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dwobbitfromtheshire · 1 year ago

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The Turkey Baster Experiment

Summary: Her cousin just had a baby via turkey baster, supposedly. Robin had to find out if it actually works. Based on this.

A continuation of me cleaning out my drafts.

1990, Chicago, Illinois

The Rockie Harrison Apartment (named in combination of all of their names)

It was Robin and Eddie's day off of work, so they were busy lounging in their pajamas watching Scooby-Doo. Their partners hadn't been so lucky. Steve was working as a middle school teacher, so of course, he didn't have a day off during the week. Vickie was working in a library at a different school, unfortunately, while she worked on also publishing her own book. Eddie worked as a mechanic. Robin worked at a bakery while also tutoring kids with their Spanish and French on the side. Some of them were rich kids, so occasionally, she could afford to take a few days off like she was now.

"You're such a Velma," Eddie said with a shake of his curls.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Robin said. "Velma is very cute."

"That would make Vickie Daphne?" Eddie asked.

"Duh, she can be such a Daphne sometimes," Robin grinned fondly.

"Steve is such a Fred," Eddie sighed dreamily.

"You're definitely a Shaggy," she said. "And the kids are definitely all Scooby."

"Robin. . .I'm feeling that empty nest thingy again!" Eddie exclaimed and pouted.

"It has been almost a year since they've graduated, and we moved here. Weeks since they've called us. It's not like we practically raised them or anything," Robin pouted. "Do you think they've forgotten about us?"

After the kids graduated high school, Steve and Robin decided to move to Chicago with their partners, who were happy to move anywhere as long as it wasn't Hawkins. It was in Chicago that they found a lovely abandoned old firehouse. It took some TLC, but it was liveable, and it housed them all perfectly. Plus, Eddie loved the pole that went down to the first floor, specifically when Steve used it as a stripper pole. Vickie and Robin had vowed never to use it once they learned what they did with it.

"Rob, they're in college now. El, Lucas, and Max are starting this new relationship. Will and Mike are still dancing around each other since Will broke up with Gareth. They're probably really busy," Eddie shrugged and then paused to wail, "They have forgotten about us!"

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Robin nearly broke her neck, jumping over the back of the couch to answer it.

"Oh, hey, mom," Robin said.

Eddie sighed and crossed his arms, pouting in his seat.

"Darn kids," Eddie muttered.

He focused on the show as Robin talked with her mother. Occasionally, he lifted his head when he heard Robin gasp about something. When the phone call was done, the episode of Scooby-Doo was finished, and another one was starting.

"What was that about?" Eddie asked Robin.

"My cousin finally had a baby. Although she didn't tell anyone that she was pregnant and it's crazy how she got pregnant in the first place," Robin said.

"Not the normal way?" Eddie asked in surprise.

"Well, she and her husband have been trying to have a baby for a while, but it hasn't happened, so she decided to take matters into her own hands," Robin said.

"She fucked another guy?!" Eddie gasped.

"Nope," she said.

"She fucked another girl?" Eddie asked in confusion.

"Dingus! No! She used a turkey baster and get this: she didn't use her husband's sperm to do it. She used his brother's!" Robin exclaimed.

"There's no fucking way," Eddie scoffed.

"She did. Her husband only found out because he went to the doctor and discovered he couldn't have kids," she said. "She told him the truth when he confronted her."

"No, not that. There's no way she got pregnant using a turkey baster," Eddie said.

"She did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't!"

"I'll prove it," Robin said.

"Fucking how?" Eddie asked.

"You have a turkey baster of your own. You should be able to understand the concept of how she did it," Robin said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"No, I mean how the fuck are you going to prove it?" Eddie asked.

"Well, we have a turkey baster, and I happen to be ovulating," Robin said.

"Okay, so what happens if you do get pregnant?" Eddie asked.

"Then you get a baby like you and Steve have been talking about," Robin said. "Although Vickie's been kind of broody lately too."

"So, this kid would have two moms and two dads?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah," Robin said.

"This kid is either going to be the queerest kid ever, or we're all so queer that they're going to be the straightest person alive," Eddie snickered.

"Either way, because of us, they'll be the fast talking son in the west," Robin said.

"It could be a girl," Eddie said.

"No, it's play on words for - never mind. Are we doing this or not?" Robin asked.

"Hmm, maybe Steve and Vickie are right. Maybe we shouldn't hang out without them," Eddie said.

"Coward," Robin said.

Eddie and Robin stared at each other for a while. Eddie glared at her.

"Do it," Eddie said.

"You're up first, big guy," Robin said.

"Right."

Robin gave him a cup and shoved him into the bathroom. She waited rather impatiently outside the door. A couple of minutes later, she heard him groan in frustration.

"Problems? Just think about Steve at the beach when he ate that vanilla ice cream cone, and it started dripping into his sweaty, hairy beast of a chest, but instead of you gawking at him like an idiot, you reach over and start licking - "

"Okay, it's up! Stop helping!" Eddie shrieked.

Eddie glared at her when he walked out of the room and handed her the cup. She took it, and the turkey baster into the restroom, her head held high. He leaned against the wall, smirking when he heard Robin complain loudly.

"Well, if I didn't know I was a lesbian before this, this is definitely what would turn me. Disgusting!" Robin exclaimed.

"I've heard no complaints from Steve when he swallows!" Eddie exclaimed cheerfully.

"Gah!" Robin exclaimed as she came out of the bathroom. "It's done."

"Now what?" He asked.

"Now we wait," Robin said.

She threw herself down on the couch, turned herself upside down, and threw her legs over the back of the couch.

"What are you doing?" Eddie asked.

"Helping your little guys find their way," Robin said. "Plus, it's a cool way to watch Scooby-Doo."

Eddie shrugged and copied what she did.

"Now, we wait," Eddie said.

An uncertain amount of weeks later. . .

Eddie was alone in the apartment while Vickie took Robin to a doctor's appointment. Steve was at work. Eddie was working on writing music when the door to the apartment burst open. Vickie stared at Eddie while Robin stood nervously behind her.

"Did you get my girlfriend pregnant?" Vickie asked.

"It was her idea! She seduced me!" Eddie said.

"How?!" Vickie asked.

"She called me a coward!" He exclaimed.

Vickie giggled and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly.

"It's hard to stay mad at the mother and father of my child even if it was reckless of you guys," Vickie laughed again. "Just wait until Steve comes home."

"Oh God, Steve," Eddie realized, his face pale.

Eddie waited around nervously for Steve to come home. When he finally did, he walked in with a smile on his face. Oh good, he had a decent day. . . It was a decent day that Eddie was probably about to ruin. He walked up to Steve, greeting him with a tight hug and a kiss. He snuggled into Steve’s side, his cheek pressed against his. Eddie traced patterns in his chest.

"Hi," Steve said, looking at him in confusion.

"So, how mad would you be at me if I got your platonic soulmate pregnant?" Eddie asked.

"What is this now?" Steve asked with wide eyes.

"Robin's cousin got pregnant by turkey baster, and I called bullshit on that, then Robin wanted to prove it. I jerked off into a cup, and Robin squirted it up her hoo-ha with the turkey baster. Then, several weeks later, here we are," Eddie said and paused. "So, how was your day, sweetheart?"

Steve sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, trying to wrap his head around Eddie's ridiculous description of the situation. He walked into the kitchen, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and plopped down at the table.

"So, how are you feeling about this?" Steve asked Vickie and Robin.

"Excited," Vickie grinned. "We're all going to be parents."

"So, all four of us, huh?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Robin said.

"We're having a baby," he said softly, and then he grinned. "We're having a baby!"

"Three bisexuals, a lesbian, and a baby!" Eddie exclaimed, and they all looked at him. "What? Spock directed that film."

Steve laughed, pulled him into his lap, and kissed him.

"I'm happy this happened, but maybe next time you want to get Robin pregnant, maybe get all of us involved," Steve grinned.

"Hey, I was just trying to prove Robin wrong," Eddie said and smiled softly. "I'm glad I was the one who was wrong."

"I just realized this baby is going to part Robin and Eddie," Steve said.

"Oh god!" Vickie laughed.

"Hey! You guys are supposed to love us!" Eddie exclaimed.

"This baby is going to kick the shit out of me, aren't they?" Robin asked, holding her stomach.

Several months later. . . after many shenanigans during which Robin discovered that she could use Steve and Eddie as her willing puppets. . .

"Wednesday, huh?" Steve asked as he held the baby in his arms.

"You said we couldn't name her after a Scooby-Doo character," Eddie said defensively.

"Besides, you always said you love Wednesday because she reminds you of Max," Robin said.

"I'm not complaining, I love the name," Steve said grinning.

Wednesday Elizabeth Munson-Buckley had started arriving sometime during the middle of the night, much to Robin's annoyance. She had been busy sleeping. Wednesday had arrived that afternoon, surrounded by doctors and all of her parents. Now, here they were in Robin's hospital room, with Eddie and Vickie cooing over Steve’s shoulder.

"You did great, baby," Vickie said tearfully. "She's beautiful."

Vickie kissed Robin deeply before going back to gazing at the baby.

"You want to go next, don't you?" Robin asked her girlfriend.

"What?" Vickie asked.

"If we ever decide to give Wednesday a sibling, you want to be the one that's pregnant, don't you?" She asked in amusement.

"Ooh, both her and Steve could go next," Eddie said.

"Let's just see how this one goes," Steve said, laughing. "But probably."

"Oh, I called Uncle Wayne. He cried like, well, a baby when I told him I wanted to give her a w name in honor of him. He's going to call everyone else and let them know. So, we're probably going to have a full house sometime in the next few days," Eddie said.

Steve grinned and passed the baby back off to Robin. She smiled and stroked the top of Wednesday's head.

"Oh, I want her to have the whole world," Robin said.

"So, you want her to be an evil super villain hellbent on world domination?" Eddie asked.

"It's what she deserves," she said.

"She'll succeed where men have failed," Eddie said proudly.

"Yeah, that's a no," Steve scoffed.

"We're just keeping her options open, Stevie," Eddie said.

"It's not set in stone," Robin said. "We're just letting her know that we'll love her no matter what."

"I'm not supporting our daughter becoming a super villain," Vickie laughed.

"I guess we know who the fun parents are," Eddie said.

It certainly wasn't an everyday situation, and most people would call it abnormal, but to the four of them and the people they loved, it wasn't so strange. Wednesday would grow up to be well loved with four supportive parents and with an extended family to match. Stranger things have happened than a child growing up loved and isn't that the most important thing of all. . . That the child was loved?

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unhingedexperimenter · 5 months ago

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(You can tag me on my tgs side blog. I also apologize but I know a few Scottish words. So to anyone reading this I apologize for the inaccuracy.) Becky Boxleitner noticed a change in the atmosphere as she and her pet monkey Bob walked into the sixth grade classroom. All of the students were excitedly chatting with one another. Becky and Bob exchanged confused looks at the scene. 'What is going on?' They both thought. Becky walked to where her friends Violet Heaslip, Rose Franklin, and Todd Scoops Ming were sitting, also joining in the excited yet low volume chattering. "Hey guys what's going on?" Becky asked her friends. They each turned their heads to greet their friend. "Hey Becky guess what, we're getting a new teacher for our class!" Scoops exclaimed. Becky looked surprised at the announcement. Bob also mimicked her facial expression. "Wait really? What happened to Miss Davis?" Becky asked, wondering what happened to their old teacher. It was just a week only into the new school year so a sudden teacher exchange was a complete shock to Becky especially since there were no announcements about it beforehand. "Miss Davis had to move back home because of a family emergency." Rose Franklin answered. "The principal had to scramble to find a new teacher to fill in for our class. It was all last minute stuff." Becky nodded in understanding of her friends' answers. It was a nice perk to be friends who were upcoming reporters. Soon the final bell rang which indicated for every student to take their seats. Becky took her place beside her best friend Violet and Bob plopped down next to her. Soon a man who looked to be in his mid 30s walked in and towards the desk. He had curly brown air, an arched nose, and reddish brown eyes. He wore a tan button-down shirt with a red vest as well as brown slacks and dark suede shoes. The man gave a pleasant and warm smile to all the students there. "Hello my name is Dr. Henry Jekyll and I will be your teacher for the school year." Becky and the other kids ears perked up as they took note of the man's accent. Even Tobey became slightly interested in his new teacher. None of them were sure where their new teacher was from. Dr. Jekyll gave a light chuckle as if he could sense their growing curiosity about him. He lightly clapped his hands together to gain their undivided attention and focus. "Well since this is my first time teaching here, why don't we all play a little game so we can all get better acquainted with each other. Here's what to do. One at a time, say your name and share a wee bit about yourself. Likes, family, interests and all that. I'll go first to show ya what ah mean. Again. My name is Dr. Henry Jekyll. I was born in Glasgow but ah moved to London where I attended university. I have a five year old wee lassie or daughter named Amber. I enjoy chemistry and reading on occasions. Now who would like to go next?" @unhingedexperimenter

Of course Tobey had taken the opportunity to place attention on himself and to have a reason to boast about himself. “My name is Tobey McCallister the third and I will be the most intelligent student you'll meet here.” The others had rolled their eyes, used to this kind of behavior from their peers. Becky seemed to be the most annoyed by it. Having been forced to put up with his destructive tantrums in the past. Henry smiled just as warmly as before. Unbothered by the obnoxious behavior that the boy had been displaying. Tobey had been going on about himself for a good few minutes before the teacher finally spoke up. “Ahem, yes. Thank you for that Mr. McCallister. Would anyone else like to tell me a bit about themselves as well?” No one could tell that behind the facade, Dr. Henry Jekyll was becoming more irritated by the moment. Not by the child but by the pest that refused to leave him be. Scoffing within his head at what they just heard. He didn't share the disembodied voice's opinion but wanted to give the other children a chance to introduce themselves as well. To the others' shock, Tobey seemed to have taken this well. Quickly going back to his desk with no issues. Becky was relieved at that. Soon the other children had started to introduce themselves to their new teacher with little to no issues. He seemed genuinely nice enough to her. This new teacher didn't seem like most of the adults within this city. Some she had to define words repeatedly for. Dr. Jekyll knew what he was teaching and knew his vocabulary. It was Violet who had brought Becky out from her own thoughts, calling her name. Waving a hand in front of her face. “Becky?” The girl smiled in an embarrassed manner. “Huh? Yes?” Violet smiled, patient with her best friend. “Why don't you introduce yourself now? Nearly everybody else already did.” She had given a surprised expression. Becky hadn't realized that she was so lost within her thoughts until then. She stood up and began speaking. “My name is Becky Boxleitner and I also like libraries,reading and Pretty Princess.” The presence that was grating at the teacher's nerves had deemed this too dull to enjoy. Leaving Dr. Jekyll be to his teaching. Well, getting to know his students. He was happy to see that they were engaged in these activities that were meant to break the ice. Though one student in particular had caught his attention the most. Becky. While she did seem rather bright, there was something strange about her behavior at times. Pausing whatever she was doing at the time to listen in on something. Thinking it went unnoticed. Even once looking alarmed and she made an excuse to go to the bathroom. He had allowed it. Feeling that it would've been better to have let her. It seemed…oddly familiar. As if he had seen that behavior somewhere before but couldn't figure out exactly where from. When the school day was finally over, Becky had gone to go home like the others. Dr. Jekyll had of course stayed behind to set more things up within his new classroom. Making a plan on exactly what he'll actually start teaching the next day. Though, the grating voice had returned to be a thorn in his side. “Come on. Leave this boring stuff alone. Leave it until tomorrow. I've been pent up for far too long. Let's have some fun.” This had earned an eye roll and a loud huff from the teacher. “No, I've got to get this done now. You will have enough time tonight. Just be patient until then.” A shadowy figure formed in front of Dr. Jekyll. A frown on its face. “But this is so extremely dull. I want to stretch my legs. I want to make myself known already.” Dr. Jekyll glared. “And that is precisely why I'm so hesitant to let you out so soon. At least let us get acclimated to our surroundings first.” The figure let out an annoyed groan. “You know you want this as much as I do. Otherwise you'd never have any actual fun in the sad and pathetic life you call yours.”

@thecountoflondonfansite

#rp

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yourimagines · 1 year ago

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Office days

* English is not my first language I apologise

* Gif is not mine

* Triggers

- Summary: you work at the McLaren headquarters,

Y/N POV

“So the drivers will spend the last few days off here in the office.” CEO Zak Brown said. “Are there any more questions?” We all shook our heads. “Alright, let’s prepare and finish the other half of the season with a good sprint.” We all stood up and walked to our own offices. “Y/L/N.” Zak called me. “Yes?” “Can i asked you something?” “Of course.” “Lando requested if it was possible to spend the few days at your office, he’s willing to learn more about the new developments for the next few years.” “Of course he can, I have a few interesting days come along, it will be interested for him.” “Good to hear that he’s welcome at you office. I will send him Monday to you department.” “Good, I’ll see him then.” We both parted our ways. I had a big smile on my face. ‘Lando Norris is interested in my work.’

——— Monday Morning———

I was sitting at my desk when I heard a knock on my door. “Come in!” The door opened and Lando stepped in side. “Hello Lando, please take a seat.” I pointed at the seat in front of my desk. “Thank you.” He smiled and took place. “I heard you wanted to look more into our next generation race cars.” “Yes correct, with new rules and developments, I want to understand our vision a bit more for in the future.” I nod at his response. “Well we are very busy with that, the team is already striving for the newest car for next season.” He nods. “But we also would like your opinion and feedback for in the future.” “I can do that.” “Good, let’s take a walk than.” We both stood up and walked to the factory. “Here is the team, collecting data and transmitting it on our newest design. We change this very often with the data we get from the race results.” We walked through the factory, everyone was at work, behind the computer, simulators and more. “This factory is different from the one at level 3.” “Yes we are looking more into the future, while they look at the present. Our work will get there when we are ready.” He nods, looking around the facility. “Have you ever been to a race?” “No I haven’t. I hope in the future.”

We went on a lunch break. Lando followed me behind, asking a lot of questions about the department but also about myself. “So you are 24 years old?” “Yes, same age as you.” “And already this high in the cooperation?” “I had some help to get me here, my farther works at the factory at level 3.” We both took place and started to eat lunch. “I still find it impressive what you do.” “You do? It’s not like racing and training every day.” ��No but we need everyone’s effort to make us win.” I smiled at him. “I hope you learn something in these days, it’s not like I can help you with the issues you have now on your car.” “But it makes me understand more about the team.” He said while taking a bite from his sandwich.

