#that's probably how stein caught her out anyway

[littlebigmouse]

One worldbuilding detail Soul Eater really had going for it was the way they explained everyone having weird, unique and horror-movie inspired names such as Soul Eater, Black*Star, Franken Stein.

The school all these kids attend allows them to sign up with any name they want and to change their names once every six months.

You better believe if I were a thirteen year old with the ability to turn into a scythe and eat monster souls I'd call myself Soul Eater too. "But isn't his original name 'Soul Evans'? That's already a weird first name." He's from a family of musicians. He probably has a cousin called R'n'B.

It also made for the very nice touches in charaterisation where you'd see a character calling himself "Ox Ford" and knew immediately which brand of arrogant, insufferable child-prodigy this guy represented and you'd be absolutely right. Why is there a girl who can turn into a lantern who's name is "Jackie O'Lantern"? Because she's the funniest teenager on the squad.

Shoutout to Maka Albarn for taking her education so seriously she decided to not get herself a fun name, and to Justin Law, who let's say, subverted expectations.

It also just makes total sense for their wacky and non-conforming headmaster to not give a shit about names, or birth names, or gender norms. Death said trans rights, yo.

[somewhat-bored]

Leila probably should've checked with Emily to see if the goop she was covered in was toxic or not before agreeing to spend an entire school day trapped in this vat. But, impulsive and eager to learn magic and to help a nice girl pass her classes, she had no second thoughts about pretending to be an Abomination. The slime didn't seem to be too bad, at worst it was going to stain her clothes, which could be removed with magic. The vat on the other hand was kind of a tight space, but it was alright all things considered. It was bigger than the closets she was frequently shoved in back at the orphanage, and Emily kept the lid cracked open a few inches and frequently checked on Leila to see if she was okay.

It was currently lunch time, and the pair was sitting near a window. Peeking out of the lid, Leila could see Ridley seated on the other side of the room, accompanied by two look-alike witches. She was scowling ("When is she not?" Leila thought to herself.) and clearly trying to focus on her book whilst the other witches tried their best to distract her. "So..." Leila began, "Why is Ridley so- grumpy?"

Emily looked down. "What do you mean?"

"She's really mean to you."

Emily sighed. "I don't know. I don't think her main goal is to make my life miserable, but she's very competitive. She got really upset after we got the top student star."

Leila scrunched her eyebrows together in thought. Ridley did seem frustrated when Emily "outdid" her own Abomination. It wasn't their intention to make her lose her spot as the best in class, but the look on her face was priceless.

"Sometimes I wish I could've been her friend. Ridley's very smart and all, but she's really hard to get along with," Emily said.

"Well, lemme tell you something!" A voice from behind them said. Emily jumped and Leila jolted, knocked her head against the cover of the cauldron, causing it to fall off. The mystery voice caught it before it shattered on the ground. Standing behind them was a boy wearing a light blue uniform who looked a lot like the duo by Ridley. Triplets? Leila thought to herself.

"OIly, you have to stop doing that!" Emily exclaimed.

"Why? We're the best at popping up behind people! Rare talent these days," Olly replied, setting the lid down on the table. "By the way, Abominations don't usually talk, do they?"

Leila froze. How long had he been eavesdropping on their conversation? She hadn't prepared for a scenario where she had been caught.

"Oh, this is Leila. She's a human, long story." Emily summarized. Turning to Leila, she said, "This is Olly, he and his twin sister are in the Illusion Track. I don't think he'd snitch on us, they're notorious pranksters." Olly nodded proudly in affirmation to the statement.

"What were you going to tell us about Ridley?" Leila piped up, eager to hear what Olly had to say.

"Alright, but you didn't hear this from me, you heard it from Izzy." Olly began. "We're friends with Ridley-"

"You're friends with everyone." Emily interjected with a small laugh.

"Rude interruption, but anyways, since we're friends with Ridley, we know that she was once friends with Theodore Stein-Meyer." Olly made a great emphasis on the name.

Clearly the person was important, as Leila saw Emily look bewildered and confused. "Theo? Really? They're so different-"

"Who is Theo?" Leila asked.

Olly pointed to the right to a group of witches. "See the one with the violin? That's Theo. His father is head of the Bard Coven." Another boy was sitting up straight, clearly unamused by the people he was surrounded by. A violin case laid aside his person as he looked aimlessly about the cafeteria, bored with his company.

"So anyways, they were friends once upon a time, and then they had a huge falling out! Ridley doesn't want to focus on friendship anymore. She'd rather do schoolwork to 'become the greatest witch ever' or something to that affect." Olly continued to speak dramatically.

Throughout the time spent gossiping with Olly, Ridley noticed they were talking and made her way over to the group. Izzy and Olly(?) made their way quickly behind her.

"Oh darn, Ridley noticed, gotta go!" With that, Olly poofed into a blue smoke and vanished. Emily tried to visibly not panic as Ridley arrived and scrambled to put the lid back on the pot.

"So Emily, how are you today?" Izzy asked.

"Tell me about your Abomination." Ridley cut in, clearly wanting answers. "How'd you make it. Why it's less fluid and more mechanical. When did you even get time to construct the Abomination before school started?"

Emily stuttered, looking for an explanation other than, "We totally cheated." Luckily, she was saved by the screaming bell as the rest of the lunchroom traveled to their next classes.

Ridley looked very frustrated and very determined to find the truth.

"Hey Ridley, did you know your face gets really red whenever you get mad?" Izzy said jokingly. Ridley's eyes widened and she turned to Izzy, scowling once more.

"Be quiet Izzy. And quit keeping up the Illusion of Olly, I know he was talking to Emily."

"What do you mean?" Asked Olly, "I'm right here!" The Illusion poofed and the real Olly was standing in it's place. "I made myself a half-inch taller and you didn't notice!"

With Ridley being annoyed and distracted by the antics of the twins, Emily took that as her cue to grab the vat wagon and leave. Leila couldn't have been more relieved at leaving, and hoped that was all the excitement for today.

[liquid-luck-00]

Seven Deadly Sins x Maribat

Medieval Au

@maribat-bdbwm

Based on this idea

~~~~~~~~~~

Ten years ago.

On the outskirts of the city of Liones, of the capital of the country Liones, in the land of Britannia, homes destroyed, and countless holy knights laid butchered in the streets.

That day will go down in history for its infamy, the day the Seven Deadly Sins betrayed the country of Liones.

---

This is a tale of ancient times, an era before the human and non-human worlds were forever divided. When the Holy Knights, defended the realm, wielding their magical powers they were feared and highly respected. But among them a group emerged, that betrayed the kingdom, and became mortal enemies to all Holy Knights. They were known throughout the land as the Seven Deadly Sins.

---

Present day.

Near the Kaynes Village, there was a new tavern that was a buzz with customers.

“Here you go, drink up.” A young girl placed five steins of ale on the table. She had dark black hair that shown blue, pulled into twin pigtails by two pink ribbons, and bangs that framed her face and blue eyes. She wore a collared off-white shirt under a black vest with green panels. A pink skirt over leggings that reached halfway down her calf. And wore black and green boots. As more people come in, she directs them all with a smile.

“For a little lady, she is one hard working waitress.” A customer acknowledges.

“Oh no, I’m not the waiter, Buddy” She turns around. “I’m the owner of this place.” She turns to walk away.

“She’s the owner?!? A young kid like that.” But she doesn’t hear them.

“Alright, fresh from the oven. The meat pie that made the Boar Hat famous. Enjoy.” Three patrons dug into the pie, and promptly got sick. “You should have known. Our reputation is for having really good booze, but the food not so much.” She said with a completely straight face.

“Are trying to mess with us you little punk.” One shouted ready to fight.

“Wait guys, she’s packing a sword.” Another of the three pointed out. The handle was an emerald green and looked like a dragon with ruby eyes.

“Well, you guys, looks like we have a problem.” Her smile fell and she snapped her fingers. “Now let’s fix it.”

“Come on you call that a mess.” Out trotted a shiny black pig, wearing an earring tag. “Really what do you need me for?”

“Wait!!! That pig. He’s talking.”

“Yes, I’m a talking pig, what a bunch of dum-dums.”

“Plagg, we need to get this floor cleaned.” She spoke.

“Ugh, what a hassle.” Plagg complained. “Scrap disposal is a tough business.” He ate leaving, but before he did, he retorted. “Next time there better be some decent sized scraps.”

“You know I have an old family recipe for whole roasted hog.” She spoke to no one in particular, but with a deadpanned expression. Which changed Plagg’s tune quickly.

Then someone barged in. “I saw it. I really saw it.” He sat down. “I swear to all that is holy. I saw the wandering Rust Knight.”

“That’s just a made-up story, like how parents get their kids to stop misbehaving. The Seven Deadly Sins will come in blood rusted armor, oooh ahhh.”

“The Seven Deadly Sins?” She asks from behind the bar.

“You’ve never heard of them? They’re wanted posters are hanging everywhere, like those over there.”

She looks at the board and there were seven faces and seven names. Marinette, Chloe, Adrien, Luka, Felix, Lila, and Kagami.

“How long has it been? Ten years. When all those holy knights were slaughtered so fast, they couldn’t defend themselves. It was the Seven Deadly Sins that did it. From what I've been told the way the holy Knights’ grandmaster was killed was too gruesome for anyone to look at.” They began to talk amongst themselves.

“They say their captain, Marinette, is the scariest of them all. It's even said that she's brought down whole countries on her own.” Everything went quiet.

Until another patron spoke up. “Well none of them have been caught yet have not a single one.”

“They’re dead, they have to be the new Holy Knights would never let them live after what they've done.”

“Yeah you've got a point even now with the kings sick. The Holy Knights are making sure that the Kingdom stays safe for all its people. But those notices up on the board get updated every single year. Doesn’t that mean those seven criminals are still out there?”

“Yeah well some spooky knight walking around in rusty armor sounds pretty ridiculous to me.”

“You’re right.”

A crash, scraping, and banging was heard just outside the Tavern door.

“That smells an awful lot like rust to me.” Plagg sniffed the air and then cowered behind the counter.

The door opened and there stood the rusted knight. “The Seven Deadly Sins…” Hhe moaned as he entered the Tavern.

Screaming, panic, and everyone rushing out of the Tavern ensued. Fleeing from the rusted knight.

The girl jumped over the counter and stood her ground defiantly looking at the Rust knight. “Now who are you?”

The Rust knight swayed and then fell to the ground collapsed. His helmet rolled off of him. And then they saw his face, his eyes shut tight in the pain and exhaustion, his black hair short and messy stuck to his face from the sweat. And he wore a singular earring, a true blue engraved with something in red and gold.

“This kid is one of the Seven Deadly Sins?” Plagg asked the girl, and they took him up to the room taking the armor off of him. “He's just a boy.”

“Let’s just make sure.” The girl went up to the boy and started poking him first on his thigh, then his stomached, his bicep, she was leaning over him and was about to poke his cheek when his eyes flew open. “Yep, he's a boy.”

“Um, pardon me but what am I doing here?” He was quiet and soft spoken.

“Oh yeah you came into my bar then you passed out cold.”

“Your bar?”

“Yeah, the Boar Hat, my Tavern.”

“You’re the owner?”

“Is that so weird?”

“I just saw that sword, so I naturally assumed.”

“Oh, this old thing.” She motioned and pulled the sword from its scabbard. “Ha ha ha. Yeah, I guess if you only see the handle, it can fool ya huh.” All that rose up and out with her hand was the handle and a small stub was left of the blade, which was practically worthless in a fight. “It makes guests think twice about skipping out on their tabs.” She put the sword handle back into its scabbard on her back.

Which was when they moved downstairs to the raven again. Marinette cooked up something for the boy, and set the plate in front of him.

“First you nurse me back to health, now you're feeding me, how can I possibly thank you enough.” He barely choked out.

“First before saying thanks you should probably try the food first.” Plagg’s nasally voice cut into his words.

“What do you think? Awful isn't it.” She leaned down on the bar now watching him eat with a grin on her face.

“Yes.” He responded.

Which caused both her and Plagg to respond in unison. “Knew it was.”

But then something shocked them, he started to cry.

“Still its delicious.” Tears fell down his face.

“So what exactly were you doing walking around in that old armor, anyways?” She asked the boy.

“I'm on a personal quest to find the Seven Deadly Sins.” He answered.

“Why would you do that? You don’t even know if those guys are even still alive or not, and they’re serious villains.” Plagg reasoned.

That was when banging was heard on the tavern door, knights banged on the door, and ordered them to open up for them.

That was when she noticed the boy got slightly afraid at the mention of Knights.

After a moment of the Knights bickering to themselves, that gave her just enough time to think. She went and opened the door.

“Who are you?” One of the Knights asked her as she opened the door.

“I'm the owner of this place. What do you want?” She was relaxed.

“The Rust Knight is in there, send him out!” The same knight answered.

“Alright.” She turned around and looked back. “You might want to come out now.”

They all looked past her and saw Plagg dressed in the armor that the boy was wearing walk out.

“You have some nerve mocking the Knights of this land like this.” He grabbed her by the shirt and lifted her up off the ground. She was small, sure but he still held her up a meter off the ground.

That’s when the boy had snuck out of the back and made a run for it into the forest. Unfortunately, he was seen. “Look a boy just ran out, after him.”

The knight threw her back to the ground and she and Plagg shared a worried look.

The two of them ran after the boy and the Knights, Plagg mowed down, tackling each and every one, while she went after the boy. The last knight got pushed down off of the cliff at the edge of the forest by Plagg. While she and the boy were safely out of the way in one of the trees at the edge.

“So why are you looking for the Seven Deadly Sins anyways?” She asked him once they were back on the ground.

“To stop the Holy Knights.” He answered.

“Are you serious!! Why in the world would you wanna do that?” Plagg exclaimed. “The Holy Knights are the king’s men, the knights are here to protect us they are heroes.”

“But what if they were behind a plot to start a war in our country. Except for the king himself, the entire royal family was arrested and is being held by the Holy Knights.”

“Does that mean the king isn't really sick in bed?” Plagg asked the boy.

“That’s just a cover story the Holy Knights are using. I don't know what they think they can accomplish by driving the nation to war, but now they're drafting people. Taking men wherever they can get them they're preparing for war everywhere you look. So their reach will even extend all the way out here.” He shook his head.

“Yeah tough break, huh?” She finally responded.

“Wow you don't have any empathy at all. How does this tie back to the Seven Deadly Sins again?” Plagg shook his head.

“If there's even the slightest hope of preventing the Holy Knights from doing this. I know they're the only ones who can.” He was resolute.

“Just checking here.” She Butt in again. “You’re trying to find those guys even though you know what kind of people they are?”

“The Seven Deadly Sins are the most vile Order of Knights the Kingdom ever produced, made up of seven vicious bloodthirsty criminals each one branded with the mark of the beast. Ten years ago when they were suspected of trying to overthrow the Kingdom the Knights of the realm launched a full force attack scattering them to the four winds.”

“Well if you believe the rumors they each died a long time ago.” She spoke distractedly.

“Such amazing people wouldn't possibly let themselves get killed!”

“But they are criminals aren't they causing the suffering of the people right now?” She asked confused.

“When I was small, only five or six years old, my father would tell me stories about them and that's when I learned they are the most powerful Knights!”

A rumbling was heard and then the edge of the cliff they were on started to crumble and fall beneath them, dropping them down.

“I did not confirm whether or not they were people named in the report. Conclusion two individuals of unknown origin dead. What do you think men that sounds about right?” A man wearing red armor, silver grey hair and mustache.

“But Sir Twiggle, one of our knights was still under the cliff.”

“Simply put three fatalities in the report then.” Twiggle answered haughtily.

“But Sir, you can't! That’s too far even for you”

“How about seven fatalities instead?” The knight in red armor moved towards the rest of his men, but that was also when she jumped back up on to the cliff with not only the boy and Plagg in her arms but also the knight who fell.

“When I give a signal to you run into the forest got it.” She spoke quietly to the boy.

“Which one of them would you believe to be a member of the Seven Deadly Sins. Neither bears any resemblance to the wanted posters?” He then noticed something. “God is smiling upon me today, the crystal earring you're wearing is from the royal family. Conclusion you are Prince Jonathan!”

“Wait hold on Prince Jonathan?” The knights shouted.

“You're a Prince?” She added softly.

“Orders from the Capital are to determine your whereabouts. the order was to capture you alive and in healthy condition, but if you lost your life in an unfortunate accident…” Twiggle spoke aloud.

“I can't allow myself to get captured not yet!”

“Conclusion accidental death.” Sir Twiggle let off a shockwave of air magic chopping the entire forest down to the ground.

“Hi there, you alright?” She had pulled him down and covered him from the blast. “Plagg?”

“Seriously I'm a shaved pork on a skewer.” He cried. A single small little twig had splintered in his back. And he went off crying and screaming Tikki.

Johnathan stood and started to walk towards Twiggle. “Johnathan. Hey! What are you doing?” She called after him.

“There’s no escape.”

“Wait hang on you just said you couldn't afford to be caught or to give up.”

“Maybe if I surrender myself peacefully, he'll agree to take me back with him and your life can be spared.”

Sir Twiggle sent off another blast cutting into everything again, but she was able to tackle him out of the way just in time.

“Please get out of here while you still can.” He begged her.

“I think he wants to make sure neither one of us gets out of here alive.” She noticed as She was above him once more. After the attack ensuring he was fine yet again, the only real damage done to her, and that was her left sleeve was completely torn revealing her entire arm from shoulder to fingers. A mark barely visible on her shoulder.

“I was so happy when I met you. Searching for the Seven Deadly Sins, I so scared alone in that rusty armor. There wasn't any help I could ask for. Then you show up and show me such kindness, someone that you've never met before. I don't wanna see you hurt my problems anymore when I don’t even know your name.”

Memories flashed behind her eyes and a smile spread on her lips.

“Marinette. If you really wanna know.” She grinned from ear to ear.

“I… I don't believe it you can't be you're just.” Tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

That was when the knight who fell with them regained consciousness jumping up. “Where's the girl the one with the sword. I saw it when she saved me from the cliff the symbol it was right there. The symbol on her shoulder it… it… it’s her.”

Sir Twiggle struck again now closer, right on top of them. The magic was unleashed but Marinette stood up and was now facing the Knight.

“How is this possible? My technique was flawless I am certain my blade struck her!” Twiggle began to look even more and more frazzled. “But I was the one who felt the force of the blow. How could it have hit me?! And what is that in your hand?! A broken blade! Broken blade… now your face is beginning to look familiar. Truly it can’t! How can you look exactly the same as you did then?!? No matter your time's up! How dare you still exist!”

Their blades clashed their magic erupted, which sent Twiggle and his men flying high, high into the sky almost like a meteorite.

“Extraordinary power.” Johnathan breathed.

“Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Dragon sin of Wrath, Marinette.” She announced.

~~~~~~~~~~

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[solarianvoidthearoace]

Excerpt#1 from my JuPeter Vampire!AU

CN/TW: Alcohol mention, swearing, blood mention, gun threat, pub ambience (drunk background characters), minor emotional breakdown, Nureyev-typical (I hope, at least) flirting

Sinking deeper onto the table, ignoring his warming beer, Juno didn’t catch the heels drawing closer from his blind side.

