#what about their dream of a little house in the woods with their bird cat son?

[sternentreue]

Do you sometimes think about your Rook dying a very violent and sudden death in battle, their LI running up to them and crying for help while Rook is just shaking and bleeding out, desperately clutching at their partner, eyes wide in fear, while their LI can do nothing but to tell them that it's going to be okay (it's not) and fighting back sobs and tears to put on a brave face for them in their last seconds, just to break down and cradle them in their arms after they took their last breath, or are you normal?

[saphiccarma]

Sex with a Ghost

Summary - You weren't sure why you were on Earth, or why you could sense the Darkhold, but you did know you encountered the most beautiful woman on earth.

Warnings - Smut, fingering (R receiving)

A/N : I've never written smut before 😭I apologise if it's really bad (which it probably is)

Wanda moved to a house out in woods after Westview, shame filling her at what she had done. She hadn't meant to take control of all those people, make them her puppets in her own little personal town where she could live out her personal fantasy of having a life with Vision. Part of, the largest part, loved that. She had children who ran around and baked with her, who loved her and she loved them.

She saw the boys now, bolting in through the room, their smiles bright. From an outside view Wanda saw herself stirring some brownie batter. They dipped their fingers in as Wanda scolded them playfully.

It was a dream. It was all a dream. At least that's what she wanted to believe. In some reality, she had this. She had her boys and presumably Vision. A sick feeling boiled in her stomach, one filled with rage and jealousy, but also sadness.

Wanda was yanked out of her dream, her perfect dream, and back to her reality. Her eyes opened blearily, blinking away sleep as she adjusted to the light coming in from the window and softly illuminating the room. Weird, she didn't remember opening the curtains. Sitting up slowly, she listened to the birds chirping, her sheep bleating, the wind swaying the trees, and footsteps. Wanda did a small double take. Footsteps, feathery light, were above her, just barely audible.

As the footsteps continued, Wanda threw on some clothes, changing out of her night gown and opened the window fully. She stepped out, using her powers to elevate her to the roof. Wanda landed softly, a contrast to her emotions, and raised her hands, prepared to fight.

She froze.

A woman stood on the roof, her legs bending and straightening as she spun around. Her arms flew through the air as she danced along the rooftops. Blowing in her face, the wind ruffled her hair and made it whip around her face. The dress she wore was dancing with her, billowing as the wind spun past. The sunlight hit her just right so that it looked like a spotlight coming from below. The oddest part was her body. The tips of her fingers, the end of her nose, the outline of her entire figure, seemed to be floating away - attempting to carry her body up in little wisps. She looked like a ghost.

The woman slowed, spinning around and making eye contact with Wanda. Slowly, she blinked, her arms coming down to rest at her side as she tilted her head in a way that reminded Wanda of a puppy.

"Hi," she said softly, her voice mixing with the wind.

"Who are you?" Wanda asked, her Sokovian accent making it through just barely.

Blinking slowly, the woman approached Wanda, her hands splayed out in a placating way, as if she were approaching a scared cat. She got into touching distance before stopping.

"You do not know me?" Curiosity dripped from her words as she titled her head once more.

Wanda shook her head, scowling at the woman, "No."

She didn't look the slightest bit familiar. Nothing about her seemed familiar. The woman sighed, her shoulders sagging.

"But you can see me?" she asked, raising a brow.

"Why wouldn't I?"

A smile crept across the woman's face, "Because I'm a ghost."

^______________________^

As you thought, Wanda was a force to be reckoned with. She contained a violent power that was meant to be controlled, one that could not run free. Her magic was a force of nature, not meant to belong to someone who ran free throughout the world. Wanda would have been raised properly and properly taught if she had raised by witches.

You drifted through her house, taking in the cozy decoration. Couches, meant for a family lined the living room, beneath a TV and in front of a roaring fireplace. Wanda led you to the kitchen, her steps hesitant, yet confident. She had a calm vibe to her house in the decor, and despite that you couldn't help but shiver. An air of darkness lingered in the house. It floated in the air, wafting through all the corridors and seeping through the floor. The Darkhold.

"You are in possession of the Darkhold," you murmured.

Wanda's head snapped towards you, her brows furrowed, and nose scrunched, "How do know that?"

Offering her a soft smile, you pointedly glanced down at her fingers, "The tips of your fingers are stained with the darkness of it, and I can feel it."

"You can feel it? How?" she asked, pausing in her walking, staring at you curiously.

You pondered her words, wondering the best way to explain it. Even you didn't quite know yourself. Your powers were a mystery to you, they simply came to be when you died. Dying wasn't a pleasant experience, having been stabbed, you could still remember the blood flowing from the wound as you limped through the snow. When you were alive you were no one of significance, not even a witch. And yet, when you died, the gates to the underworld refused to let you in. Rather you were rejected and forced to wander the world, drawn to the dark forces of life.

"I do not know," you shrugged, answering honestly, "I just do."

The woman tilted her head, regarding you in an odd way. She was a pretty woman. Red hair cascading down her back, slightly messy, that fell atop her brown jacket. Green eyes that had the ability to shine bright red, but both beautiful.

"Why are you here?" she questioned, taking a step closer.

You licked your lips, "Because I thought you could see me. No one's seen me in years."

Carefully you took a step forward, even though Wanda looked like she wanted to step back and raised your hand slowly. Eyeing you warily, Wanda didn't step back, but her breathing increased, bushing the top of your head. Ever so slowly, you placed your hand on her arm, and for once it didn't phase through her skin.

"I'm not phasing through," you whispered, pressing your hand into her skin, "It works."

You smiled up at her, a sight Wanda found adorable, the way your pale eyes shimmered and your lips curled upward in pure delight. While you were adorable, she wasn't sure what to think of you. A ghost, who appeared at her home out of blue, and somehow knew she had the Darkhold.

"Sorry," you stepped back, hand falling away, "It's been a while since I've been around someone."

"That's alright," Wanda's lip quirked upward.

You bit your lip, pondering your next question, toes bouncing just slightly, "What do you plan on doing with the Darkhold?"

Wanda's mood changed immediately, her shoulders tensing and eyes turning to daggers.

"That's none of your business," she snapped, the thinnest layer of red coming to coat her eyes.

"I can help," you offered, enjoying the way she seemed to perk up, the red dispersing from her eyes, "I've been following the Darkhold around for years."

Licking her lips, Wanda's eyes bore into you, your fingers fidgeting ever so slightly.

"I'm going to bring my kids back," she whispered.

A sadistic grin crossed your face, "I know how to do that."

^______________________^

You danced in the spare room in Wanda's house, your legs burning and lungs thumping from exhaustion. The nightmare was still in the front of your mind, phantom pain in your stomach. A knife being plunged into your stomach by a girl your age, the snow coating you as you were left to die, hauling yourself up to limp away, and finally collapsing in the snow.

There were light footsteps entering the room, ones that you ignored, hoping Wanda would go back to sleep. But she didn't, you caught a brief glance of her leaning on the doorway, her arms crossed and a small smile on her face, filled with adoration. It had been a few months since you first met Wanda, and while the woman was harsh, sometimes considered cruel, you understood her. She was kind to you, welcoming you in and caring for you.

"You should stop," Wanda said softly, her eyes taking in your sweaty face. She didn't even know ghosts could sweat or get tired; she didn't even know you could eat.

You gave her no response, continuing through the movements. Your arms hurt from being raised and if you could bleed, you were sure there would be blood staining the floors. Red wisps stopped your movements, pinning your arms to your sides, spinning you around to face Wanda who had her hand raised slightly.

Glaring at you, you huffed, "Wanda."

She approached you, gently cupping your jaw in her ring clad fingers, digging just slightly into your cheeks. The tips of her fingers were cold, stained from the magic of the Darkhold.

"I told you to stop." Her voice carried an air of dominance. One that filled you with shame.

"Sorry," you mumbled, "It just helps me to cope with stress."

While your gaze was fixed on the floor, you didn't notice Wanda's lips curl into a smirk. She leaned in close, her breath warm against the shell of your ear.

"I know a better way to help you destress." Her voice was sultry as she spoke those words, pulling back and tilting your chin up.

Your heart pounded as she pulled you in for a harsh kiss, her lips pressing up against yours. Fighting for dominance, Wanda shoved you back towards the wall, slamming you against it. Her teeth bit down on your lip, requesting permission to enter. Your lips parted to allow her tongue to slip in. It was a heated kiss, one that only ended when Wanda pulled back, her breathing heavy.

Her pupils were blown as she looked down at you, "Bedroom?"

You nodded, letting out a surprised squeak when Wanda lifted you up, your legs wrapping around her waist. Taking the opportunity, you nipped at her neck, relishing in the way she growled softly. Teasingly, you liked a strip up the column of her throat. Wanda let out a shaky breath, the palm of her hand landing on your ass.

"Stop that."

You grinned against her neck, pressing a soft kiss before biting down hard. Wanda growled once and suddenly she was no longer holding you up and you were falling flat on your back before you landed on the mattress. She climbed on top of you, trapping your body to the mattress,

"Someone's being naughty," Wanda smirked down at you, her eyes filled with mischief.

You smiled up at her cheekily as her hands snuck under your shirt, making their way to your breasts. Her hands came to tease your nipples, pulling at the little nubs and twisting. You gasped, squirming underneath her. She leaned down to kiss at your neck, nipping and soothing the marks over with her tongue.

"Wanda.." you whined, hands coming up to pull on the fabric of her shirt. Ignoring your whine, one of Wanda's hands slide down the side of your body, making its way to the waist of your pants. She tugged on the waistband, and you lifted your hips up, allowing her to pull it off with your panties and throw it to the side. She shuffled down, keeping her left hand playing with your breast, and the other resting on your waist. Her lips, soft against the wisp of your skin, trailed up the length of your thigh, kissing up to where you needed it most.

You whined, tugging at her hair, "Touch me."

Wanda chuckled, the sound cruel and cold, "I am."

A moan escaped you when she bit the inner skin on your thigh. Her index finger and thumb twisted your nipple harshly, resulting in a breathy moan from you. You tugged at her hair, trying to encourage her to get on with it. Wanda just laughed, her breath tickling your core. She swiped her fingers up your folds, your slick gathering on them.

"Aww," she cooed, not at all sweetly, "Is this all for me? I've barely touched you." Her fingers tapped on your lips before you could respond, asking for entrance. Opening your mouth, you licked her fingers clean of your slick, her fingers heavy on your tongue. "Does my needy baby want me to fuck her?"

"Yes," you pleaded when her fingers popped out of your mouth, "Please."

Wanda didn't respond, instead attaching her mouth to your clit, swirling around it. Her fingers entered you slowly, ever so tediously pumping in and out. She licked and sucked at your clit as you moaned, pulling at her hair for more. She ignored your silent please, instead continuing to swirl her tongue around your clit and pump in and out of you slowly. Picking up pace, she switched to hammering into you harshly, curling every now and then, hitting your sweet spot. Moving her mouth away, Wanda silenced your whine by attaching her lips to yours, kissing you passionately. With everything going on, you quickly reached your climax, that familiar heat coiling in your stomach. Your legs trembled as you started to let go, pressure building inside you, and just before you could have release, Wanda stopped. Her fingers pulled away and she stopped kissing you.

"No!" You cried, sitting up slightly to grab at her hand and pull it back to your core. Wanda laughed in faux pity, frowning at you. Before you could protest anymore, her fingers rammed into you once more. Wanda edged you two more times, pulling you to the edge, reading your body language, before she would pull back and look at you with regret that she didn't really mean. And for the fourth time, two of her fingers pushed into your sore pussy, her palm slapping against your clit if she went far enough. If it were any other time, you would've been embarrassed at the wet sounds that came from the room and the moans that escaped your mouth when she hit the perfect spot. Your climax came quickly, her skilled fingers bringing you to the edge.

Her fingers slipped out just slightly, causing you to panic, "Please, please, please," you begged, "Please."

Wanda continued pumping in and out of you languidly, considering your plea, "Go ahead." You sighed with relief when her fingers picked up pace, pounding into you again. Your climax came as quickly as it had gone, your body tensing as you finally let go, spilling all over her. Pulling out slowly, Wanda brought her fingers to her mouth, moaning at the taste of you.

