#I forgot Finn's robot arm

[ask-finnris]

|| Fern & Finnris t-pose at Finn ||

[antpony]

They're on a quest together<3

Ignore that I forgot finns robot arm shhh

[lerildeal]

Some Finn for your troubles?

[kaienmoved]

Trans Finn is Pan and trying to find a boyfriend

now youre speakin my language

[geralehane]

who are you wearing?

a concept: an old lady in an old shop selling old costumes for halloween. nothing out of ordinary. except this shop most certainly wasn’t there yesterday, and the lady keeps giggling to herself, and the costumes have a minor peculiarity to them. hint: they transform their wearers into a more real version of that costume. of course they do.

and of course, clarke and lexa have no idea.

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patreon | ko-fi

“I will never understand your obsession with Halloween,” is the first thing Lexa announces when Clarke walks inside their favorite coffee shop near their campus. “But what baffles me even more is the fact that despite your ridiculous obsession with it, you still don’t have a costume.”

“You just had to bring that up, didn’t you?”

Lexa’s green eyes widen with indignation. “That’s the whole reason you called me here,” she points out, and Clarke groans, plopping onto a chair next to her. This is a disaster.

“This is a disaster! I will never find a costume. Halloween is today. What do I do?”

“Again,” Lexa says. “We’ve been over this. I meet you here, we get coffee, we go costume-hunting. Clarke,” she searches blue eyes, her gaze concerned. “Is everything okay?”

Clarke sighs and blows blonde hair from her eyes, propping her cheek up with her hand. “Yeah,” she sighs distractedly. “More or less. This semester is kicking my ass. And I’m pretty sure I failed my psych midterm.”

“Well.” Lexa bends her head down a little so she can catch Clarke’s eyes. When she does, she gives her a small smile and gently pushes hot chocolate towards her, gaze softening when Clarke grumpily takes it and peeks under the cup lid. Her smile only grows when Clarke lights up at having found two marshmallows she was hoping for. “That explains you not having a costume this year.”

“Here you go with bringing that up again.”

“Come on, Clarke.” She looks up at the smile in Lexa’s voice. Green eyes watch her, adoring and warm, and she feels some of her bad mood evaporate. It’s hard to stay upset when you have someone look at you like that.

Too bad that someone only goes as far as simply looking. Clarke sighs again, this time for a whole other reason that, unbeknownst to Lexa, has nothing to do with Halloween and everything to do with her.

She was really looking forward to tonight. Ever since Lexa’s kissed her at the beginning of their sophomore year, she’s been mulling some things over. Things like her recent break-up with Finn and her level of readiness for new relationships.

(And also things like Lexa looking really hot in tank tops.)

Anyway, her thinking resulted in some interesting conclusions and revelations that at first she wasn’t really ready to share with Lexa. But over the course of these two months, she’s been slowly opening herself up to the possibility of accepting Lexa’s offer that the other girl wordlessly left at the table, Clarke’s for the taking. She only hopes it doesn’t have an expiration date.

She also really, really hopes it’s still there to begin with. Or else she’ll look all kinds of stupid kissing Lexa tonight.

Doesn’t matter, though. She’ll look stupid anyway. Because she doesn’t have a costume.

Clarke groans and lets her head fall on her folded arms on the table. She half-sits, half-lays there, unmoving, not phased in the slightest when Lexa starts to carefully poke at her.

“Clarke,” Lexa says again, fond exasperation coloring her voice. “We’ll find you a costume. It won’t be a very good costume, but it’ll be something.”

“Thanks,” Clarke deadpans into her arm. “You ever think about becoming a motivational speaker? Could be a decent source of income if the whole lawyer thing doesn’t work out.”

“Look,” Lexa’s hand on her arm makes her lift her eyes. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t have a costume either.”

“Not really. Now I just feel sorry for both of us.”

Lexa snorts. The sound is so uncharacteristically undignified, and it makes Clarke’s chest flood with warmth. A weird thing to have fuzzy tingles over, sure. But - Lexa’s only ever like this with her. No one else. To Clarke, that’s something to cherish. “Okay. Didn’t think it would come to this, but you leave me no choice.” She pauses, no doubt for a dramatic effect. “I will let you choose my costume this year.”

“Really?!” Clarke jumps up, eyes wide. “Are you serious? Wait, I forgot who I was talking to for a second. Of course you're serious.”

“You’re a riot today,” Lexa notes dryly. “I’m gonna be a robot, aren’t I?”

Clarke scoffs. “Please,” she says. “Give me a little more credit than that.”

//

“Why.” Lexa stares at Clarke through the mirror, and the incredulity of her gaze makes Clarke seriously question her intellectual ability.

“You didn’t have to put it on, you know.”

“I wanted to demonstrate what a bad idea this is.”

Clarke shrugs. “Mission failed,” she lets Lexa know. “I think you look adorable.”

Lexa huffs, folding her arms defensively. “It’s a raccoon onesie,” she points out.

“I know,” Clarke replies in kind, barely resisting from sticking her tongue out at her. “I chose it.”

“Clarke,” Lexa sighs, uncrossing her arms and tugging on a fluffy ear on her hood. “I can’t go in a raccoon onesie.”

Clarke thinks of torturing her just a little bit more, but then reconsiders. Lexa’s already doing a lot for her. Besides, she really does look incredibly cute in this. And, well, in general, but she keeps that thought to herself. For now. “Fine,” she concedes, letting her arms hang lifelessly at her sides. “I give up. I told you we won’t find any good costumes. I’ll just be what I always am at parties. Drunk Clarke.” At Lexa’s disapproving glance, she rolls her eyes. “What? It’s not like I have a choice.”

“Right.” Lexa walks back into the changing room, long fluffy tail trailing after her on the floor. Clarke resists against the urge to step on it and makes a mental note to come back for it later. She sits on a small bench and sighs, waiting for Lexa to change so they can get out of there. This is their fourth store, and so far, nothing. Well, not exactly nothing, per se; a lot of crap, that’s for sure.

Lexa emerges several minutes later, holding the onesie at an arm’s length and glaring at everything and nothing in particular. “We could always wear crappy costumes ironically,” she says. “Pretend we’re being subversive.”

“I don’t want to subvert Halloween,” Clarke protests, rising to her feet. Lexa offers her an elbow, and she takes it, tentatively curling her hand around her bicep. At least something good came out of this whole mess, she thinks. A day with Lexa, followed by a night of partying with Lexa.

She’s not sure she even cares about a stupid costume anymore. But Lexa’s being so attentive - even more so than usual - and she can’t help but milk it for what it’s worth. Hey, she never claimed to be a good person.

“Just ironically, then,” Lexa corrects herself, throwing the onesie over the nearest rack as she confidently leads the way out of the store and into the street. “Or go with some annoying couple’s costume or something.” She’s trying really hard to sound casual, Clarke can tell.

She can tell because Lexa’s failing miserably. And she’s pretty sure she’s about to fail as spectacularly.

“Oh,” she says, cursing inwardly when her voice comes out more high-pitched than usual. “I mean. Oh. I didn’t even think of that.”

Lexa’s face falls slightly, and Clarke just wants to punch herself. She hurries to do damage control. “Because I didn’t want to force you into something you didn’t want to do! Because - I mean - I didn’t want to, uh, to assume anything. Because of… stuff. Us stuff, I mean.” by the time she’s finished with her babble fest, her face feels hot. Lexa keeps silent through all of it, slowing down so that they are standing still when Clarke’s done making a complete fool of herself.

When it’s clear she’s finished talking, Lexa speaks up. “I suggested this precisely because of… us stuff.”

Clarke blinks. “Oh.” And, seriously, can she say something other than that?

Lexa’s studying her carefully, her expression unreadable save for her eyes, vibrant and soft. “Are you - is that okay?” she asks.

“Oh, Lexa,” Clarke breathes out, smiling. All tension is suddenly gone from her body, replaced with relief and excitement, buzzing through her veins. “It’s more than okay,” she murmurs, sliding her hand down to Lexa’s and taking it in her own. Lexa’s fingers automatically lace with her own, and she feels a sweet pang in her chest at that. “I… I’ve been meaning to talk to you about… stuff.”

“Us stuff?” Lexa clarifies, smiling her small smile that Clarke really, really wants to kiss off her face. She swallows, willing herself to stay put. At least buy her dinner first, Griffin, she tells herself sternly. After what you’ve put her through, this is the least you can do.

(There... may have been some casual hook-ups between breaking up with Finn and realizing Grand Things about her relationship with Lexa that she doesn’t want to think about. If the sharp lock of Lexa’s jaw at a mere mention of them is any indication, she probably doesn’t want to think about them, either.)

So she takes a deep breath and smiles again, shyly. “Yes. Definitely us stuff.”

She wants to say something else, she knows she does. She has a speech prepared and everything - but Lexa’s eyes fall down to her lips, hooded and soft, and suddenly her mind is blank. And, really, don’t actions speak louder than words anyway?

She’s already leaning in and closing her eyes, but she’s met with nothing when she hears Lexa’s voice again, a little scratchier and deeper than usual. “I think I found just the place.”

Clarke’s eyes fly open. Well, that was fast. She’s not the type of girl to shy away from putting out on a first date, but - they haven’t even had that date yet.

(Would that really be a bad thing? They’ve known each other for a long time. A year is a long time, right?)

“The place?” she asks, confused.

Lexa’s looking somewhere over her shoulder as she nods, in the direction of her gaze. “I think that’s exactly what you want,” she says. “It closes in twenty minutes, though. We should hurry.”

Clarke turns around, following Lexa’s stare. What she finds has her nearly squealing. And she doesn’t squeal. Ever. “Lexa,” she breathes excitedly. “This is perfect.”

Further down the street, there is a small shop. It’s antique-looking; a little rugged and a little run-down. Its small store windows display a myriad of halloween-themed things, from skulls to witch hats and what Clarke assumes are possible spell ingredients. Above the old, wooden door, there is a neon sign that couldn’t possibly look more out of place.

‘Costumes for every soul’, it flashes ominously and invitingly, luring Clarke in.

“It… actually is,” Lexa mulles. “Very… Halloween-y. It’s like it’s straight out of a Tim Burton movie.”

Clarke’s already walking towards it, her hand firmly holding onto Lexa’s, and Lexa has no choice but to follow.

The inside is even better than the outside, in Clarke’s honest - and totally right - opinion. It’s dusty, old wood creaking and red brick walls uneven. It’s also more spacious than she originally gave it credit for. Lexa’s hand squeezes hers, and she squeezes back, looking around in complete awe.

She’d, like, actually live here.

“This is so cool,” she hears Lexa exhale next to her.

“I thought you didn’t like Halloween.”

“I can appreciate the aesthetics,” Lexa fires back, but, before they can settle into their comfortable banter, loud coughing behind them makes them jump and sharply turn around to face the counter.

They are greeted by the sight of an old lady in a pointy hat, looking at them with a suspicious squint. “Not stealing, are you?” she utters, and her eyes narrow even further.

Clarke shakes her head while Lexa breathes through her nose, indignant. “No, we’re not stealing anything,” she reassures the old lady who doesn’t look like she believes her. “We’re here to find a costume. For both us.”

The lady looks between them. Glances down at their joined hands, and Clarke bristles when her scowl deepens. “A couple’s costume?” she grunts, clearly displeased.

Clarke lifts her chin. “Yes,” she says defiantly, tightening her hand around Lexa’s. “A couple’s costume.”

She prepares herself for the inevitable backlash they are about to face, no doubt. She certainly doesn’t expect a wide smile to appear on the lady’s face, brightening her expression up.

She almost flinches when the woman clasps her hands together, looking positively giddy. “Well, dear,” she exclaims, “why didn’t you say so? No need to be shy in this shop, my sweet girl.” With an agility rarely possessed by people her age, the old lady walks out from behind the counter and hugs them by their shoulders, turning them around and leading them somewhere in the middle of the shop. Her dark-green robe trails after them on the ground. “I’ve just the thing for you, oh,” she leans in conspiratorially, grinning. “You’ll have a lot of fun tonight, my dear girl - a lot of fun!”

In hindsight, that should’ve been their cue to run away and never come back.

Of course, they stay put. “Okay,” Clarke says dubiously, blinking. “But we really just need a decent costume. Two.”

“Well, who d’you wanna be, darlin’?” she only now notices that the woman’s accent is drifting between extremes: Boston, british, southern drawl. Huh, she thinks to herself. She must have been an actress. Or wanted to be one.

“We, are,” Clarke glances at Lexa who’s watching the whole exchange with a small frown. “We’re not sure.”

“Well, that just will not do!” the woman gasps. “A serious matter, darlin’ - now would you like me to find something for ya or do you want to snoop around for a while?”

“We’ll look around,” Lexa finally speaks up, neutrally. “We won’t be long. Thank you.”

“But of course,” the woman’s smile widens even more, if that’s possible. “I shall leave you two to it. Grumpy little thang, that one - you take care of her, sweetheart,” she tells Clarke before turning sharply on her heels and disappearing between racks full of costumes.

“Okay. Let’s get out of here,” Lexa tries to move, but Clarke’s grip on her han becomes iron.

“Lexa,” she chuckles quietly. “Are you scared of that sweet old lady?”

“She’s not sweet, Clarke, she’s unsettling,” Lexa says in a serious tone.

Clarke only laughs harder. “I’m supposed to be the paranoid one, with the amount of horror movies I watch,” she teases Lexa. “Yet, here we are.”

“I just have a bad feeling about this,” Lexa tries weakly. But Clarke’s mind is already made up.

“Come on,” she tugs on her hand. The realization that they’ve been holding hands this entire time spreads pleasant hum through her body, and she eagerly welcomes it, running her thumb across the back of Lexa’s hand soothingly. “We promised we wouldn’t take long. Let’s find something cool.”

//

“So,” Lexa cocks her head to the side, looking Clarke up and down. “A quiet meltdown, an entire day, and five stores later, and you pick the cheesiest costume of all?”

Clarke finishes putting fake blood all over her mouth. “Wow,” she muses out loud. “You are a grumpy little thang.”

Lexa doesn’t even blink. “I am,” she says. “You already knew that.”

“Eh,” Clarke shrugs, readjusting the skirts of her dress. “I’m grumpier.”

Lexa can’t exactly argue, so she sighs and tugs on her black frock coat, critically surveying herself in Clarke’s mirror. “I don’t think I have enough blood on my shirt,” she comments. “I just look like a southern gentleman from the nineteenth century. Not a vampire.” She glances at Clarke again. “Are we really going as vampires?”

“Yup,” Clarke pops the ‘p’ when she answers. She’s almost finished with her make-up - it’s the darkest she’s ever wore it, and she can’t say she hates it. Dial it down a notch, and it could be a great look for dates at a bar.

Or private lapdances. They’ll figure it out. “Victorian vampires. You can’t go wrong with the classics.” Admittedly, she’s a little surprised with her own choice. But there was something about these costumes that hung in the back, looking brand new and perfectly tailored. The old lady practically squealed when she saw them wearing those, too.

The fact that she offered them fifty percent off only made her choice easier.

“There is classic, and there is cheesy,” Lexa notes thoughtfully, still looking at herself in the mirror. Oh, how Clarke gets her, She has trouble taking her eyes off Lexa, too. The frock coat accentuates her slim waist and regal posture. High pants show off her endlessly long legs, and a purposefully disheveled necktie around an open collar gives a lovely view of her slender neck.

Clarke comes up to her and fiddles with her tie some more before dipping her fingers in fake blood and dragging them down that beautiful neck, slowly, watching rich crimson color drip on the pristine white of Lexa’s shirt. And Lexa watches her.

“You do look great, you know,” she murmurs to her, lifting her hand to play with blonde locks. “Curls suit you.”

“They disarm people,” Clarke smirks, and if it’s just a touch wicked, Lexa doesn’t say anything. She’s really feeling this costume, okay? “I’m not really above using that to my advantage,” she says, dropping her voice an octave lower. She’s wearing flats, since she’s pretty sure she’ll constantly trip over her long dress in heels, and that gives Lexa a bigger height advantage than usual. Her shoes also have a small heel, which only serves to make her look taller than Clarke.