“What’s a place like this doing with a wonderful lady like you?”, a soft, melodic voice carried over the chatter and ambience of the tavern. Groaning, Juno rightened himself,

“Place ain’t doing anything. And whatever you’re about to say next, no. No, I can get my own drink; yes, that seat is taken; no, I won’t be lonely tonight. And most of all, yes, you can fuck off.” His eye finally dragged higher than the edge of the table, focusing on a slim man clad in dark maroon, accentuated with the embroidery of roses. Letting his gaze wander higher, Juno froze in his seat.

“Hello Juno”, and promptly the man sat opposite him after all. Sucking in a deep breath, Juno felt his back go rigid,

“From the get-up I take it it’s Rose.” The man gave a short laugh, almost painfully stilted, and waved him off,

“Oh no, goodness no, I’m well known in this town. I just happen to be just back from a business trip. I mean, sure, I don’t go by the name of my grandfather, it’s Ransom for me, but asking around for me would actually get you somewhere in this particular town.“ Juno’s eyes narrowed,

“And why would that be? Last I remember you weren’t exactly an involved member of society.” Ransom waved the question away,

“I will be around to answer those questions you like to puzzle out so much. Atop the closest hill is the Nureyev estate and manor, after all. The more interesting, and I figure time-sensitive, question would be… what are you doing here, detective?” Juno tried not to get hung up on the casual use of the man’s birth name he had seemed so secretive about.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I said I was recuperating after a long job gone sour, would you?”, Ransom just tilted his head, in an almost bored gesture if Juno hadn’t known him.

“Right… It’s true, though”, Juno sighed and focused on the warm stale beer in his stein,

“I’m waiting for a pay-out and the way I know the Registry there might be one last job attached, so I didn’t want to get too comfortable in any area just yet. It’s not like I can go back to Hyperion. Rita, you remember her, is with me as well.” Ransom tilted his head the other way, resting it on his palm,

“So you finally did uproot yourself. Well, I don’t think it’s any difference to you but there isn’t any use hiding it either, this is the town I had been talking about back when we… when we were”, he simply finished. Juno raised a brow, he might have to pay more attention to this town Rita and he were staying in during daylight.

“What sort of job do you think you’ll have to do to bail yourself out for good?” Apparently the silence at their table had gone on too long for Ransom’s taste.

“Depends on whether this area is prone to vampires, if you remember my actual profession.” Ransom tensed under his utter boredom, short enough most people would have missed it. Most, except for Juno Steel.

“Yea, I know, the entire time you dragged me along fighting off that witch Miasma, not a single vampire. I’m well aware I must seem rather lousy.”

Before Ransom could answer, the upcoming praise of Juno’s professional skills already readable on his face, a crash resounded from the bar.

Some drunkard apparently hadn’t just crashed his almost-empty stein, attempting to swap it with some other patron’s, he also managed to drag his arm through the shards and add his blood to the seeping puddle of beer. The bar-dame and apparently owner of the place seemed ready to swear up a storm, which made Juno tense. Still, his suddenly drawn-up shoulders were nothing compared to Ransom.

The man went rigid, his jaws clenched and his hands cramped around the edge of the table. When he opened his eyes after a deep breath, prying his fingers from the wooden tabletop, Juno caught a glimpse of his pupils being dilated.

His inquiry whether Ransom felt okay didn’t make it past his lips before the man had abandoned the table and shoved his way to the back-entrance. Even more confused than he was to see Ransom in this town in the first place, Juno slowly got up and went to pay his tab.

Whatever was up with his former… his past… with Ransom, Juno decided to leave the tavern out the front and round its outside, wandering casually to the alleyway where the back-entrance lead.

What he saw there made him grasp for his holster, as well as the stake he usually would have carried strapped to his thigh. While his left hand came up empty, he did manage to aim his revolver at the silhouette. The silhouette that was hunched slightly, in the shifting shadows of the alleyway, grasping at something small. Whatever it was, the figure stood cradling it with something vicious dripping from their face.

Sending up a quick prayer to whoever listened, that today may be a day his aim wasn’t as shot as it still was on some days, Juno steadied his revolver with his left. Having been a vampire hunter as long as he was, Juno could distinguish the way blood flowed and dripped even in twilight conditions.

“Don’t move!”, he clicked the safety off his revolver now that he had the thing’s attention,

“Hands up! Slowly!” The figure complied, raising their hands and showing off what they were holding. A flask glinted in the sparse light. Or maybe it was small enough to count as a vial. Calming down that they weren’t armed beyond their obvious nature, Juno scanned the rest of the alleyway. The two of them were alone, no body laying nearby either. Taking that in, Juno remembered himself. Why he was standing in this alleyway in the first place.

“He said he’s known well enough around here, didn’t he?”, he muttered to himself, not that he had any illusion it would pass by the predator’s hearing. Then, louder, directed at them again,

“Where is Ransom? He left out that backdoor!”

“So you sneaking in and out of doors is fine but woe is me when someone else leaves you behind?”, the figure laughed so mirthlessly it send chills through Juno.

“That’s not… He looked ill, sick somehow. And while I know he can fend for himself he never believed me about your kind. I’m not taking chances, letting a vampire go when they might have attacked a friend of mine.” The silhouette perked up at that,

“Friend of yours? Were the two of you friendly, recently?”, a teasing lilt replacing that mirthlessness.

“Whatever”, Juno snapped,

“He’s sick, you’re dangerous, I’m armed. Should be all that matters.” The figure shrugged, their hands still over their head,

“Have it your way. Silver bullets, I take it? You do know a crossbow is more versatile in regards to ammunition a hunter might need?”, they sounded as if they were trying for smalltalk. Except their voice was pressed, somehow, as if they were altering their cadence, practiced but forcefully disguising their voice.

“What’s it to you?”, Juno stepped towards them. Just a precaution, he told himself, in case his aim might falter for real. Curiously enough, they copied the length of his gait and stepped away. Before Juno could do more than huff, they spoke up,

“If we are to continue this little chat, may I ask that I be allowed to wipe my face? I’m sure you can see I happened to spill some of my nutrition.”

Juno faltered, his revolver sinking just a bit. How was this vampire so casual about being caught in the act of drinking blood? Sure, it was from a vial, might not even be human, but they hadn’t tried deflecting at all.

“You know what? I’m hopefully out of the job by the end of this week anyway, and since you seem more interested in chatting away…”, Juno sighed, clicking the safety back in place. That, as he was immediately made aware, had been a mistake. The vampire was on him in a blink. Juno was turned around, his chest and cheek pressed to the nearest wall, before he managed to get so much as another glimpse at the vampire that had finally left the shadows.

“You trust some vampire in a dingy back alley not to rip your throat out, just because you tell him you’re about to retire anyway? My my, and here I was thinking your sense for self-preservation had improved, it being a requirement for vampire hunters and all that”, it was a growl, low and hinting at danger yet to come.

And quite frankly, too close - for a vampire of all beings - to Juno’s jugular for him to be comfortable with it. Except for one little detail. Juno’s brain slowly catching up on these off-hand remarks the vampire had thrown at him.

“Nurey-?”, he was broken off by the man’s lips on his cheek.

“I’m not sorry you found out like this, if I’m being honest. Even though I probably should have attempted a fight to scare you off and to get away without you connecting the dots”, his arm across Juno’s throat loosened the same moment his head sagged onto the hunter’s shoulder,

“Juno?” The hunter had fallen silent, even though he did relax into the man’s half-embrace. After a moment, he felt Juno shudder and slump. Concerned, he maneuvered Juno to turn in his arms, to face him, but before he could so much as replace his hands on the hunter’s shoulders, Juno had fallen into him.

With Juno pressed even closer to him, he felt that shudder again and realised it was sobs wracking through the hunter.

[abitscrewystein]

Metal On The Brain

A rework of an old one-shot!

Warnings for: Blood Self-experimentation Self-harm Depression Separation anxiety Intrusive thoughts Trauma Hallucinations Heavy dissociation

The majority of the fight was a blur for him. He should have been more careful, thought through it more thoroughly. He should have factored in the sudden rainstorm that had passed only a half an hour ago. Marie was worried, he could feel that much from her soul alone.

The kishin egg they were hunting looked just as unsightly as the rest he’d faced thus far. In all, including those he collected with his previous partner, he had captured a hundred and twenty-five. This would end just as the rest had. They would stop its rampage, collect its soul, and move on.

He was only eighteen, even then only barely. Marie, his current weapon partner, was only a month or so younger than him.

The thing was about as high as a two-story building, bearing claws and jagged teeth, its flesh just barely clinging to its bones. Its spine jutted out like cracked spikes, only putting more strain on its already-stretched flesh. Disgusting, but he’d still enjoy tearing it apart.

He was angry. He should have listened when Marie suggested they take a while for him to calm down. He didn’t listen, and he’d regret it for the rest of his life. Any time he looked into her eye.

He glared up at the creature and took note of all the data present.

Blind bloodlust; Advantage to Stein Large equates to slow; Advantage to Stein It had rained; Disadvantage to both sides He was angry; Advantage to the kishin

It had eaten so many souls by this point that it had begun to go berserk. When it finally noticed Stein, its full attention was turned from its intended victim. Stein rolled his head, cracking the joints, adjusting the grip on his weapon. Not loose enough. Too tense. Too angry. 

He’d lost all that work for what? Some woman Spirit won’t last a year with. Damn that woman.

Stein charged the beast, using his advantages. His speed, delayed reaction response from the kishin. He was able to keep most of his friction on the ground, making a conscious effort to step on the drier of stones in the cobble street. He slammed his weapon into the back of what might have been a knee once and jumps back as the thing tumbles to the ground.

It would have been the perfect position, but there was one problem. He misread it. It wasn’t as slow as he thought it would be.

It backhanded him, like swatting a fly. Humiliating. Degrading. Taunting. The young meister flew through the window of a crumbling shop and slammed into the counter. He wishes he’d have woken up faster, that he’d come to his senses quicker. That wasn’t the case.

When his eyes opened he saw Marie, kneeled in front of him, worriedly looking him over. He had plenty of glass embedded in his back, and what he’d guessed to be at least a mild concussion. He groaned, his eyes finally coming back into focus.

Some part of him wished that they hadn’t. He saw the kishin’s hand —at least seven feet in length— reaching in through the broken window. Stein tried to reach out, push Marie out of the way, try to tell her to change back into her weapon form. Too late. Too slow. Not enough time.

It grabbed her by the head, dragging her outside. It held her daintily, taunting him as he staggered and nearly tripped over the edge of the window. He warped his wavelength, felt it buzzing under his skin, ready to send a burst of force into the creature. Too late. Again.

He felt his stomach churn as one of its claws stabbed through her eye. Popped like a grape. He still remembers her scream, echoes of a nightmare of a mistake. One damn mistake, one miscalculation, one stupid decision, and there she was. Hanging from its claws, passed out, tears streaming from her remaining eye.

He jumped onto its back, grabbing those spikes of bone and tearing across the skin with his charged wavelength. Its arms were long enough to grab him as well. Another miscalculation. Too much anger, not enough room to process before the fight. 

Stein grimaced, feeling its bladed claws slice easily through his clothes and his flesh. Agony. Marie. Rain, water, pain. Pain. PAIN— No! Think. Strategize. Rationalize. Where did it hit me? Concussion... Abdomen, chest, back. Metal claws. Metal.

He took a breath as far as he could considering the grip the thing had on him, and reached inward. His wavelength surged, crackling with energy saved from Marie’s own soul. The blast was more than enough to shatter its hand and make it drop his partner.

Another wound to add to the count. Sprained ankle, potentially fractured talus and metatarsal bones. A shockwave of pain shooting through his leg. Can’t stop. It wasn’t dead yet, and he only barely caught Marie before she would have hit the ground.

He set her down and dodged an angry swipe above his head. He grabbed onto its wrist and ran up its arm. Good thing he always keeps something extra. A scalpel. Versatile, small, easy to conceal. Easy to use, as well. It’s quick enough to slice across the kishin’s throat.

Stein staggered and fell when he hit the ground, the monster’s form dissipating and compressing until it was nothing more than a floating red orb. That was far less important than making sure his weapon partner wasn’t dead. He couldn’t lose another one, not so quickly after losing the first.

Once he had confirmed she was alive, he promptly passed out.

He was vaguely aware as agents from the DWMA came to collect them, the lights of an ambulance, hospital ceilings. All covered by a hazy, painless fog. All he could think of was Marie. Was she alright? Would she live? Considering his rather extensive wounds, he probably should have been wondering about himself as well.

When Stein was finally somewhat lucid —at least for his standards— he noted that his bed was next to Marie’s. The nurse explained that she’d been asking about him, exasperated and worried. He learned he’d been asleep for nearly a week. Understandable. Bodies need time to heal, and do so best when resting. If he hadn’t been asleep, he probably would have made it harder on himself. He hated doing nothing.

They stayed in the hospital for quite some time, though Marie was discharged earlier. She spent most of her time with him, quietly muttering apologies when she thought he was asleep. Why would she feel guilty? Why did he feel guilty?

Weapons are trained and willing to die for their meisters. How fucked up is that...

Worse than that, how could she forgive him? He was reckless, he lost her an eye because he was angry and didn’t listen to her. It was her. She was always there for him, always willing to help. Stabilize, quiet the insanity of his internal dialogue. She wasn’t afraid of him. He couldn’t blame her, really, she’s an incredibly powerful weapon. Named for the legendary Mjolnir. Though, she’s a tonfa. Not a hammer.

She made his recovery easier. She brought him food, helped him remember how to laugh and smile. Sort of. He could still feel the weight of everything in his chest. For the first time in his life, he regretted his actions. It was a disturbing new feeling, and he hated it.

He started getting anxious when she left to do other things. Fell into dissociative states, filled with anxiety at the lack of her presence. A doctor and two nurses ended up rather bruised, and he ended up strapped to his cot. Frustrating. Annoying. Too many memories. Something could happen. Anything could happen to her, and he would be helpless. Useless. Pathetic.

Of course, nothing happened. She would come back, same as always, worried when she noted his distress. There was something else, though. He couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe she was finally getting tired of it. Tired of his constant panic attacks when she would leave. When he would beg her to stay just a little longer.

It was such a relief when he was discharged. He didn’t want to go back to his apartment with her. There was a pang of overwhelming guilt when he looked her in the eyes. Eye. One eye.

He started to take missions more seriously. Controlled himself, though only barely. He slipped back into other old habits, instead. Finding animals to gut. Gouge. Slice. It felt... helpful.

He made her a Death Scythe at twenty-two. He was proud, more so of her than himself. They were a team, but she consumed the souls. She absorbed their power, something he could never imagine doing. He took some pride in his work, but he was more happy for her. What he felt for himself was... Fear.

What would he do? She was going to be transferred to Oceania. She told him she wanted something simple, something easy. As if life for anyone from the academy would be either of those things. Still, he told her to go, that he was happy for her, that he’d be fine. He was lying.

Stein found himself with random episodes of anxiety. Voices creeping around in the shadows of their now-empty apartment. Everything about those rooms was wrong, now that she was gone. It was too lacking. She’d brought most of the furniture with her, which made sense. Most of it was hers anyway, not really his style.

When he tried to ignore his emotions, the anxiety, the depression, they just came back stronger. He had no one to go to. Spirit was married, they had a daughter back when they first got together. So young. Not to mention, Spirit was terrified of him and his wife always glared daggers when he saw them.

He had to stop thinking about her. She’d send him emails, voicemails, which he started to ignore until she just stopped. Somehow, that made it even worse. He couldn’t get any of it out of his head. He needed a barrier. Something, anything to make it better.

He moved out. Bought some broken-down building with what he’d saved up. He busied himself, fixing it up. No one really came out there, so it was perfect for a man hiding from everything. A hermit. Closed off in more ways than one. He refused the offers from Lord Death to keep working for him. Finished several degrees online.

It kept getting worse. He kept getting worse.

He needed a barrier. Something between him and the rest of the hell in his head. Finally, after four years without her, without anyone... He snapped. The walls warped around him, his vision swam, his head was filled with images. Blood. He needed blood. No one to slice, no one to alter. No experiments to carry out.

He pushed himself into a corner, heaving breaths that felt like lead. His stomach churned, the whispers didn’t stop. He wanted it to stop. Needed it to stop. He stumbled as he stood up, leaning on the wall as he walked. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going. He could stop it. He had to.

It’s all in your head. All in your head. In your head. Something between me and my mind. In my head.

“In my head.”

He’d collected enough scrap metal for another hobby, made little trinkets and gadgets. He found something that seemed fitting. Ironic. An oversized screw. He had plenty of medical supplies —dubiously acquired— . Drugs, sutures, stitches, scalpels, pliers, bandages...

He spent so long in that over-lit operating room tearing himself apart. Putting himself back together. Pull apart. Stitch together. Over and over and over. Gave himself several more scars. The last of which was heavy and metal. He’s not sure how he survived. Maybe his soul was too spiteful to let him die.

That was something else, entirely. Altering his own soul. That’s something he doubts he’ll ever remember. He didn’t record it, didn’t take notes. Couldn’t, really. He could hardly breathe, much less speak. It was all so oddly numb but fascinating to watch, see his own blood pooling beneath him.

When he came back from the brink, he noted the mirrors. So many of them propped up everywhere, just so that he could operate on himself. He studied his reflection, his hazy eyes, the fresh stitches across his face and his chest and his arm. The moment he saw the screw embedded in his head was the moment he fled from his body. It felt like a camera had zoomed out to show him his broken flesh.

Somehow, he survived. Lord Death called on him, said he saw what happened. The shinigami insisted he continue working for the DWMA, if only to keep himself in check. He could run the lab like a clinic, if people dared to go inside. Mostly he did autopsies.

He adjusted. He got used to the occasional migraines, found that turning the screw readjusted his thought process. It became a strange little habit, but one he felt calming and helpful. He began to enjoy himself again, just a little bit, a new spark in his life.

Or in someone else’s lack of life. Poor Sid, someone he remembered from school. Stein hadn’t interacted much with the other students, but Sid was a good man. A good a person as any for such an odd experiment. Even if it was commissioned by Lord Death. A human soul and a corpse was an odd package to find on his doorstep. Never a dull moment, he supposed.

He had some fun tormenting those students for their remedial lesson. He remembered how good it felt to be in control, to be intimidating.

Things felt normal. He became a professor. He liked teaching.

Then a witch infiltrated the academy. She woke the kishin, Asura, from his eons-long slumber.

But that’s another story.

[21tailsofwoe]

wait before you go what manga about women kissing women are you reading???

