#(someone made a transparent version so i stuck him in as a joke)

[iolitemoth]

i wanted to try the first artist challenge of the mistocord summer event!

Apricat, Kitt, Hem, and Hum are out exploring the woods looking for interesting creatures. What will they find?

[monodipita]

DOLL (Yandere!Illumi x reader)

Word count: 1,850

Warnings: Yandere content warning. Illumi being himself.

Everything about this situation felt like it was out of a nightmare, it was the ideal situation in a kidnap scenario. This basement was cold, dark, and the only way you could see things is if the man who held you captive turned on a lamp that scarcely lit the dark interior, and it wasn't very often. You were helplessly chained to the wall through the hands and throat. Your legs were free to move around and walk around freely in the two feet you could move around with, but it was still a slap to the face to chained in the first place. . .or even be here, for that matter.

Your head remained down and your eyes remained closed until the sound of a door opening pierced your ears. You cringed away from it due to the pressure it put on your ears and squeezed your eyes shut to prevent the light that temporarily poured in from reaching them.

The door closes, you can hear the locking mechanisms move into place. It was him, Illumi Zoldyck.

You refused to turn your head up to meet his gaze. That damn stare. Unceasing, unwavering, unnerving. His eyes could bore holes into your very soul, and maybe they already did, that was the worst part.

A phone flashlight shone down on you, making your body cringe again, this time due to the LED light being far too bright for your sensitive eyes.

"Look at me."

His words sent chills up your spine, you could feel the goosebumps raising on your skin. Every part of your body begged you to stop listening to him, but you couldn't. Going against his wishes, though it hasn't happened before, felt like a death wish, so you listened. Your eyes opened, your head turned slightly, and like a doe in headlights, you looked in his direction. You could see his pale features just barely past the illumination of the phone flashlight, and those dead eyes staring at you. "Good." He simply stated.

He moved away from you for just a moment. When he returned, he was carrying a chair that he could sit in. He sat it down just before your body and sat in it, returning the gaze of the phone's flashlight back on you. Your body tensed, your eyes narrowed, but you couldn't do anything against someone like him.

"When am I going to be free of these chains?" You asked. You tugged on them to give the man before you a gentle reminder that you were still in them. However, no visual or audio cue made the man break his unnerving stare that settled on you. He didn't say anything to you either, but only made himself more comfortable in the chair he currently sat in. It must've felt nice to be in a chair and not on the cold floor.

"Are you going to answer me?"

"Why do you want to know the answer when you know every time you ask me that it's going to be a no? Your actions are questionable." Illumi finally piped up.

"And yours aren't? Look at what you've done to me!" You snapped at him. Your voice raised for a single moment before your headache caused you to lower it back to a whisper.

"I've already told you before. I want you."

It was so simple. The logic behind it made perfect sense to him but made little sense to you. "..." what was there to say in response to that? He was a selfish monster, capable of acting on his own personal whims without hesitation. He didn't care that he didn't know you or that you had a life of your own with people who cared for you, all he cared about. . .was keeping you here.

All returned to silence. You had to deal with Illumi's unnerving presence and the light that he shone on you. If this was what zoo animals felt like, then you were sorry for them.

After some time of sitting in silence between the two of you and the phone flashlight, Illumi spoke. "Want to go out?"

Was this a joke? You couldn't help but turn your eyes to him when he spoke of something so promising. A chance to go out and see the real world? Maybe even escape? It sounded like a heavenly idea. "Y-yes." You stammered. "I want to go out."

"Okay, then let's go out."

This wasn't your ideal look for a trip outside. Once you were set "free", you weren't given any chance to put on a different set of clothes, nor were you actually free. . .he slapped another pair of cuffs on you. Ones that were far more mobile than the others, as it was just a smaller version of the ones he hooked you up to the wall with. Your cheeks furiously blushed with embarrassment as he strung you along into the grand halls of the Zoldyck mansion. Everywhere you looked, there was someone standing there with their eyes on you. "Illumi, I..."

"Don't like their eyes being on you?" Illumi questioned. "That's unfortunate. I thought you would enjoy everyone taking in your beauty." He turned his head to observe you. "I think you look beautiful."

Beauty?? Did he mean the dirtied clothing you wore and the scrapes on your cheeks, knees, and elbows? You didn't even want to know what your hair looked like. This was ridiculous, and it wasn't what you had in mind. . .but what did you expect when it came to Illumi?

"Before we leave," Illumi broke the silence, you must've been daydreaming the entire walk. You glanced over at him questioningly, only to grimace in horror. A needle... it was a large needle between Illumi's pale fingers that glimmered when light struck it, gold in color, with a large ball attached to the end of it. The needle itself was thin and almost transparent, but Illumi was so pale that you could see it against his flesh.

"What are you doing..?"

"Just taking necessary precautions. I can't have anyone thinking you're a prisoner, anyway. No, no... you love it here... you always have, doll." He began to bring the needle to your forehead. "Now stay still, this won't hurt if you don't move."

"No-! No! You don't have to use that, Illumi! I love you!" You whined at him. Your body moved back when the needle was presented to keep the distance between the two of you. "Please, please! I'll be good!"

Illumi stared at you. Nothing left his lips, no change came out of his expression, he simply stared at you. He didn't raise or lower the needle either, it hung in the air between the two of you.

"Please..." You whispered, as you came close enough to lift your bound hands and put them behind Illumi's head to lock him in an embrace. As your body met with his, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. "I can prove to you that I won't leave... I promise. I'm not a prisoner, I-I'm... I'm your lover. I'm yours."

But you already knew what he was thinking. It was insane to think that he could hold off from acting on his own desires for this long. You could see the needle in the corner of your eye, how it was visibly shaking from a clear lack of restraint. He itched to shove that needle into your body and have it be over with, but it seemed that he wasn't going to. He tilted his head to see you, and you met his - inches from each other. He said nothing and only stared in his deep silence, it was so unnerving.

"Fine." He finally said, as he stuck the needle back to his vest. "Let's go then."

To know that you were going to be paraded around with tattered clothing, unkempt hair, and chains around your wrists and throat was a very humiliating thing. But, there was no fighting Illumi. You knew enough about the man to know that going against what he wanted was often a dangerous idea, but you were blessed by a stroke of kindness, if you could really even consider it that.

There was silence between the two of you as you stepped out into the outside world. The sun's warming rays crept through the breaks in the branches of the trees to give you light, which both hurt you and blessed you at the same time. The feeling of warmth wasn't an unwelcome feeling, so sitting out in the sun was a welcome thought. You knew he wasn't going to take you anywhere else. However, you were surprised when he continued walking. "Where are we going?" You ask him.

"Out." He responds. There's nothing more to it. No sense in continuing to poke and prod at him for an answer you wouldn't want. You should've just been happy with the fact that he even let you outside at all- and you were, you were very happy.

The two of you were surrounded by nothing but forest. For you, this was a relatively peaceful feeling. If this was something that happened every day, you could get used to this, until you were able to map out a discrete way to get out of here as quickly as possible. "Is this an estate?" You asked with a small smile on your face, "it's very beautiful. Your family must be incredibly rich."

Illumi said nothing, but you could see the smallest curve of his lips turn upward in the corner of your eye. You were still miserable... anything but happy. You missed being free, you missed being able to be with people and society, and more important, you missed your job as a hunter. How did you even reach this spot? It's only been two weeks, but it felt like months. A soft sigh left your lips. At the very least now, you were outside. Before this, he wouldn't even let you walk around in that dungeon. Many people weren't out here so you didn't have to feel embarrassed for what you currently looked like, so you were alone with him - and he was so quiet, the only real indication that he was even there was a tug on your chains if he felt that his grip was slipping.

The two of you came to a stop, just as you approached a door. This wasn't just any door, it was a mark of importance. You paled before its giant stature and domineering aura. If anything, Illumi was just like this door.

"We've reached the end, [Y/N]."

You squeaked as you were tugged in his direction. Your elbows bent and placed themselves against his chest as he pulled you taut against his. His free hand went onto the shy of your back to hold you in place. "But that's too bad..."

A sharp feeling plunged itself deep into your forehead before the feeling disappeared altogether. A fuzzy feeling invaded your body, making your eyes hood with confusion. "Illumi..?"

"Doll, you're never going to be free of me."

[got-svt]

signs

order up !  large americano at 75% sweetness, a slice of strawberry shortcake, and a slice of cherry pie with mingyu for anon <3 order notes :  mingyu x reader, angst, fluff, a first date, brief mentions of other members, cameo from eunwoo bec i watched true beauty and was in need of another 97 liner, and a very nervous mingyu, he just wants everything to go well smh look, something’s written on your cup... hi ! for transparency’s sake this is an edited version of something that i posted a while back that i deleted. so if you are the anon who requested this but couldn’t find it, here it is now ! 

summary : all mingyu wanted was to go on one nice date with you, was that too much to ask? well, according to the universe, it was.

word count : ~2.8k

The first sign was he woke up a little too late, technically it wasn’t even a sign, considering that it was entirely his fault anyway. Mingyu had spent all of the previous night preparing for your date with him — making little sandwiches, cutting up some fruit, baking cookies to be put in little plastic containers. After hearing that you hadn’t been to the park in quite a while, never really having a reason to go, he decided that a picnic wasn’t too bad of an idea for a first date. 

Mingyu had wanted to ask you out for the longest time, being friends with him ever since both of you knew how to talk. It was easy, your friendship with him. Neither of you ever felt like you had to put up some sort of front, or have walls up incredibly high. He asked you out in the most casual of ways too, like it wasn’t that big of a deal. You couldn’t tell but on the inside, he was freaking out — that came with not knowing how you’d react and the possibility of rejection.

“Are you free tomorrow?” Mingyu asked, unable to meet your eyes.

You nodded, slightly confused at his inability to match your gaze.

“Okay, I was thinking we can go to the park tomorrow since you told me you haven’t been there in a while. Maybe we could go on a picnic?” He spoke as if he didn’t start preparing for this days ago, looking up fun things to do while on a picnic or a park — picking wildflowers together was high up on the list of things he wanted to do with you.

“Oh, sure! I’ll text Wonwoo and the others to see if they want to join us—”

“No!” Mingyu exclaimed, a little too loud and a little too quickly, a hand in front of you like he was about to physically stop you from doing something. “I was thinking that it could be just the two of us, you know?”

He hoped you would pick up on it, the implication from the nervous tone in his voice, how when he finally gazed up at you with softness in his yes. He was asking you out, on a date. Mingyu wished that you could tell. Unfortunately for him, you didn’t.

You shrugged your shoulders before giving him a smile, “Sure! We’ll meet there at around 10?”

And he couldn’t tell that you didn’t pick up on it either.

Mingyu woke up groggy that morning, his phone on the bedside table, calling out to him with the sound of a text notification. 

[Y/N]: where are you? I’m already here >:(

His eyes widened, falling off his bed in shock once he realized it was already five minutes past 10 am. Mingyu took a shower, put on his clothes, grabbed everything he needed, and sped past the door in twenty minutes. This was not how he planned it out in his head. Mingyu was supposed to surprise you at your place, a bouquet of your favorite flowers in hand. No matter, he still had the rest of the day to sweep you off your feet and ask you to be his.

The sun shone brightly that morning, but it was neither hot nor humid. It was actually the perfect to be outside, with multiple white clouds littering the pale blue sky, a soft breeze blowing through the blades of grass, children running around playing tag — their laughter filling the air. Mingyu smiled, determined that today was going to be perfect

His eyes scanned around the are for any sight of your familiar figure, eyes lighting up when he finally spots you. Mingyu makes his way over, the nervousness that slowly started to creep up on him becoming amplified once he realizes that you were talking to someone else. 

The first thing he noticed was how big your smile was as you talked to this person, stretching across your face and crinkling your eyes. Did you ever smile this much around him? You stood a few feet away from the man, but you were very clearly comfortable around him — lightly pushing his shoulder as you laughed, peering up at him through your eye lashes. You finally notice him walking to you, waving your hand and beckoning him to move quicker.

“Hey Gyu!” You grinned, greeting him like you always did, a quick one armed side-hug.

“Hi, Yn.” Mingyu attempted a smile, but it felt a little restrained, gesturing to the person you were just talking to, “Who’s this?”

“Oh! This is Eunwoo, we dated a while ago but it never really worked out.” You shrugged, waving it off like it wasn’t that big of a deal. “You were taking so long and I happened to run into him so we were just catching up a bit.”

“I see..” He trailed off, holding a hand out for Eunwoo to shake. He had known you for years now, and yet he had never heard you mention an Eunwoo to him before. “Nice to meet you, man.”

“Likewise.” Eunwoo replied, shaking Mingyu’s hand before turning to face you. “I won’t keep you too long. My number’s still the same, we should meet up for coffee sometime.”

Mingyu couldn’t help but furrow his brows at the sight of you enthusiastically accepting Eunwoo’s invitation. The little tug on his heartstrings was hard to ignore as he watched you give a quick hug goodbye to your ex-boyfriend — a very attractive ex-boyfriend for that matter. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, why did he have to wake up so late? If he had been there on time, you wouldn’t have been able to catch up with him for as long as you did. If he had stuck to his original plan of picking you up, you probably wouldn’t have seen him at all. 

Kim Mingyu wasn’t the jealous type, but in that moment, he couldn’t help but feel exactly that. Especially when he had been pining after for you for so long now, he didn’t want it to come crashing down just because of one person. 

“You’re pouting.” You commented, quickly noticing how uncharacteristically quiet he had become. The two of you walked side by side, hands ever so slightly brushing against one another. You hoped that the warm weather would be enough of an excuse for the red flush that made its way to your cheeks.

Mingyu shook his head, he didn’t mean to have you worrying for him. “Don’t worry about it.”

His reply made you even more skeptical, should there be something you’re meant to be worrying about? But you decided to drop the question, maybe it truly wasn’t that big of a deal.

You and Mingyu found a spot in a less crowded area of the park, you no longer the heard the sound of children screaming or their exhausted parents calling out over them. Instead the melodious sounds of birds tweeting up at the sky filled your ears, a delicate wind blew between the two of you, and the sun’s glare becoming much softer as it finally became covered by the clouds. 

He takes out a blue picnic blanket and lays it flat on the ground, smoothing out imaginary creases in the process. You hold a hand out to him, wordlessly letting him know that you’d like to set the picnic up with him. Mingyu hands you the picnic basket, and you spent the next couple of minutes in silence as you tried to make everything look almost picture perfect. The silence was far from uncomfortable, manifested by the small smiles and the growing blushes on both of your faces. There was something rather domestic about the activity, handing him different containers of food, deciding together where everything should be placed.

“Did you make these yourself?” You asked once both of you finally settled down, gesturing to the wide array of food that lay in front of you. 

Mingyu smiled, a hand on the back of his neck as he suddenly became ever so slightly bashful, “Yeah. I hope you like it.”

You take a bite of one of the chocolate chip cookies, something in you decided to tease him a little, making a face of slight disgust as you swallowed. His heart sank, a look of disappointment clearly covering his face. He spent all night making those, weren’t they up to your standard?

Panic washes over you as you saw a frown overtake his once smiling face, “I’m kidding! They’re good.”

Mingyu lets out a breath, the disappointment slowly disappearing as the two of you settled into an easy conversation, though that was never really difficult for the two of you. You and him have been friends for about a few years now, but he didn’t really know when exactly he started to see you as something more. He just knew that he did. This much was clear to him when he catches himself staring at you for a little too long, definitely longer than what would be considered normal. There was just something about you that enchanted him, whether it was you laughing over some silly joke he made, frowning as you become disappointed in the latest episode of a show you were watching, face illuminated by the light of a tv screen. You could be reading him your grocery list and he’d still think it was the most interesting thing in the world. 

