#I ACTUALLY HAVE AN ORANGE CAT. HE LIVES WITH SAID YOUNGER SIBLING

[toxicrevolver]

Tagged by @loveable-sea-lemon thanks for the tag!!!

I did this once already but I wanna do it again. It’s cute sue me.

Make yourself using this hella cute pic crew

~ Not tagging anyone today but if anyone wants to participate feel free to blame me!! ~

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #118

(taken march 2nd; this is the last old survey i've got to upload! sorry for the spam, haha)

Do you want a cat or a dog more? I actually do want another cat, but Mom's not for it, mostly because she knows our landlord won't be.

Ever seen a kinkajou in real life? No, but I think they're SO cute.

Have you ever been crowned king or queen at a school dance? Nah.

Do you know anyone whose gender is non-binary? Multiple people.

Ever called someone a slut? I know I have totally playfully, and maybe - but I hope not - when I was younger and didn't know better.

Have any embarrassing pictures on Facebook? OH FOR SURE, I'm just too mortified of myself to go through and delete shit lmao

What type of tree do you see most of where you live? Pine. They're literally everywhere.

Is your mom mentally stable? I mean, she has depression, but she's not like... unstable. Although calling her "stable" feels inaccurate, too.

What was the last kind of snake you saw? She's a ball python, a champagne morph specifically.

Do you think you’d make a good parent? No, and it's the primary reason I don't think I'll ever have kids.

What’s your least favorite flavor of candy? It varies between grape, cherry, or orange, depending.

What shaped you most in your life as a person? I think maybe loss, in various forms. OH, or my depression.

Do you call your partner “baby?” Very rarely.

Does the last person you spoke to have any siblings? Yeah: Rob, Bill, and Kelly.

Have you ever seen the last person you hugged naked? Yes.

Do you have any limits on who you drink/eat after? Yeah, I'll pretty much only ever eat or drink after Girt 'cuz I mean, he's my boyfriend that I regularly kiss and stuff so it doesn't really matter. I'll very rarely eat or drink after Mom; it generally has to be a pretty desperate situation.

What is something in your life that you feel hopeful about right now? Mine and Girt's relationship is in a really good spot right now. I mean it's rare we're not doing well, but certain things have progressed or been expressed where things are just super good right now, and I feel very secure in this relationship, like it really is going to last. As I've said ten billion times, I will never allow myself to be 100% convinced that my relationship is permanent EVER again, but things are just great right now. I'm also feeling positive about having started physical therapy for my legs, and I'm being serious about it. And lastly, I'm very pleased with how dedicated I'm being with job hunting, and feel confident I CAN find SOMETHING I can manage.

Do you think flirting is cheating? Uh, YES????????????

Last place you fell asleep other than a bed? My sister's couch.

How many wives or husbands do you want? I'm monogamous so one.

Do you trust anyone? I could count on a single hand how many people I trust.

Does your significant other boss you around a lot? Good fucking LUCK catching me in a relationship where my s/o tells me what to do.

[TW: DRUG OVERDOSE] Do you know anyone who has overdosed? A tragic amount of people, including myself, but I'm very, very lucky and grateful that it was unsuccessful.

Are you in love with someone right now? Very, very much.

Have you ever had a pregnancy scare? Not one that was even remotely logical, but nevertheless I had a case where I worried.

Are you expected to help fix Thanksgiving dinner? No.

Do you personally know anyone who is transgender? Yes.

Do you feel guilty? If yes, why so? .......... WHY IS THIS SIMPLE QUESTION SENDING ME INTO A SPIRAL LOLOLOL SKIPPING

Has someone you cared about moved recently? My younger sister, actually. I'm so fucking proud of her, she's renting her own place all on her own now.

Have you ever gave someone a hand/blow job? Received one? Yes to all.

Are you hungry? Yeah honestly; I absolutely have not been eating enough since I got the severe pre-diabetes news. I've actually lost quite a few pounds very quickly, definitely more than what could just be natural fluctuations for me. I'm not starving, but I had a very small dinner of just salad and barely had anything else today, so...

Does the place you work have music playing? What sort? N/A

Do you have a lot of cousins? What are their names? Way, way more than I even know the names of. Off the very top of my head, there's Robby, Audrey, Brenna, and... holy fucking shit I'm already blanking lmfao I barely know my extended family, I'ma just be real.

Could you willingly live on a vegan diet? No, I would absolutely starve because of how absurdly picky I am, and fast. I'd love to be a vegan, but it is entirely unrealistic for me.

Do you have a hard time admitting you’re wrong? No, honestly. That's generally rather easy for me.

Name five objects that you don’t have but would like right now? New car for Mom, a new house for us, a new phone, bras that actually fit me properly, and a ball head tripod.

When you have children, would you like twins? Absofuckinglutely not, I can almost guarantee you that I would selectively abort one. I cannot IMAGINE a world where I could raise two babies at once even REMOTELY adequately.

Do you know any twins? If so, what are they called? Yeah, there was a Tyler and Taylor in my school. I also know a dance mom who never stops popping out babies because she lets "God" decide when she's had enough that has twin girls, but I don't remember their names.

When was the last time you went to the dentist? Literally just a few days ago, for a final cleaning before I get my wisdom teeth extraction scheduled...

Are you fingernails or toenails painted? What color/s? No; I never paint either.

What do you think your parents are doing? Mom is in her bed right now, so either watching TV or asleep. Dad is probably asleep.

What do you think your siblings are doing? I'm sure Ashley's being a mom of three, haha. Maybe the kids are asleep now? Idk when their bedtime is, or when she calls it a night either. I have no idea what Nicole's doing, but prooobably home? Her work schedule is very diverse, though.

What do you think your significant other/crush is doing? I can see via b.net that he's playing Diablo III right now.

What was the last gift you received? Girt got me a real big stuffed bear for Valentine's, lol. It sits on the chair in the corner of the room that's directly in my sight when I sit here at the desk.

When was the last time you saw rain? Literally today. This morning it was basically a monsoon, lol. The weather around here has been BONKERS, like it was 80 for a couple days not even a week ago, and now as we enter March, we're hearing that this is predicted to be the coldest March in NC history.

Would you rather wear a bracelet or a necklace? Necklace. I'd actually really like a necklace that I can always wear... but any I've ever had irritated my skin.

What season were you born in? Winter.

What is your favorite shade of green? I like seafoam green. Mossy green is great, too.

What is your favorite shade of blue? Sky blue, I think. Turquoise is also pretty, though.

Do you believe it's ever ok to cheat on a test? No. You're not doing yourself any favors if you don't ACTUALLY have that knowledge internalized.

What was the best part of your day today (or yesterday)? I think I did really well at PT today; I definitely pushed myself further than I felt like I was able. I was also very, very happy to see I'd lost weight. Girt and I had a good conversation earlier that made me feel very valued.

What year did you join Facebook? Apparently 2010.

What was the first color you ever dyed your hair? Uhhhh... maybe black, if we're talkin' full-head?

Who has hurt you the most? Jason.

When’s the last time you experienced a panic attack? Over what? Last week or whatever when I went to the gynecologist for the first time. I'm grateful they were patient with me, even with how uncooperative I was.

Have you ever used anything unusual to masturbate with before? If so, what? No, that's not really something I do without weird things anyway, it just doesn't do very much for me when it's Just Me lmao

Have you ever peed in the water at the beach? Uh no, that is a public location and is honestly disgusting.

Have you ever scored a winning goal for a team you played for? Definitely not that I remember; I feel like I would remember that.

Have you ever participated in LARPing? No, that would be WAY too awkward for me. I'm glad other people can have fun with it, but I would literally cry from discomfort and humiliation even if no one was judging me lmao.

Do you prefer “regular kissing” or French kissing? I mean that kinda depends on the mood, there are times where I don't want to go very far at all and others where I do.

Are you more likely to give a hickey to someone else or get one? Lately get lmfao even though for most of our relationship he didn't do those. I don't care if he does, so long it's not in an obnoxiously open spot. That did happen once (accidentally, to his credit) and my mom wanted to pass away because she noticed 😭

[shotgunningtheuniverse]

Thank you @terra1ncognita your mild fluff shot, jealousy style, garnished with established relationship, served with a domestic family dynamic right here. Enjoy!

-

“George, help me with my math homework. Please!” Dream heard his younger sister whine from the living room.

“Yeah sure, what do you need help with?” Dream heard his boyfriend asked. George. He wanted to see George. Maybe he’d drop by the kitchen.

Walking down the hall Dream headed into the living room. Looking at his sibling and his boyfriend sitting at the bar that separate the kitchen and the living room. A piece of paper in front of his sister.

Dream walked into the kitchen taking a bowl and three glasses down. Filling the glasses with orange juice and the bowl with goldfish he slid the bowl and two glasses over. Taking his own glass and heading back upstairs. Not thinking much of it.

-

So that moment in the kitchen might’ve been the start. Of his cat, his mom, his dad, his sister, stealing his boyfriend.

Whenever they were over, which was often. George was always talking with one of them. Chatting with his sister about ideas and chaotic things. His mother about life and things they’d seen. His father about stories about Dream, the more technicalities of life.

And then Patches. Who loved snuggling with George, sitting in his lap, grabbing his attention away.

Unfortunately this left little time alone with Dream. Well there was plenty time alone to most. But to Dream who was used to having George’s attention 24/7. He didn’t particularly like it.

So he decided to actually talk about it with George.

“So, what did you need?” George asked, looking at Dream from beside him on the couch.

Dream glanced down at his hands awkwardly not sure how to start, “you know how my family comes over a lot to see us. And stuff?”

George tilted his head confused but nodded nonetheless, “yeah?”

“It’s kinda stupid now that I-”

“Dream your feelings aren’t stupid, keep going.” George cut in, cutting off Dream’s to be ramble of making himself shut and down and invalidating his own feelings.

“Yeah sorry, uh. I don’t know. You spend like a lot of time with them when their here. And you kinda spend less time with me?” Dream finished weakly.

“Are you jealous baby?” George asked, a hint of amusement in his tone.

Dream looked embarrassed, “may, be?”

“It’s okay, it’s fine. I’ll include you more in the discussion and stuff. Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”

Dream visibly relaxed. “Thank you George, your the best.”

“I try.”

-

Dream hovered by the doorway watching George talk with his mom. Just watching. George glanced up, spotting him. “Dream!” He said cheerfully, “com’re love. We were just talking about that bird we saw yesterday. The one we couldn’t figure out the name of?”

Walking over Dream smiled, “oh yeah that one. I remember that.”

[superhero--imagines]

Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here! / Part 7 Here! / Part 8 Here! / Part 9 Here! / Part 10 Here! / Part 11 Here! / Part 12 Here! / Part 13 Here! / Part 14 Here! / Part 15 Here! / Part 16 Here! / Part 17 Here! / Part 18 Here! < This is Part 19!>

Donate to Move to Higher Ground HERE!

Song Here- (X)

Big thanks to @imdoingathingmom​ and @bbibbisan​ for doing a sensitivity read! 

* This could be worse, you remind yourself as you feed your deer

* Much, much worse

* “How much am I supposed to give them?” The tall, ebony colored man says from beside you, his bright red eyes seem to glow under the pale moonlight

* “Um.. for that one, you can feed it as much kale as you want, but be careful James, he’s kinda insatiable. He’ll eat your clothes if you give him the chance”

* James nods, tearing the kale in careful ribbons.

* He smiles when the deer eats right out of his palm.

* You’re not going to lie, you were 100% surprised when the blond turned out to be Laurent and the black guy was James

* You were even more surprised when he asked if he could help you feed your animals

* You watch him smile as he gives the deer a gentle pat, feeding it more kale

* Yeah, you’re having a hard time believing the teddy bear in front of you is some psychopath tracker

* The story went that while you and Edward were out, the coven decided to play some baseball up in the mountains, and the sound caught their attention as they were passing through

* Apparently this was a fast friends situation, because Carlisle and Laurent have been reminiscing about their geezer pre-colonialism days

* You look to the house, you can see Edward’s inside from the window, his eyes meet yours and he gives you a small smile

* Well that seems hopeful

* “I used to take animals before I turned” James’s deep voice calls you back to the situation at hand

* “Oh were you a farm hand?” You’re peeling an orange, which Henrietta the third is already licking at impatiently

* “Um, not quite, I was a slave”

* You stop peeling the orange

* James tells you his story- he was a third generation slave, fathered from the master, his mother passed away shortly after his birth

* “I was lucky- in a sense, the master -my father- he was a superstitious man, and my mother- she had a reputation”

* His mother was a slave in name only, was what he told you. She was more of a mistress or a concubine.

* “At least that’s what they said, Though I’m not sure how much of that is true, I’m fairly certain she didn’t enjoy being with him. She was just trying to survive”

* His mother had been ostracized, even amongst others like them, but not because of her social position in the household

* “They thought she was a witch,” he admitted. “Bad things happened to people who wronged her, and good things happened to those who helped her”

* That sounds like Alec and Jane

* “When she was on her death bed, she laid a “curse” on the owner of the plantation, that if I wasn’t taken care of she would haunt him and bring misfortune on the entire family for several generations”

* And so, James became the unfavorable third son of the Pickett family.

* “I had many opportunities from her sacrifice, I learned to read and write, but I was more or less shunned from the house- both by my family and by the other slaves”

* It was lonely, almost painful.

* “But there was one thing, a ray of light-“ his eyes flit towards the window, and you follow his gaze to the red haired woman in the green chair

* “Victoria, she was my eldest brothers fiancé”

* The youngest daughter of the wealthiest man in town, from the outside she was a blossoming socialite

* The most beautiful girl in town

* But behind closed doors...

* Victoria was the product of an affair, a mistresses child, reluctantly brought into the household when her mother passed

* “She had big dreams, she loved to read, she yearned to study, to educate herself, to use her mind”

* And so, two lost souls found each other

* “Our family would never have allowed it. So we decided to run away together” he smiles, but it’s bitter.

* They claimed he had abducted her, perhaps to save face, and sent slave catchers to find them.

* “I’m not quite sure what happened-I remember being shot and telling Victoria to go in without me- all I ever wanted was for her to be happy.”

* This is heartbreaking

* “When I woke up, Laurent was there, and my throat burned”

* So Laurent had been with them for all that time, he was their creator

* “Afterwards the three of us worked in ‘the underground railroad’ helping slaves to the north where they could be free”

* “I’m thankful to him, for saving us, we wouldn’t have been able to be in a world where we could be together if it weren’t for him-“

* “But you wonder what the trade off is” you finish and he nods

* No longer human

* Purpose only lasts so long in this life, after all human life only has meaning because you know one day it will end

* “I found a penchant for tracking, it turns out what they said about my mother might have held some truth”

* James calls it “extreme luck”, there’s no other word for his gift.

* If he’s looking for something - or someone- it’ll inevitably find him through pure luck. Like the world bends to his will

* But it only works with finding things

* “These days we work as bounty hunters, and we only feed from people beyond redemption”

* Murder and rapists it sounds like

* “I didn’t know there was another way”

* “That’s understandable, I didn’t know either until I met Carlisle” he looks at you with kind eyes, and so with a deep breath you tell him your story

* About the Volturi, your parents, Alec and Jane-

* “I think you would like them, they’re a little off putting at first, but they warm up pretty fast”

* “Like cats” he says

* “Like cats” you agree

* You tell him about meeting Carlisle, how he saved you,

* how Eleazer gave you a home and a family,

* and about Edward, who gave you a chance to live

* Not just to survive, but to truly live

* “We’re not so different you and I” James says with a smile, and you mirror his expression

* “No we aren’t”

* Though of course you wouldn’t compare the relatively privileged life you had to his

* But the loneliness you both experienced is not all that different

* The tie that binds you all

* And then you do something you’ve never done before

* “You know, I don’t belong to this coven, not really” it’s the first time you’ve admitted it to anyone

* “Oh?”

* “My coven is in Denali, they have a permanent settlement there, and they follow the er... same alternative lifestyle”

* He laughs

* “I’m sure they would love two or three more, we’ve got like thirteen spare rooms in that house”

* You still remember the antiquated scooby Doo mansion-esque hallways filled with armor and swords

* He looks at you for a long time, but it doesn’t make you uncomfortable

* “I won’t follow another leader”

* You nod, that’s understandable.

* Laurent created them, and it seems he’s happy with their current lifestyle, they won’t betray him

* “Not unless it’s you”

* ........

* What?!?!

* “M-me?” You sputter, your orange peel filled hand clutching your chest

* “Why would you want to follow me? I’m only nineteen years old- I don’t even have a high school degree yet!”

* He laughs at your panicked expression

* “You know that doesn’t matter to our kind,” his eyes twinkle as he looks at you.

* “Call it witchcraft if you like, but you’re going to accomplish great things, I can feel it deep in my bones”

* Garrett had said the same thing, but the way James says it-

* You really believe it.

* He doesn’t want anything from you you, not a kiss or a date-

* He just wants to be your friend, to be apart of your vision

* Whatever it may be

* “Here’s my card-“

* He holds out his business card to you, unlike Garett’s it’s a cheap cardboard white with his profession and number on the front

* “If you ever find yourself in need of someone to help with your animals, let me know”

* You nod, taking his card in your hands

* “Um there’s one more thing I could use your help with-“

* He points to the large window, right at Alice

* “I know that girl but she doesn’t seem to know me.”

* “Well how does that work”

* He tells you how many years ago, a woman was looking for her sister.

* “It was a bit of a Cinderella story”

* The woman’s father had remarried quickly after his wife’s death, and the step mother had sent his children away. The younger sibling, his client, was lucky and was sent to a relative.

* But the older, who had suspected something amiss had happened to her mother, was sent to a mental asylum

* “You know me, I find things, it’s my gift.”

* But when he found the girl, she was no longer human. Already turned.

* “I tried to approach her, but she didn’t seem to remember anything”

* “Alice doesn’t have any of her memories from before she turned, she woke up in the woods all alone”

* The only thing guiding her were her visions.

* James nods solemnly

* “Should I...should I tell her?”

* You look to Alice.

* She’s smiling at something Victoria said.

* How many nights has she spent wondering who she really was, feeling so happy she had a family and a partner, but wondering if she left someone behind

* How would she feel when she found out?

* “I think you should tell her.”

* If it was you, even if it hurt, you would want to know

* James nods

* “Okay”

* You walk inside together, and immediately look to Edward

* Your own personal vampire lie detector

* “He did lie about one thing-“ Edward tells you once James pulls Alice aside.

* Was he actually tracking Alice to hunt her?

* Your heart drops at the thought

* “His mother didn’t die from natural causes, she committed suicide because she knew it would secure his future” Edward tells you with a somber expression.

* “He just didn’t want you to feel bad”

* You smile and nod.

* What a strong person, you can’t even imagine

* Edward pulls you into his arms, placing a soft kiss in your hair

* You feel bitter sweet about the whole thing

* Especially as you watch them leave in the morning, right before you’re going to head off to school

* Jasper is holding Alice who seems vulnerable, but relieved

* They’re leaving so soon, you didn’t even get a chance to get to talk to Victoria or Laurent

* You watch James stand next to Victoria, they’re talking to Carlisle.

