#there’s a bunch of snow and huge wind chills where I am

[great-tusk]

I need her so that she and Turtwig can sit on my shelf and I can come over and give her a little kiss on the top of her head when I’m too stressed to sleep.

[froog-water]

howdy y'all, again! 

just quickly before the chapter starts, i wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who reads this! i have received a lot of support for this thing (more than i had hoped) and i am beyond grateful for it!

again, if there are any mistakes in this chapter, just hmu and i will fix it. i am just tired rn :)

also, slight warning for the beginning of the chapter, there are vivid descriptions of blood and gore and death. but nothing really troubling past that ;P

be safe out there my friends and thank you again

Upwards Over the Mountain

(Bloodhound x Reader)

previous; Chapter 2

Winter is in full swing and the entire world is covered in a thick blanket of white snow and eternal cold. For the most part, you had forgotten all about Bloodhound and the stranger circumstance of your meeting. Because there was not much for a bunch of fishermen and farmers to do during the stagnant times of chill, your bar had become a most frequented hotspot for these idle workers meaning you had very little time to yourself. Busy hands kept your mind busy too and soon some, if not most, of that night had been pushed back to the recesses of your consciousness.  It also did not help that they never took you up on your offer of returning to the bar. They retreated back into being merely a story to you, a faint memory of a person long moved on. You could hardly even remember if it had even really happened at all. Oh well, you supposed they had better things to do.

Early morning light was barely seeping in through your bedroom window when you managed to open your eyes. Groggily you yawn and stretch and slowly go to open the curtains. Greeting you was the pleasant sight of a land half-asleep, the sky a brilliant warm pink despite the rest being draped in an unimaginable freeze. Your breath collected as fog on the frozen glass and tentatively you reach out to touch it. It was a lovely morning indeed and it would have stayed that way had you not looked up into the sky.

In the distance, large birds circled. Tiredness shifts to dread as you adjust your eyes to try to get a better look. Those were no ordinary birds, you remark taking note of how large their bodies were and of the swooping patterns of their flight. Those were scavenging birds. And there is only one thing to bring scavengers out during Winter.

You dress quickly, putting on your best and thickest jacket and pants, before grabbing your hunter's knife and bow. Andante was a man of many talents, most of which he passed on to you. One of those talents was his hunting skills. The summer before his knees went, was spent mostly out in the heart of the wild woods. It was an interesting experience, to say the least, and though you were nowhere near what could be considered good, you understood the basics of the hunt and of the weapons you wielded and you knew how to read signs. Signs like scavenger birds circling in the sky. Signs like there was something dying.

Into the snow you run without much of a second thought, your head locked upwards as you follow the shapes of the birds eyeing their next meal. What confused you most about this strange encounter was not the presence of the birds themselves, but the proximity that they were to you and the rest of the town. This was wild country, home of beasts and lands untamed and untouched by man’s iron hand. That much you knew, encounters like this were commonplace if you dared to leave the safety of human comforts. But you were not out in the uncomfortable forest which meant that whatever had caught the bird's attention was either very far from home or of a more concerning matter.

You edge into the outskirts of the white forest, the trees around you nothing more than empty sticks bearing only wind and ice. Overhead, the birds caw and swoop and through the boney fingers of branches, you can see that they are getting lower. You had to move quickly before they did. As you go deeper in, approaching what you assumed to be the border of someone's field, you hear something. Faintly, carried on the morning breeze, was the mewling of an animal. Your pace quickens and quietens as you zone in on the source, painfully aware of how loud the snow was underfoot but pushing on regardless. The relief that you had felt at knowing it was not a person in danger eases some of your mounting anxieties and offers you momentary strength to continue on in pursuit. If given the choice, you would have gladly left whatever animal lay in wait to its own devices, you had no business intruding in on their affairs - your presence would only bring them distress no matter your intentions. But something about this situation told you otherwise and guided your feet to where you would most certainly be needed. On the outskirts of a clearing, you spot something and crouch behind a leafless brush.

There before you, not even 20 meters away, was a fallen elk. You swallow down your gasp and try to focus over the noise of your beating heart, which becomes only louder as you start to take in the entire situation. The animal has toppled over a wired fence of some farmer's land, its hind leg still entangled and bleeding from its restraints, held high above the rest of its body at an uncomfortable angle. From its bloody mouth, it screamed weakly, puffs of dying hot breath escaping with the haunting noise. Your first guess was that this misdirected elk had simply gotten itself stuck in the fence, a most unfortunate event but not entirely implausible, but upon closer inspection at the rest of its heaving body, your guess died on your tongue.

Horrible, long gashes run down the length of the animal's side, pooling blood into the snow around it turning white to red. Its powerful neck was sliced deep in odd places and one of its front legs looked twisted or broken. This creature had not done this kind of destruction to itself - it was attacked. By something. You slowly turn your head around to scan the morning shadows of the forest clearing for any glowing eyes of an animal on the hunt. But there was no predator to be found. There would be none of course, because if there was such a predator here, then why would it not have killed its prey by now? Animals do not find enjoyment in torture and no man, you hoped, would ever do such heinous crimes to such innocent life. For now, at least, it was only you and the elk and the circling, hungry birds.

The elk cries again and you notice how its kicks have become lethargic and stifled by freezing joints and waning energy. It was suffering. Without much debate you ready an arrow in your bow, pulling taut the string with trained proficiency. You whisper to yourself a prayer, hoping that it would only take one arrow to kill the poor thing. You line your aim up, try to cease the shaking in your hands and shoulders, breathing deeply. Your arrow flies prematurely and misses its target, rather than piercing its skull you instead strike it in its neck, right behind its ear. The thing wails, although much softer and with more subtle movements - you must have hit its spine. Seizing the opportunity, you rush forward, ignoring the lurching of your stomach and pulling out your knife. Without a moment's hesitation, you drive it deep into the elk’s heart, right to the hilt of the blade. A little excessive, you deride, but a necessity given your previous inability to finish it quickly.

The thing stops moving. The pained cries fade off into the cold wind. You are left alone with your thoughts and the smell of fresh blood. Beneath your hands the elk lay motionless, its beautiful, soft fur a gentle texture against your trembling form. Andante had made sure that you had killed a few animals before he had honored you with a knife of your own. Still, experience did not dull the sharp sting of shock nor quell the rising weight in your chest. It was suffering, you reminded yourself, lightly dragging your fingers down the side of the animal's large and strong back.

These elk were beautiful creatures, graceful and nimble; they pranced through the wilderness in powerful, delicate strides showcasing the ultimate wonder of the natural world. You had encountered a herd of them once, all the while mesmerized as they strode past your hiding spot without a care in the world. It was quite distressing to see one now crumpled and lifeless. Emptiness sits heavy in your chest and though you know you are not going to throw up, the pressure erupts and you fall to your knees. A red hand clasps the arrow lodged deep in the neck of the animal and sharply pulls it out. You blink hard but cannot stop the tears that threaten to burn your eyes.

It was an animal. It was suffering. You did the right thing.

From somewhere behind you, the softest snow crunches, and your pity party abruptly ends as you draw another arrow and spin around. For a few tense seconds, your fingers quiver around the bow’s string, ready to shoot down if you so dared it. You only hesitate when you finally recognize the figure.

Bloodhound quietly raises both their gloved hands, fingers spread apart in an unarmed, peaceful gesture. You remain poised a moment longer until your eyes start to prick with new tears and you are forced to look away. You drop your arrow and turn back around to the elk, furiously trying to wipe your face with the clean sleeve of your jacket. Now, this was a predicament. What god had you spite so hard to deserve this kind of cruelty? True embarrassment blends with your established disgust and you fear now you may really throw up. Here was a true hunter, a beast born in blood and forged to kill. And here also was you, wallowing in pity. If only you could sink into the floor.

You can hear Bloodhound approach and soon feel their impending presence standing right next to you, taking in the sight of the poor thing on the ground. No one spoke, only the wind dared whisper in the dead world around you. The silence was stretching on for far too long and you knew you had to break it before it became too uncomfortable.

“I’m…” You sniffle hard, trying to force strength into your voice knowing full well that you had very little left to offer. You cough and stand up straight. “I’m not going to do you the dishonor and assume this was your kill.” You say, your voice somehow managing to sustain itself despite your state. Bloodhound does not respond right away, instead, they remain motionless, eyes scanning every detail of the elk and committing it to memory. You shake loose the last of your unstable emotions and grab ahold of your knife again. You move to the elk’s tangled leg and set to work cut free the wires.

“You cry for the animal.” Bloodhound finally speaks, sounding more like an observation rather than a question. With your attention focused on your task, you manage to answer in a more steady and calm attitude.

“Yes.” This was your admission of guilt, not just to Bloodhound but to yourself as well. God, how pathetic you were. “Yes, I cried. I know it is natural. That this is how it is meant to be but,” You hesitate, your lapse in concentration misguiding your knife and almost slicing the tip of our index finger. “This is not a hunt nor a kill. This poor creature was driven away from its home and family and pushed to our borders by some deranged and cruel beast. This is not natural. It was not killed to feed mouths. It was tortured. And it died confused and alone.” The leg snaps free from the wired fence and you wipe your blade clean on the snowy floor, ugly red stains being the only reminder of your deed.

“There is no shame in veeping.” Bloodhound murmurs a brash reassurance and kneels down, tracing their fingers from the elk’s wounds. “Vhat did this?”

“My guess is,” You state taking a step back and allowing Bloodhound to proceed with whatever they were wanting to do with the body, “A few years back, an illegal trading ship hit a bit of trouble just beyond our planet's frontier and had to quickly dump its cargo on the East mountains. Some of that cargo was the creatures we call ‘Shrieks’. They are alien to this ecosystem but even though they are terribly small and their numbers were minimal, they dominated the local wildlife - killing not just for food but for fun. The town’s people tried to cull some of their numbers but,” You explanation stutters off and you hastily take in a sharp breath, the icy air burning your nose and lungs. “Well, they could not get them all. It appears now that they are growing in size again. And in courage.”

Bloodhound does not respond, their attention wholly directed at the study of the animal. You wait a moment longer, the adrenaline of the moment finally ebbing off and allowing the freezing cold to seep into your bones. You shiver and wrap your arms around your body. Bloodhound stands, all the while their attention remains downward.

“You can leave it there.” You say, passing one more glance over the body before averting your gaze elsewhere. “If you want nothing from it, leave it for the birds. They could use the meal.” As if aware of their mention, the still-waiting scavengers call loudly from the tree-top. A raven answers with a caw and you look around to find many black birds scattered around the clearing. The birds do seem to follow their raven stranger everywhere they went. The wind howled through the desolate forest and you grimace upon thinking of returning to your empty house with such a shallow heart. The smell of blood lingers cruelly to your clothes, reminding you of what you had just witnessed. You had to think of something to keep your mind off it, thinking of your act for people, play your part until you finally were normal again. But your bar would not be open until at least noon and there was no one else who would be willing to distract you.

“Did you track it all the way here?” Your voice breaks the silence, your mind subconsciously switching to your more charming persona. They do not answer immediately.

“I sensed distress and followed its blood.” They weren’t giving you much to work off of and you shuffle in place.

“Then I suppose you will need a ride back?” This garners their attention and they turn to face you, the nerve of being under their masked gaze still sending jolts up and down your spine.

“I cannot accept your generosity again.” Bloodhound tries to talk you down but you scoff and lift a hand to silence them.

“Please, I won't be needed until lunch and I really don't mind.” Your tone successfully managed to hide that you had a third reason to be so insistent - you just hoped that they could not see the desperation in your face. They could. They take a moment to consider your offer, whatever expression lay under their mask you would never know. The raven to their left caws and they turn to look at it. It takes off after a final noise and Bloodhound lowers their head back to you - some secret understanding passing between bird and hunter.

“Then,” Bloodhound motions for you to lead the way, “By all means.” Though strained and almost painful, your first smile of the day pulls at your lips and you turn around to walk back to your house.

~

Bloodhound, as bizarre and strange as they were, never afforded you the opportunity to truly draw a defined picture of their personality. Wrapped so totally in mystery and gear, your perception of them was created on a flimsy base of shadows - beyond what they portrayed on T.V, you knew nothing of. But in the frozen forest of that Winter’s morning, something changed and you felt your world flip upside down onto its head.

Bloodhound was a lot more talkative on the way to their cabin than they had been the first time. Or any time really that you had interacted with them. It had started with you asking them the simple question of how they managed to track the injured elk and although their initial answer remained vague, a tangent soon manifested and from there the spiral began. To your utter surprise, and mild enjoyment, they proved themselves to be a great storyteller and had many wonderful and whimsical tales about their Gods and hunts that had made the drive over to their place seem almost too short.

“Most people stop me at this point.” Bloodhound commented, drawing a snicker from you as your eyes were glued to the ice-capped road ahead.

“Well, most people are not here. And I am very much enjoying myself. I love stories.” You could not see it, but your response brought a cracked smile to Bloodhound's hidden face.

By the time you had reached their cabin, they had entranced you in a tale about wolves and the true essence of the hunt. Though you thought your morning could not get any more surprising, Bloodhound steps out of your truck and extends an offer to share warm drinks with them inside. In the heart of Winter, you could not resist the temptation.

The interior of their cabin was much as you expected - totally unpredictable. It was like a bear and a machine had a fight, a complete subversion of everything you had come to know as normal. On the floor was a multitude of animal rugs, the couches too were draped with the furs of Bloodhound’s past, presumed, victories. Yet despite the clear aesthetic for ruggedness, a definite sense of modern order was showing through. The fireplace was quaint in its design but unmistakable retro. The furniture too, the chairs and tables, shelves and windows, were all of a very contemporary era. A perfect combination of the comforts of the past and the conveniences of the present. But all and all, the only word that came to your head when you first stepped in through their front door was - cozy.

Bloodhound leads you through their small cabin, past the living room, and into the small kitchen. They motion for you to take a seat at the wooden table in the center of the room and you marvel at the smells and sights around you. Hanging from strings draped across the walls were various herbs and spices and on the counter in bowls were fresh fruit and vegetables. They must have visited the town if this was their food supply and you feel a twinge of apprehension pluck at your light mood. You brush it off as Bloodhound asks if you would prefer tea or coffee.

“I find myself the one in honor of sharing breakfast with you this morning. Fair varning must be made, however,” Bloodhound extends a steaming cup towards you, “I have been told I am not the most accomplished of hosts.” You smile gratefully and take the cup into your shivering hands. The drink was shockingly and terribly bitter and you barely manage to hold back your gag at the first sip. Bloodhound snickers at your reaction and produces a tub of honey for you to add to your drink. “And that my tastes are mostly unagreeable.”

“Oh please,” You wheeze weakly after drowning your taste buds in the soothing honey, “This is nothing. Besides, I assume that, with your choice of isolation, you don’t particularly want to be anyone's host.” Bloodhound hums at your comment, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with it. They pull up to the opposite chair and take a seat and you notice how their drink has a straw in it.

“I am not entirely opposed to indulging certain people. And even fewer dare to give my delights a try. Therefore I rather keep them to myself. I do, however, give special heed to those vho show interest in my stories.” This draws a smirk from your lips as you bring the hot liquid up to your mouth for another sip. Content silence passes through the room and you focus intently on the warmth now spreading through your hands and to the rest of your body. “I did not think that anyone vould be out on such a morning like this.” Bloodhound admits, causing you to slowly look at them and lower your cup.

“Most are too old or too busy to take time out of their day to notice these things, or to even care. And I do not do well in the cold. Today was a special exception.” At the mention of the temperature outside you quickly raise your cup to your mouth and down another gulp. When you open your eyes again, you finally notice the bird in the room who had before blended so seamlessly in with the other oddities of the kitchen. Sat on a perch made of carved wood to the left of Bloodhound was their signature raven. It tilts its head at your attention, letting out a meek calling before eyeing you up and down. Bloodhound must really like their raven friend if they were kind enough to invite them inside. The sight alone was enough to bring a bemused grin to your chapped lips and Bloodhound watched it all happen in mild fascination.

“Do you often listen to birds?” They ask, breaking you out of an almost trance and extending to their raven a piece of freshly sliced apple.

“It is not so strange.” You breathe a laugh, “It was what led me to finding you in the rain that first evening.” Bloodhound turns their disk-like lenses towards your face and wordlessly implores you to continue. Despite the warmth now residing in your bones, you still shiver under their daunting gaze. “Your friend I mean,” You motion to the raven who has also turned to look at you with its beady, brown eyes as if aware that it was the topic of conversation, “Its cries were all I could hear. Which is saying something, considering it was storming pretty hard.”

“I do not think it skrýtinn.” Bloodhound replies without missing a beat, their voice mellow and their words an alluring symphony of strange syllables, a true joy to listen to. “Just an uncommon trait in most people. And his name is Artur.” You pass the bird a look and slightly tip your head in acknowledgment of his name. He squawks and fluffs his chest feathers, clearly enjoying being the center of attention. Bloodhound smiles at the bird. “Ravens are the messengers of the Allfather. They guide and aid me on my hunts. I do not think it skrýtinn to listen to them. Only that someone else does also.”

“You give me too much credit.” You bashfully avert your gaze, dropping your eye level to the rim of your mug no longer steaming. “It has only been a few, very odd occasions. Mere coincidences if nothing else.” Bloodhound shrugs off your deflection, unpersuaded by your argument.

“Even so.” The room falls into a content stillness after their last comment and you are left wondering how you had even ended up here. On T.V, Bloodhound was a truly mysterious character, never talking or partaking in the more rowdy activities as the others did. Sure, you were not an avid watcher, but from what little time you had spent gazing at the screen, you had made Bloodhound out to be a vastly stoic, isolated person. And by all means, they had mostly proven themselves to be exactly that person, what with their initial reluctance to meet your extended friendliness and the way they had so precariously placed themselves on this mountain all alone. However, sitting now with them in their own house, you did not feel intruding or unwelcome. And the way they spoke to you, the ease of words and conversation, came as soft and comfortable as if from someone you had known before. From them, you could feel nothing but gentle amity.

“Do you hunt?” Bloodhound’s voice wafts through the air and to your ears, bringing your head up in a hum. You snicker, a twinge of embarrassment pulling at your chest.

“Not if I can help it. Though Andante did try, I simply cannot,” you inhale deeply through your nose, suddenly aware of the gaze trained attentively on you, “Find the strength to actually kill anything. Much to the dismay of my patrons.” This peaks Bloodhounds attention and they motion for you to explain yourself.

“Every year around the beginning of Summer, before the birth of the first lambs, the town gathers for a sort of Summer festival. With my bar being the sole provider of food and alcohol for such an event, it normally fell upon Andante to supply the people with a freshly killed elk. A make-shift banquet we would all share. Everyone has so much fun.” Your head drops and your shoulders give inwards.

“But with him gone, I doubt I would be able to give the people what they want. Last year I barely managed to scrape by, I had to do a lot of ass-kissing to get the more hardened townsfolk back on my side. But this year,” Your story fades and you sigh miserably, the relief of finally expressing this concern aloud only seeming to momentarily dull the growing sense of shame.

“It is stupid, I know.” You run a hand through your hair, the bubbling self-hatred in your stomach threatening to go overboard. You were oversharing again. A lot. But you could not find a way to stop. “But, what right do I have to take the life of an animal when I already have frozen meat stored in my fridge?” Strength wanes from your knees and you are glad to be sitting down - oh, you were definitely going to kick yourself over this one later. Perhaps staying at home all alone would have been the better option after all.

