#I wrote this in 2 minutes at 3:00 am I am shocked it makes sense

[snakeredbirdbatkatana]

Bruce loves his kids, even when they eat all his food , crash his cars, sneak metahumans into his city, hell they make out with random redheads in his Batmobile and he still loves them.

But his house is literally on fire and he is struggling to remember why he got children like there must be a way to return them he's begging any god for help at this point.

His wonderful children standing in front of him yelling screaming and fighting while his couch is on fire and for just one second he wishes he could go back in time and decide nope celibacy and no circus.

He's tired he's a vigilante he has twenty kids Alfred is on vacation and maybe this is why he opens his mouth. Which he would later realize was a mistake and utters these words.

I shouldn't have gone to that damn Circus

A

PIN

DROP

His eldest who was trying to pull apart his younger brother's turns tears already pooling in his eyes.

You regret me?

He sees his other children turn looks that would have killed him if he wasn't Batman. Jason's hand already on his holster. Knife in Damian's and Tim's bowstaff is out.

He rushes to his eldest Sweetheart no never I was joking I would do it a thousand Times over. No Dickie No.

Suddenly his children run faster than Barry god damn Allen. A smirk on Dicks face as he dashes.

Seriously B how do you always fall for that.

He should have Gone to Therapy

Shit the couch is still on fire

[bangtan-sonyeonddaeng]

Part 5

Summary: Soulmates have different ways of being connected to one another. Sometimes it’s through being able to write on their arms and having it show up on their soulmates. For others it was having their first words spoken to one another permanently tattooed into their skin. You had a unique connection with yours, one that you really hadn’t ever heard of happening before. Whatever song was stuck in your soulmate’s head was also stuck in yours and the same was for them. When Yoongi realizes one of his songs is playing on repeat in your head, he immediately takes to writing songs to communicate with you in hopes it will finally bring you two together.

Genre: Fluff. Just pure tooth rotting, sweet fluff.

Whew this was a long one. 4.5k words

Part 1     Part 2      Part 3     Part 4     Part 6

As you stepped off the plane you couldn’t believe it. You were finally in Seoul, the same city as your soul mate. That alone felt indescribable. It was a happiness you had never known. The past day was hectic. Trying to book last minute plane tickets and a hotel room. You didn’t even know how long you were going to be staying here depending on how well things went with Yoongi. You booked your hotel for a week just to be safe, knowing you could cancel if you absolutely had to. You considered coming alone, but your friend was very insistent that they go with you. You were traveling to a foreign country to meet your soulmate. Your friend wouldn’t miss this for the world, but also wanted to be there as a support and help in any way they could.

You arrived to the hotel and unpacked your belongings and immediately flopped down onto the bed.

“Jet lag sucks.”

“Indeed it does. I feel like I could sleep for the next 10 years.” Within moments your friend was snoring and clutching the pillow tightly. You giggled quietly to yourself and pulled your phone out to see if Yoongi had posted anything else. There were no new songs, but there was a new post from him. It was a selfie of him and oh gosh he looked so adorable it made your heart flutter. The caption underneath the photo just said “I can’t wait to see you.”

A bunch of army had commented underneath that they couldn’t wait to see him too. Their tour was starting in a little over a month. You knew what the real meaning was behind the photo. And you quickly typed a reply.

“I can’t wait to see you too. It’s such a short time away.”

You set your phone down and were about to try and sleep for a little bit when a notification went off. ‘I’m not Min Yoongi’ had sent you another reply.

Isn’t it late where you are at now? What are you still doing awake?

You glance at the clock and see that it is only 8:00 pm. You have a long way to go until morning.

Actually I am in Seoul right now. So it’s only 8:00 in the evening. Besides, how do you know where I live? You stalking me?

Ah no! no! You just um… always seemed to reply early in the morning here. So I figured it was late wherever you were.

Yoongi face palms. Smooth save, Min.

Ah okay. Makes sense I guess.

So what are you doing in Seoul?

Hopefully meeting my soulmate.

Oh! That’s exciting! I hope everything goes well for you two.

Me too. I hope everything goes the way I am thinking it will but.. we’ll see.

Well if you were traveling all day aren’t you tired? Shouldn’t you be in bed?

Yes I should be but I can’t sleep. I’m too anxious.

I’m sure your soulmate feels the same. But they would want you to get your rest and take care of yourself.

You’re right. I’ll try my best.

What usually helps you sleep?

Um.. well this might sound silly but I fall asleep easily to Yoongi’s songs and videos of him just talking? His voice is so soothing.

Huh.. I see. You like his voice then?

Yes. Very much. It almost feels like.. coming home after a long trip. Just that comfort of knowing you are home.

