#they asked the fair folk for help and got a child... but then their child was swapped with a changeling after a few months

[innytoes]

Dark fantasy AU?

-In hindsight, as he's being chased through the forest, hunted by mythical creatures is not where Reggie thought he'd end up when his folks told him they were moving to Los Angeles. Honestly, considering how he used to roam the woods and fields near his Meemaw's farm, the fact that he'd stumbled into a fairy circle near the beach was almost insulting.

-It's not even that he manages to outrun them. It's that one night (he thinks it's night, though time moves differently here and light and dark are all tangled up and is the purple haze of the sky supposed to be dusk or dawn or just a dark stop of the forest?) he'd decided to just... give up.

He couldn't remember how long he'd been running, running from the pounding of hooves and the yapping of dogs that did not look anything like what a dog should look like. He couldn't remember a time where he wasn't hungry, or thirsty, or tired, but something inside of him just kept making him run and run and run

-But he'd had enough. So he just sat down, with his back towards the noise, and hoped they'll kill him quickly. And to comfort himself, he sang the lullaby his Meemaw used to sing when he was scared of the thunder.

-That's what saved him. One of the fae, Caleb, was so charmed by the song that instead of doing whatever it is they did with their prey, he bundled Reggie up and took him to his... castle. Dwelling. Domain.

-He was dressed in finery and made to sing as Caleb and the other fae danced and ate and did things that Reggie very much had not wanted to see, thank you very much. But eventually, they slept, and Reggie met... the other humans who were trapped here.

-Luke, a young boy who had run away from home to become a musician in 1875. He was distraught to hear Reggie tell him it was the nineties now. Even more distraught when Reggie clarified it was the 1990s.

-There was Alex, who had been cast out of his village for reasons he did not want to share, but that Reggie figured out pretty quickly when he saw the way he looked at Willie. He'd fallen asleep near a fairy circle, and the promises he'd been made had been so tempting, he'd said yes before he fully understood the deal.

-And then there was Willie. The boy who had been stolen from his parents, a changeling left in his place. Who had grown up here, a part of this world yet not really. Who did not know what the other boys meant when they talked about years, or America, or really the whole concept of 'family'.

-Luke's the one who tells them of their escape plan. Alex is worried they can't trust Reggie not to rat him out to Caleb, and Reggie is like: um excuse me I was just hunted for sport for who knows how long you think I wanna help that guy?

-But before he can Willie just tilts his head and says: his heart is pure.

-Which is very sweet but also a little creepy.

-Anyway, they do manage to escape Caleb's clutches somehow, and end up back in the human world.

-Being yeeted out of a little ring of mushrooms in the soil of a plant Ray overwatered in the big plant wall of the Molina studio was not particularly pleasant, okay. Considering a real human should not be able to fit through that. But Willie explained that as soon as a fairy portal grew, it was only a manner of time that the fairies would notice it and stake it out to see what they could lure to their realm.

-Somehow, Luke and Alex get thrown clear across the room, Luke slamming against the door, Alex dropping onto the concrete floor.

-Reggie's not sure if him crashing against a pretty wooden piano is better or worse. The sound it made was definitely worse.

-Somehow, Willie ends up sitting crosslegged on the little piano bench, and he turns and quickly crushes up the mushrooms to destroy the portal.

-Julie, of course, is screaming, Alex and Luke and Reggie are screaming. Willie is trying to explain to Julie she over-watered her fern and pouts when she runs away.

-No they're not ghosts but they are changed and they all have weird powers. Luke nearly cries with joy that he can still summon his guitar. Alex is really not okay with this whole 'walking through walls' thing. Reggie is sad he cannot summon a puppy or a pizza.

-Willie can teleport short distances and is shocked to learn humans can't just do that? You have to walk everywhere? Or ride a horse. What's a car? What's roller skates? He needs to see one of these skateboad things immediately, let's summon the human girl back to ask for one. What can they trade for a skateboard?

-They're kind of freaked out at the whole 2020 thing, but hey, Reggie's like: at least it hasn't been a hundred years like when I told Luke about the 90s.

-Queue canon but it's even worse and more chaotic.

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The Star Beast - Part Eight

Excerpts from Benjamin Cook's Star Beast Set Visit - discussing the Camden night shoots:

Is nobody here having a bad time?? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM? "I had a little lull earlier," admits David, "at 2AM when we were waiting to turn over- I definitely yawned, maybe twice - but then the blood starts pumping again." Wrap isn't till 3AM. David lives across town. Isn't he worried he'll wake up his family when he gets in? "Listen, the kids are at Davison's," he says (this is Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison, who happens to be David's father-in-law), "so I'm full of beans. Oh, and sugar. Do you want some?" He's bought a churro from a market stall that's stayed open because it's very much in shot. "You can have more than that." He breaks me off a bigger piece. "The sugar rush will do you good." He offers the director [ Rachel Talalay ] some too: "Go on, Rachel, you deserve it." "Are you doing OK?" she asks him. "Yeah! Sugar! I'll move on to the Yorkie bars next. I give not a fudge at this time in the morning." He claps his hands, dusting off the sugar from his churro. "But are you OK?" "I am at this moment," she says, waving to some fans. "Tomorrow at 4:30AM I might not be. Ask me again then." "You do get a lot of love from the fans, don't you?" says David. "In a tiny way, which is just lovely. I mean, I'm not you," she says, with a laugh. "I love hearing them scream for you. But I'm not used to any of this. And… I think it's stopped raining." "OK, here we go," says Scott. "Let's go for one. Stand by then, folks…" They go for another take. And another. When I catch up with Rachel later – much later, it’s October 2023, and she’s chatting over Zoom from her home in Vancouver – we’re five weeks away from The Star Beast airing on TV. “I didn’t know quite how well the episode was working,” she says, “till my family watched an almost-finished cut. I came downstairs, and my two girls were crying. It was like, oh, OK, this does work! And on a much, much deeper level too. To have them go, ‘We knew it would be full of joy’ – which I think it is – ‘but we didn’t expect it to be so emotional,’ that was very satisfying. It was an emotional time all round.” It was. In more ways than one. Which is something that Rachel wants to talk about – here in DWM – for the first time publicly. “I think I can now,” she says, “because I’m close to two years in remission. I will be this month. Two years in remission. And Doctor Who really helped heal me. Directing Doctor Who while I was only a couple of months post-chemo.” A deep breath. “I had lymphoma,” she explains. “I’d been in chemo for seven or eight months. I wasn’t sure if I was going to survive. Then I was offered The Star Beast. I thought, I’ve got to do this. I didn’t tell anybody I was sick. I hadn’t told anybody except very close family. And I didn’t tell anyone on Doctor Who till I was there long enough to say, ‘Look, I’m well enough, so I don’t want you worried about me.’ Because, frankly, I don’t know that they’d have wanted to hire someone who might not have made it through the shoot. I totally get that. That’s fair enough. [...] “I could not have been surrounded by a more supportive crew,” says Rachel. “The best crew in the world. When I realised, it’s all night shoots, I thought, oh god, and I’m two months post-chemo. But that crew – David especially – made those night shoots so fun. It’s weird now, because I look back at the pictures – like that lovely one of me and David you published last issue – and that was my chemo hair. I was just getting my hair back. But I got healthier and healthier, stronger and stronger, as the shoot went on. When I got back to Canada, the doctor said, ‘You’re a poster child for how well someone can do after chemo. This is what people are capable of.’ “But it’s just what you do,” she reflects, “isn’t it? – when you love Doctor Who in your heart so much. There was no better place for me than Doctor Who.”

Additional parts of this set are in the #whoBtsBeast tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

[writing-heiress]

The Carnival of Sweets

Twisted From: The Cookie Carnival

Event Cards - "Sweetness Ensemble": SSR: Trey, Vil, Freya | SR: Riddle, Deuce, Isabelle, Luxolite, Vincent | R: Epel, Ace, Kalim, Grim, Kushi

New Characters Introduction: Trinity & Tristan Clover

Summary: The Sweets Fair is back in town, but this year is different as there is a rumored special prize for this year's winner: the Sweet Queen. It's anyone's game this year around.

Tags: @adrianasunderworld @mangacupcake @liviavanrouge @fair-night-starry-tears @queen-of-twisted @boopshoops @the-trinket-witch @the-weirdos-mind @starry-night-rose @achy-boo @tragedytells-tales @yumeko2sevilla @yukii0nna @zexal-club @ice-cweam-sod4 @dulcisregnumdorm @abyssthing198

The Sweets Fair is an annual fair that takes places the first week of spring. It was made to honor the Queen of Cookies and the heartwarming story of how her lover helped her become the Queen and soon became the King as thanks.

The Sweets Fair alternates between Sage's Island and Queendom of Roses. Sage's Island because it was the homeplace of the Queen and the first ever Sweets Fair & Queendom of Roses because a Queen at the time who had a sweet tooth, had it alternate to the Queendom for better access.

The story begins with the first years walking down a hallway where they see Trey getting off the phone with his dad. Deuce asked what the call was about and his vice dorm leader answered back that it was about his family's booth for the Sweets Fair. This got most of the first years excited, but Yuu, Grim, & Jack were rather clueless on the Sweets Fair, so Trey and Deuce explained both the backstory and what goes on at the fair, including games, rides, booths, and the parade at the end.

Trey added on by talking about how the Sweets Fair is one of the most profitable events for his family's bakery and only grows more popular every year. Epel also stated that some folks back in Harveston due to their desserts and candies.

Grim, of course, is more excited over the parade and (hopefully) free sweets. Ace said that to be part of the parade, you would have to be wearing something sweets-themed. Which is a problem for Yuu and Grim, who have zero clothes outside of their uniform and gifted clothes from Crewel. Grim lamented for the rest of the day, especially during Alchemy where he casually wishes for Crewel to help with their clothes. Crewel, hearing this, got an idea. He asked the Ramshackle duo to stay behind after class.

Their homeroom professor asked if they truly wanted to be part of the Sweets Fair Parade to which he smiled and said that he'll help them with their outfit. Not only that, but Vil happened to be passing by when he heard Crewel and decided to help him out with Yuu and Grim. Enter Twistune Here.

The first day of the Sweets Fair, the Ramshackle duo head down to the island town alongside Ace and Deuce. They quickly began to explore the fairgrounds. Soon enough, they ran into Trey's family bakery booth where they got to meet Trey's parents and Riddle, who was there to mainly apologize for what his mother did all those years ago. Not only did the Clovers accept his apology, but also assured him that he was not at fault for what happened for wanting to be a child.

Grim ruins the moment by stuffing a bunch of Clover free samples into his mouth. Trey, of course, shooed him away while his siblings began to gush how cute Grim was, ensuing quite the chase. Enter Twistune Here.

At the end of the day, the people running the fair said that they will announce this year's Sweets Fair's Queen the next day. The next day, the announcers proclaimed that the Sweet Fair's Queen for that year is none other than Yuu! With that announcement, Yuu and Grim were escorted to a pastel sweet carriage where they could wave at everyone.

They finally reached their destination: where all the parade floats are being made. As the Queen, their float is already made and ready to go, but they can still interact with the other float builders, like Riddle and Epel, the latter using this to give away his family's apples as a promotion. They asked if Yuu wanted to help, to which they and Grim agreed to help (Grim only wanted some Felmier apples in exchange). Enter Twistune Here. At first unaware that many were taking pictures of Yuu helping out. This went on up until the magazine people asked for a photoshoot with Yuu and Grim. Enter Twistune Here.

Before the day ended, they told Yuu that the next few days will be spent them picking their King while still having fun around the fair. The King can be any of the others who are already dressed or a special guest that they had planned. Enter Multiple Twistunes Here.

By the third day of choosing (or fifth day of the fair), Yuu simply couldn't chose a King for themselves, thus leaving only the special guest to be their King. And who is the special guest? Vil fucking Schoenheit dressed up in a sweets-themed royalty-like outfit. After a few photoshoots with their new King, the day ended with the promise of various photo ops and photoshoots with the Sweet Queen and King the next day.

Next day, Vil actually waits at the entrance in order to escort Yuu into the fair together. Together they had several photos with just themselves or people attending the fair. Enter Twistune Here. Vil and Yuu did have a mini dance lesson as they would have to dance a bit while on their float.

The day come for the parade to take place. All the floats have a final check up before they come out. Because they were the King and Queen, Vil & Yuu's float is the last one, thus ending then parade and the fair in go. Enter Final Twistune Here.

[osakanone]

On mental health, and lost childhoods:

Things I wish I knew in my teens, my 20's or even my early 30's

I got carried away with a comment-reply in response to this video which I found pretty dire, so I'm including it here. I hope some of you find it useful.

What you're experiencing is a kind of dysthymia and its very common for people to experience in their 20's and 30's (the hardest years of their life) where they unlearn all the over-compensation that being a teenager surrounded by other emotionally clumsy teenagers brought you. What you have to do is become less guarded and embrace new experiences.

You're looking to objects to get the feeling, when you should be looking to feelings to get the feelings. Part of growing up is thinking you an run away from bad feelings and not accidently amputate the good feelings too and then wondering why you don't feel anything -- or even as much.

You have to accept that if you want the highs, you must have the lows. You must feel vulnerable to also feel euphoria because vulnerability is where acceptance is born and kinship and bonds are made. It begins by figuring out when the magic stopped, and going back to that place mentally and figuring out why it stopped. Trauma is a thing everybody experiences -- usually when we're let down by someone important, or someone we trusted and we don't fully heal properly.

Like physical trauma, the obstruction must be removed so the body can heal itself, and so too is the case with the mind. Sometimes that means doing childish things to get into that mental space so you can have those really big really emotionally draining thoughts.

When folks say "love yourself before others will love you", what it really means is you have to value yourself enough to know if the way others treat you is fair or not, to not let people be unfair to you.

This doesn't mean reacting with violence or anger, or shutting people out or using your power it means telling them that you're not okay and diplomatically dismantling what they do to you -- and then when all peaceful means of diplomacy end, you move to unpeaceful means to protect yourself.

Likewise, it also means not just assuming that you like yourself, and not just assuming that you're a good person so you ask if you are actually in the wrong so you weigh things up fairly. If you feel guilt, or you feel like a bad person, process that, figure out why that is.

If you have some gap of "But I know I'm X" but "I feel Y" which contradict, you have knowledge, and understanding in conflict. You only turn knowledge into understanding with repeated practice, so it becomes engrained as part of you -- and likewise, this is how you also unlearn bad habits, with the help of those around you -- which begins by helping those around you. When you start feeling, people will want you around, and you'll stop being lonely, because everybody just wants to feel witnessed, and acknowledged and to do that, you have to be a feeling human being who doesn't cast judgement to placate some ego.

These difficult emotions will absoloutely make you cry and they will make you angry, but you must feel those emotions to break the blockages so you can flow properly as a human being, and so your emotions can come freely and so the world can be enjoyed sincerely again without hedging expectations to protect yourself that risk robbing you of your future joy. The real lesson of finally growing up is that like Peter Weller says, you need to be strong enough to be gentle.