You laid panting on the bed, arms spread out as your chest rose and fell. Wanda flopped down next to you, her other hand that wasn't in her mouth coming up to brush your hair out of your sweaty face. Smiling at her you kissed her lips softly, tasting yourself on her. She hummed softly, pulling you closer. The two of you sat in silence for a moment, your head leaning on her chest, listening to the sound of her heartbeat, her very real heartbeat. Her fingers played with your hair, stroking your neck softly as she wrapped herself around you.

"Let's get you cleaned up," she whispered, placing a kiss on the top of your head.

"No," you whined, pulling her back when she tried to pull away, "Stay here."

Wanda laughed, the sound soft and melodious, "Just a few more minutes."

You smirked in victory, whispering three words you never said until you met Wanda, "I love you."

[semisolidmind]

About the cartoon episode dreams.

What if when the other Smiling Critters show up in them, they kinda... act/react out of character for a second. Before getting back into character and smiling again. Some are wistful, and glad that at least one of them survived. Others are kinda salty that Catnap, of all critters, is one of the ones that survived after all he did. (Nothing more than like a brief gasp, them just pausing to stare in horror at the Catnap innocently perching on Y/N's shoulder, or a sad sigh and somber expression before snapping back into place.)

Just something ever so slightly amiss about those Red Smoke induced dreams.

exactly what i was thinking

like, the very first "episode" that y/n experiences is their introduction into the critters' world. they're found, dazed and confused in the woods, by dogday, who of course wants to help them and introduce them to his friends. they wander the woods for a bit, y/n following dogday and listening to him talk about how neat all his friends are. there's something...sad about it, but y/n has no idea why.

after walking a ways, dogday stops suddenly. he's flung an arm out in front of y/n to stop them too, almost protectively. he stares wide-eyed and completely still at a tree to their left. his ever present grin turns down at the edges, and he goes quiet. y/n follows his line of sight to a branch higher up.

a purple cat snoozes in the tree, his long tail dangling in the open air. it flicks occasionally. he seems to sense the presence of our heroes, because he slowly opens his eyes, stretching before turning towards them. his smile grows at the sight of his friend, and he tilts his head curiously at the new arrival standing next to him.

y/n feels a chill down their spine at his stare. they don't know why, but...they feel like they need to run.

then dogday says a cheery hello, seemingly broken out of his trance, and ease returns to the scene. the cat, introduced as dogday's best buddy catnap, comes down from the tree. he silently stares at y/n as dogday introduces them, a big smile on his face. y/n greets him nicely, and after a beat, the cat takes hold of y/n's hand. they get the feeling he's saying that he's ready to go. dogday laughs at his friend's silly ways, grabs y/n's other hand, and leads the group on.

the trio continues through the woods, dogday and y/n laughing and carrying on while catnap remains silent. y/n can feel him intermittently squeezing their fingers or rubbing his thumb on the back of their palm, feeling the bones underneath. they wonder if he or his friends have ever seen a human before.

after a short while, the two critters and their new friend come upon a clearing with a cluster of adorably themed houses. y/n, amused, figures the scratching post and the dog house are the homes of their two new little buddies.

in a big circle in the clearing, a group of critters similar to their two companions are happily playing.

they see a rabbit and a bird playing soccer, an elephant and a unicorn scribbling on some paper and painting at an easel, and a bear and a pig seemingly setting up a picnic. it looks nice. it's a beautiful day for all of them, and they all look so content. y/n feels a pang in their chest.

they want to cry, and they're not sure why.

dogday notices, and gently squeezes their hand. he says nothing, but the sad, shaky smile he gives them speaks volumes.

it's quickly gone when the rabbit notices him and calls his name. the other critters look up as well, a myriad of hellos raising a joyous cadence in the air. they all look so happy to see dogday. their curiosity at y/n is apparent as well, asking who they are and where they come from. the critters all have questions about them, and y/n does their best to answer them.

then catnap steps out from behind y/n's back.

the group of critters all go silent.

they all stare at him; some horrified, some angry. not even a breath is taken in at the sight of the drowsy feline. if catnap is put off by his friend's reactions to him, he makes no indication. though his grip on y/n's hand tightens.

but then the critters snap back to attention. it's almost like they've all decided unanimously to ignore catnap altogether. he doesn't react, his gaze trained on y/n just like the others. his grin hasn't moved.

the critters introduce themselves. bubba, crafty, hoppy, kickin, picky, and bobby. y/n feels like they know them all already. after dogday informs them all that y/n is trying to find a way home, the critters agree that they'll do what they can to help.

the episode ends in static.

y/n wakes up.

———

–more thoughts; dogday, catnap, and y/n are the ones who feel the strangeness of the dreams the most. the other critters have their moments, but not as often. otherwise most of the dialogue is pretty standard for a kids cartoon.

– another sad thought is that in each dream, the other smiling critters start to dissapear, one by one, confusing dogday and y/n (catnap seems...unresponsive. he also tends to dissapear when the others do, but comes back). they try and try to find them, but they're nowhere to be found. eventually, dogday and catnap are the only ones left. dogday has been getting angrier and angrier at catnap, and he's not sure why. the cat remains as pleasantly lackadaisical as always, though at times his grin seems to freeze and pupils seem to shrink.

–each critter gets an episode where they try to help y/n and y/n helps them in some way. each one would have y/n giving advice on how to solve a problem, using the cutout dialogue from the game as inspiration for the problems the critters face. helping bubba remember something he forgot, helping kickin overcome a fear, helping crafty finish a painting she struggles with, find bobby when she gets lost, helping hoppy reach a goal, helping picky try something new.

after a critter has their own episode, they dissapear.

[frozenjokes]

THE TIME LOOP AU IS ALL WRITTEN!!!!!!!!!! MY GUYS!!!! I can not wait to share the rest of the story TY FOR THE SUPPORT!!!!! ao3 link

below, some snippets from the final chapters. the next will be up tomorrow :3

Cleo smirked, “Keep talking kitty kitty, your days are numbered,” Cleo started to twirl the lasso, and Scar scoffed.

“Keep dreaming.”

Predictably, the first three times Cleo attempted to throw the lasso she missed terribly; Scar had mostly been teaching her the tricks and this required a completely different technique! To emphasize his confidence, Scar tucked all of his limbs under his body, commencing his groom. The sad fwap of the lasso hitting nothing along with Cleo’s continued threats were music to his ears. He frowned as he nosed through his chest fur, coming across a small shard that had wedged itself into his skin. Gingerly, he plucked it away, spitting it back at Cleo before continuing to ignore her. Stubborn, silly creature. He licked away the remaining beads of blood without concern, eyed contentedly shut.

///

“I don’t think you understand how your violence affects other people. I’m still looking for snares every time I walk through a hall. I still feel it around my neck. Sometimes when I think about you it feels like choking.”

“That.” Cub paused, not quite faltering, but not exactly facing Scar with the same confidence. “That was a long time ago.”

“May as well have been yesterday.”

///

“If you want a story so damn bad, tell one yourself. That, or leave it,” Cleo huffed, and Scar mumbled a quiet agreement, moving to cuddle in with her as she finished settling down. Cub stayed where he was, sitting on the edge of the bed. Scar thought the conversation was over then, and the silence had lasted so long that he’d started to doze off when Cub spoke.

“Used to feed the crows in my backyard.” Cub paused for a moment before amending, “Birds. Small animals with wings. Anyway, before my cats died we still had a bit of food left, and my family never really threw anything away. I always took little baggies into the woods when I’d go. It was great. Whole flocks would follow me around, thirty to fifty birds.. I got in trouble for feeding them too close to the house since they figured out where I lived. Cawed all sorts of noise very early in the morning.” Cub nodded to himself, closing his eyes where he sat.

Scar waited for him to continue. The waiting grew increasingly more awkward until Scar couldn’t help but prompt him, “And what happened next?”

Cub yawned, moving to settle in under the sheets beside Cleo. “I stopped feeding them.”

Scar waited. Cub did not elaborate.

…

Maybe this is why Cub had never contributed a story before. He wasn’t particularly talented at telling them.

///

“True soldiers, born in blood,” Grian mumbled, turning away, “Battle forth ‘til his pads are raw, face grave. But never stop. Whether he is good leaves no relevance; however, he certainly is true. As for I.. I can not take his sword. But his family?” Grian sighed, “As long as he chooses to keep it, I will not interfere.” He left them without another word. Scar couldn’t stop staring.

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

Goddess Girls by Joan Holub

Athena has always been above average. She has never quite fit in at Triton Junior High, but who would've guessed that Athena is actually a goddess? Principal Zeus's daughter, to be exact.

When she's summoned to Mount Olympus Academy, Athena thinks she might actually fit in for the first time in her life. But in some ways, school on Mount Olympus is not that different from down on Earth, and Athena is going to have to deal with the baddest mean girl in history: Medusa!

Ruby Redfort by Lauren Child

Here's the low-down on Ruby she's a genius code-cracker, a daring detective, and a gadget-laden special agent who just happens to be a thirteen-year-old girl. She and her slick side-kick butler, Hitch, foil crimes and get into loads of scrapes with evil villains, but they're always ice-cool in a crisis. In LOOK INTO MY EYES, we go right back to Ruby's beginnings as an agent. When an anonymous caller sets Ruby a challenge, it's not long before she finds her way into the HQ of the most secret of secret agencies -- SPECTRUM. They need her help to crack a code but her desk job soon spirals into an all-out action adventure, as Ruby uncovers the dastardly plans of the formidable Fool's Gold Gang!

The Arkwell Academy by Mindee Arnett

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Hitty is a doll of great charm and character. It is indeed a privilege to publish her memoirs, which, besides being full of the most thrilling adventures on land and sea, also reveal her delightful personality. One glance at her portrait will show that she is no ordinary doll. Hitty, or Mehitable as she was really named, was made in the early 1800s for Phoebe Preble, a little girl from Maine. Young Phoebe was very proud of her beautiful doll and took her everywhere, even on a long sailing trip in a whaler. This is the story of Hitty's years with Phoebe, and the many that follow in the life of a well-loved doll.

George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Steven Hawking

George's parents, who have always been wary of technology, warn him about their new neighbors: Eric is a scientist and his daughter, Annie, seems to be following in his footsteps. But when George befriends them and Cosmos, their super-computer, he finds himself on a wildly fun adventure, while learning about physics, time, and the universe. With Cosmos's help, he can travel to other planets and a black hole. But what would happen if the wrong people got their hands on Cosmos?

May Bird by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Most people aren't very comfortable in the woods, but the woods of Briery Swamp fit May Bird like a fuzzy mitten. There, she is safe from school and the taunts and teases of kids who don't understand her. Hidden in the trees, May is a warrior princess, and her cat, Somber Kitty, is her brave guardian.

Then May falls into the lake.

When she crawls out, May finds herself in a world that most certainly does not feel like a fuzzy mitten. In fact it is a place few living people have ever seen. Here, towns glow blue beneath zipping stars and the people -- people? -- walk through walls. Here the Book of the Dead holds the answers to everything in the universe. And here, if May is discovered, the horrifyingly evil Bo Cleevil will turn her into nothing.

May Bird must get out.

Fast.

Half Upon a Time by James Riley

Life’s no fairy tale for Jack. After all, his father's been missing ever since that incident with the beanstalk and the giant, and his grandfather keeps pushing him to get out and find a princess to rescue. Who'd want to rescue a snobby, entitled princess anyway? Especially one that falls out of the sky wearing a shirt that says "Punk Princess," and still denies she's royalty. In fact, May doesn't even believe in magic. Yeah, what's that about? May does need help though--a huntsman is chasing her, her grandmother has been kidnapped, and Jack thinks it’s all because of the Wicked Queen . . . mostly because May’s grandmother might just be the long-lost Snow White.

The Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Half moorfolk and half human, and unable to shape-shift or disappear at will, Moql threatens the safety of the Band. So the Folk banish her and send her to live among humans as a changeling. Named Saaski by the couple for whose real baby she was swapped, she grows up taunted and feared by the villagers for being different, and is comfortable only on the moor, playing strange music on her bagpipes.  

