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crystalninjaphoenix · 3 years

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Calm & Conversations

A JSE Fanfic

Okay so my schedule for uploading fics may be a bit wonky for the next while. I’m not sure how to fit writing in with my classes this semester, so I’m just improvising as I go. But I’ve got this! It’s really just a bunch of scenes that need to happen before the next story, but it was nice to write again. We check in on Laurens and Schneep (yknow I’m just now realizing how big a deal the non-septic characters are to this story), Marvin tells Chase something important, there’s a flashback with JJ, and Anti is being a plotting dick as usual. Have fun guys dsjdfkdfjk

You can find the other stories under the pw timeline tag!

Laurens knocked on the office door, hearing a soft “come in” in response. She took a deep breath, and pushed the door open, stepping inside. It had been a while since she’d been inside. And now that Dr. Newson had been suspended as director of the hospital, she had to get a read on her replacement. But this wasn’t something she could just avoid, so she stepped inside.

“Ah, Rya, good to see you!” The woman sitting at the desk immediately stood up. “I heard you returned to Silver Hills, but I guess you’ve been too busy for me to see you.”

“Oh, hi Dr. Fells.” Laurens nodded, friendly. “Y-yeah, it’s been a while.”

“It has! And please, call me Becca.” Fells smiled cheerfully. “How have you been? Well, I suppose that’s a superfluous question. Your cast says as much.”

“Uh, yeah, it’s uh...been an ordeal.” Laurens adjusted her sling. “Anyway, I uh...I came in to ask for a day off. Actually, I need it off.”

“Oh, of course.” Fells rummaged around in the desk, pulling out a form and a pen. “You know, you could have filled out a request. We have it online now.”

“I know, but this is important, so I, um, didn’t want to risk it,” Laurens explained. “I have to, uh, testify. In court. On the thirty-first.”

“Oh dear, well then you’ll definitely need the whole day off,” Fells said, filling out the form. “But you should tell your patient, too.”

“Yeah, I was planning on it.” Laurens wasn’t sure how into detail she would go. After all, the court case was all about Newson and her abuse of power, which could be a sensitive topic for Schneep. She’d try to be vague. As that thought crossed her mind, it slowly dawned on her that she was more involved in this case than she’d ever been before. Perhaps that was a bad thing. But she couldn’t leave it now.

“Great.” Fells finished writing, and looked up to smile at Laurens. “If you need anything else, please let me know. I understand that Newson got too involved in your work, and I’d hate to be like that, but I’m here to help!”

“Thanks, Becca.” Laurens coughed awkwardly. “I’ll, uh...see you later. Bye.”

“Goodbye, Rya!”

With that done, Laurens headed down to Schneep’s room, as usual. And as usual, she met Oliver outside, made some small talk, and then went in.

Schneep was laying on his back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. When Laurens and Oliver walked in, he immediately grabbed the small contact mirror she’d given him yesterday, and checked their reflections in it. Seemingly satisfied, he sat up straight.

“Hi Schneep,” Laurens said, taking a seat. “How are you?”

“Well, I am fine, I suppose.” Schneep shrugged. “Nothing much has changed. Which is a good thing, I think.”

“Yes, I think it is.” She hesitated, then continued on. “So I have good news and bad news.”

Schneep immediately tensed. “Bad news?”

“Do you want that one first?”

“Well, it depends on what it is.”

“It’s not too bad, I think,” Laurens said. “I just won’t be able to have our session on the thirty-first.”

“Oh. Alright.” Schneep exhaled, clearly relieved. “And how far away is that?”

“Six days. You’re okay with this? Or would you rather have someone else substitute for me?”

“Ah, your substitutes never work,” Schneep dismissed. “The last one was an asshole.”

“Newson? Well...yeah,” Laurens admitted.

“Besides, we already talk with each other almost every day. It is fine.” Schneep shrugged. “What is the good news?”

“Ah, right.” Laurens smiled. “Well, we might be able to move you back to your old room! The one with less restrictions. And it’s possible that I may be able to get you any clothing that was confiscated.” She still didn’t understand why Newson did that. Well. actually, she did.

Schneep’s face lit up. “Oh, that would be wonderful! What changed?”

“Well, the new medication seems to be working,” Laurens said. “And you said last time that the techniques I suggested were helping, too. So I think I can convince our new director that you’re not a risk case. Or at least, not as much as your file has you marked as.”

Schneep winced. “I do remember doing some...questionable things when first arriving here.”

“It’s understandable, you were lashing out,” Laurens said reassuringly.

“Still...” Schneep wrapped his arms around himself. “I remember that one orderly who I hurt, and I feel...well, bad, of course, and because of that, I do worry.”

“Theresa has made a full recovery, don’t worry,” Laurens said. “And if you’d like, today we can work on some ways to manage anger and stress.”

“That sounds good, thank you.” Schneep nodded.

“Alright, we’ll start with that.”

——————

“This is weird.” Marvin shifts awkwardly on his seat, leaning onto the side of the hospital bed. “He’s just staring into nothing.”

“Hey, I thought you didn’t like eye contact anyway,” Chase pointed out, a smile pulling at his mouth.

“Well, yeah, but it’s weird when it’s Jack,” Marvin explained.

Marvin hadn’t had a chance to see Jack in a while. Or, actually, he’d just been forgetting to. So Chase had offered to bring him along on a visit, to make sure he did. Marvin had agreed, and now here they were, Chase in one chair at the side of the bed, Marvin in another on the opposite side.

“Is it wrong to say it’s kind of creepy?” Marvin asked reluctantly.

“What? Open eyes?”

“It’s not necessarily the open eyes, so much as it’s that he’s not moving at all other than that,” Marvin said. “I...wasn’t supposed to say that, was I? That was one of those things?”

“No, it’s fine, it makes sense,” Chase reassured him. “I get it.” He grabs one of Jack’s hands. “Y’know, he’s been moving a little bit recently. Sometimes he, like, squeezes your hand. He probably doesn’t mean to, but it’s nice. And it’s progress.”

“Involuntary twitching is progress?” Marvin asked.

“Yeah, cause he couldn’t move at all before.” Chase’s fingers ran across the back of Jack’s hand. He’d always been pale, but after being in the hospital for over a year, he was practically paper white. “I mean, it’s still pretty bad. He’s a seven on that scale I told you about.”

“Fast improvement, though, so that’s good.” Marvin adjusted his position, scooting the chair closer before leaning onto the bed again. “Do you think he can hear us?”

“I dunno,” Chase said, shrugging. “They always say people in comas might hear people, but that could be just a myth. Maybe we should ask someone who’s actually been in a coma and woke up.”

“Someone probably did a Reddit question like that.”

“Oh, for sure.”

They fell silent for a moment. Marvin traced the line on the heart monitor with his eyes. “So...how have the kids been?”

“Pretty good, far as I can tell. They started reception in August, y’know.” Chase laughed a bit. “Y’know, I still think kindergarten is a better term.”

“Ah yes, the child garden.” Marvin chuckled a little as well. “Y’know you didn’t have to enroll them if you didn’t want to. I never went to reception, and I turned out fine.”

“Do they even have reception or kindergarten in Ireland?”

“...not exactly, but that’s besides the point. It’s more about the age, I’m trying to say I didn’t go to school until I was six. Grandmam always said I was too nervous to go.”

“Can’t imagine you being nervous,” Chase muttered. “Well, Sophie and Nick are ready. They can be wild kids, but at their age, who wouldn’t be? They’re still very good listeners. Nick has a good memory, and Sophie can, like, figure out puzzles pretty quickly. They’re fine.” He looked up at Marvin. “What about you? Anything interesting going on in your life?”

“Well, there’s still the case I told you about,” Marvin said.

“Oh yeah, that. Did you tell JJ about the hearing on Halloween?”

“Yeah.” Marvin’s expression fell. “It’s shitty timing, but I can still stop by his flat for birthday stuff after it’s all done. Or he can watch me on TV. Because apparently they’re gonna televise this, you hear that?”

“Whoa, really?” Chase asked, surprised.

“Yeah, apparently Schneep’s case is a big deal.” Marvin ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, we wouldn’t have known that. JJ didn’t know Schneep before, you hate watching the news, and I wasn’t even in the country.”

“We missed everything,” Chase agreed. Part of him still felt bad about that. Maybe it would’ve been reassuring to know Schneep didn’t exactly disappear. Or maybe it would’ve been worse, since by all accounts, it looked like Schneep was actually a serial killer. But Chase pushes aside these thoughts for now. He actually wanted to ask Marvin something, now that the subject came up. “So, uh, are you ready to tell us why you suddenly went to Ireland? If it’s okay?”

Marvin didn’t say anything for a while. He just continued running his fingers through his hair. After much too long, he took a deep breath. “Yeah, fine. I mean, JJ isn’t here, but I can tell him later. Or, actually...maybe it would be better to show you.”

“Show me?” Chase repeated. “What do you mean?”

Marcin sat up straight and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up.

“Whoa, hey, dude! What if someone walks in?!” Chase leaned back.

“Just look.”

Though confused, Chase did so. But that only made him even more confused. “Are those...scars?”

There were three long, raised scars on Marvin’s torso, one on his chest and two on his stomach. Marvin quickly lowered his shirt again. “Yeah.” He folded his arms. “That’s why I left.”

“What?” Chase’s mind spun, working hard to come up with an explanation. “You got attacked or something? Why?”

Marvin took a deep breath, already looking tired. “Okay, so this is gonna be a long story. Y’know the boutique I worked for?”

“Yeah.”

“So I found out that place wasn’t exactly what it seemed.” Marvin hesitated, then blurted it out. “It was actually a front for an underground crime ring.”

Chase’s first impulse was to laugh. He tried to bite it back, but a quiet snrk escaped.

“What? It’s the truth,” Marvin said defensively.

“No, I’m not saying it’s not,” Chase hurried to say. “Not saying you’re lying. It’s just...you said it so straight, and it sounds so absurd.”

“Y’know what sounds absurd? The fact that Schneep and Jackie got kidnapped by a serial killer who turned out to be the brother of a guy we met just a few months later.”

“Fair point.” Chase coughed into his elbow to get rid of any leftover laughter. “Anyway, how do you know that? Or is this just a theory?”

“A gaaaame theory,” Marvin said.

“Dude, c’mon.”

“Sorry, habit.” Marvin paused, gathering his thoughts. “Well, I worked there for a while before I figured it out. I’m guessing that some of the staff was in on it, but not all of them. But things started seeming weird after a while, compared to other jobs I’ve had. Odd hours. Shifty management. And some customers would ask for something very specific that we didn’t actually stock, and when I brought it up to my manager, they always said they’d handle it personally. So I got suspicious, and I started investigating.”

“Marv, you could’ve asked Jackie for help,” Chase said, shaking his head. “He’s literally a private investigator.”

“Okay, yeah, but this was after he disappeared,” Marvin explained.”So I had to do it on my own. Besides, I might not have asked anyway, he’s a bit, uh...” He flapped his hand in the air, looking for the words. “Surprisingly a goody-two-shoes about it. But the point is, I did it myself. And when I snooped into a new shipment we just received, I found a hidden compartment with some guns inside.”

“Oh, jeez.” Chase’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, exactly.” Marvin nodded. “I left quickly, but as luck would have it, I ran into one of the management coming out of the back room. I guess they must’ve figured out what I saw, because a lot of people were acting really weird around me after that.” Marvin exhaled deeply. “And so, when I was walking home one night, this guy ambushed me and stabbed me.”

“Dude, holy shit!” Chase gasped.

“Imagine how I felt!” Marvin shouted. “I got fucking stabbed! I thought I was gonna die in the middle of the fucking street!” He pressed his hand to his chest, right over the scar, as he took control of his breathing. I was so fucking scared, he signed shakily.

“God, Marvin, I’m so sorry,” Chase said softly.

Marvin smiled a bit. Well, thanks. Obviously, I didn’t die, but I’m pretty sure that’s just because of luck. I went into shock for a bit, and the guy stabbing me probably thought I was losing consciousness and left. I was bleeding a lot, I’m not sure how I managed to stand up. But I did, and I walked all the way home.

“Bro, call an ambulance!”

I would’ve, but I thought that if people saw an ambulance in the area they would figure I survived, and try again. So I walked home, used all the bandages from that emergency super-thorough medical kit Schneep gave me, and passed out immediately after that. I woke up the next morning, still all dizzy, and knew I had to leave.

“Oh my god...” Chase could only shake his head. “I’m guessing you didn’t tell us because you didn’t want us involved in this?”

Marvin nodded. “Yeah...I mean, I didn’t even really want to be involved, I just wanted to find out what was happening. Guess I didn’t think that far ahead.”

Chase laughed a bit, but it quickly faded. “So...you’re back now ‘cause you think it’s over?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Marvin shrugged. “I mean, I couldn’t stay with my grandma forever. I’m pretty sure the people who tried to kill me all think I’m dead. But still. I’m a bit nervous about getting another job.”

“Hey, understandable. But I’m sure it’ll be—” Chase gasped.

“What?” Marvin asked, slightly alarmed.

“Nothing, he just—just squeezed my hand.” Chase looked down at Jack. Of course, Jack still wasn’t looking at him. He knew the squeezing probably wasn’t intentional, but he couldn’t help from assigning meaning to it. “Maybe he wants to reassure you.”

“Maybe. Well, thanks, Jack.” Marvin patted Jack’s other hand. “Wonder what you’d think of all of this.”

“Well, we can ask him when he wakes up,” Chase said, putting a cheerful note in his voice. “He’d probably be like ‘what the fuck? Why am I friends with you crazy people?’”

Marvin laughed. “Ah, we love you, Jack. Even JJ likes you, even though you’ve never met. We’ve told him so many good things.”

Chase nodded, falling quiet. Things were insane lately, but at least there was the silver lining of Jack getting better. Hopefully, everything else would also improve with time.

——————

Jameson opened the curtains and peered out his living room window. His eyes scanned the street below, but saw nothing. Still not satisfied, he pulled them shut.

There hadn’t been any sign of that stalker he’d seen a few days ago, but he wasn’t about to take any chances. He’d explained the situation to his boss, Mr. Patterson, and he’d let him take the week off for safety. So JJ had spent all his time in his apartment, reading and playing a lot of Minecraft. He knew this couldn’t last forever. But maybe it could last until his birthday.

Speaking of which...JJ checked his text messages really quick. The most recent exchange was with Marvin, where he explained the whole deal with the court case. It was good that this would be finished, but JJ couldn’t lie, he’d been looking forward to a birthday get-together with Marvin and Chase. Nothing too big, of course, but he was expecting both of them to be there at the same time. Unfortunately, that would now be impossible. The court case was going to last all day, so Marvin was only available in the evening. But then Chase couldn’t be there, since he was doing Halloween things with his kids at that time.

JJ sighed, and closed his messages. Well, even if the two of them came over at different times, they could have some fun. JJ headed over to the kitchen to make some tea, trying to come up with activities they could do together.

He’d never had friends over for a birthday before. Well, when he was a kid he would invite his classmates over a couple times. But not many responded, and even as a kid, he felt like the ones who did were only doing so out of pity for “the weird boy who couldn’t talk right.” Not to mention that a couple foster families wouldn’t actually let anyone come over.

Actually, when was the last time he’d spent his birthday with someone? It must have been a while...

——————

“No, absolutely not.”

Are you serious?! Jameson signed angrily. It’s just an amusement park! We’ve gone to plenty before!

Aneirin didn’t even turn to look at him as he spoke, focusing on cleaning the dishes from dinner. Jameson was on his blind side, staring at the glass eye. “Yes, but we’ve always gone together. I wouldn’t mind that, but I can’t go tonight. I’m...busy.”

Jameson wasn’t sure he wanted to know what ‘busy’ meant. Judging from the ‘business’ JJ had been involved in in the past, it would probably end up with a dead body and cash changing hands. The thought made him sick, so he moved on. I’m not eight years old, Aneirin, I’m turning twenty-two. I don’t need your permission.

“Well...you sort of do,” Anti said slowly, only glancing at Jameson long enough to take in the signs. “Or at least, you need me to drive you, which I won’t.”

I wouldn’t need you to drive me if I knew how to drive.

“Well, you’ve never really shown any interest, you know?”

Jameson growled. It was no use arguing that of course he’d shown interest, it was Anti who never showed any interest in teaching or paying for lessons. No use in saying any of that, Anti would just ignore it or twist it back on him. Can you give me bus money, then?

“What? No! You’re not taking the bus all the way out of town. Anything could happen.” Aneirin turned off the sink water and picked up a towel, wiping down the plates. “Especially with things being...the way they are lately.”

The way they are? JJ repeated, confused.

“Things on my end,” Anti says cryptically. “You could get hurt. I don’t want you out where it’s dangerous.”

Of course. Aneirin was always concerned about danger. Jameson was never sure if that danger was real or just an excuse, but the possibility of it being real was enough to make him back off...usually. What if I called a friend to come with me to the park?

Anti immediately looked over at him. “What friend? Where’d you meet someone?”

It’s a hypothetical question, JJ signed, reluctant to admit he didn’t really know anyone despite living in the area for six years. He supposed that was what happened when you didn’t have a job to meet people and your older brother was a mercenary who’d scare off anyone you met by chance. What if I did that?

“But...but I’ll be away all night,” Aneirin stammered, suddenly hurt. “Would you really want to celebrate without...no, that’s selfish, I know it.” He laughed. “I guess I just expected family to stick together for birthdays. I mean, I always clear my day up for you, which isn’t easy.”

But you didn’t clear your schedule for my day, Jameson signed, expression blank.

“I did! But this is an emergency. I’ll be here until nightfall, and I got a cake and everything so we could have dessert together.” Aneirin smiled softly. “We can go to the park tomorrow, or the day after. For now, I...I got you a present. I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to do, but...” He looked down. “Well...nevermind. I guess I couldn’t stop you if you wanted to leave right now.”

After a long pause, JJ sighed. Anti really was too good at this. And it wasn’t like he could sneak out and go there on his own, anyway. First, he didn’t know where Anti kept the cash or his credit card, and second, Anti had installed security cameras around the house a few months ago, making that impossible even if Jameson could find bus money. Alright, I suppose we could go there some other time, he signed.

Aneirin’s expression lit up. He leaped forward and wrapped Jameson in a tight hug. “Oh, thank you, Jamie. You’re so sweet. I love you.”

Jameson pulled back a bit. Love you, too, he signed.

“Oh, c’mon, you can’t say it?” Aneirin ruffled JJ’s hair, ignoring the way he immediately fixed it. “I think something like that needs to be said.”

A pit of dread opened up in Jameson’s stomach, but he knew he had to go through with it, or Anti would keep bugging him until he did. “Luh...luhf y-oo. Annn.”

“There we are. Now, how about I go get that cake?”

——————

JJ snapped out of the memory with a shudder. It had been a while. And he’d been glad of that at first. But then he met Chase, Marvin, and Jackie, and realized that quality time wasn’t supposed to be difficult and end with him always giving up what he wanted. Well, he was still working on that. It made up a lot of his discussions with his therapist.

But that wasn’t the point. The point was that he was actually looking forward to his birthday, for once. He was sure it would be fun, even if he met up with Chase and Marvin separately instead of together.

He realized that he’d been standing there, spacing out, for a while, and the water for his tea was already boiling. He hurried to take the kettle off, and busied himself with the next steps. It was only a few days until his birthday. Things would be alright.

——————

Jackie was asleep. Anti could see him from where he was standing in the bedroom doorway. Idly, he recognized that being in that position for so long was probably doing some damage to Jackie’s body, but he didn’t care enough to move him somewhere else. It wasn’t like there was that much room in the apartment anyway.

Of course, that would start to be a problem when more people started to join him. Anti was already working on getting a second safe house, but it might take a few more days.

He slowly closed the bedroom door, leaving it open just a crack. There wasn’t that much in the room, just a bed, a dresser, and a desk with a chair. Anti sat down, and picked up his phone from where he’d left it on the desk. He flipped through the photos he’d taken a few days ago. The address of Jameson’s apartment building was clearly visible. He hadn’t been back there since that day. It wouldn’t do to be spotted, and therefore put JJ or others on their guard. No, they had to lower their defenses. And when the time was right, Anti would swoop in. He was already developing a plan.

His phone vibrated, and a notification appeared at the top. Looked like someone had a job offering for him. Anti clicked on it, reading quickly through the proposal. It wasn’t anything special. Just a target he didn’t know, without any special qualifications. Someone just wanted someone else dead and didn’t want to do it themselves.

“Think over it,” he decided, switching off his phone. There wasn’t a rush.

So, while he was here...Anti glanced over at the small turquoise notebook on the corner of the desk. After a bit, he picked it up and started scanning the handwritten pages. Always fascinating to read a professional’s take on someone’s mind. Though the analysis wasn’t the most important thing in the book.

Anti chuckled to himself, and flipped to the back. The keycard was still safely tucked close to the spine, in between the pages. Right where he left it. Right where he found it, when he’d decided to snatch the notebook from Marvin Maher’s house. And given the contents of the notebook, there could be only one door that this would unlock.