——— Friday———

Lando walked in and plopped down in the chair. “Good morning Lando.” “Good morning Y/N.” I was typing a mail as he was spinning around in the chair. “So what’s the plan today.” “Driving.” He stopped spinning his chair and looked at me with a shocked face. “Driving?” “Yes driving.” “But we can test the cars during the season.” “We know, we are not going to drive a F1 car.” I finished the mail and stood up. “McLaren has a new car for our McLaren customers and we are going to test it.” “Really?!” He jumped up. “Yes really, we work very close with that department, so are you ready?” “Hell yeah.” We both walked through the hallways, arriving outside where they where waiting. “Ahh there you are.” Head of customers Josh welcomed us. “Hello Josh, nice to see you too.” I gave him a hug. “Josh, Lando is joining us today, if you don’t mind.” “Of course not, welcome Lando I hope you can keep up with her.” As he nodded at my direction. Lando looked a bit unpleasant. “ of course, she a good teacher for that matter.” Josh smiles and turned to me. “Let me show you our newest car.” He guides us to the new car. “The new generation of sports car, newest model with our newest engine….”

Lando POV

I was looking at how Josh was trying to impress Y/N. She looked very excited as he stood close to her, telling about the newest car. “You want a test drive?” Josh asked her. “Me? I think you should asked our driver Lando.” Josh didn’t look at me, he just huffed at the idea. “No… I think it’s better that you drive, he needs to focus more on driving his car to the finish line.” I was shocked what he just said. “I’m sorry?” I asked while Y/N looked between us. Josh just smiled sarcastically at me. “I think we should let the lady drive, it’s called manners.” This guy… “okay, let’s not get to that path of the road. I’ll drive it.” Josh smiles at her. “Let’s get you in the car then.” I stayed behind watching him flirting with her. I felt jealousy creeping in. ‘Lando forget it, he’s more mature than you are.’

“Thank you Josh.” She stepped out of the car. “No thank you.” He gave her a wink. “Lando did you see the inside of the car yet?” She looked at me while Josh closed the door quickly. “Yes.” She was surprised with my short answer, she quickly smiled. “Okay, Josh thank you for showing us the new car, I assume you already mailed me the details about this car?” “Yes i did, I’m fast you know.” “I know, then we are done here, we have to go back we have a meeting.” “I understand, I’ll hope I see you very soon Y/N.” She turned around. “Let’s go before we are to late.” Josh didn’t say anything to me as we walked away. “What a beautiful car, don’t you think.” I hummed at her question. “We’re using some of the data to our f1 cars, mostly engine wise.” I just nodded. She didn’t say anything, looking a bit hurt from my behaviour. We both walked into her office as she closes the door behind us. “Lando are you alright, you seemed so quiet.” “No I’m fine.” I said in a flat tone. “Well you don’t behave like your fine.” She sits down on her chair. “Since when do you care, all you care about is the stupid car.” Her smile fell, hurt was now on display. “Well I’m sorry Lando that I’m passionate about my job, I think it’s time for you to leave, I have a private meeting in a minute.” She didn’t looked at me, her eyes where looked on het computer screen. “Yeah of course.” I walked out of her office. ‘Stupid idiot!’ I walked quickly through the hallways, trying not to lose my shit.

Y/N POV

I sat in disbelief in front of my computer. ‘What did I do wrong?’ I stared at my screen, my agenda was empty. I got a notification from Josh. “Newest developments for our smartest woman Y/N” I cringed at the mail. “Weirdo.” I said while opening the data. I read everything till it was time to go home. I made sure everything was off in the office and walked through the empty hallways of the department. Then I saw Lando sitting in the main hall, looking at his phone. “Lando, im heading home, I hope i see you monday.” He looked up, eyes where bloodshot, likes he’s been crying. “Lando are you okay, what happened?” He’s hooked his head. “Nothing important, I want to apologise for my behaviour earlier today.” I nod at him. “I hope I didn’t ruin your vibe for your meeting tho.” “I lied there was no meeting.” “But you said it twice, you said it to Josh.” “Yes for us to escape, I’m not there to listen to his insults. Josh likes me but I already told him I’m not interested, doesn’t listen to me.” “You don’t like him?” “No he’s weird and besides I already like someone else.” “Oh. Lucky guy then.” Lando looked at his shoes. “He is, because he did hurt her feelings today, saying she only cares about that stupid car.” His head shot up, looking surprised at me. “Wait you like me?” “Of course, I didn’t just did this for the team, I was happy you wanted to look at my department and stuff.” He laughs. “No freaking way, I told Zak I wanted this because I already had a crush and needed a reason to talk to you.” We both laughed. “Do you forgive me and give me a proper chance?” I prentend to think. “Don’t know, Josh already asked me….” I cracked a smile at him. “No that would be a mistake, you need someone with manners.” “I think your right.” He walked up to me. “So you give me a chance?” “Yes of course I will. You’re to handsome to not give you a chance.” He got a blush on his cheeks. “Well thank you, your beautiful as well.” We both walked with a smile on our faces to our cars. “If you have time we can hang out tomorrow?” “That would be nice.” “Okay, I’ll text you.” I nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” I hopped in my car. “Yeah see ya tomorrow.” I waved at him and drove off. Smiling like a idiot. ‘I’m falling for Lando Norris.’

#x reader #imagines #imagine #lando x reader #lando norris x reader #lando norris x you #lando norris imagine #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #x y/n

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v-o-i-d-e-d · 1 year ago

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I've been binging romcoms with my younger sister and we just finished "To all the boys I have loved before" and now I can't get the idea out of my head: reader writing letters for different starfleet members without intending to send them and suddenly the letters are gone and being sent to their unintended targets (lol, probably Jim did it not knowing that they were not supposed to be read or something). Problem is: our favorite vulcan will too be receiving quite a love letter. Idk, I just thought it was cute, you can ignore if it's too silly ^\\\^

This was such a cute request and I love rom-com-type situations so I ran wild. Also, I'm sorry that this took so long for me to get out I have been busy with school and other annoying responsibilities! I hope you enjoy it!

Title: Message in a Bottle

Pairing: Spock x Kirk!reader

Warnings- none!

Word Count: 4047 my hand slipped

Lieutenant (Y/N) Kirk had been having a totally normal day. She completed her duties on the bridge as normal and had just finished eating dinner with her brother Jim. Now as she headed back to her room, she could not wait to shower, crawl into bed, and enjoy the next few hours of sleep before she had to get up and do everything again. When she entered her room the automated door hissed closed and she was finally completely alone. She took a deep breath and turned the lights in the room on. She almost immediately noticed something that completely ruined her peace.

Earlier that morning, (Y/N) was clearing out her storage closet and had sat a white box full of envelopes on her dining room table so that she would remember to find a new place for them. That box was no longer on the table. Now, one might think why is a missing box of envelopes a big deal? Well, they aren’t. It’s the fact that the envelopes were all properly addressed and full of letters to people she knew that she never intended to send. A few sappy ‘thank you’s to old teachers, a couple to her higher-ups including Captain Christopher Pike – the man who told the Kirk siblings to enroll in Star Fleet Academy. These letters would be slightly embarrassing if they got out but nothing (Y/N) couldn’t handle. After all, everything she wrote in them was true and she appreciates everything those people have done for her. There was only one letter in that whole box that worried (Y/N)—her love letter – a detailed love letter – to one Commander Spock. She cursed herself for writing and keeping a love letter in the first place though she didn’t anticipate the whole box would disappear. She tried to think back to earlier to see if she could remember if she moved it, but when she left her room after lunch it was still on the table and she hadn’t returned since.

“This can’t be happening. It didn’t just sprout legs and walk away!” She said to herself. (Y/N) ran a hand down her face and thought hard. She paused, “No fucking way.” She exited her room at a jog and progressively got faster as she headed toward her brother’s room. She slid to a stop in front of the white door of the captain's quarters and rapidly slammed her fist against it.

“James, open the door right now!”

The door slid open revealing a perplexed – and slightly afraid – Jim Kirk. He knew he had done something wrong for her to be angry enough to come to his room calling him by his full name. Of course, he had no idea what he had done but he decided it was best to try to start off ahead.

“Look, I know you’re upset about-“

“Did you move the white box on my dining room table when you were in my room earlier?”

“Wait, what? That’s what you’re mad about?” Jim scrunched his face up and scratched the top of his head. (Y/N)’s eyes widened and she briefly looked around the corridor before shoving Jim back into his room and following him in. The door shut with a hiss and (Y/N) closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. When she opened her eyes Jim was staring at her with a confused expression and his hands crossed over his chest.

“Please, for the love of god, tell me you didn’t mail those letters,” (Y/N) said as calmly as she possibly could. Silence followed her question and she already knew the answer.

“Well –“

“Oh. My. God.”

“There was a box of addressed envelopes on the table so I thought you needed them mailed!”

“Jim! Why would you mail someone else's letters? Isn’t that, like, illegal or something?” (Y/N) was absolutely freaking out and, for the life of him, Jim couldn’t understand why.

“I was trying to be nice! I knew you had a long day today and I wanted to take something off your plate! Excuse me for being a good brother,” Jim rolled his eyes at his sister and threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

“Well, jackass, a good brother would have asked before just taking a box from his sister’s room and now there is a love letter headed to your second in command!”

A long pause followed her statement. Jim blinked once. Twice. Then a prolonged third blink.

“What?” Jim had no idea what to say. (Y/N) groaned and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She began to pace in the entryway and ramble about how dumb she was to write it in the first place and how she should have burned the letters when she had the chance. Jim finally shook his head to rouse himself out of his stunned silence.

“Why the hell would you write a love letter…to Spock? Or to anyone for that matter what is this 1812?” Jim chuckled at his own joke but covered it with a cough when (Y/N) glared at him.

“I don’t know! I like writing letters and I just started writing one day and it turned into a full blown sappy confession that I had planned to keep hidden till the day I died! Now it’s headed off to the last person in the universe who I wanted to see it.”

“Well, maybe this isn’t so bad.”

“I want you to stop talking.”

“No, I’m serious maybe this is what you two need to stop dancing around the obvious!” Jim gestured vaguely with his hands as (Y/N) ceased her pacing. She sighed and shook her head.

“Jim, we’ve been over this: Spock does not feel that way about me. And that’s fine!” (Y/N) and her brother had had many conversations about this subject. Always with Jim insisting that the feelings were mutual and (Y/N) denying that Spock would ever even look at her in that way. I’m his best friend’s little sister and his subordinate, she thought, He’s way too professional for that.

Before Jim could respond, both of their communicators chimed. They were being called back to the bridge for an emergency. They briefly held eye contact before rushing toward the door. As they jogged toward the bridge, (Y/N) continued the conversation.

“Okay did you just mail them today?”

“Why are we still talking about this?”

“Because I want to know how long I have to transfer to another part of the fucking galaxy to avoid embarrassment,” They turned a corner and the lights flickered before flashing red. The ship shuttered and Jim and (Y/N) struggled to regain footing.

“Is it bad that I’m hoping whatever just happened happened to happen to the mail room?”

“Yes. And that was way too many uses of the word ‘happened’.”

Six hours and several shots fired later, the trouble was averted. A rogue Klingon battalion had decided to attack the Enterprise while it was stationary and almost destroyed the engines but quick thinking from Jim, (Y/N), Spock, and Sulu had saved the day. (Y/N) was officially beyond exhausted. She was so tired, in fact, that she forgot about the whole letter situation and went straight to bed after the whole debacle was over.

Day 1 of waiting:

She slept blissfully and woke up rested and ready for the day. She had gotten dressed and ready and made her way back to the bridge. Unfortunately, her blissful restfulness was cut short when she laid eyes on a certain Commander and remembered the imminent embarrassment that was bound to ruin her life at some point this week.

“Good morning, Lieutenant Kirk. You look rested.” Spock greeted her with a nod as he fell in step with her toward the bridge elevator.

“Uh, yeah, good morning,” (Y/N) managed to only stutter once and she quickly cleared her throat. She shouldn’t be freaking out. They walked together to the bridge all the time. Of course, normally Jim is with them but still, casual meetings with Spock were not entirely out of the ordinary. As they walked, silence filled the space between the two and, to (Y/N), it was suffocating. Something on her face must have given away the fact that something was wrong.

“Are you feeling alright, Lieutenant?” Spock asked. His face was neutral but he side eyed (Y/N) intensely. Briefly, (Y/N) met his heavy gaze before looking straight ahead.

“Yup, feeling absolutely terrific!” She couldn’t even believe herself. Spock raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak again but, luckily for (Y/N), he was interrupted.

“Lieutenant Kirk.” It was Scotty. God bless him! (Y/N) thought.

“What’s up, Scotty?” Was that the formal way to address him? No. But (Y/N) just wanted to get out of speaking with Spock one-on-one.

“I need to speak to you. There are some issues with a few of the privates stationed in the engine room and I could use your help to resolve the issue before I throw some people out of the airlock!” His accent was strong with annoyance and (Y/N) couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Sure thing,” She turned to Spock who had paused beside her, “You go on to the bridge, I’ll be in the engine room if you need me in the meantime.” Without waiting for an answer, (Y/N) hurried toward the engine room leaving Scotty to trail behind.

Day 2 of waiting:

It was only the second day, and Spock had already caught on to the fact that (Y/N) was avoiding him. (Y/N) knew it was not going to be easy to allude him while also keeping it a secret that she was doing it on purpose, after all – Spock isn’t an idiot and (Y/N) is anything but subtle. Spock and (Y/N) had a routine and of course in an effort to not speak to him (Y/N) had changed it so that she was usually off the bridge when Spock was there and vice versa.

“Lieutenant Kirk you are needed on the bridge,” Chekov’s thick accent crackled through (Y/N)’s communicator and she sighed. She knew Spock would be there which is why she was currently in the engine room recalibrating the warp drive. It was busy work that she normally wouldn’t do but anything to avoid the impending embarrassment.

“On my way.”

When she arrived, Spock immediately shifted his gaze from his work to her. (Y/N) briefly met his gaze before walking toward her brother who was seated in his chair with his legs thrown over the armrest. She rolled her eyes.

“What do you want, Jim?”

“That’s no way to address your captain, Lieutenant,” Jim had a smug smile on his face – as usual – and it took everything in (Y/N) not to smack him on the back of his head.

“Tell me what you want or I’m leaving. I was working, unlike some people,” She scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned into her hip.

“Okay, I am sending you and Spock on a mission,” Jim’s smirk got wider as he noticed his sister’s eye twitch in annoyance. “The planet we’re coming up on is supposed to be abandoned but there should be evidence of a previous civilization. I figured with your archeological knowledge and Spock’s general smart-assery you two would fit the job perfectly.”

(Y/N) took a deep breath in through her nose as she glared at Jim. She sneaked a glance at Spock.

He was listening in on the conversation – an action he deemed logical since it also pertained to him. His eyes were focused on the screen in front of him but he could see (Y/N) from the corner of his eye. He noticed her normally relaxed state was exchanged for tensed shoulders and a glowering expression. Whatever had been going on yesterday had most certainly carried into today. He thought. (Y/N) Kirk was one of his closest friends just as James Kirk was. Though many things that the younger Kirk did were illogical and not well thought out, she knew how to get the results she wanted and always figured out a way for everyone to be happy or at least safe. Spock enjoyed her company even more than he enjoyed her brother’s. She was smart, kind, and usually quiet if it was just the two of them. She was a challenging chess opponent and someone dear to his heart. Not that he would say that to her.

(Y/N) sighed, “Okay. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. We’ll be in the atmosphere at around 12 o’clock Earth time so you’ve got plenty of time to research and prepare. Why don’t you and Spock take the rest of the day for whatever nerd stuff you need to do,” Jim waved his sister off before getting up and leaving the bridge. (Y/N) glared at his back as he left before begrudgingly walking over to Spock.

“Hey, Spock,” she said. Her eyes were focused on the ground rather than up at the Vulcan who was looking at her intently. (Y/N) took a breath in through her nose before finally lifting her gaze to meet Spock’s, “Let’s go get some lunch and we can talk about the mission.”

Before the Vulcan had the chance to respond, (Y/N) quickly turned on her hell and started walking toward the elevator. Spock easily caught up to her before the doors closed and as the elevator began to descend, Spock spoke up.

“(Y/N), are you feeling ill?” Spock dropped the formalities and asked straight out. (Y/N) lifted an eyebrow and looked at her Commander with a curious gaze.

“No, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” This was a stupid question, (Y/N) realized. Her behavior was at best erratic and clearly intentional so it was only logical for Spock to know something was wrong. She did breathe an internal sigh of relief knowing that Spock hadn’t received the letter, otherwise, she was sure he would have confronted her by now – mutual feelings or not.

“You’ve been acting strange for the last couple of days. I want to be sure that your behavior will not negatively affect your performance on this mission.”

(Y/N) fought the urge to roll her eyes as the elevator doors hissed open. Of course. She thought. He’s only worried about this dumb mission my dumb brother is sending us on to torture me.

“I am also worried about your well-being, Lieutenant.” Spock’s surprising sentiment almost made (Y/N) trip on her own foot. She cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders as they turned the corner of the hallway.

“I promise, I’m okay. Just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Ah, yes, the letter.”

(Y/N) swore her heart stopped right there in the hallway. She hesitantly looked at Spock, trying her best to keep her expression as neutral as his. She didn't know how to respond I could play dumb, she mused, but he’s too smart for that to work. The man knows my handwriting so it would be impossible for me to deny that I wrote it. She took a deep breath through her nose, Fuck it.

“Yeah, actually that is what’s on my mind. And honestly, I had hoped I could just ignore the problem but I should have known that wouldn’t work with you.” (Y/N) rambled.

“Why would this be a problem?” Spock tilted his head slightly and furrowed his eyebrows, something that (Y/N) found impossible endearing.

“It could ruin things! In so many ways!” By now, (Y/N) was pacing the hallway and Spock was more confused than ever. “You’re my superior officer and I just sent a love letter to you! Of course, I wouldn’t be dumb enough to send it that would be my genius brother. But I was dumb enough to leave the box out and allow him into my room! But I mean, who mails other people’s letters without asking? What was he even thinking?”