Being hurt takes strength. Folks who hide and run away from their emotions are weak, or are in situations where it makes them vulnerable and others will capitalize on it to hurt them. Those are situations you must leave if you ever want to be happy.

Being a child isn't being naieve, its being open to oppertunities and being willing to experience some really low lows to find those highs because you didn't "settle" for a life on some "Once in a Lifetime" Talking Heads life-plan track that everybody has laid out for you through implicit non-explicit social signalling shit like 2.4 kids, a wife, a car, etc etc. The sooner you get that and you figure that shit out, the sooner you'll sort your shit out. The kid was not eager to grow up to be who you became.

That doesn't make them naieve, it means you failed them, and you're putting the blame on them. You can't do that. It will poison and kill you by making ANY emotion you associate with the kid (even good ones) be seen as threatening to your concept of self now so you cannot have those emotions in the present. Its a contradiction. You cannot have it both ways. Like Carl Rogers said: When you accept yourself just as you are, only then can you change. You must know your current location to figure out which direction will take you to a destination.

That means accepting the parts of yourself you have trouble with: If you don't, you'll never work on them, and you don't improve. Every carpenter accepts the facts of their material. Every artist, every sculptor their canvas or their clay. Every engineer, the limits of their scope. You must be this way to live skillfully. It sucks. It hurts. It means yeah you probably get dealt a bad hand, but you're not quite down and you're absoloutely not out. Pick yourself up and try again. You are worth it, even if every cell in your body tells you that you're not because its easier for it to be some bullshit foregone conclusion to forclose your entire life to "I guess this is it then". The moment you do that, you're already dead.

Everything you've been trained to do to protect yourself is there to turn you into a worker who doesn't complain, who can't network with others, who is isolated so your employer can take advantage of you -- where you just shrug and say "it is what it is". As absurd as it sounds, It doesn't have to be that way. Welcome to emotional availability, and welcome to the rest of your life.

Source: Just turned 38, and this is the best lesson I have ever learned in my entire life. I strongly advise you follow it. I went from obsessing over the old Armored Core games trying to recapture nostalgia to finding personal projects that let me find new joy that isn't locked in the past. Just as there is nostalgia, there is also a kind of neo-stalgia, a longing for the future. Try to find futures you care about.

Y'all take care. You're in my thoughts, and you deserve the world even if you've gaslit yourselves into thinking you don't.

That you are still here when so many others aren't is worth celebrating.

You don't know me, and I don't know you but you beat the statistics, and I'm proud of you.

Godspeed, Spartans. To the moon and back. o7

[skzhocomments]

The Rising Empress (Bang Chan) - Chapter 16 - Slowly Building Trust

General Masterlist

Story masterlist - please consult it for the summary of the story, trigger warnings etc.

Wattpad | AO3

Chapter 15 | Chapter 17 (Final Chapter)

Taglist: @vxllxnsworld

---

Chapter 16 - Slowly Building Trust

Chapter word count: 3.1k words

“Empress.” The advisor bows, trying hard to conceal a smile and failing tremendously.

“Seungmin.” She smiles back. “By your expression, I would dare say you missed me!”

“My study was indeed quite empty without you, Your Highness.” He chuckles lightly, standing up and pulling a chair, helping her sit down.

“How so, was there no one else to disrupt your peace?” Aristia chuckles.

“Exactly that. Jisung sometimes plays the part, but I find your presence a tad more enjoyable than his.”

“Oh, my, how flattering.” She laughs softly, Seungmin joining her.

“By the way, Your Highness, congratulations on your pregnancy. I bet you are elated.”

“Thank you, Seungmin.” She replies, her hand pressing gently against her stomach, but truth is, she is more anxious than excited. “Since the Empire is a monarchy, this would mean that… unless my child would be born male, it wouldn’t be able to rule, is that correct?”

“Indeed, Your Highness.” Seungmin nods.

“That’s not completely fair, is it?” She chuckles slightly dejected. The last thing she wants is for the baby in her womb to share her fate, to become a disappointment to her father and to the people of the Empire only because of its gender.

“No, it’s not. However, with the way things are as of now, it’s unlikely for that to change.” He picks up a book and opens it, beginning to read. “Today’s subject will be on bookkeeping and the budget allocated to the Palace.”

Aristia nods, however, all throughout the lesson, she can’t stop thinking of the gender roles in the Empire. She’s been reflecting for a while about how unjust it is that women’s only role is to get married and produce children for their husbands, and she remembers Amelia’s issue from before she gave her the emerald mine.

Amelia is a smart woman; however, her family didn’t even consider her as an integral part of their estate; they wanted to marry her off because that’s the only thing she could bring to the table. And compared to most women in the country, Amelia is a knowledgeable woman because she is part of the nobility and has access to education, which is unfortunately not the case for the common folk.

“Seungmin, what if we were to use the profits generated by the emerald mine to open up an academy for girls?” Aristia suggests after a little while of consulting the budget.

“Are you even paying attention to this lesson?” He shakes his head in disapproval.

“It’s still about the budgeting, isn’t it? Or rather – how to allocate those extra funds we got thanks to me.” She retorts.

“Why not use it for something, I don’t know, better, maybe?” He asks, and the tone he uses rubs Aristia the wrong way.

“What, do you think women can’t be clever? Don’t you think I’m smart?” She asks plainly.

“It’s not that, I think you’re brilliant, but-”

“HA!” She exclaims in triumph, cutting Seungmin off and making him jolt. “You admitted it to my face!”

He clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes, clearly a bit annoyed by Aristia’s interruption.

“As I was saying, I’m certain women can be clever, however, by the way things are in the Empire, who’s even going to attend this academy, Your Highness?”

“Well, I guess we simply have to change the whole system, then.” She shrugs, then resumes reading and working on the documents Seungmin provided, ignoring his questioning gaze.

~

“A girls-only academy?” Chris asks, as if taken aback by the idea.

It’s way too late in the night for this discussion, but ever since Aristia got the idea stuck in her head, she couldn’t think of anything else. Not even now, while lying in bed next to her husband.

She’s been thinking about it for a few weeks now, numerous details on how to make it a reality, and she has as an additional plan she still hasn’t mentioned to Chris yet, but all things must unfold at their own pace.

“Yes. What do you think?” She pecks his neck softly, her hand travelling on his naked torso.

“Love, are you trying to sweet talk me into it?” He chuckles slightly, turning around and getting on top of her, kissing her neck back and grazing her skin with his teeth.

“Mhm, and what if I am?” She grins, but as he moves lower, giving her chest open mouth kisses, she grabs his face and pulls him back up.

“Oh, so you’re quite serious about this.” He chuckles again, noticing her determined gaze and the burning in his eyes.

Once more, his heart starts beating faster, and he feels like falling in love with her all over again.

“I wouldn’t have brought it up to you if I wasn’t serious.” Her mouth turns into a fake pout. “Seungmin says it’s stupid, though.”

“Why?” He plops down next to her, supporting his head with his left hand.

“He says no one would attend it.” She lets out a long sigh. “I simply think it’s unfair that women are seen as less-than. Have you ever spoken to a man? God, that’s boring and dense.”

Chris starts chuckling at her antics.

“Yeah, unfortunately, I have to talk to all sorts of men on a daily basis. Some of them are indeed simple-minded.”

“They’re so easily fooled, too.” She shrugs again.

“Is this how you fooled me, then?” Chris laughs. “Was I that obtuse to you?”

“Oh, please!” She playfully slaps his chest.

“I’m serious, though! Do you know what I.N. said? He told me I’ve always been bad at chess because I keep trying to defend you, instead of realising you’re the one holding the most power on the board.” Chris chuckles again, shaking his head.

“Wait, is I.N. that guy who found me and Alice?”

“Yes. That rascal.”

“Pfft.” Aristia lets out a chuckle. “Who is he, exactly? I saw that he also has a spot at your table.”

“Jeongin is… it’s complicated, really. He was born and raised by a family of spies in the Kingdom of the North, and that kid hasn’t known anything resembling love, so he’s grown up to be quite… sceptic and defiant.”

“Sounds like a rough childhood.” Aristia sympathises. She’s also barely known any love, and understands how hard it is to trust others because of it. Even now, lying next to Chris who’s confessed his love multiple times, who’s even forgiven one of the gravest sins someone could commit against him, she still finds it hard to put all her trust in him.

However, she’s learning to trust him, and she’s even found herself trusting a handful of people around her – like Seungmin, Changbin, her maids, and even Amelia and Victoria.

“Mhm. We found him when he was 10. He was sent on a mission here in the Empire, to assassinate a duke who’s committed various crimes against his Kingdom. Lucky for him, we were also investigating that duke, since we found some proof of embezzlement. He was running an underground operation trading slaves, which, as you know, is illegal in the Empire.”

“Sending a 10 year old to assassinate a duke? That’s… messed up.” Aristia shudders.

“I thought so, too. When he came here, though, I was roughly older than him. My father was alive back then, and he initially planned to execute him for trespassing in the Empire, and for complotting against a duke. His assassination attempt was unsuccessful, though.” Chris continues explaining.

“So… how did he end up working for you, then?”

“I visited him in the dungeon and surprisingly, he actually opened up and told me it’s heartbreaking to see that life in the Empire is so much better compared to his Kingdom. He saw happy people and something broke in him, I think.” Chris smiles sadly. “Eventually, I convinced my father to give him a chance to stay here.”

“That’s… very sweet of you, Chris. Your heart is made of gold.” Aristia moves, putting her head on his shoulder and breathing in his scent.

“Now, now. Stop the flattery.” He laughs. “Tell me more about your idea with the academy.”

“Really?” Her eyes light up. “Alright. Uhm, I was thinking of using the profits from the emerald mine, and maybe even offering each family a small allowance to convince them to send their daughters to school. If they don’t want to do it for their girls’ education, they’ll surely do it for money.”

“You really thought it through.” Chris chuckles. “Alright, and who will manage this academy?”

“I was thinking of putting Amelia in charge, and Victoria could help oversee the administrative work. Her family owns a lot of buildings throughout the Capital.”

“That’s definitely a start. However, you are aware that your standing in front of the court officials is not great right now...” Chris contemplates.

“That’s why I was thinking of starting somewhere else first. I’ve been noticing a discrepancy in the way the budget has been handled throughout the Capital, and as you know, there is currently an issue within the districts in the outskirts. They barely receive any money, there’s a lot of homeless people living in the streets, and also, a lot of orphaned children with nowhere to go. With how prosperous our economy’s been in the past decades, it makes no sense for that to be.” Aristia continues.

“Mhm. Lots of families have lost their bread winners because of the war, and I’m afraid they haven’t been properly compensated.” Chris lets out a long sigh. “Jisung’s brought it to my attention a while ago, however, with the impending war, we sort of neglected this issue.”

“Well, I think it’s time we stop neglecting the common folk. They need help. We could open some shelters and orphanages in the slums using some of the extra funds from our palace, and the Silverstones would definitely assist us with this. I could go oversee the districts with Victoria, and-”

“Absolutely not. You are not going there again. You do remember what happened last time you ended up there.” Chris immediately counters, to which Aristia lets out a scoff.

“Chris, I am serious about this. I will take guards with me this time. Why not Jeongin? Maybe he’d stop being so wary of me if I were to show him that I am willing to help children who’d otherwise grow up without knowing any sort of love or safety.” She retorts.

“I don’t know, Aristia. Sure, your plan is great, but it’s too dangerous.” He shakes his head. “Let someone else go.”

“No. I want to go and see for myself.” She furrows her brows. “I need to do this myself, Chris. It’s my project. Please understand.”

“God, you are so determined and convincing!” Chris laughs off. “Fine, go to the slums, but you have to take Changbin and Victor too.”

“And Jeongin.”

“He won’t want to go accompany you, love.”

“He has no choice, as long as you command him to come with me.” She counters.

“You are literally impossible.” He chuckles. “Alright, I will make sure Jeongin is available.”

“Great! I’ll send letters to Victoria and Amelia, then!” She smiles gleefully, her tone brimming with a sense of triumph.

~

“Your Highness, I apologise, however, there is no way I would ever accompany her.” Jeongin immediately puffs.

“I.N, this is a command.” Chris says calmly. “The Empress herself has requested this.”

“What am I, a dog?” He scoffs, looking at Aristia in disdain.

“No, you are one of the Empire’s subjects, and your Empress needs you.”

“She is not my Empress.” He squints his eyes, challenging Chris further, moment when Aristia begins to speak.

“Ouch.” She places her hand against her chest, mimicking heartache. “Such harsh words coming from someone so young”

“You’re one to speak…” He continues disagreeing.

“Anyway,” Aristia ignores him completely, “we need to make haste. Victoria’s waiting in the Capital. Let’s go.”

Reluctantly, Jeongin bows at the Emperor and follows closely behind Aristia.

“What’s with your clothes?” He asks, looking at her modest dress and cape.

“I don’t want us to draw much attention today. This outing is a secret.”

“Yet you’re bringing so many guards with you.”

“Chris insisted on having Changbin and Victor join us, but they will follow us from behind, so don’t worry. It’s just you and me.” She winks, as they make their way outside of the castle and get into a carriage.

Their first stop is in the centre of the capital, where Victoria is waiting for them in front of a large building.

“So, what do you think, Ari?” She smiles proudly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Isn’t this beautiful?”

“Ari…” Jeongin murmurs with a shake of his head.

“Yes, this is perfect!” Aristia exclaims. “How did your family react when you requested we use this building?”

As they walk through the hallways, Aristia opens each and every door to check how the rooms could be transformed to accommodate the future students and teachers, as well as which ones could be turned into classrooms.

“Well, my father was not that happy at first, but after telling him of your plan, he was quite impressed. He’s always believed in education.” She explains.

“I’m glad. Having Mr. Silverstone’s support is extremely important. Now, what about the other business I asked you to take care of?”

“Well, since we don’t have any buildings in those areas, this means an investment… However, I overviewed our family budget and we could easily afford to purchase 3 buildings. My father also agreed with us getting involved in this project.”

“Good job, Victoria. You did well.” Aristia praises her friend. “Well, then, we have to go check out the other area. Have you prepared what I asked you to?”

“Yes. My guards should’ve already loaded everything into the carriage.”

“Good. I will see you in a few days, then, and Amelia should get here shortly to see the building as well.”

Victoria bows slightly, then sees Aristia and Jeongin out, who hop back in the carriage.

“Why did she address you so casually?” He asks curiously.

“I told you, the fact that we’re here is a secret. I am simply visiting as Victoria’s friend today.”

“What’s in that large sack?” He inquires further, scrunching his nose. “Bread? Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

~

About an hour later, their carriage stops in the middle of the road, and as they get out, Jeongin is shocked to find himself in the slums, somewhere in District 9.

“Your Highness-” he whispers, but she cuts him off.