He glanced at a calendar hanging on the wall. It would happen soon. He just had to work out the wrinkles in his plan. Smiling to himself, Anti returned to his reading, silently plotting out the next few days.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #septic egos au #dr schneeplestein #chase brody #marvin the magnificent #jameson jackson #antisepticeye #brigid writes fanfiction #pwtimeline

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punkscowardschampions · 3 years

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Liam & Edie

Liam: [alright so she’s gonna get there super early so the first question is do we want any kind of interaction with his poor mother first or do we save that for later]

Edie: [In my head it’s literally early enough that she could still be asleep but also if it’s the week ‘cos summer, she COULD be going to work, unless she does a moomin and takes it off, so I’m easy with either]

Liam: [yeah I was thinking like it’s technically day 5 but it’s early enough of an arrival you could call it day 4 because we’re extra, so she probably would be asleep but equally, she could’ve woken up early to say happy bday and all that before she has to go to work because I feel like she’d wanna take the day off but he’d be essentially like nah don’t I’ll see you later 1. Because Edie is coming and 2. Because fuck birthdays anyway even before we knew that was a thing that’d be happening]

Liam: [maybe it’s like she was gonna go in and wake him up but surprise we’re already up and chilling in our dead sister’s room and surprise x2 Edie is already here hello]

Edie: [your poor mother, so shooketh, so not prepared for this, at least Edie will be being polite to you because we wanna make a good first impression and we’re not a dick but we are still weird and here at like the arse crack of dawn so hi]

Liam: [at least for our plot purposes she’ll be too caught unawares to spoil the bday secret because up til now his phone wouldn’t be popping off too hard as it’s early and normal people are asleep]

Edie: [can we just take a moment to think about the fact this is the first time actually meeting each other]

Liam: [it blows my mind when I do think about it, honestly, I need to know all about her lewk please because we know how excited you’d be about this gal]

Edie: [I will have to find one because yes, you’ve gotta do your most to be cute]

Liam: [I care very much what colour your hair is and how hard you’re serving even though I know damn well all you’ve done so far is sit on his sister’s floor and talk and talk and TALK because not an exaggeration at all to say he wants to know everything about her, that’s his intense brand]

Liam: [but also what time does the sun come up in late August? Would that be too early to say she arrived before then so they can watch it together like they did the comet]

Edie: [we know we’d show up whenever, try and stop us famalam, so yes that’s definitely a thing we can say happens, I hope you live near-ish though or what time are you setting off from yours hen]

Liam: [ngl if she showed up at 3 or 4am I wouldn’t be surprised and he wouldn’t mind so fill your boots kids, we can totally say he lives close because that isn’t something we’ve given an Ali kid before and like I can see his parents being like the country air and peace and quiet etc will totally help our dying child, as if this is victorian times or whatever]

Edie: [tbf cities are grubby i’m sorrrrrrrrryyy anyway, love that for you, you can live on a busy bit of the countryside, a nice cul-de-sac mayhaps, at least you won’t get murdered lurking in the dark]

Liam: [get on zoopla and find us a cute gaff boo]

Edie: [heheheheh, okay so we know how we’re starting our day, what’s next]

Liam: [I think we’ve just gotta run this and see what pops up as we’re pondering cos y’all are wild could be anything going on, bye to his mum go get ready for work and then go gal you can do some bday cliches when you get back at like 4, Edie’ll know by then, so once his mum has swiftly excited just 👀 because even if you’ve got no feelings it’s super cute that she wants to make a good impression]

Edie: [just smiley blush like what, not commenting on his ma yet ‘cos she didn’t have time to really make an impression so we don’t need to do that ‘can’t have her changing her mind about loving the idea already’]

Liam: [get a bit closer to her so you can look at her even more intensely because she’s being even cuter with her lil blush and smile moment and this was such a good idea thank god ‘don’t change yours either’]

Edie: [just shaking our head hardcore ‘cos can’t speak suddenly]

Liam: [‘she’s not Lexie levels but still off putting, I know’ soz to his poor mum for vaguely giving a shit haha]

Edie: [‘you’ve not met mine’ like probably has on the low but shh the point is we know what all mums are like, in one way or another, ‘yet’ very much implying we cannot be put off tah]

Liam: [‘can I?’ has only just met you and wants to meet your mum, what boy in what universe would ever want that 🚩]

Edie: [my boo says run she says no, nod as enthusiastically purely ‘cos he wants to and we will not be saying no to anything]

Liam: [get even closer to her obvs because she just keeps being adorable with her enthusiasm and he’s obvs about it, just gonna be 👀 a mm away from her face in a sec]

Edie: [at least you can gently pull on the necklace he should be wearing ‘cos sent in the post]

Liam: [and you can kiss better wherever she got hers from even though it’s gonna be healed by now like she made you do at the time]

Edie: [genuinely wasn’t trying to be that bitch but I just googled where heals fastest when cut ‘cos that bitch and he didn’t want pain and bloody drama so and it literally said the mouth LMAO soz Liam I don’t make the rules-]

Liam: [soz not soz that you’re having your first kiss then lads]

Edie: [it’s kinda sweet that you aren’t like, actually kissing, if you know what I mean, like it’s about something else]

Liam: [it’s very pure and very your energy as a couple]

Edie: [you’ll be dying girl but that’s a moment]

Liam: [he genuinely would ask her if she/that was okay because we know she’s not had a boyfriend before because Rio would not stop hammering that point home]

Edie: [we’re so obviously more than okay but likewise not trying to be like OTT and put pressure on him because we’ve been told what Lexie was like, just smile and nod]

Liam: [pull her to her feet and to your room because we’ve not been in there yet but y’all are gonna find this robot dog]

Edie: [get to go through all his childhood things lowkey love that for yous just asking all the questions]

Liam: [and we’re definitely giving it to you which is another moment because he loved it]

Edie: [we’ve gotta pimp that pup up somehow, which is within your wheelhouse deffo ‘what’s he called?’]

Liam: [‘Chip’ and a face like yeah I know I was a kid byeee]

Edie: [just loving on it like a real dog, ‘I fucked with the beast’ ‘cos of course you did lmao]

Liam: [he’s as amused as I was when I read that because of course she did is right, clearly gonna put that film on for her]

Edie: [love that childlike energy for you too, definitely raiding for the good snacks even though it’s so early because why not sugar rush]

Liam: [same because we all know he didn’t get a chill childhood, at least there would be great snacks in because it being his bday and his mum hoping she can rock a birthday tea vibe on the low]

Edie: [sneaky bday energy, god bless, just find out what each others faves are]

Liam: [taking so many cute pics and vids during all this, be jealous everyone]

Edie: [I do have cute bed ones so have a duvet day until the notifs come in]

Liam: [gives him a reason for his phone to be blowing up but that’s not why we’re doing it, he’s just obsessed with the bae’s happiness]

Edie: [I can send them to you if you like]

Liam: [please do]

Edie: [at least you can take his phone under the assumption of taking a picture of him because he’s taken loads of you]

Liam: [and he’s not gonna stop you because he’s not stupid enough to have anything incriminating about stalking your sister on there and obvs isn’t thinking about it being his bday]

Edie: [awkward when you don’t wanna be like oh it’s your birthday but you can’t not be like that because then you’d be acting weird, just pull up whoever’s said happy bday latest like hey but soft]

Liam: [such a genuine shrug like oh yeah that idc]

Edie: [‘why didn’t you tell me?’ but without the 🥺 tone, genuine asking]

Liam: [‘I didn’t want you to know’ true but then you realise how it sounds so ‘it’s pressure on you and it don’t matter to me’]

Edie: [when there is nothing you can say to that but ‘fair enough’ because it is and we’re not gonna force it into a Big Thing ™ ‘we’re still having fun though’ because y’all are that’s facts]

Liam: [‘I can’t remember a birthday this about me’ because we can’t say he’s never had a fun bday ever but he’s never been the centre of attention ‘it is enough, and fun, having you here’]

Edie: [‘that is pressure… without anyone else taking any of the focus at all’ ‘cos we have plenty of siblings so we know what he’s saying, nothing is entirely about you when there’s other kids to still care about, make the robo dog kiss his cheek ‘it can be as fun as you like, and we can stay in all day, or go out too, it’s all up to you’]

Liam: [kiss her on the cheek thank you boy because she’s being a babe]

Edie: [🥰 look as we get up ‘what’s your favourite breakfast?’ like let’s go make that happen]

Liam: [I’m gonna say his fave is a full english/irish because when does anyone ever have the time or energy for all that faff so we can make you feel special here boy]

Edie: [giving you 2 options like we can make it here for you and that could include a shop dash to get all the bits which would be cute OR we can go to a cafe and get it and dine and dash which would also be cute]

Liam: [under duress I am voting for dine and dash because it feels very them and we’ll have loads of time to be domestic when they’re squatting in the holiday cottage etc]

Edie: [then let’s ride lads, the greasiest spoon we can find please]

Liam: [forever a mood]

Edie: [have a cute handhold as you walk, also enjoy the height difference imagine]

Liam: [don’t even I can’t fathom how tall he is, it’s crazy]

Edie: [love that you’re taller than our dad, taller than Buster, flex on ‘em babe you got that reach, it’s very much that picture of ariana and pete ‘cos that’s about y’alls heights lol]

Liam: [not to be that bitch but you would feel so safe and protected like I do get it]

Edie: [and I’m sorry but if you’re even a slightly curvier gal you can’t be with a small lad you feel like you’ll break them lmao]

Liam: [so many gals salty as hell at you rn Edie so soz]

Edie: [you love to see it, don’t get too close or we will fuck you up hens]

Liam: [I’m trying to think if there’s anything else cool they could do while they’re out cos I wanna keep the vibe chill but]

Edie: [we could go to the beach today, or we could find another thing for the ‘main event’ without being like this is what you’re doing for your bday highkey, perhaps something typical childhood birthday like bowling or laser tag that kind of energy]

Liam: [sadly you’re too much a giant to sneak into soft play]

Edie: [yes they usually have an age limit of 10-12 if memory serves and there’s no believing that lmao, although we could force the twins to go at a later date and go in with them]

Liam: [we’ll definitely give you another chance to go]

Edie: [okay so getting a bouncy castle to just put up and then we’re also having jelly and ice cream]

Liam: [green jelly is the best so you can pop off with 👽]

Edie: [i’m gonna try to find vibes deffo]

Liam: [actually love that you’ve gone from hanging out in his house to hanging out in a field and it’s the best birthday he’s had probably ever]

Liam: [kinda wanna let y’all have your first kiss on the bouncy castle but kinda have had that ruined for us by skins]

Edie: [#reclaimit and like, as much as y’all just having a good ass time getting to know each other, the casual tension still]

Liam: [it’s very much NOT a platonic good time and we all know it]

Edie: [we are not here to deny what’s here tah]

Liam: [only question is how far we’re taking it because y’all could hook up on it but you could also not]

Edie: [hmm, on the one hand, we absolutely would ‘cos wanna but on the other, I can see y’all making a slightly bigger thing out of it without you know, lighting candles lol, but you get me]

Liam: [same actually because you’re very romantic]

Edie: [right? Like it’ll deffo be in your way still but it’s your first time both of yas so you can make a thing of it if you bloody well like]

Liam: [and no shade to anyone because I’m not saying they should but not enough of our ships do make it a thing™️ because they just carried away by their feels and hormones lol, he has that degree of restraint, albeit for a sad reason so you might as well use it]

Edie: [no wonder you get so caught up in this babe, casual fairytale]

Liam: [me too gurl, me too, casually too invested in this doomed couple nbd]

Edie: [so sad, soz guys we’re rude]

Liam: [anything else cute we wanna do before your mum gets back and makes you do the cliche bday cake moment and you can get the bae to blow out your candles with you because have all the wishes my love]

Edie: [I think this gives us a good framework for how it’s gonna go, lots of cuteness, doing the least but making it the most]

Liam: [thank god it’s still summer so nobody can force you back home because you’ll both be gutted]

Edie: [fight us fam we clearly aren’t going anywhere, I like to think you got something for his mum whilst out even though it’s probably a bottle of wine neither of you can buy so bit cheeky but still cute]

Liam: [that’s adorable af, his mum can’t be mad we know she knows him and his sister did a lot worse, even if she doesn’t know it all but what does make me laugh is that she’d blatantly not let Edie stay the night because of how obvs underage she is and it’s like oh hun we’ve had many many opportunities to hook up all day but sure]

Edie: [love when parents draw that line, like this is why teens hook up in cars and anywhere else they can, also tis possible in daylight but god bless you for trying hun]

Liam: [so many parents do and there’s literally so many worse things he could be doing and in Liam’s case has done but pop off]

Edie: [oh when this baby is announced lmao sozzzzzzz]

Liam: [she’s gonna be UPSET, but in the now you can walk her home and that’s always cute af]

Edie: [so gentlemanly, also gonna bring you in impromptu to meet Ali like hello mother]

Liam: [the levels he’d just wanna stay because technically not breaking the rules to be over at the cali gaff but contrary to what I just said about baby Libi he doesn’t actually wanna upset his mum so he wouldn’t]

Edie: [we’ll let you be good today, of all days, let me post my ting and know the last pic is like now in a miss you already way]

Liam: [I’m cackling imagining Grace appearing like the extra child she is]

Edie: [curtain-twitching like a baby nosy hoe, I lol]

Liam: [thank god Lexie isn’t really crazy or you’d have to look out for her being at the window too]

Edie: [we ain’t afraid of you it’s definitely the other way round rn]

Liam: [hilarious considering how pure you’ve been all day]

Edie: tell me when you get home

Liam: I don’t want to get home

Edie: If you go somewhere I have to come

Liam: I know 😇 I promise

Liam: I’ll come back for you when it’s a new day

Edie: I’m not wishing this one away, I didn’t

Edie: I don’t want it to end

Liam: me either, but no spoilers or the wish will glitch and we won’t get what we did ask for

Edie: 😶

Edie: and we’ve got to follow the rules or you’ll turn into a 🎃 tonight

Liam: a massive me sized 🎃 do you think or one you could carry round

Edie: I could live in a you sized 🎃 but I’m not sure how comfortable that would be for you

Edie: but what if I dropped you if you were normal sized 😭

Liam: I’ve seen you on a bouncy castle, you’re not clumsy

Edie: despite your best attempts to floor me

Liam: you gave as good

Edie: yeah

Edie: I hope so

Liam: there was no cracking under the pressure

Edie: then you’ll have me back

Edie: and kiss me again

Liam: we can go back for as long as it stays up, then I’ll kiss you somewhere else

Edie: please

Edie: and you felt it

Edie: the kiss, it was more than nothing

Liam: I wouldn't have done it if it was nothing, how I know you feel is important and I'm not gonna hurt you

Edie: I know

Edie: I trust you

Edie: I’m just being annoying trying to make you say it

Liam: you couldn’t annoy me if you was trying, I’m on too big of a high from meeting you

Edie: I had the best day

Liam: I’ve gotta say thanks for today, meaning tomorrow’ll have an edge on it for being all about what you wanna do instead of me getting older

Edie: you don’t

Edie: it was mutual

Edie: you even let me help you blow out your candles

Liam: if I didn’t it’s 🎂 wasted you gave me the best 🎁 by being there, right before you were I still thought you might not show

Edie: a tiny part of me wasn’t sure

Edie: what if it messed everything we’d built up

Edie: but it didn’t

Liam: yeah, that was on my mind too, I’m either too much or not enough when I can’t moderate it how I do online, faker than my 🦎🧠 has got me used to acting, and found out for it sooner

Liam: but it wasn’t like that today

Edie: it’s easier when you can code the best response

Edie: put whatever skin on it works best in that moment

Edie: but this was better than anything I’ve made or seen in cyberspace so far

Liam: your fave 🤖 is a compliment I'll take any time, like

Edie: don’t tell Chip

Liam: he’s got more to rub in my face, he got to stay, I wouldn’t start it

Edie: [pic of him tucked up casually]

Edie: bit smug, tbh

Liam: in the world we just woke him up from I could be 💔😭 he’ll have to try harder now

Edie: [a pic of him up on her titties like mr steal yo gurl]

Edie: 😱😱

Edie: I’m gonna need to train him

Liam: I remember him as naughtier than me

Edie: checks out

Edie: you’re very 😇

Liam: if it was up to him you’d be sleeping on the bouncy castle together, however many rules it breaks

Edie: I think it’d be cosy

Edie: tomorrow though, we can have a nap

Liam: waiting until my ma falls asleep and I can sneak out, it’d be tomorrow

Edie: it’s not breaking the rules, if you’re sure

Edie: you can leave a note for when she wakes up

Liam: if you are, we’re doing what you want

Edie: obviously I want to

Liam: have to keep you up half the night first

Edie: you’d already done that without trying

Edie: but I’m not turning down more

Liam: me or the beast 😏

Edie: I’m not saying you’re covered in brown fur

Edie: but you are that big so

Edie: little column A little column B 😏

Liam: I’ll check the coat cupboard, might get me closer to ticking both boxes for you

Edie: 😂

Edie: you tick every box, you don’t need to kidnap my dad to make that happen

Liam: don’t be so quick to say no to something I know you’d like

Edie: 😍 okay, only if we see him on the way

Edie: tomorrow ain’t about him

Liam: 🎼

Liam: I should’ve got you to sing something other than happy birthday, lock my ma in as part of your fan club

Edie: karaoke night 👩‍🎤👨‍🎤

Liam: she’d have your arm off, to take you up on the idea and to take the 🎤 off you for her turn

Edie: I’ll bring the machine and plenty of 90s bops

Liam: what would your first pick be

Edie: 🤔

Edie: I’d have to pick My Heart Will Go On to win your ma over, obviously

Edie: assuming she’s not fuming I’ve stolen it

Liam: too 😤 at the ending as if everyone don’t know the boat sinks and loads of people die

Liam: go for the Whitney song, the film’s got a lower body count

Edie: just poor Whit IRL

Edie: 😎 he’s no beast but

Liam: you don’t want no posh 🤴 sort over a handworking lad who keeps coming through for you, I keep saying you’re smart

Edie: makes my motives sound a bit evil

Edie: nothing but true ❤️ works remember

Liam: but you wouldn’t fall in love with someone you’ve got nothing in common with, there’d be no connection

Edie: true

Liam: I’d never call out your motives as evil, even a bit

Edie: you can if I am ever 👻👺🧙‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧛‍♀️👹💀 to you

Liam: that’s more far fetched than you and 🤴

Edie: who did you have a crush on as a kid

Liam: 🧚

Edie: Good choice

Liam: - as many points off as deserved for Lexie and I’ve still got proven good taste

Edie: I get it

Edie: I can see the appeal

Liam: being able to fly is enough of one

Edie: She looks like she might 🎯 a bitch for you but she’s the Wendy really

Liam: there's no appeal to Lex and no need to try and find it

Edie: 🏹🏹🏹💘

Edie: She’s 💀 to us

Liam: and soon to the rest of her mates including your sister

Edie: I hadn’t thought about her all day

Edie: Or anyone else

Edie: just you

Liam: you don't have to think about her ever again

Edie: I won’t show up and 😭 at her ⚰️🪦 when we bury her

Edie: We’ve got plans

Liam: I only mentioned her at all as a - bc you're such a massive + but I probably should've said that without her name being dropped in

Edie: nah, not even mentioning her is gonna affect how +++ this all is

Liam: it makes me seem like I've got her on my mind though and I don't want you to think I do

Edie: you can tell me what really is then

Edie: even if that’s tinkerbell

Edie: or that fry-up still

Liam: you are, and when my ma is gonna go the fuck to bed so I can kiss you again

Edie: I can feel the 👻 of you, your lips touching mine and where your hands were and where I wanted them to be next

Edie: it’s making me wish I were 🧚 so I could find a drowsiness potion to give her or just sprinkle some pixie dust on you so you could fly in my window right now

Edie: weren’t my 🎂 wish though, no spoilers ever 🤐

Edie: I could kiss you all night

Edie: And all day

Edie: But I have got other things we can do, even though it’s my day tomorrow, can’t be that selfish

Liam: not kissing all day or all night if that’s what you’ve decided but long enough for my hands to go where you wanted them next, yeah? i’d say it’d more be selfish if you didn’t share the complete thought with me

Edie: You don’t know exactly what I want?