She thinks she’s okay with it.

“Spoken like a true Victorian vampire,” Lexa chuckles, her warm, minty breath hitting Clarke’s lips. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s not really that cheesy.” She turns to look at them in the mirror, missing a slightly frustrated look that flashes through blue eyes.

‘Why won’t she just kiss me?’

(‘Is she waiting for a perfect moment, like I was?’)

“Yeah, well,” she voices instead, grabbing a wet wipe and cleaning the blood off her fingers. “With all the Batmans and Robins, we’ll definitely stand out.”

“You’re right,” Lexa gently takes her hand and places it on the inside of her bent elbow, and she smiles, leaning closer. “Now, I don’t know about you, dear,” Lexa drawls - or tries to - in her best British accent, “but I am positively hungry. Shall we show them how it’s done?”

“Yes, we shall,” Clarke chuckles, letting Lexa lead her out the door. “Tasteful mayhem, here we come.”

“And ruckus,” Lexa says. “Don’t forget ruckus.”

“I don’t think that’s the right word.”

“Whatever. I’m Victorian.”

//

“Boo!” Someone with a white sheet draped over them jumps from behind the door and screams out as soon as Clarke and Lexa walk in. Clarke screams back while Lexa drags a hand down her face.

“Raven, what the fuck?!”

Raven - and that’s exactly who it is, considering it’s her house they walked into - tugs the sheet off, grinning at them. “I totally got you, Woods,” she boasts, leaning on her good leg and lifting the cane to wave it in Lexa’s general direction. “Okay, this? Hot. You seeing anyone?”

“Only her sire and eternal lover,” Clarke says, and there is only a hint of joking in her tone. She gestures at herself, twirling so Raven can get a good look. “What do you say?”

Raven’s silent for a fraction of a second. “Hot,” she repeats, this time giving them both a once-over. “Alright, I just need to grab my jacket, and then we can go.” She turns, heading into the kitchen. “Blood kink’s definitely back on the list,” she mutters under her breath.

“What was that, Raven?”

“Nothing!”

Clarke shrugs. “See,” she says to Lexa who’s still shaking her head at Raven’s back. “Told you this is an awesome idea.”

“I’m already sold,” Lexa replies, smiling. “She’s right, you know.”

Clarke hums under her breath. “Right about what?” She’s really enjoying watching the tips of Lexa’s ears grow red.

“You are hot.”

The sound of gagging coming from their left makes them step away from each other - Clarke hasn’t even noticed when they got this close. “Get a room, eternal lover.”

“Get a costume,” Clarke shoots back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Please don’t tell me you’re going as your bedsheet.”

“Alright,” Raven shrugs, rolling the white sheet up and putting it under her arm. “I won’t.” At Clarke’s pointed stare, she scoffs. “Obviously not, Clarke. I’m a ghost! See?” She shakes the sheet in front of Clarke’s nose, laughing when she recoils, scowling.

“I can’t believe we stressed over our costumes so much and you’re going to put a sheet on.”

“If it makes you feel any better, it’s not my bedsheet. I bought it in this weird ass little shop downtown. Two bucks, baby!” Raven exclaims. “Whoa, easy there,” she says next, noticing Lexa flex her jaw muscles in irritation. “She’s all yours. Don’t mean no harm.”

“That’s a double negative.”

“Wow.” Raven gapes at her. “I’m wearing a sheet and I’m still cooler than both of you combined. Tonight’s gonna be so awesome!”

//

Tonight, in fact, does not turn out to be awesome at all. They don’t even make it to the party when something strange happens. And by strange, Clarke means some weird shit is going down.

At first, they feel dizzy. All three of them. Raven staggers first, almost losing her sheet. That’s what prompts her to tug it on. Clarke will never understand how her mind operates sometimes.

Lexa falters next, and Clarke follows immediately after, stopping and rubbing her forehead.

“Whoa,” Raven mumbles from under the sheet. “Headrush.”

“Yeah,” Lexa says. She goes to say something else, but words die in her throat when she stares over Raven’s shoulder who’s come to stand in front of them. “What the fuck?”

Clarke’s not sure what shakes her more - hearing Lexa swear or seeing what she sees next. Right here, in front of her very eyes, is the ugliest mob she’s ever seen. At first, she thinks it’s just a bunch of dudes wearing masks.

Until one of the dudes pins a screaming guy against a tree and bites his arm with his very real, very sharp, very inhuman teeth.

There were children here, on the street, trick-or-treating. Just now. Just a second ago. Where did they go?

Clarke hears a scream. It takes her awhile to realize it’s coming from her.

What the fuck, indeed.

“Come on,” she hears a familiar voice in her ear before she feels strong arms around her. “Let’s get back inside!”

Clarke can’t tear her eyes away from the scene before her. There’s so much blood. Actual blood. Someone runs up to help the poor guy; two men who wrestle the attacker and drag the victim away. So much blood. So much…

Blood…

Blood.

They barely make it back to Raven’s before they all collapse, breath caught from dull pain spreading brought their bodies starting at the center of their stomachs. Clarke briefly wonders if they are about to be sick from what they've witnessed, and then her mind goes blank.

When she rises back up, her finger lazily wiping at her mouth, everything is sharp and vivid and this sticky substance on her lips tastes heavenly.

Blood.

Lexa's eyes find hers, dark and bloodshot.

“Clarke.” Oh, how she missed that sound. Lexa's tongue curling around the edges of her name, ending with a soft click. She’s been deprived of it for a little over a century, and out of all tortures she had to endure in her lifetime, this has proved to be the worst one.

“My love,” she breathes, grasping the back of her neck, trailing her finger up her neck and gathering thick, fresh blood - she always was a messy eater, Clarke thinks with a blissful grin. “I found you.”

Behind them, Raven sits up, clutching her head and groaning. “What the…” she lifts her eyes that widen when they are greeted by the sight of her friends passionately making out right in her hallway.

But that shock is nothing compared to her glancing down and seeing what suspiciously looks like her own body lying lifelessly on the ground while she sits right in the middle of it. Like, right in the middle of it. As if she’s incorporeal, like an actual ghosts.

“What the fuck?!” seems like an appropriate phrase right about now.

She’s still staring at her own body, terrified, when she notices the house has grown silent, save for the sounds of mayhem outside. When she raises her eyes for a second time, she finds Clarke and Lexa studying her with rapt interest, identical smoldering gazes burning through her as Lexa presses her forehead to Clarke’s cheek, biting her lip at Clarke slowly dragging her nails across her jawline.

This is creepy and weirdly sexual. Normally, Raven would be all for that, but right now, with her seemingly dead body on the floor and two of her friends eyeing her like she’s meat on a stick, she’d much rather opt out of all of this.

“Come, darling,” Clarke says in what is actually a really good British accent. “Dinner is served.”

//

Since Raven is a fucking ghost now and Victorian vampires are apparently above drinking from the corpse, dinner party stops before it has a chance to begin. And there is no doubt in Raven’s mind that Clarke and Lexa are actual honest-to-god blood-drinking sun-hating cross-fearing weirdly-into-making-out-against-walls vampires.

The last part throws her off the most, because when they come back to their normal selves - and Raven can’t bear the thought of that not happening - knowing both of them, they are going to blame themselves and take forever to reconcile due to impressive emotional constipation on both ends. She’s surprised they even made it this far in the first place. Well. ‘Going to a Halloween party together’ this far. Not ‘about to have shameful and undoubtedly kinky sex on her couch’ this far. That was not a good far.

“Stop this!” she shouts, trying to haul Lexa off Clarke and helplessly watching as her arms pass right through her. “Lexa, you will regret this tomorrow, I’m telling you.”

Lexa growls. “I do not do regrets, little girl.”

“Yeah, well, you should’ve seen yourself last Christmas.” Raven huffs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Too bad you don’t remember any of it.”

That’s the icing on top of this pile of shit that’s trying to pass as cake. Neither Clarke nor Lexa remember who they actually are. They’ve gone full-on MIstresses of the night or whatever.

And they are about to make the biggest mistake of their lives.

“Lexa, do not... Where’s your hand? Lexa, where’s your damn hand?! Oh my god - don’t bite her! Clarke, don’t you bite her back!”

Where are the Blakes when you need them?

Right on cue, her living room window shatters because a body comes hurling right through it, rolling over on the floor and springing to feet faster than lightning. “Civilians!” the overly excited body shouts in a deep voice, clutching an assault rifle in a confident grip. “We gotta get them to safety!”

“They were safe before you went all Universal Soldier on them, you moron,” a grumpy voice replies before the owner climbs in as well, mindful of the glass. “Raven’s going to kill you.”

“Who’s Raven?”

“She’s standing right in front of you - man, this is some dope shit you’re on,” Octavia informs her brother. The Blakes stare at Raven, one mildly apologetic and another with a blank look on his face.

“Great. Bellamy doesn’t remember anything, either, does he,” Raven says. Octavia shakes her head and walks up to her to give her a quick hug. Of course, she fails miserably. Her blue eyes widen with shock.

“Wha - how?! What the fuck’s going on?”

“You tell me,” Raven mumbles, taking a step back because seeing Octavia’s hand inside her chest is more than a little disturbing. “Let me guess. Bellamy is a soldier for Halloween.”

“Yeah, only he took it to a whole new level,” the last part is sneered at the boy as Octavia scowls. “He broke your goddamn window. Did you see that?”

“Was kinda hard not to. Okay, I have this insane theory that doesn’t make sense, only it’s the only thing that does. So here goes. I’m pretty sure we became our costumes. Like, half an hour ago. Bell’s a soldier,” she nods at Octavia’s brother who stands, unmoving, in a dark-green tank-top and military pants. “I, the idiot I am, went as a ghost,” she waves a hand over herself. “And our resident power couple went as vampires.” As soon as the words are out of her mouth, her eyes widen. “Oh shit. You’re - you guys are alive. Which means they can eat you.”

“Observant,” Clarke comments from the couch, her dress hiked up and half-unzipped, showing off stockings and pale shoulders. Damn, Lexa’s smooth. “I think I like this poor soul, may she never rest in peace.”

“That level of evil is completely unnecessary,” Raven mumbles.

Octavia whistles. “Her accent is actually really impressive.”

Raven doesn’t have time to think of a snappy reply, because Lexa chooses that moment to rise to her feet, eyes glinting with hunger and blood smeared over her neck and shirt. It’s not fake anymore. “Come, love,” she murmurs to Clarke, courteously extending her hand and helping her up. “Let’s feast. You will need all the strength for what I have planned for you tonight.”

“She’s talking about sex, right,” Octavia whispers to Raven.

“You don’t wanna know where Lexa’s hand was before you barged in. Also, I think you need to run. And fast.”

Lexa lets out a low, rumbling growl, her and Clarke slipping into their vampire faces. It’s downright terrifying - the way their foreheads grow bumps and their eyes burn a bright yellow, sharp teeth bared in a snarl. Octavia seems to think so, too, because she lets out an embarrassingly high-pitched shriek. Raven makes a mental note to tease her about it tomorrow.

GIven that they make it out of here alive.

“Out of the way, lady,” Bellamy roars, rushing forward and standing between them and the vampires, his rifle ready. “The no-shooting order is still in place?” he asks, his eyes trained on Clarke and Lexa who are slowly advancing on them, looking amused.

“Don’t shoot!” Raven panics. “You may not remember it, but they are your friends. Well. Kind of.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Bellamy states. Right before Lexa takes him by his neck and throws him into a wall.

“Holy shit!” his sister yelps. “She just threw him into a wall!”

“I know, I was there,” Raven yells back before focusing her eyes on Lexa’s face. Lexa’s terrifying, deformed face. “Lexa,” she tries. “Please, please listen to me. We’re your friends. You lost your memory, but you have to know it somewhere. Me, O, Clarke, even Bellamy, we’re all friends, and if you kill one of them, you will never forgive yourself. Ever.”

Lexa scoffs. “I have no idea who any of you are,” she says. “But I do know what I am.” she throws a quick glance over her shoulder where Clarke is watching her, eyes hooded and smirk lazy. “I am starving.”

“Lexa, please, no!” Raven screams when the vampire lunges at Octavia who ducks and falls to the floor. She watches, helplessly, as she rolls over and tries to fight Lexa off, clutching something in her hand. “Wait, O, you can’t kill her, either!”

“Look!” Octavia cries, thrusting something at Lexa’s face who recoils, caught off-guard. “Look! We’re not lying, just look!”

In her grip, knuckles white from pressure, is a photograph Finn took of all of them last summer. They are at the beach, smiling into the camera - everyone except Lexa who’s looking at Clarke with a soft smile, an arm draped over her shoulder. It must have been knocked off the phone stand when Lexa pushed Clarke to the couch.

“I don’t understand,” Lexa blinks, all earlier aggression gone as she stares at the photo, confused. Clarke joins her, looking over her shoulder and frowning prettily at what she sees. “This is me. And you. With-” she looks up at Raven, flabbergasted. “With them.”

“Slayer!” someone yells outside, and everyone looks out the window where a mismatched mob walks through the street, smashing car windows and mailboxes on their way, lead by a blonde man in a black duster. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

Clarke’s eyes narrow. “Is that William-”

Bellamy swiftly knocking both of them out with a butt of his rifle to the temple is completely out of blue and therefore absolutely in line with the night’s theme. Raven’s not even that surprised. “I don’t hit women,” he says. “But desperate times-”

“Yeah, whatever, Rambo,” she sighs. “Let’s get them tied up and hope duct tape holds up against vampire strength.”

//

“I really am sorry,” Lexa repeats, rubbing her temple. “I don’t actually want to kill your sister. Or throw you into walls.”

“Well,” Clarke speaks up. “Actually.” When everyone’s eyes fall on her, she shrugs. “What? Not all the time. Only when they bring that fine Blake assholery to the table.”

“That sounded wrong on so many levels,” Raven notes, bringing another bag of frozen peas and offering it to Lexa who takes it gratefully, pressing it to her head.

“I’m sorry too,” Bell says, gesturing at Lexa’s hand that holds the peas. “That was so bizarre. LIke being in a dream, while aware of being in a dream.”

“A nightmare, more like it,” Clarke corrects him. “Not that it’s very uncommon here.”

“Is it too late to switch schools?” Lexa asks.

“Afraid so.”

They woke up tied to a pole in Raven’s basement, with Raven and the Blake siblings watching them in tense silence. Clarke was ready to snarl and snap their necks when the same wave of dizzy nausea hit them, and everyone but Octavia doubled over, groaning in pain. When Clarke came to it a second time, Raven was fiercely hugging O and squeezing a dazed Bellamy’s hand who had a small toy rifle in his other one.

Lexa was even more dazed, blinking at her owlishly with hands tied behind her back. “There’s no way that actually happened.”

Except it did.

Now, they are sitting in Raven’s living room after helping her clean up. Bell got a tiny cut on his finger when picking up glass, and Clarke’s never been more relieved to feel sick when a tiny droplet of blood slid down his palm before he wiped it away.

Fucking Sunnydale.

“Well,” Bell clears his throat, standing up. Octavia joins him. “We better get going. The frat is most likely in ruins right now.” He grabs the last cookie from the plate on his way out. “See you guys later.”

“We should probably go back to the dorms, too,” Lexa says. “I really want to change out of this costume.”

“Agreed,” Clarke shudders. “Hey," she says, realizing something. "How come Octavia stayed herself?"

"Oh, that's because she's the only one out of all of us who got her costume at a different shop," Raven replies.

Clarke nods. "Well, Halloween might very well be ruined forever.”

“Yeah, right,” Raven snorts. “Say it to my face a year from now.”

They exchange hugs with her when they leave, and Clarke doesn’t quite catch the words Raven whispers to Lexa, but, judging by Lexa’s faint blush, it’s not something she wants to hear, anyway.

They walk down the street in tense silence, and Clarke’s never thought she’d say this, but Lexa’s presence is heavy and uncomfortable. Halfway through the walk, she has enough.

“Lexa-”

“Clarke-” Apparently, Lexa has the same idea. They look at each other, frozen, before laughing quietly, in unison.