“(Y/N) –“

“I’m so sorry! I seriously didn’t mean to tell you like this and if I’m honest, I didn’t intend on telling you at all! My feelings were supposed to be kept to myself! Well, to myself and Jim but he’s a nosey bastard who obviously can’t mind his business! I don't know why I tell him anything and honestly, I wish he’d just – “

“(Y/N).” Spock, tired of listening to her pointlessly rambling on about how annoying her brother is – a fact he knew to be true – grabbed her gently by the shoulder to get her to stop pacing. Now that she wasn’t speaking and instead was staring up at him like a kicked puppy waiting to be scolded his mind went blank. Spock was officially at a loss for words. “I was talking about the letter of promotion Admiral Pike sent you. About the head of engineering position.”

She wanted to disappear. Perhaps if she willed it hard enough, she could fade from existence on the spot. For once, it was running her own mouth that got her in trouble instead of her brother’s. (Y/N) tried to read Spock’s expression but couldn’t and that sent even more anxiety straight to her gut.

“Oh.” That was all she managed to say. She quickly regained her wits, “Then just forget everything I said and we can just go back to normal!” She let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a cry and started to walk in the direction of the cafeteria. However, Spock hadn’t let go of her shoulder and as she walked away his grip slipped from her shoulder down to her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“Wait.” That was all he managed to say. His mind was still reeling trying to decipher her quick words. A love letter. He thought. She loves me? He couldn’t believe it. “You love me?”

Despite her distraught state, she had to admit she had never seen Spock looking so dumbfounded, as if what she said was something he had never thought of in any scenario. His hand still held hers firmly and he gently pulled her back towards him. “You love me.” He said again, though this time it seemed as though he was finally understanding the situation.

“Okay, Spock, you’re starting to sound like a broken record, and the record is titled Hurting (Y/N)’s Feelings.” She chuckled only to keep herself from bursting into tears out of sheer embarrassment. This was the moment she was dreading. The absolute end of a friendship and a lifetime of shame. I’ll have to go into exile. Maybe I’ll ask Scotty to throw me out of the airlock. She thought. Just as she was about to speak again, Spock dropped her hand turned on his heel, and headed back in the direction they came from. That was when the damn broke and (Y/N)’s eyes welled up with hot tears. Blinking rapidly, she haphazardly looked around the hallway to make sure no one saw her before jetting away in the direction of her room.

“You left her in the hallway?” Jim was on the verge of shouting. He was absolutely flabbergasted at Spock’s behavior. Spock rolled his eyes.

“I was unsure of what I was supposed to do.”

“So you decided to leave my baby sister in the hallway, by herself, after basically confessing her undying love for you.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Trust me, I am not.” Jim ran a hand through his hair and huffed out an annoyed sigh. He paced back and forth, a habit that Spock noticed the siblings share, before looking back at his second in command. “Okay, you have to go after her.”

Spock knew this. It was obviously the most logical course of action. There was only one problem: “What am I supposed to say to her?”

“Apologize for rudely walking away, first off. Then – and this is just a spitball idea – tell her you feel the same!”

Jim was actually convinced that Spock’s brain had short-circuited. Spock wasn’t firing on all cylinders because if he was, he would understand the logical thing to do. Secretly, Jim was happy this situation happened. He had been trying to the Spock and his sister together for months now but he found the process to be similar to cutting a tree down with a blunt axe.

“Beginning a relationship with Lieutenant Kirk would violate –“

“Not if she accepts the promotion.”

“She’d still be my subordinate!”

“Only in the same way Scotty is our subordinate! He only has to listen to us sometimes.”

“That is not how the ranking system works.”

“Who cares?” Jim was tired of arguing with Spock over something that seemed so obvious. Spock felt the same way. “Listen, if you don’t want to tell her you have feelings for her I can’t make you. What I can tell you is that no matter what you do the sentence needs to start with I’m sorry and end with something nice. Turn off the Vulcan side for a change, not everything you do has to be completely logical. Sometimes we just need to do things that we want.”

It must have been a strange sight. The commanding officer of the USS Enterprise stood stiffly in front of (Y/N)’s quarters. He was still trying to figure out what exact words he needed to say and he had taken to scratching at his cuticles out of nervousness. I should not just be standing here. He thought. Shaking his head and finally lifting his clenched fist, he knocked twice. Panic briefly set into his veins as he realized he was actually going to have to talk to (Y/N). A cold shiver ran up his spine as the door’s airlock hissed open and revealed (Y/N) on the other side. He could tell she had been crying, though the tears seemed to be mostly dry by now. Her red-rimmed eyes lightly glared up at him and she crossed her arms tightly over her body.

“Can I help you?” Her voice was scratchy and her words were punctuated by a sniffle. Spock felt an ache deep in his gut from knowing he had made her feel this way.

“I-“ He paused. Once again he was speechless but he was determined to make this right. “I apologized for the way I behaved. Leaving you there after such an important moment was not the right thing to do and I am sorry for hurting you.” Even as he did his best to keep his tone even he couldn’t help the slight waver in his voice.

“It’s alright, Spock. Honest. I’ll be okay and ready for the mission tomorrow. Like I said we can just go back to normal and forget about it.” She was offering him an out. He knew he could easily just take it and go but part of him, a large part of him refused to give up that easily.

“No.”

“What?”

“I do not wish to return to normal.”

“Oh.” (Y/N) believed this to be the final moment of friendship. He wanted nothing to do with her anymore. “Um, okay. I guess you can just do the mission alone or ask my brother to –“

“You misunderstand. I do not want to return to normal because I reciprocate your feelings of affection.”

Oh. (Y/N) thought. A moment of silence passed between them. Spock watched (Y/N)’s face for any sign of emotion but she seemed frozen. He wouldn’t lie, she thought. Vulcans don’t lie. “You do?” her voice was quieter than she intended, almost a whisper.

Spock took her hand in his larger one. “Of course I do. I believe an adequate way to put it would be you have bewitched me, body and soul.”

(Y/N) couldn’t help the giggle, “So you do listen when I talk about Jane Austin. I thought you found romance novels illogical.”

“Everything about you is illogical, but that is one of the many things I find alluring about you.” They both smiled. (Y/N) had only seen Spock actually smile a few times and each time it was like new life had filled her lungs but this time it was even better knowing that the smile was put there solely for her. And this time, she couldn’t stop herself from kissing that smile even if she tried.

#spock imagine #spock x reader #aos Spock #jim kirk #to all of the boys I've loved before #love letter #miscommunication #i wrote too many words i'm so sorry #actually no i'm not

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godisshook · 2 years ago

Text

Movie Night

Zach was the best friend I could have. He was nice, a nerd just like me, and so so funny. One time, some bully tried to beat me up because I was gay, and Zach stood face to face with him and almost fought him if a teacher didn’t break them up before any fists could be thrown. He was the most genuine guy I knew, and when I found out we were both going to the same high school, I was overjoyed. He was incredibly driven, and despite him not being crazy smart, always was successful at anything he put his mind to.

Sometime during our sophomore year he started really getting into working out, and he was making some progress, but I would always joke that he was just a “muscular shrimp” to which he would usually reply, “At least I HAVE muscle.” And he wasn’t wrong, I was 5’7 and 115 pounds, not the most built individual, most definitely.

We were always hanging out until the pandemic hit later in sophomore year. All of a sudden we were home, and I couldn’t talk to my best friend like usual. We kept in touch through discord and would call each other almost every day after class. When Zach got a girlfriend our junior year, we stopped talking almost completely, and I had a breakdown. When we were back in class senior year, he had completely changed. His girlfriend cheated on him before the year started, and broke up with him three weeks before the first day of class. He started going to the gym a lot more it seemed and even took a firefighter course, which I thought was super cool, even if I would never say it to his face.

When we got back senior year, he looked completely different. A guy who was once 5’8 and only 130 pounds was now 6’2 and 185 pounds of pure muscle. He apologized for not talking to me for so long, saying that he needed time to just focus on himself, which I thought was bs but accepted because I still really valued him as a friend. In class, I would still joke with him, and he would welcome them, flexing as I said that his arms were too big, or he looked like a dorky jock if that was even possible.

The transition back made it so that we would alternate days going to class, and so we were still not seeing each other, but during one of his firefighting classes, I snuck in and attended with the teacher being none the wiser.

We also made a new tradition, a movie night over zoom. It was our way of still hanging out, even though we were busy and couldn’t just go to each other's places. I would constantly pick horror movies, and Zach would pick action every time. It was fun and allowed me to connect with my old buddy even as our lives became more hectic.

I noticed that as time passed, Zach became even more jock-ish, and would start calling me small and saying that he could easily lift me, which I took to great offense in a joking way of course. As we were watching Scream one night, I see Zach on my other monitor with his shirt off, flexing and looking straight at me. “What are you doing?” I say, looking at him incredulously. “Nothing.” he replied in a low tone. I shrug it off as him probably just being weird, and go back to finishing the movie.

I manage to sneak in a screenshot of him as he was doing it, and kept it in my camera roll for “blackmail.”

I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about that night the following week, and one day in class, while daydreaming, Zach interrupts my waking dream by saying, “Do you wanna come to my place for movie night this weekend?” I look up at him and reply, “Of course!” I felt as if the old days of our friendship were coming back, and was so excited to go. His parents were out of town, and this is the whole house would be empty aside from us two. We decide that it would be better if I just spent the whole weekend there, so packed a suitcase on Friday to bring over.

We played board games all day, and then went into playing Fortnite, which he hard carried me in, having to explain half of the game to me the whole time.

It was my turn to pick the movie again, and I wanted to pick Nightmare on Elm Street because I wanted him to see all the "classics." When I came back from a bathroom break, he said I had practically missed half the movie, to which I swiftly play-punched him in the shoulder, and then immediately regretted my decision as it felt like punching straight iron. Despite this, we start play fighting, but as I vastly underestimated his new strength, and vastly overestimated mine, I found myself pinned against the couch as both of my wrists were in his hands.

I look up at him, and as he stares back, I notice his sweatpants start to rise. As the shape of his cock takes form in his sweatpants, he begins taking off his jacket, and I rush to pull my shirt off. There's a mutual hunger, a horniness only created after years of knowing each other, and it was releasing itself tonight.

I rush to pull off his sweatpants, and begin sucking him off. "Fuckkkkkkk" he groans as I wrap my tongue around his shaft and start licking all over it. He pushes my head down on his cock as I gag, saying, "How do you like that?" "Itsthhh sooo guuuuddd" I say between breaths as his cock goes down my throat again. I had never seen him like this, it was like a beast took over him. He takes me and lifts me up, ripping my underwear and placing his cock into the hole he created in it.

He starts pushing me up and down on his cock as I'm on his chest, and every time he pulls me up he goes in for a kiss, a small bit of sweetness breaking through the roughness.

Slowly, he starts to walk upstairs, with me still being hoisted up, and with his dick in me. Every step up causes it to go deeper, and as he gets on the stair it comes out ever so slightly. I moan in pleasure as he does this, and he slaps my ass as I do. When we get to his bedroom, he throws me on the bed and rips off the shreds of underwear I had left.

He fucks me for what seemed like years, taking his massive cock and digging it all in my tight hole. It felt like it was going up into my chest, and I rolled my eyes back as he kept fucking. After the backshots, he turns me over and fucks me, hugging his body towards me, and sliding his dick in and out. His abs were grinding against my cock, and I came as he started pulling in and out of me quickly. With him going faster and faster, I felt his dick get warm in my ass, and soon he started to groan, and hot cum leaked from his dick into me, and he laid on my chest with his cock still in my ass.

As I was walking home commando, I couldn't help but think about how good it was, and texted him, "Where did you get THAT energy from?" to which he replied, "From wanting you since day one." I will admit, that made me blush. Zach was now my regular fuckbuddy, and the sex was mindblowing. I looked forward to our "movie nights" every week, and even though we would never make it through a movie again, at least I get good sex in exchange.

#muscle #nerd to jock #friends to lovers #jock tf #male transformation #muscle tf

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beloved-child-of-the-house · 6 months ago

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i stand with you in the face of a defensive misunderstanding of what critique is.

i think understanding what a critique actually is is a skill that increasingly is not taught. i remember going through freshman art courses feeling the frustration that all negative, nasty, unhelpful, and missed-the-point-entirely feedback is so commonly conflated with critique, and then critique gets a bad name because everyone remembers the time someone said their painting looked like an asshole (true story, altho now i think i would take it as a compliment) instead of the time a teacher or friend or classmate helped them uncover a hurtful bias or think of new ways to explore the same idea or how to connect it to related ideas or how to look up and understand other people's ideas on the same topic.

anyway i think you're great.

ahhh you're so kind to me!! i appreciate your support, and i think you are great also.

i have experience with giving and receiving critique as a student myself, and i think it was the best part of my degree! i majored in creative writing in college, and critique was just a generally accepted part of learning to become a writer. i don't even remember people being especially worried about receiving critique on their work. we had guidance on what kind of feedback was useful, but we were still at liberty to give it as we saw fit as like messy 19 year olds. the standard was that we gave it both written on printed copies of the work AND aloud in front of the whole class, and the writer receiving it was not permitted to speak during the critique. understanding how people are perceiving your work is important!

i don't have any particularly negative recollections of the critique process, although once in a high school writing class, the boys in the class told me that my male characters touched each other too gently and real boys are more rough with each other. in particular, they took issue with me writing that one boy nudged another. nudging is too soft. nudging is for girls. that was more than 20 years ago, and i still think about it sometimes because it was such an interesting perspective! i did not take their advice, though.

i should dig up that piece and see if it reads queer in any other ways. i think that's what they were getting at. (actually i once had a non-fiction class tell me i was in love with my roommate after reading an essay i wrote about her)(i did not listen to that advice either, but having 12 acquaintances tell you that you're gay in 2006 before you realize it yourself is Truly Something!)

i think people have conflated criticism and critique and think that being more openly analytical is the same thing as being negative. but analysis is so fun to me! analysis is why i joined fandom in the first place, and it's why i write fic! can we trust each other to be respectful and to speak in good faith even when we're not singing each other's praises? for me fandom would be better if we could.

oh i also want to clarify that i don't think it's impossible to demonstrate that you've thought deeply about a piece of fanwork while remaining completely positive. people do it all the time and do it very well!

i know i sometimes have tunnel vision wrt my own perspective. in a lot of situations, i wish it were more acceptable to be more direct, and i know people sometimes find the way i express myself to be kind of shocking. i know a lot of people like to be spoken to more indirectly than comes natural to me, and i don't mean to imply that my perspective is the only correct one or that there's no good reason to err on the side of gentleness/politeness in our responses to amateur art and writing. i just think that at a certain level of circumspection, it feels like we're all holding each other at arm's length.

i think for people who can't bear to feel exposed, making and sharing art is always going to be painful and difficult, and maybe too painful and difficult to enjoy the process unless they're sure of a soft landing. but like. the rewards of being loved only come after the mortifying ordeal of being known, right?

#ten years ago i had a comment section diagnose me with autism and they were RIGHT. and they loved me!!!!#my portfolio advisor told me that my main character was having a mental breakdown and it made all the people around her seem Villainous #for how selfishly they treated her #and i didn't realize that things seemed so dire for her but i needed to know that in order to make the story make sense!#it wasn't a mean thing to say it was just pointing out something i couldn't see! ik it was different because it was a draft tho #'looks like an asshole' makes me desperately want to see that painting #i didn't know that you're also a visual artist and i'm longing to see your work #there's this movie called igby goes down #where someone tells the main character that they're an artist and he says so do you paint?#and the character responds an artist creates art regardless of what form it takes #and i think the audience is meant to consider that character unbearably pretentious but i totally agree #it has also just occurred to me that some people are nervous about commenting on other people's work #to the extent that they're afraid they'll commit some kind of unintentional faux pas or just leave a disappointing comment #and i get that because you're also kind of sharing yourself by leaving feedback #and you don't want to offend or hurt someone who's created something that resonated with you #idk i guess stepping on people's toes is just a normal part of interacting with them #and almost never fatal

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imminent-danger-came · 2 years ago

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SWK being so flawed is like one of LMK's strongest bits. I feel like a different show would just have him be infallible or have him be like a twist villain or irredeemable or something. But he's neither of those, he's just incredibly flawed. It's also interesting that even though Mei and Pigsy are critical of him, they're still shown to care about him.

All in all, hes a more complicated character than people give him credit for :/

I 100% agree!

Honestly, if Sun Wukong wasn't flawed I'd find him a bit boring. You remove his flaws and you remove the meat of his character. Even all the way back in season 1 you get the feeling he's withholding information and concealing his past ("Show me the real Sun Wukong! The old you would have leveled this whole mountain range to stop me!"), and that only becomes more and more prevalent as the show goes on.

Wukong is first introduced as a hero, as the King who defended the world from DBK. Next he's introduced as a mentor, planning to make MK his successor (which I think is pretty debatable at this point, as I've said I personally think he just needed an excuse to train MK).

Slowly we learn SWK is pretty terrible at both of those things. He's not the hero or mentor anyone thought he would be—he's not even the mentor he thought he would be:

Macaque: “Haha, you saw a story about a hero who got handed everything, who didn’t have to work for anything, and you thought you were the other guy? The second the hero got real power, he couldn’t care less about his friends.” [ - ] "You know, I meant what I said—you really are a good kid. A good kid, with a really terrible teacher." (2x07 Shadow Play)

Pigsy: "Back from what? Your vacation? No- what could have been SO important you'd leave MK alone to face that- that thing! You're supposed to be his mentor!" (2x10 This is the End!)

Sun Wukong: "I know I can never make it up to you. Honestly I- I never thought I'd live as long as I have let alone be someone's mentor—turns out I'm not very good at it. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry MK, for all of it." (3x14 Destiny Fulfilled)

(he's staring sadly at a bowl of soup, never a good sign.)

s1 of Monkie Kid, as well as the Revenge of the Spider Queen special, establish a baseline. We meet Wukong as we're meant to know him—the legendary yet cheeky hero. Now that he's retired, Monkey King is training the next generation to protect the world and be the heroes in his place.

Right?

Well, just like our perception of Wukong, our perception of the role of the hero slowly degrades as well:

Lady Bone Demon: “Heroes? Please, you’re mere agents of chaos, the very thing I aspire to eradicate in this new world. No more destruction, no more disorder, I WILL HAVE PERFECTION.” (3x12 The Corrupted King)

Curse MK: "We’re just like Wukong. A fraud! A trickster! Destructive! Why would our legacy be any different? Actually, no no- the chaos and destruction we’ll bring upon the world will make Wukong’s past look like nothing." (4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

MK: "That can't be true! Monkey King's a hero he wouldn't just—" Azure Lion: "You saw it with your own eyes! His betrayal, his brutality—he took the only friends I had from me." (4x08 The Brotherhood)

Heroes aren't people fighting for the side of good, or even for what they think is right—they're agents of chaos. Destructive. "All doomed to play a role in tearing this world apart." Heroes are introduced as one thing, and then slowly revealed to be another.