Edie: It felt like you knew to me

Liam: it sounds better if I say I don’t and get it right instead of saying I do and getting it wrong

Edie: You haven’t got any of this wrong, trust me

Liam: honestly didn’t feel like I had but my instincts ain’t as easy to trust as you are

Edie: I promise I’ll tell you if you ever do

Edie: but you aren’t going to

Liam: that’s the connection I was going on about before, useful for the beginning, middle and the happy ending

Edie: You’re better than any lad in any film

Liam: you’re all I wanna see on film

Edie: bring a 📹

Liam: look for the ⏺️ light flashing in your window

Edie: like a 🌠

Liam: and ⏰ which won’t trigger 🚨 before we can get you out

Edie: I have had previous experience sneaking out, even if not to meet boys

Edie: that bit, I can do

Liam: there’s shit you can’t do, don’t believe that bit for a sec

Edie: 😏 you know

Edie: as my sister tried to make me sound like a total child

Liam: she knows you different to me, you’re a separate person to her than how you exist when we’re together

Edie: yeah

Edie: that’s how she likes to keep us, still about 7 in her head

Liam: my sister went the other way, she wasn’t waiting round for me to grow up when she could tell me to hurry up and do x z or z thing with her

Edie: it’s cool, that she didn’t treat you like an incapable kid

Edie: better, anyway, right?

Liam: but sometimes I wish she’d let me be one, it don’t matter, you can’t turn round like not today I wanna go to the park with my mates, not with lads I already knew were gonna be gone long before her, not to do fuck all instead of a crazy scheme

Edie: being ‘grown’ is only fun if it’s how you wanna do it, that’s definitely the main draw of not being a kid, doing exactly what you want and when

Edie: less shine if it isn’t your scheme

Liam: I think it’d be 🌟✨ to be looked after, but I get it’d fade for me if I had a sister like yours

Edie: you already charmed her, she’ll extend the courtesy to you now too I bet

Liam: it’s too late for me to start living like that

Edie: not if you want it

Edie: we can do it

Liam: I ain’t had a family in so long, I dunno if I could do it

Edie: we don’t need mine

Edie: we can have our own

Liam: can we

Edie: yes

Edie: and we can do anything and everything you missed out on

Liam: what happens if nothing changes and I’m stuck as a 🤖

Edie: if that happens then a baby won’t

Liam: and you’ll have to leave

Edie: no

Liam: I’m not taking no for an answer or asking anyone to love me if I can’t love them back

Edie: I can do it

Liam: your ++++ can’t make up for such a massive - in me

Edie: don’t give in yet

Edie: we have nothing but time

Liam: I’m saying it before I give in to you and believe we can do this

Edie: okay

Edie: I am listening

Liam: I’m not dying, I don’t get to be as selfish as my sister and I wanna care more than my parents

Edie: I love that about you

Edie: not enough people give a shit about anyone who isn’t themselves

Edie: or act like they’re a saint if the list includes the person they’re fucking too

Liam: we can’t do things just to try and force me to feel, even though I want to

Edie: it’s up to you

Edie: all of it

Edie: I don’t want to force you to do anything

Liam: it’s not, it’s equally up to you

Edie: Kinda

Edie: but I already feel things for you

Liam: I’m not gonna let your feelings force you to do anything same as you’re not gonna let what I don’t do it for me

Edie: I won’t let this fail

Liam: me either

Edie: does 16 feel any different

Liam: only bc of how I celebrated it

Edie: well I like that 🥰

Edie: I’m getting you a gift, just give me time

Liam: you’ve given me loads of 🎁🎁

Edie: nothing I could tie up with a bow

Liam: you could do a 🎀 in your hair before you come out, but it probably won’t help with your sister thinking you’re a kid still

Edie: 🤞 she shouldn’t be seeing me

Liam: or the 📹 footage of you 👧🏼

Edie: not for her 👀

Edie: or anyone else’s if we decide

Liam: if they’ve not had their fix of you today that’s their 💔

Edie: I’m for you

Liam: I’m buzzing not to be afraid of that, maybe normal is overrated this time

Edie: maybe it’s just scary

Liam: you’re not

Edie: 👺

Liam: you’re 🔥 people are scared of it but it’s not about you, it’s a them thing

Edie: I could cry

Edie: again

Edie: I’ll burn it all down

Liam: you’ve been crying

Edie: only happy crying

Liam: you nearly did force a fear response there for a sec

Edie: I didn’t mean to baby

Liam: I know, it was a me thing too

Edie: how’d it feel though, as it nearly happened

Liam: I was about to leave and make sure you were alright, I forgot about happy crying

Edie: 🚨🚨🚨

Edie: I can’t remember the last time I felt that, actually

Liam: it’s the kind of day for it, I can’t remember spending this much time with someone and thinking it wasn’t enough

Edie: Me either

Edie: I usually zone out after a sentence or two

Edie: it’s enough to know we have nothing worth discussing

Edie: sounds fake, how hard I’ve gone here, but I never care enough

Liam: it’d sound fake how hard I relate to not giving a fuck about anyone or anything in years before this

Edie: people reckon it’d be freeing, not relating, not being connected to anyone else

Edie: and I guess it is

Edie: but it’s boring before it’s anything else

Liam: and I’d come across as certifiably crazy if I tried to explain what walking round as me with everyone else seeming so unreal was like

Edie: people are idiots

Edie: they wouldn’t take the time to get it

Edie: just take it as a 🔫 admission or some shit

Liam: they’d only take the time to feel bad for me, I’m down for no more of that as long as I live

Edie: fuck that shit

Liam: yeah

Edie: when school starts, we’re gonna fuck shit up

Edie: without a 🔫

Liam: we should go in the night before

Edie: dedicated 😍

Liam: not saying I’ve got my ear to my ma’s door at the minute bc that’d be weird but I am, yeah

Edie: if you want something to listen to

Edie: [a song that’s clearly about today]

Liam: if you wanna hear a review I’m gonna need longer than it clearly took you to write that

Liam: I seriously don’t know what to say

Edie: it’d sound pretentious to say I think in lyrics but there’s always a tune in my head so

Edie: when you’re as inspiring as you are

Liam: when I can finally get out of here I know exactly what to do, putting words to my reaction to you being everything you are can wait

Edie: I’ll do my best to wait

Edie: but that sounds 🥴

Liam: I’m not waiting, I’ll make sure she don’t hear me go

Edie: I believe in you 😶

Liam: [obvs do that and show up to her window because we all know you can and it wouldn’t take you very long]

Edie: [question is are you ground floor music room or your room and Billie better be asleep lmao]

Liam: [how do you want it boo cos both are moods]

Edie: [I say go for your room so you have to climb and you have to control your excitement ‘til you too are out of the window]

Liam: [soz that he is gonna kiss you literally immediately though like as he’s coming through the window so you really are gonna have to control your excitement gal and also your volume]

Edie: [good luck with that sweetie, love this for you two]

Liam: [just fully making out rn nbd]

Edie: [sorry we must literally]

Liam: [do leave before you wake Billie up though lads]

Edie: [you gotta because we do not have that much chill to get any further than this]

Liam: [it’s been an overwhelming af day we’ll allow the lack of chill and get you away from the fam]

Edie: [run babies run, we’re so 😍]

Liam: [get back to the bouncy castle because y’all are 10000% those bitches who would legit kiss for hours just for the joy of it]

Edie: [you’ll be dying but in the best way]

Liam: [like who else is gonna be fully savouring this bit for what it is and how it feels in its own right, we know it’s you]

Edie: [you’ve been feeling fuck all, you deserve it, we will be putting across as much]

Liam: [and she’s never felt like this before either so we don’t need to be rushing anything rn or ever]

Edie: [exactly, ugh, so cute, you definitely brought a blanket before you ran]

Liam: [the adorable snuggles you can have bye]

Edie: [‘this was the best day ever’ so sincerely]

Liam: [just nod because we very much agree to a speechless level]

Edie: [sing to him IRL but not in a cringe way lol, a chill one]

Liam: [that is everything though]

Edie: [just that happy soz]

Liam: [not at all soz]

Edie: [what a time, deffo think one of you should get in a bit of trouble for being out right now, even if they can’t find you ‘til they do, like either his mum or someone in cali gaff wakes up like hello?]

Liam: [maybe his mum because it do be her rule and she do be extra rn in terms of her emotions and realistically even if Billie did wake up she’s not gonna dob you in]

Edie: [seems legit, how would he wanna deal, ‘cos his phone can be blowing up as soon as she realises]

Liam: [sadly he’s probably gonna have to go back because he’s not ever a fuck you mum kinda bitch, unlike 99% of the other characters lol, but he’d be leaving it as long as he could]

Edie: [we understand even if this back and forth is a trip, the bouncy castle was nearby so you’re fine]

Liam: [it would be very obvious at least that he does NOT want to go, so he’s not just messing you about intentionally gal]

Edie: [whatever we might be thinking, we know it’s not that energy like you’re not a fuckboy tah everyone]

Liam: [when your mum is overprotective as hell but you’re still gonna die soz hun]

Edie: [it’s very rude to everyone you included hun]

Liam: [and you can’t even talk to the bae cos she’s gonna be popping off at you for ages]

Edie: [we can skip but I’ll just do some immediate afters from her first]

Edie: sorry sorry sorry

Edie: hope you don’t get in so much shit we can’t meet up later

Edie: just tell me when you can

Liam: I won’t, I’ll talk her round, don’t worry

Liam: when she lets me talk

Edie: does she hate me

Liam: I didn’t tell her I was with you, she’s only 😡 at me

Edie: what did you say that she believed

Liam: my mates were 🥺 bc I’d been with you all day

Edie: fair play, boys are clingy like that

Liam: she’s have an unhappy cry and we’ll move past it

Edie: should I have told you no?

Liam: you didn’t know she was gonna find out, I should’ve

Edie: I didn’t want to, I didn’t want you to want to either

Edie: but I feel bad if I make her cry

Liam: it isn’t really about me not being here, it’s about my sister not, this is what she gets like every year

Edie: yeah, of course

Edie: it’s not about us

Edie: be nice if there was something we could do now but I know that’s probably not the case either

Liam: she’ll feel better after she’s shouted at me

Edie: 🔇

Liam: [a gap while that’s going on, such fun I’m sure]

Liam: it’s sorted

Edie: you okay?

Liam: if you can’t hurt me, she ain’t gonna

Edie: are you tired though

Edie: as it’s my day, I can make you have a nap, if you need it

Liam: you’re gonna make me 😴 when there’s 0 limits on what we could do

Liam: serious

Edie: if that’s a challenge to make you 😴 with everything we’re GONNA do

Edie: then challenge accepted

Liam: how much of a challenge are you gonna make it for me to find out what that everything is

Edie: as much of a challenge to be fun

Edie: can’t have you getting bored as well as 😴

Liam: it’ll be a fun challenge too proving I’m not tired or bored

Edie: well, when we can go out again at more sociable hours

Edie: you can start with this [clue] to come find me and prove it

Liam: ok but until then [so many pictures of people with their eyes crossed out from whatever his mum has to read and deface or like their entire photo album tbh because MISS YOU SO SO MUCH] you can have this

Edie: we need a 🏠 of our own

Edie: missing you is so

Edie: intense

Liam: I'll start hunting for a not too trashed empty round and about we can stay in until the holiday cottages clear out

Edie: how’d you guess

Edie: I told you I’d stay busy

Edie: you still have to find me so not a total fail on my behalf

Liam: I didn't, I promise, we must just think really alike and want the same things

Liam: when did you even do this

Edie: sitting still is not a speciality

Edie: and i’ve got a lapel mic so I could record and 🚴‍♀️

Edie: clearly need a go-pro for streaming purposes but you would’ve been 😱 to see that sudden POV change

Liam: I ain't scratched the surface of what you're capable of, have I

Edie: 🤔

Edie: keep going and find out, I reckon

Liam: 😏

Edie: [selfie like 😁]

Liam: I dunno how I'm gonna get used to looking at your 😁 face all the time when we live together, something else to find out

Edie: I could get a 🤡 mask

Liam: we both know the smile underneath is more deadly to me

Edie: you’re deadly and you could kill me

Edie: but I promised

Liam: and you’d never break a promise to me

Edie: never ever

Edie: you’ve got the blood to prove it

Liam: when can I solve the first clue

Edie: is your mum going to work today?

Liam: unless she pulls a sickie

Edie: whenever she’s up for the day, you can go

Edie: even if she’s not mad at me, I don’t want her to be mad at you

Liam: if I leave then, you’ve gotta go sleep for a while now

Edie: I don’t know if I can

Edie: my 🧠 & 💗 are vibrating, that’s what it feels like

Liam: yeah, meaning the comedown is gonna hurt when it does catch up to you and I don’t want you to

Edie: I’ll sleep with you

Liam: my nightmares’ll wake you up

Edie: then I can protect you

Liam: not from what’s already happened

Edie: but from getting stuck there

Liam: seeing me like that is gonna be

Liam: you won’t like it

Edie: I know but I can’t help if I don’t see it

Edie: all of it

Liam: alright, I did say it was a good thing you don’t close your eyes to what everyone else does

Edie: [👀 pic always]

Edie: If you go to sleep, I’ll feel it and I will too

Edie: then I can come find you

Liam: I’ll do it if you sing to me again

Edie: [call so you can do that and both have some sleep]

Liam: [love that for you, keep being adorable forever please lads]

Edie: [so that was my main vibe for today ‘cos she did say she’d look, it should be crappy though and not the one that you find that you actually love straight away so you don’t need to stay here, but you can spend the day there]

Liam: [and you can have fun fucking it up at the end cos you’re not gonna stay]

Edie: [exactly, a more genuine squat vibe this time, so you can get all the creepy shots and footage, as well as just causing some genuine carnage]

Liam: [I’ll see if one of the million pics I have of him holding a camera has the right energy and send it to you]

Edie: [woopwoop, likewise, a more 😈 day but definitely still cute]

Liam: [can’t not be cute ever]

Edie: [tried to fight it but we can’t]

1 note · View note

thecandywrites · 4 years

Text

Jewel Of The North Part 6

Now that things are nice and happy and peaceful, what a shame it would be for the floor to start dropping and our little love birds get thrown back into reality. Well as real as this fantasy can get. lol. All this sweet fluff needs some angst. For the plot. For the balance.

How I feel now that I’ve built up everything, lets knock a few things down and see how it stands. Don’t worry too bad, this will have a happy ending. Eventually. Hehehe. Always thank you to @monstersandmaw for sharing ice orcs with me. Enjoy.

Jewel Of The North

Part 6

You woke up on Noah’s shoulder, drool pooling around your open mouth. You had slept like the dead. Not even the gods could have woken you up before you were ready. You noticed your drool and wiped it up with the sheet and no sooner had you done that before Noah stirred, his arms tightening around you before he rolled over to his side, facing you.

“Good morning.” You cooed and all you got was grunting hum and a crooked grin as Noah didn’t even open his eyes, he just hugged you tighter for a moment before he used his hold on you to bring you up closer to his face and used his sense of touch to find your face before cupping your face and leaning towards it before his lips finally caressed and pressed into yours, the most delicious moan spilling from his throat as his body folded over yours, partially pinning you to the bed as the kiss deepened and you hooked your leg around his hip before he pressed his manhood into your center and you got to feel all of that amazing morning wood and just as your hand snaked down his front to the base of your prize and he slipped his hand under your shirt to fondle your breast, there was a loud, insistent knocking on the front door and you both whined in protest as you paused.

“Whoever it is, they can wait.” Noah insisted as he rolled all the way over you and started grinding himself at your center as he kissed you deeper before you heard someone knocking very loudly on the back door.

“Noah! I can’t find the spare!” You heard a female voice holler before you heard Sakura wake up and go downstairs before she opened the door.

“Daddy! Aunt Sesi is here!” Sakura informed you both.

“Oh may all the gods damn it.” Noah growled as he rested his head on your breast before he nuzzled into it as he held onto you. Reluctant to see one of his sisters which got you to snicker a laugh.

“Go away, we’re busy up here.” Noah complained. But not loud enough for anyone but you to hear.

“Noah?” Sesi called up.

“He’s in bed with my new Mama!” Sakura informed her proudly.

“Oh!” Sesi replied. “So she stayed the night?” Sesi asked.

“Yup, they spent all night making me a little brother or sister.” Sakura revealed excitedly as you started snickering as Noah looked up at you questioningly as you shook your head ‘no’. ‘I’m on birth control’ you breathed as Noah nodded in understanding.

“Come on, let me meet your sister before Sakura tells her much else.” You urged him as Noah reluctantly rolled off of you so you could at least put a bra on and get some pants on before you both came down the stairs before Sesi did her best to look around Noah to see you.

“Hi, sorry to wake you guys up, I had no idea you’d be here, I didn’t see another car so…” She tried to excuse herself.

“It’s ok, I didn’t rent a car while I’m here and I’ve been staying with Taylor Kizzo and her family, up until obviously last night. I’m Zara Kingsley by the way,” you graciously answered as you gave her a pleasant smile and shook her hand.

“And you’re the priestess of Aura?” She asked excitedly.

“I am, only I’m a private one though, I don’t belong to any individual temple but I am in the Rushaka order,” you confirmed.

“Oh, well, that’s still pretty awesome.” She smiled.

“Otherwise my day job is- I’m an LMT and I run my own practice out of my home.” You volunteered.

“Oh that’s wonderful, so are you going to be moving your practice up here then?” She asked expectantly as she looked from you to Noah who gave her a softened warning look because Sesi was the nosiest of all his sisters.

“Noah and I still have to discuss that.” You answered delicately.

“Oh well you better hurry because winter is coming early this year and if you’re not moved up here by September, October by the latest, you won’t be able to until spring next year.” She insisted as you bit your lips and a forced smile to keep yourself from arguing about it because maybe in your mind, he could just move down with you in the fall before he got snowed in up here.

“Hey, can you let her at least get some coffee and breakfast in her before you start grilling her and playing 20 questions?” Noah butted in as he gently tried to usher you into the kitchen as he gave you an apologetic look before you tried to fall into a usual routine.

“Sorry, we’ve never had a priestess or an LMT in the family before. So, Mom said that Noah flew you in so that’s how you met, why were you visiting here in the first place?” Sesi asked.

“Because I’m good friends with Taylor and decided to come up and visit her and treat her and her family.” You said simply.

“Well I just came to tell you that Mom invited Neena’s family too tomorrow so you’ll get to meet everyone.” Sesi revealed happily and if you had been drinking coffee you would have choked on it and spit it out comically.

Stay calm Zara, don’t freak out, don’t freak out. Don’t. Fucking. Freak. Fuck.

“Oh, ok, how many people will there be in total then?” You asked.

“Like all of Neena’s family or just her immediate family?” Noah asked as your stomach dropped. Oh gods please help you. How was this going to go? ‘Hi, I’m a stranger here to replace your daughter and take your precious granddaughter a thousand miles away’? They’re not gonna like that. Not one bit.

“Uh, just her parents and her siblings, and their kids so far.” Sesi reassured both of you before her phone rang.

“Hey Mom,” she greeted.

“Where are you? I need you to help me with the dinner tomorrow.”

“Oh, I’m over at Noah’s...meeting Zara.” Sesi admitted a little sheepishly.

“Actually can I talk to your mom?” You asked her.

“Sure,” Sesi handed her phone over.

“Hey Nana, it’s Zara, how are you this morning?” You asked pleasantly.

“Oh I’m good, I’m sorry if she’s bothering you, she wanted to get the inside scoop on you from Noah.” Nana explained.

“It’s ok. So Sesi told me that you invited Neena’s family too?” You asked trying to remain calm and pleasant even though your anxiety was whirling in your chest and dread filled your soul as you got a really bad feeling about this and your instincts were telling you not to go but you knew, logically at least, that the sooner you met them, the better.

“Oh yes, they’re so excited to meet you.” Nana reassured you.

“Ok, so how many people are coming to meet me?” You asked before she started listing people off and you quickly had to write it down.

“Ok, so what should I bring?” You asked.

“Whatever you want to, everyone’s bringing a dish to pass so don’t worry about feeding all of us yourself, this is us trying to welcome you not you begging for a chance to be welcome with us. It’s just a casual family dinner.” Nana tried to reassure you but your unease did not leave you. You needed to win them over. You needed them to meet you and like you otherwise prying Sakura away from them would be like pulling teeth with no anesthesia. You needed to prove to them that you were trustworthy and that Sakura at least would be in safe in your hands, that you could take care of her and Noah and care for them like a good and proper mother and wife.

“Ok...What should I not bring?” You asked.

“Well Alorna already said she was bringing crab so don’t bring that, otherwise, bring whatever you want. But don’t feel you have to get too fancy, it’s just family. What would you bring if it was a family dinner with your parents and your siblings? And whatever that would be, just bring that.” She urged you.

“Ok,” You agreed.

“And you can call me on your phone too, I don’t get that many calls from people I don’t know.” She gently and warmly invited you.

“Will do.” You confirmed.

“We’ll see you tomorrow then and I’ll call if I have any questions, talk to you later Nana, bye.” You assured Summer before you handed the phone back to Sesi.

“Ok, so I need to go to Taylor’s just to pick up my luggage and toiletries and things and then I need you to take me to a really big, really good grocery store, preferably that big box store.” You requested.

“Why? You just went grocery shopping the other day.” He asked.

“Because I need to make a gosbe.” You answered as you tried not to sound as panicked as you felt unease settle over you.

“What’s a gosbe?” Noah asked curiously as Sesi seemed keen on knowing the answer to that too.

