with you.”

he’s embarrassed. his mask can’t hide all of it. sighing, he tightens his grip on rei’s hand.

“… thanks. uh, let’s go.”

——

rei can’t help but stare at him.

not many things could be planted in the winter. carrots, asparagus, peas– that, of course, continued to grow through autumn and winter. he can’t understand why he goes through the trouble of it, but he respects it.

he always looked nice despite how hard he worked. blonde was his favorite hair color. he was athletic and vaguely built. he was really, really perfect. he could cook, and he worked constantly, and he looked really cute when he slept in class, and–

rei pulls the other down by his collar and kisses him, feelings overwhelming his impulse control. despite how sudden it was, owen kisses back, feeling his arms wrap around him.

his legs felt weak. he doesn’t want to be weak, but he felt completely safe in the other’s arms.

“i… i love you.” he’s embarrassed, but he doesn’t want to stop embracing the other. it was warm, and it felt like he was melting. he looks up at the other expectantly, growing more flustered by the moment.

owen looks to the side for a few seconds before being able to look the other in the eyes. he was really cute when he was embarrassed. he could only fall for him even harder.

“i love you too, rei.”

he likes it when he says his name. overwhelmed, he kisses him again.

at this point, owen has to pull away so he can actually breathe– kissing and having a stuffed nose isn’t an ideal combination. rei decides to use the opportunity to calm down, wondering how he could possibly be so abrubt and embarrassing.

… regardless of how spontaneous it was, it’s not like he’d ever regret it.