“I told you, haven’t I? Address me as Ari while we’re here.”

“Anyway, what are we doing here? It’s dangerous for you to be here…” He shakes his head.

“I won’t cause you any trouble, Jeongin, so don’t worry.” She laughs his comment off.

“I’m just saying, this place is-” As he starts speaking, a child bumping into Aristia interrupts him.

“Miss, can you please give me some food?” He pleads, his hands clutching her skirt.

His eyes are large and round, and he is dirty all over. He is barefoot and has numerous scratches on him, which sends a pang of hurt through Aristia’s heart.

“Take your hands off her!” Jeongin immediately snatches the child’s hands away, who stumbles and falls right on his bum and begins tearing up.

“Now, now, let’s not be so rash. Would you like some bread?”

Aristia immediately kneels down in front of the child and caresses his head, as he begins nodding rapidly.

“I thought so.” She chuckles. “Jeongin, please take out the bread sack from the carriage and give this child a loaf.”

He furrows his brows but listens to her command anyway, pulling out the large sack from the carriage and handing the kid some bread.

As if they’ve been summoned, a bunch of other children appear from nowhere, surrounding them and asking for food, which Jeongin is happy to provide.

Aristia watches with a smile how he talks to the children, and when each of them has received their portion, they go back to the carriage.

“Was this the purpose of your visit?” He asks Aristia, who’s resting her back against the headboard inside the carriage.

“Partially.” She replies, placing her hands in her lap under her ever-growing belly. “I am thinking of opening some shelters for the children here.”

“Really?” He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Why?”

“Why are you so shocked?” She laughs. “They are children of the Empire. Don’t you think they deserve to have a comfortable place to sleep, and warm meals every day?”

“I just didn’t think you’d do something like that, I guess.” He shrugs.

“Well, I’m full of surprises.” She chuckles, just when a wave of nausea hits her, and she immediately furrows her brows in discomfort.

“Is something wrong?” He asks, and despite his previous behaviour, he stands up in the carriage and kneels down in front of her.

“Mhm. I’m just feeling sick all of a sudden. It’ll pass.”

As she says this, she immediately feels the need to throw up, so she puts one of her against her mouth, closing her eyes tightly.

“You look very pale, Your Highness.” Jeongin says, seemingly calm, but truth is, he’s getting concerned about her well-being.

He shouts at the driver to stop the carriage, then helps Aristia out, who immediately empties her bowels right there on the street.

She curses in her head, because she knows this will piss Jeongin off; he didn’t even want to accompany her, and there she is – being an inconvenience.

Riding in a carriage has always made her sick, but now, with the child in her stomach that’s been giving her morning sickness for the past three months, it’s even worse.

“I’m sorry, I-” She starts, but he cuts her off and places his hand on her lower back.

“Are you feeling sick because of the baby?”

She looks up at him and is surprised to see his usually cold gaze turned slightly soft, his brows furrowed in concern.

She simply nods, and he mutters a quick “Wait here,” then runs off somewhere and returns moments later with a glass of water and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

He instructs her to drink, and she happily obliges, most of her nausea almost instantly melting away.

“Thank you, Jeongin.” Aristia smiles softly.

“Don’t mention it.” He crosses his arms in front of his chest and looks away, a hint of colour rising to his cheeks.

As she watches this sight, she realises she might’ve won just a bit of Jeongin’s favour.

They step back in the carriage, but this time, instead of him sitting opposite from her, he plops down right next to her.

“May I hold your hand for a moment?” He asks, which takes her completely by surprise.

“Uhm… sure?” She tilts her head to the right, not understanding his sudden request, however, she obliges and gives him her right hand.

He grabs her by the wrist gently and places three of his fingers on her wrist, and then, with his other hand, he presses his thumb right in the middle of her wrist, under his fingers.

He begins applying pressure to that point firmly, and after about 80 seconds – as Aristia’s been holding her breath and counting in her head the entire time – he grabs her other arm and does the same.

“This is a pressure point that should help with your nausea… are you feeling any better?” He asks.

“Oh, wow!” She exclaims, genuinely surprised. “Yes, I don’t feel that nauseous anymore. Thank you, Jeongin.”

“Alright.” He stands up and goes to sit opposite her, and although they don’t speak any more on the way home, she feels they’d made a lot of progress today.

~

Chapter 15 | Chapter 17 (Final Chapter)

[snowblossomreads]

Day 4 - Darkest Night

Pairings: David Friedman x His Loathing For Humanity

Summary: In where David unknowingly sets in motion something that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Tag(s)/Warning(s): Heavily implied child abuse (of all kinds), domestic violence aftermath, non-graphic murder scene, physical scars, implied self-harm, angst, nothing happy bout this one folks.

A/N: You want dark well here is dark : ). This one is heavy folks so mind the tags! Also it's Daddy Dave day 😏😏 unfortunately I've only given him despair, but dont worry, he'll get a happy ending in future fics (if you know what i mean 🤭🤭🤭)

David had seen his fair share of fucked up shit in his almost 10 years of service with the NOPD. Gang murders, sexual assaults, domestic violence that ended up in murder suicides, the list went on and on. And as it went on and on, his trust, and confidence in the human race plummeted as well.

He didn't understand how people could do such horrible shit to each other. To flesh and bone like themselves, and it was something he couldn't help ponder each night, when he had to nurse a glass of something strong to try and forget.

Humans were a fucked up bunch.

He came to that conclusion early on, but tonight, was probably one of the darkest nights of his career, and he knew it would stick with him for the rest of his life.

"Whaddya got?" David asked, as he approached a younger officer who turned to look at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"You're not supposed to be here are you Friedman? I thought you got promoted? What you doing out here with us rookies?"

"Yeah, yeah. Well, was already in the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights," he answered sarcastically. "So thought I come by. Now whaddya got?"

The young man hesitated for a moment, before figuring there was no harm in telling him what was going on.

"Neighbors heard some yelling from the house right there," he started, pointing at a family house that definitely belonged to someone that had a bit of money.

It wasn't some mansion you'd see in the Garden District, but it wasn't a house you'd find in the Ninth Ward either.

"Any idea who the folks are?" David asked.

"Not anything concrete. From what I heard, some congressman or something? Not real sure though," the man continued, as he flipped through a few pages in his notepad. "Apparently, it's a normal thing for them, but sounds like the neighbor heard some gunshots and got real concerned. I think there's supposed to be a kid living there too."

"Christ," David grimaced clicking his tongue at the additional information.

Out of all the cases he had to work, those with kids involved were the worst types. Those were the ones that stuck with you the most, because you had some young kid with a full life ahead of them, either ending up dead, or with the kid probably traumatized for a very long time. Thankfully, he hadn't often been on scenes were that was the case, but it seemed like it was just his luck that he stumbled upon one tonight.

"You alright Friedman?"

"Yeah yeah, is that all we know?"

"Yep. So you coming in or…?"

"Don't got a choice now that I'm here do I Benoit?"

The younger man shrugged.

"Up to you."

The hell it was.

When they made it up the porch steps and to the door, they knocked a few times. Announcing that it was the police, and they were here for a welfare check, along with coming because of repeated noise complaints.

After knocking three more times and not hearing a response, David tried the doorknob, checking to see if it was unlocked by chance. And lo and behold, when he twisted it, it gave, and he pushed the door open to the sight of a dark hallway that looked down all the way to what seemed to be the living room, which seemed to be illuminated.

"Hello anyone home?"

There was no response to the call, and both men looked at each other as they passed a silent message to one another.

David entered the house first, followed by Benoit, both of them with their guns drawn, ready in case something popped out on them as they made their way down the hallway.

"Hello? NOPD. If someone's in here let us know!" Benoit called out, giving anyone in the seemingly empty house another warning, yet the response he received was silence.

Closing in on the living room, they both began to notice what appeared to be evidence of an altercation. A broken vase, a chair flipped over, household items strewn around leading past the archway of the living room.

It was literally a trail leading them into the room, and they followed, apprehensive about what they were going to find and in what condition.

Glass crunched under their shoes as they stepped on shattered pieces of porcelain from the vase, and glass from a broken picture frame. Crossing the threshold into the room, there was an even bigger mess that greeted their sights. From a TV on the ground, a coffee table turned over, and some bookshelves laying on the floor. David could only imagine what he was about to see as they walked into the room, unfortunately finding what they didn't want to find.

"Ah fuck," David sighed, his shoulders sagging as he shook his head at the messy scene. Pulling the walkie talkie that was clipped on the side of hip, he extended the antenna, and tuned in to the right channel before speaking. "Unit 340 here, we're gonna need medical and CSI at over at 6403 Colbert in Lakeview. We got one deceased, female approximately 30s in a possible homicide. Also, a potentially missing child."

"10-4, will send someone, over." The dispatch responded before static took over the transmission and he turned it off.

"Benoit, I'mma look around some more to see if the kid's still here," David informed his temporary partner who nodded. "See if you can find anything else. Weapon or something."

"You got it Dave, give me holler if you need me."

Giving him a curt nod in response, David left the room, venturing further into the house to find any sign of life that might be left. Going further down the hall that was on the right side of the living room, he climbed up the stairs that led him to a row of three rooms side by side. He stopped at the first room that had its door cracked open enough that he could see that it was a bedroom.

Carefully, he pushed the door open even more, and it was evident that it was the room of someone older. Probably the parents.

"Anybody in there?"

There was silence as he walked in to observe the room. Unlike the hallway and the living room, everything was put together. Nothing was out of place, except the comforter from the unmade bed, but that wasn't really of any interest at the moment. He continued to pace around the room, even opening the closets to see if there was anyone hiding.

Nope. Empty. Just like the en suite bathroom, and just like under the bed.

Getting up from the ground, he let out a soft grunt, brushing himself off before he exited the master bedroom and moved on to the next room. Once more he called out again.

"NOPD, if someone's in there let me know."

He waited for a few moments for someone to answer, before he pushed the door open with the tip of his shoe.

This room clearly belonged to the kid, seeing as there were stuffed animals on the bed, and a few on the floor. Near the window was a small desk, that from the moonlight coming in the room, illuminating the area, he could see coloring pencils and markers strewn all over it.

The walls were also plastered with childlike scribbles that he didn't examine too closely, and posters from Saturday morning cartoons it seemed.

Just a normal kid's room.

"Hello? Anyone there?" David asked again. "I'm here to help, if you're in here." Not expecting an answer or to find anyone.

Yet again he was met with silence, and it made his heart drop a little at the lack of response. He was so hoping the kid was alright. Letting out a small noise of disappointment, he started to make his way out of the room, resigned to the fact the kid was probably taken by their father, or worse. He could hope they were with a friend or something on a playdate, and they weren't here when it happened, but that was rarely the case.

Though, the pessimistic thought that crossed his mind, immediately turned less so, when he heard a little voice behind him that had him whipping back around to look in the room.

"H-hello?" It was so timid, yet he could hear how the voice wavered with uncertainty as they spoke.

"H-Hey I hear you kid," David responded, stepping back in the room and frantically searching to find the source of the voice. "You're safe, you can come out."

He was met with silence once again, as he began to approach the closet where he thought the voice to be coming from.

Just as he reached it, the kid spoke again, this time the voice much clearer, and much closer.

"Is he gone?"

They were definitely hiding in the closet.

"Are you talking about your dad?" David answered, trying his best to keep his voice even, and paying attention to what he said so as not to alert them that something was wrong. "Yeah he's gone, everything's alright now. Y'alls neighbor just wanted to check in on y'all."

There was no response.

"I'm bout to open the door alright? I'm not gonna do nothin' to hurt you okay ?" David explained calmly as he placed one hand on the door knob to the closet, and the other stayed on his gun in case the man was holding his own child hostage.

He blanched at that hoping to god that wasn't the case.

Taking a deep breathe, he turned the knob, cracking the door open just a bit before opening it completely into a dark space.

It was extremely dim, and he had to squint, before he saw the shape of a small human sitting in the corner of the closet hidden behind some clothes. Allowing himself a sigh of relief, David let go of his gun and instead grabbed his flash light, turning it on and pointing it at the little figure in the back.

The little girl, who he could see clearly now squinted at him before covering her face to try and block out the light. It was then, he noticed that the back of her hands were littered with circular scars that were discolored. Some newer than others, and he could only frown as he pointed the light away from her so he wasn't blinding her with it.

That seemed to work, as she put her hands down yet she continued to stare at him with such intensity that it made him uncomfortable for some reason.

"Hey there sweetheart come here. It's okay I'm not gonna hurt you," he explained as calmly as possible, even going as far as to put on a wry smile for the girl so that maybe she trusted him more. "Come on, I'm here to help, you're safe everything's alright."

Still, she stared at him silently with those piercing eyes. Eyes that looked into him even though when he looked at hers they seemed absolutely empty. She couldn't have been more than eight years old, yet her eyes were completely devoid of life even if she was physically alive.

Those eyes, they were going to haunt David.

He continued to try and coax her out some more. And during that he learned her name was [Y/n].

"That's a pretty name [Y/n]. Your parents did a good job at naming you," he praised. That was the only time she smiled at him for the rest of the evening.

It took him a few more minutes of coaxing her before she was receptive to him. And a little longer of him just chatting with her, before she seemingly finally trusted him enough to crawl out from her hiding space in the closet. The first thing he noticed when she came closer was a fading bruise around her neck.

And he knew already what this was going to be about. Or so he thought.

Fury burned bright and hot in David's chest at the sight, and he wanted to find the fucker who would do this to his own child. How could anyone hurt a child like this? Not only that, he had left her parentless. For what? He was so angry, yet he couldn't let the girl see that.

'Be calm Friedman she's your first priority make sure she's alright first.'

Right, he had a job to do.

"That's it I got you baby girl," he cooed gently, shaking off the rage that grew in his heart as she finally emerged from the closet. Wrapping her in his arms and picking her up from the floor, he brought her close to him as her tiny arms reached to wrap around the back of his neck. "Come on, let's get you outside alright?"

He'd barely finished his sentence before the girl looked up at him, her facial expression devoid of any emotion and it sent a shiver down his spine.

"Where's my mom?"

He couldn't just tell her that her mom was lying in a pool of her own blood in the front room, so instead, he tried to make it seem like her mom was busy talking to the other officers. Which in a way wasn't a lie.

Bodies did talk. Dead or alive.

"She's downstairs with some of my partners right now; trying to see where your dad done gone to."

"Is she dead?"

David faltered, freezing in mid stride, and he was glad he wasn't at the staircase, because he would have fallen straight down with her in his arms.

"Daddy said he'd kill her if she tried to take me from him."

[Y/n] stared at him, eyes unblinking, waiting for him to answer her, and he was completely speechless. So caught off guard by her straightforwardness, and by the emptiness that still lingered in her eyes. And her voice, it was so even, almost monotone if it wasn't obscure by the natural cadence of childhood.

"I don't know yet doll," David lied, though he had a feeling she saw through it with ease. "I'll ask my partner, but first let's get you downstairs and checked up on alright?" He asked gently.