The extent of his feelings terrified him the first time he realized they were there in the first place. Mingyu wasn’t meant to feel that way for you, one of his closest friends. But he did, and the thought of you possibly not feeling the same way terrified him even more. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” You asked, head tilted to the side, “Do I have something on my face?”

Mingyu shook his head quickly, he didn’t mean to stare again.

You felt a sharp sting on your ankle, wincing as you immediately yelped from the pain, “Ouch!”

“What’s wrong?” Mingyu asked, eyes alight with concern. 

You shook your head in response, thinking it was just a lone ant deciding to inconvenience you. That thought was quickly dismissed when you felt another equally sharp sting near that same area. 

“Oh no…” You trailed off, looking a few meters to the side of your picnic blanket,  “Mingyu…”

“Oh!” He exclaimed, following your gaze to the trail of ants that were quickly making their way to the two of you. Great, was nature against him too?

The both of you immediately got up, covering containers, placing them in the basket, and folding up the picnic blanket before the rest of the ants could step their tiny little feet onto the blanket and into the food. As you walked to find a new spot to continue the rest of your date, Mingyu couldn’t help but feel a little bit discouraged. Three things had gone wrong in the span of a few hours, was this just the universe warning him that the two of you will never work out? Maybe telling him to back off early before he gets his heart broken. 

In the distance, a low rumble breaks through what would’ve been the perfect day out, followed by a sharp crackle piercing through the air. The sky once a brilliant blue was suddenly covered in heavy, stormy clouds. The park that once basked in the sun’s golden glow became shrouded in gray, people seemed to know what was about to happen as they hurriedly packed their things and go home.

It started out a small droplets, like little kisses on your skin that almost felt like nothing. They were small, and they fell ever so slowly. For a brief moment, Mingyu thought that this was going to be over quick. Then suddenly, the sky weeped, loud and heavy as it drenched the entirety of the park in rain. 

Okay, nature was definitely against him now. 

Mingyu stopped walking, was there even a point to moving forward? Everything was ruined. The food should be inedible at this point, you and him were soaked and freezing, and it’s not like you could have a picnic on muddy park soil. At this point, the universe had sent him so many signs, he’d feel like a fool if he didn’t listen now. But still, he wished things had happened the way it did in his head. He let out a frustrated groan, tears nearly pricking the corners of his eyes.

“Are you okay?” You asked, a gentle hand on his shoulder. Mingyu was very clearly distressed, but you failed to see why. It’s nature, it’s not something you or him could control. Things like this happen and you should be spending your energy trying to find a place to shelter yourselves from the rain. You grab onto his arm, trying to pull him away, “Come on, let’s find a place that can cover us.”

“No! I’m not okay, Yn…” He trailed off, agitation seeping into each and every one of his words. He shrugs off his arm, much to your surprise. Usually, he’d let you cling onto him for as long as you liked. “I just wanted today to be perfect.”

You furrowed your brows, slightly confused at his irritation, “Why does it matter if today is perfect or not?”

Mingyu sighed, he was getting cold now. He wanted nothing more to be wrapped up in a blanket and have you in his arms. But he knew the chances of the happening now are essentially slim to none. The day was already ruined, and there’s nothing he could do to even remotely salvage it. “I just…”

You gestured for him to continue, waiting patiently as he tried to find the words to say.

“I wanted to give you the perfect date…” He spoke, looking down at his feet.

“Wait, this was a date?” You didn’t mean to sound surprised, you just genuinely were. Voice raising octaves and eyebrows shot up, talking too quickly to catch most of the words, “Like a date-date? I thought we were just hanging out! All you asked me yesterday was whether or not I was free!”

Mingyu’s shoulder’s slumped. He didn’t have to ask you to repeat himself, he heard you clearly despite how hard the rain currently came down, the beating of his own heart deafening him. In a way, he was thankful for the rain; at least you wouldn’t be able to tell if a few tears escaped his eyes. “I’m sorry, I just thought…yeah, no. I should have expected this.”

Guilt immediately flooded your senses, he must’ve read your shock as a rejection of his feelings. You didn’t mean to sound so startled at him thinking the entire day as a date, you just couldn’t believe the possibility that he felt the same way you did for him. “Mingyu.”

You were sure if he had heard you, his gaze still on the ground. You called out to him again, this time your voice much louder and sterner, hoping that it would get his attention. “Gyu.”

“What is it, Yn?” He looked up to find you making your way towards him, a small pout forming on your lips. Mingyu sighed, “You don’t have to do this. I’ll be fine.” 

“I like you.” You spoke, just as you were about a few feet away from him, looking into his eyes to make sure he knew that you meant it — that you were being completely serious.

His world stopped. Suddenly, it seemed like the earlier events of the day never happened. He never woke up late, you hadn’t gotten the chance to catch-up with your ex-boyfriend, ants never tried to show up uninvited to your picnic, rain never poured down on the two of you. All these things he thought were signs from the universe, never occurred. There was only you and him, and you liked him back. 

“Oooooh you wanna kiss me so bad.” You teased, attempting to snap him out of his trance.

Mingyu didn’t mean to stare at you again, speechless. He just couldn’t believe that this was real just yet. But your words, how you looked at him with a smile — expectant, like you were challenging him to do something, to make a move — finally made him realize just how real this was. “And what if I do?”

You blinked back, not expecting that bold of a response. Still, you took a single step forward, further closing the already small distance between the two of you. “I’d let you.”

Without another word, he moves a hand to your chin, gently tilting your face up so his lips could meet yours in a kiss.

— thank you for visiting cafe amore ! feel like ordering something else? check the menu here.

[rainbowbutterfrosting]

The Revived - Chapter 12: Nonexistent

This is chapter 12 of the Dream SMP multichapter fic @dramaticsnakes​ and I wrote together! I hope you’ll enjoy!

AO3

Read in order (on Tumblr)

Characters in this chapter: Wilbur, Ghostbur, Tubbo, Ranboo, Michael, Fundy, and Puffy (briefly)

Word count: 2,910

Cw: food, guilt, feelings of worthlessness, fear of being replaced, cursing, mentions of death/wars, brief panic attack, derealization, implied suicidal thoughts

Fic summary: Wilbur was alive, and it was such a magnificent feeling, that made his mind spark with anticipation. It didn’t take long, however, for Wilbur to realize that this new breath of life, was not just his own. An echo-y voice hides in the back of his mind, and before he knows it, the transparent version of him he saw at the endless train station, is a lot more ingrained than he’d expected him to be.

And Wilbur really shouldn’t care. Because he’d be damned, if he spent the life he’d awaited for so long, babysitting a lost cause of a ghost, stuck in the very same limbo Wilbur spent so long in. It was an even exchange, and one Wilbur wasn’t going to mess with. Why exactly he ends up setting out to get the ghost out of his mind, in order to save the both of them, however, is beyond him. And perhaps Wilbur’s past isn’t as easy to leave behind, as he’d hoped it would be.

While a tense knot was still hiding in Wilbur’s stomach, he felt surprisingly calm as he walked by Tubbo’s side back to where they’d left Ranboo in L’Manberg. Michael had almost held his hand consistently all the way through, only letting go once to chase a bee, and another time to pick up a flower for his dad. Tubbo had seemed surprised at how little Michael had been running about, and had blamed it on Wilbur’s presence. It was strange really, how Wilbur somehow managed to bring peace to a child, when his presence usually provoked anything but peace.

They approached what was apparently a new flower shop, set up by the ruins of L’Manberg, while not being in ruins itself. Wilbur quickly spotted Ranboo, who was holding a bouquet of various flowers. Wilbur’s eyes drifted to a blue orchid that felt familiar somehow, though he didn’t have any discernible meaningful memory regarding it. On sight, Michael at last let go of Wilbur’s hand to run to Ranboo. Excitedly, he seemed to sign something with his hands, smiling widely all the way through. Ranboo laughed warmly.

There was another figure in the shop, standing right next to Ranboo. Her eyes had fallen upon Wilbur almost immediately after he got close enough, and she looked uncertain of exactly who she was looking at. Wilbur assumed that this was the Puffy, Tubbo and Ranboo had mentioned earlier.

Wilbur almost felt awkward as he arrived at the scene. He shouldn’t, because Wilbur was good at displaying confidence. Though there was a strange familiarity to the scene, that led him to feel far smaller than he ever would in a political conflict. Less useful than he would with a gun or a sword in the midst of war. “Hello.” Puffy said, directed at Tubbo. She then smiled at Wilbur, though it was hesitant. “And you’re… You’re not Ghostbur.”

Wilbur huffed humorously, and extended his hand. “Wilbur Soot.” he said, “Revived and well.”

“I heard.” Puffy said quietly, though she smiled and reached out, shaking the hand offered to her, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Captain Puffy.”

“Captain?” Wilbur asked with a raised eyebrow.

Puffy exhaled briefly through her nose. “Yup.” she said, “That’s me.” The words were tinted with faint memories, and Wilbur recognized some loss in her eyes. He wondered exactly what she was captain of, and what had led her to the ruins of L’Manberg, selling flowers, and whatever else she did on the server.

In a moment of grim clarity, Wilbur realized that this was the first person Wilbur had met, aside from Ranboo, who hadn’t known Wilbur before at all. Someone who hadn’t been there to witness the rise of his power, or his fall at the sword.

“Puffy!” Ghostbur exclaimed suddenly, “I remember her! She helped rebuild L’Manberg! She’s really good at that sort of thing.”

Wilbur lost complete track of his own thoughts at the words. He had the urge to ask out loud exactly what Ghostbur meant by rebuilding L’Manberg, though he wasn’t in the right place to comment on it. He realized he’d stayed quiet for too long, when Puffy gave him a nod, and turned back to Ranboo again. With no hesitation, Ranboo handed her payment. “Oh these are good!” Tubbo said to Ranboo, gesturing to the bouquet, “I love the colors.”

Puffy turned to Wilbur, and Wilbur became acutely aware of just how calm her smile was. There was hesitance and suspicion in it, but it didn’t have the same years of memories. There was no personal contempt, and Wilbur wasn’t sure what he thought of that. “I guess I’ll see you around, Wilbur.” she said.

Wilbur nodded. “Oh, I’m sure you will.” he said with a little grin, and soon Wilbur, Tubbo and Ranboo waved goodbye to her.

“You wanna head back to Snowchester with us?” Tubbo asked.

“I…” Wilbur looked at the duo in front of them, and their excited toddler. He looked at the ruins around him, “I think I’ll stay here for a little.”

“Ah, alright, big man!” Tubbo said. He paused as if he remembered something. “Oh, actually! Could you stop by Pogtopia in a little while? I have something to fix up there, so I’ll probably be around. 

“Oh.” Wilbur said. The name was so familiar, on Tubbo’s tongue, and sent shivers through Wilbur’s mind. He let out a breath. “Sure! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the old place.”

Tubbo smiled. “Yeah!” he said, “Stop by within the next couple of hours if you want.”

“Alright.” Wilbur said, “Stay safe, Tubbo.” 

“You as well, Wilbur.” Tubbo looked to Ranboo, who gave a nod towards Wilbur’s direction. “Give hugs to Uncle Wilbur!” Michael ran towards Wilbur and hugged his leg. He smiled at the scene, bent down, and hugged Michael in return. After a moment, they both pulled away. Tubbo and Ranboo walked away with their son, although walk might have not been the word as the child sprinted to the left, dragging Tubbo with him. 

Wilbur chuckled at the scene, breathing in the moment for himself.

“Aww, is Michael gone now?” 

Well. Maybe not exactly himself. 

“Yep,” Wilbur mumbled, looking around for anyone nearby. Although Ghostbur was a normal part of his routine, he didn’t want him to be a part of anyone else's. The thought passed through his mind without permission. He didn’t care if Ghostbur was in anyone else’s mind. If anything, he’d be thrilled to be alone again.

A black and orange figure in the distance interrupted his thoughts. He squinted, but with little clarification. He slowly walked closer, trying to be discreet where he could. When the figure turned slightly, Wilbur could see the glimpse of a face that seemed too familiar to be real. His son stood in front of him. 

Not even exactly in front of him, but enough to where Wilbur was frozen where he stood.

“Wilby?” The voice in his mind cut him out of his trance.

“I- uh, think I’m gonna talk to Fundy.” The words were dry on his tongue, but when Wilbur swallowed it gave him no relief.

“Oh, I know Fundy! He’s our son!” Wilbur made small steps towards his son. They felt slower than they were, yet it was all too fast for him. Wilbur took a breath, and started walking at an average pace towards his destination. Each step was loud in his ears as he breathed slowly. Fundy seemed to be looking in his backpack, oblivious to his father being so near. 

He eventually stood a few feet away from Fundy, but the fox continued looking in his bag. Wilbur raised his hand slightly as if he was going to wave, but all words escaped him in the moment. Fundy was the one to break the silence as he glanced up. His eyes widened as he dropped what he was holding. Wilbur slowly knelt down and picked up the bright red apple, and handed it back to Fundy.

However, the exchange wasn’t mutual. Fundy stood there, unable to move. Wilbur awkwardly laughed, but it came out as more of a strangled noise. “Um… Is this your apple?” The silence extended further than the time Wilbur spent in limbo. Fundy looked into his bag again, not looking at anything in particular, as he squeezed his eyes shut. He took a breath before closing his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. The action seemed tense as Fundy took stumbling steps away from Wilbur.

Wilbur pursed his lips as he slowly walked to Fundy, staying by his side. Fundy glanced at him, but refocused his gaze towards the path in front of them. “Fundy?” He held the apple near him again, but the fox still gave him no reaction.

“I don’t remember Fundy being quiet in your memories…” Something that resembled concern laid in Ghostbur’s voice, one that easily mimicked the one running through his mind.

“If you don’t want the apple I’ll just have it.” Wilbur tried to play it off as a joke, but the air was too tense around them. Wilbur gasped in realization, “You remember that time we made apple pies for Primemas?” Wilbur forced a laugh, “Everyone hated them because we put it in for 2 hours instead of 20 minutes.”

Fundy stopped walking, and shut his eyes tight, murmuring something Wilbur couldn’t hear. 

“Hm?” 

Fundy’s words turned into whispers, “I don’t want to be here right now.” When he opened his eyes, Wilbur saw that they were filled with tears. “I thought I was done having these.”

Wilbur’s lack of knowledge seemed out of place in their conversation. “What are ‘these’?”

Fundy looked towards Wilbur before harshly turning his gaze to the ground. “It’s always the same, it’s always the same.” Fundy’s expression turned to one of frustration as he laughed to himself, “Why does it always happen when I’m improving.” His laughs turned to bitter sobs as he sat on the ground, curling himself in a ball.

“Fundy…” Wilbur was about to ask if everything was alright, but he already knew the answer. So instead, he sat on the ground next to Fundy, running his gloved hand through the grass. “Is there anything I can help you with? Like a hug or a distraction of sorts.” Fundy tensed from Wilbur’s voice.

Fundy mumbled to himself, “Puffy was helping me, she was telling me how to do better with them and I did.”

Wilbur nodded as if he understood. Fundy couldn’t see the reaction, but perhaps it would help somehow. “You’re doing good,” the praise slipped out of him. It was an old habit to comfort his son in the midst of war. Although there might not have been a battle outside their walls, there was one in Fundy. “Everything’s gonna be alright.”

Fundy grabbed the grass in clumps and looked up at Wilbur with annoyance, “You’re not even fucking real, why would that help me?!”

Wilbur realized Fundy was in a similar situation to Niki. Not believing he was real, then going into a state of panic. Wilbur hoped he wouldn’t end up tied to a chair again. “I’m real, I promise. Can I touch you?” He held out his hand but the fox only recoiled. 