As Saaski grows up, memories from her forgotten past with the Folks slowly emerge. But so do emotions from her human side, and she begins to realize the terrible wrong the Folk have done to the humans she calls Da and Mumma. She is determined to restore their child to them, even if it means a dangerous return to the world that has already rejected her once.

The Genius Files by Dan Gutman

Coke McDonald and his twin sister, Pepsi, think their family’s cross-country RV vacation is nothing to get excited about...until they’re chased off a cliff, locked in a burning school, and receive mysterious messages in codes and ciphers. From California to Wisconsin, it’s a race against time to find out who’s after Coke and Pep, who’s leaving the notes...and just what being a part of The Genius Files entails!

Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander

Gareth's definitely no ordinary cat. For one thing, he can talk. For another, he's got the power to travel through time. And the instant he tells this to Jason, the two of them are in ancient Egypt, on the first of nine amazing adventures that Jason will never forget.

[waywardangel-wilds]

can you write a katniss almost dies and haymitch shows rare care for her?

This is canon for 'A Boy, A Girl, And Everything Else.' Think of it as a potential future scene or an outtake, depending.

'This is no place for a girl on fire'

That was the only thought in her mind as she stared up at the stars above. She was deep in the woods. Too deep to be heard, and too deep to crawl her way back home. She'd been out on a rare evening outing. She hoped to dig up some roots and spend a little quiet time on her own with the sounds of nature, to relax. She rarely took these evening strolls, but she deeply appreciated them. They brought her so much 'serenity' as her doctor might have said. And with the way her life was going lately, she could use all the serenity she could get.

Peeta had finally gotten those bricks he needed, so the bakery was starting to take shape outside of his dinner-time ramblings. She was very happy for him. It was nice to watch him talk about this thing, this dream, he had. His face really lit up when he talked about it. Sometimes, she'd be packing up his lunch before work and he'd walk in with that eager look in his eye. It made the long hours worth it. If only she could have been of more use to him in the actual construction, she might not be in the position she currently found herself in, but, that hadn't been how things played out.

She loved working with the construction crew. She'd made a lot of friends there. Working made her feel better about her idleness. She'd spent so much time sitting at home in the past year, she felt as if she'd failed at something, or lost her way somehow. That wasn't who she was. She was a provider. A survivor. She didn't just waste away, like an expensive doll in a playhouse.

But Peeta had been right, she needed to be more careful. Pay attention for once. If she had actually listened when their foreman told her she couldn't do something she wouldn't be injured. But she hadn't and here she was with a messed up ankle, prescribed with bed rest and plenty of fluids. Wonderful. For what it's worth Peeta hadn't rubbed it in her face. He'd just begged her to stay at the house, please, and to keep her strolls within the property line.

Well, she hadn't done that.

She'd tried, really, she had. The first few nights she had dedicated herself to knitting. By the way, Peeta was getting a very ugly scarf for his twentieth birthday. But she'd grown tired of that quickly. Afterward, she'd gotten curious about the kitchen and tried her hand at cooking all the different things she saw on television. Haymitch had said that the next time she felt like cooking up potions she should feed it to the cat and spare him the trauma. The bastard.

Honestly, she felt bad about wasting food so she'd quit her brief foray into culinary expression. That left her feeling idle again. After a failed day of trying to cuddle up to the cat, she'd become frustrated with the inside of the house and started her little walks into the woods.

Initially, she hadn't gone very far. Walking was harder because of the cast, but she could still do it if she went slowly. And she had been slow. She'd taken her time, listened to the birds, felt the breeze comb through her hair, and watched the ants march. It was nice. But then, after a while, she began remembering things they needed at the house. She'd need to gather some herbs to restock her tinctures, flowers, and roots too. Peeta had a piece of fish in the fridge, and wouldn't it be wonderful to eat it with some katniss? Also, how could they possibly carry on without some good willow bark? There was nothing like that at the rail-supply!

Regardless of how pure her initial intentions were, she could only stay indoors for so long. Her walks got longer, and her purposes for said walks grew muddled.

That day had gone much like any other. As she shuffled her way out she passed by Haymitch's porch. The older man saluted her with his ever-present bottle, watching her disappear into the woods.

She spent the time humming and eating berries right off the vine. She took plenty of breaks to sit down, just as she’d promised and she had her bow with her, just in case. Things should have been alright.

As she was stripping some mushrooms from a tree she heard a skittering noise above her. She went quiet and still, watching as a squirrel leaped off one branch to another, eventually wrapping around the tree trunk on its way down. She took an arrow from her quiver. It’d been so long since they’d had Peeta’s favorite dinner, and it would be so easy to shoot the squirrel down. She didn’t think twice about it.

She aimed and released easily. She never missed. A grin spread across her face as she shuffled forwards to collect her kill. What a nice treat. Maybe she was recovering well! How long did she have until her leg was considered fully healed? It couldn’t be too long—

Something snapped under her boot and she felt a wire tightening across her thighs. She fell to the ground and in her confusion she tried to move, which only worsened things. The wire tightened further, digging into her skin and drawing blood. She started to hyperventilate, patting herself down for a knife, but she’d forgotten to bring one. Wonderful, she’d forgotten the most important hunting tool and now there she was, trapped in one of Gales old snares, with no one to call out to.

She stared up into the trees watching as the sun set while she tried to think her way out of there. Surely, Peeta was back home and worried sick. He might even fall into an episode, all because of her. Her heart squeezed at the thought. But someone would come, surely, he’d tell someone, and they would come. He’d come. Someone would find her. This wasn’t the games. No, this wasn’t like the games at all. She didn’t have to die. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to go home, she wanted to go to have dinner, go to bed, have a bath. She wanted to live, oh by the odds, she spends months in therapy and only at the worst possible time she starts wanting to live.

She listened as the birds announced it was time for bed. They sang back and forth, eventually finding each other and huddling together on their branches. If only she were an actual mockingjay. Then she could merely fly home. She would always be home.

She pushed herself up to sitting, the wire tightening further with her every move. She couldn’t just sit there. There were mountain lions, bears, wolves, all kinds of predators out there. She might as well serve herself up on a platter with a side of greens, mockingjay for dinner!

Suddenly, she heard noises. The sounds of breaking twigs. She threw herself towards her fallen bow, ignoring the pain in her legs, and clumsily tried to nock the arrow. Her breathing shook. She’s wasn’t going down without a fight. If this was the end, let her be dragged to death, not carried there.

Leaves started moving and she let the arrow fly, already trying to nock a second one. Something groaned loudly, and it wasn’t the voice of an animal. The unusual sounds were enough for her to pause. Something shoved the leaves and branches aside, and there, emerging from the forests darkness, was Haymitch.

“I’ll tell ya, you’re a damn good shot, kid.” Haymitch somehow had it in him to smile. He took hold of the arrow in his shoulder and broke the length of it off, leaving the arrow head where it was. “Shooting blind but you still land the shot.”

“Haymitch? How?” She whispered, deeply relieved yet deeply confused.

“I might be a lot of things but I’m no idiot,” he squatted next to her, knife in hand. “You don’t come back by sunset. I figured something was going on.”

“But how did you find me?” She winced as Haymitch cut through the wire.

“You’re kidding? Sweetheart, you left a trial as wide as a wheelbarrow.” He tapped the cast on her leg. “You shouldn’t be out here with this thing. Can you stand?”

She shook her head. Softly, she touched the bleeding wound across her legs and she winced. That might be a problem.

“Alright, hold on tight.” Haymitch leaned over to pick her up. “Guess we’ll see if we make it out of here.”

With a huff, Haymitch struggled to his feet, but he managed. To be fair, she’d never been all that heavy. With careful steps, Haymitch began walking them out of the forest.

“Is Peeta okay?” She asked.

Haymitch pressed his lips into a line. “He’s sleeping.”

“What? What did you do?”

“He had an episode. Wanted to chase right after you himself, but he couldn’t see three feet in front of him. Might of gotten himself lost too.” Haymitch avoided her glare. “So I knocked him out. With a frying pan. He’ll be alright. In pain, sure, but alright.”

Katniss scoffed, “you could have killed him.”

“He’ll be fine,” Haymitch dismissed.

Katniss looked away and swallowed. “Uh, thanks. For coming to get me.”

“That’s alright. I figured I might as well. I’ve already put enough work in keeping you alive. Would have been a waste if you just died less than a half hour from your own bed.”

“Yeah,” Katniss smirked. “Quite wasteful.”

“Exactly.” Haymitch agreed. They were clearing the trees near the house by then. “Try to be nice to the boy and stay home for a while, okay?”

“Fine,” Katniss replied reluctantly.

“Attagirl.”

[enochoconnor-girlie]

As requested, a small Enorace microfic.

it’s not the best, and I rushed a little, but it’s not absolutely awful. hope you like it!

Every now and again my body shivers so violently that my head raps against the cold wood floor that’s still damp from tears that rolled down my cheeks. I hate this. My throat raw from the screams and sobs. The shivers; the ringing in my ears from all the noise, like I’m still in the nightmare with yells of pain and bombs and destruction along with all the death. 

I hate this ‘power’, it doesn’t make me feel powerful, it makes me weak, wanting to just leave, leave the mind games with the hurt and pain. I can’t do this anymore. The thoughts just make me sob harder onto the floor. I glance at my bed sheets strewn over my abandoned bed that’s warmth has long since gone away after I fell out of it minutes before. I tuck my head back into myself looking like a cat crumpled in a ball. 

The steps from outside my door make me freeze, the sounds of steps pause, hopefully they walked past my room. The door creaks open. Nope, I don’t want to do this again, the awkward back pats and unsure ‘you’re okay’s with half-hearted hugs. I don’t like the pity comfort from the others. 

“Another one, huh?” Enoch’s voice makes me lift my head up, he tilts his own at the sight of my most likely red eyes and wet cheeks. He lifts an eyebrow before walking over and grabbing my glass of water. I slowly sit up and lean against my bed when he crouches down to my level. 

“Breath, in and out. In 123 out 123.” He instructs like it was scripted. I do it for a minute before he hands the water over and I down it in three gulps. Enoch gently takes the glass and sets it to the side. We sit there, side by side, for a few seconds until I lay my head in his shoulder giving him the green light. 

As he shifts towards me and wraps his arms around my shaking body I collapse into him. “I can’t do this anymore,” I whisper into his chest. 

“I know, but you’re going to have to. You’ll be okay, it’s just one of those weeks,” I know Enoch’s right. 

“But those weeks get more frequent and more intense and I just… can’t. I really am a coward.” I almost start sobbing again. 

“No. Stop right now, okay? I’m done with that coward nonsense.” He actually sounded mad, that surprised me a bit. “Everyone who said it, they couldn’t handle half of what you can. You are so strong and anyone who says otherwise isn’t worth your time or energy or thought or mind.” 

I shouldn’t say this, but I do, “you called me a coward,” it’s barely able to hear with my face buried into him, but the quiet room doesn’t do me any favors. Enoch heard it. “Before, you know?” I hope it would soften the blow. Enoch is still frozen. 

“Bird. I did.” He breaths it out. “I am so sorry, you didn’t deserve that, never, ever. I… just…” he might cry. I don’t want my boyfriend to cry. 

“It’s okay, you’re making up for it right now,” I snuggle in deeper. It’s so warm, it’s so nice. It’s safe right where I am. My conscience slowly blinks out as I hear and feel Enoch humming a lullaby as he strokes my hair and cuddles me close. The last thing I remember is sitting on the cold floor.

But when I wake up, I’m snuggled in the warm sheets in my soft bed with Enoch laying right there next to me. Huh, no nightmares that time. Miss p might be mad that we slept in the same bed when she comes and checks on us, but I don’t care. 

I’m safe. 

All the nightmares could try to keep me awake and sobbing, but I can do it. I’ve done it before. And the love of my life is right there. Yes I know I’m physically 13, but this stupid boy is the love of my life. Maybe we could get out of the loop, grow up, live together in a nice house, get married, start a family and be happy. I dream about it as soon as I fall back asleep. 

And I do dream the future, right?