Yoongi blushes at this and the sweet compliments.

Maybe he’ll surprise you and do a vlive or something.

Hah, I can only wish.

After that you don’t get a reply. You do however, get a notification on your phone that Yoongi is doing a Vlive. You laugh to yourself as you realize that there is no way that account wasn’t him at this point. You pull out your phone.

You know for someone who isn’t Min Yoongi you sure called that one right.

It’s just a voice live, you hear his phone go off and then hear him quietly chuckling into the mic. You don’t receive a reply but don’t anticipate you will at this point. Yoongi says something in Korean to start that you don’t quite catch what he says, but then he repeats himself in English.

“I heard from some of you that you like my voice and it’s calming to you. Since it’s nearing the end of the night I figured this would be a good way for you all to relax and unwind after a long day.” You smile to yourself and put your headphones in, quickly drifting off to sleep. You wake up a few hours later. When you glance at the clock you see it’s after midnight. You groan and sit up, looking over to the other bed to see your friend completely passed out still. You’ve always envied how deeply they seem to sleep.

As you sit there, the anxiety begins to come back. How nervous you are is finally starting to settle in. What if he doesn’t like you? What if you don’t get along? What if he was hoping his soulmate was someone famous? Are you good enough for him? Your leg starts shaking back and forth before you can’t sit still any longer. You crawl out of bed and slip your shoes on, quietly heading out the door as you don’t want to wake up your friend. You walk outside into the fresh air and find that it is helping you calm down to be able to just walk.

You don’t know where you are heading, but you have your phone with you and can easily find your way back to the hotel with the GPS. You put your headphones back in and just walk. You are listening to the playlist you had made of the few songs Yoongi had wrote for you and continue wandering and humming along. After you listen to all of the songs at least once you come across a bench with a man sitting on it. You don’t pay him any attention and walk on by, lost in your own world. You don’t make it very far before you feel a gentle tug on the bottom of your shirt. You turn around and see the man looking up at you. His bottom half of his face is covered and he’s wearing a beanie and heavy coat. Clearly he doesn’t want to be seen. You panic for a second thinking maybe he was going to mug you before he says something to you.

“What?”

“Ah, foreigner?” You nod.

“I said it’s dangerous to be outside alone this late.” He repeats in English. Your heart nearly drops to your stomach. You know that voice. You’d recognize it anywhere.

“Yoongi?” His eyes widen at that and now he seems to be the one panicked.

“Shit.. Are you a fan? Please don’t tell anyone you saw me and don’t freak out and scream. I go out late to avoid people for a reason-”

“Yoongi stop. It’s me!”

“Am I supposed to know you? Please don’t tell you’re a sasaeng. Wow this is just my luck.”

“It’s y/n!” Yoongi freezes and drops his hand to his side and he looks a little angry if the way he furrows his brows at you is any indication.

“Funny joke. Haha okay what do you want? An autograph?”

“No I’m serious Yoongi it’s me! We’ve been talking on Twitter back and forth! Ah wait no I’m sorry that wasn’t Min Yoongi I forgot.” You say with a smirk on your face.

“I… There’s no way. Let me see your phone.” You pull it out and unlock it, then hand it over to him. He opens up your Twitter and goes to your notifications and sure enough, there’s your conversations. “Oh my god.. Y/n it’s really you.” He hands your phone back and just stares at you in shock.

“Um.. So… what-“

“No, no! Absolutely not! I did not spend all night writing that song about us meeting for the first time for you to just bump into me on the street. I refuse.”

“Yoongi! You can’t fight fate-“

“Like hell I can’t. Watch me.” He stands up and grabs you, turning your shoulders around to face away from him and gives you a gentle push. “Now you march your cute little butt back to your hotel and we can try this again tomorrow.”

“Yoongi, oh my god.” You burst out laughing and your shoulders begin to shake with you how much you are laughing. You can hear him chuckling behind you before his hands move down and wrap around your waist, pulling you into a back hug.

“You have no idea how happy I am to finally have you here. I have never felt so many emotions in my heart at once but they are all good and they are all because of you.” You let your hands move down and your fingers play with his where they are resting on your waist. “But I really want to do this right. So please. Let’s pretend this first encounter never happened. And I’ll see you tomorrow at the river.. okay?” You smile and nod your head.

“Okay, Yoongi. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Can we meet earlier in the afternoon though instead of the evening. I-“

“Ah! Nope! My song says a crisp autumn EVENING. Not day. You’re just going to have to be patient now go on then!” He lets go of you and you let out a giggle but continue walking down the sidewalk. You don’t miss the footsteps trailing behind you on the way.