* They’re not even touching, but you can feel the intimacy radiate off of them

* You wonder if maybe you and Edward might get to be that close one day

* James meets your gaze and smiles

* “I’ll see you around sometime leader!” He calls out, earning confused looks from your coven and his

* You smile back and give him a nod

* You’re still not sure what your future holds

* But you know you wouldn’t have gotten this far if it weren’t for the kindness of others

* You want to make them proud

* And then in a gust of wind, he’s gone

* They all are

* “See, I didn’t commit murder or anything, I told you things were different” Edward says with a teasing smile

* You roll your eyes and lightly shove him while he just laughs

* He’s right though, that was different

* “Enough flirting kids, you’re going to be late for school, and I really don’t want to deal with that dick in the front office acting all high and mighty because they think I can’t control my children” Esme yells

* School?

* Oh sh*t you didn’t do your homework

* “Edward-“

* “I’ll drive and tell you the answers on the way there” he says catching the keys you toss to him

* “It’s the-“

* “The Trig homework, I know. It’s your worst subject”

* Well you do struggle with trig quite a bit

* “Though to be fair you’re pretty terrible at all of them”

* He barks laughing when you shove him before getting into the car through the passenger side

* Carlisle and Esme watch you from the doorstep

* “They’re so good together-“ Esme starts

* “I know, I never thought our Edward would look at anyone like that”

* Carlisle and Esme exchange a look

* Before you came around-

* Well it wasn’t bad, but he certainly didn’t look like that.

* And he never smiled like that either

* Immortality had hardened him, made him into a man

* But with you-

* Well, with you he looks just like a boy

* A boy in love for the first time

* “I wonder what kind of children they might have had” Esme wonders with a small grin

* Him, with his ability to read minds, and you with that positively monstrous power of yours

* Any number of possibilities is possible

* “Best not to think of such things” Carlisle murmurs

* Though you two may be together for eternity, with the endless options, you’ll never have that.

* Esme nods

* “I’m late to get to the hospital, surgery this morning” he mumbles kissing her on the cheek before walking to the car

* She watches him go, his sleek white Volvo disappearing down the road before looking up to the sky

* “What a shame, I would have liked a cute grandchild or two running around” she mumbles to herself before turning to go inside

* “Entertaining always leaves me exhausted, guess I’ll give my employees the day off”

Tags:  @moonlights27​ @thebluetint​ @the100thtwilight​ @awesomebooklover17​ @oneofthepotterheads​ @smileygirl08​ @imdoingathingmom​ @iconicgguk​ @yrawn​ @alyciaswhore​ @little-horror-show​ @wicked-watering-can​ @lazydreamers​ @ xxxmuxxx @ideas-for-you-to-adopt​​​ @poisoinedhope @maryleigh8796​​ @moose-squirrel-asstiel​​ @hotmessgoodness​ @jaimewho​ @corabmarie​ @what-am-i-doing10​ @alluring-venus​ @imdoingathingmom @anotheryooniverse​ @im-tired-not-sleepy​ @emmettcullenisahimbo​ @my-super-musical-life​ @smolvampiregirl​ @it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream​ @mihikaahujaaa @werewolflover3252​ @teenagezombiekryptonite @shynz​ @reclusive-chicken-nugget​ @monkeyluver4546 @wonhomarshmallow​ @bwbatta​

[redrobin-detective]

Just one single glimpse of relief

TW: OC death, death themes

“Hey,” Sydnee looked up at the sound of the voice. It was familiar, safe, and it stopped her tears for a moment. She can’t remember where she was or what she’d been doing. All she knew was that she was scared and upset and didn’t know what to do. It felt like she’d been crying forever when the voice appeared. “Hey there, it’s Phantom. Can I come closer?”

Sydnee gasped as the town hero, Phantom, approached her slowly. Syd was a bit of a nerd and she couldn’t get enough of those superhero movies. She always tuned in to Phantom’s fights on TV; he was as close as she’d get to a real life Superman or Captain Marvel. She’d never seen him up close before though. He was younger than he appeared on TV, not more than his early teens. Sydnee, almost 24, was hit by a wave of mortification over how they’d described the hunky, we-thought-he-was-older kid on Margarita Night. This day just got better and better, not that she remembered it.

“How are you doing?” Phantom asked quietly, floating near her but not getting too close. He was watching her warily but not unkindly. She saw how some folks treated him, he was probably worried she’d throw a shoe at him. “What’s your name?”

“Sydnee, with an extra e not a y. Uh Tanner, Sydnee Tanner,” she mumbled. Ugh why were words so hard. Her head felt fuzzy and very far away, she thinks she was going to start panicking again. What was she even so upset about? “I don’t know what’s going on. Where are we and what happened. I don’t- I don’t remember anything.”

“It’s okay,” he said soothingly, floating a little closer. The soft glow he emitted brightened up the dark place they were in. Was she in a collapsed tunnel? What had she been doing here? She’d never been claustrophobic but the debris and rubble of the place seemed to close in on her. “Hey, hey, just look at me.” She turned and met his kind eyes, soft and easy. “We’ll walk through it together. What is the last thing you remember?”

“I was late to work,” Syd said, the memory popping up before her. “I um work at the Donut Delights bakery in that strip mall next to the middle school. My cats had knocked over some of my houseplants in the night so I had to clean them up and was running behind. I open the store on Wednesdays - oh it’s Wednesday! - so I knew I’d be in trouble. But I made it, just barely. I was starting up the ovens when.” Syd furrowed her brow and took in the hero before her. The one who was almost never seen outside a fight. “There was a ghost attack, wasn’t there?”

“Welcome to Amity Park,” Phantom said grimly. “I’ve been here a couple times; the jalapeno bacon topped donuts are my favorite. My mom and sister buy them sometimes if they want to bribe me into doing something.”

“You weirdo, only crazy people eat that weird flavor,” Sydnee chuckled. “You have a family?”

“Of course, we all have a family out there somewhere. What about you?” He asked gently. There was something about the soft way he was talking to her, the way his eyes flickered around the dark like he was looking for something. He had news he didn’t want to tell her and she wasn’t ready to hear it. Not yet. Just a few more minutes of denial before she faced the revelation she couldn’t bear to touch yet.

“Yeah, mom and dad and two younger sibs. Folks divorced forever ago, I barely remember them actually being together. Mom is is living it up in Dubai working as a pastry chef in one of their fancy hotels. Dad’s an auto-mechanic down on Maple street, Duke’s Car Services. Pretty sure you got tossed through the window a year ago.”

“I’ve been tossed through many windows but I know the place you’re talking about. So a big family, any friends? Boyfriends? Girlfriends?”

“I have a boyfriend,” she continued on hastily, taking the distraction for what it was. “I like him, a lot and we’ve been dating since high school. Everyone says I should marry him and we’ve talked about it, casually, but I’ve never dated anyone else and wonder if I should see other people first. You know, test the waters before I settle down with my high school sweetheart like my folks did and look how they turned out.”

“Mhmm,” Phantom hummed nodding, encouraging her to continue.

“DeShawn is great though, he’s very supportive and sweet in his own kind of absentminded way. He’s got epilepsy real bad though, I have to drive him everywhere since he’s always at risk of a seizure. Annoying sometimes but its nice, you can learn a lot about a person from a conversation while you’re alone together.”

“Very true, I’m learning a lot now,” Phantom smiled. “What about your siblings?”

“I have a brother and a sister, Kennedy is finishing his sophomore year of college and Janelle will be a senior in high school. She was a surprise baby, one last attempt of my parents to reconcile before the big D. It didn’t help but I got a great sister out of it, she’s a real firecracker.”

“Janelle,” Phantom’s eyes lit up. “She’s the one always dying her hair. I see her in the hallways of Casper, she’s hard to miss. I think she draws too, she won an art award I think.”

“Yeah!” Sydnee said enthusiastically, she reached out and grabbed ahold of Phantom’s arm. It was cold but solid. It reminded her that she really couldn’t feel anything, nothing but him. “Yeah, I swear her hair is a new color every time I see her. It’s a dark purple now, it looks pretty good on her. She was a peachy orange for picture day last year. Mom called her up screaming when she saw the photos.”

“I thought it looked cool,” Phantom grinned, “not that I was there for picture day. Ghost attack, you know. My mom was upset with me too.” They laughed lightly for a minute before it gently petered off leaving them alone in the dark. Sydnee didn’t have any feeling in her toes, in any part of her. She felt light and disconnected and all over out of sorts. She was pretty sure she knew what had happened but she couldn’t face it yet. But talking to Phantom, it seemed a little easier.

“I remember the attack now,” Sydnee stated quietly. “It was a big ghost bear only it was the size of a pickup truck. It rammed into the store there was chaos and screaming. It was so loud, the screaming of the customers, the bear, building coming down on top of us...” her lips wobbled. “We’re still in the store, aren’t we? I haven’t wanted to turn around because... because I know my body is buried underneath the concrete back there.”

“Yeah,” Phantom breathed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get here in time. Most everyone in the area got out but you and a few others in the store got trapped under the rubble. Mrs. McDaniels who lived on Eustis street and was the first woman in her family to go to college plus Eddie Drake who came down from Chicago to check out the ghost stuff with their boyfriend and was a tattoo artist.”

“Did you talk to them too?” She questioned in surprise.

“Briefly, Mrs. McDaniels didn’t stay long, just long enough to tell me, and I quote, “stop wasting time on her dead ass and get to the others.” She already passed on. Eddie, they didn’t take it well. We talked for a while and I think they need a little more time to accept it, see their loved ones first. I warned them that the longer they delay death, the harder it is and the more you lose yourself. You’re the last, all the way in the back of the store. When you’re ready, I’m going to bring your body out.”

“Thank you,” she whispered before breaking out into hysterical laughter. “God I bet I’m a wreck, I think I put my shirt on inside out I was in such a rush this morning,” she sniffled. “What do I do now, as a ghost? I don’t have to, like, attack people, do I?”

“No,” Phantom sighed. “Most ghosts are just normal people, no one else but other ghosts will see you and you’re not going to be strong enough to interact with the real world for a long, long time. You can stick around a bit if you want, watch over your family but it’s like I told Eddie, you forget things pretty quick. Or you can move on, that part I can’t help you with but I’ve helped a lot of others go that route and I’m told it’s easy.”

“Easy, then why haven’t you?” She questioned angrily, the full weight of the situation crashing over her. She shoved him and he floated back passively. “I’m a freaking ghost and you’re here talking to me like you’re my therapist or something. Who’s gonna take DeShawn to his appointments? Or praise my sister’s creative messes? Or badger Ken into picking major? My life is over and you think you can float there and lecture me about it being easy to move on!”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Phantom soothed, scratching at the back of his neck. “I’m so sorry Sydnee, I wish I could turn back the clock an hour, two hours, and prevent this from happening but I can’t. I’ve tried to mess with time and it doesn’t end well for anyone. I just want, I just want what’s best for you now. You can stay or you can go but I want you to make the decision that you feel most comfortable with. That’s all I can do for you.”

“I think I’d be sad,” she said, crying again, “being able to see everyone but not talk to them, to watch them cry over me. I don’t want to forget them either.” Phantom watched her, easily and earnestly. “What made you choose to stay? Why didn’t you go?”

“I’m a little complicated but I can tell you, when I’ve done all I need to here, I’m not hanging around a second longer than I have to. Being a ghost has it’s perks but it’s also, it’s being stuck in a place you longer fit, watching the world go on without you.”

“Okay,” Syd hiccupped. “Okay, yeah okay.”

“Okay,” Phantom nodded. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No, please don’t,” she grabbed his hands again. “Please I don’t, I know I died alone but I don’t want to do... this alone. Please stay, ugh, calling you Phantom is weird sorry.”

“I don’t know if it’s any less weird but you can call me Danny,” Phantom, Danny, laughed. It was an ordinary name for a superhero but it fit. There was a special thrill in knowing the ghost boy’s name but it’s not like she was going to be around to tell anyone. It was scary, to think of not existing but also sort of comforting, like a long nap with nothing pressing to get up for.

“Can you tell them that I love them, in my place? I know it’s a lot and I’m sure you’re super busy saving the town and everything-”

"It’s not a problem. I’m sure they know but I’ll be happy to pass on the message,” he smiled and it made him look so young. For a second she was struck by how sad it was that she was relying on a kid a decade younger than her for support. But he was here and he was kind and he was what she needed right now. Maybe one day, he’d have his own person talking him through this last step. 

“Okay, Danny, thanks really. For talking, for staying. I’m scared but I, I think I’m ready.” She closed her eyes and squeezed his hands tightly. “Do you, will it hurt?”

“No,” he said, his voice warm despite his inherent chill. “No, Sydnee. No, the hurting is all over now. All you have left ahead of you is peace. Thank you for all that did, you’ll be missed.”

“I’ll see you on the other side. Goodbye.” The world faded to a pinprick, consumed by light. The last thing she saw before she went into it was a stranger’s smile. 

XxX

“Here’s the last,” Phantom said solemnly, delicately setting a broken body he’d carried out of the dilapidated building and on the sidewalk next to the others. “This is Sydnee Tanner, she was the only employee in the store at the time. She has cats at home who will need taking care of. Her dad works at Duke’s Car Services along with siblings and a boyfriend.”

“Don’t know how you know all that but thanks for getting these folks out,” Sheriff Newton sighed. “Damn shame. Keep up the good work kid, we’ll save the next ones for sure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some rather unhappy news to break to several people.”

“Do you mind if I tag along? I have a few messages I need to pass on.”

[codenamed-queenie]

Nap Time

Hear me out.

When you work the graveyard shift busting baddies and crushing cases, you likely average about two, maybe three hours of sleep a night. At most. There’s only so much time in the day, right? And Timothy Jackson Drake is not the only member of his family who’s dangerously sleep-deprived. 

So, upon Alfred’s insistence (and many isolated incidents involving brick walls, hot coffee, shaving cream, and a lack of pants)--

A bargain was struck. Deals were made. Schedules were rearranged. Employers and Teachers were generously bribed. 

All for one minor, but critically crucial thing:

Family Nap Time

It was actually Duke who had the idea, to everyone’s surprise. He stepped into the manor one day and witnessed a state of chaos on a scale only achievable by a family of the World’s Greatest Detectives:

Dick had climbed on top of the fridge and curled into a fetal position, clutching a cup of coffee like his very life depended on it. 

His eyes were unfocused, staring into the eyes of demons nobody else could see.

Jason was screaming at the toaster in Portuguese and hitting it repeatedly with a whisk. Said toaster was on fire.

Steph was dutifully trying to put out the fire with the extinguisher Alfred always kept within reaching distance of the oven (for obvious reasons). 

The only problem? She was nowhere near the toaster.

Instead, she was spraying the potted Ficus on the opposite end of the kitchen, screaming ‘aaaaayyyyyyyyyy’ in complete monotone. 

Harper, who’d ‘spent the night’ to catch a quick hour and a half of sleep, was perched, bird-like, on the bar stool at the counter squeezing mustard into her Frosted Flakes. She stared, unblinking, at the bowl. 

Whether she thought it was milk, or whether she was perfectly aware of what was in her hand and just didn’t care what she was doing is unclear. 

Damian was hugging a struggling Alfred the cat like a teddy bear, and standing with his face in the corner of the room. Unmoving. Just...standing there. 

Tim was wearing swim trunks (they were actually Dick’s, and had little yellow rubber duckies on them) and sitting in the kitchen sink. Said sink was running. Tim’s head was tipped back. He stared at the ceiling while water continued to overflow onto the floor. 

Cass was nowhere to be seen. At least, at first. 

Bruce walked in, wearing nothing but a pair of his best underwear and Selina’s fluffiest bathrobe. He was holding a carton of orange juice. He nodded at Duke, and, as the most lucid of the bunch, said, 

“Morning, son. Breakfast?”

He stepped over to the fridge, and Cass was clinging koala-style to his back. 

Whether Bruce was aware of this fact was also unclear. 

Duke was fine. He operated during the daylight hours, and therefore had the best REM cycle in the family. But still...he had Concerns. 

So, collaborating with Alfred (a.k.a. the Only One Anyone Actually Listens To) they came up with Family Nap Time. 

The rules are simple:

At exactly 6am EST report to Wayne Manor

Family Nap Time shall take place at least three (3) times per week

Refer to the Family Group Messages for more info

Bring: 

Your fluffiest blanket

If you do not have a fluffiest blanket, one will be provided for you

One or more pillow(s)

Body Pillows are Highly Encouraged

(But if necessary, a younger sibling will serve the same purpose)

Fuzzy or Comfy Pajamas (and Socks)

Not required

(But you must be wearing CLOTHES, MASTER JASON)

A raffle shall be had each week to determine who gets to pick the white noise played in the background.

Those who would like to opt out of background noise will be supplied with foam earplugs. 

No, Master Timothy, the Bee Movie Script is not adequate white noise.

Master Jason, please take this seriously. Sirens, car horns, and explosions are not conducive to a positive sleep environment. I don’t care if that is what helps you sleep at night, why can’t you be more like Miss Cassandra and select wind chimes or ocean waves?

Everyone shall gather in the living room. 

You are free to sleep anywhere you would like

Couches, the rug, by the hearth, all are excellent choices. 

No, Master Timothy, you may not sleep in the chimney

Master Dick, the coffee table is an...interesting choice, but--

Miss Brown, please keep your hands to yourself

Especially within view of young Master Damian.

No cellular devices allowed

This means all of you

Yes, ALL of you

Even you Master Bruce, don’t give me that look

The Lights will be dimmed, and the curtains drawn.

This signals that it is time to Sleep

Glowsticks are banned, Miss Brown, I’m sorry. 

Everyone must sleep for at least 3 hours, but you are free to stay as long as you would like. 

Within reason

We made an exception one time, Master Timothy

But you cannot continue to spend the week on the sofa, no matter how little sleep you’ve gotten this past month.

There’s actual work that needs to be done

Failure to attend shall result in Mandatory Leave from all patrols and other related Vigilante Activity, to allow for the opportunity to sleep on your own time.

Either way, Sleep is a NECESSITY not a SUGGESTION

Needless to say, there’s some bumps in the road, and a few debates to be settled and rules to be tweaked. But all in all? Family Nap Time is a huge hit.

The rest of the heroes in the Super Community are well aware of this practice, as well. 

Tim was teased about it at a Titans’ briefing only once. (The other Titans are still attending group therapy.)

Roy negged Jason about it a few times, then stopped once he started to notice how the dark bags under his friend’s eyes started to slowly disappear. 

The Birds of Prey pick up the slack while Babs heads over to Wayne Manor to join the siesta festivities (Siestivities?) She always helps Alfred make chamomile tea for the others. 

And lastly, 

Barry Allen, the poor fool, burst into Wayne Manor one day and shouted something about an emergency in space that the League needed Bruce for, asap!

Twelve heads perked up out of a nest made of pillows, sheets and blankets set up in the living room, glaring daggers

It was at that moment, Barry knew

He. F****d. Up.

All he remembers is the unholy sound of shrieking, fingernails, fists, and being stuffed somewhere dark (the broom closet)

Anything past that? Gonzo.

Wally had to pick him up after Alfred gave the all-clear.