[nancypullen]

Good Day

Yesterday was fun...actually FUN! The mister was making some noise about starting a project that's been on the table for a while. You see, this house was born without windowsills. It's tragic. I've never lived in a home without windowsills. Where the heck are you supposed to put little herb pots or cute holiday knickknacks? Where are cats supposed to sit while they watch birds?

I'm sure the original builders saved money, but it's cramping my style. Mickey has assured me that it's easy enough to cut, paint, and install sills. SO that's what he plans to do. Personally, I think we should start in a room no one sees, like his office. He plans to start in the living room and kitchen...

If the end result is windowsills that I can enjoy, I will be forever grateful.

I think you can buy actual windowsills and just slide/glue them in place, but of course our windows are not standard sized - that would be too easy. To make a long story even longer - this post has nothing to do with our windows. Mickey told me that he was going to drive into Dover (about 40 minutes) to shop at the Lowe's there. He encouraged me to go with him and I made every excuse in the world not to go - I had chores to do at home, I needed to do a big grocery shop, I'd just spend money there that I don't need to spend, etc. Then he said the five words that had me in my shoes and out the door in a flash, "Dover has a Home Goods." He suggested dropping me at Home Goods while he did his lumber shopping. Girls, that was the golden ticket. I've been in many, many Home Goods stores. MANY. If I see one, I usually stop. I have left money in Home Goods in various states and cities without a regret. So when I say that the Home Goods in Dover, Delaware is the best I've ever seen, believe me. If there is a heaven, I'm pretty sure I just got a glimpse of what it's like. I could have spent an entire day and a thousand dollars. Because I am frugal I kept it to $35, but I'm very happy with my haul. I tried to be mindful and not get swept away in the massive and beautiful Halloween section but I did end up with one gorgeous crow and a single, glittery pumpkin in my cart. I mean...who could resist?

That wooden cake pedestal was purchased as well. It will be part of a fall centerpiece for the table - isn't it lovely?

I grabbed a pack of napkins from their endless selection and have already used them to transform a dollar store pumpkin.

Now that she's dry I'll add some burlap ribbon and lace.

September is off to a good start. I mentioned a crow. I can't resist a good crow. The one at Home Goods had been looking for me. He's perfect for a project. You see, a few weeks ago I picked up four chunky candlesticks at an auction for just $2. I knew that I'd want to turn them into something else, so this is what I'm starting with..

I'm going to chalk paint them ivory and distress them so a bit of that dark wood shows through. That dollar store stack of pumpkins will be painted in more muted colors, and maybe I'll add a wide burlap ribbon somewhere. How fun is that?? One simple trip to Home Goods has resulted in several craft projects to keep me happy. That's a win. I did buy a few practical things as well, like these adorable reusable straws. Pink with gold crowns!

I use straws every morning when I drink my protein shake. The grandgirl uses straws when she's here as well. I usually buy boxes of pretty floral straws, but these are just as cute and can be popped into the dishwasher. I love having a list of artsy things on my to-do list, and autumn is my favorite time for that, probably because the stuff is just so much fun to make. My last clay ghost is ready for paint and I'll start him today. I'm giddy over that. He's the one who will be a patchwork quilt. I thought I was being so original, and had even dreamed up a book about him. When I did a quick Google search to make sure nothing similar existed, I realized I'm a couple years too late - but doesn't this story sound delightful? Much better than mine.

"His parents are both sheets...his grandmother was a lace curtain..." I love that so much. All the more reason to enjoy painting my little ghost. Anyway, after my $35 Home Goods spree (I regret not buying the Halloween bedsheets) Mickey suggested we grab lunch. If there's one thing I enjoy almost as much as Home Goods, it's going out for lunch. Nothing fancy, we just popped into Qdoba where you can build a semi-healthy, spicy bowl. And, as if the day wasn't splendid enough, when we finally pointed the car toward home we went through a Starbucks drive-thru for a yummy drink. You guys, I felt like I'd been let out of prison after being wrongfully convicted. Home Goods, lunch, and Starbucks - what a fun day! At the moment I have laundry chugging and another load to go in after that one. I should probably dust, and clean windows...but the odds are very good that I will be painting and crafting today instead. It's a holiday, I'm allowed. Alright, time to start painting candlesticks, so this is where I'll sign off. Sending out loads of love, encouragement, and the hope that this new month brings happiness to our doorsteps. While we're waiting, we might as well create a little of our own.

Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[lanterns-and-daydreams]

Random post. Because I currently have no one to talk to. You can scroll. It's just me ranting about the most mundane things and talking to myself :)

Okay, now I dunno what to say. I'm not texting anyone cause I'm not gonna bother anyone in my DMs with this

MY FAVOURITE THING EVER IS SO MANY THINGS

That's so vague HAHAHAHA

I like cats SO much. OH MY GOD-

Like, if you do not like cats, I do not trust you.

Theres a cat near where I live, but she won't let me pet her babies :(

I used to call kittens 'cat babies'. I still do. It sounds cuter. But like, cats are so cute, if I get one, I'm gonna love it forever and give it lots of kisses and hugs and treats and everything it could ever want and a little cat bed and a tiny blanket and a scratchy thingy, idk what it's called, and dedicate most of my life to it and love it so so sosososososososoooooo much and they're so cute and lovable and huggable and kissable and if my future partner doesn't like cats I'm kicking them out cause I want a cat, and I'm gonna love it so much and show it off to everyone cause it's mine and I love it and I also reallllyyyyyyyy love flowers

Like, flowers are so cool. How could you NOT like flowers???? And i can name so many flowers and I told my best friend about soooooo many flowers like lotuses and sunflowers and peonies and lobelias and Cordelias and bleeding hearts and foxgloves and poppies and and and-

Anyway

OH MY GOD CAKEEEEEEEEE

I love cake SO much. Red velvet is my FAVOURITE. Maybe thats why i have memory issues. Oh oh! Did you know that if you consume too much sugar, it gives you memory issues

And diabetes

Reminds me of the time I used to sometimes eat sugar because why not? And ice. I liked chewing on ice. And I used to read so much as a baby. And zooooooooooom everywhere. I used to have a cycle and it was pink and white and so cute and I used to take it everywhere

Sometimes I feel like rapunzel. Cause ivory tower, yk? Like, my dad never let's me leave the house after 10 and says I'm not allowed to exit the apartment floor n stuff, and I used to make up little songs about leaving and seeing the world n stuff, I don't so that anymore though. I gave up on that dream. But I still wanna leave yk?

Anyway

SPIDERS

SPIDERS ARE SOSOSOSO CUTE. LIKE ONE TIME I SAW A SPIDER ON MY MED KIT (I CAN WRAP BANDAGES DID YA KNOW THAT???) AND I LOOKED IN ITS TINY EYES AND WE HAD A STARING CONTEST AND THEN IT JUMPED AWAY AND I SAID BYE BYE

And the one time I was sitting on a sofa and looked at the arm of the sofa and saw a tiny spider there and we maintained eye contact for like 4 seconds before it jumped off the arm and onto the floor and lay there unmoving and I laughed while crying. Reminded me of the time when I tried to climb a tree in muree that was on a mountain and nearly fell off both the tree and mountain.

MY FRIEND JUST TEXTED ME TEHEHEHEHEHE

Shes bullying me with uwus. I'm not gonna open her chat >:(

My best friend is actually sososososo cool and I love her sm. I've known her for 3 years and she can actually make me laugh genuinely. Props to her. That's hard to do. And shes sososososo pretty and bossy makes me giggle and I feel so happy, she reminds me of Sunflowers. I tell her so many stories like the time I ate something I shouldn't have and almost got lost in the woods at the dead of night behind the farmhouse we were visiting. And she's a doctor and she's sososososo cool

AND SHE KNOWS MY FAVOURITE SONG AND COLOR AND FOOD AND SHE LIKES MY DESSERT

You say you love me. You say I'm your friend. WHAT'S MY FAVOURITE SONG, YOU WEENIE.

Weenie

Hehe

I gave her a watch and she wore it. I almost cried

I saw a bird yesterday. My best friend hates crows. So I always chase them off for her.

I miss the humming birds near our house. They were pretty. I'm sleepy. And I'm also thinking. Well, not really. Thinking is wierd. Because when you start thinking you start thinking about everything. Like, how do we know the big bang happened when none of us were alive when it happened and how do we know an alternate reality doesn't exist, because maybe it exists, and maybe aliens exist too, because who are we to conclude that aliens don't exist? Because we are literally smaller than specks as compared to this entire universe and mermaids could exist too, because we've py explored 5% of the entirety of the oceans and yeye

You ever think about how 'crises' sounds like 'cry sis'? Because I do, because I cry. Now im thinking about Lobelias and how to murder my English teacher. I want to experiment on her. What will happen if I inject glitter into her veins? Or glue? Or glitter glue? Maybe give her tiny heart attacks by injecting small doses of air into her veins. Would that work?

Maybe i can cook up her remains and shit and give it to the other people I hate

Assign me a Taylor Swift song

I like The Prophecy from TTPD. I relate

Im so selfish it's funny

I like bows. Especially blood red ones. Did you know my favourite color is blood red?

This talk post is longer than most fics you've read hehehehe

I still don't know what a loubtine is. How do you spell it? Louboutine? Lobetine? WHAT IS IT

Louboutine.

Idk I give up.

Alina thinks I'm cute. I am so not. I am evil. Safa (my best friend) agrees with Alina (the music girl) and I have to defend myself everytime. I am not cute. I am evil. I ONCE STOLE BACK MY ERASER FROM A GIRL WHO STOLE MY PINK ERASER IS THAT NOT EVIL ENOUGH FOR YOU????

I STOLE A FLOWER TOO. AND CANDY. AND NOODLES FROM MY BROTHER.

Safa's younger sister once gave me a flower and a sketchbook. I drew stuff in it. I want to draw Edinburgh. Paint it, I mean. This post is very messy.

Cosmo Sheldrake by Come Along is stuck in my head rn

And chase altantic songs.

Idk the name of that one song that goes in a way I can't describe

I just noticed I wrote the cosmo Sheldrake song wrong

But im not gonna go back to fix it cause this is a messy post and I like it

I meant Come Along by Cosmo Sheldrake

Cool song.

Reminds me of the fae.

Now im thinking about Cassian. Why not? He's my blorbo. He's also my favourite. And his cousin Zinnia is sososososo pretty and theyre as close as siblings. I'm gonna draw them when I get an iPad (even tho I'm a Samsung girlie but I need procreate)

I just remembered my cult. It was called the Cat Cult. I was the leader. It was all just cats except me and one of my friends. We plotted to take over the world. I wonder how that fat orange cat is doing now

Fuck math, do meth.

Sometimes I wonder if there's someone out there who's gonna listen to me yap for hours on end and love it. A girl can only dream.

Ngl I'd rock an enemies to lovers trope. That or I'd completely flop. No in between. Cause I'd call him the weirdest names that he wouldn't even understand like 'frostingless cupcake' or 'dry ass oatmeal' or a weenie.

Weenie

Hehe

Did i say that before?

I have brown eyes.

I wanna be pretty so bad

Am i pretty? Kind of

Im not gonna call myself ugly. I'm not ugly >:(

Calling people darling or love is so fun

How are you darling?

I am good

I am a good babie

I gave chicken to a cat today

And saw a birb

And a tree

And a cloud

And i ate icecream

I am sleppy

Goodnight, ma belle

This is not even a rant

It's just me rambling

[babychoko]

𝔸 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥

Part 16

Hi everyone, I can hardly believe that after almost a year I'm actually posting something again😳. So as not to throw you all in at the deep end, this chapter will be about togetherness. I'm not going to drop a bomb after a hiatus. So, no worries^^ and I am very sorry.

“And when are you actually moving out?" My neighbor, who lives right below me, asked me with a worried look. I only saw her in the stairwell from time to time. Nevertheless, we somehow had a good bond.

"Still this year. I actually wanted to move out straight after graduation. But we're bringing that forward a bit." I replied to her question.

"With the nice little young man?" She asked delightedly and laughed. "Oh, two people can't bear to live so far away from each other!" Embarrassed, I just smiled. Because what she said was true.