OH EXCELLENT QUESTION TO MAKE ME STAY FOR A WHILE i actually recently finished my rewatch of revolutionary girl utena anime (which has less kissing and more trauma, but hey. at least there’s some REALLY GOOD hand holding and drawing swords out of chests. peak wlw-ism.) i haven’t watched the movie though (which actually does have women kissing women) but i wanted a break from all the trauma. SO after my utena blues, yesterday i started reading the “i’m in love with the villainess” manga adaptation of the light novel. it’s a really stupid isekai but it’s a good stupid isekai because i had a lot of fun reading it! five chapters have been translated in english so far but lucky for me there’s the original-author-approved fan translation of the light novel which i’m probably going to check out if my attention span allows. if you haven’t heard of this novel, you can check the summary out! it’s very very interesting :3 other than that, i haven’t binge-read any yuri manga lately. there are a few manga that i keep up with every now and then though

first is “otherside picnic” which is ABOUT TO GET AN ANIME ADAPTATION THIS JANUARY. it’s a psychological thriller sci-fi WITH LESBIANS. really, it’s as good as it sounds and i’m so hyped for the anime knowing that it has the same director as steins;gate anime. (they haven’t kissed in the manga yet, and i’m not caught up with the light novel. the frustration is real ngl. but the yearning. OH the yearning.)

on a more light hearted note is, of course, “tamen de gushi” which is actually a manhwa but the characters are so stupid and cute and this is the best comic ever actually. i await every update very religiously.

i also keep up with “my cute little kitten” which is about two roommates who adopt a cat and then profess their love for each other and live together after that. it’s very nice even though it took a very questionable turn in the recent chapter ._. why do yuri manga end up like this. anyway, it is very cute and wholesome and i hope for some damage control in the next update. cw for sexual stuff.

a long time ago i read “goodbye, my rose garden” volume 1 and am thinking of picking it up again now that i’ve learned that the third and final volume has dropped. it’s about lesbians in early twentieth century england. dear god was it good. i can’t wait to see how it ends.

on the more spicy side, i’ve been reading “how do we relationship” which is a very dramatic and angsty fic about two college girls and how they deal with their issues as they get together. i usually do not like manga like this one, but i’ve been keeping up just to see how it ends LOL. cw for serious sexual stuff.

and then. my guilty pleasure. this one sucks. like it really sucks it’s so cheesy and stupid but i got addicted so fast. “handsome girl and sheltered girl” which is about college girls and i couldn’t resist. so basically this girl likes this very hot dude but turns out! the dude is actually a girl! but the girl doesn’t know that her crush is a girl! but they start dating! it’s a mess. but it’s so. hnngh. i hate that i love this so much. cw for sexual stuff.

these are the ones i can think off from the top of my head. i usually just read one shots and doujins because there’s less emotion and time involved, and i’m not one made for too much romance stories. but this year i have also discovered that yuri manga has become my #1 coping mechanism. and here i am, the #1 hypocrite in the world....

[mhdiaries]

Wave 2 Frankie Stein Diary

The 15th day of September

Watzit got into big trouble today while I was at school. Somehow, he got into dad’s lab and snuck out with apart from one of dad’s projects. Good thing mom was looking out the window and saw Watzit trying to bury it. Dad was still pretty amped up by the time I got home. “That animal is too smart for its own good – I’ve got a good mind to replace its brain with a sheep’s or one from a soft sciences professor.” I think Watzit just misses me when I’m at school so I’m going to start getting up extra early to take him for a longer walk before I leave. Hopefully that will help – otherwise I’m going to have to kennel him during the day = (.

The 24th day of September

I used to think that being the “new girl” was the hardest thing about going to school but now I’m thinking that being the “not so new girl” is kinda hard too. When I was the new girl and I did something dumb everybody said, “You’re new – don’t be so hard on yourself – you’ll get the hang of it.” My friends have also done a lot of things for me, which is good and bad. Good because it kept me from embarrassing myself, and bad because there are some things I didn’t learn to do on my own and now everybody expects me to know those things and when I mess something up that I should know it’s like really, really embarrassing. Like I never really paid much attention to where my classrooms were when I started at MH – total brain short on my part I know – but it was just easier to follow Draculaura or Clawdeen and because they always insisted on showing me around I didn’t really learn they layout of the school. So yesterday we were on our way to class when I totally got caught up in a zombie flash mob and when I finally got away, I was in a part of the school I didn’t recognize and totally lost. I thought if I peeked into one of the classrooms that maybe a teacher could help me. I saw this big iron door and was about to open it when somebody behind me said, “That wouldn’t be a good idea.” I nearly jumped out of my stitches. It was Spectra Vondergeist. She said, “Oh, it looks like I frightened you… good.” Then she pointed to a sign above the door that read, Basement Levels, “Now unless you have a ball of twine or a Minotaur in your pocket you probably don’t want to go down there – follow me.” I followed her down the hallways listening to her stories about MH. They were all interesting but they kind of all were starring her. She did get me back to class though which was really nice of her. Of course, I was really late, and the teacher wanted to know where I had been – I said I got lost, the whole class laughed, and I got detention because the teacher thought I was giving her attitude. After class Ghoulia showed me how to GPS all my classes with my iCoffin so it wouldn’t happen again – oh well, just another lesson for the “not so new girl anymore.”

The 25th day of September

I went to breakfast with my dad this morning, which was scary fun although I didn’t think it was going to be at first. See, he goes to the same die-ner every Saturday morning and has breakfast with the same group of monsters and mad scientists. Mom said he’s been doing it for years. I asked her if she ever went and she just laughed. “I don’t take your father with me to shop for shoes and he doesn’t take me when he gets together with his friends to solve all of the world’s problems.” “Why not?” I asked. Mom gave me a hug and said, “Because my love, there are times when practical advice can just take all the fun out of life.” Then from behind us I heard dad say, “Unless it comes from your parents and then it is to be heeded at all costs.” Then Dad rushed us out the door because he wanted to make sure we got there before the banana scary pancakes ran out. I said, “I’m not a little girl dad, I can eat grown up food you know.” “Of course, you can my dear, but who said I was thinking about you?” Dad’s friends turned out to be really nice and pretty funny for a bunch of monster geeks especially when they started telling stories about dad ;). I could see that they all really like him though and since my dad has a very self-decapitating sense of humor it made the time totally fun. I don’t think I’d want to get up early every Saturday morning but I’m glad I got to see that my dad can be a regular monster too. Hey, who knew? Oh, and the banana scary pancakes? Definitely worth getting there early for.

The 1st day of October

My stitches are still coming loose at exactly the wrong time. Dad ordered some special monstertanium thread that he said was stronger than dragon’s breath and would totally fix the problem. Yeah – not so much. I was standing on a ladder in the gym helping Draculaura hang up a banner for this week’s pep rally when Clawd and some of the football team walked through wearing their game day jerseys. One of the guys on the team is a gargoyle from Scotland who has the dreamiest accent and the most scary handsome crystal grey eyes. I said hi to everybody by name but when I got to him, I totally blanked. I just stood there absolutely mortalfied and finally called him by her jersey number… “7” … lame I know… but then the rest of the guys started teasing him and I got so anxious that my arm fell and then the rest of me fell too. I don’t know how he did it but somehow “7” caught both my arm and me. All the guys started clapping and Clawd said, “How come you don’t catch like that at practice?” “7” was talking to Clawd but looking at me when he said, “If the passes ye threw were as pretty as this lass, I’d nay drop another.” At least that’s what Draculaura said he said. I don’t remember anything after I feel off the ladder except strong arms and crystal grey eyes.

The 7th day of October

Fear Squad practice was terrible today. Cleo was totally impossible to please, and we started and stopped several times before she finally just cancelled practice altogether. Then at lunch Purrsephone, Meowlody and Toralei were all saying that it was because of the blowup that Clawd had with Spectra and the rumor was that Cleo was going to break up with Deuce, Deuce was going to start dating Operetta and Clawd was definitely back in the picture with Cleo. I was really bummed cause they’re all my friends and I didn’t want to have to take sides. I saw Lagoona later and asked her what she thought about the rumors. She asked me who was spreading them and when I told her she just laughed and said, “Not every seagull that yabbers has found a fish.” Coming from Lagoona that somehow made me feel better, confused but better.

The 12th day of October

Monster Heritage Essay by Frankie Stein

That’s all I’ve written so far but I’m really excited about the assignment cause I’m going to get to learn so much scary cool stuff about my classmates. I thought that for part of my heritage research I would read that book that was written about my parents, but I couldn’t find a copy of it in the house. I asked mom why and she said the author had taken, “certain liberties with the truth” but if I wanted to check out a copy from the library, she would be happy to answer any questions I had. When I asked dad about the book, he used an expression I’d never heard before, but I guess mom had because she made that noise in the back of her throat that means some monster is in trouble. Dad hung his head and looked kind of creepish for a bit until mom stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. I don’t need to read a book to find out about my monster heritage. I get to see it every day – how scary cool is that?

The 16th day of October

I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamed we were planning to have the scary best dance ever until an evil teacher cancelled it and we had to have the dance in a secret location under the school. Everything was going as planned when this strange monster in a shiny suit with lots of hair appeared and started yelling that this was his dream and we were going to start over. I totally jumped into another dream but the only think I remember from that one was the intense feeling of being a stranger. It must have been stressful though cause when I woke up, I was upside down and one of my arms had fallen off. No more ghost chili pizza for me before bed.

The 24th day of October

I met a new ghoul today! At least new to me = ) Her name is Abbey Bominable and I think she’s really sweet even if she does take a bit to warm up to. Anyway we were waiting in line together at the creepateria and she was asking the lunch ladies to explain what was in the food. The line started to back up and some monsters were yelling at her to hurry up. I think she was starting to get frustrated so I told her to go with the screechza since it was pretty easy to recognize most of the stuff they put on it. She gave me a look so serious that I thought I had said something I shouldn’t have but then she smiled and thanked me. We sat together and I learned that she lives in the mountains about the school, loves to snowboard and that her first language is Yetish. She said she could understand what was being said most of the time but that the slang kept tripping her up because it was hard not to take everything literally. I told her that sometimes I still did the same thing. Then I told her that I would help her with her slang if she would teach me how to snowboard. She thought for a moment and then said, “I think that would be the cool that is scary.” Hehe I bet she learns slang faster than I learn to snowboard = ).

[shalebridge-cradle]

Historical References in What Are You Going to Do With Your Life - Chapters 10-12

Chapter 10

Boleyn mumbles something about a priest. W. S. Pakenham-Walsh (1868 - 1960), Vicar of Sulgrave, Northhamptonshire, had a strong interest in Anne Boleyn. He claimed to have a series of spiritual experiences after praying at Boleyn’s burial site, and contacted clairvoyants to channel her spirit in the hopes she might become his guardian angel. He also claimed in his diary that he had contact with Henry VIII and other notable members of the Tudor court.

While witchcraft was often punished via the death penalty, Henry VIII made the law explicit in 1542 (though it was later repealed no later than 1547, under Edward VI). Several witchcraft laws were made in the UK over the years, in 1563, 1604, 1649 and 1735. These were all repealed and replaced with more general consumer protection laws, and the last person to be indicted for witchcraft (under the 1735 act) was imprisoned in 1944.

Tarot was a regular set of cards for most of its history, used in various, but similar, trick-taking card card games. It became associated with ancient wisdom in 1781, when Antoine Court de Gébelin wrote an essay claiming (with no evidence) that ancient Egyptian priests had distilled the mystical Book of Thoth into the cards.

“Psychic is Greek, and clairvoyant is French. One is about thinking, and the other is about seeing.” Psychic comes from the Greek word psychikos (‘of the mind’) and clairvoyance is a combination of two French words (‘clear’ and ‘vision’). Catherine of Aragon was known to speak both French and Greek, as well as Latin, her native Spanish, and English.

Cunning man (or woman) was another word for folk healers.

In 1532, Catherine Parr’s brother-in-law from her second marriage, William Neville, was accused of treason for allegedly predicting the king’s death and his own ascension as Earl of Warwick (a title made extinct during the Wars of the Roses, but would be recreated in 1547 and twice after that). He went to at least three magicians to confirm this prediction, all of which agreed that it was meant to be true (it wasn’t). One of these magicians was Richard Jones of Oxford, who was imprisoned and questioned on the matter. He did his best to exonerate himself of responsibility. I have found five references confirming his existence – but many of them claim he had a sceptre he used to ‘summon the four king devils’, which he used for divination purposes.

Chapter 11

Jones of Oxford was taken in for questioning as part of the Neville affair, and he did his best in his confession to exonerate himself. Neville’s claims of a prophetic dream showing himself as Earl of Warwick were now a “fair castle” which Neville assumed must be the castle of Warwick, and a shield with “sundry arms I could not rehearse”. He did admit to writing “a foolish letter or two according to [Neville’s] foolish desire, to make pastime to laugh at”. No treason, just jokes, please don’t execute me Thomas Cromwell. Jones claimed to take his alchemy seriously, however, and wrote that “To make the philosopher’s stone I will jeopard my life, so to do it,” if the king so wished. He would require twelve months “upon silver” and twelve and a half “upon gold”, and was willing to be imprisoned while he worked. Jones made a similar offer to Cromwell, but there is no evidence either man accepted. Jones was released in exchange for revealing incriminating evidence against another figure of interest. The other magicians caught up in this incident, William Wade and a man known only as ‘Nashe’, had perfected their disappearing act and were not sent to the Tower.

There is a story that Elizabeth I attributed the destruction of the Spanish armada in 1588 to John Dee’s wizardry. Given that, as mentioned, Dee was out of favour with Elizabeth at the time, this is likely untrue.

Elizabeth I’s death was in March of 1603, after she became sick and remained in a “settled and unmovable melancholy”, sitting on a cushion and staring at nothing. The death of a close friend in February of that year came as a particular blow – that of her second cousin and First Lady of the Bedchamber, Catherine Howard.

James I (or James VI, depending on where you’re from)… James I of England was also James VI of Scotland. His mother was Mary Queen of Scots, who was executed by Elizabeth I, and his great-grandmother was Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII’s sister.

“Anna, born Duchess of Jülich, Cleves and Berg.” This was how Anna signed hers’ and Henry’s marriage treaty, known as the ‘Beer Pot Documents’, because someone drew a stein at the bottom.

Bowling, as a game, can trace its origins back to ancient Egypt, and has been quite popular the world over throughout history. Henry VIII was an avid bowler himself (when Hampton Court was remodelled, bowling alleys were included with tennis courts and tiltyards), but banned the sport for the lower classes. The law against workers bowling (unless it was Christmas and in their master’s presence) was repealed in 1845.

We return to the ground, because from it we were taken. Paraphrasing of Genesis 3:19.

The (possible) first appearance of the word ‘alligator’ in the English language is from Romeo and Juliet. The description of The Apothecary’s shop mentions “a tortoise hung, an alligator stuff’d, and other skins of ill-shaped fishes”. Traditionally, medieval apothecaries and astrologers kept skeletons, fossils, and/or taxidermied pieces on display to demonstrate their worldliness.

The anger over calling the alligator ‘William’ could come from Parr, or from Anna. Her brother’s name, Wilhelm, is often anglicised as William.

Midsomer county does not exist and never has. It’s the setting for the long-running mystery TV show Midsomer Murders. Incidentally, Catherine Parr’s native county of Westmorland existed at one point, but no longer does (the area is now in the county of Cumbria). She is not the only English-born queen who this applies to; Jane Seymour’s Wiltshire and Anne Boleyn’s Norfolk still exist (and have since antiquity), but Katherine Howard was most likely born in Lambeth, which would have been in the county of Middlesex at the time. The area is now under the ceremonial county of Greater London.

“Honestly? Margaret Pole’s was worse.” Margaret Pole, Countess of Sailsbury and the last of the House of York, was kept in the Tower of London for two and a half years for her supposed support of Catholicism’s attempts to overthrow the king, before being informed of her death ‘within the hour’ on the 27th of May, 1541. She answered that she did not know the crime of which she was accused (and had carved a poem into the wall of her cell to that effect), but went to the block anyway. It allegedly took eleven blows from the inexperienced axeman to separate her head from her body. There is another story that she tried to run from the executioner and was killed in the attempt, but this is likely a fabrication. Regardless, pretty much everyone thought this was not only a bad idea on Henry’s part (killing Margaret removed any leverage the king had on her rebellious son, Cardinal Reginald Pole), it was also pointlessly cruel and a painfully undignified end.

(She was also Catherine of Aragon’s lady-in-waiting, and governess to Mary at several points.)

That everyone around her, bar a few visitors, would actively benefit from her death… Yet another quote of Elizabeth Tyrwhitt’s testimony: Parr, on her deathbed, claimed she was “not well-handled” by those around her; “for those that be about me careth not for me, but standeth laughing at my grief, and the more good I will to them, the less good they will to me”.

Chapter 12

According to a lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn claimed she would rather see Catherine of Aragon hanged “than have to confess that she was her queen and mistress”. This incident is probably the origin of the lyric “somebody hang you!” from Don’t Lose Ur Head.

Catalina uses a few Spanish phrases in this chapter, which don’t get directly translated. The first, No se hizo la miel para la boca del asno, directly translates to ‘Honey is not made for the donkey’s mouth’, and essentially means ‘Good things shouldn’t be wasted on those who won’t appreciate them’. Lavar cerdos con jabón es perder tiempo y jabón is ‘Washing pigs with soap is a waste of time and soap’, and is meant to indicate some things aren’t worth the energy.

…like that dream she has where she is cut up by a servant… An autopsy was done on Catherine of Aragon as part of the embalming process, which revealed the growth on her heart. This was done by the castle chandler (a dealer or trader) as part of his official duties.

Jane Seymour got rid of most of the hallmarks of Anne Boleyn’s tenure during her own queenship. The extravagance and lavish entertainments were banned, along with the French fashions Boleyn had introduced – including French hoods, which Boleyn is wearing in the portrait we have of her. Jane, as mentioned, wore a gable hood in her portraits.

“I don’t know why I’m so surprised that people care about what I say.” In the words of nineteenth century proto-feminist Agnes Strickland, Jane “passed eighteen months of regal life without uttering a sentence significant enough to warrant preservation”, which is kind of a mean thing to say. Seymour certainly said things during this time, we know this from reports, but there aren’t any direct quotes from her during her time as queen.

Here’s the painting mentioned, from 1545, during Catherine Parr’s tenure. Jane is on Henry’s left.

It was only after her death that Henry ‘loved’ her, but she is certain that he mourned for only for his own loss. There are reports that, during Jane’s labour, doctors advised Henry he might lose either Jane or Edward. Henry is claimed to have replied, “If you cannot save both, at least let the child live, for other wives are easily found.”

Countdown is a British television game show that revolves around word and number puzzles. It has been going for almost forty years, and is one of the longest-running game shows in the world, with over 7000 episodes.

“I saw a ghost bear kill someone, once.” Anne isn’t making this up. Supposedly, the incident occurred in 1816, when a Yeoman Warder saw a ghostly bear somewhere in the Tower of London. Terrified, he tried to stab it with his bayonet, only for the weapon to go through the image and strike the door behind it. The guard died of shock later on. A similar event happened in 1864, where two guards witnessed “a whitish, female figure” gliding towards one of the soldiers. The soldier in question charged this figure, only to go straight through it, upon which he fainted.

Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a little over two months in 1554, as a result of Wyatt’s Rebellion against Queen Mary. The rebellion was also the likely reason for the execution of Lady Jane Grey – both she and Elizabeth were Protestants in line for the throne, and therefore ‘more suitable’ as ruler. Both Elizabeth and Jane Grey denied any involvement, but the latter’s father and brother (also executed) were direct contributors.

“… you did die, Elizabeth was really upset about it…” Elizabeth took the news of Parr’s death badly. She refused to leave her bed, and was unable to go a mile from her residence, for five months following Parr’s passing.

Not because she liked that bearded potato man, God no… I found this deeply cursed engraving (first produced in 1544) in one of my books on the six wives, and now I want you all to suffer with me.

Anne of Cleves reacted poorly to being told her marriage would be annulled – some accounts say she fainted, others says she cried and screamed. Both could be true. The reasons given were threefold – One, the marriage was unconsummated (From testimony given by two servants, Anne thought a kiss goodnight counted as consummation – likely untrue, but this is the only reason that actually has merit). Two, Anne was precontracted to Francis of Lorraine (Untrue – the betrothal would only take effect if Anne’s father paid the dowry, and he didn’t). Three, Anne was not a virgin as claimed, based on the description of her ‘breasts and belly’, a Tudor way of saying Anne had previously given birth (untrue, and conflicts with the testimony for reason one). The annulment went through without Anne’s involvement, but (probably looking at the examples of her three predecessors) she accepted the ruling and kept herself from being banished, beheaded or otherwise.

(Other fact that has no bearing on reality – while researching Anne of Cleves, one of the pages that came up was The Simpsons Wiki. Apparently she’s the only wife who can claim the honour of having been in two episodes. :/)

Dogs don’t need to answer for their sins, they don’t have any. Katherine Howard was reportedly fond of animals in general, but had a particular soft spot for dogs.

She did the right thing. She told the truth. She died for it. Katherine Howard insisted, to the end, that she had no pre-contract of marriage to Francis Dereham. Would she have survived if she said she did?

[creativeskullcreations]

Outside chapter 1: Freedom at Last

Stacy and Scout manage to find a different way out of Handeemen HQ. Now, free from the horror show they must learn how to live with their new normal as Stacy shows Scout what the world Outside is really like. Unfortunately for them, it won't be all sunshine and rainbows...

Behold! The first Hello Puppets fanfic ever posted! As far as I know anyways.

Please enjoy this happier ending(and beginning) for Scout and the player, now named Stacy Stein.

In spite of what Scout had said about the only way out being beyond the Sound Stage, Stacy managed to spot a window that was propped open. It was high up, too high for any of the Puppets whether they had Hosts or not. But, after observing it for a while, Stacy was sure she could manage it, even without the use of one hand

"Hey! Where are you going? The exit's that way. " Unfortunately, she couldn't tell Scout about her amazing plan. So she ignored the Puppet and climbed up on a couple of... crates? stacked underneath it.

"You're going to get us killed. Or caught." Scout told her. "Woah, wait. Are going for the window?! Are you fucking insane, Host! We can't reach that!" Stacy made it to the top of the stack, finding she was maybe two inches too short to reach the window without jumping. But if she jumped, the stack would fall over, so she'd have to make it in one, and with only one hand.

Unless...

"There you see? I told you we couldn't reach it. So let's climb back down and woahwoahWOAHWAIT! FUCK!"

Stacy had jumped, and managed to grab onto the sill with her right hand. Her left, the one with Scout attached, had gone through the open window and slammed against the wall outside. Hoping she hadn't just seriously hurt the Puppet, she quickly climbed through the window. A couple feet below was a dumpster, that she unfortunately landed headfirst on top of. It made a bang that echoed around the abandoned parking lot, and Stacy  knew it would have alerted the others.

So with a muffled groan she pushed herself off the dumpster. Somehow, she managed to land on her feet and made a desperate sprint for where she'd parked her truck. She didn't feel safe until she'd locked herself and Scout inside. She fumbled the key out of her bag sitting in the passenger seat, slamming it in the ignition and gunning it. Gripping the steering wheel with one hand she sped out of the lot at top speed, leaving skid marks behind as they fled.

Five minutes down the road she pulled over to the side, breathing heavily through the mask? bag? on her head. She let it fall against the wheel, and gave herself a minute to just sit and think.

"Hey." She winced slightly as Scout poked at her cheek. "Hey, are you dead?" A pause, followed by a couple of grunts. "Move your arm. Drive the car. Do something. Ugh, nope. Still can't do it."

Stacy turned her head just enough to give the Puppet a dead stare, debating if it would be worth it to just yank her off and toss her out the window. Deciding that doing such a thing would ultimately be a bad idea, she simply reach over and pulled some scissors out of her bag, then flipped the visor down to look in the mirror.

It took some work, but she eventually able to get the rope around her neck cut off, and pull the bag off her head. Now able to see better, she took a look at the stitches over her mouth, finding them crudely done and encrusted with blood. She traced over them, but flinched back at the flash of pain it caused.

'There's no way I can take these out myself.' Doing it wrong could literally cause her to die. But she couldn't go to a hospital with Scout. 'Screw it. Sammy's a doctor, and he still owes me big time. So he gets to help me with this.'

She pulled her notebook and pencil out of her bag, flipping it over to the next blank page.

We're going to my cousin's house. He's going to help us.

Scout read it as she scribbled it out. "That's your plan? Hope that another Host, like, just decides to help us?"

No. I'm going to blackmail him. And if he tells anybody then the whole family is going to find out exactly how he paid his way through med school.

"Woah. Hardcore." Was all the Puppet had to say on the matter. Taking that as acceptance of her plan, Stacy pulled out her phone and sent Sammy a quick text that she'd be at his house soon. Then she put her car back into drive and took off, going just below the speed limit.

It took half an hour to reach Sammy's apartment, and the whole drive was spent in tense silence. Stacy had to fight the urge to look behind her every few minutes for Rosco or Sock Puppets, while Scout had spent most of the time laying in her lap. Not by choice, of course, but because Stacy didn't want her to be seen. So she laid there, bored out of her mind as she watched her terrified Host try and get them to safety.

Still, neither had felt the kind of relief that came they finally entered the town Sammy lived in, Stacy even sighing when she saw the lights down the road. From there it was only a few more minutes before they reached his apartment complex.

Once they had parked, Stacy spent a minute shoving everything back into her bag. She then spent a good five minutes trying to pull on a hoodie she'd left in the truck. Once she had it on and settled properly, she was able to tuck Scout under it to keep her hidden. The Puppet hadn't been too happy about that, but Stacy figured it was a small price to pay for getting the stitches out.

Gripping her hoodie tightly she sprinted across the lot and to the door, making her way inside. Once there she ran up the stairs as quickly as she could without tripping until she reached the right floor.

'409, 411, 413! Sammy's place!' She banged on it as hard as she could, as though that would make him come out faster. 'Come on, com on!  Hurry up!' The second the door opened Stacy forced herself inside, closing the door behind her and locking it up as tight as she could.

"Woah, Stace! Calm down. Come on, just tell me what's going on." She just rolled her eyes before turning around and signing rapidly at him.

"<Whatever you do don't freak out. And you can't tell anyone or I will tell everyone in our family how you really paid for med school I swear to God!>"

"Oh my God! Is your mouth sewn closed?!" Stacy nodded, then took off her hoodie. Scout blinked at the sudden brightness, turning to face the other Human.

"Uh, hi?" She greeted.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Sammy screamed and stumbled back, falling over one of his kitchen chairs. Scout flinched back while Stacy just rolled her eyes again. "What the fuck is that?! Stacy what did you do?! Holy shit!" He picked himself up and ran around to the other side of the table, grabbing a large knife on the way.

"<Nothing you idiot!>" Stacy signed at him. "<It's a long story. And I'll tell you after you cut my mouth open.>"

"Nuh uh, no way am I getting near that thing!" He told her, brandishing the knife.

"Excuse you! I'm not a fucking "thing" asshole!" Scout honestly looked like she would try and strangle him if she wasn't attached to Stacy. So the Host decided to try and salvage things.

"<Sammy, please don't be rude. Scout's nice. Also, if you don't help us everyone will know everything. Everything, Sammy. Do you really want that?>"

A pause, then Sammy finally slammed the knife on the table. "Stop bringing that up!"

"<Then help us.>"

"FINE!" Sammy finally started towards the bathroom, where he kept an extensive medical kit. Stacy grabbed the knife and placed it up on the top shelf in one of his cabinets, then did the same with the rest of Sammy's knives. She then pulled out a chair and sat down, propping her left arm up on the table to give Scout a good view of the apartment.

Her cousin came back ten minutes later, medical kit in hand and stinking of weed. He hesitated briefly at the sight of Scout, then dropped the box on the table and opened it up. Then went to get a lamp so he could actually see what he was doing.

"Okay, tilt your head up and <i>don't move</i>. And don't let your little friend move either. I can't have any distractions while I'm doing this." Stacy nodded and did as he asked. He then prepped a needle with a numbing agent that was injected around her mouth.

Scout watched all of this, staying quiet. Not that she couldn't think of anything to say, of course. There was plenty of commentary running through her head at the moment. It was more fear that kept her quiet upon realizing that this Host was like Riley. He probably had a whole bunch of Host corpses and organs hidden in a room somewhere, and she had no desire to join them.

So she stayed silent, watching as Sammy carefully removed all the stitches one by one. When they were all out she stretched her mouth open wide enough that her jaw popped, reaching up to rub at it.

"Ow..." She moaned while Sammy got her a bottle of water. She practically snatched it out of his hands and chugged the whole thing while him and Scout watched. When she'd finished he pulled out a disinfectant cream to smear over the holes.

"I want you to stay here for the rest of your Break so I can watch for infections." He told her as he worked. "And after you head back I want you to tell me the second it starts to look or feel weird, or if food starts tasting bad when it shouldn't."

"Yeah." Stacy croaked out. Sammy accepted that and went to pack his things back up, but stopped and stared at Scout. Or, more specifically, the stitches that kept her attached to Stacy's arm. She followed his gaze, and decided to ask the important question.

"Hey. Scout." Her words were slurred a little thanks to the numbing agent. "Will you die if you come off my arm?"

"Uh." That was a loaded question. "No? I don't really need a Host to be alive."

The Host stared for a moment longer before turning to Sammy. "Go on ahead and cut her off. Just don't kill her." And then let her head fall onto the table with a loud thud, making him and Scout both jump.

The two shared a glance before Sammy set up another syringe of numbing fluid to inject into the arm. He then set up the tools needed to remove those stitches.

"So. Do I even want to know who or what sewed you to my cousin's arm?" He asked as he started removing the stitches. Scout stared resolutely at the ceiling while he did so, trying to distract herself.  She winched slightly with every bit of thread pulled out, but other than that forced herself not to react to what he was doing.

"Not unless you want some vicious fucking nightmares, dude." She told him. He just gave a small noise in acknowledgement as he worked. "Seriously. You won't sleep again."

"Sounds great." Oh, the sarcasm was thick with this one. It actually made Scout kind of like him a little bit.

Scout could feel it when the last stitch was pulled out and, while Sammy was hesitating on whether to pull her off or not, simply crawled away by herself. This was the wrong thing to do as Sammy immediately freaked out again.

"FUCK! Wow, nope! Nopenopenope! This is too much for me I'm going to bed goodnight!" He fled from the kitchen, and Stacy heard him slam his bedroom door. She lifted her head up and stared at it. She then stood to go wash the blood off her arm so she could bandage it properly. She then grabbed the disinfectant and applied a heavy layer over the wounds before wrapping it in gauze.

"So. What now?" Scout finally asked as Stacy finished up. The Human simply stood there for a moment, then scooped the Puppet up and went to the small loveseat in front of the TV, ignoring her protests. She flopped down on it and turned on Netflix, letting Scout drop onto her stomach.

"Now we lay here and do nothing." Stacy finally told her, dropping the remote on the floor. She had no idea what was playing, only that she needed a background noise to fall asleep to. When she felt Scout start moving around she covered her with a hand, pinning her in place.

Tomorrow she would have to make a plan, and even now there was a list forming in her mind. But for now she was content to sleep the night's events away.

After all, tomorrow would be better, for it was an unseen day.

[schoethe]

Some sources state Schiller have ignored Christiane at Goethes house. Like he despise her and Goethe because of her. Maybe do you know where is the information from? I don't remeber the sources, but I've read this quite a lot.

pheew, there is no easy answer to that question and i don’t have all the sources at hand rn and no time to do proper research so what i write now might be biased by my personal memory and interpretation but here’s what i remember (edit: ups, novel ahead):

so the thing with Christiane was that 

a) she was from a ‘simpler’ background than people would have liked a women who was the woman at Goethe’s side to be

b) during most of the time of their relationship Goethe didn’t marry her - and I say that he didn’t marry her bc I am quite sure that she would have liked to get married to him (earlier) and also would have benefited greatly from being married to him. While Goethe may have had his reasons to not get married it left Christiane in a very difficult position. She was left with no offical standing in society, she couldn’t accompany her partner to events, couldn’t receive (official) guests, couldn’t parttake in activities etc. because officially she didn’t exsist. That doesn’t mean however that people didn’t know about her. They knew very well and they didn’t approve of the relationship in any way. People were scandalized how Goethe could live like that, unmarried with a woman of low education, not from a high society family or, how they put it, how he could share the bed with his housekeeper - an idea repeated even today even though it absolute bs of course. Christiane was not his housekeeper. (Even though she did run the household obviously as any wife would have.) They had a very intense, romantic and sensual relationship and had moved in together very shortly after haven fallen in love head over heels almost at first sight and even though Goethe himself was facing difficulties because of it with his friend and sponsor, the Duke (Herzog) of Weimar, Carl August. If I remember correctly they at first weren’t allowed to live in their later home at the Frauenplan in the center of town but had to live in the house that is today known as Goethe’s Garden House a little outside of town.

And so to Schiller. Schiller’s wife Charlotte (I’m going to call her Lotte from now on for less confusion) was very close friends with Charlotte von Stein, a very important figure in Weimar’s high society and Goethe’s quasi ex-girlfriend who particulary despised Christiane as Goethe had left her and turned to Christiane after his trip to Italy. 

I’ve said earlier that people didn’t approve of Christiane and of Goethe’s living with her. That was very mildly put. They hated her. Made fun about her, gossiped, called her names as nice as “a round nothing” or “das Mensch”, which translates roughtly to ‘the’ or ‘that human’ but in German the phrase uses the neuter article instead of the masculine one which usually goes with “Mensch” which makes the term very strong and dehumanizing. 

She was socially outlawed, women refrained from visiting Goethe’s house in fear of meeting her and becoming a subject of gossip themselves.And well as I said, Charlotte von Stein as someone who was very important and as someone who particulary didn’t like Christiane was one of the leading figures in that scheme. (One time Christiane made the mistake of sending her a cake for her… birthday? and not enclosing a note but instead have the maid who brought the cake verbally say greetings and also say out loud who the cake was from and as other people were present Charlotte was outraged and mortified as she apparently had been humiliated in front of all her guests)

And Lotte as her friend and also as a women of high morality adopted and/or shared that attitude towards Christiane in many aspects. I wouldn’t hesitate one second to agree that she ‘hated’ or despised Christiane. 

But I wouldn’t say the same about Schiller. He probably didn’t speak up or defended her in front of his wife but I also can’t quite imagine that he took part in the mean gossiping about her and there’s also no form of proof indicating that (that I know of). If anything I think he avoided that topic and probably tried to blend out that part of Goethe’s life. 

But in the end we also do not know very much about Schiller and Christiane except very few things. Here’s what we know:

- if he saw her at all he saw her very seldomly at Goethe’s house. I don’t know whose choice that was, that is whether it was Goethe’s, Christiane’s or an agreed decision between them both but as I said ealier it would have also been just improper for her to officialy receive guests, this was the 1790s, this was high society, there was a protocol for certain things and the famous poet’s girlfriend greeting his guests just wasn’t a thing and there was probably no exception made with Schiller. however… the main source we have of Schiller not meeting her (when he stayed there for the first time for a couple of days) is a letter to his wife where he states that he has never seen Christiane and I think there’s a possibility that that’s not even true and Schiller only wrote it in order to not worry Lotte but idk

- Goethe mentions Schiller’s wife in like almost every single letter (sending greetings etc.) and Schiller doesn’t do the same with Christiane but then again he probably didn’t even know her very well and, well, greeting your friends wife (besides the fact that Goethe and Lotte had known each other since long before either of them met Schiller) was more a thing you did than greeting his girlfriend

- he does however send her greetings one (1) time in 1802 to congratulate her on the birth of a daughter (who died a couple of days later as did all of Christiane and Goethe’s children after their eldest son, August - it is today supposed that they had mismatching blood groups which is why none of their later children was able to survive more than a few weeks or even days):

Empfehlen sie mich der Kleinen recht freundschaftlich und versichern sie meines besten Anteils ~friendly greetings to the Kleine and assure her of my best regards

I’m not going to overinterpret the word freundschaftlich/friendly (which in this context I’d read as literally friend-ly, as in from a friend, in a friendshipy way etc.) here but he’s callig her ‘Kleine’ (which means the small one but it’s used as a nickname so it doesn’t really translate), and to me that means that Goethe must have referred to her by that name when talking to Schiller about her, which means that he, well talked to Schiller about her and in such an intimate manner that he referred to her by a nickname, so make of that what you may

- there was one time (this is mentioned in a letter from Christiane to Goethe but unfortunately I can’t find those online anymore so here’s a very cloudy memory:) when both Schiller and Christiane were at the annual theatre festival or sth in Lauchstädt and Christiane wrote to Goethe who had stayed in Weimar that she had been… sitting at a table together with Schiller? and they had… a lot of fun? and/or they went on some kind of boat trip and sat (amongst others) in the same boat?? (if anyone has those letters please let me know!!) anyway from how she wrote it, itsounded like Schiller spoke to her, was at ease being in her company etc.

So all things considered I think Schiller’s behaviour to her was if not particularly great also not particularly bad. He surely wasn’t very straightforward about including her or having close contact with her, but then Goethe probably didn’t even introduce her to him properly. To me it seems that he was somehow caught in beetween - between Lotte and her friends and the entire Weimar society and between his friend Goethe and his beloved Christel whom he for some reason just didn’t marry. What he really thought of her, how well he actually knew her? I think we just don’t know. But I think that compared with what Christiane was facing with the rest of Weimar’s society Schiller seems to have been okay with her to some extent and seems to have been almost friendly to or even with her (in comparison!).

So that was a very long answer to a very short but important and also complex question. I hope that at least some things are clearer now?

But anyway, if you care to learn more and something better-informed than this jibberish was about Christiane I strongly, strongly recommend to read Sigrid Damm’s biography on her (and Goethe): Christiane & Goethe!!!

[queenofcats17]

Hi I don’t know if you wrote one yet but how about a Drabble where Henry meets buddy... I love buddy so much

I also love Buddy.