She was quiet for a moment, before nodding her assent, and then laying her head on his shoulders, allowing him to bring her downstairs. Once he reached the bottom floor, he walked straight past the front room, shifting her in his arms to avoid letting her see what was going on, as the investigators and medical team seemed to have arrived moments before he came downstairs.

Walking straight out of the house and into the cool December air, he spotted an EMT standing at the ambulance, taking some notes before she looked up at him and noticed the child in his arms.

Immediately her demeanor changed, as she put the clipboard down, walking to them and meeting him halfway.

"Oh, hey there," the young lady spoke as they approached, her demeanor soft and caring as David reached her. "Who'd we got here huh?"

"Names [Y/n]," David answered, as the girl looked at him at the sound of her name and then at the woman who gave her a smile, which she didn't reciprocate.

Still, the lady smiled at her and introduced herself, "well my name is Monica honey and if I can, I like to make sure you're not hurt anywhere. Is that okay?" She asked, patiently waiting for an answer from the little girl.

Looking back at the woman, and then back at David, [Y/n] stayed silent. At first, they thought she was thinking about what she wanted to do, until she looked back at the EMT once more and back at him again.

It then dawned on him what she was doing, and he nodded at her, a soft smile on his lips as he reassured her.

"It's okay [Y/n], Monica knows how to take care of folks real good, she's even studying at Tulane right now cus' she trying to be a nurse, ain't that right?"

"Sure am," the dark haired woman beamed, trying to be as friendly as possible as she tried to disarm the child. "Top of my class to, so I know a thing or two about taking care of folk. Even little ones like you [Y/n]. So how 'bout it darlin?"

They watched as [Y/n] bit the inside of her cheek, her hands tight on David's shirt collar as she contemplated before she finally gave a little nod.

"Okay."

"Thatta girl," David praised as he handed over the young girl to Monica who coddled her, and it seemed that [Y/n] enjoyed that as she cuddled up to the woman.

Smiling, as a bit of relief flowed in him knowing that she was in good hands, he patted [Y/n]'s back. The action caused her to flinch a bit, and both of the adults seemed to notice as a frown immediately replaced their short lived relief.

He was gonna find that piece of shit of a father and make sure he spent the rest of his life locked up.

"Now I'mma go talk to my partner and we're gonna see how your mom is. I'll come back and see you before we go alright [Y/n]?" He asked as the little girl shifted in Monica's arm to look at him.

She nodded at him silently.

"Alright, be good for Ms.Monica," he said, turning around and preparing to go back in the house to see what Benoit had found.

Just as he was about to walk away though he was stopped by her soft voice saying,

"Thank you."

He paused and turned around, to see her waving at him, her face still neutral but her wave enthusiastic. And he couldn't help crack a smile and wave back her.

"You're welcome [Y/n]."

It had been a week after the initial investigation at who he now knew were the [L/n]'s. And as he expected, [Y/n]'s eyes had haunted him indeed.

She was taken away after everything to some family members who agreed to watch over her. Whether or not she ended up in the foster system was to be seen, but he hopped not. She needed help. He could see it from the lack of emotions she showed and from the abuse that probably took place.

Granted he didn't know the extent of that. Not until now.

"You gonna wanna look at this Friedman," Matty Grimes, a fellow detective announced as he stopped by David's desk, dumping a thick manila case folder on his desk.

"Whats is 'it'?" David grunted, sitting up from his reclined position in his chair.

"Your [L/n]'s case." Matty responded, causing David's demeanor to shift immediately as he opened the thick folder. "Looks like them folks had some fucked up shit going on. No surprise tho, politicians always got something going on. But I'mma leave it at that. Good luck. It's one hell of a case to be dealing with during the holidays."

Leave it at that he did, as he left David to look over the crime scene documents in the folder. And there were many as he leafed through it.

There were statements from neighbors, coworkers, families, all of it saying they were happy but something seemed off but they could never figure it out. Crime scene photos, potential leads for where the father was. It was a lot, but none of it phased him, well it did, but not as much as other things he had seen. It was par for the course. That was, until he reached the middle of the folder ,and then, he had to keep himself from getting up and walking away.

He should have known. A bruised neck and scars on her hands that he had found out were from cigarettes being put out on her were the least of the injuries.

A severely bruised back, a history of hospital visits for broken bones, signs of self harm including but not limited to, scratching, hair pulling, and possible self mutilation.

There was also another page that he was hesitant to look at as he put two and two together. From her past injuries to her current ones, it made his stomach twist in uncomfortable knots knowing what might be next. But he had to keep reading. It was his job to make sure he got her justice and to do that he had to know what else had been going on.

Turned the page he did, and he read the behavioral and witness testimony summary. And by the end of it, he had to close the entire folder and walk away from his desk in disgust and distress.

She was only eight.

When David went home that night, he sat at his kitchen table, whiskey in hand as he sobbed quietly to himself.

God, he hated cases that involved children.

A/N: : D, is this lore you may ask? Yes it is. Unhinged [Y/n] is baby girl baby so I think it appropriate that we learn some of her backstory tragic as it maybe 😥

[sapphicmsmarvel]

feyre: lost and found

i cried multiple times writing this LOL (i’m dying inside) 

this is me trying to heal the inner child that just wanted her siblings around. may my sister rest in peace and my brother can rot in hell (he’s not dead, just to me). 

tw: talks about addiction, drinking alcohol to numb thoughts, death of a sibling, abandonment of another sibling. 

noted: platonic use of “baby”. Unless you have a crush on Feyre then it can be romantic.

anyway i feel like i need to submit this one to my therapist. 

A very bittersweet moment for you was watching your friends with their siblings. You tried not to get emotional when you saw Feyre and Elain baking together. Or Nesta and Feyre friendly bickering. 

Even their not-so-friendly bickering was emotional for you.  

The normalcy. Having someone you know deep down who won’t turn on you for saying the wrong thing. 

You’d do anything to have an inside joke with your brother. For your sister to be alive let alone argue with her again. 

You felt guilty for having those thoughts. Jealousy. What kind of friend is jealous because their friend's sibling isn’t dead? 

You felt broken. 

It was a party, some random one the Inner Circle decided to throw. Nothing special, or else you would’ve felt really guilty.

After a while, your thoughts got to you. About how you should have these moments with your sister still and never will again. How your brother left you in the dust. And now you work for the Night Court. 

Suck my balls folks

You thought as you tipped the wine bottle into your mouth. 

Oh yeah, you’re drinking. You don’t drink. Not because of an addiction, it just tastes nasty. But you needed something to quiet the noise. You grabbed a bottle of Rhys’ fancy shit. 

Blegh, it was horrid. But it was something. 

Eventually, Feyre found you sitting against the balcony in her study. You needed somewhere quiet. It was the end of the night anyway. But seeing her happy with her sisters overwhelmed you in a way that made you feel horrible.  

“Hey.” She knocked against the open door and leaned slightly on the doorframe. 

You tipped the bottle to her, “hello.” 

“You have your inner monologue face on. What's up?” She stepped closer to you. 

She walked through the terrace doors to where you were leaning against the brick balcony. 

“I’m fine, Fey.” You said as she stopped in front of you. 

“And I'm human.”

“What?” You asked incredulously. 

She shrugged. “Thought we were telling lies now.” 

You couldn’t help but snort as she sat next to you. 

“You’re drinking. That means it’s bad.” She nudged your knee with her own. 

Yeah. She had you there. 

“My mind is loud.” You swallowed. The bitter gross wine taste. 

“About what?”

“It’s…” You shook your head. “You’re going to think I'm a bitch.” 

“You’re my bitch.” She joked. It was rare to see the High Lady so jokey. She had a hidden side not many saw. 

She was a little shit. 

You did a breathy laugh through your nose. “Okay fair point.”

“Seriously, what happened?” 

“Promise you won’t hate me?”

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes. 

“Promise?” 

“Pinky.” She answered and held her pinky up which you grasped. 

You took a deep breath. “I just, I'm jealous.”

“Of?”

“You and your sisters.”

“What do you mean?”

“I would do anything to have had a true sibling. I mean I did. I had two. One preferred drugs over her family, then she died. My brother left to god knows where. Completely abandoned me to pick up the pieces of the puzzle my sister destroyed. I had to help raise her kids, keep some normalcy. And yeah I had my parents and friends. But, I would’ve done anything to have had a sibling my age. On the same level. Going through the exact same scenario and they would know the exact way I felt. I wanted a partner in crime.” 

Feyre was silent which spurred you on. “I know you three didn’t always get along. But, you still would always have each other's back. My own siblings stabbed me in mine. I am alone.”

“Were.”

“What?”

“You were alone. You have us.”

“And I love you all. But it’s not the same. I’m grateful for the found family, but it would be nice to have some blood family that actually likes me.” Even your cousins, aunts and uncles never really liked you. But that’s a different story to unpack that you don’t have energy for. 

She didn’t have anything to say, because she knew there wasn’t anything to say. She knew nothing she could say would help you. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have unloaded all of this-“

“Shush.” She said, pulling you into a hug. “I’m just sorry that I don't know how to help.”

“That’s the thing Fey. You can’t. Nobody can. This is my life and I need to make my peace with it.” Your voice wobbled. “It’s not fair.” 

It was silent for a moment, you managed to subdue the crying until she said, “I got you, baby. Let it all out.” 

“It's not fair.” You cried harder and she held you tighter. Her chin was on your bent neck, your face in her elbow. One harm was holding your head while the other rubbed your shoulder. Her scent of lilacs and pears washing over you. Grounding you just a bit. 

The childhood birthday parties where neither sibling showed up. The arguing that would ensue when they did show—as rare as it was. Your fathers’ drinking problem. Your mother smiling like everything was okay for the one child that deserved better—you. She was protecting you. She would have loved her step-kids (your technically half siblings) if they had treated her kindly. You are her whole heart. 

The gifts your siblings would buy you last minute. While you were grateful for those gifts, they weren’t meant for you. Half-assed comments and broken promises beating down on your already distrustful heart. 

As you cried into Feyre’s arms, she vowed then and there that nobody would ever hurt you again. She knew she couldn’t ‘heal’ you. She didn’t want to, because you were never broken to begin with. 

“It’s their loss.” She whispered. But she knew you heard it. “It’s their loss, Y/N. Always will be. You are loving, supportive, protective. You are magnetic. You encapsulate the feeling of safety and comfort.”

You sniffed, your tears staining her sleeves as you buried into the crook of her elbow. 

“I wasn’t a good enough reason for them to stick around.” You mumbled. 

“One of the best things that could’ve happened to me was meeting you.” Her voice was thick, as if she was hiding her tears. But you felt the warmth of her tears hit your neck as they dripped down her cheeks. “I can’t take away your pain. But I can hold you through it. It would be my honor to do so.” 

She would hold that promise until her dying days, she knew it and so did you. 

“I am not leaving you. Understood?”

You nodded. 

“Good. Because I need you.” She gave you a squeeze. “We all need you. You keep us afloat, sane. You give the best hugs.” 

You let out a small, watery laugh at that. 

You two pulled away from each other, you rested your foreheads together. It broke her heart seeing your puffy eyes and red skin, tears from those who did not deserve you. 

She whispered into the night, into you. “You may have been lost, but now you’re found.”

[patcaps]

you can read my other thoughts on the finale here so i’m not gonna just say all the same things again but

the ending was always gonna be divisive with people loving it or hating it, liking it but wishing some things were a bit different. it’s the ending of a beloved show and nobody is ever gonna agree on what the right ending would be. it sucks to have folks outright rejecting it but it also sucks to see people like “you are wrong for having any criticisms whatsoever” like, i’m all for being able to discuss aspects of media and what we liked and didn’t like. it’s not always a bad faith interpretation, or cynicism, or being poor at understanding the writing and intention. and i love meta and analysis that doesn’t completely pick apart something and refuse it any grace or leniency. i think sometimes we’re way too hard on stuff that is ultimately heartfelt and from a place of love and joy, and unraveling them dampens the magic.

anyway. that aside. i love this show so much. there are things i’d have done differently, pacing choices that made it fall flat in places, but it’s not my show and these guys know their characters and love them as much as we do. and the ghosts and mike and alison never stopped being family - which is, ultimately, the biggest thing that matters. not the house, not where they are, but how they’ve helped each other for the better. alison and mike spent their entire lives making sure the ghosts were never forgotten, always went back to catch up. they got to enjoy all the fun and love of visiting family without the stress of living under each other’s feet 24/7 - and relationships with family often improve tenfold with that breathing space.

the show ended where it started with the plans to turn it into a hotel, but this time instead of the ghosts panicking and being like “drive her out, kill her” they loved alison enough to take all of that change on, safe in the knowledge that alison would never ever just abandon them. that’s such a neat way of showing how they’ve all helped each other. like, robin’s seen that house and the houses and land before it change so much but he felt so good about this change, literally said he felt christmassy finally, because they could do this. for her. for their friend, their family member, their alison.

they existed before alison and they’ll exist after her, but in the meantime they get to enjoy being her family and also know they’ve given them a more stable, secure, less stressful living arrangement that works for them all. they aren’t fully dependent on alison anymore and alison was no longer fearful of leaving and losing them because she knew they’d still be her family no matter what. i’ve seen some people interpret this as “they’re saying having a baby meant her found family weren’t important anymore, they have to go be a traditional family alone” and that was my kneejerk response too, but then i sat with it. and actually, alison goes from being a (presumed) orphan with no family besides mike and his side, to having all of that plus the ghosts, people who love her and always welcome her back to visit whenever she wants. how lovely for her to have her very own family she can go and see, who did such a kind thing for her, however bittersweet a decision it was initially.

and yeah, it’s true that the ghosts have less of alison there to take care of things like personalised entertainment, but that’s the whole point of them leaving - alison wasn’t in a position where she could worry about entertaining them all the time whilst also being with her husband and raising a newborn. it wasn’t fair to keep asking her to run around after a houseful of ghosts when looking after yourself and a small child is hard enough. she could have stayed and ended up resenting them, getting frustrated and angry the way they did with mike’s mum, potentially souring that relationship with the ghosts. instead she moved out and gets to go back and see them and love and enjoy them fully without that responsibility 24/7. i’m sure she took them new things, gifts, let them watch tv and read books, i bet they had requests for whenever she visited which she was more than happy to supply. and i bet they always had new anecdotes and things to catch her up on.

the more time i have, the more i warm to it all. it’s easy to say “they should have stayed together at the house” but this show is about being human, about life and death, how existence is both cruel and kind and beautiful and unexpected and it changes you and you change it. they did stay together, just not under the same roof. home is more than just button house, more than just a dream because dreams change as we go, and belonging is about more than just a destination. alison found home and belonging in the ghosts, and they found it in her too. the rest is just bricks and mortar.