“What are you doing? I thought you said you didn’t want to meet until tomorrow? Now you’re following me back to my hotel? Scandalous. We haven’t even had our first date and you’re already-”

“Yah! Shush. I just want to make sure you make it back safely. I wasn’t kidding when I said it’s not safe at night time. Pretend I’m not here.”

“Okay.” You smile the whole way back. When you reach the hotel lobby and turn around he’s already gone. Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much as you walk back to your hotel room. You open the door quietly and shuffle back in, kicking your shoes off and collapsing into bed. Your friend is awake now.

“Where did you go?”

“Just for a walk. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Ah, too anxious to meet him for the first time?” You laugh to yourself.

“Yeah, I was. But the walk really helped me. I think I am really ready to see him now.”

“Good! Now get some rest! We have a big day ahead. Well you do anyways. I’ll just be hanging around here anxiously waiting for you to get back and tell me every single detail of your first meeting.”

“Sure thing. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight y/n. I’m sure Yoongi is going to love you. You have nothing to worry about.” You roll over onto your side and before long you are about to drift off to sleep when a noise from your phone brings you out of your drowsy daze. You see it’s a notification for twitter. Yoongi, sent you a message.

By the way, you’re absolutely the most beautiful person I have ever seen.

You smile and your cheeks heat up, feeling a warmth in your chest as you finally drift off to sleep.

You don’t wake up until late afternoon. The jet lag, coupled with the anxiety you felt last night before meeting Yoongi and being up late had allowed you to sleep for a long time. You probably would have still been asleep if your friend wouldn’t have woken you up to go eat lunch. You don’t tell them that you already met Yoongi, having promised to pretend like it never happened and you intended to keep your word. You spend the day exploring the city, even going to the Line Friends store and picking up a few items to spoil yourself a little bit. You walk around and eat until it’s now starting to get dark outside.

“We should probably head over to the park now. I’ll ride in the taxi with you there but then after I drop you off I’ll head back to the hotel.”

“Wait why don’t you just wait for me? What if something goes wrong and-“ Your friend flicks your forehead.

“Y/n don’t start that nonsense. You two are probably going to be out together all night. Just text me and check in. Let me know how everything is going, alright?” You nod and hug your friend tightly.

“Thank you for coming with me, and pushing me out of my comfort zone. And annoying Yoongi with your horrible songs. If it weren’t for you I probably wouldn’t have met him.”

“Hmmm, yes you would. Fate would have made sure of it, but I will take the praise anyway.” Just then a taxi pulls up and you both get in. But when you arrive at the park only you get out. You wave to your friend as the car pulls away. The butterflies in your stomach feel like they are going to fly out of your mouth at any moment. You walk along the riverside, admiring the views and listening to the sounds of the crickets. You notice up ahead all of the flowers and your pace quickens when you notice Yoongi standing in the middle of all of them. He spots you and immediately starts waving. But you ignore it and keep walking. He stops waving and tilts his head in confusion.

“Y/n!” He yells your name but you still continue walking along the path towards him. “Are you going to say hi to me or not?!”

“Huh? Sorry do I know you?”

“Are you serious right now?”

“We’ve never met before. How do you know my name?” You are trying so hard not to laugh when it finally clicks with Yoongi.

“Ah yes you’re right. My mistake. Are you here to meet with someone?”

“Yes. My soulmate told me to meet him among the cosmos.” You say with a smile. Yoongi is absolutely beaming as he reaches down and takes your hand in his.

“Well then that would be me. I’m Yoongi. But you must have already known that if you heard my songs for you.” He brings your hand up to his lips and gently kisses the back of it. The shock it sends through you almost brings you to your knees.

“I’m y/n. It’s nice to meet you soul mate.” Yoongi’s gummy smile widens further before he pulls you tightly into his arms. His hug is bone crushing, making it slightly hard for you to breathe but there is no way you would ask him to let go. Your arms are around his neck pulling him impossibly closer to you. He nuzzles his face into your shoulder and you feel your sweater dampen. You pull away in shock.

“Yoongi why are you crying?”

“Why are YOU crying?”

“I am not!” But you know you are. You can feel the tears streaming down your face and your voice cracks when you talk. “Okay I definitely am.” You both laugh and reach up to wipe each other’s tears away. You spend a few moments with your hands gently ghosting over each other’s faces, wanting to commit the way it feels to memory and make sure that the other was actually there.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here. I never thought we would ever find each other. When I learned that our connections were through the songs we had stuck in our heads, I just lost all hope of ever finding my soulmate.”

“To be honest for a while there I did too. It wasn’t until I first heard your music that I knew. I just felt it immediately that you were my soul mate.”