“No, f-fuck you, let me guess, I let you touch me then the dream restarts? Back to the desert with little old Fundy. How about we have him stab Wilbur! Or I have to fight for my life again-” Fundy was cut off by his own sobs when breaths turned quick, causing Wilbur to realize he truly didn’t know what he was doing. Handling his own emotions and handling Fundy’s were quite different tasks. Still panic rushed through his system all the same.

“Hey, hey, none of that is going to happen. You just have to breathe.” Wilbur couldn’t tell if Fundy was nodding his head or just shaking to the point where all of his subtle movements seemed to blend together. “Breathe in, one two. Good. Out, one two. Great.” Wilbur repeated the pattern with Fundy. Luckily for Wilbur, Ghostbur understood the situation and didn’t distract him. Though the ghost seemed to hiss at each number, Wilbur couldn’t afford to assess that right now.

They sat there in the grass together, counting breaths, and slowly making them a little longer. While Fundy’s shaking hadn’t stopped, he seemed calmer than before. Fundy looked up to Wilbur, his eyes occasionally darting to the surroundings around them. He slowly reached his hand out, before letting it finally rest on Wilbur’s coat.

The fox seemed to untense slightly and Wilbur smiled as a result. “I’m here,” Wilbur whispered. Fundy’s mouth twitched into a smile before settling onto a frown. 

“Leave.” The word hit Wilbur like a truck. 

Yet, Wilbur tried to laugh it off, assuming he was talking about some leaves on the trees or some shit. “What?” He forced a chuckle out of him, making his eyes crinkle to try and comfort his son. 

“I want you to leave.” His glare cut right through Wilbur’s confidence. 

“Oh, Funds, I know it’s been awhile, but I’m still me.” Although the words weren’t hurtful by themselves, they still weighed deeply in Wilbur’s chest.

“I know it’s you. Leave.”

Wilbur’s face completely fell. He thought he’d made so much progress. “Fundy…” 

He reached out for his son, but Fundy’s hushed panic stopped him, “I- no no no no, none of this is happening again. You’re just gonna blow up another country. You’re going to pick a different side than I am- who- who’s killing you this time?!” Fundy’s voice raised to a yell near the end, the tears back in his eyes once more.

“Fundy I-” Wilbur reached out once more. Desperation rang through his head, like blades cutting through any ground in reality Wilbur had. He could fix this. He could be the father Fundy needed. He could finally do something good in his life. There weren’t the wars between him, there wasn’t even the government run by Schlatt either. It was in Tubbo’s hands, they could be a happy family again. Perhaps a big family dinner that usually took place during the holidays. The images flooded Wilbur’s mind of Michael and Fundy proudly claiming that they were cousins, along with the family pictures they could take. They could even do a year where everyone wore matching onesies or something else that was equally ridiculous. He could make his new life better than the one before. 

“Just leave me alone.” Fundy’s reserved anger made Wilbur yearn for the past in a way he hadn’t before. He couldn’t make Fundy love him. The thought crushed Wilbur. He tried to shove it out, but it lingered in his mind. Wilbur slowly stood up, his legs shaking slightly along the way. If he was going to have a breakdown, he wasn’t going to do it in front of his son. 

Wilbur took a few steps away before his voice croaked out, “I’m not dying again.” He didn’t dare to mention the thought of being together over the holidays. Fundy couldn’t bear sitting a minute next to him, yet, he yearned for the moments that families would have together. The ones happy families had together. Wilbur knew the thought implied that he didn’t make Fundy happy, but he didn’t exactly contradict it. 

“You lost all your lives to those stupid fucking wars. Save me the pain and just bring Ghostbur back.” Fundy mumbled, “At least he kept his distance from me.” The words made Wilbur want to scream about how Fundy was his son, and he wasn’t going to leave him. Yet, he stayed standing. He stayed on the grass long enough for the stillness to hurt. It hurt his body, but it hurt his core more. 

Is that what everyone was doing? Keeping Wilbur around for a day or two because he shared a resemblance to Ghostbur? Was he truly that insignificant in the grand scheme of things?

Wilbur hated admitting that no one needed him. There wasn’t an enemy to declare war against. There wasn’t an end goal that he aligned with his soldiers. The soldiers that only lasted during the war and now looked at him with pity or fear. 

And even his son. The one he raised himself. The one he taught how to hold a sword and how to cook a steak all the way. The one that hated him more than Wilbur despised himself. How long would it be until everyone else decided they were tired of him? Once they realized how pointless Wilbur’s existence was, they wouldn’t even dare look at Wilbur’s eyes. They would be like Fundy. Correct in every single way and form. 

It didn’t matter if the words made him want to curl up and never wake up again. It was his fault that he felt like that and he just needed to suck it up. A commander doesn’t cry.

But he wasn’t a commander anymore. He was nothing. If he tried a little bit, he could be a monster. But other than that, he didn’t mean anything to anyone. At least a villain, on the wrong side of history, was remembered. But now, the villain was gone, and had been replaced with a shell, and unpleasant muddled memories.  He turned away from Fundy, taking slow steps away, each one making him feel even worse that he even got revived in the first place. Fundy didn’t call for him as he left, and all he heard were Ghostbur’s sobs ringing through his mind.

Wilbur couldn’t pick up any words between the sobs, but they were loud and clear to him. His own heart stood still, as if he was back in limbo among the trains, growing bitter until he grew numb. His arms and legs were shaking, as he clenched his fist tightly. He was about to let his nails dig into his palm, though he remembered Ghostbur would feel it just in time. Instead, he let familiar darkness settle over him, swallowing the feeling of blades in his throat, as he let out a sharp breath. He remembered past betrayals, and the way Fundy had denied Wilbur was his father in the first place. He remembered smiles and happiness, and silent cries in the night. He let all of the memories flood together into a pile, until he was able to stand tall once more.

[dramaticsnakes]

The Revived - Chapter 2: Connected

This is chapter 2 of the Dream SMP multichapter fic @rainbowbutterfrosting​ and I wrote together! I hope you’ll enjoy!

Thank you to @ r0w3n-1n-d0ugh for beta-reading this chapter.

AO3

Read in order (on Tumblr)

Characters in this chapter: Wilbur, Ghostbur, Technoblade

Word count: 3268

Cw: arguments, yelling, insults, miscommunications, recklessness, mentioned suicidal behavior, cursing, mentions of crying, mentions of food, jokes about drugs

Fic summary: Wilbur was alive, and it was such a magnificent feeling, that made his mind spark with anticipation. It didn’t take long, however, for Wilbur to realize that this new breath of life, was not just his own. An echo-y voice hides in the back of his mind, and before he knows it, the transparent version of him he saw at the endless train station, is a lot more ingrained than he’d expected him to be.

And Wilbur really shouldn’t care. Because he’d be damned, if he spent the life he’d awaited for so long, babysitting a lost cause of a ghost, stuck in the very same limbo Wilbur spent so long in. It was an even exchange, and one Wilbur wasn’t going to mess with. Why exactly he ends up setting out to get the ghost out of his mind, in order to save the both of them, however, is beyond him. And perhaps Wilbur’s past isn’t as easy to leave behind, as he’d hoped it would be.

Wilbur had barely acknowledged his surroundings until they’d made it to the house, tucked in among the mountains and the snow. Once Phil opened the door, Wilbur groggily wandered inside, recognizing the smells, and the familiar furniture, that had changed quite a bit, but still held the same atmosphere somehow. Wilbur didn’t have a home, but this house with all the strained emotions and uncomfortable attachments related to it, was probably the closest he would get. For now, of course, because Wilbur had plans, even if he couldn’t think of them at that moment.

As they entered the home, Phil turned to Wilbur, with narrowed eyes, wrinkling his nose. “No offense, mate, but your eye bags are deeper than the hole of L'Manburg. When have you last slept?”

"Haha, good one," Wilbur said, absentmindedly taking his first steps up the stairs.

Phil had hesitated, his eyebrows furrowed. "Wil, please tell me you've had some kind of sleeping schedule since you've returned."

"And I wished I had a house when I returned back here, we don't always get what we want." Wilbur had responded with a shrug, because it didn’t matter, really. Wilbur was alive, and he didn’t have to count the days anymore. He stumbled, grabbing the nearest stationary object he could reach to prevent himself from falling on the stairs. Phil sent him a concerned look.

Before he knew it, Wilbur had found himself in a room with a little bed that he wished wasn’t as appealing as it was. The mattress was soft, accompanied by the sheets, and Wilbur was brutally reminded that he hadn’t truly seen a bed for thirteen and a half years. Soon, he was tucked underneath a duvet and felt himself drifting off into a dreamless slumber, which was far better than the nightmares he’d half-expected.

He woke up to a plate of food, sat up, and ate a few bites before he fell asleep again. He wasn’t certain how much time had passed whenever he dared open his eyes. He should get up! He should face the world he’d been denied for so long, but getting up meant so many things. He had so little time to finish his work, though the darkness called to him, like a friend he never wanted to leave.

And the voice was there too, unfortunately, whenever he woke up. The cries, the whines, and the words that became clearer and clearer. Wilbur held his eyes open for a long time, as if he was in a staring contest with the ceiling, as the cries refused to settle. “Ugh, would you shut up for one second.” he groaned.

When the cries immediately ceased, Wilbur tensed up.

“You can… You can hear me?” was all Wilbur heard now, and he stayed completely silent. “Please.” the voice added after a short while, “It’s so lonely here.”

Wilbur almost feared his heart had stopped once again before he whispered: “Ghostbur…” it wasn’t a question, nor a statement. He wasn’t certain what it was, but perhaps he shouldn’t have said it.

“Yes!” the voice said, giggling with more relief than Wilbur had ever heard from anyone else, “It’s me, Ghostbur! And you’re Alivebur, right?”

“Alivebur?” Wilbur chuckled to himself, “I’m certainly alive, but I typically go by Wilbur.” If Wilbur could hear someone smile, he would describe it as the sound of Ghostbur’s voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry! It’s been a while since I’ve talked with anyone… Gets quite lonely here. Hey, where are you?”

“Phil’s upstairs. Maybe you weren’t here often. He had to make a bit of room up here since he didn’t expect my arrival.”

Minutes went by without a response from Ghostbur. Just as Wilbur was about to ask if he was still there, he heard the friendly voice again, “But… I’m sorry but this doesn’t make much sense to me. I- I’ve been to Phil’s house, and this doesn’t look like a house of any kind.”

Wilbur made a confused noise. “I don’t know if ghosts are constantly on weed or some other shit, but it’s pretty live laugh and love in here. Spruce shelves with some nicknacks and those little windows halfway covered in snow. Hey- I just realized. The windows are made out of spruce fences because Dad can’t see glass! That’s sorta neat.” Wilbur felt proud of his realization, even if someone else probably realized it before him.

Ghostbur’s voice on the other hand held a slight amount of fear, “Nono, there’s… I’m not really sure what this whole place is. It’s this big cylinder tube. It’s… It’s gray and there’s some benches here, but there’s also this really long tunnel! I tried walking to the end, but I- I don’t think there is one.” Wilbur’s heart dropped when he heard that. “Ghostbur… brown benches with some shitty lights in the ceiling?”

“Yes!” Ghostbur let out a soft gasp, “Have you been here before? Are we on some long-distance phone line? I- I don’t see a phone here.”

Wilbur thought for a moment, “It’s… It’s more than a phone line.” He should’ve remembered already, but his head was groggy. The transparent version of him, tears streaming down his face, almost as if they were burning him. The one who took his place on the platform. Wilbur didn’t know how to break the news to his Ghost counterpart. “I think you’re in my limbo.”

Ghostbur giggled, “I love limbo! I’m not very good at it though, whenever I play the pole just goes through me.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes at Ghostbur’s train of thought, “Nono, it’s… a little more serious than that.” Wilbur’s words became more spaced out, trying his best to avoid the actual topic.

“Does the bar actually hit me now?”

Wilbur awkwardly laughed, “No, it’s-” he quietly groaned from frustration, he’d never been good at breaking bad news to someone. “There’s no limbo bar.”

“That’s silly. How are we going to play limbo, with no limbo bar?”

Wilbur sighed, Ghostbur deserved to know, “You’re-”

“I know,” Ghostbur’s words were covered in child-like excitement, “we can just pretend there’s a limbo bar! I’ll go under it first.” There was silence for a few moments. “I did it! Now it’s your turn.”

“Ghostbur, this isn’t some kind of game.”

“It is though! I can’t find a dictionary, but if you try lookin’ in one of those, you-” Ghostbur quietly gasped, “Do you not know how to play limbo? Oh, you poor thing.”

When Wilbur spoke, his voice was louder than he meant it, venom dripping off each syllable, “You’re in prison. You’re never getting out and you’re stuck there!”

The silence that extended between them was louder than Wilbur could ever yell. “Ghostbur, I’m-”

“Wilbur?”

Wilbur jumped from the sudden noise, looking over and seeing Technoblade at the other end of the room. He seemed confused, which Wilbur thought must’ve been from the thought of him being alive and well, but it didn’t take him long to realize it must’ve been from talking- and yelling- to himself. 

“Is Techno with you?! How is he?” Ghostbur excitedly squealed. Not now, Wilbur responded in his head, but Ghostbur must’ve not been able to hear it as he rambled off other questions. Through his babbling, he could hear mentions of Tubbo and Ranboo, but most of it was muddled together from Ghostbur’s cheerfulness. 

“Hi, Techno!” Wilbur said too loudly. “How are you? I uh- hope you’re- it’s all going well.”

Techno raised an eyebrow, “I, uh… I guess it is. You’re back and stuff.”

Wilbur nodded, “Yeah, yeah I am.” 

Ghostbur jumped in, “Techie, it’s been forever! What adventures have you been up to?”

A rough silence extended between the three, time feeling more present by the second.

Ghostbur chuckled and whispered, “I think Tech is ignoring me like you were.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes which only made Technoblade even more suspicious of the newly revived man in front of him. 

“You alright? Phil told me you nearly died from hypothermia. Probably not the best way to reunite with your father.” Techno snorted quietly.

Ghostbur’s voice turned sadder, “But, I- that didn’t happen. I saw it myself, Phil gave you an enchanted golden apple and you guys hugged. Nothin’ bad happened, you did look a little uncomfortable though.”

That caught Wilbur slightly off guard, though he couldn’t quite respond properly or ask for more information. He nodded bashfully, “Yeah… uncomfortable is a word to describe it.”

“Yeah… hey, Phil told me to show you to the portal and stuff. He doesn’t want you dying again.” Although Techno didn’t say ‘literally,’ Wilbur could hear it clearly.

“Oh, Don’t worry! I can show him where it is! I’ve followed Ranboo through those portals a few times. He’s really nice. He seemed a little worried last time I saw him though, but Tubbo was there and he was also worried. Maybe we could give him a visit. We can visit both of them!” Wilbur heard quick echo-y claps, presumably from Ghostbur’s enthusiasm.

“Mhm, sounds like a plan.”

“Great…” Techno said, and Wilbur started to notice that there was something hesitant in the other’s posture. Something awkward, and restricted, though Wilbur found it difficult to place why. “Let’s go,” he said, gesturing with his head towards the door, and that was when Wilbur had no choice but to leave the comforting darkness. Perhaps it wasn’t too appealing after all because Wilbur had been alone for so long, so maybe it was time he saw how much the world had changed without him. Wilbur stood up from the bed and followed Technoblade out the door.

“Oh! I guess Techno is taking us to the portal after all. That’s great! Aliv- I mean, Wilbur! Haven’t you missed this place too? Did you even see this place, while you were alive? Did they-”

“Shh,” Wilbur said quickly and harshly, closing his eyes.

“Heh?” Techno said questioningly.

Wilbur’s eyes widened. “Oh, nothing! I was just thinking about something.”

“Thinking about something hush-able?” Techno said with a hesitant smile, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were hearing voices too.”

Wilbur chuckled awkwardly, though he didn’t say anything else on the matter.