It’s become a sacred, but unspoken, rule for any hero outside of Gotham: 

Let the Bats Sleep...or else

[scenariosofkonoha]

For the Country| Tobirama- Arranged Marriage AU

Part 7/15

Part 1| ... | Part 8

Masterlist

Word Count: 2.3k

Chapter Summary: Kagami and Tobirama go to the market and Kagami takes about y/n’s role in the Uchiha clan. Tobirama goes on to talk to y/n about taking Kagami for his team, but this is met with hesitation. Things get spicy after this chapter lol jk i forgot i added a fluff chapter in between this one and the spicy one

***

“Why are you so insistent on finding an orange?” Tobirama inquired as he looked down to the child who was pacing along his side, a child who was truthfully leading the way down the market trail. 

“Because,” Kagami started as he tightened his grip on the basket that was already filled with various vegetables.  “It’s for y/n. For training me with my eyes. She really likes them but they’re hard to find around here, you know?” he replied as he lifted his chin above the produce to better see his elder.  

“But why are you giving her a gift for training you? Most students don’t.”

Kagami gave a small frown, confusion overcoming his expression. “‘Cause she didn’t have to?” He offered, uncertainty weighing down his voice. “You know she’s got a lot going on with you and the hospital and the village and the clan and everything else,” he listed off the various dealings she seemed to have a hand in. “She didn’t have to train me, but she is, so the least I can do is buy her an orange.” 

Tobirama nodded. For as ornery as Kagami could be, there were times like this where he seemed much more mature than he should be.  Putting his hands in his pockets as they continued down the street, Tobirama continued to ask his questions. “And how’s that going? Training?” 

It was then that any uncertainty Kagami had been harboring vanished. With a squinty eyed smile, the young Uchiha gleamed. “Really good. She’s always been a good teacher, and her Sharingan’s strong- Madara trained her after all. Besides just being my sister, there was a reason I wanted her to train me.”  

“What?” Tobirama frowned, confusion flooding in. She had never mentioned anything of her Sharingan, or her training. Up until recently, he had only seen it activated a handful of times, all of which occurred during a mission before their marriage. The only uptick in instances of its appearance was due to her training of Kagami. Narrowing his eyes, Tobirama prodded at the comment.  “She never mentioned that she was trained by Madara?”

Kagami stitched his eyebrows together. “What do you mean?” he asked before offering clarifying information. “She was always Madara’s favorite when she was growing up. He trained her and our older brother, but he always said she was the most likely to survive. When she got older, she kinda shifted away from him, because he’s just… you know…?” Kagami failed to find the right word, but looked to Tobirama like he knew. “But she’s just not like that, and she ended up acting like a mediator for a lot of stuff.” Kagami shrugged as he admitted to information he thought his sister had already given. 

Tobirama was silent for a moment as he tried to process the information that had just been given to him. From what he had gathered over the nearly two years that all this had started, she always made her relationship with the clan leader seem as if it were nothing more than that: a superior and a subordinate. The fact that Madara and her used to be closer wasn’t fitting within the structure Tobirama had built within his head. 

Immediately reading into this silence, Kagami quickly threw in an additional tidbit to help placate his words. “Now they just kinda fight at meetings.” he added, turning his body to help project his words. “Uncle’s super strict and likes things the old way, but she tries to be flexible with us and the village, and it’s messy. She always stands up for the younger members at the meeting and how things are moving in the future. Most elders in the clan won’t listen to us, but they listen to her…” Kagami offered another truth that he probably shouldn’t have shared.

Diverting his gaze from the Senju, Kagami’s voice was quieter. “She’s done a lot for us… I’m sure you and the rest of the village would hate us even more than you already do if she hadn’t done the things she has…” 

The sharpness left Tobirama’s face for a moment as he saw the child speak more as an adult. There was almost a sense of guilt pooling within him as he came to know that even Kagami knew of his distrust. But more than the guilt of that, there was the alarming amount of sense that came into the many facets of his wife. That was why she was always so insistent on going to clan meetings. Even if she did not legally carry their name anymore, she went to fight and argue with the elders of her clan for within her generation and the following. From the sounds of it too, if she hadn’t been there, things would probably have been much different, but to what extent, Tobirama probably would never know. 

Knowing he should probably offer some support to the child, particularly because he mentioned him specifically, Tobirama tried. “Kagami…”

But his attempt was stopped by the very piece of fruit that started all of this. Acting as if nothing had just happened, Kagami diverted the conversation as he crossed over the street to the vendor. “Look! I found one!” Kagami perked up with a small laugh, ignoring any sense of pity that Tobirama would have given him.

Must have been a sibling trait… 

***

Gingerly placing a blanket over the pile of sleeping souls, the Uchiha was helpless to the smile that was across her demeanor. 

“How hard do you train someone so that they fall asleep on the floor?” Tobirama questioned, something that was almost resembling a joke, but there was a real inquiry in it. 

Stepping away from Kagami and the two cats that were cuddled alongside him, she looked over to her husband. “Oh, nothing he can’t handle.” she offered as she walked into the kitchen, joining Tobirama. “Besides, sleeping like a rock has always just been one of his quirks.” she admitted, her smile still present.

Tobirama nodded as they both sat down at the small table and poured tea.   

Cupping the drink in her hands and pulling it in, she gave a shrug as she mused. “I’ve questioned if it’s just a trait of being a child of a village. You don’t need to be on constant alert, so you get to sleep without worry.”

“He was born before the village formation though?”

“True, but kids his age don’t remember any of it.” she corrected. “And I’m glad he can hardly remember a time before the village...” she admitted, her voice softer this time. “He’s so kind and unburdened by the past that he can actually see a future…” she spoke, more to herself than to him, but the words were still there for him to hear. 

Sitting in the darkened room, Tobirama was halted by her comment, a heaviness weighing it down. There was that same despair he had seen earlier in the day, a despair that Tobirama had never really felt. 

Biting down on her lip, she looked down to her cup before matching Tobirama’s gaze. Inhaling as if the words hurt her, she tried not to show the weakness within her. “I know when you think of our family, your mind goes directly to Madara and Izuna, but…” she trailed, her eyes quickly darting to the mass of blankets in the room next to theirs before continuing. “There are ones like Kagami, and please don’t let them limit him…” she spoke, her voice close to a beg. 

Setting his cup down, Tobirama exhaled, not sure how the next moments were going to go.  “I wanted to talk to you about that. About Kagami.” he replied, constantly analyzing her behavior to try and predict her reactions. 

A small frown came upon her face as she filled with concern. “Yes?” 

Tobirama had thought of this for a while, but particularly in the month that Kagami had lived with them, time where Tobirama had been able to see Kagami train and succeed. Tobirama knew what he wanted, he just needed permission. “Hashirama is insisting I have a team that I train from genin on up. ” he started, his voice strong as he were voicing a proposal to the village.

“I’m listening, but I don’t like where this is going.” 

This was about how Tobirama expected this to start out. “Y/n. I want him as a student. I think he’s capable and he listens and he has potential.” Tobirama admitted, offering compliments that normally wouldn’t be given. “Potential that’s unique, and can be cultivated for what this village will need.” 

Shaking her head, she denied any of it. “No, Tobirama. He’s still a child.” she was firm. “And he’s got at least another year in the Academy before he can even attempt the genin examination.” 

“But he doesn’t need it; he could pass that test right now.” Tobirama refuted. “He’s already ahead of all his peers and most of the year above him. And with you training him with the Sharingan, that puts him even further ahead of the others in the Academy. It would be a disservice to him to keep him in there.” he continued his counter. “You would be limiting him.” 

Placing her cup down and folding her hands on the table, she continued her defense. “He’s a child, and we don’t need child soldiers anymore…” she insisted. “Stop trying to take away his childhood.” 

Tobirama sighed. “Those aren’t my intentions, but I’m being realistic. We’re going to be in a war probably within the next 5 to 10 years with how tensions are rising with the other villages. That gives us time to train the young ones now, so they don’t have to go out as child soldiers like we did.” he said, his voice harsher than it had been previously as told the reality of the future. 

She placed a hand over her mouth to hide her expression as she looked away from him. He had a point, but it was still not something she wanted to come to terms with. It wasn’t the fact that they would be in another war; it was the fact that in the next one, Kagami would have to fight in it. Shaking her head again, she chose to not make eye contact. “No, Tobirama. I’m.. I’m not having this conversation.” 

“Why not?” he prodded. “Do you want him to die because he couldn’t reach his potential?” 

“Of course not!” she snapped back. “Why would you ask such a thing?” she gritted her teeth.

Though he was unforgiving in his advancements. “That’s what’s going to happen.” he retorted. “I’ve already thought this through, y/n. You’re right, he’s balanced and unaffected by the Uchiha hatred- just as you are. If he can train under someone outside of your clan, strengthen skills he wouldn’t be able to if were to be trained within the clan in addition to you training him with the Sharingan, he’ll be prepared to go out in the field when the time comes.” 

She was frustrated by the sound logic. Letting her head fall forward onto her hand, she shrugged. “I can’t. No.” 

“Why not?” 

“I just can’t, okay?” she repeated. 

Narrowing his eyes, Tobirama knew better than to believe she was declining this just because she could. “I know you have a reason. Why?”

She fell silent.

“Y/n-”

“Because the other three had died by Senju hands, and now you're expecting me to willingly give up Kagami to you all!” she nearly hissed as she threw a hand out. “I just can’t give this approval without it feeling like I'm delivering him a death sentence.” she confessed, her eyes glossy now, constantly fighting back tears. Last thing she wanted was to cry in front of him, but this was one of her weak points.  

Tobirama just listened for a moment. Even though their union had been working, the distrust was still there, and it was strikingly evident in that moment. She hid hers better than he did, but in that moment, she couldn’t deny it. “Y/n.” he tried to regain control of the conversation.

“What do you want?” she breathed out, trying to compose herself. 

“I don’t want him to get hurt either,” he said. “I can protect him until he can fully protect himself.” 

Straightening up at this comment, she looked at him almost bewildered. Never did she think she would hear these words from him, and as she sat there, hearing these truths, she was finding it difficult to process. 

“I get that he’s the baby. He’s the one you can still protect, but you won’t be able to forever, so might as well make it so he can protect himself early on.” he stated harshly, trying to make her see past her sentimental inhibitions. “I can get this order sent out tomorrow, and it will be done, but I want your permission on all this.”

She shook her head. “Even if I say, ‘yes,’ the clan won’t approve it….” 

He looked unphased. “If it’s a village order, they’re not in any position to refute it.” He delivered the truth. “I don’t care what your clan has to say. I’m asking for your permission.” 

“Why mine?” she asked, almost scoffing at it. “I’m not the leader.”

“But you’re the one who cares.” he snapped. “Madara’s not going to protect him. He tossed you into the marriage without a second thought. Do you think he’s really going to protect Kagami?” Tobirama was curt, continuously delivering the blows. 

She closed her eyes as a sigh escaped her. He was right, and that left her cornered. 

“I’ll ensure his safety...”

Gritting her teeth, she nodded. “I’ll approve it….” she nearly whispered. “And I’ll defend it in the clan,” she affirmed, her voice increasing as she met Tobirama’s gaze. 

“Thank-”

“But you have to swear, on your life, that you will protect him.” she gave the ultimatum. 

“I will.”

[masjestickingdom]

Friends

Pairing: NCT x reader

Genre: one shot, fluff

Summary: You’ve been a close friend of NCT for a long time. They love you and they can get very protective of you, so when you start seeing a guy, they start bombarding him with questions.

Note: Just a light scenario to refer back to when I post a serious(ly long) one shot with some angst--not a lot of angst, but it’s there and more prevalent than all of my posts combined so far, so get ready! In the meantime, enjoy this light fluff!  _______________________________________________________________________

  It was one minute and twenty-seven seconds since you sat down in the living room with your boyfriend, who was right by your side, and all you wanted to do was dig a hole and stay in there.

  There they were, gathered around you two, with their hands under their chins, staring blatantly at your boyfriend. You mentally deadpanned. Just what on Earth were they doing? To you, there was one simple answer to that: they wanted to embarrass you and scare off the first boyfriend you’ve had in months.

  As an only child, you never experienced what it was like to have a protective sibling watching out for you, but there was no need for one when you had the boys. You love them and understand that they’re looking out for you, but there were times when they could have toned down their protective mode (by a lot), like when you brought your boyfriend over to their shared apartment.

  “So how long have you been seeing our sister?”

  You glanced many times at your boyfriend (you couldn’t afford to take your eyes off of your crazy friends in fear they might do something regrettable) as you assured him, “You know they’re not actually-”

  Haechan waved you off. “We’ve been friends with her since elementary school, some of us since pre-school, so we’re basically family.”

  Jaemin joined with a menacing gaze. “You’re both on a vacation with one of your best friends.”

  “Nana, what-”

  Chenle was the second to cut you off. “And both of them are drowning.”

  Jisung leaned forward with anticipating eyes. “Who do you save?”

  “Hey, that’s ridiculous,” you exclaimed. “We’ve only been going out for two weeks.”

  “Let the guy speak for himself,” Jeno said for the first time, directing his comment to you.

  Renjun nodded in agreement. “He hasn’t spoken since he introduced himself,”

  Those two little angels practically pushed your boyfriend to his deathbed because they knew that there was no right answer: whatever answer your boyfriend chose, they would be dissatisfied and would press for more information, demanding for an explanation. All eyes were on your boyfriend, including yours. You watched your poor partner gulp as the intensity of the moment reached its pinnacle. He averted his gaze to you in a very shaky manner, and you knew that the youngsters had gotten to him. There was going to be no end to this torment.

  ...

 The torment the younger boys gave you and your boyfriend was brutal, but it was nothing compared to the scheme the others plotted. If the younger ones were a pre-screening trial, the others were the real test.

  “So what do you do for a living?”

  “What do you plan on doing once you graduate from college?”

  “Where did you go to high school?”

  “Where did you take our beloved sister out on the first date?”

  “Do you know GCM? Because we all like GCM. Our beloved sister loves GCM.”

  “What flavor of ice cream do you like?”

  “Do you take the first bite of a fish-shaped bread from its tail or head?”

  “Have any of your ex-girlfriends broken up with you because of a personality issue of yours?”

  “Are you sane?”

  That last question was thrown by your peculiar friend Mister Kim Jungwoo. For him, that was a sane question.

  It was one question after another and it was if your boyfriend was participating in some kind of an interrogation by the police, except all of the questions were absolutely ridiculous.

  “Do you like cheese?”

  That was another question asked by, again, Mister Kim Jungwoo, making you scream internally.

  It truly was a tortuous evening, and your friends would not take one second to rest. To your comfort, your boyfriend was perfectly able and answered all of them, though he did so sometimes stuttering not because he was nervous but because the questions were so absurd that he was taken aback.

  It was supposed to be a normal dinner. There was supposed to be eating and pleasant conversations. Instead, there was a bunch of stabbing the chicken in the chicken salad and sipping the glass of wine like tea. Not one bit of that evening was pleasant for you.

  The only person who didn’t say anything was Mark, and you were pleased that there was at least one decent person in the room who respected your space and your boyfriend’s privacy. At least, that was until you walked your boyfriend out the door, profusely apologizing on behalf of your protective pack of wolves. Being the most considerate and understanding person you knew, he shook his head and laughed it off. You loved the way he laughed and the way he was so chill about everything. You were so fortunate to have found someone incredible like him.

  Under the orange light that the entryway provided, his smile was too radiant for you to handle. It was like a magnet. You pulled yourself closer to his body and let your hands travel to his sides.

  “Really? You don’t think that they were a tad too much?” you said, making sure your head was pulled back a little so that he could get a good view of your smile.

  With his hands supporting your back, he answered, “Maybe, but I understand.”

  He seriously was an amazing guy. The electrifying moment, his eyes gazing into yours and your bodies touching with such warmth, had the opportunity to be an amazing one. Of course, someone had to sabotage the moment. You were kind of expecting it. The thing is, it never occurred to you that the one person who was silent the entire time could be the one who stooped the lowest.

  “It’s okay that they love you,” left your boyfriend’s lips before you leaned in.

  “You got that right,” a voice said, popping out of nowhere.

  Behind the two of you was Mark Lee, who was standing there so naturally with a jumbo-sized bag of chips in his hands. His eyes twinkled with no mischief, but his grin was like Cheshire Cat.

  “No kissing on the first meeting with your in-laws,” he said quite loudly, reaching for another chip.

  And that did it.

  “Kissing?!” you heard multiple voices shout.

  You and your boyfriend automatically exchanged looks that mirrored each other’s fright.

  Mark, still grinning, added, “We’ll always be watching you.”

  Before you could usher your boyfriend away, he sent you a quick smile before (quickly) scrambling out the door. At the time, it was safe to say that you wouldn’t be hearing from him for a week (but you didn’t know that he would be willing to meet the chaotic boys again because he was that amazing).

  All you could do was look at your wicked friends standing in front of you at the entryway.

  You shook your head and sighed in defeat. “I’m gonna stay single forever.”

  They simply replied, “Then we’ve done our job.”

[corvidshadowgrovestrega]

Broken Lover - Chapter One

- I really appreciate that you let me stay with you. You’re totally sure it’s not a problem Bee?

- No problem cuz. Really. I mean, that’s what family should do, right?

- Yeah, right. – I admit quietly

To this, as if hearing me Bella just smiles brightly, lightly grabbing my wrist. And surprisingly my once clumsy as fuck cousin suddenly seems weirdly strong and cold to the touch. But at the same time, I don’t exactly have the time to wonder about it being more concentrated on the younger woman who’s basically dragging me to the living room. All the while easily managing huge coffin-shaped suitcase filled to the brim in her other hand. One of the three to be exact, cause the last two occupy my hands.

-      Hi, you surely have to be Lilith. Welcome. – says enchantingly beautiful woman with golden eyes and caramel-colored hair already coming closer with warm smile on her full lips.

-      Yes and thank you. Though some people just call me Lily. – I answer with a shadow of a smile giving a side-eye to my cousin.

Cousin who’s already sending me death glares, to which I just give her a wicked grin.

-      Well, I’m Esme. And this is my husband Carlisle. – continues Mrs Cullen embracing stunningly handsome man with blonde hair and the same golden eyes.

-      Nice to meet you Mr. Cullen.

-      Please, call me Carlisle. Bella, why don’t you introduce Lily to the others?

-      Yes, that’s a good idea. Come on honey, I’m sure they are all gonna like you.

With this Esme walks back to the sofa letting me finally get a good look at the rest of the family. And oh man, they’re all more attractive than I’ll ever be. All of them should be models. I can’t even decide who’s the most out of the bunch. Maybe the blonde woman sitting in a very muscular man’s lap. Or the redhead with orange eyes who’s curled up like a cat next to tall black haired girl.

-      That two are Rosalie and Emmet, the blonde guy next to them is Jasper, the teens are Bree & Joy and that redhead is Victoria with her girlfriend Jezebel. - says my cousin lightly poking me in the ribs

Bad choice though, because that irritates the fresh bruises marring them making me unwillingly wince.

-      Hey, you’re ok?

-      Yeah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about that.

-      Bella…Oh. Hi, you must be Lilith. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Bella just wouldn’t stop talking about you this last few weeks. – says quickly petite girl with kinda pixie features and now unsurprisingly also golden eyes immediately closing the distance. But just when it seems like she’ll hug me, she suddenly straightens to wordlessly shake my hand instead. And then she’s just gone, quickly skipping over to where Jasper sits to plop down beside him.

-      It’s Alice and I’m Edward. – says in a melodic voice another golden eyed guy all the while giving Bella quick peck on the lips.