So, this is gonna be an AU where Buddy doesn’t become Boris!

——————————————————————————–

Buddy still wasn’t sure how he’d managed to make it out of the studio. It had all been such a blur. One second he was being dragged into the ink by that Demon and the next he was on the lawn outside of the studio getting CPR from a paramedic while Joey screamed in the background. Jacob had been beside him, vomiting ink into the grass while Dot patted his back.

He didn’t remember the questioning by the police much. There hadn’t been a lot that he’d been able to say. It wasn’t like they’d believe him if he told them the truth after all.

He was back at home now, trying to assuage his mother’s fears as best he could. She’d been understandably worried when he’d shown up in the state he had, accompanied by a police escort. She’d been hovering around his room ever since he’d gotten out of the shower. His grandfather had been quiet, asleep on the bed.

Buddy figured he’d probably need to find a new job now. There was no way Joey was going to let him come back. Not after this shit. Which was just fine because Buddy didn’t want to go back. Joey Drew was fucking crazy and Buddy didn’t want to be anywhere near him anymore.

“Buddy?” He jumped a bit as his mother opened the door. “There’s a man here to see you.”

Buddy’s heart began to pound. Had Joey found him? Was Joey going to drag him back?

“D-Did he say who he is?” He asked.

“He said his name is Henry Stein,” his mother replied, looking a tad worried. “Do you know him?”

Buddy blinked. Henry Stein? There was no way.

He scrambled to his feet, pushing past his mother to get a glimpse of the man in the doorway. He didn’t immediately recognize the man standing there. But the longer he looked, the more the man became familiar. He was older than the man in the picture on Joey’s desk, his hair greyer and his face more lined with wrinkles, but it was him. It was Henry Stein.

“Ah, hello.” Henry caught sight of Buddy and waved politely. “I’m sorry for coming by without warning. I just heard about what happened at the studio and…” He trailed off, a sad smile crossing his face. “Could we talk?”

“Do you know him?” Buddy’s mother whispered to him. She had a hand on his shoulder, ready to put herself between this strange man and her son at a moment’s notice.

“Uh, yeah. It’s fine,” Buddy said. He didn’t want to talk with Henry here. Not where his mother could hear and get even more worried.

“I’ll be right back.” He reached for his coat. “I just gotta talk about something with Mr. Stein.”

“Are you sure?” His mother asked, touching his arm. “You only just got back.”

“I’ll just be a minute, Ma. I promise.” Buddy gave her a reassuring smile.

His mother pursed her lips, but let her hand drop.

“Thank you.” Buddy nodded to her and walked out the door. Henry followed after, closing the door behind them.

The two of them made their way down the stairs and out of the building, walking until they found themselves in a park not too far away. It was getting late, so there wasn’t anyone else out.

“How did you find out where I live?” Buddy asked, turning to Henry. “How do you even know who I am?”

“Allison called me,” Henry explained. “She and Tom were worried about you, especially after they figured out you were going back to the studio.”

“They were…worried about me?” Buddy echoed. He’d been certain Tom hated him.

“Tom can be a bit prickly, but he’s a good man,” Henry said. “He didn’t want Joey to do something to you.”

Buddy felt his stomach drop at the memory of what he’d seen at the studio. Richie, Norman, Sammy. The Demon. The full weight of what he’d seen and experienced was just now hitting him.

God. He’d almost died.

Henry’s expression grew weary and resigned as he watched the fear cross Buddy’s features.

“I’m sorry about Joey,” he whispered, putting a hand on Buddy’s shoulder. His hand was large, providing a comforting weight that grounded Buddy once more. He wasn’t in the studio anymore. He was safe.

“I would say he didn’t used to be this bad, but…” Henry laughed weakly. “That would be a lie. And I don’t really want to lie to you.”

For a moment or two, they were both silent. Buddy took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, focusing on the weight of Henry’s hand on his shoulder.

“Why did you leave?” He finally asked.

Henry looked down at his right hand, the one not on Buddy’s shoulder. The one that had his wedding band.

“I thought when we started the studio we’d be working as a team,” he said. “That we’d work together. Instead, I did all the work and he took all the credit.”

Buddy nodded. That certainly sounded like the Joey Drew he knew. He’d heard the lyricist saying that one of Sammy’s songs had won an award, but Joey had been the one to claim the credit.

“He just kept giving me more and more work. I hardly ever got to go home. I hardly ever got to see my wife.” Henry’s voice broke a bit and Buddy could see tears welling up in his eyes. “Eventually…it just got too much. I couldn’t do it anymore. I thought Joey would understand, but…”

“He thought you were betraying him,” Buddy finished.

Henry smiled sadly. “Exactly.”

Buddy let out a long exhale. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That sounds really rough.”

“It happened years ago. I’ve had time to come to terms with it.” Henry waved his hand dismissively. “It’s no use to let yourself be consumed by the past.”

Consumed by the past. Buddy didn’t even need to wonder who that was referring to.

“Anyway, I’m assuming you’re not going back to the studio.” Henry looked expectantly at Buddy.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Buddy said. “I’m not going back. Absolutely not.”

“In that case.” Henry removed his hand from Buddy, rummaging in his coat to pull out a business card. “I might have something for you.”

Buddy blinked, staring at the business card. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to think of something to say. Nothing was coming out.

“I can provide a reference.” Henry took Buddy’s hand, pressing the card into his palm. “Both for you and Miss Dot, although I still have to get in contact with her.”

“Wh…Why?” Buddy managed to croak out. “Why are you doing this for me?”

Henry smiled gently at him. It was the sort of smile that made one feel warm and safe. It was a fatherly smile that made Buddy’s heart ache.

“You’re young,” he said. “I don’t want Joey ruining your life too.”

“Okay.” Buddy took the business card, tucking it into his pocket. “Thank you, Mr. Stein. Thank you so much!” He felt like crying he was so happy.

“You’re welcome. Feel free to call me if you need anything.” Henry patted his shoulder again. He then turned and walked away.

Buddy stood in the park for a moment longer before turning and running back home. He couldn’t wait to tell his mother.

[sariahsue]

The Open Line, Chapter Six - Secrets

Ladybug knows that if it weren’t for Adrien, she would have fallen for Cat Noir, hard and fast. And when Oblivio takes her memory, she does just that. Able to keep her memory after the Oblivio incident but still unaware of Cat Noir’s real identity, Ladybug must deal with her growing feelings for her partner, who is desperately trying to win her over. (Rated PG.)

Read Chapter One Here Read Chapter Five Here

***

Marinette fingered the corner of the poster Alya had given her to "encourage her new crush." Alya was completely wrong, of course. All through the school day Marinette had been blushing every time someone mentioned Cat Noir, true, but it was from the embarrassment of last night's "bell incident" and nothing more. It definitely had nothing to do with the two-day break from him she'd had to take to rid herself of the perplexing emotions that Oblivio had caused. Definitely not.

"So are you putting it up or not?" Tikki asked. "You're going to be late to patrol if you keep standing there."

"It's okay for me to have his picture up, right?" Marinette asked. "I can support my partner. I don't have a crush on him." She reached for the tape and started sticking it to the corners. "I'm supporting my friend." Marinette pushed the corners against the wall, making sure they were stuck fast.

Tikki waited until the poster was secure and then said, "It's not healthy to deny your feelings like that."

"I'm not!" Marinette flailed her arms around in an attempt to be taken seriously. "We're just friends."

"Okay. If you're sure."

Marinette transformed before Tikki could say anything else crazy, and Ladybug was soaring to Parc de Bercy before she knew it. Tonight, they would be patrolling the 12th Arrondissement.

Cat Noir was much the same as he had been the night before, quiet and distant, though this time, she caught him staring at her intently when he thought she wasn't looking. She was rattled to realize that she liked the attention.

The longer the night wore on, the more she suspected that there was more going on than just silence. Something was definitely wrong. 

The ending of patrol was a drawn-out process. Back at the park, they shuffled their feet and said goodnight several times before Ladybug simply sat down on a bench and patted the space next to her. It was late, and they both should have been going to bed, but it was a nice night, and even though she definitely DID NOT have feelings for her partner, he was good company, and she enjoyed spending time with him. Besides, he still looked like he could do with some more attention. She might be able to help him feel better. A few extra minutes couldn't hurt, right?

"So, you ready to talk about it?"

"What?"

"Whatever is wrong?"

"Nothing," he said. He had left a small gap between them when he'd sat down. The air between them felt colder than the air everywhere else, and she didn't like. She scooted a little closer, careful not to touch him, since she wasn't sure how he would react.

Their bench overlooked a large lake, which reflected moonlight. A light breeze made ripples on the surface dance. After the gates were locked was her favorite time to visit the city parks, when they became one of the few places she could be truly alone with her partner. It was peaceful.

"Sometimes, I don't like being civilian me," she whispered. Maybe, if she started sharing secrets, he'd do the same. He needed to talk to someone. "Sure, the stakes are higher, but I can just erase all my mistakes at the end. Plus, I get this partner to help me out." She bumped his shoulder lightly. "He's kind of great."

"I like to watch anime."

"Come on, I told you a secret. That's not a secret."

"It's a personal detail that you didn't know before. It counts."

"Really? I didn't hear you quoting Steins;gate two weeks ago?" He hadn't explained the reference to her, and she'd had to use her yoyo to Google how a microwave started World War Three. "I know what crazy shows you watch."

"Fine. I-"

For a few seconds, she thought he was going to say it.

"I'd wanted to learn embroidery when I was little. I thought it looked cool, and thought maybe it was fancy enough that my father would let me try it, so I asked for lessons. I was told it wasn't practical, so the answer was no. I tried to teach myself from the internet anyway. Turns out I'm terrible at it, so I quit. I never told anyone else that. Does it count?"

"I'll allow it." They had a common interest? Really?! She tried to squelch the excitement by reminding herself that he had told her a secret, but not what was wrong. She'd have to try a more direct approach. "So this thing that's bothering you, it's a person, isn't it?"

"I- My..." He turned away quickly. She hoped he wasn't going to say her. Three days ago, she'd run out on him, then abandoned him during patrols without warning, and couldn't get a word out of him since. It would make sense that she was the cause, and she hated to admit it.

"My... father," he finally said, and Ladybug sighed with relief.

"What about him?"

"He's very... distant. We don't understand each other very well."

He shifted, bringing his arm up, and for a moment, she thought he was going to put it around her, or maybe run his fingers through her hair, but he only scratched the back of his neck and let his hand fall again. Ladybug told herself that she wasn't disappointed. She hadn't wanted him to hold her. She only wanted to be near him because she cared about him. That was an objective fact. And sharing personal details was making her feel closer to him. That was all. It didn't mean anything else.

"Have you talked to him about it?" she asked. Focus on the task at hand, Marinette. He needs your attention right now. 

"Tried to."

"What about other people?"

Cat Noir shrugged.

"No one? You can't expect things to change if you don't ask someone for help."

"You don't get it," he said. "And it's not like I can tell you more about it. Identities."

"Yeah," she said. "I know." There were some secrets they would have to keep, though she'd never hated it more than she did right then.

***

Read chapter seven right here!

Author's note: If I ever do one of these prompt month things again, I'll take a leaf out of @thenovelartist's book and combine multiple days into larger chapters. Pacing it myself, I probably would have written days one through four as one and days six through eight as another. Day five is the only one that makes sense to me as its own thing. Oh, well.

[the-blueish-trashcan]

He’s in Charge; Chapter Eight

Pairing: Henry/Bertrum

Warnings: Slight body horror, mentions of homophobia

A/N: Hoo boy, took me an awful long time to get this out, didn’t it? Ah well, technical difficulties happen. In this chapter, we get a little insight into just what goes on inside the head of voice actresses- and what’s been happening behind closed doors at Joey Drew Studios.

Chapter word count: 2,331

{First part} {Previous part} {Next part}

Chapter Eight; Inner Demon

Once the studio was back to running normally again, it was already Thursday. Joey had evidently returned to work against doctor's orders, but he, like everyone else, was anxious to get back to work. Joey summoned Henry to his upstairs office almost immediately that morning.

As he stepped into the cramped room, Henry's heart was solidly lodged in his throat. He forced a neutral look onto his face, though. Joey sat behind his desk with a pen in his hand, scribbling notes on… something, Henry couldn't tell what. With his other hand, one wrapped completely in thick bandages, he gestured to the chair across from him.

Sitting down only gave the animator a better perspective on the extent of his injuries; Half of his face was an odd purple-yellow, the bruises trying their best to heal. From his eye down to his jaw on the right side, his skin had been dyed that almost sickly color. A gash across his cheek on the opposite side was still healing, but he obviously hadn't bothered dressing it. What really shocked- and to some degree, worried- him was the wheelchair Joey had been placed in. That, for the most part, was probably what was making him look so angry. 

“G'morning, Joey.” Henry tried hesitantly. 

“I hope you've enjoyed your time off, we're all going to have to make up for it around here.” Joey practically ignored his greeting, speaking through a scowl. Henry was able to see where he was missing a bottom tooth as he did. “You've got to start on the storyboard for the next short, the writers already have the script downstairs. That's all, just get going. Please.” The please he added as an afterthought.

Henry nodded, already standing from his seat. “Right away, I'll get that going.” He made his way to the door. 

“And Henry?” Joey stopped him just as he was about to close the door. Henry poked his head back in. “For the love of God… Stop seeing Bertie. He's dangerous. He'll end up hurting you, look at what he did to me.”

“If you say so, Mister Drew.” Henry accepted what he said, then shut the door. As he made his way to the writing department, he shook his head. Bertrum would never hurt him, that he was sure of.

*****

Saturday night, Henry stayed at Bertrum's house again. Bertrum had offered to visit with Henry instead, but the animator knew his run-down apartment would be nothing compared to where Bertrum lived. He made his way back home Sunday afternoon to take care of some housekeeping, and to make sure he had enough clean clothing for the upcoming week. 

When he got to his desk that Monday, almost exactly on time, Joey was already waiting for him. He'd parked his wheelchair right in front of Henry's chair, preventing him from getting to it. Henry stopped at the end of the hall, on edge.

“Good morning, Joey.” He greeted.

Joey slowly rolled the chair up to him, pushing him back against the wall and glaring. His bruises had already started to clear, but the gash on his cheek wasn't healing as well. “You. You need to stay away from Bertrum. Do you know what I'll do if you don't?”

“Dock my pay? Fire me? Out me? Honestly, Joey… your threats are… getting a little old.” Henry voiced. Of course he was still terrified of Joey, he didn’t want to show it. 

“You're distracting each other. Work isn't going as fast, and that's costing us some serious cash. Do you really want this whole place to go under because of you and your little game? Because you wanted to have a little ‘harmless’ fun?”

Henry took a moment to calculate his response. “Do you really expect me to believe that? If things are really so bad, you wouldn't be-”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Henry could see the shade of his boss's face change. His jaw clenched and the inside of his eyes caught fire. Before Henry even realized what was happening, Joey was up on his feet, wincing as he slammed his hands into the wall, one on either side of the animator's head. The man towered over him. “You have a job to do, Stein! And I'll be damned, if you won't do it, I'll make every aspect of your existence a living hell!” Joey roared, spit flying into Henry's face as he flinched. He hadn't even noticed the whites of Joey’s eyes beginning to darken. “I'm in charge here! What I say goes, no questions! No what if's! No maybe’s! This is my studio! My company! My animations! Behind the scenes, I own you! Do you understand me?! You and your work belong to-” 

Joey was suddenly interrupted by his own ragged, shuddering cough. He backed away, falling into his wheelchair as his body continued to seize. He pushed a hand over his mouth to muffle himself and the longer it went on, Henry realized he'd begun spitting up a thick black sludge. It seeped between his fingers and started to drip from his nose, also pooling in the corners of his eyes. 

All Henry could do was stare, horrified. “Joey-” 

“Leave!” Joey's strained voice commanded, prompting Henry to do so. He practically ran from the hall, past the exit and down the stairs to the music department. Only then, at the foot of them, did he stop for a moment. 

The first person to catch his eye was a violinist- he recalled her name being Ellie- standing by the door to the music hall, who waved. She made her way over to him with her instrument in her hand, frowning. “You look like you've seen a ghost, mister. You alright?”

Henry hadn't realized he'd gotten so pale.  He swallowed and nodded. “I'll be fine, thank you, Ellie.” 

The curly chestnut hair resting on her shoulders moved as she shrugged. “If you say so. What brings you down here? Mister Lawrence and Mister Fain are in their office if you need ‘em.”

Henry figured that would be as good an excuse as any to be away from his desk for a few more minutes. “Are they? Thanks.”

“No problem!” She waved again as he moved off down the hall.

As he did, through the huge glass window in Sammy and Jack's office, Henry could see the music director pacing back and forth, clearly ranting about something. When he got up to it, he knocked on the glass. Sammy froze, glancing at him. Henry shifted to push the door open, taking a step inside. “Hey, how are things down here?”

“Could be better.” Sammy and Jack spoke in unison, throwing each other a look. Both groaned, Jack lifting his hat enough to push his hand through his frizzy hair.

“These demands are getting ridiculous! How are we supposed to have a full score in two months?! He’s fired half my orchestra! Without even consulting me, I might add.” Sammy explained. 

Jack turned to him, dark marks evident under his eyes. “I just don't understand the logic here. Does he know how writing music works?”

Henry crossed his arms and shook his head. “I'm not sure he knows how any of this works.”

“Amen to that.” Sammy scoffed.

“Is there anything I can do to help you guys?” The animator offered.

At first, Sammy shook his head. “You have your own assignments to worry about, I'm sure.”

“Actually…” Jack perked up. “You used to play piano, right? Think you could do one of these songs?”

“Well, I still sort of remember how to play… Can I see the keys?” Henry asked, looking to Sammy.

Sammy, knowing which one Jack referred to, picked a few papers out of the stacks on his desk. He held them out. “Here, it's fairly simple. We're still trying to teach one of the two bassoonists left to play piano, I'd appreciate your help.”

Henry took the papers, looking over them. “Hm… I'll take some time to practice on my lunch hour, if that's okay with you two, but it does look pretty easy.”

“Perfect.” Jack and Sammy spoke in unison again, glaring at each other with mock annoyance. 

“I'll see you then, Henry. Thank you for this.” Sammy clapped him on the shoulder, only briefly. 

“Yeah, of course! See you guys later.”

“Bye, Henry!” Jack raised a hand as a send off, his back already to Henry as he continued his work. 

Henry pulled the door closed behind him, figuring it had been long enough for Joey to compose himself. He was almost back to the stairs when a man walking out of the department “lounge” caught his attention. He recognized the man as a trombone player, but also one of their voice actors. “Oh, hi. Harry, right?” Henry asked.

“Nah, Harrison, actually. Mistah Drew insists on Harry.” Harrison spoke with the twinge of an accent Henry couldn't quite place. 

“Right, sorry. Is something wrong?” 

“Nah, Miss Susie was lookin’ for yah. C'mon.” Harrison gestured for Henry to follow him and disappeared back into the lounge. 