[jamiesfootball]

Augusnippets Day 14

Prompt: gifts

cw: implied/referenced child abuse

Summary:

Sometimes gift-giving ain't all it's cracked up to be, and sometimes it is. - A series of moments from Jamie's life.

Here on AO3

Age 4

Gasp! “Is this for me? Did you make this? Oh, Jamie, it’s beautiful, I love it. Come on, now, give mummy hugs.”

Age 7

“Oh, thanks baby. That looks wonderful. No, I do, I do like it! I do! Mummy’s just really tired today, I promise. Soon as the holidays are over, I’ll go back to working my normal shifts.”

Age 9

“Did you make me breakfast in bed? That’s so sweet! Thank you so much, love. …Was this by any chance the last tin of beans in the cupboard?”

Age 11

“What the hell is this? Did your mum put you up to this? Bit cheap, innit?”

Age 12

“No, of course I’d love to come to your match, Jamie. But you know with this new job I started, it’s not a good look if I ask for time off so soon.”

Age 13

“Did you think that I wouldn’t already have the new kit? Huh? You think I’m broke? Is that the kind of garbage your mother’s been filling your head with? Teaching you how to disrespect your old man?”

Age 14

“Look, junior. I know things got a bit heated between us last time I came around. Just the way it is with us men sometimes, am I right? I’m sure you said some things you regret too. But your mom and I, we’ve been talking, and I think I’ve got a shot there. Make us a proper family again. Now, what do you say you and me, we celebrate the occasion by taking ourselves a little father/son bonding trip? Ever been to Amsterdam?”

Age 15

“We can make a day of it. Get lunch, maybe go to the cinema? Oh. Oh, no, that’s all right, love. I didn’t know that you’d made plans with your friends already. Right. Right. Well, if you think you’ll be home in time for dinner-“

Age 16

“-right. Uh huh. No, I know you’re busy, love, but I was thinking. I know how stressed you’ve been lately and how hard you’ve been working. Maybe later this year, you and I can take a trip, hm? Around New Year’s? Just the two of us. Get away for a little bit before you skyrocket into superstardom.

“No, you don’t have to help pay for it any of it, Jamie-”

Age 17

“-No, I know you’ve got a match, Jamie. It doesn’t have to be this weekend. I told you, whenever you’re free-“

Age 18

“Now that you’re making money, I think it’s only fair you treat your old man to a drink.”

Age 19

“New fancy contract, and you’re telling me you can’t afford to do something nice? For your own dad? C’mon, son, I’m not asking for a Porsche here-“

Age 20

“I’m not saying you have to like him, Jamie! But Simon’s important to me, and I’d like you to actually meet him before-“

Age 21

“-lazy, uninspired, waste of fucking space on the pitch! Is it any fucking wonder that Pep’s got you warming the bench for the real players when you’re out there bottling penalties? Hey. Hey! You fucking look at me when I’m talking to you-!“

Age 22

“I know you’re still screening my calls, but I just called to thank you for the flowers. I’d ask about your birthday, but I’m sure you already have plans.”

Age 22

SMACK.

Age 23

“Oh, babes, I wish you’d told me. I already promised my mum I’d go ‘round hers for the holiday. Only she’s just moved down here, and she hasn’t been able to meet anyone yet- no, you do not want to meet her, trust me. But hey, you have fun in Spain- wait you didn’t already buy the tickets, did you?”

Age 24

“Would you look at that? City wins on my son’s birthday, and he ain’t even here to see it. All because he let some stupid yank make him soft, and now he’s too much of a pussy to stick it out when things get tough. What’s wrong, junior? Did Roy Kent calling you little bitch on TV hurt your widdle feelings? Huh? You gonna cry? You gonna cry about it?-”

[“Dad”]: Don’t you fucking hang up on me

[“Dad”]: Jesus Christ, no need to be so sensitive

[“Dad”]: Did you sort my tickets for the next match?

Age 24

“Yeah, but, you know, some folks might also consider that buying affection, you know.”

Age 24

“Jamie? Oh… we didn’t expect you to call. No, it’s fine, we aren’t going anywhere; Simon’s tinkering around in the kitchen… You tried them? Really. That’s- ahem, of course. Of course I’ll let him know.

“SIMON! Jamie tried your gluten free lemon pound cake! He said it was ‘fucking tasty’! His words!

“Jam, Simon would like to know what your nutrition guidelines say about – love, is this a list?”

Age 24

[Isaac]: Alright, everyone. Jamie’s birthday is coming up, so it’s time to start making plans.

[Sam]: Did you remember to remove Jamie from the group chat before you sent the text?

[Isaac]: Shit

Age 25

“...and this is going to sound so weird, but I promise I am not a stalker. I’m Roy’s sister. Yes, that Roy. Uh, you may be aware that he has a niece – Phoebe, yes – and she has something important she would like to ask you.”

“Hi Jamie! It’s Phoebe! Would you like to come celebrate Uncle’s Day with us?”

Age 25

“I love it.”

[laf-outloud]

@philemonchambers During the strike, I’ve been trying to figure out ways to use my voice and feed the artist inside. When @july__mag asked if I’d be interested in speaking on the strike, I jumped at the opportunity. I also got todo this shoot with some amazing folks. I don’t pretend to know the severity of everyone’s situation from this strike but I do know that over that hill is a green valley. I stand with all of my brothers and sisters in this fight for a fair deal. Use your voice in ways that help you express yourself and do it with the people you love. - signed me

@philemonchambers “You live below the poverty line, and you still want to do this. It just goes to show that the old system that we had in place is not working. The cost of living has gone up, and we should follow suit.” Thank you @july__mag for giving me the space and time. Go check out the full interview by going to their page.

- signed me

To read the interview and view more great pictures of this cutie, here's the link to Philemon's interview!

[evan4ever]

I just had the most angsty idea everrr and was wondering if I could request it to you: Kit and a girl reader in Briarcliff are all in love and finally happened to make love for the first time during kitchen duty, they get caught (much like in the show) and are to be sterilized as punishment to prevent a possible "unwanted" pregnancy in the future with their relationship, but reader has always shared to Kit that her biggest dream in life was experiencing pregnancy and being a mother one day if she ever got lucky to be free again, and so being desperate to try and save reader from sterilization and having her only and one dream totally shattered from her possibilities, Kit goes to the only idea he could think of to get reader out of that and lies straight ahead saying he harrassed her and forced her to do things she didn't want to (which was of course the most brutal lie ever, she was the one who had insisted it upon him in the first place btw) and so there would be no need for sterilization since there was no real relationship between them and no possibility of it happening again in the future, and Jude had absolutely no tolerance for harrassment so instead of having Kit being sterilized himself, she orders the guards to beat the hell out of him in front of the reader to make her feel like having justice from his acts to her, all whilst the reader knows what Kit was doing to save her and can't deny it at the same time; then lastly, in the end she visits him in infirmary to check on him and comfort him and also confront him.

Sorry it got way too long lol, but it would seriously mean everything if you could write this down please, and tysm btw! <3

A Lie For Me

Warnings: this is pretty dark so read with caution, it may be triggering. Mentions of rape, sexual assault, harassment. Abuse/beating. Talk of sterilization, infertility, etc. it was a hard one to write folks

—

“What?” Kit’s eyes went wide at your desperate request. You pressed your lips together so tightly the skin began turning white, looking at him pleadingly.

You knew it was a horrible thing to request of him. You knew it was wrong in so many ways, and you knew it would be really awful on his end — the things that could happen to him by “admitting” what you wanted him to. You felt terrible, but you were so desperate.

“Please Kit…” you whispered, tears forming in your eyes. His furrowed eyebrows began softening slowly as he studied your face that held nothing but the desperation you felt.

“S’let me get this straight — you want me to lie, tell them I… forced you… to do that with me back there in the kitchen? Y/n, why? D’ya know what they’ll do to me?” His eyebrows re-furrowed themselves as he listened to what he was saying, what you were wanting him to do. It wasn’t the truth, far from. The sexual acts that you were both caught in was completely mutual, wanted by both. He didn’t quite understand it and he needed a further explanation from you first.

“It is my biggest dream to be a mother someday. Kit I can’t think of anything worse for myself than being sterilized. If they strip me of my ability to form a child one day… I don’t think I could live on. Kit, I will end it all if they do. I will take my life the second I’m alone. I know it’s not fair of me to ask something of you like this, and if my chances of having a child weren’t at stake, I never would ask it of you. Please… I’m begging of you to just please try to understand.” You pleaded with him, trying your absolute hardest to help him understand where you’re coming from. You’re not a bad person, lying about sexual assault and harassment is such a horrible thing one could do. The false accusations have put many men in prison and you were a very big advocate about it; but now your future of being a mother was making you do the one thing you could never fathom before.

Kit’s eyes looked down at his handcuffed hands before they rested upon yours that were also handcuffed. You were both waiting for your punishment of being sterilized. He thought over your words again and again. He did understand you, he wanted nothing more than to be a father himself someday. But if what you were saying was true, that you’d take your life over being sterilized, he knew he had to do the right thing, for you. He’d do whatever it took.

“I swear on my life I wouldn’t dare ask if it wasn’t im—“

“I’ll do it.” Kit cut you off, his eyes now flickering back up to yours. They weren’t the usual kind eyes that you had gotten to know and love so much. They weren’t mean either, not even cold. They were just dark. Almost emotionless.

But you were desperate, so you didn’t dare start that conversation in fears that he would possibly change his mind. You had him on board. You had him where you needed him. And god, you felt so selfish. You hated yourself right now.

A beat of silence passed as you both just stared at each other, Kit’s face unreadable while yours nervous.

“..thank you.” You finally whispered out. Kit glanced behind you and you turned your head to see what he was now looking at and your stomach dropped as Sister Jude entered the small room, Dr. Arden and a nurse behind her. You swallowed hard and quickly looked back at Kit who glared up at Jude.

“Now, it would be wise of you both to not make this any more difficult than it already has to be—“

“I raped her.” Kit cut Jude off harshly. You sucked in a sharp breath at hearing his words, holding it in now as you waited for her response. Your eyes squeezed shut in shame, but when Jude looked at you for confirmation, she saw what she believed was fear.

“Y/n? Is this true?” Jude spoke slowly to you, softly.

You didn’t dare open your eyes, you didn’t believe you’d be able to go through with the harsh lie that you had begged Kit to see through. Instead, you only nodded in response. A choked back sob escaped from you, your handcuffed hands covering your face as you continued sobbing into them.

Jude believed you were crying because of being assaulted, no idea that you were actually crying because of his terrible you felt.

“I’m..” Jude started lowly, shaking her head slowly as she looked back to Kit, her entire body filling with rage. “I am just so.. incredibly… utterly disgusted right now. Kit, you..” she points her finger at him as she attempts to control her anger, her finger noticeably shaking, “you think being here allows you to do as you please with women?! Th-that you can force a woman to sleep with you on MY account, in MY kitchen?!”

You still couldn’t bring yourself to look at what was happening before you, only squeezing your eyes shut even tighter if it were possible as you listened to Jude’s voice raise into a scream — a scream directed towards Kit.

“You have some real nerve, boy.”

You tore your hands from your face at the sound of skin against skin, realizing that Jude had made her way in front of Kit and had just slapped him hard against his cheek. Your eyes were wide in seeing how angry and upset Jude was over this, shocked by it honestly. It seems to be personal to her.

“I will not have a rapist on this property.” She spat at him. Kits face dropped towards the ground, his shoulder slumping forwards in his own shame even though he had nothing to be ashamed of.

You wanted so badly to hug him and to tell him you were sorry, to tell Jude he was lying at the cost of your sterilization punishment. That he was lying for you. But before you could even manage to attempt speaking up, Jude had Kit pulled to his feet and was pushing him past you to the door.

“Well, I will just show you what happens to rapists on this property.” She pushed him out of the door, kit nearly stumbling over his own feet but allowing her to push him where she wanted him to go. You stood to your feet now and quickly walked out of the door and following behind them. “Do you realize the trauma you have caused this woman?!” Jude yelled at him as they entered her office, her finger now pointing at you as you stood wide eyed. “Do you understand what being sexually assaulted does to a woman?! Of course not, you’re a man. A pig.” She spits out again, turning and walking to you now.

You sucked in another deep breath as she approached and stood in front of you now, her eyes softening with what looked like sympathy for you. She felt bad for you. And it was so wrong because it didn’t actually happen, Kit never forced you, in fact one could argue that you initiated the sex.

“I am terribly, terribly sorry you had to go through that, my dear. No woman should ever have to. I do understand the pain you’re experiencing.” She spoke softly to you, her finger tips gliding down your cheek gently, comfortingly. But it didn’t feel that way against your skin, it felt like razor blades cutting you deep for your lie. You felt disgusted in yourself by the comfort this woman was showing you, comfort you didn’t deserve in the slightest. “He will pay for his behavior. You will redeem your deserved justice by watching him suffer.”

Her words cut deep like a knife, your heart dropping into your stomach when you realized what was going to happen.

“Show him no mercy.” She said to the men standing beside the two of you, them nodding and immediately walking to Kit.

“Wait that’s- it’s not neces—“

“He needs to pay. A lesson that greedy men deserve nothing.” She cut you off, walking back to Kit who only stood silently. He didn’t object, he didn’t intervene, he didn’t beg or plead. He readied himself for the beating that was to come, to be sure that you wouldn’t be sterilized. He was going to see it through. And you looked at him apologetically for everything you’ve caused by your selfishness. This wasn’t what you were expecting. You surely didn’t want to witness the abuse he’d endure. You honestly thought that they’d maybe lock him up for awhile and forget about it, but no, that wasn’t the case here.

You realized the very big mistake you’ve made.

And Kit quickly realized you were about to slip up, confess. He shook his head at you while Jude was looking away, your face scrunching in confusion as to why he wouldn’t want you to confess. You wanted to stop this, stop him from what was about to happen. But he silently begged you to keep your mouth closed. Your eyes burned into his trying to understand, soon realizing that if you did confess, this wouldn’t just go away either. If you confessed that it was all a lie now, not only would you both be sterilized, but you’d both likely be beat to near death. He was telling you that this was better than what would be if you told the truth now.

So you stayed silent, and you watched in complete horror as Kit was beaten. At some point you could no longer stomach it, looking away and trying your hardest not to vomit. They truly weren’t showing any mercy. The screams that came from Kit were now imbedded in your head, the bloody sight on his on the ground curled up in a ball replaying every time you closed your eyes. It was horrifying to see, and that was your own punishment for your selfishness.

By the end of it, they carried Kit away while you stood hugging yourself tightly, unable to move your eyes from the ground. Even when Jude approached you once more, speaking to you but you not hearing a single word. Jude believed it was shock from everything you had experienced. She had a nurse guide you to the Common Room and help you comfy yourself with a glass of water and a blanket.

And you sat in that chair, curled up, unable to pry your mind away from itself. You felt numb, sick, disgusted in yourself. You couldn’t bring your hand to grab the water for a drink no matter how dry your mouth was. You simply couldn’t move. As if you were frozen in that spot watching Kit be nearly killed because of you, over and over again. It felt cruel that the world would make you relive it, but you knew you deserved to feel this way.