That of course makes me cringe a little. And as it seems not only me, cause the little schoolgirl behind him also makes quite disgusted face.

-      So, you’re that “beautiful like a renaissance sculpture” guy my cousin went to high school with.

-      Lilith, please stop it.

-      Now Bee, don’t act so shy. You wrote that to me. And not only that. What else there was? I’m pretty sure something about getting lost in those deep amber orbs. Quite nicely said. – I say instead of actually doing what she asked me to with a slightly wolfish grin.

-      Sometimes I really hate you Lilith.

-      Yes, yes of course. Just keep lying to yourself cuz.

Bella’s only answer to that is pretty murderous glare. Her husband though, laughs few seconds later getting the same silent treatment. Finally all fun has to end though as Bella as remembers about her last unknown to me family member quickly turning to the girl to slightly push her towards me.

-      Lilith, it’s Meadow. She’s mine and Edward’s daughter. Meadow, it’s your auntie Lily.

-      Hey kid. – I say with a much nicer smile this time, already kneeling on the floor so I can be on her eye level

-      You’re really my auntie? Like Auntie Rosie or Auntie Alice?

-      Well, to be honest I’m more like much older cousin. Cause you know, your Granny Renee and my Papa were siblings. But technically? Yeah, I lowkey am your aunt.

Hearing this, Meadow as expected gives me a very bright smile and to my surprise also quite bear-y hug which I do return. Even if quite clumsily.

Half an hour later I already am in my new room. And though it really seems to be decorated under Bella’s suggestions I can’t help to feel sad. Especially when I get off my big black jumper revealing all scars and bruises littering my pale skin and frail body to get a good look at myself in the mirror.

Since that, it isn’t very long till I start to sob. And though I know it’s weakness, I can’t help it. Not when I’m now in too much of both mental and psychical pain. Pain which I can neither describe nor tell somebody about. And not because they wouldn’t understand but because I learned the hard way to not be a bother.

-      Lilith? Esme says the dinner is…Holy shit! – I hear from the door turning instantly with wide eyes to see Jasper of all people staring straight at me with a strange mixture of emotion on his pale face.

-      Fuck! Jasper wait! It’s not what you think it is! – I yell quickly throwing on a blanket from the bed and running towards the retreating blonde.

-      Lilith, you don’t have to say anything.

-      I know, but I feel like if I don’t explain it would be far worse so come on.

-      So? – asks the guy when we’re back in my room with him near the door and me sitting still wrapped up in the blanket on the bed.

-      It’s a long story. I may…It’s not easy for me to talk about that…These bruises…Well, let’s say my newest ex wasn’t the nicest person around the block.

-      He did that to you?

-      Most of it, yeah. That’s pretty much why I’m here. Few days ago he beat me black & blue so when I regained consciousness I ran away. But don’t worry, I told him I don’t have a family so he probably won’t find me. At least I hope so.

-      I understand, probably better than some other people and I’m really sorry. You may not know us yet but I already can promise you that you’re safe here. Oh, and if you ever want to talk…

-      Thank you. I really appreciate that. But maybe…Maybe don’t tell others about it yet, OK?

Hearing this the Cullen just looks at me with a kinda sad gaze eventually nodding and getting out.

[nobody-wants-ice-cream]

Everything Wrong With The Umbrella Academy. Episode 2, Run Boy Run.

Link to the first episode!

Same disclaimer as last episode: This is all in good fun! I wanted to do a really nitpicky re-watch of the series and found some really cool and interesting things I didn’t notice before. This is meant to have a Cinema Sins-esque tone. However, I did take off a lot more sins than Cinema Sins would have because I do genuinely like the series and the people that made it possible. So all of the good things got one sin off and all the bad things got one sin added. This is a really long post, so grab some popcorn. If there’s anything that I missed, feel free to add it!

Run Boy Run 

Grace started the Herr Carlson record before the kids even arrived. How are they supposed to learn if they miss the first few seconds of it?  What is the point of the record if they’re not even around to hear all of it?+1

The kids all have their hands on the chairs except for Five, showing that he will do something out of the ordinary. -1

Diego is causing property damage to Reggie’s chairs and Reggie allows this. Be consistent, show! Is Reggie lenient or strict? You could make the argument that Reggie doesn’t care about the chair because he’s rich. In that case, sinning for capitalism.+1

Klaus is already into drugs at the age of 13. We can see him rolling a blunt, and doing it quite well, presumably. +1

Ben is straight up allowed to read at the table. So then what is the point of the record if the kids don’t have to pay attention to it? +1

The kids expressions when Five stabs the table. The ones that we see are pure gold. Especially Klaus’s. Well done Dante Albidone. -1

Diego’s side eye when Five starts arguing with Reggie. This is the perfect expression for “my sibling is about to get in trouble”, so props to Blake Talabis. -1

Vanya’s side eye is also good. TJ McGibbon did well. -1

We see Five jump faster than a bullet, but he’s significantly slower when jumping across the table. +1

Reggie is a dick to Five, who just wants to explore his powers. We know that it’s dangerous because we see Five getting stuck, but Five doesn’t think that that is really a possibility. Reggie only talks in confusing ice and acorn metaphors. +1

Five’s face when Reggie presents the ice and acorn metaphor. -1

Vanya and Allison both give Five a look in this scene. This is what makes Five hesitate. Two of his siblings tell him it’s a bad idea, but he does it anyway because he’s a stubborn bastard. +1

Grace’s face drops when Five starts running out the door. Allison and Vanya also look absolutely horrified. -1

“Run Boy Run” is a little on the nose. Especially once you remember that The Boy is Five’s hero name in the comics. +1

No one cares that a 13 year old popped into existence out of nowhere when Five starts traveling into the future. +1

Easter egg! There is an ice cream cart outside the academy. If you’ve read Dallas, you know why I think that’s significant. Also, it happens to be my icon. -1

Five’s look of complete disbelief and horror when he is faced with the apocalypse for the first time. -1

“Vanya! Ben!” This has created a lot of curiosity in the fandom. In the comics he left before they were named, but in the show it looks like he chose to keep Number Five. Why? +1

The apocalypse looks very believable. -1

Title screen umbrella! -1

The awesome scene with Ellen Page and Aidan Gallagher continues in the next episode. -1

Where would Five have heard that rumor about Twinkies having an endless shelf life? It’s not like he was very exposed to pop culture as a kid. +1

Vanya doesn’t keep her Violin in the case. She leaves it proped on a chair, which is basically begging gravity to come and fuck up your instrument. +1

Five plays the pronoun game and doesn’t tell Vanya about Dolores. +1

The last thing Five heard for 40 years was Reggie’s stupid metaphor. That’s a sin for the metaphor and a sin for Five’s pain and suffering. +2

Vanya gives someone with a thirteen-year-old’s liver a few shots worth of hard liquor in a tall glass. +1

“You think I didn’t try everything to get back to my family?” This quote is Five at his core. It shows his exact motivation. Aidan Gallagher really could have screwed up with this line because it’s so raw, but the delivery doesn’t suck. Well done. -1

Is that liquor real? Aidan Gallagher’s face suggests that it is and he only takes two sips of it. Also, Five takes a sip when it’s just a bit, pours more, then takes another sip, and doesn’t drink any more of it. Sin for showmakers possibly giving a kid real alcohol and sin for Five only taking a sip after pouring a lot out. +1

However, if the alcohol is fake, which I really hope it is, sin off for Aidan Gallagher’s acting. -1

Five expects Vanya to believe his crazy apocalypse story. I had a hard time believing it when we were shown flashbacks as the audience. It wasn’t until they brought in the Commission that I actually believed it. If Five had explained the Commission, just like he did to Luther, then Vanya would have had an easier time believing him. +1

Vanya calls Five crazy and then expects him to not be hurt and want to stay in her apartment. +1

Vanya takes the pills after an emotionally charged scene. Pills-foreshadowing. -1

Five’s hands are shaking when he’s looking at the eyeball. This shows both his uncertainty, with this being his only clue, and shows that he is unwilling to leave his sister again even after she called him insane. -1

Mary J. Bilge. -1

The Lunar Motor Lodge has rates by the week, day, and hour. The Commission is super sleazy for putting Hazel and Cha Cha in a place that also rents by the hour. +1

Hazel and Cha Cha are an underrated duo. The “It smells like cat piss” dialogue is honestly really funny. -1

Obvious villains are obvious. I know they’re meant to be obvious, but it doesn’t change the fact that a show with a lot of subtlety just kind of thrust Hazel and Cha Cha in there with no subtlety at all. +1

Hazel stores the briefcase away and throws a screw, foreshadowing that this will be an important detail later. -1

No one, including police, notices the blinking and beeping, neon green tracker. +1

Patch is sort of right. Five made a jump in the middle of two of the local hires, which caused them to shoot each other. -1

“The guy had an eclair and the kid had coffee”. Patch’s side eye says that she thinks Agnes is getting her story mixed up. If we didn’t see what happened, then the audience wouldn’t believe Agnes either. Great acting Ashley Madekwe. -1

Agnes doesn’t stay in the back room. She crawls out so her head can dramatically pop up over the counter after Five leaves. This is a stupid decision on Agnes’s part.+1

Agnes is seen handling American money. Somehow we as a fandom didn’t notice this. Klaus also uses American money to buy drugs later in this episode. Sinning the showmakers not specifying which state at the very least, but reluctantly because I know that’s a reference to the comics. +1

“What other detective”. Camera cuts to Diego exiting Griddys. -1

Diego is a vigilante. What he is doing impedes the law. In this instance, we want him to stop Patch’s investigation because we know that the answer leads back to Five, which would be bad for the plot. However, Patch’s annoyance suggests Diego has done this to her before. How many murderers have gone free because Diego intervenes in Patch’s cases? +1

Diego did not consent to being searched and having his personal belongings taken. +1

Ebay exists but there is no internet or smartphones. What? +1

Diego thinks that this looks like a botched robbery. No way in hell does this look like a robbery of a doughnut shop in any universe. A bank robbery, yeah sure, but not a doughnut shop. What kind of doughnut shop has the kind of money that requires multiple guys with very large weapons, Diego? +1

The way Patch is described to Five by Diego in a later episode does not match the personality she actually has. +1

A whole crowd of people had nothing better to do than to watch the cops investigate a murder scene in a densely populated city. +1

Is Luther hitting his head after he wakes up a character choice? He does it again with the model airplane. After the low ceilings on the moon for four years, you would think that he would learn to duck. +1

Emmy Raver-Lampman gives an amazing performance when talking to Luther about Claire. -1

Allison has multiple posters of herself in her room. I am sinning for her younger self’s narcissism. +1

However, this narcissism goes hand in hand with Allison as a character. Props to the set designers for making these posters and hanging them up. It adds detail to Allison’s room and really shows who she was as a character. -1

“When Claire was little I used to read her books about the moon. I’d tell her her Uncle was living up there” Allison doesn’t remember that Luther was on the moon and therefore shouldn’t know about her divorce in the first episode, but says this in the second episode. +1

Luther looks so genuinely happy at being Claire’s personal superhero. -1

The ghosts torturing Klaus. +1

That fucking animal print thing Klaus is wearing. +1

Robert Sheehan is very, very attractive. This makes up for the monstrosity Klaus is wearing. -1

“You know you talk in your sleep.” “Oh there’s no point. You’re out of drugs” I love Ben as a character so much. -1

“Shut your piehole, Ben. Said with love” smooch. I love this line. -1

“I’ve got a crazy idea. Why not try starting your day with… a glass of orange juice or some eggs”. Justin Min’s delivery of this line kills me every time. -1

Pogo is really vague about why the papers in Reggie’s box are important. If he said something about the papers detailing the Academy’s powers in explicit detail, Klaus would have tried harder to get them back. +1

We don’t see Klaus pull out the Red Journal in episode one. +1

“Liar” “Drop dead” “Low blow”. This is an iconic interaction for a reason. -1

Pogo knows that Klaus can talk to ghosts, but remains offended when Klaus tells a ghost to shut up. +1

“Really awful, terrible, depressing times” Reggie is a dick to his children. +7

Vanya sleeps with the door to her bedroom open, even though we saw her close it. So she must have gotten up to open the door and didn’t notice Five was gone. +1

Where did Five go all night? Did he sleep back in the Academy? It couldn’t have taken him this long to get to the MeriTech building, so what happened to him? He changed to a clean uniform, so presumably he went to the Academy, but why did the show vague this? Did he walk into a department store and buy/steal a clean shirt?+1

Only the plot relevant person notices Five. The front desk girl doesn’t question why he’s there. And that is her literal job. I would know, I run the front desk at a medical office. If you don’t greet the patients then you’re not doing your job, front desk girl.+1

“Must have just [click] popped out.” iconic.-1

Five decides that violence is the best course of action to get the information he needs, directly contradicting “I know how to do everything” +1

The 1938 fingerprints may be Five’s. However, police usually discard this kind of evidence because there is a very reasonable doubt. Not to mention that anyone could have touched the knife. It’s a public place. Forensic evidence is not as reliable as it is portrayed in the media. +1

Diego is an asshole to everyone, but especially to Patch. She’s right, Diego is obstructing justice. How many murderers have gone free because Diego interfered in an investigation? +1

Diego’s boiler room is way too big to be a boiler room. +1

Luther’s reflection in Diego’s mask shows that Luther wants to know what it would be like to be number two instead of number one. Luther can’t lead for shit and subconsciously wishes that he didn’t have to. -1

With an aerial shot of the Academy from the outside, we can see that Reggie never bothered to take the laundromat sign off the mansion or that Reggie sold ad space on the mansion exterior. +1

Reggie is a dick to animals. See: the animal skeletons and the taxidermy. +1

Part of the mansion is painted an ugly neon green for no reason. +1

“Sorry I left without saying goodbye”. The “both times” is unspoken. -1

Vanya apologises for calling him crazy and being dismissive, but still suggests he needs mental help. He does, but maybe suggest it later when he isn’t convinced you think he’s insane? +1

Five lies to Vanya about something stupid. If he said that he was having Klaus help him with the apocalypse, I don’t think she would have minded. +1

Why does Five have so many toys in his room? Including a baseball? +1

Klaus comes out of the wardrobe as loudly as possible. The mansion does not have sound proofing (see: I Think We’re Alone Now dance party). There is no way in hell Vanya didn’t hear him. +1

This is the last time Vanya and Five interact. +1

Five’s room is more childish than a thirteen-year-old’s room should be. It honestly looks like he was the favorite because his room has so many toys in it. Like Reggie wanted to win his favor or something. Sinning for the weird set design choice and for Reggie being an asshole. +1 

The fake circumstances in which Five was born in their cover story gives me immense joy. -1

In one camera angle, if you look carefully they cut two takes of “what a disturbing glimpse into that thing you call a brain”. In the one where we can’t see his face properly, Aidan Gallagher is openly smiling. Corpsing. +1

Robert Sheehan is funny. -1

Syd the tow truck guy doesn’t really look like Sean Sullivan (actor that plays adult Five) enough for Cha Cha, a trained assassin, to not see that he isn’t their mark. +1

Hazel eating a sandwich in this scene. Also the “Italian for dinner line”. -1

And Cha Cha sees the differences between Syd and Five later! +1

“Time travel’s a bitch” “Especially without a briefcase” There's other time travel methods than briefcase or being Five? Elaborate. +1

Patrick is a dick to Allison. We understand why later, but really Patrick, you’re going to be an asshole when her father just died? Don’t get me wrong, Reggie abused the hell out of her, but still! Patrick should have let Allison talk to Claire. +1

Vanya tries to comfort Allison even though she knows nothing about the situation other than that it happened. She’s never even met Patrick! +1

Allison is clearly trying to get away from this conversation with Vanya, but Vanya presses on. +1

“Well if I wanted advice, Vanya, no offence, it wouldn’t be from you”. This is why Vanya doesn’t take Allison’s advice about Leonard. Also, Allison is a dick to Vanya. +1

This scene with Allison and Vanya is interesting. Allison is projecting her pain and taking it out on Vanya, who really should have seen and heard what happened enough to leave her alone. Both of them are the bad guy here regardless of how you slice it. I am sinning the show for this moment because they really tried to villainize Allison for this scene, but she does have some well thought out points and is in an emotionally compromised state. Or in other words, the fight between Allison and Vanya is stupid. +1

Grant/Lance/whatever gave Klaus and Five valuable office time. Doctors do not have time for this sort of crap. Shouldn’t this guy have patients? +1

Aidan Gallagher looks to the actor playing Grant/Lance/whatever as if he’s waiting for him to say his line. I see this all the time with younger kids in theatre, but they can get away with it if their character has a reason to look at that character. That being said, Five would have no reason to do this.+1

The sound effect that plays when Klaus slaps Five is really out of place. +1

Seeing Robert Sheehan slap Aidan Gallagher. -1

Klaus pauses as if he’s listening to Ben before he picks up the snowglobe. -1

The snowglobe. Robert Sheehan pretending to be Klaus pretending to be Five’s crazy dad. Acting. -1

Five looks like a proud grandfather when Klaus gets Lance to show them the records. -1

Five doesn’t pay Klaus for that brilliant acting. Also, how was Five planning to give Klaus $20. He doesn’t have any money nor do we ever see him with money. Five is a cheapskate. +1

Klaus calls Five “old man”. I thought that was just a fandom thing lmao. -1

“You must be horny as hell”. Great Klaus line, but super weird that he’s saying it to someone that looks thirteen. +1

Klaus is wearing the shirt that goes with his nicest outfit underneath Reggie’s pinstripe suit. -1

“Goodbye Dolores”, a song from the soundtrack, starts playing when Five starts talking about Dolores. This is good placement of that song because we later learn that he left her in the apocalypse when he left to work for the Commission. -1

Five is a dick to Klaus. Klaus is really trying to connect with his long lost brother, but Five jumps away. +1

That taxi driver doesn’t freak out and cause a car accident when a random kid appears in his car. +1

Also, how did Five pay for that taxi? Did he jump out of the moving vehicle too? +1

Leonard is so obvious from the start. So charming that he’s slimy. +1

Vanya can’t see this and is actually attracted to him. This may go back to that conversation with Allison when she asks if Vanya has ever been in a relationship. For all we know, the answer is no. +1

Leonard took three years of German in prison. I don't think American jails are that nice. +1

Leonard picks up another person’s instrument without their consent. As a musician, this is very, very painful. +2

Diego is paranoid, but also observant as fuck. -1

But how did he get his weapons back from the police? Are knives open carry in whatever state this is in? There are some states where Diego’s harness would be legal so it’s possible. I’ll have to look into this. Sinning the show for being vauge as fuck. +1

Luther didn’t notice the boiler room door open. +1

Diego throws weapons on his siblings. +1

Reginald Hargreeves died March 21st. The funeral is on March 24th. This is way too soon. It should have been a week or two not two days between the date of death and the funeral. Especially considering Luther suspects Reggie was murdered. And if you say that Reggie, Pogo, or Grace bribed them, then I’m sinning for bribery.+1

Diego eats a raw egg. Salmonella headass. +2

David Castaneda eats a raw egg. Why did you make him do this? It adds nothing to the character other than making Diego look dumb as hell. +1

Vanya interrupts her student while he’s playing and doing well. Whenever my teacher does that I get a minor heart attack. +1

Leonard is already lying to Vanya. He manipulates her by saying his Dad was into music and that's why he’s taking violin lessons. +1

An actual place named “Bricktown” in a place called “The City.” Sigh. +1

It is four o’clock when Leonard takes his lesson, but then after the lesson we cut to night time. What happened in those couple hours, show? Are you really saying that these characters did nothing interesting for all that time? +1

Emmy Raver-Lampman clearly isn’t smoking. Which is fine because she’s a Broadway actress and needs her voice/lungs for that part of her career. It’s weird because it shows that Allison isn't smoking. +1

Pogo scolds Allison for her language. Allison is an adult, Pogo. +1

Klaus made a drink at a young age and Reggie didn’t stop him. Or talk to him. He recorded Klaus drinking, but didn’t care. +1

The showmakers show us Allison’s face for dramatic tension instead of showing us the tape. This was a good choice and I feel it helped the narative.-1

They show a sign “Gimbel Brothers Seniors Tuesdays 10% Off.” after Five walks by. -1

The most awkward and dopey smile in existence when Five finds Dolores. -1

They play “Goodbye Dolores” after he finds her. That could have worked if they transposed it to the major key. Hello Dolores. +1

“Goodbye Dolores” transitioning into “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. -1

This action sequence is great. -1

Hazel’s wrist splint. -1

Five cuts Cha Cha with a trowel. -1

The dual screen thing is cool. -1

Five literally jumps over a stand and somehow doesn’t get shot. Hazel and Cha Cha have Stormtrooper aim. +1

How did Hazel and Cha Cha leave? You would think the police would notice someone leaving through the back. +1

Similarly, how did Five and Dolores get out of this? Did he wait until he could jump and teleport outside the store? Can he teleport that far? +1

How did Diego get another police scanner so quickly? Unless that’s the scanner Patch confiscated? +1

“I gotta show you something” +1

Once again, Five should be a lot sweatier. What are these magic, sweat absorbing things you can buy in a department store and where can I buy them? +1

Five sees an eyeball and immediately picks it up for no reason. He doesn’t even know that’s Luther’s body yet. He just picked up an eye for no reason. +1

Five as a thirteen-year-old boy saw his siblings' dead bodies. Sinning for trauma. +1

Aidan Gallagher portrays this trauma well. -1

Overall Review: 

I love this episode and had a hard time finding things wrong with it. I genuinely like this episode and I think that it could have stood alone as the pilot. 