He hardly had the time to consider what it was like to see Technoblade again because Ghostbur was certainly an unexpected turn of events. Wilbur had simply assumed that hearing the cries and the begging words had been a side-effect of the revival. One he would get rid of eventually.

Prime, he hoped he could still get rid of it. He wasn’t sure if he could handle all the questions in his own mind, let alone whatever it was Ghostbur was talking about. There had to be a way to break the connection because that was what Wilbur did best. It was getting rid of things once they were a lost cause, and Ghostbur’s situation was a lost cause, wasn’t it? Even if Ghostbur wasn’t quite bright enough to realize it himself.

Wilbur and Techno walked outside, the wind reaching Wilbur’s hair and face pleasantly, making him realize that it was before noon. He wondered for a moment, how long he had slept. Wilbur looked at the surroundings properly, now that he was no longer collapsing from exhaustion. “What’s that place over there?” he asked, pointing towards what looked like a solitary house, nearby Phil and Techno’s.

“Oh. That’s Ranboo’s place,” Techno said. He glanced at Wilbur. “You know Ranboo?”

“I met him briefly,” Wilbur simply said, remembering the moments after his revival. The way Tommy had stared at him with fear, Tubbo looking vaguely concerned, the new face that stood slightly behind all of them, and all the words that didn’t matter, because Wilbur was alive, and this was his sunrise. “What’s he like?”

“He’s good.” Techno said, “I don’t know how long he’s going to stay here though.” 

“What do you mean?” Wilbur asked.

Techno breathed deeply. “He just spends less time here is all.” He shrugged, “It’s not my problem. Plus I don’t think I’m the best choice for filling you in.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s with Tubbo now! I- I’m not very sure though, I just know they make each other very happy.”

Ghostbur had mentioned those names together before. The two stood next to each other, at the sight of Wilbur’s revival. Yet it was still odd to hear this stranger mentioned next to the man Wilbur remembered so clearly. The president of the fallen nation. Wilbur would almost say it was a failed nation, but that wouldn’t be true at all. A failed nation would leave him marked as a nobody. No, L’Manburg made everybody know his name. He even got power for a long while. It was all he could ever ask for.

“Soot?”

Wilbur slightly jumped, from the sudden noise, “Yes?” Techno let out a small laugh, but his eyes were tinted with concern that made it feel like it was supposed to comfort the two of them instead of being a genuine expression. “I’m not the best at conversations but I’m pretty sure that isn’t a yes or no question.”

Wilbur nodded, rubbing his eyes. “Sorry, ’m just a bit tired. Sleep works a bit differently when you’re alive. Well- I suppose everything is a bit different. What were you asking?”

“Just if you were gonna stay at Phil’s or if you want a house for yourself. I was uh… offering to help if you needed it.” 

“Awww, Techno is trying to be your friend. He seems all big and scary, but we were pretty close! Well- we never really talked or hung out much, but sometimes I saw him searching through some chests and he seems nice. I tried to offer him some blue, but Tommy said not to. Not sure why though.” Despite the topics he was discussing, Ghostbur’s voice stayed passively happy as Wilbur assumed would be a new norm. Yet, he’d never heard of this “blue” before. Maybe Ghostbur was on drugs after all.

“Actually, that might be pretty nice. I’ll admit L’Manburg was a flop, but my house won’t be! What should we call it? I’ve been thinking about what to call it if I started a new nation., or country, tomato potato, and- I think BimBom sounds neat.” 

Techno glanced back at Wilbur, “BimBom was the best you could do? Look, man- I don’t respect government. Y’know, that’s my main thing. But I wouldn’t even respect a girl-scout cookie organization named that.”

Wilbur pouted, “Hey, you try spending thirteen and a half years alone and come up with good ideas.” His words became sharper near the end, becoming defensive as he subconsciously thought Techno would be on his side.

However, Techno only gave him a confused look, “It wasn’t-” he bit his lip, gave Wilbur a quick contemplative look, and turned away, “Nevermind.”

“Oh no, he’s in a bad mood now. You should apologize,” Ghostbur’s voice whined in his head.

“I-” Wilbur was going to claim that he wasn’t going to apologize, but he realized he couldn’t say that without Techno hearing him.

“Don’t worry, everyone gets a bit tongue-tied. I’ll help you!” If only Wilbur could communicate silently with the ghost. “The first word is ‘I’m’ and the second is ‘sorry.’ Words can be a bit hard sometimes, but I’m sure Tech will accept your apology even if you’re a bit bad at it.”

Wilbur frustratedly sighed. He didn’t know if Techno heard it and was pretending not to, or if he genuinely didn’t hear the exhale, but Wilbur was grateful to not be called out about it. Once enough seconds had passed with what he felt was an expectant look from Ghostbur he mumbled a quick “‘M sorry.” just to get the ghost off his back. He caught a nod of acknowledgment from Techno, and let out another breath.

Simultaneously, Wilbur heard what sounded like a relieved sigh in his head. “There we go.” Ghostbur said, “Good job! You’re getting the hang of it, I think. I don’t like it when people are mad. It’s hard to tell sometimes, but it’s good to try to keep them happy.” there was something strained in the last words, as if they held a hint of something less joyful, that someone attempted to shove out.

“We’re here.” Techno stopped walking, only a few steps away from the nether portal. Wilbur instinctively ran his hand along the border of obsidian, it was cool to the touch, and vibrated with a low hum. “We were planning to make a path, but we always had other priorities too.” Techno explained. 

Wilbur nodded and walked towards the portal, only for Techno to grab his arm and pull him back. “For the love of subscribers, are you an idiot?” He heard Ghostbur mumble something, but he didn’t bother to pay attention.

Wilbur pulled his arm out of Technoblade’s grip, “Have nether portals changed since I was last here?”

Techno snorted, “No, but that’s exactly why you shouldn’t be going yet. I’ve got some armor back at my base, even some golden apples I can spare. Unless you’re-” realization spread across his face, “Oh that makes sense.”

“What makes sense?”

“This-” Techno sighed, “This is just a suicide mission, isn’t it?”

Wilbur made a small step away from Technoblade. “What are you even talking about?”

Techno rubbed his head, he looked like he was trying to relieve a headache of some kind. “Look, I know that it’s supposed to be ‘twice is a coincidence and three is a pattern,’ but…” Techno groaned, “I’m not gonna sugar-coat with you. You were reckless before you died, you thought you could walk into a freezin’ cold biome without anything on you, and I don’t need a third time to realize what you could be doin’.”

Wilbur nodded despite not necessarily agreeing with his claims. Wilbur didn’t want to die anymore, and Wilbur wasn’t going to die. That couldn’t possibly be that hard to understand. “L’Manburg was ages ago and I’m a grown man, I can handle myself.” It wasn’t his strongest argument, but he knew he was right in the end.

“You’re the same grown man that thought he could run a nation with one of your dumb protocols bein’ that you don’t wear armor. You might be able to ‘handle’ yourself, but I feel like you’re gonna do a poor job at it.”

Wilbur’s eyes burned with fire, because while he didn’t care deeply, not really, that didn’t mean it was something that could be brushed off so easily. “It- It wasn’t dumb. L’Manburg was my nation-”

“Surely you aren’t blind. It’s in ruins!”

“It doesn’t fucking matter if it’s in ruins! I’ve done more than you will ever achieve in your whole pathetic life.” He shouted harshly, “All you go on about is how you hate governments and orphans, and it’s because you’re nothing more than that. It’s not my fault that I actually make an impact in this world while you’re up in your stupid house because no one can stand being around you.” Wilbur’s chest was heaving at this point, both of his hands curled up into fists.

Technoblade spat out at Wilbur, “Oh my fucking Blood God, Soot. Fine- I promised Phil that I wasn’t going to let you kill yourself, but if you’re so passionate about blindly throwing yourself at whatever comes your way, then go at it.”

Wilbur practically screamed, “Fine, I will!” and with that, he threw himself into the nether portal and felt the purple wisps surround him so loudly that he couldn’t even hear Ghostbur’s pleas. 

[luvskywalker]

prideful piloting- ch 6

word count: 1.6k

warnings: possible language, nightmares, mentions of depression/grief and death

series masterlist!

a/n- THANK YOU so much for all the love you guys have been showing my little story! i try to get updates out every tuesday so stay tuned :) hope you enjoy this chapter, i had tons of fun writing it, even though poe isn’t in here as much. also i’m pretty sure i made up a lot about the force in this so bear with me.

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the dreams- nightmares- didn’t stop, and after the third you told yourself that if you had one more, you would reach out into the force. you woke in the middle of the night with a jolt and a scream, the result of another night terror. they were so odd, they seemed so much like memories but they were never anything you had lived through. this one was, by far, the worst.

you were stuck to the ground, watching as an older woman with brown hair was being killed. her screams were deafening, and you felt immense pain, as if the woman were your mother. you tried to move and save her and she cried for help, but you couldn’t, it was like you were paralyzed. she was in a cave, and it was hot, so so hot, and she just kept screaming out in pain as the things around her slaughtered her. you felt yourself, whoever you were, cry out and crumble to the ground as your heart broke for the woman. a word had come to you then- mother.

you still felt the pain of the nightmare, the hurt burning a hole in your heart. it was like you had been stabbed a hundred times over, and that had only begun to explain half the pain you felt. you never knew your mother, and even though you hadn’t, you were sure that that woman was not your mother.

who’s memories are in my head? why are they even there?

it frustrated you immensely, especially because of the deep emotional pain you were feeling.

why does it feel so real? why does it feel like my own mother just died?

you were interrupted from your deep thoughts by someone suddenly- and quite loudly- into your tent, making you jump out of fear.

“what the kriff poe? why are you here?” he had scared you half to death, and you were in no mood to talk to anyone. the loss you felt from the dream wasn’t something you think you could shake for a while, the hurt and grief though not your own still affected you a lot.

he seemed to have a moment taking in your appearance, which included your tear stained face and red rimmed eyes.

“heard screaming, wanted to make sure you weren’t dead.” you nodded in acknowledgement.

“just a nightmare.” you kept it short, unsure of how you’d feel if you attempted to relive the nightmare through explaining it.

it was then that poe did something you would never really expect. he approached your cot carefully, before sitting next to you and taking you in his arms.

poe missed your smile, the one that shone brighter than any sun he’s seen. he didn’t like seeing you hurt like this, and he didn’t know why but he felt like he needed to give you support. and you, you were so grateful he did.

you let yourself go, sobs wracking your body for what felt like hours before finally becoming soothed by his presence. he was just holding you, offering whispers of meaningless phrases in hopes of helping you calm down.

your breathing had evened out and you pulled away from his embrace, looking up at him. your body was full of that same weird feeling he gave you every time he was around, the same one you always brushed off, the same one you’d brush off again here and now.

“you’re a really good friend, poe.” you meant it. he was probably the best friend you’d ever had. he handled the news of your identity well, he’s gotten you back involved in base, and he’s even elected to help follow through on leads with the the map to your father. he is also there for you now, when you’re experiencing a hurt that you don’t even begin to understand.

“a lot of people tell me that.” he looked smug, but you knew he was joking. you scoffed, mainly unamused by his joke. you were trying to be sentimental.

“you’re a good friend too, (y/n). if you ever want to talk about it, i’m a short jog away.”

you nodded again, promising yourself you’d confide in someone, knowing you couldn’t bear this pain alone if the nightmares continue to be like this one.

you were grateful for poe, especially after he was here for you tonight, and you made another promise to yourself. you would find out what that weird feeling you seemed to always get around poe was, because you knew now that it hadn’t been due to your former dislike for him.

you fell back asleep eventually, just to be greeted with another nightmare.

this one felt even more like a memory than most, and you began to wonder if you were living through someone else in your dreams.

it was very hot, and you discovered your body was burning. the world around you was red, you were swimming in lava- whoever you were. it felt so familiar, the pain that was both emotional and physical. you were burning, body set ablaze, but you were so paralyzed that you couldn’t even scream about it. you felt yourself pass out in pain before coming to in a stark white room, and having black armor- almost like a robotic suit- placed over your still aching body.

when you jolted awake again, it was morning. the early light shone through the barely opaque material of your tent, but still burned your eyes briefly from the brightness. you still felt remnants of the burning, though it faded with every passing moment. the one constant was the grief, the torment. whoever you became when you dreamt must’ve been a very troubled soul, seeing as each memory fragment you have seems to leave you in some form of pain. you decided that morning you would finally put an end to the terrors you experienced each night.

you exited your tent swiftly, making your way in the humid morning air to the lush jungle of d’qar. you found your favorite clearing with ease, the area around you helping soothe your magnified emotions. ever since these terrors, you’ve been feeling secondhand sorrow like it was firsthand. whoever was in your dreams had become emotionally intertwined with you, you felt it through the force. it was like your mind was a rope, and now there was someone else with a grasp on it, and at night they would tug you into theirs.

“be with me.” you called out in your mind, hoping to reach someone.

you concentrated even harder, harnessing all your power in the force to call out again.

“be with me.”

it was then that you heard a voice in your mind.

“i’m here, young one.”

you opened your eyes to be met with a transparent body and an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

“who are you?” you asked the man standing in front of you, wondering why he seemed so familiar.

“search your mind.” you did as he asked, searching your mind for a man who looked like the one barely there in front of you.

it was then that the puzzle pieces fit. his features resembled your fathers in a way that could only be hereditary, the legend you lived through in your dreams only matched one person.

“grandfather?” you questioned him, and he gave you an award winning smile.

“why do you look so young?” you asked again, wondering how his ghost or whatever he was right now appeared as a younger adult if he died older than that.

“when i died, i was not myself, not fully. when i united with the force, i became the only version of myself i am proud of.” you understood now. his memories had become one with your own, allowing you to live and see the tragedy of anakin skywalker.

“why are your memories in my head? is it you doing it?”

“i’m not the one putting the memories in your mind, though they do belong to me. some of them were my nightmares, others were things i lived.” you nodded to show that you were following along with his words.

“the force has not seen such power since i opened myself up to it. when you did the same, the force seemed to connect us. i would never wish the pain i lived in to be put along anyone.”

you now nodded solemnly. your grandfather had been through so much, and you have a feeling your nightmares had barely scratched the surface.

“i’m so sorry, grandfather.” you dipped your head as you felt tears begin to flow again, this time out of sympathy for him.

“don’t be sorry. use me as a lesson, a guide to the right path instead of falling to the same one i did. you are a strong jedi, (y/n). you will come to be one of the greatest the galaxies have ever seen, if you restore the balance.”

every jedi carried a weight, and you were just met with yours. your grandfather was a great man, though only truly became such in the end, and now you carried the weight of living up to the legacy of your father and him.

he then placed his phantom hand atop your shoulder, and you could almost feel the weight.

“i will be with you, young one, but only when you need it.”

“i understand. thank you, grandfather.”

and with those words, he vanished just as suddenly as he had appeared.

you walked away from the jungle with a new sense of purpose. of course you would help find the map to your father, but you were a jedi in your own right now, and you felt a lot more confidence in your abilities after the conversation with your grandfather. you would bring balance to the force, and you would restore peace in the galaxy, and you would live to see it.

[generallypo]

“I heard your voice, so I came... Aoba-san.”

Hooo-boy, if that doesn’t get me emotional every single time. Call it my bias for eccentric bundles of sunshine and softness, or my crippling weakness for the secretly-handsome-and-devastatingly-earnest type, but you can’t change my mind: Clear is, hands down, DMMD’s best love interest. Character development-wise, thematically, romantically, he nails every trial thrown at him, gets his man,  and proceeds to break your heart in the tenderest, sincerest way possible. I am hopping with Huge Fan Energy, so this post is gonna be unapologetically long and self-indulgent and grossly enthusiastic. Yeeeee.