Selfishness is the Devils work.

Hours passed by and you never moved a muscle. Jude noticed and had another nurse guide you to your cell to have you lay down. She was taking such good care of you, care you didn’t deserve. It was wrong and unfair.

When night fell, you finally pulled yourself from your thoughts and decided you needed to see him. You figured he was in the infirmary after the wounds he’d received. So once you were sure everyone was asleep, you snuck from your cell and made your way quietly and carefully all the way down to the infirmary, double checking that no one was around before entering.

“Kit?” You whispered into the silence. The room was dark, you could barely make out anything before you and had to feel your way around, finally making it to the bed. You heard the creaks of it intending someone was on it. You crouched yourself down so you could be eye level with the man who was resting on it. Your eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness allowing you to finally see better, scanning him from head to toe. He was now handcuffed to the side rails of the bed, as if he’d be able to do anything in this state.

You couldn’t see well, but enough to notice the bruises on his face and down his arms. They made you sick all over again. You could’ve hurled if you allowed yourself to, but you held back, swallowing hard before looking back to his black and blue swollen face.

“Kit?” You whispered again.

“I can’t really open my eyes.” You heard him respond, your jaw clenching at his words. More guilt washed over you and you rested your head against the side of the bed as tears formed in your eyes.

“I’m s-so sorry” your voice cracked as you spoke. “I’m so selfish, I don’t know what I was thinking… I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t think about the consequences. God im so sorry I made this happen to you.”

Kit couldn’t move much due to being restricted by his hands cuffed to the rails on either side of him, but he did turn his head towards you, letting his forehead lean into your head. You lifted it when you felt him, furrowing your brows wondering how he could possibly be comforting you right now. You deserved nothing from him, you wouldn’t blame him if he absolutely hated you because the feeling of yourself was mutual.

“They got me loaded up on meds.” He chuckled. “M’alright darlin. I’ll be fine. It’s over.”

You just gazed at him the best you could in the darkness, occasionally glancing at the different bruises and marks on his face. You couldn’t accept his acceptance of the situation. You didn’t want to be forgiven for begging him to do what he did. This was on you and it baffles you that he wasn’t angry.

“I’ll make it right with you, I promise you.” You whispered out, your hands now caressing his cheek ever so gently. He hummed in response, the feeling of your hands against his skin warming and comforting. “Whatever you need, say it. I’ll do anything. Whatever it takes.”

“Be the mother you want to be someday. Get out of this place and fulfill that dream. That’s all I want.”

You felt a tug on your heart, your eyes closing in response and even more shame filling you. You let out a quiet sigh before leaning your head down next to his and letting your foreheads rest against the others again. You only wanted this nightmare to be over, but you knew you owed everything to this man for not allowing them to take your fertility from you. You owed him everything, and you were going to see that through.

—

Tags: @evanpetersmood @witchsbitchestime @demxnicprxncess @yes-divine-ruler @shjjpm m @evanpsrealwife @iruzias @jangsuzchap @quicksilversg1rl @submissiveforahsmen @angelmenace @lovelizzie-blog1 @justa19 @daylas-life @simp4petermaximoff @totta69

[thelastspeecher]

Writing request for Olympian Falls AU, Stan and Angie's confrontation against Ford and his trial before the Greek gods to determine his fate.

Uhhhhhh so I wrote this mostly at work and wound up writing a LOT. For some context for folks not on the Discord, it has been decided that after Angie and Stan part ways as teenagers, Angie gets with a son of Nike named Max, and the two have a child together, only for Max to die fighting a monster. I promise the context is relevant to this. Anyways hope you like it!

———————————————————————————————————–

              A baby's cry echoed through the Mount Olympus throne room. Zeus scowled from his throne.

              "Remind me why I allowed a mortal infant here?" he rumbled.

              "My daughter refused to come unless her son did as well," Apollo said. Hera frowned at Zeus.

              "As is her right as a mother," she said firmly. The fussing increased in volume, despite Angie's attempts to soothe her young son. Hera winced. "But yes, we cannot do business like this." She waved her hand. Angie's son, Lee, stopped crying. Angie bowed to Hera.

              "Thank you, Lady Hera, for the generosity of soothing my child," she said solemnly. Hera smiled at her.

              "Now that matter is resolved, shall we get back on task?" asked Poseidon. "I have dinner guests coming over in an hour."

              "Yes, brother," Zeus said with a nod. He, and the other gods and goddesses situated upon their thrones, all turned their attention to Ford. Ford could feel himself shaking. Stan put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

              Remember what you discussed on the way up. You have at least three gods that will likely vote in your favor. You know of two that will not. The others are a toss-up. Ford looked at Stan, whose only sign of nerves was how pale he was. You have to trust your brother to do what he does best. Talk.

              "Why should we allow you to live, after you disrespected us?" Zeus demanded. "Even a visit from your own godly father wasn't enough to stop you."

              "By that point, I was unable to stop what was happening," Ford stammered. He could smell ozone coming off of Zeus. "The portal was going to open, no matter what I did. The only option was to shut it down after it started up. Which I did."

              "You didn't shut it down right away," Artemis pointed out. "Some of the worst beings from Tartarus escaped in the hours before your twin and my niece got to you and turned that wretched device off."

              "I was- I got trapped and-" Ford said. Stan squeezed his shoulder. It was the sign to shut up and let his twin take over.

              "My brother was captured by the very demigod that fooled him," Stan said. His voice carried clearly in the silent throne room. "He wanted to turn everything off, but was physically removed from the room the portal was in before he could touch a button."

              "Tell us more about the demigod that fooled him," Demeter prompted.

              "His name was Bill. He used charmspeak to convince my brother to ignore the messages from the gods."

              "And did this Bill also use charmspeak upon your brother's mortal assistant?" Hera asked. Athena cleared her throat.

              "The mortal's trial is over. I believe he should not be a factor in this trial," Athena said. Ford was still relieved that Fiddleford had been let off the hook the day before. The gods determined that he was led astray by Ford, and even then tried to stop him, so agreed to let him go without punishment. It helped that Fiddleford was favored by Athena.

              As am I, despite my parentage. Ford took a shaky breath. Hopefully, that favor will result in her voting against my execution.

              "You make a fair point, daughter," Zeus said. "Yes, we do not need to discuss the mortal."

              "Thank you, father," Athena said. She looked directly at Ford, her gray eyes boring into him. "You refer to the charmspeaker demigod in the past tense. Why?" As he had been directly addressed, Ford spoke again.

              "In the battle that ensued after my brother and Angie arrived, I was able to push Bill into the portal, sending him to Tartarus." The already tense air in the throne room grew tenser. "He has doubtless perished by now."

              "Could he have escaped after you?" asked Hermes. It was the first time Ford's father had spoken in the trial.

              "No. Angie shut down the portal immediately after," Ford said firmly. Apollo perked up.

              "Speaking of my daughter," he said, "I'd like to hear from her."

              "I would like to hear her perspective as well," Hera said.

              "Very well," Zeus sighed. He gestured for Angie to approach. "Speak, granddaughter." Angie stepped forward. Ford couldn't help but be jealous of her grace under pressure. She was dirty and beat up like the rest of them, but her stage presence took over.

              She is a performer...

              "What would you ask of me, Lord Zeus?" she asked after bowing demurely.

              Her southern manners are well-suited for this situation.

              "Tell us what happened, as you recall it."

              "Yes." Angie's voice quavered for a split second. She swallowed. Her son shifted slightly in her arms. "Stan was visiting. As we were sitting down to eat dinner, Lord Hermes appeared and informed us that Stanford had opened a gate between realms. That he needed to be stopped. We traveled to the location Stanford set up his portal. Stanford's mortal assistant was already there, and agreed to watch my son while Stan and I fought our way through monsters to get to Stanford." Ford frowned, noticing that Angie had left out the fact that the mortal assistant was her brother.

              Probably for the best that she distance herself.

              "When we freed him, Stanford made for the portal immediately. He pushed Bill through and I shot an arrow that disabled the device." Out of the corner of his eye, Ford saw Apollo nudge Artemis proudly. "Then…we, uh, we were summoned here," Angie finished weakly.

              "You know Stanford Pines well, correct?" asked Artemis. Angie nodded.

              "Yes, Lady Artemis."

              "Then you can provide some unbiased insight. Do you believe Stanford Pines to be a danger?" Artemis pressed. Apollo cleared his throat.

              "Remember, daughter, I will know if you lie," he said. Angie nodded.

              "I..." Angie paused. "Stanford Pines has ambition that runs without check, resulting in his mistakes." Ford tensed.

              "Let her talk," Stan murmured to Ford.

              "But mistakes are effective teachers. And Stanford is an excellent student. After the events of yesterday, I feel confident in saying that he has learned his lesson." Angie turned to look at Ford. "He will never do something this foolish again. The only danger he poses is to himself, as is often the case with genius." Angie bowed her head and stepped back, indicating that she was done.

              "Well spoken, daughter," Apollo said enthusiastically. Artemis nodded in agreement.

              "That may be what she believes, but is it the truth?" Poseidon asked. Apollo scowled at him.

              "I know you think I'm biased," Stan said abruptly, "so you won't believe me if I say he's fine." All eyes turned to him. "But if he screws up like he did yesterday, I'll take care of him myself." Ares leaned forward, suddenly interested. "You can believe me. There's no one else I'd trust to kill my twin brother." Ford's blood ran cold.

              "An interesting argument," Hermes said. "But your mere word is not enough."

              "Then I vow. On the River Styx," Stan said. It was as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. "If Stanford Pines ever does again what he did yesterday, my sword will go straight through his heart."

              Ford heard a faint rumble of thunder off in the distance.

              "I believe that we have enough information to bring his fate to a vote," Athena said. Ford swallowed. He watched as, around the throne room, thumbs went up and down. Stan squeezed his shoulder again, having noticed what, in his panic, Ford hadn't.

              There were more thumbs up than thumbs down. Ford's knees buckled under him. He fell to the marble floor.

              "Hmph." Zeus sounded disappointed.

              I guess he really wanted to smite someone.

              "Stanford Pines, you will not face execution," Zeus thundered. Ford sobbed in relief. "However, I cannot allow a transgression like this to go unpunished." Like flipping a light switch, Ford's vision went black. He cried out in shock and horror.

              "What did you do to him?" Stan demanded. The masterful orator was gone, replaced by a pissed off man from New Jersey.

              "I took his sight," Zeus answered. There was a gasp from Angie. "You would do well to remember your place, boy. I am feeling generous today, so I will not strike you down where you stand."

              "...Thank you, Lord Zeus," Stan muttered.

              "Is our meeting adjourned?" asked the voice of Aphrodite.

              "Yes," Zeus said.

              "Excellent. Just enough time to scrape the barnacles off the patio before my guests arrive," Poseidon's voice said. Stan helped Ford to his feet.

              "You really did get off easy," Stan remarked. Ford glared in the direction of his voice. "Hey, don't worry, bro. We're gonna figure it out, okay? Fiddleford can probably whip up something to help you get around. And who knows, maybe you can earn enough brownie points to get your sight back."

              "I just want to go home," Ford mumbled. He swung his head around in all directions, vainly searching for Angie. "Where's Angie?"

              "Coming over right now. She was talking to her dad and Artemis and some lady I didn't recognize." Footsteps approached.

              "Stanford, I'm sorry," Angie's voice said.

              "At least I'm not dead," Ford muttered. "Stan said you were talking to a few people just now?"

              "Oh, yes. Artemis requested that I join her on a hunt next time she and the Hunters pass through the area."

              "Man, she's still upset you didn't join her little girl group, huh?" Stan said with a chuckle. Ford could picture the withering glare Angie gave him in response.

              "That's a rude way to phrase it. But, yes, I do think she wishes I joined her. If nothing else, it would have annoyed Dad."

              "Heh. Classic sibling behavior. Speaking of your dad, what did he think of his grandson?"

              "Oh, Lee's grandfather loved Lee. As did his grandmother."

              "Nike was the third person you were speaking with?" Ford asked.

              "Yes." Angie sighed. "I worry, though, over how much Apollo and Nike were interested in Lee."

              "Very rarely does interest from the gods turn out well," Ford said.

              "Exactly." Angie sighed again. "But that's not a problem right now. Right now, I want to get some New York pizza before we head back to California."

              "I can't see," Ford pointed out. He felt Stan's arm loop with his.

              "Not a problem!"

              "But-"

              "We're gonna get through this," Stan said, talking over Ford. "Getting you pizza, figuring out what to do with your house, stealing a cane or seeing eye dog or whatever." Ford shook his head at the last item, trying to hide his smile. "We're gonna get through it. The same way we always do."

              "Together?" Ford asked timidly. The reply from Stan was immediate.

              "Together."