“You guys don’t have gosbies up here?” You frowned in confusion as you looked from Noah to Sesi and they both shook their heads no. Which didn’t make sense. Everyone who was even partially orc knew about gosbies. Right?

“Uh, no, never heard of it.” Noah shook his head which made you take a deep long inhale through your nose before you measured-ly blew your breath out to keep yourself from hyperventilating. How did they not know about gosbies?

“Ok, so in my clan and just about every other clan I’ve ever been in contact with have a tradition called a gosbe, gosbies are wooing feasts for courting individuals. Like, what you had on Tuesday? That was a gosbe.” You informed Noah who blinked in surprise and was suddenly beaming an excited smile as realization dawned on him.

“And what it is- is basically the prospective mate cooks a feast not for just the intended but for their family to prove that they can cook and provide and it’s wooing- but with food.” You explained.

“Ooh!” Noah realized. “I’m so sorry, I am so dense, I didn’t realize that’s what that was on Tuesday. I mean it worked, I was ready to nail you to the table, and then the couch and then the wall and then to the bed.” Noah apologized as he pointed around his house which got you and Sesi to laugh and Sesi to go midnight in her own blush.

“Why would you nail her down? So she doesn’t leave?” Sakura asked.

“No baby, it’s one of those terms that has two meanings. I’ll let your dad explain what he means, but probably later.” You pacified her.

“Well I better go and help mom, what do you think you’ll bring tomorrow?” Sesi asked.

“What was your favorite dish on Tuesday Noah?” You asked him.

“Uh- everything, it was by far, the best meal of my life, you could bring anything you made on Tuesday and it would be a big hit, but maybe not the tomahawk steaks, that would get way too expensive.” Noah reassured you.

“Ok, so mom told me that just the leftovers in the fridge on Wednesday were really out of this world good, so I second that.” Sesi piped up.

“Ok, well then for sure I want to make a mushroom risotto then, some candied yams would be good.” You began to think it over.

“And the veggies! Those were really good!” Sakura insisted as Sesi seemed touched that you got her to like veggies which is a challenge for any child.

“Well then definitely veggies.” You happily agreed.

“Awesome, I can’t wait to eat it all, let me get out of your hair, and sorry for barging into the house, I’ll just see myself out, see you tomorrow.” Sesi excused herself.

“OK, see you then,” Noah nodded.

“Bye, it was really nice to meet you.” You called after her.

“Likewise!” She cheered before she quickly left.

“We need to get cleaned up then.” Noah said before he put on a movie for Sakura to keep her occupied then grabbed your hand and led you upstairs to get “a quick shower”, a task made a little more complicated with Noah pinning you to the wall of his shower to pick up where you had left off before you had gotten so rudely interrupted by Sesi this morning and you had to bite down on Noah’s shoulder to keep from crying out too loudly which turned Noah on and up to 11 as you almost feared he was going to fuck you through the shower wall but to hear his pleasured grunting moan in your ear as he pumped you so full of cum you felt beyond stuffed, was amazing, especially to see it drip down the drain from where it was seeping out of you.

“So are those strings I feel inside you- your birth control?” He asked as he slowly let you down because he was big enough he could feel them at your cervix.

“Yup, I have an IUD, it’s my second one, the first I had in for five years, this one, I’ve had in for three and I love how effective it is.” You beamed.

“No buns in the oven yet big boy.” You winked as you clicked your teeth which got Noah to start laughing.

“Yes Ma’am.” He laughed before he kissed you sweetly before you guys got dressed and got Sakura dressed and loaded you and Sakura up in his truck and drove you where you wanted to go before you had him stop at the liquor store so you could get some really good beer and some other goodies and while Noah tried to pay for most of it, at least with the food, you absolutely insisted on paying for the alcohol because it was ridiculously expensive and on the way back to his house you dropped by Taylor’s house to get your bags.

“I’ll be two minutes,” you told Noah and Sakura as you quickly got out of Noah’s truck to go inside and grab everything you needed.

“Well hello stranger.” Taylor greeted you happily.

“Hey, I just came to get my bag real quick, Noah and Sakura are waiting in the truck.” You greeted as you came in and gave a her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“So? How was it?” She pressed as she followed you around helping you pack what you could.

“Amazing!” You sang happily. “I’m having trouble walking straight, that’s for sure.” You cackled which got her and gasp and cackle with you.

But no sooner had you finally gathered your things and your toiletries before Doug came hauling ass into the driveway, dressed in his nicest suit, his hair slicked back with the biggest, most obnoxious bouquet of flowers and acted like Noah was invisible as Noah just frowned as he watched Doug hurry into Taylor’s house as his own gut was telling him something was off.

“Baby stay in the truck.” Noah urged Sakura as he got out of the truck.

“Oh, hey Doug, what are you doing here?” Taylor asked when she saw him in her house, hunting through it for you as you were talking to her from inside the kid’s bathroom where you had put most of your toiletries.

“I’m here to see Zara,” he answered.

“Uh, she just came to get some of her stuff, she’s about to leave again.” Taylor told him as you frowned inside the bathroom.

‘What’s going on?’ You breathed to Taylor before she slipped into the bathroom with you.

“For the last two days he’s practically been camped out at the house waiting for you to come back. I think he got wind of the settlement because he’s been talking about how he’s willing to do anything you ask him to do because he’ll do anything it takes to be your kept man. Like he’s become obsessive.” Taylor whispered warningly to you.

“Damn it.” You growled angrily. “It’s Alex, all over again.” You spat in disgust.

“Noah is waiting in the truck, in the driveway right now, like this is the worst time to ever try to make a big romantic gesture on Doug’s part, did Greg just like, text him the second I came in the house?” You asked.

“Oh I can guarantee it, Greg has his brother’s back and even though I pointed out that if you guys had had more chemistry, you would have reached out to him on your own but they won’t listen.” Taylor revealed.

“This isn’t going to end well. Like I was riding Noah’s glorious dick only a few hours ago and it was the ride of my life and from where I stand, it would take an act of the gods to get me off Noah. I mean I’m meeting his family and Neena’s family tomorrow for crying out loud. Like Noah and I are together- together, dating, courting, like I’m making a gosbe for his family tomorrow, he ain’t got a snowball’s chance in hell.” You complained in a whisper.

“So what should we do?” Taylor whispered back.

“You know what, let’s just do this and get this over with, take this stuff and get into Noah’s truck and only Noah’s truck and then get the police on standby if you think Doug will make things physical.” You urged her.

“Won’t let you down.” Taylor reassured you as she grabbed what she could as you followed her out, your bags rolling behind you.

“Hey Doug, what are you doing here?” You asked him just as Noah came into the house but was still in the entry way as he made his way towards your voice.

“I’ve come to sweep you off your feet.” Doug announced as you looked from him to the flowers and you started to get flashbacks. Bad ones. And suddenly adreniline was pumping into your system as your fight or flight response started to kick in.

“Yeah, my feet are no longer available to be swept off from.” You informed him evenly.

“Look, I was having a really bad day on Monday and I had a headache and I wasn’t at my best and I’ve been slammed at work all week and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to get back in touch with you. Please give me another chance to prove that I can be whatever you want me to be and whatever you need me to be.” Doug desperately pleaded as he came forward, the flowers in his hand like a sacrificial offering in his hands.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Get out.

“Dude, you’re too late. You had your chance and you blew it by your attitude when you thought I had nothing else to offer you than what I had already disclosed. And if you had been feeling so awful when we met on Monday, you could have said something but instead you didn’t say anything. And when we met on Monday, there was nothing there for me. No chemistry, no connection, nothing. The only thing I felt was relief- when you left. I have no interest in you, especially romantically. So take those flowers, give them to Taylor because she’s an awesome mom and deserves them or give them to someone else who is going to give you the time of day because it sure as hell ain’t gonna be me.” You told him frankly as Noah hung back, just barely out of sight by you and Doug and grinned victoriously when Taylor simply handed him your stuff as he readily took it.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a gosbe to make for Noah and his family.” You smiled like ‘fuck you’ was written on your teeth.

“A gos- No! No! You should never have to cook another day in your life! They don’t deserve a beautiful, perfect jewel like you in their family.” Doug argued.

“Hey!” Noah barked as he came around the corner and into view which made Doug nearly jump from his skin as you smiled in relief that he was there as his presence gave you more strength and resolve in your stand.

“First of all, don’t be disrespectful and if you have to put others down to build yourself up, you and I will never get along, because I don’t respect people who can’t show respect and common decency to others. Two, I’m cooking because I want to. And this jewel will decide which setting she wants to be in and you are not it.” You insisted before you went around him to get to Noah.

“But they could never give you what I can give you.” Doug pleaded as he tried to follow you.

“Which is what exactly?” You posed disbelievingly as you handed Noah one of your bags as Noah was looking at you to make sure you were ok and even he could see there was a lot going on inside you.

“That I can take you on any kind of vacation you want, I can worship you like the goddess you are every moment of every day and I can step into your family and show your son what it means to be a real man with responsibility and honor and how to treat women with love, and dignity and respect and nurture your daughter into wonderful young woman who respects herself and be there to protect her from the world.” He insisted.

“My children already have that role model in me, and my income is large enough so I can already take them on any vacation they want and I already protect them from danger. So maybe a better question would be why do you suddenly have such a strong and extremely drastic change in heart and attitude? Because on Monday, you seemed disinterested in what I had to offer you, so what changed between then and now to result in this, frankly, pathetic grand romantic gesture?” You asked as you gestured to him and the flowers and you could see Doug was offended but trying to remain nice as Noah huffed a laugh through his nose as a proud beaming smile radiated off his face because you realized what was happening and you were calling him out.

“Honestly Doug? This exact scenario has happened way too many times to me already. Because guys meet me and they’re less than thrilled with me in person and less than impressed about what I choose to disclose to them. And then usually, they get curious and then they google my name and start digging, they find out about my assets and then this exact scenario plays out. Suddenly guys who were uninterested become super interested and are willing to go to any lengths necessary, they’ve quit their jobs, they’ve sold everything they had to buy a sports car and pull up into my driveway thinking they could put my kids into a summer camp while they whisked me away on a whirl wind tour around the world to romance the shit out of me so they can move in and be a kept man and get all they access they want to my imagined fortune and assets. And it has always ended in them stalking me or stalking my kids and putting them in danger and the guys feeling like I owe them for repaying them for the measures they went through to get to me in the first place and the police always get involved because I don’t owe you or any of them, jack shit and it’s always a fight and a restraining order and police charges on their record. So, you can either leave now with what little bit of dignity you have left and leave me the fuck alone or I’ll have Taylor press call since she already has the police queued up on her phone. What’s it gonna be?” You put to him.

“Well what about Noah? How do you know he hasn’t googled you and found out about everything?! Don’t you think your relationship with him has moved faster than it should have? Don’t you think you should at least have a choice? Do you even know how little women are given up here? Every woman up here dreads the summer festival because they knew they would be auctioned off like cattle and matched up with men usually ten even twenty years older than them, sometimes twice as old as they are. It’s archaic. Did Noah tell you that him and Neena were going to have Sakura matched like that this year? It’s just two days away, I know you’re attached to Sakura, it’s hard not to be, but did Noah tell you that you only get to keep her for two more days then she’s practically off to get engaged and belongs to another family after that?” Doug revealed and you inhaled sharply and looked from him to Noah and you saw that Noah was close to punching Doug’s lights out because Noah had already put your things down and his hands were already forming fists.

“Doug, do everyone a favor and shut your mouth, and stop talking about things that you don’t know anything about.” Noah warned Doug and you could see the anger burning in Noah’s eyes and you knew that if either of them took another step, it was going to get ugly and you looked to Taylor who looked genuinely scared and you needed to diffuse this situation before you went to Noah and grabbed his fist and forced your fingers inside of his hand so his hands couldn’t be fists anymore.

“Noah, please put my things in your truck, I’ll be out in a moment.” You urged Noah calmly. “Please, just wait out in the truck, I’ll be right there.” You promised and you waited until Noah turned away from Doug and picked your things up and left before you turned to Doug.

“Is what you said about Sakura, true?” You put to Doug as you narrowed your eyes at him.

“Yes, I swear on the lives of my own boys, Neena’s mom is the matchmaker. She’s the one that matched Noah and Neena and used their happiness to make countless other matches, and their happiness was markedly less, mine sure was.” Doug insisted before you turned to Taylor who nodded in confirmation.

“But it’s not like Sakura would move into another home or anything like that, you’re making a mountain out of mole hill, it’s a tradition that died out a long time ago.” Taylor reassured you as you dropped your eyes before you just closed your eyes and took a measured breath before you opened your eyes again and looked from Taylor to Doug.

“Ok, well, thank you for letting me know about any of it, but from now on, I’m going to let Noah and his family explain their own customs, traditions and cultures on their terms. But I swear to every god in the realm that if you come at me again Doug, I will not be this composed or calm and if you touch me or any of my stuff, I’ll come for you and rip you to shreds and you won’t like me after that. So, keep your distance from me, and we’ll be just fine.” You assured Doug before you grabbed the last bag and left out of the door before you chucked it into the bed of the truck. With the other things you had gotten and if you had the space in Noah’s truck you would have packed everything then and there.

“What’s going on Mama?” Sakura asked you once you got in the cab of the truck.

“Doug was just making an idiot out of himself, it’s ok. It’ll happen to you one day, guys will be so impressed and blown away by your beauty that they’ll make idiots out of themselves too if it means you’ll look at them more than once.” You reassured her, your tone so comforting and soothing as your heart ached at the thought of Sakura being a child bride. There was no way in hell you were going to let that happen to her. No daughter of yours was ever going to go through that. As you realized that’s why they wouldn’t know about gosbies. That should been a red flag. The first, and hopefully only one.

“Let’s go home.” You urged them as you wrapped your arm around Sakura’s shoulders and squeezed her to your side before she nuzzled into your shoulder as Noah left Taylor’s house and drove to his own as the car ride was quite quiet as your head swirled with doubt which started to creep into your heart.

Once you got home you got straight to prepping, having Sakura help you as you taught her your recipes for things which she was eager to learn.

“So how does a gosbe work?” Sakura asked you.

“So in my clan and a lot of other clans, a gosbe was a tradition where someone, usually a woman who wanted to marry into a warchief’s family, would make a ‘wooing feast’ for them and it would be for the warchief, his family and all his captains and generals too to prove she could support him and his military endeavors too. And usually the greater the feast and the bigger the portions and more lavish ingredients ensured her success. This went on for countless generations. Until Warchieftess Gosbe, her father was warchief to the Red Typhoon Clan and she was the warchief’s only surviving child, a daughter, she had, according to legend, was the lone heiress because all of her siblings had died in battle and she had all these other warchiefs interested in her, trying to forge alliances and win her hand because all they wanted was what she was heiress to, but she didn’t want any of them, because she could see their greed in their eyes and she saw how they lusted over what was hers, all of them dreaming about what was hers- being theirs, and she didn’t want anyone to control her or her destiny, her future or her happiness. She was known as the perfect warrior. Her skill was unmatched and unequaled and she could just look at a man and know instantly what he wanted and no-one that she saw, ever really wanted her as a person.” You began once you put the sliced onions in the pot to caramelize with the butter and the beer which would take a while and washed your hands before you brought her to the living room and cuddled with her on the couch.

“Except one man that when she looked into his eyes, she saw that he would really, truly love her- so to her, he was the only one she did want, and he was just a lowly shepherd boy. He wasn’t a fighter or a killer or a warrior because he wasn’t even full orc, he was a halfling and his family was more of a mismatched group of people who had been a family found rather than a family born into. And this was considered a strange match to everyone else because she was a warrior with an impressive lineage and she had whole sets of armor for every season and terrain and possible enemy, she had every weapon imaginable and knew how to fight with each one and she had a brand new castle full of modern convieniences and lands and money and power and influence- she had everything anyone would think they would want in life. But she didn’t have someone to love her for herself. And when she saw this shepard boy, she saw in his eyes that he would be that one person who could give that to her and she knew without a doubt that she could give him the same. So she held a feast in his name and honor and invited him and his “family”. And his family were very honored by it, and they ate it and thanked her for her hospitality and then left and went back to their lives and Gosbe was a little put off because this shepherd boy should be willing to sell his flocks and move right on into the castle with her, she even offered to buy all of his sheep and put them into the care of the royal herders. But he politely refused her and gave the ‘i’m not worthy of this honor and praise from you’ line and excused himself. So she did it again, this time, she included not just his family, but his actual family that she had hunted down and brought together and all his friends and held the greatest feast in all of history and tried to “prove” to him that he was worthy becuase in her eyes he was and that’s all that mattered. And everyone else ate, drank and was reasonably merry and grateful and gracious but still, this shepherd boy was unmoved and seemed indifferent. Polite so as not to cause offense but indifferent all the same. And all her advisors and friends told her-’ look honey- he’s just not that into you, move on. You can have literally any other man you want. Why are you focusing on this shepherd boy?’ And all she could answer was ‘he’s who my heart wants’.” You explained.

“So what did she do?” Sakura asked.

“She ended up leaving the castle, joined him in the field and just watched him with his sheep to try to see what he found so amazing about being a shephard that he would rather be a shephard than be with her and because she never left the castle without being fully armored up, the sheep took one look at her in her armor and her weapons and could practically smell the leftover blood on them and wouldn’t have anything to do with her so therefore, the shepherd boy basically ignored her in order to tend to his flock. So after a day of sweating in the sun, she went home, got a bath, went back, this time carrying only a sword on her belt. She wore one of the prettiest dresses she had and the shimmer of her gown scared off the sheep, the shepherd boy still kept with the sheep. And again, she got nowhere. The next day after that, she dressed in the same plain clothes as he did, brought a simple knife on her belt, and finally, the sheep came over and checked her out and finally the shepherd boy came and sat next to her on the boulder and remarked how hot the afternoon sun was and how hard the heat was on his sheep before he introduced her to each member of his flock, each one had a name and a history and who each sheep was friends or siblings or mothers or sisters or whatever to because each one was basically a person to him and once he introduced everyone, the sheep had already eaten all there was in that area so then he got up and walked away and led them to a new spot. So she got an idea. So she went back to the castle and got a simple canopy and came back the next day to his new grazing spot with it and worked all morning setting it up so that by the time the afternoon sun got fierce, he and his flock would come and rest and it worked. He came and his flocks came and they rested under the big but simple canopy and she finally got to ask him why he was denying her.” You continued.

“What was his reason?” Sakura asked.

“He said that ‘he was a simple man who took delight in simple pleasures’ and that ‘the feasts were of delicacies he had never had before and he left both with stomach aches that lasted for days and that she was trying to woo him the way others had tried to woo her, thinking that it would take some special object to finally win her affections and if she really wanted to woo him, she should get to know who she’s trying to woo instead of assuming that what would work for everyone would work for him’. So for a month, every day, she would go back out with her canopy to whatever spot he had chosen for his sheep and they would just talk and get to know each other with only the sheep to overhear and every day, she brought food and drink with her, in the beginning, it was always some special dish from her kitchens so he could slowly become acquainted with her favorite foods and together they found favorites and he encouraged her to actually try to make these herself and praised that whatever foods she made herself, were his favorites, She was warcheiftess and commanded armies since she could walk so she had never cooked a day in her life. But for him, she would learn. And every day after that, she grew happier and happier because she had him in her life and never cared what she looked like, what she wore, what she had, but he cared about what kind of person she was and who she was as a person rather than anything she possessed and then Gosbe realized her mistakes in the first two feasts. When she hosted the first two feasts, she delegated everything, and when you’re feeding an army you have to. But for Gosbe’s shepherd boy- she realized that if she cooked their favorite dishes herself and she made sure that the sheep would also have good pasturage so that they were happy too? He would probably be moved to accept her proposal. So she sold some of her more prized treasures but to her, compared to the prospect of finally having the love of her shephard boy, they were mere trinkets and paper weights and she bought a field for the shepherd boy’s flock that was both close to the castle and close enough to his home then she tried a third time. She pulled down the canopy and she loaded it into a small wagon and walked with him to the field, and it was perfect. The hill sides weren’t too steep, there was plenty of water, it was protected from predators and it was ideal. She set up the canopy over the fresh lush grass and then she spent all morning making their perfect meal, with all of their combined favorites.”