Heroes, just like Wukong and anyone else, are flawed. They still make wrong choices. They still hurt people. Of course Wukong isn't a twist villain or irredeemable, because ultimately he IS a hero with plenty of the positive traits that come with that. But heroes are also flawed, and this is something I think is at the core of Lego Monkie Kid.

You can love someone, and that someone can do plenty of good, but that doesn't mean they're not broken, or that they aren't capable of causing suffering. This isn't something that only applies to Wukong either—pick any character and I'm sure you could apply this to them.

Now, all this to say that Wukong's two fatal flaws are his lack of communication and his self-sacrificial tendencies. Like Azure Lion says—he has a habit of keeping people at arms length, and more often than not doing that to protect them. These tendencies lead to his downfall.

So! Let's make some lists of where we see these flaws in the show.

Wukong's lack of Communication:

"Look, I'm going to come clean—um, I've been kind of watching you."

Leaving MK and lying to him during s2 (this includes lying about both going on vacation AND that LBD had returned)

Keeping his plan to stop LBD a secret during s3

"Where I got my staff!" "Got or took, right? You took it?"

Not telling the gang about the 4th ring

Other lies I'm sure have yet to be revealed (such as the truth about MK's origins, if that's the direction the plot's going)

Him and Macaque's past

Wukong's Self-sacrificial tendencies:

Leaving during s2 to find a way to stop LBD on his own

"What!? You're not going I'm going!" "Yeah so, here's the problem, you guys have this thing called mortality, so-"

Gravely injuring himself to get the samadhi fire Map

Blocking the brunt of the samadhi fire to protect MK in 3x10

Originally planning to put the Samadhi Fire in himself

Going off to fight the Lady Bone Demon alone

Protecting MK from the curse in 4x01

(and this post here that travels into theory territory)

Now, most, if not all, of these decisions lead to something bad happening. It's very in line with MK's words in 4x08:

MK: It doesn’t matter if I want to help people or not! Everything I do just- it just makes things worse!”

Wukong, even if he has a very questionable way of going about it, is truly motivated by protecting the people he cares about. However, these choices also hurt those same people. Not to reference samadhi fire Mei another time, but this is EXACTLY what she points out:

Mei: "We trusted you! All of us! How could you lead us into the fight without a real plan? Time and time again I've watched you put MK in danger leaving him to figure out EVERYTHING on his own. Don't you realize you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" (3x10 The Samadhi Fire)

But that's the point, isn't it? Even with all these flaws and after all these mistakes, Wukong still tries (he's very much like Mei in that regard):

Sun Wukong: “Point is, mistakes happen, but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it’s all good. Right?” (4x01 Familiar Tales)

Sun Wukong: “We can’t change who we were yesterday or in a past life, or a hundred life times ago! We live with the choices we’ve made, for what matter is the choices we make RIGHT NOW! Only we decide who we are and what we do with the power we have.” (4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

This is who Wukong is. He's not a hero or a mentor, but he's someone who cares (and maybe that's what a hero is). That's the tragedy of his character, really. That's the tragedy of both him and MK. They're people doing the best with what they have, but still failing anyways.

"Nice hero speech bud, but I know better—deep in your hearts, you don't believe a word of that."

But people still love you anyways.

#Wukong fans eat up #God I do love Wukong.#Look at him he's just as doomed by the narrative as anyone else #lmk meta #lmk #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk SWK #lmk Sun Wukong #asks #Sincerely hope people read all of this so I don't get any ''stop bashing wukong'' comments this time adsfadsfafds #but yeah this is why Wukong knowing the truth about MK the whole time works so well #LIKE COME ON. THE SET UP IS ALL THERE. THE FORESHADOWING IS ALL THERE.#THE CHARACTER CHOICES ARE ALL THERE #also: didn't feel like adding it but Wukong disappearing after sealing DBK is so concerning #Like my brother. What pushed you to do that #What happened

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honeycomb-fics · 2 years ago

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Furbaby

Paring: Aizawa Shouta x Reader

Genre: Just Fluff

Summary: Your boyfriend visits your apartment for the first time and meets your cat 💕

Word count: ~1,200

(This is a repost from my old bnha blog trash-imagines-bnha. I would assume this was written around 2018/2019)

The two of you huddled together under the shared umbrella, arms brushing against each other in an attempt to keep dry on the walk to your apartment. You could feel the pit of nervousness start to form in your stomach at the idea of Aizawa coming over your place for the first time. The two of you had been seeing each other for awhile; however, decided it would be best to take things slow and proceed with caution seeing that the both of you were teachers at UA.

You had gradually taken time to get to know each other by small dates after school hours and meeting up together in quiet cafes to grade papers together late into the evening hours. You had learned that your partner was not one for grand romantic gestures, but that suited you just fine. You had grown accustomed to his casual style of dating and enjoyed the fact that he was willing to spend his precious free time with you despite the fact that he looked completely exhausted half time. Often ignoring your pleas for him to take care of himself properly and get more rest, little did you know how much it warmed Aizawa’s heart that you often expressed such genuine concern for him. It was one of your qualities that worn down the walls he built up around himself that slowly allowed him to let you in over time.

As the two of you turned the corner onto your block, your nerves started to get the best of you. Also being on the reserved side yourself, you didn’t often have visitors at your place and you weren’t exactly accustomed to having someone in your personal space. You longed to take your relationship a step further with Aizawa; however, you worried what impressions he might make of you based on your living space.

After all, this was a big step for the two of you, even if he was just coming over to watch a movie while the two of you.. Yet again graded even more papers. The workload for a UA teacher seemed to be honestly never ending. Suddenly, you remembered your adorable puff of fur that was sure to be impatiently waiting for you to arrive back from work. She was a recent addition to your life, recently you had stumbled across her alone and abandoned, and of course you couldn’t just leave a stray baby alone to fend for herself. You were a hero, and she needed rescuing. Just thinking about her scampering about your feet begging to be fed as soon as you walked through the door eased your anxiety and brought a smile to your face.

Looking down Aizawa took note of your serene expression and couldn’t help but feel the corners of his lips pull slightly upwards as well, “Thinking about something good?”

His words immediately pulling you out of your daze, remembering that you had not yet had the chance to talk with him about the exciting new addition to your life, “Actually there is something I should warn you about before we get to my apartment,” you said with a smile, “It’s my little girl, she hasn’t been around new people much so I’m not exactly sure how she will react to you. Try not to get offended if she is afraid of you.”

Aizawa’s grip on the umbrella tightened as he staggered slightly, your ‘little girl’. How had you not mentioned you had a child this entire time? It wasn’t necessarily a deal breaker for him, but he was skeptical that you clearly felt the need to hide this fact from him.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to gather his composure, “H-how old is she?”

“Hmm she’s around a year old. Still pretty young but she’s quite rambunctious. I’m actually excited for you to finally meet her, she’s the absolute cutest” You continued to gush about how perfect and adorable your “little girl” was completely unaware of the growing ball of anxiety that you were reducing your boyfriend to.

As the two of you approached the door of your apartment he asked “So.. she’s been alone all day?”

You gave him an amused look, not quite understand his misguided concern, “Well, yeah.. She doesn’t exactly need around the clock care. I do dote on her sometimes but she’s perfectly capable for fending for herself occasionally. Trust me, she’s spoiled enough” You laughed dismissing his concerns.

Aizawa continued to stare at you bewildered at your parenting techniques and was questioning himself on how he could have made such a grave error in reading your personality as he had. He opened his mouth to finally voice his distaste when you finally pushed the apartment door open and he heard a loud squeak come from inside followed by small pitter patters on the wood flooring.

You grabbed his hand tugging him inside, “Quick! Sometimes she has a habit of slipping outside when I’m not being diligent. She used to be a stray, after all.”

There she was darting between your feet, like a calico tornado of fluff eager for attention and food….your “little girl”. Relief and embarrassment washed over Aizawa like a tidal wave as soon as he saw the small animal in your arms. He watched you kiss the soft fur of the kitten with your eyes full of adoration while scratching behind its scraggly looking ears.

After a long relaxed sigh, he slipped off his boots and made his way into the apartment to join you. Upon getting a closer look at the kitten, he could understand why you were so smitten with her. Stretching out his hands, he motioned to you to hand over the little puff, now eager for his opportunity to touch your small pet.

“She’s cute isn’t she? Perfect even?” You cooed as the kitten nestled herself against your boyfriend’s chest, starting to purr as he gently pet her fur.

Aizawa gently smiled looking down at the kitten, “Yes, she is quite cute” He glanced back up towards you, catching you off guard when his expression turned more serious, “but would it kill you to mention she’s a cat when you bring her up?”

“W-what do you..? OH!” You exclaimed starting to laugh, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, “Oh my god, don’t tell me you thought I was talking about a baby. Please Shouta, I wouldn’t leave an infant home alone all day…. I can only imagine what was going through your head”

The two of you spent the rest of the night laughing about the misunderstanding while realizing it was exceedingly difficult to grade papers with a kitten who wanted nothing more than to jump and play with the loose paper. Not that either of you minded the distraction. You learned that Aizawa was rather fond of cats and it might be quite a task to get affection from either of them while at your apartment, because much to your dismay, it appeared that your kitten quickly started to prefer the company of Aizawa over you.

After some time, you brought this discovery up to Aizawa when he was half asleep on the floor of your apartment with the kitten curled up on his chest, he only lazily replied, “Looks like you’re going to have to keep me too then”

#aizawa shota x you #aizawa shouta x reader #aizawa x reader #aizawa bnha x reader #fluff #Gail writes #my old writing #i lied in my previous posts and made no edits to this my b

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lemonlamblaura · 2 months ago

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My Husband is the God of Pestilence - Chapter 20

Thank you so much for your patience, everyone. October has been a hard month for me, and it took a while for me to finish this chapter. I'm not very happy with it, but I did the best I could. I will try to get the next chapter out a little sooner. 🩷

A month passed after the wedding, and very little had changed in regards to cult life. All the followers were expected to treat Lilybell with as much respect as they gave Kallamar, something that a few people disagreed with but were quickly put in their place. More people came to worship at Kallamar's temple, but as there was no more beds to sleep in, shelters were constructed outside for the new inhabitants. The materials for the forge had finally been delivered and set up, but Kallamar was annoyed to discover he had no blacksmiths among his immediate following. Thankfully, one person suggested writing to their cousin, who was an amateur smith, to come to the temple to demonstrate how to work metals.

Kallamar and Lilybell had been blissfully content in married life and got on everyone's nerves by consistently referring to each other as "husband" and "wife". ("Can we go "upstairs" to see the stars tonight, husband?" "Of course, my little wife.")

After their commendable job of preparing Lilybell for the wedding, Kallamar gave Merryn and Anna an option for a different career path.

"Be her attendants, and take care of her needs for her. Provide companionship when I cannot. In exchange, you may move into her old bedroom and use any amenities she has access to."

It should go without saying that Merryn agreed immediately, and they were moved into the small room that same day. Lilybell was overjoyed to hear her friends had a new job, but that joy was dashed when she found out it included doing her laundry and taking care of her things.

"Don't worry about that stuff," she insisted, "I don't want you two to be my servants, I want you to be my friends!"

"It's no trouble, honey. I would rather have a job than sit around and look pretty."

That didn't suit Lilybell at all, and she took extra care to keep herself clean and Kallamar found her dusting and cleaning the bedroom when his back was turned. She even lent Anna a few of her dresses to wear whenever she wanted, as the two girls were almost the same size with Anna being slightly skinnier.

Lilybell also began music lessons. The cult harpist was woefully inadequate because of the difference in harps (hand held compared to a concert harp), so a professional had to be sought out. Unfortunately, he was stuffy, had a short temper and was intolerant of change or creativity. Instead of teaching anything of value, he only made Lilybell nervous and unhappy. He conveniently "left the temple" not long after arriving, and the other harpist was summoned back until another teacher could be found.

"Miss Lilybell, please pay attention," they begged her after she incorrectly identified the notes on the music sheet for the fifth time. "That is an "E" note, not a "B" note. You need to practice learning your sheet music so you can play other people's songs."

"But it's so much more fun to dream about being good at something than it is to actually practice," she pouted.

"Lord Kallamar paid a lot of money for this harp, so you should learn to use it at the very least and not let it go to waste. Now, I'll ask again, what is that note?"

"Uh..."

In the meantime, Kallamar was dealing with the amateur blacksmith who had finally came to the temple. It was a blue octopus with spikes protruding from his head, and large, well toned muscles. He examined the forge closely, walking around it to see every detail.

"Now this is what you call quality!" He put his hands on his hips with a satisfied grin. "Don't worry, Lord Kallamar! I will take care of things from here. You will be able to feel the heat of the fire from the shoreline!"

"You are very boastful," Kallamar observed. "Your cousin claimed you were an amateur blacksmith. Where does this confidence come from?"

The octopus shot their cousin an irate look. "Hmm, we haven't spoken for some time, so it's understandable that they don't know how far I've come. But, you want to see proof, of course! I brought my best work with me, nothing less than a god deserves!"

He drew a sharp, shiny knife from a sheath at his waist and handed it to Kallamar. The metal glinted brilliantly in the light, and the edge of the blade was razor sharp, bearing no nicks or scratches. Kallamar ordered meat to be brought from the kitchen to test the knife, and found it cut clean and even, slicing through the flesh with ease.

"Very good," Kallamar said, handing the knife back. "Please begin teaching immediately. You shall be paid for your time, and meals will be provided free of charge."

The blue octopus nodded when Lilybell came into the room, having been released from lessons by her frustrated teacher. She saw the meat laying around and tilted her head curiously. "Are we having dinner in here today?"

Before Kallamar could answer, the octopus exclaimed, "My, my! Who is this enchanting creature?" and went over to her quickly, extending his hand. "Haborym, and you are?" He grinned.

"I'm Lilybell," she replied, taking his hand to shake it, but he turned her hand palm-down and kissed it. She blushed brightly, not used to receiving affection by other men.

"The pleasure is all mine, dear. If all the ladies here are as beautiful as you, I will be very happy here! Tell me, are you free later?"

"No she is not," Kallamar said coldly, his eyes narrowed down at Haborym. "She is my wife."

Haborym immediately dropped her hand and backed away, obviously flustered at having flirted with a god's spouse. "I beg your pardon, Lord Kallamar. You have exquisite taste! I'm sure she makes you very happy."

Kallamar's angered expression turned soft as Lilybell walked to his side and took his hand. "Yes. That is why I picked her."

The two left Haborym with the students, walking through the temple halls together. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything, Kallamar," Lilybell said. "Were you mad that he flirted with me?"

"Not until he kissed you. I am glad he saw your beauty, but he crossed a line touching you that way."

"So you have a "look but don't touch" policy?" She giggled.

He smiled down at her. "Everyone should see the beauty in you that I see... but I couldn't stand for anyone to touch you the way I do."

"That's okay, I don't want anybody but you to touch me."

Kallamar couldn't help but notice that they were passing by an empty janitors closet. Without a word, he shrank down and pulled her inside, closing the door behind them. It was dark, but their hands did the seeing for them, and he pressed her up against the wall, taking her mouth in an eager kiss. Their hands groped and grasped at one another, and Lilybell's leg hooked over Kallamar's hip to get him closer to her.

"That's right," Kallamar moaned in between kisses. "Only I should touch you."

Lilybell gasped into his mouth when his lower set of hands grabbed and squeezed her ass, pulling their hips together. The friction of their pelvises against each other set a fire in her belly. "We're gonna get caught," she whispered, the idea of being caught in such an intimate act making her more excited.

"They wouldn't dare do anything," he whispered back. "Be as loud as you want. Let them all hear."

His hands dipped under her skirt and found her underwear, but just as he was about to pull them down, loud footsteps sounded outside the door, voices crying, "find Lord Kallamar right away!" "Astaroth is back, and they're hurt!"

The two froze, breaking the kiss and panting lightly. Lilybell knew Astaroth was close to Kallamar, possibly one of his only friends. He didn't look so eager to continue, knowing they were home...

"We should go," she said quietly.

They fixed themselves up and stepped out into the hallway. A follower found them immediately, too distressed to question why they were alone in a janitors closet. He led them to the lobby where Astaroth was waiting, laying on the floor, their head resting on a spare pillow. Their face was screwed up in pain and had some bruising, and some blood stained their robes. A supervisor was kneeling beside them trying to diagnose the problem.

"No outer wounds, but a few bruises. Maybe some internal trauma. There's no cuts, so the blood can't be theirs."

Astaroth coughed, a few drops of blood flying from their mouth. "I-it's mine, alright," they said with difficulty. Their voice was accompanied by a subtle gurgling noise. "Well... some of it."

Kallamar crouched down beside them. Lilybell could tell he was worried, but trying to hide it. "What happened, my friend?"

"Some... old followers. Of Carcharias's. They ambushed me... but I got them."

"You poor thing!" Lilybell said.

"Can you move, Astaroth?" Kallamar asked.

"Ngh... kind of."

"Don't bother. I will carry you to our room. Can you help carry their things, darling?"

Astaroth was soon placed in the huge bed to rest as their things were placed on the table. A supervisor brought them an elixir of herbs, juice and crystal dust that would help promote healing and restoration. As Astaroth drank, Lilybell cleaned the blood around their face with a cool, damp cloth and then helped them change into a fresh, clean robe. A few days of bedrest would help them recover, and Kallamar insisted they have a portion of the large bed for that time.

Kallamar and Lilybell unpacked their things while Astaroth rested. Among the travel equipment was a bag of gold coins, a few random trinkets, and most bizarre of all, a couple necklaces made from simple rope and bird skulls.

"I don't believe this," Kallamar said quietly, holding up the five necklaces in amazement, the white bone shining eerily.

"That's kind of... what's the word? Macabre?" Lilybell said, her face uneasy.

"Astaroth, where did you find these?"

It took Astaroth a moment to answer. "Deep in a cave far away... took forever to open that stupid chest. I had to throw it off a cliff."

"What even are these?" Lilybell asked, taking a necklace that Kallamar handed to her.

"These are magical necklaces, dear. They extend a person's lifespan far past normal expectancy. Of course you and Astaroth will have one... perhaps I shall give one to Saleos as well."