"I'll be very sad when you're no longer my neighbor. Not everyone your age is so calm. That makes you very worried about new neighbors." She sighed and held her granddaughter's hand tightly. The little girl looked very bored. She must have found a conversation between two adults very boring. That's how I felt back then too. I waited for ages until my mother had finished chatting to neighbors or friends in the store. I would have loved to lie down on the floor.

"I hope you get very nice new neighbors." I wished her.

"Oh dear, what am I going to do without you? Well, have a nice day. Say hello to him for me, will you? I'll miss him."

"I will."

He hadn't realized until today that he had quickly become the darling of my neighbourhood.

I carried the small box that I had fetched from my apartment outside with me. There were tubes of acrylic paint. I was planning to use them today. But not to paint any paintings. I wanted to embellish some furniture and white candles with motifs.

Flowers, birds..

But no cats. Venti swore to me that even the sight of cats would give him a sneezing fit. Besides, there were a hundred other things that could be painted. He even offered to recite the hundred things to me. Luckily for him, I had no intention of painting cats on dressers. I was thinking more of plants.

My bus arrived at the minute and I got on. I used the bus ride to get some rest after my work. There hasn't been much going on recently, but just being at work makes you feel tired. Yesterday I also arrived home late because my work colleagues invited me for dinner. It was still draining on some level to be somewhere that wasn't my home. I checked my cell phone after a few minutes. It still took me a long time to get to Venti, of course.

The thought of him made me think of my last encounter in a dream, but I didn't mention it to him until today and kept it to myself.

Maybe I should talk to him about it today and be honest with him. Because I can't lie to myself anymore, I've been clueless since last year.

That's true... I had been aware for a long time that there was much more to his past. But there was a problem.

When I think about it, I get headaches and dizziness. It hasn't gone away yet. I'd better find a tactic to communicate with him about it.

After the long bus ride, I walked along the small wooded area to his house. The trees were no longer bare, but very green - full of leaves. It looked very peaceful when a few rays of sunlight peeked through the gaps. The small daisies also embellished the pebbled path.

I rang the bell once before opening the door. And before I opened the door all the way, Venti fell in my arms. I almost dropped the little box of acrylic paints on the floor.

"Why didn't you call me! I could have picked you up!"

"I can stand it on a bus. Besides, you're not my chauffeur." I countered as I took off my boots and put the box in the living room.

"Buhh...! I'm so bored!"

After resting for a while with a cup of tea, we started putting the pea-sized acrylic paints on a pallet and placing old newspapers under the chest of drawers. This allows the floor to be unharmed by the paint. If we're going to use paint, then let's do it properly. Even our shirts were ones that we no longer wore and were allowed to get dirty.

I tied my hair up and only now realized how much longer it had become compared to then. Venti smiled at me. "It suits you!"

"Do you think so?"

"Mhm!" Maybe I should let them grow a little longer?

As soon as I grabbed a small brush and dipped them in the green paint a little, I started on the motifs. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary that I painted on the brown wood. It was just herbs or garlands. When I looked over at him, I saw him painting a little white bird. It was holding a clover leaf in its beak. I thought the bird looked cute.

We spent the rest of the evening decorating more furniture with little patterns and then some candles with flower patterns. When we got bored - I mean, when HE got bored, Venti attacked me with paint. It started small and innocent with a few little strokes on my cheeks, hands or shirt. Then with much larger spots and at some point the fun stopped before we should have washed ourselves off completely.

As a peace offering, Venti drew a little heart on my cheek. Judging by the look on my face, this was apparently not enough. So he lifted my chin and pressed a kiss to the heart he had drawn. Now he had a red mark on his lips. With a slight grin, I wiped his lips with my thumb. Of course, the stain didn't go away.

"What stupid ideas you come up with sometimes..." I sighed and looked at us in the mirror. "We should go to the bathroom."

Fortunately, the acrylic paint came off very easily and we walked out of the bathroom clean. I'm sure there's no more paint on us. I hope so.

As it got darker, the clouds gathered a little. I looked at the ceiling as I lay on the sofa. All the lighting in the living room was a certain shade of blue. It fell more on the darker, more grayish area. Then I looked at the window. What did they call it again?

When the sun went down, there was the golden hour... so is it the blue hour now?

Anyway, it looked very... calming. A touch of mystery. Especially because the branches of the trees were no longer green and brown, but looked more like a silhouette.

I turned onto my side and my gaze fell on Venti's naked back. He hadn't moved for a few minutes and was lying quietly on the sofa. Fortunately, this sofa could be converted into a bed, which I had only recently learned. He wasn't aware of this either.

I watched quietly as he breathed in and out softly. Then I stroked his back with my index finger. This caused him to contract his body. He murmured slightly.

"Mhm..."

"Venti, are you asleep already...?" I whispered in wonder. He answered me by shaking his head slowly.

As the window was open and the cool evening air was fresh, I moved over to him and put my arms around him. He seemed to have noticed.

"(Name), are you cold?"

"Yes... but only a little." I replied meekly. Venti turned around and pulled the woolen blanket up to my waist. Then, with a tired smile, he put his arms around my upper body.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... of course you're cold when you're lying there without a blanket - better?"

I nodded. "True enough. You're sweet."

I played a little with the strands of his hair, some of which came undone as a result. Venti said nothing and closed his eyes, reassured.

"You are tired, aren't you?" I realized and stroked a strand of his hair behind his ear.

"I've used up my stamina, that's why." He replied with amusement, which then silenced me. Instead, I then placed my hand on this large turquoise mark that was between his chest. He opened his eyes and turned onto his back. I then lay over him with my upper body. The ends of my hair fell on his face.

I continued to inspect that turquoise mark he was born with. "I think it's beautiful." I whispered honestly. Venti smiled and closed his eyes as I placed a kiss right on the center. As I looked at him again, I wondered how long I would get to experience this sight of him. It was the way he always beamed at me or looked at me calmly, the way his hair fell in his face and his eyes lit up. A tinge of sadness flooded over me briefly. Venti noticed it.

"(Name)..." I took the coming words out of his mouth by pressing my lips to his. He placed his hands on my upper arms and we slowly changed positions. Now he looked down at me from above.

"What were you thinking about just now? You just looked unhappy." He asked me. I shook my head.

"Don't you want to talk about it?"

I wanted to, but I couldn't. How could I tell him that sometimes I felt like I wasn't going to see this sight forever?

"You can just tell me." He encouraged me. "Yes?"

I exhaled slightly. All right then.

"Are you planning... to stay with me forever?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know... but I want you to stay with me." I said, looking at him in a slight blur. Venti wiped his thumbs across my eyes.

"I want it too." He whispered, resting his forehead on mine.

Sometimes I wished moments like this would never end and I wanted to make the best of it. It hadn't been long since I'd even gotten intimate with him. Somehow it worries me what it will be like when we live together. This boy has the energy of a kindergarten child.

But at least I don't live alone anymore.

For this reason, I was grateful for every nice experience and wrote them down in a notebook. I hoped so much that I hadn't forgotten my notebook at home.

So where did I put the notebook?

"Mhmpf...!"

Venti rolled back on his back away from me, giggling.

"What was that about..." I grumbled and looked at him in confusion. Just then, he squeezed my cheeks tightly and pressed a kiss to my lips, leaving me breathless for a few seconds.

"You looked too peaceful. I had to help you out."

"Weren't you the one who didn't have any strength?" I asked.

"Yup, had!" He sat up once and stretched. Then he got up from the sofa and walked out of the living room.

"Don't you want to wear anything? You'll catch a cold." I remarked.

Venti just looked into the living room with his head. His big eyes glittered at me.

"Want a shower... you can come with me." He smiled innocently.

..

When I flung a pillow at him, he dodged it, giggling, and left.

"You can take a shower yourself. I know damn well how this is going to end. I'll go in after you."

"You meanie...~" I heard his voice from the hallway. I turned back on my heels and scrolled a bit on my phone. Seeing how much I missed on the internet, it actually meant I spent a lot less on my smartphone.

Internet dramas, discussions that went on for hours in comments.

No. I will never want to waste my free time like that. I actually only used the internet for inspiration, for university or to watch some stupid videos. Lately, more for university.

I then put my phone aside and sat up.

Maybe Venti really did feel lonely in the shower? But if I get into the shower with him now...

After a few scenarios from him, I had to sigh slightly. What a clingy boy. Oh well. You should enjoy any time you have, right?

I grabbed a shirt and pulled it over me and immediately took the other clothes with me before making the short walk to the bathroom. A little steam was already billowing out of the bathroom and I could hear Venti humming softly to herself. I leaned against the door with a smile and listened to him for a little while. He had the voice of an angel and harmonized every note of a song.

After a few seconds, he sang so quietly until there was nothing left to hear.

"Eheheh, do you want to keep peeping or come in?" Ahah, gotcha. I peeked my head in.

"I'm not peeping... I figured you might be feeling lonely or something. But it looks like you're fine."

Venti shook his head. "I don't feel lonely. But I'd feel better if you could be with me. We haven't bathed together for a long time, (Name)."

"Well, I'll come in then." Actually, I didn't mind at all. I left the door open a crack, threw our laundry into the laundry basket and took a hair crab from a small basket by the sink to put my hair up. I kept telling myself I would have to cut my hair again. But somehow it never happened... I was already enjoying wearing new hairstyles. Even if it was more work.

When I was about to take off my shirt, which I had on effortlessly, I could still feel Venti's eyes on me, even though I had my back to him. I undressed very slowly and still had the shirt practically in front of my front body, almost acting as a curtain.

"You're staring..." I mumbled, a little embarrassed.

Venti, who was now leaning against the edge of the bathtub with his upper body, giggled amusedly. "I think you have a very nice body." This comment made me wonder what he found so beautiful about my body anyway. I was never really satisfied myself. Was it my legs? Maybe my shoulders? I knew so many ideals of beauty that made me wonder.

"What do you find so beautiful about me?" I asked curiously, yet with uncertainty. I then put the shirt in the laundry basket and fixed my hair in front of the oval mirror that hung on the wall above the sink. Next to each mirror was a lamp on the side that glowed a warm orange. The whole bathroom was dimly lit, but you could still see everything clearly. I looked at myself in the mirror and had a self-image up to my décolleté. I could still see Venti in the background, looking up at the ceiling and thinking.

Ah, so he must be thinking?

"Hm, since you ask... what I like is that I feel secure when I'm near you."

I looked over my shoulder at him in amazement. Oh... so that's one way Venti perceives bodies? Like how it makes him feel? Normally you hear that your partner likes your thighs or prefers your hips... but something like that? That's the first time I've heard that.

"I'm not lying when I say I'm attracted to you. The way you look at yourself now, unclothed in front of the mirror, with this lighting - it reminds me of a portrait. If I were a painter, I would have fetched my materials quickly!"

Oh... I could clearly feel my cheeks warming up. I think that's one of the nicest compliments I've ever received.

"So don't get shy and turn around." He said normally.

"Now that you mention it, it's even harder... best look away when I get in the bath, okay?" I hid slightly with my arms around my bust. Venti giggled and leaned back.

"Well good! But it's not like I've never seen you without clothes..like now."

"T-That's different!"

"And you me! You've seen it a lot, haven't you?" He looked at me with a sideeye, amused.

"You mean... uh, yes. A lot, actually." I sighed and got into the tub. The water was still nice and warm, very pleasant. It was like being enveloped in a warm hug and never wanting to take it off. It may still be spring, but it's certainly not going to be very pleasant in summer.

"How's your driving lessons going?"

"It's all going well so far. I'm still worried about the practical part of the test." I confessed and leaned against his shoulder. He smelled good.

"Mhm, I've also heard that it's supposed to be more difficult than back then." The way he spoke, he sounded like an older man. But if my assumption was correct... then I wasn't surprised.

"Back then... when did you actually get your driver's license, Venti?"

"Let me think for a second... five years ago? Huh- why are you looking at me like that?"

Over the next few days, we continued to take care of my move to his place. We replaced furniture or improved it. Fortunately, I hadn't had very much in my old apartment. I can still live there because my tenancy agreement is still valid. It's not easy to move out of an apartment, but if the move to the new surroundings is nice, then it's certainly much easier to settle in. I have to admit that I'm already excited about living with him. But first we had to get through the stress of moving.