[ace-malarky]

What's In A Name

Oh ok so I've shared bits of this before for snippets and the like but the person I wrote it for has received it and read it and also responded so now I can share here

Fair Folk name shenanigans but make it queer, everybody. You're welcome

~~~

Calico is restless, itchy, like he’s forgotten something important. He leaves the flat he shares with Ghost (by Ghost’s less-than-gentle suggestion) and walks down into Stockbridge. 

The hum of people about their business quiets Calico’s buzzing mind as he listens in on bits and pieces of their conversations. He hears pinpricks of names, but they aren’t given to him. They have no power except that they catch his focus. 

Except that they are his focus. 

Calico shakes his head. He’s forgotten something, sure as he knows his name. Sure as he knows Burke is toothless and sealed for good this time. 

Sure as he knows it’s because of her that something was shaken loose, something he didn’t know was locked tight. 

He turns a corner rather than wait for the lights and ends up on the Water of Leith. 

There are cyclist and dog walkers and buggies and children everywhere. Calico greets every dog that races up to him, winks at every kid that stops to watch him. Sticks his tongue out at a few of the buggies just to hear the babies laugh. 

This city is so alive. Everyone going by has a life and a story and a name. 

Particularly a name. 

The enchanted gasp of a child startles Calico. He snaps back to himself to see a child before him, barely knee high and staring up at him with the glazed over sheen of glamour coating their gaze. 

Calico curses and pulls away, turning up the narrow stairs and pulling his aviators out of his pocket to put on. 

In his wake, the child hiccups and starts to cry. 

He blinks to calm the kaleidoscope glamour in his eyes and- 

Snow and a shivering child in a too-big, too-worn coat sunk to their knees and staring up at them, eyes wide and a faint seaweed green under ragged mousy hair. 

Calico stutters to a halt. He isn’t standing in snow, he’s standing on dirt-and-timber stairs, surrounded by trees. It’s grey, a little bit cold. Dry. 

He reaches to put a hand on the railing, stepping to the side of the path. 

“Faye?” 

He looks up to see someone he thinks he recognises from somewhere. 

They’re wearing patched dungarees, cuffed and covered in patches and pins, over battered docs and a dark t-shirt. They’ve got a faded, oversized flannel shirt over it like it’s a jacket, the sleeves folded back to their elbows. Tattoos poke out under their cuffs, many branched things that Calico can’t work out from a glance. Their dark blue hair is pulled up into a high tail, showing off the shaved sides and multiple piercings in their ears. They’re wearing sunglasses that’ve slipped down their nose to show brown eyes outlined with deep purple cat eyeliner. 

“How’ve you – are you alright?” they ask. 

Calico pushes his sunglasses further up his nose. “Burke, he says, half a question. 

"Briar," they reply, and Calico - Calico remembers. 

That same person only not in the snow; they’re standing before someone, hands clasped in front of them and head lowered. Their clothes are fitted, bright colours and extravagant and they look uncomfortable in them. Barefoot; scuffed and scratched and mud striped up their legs. 

They’re older. 

“Hey.” They’ve reached a hand out as if to tap him, but they haven’t quite landed. 

Calico blinks. “Briar,” he repeats. “Yes. You helped us with Burke.” 

“Yeah.” They take a step back up the path. “Come on.” 

Calico follows. 

They lead him up into the grounds of some grand building Calico’s never seen before. 

“Were you headed anywhere in particular?” 

Calico shakes his head. “Just restless. You?” 

“Needed to leave the house for a spell.” 

“So I’m not diverting you from anything?” 

“Even if you were, you need – something.” Briar shrugs. “I can listen.” 

Calico feels it this time, the sideways stumble before- 

Facing a woman in brown and red, arrows over her shoulder and a bow in her hands. She’s aiming it at Calico, though she hasn’t pulled it taut. Not the same person; they’re out of view of this woman, frowning as they looked between Calico and the woman. They’re biting their lip, hands twisted in their sleeves like they can’t decide who to help. 

"Faye?" Briar asks, hand out like they've prodded him to check. "Are you ok?" 

"You remind me of someone, that's all." Calico shakes himself and grins. "How's life been treating you?" 

“It’s been – good,” Briar says. “Thinking about a Masters before finding work. Maybe history.” They laugh slightly. 

Calico grins. “Wouldn’t that be cheating?” 

“Not if I cite it correctly.” They grin. 

They keep amongst the trees rather than cut across the lawn, and Calico is content to follow. 

He’s never gone this long without taking a name. No one had ever said it would be a bad thing. Just that it wasn’t the done thing. 

He would have liked a warning. But Ghost had made him a deal and he couldn’t. 

“Faye?” 

Calico looks up. “You’re repeating yourself a lot, you know that?” 

Briar laughs. “Can’t help it, I suppose.” 

“Like my attention on you?” Calico grins. 

“It seems better than wherever you go when you’re not focused on me.” 

“Right.” 

“Where do you go?” 

Calico frowns. 

“You don’t have to answer,” Briar says. “I’m just – if you want to talk about it, you know?” 

“I’m not sure,” Calico replies. 

Briar shrugs. “That’s–” 

“No, I mean – I’m not sure where I go. I think they’re memories, but-” 

Pink hair and seaweed eyes, a grin almost as sharp as his own and his – his cousin, that’s his cousin – opens keir mouth and- 

Briar has hold of his arm, pulling him as best they can to their side. “Hey.” 

“Well that’s not my name,” Calico mumbles. 

Briar lets out a huff that is sort of a laugh. 

"So here - here's the thing about Fair Folk and names," Calico says, not quite collapsing to the ground. At least he does it gracefully, with Briar holding onto his arm, swinging him into their side and sinking slowly to the soft moss that carpets the roots of the trees they stand under. “We don’t – first off, two branches. Not including the Fae, like Burke. We approach names differently, I think.” 

Briar is listening, attention completely on Calico. 

He’d forgotten someone. Who had he forgotten? 

“Fairy tales,” Briar says. “If we learn the name of a Fair, we control them. Like Rumpelstiltskin.” 

“Doesn’t work for you mere mortals. For my branch of Fair? Absolutely. We trust no one with our True Names, so they can’t be used against us.” 

He’d given someone his name, he was sure. 

“Faye isn’t your name, then.” 

“Of course not.” He grins. “And no, I don’t know any of the gang by name, either.” He watches their eyes catch on his too-sharp teeth.  

Briar laughs. “It’s about as on the nose as any of the rest of the superheroes.” 

Calico shrugs and lets the conversation die, but there’s something still eating at him. Something that has its teeth in him, that won’t let him just leave it there. “But there’s – the other thing.”  Someone he’s forgotten. 

Calico launches himself to his feet, starts to pace, because if he sits still a second longer he’s going to atrophy. 

What a good word. 

“So the – the other thing. About names.” 

“You’ve started this several times.” Briar is watching him pace, cautious. Feet tucked up against them, still describing the space where he had been sitting. 

Fair. (He laughs to himself. Everything with him is fair). 

“It’s tricky. To speak of it.” 

They nod. 

“For my family – my world – it's exactly what you’re thinking. It’s how we draw power. Taking names.” 

“Like Burke.” 

“Like Burke.” Calico nods. Falls silent. Pauses. Then, “I haven’t taken a name in months.” 

Briar holds their breath. 

“You’re safe,” he says, but what use is the word of a Fair that’s admitted to being hungry? “But if you want to leave,” he says, closing his eyes against the kaleidoscope they’re becoming, “I’d understand.” It shouldn’t be this much of a problem, he should have control of it all, but. 

It had been months. 

“What happens to the name you take?” They sound... curious more than afraid. 

He will never fully understand humanity. “It... it’s not theirs anymore. No one can use it. Not for the. Victim.” 

“Does it have to be the name we use?” 

Calico turns, opens his eyes. “What?” 

“If you were given a name someone didn’t use but was still technically theirs, what would happen?” They weren’t quite looking at him, picking at the fraying edge of the leg of their dungarees. 

“Much the same, I think. No one would be able to use it for them.” 

Briar nods. “I have a name for you. If you need it.” 

Calico frowns. “Don’t - don’t give me your name, haven’t you been listening? That’s why we use nicknames.” Besides which, he shouldn’t, Ghost’s deal. 

“Yes, but what if it’s a name that’s only mine by a technicality?” 

“Why is it only by a technicality?” 

“The name my parents gave me.” Briar gets to their feet. “I don’t use it, not really.” 

Calico hesitates. “They don’t – they don’t use the name you chose?” 

“I’ve never really asked them too. Family nicknames are – fine.” Briar shrugs. 

“If you gave it to me, they wouldn’t be able to use it.” 

“Good,” Briar says. “Would it work for you?” 

“Why - why are you offering me this?” 

Briar shrugs, starts walking. “You need names. And you saved my life.” 

Calico hurries to walk in step, heading further across the grass, away from the buildings and into the graveyard. “Only after you got us the information we needed. That deal is paid.” 

“So we make a new deal.” 

Calico laughs. “You humans.” 

“Is that a yes?” 

“You’d need to ask for something in return.” He’s hedging, hoping for a way out, not to run up against Ghost’s deal. 

Briar falls silent, and for a moment Calico thinks he’s done it. That he’s persuaded them not to make a deal, not to… go through with whatever this idea is. 

Then; 

“Tell me about the person I remind you of.” 

“My cousin,” Calico answers, and then, “I… didn’t know that. Before you asked. But ke is – was – my cousin.” 

“You don’t remember?” 

“I’m beginning to, I think.” Calico stopped before a grave and studied the writing on it without really seeing it. “But I don’t think a scattering of memories is worth a name.” 

“Allow me to set the price for it, Faye.” Briar nudged him. “Tell me about keir.” 

“Ke was–” Calico closes his eyes– “younger. Nervy. Green eyes. Finery, but worn. Old.” If only he could remember keir name! 

“How much younger are we talking?” Briar sounded amused. 

“The life of a Fair against yours?” Calico laughed. 

“Point.” Briar took off their glasses and tapped one leg against their teeth. “You don’t remember keir – what you called them?” 

Calico gave them a fleeting smile. “You catch on.” 

Briar gives him a flat look that mirrors Kelly’s favourite, and Calico laughs. 

“I don’t think I do. There’s something – someone’s taken my memories of keir.” 

“By a deal, or…?” 

“If another Fair had my name, maybe, but… I’d know.” Calico frowns. He thinks. 

“If I swapped my name for keirs, would that work?” 

Calico sucks in a hiss and snaps his glare up to them. 

They’re not looking at him. 

“I’d not give you my cousin’s name, even if I knew it.” Calico bares his teeth, eyes darkening. 

“Not – not keir true name, shit. Just whatever you called them.” Briar looks up, startled. “Sorry.” 

The apology flickers across him. 

“Ah.” Calico laughs. “I misunderstood.” He tilts his head, thinking. “I don’t know. It might not take.” 

“I’ll give it a shot.” Briar swivels on their heel to face Calico amongst the graves. “How do we do this?” 

Calico hesitates. “I – don’t think I can. I made a deal with Ghost. She forbad me from taking names.” 

“I’m giving you this one. That’s different enough, right?” 

It… might be. Just enough. Willingly given, not forcefully taken. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” 

He pushes his aviators onto his head and blinks as his eyes go kaleidoscope colours with unbidden glamour. 

Briar lets out a soft gasp, their face softening. 

“Make your deal, Mortal.” The compulsion lies thick on Calico’s tongue, a strain to call it up, a strain to keep it in check. 

“A name for a name, Faye,” Briar says, offering their hand. “I’ll give you mine in exchange for the use-name of your cousin.” They sound a little dazed, and Calico hopes they aren’t about to give him their true name. 

“I accept, Mortal. Give me the name your parents gave you.” He takes Briar’s hand. 

Clouds scud across the sky and the sun lights them up in sudden warmth. 

Briar tells him their deadname like they’re dreaming. It doesn’t suit them, but then – it’s not theirs. Never has been. Never will be again. 

“My cousin’s use-name,” Calico says, and hesitates, “my cousin’s use-name is–” 

Pink hair and seaweed eyes, a flowing skirt over bare feet, waistcoat whirling about keir as ke spins and darts back, beckoning for Calico to follow.  He feels proud of keir, to have come with him, to have joined his family, despite everything. Despite him and Robyn and what they’d done.  What he’d done.  He adored keir. He’d set the worlds alight for keir (he gave up his name when ke asked, gave up his memories when told, gave up – gave up – gave up-) 

“Tayse,” Calico says, the name sharp on his tongue like a broken key. 

He’d drop to his knees under the weight of the memories (the guilt) but Briar has hold of him. 

They’ve stopped closer, hand still clasped in his, and have him against their side, arm looped around their waist. 

“Are you alright?” they ask. “Did that – work?” 

“Briar suits you far better,” Calico says. “I think it did.” 

“Your cousin is Tayse. Do you… know happened to keir?” 

“Not entirely.” Calico pushes himself upright. “But I’m going to find out.” He feels more – settled than he had when he set out. More power at his fingers (on his tongue) but more control, too. 

Briar nods. “Good. And – would you let me know? When you do?” Briar lets go of him. 

“I… I think I can do that.” 

“Good.” Briar smiles. “And – listen. Just a thought, but… when you need more names. Let me know?” 

“How many times will you plan to change names?” 

Briar laughs. “No, not me. But do you know how many trans people would give up their deadnames without blinking?” 

Calico blinks, grins, laughs. 

“Think about it, alright?” 

# 

Months later and Calico is sitting in Qualitea with Briar beside her. It’s wild and wet outside, but in here is warmth and autumnal drinks and just the hint of Hallowe’en décor creeping around the corner. 

There is a woman on the other side of the table from them, and Briar is explaining something to her. 

Calico takes a sip of her apple spiced chai and listens again. 

“If you give Faye here your deadname, no one will be able to use it for you again. You’ll never be able to go back to it, you understand?” 

She nods. “I get it, alright?” She turns her attention to Calico. “And that’s enough? I give you my deadname, you get power, I get freedom?” 

Calico nods and extends her hand over the table. “I accept, Mortal. Give me the name your parents gave you.” 

And she tells her. 

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Laura Cunningham had gone through her daughter's diary and found out she had a crush on Eddie Munson. It's why she tried to make Chrissy date Jason. Although Chrissy thought it wouldn't be fair to Jason, considering she didn't like him at all.

"I don't want to go out with you, Jason. I want to be honest with you," Chrissy said. "It's what my mother wants."

"We all have to do things we don't want. Once you start getting to know me, then I'm sure you'll be glad you listened to your mother," Jason replied.

"What's something that you don't want to do but feel like you have to?" Chrissy asked.

"Well, my dad wants to me come work for him after college. I don't really want to work for the insurance business, but my dad says he makes good money, so you got to have money to live, right?" Jason asked.

"You know, there are other ways of making money, right? If you don't want to work for your dad, then you don't have to. A parent's love shouldn't be conditional on whether their child does something for them. Being happy while making it in this world should be the only thing that should matter to them. If they can't do that, that's on them," Chrissy replied. "Besides, don't you think you deserve better than someone who was asked to date you?"

She slipped out of his grasp and walked away from him. As she walked home, the feeling of defiance weighing heavily on her shoulders, she stopped and got herself a burger. When Chrissy got home, smelling of burgers, she told her mother about rejecting Jason. She also told Laura that she was going to be making her own decisions now. It was the first time that Laura had hit her. Sure, she had called her names and starved her a bit, but she never laid her hands on Chrissy. Laura had hit her hard, too. Chrissy was dizzy, her nose was dripping blood, and her eye was aching. Laura had frozen, which had given Chrissy plenty of time to lock herself in her room and call the police.

Now, here she was, standing in front of her aunt's trailer with most of her things packed in the back of her aunt's car. An aunt. Laura's sister, who Chrissy was told, had died. There were no pictures of her in the house, and though Chrissy had met her when she was younger, apparently, she had no memory of her. Darlene Blake looked at her curiously.

"I know, it's not what you're used to, honey," Darlene said.

"I like it. It's like a little community. It feels. . .cozy," Chrissy smiled. "Can I explore a bit after I unpack?"

"I don't see why not. Most of the folks here are friendly. Some people here they seem like their bite is worse than bark. It's not. They're grumpy bears on the surface, but in the middle, it's nothing but a giant soft marshmallow," Darlene replied, and Chrissy giggled. "It is a good community."