Some acting things I noticed, David Castaneda, John Magaro (Leonard), and Ashley Madekwe were the standouts this episode. All three brought something interesting to the table this episode and I look forward to re-watching their scenes. I wish Madekwe and Magaro all the best as I know that they probably won’t be returning for season two. 

The plot thickens! Hazel and Cha Cha were introduced in a very obvious way compared to the subtle way they introduced Leonard. There is a reason I adore this episode, and it’s not just for Klaus slapping Five (though that is part of it). 

Total: 52

Sentence: We saw Diego eat a raw egg. That’s punishment enough for this episode. 

[silke-doomflare]

Meet the character: Silke

BASICS

► Name ➔  “Silke Doomflare. And yes, it’s got something to do with my profession!”

► Are you single ➔ Silke’s eyes suddenly get a bit wider. She blinks, and then purses her lips, becoming oddly interested in the nearby wall. “It’s complicated.”

► Are you happy ➔  “Mm, yeah, I guess I could say so”, she states after thinking for a moment. “I’m studying things I love, my family is safe and alive, I have a handful of people I could consider my friends.. Can’t really complain, although a little bit more gil wouldn’t hurt...”

► Are you angry? ➔  “Well, usually not. Though, at the moment I’m a bit pissed off at a certain colleague of mine who loudly and unnecessarily harshly judged my thesis of pyromancy in front of our professor and classmates. Like, hellooo? You can give critique and still be polite about it, geez…”

► Are your parents still married ➔  “They are”, Silke nods proudly. "I’ve seen so many broken families lately. I feel very privileged… and lucky.”

EIGHT FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ “I’ve heard it was the place named Skatay Range. But I can’t remember a thing from it. I was so young when I was taken by slavers. So I like to think Kugane as my real birth place, since I grew up there.“

► Hair Color ➔ “Black I guess? At least it was the last time I checked! In bright light it looks like dark grey, though.”

► Eye Color ➔ Silke leans closer, so that the deep turquoise can hardly be missed. "You have troubles with your eyes or what? I happen to partly know a shady medic from a certain dark alley nearby. Want to know the address?”

► Birthday ➔ “Ninth sun of the first astral moon, I’ve heard.”

► Mood ➔ “Right now? I guess I’m feeling somewhat eager. There’s this new portal we’re going to test out tomorrow, and I was permitted to take part in it. Can you believe that? Usually they’re just like ‘no, Silke, don’t touch it, don’t touch anything’, but this time I’m allowed in. They must’ve finally noticed the genius I am.“

► Gender ➔ “God!” Silke yells and gets on her feet, pointing towards the roof. A long silence follows. “Seriously! Have you ever seen me on a battlefield? Have you seen the havoc I’ve --- no? Oh...”

► Summer or winter ➔ “Agh, such a difficult question. I like both. I like to swim and lay on a soft grass under a tree. But then again I also like to drink hot cocoa when it’s cold, wrap myself up into a blanket and watch the flames of our fireplace or snow falling outside.“

► Morning or afternoon ➔ “Afternoon of course? I’m not even awake before noon… no, wait. I like sleeping as well. Both?”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔ “Of course I am. If we don’t count the feeling of aether flowing through me while I cast spells and blow things to smithereens, I love most the smell of old tomes, parchment, ink and all sorts of sweets, especially ice-cream. I also love chocobos. If it wasn’t possible to be a mage I’d definitely become a chocobo breeder. Perhaps I’ll become one when my career is over and spells no longer stay in my head. I’ll retire and start breeding chocobos. Yes, a perfect plan!“

► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “I definitely do! I fell in love with my dog the moment I saw him. Have you ever visited Kugane? Well anyway, they have these small, orange, pointy eared and curly tailed dogs there in almost every house. It’s like their national dog or something, they’re so popular.”

► Who ended your last relationship ➔ “I hate to admit this, but it was him… I thought we were doing fine, but one day he started to complain I didn’t give him enough attention, and that I was studying too much. I mean… how can one even study too much? I don’t get it.“

► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔  “I guess I have. Not on purpose, though! Honestly, some people are so sensitive it’s harder not to break their hearts, geez… What an annoying subject to talk about, anyway.” Silke ruffles her head uneasily.

► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ “Of course not. I wouldn’t be able to ever become an archmage if I wasn’t dedicated to my studies.“

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Silke’s usually cheerful expression grows darker suddenly. "My sister. We don’t see very often, but when we do, I try to show my care as much as I can. She’s hanging out with shady folk sometimes, and I can’t help but worry at times will she come home or not.”

► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “I surely hope not! Would be creepy to have someone admiring you from afar, without letting you know. Isn’t that like stalking? It’s only good manners to make yourself known so we can find out do we get along or not.“

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “No, I don’t think so. Or perhaps I once almost did… there was this huge tome - as big as those holy scriptures they have in the cathedral - in a certain old bookstore. The merchant was old as sky and I was afraid they’d close the place soon. And the tome was expensive. I was a lot younger back then and didn’t have much money, and my sister was like ‘no Silke, you totally won’t buy a book written in some dead language no one can read to take more room in your previously cramped room and collect dust.’ At first I was about to leave it at that, but I ended up snitching money from her cache.��� Silke grins impishly. “No regrets!”

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ “I have to choose again? You’re, like, asking me do I like to enjoy nice things existing or actually take them to be mine.”

► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ “What if I started to ask you annoying questions like strawberries or chocolate? Can’t choose, huh? Huh?”

► Cats or Dogs ➔ Silke falls silent for a moment. “…just when I was yapping at you for silly questions. Dogs all the way! I like cats too, and maybe I would be more of a cat person if my first pet had been a cat. But it was a dog, and there’s no going back!“

► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “A few best friends, absolutely. I have both, but I’ve noticed I enjoy the company of my closest friends a lot more. You can do all sorts of crazy stuff with them you can’t with anyone else.”

► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ “Definitely a wild night out! I have romantic nights by myself all the time with wine and chocolate and our fireplace, and I rarely get to go out.“

► Day or night ➔ “I like both, actually. At days I’m studying, and at nights I’m doing my homework.” Silke shrugs and grins.

FOUR HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔ Silke becomes more serious once more. “Like I told you, I was taken from my original home by slavers. Life wasn’t very nice back then. I tried to run, many times. But I was very small and weak, and they were big, strong and fast.”

► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ “This actually happened during one of my escape attempts. I was lucky I didn’t die. I still have a scar left.“ Silke lifts her bangs and shows a scar near her temple.

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “Freedom. Yes… I think losing our loved ones is the first thing we usually think of when someone asks for the thing we fear the most. But I think losing your freedom would be even worse. If you’re free, you can always start anew, but if you’re being held captive, you can’t do anything. Nothing at all.”

► Wanted to disappear ➔ Silke gives a long look at you and raises an eyebrow again. “Considering the things I just told you, there just may have been such situations...”

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔ “Mmh, both are important, but I think I like eyes more. I’m not a spiritual person, but I still think you can kind of see their soul there. Their essence. If they’re good or evil. The creepiest thing I’ve seen is probably living people with empty eyes, especially those without any kindness in them…”

► Shorter or Taller ➔ “Shorter, definitely. I’m quite short myself despite my heels and I don’t like it when someone looks down on me. Well, most of people  kind of have to, they can’t help it, but you know?“

► Intelligence or Attraction ➔  “Pff, do you even need to ask? Intelligence, of course. There are very few things that… truly infuriate me… But the one thing I absolutely can’t stand in others is chosen stupidity. Yes, chosen! Can you believe, that there truly exists people who don’t want to learn new things, be it about themselves or other people or the world that surrounds them?” Silke starts to imitate an elderly person, talking in a low, hoarse tone: “Silly girl. If we would discover new things or try them out, we would be in a situation we’ve never been in before.” She bursts into a mocking laughter. “Yes, someone really said that to me…”

► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ “Relationship, hands down. I’ve had my share of hook-ups.” Silke apparently can’t stop her eyes rolling towards the roof as a protest.

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔ “Yeah, we get along very well. I have some arguments every now and then with my two siblings, but nothing too serious.”

► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ “Not anymore. It used to be such a mess, though.” Silke lets out an uneasy laugh. “After me and Asagi were adopted, we got our life eventually back together. Despite a few ups and downs it’s been quite stable after that. A place to belong to and meaningful chores do wonders.”

► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ “No, definitely not. My parents have always been reasonable. Even during our wildest teenage years I can’t remember there would’ve been anything too major…“

► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ Silke has some difficulties holding back a sudden laughter. "I got kicked out of class, yeah! Though I still think it was unfair towards me. It wasn’t my fault. It was an alchemy class and I guess I had made some miscalculation with my mixture… I tried to tell my professor I’m not quite sure about it, but he just had to go and push his big head too close to the cauldron.”

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “No, I don’t hate my friends. If I did, I wouldn’t be friends with them, would I? Some of them have some annoying traits, but... hate? Nah.“

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ "Sadly no… I’ve had some… disappointments. You know, there’s quite a lot of people who seem like they’re good friends, but once you have a bad day, or few bad days, they suddenly disappear and want to hear nothing about it. So weird. I certainly wouldn’t abandon my friends like that.”

► Who is your best friend ➔ “Absolutely Iris. She’s a bit odd sometimes, in a good way though, and her vocabulary is quite vulgar and it upsets some people, but I think it’s hilarious. I’ve never met anyone so quick-witted before. There’s not a single boring moment while she’s around. Oh, and nowadays there’s also this certain miqo’te called Shaura. We haven’t known each other for very long, but just like with Iris, we just clicked right away.“

► Who knows everything about you ➔ “I think my sister might… I’ve tried to keep some secrets from her, like me loaning her gil without asking sometimes, but I think she knows. I have no idea how the heck! I mean, I’m smart, but she’s even smarter… If it was possible, I would like to change brains with her for a day or two. I want to know how she does it.”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #347

“lay your head down, child  /  i won’t let the bogeyman come  /  count the bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums”

Have you ever watched a whole hour long infomercial? Ha, Girt and I have one day when he was hanging out. It was about a vacuum, to be precise. Do you tend to cave into peer pressure? No. Do you think it's attractive for a man to wear eyeliner? Yeah. Are you listening to music currently? Yeah, it's this version of Manson's "Lunchbox" that I hadn't heard before. Have you ever done something you once thought you'd be too chicken to do? Yeah, like going on this one ride at a fair. Y'know, the kind that slowly brings you way up and abruptly drops you. What's your relationship to the child you’re around most? They're my nieces and nephew. Have you ever had an illegal substance in your blood stream? No. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to your hair? More than once, back when I had long hair, it would get so knotted from neglect that I'd brush out just... giant clumps of hair. The joys of depression, right? It's honestly part of the reason I cut it all off, and it's something I seriously recommend for people who struggle with brushing their hair. What do you think about cats? I adore them. Who do you want with you when you're afraid? Absolutely my mom. Who might as well just be your sibling? Ha, Sara. We're just so remarkably similar, and even when we first met in person, we clicked like it was nothing. Would you ever consider working for the government? No; I'm not working with corrupt, lying motherfuckers. What is the weirdest thing you have ever witnessed a sibling doing? Well, your sister "sleepwalking" or whatever she was actually doing and grabbing a knife she'd hidden under her mattress to creep towards her then-boyfriend was beyond just "weird." Your first best friend's name? Brianna. How do you act when you're uncomfortable? "Anxious, impatient, and fidgety." <<<< Same. It's very obvious I want to get out of the situation. What bug would you like to be extinct? Do wasps do like... anything for the environment? I don't want to give a definite answer here that ends up being ignorant, because I appreciate bugs that are even just a regular food source for more vital creatures like spiders, but I don't know a damn thing wasps do that are beneficial. They just kill bees, from what I know. Do you know anyone other than a cop who has ever owned a cop car? No. Have you ever felt fire? I mean, I've never directly touched fire, no. What would you do if your first love asked you back out? I REALLY DON'T WANT TO PICTURE THIS. Do you know anyone that is a lesbian? Yeah. What are your thoughts on roleplaying games? I think they're fun. Do you want to have a bachelor/bachelorette party before you get married? So, true story, I don't even know what those entail exactly. But considering how few friends I have, I probably wouldn't. Ever been texted by mistake and played along & acted like you knew them? No. Would you ever get a name tattooed on you? Noooo sir. Do your parents dress like they’re years younger? Does it gross you out? They don't, but it wouldn't gross me out...? They can dress however they damn well please. Obsession from childhood? Dinosaurs and Spyro probably top the list. Favorite activity to do in warm weather? Just swim, really. I hate warm weather. Favorite activity to do in cold weather? If there's snow, take pictures. If it's just cold, then I like to just stay inside and bundle up in bed. Five songs to describe you? I don't know five, but I know a few I resonate with: "Get Up" by Mother Mother, "That's What You Get" by Paramore, uhhh then idk. Best way for someone to bond with you? Hm. Probably just like... talk about life, like our stories and things we've been through, both good and bad. Just being mutually vulnerable makes me feel connected to people. I like bonding via music, too, and I find it pretty exciting to share songs and, once again, go deeper and share what they mean to you, etc. etc. In summary, I just like getting to know a person at their core. What is the first meme you remember seeing? Hell if I know. Lemonade or tea? Lemonade, by a landslide. Sci-fi, fantasy, or superheroes? Fantasy. Favorite type of cheese? American. If you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? I relate very deeply to Henry Townshend from SH4 with saying "what the hell?" about literally everything. If you were an anime character, what genre of anime would it be? I'unno. Character you relate to? Since watching a playthrough of the game the first time, I've related to Max Caulfield from Life is Strange very deeply. An awkward photographer that cares a lot for people. Favorite website from your childhood? Webkinz. Least favorite flavor of food or drink? Grape, usually. Or orange. Favorite potato food? French fries. PC or console gaming? I prefer console games. Writing or drawing? Shit man, why you gotta make me choose? I feel much more satisfaction after drawing something I'm proud of, but I write way more. Who would you put before everyone else? My mom. How many phone numbers do you have memorized? Literally none. Do you get motion sickness? No. Have you ever been on a cruise? No. Have you ever bailed a friend out of jail? No. Have you ever won anything from a radio station? No. What do you do when you go to the beach? Swim for a while and then sit under the tent or whatever we brought and think about how ready I am to go home and get out of the heat. How many pillows are on your bed? Two. Do you like pickles? Yeah. Do you like camping? I've never been *legit* camping; Dad would just sometimes set up the tent in the yard and he and my sisters and I would sleep out there. I LOVED that as a kiddo. I think I'd enjoy like, one night of actual camping, so long as I have my camera and phone. My technology dependence would probably get me by Day #2, lol. Have you ever ridden a motorcycle? No, and I don't plan to. Wrecking in one of those can fuck you the hell up. Even with a helmet, just honestly, it seems... pretty stupid to put yourself at THAT incredible a risk. Have you ever had plastic surgery? No. Were you ever sent to the principal’s office as a kid? I don't think so... but maybe once? I have this super faint memory of being in the office, but maybe I was bringing them something from my teacher? That sounds about right. Have you ever used a slingshot? No. Have you ever driven an electric car? No. Do you live in an area that is prone to tornadoes? They happen here, but I wouldn't say we're "prone" to them. We get tornado watches/warnings a lot when we have summer storms, but it's seldom they actually occur, and it's even rarer for them to be noteworthy at all. What breed was the last dog you saw? One of our neighbors has a German Shepherd she walks a lot. How long have your parents been together (or how long were they together, if they no longer are): I wanna say around or over 20 years? I don't know. What 5 words best describe your mother’s personality? Loving, welcoming, resilient, selfless, and strong. Do you know any transgender people? Yes. Have you ever had a parrot sit on your shoulder? No, but that'd be cool. In the morning, do you eat breakfast first or brush your teeth first? I eat first. What’s something you’ve been struggling with lately? A number of things, but my weight's the real problem right now. All the weight loss progress I once made has almost been entirely erased... and I'm extremely, extremely upset about it. I'd rather move onto the next question than elaborate on this bullshit. Do you carry condoms? No, I don't have a reason to. Would you date someone with braces? Yes. Do you think people look up to you? God no. How often do you have trouble sleeping at night? Pretty much every night. Any vacations planned? No. We've never been able to afford vacations. Who were you last in a car with? My mom. Did you ever watch Sailor Moon? Yeah. My older sister was ooooobsessed. She even had the little toy wand and would dance to the theme when it came on. What do you want for Christmas? Well, it's rather early to think of that, but if I had to pull out an answer right now, it'd probably be either Venus' new terrarium (if I don't already have it) or supplies for it. If by some miracle I've been able to get everything I wanted for it by then, I would seriously love a hognose snake. If you had to get glasses would you wear contacts? I've worn glasses for many years, and I can live with it. I'd prefer contacts so I can get an undereye dermal piercing, but they're just too tedious for me. Best party you’ve ever been to? Maybe a big party my friend Summer had for one of her birthdays many years ago. We played lots of games like darts and stuff while listening to good music and just hanging out. Have you ever been surfing? I have not. Are you thinking about asking anyone out? No. Pink lemonade or regular lemonade? Pink. Chocolate or strawberry milk? Chocolate, for sure. I hate strawberry milk. Are you subscribed to a lot of channels on YouTube? Oh yes. Do you wish you had a better phone? Yeah. I mean, my phone is fine, but I particularly dislike the poor camera quality. Do you find texting fun? I'm officially becoming an old woman in that I don't really like texting anymore, but only because I make way too many typos. I would much rather type via an actual keyboard. Do you have any friends who have had twins? No. Do you have any past mistakes you’ve made that haunt you every day? Yes. Seriously. Are you bothered by something someone said to you years ago? Things especially Bryar and Colleen have said to me are probably going to die with me.