Lilybell's mood soured at the mention of the guard captain. Even months after the attack, she still couldn't find it in herself to forgive him. Just when she began to feel like she could, an image of Trenaty's dead face plagued her mind and she was filled with anger and sadness.

Kallamar sensed the change in her mood and sighed. "Darling, you still haven't forgiven Saleos? Surely you can understand he was only looking out for you?"

She pulled her knees up to her chest, making herself small and compact. "I know he wanted to protect me. But I can't forget what he did."

Kallamar frowned sadly, knowing he had ruined the atmosphere. He also knew there was nothing he could say to change her mind. If she was going to forgive Saleos, it had to be on her own terms. He handed her a second necklace. "I know you will make use of this, my dear. Give it to anyone you like."

Lilybell took the necklace, giving her husband an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, Kally. I know it would be easier on you for me to forgive him but I don't know if I can."

"Don't worry about what is easier for me. All I care about is for my darling wife to be happy."

Said wife smiled appreciatively and kissed him. "I'm going to give this to my father."

"Of course, my love. I understand."

She left them in the quiet room. When Kallamar turned to look at Astaroth, they found the jellyfish smirking at him.

"Well, that didn't take long. Last time I was here you said you were only courting."

"Hush, you," Kallamar replied mildly. He turned to them completely, giving them his full attention. "You said you were attacked by Carcharias's followers? Where? Why are they still around?"

"Around the remains of his temple. Is it any wonder he still has followers, despite being dead? He ruled the ocean for centuries. He won't just disappear overnight."

"That's true. I'm glad you're back, at any rate. You will stay until you are fully healed. That's an order."

"It's not like I can move much without wanting to scream anyway. Just make sure you guys keep it down so I can sleep."

Lilybell found her father in the gemcutter room working as usual. She managed to get him to step outside with her after some coaxing, as he hated to leave work unfinished. When he saw the necklace, his brows raised questioningly, and Lilybell told him of its power. He listened intently, but something in his face changed, a sort of understanding that made Lilybell nervous.

"I'm sorry, honey," he said quietly, pushing her hand, and the necklace, away. "I can't take it."

"But, why, dad?" Lilybell asked, reaching under her shirt to pull out her own necklace that she had already put on. "Look, I took one too!"

"That's good, but you're young, so you can make that kind of decision. If you had asked me ten years ago, maybe I would have said yes. But I'm too old to wear something like that now."

Lilybell noticed the wrinkles in his face, the way his wool seemed a little thinner than it used to. The way his chest was not as filled out as it was even a few years ago, how his hooves seemed more worn, the skin around his knuckles a bit more bony. The fact that he wouldn't take the necklace scared her. Didn't he want to live longer, to be with her, Merryn and Anna?

"Dad," she said cautiously, "is there something you aren't telling me?"

There were many things Rowan didn't tell his daughter. The way her mother talked about her when she wasn't around. When he'd hurt his shoulders carrying logs when she was ten. Getting old wasn't fun. His knees ached and he couldn't eat the same foods as he could when he was younger. Even bad weather could ruin his day. But, as a father, he felt he couldn't burden his daughter with such things. And if he had to live with these problems for, who knows, another hundred or so years, he didn't know if he could bear it.

"No, babe. Just old man things. Why don't you hold onto it? Maybe you can find someone else to give it to."

Lilybell tried to fight him on it, that there wasn't anyone else she wanted to give the necklace to, but Rowan wouldn't have it. He was lucky he was called back to work, and gave his daughter a hug before leaving her in the hallway. She walked back to the bedroom in frustration. Surely, there must have been a reason why he wouldn't take it. She wouldn't give up on this!

"You have to stop this, Mortamer."

Her ears perked up. That was Saleos speaking quietly around the corner. She snuck closer, until she could peek one eye over to see Saleos speaking to a frustrated Mortamer.

"I'm just telling the truth."

"Do you think Kallamar would be happy to hear about you talking about his wife like that?" Saleos demanded.

"But it's true! He only cares about her! He doesn't give a damn about any of us! Why shouldn't the new people know what kind of a god they're serving?!" Mortamer cried.

"He cares about people who serve him well. You, on the other hand, have been lazy, ungrateful, and disrespectful to miss Lilybell. If he doesn't think favorably of you, it's no one's fault except your own. If I hear you spreading nonsense about our lady again, I will have no choice but to report you to Lord Kallamar. Now get back to work."

Mortamer gave Saleos a deadly scowl before stomping away towards the kitchen. Lilybell saw Saleos take a breath before turning to leave. For a brief, uncomfortable moment, their eyes met, and Lilybell took off in the other direction, feeling greatful that he'd stuck up for her and at the same time wanting anything else but to speak to him.

Later that night, while snuggled up on the love seat in front of the fireplace, Lilybell told Kallamar about what her father had said.

"I can understand his point of view," Kallamar said sympathetically. "It must be terrible to be old and know there is nothing you can do about it. Still, I'm sorry he didn't take the necklace. I won't ask for it back, in case you should find someone else."

"I just feel like isn't telling me something," Lilybell said quietly, trying not to wake up Astaroth. "Is he sick or something?"

"If he were I would have sensed it. There could be any number of reasons, darling. But the important thing is that it is his decision. We must respect it." He was quiet for a moment, remembering that Lilybell said she felt she hadn't done enough for him on their wedding day. "Darling, how would you like to be in charge of crystal production?"

She looked up at him. "Really?"

"Of course. It's simple work, and it would help you remain close to your father. All you have to do is make sure the workers are doing their jobs and that the missionaries get a share to sell."

Lilybell grinned and hugged him tightly. "That's a great idea, Kallamar! Thank you!" She covered his face in kisses while he hugged her back. She was over the moon. He trusted her with this!

"Keep it down," called a tired Astaroth from the bed. "I can't sleep."

"I'm sure you've heard worse," Kallamar returned while Lilybell crawled on top of him.

Mortamer crept through the halls of the temple, listening hard for each footstep of the guards. Finally, after a snails pace, he made his way outside and around the front yard of the temple where the new members were sleeping in makeshift tents in the sand. A few were still awake and talking amongst themselves, and became quiet as he came over.

"Who are you?" One asked.

"Someone who knows what's really going on around here," Mortamer said quietly. "Trust me, you don't want to be here. You know who Kallamar married, don't you?"

"Yeah, a sheep," said another person.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh..."

He had them right where he wanted them. "That's not all. He makes us all worship her as if she was a god too. Next thing you know, she'll be running the place."

The others were quiet, giving each other suspicious glances. Carcharias's doctrines still held strong over the ocean's people. It would take some time before things would begin to change.

A few tents stood empty the next morning, their occupants nowhere to be found.

#cult of the lamb #cotl kallamar #Kallamar #oc x canon #canon x oc #cotl oc #kallalily

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wenclairfamily · 1 year ago

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"A Wednesday Addams Christmas Carol" - Fanfiction Story (For Wenclair Fans!)

A story set twenty years in the future...

Wednesday Addams and Enid Sinclair. They were a duo that shouldn't have worked... but they did... and somehow their relationship resulted in marriage. Now, Wednesday and Enid work at their old school: Nevermore Academy as teachers, raising up an entire new generation; including their own twin seventeen year old daughters: Harmony and Ana. Harmony, who carries both of her mother's special abilities, continues to grow and explore the world with her girlfriend Megan. Ana meanwhile... is a different story...

One morning on Christmas Eve: a fresh layer of snow was laying everywhere, while the sound of Christmas carolers could be heard from a faraway distance. Harmony and Ana Addams were walking through the park together wearing winter clothes, as they were looking around at the scenery. Harmony had a small smile on her face as she said, "Wow. The town has never looked this beautiful around Christmas before. I wish Megan was here to see it." As Ana also took in the scenery, she said, "Yeah, but I think it's nice she decided to spend her Christmas with her extended family this year. It means we get one more Christmas with just the two of us and mom together before you get married." Harmony suddenly had an overwhelmed look on her face as she said, "Wow. You're right. It's also dawned on me... me and Megan need to start making some plan on what our wedding will look like." Ana smirked as she said, "Well if you want, I can officiate the wedding." A confused looking Harmony then said, "What!? Since when can you do that?" Ana continued to walk as she casually said, "Since I became an honorary priest in the catholic church. The Pope owed me a favor after I saved him from some Australian Polar Bears that were trying to swap brains with him." Harmony looked very confused for a moment... but then casually said, "Of course you did. So anyway, where's that cat of yours Ana?" As Ana turned her head in multiple directions, she said, "Yeah, I've been keeping my eye out for him, and... Wait. Hold on."

Ana then moved towards a tree where she heard meowing noises. Harmony followed, and eventually the two sisters saw behind a tree were Ana's cat and a white female cat making lovely meowing sounds at each other while they gently rubbed their heads against one another. A smiling Harmony put her hands together as she said, "Aww. How cute!" However Ana looked nervous as she said, "Oh no. Tell me that isn't the cat that belongs to..." Then Ana heard a male teenage voice yell, "Princess Snuggles!" Ana turned her head with a disgusted face, and saw a teenage boy walking towards the scene. Ana glared forward as she said, "Duncan." The teenage boy Duncan immediately saw what the two cats were doing, and quickly yelled, "Princess Snuggles, get away from that cat. He is the enemy!" Ana meanwhile took a big deep breath, and then looked straight at Duncan as she said, "Look Duncan. We may not like each other, but our two cats obviously do. So in the spirit of Christmas, lets try to make a little peace on Earth and try to get along for the sake of the love between our pets that we so love. What do you say?"

Duncan stood silent... for two seconds, before he angerly yelled, "No! You're a freak, and so is your cat!" Ana rolled her eyes and said, "So we're gonna do this the hard away." Then Ana immediately took out a taser and shoved it into Duncan's chest shocking him very hard. Duncan then fell to the ground hurt, as Ana casually said, "Okay Stormageddon the Conqueror. Lets find a nice fancy restaurant for you and Princess Snuggles to dine at." Then suddenly the sound of an explosion nearby was heard. A concerned Harmony then asked, "What was that?" Ana grinned as she said, "I don't know... but lets find out. Stormageddon the Conqueror, enjoy your date with Princess Snuggles. There's a great cat-friendly Italian place nearby you should try. We'll pick you up around six." Harmony and Ana then began to run towards the sound of the explosion as Harmony said, "It's a good thing mom and mother told us to take a long walk from the house and get some exercise today. Otherwise we might have not heard that explosion." Ana rolled her eyes as she said, "Oh, I'm pretty sure mother and mom didn't want us to take a long walk because they were concerned about our needs."

In the family home, Wednesday used her hands to pin Enid's shoulders to the wall of the bathroom. A smiling but slightly nervous Enid said, "Wednesday, what if the girls come home while we're in the middle of..." Wednesday then suddenly covered Enid's mouth with one hand as she said, "Silence. I sent them on a long walk. We'll have time." Wednesday then quickly pulled off her black dress as she kept a straight face, while Enid had great excitement on her face as she pulled off her own clothes. Wednesday then pulled off her underwear, and began to turn on the nearby shower. Meanwhile as Enid pulled off her underwear, she began to look confused as she said, "But why are we doing this around 11am? You usually prefer to have sex either early in the morning to help stimulate your senses, or late in the day to help relieve your stress levels. Getting hot and horny right before noon isn't normal for you." A now completely naked Wednesday turned to look at Enid as she said, "Enid, your questions shall only hinder this sexual encounter." Then Wednesday suddenly put on a pair of fake cat ears as she kept a very straight face while saying, "Now be a good puppy and obey your feline master." Enid's eyes suddenly lit up as he said, "My God, what is it about those cat ears that turns me on..."

Harmony and Ana were running through the woods, as Harmony yelled, "Hey. I think I see smoke. I think something crashed." A curious Ana then yelled, "I think we initially misjudged where it landed. It seems to be actually pretty close to our house." Then Harmony and Ana ran towards a smokey crater that wasn't too far from their home. Then as Harmony and Ana got close, the smoke began to disappear. Then within just a moment, Harmony and Ana realized at the center of the crater was a large red sled attached to several reindeer. Then the two teenage girls realized that sitting in the sled was a large bearded man in a red suit. A very confused and freaked out looking Ana then said, "Santa Clause?" An equally confused and freaked out Harmony then said, "What is going on here... and why did this happen so close to our house?"

Inside of the shower, Wednesday was in the middle of kissing Enid. Enid was very much enjoying herself as she said, "Mmm. Yes Wednesday. Yes, this is amazing. Although... do you smell smoke from outside? Also, did I hear a crashing sound a few minutes ago?" A nervous looking Wednesday then quickly got on her knees and brought her face to between Enid's legs. Out of instinct, Enid immediately said, "Ohhh! Yes Wednesday!"

Harmony and Ana walked carefully towards the red sled where Santa Clause was getting his bearings. Harmony then stood unsure of what to do as she said, "Hello. Who are you?" Santa smirked as he said, "Well who do you think I am? I'm Santa Clause. I was just about to begin delivering my presents to all the girls and boys around the world before my sled got brought down." A very confused Ana then stepped forward as she said, "Hold on. This doesn't make any sense. Santa Clause isn't real." Santa chuckled a bit, and then said, "Well where do you think children all over the world get their presents every year?" Harmony had a practical tone to her voice as she said, "From all the parents of the world."

Santa laughed for a moment, and then said, "You two actually believe that parents every year decide to give their kids more presents, after already losing tons of money on birthdays!? That's ridiculous! Besides, you think your mother: Wednesday Addams would have allowed you girls to receive all those colorful toys you received growing up? Not a chance! Besides, that goth gal has had it out for me for years. I've always had to be real careful delivering gifts to this house the night before Christmas every year. Now then, I wonder why I crashed so suddenly?" A look of clarity went across Harmony's face as she said, "Hold on. Our mother for years has had it out for you? I don't think your crash here was accidental."

In the bathroom, both Wednesday and Enid were now sitting up on the shower floor as a happy Enid said, "Mmm. That was amazing Wednesday." Wednesday then looked at a nearby clock in the bathroom as she said, "Indeed. Especially since the task is now done." Enid suddenly sat up straight as she glared at Wednesday while saying, "What task?" Wednesday suddenly looked a bit nervous as she said, "I mean... the task which was our sexual intercourse." Enid continued to glare at Wednesday while saying, "Oh no Wednesday Addams. You never refer to sex as merely a task. You were up to something just now. But since we were busy going at it in the shower, it had to be something you already laid out... and didn't want me to know!" Enid then quickly got up and began to put her clothes back on. Wednesday then quickly got up and began to put her own clothes back on as well. Enid then rushed over to the nearest window as she said, "Hold on! Is that Santa Clause outside our house!?"

Outside the house: Harmony and Ana were helping Santa Clause repair his sled. Ana smiled as she said, "Okay Santa. I updated your GPS, and gave all your reindeer some amazing protein shakes. You're all good to go." Then suddenly Wednesday came running out of the house holding a sword forward as she yelled with an enraged face: "Your reign of jolly ends now Saint Nick!" Enid suddenly ran out of the house and held Wednesday back as she loudly said, "Whoa! What the heck is going on!?" Santa rolled his eyes as he said, "Let me guess. You are the one that sent that missile up to make me crash." A confused Harmony then said, "Wait mother. You know Santa Clause?"

As Wednesday struggled to get free from Enid, she bitterly said, "Only by reputation. Santa Clause is one of the oldest outcasts in the world that ever attended Nevermore Academy. He had unique psychic abilities that allowed him to manipulate time and space to move across great distances within short periods, such as the entire Earth on Christmas Eve. However, rather than use his special abilities for something more productive, he's instead used his powers to perpetuate happiness around the holiday season. But after years of trying to stop his reign of good tidings to all, his time ends now!" Then Wednesday quickly broke free from Enid, and ran at Santa Clause with her sword out. However the magical reindeer quickly flew into the sky, and pulled Santa and his sled up with them. Santa laughed as he said, "Better luck next year Mrs Addams!" Once Santa and his sled were out of sight: Wednesday simply stood in front of the house, glaring up at the sky as she clenched her fists.

A short time later, Wednesday and Enid were sitting next to each other on the couch in their living room. Wednesday sat with anger on her face. Enid meanwhile starred at Wednesday with shock and disappointment as she said, "You tried to kill Santa with a missile, and tried to distract me with sex so I wouldn't stop you!? Wednesday, do you realize how this must make me feel!?" Wednesday kept a straight face as she said, "Terrible... because I wasn't able to get the job done." Enid gave a frustrating moaning noise as she covered her face for a moment. Then Enid turned to look at Wednesday as she said, "Wednesday, every year you always try to ruin Christmas for everyone! You try to convince all the volunteers from the Salvation Army outside the grocery store that their work has inconsequential impact on improving society, you're the only person in existence that's protested against the Angel Tree project because you believe none of their funding should be spent on toys due to their short span of use in a child's life, you regularly try to dump hot oil on any Christmas carolers that come to our door..." Wednesday interrupted Enid as she said, "They had it coming, considering they chose not to need heed the warning signs I put up around our property that explained quite clearly that trespassers and solicitors will be punished."

Enid grunted in frustration for a second, but then said, "The point is - you keep trying to ruin Christmas every year for all of us, and it's gone too far now. Look... I understood when I married you that we weren't going to have the kind of family I had while growing up. I understood we couldn't have a garden in the front of the house with flowers. I understood that you would train our children in the basics of assassination. I understood that Valentine's Day would forever involve corpses for some reason. But I don't get why we can never simply celebrate Christmas in this house. You've never even let me bring a dead tree in here for the holiday!" Wednesday kept a straight face as she said, "All Christmas trees are technically dead as soon as they're chopped down." Enid looked more angry as she said, "That's not the point! You never let me make Christmas cookies for the family, you never let me send out Christmas cards to the relatives, you never let me play Christmas music on the radio..." Wednesday interrupted Enid as she bitterly said, "If Mariah Carey still hasn't gotten the individual she wishes for every Christmas through song, then perhaps she should try a different tactic."

Enid tried to remain calm as she said, "Wednesday... you never even let our girls watch Christmas movies growing up." Wednesday kept a straight face as she said, "If you forgot, I did allow Harmony and Ana to watch one festive movie when they were five years old." Enid's eyes got wide with frustration as she said, "You showed them How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but then stopped the movie after the Grinch stole all the presents, telling our girls that was the movie's happy ending!" Wednesday kept a calm face as she said, "As I recall, doing that was a compromise I made with you. In addition, I still have accepted our long standing compromise that you and the girls shall exchange gifts and enjoy them on the morning of every December 25th."