“You go,” Lexa says when they calm down, and Clarke nods.

“Okay.” she takes a deep breath. “Okay.” and then she kisses her.

Lexa’s lips are soft and warm and don’t taste like blood at all. Clarke lets it ground her, lets out a soft sigh and leans even closer, looping her arms around her neck and smiling when she feels Lexa’s hands on the small of her back, tentative and gentle.

It’s bizarre. Kissing Lexa after kissing Lexa. Thinking of Lexa, a girl she met a year ago, and thinking of Lexa, her creation, her love, the one she’s lost over a century ago. Yearning for her - starving for her while being fully aware that the past she has in her head simply does not exist.

But at the same time, it’s the most intense feeling she’s ever experienced, and it might be terrible, but she kind of doesn’t want it to end just yet.

Will these memories ever fade? Will they clash with the life they used to have, or will they entwine each other until it’s all they know?

“Clarke.” Lexa’s lips are red and kiss-bruised. and her shuddering breath sends a shiver down Clarke’s spine, pleasant and sharp. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Lexa,” she says, but Lexa shakes her head, silencing her.

“No, I’m… This is confusing,” she starts quietly. “But - I’m sorry, my love,” gentle fingers under her chin, a thumb smoothing over her jaw. Clarke leans into it, heart bleeding all over. “For waiting so long to find you.”

“So you still remember, too,” Clarke exhales. Lexa watches tears slide down her cheek, slowly and silently, from blue eyes that sparkle with pain and relief.

Great. Not only were she and Lexa forced into a weird modern soulmate tale, her narrative might slip into an annoying flowery kind every now and then.

“Perhaps we’ll forget soon. Perhaps not.” Green eyes are earnest and soft. “Either way, I don’t think I care.”

And that - that’s all Clarke really needs to hear. A confirmation that Lexa’s not about to run off to deal with these overwhelming feelings on her own. A confirmation that Lexa will stay there.

“But you still have to buy me dinner first before putting your hands in… places,” she notes, enjoying Lexa’s blush.

Weird modern soulmate tale doesn’t sound so bad, anyway.

Not bad at all.

Somewhere in the quiet of the night, the wind picks up a faint sound of giggling, carrying it above two girls softly kissing under moonlight.

[heyitssmiller]

Leo is even more confused. What is he supposed to remember? Finn’s face has gone slightly pale. He stares at Leo in disbelief, and his voice cracks when he speaks up again. “He doesn’t…you don’t remember us, Nutty?”

Leo’s heart drops. This man is a stranger — as far as he knows — and yet he wishes he could comfort him. Instead, all Leo can do is give a small shrug. “I’m sorry,” he offers lamely.

Finn’s chest heaves with a sob. He looks from Leo, to Logan, to the doctor and back to Leo. “You’re sure? You’re really sure you don’t know who we are, baby?” His soft brown eyes shine with tears.

Leo is filled with a guilt he doesn’t quite understand. His lips twist involenteraly into a frown. The redhead had called him baby, but the brunette had tried to kiss him. Who was he to these men?

Finn takes a step backwards as if he’s been punched in the stomach. Leo’s doctor holds out her hand. “Okay, why don’t you two take a little break, I’ll talk to Mr. Knut and we can figure this all out.”

Leo watches worriedly as Finn shakes his head. “No,” he whispers. “No, Nutty, Nutter Butter,” he tries to move towards Leo’s bed but Logan blocks him with his arm.

His face has gone as blank as when Leo first woke up. He’s looking at Finn, but his eyes aren’t focused. “Fishy,” he murmers. His voice is too tight. “The doctor says we should go.”

Finn looks down at Logan frantically, his voice raising as tears start to run down his cheeks. “Lo, he doesn’t remember us, he- he doesn’t know who we are!”

At the sound of Finn’s panicked tone a new man comes to the doorway. He has shaggy black hair that falls in front of his grey eyes, and his jaw twitches when he sees Leo. “Come on Harzy, let’s go get some coffee. We can come back in a little bit.”

Finn rounds on the man. “Black, he forgot us. He forgot our names, he forgot our faces, I-I-I-”

Black wraps an arm around Finn. “I know, but it’s gonna be okay. Can I get you some coffee? Yeah? Let me get you some coffee.”

Leo wants to cry too. He wishes he could remember what they wanted him to, but he can’t for the life of him. His doctor has shifted her focus to silently scanning through a few papers. Leo locks eyes with Logan, who is seemingly frozen in the corner.

He looks almost peaceful, standing there. Leo can hear a small voice in the back of his head urging him to reach out to the man, but he doesn’t.

He almost wishes he did.

Instead, an older man strides into the room. “Mon fils.” He addresses Logan. Logan doesn’t look at him. “Il est temps de partir.”

At his words, Logan takes a hesitant step towards exiting the room. The older man grabs his shoulders to steer him out, and Logan lets him, almost robotically.

His doctor starts speaking to him, but Leo isn’t paying attention to her. He’s too busy straining to look out the door into the waiting room. He can see a flash of Finn’s hair, his figure shaking with his sobs. A redheaded young woman sits next to him holding his hand. He watches as the man who took Logan away hugs him, Logan’s body stiff in the embrace.

Leo hurts for these strangers. He doesn’t know what he’s lost, but he does know they’ve lost more. He can’t figure out whether he should laugh or cry at the situation. He wants nothing more than to take away all of their pain, but he can’t. He doesn’t remember how.

THERE’S MORE 🤩

I’M IN LOVE WITH THIS, ANON

[oh-sweet-mama]

𝐑𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞

T.W: !!TROS spoilers!! !!long!!, Sex, swearing, slight angst, I created a new term to fit into the story.

Y/n 

"Help! Get medics!" Rey stumbled out of the falcon. People ran. They screamed. Voices collided together in the air. I needed a glimpse. Just a mere few seconds. His face- the memory was fuzzy.

My Ben was home. My heart throbbed. I remembered how he left me. He became Kylo Ren, the Jedi killer. Yet here he was, with a Jedi. Surrounded by Jedis. Rey, Finn, and Poe carried him out on a stretcher.

A tear slipped from my eye.

"Take care of my son." Admiral Leia begged.

"I will- I will I promise." I sob, holding her hand. Tears flowed down my face. It felt like my mother was dying before me. My body shook. Tremered with pain and loss.

There I saw him, clutching his side as he lay on the stretcher. His tunic was torn, and his was face beat up. Rey ran by his side, yelling incoherent things to him, holding his face.

I felt a twinge of jealousy. Storming off to my ship I board it. Punching a wall, leaving a dent, and knocking down several plants. Scattering dirt across the floor.

"You ok y/n?" Sallow asked. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I nodded silently. Plopping down on a couch to try to choke down my tears. "What's wrong Y/n/n?"

I shook my head. Smashing my fist down on the table. Accidentally breaking a chunk off.

"Now now! Watch the ship! I have to fly this thing!" Sallow tries to calm me down. I laugh.

"Thanks Sallow." I say wiping my tears.

Beep! Boop! Trill!

"Hey SB-3." I pat the small robots head. The droid climbs up my arm, gently nuzzling my head. (BD-1 anyone??).

"Master Y/l/n your presence is requested on the bridge."

"See you later Sallow" I say getting up. Fist bumping the captain.

——

"Come young Padawan, new experience to show you." The boy nodded.

Swiping on the small electronic pad, I read the letter Admiral Leia had left me. I kept my tears at bay the best I could.

Waking briskly down the halls, my Padawan at my side, I took long strides hoping to arrive quickly.

"Where are we going Master Y/l/n?" The teenage boy asked.

"Admiral Leia asked us to escort her son, Master Rey, admiral Poe, and General Finn around camp, ensuring their safety, as they settle into the base, before she-" I bit my lip at the end of my sentence (She sounds like a female Obi-Wan).

We turned a corner, walking into a smaller control room.

We both bowed, bending at the waist. Showing upmost respect for the 'upperclassmen'.

I looked up. Seeing Ben and Rey both sitting together on a couch. Finn and Poe were talking to each other around a map table.

"Good to see you master Y/l/n," Poe bowed, "now would you like to review the map of the new base?"

"Yes of course Admiral, please call me y/n, no need for such tittles." I chucked. We stood around a blue glowing hologram. Showing all of the terrain, structures, and mechanics.

I felt a lingering stare. Unsure of who it was.

Suddenly my padawan leaned into my ear. "Obi-Wan Kenobi is at fault for the rise of Darth Vader." He whispered.

I whirled around. Within seconds the padawans head hit the floor. Sparks popped. Wires and bolts hit the floor.

The force shriveled his lightsaber, biding to my anger. Crushing the Kyber crystal into dust.

I turned back around, putting my lightsaber back on to my belt. The blood stained the edges of my robes.

Silence echoed around the room.

"Another one." I state nonchalantly pain cracking in my voice. Poe looked disheartened. He had taken a liking to Padawan Joshuk.

"Why- why did you kill him?" Ben choked out.

"He was apart of a rising evil in the galaxy. They're robots- or part of one. The first order kidnaps a child, implant prosthetics into them, then sends them out to kill. They are next to try to wipe the galaxy of all force sensitive people, users, and- me." I say.

I was frustrated and annoyed. My heart was being crushed by every passing second.

Ben doesn't remember me, since he is blinded by his love for Rey.

"Listen to me," Ben tilted my chin up to look at him. "I'll love you forever, no matter who I meet, who I become, or what happens."

"I love you Ben, please- please don't leave!" I crash into his chest, sobbing.

"I'll never be truly gone my love, I'll always be by your side, I promise."

The academy burned down,

Luke was gone,

Ben was gone,

Kylo Ren rose,

Ben Solo fell.

I hit my fist on the side of the map table. The light flickered.

"Where do these kids keep coming from?" I think aloud.

"I don't know, but however their being turned, we need to find out a way to stop it." Finn said.

"I spoke to Master Qui-Gon today, he told me many stories of young padawans and force sensitive individuals. Though he's never seen anything of this before." I explain.

"Wait how could you talk to Qui-Gon?" Rey got up in my face. She smelled of sweat and blood.

"Master- Qui-Gon. I am a kosmker. Meaning 'world between worlds walker'," I scan the table looking at the map of camp. Studying infer structure and mechanics.

"I've never heard of that." Ben said behind me. His voice was muffled.

He thinks I'm a murder.

A tear falls from my face. A hand rests on my shoulder. Knowing who it was I didn't panic.

"He doesn't think you're a murder y/n, he's afraid of who he was. My Ben,0  thinks he's a monster. He still loves you Y/n/n."

I shake my head. Letting the tears flow freely. I couldn't hold it back any longer. Poe rubbed my shoulder. Me and him had gotten close.

"I'm sorry," I breathed trying to stop myself from crying. "She's-"

"I know- I know." Poe tried to comfort me. I could hear the pain in his voice.

I took a breath and cleared my throat.

"My apologizes." The room was quiet. "It would be my honor to show you around camp, however Master Ben and Master Rey have had a cruel day, I can show them to their personal quarters, whilst showing admiral Poe and General Finn around camp in depth."

"That would be great y/n." Poe smiled at me. I nodded.

I held the doors open for them.

Boop! Beep! Trill!

"Aw your antenna is bent." I bent the droids antenna back. Earning a happy trill in response. "This is SB-3 everyone, everyone SB-3."

————

"Here is your quarters, Master Ben." I escorted Ben to his room. I had already dropped Poe, Finn, and Rey off.

"Wait, Y/n/n-" Ben grabbed my arm.

"How-" I stumbled on my words.

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry for leaving you- I-" Bens voice cracked, his brown eyes became glassy. I opened the door to his personal quarters. Taking him gently by the hand, I lead him in.

"It's ok Master Ben, you'll be fine, with time, rest, and care." I said to him, leading him over to his bed.

"Please- don't call me Master- I don't even deserve that tittle." He cries.

"Sorry- well I think you deserve the world- Ben." I tell him, trying to be transparent.

"I remember you Y/n/n- I never- ever forgot you- even for a second. I never ever-" he sobbed.

"I saw you and Rey- I felt a connection-" I croaked.

"I know- I know- you- I've realized why the force brought me and Rey together! It wanted- it needed me to find you!" Ben said, he was almost desperate to get his point across. "I love you Y/n/n- I've never stopped loving you ever- I need you! You've held me together all of these years."

Tears were pouring down his face. Pieces of his hair was sticking to his face where he wiped his tears.

I got closer to him. Taking his face into my hands. I wiped my thumb pads over his face wiping the warm tears off his face.

"you love me Ben Solo?" I asked, anxiety rising in my chest. It was almost suffocating me.

"Yes, I'll never stop loving you- ever." He cried.

He hooked an arm around my waist. Pulling me into him. I was thrown back to that night.

"I love you Ben please- please don't leave."

"I love you Ben please- please don't leave." I sobbed.

He held me tighter.

"I never left, I was always by your side, but I'll never leave now." He sobbed into my stomach. I pulled back letting my hair out of the buns on my head.

I tried to get out of his grip. I needed to leave, he was destined to be with Master Rey- not me.

"Don't leave- please don't leave-." He cried.

"Let's get you some new clothes and cleaned up ok Ben." I tried to soothe him.

He nodded still holding onto me like a toddler. I pulled away grabbing his hand. I started the shower. Finding soft scented soaps, and fluffy towels. A fresh set of clothes, just laundered and still warm sat folded on the counter for him.

"Ben," I cooed out to him. "Ben, the water is warm."

I ducked my head out of the bathroom to find the man. I scanned the room.

"Ben?" I was starting to get worried. I heard the door click and he walked in. "Oh there you are. The water is ready for you Ben."

He nodded silently. He wouldn't face me.

"Y/n”

"Please Ben just-" I sighed that was his nick name for me, "just call me y/n- please."

He was ripping my heart out and stomping on it every time he called me 'Y/n/n”

"y/n- where's my mom? I heard her call out to me on exogol. Where. Is. She?" He begged. Distressed.

"Ben- shes- gone, one with the force. She asked me to take care of you. I held her hand-" I choked. "I uh- I have to go-"

I pushed passed him. The hurt. the pain. It was to much. I sped off to my ship. Boarding it. Slamming the door to the private quarters. SB-3 jumped off my shoulder to his work area.

He had found a droid similar to his model on a recent planet we had visited. The still room often was filled with sounds of sparks and metal clanking softly.

I kicked my boots off my feet and tore my robes off my shoulders. Pulling my comforter over my body I tried to hide from the reality of my life.

I let silent tears flow down my face. Curling the knees closer to my chest I tried to drown my breaking heart.

Be-beep-

I looked up. The other droid SB-3 had been working on slowly started to power up.

"SB! You did it!" I whispered out to him.

Soft trills and beeps bounced off the walls from the communicating droids.

I dozed off. Hurt, pain, and loss consuming me.

———

Knock Knock!

"Kid! Come out here please- I know you're not doin' to good- but just please come join us-" sallows muffled voice called from the other side of my door.

I sat up. My head spinning and white stars danced in my vision.

Slumping on the couch, I scan the room for Sallow.

"Ben?" I ask.

"Yes- I- I cant be without you! Please-" he begs me.

I rub my eyes.

"Let's go back to your quarters it's- quieter."

"Ok- here take my hand I don't want to lose you." Ben cooed at me.

I felt my heart flutter. Ben played with the ring on my finger.

I swam through the crowd of the celebrating resistance. Ben had laced his fingers into mine. I could feel the force oddly connecting us. Past Jedi's were murmuring incoherent words and phrases into my ears.

We slipped into the private quarters section of the inside base. Ben punched in his room pin. The door unlocked with a click.

I took a seat on the desk chair across from his bed.

Ben sat on his bed. Looking up at him, my vision cleared and, fully awake, i take in details of his appearance.

He was built like a warrior- a weapon. His tall frame was with padded with muscle. His hair was longer than I had remembered. Still it beautifully framed his face. Which had a few cuts and bruises. Though i noticed his tear stained face, rosy cheeks, and red nose.

"So how are you feeling?" I asked trying to break the silence floating around in the room.

"Better? It's different here, I guess. Loud- yet quiet?" He tried to explain his new surrounding. I chuckled lowly. "That ring- I gave it to you didn't I?"