“Aww,” Sakura fawned. “Yeah, she finally figured it out but here’s where things went wrong. There’s whole mini legends how everything went wrong that day, like it rained and got really cold and then started to snow, so she put extra wood on the fire to keep it going and tried to put walls on the canopy to turn it into a tent for the sheep but the walls meant the smoke from the fire couldn’t blow away and it filled with smoke that made the sheep freak out that there was a fire and run away so she had no choice but to pull the walls down so that wouldn’t happen any more but she was chilled to the bone.There was a bear who came to eat the flocks that she defended them with her life, knowing the name of the sheep that was in danger and thanks to the mighty blade on her hip, she defeated the bear but the price for her victory was lunch was burned because all the wood she put on the fire caught all at once and the winds blew feircely over the fire making it even hotter and burned all the food. It was a disaster. But the point was she did her best despite everything going wrong and she realized that in order for it to be “perfect” she had to include who her shepherd boy loved. And it was his sheep, that on her previous to attempts she had never considered. And even though her ingredients were humble and her techniques were barely executable, it was her success because her shepherd boy was wooed that day because instead of throwing a fit that everything went wrong, even though she was upset, she just laughed it off and promised that the next day when she would try again, it would hopefully go better and that’s when her shephard boy told that she didn’t need to keep trying, he was wood and he loved her and he accepted her proposal without any hesitation or reserve because her intentions were pure and therefore this attempt was a complete success and they spent the night under that tent and every other night after that together. And after that, whenever someone, no matter their station or sex or whatever would throw a “Gosbe feast”. It never has to be perfect, it doesn’t have to be lavish but it does have to be from the heart and it has to be for someone who your heart has chosen because you know in your heart that you truly love this person and they truly love you back and both of you are grown consenting adults. They’re not someone who has been chosen for you and it is ideally done with not just your intended but your intended’s favorite people, whoever and whatever they might be which is why most gosbies also involve feeding all the pets involved in modern practice. And a gosbe feast might include their family they were born into or it might be the family they’ve found through their lives or it just might be their friends or it just might be you and them and all your pets, even if it’s a gold fish. But it should embrace everyone all around it with open arms, open hearts and open minds.” You informed her proudly.

“That’s so beautiful, I want to throw a gosbe feast for you then.” Sakura fawned.

“I thought that’s what we’ve been doing all afternoon.” You reminded her which got her to giggle with glee before Noah started pulling other ingredients out.

“What are you doing?” You asked him as you looked from the couch into the kitchen.

“If it’s gonna be a proper gosbe, I’m gonna do my best to woo you with food too. So, I’m not nearly as good of a cook as you are, I’m gonna try, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just from the heart right?” Noah furthered and you didn’t even bother fighting it, you just got off the couch and walked over and grabbed his face and kissed him good and hard.

“I will happily eat anything you make for me. It could be my most hated dish and I would still wolf it down.” You insisted.

“Which is?” He asked curiously.

“Radishes and beets, like I don’t grow them at home, I barely eat the tiny slivers of radishes on my salads in restaurants and I only ever had beets once and they were in a can and not good at all.” You confessed with a shudder at the memory.

“Well good news is, I don’t like those either and the nutrition that’s in both of those are in other things that taste way better.” He reassured you before he kissed the tip of your nose sweetly which got you to crinkle it and you to giggle. He was so romantic. And then he did something unexpected, he handed you his phone. It wasn’t locked, it wasn’t coded, nothing.

“Why are you giving me this?” You asked him as you looked from his phone back up to him.

“So you can look at my search history and anything else you want to look at, I’m an open book and I don’t want to keep anything from you. I’m all in.” He answered.

“Aww,” you fawned before you took a leap and unlocked your own phone and put it in his hands.

“All in,” you repeated before you went through his phone, and his google search history and were relieved that he had not googled you and besides a few games on his phone, all there was were thousands of pictures of Sakura. He had both a personal and a business Facebook which you recognized because that’s what you had dug up when Taylor had suggested him and you got to see more pictures of Neena and of the summer festivals in the years before. He was...honestly, tame and “boring” in that he was just a normal guy, he didn’t have any red flags pop up. Nothing suspicious and nothing that gave you pause, except for the whole Sakura child bride thing but you would be asking his family about that tomorrow.

“Woah.” Noah murmured as he watched the latest video of your daughter in mixed martial arts.

“Yeah, Skylar is...well since her dad died has had a lot of anger issues, she gets into a lot of fights because she has a temper and she’s a slave to her feelings and she gets it all honest because I’m that way and she found a good outlet through karate and other fighting disciplines and since putting her into those classes she’s improved leaps and bounds because she’s learning self control and boundaries. When Andy died she just...exploded. All her feelings and emotions and moods were just explosive and she was sensitive before and after she was even worse but thanks to the martial arts, she’s getting so much better and all her teachers and senseis took her under their wing and practically adopted her and she has a “gang” at school where she teaches all the other girls who aren’t allowed to go into martial arts- self defense and she is the bully’s bully and every boy who isn’t half in love with her is scared shitless of her because they’re intimadat. She’s my kid where I worry about her sneaking out at night and fighting in underground fight clubs even though she’s only 8. If she was ten years older she would absolutely be doing that.” You revealed.

“What about Xander?” Noah asked curiously.

“He’s usually a very gregarious, fun loving, easy going snuggly cuddler. But when Andy died, when Skylar was exploding, he was imploding. He just shut down and he got way too quiet. He would get up for school, cook and eat a king’s breakfast, get to school where he would just space out and daydream all day, come home, cook himself a king’s feast, eat it all and then go right to bed. He would be asleep for the night by six pm and then not wake up again until 6am. And on the weekends, all he did was sleep. He would sleep 20 hours a day on the weekends. And it was because he was just trying to force himself to dream so he could dream his dad back to life so he didn’t have to let go. And while I was worried about Skylar snapping other people’s necks, I was deeply worried that Xander would snap his own and I couldn’t lose him too, Skylar was already under threat of going to juvy because of all the fighting. So I took all the time off of work that I needed to and I took both of my kids out of school and I loaded them up and took them to the beach house, because one of my adopted grandparents left me a beach house on the east coast so we just went there and I just laid in bed with them and held them both and we just...cried, we cried and cried and we had a come to the gods meeting, where we were all just perfectly honest and transparent with each other and bared our souls to each other. And I begged and pleaded with them to tell me what it would take for them to smile again because the idea of being happy again felt like an impossibility at the time. And all I wanted was for them to stay with me. For Skylar the answer was martial arts, and hockey and she’s one hell of an enforcer, and music lessons, because she’s a rocker, so she’s learning guitar. And for Sky, she’s into the whole- guns, knives, archery, hunting and fishing thing . Because that’s what her and her dad were into together. And she loves construction too, like my dad will take her on jobs like he did with me growing up and is teaching her things and she’s in a love affair with power tools and blow torches and when we go up and visit my brother, who’s a builder, she goes to work with him and his boys and she runs circles around them. And for Xander, the answer was dance classes, ballet especially. Andy had enough toxic masculinity that he would have never been ok with Xander being in ballet. Tumbling and gymnastics and modern dance was as close as Xander could get while Andy was alive. And then when Xander finally opened up and told me that he wanted to be in ballet, I immediately called every ballet studio and found the perfect one that was right next to the dojo Sky wanted to be in so as a mom I literally go from one room to the next to keep an eye on them both and overnight I turned into a ballet mom because that’s what he needed me to be. And low and behold he’s a natural and he loves it and all the girls absolutely adore him and let him into their fold and practically adopted him because here he was this adorable wounded duck and he became the instant favorite that those dance girls would go to war defending him because he is a big boy and twice their size and he’s really strong and he can do all these lifts and holds and he’s steady and stable and he treats each and every single one of those girls like queens and he’s worries about them like they’re his sisters and he’s always buying food for them and fighting the ‘bulimic ballerina’ stereotype and he’s still in the modern dancing and gymnastics and the ballet has improved everything else and he’s so happy now. Where martial arts taught Skylar self control, dancing did the same for him but it also taught him how to express himself and use his words and actions to do so because they’ve already buried their father, which is more than anyone should ever have to bury, I couldn’t have them bury their feelings too. So now they’re happy and I’m happy that they’re happy which is all I wanted for them and now I turned it into a side business because I set my massage chair up in the hallway between the two spaces so I can still look in on both classes because they’re in the same building downtown and I do chair massage on all the parents for both because it’s a captive audience and it allows the parents to self indulge and practice self care and they all leave after the classes and everyone’s happier and I barter my treatments to all the instructors in exchange for a deep discount on the classes themselves so it works out and I treat all the kids too because they’re all mini athletes too.” You explained before you took the phone back and showed him the pictures of Xander in ballet and the videos of him dancing and being with the girls and smiling so bright and laughing and having all the girls practically hang all over him on the breaks which Noah thought Xander was living every little boy who liked girl’s dream of having a sea of gorgeous girls all around you. But Noah could still see so much of you in him. And while Noah did have his own reservations about boys being in ballet because it wasn’t necessarily traditional for male orcs especially, this was a new perspective and for you and your family, he would keep an open mind and accept it with an open heart too and forgo any judgement on his part because it wasn’t his place to judge in the first place.

Then your phone rang, it was Xander.

“Speak of the devils.” You giggled before you answered it.

“Hey, I was just talking about you. What’s up?” You cooed.

“Just got done bringing in the horses for the night and fed the chickens and did my chores and I got invited to go out to dinner with Gwen and the other girls after weekend worship, can I go?” He requested.

“Of course,” you immediately agreed.

“Can I please also get an advance on my allowance? Because they want to go to Cela Ve.” He asked hopefully.

“Sure, how much do you think you’ll need?” You asked.

“Well um, like a hundred dollars?” He asked hopefully.

“Ok, you better be tipping your waitress really good then.” You agreed. “Hey while I have you on the phone, there’s someone I want you to meet, I’m with Sakura and Noah and we’re making a gosbe together.” You informed him.

“What?” Xander asked before you heard him start running in the background.

“Sky!” He started hollering before you heard him running through the house.

“What?” Skylar asked when he barged into her room.

“Mom is making a gasbe with Noah and Sakura.” He blurted.

“Is she with them now?” Skylar asked.

“Yeah,” Xander confirmed.

“Give me the phone.” Skylar demanded.

“Mom, what the hell? A gosbe? Really? We aren’t even there! For it to be true and proper gosbe we should be there!” Skylar demanded.

“I know, so when we get together and you guys meet them, we will have a big official one with everyone involved.” You placated.

“When and how?!” Xander argued.

“Just... give the phone to Noah, Xander and I have something to say to him.” Skylar insisted.

“Oh no, not with that tone, I don’t want the first words out of your mouths towards each other to be angry and hateful. We all deserve to get off on the right foot.” You urged them.

“Fine, we will give him the same respect he gives us.” Skylar determined.

“We are owed at least a conversation with him since we aren’t there in person.” Xander added.

“Only if you both will swear to me that you will not bring shame or dishonor on us or our family.” You returned.

“We just want to ask him some questions, if he can’t answer them truthfully, he’s the one who doesn’t have any honor.” Skylar returned calmly but even you could hear the storm brewing in the background.

“My children want to talk to you and please take whatever they say with a grain of salt.” You bravely professed as you offered your phone over to Noah since he was still right next to you.

“Ok,” Noah nodded as he got your phone from you.

“Hello.” Noah greeted pleasantly.

“Hi Noah, first of all, if you know anything about a proper gosbe you would know that it would not be whole without us there. And without us, and especially without the rest of my mother’s family and friends there, it’s not complete. Also, I’m telling you right now, we’re not moving up there. Not now, not ever, we have our own lives down here and if you want to be with our mother so bad, you’re gonna have to come down here and there will be a lot that you will have to compromise on and third, when we meet you, it will be on our terms. Fourth, if, and this is a giant IF. If we meet you and if we like you and if you prove to us that you’re worthy enough to be in our lives and that is only after you meet and hopefully exceed our expectations, you will not ever be a parasitic leech. You will earn your own way the way our mother makes us earn ours and the way she earns hers and you will have to put in so much work to earn not just our respect but our trust too. And may all the gods help you if you are using your own daughter to weasel your way into our mother’s heart because she is a bleeding heart. And if you are using your own daughter to get to her, you are the most disgusting worthless waste of flesh on the planet and we will make you so sorry you ever met her in the first place." Skylar snarled as you ran your hands down your face. At least she wasn’t cussing him out.

"OK. I understand that and I get it. You guys have suffered a lot in the last few years and have had to grow up fast to protect yourselves and each other and especially your mom and all three of you have had to be on your guard against everyone new you meet and you’ve been wise to be that way becaues you guys and your mom have been vulnerable in the past and you don’t want to get hurt or taken advantage of so your guard is up and you should keep it up as long as you feel you need to because you guys and your mother are very precious and special and should be protected. And you're right. The gosbe isn't complete without you guys. And that's a problem that should have a solution that we can all find agreeable. So. Since I am in the middle of cooking dinner for your mom and my family, and since it's almost your bed time. Here's what I'll do, I am going to give you all the personal information I have that you want. And I'm going to give you all my references and all my social media stuff and important dates and stuff and I want you to take all of that and with all of your grandparents and aunts and uncles and with whoever you trust the most- look me up and investigate me and dig as deep as you feel you need to and then all together, I want all of you to write down all the questions you have for me, they can be as basic or as complex or as personal as you want. I have nothing to hide and I swear I will be as honest and forthcoming as possible because I appreciate honesty and transparency myself and I’m not a fan of head games or toying with emotions or anything like that. And after I’ve answered all your questions to your satisfaction- then I want you guys to think of a way for our two families to meet for the first time and I want it to be somewhere where you guys will feel safe and secure and comfortable so that if you meet me and you guys don’t like me and want to walk away- you have that option and that ability, because you guys should have a safe out. And I want you to know, that the only money I have taken from your mother was my fee for flying her in, if you feel that since we started dating since then- that I should refund her, I will, she also bought a few groceries for us when she watched Sakura on Tuesday, hopefully she kept the receipts and I will pay her back for all of it and then I will pay her for watching Sakura in the first place and I will not be accepting any money or any gifts or anything like that from her from now on but I will be taking care of her and every need she has for the remainder of her visit here. Now she did buy some beer for my own family gathering which we’re having just a normal sunday dinner with my family tomorrow, should I be paying her back for that?” He proposed and then waited for their answer as you just stood there, surprised and so impressed by how he handled that. His tone was friendly, calm and soothing. He was offering them the olive branch. Now it was up to them to take it and he was putting the ball in their court and what you would have given to see their faces.

Meanwhile Sky and Zan just looked from the phone to each other in surprise. They weren’t expecting that. But they were still a little weary.

“What do you think?” Xander asked Skylar as Skylar pressed mute on the phone so Noah couldn’t overhear their conversaion.

“...I hate to say this but that’s fair and that does sound like mom. And I don’t think she would even accept it if he tried. He could give her cash and she would turn right back around and give that cash to Sakura. Or he could write her a check and she’d chuck it into the fire.” Skylar realized.

“True. Honestly, with you coming at him like that and him still being calm and he didn’t sound upset, if anything he sounded genuine and understanding. He sounded like he gets it and he sounds like he’s at least empathetic. Which...and I hate to say it, but that’s what we all need. And Sakura did sound pretty awesome when we’ve talked with her before. If he’s a good enough dad to raise her, maybe he’s not so bad. I say give him just enough rope to let him hang himself with.” Xander decided.

“Agreed.” Skylar nodded before she pressed unmute just in time to hear Noah ask ‘hello? You guys still there?’

“We’re here, we wanted to talk without you overhearing so we put it on mute. But we talked and we decided that we don’t think that’s necessary for you to pay her back for what she’s done so far. She’s usually a natural giver who likes to take care of everyone around her, however we are just worried that you are a natural taker and won’t give as good as you’re given. She likes taking care of people and if she hasn’t given you a receipt for what she’s done, she probably used the reciept as a gum wrapper and won’t accept the payment back if the recipt is even in her possession anymore. But that means a lot to us that you’re willing to go that far. Ok, deal.” Xander caved.

“So what’s your catch?” Skylar asked Noah.

“My catch is that I want you to be nice to my daughter. She’s been through what you’ve been through only she doesn’t have any siblings to lean on and she gets lonely. So when we meet each other, she will want to be glued to you guys and all I ask is for you to treat her with kindness and respect and dignity.” Noah resolved.

“We can do that, that’s perfectly reasonable and that should never be a problem. Ok, we both have pens and paper, give us everything you have and then give the phone to Sakura so we can say hi.” Xander urged before Noah got his phone back and went through his contacts and gave them everything from his social security number to his birthdate and parent’s names and their birthdates and his wedding date so they could look it up in the newspaper along with Neena’s information and the day she was born and gave birth to Sakura and when she died so that they could look that up in the newspaper too along with his full name and his clan’s name and once they were satisfied- Noah handed the phone to Sakura.

“Hi Sakura, how are you?” They greeted happily.

“I’m good, I can’t wait to meet you guys! I hope I can meet you guys soon!” Sakura said before they started getting to know each other as you and Noah continued to prep the food together for dinner.

“Thank you for handling that the way you did, it goes a really long way that you’re willing to be so open and honest.” You thanked Noah.

“Well, to be in their shoes, I think I would freak out a little too if my mom went on a long vacation and met some guy that I knew nothing about and considering your shared past, I would be on high alert too and gosbe’s are obviously a big step and for them to feel like you’re making such a big leap of a commitment without them, that would freak me out too. So all there is for me to do is since you’re taking a leap of faith with me, is to catch you and then prove with my actions that I mean no harm and that I’m not a threat to you or them. But they did make several good points, the first being that it wouldn’t be a proper gosbe without them, so we need to figure out when and how we can make that happen. Two, they want me to prove myself and earn my own way which I have no issues with at all, in fact it was something I was going to insist on anyway, so I need to figure out what other skills I have that I can use down there besides piloting. Because commercial piloting is a different ball of wax and I don’t like even the concept of it because I would be gone all the time and never get to see you or Sakura.” He allowed.

“Sakura mentioned on Tuesday that you were a ferrier.” You recalled.

“Uh, I don’t have my ferrier license, I know enough to trim my own horses feet and that’s about it.” He revealed.

“Oh, well there’s a few ferrier schools around me, you could always go and learn.” You proposed.

“I could and I’m not opposed to that, however I had another idea. So I built this house, and I helped build my sibling’s houses and I really enjoyed building all of them. By any chance, when you inherited all those estates from when your adopted grandparents passed away, do you still own them or did you sell them?” He asked.

“I did not sell any of them, I literally cleaned all the pantries, fridges and freezers out and cleaned out their closets and dressers and donated all their clothes and all the food that was edible to food banks and gave all of them a good cleaning and then winterized them and locked them up and I’ve been paying a landscaping business to mow their lawns so they don’t look abandoned and I’ve been paying all the taxes and insurances and stuff on all of them ever since too and I had my brother in law sell most of the cars because I didn’t need three dozen vehicles all at once. In my wildest dreams I would have the time to flip all of them but I just don’t have the time or the energy lately, but they need some updating like upgrade the appliances, paint the walls, get some new flooring put in, cosmetic stuff. Like there’s still furniture in all of them, there’s still dishes in the cupboards and cleaning supplies in the cabinets under the sink and there’s still bedding on the beds. And I would love some help with them. But here’s the deal, you will never work for free, you will pay yourself the same wage any other builder gets paid for being on the job. Otherwise if you built this house and others, you know how estimates and building permits and budgets work and I will happily fund that, and if one of them comes in under budget, you can either give yourself a little bonus or roll that over into the next house because one may need less than another and I know things come up- like furnaces break or plumbing issues or termites or mold or something can come up out of nowhere and blow the budget in the process of getting it taken care of. So create a budget for each one and then you will get a percentage of each sale. And to make this seem fair to the kids, give them options, you can either get paid a “lower” hourly rate but a higher percentage of the sale like fifty percent, or, a higher hourly rate and a lower percentage of the final sale like 10-15% or somewhere inbetween, and chances are they’ll be somewhere in between. But don’t undervalue your time and effort. I already know you have a good work ethic so I don’t worry about you sitting on the job getting paid to twiddle your thumbs.” You reassured him.

“Good. I never want you to worry, about me at least.” Noah nodded.

“So when would you want to get started?” You asked.

“Well, my season up here ends in September and by October, we’re basically snowed in till spring but I know school starts in August. If we could move Sakura and all the animals and stuff down in August, that will give her time to adjust to the time zone and the weather and she can start school and it’ll just be a few weeks of that while I finish out my season up here and then when the season ends, I can either fly my plane down there and find a hanger or I can sell the plane and hop on another to get down to you.” He suggested.

“Don’t sell your plane. We can find a hanger, hell I’ll build you one, I can build you a runway out of one of my fields if I have to or even, if you just let me at this point. Because I don’t want you to feel trapped and that you don’t have an out and that you’re giving up everything because moving away from your ancestral home is already asking so much of you. Because if you move down there and can’t stand the heat because I know some orcs who can’t stand heat get really sick from it and ice orcs keep layers of brown fat all over just to insulate them and can run hotter than most to counteract the cold.” You recalled from your LMT training going over all the anatomy from the different species.

“And if you try your best to make it work down there and it won’t work down there, then we’ll find another way to make this work. Even if we have to move back here. So don’t sell this house, don’t sell the plane or anything else, not until we find a way to make this work to everyone’s happiness and satisfaction. What about all of Sakura’s lands and inheritances?” You asked.