Enid gave a sad sigh, and then said, "But you're never there with us opening presents Wednesday. You always spend every Christmas morning off doing whatever it is you do alone. Christmas is supposed to be about family!" Wednesday then glared at Enid once more as she said, "On the contrary, I thought Christmas was about celebrating the birth of an individual that was created to become a sacrifice due the declining quality of humanity." Enid looked a little more frustrated again, as she said, "But it's much more than that Wednesday. Look... instead of trying to destroy the holiday this year, you should really try embracing the Christmas spirit for once, and experience everything fun the season has to offer." Wednesday then glared at Enid while saying, "What? And turn our home into something akin of a cliche TV Christmas special?" Enid suddenly had an excited look in her eyes as she said, "Actually... that sounds like a lot of fun..."

Enid's Imagination...

On a large TV studio that was made to look like a living room, an announcer was heard saying to a large studio audience: "It's the Wenclair Family Christmas Special! Starring Enid and Wednesday Addams, along with their daughters: Harmony Addams, and Ana Addams. Also featuring special appearances by our planet's new warlord: Stormageddon the Conqueror. Plus, special warm family friendly Christmas songs that will be performed by KISS, the Sex Pistols, and world famous signer: John Lennon - who we brought back from the dead thanks to tonight's sponsor... the demons of hell! Plus, one super special surprise guest will be showing up at an unexpected moment, so don't touch that dial! And now here are your hosts... Enid and Wednesday!"

A smiling Enid then walked onto the TV set wearing a long white dress, while a grumpy looking Wednesday also walked onto the set wearing a long black dress. As Enid happily looked at the camera, she said, "Hello everyone. Welcome to our wonderful home! My name is Enid, and this is my wonderful wife: Wednesday! Say hello to the people at home Wednesday!" Wednesday then glared at one of the cameras as she said, "You all live meaningless lives if you can only have an ideal Christmas through vicariously experiencing it through this hollow performance." The studio audience then laughed very loudly.

A smiling Enid meanwhile continued to look at the camera as she said, "Well tonight we plan to have lots of guests come over, but I'm worried they won't make it due to all the unexpected snow that's coming down outside." Wednesday meanwhile continued to keep a straight face while saying, "A natural side effect of global warming, which our countries' leaders still seem to ignore." Then studio audience then immediately laughed loudly again. Enid meanwhile kept a happy face as she said, "Well I'm so excited to see what presents I'll get for Christmas this year. What are you hoping for Wednesday?" Wednesday gave a deadly glare at the camera as she said, "A guillotine... that I plan to use on whoever came up with the idea for this special." Then a grinning Enid said, "Well, me... I want... a hula-hoop!" The studio audience then happily laughed again.

Then suddenly Harmony and Ana appeared walking down a set of stairs, while Harmony said, "Good evening everyone!" The crowd then applauded and cheered loudly as Harmony and Ana came to the center of the stage. Enid then walked over to the girls as she said, "Hold on Harmony. You put your dress on backwards. Were you having 'intimate relations' with your girlfriend Megan just a minute ago, and put your clothes accidentally on backwards when you rushed down knowing the show was about to start?" Harmony gave a goofy smile as she said, "Maybe..." The studio audience laughed, as a grinning Enid said, "Holy guacamole Harmony. You sure are a handful. And Ana, I heard the state of Wyoming just got turned into jello. Did you cause that with another one of your wacky experiments?" Ana then also gave a goofy smile as she said, "Maybe..." The studio audience laughed once more, as a grinning Enid said, "Holy guacamole Ana. You sure are a handful." Meanwhile Wednesday looked angry as she said, "There is certainly nothing 'holy' about this experience."

Suddenly the doorbell rang, and an excited Enid said, "Oh my gosh everyone. That must be our super special surprise guest. Lets see who we're going to greet at the door." Enid opened the door, and then suddenly walking into the house was... Chewbacca as the classic Star Wars theme song played on speakers around him. Chewbacca then made many loud noises, as subtitles appeared below him saying: "It's not Christmas without Chewbacca!" The entire studio audience immediately cheered and clapped very loudly. A very happy Enid hugged Chewbacca as she said, "Chewy, it's great to see you. What would you like to do with us tonight?" Chewbacca then made several loud noises. Then a super excited Enid said, "You want us to go visit your family on your home planet and celebrate Life Day with them? Okay! That sounds like a perfect way to enjoy the holidays!"

Enid looked up with happy starry eyes, as an angry looking Wednesday said, "Enid, that's the most ridiculous fantasy that's ever been conjured in the history of existence." A smiling Enid then turned to look at Wednesday as she said, "But that's the thing Wednesday. Christmas is a time where you get to do silly ridiculous things that are reminiscent of childhood. It's a season to think about happy memories and embrace good times. I mean your parents told me that you actually did celebrate Christmas in your home when you were young, and loved getting gifts from Santa. You should recreate some of your favorite childhood memories with our girls before it's too late." Wednesday then stood up and angerly said, "It is a waste of time to re-create a childhood that can never be lived again. It is better to dwell on preparing for a future that is inevitable, versus dealing with the guaranteed failure of reconstructing the past." Then Wednesday quickly walked out of the room, while Enid sat with a worried look on her face.

An hour later: Enid, Harmony, and Ana were sitting in the kitchen eating Christmas tree shaped cookies (while Ana's cat also sat on the table eating Christmas tree shaped cat food). A smiling Ana then said, "Mmm. Mom, you make the best Christmas cookies!" A panicked looking Enid then said, "Shh! I told you... this tradition of us eating cookies on Christmas Eve is supposed to be a secret. Your mother cannot know!" A curious Harmony then said, "Mom, what's the deal with mother always trying to be so anti-Christmas? It's like she wishes the holiday didn't exist." Enid sighed, and then said, "I've been married to that woman for over seventeen years, and there are still some things I don't understand about her. I mean... your mother has certainly evolved and become much more accepting of things she never would have tolerated back when we first met. However when it comes to Christmas... she's always been a real Scrooge."

Then Ana's cat lifted it's head with a profound look on his face, and then said "Rowr." Then a wide eyed and excited Ana said, "That's a brilliant idea Stormageddon the Conqueror! We gotta Scrooge mother!" A very confused looking Enid then said, "Excuse me?" An eager looking Ana then stood up as she said, "A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. We all know the story. It's famous because of how Scrooge's experiences with seeing his past, present, and future changed his outlook on Christmas. So we just gotta re-create that experience with mother, and then her outlook on Christmas will change." A skeptical looking Harmony then said, "Yeah... but how are we gonna pull that off?" Then Ana got out her phone as she said, "Don't worry. I know a guy in the Seance Society that owes me a favor."

That evening, Enid was walking with Wednesday down to the basement of the home. A confused looking Wednesday then said, "I am confused as to why we going down to my private area of the house together." Then Wednesday eventually saw Harmony, Ana, and Ana's cat were sitting around a large circle on the floor that had strange carvings and candles inside of it. Wednesday glared at everyone as she said, "If you are trying to force the deceased to appear before you, don't bother. I've been trying to pull that off for years and have consistently failed." Then a smiling Enid held Wednesday's hand as she said, "Oh, we're not trying to call upon the spirits of the dearly departed Wednesday. We're trying to call upon the spirits that always have been amongst the Earth, such as... the spirits of Christmas!" A wide eyed and horrified Wednesday then said, "No! You don't mean..."

Then an excited Harmony said, "Come on mother. You've always wanted me to get more in touch with my psychic abilities. So tonight I am through a special book Ana's friend gave us." Wednesday then began to walk away as she said, "No. I refuse to be a pawn in your twisted scheme." Then a grinning Ana said, "Fine. But if this whole conjuring of spirits goes wrong, it would really stink to not have an expert on these matters around to fix everything. I mean the last thing we'd want is the spirits of Christmas to accidentally get trapped in our home for all eternity." Wednesday paused for a moment... took a deep breath... and then sat down in a chair with an angry look on her face while saying, "I longed for the day my children would be as manipulative as me... but I did not foresee it would be for such horrific goals."

Harmony smiled as she held out a book over the strange circle on the floor. Harmony then focused her mind as she said, "I, Harmony Addams, member of the Addams Family clan, descendant of Goody Addams, call upon the spirits of Christmas past, present, and future to show themselves to us tonight. I now recite the ancient chant to bring forth these spirits. Venite ad nos magni spiritus Natalis Domini. Tuam sapientiam reverenter petimus. Vosmetipsos ostendite! Appare! Appare! Fa la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!" Then suddenly a blue mist began to spin around the room. A curious Enid then said, "What's going on?" Suddenly Harmony's body began to glow as a blue energy came out of the floor and into her body. Then the mist disappeared. A worried Enid then walked towards Harmony as she said, "Harmony... are you okay?"

Harmony then turned to look at everyone with a big smile as she said, "Yes. Harmony. I am her... and yet I am not her." A confused Ana then said, "Wait. What's going on?" Harmony grinned as she said, "I'm the spirit of Christmas past. I have temporarily possessed the body of this girl. I have all her memories and personality... but also my own. Do not worry though. When I am done here, I will leave Harmony's body, and then the spirits of Christmas present and future will temporarily possess two other bodies." An excited Enid then said, "Okay. So... Spirit of Christmas Past... we're trying to help my wife Wednesday here see Christmas throughout the span of her existence. Think you and the other spirits could help us?" A smiling Harmony then said, "Ah, yes. Harmony has many memories of how her mother feels towards this season. Hmm. Well... yes! Me and my fellow spirits will indeed help your entire family see things more clearly tonight. Now, first things first... I shall show you events from long ago that you all would benefit to see." Then Harmony waved her arms around, and suddenly everyone in the room disappeared.

Wednesday, Enid, Harmony, Ana, and Ana's cat all suddenly appeared in the old Addams Family home. An excited Enid then said, "Wow Wednesday. We're in your childhood home!" A smiling Harmony then said, "Yes. Nearly thirty years ago. Don't worry though. We haven't traveled through time. We're simply witnessing the past as unseen observers. Now behold..." Then everyone saw in the living room of the old Addams Family home: Gomez, Morticia, Fester, young Pugsley, and young Wednesday were sitting around a Christmas tree. The tree has no green pines, but still had many decorations on it, along with many presents surrounding it. An excited young Pugsley then held up some bows and arrows as he said, "Wow! My own archery set! I can't wait to use this!" Then Fester happily said, "How about we go outside and you can practice hitting apples off the top of my head?" An excited young Pugsley then said, "Wow. Can I father?" A happy Gomez then said, "Of course Pugsley. But be careful. If you hit Uncle Fester by accident, that will ruin the arrow." Then as Pugsley and Fester left the room, an excited young Wednesday then jumped up as she said, "Mother! Father! Look! Santa gave me a new Marie Antoinette doll, and a new guillotine that cuts heads much faster! I can't wait till I see how quick I can chop this dolls' head off!" Meanwhile as Enid watched, she held Wednesday's hand while saying, "Look Wednesday! Little you is so happy on Christmas! See how much joy this holiday used to give you." Wednesday however had an angry look on her face... but also looked ashamed as she said, "We all have a past."

Then everyone turned their heads, as they saw the door to the home open. Then suddenly Wednesday's grandmother appeared walking into the home carrying a bag as she said, "Merry Christmas everyone!" Then a smiling young Wednesday ran towards her grandmother as she yelled, "Grandma!" Then young Wednesday hugged her grandmother tightly. Wednesday's grandmother made a warm smile as she said, "How are you doing my favorite grand-child?" A smiling young Wednesday then said, "I'm okay. But grandma, why do you say I'm your favorite grand-child? Mother and father say you love me and Pugsley equally." Wednesday's grandmother chuckled as she said, "Aw, come on. We all know that's a bunch of phony baloney. Every parent and grandparent has a favorite. Just be grateful it's you. So anyway, let me see that mouth of yours. How's it looking?" A smiling young Wednesday pointed to her mouth as she said, "I've lost three baby teeth in the last four weeks. See the holes in my mouth!" Wednesday's grandmother looked amazed as she said, "Wow Wednesday! You look uglier than ever before! I'm so proud to call you my grand-daughter. Anyway, it looks like Santa accidentally left a present for you in my room. So here's your extra Christmas gift." Then Wednesday's grandmother took out of her bag: an old record player. Young Wednesday's eyes lit up as she said, "Wow! It looks so old and gloomy! Can I play a song and dance to it?" Wednesday's grandmother chuckled as she said, "Sure. But you'll need a dance partner. Not me. I'm too old."

Then Lurch suddenly walked into the room as he said, "Uuuuuuuuh." Then an excited young Wednesday immediately jumped up and said, "Hey Lurch! Dance with me!" Then young Wednesday immediately started playing a dance song on the record player. Young Wednesday then walked over to Lurch as she said, "This is the latest. It's called the droop." Then young Wednesday started shaking her legs while waving her arms back and forth. Lurch stood looking uncertain of what to do, while Morticia (who had been watching everything) said, "Come now Lurch. I know there's that zombie girl living down the street that you've been wanting to impress. I'm sure if you learned a few dance moves, you'd give her one more reason to not return to the grave." Then a young Wednesday happily said, "Yeah. I think that zombie girl down the street is a swinger." Lurch looked confused as he said, "Swinger?" As young Wednesday continued to dance, she said, "You don't want her to think you're square do ya?" Lurch then quickly turned his head. Then an excited young Wednesday said, "Then if you learn how to dance well, she'll think you're boss." Lurch looked confused again as he said, "Boss?" A happy young Wednesday continued to dance as she said, "Neat. Groovy. Come on. Try it." Then Lurch began to attempt to copy little Wednesday's dance moves.

Meanwhile: Wednesday, Enid, Harmony, and Ana had been watching the entire scene. Everyone tried to keep a straight face... but then suddenly Enid, Harmony, and Ana's mouths burst open as they began to laugh hysterically. As tears came out of her eyes, Ana said, "Really mother? Swinger? Neat? Groovy? What century did you grow up in?" As Enid chuckled, she said, "Be nice Ana. I mean... you don't want your mother to think you're square do ya?" Then Enid fell down laughing more. Meanwhile Ana's cat ran over to the scene of young Wednesday and Lurch dancing, and then began to dance with his little paws beside them. Then Enid and Ana joined in as they began to mimic young Wednesday's dance moves. Meanwhile Wednesday glared at the scene for a moment... and then glanced at Harmony as she said, "Be honest with me. You're really the spirit of Christmas Torture, aren't you?"

Meanwhile little Wednesday ran over to her grandmother as she said, "Thank you for the record player grandma!" Then Wednesday's grandmother grinned as she said, "Oh, but there's more. I also got one more surprise gift. How would you like your very own, straight from the Tennessee prison system, electric chair!" Then Wednesday's grandmother pulled a curtain nearby, and showed hiding behind the curtain was an old rusty electric chair. A super happy Wednesday jumped up and down as she yelled, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! My own electric chair!" Then young Wednesday immediately hugged her grandmother as she said, "Thank you so much! I love you grandma!" Wednesday's grandmother smiled while hugging Wednesday as she said, "I love you too Wednesday. So... how about we find your brother and test this on him." A young Wednesday grinned as she said, "Neat."

Meanwhile: Wednesday, Enid, Harmony, and Ana were still watching. As Enid put a hand on Wednesday's shoulder, she said, "Just look how happy Christmas used to make you Wednesday. Doesn't this change how feel about it now?" Wednesday then crossed her arms, and glared at Enid while saying, "No." Then Harmony smiled as she said, "Well, there's still more to see... but not with me. The rest of your journey will be led by my fellow spirits. Now... we depart." Then a blue mist began to surround the group, and suddenly they disappeared.

In a blue flash: Wednesday, Enid, Harmony, Ana, and Ana's cat all appeared in the basement of their home again. As Wednesday looked around, she sat back down in a chair while saying, "Well this is at least some improvement." Ana then walked towards Harmony as she said, "Harmony... are you back to normal?" Harmony nodded her head as she said, "Yeah. The spirit of Christmas past has left my body. But... where is the spirit of Christmas present?" Then Ana looked puzzled as she said, "Well it's not with me... and it's not with mother. So that means..." Then everyone turned their heads and looked at a grinning Enid... who then waved her hands and said, "What's up party people! I'm the spirit of Christmas present... with a big dash of Enid as well! So... who wants some gifts?" Then Enid snapped her fingers, and suddenly several wrapped gifts magically appeared in the room. A confused Harmony then said, "What's up with these?" Enid raised one eyebrow as she said, "Well I am the spirit of Christmas Present. It's a pun. Get it? Come on everyone. Check out what's inside."

Harmony then opened one gift as she said, "Let see what's in here. Hey! There are a few Christmas movie DVD's in here." Then Ana opened another gift as she said, "Yeah, along with some old Christmas music CD's. Hold on. These are copies of songs and movies we listen to and watch every Christmas when mother is gone from the house all day." Then Enid glanced at Wednesday as she said, "Come on Wednesday. Time for everyone to see what's inside your present." Then Wednesday reluctantly walked over and opened one gift before her... only for everyone to see nothing inside. A confused looking Ana then said, "I don't get it. Why is mother's present empty?" Then a bitter looking Wednesday said, "Because this is all Christmas means to me now... nothing."

Then Wednesday tore up the empty box, and threw it to the ground. Suddenly all of reality around the women came apart, and everyone saw themselves now standing in a black void. A nervous Harmony then asked, "Where are we now?" Enid kept calm as she said, "You're looking into a manifestation of what Wednesday's soul is always like on Christmas. A black void that contains nothing." Then a confused Ana asked, "But why?" A confused looking Harmony then said, "It doesn't have to be this way. Mother, before this black void appeared - you saw all the fun stuff that is always part of Christmas for the rest of the family. Don't you want to be part of that? Christmas doesn't have to be full of emptiness." Then Wednesday glared at everyone as she said, "All of you make those frivolous things part of your Christmas. But not I! End this display now spirit!" Enid sighed for a moment, and then said, "As you wish." Then a blue mist began to surround the group, and suddenly they disappeared.