"Yes, right before you left- you got down on one knee- and proposed your love for me." I sniffled "I've never taken it off- all these years."

Ben stood walking over to me and wrapping his arms around me. I snaked my arms around his neck, holding on with the desire to never let go. Suddenly my back hit his mattress.

Confusion stormed my emotions. He left my lips. Hungrily kissing down my jaw and onto my neck. Leaving hickeys. I realized I had forgotten my robes. Leaving me in my under shirt and jeans.

"Ben?"

"Yes?"

"What- what are you doing?"

"I'm going to rekindle the love we never was lost." He said and continued down my body. Ben unbuttoned my top. "Do you want me- this?"

"Yes?" I whispered out to the air, unsure, of this fate I was approaching. I was never one to have sexual desires. I guess I had always subconsciously saved myself for Ben.

"Why so unsure princess?" He asked.

"Well- I've- I've never uh done anything like this before." I said, almost whispering. He brought it head up with surprise.

"Ever? Have you ever had sex?" He asked. I dropped my eyes, my face heating.

"No-" I mumble

"Have you ever- touched yourself?" Ben seemed surprised.

"No- no not ever- I mean- I wash-" I brought my hands over my chest. He laughed lowly.

"No I meant like pleasure?" I could hear the cocky side of him start to show.

"No-"

"Ok well- I guess I get to enjoy pleasuring you." He hesitates "do you want this?"

I felt a knot in my stomach . I was too afraid I didn't want to admit it, I did want him. I wanted this.

"I- I do- am I- are we supposed to do this?" I asked.

"Yes, I want this- you want this- the force wants this." He says coming back up to my face. I look up at him.

"Rey is in love with you- this might have have to a one-"

"No- it will never be a one time thing, this will be forever." Ben states. I felt his fingers graze the hem of my shirt. I threw my arms up allowing The shirt to be removed from my body.

Ben slipped one hand behind my back unhooking my bra. I felt the chilly air nip at my heated skin. Insecurity crept into the back of my mind causing me to fold my arms over my chest.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I've never had anyone seen me this bare." I said. He gently took my wrists and pinned them above my head. Ben kisses down my jaw leaving hickeys. As he was working down my neck. He lips hit a sensitive spot on my neck I never knew I had.

A moan slips passed my lips. A warm feeling washed over me as Ben sucked on the spot on my neck. The feeling was foreign but good. He worked down my body onto my chest. His left had gently massaged my breast.

"Shit-" I clasped my hand over my mouth not knowing where the profanity had come from.

"It's alright princess- it feels good, don't me ashamed about it."

My face heated up even warmer. He swirled his tongue around my right nipple. Pleasure exploded over my chest causing me to arch my back off his bed.

He kissed down my stomach leaving a darker trail of hickeys. Ben pulled down my pants leaving me nearly naked. My breathing quickened and my heart beat against my sternum.

"Ben, I'm scared." I whispered. Ben crawled up to my face. "I've never done this before."

"It's fine, I won't go down there if you don't want me to this time." Ben whispered.

"Ok, next time?" I said.

"Oh, for sure, and every other time after that." He whispered down my jaw. "Do you still want to?"

"Yea, I love you Ben."

"I know-" he pulled my panties down. Ben pulled his shirt over his head leaving his toned chest bare. He guided my hands on to his chest. I glided my hands over all of his muscles. His skin was soft and twitched every now and then, not used to touch.

He pulled his pants off. I started to feel wet?

"Ben,"

"Yes princess?"

"I'm wet? Down there?" I was embarrassed needless to say. I had never experienced this before.

"That's good, that means you want this." Ben said seductively.

He pulled my panties off, leaving me completely vulnerable under him. I felt an ache? Or a need, a longing. I needed him between my thighs.

Ben grinds his clothed lower half into mind. Earring a desperate whimper from me.

"Ben- Ben, I need you- please!" I moaned.

"Ok well- we might have a slight delay- um since you've never done anything like this before- I might have to prep you- are you ready?" Ben sounded flustered. I looked up at him- his face was red.

"Ok- please- I need- something-" I moaned, getting even more desperate by the second.

Ben lowered down- collecting some of arousal onto his fingers- he stilled right before my entrance.

"Tell me if it ever hurts or feels uncomfortable ok?" Ben instructed me. I nodded.

He inserted one finger- it felt weird- yet it calmed some of the aching fires. Ben added another digit, he slowly pumped. I bit my it stung. He started to scissor inside of me with his fingers- stretching me?

"Ben why do you need to do this?" I asked.

"So I don't hurt you with- with me-." Ben said. He suddenly started to rub a sensitive spot on the outside.

"Shit-" I moaned. Suddenly he stopped. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"Ok you should be good- plus if i go any longer-." He growled lowly.

He came back up to my face, briefly connecting our lips in a passionate kiss. Ben laced our fingers together. "Tell me to stop at any point ok?"

I nodded once again. My legs instinctively wrapped around Bens narrow waist. I could feel him at my entrance once again. I unlaced my fingers from his and wrapped my arms around his neck.

Ben slowly pushes in. He finally stilled. His hips flush against mine. I felt my eye water a bit.

"Ok- move?" I said barley above a whisper. He started a slow pace. It was a mere few seconds before my body exploded with pleasure. I felt the heat creep up through my body. It went to my fingertips. Through my veins. "Shit- Ben-"

I let go of his neck. Gripping the sheets.

He sped up just enough to hit my sweet spot with every thrust. I choked on air.

"Fuck Y/n" Ben moaned in my neck. He started on his trail of hickeys and love bites on my neck again.

There was a tightening in my stomach. I clenched around him. The feeling of having Ben inside was foreign- he was warm- but he was bringing me unbelievable pleasure that I never knew existed.

"I feel it too Y/n- let it go." Ben told me. I didn't know exactly what he was taking about. Suddenly a wave of pleasure knocked my vision into white light.

I was moaning Bens name repeatedly as waves of pleasure ran through me. Ben bucked his hips into mine chasing his white vision.

He suddenly stilled.

"Fuck y/n- shit- that was good-" he moaned. Ben left my heat and grabbed a cloth off of his bed side stand.

"Oh so you were expecting this." I laughed.

"Almost used it for something else." Ben mumbled.

"What was the 'white vision'?" I asked.

"White vision? You mean an orgasm? You don't know what an orgasm is?" Ben look up at me as he was cleaning me up.

"Well I'm sorry I chose the path of the Jedi- I was taught ancient ways."

"Sure like no-sex-no-pleasure kinda way!" He laughed.

"Sure yea! Make fun of me all you want!" I laughed, "Ben?"

"Yes?"

"Will you come cuddle with me?"

"Of course princess."

He dropped the rag on the floor, and we snuggled up together. Ben pulled his comforter up over us.

I love you Ben Solo

I love you too, never won't, now stay with me.

Of course.

3544 words

[withthingsunreal]

hey guys

did y’all know there’s a limit to how many links you can have in a post

adventure time masterpost part one

♥=my favourites Ω=significant plot (though sometimes this is not immediately obvious) ♪=a song happens ♫=a personal fave song happens ¿=just don’t try to think about it too hard okay

SEASON SIX

Ω 6x01/6x02 - Wake Up/Escape from the Citadel [WATCH] - Finn and Jake need to get to the Citadel, and Prismo agrees to help. But the Lich beats them to it, and it seems he's got some plans of his own.

♥ 6x03- James II [WATCH] - An excess of James.

6x04- The Tower [WATCH] [alt]- Finn's missing his arm, so he decides to build a tower into space so he can punch his dad and steal HIS arm instead. Solid plan, right?

¿ 6x05 - Sad Face [WATCH] - A circus, and a clown.

♪ 6x06 - Breezy [WATCH] - Finn's flower isn't doing so well, and Finn himself isn't feeling anything, but his new bee friend Breezy wants to help. Stay tuned for spook (me, that's me) starting a petition to retitle this show 'what the hell did I just watch.'

¿ 6x07 - Food Chain [WATCH] - Finn and Jake learn about the food chain by, um, living it.

6x08- Furniture & Meat [WATCH] - Mo' treasure, mo' problems.

6x09 - The Prince Who Wanted Everything [WATCH] - LSPrincess has a story to share with the Ice King, and LSPrince has a lesson to learn from Fionna the Human.

6x10 - Something Big [WATCH] - Something something Maja something Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant something something feelings?? Listen I don't know what I'm watching anymore ok

♪ 6x11 - Little Brother [WATCH] - Shelby has an accident, ends up with a little brother, and turns to Jake for brotherly advice. Well, giving Finn a sword worked out pretty well...

6x12 - Ocarina [WATCH] - Kim Kil Whan buys the treehouse and tries to teach Jake a lesson about responsibility. It goes suuuper well.

6x13 - Thanks for the Crabapples, Giuseppe [WATCH] - Ice King and his fellow offbeats go on a wizard road trip to form their own secret society.

6x14- Princess Day [WATCH] - Breakfast Princess gets rude with LSP. Mistake! Time for her and Marceline to mess up the Breakfast Kingdom way bad.

6x15 - Nemesis [WATCH] - There's a great evil in the Candy Kingdom which must be stopped.

6x16 - Joshua and Margaret Investigations [WATCH] - Finn and Jake's parents fought monsters, too! Even when their mom was way super about-to-pop pregnant, apparently.

6x17 - Ghost Fly [WATCH] - Jake kills a fly, because flies are disgusting. But ghost flies seem to be worse. Oops?

6x18 - Everything's Jake [WATCH] - Bender searches inside himself and finds that Fry has been with him all along Jake goes on an inner journey, but like, literally. not really spiritually so much.

♥ 6x19 - Is That You? [WATCH] - Jake and Finn mourn Prismo, and then things get super bananas up in their dreamspace.

6x20 - Jake the Brick [WATCH] - Jake observes nature as he spends some time as just another brick in the wall.

6x21 - Dentist [WATCH] - Finn's tooth is in real bad shape, and he has to face facts: it is time for him to Go Dentist.

6x22 - The Cooler [WATCH] - There's a crisis in the Flame Kingdom, and FP makes the (objectively terrible??) decision to turn to PB for help.

6x23 - Pajama Wars [WATCH] - Sleepover in the Candy Kingdom! Nothing terrible is happening.

Ω 6x24 - Evergreen [WATCH] - Master Evergreen and his lizardy minion Gunther attempt to save the world.

¿Ω 6x25 - Astral Plane [WATCH] - Finn goes on an astral adventure, and sees some junk that may be relevant soon.

6x26 - Gold Stars [WATCH] - Sweet P starts school, and makes some new (terrible) friends.

6x27 - The Visitor [WATCH] - Finn follows his dream from Astral Plane and finds his least favourite massive disappointment at the end of the trail.

6x28 - The Mountain [WATCH] - It’s a Lemongrab episode. I don’t know anymore.

6x29 - Dark Purple [WATCH] - Susan Strong and some brave hyoomans on a rescue mission.

6x30 - The Diary [WATCH] - Fandom can be a consuming thing. TV finds an old diary and gets a little too into it.

6x31 - Walnuts & Rain [WATCH] - Finn and Jake get separated and go on different (weird) journeys.

6x32 - Friends Forever [WATCH] - Ice King tries to make himself some new friends. It goes terribly.

6x33 - Jermaine [WATCH] - After Jake has a shared dream with Jermaine, the boys go to visit their brother, who’s still living in their childhood home.

6x34 - Chips and Ice Cream [WATCH] - Chips, chips chips chips. Ice cream ice cream. (A travelling performer passes his curse on to Jake. It doesn’t go well.)

6x35 - Graybles 1000+ [WATCH] - Graybles, again, some more. Apparently the Candy Kingdom is still around however much further in the future, and someone’s still putting up string lights at Marceline’s. So there’s that.

6x36 - Hoots [WATCH] - The Cosmic Owl gets distracted by a mystery lady’s pretty set of tailfeathers.

6x37 - Water Park Prank [WATCH] - Finn and Jake (and the Ice King) spend the day at the water park.

6x38 - You Forgot Your Floaties [WATCH] - Magic Man, up to his usual biz, but this time he’s getting a helping hand from Betty. No way this will go horribly wrong??

6x39 - Be Sweet [WATCH] - For some inexplicable reason, Tree Trunks thinks LSP is a good choice for a babysitter. Yikes.

6x40 - Orgalorg [WATCH] - Gunther and the Gunts throw a houseparty.

6x41 - On the Lam [WATCH] - Martin finds another group of adorable creatures to try to exploit. yay.

6x42/6x43 - Hot Diggity Doom/The Comet [WATCH] - An election in the Candy Kingdom, and an impending catastrophe.

SEASON SEVEN

7x01 - Bonnie & Neddy [WATCH] - The King of Ooo continues his efforts to be the worst. PB has to help someone important to her get back to where he belongs.

7x02 - Varmints [WATCH] - Bubblegum tries to protect her pumpkin patch; Marceline lends a hand.

7x03 - Cherry Cream Soda [WATCH] - A candy citizen comes back from the dead, causing some complications for those he’d left behind.

7x04 - Mama Said [WATCH] - While out on a mission for the King of Ooo, Finn and Jake run into Billy’s ex-gf Canyon and decide to help her out instead.

7x05 - Football [WATCH] - BMO tries to do something nice for a friend. It does not go well.

7x06/7x07 - Stakes: Marceline the Vampire Queen/Everything Stays [WATCH] - Marceline has a favour to ask of PB, which results in her reflecting on the last thousand years of her life.

7x08 - Stakes: Vamps About [WATCH] - Marceline’s old nemeses are back, and she’s absolutely down to take ‘em all on again.

7x09 - Stakes: The Empress Eyes [WATCH] - Targeting the Ice King? Possibly not the greatest plan a vampire could have.

7x10 - Stakes: May I Come In [WATCH] - Jake finds his courage.

7x11 - Stakes: Take Her Back [WATCH] - Marceline’s out of commission, so it’s up to Finn and Jake to take on The Moon.

7x12 - Stakes: Checkmate [WATCH] - Four down, one to go.

♫ 7x13 - Stakes: The Dark Cloud [WATCH] - Marceline has to decide what she’s fighting for.

7x14/7x15 - The More You Moe/The Moe You Know [WATCH (watermarked)] - It's BMO's birthday, and a special guest is coming with a special mission for our lil robot buddy. yay?

7x16 - Summer Showers [WATCH] - Viola helps LSP put on a play, and Jake is super proud.

7x17 - Angel Eyes [WATCH] - BMO bribes Finn and Jake into playing cowboys and bandits.

7x18 - President Porpoise Is Missing! [WATCH] - An undersea authority figure appears to have vanished.

7x19 - Blank-Eyed Girl [WATCH] - Urban legends may or may not be baloney, and may or may not be out to get you.

7x20 - Bad Jubies [WATCH] - One heck of a storm brewing up some real nasty vibes.

7x21 - King's Ransom [WATCH] - Ice King isn't going to let anything stop him from rescuing his best bud, and Finn and Jake have got his back.

7x22 - Scamps [WATCH] - Finn rehabilitates some bad seeds.

7x23 - Crossover [WATCH] - Prismo needs Finn and Jake’s help with a junked-up timeline.

7x24 - The Hall of Egress [WATCH] - A dungeon keeps hitting the reset button every time Finn tries to exit.

7x25 - Flute Spell [WATCH] - Does Finn have a new girl in his life, or is he working on a different sort of magic?

7x26 - The Thin Yellow Line [WATCH] - It Is Okay To Be You, ft. The Banana Guards

7x27 - Broke His Crown [WATCH] - Bonnie and Marcie try to have a dinner date with the IK, but his crown is up to some weird biz.

7x28 - Don’t Look [WATCH] - Finn fails to follow the literal only instruction given.

7x29 - Beyond the Grotto [WATCH] - Sea lard rescue 911

7x30 - Lady Rainicorn of the Crystal Dimension [WATCH] - TV finds a weird box.

7x31 - I Am A Sword [WATCH] - FinnSword gets straight up hijacked.

7x32 - Bun Bun [WATCH] - Remember how Cinnamon Bun used to be... just, like, generally bad? at doing things? okay that but smaller.