“I felt that too. When I read your comments on my songs it was like every cell in my body was calling out to you. I just… God I still can’t believe it.” He grabs you and pulls you into another hug. You both stand there for a while, just enjoying the feeling of each other’s warmth. Yoongi is the first to pull away but he doesn’t let go of your hand as he leads you on a short walk over to one of the benches overlooking the river. You sit next to each other in a comfortable silence.

“I’m not dreaming am I?” He wonders out loud. You reach over and pinch his side and he jumps away from you with a startled yell. “What was that?!”

“Proving to you that you aren’t dreaming.” He begins to laugh at that and the sound still makes your heart race. “But I know what you mean. It still doesn’t feel real.” Yoongi sits back down on the bench and laces your fingers together again, resting his head on your shoulder.

“Okay I gotta know. What kind of music do you really listen to?” You let out a snort at this.

“All different genres. Definitely not most of the ones that were stuck in your head though.”

“And that was your friend’s idea?”

“Yes. They thought it would be funny to mess with you a little bit. At least show that I have a sense of humor so you at least had some idea of what kind of person I was.”

“Honestly I just thought you were a person with shitty taste in music.” You both laugh playfully at that.

“How did you get the idea? For the songs I mean?”

“Ah, Namjoon gave me the idea to talk to you through song writing. For the past.. hmm month or so? The guys have really been helping me try and think of ways to find my soulmate. I think they were tired of seeing me mope all the time. They all had found theirs so easily I was just.. stuck.” Your heart clenches, knowing that feeling all too well. You squeeze his hand as a comforting gesture.

“I know what you mean.” Yoongi returns your squeeze.

“But hey everything worked out okay in the end right? We’re finally here with each other. I want to know you better. I want to know everything. What you’re passionate about, what things you like and dislike. Where you’re from, about your family, what your childhood was like. What-“

“Whoa there. We have all night Yoongi there is no rush.”

“We um.. have more than a night though right? Like… I know we’re soulmates fated to be together and all that but you still have a choice. Do you want to keep seeing me?” Yoongi seems insecure and unsure of himself now as he plays with the rings on your fingers and refuses to meet your gaze.

“Of course I want to continue seeing you! Why would you think even for a moment I wouldn’t?” He sighs and tries to untangle his hands from yours but you just hold on tighter.

“Being in a relationship with an idol isn’t easy y/n… I don’t think you fully understand what all of this is going to entail. You’re never going to have a moment of privacy. Even when we go out together on dates someone is almost always going to figure out who I am.”

“Well no one has so far tonight right? I think you just need to wear a mask and hide who you are then it won’t be so bad. Especially if we go out at night or go to more secluded places. I know dating an idol isn’t going to be easy but I don’t care about that. I just want to be with you. I’ll take all the good and bad that comes with it.” Yoongi stops trying to hold himself back any longer. He moves his hand behind your head and tugs you in closer to him so he can finally connect his lips to yours.

The kiss is sweet, gentle but loving. It’s like he’s pouring the years of emotions he’s felt towards you into the kiss. There isn’t any sparks or crazy fireworks. Everything just goes quiet, and suddenly it’s like you two are the only ones in the world right now. Yoongi pulls away after a few short moments. Even for just a short kiss you both are a bit breathless.

“Wow. I didn’t know kissing your soulmate would feel like that.” He says in between breatths.

“Me either. That was… perfect.” Yoongi smirks.

“Perfect? Wow am I that good of a kisser?” You playfully smack his arm and he laughs. You two spend quite a while talking on that bench. Asking questions and getting to know each other better. The moon is hanging high in the sky and all the stars are shining on the two of you. The wind starts to pick up and you shiver. “Ah are you cold, sweetheart?” He takes his jacket off and drapes it around you, although you did feel your face heat up at the petname. You hope Yoongi doesn’t notice your blush and will just assume it’s because you’re cold. “We can go now if you want to.” You shake your head back and forth quickly.

“No! I mean.. I don’t want to leave you yet.” His expression softens at your confession.

“Well.. We can go back to my place? If you’re comfortable with that?” You wiggle your eyebrows suggestively at him and he moves away from you.  “Not like that!”

“I’m kidding, Yoongi! I’d love to go back with you. Even if we don’t talk at all. Even if we just sleep it doesn’t matter. I just want to be around you.”

“I’m glad you feel that way because I was thinking the same thing.” He stands off the bench and takes your hand to lead you over to the car that was waiting to take the two of you back to his house. You send your friend a quick update text, to let her know everything was okay and going well. They send you back a bunch of heart emojis and you slip the phone back in your pocket. On the way up to his door it doesn’t sneak past your notice that he hasn’t let go of your hand the entire time you two have been together.

“Do you like holding hands?” He blushes and looks away, busying himself with entering the code into the door so it unlocks.