In the silence that followed your last words, you felt incredible judgment bare down upon your shoulders and you wanted nothing more than to shrink away from it. Under the menace that was your own self-scrutiny, you were unable to recognize that Bloodhound was not, in fact, judging you. From behind their goggles, they watched you closely, noticing the subtle shudder of your shoulders, the downward twinge of your head, and the way your eyes seem to have lost that burning. This was something that troubled you deeply and for a terribly long time as well. So instead of what might be predicted of them to feel or do, mainly berate you for your lack of spine in the face of their profession, Bloodhound only leaned back in their chair and their mind wondering on how best to help you.

“It is not about vhat is right or vhat is not.” Bloodhound finally speaks, their tone mellow and coaxing you to look up at them again. At your acknowledgment, they continue with their explanation. “The hunt is a matter of vill - the vill of the hunter and of their prey. If your vill as a hunter surpasses that of the prey's vill to live, then you have every right to take it.” They ball their hand into a fist in an expression of power, shaking it slightly for emphasis. “You as a hunter must have an unwavering ákveðni, and strong belief in your skills. Trust your veapons and abilities, know that you are verðugt of the hunt.” Their voice lowers and they watch you for any signs of apprehension or disagreement. You only manage to look at them, eyes an unreadable ocean of something at war. They bring their fist to their chest and hammer it hard on the fabric, an attempt to ignite passion from you.

“If the hunter is humble and honors the hunt, then they have every right to taka their prey. Reap their rewards. You must just believe yourself vorthy of it. I have already seen that you have the ability and skill. Your bow, through troubled, aimed sure. And your knife brought a swift death. Now…”

“Just need to practice it.” You finish their statement, your gaze drifting a thousand miles away. Sure their wisdom was easy to take, generous even given the circumstances, but your mind was too frazzled to digest even a single word. Worthy? Not someone who hides in the forest and plays pretend bar-keeper. Bloodhound could see how you hesitated at their words, not necessarily rejecting it but not truly considering them either. They felt the urge to lean in more, to keep talking and chipping away at your pseudo mask until finally, they struck home. What were you thinking right now? Why were you so disgruntled at the thought of being worth something?

“You listen but my vords are not heard. You disagree vith vhat I say?” Bloodhound asks, their arms folding over their torso as they sit themselves upright, alert to your every movement and utterance. At their question you stir, a tired laugh that sounds more like a sigh escaping your nose and your eyes dropping their gaze.

“No, not at all. I am just… surprised.” Your response is framed with quiet complacency, your expression shifting to one of meek placidness. Bloodhound could tell that you were retreating back inside yourself, falling behind curtains of a trained profession such as the first night they met you. No longer were you that desperate person standing in the woods over a kill they mourned, instead you were a fake silhouette of someone who once was. They frown, unsure why they felt so unhappy to watch you shrink away again. Without speaking, Bloodhound asks you to elaborate.

“Forgive my rudeness but,” Your eyes snap up again and Bloodhound sees nothing in them. “I don’t really know you. And what little I do know, well, is that you are a most proficient hunter of both man and beast.” A hand lifts to your chest and you laugh. “You have seen it all and must think I am most annoying. Yet,” You pause, Bloodhound hanging off every one of your words, “You are so kind to my troubles.”

“I do not hunt in the Apex Games to prove anything. I do it for my folk and for the Allfather. I am no better than any other hunter.” Bloodhound speaks plainly, their heart thumping in their chest and their stare never once leaving your face. You smile unknowingly under their attention and they stare at your weak imitation of the real thing. Your true smile was the one they saw whilst sitting on the grass with you or when they told you stories in the car. Right now, you were faking it. Pulling away from them. Returning once more to your charade of sensibility. Whatever genuineness they had somehow managed to draw out of you was waning and they could do nothing but look on as you slipped away from them.

“I didn't mean to offend.” You ease them, your words lacing themselves with accommodation. “Your people must be very proud of all your titles however. No denying that it is impressive regardless of your motive.” You chuckle lightly. Suddenly you frown and you tilt your head at them. “May I ask,” When they did not oppose, you continued, “Why are you here? On this planet I mean. Why are you not with your people?” Bloodhound looks on like a marble statue, hardly even breathing beneath all their armor. You worry you might have overstepped your boundary and you open your mouth to apologize but they quickly cut you off.

“My folk vould not understand my decisions. Nor vould they approve of most that I do.” You can tell that the conversation was over and the warmth your bitter, hot drink had offered you only minutes earlier faded with the atmosphere. You nod in resignation.

“Then,” You say, standing and bowing your head in anticipated gratitude, the raven stranger’s attentive gaze not once shifting off your form, “I look forward to the Winter when I do not hear your Artur's call.”

~

“Oh my sweet, gentle Bar-keep, I am in need of your assistance!” Your eyes snap upwards from their work of stacking away cleaned glasses and you cannot help but grin at the one calling you. Seated at a table in the middle of your bar was a very drunk Thomas waving you over in exaggerated and hurried movements. He rocked backward in his seat and nearly looked as if he would fall over. You sigh and think it better to listen to him, lest your bar never know quiet again for the remainder of the evening. You step out from behind your bar table and carefully stroll over to him, a playfully condescending expression plastered to your face. Thomas beams a lop-sided smile and extends his hand, which you ignore and instead pat him lightly on his shoulder. He hums and overlaps your hand with his own seemingly unperturbed by your refusal.

“Ah my dear,” Thomas hiccups, swaying slightly in place despite being perfectly still, “Do not worry. I have not called you here to cause trouble. I just could not bear to see you stand behind your bar so lonely. I simply had to call you here. So troubled and worried over something.” Thomas squeezes your hand lightly and you roll your eyes at his obnoxious and misplaced concern.

“Though his words are slurred, they come from a genuine place.” From across the table, the farmer Mallory spoke. She offers you a sympathetic smile and silently apologies for her friend’s unruly behavior. Her heavy arms fold defensively over her large chest and she scowls at Thomas who sheepishly chuckles under her glare, retracting his hand and shrinking away slightly. Mallory sighs and looks to you again, the same concern that claimed her companion now sprinkled into her brown eyes. “You look a thousand years away tonight. What has upset you so?”

The two patrons turn their attention onto you and you gently shrug off their worries with a mild hand wave and flash of your smile. “You are looking for smoke signals when there is none, Mallory. And Mr. Thomas, you are concerned over the wrong things. You should be more concerned about returning to your own home before it gets too dark and I have to phone Rohan to come fetch you again.” Though the woman remains unmoved by your deflection, Thomas scoffs and shakes his head.

“Rohan’s bed will stay warm regardless of where I am. And he would excuse whatever lateness I cause if he had also seen how,” he stutters, his fingers flexing as he tried feebly to grasp at words that would not come, “ sad you look tonight.” You let out a tired laugh at the drunk fisherman’s antics and punch lightly at his shoulder.

“I assure you, my ‘sad looks’ are merely just that. Looks.” You gesture to the various empty beer glasses scattered around the table and after a nod from Mallory, you begin to place them on a tray to take back to the kitchen to be washed. “How ever could I be sad when I have your fine company to make my evenings so noisy?” This draws a cackle from the bitter woman, who relishes in your pecking at the man. Thomas gasps and feigns hurt under your judgments, a teasing hand placing pitifully over his broken heart.

It was all a lie, of course. There was some deep sincerity to your sadness that evening and it was not over Thomas’ painful crooning. Try as you might, your mind could not rid itself from the events that had occurred only the day before. What had happened with Bloodhound plagued your every waking moment. During the more lively hours of the day, when your bar was packed with singing, intoxicated patrons, you thankfully had a very loud and engrossing distraction. But now, as the evening winded down and the last table still waited to be cleared, your mind was awash with bitter thoughts.

It was all going so well, they had been so welcoming and friendly and you sat in their home confident and assured. They had shared in you their many stories and experiences, pulling you deeper into a conversation than you had ever been with them. And yet the moment you opened your mouth, allowed it to run unchecked and unguarded, the walls came down and the party ended. You were a fool, you kicked yourself. A damn, stupid fool for allowing yourself to speak so freely. To express to them a most sensitive part of yourself that not even your bathroom mirror had known. It was because of your inability to keep yourself in line that caused the rift to tear and now separate you from the person of your interest. Bloodhound told you such wonderful stories and now you were sure they would never want to speak to you again.

But you put on your brave face and pretend as if nothing is wrong. And that is true, of course. Nothing is wrong. Your life was fine before their intrusion and it shall be fine thereafter. The show must and will go on. Eventually, forced routine will become natural again and you will slip back into ease and complicit quietness. You will learn to move on and most certainly, so will they. If ever, you doubted greatly, you even left that much of an impact on them and all their glory.

“It is because you are so lonely, that's why you are so sad.” Thomas chimes, drawing both yours and Mallory’s attention back on him. He hums with content and leans back in his chair, sure that if he had a beard he would be stroking it thoughtfully. “We must find you someone to work with. Someone you can boss around and pull on their ear.” He winks at you and you smirk back, playing into his needful childishness.

“This is not the dark ages, Mr. Thomas.” You tease, taking your loaded tray to the bar counter and speaking over your shoulder. “We do not arrange marriages anymore.” The fisherman jeers and Mallory kicks him under the table. You return to them quickly, bringing with you a wet cloth and a glass of water requested by the woman. She presses it to Thomas’ face and commands him to sober up.

“Then how else are we supposed to get you hitched?” Thomas continues, paying no heed to the violent death stares of the woman sat across from him. Mallory kicks him again and he nearly spills his drink from the movement. You grin at the two of them, stepping back from the freshly wiped table with your arms folded over your chest.

“People don't need to be with others to be happy. I am perfectly content with myself as company.” You announce with your nose pointed in the air. “And you, as occasional annoyances.” The man chokes on his drink and Mallory snorts at your comment. You decide to continue playing along, matching their extended friendliness with your own enthusiasm.

“Y’know, I always thought it a vile rumor that fishermen were mad people.” You joke, taking the cloth and wringing it out before throwing it over your shoulder. “Nothing to do all day but sit in boats and think. But with every word you speak, my dear Thomas, I begin to believe that the rumor has some truth behind it." This arouses a snicker from the woman farmer and she shakes her head in amusement over you and disappointment for her friend. Thomas whines a noise that does not sound like any language you would know and Mallory leans forward.

"Finish your drink, my friend. I will see you home tonight." She urges the glass of water to his attention. "I cannot bear to watch you be torn apart any longer." Thomas darts his eyes between Mallory and you, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly like a fish out of water. You smugly smile at him, charming with all the beauty and grace of a snake. After a moment he relents, slumping down into his seat with a defeated huff, the water glass in hand.

“I swear, that mouth of yours,” Thomas moans into his glass weakly as if greatly wounded on a battlefield, “It is more vicious than any beast I’ve come across. Godspeed to anyone who dares to try to face such a monster.” At his last comment, you exhale loudly through your nose and shake your head dismissively. With one final look from Mallory, you leave the two late-evening patrons to finish their drinks and return to your work behind the bar.

The mood in the bar is somewhat lighter now and your hands worked at an easier pace with your mind quietly wondering over Thomas’ words. This was not the first time you had been scolded over your sharp words and you were sure it would not be your last. Conversation was your master and you were always one quick with your words, whether that be for the better or worse. Over the sound of you wiping down plates and glasses with a cloth, you could hear Thomas and Mallory talking faintly, the wind whispering outside your walls, and the gentle nothing of the world beyond. It was a peaceful evening, much more so now that you had dealt with your rowdy patron and the thoughts that curled like rats in a drowning cage. Though his comments were unnecessary, you thank Thomas for his distraction and for his unwitting lifting of your spirits. At least now you would be able to sleep soundly and with less of a worried mind.

Suddenly, a knock at the front door. Curious, unsure if it had even happened, you cast your attention over to it. It was far too late for anyone wanting to pop in for a drink and even if it was you were sure to turn them away. But still; there was no denying that you had, in fact, heard something. Or someone. Wordlessly, you slip out from your bar and quickly stroll to the door, pulling it swiftly open to reveal a cold night and a strange visitor.

“Oh,” You mumble, blinking numbly like a star-struck owl. You shake your head and revive your best smile to be planted on your lips. “What a lovely surprise.”

Standing before you, Bloodhound tipped their helmet, specks of accumulated snow falling off in the process. “Good evening,” They respond formally.

“And to you.” You nod back, familiar shivers running up and down your spine as you stood under their gaze. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” You swoon, curling your words with over-exaggerated sweetness so as to hopefully hide your utter shock at their being here. They always seem to have a knack for popping back into your life when you least expected it. But now of all time, why?! You could hardly even look at them straight after what had happened not even the day before! Fresh embarrassment boiled in our stomach and you wanted nothing more but to go back into your quiet existence. This had to be some cruel dream from a most hateful deity, cursing you out for some horrible act you had unwittingly done. Why could they not just go back to being a figure on the T.V, an unknown? Why did they have to be here, standing before you, talking to you?!

“I vish to speak with you.” Bloodhound says, voice terribly low and near-emotionless. It caught you off guard slightly at how plain and devoid of anything they sounded, nothing at all like the passionate hunter you sat and drank with yesterday.

“My bar will be closed soon.” You explain after a moment of debating on what to say. A strong part of you begged for an excuse to say no, the refusal even gracing the tip of your tongue in eager desperation. But your hospitality overrode your anxiety and you stepped to the side to allow entry into your bar. “If you do not mind waiting a few minutes then you will have my undivided attention.”

Bloodhound considers your words, eyes darting between your face and the warm interior of the business. They too notice how your own words seem guarded this evening, jaded behind bars of entertainment and false care. You smiled, yes, but it was not genuine. Again, you reeked of fakeness and it irked them for some unknown reason. They hum their agreement and stride quickly inside. Upon their entrance, two faces turn to look at them.

You shuffle between Bloodhound and the skeptical table, closing the door and guiding your new patron over to the bar. They follow closely behind you and seat themselves on a red cushion stool. You resume your position as host and perform your duties accordingly, offering them something to drink while they wait. Bloodhound silently refused, only lifting their hand and shaking their head.

“I don’t think I mentioned it before,” You say, works trickling out like a spring in a dessert, soothing all worries with a trained presentation. “A while ago we had a fellow pass through our humble town who had a similar accent to yours. He was a swindler and tried to persuade me to purchase from him strange pickled meats and other strange things.” While you spoke, you resumed your wiping of the glasses and plates, talking over your shoulder as you worked in a most casual manner.

“Though everyone tried to steady my hand, he just was so compelling and I caved. And now I have, stored in the back for the foreseeable future, a bottle of the most potent alcohol anyone has ever seen.” Your face softens into a smile as you recall the memories of that night when a brave soul tried to drink from that poison. “Someone once tried and no one has since. Perhaps it is a drink you know?” You cock your question at Bloodhound, leaning over the bar table and grinning.

“Your intuition values you, but perhaps another night I can provide you an answer.” You take Bloodhound dismissal with grace and nod your head in swift acknowledgment. They were cold tonight, the very definition of stoic. Whatever they wanted to discuss with you, you could only hope would somehow be more lighthearted than this. From behind the hunter, movement erupts as the two patrons stand up.

“We are off, my dear Bar-Keep.” Thomas sings, waving a hand at you in an irritating manner. Mallory follows close as they make their way to the front door, her eyes practically burning holes into the raven stranger’s dead-straight back. She passes you a flash of a concerned look and you calm her down with a cool smile.

“Have a good night and a safe journey home.” You call after them, mildly glad that now your ears would know rest from the fisherman’s chanting. However, as his hands grace the front door’s handle, Thomas quickly spins on his heels and points towards you and your new arrival.

“Don’t you dare try anything with my Bar-keep!” Thomas threatens, standing with his hackles raised like a chihuahua to a bear, “If I hear that you have touched even a single hair, so help me I’ll-”

“Thomas.” Mallory punches the man's shoulder causing him to drop his ill-backed threat and wince in pain. Without a moment more, the farmer shoves the man out the door and the two disappear into the night with the door closely swiftly behind. You stare after them, the atmosphere suddenly seeming to shrink and grow cold as you become painfully aware of your aloneness with the hunter.

“They seem nice.” Bloodhound remarks and you are so stunned by their nonchalant attitude you nearly snort.

“It is a small town. Everyone here is like family.” You explain, turning to face those unreadable, immovable lenses. “Besides, I serve him beer. I get special privileges.” At this Bloodhound seems to stir and you feel slightly more room to breathe. Relax, it was just conversation. Don’t get carried away again and you will be fine.

The conversation halted, however, neither you nor Bloodhound knowing what next to say to break the forming ice that had started growing between you two. Though you wanted to know what exactly had compelled them to travel all the way to visit you on such an odd evening, you could tell that they were not ready to answer so instead you plucked random topics from the top of your head.

“Winter is moving slowly this year,” You begin, regaling the exact dialogue you had shared that afternoon prior with a patron and reusing it word for word, “No big snow storms as of yet. But that just means that towards the end of the season, Mother Nature will rear her true head and drive us all inside our houses.” You sigh and rest your elbow on the tables’ surface, your busy work of drying cutlery all finished and packed away. “Many people tell me, warn me in fact, that the late-season storms are the worst kinds. Impossible snow and hail and everything else to make the shit pie complete. And I thought the cold now is hard to handle. I have no idea how I’ll-”

“Stop that.” Bloodhound interrupts you harshly, their voice an almost growl as they sit behind their undecipherable armor. You are slightly taken aback by their outright force at the command, flashbacks to the first time you met them in all their rage reappearing in your mind. Bloodhound remains still, fists clenched over the table, shaking beneath the heavy red fabric gloves.

Though you cannot see, they squeeze their eyes shut in an effort to understand why, so suddenly, they were getting so worked up. Why were you just talking to them? So nonchalant and practiced - it felt as if talking to them was a chore. Some kind of business transaction or task that was only being done as a means to an end. But that is not what muddled Bloodhound’s mind, not your lack of genuine interaction, your quiet was not what drove them out of their house and to your bar this evening. What made them toil in confused agony, was why they even cared so much for your genuine company?

“What?” You murmur after a minute of stale silence, the wind picking up the rising atmosphere inside the bar and clawing at the windows to join in. The raven stranger does not respond right away, instead they fight with what words would be best used in this kind of delicate situation.

“Stop that.” They repeat their vague statement sternly, staring at you through their goggles with great intent, noticing any slight change in your features or body language. “Stop trying to sell me your company. I do not vant it.” At this you frown and straighten your back, confused beyond anything at what they could mean. You open your mouth to speak but Bloodhound stops you with a raised hand.

“You talk but there is no life. You smile but there is no light behind it. Do you think I am not worthy of your trueness? I have seen your true self but always you hide it. Do you think you are not worthy of enjoying yourself?” Utterly and so completely shocked at what was being said, you stood wordless with your face a mix between anger and bewilderment. Bloodhound watched you, eyes scanning up and down your form for any signs of egregious discontent. Why weren’t you speaking? Why weren’t you reacting in any way? Had their visit and accusations not even struck a nerve with you? You only stood there, placid and unwavering, like ice waiting for the sun to melt it.