In a blue flash: Wednesday, Enid, Harmony, Ana, and Ana's cat all appeared in the basement of their home again. As Enid looked around she said, "Whoa. Okay, that was weird. But I'm me again. So now I guess we're about to be visited by the spirit of Christmas Future." Wednesday rolled her eyes as she said, "This will only be remotely enjoyable if he actually chooses to show up in his traditional grim form." Then as Ana looked around she said, "Well I still feel like myself." Then a confused looking Harmony said, "Yeah. And I'm definitely still me too. But if the spirit of Christmas Future didn't possess mother, mom, me, or Ana... who did he possess?" Then suddenly the four women heard a raspy male voice say, "Well it's about time I finally get to voice my feelings to all of you doll faces." Ana suddenly had a very surprised look on her face as she said, "No way!" Then everyone turned their heads and saw Ana's cat sitting on top of a table smirking as he said, "How do you do ladies? I'm the Spirit of Christmas Future, with a mix of your feline friend's personality and memories. And by the way, the part of me that is your cool cat has so many things he's wanted to say to the lot of you dames for ages."

A super excited Ana then exclaimed, "Stormageddon the Conqueror! This is the coolest thing ever! I can't believe my best friend is now finally talking to me. This is unreal." Ana's cat smiled as he said, "Well, hey. I'm not crazy about reality, but it's still the only place to get a decent meal. But thanks for letting me know I'm your best friend Ana. I mean outside of a cat, a book is a girls' best friend. Inside of a cat though, it's too dark to read." Then a confused looking Enid asked, "What's with the way you're talking? You sound like you're from a black and white movie, or some old comic strip." Then Ana's cat raised one eyebrow as he said, "Hey. If you want to see a comic strip, you should see me in the shower." Then a curious Harmony asked, "So since you can talk now... can you tell us the full details on where you as a cat originally came from?" Ana's cat then held up one paw as he said, "Hey. The part of me that is the Spirit of Christmas Future isn't allowed to tell you anything about your cat's past. Only what he's feeling in the here and now. Those are my principles; and if you don't like them... well I have others."

Then Enid cleared her throat for a second, and then said, "Well... the part of you that is the Spirit of Christmas Future... can you show my wife her future now?" Ana's cat then glanced at Wednesday as he said, "Yes. Your gloomy loving wife. Ah, marriage is a wonderful institution... but who wants to live in an institution?" Then Wednesday rolled her eyes as she said, "This prolonged torture is sickening me." Then Ana's cat jumped over to Wednesday as he said, "Well if you're not feeling well, maybe we need a doctor. Quick! Ring the nearest golf course!" Then Wednesday angerly glared at Ana's cat as she loudly said, "Can we have this ridiculous experience expedited!?" Ana's cat then smiled as he said, "Hey! You just said the secret word! Now it's time to show all you ladies a glimpse into a possible future!" Then suddenly a blue mist surrounded everyone, and they immediately disappeared.

In a flash: Wednesday, Enid, Harmony, Ana, and Ana's cat appeared in a dark field. A concerned looking Harmony then asked, "Where are we?" Ana's cat then casually said, "The future, doll faces. Now, why don't you dames look at what's before you." Then Enid suddenly saw a dark cemetery in front of her as she said, "The cemetery!? NO!" Then Ana's cat quickly said, "Whoa! No, no! Not over there. Over there to your right." Then everyone turned their heads to the right and saw a retirement home. Enid breathed a huge sigh of relief as she said, "Ohhh. A retirement home. That makes more sense." Meanwhile Ana looked confused as she asked, "Who puts a cemetery right next to a retirement home?" Then a curious Harmony walked forward as she said, "Hold on. Everyone... is that who I think it is in that window over there?" The four women then walked over to a window close to them, and then saw sitting in a small retirement home apartment was a very old Wednesday reading a book all alone. Enid breathed a sigh of relief as she said, "Oh good. I'm so glad to see Wednesday is still alive in the future." Ana's cat then jumped on the window sill as he said, "Hey. No person goes before their time... unless the boss leaves early."

Then inside the retirement home apartment unit, three female teenage volunteers walked into the room. One of the female teens then said, "Good evening Mrs Addams. We're volunteers with the local high school. We've come to bring you some special Christmas gifts. We made them for all the residents here." Old Wednesday rolled her eyes as she said, "Christmas presents, again? You do know I could report you all for elderly abuse." Meanwhile as Enid watched through the window, she said, "Wait. I'm not here with Wednesday, but some random teenage volunteers are? What's up with that?" Then Ana's cat grinned as he said, "I don't know, but all I can say about those young ladies over there is they remind me of some girls in bikinis I saw at the beach last summer. I even took pictures of them, only to realize they weren't well developed. But hopefully when I see them again next year, puberty will take care of that." Ana looked very surprised as she said, "Stormageddon the Conqueror! How can you talk about teenage girls like that!?" Ana's cat grinned as he said, "Hey. You're only as young as the woman you feel. Wait. Those teenage girls are leaving! Hey ladies! Come back! Let me know when those outfits get too heavy for you! Rowr!"

Ana's cat then ran off, while inside the retirement home unit - an old Enid walked into the room. Old Enid then looked at old Wednesday as she said, "Hey Wednesday. I'm about to go see the girls and the grand-kids. You sure you don't want to come to the big family Christmas party?" Old Wednesday glared at old Enid as she said, "I told you. I will never participate in any ridiculous Christmas parties. I have better things to do on this day anyway." Old Enid then looked very angry as she said, "Wednesday, I've tried for decades now, but... I just don't get why you won't ever do any Christmas activities with me and the rest of our family. I guess I won't be seeing you again until New Years." Old Enid then stormed out of the apartment unit.

Meanwhile: Wednesday, Enid, Harmony, and Ana had watched the entire scene. Enid then turned to look at Wednesday as she said, "Now do you see where your choices will lead you Wednesday? You'll forever be alone on Christmas not doing the things the rest of your family likes to do. How does that make you feel?" Wednesday then crossed her arms, and kept a completely straight face as she said, "Like I won." Enid then groaned in frustration as she turned her head away. Ana's cat then walked back over to the group as he said, "Well, I lost track of those ladies. But it's okay. I still got Princess Snuggles in the present, so I'll take that." Then a worried Harmony looked at Ana's cat as she said, "Spirit of Christmas Future, I don't think this journey turned out right. My mother hasn't experienced a change of heart when it comes to Christmas."

Ana's cat made a little smile as he said, "Eh, a change of heart won't do her any good. She'll still have the same face. But I've shown all you dames what you were meant to see tonight. So it's time to go home." Ana then got on her knees to look at her cat as she said, "Okay. Well... I guess I'm never gonna really hear you speak again then." Ana's cat looked down for a moment, and then looked right at Ana as he said, "Ana... listen... the part of me that's your cat just wants you to know..." Ana then held a hand up while smiling as she said, "Stormageddon the Conqueror... you don't have to say anything." Ana's cat paused for a moment... and then made a little smile as he said, "I never did." Then a blue mist surrounded everyone, and then suddenly they disappeared.

The next day (in the present): Enid, Harmony, and Ana were sitting in the living room wearing Christmas themed pajamas as they were surrounded by wrapped presents. A smiling Enid then said, "Okay. We already called the relatives on the phone, Ana's cat is off on a little Christmas date with his lady cat friend, and we've already eaten breakfast. So... who now wants to open gifts first?" Suddenly Wednesday came down the stairs wearing a black coat. Wednesday paused as she looked at the rest of her family surrounded by gifts. The rest of the family looked back at Wednesday for a moment. Then after the moment passed... Wednesday turned her back to everyone and left out the front door. Enid sighed, and then said, "I still can't believe that after everything we went through, Wednesday didn't learn anything."

Everyone sat quiet for another moment... until Harmony suddenly broke the silence as she said, "Wait a minute. The spirits we saw last night said they would help the entire family see things more clearly. What if... we were supposed to learn something last night?" Then Ana began to ponder as she said, "Yeah. I mean... when we saw mother in the future, she was all alone... just like she is now every year." Harmony nodded her head as she said, "Yeah. Every year mother just leaves the house all alone while we celebrate Christmas... but we never go where she goes. Does anyone know what mother does while alone every Christmas?" Suddenly a look of clarity went across Enid's face as she said, "Wait. I... I think I know..."

As the cold wind blew threw the air, Wednesday Addams sat alone in a cemetery. Wednesday then starred at a tombstone in front of her, which had words engraved into it which said: "RIP - Esmeralda Eudora Addams. Mother to Gomez and Fester. Grandmother to Pugsley and Wednesday." Wednesday then put several dead flowers in front of the grave as she softly said, "Merry Christmas Grandma. I... I wish you were still here with me." Then suddenly Wednesday heard Enid's voice yell, "Wednesday!" Wednesday turned her head and saw Enid, Harmony, and Ana walking towards her. As the three women approached Wednesday, a surprised Harmony said, "Wait a minute. That's Great-Grandma Addams' grave. Also... look at the dates listed there." Then an astonished Ana said, "Wait. The day she died was... December 25th?"

Enid sat down next to Wednesday as she said, "Wednesday... why didn't you tell us?" A few tears slowly began to appear in Wednesday's eyes as she said, "Because... for many, Christmas is a day of joy and happy childhood memories. But for me... all it reminds me of is... is..." Then suddenly Wednesday broke down and burst into tears as she began to sob. Enid immediately held Wednesday close as she said, "It's okay Wednesday. We're here for you. Any time you want to be here... we'll stay with you here as long as you want." Harmony and Ana then got on the ground and put their arms around their two mothers as well. The family of four then held each other close as the chilly Christmas day slowly began to feel a little less cold.

THE END

Check out my HUGE Wenclair Series for the FULL STORY:

https://www.wattpad.com/user/WenclairFamily (T-rated version of my stories)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14168842/1/The-Passion-of-a-Moment-Enid-and-Wednesday-s-Family-and-Legacy (M-rated version of my stories)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43420609 (alternate link for M-rated version of my stories)

#wenclair #enid sinclair #wednesday #wednesday addams #wednesday x enid #wednesday fanfiction #wenclair fanfiction #enid x wednesday #wenclair fanart

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avelera · 1 year ago

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On Fanfiction as Genre

Something something... in the world of original fiction, the genre comes first and the story comes second.

For example, "This satirical religious comedy, Good Omens..."

Whereas in fanfiction, the media itself is the genre, and fanfiction writers write within it. The genre becomes the story, the story becomes the genre.

For example, "This coffee shop AU, set in Good Omens..."

Now, here's the thing. In the world of published original fiction, you would never or at least very rarely roll up to your publisher and say, "Hey! You know that really popular coffee shop romance series I was writing? Well, what if I took the two popular main characters and dropped them into a zombie apocalypse for the next book in the series?"

Your publisher would probably look at you like you have two heads. Even if you're their superstar, they might gently and cautiously point out that the audience has a certain expectation that this series is a coffeeshop romance, and you might lose readers if it suddenly, unexpectedly, became a zombie horror story.

But fanfiction writers do this all the time. In fact, it's largely the basis of most fanfic, "I like the original, yes, but I'd like to do my unique spin where instead of Aziraphale and Crowley being in a satirical religious comedy, they're in a grimdark zombie apocalypse and also they're human now."

Fics can range from canon-adjacent all the way out to barely recognizable as based in the same original story, but readers are largely accepting of this because the genre isn't it "coffee shop romance" suddenly becoming "zombie apocalypse horror". The genre remains the same: Good Omens. Just as a fan of science fiction will be accepting of a story that is rigorously scientific and takes place on Mars (eg "The Martian") and enjoy wildly unscientific magical space opera with laser swords, (the original "Star Wars" trilogy). Some might not enjoy the full breadth of the genre and have their preferences, like more or less scientific, but that is much like fanfic readers preferring more or less canon-adjacent takes on the characters.

This gets interesting because as my writing teacher said, you break genre expectations at your own peril as a writer. Note: Most "genre breaking" works are nothing of the sort, they simply break a few unspoken expectations. You don't say something is a Western and then set it in a stock trader's office in New York City. People who pick up your book expecting a Western aren't going to think it's clever, they're going to think it's annoying, most likely.

This is because genres have certain pleasures associated with them, as my teacher said. In Western, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy, the expected pleasures are largely setting or plot-based. We expect a sci-fi story to take place in space, or to otherwise involve technology real or imagined. We expect fantasy to involve magic in some form. We expect a Western to be set in the Old West or have something to do with cowboys and horses, for the most part, though of course in all examples there are exceptions.

Horror and Romance are particularly interesting, because those pleasures are not based in setting but in the expected emotion the reader can expect. Horror readers expect to be scared by the end, no matter how you achieve it, and Romance readers expect to engage physically, mentally, or emotionally in a story about love and lust. Then you get into interesting mixtures like Sci-Fi Horror, which helps narrow things down.

My final point to all of this is that this is one reason why original fiction publishers and fanfiction readers are often speaking at cross-purposes to one another.

I see a lot of predictions for continuations of media that think with a fanfic writer brain. "I want these characters to talk about their feelings next time," except that the genre of "talking about feelings" they're imagining is more aligned with literary or psychological character study, or the romance genre. Whereas the core media is, for example, a satirical religious comedy. Or a workplace romantic comedy set on a pirate ship. Or it's a comic book action movie about a super soldier punching bad guys.

Yes, you will get elements of that in any good script that provides variety, but the story isn't going to switch genres as seen by original fiction publishers and studios, because they would think that's crazy. They see the story as living within a genre and the audience basing their choice to engage with that story as being based in the expectations of that genre. People want to see a pirate comedy. People want to watch a superhero punch bad guys. To have them suddenly pivot to a deep arthouse film style discussion of feelings and unearthing of trauma isn't just weird to them, it's a betrayal of what the audience is ostensibly there to see.

Where you see deviation of this is in stories that are so well-established that they begin to operate like fanfiction. "I want to see a Superman movie that's a deep exploration of trauma and what it's like to grow up feeling like an alien in the American Midwest." Superman, in this case, is the genre so we can range further afield with what about this story we explore and we can switch genre away from it just being about punching bad guys.

Which is why I sometimes praise a film as being really good fanfiction, but it usually requires a media property with broad household name familiarity to make the story itself into a genre that allows further explorations that dip into less expected genres, like arthouse film takes set in a popular scifi franchise universe. And that's why, very often, fanfiction readers aren't going to get what they hope for from a lot of franchises, especially those who don't have the popularity or confidence to treat their story as the genre itself, rather than as residing within the expectations of its genre.

#maggie rambles #writing #fanfiction

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karmavongrim · 11 months ago

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Hero's Rise fanfic idea

Not much of an idea but an actual story about Danny's new life in the Pokémon world.

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Chapter 1

All anybody needs is a second chance

Why is the world so unfair? It wasn’t fair! All it took was just one simple mistake. A mistake that any teenager could’ve made and yet when he does it, the entire world is put in peril. A mistake that his family had to pay the ultimate price for.

These are the thoughts of an injured teen kneeling in a crater of his latest fight with the most terrifying foe he has ever met. That day had started like any other, a teen worrying about an important exam that could effect his future. He’d thought of even just winging the whole test since he never got enough time to study thanks to his secret hero duties keeping him occupied even at nighttime, if not for the test answers he had picked up from the ground that was accidentally left behind by his English teacher. If only he would’ve known that his decision to cheat would cause for the literal apocalypse to happen then he would have never even considered doing such a thing.

No, that wasn’t true, he knew that this would be the outcome yet he still did it thanks to his stupid teen impulses. The master and lord of time himself had warned him personally of this but he still didn’t listen. And now he has nothing.

The scrawny fourteen year old stares blackly at the hellish inferno that had consumed all the ones he cared about along with a fast food restaurant they had been held captive in by his evil future self. His glazed eyes turn to a silver thermos that now housed said monster. He can’t bring himself to care that his baggy t-shirt and jeans are in shreds, and covered in blood and dirt. Nothing mattered to him anymore.

In a distance the blaring sound of multiple sirens can be heard even through the sound of roaring fire around him. So lost in thoughts he’s that he didn’t notice the world around him going deathly still and quit, nor the wisp of gold air escaping past his pale split lips. Not until a familiar, deep voice gently calls out to him.

“Danny.”

Danny blinks for what feels like the first time in a good while as he’s trying to process what was said to him and by whom. He didn’t move from his spot on the ground when a blue-skinned ghost moves in front of him, his purple cloak flowing along. His form ever shifting between that of a child, an adult and an old man, never staying as one for long. Seeing the ghost he can’t stop tears from rolling down his face as he demands.

“Why didn’t you stop this Clockwork?”

When the ever age shifting ghost says nothing he becomes angry.

“You are the master of time aren’t you? Can’t you just turn back time and let me fix my mistake?”

Clockwork regards the distraught boy silently for a moment.

“I won’t nor can do that Daniel, for multitude of reasons. You also seem to have misunderstood some things regarding me. I do not rule over time, I manage it. My duty is to take care of it, not to bend it to my will and do whatever I please with it. If I were to meddle more than I already have the consequences could be catastrophic. This was the most optimal outcome.” He calmly explains. The ageless being truly wishes that it wouldn’t have come to this, but he had no other choice. He had his limits and rules in place for a reason. This of course doesn’t sit well with the boy.

“O-Optimal outcome? Optimal outcome!” He screams with his hoarse voice. Danny was absolutely livid hearing that. He lets go of the thermos shaped capture device and wobbly lifts himself up.

“You are saying all this like it’s nothing! Like we are nothing more then pieces on a game board that can be thrown away!” He screams more as he unsteadily lunges himself at the ancient ghost who does nothing to stop the weak assault.

“Why did they have to pay the price for my stupid decision? Just take me instead!” He begs but Clockwork’s unmoved, so Danny continues to throw punches, ignoring how heavy and in pain his arms feel.

“You are the master of time! Just turn back time and let me fix this!” He begs again and still only silence greets him, so he doesn’t stop.

“Please! If they are taken away from me I’ll have nothing left worth living for. If you can’t bring them back then take me as well!” Third time he begs and bargains, and again nothing.

Danny collapses on to the elder who wraps his gloved arms to keep him from falling while being careful with his clock staff. With no more rage, all that is left was absolute sorrow and misery belonging to an orphaned child.

“P-Please bring them back. Please. I-I beg you, I’ll do anything.” He tries to beg feebly one last time as he lifts his head to look into Clockwork’s solid red eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Was the resolute answer he gets that shattering any illusions of this all being just a messed up dream or a sick joke.

That’s it then, he’s lost everything and there’s nothing he can do about it. Maybe his parents were right about Danny Phantom being a monster, they weren’t that far from truth looking at the destruction that Dan had caused… It would be better for everybody if he were to just-

“Don’t.” Clockwork’s stern voice rouses him from his spiraling dark thoughts, who’s looking at him with equally stern gaze.

“Do not think that taking your own life would atone anything. You must keep on living Daniel, for your family’s sake at least if not yours. Stay alive so that their memories may live on as well with you. They would want that and you know this too deep inside.”