“Um.. Yeah I do. Does it bother you?”

“Not at all. I love it actually.”

“Do you want any tea or anything to drink to help warm you up?”

“Mmm, no. I just need you.” With how much Yoongi has been smiling he’s beginning to wonder if his muscles are just going to be permanently stuck.

“Do you want to go lay down? Maybe watch a movie?”

“That sounds perfect.”

You are both laying down now, in his bed. You are actually laying with Yoongi, your soulmate. Your head resting on his chest while he was a tight grip around your waist. You are starting to fall asleep when you feel his grip suddenly tighten around you. You lift your head up to look at him.

“Everything okay?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah. Sorry did I squeeze you too hard?”

“No I just thought maybe something was wrong and you wanted my attention.” Yoongi shakes his head, but bites his lip as if he is thinking deeply about something.

“It’s not that I was upset or anything.. I just wanted to make sure that you were actually here. And that I’m not hallucinating, or just imagining all this. It still doesn’t feel real. I thought I had met my soulmate before. I was so sure but it turned out it was just someone using me for my fame.. And I was so desperate to just have that connection with someone that I ignored all the warning signs. And I know you aren’t like that. I know for 100% certain you’re my soulmate but…“

“But that nagging voice in the back of your head just keeps questioning things?” He nods in confirmation. You sit up and adjust yourself so you’re facing him. You take his face in your hands and make sure he is looking at you and can see the sincerity in your eyes. “I completely understand why you are worried. Believe me. But I would never do anything to hurt you. I would never use you like that. I promise that I am here, that I am real.” You grab his hand and place it on your heart. He closes his eyes and lets himself just feel. Your warmth, the gentle thrumming of your heart beat, the sounds of your breaths. It helps ground him.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. If you ever have doubts or are worried about anything you can always come to me. I want to be there for you.” Yoongi smiles that gummy smile that is going to quickly make you fall head over heels in love with him in no time if he keeps directing it at you.

“Thank you y/n.” He pecks your lips and then pats his chest for you to lay back down. Pretty soon your breaths even out and you’ve fallen asleep. Yoongi holds you just a little bit closer, and places a kiss to the top of your head. “I already like you so much and it kind of scares me. But I am going to give you my whole heart, angel. I hope you’ll keep it safe.”

“Don’t worry I will.” Yoongi jumps.

“I thought you were asleep!”

“I was but I am not that heavy of a sleeper remember? I woke up when I heard you talking.” Yoongi blushes but snuggles closer to you.

“Do you want to meet the other members tomorrow?”

“I’d love to! Can I bring my friend too?”

“Of course. You all are going to be a part of the family now we might as well all meet one another.” You smile at that and nuzzle into his chest. You both fall asleep quicker than you ever have before, finally feeling the comfort and safety of being in each other’s arms.

Tag list: @anoesjkaax​​​  @just-call-me-trash-can​ @thestral-balerion​ @xcastielbabyangelface​ @rukinamukami​ @r-e-d-i-s-h​ @heartblackerthancoffee​ @rosita7703​   @jacjacwashere​   @purpletigertaetae​  @woodstockisjustlikealittlekid​  @supernatural-bangtanboys​ @loveyoongles​ @barbikatherine​ @atulipandarose​ @bookluver01​ @cioccocalderoni​ @lyoongx​

@its-yagirl-raelynn it’s not letting me tag you :c 

[heta-fics]

The Wanderer pt.2

By @proliferationinthecrypts

--

Taken from the diaries of Dr Elliot Rutherford.

Okay. I think I’m losing my mind.

Let’s review how we got here, huh?

I just read through my last entry, on my first session with him, and since then, a week has passed. Things still make fuck all sense, and have kept me too busy to write more until now. I’ll summarise key events as follows:

The two men who gave me the scant initial papers on Grandpa have told me a little more about him. They dropped by- once again, unannounced- and kept me in my office for a good half hour. Grandpa got good feelings about our first session, they told me, and that he would be happy to have regular appointments with me. They also handed me a sleek, grey ring binder, which, apparently, Grandpa wanted me to have.

These events transpired yesterday morning. It is late evening, now. The grey folder sits next to me, read through twice, but not understood in the slightest.

The same two men who visited me yesterday came over again, about 3 hours ago. They’ve just left, after I’d given them everything I had.