“I have talked vith this free person, sat in silence vith them and felt þægilegt , calm. And I came here this evening because…” Bloodhound falters at this, unsure at what best to say when describing the reason they themselves still had no answer to. Why had they come here to bother you? Why had you not left their thoughts since yesterday, or even, since that afternoon on the grass? Why is it that when the world goes quiet and they stand still to listen, it is you who looms in the corner of their vision, beckoning for them to find you? In such a short time of meeting, somehow you had trapped them in some unforeseen and unbreakable cage - an ever-present urge to lean in more, to seek you out. But why, exactly, it was you of all people who had proclaimed that spot of interest, was a mystery that the Allfather cruelly hid from them.

“Vhat is it you vant from me?” Bloodhound lowly asks, their tone hollow and their demeanor stone-cold. Perhaps that was the reason for their spontaneous visit - to search for an answer themselves. To find out if maybe you felt at all the same way they did.

“Nothing.” The words leak from your lips like a whisper yet hold the strength and bite of a scream. Devoid of all anger, hostility, confusion, and regret, you gaze back at the raven stranger, “What ever could I possibly want from you?” And there it was - their answer.

“Now if that is all you came to ask me, then I must now say good night.” You motion with your attention towards the door, still shell-shocked over what had just transpired. Why are they so angry towards you? So taken aback by, what you were sure to be, great and comforting hospitality? This was the reason you had so ardently avoided opening yourself up to people, allowing yourself to talk unchecked often leads to situations where people get angry. And now Bloodhound was angry and you were sure you could never fix it.

The raven stranger slowly rises from their seat, tipping their helmet in a stiff manner before silently making their way over to the front door. This is how it will be, forever. You made a mistake, let your mouth have free rein over your conversations, and brought ruin to a person that made your chest ache. And as you watched them slip away into the snowy night, the only thing you can say was, “Have a safe journey home.”

[heyyylittlemo]

Ask game

1. Where did you hide the body??

Me: *pause* No, where did you hide the body—

*police stare at me with disbelief*

Me: there’s no—there’s not a single body here—well stop looking at me like that, you’re the cop! You should know! Why are you asking me for! Body? Whaaaaaat. Ahaha.

*cops shake head*

*whispers to my friend* Guys I think I pulled that one off

Police: you know we can hear everything you’re saying

me: 👁👄👁

2. Favorite rock? The 1975. Dominic Fike. Arctic Monkeys. Bad Suns. The killers. Pale Waves. Etc. That good good shit 👌

3. Most aesthetic season? Fall. Love them orange colors. The leaves falling. Though spring is also neat if you have a bunch of flowers bloomin in shit and winter is only aesthetic when it’s snowing. Boring ass summer tho just be heating me up.

4. When texting do u shorten words or spell out? I used to write stuff out all the time mostly but now it’s like half and half bcuz its just faster and nobody got time for it 🤣🤣

5. Vintage stuff? Hell yeah, but maybe not anything too expensive since some old stuff IS hyper expensive.

6. Colors that pop or blend? Not sure I understand what u mean abt them blending ahaha u mean like when they’re so similar to another?? Well I think it’s nice but honestly I prefer a pop and a bang, y’Know?

- At this moment I realized I was answering the last few questions from a completely different ask and felt like a dumbass 😂 anyways the actual number we’re on is three so imma just kickback

3. Worst dream u have ever had? I had sleep paralysis but was imbetween that and a lucid dream. At first I was paralyzed and could see my bed but my eyes felt closed and open at the same time?? A giant dark demon looking dog had towered over me and began to tear at my neck. It looked and felt very real I started to try to scream and it felt like a scream was coming out but no sound exited. Then I went into a lucid dream where I was being chased by this dog and running for my life I was running by and nobody could save me nobody in the dream when it caught up to me I was back in my bed and it was trying to eat me again. I was so terrified I couldn’t sleep for a whole week.

4. Lyric that comes to your mind? “And I don’t think I can be there. I’m paralyzed,I’m terrified of being alone. When you said I deserved what had happened.”

5. Blood make u uncomfortable? Yes, I passed out once when getting my finger pricked and a VERY small blood sample and another when dissecting a fish.

6. Even or odd numbers? Well I like the number 5,7,9, 3 so odd. (Like me 🤣🤣)

7. Something I hate that I love? Anything I’ve ever loved becuz love can be frustrating. Bruh.

8. 1st initial of someone I hate? Hmm...do I hate someone tho? Not that I can think of...

9. *Skipping down the lane* NOPE

10. Corn dogs? It’s funny cuz when I think of corn dogs my mind will always go to when we first moved to our current house because at our initial town we never had Sonic and while we were getting the house fixed up and moving stuff we use to always get Sonic since it was the closest to us most times to eat and that was a bunch of corn dogs and hotdog days 🤣 so thnk u corn dogs for ur service

11. I’m not a huge movie person so...I looked up movies from 2005 and movies Inlike from this time are Brokeback mountain bcuz it’s gay af, Shark Boy and Lava Girl damn I rewatched the shot out of it when I was younger, Narnia and the Chocolate Factory(although it low key creeped me out as a kid, and idk why).

12. Least fav music genre? Most country, most EDM, dubstep, screaming/really hard rock, some pop music, mumble raping.

13. As someone who waits on tables, my job is my least favorite restaurant experience 🤣🤣 just dealing with ppl...like ok, I’m half Hispanic right?? But I look white. Well, I work at a Mexican restaurant and so sometimes racist costumers will say shady shit just bcuz I guess they think it’s appropriate to say it to me just bcuz I’m not Hispanic in their eyes?? But it pisses me off and I feel like I can’t say anything without causing a drama which I hate and when the “costumers always right” it can be hard to budge and stand up and say “bitch wtf did u just say??” And there’s just folks who take things the wrong ways or ask too much at once or give u a hard time or just say something that sticks onto you for the whole day. One bad move can turn my whole day upside down.

14. 3 things never come near me? Cockroaches, Needles, and close mind ppl

15. Worst way to die? With regrets. Something really brutual, random, or where something just happened to go wrong (accident). Being killed by someone u love.

16. Unusual habits? Doing a Michael Jackson esque “hee-hee” after every sneeze I make, being extremely clumsy and making every task 100% more difficult, having the ability to talk as if I have an accent that comes from nowhere in particular just stupidity also I can’t speak my own language half the time 🙃getting words confused or misusing them in a sentence so I sound dumb having a very weird imagination and thoughts, I swear it like I never went to school and don’t know how the world works, plus many many more

17. Clothing style u want? I want to dress in a way that screams who I am and is a blend of both femininity and masculinity. A little vintage. Grunge. Urban maybe?? What do I know abt fashion 🤣🤣

18. Song or artist that deserves more? Dijon, hands down. I love his stuff. He’s like Frank Ocean meets light-singing beautiful lyricist with a more rock vibe?? Hidden gem. I also think Durand Jones & the Indications needs more love along with BadBadNotGood they sound like old-times but are new!! Oh, and Pale Waves is like a female The 1975 and kicks it. Bad Suns is a good alt rock band that no one seems to recognize :,D Toro y Moi too! His song with Flume “The difference “ is a banger!! Kid Cudi is my man when I want a blend of rock and rap. Also Dominic Fike,King Krule, and Roy Blair, who are all amazing!! Ok I need to stop 🛑

Duck I answered the past questions from a different post I’m sorry 😐

17. Emoji never used? There’s a bunch since I reuse the same over and over again. Lmao

18. 3 sentence Gatorade horror story? A faint quiver overtook the small freezer the Gatorade lay in; no one had come by in days, hours, weeks; when was the last time he met the lips of a thirsty body? They’d forgotten about him, as his last sips remained glued to his hollowing entrance. ‘Help, ‘it wanted to say, but it’s frozen lips could not be moved; It’d stay here, die here...just like the rest.” What am I doing with my life 🤣🙏

19. Do u know what an old bay is? A bay that is old? And old ocean? Idk!!!

20. Can u dance? Sometimes I dance when I’m alone but nothing spectral lol

21. What first comes to ur mind when u see ropes? 2 extremes. Sex and death. Hm. Ok. Moving on.

22. Make an obscure reference. “Even a bra couldn’t hold these nipples” *Holds a water gun to chest*

23. Fav balloon color? Pink or yellow.

24. If u were in court would u be innocent or guilty? Depends, what am I in court for 🤣 lmao jk honestly idk bcuz I don’t think I’d wind up in there

25. Are u hungry ? Nope

26. Unlucky number? Hm I don’t think so but I have a lucky number “123”

27. What’s “JMD”stand for? I’m guessing...Jamming my d—- 💀lol jk ahaha why am so dirt

28. Random inside joke? *chirpy squeak* I’m making a double batch of cookies

29. What sends chills up ur spine? Seeing disgust food or smell disgust or talking abt disgust things like gore

30. How many questions are in ur inbox? A pathetic zero ahaha no one want to ask me anything 😂

31. Someone real who scares u. 2 of my ex friends. One when I was 10 said disturbing things and I was kinda forced onto the friendship and everything they said make me fear for others lives...and then a different ex friend who seemed normal at 1st but became both low key psychopath cult leader type stuff and I booed out of there—-.

32. Run or hide? Uhh probably hide because I’d say even if ppl say “u can run but u can’t hide” u CAN just hide! that’s the point of hiding they not find u xD also why not combine them? Hide then run somewhere far away once I got them off the trial.

33. Last person who made u angry? A frickin beetle that flew at me and pinched me in the middle of singing in the shed xD also my autocorrect

34. What’s going on in ur head? I should probably pee soon—

35. Little thing that makes u Smile? A lot of little things bruh.

36. Are u a descisive person?

Not sure.

*pAuse *

Ok, I guess I’m not then 🤣

37. Would ppl say I’m paranoid? Hm maybe about certain things social situations, singing in front of others what ppl think abt me etc etc

38. Store least likely in? Any southern clothes shop, Abercrombie & Finch types shit, lol

39. Do I like hats fave type? Hm not wear many hats but I think they’re cool any type is cool for different ppl and their aesthetici just can’t rock a hat.

40. Bow ties or ties? Don’t really care but now want to see more bow ties

41. Who? You.

42. What? Reading this shit

43. Where? In ur ass

44. When? Now.

45. Why? Not even u know why.

46. How? We all want to know

47. Do u collect anything? Vinyl records.

48. What tome is it? Time to get a watch

49. Fav transportation? My car or walk is possible

50. Would u ever kill someone to save someone? Don’t want to think about that

51. Make a joke. Yo, it’s time to make a joke—so the other day I was working. And I was practicing my Spanish, yes? Anyone whose trying to learn anew language k n o w s that sometimes words can be so close to another u just confuse then! So apparently churros in Spanish is a desert but if u say it more harshly (it literally sounds almost the same) it makes a whole different meaning—diharrea, but like I didn’t know that so I legit just walked up to this person and asked if they would like some shit to eat. So yeah, that was great. Let’s not forget that I mixed up blood, watermelon, and sangria which is a wine. I legit once said I had mixed wine in my vines and another time watermelon 🤣

52. I’m really confused so I skip

53. Would ur dash be confiscated SFW? By dash do u mean this account? Um not 😬

54. Do I like to cuddle? Hell yeah and manhandle ppl all the time it’s my affection

55. What makes u angry? Close minded ppl or ppl who jump too fast to conclusions, strict schedules just dumb stuff that people try to force when I just want to be carefree 😭✌️

56. How many voices are in ur head? 😐

57. Do U consider urself mentally stable? 😐

58. Are u easily offended? Well U just called me mentally unstable and asked it there was voices in my head!!

59. What’s wrong with taking the backstreets? Uhm...

60. Any questions u want ppl to ask u? Nothing in particular but it’s be nice if someone care to ask me something abt me from personal question to my opinions on shit to 19 days fandom related junk 😌

Woooo I’ve finished this game! Thanks to @seiji-amasawa for introducing me to this ^^

[ununniliad]

LNH20 Comics Presents #22: "The Return of Captain Killfile"

She fell

and she fell

and with a rude THUMP! she fell back into the world.

She scrambled to her feet. Disorientation. A sudden confusing sense of place.

Cold, but not the cold of space, a natural, wintery chill. Dark - night. Greenery, trees, bits of snow - nearby, a fence. Quiet here, but the quick rushing-river nose of traffic nearby, the clouds glowing softly. A city. Not a battle.

Last memory. Fighting. People she loved. ...fighting the people she loved. Because... because she had been Hildy, but now she was Captain Killfile, and they were trying to stop her from saving the world...

And then the wind kicked up and a copy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer hit her in the face.

She flailed around, electric crackling coming out of her gauntlets, and eventually managed to rip the paper off her face and examine it. What the-- Cleveland!? What was she doing in the second-most boring city in the nation[*]!?

[* In fact, the 2010 census shows Cleveland as the fourth-most boring city in the United States, with the current frontrunner being West Lafayette, Indiana! - Ed.(UE)]

She stared at the lines of ink, fragments of thought, memory, emotion bouncing into each other, forming new patterns before splitting and recombining. New city transit plan... tax breaks for people... protest against new law... rogue net.heroes... mmm. Something about that last one felt... off...

And only then, in her haze, did she paid attention to the date. February 20th... 2019?

Out of the fog, the memories rose up. The confrontation with her old team, now her enemies - the Saviors of the Net. Activating the great machine that would begin the process of healing. Sig.Lad, her mentor, her hero, the one who held her back and told her no until she had to leave, raising that damn sword, the Sword of .Sig, Excalibur, and pulling them away into a space where time blurred and softened... waking up and feeling the energies draining away, and draining away with them...

It had been twenty years. 

Well, shit.

How had it ended? Had her machine worked? Had she taken away the corrupting power of the net.humans - and had humanity managed to heal themselves?

She looked at the crumpled newspaper. Rogue net.heroes... But the printed words swam before her eyes. No. She had to see for herself. 

Captain Killfile... no, she told herself. Let's put that name aside. Right now, I am just myself; I am just Brunhilda.

Brunhilda seemed to still be wearing the gaudy gold-and-blue costume, from... before. When she'd taken over the airwaves, when she'd announced her plan to the world, standing in front of the camera and waiting. It'd been a bit spiteful; Sig.Lad had sent it to her a few months before as part of some weird attempt at reconnecting. That guy never knew how to do things in a normal way, just a net.hero way. That was part of...

Mmmm. Her mind was wandering, the fog still curling around it. She turned the hood and cape inside out, exposing the dark blue lining, and pulled the hood down over her face. Much less gaudy, pretty warm, and it'd let her see what 2019 was like without detection. Hopefully.

She slipped into the streets, keeping to the shadows, not hiding herself from passers-by but giving them more than a moment to pay attention to her presence. Subtle, like a ghost. Or like someone who lived in the world of ghosts, fighting them, death to a meaningless half-life...

Like Ghost Exterminator, the mysterious masked enigma of the 1950s. He (people thought it was a he, but nobody knew for sure) wandered thru the streets of San Francisco, stopping to help those in need. He didn't have any net.human powers, just skills, insight, and determination. Nobody knew why the name, either, but the big theory was that he was trying to rid himself of the ghosts who haunted him by helping others.

There had been more Ghost Exterminators in the decades since. It was an identity taken up by those who didn't want to operate under an identity of their own, living ghosts who fought the invisible specters that made society shudder and brought them into the light. Like she had. She'd seen what was wrong with the world that everybody else was too distracted or self-satisfied to realize, and fixed it.

Right?

Suddenly, action - damn, she'd left herself open in her distraction. Some kind of bright light next to her, and a loud voice-- "Greetings, Cleve.LAN.d!"

She rolled to the side and reached for her sword-- and it wasn't there. Falling back on net.hero instincts already, tch.

It was a giant TV, on the side of some kind of sports stadium. On it was a woman, a decade older than her, in a gaudy blue-and-gold mask and hood, with a megalomaniacal expression on her face. "I certainly hope you've missed me! But let me reintroduce myself!" She threw her arms out, flinging her gold-sequined cape to the sides. "I am... CAPTAIN KILLFILE!"

Brunhilda blinked. "...the heck you say," she murmured.

The fake!? took a step back, gesturing grandoisely at an enormous, complicated machine, all neon lights and chrome. "I have rebuilt my patented Kill-O-Ray, and am ready to unleash its awesome force!"

"That's not what it was called," snarled Brunhilda, her back going up. Some kind of awful parody, what was this?

"The fine government of this fair city has an hour to deliver ten million dollars in unmarked bills to the observation deck of the Terminal Tower - or I'll activate my device, and allow the dreaded Killfile to sweep over the land once more!" She pushed her face back into the camera, grinning with devilish glee. "Yes, you don't want that, do you? You may complain about your net.heroes, but ohhhhh, how you hated them going away! Ha ha!"

It felt like Brunhilda had been kicked in the stomach. What. No. Okay. No. Calm down. Fuck. Ugh. No. She pushed the storm of screaming thoughts out of her head and tried to concentrate on the screen.

"That's right!" shouted the masked face. "This is... THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN KILLFILE!"

"ugh shut uuuuup," she muttered, listening. Terminal Tower. Observation deck.

"And in case you doubt me..." The faux Captain stepped to the side, revealing a table with a shiny apple on a plate painted like a bullseye. Brunhilda noticed the glass lenses sliding along the machine's surface, passing past each other, clicking into place. They hummed, and the lights in the room seemed to darken, especially around the apple, which seemed to-- not disappear, nothing as sudden as that, but become less noticeable, more like the background, layer by layer, until it was completely gone.

Damn. That was absolutely real Killfile Energy. Sometime in the last twenty years, someone else had gotten up to her level - insult to injury.

"One hour, ladies, gents and honored guests! The clock starts--" Her hand hovered over a huge digital readout, pushed a big red button on it, and it started counting down. "Now!" The image disappeared, the screen turning an all-over blue with a big 'VIDEO' on it.

Brunhilda breathed in. Captain Killfile breathed out. All right. All right. Calm down. Breathe.

This was why she came out in Cleveland, twenty years later. To be shown this, to... stop this? To... understand? Ugh. But she didn't understand. Not yet. Why didn't... hated? Maybe it was a lie. Maybe it had made life better and this clown was like one of those politicians who talked about how much better things were with the new trade agreement even as it ground people into dust.

Or maybe she'd ground people into dust, thoughtlessly, caring only about herself-- no, calm down Hildy, you're okay, said the voice in her head that sounded just like Sig.Lad and ugh didn't that sting now. But she listened, and it said: See what's going on, take the time to understand, and see if you can help.

Okay.

Her Killfile Gauntlets were on the fritz, and she didn't have much time to tinker, but she knew just how to set up a killfile that would absorb energy weapons and shield her from detection, not to mention keep any externally-imposed killfiles from being placed on her. As for non-energy weapons, well, she'd just have to fall back on her fight training.

Now. Where was the Terminal Tower? Well, when you weren't sure where to find someone to fight, follow the police cars.

It turned out to be only a few minutes' walk. There was a big plaza around it with a bunch of expensive-looking restaurants and stores, now evacuated as the police set up a cordon. She kept back half a block, staying in the shadows to maximize the stealth effect of her killfile. How would she get in? Sure, she wasn't especially visible, but someone with that level of killfile technology would have ways of seeing thru it...

"Hi!"

"GAH!" She leapt in the air, spinning around and landing in a defense position, ready to strike at... a ten-year-old? What? Not only that, but a ten-year-old standing in an alleyway, wearing something that looked like miniaturized night vision goggles, but with googly eyes glued on them. He was looking right at her...