Even though his speech ends in softer note it still stings a lot. He’s the cause of all of this so it would be only fair that he pays the price as well. But there seemes to be no way fighting the powerful ghost of time on this, no matter how hard he tries. Danny slumps further into Clockwork’s firm embrace as if it would help him somehow to escape the cruel reality.

Clockwork would let the boy get his bearings but this isn’t the place nor time for it. He shifts his free hand to soothe the messy black mop of hair as he continues.

“Unfortunately I can’t let you stay here. The future only holds terrible things for all if you do.”

Danny squeezes his eyes shut as he grits his teeth; even if Clockwork didn’t say it outright he knows what he means. What is he suppose to do then? There’s no going back and fixing this, nor is he apparently allowed to end his own misery. The only thing he can think of is to ask the one who knows everything.

“…What should I do?”

Clockwork lifts his staff as he suggests.

“Come with me and you’ll find out.”

Danny doesn’t think too long since he has nothing else to do or place to go. If he stays then he would be just put in foster care or adoption since he’s still a minor, and would end up with Vlad one way or another. Once felt connection to this town seemed to have shatter into pieces when his loved ones perished. He has nothing left to keep him there, so at a complete loss he agrees.

“A-Alright.” He mutters and takes the offered hand.

At his consent they are both along with the thermos transported away with a single wave of a staff, never to been seen by that world ever again.

Danny only opens his eyes when the feeling of momentary weightlessness ceases and he’s gently pried off by the older ghost. He is led to a purple bed of what seem to be a guest room from lack of personal touches in it. Once he’s made comfortable Clockwork doesn’t waste time in explaining.

“Like I said before, you can’t stay here. But there’s another way. I happen to have acquaintances who would be willing to foster you, the only catch being that they live very far, far away.” Danny’s getting a sinking feeling about where this is going so he has to ask.

“How far exactly?”

Clockwork stops, seemingly to give the boy a second to prepare himself before answering.

“In another world, in another reality.” He tells him truthfully. This gets a reaction out of the teen.

“What! W-Why so far away? What about my-” He stops himself from finishing that sentence. Tears once again start to gather and fall with earnest. What about his family. They are gone for good and he wouldn’t be able to live in Amity Park without constantly being reminded of his failures. Clockwork places a firm hand on the skinny shoulder to draw his attention away from his spiraling thoughts again. He hates the soft look directed at him. He doesn’t deserve it.

“This is why you can’t stay and why I’m offering you this opportunity, to heal and give you a second change at life, to move on.”

Danny shook his head violently. No, he doesn’t deserve any of this.

“H-how can I just move on from this!? From them! There’s no way- It’s just not right!”

He doesn’t deserve help. He doesn’t want it! He can’t continue on with his life when the others lost theirs. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.

“I didn’t say that you should forget about them, but to accept that this is the unfortunate reality. The pain never goes away, it merely becomes easier to deal with in due time if you let yourself heal by at least attempting to forgive yourself. What do you think your loved ones would say to you right now? Samantha, Tucker and Jasmine? Your parents? Would they want to see you in this state?”

Danny winces and glares hard at the elder. He has no business to use his family against him like that! But now that the idea’s been planted, he wasn’t able to think anything else. What would they say?

He can definitely see Jazz and Sam scolding him for being an idiot, for ever thinking that they’d blame him, that they knew what they were getting themselves into. Tucker would reassure him that he wouldn’t forget them even if he found a new meaning to his life. Hell, he would even offer some ridiculous ideas to try out in the new world, like pick up some alien girls. He liked to think that his parents would wish the best of luck and happiness, to show the world what Fentons are made of.

He let his tears fall freely. The last thing he wants to do was to dishonor the ones he loved the most. He won’t do it, he’ll make sure their memories would live on, brighter than ever. He doesn’t want to disappoint them no matter what, even if it still left a sour taste on his tongue. Was he really allowed to move on with out them?

Clockwork decides it would be a good time to leave the boy to mourn in peace, yet he can’t help but lament quietly as he floats out of the bedroom.

“Oh Daniel, you think that you still have to pay for what had happened. Those who have passed have no need for tears, you’ll only end up drowning yourself in them. I truly hope that this will help you find peace of mind someday.”

The Observants have always told him that he cares to much for the young halfa, and every time he denies them even though he knows that they are correct much to his dismay. He’s cared for the boy even before he was born. He can see all of time: past, present, and future. All of it’s endless twists and turns. And out of all of them he enjoyed Danny’s the most. The person who said that time doesn’t have favorites was a liar.

Clockwork glides through the finding halls and corridors of his clock tower till he arrives at his destination. His viewing room, filled with screens, mirrors and cogs that hold within images of old and new, as well as those yet to come to pass or never will. He moves deeper and deeper till he came to a simple silver mirror, so unassuming and hidden away from any unwanted eyes.

Lifting his staff he gently taps it’s surface. It ripples like a calm lake disturbed and white figure manifestes in it.

A white equine like creature accented with gold, radiated majesty and power. Emerald crusted ring of gold attached to its abdomen outshines any crown a king could wear. It’s red and green eyes seem to glow when it notices the time master who has contacted it. And with a mighty voice they spoke.

“Clockwork, it has been ages since we hast last spoken. How hast thou been, those Eyeballs still causing trouble for thee?”

Clockwork lets himself chuckle, trust his friend to take a stab at his ‘coworkers’ just to make him laugh. Not that he’s any better.

“Well met Arceus, my old friend. As nice as it would’ve been for me to have only called you for pleasantries, we’re here to discuss some business.”

He leans on his staff as his friend could only sigh.

“We had a feeling this was so. Thou rarely contact us for any reason other.” Arceus laments and bores a tired glare at the cloaked man who in turn shrugs rather unapologetically.

“What is’t, now that thou summon us?” He asks in almost bored tone.

“I’m calling for the old dept.”

Clockwork states simply. Or it would have sounded simple to anyone else, but Arceus stills as their eyes blow wide open before they narrow in suspicion.

“What hast thou gotten into for thou to arriveth and claim due.” They demand and watch when with a wave of a staff, a hand mirror appears on the other’s unoccupied hand. They lean in for a closer look as a visage of an adolescent boy with midnight black hair becomes visable. This was not what they had expected.

“We fail to understand what thou crave us to try, other than it most like hath to try with thy human child.” They inquire in hesitant interest. This was Clockwork they were dealing with and should never be underestimated.

“He’s a child who’s been dealt an unnecessarily cruel hand in both life and death. He just a moment ago witnessed the loss of his friend and loved ones in the hands of his ultimate enemy.” He tells this as he looks at the image.

“E’en if that is the case, why hie so far for this one single being? There are many others whom suffer the like fate as him, if not worse. Time favors none, doth it not?” Arceus keeps questioning. It doesn’t make sense since they’ve seen countless beings succumb to many fates both good, bad and horrid. What is so different about this one?

“This world holds nothing but sadness and pain for him. In another timeline things would have gone so much more differently and he would have had his happy ending, but this timeline is unfortunately not it. He will never truly recover if he stays here were everything reminds him of his ‘failure’; he’ll keep dwelling deeper in his misery till it drives him over the edge. A change of scenery is what he desperately needs, so I’m finally asking for the favor that you own me. My request is that you take this child and allow him to build a new life for himself in your world.”

They hear and see the clear care their old friend holds for the child but they needs to remind him of the weight of what he’s asking of them.

“This is no bawbling crave Clockwork.” They press.

Clockwork fiddles idle with the clock that is embedded on top of his trusty staff as he conversationally mentions.

“Just like it wasn’t a small act I committed back then for you.”

He lifts his red eyes back at them, challenging the other to try and back down. Arceus knows a losing battle when they see one, besides they do own him big time. There’s nothing else for him to do than continue onward in valiant defeat.

“What is the name of this child?” They ask as they turn back to look at their future charge. The victorious smugness emanating from the other side of the mirror nearly causes them to roll their eyes.

“His name is Daniel Fenton but goes by his moniker Danny or Phantom depending on his current form. A bright young lad when given the chance, even if his grades might have taken a plunge due to his hero work.” Clockwork informs them.

Arceus watches in keen interest as they’re shown many of the boy’s ventures through the small looking-glass. They can’t help but laugh when he realizes how Clockwork sounds like when he talks about the boy, causing said ghost to raise his brown at him.

“And hither we thought thee were suppose to be impartial to all’s… Regarding the favor, all preparations shall be done ‘i no time.” They both discreetly snorted at the pun.

“We are content to receive him whenever seen meetest.”

Clockwork’s shoulders slump ever so slightly as he gives a grateful smile, which quickly turns to his usual smirk.

“Excellent, I won’t be holding you any longer then. Besides I need to prepare young Daniel for his departure, as well as some ‘guests’ to entertain when they finally decide to arrive.” He purrs but before the call was ends Arceus gives a final warning to their old friend.

“We hope that this doth not end poorly. If it doth, thy shall bear the consequence.”

At this threat the ghost only laughs.

“No need for worry. Knowing my Daniel he will do more good then harm. But then again, I know everything.” And with that final farewell the mirror returns back to its unassuming state. Clockwork creates a duplicate of himself and sends him away while making his way back to Danny.

Arriving at the bedroom door he knocks out of courtesy on it before entering to see the poor boy lying face down on the bed. Softly floating to the bedside he tentatively begins to pet his grimy hair. Danny stirs slightly but made no move to get away or to stop the hand on his head. Instead he starts to hiccup and tries to smother his sobs on the duvet.

“I’ll never see them again.” He cries.

Clockwork continues his petting as he lets the boy release his emotions.

“They’re never coming back.” He cries more and all the elder can do at the moment was to offer comfort.

“I’m sorry.” He says as sincerely as he can. He would’ve felt regret over the whole situation if he didn’t know that this needed to happen. It still doesn’t stop his core from breaking a little when he hears him say in such a small voice.

“I don’t want to be alone.”

Lifting his hand from the dirty hair he moves to shift it away from the boy’s face to reveal pair of red puffy eyes looking at him in complete loss.

“You won’t be for long. Here, lets get you cleaned up a bit and you can go back to rest a little while longer.”

Not having energy to argue he’s helped up from the soft bed and into a Victorian style bathroom. Clockwork helps him all through out the whole process of undressing and bathing since Danny doesn’t want to do much of anything in his current state. Being gentle with all the injuries, he’s placed into a tub and washed till water comes out clean. Helping Danny up once again he ignores the grimy rags that were the boy’s old clothes laying on the floor as he moves them both back to the bedroom where a set of new identical looking garments rest on the bed along with a black and white duffel back with Phantom’s logo on it. Danny, who’s bundled up in light purple towel, shows only slight interest in the assorted items before going back to being docile dead weight. He doesn’t react much either to being once again manhandled and laid back down to rest on the soft mattress. His eyes already closing shut when he was being tucked in.

Clockwork takes a second to look at the now peaceful form slumbering away, he deems him well enough to be left alone for the time being. After shutting the lights and closing the bedroom door behind him, he leaves to continue his many tasks still left unfinished.

It takes a good while for Danny to wake up and when he does, he’s feeling completely sore and tired. He looks around to see the familiar room and tears began to fall again.

It wasn’t just a nightmare then. They were really gone forever now. His talk with Clockwork plays around in his head, about how he should keep on living. But he doesn’t think he deserves a new chance, not that he had been given any other choice. He was going to be dragged towards a “new life” kicking and screaming anyway so what’s the point in even trying to fight back. What was there to fight back for?

Rolling his head to its side he was faced with the duffel bag he vaguely remembers seeing before going to sleep. And since it has his logo on it he could only assume that it was meant for him. He rolls to his other side and tries to ignores it to best of his ability. Few moments pass as he tosses around in frustration before he lets his curiosity win.

“Whatever.” He sighs and moves to sit and drags the full bag in closer to him.

Hesitating for a second, he grips the pull tightly and opens it. He only sees a glimpse of what’s inside but it’s enough for his world to come to a complete stop again. His hands start to shake uncontrollably as he carefully, oh so carefully pushed the opening wider to see if his mind was playing tricks on him. Only when his trembling fingers caress the items revealed inside does he believe them to be real and there with him.

Inside are meticulously placed items belonging to all his lost loved ones. He reverently takes them all out and spreads them neatly in front of him.

His mom’s red goggles glisten along with his dad’s favorite fudge spoon which sit right next to a giant pair of black gloves also belonging to his dad. To the right is his sister’s well loved teddy bear nicknamed Bearbert Einstein, which thankfully hasn’t gained anymore tears. Even his little lab coat was still on. Next is Sam’s much sought-after combat boots she swore to wear when she’d grown enough to wear them properly and beside them are Tucker’s trusted PDA and signature red beret which he owned multiple of. There are even two of his own favorite items from his room; a red toy model rocket from his childhood and vintage collector’s poster of Apollo 13. All the other irrelevant items such as the Fenton thermos, wrist ray, Fenton phones, Boo-merang and Fenton rod, some extra clothes and a memory stick he left inside the bag.

He places both of his hands to his mouth as he tried fruitlessly stifle a sob. Clockwork must have gathered all of them for him, and he would be forever grateful for it.

He takes his dad’s oversized gloves and fastened them on his much smaller hands. Mom’s goggles now hanged around his neck as he situates Tucker’s beret backwards on his head, and after putting on Sam’s boots he gently lifts Mr. Bearbert to look into his one remaining little eye. Hugging the bear tightly, he curls into a ball and he manages to catch a whiff of a painfully familiar sweet scent. It still smells like Jazz’s cheap candy perfume. He no longer hold back on his cries as he’s surrounded by the only things he still has left of his shattered life.

He didn’t know how long he had cried before he felt a hand landing on his shoulder. He only looked up at the new arrival when then hand squeezed in lieu of trying to get his attention. It’s Clockwork who’s gazing down softly at him.

“I thought you might appreciate to have some mementos of them to take with you.” He explains. Danny can only nod in utmost thanks, not trusting his voice to work at the moment.

He can feel his eyes starting to moisten up again but no more tears are left for him to cry. The hand on his shoulder continues to sooth him as he gathers himself up to sit, still clutching on to his sister’s bear for support. He’s offered a napkin to dry of his now wet face.

“I suggest that you pack your bag back up; it is time to leave.” The ghost encourages him and moves to stand by the bed’s side.

“Already?” He asks and winces at how his voice comes out. Clockwork nods.

“Unfortunately. Now come, I’ll help you if you need me to.” He says and gestures at the bag. Danny didn’t want to put away the items just yet and seeing how he’s hesitating the ghost continues to reason.

“The road to you destination is a turbulent one, it will be much safer to put them away for the time being and you can always take them out afterwards.”

He thinks about it only a second before caving in; he doesn’t want to loose any more things dear to him just because of his stubbornness. Carefully, one by one he takes the precious items and puts them away to safety of his duffel before zipping it up. Clockwork opens the door and gestures for him to follow which he dutifully does along with his bag.

Their walk is silent for the most part, not that he minds too much, it leaves him time to look at all the cogs, clocks and other glowing green metallic structures that litter the place. Makes sense considering who the owner is.

It’s probably because of Clockworks own influence or because their destination was that close by that they arrived to their stop faster than he thought it would take, and to his surprise and dread the room they enter was the viewing room he and his friends had broken into. The guilt that immediately starts to twist his guts make him look down at the ground and keeping his eyes only on the end of his guider’s cloak. He’s so focused on not seeing anything on the screens and mirrors that he pumps into Clockwork when he stops them at the very end of the cluttered room. Finally daring to look up he sees in front of them on it’s lonesome, is a person sized clouded mirror with ornate frame hanging on the wall, with stone steps leading up to it.

Clockwork turns to him and speaks as he gestures it.

“This gateway will take you to your the new world which hopefully you’ll learn to love and call home one day. There are things in that world that are similar to ours, but also things that you’ve never even imagined. Don’t worry, your new caretakers will share more information with you once there.”

He places his hand on his back and guides the hesitant teen up the stairs to his uncertain future. He pauses in front of the mirror and now that he stands so close to it, he can see that the glass isn’t exactly clouded but seems to have actual moving clouds trapped on the other side of it. He thoughtfully looks at it then at Clockwork.

“Will I ever see you again?” He asks after a moment of hesitation. The elder tilts his head to the side as if thinking before smiling enigmatically.

“Only time will tell young Daniel.” He simply states which almost makes Danny snort, but his slightly better mood is snuffed out when a promising grin takes over his aging face.

“Good luck.”

With this he pushes the fumbling teen into the mirror who embraces for collision but is shocked when he passes through the glass and keeps on falling. He screams.

Clockwork watches impassively as his short time charge leaves this world and into a new one. He glances at nearby mirror to see Fenton Works blow up to smithereens, leaving nothing to the unscrupulous vultures that would have used this tragedy to their advantage. Someone must’ve forgotten to change the Ecto-Filtrator, how unfortunate.

He silently counts down till the door to his work room slams open and three very loud creatures whom have once again barged into his domain uninvited, decide to make tier unhappiness known.

“You must have thought it really funny to leave us in a time loop at your front door!”

His lips twitch minutely as he regards them dully.

“Who knows, and did you really need to take out your frustration on my poor door.”

The trio float closer, all of them wearing identical white robes and black collard cloaks decorated with gold. Their heads were nothing more then a giant eyeball with no necks. Middle one closes in and points its sharp-nailed finger at him as it narrows its one eye.

“Were not here to play games, Time Keeper. Were here because of that hybrid you seem to favor.”

He raises an eyebrow and tightens his hold on the staff. The being notices this and wisely moves back to stand with his peers. Satisfied he turnes to look back at the many screens that kept switching from view to view.

“You won’t have to worry about him. He’s long gone.” He provides, which certainly caught their interest.

“He is? For good?” Third one askes, sounding a bit too exited.

“And he won’t be a problem in the future?” Second one askes more apprehensively.

“Yes. I trust you are satisfied now.” He near spits at the unwanted company standing behind him. Dressed in fine robes they look more like noblemen than officials, which irks Clockwork to no end. So high and mighty, it made him want to defenestrate a good few of them if it weren’t for the fact that they were needed in this anarchist paradise of a dimention.

“Where did you send him anyway Clockwork?” Pries one of them. He merely shrugs in response.

“That is none of your concern since he won’t be coming back. Now, care to observe the door. And don’t let it hit you on your way out.” He motions carelessly behind him at the exit.

As they turn to leave with indignant huffs, they do not notice the mysterious smile stretching on the time ghost’s face.

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