[gingerteaonthetardis]

her post seems to have been eaten, but @darth-tella tagged me to answer some questions! and i love talking about myself, so. here we go.

relationships? gonna assume this means romantic relationships, because i could drum up a platonic one with any random rock or frog on the ground. but i’m married! to the best person! i did it, i won the game!

break-ups? i am hilariously bad at breaking up with people. i’m too afraid of confrontation, so i just lie about why i’m doing it. literally once said i just wanted to be “free to find myself,” when the reality was he was an insecure, bigoted asshole. but i’ve been through several, and even when they’re really necessary, they always suck.

kids? nope. probably not ever, unfortunately.

siblings? i have a younger brother. he makes music and is very neat.

pets? i live in an apartment that doesn’t allow pets. but i like to visit with my in-laws’ bunnies, as well as their cat, even though he is a very rude boy who eats fingers.

surgeries? never had any major ones, unless you count getting my wisdom teeth out. but i’m looking to undergo a very particular surgery i’ve been dreaming about for years, hopefully in the near future.

tattoos? i have a fig and leaf tattooed on my ribcage, because i like women, of course i have a botanical tattoo. i am a walking stereotype. anyway, it’s even labeled with the latin name and “fig. 1″ (tehe). i plan to get a turnip next (because your head’s a turnip... i’ve always hated turnips), and then a peach.

countries you’ve been to? i’ve had the privilege of visiting iceland, canada, and england in my life. and considering we may never be allowed to leave this godforsaken country again, i consider myself lucky that i got to see these places.

been in an airplane? getting to iceland (or england, for that matter) without one would take quite a bit of doing, i imagine. or a boat.

been in an ambulance? what do you think i am, a person with health insurance?! (the answer is thankfully, no.)

done karaoke? in public? god, no. i fear being perceived. the only karaoke i do is in my shower.

gone ice skating? a few times, yes. i wasn’t too bad at it, so long as i could sort of... bounce off the railing all around the rink, like i was in a pinball machine. okay, maybe i was bad at it...

been on a cruise? nope, and i don’t think i’d enjoy one. i am more of a “roam wherever my little heart takes me, leave the itinerary, we don’t need it, we can just find our own way around london, never mind that the underground is closed, i guess we’ll just walk thirty blocks at one in the morning” sort of girl. it’s a terribly romantic way to live, but it does often leave one with sore feet.

ridden a horse? i rode horses for years growing up (mostly because of a family member who worked at a stable), but i never really liked it. i mean, i liked looking at the horses, and petting them, and even the idea of riding them, but the actual practice of riding horses? not so big a fan.

stayed in a hospital? only one overnight stay, when they thought i had appendicitis, but i (um, trigger warning for medical stuff?) had a cyst rupture on my ovary while i was simultaneously on my period and the pain was so bad i vomited on the intake nurse... i was so embarrassed until they got the morphine in me. turns out i have pcos, lmao.

favorite fruit? honestly, what fruits don’t i like?? i love every fruit. i like picking berries off of bushes a lot. fresh black currants are so tart and herbal and deep-tasting and tannin-y. a good strawberry or nectarine is like a religious experience. but apples right off a tree are so crisp and sweet. so honestly, i like whatever fruit happens to be near me and fresh. i am very privileged to live in an agricultural area where i can get my hands on the products of other people’s lovingly-tended gardens. i could write a love letter to fruit, truthfully.

favorite colors? sap green, rust orange, any shade of violet.

last text? i don’t text much, but my last discord message was just the words, “sweet justice.”

coffee or tea? tea! no cream or sugar, thank you! just the barest splash of honey, please.

favorite pie? growing up, i loved tart cherry and that’s still the pie i crave most. my mother makes the best tart cherry pie, even if i can’t eat it anymore.

favorite pizza? [cries in gluten intolerance] but niki, i’m with you. my favorite was always pineapple and ham, once upon a time.

cats or dogs? people who don’t see the joy in both frighten me. y’all are not well.

favorite time of year? autumn, with late spring being a close second.

met a star? jennifer lopez, who is so beautiful... steven tyler... randy jackson... ryan seacrest... nigel lythgoe... (but, abbey, where would you have met all of those people?) i don’t want to talk about it...

flown in a helicopter? nope!

been on TV? [flashback sequence to the time i had to pretend to give a shit about getting a “golden ticket” and then had to run home and clean my room, because a camera crew was coming to my house] i said i don’t want to talk about it. (but, yes. briefly.)

broken my leg? never broken any bones!

seen a ghost? no! i wanna believe in ghosts so bad, but when you have chronic anxiety and see faces everywhere (and i mean everywhere) anyway, you sort of figure out that there aren’t any ghosts... there’s just your mind interpreting your environment as best it can using flawed pattern-matching.

seen someone die? no, and i am grateful for that.

this was so long, i am so sorry. tagging: @saecookie, @paigenotblank, and @rosynosed and anyone else who would like to!

[ericsonclan]

A Gesture of Tradition

Summary: Omid and Christa gather their family around to play their yearly tradition of Christmas charades

Word Count: 3028

Read on AO3:

“Thanks for helping me,” Jesse’s voice drew Ruby’s attention away from the stocking she was working on. She gave a warm smile to her brother and waved a hand dismissively.

“Aww, Sug, think nothing of it. It’s an easy fix.” Ruby’s eyes returned to the needle as she rethreaded it. Once she had done so, she worked to get the letter E back onto the cloth.

“You’re good at it,” Jesse leaned forward casually. His compliment made Ruby smile once more.

“Ruby and I had to sew all our clothes when we got a tear or something when we were in foster care.” Brody added with a gentle smile before handing her sister the pair of scissors. Ruby looked surprised for a moment when she received the scissors. Brody had learned to read her sister pretty well, making their timing when working together always go smoothly. Jesse’s face took a rather sour note at the mention of foster care. His younger sister seemed to pick up on that fact rather quickly and continued to speak. “But this is loads more fun, right, Ruby?”

“Mmhmm,” Ruby held up the finished stocking with a small victory sound. “Here you go, Jesse, good as new.” It was a simple stocking with his name and few felt horses on the bottom of it.

“Thanks,” Jesse reached out his hand to grab the stocking only for Buddy to headbutt his way in between. The orange tabby cat made a loud purring sound before plopping over.

“Buddy,” Brody leaned forward and picked up the cat. “Don’t get in the way.” A small meow from below the table drew the auburn’s attention downward where a small black cat was waiting impatiently for attention. “Uhhhh…”

“I’ll grab Squee,” Ruby offered, passing over the stocking then leaning down to give the cat some much needed attention. Jesse rose up from his spot and made his way over to the wall where the other stockings were placed. It was in order of age so Christa was placed first right beside Omid. From there was Violet’s dark blue stocking, her name written and surrounded by bright yellow and white stars. Next to hers was Louis that had some piano keys and music notes dancing around on it. After that was Brody whose stocking looked just like a beach, warm sand and seashells covered it. Besides hers was Ruby, her name spelled out with what looked to be lasso rope, the R on her name holding a small cowboy hat on it. Lastly was Omar’s looking like a page of a recipe book with little food illustrations that all his siblings helped make special for his stocking. Jesse had a tiny smile on his face as he looked at his family’s stocking before placing his right before Violet’s.

“Alright! Gather around, kids!” Omid’s lively voice made the three siblings look up from their separate tasks and at their dad. Omid walked down in a green T-shirt and hat that had little elf ears sticking out. “It’s time for the annual Christmas Charades.”

“Yes!” Louis’ bright voice echoed from the staircase that he was walking down with Christa, Violet and Omar. A sleeping turtle with a small Santa hat was gently swaddled in his arms.

“What teams are we doing this year?” Christa asked, then placed a quick kiss on her husband’s lips. That kiss made Omid giggle as he stood proudly in his spot with his hands on his hips.

“It will be guys vs girls. The ultimate showdown!” As their dad was speaking, the six siblings were making their way to the front living couches. Violet sat on one of the couch arms while Brody stood beside her, Buddy tucked in her arms. Ruby immediately took the spot beside her sister and plopped Squee down on her lap.

Christa had gone out of the room while Omid started to explain the rules like he did each year. All the kids knew the rules by heart so they just took the time to get comfy. Louis took the spot on the other couch next to the armchair so he could put Geoff the turtle there when it was his turn. Jesse took the opposite side of the couch and was pleasantly surprised when Fletch came forward and reached up his head to the oldest son’s hand. The black and white border collie gladly accepted Jesse’s affection before taking a spot by his feet. Omar came over and took the spot in the middle.

“So that’s the rules.” Omid smiled proudly at his kids. “Oh, and no cheating.”

“I got the hat,” Christa walked forward with the Santa hat and shook it; a gently crinkling noise emitted from it, all the pieces of papers bouncing and brushing against each other.

“Awesome! Thanks, babe.” Omid got on his toes and planted a warm kiss on Christa’s cheek. “So, which team wants to go first?”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Louis bounced in his seat for a second then froze when he remembered that Geoff was still asleep. “I want our team to go first.”

“Is that alright with you guys?” Omid looked over at his daughters who all seemed fine with the decision, giving short nods of approval.

“Okay then before we start we must know what we are fighting for!” Omid declared loudly. “The losers will make hot cocoa for the winners and give foot rubs.”

All the kids made faces at the last part of that sentence.

“I’m not rubbing anyone’s feet,” Jesse had a small frown on his face.

“Yeah, no way in hell I’m going anywhere near their feet,” Violet leaned back in her spot with her arms crossed.

“I think Omid got a bit too excited. That part of the winner’s reward is only for the two of us,” Christa gave a small smile. Small sounds of disapproval still showed on both sides of the couches.

“Anyway, shall we get started?” Omid smiled over at his kids. “Which one of you wants to go first?”

“Shouldn’t it be Louis?” Omar glanced over at his older brother. “He was the one that got excited about it.”

Louis’ eyes grew large before falling. “I actually want to go second. Geoff is still asleep,” Louis gently brushed the tip of the turtle’s nose then moved to pet the top of his shell. “I want to give him some more time for his nap.”

“Then why did you volunteer us?” Jesse asked with a raised brow.

“I just…. I was really excited,” Louis disappeared further into the couch.

“It’s fine. One of us can go first,” Omid took a spot in the middle of the couch with his sons.

“I can go,” Omar suggested in his calming voice.

“Sure,” Jesse shrugged. The other two seemed to be in agreement and so Omar walked forward and stuck his hand into the Santa hat and selected a scrap of paper. His face remained neutral as he unfolded it and read its contents.

“Just let me know when you’re ready and I’ll start the timer,” Christa stated from her spot on the couch with the girls.

Omar remained quiet for a few seconds then gave a short nod. “Ready.” Christa pressed the button and Omar began the charade. He held out two fingers to his team.

“Two words!” Louis swayed back and forth lightly in his spot. He always loved this game. Omar moved onto the next part, standing with his hands on his hips. Omid shouted out the next answer.

“It’s a person!”

Omar gave a short nod then proceeded to move his hands in a half circle over his stomach. Next he motioned to his face bringing direct attention to his chin then pretending to have something on his back.

“Santa Claus,” Jesse said simply.

“That’s right,” Omar moved to grab another piece of paper and the charades continued. They were able to score four points thanks to Jesse and Omar being on the same wavelength. Omar returned to his spot, sharing a high five and small smile with Jesse before sitting. Omid ruffled his son’s hair and Louis leaned over to give his younger brother a fist bump.

“We’ll be able to beat that, right, girls?” Christa smiled over to her daughters who all seemed to be in agreement.

“Yeah, we’re winning this year.” Ruby gave a competitive smile over to Louis who returned it in kind. Brody was the first up for the girls; her fingers searched for a scrap of paper. Once she read it, she took a deep breath.

“Take your time, Brody.” Omid reassured while holding up the stopwatch.

Brody gave a gentle smile over to her dad then gave a nod. “I’m ready.”

The soft click of the stopwatch threw Brody right into the charade. She held up five fingers.

“Five words,” Violet mumbled.

Brody’s smile grew and she continued on. She posed and looked like she was singing.

“It’s a song,” Christa’s guess made Brody nod her head happily. She then held up three fingers.

“Third word,” Ruby leaned forward, her arms wrapped around Squee who simply seemed happy for the warmth. Brody nodded and pointed to Ruby’s hair.

“Hair?” Violet’s guess made Brody shake her head wildly. She took a deep breath then pointed to her own hair.

“Red,” Christa’s smile grew when she saw that she had clearly gotten it right. Brody held up four fingers.

“Fourth word.” Ruby was determined to get this one. Brody tapped her nose. “Nose. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

“Yep!” Brody took another breath then moved on to the next charade.

When the time was up the girls were up by one point.

“Good job, Brody,” Violet smiled warmly over at her sister.

“Thanks,” Brody took a shaky breath; charades always made her a bit nervous. Ruby gave her a side hug and Christa continued to give her praise when Louis dramatically got up from his spot.

“Father!” He held out Geoff ever so carefully. “Hold our good luck charm while I win us enough points to win the game.”

Violet snorted at her brother’s cocky statement but that only seemed to make Louis more confident.

“Win us those points, Louis. I got Geoff,” Omid took the turtle and placed him gently on his lap. Louis strolled forward and turned away from his family while he read his charade. With a sharp spin and a beaming smile, he gave the go ahead that he was ready.

Shooting out his arm, the dreadlocked boy held out two fingers.

“Two words,” Omar guessed as he gave Geoff a few pets. Louis gave a nod, making his dreadlocks bounce before getting in a stance with his hands on his hips.

“A person,” Jesse’s hand wandered down to give Fletch some attention. The border Collie stuck his tongue out in approval. Louis nodded then moved his hand back and forth, making his older brother furrow his brow. “What do you mean sort of?”

Louis waved a hand dismissively then held out three fingers before tapping them on his arm.

“Three syllables,” Omid’s words made Louis’ smile grow, showing they were on the right track then Louis paused before placing a single finger on his forearm. “First syllable.” Louis pointed towards Ruby’s hair then Brody’s.

Omid started to list as many things as he could think of. “Hair, red, girl, bro, country…” The list went on and on but Omar and Jesse shared a look before Omar gave his guess.

“Ginger?”

Louis jumped up and down.

“That has two syllables.” Jesse pointed out but quickly brushed it aside.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Omid practically jumped off his seat and would have if it were not for the turtle that was resting on his lap. “Gingerbread man!”

“Righty-o!” Louis gave a quick bow then moved on to his next challenge. When the time was done Louis had successfully gotten his team three more points. His brothers gave him praise for his good work while Omid gently handed back the pet.

Violet was up next. Her hunched form moved over to the hat and she casually rummaged around for a piece of paper before pulling one out. After giving a quick nod the blonde began her charade. She held up one finger towards her group.

“One word,” Brody gave some headscratches to Buddy who purred loudly in approval. Her sister nodded then moved on to point at her wrist like she was wearing a watch. “An event.” Brody added. Her older sister continued on, holding up two fingers then tapping them on her arm.

“Two syllables,” Ruby answered. Violet then held up a single finger again. “First syllable. Violet’s hand then moved up to her ear and she gave it a quick tug.

“Sounds like,” Christa jumped in on the guessing. Her oldest daughter then pointed towards Louis. “Louis?” Violet shook her head then pointed again before moving her hand in circular motion in hopes her mom would continue to guess. “Lou.”

Violet nodded.

“Yuletide!” Christa shouted excitedly, causing her daughter to give a small smile and nod. Violet continued on from there, snagging her side three points as well. Violet received praise from her sisters and mom who gave a small head pat which made the blonde smile.

The rounds continued from there, continually being as heated as ever and the points being nearly the same amount through the whole game until the final two rounds were upon them. Christa was up now and she grabbed one of the pieces of paper, studying the contents for a few seconds. After taking a deep breath she gave a nod, holding up one finger. Brody guessed that it was one word then Christa moved to act out the charade to show it was an item which Ruby picked up on. Christa then held out three fingers and tapped them to her forearm.

“Three syllables,” Violet mumbled. Christa then held three again and placed them on her arm. “Third syllable.” Her mom then leaned over and pointed at the tip of her foot. “A toe?”

“Oh, oh!” Brody jumped up and down “A mistletoe!”

“That’s right!” Christa smiled warmly over at her daughters then moved on with the charades. She was successfully able to snag a grand total of five.

“Well played, Christa. But I’m going to blow that number out of the water.” Omid smiled over at his wife before pulling out a piece of paper and immediately acting out the charade.

It was going to be a close game. Omid had successfully been able to get four points and only needed one more to win. He glanced down at the scrap of paper. A small inkling on nervousness appeared in his eyes only to fade away a moment later. He shot out his hand with all five fingers sprawled out.

“Five!” Louis shouted, his body leaning forward and bouncing nervously. Geoff lightly bounced along too, his dark eyes looking up at Louis with confusion. Omid nodded his head wildly then with all his might pretended to crank an old movie camera.

“A movie,” Omar’s guess was right and his dad continued on, holding up three fingers. “Third word.”

Omid nodded then made face after face of grumpiness and anger. His sons continue to guess here and there but none were hitting the mark.

“Sad, mad, anger, salty,” Louis spouted out as many words as he could. Omid glanced over and saw that his time was running out. It seemed all hope was lost when he noticed that Violet had a rather grumpy look on her face and happened to be wearing some green. Omid felt guilty to be using his daughter to win a charade game but he couldn’t say no to his competitiveness. He pointed over to Violet who looked shocked for a split second before returning to her previous expression.

“Prickly,” Jesse guessed, causing his sister to shoot over a glare at him. He gave a smug smile in return.

“Grumpy?” Louis guessed and flashed an apologetic grin over at his sister. The three brothers went down through a list until Jesse’s eyes grew large.

“Grinch.”

Omid hopped up and down at that.

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

“Yes!” Omid slid down onto his knees. “We won!”

“Omid,” Christa’s tone had some warning to it. It was clear she didn’t approve of the way Omid had won. Omid’s face fell when it had hit him anew what he had done.

“I’m sorry, Violet. I got so caught up in the game.” he apologized.

“Eh, it’s fine.” Violet shrugged. “Let’s just get the hot chocolate started.” She hopped off the couch and soon Brody and Ruby followed along. The three brothers moved to the kitchen too to give their sisters some company and most likely boast a bit about how they won this year.

Omid sat on the couch with his wife. “I didn’t think that idea through,” Omid fell back on the couch. “I’ll be sure to pick up some chicken nuggets for Violet.”

“That would be a good idea,” Christa’s serious expression melted into a happy smile. “Guess I owe you a foot rub.”

“Oh yeah,” Omid put his legs up and on his wife’s lap. “It’s nice to get the charade crown back this year.”