Then she recognized him. This kid wasn't just a kid, he was Kid Enthusiastic, an immortal who was actually older than her. (Not a lot older, but still.) He'd occasionally worked with the Saviors, but had never wanted to join - he had his own stuff going on. But it looked like he had a team now; there were a bunch of figures in colorful spandex behind him in the alley. Looked like teenagers, actually. Kinda familiar, but they must've been born after she disappeared...

"Who are you?" said the Kid. Damn, she was still zoning out. Okay, focus. "I thought I knew all the net.heroes operating in this area!"

"I'm, uh..." Captain Killfile was out, and she sure as heck wasn't going back to Kid Killfile. She flicked a switch on her gauntlet, appearing in the teenagers' vision like a spectre manifesting. "Ghost Exterminator."

"Ohhhhh!" Kid E clapped his hands with his famed energy. "One of them, gotcha gotcha. Well, I'm Kid Enthusiastic, and these are.." He gestured to the teens, who stepped out of the alley and posed! "The Ultimate Saviors!"

"Saviors?" Waaaaait a minute... she squinted. "As in... the Saviors of the Net?" There were five of them, all wearing masks, but their facial structures were clear as daylight, and... oh boy. Oh boy. 

"Yeah, that's right! Apparently W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R. wanted to clone them and have their own set of mind-controlled net.heroes! So we all busted out, together!" He spun around and pointed at them. "Ultimate Saviors, roll call!"

"Super Scary Dazzle Bird!" A young man in his late teens stepped out at Kid Enthusiastic's call. His costume was part black and part holographic sparklies, with long wings drooping off of the arms, and held a long fighting staff in a defensive pose. His eyes twitched back and forth, making sure that despite Kid E's loudness, no one was looking towards them. Brunhilda knew from the color choices alone that this must be the clone of Chromium Age Very-Scary-Disturbed-Creature Man.

"Robot Girl!" A girl whose skin glimmered chrome, with cat ears and a feline muzzle, wearing a green belly-shirt and shorts with a bright red belt, gloves and boots. She swept her long silver hair out of her face as it fluttered in the cold February wind and gave Brunhilda a level gaze, sizing her up. The outfit was terrible for this weather, but it didn't matter - this was the clone of MechaKat, who could nanobiologically turn flesh to titanium alloy. And if they had her, they probably also had...

"Action Lad!" A boy in a red wraparound jacket with silver trim and silver pants and wearing a transparent red visor, with a friendly but focused expression, and his hand on a sword hilt at his belt. Yep, that was him but younger - Sig.Lad, her old mentor, her new-old foe. She kept her face steady as the feelings whirled. Could this night get any more tuned to probe her insecurities?

"Kid Kindle!" This one was even younger - thirteen, maybe fourteen, with red hair that flickered with little tongues of fire as she watched, wearing a white robe with flames flickering along the bottom and a long scarf around his mouth. His eyes were excited, taking in the new visitor, and it was hard to keep her face steady, because boy did she ever know those eyes and that fire, boy did she know that boy - Flamebroiled Lad, avatar of the cosmic entity of intense emotion, the Flamebroiled Force. Her nemesis, her archrival, that stupid jerk who kept hogging the other Nintendo controller. Her brrrrr... o. Her bro.

And with a sudden shuddering shock that made the February evening feel balmy by comparison, she realized who the last clone would be--

"Kid Killswitch!" And there she came, in shining white armor with a bright red "power off" symbol on the chest, that familiar face, those familiar eyes, intelligent and curious and driven and broken, no, not that, said the voice in her head, but eyes that had known both pain and joy, like and unlike her own - the clone of Captain Killfile.

Brunhilda tried to release the churning whirlwind of emotions into some form that could be understood by men, but all that came out of her mouth was a murmured "...I'm too young to be my own mom..."

"...a?" Kid Enthusiastic tilted his head to the side, looking up at her curiously.

She shook her head, took a deep breath, and put away every feeling she didn't have time for right now. An incredibly useful skill from the life-or-death battle days. "That is, uh... Saviors, huh? So how are they ultimate?"

"Because they're the best and I love them!" Kid Enthusiastic spun around and posed, holding his arms wide as he showed off his team.

"Right yeah." Mecha-- er, Robot Girl stepped forward. "And apparently the lady what messed up the original Saviors is back and serious, so it's our job to stop her since they can't. Got a problem with that?"

Brunhilda couldn't help but smile. Well, well, the kids are all right. "Nope. Was just thinking the same thing."

"I don't know if I'd say it's our job," said Action Lad, stepping forward non-confrontationally into Robot Girl's confrontation space, "that seems to be basic survival."

Kid E nodded! "We've been laying low while we try'n contact the LNH. It's hard - W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R. has facial recognition technology they use on all the security cam footage they can grab, and they can grab nearly all of it. So we've been keeping under wraps."

"But we still have to get out there and save people!" Kid Kindle's hair burst briefly into full flame, and he grinned in enthusiasm. Great, another one taking after his mentor. "We can't just stay in a safehouse and send emails!"

"So we wear facial-recognition-defeating face paint when we're undercover, and go on missions without it, since it's going to be obvious either way that the team of five teenage net.heroes that appeared out of nowhere are the same five teenage net.humans that disappeared from not-so-protective custody." Super Scary Dazzle Bird (what a name!) looked off towards the Terminal Tower. "Speaking of which, if you're coming with us, we'd better get going. The clock is still ticking."

The LNH must be the Something Net.Heroes, and Whatever... Net.villans? Government agency? Something else? Bad guys, or so Kid Enthusiastic thought, and she had to admit, cloning her old team in order to have some kind of controlled force didn't seem like an especially ethical thing. Had they taken over during the Killfile, when there weren't any net.heroes to stop them?

Brunhilda released her anxious feelings again, though this time it was harder. "Right. Time to team up and beat the bad guy." Just like the old days, only now, the bad guy was her...

No, the bad guy was a cheap copy who had no idea what she'd actually been trying to do. And she could at least take responsibility for her imitators, and deal with whatever else she'd unleashed later.

Heh. W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R. else.

Kid Killswitch hadn't said anything. She was still looking at Brunhilda. But she nodded and followed along with everyone else.

Brunhilda took a battery from Super Scary Dazzle Bird and wired it into her gauntlets, extending the killfile to cover all of them. They snuck past the cops, Robot Girl and Action Lad keeping their eyes on the perimeter in case someone caught a glimpse.

There were a couple of muscly dudes in gold-and-blue suits standing next to the entrance. Kid Kindle reached out, a lance of emotional fire shooting out and hitting one of them in the back; nostalgia and guilt flared in Brunhilda's chest at the display of power.

The goon straightened up from his slumped position and pushed the other one roughly. "Hey, wake up! I don't wanna lose my paycheck because of you!"

Another blast of energizing anger, and the other goon pushed back. "Shut up! You're the one who said this was gonna be an easy job, and now there's ten thousand cops out there and we're probably gonna be left holding the bag!"

"You shut up! God, I should never have dated you!" The one goon slapped the other goon, and the other goon slapped back, and they grabbed each other and started rolling on the ground, passionately making out, and Brunhilda and the Ultimate Saviors snuck inside.

Down a small, lightless corridor, and down to the elevator. Robot Girl leaned in, removing the panel and sticking her fingers in among the wires. She stretched out her hand and a screen appeared showing datastreams zipping back and forth; Kid Killswitch and Super Scary Dazzle Bird leaned in to analyze it. Action Lad and Kid Kindle spread out, keeping watch.

Kid E bounced in place, watching his charges figure out the puzzle. Brunhilda leaned back on the wall next to him, watching them as well, especially the one who was-and-wasn't her. "They have a heck of a lot of personality, for people who came out of a vat not long ago."

Kid E nodded enthusiastically! "They're not just regular clones, they're biotropic duplicates! W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R. stole the device that Sig.Lad used to copy people's power signatures and used it to template them as they were growing? They even lured a Salamander[*] in to possess Kid Kindle! But we stole the device back and now Action Lad's using it!"

[* Also known as Ifrits, Salamanders are the fiery elemental offspring of the Flamebroiled Force which possessed and empowered Flamebroiled Lad! - Ed.(UE)]

"Ahhh." Brunhilda ran the tip of her tongue over her lip. "So... their personalities are clones too?"

"Sort of." Kid E wiggled his hand. "They're definitely their own people, tho - I knew the originals, and these guys aren't making the same choices they would've."

"Mmmm..." Brunhilda breathed in deep, let it out. "That's good, that's real good..."

"All right." Super Scary Dazzle Bird stood up and turned to them, all business. (God, that name. Not that it was any sillier than Chromium Age Very-Scary-Disturbed-Creature Man.) "We've hacked the elevator so that it'll take us to the top without triggering alarm system notifications. But to do that, it has to go slow - it'll take us fifteen minutes to get up there."

"We only have, like, twenty minutes left before the deadline!" Kid Kindle brought his fists against his chest, eyes wide in passion and fear. "What if she actually brings back the Killfile!?"

"She won't." Brunhilda straightened up, squaring her shoulders. "As you can probably tell, I have, uh, some experience with killfile tech." She gestured at the ceiling. "That machine she's got is advanced, but there's no way it could project a subject-based killfile broad enough to cover Ohio, let alone the world." You'd need a much bigger power source, and the one she'd used... wasn't available. As far as she knew.

"Could still do some damage, though," remarked Kid Killswitch, looking up at her. 

Aw, baby's first words... Brunhilda regretted the sarcastic thought immediately. "Oh yeah, and how. Killfiles can mess with all sorts of important shit. She could take Cleveland down hard, and her next blackmail scheme would seem all the more real."

"So we'd better hurry." MechaKat closed her hand, the screen disappeared, and the door of the elevator opened. They all shuffled in, and silently, it began to rise. In the background, a jazzy instrumental version of "Mad World" started playing.

"Right," said Action Lad. "Ultimate Saviors... waiting mode!!"

Brunhilda watched as all five of them sat down and immediately pulled Magic: The Gathering decks out of somewhere in their costumes, shuffling up with practiced speed. "Turn one, mountain, lighting bolt Action Lad." "Why me!?" "Because we don't have time for one of your weird blue shapeshifter decks!" "Awww..."

Kid Enthusiastic leaned back against the wall next to her. "So~"

"...so?"

"Feels like you've got some more questions in you! And we've got time."

The side of Brunhilda's mouth turned down at his easy poke at her boundaries... but it wasn't like she didn't have a thousand and one questions, bubbling and burning in her belly, about this new world she'd found herself one of the creators of. And the most burning of them all... "Well... you were around back then, right? What was the Killfile like?"

"Oh man. It mega sucked," Kid Enthusiastic chirped. "I mean, life was kind of normal, but the kind of normal where you're working a crappy job and it's gray and depressing outside, you know?"

"...oh." It felt like cold water had been thrown in her face. The boxes that she'd put her feelings in earlier burst open, flooding her system with complicated griefs.

"Like," continued Kid E, not noticing her face's fall, "there were so many bad guys and even though they couldn't build Kill-O-Rays or send robot goons at you, they could still just keep making things worse all the time." He hummed, looking off into the distance in appreciation. "Even though things really suck right now, people are really fighting, too. Back then, it seemed like hardly any of us could fight - or could even see there was anything worth fighting!"

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. That was... that was...

Brunhilda Ampulle had been just another kid kicking around the foster care system, just kind of existing, and then she looked up and someone had reached out a hand and she'd taken it. And she'd become a net.hero because that hand had belonged to a net hero.

But that was only why she'd started doing it. She'd kept doing it because she could just reach out and help people, right in front of her. And she'd done that for a while and she wasn't just existing, she was living, and she was... getting better, most days.

And eventually she'd gotten better enough to where she could lift her head up, and look out at the world... and see that, actually, there were a lot more awful things going on out there, outside her city and her team, than she had realized. Things she couldn't just reach out and affect. Things none of the net.heroes seemed to be able to affect, even the stupidly powerful ones who Kept Watch Over The World. But those net.heroes kept going, kept getting into big splashy fights over things that seemed so small, and those faraway troubles just kept getting better, just kept getting closer. And then...

Look, people died all the time, she knew that, you fought guys with guns and that happened. But this hadn't been in a fight, and it hadn't been someone who signed up for it, and... it was so unnecessary, so meaningless, and Alice wasn't even... She was nice and kind and good and people like that weren't even supposed to...

Well. So she left. She left, and one of her little theoretical ideas turned into a big not-so-theoretical idea, and... and she became one of those troubles, and...

"It wasn't all bad, tho."

"--oh!?" Brunhilda jerked out of her reverie, hardly even caring that the Ultimate Saviors had all looked up at her half-squeaked exclamation. She settled back, and they returned to their game.

"Yeah, like..." Kid Enthusiastic rubbed his chin, teasing out a complex emotion. "I feel like... After  the Killfile, people appreciated us more. No, like, not just us, the whole... the whole idea." He put his hands out, squeezing something invisible. "Even when the government was trying to control us and there were a lot of people pushing against us, there were so many people who, it seemed like... had woken up after decades, maybe their whole lives, and realized that actually fighting evil is good?"

"I..." She closed her mouth, a little puff of breath escaping out her nose. That answer was... frustrating. Not exactly the positive impact she'd wanted from her efforts - "people suffered so much that they realized they had to give a shit".

...on the other hand... maybe that was the best outcome she could've hoped for...

She rested her head against the wall of the elevator and listened to the soft rumbling as it moved. Even before Alice... did it, Brunhilda had realized that there was something wrong with the world. A huge, low-level grossness, an apathy, spreading over it. She remembered seeing cartoons about Saving the Planet, and thinking they were lame, and then realizing that no, this was a real problem that kept getting worse as people kept laughing at it. She heard how stupid that woman who spilled coffee on herself was, and came to understand that the "joke" was that someone would want to get money and apology from a trillion-dollar corporation that just kept growing and growing and taking and taking, and how foolish and lazy that was. She saw that bombs were being lobbed every day straight into schools full of little kids who weren't white and weren't Christian and the generals shrugged and said "oops, accident" and it just kept going on in the background and everyone was grumbling about it but no one was shouting, no one really and truly cared and...

And it had to be someone's fault. It hadn't always been like this, someone had caused this, but who was powerful enough to change the entire world like that?

And she looked around herself and realized: It was us. The net.heroes, the net.villains. They were powerful and everyone looked up to them, the celebrities and heroes of the world. 

And the more she looked for it, the more she saw it. Their, our, weird self-obsession, our attachment to their own battles, and especially, the way that, whenever we tried to confront wars and environmental damage and real suffering, it never produced a solution that stuck. Even the Saviors, even Sig.Lad, only ever put band-aids on the problems.

And then... Look, sometimes you stretched out your hand to someone and they were in too bad of a place to take it. She knew that, she'd always known that, but when... When you got someone out of a burning building, especially when you sat and talked with them, and they turned out to be really cool, and nice, and maybe were going to join your game group, and said "I'll be okay", they weren't... Alice wasn't just supposed to... if you saved their life they didn't have the right to...

With effort she pulled herself out of that loop and glanced at Kid Enthusiastic. He gave her a cheery smile, then turned away, seeming to sense that she was done talking for now. She wouldn't have chalked him up for that kind of social awareness, but it was already clear he had a lot going on under the facade...

The music kept playing, a weird, jazzy loop, and as she watched the teen she had once been play, she slipped back into her memories...

So she'd taken a leave of absence from the Saviors.

...so she'd had an enormous screaming crying argument with the Saviors and left. And after she'd parked herself in a cheap hotel and cried everything out, she had made some plans.

She'd used the Saviors' wages she'd saved up and the modest royalties from her patents to buy a workshop in Clearwater Hill, one of Net.ropolis's poorest neighborhoods. And she set about working in the solution. The Killfile Device.

She'd been thinking of it as something she could present to the smart, reasonable heroes, talk it over and use it as a tool to scrape the worst bits out of net.humanity before it was too late. A decision she wouldn't have to make alone.

But... a few months in, people had noticed she wasn't with the Saviors anymore. Action Bimonthly, a mid-level magazine about net.hero goings-on, contacted her for an interview. And she was so excited, she could tell people - no, not all the details, but what she'd noticed, her goals, and get the message out, and there would be like-minded people who would come to her and they could work together...

And the interview came out and... nobody seemed to notice? Nobody came out of the woodwork to join in her cause? She didn't hear anything? 

No, it had been worse than that, because she had certainly heard things when she read the letters to the editor in Action. How people like her were making a fuss, distracting from the real issues, making the people who were actually trying to fix things look bad.

So she didn't take any more interviews after that. She just worked. She had already started and she couldn't stop now and she didn't think about what would happen when she was done.

But there was one thing she couldn't figure out, one thing she'd been hoping to get help with from somebody - a power source.

And a little voice was whispering in her head. Quietly at first, and she pushed it away and kept working, but louder and louder as she went deeper and deeper into single-minded focus. The net.heroes caused this problem. The net.heroes had the power.

Killfile Energy filtered, separated. She could separate the power from those who had it, use their own wasted might that had tried and failed so many times to save the world, to finally save it once and for all.

She built a power-channeling device. Just to test the idea. And if she found someone who wanted to help and had the power she could use it for that, right?

And the day came when every part of the device was done and there weren't any more tweaks left to make, and there weren't any more tests to be run, and she had to stop and face the prospect of actually using it.

By this time, the obsessive thoughts were a constant background pounding. She had to show them. She had to stop them. Before it was too late. It was almost too late. Something awful was going to rush up at any second, some net.hero with too much power was going to make a mistake, and smash the world flat, and it would be her fault. But it was okay. She had the machine, and she could use it and fix things, save the world... 

And she knew how she could get the power.

She knew how to bring net.heroes running. Net.heroes with the power to feel her machine. And part of her knew just which heroes it would end up being. Part of her begged her not to. She broke down into crying fits, finally telling herself that she would just talk to them first, that they'd have to hear her out when she had this power at her back.

She cleaned herself up. She put on that costume. She activated her stealth killfiles. She walked straight into the big national news studio with no one seeing, put every living soul who could stop her in a half-hour killfile bubble, put the cameras on her and sent out her message. 

This time she wasn't able to hold it back like she did in the interview. She told the world what was wrong with it and why; how the net.heroes had gone too far, and not knowing or understanding, had betrayed the rest of humanity. She announced her plan to clear them away and let the world heal. And she told them where to find her. Then she turned her killfiles back on and walked away.

And of course when she got to the workshop the Saviors were there already and of course they would have seen her coming in and of course there was no time to talk, right, it wasn't that she was striking the first blow because she knew in her heart that if she said what she meant she would be rejected again, of course not of course not

Even though Sig.Lad was already trying to reach out as she pushed them back with a killfile shell, even though Lurking Girl broke her solitude to ask why, even though she could see the bitter sadness in MechaKat's eyes

And the only one strong enough to break thru her shells burst in, as she knew he would, knocking her back against the machine, Felix, her stupid little brother fighting her again, she'd never told him she thought of him like that, he was yelling at her about how she was betraying them all, and she yelled at him about how he didn't understand because he only cared about fake shit like anime and being a hero

And she pulled the lever

And the killfile activated, splitting him in two, Felix Landers and the Flamebroiled Force, never to be reunited, discarding the one and sending the other into the machine, straight thru her

All the rage, all the fear, all the resentment, all the secret impossible buried hope, channeled straight thru her body and mind and into her machine and she felt it unfold, the dampening blanket enfolding the world

And in the distance, a glint of metal, Sig.Lad raised his sword, and somehow she could see his eyes, great and sad and knowing it was over, and summoning his own death, because the wielder of Excalibur could only have one end, opening the gate to the fairy world to sleep forever, and time slowing down and slipping away

and she'd been right some net.hero with too much power made a mistake and smashed the world flat and it was her that's what she was that's what she'd done it was her fault she wasn't a hero she'd never been a hero that's why Captain Killfile was the worst net.villain ever

"Hey... are you okay?"