Heavy furniture such as my bed, closet and anything else that doesn't fit in his car will be brought here by a transport company in the near future. As soon as I get my driver's license, the journey into town won't be any more complicated. Everything seems to be well planned so far. A little too perfect to be true. It almost worries me when I tell him about my 'dream'. I didn't want to ruin anything. But many questions were running through my mind.

Would I really ruin everything if I confronted him? But knowing Venti, he would never get angry. I never saw him angry either. He was a person who could filter out a lot.

But a person as resilient as Venti must have experienced a lot of grief.

He never voluntarily talked about his family or mentioned his childhood. All I knew was how he got back on his feet a few years ago.

What actually pushed him into alcohol abuse? From someone who liked to live like a nomad and let his future fall on him unplanned, who could now pull it together?

I copied this train of thought from my mother. Sure, we had our arguments back then, but .

...when she asked me if Venti had a difficult past without really knowing anything about him, I didn't doubt her knowledge of human nature.

My mother liked to write novels all her life, which she never published. She preferred to stick to correcting other works to keep us afloat. In her spare time, she translated children's books into Braille, providing opportunities for children with disabilities. Out of my father's love, she learned the language. I still respect her for that.

And for these reasons, I'm sure I wouldn't be wrong if I asked Venti about it. A feeling tells me that I should do it as soon as possible.

One afternoon, I approached him as he was watering some herb plants on the windowsill in the kitchen. He didn't take his eyes off them.

"Are you taking a break from your thesis? How is it going? I might be able to help you."

"All good, thanks. I thought I'd give my eyes a rest for a few minutes." I went to the fridge and took out a carafe of homemade iced tea. I immediately took two glasses. It was only natural for me to pour a glass for him too.

"How sweet of you!"

"Mmm..."

I then put the carafe back in the fridge.

"Venti... have you ever had a twin?"

He jerked in surprise and let out a confused sound. Then he looked at me, frozen. Oops.

"Twin, you say? May I ask how you came up with that?"

I picked up the glass, but I didn't take a sip. I was a little too nervous for that. This question must have really surprised him.

"I had a dream not long ago about someone who looked exactly like you. He was just there."

"That's funny...I'm an only child." He scratched the back of his head, perplexed. "Nothing else was there?"

Before I could tell him anything, my mind seemed completely blank.

"(Name)?"

"No. Nothing at all." I whispered, holding my forehead. "I think I just saw you in my dream..." That headache again.

"Oh... I see." Venti then walked up to me and held a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "Maybe you'll remember it later and you could tell me more about it."

"Yeah... maybe." If only I didn't have this block. If only I could figure out a way to-

..

Weird. Wasn't there something I wanted to ask him? I grabbed the iced tea and sat back down to work on my thesis. And even though I tried my best, I couldn't shake this restless thought. He seemed to have noticed it himself, because I couldn't find peace to sleep at night. No matter how often I changed my sleeping position. It wasn't too dark in the room. The curtains were closed and a night light gave us a little illumination, but not so much that it was disturbing. I then sat up to turn my pillow over to the cool side.

"Are you in pain?" He whispered.

"You're still awake- ah, no. I just can't fall asleep." I then turned to his side. Venti had a few notes in his hand that he had been reading over and over again. Apparently he hardly slept either. He then put them back in a drawer of the bedside table and turned to me as well.

"Hehe, me neither."

We're in the same boat.

We both turned back onto our backs at the same time and looked up at the ceiling, sighing.

"Why can't you sleep, Venti?"

"Because I slept a lot during the day. And how about you?" Okay, that makes sense.

"Don't hold it against me, but somehow I've been worried for a while. Although I'm actually happy with the current situation." I confessed, fixing my hair so that it didn't fall in my face.

Venti looked at me in surprise. Of course it's not nice to hear your partner say something like that.

"Are you scared?" He asked.

"What should I be scared of?"

"Maybe of me?"

"Nonsense. Why would I be afraid of you?"

I smiled at him. He may be a person with unique abilities. It still doesn't change my view of him.

"I think it's more about the future. Things have been going a little too perfectly lately, you know. The thought that this can't be forever.... Is just awful."

I paused and looked at Venti's gentle face. He put his hand on the mattress. I then placed my hand on his.

"(Name), I don't want this to get lost either. What we can do is continue to be there for each other and make the best of life."

"Yes, that's true."

"But maybe something is actually missing in our lives... ah! More plants? Maybe a pet...?"

"What makes you think that?" I said with a laugh.

It's not uncommon for us to have late-night conversations like this.

"You're right. But what if we suddenly had a pet? Completely by accident, of course."

I raised an eyebrow at this comment. He was definitely up to something.

"It definitely won't be a cat." I reassured him.

"Nope... it's out of the question! Not even a cat would dare stray here. What's more likely is a child." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "With the amount of time we've spent being so productive, it wouldn't be surprising- eh? Are you asleep yet?"

I was already turned around with my back to him. The best way to reduce this chance is to just sleep now and do nothing.

He nudged me a few times.

"No goodnight kiss?"

Reduce chance..reduce chance...

"(Naame)." I turned only slightly and halfway to face him. Venti looked at me teasingly. "I know you can't fall asleep that fast."

I lifted a finger. "Okay... but just one."

"Mhm... Okay!"

Our lips touched gently once. I closed my eyes and tried to take in the moment. When we parted, I opened my eyes halfway.

Venti looked at me doe-eyed.

"Again..." I whispered, already admitting defeat.

Again and again, our lips found each other. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter... after each kiss, I could clearly feel how weak I actually was after him. And I was the one who set the limit. After all, I'm a joke.

At one point, I turned completely onto my back because otherwise my back would ache. Venti clasped his hands in mine and I did the same.

I have no idea how this happened again. Once it got to the point where we were sharing kisses, it took time to stop. They were often gentle, innocent and soothing.

And yet sometimes.

We breathed a sigh of relief when we broke away from each other. Slightly out of breath, we looked at each other. He brushed away the thin thread of saliva from the corner of my mouth with his thumbs. Perhaps we were already feeling guilty because we hadn't just had one kiss, but several. As always, we took this with humor.

"Well then - good night!"

"Mh?"

Venti threw himself back on his back and closed his eyes. He then snored softly.

Confused, I sat up and looked at him. He's really asleep..?

I burst out laughing and covered him up properly. An he said, he had slept a lot during the day? I lay down next to him and hugged him tightly. I made sure not to let him go.

Fate can be a mean traitor.

It wasn't long before that day actually came.

The day the universe betrayed me once again. And I stared motionlessly at the dark sky with dull eyes.

You'll live only once..? What a lie.

Is my contract already over?

Part 17 (coming soon)

Masterlist

[newtsmagiccase]

Azuren Wrynn: Hogwarts Legacy OC

Since every character needs little a backstory. It's a bit long, sorry.

Full Name: Azuren Marie Wrynn

Nickname: Ren

Gender Identity: Female She/Her

Birthday: June 13, 1874

Age: 15

Hair color: Auburn

Eye color: Blueish/Gray

Personality pros: Outgoing, good sense of humor, loyal, determined, logical and will go out of her way to help others.

Personality cons: Often takes the blame for everything, blames herself when others get hurt, bottles up her emotions.

Sexual Orientation: Uncertain

Born: New York City, New York 1874 - 1878

Current Hometown: Liverpool, England from 1878- current.

Scars: Scar over right eye, visible through her eyebrow, gained from tree climbing at the age of ten.

House: Hufflepuff 5th Year

Wand: 12 1/2-inch Willow wood, unyielding, Unicorn hair.

Blood status: Unknown, at least half blood.

Mother: Andrea (Wrynn) Smyth age 40, pure blood, graduated from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, House Thunderbird.

Biological Father: Unknown, presumed dead.

Stepfather: Jonathan Smyth age 45, Muggle, no magical abilities.

Half Sister: Anesa Smyth, age 10, halfblood but with no magical abilities.

Hobbies: Reading, beast care, playing the piano, hiking and sketching.

Phobias: Spiders

Boggart: Giant Spiders

Best Subjects: Defense Against The Dark Arts, Potions and Muggle Studies.

Worst Subjects: Divination

Best Friends: Sebastian Sallow, Ominis Gaunt and Natsai Onai

Possible Love Interests: Poppy Sweeting, Sebastian Sallow, Garreth Weasley and Lucian Stormrage(OC)

Special Abilities: Seeing 'traces of ancient magic'.

Hidden Talent: Quidditch due to quick reflexes.

Patronus: Cat

Dream Career: Beast Caretaker

Not much is known about Azuren's family history. Her mother is a pureblood witch from America, who got pregnant at twenty-five, by who, she'd never say. Azuren never knew what happened to her father, only that her mother refused to speak of him and just told her he died. When Azuren was four, her mother married a muggle man from England and thus her life in another country began.

Her mother never told her of the magical world or her extended family, in fact she did all she could to shield her family from that side of her life due to a falling out with the family over her marrying a muggle, which was deeply frowned upon in America.

Azuren's first spark of magic happened when she was nine years old. While playing in the attic with her mother, who was cleaning, she found her mother's old wand stashed away in an old suitcase. Waving the wand, pretending it was a sword, she accidently blasted a hole in the ceiling knocking the young girl back into a stack of boxes. Her mother only stood surprised and shocked that one so small could produce such a large burst of magic unknowingly. Once her mother calmed the frightened child down, she took the wand back to repair the damage. Demanding Azuren never touch the "stick" again and never speak of this to her father, who 'wouldn't understand' and might 'send them back to America'.

After that Azuren began questioning what really happened that day but swore to never say a word. However deep down she knew her mother was hiding something from her and one day she'd discover the secrets of that magic 'stick'. Eventually the distant memory became a daydream that she believed she conjured up in her head, that was until she received her letter from Hogwarts. The letter came in the summer after she turned fifteen. The most exquisite black owl landed in fence outside of their small cottage home.

Azuren, hesitantly, walked up to the bird and took the letter that was clearly addressed to her. 'Azuren Marie Wrynn, 3rd Bedroom on the 2nd Floor...'. The envelope had precise details of her home, down to her address and even bedroom.

With shaky hands she opened the letter and could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

It was only then that her mother finally let out a sigh of defeat, sitting her husband and eldest child down to explain the truth of the Wrynn's past. She included every detail of her life before having Azuren, while being careful to not give any details of the girl's father. In fear of being rejected by her husband, Azuren's mother kept her chocolate eyes casted down at her teacup the entire time.

Azuren held her breath for what felt like forever until, the man she always considered to be her father let out a deep chuckle and ran a hand through her pepper-colored hair. Azuren would always remember the words he spoke next. "Well, I knew marrying you would be an adventure, but I never expected our lives to end up like tales you read about in fiction." Azuren smiled fondly, the man sitting beside her was always a fan of fantasy tales and loved reading to his young daughter's tales of dragons and fairies. Azuren watched her mother look as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She never would have expected that he would be so open to having witches in the family, yet here he was more excited than Azuren herself.

The rest of her time at home was spent having her mother drill in all the knowledge she could about the Wizarding world. Azuren could tell her mother was nervous about the young girl being accepted so late and she feared her daughter would be too far behind to get a proper education and catch up to her classmates.

The day professor Fig arrived to take Azuren away to a safer location, where he could teach her properly, was the day her mother allowed Azuren to take her old wand with her to use. It made sense, because she had once used it and she knew with proper training the wand would server her little girl well. That day was bittersweet. Azuren would miss her little sister most of all. The young brunette child would cling her older sister until the moment it was time to leave. Azuren gave one last smile and wave to her family before she was off on her own adventure. Little did she know what was waiting for her in the end!

[pearlsoflongago]

The Ageless Garden

Poems and Paintings of Timeless Summer

Mountainous Landscape with Fruit Orchard Near Ornans by Gustave Courbet

All That’s Past

Very old are the woods; And the buds that break Out of the briar's boughs, When March winds wake, So old with their beauty are— Oh, no man knows Through what wild centuries Roves back the rose.

Very old are the brooks; And the rills that rise Where snow sleeps cold beneath The azure skies Sing such a history Of come and gone, Their every drop is as wise As Solomon.