To break it down, the men (I can’t keep calling them that, so let’s just name them Teeth and Baldie - they never gave me their names, anyway) had a tension in their bodies that wasn’t present the last few times we’d met. Before, Teeth and Baldie had always been relaxed, but never ignorant. They were alert, and concise, but never snappy. Tonight gave me a nasty shock. Teeth was red in the face, and Baldie a sickly grey. Teeth explained, after checking thrice that my room was sufficiently sealed off from the outside, that Grandpa was missing. That this morning, somewhere between 5:30 and 7:00 am, the apartment he was renting in Redbridge had been broken into. The place was a mess, Teeth said, broken bottles, cabinets flipped over, and bloody smears on the kitchen floor. Grandpa, and his possible attackers, still haven’t been found.

It was soon after this that Baldie tore into Teeth’s explanation, hitting me with question, after ques- tion. Had Grandpa told me his whereabouts? Did he leave any indication of his current address in the folder (at this, Teeth hissed something like “We went through that folder with Grandpa before we let him give it to this guy, remember?”) Had I discussed his case with anyone? I answered ‘no’ to every one. Baldie asked for my notes from my first session with Grandpa, and I complied. While Baldie paced around my office, scanning the pages, Teeth said something that I found very interesting-

“[Baldie], have you checked the news? We need to determine whether that blood belonged to [Grandpa].”

Baldie’s reply confused me even further:

“Yes, and no, I haven’t heard anything from any of our colleagues. And no, I’ve found no stories,

anywhere in the world that would indicate that the blood is his.”

Teeth simply nodded at this, and proceeded to ask me yet more questions. He was calmer than

Baldie, but still talked with a clipped urgency of a man who definitely was not 100% alright. “What religion is [Grandpa]?”

“Jewish. He was wearing a yarmulke under his hat, when I first saw him. I don’t know what type he is. I think he might be a rabbi? Or maybe he was one? He either told me, or wrote about it in, you know, the folder.”

“What ethnicity is [Grandpa]?” “Uhh...”

“How old is he?”

“I don’t know-“

“How old is he?”

“Somewhere between 60 and 65.”

“No, how old is he?”

“I don’t know?”

“Who have you chatted with about him?”

“No-one.”

“Which of your friends did you leak his address to?”

“What?”

I was grilled on quite a few things, from my political background, to my general knowledge. Teeth asked how much I’d read of the grey folder. At that time, I’d read the entire thing through once, and I told him as much. He listened, almost unblinking, as I told him everything I remembered. The scans of faded medical records in a stunning variety of formats and languages. The black-and- white photos Grandpa (presumably) had annotated with things like “Me as a (slightly) younger man.”. Handwritten URLs for cookery websites, for recipes Grandpa has said he “thought I might like”. Recommendations for books (one, I remember him writing, being a “poor translation of the original Aramaic, but you’ll get the gist”). Honestly, that folder could be the focus of its own thesis, but I won’t go into it now.

To conclude, Teeth and Baldie left after they were sure I wasn’t hiding anything from them. They told me to lay low, and be wary of my surroundings for the next week or so. They slipped me a phone number I was to call, they said, if anything odd happened, or if I found anything more about Grandpa.

The interrogation wasn’t what pushed me into losing my shit, though. No, that was what happened 20 minutes ago. Just before I could finish tidying my desk, and packing my rucksack, there was a knocking on my window. I was jumpy, after Teeth and Baldie’s visit, but I downright screamed when I snapped around, and saw a face peering at me. Hanging from my window ledge, barely keeping his purchase on the drainpipe that runs down the front of my building, was Grandpa. I feel bad, now, because this was the first time I’d seen him sans eyepatch. I understand why he wears it, now, and why it’s so big - the right side of his face is almost entirely marred by pink, mangled scar tissue. I know that he was burned (although what he wrote of this in the grey folder still makes no sense to me), but seeing his full face for the first time, glaring at me from the window ledge, almost made me piss myself. After realising who my night visitor was, I ran over, and opened the window.

After helping him clamber into my office, he embraced me. He wouldn’t stop apologising. When I asked him what for, he only hugged me tighter. When he finally let go, he dashed for my door, and then locked it. He’s pulled my ‘patient’ chair over there now, to sit beside it. He has a handgun. He says we can talk, but we need to keep quiet. I’m gonna try to needle something out of him, and determine what kind of situation I’m in right now.

(look in The Wanderer tag for pt. 1)

[ghostsray]

The Witching Hour

(HEY, so remember back in October when I said I’d write a fic for the first prompt of ectoberweek18 but never posted it? I couldn’t finish it because I got busy with another wip novel for nanowrimo, but heck it. I’ll just post what some of what I wrote.)

Word count: 1991

4:44 P.M.

Danny stirred awake to the sound of his friends calling his name. He groaned, feeling an intense pain in his head and throughout his body in general. As the pain subsided, he became aware of the cold metal tiles pressed against his cheek. Propping himself up with some effort, he blinked open his eyes to be greeted with the sight of his parents’ lab and Sam and Tucker leaning over him, faces knit with concern and then relief.