“Well, just wait for next year. I’ll be the one getting the foot rub, not giving it,” Christa had a competitive look in her eyes as she smiled over at her husband. Her hands began to gently rub the soles of his feet. Omid was about to speak up when he heard some of his kids speaking in the kitchen.

“Sorry, Vi.” Louis’ voice appeared from the kitchen. “I can make you hot cocoa too,”

“It doesn’t matter. Besides, if anyone was the grinch in this house it would be Jesse,” Violet’s voice had a bit of a bite to it but it was obvious that it was said in jest.

Jesse’s laugh appeared before he spoke up. “If that means I get hot chocolate, I’m fine with that.” The conversation continued from there, the six siblings talking and laughing in the kitchen while they made hot cocoa.

[visander]

To Raise the Dead. Read on Archive. 

It was the first Halloween that Idris was celebrating, so of course, Max and Madzie had a plan to cause a little bit of trouble. In hindsight, perhaps they'd bitten off a bit too much to swallow.

Halloween had notoriously been a Downworlder tradition. The only way Shadowhunters had taken part for centuries had been hunting for demons the night of. The culture in Idris had changed though and with Magnus as the High Warlock, his brother as the Counsel and more downworlders living in their walls than ever before, Halloween was a holiday that the city had decided to celebrate, much to the disapproval of all the older Clave members.

The cobble lined streets had been decorated with orange lights, pumpkins and skeletons. Even the infamous statue of the angel Raziel had been adorned with pumpkins around the base and a huge almost demonic sized spider who sat in a web that stretched off one of the wings and onto a lamp pole across the street.

The older members of the city shook their heads and murmured about how their city was falling apart but everyone else seemed just as excited to join in the holiday as the Downworld was to share it with them.

Alec and Magnus were throwing a Halloween party that was sure to put every other Halloween party across the world to shame. Magnus had been talking about it for weeks. It wasn’t often he got to throw parties now, not with he and Alec both holding such demanding jobs in a time when their positions were as important as ever.

Their house, located close to the center of town, had been decorated enough that it was hardly recognizable. The traditional, modest style that seemed to encompass all of the buildings in Idris turned out to be perfect for Halloween, as long as Magnus used a glamour or two to make the windows of their home look broken and to make the exterior look like it was crumbling. There were even ghosts that swarmed above the house, circling, moaning and darting down close to anyone who dared to walk up to the door.

Max walked up the pathway to his brother’s house, shooing the fake ghosts away as he quietly pulled the front door open. It was always a gamble walking into their house unannounced. Normally, Magnus could tell someone was there instantly but there had been quite a few times he’d been distracted and Max had walked in to see something he wished he hadn’t.

Today though, Max was hoping he could slip in and out without either of them noticing he’d been there. See, he and his friends had a plan for tonight, something that involved more than just dressing up and eating candy. Tonight, they were going to let the dead fall on this city and Max needed his brother’s stele to do that.

Max paused in the hallway, listening. The house was completely silent. Max had thought they might be out and he was thrilled to see he was right. Them being going was much better than them being distracted. Max had heard his brother moan enough for a lifetime.

Max darted down the hallway, his footsteps loud as he pushed his brother’s study door open and went inside. He pulled his desk drawer open and pushed all the pens and paper aside, searching for what he knew his brother kept in here somewhere. Max found his brother’s extra stele at the bottom of the last drawer, hidden quite well for anyone except Max who knew exactly how his brother liked to hide things.

Max slipped it into his pocket and closed the drawers, practically darting out of the room. He’d told Madzie and Benny that he’d meet them soon and he was going to be late if he didn’t hurry.

Max pushed open the study door once again and almost ran into Magnus’ chest in his haste to get out before anyone noticed him. Magnus blinked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at him. “Good morning, Max.”

Max stared up at him with wide eyes, taking a step back. “Morning, Magnus.” He said, suddenly deeply aware of his brother’s stele half sticking out of his pant pocket. He’d have pushed it deeper if he’d known anyone was home. His hand twitched to move and grab it but he forced himself not to. Maybe, Magnus wouldn't notice. “Happy Halloween.” He said, trying to appear as casual as he possibly could.

“Happy Halloween.” Magnus echoed, his eyes scanning Max suspiciously. For a moment, Max thought he’d seen the stele and somehow known which one it was but then he met Max’s eyes again. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you but can I ask what you were looking for in your brother’s study?”

Max shrugged, moving to walk past Magnus into the kitchen. “I was just looking for Alec.” He called behind him, hoping Magnus took his actions as casual and not as him fleeing, like he was.

Magnus hummed behind him. “Oh.”

Max walked into the kitchen and grabbed an apple off the cauldron on the table. Their new cat, Chairman, darted between Max’s feet and down the hallway. He was dressed in a bat costume and he seemed less than thrilled about it.

For a moment, Max thought Magnus actually believed him and then his brother in law kept speaking. “You were looking for him in his drawers?” He asked.

Max sucked in a deep breath. Fuck. He took a bite of the apple, turning to look at Magnus as he chewed. He pulled his shirt down before he did, covering the stele in his pocket. “Yeah.” He said, swallowing. “I was looking for him in his drawer.”

Magnus nodded slowly like he’d actually accepted the ridiculous answer. “I suppose the stele you took was just a bonus?” Magnus asked finally, a small knowing smirk on his lips.

Max could get away with a lot around Alec. Alec still underestimated him, in the way that an older sibling always seemed to when they didn’t want to realize the younger sibling was growing up. Magnus didn’t underestimate him at all.

Max nodded. He took another bite of the apple, chewing because he couldn't think of anything at all to say. Magnus raised an eyebrow but Max took his time, chewing thoroughly before swallowing. It would be a shame if he choked.

“I lost mine.” He said suddenly.  “I didn’t want to go ask for another. Madzie and I are supposed to meet soon.”

Magnus nodded slowly but Max could tell Magnus didn’t exactly believe him. Max held his breath. That was the cool thing about having Magnus as a brother, even when he knew Max was lying, he wouldn’t blow his cover unless he thought Max was actually going to do something horrible. Magnus had been a kid once and a mischievous adult for far longer than that.

It was Halloween, he wouldn’t ruin their fun unless he thought he had to. “I suppose you won’t mind if I let your brother know you took it then?” He said eventually.

Max shrugged. “Of course not.” He said easily. “You don’t think I’m lying, do you?”

Magnus pressed his lips together. He moved to pull his coffee cup off the counter where he must have left it to go see what Max was doing. “Don’t cause too much trouble.” Magnus said finally. “It is the first Halloween we’re having here. We wouldn’t want to give the Clave a heart attack just yet.”

Max grinned. “Of course, not too much.” He repeated.

Magnus smiled back for a moment and then Max gave in and darted forward, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ chest to hug him tight for a moment. “Happy Halloween, Magnus.” He murmured into the silk of Magnus’ sleep shirt. Max pulled away after a moment and darted towards the front door. “Bye!” He called over his shoulder, the door slamming behind him as he ran down the steps. A ghost moved above his head but Max ran out the gate and down the street before it could move down to chase him.

They were going to do something so much cooler than that.

Max took Alec’s stele out of his pocket and lit the agility rune on his arm before jumping to grab the frame of the window before him to pull himself up. Alec’s stele didn’t do anything different than his when it came to lighting runes but the superiority of Alec’s felt better in his hand. Max was only fourteen. His stele was a normal beginner's stele. It could light runes, unlock average doors and that was about it. Alec’s stele could do just about anything.

Max wanted one of his own someday, one that he’d been given rather than one he’d stolen. Alec said if he really wanted to have one, he’d have to start following the rules. Max reminded Alec that he kissed a warlock at his wedding, in front of the entire Clave. He couldn’t really talk, could he?

Besides, Max was fourteen. He could have some fun stealing before he grew up.

Max scaled the side of the building and pulled him over the edge onto the roof. Madzie sat waiting for him, Benny sitting next to her side. “You’re late.” She called over, turning to look at him with a half disapproving gaze. Behind it, she couldn’t quite hide her excitement.

Max grinned and stood up, brushing the dirt off his arms. “Magnus caught me taking Alec’s stele.” He explained, moving forward to peer down at the book both of his friends were staring at.

Benny was a werewolf that had moved here recently with his mom. They’d become fast friends after Max pushed Jamie, the worst kid in their town, into a fountain for making fun of him.

He was a nervous kid. He wasn’t quite as mischievous as Max and Madzie were, nor was he as fearless in the face of trouble but he was nice and peer pressure or not, he was willing to help with their insane plans.

“Did he get mad?” Benny asked, wringing his hands in his lap. He had only met Magnus twice and he hadn’t quite seen past Magnus’ intimidating exterior yet.

“No.” Max sat on the roof, not caring that black soot was smudging across his hands and now, his pants. “He said not to cause too much trouble.”

Madzie hummed. “I don’t think this is too much trouble.” She said, her eyes still scanning the book in her lap (it was also stolen but it really wasn’t their fault that they had to steal everything. If the adults would just let them use what they wanted, they wouldn’t have to steal it).

“Me either,” Max said, shrugging. “It’s Halloween after all.”

Benny stayed silent but Max chose to assume he agreed.

There wasn’t anything about conjuring spirits in the book Madzie had taken. That was probably why no one had noticed they’d taken it. It was a simple book with nothing that harmful in it but Magnus had told them all about how even the most simple spells could be used for almost anything if you knew how to use them right. If you had a spell for conjuring energy, you could use it to draw in just about any kind of energy you wanted, into anything you wanted. If you had a spell for opening doors, you could use it to open portals into different dimensions.

If you had, for example, a spell on conjuring magical creatures, you could use it to conjure spirits if you knew how to shift the intent towards the dead. Just for example's sake, of course.

“What else do we need?” Max asked, peering over Madzie’s shoulder. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, one she’d used to scribble down the ingredients to summon spirits. They couldn’t have taken the Book of the Dead out of Magnus’ office. He’d have noticed right away and that he would have put a stop to but that didn’t mean they couldn’t look and write something down.

“Vampire venom-” Madzie read off the list, “Dried Hemp Leaves, Vampire Dust-”

“Lots of vampire ingredients,” Benny commented quietly. He was scared of vampires.

“They’re dead. Makes sense.” Max said, shrugging.

Madzie kept reading without looking at them, “Blood of a child-”

“Not it.” Max called instantly. Benny glared over at him, murmuring about how maybe werewolf blood wouldn’t work. “Maybe, Shadowhunter blood won’t work either.” Max spat back. It would have been nice if they could have asked Magnus if it mattered but it wasn’t like they could just run it by him.

Madzie kept reading the rest of the list without reading it out loud to them. “We have most of these. We just need blood, vampire venom and northwind root.”

“Awesome,” Max said, pulling himself to his feet. “We can get most of that at the apothecary in town. Alec’s stele will let us in.”

“What if she’s still there?” Benny asked nervously. Max didn’t have to ask him who he was talking about. The warlock that ran the Idris apothecary was notoriously grumpy and she did not like them at all. She refused to sell to them unless they came in with an adult. It wasn’t a law or a rule: It was simply something she decided to put a halt on almost every single plan they had.

“The shop is closed today,” Max said. Madzie closed the book and pushed it into her bag, rising to her feet as well. “Hopefully, she’ll be gone.” Max said shrugging, reaching out to help Benny to his feet. Luck should be on their side. There was no reason she’d still be there today.

When they actually got there, they realized that luck was not on their side.

“What do we do now?” Benny hissed, his back pressed against the brick wall to stop Cydney, the warlock, from looking out the window and seeing him.

“Shush.” Max hissed, though it was more to give him a moment to think than actually thinking Benny was going to get them caught. “Uh-” Max met Madzie’s eyes, both of them scrambling to try and think of a plan. It was a stupid way for this all to end but if they couldn’t get in there and get the rest of the ingredients, their plan was over. “Knock on the door.” Max said suddenly, spinning to look at Benny.

“What?” He snapped, his eyes wide and panicked.

Max nodded. “Yeah, it will be fine. Just knock on the door and make something up. Say you need help. Madzie and I will sneak in the back, grab the supplies and sneak out.”

Benny shook his head no instantly, “Max, I can’t. I don’t know what to say, I can’t-”

Max nodded. “It’s easy.” He insisted, ignoring Benny’s clear panic. “Magnus always says sometimes you have to do things that scare you.” Max darted forward, knocking sharply on the door to the shop. “You’ll be fine, give us two minutes inside and we’ll meet you right here again.”

Max grabbed Madzie’s arm and pulled her around the corner of the building, leaving Benny alone as they heard the front door open. “What do you want?” They heard Cydney snap before they rounded the building again and were out of earshot.

Max scrawled an unlock rune on the door and pulled Madzie inside the back room of the shop. Inside, they could hear Benny rambling something about his mother needing supplies. “You find the root, I’ll find the venom.” Max whispered, turning to scan the shelves.

Madzie closed her eyes for a moment and her hands glowed briefly. The gills on her neck flared and when she opened her eyes, she darted across the room out of sight. Max wanted to ask when she’d learned to do that but it wasn’t really the best time.

“I know but she told me to come and-“ They needed to hurry. Cydney was growing more and more frustrated as Benny repeated himself yet again.

Max scanned the shelves quicker but half of them were unlabeled and of the ones that were labeled, half of them seemed to be in another language that Max didn’t recognize.

Madzie appeared at Max’s side a moment later, three tangles of roots held in her hands. “Do the thing-“ Max hissed quickly, looking back to make sure Cydney was still standing outside of the store. “They’re not labeled. What does vampire venom even look like?”

“Like venom!” Madzie snapped helpfully. She shoved the root into Max’s hands and closed her eyes again, doing the same thing she’d done moments before to find the root.

When she opened her eyes though, she didn’t look relieved, she looked panicked. “It’s not working right, it’s saying it’s-“

Max hadn’t been sure what she was going to say but as the voice spoke from the open doorway, the same one they’d slipped through behind the shop, he put it together.

The spell wasn’t working because it was saying there was venom was outside. “Hey, kids. Stealing on Halloween?” Lily Chen, leader of the New York Vampire Clan stood in the doorway, smirking like she’d caught them doing something they weren’t supposed to. Which, she had.

Max’s eyes flashed to the front door again. Cydney still hadn’t looked back but she looked like she was about to slam the door in Benny’s face. Max darted towards Lily and half pulled, half pushed her out the door. “Come on.” He hissed towards Madzie. Max saw her look towards the shelves again, her hand snapping out at the last second to pull a small bottle off the shelf and shove it into her pocket.

Max wouldn’t have been able to push Lily out the door if she hadn’t wanted to move but luckily, she stepped outside and watched calmly as Madzie slipped the door closed behind them.

“Did I hear you asking what vampire venom looks like?” Lily asked finally. “Shouldn’t they teach you that in all your Shadowhunter classes?”

“They- I haven’t taken Downworlder Studies yet,” Max admitted. “Please don’t tell Magnus.” He spit out. He wasn’t going to beg her but he was sure she could hear how desperate he was in his voice.

Lily blinked slowly. “I’m not going to tell him.” She said easily. “It’s not my job to babysit for Magnus.” Max breathed out a sigh of relief.  “I would, however-“ Lily continued. “-be inclined to tell Alec what you were doing. I owe him and this would make us even.” The relief on Max’s face disappeared so quickly that it almost looked like Lily has slapped him. “So, what is it that you’re doing?” She asked chipperly.

Madzie and Max both fell silent for a moment.

“Group project?” Madzie offered almost at the same time that Max said, “We’re conjuring spirits.” Madzie turned and gave him a disbelieving look. Clearly, they hadn’t been on the same page.

“And…  you’re trying to conjure spirits why?” Lily asked.

Max shrugged. “Harmless Halloween fun?” He offered.

“Life experience?” Madzie chimed in.

“The thrill of accomplishing something?”

They probably would have gone on but at that moment, Benny came running around the corner of the building. His face was flushed and panicked. “Why would you do that?” He snapped, his voice coming out through harsh breath. “I had no clue what to say, I just told her that my mom-” Benny cut himself off as he noticed Lily for the first time. He stumbled backward a step or two. “Is that a vampire?”

It was kind of cute how new to all of this he was. He’d been bitten by a young werewolf in some small town in Kansas and now, he was here way out of his depth.

“This is Lily Chen,” Madzie told him. “She runs the New York Vampire Clan and she just caught us stealing.” That didn’t seem to make Benny feel better.

“She might tell Alec on us.” Max said for the sake of being completely honest. That didn’t seem to make him feel better either.

Lily looked at Benny and then sighed, looking back towards Madzie and Max again. “I won’t tell on you.” She said finally. “Only spirits, right? If you end up raising the dead and killing half the town, Alec is going to be so pissed at me.”

Madzie nodded. “Only spirits.” She confirmed. Everyone knew spirits were harmless. They were even more harmless than ghosts.

Lily watched them for a moment and then finally, she laughed. “Alright, have fun kids.” She turned like she was about to walk away before she hesitated for a moment. She turned back to look at all three of them in turn before speaking, her voice low and serious, “If this goes terribly wrong, I never saw you. Got it?”

They all nodded and then she was gone.

Magnus was standing in his kitchen, stringing up some last-minute decorations when he heard his phone go off. He sighed and with a snap of his fingers, it appeared in front of him so he could read it. It was text from a particularly grumpy warlock he knew lived in town.

‘Your children just stole from me.’ It read, ‘Again.’

Magnus took a deep breath.

‘I’ll pay for it.’ He wrote back quickly. ‘-but they’re not my children.’ He added as an afterthought. He had the feeling he didn’t want to be connected to whatever they were doing tonight.

“Alexander?” Magnus called over his shoulder. He could hear his husband wrestling with some plastic cobwebs behind him. “Did I mention that I saw your brother this morning?”

Alec hummed curiously. “No, did he need something?”

Magnus slowly dropped the decorations he was holding to the ground. He spun on his heel and pursed his lips for a moment. “Well-” Magnus clasped his hands in front of him. “He did happen to take the stele from your desk.”

Alec looked up at him, his hands a mess of plastic. It almost looked like he was tangling them more than managing to stretch them out. “Oh?” He asked slowly.

“Yeah-” Magnus smiled, trying to be reassuring. “-and I’m sure it’s nothing but Cydney did just text me that they took a few things without permission.”

For a moment, it almost looked like Alec was going to throw up. “Oh, god.” He choked out.

Magnus darted forward, his hands coming to rest on his husband’s comfortingly. The sentiment was a little useless because Alec’s hands were covered in a thick layer of web but Magnus hoped Alec was comforted regardless. “They took Catarina’s spellbook. There’s nothing bad in there. I’m sure they’re just-” Magnus shrugged. “-having some Halloween fun. There’s no reason to panic.”

“They’re going to derune him.” Alec moaned, leaning forward to curl into his husband’s neck.

Magnus sighed. “Come on,” He murmured. “If the Clave could deal with Jace and you, I’m sure they can deal with Max too. They’re used to you Lightwoods.”

“Jace and I didn’t steal from the City of the Dead.” Alec rushed out. “We didn’t sneak into Clave meetings. We didn’t skip our classes to summon demons-”

Their little group was making quite a name for themselves. Magnus purses his lips for a moment, choosing a different route. “Exactly-” He stated, tipping his husband’s worried face up to meet his. “They’ve done a lot already. This is Halloween. This is probably going to be the most harmless thing they’ve ever done.”