Very old are we men; Our dreams are tales Told in dim Eden By Eve's nightingales; We wake and whisper awhile, But, the day gone by, Silence and sleep like fields Of amaranth lie.

—Walter de la Mare

Conversation in a Rose Garden by Auguste Renoir

Sonnet

This little space which scented box encloses Is blue with lupins and is sweet with thyme. My garden all is overblown with roses, My spirit all is overblown with rhyme, And like a drunken honeybee I waver From house to garden and again to house, And, undetermined which delight to favour, On verse and rose alternately carouse. Adam, were you, in your primeval plenty, A poet and a gardener in one? Did you with easy songs the blossoms sheave, In Eden where the blooms by ten and twenty Sprang up beneath the magic of the sun, To deck the brows of your capricious Eve?

—Vita Sackville-West

Woodland Scene, Spring by Camille Pissarro

Journey

Ah, could I lay me down in this long grass And close my eyes, and let the quiet wind Blow over me,—I am so tired, so tired Of passing pleasant places! All my life, Following Care along the dusty road, Have I looked back at loveliness and sighed; Yet at my hand an unrelenting hand Tugged ever, and I passed. All my life long Over my shoulder have I looked at peace And now I fain would lie in this long grass And close my eyes. Yet onward! Cat-birds call Through the long afternoon, and creeks at dusk Are guttural. Whip-poor-wills wake and cry, Drawing the twilight close about their throats. Only my heart makes answer. Eager vines Go up the rocks and wait; flushed apple-trees Pause in their dance and break the ring for me; Dim, shady wood-roads, redolent of fern And bayberry, that through sweet bevies thread Of round-faced roses, pink and petulant, Look back and beckon ere they disappear. Only my heart, only my heart responds. Yet, ah, my path is sweet on either side All through the dragging day,—sharp underfoot, And hot, and like dead mist the dry dust hangs— But far, oh, far as passionate eye can reach, And long, ah, long as rapturous eye can cling, The world is mine: blue hill, still silver lake, Broad field, bright flower, and the long white road A gateless garden, and an open path: My feet to follow, and my heart to hold.

—Edna St. Vincent Millay

Wild Roses by Vincent van Gogh

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Some books and plays I have read that are older than me oand/or were written before I was born:

Plays:

• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

• The Tempest by William Shakespeare

• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

• Hamlet by William Shakespeare

• Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare

• A Midsummer Night's Dream

• Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

• Our Town by Thornton Wilder

Fairy Tales and Fables:

• The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Most Incredible Thing by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Frogs and the Ox;Belling the Cat;The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse;The Fox and the Grapes;The Wolf and the Crane;The Lion and the Mouse;The Crow and the Pitcher; The Fox and the Stork;The Fox and the Leopard;The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing;The Wolf, the Kid, and the Goat;The Lion's Share;The Wolves and the Sheep;The Ass in the Lion's Skin;The Farmer and the Snake; They Dog and the Oyster;The Wolf and the House Dog;Three Bullocks and a Lion; The Vain Jackdaw and His Borrowed Feathers;The Dogs and the Fox;The Farmer and the Cranes; and The Goose and the Golden Egg... by Aesop

• The Frog King; Cat and Mouse Partnership; The Story if the Youth Who Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was; The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids; Faithful John; Little Brother and Little Sister; Rapunzel; The Three Little Mean in the Wood; Hansel and Gretel; The Three Snake-Leaves; The White Snake; The Fisherman and His Wife; The Valiant Little Tailor; Cinderella; The Riddle; The Mouse, The Bird, and the Sausage; Mother Holle; The Seven Ravens; Little Red Cap; The Singing Bone; Clever Hans; The Wedding of Mrs. Fox; The Robber Bridergroom; Godfather Death; The Juniper Tree; The Six Swans; Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty); Little Snow White; Rumpelstiltskin; The Golden Bird; The Dog and the Sparrow; Frederick and Catherine; The Two Brothers; The Queen Bee; The Three Feathers; The Golden Goose; The Twelve Hunters; The Three Sons of Fortune; The Wiof and the Fox; The Fox and His Cousin; The Water Nixie; Brother Lustig; The Fox and the Geese; The Poor Man and the Rich Man; The Raven; The Peasant's Wise Daughter; Stories about Snakes; Hans the Hedgehog; The Three Brothers; Ferdinand the Faithful; One-eye, Two-eyes, and Three-eyes; The Shoes that Were Danced To Pieces; Iron John; The Lambkin and the Fish; The Lord's Animals and the Devil's; The Old Beggar Woman; Odds and Ends; The Sparrow and His Four Children; Snow White and Rose Red; The Wise Servant; The Glass Coffin; The Griffin; The Peasant in Heaven; The Bittern and Hoopoe; The Owl; Death's Messengers; The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle; The Drummer; The Ear of Corn; Old Rinkrank... written/retold by the Brothers' Grimm

The 1800s- late 1930s set books:

• Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard

• The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

• The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

• White Fang by Jack London

• Call of the Wild by Jack London

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

• Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

• Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Edgar Allan Poe Works I've Read:

• The Raven; a poem

• Annabel Lee; a poem

• Lenore; a poem

• To Helen; a poem

• The Black Cat; a short story

• The Cask of Amontillado; a short story

• Ligeia; a short story

• The Masque of the Red Death; a short story

• Morella; a short story

• The Pit and the Pendulum; a short story

• The Premature Burial; a short story

• The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether; a short story

• The Tell-Tale Heart; a short story

Oldie But Goldies; Everything Else Thst is Older Than Me That I've Read:

• Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

• Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; and The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis

• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

• Redwall by Brian Jacques

• Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

• The Giver by Lois Lowry

• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

There is a lot I've probably read but don't remember, but these are the literatures I can remember that are older than me, or were made before I was born, that I have read😊

[chickensoupleg]

AU where Steve casually has an animal rescue in his house.

I mean, it's empty 95% of the time, right? Parents are rarely home, likely couldn't care what Steve does in his off time.

His off time involves his ever persistent large family dreams.

His children are just not exactly the most human-est of things.

Starts out when he's little, still under the care of a nanny. He finds a frog hiding in a bush, and as any young kid does picks it up and brings it in. His nanny wasn't having it, but for the few hours he did have a frog in his 6 year old hands it wasn't all that bad. Kissing its little froggy head wasn't the best idea though.

Still, frog sparked way more joy than anything else in his life, so he continues to do it. Whatever creature he finds, if he can't steal it he'll just take a gander and continue on his way. He also gets the wonderful education of what animals he can and can't be taking off Indiana wood grounds to hold ransom in his massive, empty house. Thanks to the power of cold hard cash he manages to turn a guest room into some sort of animal holding area, which for a long while was just small animals like snails or more frogs. A lot of insects too.

The first time he actually turns his home into a 'I have a collection of critters' into a 'I am a child-sized vet' was when he got ahold of Rutabaga. Rutabaga, which is actually short for Ruthless Bag of Spite, was a cat little 11 year old Steve found on a walk. Cat's been clearly living on the streets for a while, ragged and limping. Tail's been mauled by something, the dried blood still flaked on the end. Steve, bless him, tried to take Rutabaga home.

Steve had to treat multiple scratches on his way home that day.

Still, he didn't give up, determined to help this ball of scraps. He set out food and water for Rutabaga, put his clothes outside so the cat would smell him and recognize him as the Sustenance Giver (He remembers someone saying how their cat loved to sit on their laundry), and just waited as patiently as a little kid could possibly try.

He manages to capture Rutabaga a few weeks later, giving the cat a good scrub down and his best attempt at cleaning the tail. He got more scratches for his troubles, but he has a cat now. He did have to take him (He found out it was a him) to an actual vet though since he was worried when his tail got all yucky.

His first success only spurs him on, and he just kept housing animals and healing them as best as he can. He gets better over time, even though it takes him ages to get through books, but it's a process of hands on learning as well.

Steve never talks about it either, and as far as anyone else knew, Steve has a cat with half a tail and a locked room he never lets anyone in.

The first time anyone realizes is when Dustin walked into his house only to find Steve hand feeding a baby bird. Had to explain that he's been doing this since forever, Dustin is both offended Steve never told him and also teases him to high heavens about how he really is a mom.

Dustin finding out drags every one of his kids into it, with varying interest on his hobby. They even end up trusting him with their pets for safe-keeping, or whatever creature they scoop up from wherever. Steve takes them all in, and if its supposed to be wild he does his best to make sure they stay wild, no matter what Dustin says about having a cool pet raccoon or how cute the squirrel El brought in.

Every time Dustin brings anything remotely lizard-like Steve has to make sure he didn't bring another baby Demogorgon into his home. Dustin is NOT allowed to have another cat get eaten.

Steve has funerals for every animal that doesn't make it, so he has some sort of rock formation in his backyard. They look random yet intentional, and even though none of them have names Steve knows who was buried where.

[kusagrasskusa]

Erron Black X Reader - “You’re gonna be a daddy”

Summery: Short little wholesome story where Erron Black comes home from a long bounty, and seeing his woman outside their little home. She looks at him and greets him in a strange way, and whenever he asks about it, he hears something he never expected to here. Read the last paragraph before getting to the story!

TW: Miscarriage

This is something that hits a little closer to home for me. Almost a year ago, I was gonna have a baby sister named Willow. I was at my boyfriend’s house and called my mom for something, but she sounded upset over the phone. When she picked me up later and I asked what it was about, she looked at me and said, “there wasn’t a heartbeat.” She was so depressed for months over it and we eventually discovered she has something called MTHFR, a blood clotting disease that results in pregnancy loss. Oh and just buy the way… My mom is going through a program to help her have one last kid, so the story has a happy ending.

In this story, Y/N has lost her children to this blood cell disease and was thought to never be able to have a family.

—————————————————————————————

The sun was bright and the unearthly birds chirped along with each other as they flew around the heated realm known as Outworld. A cute little deserted farmhouse was stationed quite a bit away from other civilians, but relatively close to the empire which Kotal Kahn resided in. A lovely pond was situated near the farm house and little gardens grew from the pond water. It was surrounded by woods, but a safe part of the forest. A lovely woman would go outside everyday to take care of the animals with her pet Outworlden cat, C/N. It was like a mainecoon and a demon had a baby, but it for the most part had the sweet maincoone personality. The woman had began to wear lovely loose white dresses lately, even in the bright and hot sun. But every single day had been the happiest day in her life ever since two months prior to when this story would take place.

But, she didn’t know this would be the happiest of even the happiest days. At least for now.

“Ooo,” she breathed out, holding onto her back as she sat down on a rock near the pond and garden for a quick break. She breathed in heavily, the morning air refreshing her skin but maybe a little too much so. She gazed over the beautiful own she built with her husband, remembering their dreams of starting a life together the way it felt it should be. Building a lovely little home and marrying there, and although it was just them at the wedding, they would later on find out they would have had another member of the family.

Her eyes gazed over the four tombstones on the other side of the pond. Y/N almost wanted to cry more for each second she looked at them, but those days would finally be behind her. She would always be a mother of those four, buried beneath the ground, and she would soon be a mother of five. Her first baby had died unexpectedly, and when she lost the third one, her husband spoke to his boss about what could possibly be wrong.

He was a blood god, god of war, and god of the sun- and the ruler of her realm. When he first laid on eyes on the girl, he felt pity for her; her gloomed face moving his heart enough to take time out of the day to help her. Each baby had died from high levels of homocysteine levels and eggs not being able to fertilize correctly- and it broke her heart more and more. Even the Kahn was upset for days after the meeting and allowed her husband to stay home for some time.

But, that was a year ago and her husband was off to complete a difficult bounty. Erron had been gone for about 3 months now, and the night before he left had been the night she would conceive her next child. She didn’t know she was pregnant until 2 months ago, and she had been seeing Kotal Kahn every single day for him to use his abilities on her and rejuvenate her. She wanted to badly to have her child- and her baby had lasted longer than any other. This one was going to survive.

C/N meowed as it chased after a bird that soared through the skies. “C/N!” The lady called out for her animal, “you’re gonna step on the flowers!” She huffed as the cat tripped over a watermelon vine- but this was an Outworld watermelon vine, so it was like tripping over a stubborn tree root.