“Well how that works is every member in the clan has a share in the tribal lands but we don’t necessarily have plots assigned to us, usually when we actually get married and we want to build a house to house our mates, then we ask the clan for a plot from the tribal lands and then they assign however much land that share is worth according to your need, so I asked for this lot in particular because it was so close to town that it could be on the grid and because it was so close to the airstrip. But because of the way things went down with Neena dying, um all of those...I would also call them adopted grandparents, they gave their family “shares” to Sakura. So Sakura, instead of only having one share- has 11 shares across three of the seven clans up here. So if she were to ever move back up here and get married and want to build a house up here, then she would ask for either one share or potentially cash in all 11 and get a massive chunk of land.” Noah explained.

“I understand, so what’s all the dispute about then? Because Taylor and your mother both said that others have come after her for her inheritance.” You prodded.

“Ok, so what happened there is with about half of them because orginally Sakura got 21 shares is when those adopted grandparents died, their kids who had moved away had come back to cash in their parent’s shares and then wanted to auction off the land to either the forestry or to gold miners or to one of the hunting reserves that aren’t run by the clans, make a quick buck and take the money and run.” He explained.

“Wow, that’s really disrespectful of a sacred birthright.” You concluded with a frown.

“Yeah, exactly, now there was a few of them that had come back, fell back in love with their homeland and wanted their family’s share to do the traditional thing of build a house, have a family and live up here and for them, Sakura and the elders had no issues with giving that share back because of those intentions but that didn’t stop three of them from once they got their shares back and got the lots in their names tried to move their families up here, their families couldn’t take the harshness up here and then they sold the lands to a developer and now a few of the others are trying to do intentionally fail to move back up here, they’re really just after the lots to sell and they are demanding that either they get the lots to sell or they demand the value of the “prospective” lot.” He explained.

“Because it’s always about the money. Ok so Sakura doesn’t have any specific plots of land that are in her name and her name only with others practically drooling over them and waiting for an opportunity to dupe her out of what’s been inherited to her.” You clarified.

“No, that’s not the case, even though the tribal lands are all finite because there are maps that show which lands belong to which clan and the elders do what they can to defend the lands and keep them pristine so that in future generations, they’ll have lands to inherit because a hundred years ago, there was a few clans who sold their lands to the pipeline, to the forestry, to the gold mining and to especially to developers and that’s how you got the “civilization” up here to begin with but there have been others that in “modern” times have done something a little different, Gold Horn for instance is Sungilak’s answer to get money coming in to satisfy the needs of the clan and the few members who feel they have the right to demand the value of their birthright without selling the land itself and so far that is the best way to handle that and that’s why my dad flies all the hunters in and around because they turned a specific portion of the lands and turned it into a big game reserve and that was copied by the other clans which is why there’s hunting and gaming reserves all over. Even though there’s a few anglo ones, most of them belong to the tribal clans. Plus I helped build Gold Horn, most of the men in my clan worked together to do it and I flew myself and some of the others around to the different hunting lodges to see how they were set up and run so we could set up and run Gold Horn successfully.” Noah explained.

“Aww, that’s awesome.” You fawned before Sakura finished talking to your kids and handed the phone back to you.

“Here’s your phone Mama,” she chirped and noticed she had hung up with them.

“And? How were they?” Noah asked.

“They were really niceI I can’t wait to meet them in person.” She beamed happily.

“Did you guys have any idea what you would want for that?” You asked her.

“Nope, I don’t care either way.” Sakura insisted before she got her coloring books out and started coloring as she waited for dinner to get ready.

“Well whatever they decide, we’ll figure it out and find a way to make it work.” Noah reassured you.

#the storm is a brewin'!#*evil cackling*#Jewel Of The North #Jewel Of The North Part 6 #ice orcs #jewel orcs #Modern Orcs #orc love story #modern orc love story #it's gonna get angsty #and i'm sorry.#but that'll make the happy ending that much sweeter.#I promise #go on this journey with me #take my hand #it's gonna be ok

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shy-magpie · 4 years

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RQG 155

Wherein there are unexpected visitors. Live blog under the cut

Pre episode babbling: there really wasn't any way quarantine was going to last as long as the dungeon crawl, and (for all I joked about it) I really am satisfied with what we got. That was a lot of backstory and character moments in a short amount of time. Now we have a kobold, a mysterious attack on the inn, and an episode title referencing dragons? Nice consolation for them almost certainly being forced out of the basement or having plot come to them. Please be Skraak? Please be Skraak either trying to rescue them or at least be here as an ally? Oh well time to hit play: Weird energy? That’s promising Inevitable locked in a Cel(l) joke Zolf needs to be nicer about the Kobolds Alex needs tell us if this is Skraak or not before Hamid gets the blame Skraak(?) Just unlocked the trap door Nice outfit Alex, is it our Skraak? It seems to be Zolf wants Skraak to join them in quarantine. Cel doesn't see why to bother when Skraak's been in contact with hundreds of Kobolds Skraak gestures for them to leave and Zolf is going to be force the issue. This will go over well. Beats his defense by 1 Hamid is trying to play peacemaker again. Really Zolf? Couldn't have calmly refused to leave and explained through the door? I know you are under stress but you are low charisma, not stupid. Love you Cel, Skraak has been speaking to varying degrees since "My Liege" Hamid tries to explain, Zolf speaks over him to say they didn't explain because they forgot. Hamid apologizes to Skraak. Skraak starts to leave. Azu backs Zolf in preventing him from leaving. Skraak is subdued by Zolf & Azu Skraak is locked in with Hamid? No Zolf has some limits thank goodness. He did call Skraak one of them. Bound but not gagged as Hamid apologizes. Skraak points out that he just has to wait for the rest (of his team?) Skraak "monitor"ed them!?! Holy... I was merely comparing the situations, did he actually scry and see them held by a human in a small space underground beneath a trap door disguised by a table? If he thinks Wilde is their Shoin then how many pieces is he going to be in when Zolf gets out? Kobold lore please! Hierarchy is important and it was "considered a good idea to keep track of the saviors". Skraak is sarcastic in his tone when he uses the term and it sounds like at least Hamid & Azu object the instant they hear it, possibly others. Cel makes a pitch for quarantining the whole inn. Wilde is in the cupboard Zolf asks about the kobold numbers and makes some unnecessary remarks about the village & Jasper in particular being lost as he writes off Japan. Zolf is far too relatable for some who needs to stand the flame down before someone takes it personal. Deciding you've already doomed yourself along with everything you care about is a crappy way to avoid panic in the face of uncertainty. Cel tries to call him on it, he switches to "everyone else is infected and it will be our job to fight them". Scary thing is, while in the long term it would be a suicide mission, with their combined abilities they could make a serious dent in the numbers. Hope they are aware of the Hiroshima comparison if this is leading to calling for a air strike on Japan. They explain what little they know to Skraak who insists none of the Kobolds were sick but may not understand the symptoms. Possible kobold immunity? Gonna be annoyed if something Shoin did protected them. Skraak seems to be saying that no new people were exposed since his party of 7 followed the route of the party. Zolf wants to send them back under Skraak's guard to prevent any more coming for them. And they're back. Cel points out its better Skraak came since the kobolds didn't know to implement quarantine. They go upstairs. They form a phalanx and draw spear against the party when they don't see either Hamid or Skraak. Alex & Ben are doing the "these lines are already written we have but to speak them" routine while Bryn points out Alex doesn't get to sound like that when he's the one doing it. Very Hamid, if you know how this is going to play out and don't like it, just make another choice. Initiative and a lot of dice. Grapple rules. Not clear where Cel is/if they got grappled but it sounds like Zolf did and is throwing them off so he can check on the inn keeper. Hamid runs upstairs and every one of them kneels like Skraak did at their first meeting. Helen & Bryn both sound distressed. Should have cleaned up that unreadable little ficlet I made of Hamid going bad because he didn't know how to handle Kobold worship and accidentally took over Japan because he thought autonomy meant respecting their decision to look to him as their leader. The innkeeper is bound but fine. Zolf unties him and looks for Wilde. "Wilde is also bound and... Has a look best described as "the bleep? "" Zolf is a stress cooker and Barnes updates Hamid is flustered and embarrassed which buys him some small grace from Skraak who explains Hamid is "the biggest dragon here" Cel: Also you could introduce the concept of democracy. Eh skip em straight to anarcho communism if you ask me. Group decision meetings rather than just vote for the head dragon Hamid tries to side step a bit by suggesting they explain the situation and asks for their names. Hope Alex thought to name all seven before the cast does. Siggif the kobold might be pushing it. "Hamid the polite tyrant"-Lydia Break Alex skips them to "a large dinner" cooked by Zolf who got a nat 20 on how good it is. Cel speaks draconic. Neither Zolf nor Azu can make out the difference in their names. Because Alex is like that: didn't want to come up with 7 names, did want to block anyone else naming them. Bryn however has all 6 names and is going to give Azu & Zolf their translations. They aren't interested in the rest of the party and "insist on maintaining a guard phalanx around Hamid at all times". Helen points out this is Bryn's fault. Yeah he's been playing with Alex long enough to know "King of the Kobolds" would come back to bite him. Hamid should be embarrassed. Hamid is sat at the head of the table by the Kobolds. Skraak: it'll pass eventually Zolf: good Aw Cel asks about traditional kobold food and Skraak has to struggle to remember. (Cel seems disappointed meal worm burgers would be poisonous to non kobolds) Zolf is a grumpy boy Long story short it seems to be a controlled risk: no contact off the island; no reason to believe the kobolds are infected Kobolds might be immune Oh screw Shoin (sent waves of Kobolds as dungeon monsters) Zolf doesn't think that the level of contact the Kobolds had with infected adventurers without being infected is proof since they don't know how the infection is passed or activated. Hamid says they shouldn't rely on it but its reason to hope. Zolf needs to remember that team moral is a thing and quit taking things from Hamid especially in a way that could piss off their new housemates. Thank you Azu! Hamid is not stupid! You can say there is reason for hope and still be careful Hamid calls him on jumping down his throat at the slightest provocation, reminds him they talked about this and that trying to stay positive is not a crime. God it's weird relating to both sides of this argument. My bias is towards Hamid as being right, but Zolf is so relatable. You have any idea how hard it can be not to snap at some of these kids they are setting themselves up for heart break when they talk about school in the fall or hug piles at cons? Thank you Cel Zolf is going to leave and sit on the coast behind the inn because he considers the quarantine broken not expanded. Backing out of an unproductive conversation, especially one were others have pointed out you are being harmful is valid, giving into "burn it all" moods is not. Hamid moves to stop him because he gets that the inn is now their cell Wilde calls him back and says he was building to them talking to the borb. So there is a reason he's the boss. Zolf declares he wants some time not thinking about this, which is what he should have done several paragraphs ago. Ffs this can not be the first time he's had it strike hot/destructive instead of cold/immobilizing; it sucks but you don't let yourself make any permanent decisions, stay away from the breakables and try not to talk to much, it passes. Cel suggests he go to one of the upstairs rooms instead, he accepts the redirect with ill grace but does accept it. Barnes has pointed out that locking everyone in a small box makes things worse not better before. Aw did Alex not like the fandom begging for the platonic version of the lock em in a closet until they sort out their feelings trope? Azu: I thought we could make friends Cel: he seems quite opposed to that Azu: I feel like he'd be a really good friend but not very friendly if you know what I mean Cel:we I know he hasn't been at all friendly Azu: you're friendly! Cel: well thank you, I do try Azu: I think you are my friend Cel: I am so honored! Thank you so much Azu! That's delightful Carter declares Cel the only friendly one because he is grumpy about Azu stepping on him, stopping him from breaking quarantine, and drank all the good stuff. Barnes suggests they start fresh in the morning. Skraak explains the kobolds are expecting Hamid to step into Shoin's role as tyrant just one they like. Skraak: even if they know you're not a tyrant, neither they nor me will be abandoning you because that's how Kobolds work. Good Hamid is taking this seriously Oh no pressure Skraak The most chill inn keeper in the world Skip to lunch time Zolf is still making himself scarce, which is not the worst way to handle it dawning on you THAT YOU TRIED TO DESTROY A RELATIONSHIP YOU VALUE BECAUSE YOU WERE IN A MOOD Bryn makes the "he's secretly infected" joke. Bryn spotted the veins in discord avatar thing and Alex sounds so pleased Wilde is fine, stop asking Oh really we needed that insight in how Wilde thinks Brorb on the table Cel asks for a list of stuff to make into a Brorb access device. Between their bags of holding they have enough stuff for them to make do. Azu seeks out Zolf while Hamid & the Kobolds help Cel. No strike that she waits until someone needs to grab him for the Brorb interview. Alex! Ending on Azu finding Zolf staring out the window.

#RQG spoilers #Rusty Quill Gaming #long post #RQG 155 #RQG season 4 #live blog thingy

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redsdawn · 4 years

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( jessica chastain. forty. cis female. she/her. ) in stratford, dawn wright is more commonly known as red. they’ve been living in stratford for thirty years and currently work as a nurse. some say they are malapert & rancorous but i’m more inclined to believe those that say they’re ballsy & dependable. if you walk by their house, you can sometimes hear cloudbusting by kate bush playing from their window. ( the sting of comments better left unsaid, driving with the windows down, subjecting oneself to the unknown, and never knowing when to stop. )

hello, all! i’m dee, your local goblin whose hands are shaking as they type this! :-) i hope everyone’s having a good evening / morning / day. here’s to writing some good shit together!

disclaimer: i have dawn’s stats here, which hopefully gives you all the need-to-know info at a glance. the second section has death & suicide mentions, so please steer clear of that if need be.

if dawn is anything, it’s restless. she’s always felt like a bird about to take flight, or like she’s looming on the edge of some great cliff. it’s like some current flowing through her bones, or some itch that can’t be scratched. she yearns for more & hates that nothing is ever wholly enough for her.

dawn grew up trailer trash & she still was trailer trash when she moved to stratford after the death of her mother. her dad, nathaniel, was a drunken tradesman who'd never known what to do with the life he’d been given. he was hardly a father when diane was around & even less so after her passing. despite their blood relation, however, he & dawn were more akin to roommates than anything else. nathaniel provided the “essentials” [ bits of clothes every couple of months, piss-poor cooking, a place to sleep ] and little else. he wasn’t warm or particularly kind--not like he was to the girlfriends that’d come in and out of their lives. he didn’t know how to speak to children or how to be the mentor that dawn needed. he’d tried, but it wasn’t like dawn knew how to be the daughter he’d wanted either. she wasn’t diane. she wasn’t warm, obedient, and kind. she was gritty & spoke back, even when it wasn’t smart to.

growing up, dawn was hardly ever home. a majority of her adolescence was spent being a wild cat. as a kid, she’d get up to shenanigans with other kids from school or the neighborhood. she was a tomboy through-and-through, covered in various scars and bruises from climbing & doing things she shouldn’t have. she was an okay student, but her report cards always made a note to mention attention + behavioral issues.

as a teenager, she was even worse. it was then that she learned the careful craft of chasing cheap thrills. always slipping from crowd to crowd, dawn was a social butterfly. she’d slip her way into any group that would have her, reveling in any and all attention cast her way.

dawn was poor-poor. like, having frequent sleepovers at friends houses, because you want an actual real meal levels of poor.

above all, dawn’s childhood taught her how to be hungry & that feeling’s never left her.

it was a particularly persistent set of teachers that really pushed dawn to be more than what she was setting herself up for. her chemistry teacher really made a point to speak to her in frank terms + helped her fill out college application forms when that time of year came around. at the time, dawn had brushed it off, as she did with most things, but she’s always been grateful. it was nice to feel seen for once. she kept in touch & got their recommendation when admissions opened up for nursing school.

going to college & being in a new environment really forced dawn to get it together. she couldn’t just be a little shithead anymore--she had actual responsibilities & appearances now. she mellowed out some afterward, doing everything that she thought people were supposed to do. she got her own place, paid her bills, & worked like she actually cared about what she was doing--which she did, for once.

somewhere along the way, getting stuck in that grind & facing the fears that rose from losing her father started to really get to her. that restlessness had come back in full force, & dawn didn’t know how to handle it. she fell into a bit of a destructive rut that resembled that of her teenage years, and sought help only when her boss gave her an ultimatum. she’s better now, but not quite how she was.

dawn is unflinching. it’s extremely hard to unsettle her. are your guts falling out? is someone throwing shit + breaking chairs? is there a literal fire happening? well, you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at dawn. she loves fixing things & finds it really easy to keep a cool head when shit hits the fan. she’s focused & nonjudgemental. she won’t question why you look like shit or why she has to stitch up a stab wound.

dawn yearns to feel needed & is uncomfortable when she isn’t. that want is what fuels her friendliness. she wants to be in a group, she wants to be something to someone. she goes out of her way for others not out of an innate altruism, but as a result of her deliberate choice to be good. she wants people to feel that she cares for them, so they may in turn care for her, too.

that being said, dawn’s decision-making isn’t immaculate. she has a blinding rage that’s a blight on her progress. it’s regressive & ugly & irresistible. dawn takes things too far sometimes & keeps pushing. she digs her fingers into wounds she knows are fresh & always keeps her knives close. she’s capable of a lot of good and love, but she’s also capable of a very white-hot rage.

some random bits are that dawn is a karaoke queen. she’s a heavy-weight, but doesn’t like alcohol. she’s an excellent hugger. she has an excellent memory & remembers the little things that people tell her. terrible at accepting gifts. she takes life one day at a time. total chatterbox. thinks she has a great pokerface, but her eyes are a straight window to that which lies behind. she’s definitely not a very good driver. writes notes on her hands and wrists.

some songs that make me think of her are

rock city

i bet on losing dogs

disorder

hounds of love

some wanted connection ideas !

a childhood memory -- maybe these two were a couple of ragtag misfits up to no good. maybe your muse’s parents felt bad for dawn, and would invite her over for dinner, regardless of how your muse felt about it. maybe they grew up in the same trailer park. maybe your muse’s mom dated her dad at one point. idk!!

teenage escapades -- did they used to drive around without a care in the world, swearing they were gonna live forever? did they try to use their fake id’s to buy cheap liquor & then haul ass after the cashier wasn’t having it? did dawn manage to weasel her way into your muse’s life & fuck it up somehow?

it’s a sibling thing -- are they related? no. does that stop them from acting like actual siblings? also no. dawn would do anything for this person, including, but not limited to, annoying them to death. silly, serious, and self-less.

frenemies -- they say you should keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. either way, these two are relatively close. do they even remember why they sometimes-kind-of-but-not-really-but-also-kind-of hate each other? maybe, maybe not.

best buds -- everyone needs a best friend &, believe it or not, dawn has a lot of love to give. being her best friend includes unlimited venting sessions, on-call assistance, & free snacks. truly a once in a lifetime deal.

playing doctor -- listen, dawn doesn’t wear those scrubs because she thinks they’re sexy. she knows her shit & who else are you going to call at ass o’clock because you’re bleeding all over your carpet floor? besides, at least when you call her, you don’t get reamed with a 2k bill after.

we don’t talk about that -- sometimes, dawn is off being a lovey-dovey bitch, which is embarrassing, but when she’s not? well.. she wouldn’t be opposed to a rebound, or one night stands that maybe never should have happened to begin with.

BUT REALLY I��M DOWN FOR ANYTHING AND THIS IS ALREADY SO DANG LONG SO IM GONNA END IT HERE AND SAY THAT ILY AND WANT TO DO ALL OF THE PLOTS WITH EVERYONE THANK U BYE SMOOCHES

#rideintro #this was so long i . pls forgive me #i have Thoughts sometimes i guess !#also im not proof-reading this. if i sound illiterate then i sound illiterate & thts THAT!

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ettadunham · 5 years

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A Buffy rewatch 7x04 Help

aka help the helpless

We did it, guys! We made it to the last season! Also, hello if you’re new, and stumbled upon this without context. As usual, these impromptu text posts are the product of my fevered mind as I rant about the episode I just watched for an hour (okay, sometimes perhaps two). Anything goes!

And in today’s episode, we finally meet a couple of new memorable background characters while rehashing some early season plots.

I think it’s safe to say though that Help is invoking Reptile Boy on purpose, much like Lessons was borrowing elements from Welcome to the Hellmouth. This is our last season. Everything is coming full circle as Buffy’s returning to high school on the Hellmouth as a counselor, with Dawn representing the new generation of students there.

And this episode once again emphasizes that, especially since this is the first time Buffy really gets to do some counselling. It’s funny, it’s heartfelt. It’s nice. While Buffy’s job at the Doublemeat Palace feels like the real life horror show that is an actual workplace, Buffy as a counselor reads more like a calling. An extension of her as the Slayer.

Then again, my adult brain now also insists on nitpicking on the fact that Buffy got this job without any qualification or training. I feel like the latter is the least you should have before you start working with kids, especially in this area. Like, for instance, to know how to deal with a suicidal kid.

And I know that Buffy’s position is mostly supposed to be an informal one. She’s not the school psychiatrist, and her office is just a cubicle with no privacy. So I guess she isn’t meant to deal with the heavier cases, but it would also just be nice to see her get more involved in counseling. It really would be a good career fit for her imo.