The room itself wasn't so much of a lounge, more like a small room with a beat up pool table and some crates stacked up in it. Leaning over said pool table lining up her shot was Susie, aiming a green ball towards a corner pocket. Two other musicians stood to the side, watching and talking quietly. Henry couldn’t for the life of him remember their names, though.

“Uhm… Susie?” Henry tried to get her attention. 

She took her shot, which she’d evidently calculated perfectly. Then she stood up, turning to him. She offered a small smile. “Hi, Henry.” She moved to the other side of the room, away from the pool table, and Henry followed. “Look…” She made her voice soft, though the others weren't paying attention to them anyway. “I'm… sorry about the other day. The way I reacted to you… wasn't the best. I wasn't expecting it, especially from you.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Henry raised a brow. 

“Well, look at you!” She indicated him as a whole with one hand. “You're adorable, I would think you'd have girls all over you, I never would've thought that's not the team you play for. But regardless of that, I'm sorry for how I acted. After what Joey did to you for it… I feel awful for letting it slip to him.”

Henry bit his lip. “Oh. You're the reason he knows…?”

“I am, and I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea he'd threaten you like he did, I…” Susie trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

“I guess it's… fine. All Joey wants is to blackmail me with it, I don't think he's really going to out me.  Or, at least, I hope.”

“I hope, too. So… are we okay? You don't… hate me?”

Henry shook his head. “I don't think I'm able to hate anyone, really.”

“Oh, good.” Susie opened her arms for a hug and Henry accepted, though neither made it a very strong one. “I'll see you around, Henry.”

“Yeah, see you later, Miss Campbell.” He gave her a small smile and wave, exiting the room and going back to the stairs. Thankfully, that time, he was able to do so uninterrupted.

The hall to his desk was another story, though. He had nearly made it back to his workspace when he spotted a sandwich board, the letters “floor is wet” crudely painted on it. The sign wasn’t exactly blocking the space, it was plenty small to move past easily, but it brought a small smile to his face. As he came around the corner, he spoke. “Hi, Wally.”

The janitor paused to wave and grin, mop  still held in his other hand. “Mornin’! Say, did ya spill?” He indicated the spots he’d mopped already with a tilt of his head. “Was pretty hard gettin’ the stuff up, is it a new brand?”

“Of ink?” Henry questioned, and Wally nodded. “No, it…” He glanced around, making sure no one else was within earshot. His voice dropped low. “It was Joey. I… I don’t really know what happened, he was talking to me and he started to get upset… and then he started to cough, and… This black gunk started coming out of his mouth.”

“Ya tellin’ me tha’ crazy bastard was coughin’ up tar? It looked like tar, there was a lot of it.” Wally matched his volume.

“I’m not sure what it really is, it started happening and he told me to leave, so I did. I wasn’t even sure he’d be gone by the time I got back here.”

“Huh. Y’know, he stays hea’ pretty late at night, I got the feelin’ he was up ta somethin’.”

“You don’t think he’s just sick?”

“Not a chance. Listen, Henry,” The janitor reached over to put a hand on his shoulder. “Stuff’s goin’ on hea’ tha’ you’ve got no idea about. Really, I shouldn’t even know, but I do! I got keys ta everywhea’, so Drew can’t keep secrets from me!”

Henry’s expression became concerned at the statement. “You know what Joey’s done lately, you really should be careful snooping around like that.”

Wally waved a dismissive hand. “Pff, I’m not snoopin’, I’m cleanin’! Drew wants this place spotless, I gotta get everywhea’!”

“Well… if you say so…” Henry still didn’t sound convinced. 

“I do! Hey, I’m gonna get outta hea’ and let ya do ya work, looks like Drew left somethin’ on ya desk.” As he spoke, Wally stuck his mop back into a water bucket on wheels, starting to move off. “Lata, Henry!”

Henry gave a small wave to his back, then shifted his attention to his desk, where a thick packet awaited him. He could see already that they were his sketches- some he’d never given to Joey, he noted- and they were covered in red chicken scratch. He sighed, taking his seat.

[bendywackyadventures]

BATIM Slice of Life: School Daze Chap. 5

So its been over 4 months since I worked on this story as well as my SOL AU. Completely forgot about it since I was working on other stories at the moment. Plus while I had this chapter all planned out I didn't have plans for the other chapters and now I do! Well just for the next couple chapters, haven't given this story an ending yet. Hopefully, you guys who enjoyed this story didn't disappear on me since I haven't updated, because I plan on continuing this AU for as long as possible.

Enjoy!!

It was the end of the school day, and Bendy came out of the school building feeling upset over what happened near the end of school. No it wasn’t a fight, and Bendy didn’t get detention over a harmless prank. It was something way worse!

Bendy groaned in disgust as he and his friends were outside the school waiting for Alice to walk them home. “I don’t get why we need to do homework!” Bendy complained. “We know everything in class and we did paperwork in class too!”

Connie chuckled. “That’s a big mystery to why we get homework, but my theory is teachers are worried we forget the next day or we need an extra boost, so teachers give homework to help us.” Connie explained.

Marie chuckled. “My theory to why we have homework is we have so many hours of a school day so teachers just give us the papers we don’t have time to work on in class to take home and finish.” She explained.

Michael shrugged. “I just think teachers want us to be adults and give us paperwork like what my dad gets.” He explained.

Bendy started to smile as his disgust for homework started to fade. He enjoyed listening to why homework exist even though to him it sounds like a torture.

“Hey guys!” The kids turned to see Alice running over smiling. “Hope I’m not too late.”

“Your not.” Marie replied. “We just got out like three minutes ago.” Alice sighed and took the group of kids and Bendy home. During the walk home, Bendy stopped at times and looked behind his back thinking there was someone following them. However, when no one was there he kept up with the group.

The last time, Bendy heard a twig snap and turned ready to transform into his ink demon or even beast Bendy form to warn the stalker to leave them alone. Connie and Alice ran by and held Bendy back so he wouldn’t transform. “Bendy what’s wrong?” Alice yelled.

“Someone is following us!” Bendy yelled. Alice, Connie and the rest of the kids looked and saw no one there. Alice glared and walked up to where the noise was and saw nothing there except a broken stick. The angel shrugged and walked back to the group.

“There’s nothing here, probably a cat or a squirrel was just running by.” Alice explained. Bendy sighed as he started to feel calm. He felt Connie rub his shoulder making the demon smile.

“If it makes you feel better, I can help you with homework?” Connie asked.

Bendy gave a small smile and nodded. “I’d like that.” He whispered. The group continued on their walk back home.

However, Bendy was right all along with someone following them. It was one of the members of the mean girl group of Alice’s school, The Lockets. It was the girl with black hair, who was named Kelly. Kelly wanted to keep her eyes on Alice, Bendy and the kids but with her almost getting caught she had to fall back and report to the leader of the Lockets.

At the Stein household, Boris and Henry sat on the couch nervously as they waited for Alice and Bendy to come home. Linda got home and carried two boxes of pizza to the table. She figured to celebrate Alice and Bendy’s first day of school she’d pick up pizza for dinner. However, while she wasn’t worried for the toons Henry and Boris were.

“Would you two relax. The school didn’t call us at all today. I’m sure their fine.” Linda reassured them.

“But would they be fine coming home?” Boris asked, his ears drooping down. Linda rubbed Boris’s head to comfort him. Boris gave a small smile towards his mother. Henry however, was still nervous.

“They’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” Linda comforted. Boris smiled, but picked his ears up when he saw Alice and Bendy outside the house. In a flash, Boris dashed out the house and tackled his two friends in a tight bear hug.

“H-hey buddy.” Bendy wheezed out. “I...see you...missed us.” He gasped out. Boris hugged his friends tighter almost turning them blue, literally. “Boris...we...can’t...Breathe!” Boris let them go and Alice and Bendy gasped for air as they finally gained back their black and white colors.

Connie chuckled at the moment and went over to hug Boris. “Hi Boris.” She replied. Boris hugged his friend, lightly then the big bear hug he gave to Bendy and Alice. Henry and Linda came outside and smiled seeing the toons were home safe.

“See, I told you.” Linda replied.

Henry chuckled nervously rubbing the back of his head. “I-I know.” He lied.

Linda knew he was lying, but rolled her eyes and gave a chuckle. “Well come on inside, I ordered some pizza to celebrate!” The toons and Connie were excited and came inside for some pizza. Once inside, the kids grabbed their pizzas and ate as they worked on homework.

Bendy stared at the piece of paper as Connie helped him understand the math question. “And you get?” Connie asked.

“Negative Four?” Bendy guessed.

Connie nodded. “Correct!” She replied.

Bendy sighed and put -4 on the paper. “This isn’t too hard. Its easy!”

“See. I told you!” Connie replied as she took a bite of her pizza. “Now you just need to do three more and your done!” Bendy nodded and continued to solve the last three problems of his math homework.

“I’m done!” Alice beamed. Bendy and Connie turned to Alice who was already done with her homework already and put everything in her bag before finishing up her slice of pizza.

Henry chuckled. “So how was school?” He asked.

“I loved school! It was amazing! I had playtime, lunch, my teacher is nice, and my class loves me!” Bendy beamed. “Though, I don’t like homework though. Don’t know why we have to do it though even though I’m starting to understand it.” He explained.

Henry laughed after he ate his pizza. ”Sounds like how me and J-” He cut off when the toons looked at him as he was about to mention Joey. “I mean,” Henry cleared his throat. “My friend and I used to be in school.” The toons looked at each other, and Bendy went to finish his work while Boris and Alice ate their pizza quietly. Henry sighed knowing he dodged a bullet right there.

“Mr. Stein?” Connie asked. Henry looked at the young girl. “Is something wrong?”

“Everything is fine.” Henry reassured. He didn’t want to tell the young girl the horrors his former friend Joey Drew did when he went to see him many months ago. Linda walked over and sat with her husband giving him a quick kiss on the cheek to make him feel better. Henry chuckled and thanked his wife.

“Alice how was your day at school?” Linda asked.

“I love it!” Alice sang. “One of my new friends is someone I ran into at the park one day and she is so cool!” She beamed. “She introduced me to her friends and we got along fine. My teachers are amazing and I enjoy school!”

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed your day!” Henry replied. “Did anything else happen?” He asked.

Alice opened her mouth, but quickly closed it to think about if she should mention Lauren, the Lockets, and the possibly of being stalked earlier today. She did some thinking and decided to mention one of the things. “Well there was this girl, and she looked pretty lonely.”

This caught Bendy’s attention wanting to hear more of this mysterious girl. “Oooh how mysterious was she?” He asked.

Alice rolled her eyes and continued. “And well she just looked sad. I-I wanted to talk to her, but don’t know what to say. What if I say hi and she’s scared of me?” Bendy was about to open his mouth to comment, but Alice shoved a slice of pizza in his mouth before he could comment.  “Anyways I just feel like she needs a friend.” She finished rubbing her arm.

Linda smiled and sat next to her angel daughter. “Well for starters talking to her and saying ‘hi, how are you?’is a good start.” Linda explained. “And for conversations just ask what does she like to do or you know have lunch with her.” Alice smiled hearing her mom’s advice to get her to talk to Lauren. “But is there a reason why she’s alone?”

Alice went quiet and lied. “I-I don’t know. I asked my friend, Danni but she doesn’t know either.” Alice hoped Linda would believe her story and not ask anymore questions. Even though Linda saw right though Alice’s lie and saw there was more to Lauren that Alice wasn’t telling her, she didn’t want to ask Alice anymore, for now at least.

“Alright, well I wish you luck Alice.” Linda said. Alice smiled and gave a sigh of relief.

After the discussion of school, Connie went home and the toons spent the rest of the night watching TV before heading to bed for another day of school. As Alice was getting ready for bed, she heard a knock on the door. “Come in!” She called out. Her door opened to see it was Boris coming in to check on her.

“Just checking up on you.” Boris said though he looked nervous about asking her something. “Um I hope you don’t mind, but was there something you wanted to tell us about what happened to you in school?” He asked.

Alice looked down not wanting to tell anyone, even Boris. But, since Boris looked like he knew something she walked over to her door and closed it before locking it. “If I tell you, you promise not to tell Henry, Linda or even Bendy.” She begged. Boris nodded making Alice sigh. Alice told Boris about the group of mean girls at her school and how they might of been the reason with Lauren being lonely as well as the possibility she and Bendy were stalked earlier.

“You got stalked?!” Boris asked surprised. Alice shushed the wolf so Henry wouldn’t hear. “Sorry.” Boris whispered.

“Its fine, but yes. Well I don’t know if it was them or just a squirrel or a cat, but it was freaky.” Alice explained.

“Sounds like it.” Boris replied. Alice nodded slowly. “Do you plan on telling Henry or Linda anytime soon?” He asked.

“No!” Alice snapped. “I promised Henry I won’t cause any trouble. Plus the mean girls haven’t bothered me so its fine. There’s no need to tell Henry or Linda.” She explained.

“But Henry could help?”

“Boris please don’t tell Henry or Linda. Please.” Alice begged.

Boris didn’t like keeping secrets and sighed. “Alright, I just hope it won’t get bad.” He said. Alice smiled and hugged the wolf.

“Thank you Boris! Thank you!” Alice beamed. Boris chuckled nervously and hugged Alice back. Even though he wanted to tell, he had to keep his promise, but he knew he would have to break it if things go bad.

Soon the affection hug was cut when they heard a loud knock from the door. “ALICE! BORIS! UNLOCK THE DOOR! I SLEEP HERE TOO!” Bendy shouted. Alice and Boris quickly let go and unlocked the door to see Bendy pissed off at the two of them.

“S-sorry Bendy I was having a conversation with Boris and forgot the door was locked.” Alice apologized letting Bendy in. Bendy walked in and sat on his bed wondering what the wolf and angel were talking about.

“What were you talking about anyways?” Bendy asked. Alice didn’t want to tell Bendy what she told Boris, and just lied it was about Lauren before yawning and heading to bed. Bendy was convinced and grabbed his pillow throwing it Alice.

“HEY!” Alice yelled.

“Sorry, but you won’t tell me and it was payback for locking me out of the room.” Bendy laughed. Alice however, didn’t think it was a laughing matter and threw the pillow back at the demon. Due to his small size, Bendy fell making the angel and the wolf toon laugh.

Bendy glared and threw the pillow back causing Alice to block it with her pillow then threw her pillow at Bendy. Bendy caught it and threw it at Boris, in hopes he could be pulled into the fight too and was successful. Soon enough the three toons were throwing pillows at one another till they heard a knock. Quickly they grabbed their fallen pillows, putting them back on their bed and shut off their lights and pretend to be asleep.

Henry and Linda came in too check on the toons and saw nothing out of place even though they heard what seemed to be a pillow fight going on. The two smiled seeing the toons asleep and closed the door letting the three get sleep for tomorrow. Once they were gone, the toons were already tired and one by one fell asleep.

[youreverycolor]

An Unlikely Love: Fight For It, Pt. 2 (Rafael Barba x Anna Stein)

AN: Prompt #43 from 200 Prompts from @drink-it-write-it (“Do you believe in soulmates?” – “No.” – “Oh, well, that’s a shame, because I’m it. I’m your soulmate.”)

The conclusion of Fight For It. I hope you guys enjoy. Comments and reblogs are always appreciated. :)

Special thanks to @madpanda75, @thatesqcrush, and @misssirenlove for love, support, idea-bouncing, and generally being wonderful women.

Tagging: @danahart1 @nikkijmorgan @ele-esposito @dianilaws @sunnyfortomorrow @mommakat32 @lucifersadvisor @gibbs274 @oliviamariathegirl @evee87 @tropes-and-tales @garturbo @delia26 @neely1177 @jennisdirtyimagines @lostintech0011001 @letty-o @lucifersadvisor @sunnyfortomorrow @literallyprentissstwin @gibbs274 @dianilaws

Song: "Ours” by Taylor Swift

~*~*~*~

There was nearly a decade between Amanda Rollins and Anna Stein, but they could easily be mistaken for sisters, only a year or two apart. Of all the squad members, Anna was closest with Olivia, and so she might have asked if the lieutenant could use some time away from work, but she thought better of it. Olivia was Rafael’s best friend, after all, and he would probably want to talk to her over the course of the week. However, since the party he had thrown to celebrate Anna’s first semester grades, Amanda and Anna had also formed a fast friendship. Amanda was a lot of fun and up for anything without needing an explanation, as Liv might have asked for. As it turned out, she also had a copious amount of vacation time saved up. So, she bribed Carisi into taking Jesse for the week—with the use of her sitter for the daytime—and told Olivia a slight fib about a “family emergency back home.” By Tuesday night, she and Anna were on a plane headed to Tennessee.

Originally, Anna had suggested Vegas, but Amanda—a recovering gambling addict—quickly countered with Nashville. Anna had never been there, but Amanda said she would love it: all the fun of Vegas bars without the price tag, and the added bonus of hot cowboys. Amanda knew Nashville like the back of her hand; she had graduated from Middle Tennessee State University. The college was only about thirty miles from downtown Nashville, and Amanda and her friends frequently went into the city on weekends. So she knew exactly where to go and what to do, and Anna was more than happy to let her lead the way.

Although in some ways, Amanda had become a hardened New Yorker, she quickly reverted to her roots after only a day in Tennessee. She took Anna along for the ride, converting the native Californian to a Southern belle. During the days, they visited the Parthenon, Music Row, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. They took walks along the riverfront and even went to the Grand Ole Opry. Amanda had done most of these things already, but she was content to do them again with her friend, who clearly needed the distraction.

At night, they teased their blonde hair (Amanda joked that “the higher the hair, the closer to God”) and wore obscenely short denim skirts and cowboy boots while drinking on Honky Tonk Row. At some point, they found themselves in a karaoke bar, and Anna shocked the hell out of Amanda by singing the mysterious, little-known third verse of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.” They talked about their families and how much they missed them; Amanda’s mother and sister had moved back to Atlanta and she rarely got to see them, while all of Anna’s family still lived in Los Angeles, where she also had lived until four years ago. But all the while, Anna did not bring up Rafael once, and Amanda didn’t ask about him.

But by dinner on Monday, Amanda’s curiosity got the better of her. They were sitting at a bar nursing vodka tonics and eating the best burgers Anna had ever had, when Amanda asked, “So, since we’re scheduled to fly out tomorrow morning, you gonna tell me why we came?”

“Sorry?”

“Well, as much fun as this trip has been—”

“So much fun!” Anna said. “It’s honestly been the best girls’ trip I’ve ever taken.”

Amanda smiled. “I’m glad you had fun, but I have to ask…”

Anna set her burger down in favor of a sip of her drink. “I don’t want to make it weird for you when you have to deal with him at work,” she said. “It really wasn’t that big of a deal anyway.”

“Okay, first off,” Amanda began, “unless you’re telling me about whatever weird kinks Barba has in the sack, nothing you could say would make me feel weird around him. And second, it must have been a pretty big deal for you to want to get out of the damn state for a week.”

“Maybe I just wanted to do something fun over spring break with a friend,” Anna replied, avoiding eye contact.