———— 

Look, DMMD meta analysis has been done to death, I get it. This game is old. But I think it stands as testament to its excellent production that it’s still a game worth revisiting years later — especially during these times when social contact is so hard pressed to come by and we all rabidly devour digital media like a horde of screeching feral gremlins. (Have you seen Netflix’s stock value now? The exploding MMO server populations? Astonishing.) It’s pure, simple human nature to want to connect, to cling to members of our network out of biological imperative and our psychological dependency on each other. As cold and primitive at that sounds, social contact also fulfills us on a higher level: the community is always stronger than the individual; genuine trust begets a mutually supportive relationship of exchange and evolution. People learn from each other, and grow into stronger, wiser, better versions of themselves.

Yeah, I’m being deliberately obtuse about this. Of course I’m talking about Clear. Clear, who is a robot. Clear, who is nearly childlike in his insatiable curiosity regarding the human condition.

And it’s a classic literary tactic, using non-human entities to question the intangible constructs of a concept like ‘humanity’ — think Frankenstein, or Tokyo Ghoul, or Detroit: Become Human, among so, so many works in various media — all tackling that question from countless angles, all with varying measures of success. What does it mean to be human? To be good? Who are we, and where do we stand in the grand scheme of things? Is there even a scheme to follow? … Wait, what?

Jokes aside, there are so many ways that the whole approaching-human-yet-not-quite-there schtick can be abused into edgy, joyless existential griping. Nothing wrong with that if it’s what you’re looking for, except that we’re talking about a boys’ love game here. But DMMD neatly, sweetly side steps that particular wrinkle, giving us a wonderfully grounded character to work with as a result. 

Character Design — a see-through secret

Let’s start small: Clear’s design and premise. Unlike so many other lost, clueless robo-lambs across media, Clear does have a small guiding presence early on in his life. It takes the form of his grandfather, who teaches Clear about the world while also sheltering him from his origins. It means he learns enough to blend sufficiently into society; it also means that Clear has even more questions that sprout from his limited understanding of the world.

Told that he must never remove his mask lest he expose his identity as a non-human, Clear’s perpetual fear of rejection for what he is drives much of his eccentricity and challenges him throughout much of his route. As for the player, the mystery of what lies underneath his mask is a carrot that the writers get to dangle until the peak moment of emotional payoff. Even if it’s not hard to guess that there’s probably a hottie of legendary proportions stuck under there, there’s still significance in waiting for that good moment to happen. And when it does, it feels great.

His upbringing contextualizes and affirms his odd choice of fashion: deliberately generic, bashfully covered from the public eye, and colored nearly in pure white - the quintessential signal of a blank slate, of innocence. Contrasted with the rest of DMMD’s flashy, colorful crew, Clear is probably the most difficult to read on a superficial scale, not falling into the fiery, bare-chest sex appeal of a womanizer, or the techno-nerd rebel aesthetic that Noiz somehow rocks. Goofy weirdo? Possibly a serial killer? Honestly, both seem plausible at the start.

And that’s the funny thing, because as damn hard as he tries to physically cover himself up from society, Clear is irrepressibly true to his name: transparent to a fault. He’s a walking, talking contradiction, and it’s not hard to realize that this mysterious, masked stranger… is really just an open book. By far the most effusive and straightforward of the entire cast, his actions are wildly unconventional and sometimes wholly inexplicable. But given time to explain himself, he is always, always sincere in his intentions — and unlike the rest of the love interests, naturally inclined to offer bits of himself to Aoba. It doesn’t take the entire character arc to figure out his big, bad secret — our main character gets an inkling about halfway through his route — and what’s even better is that he embraces it, understanding that his abilities also allow him to protect what he cherishes: Aoba. 

So what if he doesn’t fit into an easily recognizable box of daydream boyfriend material? He’s contradictory, and contradiction is interesting. Dons a gas mask, but isn’t an edgelord. Blandly dressed, but ridiculously charming. Unreadable and modestly intimidating — until he opens his mouth. Even without the benefit of traversing his route, there’s already so much good stuff to work with, and sure as hell, you’re kept guessing all the way to the end.

Character Development — from reckless devotion into complaisant subservience, complaisant subservience into mutual understanding. And then, of course: free will, and true love. 

At its core, DMMD is about a dude with magic mind-melding powers and his merry band of attractive men with — surprise! — crippling emotional baggage. Each route follows the same pattern, simply remixing the individual character interactions and the pace of the program: Aoba finds himself isolated with the love interest, faces various communication issues varying on the scale of frustrating to downright dangerous, wanders into a sketchy section of Platinum Jail, bonds with the love interest over shared duress, breaks into the Oval Tower, faces mental assault by the big bad — and finally, finally, destroys those internal demons plaguing the love interest, releasing the couple onto the path of a real heart-to-heart conversation. And then, you know, the lovey-dovey stuff. 

Here’s the thing: as far as romantic progression goes, it’s really not a bad structure. There’s room to bump heads, but also to bond. The Scrap scene is a thematically cohesive and clever way to squeeze in the full breadth of character backstory while simultaneously advancing the plot. In this part, Aoba must become the hero to each of his love interests and save them from themselves. Having become privy to each other’s deepest thoughts and reaching a mutual understanding of each other, their feelings afterwards slide much more naturally into romantic territory. They break free of Oval Tower, make their way home, and have hot, emotionally fulfilling sex or otherwise some variation on the last few steps. The end. 

That is, except for Clear. 

Clear’s route is refreshing in that he needs none of these things — the climax of his emotional arc actually comes a little after the halfway point of his route. When Clear’s true origins are revealed, he comes entirely clean to Aoba, fighting against his fear of rejection but also trusting that Aoba will listen. It’s a quiet, vulnerable moment, rather than the action-packed tension we normally experience during a Scrap scene. 

That doesn’t mean it’s prematurely written in — it simply means that he reaches his potential faster than the other characters. Because of that, he’s free to pursue the next level of his route’s development much, much sooner in the timeline: he overcomes his fears of his appearance, he confesses his love to Aoba, he leaves the confines of a largely dubious master-servant relationship and allows himself to be Aoba’s equal. Clear’s sprite art mirrors his emotional transformation all the way through, exposing him to the literal bone — and Aoba’s affection for him doesn’t change a single bit. Beautiful.

The whammy of incredible moments doesn’t just stop there, though. I don’t exactly recall the order the routes DMMD is ideally meant to be played in, but I believe Clear’s is meant to be last. And if you do, I can guarantee that it becomes a hugely delightful gameplay experience — in order to achieve his good ending, you must do absolutely nothing with Scrap. It doesn’t just subvert our player expectations of proactively clicking and interacting with our love interests; it grabs the story by its thematic reins and yanks it all back to the forefront of our scene. 

In every route besides Clear’s, Scrap is a tool used to insert Aoba’s influence into and interfere with his target’s mind. Using his powers of destruction, Aoba is able to prune whatever maligned thoughts are harming his target; in any conventional situation, using Scrap is the right choice. 

But one of the central problems in Clear’s route is his conflict between the impulses of his conditioning and his desire to live freely as a human would. Breaking free of Toue’s programming is what initially made him unique; growing beyond the rules imposed by his grandfather is what makes him human. In the final conflict scene, Clear’s decision to destroy his key-lock is an action of true autonomy, made with perfect understanding of the consequences and a sincere, selflessly selfish desire to protect someone he loves. In order to receive his good end, you have to respect his decision. It doesn’t matter which option you pick — by using Scrap, Aoba turns his back on every positive choice he made with Clear and attempts to exert his authority over him. This is Aoba becoming Toue; this is Aoba trying to reinstate himself as ‘Master’ right as he approved Clear as his equal. That’s blatant hypocrisy, and it doesn’t matter if Aoba is trying to do it for Clear’s ‘own good’ — that’s not Aoba’s call to make. If you truly wish to respect Clear’s free will, you will stand by. This is the truth of the moment: Clear has no emotional blockages that Aoba needs to fix. Believe in him, just as he believed in you.

The path to his heart is, and always has been, clear. Scrap was never needed from the start.

While Aoba might be the main character, Clear is undeniably a hero in his own route just as much. Tirelessly earnest and always curious, he leaps headlong into the unknown and emerges with his newfound enlightenment. He’s unafraid of weathering trials, even to the point of accepting death, and returns anew from oblivion to a sweet, cathartic ending. That’s about as textbook hero’s journey as it gets — if that doesn’t make him unquestionably, certifiably, unconditionally human, then I will scream.

And only finally… there is the free end. The final CG is like a throwback to our first impression of him: indistinct, purposefully obscured from proper view. But this time, we know better — and so does Aoba. Looks were never what mattered in Clear’s route. If you were patient, and you were open-minded, and you listened… well, what we realize now is that Clear was doing the exact same thing for you, too.

From a carefree, aimless robot-man with only the gimmick of “eccentric ditz” to carry him forward, we get a supremely more interesting character by the end: a man who has graduated from the well-intentioned but claustrophobic conditioning of his childhood; a weapon who has defied the imperatives placed on him by his creator’s programming; a wanderer who has, through unconditional patience and empathy, discovered love, and striven to become a better person for it. Who was it that ever doubted Clear’s character? He’s the goddamn goodest boy that ever wanted to be a real boy. Of course Clear is human. And in fact, he does it better than every single one of the actually human love interests. You can’t change my mind.

The Romance — kindness is really fucking attractive, okay.

Like I’ve said earlier, I have my Big Fan Blinds stuck on pretty tight. I might be conjuring sparks from thin air. But I think every choice was a deliberate creative decision on the writers’ part, and they deserve all the kudos for it — I’m just the lucky player who gets to enjoy it. But aside from Noiz (who I also think is a perfect darling as well — I could go on and on about him), Clear’s route is a model example for consent and healthy relationships in VN storytelling. This is reciprocated on both sides: never does Aoba infringe on Clear’s boundaries, and neither does Clear. They’re sensitive to each other’s needs and concerns; they ask for permission and stop when it isn’t granted (and when it is, boy do they get frisky — I’m not complaining!) I don’t need to say much more, because I think that consent is both fantastic and yes, incredibly hot (the scene in DMMD is tons more sad, go play Re:connect!). Good writing shows off the massive erotic potential enthusiastic consent puts into intimacy, and Aoba’s and Clear’s relationship is honestly a dream playground. The point is, I think Aoba and Clear genuinely do find equal balance in their relationship by the end of his route (and certainly through Re:connect). If you follow through Re:connect’s storyline, there’s even more thematic richness that comes through in the form of Clear’s greatest asset: communication. The couple get to discuss the long-term implications of them being together; they both offer concerns, points, and assurances to the other, and it’s just a soft, honest moment not so unlike the worries of a real relationship. Hearing is kind of Clear’s motif sense, but it’s really great to see that Aoba also subtly picks it up, really flexes his own communication skills to better engage with Clear. 

Point is, Clear’s route spoke to me on a lot of little levels. Design-wise, he’s already got a ton going for him, and his story builds upon it rather than against it, enriching his development and grounding him a little more solidly in the DMMD universe (and in my heart). His route, aside from being emotionally ruinous, carries a pretty solid chunk of world-building (only beaten out by Mink’s and Ren’s, probably), and the romance feels organic, healthy, and realistic. He’s not the only one with an excellent route, but he’s my favorite. If you read through all of this, you’re a real trooper and I’m extremely impressed. Thanks for tuning in. Peace.

[xwaywardhuntress]

Rock & Roll Mystery (Part Three)

Summary: Round 2 of Scooby-doo featuring Y/N.

Pairings: Dean x reader, Fred x reader

Warnings: Based on the Scooby-Doo & KISS movie. This part is kind of short.

Word Count: 1700+

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Scooby-Doo or KISS. This is fanfiction only. Please do not redistribute my writings on other sites, horrible or not. Thanks!

Part One, Two

“Alright gang, let’s look for clues again and split up.” Fred suggested.

Immediately, Velma volunteered herself to be paired with Sam. Shaggy and Scooby were assumed as their own pair.

Fred made his way over to you, “Would you give me the honor of pairing up with me?” Such a gentleman.

You glanced over at Dean who was talking to Daphne. Of course, Dean probably wanted to be paired up with her. It looked like you were going to have to take blondie up on his offer with the two Winchesters paired up with the Scooby gang females. As you were about to answer, Daphne appeared out of nowhere pulling Fred away, “Fred, you’re with me.” Her voice was quite stern.

You blinked in confusion. Daphne had literally appeared from her spot with Dean to where Fred was in a blink of an eye.

Dean made his way over to you with a smile. “I guess that leaves you and me, sweetheart.”

The way the pairs were split up, you and Dean were given the task to check out the areas near the bigger attraction rides. It felt a bit odd to be walking around without some kind of weapon, but this was a cartoon, what could go wrong?

“Velma is really into Sam. I think they are cute together.” You joked.

Dean laughed, agreeing.

You continued, as you avoided looking at Dean this time, “Sorry you got stuck with me. You probably wanted to be paired up with Daphne. I know she’s on your weird fantasy to-do list.”

“Nah, I’d rather be with someone I know has my back if things go bad. I’m sure I’ll have other chances. Or maybe, I’m meant to be with someone else.” The older Winchester shrugged.

You couldn’t help but wonder about what Dean meant in the last part of his sentence.

Before you had the chance to ask, Dean spoke first. “Man, I still can’t believe we got to see KISS. Even though they’re technically the c-word, this is awesome.”

You chuckled, “Yeah, it would be cool if we got to see more of them. It would be way more awesome if we got to stick around for the concert too! I mean, they haven’t toured since 2016 and…” You continued rambling on that you’d been hoping they’d go back on another tour, since the last time they did you all were too preoccupied dealing with Lucifer.

Dean listened with admiration as he began to imagine the two of you singing aloud to ‘Rock and Rock All nite’.

You were both interrupted from your thoughts when two very recognizable screams were heard nearby.

“That sounded like Shaggy and Scooby.” You pointed out.

Dean and Y/N ran towards where they heard the screams, only to find the scarlet witch chasing after the pair of best friends.

“What the hell? She’s flying?” Dean questioned.

“She looks transparent too. A ghost witch?”

“Damn witches.” He shook his head.

“Dean! We need to get her attention away from Scooby and Shaggy!” You called out. Your thoughts went to wishing you had some kind of iron bar, especially if your speculations about the witch of actually being a ghost were to be true. Feeling as if something just appeared in your back pocket, you reached behind, pulling out the iron bar that you had just wished for.

Dean looked at you surprised. “Where did you get that?”

“I don’t know, but get the witch’s attention over here!” You yelled as you prepared to defend yourself, holding the iron bar like a bat. 

Scooby and Shaggy had jumped into the water portion of the water ride to try to escape the witch.

Meanwhile, Dean had yelled insults at the witch, which did catch her attention, but also may have made her more irritated looking than before. “Do you have another one, by chance?” He asked.

You thought about having another one, which you ended up magically pulling from your other back pocket and handing it to Dean.  “Here.”

“You’re going to have to tell me later how you do that.” The older Winchester commented as he too held the iron bar like a bat, ready to take on the witch as well.

As the witch flew towards you and Dean, the blast of rock music caught the both of you off guard. The sound vibration seemed to have passed you two but amplified as it reached the witch who halted in flight as she covered her ears.

From beside you and Dean, the rock music continued as four figures appeared. One by one, the KISS members made a grand entrance, identical to Sailor Moon and her sailor scouts. How did you know that? Dean wasn’t the only one with a nerdy side.

Dean looked very confused.

You did as well.

What really confused the both of you more was watching as each KISS member that announced their presence ended their time in the spotlight with a move that sent a magical attack,  with or without a musical instrument, at the witch. The witch withdrew as the fourth member of the KISS band finished their magical entrance and attack.