As Chrissy unpacked with the help of her aunt, a question was eating at her.

"Aunt Darlene?" Chrissy asked.

"Yes, sugarplum?"

"Can I ask what happened with you and my mother?" Chrissy asked.

"Honey, don't be afraid to ask me anything," she said and sighed. "You ought to know since you're going to be living with me. When your mother found out that I was only interested in women, she was disgusted by it, and she said that if I ever came near you again, she'd call the cops and tell everyone what I am," Darlene said, looking down.

Chrissy hugged her aunt tightly around the middle. She had a lot more weight on her than Chrissy did, so her arms didn't go all the way around her. It was nice. She hadn't been here long, but already, she felt like this was what a mother should be like. Darlene wrapped her strong arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her head.

"It's not just boys that I like," Chrissy whispered.

Darlene pulled back and cupped her face.

"Thanks for telling me," she said softly, tears in her eyes. "Sweet girl."

After unpacking, Chrissy switched out her skirt for shorts and pulled on a pair of sneakers. Darlene had given her a container to give to the Munsons who lived across the way. It was a little more distance than Darlene told her it was, but Chrissy made it to the Munson trailer. She moved to knock on the door.

"Chrissy Cunningham?"

She jumped and dropped the container. Sitting on the couch that was on his porch was Eddie Munson. He was smoking.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Eddie said kindly.

"It's okay, I didn't see you there," Chrissy said and picked up the container.

"Not to sound rude or anything, but what brings you around here?" Eddie asked.

"My aunt Darlene wanted to give this back to you," Chrissy said, holding it out to him.

"Ah, Lennie's your aunt?" Eddie asked with surprise as he took the container, banging on it like a drum.

"Yeah, she said that I should give you a smack if you called her that," Chrissy giggled. "I won't do that."

"Oh, come on, now," Eddie said, rolling up his sleeves and tossing the container aside. "I deserve it. Lay one one me, Cunningham."

"No!" Chrissy said shaking with laughter.

"Come on!" Eddie said slapping his skin.

"Fine!"

She tentatively smacked him in the arm.

"Harder than that!"

She hit him a little harder this time. He groaned mockingly, collapsing on the couch and clutching it.

"You know not of the strength you wield, Lady Cunningham. You have broketh my arm!" Eddie cried, leaning over and letting his arm dangle. "Yes! Indeed, it is broketh."

Chrissy couldn't control her laughter, clutching her stomach at the sight of him. She snorted. Horrified at the sound she made, she covered her mouth. Eddie burst into laughter and jumped up, moving closer to her to remove her hands from her mouth.

"So, are you just visiting your aunt?" Eddie asked once the laughter died down.

"Moving in," she replied.

"It must be quite the step down," Eddie said.

"It's actually a step up! I love it here!" Chrissy exclaimed with a grin.

"It must have been real bad if this is better than the big house you lived in," Eddie said. Chrissy's smile faltered, and she winced. Eddie realized what he said a moment later. "Hi, I'm Eddie Munson. I sometimes put my foot in my big fat mouth."

Chrissy laughed and shook his hand that he held out to her.

"Do you want to show me that devil music you listen to that I've heard so much about?" Chrissy asked.

He quickly put out his cigarette, grabbed her hand, and dragged her inside the trailer where an older man was sitting on the couch.

"Don't mind me, Uncle Wayne, just bringing a pretty girl into my room to listen to devil music. I promise not to sacrifice her," Eddie said quickly.

Before Chrissy could say anything to Wayne Munson, she was dragged into Eddie's room. As she sat on Eddie's bed, listening to his music, Chrissy was suddenly very grateful that her mother had snooped into her diary.

[miraphoenix]

Right off the bean, this is not a callout post. I'd talk to the person this is about 1-on-1, but a) he's had me blocked for 4 years, and b) it's mutual. This is me venting on my personal blog, something that he decided to vague about me doing back when I had my first blog.

With that out of the way. I'm really fucking tired of people stealing from Valenth/Revecroir, and from its creator.

Years and years ago, when they were a literal child, my bff/queer life partner--for the purpose of this post, their name is Leupai--made lizard-critters with hands on their tongues and called them leupaks. Eventually, they ended up splitting off from Subeta where they worked at the time, making an affiliated petsite called Valenth where the leupaks featured quite prominently as creatures in a fantasy-meets-steampunk world.

Unfortunately, their boss was a piece of work, and following a rather large kerfluffle involving another petsite lifting other elements of my partner's work (namely, a dragon concept and a companion concept), my partner was fired by the Subeta head boss. The leupaks were renamed into leupai, and Valenth expanded into Revecroir. This was in 2014, give or take a few months.

Through about half of the Valenth era and into the Revecroir era, Leupai was dating someone else, who went by Sixar at the time, later Kismeti, and the two had a long-distance open relationship. Kismeti also did a fair amount of site art for Valenth, and described himself as Leupai's biggest fan; when he'd met Leupai originally, his username referenced leupaks, he had a bunch of leupak characters, and a leupak sona. I met both of them in 2013-2014, right around the close of Valenth, and started chatting with them both. Leupai was more responsive, Kismeti was more reserved, but I did the best I could.

Over the years, I kept trying to reach out to Kismeti, but found that Leupai was honestly more willing to talk with me, so I did become better friends with them. Note that I was friends with Leupai, and trying to be friends with Kismeti. We chatted, we sent memes, we played World of Warcraft, I bought folks pizza across the Pacific Ocean, you know the drill.

Through this, I became really familiar with Leupai's world, at that point named Revecroir. I got to know their lore, their worldbuilding, their current projects, and the leupai creatures themselves.

The leupai were--and are!--still fat lizards with paws on their tongues, who can open portals between worlds with acid in their claws, who transfer their consciousnesses to other bodies if one is destroyed, and whose strength comes from the realm of dreams and creativity. In the early days, in lore that wasn't publicized, leupai were roaming around to find a world to live on after Valenth. This was a project that was supposed to be worked on with Kismeti, but nothing really ever came of it. Eventually, Leupai kind of moved on from that storyline to write more about Revecroir itself.

At the same time, I tried asking Kismeti about his worldbuilding, because he had characters and allegedly a world of his own, but didn't really get a lot in the way of answers. I saw a lot of Sonic fanart, I saw a lot of homestuck, I saw a lot of MLP:FiM, I saw a lot of Captain Planet. Eventually, I kind of... Gave up asking? And that's on me, but frankly, if you ask someone to share their stuff and they don't share their stuff, I figure that's the signal to stop asking.

As time went on, though, I was seeing some cracks forming in the 10-year relationship between the two, and I was helping Leupai through a lot. I watched as he yelled at my best friend for not responding to messages fast enough. I watched as he made plans with Leupai and then fucked off to do other things for hours, leaving Leupai in the lurch and worried about his physical safety. I watched as he gaslit Leupai about their ability to use a computer. On one memorable instance, when Leupai's internet was unstable while we were all playing WoW together, Leupai left the voice call to go reset the router, and Kismeti decided that it was a great time to shit-talk Leupai's intelligence to me. For a half hour straight. Until Leupai rejoined the call.

Eventually, I visited Leupai in person and watched as they were broken down to tears by Kismeti failing to respect their boundaries for literal hours, until Leupai caved to Kismeti's preferences. That was a rough night, and I remember wondering why the fuck my best friend's partner was treating them so badly.

About a month and a half after I visited Leupai, they decided to break up with Kismeti, because they'd had enough of him verbally berating them for not responding fast enough to memes sent over instant message, among so many other things. He, to put it mildly, lost his shit.

(For the record, I know what went down, because Leupai had me read the messages sent back and forth, to make sure they were grounded, and were reading things right. I've seen logs going back 10 years. His original vague accused me of not knowing what I was talking about, but boy howdy I was either there, or have read the raw logs.)

Anyway, he begged for Leupai back. Leupai gave him a chance that he fucked up within a day. Leupai said goodbye and blocked him. He then started messaging me about this on discord, clearly trying to use me as a go-between to get to Leupai.

At the time, I was going through some Complex Feelings about my own abuse by various people in my life, triggered by his behavior, so was reblogging a lot of support stuff on my original blog. I guess he decided this was vaguing about him, because he made a vaguepost accusing me of not knowing all the details (unbeknownst to him, I'd read everything) and finally blocked me.

I figured this chapter in my life was done at this point, and moved the fuck on. Made a new blog because I didn't feel like getting all his shit off my old one, moved across the country, got a new job, the whole shebang. Leupai and I entered our odd QPP/partners/bffs/???? phase, and I genuinely didn't think much about him, unless I was helping listen to Leupai talk about stuff they'd gone through with him.

Until this year. When I saw some comment of his break containment and end up on my dash, under the name "riftclaw". I had a bit of an inkling, so I broke my "don't look" rule and looked at the linked toyhouse to confirm it was really him.

Turns out, riftclaws are... Lizard creatures. Who open portals between worlds with acid in their claws. Who are looking for a new world to call their own. And who have some divine properties, that may involve body switching.

And all of Kismeti/riftclaw's old leupai characters are now riftclaws.

Oh, and he was planning to make them into a closed species. To make money off them.

Now, leupai were decently popular back in the day. I still have leupai characters, and make some periodically from time to time. There's a tag on tumblr and everything; if you're reading this, there's a decent chance you remember Vee yourself, as a fair number of my followers were there too. People still talk about Valenth from time to time. Leupai still has a folder of old fanart from back in the day with some 800 pieces of art in it. They were, by all accounts, successful until they weren't.

But the height of popularity was back when Vee was still around, in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The only new stuff in the tags is from an archive blog of old Vee assets.

Despite that, though. And I know this from messages between the pair, I know that Kismeti tore into Leupai repeatedly for "being more popular" and "having more eyes on their work". Even though "those eyes" didn't keep Leupai fed or housed, or really give them any income. Even though "those eyes" meant getting 50 notes on a tumblr post as opposed to 20. Even though "those eyes" just increased thievery and the constant pressure to be a Content Creator(tm), and were a major part of what drove Leupai off the internet entirely starting in 2018.

So imagine. Imagine for a moment. Being so hungry for clout and attention. That you steal your ex-partner's species concept that they've had since they were literally 8 years old, barely file off the serial numbers, and then make that your entire online persona four full years after your partner broke up with your ass twice for being an abusive piece of shit over a 10-year timeframe.

To borrow my own tags from this post, which got me thinking about all of this again?

#This is all to say; if you're jealous of someone else's success? Fine. Go have your emotion. But don't lift their shit.#Your emotions are valid; your actions aren't.

(Oh, and this is the smallest thing in the world, the least important piece of this? Riftclaws are already a thing from a game released in 2016 called Grim Dawn.)

[buthearmeouttho]

This Game I Made Because I’m Bored

so basically. You choose a scenario or thing or something for my characters to react/interact to/with. It can be you it can be you doing something it can be someone else it can be an object or like I said a scenario etc etc blah blah blah. And I’ll like. Draw it:3 because I’m bored. You can just like send an ask or something idk or reblog this post. Here’s the names but that’s all you get your welcome. Unless you want to know them so that’ll be under the like keep reading thing

Esmeralda

Fern

Fawn

Queen Lilay (pronounced Lila)

Trix

Rosa

Lux

Cora

Queen Numa

King Daylor

Queen Rihania

Drannor

Veria

King Eluric

Maximus

Matthew

Maryona

Calypso

Elena

Xavier

Axel

Luna

Drake

Esmeralda (Future Queen of the pixies, tries to be organized, really the one person keeping her kingdom together under the rule of her mother. Very good person, empathetic, problem solver, kind etc)

Fern (Esmeralda’s youngest sister, the sweetest person alive, pansexual, technically dating Lux, very kind, optimistic.)

Fawn (middle child between Esmeralda and Fern, the voice of the people, willing to stand up for anyone if she believes them to be right, was starting a rebellion against their mother the queen.)

Queen Lilay (not exactly evil but really just kind of lazy. A lot like Queen magnificent from WoF yk? Like… mostly self interested, lazy, not quite evil but annoying and neglectful of the kingdom. Not her daughters but she’s just kinda… yk.)

Trix (Esmeralda’s bestie, will commit small crimes, chaotic good/neutral, comic relief kind of. Likes baking.)

Rosa (Esmeralda’s other bestie, more level headed than Trix, diplomat between the other enchanted kingdoms.)

Lux (Born with a crippled wing and is unable to fly. Scared of heights. Very sweet but also very shy. Born into a poor family. Bi)

Cora (mer person, was also starting a rebellion. With Fawn. They’re both lesbian. You can see where this is going. Cora’s the oooo you wanna kiss me so bad in the not yet relationship)

Queen Numa (a fair queen (of the mer folk), but has more of a ‘land problems are land problems, ocean problems are ocean problems’ and that’s why Cora needed the rebellion. Because they couldn’t just cut off from the land bla bla bla. She comes through.)

King Daylor (King of the elves, good and wise king. Been around for a while. Helps Esmeralda where and how he can because he sees that she’s really the only thing keeping her kingdom together)

Queen Rihania (Queen of the elves, ver good queen and liked by all her subjects. Likes gardening. Very nice person.)

Drannor (likes exploring. Elf. Great dude. Funny. Strong. Brave. Blah blah blah. Very nice guy.)

Veria (Blackmailing her bother, horrifying levels of mind control magic, manipulative, smart, dangerous, and goddess level beautiful but like. Still. Also she’s a perfectionist.)

King Eluric (King of the Fanged. Veria’s brother. Fell in love with a human and used a spell to turn her fanged (that’s what he’s being blackmailed with) anyway she died (his wife) but his entire image would still be ruined if anything got out and that is how she’s still blackmailing him. Father of Elena, Maryona, Maximus and Matthew)

Maximus (very formal. Smart. Pretty quiet. Tall. Not much to say about him he’s the eldest brother tho)

Matthew (Technically inane. Pyromaniac. Middle child. Funny dude. Still evil but like. Sense of humor.)

Maryona (Main villain. Identical twin sister of Elena. Hates her sister. Also hates Matthew because he calls her Mary the Scary sometimes. Really pretty. Also manipulative. Also dangerous. Smart and stuff)

Calypso (Cousin of Mary distantly. Owns a Casino. Used to be a pirate. Lots of other things too. Very adventurous. Kinda funny and stuff. Still evil. Tricks people into rigged deals/games and whatnot. Two different eye colours, one orange-gold, one deep purple. Banned from the ocean by loosing her own rigged deal with the sea spirit (she had it rigged but her power was outplayed by him because he’s basically a god.))

Elena (High levels of anxiety. Self worth issues. Very sweet and kind. Scared for good reason. Terrified of her family. Very pretty but she feels guilty about being that pretty. So many issues. So so many issues. But she’s so sweet too. And an empath (like the power). Became mortal from Fanged after her mother died because she didn’t properly fit in with enjoying suffering.)

Xavier (main character, dating Elena, worries about her, basically Bucky from the mcu. Face claim personality the lot of it. Mind controlled for unnatural amount of years by evil people blah blah blah you know the story)

Axel (Xavier’s best friend, the only one who learned proper coping, very nice guy, always just kinda shows up with the *knock knock* hey, are you ok? Etc)

Luna (more trauma than the main character, was sold as a child after her mother died to the evil society but their mind control didn’t work so she had to be forced into doing what they said. Seriously unhealthy training patterns. She won’t eat or sleep until she passes out from exhaustion. Also anger issues.)

Drake (take Nick Fury, give him dreadlocks, take away the eyepatch, make him a medieval knight dude, etc. sarcastic. Don’t mess with him. A good guy and stuff but still.)