Amanda raised an eyebrow. “You know I’m a detective, right?”

Anna laughed. “You and, like, half my other friends.” She put her face in her hands and then turned on her bar stool toward Amanda and told her the whole story, starting with Rafael’s Spanish-laced tirade when he arrived home to the moment he stormed back out. Amanda listened quietly the entire time, the same as she did when investigating a case. Her face betrayed nothing—no doubt a skill she learned in her gambling days.

When Anna finally finished, Amanda took a deep breath. “You know, I can’t say any of this surprises me.”

Anna raised her eyebrows. “What?”

Amanda downed the last of her vodka. “Well, let me start by saying that you did the right thing getting out of there. A lot of women would’ve hung around waiting for him to get home. Took a lot of guts to do what you did.”

“What, run away?”

“You planning to go back?”

“Of course,” Anna said, a little taken aback.

“Then you didn’t run away. You decided that for the good of your relationship, you needed to take some time for yourself. No shame in that.”

Anna took a moment to process this. “It really was a stupid fight,” she finally said.

“Yeah,” Amanda agreed. “But, you know, all couples fight. At least you’re fighting about stupid things than about, I don’t know, whatever the hell my old partner, Nick, and his wife used to fight about.”

“I guess,” Anna said.

Amanda put her hand on top of Anna’s. “Anna, look at me.” Anna looked up, pushing a wisp of her hair away from her eyes. “You’ve gotta understand, Barba has been alone for a long time. And take it from me, when you’re alone that long, you get used to thinking you’re right all the time because there’s no one telling you otherwise.”

“I get that, but maybe we’re just too different. Maybe he’s been alone too long. Maybe I don’t take things seriously enough. Maybe it’s just too—”  

Amanda held up her hands. “Look, I get it. He’s a stubborn pain in the ass. Hell, he’s hard to work with, so I can’t imagine living with him. You’ve got a pretty big age gap, and you’re both really busy with work and school. So I would completely understand if you decided you weren’t right for each other.” Then she softened her voice. “But I told you once before, I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. And when I asked if you were planning to go back, you looked at me like I was nuts for even asking that question. That says something to me.”

Suddenly, the bartender came over with two shots of whiskey. “From the gentlemen down that way,” he said, gesturing to two young, extremely handsome men sitting at the end of the bar.

Anna and Amanda looked at the men, then at each other. “You wanna go talk to ‘em?” Amanda asked, a sly grin on her face.

Anna hesitated for a second, looked at the men again, and then took out her phone. “Give me a second.” A minute later, she put it away and grabbed one of the shot glasses. “Okay. Ready.”

They clinked their glasses, tapped them on the bar, and downed the shots. “Sisters, right?” Amanda asked, referring to their cover story.

Anna hopped off her barstool and the two of them linked arms. “Sisters.”

***

Rafael was miserable.

Anna had only texted him twice a day since she’d landed in Nashville the previous Tuesday: once in the morning, and once at night. It was largely the same message every time: good morning or goodnight, and that she hoped he had a good day. He appreciated that, despite her anger, she at least wanted him to know that she was safe. And he wanted to give her the space she had clearly demanded, so he didn’t message more than that. He wasn’t a jealous man who needed to know what his girlfriend was doing every minute of the day, after all. Anna had gone on a handful of trips with her friends over the course of their relationship. That wasn’t what bothered him. What bothered him was that this time, she did it to get away from him rather than to get away with other people. That made all the difference. He trusted Anna implicitly. But every night, after he’d finally dragged himself home to bed, his brain went to a dark place where she met some stranger in Nashville, some ridiculous cowboy, who made her realize that he wasn’t worth the effort.

And because of what? A damn pen.

The day after she left, he threw them all out.

He felt like a bachelor again, but this time it wasn’t self-imposed. Nevertheless, he had reverted to his bachelor ways, working as much as he could until the wee hours of the morning. On Thursday and Friday mornings, Carmen had found him asleep on his office couch in the same clothes he’d worn the previous day. He worked right through the weekend, up until Sunday night. The good news was that he actually seemed to have caught up on a good deal of his backlogged work. The bad news was that he couldn’t even enjoy the spoils because he had no one to enjoy them with.

He had lunch with Olivia a couple of times and didn’t mention what was going on. She noticed something was off, but he deflected, saying he just hadn’t slept well that week. It wasn’t a lie.

Since he had gotten caught up with work that week, he decided to take Monday off. He cleaned out his closet, donating a bunch of clothes he hadn’t worn in a year. Anna had said more than once that she wanted to get a rain shower head, so he went out and bought one and installed it. Carisi came over with Jessie and a pizza that evening. Rafael had never been comfortable around children, but he had to admit that watching Carisi play with Jesse made him want to participate. So he and the detective and Amanda’s daughter colored and ate pizza—and for a minute, he forgot about being alone. Then, he got the nightly text from Anna, and was reminded all over again that she wasn’t going to be next to him in bed.

By Tuesday, he was climbing the walls. Work was the only thing he knew would take his mind off of the long wait until she arrived back home, so he threw himself into it that day. He had to give his phone to Carmen so that he wouldn’t be tempted to check it every ten seconds. She gave him a weird look but took it anyway. When three o’clock hit, he gathered his things to head home. Anna’s flight was due in at four, and he wanted to be there when she got home so that he could tell her what he’d failed to tell her before she left.

***

The light in the bedroom was on when he got home. For a split second, he was terrified—was there an intruder? And would his briefcase be enough to knock said intruder unconscious? But then he noticed the suitcase against the wall adjacent to the living room.

His heart raced. She must have gotten back early.

He found her in the master bathroom putting her toiletries away. She was wearing old, beat-up jeans and a t-shirt, and her hair was in a messy ponytail, but to Rafael, she had never looked more beautiful. He stood watching her for just a second, breathless. He worried if he said anything that it wouldn’t come out right. The last conversation they had turned out terribly.

But as soon as she turned her blue eyes up and locked onto the green of his, words were the last thing on either of their minds.

She flew at him, leaping into his arms and knocking him backwards onto the bed. She kissed him everywhere; on his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, and, finally, finally, his mouth. He kissed her so deeply that he thought he might actually be able to drink her. She tasted like mint and smelled like ripe peaches. She had come back to him in a flood of living memories. She had come back to him, period.

He finally pulled back to look her in the eyes again, his own wet with tears. “Te amo,” he said. “Te amo, mi corazón.” He repeated it like a prayer, so many times that he worried it lost meaning, but to Anna, nothing ever sounded better.

Rafael made love to Anna for the next two hours, and every time he moaned her name, “I love you” wasn’t far behind.

After they were both finally spent, they lay under a throw blanket on the bedroom carpet; at some point in their lovemaking, Anna actually rolled off the bed and they just continued there, laughing and kissing all at once. She told Rafael about her trip and all the things she and Amanda had seen and done. He hung on every word. But there was one more story she had to tell, and she hoped that when he heard it, he would understand why she reacted the way she did when he arrived home.

“So,” she said, “I don’t think I mentioned, we had a cover story on this trip that we were sisters. We didn’t use our own names with anyone we met the entire time. It was like being undercover. So last night—”

He laughed. “Okay, I have to know. What was your UC name?”

“I was Ariel and Amanda was Aurora.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You seriously used Disney princess names?”

“Well, if you’re gonna go UC, no better cover than a mermaid and a narcoleptic princess, right?”

“Does that mean I get to be Eric?” When she gaped at him, he said, “We’ve been together for over a year. I think you underestimate how much Disney trivia I’ve picked up in that time.”

She drew in a deep breath and focused her eyes on his. “So, as I was saying, last night, we were having dinner and two really hot cowboys sent us shots of whiskey.”

He sat up slightly, alarmed. “Okay, why are you telling me—”

“Because you need to hear this,” she said, pushing him back down and propping herself up on her elbow. “Amanda wanted to go talk to them. And we ended up having a really good conversation. It was a lot of fun.” He looked stricken, and she softened her expression. “Raf, you know nothing happened, right?”

“Of course I know that,” he said, although he was glad for the confirmation. “I just—it’s not that I don’t want you to go on trips with your friends. But this time…I guess I wish I could have been there with you.”

She smiled and kissed his shoulder. “You were, Raf. That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Right before we went to talk to them? That was when I texted you goodnight. Because I wanted to make sure I said goodnight before you went to bed—whenever the hell that was this week. I didn’t want to do it late and have you wonder if I’d forgotten you.”

He felt tears welling in his eyes again. “Anna, I never would have thought that.”

“Even still. You were on my mind every night and every morning. I wasn’t just texting you to let you know I was safe. I wanted you to know that no matter what happens, no matter where I am or how things are between us, I’m always thinking of you. And,” she added, “I’ll always come home to you.”

He sat up and wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, into her hair, and brought his lips to hers. When he pulled back, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

She pressed her forehead to his. “I’m sorry, too.” Then, she grabbed his watch from the nightstand above them. “I know it’s not our usual date night, but I could sure as hell use dinner and a movie right now. How about you?”

He smiled at her and ran a hand along her hip, memorizing the curves. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll even let you pick the movie.”

***

Anna wiped away her tears, which had been flowing for the last twenty minutes. After they’d eaten, she and Rafael had settled in to watch her favorite movie, What Dreams May Come. The plot was simple: the two main characters, Chris and Annie, lose their children in a horrible car accident. Annie has a mental breakdown and is institutionalized until she and Chris manage to rebuild their lives. But four years later, Chris also dies. His afterlife is beautiful, and he is reunited with his children. But when Annie commits suicide and is sent to hell, Chris journeys there to save her.

Even though Anna had seen it a thousand times, watching the two characters reunited at the end of the movie never failed to turn her into a weeping mess. She didn’t even try to hide it. “God,” she said, “That scene where they’re in Hell and he’s about to join her there and—Raf? Are you okay?”

Unlike Anna, Rafael preferred people think he was born without tear ducts. But there was no mistaking the sound of his sniffling next to her. “I’m fine,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

She leaned over and turned the end table light on. As her eyes adjusted, she caught him wiping his cheek with his shirt sleeve. “You’re crying!”

“I am not—”

“Yes, you are.” She handed him a Kleenex from the box she’d judiciously placed next to her before the movie started. He took it and blew his nose. “I warned you it was a gut-punch.”

“When you said it was a movie about soulmates, I think I expected, well, the usual tropes. I wasn’t prepared for something that seemed…realistic.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Almost the entire movie was set in heaven, and this is the one you’re calling realistic?”

“That’s not what I mean. Usually, movies make it seem like soulmates are perfect together and never fight and read each other’s minds. But come on, who gets that?”

She laughed. “People in movies.”

“Exactly,” he said. “People whose lives are literally scripted. But I don’t think our lives are predestined. For instance, I don’t think whatever higher power there is intended for you to be assaulted so that I could meet you.”

She cast her eyes downward. “Well, I’m glad to know that, because if that were the case, I’d think God was a huge asshole.”

He shifted on the couch to face her. “You want to know what part of the movie it was that got me?”

“Of course.”

He took a deep breath. “It was when they finally explained what their double-D anniversary was.” In the movie, Chris and Annie had a special anniversary; it commemorated the day they decided not to divorce after their children died and Annie had her breakdown.

“Oh, I know. When he told her not to give up—”

“No, it wasn’t that.” He cleared his throat. “When I first heard them described as soulmates, I was internally rolling my eyes. But then, we saw them suffering in two completely different ways. He pushed the pain away, and she collapsed under it.”

“Life’s like that,” she replied. “People react differently to things.”

“Yeah. But that’s what got me. They weren’t on the same wavelength at all. They didn’t just push through everything together like it was easy. They had to make an active decision to do it. When they chose to stay together, even after the gargantuan amount of suffering they went through…”

She pushed her hair over one of her shoulders and tilted her head. “So you do believe in soulmates now?”

“You know,” he said, “I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility. But like I said, I think soulmates aren’t people who are perfect together.” He took her hand. “I think they’re two people who aren’t perfect together—maybe even two people don’t even make sense together—but who make the choice every day to come back to each other. They fight, sometimes blow up, maybe don’t even speak to each other for a week, but they actively choose each other every day.”

She moved closer to him, tucking her legs underneath herself. “That sounds…very plausible.”

“Plausible,” he repeated with a chuckle. “In what world am I the romantic in this relationship?”

She grinned. “We can share the title.”

“I was thinking about the fight we had,” he said, pivoting so fast that Anna was worried he was shutting down on her again.

“Okay?”

“It was a nothing fight, but it turned into this big blow-up,” he continued. “A lot of couples would have let it get into their heads and make it into something about the relationship itself.”

She picked off a piece of lint from his shirt and smoothed the fabric over his shoulder. “Well, we’re not other couples.”

 He nodded. “And I know how people look at us when we’re out together. They see you, this beautiful, young, vibrant woman, and then they see me—”

“A handsome, distinguished, slightly silver fox?” she offered, gently touching his hair, the silver in it just beginning to show.

He smiled and put his hand on her cheek. The softness of her skin was like her generous heart: it never failed to amaze him. “The point is, despite what people think or say, or when life makes love hard, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we work at this, even through the hardest days, because we want to. We choose each other, every day—even if we need to go to other states to do it.” He winked at her.

She lifted his hand from her cheek and kissed his palm, her heart beating so hard it might have jumped out of her chest. “Are you saying…”

He didn’t complete her thought, but he didn’t have to. She knew the answer when he gave her that half-smile she loved so much. It made him look like a man much younger than his years, almost timid, a little mischievous. “I know, I just destroyed my grumpy, cynical persona. Don’t tell the squad; I have a reputation to keep up.”

For a minute, he was afraid that she would think he was silly or—worse—being disingenuous. But then he caught her eyes with his, and they were sparkling. She crawled from her spot on the couch into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You know, in the movies, this would be when the boy asks the girl to marry him,” she laughed.

He pulled her to him, so that their lips almost touched. “Well, we’re not other couples,” he said, just before he closed the gap between them.

***

Two weeks later, Anna had fallen asleep on the couch hours ago while she was reading and he was reviewing case files. He couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t fallen asleep when she read on the couch. She would lay with her legs stretched across his lap and he would run his hands along her calves, sometimes massaging them if she’d had a particularly hard day at the diner. She thought it was for her benefit, but the truth was, he loved doing it. Knowing he could relax her into sleep just with the touch of his hands was an intimacy he loved even more than sex. And so it was that he found himself lifting her legs off of his lap carefully, trying not to wake her. Mercifully, she was a heavy sleeper. It would probably be a struggle to get her into bed later on. For now, he decided to just change into pajamas and do the rest of his work in the home office. But there was something he wanted to do first.

The fight they’d had was a turning point. It had been a result of nothing more than mishandled stress on both of their parts. It hadn’t been anything deeper than that. But it had scared him more than any other argument they had ever had. She had gone away on trips before that, but he hadn’t been lonely. Their apartment still felt like their home because he knew she would be back. But when she’d been away with Amanda that week, he had been afraid she would realize she was happier away from him. So their home had temporarily transformed into just a place to keep his stuff. It didn’t feel comfortable. It didn’t feel warm. It just felt like four walls he slept in. Waking up without her was excruciating, as was knowing he would have to fall asleep without her there. He’d missed her laughter, her smile, the way he could smell her shampoo for hours after she’d left the bed. He’d missed seeing her body wash next to his in the shower.

He had missed her legs on his lap.

He crept into the bedroom and turned on the nightstand light, the dimmest in the room, so as not to wake her from afar. Then he went into the closet and opened one of the drawers. She never went into his closet, saying that she was afraid she would get lost under a pile of ties and vests, never to be seen again. He reached deep within the drawer, toward the back, and found what he was looking for.

Anna had joked that, in the movies, after a boy told a girl she was his soulmate, he would ask her to marry him. Although he had deflected the comment with a kiss, for just a heartbeat, he thought she had somehow tripped, fallen, and landed in his sock drawer. He had managed to compose himself, but now, his overstimulated, paranoid brain needed to make sure she hadn’t actually found what he was holding.

He looked over his shoulder, and then carefully opened the velvet box in his hand. The ring he had bought was still there, the question within it. All he had to do was choose a day to ask.

[agentmarymargaretskitz]

Better Late Than Never

My last minute contribution of something that will not happen in COIE, but what’s fanfic for anyways?

AO3

Earth-73

This was not supposed to happen.

              Everything had been going perfectly when the GATE was first activated. They had expected it to stay that way, given they’d checked and double-checked all the parts of the machine. Still, something had gone wrong. Dr. Jackson had sent Thea to get her and Jax to help. When they arrived on the floor where the GATE had been built, the woman herself seemed to be struggling to put in the override codes. Her mother and Caitlin were struggling too to stop the impending disaster.

“Mom!” Lily Stein screamed, jogging forward before lightning crackled in front of her and put her to a stop.

“Lily!” shouted Clarissa as she and Jax’s mother looked up at the arrivals. “Get out of here!”

Jax was at her side, shaking his head. “You sent Thea to get help!”

“I thought we could,” Dr. Jackson’s face crumbled when she looked up at them. “But it’s too late. The energy is overloading. An explosion is coming. We can’t stop it- just prevent its direction. And we have to stay with it.”

Her eyes found Cait’s reddened ones before her fiancée sniffled and rubbed a sleeve over her face.

“Mom,” Jax shook his head. “No, we all need to go.”

“Someone has to redirect the power. We can’t get out through the lightning. I’m sorry.”

“No!”

“Just get out of here, both of you!”

“NO!” they screamed together.

“Lily, Jax, you have to-“

There was an explosion above the GATE. For two seconds, time seemed to freeze. Then it resumed to its speed, a pulse of energy surging out to hit the two young scientists holding on to try and shield each other.

              Lily Stein’s eyes snapped open. Her entire body shook with residual panic from the nightmare. Gritting her teeth together, she reminded herself where she was- in an apartment, not in the basement of Mercury Labs. When that didn’t work, she turned to her breathing exercises. Eight counts in, eight counts out. Repeat four times.

She was alive. Jax was alive. They were safe.

But her mother, his mother, Caitlin…they were gone, or not who they once were in Caitlin’s case.