7x33 - Normal Man [WATCH] - Normal Man needs some hero help to return Glob to Mars.

7x34 - Elemental [WATCH] - An... ice... princess? kinda??

7x35 - Five Short Tables [WATCH] - Fionna and Cake try to make some artsy-ass flapjacks.

7x36 - The Music Hole [WATCH] - Music happens, some of it on a stage.

7x37 - Daddy-Daughter Card Wars [WATCH] - Charlie helps her Papa work through some card-related stuff.

Ω 7x38/7x39 - Preboot/Reboot [WATCH] - Finn, Jake, and Susan visit a very scientific establishment.

SEASON EIGHT

8x01 - Two Swords [WATCH] - So when a FinnSword and a Grass Sword meet... sometimes some stuff can go the hell down.

8x02 - Do No Harm [WATCH] - Finn and Grass Finn try stuff out.

8x03 - Wheels [WATCH] - Jake tries to connect with his granddaughter by proving he’s cool.

8x04 - High Strangeness [WATCH] - Tree Trunks loves... revolution (｡•`_´•｡)

8x05 - Horse and Ball [WATCH] - James Baxter rides again.

8x06 - Jelly Beans Have Power [WATCH] - PB tries to get a handle on the elemental powers thing.

Ω 8x07 - Islands: The Invitation [WATCH] - Susan sent out a distress signal, and a response has arrived.

8x08 - Islands: Whipple the Happy Dragon [WATCH] - Hazardous seas, or Here There Be Dragons.

Ω 8x09 - Islands: Mysterious Island [WATCH] - Finn gets separated from his friends, but makes a new one.

Ω 8x10 - Islands: Imaginary Resources [WATCH] - BMO helps Finn and Jake get acquainted with the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of virtual reality gaming.

Ω♪ 8x11 - Islands: Hide and Seek [WATCH] - Memories of island life.

Ω 8x12 - Islands: Min & Marty [WATCH] - Minerva Campbell and Martin Mertens get to know each other.

Ω 8x13 - Islands: Helpers [WATCH] - Finn meets his mom.

Ω 8x14 - Islands: The Light Cloud [WATCH] - The conflicting desires to protect your child while also allowing them to grow and thrive.

SEASON NINE

9x01 - Orb [WATCH] - Some very normal dreamscapes on the return journey to Ooo.

9x02 - Elements: Skyhooks [WATCH] - The boys make it home but things are looking... different.

9x03 - Elements: Bespoken For [WATCH] - The Ice King has a story to tell about a hot date he had, and also tangentially the current state of things.

9x04 - Elements: Winter Light [WATCH] - A visit to the Ice Kingdom.

9x05 - Elements: Cloudy [WATCH] - Finn needs to calm down, and Jake needs to potty.

9x06 - Elements: Slime Central [WATCH] - It's Slime Time baybee

9x07 - Elements: Happy Warrior [WATCH] - A normal one in the Flame Kingdom.

9x08 - Elements: Hero Heart [WATCH] - LSP tries to help Finn listen to his hero heart, while PB just wants everyone to be a little bit sweeter.

9x09 - Elements: Skyhooks II [WATCH] - Let's Get Lumpy.

9x10 - Abstract [WATCH] - Jake is wary of some changes in Jermaine.

9x11 - Ketchup [WATCH] - Marceline and BMO catch up on recent events.

9x12 - Fionna and Cake and Fionna [WATCH] - Ice King gets to hang with the REAL Fionna.

9x13 - Whispers [WATCH] - Finn and Fern help Sweet Pea with some nightmares.

9x14 - Three Buckets [WATCH] - Finn and Fern spend some uhhh quality time together

SEASON TEN

10x01 - The Wild Hunt [WATCH] - Huntress Wizard needs some assistance, and Finn has some junk to work through.

10x02 - Always BMO Closing [WATCH] - BMO and Ice King team up to become a door-to-door salesman.

10x03 - Son of Rap Bear [WATCH] - FP needs to work on her rap game.

10x04 - Bonnibel Bubblegum [WATCH] - Family junk is complicated.

10x05 - Seventeen [WATCH] - It’s Finn’s birthday! Let’s get Arthurian up in here.

10x06 - Ring of Fire [WATCH] - The marvelous misadventures of Tree Trunks.

10x07 - Marcy + Hunson [WATCH] - Marceline’s dad is in town and totally embarrassing her again.

10x08 - The First Investigation [WATCH] - Finn and Jake look into some haunted happenings at Joshua and Margaret Investigations

10x09 - Blenanas [WATCH] - Finn wants the highest possible authority to weigh in on whether or not he is funny.

10x10 - Jake the Starchild [WATCH] - Jake’s gotta save the world. No, a different one.

10x11 - Temple of Mars [WATCH] - Jermaine and Finn gotta rescue Jake, and in the process maybe help Betty work through some things.

10x12 - Gumbaldia [WATCH] - Peace talks.

♥Ω♫ 10x13 - Come Along With Me [WATCH] - Everything stays, but it still changes.

[fourdaysofrain]

ok the au is this: they are all Star Wars characters. Who is who?? Headcanons?? (Stephen Strange is Jar Jar Binks bcs I hate him but that's it)

I haven’t been on Tumblr in ages but I happened to see this notif and I’ve gotta try. I have never seen a single Star Wars movie. My only direct interaction with Star Wars was when I played the Lego Star Wars video game with my brother when I was like, 8 years old. So, that’s my level of knowledge. Let’s do this.

Peter is Luke Skywalker (Is that Mark Hamill?) because he’s the protagonist. They are also both pretty, in an approachable way.

Tony is Obi-Wan because isn’t that like, Luke’s space mentor? Padawan? I feel like they both have redemptive arcs. Also I’m pretty sure Obi-Wan lives in a desert, and Tony went to a desert once in 2008.

Wait, actually Peter and Ned are R2D2 and C3PO because they’re best friends. I don’t want to make Ned a robot while Peter gets to be a human because that’s unfair. They can both be robots. Unless Luke has like, a human best friend. In which case, that’s Ned.

I really don’t want to pigeonhole MJ as Princess Leia because that’s so reductive, but I don’t know any other main characters in Star Wars.

Or wait, I forgot about the newer movies. Maybe it can be like, Rey, Finn, and Poe are Peter, MJ, and Ned (In that order? I know nothing about these three besides the fact that John Boyega is cool as hell). I also haven’t seen any of new movies.

Dr. Strange could also be the guy with four arms (Is that General Grevious?) because he does that arm thing every once in a while.

I’m trying to think of other characters in either universe... Thanos could be Darth Vader because they’re both villains? Where’s the Thanos biodad!AU?

Mysterio can be that guy that Hans Shot First.

The rest of the AcaDec team can be the cantina band, idk.

As for headcanons:

- Peter makes his own light saber and it’s sick af

- That’s it, that’s all I can think of

[slushrottweiler]

Reactions to Ep.1 of Andromeda Six

Because @gilliandaye asked me to live blog my reactions. I forgot, so I replayed six times and made stupid notes.

Pretty background art

Oh look, I have amnesia… great 

Enter first LI:I like your vest

MC is handling this situation A LOT better than I would

I can't get over the June has the same name as my grandma

"Your legs give out" sure MC, defs not a ploy to get the hot space cowboy to catch you

Ahhh his blush is adorable!

Oh so he can blush and smoulder. That's just not fair

Ahhh hello Not-Liara

She seems nice but I'm never one d or the tranquil LIs. Too put together. 

Why would asking me questions randomly prompt my memory? That's not how memory loss works.

Oh no, dark past incoming

Eh, not gonna flirt. If I wanna hang with a pretty blue skinned genius, Ill play Mass effect

You're a doctor! Walk me to my room?

No shit your lost MC

Yay the fun, energetic one

Omg Look at his robot arm!

Holy shit every VN I play and like has 1 character with a missing arm. Lucio, Finn and now Bash. We gotta branch out…

Dude, stop calling me Kid, I Am Older Than You!

I like your tattoos handsome

Hehe, he's fun

Flirt! Flirt HARD! 

Bet your arm has vibration settings

No don't leave me with the hot assassin

Hello tall, dark and cliche

Oh no… I like the cliche 

They've got snark and banter I'm doomed

Why does this ship need an assassin. What do you people do???

I CHALLENGE  YOU! 

Fuck, he called me Princess. Im a total goner

I want to choose the snarky flirt option, but the other one ends with me pinned to a wall and I'm trash for it

I now have 2 save files

Captain on deck

So he's the grumpy one

Let me worm my way into your heart until you find me begrudgingly endearing.

I kinda wanna boop him on the nose…

Im gonna ruin this man

Bitch please you're not my supervisor - oh wait

FENRIS!!! My bloody elf husband has moved up in the world

They suspect I'm from Goldis; royal family mysteriously dead and me with amnesia. I'm sorry when did I start watching Anastasia?

Lol, he just want to watch me walk away. 

He has a cute smirk sprite

Ayame I love you please marry me

Pfft they aren't dating 

Called it

Shes the earnest tease, whilst bash is the playfil tease.

Oh shit she's holding me chin 

Top me tiny space mermaid!!!

Oh no! Mama-Ryo is mad. RUN AWAY

Crap I have to pick only 1!

I now have five additional save files

June is so soft and wholesome. I hope he's got a more complicated thing coz right now he's almost too good. And this is coming from a Superman fan.

Bash get out of my bed!

Bash get in to my bed!!!

I bet he gives good hugs

Crap I really like Damon

It's a cliche for a reason ok! 

The fact that he's tired enough for his banter to slip up is too cute. Sleepy Damon come snooze with me

Boi I'm not sleeping with you just like that. Buy me dinner first.

He called me Your Highness in a snarky insult voice and I'm so done for. 

Oh so now you're sorry Captain

Crap I'm getting Cullen-vibes from him. 

Look at you. Trying to backtrack like a mother fucker

Fine, just because I wanna see your blush sprite

Aya is so cute.

So much bi girl drama, do I wanna be you, be your bff, or climb you like a tree???

(D) all of the above 

Yes Aya, you are defs Baby

Music box talk - oh I am SOOOOO lost royalty

Am I remembering this voice or an I legit telepathic? I can sense the force oooohhhhhh

Yeah this is super Anastasia-y right down to the fancy music box being returned by my LI. 

Favs so far: Damon, Calderon & Bash

[melmac78]

A silly TAG story

(This is a really silly TAG story, caused by lots of weird dreams while trying to recover from a minor illness.)

*********************

Alan Tracy was enjoying a nice tall glass of frosty root beer with cherries as he played his latest attempt at “Space Spartans.”

He had always wanted to beat his Dad’s score, but when it came time to face the rounds larger enemy aircraft, he always seemed to get interru…

“Thunderbird Five to Alan!,” said John, who decided to cut out the game and put his image there instead.

Right when Alan was about to beat the top score of 750…

Always 749, he growled.

Right now though, there were more important things to worry about. “What’s up John?” Alan queried.

“It’s Virgil… he’s down but I haven’t figured out why,” said John. “He’s located in the kitchen. Go help him.”

Alan jumped up and ran to a special chute that let him get down to the lounge area and kitchen in a hurry - for emergencies. He grabbed the handrail, did a hop and slid.

He hit the floor however with a ringing thump… complete, to Alan’s confusion, a ringing, thumping sound.

The youth rubbed his backside and went over to Virgil. *I rubbed my tuchus and then went over to the scene...*

He ignored the voice, which he thought was in his head, and found Virgil, lying unconscious on the ground…

Oddly covered in duck feathers.

“Virgil, you OK?” said Alan...

*There was Virgil! He was down… in down…* said the voice again.

This time however, it made Alan jump. “Who said that?” quirered Alan.

“I did,” said the voice, louder this time, and popped up an image of a metal man. “Name’s Spanner… Dick Spanner, P.I..”

“OK, I’m Alan, and this is my brother, Virgil,” said the youth as he checked Virgil over. “He’d say hi except he’s unconscious.”

The… robot’s? … eyes spun. “Naturally,” he quipped. “Listen, I saw the foul fowl that hit your brother…”

Alan did a double take. “Wait? He got knocked out by a duck?!” said the youth. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because he’s right behind you, complete with a monkey wrench,” said Spanner… who along with Alan turned to see that there was indeed a Mallard with a monkey wrench. “Darn it… I knew I missed something…”

The human was more concerned the monkey wrench was a real monkey made of metal and had claws like the wrench.

So did Virgil, who had come to at the time. He took a look at the mean mallard, the weird wrench, and then the holographic robot.

He did the only logical thing at the moment.

Decided to faint again.

Spanner quietly nodded to the youth. “There’s only one thing you can do… use the Zippo Tranquilizer Dart in your pocket.”

“What?” said Alan, who dug into his pocket.

Instead of a tranquilizer dart, he found an apple pie.

“Hell’s Bells! I thought I had given you the right item,” said Spanner.

Alan however shrugged and threw the pie at the duck and monkey wrench… hitting them in the face.

The duck wiped off the concoction from its face and got ready to attack.

The youth was ready to defend his brother… but then looked confused as the duck and monkey then collapsed to the ground, out cold. “Huh, that’s weird,” said Alan as he walked over to check the two.

Spanner also was confused. “I’ve see someone pie-eyed, but that’s a bit overboard for shut-eye-pie” said the robot, who groaned, realized even for *him* that was a bad play on words.

Alan however grabbed the pie plate and frowned. “Says Finn…” said the youth, puzzled.

The PI robot shook his head, figuring another item he missed. “Of course! I forgot Mickey made pies,” he said.

“Wait… Mickey … Finn? As in a drugged pie?”

“Yeah… well, at least this time one of my oddly odd pocket items had a bonus benefit,” said Spanner. “At least it wasn’t the banana again.”

Alan started to say something, when he heard his brother groan. “Virgil? You OK?” he said to the rousing man.

Virgil opened his eyes. “Um… yeah, I think. Did a duck attack me?” he said, and at his brother’s nod, then looked at the various green feathers on him. “Huh, that’s a new one.”

He then saw the snoozing poultry and shook his head. “How did you get him?”

“I got a pie from pi… or um, a PI,” said Alan, and when Virgil quirked an eyebrow at the odd pun, the youth gestured to the metallic man in the holograph.

“Um… thanks, I guess.” What else could Virgil say.

“Glad to be of help,” said the metallic man. “It’s nice to solve a case once in a while… even if it takes a literal millennia.”

“Right…” muttered Virgil.

Alan however sucked on his fingers and quickly checked on his brother. “Looks like you got a knock on the noggin,” said the youngest gently brushing the bruise.

Spanner started rambling, saying something about forgetting a note about the pie….

Virgil winced at his brother’s touch. “I’m fine Alan,” he said, brushing off his brother’s helping hand. “We need to box the duck before he comes to… and I'm guessing the uh, wrench too...”

Alan paused then pulled his fingers from his mouth. “Nah, better have John inst …”

The older brother grabbed the younger’s hand instead. “Um… Alan, which hand did you pick up the pie?” he said, concerned.

“My rig…” said Alan, then realized paled at the crumbs between his fingers. “Uh... oh…”

The robot then opened up his eyes, snapping his metallic fingers. “Oh yeah! One of Mickey Finn’s pies is lights out for up to three people!” he said.

Virgil and Alan looked at each other. “Three?” said Alan, looking at the two critters on the ground.

Spanner realized his mistake. “Oh boy, not again…” he said, hand over his eyes.

It was too late for Alan, who felt the world growing dark...

Strong hands grabbed him around the shoulder as he fell. “Alan…” said Virgil. “Can you hear me?...”

“Come on kid… wake up…” said the robot, voice softening as darkness descended.

**********

“Come on kid… wake up…” said the voice again, only younger.

Hmm… it was odd that the robot had sounded like Scott only about 20 years older and after waking up from tonsillitis. That gravelly voice stuck with him to that day.

The youngest was confused but another voice continued. “Scott, EOS said he’s regaining consciousness.”

Regaining cons… oh, that’s why no rug on the floor.

Alan realized it was him they were talking about, stirred and opened his eyes, seeing Scott and Virgil with John’s hologram hovering. “Um… hi,” he said, confused. “Why am I on the ground?”