Brunhilda jerked back to reality. Without realizing it, she'd slumped to the ground, legs folded up against her. Kid Enthusiastic and the Ultimate Saviors were gathered around her, looking down with concern and/or worry. Her head and face were tingling, and she reached up with a shaking hand to touch her face... yes, it was covered in tears.

"I..." She swallowed thickly, trying to find words, but all that came to mind was... the Killfile wasn't set with an ending date. It could have lasted for centuries. Somehow, the Saviors had stopped that but... it could have been so much worse and it was all her fault...

Wait, something was wrong, other than everything...

"The music stopped," she said.

Everyone's head turned. With a click, the doors began to open...

Kid Killswitch grabbed Brunhilda's wrist, grabbed the loose wire and touched it to the battery. The stealth killfile spread out to cover them.

The doors slid open. The guards stationed on either side of the elevator peered inside. Everyone held their breath...

The guards looked at each other, shrugged, and settled back in place. The door slowly closed. Everyone breathed out.

Robot Girl leaned in and slapped her hand on the button panel. "Keeping the door closed, keeping us in place."

"Right. Everybody, put your fingers in your ears and go la-la-la," said Kid Killswitch.

"...why!?" said Super Scary Dazzle Bird, throwing his hands in the air. "This isn't the kind of--"

"Just do it, nerd!" Kid Killswitch rolled her eyes. 

Kid Kindle turned. "Kid E, what do you--"

"La la la la-- were we not supposed to yet?"

Super Scary Dazzle Bird sighed. "Okay, okay, fine... la la la la..."

"I gotta keep my hand here," said Robot Girl, "but I'll turn off my audio inputs, okay?"

"Sure yeah whatever." Kid Killswitch waited until everyone was la-la-la-ing, and turned to Brunhilda. "Okay. Get up, Captain Killfile."

"I..." She took in a shuddering breath, let it out. Too late to deny it and she didn't have the composure anyway. She didn't even feel as shocked as she should. "How?"

Kid Killswitch rolled her eyes again. "We know who we're supposed to be. You think I don't know that face from splashing cold water on it at three in the morning, wondering when I would start feeling the urge to Go Bad?"

"...fuck..." The guilt stabbed right back into her brain. "sorry."

"Look--" Kid Killswitch shook her head and made a pushing-it-away motion. "Don't worry about it. I don't think there's anybody who didn't get their parents' anxieties. Maybe Kid E. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to say and we don't have much time." She ran her hand thru her hair, looking off to the side. "I read that interview. I wanted to know who you were and why you did it and I dug that up and... it made sense."

Brunhilda blinked, a bit of the haze of grief and guilt lifting, replaced by intrigued confusion. "...seriously?" She actually found a copy after twenty years? How-- wait, it made sense?

"Yeah. Like, I dunno if I agree with you twenty years on, but like, you were clearly not crazy, you clearly had a good goal in mind, you were clearly tryin'a help." She grinned that same always-a-bit-smug grin. "After I read it I didn't have quite as many nightmares."

"...wow." The huge weight hanging on Brunhilda's nerves and bones started to rise off a bit. "Y'know, you're the first one who's ever said that?"

"Not surprised. Controversial shit, and you were shooting it into the void. You didn't have anybody to talk over ideas with, did ya?"

"I mean..." She sighed. "The Saviors, but..."

"Yeah. They didn't get it." She looked over her shoulder, at everyone going 'la la la'. "It's different with these nerds. They support my stupid ideas, even if they give me shit for them. And I support theirs, even if they're morons half the time."

"Yeah..." Brunhilda was... jealous and happy at the same time. Today was just a smorgasbord of new emotions, huh. "You don't have to be like me."

"Hey, look." Kid Killswitch stuck her finger in Brunhilda's face. Jeez, she couldn't have been this rude, right? "My point is? I want to be like you."

"...kid." Brunhilda squinted in disbelief. "Thanks for being nice to the crazy lady, but. I just broke down crying because I fucked up the world so bad."

"EXACTLY, crazy lady!" Kid Killswitch gesticulated passionately. "You fucked up and you know it and now you're gonna try and fix it, right?"

"..." Flashes of what she'd done - the blanket, formed from her own resentment and pain wrapping around the world. "I don't think I can..." But under that pain... that purpose. To be the hand that reached out. "But... fuck it. Whatever I can do, I'll do." She breathed out, and a little more of that awful weight floated away. "That's who I am now. Someone who makes up for the Killfile."

"Right." Kid Killswitch nodded firmly. "That's who I want to be. Someone who makes mistakes and makes up for it and keeps going." She looked Brunhilda in the eye. "A hero."

Brunhilda sucked in her breath. "Damn. How are you this smart when you just came out of a tube?"

Kid Killswitch giggled, with that bit of familiar bubbly snottiness. She'd missed feeling that way. "I got it from you, bozo. I literally have your brain."

"Right." Brunhilda shook herself out, ran her hands thru her hair. "Well... thanks."

Kid Killswitch snerked. "Don't thank me, I'm being selfish. The others get to be clones of heroes, why shouldn't I?" She reached out a hand. "C'mon. Get up... Ghost Exterminator."

Brunhilda grinned and took the hand, pulling herself up. She still didn't feel like a good person, exactly. But hell. She didn't have to be, to be a hero.

Kid Killswitch tapped Kid E on the shoulder, and they got the others to stop la-la-la-ing while Brunhilda smoothed herself out. Super Scary Dazzle Bird fluffed out his cape irritably. "So what was that about?"

"Simple. Remember when Kid E told us about secret weaknesses, like Captain Minority being vulnerable to artificial vanilla flavor?" Kid Killswitch gestured to Brunhilda. "Well, Ghosty here just got hit with her secret weakness, and I figured out what it was and helped her out."

"'Cause you're so smart," grinned Kid Kindle, and held out his fist.

"'Cause I'm so smart!" grinned Kid Killswitch, and bumped it.

"And you didn't wanna expose the secret to everybody!" Kid Enthusiastic pumped his fists. "Good job!"

"Yeah, nice, there's problems," said Robot Girl, hand still on the panel. "The mayor gave in and there's a chopper that's gonna set down on the roof in like two minutes with the money."

"I mean, better for her to get away with the money than for people to get hurt," said Action Lad.

"Yeah," said Brunhilda, cracking her knuckles. "But even better to kick her ass."

"Just tell me when," said Robot Girl.

"Everybody!" called out Kid Enthusiastic gleefully, even though they were all literally right there. "Cool team pose!"

"Come on," groused Kid Killswitch, but she was grinning. She and Kid Kindle lined up on one side of Kid Enthusiastic, Super Scary Dazzle Bird and Action Lad on the other, forming a V. Brunhilda got over on the left side of the door, mirroring Robot Girl on the left. All seven of them got into action stances, and Robot Girl took her hand off the door.

With a ding, the door opened. One of the goons was kneeling down, whistling, examining the mechanism. She looked up, still whistling...

And Robot Girl's metal fist plowed into her chin, knocking her back and away.

The other goon straightened up, going for the ray gun at her side. "Ey, it's some kinda ghost!"

"More like a Ghost Exterminator!" Brunhilda's gauntleted knuckles impacted the goon's stomach. The banter was comforting.

"Oofda!" She went down too, and Super Scary Dazzle Bird and Kid Killswitch grabbed the dropped ray guns. The seven net.heroes ran down the hall and Action Lad kicked the door in.

The fake Captain Killfile was gloating at the cameras, as her goons moved her machine onto a dolly. "Thank you for your service, Cleveland! You've got a lovely city here - hope it stays that way, haha!"

Kid Killswitch lifted the ray gun she'd grabbed, aimed, fired it at the impostor... only for the beam to fade into nothing before it hit her!

"Shit!" said Brunhilda. "She's got a personal defense killfile!"

"Ha-hah!" the impostor crowed, turning to face them, pumping her fist in glee. "We have guests! Blacklisters, activate the Killfile Killfile!" 

One of the goons hit a switch on the big machine, and Brunhilda felt a soft wave of dampening energy roll over the room - dropping the Killfile that kept them hidden.

"Looks like we're doing this the hard way, guys!" Kid Enthusiastic leapt into the fray, and the team followed in his wake of morale.

She turned to the camera and gave it a wink. "Now the whole city will see the true might of the legendary-- Captain Killfile!!"

Of course she had to keep saying that, grumbled Brunhilda. And now "killfile" didn't sound like a word anymore.

Robot Girl lashed out with metal claws, slicing ray guns in two. "You have a team name for your minions? That's way too retro, lady."

"I dunno, though." Action Lad took the hilt from the scabbard he wore, and pulled out an enormous pen with a sword-like hilt and a glowing blue tip. He inscribed a name in the air, writing "Linguini Lass" with liquid light, in loopy, flowing cursive. "I'd say it's so retro it's cool again." He pulled the pen away, and the looping script flowed into his body, outlining him in neon blue. His limbs stretched out, noodle-like, to entangle the goons.

Kid Kindle shot empowering energy into the bodies of his teammates. "Yeah! I'm glad we got a net.villain with some style!"

Robot Girl knocked two goons' heads together and sighed. "Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say."

Brunhilda scooted sideways in the fray. "Hey," she murmured to Kid Killswitch, "I got an idea."

"I'm listening..."

Super Scary Dazzle Bird was attempting more shots at the impostor, reasoning that if the Killfile Killfile had killfiled their killfile, then her own killfile must also be killfiled. (And now "killfile" *really* didn't look like a word anymore.) Unfortunately, said impostor had made it over to the Kill-O-Ray, which seemed to be protected by a non-killfile-based forcefield, and was flipping switches and cackling.

Brunhilda stepped directly in front of the cameras. She summoned all the performative net.hero drama she was capable of, and pointed dramatically at the impostor with her right hand, bare now, her index finger aligned perfectly with her target. "Stop right there! I know you're not the real Captain Killfile!"

The impostor's body stiffened, and she spun around, her manic grin a bit stiffer and less real than it had been a moment ago. "Hah!" She straightened, tossing her arm so that her sparkly cape billowed dramatically. "And why would you make such a foolish proclamation? Some kind of net.hero trickery?"

"No." The heavy weight of grief and guilt was laying against Brunhilda's chest. But she knew, now. She'd let guilt fester in her, guilt over not being the one to fix the world all by herself, and it had lead to a lot of terrible things. You were supposed to share the weight of the world, because it belonged to everybody; you weren't supposed to hold it up alone until it crushed you and everybody else in the process. She didn't need to be the one to solve everything. She just needed to let out the knowledge, the feelings, she was holding inside - spread them to the world, as far as she could, and let everyone know the truth.

"It's because..." Brunhilda pulled down her hood, and looked up at the impostor. "Because my name is Brunhilda Ampulle. And I..." She looked directly into the camera. "I was Captain Killfile."

Everything was quiet for a moment.

"...wait, what!?" shouted Kid Kindle, before dodging yet another kick by a Blacklister.

"You..." the impostor's eyes narrowed. She ripped the gaudy cape and hood off, tossing it on the floor. From her belt she pulled a metal tube and hit a button on it, and out popped a blade of searing gray-white nothingness that hurt the eyes to look at - coherent Killfile Energy. "It's YOUR FAULT!"

Action Lad undropped his jaw. "G-- C-- Ghost Exterminator, catch!" He tossed his pen-sword thru the air.

Brunhilda caught it as it came down, just in time to block the impostor's blade. "Yeah, it was. All my fault." She danced back, parried, thrusted. "What's your story?"

"Jessica Blackstone, heiress to the scientific traditions of Patricia Blackstone!" Jessica dodged the thrust, going in with big, wild slashes - not as wild as they seemed, though, and Brunhilda had to twist and counter with expert timing. "I was eleven when the Killfile went up! My mother had been an expert in the field of killfile weapons research! Courted by governments, showered in grant money, treated like a queen! And I, her princess! We had money and wealth! And then it all went away!" 

"Gotcha. This is a revenge story." Brunhilda's attention was focused. She didn't think about the plan going off in the background, just on the woman in front of her. Keep her talking. Keep her fighting. "So what happened?"

"Hah, as if you didn't know!" The two blades, energy and narrative, locked against each other, and the two fighters were face to face. Jessica shouted in Brunhilda's face, little flecks of spittle flying - ew. "With the great Killfile up, killfile technology lost much of its power, for it's difficult to put a killfile over a killfile! My mother knew that problem could be cracked, but the powers that were did not care! We lost our prestige, our wealth! I had to go to public school!"

"...right. And then?" Brunhilda pushed back and fell into a defensive position, her back to the machine. She's ranting now, let it happen, no matter how dumb it is. 

"And then the Killfile fell, and I dedicated my life to cracking the problem! I became the world's preeminent specialist in Killfile Energy! And I swore I would use the position to take back the wealth and power that you had denied me!" She was far too angry at Brunhilda to attack her now, glaring, yelling, wanting her to hear every word. "I'm greater than you ever were! Stronger! Smarter!"

Kid Killswitch stepped forward, on Brunhilda's left. "Hey, bitch," she called to what's-her-name. "If you're so smart, do you know what happens when you bring together two rapidly fluctuating opposite-polarity killfiles?"

"...yeah," said Jessica, looking at Kid Killswitch like she was an idiot for asking. "You create a standing watchlist wave that destroys... destroys any killfiles--"

She jumped towards them but it was too late. Kid Killswitch lifted the right-hand gauntlet that Brunhilda had given her, the one she'd spent the fight rewiring to the opposite polarity and setting to fluctuate. Brunhilda lifted her left-hand gauntlet, still radiating Killfile Energy, and slammed them together.

A sphere of un-energy burst from the point of contact, knocking them apart, knocking back the impostor, knocking down the Blacklisters and the Ultimate Saviors. The room shone, dazzling and bright, everything standing out against everything else. The Kill-O-Ray sparked and smoked, and with a pop! an apple reappeared.

Everything was quiet for a few moments. Then Kid Killswitch pulled herself up in front of the cameras. "Hey, folks... hope you enjoyed. City is safe, Captain Killfile is no more, and..." She thumped her chest. "You can call me Captain Killfile now." She clicked off the camera and sighed. "That feels good."

Kid Enthusiastic hopped up next, running across the room. "OMG good job!" He pulled out a glob of green goo and used it to stick Jessica's hands together and stick her to a pillar.

"...hey..." Jessica muttered, woozily.

He tossed another glob of goo between his hands, watching Brunhilda as she pulled herself up. "Don't suppose I need to stick you in place for the cops too~"

Brunhilda shook her head. "Think you probably guessed that I'm not gonna be fighting heroes anytime soon."

He giggled, but his eyes were a bit more serious, looking her up and down. "Yeah... I don't think you are." He put the goo away. "But what are you gonna be doing?"

"Better question, what are we gonna be doing," said Super Scary Dazzle Bird, dusting off his cape. "What happened to keeping a low profile?"

"That's net.heroing," said Action Lad. "This was gonna be big one way or another. Can I have that back?" He nodded to the pen-sword.

"Oh, sure." Brunhilda handed it back.

"Wait wait wait wait wait," said Kid Kindle, popping up. "Are we just gonna ignore that she just confessed to being Captain Killfile?" He turned to Kid Kill-- nope, she was Captain Killfile now. "Why do you want the name?"

Captain Killfille grinned. "Right of conquest. Claiming my heritage. And maybe I just wanna shock the norms."

Brunhilda grinned. "Hey, I'm not using it."

Action Lad grinned. "I guess this really was... the return of Captain Killfile."

Robot Girl covered her face. "Why."

Action Lad shrugged exaggeratedly~ "I've decided to lean into dad jokes."

"Seriously, tho," said Kid Enthusiastic, bouncing in place. "What's your plans? You're pretty clearly messed up, twenty years out of time by the look of it-- you gotta tell me how that happened-- and you probably don't have anywhere to go."

Brunhilda rubbed her face. "Yeah, you're right. And I gotta.." She closed her eyes, and felt the pain suddenly well up again, felt a tear threatening to form in the corner of her eye. The weight wasn't gone just 'cause she'd done one thing. But it didn't hurt quite as much.

"Actually..." She rubbed her eyes. "I think I was wrong, before. I think I definitely need to be taken into custody." She looked over the six of them. "But the 2019 cops sound like they suck. So how about y'all taking me in until you can remand me to that net.hero team you've been trying to contact?"

"...oh, good idea," said Action Lad, doing his post-battle stretches.

"I suppose that's the safest option," harrumphed Super Scary Dazzle Bird, crossing his arms.

Robot Girl rolled her eyes. "I guess--"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT." Kid Kindle skidded in front of Brunhilda, waving his hands at the rest of them. "You're really saying that we literally take in the biggest bad guy of all time!? Right after-- ALL THAT!?"

Captain Killfile stepped forward. "Dude." She looked put her hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. "I trust her."

"..." He siiiiiiiighed dramatically, flopping his head back and rolling his eyes. "Fiiiiiiine. I guess somebody's gotta keep an eye on her."

"Welp, that's settled!" Kid E clapped his hands. "Now... let's scram already, the cops will be here soon!"

"Right!" The Ultimate Saviors clattered down the hallway, but Kid Enthusiastic took Brunhilda's arm before she could follow.

"By the way," he said. "Hildy. If it's okay to call you that."

"Heh... you can call me anything you want, now, I guess," she said. "What is it?"

"Just wanted to let you know. Felix?" He smiled big up at her. "He's the leader of the LNH!"

One more burst of cold surprise for the evening. "...ah heck." She'd have to face him, eventually. She'd have to apologize... She could feel the tears welling up again, and quickly rubbed her eyes. He'd survived. He... her brother was okay. "Always... always knew he'd make somethin' of himself."

"Yeah." He smiled up at her, and took her hand. "Let's go, Ghost Exterminator."

And they walked off into the chill winter night.

[hashtag-anthems]

Fandom Advent Calendar: Day 2

Prompt: snow, or lack thereof

You better believe I’m gonna write Pokémon AU if I get a prompt about snow. Sinnoh is my fave region and it’s just snow for days there. There’s no ships, and there’s a lot of plot that just hasn’t been written yet but at this point would have already happened but. We’ll fix that later. 

(Also it’s like 1:30 am on december 3rd shhhhh it’s okay I haven’t gone to sleep yet so it doesn’t count as tomorrow).

Lance had never seen a real snowstorm until he got to Unova. Hoenn just didn’t get snow in general, never mind a full-blown blizzard. His first December in Floccesy Town ushered in a real winter wonderland, in his eyes. Everything was covered in white, fluffy stuff, and the other kids in the town would go out and make snowmen and have snowball fights. It was amazing, and he did miss it a little bit when he went back to Hoenn to start his career as a coordinator.

Now, standing waist-deep in the stuff, he realized that he had never seen a real winter before.

Sinnoh was a far cry from anything he had seen before, in many ways. The most prominent was that it was downright frigid. Everywhere he had been was dusted with snow, even though they were barely into October. He was glad he’d brought his winter gear with him, but he’d been sorely unprepared mentally for just how cold this place was. 