So yeah, that alone makes Help memorable for me, although if I gotta be honest, there were parts of the episode on this rewatch that underwhelmed me. And on some level, that was definitely due to my high expectations, but maybe it was also the dialogue falling a bit short.

There are two scenes in particular that came to mind. Cassie’s speech to Buffy and Xander about how she wants to live, and the last scene between the Scoobies, where they talk about how they couldn’t help Cassie.

And neither of these scenes are bad. They’re good. They’re great, even. I just felt like they had a potential to be remarkable if they played it a bit more subtly.

Fine, I know. Buffy and subtlety. Those are two things that never mashed.

So yeah, you’re right. Maybe I had my expectations a bit too high here. And those scenes are still effective and have a place in the bigger Buffy thematic picture.

Cassie’s speech reflects nicely back on where Buffy was last season, but also calls back to season 1 Buffy. You can take Cassie’s words at face value, as her saying that she wants to live and experience all these things yet, which was the breakthrough Buffy had at the end of last season. But Cassie also accepted death and its inevitability – aka season 1 Buffy.

The other way you can look at what Cassie says here, is by interpreting it through the lens of depression. Cassie wants to live and enjoy life, but she can’t – something that most people suffering from depression struggle with. An interpretation that once again would connect her to Buffy’s season 6 storyline.

Buffy of course wants to fight for Cassie. She doesn’t accept fate. In the Buffyverse, and especially on this show, prophecies and visions are mere guidelines. They don’t decide future events.

People do.

But in this episode, it turns out, there was nothing they could’ve done. There was never anything they could’ve done. It didn’t matter. Buffy was always going to fail.

DAWN: “No. You didn’t, ‘cause you tried. You listened, and you tried. She died ‘cause of her heart, not ‘cause of you. She was my friend because of you. I guess sometimes you can’t help.”

I liked Michelle Trachtenberg in this scene too, so much so, that it almost made me forget that Dawn and Cassie were friends for like a week. Almost.

See, this is why Cassie should’ve been introduced in the season premiere. Imagine how much more this would’ve hit, if we knew that she and Dawn have been close since the beginning of the school year.

BUFFY: “So what then? What do you do when you know that? When you know that maybe you can’t help?”

And Buffy knows the answer to that, as the episode closes on her returning to her counselor office the next Monday.

You try, regardless.

If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do.

Other noteworthy things:

- Buffy and the gang hiding in the caskets sounds like a horrible idea, when you think about how Buffy had to dug her way out of her own grave the last time she was in one of those. Why are you putting yourself through that, Buff?

- This episode once again establishes the Buffy-Dawn-Xander trio, albeit that might be for the last time, now that Willow’s back. I love their dynamic, and Dawn especially shines in this group. She even has the funniest jokes?? I love my kiddo.

- Willow visited Tara’s grave. It’s fine.

- I still think Dawn was right on the money about Cassie’s friend, Mike. “She’s a girl, right? Making boys crazy is like your job description.” I 100% thought that he was under one of those hoods, not even gonna lie.

- Spike hitting Reptile High School Boy, even though it was causing him pain through the chip? Solid work there, William.

- “I’m over you now, sweetie” is a great line, but Dawn’s expression as she was looking at Xander being way too hung up on the fact that Willow may have written love poems about him in high school is even better.

- Willow wrote fan fic about an obscure TV show in the 90s that starred Neil Patrick Harris. Just wanted you to know that.

- This is also Amanda’s first appearance, so we’re finally establishing some more memorable background characters.

This season is on a solid roll so far and I can’t wait to continue!

#buffy rewatch 2k19 #btvs talk #btvs

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emperorsfoot · 5 years

Text

YJ Fic #6: “Zero-G”

Originally posted on FanFiction.Net on 4/24/12, reposted to AO3 on 8/16/12

In which some feel weightless and others have a weight lifted. -ONESHOT-

This is a personal favorite of mine and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. Takes place literal hours after the season 1 finale.

Zero-G

It was the best New Years Conner had ever had. Admittedly, it was also the first and only New Years Conner had ever had, but why quibble over nuances?

He and his Team had saved the League from Vandal Savage's mind control, and by extension saved the rest of the world too. He was on Watchtower, the League's not-so-secret-base in space, looking out on one of the most majestic and breathtaking views he'd ever seen. M'gann was pressed against his chest, her back to him, his arms encircling her waist –enjoying the moment together. But best of all… oh, best of all, Superman –or rather, Clark- had congratulated him on a job well done. Not just congratulated him but shared his identity and said that it was right that he and Conner shared the same name.

Could this night (day? it was hard to tell in space) get any better?

He stared out into the inky black void. Yes, yes it could get better.

"Do you wanna go for a walk?" He asked M'gann, bending down to whisper in her ear as if to conspire a plot.

"Okay." The martian girl shrugged. "There's not much space on the station, but I wouldn't mind doing a few laps around the terrarium."

He flashed her an uncharacteristically mischievous grin. He was feeling optimistic, which also meant he was feeling bold. "That's not exactly what I meant."

All through out the outer hull of the station, air-locks had been cut out of the solid stone walls and placed at regular intervals along the corridors. Each was clearly marked and numbered with bright yellow and black tape so that no one might mistake them for rooms and suck themselves out into space's dark oblivion. Beside each air-lock door was a smaller glass panel filled with oxygen masks of various sizes and fits. It was to one of these air-locks that Conner lead M'gann.

He opened the glass panel and selected two oxygen masks for them.

"What are you planning?" She asked, raising one auburn eyebrow in suspicion.

"We're in space!" He informed her happily, as if this were new news that neither of them had been aware of for the past six hours prior to this moment.

"Yes, Conner." She nodded, as if humoring a child. "The Watchtower is in space."

"No, I mean we're in space." He repeated, fastening an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth before handing the second to her. She still didn't get what he was trying to tell her, but accepted the mask all the same. Just to humor him. He paused before stepping into the air-lock chamber, just long enough to register her lack if comprehension. Wrapping one strong arm around her waist, Conner pulled her to him, touching his forehead to hers. M'gann instinctively opened a telepathic link between them. /'In space, there's not gravity. In space, nothing falls. In space, I can fly!'/

Understanding dawned with a crystal-like clarity and M'gann climbed into the air-lock chamber with him, closing the thick steel door behind them. There was a three second time delay between the inner door registering that it had been shut and locked and the outer door releasing, voiding the atmosphere and whatever people (in this case the Superboy and Miss Martian) also happened to be in the chamber.

There was a sudden jolt as they were both sucked out when the chamber depressurized and Conner was glad he did not have a weak stomach because he probably would have thrown up otherwise. Inertia kept them moving in the direct they had been sucked out in, neither decelerating nor changing directions until M'gann stopped them both before they could drift to far from the 'Tower.

Conner stretched out his arms over his head and closed his eyes. M'gann let go of his hand for the moment.

/'I'm flying!'/

/'You're not moving.'/ She informed him.

/'Shush! Don't spoil this.'/ He chided her. Conner knew perfectly well he wasn't really flying. But with his eyes closed, suspended in a void and feeling utterly weightless, he could pretendthat he was flying.

When M'gann grew board of just watching him hang there, indulging in his own fantasies, she once again took hold of his arm, melding him against her side. /'You promised me a walk.'/ She reminded him. /'So, we're gonna have a nice little space-walk. Got it?'/

/'Yes, dear.'/

…

The air-locks on Watchtower weren't exactly meant for 'Emergencies Only'. In fact, Superman used them far more often to come and go from Watchtower than he did the zetta transporter wonder-tech, and since Superman came and went so often, it would have been just plain impractical (and down right annoying) to have emergency lights and sirens blaring every time he came or went. That being said, the air-locks weren't exactly meant for casual use either and the League did like to keep track of when they were opened and closed. (But mostly just when they were opened.)

So, when the 'Tower's computer registered the use of one of the air-locks near the terrarium, Clark felt the need to investigate. He knew he certainly hadn't stepped out for a bit, and he was curios (and perhaps a bit suspicious given it was only five hours since they had recovered from the Vandal Savage incident) to see just who else it could have been. Captain Marvel could survive out in space without a suit and nothing more than an oxygen mask on, as could J'onn. He was also pretty sure the Hawks could, too, but it had been so long he might have just imagined them having the ability. And then maybe Diana could, she was pretty close to invulnerable.

But it was not anyone from the League that the Superman saw through the view port when he reached the air-lock in question. No, instead it was two members of the kids' Team –his own clone, in fact, and J'onn's niece. Er… not niece? Recently, during the battle in which they had all been under Savage's control, J'onn had learned that the girl was not even a green martian but rather a white one. Clark was still a little unclear on the particulars, but he thought it safe to infer that Miss Martian was not J'onn's biological niece. His protégé then? Sure, that worked.

He saw his clone and J'onn's protégé.

Speak of the devil –none other than the Martian Manhunter came striding up to him not long after Clark himself arrived at the lock. Presumably for the same reason of verifying who had gone out (or come in). He paused when he saw the Superman.

"Ah, I assume that was you just now?"

"Nope." The Man of Steel shook his head and lifted his chin to indicate the two teens doing quark-screws and spirals outside. "It was them."

The Martian Manhunter turned to see and nodded. "Ah."

"Though, I'm not rightly sure what they think they're doing." Admitted the Superman.

J'onn was silent a moment, his eyes fixed on the view port and the couple floating beyond it. After a prolonged pause he turned back to Clark and said, "They are taking what, on Earth, would be called a 'leisurely stroll'."

"Ah." Clark nodded. Then, after a brief pause, as if it had just occurred to him, "Wait a minuet, does Superb- uh, Conner have a flight ability?"

"He does not."

"So, Miss Martian is pretty much carrying him." Clark crossed his arm over his chest, suddenly and inexplicably feeling uncomfortable with the boy being outside with no way of getting back to the 'Tower under his own power and being utterly dependent on the other person out there with him. "If they're separated Conner could be lost in space."

"I think that's a bit dramatic, don't you?" J'onn did not have eyebrows, but he did have brow ridges, and he raised one of them quizzically at the Man of Steel. "M'gann would not let him drift to far from her."

They began walking along the outer corridor, keeping the children in sight at all times, just to make sure Clark's over-dramatized scenario didn't actually come to pass and if it did, one of them would react fast enough to grab the boy before he could drift to far.

"Speaking of Miss Martian," Clark began, changing the subject from his clone to J'onn's not-niece. "How are you doing? I mean with the whole green martian-white martian thing?"

There was a prolonged pause, and then… "I am better than I was before." He began awkwardly. "After I came-to from the Cure-o-Tech I thought it had just been a hallucination brought on by the mind-control, but M'gann confessed everything to me. I would be lying if I said I did not feel deceived, but I grew up on Mars and know full well what the whites endure –its rather similar to how America's black population was treated in the 1920s. I do not begrudge her wanting to seek asylum on Earth."

"But you resent her hiding it from you for so long." Clark supplied. "You think, all that time, if you had known from the start… maybe things would have been different…"

J'onn regarded his companion for a moment, wondering if he were actually referring to the Manhunter's situation with M'gann M'orzz or instead his own situation with the Superboy clone. He decided that in that moment it really didn't matter. "At first. But I have spent some time meditating on it and have concluded that it changes nothing. M'gann has proven herself time and again by her missions with the Team. The circumstances of her birth are meaningless because she's earned my trust and that's all that matters."

"So soon?" Clark blinked in skepticism. "You only found out, what, like six hours ago!"

No sooner had these words been out of his mouth, however, that the Man of Steel lapsed into a guilty silence.

J'onn paused in his stride, one hand resting on the Superman's shoulder. Outside the kids drifted along ahead of them.

"Clark," he began in all seriousness. "You should not compare yourself to me. We are different people, with different up-bringings, in different situations. I took the time I needed to accept M'gann as a white martian and you took the time you needed to accept Conner as…" a pause "… you took the time you needed to accept Conner. It is no one's place to judge whether or not you took to long –except maybe Conner himself."

The kryptonian gave a half-hearted nod before he and J'onn continued walking to catch up with the pair's progress outside.

"By the way," Clark began again, "'Kent', I know he couldn't have come up with that on his own. Someone had to suggest it. I know it wasn't Tornado, it's not the sort of thing he'd think of –not in his programming. And Dinah wouldn't do it because she was skeptical I'd ever accept him and wouldn't want him to carry my name for the rest of his life if I didn't. Captain Marvel doesn't know I'm Clark Kent. Barry might have, but I don't think he's spent all that much time with the boy. So, that leaves you or Bruce. And maybe Dick, I suppose. It's the sort of trollish thing I've come to expect from him too."

J'onn made a non-committal noise.

"Its kinda a shame I have no idea who it was, though." The Superman cast a sideways glance at the Manhunter. "If they don't come forward, I can't thank them."

"Oh?"

Clark waited to see if J'onn would say more. When he didn't the Superman heaved a shrug. "Of course, it was probably Bruce. This is just the sort of sneaky thing I'd expect from him. A real shame too, I hate it when he's right! You know, he is the only person I have ever met that can say 'I told you so' without ever actually saying 'I told you so'. It's really reallyannoying."

"You spend more time with him that I do." The Manhunter shrugged. "I've heard that people who work so closely can't help but irritate one another. Either that or they end-up like our protégés out there."

Clark raised an eyebrow in confusion. "They end-up floating in zero-G?"

J'onn sighed. "Nevermind."

Clark returned his attention to the pair outside the view port. "You don't think they're drifting a little to far, do you? M'gann does know he can't come back on his own, right?"

My, my, my… someone was sounding concerned. J'onn did not comment, opting instead to say, "You are perfectly capable to going out there and bringing them back."

"So are you." Clark shot back. "In fact, you don't even have to go outside. Just mind-link with M'gann and tell them to come back."

J'onn was, as a general rule, was a stoic man. He rarely offered any outward expression of his emotions. Coming from a race of telepaths, visual expression was unnecessary. Even still, he could not help but give a short laugh at the Superman's comment. "You really know nothing of teenagers, do you."

Clark shrugged. "Last of my race. Can't procreate with humans. Never thought I'd have kids. Never paid attention before."

J'onn was not paying attention to Clark now. His eyes were focused outside, his brows knitted with the slightest hint of concentration.

"Are you talking to M'gann?"

After a prolonged pause, J'onn turned back to his companion. "She's on her way back in."

"You mean 'they'." Corrected the Superman. "They're on their way back in."

J'onn remained silent. Clark looked through the view port. Sure enough, M'gann was drifting back towards them, but Conner remained behind, hovering out in the void.

"She can't leave him out there!"

The outer hatch closed behind the martian girl and Clark waited for the chamber to re-pressurize and the inner hatch to open before he demanded, "Why'd you leave him alone?"

She blinked in utter confusion, glancing from Clark to J'onn, silently asking why the Superman seemed to be angry with her. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"The boy will be fine." The Manhunter assured him.

Clark didn't seem to hear him, or if he did he was choosing to ignore him (as was more likely the case, considering his kryptonian hearing). He opened the panel next to the air-lock, withdrew a new oxygen mask and hopped in the chamber before it shut again. In another few moments he was coasting through space towards his clone.

/'I don't understand what I did wrong. You told me to tell Conner to wait, so I did.'/ Miss Martian looked up at her mentor. /'Why's he mad at me?'/

/'He's not mad, he's anxious.'/ J'onn replied. /'He just doesn't know it. You did nothing wrong. You were perfect.'/

/'You wanted him to rush out to Conner like that!'/ Her eyes widened as understanding dawned. /'But you wanted it to be his idea, not yours. That was sneaky.'/

/'One of the wonderful things about being an immigrant of Earth living in America is that I'm able to plead the American Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.'/

/'Huh?'/ She didn't get it.

/'I'm saying nothing that might incriminate me.'/ He clarified. It was a common colloquialism in America to, whenever a person didn't want to admit something, to say 'I plead the fifth'. This referred to the Fifth Amendment which protects a citizen from being forced to incriminate themselves in an investigation. It was one of the very first thing read in the Miranda Rights as well, 'You have the right to remain silent…'

/'Ah…'/ The martian girl nodded in sudden understanding. /'Come to think of it, you were the one to give him Mr. Kent's name, too.'/

J'onn remained tactfully silent.

/'You are sneaky!'/

/Nobody else has ever noticed.'/

…

Conner had no idea what to think when he saw Superman -uh, Clark- coming towards him.

It had been a couple of hours since they had exchanged names and made peace. Did his genetic-parent have more to say? Of course he probably did. There was loads to say on both sides. Conner had a few things he wanted to share with the Man of Steel himself (in varying degrees of a 'respectful' tone). But they couldn't exactly talk in space. Space was a vacuum, no air, no sound, no talking.

Clark coasted to a slow stop in front of him, his cape's forward motion continuing until the fabric was breaked around his body, giving it the appearance of a crimson cloak rather than a cape. It undulated in the zero-G for a few moments before its kinetic energy was spent and the fabric stilled, hanging unmoving suspended in nothingness.

Clark tapped a button on the chin-plate of his oxygen mask and Conner's comm-link crackled in his ear. "Are you okay?"

"I can hear you!" The boy gasped.

Clark paused. Cocked his head to the side. Considered the boy a moment. Then reached a hand forward to tap the chin of his mask. "What? Okay, now speak."

"How- There's no sound in space!"

Clark paused. Gave a slight chuckle at the novelty of sound in space then said, "I'm told you have an almost encyclopedic knowledge. So, tell me: what's sound?"

"It's a mechanical wave oscillated through matter." The boy supplied without missing a beat. His voice went into a monotone and his expression seemed a bit blank, but after he was done, Conner quickly blinked and continued more like himself. "But there's no matter in space. It's a vacuum. Void."

The Superman tapped his ear. "But your comm is in your ear and your ear is comprised of matter."

Conner's expression lit up with comprehension and he could almost feel the boy kicking himself that he should have known that. Ah, physics, what a wonderful thing. He wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"C'mon, I'll take you back in."

Now his expression turned awkward and hesitant. "Superman, uh- Clark… Mr. Kent, what if I wanna stay out here a bit longer?"

"You can call me Clark." He nodded in an attempt to alleviate the boy's fears of disrespect. "Though, when I'm in uniform you should really keep calling me 'Superman', not everyone knows my identity. But since we're alone out here it shouldn't matter."

"Okay, Clark, can I stay out a bit longer?"

The Man of Steel paused, considering. "You really shouldn't." He said. "There's no way for you to get back on your own."

Conner tapped his comm's ear-bud. "Now that I know these work out here, I can just call Miss Martian or someone to pick me up."

Superman did not look convinced.

"Please, Clark?" He was about to elaborate, but paused. Looked unsure. Averted his eyes. "I can't 'fly' in there."

"You still can't fly out here." Clark reminded him. It was the reason he wouldn't be able to re-enter the 'Tower on his own. Without a flight ability he couldn't move in a vacuum.

"I know. But I can pretend… for a little while." He chanced a glance up at his genetic-parent, not sure what kind of reaction to expect.

Clark looked thoughtful -considering. "It's a little silly." He finally said. "In another few years you'll be flying on your own just fine-" Conner opened his mouth to inform the Man of Steel that that wasn't going to happen because he was only half kryptonian, but though better of it. They were not yet ready to have that conversation. "-but if you really can't wait, I can show you a few tricks to maneuvering in zero-G."

…

M'gann had left herself linked with Conner telepathically and had been spyin- ahem, listening in to her boyfriend's conversation just to make sure he was okay. At the Superman's last words, though, she decided to break the link and give them their space. Conner was just fine. Instead she turned to the Martian Manhunter.

/'You're a genius, Unc- uh, J'onn.'/

The Manhunter offered her a comforting smile. /'M'gann, I would feel honored if you continued to call me 'Uncle'.'/ He told her. /'That is, only if you actually want to. Let there be no more pretenses between us.'/

/'Yes!'/ The thought was so strong she almost shouted it out loud. /'I would like that very much! Thank you, Uncle J'onn.'/

She threw her arms around the Manhunter, her now adopted uncle. For the first time since sneaking aboard his ship last June, M'gann felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, a weight she hadn't even known was there until it was gone and suddenly it was as she was back in the zero-G of outer space. Light, weightless, free.

…

"Okay, so I assume you know your laws of motion." Clark was saying.

Not sooner had he asked this, however, then Conner began reciting Newton's Laws as if out of a textbook in that Cadmus monotone with that blank stare on his face. The Superman quickly decided that it was rather off-putting and would have to find a way to break the boy of it in the future. It drove home a point Clark was still struggling to put aside, that the boy was a clone created without his knowledge or consent for dubious purpose.

Clark held up a hand. "Okay, you know your physics. Now lets see if you can apply them." He had carried them both away from Watchtower to a near lunar orbit. "First, which way's down?"