Scott chuckled. “Because you slid on a pillow, fell and knocked yourself out,” he said as he shook his head.

Alan however found himself more confused. “Ok, but it doesn’t explain why am I covered in feathers, and apple pie goo?”

Virgil merely chortled as he looked at Alan’s eyes. “Well… that’s a special UFO that a Shado hit you with,” he said. Seeing Alan’s perplexed look, he clarified. “Gordon hit you with an apple pie and a feather pillow, not sure what order.”

The youngest groaned, hand over his yes. “Oh brother. The pie wasn’t made by Mickey Finn was it?” he said, confused.

The elder trio looked at each other and then at their youngest brother. “Alan, Gordon may be mean, but he wouldn’t create a drugged apple pie,” said John. “Where would you get a silly idea like that?”

Alan pointed at Scott. “Him… well a robot that sounded like him 20 years older and as though he ate a Brillo pad washed down with a glass of Beverly soda,” he said, wincing in memory of the bitter licorice tasting beverage.

He then shrugged. “Maybe that's why he sounded so rough. At least Scott has more sense than the PI. Not as bad with puns either.”

Scott shook his head, not sure if that was a compliment or not. “OK, well, I think it’s time you get to the infirmary. Brains said he needed to do a scan of you to make sure no severe concussion,” he said.

Alan groaned. “Man, not that one with the two green rings. I keep thinking he’s doing some sort of secret to clone me,” he said.

“Yes Alan - Brains is going to create multiple clones of you to do his bidding. I mean, that’s how I stayed conscious and indestructible in 25Gs,” quipped John. Seeing Alan’s shocked look, the astronaut laughed. “Just kidding, I’m not Captain Scarlet or anything.”

“No you’re Captain Magenta,” said a new voice. “No… Ochre. You’d choose bland and boring over pink any day.”

The others laughed while John rolled his eyes, choosing to sign off before he turned the “Symphony” of humor on Gordon.

The aquanaut then put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, helping him stand. “I’m sorry Alan, I didn’t mean to harm you,” he said.

“It was an accident,” said Alan. “But thank you.”

The aquanaut smiled. “And, as a way of groveling, I plan on taking you down to the infirmary myself and wait on you hand and foot for a week,” he said, putting an arm around his brother’s shoulder to assist.

Alan quirked an eyebrow. “Wait on me hand and foot? Where did that come from?”

Gordon glanced askance. “Three brothers who said they’d try to make me fit in the little Stingray in the aquarium if I didn’t,” he said cheekily. “Come on, let’s go.”

Shortly afterward, they reached the chute that would take them not only to Thunderbird Four but the infirmary.

Sure, Gordon was very, very sincere in his comments wanting to help Alan get well soon from an honest mistake.

But there was one more set of reasons: He had to figure out who this Dick Spanner was, why all the bad puns, and finally…

Why would someone knock out Virgil with a duck in the first place?

[acearchivist359]

My Rise of Skywalker Opinions/Commentary

this is mostly for me but and for my other blog (not on tumblr) but I thought I’d post it here too cause why not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ happy Star Ways Day fellow humans, may the force be with you 

   Okay so here's something I have a lot of opinions about. I'm gonna have to say right off the bat, I didn't like Rise of Skywalker. Being said though, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. I've seen it twice by now, I wrote my notes having seen it once, I've had lengthy debates about it with multiple people ranging from one of my parent's friends to one of my best friends to my little brother. I saw it like the day after it came out, I wrote my notes on January 1st, so I've sat with this for awhile and I'd sat with the movie before I wrote them. I kinda forgot about it all for a bit cause I blocked it out of my head and then I thought it might be too late to post it but I put a lot of, frankly chaotic, effort into my notes and I figured when it came on Disney+ people might start talking about it again so here we are.  Now I'm still using my original notes, which I added to after seeing it the second time, cause I have no desire to watch this movie again. I really don't. I honestly wouldn't have even seen it twice but I had told my grandma I'd go with her cause she loves Star Wars and she had no one to go with. My grandma loved it, but my grandma loves them all "because it's Star Wars." My mom also saw it and liked it, she's only seen the originals though and had no idea what was going on. I, on the other hand, spent a lot of time hitting myself in the head (the first time round) and there was a few occasions where I honestly said "what the fuck??" out loud in the theatre.  So one more thing I have to note, I feel the same way about the whole trilogy I don't really like any of them and I never did. But I'm not entirely just looking at this as one movie, a lot of what I've got to say looks at this as the end of the "Skywalker Saga" cause that’s what it is. I also have some things that go back through the entire trilogy but this is mainly based around TROS since it's the most recent and I refuse to watch the others to make notes on them. Also, I'm aware of the problem they had with the whole George Lucas vs. Rian Johnson thing and how they wrote them separately, however I'm still gonna call them out on things they should have done to tie things together from the beginning cause that was a really dumb way to do things anyway. Plus like I said I'm looking more big picture on a lot of things (mostly cause there's major plotlines that I hated). One of these days, I'll make a positive review but it won't be about the sequel trilogy, I'll tell you that much.  With all that said, I vote that I get on with this. Just for reference though, none of this is in chronological order. There are some things I did like about this movie, I will give it that, so I feel like we should start there. Small Positive Things:

The first thing I put in my notes is just "Finn and Poe" and honestly that's still a mood. I really liked them in this one and I really saw why people ship them.

The next point in my notes just says "death star" which boils down to two different things: the aesthetic and the Imperial March

I know I said positive things but I didn't think of it in my notes and I need to address this. You're telling me that the Death Star exploded but there's still that big of a piece in tact??? But whatever not the point.

The aesthetic: vague continuity thing aside, I fucking love the Death Star in this I really do. It looks awesome. It's really cool to see this broken down, abandoned version of the Death Star. I loved the Stormtrooper helmets scattered on the ground, for some reason that part really stuck in my head. Being said though I generally love the old Stormtrooper helmets, the First Order ones just don't do it for me, but seeing them scattered around.. Idk it was a nice touch I think

Imperial March: so like the Imperial March is the shit, obviously, but that soft, subtle hint of it in that scene as Rey steps into the throne room is one of the only parts of that movie that made me hit my brother's arm in excitement (we do that at the movies, it's our thing). It reminds me of that thing they do in Clone Wars when Anakin does something just a little Darth Vader.

Right so the next thing I had was that part where Kylo Ren finds Palpatine and he      switches from his voice to Snoke's to Darth Vader's.

It was a little thing but I liked it a lot. As far as having to tie it all together, the idea that it was actually Palpatine manipulating Ren wasn't so bad. (That being said the       whole how Palpatine is around thing is pretty far fetched, but they tried.)

My next thing, and this I actually laughed at as opposed to like confused laughter, is the part where they get back from their little mission to find the map to whatever the place was called and Threepio introduces himself to Artoo and Artoo literally does a double take and backs up like "what the fuck??? " That was such a human expression for a robot, it was hilarious. Also Threepio being like "You're not messing with my head!" *cuts to Artoo messing with Threepio's head* Basically anything Artoo cause I love him.

Again tiny random thing, but the Jet Troopers and the Sith Troopers were really cool. Me and my brother quote the "they fly now??" "they fly now!" part all the time. Also just like red Stormtroopers..

So here's a thing that gave me feelings. (I'd like to just point out that this is one of the      only things that gave me feelings and it's about to be clear why.) Chewie finding out Leia died. That hurt my heart. I knew that they couldn't possibly go through that movie without having Leia die, and I said this before the movie ever came out. What I said before was that they really had two options: they could have Leia die off screen which would have been disrespectful to both Carrie Fisher and Leia or she could just sorta disappear which would have also been bad. However they gave her the death scene she deserved. I mean sort of, jury's out on it really. But Chewie making sad noises and falling to his knees hurt me. Similarly Artoo beeping at her sadly made me weepy. (The Anakin in me really jumps out whenever Artoo comes up but like I love him)

I honestly have nothing else to say for this point besides: I can't believe Harrison      Ford agreed to do that

I just wanna touch on Poe again cause he was always my favourite of the new characters, I wasn't really  connected with any of them (which is so uncommon for me) but Poe was my favourite cause he was funny. He was really good in this one, I thought he was funny, again him and Finn had a brilliant thing going. For whatever      reason this one made me appreciate Poe more.

I have some (general) grievances to air out now

I have to say one thing that really irks me about this trilogy is that none of the original characters reunite. The exception of which being everyone and Chewie. Also are we counting Luke and Leia's? I guess in the end they end up reunited in the force in the end either way but still. I mean really Han and Leia have their scene together, and I love that scene, but other than that nothing. No Han and Lando, no Han and Luke reunion. Han and Luke is the one that bothers me though cause them and Leia are the trio and Han and Luke are the only ones that don't reunite. We never see Leia and Lando together on screen either. It's a crime.

I don't know how I feel about Hux being the spy. I feel like it was just kinda lame, you know? Pretty predictable when you think about it, would have been cooler if he wasn't the spy. Seemed like it was just comic relief when it should have been a plot point.

I think it would have been cool if there were more Jedi in the final scene. Like all those Jedi voices spoke to Rey, but only Luke and Leia are there at the end? I get the symbolism with the lightsabers and Luke's place and all that, but still. Like at least, you know, Obi Wan or Anakin. This is one of those full circle things but still, I think it would have been a cool scene.

Okay so this is just me being petty but like I don't care it bothers me. The fact that they keep acting like the lightsaber Rey has is Luke's when it's actually Anakin's bothers me. I know it's a little thing and Not Important but it's dumb. Cause it's not Luke's lightsaber, Luke made his own later on.

Also the fact that they started calling it Rey's lightsaber annoys me so much for the       same reason. She has her own lightsaber now, leave Anakin's alone.

Okay so, we have reached the point where I start talking about things a bit more, bear with me (if people even bother to read this at all idc this is mostly just for me to rant and stuff):

So like look, I'll be the first to say not a Kylo Ren fan. He had potential, I will give him that, and that's where I'm going with this. The other movies had him as this whiny, try hard, Darth Vader wannabe and I just really didn't vibe with that. I mean this is the first real villian since Darth Vader (not counting palpsy during the prequels cause he was just behind the scenes and every movie had a different Bad Guy) and he throws a temper tantrum. Those stormtroopers were hilarious but still. But anyway, did not expect to come out of this movie having wished Kylo Ren was in it more. If they had had him be the way he was in this one the whole time, I might have actually liked him. He did some cool stuff for once in this one so let's discuss that:

I talk about things being full circle a lot (but with movies as nostalgic as Star Wars there should be full circle, fight me) but him fighting with Anakin's lightsaber was very full circle

I do like that it was Leia's death that triggered his return to the light side (I mean I'll get into some things about that later) as opposed to some romance bullshit with Rey. I really don't ship them, like at all, and I think it makes it more compelling that it was his mother's death instead.

He did some cool shit at the beginning, that fight scene was cool. I like the part where he slams the guy down on the ground, don't ask me why I have no idea. I saw it in the trailer and I liked it.

The Han Solo in him really jumped out in the end there and it was really entertaining

The fight with the Knights of Ren was really cool (besides that one jump thing he       did cause I see where they were going with it but it just didn't look as good)

What was definitely cool is the part where he pulls the lightsaber out from behind his back, that was a cool move

Alright so here's my thing and this is gonna make me sound bad probably but like as already established, I don't really like the new characters as much. I just didn't connect with them on the same level as the past trilogies characters, which is fine it's whatever. But I am just gonna say it, I don't really like Rey. But here's my thing, I've always been indifferent towards her but like not really caring either was but there are some things she did in this one that just.. bothered me so this being my platform I'm gonna talk about it.

So the thing with Star Wars movies for me and most people is the family feel right. But like Rey just goes off on her own and ditches Finn, Poe, Chewie and Threepio all the time and like I get that she's sensing something or she wants to get to the death star but she could say something instead of just.. disappearing

Okay so here's another thing, and I know they wanted to find a way to tie it back to the originals but….. a Palpatine?? There are so many other characters they could have gone with but it's like they just wanted to do the 'watch the light side defeat the dark side' thing in as many ways as possible in one movie (Which I'll talk more about later)

Alright so here's my last solely Rey related point and like I don't know where people stand on this cause they seem to either love it or hate it. But Rey Skywalker?? Here's my thing, I've a really hard time getting past the Palpatine thing on that one. But also is that supposed to be the Rise of Skywalker? Because I don't know that I consider that to be rising for her.

Alright, on the topic of the light side vs. dark side thing. Yes I am aware that this is a fundamental part of Star Wars and always has been. However they did it in two      different ways in the same movie. Here's the thing I don't like Rey or Kylo Ren over each other, I have the same level of indifference with both of them. So this isn't me being a Ben Solo stan, promise cause I could not possibly care less if they bring him back, I'm not gonna fight them on it. But the storyline of him overcoming the dark side, would have been more interesting to me. Because I knew Rey wasn't gonna go to the dark side, this is Star Wars. But I wish we could have seen Kylo/Ben struggle with the dark side vs the light side more. I mean they gave us such a good look at it with Anakin, we watched him struggle and fall. That to me would have been rising.

Not to mention Palpsy literally just tries to use the same trick on Rey that he       already tried to use on Luke. That's not full circle, that's Palps being dumb.

Okay, now for the full circle nonsense I keep talking about. The thing with this is that it probably would have been the things you do over two movies and not just the one but just cause they didn't write them that way doesn't mean I can't imagine it.

For one thing, I'd have had Ben kill Palpatine.

Hear me out: Palps himself refers to Ben as the "Last of the Skywalkers" and given that Palpatine is the reason behind all the Skywalker drama from the beginning. With that being said, having the last of the Skywalkers kill Palpatine and thus end his insane, saga long reign over the universe would have been amazing

Not to mention this would be finishing what his grandfather started which was his thing the whole time. Anakin tried to kill Palpatine at the end, and having the last Skywalker, the last of Anakin's blood genuinely finish what he started would have brought the whole thing to an end

Along the same lines as that, the power the all of the Jedi scene would have in that case (and I'm saying this like he was good for more than the last 10 minutes of the movie) been so much more powerful. To have him hear Anakin's voice, like he always wanted but guiding him towards the light instead. Not to mention his mother.

And also, small thing but on the topic of finishing what Anakin started and all that but his grandson, the last of his blood (I'm gonna keep using that) using his lightsaber, the very one he had when he first fell to the dark side, to kill Palpatine once and for all would have been one of those full circle moments that I expected the movie to have more of.

 SO yeah that's everything, all my thoughts and feelings. This literally took me forever to finish. It's been like 5 months but it's Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with You!) so I had to cram to get it done or I'd die. Plus once it started to get away from when the movie actually came out, I figured I'd wait for it to come out on Disney+ and it has so here we are. I'm glad to be done with this and get it all out cause I honestly just don't care for that movie. I'd rather watch Clone Wars (the finale was soooo good).  Anyways, peace out and may the force be with you, always!  -Moony

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

2, 20, 31, 33 and 37 for the asks thing, please!

Yay! Ok!

2: What would you name your future kids?

Now, for girls, the names change frequently, but a few stay solid. The boy names are all pretty much the same as they were a while ago, but a few have changed.

Boys: Daniel Henry (my dad’s name), Jasper, Levi, and Finn. I always promised my dad I would name a kid after him as I was named after him initial-wise and want to keep the namesake going. Jasper is admittedly my favorite from Twilight. Levi is a great name in my mind so it’s just always kinda been there. Finn is another that’s always been there as I used to read Huckleberry Finn growing up and it stuck pretty hard.

Girls: Aurelia, Blair, Luna and Athena. Aurelia means gold and it was Julius Ceaser’s mom. Blair was from (can’t believe I’m admitting this) Barbie Princess Charm School. Luna is my favorite from Harry Potter, but also the moon in Spanish and I love that name. Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and, after reading Percy Jackson and falling in love with learning Greek mythology, I’ve kept that name on my list.

20: What is your favorite song at the moment?

I Am Not A Robot by Marina and the Diamonds

Woman Like Me by Little Mix

My Family from The Addams Family (forgot who sings it lol)

31: 3 Random Facts

I can and will eat all of the crust off of a party sized pizza if it’s from the right restaurant.