“Is this safe?” he called out over the wind. It wasn’t snowing yet, which meant that it was still safe for them to be travelling to Snowpoint City on foot, but the wind was starting to pick up. Snowdrifts were dangerous things, according to Shiro and Pidge, who assured the group that they had both lived here plenty long enough to know how to navigate this route. 

Hunk and Keith had agreed with Lance, at least, that it was too dang cold here. “Stay on the road and you won’t walk into a snowbank every few feet, Lance!” Pidge called out over her shoulder. She was bundled up in a huge, bright green parka, with matching hat, boots, and mittens. She certainly wasn’t going to go missing in all this white stuff.

“How do you know where the road is? Everything is buried under two feet of snow!” Hunk complained. He’d invested in the fluffiest, brightest yellow coat that he could find the second he’d gotten to Floaroma Town, but he was still shivering pretty badly. 

“It’s only a few inches, Hunk.” Shiro sounded like he was trying to hide his exasperation with the trainers from the more tropical regions. “Snowpoint’s not that far away. Just don’t wander off and you’ll be fine.” If only it were that simple.

Snowpoint City was surrounded by dense forest on most sides, except for the little port that routinely ran ferries to the Battle Frontier. It helped keep the worst of the weather out of the city. They were so close to getting there and holing up in the Pokémon Center for the rest of the night (no matter what Pidge and Shiro said about being in a hurry). Just a little bit further, and they would be warm again.

Lance was just thinking that they were going to make it without running into anymore of those weird robots when he caught sight of the purple-ish grey sentries that they had been encountering all over the region. 

“What are they doing all the way out here?” Keith grumbled. “Can we just go around and get to some place that’s above freezing?”

“Not if you want to get to Snowpoint. This is the only road,” Pidge sighed. “I mean, we know how to get rid of them. We might as well…” She had already grabbed a Poké Ball from her pocket. 

“Hold on,” Shiro cautioned them all. “They’re not… just drones. There’s someone else over there.”

Sure enough, there was a figure standing among the sentries, wrapped up in a violet coat and ordering the sentries around just audibly enough for Lance to hear him, though he couldn’t tell what was being said. All Lance could make out in terms of identifying features was purple hair in the same shade as the drones, styled like Dracula. 

“I mean, how badly do we really need to go to Snowpoint City? We could just go back to that nice little inn back there and maybe they’ll be gone in the morning,” Hunk suggested.

“No way, we have to get there tonight.” Pidge let her Magneton out, and aside from a little mechanical whir, it was fairly quiet. All it took was a nod from Pidge to get it to zip over to the sentries, unleashing a blast of electricity that caused the robots to lock up before collapsing into the snow. The person overseeing them turned around and found the group almost instantly.

“Just what I need, a bunch of children disrupting my work…” That registered loud and clear. “You must be the brats that Sendak reported.”

“I take offense to that,” Lance grumbled, grabbing his Milotic’s Poké Ball from his belt. Everyone else looked ready for a battle too. At least they had numbers on their side.

“How cute,” the man controlling the sentries mused as they all approached. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to deal with children trying to play heroes today.” Before anyone could so much as call out their Pokémon, there was a flash of white light, and a chilling cry rang out through the area. As badly as the wind had been blowing before, it was like daggers on any inch of skin Lance had exposed now. The snow was being whipped up to the point that they couldn’t tell if it was the snow on the ground or a freak snowstorm. 

By the time the snow cleared, the clearing was empty, save for a single, ice-encrusted rock and some grass poking out of the snow. There weren’t even any footprints left in the snow. “Where did he go?” Keith ran ahead of the group, only to stop when there was clearly no trace of the man left.

“He’s gone, so let’s just get to Snowpoint City and check out this temple,” Pidge groaned.

“But the robots are gone too!” Hunk pointed out. “That snowstorm lasted all of a minute. There’s no way he got all of those robots picked up that quickly.”

“We aren’t going to find him tonight,” Shiro reasoned. “We might as well get into town and find a place to stay, and we can see if anything turns up tomorrow.” He was being a little more dismissive than Lance expected of him, but he couldn’t deny that he was exhausted, and cold, and a warm bed sounded infinitely better than trudging through the snow on a wild goose chase at this obscene hour of the night. 

Okay, it was, like, 9 pm, but Lance should have been in bed returning the feeling to his toes right about now, regardless.

[hamil-tonn-of-trash]

Hamfam Snow Adventures

Prompt: One November morning, it snows for the first time the hamfam is united in New York. Two weeks later, we initially decided to go sledding in the mountains.

Words: 2247

Warnings: Cursing, sarcastic humor, your dirty mind.

Notes: Now I’m not the best writer in the world and I cannot write endings for the life of me but I love you all so much and I want to express that. Also if I am unsure of your pronouns I just wrote “they/them if you want your pronouns changed let me know so I can edit the story. Also I skimmed over this and didn’t heavily proofread this so there may be errors. Also I hope this isn’t too much about me because I’m trying to avoid that. The portrayal may be a little inaccurate but I tried my best.

More important notes: If I didn’t mention you personally, it just means that I haven’t taken the time to get to know you. All of you are amazing, special snowflakes!! This is based off of the fic that Ams @sasstran wrote, make sure to check it out for a better idea of what’s going on! It’s worth it, they’re an amazing writer.

Tags: @its-the-hamfam @thatuglydino @5secondsofhamilton @sasstran @secretschuylersister @musicalmiranda @psychedemigod @building-palaces-from-paragraphs @starfreckledlaurens @casual-hamiltrash @hamiltrashtothemax @piercethemarti @matt10nt I probably forgot a whole bunch of people sorry!

When I first moved to New York, my mind was blown by the immensely rich culture, the glitzy, flashy lights of Broadway, the accents and the most exciting: the snow.

The first time it snowed when we moved here was two weeks ago. I am usually a heavy sleeper but the honks and whooshes of the taxis, the constant echoes of people taking outside and the unfamiliarity of the place wakes me up every night around three A.M. I figured that trying to coax myself back to sleep wasn’t going to work so I sat up and stared out the window into the city that never seemed to sleep. Something had changed around me, something was not the same. (You catch the Wicked reference? Sorry not sorry)

The drizzling of soft flakes floated down from the heavens and I bolted out of bed. Ecstatic to go scream to my best friends about the snow. I busted open the door to Poppy’s bedroom, sprinted over to her and shook her until she woke up. “POPPY HOLY SHIT IT’S SNOWING OUTSIDE!!’” (I whispered this urgently, I’m not THAT insane) Poppy blinked in confusion and replied: “Brandy, it’s three in the morning and you almost dislocated my left arm to wake me up only to tell me that’s IT’S SNOWING?!!!!”

“Uhhhhhh yeah I mean it’s exciting I guess?” I answered blankly.

A grin crossed Poppy’s face and she chuckled “WELL THIS IS A FUCKING MILESTONE I’LL GET MY CAMERA AND WE’LL TAKE PICTURES OKAY?”

“Okay.”

After getting dressed we decided to not wake anybody else up because last time we woke the entire group up to announce that we were going mini-golfing, Gee practically killed us. Quietly giggling we attempted to tiptoe out of the apartment complex. Yet, another soul was awake in those blissful, shadowy hours. Taylor emerged from her apartment with her arms crossed with a smirk.

“Are you guys trying to sneak out?” She inquired.

“No, it’s just snowing outside and we want pictures labeled: ‘First Snow’.” Poppy explained and Taylor nodded and went back into her apartment. An awkward moment of silence filled the empty hallway. Momentarily, Taylor and Rebekah reappeared dressed in their winter gear and we finally stepped outside into the crisp, frigid air adorned by snowflakes swirling around like ballerinas on a stage.

Rebekah and Taylor sat on the entrance steps and hugged while Poppy started snapping pictures and I simply stared at it in awe. I stuck out my tongue to taste the flavorless, icy flecks until Poppy shook me out of it.

“Earth to Brandy? Time for a group photo!” I sat down next to Rebekah and Taylor and Poppy asked a stranger to take it for us. I’m pretty sure Poppy gave the guy an extensive tutorial on how to take a fucking photo because when he was about to take the picture he said:

“Say ‘Hamfam’!”

We thanked the man and sent him on his way and we chilled on the doorsteps to an apartment where the rest of our family slept until we got sleepy and fell back asleep.

——————————-

November 26, 2021 9:26 AM

That moment was captured and taped into our scrap book to be kept forever but now we were all going to go for a day trip up in the mountains to go sledding. Well at least almost all of us, the rest had work or school related stuff going on so they couldn’t come with us. It took us months to find a date that would accommodate to all of our work schedules but it’s hard when you have fifty people. We all loaded up into three separate cars (with some people sitting on other’s laps) and got comfy for the long drive.

Maaike, Dorian, Gianna, Julia and I all piled into Gianna’s little blue car. Ams, Sage, Hunter, Taylor, Rebekah, Cass, Psy, and Shy crowded into Taylor’s comfy, shiny SUV. Gee, Marti, Poppy, Lea, Ari and Zoe took a cheap Chevy convertible that we all chipped in to buy as a community car. Mainly because we were blacklisted from cab services for asking all the cab drivers to play musical’s.

The second Gianna started the car “Alexander Hamilton” stared playing. Gianna was bobbing her head to the beat while the rest of us were going insane and banging our head manically as we drove through the heavy New York traffic. Once “Farmer Refuted” came on Maaike and I thought that Gianna was having a stroke or something because she almost hit a stop sign and almost got into an accident with a taxi. “GIANNA!” Julia screamed into her face as Gianna suddenly snapped back into reality. “Oh sorry guys, I was thinking about Thayne’s butt.” I leaned over to Dorian and whispered: “She hasn’t changed one bit since 2017.” Dorian nodded in agreement and laughed a little.

“BRANDY! SCOOCH YOUR FUCKING ASS OVER I HAVE NO ROOM.” Maaike screeched and the rest was cursing in Dutch. It should be noted that we go ballistic and playfully attack at each other but we never actually fight. I moved and Julia whipped out her Milky Way.

Gianna’s eyes widened and she reached for it and joked. “YOU KNOW WHO LOVED MILKY WAYS? BenNAY WOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“You aren’t getting any from me.” Julia smirked and devoured the entire bar in front of Gianna’s face. “Also, you’re not paying attention to the road Gianna.”

“Oops.” ——————————–

12:43 PM

After a very long two hours of driving and watching the scenery change we reached our destination. A winter wonderland perfect for a group of angsty long-term Hamilton fans who came from Hawaii to Austria. When I opened the car door, a blast of freezing winds pierced my skin and I already started to crave the warmth of the desert sun.

But the warmth of spending time with my family felt warmer than a fire.

Gee looked exhausted from the drive but there was still a spark of excitement under that. Psy and Shy loaded out the sleds from the trunk and we started to search for a nice hill without too many pointy sticks that would impale one of us. Sage and Hunter sang the lyrics to “A Winter’s Ball” and Cass snapped that it wasn’t even winter yet which caused Sage to chuck a small stick at Cass but ended up missing by about two feet. “A Winter’s Ball’ turned into singing holiday carols in like five different languages.

Eventually, we found a damn hill and we all voted that Ari and Zoe got to go first for actually cleaning up their apartments (including their roommate’s spaces). They both mounted the sled and out of the blue, Hunter forcefully pushed them down the hill at full speed. “WHAT THE FUCK!” Zoe exclaimed as the sled almost slapped a nearby tree. The wind whipped their faces as we all gasped in shock. The sled slowed down and they shot us synchronized glares but then they laughed and gestured for another group to ride down.

I have no clue if letting three sleds go down at once is safe but it happened. Marti and Dorian collided and they rolled down and high-dived and Ams was the ultimate sled GOD. They’re taking this sled by the reigns making the hamfam envy them insane-ly!!! With amazing steer and a calm conscious, Ams beat all of us in the first round. I wish I could tell you what was happening in their brain!

It was Shy and I’s turn now and to be honest, I was pretty nervous because the last time I went sledding I had a breakdown…yeah long story. Shy waved me over to join them and then merrily we roll along a huge ass hill. A rush of adrenaline kicked in and I think it was the same for Shy because I felt them perk up a little. The sled raked against the thin layer of snow as we both felt the friction of the snow and the raft building up until suddenly it turned over and I felt myself tumble in the frozen abyss (headfirst into the abyss). I don’t think either of us were Elsa because one, we are not magically immune to the cold, and two, we are both from not-so-cold places. The cold bothers everyone except for Ams because Ams is magical (well yeah and they’re from Finland). I dug my way out and I looked up to see my friends gasping and still laughing from the epic sled fail.

“Are you two alright?” Zoe said, shocked.

“IT’S COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!” I whined and shakily stood up. Where Shy had already got up.

“Okay, sledding isn’t too safe because Marti has a bruise on her forehead and that sled is in pieces…Anybody have ideas for something a little safer?” Rebekah asked. A smirk appeared on Gianna’s face and her eyebrows were raised. This couldn’t be good, I knew that look. Gianna had an idea. “SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!!!!”

Within only a few moments, the entire situation was in turmoil. Everybody was violently chucking humongous snowballs at each other. Cass hit three people in one shot by throwing multiple snowballs at once. Poppy was aimlessly propelling lumps of snow that mostly hit trees. I think Dorian, Taylor and Lea teamed up and approached a small group of people who were huddled up in fear and completely wrecked them. Gianna somehow climbed a tree and was forcefully flinging white balls of mush at everyone’s head. I watched as Rebekah tripped over a stick and Ams ambushed her by lightly putting the snowball on top of her head and they both laughed and hugged. As I was trying to escape the chaos I found Ari behind a tree catching up on another TV show on her phone.

“Move over dumbass.” I laughed as Ari rose an eyebrow at me and I felt a cold sensation splatter across my face and I realized that I had fallen for one of Ari’s tricks. I cracked up and I might’ve cried, I don’t know. “That HURT!” I stuttered as I barley held in my laughter. “Your fault…dumbass.” Ari responds with a quick “that was so satisfying” under her breath.

“HE WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED, SATISFIED, SATISFIEEEEEEEDD!” Hunter bellowed.

“NON-STOP.” Maaike yelled.

A couple seconds later the entire group was surrounding us and singing non-stop harmonies.

“I love you guys.” I cried with tears of happiness (and pain from that damn snowball) rushing down my face. It got all corny with agreements and cuddles until Julia piped up:

“I’m hungry, is there food nearby?”

“YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WITH FOOD!!” Gianna raged in fake anger.

“So??” Julia protested.

“CHILDREN CALM DOWN!” Marti intervened. “It’s been decided by the rest of us silently that we will go down to the lodge and eat food!” We nodded and loaded up the cars and drove a little further down the mountain to a lodge with a heater (thank god) and home cooked meals. We practically took up half the restaurant and we all got hot drinks and ate comfort foods. Some people got fried chicken, hamburgers, baked potatoes and macoroni and cheese. We feasted and it took about twenty minutes to split the check and the waiter got super impatient with us because two glasses were spilled and we treaded snow into the restaurant but we didn’t really care either way. While everyone was having a blast I couldn’t help but watch the snow flutter against the windows with a beauty I was unfamiliar with.

The drive back was full of Gianna’s short attention span, show tunes, and screwing around with friends (you fucking perv not that way!). It was around 10:30 when we got back and after relaxing and unwinding there was a problem. Nobody else was there. It was like Roanoke because there was zero traces of where the rest of them went. They shouldn’t have work this late and even if a couple did overtime it wouldn’t be EVERYONE. Psy called all of us over from the unsuccessful search party and showed us a note somebody had wrote.

“Since you decided to have your own fun time, so did we. We’ll be back eventually ;))))”

“Oh shit.” We all sighed in unison.

——————————– A check in on the rest of the fam 11:01/ 23:01 PM

There was a local bar called “The Spin” where approximately thirty Hamilton nerds were hanging out for the night. Some of them drank plain old beer, some drank cocktails and the underage ones drank soft drinks (how the fuck did they get in?). Jo raised a small glass for a toast and said: “YOYOYOYOOOOO IT’S BEEN A-MA-ZIIINNNNG TONIGHT!!”

Reiley continued the toast by saying: “WE TROLLED THEM OUT OF THEIR MINDS!!”

“YUP!” Shannon said as they played footsie with Rosey and Grace under the table.

“LET’S GET EVEN MORE FUCKING DRUNK OR SUGAR HIGH FAM!!!” Vanna screamed and eventually the bar owners left while this group of drunk nerds happily sang show tunes and decided to come back in the morning when they’re gone.

One of the owners left the door open and snowflakes crept into the bar. For just a moment, within everybody’s hearts from the steps of an apartment complex to a flashy bar miles away, there was a feeling, a knowing of interconnectedness between every single one of them.

[monolith-of-flesh]

April 29th, 2018

Duluth in the winter. Except it wasn’t quite Duluth. It appeared to be a tiny town straddling train tracks than right through the center. This is a familiar setting, but I can’t place it. I see a bunch of my real life coworkers milling about outside this strange leather tannery building. Cue me skiing away from town down the train tracks which become increasingly obscured by heavy snow. Suddenly I notice a train coming towards me. A small steam engine blows past as I manage to get out of its way at a split in the tracks. The tracks continue straight and unbroken into the far distance. This skiing journey is where I assume the world shifts. Now I am in a massive futuristic metropolis, perched on bare red cliffs overlooking a body of water, Somehow I find my way into the city. I recall a vignette of me digging through crates filled with miscellaneous food and other assorted items. These crates are on these tall metal shelves that fill the dark room i’m in. Though its not completely dark. There are big slit windows behind the shelves opposite where I am, like archer windows in a castle.