“Thank god you’re okay!” Sam cried and hugged him, pressing her arms around his white hazmat suit. He bit back a hiss as her hug caused his pain to flare up again, momentarily blinding his vision with black spots. As they went away, he noticed for the first time the portal looming behind them, the large structure that nearly killed him minutes ago. Green ectoplasm was now swirling within it, shrouding them with green light.

Sam let go and followed his eyes to the portal. Looking back and seeing his shocked expression, she smirked. “You did it,” she said. “It nearly killed you, but somehow, you got your parents’ portal to work—”

And then the portal suddenly shut down, the swirling ectoplasm replaced with an empty corridor filled with wires.

“…Or not.”

The three teens stared at the empty portal, speechless. Finally, Tucker broke the silence by saying, “So how exactly are you alive?” Hastily, he added, “I mean, no offense or anything, but you were zapped with like a million volts…are you feeling okay?”

“Just dandy,” Danny replied, wincing as he sat himself up. “But I’ll be fine, I think. Nothing worse than getting beat up by Dash.” He smiled, and his friends’ shoulders relaxed a bit. Then Sam caught something under his cheek and frowned again.

“You have a scar,” she pointed out.

“I do?” He tried in vain to look at where she was staring at his body. He couldn’t see it, but there were dark lines creeping up his neck from underneath his hazmat suit. They looked like thin, flowing branches embedded in his skin.

“It’s a Lichtenberg scar—like when someone is hit with lightning,” Tucker stated, recognizing the branching pattern. “I guess that makes sense, since you got zapped.”

They were distracted from the scar when the sound of the basement door opening caused all three heads to turn to the basement entrance. “Shit,” Danny muttered as his parents appeared.

“Danny? Are those your friends?” his father asked, stomping down the stairs towards them. “I thought we told you not to bring visitors to the lab…”

“I can explain!” Danny said quickly, scrambling up—

“…not without me here to explain things to them!” Jack finished with a grin. He placed a large hand on each of Sam and Tucker’s shoulders. “If you two are interested in our inventions, you could have told us! I could give you a tour!”

Sam and Tucker exchanged a quick glance before nervously smiling at Jack. “No thanks, Mr. F. I think we’re good.”

“You sure? Because Maddie and I just finished working on an invention, and we think it’s really interesting—”

“Homework!” Tucker blurted out, then quickly added, “We’d love to stay around for your tour, but we have homework to do.”

“Oh,” Jack said and watched the teens rush to the exit of the lab.

Maddie grabbed Danny’s arm at the doorway. “You’re wearing your hazmat suit,” she pointed out.

“Oh, right,” Danny replied and started taking it off.

“Actually, I was going to say you look good in it! Your father and I spend all day in our suits. It’s very comfortable, I think you would like it—”

“Thanks, but I think I prefer normal clothes,” Danny interrupted, stepping out of the white-and-black suit.

Maddie frowned when she noticed the dark lines on his skin. “Is that a scar—?” But Danny was already making his way to his room upstairs with his friends.

8:01 P.M.

Danny put down his pencil, having finally completed his overly complicated math homework. “When you said homework, I thought that was just an excuse,” he told Tucker.

“It was! But apparently Sam is too much of a nerd to let us do something else.”

The girl glared at him. “We were going to have to do it eventually. Might as well get it over at Danny’s house.”

“Well, we’re done now,” Danny stated. He looked out the window at the dark sky outside. “It’s pretty late. Want to stay over for dinner?”

Tucker looked at him like he was crazy. “And eat ecto-contaminated foods that attack you instead of my mom’s meatloaves?”

Danny shrugged. “Worth a try,” he said, and the three of them laughed.

As Sam and Tucker began to pack up their school things, Sam’s eyes caught Danny, and she paused. “Your scar,” she said.

Tucker stopped packing too and looked at Danny. His jaw dropped. “Dude.”

“What? Is it worse?” Danny asked worriedly.

“No, actually, it’s the exact opposite,” Tucker responded. “Your scar is gone.”

“What?”

“It’s true,” Sam confirmed. “Even though it hasn’t even been four hours, it’s completely healed.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Danny said, frowning.

“Neither does you being alive, yet here we are,” Tucker pointed out.

They didn’t say anything after that.

2:59 A.M.

“Danny? Danny, wake up!”

Sam was kneeling on the floor of the lab, trying to shake a figure awake. Danny was standing behind her.

“What are you doing?” he asked her. “I’m right here.”

He lifted a hand to her shoulder, but then he paused. Sam had turned around looked—not at him, but through him. In front of her, the figure she was trying to awaken was…him. His body. What…?