I can crochet like a queen 👑

I wanted to be a medical examiner (autopsy specialist) for about 7-8 years all bc I wanted to be like Ducky on NCIS.

*additional fun fact* I have asthma and can’t hold my breath for crap unless I’m swimming or singing.

33: Something you would like to learn.

I would love to learn how to do arm knitting! Making those fuzzy, chunky blankets would be so much fun! I used to be able to knit really well, but when my knitting pro grandma passed away when I was 11, I just left my ability alone and took up crocheting, which is my mom’s hobby.

37: Favorite actor/actress?

Most of my favorites are Marvel actors/actresses, but there’s no problem in that. I’ve included gifs of my spirit animals portraying my everyday emotions.

For my favorite actors, I gotta say, I love Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Tom Holland and Sebastian Stan.

As for actresses, I like Scarlett Johansson, Zendaya, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright.

[ohthehypocrisy]

Just Like You

Drabble request by TheOneAndOnly1993.

Word length: 3.4K

“Hey Jake, should we be worried about the princess?” Finn asked as he watched his dog brother climb into his bed.

“Nah,” he replied, stuffing himself into the square shaped hole, “She’s smart. She’ll sort things out.”

Finn’s gaze hardened. He wasn’t convinced, “But you heard about all the things Uncle Gumblad did, right?”

“Actually, I wasn’t really listening,” Jake said nonchalantly, layering a blanket on top of himself.

“What? Really?” the boy replied in disbelief, “Even with all the weird things that have been happening around here, you’re not worried?”

“Nahhh,” he yawned, stretching his limbs with great effort before they collapsed around him, “No one’s smarter than the princess, Finn. She’ll have everything all figured out soon enough.”

Finn leaned back down onto his bed, still doubtful, “Alright, but, she did leave in a hurry. She looked kinda worried, y’know?”

When Jake failed to respond, the boy looked up from within his sleeping bag to see that the dog had already drifted off to sleep. Heaving a weak sigh of frustration, Finn decided there was no point in mulling over the doubt within him. Try as he might, his mind roiled with thoughts as he shifted around in his bed. The sense of foreboding filled him with anxiety, making sleep difficult for him.

Jake was right about one thing, Finn thought. Princess Bubblegum is the smartest person in all of Ooo that he knew, and he was confident that she could solve any problem. And if she couldn’t solve it by herself, she wouldn’t hesitate to call upon the aid of himself and Jake.

This moment of ease was enough for him to find sleep, as he relaxed and closed his eyes. It would only be a matter of time before she approached him with a plan. He would ask her about it later.

“Finn?” cried someone knocking at the door downstairs, “Finn, it’s me, Peebs. I know it’s late, but I forgot something. Can you open the door?”

He groaned as the noise and banging roused him from his sleep. For a moment, he wondered who could possibly be knocking at his door at this hour. But as he came to, he immediately recognized the sound of Princess Bubblegum’s door knocking. He couldn’t just ignore the call of his princess, especially as he was her appointed knight. So, with great effort, he lifted himself out of bed and climbed his way to the front door.

With a great yawn, he opened the door, “Good morning, princess,” he was rubbing his eyes, “What do you nee-…”

He had to pause as he noticed how ragged her hair had become compared to earlier. Even in the pale moonlight, he saw how frayed her bubblegum hair had become. And, although the lighting made it hard to see, there were stains on her shirt that weren’t there from earlier today.

Princess Bubblegum tapped her foot with impatience, “I’m just gonna let myself in, ok?” she said as cautiously nudged her way past Finn and into the treefort.

In his sleepy stupor, Finn stood there dumbfounded as he had to process the princess forcing her way into his house looking like a mess. His curious thoughts from before he went to sleep had resurfaced in his mind, and now he had the chance to ease his concerns. Besides, if he didn’t try, he’d have a harder time falling back asleep after this now that he remembered.

He followed the princess up the ladder, hearing some shuffling coming from the living room. He peeked over the floor to see Princess Bubblegum shifting furniture around. Confused, he entered the room cautiously.

“So…what’dya forget?” the teen asked.

“Oh, I dunno, but I’ll know it when I see it,” she replied, double checking the back of a chair.

“Oh, okay,” Finn had to do a double-take, “Wait, what? You don’t even know what it is?”

“Oh, I know what it is,” the princess replied, looking through a drawer, “I just haven’t found it yet.”

Finn took the moment to rub his temples, trying to unwrap her riddle, “So, wait. You forgot something here and you’ve come back for it?”

“Yep,” she replied, head deep in a drawer.

“But you don’t know what it is?” the princess replied with an “Mhm,” to which Finn then responded with, “But you left it here earlier today.”

“No, not today,” Princess Bubblegum said as she retracted her head from the drawer, “Some time ago. I don’t know when, but I’m sure I did.”

He couldn’t help but slap his forehead in disbelief, “You’re not even sure if you lost anything?”

“No, but I wanna be sure,” she said, leaning down to dive under a sofa.

It bewildered him for a moment as to why she was here wasting her time with this distraction. Why was she playing hide and seek with some imaginary thing she might have left behind some time ago? She should be in her lab, concocting some sort of countermeasure to the threat Uncle Gumbald was posing to them. There’s no way she’d be wasting her time here with her kingdom and livelihood on the line, not after she had lost her rule twice before. Unless…

Unless…

Finn’s eyes widened in shock. The frayed hair, the stains, the drooping eyes he caught a glimpse of, it all suddenly made sense. For Princess Bubblegum to have come here seeking some unknown factor, something she claims to have forgotten…

He scowled.

“Princess,” Finn said sternly, but did not receive a reply, “Princess!” he repeated a little louder, to no avail.

He knew what was going on, having put the pieces together in his head. That unwarranted feeling of unease from earlier had crept back up without his knowing, but now he knew why, because he could see it in the princess. That feeling of anxiety, the tension of waiting for something terrible to happen, he saw it all over her, in her actions despite how hard she was trying to hide it.

It was fear.

With a carefully angled kick, Finn punted the wooden sofa off and away from Princess Bubblegum. For a moment, she looked surprised and confused, but one look at his steadfast face had revealed to her that her charade did not work. Ashamed, she looked away, not moving from her spot on the floor, hoping that she would be able to escape this confrontation without resolution, for her mind failed to engineer an escape plan.

They both knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“What’s going on, princess?” Finn demanded more than asked.

“I…” she leaned to sit upright on the floor, “I’m sorry.”

He tried to, but he just couldn’t stay mad. He still wanted an explanation, though. Exhaling, he asked.

“You don’t know what to do,” he watched for a reaction, “Do you?”

She gripped her dress in response, glancing at him briefly only to look away.

“I just…I just thought that,” she bashfully placed a hand on her other arm, “Maybe I left something here that could give me an advantage, you know?”

Just as he thought. Finn said nothing as he walked over and took a seat on the floor next to her. A comfortable distance, close but not too close.

“You’re desperate, aren’t you?” he asked. Nothing but a tired sigh was all she responded with. The silence between them didn’t last long as Finn spoke again, “You don’t know how to get rid of him without killing him, right?”

“How’d you-?” she was quick to respond, turning to him in shock, until she saw the robotic arm she had built for him held out. The look of guilt on his face flashed briefly in memory as he told her all that happened with him and Fern. She could only give a blunt , “Oh,” in response.

The two sat in silence, finding comfort in each other’s presence due to the similar problem they shared.

“So…” Finn broke the silence, “Why are you having so much trouble figuring out this whole Gumbald situation?”

After the charade she had pulled off earlier, she felt that he was justified in an explanation. With great ease, she answered, “I built Gumbald to be my equal. Not a true clone in a sense, but close enough, I guess.”

“And everything you could think of to get rid of him,” Finn followed up, “You think he has a counter plan?”

“Most likely,” she replied, shifting herself for a more comfortable seat, “He’s not showing up on my tracking radar. Neither are Manfried or Crunchy.”

A brief look of surprise on his face as Finn turned to her, “I thought you got rid of your security system?”

She looked back, “Trackers are still on my candy people, but I only look at the radar if anyone goes missing,” she leaned back a bit, “You can blame Cinnamon Bun for that.”

With a nod of his head, Finn asked, “You think he’s responsible for that Grumbo last week?”

“Definitely,” her eyes fell to the floor, “He…he came up with the candy people recipe.”

Finn’s eyes widened in astonishment, “I thought you came up with that on your own?”

Princess Bubblegum leaned forward, gaze still affixed to the floor, “I mean, yeah, I did. It took me months to figure out the formula for constructing an organism out of candy and bring it to life. But he learned it on his own, somehow, and built Mr. Creampuff.”

It seemed pretty obvious to him, but Finn didn’t want to sound presumptuous, “You don’t think he’s smarter than you, do you?”

Bubblegum didn’t answer. She just tucked her legs in and hugged her knees, a look of doubt spread across her face.

Finn responded by folding his legs, not knowing what else he could say to alleviate her fears. It wasn’t like the way he ended things with Fern was the best solution, but it was all the experience he had regarding this situation. What else could he tell her aside from rip him inside out accidentally?

Like it or not, he was all she had.

“Look, princess,” Finn spoke up after a lengthy silence, “If…if it ever comes down to it-“

“I’m not going to kill Gumbald,” she shot him a displeased look.

Finn was expecting that reaction but he remained resolute, “But what if he tries to kill you?”

“I won’t let that happen,” she insisted, staring him down with determined eyes.

“And how are you so sure?” he shot back, keeping a firm face.

“Because I’ll plan for it,” she responded, the energy of the conversation forcing her up off the floor, “I’m not going to let anything like that come to pass.”

Finn stood up as well, “Princess, that’s not like you. What am I supposed to do if there’s no other way?”

Princess Bubblegum clenched her fists, “You’re not going to be involved in this,” Finn was taken aback, “This is a personal matter and I’m responsible for it. I’ll handle this my own way.”

That’s what was upsetting him so much earlier.

The idea that she didn’t need his help, the fact that she didn’t come to him for assistance when she had hit a metaphorical dead end, her stubbornness in forging on alone even after everything they had been through, he couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed. Here she was telling it to his face that she could handle this on her own when her appearance and desperation said otherwise. What perplexed him the most was that she thought she had to do this by herself, especially when it was literally his job to protect her and the Candy Kingdom from harm.

“You can’t just leave me out of the equation,” he pointed out, “I’m supposed to protect you.”

She looked away for a moment, a gap in the armor exploited, before scowling at him, “I can’t trust you not to do something desperate, Finn. I can’t risk it.”

“But what if something happens to you?” his tone turned from unwavering to distraught.

“That’s what I’m here for!” she nearly shouted, her arms splayed outward, “If I can figure out how to neutralize my uncle, no one will have to get hurt! This is a personal matter, Finn. You are not obligated to get involved!”

He winced at her words, “But do you really think you can fix this by yourself?” he was starting to sound desperate.

“I…” she looked away for a moment, “Of course I can! I’ll work something out with my uncle, and we can all forget this ever happened.”

“And do you think he’ll go down that easily?” she noticed his lip trembling.

The princess took a moment to take deep breath, “Look, I know you’re worried, but I can handle this myself, Finn. I don’t need you protecting me all the time.”

His face twisted into a mix of anger and fear, “Answer the question, princess.”

The sudden lack of faith had frustrated her all of a sudden, “I said I can handle myself, Finn! Don’t make me repeat myself!”

“Can you, or can you not?” he repeated, tears creeping out of the corner of his eyes.

Princess Bubblegum was too upset to notice, “I can and I will!” she forced out, “This isn’t the first coup I’ve been through and it won’t be the last! I’ll do this by myself, and I’ll-”

“I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you!” Finn suddenly shouted, tears streaming down his face, his robotic arm held before her, quivering in distress.

All the drive, all the power in her voice and stance, gone as soon as she laid eyes on Finn’s trembling figure. Why had he suddenly burst out in tears? Was there something she was missing? She had a terrible habit of missing emotional cues from Finn, but she thought she had gotten a hold of them by now, especially after all these years.

“F-Finn, I-“ she couldn’t finish as the boy interrupted her with a sudden embrace. Years ago, he was only tall enough to have reached just shy of her bosom. Now, he was holding back tears as he breathed into her shoulder, his arms gripped tightly around her back. All she could do now was hug him back, but it didn’t feel deserved.

“I…I couldn’t do it, princess,” Finn breathed, snorting, “I couldn’t bring myself to kill Fern. I didn’t know if I could let him take my life…”

Why bring this up, she thought as he sobbed silently into her already messy dress. It’s not like he was wholly responsible for Fern’s death, even though the robot arm she built had done the killing for him. But she wasn’t one to blame Finn for accepting responsibility for something he could’ve prevented.

Wait, this sounded familiar…

“It…” Finn sobbed, gripping the cloth on her back, “It was an accident. I made a joke, the arm misheard me, it thought I said fatality, and-and Fern was right above me. I…I could’ve done something…”

She had to agree with him. Letting Fern get to the point where his frustrations of being a living copy of Finn superseded reason had led to that fateful day. If Fern had been more honest, or if Finn had been paying more attention, surely something could’ve been done. Or maybe…

“Finn…” Bubblegum said slowly, “Did you have…any idea about what was going on with Fern?”

The teen snorted, “Y-yeah,” she gasped slightly, “I was trying to make him feel better about it. We were supposed to go dungeon crawling…”

“Wait,” she was beginning to understand, “You were trying to fix it by yourself?”

Finn only nodded.

She gasped in realization at how selfish she was being. She thought that, as long as she could solve this, as long as she could put her uncle behind bars and neutralized the threat he represented, things would have been okay. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought, because as long as they were safe in the end, they would forgive her in time.

That’s how she did things for the past eight hundred years. She should have known better than to think Finn was okay with this.

“Finn,” she spoke softly, “Why did you lie to me about what happened to Fern?”

When Finn told her about the incident several weeks ago, she knew there was more to that story than he was letting on. He had told her that some sort of self-defense mechanism had triggered and dealt the killing blow, but she knew it was a lie. Finn’s vitals would’ve had to reach critical for anything like that to have happened, but she didn’t call him out on it. He was already uncomfortable enough telling the story as it were, so she let it slide.

For once, she was right in that, in due time, Finn would tell her the truth. How ironic it was that it happened through these circumstances, with her having to figure out how to deal with her biological copy all by herself.

“I…” his breathing fell from a hasty sob to a calmer tone, “I didn’t want you to worry about me…I didn’t want you to think about what could’ve happened…”

“Finn, you could’ve died,” she pointed out.

“And I wouldn’t have been able to stop it,” he responded quickly.

She couldn’t help but think about what would’ve happened if she had just made him a normal, non-robotic arm without an automated response A.I. built-in.

“But you…” he continued, his voice trembling a little, “Your arm saved me… You saved me, princess. I…didn’t think I could’ve saved myself…”

Now she understood. He wasn’t being righteous or overprotective. He was trying to keep her from making the same mistake he did, with Fern. If things had happened differently, if he had reached out to others, if he had noticed in time, Fern might still be with them.

No wonder he was feeling so strongly about this. It’s happening again to one of his best friends.

“I…” he sniffed, “I don’t-“

She patted his head gently but forcefully enough to get his attention, “Shh, it’s okay Finn. I get it now.”

“You do?” he looked up a little.

“Yes, Finn. I was being a real butt, just now,” she parted a little to get a better look at him, “And you know what? You’re right.”

He looked at her expectantly, “…about?”

She giggled, “Everything, pretty much. You’re just as much a part of this as I am, and I’m sorry for leaving you out like that.”

A sense of satisfaction as he gleamed, Finn leaned back in for another hug. A genuine hug of happiness, not of sadness or distress, one that the princess was willing to return.

How stupid was she, thinking that this was a personal matter. As if she could have done anything differently to prevent the return of her uncle aside from some morally questionable choices. And shame on her for thinking Finn was being overbearing. He had been through this kind of junk before, and it messed him up for weeks on end.

She should’ve known that, when all else fails, Finn was the only one she could truly rely on.