Scene switch

I am walking down a corridor that has been carved into a rock face. It seems to be running along the sea underneath the cliff perched metropolis. I come upon a carving in the wall. I can’t decipher anything about it but I do notice a stool beside it with a piece of warm pizza just sitting on it. Hungrily I grab it and begin eating. I grow suspicious at how fresh it is so I glance around the corner. Running back towards me is a man. I can’t remember his name but I know it started with an F. I realize that this is his pizza i’m eating. Before he can say anything I offer to buy him two slices. I glance past him and understand the long journey he must have made from the pizza parlor at the end of this winding cliff corridor. Luckily, he is happy with my offer to we begin traveling to get some more pizza. As we walk he tells me that he is a resistance fighter of some kind. I get it into my head, as he’s explaining this to me that I will become the leader of this faction. He tells me that he was actually thinking that he would be the mastermind and I would be his accomplice, since this is his world and I am clearly a visitor from another one (o.O). In the course of the journey, I inexplicably cut his hand off. He’s still pretty chill with it, I just have to carry his severed hand up to the pizza parlor and dispose of it. After some time walking, looking over the blank sea and the desolate rocky cliffside as well as the looming dark buildings behind us, we reach the pizza parlor. When I order 3 slices for us and reach for my payment, I realize the only money I have is my parent’s credit card. My new friends offers to pay with cash, but after fumbling around in his wallet he also produces a credit card. I shoo his hand away and pay for it myself. So there we are eating our pizza, just about to descend the ramp from whence we came when a man recognizes my friend and walks over to us to confront him. He makes some claims about F being a criminal so I grab the guy from behind and quickly immobilize him. F takes a walkie talkie he’s holding from his hand and nods to me. I pull the guy back towards me and knee him really violently in the spine, letting him collapse to the ground.With our new walkie talkies (I found one too?), we begin plotting. Leaving our cliff corridor, we ascend to the rocky plateau above us and I get my first good look at the city. It it huge, like sci-fi big. Sharp and imposing buildings jutting out endlessly around each other. F tells me that this is the result of 15 huge conglomerate corporations taking over. He is very conscious of the fact that I am not of the same world he is. He tells me that it is his goal to reverse all the development and that I must help him. It out of the question that I would help him so I vow to return. Thus, I find my way back to the snowy train tracks, this time heading back to my world. Another near miss with a speeding train and i’m back. I guess Homegrown or something similar was in full throttle as I could hear music emanating from this tiny town. I hope one day to reunite with my friend F. FIN

[mceproductions]

October 2018 Blurbs

10/1/18 31 Nights of Halloween, Freeforms inheritence from its previous incarnations, other than the mandated 700 Club. The month between seasons, otherwise known as candy city. Stockholm Syndrome from Willies departure may be setting in as we had a large truck and only 4 of us to do it. I shouldnt be missing his prescence but somehow i am. Remedy is needed soon. 10/2/18 Im A Christmas Guy, love giving gifts out and decorating. Have done so annually for 16 years and it always starts within the first few days of October as i unblock my Holiday themed movie and TV Shows on digital. Looking forward to the next few weeks especially. Brewers NLDS starts Thursday! 10/3/18 The old tutalige of when it rains it pours, reared its ugly head. Flat by Old El Rancho. That really screws things up for me. Hoping for Miracle. 10/4/18 Well, day minus the Brewers coming back, was a bust. Tire was flat. Hoping I can get it either possibly fixed or a cheap replacement. Wondering how ill get to the store tomorrow. 10/5/18 Apparently massive flu spreading around as Mom picked up whatever Dad was sick with. Ended up replacing tire, but with brand new one. Hopeful not mistake. Also affected things at WallyWorld as Linda and Tyler were feeling cruddy. Hopeful I dont get it. Brewers win and truck got fixed. Still undecided on Venom or Gaga for movie on Saturday. 10/6/18 Ended up going with Gaga and was pleasently stunned by both her and Bradley Cooper. Movie was wonderful and that ending was rough, picked up soundtrack to boot. Sort of took longer than I anticipated coming back from EC thanks to BlueGolds Homecoming. Boy colleges take that far more seriously than High School. Panera for dinner was a great alternative as well. 13th Doctor tomorrow before work! FLCL on the other hand...I'll never say the C word to anyone, but Pets was definetly the C Word to Kana. 10/7/18 Man that was emberassing to watch. Green Bay actually played so lousy I watched Doctor Who, and loved the female 13th looking forward to more of her. Final Season of Walking dead also premired. Wonder how Ricks going out. Gunner and his partner are really intolerable. Reporting that asap, the store is not a place for thier private spats. 10/8/18 Columbus getting squeezed out of his own day is the most PC thing that I can get on board with. Nobody gives a crap about the whole Sailed the ocean blue in 1492 thing anymore. Stuff to do including assignments that I have to go to the library to finish. Hoping internet will be back sooner rather than later. 10/9/18 Woke up to flashing lights by house and realized power line got taken down by tree that Dad had pointed out. A bit more broke than I anticipated. Stuff here i have to do anyway and thankfully work will limit my having to go anywhere. Really could use $300 to pay Patti. Brewers will take on Dodgers in NLCS starting Friday. Mad that Conan for all intent and purpose has been cancelled, adpating is one thing but this is a glorified cancellation. 10/10/18 Rain city continues...Puddles in Bravada. On top of it its getting colder. Winter isnt here yet, but the white ravens are taking flight. 10/11/18 Now comes the cold, and first snow of the year. We had it all today cold, wind, sun and snow. 10/12/18 Store gave me a first look at my future. Gaurantee work on Sunday Monday and Friday every week unless i say so. Which other than one day may be saying much. Could use more variety than that. Also stinks NLCS is on when im working. Pulling for Dodgers in at least 1 game so I can see game 5 on wednesday at least. 10/13/18 They have been hyping the crap out of inventory for the past 3 weeks. Now i see why, Clint made a rare Saturday appearance at the store. Hopeful for the next few days. Got my prediction right about game 5 on Wednesday so thats good. Kanye is nuts as usual, and Kana gave me the best reason yet to finally move forward on the FLCL finale. Cold week ahead. 10/14/18 Andrew and his little notes are getting out of hand. Got called in to do truck early as Inventory closes in on Tuesday. Clint on the other hand, i know ive got to not walk off for a few seconds but he really needs to chill for a bit especially cause we both used to be pushing carts in the first months of the store he should know my rhtyms by now. Stinks about Pete Davidson though, really hope he can recover cause i liked him and Ariana as a couple. Rather unfortunate that they split cause she couldnt deal with her ex commiting suicide. 10/15/18 A missing person is a big deal, when you happen to know someone who is related to said missing person, then you know its huge. Jayme Closs, the cousin of Brody being abducted after her parents were gunned down, sad for all. My only issue is brody reatcing to everyones sympathies, overkill a bit. The other issue i have is the amber alert system that can be sent out to phones. With Trumps ability to text everyone in the country I witnessed a bunch of people who got the alert yesterday complain about it, the others who thought she killed them and fled are the bigger morons. Hopefully shes found safe. Other than that, good night for Wisconsin Sports, Brewers are 2 Out from pennant and Rodgers did his thing once again. 10/16/18 Boring first part of shift as we did basically nothing due to the inventory. But at least the night managed to salvage itself. Dodgers really play dirty. 10/17/18 Nose began to stuff itself again. Bunch of classwork for 2 weeks as i get the inservice day. Milwaukee gave another one away. Hoping Game 6 on Friday will be a turnaround. 10/18/18 Rare thursday day, nose still stuffed. 10/19/18 Library day as i caught up on work, and finally watched A Chrsitmas Story to its ending. A classic, yes just don't feel that strongly about it. Big game from the Crew forcing Game 7. 10/20/18 This day was nuts, a quick 25 minute snowcase that gave way to sunny conditions by noon. Saw Venom, didn't get why it was hated. Quite enjoyable dyanmic and She-Venom was the highlight of it all. Dodgers unfortuantley took the pennant. Great season overall for Milwaukee just bummed my streak of picking the world series winner at the All Star game ended at 4. Also tide pods finally used them, no wonder people ate them they're great for clothes. 10/21/18 First day ever that i skipped NFL Games. Neat concept. 10/22/18 Very long strech of store coming up, especially given that Today we only had 3 total. 10/23/18 Held off on grabbing Mamma Mia 2 Blu Ray. Mainly due to gas situation that had Bravada dying near tracks. I got to figure cash situation out to pay off people. 10/24/18 Lone day off before Halloween. No class today so that made things better. Master Mode on Zelda getting easier to figure out. Did reset on iPhone and Kindle, should fix lone bugs. Really want to play RDR2 and Spiderman PS4. World Series from what I can tell is shaping up as a sweep. Also, whole reason I began watching Sunny aired tonight. First of 2 Part Super Bowl Episode. Charlie in a Bear Trap drinking pee, eww! 10/25/18 First of 6 in a row backwise. The Halloween episodes on TV Usually do wonders for me, not this time. I know this is the final season of Big Bang Theory but Sheldon not realizing how irritating he sounds to others after 12 years and so much maturing seems not the right way to do it. Especially seeing his wife irrate Bernadette. 10/26/18 2nd night, the wheels i dont think feel off, but the were more loose than usual. Hour to set up, hour work, break, 30 minutes to unload hvdc and then didn't finish til after 6. When your down numbers wise you can certainly feel it. FYI The crap with the MAGA Bomber made me mad enough to likely stay off social media until after the election, that made it my breaking point. RWBY Season Premire Tomorrow! 10/27/18 Rooster Teeth First free trial, worth it for watching a great primire that perfectly sets up what comes. My point who is that woman with the Maz Kanata eyewear? Wisconsin stinks. 10/28/18 My issue with the whole core hours thing involves me working on days i know theres something i should be doing. Such as watching the packers. Almost beating LA, hopeful they can actually do that against Brady. 10/29/18 That blue wave better close in next week cause, another shooting and another predictable Trump response occurred. Hate crimes abound in his america. 10/30/18 Last in the back, October really came and went this year. Only thing bad about not working Halloween is the dressup im missing out on. Adam in drag would have been a hoot. 10/31/18 Darkness Falls Across the Land...You Know the rest. Halloween. This day is one back 20 Years ago i would openly love. At least the Candy is still around, albiet smaller and more sugary. Nowadays this day has me DVR'ing all the major shows to see what costumes get put on. Spoiler Alert only episodes of ATH And PTI that I happily record all year. When it comes to applying for scholarships however thats where it blurrs. WITC is really biased against those in the outreach sites hoping i can get help tomorrow when i visit. November came too quickly but, I get to see my nephew in 2 Weeks!

[lillaxtrigger]