You and Dean looked at each other bewildered by the sudden chain of events. You both would have to ask questions later as you spotted Shaggy and Scooby floating on top of the water of the water ride. They weren’t dead, but they were beat from the chase and had passed out from extreme fear.

- - -

After the KISS members led Y/N and Dean, who each carried Scooby and Shaggy, to the park infirmary, the whole gang was reunited. Fred, Daphne, Velma and Sam had all received the news of the attack, as well as had witnessed some of the chasings that occurred throughout the park.

Sam pulled Y/N and Dean off to the side. “You both saw the witch?” Both of you nodded. “So is it our kind of supernatural mystery? Or just the typical person in a mask?”

You looked at Dean as you both answered, “Definitely our kind of supernatural mystery.”

The younger Winchester frowned.

You continued to speak, “It was weird. She was almost ghost-like and floated above the ground…”

“Yeah, it was a good thing Y/N was able to get iron bars out of thin air.” Dean added. “By the way, how did that even happen? You did the same thing with the Scooby snacks from before.”

You shrugged. It just happened and honestly, you weren’t going to question it as it could come in handy in this mystery.

As curious as Sam was about your sudden ability to have items appear out of the blue, his main concern was the witch who may also have been a ghost. “So we’re dealing with a ghost witch?” Sam asked confused.

“Not entirely sure?” You questioned your own knowledge. “We didn’t get a chance to use the iron bars because then they…” You looked over at the KISS members who just entered. “…appeared and did some Sailor Moon moves that sent some crazy magical attacks towards the witch, causing her to leave.”

“Sailor moon moves?” Sam questioned.

“It’s another car-“ Dean cleared his throat. “c-word, where it’s five under aged chicks with really short skirts that fight evil and save the world.”

Both you and Sam looked at Dean surprised.

“And you’ve watched it?” Sam asked concerned for his brother’s hobbies now.

“What?! No!” Dean rebuffed as he started coughing. “Cross my heart and hope to –” He paused for a moment, realizing he probably shouldn’t say die aloud. “Look, I just saw videos about it and then caught this one…” He pointed to you. “…watching it one time in her room.”

Sam rose an eyebrow, still questioning his brother’s words.

Fred came up to the trio, interrupting the private discussion. “Hey guys, KISS wants to tell us all something. I think you three should hear it too.”

With everyone gathered together again around Scooby and Shaggy, who were on the infirmary beds, KISS introduced a woman who was covered everywhere besides her eyes.

“Meet Chikara. She’s a fortune teller in the park.” Starchild shared.

The fortune-teller introduced herself again, this time adding that she came from an alternate universe along with the KISS members. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, the KISS members don’t remember this other dimension as they were sent to Earth to protect it from the prophesied return of the Crimson Witch, the witch’s true title.  Along with the band members and herself, the Crimson Witch hails from the alternate universe known as KISSteria. The Crimson Witch plans to use the Black Diamond that KISS uses in their song “Detroit Rock City” to summon the Destroyer to conquer the Earth.

Everyone had a hard time wrapping their heads around this new development, specifically Velma.

“The probability of an alternate universe called KISSteria is highly unlikely.” Velma commented, pushing her glasses up her nose. “You’re likely confusing this alternate universe with the theme park.”

As Velma continued to reason out how impossible it was for an alternate universe, Sam pulled Dean and Y/N off to the side again. “What do you guys think? Do you guys believe the story?”

“We’ve dealt with alternate versions of ourselves before. I don’t see why not.” Dean shrugged in thought. “To think there’s a world that is all KISS themed, that’d be awesome to check out.”

“Hm.” You began sharing your thoughts. “It could be true. Lately, Scooby-Doo and the gang have dealt with actual magic from what I’ve watched. This mystery could be another one of those actual magical mysteries.”

Sam agreed, adding on, “The last time we were here too, there was a real ghost haunting and people actually died, so I think the story could hold true. Who knows, us being here could’ve made it real like last time.”

“Alright then. We stick with the gang and make sure nothing happens to them.” Dean suggested.

Y/N and Sam agreed as all three of them turned their attentions back to the bigger conversation with KISS and the fortune-teller.

“Sam, do you agree with this plan?” Velma asked looking at him as if hoping he wouldn’t.

The taller Winchester was surprised by the sudden question as he looked at Dean and Y/N who both shrugged, “Sorry, what plan?”

Fred spoke up, “KISS got their memories of KISSteria back and are going to take us to defeat the witch before she has a chance to take the Black Diamond.”

“Hold your horses. We’re going to KISSteria?” Dean questioned almost too excitedly.

“How?” You asked the question that seemed to have been avoided.

Fred turned to KISS, “That’s a good question, Y/N. How are we going to get there?”

“Easy. We have a ship and a portal.” The Demon stated with a grin.

Next: Part Four (Final Part)

Here’s some fun gifs from the actual scooby doo movie:

R&RM Tag:

@22sarah08 @monkeymcpoopoo @shameless-danni @blackmissfrizzle @happylittlesuns​ @cheritzie @leahslovelylibrary  @walkerchick007

[timaeuse]

@shittyjpegstm said: the smile on his face as he watches them interact is knowing. he can spot it from miles away, the way his brother softens around the edges. the way his splinters suddenly seem less vast. it's a nice visit --- jake has a lot of energy and david appreciates it fully. oh, his syntax is a little weird. but. there's something refreshing about it -- about how his and dirk's mixes into something that seems familiar. for a while? he doesn't say anything. until? something gentle. "so. he's the one, huh?"

adrenaline is still coursing through him, more powerful than any kind of pink lightning. he’d ascended to godhood and still nothing had ever felt as surging as this, the way it leaves his cheeks burning, his eyes bright, his grin breathless. jake’s directing the consorts when dirk finally excuses himself to rejoin david on the sidelines, gesturing wildly and traipsing through crowds of reptiles that converge at his heels. dirk wonders, not for the first time, if jake has any idea of how naturally magnetising he is. it had been so easy to fall in love with him the first time. too easy for dirk’s liking, anyway -- putting off projects just to prolong a conversation, playing into an obvious joke just to know he was laughing -- his grip on himself had slipped out of his hands. it had been terrifying. what could he have done but dig in his nails and cling? he needed to keep a hold of something, lest he spiral completely. 

it’s new and fragile, this thing they’re building. it’s not the old thing with the dust brushed away -- no. that wouldn’t do. there had been too much rot seeping into what they had to save it, to make it good again. they had put the corpse of that thing to rest and gone hand in hand onward to something else entirely, something just for them that no one else needs to be told about just yet. dirk should’ve known that david would unpick the truth from the facade far too easily: it takes a strider to know a strider, after all.

“Always has been,” dirk says, and fuck it, he’s smiling all the while. jake throws his head back in a real monster of a laugh and dirk leans forward to catch it, expression crushingly fond beneath his shades, though it’s hardly as though he’s wearing them when he’s looking at jake. there’s transparency there, a completely different kind of intensity, far removed from the apathetic stone wall he’d been (that he still is, in some respects). “I’ve been a goner for the dude since I met him.”

for years, dirk had been alone and felt it; like the heat on his skin and the salt in the sea, it had been a constant persistence, the knowledge that he was all by himself. when he’d met roxy, that had eased a little -- she was a balm to soothe, but not to mend. he had loved her, loves her still, but not in the way she meant. not in the way that she wanted. for years, he had felt as though his inability to feel that way about her had failed her, somehow, like he was robbing her of a life experience that she deserved more than anyone had ever deserved anything. nights would be wasted in which he would stare at his darkened ceiling and try to convince himself he could give her all she wanted if only he would try (that he loved her one way, and could that ever be construed as the other? how different is adoration, when all else is stripped away?), if only he wasn’t so selfish. how did he know what he wanted with no frame of reference? could he ever let go of what he thought was true for him? 

and then, jake. 

that’s how simple it had felt. jake wasn’t there until he was, and though dirk hadn’t known it at the time, something had slotted neatly into place with all the grace of a candle going out, silent. he’d been waiting almost all his life for someone that could possibly understand, someone that got him in a way he barely even got himself, and it had happened. jake had become something to dirk, without either of them realising it. meeting jake was life changing. dirk supposes even he doesn’t really understand the full extent of it, how one message had taken the course of his life in both hands and turned it on its head. 

all the waiting he’d done, stuck up in his apartment on a dead planet surrounded by sea and sky and guilt that he had no business carrying had been worth it, all because of this.

all because dirk had jake, and jake believed in him.

that’s all it had taken, isn’t it? jake’s blind faith that dirk could do anything had made him feel like he could touch the fucking stars, pull them down and serve them on a silver platter if he’d wanted. for once, dirk had felt good about himself -- like he wasn’t someone who was going to amount to nothing. with jake, he wasn’t just a boy at the end of the world with no hope of rescue, he was something else entirely. a new version of himself, one he felt as though he could actually learn to like. jake just made him feel so good, about himself, about the world. 

of course he’d fallen in love with him. what other option was there?

when they had met in person, after all of the ugly, twisted machinations borne of two minds that were almost interchangeable but not quite, it had been overwhelming. seeing another face in person was one thing, but seeing jake’s was another entirely. the second dirk had blinked death away from his eyes, time had slowed to a still and he knew that he never wanted to spend another second on his own. it had been suffocating. he knew that now. he was reigning in those parts of himself, allowing reassurance to stick and keeping his mind at bay. it’s going well, but dirk’s still afraid to talk about it out loud. 

his chin drops onto the waiting heel of his hand, elbow propped upright on his knee. “He’s amazing, isn’t he.” it doesn’t sound like a question because it isn’t one. dirk knows the answer. “He’s takin’ me out in a couple days. He’s here now, and then he’ll fuck off gallivanting around somewhere, get his brain back, and then come get me to go to dinner. He’ll probably be covered in dirt and smell like a farmhouse, but I’m at peace with that.” he pauses, turns to face his brother and drags his eyes away from jake. “Do you like him?”

[every1studio]

REQUESTED: “maybe, in other world” [stray kids: felix]

genre: drama + angst + fantasy

ficstyle: bulletpoints + SUUPPEERR LONG 

anon asked: “Maybe we could’ve been, in another world.” as in vampire au? Or not i guess HAHA for felix or any stray kids you want ^^“

note: AHH I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS~ it’s VERY DETAILED because I want this to have a little bit of backstory to it

Felix was the reigning prince of vampires 

a lot of pressure was on him

he wanted to be free; like humans, he’s always been intrigued with humans...

there were so many rules in the world of creature.. he just wanted to break free

so he planned.. before his father crowned him as king, Felix would go out of his way to escape to the human world

it was a hard doing this behind everyone’s back.. especially his father

Felix grabbed his flannel hoodie before heading out

“Felix..where are you going?”

“I’m going to go rabbit hunting...”

it was a clear night of the waning moon; a perfect night for walking out and about

“take Chan with you.. I don’t want you running into any annoying werewolves...”

he nods and walks out of the palace; Chan following after

“where are you really going?” Chan whispers

if Felix could trust anyone..it would be Chan..

“I’m.. going to see the Witch of the West...”

Chan pulls him back

“what do you think you’re doing?” he slightly raises his voice as his words because the clouds of condensation against the cold

“I can’t be king... I don’t want to be king..why can’t I be free like the humans..”

Chan’s grip loosens and his arm falls down back to his side

“if..if it makes you happy... I’ll help you..but let me ask you this...why would you want to live with people who age too quickly...you’ll end up hurting yourself”

Felix ignored his statement

the walk to the Witch’s house was filled with silence with the occasional sounds of owls and crows

knock knock

before opening the door, they both heard the cackling of the Witch’s voice

“what does the reigning king of vampire want from me?”

vampires and witches never come together unless there’s a civil war or a grand ball 

“I have a special request....in which you have to keep it to yourself..and yourself only..” Felix stated

ccrrrreeeaaakkk

the door open to reveal, a young and beautiful witch

“and? what do I get in return?” 

Felix showed her his arm, “a pint of my blood..”

Chan pulls Felix’s arm down

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

witches love looking young... especially the Witch of the West; she’s probably centuries and centuries older than both of the boys combined

but without magic.. vampires live longer than witches

even with a drop of a vampire’s blood can prolong their lifespan to 10 decades

“I’m doing what I can.. to be free..”

she pulls the both of them into the house

“I don’t want to nosy.. so I won’t ask you why you are doing what you are doing.. but how can I assist you?~”

“I want to be able to live in the human world...”

she pets the top of his head

“it’s been a while since someone asked me for a spell like that...listen here... this spell won’t turn you into a human..you’ll still be a vampire.. BUT you’ll be able to withstand the sun, sliver, etc...”

Chan was wary for Felix

“what’s the catch?”

her smile disappeared.. “he can’t taste the blood of a human... or the spell will undo itself.. and your only medicine is eating the sylleblossom flower..as you know..you can only get that here in this world..if you go without eating it...and you’ll look and feel like death without dying ”

(vampires are immortal but they still feel pain)

it sounded simple but leaving and entering this world was tricky

although many creatures go into the human world and back to this world.. the gatekeeper is the problem

Felix would have to get past the gatekeeper, who has impeccable memory, is in love with his father

the gatekeeper would never betray his father

and he would definitely tell his father about him leaving the world

“how can I leave here without being caught...” 

Felix was starting to think that his plan was unraveling 

the Witch was getting her concoction ready

“well.. there is another way of get into the human world without getting in contact with the gatekeeper...”

both Chan and Felix look at her

“BUT~ you know~ that’s gonna cost you an extra pint of blood~” she shrugged

Felix was going to offer his other arm but Chan stuck his arm out, “Felix if she takes two pints from you, she’ll become obsessed with you..”

after she got her pints of blood, she led Felix and Chan to the tower of her house.. where there stood a tall, golden mirror..

“yeah, I know OLD-FASHION but this is how I get into the human world for ingredients.. of course.. if you can find this mirror again in the human world.. any creature can return back to this world..”

Felix looks at Chan

“I might as well leave now..”

Chan hugs Felix tightly

“I’ll miss you.. I don’t know how long you’ll be gone... but there are other reigning princes around the palace... Father won’t be that mad...I just.. I just don’t know how to break it to him...”

Felix gave him one last squeeze before he looked at Chan, “just tell him..I’m not ready... and that I’ll come back when I’m ready..”

Chan nods

the Witch of the West gave Felix a bottle of transparent blue liquid..

“all what you asked for is in this bottle~ but listen...you can only take this liquid once in a century...taking it again will make you burn from the inside out and you WILL die.... live your human life wisely ”

Felix nods and drinks it; he also gave his phone to Chan so that there was no way he could be tracked down

“bye Chan..see you soon..”

whoosh

Felix felt a light breeze in the darkness and all of a sudden it got bright

this was the first time he felt a warmth on his skin without having a itching or burning sensation..

he took a couple of steps; keeping his eyes closed

“LOOK OUT!!”

when he opened his eyes.. he saw you pushing him out of the way..

he was standing in the middle of the street

THUD

he had his undivided attention on you

(is she a Goddess? I thought I was in the human world..)

“THE LIGHT IS RED, YOU STUPID DRIVER!!”

you got off of him

“so-sorry.. are you okay?”

the light was shining behind you as you tuck your hair behind your ear

you stuck out your hand to help him up and he took it

(his hand is so cold..)

(her hand is so warm..)

“why were you standing there in the middle of the street?”

Felix was sort of in a daze; looking around at his surroundings

the human would was just a brighter and livelier version of his world.. he could smell different scents didn’t know even existed

his eyes caught a mirror inside a shop looking out onto the street, looking back at him

for a moment, he saw Chan waving at him; with a broken smile

“are you okay?”

you shook him a little bit

“you might be a little shocked..we got some crazy drivers around this area... you...you don’t look like you came from this area...where are you from?”

Felix came to and looked at you

trying to remember some things he read about the human world

“I’m from Australia..” he smiled

your heart melted a little bit 

“that explains for the thick accent..I’m y/n~”

for the first time in his lifetime...Felix could say that he fell in love at sight...