“That cat’s gon’ get us killed one day,” a voice called out from behind her. She whipped her head around, her eyes widening at the sound of that familiar voice.

“Erron!” She called out, standing up and running into her husband’s arms, who chuckled while squeezing her under his loving grip.

“Hey there, baby doll,” he greeted, suppressing just how happy he really was to see her. Those long trips were always painful to go on, but the upside is that he gets more happy to see his girl’s beautiful face. “Y/N, baby, don’t cry,” he chuckled as he released her, grabbing her chin so she looked up at him. Tears flooded down her face more than usual, making her giggle as well.

“Haha, I told myself I wouldn’t cry this time,” she sniffled, brushing her hair out of her face. She instinctually put her hand on her stomach as the adrenaline died down which made her remember that her back was hurting. “Mmm,” she grunting as she backed up into the rock again, sitting down. Her husband followed her and sat down with her, wrapping his larger arm around her.

“Are you okay, suga’ plum?” He asked, glancing over at where she laid her hand. 3 months was still too early for a noticeable bump, but she was heavier than what she used to be if only by a little bit. Y/N sniffled, more tears pouring out as she looked at him.

“You’re gonna be a daddy,” she cried out, wrapping her arms around her husband. “This time, you’ll be holding your son in your arms happily! This one’s gonna make it!” Erron’s eyes widened as he blinked out in shock.

“I’m,” he started, chuckling, “I’m gonna be a daddy?” Y/N laughed, wiping more tears of joy while Erron wanted to hold his in.

“Yes! I already have his room made a-and-“ she stuttered while her breathe hitched. “I’ve been seeing Kotal everyday so he could rejuvenate and tell me what was going on with our boy. He’s as healthy as can be!”

That night, dinner was extra special. Along with whenever they went to bed later that night- they slept in each other’s arms that night, cuddling in their sleep. Little do they know in a few months, they wouldn’t be able to sleep that close together if they could sleep at all. Let’s just say S/N is gonna have his daddy’s fighting spirit.

Especially in his sleep when he kicks and punches his baby limps at those stupid monsters in what most kid’s would call a nightmare. To him, those nightmares are battlegrounds where nothing can escape his wrath.

[battery-forgot]

Now, I come mid-week to give you all of my DSMP/MCYT headcanons because I have many

Don’t mind if these are repeated, misspelt, or has no logic, it is block game things and I am not checking over them-- and some will be organized, and some will be random, some might not have a Enter space because these are all ctrl c + ctrl v’ed from a Discord server I am in :]

Skeppy headcanons: Skeppy is 4 billion years old as scientists have thought that is how long ores and diamonds existed for

Skeppy's species is pretty rare

Every diamond that is broken or damaged causes Skeppy to feel a physical pain in his body

His species has lamp tail as they don't have night vision, some of them also have tiny wings that aren't usable, though they can kinda glide short distances with them

Because of his small height, he has taught himself magic to be able to change size, it can hurt him if he goes taller than 5'3, but he is able to get to Foolish's height if he tried

Sometimes random crystals grow on Skeppy's face, though they look different from normal crystals and can be used for things like explosives, though he doesn't know about it

Techno has seen Kristen but doesn't remember it well, though Kristen gave him his crown as a gift

Techno has a collection of skull masks that he has worn, he wears the skulls because of nostalgia now but he used to wear them because he thought they were cool and made him look threatening

Technoblade, Skeppy, Sam, Ranboo, Michael(the son- not Michaelmcchill), Phil, Bad, and some others really like shiny and golden objects

DreamSMP theme/"timeline" is kind of like a steampunk like thing

Drista is DreamXD's sister and DristaXD is Dream's "sister", though they aren't really siblings as they are robots

Drista and DreamXD are clones of DristaXD and Dream, though they actually look nothing alike

Callahan is a mute mini-god that everyone knows exists but doesn't really understand they are a mini-god. They kind of just chill and do what people ask them to do

Phil: Phil is more into traveling than anything else

Though he doesn't mind being a father figure, he doesn't think he is a good one especially after he killed Wilbur

He is able to turn into the size of a crow, though since his wings are now unusable, he doesn't do it as often as it is basically useless

Phil sometimes takes bird baths, though I guess they are always called that-

He has bird legs/talons,but they aren’t fully noticeable

joke headcanon I thought of is that Phil's handwriting is chicken-scratch because he is half-crow

Phil has really good memory, as a crow would

-DreamXD is actually pretty weak in powers, but he acts like he is the strongest person in the server

-Tommy's eye is just completely gone from when Dream killed him, but he covers it with an eyepatch

-Tubbo talks about things to Ranboo thinking he'll forget them, but some stories Ranboo remembers but doesn't speak about it because he doesn't want to make Tubbo worry too much

-Philza wasn't willing to kill Wilbur so Wilbur forced Phil by grabbing his arm and impaling himself

-Dream and Techno sometimes share stories about having ADHD

-Phil didn't really know about Fundy, he knew he existed but had no idea to how he acted, looked, or his actual name

-Wilbur had a letter written to Fundy about how he was sorry for what he was gonna do during November 16th, but the withers blew it up before Fundy knew about it

-Fundy doesn't let anyone hold his hand because it makes him remember the past where he would hold Wilbur's hand a lot

-Change of headcanons: Schlatt and Puffy are cousins, Tubbo was just a random kid that would follow Schlatt for hours a day, waiting for him to acknowledge him

-Dream jumps into the lava in the prison as it reminds him of Sapnap

-Bad was uncomfortable when Sapnap married Big Q and Karl because he went on a date with Quackity before but he still supported them (Yes I know Big Q basically had a divorce with Sap and Karl--)

-Skeppy knows a lot about other's pasts because of how old he is, even traumatizing facts

-Skeppy has a fear of fire (Pyrophobia) and he is kind of scared of Sapnap

-Dream used the revivebook on the cat Tommy killed, but Sam killed it thinking Dream would use the cat against Sam to escape quicker in the future

-Dream doesn't *fully* know why he is in prison, ever since Tommy and Tubbo killed him, a wire/chip broke in his body which made him forget a lot of things. Dream does get told what he had done a lot, but it makes him almost have a panic attack because he thought he was a pretty good person

-Ghostbur is Callahan, they were commanded by DreamXD to become Ghostbur so that everyone could feel like he was still there (Callahan can change who they are completely, but they don't actually know how they acted when as Ghostbur, though that doesn't mean he didn't know what happened, when Dream killed/revived Ghostbur, Callahan got to see what it felt like to die for the first time)

-Fundy has the habit of picking up things and using them at some sort of fidget (examples: knives, leaves, grass, wood, pencils, berry stems, etc.

-Ranboo will be writing/saying something about someone and use pronouns instead of their name or just with the person's name (example: "Puffy she/her was--" or "he/him writing down things") [Basically canon-]

-Tubbo used to headbutt people but stopped after around 2 years because he kept hurting people

-Phil used to squawk randomly when he was a kid, but he mainly just squawks when hiccuping now

-Even though Bad used to get really nervous picking people up because he was afraid he was gonna drop and kill them, he now just picks up everyone randomly... except Foolish and Ranboo

-Foolish is able to shrink to around 7ft, and unless he is building a big build, he will shrink so he can get around easier

-Because Ranboo is only half enderman, he isn't the full height of an enderman (He is only 8'5)

-If someone asks Charlie about his pronouns, out of confusion, he just responds with "Bones!" which sometimes leads Las Nevadas members (or just anyone really) calling him by He/it/Bones

-When Bad was being controlled by the egg, it made him get even more flashbacks about how his species was supposed to act which would end up with him panicking because that isn't who he wants to be (bonus: The more a member infected by the egg would panic, the more the egg would be able to take over the person because they can't focus)

-Kristin has taught Phil how to do makeup in their free-time of hanging out

-Kristin is insanely tall, if she shrinks then she turns more transparent, so she ends up looking more like a ghost when at average height

-Skeppy can't cry, though he still can feel sad

-Bad and Eret talk to eachother quite a lot

-When Tubbo was around 11-14, he would make redstone contraptions, though he doesn't remember how to make most of them now

Ranboo doesn't like photoshoots because he feels like everyone is staring at him, though this does mean he just doesn't have a passport photo, his alternative was to draw what he looked like on the passport but they didn't allow it, as well as Ranboo doesn't really remember what he looks like anyway because they don't like looking in mirrors--

I think this is half-canon but another headcanon is where every SMP is just an island far away from others. In this case, Hermitcraft, 30 day SMP, and other SMPs are all linked up, as for people who are in multiple SMPs, they travel around by boat for awhile, now, the thing I've just not figured out is how tf their look magically changes-like- outfit is decently obvious-- but do they magically transform like an anime girl? Idk- 

Skeppy's voice randomly glitches out, is there an actual reason for this? No.

Quackity’s outfit is similar to Sub Urban’s (In Freak)

Skeppy acts as if he is royalty, he doesn't act rude or demanding unless joking- but he does act as if he is the superior person-

-Skeppy and Slime are the only "people" that don't have steampunk styled clothing because of how old they are

-Skeppy's hair grows insanely quickly and no one knows why, he honestly hates it

-Most of Skeppy's outfits have been made by Bad or Puffy

-Skeppy knows DreamXD as if he is a brother, but he despises him because of something that has happened around 3,000 years ago

-Skeppy has a lot of different shades in their hair on the "inside"(like- the side where his neck is is what I mean, I don't remember if it has a name or not-)

-Like I've said before, Skeppy's eyes are crystallized, but they are somewhat transparent, not enough to where you'd be able to see the inside of his head, but they are still transparent

-In the past, Skeppy didn't like their name which is why they called himself "Skeppy"

-He has an attachment to caves

-When Skeppy was a kid, they had the dream of him filling cave walls with houses of their own

-Skeppy goes by it/they/he

-Skeppy joke flirts with Bad all the time to confuse everyone, Bad doesn't like it because then everyone thinks they are dating which makes him feel a little uncomfortable

-Out of boredom, in the past, Skeppy would climb on the roofs of caves, hang upside down, and try and sleep like a bat

-They have no blood in his body, it is literally just a diamond covered with a thin layer of skin and hair

-Skeppy gets stressed out easily when it comes to learning because it just reminds him of everything he had to get used to as the billion of years he lived went by

-Skeppy used to not be allowed out into the open world, the first time it experienced going outside was when it was 2 billion years old

-Skeppy has accidentally caught things on fire during the day because of the reflecting of the sun, but even then, they are nocturnal so they don't really have to worry about it

-Wilbur adapted to hanging out with Sally in the water, he has some gills, but he can only breathe underwater for a bit longer with them

-Skeppy always has the equivalent of Diamond (armor) except when he was infected by the egg, he was equivalent to the strength of a Ruby

-Infected Skeppy has a redstone glow when touched, so when hugged(or hive fived- or- yeah you get the point), he would give a subtle glow around him until let go

-The Eggpire still can be controlled, but they are able to control it unless angered/upset

-Skeppy was 6ft when infected, now he is 3′9 un-infected

-At this point, Dream likes the prison because he sometimes feels safe there, like no one can hurt him

-DristaXD is more of a ghost robot than an actual robot

-DristaXD's hobby is murdering people and has basically been in some sort of jail before, she has broken chains around their ankles and hands, it seems to have been made of a really strong material as wel

-Sapnap used to have fire wings, but when he had to get extinguished, they disappeared, they are still there, they just aren't visible until dunked in lava and Sapnap can't use them anymore

-Infected Bad still took care of Sapnap, but Sapnap never cared

-Sapnap takes the name "lava cake" too seriously... though he thinks the literal lava cakes he makes taste good

-Puffy's hair has been dyed blue by Ghostbur before because he wanted people to remember Friend if they ever disappeared

-Going with my Ghostbur as Callahan hc, when Ghostbur was killed, Callahan kind of glitched between realities and so Ghostburs body glitched from Callahan's body and Ghostbur's then just disappeared. Callahan is still alive but they randomly glitch into different realities, he has glitched into places Karl has gone, including The Inbetween.

-When Ghostbur was glitching back into Callahan after killed, it shocked and concerned Dream

There you go :]