“I…” her smile fell as she spoke up, “I still don’t know what I’m gonna-I mean, what we’re gonna do about Gumbald.”

Finn exhaled a sigh, “Well, it’s just like Jake said. Everything will turn out fine. You’re the smartest person we know.”

Princess Bubblegum giggled, “Well, the optimism is assuring, but it’s gonna be a team effort.”

Several seconds passed before Finn tried to part from the hug, but the princess refused to let him go.

“Uh, Peebs?” Finn spoke up shyly, “You can let go now.”

The princess responded by hugging a little tighter, “No, Finn. Just a little bit longer,” she said as Finn decided to play along, “I don’t ever wanna forget this feeling.”

He relaxed in her embrace, “I don’t think I ever will.”

She giggled again, “Yeah, pretty sure you still like me.”

Finn took a moment to lean his head back to face her, suddenly realizing how close they were. A slight blush appeared on his face, but she just giggled at him. Surprised turned to curiosity as he instinctively moistened his lips, her smirk falling in response.

Their hug loosened. They exchanged looks briefly before the distance between them shortened.

She didn’t ever want to forget this feeling either.

Jake yawned as he climbed back into his bed, “About time those two figured something out,” he covered himself with his favorite blanket, “Like I said, nothing to worry about.”

With the issue resolved without his input, Jake happily dozed off back to sleep.

[pinkfan-gurl]

Tall Glass of Handsome

chapter nine of an 1oo au

Clarke put on as big of a smile as she could muster without it looking totally fake.

"Hi," she stepped in front of the petite brunette heading towards the stairs. "Student Council is putting together a Quiz Bowl team to represent the school. Looks great on a college application." She held one of the flyers from the stack under her arm out to the girl.

The brunette smiled, pink tinged to her cheeks from nervousness. "Um, no thanks," she answered shortly, pushing the paper away.

Clarke took another step in front of her as she tried to make her escape. "It's a great way to make friends and, like I said, great for college applications."

The girl shook her head and dropped the smile, making her look less friendly. "I'm not interested so please leave me alone."

Clarke pursed her lips and watched as the girl walked off briskly, taking the stairs two at a time. Wheeling back around, she saw that Bellamy was sitting on the bottom most step with his stack of flyers beside him while Finn leaned against the railing. "Your method seems to be falling short, Princess," Bellamy quipped.

Clarke scowled, but didn't argue with him because she knew he was right. When no one offered any ideas on how to convince people to join the Quiz Bowl team, she decided the best course of action was to make flyers and simply spread the news about the event around the school.

She had recruited Finn and Bellamy to help pass out flyers with her that morning before school started (with much protesting from Bellamy) but it ended up being a bust and a waste of paper. At least five hundred kids had walked past them to get to the school within the half-hour they had been camped out at the steps and they still had most of the flyers Clarke had printed out the night before.

"Twenty dollars to print out two hundred copies and we've only given out six lousy flyers?" Clarke collapsed on the base step with a huff. She didn't even bother hiding her scowl when Bellamy raised an eyebrow.

"Geez, Princess," he muttered dryly, "I don't think I've ever seen you this bent out of shape before." Clarke gave him a hard look. "Over something so trivial at least," he amended.

"Think on the brightside." Finn set his stack on the ground and took a seat next to Clarke on the step. "We got six people to at least consider joining which is a start."

"Negatory," Bellamy murmured under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Finn asked, and Clarke picked up on the slight accusation in his tone.

Bellamy shrugged. "I saw one kid throw his away immediately after Spacewalker walked away and the redhead Clarke was talking too used hers as a napkin after she accidentally spilled her coffee on her skirt."

Clarke groaned, arching her back as she buried her face into her knees. "Well that's great. We're worse off than we thought." She felt someone's hand resting on the small of her back comfortingly.

"Don't waste time pitying us, Clarke," Bellamy said. The touch on Clarke's back tensed and she could imagine Finn shooting daggers at Bellamy.

"Not much luck today, huh?" Jasper's voice filled her ears.

Clarke finally looked up to see her brother and Octavia standing a little too close together for Clarke's liking. "You could say that," Bellamy grumbled, setting his face into his hands.

Octavia chuckled softly. "What's the matter, Bell? Giving up so easily?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes but said nothing. Jasper furrowed his eyebrows. "How long until your deadline again?" he asked.

"Four weeks," Finn answered. "Which is actually a lot of time when you think about it."

Clarke sat up straighter, eyeing Jasper's twitching hand. "So," she motioned between Jasper and Octavia, "are you two like a "thing" now?"

Bellamy perked up slightly, his gaze taking on a playful sneer. Jasper stepped away frantically from Octavia, giving her about a foot berth, but she just sidled up next to him again. "We're just friends," Jasper sputtered, face turning red.

Clarke shared a look with Bellamy. "But so what if we were?" Octavia said, putting her hands on her hips. "Just because you two can't stand each other doesn't mean that we can't get along. Come on, Jasper." She grabbed him by the upper arm and hauled him up the stairs with her.

Finn let off a low whistle. "Wow. So they're a thing?"

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I don't approve."

"Yeah. I don't either," Bellamy agreed.

"The one thing we can actually agree on." Clarke looked down at her phone for the time and a sudden jolt of panic washed through her as she realized how late it had gotten. "Oh great. I was supposed to meet up with Harper and Monroe ten minutes ago for homecoming stuff. I got to go."

Finn got to his feet and took Clarke's hand in his, helping her up. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll see you later." He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her softly.

Clarke smiled against his lips, and if it were up to her, she wouldn't leave. She felt safe and loved when she was with Finn, something that she had been missing ever since her dad moved across the country.

Bellamy cleared his throat, forcing Clarke to focus back on reality. She had to help Harper. She broke the kiss and smiled up at Finn who was beaming down at her. "We're still on for later, right?."

Finn poked her on the nose playfully. "Wouldn't miss it."

Scooping up her pile of flyers and slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder, Clarke bolted up the stairs in the direction of the library.

…

Solar power would be the best source of energy for their robot. The only problem now was finding a solar panel small enough and cheap enough for them to afford.

Monty tapped the butt of his pencil against his cheek. He had quickly devoured his lunch he'd brought from home before making his way to the library where he and Jasper had agreed to meet at. Their plan had been to spend every free period in school together so they could work on designing their robot.

So far, Jasper hadn't shown up yet and wasn't responding to Monty's texts, but Monty wasn't worried yet. Their lunch hour was a little over an hour and close to fifty minutes still remained. He figured Jasper was off with Octavia, romancing her near the smelly locker rooms or something.

Less than ten minutes later, Monty's phone buzzed with a text.

12:37pm.

Hey, buddy, im sorry but i won't make it to the library today.

I totally forgot that i promised Octavia that i'd watch her rehearsal for her play.

i promise that i'll make it up to you!

Jasper

"Of course." Monty rested his head on the table with a sigh. Half an hour of genius robotic designs and he doesn't even get to tell Jasper about it.

He glanced up at the clock. There was still another half hour of lunch left. He could swing by the cafeteria and see what Clarke and her new boyfriend were up too.

Monty quickly packed up his notebooks and headed for the cafeteria, hoping that no one would give him a hard time for being in the halls without a pass while classes were going on. He spotted Clarke in her usual spot right away along with Finn, Harper, Miller, Bellamy, and...Wells?

Monty did a double take. It was hard enough picturing Clarke willfully sitting with Miller and Bellamy, but his brain was doing cartwheels at the sight of Wells. What was he doing there?

He was about ready to turn around and resolve to asking Clarke about it in private at some other time, but it was too late. She had already spotted him and was giving him a welcoming grin that pulled him to the table.

"Hey, Monty," Clarke said.

Monty waved awkwardly. "Hey, Clarke. Bellamy." His eyes zeroed in on Wells. "Wells," he said, and his tone took on a colder tint. Wells shifted uncomfortably.

Clarke cleared her throat. "Monty, this is Finn," she introduced, touching Finn's shoulder gingerly. Monty noticed Wells shift again and how he kept his eyes averted.

Finn held his hand out and Monty shook it. "Hey," Finn smiled.

"Okay, introductions aside," Bellamy glanced down at Harper, "move over a smidge so he can sit."

Harper complied and before Monty knew it, he was sandwiched between Bellamy and Miller. Clarke regarded Monty suspiciously. "So what's up, Monty? I thought you and Jasper were supposed to be working on your robotics thing during lunch."

Miller raised his eyebrows, impressed. "You're doing the robotics competition?" Monty nodded. "That's pretty cool dude."

"Thanks," Monty grunted. He realized that he sounded less than enthusiastic but his frustration was overwhelming him. "And yeah, I was supposed to be working with Jasper but he skipped out on me."

"I'd say you're a little short of pleased," Finn commented.

"It's just that he signed us up for this, you know," Monty looked around the table at each individual face, "and now he's blowing me off. Jasper hasn't done one thing for this project and it's already been four days. The first competition day is in four weeks!"

Clarke shook her head, frowning. "I'll talk to him. And if he does it again, just give him a good kick in the ass for me."

Monty grinned while the rest of the people at the table chuckled. It felt good to sit with Clarke again; he'd been so wrapped up in helping Jasper win over Octavia that Monty hadn't seen her a whole lot in the last few weeks.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Finn said. He chased a grape tomato around his bowl for a few seconds and then set his fork down. "But we have to figure out a way to get people to sign up for the Quiz Bowl."

"Don't remind me," Harper grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Monty asked.

"It's the latest student council project," Wells explained. Monty regarded him curiously while trying to maintain his mild glare. "We have to put together a Quiz Bowl team otherwise we'll have to do it."

"Oh," Monty nodded, "no wonder you're all sitting together."

Miller frowned, eyebrows scrunched together. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Monty shrugged. “This isn't really the traditional group."

Clarke nodded slowly. "True. The arrangement is a bit less than desired." Her eyes flicked to Wells, but Monty noticed that she didn't have the anger in her eyes that he was used to seeing whenever she looked at Wells. In fact, she looked mildly annoyed more than anything. It made him wonder what changed.

Then he glanced over at Clarke who was leaning into Finn and suddenly it made sense. Clarke would never have the same bond with Wells that she once had, but now that she was happy with Finn, there wasn't the same drive to constantly hate Wells. She might not be great friends with him anymore, but there was still forgiveness.

"So this Quiz Bowl thing; what're you gonna do about it?"

Bellamy looked to Clarke who sighed. "At this point," she said, "we have no idea."

…

The barista was taking forever, but Octavia didn't mind the wait.

The extra few minutes in line while she waited gave her enough time to check up on her virtual pets that she had been neglecting ever since soccer started. When she re-logged into the app, her dalmatian puppy's health bar had been on 12% and her tiger cub had had grown into an adult tiger.

She was right in the middle of giving Lorenzo, her puppy, a bath when the curly haired guy behind the counter came back with her hot chocolate. "O?" he called out uncertainly.

"That's me!" Octavia shoved her phone into her pocket and jumped up to the counter. "Thank you," she smiled at the boy.

He smiled, running a hand through his hair self-consciously. "You go by O?"

"It's just something my brother calls me. I'm Octavia."

"Atom."

"Well, it was nice talking to you."

Octavia hurried out of the café and started at a brisk pace down the cobblestone sidewalk. After school she was supposed to have meet up with Fox to study for an upcoming chemistry test, but she called and canceled almost fifteen minutes after Octavia had been waiting. In the end, she resolved to grabbing something to drink and then head over to Jasper's house to help him and Monty with their robotics.

Octavia approached a group of boys as she walked, all of which who had Trikru Union T-shirts and varsity jackets on. She didn't want to go near them, but it was the only way to her car so she kept her head down as she walked.

"Hey there, beautiful," one of them cat-called.

Octavia ignored him and kept walking, but this was exactly what she was hoping to avoid.

"Baby, come back!" a different voice pleaded.

There was a wave of footsteps and then their voices became significantly louder as they continued to call for her attention. The bastards were following her!

"Leave me alone!" she snapped, refusing to turn around.

"Oh honey, don't be like that."

Something clasped around her wrist and suddenly Octavia was facing a burly jock with a buzz cut and crooked nose, probably from being broken repeatedly. "You had better let me go," she growled. She tried to pry her arm away but his grip was strong.

The boy chuckled and his friends egged him on by laughing with him. "Look hot-stuff, I don't want to cause a scene; I'm actually a pretty decent guy once you get to know me."

"Oh good. Then you won't mind letting me go if you're such a nice guy."

"I'll let you go as soon as you agree to go out on a date with me."

"Um, let me think about that: no."

"Babe, I'm not letting you go until you agree to one date with me."

"Come on," one of the others whispered in her ear, "just one date."

"Unless you'd rather go out with me," a freckled kid in the back raised his eyebrows, probably trying to be seductive but Octavia found him goofy.

"I'm not interested," she spat. "Now let me go before I start screaming."

The boy's smirk deepened. "You're making this harder than一"

"Let her go, Eric," a new voice demanded. It was soft but stern.

Octavia turned to find an attractive African American guy standing at the back of the group of boys. They all parted like the Red Sea when they heard his voice, giving her a better look; he was tall and she could tell that he was muscular under his shirt.

The boy, Eric, stepped in front of Octavia but kept his grip on her wrist. "What are you doing here, Lincoln?"

Lincoln shrugged, nonchalantly stuffing his fists into his pockets. "I was on my way to my car when I saw you four bastards harassing this girl and decided to do something about it."

"We weren't harassing her," one of the boys said.

"Yes you are." Octavia held up her arm to show the meaty hand still firmly clasped to her wrist. "And I'd appreciate it if you would let go of me, you big oaf."

Completely ignoring Lincoln, Eric wheeled around to stared down Octavia with hard eyes and a tight-lipped frown. "You're really beginning to wear on me, sweetheart."

"Don't worry," she smiled bitterly, "my bite is way worse than my bark."

"Let her go, Eric," Lincoln warned again. "I don't feel like hurting you today."

"I'd like to see you try." Eric dropped her wrist and then suddenly he was on the ground, catching blood from his nose with Lincoln standing over him. His friends had backed up significantly, fear in their faces. "Oh my God!" he howled.

Lincoln shook his fist. "I told you to leave her alone, bro."

Octavia couldn't believe that the kid went down so easily. All it took was one punch. Her eyes fell on her savior and her heart skipped a beat. He was really hot. "Thank you."

His eyes fell to the guy on the floor and then back up to her face. "Walk you to your car?"

Octavia nodded vigorously. "Yes, please." Lincoln stepped over Eric, falling into step with Octavia as they walked. "Thanks again."

"It was no problem."

Up close, she was able to admire just how tall he was; he had to be at least a foot taller and his arms were larger than both of her hands put together. How had she been lucky enough for a handsome guy like this to come to her rescue? "I'm Octavia by the way."

"Lincoln."

"I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

"Nah. I go to Trikru Union with those assholes unfortunately."

"Trikru, huh? I go to West Arke. You guys have a good soccer team."

Lincoln chuckled. "That's good to hear. I wouldn't know though. I don't do sports." Octavia's eyes widened in surprise and he laughed. "What?"

"You just seem so...built. Are you sure that you're not a pro-football player or something?"

"Just some martial arts."

She regarded him with a newfound interest. "So that's how you Judo-flipped that guy."

"Karate, but yeah. Martial arts is a good way to stay in shape both mentally and physically."

"That's really cool." Octavia stopped in front of her car even though she would have prefered to keep walking with Lincoln. "This is my car."

Lincoln smiled, brushing a wisp of hair behind her ear and Octavia's heart nearly stopped. Never had a boy had such an impact on her feelings, not even Jasper. "Well, I'm glad I was able to help out, Octavia." He let his arm fall to his side. "I'll see you around, I guess."

He turned to leave, but Octavia lunged for his hand. "Wait." He stopped and his eyes met hers. "Would you maybe, I don't know, wanna grab some food with me? I'd love to talk more about martial arts."

Lincoln grinned. "Sure."

chapter ten 

[finnsword]

@twishimmer I KNOW it was so s h i tty

like sorry finn once forgot about the robot he accidentally created when he was like fucking twelve, martin was the reason why finn’s arm was ripped off but yea its pretty much the same if u Think About it