The ghostly maid Vermontrip: Part 2

The RV drove into the parking lot of a lone ski resort. The white mountains complementing the lodge like appearance of the giant building. Everyone got out of the RV with winter clothes on. "Finally! We made to the Vermont ski resort." Jeff said. "I can't wait to snowboard down the mountains." Jenny said as she ran. Trevor looked at the snow on the ground and lightly touch it. The icy feeling of the snow chilled his fingers. "Trevor, come on! Everyone is heading in." Pike said. The boy quickly stood up and said: "Uh- Okay! I'm coming!", then headed inside. As they headed inside, Pike asked: "What was that about?". "Um...I'm a little embarressed to admit this, but I never known what snow felt like until now.". "What? Are you for real?". "Yeah. I was always sheltered from the snow. I never was allowed outside when it was snowing. Even when I was going to school or business, I never had any time to play in the snow.". "Whelp, there's an entire mountain of snow before us. You can play in the snow all you want now.". Jewely followed them and said: "Maître Trevor, I am most concerned. Won't I cause a mass panic if everyone sees me like this?". "Oh yeah. I kinda forgot about that. Um...just possess the RV driver." "I don't know. I mean he did drive for nearly 5 hours straight.". "Eh, it's okay. He's fast asleep. He ain't using his body.". "I suppose. I'll be right back.". Jewely flew back into the RV and came back out possessing the driver. When they walked to the entrance, they did not see Tracy fall of the roof of their RV. He began to slowly get up as he saw everyone head inside. The ghost hunter limped after them. As they entered the entrance hall, they gazed upon the decor of the lobby. The ceiling was decorated with hanging chandeliers alongside the polished wood pillars. "Incroyable...It's so huge." Jewely said. "Yeah, this whole lobby is bigger than my house." Jeff said. "The heck are we all waiting for? Let's go ski and stuff." Jenny exclaimed, then ran off. All of them ran off in different directions. Trevor started out the door, watching as the snow fluttered down to the ground. He was about to walk outside when Jewely stopped him and said: "Where do you think you're going?". "Well, I was going to go outside, maybe feel the snow of once in my life.". "Hmm...Okay, just don't go out too far.". Trevor ran outside, feeling the cold air on his face. As Jewely walked off, she did not see Tracy walking outside, following behind Trevor. Jeff walked out to an outdoor ice rink and saw several people skating. As soon as he began to skate, the boy quickly fell on his face. As he looked up, Jeff saw a teenage girl, laughing at him. He groaned as he got up and began to skate more carefully. Pike was standing in the lobby, thinking to himself. Jewely approached and said: "Bonjour, Pike. What are you doing?" "Oh hey, Jewely. I was wondering what I should do first.". "Well if you just stand around like that, you won't be able to do much of anything. This is a ski resort, why don't you give skiing a chance?". "Oh no. You know that I'm afraid of heights. I won't even be able to make it past the lift.". "Who says you have to take the lift? You can just go down a low slope to get your bearings.". "I guess I could." Pike said. Jenny was skiing down a steep mountain, the cold air blasting through her body. She swerved passed several trees on the way down. The girl saw a rocky ramp coming up and jumped it, pulling off a flipped that directed the snow around her. Landing near the lodge, she stopped and said: "Woo! That was intense! I can't wait to try the other slopes.". Trevor was walking the mountain trail, taking in the view of the lodge down in the distance. "I should be heading back...Nah it's still a few hours before the sun sets.". The boy continues down the path, unaware of his pursuer behind him. Jeff slowly starts to get the hang of skating, using the heels of the skates to propel himself forward. He starts to see the wall incoming. Not knowing how to turn or stop, he runs into the wall at full speed. The girl from before turns to him and stops to laugh at him. "What is your deal, woman?". "Oh nothing, it's just...you're so terrible at this. I mean you just waltz in the rink and expect to know how to ice skate, just like that. Why did you even want to skate anyway?". "I don't know. It looked fun, I guess.". The girl scratched her face and said: "Yeah, it is pretty fun. Want me to teach you how to skate?" "...Okay." Pike got ready to ski and sat in one of the lift chairs, and put on the seatbelt. As the seat began to move, he heard someone beside him say: "Hey, Pike.". He looked to his left and saw his girlfriend in the same seat. "Jenny? I didn't think you were riding down the low slopes. I figured you liked the steeper ones way more.". "What are you talking about? This lift leads to the steepest mountain." Jenny questioned. "He he he...What?". Pike looked ahead and saw the lift line leading to the top of a giant mountain. He then looked back and saw that he was past the platform. He looked down and saw that he was too high to fall safely to the ground. The boy panicked and began to tighten his belt. Jenny saw the fear on his face and asked: "What's the matter?". "I-I can't be up here. I just can't. I-I need to get down!" the boy said. "Pike! You're shaking! What's wrong?". Pike only sat silently, waiting for the experience to be over. "...You're afraid of heights, aren't you?". The boy merely shook his head in agreement in response. "Alright, alright. Come here." she said. Jenny grabbed his head and put it on her shoulder to comfort him. "Just keep your eyes closed and don't think about it until we reach the top.". Pike began to calm down a little bit as he hugged the girl tightly. Jewely walked around the lobby and saw little bits of litter near the bottom of the walls. She reached her hand out to the litter, but pulled her arm back, saying: "No. I'm on vacation. I can't clean. Not a single spec. I just need something to occupy myself." She then saw what looked like a small bowling alley. "Hmm...I've never tried bowling before. Maybe that will calm my urges.". The possessed driver walked into the ally and grabbed the ball, rolling into the pins. The ball curved to the side and rolled down the gutter. Disappointed by her lose, she looks to the side and sees a table littered with garbage. She stares at it for a moment before she picks up another ball and throws it with a determined look on her face. Trevor made it the top of one of the mountains and saw below him the city of which the resort was located. He took a big whiff of the chilled mountain air, breathing in the pine carried by the winds. "Ahh...The resort looks so tiny down here. Man, perspective sure is amazing, isn't it.". "It certainly is." Tracy said as he snuck up behind Trevor, ready to swing his vacuum. "What!" Trevor said as he turned, only to be hit in the face. As he tumbled down the opposite side of the mountain, Tracy jumped after him, letting some snow on the face fall. Trevor manages to stop himself and stop his foe from hitting him by grabbing his vacuum midswing. "You! Why are you here!?" "Call your ghost servant!" Tracy demanded. "She's not with me!". Tracy pushed Trevor down and said: "Where is she then? Tell me!". "Like I'm gonna tell you where she is, you psycho!". Tracy swung his vacuum tube down on Trevor, but the boy rolled to the side to dodge. The ghost hunters vacuum got caught in the snow, he struggled to get it out. When he finished rolling, Trevor saw the snow bits scattered from the swing rolled into a ball. As soon as Tracy managed to get his weapon out from the snow, he was hit with a snowball. He looked and saw Trevor with a bunch of snowballs, which Trevor started to throw. Tracy started approaching, blocking the oncoming projectiles with his tube. One of them got by and hit him in the eye. He wiped his face to clear his vision. He did not see it coming when Trevor punched him in the face. As Tracy was about to tumble down the mountain, he grabbed onto Trevor's arm, taking his enemy with him. Both of them tumbled down the back of the mountain, leading to them falling down into a wide and deep crevice. They let out screams as they plummeted down. Back on the face of the mountain, the snow that was tossed when Tracy jumped after Trevor started to gather as it went down towards the lodge. The girl that was once mocking Jeff poor skating skills was now helping him develop them. "Okay, the trick to turning is to slow down and shift your weight to what direction you want to go in. Watch how I do it." the girl explained. She started to skate around the rink, with Jeff watching her movements closely. He saw as she tilted her body a bit in the direction she was turning. As she approached him, Jeff said: "Oh, that looks easy enough. Let me try.". Jeff started to skate forward, coming near a wall. He began to lean to the right as it approached, but he leaned in too much and fell on his side. The girl began to laugh at him. She saw that Jeff was looking upset and said: "Sorry. I guess I have a little fun watching you eat it on the ice.". "Come on! Isn't there anything more tips you can do? Anything at all that might help?" "Well...I guess if I held your hand and guide you through the rink, maybe that would work.". "Oh...Um...Alright." Jeff said nervously. "He he, what's wrong. You afraid that I might bite?". "No, it's...I never held a girls hand before.". The girl began to laugh and said: "Come on, you big dork." as she grabbed his hand. The two of them began to skate around the rink while the girl was holding onto Jeff. Pike was looking down the edge of the mountain, quaking in his ski's. The line behind him was growing impatient as he delayed. With Jenny beside him, he said: "Why did I let you talk me into this?". "You want to get over your fear, don't you?" she said. "Well yeah, but I thought you meant we'd take baby steps, not a giant leap!". "Move it kid!" one of the people behind him said. "Yeah, I only got one day left here.". "This the only vacation I had in a year!". "Skiing is really fun, trust me." Jenny confirmed. "I change my mind! I don't want to do this! Get me down from here, now!" Pike shouted. Jenny sighed and said: "I understand.", then proceeds to push him off the mountain. Pike began to slide down the mountain. The snow blowing in his face as he screamed. Jenny caught up with him as Pike was heading near a ramp. She watched as her boyfriend flew into the air, into an uncontrollable somersault, and land seemingly fine. "Nice front flip Pike." Jenny complimented. She looked ahead and saw a bunch of rocks coming up. "I don't think I've told him how to turn yet, have I?". Jenny acted fast and shoved Pike out of the way. She tripped over the rocks and began to tumble down, gathering snow whilst rolling. Pike looked back and saw a big snowball rolling behind him. He used the poles in his hand to push forward rapidly, trying not to get caught in the boulder. The ghost maid was still bowling, not even landing spares anymore. She sighs in frustration and looks around. Jewely sees a kid with a soda can, the kid throws the can to the garbage bin and misses, landing beside it instead. Se looks back to her lane and rolls a another ball to a new set of pins. She finally manages to land a strike, causing a little jingle to play. Jewely jumps for joy. "Oui! J'ai finalement eu une grève! Je suis la reine des quilles!" she shouted. The ghost maid looks around, with some people staring at her. She calms down and goes back to bowling. Trevor begins to wake up in an ice cavern, buried in snow. The boy shivers as he rises up from his icy blanket. "I-I-I'm...I'm alive?" he says as he looks at his palms. He looks up and sees the daylight shine down the chasm. Trevor looks around the ice caverns while saying "Didn't Tracy fall down with me?". He dug through the snow, but found nothing. The boy looked into a blue-lit tunnel. Not seeing any other path, he walks forward. As he went down, Trevor saw that the tunnels branched out. The boy began to see something lumbering ahead and hid in one of the tunnels. Trevor couldn't believe his eyes when he witnessed a white, furry anthropomorphic beast simply walk along through, unable to spot him. When the giant was out of site, he came out and said: "Good lord. A giant yeti. I-...I need to get out of here." then quickly proceed further ahead. Pike managed to get some distance away from the incoming snowball. But did not see the lodge ahead and smacked into a wall. The snowball crashed into him moments later. Both him and Jenny dug themselves out of the snow. "Well, how was skiing? Did you like it?" Jenny asked. "You know, amidst the screaming, panicking, and general fear of looming death, I did have a bit of fun.". "Good. See, I told you skiing would be fun.". "Yeah, it was fun...But don't ever do that again!". "Okay, okay! I'm sorry about pushing you off. I was just trying to-" Pike interrupted by suddenly saying: "Shh..." "What the-! I'm trying to apologize! Don't you-". "Shh. Do you hear that?". "Hear what?". Both of them listened closely and could hear faint rumbling in the distance. The sound of an alarm was going off, alerting everyone to come inside immediately. Jeff and the girl that was teaching him to see an avalanche approaching from down the mountain and rush inside. Everyone that was outside the lodge makes it inside, before the avalanche hit, burying the whole resort in the snow. Everyone inside was panicking, trying to find a way out, but all of the exits were sealed shut. The manager grabbed a megaphone shouted: "Everyone, calm down. May I please have your attention.". The people were starting to calm down as the manager said: "I have just got in touch with the national guard. They'll be here very shortly to dig us out of the avalanche. Just remain calm and wait for help to arrive." Pike and Jenny ran into Jeff and the girl who helped him skate. "Pike, I'm glad you and Jenny got inside in time. I thought you would have been buried in snow." Jeff said. "You kidding? Do you really think snow can hold me down?" Jenny exclaimed. "Jeff, who is that girl with you?" Pike asks. "Oh! This is um...this is...huh.". Jeff turns to the girl and asks: "You know, I never caught your name.". "It's Blake." the girl said. "Blake? Isn't that I guys name?" Pike said. Jenny punched him in the shoulder in response. "Ow!" "Dieu merci!" someone said. They saw Jewely, who was still possessing the driver's body, approach them. "You've all made it inside. Have any of you seen jeune maître Trevor anywhere?" she said. "I thought he might have been with you." Jenny said. "No, last I saw him, he was...he was walking down the mountain trail...". "...You don't think he got buried in the avalanche, did you?" Jeff said. Jewely started to have a fearful look on her face as she moaned. "I'm sure he's fine. I can call him right now." Pike said as he proceeded to take out his phone. "So who is this Trevor guy, you all are talking about?" Blake asked. "He's one of our friends. We came here in his RV." Jeff answered. In the caves, Trevor's phone rang. He frantically got it out and answered it, saying: "What is it?" in a hushed tone. "Oh thank god. You are alive." Pike said. Jewely started to feel relief, she said: "Ask where he is?". "Listen, Pike, I can't talk right now. I'm trying to navigate these ice caves under the mountain before a yeti finds me.". "A yet-...Did you just say a yeti?". "Yes. And I'm trying to hide from it. I call you when I'm out." Trevor said, then hung up. "Well? Where is he?" Jewely asked. "He's in some ice caves inside the mountain. He's okay, but you might want to hurry and find him.". Jewely exited the driver's body and headed straight through the roof. All of them looked up, with Blake having a surprise look upon her face. "So what do we do until they come dig us out." Jenny said. "I hear this resort has a pool ." Pike said. "Aw man, I didn't pack my swim trunks." Jeff said. "What was that about!?" Blake screamed, making everyone jump. Trevor was still treaching through the caverns, until he came to a light at the end of a tunnel. As soon as he emerged from the tunnel, he saw a huge opening in the caverns, with light coming out from the icy ceiling. Below, he saw large groups of igloos all along the cavern. A cornucopia of yetis of all shapes and sizes littered and walked among them. "Whoa...Not just one yeti. But an entire tribe of them. All inside the mountain. Away from any prying human eyes.". As he looked down on the little village, he noticed that among all the white, he saw a dark blue dot roaming around them, evading the yeti's gaze. "What the...what-what is...?". Trevor looked closer and saw Tracy, prowling through the village. "He's gonna get eaten alive...This is perfect. Finally, that wack job with being out of my life forever. And there won't be any repercussions because he'll die out in a way where nobody will find him ...Unless". Trevor began to imagine Tracy leaving his house saying: "I'm going to trail Trevor and his ghost out in Vermont. I'll be back in a week.". "Okay, sweetie. Have fun." his mom said, not paying any attention to her son walks out the door. On the news channel, they interview the mother, them asking: "So, when was the last time you saw young innocent Tracy." "He said he was going with his friends to Vermont. I don't know what happened to him.". Trevor was being taken out of his home and put into a police car via force as the camera zooms in on him. He says out loud: "I'm innocent, I swear. He just got eaten by a bunch of yeti's", before he was forced into the car. "Aw crap." Trevor said with regret. The boy hurried down to the village, avoid the gazes of the white-furred beasts. Tracy was sneaking behind some of the igloos, being very careful as to not catch the attention of the roaming yeti's. He was behind a big igloo, when suddenly, something grabbed his mouth and pulled him back. He looked at him and saw Trevor, who whispered: "What are you doing?". "Oh...it's you. Shove off, I don't need you around anymore. I'm found a much better prize to grab." Tracy explained. "What? One of these yeti's? You'll be eaten alive before you even get the chance to take one of them in". "Um, duh. Don't you think I understand that? That's why I'm going to play it smart, and take one of their babies.". "...You're going to take one of their babies? Why not just take a picture of them?". "Well I would, but the lens of my phone is cracked. Besides, physical evidence is a lot more convincing. Just imagine it, once I reveal to the world of the existence of the fabled yeti, I will be famous. Showered with praise and admiration for one of the greatest contributions in zoology in the world.". "You end up in a missing person case where the only piece they can find is your severed head. Come on.". Trevor said, then tried to drag Tracy away. The hunter began to resist, claiming: "No! I will not let you take me away from greatness again. "Shh! Be quiet! You're going to let the yeti's know we're here.". Before they knew it, several furry abominable snowmen surrounded them. Both of them scattered in different directions before the yeti's managed to grab them. Jewely flew down the path that Trevor took, following the footprints in the snow. Once she made it to the top, she saw the signs of the fight that had happened. She followed the signs to the crevice and said: "Oh no.". The ghost maid floated down to the bottom of the pit and looked around. Jewely trails of snow leading in the cave and said: "Dieu merci. He's still alive.". She soon heard the sound of lumbering footsteps nearby. A giant abominable snowman came out from the caverns ahead and stared Jewely down. "Greeting's monsieur. Have you seen a young boy around here preferably of yay height?" Jewely asked as she measured Trevor's height with her hand. The yeti simply roared at her, it's scream being very human-like. "Well, that seemed awfully rude of you monsieur. And might I suggest better care of your oral hygiene. Or at the very least, a breath mint." she responded. The monster tried swiping at her, but every strike simply passed through with no impact. "Monsieur flou, I'm afraid that will not work. Only those who I feel comfortable with are allowed to touch me.". Jewely simply phased through the yeti and continued down the caves. The yeti wastefully gave chase to the ghost girl. Trevor climbed up onto one of the igloos and began to jump from igloo to igloo, avoiding the furry grasps of the yeti's trying to grab him. He soon found himself atop a tall building made of ice. The boy looked down and saw his adversary enter the building and climbed down into a window below. As Pike and the others were waiting to be dug out, he approached Jeff and said: "Hey Jeff ya got time to kill for a second?" "Yeah, sure. What's up?". Pike pulled out a familiar looking book and said: "This is the diary of Jewels first master. It was hidden in the basement of the mansion, long forgotten. Something happened to Trevor that led us to this book. We think that it may have some kind of secret inside its pages.". "Well why can't you guys read it?". "We'll Trevor is too busy to take a peek at it. Jewels won't read under the guise of a promise she made. I tried reading it, but it just drones on and on. I can't stay with it for less than 10 minutes. This guy just puts every detail of his day in it. I thought that maybe you like a swing at it.". "Sure Pike. I could look at this. How did you guys find this in the first place.". "Well, it all started when Trevor developed a bad case of insomnia..." Tracy prowled through the darkened, frosty home, being very careful not to slip or make a sound. He soon found a single room with a crudely made wooden crib with a fuzzy baby inside. The hunter slowly approaches the crib and carefully began to grab the infant. But before he could grab the child, he was struck in the back of the head, causing him to pass out. When he fell to the floor, Trevor was seen behind him, holding a small block of ice in his hand. He carefully dropped the ice and grabbed Tracy's legs, dragging the hunter through the snowy floor. The scraping noise made the fuzzy baby wake up and cry. He hurried out of the house and hid behind the igloo next door for cover. Trevor looked around the corner and saw several yeti's run through, not seeing both of them. The boy looked around and did not see another way aside from where he came from. Between the two and exit were igloo's, buildings made of ice, and yeti's patrolling the village. He saw Jewely come out of the exit, being chased by one of them. She flew above them and scanned through the village in search of her master. "Jewely! But how do I get her attention?" Trevor looked around, seeing a 3 story ice house, the tallest building in the village, a block away. With Jewely distracting the majority of the yeti's, Trevor could safely cross to the home. After he walked up to the roof, Trevor immediately started to jump around and swing his arms around, shouting: "Jewely! I'm up here!" getting everybody's attention, yeti's included. They start to rush into the house both he and Tracy were on and started to climb. "Oh no. I didn't think this through, did I?". Yeti's began to pour out onto the roof and lunged at them. Jewely swooped in and managed to grab them in the nick of time. "It's nice to see that you're still alive and kicking, jeune maître Trevor." Jewely said. She heard Tracy moaning and said: "Oh, and it seems that you've brought along an extra guest.". Trevor looked down, and saw that as they ascended, The yeti's began to pile on one another to reach their prey. They were mere inches from the trio before Jewely and her passengers phased through the ice ceiling, making the ascending pile slam into the roof and fall down under it's own weight. Jewely managed to fly them all the way to the top of the mountain, where the saw the national guard getting people out of the lodge. "Is that the lodge? What happened?" he asked. "An avalanche hit. But fret not, everyone is alright. By the way, what should we do about our "extra baggage" you've seemed to stumble upon?". Trevor lifted up Tracy and threw him off the side of the mountain. "Meh, he should live through that. Come on.". Both of them head down the mountain to meet up with their friends. They met up with their friends in the parking lot, where Pike told Trevor of terrible news. "The lodge is close?" Trevor exclaimed. "Yep, the power and the equipment all got knocked out in the avalanche. They say it won't be back up for a week. As a result, they shut off any way up the mountain.". "We just got here, and I barely got to do anything. This sucks! Also, you gave Jeff Rafortion's diary? Why?". "I thought that he might have better luck with it than me. I saw him beat everyone in a game of Clue in under five minutes. If anybody can figure out the secrets of that diary, it's him.". Trevor looked at Pike to spot Jeff, who was speaking with Blake. "So, when do you guys gotta leave?" Blake asked. "I don't know. Maybe a day or two." Jeff said. "Maybe we could spend the day together, before you have to leave.". "Y-you mean like a date. I-I-I've never been on a date before. What do I do? Where do we go? How can I-". Blake grabbed Jeff's hand and dragged him away, saying: "Come on, ya dork.". And so, all of them went their separate ways for now. Blake and Jeff went to a shopping mall to try on clothes. Pike and Jenny found an arcade, where they tried a ton of games. Finally, Jewely flew Trevor to one of the mountain top, the boy grasping a snowboard in his hand. "You know what. I don't care what the lodge says. I gotta at least try snowboarding once in my life." he said, then slid down the mountain. After the day was almost over, all of them were starting to pack up for home. Jeff was outside the RV with Blake. "This has been real fun. I wish I could come see you where you live." Jeff said. "Hmm...Maybe. I got a better idea. Hold out your arm.". When Jeff did as instructed, Blake got out a pen, and pulled back his winter coat sleeve. She wrote down a number on the back of his arm and said: "Keep in touch, N'kay.", then winked as she left. Trevor peeked out of the RV and said: "Come on Jeff. The clock is ticking. Jeff ran inside with a smile on his face. With everything packed up and everyone inside. They drove off to home. Outside of a roadway dinner, Tracy was on his phone, shivering as the nightly snow fell. "Hello?...Dad?...I need you to pick me up...In Vermont... I know, listen to I- Can we not talk about this right now. It's been a really long day.".

[rantsandaves]

Owls & the Mid-West

After departing the Jersey Shore, I traveled north a bit to snag the Barnacle Goose hanging with a bunch of Canada Geese and one Cackling Goose near the Massachusetts-Connecticut border. As I drove, I stopped to admire Connecticut's amazing foliage. It was almost too fall to bear. I spent the first night in my truck in a long time and was rewarded with the familiar aches and pains that come with sleeping in the ranger bed. 

On my way west, I paid a visit to Niagara Falls because, hey why not? I just had to see what the fuss was about America's largest waterfalls. I arrived close to 5pm and it was windy and frigid. I missed the last tour on the Maid of the Mist by five whole minutes. While I was mildly disappointed, the looks on all the faces of the people coming off the last tour was enough to convince me that it was for the best. 

I followed the outline of Lake Erie and was able to meet up with my old roommate Dave. We lived together at the very first house I ever rented on my own in Arcata, California, and we oddly met up in his hometown in Erie, Pennsylvania. His folks warmly welcomed me into their home and we enjoyed a hearty exchange of bird puns. I made Dave go birding with me in the morning. The wind and chill may have been a factor, but we only saw maybe three or four individual birds at Presque Isle. Dave then made me go to Sheetz where I was able to confirm that Sheetz is indeed inferior to Wawa, and this is a statement I will not back down from (fight me.) 

From Erie I found my way to Cuyahoga Valley National Park for no other reason than that I could. There were waterfalls, it was cold, and there were juncos everywhere. I ended up getting bird number 600 unexpectedly, although looking back I probably could've expected it. I enjoyed an American Tree Sparrow for the first time in my life on my way out from viewing Brandywine Falls. The look was fleeting but definite, and I smiled as I drove on the Ohio Turnpike to find a place to rest for the evening. 

To celebrate 600 (finally!) I spent Halloween at a swanky hostel in Chicago. Conveniently, the hostel had a popular bar downstairs. I met some amazing and kind people (thank you, Sarah, John and Judy!) who let me party the night away with them, and I certainly paid for it the next morning. On my hungover walk through Montrose Point on November 1st, I saw the White-winged Dove that had wandered away from its more southerly range. Cold, tired and with my head pounding, I trudged my way to Milwaukee. 

Feeling much better on November 2nd, I read reports of a Snowy Owl hanging out by the Milwaukee Port of Lake Superior. I grabbed my scope and set it up at Cupertino Park. I almost instantly was able to find it. It was far out on the jetty but it was absolutely 100% Snowy Owl. 

I sat and watched it for awhile, admiring this creature that I previously had only ever seen in books and movies. I looked around in hopes that I could share this moment with someone--birder or non-birder-- but there was no one around except for the flitting of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the bare tree next to me. So I shared in the success with the butter-butts and took in the moment. 

 Even though it was only the very earliest days of November, the winter birds that I had yet to put on the list for the year were starting to make their way down to the southern portion of their range in the northern United States. I hopped up to Horicon National Wildlife Refuge for the second time this year to find Snow Buntings, an abundance of Rough-Legged Hawks and finally some Tundra Swans.

For at least a day, I debated going further north to Duluth where I knew I could easily find Common Redpolls and Northern Shrikes at this time in the year, but I kept checking the weather reports which called for a serious snow storm. Having never driven during snowfall, I was absolutely terrified of the thought of driving in the snow and getting stuck, but the one thing that actually got me up to Duluth was the prospect of one very special species of bird: Bohemian Waxwing. I am a huge fan of Waxwings, and the chance to see the only other species of Waxwing that occurs in North America besides the Cedar Waxwing was just too good to pass up. 

I arrived in Duluth on a Friday and checked into an Airbnb on a farm just fifteen minutes away from Downtown Duluth. The very next day my fear came true. I woke up early after a light snow (not the dangerous snow storm that was predicted) and drove to the famous Hawk Ridge. Having no clue what the hell I was doing and with a head full of niave optimism, I drove down the road, past the Hawk Watch platform about half a mile down Skyline Parkway. I had hoped to turn around right before the first bridge and drive back up the hill, but of course the newly fallen snow had other plans. I got stuck. There was no going forward or back. It began to snow. 

I allowed myself to be upset for exactly one second and got to work trying to get myself unstuck. I was not about calling a tow until I had exhausted all my options. I put on my snow gloves (lovingly given to me by Paula) and put on my game face. I took the toilet trowel and used it to scrape away the packed ice so I could roll the car back just enough to get the snow chains on. I laid on the ground and my entire outfit of jeans, a base layer, a hoodie and a puffy coat got soaked in ice water and mud. I couldn't feel my fingers as I tried to hook on the chains, but maybe it was to my advantage since later they felt as though I had bent them in ways I shouldn't have. As I worked on digging and chaining, the noise called a flock of curious Black-capped Chickadees to see what the fuss was about. I felt as though the "dee-dee-dee" calling they did was an equal mixture of cheering me on and heckling. After accidentally flinging the right chain into the woods only one time, I was finally able to work my way out of the mess I had gotten myself into.  As the chains thumped, I drove on out of there feeling the strangest mixture of embarrassed and proud. 

Over the course of four days I was able to get the bulk of my targets: Glaucous Gull, Common Redpoll, Hoary Redpoll, Northern Shrike, Northern Goshawk, and of course Bohemian Waxwing. There were also so many Crossbills and Pine Grosbeaks! I went to Two Harbors twice to try to get photos of a Hoary but on the second day I ended up getting photos of a second Snowy Owl instead.

Three mornings at Sax-Zim Bog were spent looking ever-so-hopefully for more owls: Northern Hawk-Owl and Great Gray Owl, both of which are sensitive species and deserve the utmost respect. On the first day, I saw extremely briefly what I was 95% certain was a Great Gray, but only because there should be nothing else in the area that is quite that big and quite that gray. But weird things have turned up in weird places before, so I wasn't completely happy with the sighting. 

On the third morning, at around 8am, I was almost resigned to giving up. I was driving on Highway 7 when ahead of me on the right-hand side I saw a great gray figure on the top of a conifer. Running parallel and to the right of the highway is a ditch and then railroad tracks. The highway has no real shoulder, so the only place to pull over was a little raised road crossing the ditch to get over the tracks into gated private property, which is exactly where the conifer was located. I pulled over and stopped to the left of the train tracks and in front of the figure. The figure took note. I saw the figure move to the other side of the tree. As it turned I saw it well-- great, gray, and an owl with a face that looked like it had run into a sliding glass door.  

After three days, I thought to myself that I could wait forever to get a picture of this bird if it ever comes out from behind this tree. Just as I finished the thought and pulled out my camera, I heard the horn of a choo-choo chugging my way. The train pulled up much quicker than I thought and passed right in front of me, between myself and the owl obstructing my view of the tree top. The roaring of the train caused the bird to take off, and through the breaks in the train cars I could see the owl flying away, almost in a strobe effect. After that I quickly gave up on the idea of waiting forever. 

Although I had been hopeful for an early sighting of a Northern Hawk-Owl, I felt I had given it my personal best. After spending the day in 10 degree weather at Sax-Zim, I decided it was high time to head south for the winter, the birds definitely have the right idea.