“what brings you here?” you asked, your back to the street

“I’m here to start a new life..”

ri-ring ri-ring

a bike was zooming at you guys at full speed; the bike’s brake wasn’t working

knowing that humans have a slower reaction time and they get hurt easily

Felix wrapped his arms around you as the bike passed you guys

you could here the deep thumping of his heart and it made you blush

“he-hey.. now we’re even.. I saved your life and you saved mine..”

Felix chuckled; (it will take more than a truck to kill me..)

“do you have a place to stay at?” you asked, not looking at him straight in the eyes

he inhaled sharply, “coming here was an impulsive decision...”

“yo-you can stay at my place...I MEAN NOT LIKE THAT BUT I HAVE AN EXTRA ROOM AND LIKE YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT RENT OR ANYTHING..”

he just laughs at your cuteness

“okay, y/n~”

days became months

both you and Felix slowly fell for each other’s charms

you loved the way he took care of you

he loved the way you appreciated the person he’s always wanted to be

“hey Felix.. what’s that?”

you pointed to something and he looked over there

when he saw nothing and turned back to face you

you dangled a gold ring on a thin chain

Felix smiled as he ruffled your hair

“what’s this?”

you placed it over his head

“uh.. a token of our friendship?”

he examined it

“is it real gold?” he joked around

“hey I spent my part-timing money on that, if you don’t want it give it back!”

you tried to take it back from him

not noticing how close your face was to him

but his eyes were fixated on the ring that he held over your arms

“starting a new life, huh?”

you nodded, as you took out your matching ring, “cheers to a new life~”

you couldn’t tell him that you were secretly professing your love to him

but even though the both of you saw each other every day

neither of you would know the deep, dark secrets you both held

Felix would notice that you would keep on changing phones and phone numbers

sometimes he would hear you talk to yourself, “they won’t find me...right?”

but you would catch him doing inhumanly things...like no one should be able to do 2000 push-ups every day or carry a whole couch by himself

both of you never questioned it though

“are you okay?” the both of you would ask 

but it always came to, “yeah..I’m fine..”

ONE DAY

you got a notice from your friend that your mother found out your location and was sending people to come and get you

you hurriedly packed up your things

Felix heard you rustling about from his room and he woke up from your panicking

“y/n.. wha-”

“fe-felix..we..we gotta go...we need to leave...”

“what’s wrong?”

he pulled you in front of him and he stopped breathing

you were in tears.. since he’s been with you he’s never seen you cry

but you were filled with fear and he could sense it

Felix envelopes you with a hug

“take a deep breath... then we can leave together..okay?”

part of you wanted to thank him for not prying into your life

but another part of you wanted him to ask you what was going on...what you’d bottled up inside

your friend sent you a location of her family getaway, deep in the woods

the drive there was silent

Felix was driving as you were trying to calm your nerves

“can..”

you looked at him, he only used his low tone when things got serious

“can you tell me what’s going on now?”

he reached over to hold your hand

it was cold..but it was cooling you down from the pent-up fear you’d been keeping in

“my..my mother is looking for me..she wants me to marry against by will... in the name of the business.. but I didn’t want that.. I didn’t want to live that lifestyle anymore..because that kind of money can’t buy the happiness that I longed for... I just wanted to be normal..”

you felt Felix squeezed your hand; as if he was telling you he understood exactly what you meant

and he does

when you guys got to the house, Felix had a bad feeling about it

you both got out of the car and Felix pulled you back from entering the house

“Felix..what’s wron-”

CLINK

Felix’s keys were shot out of his hands and men dressed in black were shooting at him

“LET THE GIRL GO!!”

Felix swooped you up and started running

in the midst of all of that, you dropped your ring that you got for both you and Felix

you didn’t know it was humanly possible to run that fast

he managed to shake them off

but by the time he did, it was getting dark and there was no place to seek shelter but under a large oak tree

he climbed up to make sure that the thick branch was save for you to hide out on as you were sitting on the ground; waiting

“AH!”

Felix jumped down and saw a snake slithering away from you

your wrist was bleeding profusely

he knew that the snake was poisonous; he raised snakes like those back at home

he had to get to poison out of you

a human would die within hours if the poison isn’t extracted

but was he willing to sacrifice his human life for you?

Felix spent his happy days with you

he learned how to ride a bike

having the experience of eating human food

and dates

he went on countless of dates with you

Felix... he was willing to risk his human life for you

you gave him the bliss of freedom

he proceeded to suck the blood from your wrist and spat out the poison

it’d been so long since he’d tasted blood

your blood was too sweet that it made him lightheaded and woozy 

after 15 minutes, he ripped his sleeve and used it to wrap it around your wrist

you fell asleep from exhaustion; but he knew you both had to move on

since night fell, he was at the peak of his strength

trying to shake off the lightheadedness

he tried to walk back to where you first met; the mirror shop near the pedestrian walkway

surprisingly enough, it wasn’t too far from where you both were

he slid down the side of the road to get to the shop though

knock knock

he thumps on the door of the mirror shop

“IS ANYONE THERE!!”

“prince Felix~ it’s so good to see you again”

the door opens without anyone opening the handle from the other side

and from the shadows of the dimly lit room stood someone who looked like the Witch of the West

“the Witch of the West?”

she laughed and shook her head

���no.. that’s my sister.. I’m the Witch of the East.. you probably haven’t heard much about me after I moved here since the beginning of your time-”

“YOU’VE GOT TO HELP HER..”

Felix places you on the thickly embroidered lounge chair 

she laughs again

“the real statement.. is I’ve got to help you.. prince Felix.. you don’t look so good..if I do say so myself”

with the swift movement of her hand, the mirror in which he came out of, and positioned it in front of him

even though it was the summer.. his skin was whiter than it usually was.. the color of his hair matched his skin and his veins were tinged dark purple

“you need that sylleblossom flower...”

“I can endure it...I can’t.. I can’t leave her...”

the Witch lowered her head.. she knew what it was like..

she, too. fell in love with a human.. and here she remains in this store not being able to go back to the world she grew up in because she was chained with his undying love

for decades.. she’d live in this shop with the pain of love; he was gone but his love was nailed too deeply into her heart

of course it was different for witches and vampires

with witches; you didn’t need a potion to go to the human world BUT if you are marked with an undying promise of love; there’s no way you could return to the world of creatures and if the person you loved would die, your heart would be chained to the human world until the person you love was reincarnated 

with vampires; the first wave of the potion will successfully make it for you to live in the human environment but failing to not taste the blood of a human will make you look and feel severely ill & the second wave of potion will make you burn from the inside out and die

“prince Felix...it will not make her happy to see you like this...I’ve been through this.. I know what it’s like...” she grabbed her left side of her chest in pain

Felix couldn’t help but silently cry as he ran his fingers through your hair and placed both his hands on your cheeks

he leaned his forehead onto yours; as his hot tears raining down his face onto yours

he was in so much physical and emotional pain

“can...can you take care of her for me.... she’s runni-”

the witch placed her hand on his shoulder

“I have been watching the both of you since you came here..by the request of Chan... I know everything.. prince Felix.. I will keep her save..”

Felix slides his hand off your face 

he trudges to the mirror and hold it to keep himself a little bit of balance as he looks at you one last time

“can you do me one favor...”

the witch nods

“can you.. erase her memories of me? it..it would be easier to live her life, not knowing about me..”

she bowed her head in acceptance 

“take this..in case..you want to check on her from time to time..”

Felix took a little compact mirror from her and walked into the tall mirror

as he collapses on the other side of the mirror

you woke up

you felt tears rolling down your face

“NO DON’T TAKE ME ..DO-DON’T TAKE ME”

you were frantically pushing away shadows of your nightmares

you were held by rustic but friendly-looking lady

“it’s alright child, I’ll protect you....from now on, you’ll start a new life now..”

(a new life...huh..)

IN THE OTHER WORLD

WHAT FELT LIKE WEEKS LATER

when finally woke up for the first time in the world of creature

he was bedridden  

Felix requested a small mirror from the Witch of the West 

so he could keep in check with how you were doing

you were a little older

your hair was longer

you looked happy tending customers

he smiled 

but his smile fell

you were ending your shift and you were clinging arms with another guy as the guy pecked your lips

there were kids

they called for you as you picked them up and swung them around

you had a family

and you were happy

Felix clenched the ring that you gave him

Chan was leaning against the door

“was it worth it?”

Felix lowered his head; not wanting Chan to tell him, “I told you so”

(maybe if I was born in your world.....that would be me...)

he ripped the ring from the chain

“I need to see the Witch of the West again..”

as you were walking out of the shop with your family, the Witch of the East pulled her to the side

“I have a present for you~”

it was a thin, gold bracelet; it had an engraving

“starting a new life” it read

you placed it over the scar you didn’t recall on your wrist

a tear rolled down your face

the witch wiped it away, “he’ll always love you”

you thought she was talking about your husband, Hyunbin, but in the back of your heart.. you knew..she was talking about someone else

END / I KNOW THIS WAS SUPER LONG BUT I WAS WRITING THIS AS IF IT WAS A MOVIE 

[masterlist + guidelines]

[floating-with-penny-blog]

Possession Pennywise x Reader

“(Y/n)? My my, what a pleasant surprise to see you in here~” Pennywise said with a low voice as he turned to you. He had that stupid smile on his face. That didn’t mean anything good.

“Yeah, yeah. What was it that you wanted to show me? Please be quick, I should be in class soon..” You weren’t interested in yet another his nonsensical moment of showing off the cool stuff he can do.

“Oh well sorry~” he said mockingly as he crossed his arms.

“Well!?” You were starting to get frustrated with him.

Pennywise took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He slowly, but surely shapeshifted into a ghost, he was mostly a transparent version of his clownself hovering above the ground. He floated over to you with a smirk.

“Is this it? Look, I have seen better shit on TV…” You weren’t that impressed.

“You are correct, this is nothing compared to the thing I am about to do next~” His voice was echoing, it sounded kinda cool, but there was no way in hell you’d admit that to the childish alien.

“Well? Impress me already!” You kept your arms crossed.

Pennywise flew right through your body- wait.. He didn’t go through you. The cold breeze suddenly stopped, which started when his head went through your clothes.

“Pennywise-” you suddenly clutched your side and your right eye from pain. “ STOP IT NOW!!” You yelled in pain.

“I can’t!! I’m stuck!” His voice now echoed in your head as your eye felt like it was burning right out from your eye socket. Your side felt like it was being ripped through and your heart felt like it was about to explode. You screamed from pain as Pennywise’s roars exploded in your head. You fell to your knees on the dirty ground grasping the dirt in agony. The unbearable pain just kept going as inhuman roars filled the sewers along with your screams. Suddenly you blacked out from the pain.

Hours later your eyes fluttered open. You slowly got on your knees from the ground and held your head. You had the worst headache ever and your vision was all blurry. The pain was gone, thank god.

“Pennywise…” You mumbled weakly as you tries to get up, only to fall on your ass. You grumbled as you felt your head. “Fuck…” You spat out as you managed to get up leaning against the dirty, cement covered tunnel wall. You wheezed softly as you kept your shaky body up. “Penny..?” You whispered to the dark tunnels, with a weak voice.

“(Y/n)?” Pennywise’s voice echoed in your head.

“Wh-what… Where are you?” You looked around.

“Right here.” your arm suddenly went forward doing a wave.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” You breathed out.

“Holy shit… I moved your arm?” Pennywise said again. He made his signature grip that he had with the balloons with your hand. “Uh oh…”

You stared at your hand in shock. “What in the fucking fuck!? I didn’t do that!” You panicked.

“No! I did it!!” Pennywise flexed your fingers. “This is new.. And extremely fascinating!”

“Get out of my body now!!” You yelled as you tried to regain control of your now possessed arm.

“What do you think I’m trying to do!?” Pennywise snarled.

“W-Wait.. My eye..” You used your free hand to feel around it. You gulped and dashed over to the nearby clear water, only to fall over next to it. You gasped loudly as you stared at your reflection. Your right eye was yellow, like Pennywise’s. His white makeup had cracked through your skin along with the red mark going over his eye. It looked like your skin had fallen off to reveal Pennywise’s make up around your right eye, like a skull with a cracked eye socket.

“Fuck me..” Pennywise sounded shocked.

Even your hair had gone from (h/c) to slightly orange. You couldn’t believe your eyes, this seemed too surreal to be real.

“Make my arm shapeshift, now!!” You shifted your gaze to the arm Pennywise had control over just a few minutes ago.

Your arm extended forward again as black claws ripped through your skin. It didn’t hurt at all, but Pennywise’s growls and grunts were echoing through your head. He moved your arm around like he would do.

“This.. This is scary..” You mumbled.

“You don’t say?” He huffed. “I want to try out what else I can move.” Pennywise made your extended arm return next to your side. Nothing else did happen. “It seems I can only control your arm.. But can I make it change..?“ 

“Find out” You slowly stood up, leaning again against the sewer wall. “You, for once, have my permission.”

Pennywise made the claws retract and managed to change your arm into just bone, make scales and fur appear on it, and even bend it like plastic.

“I don’t feel anything” you watched as Pennywise twisted your arm, but soon looked away feeling sick from watching it.

“What do we do?” Pennywise’s voice echoed through your head again.

“We need to figure away to get out the hell out of my body.” You tried to wipe his signature makeup away around your right eye, but it was hopeless. “Shit…” You cursed as you realized that you had to skip school because of this. “Can you teleport us out of here?”

“I doubt it, but I’ll try..”

You closed your eyes as you hoped this to work. Pennywise made few grunts as he was clearly trying his hardest to use his abilities. You felt something warm wash all over your body. The smell of the sewers was gone. You opened your eyes to see that you were standing in the middle of your room. “At least this can be counted as something positive..” You laid on your bed. “Can you see anything?”

“I guess I am seeing what you see. I can see your room, but I cannot look around.”

“Great.. Having some demon clown powers and him being trapped inside of me.” you sighed as you waved your hand in front of your yellow eye or Pennywise’s eye. “So.. I guess this counts as a possession…”

“Technically yes, so there is away for me to get out then. You know. Someone needs to preform an exorcism on you. Or that’s how things worked back when you humans were… Simple minded..”

“… How does it feel to be the underdog~? Not so fun, isn’t it?” You teased him. He was always the dominant one and now was your chance to be the leader. Your were going to enjoy every single second of this, at least trying to enjoy.

“Shut it, once I get out it will be I who is the boss..” He sounded very annoyed.

“Yeah yeah… Shut up… I’m starving..” You placed your hand on your stomach and got up slowly and steadily. You made your way to the kitchen and opened the fridge and grabbed some leftover’s from yesterdays meal. You took one piece of potato to your mouth, only to spit it out with a hiss, before covering your mouth. “What!?”

“Can’t eat that? Odd.. I thought you humans liked those weird yellowish ball.. thingies. I find everything in that fridge disgusting.”

“Says the clown who twisted his whole body into a fridge~ … Okay, okay jokes aside, let’s try something else.” You tried almost everything in your fridge and spat them all out. “What is this!?”

“Hmm.. Oh! I have an idea~ try human flesh..”

“No!” You covered your mouth with your hand.

Pennywise then moved the hand he controlled to your mouth. He had a chunk of flesh on ‘his’ hand.

You looked at it, drooling like a dog. You snatched the flesh from his hand to yours and ate it fast, almost forgetting to chew it properly.

“Picking on some of my habits..~ Cute.” He chuckled to himself, but suddenly stopped.