              Light was streaming through the thin curtains of her room. Lily wrapped the sheets around herself tightly, thankful she had the day off. After finding Caitlin again, she needed some time for herself. Jax and Thea understood and told her to go. The city survived years without Firestorm before the GATE blew, and it could absolutely handle a few days now.

~~~

              Across town, Jefferson “Jax” Jackson was frowning at the screen of a computer. Like his late mother, he was considered a genius and could back it up with his doctorate and project history. His latest participation in sending satellites out across the multiverse to make contact with other Earths was Mercury Labs’ latest and potentially last push to win back public favor after the GATE disaster. If this didn’t work, then the labs would close for good and his mother’s legacy would not be the lab she and Clarissa built, but the disaster that took their lives.

              Now one of the satellites had stopped transmitting data without warning. The launch had been a month ago and the other three satellites were working perfectly fine. But this fourth one had been functioning just like the others two nights ago. Yesterday, it had just stopped transmitting data. He couldn’t figure out why.

“Still hung up on the satellite?”

Jax turned around to see Thea standing in the door, surprised not to have heard her. “When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here an hour. Did you go home last night?”

“No, I stayed here and tried to figure this out.”

Thea raised her eyebrows. “Not to use her against you like this, but you know that your mother would have-”

“Told me off?” Jax gave a ghost of a smile. “Yeah, she would. She’d probably already know what to do. So would Clarissa.”

“I know,” Thea took a seat across from him. “It’s been hard without them. But we’re holding up. And we’ve figured out countless things without them. This one is just taking more time.”

“I think I’m going to need to call in Lily from her day off to help. But I know she’s still processing Caitlin too.”

Thea nodded. “Can you blame her? She believed her fiancée was dead only to find out she’s been alive all this time. Not only that, but she’s not the Caitlin we remember.”

              They fell into silence, both trying to think about the satellite but their minds drifting back to Lily. A quarter of an hour later, Thea decided to try and get into the computer system of the satellites not to examine data, but the live data from the satellite before it had lost all contact. She managed to get it up soon enough before sending him off to cafeteria to get some food for himself. He didn’t realize how much he needed the break until he had it and decided to thank her by bringing back lunch and coffee for her.

“Ready to watch the last recording the satellite sent out?”  Thea asked, taking a sip of her cappuccino.

              Jax nodded and pressed on the file. Together, they watched the Earth from the view of the satellite. For a few moments, the two talked about how beautiful the other Earth looked and what life must be like on it. As the rest of the video played, their awed expressions turned to horror at the events on screen. Thea covered her mouth and Jax put a hand on her shoulder. Then they replayed the video, slowing it down so they could see the details closer.

“We need to call Lily in now,” Thea murmured.

Jax shook his head in agreement.

~~~

              Within the next hour, Lily was watching the same video the other two scientists had seen. The other Earth rotating peacefully one moment. In the next, a wave of…something was surging across the screen to consume the Earth. The satellite captured it all before everything went to static, then black. Likely due to being hit by whatever that matter was.

“Do we know what that stuff is?” she inquired softly once the video had played through.

Jax shook his head. “We don’t. And because of the satellite’s positioning, we don’t know a point of origin either. Whatever it is, it destroys everything in its path.”

“So all of that…it’s gone?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Thea bit her lip. “But there’s no longer a signal from that satellite, or that Earth.”

A chill ran down Lily’s spine. “All those people…”

“I know,” Jax murmured. She knew he could feel flickers what she was feeling. “But the other three satellites are still working. The project won’t be a total loss. I figured you would want to see this though. It could be a potential risk for our Earth or another one day.”

              With a few strokes of the keyboard, he had pulled up the live transmission date for the three remaining satellites. Lily studied them and the Earths they were focused on. This was the first step in moving towards inter-Earth cooperation. Soon, they could make contact with the citizens of those universes. Strike up a relationship and share technologies. Maybe there was even something on another Earth that help Caitlin’s new powers, bring her back them and her…

“How have you been holding up anyways?”

Jax’s question startled her out her observation of the satellites. “Okay. Although finding out your fiancée has been alive for the past two years and not dead is a lot. That’s not even counting that she’s become some sort of energy vampire.”

“We’ll figure it out. Just like we always do.”

A smile slowly made its way onto her face. “Thanks, Jax.”

              He opened his mouth to answer, then stopped and leaned towards the computer screen. Lily followed his gaze, trying to see what had caught his attention. It took a moment before she and Thea both saw the substance in the corner of the satellite creeping towards the Earth. Before they knew it, they were watching the strange mass surge towards the other Earth, wiping everything out before the satellite’s feed went dead.

“That’s another one…” Thea swallowed. “Just like the last one.”

“Exactly like the first one. How is this happening.”

Lily frowned. “There are two ways. It might have originated in this universe too somewhere. That’s one way, maybe the better way.”

“And the other?” Thea asked.

“It’s the same wave, one of destruction that can cross dimensions.”

Jax grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. “Thea, where are the positions of the Earths where we launched those satellites too?”

She ran to another monitor and began to recite them to him. His pen scribbled a graph and circles down as fast as she could read them. Lily stood to the side, watching him.

“Thea, when did the first satellite go down again?” she asked.

“Two days ago. Exact time was 23:08.”

“Great,” Lily nodded before she grabbed a pencil and started writing on the other side of Jax’s paper. “And this one just went down a minute ago, so I can get the rate down with the distance. I know we don’t know it for sure yet, but this would be how fast that wave is traveling through the multiverse.”

She set her pencil down at the same time Jax dropped his pen. With Thea, they all examined the work.

“So if that material is all the same, and it’s traveling through the multiverse,” Thea began. “How long would take before it reaches us here?”

Jax was silent for a few seconds, picking up the pencil and writing down the numbers. “Three days.”

“Three days until the end of everything,” Lily’s shoulders sank.

Silence fell over the trio.

“Firestorm can’t stop this one,” Jax sighed, looking over at Lily. “We can do a lot of things. But stopping a wave of destruction from space? There’s no way we can transmute that.”

“I know,” Lily nodded. “But I don’t want to die.”

“Me neither.”

“Hey, I don’t want to die either,” Thea chimed in. “But it’s not just our Earth. There are others out there, and not all of them might know about this. Some might know how to overcome this.”

“Like that one,” Jax pointed to one of their remaining satellites. “There’s been a lot of traffic over there for the last three years. If we get to them, then we can warn them or get them to help save the other Earths.”

“And how do we get there?” Lily asked. “Can we use the system that got the satellites to the other Earths, Jax?”

He shook his head. “We didn’t design it for organic material.”

“But the Gateway to Alternative Timelines and Earths was,” Thea reminded them. “And it can be again.”

Lily stared. “You want to try to use the GATE? Thea, you know what happened the last time it was activated. People died. Others got powers like Jax and I. Threats came over from another Earth for a whole year before we put a stop to it.”

“But the DeVoes tampered with the system,” Jax looked between the two of them. “Without their sabotage, it would have worked. Not that we’ve ever tried to.”

“The GATE was two and a half years ago,” Thea said. “Since then, we’ve all learned more about the multiverse. I think I can create a program that will connect the GATE to that Earth everyone keeps going to. When I do, we can reach them and explain what’s happened.”

“The last time we ran the GATE, Mom and Dr. Jackson never had an exact coordinate planned. It just scanned for signs of life to lock onto as a breach. Having that specific place we go to might make things easier. But the explosion did do damage. It’s going to need repairs.”

“Then we can do them while Thea works on developing the program. How long do you think it’ll take?”

“I don’t know. If it’s possible, at least a few hours. A day at maximum. Plus I want to run a few simulations with it.”

“Do we have time for that?”

“Need I remind you France won the Space Race because America didn’t run tests and ended up with astronaut jelly?”

“I don’t want to be Firestorm jelly,” Jax gulped. “Okay, simulations are good. Lily and I still need to assess damage.”

~~~

“Our mothers’ greatest undertaking,” Jax sighed, staring at the arch before them. “Now we’re the ones who are depending on it to save Earth.”

“And all the other ones,” added Lily, approaching the twelve-foot structure with their toolbox.

“Yep. Are you okay coming back to this?”

“Peachy. But you’re not.”

Jax crossed his arms. “This killed our mothers. It gave us a great power, but it also made Caitlin what she is now. The GATE gives and it takes away from my point of reference.”

“It didn’t take away our fathers. They were there that night instead the building, but we still have them. And it never took away Thea. It just brought her closer to us.”

His partner grinned knowingly at him and Jax rolled his eyes. “After we deal with this…crisis that’s happening, I’ll tell her. Promise.”

“Good,” Lily chuckled and tossed a roll of paper to him. “Spread out the blueprint. Let’s see what we have to work with.”

For a while, the two worked in silence studying the blueprint, comparing it to the GATE, and making the fixes necessary to it. They didn’t need to talk at times with their psychic link. If Lily needed the pliers, Jax passed them to her wordlessly. In turn, she knew what he needed, whether it was holding the ladder for him to climb up or to pass him some new screws. Other scientists thought it was freaky whenever they did it in the past and avoided them. Thea told them it was kinda cool.

“This is going to work,” Lily finally told him.

“I know.”

“But you need to hear it. Thea is better with computers than anyone I know. We’re both brilliant with mechanics and how things work. I admit it, I have my trauma from what happened. I’m still seeing Dr. Horton about it. But I trust you and Thea and I believe this is going to work.”

“I just don’t want to bring down Mom’s or Clarissa’s legacy anymore than people have already done,” Jax told her. “And I don’t want to bring any more hurt to the city than I already did with the GATE, even if the DeVoes did sabotage us last time.”

“We won’t fail, because we can’t.”

Jax snorted. “When did you get so hopeful?”

“One of us has to be.”

“In that case, let me tell you something, Lily. We are going to get Caitlin back one way or another.”

~~~

              In the end, it took a day and a half, a combined total of fourteen hours of sleep, several coffees or beverages containing caffeine, several alternative pop mixtapes, and only one use of the first aid kit before Jax, Thea, and Lily completed the project. The trio stood in the basement to gaze up at their work. The GATE was rid of dust and gleamed a little brighter than it had hours ago, save for the large burn mark on the base of the right leg. All that was left was for it to be powered up, Thea to upload her program, and then they could walk through to another Earth.

Too bad the founders of Mercury Labs were not here to witness it.

“How long is it going to take to power up the GATE?” Lily asked.

Thea slung off her backpack. “About half an hour. Then we can enter and should find ourselves on that Earth.”

“I’ll go power up the GATE now,” Lily looked right at Jax. “It should take me a while.”

“Then you better get going.”

              She smirked a little as she hustled over to the control booth. Once inside, the memories of the night she’d lost her mother crashed into her. It had been the first time she and Jax had fused, which was terrifying given they’d never done it before. They had crawled into the control booth and tried not to get into a lengthy panic attack over how they were one. Thea had been the one to find them and helped them split. Team Firestorm was born in the early morning hours after the GATE failed.

              Lily yanked the lever down to start the power-up. Most of the employees at Mercury had already gone home, which was all the better. The rest were probably going to experience power problems for a while. Hopefully none of them would find their way down here to see what they were doing. Everything about this was off the books and could cost them their jobs. But when it was compared to losing the world, Lily would rather be jobless. So would Jax and Thea.

              Speaking of the duo, Lily fell back into an easy chair and spun around to watch through the control booth’s window. Jax was doing all the talking. Lily didn’t need the psychic link to tell that he was anxious about talking to Thea. But then those fears evaporated as Thea put her hand over his and kissed him. Good for them.

She gave them another moment before exiting the booth. “Did it go good?”

“It was great,” Thea chuckled. “As soon as all this is over, we’ll do something proper, like dinner or coffee.”

“Or you can do it on the other Earth?”

“Lily, there’s a wave of destruction that’s taken out two Earths already,” Jax reminded her. “I want to stop it first. Then I’ll take Thea on a date.”

“Point taken,” she smiled. “I’m happy for you two. Not the best time, but…better late than never.”

Thea’s expression softened. “Thank you, Lily.”

~~~

“It’s almost time,” Thea announced as she looked at the GATE’s readings on her computer. “Another two minutes and we’ll be good to go.”

“Anyone else feeling a little nervous now?” Lily asked.

Jax raised his hand. “Not sure if it’s me or if it’s because of you. Probably both.”

“I am, but I’m hopeful,” Thea told them. “We always need hope.”

The halves of Firestorm nodded.

“Once the GATE is at power, I need to input the code. Then we can-“

“NO.”

              Someone was in the room now. A towering man in some kind of armor stood by the door. It had been locked, but none of them had heard him come in. His skin was white with eyes that were sunken and gaunt. It was as if someone had taken a corpse and brought him back to life. There was even a stench of death about him, one so repulsive that all of them took a step back.

“This Earth must fall, and so must those who tread upon it. You will not be spared.”

Jax held out his fist to Lily behind Thea’s back. She bumped hers against his. With a swirl of flames, Firestorm appeared, inhabiting Jax’s body this run. It was his turn after all.

“I’d get out of here now, buddy,” they warned, stepping in front of Thea.

“You cannot frighten me,” the corpse hissed. “I have seen many Firestorms. None of them strike fear. None of them have overcome me. Fire can be put out easier than you think.”

The lights flickered above them. It made the corpse frown, so it was not his doing. Jax frowned before remembering they were using a lot of energy.

“She’s coming.” Lily’s voice echoed.

“Thea, get ready,” Jax whispered.

A second later, the lock on the door clicked loudly before the door itself fell to the floor. In stalked a woman with tangled white hair and pale skin. Dark circles formed rings around her eyes. If they didn’t know her, they could have assumed she was related to the corpse. But they knew her name. Who she had been. Who she had loved.

“Caity.”

              Caitlin Snow, now known as Blackout, stared around the room. She frowned at the corpse before relaxing a bit at the sight of Thea and Firestorm. Once she laid eyes on the Gate, her expression became a mixture of hunger and anger. The device that had changed her life was now offering itself as a food source.

“Let me take over. Just for a moment.”

Jax relaxed control over their mouth so Lily could assume it.

“Caity,” Lily’s voice came from his mouth. “Help us get out here. He wants to destroy the Earth.”

Caitlin turned back to her. “Lily?”

“Please, Caity. We’ll help you. We’ll find a way to stop the hunger.”

Two long strands of energy flowed from Caitlin’s hands. “You had me at destroying the Earth.”

“Careful, girl,” the corpse warned.

The metahuman laughed. “I’ve been much more than that for a long time.”

With that, she ran towards him, her energy whips flying forward to wrap around the wrists of the corpse.

“Guys,” Thea whispered. “The GATE is ready. I have to get in the coordinates.”

“We can’t let them follow us,” Jax reminded her, taking control of Firestorm again. “At least this freaky guy. He’s the one who wants us dead.”

Thea smiled. “Well, we’re lucky that I was the one who made sure the code has an instruction to close after two organic lifeforms enter it.”

“Thea, you’re a genius.”

“Go help Caitlin first, then compliment my brain.”

Firestorm rose into the air as Thea made a run for the control booth. The corpse was holding up well against Caitlin’s energy whips, which was saying something. Together, Lily and Jax hurled fireballs at him to keep him distracted from Thea. But just as she almost reached the booth, the corpse bent backwards to avoid one whip, which smashed into the metal frame of the window. Thea yelped and fell backwards, her laptop skittering out of her hand all the way to the boot of the corpse.

The corpse stopped and stared at the laptop. Without hesitation, he brought his foot down on it.

Thea did not scream as her pride and joy was reduced to a cracked screen and a broken keyboard, but she looked devastated.

“Thea Queen,” the corpse boomed. “You are not like your doppelgangers. And you shall die different from the rest of them.”

“Not interested, but thanks.”

The corpse smiled cruelly and raised his hand. Jax started to fly towards her.

A strand of energy coiled around the hand before it could swing down.

Both Firestorm and the corpse stopped and turned to see Caitlin clinging to her whip with gritted teeth. “Leave my friend alone!”

The corpse growled at her and yanked his coiled arm forward. Caitlin flew forward and landed on the floor. Thea took the chance to scramble her feet and out of the way. Jax didn’t look to see where she went, but he couldn’t fly anywhere. Lily was too transfixed in horror, watching Caitlin struggle in vain to hold her group as the corpse dragged her across the floor.

“Caitlin Snow,” the corpse pulled the whip forward, so she landed at his feet. “Any final words?”

“No no no no no no.”

Lily wanted to move forward, so did he. But they couldn’t somehow. They were just guests.

Caitlin scowled as the corpse lifted her up into the air by the whip, but then looked towards them.

“I love you,” she said. “Kick his ass.”

The corpse snarled. “Pathetic.”

His hand wrapped around her neck. Jax closed their eyes, but they still heard the snap and the thump of a body.

“Now, Firestorm. It is your turn.”

Jax reopened their eyes and felt feeling return to their body. He lowered them to the floor. Caitlin’s body was behind the corpse. A cry that did not belong to him escaped his mouth. Lily’s anguish was almost overpowering, but it was fueling a fight in them.

Flicking their hands out, Jax and Lily summoned handfuls of fire. If they were to go down, they were going down together in a fight.

Behind them, the GATE was filled by a dark blue hue. It was active and ready for transport.

Jax flew up in the air a little, just enough to see past the corpse and Caitlin. Thea was inside the doorway of the control booth, a smile on her face. She was also crying.

“Thea?” he shouted, throwing the fire out to throw off the corpse

The corpse growled. “How-”

“It’s called a flash drive, E.T.!” she screamed at him. “You killed my computer, but not the back-up!”

Then she looked up at them. “Now go!”

“Not without you!”

But the corpse was turned towards her now. She wouldn’t have the time to make it. Logistically, Jax knew this.

Emotionally, he could not accept it.

Thea looked up at him with love, not fear. “Go save this world.”

“Thea!” he cried out.

Lily took control and flew toward the GATE. Jax peeked back one last time at her before they entered the arch. Everything became blue and cold and fast. This was what he imagined going down a sink felt like. Images of people and places flashed around them, but there weren’t very many. He didn’t focus on them when he had just left Thea in the hands of the corpse who wanted to kill all the Earths.

Then everything went black.

~~~

“You’re a foolish girl,” the corpse said as he stepped inside the control booth.

Thea was backed against the wall. Moments ago, she had been brave. Now she was terrified.

“I’m no fool,” she proclaimed, yanking the flash drive out. “I’m a freaking genius.”

The GATE sputtered and shut down.

Raising a hand, the corpse stared down at her. “Then enjoy a taste of your planet’s demise.”

~~~

“How long ago did you find him?”

“An hour, and it’s not really just him. There’s another brainwave signature.”

“So it’s Firestorm. Did Jax find a new partner?

“This isn’t our Jax. Gideon pulled up his location. He’s out in Zenith City.”

“Well, I kinda figured he was from another Earth given how he burst out of that breach.”

“What Earth did he come from?”

Jax groaned. Lily was groggy inside his skull. Summoning as much energy as they had left, they split apart.

“Whoa!”

Jax sat up first and opened his eyes. He was jammed with Lily on a bed in some medical wing. Three people were crowded around the bed. A man wearing something between armor and an exoskeleton, a woman in a white jumpsuit, and a second man wearing all red.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“Earth-1,” the woman answered. “You landed outside STAR Labs and passed out. We know your doppelganger pretty well, so we brought you inside. Where did you come from?”

“Earth-73 is our positioning,” Jax told them as Lily started to rise up beside him. “Something has been destroying Earths. Ours is going to be hit by it within a day. We travelled here to warn you if you didn’t know, or to get help to fight against it.”

The three exchanged a look before the man in red answered. “We know it’s coming, and we can use all the help we can get to fight it.”

“Consider us invested,” Lily told them. “Can you use two people who become a superhero with nuclear-based powers?”

“Definitely,” the man in the suit told them before frowning. “Hey, are you okay?”

Jax didn’t realize he was crying. “I…I…”

Lily finished for him. “We lost people coming here.”

He nodded. She’d lost Caitlin. And Thea was probably as good as dead, but at least he’d told her how he felt.

Better late than never, right?