Alec didn’t look too sure.

“Come on.” Magnus gently pulled the webs from his husband’s hands. “Let’s give these a break. Come help me hang some lights. What do you think would look better, purple or orange?”

Alec followed Magnus slowly over to the counter where he had the lights stretched out. “Purple?” He said softly.

Magnus had been thinking orange but he didn’t say so. “Purple would look lovely. Though, where should we put the orange lights?” Magnus pondered for a moment, watching his husband's eyes look around the space.

“Maybe-”

Magnus snapped his fingers before Alec could finish speaking. The orange lights disappeared and then found their way around his husband’s shoulders, wrapping around his biceps and glimmering in his hair. Magnus smiled. “Perfect.”

Magnus turned away to grab the plastic spider’s he’d put down and behind him, Alec burst out laughing as he struggled to move towards him.

“Magnus!”

Magnus smiled and spun around, humming contemplatively as he placed a plastic spider across Alec’s hairline. “Now, it’s really perfect.” He murmured, leaning in to kiss his husband’s soft, smiling lips.

Max darted in front of Benny and Madzie to perch himself on a rock and peer out at the dark path in front of them. The witchlight glowed in his hand, lightly the pathway in pale hues of white. Benny’s flashlight flashed forward, lighting the path for at least another ten feet. “Why do you use that rock when it hardly even works?”

Max dropped to the ground. “Electronics won’t work as we get closer to the wards.”

“But they work now.” Benny pointed out. Max stayed silent for a moment before he dropped the witchlight into his pocket.

They were walking to the outskirts of the city, where hopefully no one would interrupt them. Everyone was excited to take part in the history that was happening tonight, except those who were distinctly not. As the sky grew darker, the elders went inside and the new generation of the world came out to play.

It was surprisingly hard to find some privacy in all the excitement, especially enough so to try and raise some spirits.

They were almost to the clearing they were heading to when Benny spoke again. “Guys, what if we get into trouble?” Behind him, Madzie sighed.

“You didn’t have to come.” Max chimed in, look back at Benny’s nervous stance behind him. “We told you you could have just gone home.”

Benny swallowed. “No.” He insisted quickly. “I wanted to come.”

He didn’t want to come. Max knew he wanted to stay home. He came because he didn’t want to be left out. He came because he didn’t want them to exclude him, next time.

Max shrugged. “Alright.” He said easily, turning back to look at the path. “Then if we get in trouble, remember it was your choice.” Max looked back one more time and winked.

Benny didn’t answer but when Madzie laughed, he smiled half sincere, half nervous all at once. Max wondered briefly if he regretted becoming friends with them and then he pushed that thought away. Of course, he didn’t. They were awesome.

When they reached the clearing, Madzie pulled out the spellbook and started to arrange the ingredients they'd collected. This was going to be the easy part. The spell wasn’t hard. They’d gotten all the ingredients and made it here. They were, for all intents and purposes, in the clear. Until after of course. If no one had a sense of humor, they could be grounded for the rest of the month but tonight, there was nothing that could possibly go wrong.

After this, it was smooth sailing and nothing but Halloween fun. If Max was being honest though, he’d been having fun the whole time. He loved sneaking around. He loved stealing. He loved knowing no one else knew what they were up to. He loved being with his friends while he did it.

Max laid sprawled in the grass with his head pillowed on Benny’s lap, watching Madzie fiddle with all the ingredients. Max was a little tired but more than that, he was content. The stars were bright in the sky. Benny’s legs were soft under his head and his hands were warm where they rested almost in his hair.

He listened to the sound of the werewolves far off in the forest, Benny’s soft breathing, the smell of the vampire venom singeing the air as Madzie opened the bottle and he wanted more than anything to stay in this moment forever.

Next month, he was going to the Academy. He’d finished all his training here and he had no choice but to go. He wouldn’t be back for almost a full year, unless Alec brought him home for a weekend or two. People normally didn’t leave the Academy though. You stayed and you studied and you missed your friends and family until you were done.

Madzie and Benny would stay here and Max would be all alone, surrounded by Shadowhunters his age who’d probably love nothing more than to kick his friends out of their country.

Alec said he’d make new friends there and that Madzie and Benny would still be here when he came back but the truth was, Max didn’t want to make new friends. He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want Madzie and Benny to have fun without him. He didn’t want them to forget him.

Maybe, that’s why he’d wanted to do this so bad. It was one last big thing they could do together so that maybe they wouldn’t forget him while he was gone.

Max opened his eyes, startled when Madzie threw a rock near his face. “You’re not going to fall asleep, are you? After this, we still have all night.”

“Of course not! I was just-” Max shook his head and sat up. He knew he’d have to tell them he was leaving at some point but why would he ruin the rest of tonight by bringing it up? He’d tell them tomorrow or... maybe the day after, if they weren’t all locked inside. “Are you ready?” He asked instead.  

Madzie nodded. “Yeah.” She said, looking up between both of them. “The only thing we need is blood.”

“I did call not it.”  Max said, glancing over at Benny.

Benny took in a slow, deep breath. Quietly, he said, “I am not giving you my blood for this. I don’t like blood. I don’t like seeing it. I don’t like being hurt. This wasn’t even my idea!” He insisted, his voice rising as he spoke. “There is absolutely no way I’m doing. I’m not.”

Max nodded slowly. “Okay. Let’s just talk about this. There has to be a fair way to do this.” The talk was a short one.

Benny finched as Madzie drew the knife across his palm. His free hand tensed in Max’s, clutching it like he thought if he let go Madzie was going to slip and cut his arm off. “I can’t believe you talked me into this.” He whispered, his voice hushed and panicked.

“You’re doing great.” Max said back, trying to be encouraging.

Madzie dropped his hand and when Benny looked over, he gasped and paled at the sight of the blood. For a moment, Max almost thought he was going to pass out. “Look.” He said, tightening his hand on Benny’s uninjured one. “Look at it- watch.”

Benny looked hesitantly, his face scrunched up in disgust. The wound was deep across his hand, dripping slowly into the grass. They all stared and after a moment, the wound came back together and healed itself as if it had never even been cut open.

Max clapped the back of Benny’s shoulder. “See? It’s cool, huh?”

Benny went silent for a moment, his eyes wide with fascination. “I didn’t know that could happen.” He whispered.

Max laughed. “Perks of being a Downworlder. I have to use a stupid rune.” Max took Benny’s other hand and wiped the excess blood against the fabric of his pants. There was no more putting it off. They were ready and the moment Benny seemed to realize this, the fascination faded off his face and he looked worried once again.

Max didn’t let go of his hand. “Come on, let’s do this.” He said, pulling Benny to his feet. It was cold and Benny’s hand was warm in his. Werewolves ran hot and Max had never appreciated that fact more. Of course, he could have put a rune on that would have warmed him far more efficiently than Benny’s small hand would but Max didn’t. He wasn’t quite sure why.

The thing about spells is that the build-up is always ten times longer than the actual spell itself. The spell was easy and quick. It was the preparation that took forever. They’d been planning this for weeks but in the end, it took about a minute for Madzie to do the spell.

Benny and Max stood behind her, squirming with separate parts anxiety and excitement. As Madzie read the spell off, her hands glowing, Max felt Benny tighten in his. Max wondered if he was excited, even a little bit. He wondered if he was a little more thrilled about doing this than he let on. He had to be, right? Or he wouldn’t be here.

Madzie spoke the last words of the spell and for a few short moments, everything was silent. Max could still hear the werewolves far off in the woods. He could hear the trees swaying around them. He thought he could almost hear the noise of the city, as faint as the wind.

He didn’t hear any spirits. Benny’s hand loosened in his. Max wondered if he was relieved or disappointed. Max had just opened his mouth to ask aloud if they’d done it wrong when he felt it.

For a second, Max thought the wind had simply swept through the field they were in but as the hairs on the back of his arms stood up and his skin tingled, Max realized that it wasn’t the wind he was feeling, it was magic.

An excited grin stretched across Max’s face. Madzie pulled herself to her feet are looking around them, waiting for the spirits they’d called to this place to burst into the air. That second went on though and as nothing happened, the grin slowly faded from Max’s face.

“Is that-” Max wasn’t sure what Benny had been about to say. Maybe, he’d seen something Max hadn’t. Maybe, he’d been about to ask what exactly a spirit would look like. Before he could finish his sentence, the ground under them exploded and they were all thrown back in a mess of dirt.

Max landed hard on the ground, his head cracking against the cold earth beneath him. The stele in his pocket stabbed deep into his side as he landed. Cold pain blossomed across his chest. Benny’s hand was gone from his.

Max tried to force himself sit up but everything hurt and the world was spinning so much that he could hardly see. Dirt fell onto his face as softly as rain. Max found himself flat on his back, staring up at the stars. Blood trickled from his side and his head but Max didn’t even notice.

Someone was screaming so faintly that Max couldn’t even make out the words. His ears were ringing loud. Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong but Max found it very hard to try to concentrate. It was Halloween. A field. A spell. They’d been doing something fun but Max couldn’t remember what it had been.

The thought was fleeting and Max found it very hard to cling to it. It was Halloween, Madzie holding a book, Benny’s hand-

Max remembered sitting on the roof of the Institute with Alec when he’d been little. He couldn’t have been more than six. He and Alec were supposed to be in bed but whenever he couldn’t sleep, Alec would take him onto the roof and they’d lay down at watch the stars together until they got tired.

Max remembered falling asleep on the roof and waking up in his bed more times than he could count. Their mother would have been furious. They were too young to be out of bed. They were too young to be on the roof alone. They were too young to be up so late.

Staring up at the sky, Max wondered if she ever knew that they did that. For a moment, Max felt like he was six again. He could feel the groves of the shingles digging into his back. He could see the dart soot on his hands. He could hear Alec’s breath next to him. He could feel his brother’s big warm arm around him and he could see the stars, shining so bright that he thought they might blind him.

Max closed his eyes and he knew that when he woke up, the soot would be washed from his hands and he would be in his bed, tucked in the way only Alec ever did.

Someone was screaming but Max couldn’t hear them.

[kiangreyback]

❝ He tore the beauty from his face, and called it terror. ❞

AVAN JOGIA? No, that’s actually KIAN GREYBACK. A SEVENTH YEAR student, this RAVENCLAW student is sided with THE DEATH EATERS. HE identifies as CISMAN and is a UNKNOWN ( WEREWOLF ) who is known to be CUNNING, TEMPERAMENTAL, and BRUTAL but also RELIABLE, ADROIT, and ADAPTABLE.

links: pinterest

triggers: child abuse, child abandonment, kidnapping, drugs, alcohol

CHILDHOOD.

!! CHILD ABUSE TW, CHILD ABANDONMENT, KIDNAPPING TW !! The most that Kian can remember about his childhood is abandonment. Perhaps the cruelest thing to him was his parents deciding to carry him for nine months, bring him into this world and leave him for it to devour. –And devour it did.  The story is that his parents just didn’t care– they had lives and he wasn’t a part of them. The most they’d done for him is stuff his pockets with a couple galleons and leave him behind in Knockturn Alley ( because who would go around asking ‘who’s kid is this’ there. )

However, he didn’t have to suffer abandonment for very long. Fenrir Greyback had an eye for those who ‘needed’ a pack and knelt down with a hand offered. It came with a price but what wouldn’t Kian give for a home– a family. Perhaps if he could go back he would have refused that offer…only perhaps.

Fenrir was a cruel man..and that was putting it mildly– but Kian wonders if he’d take his own parents over a monster of a man because at least he’d given him a home. ( Not that home meant comfort but it did, eventually, mean FAMILY. )

His ‘father’ was hard on him. He was pushed to his breaking point again and again. He was taught how to endure cruelty, how to get his vengeance, to bleed but not be weakened by it. The lessons were vicious – but in Kian’s eyes necessary. He adapted well, fought until he couldn’t catch his breath and held up his siblings when it was their turn. Even though he was scared, Kian would approach everything in control– because that’s what he was taught. His ability to look Fenrir in the eyes and say NO earned him the most hated and most favoured spot in ragtag group of his siblings. ( standing up to his father only had a punishment at the end– though it seemed as if Kian had made his own mark with his stubbornness. ) Get knocked down, you get back up and you swing.  !! End TW !!

SCHOOL DAYS.

Kian was sorted into Ravenclaw. A strange house for someone who’d seem more fit for Gryffindor or Slytherin. But it came down to his cleverness and craftmanship that stuck him in with the eagles. He was smart– or rather a smartass – found unconventional solutions to problems and had a cunning way of adapting to even the worst of conditions.

He isn’t very popular with the others in his house or year– a little bit of an outcast because who doesn’t know that GREYBACK is synonym for WEREWOLF. HE tended to be a target for the upperclass peers to dig into when they were feeling bored. Though it ended with someone hexed or cursed or sporting a split lip or broken nose. But such was his life and he wasn’t too bothered by it. –As he grew older and stronger and word got back to those scaredy-cat pureblood parents that it was a Greyback throwing said spell/fist– things quickly quietened down for fear of retaliation from Fenrir. ( Not that the bastard actually cared but it’s the… thought that counts.)

HE doesn’t really spend time in clubs or extracurricular as he feels it’s a waste of time. Besides he has one band of dumbasses he doesn’t need to join any others. However, he did pick up quidditch from an early age and was quite a talented flier. His postion is naturally a beater– though he’s not fond of being led by a weasley.

His grades are above average and had once been considered for the position of prefect because of them but ultimately wasn’t offered it because of the fights he’d been involved with. smart but not friendly nor helpful enough.

OTHER STUFF.

Uhm, he doesn’t believe in all this ‘purebloods are superior’ shit. He’s just mostly here for the fight– at least that’s what he believes his ‘father’ is in it for because Merlin knows they aren’t fucking purebloods no matter how you spin it. There’s no money. No real parents. No hoity-toity clothes. No nose so far up his own ass. – IN fact i think he believes the Purebloods are a disgrace and can’t hold their own and that’s why people like him have to fight their battles. ( He doesn’t really voice this but he definitely thinks it even if it isn’t particularly true— just he’s real dumb? arrogant? idk? about this mess of a war )

He’s actually quite calm??? ( I KNOW?? WHAT?? ) He doesn’t mess with others unless he’s messed with and he tends to keep to himself. Kian isn’t out there being a social butterfly because he really doesn’t fucking care what you do or say or whatever. Life is dumb as hell, in his opinion, and he thinks dealing with his own is enough without someone elses involved. HOWEVER, if he is messed with this boy is gonna throw down. LIke he’s gonna go for the throat because that’s how he was raised. It’s either you or them there is no BOTH.

with that ^ said— he does have friends ( hallo plots ). he can be quite charming if he puts in the effort and perhaps his ‘life sucks, do what u want’ attitude tends to draw in people who may need stress relief from the war or you know normal things like last nights essay.

!! DRUGS TW, ALCOHOL TW !! Kian does smoke. Cigarettes and pot– never been one for anything harder than that. If he really wants to let go he’s out here for a couple rounds of firewhiskey. This is probably to the best way to see his true personality.   !! END TW !!

Loyalty is important to him ( though he isn’t past using it as a toss-around word for the DEs because he just really doesnt give a single fuck about them ). His lays with his siblings– though not biological he is very protective of his sisters but not enough to stand in the way of danger for them ( unless lethal. he will definitely step in ) After all they should know how to survive by now ANYWAYS. ( okay he does step in more often than that ;) a pack is a pack. )

There is some light at the end of the tunnel with him. He is quite funny when he wants to be– he can have a laugh and smile ( no, i mean an actual smile ) but it seems to be reserved for those he can trust and let down that massive guard he has up.

MORE RANDOM THINGS.

Probably would love baseball in the muggle world.

The name Kian was given to him due to that being the first word he spoke to Greyback. ( OR at least that’s what Fenrir believes he said ). Kian would be the name his father had and somehow it had stuck in his mind. ‘Why are you out here all alone?’ ‘Kian.’ SOOOOOOO he has no idea that’s his real father’s name….but yeno I guess you do get some things from your parents ha.

He doesn’t really remember anything about his birth parents. He only remembers Greyback. Greyback is gross and likes to hold things over your head so -- his parents leaving him is something that is usually brought up in order to take kian down a notch-- though it doesnt work how Greyback anticipates.

Doesn’t really have an opinion on being a werewolf other than it’s time consuming and therefor irritating to deal with. Pain is pain. Its an inconvience he wishes he could cure but not one that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to cure it, if u get me.

His favorite food is probably something dumb like mashed potatoes with gravy or roasted chicken with cous cous. – Favorite drink would be something equally simple like apple juice. Basically the palate of a two year old. Meaning he’s also here for things like lollies and popcicles, general summer time sweet treats. Not much for hot drinks like coffee or tea tho..go figure.

He has SEVERAL tattoos…..and  none of them really mean anything? They are mostly just  a series of lines/designs/patterns that he doodles on his parchments and, you know, since Papa Greyback don’t care about anything except himself this boy’s been getting them since summer before sixth year.

Tends to favour clothes that are flowy or breezy. Oranges and reds…blacks and whites mostly when outside of uniform. Doesn’t mind tighter jeans but the shirts gotta be flowy.

He cuts his hair every so often. Like real short then lets it grow out…currently like mid-length and usually pulled up out of his face either in a pony or half-up-half-down.

PRetty damn good at wizard’s chess ( eat your heart out ron weasley! ) and most anything that requires quick-strategy. He’s pretty good at figuring out the other’s intention which leads to a win.

He does draw– not anything too complicated but enough to know he has a mediocre talent in it? ( ie. his tattoos/doodles. )

His favorite classes are probably transfig, charms and probably astronomy. Most hated is herbology, comc, divinations and History or studies of anything.

UMM VERY UNSURE of what he’s gonna do when he graduates?? He doesn’t really have a certain goal for right now but….hopefully he can figure it out before the end of the semester tbh.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

Best Friends. I SAID IT!!! i know i mentioned lone wolf but listen-- he needs a bestie or two  to fuck things up with or at least someone to treat him like he isn’t just, yeno, a wolf.

‘Bullies’.  This tech could be any blood status but i think, particularly, purebloods would be fun for this. basically when they were younger they picked at him for assorted reasons and eventually told to leave him alone by his parents because of Fenrir Greyback. Probably holds resentment to him because of that. also probably still takes abs at him. --kian being on the edge of chilling and ready to throw a curse at you, some could be fun enemies and/or frenemies at this point.

Hookups. basically fun hookups, angsty hookups, any genders. there isn’t a particular reason just that he likes to hookup -- this is probably something that is just physical. he’s not emotionally available and most likely doesn’t know how to be.

That ONE Person. you know that quote? ‘When is a monster not a monster? oh when you love it.’ I think it’d be nice to have someone that treats him softly-- on equal grounds. Like not scared of him or not here to make fun of him but to be gentle towards him. LIKE YOU KNOW the ones taht are saying ‘well your feelings are important. you are important. you aren’t trash’ ( even tho he is trash sometimes lmao )

Qudditch Buddies. Kian is usually abrassive but when it comes to this sport he is probably the only one in the school with good sportsmanship. he doesn’t care if they win or lose ( he still plays well though he’s not lazyyyy ) he’s just there to have a good time!! I think that’d make him quite likable on the pitch-- probably, as funny as this sounds, a breath of fresh air.