He stared at the body, then down at himself. Only he wasn’t there. He lifted his hands up, but he couldn’t see them.

“He’s dead, Sam,” he heard Tucker say and saw him sitting on the other side of the body.

No, I’m not, Danny wanted to say. But as he opened his mouth, he suddenly heard the whine of an ecto-gun and whipped around to find his mother holding a barrel to his invisible head.

“You’re a ghost,” she said. “Ghost aren’t allowed here.”

Before he could do anything, the trigger was pulled, and Danny opened his mouth to scream—

He shot up in bed, gasping and drenched in sweat. While his heart was threatening to break out of his chest, he looked around and saw that he was in his room. He exhaled and brought his hands to his face. It was just a dream.

The room was quiet. Next to him on his bedside, the glowing red numbers of his digital alarm clock stood out against the dark, reading 2:59. Danny sighed and let himself fall back onto his bed, intending to sleep again.

But then, something happened.

The clock’s number turned to 3:00.

He felt a cold sensation drape over his body.

He fell through his bed.

Danny screamed as he suddenly found himself falling, until he hit the floor with a thud. Groaning, he pushed himself up. He looked around and saw that he was in the kitchen.

The kitchen. Which is one floor below his room. Which he was in just a second ago.

Danny looked around wildly, wondering how in the world he got into the KITCHEN. He felt his body turn cold again and brought up his arms to warm himself, but he paused when he saw them because what the hell his hands are TRANSPARENT. He stared at them blankly for god knows who long, and then he let out a laugh. “I’m still dreaming, aren’t I?” he said to the empty kitchen.

As if it was the universe’s way of responding, a bright flash of light suddenly enveloped him, causing him to scream. He felt a searing white pain throughout his whole body—the same kind of pain he felt when he was electrocuted by the portal. A little part of his mind whispered to him that you can’t feel this kind of pain inside a dream, but he ignored it because he was too busy being in pain. Then, the light vanished, and he lay on the ground feeling…no longer in pain.

It was strange. Not only was the burning pain gone, but so were all his body aches from the day. Was this the universe’s way of apologizing to him? He lay there for a while, waiting for something else to happen, but nothing did. Hesitantly, Danny sat himself up and looked down at his body.

For some reason, he was wearing a hazmat suit. It looked identical to the one he wore in his parents’ lab, except this one was black-and-white instead of white-and-black. Why was he wearing an inverted version of his hazmat suit?

He heard footsteps hurrying towards him and looked up to find his mother in her pajamas, holding an ecto-gun in her hand.

“M—” He trailed off when the gun fired a shot, missing him by just half an inch. He stared at the blazing spot in the wall it hit then back at Maddie. “What the heck was that for?!”

“Where is Danny and what did you do to him?” she barked at him.

“What? What are you—”

“I heard Danny screaming, and I find you inside my house.”

“I am—”

“A ghost.”

…A ghost?

His mind shut down for a second as he stared into the barrel of the gun and at his mother’s unyielding expression. Slowly, he looked down at himself again and began to notice the slight glow emanating from his suit, the transparency to his body that made the kitchen tiles visible from beneath him, the blurred out form he had that made his body seem like mist shifting slightly in the air. It all clicked in his mind, and yet…it made no sense. “That can’t be right,” he heard a voice say and realized it was his own. “I’m not…I’m….”

Maddie’s expression didn’t change. She only gripped the gun harder and repeated, “Where is he?”

When he didn’t reply, she scowled and said, “Fine.” Then the gun she held hummed to life, and Danny realized with dread that she was going to shoot again, and this time it seemed less likely that she would miss.

The gun fired—

Oh god this is going to end up just like my dream isn’t it—

He shut his eyes and waited for the impact—

The cold sensation enveloped his body again, and before he knew it, he felt himself drop.

Danny’s eyes shot open, and he had just enough time to look up and see the shot fly over his head before he passed completely through the floor. He realized he was falling again and will probably have to land soon. His head whipped downward to see the rapidly nearing floor of the basement, and he held out his arms in panic and braced for impact—only it never came.

He stayed frozen in place, staring down at the ground which for some reason stopped getting closer. Hesitantly, he looked down at himself and saw that he was floating a foot or so above the floor.

“What the f—” His sentence was interrupted when whatever force was holding him up let go and he landed on his butt.

As he lifted himself up to his feet, he noticed for the first time that the surfaces of the room were shrouded in neon green light. A quick check on his newly spectral body confirmed that it was not coming from him, since his light…body glowy thing…was white. Seriously, what was going on? He looked around the lab to see where the green light was coming from and paused when his eyes faced what was behind him.

It was the portal, gate wide open and filled with lime green ectoplasm swirling within its hold.