“Shut up and try to get out of me already! This is getting ridiculous!!” You were almost on the verge of tears as you walked to the bathroom to stare at your reflection. “If this is a prank you are playing on me, I swear to god…”

“Alright, alright…” Pennywise said as he teleported the two of you back to his lair in the sewers. You then felt a sharp pain coming from your chest as a ghostly hand was sticking out of you. It was Pennywise’s arm. That asshole was able to get out of you body at any given time! You closed your eyes from anger, but mostly from the pain that was coming from your chest and now from your right eye was getting stronger and stronger until it stopped.

You felt a warm hand under your chin, which slowly made your head tilt upwards. Pennywise stood in front of you, being in his usual clown from.

“You are the biggest douchebag in the history of mankind.” You glared at him angrily with your brows furrowed at him.

“Tell me something I don’t already know~” He said with an evil smile.

@dick-me-down-sewer-clown @myfloatingdream @therealclussywise @syynnaah @stefaniebanks99

[br4v3b1rd]

There’s A Shadow In The Night

Fandom: Don’t Starve Main Character: Wilson, Jack

Note: A gift for @lavender-soul, an AU; probably will be continued at some point

Jack Carter brushed the hair out of their face as they prepped the spider glands. They forced the glands into the shape of a human heart with roughly hewn rope, pressing the tiny group of three together. Ms. Wyn had figured out the recipe the last time Winfred had died.

It was… an experiment. Winifred had groaned and walked away when they’d said that, saying she utterly hated that word. These telltale hearts, as Ms. Wyn had decided to call them, could be given to the ghost of one of their fallen companions. But there was a odd little graveyard, far different from the other graves they’d encountered. The normal tombstones looked well hewn, granite or marble, with rather… odd and occasionally witty quotes on them. These, however, were roughly cut rock, actual names on them, sometimes delicately carved, other times the names were harsh cut. Not a soul dared to dig them up, for a very specific reason.

Every grave seemed to be made for the precise purpose of mocking them. They’d all ended to this world because they were looking for someone, and they’d been promised they’d find their missing family or friends.

The one with the name Wendy carved into it was heartbreaking to look at, it’d been done with care. If it was really their missing daughter, then Jack was thankful someone had cared enough about her.

Jack would have spent more time around the graves, but the graveyard was strange for another reason. The air was heavy feeling, the area felt heavy and morose at all times. It was a more mild version of the feeling they experienced in pitch black before they died by shadows.

Then, there was a oppressive sorrow that wrapped around them when they lost a light. It ached, and quickly they would see, well they would if they retreated to a light source before they died, the translucent crawling shadows. But the feeling would be gone, Whatever wrapped around them in the dark wouldn’t follow them into the light. Jack once swore there were claws on their shoulders, sinking into the fabric of their jacket. They’d never felt this creature use them, it was always the other shadows that killed them, when they couldn’t manage to escape the drain of their sanity.

But, according to Winona, she’d lingered too long in the little tree covered graveyard, and dusk turned to night, and before she could even pull out a torch to light it, she’d felt claws sink into her neck, painfully ripping out her throat. It was the fast death she’d ever experienced in the night, Sharp claws and something like the faintest scent of tobacco her last memory before waking up at a touch stone.

Something was up about that graveyard, and Jack was rather intent on figuring it out. They rolled up their sleeve  and cut open their arm, waiting for the makeshift organs to start beating as blood fell on them. It was the full moon, and they needed to hurry to the graveyard before night fell.

The last time it’d been a full moon, ghosts had risen from the graves of the more classical tombstones. No one had been near the odd, mocking graveyard, but Jack had to hold on hope that the same kind of ghosts would rise from these graves.

Maybe the graves were linked to their monster, maybe it would soothe not just them, but the creature who’s mere presence seemed to drive them to the end of their ropes. It’d be a few lunar cycles to bring them all back, if it worked. What did they know about this world, Jack wondered, wrapping the slice in honey coated bandages. Why had they not been able to come back to life? Or had they been dead from the start.

Was this just more trickery from the sweet honey coated voice that just needed them to accept their deal, they they would find their friends, their families.

Was the flower Jack kept in their chest, the pink peony, that looked just like the one Wendy had taken with her after Abigail’s funereal, actually Wendy’s?

They could feel the hearts beating in their pack, and they settled the bag down in the grass closest to the Wendy’s grave. It was almost night, and they’d see if their hunch was right.

They already felt like crying, the area’s general feeling making the anticipation worse. What if these ghosts were as violent as the ones from the normal graves, another heartbreaking trick?

The light slowly turned blue, and Jack pulled out the first heart, backing away from the grave, eyes widening as a transparent form rose.

The rest of the ‘ooh’ cacophony went unnoticed as Jack looked at the white sheet ghost, a trail of yellow flowers on one side of their head.

It had to be Wendy. Jack silently wished, hoped, prayed as they thrust the heart into the white sheet. It was cold, but then light.

Jack didn’t back up, just watched as the ghost became a small girl, falling right before they grabbed her out of the air, blond pigtails and a red skirt, and even at twelve, as light as a feather. It was Wendy. Their daughter. Kneeling, they let her stand up on her own.

“Hello, Wendy.” They whispered. “I missed you.” They brought her into a hug, and smiled, tears running down their face. However, the other ghosts had noticed the revival, and were crowding around the reunited family. Wendy wasn’t speaking, just holding onto Jack’s jacket tightly.

The ‘oooooh’ noises were starting to get annoying, and night would end soon, and they still had two hearts left to go.

There wasn’t much rational choice, they didn’t know any of these people. Jack let go of Wendy, pulling the next heart and thrusting it into the closest ghost, turning their back to grab the last one and repeat the process. “Sorry, I’ll have more next full moon, I promise.” They said to the other ghosts.

One looked a bit like Winifred, the same stuck up hair, as he got up off the ground, brushing off his pants and vest. The other… was if someone had stuck one of the spiders this world had made on a body. A child sized body no less.

“Webber!” Wendy rushed over to the spider-child and helped them up.

Webber… as in Webster? Wendell’s grandson?

Winifred had never named her brother, but Jack had to assume this was the scientist brother she’d been looking for. And had greatly complained about blowing something up on accident.

“Well, that was a rather unexpected turn of events, but thank you very much.” He approached Jack. “I’m-“ he paused, looking over Jack before shaking his head. “Sorry, you just… reminded me of someone. Anyway, Wilson P. Higgsbury, and you?”

“Mother…” Wendy had gotten between them and tugged at Jack’s sleeve and gestured to the spider-child. “This is Webber, my friend.”

“Jack Carter… and well then, hello Webber. We better start heading back, alright?”

“Camp, I’m assuming?” Wilson turned to look at the graves, though, not looking at Jack as he spoke. “Anyone else in this place, or are you the first unlucky new person?”

“I think I’ll let camp speak for itself.” Jack smiled.

Wendy and Webber were off playing, and Jack was paging through one of Ms. Wickerbottom’s books, the librarian getting reacquainted with Wyn. With Wilson’s help, they’d managed to make enough telltale hearts for the rest of the ghosts. The old survivors had dug their own graves and pulled out their possessions.

No one had gotten stuck in the dark recently, and so Jack hadn’t had a chance to see if this effected their night monster.

But people were reuniting. Wilson, upon entering camp, had started to argue with Winifred. Both of them seemed to be just as mouthy as the other. Wendell had been shocked by Webber’s new look, but apparently the small boy was the same as always, if a bit more fuzzy.

But, apparently someone was still missing. The recently revived survivors had mentioned another member of their old group, a Maxwell. Wilson had muttered something about wondering where the idiot had gotten off to when they’d given the hearts to the other ghosts.

No one knew. Between the ten of them, they’d explored the whole map, and there wasn’t any sign of any other living human. There was the old, worn, broken structures from what they now knew was the other survivors, but nothing like a fresh campsite.

The man had vanished.

Jack had to wonder who the man was, everyone else seemed to have had people brought here because of them, people who were looking for them.

Wilson frowned, he knew he had a torch somewhere. He’d finally dug out his own grave, and surprisingly had found the Codex. Max had survived long enough to bury him properly, it seemed, but to throw the Codex Umbra into his grave as well? Odd.

He was on his way back to camp, and it was quickly getting too dark to see. He cringed. He’d seen his sister revived, so he knew even if he died out here, he’d be brought back to life, but he still couldn’t help but think of how terrifying it’d been when the other’s ghosts hadn’t appeared, that they were taken out, one by one, until it’d just been him and Maxwell.

He had to wonder what happened, after he died. To stay afloat, they’d joked that whoever was the last one standing had to make sure that the graves were safe. Max had said that was below him, but he might. But they’d both hoped it wouldn’t come down to that. Being alone, again.

He couldn’t even remember how he died.

He blinked, still looking for that torch in his bag, now just feeling for it. Any second now, he’d hear a hiss and the grue would be there.

Except… he felt cold hands on his shoulder, a growing sense of dread in his body. The sensation was unbearable. It was sorrow and anger and loss that weighed down, something familiar in there too, but it was mostly emotional pain. Wilson swallowed, trying not to start crying from the weight. Camp was close, he just had to start running.

It took a few seconds before he could get his legs to move, but he kept moving until he stumbled into the edge of light, one of Jack’s lanterns by the chests. Shadows were flicking around his vision, and he dodged a crawling horror, moving for the fridge. There were some cooked green caps he’d left there, and he swallowed them down, shaking.

Everyone was staring, but he didn’t care. That was new. That was very new.

Jack held the lantern, watching as the scientist walked to the edge of the light. “Wilson, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Let’s see, you have green caps, wood, and a life amulet if I really mess this up, but, with Woodie’s help, I need to hear this monster described for myself.” Apparently, Woodie’s werebeaver form could see the night monster. Though, at the mention of it, Warner had expressed confusion, and Woodie had sighed.

“I’ll tell you aboot it later, eh?” And that was that, Woodie was off, only taking Lucy with him into the dusk, following Jack and Wilson.

“Look, I still don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Jack, this is completely different from my former experiences with the grue! Something has changed, and I need to know what. You used to get attacked, viciously, a few times before dying if you didn’t have a light.” Wilson paused. “What would change that so drastically? Max used to…” He paused and sighed. “Anyway! Woodie, are you ready?”

“Ya, Lucy’s not the happiest camper about this, but it’s almost time.”

“Great!”

“So it looked like a human shaped shadow then? And it was just…”

“Curled aboot you.” Wilson vigorously took notes.

“Well,” he said, “That’s very different from before. Are we even dealing with the same shadow then?” He hummed, already too much in his own thoughts. “It wasn’t even trying to kill me, it just drained my sanity until a terror beak or a crawling horror could take me out.”

“It’s killed though.” Jack sat down. “Ask Winona, she’s the only one who’s experienced it so far.”

“Hm. Odd. I’ll have to inquire about that. I’ll ask her later but do you have any details for right now?” Wilson looked up from his paper.

“Well, it happened in the graveyard you were buri-“ There was a pause in the scribble of writing.

“Wait. It… only happened there?”

“At least, that’s what Winona said.” Jack frowned. “Are you alright? You’re looking rather ill.”

Wilson stood. “I need to go look at something, that’s all.” He waved off the concern. “That’s… fascinating.” He didn’t sound quite so intrigued as he had a few seconds ago.

“Jack, I need your help.” Wilson was holding a leather bound book, in the entrance of Jack’s tent.

“Couldn’t you ask Wyn or Wickerbottom? I think they’re more the people to deal with books, Wilson.”  Jack went back to the repairs on a hat for winter, silently regretting they didn’t have William’s talent for needlecraft. “I just need to get these repairs done so Wendy and Webber won’t have to worry about not having a hat this winter.”

“I… can’t tell them I have this book. Wickerbottom would go on a tangent about where it came from and to be honest, I don’t want to tell them.”

Jack looked up from the sewing. “What, is it from Wickerbottom’s library and you never returned it?”

That managed a snort. “If only it was that easy…” Wilson sighed and stepped in. “The man who’s missing. Maxwell. It’s his Codex. Magic mumbo jumbo, but it relates to this world.” He handed over the book. “It’s all latin. Easy enough to translate, I’ve been working on it but… I have reason to believe the shadow creature is Maxwell.”

Jack gave him a questioning look. “How could a man be-“

Wilson cut them off. “This world is full of insane impossibilities that make no sense, Jack. I mean, magic, giant bees, a goose with antlers that’s the size of a small house?”

“My brother would of loved the magic part.” Jack softly said to themselves. “But yes, okay, you have a point. So, why are you asking me?”

“My sister won’t touch my experiments with a five foot stick, and everyone else would be a little too loose-lipped. I need someone to accompany me to the ruins. I want to try and see if I can get Maxwell back.” Wilson took back the book. “I need to do a lot of research, and this has some info on the language on the ruins, but it’s rather dangerous to go alone.”

“And you can’t ask say… Wigfrid?” Someone who was more suited for fighting, Jack silently thought.

“I don’t want to explain my reasoning to them.” Wilson said. “They wouldn’t exactly get it, and I don’t want to explain to them I found the Codex in my grave.” He paused. “I’m fairly certain it’s him. We were the last two left, and we’d become close. We joked about keeping everyone else safe when only one of us was left, and well…”

“He’s keeping his word.” Jack finished the thought. Winona had lingered at night, the only time the night monster could appear.

“Exactly.” Wilson flipped open the codex. “I just need company while I work, the ruins aren’t particularly friendly to a lone traveler.”

“…Fine.” Jack finished their last stitch. “You’ve made your case, just give me a few days notice before you head down.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

Jack sighed, the miner hat already dimming. “Pass me your bag, I need to add more of those light flowers to this.”

“It’s a foot away from you, now shush, I’m trying to translate.” Jack rolled their eyes, pulling a few of the light balls from the mentioned bag. They hadn’t noticed Wilson dropping it. There’d been a few incidents, spiders, some monkeys, and they were currently on watching the ‘thulecite’ medallion for color changes.

It was the third trip down so far, and Wilson had found nothing of use.

Jack was certain if they heard Wilson mutter about how stupid the translation sounded, they’d fling the medallion at his head.

“How about you check that alter we passed. You keep avoiding it.” Jack turned the Thulecite Medallion over in their hands. It wasn’t that heavy.

“All that makes is the ingenious invention of a gem on a stick, and…” Wilson paused. “I wonder if the Magiluminescence would work. Woodie said he more of a human shape, maybe if I could get it around him it’d burn the shadows.”

Jack covered their ears and ran forward with the lantern. Wilson was trying again, this time with Magiluminescence made with two gems, and the screech from the shadow was painful to endure. The first time it’d been a hiss of pain, but now it was just the mangled sound of someone screaming in pain, harsh and discordant, with a flash of light.

“Wilson, are you okay?” They could see the man hunched over in the edge of the light.”

“I’m fine.” Wilson said, standing up. “That should of worked. Stars and atoms! What if he’s hurt, Jack? That might have been too much, though. But it was two gems. If one’s not enough and two’s too many, what am I suppose to do?”

Jack shrugged. They were just here to be an assistant. They had no idea about this man. “Is there even a body, or is it all shadow.”

Wilson’s eyes lit up. “That’s it! I need to anchor the soul down, because you’re absolutely correct. He doesn’t have a body anymore. I wonder if I could combine the Magiluminescence with a life amulet, or if i need two amulets.”

It wasn’t elegant. It was some weird frankenstein of a necklace, it looked like three gems wasted if anyone else saw it. Jack had this feeling in the pit of their stomach that something bad was going to happen though, and had tried to dissuade Wilson earlier. What if they were wrong? They’d be down gems and Wilson had been hedging so much on his hunch being right.

“Alright Jack, I’m turning off my lantern.”

They sighed and waited. There was another ear splitting screech as there was a flash of light, before red light filtered into view, a body forming around the necklace.

They ran, lantern waving wildly. Wilson was ahead of them, though, lantern quickly switched on. They paused, Wilson already working on carrying the prone body.

“William?” It had to be, who else could it be. Older, sans his glasses, but… it was William.