They were suspended between Earth and the moon, slightly closer to the moon, but Earth loomed almost as large in Conner's field of vision. He was about to point at the blue and white marbled planet, but wavered between it and the moon. Or maybe this was a trick question and neither of them were 'down' and 'down' was somewhere between them. But then, in which direction? Infinite choices. Then it hit him. Infinite choices. 'Down' was whatever direction he decided was 'down'. It had been a trick question, just not the kind of trick he'd first thought.

"It doesn't matter." Conner finally answered. "In space there's no such thing as 'up' for 'down' because they're concepts that evolved from living in gravity."

"Very good." Clark nodded and Conner couldn't help but feel a little pride swell in his chest at the praise. It was the second praise his genetic-parent had ever given him and it was all the more precious because of that. "Orienting yourself is the first step to maneuvering in zero-G. When you're in a three dimensional space free of gravitational forces you have so much freedom it can be a little overwhelming, so we make our own orientations and simplify. For right now, lets say the moon is 'down'."

Clark turned them in the void until their feet were pointed at the moon and Conner had to crane his neck upwards to see the Earth. The Man of Steel then zipped 'down' to the Sea of Tranquility, picked up a stone roughly the size of a basketball and returned to where he'd left Conner hovering.

"Throw this 'down'." The Man of Steel commanded.

The boy did as he was told. Taking the rock, he used both hands to lob it at the moon as hard as he could. The stone left his hands on a collision course for the Sea of Tranquility and Conner, to his amazement, began to drift away from the moon at almost the same rate at which the stone was drifting to it. He was moving a bit slower than the rock was, but that was only because the acceleration was inversely proportional to his mass. He was bigger than the rock, so he exerted more force on the rock than the rock exerted on him.

Clark caught the stone before it could make a super-sized crater in the moon that would have NASA scientist scratching their heads for weeks, then zipped to catch Conner before he drifted to far from their 'training ground'. He passed the stone back to the boy.

"Okay, now throw it 'up', towards Earth."

Conner did as he was told, tossing the rock as if trying to shoot a basket in PE. As had happened with he'd thrown it 'down', the stone went arching through the void towards the Earth and he went plummeting to the moon, slightly slower. Once again, Clark caught both of them before either could hit anything. He passed the rock to Conner for a third time.

"Okay, this is probably getting tedious, so last one, I swear. Throw it directly in front of you."

The Superboy, taking the stone in both hands, propelled it from his chest. It arched over the moon, traveling to fast for its weak gravity to pull it in, and was flung off into the void. Conner, meanwhile, went flying backwards also into the black just in an opposing direction. This time, the Superman did not catch either of them, but he did drift alongside the Superboy.

"Now, do you know why you also move when you throw the rock away from you?"

"The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acted upon it." He answered dutifully.

"In your own words, please."

Conner paused. "I pushed the rock one way, it pushed me the other way."

"Head of the class." Clark smiled. A real smile, not the awkward and apologetic sham of a smile he'd given when they shared their identities. He once again grabbed Conner about the shoulders, stopping both their forward motion and brought them both arching back to the moon. "Now, lets try pushing off a larger object."

They landed on the moon, kicking up a cloud of dust as they did so.

"Jump."

The Superboy's expression then turned unexpectedly defiant and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't do that sort of thing."

Clark was suddenly confused. So, the boy elaborated.

"I don't like to be ordered around. That's what they did at Cadmus, I don't like it. When someone says 'jump' I refuse to ask 'how high?'."

"Okay then." He could adjust to that. "Would you, please, kick off the moon."

Conner bent his knees and jumped with as much force as he possibly could. …And went sailing through the void much faster than he'd been able to propel himself with the rock. Clark appeared by his side again. He made no motion to stop or alter the Superboy's course, but through the visor of his oxygen mask, the boy saw him open his mouth to speak again.

"I know, I know…" Conner beat him to the punch. "I travel faster pushing off the moon than I did with the rock because the moon has a greater mass and so it effects me more than I can effect it. That's why I'm practically zooming right now and the moon hasn't moved."

Conner did greatly appreciate Superman showing him all this. Really he did. Words could not express just how happy her was that his genetic-parent was teaching him to do… well, anything. But he really didn't need to go through all the explanations of why what did what or why what happened happened. He already knew all this, Cadmus had been very thorough with his programming. All he needed was a little nudge towards actually applying it and he could figure out the rest on his own. He may not be as much of a science nerd as Wally, but he was smart.

"Actually I was gonna ask if you're cold." Clark surprised him. "Its three degrees Kelvin out here."

"I'm fine." The Superboy assured him. "I'm almost as invulnerable as you are."

"Okay, just thought I'd ask."

They worked on a few more exercises after that. Maneuvering in zero-G seemed to be all about strait lines to Conner. He couldn't arch or curve unless he was close to another astral body with a greater gravitational pull than he did and was traveling at a slow enough speed for said gravity to actually get a hold of him. Even then, his path curved towards the body with the acting gravity. As far as changing actual directions went, that could not be done unless his current path intersected with another object for him to kick off of, and even then, he was still traveling in more of less a strait line.

Maneuvering in space without a flight ability was a lesson in applied-geometry as much as it was applied-physics. For once he was actually rather glad that Cadmus had been so thorough with his programming. He already knew everything he needed to know and with Clark's guiding hand he was able to apply it in practice.

Eventually their oxygen reserves fell low enough for their masks to give them a warning and Clark stopped their practice.

"Nothing like getting yelled at by a mask to ruin the fun, huh." Joked the Superboy light heartedly.

Clark shrugged. "I'm friends with Batman, so I get yelled at by masks all the time."

"I'm sure he takes the mask off sometime." Conner replied. "I mean, unless you guys haven't done the whole identity exchange thing. I didn't mean to presume."

"Oh, he takes the cape and cowl off, sure." The Superman nodded as he flew them both back to Watchtower. "But the mask, that never leaves."

Conner paused. Thought. Then said, "That's a bit heavy for me."

Clark merely shrugged.

It was as they were nearing one of the air-locks that perforated the otherwise smooth stone of Watchtower that the Superman slowed, bringing them both to a halt just short of the outer door.

"Listen, Conner…" He began awkwardly. Almost as awkwardly as when they had exchanged names. "About my behavior these past few months, about how long it took for me to… adjust, I'm… I'm sorry. I won't insult you by making excuses or trying to justify myself. I'm usually very dependable, but… I let you down. You're the first person I've ever let down as 'Superman' and for that I'm sorry."

Conner was silent for a long moment. They hovered, suspended in nothingness, just starring at one another.

Finally, "Thank you." He said. "Since you didn't make excuses, I won't lie and say I was okay, because I wasn't. I needed you, Clark. Some crap would have been a lot less… conflicting if you had been there for me all along. But, at the same time, I understand I was a big shock to you. Batman told me to give you time, so I did and I didn't give up. I'm glad I didn't."

Clark smiled hesitantly. As J'onn had said, he took the time that he needed and only Conner had the right to decide if it was to much. Since the boy was still glad to be mentored by him, he guessed it hadn't been to long, though any longer and 'to long' might have turned into 'to late'. He was curious to know what 'crap' the boy was referring to, but he was also sure that would come in time. Everything happened in time.

Clark felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulder and he wrapped both arms around the boy.

"Please don't hug me." Conner said quickly. "We're not there just yet."

"Okay." He pulled back.

Their oxygen masks yelled at them again and Clark opened outer hatch. They waited for the chamber to re-pressurize before opening the inner door and then they were back in Watchtower. Clark pulled off his mask.

"So, are we good?"

"We're good." Conner confirmed, likewise pulling off his own mask.

It would have been a very lovely moment, had the atmosphere not been shattered the very next second by an irate Dark Knight stomping down the corridor towards them.

"Alright, that's it! You two, stop playing hop-scotch with my air-locks or so help me…!"

…

END

#Young Justice #Superboy #superman #Conner Kent #Clark Kent #Kon-El #kal-el #space #zero gravity #physics #objects in space #RenkonNairu

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micahrodney · 3 years

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Thread; Chapter 3 - Over The River

The following is a commission for Matthew Caveat Zealot. Neil screamed, and started forward. His head collided with something hard, but it wasn't his claustrophobia-inducing ceiling. As the foam-padded leather made contact with his face, he realized he was no longer in bed. The young man was sitting upright, belted into the rear passenger seat of his father's Plymouth Voyager.

“Whoa-” Neil's father cried in response, nearly losing control of the vehicle. “Are you okay?”

Taking stock of his new reality required some mental recalibration. Last he remembered was spending the evening with Damian. The people-pleasing and worldly youth had been attempting to get Neil to broaden his horizons – and more relevantly his palate – by eating some chicken dish called Tom Kha Gai. Afterwards they went back to Neil's place and may have had a bit to drink. He vaguely recalled getting a voicemail from his father. His dreams were vast and vivid, but as he tried to scrape together the scattered fragments of his vision they faded away. More importantly was the rather noticeable gap in events.

Neil took a deep breath as his father began to steer the vehicle towards the side of the highway. The digital clock above the tape deck read 5:45 PM. A large highway sign revealed that they were just 60 miles outside of St. Clair, Michigan. They were 300 miles from his dorm room.

To his left was his sister, Dawn. She was the younger of his two sisters, but she still had two years on him. While the older sister, Kim, had been the spitting image of their mother, Dawn looked more like their father. Her hair was naturally chestnut brown, though it was presently dyed black with electric yellow streaks, the better to match her grunge aesthetic. Dawn's usual attire was comprised of leather jackets and jeans, though she was wearing black sweats for the road trip.

Occupying the passenger seat, into which Neil had just rammed his head, was his brother Travis. His beard seemed to have grown two inches since they had last spoken. The boisterous one in the family was oddly quiet today, wearing a plain forest green sweater. This was also a far cry from his Hawaiian shirt obsession.

“Neil?” His father asked, after putting the car in park on the shoulder. “You good?”

“I'm sorry, I just had a nightmare I think,” Neil explained. Maybe he was still having a nightmare.

That, or he had somehow lost several days of his life. They were on their way to his mother's memorial, which meant he had somehow fast-forwarded his life by about three days. Which begged the question: how the hell did that happen and why could he not remember any of it?

“It's a nice change of pace, dude,” Dawn said, her attention split between her Gameboy, Walkman and the stick of gum she was chewing on. “Honestly you've been kind of a zombie since we picked you up.”

“Oh yeah, says the Borg,” Travis teased.

“Don't hate my tech. It makes the real world way more bearable,” Dawn retorted, resting her temporarily-misplaced headphone back over her ear.

Neil took special notice of the word 'zombie' and decided to expand on that thought. “Have I been acting weirdly?”

“I mean I figured you were just sad because of... you know,” Travis gestured towards the others in the car.

It had to be especially hard for him, now sitting in the spot where their mother had for most of their lives, until the accident. Three years had passed by in a miserable blink. What were three days in the grand scheme of things?

“This is gonna sound weird,” Neil began, and that was putting it mildly. How exactly did one ask the question he was going to ask?

“That would be a first,” Dawn quipped sarcastically. Clearly The Smashing Pumpkins were not excluding her from the conversation.

The proud patriarch Kevin Brown turned to Neil and gave him that same kind and understanding gaze that he always did. His gentle eyes, that distinctive cleft in his chin, and a soft smile that won over even his mother. Neil could trust this man, out-of-touch as he was, with anything.

“What day is it?” Neil asked.

“Neil, you're scaring me now. Are you okay?”

“Dad, please. What day?” Neil insisted.

“It's Friday. We picked you up from your dorm this morning,” Kevin said. “Neil... you're not on drugs are you?”

“No, dad it's not like that,” Neil scoffed. “I just- I don't know, I haven't been sleeping right lately and everything is all... hazy.”

“Dude, it's dad. If you're on something he won't get mad at-”

“I'm not on anything!” Neil shouted. The confusion had devolved into frustration and Travis's well-intentioned comment was doing nothing to abate it. “Just because you fucked up your scholarship-”

“Hey!” Kevin interjected soothingly, reaching back to place a bracing hand on his shoulder. “Easy now, there's no need to go off on your brother like that.”

Travis had turned back to face the road. A few cars passed them, one even blaring on its horn unhelpfully. Dawn popped a bubble between her teeth.

“Now listen, son. If you say you're not, then you're not. I trust you completely,” Kevin said. “We'll take you to a hospital when we get to St. Clair and have the doctor check you out, okay?”

“A hospital,” Neil nodded. “Yeah, that's probably a good idea.”

“Maybe they'll put you in a straitjacket,” Dawn smirked.

There was no malice behind the comment. Underneath the would-be nihilist's harsh exterior was a tiny grain of affection for her family, especially her younger brother. This was her twisted way of trying to calm him down and make him feel at home. And, oddly, it was working.

“Sorry, Travis,” Neil said. “I'm just really... I don't know.”

“You don't have to apologize,” Travis said, still not turning around. “It's a hard time for all of us.”

He had the biggest heart of any of them, but it was also the most easily wounded. When they were younger, Neil had been intensely jealous of the theater kid brother of his. He was the center of attention, and by a wide margin the “favorite” child of their father. As a result, the two boys fought constantly and viciously.

Things only started to change when Travis left for college and started to mature. But with the maturing mind came evolving tastes. He was a self-described “party animal”. And one night he had partied too hard on the wrong side of LA. Within a few weeks he was absent to all of his classes, and a no-call no-show termination at work.

They found him on the UCLA campus between two bushes. It had taken a lot of work, but their father had managed to turn a five-year jail sentence into two months of rehabilitation. Being a lawyer's son had its perks. The true penalty was the loss of his football scholarship. That and the expression on their mother's face when he confessed to her he was an addict.

Neil regretted his words now. Apart from being the one big taboo in the otherwise accepting family, making such a cheap shot at his brother made him feel unclean. When Neil had first found out, he was a little too keen to finally have something to one-up the perfect son with. Teenage hormones were no help, and he hadn't developed a proper sense of empathy yet.

“There but for the grace of God go you,” their mother would always tell Neil.

That was bullshit as far as Neil was concerned, in the infinite wisdom of a adolescent. He was better than Travis. He was smarter. He didn't fall into the stupid obvious traps that all drug users did. The mandatory D.A.R.E. Program had done a number on his concept of nuance. But even as Neil railed on his brother, all their parents could do was just shake their heads with a mixture of disappointment and sad amusement.

Disappointment. That was a potent word. And that's what Neil felt like: The family disappointment. In spite of Dawn's fashion sense, Travis's past, and Kim's taste in men, Neil was the one who didn't fit in. And it was nobody's fault but his own.

---

St. Clair, Michigan was the homestead of their mother. It was as far removed from Voxton as you could be. The scenic town was nestled in the isthmus between Lake Erie and Lake Huron. It was founded along the St. Clair River which flowed somewhat unimaginatively into Lake St. Clair.

The river was one of the geographical borders which marked the edge of the continental United States. Across the river to the east was Canada, should one feel inclined to attempt a crossing in the frigid waters. Neil had only been here a few times in his life, and never while his mother was alive. For some reason it was her dying wish to be interred in the family plot a few miles up-river, but she'd never expressed any interest in visiting the place.

This was their fourth trip to the charming post-card worthy dell, where every street corner looked ripe for a postcard and every citizen seemed to come straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The skies were blue, the horizon dotted with lighthouses and the only noise was the sound of motorboats gently cruising down the river.

“How are you feeling, Neil?” His father asked, when they parked the car outside their hotel. While Kevin Brown dressed to the nines when he was with clients or in court, he preferred a casual look; khaki's with a crimson-and-grey striped cardigan.

“I think I'm okay for right now. Still a little fuzzy on the past few days,” he replied.

Fuzzy, but details were coming back to him. It was rather odd, more like he was recalling an episode of a television show which he'd fallen asleep during. He seemed to have some vague idea of stumbling to his classes for the week, but there was something hollow and robotic about the memories. They had no spark to them, no authenticity. It was like he was on auto-pilot, which may have very well have been the case.

For a moment he did consider the possibility that he had been drugged. But the only people he had been with in the past week were Damian and his classmates, none of whom had the means or motive to do so.

“We'll have a doctor check you out anyway,” Kevin said, in the way that brokered no argument. “There's a nice new facility just south of here in East China. Only opened up a couple years ago.”

Modernity was Kevin Brown's sole rubric for quality.

“Daddy!” Came an overeager feminine voice from the opposite end of the parking lot.

Kim, the oldest child, was eternally dressed like was late for a board meeting. Straight out of the 80s with a shoulder-padded salmon pantsuit and her dyed-blonde hair in a perm that framed her slightly chubby face. She had come a long way from the auburn-haired teen in overall's Neil had a vague memory of from his childhood.

She was tailed by her current boyfriend, a middle-aged trucker who chose to mark this momentous occasion by putting his least-stained plaid shirt. The corners of his stubbled mouth were still dripping with chewing tobacco residue.

“Honey!” Kevin said, embracing his daughter. “And this must be uh...”

After disentangling herself from her father, Kim lifted a hand gesturing vaguely in the direction of the gentleman. “This is Rocky.”

“Pleased to meet ya, sir,” said the trucker, taking Kevin's hand.

“Uh, likewise Rocky,” Kevin replied, shaking it hesitantly. He was presently engaged in trying to calculate the staggeringly narrow age-difference between him and the man now dating his first child.

“Guys how are you all!” Kim said, pulling all of them in a group hug.

Only Travis truly returned the hug. Neil was trying not to suffocate under the noxious fumes of whatever perfume she was wearing, and Dawn with her slender frame had managed to slip out of the grasp entirely.

“Glad to see you haven't changed, sis,” Travis teased. “Still pushing papers?”

“Papers nothing, little bro. Real estate has never been this good. You know I don't know what that guy in the White House is doing right now, but if keeps it up, I'm gonna be filthy rich,” Kim laughed in a way that she surely thought was musical.

“Maybe you can buy some clothes that come in colors that don't belong in an old folk's home,” Dawn remarked, her attention somehow still fixed on the Gameboy which should surely have been running out of battery by now.

“Oh you,” Kim sighed, giving Dawn her own special hug. A sour-sounding electronic chirp seemed to indicate the gesture had cost Dawn a life. “I love your hair! I bet this is such a fun time in your life.”

That was the saccharine-sweet way of saying “this is just a phase”. There was definitely a wide line between the two older children and the two younger. Travis had been made humble by his fall from grace. Had he not, he would have turned out exactly like Kim. Brimming with sunshine and not a drop of it genuine.

“So,” Kevin said, cutting in. “The ceremony begins at noon tomorrow. We have to run Neil to the hospital real quick.”

Kim let out a dramatic gasp. “Oh no! What's wrong, little man?”

“It's nothing big,” Neil replied, dodging another attempted hug. “And it's kind of a private matter.”

Kevin caught the comment and nodded his approval. “Dawn, Travis are you two going to be okay here at the hotel by yourself?”

Dawn nodded and began walking towards the hotel. If she had enough AA batteries, she could have survived in a cardboard box.

“I think we'll be okay, Pops,” Travis said. “I hope you feel better, Neil.”

Neil patted Travis's shoulder in a conciliatory way, and the two parted. He was unable to dodge the second attempt at a hug from Kim, who pushed her head into his shoulder, even though she had to lean down slightly to do it.

“Feel better, buddy!”

“Thank you, Kim,” Neil grunted, more than a little embarrassed.

---

The doctor's visit was about what could be expected. There was nothing wrong with his brain, according to a CAT scan and an MRI. Kevin Brown's money always did the talking about both procedures were tackled over a five-hour period, despite a warning from the doctor of potential complications with the readings.

His father was brilliant and humble, but he knew exactly how to get what he wanted. To benefit his children he would go to any lengths. After Neil had been poked, prodded and had an unseemly collection of fluids removed from and added to his body, the final diagnosis was remarkably unhelpful.

“Stress-induced narcolepsy?” Kevin asked. “My son wasn't asleep, he just doesn't remember anything.”

“That's the best conclusion we have right now. Some patients with narcolepsy can also experience somnambulism; sleep-walking. It's uncommon, but it has happened,” replied the stoic, but clearly annoyed Dr. Faust.

“I just,” Kevin sighed in frustration. “I don't understand.”

“Sir, your son's brain chemistry is fine,” Dr. Faust explained. “Apart from a little sleep deprivation his scans are perfectly normal. Furthermore the toxicology reports show a clean bill of health. Only that came back was a little bit of underage drinking. It's not drugs, it's not some form of mental disorder. The truth is, sir, I don't know what happened to your son. The best thing we can do is keep an eye on him and if he has another attack like that, bring him right in so we can examine him.”

“This is unbelievable,” Kevin fumed, his docile nature slowly ebbing away from stress.

“It's okay, Dad,” Neil said, placing a hand on his father's shoulder. “Let's just go, it's midnight and we have the memorial tomorrow.”

Kevin was willing to stay there all night if he had to, but Neil's pleading had worked. He put his jacket back on, without bothering to roll up his sleeves and straightened his tie. Ever requiring the last word, he turned back to Faust.

“I hope you're right, Doc,” Kevin declared. “Come on, Neil.”

#writing #commission #shortfic #cosmichorror #scifi #sliceoflife #fiction #serial #thread

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